Impact Wrestling has been the center of many rumors the last week. Most surrounded the impending sale of the promotion. As of this post, majority owner Dixie Carter is still in control.
The ‘Bound For Glory’ pay-per-view went off as planned and it was a pretty solid show overall. Carter must have received funding from one of the groups wanting to buy Impact Wrestling (or TNA Wrestling) from her.
Billy Corgan (yes, the Smashing Pumpkins lead singer) is currently trying to purchase the promotion. He’s currently the President of Impact Ventures, the company that owns Impact/TNA. He acquired that title after letting Impact Ventures borrow money for a few television tapings.
The groups that are rumored to be involved in the possible purchase are Billy Corgan, Aroluxe Marketing, an unknown media company, and the WWE.
WWE would purchase Impact/TNA solely for the tape library that has a ton of quality matches from current stars like A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries and others. They would also probably pluck a few talent contracts, since they need bodies after the Raw/Smackdown brand split.
Let’s say that Billy Corgan ends up buying majority ownership of Impact/TNA. I think it would be best for business, since Corgan has said he wants to push the company towards more things like the Broken Matt Hardy storyline. He also said he wants a more stable environment, since Impact/TNA have had money issues going on for years now.
Corgan said if he were in total control, he would change the name of the promotion, which is a fantastic idea. Both ‘Impact Wrestling’ and ‘Total Nonstop Action’ names have been tarnished beyond repair. There’s been too much damage caused by Dixie Carter and other people she’s put in charge in the past.
The next owner should treat Impact/TNA like a television show. I know Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, two guys who controlled World Championship Wrestling in its dying days, tried to treat Impact/TNA like a television show before…but there was no creativity in their vision. They would have a lot of backstage segments shot like the talent were unaware they were being filmed and have wrestlers cut long promos in the ring.
The next owner of Impact/TNA should fire current head of creative Dave Lagana and place Matt Hardy in his spot. The ‘Broken Matt Hardy’ storyline was Hardy’s idea from the beginning and has creative control over his character. There needs to be more storylines that incorporate off-sight angles, like segments filmed at Matt Hardy’s compound.
I think if the show had a Lucha Underground feel to it, it would succeed. Lucha Underound is on the El Rey Network and isn’t available in many homes. It’s actually available in less homes than Impact/TNA’s home at POP TV. I’m not saying to blatantly ripoff Lucha, just use them as an example of a wrestling promotion that is knocking it out of the park with their backstage storyline segments.
Impact/TNA has some good in-ring talents like Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Gail Kim, Ethan Carter III and many others. They need to pluck out the best actors and try to make out-of-the-box storylines work for them. I’m not insinuating that wrestling talent doesn’t matter, but there are promotions like Ring of Honor for fans that want the best in-ring action without much meat in storylines (excluding the great Jay Lethal/Adam Cole storyline).
Listen, Impact/TNA isn’t a touring wrestling promotion and hasn’t been for a long time. They just tape wrestling episodes that air on POP TV and the occasional pay-per-view. They tape all their shows at the same place in Orlando. Why not treat it more as a television show with crazy angles that culminate in the ring?
Impact/TNA’s future is in current majority owner Dixie Carter’s hands. I really hope she sells her majority stake to Billy Corgan.
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.