First Impressions of Impact Wrestling Live

This past Thursday TNA Impact Wrestling went live at it’s new start time of 8pm on Spike TV. For a company that is supposedly the number 2 company in pro wrestling they disappointed on all levels. There was no shock value, no controversial angles and no special surprises. I remember when TNA went live for the first time in March 2010. You had some many surprises. You had Flair, RVD, and Hardy all appear in the same night.

Instead of people appearing, wrestlers are leaving. Matt Morgan, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are headed out the door and rumored to WWE in the near future. There are so many great talents WWE has released and so many on the independent scene that TNA is not advantage. I could name 10 independent stars that should be working in TNA that would help make the product so much better then what it is right now. I am still trying to figure out how a guy like Joey Ryan got on TV and not my good buddy “Gentleman” John Campbell. Some of the guys they have had on Gut Check are pathetic and a waste of talent. I do like the concept of the live Gut Check, but please get some better wrestlers on TV.

The other thing that bothered me was when Hulk Hogan got on the microphone and said that Sting is the face of the company. No disrespect towards Sting but when you are saying that a 53 year old is the face of your company, you’re basically saying the young guys suck and have no credibility. No offense but the veterans need to step aside and let the company thrive off of the younger talent.

There was one bright spot for me and that was Chris Sabin vs. Austin Aries. I have always loved the X Division and their style but they have never gotten the credibility and respect they deserve. If Impact Wrestling is to survive they need to rely on the X Division. They also need to add my shock value, controversy and surprises.

Impact Wrestling has the potential to be a great wrestling show and company. They need to step up their game and allow the younger guys to be in the spotlight. Start putting the spotlight back on Samoa Joe, James Storm, and others. These are my thoughts and observations on how good Impact Wrestling could be. I will keep watching each week to see if the program gets better. I hope for the sake of pro wrestling that it does.