PWInsider.com is reporting that IMPACT Wrestling President, Ed Nordholm, and IMPACT Wrestling Creative team member, Scott D’Amore were at the WWE Headquarters last week. The duo met with high ranking members of Triple H’s team.
Sources in the meeting said that this meeting was a general discussion about the two companies as opposed to a negotiation of any sorts.
No other details have been released.
Saturday, September 1, 2018 will go down in history as the night that professional wrestling changed forever, even if the show was a one-off.
ALL IN was a massive success for everyone involved. And while i haven’t been able to finish all 4 hours of the show, what I have seen is enough to know that this show has changed the game (yes, I know I said that twice now).
The ALL IN – Zero Hour special on WGN America had some technical issues, but it’s forgivable for them to have those issues as this was the first show they’ve produced.
At the end of the night, I walked away extremely proud of the guys involved. They put on a massive show, had very little problems, and made the show feel special without having their own TV outlet to promote their show.
There is a ton of things that IMPACT Wrestling, WWE, and Ring of Honor can learn from the success of ALL IN.
The first lesson that can be learned is on story telling. The NWA World Championship Match with Cody Rhodes defeating Nick Aldis to become the new champion was a perfect story told perfectly without the two men ever fighting or without any major over-the-top trash talking.
The job that Billy Corgan, Dave Lagana, Cody Rhodes, and Nick Aldis told with a few promos, a camera crew, and a compelling story arc was impeccable. All the guys needed was an outlet to tell a story and the arc and the rest was done with the imagination of the fans, the desire to see these two men fight it out for the title, and the need for the babyface to come out as champion.
The story in the ring was just as epic. Seeing Nick Aldis take it to Cody, seeing what the title meant to Cody and his continued fighting effort to keep fighting even after his wife tells him that he
And in the end, a quick roll up gave Cody the win. We didn’t need to do a complicated finish or angle, we didn’t need run ins or weapons. All we needed was a story, a match, and a conclusion. And I can’t wait for Cody to defend the title against Aldis at the 70th Anniversary show in October.
The second lesson that can be learned is more for IMPACT and ROH and that is that production matters.
The stage set up that ALL IN had was amazing. It looked like something WWE or an MMA group would have set up. I kept thinking, “Man, this looks a lot like a big budget production being done” and in reality
The final lesson, give the fans what they want. Stop trying to push your agenda and ideas that don’t work. ALL IN was a fun show because there was no agenda. There was no one person that needed to get over. The people who needed to be over were and the ones who needed to not be over were not. The fans were able to choose.
I hope that if there is an ALL IN 2 that these principals are taken into account.
Cody Rhodes is, arguably, the biggest name in Independent Wrestling today. He is 1/3 the brainchild of the ALL IN event this weekend; he is the son of Dusty Rhodes, and he is the next NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Here’s why.
Let me start by saying that Rhodes doesn’t need the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but the title and the NWA need him to hold that belt.
Famously, Rhodes is challenging Nick Aldis for the NWA Championship on Saturday and it is beginning to turn into the biggest independent feud on the map. Aldis has done an incredible job with holding the NWA Title. Aldis has been able to take the NWA title from almost nothing to being respected once again.
However, Aldis has taken the title as far as he can for now. I don’t doubt that the NWA title will find its way back to Aldis, but it’s time to let someone else to hold onto it. Rhodes is the man to beat Aldis.
Not only is this match happening in an event that Rhodes is throwing, but Rhodes will be making history to be the first person in NWA history to become a second generation NWA Champion. Giving Rhodes the title will help take the NWA to the next level.
The NWA is promoting a Nashville show coming up in October for their 70th anniversary. In order for that show to be able to draw a decent crowd and make even a 10th of the impact that ALL IN has done so far, Cody Rhodes needs to be defending the NWA World Championship against Nick Aldis.
With Rhodes walking into the NWA Anniversary show as champion, a few things will happen. The biggest thing is that Rhodes will be on nationally syndicated TV holding that NWA title week to week. That will give Rhodes a chance to discuss the NWA show in October while also giving them the opportunity to continue to build the Aldis/Rhodes feud into the show.
The other big thing that it does for the NWA is give them a big name holding their title. The NWA, so far, has had Tim Storm (a 50-year-old school teacher) and Nick Aldis (who was never able to make a big name for himself) hold that title since Billy Corgan took over the promotion. Having a Rhodes hold the title takes the NWA from a small blip on the independent map to the main attraction in indy wrestling.
Lastly, Rhodes will be able to defend that title in Japan, ROH, and wherever else his heart desires. I don’t think we would have seen Aldis on ROH TV if it werent for the fact that Rhodes was challenging for the NWA title. If Rhodes had been challenging for the ROH title at All In, Aldis would still be wrestling in small indy shows and the NWA would not really matter at this point.
You’re probably asking, “Why can’t Cody challenge for the title again at the NWA show in October?” It’s simple: No one will care for the rematch if Rhodes loses on Saturday. The only way people will care for a rematch is if Cody takes the title.
The NWA needs Cody Rhodes to be their next champion if the NWA wants to be a serious contender in independent wrestling. The NWA needs Cody Rhodes to survive.
Chris Jericho has said for a long time that he wouldn’t go to a different wrestling company in North America as he felt like it would be disrespectful to Vince McMahon. However, he seems to have changed his mind when it comes to that idea.
Jericho was the guest on James Ellsworth’s new podcast call “The Duhcast” in which he said that he’s open to working with either ROH or IMPACT Wrestling.
“When someone says ‘Would you ever go to IMPACT? Would you ever go to Ring Of Honor? Would you ever go here there or wherever’ – yeah sure, why not? If its creatively satisfying, if it’s something that I can really sink my teeth into, something that I can really enjoy, then why wouldn’t I give it a try?”
Chris Jericho
Jericho is currently the IWPG Intercontinental Champion and only works for New Japan Pro Wrestling for their non-United States shows. Jericho goes on to talk about how he has done everything he needs to do in pro wrestling, now he’s just trying to do things that will help him be fulfilled creatively.
“I’m not saying I would ever go there, but I’m not saying I wouldn’t,” said Jericho. “And I’m not saying I wouldn’t go to WWE or I wouldn’t go to New Japan or go wherever. To me, it’s all about helping to change the business in a lot of ways and if there’s a way to do it by being a little bit of a revolutionary then why not? Let’s go for it, man. This is show business, it’s entertainment, it’s the Wild West. There’s no rules and nobody says that you have to work in the WWE or you don’t have to work there.”
Chris Jericho
Would you like to see Y2J in IMPACT Wrestling?
Commentary: Unless IMPACT Wrestling is going to begin bringing in bigger name wrestlers again (which there aren’t many on the free agency that would make a big difference for IMPACT), I don’t really why Jericho would want to go to IMPACT. IMPACT is doing some really good things and they are slowly recovering from their years of misfortunes, but they really don’t offer much to Jericho.
Another argument is that Jericho could help land them back onto a bigger stage as far as television networks go, but I feel that Jericho would only help get them so far. I also feel that Jericho in IMPACT Wrestling would make him the massive fish in a mini-pond. It’d be like Lebron James going to play high school basketball after winning so many NBA Titles. Just doesn’t make sense.
Jericho in Ring of Honor on the other hand would help boost ROH’s image. Jericho working with the likes of Cody, the Buck, Hangman Paige, etc. could really help elevate those guys while giving Jericho some good hands to work with.
Either way, Jericho working for anyone other than Vince McMahon would make big headlines.
TORONTO | MEXICO CITY – IMPACT Wrestling today announced television tapings will take place on Thursday, Sept. 13 and Friday, Sept. 14 at Frontón México in Mexico City, Mexico, marking the first time the flagship weekly show IMPACT! will emanate from south of the border.
Featuring top professional wrestling stars such as IMPACT World Champion Austin Aries, Johnny Impact, Eli Drake, Moose, Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan and Mexican superstars “The Lucha Brothers” Pentagon Jr. and Fenix, IMPACT! is broadcast across Mexico on Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m. on 52MX.
“We are excited about this historic trip to Mexico as we continue to expand our live event schedule globally,” said IMPACT Wrestling president Ed Nordholm. “We look forward to working closely with our promotional partners at Lucha Libre AAA and our broadcast partner 52MX to bring an unforgettable experience to our passionate fan base in Mexico heading into the final stretch for Bound for Glory this October.”
The iconic Frontón México is a world-class entertainment complex located near the central square in Mexico City known as Plaza de la Republica. After being closed for two decades, the state-of-the-art facility reopened its doors last year.
Further information about ticket availability and event start times will soon be announced. Additional information can also be found at www.impactwrestling.com.
Tessa Blanchard is one of the most talked about women in professional wrestling. Currently, she’s taking IMPACT Wrestling by storm. These are 8 of our favorite Tessa Blanchard photos taken from her Instagram. Follow her for more here.
It’s been well over 14 years since John “Bradshaw” Layfield was the WWE Champion (and the longest reigning Smackdown World Champion in History). This week, AJ Styles beat JBL’s record. Here are some comments from AJ.
Jeff Jarrett and Global Force Wrestling’s parent company, Global Force Entertainment, Inc. have sued Impact Wrestling and Anthem Sports & Entertainment for many claims, including copyright infringement.
PWInisder has an incredible breakdown of all the claims Jarrett is making toward IMPACT Wrestling, so we won’t go into details of the lawsuit. However, there a ton of allegations being made.
Jarrett is essentially claiming that Anthem Sports offered him an opportunity to merge IMPACT Wrestling and Global Force Entertainment (and by default, Global Force Wrestling) together in exchange for ownership in Anthem Sports and to become the Chief Creative Officer of Anthem Sport’s new company “Anthem Wrestling”, which would be running IMPACT Wrestling.
Jarrett and Anthem agreed to the merger in 2016, Jarrett joined Anthem in early 2017, and in July of 2017, the merger was made public. IMPACT Wrestling was then branded Global Force Wrestling Presents: Impact Wrestling and Jarrett was an minority owner of Anthem Wrestling and CCO.
In September 2017, Jarrett was placed on leave and eventually terminated from Anthem Sports & Impact Wrestling. Jarrett
Impact Wrestling has responded to the lawsuit by removing GFW branded content from their website and e-commerce site. IMPACT has not commented on the lawsuit while Jarrett’s legal representation has released the following statement to PWInsider:
“Mr. Jarrett does not have a comment on this case but we look forward to our day in court before the jury.”
PWInsider.com
MultiMediamouth.com will be following this closely.
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Enzo Amore, says he will never wrestle again. Amore spoke with TMZ Sports and straight up said that there wasn’t enough money in the world to step back into the ring.
The TMZ reporter was talking about the recent popularity of Youtube stars boxing and fighting on Youtube for streams. Amore then said the only fight he would do is in a Creed movie.
IMPACT Wrestling got a ton of positive reviews from their Slammiversary show last weekend. The good news continues as they are seeing an increase in viewership for the July 26, 2018 edition of IMPACT. They were able to get 299,000 people to tune in to the show, up from 275,000 last week.
IMPACT needs to keep the momentum going.
