The 10 Best Things about Impact Wrestling in 2019 By Hakeem Fullerton

Intro:  Well the time has come, 2019 is nearing the end and after the debut of All Elite Wrestling, the return of the NWA to pro wrestling, WWE ratings continue to plummet, Ring Of Honor taking TNA's old mantle of pro wrestling company making numerous mistake after numerous mistake and NXT UK basically eradicating the U.K. wrestling scene.


Impact has sort of been lost in the shuffle however, Impact has had no shortly news worth headlines and today I'll be taking about the 10 best things that happened to Impact Wrestling in the last 52 week.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Dishonorable Mentions
  • Killer Kross /Impact Wrestling Saga
  • Problems with Pursuit Channel
  • Lighting, Camera and Audio Issues on Impact Plus and Twitch specials
  • The Over Usage of ECW Originals on Impact Tapings
  • The Treatment of OvE by Impact Management
  • United We Stand Bait-and Switch Controversy
  • Wrestling Departures (Allie, Abyss, Matt Sydal, Kongo Kong, Sonjay Dutt, KM, Eli Drake, Scarlett Boudreaux, DJ Z, Trevor Lee and the Lucha Bros etc.)

 
 Honorable Mentions
  • Impact and AAA work together in an important cross promotion event that took at MSG in New York City
  • Impact Stars resigning with the company 
  • Donating money to help rebuild ODB's Food Truck Business
  • Forming partnerships with other promotions and non-wrestling companies alike
  • Gail Kim's coming out of retirement to wrestle one more match 
  • Promoting and Selling Brand New Merchandise
  • Sami Callihan Wins the Impact World Title
  • The Launch of IMPACT Plus
  • Everything about IPWF
  • Impact becomes the 5th most Trending Topic on Twitter (Twice) 
















































































 
10. Impact Starts Streaming On Twitch
Following the news of Impact's television deal with POP TV coming to an end and their move to the Pursuit Network generating only a few thousands fans.


The company had to find another way to distribute the show for a larger viewing audience. So, when it came time for Impact to make they announce they didn't disappoint.


During their Homecoming PPV in Nashville TN, the announcement was made that Impact Wrestling be airing their content on another media site in addition to the Pursuit Channel and that site was Twitch.


The move to Twitch would allow fans who didn't have the Pursuit Network to be able to watch the show on their mobile devices for free, in addition to reruns of the same episode just airing days afterward.


The move also allowed wrestler's like Jessicka Havok among others on the impact roster to be able to present their gaming content on the channel as well as showing old and new Impact themed material on Twitch.


While the Twitch deal was renewed months later for fans to enjoy, many fans and critic have seen this move by Impact as a small bandage on a massive wound that needed to be solved but the best was yet to come.        





 




































 
 
 
 
9. Must Watch PPV’s
When people talk about Impact Wrestling nowadays the one word that gets used a lot is 'consistency'.


Impact continuously finds new ways to make the current product feel new and fresh while delivering the same total nonstop action that the company is known and that is best seen in their pay per views. aside from any Twitch or Impact Plus specials, Impact has had 4 PPV's this year and all of them have felt important in one way or another.

Whether it's Impact returning to their old home of the TNA Asylum now known as the Tennessee Sports Arena for the aptly named Homecoming event which saw both Rich Swann and Taya Valkyrie become champions in addition to the first ever PPV meeting between The Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. and Fenix) and LAX (Santana and Ortiz) for the tag titles to the Rebellion PPV which the aforementioned LAX and Lucha Bros fighting for the tag team titles in a full metal mayhem match and underrated gem of match between Moose and The North vs. The Rascalz to the Slammiversary event which saw an impressive X Division and World Title match and an insane four way women's Monsters Ball match for the knockouts title


And finally Bound For Glory: Kylie Rae made her Impact debut, Ace Romero fell off a giant ladder, Rob Van Dam turned heel and Ken Shamrock wrestled his first match in 15 years.


I could go on but I think the matches and moments I just mentioned should be all the evidence you need         

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Impact Increases Their Global Reach 
The one aspect that people don't give Impact Wrestling a lot of credit for is their work internationally.


Over the years the company has produced shows like British Boot Camp and Ring Ka King which introduced the world to names like Nikki Cross, Rockstar Spud, Marty Scurll, Mahabali Shera  among many others to being the first U.S. based wrestling promotion to broadcast their show worldwide back in 2017.

2019 was truly one of the best years for Impact on global scale as  the company would acquire major TV deals in various locations, airing on channels like 5Star for both Ireland and the U.K in April to Tap Digital Media Ventures Corp. (TAPDMV) for the Philippines back in September to the most recent news that Impact will be airing their content on e.tv in over 50 countries in Sub Sahara-Africa including taped shows, Xplosion, PPVS and more.

As if that wasn't enough amazing news, Impact also has manage to do well in the ratings within the U.K. as Jason Solomon  who host the YouTube channel 'Solomonster Sounds Off' mentioned in one of his video that WWE's ratings from October the 7th through 21st have ranged from 48,000 to 3,000 views (Ouch!).
In comparison, Impact Wrestling viewership ratings were 77,000 on October 18th 2019.


So it looks like All Elite Wrestling isn't they only wrestling promotion that's been kicking WWE's butt in the ratings this year.







 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
7. More Eyes On The Product
A few years ago, the company formerly known as TNA or GFW Impact couldn't buy any positive publicity from either the fans or the journalist alike.
With headlines about talent leaving the promotion to wrestlers not being paid on time to rumors about the company shutting down by the end of the year many associated Impact Wrestling as nothing more but this generation's equivalent of World Championship Wrestling from 1999-2001.



Now nearly 2 years into the new regime of Don Callis and Scott D'Amore, the brand known as Impact Wrestling has gotten the attention of fans and critics but for all the right reasons.


The viewership numbers for Impact of Twitch and their new networks have increased since early 2019, not to mention that their YouTube Channel is nearing 3 million subscribers and content about Impact Wrestling are being made and uploaded by various you tubers and fans on an almost daily basis.

With Impact getting more viewers both in America and Internationally, plus with numerous young and determined wrestlers appearing on the show looking to get signed by the company, Impact Wrestling is certainly getting the attention of the wrestling masses slowly but surely. 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 


6. New Signings and Returns
The influx of talent making their way onto Impact television is astonishing to say the least as talent both young and old have appeared on our screens and many of them have gotten the wrestling world talking.
No longer is the company signing up aging or establish names to their roster who are looking to get a nice paycheck for doing very little but instead a combination of young, determined talent and established names are being brought up in order to make the company and the program itself flourish  

Stars like Michael Elgin, Josh Alexander, Tenille Dashwood, Chris Bey, Daga, Jessicka Havok, Joey Ryan, Acey Romero, Johnny Swinger and even Ken Shamrock are just some of  the few have wrestled and even signed with Impact Wrestling this year, assuring that we'll be seeing them a lot more in the years that come.


 






 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 


 
5. Tessa Blanchard: Year of the Diamond
No superstar on any wrestling roster today can positively say that they've had a year quite as extravagant as that of third generation wrestler, Tessa Blanchard.
Tully Blanchard's little girl has managed to help put Impact Wrestling back on the map but also managed to achieve feats that no other woman wrestling this year will be able to accomplish and in believable fashion...let's run down Tessa's biggest highlights of 2019: She started off the year as Knockouts Champion whilst battling Taya Valkyrie in both Nashville and Mexico to feuding with Gail Kim, which brought the former KO champion and Hall of Famer out of retirement to wrestle a match that saw Gail pass the torch to the young Blanchard in one of the best women's matches of the year to battling Sami Callihan at Slammiversary in the first ever intergender main event match in a major U.S. promotion to taking part in a five person ladder match for the X Division title to her becoming the #1 contender for Sami Callihan's World Championship in the main event at the Hard To Kill PPV in January of next year.  
Seriously, this woman has manage to become one the greatest pro wrestlers outside of the WWE machine and she's only 24 years old.
And while names Shayna Baszler and Becky Lynch can both claim that they were the most dominant and popular stars on the WWE women's roster, neither one of them can come close to the amount success that Tessa has achieved in 2019 plus she and her partner and fellow impact wrestler, Daga are now in engaged as of the time I'm writing this article...Not to shabby for the Undeniable Diamond. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

4. Impact and OVW Partner Up Once Again

Not satisfied with forming partnership internationally, Impact Wrestling announced in early 2019 that they would re-establishing a partnership with development system, Ohio Valley Wrestling better known as OVW.


According to Impact Executive VP, Scott D'Amore "We are excited to grow our outreach and partnerships with promotions worldwide." this know means that OVW talent will be used on Impact programming while at the same time the talent will be scouted by agents and executives working with the company in order to see who will get to a multi year deal and eventually a spot on the Impact roster.


So OVW is basically Impact Wrestling's equivalent to NXT I suppose...nevertheless this will help both promotions as some of the greatest wrestlers of the last ten years like Brock Lesnar, Dave Batista, Randy Orton and John Cena got their start in OVW, so perhaps Impact will help introduce the world to wrestling's next crop of future world champions.     




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

3. The Knockouts Division
Without a doubt, the knockouts division this year has been the best it's every been in a very long time. While the Tag Team, Main Event and X Division have done pretty well for themselves you can't deny that Impact's knockouts division have stolen the show in almost every sense of the word.

The roster has a perfect combination of season veterans and up-and-coming talent; names like Rosemary and Madison Rayne, Tenille Dashwood are some of the most well known on the roster while talents like Kiera Hogan, Jordynne Grace and Alisha Edwards are finally starting to develop their on screen personas.

Then of course you have Tessa Blanchard putting on tremendous matches while breaking down barriers in wrestling by fighting in high profiled intergender matches.    

And who can forget Taya Valkyrie becoming not only one of the longest reigning knockout champions in recent history but one of the longest reigning champions in the companies near two decade existence reaching almost a year as champion.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

2. The Locker Room Morale 
If you haven't been watching Ethan Page's vlogs on YouTube...you should for three reasons: 1. To see the crazy and wacky antics 'All Ego'  goes through as a pro wrestler, 2. The videos are hilarious, and 3. Because they demonstrate how the atmosphere within the Impact locker room and amongst the wrestlers are second to none.
Among many things, Impact stars can be seen having fun while traveling on the road, telling jokes, seeing Tommy Dreamer act so salty for some reason and even talent breaking out into impromptu songs most notably The Rascalz singing their hit song "On The Rails"; heck even Josh Matthews and Don Callis are seen playing basketball with the roster...something you don't see Vince McMahon or Triple H doing with their talent.
Since late 2018, reports have surfaced that Impact talent have been acting more like a family than self important celebrities and the management themselves are also treating their talent with the same  kind of curiosity as reports of talent getting paying raises and having their hotel expenses covered are the type of news that is just amazing to hear...far different from a few years where wrestlers were reportedly not getting paid on time. 
In short, the company has created an atmosphere in which the talent are not only happy to be there but are also looking forward in making Impact Wrestling into they most must see promotion in the world once again.

If you haven't seen any of Ethan Page's vlog videos or your not convince that the morale is nothing short of perfect, than I post a few videos down below.     

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




1. Anthem Owns Stake in AXS/Impact Gets A New Home on TV
You knew this was coming but how could you not it's quite possibly the single greatest thing that could happen to the company in quite a long time.

On September 12th it was announced to the world that Impact's parent company, Anthem Sports and Entertainment have now purchased AXS TV and that Impact Wrestling will be moving to their new network days if not weeks after Bound For Glory and the very first episode aired on October 29th which saw Sami Callihan become the world champion become the 5th most trending topic on Twitter.

This deal is amazing for Impact for a multitude of reasons...for one AXS also airs Women of Wrestling (WOW) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) which means the network has experience in having wrestling related content on their channel. two, AXS is seen by thousands if not millions of homes which means the product will be seen by a lot more people and three, AXS isn't subscribe to the Nielsen rating so that means that the viewership numbers for Impact TV wouldn't be released to the public (something that must infuriate the trolls and Impact haters alike).

This has been called by some 'the best TV deal Impact has had since Spike TV' and it's easy to see why...for getting Impact back on our TV screens to the hype it's been generating throughout the wrestling world to giving Impact Wrestling a sense of security it hasn't had in years...Is why I say Anthem owning stake in AXS TV and Impact moving to AXS is one of the best things about Impact Wrestling in 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you enjoyed my article/ blog, please leave your thoughts below and follow me on Blogger, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.




And for more Wrestling Related Lists like this one, here are the links to some of them down below:
Top 10 Impact Wrestling Moments in 2019
https://blogofwrestling52.blogspot.com/2019/11/top-10-impact-wrestling-moments-in-2019.html

Top 8 Most Improve Impact Wrestlers in 2019
https://blogofwrestling52.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-top-8-most-improved-impact.html

Ten Facts About Bound For Glory 2019
https://blogofwrestling52.blogspot.com/2019/10/ten-facts-about-bound-for-glory-2019-by.html

The Top Ten Best Bound For Glory Events (So Far)
https://blogofwrestling52.blogspot.com/2019/10/top-ten-bound-for-glory-events-so-far.html









 

 

 

 

 

Article Sources



Ethan Page's Impact Wrestling Vlogs:



WWE UK Ratings Collapsed:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51KI8bF-QxM

 

Picture Sources
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Comments

  1. Awesome Article. I followed from 'fake name, no gimmicks'. I was unaware of how great Impact had become again when I started rewatching this year, a little before Slammiversary, I was hooked and a little disappointed that I hadn't gone back sooner.

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