I am a fan of Impact Wrestling, but sometimes it is just aggrivating to watch. I've created a short list of things that IW could do IMMEDIATELY that would improve their production.
1 - Gaps in logic - the Dependence of Events that SHOULD be random.
Impact Wrestling does a sh*tty job of exploiting what should be "random events" so things will fit into a storyline. To me, it is just lazy.
Last night's ref bump was a prime example. The ref went down, to which Hogan made his entrance with a chair, to which Angle was able to use on Sting, get the pinfall, and then stare at Hogan.
What if the ref wouldn't have been bumped? What would Hogan have done? Did he just know/hope the ref would go down so he could come down with a chair? Was he sitting in the back just waiting and hoping the ref would go down?
Isn't Hogan an authority figure in IW? If he wanted Sting to lose, did he have to wait by the entrance for the ref bump so he could interfere? Couldn't he just stack the deck against Sting and add stipulations?
The whole bump/interference just didn't (and rarely does) make sense. Based on last night, Sting could have beaten Angle before Hogan had the chance to bring in the chair. Why would Hogan take the chance?
It just doesn't add up, and serves as an eye-rolling, unbelievable moment that reeks of a scripted, phony show. I know it is fake, but when the action and storylines are presented as "real," then these should-be random events happen, it should still be believable.
2 - Kayfabe or no Kayfabe? Consistency Matters
IW goes back and forth on their presentation of wrestling being real, and wrestling being fake. We all know wrestling is fake...but what is enjoyable is when you can get so captivated in the storylines and in-ring action that you forget it is fake.
With IW, they blur it to the point that it becomes distracting from the storylines and matches.
Another example that comes to mind is Impact Wrestling's use of "Hervey Cam" that shows a wrestler's feelings on an opponent or match. It's presented in a way that adds a degree of realism, and it works.
Viewers SHOULD be able to forget it is fake, without it being constantly thrown in our face that it is. For example, Sting has been a crazy clown for the last several weeks. Yet when he is in the ring with Kurt Angle for a contract signing, he's sane again. Which is it?
So the weeks of trying to convince the audience that Sting is crazy, it is thrown away for a three minute promo where Sting is normal. The constant back and forth of "real life" and "storyline" does nothing but cause distractions to the stories they are trying to tell.
3 - Lose the "insider terms"
The word "ratings" should never be uttered during a wrestling show. Ever. Yet rarely is there a night of Impact where it isn't mentioned, at least once by an announcer, wrestler, or authority figure.
Those wrestling fans who care about what kind of TV rating Impact gets, knows it isn't much...so why mention it? Those fans that don't follow wrestling online, and will never know what TV rating Impact gets, still don't care.
Instead of TALKING about the TV Ratings that the "network" wants, why not focus and delivering stories and wrestling matches that will actually ATTRACT TV viewers? These are just a couple of examples of things said to try to cater to the "Internet Wrestling Community," but all it does is remind their viewers that what they are watching is bullsh*t....that the match isn't about a storyline involving two guys, it's just about the "ratings."
4 - No more Gimmick Matches (at least for awhile)
This is a bit different than the other points I mentioned, but Impact Wrestling has to scale back their use of gimmick matches. Their talent SHOULD be able to tell a story without a gimmick match, and the gimmick match should only ADD to the storyline.
They have a bad history of having gimmick matches for the sake of having gimmick matches. And when they have a gimmick match, say...a cage match....it doesn't make sense to have it in a cage. When a cage match is just thrown together as a regular match, or other wrestlers can enter the cage an interfere, then why even have the cage to begin with?
There is no increase in excitement when Impact Wrestling offers a gimmick match, because they have been done too often, with no logic, and with no need.
Much like the breaks in "reality" and "storyline" IW goes back and forth on, when you have a 4 minute ladder match as a part of the BFG series, why should one be excited to see a ladder match when it would actually benefit feud/storyline?
5 - Will the person in charge please stand up?
Who is in charge of TNA? Bischoff? Hogan? Sting? Foley? Flair? Other "network" executives? And why is Dixie Carter still being mentioned?
When so many individuals are in control, it begs the questions "why?" Why doesn't Hogan just fire Sting? Why doesn't Hogan stack the deck so that Immortal (his selected group) have every title and complete control?
What exactly are Fortune and Immortal fighting over anyways?
Impact Wrestling is trying to be too many things at once...and by doing so they are leaving huge plot-holes, gaps in logic, and delivering show after show that delivers no Impact (pun intended) and that won't be remembered by next week's show.
