The year was 1999. WWE was riding high
in the midst of its “Attitude Era” . When it seemed nothing
could stop the momentum that was (and still is) the
sports-entertainment juggernaut, tragedy struck when Owen Hart died
after injuries suffered from a stunt gone wrong. Owen's loss left a
huge hole in the heart of WWE. The road to recovery for everyone in
the organization would not be easy. But in the midst of this tragic
occurrence, WWE would create a show called SmackDown! The show
marked WWE's return to prime time television. Over time, SmackDown!
would become its own brand with a separate roster. But in its
infancy, it re-established WWE as a force on prime time television.
During this time, WWE was engaged in an
epic battle with Ted Turner's World Championship
This is what wrestling on Thursday
night meant to fans a generation ago. So is there still wrestling on
Thursday nights? Why yes! Yes, there is! That wrestling has a
first name, it's.....
I-M-P-A-C-T.
Before you ask, I'm not kidding. IMPACT Wrestling has made wrestling on Thursday nights worth watching
again. With a new direction and the organization's original
visionary back in the fold, the fed formerly known as Total Nonstop
Action Wrestling has become rather interesting. And the cool part
is, there is something for everyone. I'm more than certain if you
watch IMPACT, you'll take something different from it than I will.
Nonetheless, it's beginning to show signs of life after being
declared dead a thousand times over for the past few years.
Here are my favorite reasons to watch
the all-new IMPACT Wrestling.
- The mystery surrounding the IMPACT-GFW merger. At this juncture, the only thing we know about the IMPACT-GFW merger is just that: they've merge and not much else. To the world of people with the attention span of a fruit fly, this would drive them crazy. To me, it's a good thing. One thing we do know is that IMPACT will be presenting Slammiversary XV on July 2nd. While the pieces fall into place for the PPV, the mystery surrounding this merger can slowly unravel over the next month. TV taping reports and spoilers be damned, this is a great way to not only build up the show but to also put IMPACT Wrestling's new direction on center stage. I'm excited to see where this goes.
Laurel Van Ness. The
backstory behind this character is pretty funny. Van Ness
blackmailed Braxton Sutter and was prepared to marry him. Sutter
had enough and said “no” when asked if he would take Van Ness as
his wife during the weeding. Sutter professing his love for Allie
drove Van Ness off the deep end. A week later, she emerged a
disheveled, comical wreck. Still sporting her wedding dress,
smeared lipstick, and bottle of champagne to boot, Laurel now seeks
a man to call her own. Rejecting her advances is usually followed
by a beating at the hands of Kongo Kong. All of that aside,
Laurel's strange and goofy mannerisms are a refreshing departure
from moody divas who take themselves too seriously. You never know
what she is gonna do from one week to the next. This is always the
highlight of my Thursday nights.
- Low-Ki vs Sonjay Dutt. Some of wrestling's best stories happen by accident. Triple H's“curtain call” antics ultimately led to the birth of Austin 3:16. Sting getting attacked by Jake Roberts laid the groundwork for Ron Simmons becoming pro wrestling's universally recognized African-American World champion. April 20th's six-pack challenge for the X-Division championship was highlighted by the return of former X-Division pioneer Low-Ki. Low-Ki used that momentum to capture his fifth X-Division championship. During the match, Sonjay Dutt suffered a huge hematoma over his eye. The injury was just cause for Dutt to sit out the match. He did the exact opposite and kept fighting until the end. With that, a potentially awesome storyline was hatched. Ki s the near-legendary multiple-time titleholder. Dutt has done almost everything except become X-Division champion. Can Dutt end his title futility and capture the big one? Sure, the story has been done before with other wrestlers in the past (Chris Jericho's breakthrough WCW World title victory over The Rock for example). But considering the things these two men can do in the ring, the payoff could be amazing.
The
stories and entertainment don't stop there. The Rockstar Spud
hospital vignette was pretty cool. The ten-man main event featuring
IMPACT World champion Bobby Lashley on one side and GFW Global
champion Magnus on the other exceeded its billing. Plus... ...HEEL
JOSH MATTHEWS!!! He's impulsive and unreserved on commentary now.
Definitely an entertaining far cry from his previous incarnations.
Thursday
nights nowadays aren't bookended by egomaniacal billionaires seeking
to completely obliterate the other anymore. And despite losing
wrestlers like The Hardys, Drew McIntyre and others, IMPACT is
putting its addition by subtraction on display. I'm a worker who was
a fan first and is a fan still. And like most fans, I don't know
where IMPACT Wrestling is going but I'm gonna strap in and enjoy the
ride.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Trained by former WWE head trainer Bill DeMott,
“Southside Seduction” Velvet Jones is the reigning four-time
Heavyweight champion of the Georgia Independent Wrestling Alliance -
one of the top drawing pro wrestling organizations in the state of
Georgia. A noted blogger and vlogger, Velvet works remotely from
Georgia for Masters of Ring Entertainment – a special-events
professional wrestling organization based in Wilmington, NC. To
learn more about his career and current pursuits, visit his website
at PLANETVELVET,NET
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