Impact Wrestling Continues To Deliver On Its Biggest Angles

Impact Wrestling has been on a mission to completely change the perception of its product in 2018, and while the ratings have ebbed and flowed, they have largely succeeded in this pursuit. At the heart of this success is their ability to consistently deliver on their biggest angles.

I can remember panning Impact Wrestling for embarking on a storyline where Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan feuded over Edwards’s real-life eye injury, which was caused by an errant strike to the head from Callihan’s bat. Since then, Impact has won me over with this storyline, which was initially a little too creepy, but has gradually blossomed into one of wrestling’s most compelling feuds.

With Rosemary injured and Allie no longer in the Knockouts Championship picture, Edwards vs. Callihan has become Impact’s biggest long-term story. The animosity between them is intense, and Impact has taken a bit of a gamble by having Edwards literally repeat over and over again that he wants to kill Callihan.

Despite the fact that Edwards already had the feud won, he’s been so consumed with the idea of vanquishing Callihan for all of eternity that his entire life has fallen apart. He looks in the mirror and sees Callihan staring back at him, not realizing that this means he’s become Callihan. Edwards has lost his wife, he’s lost his friends, and he’s lost himself.

The video packages, the performances by all the talent involved (including Alisha Edwards and Tommy Dreamer), and the dedication Impact Wrestling has shown to making this storyline a priority have made Edwards vs. Callihan feel special. And again, this is coming from someone who initially wondered whether or not this feud was a good idea.

More from Daily DDT

• It’s time for Adam Cole and MJF to drop the ROH tag team titles
• Tom Lawlor talks MLW return, AEW opportunity, CM Punk’s WWE return and more
• Eddie Kingston stands to gain the most from the AEW Continental Classic
• Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
• Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline

Recently, Impact has started a dramatic storyline in their tag team division, which is among the most underrated divisions in wrestling right now. LAX reclaimed the Impact World Tag Team Championships under the leadership of Eddie Kingston. But Konnan returned after being blindsided and kidnapped at Redemption, prior to LAX’s title loss to Eli Drake and Scott Steiner.

The fact that Konnan remains an interesting character on television is a testament to his understanding of the business. His staredown with Kingston was tremendous, and you could just sense that there’s an implosion in LAX coming in the near future. Not many promotions use this kind of drama in their tag divisions, and every LAX backstage segment feels either fun or hair-rising. Now that Konnan is back, Impact has simply upped the ante.

Killer Kross was revealed as the villainous presence attacking Impact Wrestling talent backstage with reckless abandon. Now that he is out of the shadows, we’re headed for a winding story, and I can’t wait to see which babyface ultimately steps up to stop Kross. There’s no shortage of candidates for this either.

Of course, no piece about Impact’s storylines would be complete without a discussion of the Knockouts Division. Rosemary is on the shelf due to a torn ACL, but you get the feeling that there’s something big planned for her and Allie. The storyline involving those two and current Knockouts Champion Su Yung has been nothing short of extraordinary, even if it is on hold for now with Yung set to tear down the house with Madison Rayne at Slammiversary.

Allie has been channeling Rosemary, using the darkness within her to become an even more sophisticated wrestling character. I can’t sing the praises of the women who have been contributing to this story enough.

Tessa Blanchard’s arrogance and drive for success will play a huge role in the Knockouts Division going forward. Meanwhile, I expect Kiera Hogan’s resiliency to eventually lead her to the Knockouts Championship, should she choose to remain with Impact.

Next: Seth Rollins Has Earned A Universal Title Run

Although Impact is coming off of a week where they posted low television ratings, the fact that they have a handful of strong angles is huge. This allows them to rotate talent each week and focus on the quality of those segments when they tape them. Intriguing angles lead to bigger crowd reactions in the arena and on social media, which only make the product look better and motivate the talent to keep experimenting.