The Rated R Superstars of Impact Wrestling

The landscape of Impact Wrestling has changed significantly in 2018. Leaving behind the ghosts of TNA and GFW, the new management team of Ed Nordholm, Don Callis and Scott D’Damore have worked hard to shift opinions on the oft-beleaguered promotion.The first 6 months of the 1-8, have been a game changer for the occupants of The Impact Zone. So what’s different and why should you be watching?

On a daily basis, it’s challenging to navigate the wrestling twitterverse without someone bemoaning the long lost happenings of WWE’s Attitude Era. A time when blood flowed freely, envelope-pushing storylines were the norm and the best-selling merch was adorned with curse words and middle fingers. The Impact Wrestling  of today is not the Attitude Era. But it may have taken a few pointers from the most successful BOOM period in the the history of Sports Entertainment.

Impact has matured. After year’s of creative uncertainty, accusations of being a WWE-lite knockoff, a retirement home for the future endeavoured, creative direction has pointed it’s finger at the 18-30 demographic. Impact is the Quentin Tarantino movie to Vince McMahon’s Disney Empire. And I cannot applaud them enough for this gutsy move. Let’s delve in…

Take the saga of, The Demon Assassin, Rosemary, versus, The Undead Bride, Su Yung. Two of the finest character actor’s in the big, wide world of wrestling have been thrust together in a living, breathing, human horror movie. Rosemary, channelling The Hive, is either a paranoid schizophrenic or an Exorcist-like victim of ghostly possession. Su Yung is a zombie-fied, modern day Ms Havisham (and if that reference passes you by, brush up on your Charles Dickens!). Creative have crafted a horrific, visual narrative wherein the monsters that occupy Elm Street and Camp Crystal Lake are fighting for supremacy. It’s wrestling’s version of Freddy vs Jason.

Cut short by an unfortunate injury to Rosemary, the several week’s of this narrative that we did get, while light on in-ring action, featured kidnap, the introduction of The Undead Bridesmaids, attempts to bury Rosemary alive, a fire-breathing Yung and The Hive Queen’s apparent demise in a burning coffin.

In channelling a horror motif, Impact Wrestling are distancing themselves from the safe and secure tropes of white-meat babyface versus villainous heel. The monsters are very real. They spew blood. They want to eradicate each other from this earthly plain. A three count will never be enough.

I can’t wait for Rosemary to rise from the dead.

Credit: Impact Wrestling on Twitter

Away from demons and zombies, Impact are telling a layered and slow building arc concerning the power struggles of, Mexican street gang, The Latin American Exchange.

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Head honcho and manager, Konnan, was mysteriously taken out on the eve of the the team’s unsuccessful tag title defence at the Redemption pay per view. Reeling from this backstage attack and the loss of the titles, Santana and Ortiz went into a tailspin of losses and miscommunication. There was no criminal empire to run in the absence of K-Dawg. No drugs. No tequila. No women. No paper. Yep, you don’t see the machinations of crime lords over in The Universe.

Enter The King, Eddie Kingston. A sub commander of the LAX operation. King runs New York and is here to “help” while Konnan recuperates. Aided by a new voice, all that the team have lost, magically, returns once more. Back to running the ropes, the street’s and the business, all cash flow issues appear solved. When Eddie takes Konnan’s seat in the LAX clubhouse he quotes, Al Pacino, in Scarface: “The World is mine…”

Konnan returned a week later. He doesn’t trust King’s version of events. LAX is divided. Gang warfare is about to erupt. This one’s going to get violent, fast…

And talking of violence…

Impact’s real statement of intent has been the blood feud between, Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan. It is within the confines of this blistering rivalry that Impact have changed the course of both men’s careers and pushed the boundaries of what a wrestling storyline can be.

Photo Source: @ImpactWrestling

After, the very real, baseball bat shot to Eddie Edwards eye (from Callihan), the former tag team specialist and vanilla (read:safe) babyface world champion, snapped. Week in and week out, Eddie Edwards has sworn to “kill” the OVE cult leader. And I don’t mean that in an overblown, “wrasslin” promo, kind of way. Eddie Edwards has, very explicitly, sworn to murder Sami.

In intense, curse-laden promos, Edwards has dropped F-bombs aplenty, alienated his wife and friends and sworn his life goal is to commit wrestling-related, homicide. Usually, I wouldn’t be a fan of such outlandish (and real) crime being featured on a pro wrestling show, but it shows a commitment to character, story and narrative change, that we are witnessing the psychological break of a good man.

The newly deranged Eddie has symbolically crucified Sami at Redemption: tied up in the ropes, Sami was repeatedly caned and left hanging until Eddie was pulled away by Tommy Dreamer and Alisha. Eddie has (accidentally) caned his wife in the face. Eddie has used Callihan’s blood as war paint. Eddie has sliced Sami open with any and all instruments at his disposal. The bloodletting, all but absent from WWE television, adds a visceral and dramatic edge to this story – the company have used this to great effect and this narrative will be challenging to top in year end, best feud polls.

Eddie, the ultimate good guy, has become the very thing he seeks to destroy. And now he’s turned his attention to the, Hardcore Icon, Tommy Dreamer.

I think Eddie’s violent rampage is just getting started…

Impact Wrestling is poised for the future. They are not chasing the same audience as WWE. They want to appeal to a baying customer who craves blood, violence, monsters and alternatives to the colour soaked, toy-licensing machine that is the Land of McMahon. A more mature and gritty product, that beyond the great in-ring action, offers a chance for wrestling to be violently delightful once again!

Next: Is Roman Reigns Defeating Brock Lesnar At SummerSlam The Best Option?

Impact give me blood, guts and curses aplenty. In return, I give them my eyeballs.

You should too.