Impact Wrestling: Sports Entertainment Done Right…

Impact Wrestling is having a stellar year. As Sports Entertainment goes, this week’s television offering presented a damn near-perfect two hours of in-ring action, storyline developments, debuting talent and paved the Road to Slammiversary.

When Vince McMahon coined the term, ‘Sports Entertainment’, it was in an effort to distance his company away from the blood and sawdust reputation of traditional pro wrasslin’. A way to appeal to mainstream media in the era of Hulk’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection.

For myself, I use the term to more accurately describe what Impact Wrestling has become: a spectacle of action, visual storytelling, crazed characters and engrossing angles. The wrestling remains important, but this company is selling a complete, entertainment package. Let me use last week’s show as a starting point…

So, why should you be watching Impact Wrestling?

Rich Swann vs Fenix was last week’s opening contest. The former WWE 205 competitor, debuted just last week. Unfamiliar with his work, watching Swann dance to the ring brought back horrendous flashbacks of the Disco Inferno’s and Fandango’s of the biz. I don’t like the dancing wrestler gimmick. Swann’s in-ring work quickly won me over. Damn, can this man go! And Fenix, the seasoned luchador, matched him step for step.

Chain wrestling gave way to multiple nip ups from Swann. Fenix used the ring ropes as his own personal tightrope and springboard. Beautiful dives to the outside, 450 splashes and the trading of believable near falls gave this match flourishes that made this match main event worthy. It really was that good. This bought to mind the Jerry Lynn vs Rob Van Dam ECW classics of 1999/2000. The crowd loved this match. And so did I. I urge you to check it out to see who took the fall.

The post match angle was equally as impressive. OVE attacked Fenix, the real life brother of Pentagon Jr, sending a message on behalf of their boss, to Sami Callihan’s Slammiversary opponent. Pentagon ran in to make the save…only to low blow his brother. Taking off his mask, Pentagon revealed himself as Sami!! I’ve got to admit, that got me!!

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The Killer Kross Debut was a great example of Impact Wrestling’s commitment to presenting new and boundary-pushing characters. Kross was revealed as the perpetrator of multiple, mystery backstage attacks. Kross is presented as a dead eyed, clinical psychopath – his Revelations-quoting theme, the red filter in his backstage vignettes, the creepy tattoos all support this.

In the ring, Kross invited punishment from the 400lb, Fallah Bahh. No sold all offence. An impressive Saito suplex and a choke out made this a short, sharp and violent introduction to the satanic Boss Man. It’s early days, but Killer Kross has a tremendous upside. I’m getting Ministry of Darkness/Undertaker vibes from this guy…

Sami Callihan is the perfect prickish heel. His follow-up promo to his mask ‘reveal’ was hilarious. Wearing Pentagon’s mask on the shaky, OVE-cam, Sami feigns vomiting because of the stink emanating from the hood. It’s mask versus hair at Slammiversary. Sami has done his job well. I’m paying my pay per view dollars to see the Ohio native scalped.

Austin Aries vs Moose is the main event of Slammiversary. Aries and Moose are, seemingly, being kept apart until the big show. Last week we saw a video package on Moose’s journey to his World Title match – this achieved its goal of making this match a personal milestone for Moose. The former NFL player talked about how he fell in love with wrestling at an early age and how football was just a job. Winning the title would validate his career change.

Last week, Aries told his story. How he slept in cars, earnt his reputation through sacrifice and graft. How he wasn’t gifted opportunities like Moose was as a football star. Aries suggests that Moose try the XFL when he fails to make the cut at he PPV!! Burn!! These are simple ways of telling an engrossing story.

This isn’t about crazy angles and explosive pull aparts, this is about two men taking very different roads to the same destination. This is about pride, competion and the quest to be the best. Pro wrestling in its purest form, these ‘journey’ productions have me engaged in a feud I previously didn’t care for.

Tommy Dreamer may be 10 years past his prime, but he continues to remain relevant. Dripping in blood after last week’s Singapore Cane attack from Eddie Edwards, the hardcore icon bled passion in every single moment of his promo. That fire, that rage, that fury, will make Eddie vs Dreamer at Slammiversary a brutally personal contest. Eddie believes there’s something going on between Tommy and his wife. Line of the night goes to Dreamer: “You think I’m f**king your wife? She’s 25 years old, have you seen what I look like?”.

Kongo Kong vs Brian Cage. Monster vs Machine. This is the type of match up that Vince McMahon would have main eventing ‘mania if these guys worked out of Stamford. This was a joy to behold. The 265lb muscle man moves like a cruiserweight. And who knew the near 400lb Kong could do a hurricanrana?

Testing the ring to its limits, Kong and Cage pulled off somersault planchas, an overhead, belly to belly suplex, a German suplex and the best looking Superplex I’ve seen in some time. I want to see a lot more of both competitors going forward. This match elevated both in the eyes of this fan. Again, I urge you to watch the Impact Wrestling replay – this was a tonne of fun.

LAX ended a great week of television with the next chapter in their Scarface-like saga reaching boiling point. Heir apparent to the criminal empire, Eddie Kingston, revealed himself as the man who put a hit out on (current boss) Konnan. Siding with K-Dawg, and as a sign of solidarity, Ortiz and Santana had a one finger salute for The King. This bought out OG LAX members, Homicide and Hernandez…who promptly layed boots to Ortiz, Santana and Konnan. Now, that was a surprise. It’s King vs Konnan. LAX vs LAX. A turf war is about to begin.

Next: Rousey Should Be Next Raw Women's Champion

A tremendous week for Impact Wrestling. This episode had more going on in (a very fast) two hours than a months worth of Raw. The show felt fresh, vibrant and fun. It presented a faux sport in the most entertaining of ways.

The times, they are changing. And if you’re not watching Impact, you may get left behind.