WEEKLY OVERVIEW – IMPACT WRESTLING (thru 11/24): Top stories of week, major show lineups, live event results, schedule of live events, noteworthy social media posts, more
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
•Top Stories of the Week
- Impact Wrestling officials are shopping around for a new television deal. It’s reported they have been in talks with WGN America, Tru TV, and SyFy. (Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 11/26/2018)
- A new X-Division champion will be crowned at Homecoming in an Ultimate X match. (SOURCE)
- Former Impact World Champion, Austin Aries who lives in Las Vegas, was backstage at the last Impact Wrestling tapings. (Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 11/26/2018)
- Next week on Impact, Willie Mack & Rich Swann will face the Lucha Bros. (SOURCE)
- The Rascalz (Trey, Dez, and Wentz) will be making their Impact debut next week. (SOURCE)
•Live Event Results
No new shows since the Las Vegas tapings.
•Upcoming Major Show Line-up: Homecoming in Nashville
Impact Homecoming
January 6, 2019
Nashville, Tenn. at the Fairgrounds
(1) Johnny Impact (c) vs. Brian Cage – Impact World Championship match
(2) Tessa Blanchard (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie – Impact Knockouts Championship match.
(3) TBA vs TBA vs TBA vs TBA – Ultimate X Match for the vacant X-Division Championship.
(More matches haven’t been announced, but are listed HERE.)
•Upcoming Events
- 11/30/2018 – Gold Rush, Newark Pavilion, Newark, Calif.
- 12/1/2018 – One Night Only: Back to Cali, Salinas Pal Youth Center, Salinas, Calif.
- 1/6/2019 – Homecoming, The Asylum, Nashville, Tenn.
- 1/7/2019 – Impact Live, The Asylum, Nashville, Tenn.
- 1/25/2019 – Battle of Brooklyn, St. Pats CYO Sports, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- 1/26/2019 – One Night Only: New Beginnings, Holy Family Academy, Hazleton, Pa.
- 2/15/2019 – Impact Live, Sam’s Town Casino, Las Vegas, Nev.
- 2/16/2019 – Impact Live, Sam’s Town Casino, Las Vegas, Nev.
- 2/17/2019 – Impact Live, Sam’s Town Casino, Las Vegas, Nev.
- 3/22/2019 – Impact Tapings, St. Clair College, Windsor, Ont.
- 3/23/2019 – Impact Tapings, St. Clair College, Windsor, Ont.
- 4/4/2019 – Culture Clash 2019, 9112 144th Place, Queens, N.Y
•Latest TV Highlights: (11/22 Impact Wrestling)
Impact Wrestling from Nov. 22, 2018, from Sam’s Town Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Aired on Pop TV at 10 p.m. EST.
Announcers: Josh Matthews and Don Callis.
-A video package aired, showing the highlights of last years Eli Drake Gravy Train Turkey Trot.
-Backstage, Fallah Bahh selected his first partner for the Turkey Trot, KM. Eli Drake then selected Katarina as his first partner.
-Fallah Bahh selected Kikutaro for the Turkey Trot.
-Back from commercial, Scarlett Bordeaux did a routine with the sexxy girls on stage.
-Returning backstage, Eli Drake selected Jake Crist for the Turkey Trot.
-Fallah Bahh selected Dezmond Xavier, then Eli Drake selected Rohit Raju for the Turkey Trot.
-A video packaged aired where members of the Impact roster shared their favorite Thanksgiving memories.
-Once again backstage, Fallah Bahh selected Alisha Edwards. Next, Eli Drake selected Glenn Gilbertti (Yes, Disco Inferno).
-Eli Drake and Fallah Bahh gave motivational speeches to their respective teams.
(1) Fallah Bahh & Kikutaro & Dezmond Xavier & Alisha Edwards & KM defeated Eli Drake & Glenn Gilbertti & Rohit Raju & Katarina & Jake Crist – Second Annual Eli Drake Gravy Train Turkey Trot match.
-After the match, Glenn Gilbertti was forced to wear the turkey suit. Impact went off the air as everyone laughed at Gilbertti.
For a more detailed report and analysis check out the full PWTorch.com TV Report HERE.
•LATEST PWTORCH LIVECAST COVERING IMPACT
PWTorch.com’s Mike McMahon and Andrew Soucek discuss Impact Wrestling! They take listener emails on Impact’s TV future and other topics. They discuss Brian Cage cashing in Option-C at Homecoming, Johnny Impact vs. Matt Sydal, and Cage vs. Sami Callihan.
-On Tune In Radio HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “PWTorch” or “Pro Wrestling Torch” on your podcast app of choice
•Impact in the Media
- -Trevor Lee spoke with Sports Illustrated and expressed his interest in joining WWE or New Japan Pro Wrestling. Lee also discussed his father’s role in OMEGA, Indy Wrestling, and growing up with Matt and Jeff Hardy. LINK
- -Moose was recently a guest on the WINCLY podcast, where he discussed his frustration with the new Impact timeslot. LINK
- -Pentagon Jr. recently spoke with Wrestling Inc. on a conference call and discussed his recent world title run. He said even though it was short, he is very happy with the reign. Pentagon Jr. also said his focus is now on winning the Impact Tag-Team championships with his brother, Fenix. LINK
- -Johnny Impact was the featured guest on this week’s edition of the Impact Wrestling Press Pass Podcast. He discussed what he thinks it means to have a great match, his thoughts on Brian Cage, and future plans at Impact Wrestling. LINK
•Social Media Scene
Ultimate X is back!
The death-defying high wire spectacle known as Ultimate X will return for the first time in over a year and a half to crown a new X-Division Champion on January 6th at Homecoming! #IMPACTonPop pic.twitter.com/T0zAzQ9yzo
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) November 23, 2018
NEXT WEEK – We're well on the way to Homecoming with a loaded episode of IMPACT!
A special look at @MrGMSI_BCage vs. @TheRealMorrison
Lucha Bros vs. @Willie_Mack and @GottaGetSwann @JordynneGrace vs. @katarinasinfamy @TheEliDrake vs. @THETOMMYDREAMER #IMPACTonPop pic.twitter.com/ILlwIEP2l5
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) November 23, 2018
The Knockouts Champion is currently taking over Australia! #IMPACTonPop pic.twitter.com/1YJ7deVltj
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) November 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/SantanaLAX/status/1066002493530927106
https://twitter.com/Tess_Blanchard/status/1064330177662963712/photo/1
We are about to light it up and bring some fire to @impactwrestling, every Thursday at 10pm.
.
Tune in and join the circle, but don't forget the high-sign. pic.twitter.com/mqK7cPBIp8— Dezmond Xavier (@DezmondXavier) November 23, 2018
•Closing Commentary
Impact Wrestling’s next pay-per-view event, Homecoming, will be airing live on January 6, 2019, from the Asylum. There are three matches announced so far. Johnny Impact versus Brian Cage for the Impact World Championship, Tessa Blanchard will face Taya Valkyrie for the Impact Knockouts Championship, and the Ultimate X match is returning to crown a new X-Division champion.
Ultimate X is returning for the first time in over a year and the first time since Scott D’Amore/Don Callis took over Impact. So far no competitors have been announced, but in the coming weeks on Impact, we can expect some announcements to be made. I think Homecoming is the perfect place to bring back Ultimate X. There were eight Ultimate X matches from 2014-2016 and during that time the match was losing its luster. But now with a fresh roster, I can’t wait to see what Impact Wrestling has in store for us.
Tessa Blanchard is the future of women’s wrestling and has drastically improved since she debuted at Redemption in April. She will face Taya Valkyrie at Homecoming in a Bound for Glory rematch. Hopefully, they will have more than 10 minutes for their match at Homecoming. I thought they had a good match at Bound for Glory, but it could’ve been great if they had a little more time.
Finally, the main event, Johnny Impact will defend his Impact World Championship against Brian Cage. On paper, this match has great potential, but neither Impact or Cage are known for their mic work. I guess this will be a babyface versus babyface match-up. I’m not opposed to this concept, but with these two wrestlers, I’m not sure how it will play out. In the coming weeks, it will be interesting to see how they build to this match.
Three matches have been announced and all three are intriguing and have future ramifications. Sometimes when I watch other companies (WWE) I feel matches have no consequences, but this card (so far) has major ramifications on the future of Impact. Hopefully, Homecoming will only have five to six matches instead of eight like Bound for Glory. This will give each match the proper time they all deserve to ensure quality matches. Homecoming needs to be successful and should set the bar for what Impact Wrestling should be in 2019.
NOW CHECK OUT OTHER WEEKLY OVERVIEWS HERE.
OR JUMP TO LAST WEEK’S IMPACT OVERVIEW: WEEKLY OVERVIEW – IMPACT WRESTLING (thru 11/16): Viewership drops, Pop TV future, Trevor Lee departing, TV tapings, schedule, big event updates, social media, interview highlights, commentary on Impact regaining lost fan interest
Landon Pipkin has been a pro wrestling MMA fan for over a decade. e is from Raleigh, North Carolina. Find him on Twitter @pipkinbrand. Email: [email protected]