Whatever their reasoning, fans have long stopped paying attention to IMPACT Wrestling. Be it their employment of people like Tessa Blanchard or Michael Elgin or the years of turmoil that followed the company throughout the 2010s, the company turned many fans away. Under the ownership of Anthem Sports & Entertainment and the leadership Don Callis and Scott D’Amore, IMPACT Wrestling has slowly been putting the pieces together to make a real claim for relevance once again. The recent departure of controversial names like the aforementioned Blanchard, Elgin and Joey Ryan coupled with heavy rumors of new debutants arriving have people buzzing about IMPACT in a way we haven’t seen in some time. Slammiversary 2020 is being advertised as a huge night for IMPACT with them advertising that “our world will change” and now it’s time they deliver on this hype.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkzkpbOeQPo
For some time now, IMPACT has been putting out high-quality TV with the Knockouts division looking stronger than ever, the star-making push of Deonna Purrazzo, the record-breaking tag run of The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander), and even the X-Division having some fresh faces. The problem here is fans have heard all of this before, about how IMPACT/TNA is getting better for real this time, yet in the past, they’ve always found a way to mess it up and fans go right back to ignoring the company. That can’t happen this time!
With Ring Of Honor and NWA both inactive and NJPW Of America fizzling out faster than the second Monday Night Wars, now is the time for IMPACT to make a real claim to being a power player in the US wrestling scene. Thanks to their hard work and quality product, the eyes of the world will be on IMPACT Wrestling for Slammiversary 2020. And if they don’t deliver a show befitting the hype they have cultivated, then they risk losing all the attention they’ve worked so hard to gain. With IMPACT promising a world champion will return, they have to provide an exciting name and not just Bully Ray.
This isn’t to say that IMPACT delivering a poor show will be a nail in the coffin for the company. They’ll continue to exist and put out a good product regardless. The importance here is in IMPACT proving that it’s learned from it’s past and is ready to be considered a major player again in the US and that it can hang with the best of them.
