Roundtable: Impact Wrestling: Rebellion

Since we last did an Impact-themed roundtable in October, how do you feel the product has been?

John Corrigan: Fun. I no longer watch live because of the move to Friday nights, and I no longer watch whole episodes because my DVR seems to record only the first half hour of Impact. But I keep up every week on YouTube and have enjoyed the constant rotation of fresh talent, Scarlett Bordeaux’s intergender matches, Gail Kim’s feud with Tessa Blanchard, Rob Van Dam’s return, Killer Kross and of course, the greatest heel turn of the year.

Juan Bautista: The product has been solid and consistent. There are still issues such as the TV deal and the start time on Friday. Maybe they should move back to Thursdays. If possible, I would like to see them do what ROH does at the moment and release episodes on the FITE app.

Steven Jackson: Impact Wrestling has been fantastic. If any of you got the chance to listen to my podcast with the Taxman of the Six Sided Podcast, you’ll know just how high I’ve been on the promotion. Impact Wrestling constantly delivers week in and week out. Then add the PPVs into the mix, and you get an amazing combination that is only topped by NXT Takeover shows.

Jack Goodwillie: The creative has been good. Gail Kim not surprisingly mentioned in a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet that she feels Impact’s booking has been better than WWE’s, but that is not saying much. Still, until we see what AEW has in store, you pretty much have MLW, Impact and New Japan making the most sense with how they use their talent and play to the strengths of each individual. You can see they’re really shooting for the moon with players like Tessa Blanchard and Brian Cage, and that’s admirable to me.

Was it time for Allie to leave Impact?

Corrigan: Absolutely, although it’s a huge loss to the company. Allie has been a major player in the women’s division, able to flow from babyface to heel and actually hanging in the ring. Best of luck to her in AEW.

Bautista: Besides getting murdered, yes. We’ve seen her grow from this dorky assistant of Maria and Sienna to winning the belt from Laurel Van Ness. Since that point, she developed a friendship with the two darkest women in the locker room. Allie’s character has done as much as she could without being too repetitive or hitting the reset button.

Jackson: Allie had a lot more to offer Impact, so I was surprised when her release was announced. But Allie is still young and there is nothing to say she won’t return to Impact in the future.

Goodwillie: It’s a tough spot being so synonymous with a single brand but also having nothing left to do within that landscape. I’ll go out on a limb (or not?) and say that Rosemary and Allie are better together, but at this stage it’s a good career move for her. It’s also not to say she won’t be back one day, as anything is possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFy6l3nSBBE

Which match at Rebellion are you most looking forward to?

Corrigan: Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage. As I wrote about earlier this week, it’s very interesting to see whether Cage finally wins the big one. And now you have special guest referee Lance Storm to factor in.

Bautista: The Lucha Bros vs. LAX. It’s always a great match to watch and enjoy.

Jackson: What else…the Lucha Bros. vs L.A.X.!

Goodwillie: Well first off, it should be mentioned that Rebellion was originally the name of one of those WWE U.K. Pay-Per-Views (no, not NXT UK, you WANKER), but I guess the trademark must have expired long ago. Anyway, the Tessa Blanchard-Gail Kim issue has been fascinating to me. Tessa is in a weird spot right now, as she’s been getting more promo time between Impact and WOW, and I don’t know if she’s a good promo or her nasally and annoying, yet impassioned promos are just an extension of her real-life self. And I don’t love it when wrestlers choose to be this bold TV character and then portray themselves as who they are on Instagram. But there is some real hot heat with Gail Kim right now and I’m curious to see how this one plays out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXMUiGCZjAg

Who wins: Lucha Bros or LAX?

Corrigan: LAX. They had the hottest rivalry of 2018 with the OGz and now they’re on track to have the hottest rivalry of 2019 with the Lucha Bros. One thing remains – LAX wins the war.

Bautista: You can’t go wrong with either, but probably LAX considering Lucha Bros are going to be doing more work for All Elite Wrestling.

Jackson: Given that the Lucha Bros are booked to face the Young Bucks for AEW, I have a feeling that it will be L.A.X. But I’d really like to see the Lucha Bros. have a really long reign as Tag Team Champions so I want it to be the Lucha Bros. Either way, going by what we have seen from the previous outings, these teams have had this should be another classic!

Goodwillie: LAX. I don’t think the Lucha Bros are getting jobbed out or anything because they’ll be working for AEW, but LAX are like the Usos of Impact. When in doubt, pick them because they’re probably going over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uibjM7RV3yY

What do you think of Johnny Impact’s heel turn?

Corrigan: I love it. Ever since Killer Kross first offered his services before Homecoming, I knew Johnny was turning to the dark side. But I didn’t see Taya and senior official Johnny Bravo joining him. The company tends to prefer heel world champions, and so far Johnny has thrived.

Bautista: It needed to happen, especially since Homecoming. It didn’t feel right with him as a babyface.

Jackson: The only element of Impact I’m really not into at the moment is the heavyweight title scene. I’m really disinterested in Johnny Impact as a whole and his heel turn felt very forced to me. But maybe I’m in the minority.

Goodwillie: He’s always been more of a real-life heel. I’ll never forget when he turned babyface for the first time as John Morrison and it was so cringy to me. Let’s face it, some of us are just better bad guys and Johnny fits the bill. I would say Brian Cage is also more of a real-life heel and can probably do well with a turn, but we’ll get there soon enough.