10 Things We Learned From IMPACT Wrestling Live
IMPACT just kicked off a first UK tour since 2016 in Glasgow. Or was it TNA?!
You can't beat live wrestling.
There was a palpable magic in the air on Thursday night in Glasgow, Scotland. IMPACT Wrestling was in town, and the company (fresh off announcing a January rebrand back to the TNA name) was kicking off a first UK tour since 2016. People were excited on both sides of the barriers.
This was a big deal for IMPACT figurehead Scott D'Amore, and everyone knew it. Taking business out on the road domestically in North America is one thing, but could IMPACT succeed internationally and draw enough fans to make the experience worthwhile? Time for some good news: The UK tour kicked off with a bang.
Not everything was perfect though, and there's clearly a ton of work to do if TNA fancies reclaiming some lost lustre on these shores. WWE still views the UK as their own, whilst AEW made huge waves by drawing a staggering crowd to Wembley Stadium over the summer.
Was IMPACT's show on that scale? No, but it didn't need to be. This is a promotion that refused to quit when things looked bleak, and now it wants to start growing again.
Here's everything learned from the tour kickoff in Glasgow.
10. It Should’ve Been TNA Branded
Firstly, this must be said.
Yes, IMPACT plans to rebrand back to the TNA letters in January, but it was a puzzling choice to schedule this first UK tour since 2016 right as the IMPACT Wrestling name is set to vanish. If anything, Scotland and England helped TNA grow before, so announcing that the tour would be TNA-branded could've been special.
People want to celebrate TNA's rebirth, but the IMPACT stuff was still front and centre in Glasgow. That'll be the same across the remaining dates in Newcastle and Coventry (which might've happened by the time you read this). It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity all around, being honest.
UK soil was once a hot territory for TNA, and there's a lot of goodwill surrounding the comeback. A quick changeover, or at least some TNA-related chatter and banners scattered around the venue, wouldn't have hurt. That really should've happened, because the cat's out the bag about this switchover anyway.