11 Ups & 10 Downs For Impact Wrestling In 2020
9. The Return Of Impact Plus Specials
As of the half-year version of this article, Impact's special events on both Impact Plus and Twitch were usually passable. The majority of the bouts on those shows didn't have anything to do with the week-to-week storylines, and were instead typically flooded with wrestlers and stories from promotions associated with Impact. There's nothing wrong with that overall, as it gives these indie talents a major platform to get more eyes on them, but it did detract ever so slightly from the main Impact product.
That's why each Impact Plus special since they've been reintroduced - October's Victory Road, November's Turning Point, and December's Final Resolution - have been excellent.
Sure, there have been one or two cases where a match has happened solely to get a certain individual on the card (case in point, Eddie Edwards vs. Daivari at Turning Point), but other than that, everything has already been set up on the weekly Impact shows. Sometimes, a major moment in a story has taken place on these specials as opposed to a weekly episode, or even a pay-per-view. The debut of Joe Doering as Eric Young's henchman, The Good Brothers' inevitable World Tag Team Championships victory, and Cody Deaner's heel turn all took place on Impact Plus.
All of those moments, although not mind-blowing moments that deserve their own section on such a column, set up further stories that have taken us to where we are. Doering and Deaner, now both aligned with Eric Young, will undoubtedly become huge names in Impact through association with 'The World Class Maniac'. Should Heath join them, which we can take as a tease in hindsight when he was locked in a room with Young and Doering, he too will become a noteworthy name in the company.
Genesis is the next special currently scheduled for the promotion on 9 January. As you can expect by now, it has stories that have played out on the weekly events, as Moose vs. Willie Mack proves. The Super X Cup, despite not featuring much storyline development, doesn't require it. It's a tournament - it can do without one. However, four of the eight entrants - Ace Austin, Crazzy Steve, Blake Christian, and KC Navarro - will do battle four days before the tournament begins.
There's no story needed there, and Impact are still providing one in a way. It took a while to get here, but it's never about the journey, always the destination.