Destination Success: Impact Wrestling and the Power of Margins

Note, I usually don't like to do pieces analyzing the business side anymore. I find that microanalyzing buyrates or ratings can get really pedantic. However, I feel like with this one, there's a great point to be made.

Brian Kendrick, foundation of a better Impact
Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

Anyway, the buyrate numbers for Destination X are in, or as in as they can be for a company that is under no obligation to release its numbers publicly. Apparently, the buys were somewhat dismal, albeit comparatively speaking to their recent forays into PPV, they were par for the course. Conservative estimates place the number of buys at 8,000, about 500 fewer than their previous PPV, Slammiversary. That might sound like a failure, but as K. Sawyer Paul pointed out, it really wasn't in the grand scheme of things.

While the number didn't spike like some of us here might have hoped, I still think that DX was very much a success for the company, or at least a success for the maligned-by-management X-Division. We can very much agree that the difference between 8,500 and 8,000 is almost negligible in the grand scheme of things, right? So basically, DX and Slammiversary did almost the same number of buys. Assuming that the pre-wage overhead for both PPVs was the same, the rest of the costs are going to be determined by the monies paid out to the talent. The biggest name on the show in terms of a wage was Samoa Joe, Abyss or AJ Styles. Most of the wrestlers fall under the pay grade of "might have to apply for food stamps if miss more than one date", which means they're cheap. Meanwhile, Slammiversary had wages drawn by some of the heavy hitters in terms of salary. Ken Anderson, Kurt Angle, Sting, Scott Steiner, Bully Ray and one of the only Knockouts reputed to be making a decent wage in Mickie James were all on the card. Replacing them with guys like the Young Bucks, Austin Aries, Zema Ion, Mark Haskins, Shark Boy and Alex Shelley had to have brought costs down significantly, right?

So while the people who apparently don't like the X-Division in the front office might use this 5.9% as ammunition against putting more of a spotlight on these guys, what they don't realize is that it's very much a condemnation of the actual power the former TNA has in the marketplace, especially that of the supposed "stars" they have in the fold. If Angle and Sting and Anderson are only worth 500 more buys than Aries and Ion and Haskins, then is it fair to say that maybe their drawing power worth the exponential increase in salary, especially given that the former group has expenses taken care of as well while the latter group must self-fund to get from show to show? Looking at the margins, it has to make some kind of sense to people that maybe going cheaper and going younger might just be the road to take.

KSP closes his post with "The X Division guys aren't the ones who should be worrying about their jobs." In a fair world, that would be the case, but Impact Wrestling throughout its history has shown that don't make the best business decisions all the time. However, they really need to take a good, hard look at the way things are run. Maybe that whole "the Network is mandating the push for the X-Division" trope that ran on Impact last week is more shoot than not. Maybe the faith in Brian Kendrick, Shelley and Aries is real and a sign of things to come. But you'd have to forgive me if my faith in a bunch of stubborn men with their minds entrenched firmly in 1998 isn't as strong as it is in other promotions' booking (and I'm not even talking WWE here). If the rumors of spite and thickheadedness are true, then Impact is once again about to react to "bad" numbers in order to submarine change.

The thing is, for me, the best parts of Impact are when the X-Division is featured by itself. Not the bullshit Bischoff-is-trying-to-kill angle, but the one that's featuring Shelley and Kendrick dealing with a marauding Aries. To me, even when they're not wrestling, it's an intriguing angle. The quality's better, mainly because it's an issue among three guys based on a story that involves issues that are wholly in character. No one is shooting. No one is doing it for the respect of "the boys in the back" or for "stroke". All three, especially Aries who's awesome and Kendrick, whose character actually fits him, (key word, CHARACTER) are intriguing to me. The best part is that the blowoff is going to happen in the ring in what should be a match that at least tries to be innovative and entertaining.

I know some of that is subjective. I know that not everyone is going to go for the X-Division, but at the same time, forging ahead with the innovative in-ring stuff while having simple angles out of the ring, but teasing that direction has worked in the past. The Joe/Daniels/Styles stuff wasn't exactly fully capitalized on either. Meanwhile, the warmed over faux-Attitude/Monday Night Wars rehashing has been proving to drive the fan interest into the ground. So, when presented with two numbers that are somewhat similar, shouldn't you want to explore the thing that hasn't been tread upon instead of the thing that has been producing declining numbers over the months?

But again, Impact hasn't been known for its business prowess, especially when the money mark of an owner's representative eternally has a certain Noo Yawker in her ear about what makes good wrestling. It's a shame too, because Impact has a chance to try and give something to the fans while taking in something in return.

And hell, if the business model grew, maybe they could afford to pay Jesse Neal and the rest of the crew enough money so that they would get a paycheck even when they missed dates because of injury, y'know?

Matt Jackson Drops a Blog on Why He and His Brother Left Impact

The Bucks in a happier setting

Via Matt Jackson's Tumblr

Matt Jackson expounded on why he and his brother Nick asked for their Impact releases. Here are some excerpts:

Simply put: If we weren’t wrestling, we weren’t making money…And a guys gotta eat.

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Earlier this year, we were moved from the tag division, to the X-Division. This was obviously something we weren’t excited about. We felt we were hired as a team and worked best as a team... Soon after, we were told we were being split up. Again, we reached out to the creative team, telling them that this may not be the best idea. Being the ‘company-guy’s that we were, and being reassured that we’d soon be back together and be given the time to “tell the right story,” we went along. Of course we were weary, but we were told to put trust into the company, which we tried to do.

After a couple of hot-shot-booked singles matches between my brother and I, both of us sat at home for awhile, not being booked, wondering why we split up in the first place?

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A few months later, our main supporter, and man who hired us, Terry Taylor left the company. Right before his departure, we discussed the possibility of a more ‘fair,’ renegotiated contract.

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July came. We were sitting at home again, watching, as non-contracted wrestlers filled the usual, single X-Division segment on the show. (That’s no shot at the guys who came in for this opportunity. They’re all friends of mine, and I was happy for them. Obviously, I’d of done the same).

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After a small reminder in New York City, of what we left behind, and news breaking about MORE X-Division wrestlers being hired and added to an already bloated roster, the writing was on the wall.

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So yeah, it's a combination of all the stuff we've heard or read about the problems plaguing guys who aren't in the main event in the company. I could say more, but at this point, well, I think Jackson said it best himself.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Impact's X-Division Storyline and Props

A happy ending for Impact... rare.
Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

Back when TNA got its rebrand into Impact and declared that "wrestling mattered", they started an angle about Eric Bischoff hating the X-Division and wanting to get rid of all the wrestlers. It involved him going over Generation Me with the help of Matt Hardy (funny, all three of those guys are gone from Impact, either permanently or "temporarily") and Abyss taking out Kazarian and winning the X-Division Championship, eliciting lulz around the Internet. With Impact's track record of emphasizing and then deemphasizing the division, I was not the only one who was pessimistic about their ability or desire to pay it off in a way that would be satisfying to the great number of fans who cared about the more exciting wrestlers in that subset.

A funny thing happened though, as at Destination X, an event dedicated to that troupe of wrestlers and their brand of exciting fare, they paid the angle off in a very satisfying manner. In the Brian Kendrick/Abyss title match, the former Spanky won when his compatriots came out and thwarted Bischoff and his minions from pulling a screwjob and keeping the belt on Abyss. Afterwards, they all celebrated the title coming back to their own kind, and we actually had a satisfying resolution to the whole storyline.

For a company that is known for start-stop angles with no resolutions, this is not trivial. In fact, it should be applauded. My guess is that one of two things happened to make sure that we had some kind of finality to this angle. One is that Vince Russo actually is changing and made the call for the simple ending. Two is that Russo had nothing to do with Destination X or that storyline, and it was someone else, be it Bischoff, Hulk Hogan or someone wholly different that we're not considering. My guess is the latter.

It's not often that Impact deserves credit for producing a mostly satisfying story, but hey, I guess a blind squirrel can find a nut every once in awhile. I'm not getting my hopes up as to this becoming the norm, because hey, if I did that, I'd just be setting myself up for disappointment. They need to prove they can produce good stories all the time before I can start getting into what they're doing without any skepticism as to whether it's going to turn out alright by me, the viewer.

But that doesn't mean that I can't call a spade a spade and give them credit when they earn it. They've certainly earned it here.

Destination X Matters

A Double Matters, Wrestling Matters

I asked Justin Henry on the latest episode of The Wrestling Podcast to sell someone who might not normally order an Impact PPV. He pretty much gave what I thought was the perfect pitch. Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Sting, Jeff Jarrett, Mr. Anderson and the rest of the regular rabble were not advertised for it. They're building it around the guys you want to see, the "10 percenters" so to speak. For the first time since rolling it out, their slogan of "wrestling matters" actually rings true, not some hollow, trite phrase they use to troll WWE's mantra of "we're an entertainment company".

Seriously, the card is loaded. About the only thing that looks unappealing to me is the existence of Abyss on the card, but at the same time, his feud with Brian Kendrick has been entertaining (even if it's been carried by the former Spanky). There's AJ Styles against Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe taking on Kazarian, a duo of matches that appeal to the old-school X-Division fans. There's a harkening back to one of the best in-ring feuds in ECW history with Rob Van Dam taking on Jerry Lynn. Douglas Williams has an open challenge. There'll be an Ultimate X match with Robbie E, Amazing Red, Alex Shelley and... ugh, Shannon Moore (okay, two unpalatable people on the card). Finally, in what's probably the most important match on the card, Austin Aries, Jack Evans, Shiima Xion (as Zema Ion) and Low Ki will be competing for a contract.

With that being said, this is the perfect opportunity for you to tell Impact that yes, this is what we want to see. It's this kind of wrestling that will make Impact a true alternative. The only way to send a message to Dixie Carter and company is to order this if you can. Obviously, if you can't afford it, then no, I'm not talking to you. If you're busy with other plans, then no, I'm not talking to you. However, if you've got the money and you want to watch this, then do it.

If you want to see the former TNA actually follow through, then buy this PPV. If more people buy this, then it sends an ultimatum to the people in charge. That ultimatum through your dollar is that you want to see more of this and less of the weaksauce bullshit they were giving you with the other PPVs. If you get the wrestling, you keep watching and buying. If not, you jump off-board. Simple as that. Because let's face it, Dixie and her cronies don't always listen to their fans. I mean, Hardcore Justice did good numbers last year, and it was business as usual within two months.

What you shouldn't do, though, is pirate this. More than any PPV, whether it's WWE, indie or Impact. A pirated view of this show is another voice that won't be heard. It also reinforces the stereotype that all the "10 percenters" don't care about spending money and will just steal everything. Plus, stealing is wrong, but that last argument never, ever stopped someone from pirating anything before.

Seriously, this is the perfect opportunity to send a message to Impact. Tell them that Destination X matters. Tell them that wrestling matters. It's a win-win. If they pay attention, then you get a better product to watch. If they don't, you can write Impact off forever.

Because believe me, if this PPV does good numbers and Dixie and Co. DON'T recognize that this is what people want to see? Then the company deserves to rot.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

The Wrestling Podcast, Episode 10: Justin Henry

Photo Credit:
Justin Henry's Twitter

Episode 10: Tyler Black Sabbath

Tenth episode! Justin Henry and I talk about, of course, CM Punk, as well as Destination X, Eddie Guerrero exploitation, Mark Henry, why Jerry Lawler might not be at fault for his cracks about Vickie Guerrero and a few other things. We also delve into his gig writing at WrestleCrap. Give it a listen.

Direct link for straight download

GraphJam Presents: What Does It Take to Get Fired from Impact?

There was a rumor going around Monday night that Jeff Hardy had been fired from Impact. That rumor turned out to be false, but I believed it at first because hey, if you can't get fired for making an impaired-ass out of yourself on Youtube while you were supposed to be in rehab after showing up high to a PPV main event match, what the fuck can you get fired for? Well, I asked that question to my crack team of researchers at GraphJam Institutes, USA, and got this handy-dandy bar graph in return:

The results are incontrovertible!

Austin Aries Back in Impact Wrestling

A Double - One last gasp in Impact

For those not in the know, Austin Aries used to wrestle in TNA as Austin Starr. Of course, those people not in the know are probably like me, folks who didn't pay much attention to either the indies or to TNA until recently. So suffice to say, I'm guessing a whole bunch of you out there knew that. Okay. Well, that's not the compelling news. What would be compelling? Well, if he went back, that would be pretty newsworthy.

Well, according to several reports, that just happened last night. There was a three-way match at the Impact tapings last night that pitted Aries against Kid Kash and Jimmy Rave, reportedly for a contract with the company. Aries won. Whether that was for a long-term deal or whether it's just through Destination X (since all three guys identify with the X-Division) is unknown at this point. However, I'm not really concerned with the news as much as I am with the implications here.

I always thought that Aries and the now-Impact Wrestling departed on bad terms. Then again, what bridge remains burnt in wrestling? Not many. It's no secret that Aries wants to make money in wrestling. He's at an age where he could either leave the business with his health intact and do something else with his life, cherishing his notoriety in the indies, continue on in the indies and degrade his body for no chance for more financial security or make one final play to get to the WWE or to make bigger money by breaking through in Impact. That's what this move says to me.

Now, whether it'll work or not is a different story. For as many times as the phrase "wrestling matters" is uttered in association with Impact, the actions in the ring don't show it. I mean, the top storyline is still about Sting feuding more with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan, wanting to keep his title because of "stroke" rather than being the best in the company. With Destination X confirmed as being a X-Division themed event with the six-sided ring coming back one night only and everything, maybe there's a chance things turn around. Maybe they see the positive reaction to the event and start pushing guys like Aries and his brethren more meaningfully. But the former-TNA's track record suggests otherwise. You can't expect a leopard to change its spots until it actually goes through with the process, or else you set yourself up for failure.

Even with the lip service paid though, there's still a chance for A Double. Right now, both challengers for the top two WWE Championships made it in TNA before going back up North. They've taken fliers on Low Ki, Chris Harris, Consequences Creed, Lance Hoyt, Alexis Laree, Gail Kim₁ and other TNA talents to varying degrees of success. If using the month between now and Destination X is the audition that gets Aries by the mythical WWE age ceiling, then it'd be worth it, right?

Even looking at it that way, it might be a long shot. I wouldn't go back to Impact, but then again, I'm not a wrestler. I'm not Aries specifically either. I can't be in his frame of mind because I've never been in his position even in my own field of work. So if this is the way he wants to go, then so be it, it'll be the way he goes. If I get a month of things to actually look forward to on Impact because of it, then yeah, I can dig it. I can't get enough of A Double.

So while I don't have the highest hopes for his long term future, the immediate month will be something to enjoy. Hopefully, this turns out for the best for Austin Aries, because hey, he's one of my favorites, and I always want to see guys I like do well. Just don't expect me to be brimming with optimism about whether that will happen.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

1 - I know most of those names flop, but at the same time, Aries is way, way, WAY more charismatic than all those names.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!