Go back in time TNA Wrestling had a working agreement with the biggest promotion in Japan and would be the gateway for talent in Japan to get in the states. New Japan had the connection in Mexico with CMLL and were looking for a stateside connection they found it with TNA. Think about this though Kazuchika Okada ended up in Impact on his excursion and was made a jobber/green lantern rip off which angered New Japan and would lead to that door closing. Impact's misuse of the future "Ace" of New Japan was one of many steps that plague the company back a decade ago. 

After a few years, Impact came to a new agreement with Wrestle-One in Japan which was ran by Keiji Mutoh aka The Great Muta. The promotion and working agreement weren't built to last partially due to Impact finally hitting the wall and having to focus on things at home. From there the company has really set the last few year aside focusing on rebuilding the brand and setting a foundation for the company. Recently, with Don Callis assumingly opening the door to work with All Elite Wrestling you have to wonder if the door finally reopened with New Japan. 

The main reason I ask this question is that promo package played following No Surrender promoting the arrival of former IWGP Tag Team Champions Dave Finlay Jr. and Juice Robinson. Take a look below at the video as this is and interesting turn of events: 

One thing that WWE never let happen in while these veterans were a part of the promotion was a feud between the former tag team champions. Both Matt Cardona and Brian Myers joined Impact Wrestling soon after Bound For Glory last year and were among the names that WWE released from the company in April. Brian and Matt have worked together for the better part of twenty years at this point both men getting their starts in New York Wrestling Connection back in 2004. Both men were trained by Mikey Whipwreck and came up in the big company in Connecticut together starting in developmental and making the main roster as a tag team. 

Point is these men have a long history together and have always had chemistry with one another. Based on the ending of the tag match at No Surrender it's clear that something could be building between the former teammates. Myers has secured protection from Super Mex the Impact veteran again recently and it seems like Impact has plans for Myers, but Cardona has been moving around since his departure from WWE and it's unclear if he will remain in Impact long term or if a feud with his friend could be on a short list of things for him to do in Impact. 

In my opinion, Myers and Cardona will not have center stage for their much deserved rivalry and it will be heated as they have a ton of history to draw on. The fact is though this will not lead to them getting a World Title shot as they are still to new to Impact to have this build to that type of result. I don't mean that Myers and Cardona can't or wont be in the Main Event, but they need to get this feud done first of all. Giving underrated talent the chance in the spotlight is what Impact has become known for since the arrival of Don Callis and Scott D'Amore in Impact. Cardona and Myers were two stars that never were given a shot in WWE and were sent packing much to the surprise of fans. With two months between these events it'll be surprising to not see a match between Matt & Brian at Rebellion in April. 

Turning over a new leaf wrestling legend Tommy Dreamer still shines up his hardcore wrestling past, but doesn't go hardcore very often anymore. Dreamer at age forty nine years old at this point is still giving to the world of wrestling and a credible member of the Impact roster. For years I've wondered why WWE pretends that after a certain age some wrestlers loose all credibility or importance. Dreamer in Impact and Dustin in All elite prove that completely wrong. Recently, on Impact Swann appeared to lay down a challenge to Tommy Dreamer for a title shot against him as Turning Point takes place on his birthday when he turns fifty years old. 

As expected some other top stars didn't take kindly to the World Champion offering a well deserved title shot to a wrestling legend to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. At this point, Impact could consider giving Dreamer one last reign with the gold, but taking the title off Swann now could be a rush decision. Reality is this something totally different from the norm in modern wrestling which usually sees veterans like Tommy fall way far away from the top of show to give younger stars the spotlight. 

I firmly expect Tommy to go back down the card following No Surrender which this is more of an old school style of booking giving the champion a monthly challenger instead of a long term story. Letting Tommy get the title shot is a built-in story to allow short quick build for a title shot. Circling back to Eric is also something that Impact could do for Swann and considering there are options on the table it could make sense to keep the title on Swann. The fact that Tommy still has such credibility is a testament to how Impact views him and the amount of value that Dreamer still has.  ​

I was able to look back at the previous twelve months for All Elite Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. The other three companies that are normally accounted for on the website I don't have enough information about NWA, New Japan or Impact to know the positives and negatives of the last twelve months for these companies. Other than stepping up and signing a number of former WWE stars giving them a platform to get an opportunity to prove themselves in the spotlight. One of the biggest returns for the year was Eric Young coming home and immediately becoming the top heel in the company. In one night Eric Young became one of the top ten most hated heels in wrestling after injuring Rich Swann. After years with WWE and them being unable to figure out something engaging for him to be included in other then Sanity in NXT it took Impact around five minutes to give EY something meaningful. 

Young not only became a top heel in one night but within months would regain the Impact World Title from Eddie Edwards. His momentum kept building and even after a loss to Rich Swann he is still the top heel on the roster leading Violent By Design alongside Joe Doering and Cody Deaner. Stepping back with Ken Shamrock in the Hall of Fame the next step would be Eric Young, but I think EY getting inducted would add an interesting layer to his character allowing him to make a choice between Sanity and Violence. 

It would be a mistake to speak of the last twelve months and not mention the working agreement that shocked wrestling thanks to Don Callis. Impact Wrestling is working together with All Elite Wrestling which has seen both Impact stars and AEW stars appear on each others program and now with KENTA appearing on Dynamite things might get even more interesting if New Japan is involved. Callis and Omega have long standing friendship which is the main reason for this agreement coming to pass. The reformation of the Bullet Club and Kenny on Impact has lead to the Wrestling world turning on it's head. For the first time in a very long time eyes are paying attention to Impact Wrestling and finally a roster, a company, and talent that have flown under the radar for the last two to three years might be back on the radar if they aren't yet they should be soon enough. 

​As always wrestling gives us both great memories and memories we try and forget, but with the amount of moments worth remembering that have happened we are bound to forget some. The same could be said about some talent that were very much underrated during their career or never at the top of a company during a run this unfortunately makes it easier for fans to forget certain talent. These two are very different talent and had two very different careers while they worked in this great business. Sometimes we encounter those that deserve to be remembered and acknowledged. I would like to wish a very big Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating their special day today and especially to the one featured below.

Nerd Note: The man formerly known as Crash Holly found a home in Impact Wrestling near the end of his wrestling career as Mad Mikey.

Three days ago Impact Wrestling set the wrestling world forward with one of the best and most complete events of the year. Impact Wrestling has been flying under the radar for years and seem like they have found there own path and have some momentum to continue to build forward for the promotion. Back in April the WWE shockingly fired a number of wrestlers to cut expenses down and what was WWE's lose has now became Impact Wrestling's gain. 

The reason I held off this article is to allow anyone who would like to see the debuts for themselves. We've knew from the start that Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows would be joining Impact Wrestling. On the shocking side I wasn't expecting to see Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley returning to the company partially due to the thought that one of the two was retired. It is possible that this will allow the veterans for one more run in the promotion that gave them their names. 

Heath Slater was the shocking debut especially after his recent one off appearance with WWE a few weeks ago. Slater has one of the more interesting debut angles as they allowed him to debut as a free agent almost playing off his recent appearance to cast doubt on his contract status with the promotion. I know that it's a little random to allow someone who had the status of Heath in WWE this type of angle, but we need to see what happens next. As for Ethan Carter III and Eric Young it seems like the promotion has big plans for at least one of them, but again we will have to wait and see what happens next on Impact Wrestling!! 

It has hit the final countdown for Slammiversary and Impact is pulling out all the stops ahead of the biggest event of the year. After 373 days it seems like Impact has ran out of ideas of teams to challenge The North at this point which is special in itself, because it is a rare occasion in modern wrestling for champions to hold any championship for over a year. The North has established themselves as one of the top tag teams in the world and due to them being in Impact Wrestling and flying under the radar. 

Shamrock and Callahan had a heated rivalry and even though it's possible that things aren't over between the former rivals they're trying to shift the focus to unite against a common enemy. The main difference between when WWE does this is that they do it as a lazy booking tool to add something to an upcoming match. However, it seems like Impact will either keep the belts on The North or if Shamrock/Callahan win the gold they will get a sizable reign with the gold to maximize the effect of Shamrock and Callahan finally being the tandem to defeat the unbeatable North. 

Rumors have abound in recent weeks and months about the impending arrival of some new talent for Impact Wrestling. Back in April, WWE shockingly terminated over thirty superstars some of whom are now highly sought after free agents. Right now it seems academic that Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows will be joining Impact Wrestling once their no compete clauses expire. The former Impact World Champion Ethan Carter III also has hinted at a return to the company that made him a star. 

The person I wanted to focus on though is the former "Long Island Iced Z" who called WWE home for the better part of 14 years not counting the time he spent in developmental. At one point Zack Ryder had a chance to become a star in WWE at a time when they really needed a fresh face on the top of the card even if he was just going to be a temporary headliner. Now after spending a majority of his career in one place Zack has a chance to reinvent himself somewhere new.  

Check out what he posted on his Instagram three days ago!! For those who may not get it the big deal about July 18 is that Impact Wrestling will be holding their annual Slammiversary event on that date this year. It is possible that Zack was trying to create a bit of a buzz, but it's also possible that Ryder might've been hinting that he is following Anderson & Gallows. A few years ago Impact had a bad reputation for taking former WWE stars, but now they really need to create a buzz and it could benefit the promotion signing a few former WWE stars. The real questions how many is too many for the promotion that the talent they currently have would then get lost in the shuffle. Rumors can do crazy things, but I for one think that Impact Wrestling would be a perfect place for Zack or Matt to reinvent himself for the first time in over a decade. 

With the countdown coming to a close within the next week another chapter for Impact Wrestling's second biggest PPV will write it's next chapter. To know how high the expectations are for Slammiversary 2020 we need to take a step back for Slammiversary 2019. It highlights how far some of the stars have come in the last year, but also what has changed in the last year for Impact Wrestling. 

A lot has changed for Impact Wrestling in the last few months including seeing both Joey Ryan and Tessa Blanchard leave the company for very different reasons, but both departures leave a big whole for the company. At this time last year Johnny Impact was wrapping up his run with Impact Wrestling before he would return to WWE and the same was the case for Santana and Ortiz who would jump to AEW to join the Inner Circle. 

A year later and a lot has changed with a number of rumors a bound about new stars joining the ranks in Impact Wrestling. Namely Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows and a certain Long Island Iced Z seem to be on the top of Impact Wrestling list. However, we have to wait around a week to find out for certain who will be making their debut or return on July 18 at Slammiversary 2020. Ken Shamrock will be joining the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame this year in case you've forgotten!!