Csonka Looks at The Impact Departures of Storm, Bram, Godderz, & More

Welcome back to column time with Larry! I am back again after a busy few days, because Impact Wrestling has once again made some big time roster changes and they need to be discussed. In 2017 tracking the arrivals and departures may as well be a full time job. I have done my best to track things here, here, here and here. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy today’s column, and feel free to share your thoughts. It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful of other’s opinions and don’t be a dick.”

Quick Hits
– It was announced this week that Alisha Edwards, Swoggle (Hornswoggle in WWE), The Veterans of War (Mayweather & Wilcox) and Mahabali Shera have been removed from the active roster page, but not all of them are gone…

* Alisha Edwards: Actually not released, but all things considered, her future prospects don’t look great as they stopped using her after the feud with Richards and Love.

* Mahabali Shera: In all honesty, I feel bad for Mahabali Shera. In some ways he’s similar to Magnus. A young guy with a good look that filled a demographic the company was looking to capitalize on. Both were thrown into action with a severe lack of experience, but Magnus had some natural athletic ability to fall back on. He was thrown into the deep end of the pool with limited training and expected to deliver on national TV. They never effectively booked him outside of the company to get him the much-needed experience he needed. He’s only worked around 105 matches, almost all with the company. I’m not saying I am sad to see him go if he’s gone, but the company handled him poorly.

* Swoggle: With all due respect, bringing him in was a complete waste of money and TV time. He brought nothing to the table other than re-do of his past angle with Chavo. Peace out and have a good life man.

* The Veterans of War (Mayweather & Wilcox): While the Impact tag division is razor thin these days, this was a good move. The Veterans of War had a great look, but once they got into the ring, it was all over. They weren’t a good powerhouse team, they didn’t particularly work well together and managed to have one of LAX’s worst matches. Impact needs tag teams, but they just can’t accept any team. Have some pride and sign some talented people

Bram: For the longest time, Bram was the punch line of Impact Wrestling, anytime someone re-signed or left, the joke was made about Bram re-signing. If you don’t know the joke, there was a stretch where Impact was announcing new signings, to multi-year deals, and it seemed that every time these announcements came, Bram’s name was there. The old timers tell a tale of a young Bram signing enough multi-year deals to last into 2100, because John Gaburick wanted him locked up so that no one could steal him. But it all came to an end on November 7th when Bram announced that he had been granted his release from the company. This should be no surprise to anyone, he hadn’t worked a match for the company since March, and then was to work NOAH’s Global Tag League 2017… which didn’t end well for him. He was pulled off the Pro Wrestling NOAH and suspended by the promotion as he posted a photo of himself laying in a convenience store freezer on social media, which Pro Wrestling NOAH deemed inappropriate. From there he’s been running around the European indies, been dealing with some injuries and promoters have been getting heat for booking him due to his past domestic dispute issues. TNA/Impact gave him chances, James Storm liked him, which is why he got that last chance in the DCC, but he never did a whole lot with those chances. For years he had the same match, walk and brawl Bram. Come to the ring, do some back and forth and then transition to a lazy and uninspired floor brawl. That’s every Bram match. Bram was a very average performer who was never really “bad,” but in my opinion, completely lacked the ability to work up to a superior opponent (he was completely fine, but that was his ceiling). Bram’s the kind of guy you can part ways with and easily replace with a superior talent from the indies. I suspect Bram will mostly working Europe going forward.

Jessie Godderz: Jessie Godderz hadn’t worked for the company since January, and it didn’t appear that he’s missed it because he’s been focused on getting work in Hollywood and has done well for himself there. The Observer reported his exit last week, and a few years ago I would have been completely thrilled that he was gone. When he first came in, he was a dude from Big Brother with a hell of a physique. But he was the shits in the ring and his persona felt completely forced; nothing clicked for Godderz, he was just a dude with a hell of a physique. But then, he started putting in more work, and he slowly grew as a performer. I think the “BroMans” tag team with Robbie E did a ton of good for him, because that’s where his growth as a performer started to really come to life. He seemed more motivated, he seemed to be having fun, but most importantly he was putting things together, and was getting it. For a guy that has only worked approximately 350 matches, and 90% of them under the OVW or Impact banners, Jessie Godderz became a good professional wrestler. For me the thing was that he needed to work more, and especially outside of Impact if he was ever going to get to that next level. It seems like life as a fulltime wrestler was just not in the cards for him, as he has aspirations of making it in Hollywood. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I think that Jessie Godderz could have been a much better performer if that’s what he wanted, but to his credit, he went from horrible to good and should be proud of that. If I had to guess, Godderz is 10% focused on acting, and may make an occasional wrestling appearance going forward, but I would guess he’s basically done with the business.

James Storm: With reports out there that the company was going to ask talents to take smaller deals, TNA homegrown talent James Storm is the latest to depart the company. Outside of his short departure when he was not under contract and considered going to NXT, Storm has been a lifer with the company. His departure is no surprise, as he reportedly got a good deal to comeback, and if they are cutting costs, a contract like his is one to cut. Add into the fact that he’s 40, and it appears to be a smart move. Storm has been an absolutely great performer for the company, becoming one of the best tag workers of the 2000’s thanks to his work with America’s Most Wanted and Beer Money. On top of that, he has a collection of really great singles matches and always made the best of whatever the company gave him. The Revolution & DCC were horribly booked stables, but Storm worked his ass off to try and make them work. But talent can only do so much against poor booking.

I can understand the company wanting to cut costs and Storm is a case I can understand, he’s older and reportedly had a higher end contract. And if you’re Storm, and find yourself in the same place guys like AJ & Roode were in, you want paid your worth and he may have made the decision to walk away. As a fan of Storm’s I hate to see him go, because I found him to be a consistently entertaining part of the show. But at the same time, he’s been there, done that and could write a book about it. He seemingly had no set role with the company, he was a versatile utility perfumer these days who could be believable as a title contender, but while not doing that, he was just a guy taking up space. I understand the choice for both sides to move on. Storm is one of the pillars of TNA, he made great contributions to the company and as a fan, I will not forget that. I wish him nothing but the best, he deserves it. So what’s next for Storm?

* NXT: While Storm turned down NXT in the past, both sides have said that the split was amicable and that the door was open for a return. But I wonder if WWE will still be interested in a 40-year old Storm. They have been hiring older than they used to, so it’s not out often question. If anything, I’d bring in Storm on a deal similar to what Joe had. You get some downside pay, but you can still take indie dates. In my opinion, Storm would be a great “finishing school” opponent for guys about to head to the main roster, to work the “main roster NXT traveling” shows. He would also be great working the Florida loop here and there, developing talent about to debut on NXT. There’s a place for him for sure, even if you don’t want to sign him as a traditional talent.

* ROH: ROH can always use good characters and good wrestlers, their schedule is limited and Storm may like that. With his experience working TV, he would fit in easily and could work with almost anyone. He’s also a guy that you could use as a title contender to pop a house in Nashville or Orlando. There’s room for him if Lizard Man can pull himself away from his extra curricular activities.

* Billy Corgan’s NWA: Another thing to consider is, does Storm want to keep wrestling and how much wrestling does he want to do? Billy Corgan is working to get his new NWA off the ground, with reports that he is looking to sign a small, core of guys to be his regular talent. Storm has some name value from years on TV, knows the ins and outs of working TV and would be a great veteran hand to have around

* Work a potpourri of companies whenever he wants on his own schedule: Going back to my above point, we don’t even know how much if any wrestling Storm wants to continue on with. Storm may just want to sit back and relax a bit, and then work for promotions and against guys he couldn’t before due to his deal with Impact.

* The bottom line is that if James Storm wants to work, it will be out there for him to do so.

In Closing: We all knew roster turnover was coming with new ownership, but we’re nearing 30 departures, and while many of the cuts have been deadweight, they haven’t exactly restocked the shelves. Moving forward, the company’s inability to sign wrestlers at higher salaries will limit the talent that they can bring in, which is problematic.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.