3 reasons New Japan would benefit from a relationship with Impact and 2 reasons they would not

Some big news in the pro wrestling world has recently surfaced. The majority owners of Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA), Anthem Entertainment, purchased the AXS TV network from the previous owner Mark Cuban. On the surface this isn't that big of a deal -- AXS is simply the television station that broadcasts some weekly New Japan content in the United States. They own no stake in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and have no say in any of their day-to-day operations. However, one thing Anthem, and by extension Impact, now has the right to do, is choose the commentary team for the AXS broadcast (if they make a change at all) and how the product, in certain aspects, is presented on the network that they own.

Chances are that little, or nothing at all will actually change. A few key members of the team that produced the AXS episodes of NJPW are no longer with the company but that is not likely something that most fans will notice as it translates to television.

One thing that this could lead to, in the near (or more likely, somewhat distant) future, is a renewal of the partnership, or relationship, that Impact Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling shared from 2008 until 2011. The TNA (now Impact) relationship involved a lot of interaction with New Japan's yearly Tokyo Dome event, WrestleKingdom, as well as TNA wrestlers holding New Japan championships. It was going rather well and the relationship seemed to be blooming, but things crashed down after some miscommunication (or lack of communication at all) between the two promotions.

Among other things, one big reason that New Japan severed ties with TNA Wrestling was the treatment of future star Kazuchika Okada, who spent some time in TNA on his global excursion. Another major reason was their use of New Japan's IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, which changed hands on a couple of occasions without the consent of New Japan.

To say the least, it was a very rocky relationship, but as most wrestling fans know, it's pretty darn difficult to fully burn a bridge in professional wrestling. If the money is right, and the deal is favorable for all involved, bridges can indeed be mended.

5. Impact has an amazing talent roster

Impact Wrestling has a very strong, varied roster.

One reason that New Japan would benefit from rekindling their relationship with Impact Wrestling is the fact that Impact has one of the best talent rosters in professional wrestling today. The company often flies under the radar because of their low profile on television (which may be growing with the move to AXS) as well as the negative connotation that the brand has had over the years, but they have been producing a pretty high-quality TV show, and PPV events, for a few years now. This has increased their attractiveness in the eyes of many companies, and they have garnered a number of relationships over the last few years, with smaller companies.

A relationship between the two companies would be more beneficial for the much smaller Impact but in terms of professional wrestling, the matches that could come from the two companies combining would be absolutely insane. The smaller X-Division guys like Ace Austin, Desmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Trey Miguel, and Petey Williams, among others, would be great in clashes with New Japan's Junior Heavyweight stars. The heavyweights, such as Moose, Willie Mack, Rhino, Eddie Edwards, Brian Cage, Ethan Page, and others would be amazing going up against New Japan's hard-hitters.

New Japan already has a crowded roster, but a partnership could help them do more varied special events both in the United States and in Japan, plus it gives them a better outlet into Canada, which is a great market for professional wrestling.

4. Impact Wrestling still has a poor reputation

The relationship with Global Force was one of many damaging pursuits for Impact.

Between their downsizing in on-screen talent, chaos in the back office, and ever-decreasing television presence, Impact Wrestling has had a tough go of it for the last few years. The company has always had a loyal fanbase, but their million-plus followers have dwindled in numbers significantly. Former fans haven't stuck around because Impact isn't TNA, or because the announce team is different, the TV show is nowhere near as innovative as it used to be -- all of the usual grievances that wrestling fans have when they stop supporting their former favorite companies.

Even though the current iteration of Impact Wrestling is barely even a shell of what TNA used to be, in the minds of many people, the company will always be Jeff Jarrett's low-rent WWE wannabe promotion. It's difficult to drop that perception, especially when you have such a low presence in the wrestling world. Smaller companies that have zero television time are able to draw bigger crowds and attract more viewers on the internet than Impact, a company that has been in existence, in one way or the other, for almost 2 full decades.

Impact has a very strong TV program, great characters, a ton of really good professional wrestling, and it is so much different from anything you might find on TV today. Maybe they will be able to start rehabilitating their image with a slightly increased TV presence and a good streaming service (Impact Plus is quite good), but right now their name is still a naughty word to a lot of wrestling fans, and New Japan fans may look down their noses at the relationship. It might be a hard sell.

3. Not as high-profile as ROH, but a more consistent product

Impact Wrestling has a consistent product unlike many in North America today.

Over the last few years, Impact Wrestling has been undergoing a pretty amazing rebuilding period. It's not always great and they have had plenty of missteps (which can be said of every company), but generally speaking, they have been consistently putting together one of the better pro wrestling shows available (if you can find it). Ring of Honor still puts on some of the best wrestling in America, but they have made a number of decisions that many people consider questionable. Be it the champions they crown, the wrestlers in the spotlight or the sometimes odd and inconsistent storytelling, ROH can be a bit difficult to follow.

Impact may be smaller, but their fans are always loud and excited anywhere they go, which isn't often the case at your run-of-the-mill Ring of Honor show. The fans are louder (and buy more tickets) when New Japan is involved, but it sometimes feels that the relationship is not as beneficial to New Japan as it used to be. New Japan has been able to sell out shows in three of ROH's biggest markets with zero help from ROH -- markets that ROH has been having trouble selling tickets to on their own.

Ring of Honor has a ton of positives and some amazing pro wrestlers, but Impact is a company on the rise, and a relationship with New Japan is far, far fresher than what NJPW has with ROH. Sometimes change is good.

2. Bad Blood is apparently still high between Impact and New Japan

Kazuchika Okada was reduced to a parody as "Okato" while in TNA.

This would be a difficult hurdle to overcome. With the right people talking for both sides, however, it's possible to mend any fence. It could be a slow process, and to make things more difficult, it appears that Impact has a growing relationship with Pro Wrestling NOAH, another company that New Japan has recently had a falling out with. Both NOAH and Impact have new people running the show, so the bad blood may be able to be brought to a simmer instead of a boil, and an in-road can be made.

With TNA's mishandling of some of New Japan's current hottest stars (Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada, and to a lesser extent, SANADA), New Japan is holding a grudge that may be impossible to break. There are very few connections to the old TNA to Impact's current regime, with Scott D'Amore being one of the biggest, as he was a fixture in TNA, both on-screen and backstage when some of NJPW's bright future stars were in their care, as it were. That's not going to be easy to move past, even though D'Amore wasn't in nearly as powerful a role then as he is now.

1. Impact would be a great place for young wrestlers to gain experience

New Japan has some of the best young wrestlers on the planet.

Yes, New Japan was indeed burned by sending talent to Impact once, but it was nearly a decade ago and many things have changed. Impact has relationships with companies all over the US and Canada. They have shows from New York, to Florida, to Toronto, Chicago, and beyond. They do their own TV show, run pay-per-view events, and have a ton of joint shows with other, smaller companies all around both countries. The amount of exposure to different crowds, wrestlers, and environments that young wrestlers who have never wrestled, let alone even left, Japan, would be invaluable.

TNA was a singular company with a few tenuous ties with other promotions back when guys like Naito, Sanada, Okada, even Tanahashi in the mid-2000s, showed up and had a go in the then-Nashville-based promotion. These days, they have partnerships with so many companies that, as long as they don't make mistakes like "Okato" and just let the young wrestlers gain experience and travel North America, both on their TV, PPVs, and special events that air on Twitch and otherwise, it would be an amazing experience.

Think about guys like Ren Narita mixing it up with all of the X Division stars and so many independent wrestlers as well. Bigger guys like Yota Tsuji could have battles with men like Moose, Eddie Edwards -- Rhino! Plus, the local guys from the LA Dojo would be able to gain experience much closer to home. It's a win-win, as long as Impact treats them like legitimate wrestlers, not toys. There is more potential than possibly imaginable.