With the accelerated growth of this site in the last few months, I thought that it would be worth it to explain more about DiscussPW and why I am definitely here to stay as a columnist and part-time guest on Spark the Discussion. Most of you know that I took a 6 month sabbatical from the online wrestling community and we don’t need to revisit the reasons why that happened again. Nevertheless, I was gone and did not have plans to be back, as far as being involved with another website. That is the absolute truth. I owe a huge thanks to Jay and TDM for convincing me that I should get involved again. I’ve had more fun this year so far at DPW than I have had in a long, long time. For instance, I never considered that I would be appearing on a podcast, and now I’m a regular contributor on Spark the Discussion. The evolution of DiscussPW has been very cool to witness and we’re only getting started. Over WrestleCon weekend, we broke all kinds of records for site views and that makes sense given the number of comments that I’m seeing and the interaction that we’ve been experiencing. The best example so far of what this site is and what it can be in the future revolved around the extensive WrestleCon Impact coverage. Obviously, it helps that we have a dedicated Twitch room (anyone else that puts one on their site now is basically copying our idea) but watching that Lucha Underground Vs Impact Wrestling event together on April 6th was a microcosm of what DPW is. We are a community of pro wrestling fans that love Impact Wrestling and other promotions. Simple as that. DPW stands for Discuss Pro Wrestling, otherwise it would be DIW and that would be lame. As Impact moves towards establishing more true partnerships with other companies, DPW as a brand is looking more and more relevant with that ongoing trend. The vision of Ed, Don and Scott is totally in harmony with the vision of DPW. We’ve been one step ahead of the game in that regard when it comes to other fan sites. Discuss Pro Wrestling….. that is exactly what we do here.
To be honest, not all of the features on the site are being completely utilized by the community right now. I don’t pretend to know all the reasons that may go into that but I realize that it is habitual to come back to the same familiar post over and over again. The main comment post, the weekly Professional Wrestling Discussion, is usually where everyone hangs out. News gets updated frequently there and the number of comments have been on a steady incline for several months now. The “Featured Comment” changes constantly with news and fresh content for the site (thanks to the great mods, you know who you are) and polls amongst other relevant items. You can’t go wrong with that main discussion post but there is so much more to DPW than that. The Spark the Discussion podcast has become a regular staple that you can count on, and the ceiling for this show is pretty damn high in my opinion. Jay and TDM review Impact every single week and give you their breakdown. They also have a fantastic “Thumbs UP, Thumbs DOWN!” series which is more interactive with a quick-hit style. Also, there are other short videos put out when major news happens. They also review Impact on Twitch events and ONO’s and, of course, Pay-Per-Views will be on the docket. All of these videos are usually featured for a time but you can also watch any of them here or on YouTube. Make sure to hit the subscribe button and like the videos on YouTube. This site is not about making money, unlike other people out there. The Twitch room I have already touched on, but just keep in mind that there will be more and more intriguing Twitch-exclusive events from Impact and other promotions that you can watch here at DPW and chat with your fellow fans while doing so. The Predictions page is a fun way to see how accurate your match predictions for certain events stack up to other members of the community here. We place predictions for several different wrestling promotions’ live PPV’s and, of course, Impact events like the WrestleCon show. Redemption is coming right up! If you enjoy reading and discussing spoilers, there is a separate page for you to do that also, which really comes into play with all of the tapings that Impact does regularly. Outside of that, the site is spoiler free. There are opinion columns which will continue to grow and develop over time. Right now, Bark of the Dawg is the main written piece but Brett will be adding his work sometime soon and there will probably be more writers at some point down the line. We’re in the process of updating the Impact Events page but that will be done sometime soon. There have previously been interviews with talents and others in the industry and those could also return at some point. So maybe take another look around when you get a minute to observe all of the features that DPW offers. There is a little bit of something for everyone.
Want a measuring stick in regards to how the site activity has increased in the last few months? Look no further than the main comment section. It has grown and changed significantly in the time that I have been involved with DPW (and I don’t say that to take credit for anything, by the way). It’s a normal occurrence to see several thousand comments during the course of a week. It’s genuinely a fun time to chat with each other as we watch events while they air, or before and after, whatever floats your boat. There is a true community feel and generally everyone gets along and stays mostly positive. There are occasionally some small issues as there would be anywhere when many people interact with each other. Not everyone is going to get along all of the time. The basic philosophy regarding the comment section is straightforward; “Don’t be a dick”. Not very complicated, right? Our comment sections are not just for Impact Wrestling fans. Again, this concept will really come into play with the evolving promotion partnerships. There is a little bit of WWE talk from time to time, but there are so many other wrestling companies being discussed constantly. Yes, Impact and their partner promotions are the main focus but I see New Japan, ROH, AAA, Wrestle Circus and other indy companies being talked about regularly, which is great. The general guidelines to follow are pretty laid back but if someone is being a problem and ruining the experience for others, they will be removed. We want everyone to feel comfortable and to enjoy themselves. A big thanks to everyone that visits DPW on the regular as you make the site what it is and what it will be.
Just to clarify, my role with DPW is mainly being a columnist and promoting the site on social media. Other than that, I am somewhat of an adviser. TDM and Jay run the site and we also have some great moderators here which have been successful in keeping the peace. Having experienced success with past sites that I’ve been involved with, I felt like my knowledge could come in handy. Things have worked out well so far and I am happy to help out where I can. Now, switching gears, I want to give a disclaimer about the upcoming 420 episode of Spark the Discussion. This episode is different from what you may have heard from us so far in comparison to past podcast editions. We will be talking about marijuana, so if that’s not something you want to hear about, that episode might not be for you. But, if you want some good laughs and you are interested in listening to us ramble on like mad men while we smoke weed, make sure to check it out. We will be posting “The Whole F’n 420 Show” episode right here at DPW as an exclusive for this community sometime on April 19th, before we advertise and promote it on social media or anywhere else. If you weren’t previously aware that myself, Jay and TDM are stoners, well, I guess you are now. We wanted to put an episode out there to let you all get to know us a little bit better and again, we will be talking about pot quite a bit. However, the second half of the 420 episode is about wrestling stuff and us telling stories about attending wrestling events and our history as Impact fans. So, you can listen to the entire episode and laugh at our reefer madness, or you can go to just the second half where we talk more wrestling. It’s up to you, but we will be high as a kite for the whole show. This 420 episode is the only one we will do all year where we talk about marijuana, so it will be an isolated show on an annual basis. Besides the stoner talk, there are some juicy reveals included and other fun stuff discussed in said episode, so it’s worth listening to, no matter which part/s you take in. In closing, keep on being awesome everyone, you’re doing a fantastic job with that.