Impact Zone

Sound stages at Universal Studios Florida
the generic topic

The Impact Zone is the nickname for any one of three sound stages at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando; they received this nickname due to their use by the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), who taped their weekly television series Impact! at the complex for much of its first two decades of existence. Universal Studios Florida's soundstages have been used to produce professional wrestling since the 1990s, when World Championship Wrestling (WCW) used Soundstage 21 to tape their syndicated wrestling shows between 1996 and 1998. The most prolific use of the soundstages were between 2004 and 2018, where TNA used Soundstage 21 to tape Impact! and many of their pay per view events, before moving to the smaller Soundstage 19 after its 2013 tour; Impact! is now taped in various venues around North America. In 2021, the site served as the main studio for tapings of the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) online series Dark. In 2023, AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) also began taping its weekly program at the venue. Following the 2023 launch of AEW's second live show, Collision, Dark was cancelled and Ring of Honor tapings were paired with Collision dates across North America.

In 1996, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) began taping their syndicated wrestling shows, WCW Pro and WCW Worldwide, from Soundstage 21, which they called the "WCW Arena". WCW continued to tape the shows and occasional episodes of WCW Saturday Night until 1998, when Pro was canceled and matches for Worldwide were taped before WCW Thunder.

On November 12 and 13, 2001, the Xcitement Wrestling Federation (XWF) would tape several matches from Soundstage 21.

In May 2004, TNA announced that they would be starting their first nationally broadcast television show, TNA Impact on Fox SportsNet which would be taped at Universal Studios as part of an agreement reached with the theme park. Accordingly, TNA leased Soundstage 21 for the purposes of putting on wrestling events for an indefinite period of time. On January 31, 2013, TNA announced that they would be taping Impact Wrestling from different venues around the United States, with the first live show on March 14, 2013, from the Sears Centre Arena near Chicago. The final episodes from the Impact Zone were filmed on February 28, 2013, and March 7, 2013. TNA returned to Universal Studios on November 21, 2013, now using Soundstage 19. After the April 2018 tapings, Impact would resume touring. Bleachers used in the Impact Zone went onto sale on eBay in August.

On August 27, 2021, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced that their weekly web series, AEW Dark, would be taped at its own set within Universal Studios at Soundstage 19. For the first half of 2023, AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor also taped its weekly show at Soundstage 19.

Stage Size Capacity Usage Soundstage 19 16,500 sq. ft. 1100 November 2013 – December 2013January 2017July 2017 – April 2018 Soundstage 20 16,500 sq. ft. 1100 March 2014 – October 2016April 2017 Soundstage 21 22,000 sq. ft. 1400 June 2004 – March 2013March 2017

Date Event Stage Notes 2004 November 7, 2004 Victory Road Soundstage 21 The first monthly three hour pay per view event produced by the company. December 5, 2004 Turning Point Soundstage 21 2005 January 16, 2005 Final Resolution Soundstage 21 February 13, 2005 Against All Odds Soundstage 21 March 13, 2005 Destination X Soundstage 21 April 24, 2005 Lockdown Soundstage 21 May 15, 2005 Hard Justice Soundstage 21 June 19, 2005 Slammiversary Soundstage 21 July 17, 2005 No Surrender Soundstage 21 August 14, 2005 Sacrifice Soundstage 21 September 11, 2005 Unbreakable Soundstage 21 October 23, 2005 Bound for Glory Soundstage 21 November 13, 2005 Genesis Soundstage 21 December 11, 2005 Turning Point Soundstage 21 2006 January 15, 2006 Final Resolution Soundstage 21 February 12, 2006 Against All Odds Soundstage 21 March 12, 2006 Destination X Soundstage 21 April 23, 2006 Lockdown Soundstage 21 May 14, 2006 Sacrifice Soundstage 21 June 18, 2006 Slammiversary Soundstage 21 July 16, 2006 Victory Road Soundstage 21 August 13, 2006 Hard Justice Soundstage 21 A pyrotechnic malfunction during the opening match led to the temporary evacuation of the building and one match being canceled. September 24, 2006 No Surrender Soundstage 21 November 19, 2006 Genesis Soundstage 21 December 10, 2006 Turning Point Soundstage 21 2007 January 14, 2007 Final Resolution Soundstage 21 February 11, 2007 Against All Odds Soundstage 21 March 11, 2007 Destination X Soundstage 21 May 13, 2007 Sacrifice Soundstage 21 July 15, 2007 Victory Road Soundstage 21 August 12, 2007 Hard Justice Soundstage 21 September 9, 2007 No Surrender Soundstage 21 November 11, 2007 Genesis Soundstage 21 December 2, 2007 Turning Point Soundstage 21 2008 January 6, 2008 Final Resolution Soundstage 21 May 11, 2008 Sacrifice Soundstage 21 November 9, 2008 Turning Point Soundstage 21 December 7, 2008 Final Resolution Soundstage 21 The company changed its PPV schedule; there were two Final Resolution events held that year. 2009 February 8, 2009 Against All Odds Soundstage 21 March 15, 2009 Destination X Soundstage 21 May 24, 2009 Sacrifice Soundstage 21 July 19, 2009 Victory Road Soundstage 21 August 16, 2009 Hard Justice Soundstage 21 September 20, 2009 No Surrender Soundstage 21 November 15, 2009 Turning Point Soundstage 21 December 20, 2009 Final Resolution Soundstage 21 2010 January 17, 2010 Genesis Soundstage 21 The show featured the return of a standard four sided ring. February 14, 2010 Against All Odds Soundstage 21 March 21, 2010 Destination X Soundstage 21 May 16, 2010 Sacrifice Soundstage 21 June 13, 2010 Slammiversary Soundstage 21 July 11, 2010 Victory Road Soundstage 21 August 8, 2010 Hardcore Justice Soundstage 21 September 5, 2010 No Surrender Soundstage 21 November 7, 2010 Turning Point Soundstage 21 December 5, 2010 Final Resolution Soundstage 21 2011 January 9, 2011 Genesis Soundstage 21 February 13, 2011 Against All Odds Soundstage 21 March 13, 2011 Victory Road Soundstage 21 May 15, 2011 Sacrifice Soundstage 21 June 12, 2011 Slammiversary Soundstage 21 July 10, 2011 Destination X Soundstage 21 The show featured a one night return of the six sided ring that the company was not using at the time. August 7, 2011 Hardcore Justice Soundstage 21 September 11, 2011 No Surrender Soundstage 21 November 13, 2011 Turning Point Soundstage 21 December 11, 2011 Final Resolution Soundstage 21 2012 January 8, 2012 Genesis Soundstage 21 February 12, 2012 Against All Odds Soundstage 21 March 18, 2012 Victory Road Soundstage 21 May 13, 2012 Sacrifice Soundstage 21 July 8, 2012 Destination X Soundstage 21 August 12, 2012 Hardcore Justice Soundstage 21 September 9, 2012 No Surrender Soundstage 21 November 11, 2012 Turning Point Soundstage 21 December 9, 2012 Final Resolution Soundstage 21 2013 January 13, 2013 Genesis Soundstage 21 The final live pay per view event held in the original Impact Zone before the company began touring. 2014 April 27, 2014 Sacrifice Soundstage 20 2015 June 28, 2015 Slammiversary Soundstage 20 2016 June 12, 2016 Slammiversary Soundstage 20 October 2, 2016 Bound for Glory Soundstage 20 2017 January 6, 2017 One Night Only: Live! Soundstage 19 July 2, 2017 Slammiversary XV Soundstage 19 2018 April 22, 2018 Redemption Soundstage 19