TNA IMPACT! Review 8/18/16
Hey guys it is the internet’s resident TNA and EVOLVE fanatic back for the second week in a row with my TNA Impact review. This is the third thing I’ve posted this week and there is definitely more coming up soon, so hopefully you guys don’t get bored of me.
Impact kicked off with James Storm coming out and blaming Brian Hebner for his loss in the World Heavyweight Championship match last week. This was pretty dumb as referees obviously get distracted all the time and Storm had plenty of other opportunities to win the match after that. Billy Corgan came out and went back and forth with Storm. Even though the idea of him blaming Hebner for his world championship loss is ridiculous, Storm did very well in this segment, perfectly portraying the anti-establishment face. Though it had flaws it was a pretty good segment that ended with Storm being suspended indefinitely after attacking a security guard.
Eddie Edwards vs Moose
This was a pretty good match. Moose dominated for the first half of the match but Eddie came back in the second half. Bennett got involved at multiple points in the match and when Eddie got frustrated and hit him with a suicide dive it ended up costing him the match. This was a really good first match of the night. Moose has done well since coming to TNA and I’ve loved the way they’ve been using Eddie recently. ***
Gail Kim vs Jade
This was such a good match but as usual TNA can’t just have good wrestling. If you ignore the finish and post match stuff this is exactly what the Knockouts division should be, but they ruined it with Sienna and Maria coming out. Annoying. TNA has enough good to great wrestlers in the division for it to be great but with the way they book it it will never be great. **3/4
DJ Z vs Mark Andrews vs Braxton Sutter vs Rockstar Spud
This was a really fun X-Division sprint with everyone working really hard. Obviously I would like it to have gotten more time, as can be said with almost every X-Division match but this was really good. I’ve loved the mini-feud between Spud and Sutter as it adds a different dynamic to every multi-man match they are part of. ***
EC3 and Drew Galloway came out to the ring and EC3 said that he accepted Galloway’s challenge to put his BFG main event on the line. Aron Rex then came out and said that he would be the special guest referee in their match. Thats pretty random but okay, I guess. I’m sure it will make sense eventually but for now it really doesn’t at all.
Next up we got a fantastic segment where Matt Hardy was trying to end Jeff’s ‘addiction’ of jumping off “ladders with rungs.” I want an endless loop of Matt Hardy pushing over ladders and yelling obsolete on my TV at all times.
Eli Drake vs Mahabali Shera
This was a rough match but it wasn’t as horrible as it could have been considering its a Shera match and Eli Drake isn’t exactly the king of making his opponents look good. It was sloppy and the finish was a clothesline, so theres that. *1/2
Lashley came out and said that he was going to unify all the titles he held but after Dixie and Corgan said he can’t do that, he dropped the X-Division and King of the Mountain titles on the ground and said they don’t mean anything. Lashley did really well here aside from the fact that he repeatedly said “golds” which is very much not a word. Next week there will be a battle royal to determine the next challenger for Lashley’s world championship which is cool I guess.
Ladder Tag Team #1 Contenders Match
Bromans w/Raquel vs Broken Matt and Brother Nero vs The Tribunal vs Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett
I was looking forward to this match as there are three really good teams here (plus The Tribunal). The stuff with Matt and Jeff is so great, the BroMans have become pretty good in the ring, and Lee and Everett even though they aren’t nearly as good in TNA as they are in other places are still good in TNA. This was a fun main event even if it was really tame spot-wise for a ladder match and wasn’t as crazy as I was expecting. It was still a good way to end the show and continued the Hardys storyline without making any of the other teams really look bad. ***
Final Thoughts: This was a step down from last week as most of the storyline stuff that didn’t have to do with Broken Matt or Brother Nero but the wrestling on this show was good for a TV show aside from the Shera vs Drake match. Storm made the opening segment worth watching and the Hardys segment was great as usual. Eddie Edwards vs Moose and the X-Division four way are both worth watching as is the Knockouts match aside from the finish and the main event if you don’t go in expecting anything like a typical Hardys ladder match.
Final Rating: 7/10
