TNA Review and Reactions
This weeks's TNA kick started with an amazing one on one match up between Kurt Angle and Bobby Roode. That's right, for a second week in a row Impact wrestling actually opened with a match! What a good time to be alive right!? Angel's farewell tour has been so fun to watch. We have seen some brilliant bouts with Angle proving one last time before he departs with TNA that he really is an all time great and last night saw him compete in the penultimate match up in the Kurt Angle farewell tour as he took on another great in Bobby Roode. These two have such great chemistry that this was always bound to be a fantastic match and they did not disappoint in the slightest. A back and fourth start showed just how well these two really do know each other and throughout the match the back and fourth action kept making it's way back in with both men countering each others best moves and pushing each other to their limits. Angle being the true grappler that he is focused the early stages on creating a shine with some well executed arm drags; Roode however picked up some momentum by hitting several suplexes but struggled to keep Angle grounded. This was a popular theme running throughout this match also. Roode on many occasions looked to be heading into a dominate run leading into what look like several closing moments of this match but Angle fought on refusing to give in. Roode attempted to end the match by locking in a cross face however this allowed Kurt to counter and roll up into a perfect ankle lock that would finally be the decider of this match with Roode having no choice but to tap out. I may not be the worlds biggest fan of Bobby Roode but he is one heck of a wrestler and this week he battled against an all time great amazingly well. This was such a brilliant way to start the nigh and it for sure got me personally really excited and in the mood for the rest of the show.
After the opening match a brilliant moment between James Storm, Bobby Roode and the Wolves took place as they all shared the ring with Kurt Angle to thank him for all he has done for TNA and their personally careers. Moving forward a tag team match for the TNA tag team titles was made between James Storm and Bobby Roode and the Wolves, a match I know I sure as hell cannot wait to see go down.
One of my favourite pieces of mic work this was up next when RockStar Spud was called out to the ring by Matt Hardy following he's actions from last week that saw him help Hardy in maintaining he's TNA World Heavyweight Championship when he attacked Ethan Carter the third in the closing moments of last weeks impact. I don't know if I'm over reacting at the moment or what but I have to say I seriously loved this part of the night. It's the typical segment that you would usually see open the show but I honestly loved every single second of this. I am a much bigger fan of a heel Matt Hardy and since becoming champion and turning heel I have bee hooked on everything he has done. Sure, some of it feels a little recycled and I think that is where TNA seem to be going wrong in a lot of areas when it comes to storyline's but I'm one hundred percent falling for this and I'm a fan of this storyline. I love the addition of Spud and I felt like on this weeks Impact he was the star of the night. He's promo for me was one of the best we have seen this year across all wrestling promotions. I loved the passion in he's voice, I believed he's anger, he was convincing, entertaining and he justified he's actions from the week before so so well. I honestly cannot fault this at all. We saw Spud mock he's home crowd and explain how he felt disrespected by the fans after they decided to now cheer for EC3 despite the fact a year ago the former world champion left him bleeding and shaved in the middle of the ring in what was one of the most memorable matches of twenty fifteen. As far as I'm concerned Spud took all the spotlight off of Hardy for the night and made TNA this week the Rock Star Spud show, a great heel promo so well done. He also explained how he dedicated himself to Matt, Reby, Maxwell and the Matt Hardy brand as Hardy is the greatest World champion in TNA History. EC3 soon arrived attacking Tyrus, chasing the clan out of the ring. Demanding a fight against Spud Ethan closed this segment standing tall clearly out for redemption and I have to admit that I loved every single moment of this entire segment.
I'm a big big fan of extreme wrestling, you guys know that. I grew up a huge ECW fan and as an adult now I favour promotions like ICW and CZW as favourites to turn to because of that extreme, all goes vibe. This week on Impact we were treated to what was actually not only a great wrestling match but a continue on from a storyline I am absolutely loving. Because I haven't done any TNA Posts in a very very long time no one really knows where I stand with the company and what I am loving so let me give you a brief go over; Crazy Steve. I have loved crazy Steve from the moment I first saw him and for a very very long time I have been sitting back waiting for him to receive a big push and get the attention he really does deserve. I've always been captivated by he's ability to use a character to its full potential in a convincing and entertaining way. Recently we have seen him turn heel and join forces with Abyss and Rosemary and together all three of them have created something very interesting. I'm going to do a whole blog post talking about this in more detail but what I will say for now is despite the fact that I have doubts on how well this will work in this day and age I love the idea, I can't deny that. This for me is probably the one thing I am most interested and entertained by in Impact at the moment. Probably not a popular choice but this is right up my street and the exact way I would have used and booked Crazy Steve from the beginning. In my eyes it just works and makes great entertainment. Probably one of the biggest reasons I have been loving this idea even more recently is the introduction of Jimmy Havoc. Again, I haven't written many posts here on my blog about the British scene, maybe one or two, but I have a couple of posts coming up and I have to say that Jimmy is one of my current and all time favourite British pro wrestlers and character plays a huge role in that. Again, crazy, sadistic, ruthless characters are my favourites and Jimmy ticks all those boxes. He's involvement in this storyline has been brilliant and just makes me want to cry tears of joy and happiness. The match itself was exactly what I like to see. There was a brilliant story being told throughout this match and no one could forget the current situation and the back story to this match, why it was taking place. Both Abyss and Havoc put everything on the line using their surroundings and the most extreme of objects hiding under the ring to punish each other. I did feel as though they were holding back a tad and could have gone more extreme. If this match was longer than we could have gotten something great. There wasn't much chemistry between the two competitors but saying that it was a good pairing and it worked for the night. I enjoyed the match massively and this was probably one of my favourite parts of the night. Crazy Steve and Rosemary played their roles throughout the match and it would be their assistance that would help Abyss score the victory sending Jimmy through a flat surface full of barbed wire.
Gail Kim came down to the ring in none wrestling gear (from as far as I can remember) cutting a promo where she spoke about the Knockouts division and claiming that the division has always been about excellence and doing what they do best and that is Wrestling. Focusing more so on Maria, the current knockouts champion spoke about not getting into the business to be famous but because she loved wrestling. Picking up a great reaction from the crowd her chanted her name, Gail told the fans that she would put her body on the line to raise the bar and would soon call out Maria to come down to the ring to confront her after what took place the week before when Maria left Gail and Velvet Sky alone to take on the doll house. The former WWE Diva and indie talent eventually made an appearance also not in ring gear and cut a promo of her own. Making some valid points about Gail's previous claim of not wanting to be famous Maria pointed out that she had married a professional chef and aired their marriage live on TV for the whole world to see. The promo from Maria may have been a little....weird if thats the right word but it was well received from fans in the arena and I thought it as pretty good as well. It was a nice follow on from their growing feud and Maria did make me anticipate a future one on one against Gail and her even more so she did her job well. Upon chasing Maria, Gail was attacked by Doll house member Jade who made her intentions clear, she is coming after that Knockouts championship and after pinning Gail a couple of weeks back I say she has every right to a title match up. The one thing I did hate during this whole segment was the miracle music playing in the background throughout Maria's promo. It just distracted me and it was super annoying.
Eric Young put he's king of the mountain championship on the line next in an open challenge accepted by Irish pro wrestler, Big Damo. As a huge fan of Big Damo I was super happy to see him given the opportunity to compete on TV for Impact Wrestling. He was never going to walk out the victor obviously but that was never going to prevent him from putting on a solid match and that is exactly what he did. Damo surprised young with he's athleticism and impressive in ring capabilities. Giving the champion a run for he's money, Damo proved that he was more than just power and had a speed and a level of athleticism that many including Eric Young may not have expected. In one point of the match we saw Damo put he's foot on the chest of Young to make a cover and after kicking out stood completely on Young's body. Later on in the match Damo went in for a senton but Young got he's knees up in time and found the perfect time to hit a piledriver on Damo to score the victory. A short match with some little hiccups but good spots at the same time. It's nice seeing a talent like Damo have the opportunity to shine in the spotlight and it was a nice filler match.
One of my favourite matches of the night was a one on one between Drew Galloway and "The Miracle" Mike Bennett. As their heated rivalry continued the two stars clashed in what was a strong match that I personally enjoyed massively. The match up was all Galloway at the start. Taking the fight ringside, Drew used he's surroundings and the fans to help him gain early control and dominate Bennett. Popping Mike over he's shoulder and throwing him into the ring post this match looked to be going one way but after Bennett clipped Galloway's knees on the apron he was able to turn things around and finally gain some control of the action. We did see Drew come back into this match and the pair traded strikes in the middle of the ring. Bennett scored a near full when he hit a Diamond Cutter that got crowd on their feet. It was a Celtic cross that allowed Galloway to once again pick up control of this match and just as he was closing in on a submission victory Maria moved Bennett's foot on the bottom rope to force the break behind the referees back. Trying to confront Maria gave Bennett enough time to work off a distraction with a school boy and a pull of the tights to pick up a win. In this rivalry between Drew Galloway and Mike Bennett I will always be team Galloway no doubt about it but I one hundred percent wanted Bennett to win this match. I felt as though it was more important for him and he would benefit from the victory much much more. He well and truly proved himself in this match and showed the fans and locker room how much he can really take in the middle of that ring. Because of how the closing moments were booked, Drew won't suffer at all and the next couple of weeks will be interesting for the both of them.
Rockstar Spud headed to the ring sporting jeans and a t-shirt as he prepared for he's main event fight against EC3. A backstage video showed Ethan Carter the third taking out both Matt Hardy and Tyrus locking them both in the back of a van. The plan of course was for Hardy and Tyrus to beat Carter to the point where he either could not compete in he's fight or gave Spud an easy victory of the night. The plan however was a fail and the look on Spuds face was a picture when a healthy looking Ethan Carter made he's way to the ring. Not holding back in the slightest EC3 sent Spud into the guardrail and obliged to the crowds "one more time" chant. Brining the lifeless body of Spud back into the
I'm going to be honest, I loved this weeks TNA. Maybe I'm being a little to over dramatic and kind to Impact because I'm in such a weird mood today but I honestly don't have a bad word to really say. Sure there were a couple of things I would have changed here and there but I do think people are a little too harsh on TNA and they maybe should cut them some slack a little because this was actually a solid show and I really enjoyed it. As always you can let me know what you thought by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.
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