By John Moore
TNA Impact Hits
Gail Kim to be inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame: An extremely valid choice that has gone under the radar of most people, and one of the few options that TNA had on their roster. This is a great pick and it makes a lot of sense. When TNA had a great Knockouts roster once upon a time ago, Gail Kim along with Awesome Kong were at the forefront of that division making people take notice of the innovative women’s wrestling occurring in TNA. If I remember correctly, didn’t Gail and Kong have one of the highest rated segments in TNA history? Kim even with a reduced roster today continues to put on good quality matches with any opponent she’s against and makes them better. She is a living legend in TNA and when you think about it a bit, she was the obvious choice.
Lashley vs. Drew Galloway: This was another good match between the two with the right booking taking place at the right time. We could have easily have seen this screwy finish at the Slammiversary PPV, so putting the real finish on PPV while having the cheap one on TV was a good decision by the TNA writers. It’s a good finish in that Galloway, Lashley, and Ethan Carter were protected coming out and Lashley ultimately still looks badass. A personal like for me is in Lashley’s usage of the Kesa Gatame which is a signature pin in Judo/Jujitsu. It reminds me of when Lesnar integrated the Kamura Lock in his repertoire in utilizing a legit MMA move into professional wrestling to evolve the moveset. The announcers did a good job here, especially in pointing out the strength of Galloway’s Claymore Kick, and updating those who didn’t see Galloway opening the match on the PPV with a Claymore Kick.
Ethan Carter III and Lashley’s opening segment: Lashley’s confidence is off the charts these days, which is a stark evolution from the man who always either was as stale as a store mannequin, or as afraid looking as a deer in the headlights. The reigns are off and he’s rising above everyone in the main event in a positive way. We had a good week of Ethan on the mic and was a good foil for Lashley. Now was not a time for cute jokes and Ethan brought the serious tonight. This wasn’t the segment of the year by any means, but it solidified the main event of Impact as solid while also having three (including Galloway) “realistic” performers establish themselves as realistic at the top.
TNA Impact Misses
Broken Matt and Jeff Hardy feud: This is a rollercoaster of a feud as far as interest is concerned, but this time I’m not sure why we’re continuing it. Matt no-selling made a bit of sense since he’s deranged, but this is starting to creep into that “feud that never ends” status. What also makes things odd is Matt never picks up wins in this feud. It would have been interesting to see Jeff possibly start a feud with Eli Drake to help elevate him a bit. If Matt won on Sunday, I could have seen a need for a rubber match but we’re getting another match next week. I’m not as down on the Broken Matt character as I once was, but maybe TNA might be a little too proud of this angle. I also fear that if Matt wins “Hardy’s revenge” next week (I’m not sure why they make an annual “Hardy’s Revenge” show) then this feud will never end when the Hardy’s should be elevating other talent as opposed to wrestling on an island of their own.
Trevor Lee vs. Eddie Edwards: The one positive was we got a one on one match for the X Title. I fear what matches we might get when Tigre Uno and Mandrews make their way back to TV. What sucks is the continual regression of the division seems to still be in effect. This wasn’t as good as their singles match a few weeks ago and it was trimmed down for time so no stories can be told. Gregory Shane Helms has the right idea of trying to draw more attention to the division, but the writers don’t give him much to work with as the X Division seems like an uphill battle that everyone in it has to fight. Would it hurt them to run a storyline, even of the level of Grado and Al Snow, within the X Division?
Decay vs. Grado and Mahabali Shera vs. The Tribunal vs. BroMans: I thought that the introduction of the Tribunal and Grado and Shera could have been a positive to the tag division since it would replenish a roster decimated by departures and injuries. However, this was not the way to do it, as it burned through all of the matchups that were possible in the division. This match also flew by so quickly that there was not enough time to tell any stories between the teams.
Maria and Dixie Carter: This segment was strange all across the board. I’m not sure what character Billy Corgan is trying to convey. Are we going to get a heel turn that no one cares about? I also fear that Dixie slapping Maria leads to a program between the two of them with Mike Bennett as the sidekick. It gave me bad memories of post Slammiversary 2015 when the segments moved away from the TNA Title and more towards the Dixie Carter power struggle. Bennett also gets a Miss for his attire, which reminded me of a certain El Dragon in Lucha Underground. I don’t see main event, nor a miracle in a person wearing tropical fruit attire.
Do not like Michael Bennett’s character at all. It’s just, “meh.” Is he trying for “evil hipster?” Really enjoy the manipulative Maria though. Her mic work is great!