By Jason Powell
TNA Impact Wrestling Hits
Eddie Edwards vs. Lashley: A minor Hit for the match quality. The ref bump finish was unsatisfying, but I can’t blame them for not having Lashley simply lose clean or regaining the championship so quickly. I’m still not buying Edwards in the TNA Champion role, but he’s in a better place today than he was when he won the title out of nowhere after losing at least three televised matches in a row leading up to that win. It would be fun if Lashley’s character complains about the referee’s fast count at the end despite the fact that Lashley should have been disqualified twice before that occurred.
Eddie Edwards video package: A good piece of production that helped viewers get to know the new TNA Champion. I’d actually like to see more of these features. They could help establish a lot of personalities if they are creative with it and avoid the temptation of playing up every sad story as if the men and women of TNA are like pro wrestling’s rescue dogs better known as WWE cruiserweight wrestlers. They could even have a lot of fun by making these features more character driven for some of the whackier personalities. For instance, the home life of the out there Aron Rex character could be interesting.
Aron Rex vs. Jessie Godderz for the TNA Grand Championship: The Hit is all about the heel turn for Rex, whose character is clearly cheated to win the match. Rex was a flop as a babyface, but he’s a good heel and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do now that he’s slotted properly. Give TNA credit for calling the audible. They may have miscast Rex initially, but they haven’t dug their heels in and and shoved Rex down the throats of viewers similar to the way Vince McMahon has with a certain U.S. Champion.
EC3 and Eli Drake: A minor Hit for two of the more entertaining talkers in TNA exchanging verbal jabs. EC3 shined as he spoke about being The Man in TNA. However, that also helped make it difficult to invest in this storyline. The idea that EC3 is so desperate to take the Bound For Gold contract from Drake isn’t clicking because he is a main event player and TNA Title shots have not been hard to come by. Keep in mind that Cody Rhodes was with the company for one round of tapings and he’s already had a title shot.
Brandi Rhodes and Maria: It was nice to hear from Brandi for a change. She’s basically accompanied her husband Cody and let him do the bulk of the talking until now. There was a telling moment when Josh Mathews mentioned that her social media followers know what she’s about. While this was a good first step and there’s nothing wrong with Mathews pushing social media accounts, Impact viewers should have a better feel by now regarding what Brandi is all about rather than being expected to visit social media outlets. Maria continues to shine as the heel voice of the Knockouts Division. It would be a significant loss if the company ends up losing her and Mike Bennett at the end of the year.
TNA Impact Wrestling Misses
DCC: The latest Broken Universe segment definitely had its moments, but it felt a little counterproductive in terms of establishing DCC. It was tough to watch two guys wrestle in suits and plastic masks for as long as they did. They had been positioned as badass invader types, yet I couldn’t help but view them as bumbling foils for the Hardys in the Broken Universe, and I don’t think that’s what they have in mind. It seems like they would be better off having them perform dominant sneak attacks at least until the unmasking reveal.
Team X Gold: TNA plowed through the Hardys vs. Decay feud and followed up by putting Decay minus Rosemary in Team X Gold? I guess they are taking this whole obsolete thing seriously.
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