The latest live episode of TNA Impact aired last night (Aug. 23, 2012) on Spike TV and there were some major happenings, mostly relating to the clash between the TNA roster and Aces and Eights. It was also Open Fight Night and Gut Check, so quite a few things went down.
Let's get to the nitty-gritty.
- The ending to this show was a bit strange. Aces and Eights came out to brawl with the TNA roster, then they got the hell beat out of them. Then, out came more and more members, which eventually overwhelmed the three (RVD, Austin Aries, and Jeff Hardy) men in the ring. After, Aces and Eights all hit their motorcycles and bolted, with some members left backstage brawling with the TNA roster. After digesting it, it seems like an interesting play. You wonder what happened to those left behind and what Aces and Eights will have up their sleeve next. Not the prettiest move, but it keeps things rolling.
- To summarize, most of the show involved Aces and Eights. The opening had two members get beaten up in-ring to get "patched" by the gang. The rest of the show featured the gang getting taken out by various wrestlers, which concluded with the aforementioned ending. There was a lot going on with this story, and although it was a little extensive this episode, it has me curious as to what the big payoff is and what new kinks will come of this. I guess that's what any wrestling promotion wants, right?
Thoughts on the rest of the show after the jump.
Tara and Miss Tessmacher had the opening match for Open Fight Night. The match itself was horrendous as expected, but the storyline of Tessmacher calling out her "mentor" to see if she could beat her was pretty nice. Maybe this will be a decent little feud, but these girls need to do some live-action run-throughs beforehand.
D'Angelo Dinero was written off because of his Aces and Eights attack. Solid play, but nothing worth writing much about.
Robbie E, RVD, and AJ Styles had a pretty nice little match in the BFG Series. The ending was weird to me, as RVD frog splashed Styles, who had his forearms/fists up. Robbie E went for the pin on RVD and got the victory. While it doesn't make much sense to me to end it that way, it was a minor little thing in an okay match.
Jeff Hardy called out Robbie T...for whatever reason. It was a good style clash that didn't make Robbie T do much, which is always a good thing. Typical thing you'd expect from both men with Hardy coming out on top. Worth a look if you're into either man's work.
The Claire Lynch situation had the big payoff tonight. Before I get into the actual details of what happened, I legitimately am going to miss this campy storyline. Christopher Daniels really shined here and showed why he is a heat magnet. We got good matches between Daniels and Styles as well. Despite the initial "WTF" factor, I am glad I got through this.
The end to the situation lead to Lynch's attorney coming out and reading a statement from Ms. Lynch. She admitted it was all blackmail from Daniels and Kaz and that she was never actually pregnant. In all, I can't really expect much more or much less with this. They could have went over-the-top with a crazy Mae Young twist, but they went the safe route. That shows a bit more maturity from the TNA booking crew and they went about this the right way.
Hulk Hogan returned in a segment to beatdown three members of Aces and Eights. Interesting to note they are referring to him as "Hollywood" again and he has the evil black beard. This could mean a lot, but it could also mean a whole lot of nothing. Considering who it is, I hope it is the latter.
Gut Check this week was awful. Kris Lewie has the charisma of a paper bag, along with the in-ring skill of one, too. He botched an Irish whip, for crying out loud. Hopefully he stays in OVW or doesn't get the "contract" at all after this performance.
ODB is developing a storyline with Eric Young, as they haven't seen each other in three weeks. I guess that's nice. EY is fun in small does and I could see this being okay.
Mr. Anderson called out Bully Ray for his Open Fight Night match. Nothing to say here. Love Bully Ray's persona, but his in-ring isn't too great. And look who he worked with tonight. Nothing offensive, but not anything I'd call enjoyable, either.
Overall, the show was a little underwhelming, but there were not any majorly bad flaws. It gets a passing grade in my book and it is worth a once over if you have it on your DVR somewhere.
What did you think of last night's Impact, Cagesiders?