FanPost

TNA Impact Video, Results, and Review (May 8th, 2015): Do You Know Who He Is?

TNA aired live tonight from Orlando and featured the finish of the Eric Young/Kurt Angle feud, the return of Bully Ray, the answer to the tag title conundrum, and much more.

Let's start with the main story of the evening.

The show kicks of with Eric Young demanding to know who the special guest referee is. Bully Ray comes out wearing a referee shirt and asks EY if he knows who he is. The segment ends.

Backstage, Angle and Bully talk for a moment. Angle asks Bully if he's calling the match down the middle. Bully Ray responds with a question of his own: Do you know who I am?

After aiding BDC with their Rising problem, which is covered more below, Eric Young asks the BDC backstage if they will help him win tonight. Because while they don't get along, EY and the BDC are good business partners. If EY is champ, the BDC is champ.

EY confronts Bully backstage and demands to know if Bully is going to screw him like everyone else has. Bully says he has no agenda, just to call the match.

Kurt Angle defeats Eric Young via submission to retain the TNA World Title. During the match the BDC comes down to observe on the ramp. When Angle is tossed outside by Young, the BDC start beating on him. Before Bully Ray can do anything about it, Young his Ray with a low blow that Ray sells the rest of the night. To even the score, first Chris Melendez and then the Rising come down to battle the BDC to the back.

Back in the ring, Young tries to pile drive Bully but gets a back body dropped for his troubles. Angle uses the opportunity to hit the Angle Slam, but Young kicks out before 3. Young then delivers a Pile Driver, which Angle kicks out at 3. Finally, Angle hooks in the Ankle Lock and Young taps. Bully Ray called the entire match down the middle.

TNA gave us the answer to who is the special guest ref immediate in a very quick segment. Likely they wanted to be able to advertise it throughout the night and get people to tune in right away. However, it was such a lackluster way of announcing it that it may have been better served story wise to find out later. None-the-less, this did not make or break anything. In fact, the most refreshing part of the entire segment is that Bully Ray wasn't involved in some swerve or even involved in the main event. He was just a popular past TNA guy calling the match. It is not known now if this was a one off or if Bully has re-signed with TNA. After tonight, it can go either way since he was not given any story direction after tonight. To their credit, the match felt bigger with him as the special referee.

The match itself had its moments but never fully connected. It is possible that's because the feud itself never seemed to land. When the build to a match isn't grand, it is tougher to get into said match. However, the fact that this bout had less stakes to it made the overbooking portions more tolerable. It was also set up earlier in the night so the show warned us that was how this would go. Given the chaotic nature of this Angle/Young feud, a chaotic main event fit the bill. The overbooking also really didn't affect the finish, so both men got to finish things off themselves.

Apparently TNA has used my suggestion from last week about adding Chris Melendez to the BDC feud (I know you're reading, TNA!) Unfortunately, it comes at a time when Homicide is announced out with a shoulder injury. So if he continues to feud on the side of the Rising, it's the good guys who out number the bad guys.

This felt like the end of the Young/Angle feud, which was never bad but never that good either. Now Angle can shift his focus to whomever he'll likely face at Slammiversary (EC3, dammit!)

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EC3 defeats Anderson in a Falls Count Anywhere match with a lot of help from Tyrus

So my plea for all of my loyal readers to vote for the arm wrestling contest failed because it lost 85% to 15%. That's OK. You can just try harder next time. It's also possible that TNA isn't as vehemently against poll tampering as Vince McMahon.

The match we got had it's moments - pretty much every moment that didn't Tyrus. The spots that just involved Anderson and EC3 were good, but too short and too few. There was a fabulous spot where EC3 spat in Anderson's face on the outside and Anderson responded with a rolling fireman's carry on to a huge pile of chairs.

However, watching Tyrus wrestle is a chore. He lumbers and never seems in synch. The fact the finish wasn't EC3 winning with the aid of Tyrus but instead Tyrus doing all the work after Anderson looked to have it won was very disappointing. Anderson and EC3 could have had a longer match that featured them more than Tyrus. Heels should cheat to win, but EC3 should also not need that much help to succeed.

At least EC3's streak is still in tact.

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The BDC come out, wearing some badass masks, and MVP says that their partner Homicide was jumped in the Bronx and needs shoulder surgery. He accuses the Rising for having something to do with it. He then goes on to say that the government can take what they want, but when the BDC takes what they want, they're "thugs." He also says that thug is a synonym for the n-word. (Seriously, they had to bleep him out.)

Drew comes out with the Rising and says that it was not they who took out Homicide. Galloway says maybe it's Kenny King who looked at Homicide funny last week when he touched King's X-Division title. MVP shuts that down and tells drew that he doesn't care about Pro-wrestling. He just cares about the money that comes from it.

The two men have a one on one match that MVP dominates but Drew wins.

After the match, Eric Young attacks Galloway and the rest of the Rising gets beat down as well. Young and MVP have a quick conversation before EY leaves.

MVP is an excellent promo and he continues to be here. I was a bit taken aback when he clearly referenced the recent events in Baltimore when talking about thugs (which was a term used by some when describing the looters in Baltimore). Rewatching it, you can see how uncomfortable the crowd got when MVP dropped the n-bomb on them. It certainly didn't kill the promo and he was somehow able to keep it within the story.

I write this review quickly to get it up before bed, so I haven't had the time to formulate a real opinion on him integrating such a serious, sensitive subject into pro-wrestling promo and how well pro-wrestling is as a medium to discuss such issues. On gut review, while definitely surprising, it certainly did not hinder my enjoyment of the segment. If people decide to discuss it in the comments, which is always welcomed, please take extra care too keep it all civil while you discuss it since it is such a serious subject.

Their match was good. Drew, who had taken some damage in a brawl that took place before the match, was worked over most of the match, but the finishing spot was impressive. This feud will likely kick it into high gear as TNA heads to Slammiversary and this story has become one of the real enjoyable ones that TNA has had to offer.

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James Storm comes down to the ring with a gift. He calls down Mickie James and thanks her and all the mothers. She opens the gift, which is a guitar. Then they takes a "selfie" which was taken by someone who wasn't in the picture.

Magnus comes down and Storm gives him a gift too: A Roman helmet reminiscent of his "Brutus Magnus" gimmick. Magnus tosses it down, then he and Mickie begin to leave. However when Storm says he has a gift (a raggedy doll) for their son Donovan from Uncle James, Magnus loses it. He runs back, to the ring, and smashes Mickie's guitar over his head. As Mickie looks on in shock, James Storm has a chuckle by himself in the ring.

Later on backstage, Magnus told Mickie he does not trust Storm and Storm disrespected him. Mickie told Magnus that's fine but what about the fact that he's now disrespected her.

First things first, it's not a selfie when you're not taking the picture. It's just not. If someone else is taking it, it's a "somebody else-ie"... also known as a picture.

It's still not clear what TNA is trying to do with this story. One one hand, they are doing a good job showing Storm as the manipulative SOB that he is. It's clear he's got a plan and it's clear it's working.

On the other hand, what's not clear is who I'm supposed to be rooting for here. Magnus is coming off as an over controlling husband so it's hard to get behind him. Mickie is clueless about her friend Storm, though I liked that she has already stood up to Magnus for being over bearing. And Storm is obviously up to something.

The problem is, eventually, Magnus and Storm are going to need to feud and the fans are going to have to root for someone. TNA hasn't given a hero in this story yet. Hopefully they do soon.

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A video is played of Gail Kim at her husband Robert Irvine's show. Backstage after the show, Taryn Terrell showed up and chatted it up with Irvine's daughters. Gail asked her to leave. After Taryn implied that Gail bad mouthed her step daughters, then left.

Taryn Terrell pins Gail Kim in the Doll House vs Gail Kim/Awesome Kong tag match.

After the match, Marti Bell is caught between Gail and Kong in the ring and takes both of their finishers.

This was a fun match. They played up the issues with Kong and Gail early, but both were able to get on the same page. Gail was the face in Peril and Kong played the house afire, which is the obviously play in this match. Jade is really shows glimpses of what makes her an indie favorite, but she hasn't gotten a chance to really show it off in a TNA match.

There's not much to say about this segment because there was little movement in the story. However this feud seems to have some legs, especially with the tension that's always there between Gail and Awesome Kong.

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Matt Hardy comes down and says Jeff is a daredevil 24/7. He says the decision was made for them and they are forced to vacate the titles. He will go home to figure out what he's going to do with himself.

Then the Dirty Heels (Austin Aries and Bobby Roode) come out! Austin Aries says he promised Angle that he'll wait until Kurt's done with Eric Young before he get his revenge.

Both men then turn their attention to the tag titles, which Hardy left in the ring. Both Roode and Aries call themselves the best tag team in the world. Davey Richards comes out, taking exception to that. He claims the Wolves are the best team. Aries notes there is no Wolves since only one man is in front of him. Richards proves him wrong when he reintroduces a healthy Eddie Edwards

To decide who's the best, they will have a best of five series!

It's been made clear that I am a full on mark for the Dirty Heels. And while the plan was likely the Hardys versus the Wolves in a best of 5, this one is so much better. It was not long ago that TNA ran a best of five including both the Hardys and the Wolves with 3D, so they'd have been doing it again - just without 3D. The Dirty Heels and the Wolves feels like a much fresher match up.

This is reminiscent of when the Motor City Machine Guns went best of five against Beer Money. That was one my favorite title feuds on TNA. The upcoming feud between the Dirty Heels and the Wolves should live up. The Wolves have had a ton of really fun tag matches since they've been in TNA and the Dirty Heels are two of TNA's best wrestlers. Sit back and enjoy the ride because this should be a blast.

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Angelina Love cuts a promo talking about how great she is. She is interrupted when Velvet Sky, sporting a new look, emerges from the crowd and climbs into the ring. Angelina tries to reason with Sky, tries to welcome Sky back, and tries to put her down. Velvet says nothing and then spears Love and beats her up. Security has to come back and separate them.

The best part about all of this is TNA is actually running a second women's angle for a change. Recently, it really has just been the main story and the rest of the Knock Outs have been left to do nothing. TNA has too much talent in the division to leave so many out.

While a feud between Love and Sky has been played by TNA multiple times, both women are good wrestlers and good workers. Kudos to Josh Matthews who made sure to remind us that Velvet is not an active roster member, keeping continuity with her getting fired earlier this year.

While I don't want to spend much time on a soap box, but the crowd chanting "Motorboat" at two ladies regardless of the situation doesn't make wrestling fans look good. Just like the chants at the Raw after WrestleMania didn't either. Granted the Impact Zone is much smaller so it takes less fans to get a chant across on TV, fans should come up with something a bit more creative that makes them look a bit less scummy.

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Josh Matthews called the show solo again, meaning without Al Snow. This could mean the Al Snow experiment is already over, but it could also be they didn't want him on a live show this soon. For what it's worth, Matthews does a fine job calling the show alone. While he can start becoming annoying when he's playing the incensed commentator, like he did during the Knock Outs tag match, he really does a good job overall. If Al Snow does not rejoin him, the show definitely would not suffer.

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Pros of the Show:
  • The Dirty Heels are back!
  • The BDC and Rising continue to put on an entertaining feud
  • Bully Ray calls a clean match
  • Josh Matthews calls a good one man show
Cons of the Show:
  • Too much Tyrus
  • Who should I root for in Magnus and Storm?
  • Eric Young/Kurt Angle feud never clicked
Tonight was a pretty good offering with some pretty good matching, but with little that really knocked it out of the park on their live show.

Arbitrary Grade: B

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.