TNA Impact returned last night (Jan. 12) from the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida with a couple big matches advertised.
You can find all the results at the live blog here.
Stand and Deliver
Bobby Lashley defeated EC3 in a Last Man Standing match to become #1 contender for the TNA title.
This was set up in the show’s opening segment, when Carter came out and declared that all he wanted was one TNA title match that had a clean finish. Despite having two title matches last week, both had interference from Davey Richards. Lashley interrupted and said that he wants a title match as well, so he proposed a Last Man Standing match between the two of them to determine who it is.
This part was a bit confusing just because TNA advertised this match days ago. So it felt like something we just assumed was booked coming into the show. That’s not a knock on the show in a vacuum, but it’s confusing when you pay attention to the adverts. When a wrestling show advertises a match prior to the start, watching them suddenly decide to have the match throws you off.
The set-up and the match itself took 30 minutes of the show. There’s no problem with that at all. This is a main event setting angle. And having one angle eat up a fourth of the show with an “impromptu” Last Man Standing match allows the show to feel like it’s going by quicker.
The match was your typical Last Man Standing match. The guys would hit their big moves and then the other would try to beat the 10 count. Lashley is still booked like a star, getting up after a ton of punishment. While EC3 weathered the storm early, it was Lashley who got up after the more impressive spots.
He survived a One Percenter immediately followed by EC3 spearing him through a table and answered the count. He was able to make the count when Carter followed that up with a slew of chair shots outside the ring. And when EC3 locked in his sleeper on the ring apron, Lashley purposely sent both of them through two tables set up next to the apron, knowing he was tough enough to beat the 10 count. He gambled correctly as he was up at 9 while EC3 needed 11 seconds.
Lashley needs these victories to continue to appear the top guy he is. However I worry he can’t take any more losses to Eddie Edwards. And honestly, this is the last time I want to see him face Edwards. Carter and Lashley both have had a ton of matches with Edwards it seems. (Lashley more than Ethan, but Carter’s two in the last week makes it feel like we’ve seen it enough.) Hopefully they move on to a fresher title program regardless who wins the next title match.
Wolves Fraying
The Wolves and the Broken Hardys had their big title match tonight. It was just set up last week and overall, the match ended up playing into the story of the deconstruction of the Wolves. Davey Richards is frustrated with his place compared to his partner, Eddie Edwards, who happens to be TNA champion.
Likely these two will end up in a full on feud soon enough, which is why they ran this big tag match so quickly without much of a build. But if anything, tonight was a reminder that the Wolves are damn fun tag team when they are a unit.
In their time in TNA (I haven’t seen the Wolves much at all outside TNA so can’t speak to their other work) they have put on consistently enjoyable tag team matches. They work extremely fluid together, with multiple tandem moves and high flying offense. The Hardys did their part keeping up with the younger team tonight and this match ended up with a bunch of quick action and believable nearfalls. The ending played into the issues with the Wolves as Eddie went to deal with Matt Hardy on the outside while Davey wanted him in the ring to set up a double team on Jeff. Davey went to get his partner back in the ring and Jeff took advantage with the roll up win.
While the break between Davey and Eddie seems inevitable, and understandable if the plan is to use that to get the title off Eddie, it’s a shame to break up TNA’s most talented in-ring team.
The First Lady of Evil
Maria’s issues with Allie continue to come to a head. Allie no longer has the patience to tolerate Maria. While even just a month ago, Allie was meek in the presence of her boss, tonight she acted exhausted with her antics. She also showed more spine when Maria would confront her. This upset Maria enough to set up a match between Maria’s husband Mike Bennett and Allie’s trainer Braxton Sutter in order to teach her apprentice a lesson.
Maria accompanied her husband to the ring and she was fantastically evil at ringside. After distracting Sutter, allowing the Miracle to hit his Miracle In Progress finish, the First Lady ordered her husband to keep the beat down going, calling for a piledriver, an order which Mr. Bennett dutifully abided. Then she got up on the ring apron, gave him a kiss, and demanded another piledriver be delivered to Allie’s trainer.
Allie had seen enough and ran out to try to get them to stop. Maria stopped her apprentice, planning to make her watch her teacher take the beating, but enough time had elapsed for Sutter to escape the piledriver and hit a quick jackknife cover for the win.
This enraged the Bennetts and backstage, Bennett reminded his wife that Allie is her apprentice. She owns her. That gave the First Lady an idea that she wouldn’t yet reveal.
This all worked very well. It feels like this story is coming to the head that it needs to. Allie has progressed as a character to gain more confidence (and more in ring ability). She’s outfoxed her boss lately as well. However, it looks like Maria will have one more act of pure evil coming to lead us to the finish of this and I can’t wait to hate her for whatever she has planned.
The New Aron Rex
So Aron Rex has a new gimmick... and I have no idea what to make of it yet.
He was introduced by Rockstar Spud, who was dressed in a Sgt Peppers-esque outfit, before walking out with a lavish fur robe. He acted and spoke a bit more flamboyant and talked up not being famous for wrestling. In fact, he was done wrestling. Robbie E interrupted to call out Rex for acting like an ass and ended up receiving a two on one beat down. After the beat down, Rex got on the mic and smugly concluded what he was saying before he was interrupted, that violence is not the way.
I’m going to need a couple more weeks to see where this goes before I make a decision. Rex was extremely annoying and I was happy when someone interrupted him so that’s good. Heels should annoy the hell out of everyone. And the argument about his face run was that he came off too smug, so playing that up gives this gimmick a chance. The major pitfall is that this gimmick could digress into a gay caricature and he’ll need to take care that this gimmick doesn’t go down that path.
The addition of Rockstar Spud is a smart move. He’s a great character and good for getting heat. Sure he quit last week and was back with this new bit the following week, but at least the announcers and Robbie made a point to mention that. It’ll be very easy to hate this team if played right. But if played wrong, it could end up offensive.
Voluntarily Voiceless
Eli Drake had a quick backstage segment tonight, but it was significant in his character growth.
With Tyrus still by his side, he grabbed a stagehand and made him read a letter, hostage style. The letter stated that fans don’t appreciate him but they want him to entertain them. Because of that, he’s going to deny them his voice they love so much. Then he beat the hell out of the poor crew member.
This is rather interesting. They are going back to the “No talking” stipulation which was a punishment for Drake when he lost to EC3. However given TNA’s December break, they never got a chance to capitalize on it. So I like that they’re going back to it. It’s a creative change for Drake which will force him to alter his character a bit and get creative. Plus, it will recast Drake as a heel, taking away the one thing fans love to do: Chant along with him.
This whole backstage scene was almost uncomfortable, feeling like the poor guy was kidnapped and reading his ransom letter. (I did appreciate that Drake wrote his catchphrases for the terrified worker to read.) The one thing they need to make sure they is address the fact he attacked a non-wrestler. We need to see some punishment for that to show actions have consequences. But so far, I’m excited for his new direction.
The DCC’s Story
The Decay and DCC had a match tonight that ended in a double count out as the teams continued to brawl outside of the ring ignoring the count. So this feud is only starting.
The bigger thing is that they tried to give us some more background and connect some dots regarding the DCC in a backstage promo. Bram reminded us what Decay did to him and said he joined the DCC for revenge. Finally, they called back to the fact that the last time we saw the Brit, he was being locked in a trunk by Decay. Kingston talked about how he was too violent even for certain wrestling promotions so he knew when James Storm called, he had to answer. That’s a good little backstory for the newcomer at least to start.
Storm’s reasoning still didn’t hold much water though. He spoke about how he formed this so they could no longer be held back by how they looked or how they talked. That really doesn’t fit into James Storm’s TNA run at all. He’s been a champion and had much prominence in TNA. His southern drawl never seemed to hold him back and he has a good look. I still think that Corgan’s departure from the company killed the real idea they had as his motive since he was last seen getting suspended by Corgan.
Monsters Ball
Rosemary came down to the ring and discussed how she would continue dragging the Knockouts division into the darkness. That was when Jade came out and demanded a rematch for the title. Rosemary was happy to oblige as long as she accepts a Monster’s Ball match. Jade told the champ that she is as sick and twisted as her and accepted the match.
This was a great segment. I’m pretty much a Rosemary fanboy at this point. I watch her entrance and just think “Man, that is so frickin’ cool!” She also seems to really have found her stride with her Rosemary style promos. While they were never bad, they seem much smoother now. She’s had at least a year to work this character and it fits her like a glove.
Jade played her part well too and this was one of her better promos, keeping it concise and confident. These are two stars of the Knockouts division and this match should be brutal and entertaining next week.
The gripe I have about this is they’ve had two big, stipulation Knockouts title matches with little build for either of them. They had a cage match to crown Rosemary as a KOs champion, but that was understandable since Gail Kim had to relinquish the belt. But this round is a new set of tapings with no curveballs like Kim’s injury. This is a program that could use some room to breath to build up anticipation for a match that’s already an exciting prospect.
The Returning Brooke
That Knockouts champion that returned tonight (in sit-down interview form) was Brooke (Tessmacher). Surprisingly, I hadn’t thought of her.
However, of all the past Knockouts, she will probably fit into this new division better than the likes of Angelina Love or Velvet Sky. Those knockouts feel like members of an old regime that have done so much already in TNA that there’s not much left to do. But Brooke, while a three time champion, has plenty of wrestling future without being super established in TNA prior where she casts a big shadow.
Pros of the Show:
- The Wolves and Hardys put on an entertaining tag match
- Maria continues to be delightfully evil
- Lashley continues to look like a beast
Cons of the Show:
- Giving minimal build to the Jade/Rosemary feud
- James Storm’s DCC reasoning is still weak
This was another show that didn’t have anything outwardly bad. While Rex’s new gimmick may head that way, right now, it’s still young. The two big matches were entertaining and the women continue to do great things. The show was solid but not spectacular.
Grade: B-