TNA Impact Preview (March 1, 2016): Sins of the Past

TNA Impact returns tonight through their tour of the UK. Last week, Ethan Carter had his rematch for the TNA title against Matt Hardy in a cage. Unfortunately for the challenger, Carter's old mate Rockstar Spud slammed the cage door in his face, allowing Matt to escape with the title.

While an explanation is not advertised for tonight, Spud, Hardy, and EC3 are all in the building so there will be some promo from them. The Spud heel turn was great storytelling because it creates yet another heel that has an understandable motive to turn. Matt Hardy has been a really fun heel, but his turn made sense. He kept getting screwed over and over by EC3 and after all that, when he finally got the chance to face another time, Carter won again. There was only so much the man can take before he snapped.

Spud has an even longer history with EC3, bearing the brunt of Carter's brutality last year. When they were friends, EC3 used Spud for his own gain and Spud ended up being the one who took all the beatings meant for Carter. When they became enemies, Carter ended up bloodying Spud and shaving his head. It makes sense for the man not to forgive Carter as quickly as the rest of us have.

The way they play this story out, starting tonight, could be good. Unfortunately, a smaller man like Spud is going to be a less convincing heel when it comes to being in the ring. I doubt Carter will ever get Spud one on one because most of Spud's in ring work is him getting worked over by the opposition. That isn't going to fly for getting the heat on a heel. So likely, any match he'll be in, he'll have big Tyrus in the ring with him doing most of the dirty work for him.

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Here's what else is on tap for tonight:

1) Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode

This is the second to last match for Kurt Angle in TNA. Kurt's farewell tour has been a disjointed showing, with just a bunch of random matches where he'd win some and lose some (well really just the match against Drew after already beating him once.) There is a story they are telling a bit for Kurt's final match against Lashley last week, but not here.

Since there is no story, in ring work along will have to carry all the weight. Bobby Roode can still go and Kurt has some left in the tank. It is possible that they insert Lashley in here to build to Kurt's final match next week.

2) Gail Kim confronts Maria

Last week, with Madison Rayne taken out prior to the women's Lethal Lockdown, Gail Kim told a confrontational Maria that she should replace Rayne in the Lethal Lockdown match. When her spot came up, the Miracle's music played and Maria actually came out in wrestler's gear. However, instead of joining the match, she just locked the cage door, leaving Gail and her partner Velvet Sky at the handicapped mercy of the Doll House, who won the match.

Now, Gail demands answers. These two have had issues since Maria cut a promo saying that the Knockouts division is garbage and she will save it, which Gail took exception to. I think Gail has a feud with Jade lined up first, given that Jade pinned her last week, so the Gail/Maria feud will be a slow boil for a bit. Either way, I'm excited for the prospects in both matches and maybe the Knockouts division is finding a little bit of life.

3) Eric Young vs. Damo for the King of the Mountain championship

Damo is one of the three wrestlers from the United Kingdom that were added to this tour, alongside Jimmy Havoc (who I will touch upon shortly) and Will Osprey. I don't know much about Damo myself, but it'll be good to see a fresh face on an episode of Impact.

4) Drew Galloway vs. The Miracle Mike Bennett

These men have been at each other since Mike Bennett crashed the Feast or Fired reveal and Drew Galloway stepped up to him. To pay him back, Mike Bennett used Drew's Feast or Fired briefcase to smash his face in with it. This all leads to this match tonight.

It's almost unfortunate that both men are meeting this soon because both are young talent that could be built up without using the other. If they want to build the Miracle into a big heel and at the same time continue to build Drew Galloway as a top face, keep them away from each other and save this for a later date.

In the end, I think Bennett gets the win, likely with the help of Maria. Drew still has the TNA Title briefcase he can use anytime and a recent win over Kurt Angle will keep him strong even if he suffers a nefarious loss tonight.

5) What's up with Jimmy Havoc and the Decay.

I actually originally wrote the following under the "What we'd like to see" but the TNA announced a segment about it, so thanks, TNA!

The last two weeks, Havoc has been hinting around about a past with Rosemary. Last week, he tried to convince Rosemary to rejoin him, but he got a beat down from Crazzy Steve and Abyss instead. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

It will be more interesting to hear about the past of such an enigmatic (sorry Jeff Hardy) character like Rosemary. Havoc looks like he could actually fit into the Decay well, but I believe his time with TNA is a short one so that likely won't happen. It could lead to a Crazzy Steve/Jimmy Havoc match so that could be fun. (I have not read the spoilers so I don't know where any given angle is leading.)

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What we'd like to see:

1) Tag team division's next direction

The Wolves recently fended off the Decay and now need to find another challenger for the TNA tag titles. With Beer Money recently taking care of Bram and Eric Young, it looks like this could be the next collision.

While I don't know plot spoilers, one thing I do know is that somewhere on this tour, Davey Richards tore his ACL and recent word has him out at least 6 months. This means for the second time, the Wolves will have to relinquish the TNA titles. It leaves another thin TNA division thinner, with just Beer Money, Bram/Young, the Decay, and I suppose Eli Drake/Jessie Godderz as the only teams available.

So whatever direction TNA chooses to go starting this show, it'll likely need to be abruptly changed.

2) A fairly quick resolution between Eli Drake and Grado.

I actually appreciated the small wrinkle in the Feast or Fired gimmick this year, having Drake possibly switch the cases with Grado. But this is not a feud I'm up for seeing for more than a month. Part of it is because I'm a fan of Eli Drake and I think doing multiple jobs to the comedy act of Grado is beneath him. Another part is that this will only be funny for so long and it's already start to wear thin. So conclude it soon and move it along.

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TNA Impact airs tonight at 9 est on Pop TV. Who's watching?