Instant Reaction - TNA Impact Wrestling 4/12
By Benjamin Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 6.5

After several weeks of mediocre to simply bad shows, Impact showed some real improvement tonight. While none of the matches were awe-inspiring (only Daniels vs. Aries was a lot of fun to watch), TNA had several successful segments of hype for Lockdown, especially in regards to the Storm vs. Roode feud. The video packages throughout the show really elevated the feud and gave it a big-time feel. At the same time, their segment at the end of the show was awesome. The two had some great chemistry and tension in the ring, and it was probably one of the best talking segments TNA has had in recent memory. Great build for a match that felt like it has been over-looked lately.

That's another positive for this show - less Hogan. He was used as a hook for one commercial break. Good. That's exactly how he should be used - to bring in viewers before having the new guys showcase their stuff. While I still don't really care about the Bischoff feud (beating a dead horse, I know), the concept of having Garrett's partners announced throughout the show was a good way of keeping people tuned in. The matches themselves, though, were in general less entertaining, with none of the guys on Team Bischoff... er, Team Eric Bischoff... looking very strong. Still, not too bad overall.

While the set-up for Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. the Machineguns was short, I really enjoyed the Tag Title segment. Just like the Storm-Roode confrontation, it had a lot of intensity with both teams expressing how much they wanted to win. Very nice work all around. The KO segment was only okay, but I'll admit that I got a kick out of the wedding. It was just so weird and nonsensical that it really worked out well in the end. And, considering that, in general, I feel that Eric Young should only be relegated to less than five minutes of TV time a week, that's a pretty big complement.

So, while Impact isn't as good as it was just a few short months ago, a lot of improvement was shown tonight.There was some pretty good pay-per-view hype, multiple good talking segments, and while the in-ring action wasn't the best, it still held my attention. Now we'll wait to see if TNA can keep this momentum going through Lockdown.

Any questions or comments? Follow me on Twitter at BTuckertorch, or e-mail me at btuckertorch@aol.com.

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