SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HITS
Davey’s Heel Turn: This was probably the best Impact moment of the year so far. What struck me was the level of violence on display here. It wasn’t something that made you feel sick, or felt gratuitous, but Davey choking out Eddie with his belt was an effective way to put an exclamation point on the end of their team and friendship. Davey’s facial expressions made him come across as a remorseless killer, and Angelina Love was great as well at mocking Eddie’s wife. This angle is off to a hot start, and here’s to hoping they’re able to keep up the momentum in the coming months.
Shera’s Best Match Ever: I’ve yet to see Mahabali Shera in an even decent match. Somehow Drew Galloway got something pretty good out of him, which says a lot about him as a worker. This wasn’t pretty, but it felt more “real” than most matches in the Grand Championship division. Shera took a beating, and the red welts on his chest looked insanely painful. However, there’s still the problem that Galloway is absurdly miscast, as the crowd was far more interested in him than the face in the match. If he stays with the company, hopefully they correct course on that odd decision to turn him into a villain.
The Hardys Wake Up the Crowd: I wasn’t a huge fan of everything that Matt and Jeff Hardy did on the show (see below), but the Impact Zone was sounding slightly louder than a funeral before the brothers came out. The ratings may not reflect their popularity, but they’re the only ones in the promotion who really feel like big stars at the moment. Their Tijuana trip livened things up a bit, and there might be some good fun to be had from their worldwide travels in the coming weeks. Their upcoming match against Psicocis and Super Crazy has me more interested to watch play out than just about anything on the show in some time.
The Helms Dynasty Implodes: Yeah, probably the right move to just end this thing. The Helms Dynasty has largely been used as jobbers, and it was going to be a struggle to get Andrew Everett and Trevor Lee to be taken seriously as a team. There were times where Shane Helms wouldn’t be on TV for weeks, so the entire group felt disjointed and lacked any sense of cohesiveness. It was also nice to hear Everett talk, and Lee continued to impress with his brief mic time as well.
MISSES
Teleport Time: Simply, I hated the Hardy’s teleporting out of the Impact Zone into Mexico. I know it’s done in a silly way, but it makes the narrative world that TNA operates in fall apart. It’s harder to get invested in something deeply personal— like The Wolves breaking up—when two other guys on the roster can magically teleport at any time they want to as if they were Nightcrawler from X-Men. You either have to go all in like Lucha Underground and completely rewrite the rules of the inner logic of your show, or it all feels haphazard and disjointed. Even fantastical shows like Game of Thrones have consistency in what works in their world. If Tyrion started teleporting as a plot device for no reason, fans would flat out reject that. As good as the Hardys are, they shouldn’t be allowed to completely undermine everything else in the promotion.
The Opening Segment: This was completely counterproductive, and erased anything The DCC gained last week by when they beat up EC III and Eli Drake in the main event. For starters, is Carter upset about the attack? They didn’t really play up that he was too injured to show up, so it seemed odd he had nothing to say. Then there’s the issue that the DCC looked incredibly weak for not being able to handle Tyrus and Drake in a handicap match. They were probably going to lose until Drake walked off…which is another issue. It’s way too early to tease dissension between those two! THAT is something that is working, so why give up on it? Aron Rex and Rockstar Spud on the other hand…
Aron Rex vs. Robbie E: Another week of Impact, another week of Rex in the miss column. I give him credit for going all in on this act, but it’s just not a good act. I hope that either Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell are able to take the character in an interesting direction, or they all agree to give up on it ever working. The Pope had an inadvertent gem of a line when he said that Robbie wanted to be more serious, so his kid wouldn’t one day watch the show and see him as a goof. I think he’s about five years too late on that one.
Rules Aren’t Enforced: Impact has done a pretty good job of adding more realism into their Grand Championship matches over the past couple weeks. Drew Galloway had points deducted multiple times for breaking the rules in previous matches, but Mahabli Shera wasn’t punished for hitting his finisher a good second or two after the bell had rung. It was clear that the round had ended, and yet the judges had nothing to say about it. The timing of the move was probably inadvertent, but they should have still improvised and taken a point away.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S ARTICLE: IMPACT HITS & MISSES 2/2: Lashley, Aron Rex’s fall, Eli Drake, Trevor Lee, Don West’s latest deal, Brooke vs. Sienna, Open Fight Night,
They don’t take points away for hitting someone at the bell or one second after the bell in MMA. I don’t see why they would in this type of wrestling match either, unless it was blatant. Then I guess you could deduct a point or call for the dq.
Great point on the Eddie vs Davey storyline. I think this could be one of the more interesting feuds in TNA in a while. I know Richards and Edwards have wrestled each other before, but now we have another layer with the wives being involved. I thought Angelina Love played her role great last week. I am interested to see where this goes.
The Hardys are always fun to watch, but at some point the act is going to run the risk of jumping the shark. I am not sure if we are there yet, but I didn’t like the transporting to Tijuana bit either. I am looking forward to their match there, I did not realize their opponents were still active as I have not seen either in any promotion in years.