SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
INTRO
‘TNA is heading closer to their next big event, Slammiversary, taking place at the end of the month on June 28th, and with that, several feuds and potential matches are taking shape.
Impact opened this week returning to the prior format of video packages summarizing the lead up to the two top matches taking place on the show. The first focus was on the feud of Ariana Grace & Stacks going head to head with Grace’s father, Santino Marella, & Indi Hartwell. The recap also highlighted the Wicked Garden match between The Righteous-Broken Hardys.
THE SYSTEM KICKING OFF THE SHOW
EDDIE EDWARDS (with The System) vs. BDE
Recent Happenings: Things have been going pretty well for The System with Cedric Alexander’s TNA X-Division Championship, but they have perhaps spread themselves too thin, as their enemies are beginning to stack up against them. The match between Edwards-BDE was an extended squash match, including obligatory interference by Alisha Edwards. Further distraction by Brian Myers led to the victory for Eddie Edwards. Following the match, The System began a beat down of BDE when Fabian Aichner, and later Leon Slater, evened the odds.
Analysis: BDE showed some good athleticism and babyface charisma, but I felt the match went a little long. Edwards should have been able to secure a victory without the assistance of his System stablemates, but the storyline looks prime for Moose’s return, leading to some sort of multi-man warfare. So far, I am enjoying Fabian Aichner’s addition to the roster.
Grade: B+
RIGHTEOUS PROMO
Recent Happenings: The final build before the Wicked Garden match aired with a theatrical promo by the Righteous.
Grade: B
AJ FRANCIS vs. ELIJAH
Recent Happenings: AJ Francis has been heating up a bit lately with a victory over KC Navarro, and now in a fledgling feud with Eljiah. After being denied an opportunity for collaboration by Eljiah, AJ Francis sought to undermine Elijah’s character by shameless infringing on Elijah’s “intellectual property”. An in-ring promo between the two this week ended with a Francis cheap shot on Elijah.
Analysis: An Elijah-AJ Francis feud makes sense for both characters at this time. I continue to enjoy Francis’ character work, and I would like to see him go over in the feud.
Grade: C+
DARIA RAE CHASTIZING INDI HARTWELL
Recent Happenings: The ongoing feud that features Daria Rae, Indi Hartwell, and Santino Marella has been getting more TV time lately. The quick promo here was meant to continue building the tension between Rae and Hartwell.
Analysis: The more heavy-handed building of tension between Daria-Indi leads me to believe this could be leading to a return to the ring for Daria Rae. The mostly ineffectual heel authority figure existing in her own world on the weekly show is odd to me. I wonder how much more TNA booking can get out of this storyline.
Grade: D
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “Worse or Better” with Stephanie Chase and Josh White, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
ELAYNA BLACK BACKSTAGE
Recent Happenings: Since returning to TNA, Elayna Black has set her sights on the TNA Knockouts Title on multiple occasions, starting with knocking off Indi.
Analysis: I thought this was a good promo by Black, and I like to see more people in TNA putting an emphasis on chasing the World Titles.
Grade: B+
ARIANA GRACE & STACKS vs. SANTINO MARELLA & INDI HARTWELL
Recent Happenings: The weekly building feud between Grace & Stacks-Santino led to a co-ed tag match. Following an accidental Cobra strike by Grace onto Stacks, Santino & Indi delivered double Cobras for the victory.
Analysis: For a feud I have not had the most interest in, I thought the match was pretty good. Grace is effective in her heel role, and sells well, which made for some fun spots. Aspects of this feud will likely continue as both Santino and Indi Hartwell have ongoing tensions with Daria Rae.
Another random note; Frankie Kazarian joined Tom Hannifan and Matt Rehwoldt on commentary during this match, for some reason, but I thought the chemistry of the three was pretty entertaining.
Grade: B
BACKSTAGE WITH THE ELEGANCE BRAND
ELEGANCE BRAND vs. THE UNDEAD REALM
Recent Happenings: The Elegance Brand has been the target of some supernatural pranks by Rosemary, Allie, and Mara Sade. The Undead Realm used their magical powers to teleport into the Elegance locker room, sending the Elegance Brand running in fear.
Analysis: The most goofy storyline/feud on TNA television right now is the one building between The Elegance Brand-Undead Realm. I was more positive on the future of the Undead Realm team when it seemed they may get away from the overt supernatural aspects it employed in the past, but alas, teleportation. The segment was made for comedy, but came across as cheesy.
Grade: D
ERIC YOUNG vs. MIKE SANTANA
Recent Happenings: After winning a battle royal to win a shot at the TNA World Championship, Eric Young has been delivering compelling promos leading into the match against Mike Santana. Impact featured a heated face to face interaction between Young-Santana. Following the exchange, Young attacked Santana with a cheapshot and piledriver to conclude the segment.
Analysis: The intense exchange between Young-Santana was my favorite thing on the show this week. Both wrestlers are confident in their characters which makes for interesting back and forth. I was intrigued at the matchup when EY won the Number One Contenders Battle Royal a few weeks ago. Eric Young had to combat the fans “what?” chants, which he played into, and then also gave a masterclass in how to deal with the chants by changing the cadence of his delivery in the promo. TNA did a good job building this match over the last few weeks, and I regard it as the upcoming match I most anticipate right now. With rumors of Santana’s likely impending departure from the promotion, every TNA Title defense could be his last.
Grade: A
IMPACT INJURY REPORT
The Injury Report was more condensed this week as it only covered the attack on Elijah at the hands of AJ Francis, which took place earlier in this episode of Impact. Wrapping up the report, Hannifan confirmed the medical team would be at the ready for the Hardys-Righteous Wicked Garden match.
MUSTAFA ALI (with ORDER 4) PROMO BACKSTAGE
MUSTAFA ALI vs. KC NAVARRO
Recent Happenings: KC Navarro earned a shot at the TNA International Championship when he pinned Ali in the Champions Challenge match last week.
Analysis: Ali is a great heel. He is good at making a viewer want to see him lose. KC Navarro recently returned from injury and earned his shot at Ali and the International Title. Navarro could make for a good foil for Ali, but I would keep the momentum and the Title on Ali for now.
Grade: B+
MR. ELEGANCE (with THE ELEGANCE BRAND) vs. TNA KNOCKOUTS CHAMPION LEI YING LEE
Recent Happenings: After Mr. Elegance assisted Lee’s former friend and current adversary, Xia Brookside, in the Champions Challenge match last week, an intergender match between Lei Ying Lee-Mr. Elegance took place on Impact this week. After Personal Concierge and the rest of the Elegance Brand were ejected from ringside by the referee, Mr. Elegance would embark on a number of very heelish tactics. Following an interference by Brookside, Mr. Elegance gained a pinfall victory over Lei Ying Lee.
Analysis: I was surprised to see this match announced for the show, mainly because it was not really mentioned at all last week. I think I would have preferred Lee get the victory, but Mr. Elegance was despicable throughout the match, and did good heel work. I think this was my favorite Mr. Elegance segment since seeing him debut. After the match, Brookside declared she was coming for the TNA Knockouts Championship at Slammiversary. The Brookside-Lee feud is personal but also is centered on the Knockouts Title. I have liked aspects of this build, but we will see where it ends up by the time we get to Slammiversary.
Grade: B-
THE RIGHTEOUS vs. THE BROKEN HARDYS
WICKED GARDEN MATCH
Recent Happenings: The ongoing feud between The Righteous-Hardys has been an entertaining build. There have been a couple singles matches and several compelling promos on the way to this tag team showdown that brought the Brokenness out of the Hardys, into the Wicked Garden. The Wicked Garden match was a no-DQ, hardcore match with unique lighting and floral decorations on top of barbed wire. The match was quite violent, featuring heavy weapon use and blood. The Righteous got the victory in their signature match, but as credits rolled on the screen, the lights went out and back on, revealing the Broken Hardys had disappeared.
Analysis: The build and ongoing feud between the Hardys-Righteous has been one of my favorite things on the weekly Impact broadcasts lately. The Wicked Garden match was a bit over-reliant on weapons for me, but it worked overall to continue the feud. I think the disappearance of the Hardys at the conclusion of the match certainly points to a continuation of the feud, which I am fine with. The feud could perhaps be leading to a blow off at Slammiversary, or it could continue on longer. As I have mentioned on previous Feud Trackers, I wish this feud was for the TNA Tag Titles. I feel the Tag Titles have been defined down quite a bit as they are in the possession of The System, with no tag teams signaling their intent at acquiring them.
Grade: B
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