TNA IMPACT HITS & MISSES (9/17): Moose puts his career on the line for what? Plus finally hints at who mystery attacker was, Sosa gets a pinfall on Cedric, more

HITS

Ricky Sosa getting the pin on Cedric Alexander

I know that it was just a tag match with Elijah as his partner against the tired System act but, similar, yet more important than Rich Swann over LJ Cleary, it’s important that the fanbase views Ricky Sosa as a consistent winner on TNA programming. It was a good idea to give Sosa the pinfall victory and I am glad he now has a clear direction for Bound for Glory. Eddie Edwards, although over-positioned, is a credible, long-time TNA act with credentials. A win over him truly means something.

Quick Hit: BDE’s “last chance” to join the Righteous

While I’ve mostly thought that this angle has been a huge waste of time, I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t, at the very least, mildly curious about what BDE’s “last chance” to join the Righteous will look like. I’m fully expecting it to lack an intriguing payoff but a guy can dream, can’t he?

Leon Slater getting a quick, squash win over Ryan Nemeth

I was initially worried about this match but we got exactly what we needed here with a quick, Leon Slater squash win over Ryan Nemeth in less than five minutes. I thought that there was a decent chance that TNA would put Ryan Nemeth over with chicanery here but they correctly resisted that temptation.

Zoey Serrano getting a much needed win over Harley Hudson

Serrano was, and should be, the priority here with an establishing female hoss win over an up-and-coming Hudson who still managed to look good in defeat. I’d prefer if Daria Rae was removed from involvement with the Serrano-Hudson-Hartwell triangle but that is my only qualm here. I’m still curious as to what Hartwell’s direction at Bound for Glory is? My “Destination Impact” co-host Zac Clarke mentioned last week that, perhaps, a Four-Way Knockouts match between Hartwell, Serrano, Elayna Black and Xia Brookside is the direction for Bound for Glory. While I wouldn’t be a fan of that for TNA’s biggest show of the year I’m increasingly believing that might be the plan with the way these four keep crossing paths.

We finally get a hint as to who the mystery attackers might be

It’s been rumored, for a while, that TNA was interested in bringing in former members of the Wyatt Sicks from WWE, in particular, Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumas (the former Sam Shaw in TNA). To close out Impact we saw a beaten-down Matt Hardy with two mysterious figures looking down at him before they walked away. I’m just connecting the dots that it’s likely that Gacy and Lumus have been the mystery attackers that we’ve seen the last several weeks and TNA finally gave us a breadcrumb tonight. While I still question if this introduction to the pair is the right approach, at least TNA took some time to give the fans something to grasp on to.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

Check out the latest episode of “Destination Impact” with Zac Clarke and Jerud Buhagiar, 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)

MISSES

Kiera Hogan’s random Knockouts TV Title shot and subsequent short match

I know that Kiera Hogan and Allie have been feuding with the Elegance Brand from a Knockouts Tag Title perspective, but what exactly did Kiera Hogan do to earn a singles match for the Knockouts TV Title shot? She hasn’t exactly racked up singles wins since returning? Also, why are all these matches so short? It makes the Knockouts division feel of low importance. That being said, it is a good idea to give M by Elegance wins to establish her reign. I just wish there were better thought out storyline reasons for these matches.

This weird John Skyler-Mila Moore love angle

I know that I mentioned this a few weeks ago but this John Skylar-Mila Moore love angle feels so weird and out of nowhere. Who is this supposed to help? This is making John Skylar look like a dweeb and, I hate to be rude, but I don’t see a ton of potential in Mila Moore, in general. Then later in the show we get Moore on the phone saying she would never date someone who looked like Skylar? Is this a Nickelodeon teen drama or a professional wrestling program? If this is a vehicle to further dismantle Order 4 I think that creative could have found a better and more productive solution to make it happen.

LJ Clear’s debut and fun match leading to a necessary Rich Swann win

LJ Cleary and Rich Swann had a fun, athletic match here. If Rich Swann is going to continue to get TV time it is important that the fans get to see him get his hand raised every once in a while and Cleary was a nice opponent to have for this purpose.

Moose putting his career on the line for an Impact main event

No one or their Grandmother believed that Moose was going to lose and end his career on the main event of a random Impact episode. It was an unnecessary stipulation that gave away the ending to the match that TNA has been increasingly guilty of lately. The only real slight intrigue is if this feud is over? I doubt it as the Avery Styles aspect is still lingering and I expect that to culminate at Bound for Glory in some capacity.