{"id":32170,"date":"2016-09-22T23:04:12","date_gmt":"2016-09-23T04:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=32170"},"modified":"2016-09-22T23:04:12","modified_gmt":"2016-09-23T04:04:12","slug":"922-tna-impact-results-mcmahons-report-grand-title-semi-finals-moose-eciii-vs-lashley-bennett-main-event-x-title-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/09\/22\/922-tna-impact-results-mcmahons-report-grand-title-semi-finals-moose-eciii-vs-lashley-bennett-main-event-x-title-match\/","title":{"rendered":"9\/22 TNA Impact Results &#8211; McMahon&#8217;s Report on Grand Title semi-finals, Moose &#038; ECIII vs. Lashley &#038; Bennett main event, X Title match"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-390315640\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><strong>TNA Impact Results<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>September 22, 2016<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Taped in Orlando, Fla.<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Aired on Pop TV<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Report by Mike McMahon, PWTorch contributor (<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/MikeMcMahonPW\" target=\"_blank\">@MikeMcMahonPW<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Impact opened with a video recapping last week\u2019s show, beginning with Matt Hardy challenging Decay to \u201cthe great war\u201d at Bound for Glory. After that, highlights of the Lashley-ECIII press conference from two weeks ago were shown, followed by Moose challenging Lashley last week.<\/p>\n<p>In-arena: Jeremy Borash was giving ring announcements for tonight\u2019s opening contest, which was a semifinal in the tournament to crown the first Impact Grand Championship.<\/p>\n<p>1 &#8212; DREW GALLOWAY vs. EDDIE EDWARDS &#8212; Grand Championship semifinal match<\/p>\n<p><strong>Round 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Galloway and Edwards lock up to begin the match. Galloway tosses Edwards with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex.<\/p>\n<p>After an Edwards dive outside the ring, they work their way back into the center where Galloway hits a clothesline and begins to control the match again.\u00a0Galloway goes for a pin with 13 seconds left in the round, but Edwards kicks out.<\/p>\n<p>Scores: Drew Galloway, 29-28<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2911941054\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>[Reax: Not sure how anyone in their right mind scores that round for Edwards. He was controlled throughout the entire match, aside from the dive.]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Round 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Edwards charges Galloway right at the opening bell and 30 seconds later, Galloway and Edwards are trading chops.\u00a0With Galloway hung up on the top rope, Edwards climbs after him and hits a hurricanrana for a two count.<\/p>\n<p>Galloway was stuck upside down at the turnbuckle but Edwards took too long to get to the turnbuckle, and Galloway used impressive core strength to toss Edwards.<\/p>\n<p>Edwards came right back with a Boston Knee Party and then dove on Galloway, who rolled to the outside.\u00a0With 10 seconds left in the round, Edwards rolled back into the ring and hit another dive on Galloway.<\/p>\n<p>Scores: Eddie Edwards, 29-28<\/p>\n<p>[Reax: Edwards won the round, but it was a bit more back-and-forth than the first round where Galloway dominated.]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Round 3<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2634624668\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Seconds into the match, Galloway hits a big boot for a two count.<\/p>\n<p>Galloway misses a forearm off the top rope. Edwards rolls through and tries to tie Galloway up in a half crab, but Galloway took him to the mat and locked on an Iron Maiden, which Edwards reversed. Galloway powered out of it and nearly hit a tombstone, but Edwards was able to get away.<\/p>\n<p>With 1:15 left in the round, Galloway and Edwards began trading chops again. They continue trading chops for 30 seconds. Galloway threw Edwards into the corner with a turnbuckle powerbomb and then hit a future shock DDT with about 10 seconds remaining in the match.<\/p>\n<p>Galloway was able to cover Edwards but the referee only got to a two count before the bell rang for the end of the round, and we go to the judge\u2019s scorecards.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break at 8:15]<\/p>\n<p>[Q2] Back from the break, Borash is reading the scores.<\/p>\n<p>Judge 1: 2-1 Galloway<\/p>\n<p>Judge 2: 2-1 Edwards<\/p>\n<p>Judge 3: 2-1 Galloway<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Drew Galloway via split decision.<\/p>\n<p>After the match, Edwards rolled out while Galloway dropped to his knees and celebrated his win. Mathews said that, ironically, the judge who had Edwards winning the first two rounds was the deciding split and he had Galloway in the third round.<\/p>\n<p>Borash entered the ring to interview Galloway, who said nothing has changed, and he is the same Drew Galloway.\u00a0The fans booed, and Galloway called himself the No. 1 soldier in the company. Galloway said TNA is fixed, \u201cmuch like American politics,\u201d and it\u2019s designed to favor certain people.<\/p>\n<p>Galloway told ECIII and Lashley to have a great match, but ask for their match to go on earlier in the show, because they aren\u2019t going to be able to follow Drew Galloway.<\/p>\n<p>ECIII\u2019s music hit and he walked to the ring. He told Galloway to tread lightly the next time he mentioned his name.\u00a0ECIII told Galloway he can\u2019t last even two rounds with ECIII\u2019s verbal sparring, and he could beat him any time, any place.<\/p>\n<p>Lashley entered the arena to his music. Mike Bennett charged the ring from behind and began to attach ECIII, who was in the ring. Lashley ran into the ring and double-teamed ECIII.<\/p>\n<p>Bennett picked up ECIII and held him for a Lashley spear.\u00a0Then, Moose\u2019s music played and he ran to the ring, taking down Bennett with a double-leg and throwing some ground-and-pound. Lashley tried to break it up, but Moose tossed Lashley to the outside. Moose went for a Game Breaker, but Bennett hit a super kick and then Lashley connected with a spear.<\/p>\n<p>Backstage: Allie was\u00a0talking to someone on the phone, trying to arrange something for Maria. We find out it\u2019s a public workout. Maria interrupts and said this is very important to her. Maria tells Allie she wants to show Gail Kim she\u2019s the most dominant champion.<\/p>\n<p>Video: Highlights of Eli Drake and Aron Rex are shown as they talk about why they want to win the Grand Championship, as well as talking about their first-round opponents.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break at 8:29]<\/p>\n<p>[Q3] Back from the break, Bennett is gloating about what he and Lashley just did. He asked Lashley if they just became best friends? Lashley said he has no friends and what happened out there was all him. Bennett said he knew that Lashley would beat ECIII at Bound for Glory. Bennett said he\u2019d also beat Moose\u2019s ass at Bound for Glory, and after that, maybe Lashley would give him a title shot, because they\u2019re friends.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight: Mike Bennett &amp; Lashley vs. ECIII &amp; Moose<\/p>\n<p>In-arena: Eli Drake and Aron Rex are out for their Grand Championship semifinal match.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the match, Drake cut a promo. He told Rex not to get too chatty. Rex said that, as far as those insults, he could have eaten alphabet soup and \u201ccrapped out better insults.\u201d\u00a0Rex said insulting Drake would be like picking on a small child, so he decided he would just tell the tale of Eli Drake. He said that once upon a time, an out of work chippendale\u2019s dancer and a chipmunk got together, and nine months later \u201cthis came out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mathews said that their match is up next.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break at 8:39]<\/p>\n<p>2 &#8212; ELI DRAKE vs. ARON REX &#8212; Grand Championship semifinal match<\/p>\n<p><strong>Round 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The bell rings and Drake starts with a kick to the gut and a side headlock to gain control early.\u00a0Drake and Rex go back and forth trying to gain control early in the match, trading and countering headlocks and holds.<\/p>\n<p>Rex gets Drake to the mat and covers him for a two count with about one minute left in the round.\u00a0Rex hits a spinebuster with 10 seconds left and tries for a submission but Drake doesn\u2019t roll over.<\/p>\n<p>Scores: Aron Rex, 30-27<\/p>\n<p><strong>Round 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During the start of the round, Mathews plugs Bound for Glory and then more television tapings following the pay-per-view.<\/p>\n<p>Drake has control of the round one minute in, holding Rex on the mat.\u00a0Drake hits a neckbreaker for a two count at the 1:30 mark, which was broken up as Rex gets his foot on the bottom rope.<\/p>\n<p>Drake has Rex down and plays to the crowd before hitting a big standing elbow. Pope said the 5-6 seconds Drake played to the crowd before the elbow may have cost him a pin.<\/p>\n<p>Scores: Eli Drake, 29-28.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Round 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Very early in the round, Drake gets rocked by a huge clothesline from Rex that Pope said he calls The Revelator, and Rex scored the pin.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Aron Rex via pin.<\/p>\n<p>Backstage: Decay said that Bound for Glory will see the Hardy\u2019s destruction. As they are cutting their promos, Vanguard 1 approaches. A laughing hologram of Senor Benjamin pops out of Vanguard 1, and it flies away before Abyss can grab him.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break at 8:54]<\/p>\n<p>Backstage: The roving reporter catches Aron Rex. As he starts talking, Drew Galloway enters the room and said to relax. Galloway said that they have a chance to make history. Galloway said there can only be one, and it\u2019s Drew Galloway, and Rex said Galloway would be the man to go to the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Video: Cody Rhodes is introduced to TNA. He\u2019s walking through a field in a suit and then climbs into a sports car. Rhodes said that all of his roads lead to Bound for Glory.\u00a0TNA isn\u2019t calling him Cody Rhodes, but instead he was booked as just \u201cCody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In-arena: Decay is coming to the ring as Josh Mathews is going crazy about Rhodes\u2019s signing. Mathews also only refers to him as \u201cCody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>[Reax: Clearly, this is a big get for TNA. When the long list of WWE talent was released earlier this summer, Rhodes and Rex were the two names people were most interested in, and Cody has done a tremendous job promoting himself for the independents\u00a0and now TNA.]<\/p>\n<p>Rosemary has the mic and she\u2019s screaming for Matt, Jeff, and Reby, telling them that they don\u2019t know what they have done. She said Decay is not afraid of them and they are sick of their games.<\/p>\n<p>The crowd chants \u201cDelete! Delete!\u2019 and Abyss tells them to shut up. Abyss said that Decay would destroy what\u2019s left of the Hardy legacy during the great war, and that would be beautiful.\u00a0Crazzy Steve takes the mic as the crowd chants, \u201cObsolete!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Steve said Vanguard 1 was a welcome invitation. He said they embrace the great war and welcome it with open arms, because they know that once it\u2019s over, everything will belong to Decay.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Hardy is in the crowd. He said that all of what the Hardys have is magic, and they want his magic to decay. Hardy said with the entire world as a battle field, he will bludgeon them again (or, &#8220;ageen&#8221;), and again, and again, and again, and again, and he will delete Decay\u2019s tag team title reign.<\/p>\n<p>On the other side of the building, Jeff Hardy said he has embraced being broken. He said the great war will twist Decay\u2019s fate. Abyss will no longer be beautiful, Steve will no longer be crazy and Rosemary won\u2019t be rosey anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Hardy said they will fade away and classify themselves as obsolete.<\/p>\n<p>Rosemary said they don\u2019t fear fate, and they don\u2019t fear anything because they are the death dealers. Rosemary said that they are tempting fate tonight, because there are only two Hardy brothers and three of Decay. Rosemary said the Hardys are bound for decay.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Hardy said that was a delightful threat. Hardy said that Decay is bound for glory. At that point, the lights go out and when they come back on, Abyss and Steve are tied to the ring posts with straps and Reby is in the ring, she hits Rosemary with a spear and then pummels her on the mat.<\/p>\n<p>Reby tries for a Twist of Fate, but Rosemary breaks free and rolls out of the ring.\u00a0Reby takes a mic and said the worst thing Rosemary could do is mess with a mother and her child. Reby said that next week, in this ring, Rosemary\u2019s mother will be the one left without her baby.\u00a0Matt\u2019s music plays as Matt and Jeff raise the tag team titles.<\/p>\n<p>Backstage: Moose is talking to ECIII about their match tonight. ECIII told Moose that tonight, Moose has the chance to whoop everyone\u2019s ass. ECIII said that tonight, Lashley is his, but after that, Moose can have him. Moose tells ECIII that doesn\u2019t work, because he beats up who he wants, when he wants.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break at 9:12]<\/p>\n<p>Back from the break, X-Division champion D.J. Z is introduced for a title defense.\u00a0D.J. Z said no one knows how much it means to be X-Division champion again. He said the last time he held the title, he was immature and didn\u2019t appreciate it, but he\u2019s done a lot of growing up, and now things are going to be different.<\/p>\n<p>D.J. Z said he would be the champion the people deserve, and he\u2019ll be a fighting champion. D.J. Z challenged anyone hungry in the back to come out and try to take it from him.\u00a0Out comes Trevor Lee, who comes to the ring with Andrew Everett.<\/p>\n<p>3 &#8212; X Division champion D.J. Z vs. TREVOR LEE &#8212; X Division championship match<\/p>\n<p>The match starts fast and furious, as most of these do, but after about 45 seconds, Lee slows it down with a reverse chinlock.<\/p>\n<p>The match rolls to the outside and D.J. Z hits a dive, taking out Lee and Everett on the outside.\u00a0Lee hits a missile dropkick off the top rope and then a back elbow followed by a springboard back elbow off the second rope.<\/p>\n<p>Everett distracts D.J. Z, grabbing his ankle, and that allows Lee to get back on the offensive.\u00a0D.J. Z hits a ZZT out of nowhere for the win.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: D.J. Z retains at 3:54.<\/p>\n<p>After the match, Everett attacks D.J. Z and Lee soon joins to double team. Eddie Edwards runs in to make the save.\u00a0Edwards grabs a mic as D.J. Z gets his arm raised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cD.J. Z right here,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cZ, everyone knows we\u2019re boys. We travel together, stay together and party together. You are the definition of an X-Division athlete. You are what this division is all about. You say you\u2019re a fighting champion, and you\u2019re a man of your word, so how about next week, on Impact, me and you for that title?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>D.J. Z said he knows all the people want to see it, and he can\u2019t think of anyone more deserving, so of course he accepts.\u00a0Edwards and D.J. Z shake hands and Edwards gave D.J. Z the ring to celebrate his win.<\/p>\n<p>[ Reax: Really good match between Lee and D.J. Z. I\u2019m a fan of Lee, especially how his style isn\u2019t just all flips and somersaults. He brings a different dynamic to the very athletic X Division. The announce team did a nice job getting over his strength, too.\u00a0Edwards vs. D.J. Z is an intriguing match next week. It seems like a match that might be better saved for Bound for Glory.]<\/p>\n<p>Backstage: Allie is holding up her bare hands as Maria practices jabs. Maria said she hopes Allie doesn\u2019t mess up this public workout.\u00a0Maria said Allie does nothing right, and Allie asked if she remembered when she laid down for her to win the Knockouts Title?\u00a0Maria said Allie is stupid, and tonight, everyone will see how great Maria is.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break at 9:28]<\/p>\n<p>Back from the break, another \u201cFixer\u201d promo for Tyrus airs.<\/p>\n<p>In-arena: Maria enters the building with Sienna and Allie for her public workout.\u00a0Maria yells at Allie and tells her to get out of the way. She told Sienna she deserves a title shot, and will get one soon.\u00a0Maria called herself the greatest Knockouts Champion ever, as the crowd chants for Allie.<\/p>\n<p>Maria said that tonight is about her. As the crowd keeps cheering for Allie, Maria snaps and makes her sit in the corner. Maria tells \u201cstupid\u201d Allie to bring out her opponent.\u00a0Allie brought out \u201cthe toughest, biggest opponent\u201d for Maria, and someone whose name we don\u2019t learn is coming to the ring.<\/p>\n<p>The bell rings and Mathews said this isn\u2019t a match. She kicks her opponent in the gut and tries to talk to the referee about her wrist brace while Sienna chokes out Maria\u2019s opponent.<\/p>\n<p>Maria then comes back in and covers the girl for a three count. Mathews said this opponent isn\u2019t the caliber of Gail Kim.\u00a0Maria said she feels great and she\u2019s the best champion ever. She demanded Allie to bring out her next opponent. Allie said she didn\u2019t have another opponent, because she was told to get the easiest one possible.<\/p>\n<p>Maria said she never wanted the easiest opponent and told Allie she should fight her.\u00a0A woman in a mask then comes to the ring and Maria said Allie did remember, but Allie said she had nothing to do with this. Maria tells Allie to get out of the ring and she\u2019ll take care of this.<\/p>\n<p>The woman in the mask looks clumsy as she comes to the ring. Maria hides in the corner as the masked woman throws some kicks.\u00a0Maria grabs a waistlock but the masked woman rolls out. Maria yells at Allie asking why she did this? Allie said she didn\u2019t do this.<\/p>\n<p>The masked woman removes the mask and it\u2019s Gail Kim. Sienna runs in and Gail hits Eat Defeat on her as Maria and Allie scatter up the ramp.<\/p>\n<p>[Reax: There was almost no pop for the Gail Kim reveal, as it seemed like almost everyone knew it was her to begin with.]<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break at 9:40]<\/p>\n<p>Back from the break, the Cody Rhodes vignette airs for a second time.<\/p>\n<p>Josh Mathews runs down some of Bound for Glory\u2019s card, including:<\/p>\n<p>-Decay vs. Matt &amp; Jeff Hardy<br \/>\n-Mike Bennett vs. Moose<br \/>\n-Gail Kim vs. Maria<br \/>\n-The debut of Cody Rhodes<br \/>\n-Aron Rex vs. Drew Galloway for the Grand Championship<br \/>\n-Lashley vs. ECIII for the TNA World Title<\/p>\n<p>In-arena: Mike Bennett, Lashley, Moose, and ECIII make ring entrances for tonight&#8217;s tag-team main event.<\/p>\n<p>4 &#8212; MOOSE &amp; ECIII vs. MIKE BENNETT &amp; TNA World Hvt. champion LASHLEY<\/p>\n<p>As soon as the bell rings, Bennett bails out of the ring and leaves Lashley to fight Moose and ECIII.\u00a0They double-team Lashley fairly easily at first. Bennett is on the outside watching the match while ECIII and Moose continue the double-team.<\/p>\n<p>Lashley rolls to the outside, Bennett tries to talk to him but Lashley looks unhappy as he walks away.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break at 9:51]<\/p>\n<p>Back from the break, Bennett hits a cutter on ECIII and tags in Lashley, who begins steamrolling ECIII\u2019s ribs in the corner with shoulders.\u00a0ECIII\u2019s ribs are taped up, as they were last week, stemming from the fight after the press conference two weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>Bennett back in as the legal man and he\u2019s squeezing ECIII\u2019s ribs. Bennet hits a spinebuster for a two count.\u00a0Lashley held ECIII in the corner and Bennett went to throw a forearm, but ECIII ducked and Bennett hit Lashley.<\/p>\n<p>ECIII tags in Moose and Moose headbutts Bennett twice and then charges him with a splash in the corner.\u00a0Moose goes upstairs and hits a crossbody off the top rope for a two count. Moose levels Lashley with a big boot.<\/p>\n<p>Moose tags ECIII back in. Moose charged Lashley but Lashley pulled down the top rope and Moose goes flying to the outside. ECIII follows up with a clothesline over the top rope.\u00a0Bennett is the legal man. He tries to hit the MIP on ECIII but ECIII counters and hits a sunset flip for the win.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: ECIII &amp; Moose at 10:15.<\/p>\n<p>After the match, Moose attacks Bennett on the outside and fights him up the aisle and to the back.\u00a0Lashley runs in the ring and attacks ECIII, who starts to fight back and a brawl is breaking out. Security rushes the ring to separate them. ECIII gets away from security, as does Lashley, and they charge each other again.<\/p>\n<p>Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett and D.J. Z run into the ring to help separate Lashley and Lashley. The locker room begins to empty to help the officials separate them.<\/p>\n<p>Billy Corgan walks out onto the ramp. He said that this behavior is not what anyone wants. Corgan said next week, Bound for Glory starts three days early. Corgan said that ECIII and Lashley will each captain a team next week in a Lethal Lockdown match, and the winner will pick the stipulation for their Bound for Glory title match.<\/p>\n<p>The show ends with Lashley and ECIII staring at each other while the wrestlers continue to separate them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERALL REAX:<\/strong>\u00a0It was an interesting decision to have ECIII get the heat in this match and then have Moose come in with the hot tag, although in the end, ECIII did end up getting the actual victory.<\/p>\n<p>There wasn\u2019t as much Billy Corgan or authority figures on this show. In fact, Corgan didn\u2019t show up until the final segment making the announcement for next week\u2019s main event.<\/p>\n<p>TNA doesn\u2019t have many big pay-per-views to build to. There\u2019s two per year. In June, they did a nice job building to a crescendo at Slammiversary and the build here has been similar.<\/p>\n<p>It feels as though many of these big feuds are coming to a boiling point. Rex-Galloway could just be starting, but Lashley-ECIII and Hardys-Decay definitely feels like there is some finality there, with everyone moving on to new things after Bound for Glory.<\/p>\n<p>Moose is clearly being positioned as the next challenger for the World Title. Things could change, but that would lead me to believe they\u2019re inclined to keep the World Title on Lashley at Bound for Glory, maybe with someone costing ECIII the title and allowing him to spin off into a grudge feud, which takes him out of the title picture.<\/p>\n<p>Cody, as he\u2019s being called in TNA, has a unique contract that will allow him to also make other televised appearances for ROH, among others. He\u2019s going to be someone that TNA should use moving forward, because he has a lot of steam right now, but they also probably need to be careful.<\/p>\n<p>I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see TNA book Cody\u2019s story arcs to have a beginning and ending with each set of television tapings, therefore guaranteeing he doesn\u2019t leave in the middle of a storyline to sign an exclusive deal somewhere else. It also protects TNA from any tapings Cody may miss due to previous commitments or just other commitments to other promotions.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Cody could be a real needle-mover for TNA. He\u2019s not going to bring the show from 400,000 viewers to one million, but he gets them some attention. He\u2019ll get them even more attention if he\u2019s booked correctly and doesn\u2019t just blend in with the rest of the roster.<\/p>\n<p>TNA has often been criticized as being a \u201clite\u201d version of WWE, and if you look at their main storylines right now, they\u2019re made up almost exclusively of former WWE talent &#8212; Moose and Mike Bennett being the real exceptions.<\/p>\n<p>Despite that, guys like Drew Galloway and ECIII have a TNA homegrown feel to them. Even Aron Rex, in his limited time on the show. Rex is a good example of how this is working, with his character being vastly different than what we saw in WWE. He\u2019s not a character at all, really. He\u2019s himself, with a different name.<\/p>\n<p>That needs to be the route TNA takes with Cody. It\u2019s going to feel new no matter what they do, as long as if what they do isn\u2019t Stardust. Cody hasn\u2019t been Cody in a wrestling ring for a very long time.<\/p>\n<p>The vignette introducing him was well done and gave us some insight into his character. He was wearing a designer suit and jumping in a fancy sports car. In some ways, it\u2019s what Ric Flair\u2019s character would be doing if he were in his 30\u2019s in 2016. That could be the road they take.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2180022876\"><div id=\"pwtor-1190010328\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>TNA Impact Results September 22, 2016 Taped in Orlando, Fla. Aired on Pop TV Report by Mike McMahon, PWTorch contributor (@MikeMcMahonPW) Impact opened with a video recapping last week\u2019s show, beginning with Matt Hardy challenging <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/09\/22\/922-tna-impact-results-mcmahons-report-grand-title-semi-finals-moose-eciii-vs-lashley-bennett-main-event-x-title-match\/\" title=\"9\/22 TNA Impact Results &#8211; McMahon&#8217;s Report on Grand Title semi-finals, Moose &#038; ECIII vs. Lashley &#038; Bennett main event, X Title match\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,21],"tags":[656,203,1728,1011,120,204],"class_list":["post-32170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tvshowsandevents","category-tv_tnareports","tag-impact","tag-impact-wrestling","tag-mike-mcmahon","tag-pop-tv","tag-tna","tag-tna-impact"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Impact_3x21.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32170"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32176,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32170\/revisions\/32176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}