TNA Impact Wrestling Review - April 10, 2014

Could Magnus retain his title against Eric Young?

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Eric Young Won a 10-Man Gauntlet No. 1 Contender's Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

The match was basic brawling early on and a bit distracting with no one eliminated, but the action intensified down the stretch. I can't say any of it had me on the edge of my seat, but everyone involved played their part well and several feuds were furthered here. Say what you will about his credibility, but Magnus is a natural on the mic and thus his spot on commentary was a nice touch. There was some good suspense at the end with Young and Abyss, though it was obvious Young would win. His confrontation with MVP was well done and the announcement of the title match happening later in the night gave viewers something to look forward to for later in the show.


Angelina Love def. Gail Kim, Brittany and ODB in a No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way for the Knockouts Championship

It made no sense for Love to go through a No. 1 contender's match to get her title shot after beating the champion just a few short weeks ago, but the match was decent enough. Everyone put forth a nice effort and was one of the better Knockouts matches in recent memory. Granted, it didn't last long and probably should have been given more time, but it was your typical four way with a logical finish of Love going over.

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Dixie Carter speaks her mind to Bully Ray.

Dixie Carter Called Out Bully Ray

I can't imagine many people, if anyone at all, missed Dixie's presence on television. She was so overexposed and so terrible at her role that she needed to be written off. That being said, she wasn't as bad as usual here and that might have been due to the mic master Bully carrying through the segment. I'm still not sold on him as a face, but he's doing well in the role as of now. I was fine with him getting the better of Bobby Roode here since he was on the receiving end of the beatdown last week. Please don't tell me Dixie is back for good after this. I just might cry.


The Wolves def. World Tag Team Champions The Bro-Mans by Disqualification

The booking of The Wolves as of late has been strange. They arrived in TNA with a head of steam, immediately won the tag team titles, dropped them a week later, showed no intentions of regaining them, and now they want them back. TNA Creative has to find their way with these guys and stick with it because they are too talented to be put to waste. The match was fine for what it was but the Robbie E interference could be seen coming from a mile away. The Wolves winning back the straps this early would feel premature, so I assume the non-finish sets up a rematch at Sacrifice.


Christy Hemme Attempted to "Commit" Samuel Shaw

It was obvious from the moment Christy said "commit" backstage that she'd be putting him in the hands of psychiatric services. The whole segment was campy as hell and the way Shaw went along with everything Chisty did to him made him look like a goof. I was hoping that Mr. Anderson being the one to take him away would mean that feud is now over, but since Shaw got away, I fear that isn't the case.


Eric Young def. Magnus to Win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Although MVP made it clear earlier in the evening that there wouldn't any interference, I had my guard up. TNA has "swerved" us so many times in the past with that garbage that it's hard to take them seriously anymore. Magnus and Young worked well together and had a very good match, though it lacked emotion until the very end. Young winning his first world championship should felt like a major moment, but going off the air a minute later prevented that from happening. I'm happy for Young and all, and he's an excellent worker and I respect him for everything he's done, but a world title run? Seriously? He was comic relief three weeks ago. The build up to this moment was poorly done and the title is essentially worthless at this point. I don't even care that Magnus lost the strap if only because he was booked so badly, but Young winning it is basically a joke, no matter how deserving he might be. I guess TNA wanted to capitalize off Daniel Bryan's title victory by having Young win days later. Smart in the short term, stupendously stupid in the long term.


Overall Show

Though I'm not at all a fan of the title change, it made this show newsworthy. The first half of this show was highly enjoyable, but the same can't be said for the second hour. The live atmosphere helped and TNA made the most of the post-WrestleMania week by doing a major title change, even if it was with the wrong guy. Couldn't they have at least waited until the pay-per-view in two weeks? Nevertheless, it was a well-paced show overall and it kept my interest throughout.

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