WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact

Columnist Corner

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - April 19, 2016

4/19/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Maria def. Gail Kim, Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne, Marti Bell, Rebel and Knockouts Champion Jade in a Ladder Match to Gain Control of the Knockouts Division

Having the women kick off the show was a nice change of pace, but that's about the only positive thing I can say about it. For those who have ever lobbied for a women's Money in the Bank Ladder match, this is essentially what it would be. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it be, but I still don't see why it was necessary to crown a leader of the Knockouts division. That was when the division was at its worst five, six years ago when Karen Angle and Brooke Hogan were at the helm. You had to know Maria was going over given her character and how she was the sole non-wrestler in this match.


Tyrus and Rockstar Spud Attacked TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway

I like how Galloway has come off like a fighting champion so far during his reign and how his ultimate championship clash with Lashley is the bigger picture in all of this. He came off well here, as did Tyrus, but does anyone see him as a legitimate threat to the title? He's been booked like an afterthought these past few months, and although the attack certainly helped, I doubt it was enough. Meanwhile, Spud's new crazy character isn't clicking with me. It feels far too forced and is very distracting as a result.

X-Division Champion Trevor Lee def. DJ Z and Eddie Edwards in a Triple Threat Match

The fact none of the three competitors received televised entrances was enough to make me not care about the match. The X-Division Championship has been largely neglected as of late, and the focus seems to be on just about everything else (Shane Helms, Andrew Everett, etc). The match was fine for what it was, yet forgettable. Speaking of Everett, I don't know much about him, but that splash off the top rope, whatever the hell it was, was absolutely incredible.


King of the Mountain Champion Eric Young Attacked Bram

It was about damn time Young and Bram were split up because they're bound to be more successful on their own than together, but of course Young's actual departure from TNA served as the catalyst and they'd probably still be a tandem otherwise. Bram should have gone the face route a while ago, but better late than never I guess. I've never been the biggest Young fan, but he was awesome here and I assume a title match between them is only inevitable.


Ethan Carter III Challenged Mike Bennett to a No Disqualification Match at Sacrifice

Is it just me or has Bennett been outshining EC3 on the mic in every one of their encounters? That's not to say EC3 is a bad talker because he's actually quite great. He's still trying to find his footing as a babyface. Bennett is simply too tremendous of a talker. I loved his logic of already having beaten EC3 once and therefore not having any need to wrestle him again. They set up their No Disqualification match for next week very nicely and I'm highly anticipating it after this strong verbal exchange.


Al Snow def. Mahabli Shera

I assume the whole purpose of this program is to get Shera over with the audience in the end, but I'll go on a limb and predict that it won't based off how Shera isn't that good, at all. He is still very green and I don't understand TNA's fascination in pushing him. Perhaps they want a top Indian star, but he hasn't proven to be a worthy investment thus far. Additionally, I have zero desire to see Snow wrestling regularly in 2016. He remains in spectacular shape, but a win over Snow means nothing. Just ask Joey Ryan from Bound for Glory 2012.


World Tag Team Champions Beer Money Saved Gail Kim From Decay

Decay have done a fantastic job in coming across as creepy in recent months and this was more solid work from them. Apparently Beer Money are the only babyfaces on the roster because no one else cared enough to attempt to save Kim. It seemed like a lot for a tag title match (didn't they just get a shot last week?), but I appreciate that it was a different way of getting there than by having the challengers beat the champs in non-title action which is typically the case.


Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy in an "I Quit" Match Ended in a No Contest

Obviously, this was shades of their "I Quit" match from Backlash 2009 (which was exactly six years ago this month might I add), but I was happy they switched it up a bit by brawling outside the brawl and utilizing the extreme environment more than they did in their initial encounter. They've always worked well together as opponents and this matchup was no exception. As someone who hates "I Quit" matches for the referee shoving a mic into the faces of the combatants every ten seconds, I was also glad the referee didn't drag down the bout by constantly asking Jeff and Matt if they quit and instead it was done sparingly. It wouldn't have been a Jeff Hardy match without a big spot and it certainly paid off with Jeff doing a dive off somewhere high and onto Matt through a table. Hmm, where have I seen that before? I didn't mind the non-finish because it gives the feud alive and they can have a Full Metal Mayhem match to blow it off eventually.


Overall Show

This was a very talk-heavy show, more so than I would have liked, but most of the segments were successful in building toward something on next week's Sacrifice special. Thankfully, this didn't feel like a filler edition of Impact Wrestling because of the heavily hyped main event that met my expectations. The whole show wasn't worth watching, but definitely seek out the "I Quit" main event and the talking segment with EC3 and Bennett.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2023 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact