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

Columnist Corner

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - August 11, 2016

8/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

​TNA World Heavyweight Champion Lashley Interrupted Ethan Carter III

Other than Jeff Hardy, I don't think there is any doubt that EC3 is the most over performer in the company right now, especially based off how the crowd responded to him before he even started talking here. That said, he was the right winner of the Bound for Glory Playoffs, and his title match against Lashley should be treat if their brief interaction was any indication. I was glad they didn't give too much away and instead branched off into separate matches for the night with Lashley brawling with James Storm and EC3 joining forces with Eddie Edwards to take on Mike Bennett and Moose.


Mike Bennett and Moose def. Ethan Carter III and Eddie Edwards

​I have been enjoying Edwards' mini-push as a top-tier talent as of late, but I thought Davey Richards was cleared to compete after he returned at Destination X? Apparently not. Anyway, this was a solid, well-wrestled tag team where everyone involved played their parts well. Moose teasing tension with Bennett was interesting, and I guess that answers the question as to what both men will be up to at Bound for Glory. Sure, they've only been aligned for a few weeks, but Moose should have been a babyface from the get-go because of his catchy chant.

Aron Rex Debuted

It seems to be in every TNA star's contract who comes over from WWE that they must bash their former employer by talking about how they aren't "sports entertainers"... but not Rex. Granted, he did allude to them at a few points, but he didn't off come bitter as much as he did motivated, which is great. I liked how he had a different presentation here than what we were used to seeing from him in WWE and they should have taken this same serious approach with him once he was done with the Damien Mizdow stuff. Needless to say, I always believed he was highly underutilized in WWE and he should be allowed to shine in TNA.


Gail Kim def. Marti Bell in a No Disqualification Match

​I understand the emphasis being on Kim heading into her Hall of Fame induction Bound for Glory weekend, but her steamrolling over the entire Knockouts division has done nothing for me. The depth of the division is already weak as it is, and Kim establishing dominance over everyone else does nobody any favors. The match was fine for what it was, and Bell isn't atrocious, but she just hasn't gotten over as a heel yet, so the crowd sat on their hands for this match.


Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy def. The Tribunal

I think Jeff may have finally found a way to elicit heat, even as a babyface: by saying the fans want The Hardy Boyz of old back. That is actually the farthest thing from the truth. Everyone is digging Matt's "Broken" character, so here's hoping that isn't the end game in all of this. As for the match itself, I couldn't care less about The Tribunal, but Matt's entertaining antics made it bearable for me, as well as the post-match craziness. Their World Tag Team Championship storyline has the potential to be fun.


Drew Galloway Addressed Ethan Carter III

This character development for Galloway has been a pleasure to watch unfold and was overdue for him. I don't how well he'll thrive as a heel if that's indeed the direction they're headed in with him, but it's been so far, so good. And EC3 would be a complete fool to put his Bound for Glory title shot on the line in a match with Galloway, yet I fully expect him to do it, anyway. Wrestling logic, people.


TNA World Heavyweight Champion and X-Division Champion Lashley def. James Storm to Win the King of the Mountain Championship

I loved the video packages that aired throughout the night hyping up Storm's first one-on-one world title match in nearly five years. It certainly enhanced my enjoyment of the matchup, and the in-ring action was excellent. Lashley has been killing it during his latest monster run, but Storm deserves credit as well for showing why he still should be at the main event level. The back-to-back Last Call superkicks to Lashley made for a very suspenseful nearfall, and both men emerged from this match looking great. With three titles in tow, Lashley is virtually unstoppable at the moment.


Overall Show

While the awesome main event was the highlight of the night for me, the rest of this semi-live edition of Impact Wrestling held up pretty well. Aron Rex's debut is well worth going out of your way to see, in addition to the the Hardy Boyz storyline per usual. I would like to think this type of quality programming will continue through Bound for Glory, but seeing is believing.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    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

    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

©2022 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact