TNA Impact Wrestling Review - August 26, 2015

Drew Galloway confronts Jeff Jarrett.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Ethan Carter III Interrupted The Hardyz

Jeff Hardy is better on the mic when he's limited, so I'm glad that was the case here. Besides, Matt is easily the stronger talker of the two and it was smart to have him carry most of this segment before EC3 came out. EC3 continues to play the pest heel role to perfection and he's only improved as his title reign has progressed. I don't know how to feel about the slave storyline, but I'll discuss that more in detail later in the review. Talking segments aren't the best way of kicking off any wrestling show, but at least the response from The Hardyz gave viewers as a hook for the remainder of the night 


Eric Young def. Chris Melendez for Melendez' Leg

Yes, you read that correctly, but you might not be questioning it given this is TNA after all. They've had two or three matches so far, and I believe Young has won every one. I'm a sucker for a good story as much as the next guy and perhaps they're building to Melendez's big win, but he's not over enough at this point to be taking all these losses. The match was mediocre and it never felt like anything was on the line. The most hilarious part of this entire segment was Melendez taking off his leg and handing it to Young while just standing there like a goof.

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Eric Young demands Chris Melendez's leg.

X-Division Champion Tigre Uno def. Sonjay Dutt and DJ Z in a Triple Threat Match

It bothers me to no end how TNA completely neglects their X-Division, but they've been doing it for years, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's a shame because Tigre Uno is an excellent athlete and despite being champion, the fans couldn't care less about him because the belt he holds is completely worthless. Didn't Sonjay Dutt get a title shot a few weeks ago and lose? And what did DJ Z do to earn a championship opportunity? As if the terrible logic wasn't bad enough, the match wasn't even that good as it was a glorified spot-fest more than anything else. I will continue to not give two craps about the division until TNA gives me a reason to.


World Tag Team Champions The Wolves def. The Revolution

The Revolution is absolutely awful. I just thought I'd point that out for those not already aware. Sanada was randomly shunned from the group and Khoya broke away, so only the weaklings (aside from James Storm) remain. Thus, fans had zero reason to believe The Revolution had a shot at winning the gold, but the match was fine for what it was if only because The Wolves carried a majority of the match. It was clear toward the end that this match was more focused on furthering the feud between Storm and Shera than it was about the gold, and hopefully this spells he end of The Revolution sooner rather than later.


Jeff Hardy Accepted TNA World Heavyweight Champion Ethan Carter III's Challenge

As established earlier, Matt's the better talker of the two, so why have Jeff do most the talking for him? That aside, it was a short and sweet segment that confirmed a TNA title match for next week with a big stipulation. The slave stipulation has never been entertaining, especially the atrocious angle with The Bella Twins around this time last year in WWE. I like the idea of Matt chasing the championship, but it doesn't look like he's winning the title this soon, so I'm worried about the aftermath, but I'll complain about it when we get to it.


Knockouts Champion Brooke def. Velvet Sky by Disqualification

The title match between Brooke and Sky was decent while it lasted but ultimately forgettable before the abrupt finish. It continued the theme of title matches that hardly meant anything. As for the post-match "reveal" of Rebel joining The Dollhouse, my guess is that it's TNA's way of justifying keeping her around. Since The Menagerie was let go and she's remained under contract, she's made all of one or two appearances on TV. She's been attacked by The Dollhouse before, but that doesn't bother me much because that happens with stables all the time in wrestling. The Dollhouse is already weak as it is and throwing the very green Rebel into the mix might not do them any favors.


Bobby Roode def. James Storm, Lashley and Mr. Anderson in a No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match for the King of the Mountain Championship

This match should have meant more than it did considering the star power involved, but it was very entertaining and easily the best bout on the entire show. All four competitors had solid chemistry with one another, but the highlight of the match for me was the short-lived Beer Money reunion at the end. It was cool to see considering Beer Money is my favorite tag team of all-time, but at the same time, it makes me somewhat sad since Storm is legitimately on his way out of the company and we'll never get to see a full-fledged reunion between the two.


Jeff Jarrett Was Revealed as the Attacker of Bully Ray and Drew Galloway

The Jarretts were behind the recent attacks?! I'm shocked! In all seriousness, this entire segment was pretty bad, I can't lie. The acting all around, especially from Galloway, was horrendous and didn't give me faith that this "invasion" storyline is going to be any good. They also made it more convoluted than it needed to be by saying Karen was driving the rental car and Jeff had nothing to do with it, yet he went along with it anyway? What? This story isn't starting off well and other than giving Global Force Wrestling some free publicity, I don't see how TNA benefits from this.


Overall Show

The quality of some of the more recent shows has been passable, but this was one of the worst episodes in some time. The Fatal 4-Way match was enjoyable and the promos from The Hardyz built to next week, but everything else was garbage. None of the three title matches made sense and the crowd hardly reacted to the "swerves" of the night because they were lame. As I said a few weeks ago, this invasion angle has the potential to be very good or very bad, and so far I'm not convinced it will be the former.

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