TNA Impact Wrestling Review - August 29, 2013

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray Addressed Devon's Departure

As much as I want the whole Aces and Eights storyline to end, it's encouraging to see the members show more and more tension each week. Bully Ray talking trash about Devon makes me fear that Devon might return to rival the group, but I truly hope not. Mr. Anderson standing up to Ray foreshadowed a future feud between the two, which is something I also don't want to see happen again. If nothing else, the mic work from Ray and Anderson in this segment was solid, while the other members kept their respective promos short and sweet.


Jeff Hardy def. Kazarian to Earn 7 Points in the Bound For Glory Series

Given who was involved, the ultimate outcome was pretty predictable, but they still provided a good match, regardless. Kazarian hasn't mean much in the BFGS, which is a shame, but this was more of a showing for Hardy than it was for Kaz anyway. They work well together, but nothing else about the bout was out of the ordinary.

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ODB def. Gail Kim in a Two-out-of-Three Falls Match to Become the No. 1 Contender to the Knockouts Championship

These two haven't been feuding for all that long, so was the match stipulation all that necessary? It also would have been nice had this been hyped in advance given what was on the line. The match itself was good, but hardly anything memorable. It was bad timing, too, as Antonio Cesaro and Sami Zayn had a hell of a Two-out-of-Three Falls match only a week ago on WWE NXT. ODB as the No. 1 contender to the Knockouts title is fine with me, but I still would have wanted Taryn Terrell to be in that role had she not been forced to take a leave of absence.


The Main Event Mafia Called Out AJ Styles

The mic work from The Main Event Mafia was pretty decent, but nothing too great. As for Styles' promo, I have mixed feelings on it. First and foremost, I think it's cool he's still using both "Evil Ways" and "Get Ready to Fly" as his entrance music and I hope he continues to do that going forward. I'm glad he still isn't aligned with anyone, but it appears he's remaining tweener for the time being. The content of his promo made sense, but it left the audience hopelessly confused as to whether they should be cheering or booing him. All signs point to him being in the BFGS, despite the fact he didn't make it into the Final Four on this show.


AJ Styles def. Bobby Roode to Earn 7 Points in the Bound For Glory Series

While the match was solid, we've seen these two have better matches in the past. They put forth a strong effort, but it wasn't given enough time for it to really matter. Nonetheless, the final few minutes were suspenseful and the finishing sequence was very well done. His win told a nice story as to how he was only a point away from advancing to the Final Four in the BFGS.


Austin Aries def. Christopher Daniels to Earn 7 Points in the Bound For Glory Series

They had an entertaining exchange early on the show, which only help build my anticipation for this match. Aries and Daniels have such great chemistry together both on the mic and in the ring and this contest was pure proof of that. They were given a substantial amount of time and the bout featured plenty of hard-hitting action. As much as I like Daniels, I love the fact Aries is in the Final Four, as he has a strong chance of winning the BFGS.


Bully Ray Interrupted Hulk Hogan

I liked the fact that Hogan was kept off television for a month. Not because I don't like him, but it makes his appearance mean more, which was definitely apparent by the huge reaction he received upon entering the arena. His promo, though, is a whole other story. It left a lot to be desired and didn't make much sense. I understand the history between Ray and Hogan, but I don't want to see Sting vs. Ray again (is it for the title or what?) or see Ray defend against a fellow Aces and Eights member. It's simply not compelling and I couldn't care less for it.


Overall Show

There were a lot of things I liked about this show (AJ Styles' promo, Daniels vs. Aries, etc.), but there are just too many plot holes in many of TNA's storylines at the moment. Didn't Sting lose a match at Slammiversary where he would never be able to contend for the TNA title again? Weren't all participants supposed to have the same amount of matches? Wasn't tonight supposed to be the culmination of the BFGS? It's absolutely ridiculous that TNA defies all logic and expect fans to get behind it. I hope they can get their act together soon, as the road to Bound For Glory as of now is going much worse than originally expected.