TNA Impact Wrestling Review - January 23, 2015

MVP and Lashley brawl on the streets of New York.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Robbie E, Rockstar Spud, Austin Aries and Magnus Won Feast or Fired Briefcases

The Feast or Fired concept is so illogical and tainted that it's hard to take seriously, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the match is usually entertaining. It can be a train wreck at times with so many competitors involved, but this actually better than expected with some cool spots from Aries, Spud and others. It didn't drag on and I liked the choice of winners because all of them have a realistic shot of getting fired/earning a title shot. Holding the match early on in the show was smart in keeping viewers in suspense for who will get what briefcase.


TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley def. Kenny King by Disqualification (Non-title)

After teaming together for close to nine months, you would think that TNA would have waited on this matchup, or at least bothered to advertise it in advance. I realize King is now one of the lesser members of the Beat Down Clan, but he still has the most history with Lashley with MVP. Furthermore, the match ending in a non-finish isn't an excuse. Sure, it's better than Lashley being King straight up, but the match shouldn't have happened to begin with. If nothing else, it built to the street fight between Lashley and MVP later in the night.

---

Austin Aries and Robbie E open their briefcases.

Gail Kim def. Havok by Disqualification

Kim got some offense in over Havok, but she was on the receiving end of the beating for a majority of the match. It was designed to make Havok look strong which is crucial going into her feud with Awesome Kong, but it made Kim look weak; was there not anyone else who could have filled that role? Anyway, I liked how Havok and Kong finally came to blows after the match but didn't give away too much away this early in the rivalry.


Khoya def. Tigre Uno

This was the in-ring debut for Khoya and the match wasn't long enough to get a real feel of how good of a wrestler he is, but in the time he was allotted, he was impressive. He won't be much more than a background player in The Revolution, but he may have potential if he eventually breaks away from them. Meanwhile, I continue to scratch my head with how badly Tigre Uno has been utilized in TNA since his arrival in TNA. It may be too late for him at this point, but his talent has gone to waste.


Eric Young and X-Division Champion Low Ki def. Kurt Angle and Bobby Roode

It was a solid match for the most part, but not at any point did it feel as important than it should have. It just felt like a standard tag team match and not a match involving a personal, heated rivalry. If anything, it felt like the focus was on Angle and Roode not being on the same page. I understand they have history, but they're among the only top faces in TNA right now, so why would they tease them turning on each other? If nothing else, the win gave the Beat Down Clan more credibility.


Ethan Carter III Fought Jeremy Borash

It's pretty pathetic that one of the most courageous wrestlers on the roster is an announcer. I'm glad to see Borash sticking up for himself and you want to cheer the guy, but why don't any of the other wrestlers show this much guts? The brawl between them didn't last long before Rockstar Spud and Tyrus got involved, but Mark Andrews was extremely impressive here. He doesn't have "the look" of a typical wrestler, but his high flying maneuvers speak for themselves. Hopefully we see him in the ring sooner rather than later.


Matt Hardy def. James Storm

I can't recall these two ever going one-on-one before, so the match felt fresh. It wasn't anything special, but they worked a good, solid match that helped further the feud between The Hardys and The Revolution as their title match draws near. Hardy winning via an inside package protected Storm, and I liked how Jeff made his Monster's Ball match with Abyss official for next week. Those two have a lot of history together in those type of matches, so that should be fun.


Robbie E, Rockstar Spud, Austin Aries and Magnus Opened Their Feast or Fired Briefcases


Spud getting an X-Division Championship match will be refreshing since he hasn't done much wrestling since he becoming a main player in TNA, though I don't know how seriously people will take him if he faces Low Ki. Magnus getting the World Tag Team Championship match will be interesting since how he had to turn on his tag team partner Bram in order to get that shot in the first place. When it came down to the final two, you knew Aries was getting the world title shot, but I'm hoping he actually wins the strap this time. I doubt he will, but he's been long overdue for a run with it for a long time. As for Velvet Sky getting fired, it was smart on Robbie E's part, but I'm left wondering if Velvet actually is done with the company. I guess we'll find out in due time.


TNA World Heavyweight Champion Lashley and MVP Brawled

It wasn't the most brutal of brawls, but it was something out of the ordinary and I commend TNA for that. They picked the perfect place to do it, too, right on the streets of New York City. It was definitely a lot cooler than them doing it in the arena or around ringside. The only issue I have with the Lashley vs. MVP feud is that while it makes sense from a storyline standpoint, it's a feud between two former WWE names. Where are the TNA originals, Roode and Samoa Joe? I'd rather see them in the main event storyline.


Overall Show

I wasn't too enthralled with last week's show because so much of it was about the Beat Down Clan and I felt it featured far too much talking,  so that was probably why I enjoyed this show more. I wouldn't call it a great show, but there was some decent action and more importantly, a lot of solid storyline progression. They did a lot to build toward next week's show, so I look forward to what they have in store in coming weeks.

---