TNA Impact Wrestling Review - July 22, 2015

Bobby Roode prepares to put away Matt Hardy.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Dixie Carter Announced Jeff Jarrett as the Latest TNA Hall of Fame Inductee

About damn time! I realize the Hall of Fame (nor the company itself for that matter) has been around long so it's not looked at as being "prestigious," but it always boggled my mind that TNA never bothered to induct the founder of the organization into their own Hall of Fame. This move shouldn't come as that big of a surprise with Jarrett now back in the good graces of management and apparently in a working relationship with them again. From what I've heard, the ceremony will take place on an upcoming episode of Impact Wrestling, so maybe they're playing it safe in case they won't be on Destination America by September?


Bram def. Magnus in a Street Fight

Was there any explanation as to why this match was happening? I enjoyed their feud several months ago, but they have hardly interacted at all since then, so it felt random for them to rekindle their rivalry out of nowhere. The match was good for the most part, but I'm surprised they didn't take advantage of the no disqualification stipulation by having James Storm or another Revolution member interfere instead of waiting until afterward. Magnus losing before the big inter-gender tag team bout was a bit confusing, but it gives Bram a nice win since Magnus is on his way out of the comapny anyway.

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James Storm lays a brutal beating on Magnus.

Drew Galloway Interrupted Eli Drake

I didn't know just how good Drake was on the microphone prior to this segment. He's no Paul Heyman, but he can hold his own and the back-and-forth he had with Galloway was enjoyable. Then again, no one would have known of his promo skills since he rarely ever talked during his time in The Rising. However, I'm still not optimistic about a feud between the two because they weren't together long enough for fans to care about them splitting.


Knockouts Champion Brooke Interrupted Taryn Terrell

Terrell has really come into her own as an obnoxious heel (but not in a way that she generates go-away heat). Her acting ability was always questionable, but she's dedicated herself to this character and this was some of the best heel work I've seen from her to date. Brooke was fine in her own, but she shouldn't undermine the heel at the risk of ruining anything she's built up for herself. With the return of Gail Kim, it appears a Triple Threat Knockouts title match might be happening soon, but I'm curious where that leaves Awesome Kong who hasn't been on TV in weeks.


Serena Joined The Revolution

It's a shame she didn't get much of a reaction from the live record, but it was really cool to see Serena join The Revolution (even if it will be short-lived). It's perfectly in line with her Straight Edge Society past and she's the ideal female to follow James Storm. The talk about Mickie James didn't click much because their history isn't that well-documented (or at least from what I understand), but she cut a good promo and she definitely enhances my excitement for the mixed tag team match.


Eric Young def. Rockstar Spud in a Chain Match

Do these two have any established issues with each other at all? Maybe I'm missing something here, but the last we saw of Young on TNA TV, he was attacking Kurt Angle and Chris Melendez. Where does Spud fit into all of this? Don't get me wrong, I like Spud and their match was fine for what it was, but it was hard to invest in the action because usually such a stipulation is reserved for the blow-offs of feuds, not meaningless matches.


Matt Hardy def. Bobby Roode in a No. 1 Contender's Tables Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Needless to say, this was easily the best match of the night, though that's not saying much when the previous two matches were inconsequential. Again, what was up with the unnecessary stipulation? Hardy and Roode hardly have history, so it felt forced. Regardless, they put forth a good effort, both guys looked credible coming out of this and the finish was well done, so it's hard to complain. I don't see Hardy winning the TNA title anytime soon, but it's cool that he's being given opportunities to shine.


Overall Show

The show consisted of so much talking that I found myself zoning out after a while. There was nothing terrible on the show, but the matches were too short and pointless and the talking segments were nothing too special outside of Serena's debut. I truly hope they don't fall back on deliver gimmick matches every week in an effort to garner ratings because that can work for only so long. This felt like a glorified house show more than anything else and I was surprised to see both Bully Ray and Ethan Carter III not featured in any capacity. On a side note, the King of the Mountain match from Slammiversary last month was featured in full on this episode, so for my thoughts on that, check out my Slammiversary review.

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