TNA Impact Wrestling Review - July 29, 2015

Jeff Jarrett gets emotional during his induction speech.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rockstar Spud Confronted Austin Aries

Aries has barely been featured on TNA TV since the Best of Five series a while ago, so it was cool to see him return in a notable role at the start the show. He's always been an exceptional mic worker, so it came as no surprise that his verbal exchanges with both Bully Ray and Spud were very good. It's great that Spud is finally being able to showcase his skills on the stick and he definitely made the most of his opportunity here. They did a solid job of making their match feel meaningful and I like how they switched it up by saving it for next week instead of rushing it for this week's main event.


Eric Young def. Chris Melendez

Is it just me or does anyone else not care about this feud at all? I guess the same can be said for most of the rivalries going on right now in TNA, but there isn't anything about this specific storyline that stands out as being special. Young is awesome in this crazy role, but I don't think Melendez has connected with the crowd enough for fans to invest enough in his character. Henceforth, having him lose again won't do him any favors because it will eventually establish him as a loser.

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Mickie James looks to put Serena away.

Knockouts Champion Brooke def. Marti Bell

Although they've been cast in the sidekick role for Taryn Terrell, Jade and Marti are actually very good wrestles. Jade is easily the better worker of the two, but Marti is still skilled and she did well against Brooke who has also come a long way in the ring these last few years. The title never felt like it was in jeopardy and I'm not even sure how Marti earned herself a title shot, but it was one way of furthering The Dollhouse's feud with Gail Kim.


Matt Hardy Chose the Stipulation for Next Week's TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match

It's a shame EC3 has been booked rather weak since winning the world several weeks back because he's such a damn great talent both in the ring and on the mic. His above average mic skills shined in this segment, though I was disappointed we didn't get to hear from him after The Hardy Boyz came out. Jeff's involvement in the segment adds to the feud and makes it feel more than just a one-off even if that's the intention. Doing a Full Metal Mayhem for a two-week-old feud may seem premature, but there's no denying that it should be one hell of a match.


Magnus and Mickie James def. James Storm and Serena

I don't know how long Mickie has been out of the ring for, but she didn't seem to miss a beat in this bout. The best part about Serena in this role (other than how perfectly it fits her character) is that she's a very talented competitor, so her and Mickie's styles meshed nicely. Magnus and Storm also put forth a good effort and worked as well as they always have against each other. While it wasn't an overly memorable last match for both Mickie and Serena (if this is in fact the final time we'll be seeing them on TNA TV), it was entertaining and a fitting way of (hopefully) blowing off the storyline.


Jeff Jarrett Was Inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame

I'm not sure why they didn't want to wait until Bound For Glory as is typically the tradition to do the induction, but at any rate, this was extremely well done. Say what you will about Jarrett, but as the founder of TNA, he should have been the first one inducted three years ago. He had a lot of people to thank and the emotion he showed at various points truly showed how much this meant to him, making for a very cool moment.


Overall Show

After last week's throwaway show, this week's edition was a major improvement. Other than the opening segment, the first hour didn't do much for this viewer, but the second hour was strong with the effective talking segment, the enjoyable tag team match and the excellent induction of Jeff Jarrett. Not only that, but prior to this show, I had no knowledge of No Surrender being next week. In one night, they made me care about that show with the strong card they have on tap, so I'm very much looking forward to that.

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