TNA Impact Wrestling Review - June 17, 2015

The TNA title match is set for July 1st.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and Ethan Carter III Signed the Contract for Their Championship Match

Contract signings in wrestling are almost always the same, but I really enjoyed this. I could have done without EC3 referencing much bigger names from WWE that Angle has beaten because even though it wasn't meant as a shot at them, it makes TNA look second-rate in comparison. Still, both he and Angle were calm, cool and composed in their respective promos and I liked how Angle made a big deal out of EC3's undefeated streak up to this point. Regardless of who wins, something monumental will occur, and that's when you know you've got yourself a marquee match.


Eddie Edwards def. Bobby Roode; The Wolves Chose the Stipulation for Match #4 in the Best of Five Series

The Dirty Heels are such an excellent team and having them outsmart The Wolves by making this into a match with a stipulation for the next match in the series on the line was brilliant, though I would have rather seen Roode win because of that. That said, it might not matter since the heels are virtually guaranteed to go over in the next encounter. I'm totally in favor of them adding a stipulation to that bout so it means more, but why Full Metal Mayhem? Don't get me wrong, it should be a great match, but I'm left wondering how they're going to top it in the fifth and final match. As for this contest, it was much better than I assumed it would be and they delivered a solid outing.

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Bobby Roode and Eddie Edwards go one-on-one.

Bram def. Joseph Park

I always got a kick out of the Joseph Park character, so it was cool to see him back if only for one night. But storyline-wise, doesn't he already know he's Abyss? Perhaps we were supposed to be thinking that, but whatever. The match with Bram was what it was, but these open challenges won't get me excited if it means big names aren't answering them. By the way, why wasn't Bram disqualified when he put Park through the table during the match? Did I miss something and this match was announced as being No Disqualification?


Brooke and Awesome Kong def. The Dollhouse to Earn Future Shots at the Knockouts Championship

Taryn Terrell tried to stack the deck against the babyfaces before the match by saying they'd never be granted another title shot if they were to lose, but it was still pretty obvious they would win. The match was decent and everyone held their own, but it was ultimately unspectacular. The Dollhouse are playing their roles well, but I'm not invested in the championship chase from the faces because we haven't heard from them at all and I have no idea what their motivation is.


Eric Young Interrupted Chris Melendez

I was fearful when TNA first brought Melendez in last year because it seemed like a publicity stunt and he was off TV for quite a while, but I've liked his recent work with Young. As I've expressed before, it feels like a step down for Young after contending for the world title last month, but hopefully they can make the program worthwhile. The back-and-forth on the mic here was solid, but I didn't understand why they would have the match next week instead of at Slammiversary the following week. Maybe it's to pop a rating, but in that case, don't hold pay-per-views. It's a complete waste of time and money if they don't care about making it feel special.


Jessie Godderz def. DJ Z

Anyone who has followed my reviews for a long period of time knows I am not at all a fan of The BroMans and I couldn't be happier that they're done. Now, we just have to deal with them feuding. Ugh. I actually like Robbie E and don't mind Godderz much, but I don't care for the idea of a feud between them. This was a total squash and it's good they're trying to make Jessie mean something, so we'll see how this goes. And for the love of God, can they please have DJ Z go back to being Zema Ion now that The BroMans are over?


James Storm Taunted Magnus

While some people have been high on this program, it just hasn't clicked with me since the start and it's officially jumped the shark for me. The on-screen "murder" of Mickie James was absolutely asinine and the stuff with the baby was even worse. Why would the security be more concerned with holding Magnus back then checking if they was actually a baby in the carriage? Shouldn't Storm be arrested? I realize this is pro wrestling, but come on. I'm a huge fan of Storm. I'm a huge fan of Magnus. In fact, I think a Storm vs. Magnus feud has the potential to be very good, but the story they're going with is stupid and they really need to get to the next chapter or end it at Slammiversary.


Ethan Carter III def. Lashley

You had to know EC3 wasn't going to suffer his first singles defeat two weeks before he contends for the TNA title, so the streak was never in jeopardy in here, but Josh Mathews (for all his flaws and not knowing much about the history of the product) acting as if it was by emphasizing the nearfalls was a nice touch. They worked a very good match, but Tyrus' interference not leading to a disqualification was mind-boggling. Plus, why didn't Kurt Angle come down to even the odds? Other than that, I enjoyed the match and it gave EC3 another credible win before going up against Angle in two week's time.


Overall Show

It's evident TNA is all about popping ratings for their weekly television show, which is why they advertised multiple matches for next week instead of waiting until Slammiversary. Speaking of such, they clearly don't care about making that event mean anything, so why should viewers care, either? It's a little over a week away and only one match has been announced for the card I believe, while the matches that should be taking place are happening on TV instead. Unreal. Even with that aside, this wasn't a very good show, as I only enjoyed the opener, closer and Roode vs. Edwards. Everything else made the two hours drag on and very few of the storylines that were furthered peaked my interest.

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