TNA Impact Wrestling Review - November 22, 2012

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Decent match with Wes Brisco defeating Garrett Bischoff in his Gut Check challenge. I'm not a major fan of either guy, but the action was fine for what it was. I still stand behind my belief that Christian York should've been the Gut Check contestant, as Brisco's victory didn't feel as meaningful as it should've been. Kurt Angle coming out to ringside made sense since he's mentored both guys, but I hope they both eventually turn on Angle to join Aces and 8s.

Brief match with World Tag Team Champion Chavo Guerrero defeating Joey Ryan by disqualification. The action was good while it lasted, but it was way too brief to be considered anything worthwhile. Matt Morgan's interference made sense, as it set up a tag team title feud between the two tandems. That being said, I think it's a mistake to have Ryan move into a tag team title program so early after challenging X-Division Champion Rob Van Dam.

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Fine match with Sam Shaw defeating Alex Silva. I didn't care much for the match since we haven't since either guy in quite awhile, but they made the best of it. I didn't understand why Silva's persona was cocky since he came off as sympathetic the last time we saw him, but at least it's character development. Shaw is as generic as they come, so he too needs to really revamp his look if he wants to make a lasting impression in the eyes of the fans.

Great match with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy defeating Christian York. Their styles meshed very well and they were given enough time for it to be considered memorable. York had an impressive outing and looked strong in defeat, while Hardy looked smooth as always. Of all the Gut Check contestants, York definitely had the best showing of them all and has the most potential. Bobby Roode's attack on Hardy following the contest was formulaic and a nice way to further his feud with Hardy going into their World title match at Final Resolution.

Nice match with Knockouts Champion Tara defeating Taeler Hendrix. Aside from York, Hendrix is yet another Gut Check contestant who holds a load of potential. She looked good in the ring against Tara and it was great for her to call out the champ. She didn't need the victory, but it was still an impressive showing regardless.

Throwaway match Eric Young defeating Jesse and Robbie E in a Triple Threat match. The match itself was fine for what it was, but I didn't care at all for the asinine turkey suit stipulation. However, it was smart booking to have Aces and 8s attack Young following the bout, as it gives the group good heat and writes Young off television as he presumably legitimately departs the company.

Good match with AJ Styles defeating Kazarian. These two are incapable of having bad matches and this bout was no exception. I enjoy the pace they work at and the action was very fun for the time it was given. Styles' victory was logical since he'll need a win before inevitably losing to Daniels at Final Resolution.

Strange promo involving Austin Aries and Brooke Hogan to close the show. Aries was entertaining on the mic as always, but I just don't want to see yet another "affair" story-line in pro wrestling while the Cena-AJ saga is still going on. It might end up being fun (especially since Bully Ray is involved), but as of right now, I'm impartial to it.

Overall, a decent show that didn't feature anything noteworthy outside of the Christian-York and Styles-Kazarian matches. They didn't do much to further any story-lines going into Final Resolution in a few weeks, but that was expected with it being the Thanksgiving holiday. Since they return to being live next week, here's hoping the live setting will get them back on track.