WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact

Columnist Corner

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - September 22, 2016

9/22/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

​Drew Galloway def. Eddie Edwards in an Impact Grand Championship Semifinal Match

Maybe it was because the first round matches mostly featured undercard competitors and therefore I couldn't have cared less about them, but this was the best Impact Grand Championship qualifying match up to this point. I haven't been too high on the MMA-esque rules, but maybe I'm starting to grow accustomed to them. Of course, it certainly helps when you have two great wrestlers facing each other and it was a fresh matchup as well. I also really liked how they went the full three rounds and waited until after the commercial break to announce who won, so that was a cool cliffhanger (although there was zero doubt who would win).


TNA World Heavyweight Champion Lashley and Mike Bennett Attacked Ethan Carter III and Moose

Having EC3 confront Galloway following his win only to transition into him getting assaulted by his Bound for Glory opponent was wonderful. You don't see that type of thing too often, but it was done very effectively here. The face-to-face with EC3 and Galloway was well done given their history, and the subsequent attack from the heels on the babyfaces set up the already announced main event nicely.

Aron Rex def. Eli Drake in an Impact Grand Championship Semifinal Match

The strong suit of both these guys is their mic work, so I was happy they were able to engage in a war of words beforehand and deliver a hilarious back-and-forth. However, due to that, their promo battle slightly overshadowed the match, which paled in comparison to Galloway vs. Edwards from earlier. It was still decent, nevertheless. Similar to the opener, it was obvious Rex would advance to set up his Bound for Glory match with Galloway.


"Broken" Matt Hardy and Brother Nero Interrupted World Tag Team Champions Decay

It really shouldn't surprise anyone that Triple H has reportedly shown interest in bringing Matt back into the WWE fold as he has been the best thing going in the business for a while with this "broken" character. Jeff and Reby Sky have also been playing their roles well and the entire act is a blast. This wasn't too different from the segment from last week, but I remain excited to see what they will bring to the table during "The Great War."


X-Division Champion DJ Z def. Trevor Lee

I still don't know what DJ Z's character is all about, but his pre-match promo helped a bit and established him as a fighting champion. Speaking of wrestlers with next to no character development, Lee was a fun first opponent for DJ as champion and they contested a very good match, but it was just that: a match and nothing more. I enjoy the idea of an Edwards vs. DJ title match, but why not save it for Bound for Glory and instead of giving it away on the go-home show?


Knockouts Champion Maria def. Local Athlete (Non-title); Knockouts Champion Maria vs. Gail Kim Went to a No Contest (Non-title)

Needless to say, there isn't much to say about Maria vs. her initial opponent merely because the match was a mere minute long. As soon as the "ninja" came out, you had to know it was Kim, but it was a fine enough angle. While I appreciate how they've been able to keep the Kim and Maria feud going since the start of the year, I think fans are more anxious to now see Allie beat her mentor for the belt. I expect her to break away from Maria and Sienna at long last at Bound for Glory either way.


Ethan Carter and Moose def. TNA World Heavyweight Champion Lashley and Mike Bennett

These two rivalries have been built up very well in recent weeks, or in recent months in EC3 and Lashley's case. While the match didn't feature anything extraordinary, it was well-wrestled and managed to further both feuds. The post-match brawl between EC3 and Lashley was more noteworthy and it was awesome that they advertised a Lethal Lockdown match with high stakes for next week's main event.


Overall Show

Most editions of Impact Wrestling leading into Bound for Glory have been relatively solid and I find myself invested in several of the storylines set to culminate at the event. This was another above-average episode with pretty much everything serving a purpose. Furthermore, two thumbs up to TNA for making next week's go-home show must-see with the Lethal Lockdown and the X-Division Championship matches. That should be fun. I also very much look forward to Cody (Rhodes)'s debut at Bound for Glory next Sunday. He can be a very valuable asset to the roster if utilized correctly.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2023 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact