TNA Sacrifice Review - April 26, 2016

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway def. Tyrus

As I've expressed in the past, it's a shame Tyrus has been horribly handled by and large since arriving in TNA by being booked to lose more than he should have, but they still managed to have an enjoyable championship clash. I never bought into the possibility of Tyrus beating Galloway, but he had a solid showing here and in time he can be a top-tier performer if he is given a monster push. Moreover, the placement of the match in the opening slot was refreshing. It was nice to not start the show with a talking segment for once and I don't think it devalued the belt because as noted, Tyrus wasn't much of a threat to the title to begin with.

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Rosemary def. Gail Kim

I'm not sure how competent of a competitor Rosemary is in the ring, but she fared well for herself against Kim while also staying true to her character, which is rare. Maria was the focus of the match and not Rosemary, but the match wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and they made decent use of the time they were allotted. I just hope this won't become a trend in the Knockouts division with Maria stacking the odds against Kim every week. With Velvet Sky leaving recently, they barely have enough talent as it is!

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Eli Drake Hosted 'Fact of Life' with The BroMans

I assume this was the talk show that was supposed to belong to Mr. Anderson because he got canned by the company. Drake is a talented talker, so he should do fine in this role, but this first edition didn't give me high hopes. I'm sorry, but The BroMans are absolutely awful. I like Robbie E on his own and wanted to see them do something with him as a singles guy last year, but that led nowhere and now they're back together because the tag team division is depleted. They sucked as heels and they're even worse as babyfaces. As such, this was a total train wreck.


Decay def. Beer Money in a Valley of Shadows Match to Win the World Tag Team Championship

It's really hard to care about all these hardcore matches when we see one seemingly every single week. That's been my biggest gripe with TNA for the last two years and it blows my mind that's still an issue with them. That aside, this was a very good match and both teams put forth a commendable effort. The rules of a "Valley of Shadows" match were never properly explained, but I suppose it was better than holding a Monster's Ball match for the millionth time (was there really a difference?). I'm typically not a fan of the thumbtacks spot, but it made a lot of sense here with Decay pinning Roode while he was being impaled with thumbtacks. That was actually brilliant. Roode eating the loss was the right move since he has legitimately left the company and Storm should have been protected.


Bram def. Eric Young in a No Disqualification Match to Win the King of the Mountain Championship

Bram technically turned face only a week ago, so the crowd didn't have too much of an incentive to cheer for him against Young, but thankfully, Young is/was a strong enough heel that the crowd automatically sided with Bram. Why the hell would you follow up one hardcore match with another, as well as with a second straight title change? That was strange and downright stupid. The match definitely did not need the no disqualification stipulation, but for what it's worth, the finish with Bram hitting the Brighter Side of Suffering through the table at ringside looked sweet. Congrats to Bram on scoring his first taste of gold in TNA even if the belt he holds means nothing. If this was indeed Young's final TNA match, he went out on a high note.


Reby Sky and Rockstar Spud Confronted Jeff Hardy

I've been praising Matt Hardy for his exceptional heel work these past few months, but Reby deserves an equal amount of credit for playing the bitch role really well. Rockstar Spud continues to annoy me with his current "crazy" character and not in the way he should be, but at least he wasn't as over-the-top this week. This wasn't one of Jeff's strongest promos, but it kept him and Matt separate for another week and I look forward to the eventual rematch. On a side note, why would Jeff kick Spud in the stomach with the foot he was supposed to be selling? Just a little something I picked up on.


Mike Bennett def. Ethan Carter III in a No Disqualification Match

I'm glad these two didn't rely on the same tired troupes the previous No DQ matches did despite the stipulation. Instead, they contested a standard, straightforward wrestling match and that's where they shine. When EC3 was playing up his undefeated streak going into the match, you had to know Bennett was picking up the win somehow, so although it wasn't a huge shocker, it was still a major moment that Bennett should benefit from in a big way. There wasn't anyone better to end the streak in my opinion because Bennett has plenty of potential to be as bright of a star for TNA as EC3 has proven to be. As long as they stick with his push and don't get cold feet, I could see him being the one to take the title form Galloway in the near future.


Overall Show

Isn't Hardcore Justice TNA's version of Extreme Rules, not Sacrifice? We had three No Disqualification matches on this show, which was three too many because TNA holds hardcore matches every week it feels like and they lose their meaning as a result. That in addition to the two title changes (and possibly the final TNA matches of Roode and Young) made it a newsworthy night and an entertaining edition of Impact Wrestling on the whole.