Impact Wrestling #672 Review (1st June 2017)

On 1st June, Impact Wrestling aired their 672nd episode on POP TV, taped on 23rd April at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The show featured a Six Sides of Steel match between Alberto el Patron [Alberto Del Rio] and Ethan Carter III for el Patron's GFW Global Championship and EC3's Impact World Heavyweight title shot at Slammiversary, alongside Eli Drake [Shaun Ricker] challenging for Moose's Impact Grand Championship, as well as appearances from X Division Champion Low Ki, LAX, Tyrus [Brodus Clay], Dutch Mantel and Karen Jarrett. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

• ICYMI - A recap of Josh Mathews and Jeremy Borash's feud including Scott Steiner's return to Impact last week, as well as the #671 promos from World Heavyweight Champion [Bobby] Lashley and Ethan Carter III, before EC3 became #1 Contender in last week's Three Way main event against Magnus and James Storm.

el Patron interrupted EC3's #1 Contender Celebration

Ethan Carter III's victory celebration, after becoming #1 Contender last week, was utterly ridiculous, over-the-top and thoroughly entertaining as the 2 time Impact World Heavyweight Champion introduced us to his barber shop quarter, cellist and violinist. This was similar to a segment with Jeff Jarrett from one of the very early episodes of Impact, with each song having me in bits and EC3's off the cuff remarks complimenting the musical frivolity well. The quartet sang his theme music, then "For he's the number one contender" before finishing up with "Goodbye my Bobby Lashley babe" and it was glorious. EC3 hammed it up, managing to be annoying and entertaining, as he named members of the group including Jimmy with the Gimp leg and Tom Foolery, whilst the singing lead perfectly into GFW Global Champion Alberto el Patron's interruption. The segment concluded with Bruce Prichard (joined by Karen Jarrett, Dutch Mantell and Tyrus) cut off a potential scrap by booking the duo for the show's main event with both el Patron's GFW Global title and EC3's Slammiversary title shot on the line. It's all to be inside a steel cage, because...because it will be. The use of Prichard in this segment was head and shoulders above him starting the show last week, although I'm not sure how I feel about having a trio of babyface authority figures flanked by a bodyguard! 

Moose def. Drake to retain Impact Grand Championship

A decent opening contest, with Moose and Eli Drake doing a good job with the three, 3 minute rounds gimmick, working in a nice story with a solid ebb and flow. Drake took the first round, spending most of the match working over the left leg of his opponent, with the bell ringing just as he locked in a Figure Four Leg Lock. The second round continued with a similar feel as Drake upped the ante and wrapped Moose's legs around the ringpost a few times, a closing flurry from Moose including a massive drop kick that knocked Drake to the outside, followed up by hitting a Pop-up Powerbomb, running senton and mid-rope Moonsault all within the last minute. Moose's selling was intermittent and not the strongest part of his game, but he still favoured the leg when it was important to do so, as he couldn't cover Drake after the moonsault. The final round was probably the weakest of the three as I didn't feel like it managed to cap off the story, as well as it could have and any match that doesn't have a definitive finish is always going to end flat. That's an issue with the gimmick itself, but the two did worked in some sound near falls with Drake kicking out of the Go to Hell (Sitout Chokebomb with Drake seated on the top turnbuckle) as well as Eli's second Chris Adonis [Chris Masters] grabbing Moose's leg before a Gravy Train (Over-the-shoulder belly to back piledriver) just before the end of the third round. The highlight of the entire segment may have been Eli's face when it was announced that Moose had won the match, great stuff. 

• Backstage - Knockout's Champion Rosemary [Courtney Rush] surprised Allie [Cherry Bomb], promising to protect her, whilst the terrified Allie struggled to find words...a superb performance from both.

Allie def. Nova 

My main takeaway from this match is that the debuting Amber Nova is way too good looking to be an enhancement talent. The photo doesn't do her justice, so Google her or something. From her entrance onward she looked like a star and even with her limited in-ring experience I'd suggest Impact sign her before anyone else does and find some kind of on-screen role as she develops. Obviously looks aren't everything, but they're a bloody good start. The match itself was probably a little too long for what it needed to do, but the focus on Allie growing as a professional wrestler (despite having been wrestling for over a decade) and her underdog character was nice, as she fought from underneath to seal only her third victory in Impact with a Death Allie Driver. The match got her character and story over clearly, but just went a tad too long for me. 

LAX def. V.o.W. in a No Disqualification Match to Win the Vacant GFW Tag Team Championship

My main issue with this match was that it was No Disqualification, without any need to be. Literally all the cheating or anything LAX (Santana [Mike Draztik] and Ortiz [Angel Ortiz] with Konnan, Homicide and Diamante [Angel Rose]) could have been disqualified for happened with the referee distracted. This would've made perfect sense in a regular match and worked to get the team some more heat when they repeatedly broke the rules to get the victory, but the impact is lessened when the rules are taken away. It felt like the talent hadn't been told the match was No DQ as there was nothing from Veterans of War (Mayweather [Crimson] & Wilcox [Jax Dane]) that would've suggested they had any kind of dislike for Santana and Ortiz and considering the anti-American rhetoric of the group, you would've expect V.O.W. to want to inflict some damage with a few toys, if they could have. Aside from that the match was okay and the timing of some the spots with the outside interference (like Konnan hitting Mayweather with a bat and Homicide whipping Wilcox with an Impact World Tag title belt just as the V.o.W. looked capable of cleaning house) kept the contest entertaining. There's potential in both teams, but they're being under-served at the moment.

• Backstage - McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Jeremy Borash and Joseph Park [Abyss] about their Slammiversary match with Josh Mathews and Scott Steiner, with Park attempting to hype JB up, only for Borash to tell him he was nuts and walk off.

Ki def. Everett to retain X-Division Championship 

A good X Division title match, that was hurt by Andrew Everett slipping on the loose ropes at a crucial point, as well as having Sonjay Dutt on commentary which distracted from the story of Everett chasing the title after a sizeable build. Before the slip the match was heading in the right direction as Low Ki had spent the majority with the momentum, following a baseball slide through the second and third ropes. There was some nice stuff building up to Everett's comeback with the 24 year old doing a convincing job as the underdog against the vicious World Warrior. A number of hope spots involving kicks and a solid amount of time spent on the mat later and Everett got some space with a tasty Kylo Kick (Backflip kick), before a rana into the buckle and a running shooting star press had the match feeling like it was about to break into something special. Unfortunately, that's where the slip came and whilst the pair quickly transitioned into something else, with Ki laying into Everett before we got a sweet shooting star press near fall, most of the drive had been sucked out. Ki would go on to retain after pulling some wonderful facial expressions in the build towards his corner dropkick before pinning Everett with the Warrior's Way. 

• In the Arena - Rockstar Spud made his return to Impact by jumping Swoggle [Hornswoggle] in the crowd and gaining revenge by brutalising his rival with a hammer, whilst constantly shouting "Why?" in an unsettling segment.

el Patron def. EC3 in a Six Sides of Steel Match to retain GFW Global Championship and become #1 Contender to the Impact World Heavyweight Championship 

The main event Steel cage match wasn't the neatest of matches you'll see this year and at times even verged into clunky territory, but Alberto el Patron and Ethan Carter III brought the intensity and scrapped it out in brawly main event. With the gimmick being used well, there was lots of your generic steel cage spots early on, alongside some cool use of the comically large camera holes Impact has in their enclosure. The clash built itself up well with both men whipping out a couple of signatures for near falls and getting creative with the structure that allowed EC3 to hit a Samoan drop off the top rope and an electric chair facebuster to thwart escape attempts. The two shifted gears following a double knee armbreaker that el Patron usually uses to set up for his signature cross armbreaker, with EC3 managing to set El Presidente up for the TK3 only to find himself caught in the submission hold. After The Ass-Kicking Machine escaped, he got two decent near falls from the TK3 and a Sitout Powerbomb before the match reached it's crescendo on top of the cage. 

The finish here saw the match's most spectacular spot as after el Patron chased EC3 up to the top of the cage and managed to send him into a tree of woe with a series of nasty looking kicks. The GFW Global Champion sat a top the structure and then came crashing down with awe-inspiring double stomp. The move provided the bout with it's memorable moment, before el Patron retained and booked his place in the main event of Slammiversary with a rope-walk Frog Splash. Personally, I would've liked to have seen Alberto get the pin after the double stomp as that just felt like the matches natural conclusion, however having EC3 kick out of the move, before a frustrated champion went deeper into his arsenal, may have been even better. Overall, this was a cracking scrap of a cage match, with big near falls and an eye-catching highspot and whilst it would never get mistaken for a wrestling clinic, that wasn't what it needed to be either. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.31/10

A better showing from Impact this week in their last show from Universal until Slammiversary. The opening segment was the peak for me, with the Barbershop Quarter complimenting Ethan Carter III's stellar villain work, whilst his main event cage match with Alberto el Patron also delivered. Low Ki v Andrew Everrett showed promise until the slip and Moose v Eli Drake was an okay showing of the pair despite the cumbersome rules of the Grand Championship. Allie's match with Amber Nova went too long and the LAX v Veterans of War match didn't meet my expectations, in part because the match was needlessly labelled as No DQ. Putting the Josh Mathews and Jeremy Borash feud on the backburner was certainly a positive with Mathews commentary with just D'Angelo Dinero being much more palatable than anything that occurred when he was having to bicker back and forth with JB over the matches. 

The tapings from Mumbai, India begin next week and I'm more than a little intrigued to see how they come off on television. I'm hoping for a return to the madness that was Ring Ka King as we head toward Slammiversary on 2nd July.

TNA Impact Wrestling - Lockdown 2015 Review

      For the first time ever, TNA decided to giveaway Lockdown on free television, rather than hold the event as a pay-per-view. An interesting choice, a clear attempt to build up the fledgling Destination America viewership, but would the event offer classic matches, of the ilk of AJ Styles vs. Abyss from 2005, Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle from 2008 or Angle vs. Mr. Anderson of 2010? Would the show actually end up as pay-per-view quality making fans feel like they've been given an extra special treat, or would it leave fans thanking their lucky stars that they didn't have to pay? Let's find out!

Lethal Lockdown Match

Beatdown Clan 

vs. 

Team Angle

  Taking up around a quarter of the television time was the continuing storyline between the Beatdown Clan and Team Angle, culminating in the Lethal Lockdown main event for the show. For some reason, it was decided that angle was needed earlier in the show, in which MVP (who was joined by Kenny King and Eric Young) offered Kurt Angle's team the opportunity to back out of the match, due to Team Angle being one member down at the time. For someone who is given so much mic time by TNA, MVP can't hold my attention for more than a minute. Of course, Angle didn't accept MVP's offer and it all ended up in a big brawl, with Low Ki and Samoa Joe ambushing Gunner. The pair trapped Gunner's arm in the cage door and delivered a chair shot, to give the match a bit of story later on. This segment should have taken place a week before the match, to help build up the feud, having it on the Special edition itself just made everything feel very rushed. 

The build up continued backstage with Gunner told by a Doctor not to compete, however Gunner decided he would any and would start the match, because he's a fucking moron apparently. Instead of telling their partner that this was a bloody stupid idea, Angle and Austin Aries simply sat by. Instead of reasoning with Gunner that it might be a good idea to go in last, Angle went to track down World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley, throwing him into a wall in an attempt to get him to join the team, that's exactly what I do when I want someone to write for Across The Pond, ask Billy and Sean.

So the two stories running throughout the bout were clearly set out earlier in the show. Gunner going in first with an injured arm, that was played up nicely earlier on in the match with Kenny King and Low Ki delivering a number of kicks to the arm and Gunner selling completently throughout the first five minutes or so. It was a shame not to see this picked up on later, although the crowded nature of Lethal Lockdown doesn't really lend itself to such subtleties. The other story, of course, was whether or not Bobby Lashley would turn up to help Team Angle. The moment Lashley came out was played nicely, although it was clear to everyone that he wasn't about to rejoin MVP's stable. Personally, I would've liked to have Lashley on the offence for a bit longer, as he cut of fairly quickly by the BDC, I think it would have really cemented the moment to see Lashley explode out of the blocks on his former friends. 

Angle's team managed to pick up the victory, with Angle, Aries and Gunner all managing to lock in their signature submission holds on members of the opposite team in a cool moment, allowing Lashley to hit a spear on MVP to pick up the victory. The interaction between MVP and Lashley lasted a little bit too long, with MVP standing around for a bit instead of saving any of his team. I'm not entirely sure if Angle's team going over was the correct decision, The Beatdown Clan needed a victory to make them feel like a viable threat at the top of the card, having only been in existence for a month. Where does everyone go next? Who will become Lashley's number one contender? Will Gunner continue to randomly drift in and out of storylines? 

Steel Cage Match for the World Tag Team Championship

The Hardys 

vs. 

James Storm & Abyss (C)

with Khoya, Manik & The Great Sanada

       It was refreshing to see a wrestling match open the show and seeing as this was supposed to be a "Pay-Per-View" style show it's exactly what should be happening on these special editions of Impact Wrestling. This match had recieved a lot of attention in the promos for this show, simply because of THAT bump by Jeff Hardy after the match, with the feud between the two teams being flimsly at best, with The Hardys winning a number one contender bout against The Wolves three weeks ago, before the teams faced off in singles matches over the last two weeks.

This match did little for me and for a match this long, very little of note actually happened during the match. The Hardy's ran through their signature moves (Four Twist of Fates?), Storm and Abyss didn't do much at all beyond kicks and punches, and most of all there was no sense of drama or urgency to attempt to get the win. This was two teams going through the motions for most of the match, which all seemed like it was there simply to allow for the big spot to happen after the match. I think seeing Jeff and Abyss using all sorts of weapons on last week's Impact also didn't help this one.

Elements of the finish however were strong. I say elements because Matt getting pulled out of the camera hole in the cage by Khoya was just plain stupid and completely negated the reason the purposes of the cage match concept! But, The Great Sanada's interference using his Green Mist to prevent Jeff from hitting a Swantom Bomb was a clever use of Sanada's offence and allowed Storm to pick up the pinfall victory for his team following a Last Call Superkick. 

The aftermatch of the match was what everyone tuned in for though, wasn't it? Everyone wanted to see Jeff Hardy's stupid bump from the door of the cage onto the steel steps. And you needn't have worried if you missed it the first time round, because it was replayed numerous times throughout the remaining two hours. The Revolution looked dominant, and Storm in particularly is doing good character work in the role, it is important that the younger guys on the faction get some time to get themselves over, as TNA desperately needs to get some upward movement from it's roster.          

Steel Cage Match

Eric Young 

with MVP

vs. 

Bobby Roode

This is the match I was most looking forward to heading into the show, mainly because Bobby Roode has proven to be TNA's most consistent in-ring performer over the last few years. That being said, I was left a little disapointted by this match overall. The action throughout was technically sound, both men looked comfortable in the ring together, but this wasn't anywhere near as competitive a match as I was hoping it would be. Roode dominated for most of the match and never really looked like he was losing this one, even when MVP came out to hand Young a steel chair through the fucking camera hole! 

This match needed, at least, five minutes more than it was given to tell a satisfying story and to give both men the opportunity to show what they could do. The story heading into the match was that Roode wanted to draw blood from Young, but when that happened it felt almost like a footnote, rather than the cresendo to the match that it should have been. Roode picked up the win with a Roode Bomb onto a steel chair, so it would seem like Roode would slot straight back into the title picture. This was a decent match, but it killed any momentum that the feud, or Eric Young, may have had going forward, after only a month. Roode's backstage promo later in the show would seem to confirm that also.

Handicap Steel Cage Match

Mandrews & Rockstar Spud 

vs. 

Tyrus 

with Ethan Carter III

This was my favourite match of the night, not the best match on the show, but my favourite to watch. Simply put, the match set out to do exactly what it had to do and told a story that was easy to follow and well told. Everyone in the bout played their roles excellently, with Spud especially standing out throughout the match, with his believable selling and his heel-o off the top of the cage onto Tyrus. It was Tyrus however who picked up the victory after EC3 managed to get Mandrews to leave the cage, ending up in a nasty bump onto the steel steps for Mandrews, before Tyrus picked up the win following his Tongan Death Grip chokeslam. Spud however managed to keep hold of his hair again, as following the match Jeremy Borash managed to snip the power chord to EC3's clippers. This storyline has brightened TNA's television product up for a long time and it doesn't look like losing steam any time soon, both Spud and EC3 are benefitting, with Mandrews and Tyrus also getting involved on the action, TNA needs to look at what it's doing right here and implement it throughout the rest of the show.

Steel Cage Match

Havok 

vs. 

Awesome Kong

Billed as a "Dream" match, this match turned out to be all hype. Awesome Kong looked like she'd rather be anywhere else as she plodded through the bout, whilst Havok did weird things like remove the mats from around ringside to apply a bear hug on them. There were two notable spots, Kong throwing Havok into the cage door and steps on the outside and Havok missing a spear on Kong that sent Havok into the cage, I don't know about you but I expect a little more from my dreams. Kong picked up the win, following an awkward top powerbomb and a standing splash, so I'd imagine we're going to get more between these two. Hopefully, they'll get a bit longer and be able to up their game next time out.

Beautiful People segment

For reasons known only to TNA, a segment involving Velvet Sky explaining to Angelina Love that she had been fired aired with the caption "Two weeks ago". AND REVEALED NOTHING! We'd already seen Angelina the week before coming out with The Bro-Mans and not giving a shit about Sky being fired. You could have saved us from Angelina and Velvet's acting TNA, but you chose not to! 

Robbie E and Brooke's "Amazing" Race

Thank the lord that this segment was kept to only highlights. Brooke and Robbie E had a race to get into the cage and then leave the cage. For the minute it was on screen it was mildly entertaining, although I can't help but for feel for the live crowd who had to watch it in full.

Finally...

This was not a pay-per-view quality show, neither was it a particularly strong episode of Impact Wrestling. Whilst there were elements of the show that were enjoyable, notably the Handicap bout, this felt like a show of missed opportunities. An extra five minutes for Roode vs. Young, a few tweaks to the Lethal Lockdown match and more urgency and drama to the tag team title bout and this conclussion could have been very different. 

Impact Wrestling 8th January 2015 Review

Impact Wrestling is back! Yes, TNA's flagship TV show returned to our screens on 8th January (Yes, I'm playing catch up already with reviews!), and promised a big show, with Bobby Roode defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against ex-champ Bobby Lashley, Kurt Angle returing to action after eight months on the sidelines in Street Fight against MVP and more. But was the debut show on Destination America actually any good?

TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match

Bobby Lashley vs. Bobby Roode (C)

      Correctly so, this match was hyped throughout the show, beginning with the brawling opening segment. Followed up with the highlights video of the original Bobby Lashley vs. Bobby Roode match from No Surrender in September and a backstage segment that teased some tension between Lashley and stablemates MVP and Kenny King, with those two having another segment later on, that was almost completely drowned out by background noise. Through in a recap of the second Lashley vs. Roode match from October and you had a pretty solid amount of build toward the main event, with the recaps especially making it feel like the main event was going to be something worth watching.

     And for the most part that's exactly what this match was. Something worth watching. Did it reach the heights of the previous two matches? Not quite, but that's got more to do with the ending than anything else for me, but we'll get to that in a minute. Lashley continued to repay TNA's faith in him throughout, he looked every bit the star they've attempted to build him into, his facial expressions whilst no selling clotheslines from Roode were spot on and meant that when Roode eventually knocked him it felt more important than it probably should have. On the other hand of the coin, Roode has grown into TNA's biggest home grown star over the last two years, and looked very crisp in the ring throughout, a lovely flying neckbreaker was particular high point.

     The match built nicely towards it's closing stages, with Roode and Lashley throwing there best shots at each other to attempt to get the victory, even stealing each others finishers. The two flowed nicely during this stage, as they did throughout the entire match. However, with MVP, Kenny King and two mystery guys coming out, I began to lose interest. With the referee being pulled out of the ring with Lashley about to tap in the crossface, everything went a bit nuts. Angle ran in, but got battered by the four guys, with the two mystery men being revealed as Low Ki and Samoa Joe (this turning them heel), with Eric Young scaring off the heels, he himself then turn heel nailing Roode with a chair and allowing Lashley to hit a spear to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the second time in his career. Now, I usually go with the idea that if it's mouthfull to say and confusing to read, it's probably not a great finish to a match. Personally, I think allowing Roode and Lashley alone would have sent out much better messages about the new direction of the product.

     Whilst, Low Ki, Samoa Joe and Eric Young all turning heel in the space of two minutes did have a degree of shock value, it felt like TNA were giving away at least three weeks of booking in one segment. Surely, having one guy turn each week would have extended the "Impact" of the turns? With Eric Young booked against Bobby Roode in a Falls Count Anywhere match on this weeks, it's difficult to not think TNA is simply going to repeat the same mistakes it has done in the past, rushing angles and not giving them enough time for anyone to get invested in what is actually going on in the ring! 

Street Fight

Kurt Angle vs. MVP

       Yes, Kurt Angle returned to in-ring action at the tender age of 46 years of age! This, of course, was holy unadvertised, because that would be silly, wouldn't it? Yes, instead of having weeks or even months of build to Angle's return to the ring, it was rushed into the opening segment of the show! Angle's return match would surely sell tickets and boost ratings (maybe even sell PPV's) if advertised and hyped correctly.

     Now the segment itself started nicely, with a well directed video package that saw a number of TNA wrestlers recieving an invite to the show (complete with new music that was featured throughout the show), eventually leading to them brawling outside the Manhattan Center and then into the building. A decent attempt to try and get as many guys and gals on the start of the show and create a different feel to what WWE is doing at the moment. Personally, this brawl went on for a bit too long, but it seemed to get the crowd really pumped for the show, as they remained very loud throughout the broadcast.

      After Angle had put all Championships on the line for the night (again, would it not have been wise to advertise this?), MVP attempted to interupt Angle and after some back and forth Angle made the announcement that he was no longer Director of Wrestling Operations and would resume his in-ring career, booking his final match as a Street Fight against MVP. Again, it all comes down to promoting big matches, even having Angle announce that the match would open the second hour of the hour would have been an improvement on it happening straight away!

     However, for two men wresting in street clothes, MVP and Angle made the best they could out of the strange booking. The wrestling was sound, only Kurt Angle could make German Suplexes look so beautiful whilst wearing a suit at 46 years old and there was some solid psychology with MVP focusing his antention on Angle's knee, referecning the ACL tear that had kept Angle out of action, with a chair shot on the steel steps. The two strung together some nice sequences and when Angle picked up the win with an Angle Slam, I was more than satisfyed with the opening match of the show. I still hold out that this match shouldn't have opened Impact (without prior advertisment anyway), but this was a solid out for Angle and MVP, with the result sparking a chain of events that would impact on the rest of the show.

TNA World Tag Team Championship Match

James Storm & Abyss (C) vs.  The Wolves

       Before this match took place, TNA cleverly hyped their new Impact Unlocked series, by broadcasting a teaser of the footage that one could expect when tuning into the show. This footage was a pre-recorded one on one sit down interview between Mike Tenay and one half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions James Storm. The style of interview presented here felt fresh and most importantly it used Mike Tenay to bring a touch of reality to Storm's larger than life character. Many viewers will have created a connection with Tenay over the year, so seeing him in this situations, not only made for uncomfortable viewing (in a good way) but also allowed Storm's character work to come to the forefront.

    It was straight into the match following the interview, with The Wolves being revealed as Storm and Abyss' challengers. This was an adequate tag team bout, if not a little short. The Wolves impressed throughout, with both Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards taking turns bumping for Storm and Abyss, before both men showed some sound athletism, including both flipping out of a chokeslam attempt from Abyss and delivering a handful of double team moves, such as the Backstabber/Double Stomp combo that earned them a two count. A personal highlight of the match was seeing Abyss catch Edwards during a handspring elbow attempt before delivering Shock Treatment for a great near fall. The finsh wasn't to my taste however, with The Hardys getting involved to attempt to even the field by taking out The Revolution's Manik and Great Sanada who were at ringside, before Jeff Hardy ended up bumping into Edwards, allowing Storm to hit a Last Call Superkick to pick up the win and retain the titles. Whilst the original Hardys vs. Wolves match and the subsequent tag series with Team 3D were all good matches, I'm personally not interest in a rematch between the two.

TNA X Division Championship Match

Low Ki (C) vs. Austin Aries 

      With Low-Ki's challenger for the evening being revealed as former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries, it was difficult not to get hyped for this match. Given more time and I'm sure these two would have put on an absolute clinic in X Division style wrestling. There wasn't quite enough time for these two to put things into top gear, but it was still an entertaining seven minutes of action, with the two going back and forth with mainly strike based offence. The closing stages especially showed that this match up had a lot more to give, with a beautiful modified dragon sleeper reversal from Low Ki to escape a brainbuster attempt, before Aries was able to catch Low Ki with a dropkick with Low Ki perched on the top rope, before delivering a brain buster to pick up the victory and become a SIX time X Division Champion! These two deserved at least an extra five minutes.

TNA Knockout's Championship Battle Royal

Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love vs. Gail Kim vs. Tarynn Terrell (C) vs. Madison Rayne vs. Havok vs. Rebel

KNOCKOUT'S BATTLE ROYAL! Fuck that, AWESOME KONG IS BACK! Yes, after a rather uninspiring battle royal that saw Tarynn Terrel hold onto the TNA Knockout's Championship by last eliminating Gail Kim and Havok, Awesome Kong (last seen on TV as WWE's Kharma) returned to TNA after a five year absence. Kong made her presence known by chokeslamming the referee and staring down with Havok. TNA's knockout's division hasn't been the same since Kong left in 2010, so hopefully with near 300lb'er back on board the Impact Wrestling train, we'll see an upturn in the division fortunes in 2015.

EC3 shaves Jeremy Borash's head!!!

       With cameras supposedly installed "everywhere" in the building, Ethan Carter III and Tyrus attempted to hijack the show, appearing in a number of backstage segments calling out Spud for a little trim. When EC3 made it out the ring, his crowd work was impeccable, he knew exactly what he needed to do to get the reaction he wanted from the fans in attendance. The rest of the segment however, I'm not quite sure about. Spud was carried to the ring by Tyrus, before ring announcer Jeremy Borash attempted to stand up for Spud, with the camera unforgivably missing the big moment of Borash slapping EC3 hard in the face! This eventually led to Borash getting his head shaved by EC3. Erm... Erm... I don't know! Was this great television? Was it another bizarre piece of booking? Did Jeremy Borash just want to shave his head? All this and more will probably never be answered.

Finally...

       This was an entertaining episode of Impact Wrestling, with the majority of the matches being extremely watchable.  Josh Matthews was a fresh addition to the commentary team alongside Taz and seemed to push his partner on, the two made a compelling duo on commentary, perhaps the best change to the broadcast style. I still have a few reservations about TNA rushing storylines, with both the turns of Low Ki, Samoa Joe and Eric Young and the in-ring return of Kurt Angle all not feeling quite as big as they could have, if given the correct time and attention.