TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #638 - Lashley v Eddie Edwards 4

As the rumours continued to swirl like the nearby Hurricane Matthew, TNA continued to move forward with the first episode of IMPACT Wrestling since Bound For Glory. With Lashley choosing to face Eddie Edwards in the main event with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line and The Decay, Trevor Lee, Gail Kim, Andrew Everett and Mandrews all playing a major role in the show...this was going to be awesome...right?

In a big storyline twist, Eddie Edwards collected his first World Heavyweight Championship with a victory over Lashley, after the former Champion had picked Edwards as his challenger as the easiest option from a selection that also included Ethan Carter III and Moose. This lead to short but enjoyable main event, that told a strong underdog story as Edwards fought against the powerful and dominant champion Lashley. The Destroyer kept things simple, as following a German Suplex that appeared like it was about to kill Edwards, Lashley controlled the pace and took his time to wind up the crowd. Even though the crowd seemed to side with Moose to get a title opportunity, they quickly got behind Edwards, helped by the structure with Edwards getting a number of exciting hope spots that would always be cut off by a big power move. The finish was very well done as Edwards caught Lashley with a Boston Knee Party as Lashley came flying in with a spear attempt. With this ending the show, it left me wanting to see what would happen next and how different the show would be next week. Good work from everyone involved.

Unfortunately the "Wolf Creek" Cage Match was less enjoyable, as Brother Nero (Jeff Hardy) & "Broken" Matt Hardy defended their World Tag Team Championships against The Decay ("The Monster" Abyss and Crazzy Steve) in what boiled down to being an advert for a new show on Pop. Firstly, I was a little uncomfortable with the idea behind the gimmick, which showed similarities to the Ambrose Asylum match that WWE did earlier in the year and various other gimmicks, but according to the commentary team were "the weapons of choice" of a famous Australian serial killer. Why? Because Pop are doing a show about him. Secondly, the conclusion to the match didn't even air because of technical difficulties, forcing TNA and Pop to put the match on Youtube. A couple of weird weapons got involved, like a weird grappling hook and Reby Hardy (Reby Sky) hitting Rosemary (Courtney Rush) with a rabbit on a stick, but there was nothing that made me sit up and take notice. After the hot Great War from Bound For Glory, this match seemed to take all the momentum out of the feud. 

The show began with a cool segment that saw all the champions in TNA come to the ring to argue their case for being the true champion of the company. For those not keeping score that meant Lashley, Aron Rex (Damien Sandow), Gail Kim, "Broken" Matt Hardy (no Jeff for unknown reasons) and DJ Z (Shiima Xion) all in the ring. This segment had the feel of a reboot, as each champion was introduced and the concept of each division was explained during the conversion. This therefore makes this episode a great jumping on point for anyone who is fancying giving TNA another chance. Billy Corgan (accompanied by Aiden O'Shea) would eventually come out to announce the plans for the evening, where all the titles, bar the X Division belt, would be on the line, as well as setting up the gimmick for Lashley's title match. A solid opening segment, that made it clear what the viewer would be getting throughout the rest of the evening.

Cody (Rhodes) had his first appearance on IMPACT Wrestling, alongside Brandi Rhodes, addressing the crowd, before ending up in a brawl with "The Miracle" Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett. This was a great piece of television as Cody introduced himself well to the audience, putting over a number of event from the PPV, whilst also taking his time when telling stories. Cody talked with passion about wanting to win the World Heavyweight Championship and also mentioned that Bennett was on the list of competitors that he made when he left WWE earlier in the year. Once Bennett and MKB were out, the performers worked the crowd well getting them to chant "Cody" repeatedly, before Bennett would up his game and produce some real fire on the mic. It worked so well, because Bennett having gripes about Cody having a title shot, made complete sense and was delivered with such conviction. It was easy to believe what Bennett was saying and therefore I instantly bought into the feud. 

Ethan Carter III would enter a new feud with Eli Drake on an episode of "Fact of Life". This was an entertaining collision, starting off comical with Drake continually pressing his Dummy button every time EC3 tried to speak before turning serious and producing two good promos, including a marvelous effort from Drake. The ability to shift from light entertainment style in an intense situation with ease, should be commended as there are only a few wrestler in the business who can do this well on a regular basis. As good a job as EC3 did with his promo, begging Drake to hit the button so that he could beat him up, it was Drake's effort that sticks out in my mind. Perhaps, it had a similar theme to Bennett's later in the show, but it worked just as effectively as Drake bought the passion, talking about his run in TNA and how he's worked to get to the spot he was in. Let's not forget that Drake has title shot thanks to his Bound For Gold win and a fiery feud with EC3 could set him up for a title win next year. Credit to both guys for making me want to see them fight again! 

Team X Gold made it's debut this week, as X Division Champion DJ Z, Braxton Sutter (Pepper Parks) & Mandrews (Mark Andrews) went over Andrew Everett, Marshe Rockett and Trevor Lee in a fun six man tag. In terms of the action this was a good debut for the Team X Gold, because it was pacy, used the trios match style well and included plenty of exciting action over a short period of time. It was great to see Mandrews get the pin and get a proper chance to showcase himself well as I've been willing TNA to start using him correctly. This was actually Mandrews first win on IMPACT Wrestling since July 2015! Unfortunately, I still have absolutely no idea what Team X Gold is. There was nothing before the match to explain it other than it was an idea of Billy Corgan and Z, whilst Josh Matthews attempts to get over the concept on commentary was a bit of a mess. "Once you see a team established, they will stay a team" What? "The referee will enforce the rules more" What? 

Best of the Rest 

• Aron Rex retaining the Grand Championship over The Tribunal's Baron Dax in a solid encounter that ended abruptly with a second round submission.

• Gail Kim retained her Knockout's Championship despite a dominant performance from Sienna, before Sienna, Maria Kanellis-Bennett & Laurel Van Ness took part in a beat down of Kim, as Allie looked on.

• It was announced that Maria Kanellis-Bennett will face Gail Kim for the Knockout's Championship next week with MKB's career on the line - McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Eddie Edwards - Maria Kanellis-Bennett berated Allie for revealing she was able to compete at Bound For Glory - Jeremy Borash interviewed Moose - Jeremy Borash interviewed Ethan Carter III

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.21/10 

Show in a Sentence - Some good wrestling, some great talking, a decent post-Bound For Glory episode

Match of the Night - Lashley v Eddie Edwards 

Non-Wrestling Segment of the Night - Cody, Brandi Rhodes, Mike Bennett & Maria Kanellis-Bennett 

Words - James Marston

Banner - Kai Stellar

Supercard Review: TNA Bound For Glory 2016 - Brother Nero & Matt Hardy v The Decay - The Great War

After all the rumours had stopped, TNA's biggest night of the year Bound For Glory took place in Orlando, Florida on 2nd October 2016. In the main event, Brother Nero and "Broken" Matt Hardy would challenge The Decay for the World Tag Team Championships in The Great War, whilst Lashley would defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Ethan Carter III. With Eddie Edwards, Aron Rex, Braxton Sutter, Eli Drake and Rockstar Spud also taking up major spots within the card, could Bound For Glory prove to be a success amidst all the hearsay?

In the most anticpated match of the evening, Brother Nero & "Broken" Matt Hardy won the World Tag Team Championship from The Decay ("The Monster" Abyss & Crazzy Steve) in a completely bonkers encounter, dubbed The Great War. Anyone who has seen The Final Deletion and/or Delete or Decay will have known the kind of thing to expect, but with this match mixing live and pre-recorded action it may very well have been the most unpredictable slice of the trilogy. The pre-recorded portion began after the teams had brawled backstage and was split into two halves as Abyss and Hardy collided outside the building and Steve and Nero remained around the backstage area. The ability to jump between two distinct areas of action upped the ante on the insanity, bringing more "What the fuck is going on?" factor than every before, as Nero morphed into various characters because of a bucket labbeled "The Lake of Restoration" and Abyss and Hardy fought on the back of a pick-up truck driven by Rosemary, whilst The Monster's girlfriend come 2x4 with nails sticking out of it Janice was on fire. 

The stuff inside Impact Zone sandwiched the pre-recorded section, with the first part setting the stage for the violence of second as Rosemary hit a wonderful coast to coast on Hardy with trash can and Abyss stapled Nero in the face. The second portion gradually built to the finish with Nero & Hardy able to lay out each member of The Decay one by one. Abyss took a modified Side Effect on the barbed wire board (which was also covered in tacks), before being sandwiched between two boards and hit with an elbow drop, Reby Hardy would return to powerbomb Rosemary off the apron through the table and Steve took a barage of offence including multiple chair shots and a Twist of Fate with the chair wrapped round his neck. As has been a staple of the "Broken and Obsolete" story, the finish made multiple call backs as Hardy allowed his Brother to "Indulge in his addiction", meaning that Nero hit a Swantom Bomb off the top of the massive ladder through two tables to give his team the victory. As a match, The Great War is difficult to analyse, if you take it for what it was a real spectacle of utter madness then you've got over 20 minutes of mind-boggling entertainment. Wrestling should be fun and The Great War was certainly that.

When it came time for Ethan Carter III to challenge Lashley for the World Heavyweight Championship, I couldn't help but feel that having this match go on last was a mistake. Yes, it was for the World title and yes, it had plenty of build, but it was never going to able to compete with The Great War. Firstly, you had the heel champion retaining the title, which 9 times out of 10 is going to leave the biggest event of the year feeling a little flat, which I don't think would have been the case had the show concluded with The Great War. Secondly, giving the match a "No Holds Barred" stipulation meant that it was suddenly put in the same ball park as the other match and with the Hardyz and The Decay using barbed wire and thumb tacks, Lashley and EC3 weren't going to be able to provide that level of brutality in their own contest. 

In it's own right Lashley v EC3 was a good wrestling match, that started strongly with Lashley nailing The Ass Kicking Machine with a spear during the in-ring introductions. Having the World Heavyweight Champion still get Jeremy Borash to complete his introduction after the fact was a great moment, that built his character well. The overall storytelling of Lashley's frustration at being unable to put EC3 away despite multiple spears, built the match well with EC3 selling the moves well to aid the story, even if the spears didn't create believable near falls because of their timing and the fact that every man and his dog has kicked out of Lashley's spear on multiple occassions by this point. Where the match was held back for me was Lashley's bumping ability, which ended up hurting a number of the contest's bigger spots, like a TK3 onto the steel steps that looked awful as well as his odd way of taking German suplexes for EC3's fire up sequence in the last part of the bout. The finish of the middle rope spear got a cool reaction out of the Impact Zone, but for me took a little too long in it's build up. Lashley retaining his belt to close the show was interesting decision as was having EC3 lose clean, however this was still a good watch that held my attention throughout. 

Aron Rex's victory over Eddie Edwards to became the first ever Grand Champion was a dull affair that didn't come close to exploring what the round system could do. Fought as three five minute rounds, Edwards won the first round after dominating with dropkicks, a hurricanrana and a suicide dive, before Rex evended the score with a round that saw him focus on Edwards' legs. I think the thing that struck me the most is that this didn't feel any different to a normal match, yeah there was timer ticking away in the corner, but for what is supposed to be a brand new division, I expected the pair to employ a different style. I thought that we'd be seeing a more hard-hitting, MMA inspired type of wrestling, but as soon as Rex did a dismal flip after taking a hurricanrana I knew that this was not to be the case. Oh yeah, the lights went off in the middle of the second round, as well.

The final round lacked the drama that it should have had, as with both men level surely was the time that Rex and Edwards would have been trying to put the match to bed without having to go to the judges decision. This is where Rex previously working the leg could have been used to the fullest, as whilst Edwards sold the injury well on numerous occassions, that story was allowed to fade into the distance. The match finished with the pair punching each other on their knees, after Edwards had hit a shining wizard, which with the match supposedly being scored based on dominance, didn't make a whole lot of sense. Obviously, Rex was awarded the third round and hilariously, the on-screen graphic appeared to contradict Jeremy Borash's announced result of split decision. Honestly, Rex appeared to look like he wanted to anywhere else during most of the match, appearing happy to go through the motions and even in his celebration looked like he couldn't wait to get behind the curtain.

Eli Drake would earn himself a World Heavyweight Championship match in a Bound for Gold Gauntlet Battle Royal, that also featured Braxton Sutter, Rockstar Spud, Basile Baraka, Grado, Robbie E, Jessie Godderz, Baron Dax, Tyrus and Mahabali Shera. This match never looked like being anything other than basic, but there was a few good performances in the mix. Most notably, Spud was one form throughout starting the match with a low-blow on Godderz, before holding onto the bottom rope with all he could. Despite being a heel, it was only he and Grado who got any kind of crowd support during the match, as it appeared the crowd recognised that he was the one trying his hardest to entertain them. You'll either love Grado doing the Bushwacker Luke spot or it'll make you groan, however considering the size of the pop he recieved it feels a little short sighted not to have him feature more. There was also some decent stuff put together by The Bro-Mans, including their initial falling out as E tried to eliminate Godderz, before they worked the best series of action of the match with The Tribunal that would see all but Godderz eliminated within a matter of seconds.

The finish saw Drake able to hold onto the bottom rope using just his feet, before blindsiding Tyrus and Godderz to eliminate them both and win the match. As impressive as Drake staying in the ring was, the finish was still a repeat of a spot that we've seen multiple times over the years and didn't really add a lot to the moment. Out of the field, Drake was probably the most likely winner as he's been featured in major storylines on Impact Wrestling over the last couple of month's and has impressed particularly with his promo ability, getting his "Dummy" catchphrase over well. Overall, this was probably slightly better than last years effort, but was essentially a way of filling up fifteen minutes without having to work particularly hard to do so. How acts like Mandrews and Andrew Everrett didn't find a way into this match, I have no idea as they had the ability to breath some life into this plod-fest.

Gail Kim joining the likes of Kurt Angle, Sting and Team 3D in the TNA Hall of Fame was a sugary sweet moment that featured a shit-tonne of hyperbole. Christy Hemme, Taryn Terrell and Awesome Kong all returned to take part in the Dixie Carter-lead induction, that included Kim being described as "the greatest female wrestler to have ever lived". There's no doubt that Kim is the most deserving woman of an induction into TNA's Hall of Fame, but backing up that description would be tough task for anyone. The best part of this segment was when Kim finally got to talk for herself, after Carter had said "Thank you" into the camera rather than to the woman who was standing directly beside her. The speech was heart felt and passionate as Kim discussed having high and lows with the business and read a list of thank yous to various people who have helped her along the way. 

Arguably the best wrestling match on the show came at the beginning as DJ Z retained the X Division title in a pacy encounter with Trevor Lee. The match was full of great reversal and sequences that built nicely throughout with the pair always seeming that something up their sleeve to keep the match engaging and exciting throughout. The final stretch that saw Lee going for a German Suplex whilst Z was looking for the ZDT was very well executed, with the duo having a number of ways to hold off each move being hit, including Z turning a German suplex into a reverse rana. I think had the duo been given a bit more time to run with then they only would have created even better action and added to it with more depth to the story-telling. Overall, this was a cracking opening contest, that was nice change from the usual multi-man X Division bout that TNA have chosen to gone with on their last couple of supercards.

Moose going over Mike Bennett in a grudge match was a mixed bag, that featured some decent wrestling, but also showed up that Moose was not quite ready for the major push he seems destined for within TNA. That's because after Moose's face shine, Bennett focused heavily on Moose's knee, beginning with a nice low dropkick. Did Moose sell that on his comeback? Did he fuck! This could have been used to really drive the match later on, giving Bennett chances to get back into the match, whilst also allowing Moose to look stronger for having fought through the injury. There was one great sequence in the final third of the bout that saw Moose block a Cutter, before the duo went through a series of back and forth strikes and concluded with Bennett nailing a cutter as Moose came in with a diving crossbody for a strong near fall. Looking at the results across the show, it would seem obvious for Moose to move into an anticipated bout with Lashley over the World Heavyweight strap, whether Moose is ready for a match on that level, I'm still not convinced.

Rounding out the show was new TNA Hall of Famer Gail Kim winning her sixth Knockout's Championship from Maria Kanellis-Bennett in a satisfying climax to their feud that has been running since the beginning of the year. This was a sound storyline match up, that saw the deck constantly stacked against Kim, but with the challenger always building momentum against the woman who has tried to hold her down throughout the year. The interference from Allie and Mike Bennett worked well, with MKB's cast producing both a strong false finish and a babyface shine moment for Kim as she chucked it into the crowd. Kim's comeback was a great moment with Kim showing her frustration well as she battered MKB with a number of strikes before running through a number of her greatest hits, including a Figure Four around the ringpost and Eat Defeat to win the title. This match will never be accused of being a technical masterpiece, but it was an entertaining conclusion to the storyline, that allowed a feel good moment to go alongside Kim's induction.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.58/10

In conclusion, Bound For Glory was a mostly entertaining show that featured satisfying climaxes to a number of long running feuds (The Great War, Knockout's Championship), a couple of good title matches (World Heavyweight Championship, X Division Championship), yet was held back by major slots on the card being taken by dull matches and uninterested performers (Grand Championship, Bound For Gold Gauntlet). This leaves Bound For Glory 2016 with an above average rating on the ATPW Scale, when perhaps with a little shuffling we could've seen a show get a "Good" rating.

Words - James Marston

All images remain the property of their respective owners.

TV Review: TNA Impact Wrestling #608 (Angle vs. Lashley)

Broadcast on 8th March 2016 (taped 31st January 2016) the 608th episode of TNA's Impact Wrestling aired from the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. Kurt Angle had his last match for TNA as he faced Lashley and The Wolves defended their TNA World Tag Team Championships against Beer Money...but was it any good? Let's find out

impact wrestling #608 match card

Match 1 - TNA King of the Mountain Championship King of the Mountain - Big Damo vs. Bram vs. Eric Young (C) vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Will Ospreay

Match 2 - TNA Knockout's Championship - Gail Kim (C) vs. Jade 

Match 3 - TNA World Tag Team Championship - Beer Money vs. The Wolves (C)

Match 4 - Singles - Lashley vs. Kurt Angle

tna talents pay tribute to kurt angle

Numerous TNA talents surrounded the ring to open the show, as TNA said goodbye to one of their best ever performers and 6 time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Kurt Angle. Dixie Carter was the first to thank Angle for his time with the company and quite rightly TNA had edited out the "What?" chant that had hampered Dixie's emotional speech when I watched the segment get taped. Drew Galloway also took the time put over Kurt Angle and thank him for choosing the wrestle him twice on Angle's farewell tour. The last person to get involved was Lashley, who continued his slow-burn heel turn. His promo ability still isn't the strongest around, but he did what he to do here. A good idea to build towards Angle's final match with the company later on in the show and one that came off much better on TV than it did live in the arena. 

eric young defeats bram, will ospreay, jimmy havoc and big damo to retain the tna king of the mountain championship in a king of the mountain match

RANDOM KING OF THE MOUNTAIN MATCH WITH ABSOLUTELY NO BUILD...BECAUSE...TNA! The real success of this match for me was that it offered a good showcase for the British Indy talent. IPW:UK's Will Ospreay and Jimmy Havoc, and ICW's Big Damo all looked comfortable in front of the 3000+ crowd and working alongside two accomplished TV performers like Eric Young and Bram. Havoc's dive off the top of the Penalty Box cage and Ospreay taking a Neckbreaker off the ladder from Young stand out as the two best spots of the match. It was a shame that the match never had me convinced that Young would be dropping the title, as the format of the contest held things back a little in that sense. Bram and Eric Young eventually going at it provided a cool moment, that the crowd was more into than I would have expected, getting behind fellow Brit, Bram, before Young would eventually hang the title for the victory. Not the greatest example of the gimmick this one, but still will hopefully have had anyone new to Ospreay, Havoc or Damo looking to find out more about these three talented wrestlers.

fast-forward...Maria put in a killer performance in her backstage segment with Dixie Carter, no idea what actually happened though...

mike bennett and drew galloway continue to clash

The feud between Mike Bennett and Drew Galloway continued to grow, as the two had a war of words. Bennett opening the segment by claiming that he deserved a world title shot, citing that Kurt Angle leaving TNA and Ethan Carter III now being unable to challenge for the World title as reasons for this. The Birmingham crowd was on the Miracle's back, and Galloway heading out got a decent pop. The former ROH World Tag Team Champion has quickly aclimatised to the TNA environment and this feud with Galloway should leave him a position to become a major star for the promotion, he's got all the tools to do it, just as this segment proved. Galloway got the better of Bennett in the confrontation, but The Miracle still managed to escape before the former WWE Intercontinental Champion could hit the Claymore kick.

fast-forward...Backstage, Kurt Angle chatted to the TNA World Tag Team Champions The Wolves, wishing them good luck in their defense against Beer Money and also giving Davey Richards his blessing to use the Ankle Lock...

gail kim defeats jade to retain the tna knockout's championship

I'll be the first to admit that this match could have been a hell of a lot better, but it was still a solid slice of women's wrestling. Certain elements of the match could have done with emphasising for me, as there were a lot of ideas here that could have done with being spotlighting more. Gail locking on a Figure Four on the ringpost, for example, seemed to be thrown away when it could have been used to really drive the story of the contest. A big thumbs up for Gail selling her shoulder following a series of submission moves focused on that area. A highlight of the action for me was Jade turning Gail's rana attempt into a powerbomb, which looked brutal and was timed very well. A bit of a scrappy finish as Gail got the win, with Jade rolling through a crossbody for a two count before Gail rolled back through for the win, which was seemingly to set up a rematch between the two. Hopefully a rematch get's a little bit more time and attention, as this only scratched the surface of what the two talent should be capable of together. (8 minutes, 15 seconds)

beer money defeats the wolves to win the tna world tag team championship

The best match of the night for me here, as two of TNA's best tandems a very good tag bout for the Birmingham crowd. The match went back and forth, with both sides afforded exciting hot tag sequences, that made use of having two babyface tag teams in the ring together. This kept things a great tempo throughout, whilst allowing the crowd to stay lively with things pretty much split down the middle for the two sides. The closing sequences of action were superb as both sides traded big moves with all four guys getting involved and the pace rising and rising. It was a real shame that Davey Richards suffered a leg injury as he came off the top rope to take James Storm's version of the Codebreaker. This meant that Eddie Edwards had to finish the match alone, and lead to the finish feeling a little flat when Beer Money hit their D.W.I. tag finish. A rematch once Richards' is fit again certainly wouldn't go a miss, it's just a shame that it might be a while until they get to do it again in front of such a captive audience as they had here. (14 minutes)

fast-forward...Mike Bennett and Kurt Angle had a confrontation backstage, which weirdly seemed to sew the seeds for a future Angle comeback...After a scuffle in the ring, Grado escaped with Eli Drake's Feast or Fired briefcase (Jessie Godderz and Mahabli Shera also got involved)...A tribute video to Kurt Angle aired, with Pat Kenny, Al Snow, Shane Helms and Earl Hebner putting over the former 4 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion... 

lashley defeats kurt angle

I think pretty much everyone in the arena had decided that Kurt Angle was going to win his final match in TNA, but that was with everyone thinking with their heart, rather than their head. Angle has always come across as the traditionalist and would surely have wanted to give back to company, by allowing someone to get some heat from defeating him. This was another good match on Angle's "Farewell Tour", up there with the bouts with Drew Galloway and Bobby Roode from recent weeks. Certainly, the match had a lot of similarities to those contests, being heavily based on submissions with Angle locking on the Ankle Lock a number of times. A highlight of the match for me was Lashley pulling himself to ropes whilst Angle had a Grapevined version of the hold on, only for Angle to pull him back into the ring and try to lock it on again. Lashley's selling following the hold was some of the best that I've seen from the former WWE United States Champion. Whilst there was some sweet amatuer style action on offer, I felt the bout suffered from an over-reliance on the pairs finishers, with Lashley hitting a number of Spears before getting the pin. Whilst none of his three matches on this tour would be up there with some of Angle's best work, in my opinion, the fact that he managed to wrestle 3 matches of this quality over consecutive nights at this stage in his career is a testament to the true talent that Kurt Angle is. TNA will struggle to replace him.

Following the match, Lashley cemented his heel turn, by levelling Angle following initially embracing his opponent. Lashley got a bucket load of heat for this, and managed to take out both Drew Galloway and Eddie Edwards (seemingly Davey Richards was still too injured to help out) with Spears as they attempted to make the save. The pay-off for the segment was Lashley deciding to back down from Ethan Carter III and leave the ring, with the two closing the show with a stare down. There's another interesting feud to be had here, if the right heel role is found for Lashley, I'm intrigued to see exactly where TNA takes this towards the end of March and into April on TV. 

finally...

atpw scale rating - 5.68/10

Three weeks in a row that Impact Wrestling has managed to top it's best ATPW Scale Rating for 2016! Whilst this week's show receives just 0.02 more than last week, to see the show manage to maintain strong scores over the last few weeks is hopefully a sign that TNA is beginning to turn to the corner. There wasn't any particularly blow away on this week's show, but there was consitently solid content throughout the show, with every match and segment providing some form of entertainment. The show peaked towards the end of the broadcast with Beer Money winning the TNA World Tag Team Championships, before Kurt Angle lost his final contest to Lashley in the main event. 

There was certainly room for improvement throughout, with the biggest example being the lack of build for Eric Young's King of the Mountain Championship defence, that with a little extra thought (Young being forced to defend his title after upsetting Dixie Carter for example) would have resulted in a better and more satisfying contest. 

We'll have to see whether TNA can keep up the solid run of shows in the UK over the last five weeks when they return to Orlando next week with a live episode, featuring Ethan Carter III getting another shot at Matt Hardy's TNA World Heavyweight Championship and the return of Jeff Hardy against TNA King of the Mountain Champion, Eric Young.

TV Review: TNA Impact Wrestling #605 (The Wolves vs. The Decay *MONSTER'S BALL*)

On the 16th February 2015, the 605th episode of TNA's Impact Wrestling aired on Pop TV. The show featured The Wolves defending their TNA World Tag Team Championships against The Decay's Abyss & Crazzy Steve and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy teamed with Tyrus to face Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud...but was it any good? Let's find out!

match card

Match 1 - TNA King of the Mountain Championship - Eric Young (C) w/Bram vs. James Storm w/Bobby Roode

Match 2 - Singles - Mike Bennett vs. Mandrews

Match 3 - TNA World Tag Team Championship Monster's Ball - The Decay w/Rosemary vs. The Wolves (C)

Match 4 - Tag Team - Gail Kim & Madison Rayne vs. The Dollhouse w/Rebel

Match 5 - Tag Team - Eli Drake & Jessie Godderz vs. Mahabali Shera & Odarg the Great

Match 6 - Tag Team - TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy & Tyrus vs. Ethan Carter III & Rockstar Spud

fast-forward...A recap from last week's show featuring The Wolves challenging The Decay to a TNA World Tag Team Championship match, with Abyss making the match Monster's Ball and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy failing to make Dixie Carter fire her nephew Ethan Carter III...In a backstage area, Dixie Carter revealed to Ethan Carter III that he'd face Matt Hardy for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship inside a Steel Cage at Lockdown in London next week, before EC3 said he'd be heading to the ring to kick off the show...

ethan carter iii called out tyrus

Ethan Carter III was out to cement his babyface turn and open the show, with the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion calling out Tyrus for a fight, after accusing the former Funkasaurus of breast-feeding Matt Hardy's child. There was an awful lot cut from EC3's opening speech from what was heard in the Manchester Arena, as his ass-kicking babyface who swears a lot character was toned down a hell of a lot, with absolutely no reference to the poop chute or any other orifice. Obviously this lead to ambush attack by Hardy, with EC3 managing to escape unharmed, and it was confirmed that Hardy & Tyrus would team up to face EC3 and a partner of his choice later on in the show.

james storm and eric young go to a no contest over the king of the mountain championship

James Storm and Eric Young are two very competent workers inside the six sided ring and it would be difficult to fault anything they did inside that ring. However, they did both seem to go through the motions in this one as the trod water until the messy DQ/non finish thing that happened. I'm not even sure what did happen here, but it ended up in Bram and Bobby Roode both getting involved and the match seemingly being thrown out. There was however a cool crowd brawl that followed, with James Storm throwing beer over Bram. With the two teams facing each other at Lockdown next week, I suppose this arena wide brawl was to push what the two teams would do when confined to the six sided ring and we'd see it continue throughout the night.

fast-forward...Drew Galloway approached Ethan Carter III about being his partner in the main event, with EC3 claiming he wanted to "go it alone"...

mike bennett defeated mandrews

Mike Bennett (with Maria) continued his feud with Drew Galloway, cutting a post-match promo about both his rival and the man we saw him with earlier in the night, Kurt Angle, before calling out Mandrews for a match. This was another bout, that having Mandrews and Mike Bennett elsewhere, felt like it could have been so much better, but did the job it needed to do for TV. Bennett looked impressive in his comfortable victory. However, the finish came across as a little bit messy, as Bennett hit a Rope Hung Cutter, a wrist-lock transitioned into a right hook and then his Divine Intervention Samoa Driver to put Mandrews away in an over-crowded finish. Galloway was out to make the save when Bennett tried to do even more damage. The commentary was utterly useless throughout, never making me feel like Mandrews could pull off the upset, even when on offense, with Pope especially content to run-down the 24 year old from Cardiff, who is still without a singles win on Impact Wrestling and hasn't picked up a victory on TV since his October victory over Crazzy Steve on Xplosion.

fast-forward...The Decay's promo was interestingly shot through a grate, but fuck that shit, Jimmy Havoc debuted to reveal he's got some kind of past with Rosemary, sweet baby jesus...A recap of Kurt Angle's TNA World Heavyweight Championship victory over Lashley from the Impact Wrestling #557 

the wolves defeated the decay to retain the tna world tag team championship in monster's ball

This match was everything I wanted to be, as The Wolves and The Decay ran through a series of great spots and got all kinds of weapons involved in the action. Davey Richards suicide dive that sent Abyss crashing through a barbed wire board stands out particular, alongside Crazzy Steve getting whacked with Janice (with a Steel Chair getting in the way, to stop, you know, death). The story of the match with Davey Richards struggling to see following some red mist from Steve came across much clearer on television than it did inside the arena, with Josh Matthews keeping it in the mind of the home viewer nicely on commentary. He let himself down with the line "Davey Richards sucking the mist out of the mouth of Rosemary" however. The finish was a little bit of weird one again, as Eddie Edwards held an interfering Rosemary in place, and Richards threatened to hit her with a cheese grater, before deciding to plant a big ol' Ric Flair-esque smooch on her. It was a bit uncomfortable to watch, but the reveal that Richards' had somehow nicked Rosemary's green mist, was a pretty cool moment. The Wolves hitting their version of Chasing the Dragon onto a steel chair covered in thumb tacks ended the match on a high point, seemingly putting The Wolves vs. The Decay feud to bed. Easily the best match of the show as Richards & Edwards picked up their fifth defense of the titles since winning them from Brian Meyers & Trevor Lee on Impact Wrestling in September.

fast-forward...Ethan Carter III reminded Rockstar Spud that he wanted to face Tyrus & Matt Hardy on his own

madison rayne and gail kim defeat the dollhouse

It seemed like the crowd couldn't have cared less about this week's women's bout, as this tag match played out to almost complete silence. The babyfaces won with a roll up from Madison Rayne, but beyond that there was nothing memorable from this short 4 minute encounter. In almost a mirror image of last week's women's match, Velvet Sky came out to make the save after The Dollhouse attacked Gail and Madison post match. Velvet got a strong reaction from the Manchester Arena though, cutting a passionate promo challenging The Dollhouse to a Lethal Lockdown bout in London next week. 

fast-forward...Mahabli Shera bought out his new friend, Odarg the Great, in a bizarre backstage interview...Beer Money were still brawling backstage with Eric Young and Bram, before Bobby Roode issued a challenge for a Steel Cage match, next week at Lockdown...

odarg the great and mahabli shera defeat eli drake and jessie godderz

I popped hard for Odarg the Great, due to silliness of the whole storyline. Basically, if you hadn't worked out, Great is Grado under a mask. The match got a decent amount of time for a comedy bout, with Mahabli Shera working as the face in peril, as the crowd got ready to erupt for a Great hot tag! Pulling out all the signature moves, I couldn't have been happier with how this match went, as Shera & Great picked up a roll-up victory, as Drake had managed to un-mask the new comer, giving Grado (or Odarg) his first TV victory for TNA since last June. Utterly ridiculous stuff, I can imagine this might not be some people's cup of tea, but those people need to lighten up a bit! Long live Odarg the Great! 

ethan carter iii and rockstar spud defeated matt hardy and tyrus

With the main event being the fourth tag team match in a row, it has to be said that there was more than a little of a burn out effect by the time the bell rang to start this one. The narrative played out rather nicely, with Ethan Carter III coming out on his own and getting battered by Matt Hardy & Tyrus, before Rockstar Spud came out to be his partner. However, despite EC3's partner being no massive surprise, we did get a well played moment where after having an opportunity to tag in Spud, EC3 tried to keep going on his own, adding a decent layer of drama to the bout. A stand out moment from the bout saw EC3 go for a dive off the top rope to the outside, with Tyrus and Hardy failing to protect him properly, leading to EC3 face planting the floor in what looked like a pretty nasty bump, which actually looked much worse on TV than it did in the arena. Despite the drama, the finish was a little rushed, but EC3 getting a clean pinfall on Hardy after a One Percenter at least allowed EC3 some legit momentum heading into his TNA World Heavyweight Championship rematch next week and ended the show on a crowd pleasing moment. 

finally...

atpw scale rating - 4.71/10

An improvement on last week's score of 4.4, as well as the score for this TV taping as a whole (4.52) this was a slightly better episode, that takes the Episode of the tour crown for the time being. The Monster's Ball bout over the TNA World Tag Team Championship, as well as the tag bout that saw Rockstar Spud offer his help to Ethan Carter III against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy and Tyrus, both played their part producing two very different matches. One saw a feud end in utter chaos, whilst the other escalated a rivalry for a World Heavyweight Championship match next week. Personally, I felt the Monster's Ball match would have been a better fit as the main event of the show, because anything that followed was always going to struggle to compete with the violence, as we saw the women's tag team match suffer for going on straight after it. Overall, this wasn't the best two hours of wrestling you'll find, but it was watchable throughout with anything that wasn't particularly great no sticking around for too long and with two quality tag team matches as well.

Live Event Review: TNA Maximum Impact VIII Tour - Manchester (The Wolves vs. The Decay *Monster's Ball*)

*DISCLAIMER - This article contains spoilers for the 604th and 605th episodes of Impact Wrestling, as well as episodes of Xplosion. These will air on the 9th and 16th February on Pop! in the USA and 14th and 21st February on Challenge in the UK*
On 29th January 2016, TNA kicked off their eighth tour of the United Kingdom at the Manchester Arena in Hunts Bank, Manchester with a double TV taping for Impact Wrestling and more! TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy demanded Dixie Carter fire Ethan Carter III, The Wolves defended the TNA World Tag Team Championships against The Decay in Monsters Ball, Kurt Angle went one on one with Drew Galloway and Matt Hardy teamed with Tyrus to take on Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud...but was it any good? 

Match Card 

1 - Singles - Mandrews vs. Will Ospreay

2 - Singles - Bram w/Eric Young vs. Lashley

3 - TNA X Division Championship - Tigre Uno vs. Trevor Lee (C) w/Gregory Shane Helms

4 - Tag Team - Beer Money (Bobby Roode & James Storm) vs. The Decay ("The Monster" Abyss & Crazzy Steve) w/Rosemary

5 - Singles - Jade w/The Dollshouse (Marti Belle & Rebel) vs. Madison Rayne 

6 - Singles - Drew Galloway vs. Kurt Angle

7 - Singles - Mandrews vs. "The Miracle" Mike Bennett w/Maria

8 - TNA King of the Moutain Championship - James Storm w/Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young (C) w/Bram

9 - Tag Team - Eli Drake & Jessie Godderz vs. Mahabli Shera & Odarg the Great

10 - TNA World Tag Team Championship Monster's Ball - The Decay ("The Monster" Abyss & Crazzy Steve) vs. The Wolves (C) (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)

11 - Tag Team - Gail Kim & Madison Rayne vs. The Dollhouse (Jade & Marti Belle) w/Rebel

12 - Tag Team - Ethan Carter III & Rockstar Spud vs. Matt Hardy & Tyrus

mandrews defeats will ospreay 

Anyone who's read my PROGRESS Wrestling reviews knows just how much I love Will Ospreay, so it was pretty cool getting to see his TNA debut against one of his most familiar opponents from the British independent circuit, Mandrews. With only a limited amount of time (there's been a lot made elsewhere about the pair only have four minutes wrestling time *cough* Meltzer *cough*) the pair pulled out their greatest hits in a fast paced, balls to the wall encounter. Reverse Rana's and skateboard madness, with Mandrews picking up the clean victory with a Shooting Star Press, this was just a little taster of what Ospreay and Mandrews are capable of inside that six sided ring. 

fast-forward...A sweet Ethan Carter III promo aired on the screen, this is the same promo that would later air on the #603 edition of Impact Wrestling...

matt hardy had stuff to say

The first appearance of the current TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy, alongside wife Reby, infant son Maxel and bodyguard Tyrus, was an interesting one. The trio got a load of heat from a lively Manchester crowd, who weren't afraid to let the villainous group know how they felt. Whilst the jist of the segment was that Hardy wanted Dixie Carter to fire Ethan Carter III later in the night, the thing I'll take away most from this was the epic "Who are ya?" chant that Reby Sky got. It completely drowned out here entire promo, I hope that this comes across as well when this airs on TV! 

lashley defeats bram 

 Hmmm...this bout was a weird one. It was clearly being used to build Lashley as a force to be reckoned with, for his match with Kurt Angle later in the tour, but if that was the case the finish was certainly overbooked for it's needs. The wrestling content was fine, if not a little basic and Eric Young managed to work the crowd at ringside up nicely, being the most over element of the match. However, the aforementioned finish saw Bram hit his Brighter Side of Suffering finisher, and then Young jump onto the ring apron with King of the Mountain Championship, convincing Bram to lift up Lashley for a belt shot (which would have lead to the DQ) before Lashley ducked, hit a Spear and won the match. Maybe the commentary team will make more sense of this on TV than I could live. 

mike bennett interrupts kurt angle

Another slightly bizarre segment here. Firstly, Kurt Angle's crowd pleasing promo about his times coming to the UK was lovely. You know the like, "Manchester is awesome" "You fans are the best in the world" type thing that makes the crowd go "Yeah, we're in Manchester". Having Mike Bennett and Maria interrupt was where I was expecting business to really pick up and in a way it did and in a way it didn't. Bennett handled himself well on the microphone, cutting a promo about being a child and telling his Mom that one day he'd beat Kurt Angle, that was well paced and with an entertaining cadence. But then Angle said something and twatted Bennett in the face. Drew Galloway then came out and stood on the ramp. The promo really made me want to see Bennett get an opportunity against Angle, as they had weaved a great story for the match already, but with the two not scheduled to face each other on the tour, and Angle supposedly done with TNA afterward, I was a little confused at where the pay-off would come.   

trevor lee defeats tigre uno to retain the x division championship

With Trevor Lee's alignment with Gregory Shane Helms and subsequent TNA X Division Championship win still to air in the UK at this point, the Manchester crowd were luke warm for Tigre Uno's championship rematch, if not outright confused and indifferent. Lee and Uno put on a decent contest, but one that barely scratched the surface in terms of what a talent like Lee can do in the ring. With only five minutes allocated, and with the duo still seemingly unable to connect in the ring, this wasn't the best example of X Division action that one could find. The finish did however continue to build on Lee's relationship with Helms as the former WCW World Cruiserweight Champion's interference allowed Lee to hit a Small Package Driver to retain his title.

beer money defeats the decay via disqualification 

The build towards Beer Money vs. The Wolves continued here, with Beer Money attempting to cash-in their Feast or Fired briefcases for TNA World Tag Team title shots. Of course, The Decay (Abyss and Crazzy Steve with Rosemary) had previously stolen the physical belts, so Manchester actually ended up with a Beer Money vs. Decay match instead. The match had a basic tag team structure for the most part, with the crowd being completely into Beer Money's comeback as they ran through a number of their back catalogue of sweet tag team moves. The finish seemed to have a few people confused around me, as after Storm and Roode had hit the DWI on Steve, Abyss pulled the referee out of the ring, causing the Disqualification, this wasn't helped by no clear announcement of the result. However, with The Wolves coming out to make the save and challenging The Decay to a Monster's Ball match "next week" the crowd quickly forgot and got hyped for what was to come.

grado returns

Grado is back! Okay, so the episode in which he got fired hadn't actually aired yet, but he's back! Basically, Grado jumped the barricade and cut a promo claiming to have proof that he'd been screwed. We didn't get to see the proof as Eli Drake and some security came out and chased Grado to the back, in a weird Benny Hill style moment. 

jade defeats madison rayne

The first piece of Knockout's action of the night, was physical contest between The Dollhouse's Jade (with Marti Bella and Rebel, but without Awesome Kong)  and The Beautiful People's Madison Rayne (who strangely came out alone) For me, this could have gone a little bit longer, as the two looked like they could have put together a good match, if they were given the time. After Jade had picked up the win with a Package Piledriver, Gail Kim was out to make the save for Madison, with Velvet Sky conspicuous in her absence. 

drew galloway defeats kurt angle

In the best match of the show so far, Drew Galloway avenged his loss to Kurt Angle earlier in the year. The two went at it hammer and tounges for most of the match, trading big moves and near falls, with Angle hitting a sweet looking Angle Slam on the apron, before delivering another that had a most of the crowd convinced it was over. The long spells of submission based action were reminiscent of Angle's WWE tangles with Chris Benoit, as the two exchanged Ankle Locks and a new hold that seemed to be a Crossface/Scissored Armbar varation, that would eventually gain Galloway a surprising submission victory. For my personal taste, I wished the bout had been afforded a bit more time to settle in at the beginning, seemingly going straight into the big moves and near falls. For example, Galloway hitting a Futureshock DDT as a reversal to a backslide, looked great, but no one bought into it as a false finish because it came about four minutes into the match. Still, this was still a very good bout, that will should do a lot for Galloway as he continues to grow in TNA, with a future World Heavyweight title shot in his future, thanks to the Feast or Fired briefcase.

matt hardy calls out dixie carter

In a continuation of what we'd seen earlier, Matt Hardy was out to get Ethan Carter III fired, in an entertaining in-ring segment. The crowd being so into all the performers, especially Hardy and EC3 helped this greatly and seemed to allow the performers to bring even more energy into their act. Rockstar Spud's TNA return was handled nicely and he arguably pulled out the best spoken performance of the evening, cutting a lovely promo about his past with EC3 and why Dixie Carter shouldn't fire him, before getting taken out by Hardy and Tyrus. With EC3 able to take out Tyrus and Hardy managing to escape, the table was set for their feud to continue throughout the show and the rest of the tour.

mike bennett defeats mandrews

Mike Bennett (with Maria) continued his feud with Drew Galloway, cutting a post-match promo about both his rival and the man we saw him with earlier in the night, Kurt Angle, before calling out Mandrews for a match. This was another bout, that having Mandrews and Mike Bennett elsewhere, felt like it could have been so much better, but did the job it needed to do for TV. Bennett looked impressive in his comfortable victory. However, the finish came across as a little bit messy, as Bennett hit a Rope Hung Cutter, a wrist-lock transitioned into a right hook and then his Divine Intervention Samoa Driver to put Mandrews away in an over-crowded finish. Galloway was out to make the save when Bennett tried to do even more damage.

james storm and eric young go to a no contest over the king of the mountain championship

James Storm and Eric Young are two very competent workers inside the six sided ring and it would be difficult to fault anything they did inside the ring. However, they did both seem to go through the motions in this one as the trod water until the messy DQ/non finish thing that happened. I'm not even sure what did happen here, but it ended up in Bram and Bobby Roode both getting involved and the match seemingly being thrown out. There was however a cool crowd brawl that followed, with James Storm throwing beer over Bram, not too far from where we were sitting.

odarg the great and mahabli shera defeat eli drake and jessie godderz

I popped hard for Odarg the Great, due to silliness of the whole storyline. Basically, if you hadn't worked out, Great is Grado under a mask, he came out to Madonna's Like a Prayer and the crowd (especially our section) lapped it up. The match got a decent amount of time for a comedy bout, with Mahabli Shera working as the face in peril, as the crowd got ready to erupt for a Great hot tag! Pulling out all the signature moves, I couldn't have been happier with how this match went, as Shera & Great picked up a roll-up victory, as Drake had managed to un-mask the new comer. Utterly ridiculous stuff, I can imagine this might not be some people's cup of tea, but those people need to lighten up a bit! Long live Odarg the Great! 

ethan carter iii calls out tyrus 

Ethan Carter III was back out to cement his babyface turn, by cutting profanity-laden promo on his plans for Matt Hardy. With such wonderful turns of phrase as "two fingers right up the poop shoot", EC3 further enamored himself to the Manchester Arena, supposedly bringing back memories of their last night out on the town. With EC3 apparently adamant on using more sexual references he called out Tyrus to meet his fists (I'll you with that image) after accusing the former Funkasaurus of breast-feeding Matt Hardy's child (Another image for you). Obviously this lead to ambush attack by Hardy, with EC3 managing to escape unharmed, and it was confirmed that Hardy & Tyrus would team up to face EC3 and a partner of his choice later on in the show.

the wolves defeat the decay in monster's ball to retain the world tag team championships

This match was everything I wanted to be, as The Wolves and The Decay ran through a series of great spots and got all kinds of weapons involved in the action. Davey Richards suicide dive that sent Abyss crashing through a barbed wire board stands out particular, alongside Crazzy Steve getting whacked with Janice (with a Steel Chair getting in the way, to stop, you know, death). The finish was a little bit of weird one again, as Eddie Edwards held an interfering Rosemary in place, and Richards threatened to hit her with a cheese grater, before deciding to plant a big ol' Ric Flair-esque smooch on her. It was a bit uncomfortable to watch, but the reveal that Richards' had somehow nicked Rosemary's green mist, was a pretty cool moment. The Wolves hitting their version of Chasing the Dragon onto a steel chair covered in thumb tacks ended the match on a high point, seemingly putting The Wolves vs. The Decay feud to bed. 

gail kim and madison rayne defeated the dollhouse

By this point in the night, I was absolutely knackered. It seemed like most of the crowd felt the same way, as this tag bout played out to almost complete silence. The babyfaces won with a roll up from Madison Rayne, but beyond that there was nothing memorable from this short 4 minute encounter. In almost a mirror image of the earlier knockout's match, Velvet Sky came out to make the save after The Dollhouse attacked Gail and Madison post match, making it even more confusing that she wasn't out to support her pals in either their previous two matches. Velvet got a strong reaction from Manchester though, cutting a passionate promo challenging The Dollhouse to a Lethal Lockdown bout in London.

ethan carter iii and rockstar spud defeated matt hardy and tyrus

After a long ass night of tapings, it was time for the main event, the fourth tag team match in a row, no less. The narrative for this one played out rather nicely, with Ethan Carter III coming out on his own and getting battered by Matt Hardy & Tyrus, before Rockstar Spud came out to be his partner (which let's be honest after the segment earlier in the night, wasn't a massive surprise). However, there was a well played moment where after having an opportunity to tag in Spud, EC3 tried to go it alone, adding a decent layer of drama to the bout. A stand out moment from the bout saw EC3 go for a dive off the top rope to the outside, with Tyrus and Hardy failing to protect him properly, leading to EC3 face planting the floor in what looked like a pretty nasty bump. Despite the drama, the finish was a little rushed, but EC3 getting a clean pinfall on Hardy after a One Percenter at least allowed EC3 a legitimate claim to a title rematch down the line and ended the show on a crowd pleasing moment. 

view from the partner in crime

For each of the TNA tour shows I took a different pal along, just to keep things fresh. For Manchester, I took Surprisingly Competent Media's Jozef Raczka. Here's his thoughts on the show...

I don’t know if I can say if this was a good show or not. I mean, TNA isn’t a brand that I’ve ever really given time to, most of my knowledge coming from a friend who said he caught an episode once in a dive bar in Swansea (he didn’t care for it). Beyond that, my entire knowledge of live events was witnessing the Sheffield night of the NXT tour back in December for which the wrestling talent was significantly more apparent. It’s not that there weren’t any talented people on the card: Eric Young and James Storm put on what I can legally call a match, Galloway managed to hold his own against Kurt Angle and his response to the ‘Thank You Angle’ chants, considering this was posited as his retirement Tour, were genuinely heart-warming and I will never forget being there for the debut of the greatest unknown discovery of his generation – Odarg The Great. But that said, the actual matches were imminently forgettable, even ‘big’ matches like a Monsters Ball (which I’m reliably informed is an Extreme Rules Match for non-TNA fans like myself) had some good spots but nothing really felt special enough. It overall was a bit meh, possibly an influence of most of the crowd being worn down from the endurance of the show lasting roughly four hours. That said I got to see Billy Corgan look embarrassed to be there, be part of the world’s longest ‘Who are ya’ chant at Matt Hardy’s wife and find out that there’s a wrestler called Crazzy Steve. With two z’s. Truly these are things to cherish in a cynical world. That said, Matt Hardy, if you’re reading this, we really did want Jeff.

finally...

atpw scale rating - 4.52/10

Similar to what Jozef said, I don't really know what my overall thoughts of the show. It was an incredibly draining night of wrestling, a lot of the younger members of the audience had left by the time the main event was on, as four hours is just too long, and expecting people to stay til gone 11pm is a huge ask of a wrestling company. That being said, there were some good matches to be seen here, with Kurt Angle's match with Drew Galloway and Monster's Ball standing out as the best matches of the night and there certainly wasn't anything that I would label a "bad" match, just some perplexing booking decisions at time and certain bouts not being given enough time to breath. However, if you sit down every Sunday night to watch Impact Wrestling on Challenge TV, then you almost certainly would have loved this show, as there was a shit-tonne of Impact Wrestling! A decent start to the UK tour. 

Our next review will cover the London tapings! Including Matt Hardy defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Ethan Carter III inside a Steel Cage, The Dollhouse facing The Beautiful People and Gail Kim in Lethal Lockdown, Matt Hardy teaming with Will Ospreay to face James Storm & Eli Drake and Kurt Angle going one on one with Bobby Roode.