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.

WWE Brothers of Destruction DVD Review

WWE's Brothers of Destruction is out now on DVD (There's a Blu Ray version too), available from www.wwedvd.co.uk. The single disc set features a number of matches featuring The Undertaker and Kane as a tag team, during their 2001 and 2006/08 runs, featuring matches against the likes of Edge & Christian, John Morrison & The Miz, The Dudley Boyz, Mr. Kennedy and MVP.

A rather curious addition to the WWE Home Video library, this single disc look at Kane and The Undertaker's on-off tag team, whilst skirting around their numerous feuds in between. The set kicks off with a No Disqualification match against Edge & Christian from an April 2001 episode of Smackdown. This is a decent start to the set, showcasing Kane's selling ability as he works the Demon in Peril role nicely whilst Edge & Christian take turns picking apart Kane's injured arm. It's a shame that this is a TV bout, as it leads to a lot of over booking to build towards BOD's match with The Two Man Power Trip at Backlash 2001, as there is a lot of chemistry between the two teams that goes to waste in closing stages. 

Three months later on Raw and it's a Tables Match against The Dudley Boyz. Whilst the crowd is red hot throughout the bout, this match doesn't offer much, with the tables stipulation really adding nothing to the match. After showing promise early on with some nice brawling between the four, the bout is too short to really present anything of merit. Highlights include Jim Ross calling a table "a chair", some hilarious selling of a big boot by Bubba Ray Dudley and a horrendously timed finish. 

On the following week's episode of Smackdown, it's Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo who are next in line to feel the Brother's wrath, this time with the WCW World Tag Titles on the line. This match pretty much sums up everything that was wrong with the Invasion angle, as whilst no one would attempt to argue that O'Haire and Palumbo were anywhere near Kane and Undertaker in terms of star power, they are made to look like complete chumps for the majority of the match. This, of course, makes this a rather dull affair, with nothing particularly standing out. 

The first and only PPV bout on the disc rounds of the look at the pair's 2001 run as they face Diamond Dallas Page and Kanyon in a Steel Cage bout at SummerSlam to unify the WCW and WWF Tag Team Titles. This match really should have been simply Undertaker vs. Diamond Dallas Page, as that is essentially what the bout spends it's time trying to set up in a rather convuluted way. Whilst there is a handful of nice spots like Kane's Powerbomb to Kanyon into the corner of the cage and a top rope Chokeslam from Taker, this is once again a rather onsided bout with no real drama, and a crowd that sits on it's hands for most of the action. 

After a short video package, it's onto the duo's 2006 run as they battle Mr. Kennedy and MVP on a December episode of Smackdown. Another dominant performance from the Brothers as the two build towards a pair of Gimmick matches against their opponents at the Armageddon PPV. The match itself is dull as dishwater, with a shoddy TV finish, the only highlight is a sick looking DDT from Kennedy to Kane on the outside after the match, before it all goes a bit nuts with a hearse. 

A February 2008 episode of Smackdown saw the pair take on the duo of Mark Henry and Big Daddy V. If that match sounds appealing to you, you should probably stop reading this blog. If I were to tell you that the bout goes over ten minutes and you still think it sounds like a good idea, you should probably stop watching wrestling. The bout takes what feels like an age to settle into anything resembling a flow and despite a nice spot involving a Henry bearhug to Kane, the bout falls apart when BOD are tasked with a "Double Chokeslam" to Big Daddy V, which essentially involves the big man taking a back bump. 

Luckily, the set manages to end on a high note with an April 2008 jaunt to ECW to face John Morrison and The Miz. This is a decent slice of tag team action, with some of the best psychology of the set as Miz and Morrison pick apart Kane's injured leg, with almost every piece of offence focused on the injured body part, not to mention Kane once again proving a fantastic seller. Throw in all of BOD's signature moves and you have a decent little match, that whilst never threatening to become a classic if a great relief after sitting through the Mark Henry & Big Daddy V bout. Also Mike Adamle is on commentary, Mike Fucking Adamle!

Finally...

This DVD was a frustrating watch, as whilst it does a good job of showcasing Kane and Undertaker as a dominant tag team that doesn't make the matches particularly interesting to watch on their own merit. The first and last matches are probably the only ones that I would say I enjoyed from this stand point and even then I wouldn't tell anyone to go out of their way to see them. It also feels like a missed opportunity to only have the pairs match against The Rock and Steve Austin and their six man tag alongside Daniel Bryan against The Shield from Raw in 1998 and 2013 respectively as Blu-Ray exclusives, as these are surely the pairs best matches as a tag team. If you catch it in the bargain section, maybe give it a look, but honestly you won't be missing out on anything if you don't.

TNA Impact Wrestling TV Taping 30th January 2014 Review

For those who keep up on our Youtube and Twitter then you'll know that I was in attendance for the recent TNA Impact Wrestling tapings at the Hydro Arena in Glasgow. It's been a while since then, but I decided to hold off writing my review until after the shows had aired on television, so that I could compare what was shown on television to what I witnessed inside the arena.

Before I start, I need to say that there was a LOT of long gaps in between the action happening in the arena. Apparently this was down to a problem with the screen not functioning properly, and did give the show a slight dragging effect throughout at points within the night, as well as some confusion as to what was actually going on.

The show kicked off with the commentary team of Jeremy Borash and Mike Tenay making their way down to ring side. Christy Hemme was out on ring announcing duties, which I have no complaints about!

I was surprised that there was no Xplosion taping or dark match before the first episode of Impact, as general logic would suggest a pacy X-Division bout would go on first to get the crowd even more riled up.

One of the only video packages that worked was the opening one, which was essentially a recap video of the previous weeks Impact Wrestling, with Magnus defeating Sting and tearing up his TNA contract. Obviously, they needed to show this package on TV, but it did feel a bit of a kick in the teeth for the fans who had brought their tickets with the hopes of seeing Sting (although they should read the promotional material before buying tickets!)

A lengthy opening in ring segment followed this up, with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Magnus, Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud coming out to a tremendous amount of heat from the Scottish audience. As with any professional wrestling show, the crowd has the opportunity to make or break a show, and their constant enthusiasm throughout really helped this show. Magnus seems to have settled into his role as World Champion fairly comfortable and looks in control of the crowd as he easily worked them, getting some extra cheap heat by trashing Scotland, whilst Spud continues to play his role down to a tee! Not sure how I feel about the dissention between Magnus and EC3, it's in-bickering like this that is currently harming WWE's Authority stable, I'd much rather see a cohesive heel faction, at least for a good few months yet. Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe interrupt and after some back and forth, a tag match is booked with Angle teaming with Joe to take on Magnus and EC3, with a stipulation being added that if Joe or Angle pinned or submitted Magnus they would become Number One Contender. Dixie Carter was out trying to stop the stipulation, with the idea being that she doesn't believe in her champion to get the job done, where have we seen that before?

1. Tag Team Match: 

Gail Kim & Lei'D Tapa 

Versus 

Knockout's Champion Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky

Remember that pacy opening contest I spoke about earlier? Well, this wasn't it. This was over in a matter of seconds, with Sky picking up the victory for her team with In Your Face. These women could have done a lot better if given even just a few more minutes, so it was a shame to see this end quickly

Winners: Knockout's Champion Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky

Straight after the bout, Sky's boyfriend Chris Sabin was out with a few questions to ask. Sabin's character is really coming together lately and he looks a lot more comfortable in this role than the one he was portray during his short World title run last year and asking Sky if it was "her time of the month" generated a good mixture laughs and heat. Sky ended the segment by yelling "We're through!" for a nice pop. An enjoyable segment, that would have been even better if Velvet had just had a lengthy tag bout!

Up next, James Storm was out to call out former tag team partner Gunner. The two had some back and forth on the mic, and whilst it's both are obviously competent on the stick (Gunner especially has improved a lot recently) the content of the promos weren't especially friendly to their location, with a lot of references to the US Armed Forces. Scotland is apparently the bizarro land, as a small USA chant broke out. They were interrupted by Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, read our Daniels interview here), who through some fantastic insults at Gunner & Storm ("Monkey Fart" anyone?). A tag match was made between the two sides with Gunner's Feast or Fired briefcase on the line.

World Heavyweight Championship Feast or Fired Tag Team Match: 

Gunner (B) & James Storm 

Versus 

Bad Influence

A decent, if not a little basic tag team encounter, it at least got a decent length for a TV contest at just under ten minutes. Bad Influence spent most of the match working over Gunner, until an ill-fated Angel's Wings attempt from Daniels (when was the last time he used that?), lead to the hot tag to Storm, with Storm working the crowd up quite nicely. The finish saw a few botches and timing mistakes, although it was a nice idea in principle, Kazarian couldn't reach Daniels to make the tag with Storm setting Daniels up for the Eye of the Storm. Once it all came together, Storm hit the Last Call Superkick to Daniels on the apron and Gunner hit a Diving Headbutt onto Kazarian (I imagine as an homage to the Dynamite Kid as I've never seen Gunner use this before) to allow Gunner and Storm to pick up the victory and Gunner to retain his World Title Feast or Fired Briefcase. After teasing tension between the winners at the end, they instead decided to celebrate.

Winners: Gunner & James Storm

Rockstar Spud was out for the second time in the evening, as he turns up to call out The Wolves, Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards, in an attempt to find out who the mystery investor is. My love for Spud in this role is becoming almost an obsession, all his expressions are spot on. It doesn't take long before things get psychical and The Wolves take out  Spud  with their Alarm Clock move. Watching this episode back it's noticeable that Richards is more comfortable in his role than Edwards, who seemed desperate to laugh throughout the whole segment on TV. It wasn't much more of The Wolves on the show, it would've been great to see them in tag action, especially after seeing Richards last year at PCW.

3. TNA World Tag Team Championship Match: 

The Bro-Mans with DJ Zema 

vs. 

Eric Young & Abyss

Again some more basic tag team action, with Robbie E and Jessie Godderz of the Bro-Mans working over Eric Young for two or three minutes, before the hot tag to Abyss saw the match break down, with Abyss attacking referee Steve Lynsky, leading to the DQ finish. This was less a match and more of a set-up for what was about to come.

Winners via Disqualification: The Bro-Mans 

After the bout, Eric Young went on to challenge Abyss to a Monster's Ball match "next week", which of course meant we'd be seeing the match tonight. The crowd seemed very excited at this fact.

On-screen they showed a continuation of the Samuel Shaw/Christy Hemme saga, which lead into the reveal of somekind of shrine to Hemme. It was unclear when this had happened, as Hemme was at ringside and this footage was clearly supposed to be from Shaw's home in the US.

The segments continued as Bully Ray headed down to ringside pushing a coffin in front of him. This was the strongest segment of the night in my opinion, simply because Bully Ray is such a fantastic heel. There's a reason he was vote ATPW Heel of 2013! Bully Ray challenged Anderson to a Casket Match at some undefined point in the future. Anderson was quickly out, as Bully threw some fantastic barbs "I'm gonna piledrive your wife and kids", which got the desired reaction from the crowd before the brawled around ringside.

There was more bickering between Magnus and EC3 as the big screen began to flicker into life.

4. Tag Team Match: 

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Magnus & Ethan Carter III 

vs. 

Samoa Joe & Kurt Angle: 

Another tag team match! Alongside some more basic tag team storytelling, there were a few added things that made this one stand out from the rest of the action so far. Despite his injuries, Kurt Angle looked crisp in the ring, including a nice couple of suplexes on EC3. As the match settled into a regular rhythm, it was Angle who took the brunt of the offence from EC3 and Magnus, with some stellar heel work by Magnus as he taunted Joe, which really got the crowd going. The finish was well worked as well, with Angle pulling EC3 out of the ring for a Belly to Belly suplex on the outside, allowing Joe to eventually lock in the Rear Naked Choke to pick up the submission victory and become Number one Contender to Magnus' World Heavyweight Championship. It didn't light the world a light, but at least the finish was clean and the action decent.

Winners: Kurt Angle & Samoa Joe

Dixie Carter was out again soon after, with some words for Magnus, though she was quickly interupted by Samoe Joe who cut a short promo reminding Magnus that "he tapped out" and to "shine up the belt because Joe is gonna kill you" both of which garnered large chants for the live crowd. Kurt Angle also got in on the action thanking the live audience. Carter was quick to call out the rumoured new investor, with the lights cutting out, and when they came back on The Wolves stood a top the entrance ramp with former WWE wrestler MVP walking out chain in hand to complete the first episodes taping.

5. Singles Match: 

ODB 

vs. 

Alpha Female

I'd have to say I pretty disappointed with this match, the crowd was notably tired by the time this one got going and the action did very little help the fact. A lot of sloppy slams and other such moves, with ODB and Alpha Female never seeming to connect in the ring. The finish came when both ODB and Female put their hands on referee Steve Lynsky (poor Steve!) leading to a double DQ finish. I'm not sure if TNA will follow up on this, but both women will need to up their game.

Winner: Double DQ

Kicking off the second taping, X-Division Champion Austin Aries was out for an in-ring promo, as he talked up his past achievements and how he'd challenge for the World title again soon. Aries was distracted by The Bro-Mans, allowing DJ Zema Ion to jump Aries from behind with his Feast or Fired briefcase and would immediately cash-in for an X-Division title shot.

6. X-Division Championship Match: 

Austin Aries (C) 

vs. 

DJ Zema Ion

Another disappointing contest, as Aries batted off Ion in just over two minutes, finishing him off with Brainbuster. We know that these two are capable of much, much more when given a longer amount of time, and therefore it's a shame we didn't get to see them do so, especially when the X-Division looks so thin on the ground.

Winner and still X-Division Champion: Austin Aries

Curry Man came to the ring next and seemed to be Bully Ray's sacrificial lamb. It's a shame the lead up video with Bully backstage wasn't played, as this segment made very little sense to the live audience. Ray quickly dispatched of Curry Man with a Piledriver, and then placed him in the coffin. A nice little bit of build up to Bully's upcoming bout with Mr. Anderson.

7. Monster's Ball Match: 

Abyss 

vs. 

Eric Young

An enjoyable hardcore bout, with everything that you'd expect in a Monster's Ball encounter. Plenty of plunder throughout, plenty of nasty looking spots and the welcome return of Janice, who even got her own chant that evening. Crowd was very much behind Eric Young, who was very over with the Glasgow faithful. This bout was all about the spots, Young blocking a big splash attempt by Abyss by giving him a chair in the nether regions, Abyss sending EY head first into a chair in the corner, a sunset flip from EY that sent Abyss onto a pile of thumb tacks. The finish was heavily rooted in the Abyss/Joseph Park storyline, with EY managing to remove Abyss' mask revealing Park before Park hit a Blackhole Slam to pick up the victory.

Winner: Abyss

MVP was out next to cut a promo about his return earlier in the night. Personally, I thought the promo was too long, although there were a lot of enjoyable moments and I was glad to see MVP back. He talked about his time away, as well as how he was tired of maniacal bosses running the show. This seemed a bit like a shot at WWE, although whilst TNA is running almost the exact same storyline it felt very odd. Rockstar Spud was out again, asking MVP to a meeting with Dixie Carter. Before he left however, MVP booked Magnus in a match with Kurt Angle tonight. No complaints here.

8. Singles Match: 

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Magnus

vs. 

Kurt Angle

Well, I said no complaints. But this was another disapointment, although it had been clear all night that Angle had been working with some kind of injury. After a few minutes of decent back and forth between Angle and Magnus, EC3 was out to break up Angle's Ankle Lock to cause the DQ finish.

Winner: Kurt Angle

Afterwards, EC3 worked over Angle's knee, first with a steel chair and then locking in some kind of leg lock submission hold. Again, it would have been nice to see Angle and Magnus tear it up, but if Angle is hurt than this is probably the best we could have hoped for and it sets up a future match with EC3 when Angle is fit and ready.

9. TNA World Heavyweight Championship Number One Contender's Match: Samoa Joe 

vs. 

Bobby Roode

With no real explanation to the live crowd, another Number One Contender's match was made (this would all become clear when shown on TV) and lead to a bit of confusion amongst the audience, who were already very tired. This probably didn't live up to it's billing, with some decent back and forth action at the beginning and both men looking crisp with their offence, unfortunately it seemed to fall apart at the end. I'm not sure if either man lost their footing in the match, but there was a clear moment where no one seemed to know what was going on. Any way they quickly scrambled something together and Joe won following an Muscle Buster and another Rear Naked Choke for the victory.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Dixie Carter was out again next, alongside Rockstar Spud, as she called out MVP for another confrontation. Carter talked up that the two could work together, with a good deal of heat for the TNA President, before MVP cut her down blaming Carter for the state of TNA, as well as proclaiming her reign of terror to be over and finishing off with a staredown between the two, in a typical Impact closing segment.

After the camera's stopped rolling, and Carter had left, Spud headed back to the ring and confront MVP, ending up taking a number of MVP's signature moves, finishing off with the "Ballin'" Elbow drop, to send the crowd home "happy". I had expected a dark match seeing as the show had ended with a segment, however with The Hydro staff quick to shuffle us out of the arena that did not seem the case.

Whilst a number of the matches could have been longer, and the segments could have been shorter, I did find myself having a pretty good time at this Impact tapings. Abyss and Eric Young's Monster's Ball Match was a lot of fun, as was the first main-event tag match, anything involving Rockstar Spud or Bully Ray was also a pleasure to watch. It was a shame that The Wolves weren't involved in a match, as well as only short appearances from Austin Aries and Bad Influence. I got what I expected from my TNA experience, plenty of skits and promos, some short matches, but at least there were some clean finishes along the way. I'm interested to see what else got recorded on these shores in the next couple of weeks on Impact Wrestling.

Quick Results

1. Tag Team Match: Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky def. Gail Kim & Lei'd Tapa via Pinfall
2. World Heavyweight Championship Feast or Fired Tag Team Match: Gunner (b) & James Storm def. Bad Influence via Pinfall
3. World Tag Team Championship Match: The Bro-Mans def. Eric Young & Abyss via DQ
4. Tag Team Match: Kurt Angle & Samoa Joe def. Magnus & Ethan Carter III via Submission
5. Singles Match: ODB vs. Alpha Female ended in Double DQ
6. X-Division Championship Match: Austin Aries (C) def. DJ Zema Ion via Pinfall
7. Monster's Ball Match: Abyss def. Eric Young via Pinfall
8. Singles Match: Kurt Angle def. Magnus via DQ
9. World Heavyweight Championship Number One Contender's Match: Samoa Joe def. Bobby Roode via Submission