TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #629 - Ethan Carter III v Mike Bennett 4

Aired - 4th August 2016

With less than two months until the biggest show of the year, Bound For Glory, Ethan Carter III and Mike Bennett battled in the final of the Bound for Glory Play-Offs for a shot at Lashley's World Heavyweight Championship and James Storm got a shot at Eli Drake's King of the Mountain title, but would TNA kick-off August in style? 

With an opportunity to main event the biggest show of the year on the line, TRP's Mike Bennett and Ethan Carter III met in the Final of the Bound for Glory Play-Offs in a good main event. This was a match of two halves for me, with the first part seeing Bennett focus on EC3's injured ribs and the second part featuring interference from Bennett's muscle Moose and Eddie Edwards, as well as Maria Kanellis-Bennett. Both parts have their merits, with the first portion of course being my favourite with some great selling from EC3, especially when delivering moves during the shed-load of hope spots he had, but I have to say that I would've preferred that the two had been meshed together a bit better without feeling like two different bouts. Bennett's near falls towards the end of the match would have been stronger if they'd have involved the injured ribs in some way or another. 

The BFG Play-Offs have been somewhat marred by the high amount of interference, meaning that whilst the match have been fairly entertaining, that no one in particular has been able to stand out or really make the tournament their own. Bennett had previously beaten a Brother Nero who could barely walk and Drew Galloway [Drew McIntyre] after accidental interference from EC3 and out of the two men in the final he was the man who could've benefited the most from a strong showing in the earlier round. EC3 has had four shots at the belt on TV this year already, whilst The Miracle is yet to fight for TNA's main prize. Yes, Bennett is a heel and part of that is getting cheap victories, but there's a different a cheap victory and a lucky victory. Taken in isolation I don't think the overbooking would have bothered me as much as it did produce a number of strong false finishes, one coming off EC3 ducking a singapore cane shot and hitting a One Percenter [Headlock Driver] and another coming from a cane shot and MIP [Samoa Driver] from Bennett. However, in the context of the tournament, I feel that the bout and the entire tournament in general could have been booked a lot cleverer and done more to help the likes of Bennett, Bram and Eli Drake all of whom had yet to hold TNA's top prize. 

In the semi-main, "The Cowboy" James Storm ended Championship Wrestling From Hollywood's Eli Drake's [Shaun Ricker] two month run with the King of the Mountain title in good short bout, that had a number of strong near falls. The action wasn't always the smoothest, but the contest was full of bright ideas like Drake jumping to the top rope to meet Storm for a superplex, that although they could have been performed crisp, were still impressive. There was a good sense of the tension between the two, as they scrapped on the outside before the match, whilst both men bought some fire to their performances throughout. The final stretch called back to their previous encounters on screen with Drake taking a sip of The Cowboy's beer, spitting it indirectly into the referee's eyes, meaning that a school-boy roll-up from Storm was missed by the ref. Moments later Drake nailed a belt shot which made for smashing false finish. It could have gone longer, but Drake and Storm did a good job with the time allocated in what has to be one of the strongest bouts of the King of the Mountain Championships tumultuous history. 

Following the match, there was a segment that arguably should have been held off til the next episode, in which World Heavyweight & X Division Champion Lashley would head to the ring to challenge Storm for a future title for titles bout down the line. The Destroyer isn't the best talker, but can usually do a job with the right material, however the material wasn't great here. He spent most of his time critcising WWE for sending football teams title belts, which seemed like an odd thing to talk about, because I don't remember anyone having much of an opinion on that practice in the first place. It placed the attention on an entirely different company rather than building an upcoming Lashley v Storm bout. Luckily, Storm was on blinding form on the microphone, building a story for the contest on his own, talking about not having a World title shot for years, as well as bringing up his first title win over Kurt Angle in 2011, as he went on to accept the challenge. 

The Hardy saga continued this week as "Broken" Matt Hardy revealed his desire to win the tag titles to Brother Nero [Jeff Hardy] and their road to the belts, currently in the possession of The Decay [Abyss & Crazzy Steve] began. After the promos full of the eccentricities that have made the Broken character such a fun character to watch, Hardy would introduce CHIKARA's Chuck Taylor and Beyond's JT Dunn as Nero's opponent in what was essentially a handicap contest, with instruction that The Obsolete Mule was banned from hitting anything from the top rope. The match got overshadowed somewhat by Hardy's action at ringside as he assaulted a planted fan, pulling him over the guard and biting his face, leaving his mouth covered in blood. It was weird moment, but it certainly made me sit up and take notice. Hardy would eventually take the pin after spending the entire match on the outside, in what became a very silly, yet thoroughly entertaining contest.

The show had begun with a segment involving the two men who would battle in the main event, as Ethan Carter III and Mike Bennett took part in an interview with Jeremy Borash. This was mainly put together to add the storyline element to the main event, as Bennett and Moose would eventually assault EC3, where Moose would end up hitting his Go to Hell [Sitout chokebomb to an opponent seated on the top turnbuckle] on EC3. The lead to this featured two strong promos from both men, who fit very well together as characters, with EC3 able to mix some comedy in whilst still getting across his dislike for The Miracle and Bennett always managing to get under the crowd's skin with his attitude. The interaction added an extra layer to the main event, whilst also getting across both men's motivation for the bout clear. 

Gail Kim continued to build her case for a shot at the Knockout's Championship with a victory over the Champion SHINE's Sienna [Allysin Kay] and SHIMMER's Allie [Cherry Bomb] in a handicap bout. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this encounter, as when Maria Kanellis-Bennett announced it I let out a little groan. There were elements of it that I didn't quite warm to, which were mainly the supposedly comedic efforts from Allie based around her being unable to do simple moves like a body slam, however I can see why someone else might have found them funny. What I did like however was the way the story of the bout played out, with the Sienna and Allie odd-ball team, hinging on Sienna's reactions to Allie's outright annoying behaviour. With Sienna reluctant to do any more than the minimum work, this created an interesting story, with Kim doing a stellar job as the underdog babyface. The finish worked well with Kim managing to dodge The Silencer [Running low-angle shoulder block] from AK47, leading to Allie taking the brunt of the move and Kim continuing on her run to earning a shot at the title she lost in April. 

If two handicap matches (Yeah, I'm counting the Hardy Boyz v Taylor & Dunn as a handicap match, because that's what it was) weren't enough for ya, TNA wasn't gonna let you down as Al Snow teamed with duo The Tribunal (WWE's Baron Dax [Marcus Louis] & Basille Baracca [Tom LaRuffa]) to face ICW's Grado and Mahabali Shera. This was a basic contest, that mainly hang on Shera's ability to make a babyface comeback and Dax & Baracca's ability to control the match and cut off the ring. Unfortunately, both weren't done particularly well, with Shera's comeback mainly consisting of scoop slams and no-selling and The Tribunal's heat segment seeing them constantly whip Grado into the side of the ring nearest Shera. A section where Grado and Shera hit some double team moves, including Shera throwing Grado into the Roll n' Slice cannonball, was the highlight of the contest. The finish was a bit of a weird one with Shera blocking a brass knux punch from Snow and hitting his Sky High sitout spinebuster for the victory.  

Best of the Rest 

• Rosemary continued to tell Bram about her childhood in a delipated barn, she told him her boyfriend touched her up there and because like Nia Jax she's not like most girls, she kicked off and went dead dark and shit. Bram told her to get over it, so World Tag Team Champions The Decay (Abyss & Crazzy Steve) turned up and apparently killed him. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.56/10 

I've noticed that this review can probably come across as a bit negative, but I honestly rather enjoyed this episode of IMPACT Wrestling. The two headline bouts were good matches and also had accompanying segments that either set them up the bout or took the storyline in a different direction. Outside of this was an entertaining development in the Hardy saga, including an appearance from one of my favourite indy performers Chuck Taylor. 

The handicap bouts could have been spread out a little, but the only match that I actively disliked was the Grado & Shera v Snow & The Tribunal situation, which failed to capture my attention. 

This was the best episode of IMPACT Wrestling since #626 Destination X, as TNA continues to put out a mostly above average to good television product. With the next episode once again featuring two high profile matches, as Matt Hardy & Brother Nero team up to face The Tribunal and James Storm puts his King of the Mountain Championship on the line against Lashley's World Heavyweight and X Division belts, I'd expect that episode to reach similar levels.

Words - James Marston

Banner - Kai Stellar 

TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #628 - Ethan Carter III v Matt Hardy 8

The catch-up on IMPACT Wrestling reviews continues!

This episode featured the Semi-Finals of the Bound for Glory Play-Offs, an X Division title Ladder match and a Monster's Ball clash for the Tag Team titles. With The Decay, Gail Kim and the debuting David Starr in action, this was going to great, right?

The headline encounter featured Ethan Carter III and "Broken" Matt Hardy battling for a spot in the Bound for Glory Play-Off Final. Before the action got underway, there was a promo segment that initially began with Hardy berating Brother Nero, before EC3 would interrupt. The Universal Studios crowd seems to absolutely adore EC3 and he gave another strong performance on the mic, with an entertaining run-down of a number of "Broken" tropes, whilst also helping to add towards the Hardy v Nero feud that has been rumbling along for some time now. It was a nice reminder of the EC3 and Hardy feud from earlier in the year that brought a little extra spice to the match that directly followed it. 

EC3 and Hardy put on a good main event, with a story driven by The Ass-Kicking Machine (kayfabe) injuring his ankle off a missile dropkick, including Hardy removing EC3's boot to further go after the injury. Hardy has unquestionably reenvigorated his character over the past six months and that allowed him to wrestle a visually different style to pretty much anyone on TV at the moment, utilising mainly headbutts and biting to keep control of the match. In a business where everything has been done, anything that's remotely divergent from the norm, instantly draws you in and that's exactly what Hardy's got going on right now. For my tastes the finish was a little over-booked with Reby Hardy sliding a hammer to Nero, before Nero slid it across the ring in-between Hardy & EC3, with the ref removing the hammer from Hardy's grasp, EC3 would pick up the win after nailing Hardy with the boot that had been removed earlier. Anything that take such a long winded explanation is too much for me, but it did advance that Hardy-Nero feud, whilst bringing the previously removed boot back into the match was a neat piece of storytelling also.

The second semi-final involved "The Miracle" Mike Bennett and Drew Galloway and despite some nice ideas, ended up becoming even more over-booked than the main event. Moose, EC3 and Maria Kanellis-Bennett would all end up getting involved in a bout that went just over 7 minutes in an example of trying to do too much at the same time. The one thing that came out here looking good was Moose, who looked like a true destructive force, taking out Galloway on his entrance, later for a near fall and then EC3 after being sent into the steel steps himself. EC3 clobbering Galloway by mistake has been done to death in this feud alone and didn't have much impact at all, especially compared to the other times we've seen this happen. Bennett's heel character is building especially with Moose now at his side, but I'm still waiting for him to have a breakout match in the company.

Lashley's X Division title defense against DJ Z was a bit unexpected and in another case of hot shot booking in TNA was made a Ladder match also. Personally, I'd have preferred to see a singles bout before the two, before a arrogant Lashley gave Z the opportunity to choose the match type as we got here. This was arguably the strongest match on the show though, telling a decent power v speed type story, whilst throwing in a number of impressive spots that lifted the excitement. Z took his opportunity towards the top of the card and owned it pulling out a series high spots including a senton off the announce table and a big crossbody of the top of the ladder to the floor! He also ended up taking a ridiculous gorilla press bump off the top of the ladder for the finish. Even if it was Z who really made this bout tick, it's Lashley's dominance that continues!

James Storm guested on an entertaining edition of King of the Mountain Champion Eli Drake's Fact of Life talk show, with a future title bout between the two being scheduled. Both threw around sophomoric insults about shagging mothers and southern redneck incest and such, whilst Drake also teased a potential showdown with Lashley at a latter date. Drake continues to improve on the microphone managing to be incredibly watchable, whilst making you want to see someone kick his teeth in Row Z at the same time and this was no different. The segment concluded with Drake standing over his rival, after coming out on top in a scrap, ending things with Blaunt Force Trauma, before repeatedly shouting his popular catchphrase "Dummy Yeah" into Storm's knocked out ears (as seen above, Dummy (yeah))

Similar to the X Division title Ladder match, the tag team title bout seemed to blindside me and then it was like "Oh we're having a Monster's Ball match, okay. Cool." In another similarity, The Decay's Abyss & Crazzy Steve defending against The Bro-Mans' Jessie Godderz & Robbie E was a compact but brutal match. Straight out of the gates with the big moments, this was a very good spot-fest, that saw barbed wire boards and thumbs tacks get introduced within the first two minutes! With a genuinely believable near fall, after E & Godderz got on a roll and Mr. Pec-tacular got The Adonis Crab locked in on Steve, who spent a long time in the hold and two big bumps from both Bro-Mans en route to The Decay retaining the belts, this was an exhilarating sprint between two teams whose stock have been continuously raising as 2016 goes on.

ROH's Moose had his in-ring debut for TNA opposite CZW's David Starr, also making his debut. This was a straight-forward squash match, in which the former American football player looked like a beast. Whilst it was a positive debut for Moose, it was a shame that the talented Starr wasn't allowed much of an opportunity to show off what he could do for the company. Following the bout, Moose would have a confrontation with World Heavyweight and X Division Champion Lashley, whilst Mike Bennett built up the potential of a match between the two, before quickly denying the live crowd of that possibility. Lashley throwing some bitchy lines towards his younger rival, with Bennett having to hold Moose back from a fight was a different piece of booking that continued to blur the lines between heel and face for everyone but Bennett. Just like the Lashley v EC3 feud and latter the EC3 v Galloway feud, Moose v Lashley seems like something that TNA is going keep teasing, continue to make people want to see the match more and more before it's ready to deliver.

The only women's match on the card saw Gail Kim begin her run towards a Knockout's Championship shot with a victory over Madison Rayne in a match that happened. Every move was performed well enough, but there was no feel of urgency and the purpose of the match was never put over clearly enough by either the performers or the commentary team. Considering Rayne had turned heel on Kim just a week previously, she didn't do act that of a heel, until arguing with referee Earl Hebner in the finish. Things weren't helped by Josh Matthews at the announce desk who continues to be cringe-worthy listen throughout and even more so when his wife, Rayne, is in the ring!

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.88/10

A slight dip in quality from last week's episode here, in which the two Bound for Glory Play-Off Semi-Finals both failed to deliver on their promise. The bouts that became the best of the show came completely unannounced on the show as Lashley v DJ Z in a Ladder match and The Decay v The Bro-Mans in Monster's Ball, both delivered in all their random, spot-based glory. The weak women's bout, a squash match for Moose and the over-booked Bennett v Galloway contest dragged the score below an average five for IMPACT Wrestling #628.

All content - James Marston

TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #627 - Eddie Edwards v Lashley 2 - Six Sides of Steel

So after getting bogged down in various other things, I missed a number of episodes of IMPACT Wrestling las, so I thought instead of skipping those review's I'd go back and try to catch up as we head toward Bound For Glory. 

This episode saw a rematch from last week's Destination X (#626) special, with Eddie Edwards and Lashley once again putting their respective titles on the line, this time inside a Steel cage. Also on the show the Bound For Glory Play-Off tournament began with the likes of Bram, Brother Nero and Ethan Carter III all vying for a World Heavyweight Championship shot on TNA's biggest night of the year. Would it be a recipe for a tasty wrestling show though? 

A huge main event this week, as Lashley would simultaneously retain his World Heavyweight Championship and take Eddie Edwards' X Division belt in good TV cage match. As much as the match was almost all about Lashley becoming even more of an all-encompassing champion and making him look like an utter beast, it was a surprisingly entertaining watch. Lashley's got a rather different kind of charisma to most wrestlers that are labelled "charismatic" but when in control of the bout, taking his time to play with the Impact Zone crowd, it was difficult to take my eyes of him. This contrasted well with the in your face opening of Edwards hitting a stunning tope conhilo through the cage door. Both men's selling throughout and especially towards the end made it look like they'd both been in a real war with each, which, of course, not only makes the bout more interesting to watch on TV, but also puts each of their offence over, which is especially important for Edwards. Some of the near falls felt a bit gratuitous, like Lashley kicking out of Edwards' Boston Knee Party that caused the World title to crash in The Destroyers' face was a silly thing to kick-out of and hurts Edwards' more than it will help Lashley. 

The finish was well done, as Lashley hit two spears in quick succession to get the pin, which in many ways does the opposite of the early near falls mentioned. Having Lashley not go for the pin after the first spear, suggests that he believes that Edwards could potentially kick out and therefore needs another. This boosts Edwards without having to have him actually kick out of Lashley's finish, whilst also making the now dual champion look a more cerebral competitor. What I didn't like was the brawl that would follow the match, with Drew Galloway, Ethan Carter III, Matt Hardy, Mike Bennett and Moose all filling the cage and scrapping in various formations (Note that Edwards was on the floor throughout all these shenanigans). Nothing wrong with what was done in-ring in particular, but the moment having the World Heavyweight Champion also become X-Division Champion should have been given time to to breath and allow the audience to truly grasp what had happened. It should have felt more special than it did. 

The Bound for Glory Play-Offs began on this episode, with the biggest Quarter Final bout seeing Ethan Carter III advance after beating King of the Mountain Champion Eli Drake in a clunky encounter. Before the match could get underway however, both men would get some time on the microphone, with Drew Galloway also getting involved. The main bulk of this would be the continuation of the Galloway v EC3 feud that has been bubbling under for a while now, with both producing strong promos, that got over their sudden dislike for each other in a believable manner. Both men got cattier with each other as the promo went along, with Galloway in particular doing a lot of verbal flexing, mixing fact and fiction as he reminded EC3 that his job was because of (kayfabe) Aunt Dixie, whilst it was TNA that had come to Galloway. It was teased that the two would square of in the final of the BFG Play-Offs, before Drake would make his entrance popping the bubble in his own unique way.

Drake and EC3 had only faced off once before in singles action and whilst the match had a couple of cool ideas, the two didn't seem to gel particularly well and a number of their exchanges seemed to suffer from a pacing problem. The guys tried to do the best with their seven minutes, pulling out some big near falls, but for me the structure was a too much too soon situation. Drake's character work continues to impress me and the frustration that he showed at not being able to put EC3 away was played nicely and it's clear he's been impressing those within the company as well, as Galloway only picked up a flash roll-up victory. If the match had been a little smoother and with an extra five or six minutes, then it could have acted as a real springboard for Drake in the company, however I feel in this form it only gave him a little nudge.

The strongest match from the opening round of the BFG P-O was a big physical brawl that saw Drew Galloway advance over Bram. Brawling when done properly is one of my favourite styles, so seeing Galloway and Bram throw big blows at each other and scrapping around ringside with purpose was right up my ally. Two babyfaces and countrymen being happy to go at each other like this, lifts the tournament instantly, also doing wonders for the belt currently around Lashley's waist. In the middle of the melee, the pair put together a handful of intelligent sequences where they'd manage to wriggle out of each others finishers and get a near fall of their own. Galloway's Northern Lights Suplex out of Bram's Brighter Side of Suffering DDT was a notably well worked moment. Similar to the way EC3 v Drake was booked, but in my opinion executed much more successfully here, Galloway would win with a top rope variation of the Futureshock DDT, which not only looked great but also meant that Bram was elevated for the way The Captain put him away. The first time I've been properly impressed with Bram in the ring, Galloway brought out the best in him.

On paper, a two minute victory over Jeff Hardy or Brother Nero would be a huge win for Mike Bennett, however, of course, it didn't quite go down that way. Jeff's feud with brother Matt took the driving seat here, giving the match a unique narrative, that I feel you'll either love or hate, or maybe both at the same time. Basically, Matt had egged Jeff on to attempt the same dirt bike jump that broke his leg back in May 2015 and Jeff pretty quickly came flying off his bike, in a spectacular stunt. Of course, this would play into the bout, with Hardy not been able to do any of his offence, including crumpling to the mat trying to do an Irish whip. Jeff's selling was good enough to make the out there story just about work. Bennett made full use of the opportunity, looking like a twat as he ground down Hardy before hitting a Cutter for the win. The win will do a lot for Bennett in his current heel role, he has something to boast about, that will be a pretty hollow boast and hopefully get the fans backs up. The win would earn Bennett a match with Drew Galloway in the Semi-Final.

Before Lashley and Eddie Edwards would get in the Steel Cage for the main event, they were also involved in the opening segment, with Mike Bennett, Moose and Dixie Carter all participating also. The segment was to set-up a number of stiplation for later in the show, as Carter would ban Moose from ringside for Bennett's BFG P-O's. match with Jeff Hardy and decreed that if either Bennett or Moose interfered in the main event then Bennett would be fired. A nice bit of logic here, as without it it would've have been really weird for Bennett and Moose to interfere last week and not this week. The tease for a Lashley v Moose bout was continued, with the World Heavyweight Champion challenging Moose to a fight, only for Edwards to come flying down the ramp to take out Moose from behind. It didn't make a whole lot of sense for Lashley to be calling out Moose with a title match later in the night, but at least the brawl that would lead to the stipulations being added was an entertaining watch. 

Completing our look at the 21st July card, we have Matt Hardy picking up a cheap victory over James Storm to advance to the Semi-Final of the BFG P-O's. I found a lot to like in this one, as Hardy's character continues to get even more bizarre, throwing headbutts early in the match and going to bite Storm at various points. He's completely re-invented his in-ring work to match up with his character development, which is more difficult than it sounds. Both going for their finishers early was a nice touch and those exchanges fuelled the rest of the bout as it got wilder as time went on, including Storm riding the Boozer Cruiser into Hardy's groin with the latter propped up on the steel steps and Storm leaping over the guardrail with the pair brawling in the crowd. Entertaining stuff here, Reby Hardy nailing The Cowboy in the ankle with a hammer when it seemed like Storm was about to seal the victory was a satisfying ending, that aided both men going forward. Hardy would be scheduled for a Semi-Final bout with his old rival, Ethan Carter III. 

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.03/10

A decent episode here, with the main event presented a satisfying contest, alongside an intriguing piece of storyline advancement, even if the concluding brawl let down the action that the match had presented. The Bound for Glory Play-Off were a mix bag, as Bram and Drew Galloway presented a real satisfying brawl of a bout, however the highest profile match a clash between Ethan Carter III and King of the Mountain Champion Eli Drake didn't quite manage to connect. Still a mostly entertaining episode, that pushed forward some interesting narratives, as they begin to build towards 2nd October's supercard.

All content - James Marston

TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #626 - Destination X 2016 - Lashley v Edwards (James Marston)

As the dust settled following last week's Final Deletion, TNA would look to keep the foot on the gas pedal presenting an Destination X 2016 special of the show. With a major main event with both the World Heavyweight and X Division belts on the line, a major debut and a big return, would the strategy pay off or would TNA careen off the road once again? 

In the main events conclusion, Mike Bennett would make good on his promise, as he'd attack the referee, causing Lashley and Eddie Edwards title for title bout to go to a no-contest, before he brought out former Ring of Honor stand out, Moose to clean house. Before all the match however, there was an in-ring segment between the two champions, that would start as interview conducted by Jeremy Borash and boil down to an attack from Lashley as he attempted to gain some extra leverage for later on. I'm usually not a fan of these kinds of segments that TNA like to do before a big main event, as they can cause over-exposure for those involved and take away part of the bout attraction later on. However, although I'd have preferred it to take place a week earlier, this bought an extra layer to main event, as Edwards' partner in The Wolves, Davey Richards made his return to the company from injury to save Edwards from a beatdown. Earlier, Lashley had cut a promo that had strong content surrounding Edwards underdog status, but was a little rushed in places.

A fairly simple match between Lashley and Edwards, which played out as a power v speed type affair, as Lashley would dominate his smaller his opponent with impact moves like a brutal overhead release belly-to-belly suplex onto the entrance. Edwards offence was mostly kept to hope spots with Lashley always able to get back into the match, surviving a nice tornado DDT reversal and a sitout spinebuster. There was a slip up from Lashley on a top rope spot, that unfortunately saw the two just decide to try to repeat the spot, which wasn't quite worth the wait. That was the exception to the rule however as the wrestling portion of the contest was a great watch and a compelling main event. The sport-entertainment portion started slow with a ref bump as Lashley had the contest won, but exploded in a brilliant false finish as Richards aided Edwards in hitting their Chasing the Wolf finish, before Bennett would make his mark. The debut of Moose genuinelly shocked me as many had thought he was heading to WWE, he looked like a beast here, taking out the Wolves, before a low blow from Bennett allowed him to hit the World Heavyweight Champion with a forearm. There's a lot of possibilities with Moose on board now, the next couple of weeks should be very interesting indeed. 

In a show that had "The Miracle" all over it, he began the night by attacking DJ Z after "That Yung Go Hard" had became #1 Contender to the X Division title by winning a Ladder match that also included Andrew Everett, Trevor Lee, Braxton Sutter, Rockstar Spud and Mandrews. Let's start with the positives here, this match was as fun as you would expect, with plenty of thrills and spills from the bell as DJ Z and Mandrews nailed Lee and Everrett with dual tope conhilos. There were also some clever moments like Spud biting Sutter's knee (as a call back to Sutter knocking Spud's teeth out last week) to stop him ascending the ladder and Sutter and Mandrews moving two ladders further apart as Lee tried to climb both, before DJ Z hit a front kick to the chicken nuggetts. The closing moments made DJ Z look strong as he fought off all of the Helms Dynasty, including seeing Everrett off the top of a ladder to the outside, en route to claiming victory. A fun and pacy bout, but the third week in a row where we've seen multi-man encounters for either the X Division belt or #1 Contender statues, meaning the division does feel slightly interchangeable and leaving everyone lacking a proper identity. I'll get into Bennett's over-exposure in just a mo. 

With more batshit crazy segments from Matt Hardy's house airing this week, the Hardy Boyz feud was clearly far from over after The Final Deletion. An in-ring segment brought us the core of the story this week with Matt proclaiming he would be making Jeff Hardy his "obsolete mule" Jeff's contract with TNA is apparently been terminated due to the result of last week's bout, so what an "obsolete mule" will involved, I have no idea. Matt was once again marvelous here, with his bizarre broken character continuing to run riot. He worked the crowd perfectly, having them eat out of the palm of his hand, by calling the Final Deletion the greatest match in history and just being generally annoying by shouting "delete" so many times. I'm find him mesmerising to watch at the moment. A few weeks ago I thought this feud had dragged on long enough, but all of a sudden I want more and with a emotional Jeff (now apparently only allowed to be called "Brother Nero") staying silent and calm throughout there's some legs left in this old dog yet. 

TNA has a problem of giving the audience all their eggs and then chucking the basket at them as well and that was the case as Mike Bennett suffered defeat against DJ Z. Yeah, that's the same Mike Bennett who'd previously been involved in the opening segment and would later be involved in the main event and the same DJ Z who had earlier won a multi-man ladder match. Even for TNA everything was moving way too quick here. The scrap was a solid watch, with similarities to the main event as DJ Z fought from underneath after Bennett berated him throughout the clash. DJ Z's speed was the main focus of the bout as he pulled off a number of quick reversals as hope spots and a beautiful tope conhilo. It was shame that DJ Z didn't look like he'd had a ladder melee earlier in the night, let alone sell the post-match beat-down though. The X-Division guys coming out to foil Bennett's plan of leaving the fight was a cool touch and was an entertaining pay-off to "The Miracle"'s time in the X Division. 

Sienna would hold onto her Knockout's Championship in a random Four Way, pinning Gail Kim in a conflict that also included Jade and Marti Bell. All three challengers have been prominent on TV recently, but whether anyone deserved a title scuffle was questionable given that all three had lost singles bouts over the last three weeks. Whilst all four women put in effort, the lack of build-up and the presentation, including the commentary, made this match feel completely throwaway. With the correct build this match could have felt huge. It was an easy watch that continued two feuds nicely (Kim & Sienna, Bell & Jade), while the best action came when Jade and Kim went toe to toe again, including a lovely German suplex from Jade. I think the contest would have been better off splitting the heels and faces and doing a tag bout, where extra storylines could be advanced whilst not devaluing the belt further with a thrown together championship clash. 

The only match on the show that didn't do anything for me at all, was Bram's victory over Abyss, thanks to Abyss' Decay stablemate and Bram's apparent lover Rosemary causing a distraction. The duo seemed to tread water waiting for Rosemary's inevitable appearance, going through the motions in a dreary clash. Things weren't helped by the commentary team talking about anything other than the match, despite their being a few weeks of back story heading in. Not a foot was put wrong between "The Monster" and "The Chesterfield Plague" but I don't like enough was done to draw me into the bout. At the conclusion of the scuffle, as Rosemary finally made her appearance, no one seemed to have a clue how they were supposed to be playing the moment. Everyone just looked confused at each other and I looked confused at the television screen. I'd been so into The Decay, but this feud is killing them for me at the moment. 

Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter III would return from their suspension to beat seven shades of shite into each other, in a superb brawl around ringside and then to the back. There was a real intensity to the action as the two tore strips off each, with Galloway nailing some tasty knife edge chops and a swinging slam situation into the ring-post. It was a believable that the two had an genuine issue, because they both a ferocity to every little interaction they had, making sure each attack looked like it was designed to hurt. I'm really digging this feud at the moment, as it's all about the World Heavyweight Championship, without being for the World Heavyweight Championship. This can only make the belt look like a more worthwhile and precious prize to get your hands on, elevating the status of the strap. A big thumbs up that's been taking steady as well! 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.63/10

Another entertaining episode of IMPACT Wrestling, as the show featured good to great moments across it's card. There were a number of highlights for me, with Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter III's brawl being my favourite moment of the show, Matt Hardy continued to excel in his fascinating "Broken" character, Eddie Edwards and Lashley put together a strong main event and there was plenty to enjoy about the X Division ladder match. That's without mentioning the surprise debut of Moose and the return of Davey Richards. 

There were still problems, like a lack legitimate focus and coherent booking in the X Division, Women and Tag Team ranks. Random multi-man or women bout manage to plug the gap in airtime, but won't keep the fans hooked and show a lack of planning. If you want a Four Way title match, making sure each of the challengers have been built to look like contenders previously. The other major issue was the over reliance on Mike Bennett who took up a hell of a lot of screen-time. I loved Bennett to bits, but being involved in the opener, leading to match in the 2nd half, before being involved in the main event was way too much. 

With Dixie Carter announcing a Steel Cage rematch between Lashley and Eddie Edwards next week, and big matches like Galloway v EC3, the beginning of the Bound for Glory Play-Offs and more looming in the future TNA are showing more than a few signs of promise for the rest of the summer!

TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #625 - Eight Man Ultimate X (James Marston)

A big old mental week of IMPACT Wrestling this week, with Matt and Jeff Hardy's Final Deletion match grabbing all the headline and taking up all the space on our Twitter feeds right now. That's exactly why we chose to give the match and it's build up it's own special article and review which can be found here - Final Deletion - Let's face it the storyline has been pretty much outside of IMPACT Wrestling for weeks and months anyway, in terms of production and style, so it deserved it's space where I could go more in depth. On the show itself however, the Eight Man Ultimate X match and prior segment got much more time, so that's gonna be the main focus of this article. Obviously, I'm gonna talk about Final Deletion, but if you want a more in depth look then click the link above. Right that's enough of an intro, let's talk about the show. 

For me, the booking of the shows open has been everything that's been wrong with the X-Division for the last couple of years rolled into one. I've made it clear in recent reviews that I'm a big fan of Mike Bennett's work and he continued to portray his character perfectly well throughout the segment, but as Dixie Carter made her return after a week off (really not a return is it guys?) things quickly went down hill. Carter ripped into Bennett only seeing the title as a stepping stone. This is despite her owning the company that offers the X Division champion a chance to throw his belt down to get a chance at a different one. Had it been someone like Eddie Edwards, who Bennett won the title from via underhanded means, saying this, leading to Carter returning to make a 1 v 1 match between the two, you've got a segment that doesn't point out the flaw in the booking logic and allows someone to make the belt look like something that's worth holding on to in it's own right. 

Instead of having a one-on-one rematch between Edwards and Bennett, Carter announced an eight man Ultimate X match for the belt, that'd end up with Edwards winning the belt back anyway, after knocking Bennett off a ladder to retrieve the belt. Andrew Everrett, Trevor Lee, Mandrews, DJ Z, Braxton Sutter and Rockstar Spud were the other men in the bout. On it's own the match was a really fun watch with everyone involved putting in a lot of effort throughout, whether that be from pulling out beautiful dives like Mandrews' moonsault of the top of the scaffold structure or more character-driven work like that from Spud who left the match early after seemingly having some teeth kick out by rival Sutter.  Was this a great television contest, yes it really was. Would I have preferred to have seen a focused singles bout between Bennett and Edwards get the same amount of time? Almost certainly. 

Final Deletion was a bonkers match that took place at the Hardy's home in North Carolina, where Matt Hardy would defeat Jeff Hardy, after setting fire to a giant version of Jeff's logo whilst "The Charismatic Enigma" was at it's peak, sending Jeff crashing to the ground. The match was produced like a movie with incidental music instead of commentary. This was not a match that was built on it's realism. From a few minutes in, things hit bat shit level craziness, as Jeff jumped out of a tree onto Matt who was propped up on a ladder in the corner, both men attacked each other with fireworks, Matt hid in a dilapidated boat, thought he'd drowned his brother in a lake, Willow turned up, Benjamin tasered Willow, but Benjamin was actually Willow or something. I don't fucking know okay. These lads have turned me into a mess with their mental antics. The finish of the match somehow had to top the rest of this lunacy and as described above it did. Once you see this match you will never ever forget it.

With Destination X taking place next week, Jeremy Borash asked new X Division Champion Eddie Edwards his plans in regards to the World Heavyweight Championship. This developed into a cool back and forth between Edwards and World Heavyweight Champion Lashley on the mic with both bringing their "A game" to assemble an interestingly poised match for next week. The segment built throughout as, first, Lashley tried to convince Edwards why he shouldn't go for the World title, only to offer something knew after seeing just how fired up Edwards became about his opportunity. Next week the pair with face off with both titles on the line, even with the X Division not what it was, this is still a big match. Whilst Edwards promo had passion, I felt this was one of Lashley strongest ever non-wrestling performances on TV as he bought a calm, believable, cynicism to his character, especially when threatening to destroy the X Division. I'd have liked to have seen this a week after Edwards won back the belt, allowing for breathing space and protecting Edwards from over-exposure.

If I'm going to mention over-exposure in regards to Eddie Edwards then I'm definitely going to have to mention in it when talking about Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett. After opening the show with a promo, followed by Bennett dropping the X Division title, we then had another promo from the pair. I've been vocal about how much I've enjoyed the pairs work for TNA, but for me this was too much of a good thing. Absence makes the heart grow fonder after all. It all got a bit hammy when Billy Corgan and Dixie Carter came out, which lead to MKB throwing out a "This company is big enough for the both of us" situation to Carter, before Corgan called the couples bluff telling them to leave if they wanted to, before Bennett & MKB refused to quit and promised to make Destination X a disaster. I'm struggling to buy into this feud, as Carter and Corgan don't interest me either on their own or together and as the current driving babyface force, there's not a whole lot to buy into.

The Bro-Mans and Raquel picked up a surprise victory over World Tag Team Champions The Decay in six person tag team action, with Robbie E and Jessie Godderz hitting their Bro-Down finish to pin Crazzy Steve. The match turned in a decent tag clash, that despite a few questionable piece of booking like Godderz making his comeback on Abyss, as the two teams seemed to mesh well with their styles complementing each other. Following the hot tag and collision between Steve and Robbie E, the match flowed much better than I thought it would have heading into the match. The match played into another story that has been developing for the last two weeks, between The Decay and Bram, whilst also using The Bro-Mans Big Brother: After Dark cross-over as they played Bram necking with Rosemary backstage on the big screen before the match, with the Decays' loss being chalked up to this earlier distraction. 

In the other championship match of the evening, James Storm was unsuccessful in his challenge for Eli Drake's King of the Mountain Championship, despite winning the match via DQ after Drake attacked him with the title belt. This is another feud which has potential to blossom into something special on the undercard, and this match seemed to start building on the foundations that had been laid last week. The match was over quickly, but there was just enough of a glimpse of some in-ring chemistry between the two and we've seen what they can do on stick last week, so there's an opportunity here to produce some attractive television, whilst also allowing Drake to learn from a well-travelled veteran and elevating the King of the Mountain Championship in process. 

Considering the spot on the card they found themselves in, Jade and Marti Bell put on a more than enjoyable Street Fight, to seemingly conclude their feud as Jade got the pin with a Package Piledriver onto a steel chair. The two wrestled in jeans and looked like they wanted to hurt each, with Jade looking especially bad-ass. Despite Josh Mattews and The Pope being utter drivel on commentary, Jade and Bell bought crisp, strong offence and mixed it in with some of the usual plunder that TNA brings out for it's matches. For me, the more storyline moments like Jade pulling out nunchucks to counteract Bell's telescopic baton, before later holding the baton herself, were the weakest part of the match with rushing their moments with the camera just a tad. It's a shame that this feud has got to a gimmick bout already, because I'd've liked to see have seen what Jade and Bell could have done if allowed to explore their feud just a bit more.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.22/10

An improvement on last week's episode but not quite reaching the year high of #625, the show will be remembered for generations to come. The Final Deletion will be discussed at wrestling shows and in bars and anywhere anyone who watches it happens to be. The X-Division guys went all out to show why they deserved more of a chance on the show, with guys like Mandrews and DJ Z making strong cases. Eddie Edwards showed he can handle himself with a promo opposite a main eventer, can he become a legit main eventer for TNA next week? Jade and Marti Bell put on the strongest contest on the undercard in their Street Fight, whilst the rest of the show managed to produce watchable wrestling onto which something can be built. The only thing I didn't particularly like was the second Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett promo, with Dixie Carter and Billy Corgan's weird power struggle struggling to strike a chord with me.

A big episode of IMPACT Wrestling, with The Final Deletion managing to cause a big stir amongst social media and all over the world. I'd like to thing that the card was just about strong enough that those who tuned in for Final Deletion will decide to stick around next week for the big Title for Title match between Lashley and Eddie Edwards.

TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #624 - EC3 v Galloway v Lashley (James Marston)

After a belter of an episode last week, how would TNA look to capitalise? With a big three-way title match in the main event, this was gonna be another strong episode...or was it? 

The aforementioned three way main event would see Lashley hold onto his TNA World Heavyweight Championship, taking advantage of Drew Galloway nailing Ethan Carter III with a Claymore Kick to hit a spear on both opponents, before pinning EC3. As TV main events go this was a bloody good showing from all three men as they told a nice story and kept a solid pace. Having two babyfaces and a single heel could have been the matches undoing, but the ground work had been put in last week with Galloway and EC3 clearly not seeing eye to eye, and built on here, with the fan favourites working together to try to keep Lashley out of the match, so they had more of an opportunity to tear each other a part. My main complaint here is that everything needed more time to fully develop, with the ending feeling a little rushed, an extra five minutes and few more convincing near falls and we'd have had a brilliant match here. 

Whilst the main event was to the point, the same can not be said about the opening segment. X Division Champion Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis-Bennett, Lashley, EC3, Billy Corgan and Galloway were all involved in what essentially boiled down to Corgan booking a Number One Contender's Battle Royal for Bennett's title, before a brawl would eventually lead to Galloway accidentally nailing EC3 with a Claymore Kick. At times it felt a little directionless, and despite strong performances, from Bennett in particular, almost everything needed to be tightened up and streamlined. A lot of the stuff like Galloway and EC3's accident was unnecessary because the building blocks were already in place from last week and without a date set for Destination X, Bennett's involvement with Lashley lacked urgency. 

You thought the Hardy Boyz were done with their feud? You were wrong. This feud will never end. Ever. As has been the case for months, this was complete and utter lunacy. Matt Hardy being driven around ringside by Reby Hardy in what he referred to as his "chair with wheels", as he ranted about his previous matches with Jeff and all other manner of things in his ridiculous voice was so bizarre, but completely entertaining at the same time. Despite the madness, the angle actually played out quite simply with Matt baiting Jeff, before using Reby to attack his brother from behind after doing a Linda McMahon and rising from his chair with wheels. The two will face off "one last time" next week, apparently, at their own home in North Carolina. It's being billed as "Brother Nero: The Final Deletion" because why the fuck wouldn't it be? 

King of the Mountain Champion Eli Drake's Fact of Life talk show segment was back this week with James Storm turning up as the eventual guest. I say "eventual" because before Storm would interrupt we'd get a promo from Drake about mashed potatoes. Yeah, mashed potatoes. It was actually very entertaining and completely different from pretty much anything anyone else is doing. The segment for took a dive when Storm came out, because similar to the opening segment, it felt flabby and could have done with a bit of a trim. A feud with Storm could do good things for Drake's career, and with Storm eventually hitting a Last Call Superkick on Drake to close the segment, it looks like we're heading that way over the next few weeks, at least.

Braxton Sutter would become the number one contender to Mike Bennett's X Division Champion by outlasting Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, Eddie Edwards, DJ Z, Mandrews and Rockstar Spud in an over-the-top Battle Royal, only to be attack by the Helms Dynasty and  therefore losing in his immediate title match, and Bennett retaining the title. The battle royal was a fun bout, with a lot of talented performers in there. It was great to see Mandrews get some screen-time and he made a real case for deserving more focus with a series of action with Lee and Everrett that was among the best in the match. The angle with The Helms Dynasty was done well and actually protected Sutter from a loss to Bennett, allowing him to keep the momentum of winning the battle royal. 

Sienna retained the Knockout's Championship over Gail Kim in a match that aired on the show. Not a whole lot of interesting wrestling content here, with the sole highlight of the match being a nice reversal of a crucifix into a powerful Samoan drop from Sienna. The bout was fairly short and never really looked to get out of first gear as Jade came out to neutralise the distraction from Sienna's valet Allie, only for Marti Bell to attack Jade, which lead to eventual distraction that'd allow Sienna to hold onto her title. I absolutely hated Monty Brown's Pounce finisher so the fact that Sienna is now using it as The Silencer made me put my head in my hands and cry a little. 

It was the dream match we've all been waiting for as Grado, Mahabali Shera and a newly packaged Tyrus would go over Al Snow and The Tribunal in six man tag action. Yay. The crowd tried to chant "USA" at one point, which considering there was a Scotsman, an Indian and an American on one team and two Frenchmen and an American on the other team made literally zero sense. The match wasn't terrible, with some nice ref distraction and heely goings on from the Tribunal and Snow and a decent hot tag from Tyrus. The end of the bout was a bit messy though, before Tyrus would win with a weak looking World's Strongest Slam.  

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.79/10

Not a great show this week, with a few clunky segments and matches that could have done with a bit more thought and tidying up. I think the best way to describe this show was that it felt very "first draft". Some good ideas, but a lot of flab. The main event and the mental Hardyz segment keep it from turning into an utter mess. It's ironic that the one thing that felt like it was overly cut short was the one part of the show that really excelled at what was done. With a bit more main event this show would have been much improved.

TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #623 (James Marston)

I ripped into last week's IMPACT Wrestling, which apart from a stellar main event between Lashley and Drew Galloway, was a piss poor TV show. Could the show recover and start the summer with a bang? 

There was a lot going on this week with some major storyline twists and turns, but I'll begin by talking about the lengthy segment that would see Billy Corgan recommend TNA President Dixie Carter take a week off and Mike Bennett win the X Division title from Eddie Edwards. The first portion of the segment is a hard one to review, because so much of it hangs on where the storyline is going over the next few weeks. It was however an improvement on last week's segment, that would lead to Carter slapping Maria Kanellis-Bennett, as I thought both MKB and Bennett where on really strong form from the beginning, bringing an intensity to proceedings that managed to drive the segment. I'm also finding myself beginning to warm towards Billy Corgan's character, as he's slotted into a tweener role that hasn't been seen enough in the authority figure sphere lately, obviously this could change. I'm slightly worried that we're heading towards a power struggle angle, which I wouldn't be too interested in, but overall I thought everyone played their roles well here, even the ever so hammy Carter. 

Personally, I feel that parts of this segment could have been split over two weeks at least. As Bennett asked Corgan for an X Division title shot (because apparently Destination X is "just around the corner) with Corgan rambling a bit before giving it him straight away. Bennett and Eddie Edwards had previously squared off in Ring of Honor and North East Wrestling and I think that showed here as the pair went through a series of enjoyable action, and looked comfortable throughout. The narrative of Bennett trying to show that he could wrestle the "X-Division style" was a bit corny, but wasn't overplayed so therefore just about managed to work here, with Edwards using his pace to make a comeback rounding off things well. Bennett nicking a win by holding onto MKB at ringside to gain leverage on a pin was a fine finish that topped a pacy closing sequence well. Marking his first championship since dropping the ROH World Tag belt in December last year, I'm looking forward to seeing what Bennett can bring as the head of the division and looking forward an increased focus on the division heading into the Destination X special. 

The show would begin with a belting on-mic showdown between Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter III. The two went at it hammer and tongues as Galloway accused EC3 of costing him the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in last week's main event. Both men brought a great energy here, seeming to bounce off each other, continually driving each other to produce better and better performances. The scripting was top notch as the two babyfaces threw barbs and made the World Heavyweight title look important at the same time. The interruption from Lashley that followed did take a bit of the sting out of things however, with a questionable piece of booking as Lashley gave both men an opportunity to win a title shot at the same time, rather than simply fighting each other. I struggled to understand the logic behind Lashley's decision as he also offered Eli Drake an title shot if he could help him beat Galloway and EC3. I think the choice of match would have felt much more logical had it been made by a separate authority figure, perhaps Carter or Corgan. 

The tag clash would follow up straight away and although I'd have liked to have seen the story given a bit more breathing room, this was a more than solid opening contest for the show. I was really into the first portion of the bout, with Lashley and Drake finding a nice groove for their team, playing up their roles as they use many an underhanded tactics to keep in control of EC3. I'm a sucker for the spot where a hot tag is cut off by an opponent pulling the hot tagee off the apron, so got a big kick out of it being used here. The closing few minutes ended up being a bit scrappy, with a lot of different elements trying to be threaded through just a few minutes of action, with Lashley's awkward bump off a TKO from EC3 adding to this. Galloway would pick up the pinfall on Drake (after a One Percenter (Headlock Driver) from EC3) with Dixie Carter later informing Lashley that he'd face both "The Captain" and "The Ass Kicking Machine" on next week's episode. 

The Hardy Boyz feud would come to an end in the show-closing Six Sides of Steel bout, that probably needs to be seen to be fully believed. Anyone who's caught any of the feud between Matt and Jeff will know by know that's been utter ridiculous throughout, straddling the line between bizarrely genius and just straight up bizarre and of course, the final chapter would be no different. The match was an all-action affair, with Jeff filling the ring with Tables, Ladders and Chairs before the match, leading to more than a few weapon shots here. If WWE calls their TLC PPV, wrestling's "Demolition Derby" then the final spot here may have been the true embodiment of that term as Jeff scaled a ladder on top of turnbuckle (slightly higher that cage) before leaping off, putting himself through a table, that itself was placed another table, with Matt lying on it, covered in a steel chairs. It looked like Jeff may have slightly miscalculated his jump as he seemed to come down on shoulder or side of his head in process of taking out his brother. Was this match any good? I couldn't tell you. Was this match entertaining? Hell yes. 

After a quick jaunt over to AAA in Mexico, Rockstar Spud returned to in ring action with TNA after coming out and forcefully replacing Balam (better known as Lince Dorada in FIP and WWN, and a competitor in the upcoming WWE Cruiserweight Class) in a match with Braxton Sutter. Spud cut an enjoyable promo as he dismissed Balam and complained about all the attention that Sutter had been getting as of late. The resulting match was a little on the short side, as Sutter ended up pinning Spud in under three minutes. It did make Sutter look very good in there, but seeing as TNA are continuing with a Spud/Sutter feud (Spud would attack Sutter after the bout), I feel like a few more minutes here would have benefited the pair going forward.

In the Knockouts Division this week, Jade and Marti Bell collided in well put together grudge match. Jade looked like a real bad ass here, as she continued to grow into her babyface role by dominated Jade throughout the match. There was a palpable sense of her dislike for her former Doll House stable mate and this drove the match as Jade refused to let Bell get hardly any offence in, as well as hitting a brutal looking Electric Chair Facebuster onto the apron from the outside of the ring. Bell's metal baton played a big part in the match, with referee Earl Hebner having to discourage Jade from using it, before Bell would profit from nailing Jade in the head as she attempted a suicide dive, in a nice piece of storytelling. Perhaps the bout could have done with a few more minutes, but this was still an enjoyable slice of action, that saw both women put in strong performances in their respective roles and advance their rivalry nicely.

Lastly, this week's show saw a new storyline created as World Tag Team Champions The Decay would first offer Bram a slot in their group, before attacking the former King of the Mountain Champion when he declined their offer. The segment was carried by Rosemary, who did the majority of the talking, with more than a bit of a sexual undercurrent, in order to convince Bram of why he should join, with some solid reasoning that harked back to his past in the promotion. I thought Bram did a decent job here, as he tries to find his feet after his face turn. Depending on where this goes over the next few weeks, it has the potential to really make Bram as an upper level face talent for the company, although it will even more important to keep The Decay group looking strong. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.94/10 

This was the best episode of IMPACT Wrestling I've seen this year. A complete turn around from last week's episode as I found something to enjoy in each and every segment, and beyond that there was some brilliant work from guys like Drew Galloway, Ethan Carter III and Mike Bennett. The storyline advancement was spot on in most places with even feuds lower down the card getting some much needed attention, which brought a lovely depth to the show. The Hardy Boyz steel cage bout was completely bonkers, but I'd still be happy to call it the best match on the show for it's sheer entertainment value.

I'm hoping to see a higher level of consistency over the rest of the summer from TNA, with more shows like this and less like the week before!