TV Review: TNA The Final Deletion - Director's Cut (James Marston)

I knew you'd come. Now we are here at the point where I will talk about the Final Deletion. Words will be wrote and many a moment will be analysed, but will it truly matter when all that is left is the darkness inside our very souls. When we are Broken, can we ever truly complete anything? 

Okay, I lost it for a moment there. Sorry about that. Basically, I wanted to talk a little bit more about TNA's Final Deletion, than I usually would within the confines of a regular TV show review. I wanted to be able to focus on the entire story that ran throughout IMPACT Wrestling #625 and truly do justice to the dark masterpiece of wonder that it may very well be. So I decided I'd take a look at the Director's Cut. It's essentially all the scenes Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Reby Hardy, Maxel Hardy, Senor Benjamin and a referee took part in throughout the show spliced together to create on stand-alone 18 minute piece of television. 

A Brief History of Matt vs. Jeff in TNA

If you've not been watching TNA this year, or you are reading this many, many years from now, primarily, Matt and Jeff Hardy have been feuding since way in January, when Jeff got all pissy about Matt doing nasty things to Ethan Carter III en route to becoming World Heavyweight Champion. With a little gap because Jeff can't get into the UK and TNA were taking five weeks worth of TV there, Matt and Jeff have been scrapping ever since. They've had two battles over the World Heavyweight title, one involving EC3, that would eventually lead to Drew Galloway cashing in his Feast or Fired Briefcase and Matt losing the belt. This would lead to feud heating up further with Matt blaming Jeff for losing the belt, they'd go on to scrap in a Gauntlet to become #1 Contender, which Jeff won and they'd fight in a tag team match where Matt and Tyrus went over Jeff and Galloway. Then came time to up the ante in an "I Quit" match when Jeff would leap off part of the stage and crush Matt, but seeing as neither said the words required, the feud continued. 

Matt returned under Jeff's Willow alias, claiming he was now "Broken" because of the event of the "I Quit" match. This is where the storyline took a turn for the absolute mental. Matt speaking in a weird Shakespearean-esque accent and playing the piano and things. All types of weird-ass shit, that trod the line between terribly awesome and awesomely terrible. Jeff winning a Full Metal Mayhem match at Slammiversary couldn't solve things, neither could "The Charismatic Enigma" jumping off a ladder on top of the ring post and threw tables and chairs and onto Matt in a Six Sides of Steel match, two weeks ago. Therefore, we were here, there was only one way to bring the family feud to an end. Where it began at The Hardy house. In a rickety old ring and all over the massive yard and that. 

THE FINAL DELETION REVIEW 

I'm going to split this into two parts. Stuff that happened before the match and the match, if you can call it a match, itself. From the very beginning it was just as mental as I wanted it to be. Matt's gardener Senor Benjamin made a return, as Matt and Reby celebrate Maxel's first birthday. Matt was saying thing in his weird voice and making claims about the candle on Maxel's cake. Perhaps my favourite part in the pre-amble towards the match was when Jeff received his message from Matt, his invitation to the dance, so to speak. That's because it came via a hologram that was delivered by a drone. Why was it done like this? Because the Hardyz like holograms and drones and they've taken a lot of drugs in the past. Jeff was playing his part wonderfully, because he looked so serious as he sped off on his motorbike to kick some butt. Whilst this was happening Matt was destroying Jeff's grass design by riding a sit-on lawn mover and waving his arms about. Why was it done like this? Because the Hardyz like sit-on lawn movers and they've taken a lot of drugs in the past. There was even more mental stuff like Matt ordering his Benjamin to get the "battlefield prepared for a massacre" before later handing him some gasoline. 

After a referee had arrived in his car, and Matt had summoned Jeff (again) by playing the violin, it was time. The match was produced like a movie with incidental music instead of commentary. I think the weirdest part of the match for me was that the pair started off wrestling like this was a regular match, there was a bit of brawl at the start, but then they started bouncing each other off the ropes, going for quick pinfalls and Jeff even took his shirt off when he went to hit a Swanton Bomb like he was expecting to get a pop. This was not a match that was built on it's realism. Which is probably for the best. From a few minutes in, things returned to the bat shit craziness, with weapons getting involved, and then Jeff jumped out of a tree onto Matt who was propped up on a ladder in the corner, then Matt introduced fireworks to the match, allowing for a beautiful aerial visual of the ring covered in the smoke. Jeff used his own 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 it did. Jeff climbed a giant version of his logo, so Matt used Maxel's first birthday candle to set it on fire (because of the Gasoline), causing Jeff to fall off the logo. Matt would then pin him. Hence the Final Deletion. 

I'm shaking now recalling what I watched. It was funny in the weirdest way and they both did some really stupid stuff to each other. It was like if backyard wrestling had the budget and production of Lucha Underground, and also the access to a large lake, a dilapidated boat, shit loads of fireworks, a massive sculpture of Jeff Hardy's logo, a taser and other things Why did any of this happen? What does any of it mean? What will happen to either man going forward? Who the fuck knows. But this probably the best advert for either taking drugs or not taking drugs you will ever see, depending on your outlook on life.  

TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #613 (Hardy & Tyrus vs. Hardy & Galloway)

On 12th April 2016, TNA aired the 613th episode on IMPACT Wrestling on POP TV, having taped the action on 18th March 2016 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, USA. Matt Hardy teamed with fellow Matt Hardy Brand member Tyrus to fight Jeff Hardy and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway with the winning side being able to choose a stipulation for IMPACT Wrestling #614's Hardy vs. Hardy clash and Ethan Carter III went one on one with "The Miracle" Mike Bennett...but was it any good? Let's take a look.

impact wrestling #613 match card

Match 1 - TNA World Tag Team Championship Four Corners - Beer Money Inc.: Bobby Roode & James Storm (C) vs. The Bro-Mans: Jessie Godderz & Robbie E vs. The Decay: Abyss & Crazzy Steve w/Rosemary vs. Bram and TNA King of the Mountain Champion Eric Young

Match 2 - Men's Singles - TNA X-Division Champion Trevor Lee with Gregory Shane Helms vs. DJ Z

Match 3 - Men's Singles - "The Miracle" Mike Bennett vs. Ethan Carter III "EC3"

Match 4 - TNA Knockout's Championship - Madison Rayne vs. Jade (C)

Match 5 - Men's Tag Team – The Matt Hardy Brand: Tyrus & Matt Hardy vs. “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy & TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway (Winner selects stipulation for Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy match on IMPACT Wrestling #614)

hardy vs. hardy confirmed for next week

Matt Hardy kicked the show off surrounded by the Matt Hardy Brand, and continued to develop elements of his character, following being unsuccessful in regain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on IMPACT Wrestling #612. Matt blamed Jeff Hardy for the loss and ripped into his brother in a passionate and slightly over-the-top promo. With Jeff quickly interrupting Matt, this segment boiled down to the pair agreeing to a match where the name "Hardy" would be on the line. Whilst parts of the segment bordered on ridiculous, both Hardy's put in entertaining performances and came out with some cracking lines throughout the segment. Jeff throwing barbs at his sister-in-law Reby Sky is always fun to watch, so I got a big kick out him saying “The only thing I'm scared of is your crazy bitch genes inside my family tree”.

beer money defeat the bro-mans, the decay and young & bram to retain the tna world tag team championships

Booked as an Invitational contest, Josh Matthews was for some reason surprised when the three teams advertised on TNA's website as being apart of the match actually accepted the challenge, but that's not surprising considering this is Josh Matthews.  The bout boiled down to mostly a ringside brawl before the contest fully got started, followed up by some fun stuff from the two babyface teams before some heel miscommunication from Bram and Eric Young, allowed James Storm to hit the later with the Last Call Superkick to pick up the victory. There was enough talent, enough variety in styles and enough on-going and past storylines to produce a world class opening match here. Unfortunately whilst most of the action was of a high quality, it was way too short to fully showcase the division fully and a big missed opportunity.

fast-forward...Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy collide backstage and agree to a Tag Team bout later on with next week's stipulation on the line...

corgan steps in to control the knockout's division

I fucking hated this segment. For everything other companies have done to change how they present their female performers, this was a major step back for TNA in my opinion. The segment started fine, I suppose, with Jade refusing to give Maria her TNA Knockout's Championship, before Gail Kim interrupted and things quickly went down hill. I cringed when Gail said that her problems with Maria were "a little more important" than the title. Just no, Gail. No. The segment soon became an omnishambles, with The Dollhouses' Marti Belle and Rebel coming out and seemingly having some issues with Jade, whilst Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky of the Beautiful People also arrived to say something, probably. The women bickered about who was the "leader" of the Knockout's Division and all in all were made to look like silly little girls. I felt embarrassed for everyone involved. Billy Corgan then turned up to cool things down, because he's a man and randomly booked Jade to defend her title against Madison Rayne later on in the show for no reason and then made a match to crown a new Leader of the Knockout's for next week. Shit. 

fast-forward...Ethan Carter III cut a hot promo on his upcoming match with Mike Bennett tonight, backstage...

dj z defeats lee 

This was originally announced as Trevor Lee defending the TNA X Division Championship against Eddie Edwards, however the continuing Gregory Shane Helms sage saw Edwards taken out backstage and then Helms issuing the second open challenge of the show. Of course, DJ Z made his return to TNA after a two and a half month absence to answer the challenge. Lee and DJ Z did the best they probably could inside three minutes and both men worked hard to fit as much as possible into the contest. It should be obvious to anyone that three minutes of action is ridiculous, even more so when you consider this is the only ring-time that Lee has received since the end of February. After DJ Z had grabbed a surprise victory by turning Lee's Small Package Driver into a regular small package, Edwards was then perfectly fit to save DJ Z from a post-match attack from Helms in a confusing piece of booking. 

bennett defeats ec3 via disqualification

After some strong build-up over the last few weeks, I couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointing by the first meeting between Mike Bennett and Ethan Carter III. Things started well, with EC3 attacking Bennett before the bell rang which showcased EC3's frustration with his rival and an early spot that saw EC3 reverse Bennett's suplex attempt to hit one of his own on the ramp also stood out. I just wish that Bennett had sold the move a bit more in the latter portions of the bout, to really make the moment matter. For me, pretty much everything here felt very rushed, both in terms of the layout of the bout (EC3's comeback seemed to come way too soon) and in the flow and transitions of the action. Things certainly weren't as smooth as you'd want for a marquee contest. I did like the idea of EC3 getting more and more frustrated with Maria's involvement in the match, which would eventually climax with EC3 nailed his adversary with a steel chair to cause the disqualification. There's certainly more to come from the Bennett vs. EC3 feud and I'm hoping that the pair produce a much better effort next time round, as they're definitely capable of much better than what they showed here. 

fast-forward...Al Snow speaks directly to camera and says he was wrong to attack Grado and Mahabali Shera on IMPACT Wrestling #611 and that he's heading to the ring to call them out...

snow attacks shera again for reasons

If I could have cared any less about this segment, I probably would have imploded or something. It seems that the crowd felt the same way, as they were completely silent throughout the whole sorry affair. Al Snow was out to apologise to Mahabali Shera and Grado, with the former WWF Tag Team Champion calling out Shera. Grado was apparently still in hospital two weeks after Snow's attack and couldn't be there. With most of the audience on the brink of entering a coma, Shera agreed to be coached by Snow. Snow then snapped an beat the shit into Shera whilst the crowd chanted "You Still Got It", which probably summed up the entire shitty affair. 

fast-forward...Tyrus confronted TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway backstage, with another reminder that Tyrus has a title shot and such...

jade defeats rayne to retain the tna knockout's championship 

This was a decent match that was torn apart by some of the worst commentary that has ever been broadcast on television. Josh Matthews and "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero are the shits. Here's a couple of example of their arseholery. Matthews "Jade reminds me of Ronda Rousey" Dinero "She's like a hybrid of Ronda Rousey and Gail Kim". Any follow up on that guys? Nah, fuck it. Here's some more. Matthews "You can learn all about your favourite stars and knockout's on social media". Thanks Josh, you fucking prick salad. Jade would pick up a fairly swift victory with her weak looking STO to give her her first title defense. I was too busy noting down the piss-poor commentary to notice anything that made the bout stand out.

hardy and tyrus defeat hardy and galloway, lashley attacks galloway

The main event managed to rescue the show just a little, as Matt Hardy and Tyrus overcame Jeff Hardy and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway in tag team action to allow Matt to select an "I Quit" Match as his stipulation for next week's Hardy vs. Hardy contest. A sound tag bout, that was well structured to make the most out of the four performers and played out in front of a crowd who were hot for the action throughout. The build towards both Hardy's clashing in the ring was the main narrative of the contest, with Galloway being worked over in the World Champ in peril role. Jeff was all over his brother, hitting a number of Twist of Fate's and when Galloway managed to take out Tyrus with a Claymore Kick it seemed like Jeff would finally have the contest won. However, there was finally twist in the story as Reby Sky turned up to hand Matt a hammer behind the refs back, with Matt taking full advantage of the situation. The visual of Matt lifting a prone Jeff off the mat to hit a Twist of Fate was the strongest moment of the show for me and capped a solid main event off well. After the match, Lashley turned up and ripped apart Galloway with a series of Spears, making it clear that The Destroyer has his sights once again set on the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

finally...

atpw scale rating - 2.78/10

The worst episode of IMPACT Wrestling for a very long time, certainly the worst episode of the show that's aired in 2016 so far. The main event tag bout was the shining light through the show and even that was perhaps only above average. The other marquee bout on the show between Ethan Carter III and Mike Bennett was another decent clash, but failed to live up to the hype. The under-card was highlighted by an fun opening segment with The Matt Hardy Brand and Jeff Hardy that would set up the main event's for this show and the next, but unfortunately pretty much the every other supporting moment on the episode was pure shite. The Knockout's segment, Al Snow trying to be relevant in 2016 and some of the worst commentary that has ever aired worked towards making this the shit-fest that it was.

Hopefully, with the Hardy vs. Hardy "I Quit" bout next week, TNA will be able to get back onto the level that they have been for the best part of 2016 so far.

TV Review: TNA Impact Wrestling #611 (Galloway vs. Hardy *TNA World Heavyweight Championship*)

Check out the review of last week's Impact Wrestling with a look at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender's Gauntlet here. 

On 29th March 2016, TNA aired the 611th episode of Impact Wrestling, having previously taped the event on the 16th March 2016 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, USA, on POP TV. The show featured Jeff Hardy challenging for Drew Galloway's TNA World Heavyweight Championship and a Six Man Tag Team match seeing TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money teaming with Ethan Carter III to take on The Matt Hardy Brand's Matt Hardy & Tyrus, as well as "The Mircacle" Mike Bennett...but was it any good? Let's find out!

impact wrestling #611 match card

Match 1 – Four on One Handicap Match – The Matt Hardy Brand vs. Ethan Carter III

Match 2 – Six Man Tag Team – The Matt Hardy Brand (Matt Hardy & Tyrus) & Mike Bennett w/Maria vs. Ethan Carter III & Beer Money

Match 3 – TNA Knockout's Championship #1 Contender's – Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne

Match 4 – Tag Team – Bram & Eric Young vs. The Bro-Mans

Match 5 – TNA World Heavyweight Championship – Jeff Hardy vs. Drew Galloway ©  

the matt hardy brand vs. ethan carter iii

Not a classic opening of Impact Wrestling here, in fact things ended up being a bit of mess. It felt like creative had three or four ideas to start the show and then decided to do them all. The fact that it went over 25 minutes and included two matches tells you quite a lot in and of itself. The Matt Hardy Brand kicked off the show, with Matt Hardy winding up the fans and taking shots at his brother, Jeff, before he was oddly interrupted "The Miracle" Mike Bennett and Maria. An odd heel vs. heel dynamic here as Bennett cut into Hardy for his age and claimed that nobody wanted to see him as TNA World Heavyweight Champion again, which got cheers. I'm not sure what the aim was here, in either the short term of the long term. The two were stopped from having a scrap by Ethan Carter III. Why would EC3 stop them from fighting? Well, he didn't really explain that, he just called The Matt Hardy Brand his three bitches and spoke to God about Bennett's career. EC3's creativity usual leads to a home run, unfortunately he struck out with this one. Hardy would then book himself and the rest of the Matt Hardy Brand (Tyrus, Rockstar Spud and Reby Sky) into a Four on One Handicap Match, because he can do that type of thing apparently.

After one weird arse set-up for the match, the contest was a pretty paint-by-numbers affair. Tyrus spent a lot of the match working over EC3 with a series of fairly basic moves (big clubbing blows and scoop slams) with the match seeming kind of directionless at times. The only stand out moment for me was Hardy holding EC3 so that Reby could slap him in the face repeatedly, which produced a sweet visual and showcased the relationship between Hardy & Reby particularly well. The finish featured some decent action between EC3 and Spud, but it'd come to a close when Bennett decided to interfere (he and Maria had stayed at ringside). EC3 had just locked Spud in a Cobra Clutch, so Bennett caused the DQ. After the previous segment, I just couldn't my head round the motives for Bennett stopping the match. Things got even more confusing when TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money made the save for EC3 and James Storm booked a six man tag bout to happen next. Seriously, can anyone just make a match? The rocky start continued...

the matt hardy brand and mike bennett vs. beer money and ethan carter iii

I wish that TNA had just start the show with this six man tag team match, because this was a much more enjoyable contest and an easier watch than what had gone before it. James Storm was in the face in peril role, with Tyrus doing a nice job of focusing on his ribs and The Pope actually doing a quality job of putting it over on commentary. EC3 and Bennett would eventually fight to the back, with The Miracle using Maria as a human shield, to advance their new feud. This would leave Beer Money alone with Hardy and Tyrus, with the crowd really into Storm and Bobby Roode as a duo, especially when they ran through their crowd pleasing come back sequence. I was surprised to see the heels pick up the win as Tyrus hit a heart punch and allowed Hardy to hit a Twist of Fate to get the pinfall on Roode. Seeing as the bout had basically become a regular tag team match, I'm not sure having the World Tag Team Champions lose, when the division is weak enough already, was the best idea. Well, after 25 minutes and a half minutes it was finally time for TNA to move onto something.

fast-forward...Jeremy Borash interviewed TNA Knockout's Champion Gail Kim, who revealed that Madison Rayne would face Velvet Sky in a Number One Contender's match later...Eli Drake revealed his disappointment with Jessie Godderz leaving him to rejoin the Bro-Mans in a weird backstage segment...

velvet sky vs. madison rayne - tna knockout's championship #1 contender's

Two stalwarts of TNA's Knockout division going at it to become #1 contender (alongside Jade who won a #1 Contender's bout last week) in an extremely average match. The ladies just weren't given enough time to produce anything memorable at all. However, with such an easy storyline to play off of it felt like both Madison and Velvet missed an opportunity here. Both are friends, but both want a shot at the title, but I don't think you'd have been able to tell that from watching the match. They just wrestled for a bit, and then Velvet won with a flash jackknife cover. The wrestling was fine, fairly smooth, but nothing that particularly stood. Here's hoping that TNA takes an interesting situation of both Jade and Velvet having a shot at Gail Kim's belt and with Maria still causing problems for the champ and turns into something with a bit more depth and bite to it.

d'angelo dinero calls out lashley

I've no idea who decided that D'Angelo Dinero would make a good commentator, because his promo here was absolutely all over the place. He basically just said his name a lot as he continually referred to himself in third person and got a bit angry about Lashley. There were some moments that worked but it was a very flabby piece of TV, that could have beneffited from some tighter editing in post-production. Things picked up when Lashley came out bringing things back to earth, as the segment moved naturally towards a scrap between the two. The fight was done well, with both Lashley and Dinero taking down officials and security guards in order to get at each other and including Dinero jumping off the top rope onto Lashley on the outside. Josh Matthews also ended up putting on one of his strongest performances here, adding to the sense of chaos well.  An up and down segment, but one that overall felt like it paid off strengthening the feud between The Pope and Lashley and presenting Lashley with someone to look strong against as he builds towards something bigger. 

bram and eric young vs. the bro-mans

After The Bro-Mans interrupted an Eric Young promo about Jeff Hardy, we got a pretty basic tag team match, that also featured Bram. Whilst it was simplistically put together it did manage to do a number of things here. The finish saw miscommunication between Young and Bram, which furthers their issues following Bram eliminating Young from the #1 Contender's Gauntlet last week well. We also saw the Bro-Mans take a sneak victory, which builds them back up as a team, after they lost on their return to Beer Money last week. Again nothing too memorable here, but at least it managed to strengthen a number of areas and build towards future episodes of the show.

fast-forward...In a surprise development, former WWE World Tag Team Champion, Al Snow returned to TNA attacking Grado and Mahabli Shera backstage, in a particularly violent skit...

gregory shane helms has a proposal for eddie edwards

This was another weird segment and a particularly odd piece of booking. It was billed as Trevor Lee addressing the state of the X-Division, however it was actually Lee's manager Gregory Shane Helms calling out Eddie Edwards and proposing that the two join together as a tag team. When the X-Division hasn't been on TV for three weeks and stars like Andrew Everrett, Mandrews, Tigre Uno and DJZ are nowhere to be seen, why not have an X-Division match here? I can't get my head building a storyline around Helms wanting to team with Edwards, in a situation that no one has asked for. I'm desperately hoping it leads to Lee breaking out on his own and Helms moving onto somewhere else (commentary maybe?) as this partnership just isn't doing it for me.

jeff hardy vs. drew galloway - tna world heavyweight championship

A good television main event here, as Drew Galloway had his first TNA World Heavyweight Championship defense in a competitive bout with Jeff Hardy. In their first time opposite each other, Galloway and Hardy had some nice chemistry as they worked a face vs. face bout in front of a split Orlando crowd. The contest unfolded nicely and told a satisfying story as the bigger Galloway dominated early on, before the veteran Hardy got frustrated at being unable to put the champ away with a Twist of Fate and Swantom Bomb and getting much more physical around the ringside area. Hardy going for a Swantom Bomb with Galloway on the steel steps on the outside, only to meet Galloway's knees, offered a great aesthetic moment. The Captain's selling of Hardy's ringside assault was brilliant, leading to another stand out moment when he desperately reached at Hardy and hit a Futureshock DDT to retain his title. It made Galloway look super tough and made the title look very important as he was willing to fight through the pain and do anything to keep hold of it. A clever piece of booking that gave Galloway a foundation for his title reign, after he cashed in his Feast or Fired briefcase to take the title from Matt Hardy. Easily the best piece of the show.

That wasn't the end of the show though, as Matt Hardy was out to reveal that he'd be facing Galloway for the belt next week on a special edition of Impact Wrestling entitled "Revenge". A strong emotive heel promo from Matt here that would eventually lead to Bram and Eric Young attacking Jeff at ringside and Matt fighting with Galloway. I was surprised to see the babyface's end up on top to close the show though, with Galloway taking out Bram & Young and Jeff hitting a Twist of Fate on Matt. It was, however, a set up for Jeff to announce that he'd be facing Young on next week's show inside a Steel Cage. A strong show close, that set up two big matches for next week's show.

finally...

atpw scale rating - 4.5/10

This was the weakest Impact Wrestling episode in about a month and a half, with a lot of confusing segments and weird piece of booking. It was luckily saved by a good main event World Heavyweight Championship bout between Drew Galloway and Jeff Hardy, which was followed by a nice closing segment that set up two big matches for next week. The segment with Lashley and D'Angelo Dinero was also strong. It was a shame however that stuff like Gregory Shane Helms asking Eddie Edwards to be his tag team partner, the weird 25 minutes intro with two matches and an awful lot of average wrestling made this show a bit of a drag. 

With Drew Galloway scheduled to defend his TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy stepping inside a Steel Cage with Eric Young hopefully we'll see TNA return to the much stronger form it's been in for most of 2016.

TV Review: TNA IMPACT Wrestling #610 (TNA World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender's Gauntlet)

On 22nd March 2016, TNA aired the 610th episode of Impact Wrestling, having previously taped the event on 15th March 2016 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, USA. The show featured Bram, Jeff Hardy, Ethan Carter III, Matt Hardy, Rockstar Spud, "The Miracle" Mike Bennett, Eric Young, Lashley and Tyrus competed in a Gauntlet Match to crown a new #1 Contender to Drew Galloway's TNA World Heavyweight Championship, after a chaotic opening segment involving everyone (minus Lashley) lead to Dixie Carter announcing the bout...but was it any good? Let's take a look.

impact wrestling #610 match card

Match 1 - TNA World Tag Team Championship - Beer Money (C) vs. The Bro-Mans

Match 2 - Street Fight - Crazzy Steve w/Rosemary vs. Eddie Edwards

Match 3 - TNA Knockout's Championship #1 Contender's Three Way - Jade vs. Marti Bell vs. Rebel

Match 4 - TNA World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender's Gauntlet - Bram vs. Eric Young vs. Ethan Carter III vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Lashley vs. Matt Hardy vs. Mike Bennett vs. Rockstar Spud vs. Tyrus

drew galloway opens the show, shenanigans occur

What a start to the show! An exciting opening segment with lots of different faces and storylines, that set's up something to stick around for in the shows main event spot. New TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway was on form with passionate opening promo, showing just what kind of Champion he'll be and kicking off his run well. The Matt Hardy Brand interrupted, before we got a slew of competitors attempting to state their case for a shot at Galloway's title. Jeff Hardy, Eric Young, Bram and Ethan Carter III all had a bit of a brawl, before Mike Bennett was the final one to have his say, coming out with Maria and reminding us that he was the last one to pin Galloway, back at IMPACT Wrestling #607. That's what made this segment work best for me, everyone involved had a real claim to a title shot and Galloway looked more than up for a scrap with anyone of them! "I'll bloody fight you all" he said.

TNA President Dixie Carter was out to settle things to the delight of everyone....I actually thought that Dixie did a pretty good job with what she had to do. I much prefer her role at the moment, compared to the over-done all-powerful heel boss thing she was doing a few years ago. Her saying something "they don't wanna see you argue for a title shot, they wanna see you fight for it!" was a sweet line, that managed to cut through the chaos of the rest of the opening. It set up the main event for later on and presented something a little bit different for people to tune in to. One of the strongest opening segments TNA have done in the last six months, and having plenty of names vying for a title shot can only be good for the title.

fast-forward...Mike Bennett selected his number for the gauntlet match from Jeremy Borash's golden tumbler...

beer money defeat the bro-man to retain the tna world tag team championships

The Bro-Mans were hardly the most excited duo to have answer Beer Money open challenge (only open to former tag team champions) but they did offer James Storm and Bobby Roode someone to quickly build their title reign up against, which with a pretty lacklustre tag division (You've only got The Decay and Bram & Eric Young teaming regularly) at the moment could have been hard to do otherwise. Although it was hardly a highly anticipated reunion, considering they last teamed together on One Night Only: Joker's Wild 4 that aired on 4th March. The bout itself was fairly basic in it's tag team structure, with Beer Money obviously coming out on top after about five minutes. I thought the closing stages of the bout were a little bit sloppy, with the four bumbling their way through what looked like it should have been a pacy series of moves, before Roode pinned Robbie E after a weak looking D.W.I. Not the greatest start to Beer Money's title reign this and it showed up just how much TNA need to build up it's tag division. 

fast-forward...The Decay cut another creepy backstage promo, calling out Eddie Edwards to a No Disqualification bout later in the show...Bram and Eric Young picked their numbers out of Jeremy Borash's tumbler, with Young seeing Willow again...

eddie edwards defeats crazzy steve in a no disqualification match

A decent no disqualification bout here, as Eddie Edwards looked to seek revenge on The Decay after they defeated him in six man tag action last week. Steve and Edwards worked well together, keeping a strong pace throughout and peppering in a couple of cool spots. A piece of action on the outside that saw Steve trip Edwards on the steps before hitting a cannonball stands out as the highlight of the match. Rosemary's involvement in the finish was handled well, as she costs Edwards the victory, before Steve accidentally ran into her allowing Edwards to get the win with a school-boy roll up. Whilst it didn't featured as much brutality as other recent TNA bouts, there was a lot to enjoy throughout here. It'll be interesting to see if this feud continues, but without Davey Richards able to compete, there isn't really anywhere else to take things at the moment. It'd be cool to see Edwards get a run as a singles competitor, as we saw in ROH he's got a lot to offer TNA in that department as well.

fast-forward...Jeff Hardy and Ethan Carter III picked their numbers for the Gauntlet from Jeremy Borash's tumbler, with EC3 cutting a passionate promo on Mike Bennett...

jade defeats marti bell and rebel to become number one contender to the tna knockout's championship

This was all a little weird, but I think I ended up liking it. Basically, Maria was supposed to face Gail Kim for the TNA Knockout's Championship, but called out the Dollhouse, revealing that TNA management had said she could give any Dollhouse member her shot at the title, setting up the three way and leaving Gail to awkwardly walk to the back. At first I was skeptical about the segment but with Maria explaining her position on commentary, saying she'd already defeated Gail and wanted the title to truly mean something before she won it, I was won round. It builds even more anticipation to final showdown between Gail and Maria. The three way itself was a good bout, with quite a few cool spots involving all three girls. The closing stages made Jade look like a boss as she dominated both of her opponents, and actually pinning both of them herself. Jade faced Gail on IMPACT Wrestling #608 and I asked for a more focused rematch, so I'm pretty happy on that front, and with the added element of Maria claiming that Jade is her protege, I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the three do with the opportunity they have.

fast-forward...The Matt Hardy Brand selected their numbers for the gauntlet from Jeremy Borash's tumbler, with Rockstar Spud's performance standing out especially...

jeff hardy wins a gauntlet match to become number one contender to the tna world heavyweight championship

This gauntlet was used to further a number of storylines TNA has going at the moment, was completely watchable, without being particularly memorable in it's own right. It seemed like a missed opportunity to not have any of the Matt Hardy Brand faction in the ring together, as Rockstar Spud found himself eliminated as Tyrus made his way to the ring and Tyrus was gone before Matt Hardy could get there. The group could have been used to drive the bout's story. We did however see Bram accidentally eliminate Eric Young to seemingly set-up a feud between the two, The Pope D'Angelo Dinero got involved in the bout to eliminate the man who attack himself last week, Lashley and after EC3 had eliminate Mike Bennett, Bennett helped Matt Hardy to eliminate him. Three big future feuds coming out of the battle royal with more fuel to add to the fire over the next few weeks, not bad at all.

The two Hardys being the final two in the match was a slightly obvious end to the bout, but both men put in some quality work here. There's definitely a sense that a one on one match between the two is inevitable at this point, and this tease of what could be to come was a pleasing one. The two going back and forth offered a couple of false finishes that kept the Orlando crowd engaged, with the strongest of these being Matt catching Jeff on the top rope as the younger brother went for a Whisper in the Wind. There was lots of drama towards the end of the bout, with Jeff on the apron, barely managing to hang on. Matt going for a Twist of Fate through the ropes was a nice piece of work, even if Josh Matthews called it as a Hangman's DDT, and Jeff managing to hit a back body drop over the top rope to win the bout gave a lovely visual on which to end the show. Jeff will provide a stellar first opponent for Drew Galloway's title reign next week and hopefully the pair are allowed to go full throttle, as they're more than capable of putting on a classic TV main event.

finally...

atpw scale rating - 5.71/10

TNA continues to deliver a solid two hours of television, with this episode scoring the highest ATPW Scale Rating for the show this year. The opening segment of the show completely nailed it, allowing a number of different faces to come across as stars, showcasing the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway well and setting up an interesting main event for the show. Whilst that main event was hardly a blow away contest, it did set the wheels in motion for at least three different feuds, whilst also providing us with a new #1 Contender in the shape of Jeff Hardy. Hardy vs. Galloway next week is a marketable main event that if advertised well should draw a good rating. 

The undercard was varied, including a No DQ bout, a three way women's match with lots of storyline development and a World Tag Team Championship match that whilst not quite hitting the spot gave Beer Money more credibility as a Champions of a fairly weak division. 

 I want to be writing about great matches, not just good or decent matches! I think it's also worth noting that some of the promotions most exciting workers need to start getting more TV time, I'm talking about the likes of Trevor Lee, Andrew Everrett, Mandrews and Tigre Uno...basically the X Division! The show remains a watchable product and has been so for most of the year, however, with no storyline based PPV's it's time for the show to up their game in time of match quality.

TV Review: TNA Impact Wrestling #609 (EC3 vs. Hardy vs. Hardy *TNA World Heavyweight Championship* - GALLOWAY CASHES IN)

On 15th March 2016, TNA aired the 609th edition of Impact Wrestling live from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, USA on POP TV. Matt Hardy defended his TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Ethan Carter III and Jeff Hardy, before Drew Galloway cashed in his Feast or Fired Briefcase to win the title, whilst Jeff Hardy faced Eric Young earlier in the show to earn his place in the main event...but was it any good? Let's find out.

impact wrestling #609 match card

Match 1 - Winner Earns A Spot in the TNA World Heavyweight Championship Main Event - TNA King of the Mountain Champion Eric Young vs. Jeff Hardy

Match 2 - Mixed Tag Team - TNA World Heavyweight Championship Feast or Fired Briefcase Holder Drew Galloway & TNA Knockout's Champion Gail Kim vs. Maria & "The Miracle" Mike Bennett

Match 3 - Six Person Intergender Tag Team - TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money Inc. & Eddie Edwards vs. The Decay

Match 4 - Grado's TNA Contract Ladder - TNA King of the Mountain Feast or Fired Briefcase Holder Eli Drake vs. Grado

Match 5 - TNA World Heavyweight Championship Three Way - Ethan Carter III vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy (C)

Match 6 - TNA World Heavyweight Championship - TNA World Heavyweight Championship Feast or Fired Briefcase Holder Drew Galloway vs. Matt Hardy (C)

jeff hardy defeats eric young to earn a spot in the tna world heavyweight championship main event

After Dixie Carter had interrupted the bout early on to reveal that the winner would advance to the evening's main event, there was an extra level intensity added to Jeff Hardy's return after being written off television due to his inability to travel to the UK for the January tour. There were a number of moments like this throughout the show, where it felt like TNA was attempting to make as much as they could out of the show being live for the first time since their POP TV debut at the start of 2016. The match was a decent opener, with Hardy looking strong on his return, whilst Eric Young put in another belting character based performance as he continues to grow in his crazy wild-man gimmick. Little moments like Young pulling on Hardy's neck with Hardy in a tree of woe position (of course, making reference to the Piledriver through a table that EY gave the Charismatic Enigma a few weeks back) made this an entertaining bout. There were areas that the pair could have explored to have made the match better, like Young focusing even more on Hardy's neck and some selling from Hardy would've been nice also. The finish saw the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion get the better of his rival hitting a Twist of Fate and a Swantom Bomb in a disappointingly basic finishing sequence. Still a watchable opener, with plenty to enjoy.

One of my major problems with TNA programming in 2016 has been how week's worth of booking seem to happen within the confines of a singles programme and we had another case of that here. With Jeff Hardy having gone over Eric Young and advanced to the main event of the show, we got a segment between Hardy and his TNA World Heavyweight Champion brother, Matt. Now, I actually thought this was a pretty strong segment, with some clearly defined characters. Matt and his wife Reby attempting to convince Jeff that he didn't need to be in the main event because they could have a one on one match at "Bound for Glory 2017, maybe even Bound for Glory 2018", whilst also handing their infant child Maxel over to Jeff was a great piece of television, building nicely toward Jeff refusing to go along with their plan. Of course, it closed with Matt attempting to take out Jeff only for the younger brother to come out on top, hitting a twist of fate to lay out the champ. I just wish this segment was happening next week and the match scheduled for the shows main event was the week after that, just to allow the story to breath and truly build the anticipation for it. 

maria and mike bennett defeat drew galloway and gail kim 

I've been getting a lot out of both Gail Kim's feud with Maria and Drew Galloway's rivalry with Mike Bennett, so I was pretty hyped to see the two stories combine in this mixed tag team bout. There was some top notch story telling throughout this one, in a bout that used the gender roles especially well. Maria's avoidance of Gail, including holding onto Galloway's leg to prevent him from tagging in his partner, having the heel be so afraid of the woman she's antagonised for the last few week's made the moment when Gail finally go her hands on her opponent all the more satisfying to see. On that note, the finish was perhaps my favourite moment of the contest, as with Bennett trying to help his wife, he ended up taking an Eat Defeat from Gail, followed by a Claymore Kick from Galloway, before Maria rolled Gail up and stole the victory for her team! There's more to come from both of these feuds and the finished gave Maria even more to talk about over the next few weeks. Gail vs. Maria is a rare case of TNA holding off on a bout, meaning that when it happens it'll mean more than it every could have been capable of without it. Great work from all involved here.

fast-forward...A recap of Lashley vs. Kurt Angle from Impact Wrestling #608 aired, followed by the aftermath that saw Lashley take out Angle, Eddie Edwards and Drew Galloway, before backing away from Ethan Carter III... 

lashley snaps and attacks josh matthews and the pope

Despite him slapping hands with fans on the way down to the ring, this segment was all about cementing Lashley's heel turn from last week's episode. The former WWE United States Champion surprised me here, as he isn't known for being particularly strong on the microphone, but this was a solid performance that, at least in my memory, was one of, if not the best Lashley promos that I have ever seen. Claiming that he'd been over-looked for guys like Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter III, his biggest claim came when he said "I'm the toughest and most dominating wrestler in this entire wrestling business". A great heel line, that clearly references other names *cough* Brock Lesnar *cough* in other promotions and therefore makes it easier to hate the character. He then showed his power by taking out his interviewer, the dweeb master general himself, Josh Matthews and then laid out Matthew's co-commentator "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero as well! A short feud with Dinero would give something for Lashley to do before moving into something with Ethan Carter III, and allow the character change time to settle in with the audience. 

fast-forward...A freaky promo from The Decay revealed that Rosemary would be Abyss and Crazzy Steve's tag partner, as they answered the challenge laid out by Beer Money Inc. and Eddie Edwards from earlier in the show....

the decay defeat beer money and eddie edwards

This was a weird one for me and never quite seemed to connect on the night. SHIMMER star Rosemary being involved in her first match for TNA could have been something that drove the match and made a real statement for the company on their position in-terms of inter-gender matches, taking a popular trope from Lucha Underground. Unfortunately, her involved was minimal, limited to spraying some her mist and Beer Money getting way too excited to hit their Beer Money Suplex on her (which didn't actually happen). James Storm appearing to injure himself on slingshot crossbody onto Abyss on the outside (and loudly saying "Fuck...fuck") was a worry for a tag division that has already suffered a big blow with Eddie Edwards partner in The Wolves, Davey Richards suffering an injury on last week's episode. The Decay managing to pick up a sneaky win was the right decision for the tag division which is need of some powerful heels to combat popular duos Beer Money and The Wolves and their victory was the main positive I took away from a bout that didn't do much for me at all.

fast-forward...Matt Hardy and Reby Sky attempted to get Dixie Carter to cancel the evening's main event, and when TNA's President refused, Hardy threatened to simply get himself disqualified, leading to the match being made no disqualification (erm...like every three way bout then, yeah?)...

grado defeats eli drake in a ladder match to earn a tna contract

In another example of rushed booking, the show featured an impromtu, unannounced ladder match, as Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins, made the bout after reviewing evidence that Eli Drake had swapped his Feast or Fired briefcase with ICW star Grado's, resulting in the later being fired from the company. This match was so so much better than I was expecting it to be, continuing a feud that has given TNA's undercard some much needed energy over the last month and a half. Lots of nice spots throughout, like Grado jumping from the ladder to the top rope before diving to outside onto Drake (as well as Jessie Godderz and Mahabli Shera) and the current PBW Tag Team Champion hitting Drake with an electric chair drop of the ladder, the pair made good use of the gimmick. Lots of drama with Godderz and Shera helping out their respective friends, the contest built nicely to the moment when Grado retrieved the contract after knocking Drake off the top with a Bionic Elbow. With the Scotsman now back on the roster, it will be interesting to see how TNA use him through the rest of the Spring.

matt hardy retains the tna world heavyweight championship after a three way with ethan carter iii and jeff hardy ends in a no contest

If you were a fan of run-ins and overbooking then this was the main event for you! Eric Young and Bram took out Jeff Hardy (after Hardy seemed to have the match won with a Swantom Bomb) with Young furthering their feud by hitting a Piledriver onto the exposed floor at ringside, Tyrus and Rockstar Spud attacked Ethan Carter III, only for EC3 to fight the pair off, before Mike Bennett finally got the job done with a steel chair, before the pair brawled away from the ring. For a match that showed early promise by playing off the various inter-connecting relationships and previous storylines between all three of the men involved in the contest, it was a shame to see things devolve into the madness that came. For me, no one came out of this looking great as TNA attempted to protect everyone. It felt like they'd booked the World Heavyweight Championship match because they had a live edition of Impact Wrestling, but hadn't really thought through what they wanted it to do.

drew galloway cashes in his feast or fired briefcase and defeats matt hardy to become the tna world heavyweight championship

About thirty seconds after I'd questioned why Drew Galloway wasn't involved in the action, his music hit and things got serious. Yes, just as Matt Hardy was about to head to the back with his match ending in chaos, Galloway was out to end the show on a high point. Whilst this moment felt a little bit "We're live for the first time in ages, so we might as well have Galloway cash in his briefcase", it got a cool reaction from Universal Studios and shifted a talented performer into a position he's deserved for sometime. I do feel like Matt Hardy's World Heavyweight Championship reign had, at least, two months worth of legs left. Maybe if Galloway had cashed in at that time then this moment would have been all the more satisfying to watch as a fan. 

finally...

atpw scale rating - 5.5/10

After five week's of episode's from England, TNA's return to the USA managed to keep up the strong form that that run of taping's managed to produce! Whilst, I've still got a problem with the pacing of certain storylines, the show produced memorable moments, like Drew Galloway winning his first TNA World Heayvweight Championship in the closing moments of the show, and was entertaining throughout it's two hour duration. An opening match between Eric Young and Jeff Hardy, a mixed tag match with Galloway, Gail Kim, Mike Bennett and Maria and a Ladder match between Grado and Eli Drake all provided some credible television action, with a lot of variety between the bout. Whilst the main event three way didn't quite hit the spot for me, there was more than enough to enjoy here. 

Heading into new week, we have a new a World Heavyweight Champion, with strong heel challengers being built with Mike Bennett, Lashley and even The Decay looking great on the show, whilst Matt Hardy will obviously receive his championship rematch. Let's hope TNA can make the most of this and continue to build on the foundation that has been built over the first three months of 2016!

TV Review: TNA IMPACT Wrestling #607 (Angle vs. Roode)

*DISCLAIMER - This review contains spoilers for the 607th episode of the Impact Wrestling that will air on 6th March 2016 on Challenge TV in the UK and other international territories. Parts of this review are taken from our Live Event Review of the TV Taping that this show was a part of, which can be found here and here also contains spoilers for Impact Wrestling #608, Xplosion episodes and One Night Only: Joker's Wild*

Broadcast on 1st March 2016 (taped 30th/31st January 2016) the 607th episode of TNA's Impact Wrestling aired from the SSE Arena, Wembley, London and the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, both England. Kurt Angle faced Bobby Roode in the former 4 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion's penultimate match with TNA and Ethan Carter III attempted to gain some revenge on Rockstar Spud in an Unsanctioned Street Fight...but was it any good? Let's find out.  

impact wrestling #607 match card

Match 1 - Singles - Bobby Roode vs. Kurt Angle

Match 2 - No Disqualification - Abyss w/The Decay vs. Jimmy Havoc

Match 3 - TNA King of the Mountain Championship - Big Damo vs. Eric Young (C) w/Bram

Match 4 - Singles - Mike Bennett vs. Drew Galloway

Match 5 - Unsanctioned Street Fight - Ethan Carter III vs. Rockstar Spud

kurt angle defeats bobby roode

For me, this was the best match of the night, as Kurt Angle faced Bobby Roode for the ninth and final time. The two have a clear chemistry in the ring and exchanged holds with ease in the first half of the match. I enjoyed the pacing of things here, especially in the earlier portion of the bout as they kept things slow and allowing Roode to slip into a tweener role as he attempted to put Angle away. In a similar sequence to the one Angle used with Drew Galloway on Impact Wrestling #604, there was some strong submission based wrestling with the duo trading Ankle Locks and Crossfaces. Roode did an especially good job of selling his injured ankle towards the end of the match. Both men got decent near falls off the Angle Slam and Roode Bomb respectively, although I'm not sure how much I bought into them after previous matches on Angle's Farewell Tour. With Angle recording his 4th victory in a row over Roode, the match felt like it finished way too early, as there was potential to grow into a very special match, in front of a London crowd who were hyped. The duo have had better encounters with each other on Impact Wrestling in 2013 and 2014, as well as the 2013 edition of Bound For Glory, but this was still a high quality opener for a TV show, that the rest of the episode struggled to follow. 

The after match festivities were a lot of fun, as James Storm headed down to the ring to celebrate with Angle and commiserate Roode, as Beer Money held a bit of a beer bash for the TNA Hall of Famer. Obviously, with Angle not drinking, there was a wonderful moment when Storm pulled a 4 litre bottle of milk from his bag and the crowd chanted "Chug, Chug, Chug" Utter silliness ensued as Angle spilled more milk down him than he got in mouth! Angle then made sure that we had another quality match scheduled for the next week, as he called out The Wolves and set them up for a match with Beer Money with the TNA World Tag Team Championships on the line! Fun, fun, fun. 

ethan carter iii challenges rockstar spud to a fight

A superb segment here as Rockstar Spud gave his explanation for siding with Matt Hardy in last week's Steel Cage TNA World Heavyweight Championship match and turning on Ethan Carter III. Considering that the majority of the Birmingham crowd wouldn't have seen Spud turn on EC3, I thought all involved did a great job in getting Spud heat. Matt Hardy was out before Spud in another clever piece of booking. Having Spud side with The Iconic One who has proved to be a hated TNA World Heavyweight Champion across the entire UK tour, allowed the former 2 time TNA X Division Champion a great platform on which to portray his new heel character, with the Barclaycard Arena happy to shower their hometown boy with boos and "Who Are Ya?" chants. Spud's promo was glorious as he called back to losing his hair to EC3 a year ago, and how he felt the fans didn't have his back, going as far to call himself a "National Treasure". The segment closed with EC3 heading down to the ring and taking Hardy and Tyrus, with Spud escaping up the entrance ramp, before EC3 cut a fiery promo challenging Spud to a "fight" later tonight. 

abyss defeats jimmy havoc in a no disqualification match

IPW:UK regular Jimmy Havoc made his in-ring TNA debut, against the man most would have booked him against if given the chance, Abyss (accompanied by The Decay). A rematch from SWE Great Expectations in Stevenage last July, this was a fun bout, full of weapons and big highspots, but felt very short for what it needed to be. Havoc took most of the big bumps in the match, crashing through a table at ringside and taking a Black Hole Slam onto a barbed wire board for the finish, as the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion dominated and controlled the pace with ease. This was probably the best the two could do with the time they were given, and just a week worth of build. It's a shame that this storyline was so rushed, and that Havoc is seemingly done with TNA, for now, as there was a lot more potential here than what was eventually realised.

gail kim calls out maria

The Women's segment of the evening, started with TNA Knockout's Gail Kim cutting a promo about being a wrestler. Despite having the upmost respect for Gail as a performer, after seeing her cringe-worthy mixed tag bout teaming with Lashley against Tyrus and Jade at the London TV taping back in January, I found it hard to buy into a lot of what she was saying. However, I did think that Maria's reply was superb. The meat of promo consisted of ripping on Gail and pulling apart pieces of promo, questioning why Gail married a celebrity chef and aired their wedding on TV, if she only wanted to be a wrestler and not a celebrity. Finishing off by name dropping Donald Trump and you had another entertaining promo from one of TNA's best signings in recent memory. There was of the most heat I've heard for a very long time, Maria had the Barclaycard Arena worked up into an absolute frenzy. The segment concluded with Gail chasing Maria up the entrance ramp, only for Jade to attack the Knockout's Champion and challenge her to a match later on in the night. Great stuff. 

eric young defeats big damo to retain the tna king of the mountain championship

After Eric Young (with Bram) had issued a challenge to any Brit in the back to come and face him for the TNA King of the Mountain strap, out came ICW regular Big Damo to make his TNA debut. It seemed like Damo wasn't quite as over as Jimmy Havoc was earlier in the evening, with the crowd reluctant to get behind him, over the villainous, but familiar Young. Having said that, the crowd did warm to him by the end of clash, as once he managed to string a few big moves together, many began to realise that he wasn't your generic big man. Unfortunately, the match didn't produce anything that made me think that Young wouldn't be returning his title, and I was proved right when he hit a truly spectacular piledriver and a near 300lb Irishman. Way too short once again to truly explore what the two could've done together, but it does however continue to rise the prestige of the King of the Mountain Championship and solidify Young as one of the top heels in the company.

mike bennett defeats drew galloway via submission

After defeating Mandrews, Robbie E and Pepper Parks since his TNA debut in January, this was almost certainly the biggest win of Mike Bennett's TNA career. Made even more special by the fact that Galloway had defeated Kurt Angle on Impact Wrestling #604. The two wrestled a reasonable contest, working well for their first match with each other. Galloway bought a real fire to the contest, going straight after Bennett from the first bell, this made it much easier to buy into the idea of his hate for his opponent. The partnership of Bennett and Maria was spotlighted again as The First Lady of Wrestling helped her husband to stay in the match, putting his foot on the ropes when The Voice of the People had locked on his new Iron Maiden submission hold. There's more to come in this rivalry that is steadily heating up, with both guys having potential to put on a great match in the future, if they get the mix just right.

fast-forward...A recap of Kurt Angle and Lashley's TNA World Heavyweight Championship match from IMPACT Wrestling #557 (aired March 2015)...

ethan carter III "defeats" rockstar spud in an unsantioned street fight

This was a bit of a weird one and didn't quite hit the mark for me. Firstly, I couldn't get my head around their not being a referee for the bout...well, I understand the concept, but don't think it really paid off here. EC3 battered Rockstar Spud for 8 minutes or so, with Spud getting in minimal offence throughout (Mainly underhanded stuff like eyes rakes and low blows). There was some cool spots here, like Spud getting powerbombed through a table, but nothing that managed to trump anything that happened in the recent tag team Monster's Ball from IMPACT Wrestling #605 or Jimmy Havoc vs. Abyss that aired earlier in the night. For a feud that has so much depth I was a little disappointed with what was presented here and even more so with how rushed this was, with Spud only turning on EC3 last week, after the pair had reconciled just a few weeks prior. The finish of the match that saw EC3 have to be pulled off Spud after locking in a Chicken Wing submission, was another strange piece of booking, with the crowd having no idea how to react to their new hero refusing to let go off a hold on someone they hadn't actually seen turn heel.

finally...

atpw scale rating - 5.66/10

After last week's IMPACT Wrestling managed to score the highest mark of 2016 so far, this week's edition has managed to top it. Two fine promo segments were the highlight of the show for me, with Rockstar Spud and Maria both shining in their respective segments. Kurt Angle and Bobby Roode also put forward a quality TV, Jimmy Havoc and Abyss did the best they could in an entertaining No Disqualification match and Mike Bennett got a big victory over Drew Galloway in a match that showed signs of real potential in the pair's current rivalry.

That being said, there was still the case of some of the content needing a little bit more time to breath and tell a more satisfying story. This couldn't have been seen clearer in one of the marquee bouts between Rockstar Spud and Ethan Carter III. Rushed from last week's heel turn from Spud, it felt like with a few extra week's to tell their particular story then this would have been a much more satisfying close to the show. 

Next week has a lot of promise, as the final show from the UK tour will see Kurt Angle wrestle his final TNA match, opposite Lashley, as well as Beer Money challenging The Wolves for the TNA World Tag Team Championship! See you next week.