Maybe it was the different atmosphere. Maybe it was that the matches were better. TNA Impact this week was probably the best it’s been in a long time. All the action delivered; there wasn’t a terrible match. The little storyline that was developed was needed to advance storylines and by the end of the night, TNA sent their UK fans at Wembley Stadium home happy.
Aside from the fact that TNA dropped the ball having James Storm wrestle Robert Roode at the midway point of the show, rather than for the main event, this episode of TNA was unusually solid.
One of the major storyline developments this week was the exposing of Garrett Bischoff’s trainer. Anyone that follows the company closely knew it had to be Hulk Hogan, who after months of not being on Impact, made a face turn. While this stinks of the unusually bad ideas that TNA creative comes up with, it could be fun to see Bischoff and Hogan deal with one another.
This development wasn’t enough to sour a great show and although it proves that TNA isn’t yet learning from their mistakes, if they can keep up this type of ring product, their creative problems might not matter as much.
Matches:
Buckingham Brawl [Non-Title Match]: Samoa Joe and Magnus vs. TNA Tag Team Champions Matt Morgan and Crimson: The concept was interesting as Joe and Magnus won a coin toss and were able to both simultaneously stay in the ring, while the champs had to abide by standard tag team rules. Early on, Joe and Magnus took it to Crimson with some good double team moves. Once Morgan was tagged in, he changed the tide, hitting both his Sideslam and Fallaway slaw on Magnus. Crimson then isolated Joe on the outside, which left a weakened Magnus alone with the surging Morgan. Joe was able to quickly take care of Crimson though and set up Magnus for his elbow drop finisher for the win.
Mark Haskins vs. TNA X-Division Champion Austin Aries: The X-Division champion was on his game tonight. Super smooth and extra crisp. He made Haskins look good and evoked the memory of Randy Savage with a double axe handle off the top rope on the outside. The youngster didn’t need much help looking solid though. He looked much better than he did last year at Destination X. He was vocal, energetic and acrobatic. He almost got the win on Aries with a nice jumping diamond cutter. He went a bit overboard though when he missed a shooting star press [he hit his head on Aries on the way down, possibly injuring himself], which left the door wide open for a vicious Aries Brainbuster, which he beautifully connected into a bridging Indian deathlock for the submission victory.
James Storm vs. TNA World Heavyweight Champion Robert Roode [Non-Title]: A solid match with several changes in momentum. These two work well together and gave each other plenty of room to get their stuff in. While it was an old-school punch and kick match, it was entertaining and once the two started performing moves from their repertoires, there was plenty of anticipation. Storm even did the unexpected, pulling off a top-rope hurricanrana. It wasn’t beautiful, but if went to prove that these guys were pushing themselves in the ring. Roode had some tricks up his sleeve as well. When he latched on the crossface, the fans probably where louder than they’ve ever been in the U.S. When Storm kicked out of his Fishman buster, the match became one of the best on Impact this year. Although Bully Ray’s interference was typical of a TNA match that could have meant anything, it was still a great one. Because of Ray’s interference, Roode was able to get the pin after he hit Storm with a spear. After the match, Ray hit his Urinage Suplex on Storm with the TNA title underneath him.
TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim w/ Madison Rayne vs. Tara [Non-Title]: A physical and entertaining match between two talented knockouts. Rayne was a factor every opportunity she had, but Kim was also dominant. Her use of a seated Muffler Stretch and the Regal Cutter were the highlights of the match. Tara resiliency was strong though, as he made the face comeback. After a nice snap suplex, Tara hit a backbody drop and a powerslam before she took Rayne out of the equation. A Widow’s Peak later and she got the win over the Knockouts champ.
Bully Ray vs. James Storm: Ray dominated an “injured†Storm throughout. But regardless of what Ray gave Storm, the cowboy was able to kick out. Ray got greedy though and after he missed a second rope senton, Storm made a comeback. Nailing Ray with clothelines, Storm then hit the high cross body and all of a sudden, the match really got started. But after the referee ran into Ray, things could have gotten hairy. Unlike the last match, Sting was ringside and armed with a cricket bat. He made sure Roode didn’t interfere. With an opportunity after Sting took Roode out of the match, Storm hit Ray with the Last Call Super Kick for the win.
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