Impact Wrestling started with a bang this week when Sting, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries and Kurt Angle called out the Aces & Eights.
Looking for answers, former champion accused James Storm of being the leader of the group and got a beat down for his thoughts. With Mike Knox, Wes Brisco and Luke Gallows already confirmed by the dirt sheets, this group needs a vocal leader- could that be Storm? While he’s not that solid on the mic, he is a face and his heel turn could be intriguing.
The debut of Chavo Guerrero was interesting- in the worst way possible. After a lackluster promo that was more about cheap pops than setting an example, Guerrero didn’t add anything special to the show. The impending angle between Kid Kash, Gunner, Hernandez and Guerrero isn’t enticing either.
The continuing angle with Joey Ryan was one of the best segments of the show. Charismatic and hilarious, Ryan continues to get under the skin of Al Snow. When will these two finally go?
Overall, this was a decent episode of Impact, that aside from way too many commercials late in the program, continue the trend of better shows from the up and coming company.
Matches:
Gail Kim and Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James and Tara: An acrobatic match with plenty of technical prowess. Tara and James were the stronger team, but Rayne and Kim were on their game too. With Earl Hebner as referee, he made a controversial call and gave Rayne the win after she and James both had their shoulders down following a double backslide. At first it appeared to be a botched finish, but it’s obviously more. Could this be an kayfabe accident on Hebner’s behalf, or a part of the angle between the two?
Gut Check: Sam Shaw vs. Doug Williams: Great to see the savvy vet Williams back in the ring. He sold for the young Shaw early on, who was a bit eager. Shaw featured a moveset comparable to The Miz and a young Randy Orton, using a modified backbreaker/neckbreaker combo. Shaw was doing well until he was distracted by former Gut Check contestant Joey Ryan, who sucker-punched Al Snow outside the ring. Williams won the contest with his Chaos Theory German Suplex.
Later on, Shaw was awarded a TNA contract.
Bound for Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. Cowboy James Storm: A good match, but not a match of the year candidate. These two worked hard and traded offense, but it wasn’t too passionate. Storm nearly won with his Eye of the Storm maneuver, but Styles battled back. Once the near-falls worked their way into the contest, the pace picked up nice. Storm nearly won again with an Alabama Slam and a Code Breaker, but Styles would not stay down. After Styles hit the Pele, it appeared he had the match won, but The Aces and Eights took him out of the match, ending the bout in a no-contest.
TNA X-Division Champion Zema Ion vs. Kenny King: Ion was the aggressor after King started the match strong. Nice amount of chops, big kicks and spots. King kicked out of Ion’s Belly to back Facebuster and went on a flurry of his own. Then, out of nowhere, interference from Booby Roode and then an Ion Moonsault helped the champion retain his title.
Bound for Glory Series: Bully Ray vs. Kurt Angle: A damn good main event and a tough contest that saw Ray nail a piledriver on Angle and change the momentum of the match. But he couldn’t put Angle away. Not even a BullyBomb could do the trick. After a hat trick of German suplexes, Angle latched on the Ankle Lock, but Ray countered. Again, Ray hit a massive move with the Urinage, but Angle kicked out. The Olympic hero managed to hit the Angle Slam on Ray, but he kicked out too. Ray nearly kicked off Angle’s head with the Yakuza kick, and again, Angle kicked out. Soon enough another Angle Slam finished Ray off.
After the match the Aces & Eight’s came out and decimated Angle, before Sting, Aries and Styles broke it up. With the faces struggling against the massive gang, Storm came to help, but the good guys still had questions for The Cowboy.
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