The TNA debut of Drew MacIntyre and the return of Mickie James as well as a 20-man Gauntlet match for a shot at Bobby Lashley’s TNA World Heavyweight Championship were the big talking points for this past week’s Impact.
It just wasn’t enough.
While it wasn’t a terrible episode, it was one that dragged and did little to build intrigue for next week’s show. With a lack of PPVs and events to build towards, TNA has a tough job of having to do more than hit singles every week.
Simply put, they have to provide must-see TV. While the Battle Royal was good TV, the rest of the show was just too drawn-out, with not even shock and awe to keep you in your seat.
If you love wrestling and came across Impact for the first time this past week, you’d have little reason to come back again. If TNA wants to take their product to the next level, they’ll have to cut as much of the filler as they can and lead more with their strengths.
Give 10 mins to Al Snow and Grado and 10 more to Tommy Dreamer would be a good place to start cutting.
Matches:
Matt Hardy, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards vs. TNA Tag Team Champions Abyss and James Storm and Manik w/Khoya and The Great Sanada: A fun encounter with plenty of spots. Following the Twist of Fate/Double Stomp combo from Hardy and Edwards, Richards hit a Stomp of his own for the win. After the match however, Khoya hit the Sky High on Edwards and Storm finished off Hardy with the last call. Ironically, Manik, who was defeated in the match, got hit with the Blackhole Slam by Abyss.
Al Snow vs. Grado: This was a disaster. Snow is still in amazing shape and even if the fans didn’t care, it’s great to see him in the ring again. Wasting valuable time, Grado kicked out of Snow’s Snowplow. Later, Grado kicked out of Snow’s Moonsault as well. The second time Snow went for the move, he missed and then hit the Roll and Slice and the Flip, Flop and Fly., before hitting the Big Boot for the win. After the match, Samoa Joe, Low-Ki and Kenny King beat on both competitors until Drew Galloway hit the ring and made the save with the pipe.
Angelina Love w/Zema Ion, Robbie E and Jessie Godderz vs. TNA Knockouts Champion Taryn Terrell: Love hit the Botox Injection, but Terrell kicked out and a segment later got the win with the Cutter. After the match, Awesome Kong hit the ring and beat on Terrell, who refused to backdown. After Kong hit the Implant Buster, Gail Kim got involved.
Tommy Dreamer vs. Eric Young: An old-school hardcore match that saw Dreamer get bloodied. Following the low blow, Young got the win with the Piledriver.
20-Man Gauntlet for Shot at TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Lots of garbage in this Gauntlet as the entries of Crazy Steve, Khoya and Chris Melendez had little place in a Gauntlet match for a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight title. After all the eliminations, the entire BDC was left with Kurt Angle. However, Angle was vigilant and slowly eliminated the faction, starting with Low Ki and Samoa Joe, before he sent Kenny King out of the ring, leaving MVP alone with him. The two traded blows, but MVp ultimately got rid of Angle to earn the shot at Lashley.
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