Styles looking more serious then ever. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com
Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff defeated Kurt Angle in a decent Handicap match. There were drab periods when Wes and Garett were in control, but once Kurt got going the action stepped up in quality and excitement. Kurt was pinned after Garett managed to crack him on the back with a chain handed to him by D'Lo Brown while the referee was distracted by Anderson at ringside.
Afterwards Wes and Garett double powerbombed Angle, with Anderson then speaking about how the company was deteriorating while Aces & 8s were on the rise, then wished AJ Styles luck for his match later on.
Kenny King (c) bested Petey Williams and Zema Ion to retain the X Division Title in an entertaining Triple Threat contest. All three men looked stellar here, especially Williams who upped the overall standard of the bout with a great display.
Backstage Brooke Hogan spoke down to Mickie James and Brooke Tessmacher by claiming that she saw something "special" in them and that was why she'd booked them in a number one contenders match for the Knockouts Championship. I mean, what has Brooke ever done in professional wrestling to give her the right to talk to female performers like that? How condescending, especially for someone of Mickie's talent and experience.
Before the Television Title match could begin, Aces & 8s members attacked Magnus, eventually double chokeslamming him onto the ramp. Devon was about to orchestrate more damage until Samoa Joe ran out to his ex-tag partner's aid.
Mickie James pinned Brooke Tessmacher in a good effort to earn a Knockouts Title shot in the near future. As usual James was on solid form, and Brooke also worked well here. My only slight gripe was the amount of disagreements each competitor had with the ref ODB, they're all faces so why would they need to add this to the bout?
Backstage Devon and Bully Ray attacked Joseph Parks with a chain after he once again brought up a rightful divorce between Brooke and Bully. In the end they left him in the shower with water pouring down on him, teasing him to cry. It was as if they were in school, not hardened gang members.
Bad influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) came out and bragged about their new tees, being close to convincing AJ Styles to join the team and a fictional film based on them (amusingly claiming that Morgan Freeman was going to portray Dixie Carter) almost entering production.
As they were also announcing their claim to a tag team title shot Austin Aries and Bobby Roode then interrupted them and announced that they were next in line for a title shot. After some hilarious back and fourth mocking (it really is worth a watch) the actual tag champs Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez walked in and attacked Roode and Aries, sending both teams packing.
Devon (c) beat Samoa Joe to retain the TNA Television Title in a short and pretty unremarkable title clash. The wrestling was competent enough but it lacked any real excitement. Devon grabbed the winning pinfall after Anderson snuck in (Earl Hebner was distracted by Wes Brisco at ringside) and struck Joe with a chain.
AJ Styles defeated James Storm in a solid main event. Both performers gave worthy efforts and as standard for them provided a match worth checking out, with smooth back and fourth wrestling. Styles grabbed the submission win with a leg lock after Storm had picked up a knock earlier in the bout, it was a nice logical finish.
Afterwards Bad Influence celebrated with Styles, only for him to then take out the tag team and walk away as Aces & 8s attacked the duo and Storm. Bully Ray then took to the mic and stated that he'd taken out all of TNA's heroes because of Hulk Hogan, and demanded that he face him in the ring next week. He really is the last remaining endearing thing about Aces & 8s.
Overall it was a solid show for the majority, with most matches being above average for televised bouts with stellar action. My highlights were James versus Tessmacher, the Bad Influence segment with Aries and Roode, the X Division Triple Threat and the main event. Other than that it was still a fair Impact, with only the Brooke Hogan and dull Aces & 8s segments letting it down.
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