My Impact Wrestling, 24th January 2013 Recap

Jeff applies an impressive suplex to Daniels in the red hot main event. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com 

Taz, accompanied by many other Aces & 8s members, explained that he'd joined the group because he wanted to be a part of their vision from a "higher power." He also added that his contract made him "bullet proof," no one could put a finger on him without him suing the company for everything they're worth. He finally said that Aces were meant to rule over everyone, and that's exactly what they'll do. It wasn't a very good promo, and didn't clear anything up.

Tara (c) bested Velvet Sky to retain the Knockouts Title in a largely average contest. Compared to recent outings involving James, Kim and Tara, this wasn't up to par for me. Tara looked okay and put in a passable display, but Sky as usual was quite unremarkable. Tara grabbed the win with the help of her boyfriend Jesse who held down her legs as she covered Sky for the one-two-three.

Joseph Parks came out and admitted that he's never been the most athletic guy, but claimed that he felt his place was now in the Impact Zone as a pro wrestler and not in a court room. He went on to also announce that he will be on Impact next week from Manchester, England, and that he will be participating in his first ever Open Fight Night. I still enjoy the Parks persona, he's highly likeable and stands out from most. 

Zema Ion and Kenny King defeated Christian York and Rob Van Dam in a stellar tag bout. All four men gave fine efforts here, making the most of their time in the ring with exciting maneuvers, as it should always be with the X Division. A fun watch. Ion grabbed the cheeky winning pinfall for himself after King applied a flying blockbuster to York, Kenny was not best pleased with that. Hopefully this will lead into a Fatal Four Way for the X strap, could be very good. 

An understandably upset Bully Ray, accompanied by partner Brooke, came out and stated that he never expected Taz'z actions from the previous week and demanded to know where the "scumbag" was. Unfortunately for him Taz had previously stepped out to take a phone call after the last match had ended. Bully went on to warn Aces & 8s that what he'll do to them he can't even say on national television. Sting them joined them and told Hogan (who wasn't in attendance) that on next week's show he believes he will come out and reinstate Bully so he can help exact his revenge on Aces. It was an okay segment, moved things along and Ray did well enough.

Bobby Roode pinned Hernandez in a fair outing. There were enjoyable moments to be had here, but it was never anything particularly outstanding or exceptional. Certainly watchable, and better than I'd anticipated. At one point Aries ran down to help out Roode as 'Super Mex' was about to come flying at him on the outside, which caused Chavo Guerrero to tangle with AA, this led to Roode catching his opponent out and applying a fisherman suplex for the win.

Kurt Angle announced that he was sick and tired of Aces & 8s attacking everyone, and informed Mr. Anderson before calling him out that he will face him next week on Open Fight Night. Anderson managed to get in a few punches on Angle after telling him that he wanted to instead fight there and then, but Angle managed to make a comeback and chased off his foe, informing him that their match next week will be a steel cage one. Last time these two had a cage match it was superb, so hopefully it'll live up to that. But it is a bit odd that they're having one with Lockdown coming up, so I'm maybe thinking Aces will play a big part.

Jeff Hardy (c) defeated Christopher Daniels to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a thrilling and thoroughly enjoyable title clash. With these two on-form talents it's hardly a surprise how good the match was, with great back and fourth solid wrestling and nice near falls. Hardy grabbed the win after managing to kick Kazarian (who'd naturally interfered at ringside) through the ropes and applying a Swanton to Daniels. 

Afterwards Taz then distracted the champ by asking him what he'll do when everything around him is destroyed, this cued a masked Aces & 8s member to run out and crack Hardy's leg with a hammer from behind before legging it. Not quite sure what the point of this was, what Aces member could Hardy take on for the World Title that would be a realistic threat to it? I think they should've waited to involve Hardy with the gang when a new member had joined such as AJ Styles perhaps.

Overall it was a good show. Most match ups, bar the Knockouts one, ranged from enjoyable to terrific, especially the great main event. Taz as a heel commentator was fairly bizarre as he would sometimes switch back to being a face for a moment before switching back again, he's normally poor as it is but now he's even worse in my opinion, and he gave no real reason for joining Aces & 8s. On the positive side of the show again they did a nice job of setting things up for next week's Impact, giving fans a reason to check it out. A definite step up from last week. 

My TNA Genesis 2013 Recap

Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez (c) defeated Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan to retain the TNA Tag Team Championship in a fair opener to the show. It was never anything that special but I can't fault the efforts of all four men, they delivered a decent enough tag bout. Certainly watchable anyway.

Mr. Anderson bested Samoa Joe in a largely drab outing. The last third of the match upped the interest a bit with more technical action from Joe, but for the most part it was pretty pedestrian. Anderson grabbed the win with a Mic Check after Mike Knox distracted Joe from ringside.

Christian York beat Kenny King in an enjoyable contest. Both men went back and fourth with some nicely executed and exciting moves, working well together. And although unfortunately while it was York's best performance I've seen to date he still looked a little sloppy here and there. York grabbed the one-two-three with a quick roll up pin, so an upset King decided to pay him back by applying his Royal Flush finisher.

As per the stipulation York then qualified for an X Division Title match straight after against Rob Van Dam, who inappropriately then came swaggering down and showed absolutely no concern for his fallen opponent. If you didn't know TNA any better you'd have presumed he was a heel with the way he acted. He then did admittedly show some worry for York and said that he didn't have to go through with the bout, but the number one contender wanted to go ahead with it.

Rob Van Dam (c) defeated Christian York to retain the X Division Title in a passable match up. Logically Van Dam had the majority of offense against the still-hurt York, who did manage to get in a couple of nice near falls though. Unfortunately a lack of intensity and some some sloppy moments marred the championship clash. Rightfully RVD applauded the efforts of York afterwards.

Devon beat Joseph Parks in an average encounter. It just failed to deliver any excitement or ever really engage me throughout. Parks, portraying a man who just passed wrestling school, was understandably acting amateur, which made sense but also hindered the quality of the match. As part of his act he also transformed into Abyss after seeing his own blood when he was thrown into an exposed corner post, temporarily throwing his foe around. Devon also looked okay but nothing special, afterwards he cracked Parks with a clothesline from behind.

Gail Kim first eliminated Brooke Tessmacher, then ODB and Mickie James, but was finally pinned by Velvet Sky after she applied an In Yo' Face to win the Knockouts Gauntlet to to become number one contender to the Knockouts Championship. It was a controversial win however as Kim's foot was under the rope as the winning pin was counted, I imagine this will set up a Triple Threat for the Knockouts strap.

The majority of the gauntlet was fair viewing, and to be honest much more engaging than anything you'll get from the female talent in WWE right now. The highlight was the period between James and Kim, the most talented Knockouts in my opinion.

Christopher Daniels bested James Storm in a solid bout. It's hardly a suprise that two of the companies best all-round talents pulled out an fun watch, with stellar wrestling from the opening bell. That should really be enough to convince you to check it out. Daniels gained the win (and a World Title match on a later episode of Impact) after Kazarian distracted Storm.

Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan came out and once again announced their wedding that will take place live on Impact Wrestling this Thursday. Bully then also recorded a live video to tweet out of the crowd who the couple had invited to the wedding. That was it, they could've just recapped the proposal from last week's Impact to be honest and saved time.

Before the match even begun, a few Aces & 8s goons beat down Sting before Doc dragged him into the ring for the opening bell.

Sting beat Doc in a brief and unmemorable match up. Nothing about it was outstanding as Sting gave a pretty pedestrian display and Doc was his usual drab-self in the ring. You wouldn't miss much by skipping this one. After the bell rung more Aces members were about to pounce on 'The Stinger' until Bully Ray ran out with his chain in hand and chased them off.

Jeff Hardy (c) defeated Bobby Roode and Austin Aries in an Elimination Triple Threat to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. And what a superb main event this was. Now I was expecting a solid contest here, but it exceeded that as all three men worked very hard to provide a red hot match up, and succeeded. As promised beforehand Aries and Roode attempted to beat down Hardy and eliminate him first, but the resilient champion resisted the dramatic pinfall attempts, eventually rolling to the outside to leave the other two to face each other.

After some nice exchanges Hardy and Aries then managed to score a double pinfall on Roode to send him packing. Shortly after Hardy then applied an insane-looking Twist of Fate on AA through the middle rope, followed by a Swanton for the winning pin. Terrific high note to end the event on, as should always be the case.

Overall Genesis was a bumpy pay-per-view, with the majority of matches being quite forgettable and humdrum, but King versus York, Daniels versus Storm and the main event providing above average and in the case of the Triple Threat, brilliant entertainment. I'm sure Lockdown in March will provide a much more consistent show. Hopefully.

My Impact Wrestling, 22nd November 2012 Recap

AJ applies the always impressive Pelé Kick for the win. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com

Wes Brisco defeated Garett Bischoff in a Gut Check Challenge match up. The bout itself was mediocre for the most part really, and quite drab. Both men looked okay in the ring, but nothing inspiring. But despite all of the negatives the crowd at least seemed to be into it, mainly based on the surname value of Wes I'd guess. After Wes grabbed the win an elated Kurt Angle ran into the ring to celebrate with him.

Joey Ryan challenged one half of the tag team champions Chavo Guerrero to a match as part of Open Fight Night. He explained that it was to earn himself and Matt Morgan a shot at the tag straps, so Hogan couldn't split them up. 

Chavo Guerrero won via disqualification versus Joey Ryan in a largely pedestrian contest. Again it was a match that just wasn't that engaging. Chavo put in a decent enough display but Ryan is still looking pretty average for the most part, not bad, just average. 

Former Gut Check winner Sam Shaw (who I honestly can't even remember, which is not a good sign for any wrestler) challenged the first ever GC winner Alex Silva, who showed a bit more attitude and character as he came down to the ring.   

Sam Shaw bested Alex Silva in a bout that didn't pick up until the final couple of minutes. Like I mentioned, Silva showed more character here during the contest as he beat on Shaw, but the action wasn't anything special. And on the flip side while Sam didn't show much charisma, he did look good as he made a comeback and planted a top rope leg drop to Silva for the one-two-three.

In a popular decision Christian York called out a man he admired, Jeff Hardy to a match up.

Jeff Hardy defeated Christian York in an enjoyable encounter. I have to be honest, I didn't really get what the fuss was about with York back in his Gut Check match, but here he looked decent and was able to look genuinely competitive against Hardy, so I give him credit. In a smart booking move York controlled most of the contest, with the World Champion obviously gaining the win after making a late comeback. Paul Heyman once said that a successful match will push both wrestlers involved, and that's what happened here.

Afterwards the number on contender to Hardy's title Bobby Roode snuck out and spinebustered York and speared Hardy to send a message to his future opponent.

Tara beat Taeler Hendrix in a mostly sub par bout after Hendrix challenged the Knockouts Title holder. Unfortunately while Taeler has the likable personality she's still unpolished in the ring and has work to do, but the potential is certainly there for her. The action here was just average and never went beyond that.

Eric Young pinned Jesse in a Triple Threat involving Robbie E also. The comedy match was okay for what it was, and I never expected much from it anyway. As per the stipulation a grumpy Jesse had to wear the annual turkey costume as part of the Thanksgiving theme. Afterwards however the amusement stopped as Aces & 8s took out Eric Young as a handcuffed ODB was forced to look on. Hopefully this will mean the return of a more serious EY, I always preferred him like that.

The always entertaining duo of Christopher Daniels and Kazarian explained that Daniels had challenged AJ Styles to a match at Final Resolution so he could be there for a 'friend'. Kaz then went on to challenge Styles to a match that night. 

AJ Styles defeated Kazarian in the match of the night. It's hardly surprising considering the talent that this was a solid outing from the get go, although I've seen more exciting bouts involving these two. Nevertheless it was a fun enough watch.

Austin Aries claimed that the management in the back and certain influences in TNA had been holding him back and stacking the deck against him. And for this he blamed Hogan, more specifically, Brooke Hogan, who he then called out as part of Open Fight Night. Aries went on to expose a supposed secret relationship between her and Bully Ray, and amusingly added that she didn't "have to settle for a turkey" when he had "all the stuffing you need." This prompted an angry Hogan and Bully Ray to come out to Brooke's defence, and then give each other puzzled looks to end the show.     

Overall it was a pretty mediocre Impact, and one of the poorest for a long while. Most matches were average at best, with the exception of Styles versus Kazarian and Hardy versus York, and no storylines made much significant progress either. At least the always on form Aries and Daniels managed to provide entertaining promos.