The Final Impact
November 8, 2013
By: Josh Boutwell of Wrestleview.com
Impact just seems to be its own worst enemy right now. They are jam packing so much or trying to that nothing really gets to sit in and things like the Main Event happen. First off, it was a fun match so let me say that right away. Ladder Matches (or TLC/Full Metal Mayhem) are usually spot fests and that’s perfectly fine but they were rushing through some of the spots and it was obvious they were pressing for time throughout the entire match. None of the big spots until the finish really had a chance to sit in because they were having to rush things. That’s just bad planning.
The opening segment was okay and it put a nice little bow on the Main Event Mafia and allowed those guys to move on to other things but went WAY too long. There was no need for it to be that long but the Roode/Angle was a good enough pay off. I really am loving this feud and it’s brought some much needed “hate” to a feud as Jim Cornette would say, “bring the hate.”
The Knockouts Match was okay but I’m more intrigued by Gail’s promo. This could lead to something interesting, especially with how stale the division has been of late. Open challenges with Awesome Kong were exactly how we were introduced to stars like Taylor Wilde and Sojo Bolt. There have been rumors about Santana Garrett and a few other female wrestlers having TNA tryouts so here’s to hoping to some new stars. That could always lead to a Mickie James return as well.
Aces and Eights has certainly run its course but I have to admit the swerve tonight was actually pretty nice. It would have been a little much to do two group breakups on one show and honestly this should have been held off for next week even with the swerve, but the swerve was good however.
Angel and Roode’s brawls were fun if just for the sheer intensity they both brought and I seriously don’t think either will make it to the Finals. I think those two may even cost each other their first round matches and continue on feuding.
I loved the AJ Styles vignette with highlights from his match in AAA and the “brought to you by friends of AJ” aspect with it being a commercial ad taken out was a nice touch.
These EC3 squashes have worn out their welcome. It’s time to move him to something else so we can see if the dude can actually work.
The tag match was okay but felt like nothing but filler and as far as Pacman Jones’ appearance goes I found it beyond hilarious how butt hurt some fans got on Twitter. A heel trolled the fans with a Youtube video and so many fans on the internet took the bait and got upset over it being Pacman Jones rather than Ken Shamrock or Jeff Jarrett or any of the other more ridiculous names I saw being tossed around. It was never promoted on TV and was never really pushed other than a tweet and the Youtube video but people got beyond pissed.
Overall there was some good things tonight and the landscape of what we’re going to see in the coming months is starting to come together but they are just packing so much into one show each week that it’s too much to take in. If I’m saying that just how do you think the casual viewer sees it?
– Promo/Segment of the Night: Angle/Roode
– Match of the Night: Full Metal Mayhem (***)
– Overall Grade: B
Until next week… PEACE!
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