The Final Impact
May 15, 2015
By: Josh Boutwell of Wrestleview.com
Another exciting episode of Impact is in the books and it was really headlined by a massive 10-Man Hardcore War and the beginning of what should an excellent Best of 5 Series. What I liked just as much as those matches was the storyline progression for more undercard feuds and angles. TNA seems to be paying a lot more attention to the undercard as of late, though the X-Division needs a hell of a lot more attention. We had Dirty Heels-Wolves, Dollhouse-Gail, EY-Angle, Rising-BDC, Anderson-EC3, and Robbie-Jessie all touched upon in some capacity.
It was cool hearing Mike Tenay on commentary again even if it was just for this week, but I actually liked Tenay with Matthews. Tenay always does better when someone else can be the lead man and he can just call the action in the ring.
The opening segment setting up Hardcore War was kind of cookie cutter but served its purpose. One thing that bothered me about all this was the sudden involvement of Chris Melendez. I know that his story is great and TNA should be commended for giving the guy a shot, and I want to root for him but it just seems like nothing more than positive publicity. He is still green as hell in and out of the ring and with his handicap it is always going to limit him. All I could think of is guys that I would have rather seen in his spot in that match. Just imagine how much better it would have been had Bully Ray (who it looks like isnt going to be signing long term with TNA, at least for now) been in that spot. I digress.
The Dollhouse-Rebel/Brooke match was just there to show Dollhouse as a dominant unit and they looked good. I’m still not sold on Marti in the ring just yet though she is gorgeous, but Jade is excellent. Rebel and Brooke may have the best combination of booties in wrestling too. All of the stuff that Terrell did with Gail was fantastic in my opinion, they are finally adding some depth and some passion into feuds in the Knockouts division. There really hasn’t been any of that since the Mickie-Tara feud for the most part. Terrell got person and it makes that feud which we have seen before, and was good before but now has a different dynamic, stand out more and make me look forward to it more.
I am so sick of EC3-Anderson that it isn’t even funny. EC3 is on it right now and his promo was terrific tonight but God this feud is boring, and that match with Tyrus had to be the most predictable finish I’ve seen in a long time. It boggles my mind how both TNA and WWE could have missed the boat so badly on Tyrus. This dude is a MONSTSER but both companies have done nothing but treat him like a glorified jobber and it’s a damn shame. This feud is obviously just fodder for EC3 before he moves onto Angle again.
The Wolves-Dirty Heels was a great start to the Best of 5 Series which hopefully ends with those two teams putting on some fireworks. Aries and Roode were great as a team before and I think they barely scratched the surface, so it is going to be a fun ride seeing where they can take things along with The Wolves. Eddie seemed to be in good health which was nice to see while Dirty Heels were on point. The finish was kind of quick but was a good way to finish off the first match. They want to build towards an exciting climax which I am expecting to take place at Slammiversary.
The Main Event was entertaining as hell and everybody worked hard to make an exciting match happen. Honestly, though, I think the “hardcore” theme was unnecessary as hell and that match would have been just as good if not better had it just been a straight up 10-Man Tag Team Match. I expected to see some dives in the match but I expected them to come from the likes of Low-Ki, King, or Micah only for Drew Galloway and Angle to shock us all. You almost forgot how damn athletic Galloway is because of how big he is until he breaks out something like a somersault plancha like he did tonight. The finish was perfect to continue the drama between Angle and EY and EY comes off looking the psycho asshole that he should by choking an “Olympic Hero” with an “America heroes” leg.
– Segment/Promo of the Night: Dollhouse/Gail
– Match of the Night: Dirty Heels-Wolves/Hardcore War (***)
– Overall Grade: B+
Until next week… PEACE!
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