Impact Wrestling Review
July 28, 2016
By: Nick Bryant of Wrestleview.com
I really have to give TNA credit, they are trying to do something different right now by each week giving every type of fan something to enjoy. They are doing the new more edgy cinematic style of promos and vignettes with Rosemary and Bram as well as the Infomercial deal with Tyrus while also doing old school promos like you would expect too. As far as the in ring stuff you have the high flying X-Division stuff, the hardcore stuff with the Tag Titles, women’s wrestling, traditional Main Event style heavyweight action and even an old school jobber squash match. They are exposing us to the young guys like Bennett and Moose and Zema while also highlighting established stars like Lashley and the Hardyz. Not all of it clicks with me and I think doing all of that stuff in one show is just too much for me to digest and I think by trying to appeal to everyone might actually end up alienating other fans, or maybe it will draw in more casuals at some point.
The opening segment between Matt and EC3 was very entertaining and their match was good as they usually work well together.
Gail and Madison had an okay match but give those two 10 minutes and they will put on a hell of a match. With five minutes there was just so much they could do but what they did do looked really good and really snug from both ladies.
I loved the old school style promo backstage with Bennett talking behind Moose just to show how huge he is before stepping out in front to finish it. The promo with Lashley was nice too and they are really teasing the eventual showdown between Moose and Lashley too.
The match with Zema and Lashley was really great and they were able to do some unique spots with the ladder using Lashley’s insane strength. Lashley looked incredible while also letting Zema get in some really good spots too. Zema was also effective on the microphone too. I think eventually whoever takes the X-Division Title from Lashley is going to be made to look incredible unless they just totally screw it up by putting on someone like Bennett or EC3. It really needs to be Lashley just flat out running through the X-Division guys until someone, possibly someone new, comes up and beats him to take the title back for the X-Division guys.
I usually don’t like those hardcore/garbage matches with violence for the sake of violence but Decay and Bro-Mans really bet the hell out of each other and put on a nice spectacle. It’s time for them to move on though. Hopefully The Wolves are close to being ready to go with Davey’s injury so that they can start feuding with The Wolves.
I have no idea what the hell to think about the Rosemary/Bram stuff. That was just terrible C-grade movie stuff to me, and not in the hilariously entertaining way Broken Matt has been. It was just bizarre and goofy.
Moose looked dominant as hell in the old school jobber squash which they need to do a few times to get him and his move set introduced to the audience and to really get over how much of a beast he is. The guy is an athletic freak.
Galloway and Bennett put on a hell of a match and I loved the spot on the outside where Drew catapulted Bennett into the beam under the ring. That was very unique.
– Promo/Segment of the Night: Lashley/Moose/Bennett/Zema
– Match of the Night: Lashley vs. Zema/Bennett vs. Galloway (***)
– Overall Grade: B+