The Final Impact
April 25, 2014
By: Josh Boutwell of Wrestleview.com
Thursday night was probably the most action filled “go-home” show before a PPV I’ve seen in quite awhile. I’m still only mildly interested in Sunday’s PPV, but if you were looking for some solid in-ring action tonight’s show was for you.
The opening was okay from Magnus and Abyss though the quick turn with Abyss is annoying as hell though it plays into Magnus using Abyss’ need for acceptance. I still only care for Abyss the character as a heel monster now it looks like he’s going back to being a babyface unfortunately.
Before I talk about Kenny King-Lashley, I have to say what the hell are they doing with Lashley? This guy has literally done nothing since coming back at Lockdown, but with that said good lord did he absolutely show out or what? I know King gave him a nice bump machine to work with but Lashley showed off his wicked athleticism for the first time in awhile and he looked as smooth in the ring as I’ve seen him. Imagine how good that match could have been given 15 minutes? They really need to give Lashley a mouthpiece and let him just do what he does in the ring, it could turn out as a great thing for TNA.
The segment with BP brown bagging Madison was great but again another babyface turn randomly with Gail is so annoying. She was just an evil witch that didn’t care about anything but herself. Now she cares about the Knockouts Division? I don’t mind Gail turning babyface, as she gets a chance to show off more of her move set as a babyface, but give her better reasoning than that. The match was fine but too short.
It was cool to see Beer Money back together again and their promo backstage was really great. The match was good too but oddly Beer Money really didn’t do any of the double team spots we’re used to seeing from them when they were a team. They made sure to say that this pairing was “for one night” but also didn’t say “one last time” or “one night ONLY” so maybe they were doing this as a tease to see how fans would react to a reunion. As much as I think Roode and Storm belong at the top of the card as singles, the tag division needs a shot in the arm and Beer Money can provide that.
Spud is hilarious and I have grown to really enjoy his character, but honestly I think he would be better suited as someone’s goofy heel manager rather than getting in the ring much though he could take bumps like the great heel managers always did. Angle looks healthy which is a definite plus.
The Anderson videos were creepy as hell so it bumped up this program nicely after it had really gotten stale. I still have no idea what the hell a Commitment Match is and TNA has given no clue as to it either which is beyond stupid.
Aries and MVP was beyond fun, that was a hard hitting damn good wrestling match. Matches like that should be saved for PPV so it can have more time or for the Main Event. I honestly wouldn’t mind if we just saw Aries feud with MVP for awhile and even Lashley feud with King as long as they give someone that can speak to Lashley as a manager. There has to be some solid managers out there that TNA can bring in.
The Main Event was fine for what it was I guess but the after match beatdown was really what made it good because it gave Magnus a meanstreak and some aggression that he has been missing. This will definitely play into how the match at Sacrifice ends.
– Segment/Promo of the Night: Beer Money
– Match of the Night: Aries vs. MVP (***)
– Overall Grade: C+
Until next week… PEACE!
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