The Final Impact
January 7, 2015
By: Josh Boutwell of Wrestleview.com
Well, TNA kicked off a new era of Impact with a ton of wrestling action so if you like your wrestling shows in-ring heavy then this was for you! If you were expecting a ton of huge changes then you were probably let down. It really was more of a continuation of the last few months of Impact which I’m perfectly happy with as it was the best wrestling on TV at the time in my opinion. We did get a few surprises and the obvious changes production wise. I liked the new sleeker look of Impact including the simple set which worked well with the Manhattan Center. Josh Mathews worked pretty well with Taz and it gave Impact a sound fresh to go along with the fresh look.
As far the show goes I loved the opening sequence with the big brawl, much better than listening to someone rant for 20 minutes. Angle made the obvious announcement most were expecting about his return to the ring and I’m perfectly fine with that. The match with MVP was okay and pretty much there just to get the crowd fired up.
The tag match was solid and Abyss and Storm pulled out a few Beer Money double team spots there. It was obviously there to just set up Hardyz-Wolves again which should be fun, but I’m interested to see if this leads to a feud between those two teams or if they feud with Revolution in a 3-way program or if The Revolution begin a feud with another team.
The X-Division match was really good and if they got more time could have been amazing. I’d love for Ki and Aries to feud for awhile but TNA needs to get some new blood going in this division instead of just giving the same guys the belt every few months.
The Knockouts battle royal was okay for what it was but it didn’t matter how great that match was because it would be overshadowed by the return of Awesome Kong! The crowd went nuts and the showdown with Havok was pretty cool. While I think that match will be fun, I just want to see Kong and Gail Kim go at it again! Those two need to relive that feud ASAP! Regardless its great to see Kong back home in TNA.
The Main Event was as spectacular as you would expect, those two have put on some hellacious matches with some vicious bumps. All the interference really wasn’t necessary but I understand they are setting something up. What that is, I’m not sure. I was thrown off by the turns of Joe, Ki, and EY. Those turns may not even be connected but I guess we just have to wait and see which was a good hook.
It was a good start, though not as many huge surprises as some probably expected, for TNA’s debut on Destination American and I just want to see some great wrestling so I’m looking forward to the next few weeks which will include Lockdown on cable for the first time!
– Segment/Promo of the Night: Awesome Kong’s return!
– Match of the Night: Lashley vs. Roode III (****)
– Overall Grade: B+
Until next week… PEACE!
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