The Final Impact
March 13, 2015
By: Josh Boutwell of Wrestleview.com
This week’s Impact had possibly the best “bookend” of any show I’ve seen in awhile, by that I mean the opening and closing were just absolutely fantastic. Everything in between was solid but the beginning and end were off the charts good in my opinion. They have ended a couple of feuds while continued others and laid the groundwork for what could be a massive year for one star.
The opening match between Roode and EY was just wild as hell and as entertaining a Last Man Standing Match as you will see. It didn’t get bloody or ultra violent but it was intense as hell and a damn good wrestling match with a terrific finish. Those two have put on a hell of a series of matches and that Last Man Standing Match was a fitting close to it. The question now is where does each man go from here.
Galloway-MVP was solid while it was lasted but you could see the interference coming from a mile away. I want to see what Galloway can do in an extended match, not these short little bursts we’ve seen so far. He and Low-Ki would be a fun match but the match they are obviously heading to, to end this feud is some form of match between MVP and Galloway.
Magnus and Bram was solid as well, especially with the intensity and storytelling in the match. Bram was terrific with his work on Magnus’ neck and Matthews did a fine job getting over that point on commentary as well. Honestly I would have preferred Bram actually destroy Mickie James in some way just to make things even that much more personal, especially after Magnus actually kissed his foot. Still taking Mickie out would have been perfect and on course with that character.
Robbie and Brooke was entertaining as hell, primarily because of how damn hilarious Robbie E can be when he is on.
The video packages hyping up Angle/Lashley for next week would have been good had they not been the same exact videos that TNA has been showing for months. It’s time to update those things man, it would have made a HUGE match feel that much bigger.
What can I say about Spud/EC3? That was just a damn good match, and THAT is how blood should be used in wrestling. It wasn’t pointless, it actually enhanced the match. Spud plays the underdog role perfect and it fits him. I could not be more impressed with Rockstar Spud over the last few months going from comic relief to a damn good wrestler and he came out looking like a million bucks in this match. The fans were behind him 100% and I know a big part of that was because they were in London, which was smart on TNA’s behalf to book it that way, but I think Spud would get similar reactions especially in this match just about anywhere. The facial expressions he made as EC3 was beating the piss out of him just screamed agony and made him so sympathetic which is exactly what you want in this match. What made this unique is that the villain, the bad guy actually won. And honestly I don’t know that you could have booked it any other way. I know that “Booking 101” says that the good guy has to win in the end but this is 2015 and things sometimes have to evolve. EC3 needed to win that match and needed to further his asshole gimmick after the match which they did perfectly. I actually bought it for a second that EC3 may close out this feud by shaking his former buddies hand, but no he went further into scumbag mode by sucker punching Spud and shaving his unconscious head. That was just brilliant. I loved every second of that Main Event. It wasn’t a technical masterpiece or high flying marvel, but it was story telling at it’s absolute best!
– Segment/Promo of the Night: The post Main Event beat down
– Match of the Night: Roode/EY and Spud/EC3 (****)
– Overall Grade: A
Until next week… PEACE!
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