Just days after Bound for Glory , a show that depending on who you talked to was either one of the most entertaining TNA pay-per-views or a flaming piece of garbage, Impact Wrestling was back on Pop TV this past Thursday. With all the speculation about TNA being sold (which I will cover tomorrow), the show felt like a reset from BFG on Sunday.
While there were some good moments of the show, there were also instances of odd writing from the company and forced moments that shoved “a new era” down the viewer's throat. Don’t get me wrong, the company has to shake things up, but it seemed like they were shaking things up for the sake of shaking things up. Let’s start with “the bad” of Impact Wrestling.
Eddie Edwards Is Your New TNA World Champion
This made absolutely no sense. First Bobby Lashley, fresh off one of his best matches of his career on Sunday, was able to pick his opponent for the title match. You have a strong champion that TNA has been building for months and almost as a throwaway, Lashley is put in a match against Eddie Edwards, someone he has beaten before. You have Moose who is a rising star, EC3 who should have won at BFG, yet Edwards was the man selected to dethrone your strong champion.
Edwards, a former Ring of Honor World Champion, can go in the ring without question. I’m just having a hard time seeing Edwards as World Champion without any build. It screams of when Chris Sabin defeated Bully Ray out of nowhere for the TNA Title in 2013 without a build. I’m willing to take a “wait and see” approach, but they have made Edwards into a World Champion after defeating Lashley.
Cody Rhodes And Mike Bennett On Collision Course
Rhodes debuted at Bound for Glory and as the Court Bauer and John Pollock podcast said , he looks and carries himself as a star, which the WWE never saw in him. On his list of opponents that he put online after leaving the WWE, Rhodes had the name of “The Miracle” Mike Bennett on it and we are at the beginning of a feud that could be epic.
The only thing I dislike so far about this storyline is the addition of Brandi Rhodes. Her awful grappling knee at BFG showed that she may not be ready for in-ring action. Maria Kanellis is not great either, but at least she has wrestled in the last few years. Keep the focus on Bennett and Rhodes and keep Brandi and Maria as supporting characters in this amazing feud.
What Exactly Is The Team X Gold?
Instead of building up X Division Champion DJ Z with quality matches every week, TNA puts together this weird six-man tag X Division thing. It’s better to just keep it simple and showcase the X Division in title matches and exhibitions – that’s it.
After The Bell
- Maria’s stable of women is impressive. Sienna, Laurel Van Ness and Allie (for now) doing Maria’s dirty work is smart and set the stage for Allie’s face turn eventually….hopefully sooner than later.
- Can Eli Drake get more airtime? I say this every week but his promos and his “Fact of Life” segments are gold. His feud with EC3 should elevate him to a higher plateau in TNA.
- What the hell was Billy Corgan wearing in the opening segment? No matter what he was wearing, I hope Corgan gets TNA when all is said and done.
- They have cut the Grand Championship match times down to three minutes from five minutes per pound. That is a sign of it not working long term.
