Reviewing the 4/5/12 episode of IMPACT WRESTLING…
1. If Kurt Angle really has a tear in his hamstring I give the guy not only credit for having a very good match with Jeff Hardy this past week on Impact, but for also going through with a Hulk Hogan made Lockdown Cage match after he was counted out. Kurt took a nasty guard rail shot to the back of his head as he fell into them during the match and the blood flowed hard way which only added to the match. While the count out victory may not have been the desired outcome, the action was good while it lasted.
2. The Knockouts #1 contenders 6 women match up was a nice way to further build up Velvet Sky’s ascension back to #1 contender as she finished off Mickie James after a series of Knockout finishers were served up sequentially by each of the combatants to one another. Even if Velvet doesn’t defeat Gail Kim for her World title, I’m hoping her game can at least be elevated going up against one of the best female wrestlers today.
3. The Motor City Machine Guns looked good in their return and glorified squash against Mexican America. Although it looks like Anarquia’s knees and the MCMG don’t seem to get along very well as we seen from the footage of April 2011 where Sabin’s knee crashed into an out of place Anarquia’s knee, he also had his knees straight up when Alex Shelley came crashing down for his part of the Machine Gun finisher, the top rope splash. It actually looked like it hurt Shelley more than it ever could have hurt Anarquia since it looked totally like a defensive move to a splash. After their victory over MA, the Guns stated they have their sights set on the World Tag Team Titles which should lead to a clash with Samoa Joe and Magnus very shortly.
4. Getting back to Mexican America, they spent the entire program a couple weeks back pushing Josh Lewis and Repo Games with him taking(“repoing”) the girls near the end of the show seemingly for good only to see the mamacitas return by MA’s side for this match with no explanation. Did Mexican America come across some money since that’s why the girls supposedly left? What does that say about Rosita and Sarita? Or are we even supposed to care about them at all since they received the jobber entrance/introduction this week? If so, then is the MCMG’s victory over them even a big deal anymore? I’m guessing if guys like Robbie E. & T. and Mexican America have served their purpose and you aren’t going to even attempt to salvage or repackage them, then why not spend some money for some free agents out there that can really give Impact Wrestling some fresh match ups.
5. If there is one area where TNA excels at while WWE doesn’t touch upon enough is the use of blended realism in their history videos they do building up big matches, not just in video content, but the way it’s put together with family(and friends) used to help put the realistic spin on the story. This week’s with James Storm’s comments after Bobby Roode turned on him splitting up Beer Money, as well as his beautiful wife Dani’s comments, his brother’s and cousin’s, which who’s name was hysterically named Devon, which I thought was funny because of the correlation a long time fan could make to Devon Storm aka Crowbar. That certainly wasn’t Crowbar, of course, but I thought it was funny.
6. Move of the Night:
Bully Ray’s – Leaping Last Ride on Austin Aries
Very sick looking. I’m liking the David vs. Goliath feud since both men are strong characters in TNA.
7. Lines of the Night:
a. After the segment where ODB gave Eric Young a face full of her breasts at the end of his “Bachelor Party”
Taz – “Looks like we need the jaws of life to remove Eric’s face from uh…the 50 gallon drums of his fiancee.”
b. After referee Brian Hebner banned Bobby Roode’s personal security from ringside during his main event match against Mr. Anderson
Taz – “Those guys gotta return those suits.”
8. Match of the Night
AJ Styles vs. Cowboy James Storm
The match was made believably when Storm asked AJ to give him stiff competition to get ready for Bobby Roode at Lockdown. They had a very good back and forth contest showing how well they have scouted each other and some nice looking offense when they did connect. After a springboard second rope moonsault miss, Storm caught AJ with the Last Call superkick out of nowhere to finish him off. Nice finishing spot.
9. Final Show Thoughts:
Next week is the “wedding” of ODB and EY in a cage. After a backstage conversation with Hulk Hogan, Sting is returning home until further notice, giving him time off to heal storyline wise from his concussion as well as his contractually dictated time off I’m sure. Sting told Hulk to call him if needed. I’m sure when the deck gets stacked against Hulk at some point, Sting will be waiting to return. Speaking of the Hulkster, he was introduced as the new GM officially at the start of the show, made matches for this week and at Lockdown(Crimson vs. Matt Morgan in a cage at Lockdown) as well as had a funny confrontation with Ric Flair which led to Eric Bischoff arriving to have a one on one with Hulk in the middle of the ring. This led to a Lethal Lockdown match being made with Garett Bischoff’s TNA career going up against Eric Bischoff’s as each will choose their team to face off at the PPV. They are still throwing out subtle hints with the Joseph Park story looking for Abyss which should lead nicely into a pay off if done right. I can see an Evil Dead sequence with Park looking into a mirror and seeing Abyss talking to him, which might sound goofy, but Park’s character seems so flaky, his reaction to “himself” might be funny. Bobby Roode spewed water into the face of and taunted the country band Montgomery Gentry to further his feud and heat with James Storm. Bobby Roode also now has “IT Factor” on the back of his tights. Originally with a ref downed vicious “beer bottle” shot on Mr. Anderson, he had defeated the Asshole, but after the match, James Storm and Hulk Hogan came down and he reversed the decision to give Anderson the DQ win much to the dismay of Roode to end the show. Overall, I think a big improvement this week as this was an easy show to watch unlike the past few I’ve been subjected to.
10. IMPACT PLAYERs of the WEEK:
Cowboy James Storm, AJ Styles, Hulk Hogan, Bobby Roode, Velvet Sky, Motor City Machine Guns
Excellent contest between Storm and Styles, Storm also continues to shine throughout the show, Hogan actually was very good in his role which wasn’t overdone like some weeks, Roode was great as the prick Champion in the ring and in segments, Velvet picks up another big win and the Guns looked good in their return.
That is all.
M.C. Brown
You can find me on Twitter as
ShocXwavE
