This week Impact was main evented by Mike Bennett challenging Lashley for the world title. The episode as a whole also featured a less than ordinary knockouts title match, a new X Division champion crowned and frequent visits to the Hardy household. The two hour show was an easy watch, as it so regularly is. The Hardys Vs Decay stuff is obviously a little corny, we’ve had so much of it now though, that I’m pretty much used to it. We also had a couple of decent matches and some great character development.
I want to begin by talking about Drew Galloway. Drew has a fantastic ability to make situations seem so heated, so full of hate, so real. As a fellow Scotsman, I must say that the accent has something to do with that. Drew also just has a fantastic brawling style, which comes out even more when he plays a villain. Having seen some of Drew’s work in ICW, when he is playing a sadistic, evil bad guy, he is at his best. EC3 was a fantastic adversary for Drew; Aron Rex will have a tough job becoming a better rival, although he certainly has the ability. Galloway and Rex have the advantage that in this feud, unlike Galloway’s rivalry with Ethan, Galloway is getting to play a full blown bad guy. These two really do seem to have some chemistry, and Rex has the fire to match Drew’s brutality.
Speaking of dynamics between good guys and bad guys. Galloway and Billy Corgan’s dynamic to me, seems very awkward. To me, this seems to be because Corgan doesn’t have a handle on who his character is. It seems that Corgan is meant to be the good guy authority figure, while Galloway is the off the rails bad guy. However, Corgan kind of comes off as a bit of an egotist on screen, making Galloway seem like more of a loveable rebel. When Rex comes into the picture, his work helps to paint Galloway as a villain, like he is supposed to be. I’m not a huge fan of the likes of Corgan and Dixie Carter becoming on screen characters. I do tend to just tolerate it though, it doesn’t really hurt the product, it just doesn’t particularly add anything either. The more the storylines becomes about Rex and Galloway, rather than an authority figure, the better.
Moose turning on Bennett in this episode, costing him his world title match, seems like the right direction to take. It may be because this was always planned, but Moose has seemed he wants to play to the crowd and be cheered since he debuted. The dynamic of good guy and bad guy between Bennett and Moose could work out really well. Moose is a fantastic athlete, he has a badass look and a cool chant, and you can see why people would want to root for. There are just as many reasons to like Moose, as there are to dislike Bennett, and that makes the dynamic what it is. A match between these two could be very interesting, it will however, force Bennett to have to resort to a lot of villainous tactics. Bennett is pretty skilled in that area, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
The focus on the X Division in this episode was nice. The title has been a little messed around lately, with Lashley winning it and then just dropping it. However, that began the rebuilding process. With a new champion set to be crowned, a little video highlighting what the X Division wrestlers think the X Division is was aired. Following that was the ultimate X match. The match was a free for all between all the X Division competitors. It was a decent match, although at this point, this match is used so often, it has kind of lost its speciality. Nonetheless, I thought the way in which DJ Z grabbed the title was pretty cool. Springboarding from the ropes, to steal the title from between Andrew Everett and Trevor Lee. DJ Z seems like the right choice right now for the title, I’m interested to see who will rival Z for the title. Quite a few members of the X Division have burned through either winning the X Division title, or challenging for it. Maybe this leaves the possibility for the introduction of some more X Division wrestlers. That remains to be seen, but shall be interesting to find out.
Everything between the Hardy’s and Decay continues to be entertaining, again, it’s more than a little out there, but it is entertaining. This feud for sure needed the introduction of Reby, Rosemary is aided by having someone like Reby, who she can becomes physical with. In wrestling you can tell which wrestlers truly understand what they want their characters to be. Both the Hardy’s and Decay have a true handle on what their characters are. They are confident being those characters. Steve’s time on the microphone in this episode, I feel, was a perfect example of that. Steve didn’t feel like a guy playing a character, he felt like he really was that person. The insane laugh and he draped himself across the apron, automatically gives any new viewer an instant idea of what Crazy Steve is. I can’t wait to see this feud continue, its gold after gold every week.
Next week is the final deletion 2, also known as Delete or Decay, which is a fantastic tag line by the way. I find this weird, as it would seem logical this feud would come to a head at Bound for Glory. However, finding any way to top a final deletion match (Yes, this is becoming a gimmick now) could be tough. Not like it will be tough enough to top the first final deletion. Still plenty to look forward to though.
