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Impact Wrestling - April 3, 2015

Impact Wrestling 
Date: April 3, 2015
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Taz

Reviewed by Tommy Hall


We're still in Orlando and the big story tonight is who gets to be the #1 contender. A large group of people want the shot at Angle but tonight Lashley gets the World Title shot at Kurt Angle. As far as other in ring action goes, tonight we have Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young in what is being billed as their final showdown. Let's get to it.


This show is also billed as bell to bell, but it's not yet clear what that means.

On tap for tonight, Lashley vs. Angle for the title, Gail Kim vs. Angelina Love, Magnus vs. Bram in a falls count anywhere match and Young vs. Roode in a submission match.

Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode

Before the match, Young says all good things must come to an end. Tonight, he says he's ending Roode's career and tonight it's the final chapter for Roode. Matthews says this feud has become like Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. No, no it hasn't. Roode says he's already won two matches against Young but now Young wants to be the #1 contender. Tonight, Roode is making sure that this story ends forever. Young promises to make Roode tap, so Roode accepts this as a submission match, even though that was announced earlier in the show.

The fight starts on the floor with Roode getting the better of it but coming back inside to get stomped down. Josh talks about an interview with the referee earlier in the week where he talked about this kind of a match, making the pre-match promo sound even more out of place. They head back outside with Young in control and raking the eyes.

Roode can't get the Crossface as Young makes it to the ropes, which the announcers cover by saying the referee wasn't going to call submissions in the ropes despite a lack of disqualifications. Not the best explanation but it's better than nothing. Back in again and Roode gets kicked in the leg but still catches Eric in the spinebuster. We come back from a break with Roode getting thrown out of the corner and jarring his knee again.

Young throws on a leg bar but Bobby is next to the ropes, which gets a count from the referee. It's time for Young to get psycho again and bend the knee around the post with something like Bret Hart's Hartbreaker. The referee breaks it up again and Roode gets back up for a quick Crossface. Young has a bad arm coming in but is able to get to the ropes for the break.

Instead Roode puts on a Boston crab but gets kicked to the floor on the escape. Young sends the knee into the steps again and we hit the figure four inside. Bobby turns it over and the referee is bumped, just as Roode puts on the Crossface to make Young tap. No referee though so Young hits a leg lariat and turns his leg brace around to make the Figure Four hurt even worse, forcing Roode to tap at 16:58. So we're back to Garvin vs. Valentine from 1990 now?

Rating: B-. Gah of course Young wins because WE MUST PRAISE HIS NAME for being all intense and looking like he's trying to scare small children. See, he's really crazy and we have to watch him hurt people, likely because he's one of the only people they know won't leave. I'm sick of seeing Young pushed and having him trade wins with Bobby Roode isn't going to make me care about him.

Here's Davey Richards with both tag belts. Eddie Edwards follows him out on crutches and it looks like the titles are going to be vacated. Eddie says he's broken his heel in half and the titles are going to have to be held up as the Wolves can't defend them. JB asks Davey about a replacement partner but Davey says the Wolves aren't the Wolves without Eddie so no deal. They'll be coming for the titles when his foot heals.

Lashley promises to get his title back.

Angelina Love vs. Gail Kim

Love says she flaunts what she has but she's also a great wrestler. She promises to prove it tonight and blasts Gail in the face at the opening bell. A side slam gets two on Gail as the announcers argue over whether being a champion means you're the best. Josh says holding the belt means you're the best, which is what the belt used to mean a long time ago before someone decided they were just props you pass around for fun. They head outside with Gail being sent into the apron but coming back with a Russian legsweep to send Love into them as well.

Both girls beat the count back in and slug it out with Gail taking over and scoring with a missile dropkick for two. Eat Defeat is countered so Gail goes up for a hurricanrana, only to have Love just stand there as Gail crashes. It was supposed to be a powerbomb counter I think but Love didn't actually use her arms. The Botox Injection gets two as Gail gets her foot on the ropes. Another attempt hits the ropes though and Eat Defeat gives Kim the pin at 6:49.

Rating: D+. I'm not a fan of either of these girls and this didn't make me care much more. Gail in the title scene has been done so many times that it's really hard to care, but I have a feeling they're setting up another Kong vs. Kim match because this company LOVES to recap stuff that was cool ten years ago.

The cast of a ghost hunting show goes to the Revolution's ranch. Storm asks them to see if an old friend of his is still haunting a barn so the cast investigates. They think there might have been a murder. More on this later.

We recap Bram vs. Magnus, with Magnus wanting to be a family man and Bram wanting him to be back like his old self again. Bram has gone insane over it and attacked Magnus over and over, eventually bringing Magnus' girlfriend Mickie James into it.

Magnus vs. Bram

Falls count anywhere. Magnus takes it right to the floor to start and sends Bram into the barricade. They head up to the stage where Bram tries a powerbomb like Magnus did last week but Magnus quickly counters out. He can't piledrive Bram on the stage either and gets dropped by a low blow. Back to ringside with Bram sending him into the apron but getting caught by a missile dropkick back inside. Magnus can't keep control though and they head outside with Bram sending him into the steps. With an evil smile on his face, Bram comes back in with some right hands but walks into a clothesline as we take a break.

Back with Magnus punching from the middle rope as the announcers hype a live Twitter on next week's show. Both guys are down so here's Mickie James to cheer for Magnus but he wants her to leave. The distraction lets Bram get a chair to blast Magnus in the back. He sends Magnus into the post as well before laying him on the steps. Now Mickie gets in to distract Bram but James Storm of all people comes out to say you don't hit a woman.

Magnus gets back up and stomps a charging Bram with a boot, setting up something like a Rock Bottom for two. Magnus can't follow up though and gets chaired in the head for another near fall. The Brighter Side of Suffering onto the chair gets two more and Bram is stunned. Back up and Magnus hits a powerbomb, followed by a second powerbomb and the belly to back into a Rock Bottom (the Spineshaker according to Wikipedia) for the pin at 18:55.

Rating: B. I liked this more than I thought I would and I was very relieved that Storm just stopped a single thing and then left. This continues to be one of the best stories TNA has done in a very long time and I didn't want the Revolution to screw that up. Good brawl here, but the ending kind of came out of nowhere.

Angle says Lashley has never fought anyone like him.

Magnus goes up to ask Storm what that was about. Storm says he was looking out for an old friend. Magnus isn't sure what to think of that and we can't see Mickie's reaction.

We look at Angle vs. Lashley with Kurt winning the title.

TNA World Title: Kurt Angle vs. Lashley

Lashley is challenging and wearing orange tonight. Angle's entrance takes place during the break. Feeling out process to start with Lashley knocking him to the mat off a shoulder. Lashley slows things down with a headlock and Kurt heads outside for a breather. Back in and Lashley wrestles him to the mat but the champ fights up and nails a clothesline to send Lashley outside. Back in again and Lashley drives a shoulder into the ribs and puts on a bearhug. He switches over to a waistlock but the fans get Kurt to fight up.

We come back from a break with Lashley still stomping away but getting backdropped to the floor. Lashley gets back in but Angle can't roll the Germans on him. A spinebuster gets two on the champion and Lashley is getting annoyed. He misses a big swing though and now some Germans connect but Lashley grabs the ropes to counter the third. Kurt gets caught in a running powerslam for two but the third attempt at rolling Germans works better. The Angle Slam gets two and it's off to the ankle lock but Lashley rolls him to the floor. A limping Lashley follows him outside and sends Kurt into the steps.

They get back in with Lashley smiling, then no selling the ankle lock with a one armed delayed vertical suplex. A good looking spear gets two and Angle is bleeding from the back of his head. With nothing left to do, Lashley goes up top but gets caught in a super Angle Slam for a close two. Angle completely misses the moonsault and now it's Lashley putting Kurt in the ankle lock. The champ almost taps but rolls Lashley into the buckle for a rollup to retain at 21:19. Lashley's shoulder was clearly off the mat.

Rating: B+. I liked the match but it didn't quite hit the mark the previous one did. This felt like they were going for the huge match feel and it worked to a degree, but it felt more like they were just trying instead of achieving. Still though, really good stuff here and more than worthy of a TV main event.

Lashley shakes hands but the replay shows that his shoulder was indeed up.

Overall Rating: B. Really solid show for the pay per view caliber show of the month. The Knockouts weren't great but Angelina hasn't been a top shelf worker for a good while now. The main event was good and Bram vs. Magnus continues to be awesome. If they can find some way to maim Eric Young and launch him to Mars, everything will be great in TNA all over again. I'm still not sure what Bell to Bell meant but at least it was still entertaining.

Results
Eric Young b. Bobby Roode – Figure Four
Gail Kim b. Angelina Love – Eat Defeat
Magnus b. Bram – Spineshaker
Kurt Angle b. Lashley – Rollup

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Comments

  1. "Yep Mode" Abeyance Brown ©April 3, 2015 at 11:06 PM

    It was a very nice spear.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ripping on Gail Kim now?

    ReplyDelete
  3. kbwrestlingreviewsApril 3, 2015 at 11:43 PM

    I wouldn't say ripping. I just don't find her as great as a lot of people do.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fair enough. Perhaps I read too much into "I'm not a fan".

    Like every other 'diva'/'knockout', she gets stupid storylines and short matches. Once in a while, we actually see what she is capable of. She's among the best sellers in women's wrestling.

    But each to their own.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It utterly deserves to be a blip on the radar. Worth watching right now.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Once again, I missed tonight's show and am watching last week's show on Unlocked.

    Josh Matthews & Taz seem to be arguing more...do you get the sense that they'll start doing a Face/Heel announce team?

    ...and are they still calling matches from a production closet of an office building?

    ReplyDelete
  7. kbwrestlingreviewsApril 4, 2015 at 12:07 AM

    She's very skilled and smooth in the ring but I find her uninteresting more often than not. The charisma isn't really there for me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This reminds me so much of WCW in late 2000-01 when Russo was gone for good. They were starting to get really good and finally moving some interesting new talent to the forefront (plus Scott Steiner was awesome)...and it just didn't matter at all.

    ReplyDelete
  9. WCW was never good during that time. The cruiserweights were allowed to do more of their stuff, which was one of the few highlights for the company, but those guys were so buried in the undercard that it didn't matter. And Scott Steiner was awesome sure, but the Magnificent 7 was not.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 60+ minutes of actual wrestling in a 2 hour show = happy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. They're killing the business that I love, bro [/Russo]

    ReplyDelete
  12. They weren't great, but they were "good." Or, at least, there was plenty of good stuff being put out there to make up for the shit like the Magnificent 7 and Dusty's Big White Ass. I'm thinking of Sean O'Haire and Shane Helms, Jason Jett, Steiner's heel run (which presumably would have ended up with a big Goldberg match), Lance Storm and Mike Awesome as a team, and the deepening Cruiser ranks.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I actually saw the Young v. Roode match and thought, "I wonder when Bobby Roode brings in the Hammer Jammer."

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  15. Sometimes she's lazily booked, perhaps on the assumption that her looks can do all the work. I wonder if she isn't a little mistrusted, too, after the 'self-elimination' incident.

    But surely that could be fixed for a wrestler this good. How would you do it? Align her to a faction? Have her manage again?

    ReplyDelete
  16. FWIW, "Bell to Bell" was apparently to suggest that you'd want to watch every moment of every match. That title, is like TNA itself right now: far from perfect ... but not contemptible. I also appreciate the concept that this was sold as a show which definitively ended all four feuds.

    I'm in the very clear minority who is happy to keep watching this over WWE for a weekly fix. A decent announce team, consistently solid matches (and a great one every other week), titles that are treated like they really matter, minimal filler ... and it asks only for two hours a week.

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  18. kbwrestlingreviewsApril 4, 2015 at 1:32 PM

    I don't think there's a simple fix for someone like her. She has the same problem a lot of wrestlers are starting to have: we've seen them around for so long and seen them do so many things that there's just not much else for them to do. There isn't an easy fix for that.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I always thought of **1/2 as perfectly average.

    That shifts everything a half star up I think.

    I appreciated the long ass post. You're on point with the whole of it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The Response is Kyle.

    Don't know why discuss called it a guest

    ReplyDelete
  21. Yeah, as much love (deservedly) as the finish is getting, I felt the powerslam/curb stomp/powerslam spot was beautiful, intelligent wrestling.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Bell to Bell implies that it would be a very wrestling heavy show in the ring. The phrase has been used for decades in wrestling. I am shocked you've never heard it before. It's also become pretty apparent that you've run out of stuff to whine about regarding TNA that you targeted Gail Kim now saying that you aren't a fan of hers and your petty random anger towards Eric Young. Oh boo hoo he wore an ankle brace. That gimmick hasn't been done in 25 years. By the way, Angle's entrance wasn't during the break. They showed the whole thing. Maybe you'd be more happy sticking to inflatable tube men and incorrectly spelling words with a Jersey accent.

    ReplyDelete
  23. TNA has been my favorite promotion for years. Their current product blows anything in the US on weekly TV out of the water.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Lots of people do. We just choose not to read this guy's awful biased reviews.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I like that the story of the night is that Orton has better tactics, but Rollins has better strategy.


    It's technical wrestling that isn't masturbatory. Not too dudes doing headlock reversals and waiting for the audience to clap, but rather two dudes trying to out-think each other and Orton just happens to have out-thought Rollins.


    Also, I'd like to think Rollins was distracted by the upcoming cashing-in opportunity.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I've been responding via the inbox and it always says "Guest" after I post.


    Stupid Disqus.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I'm glad somebody likes my ramblings.


    Criticism and critical theories (not critical theory, cause that's weird Marxist sociology) are basically my wheelhouse as far as schooling is concerned, so this stuff is on my mind...a lot.


    I prefer 2 stars as average because I don't think we should put transcendent performances on the curve. Five star performances aren't things that you should expect or plan for. Four star matches are repeatable events between wrestlers because of their talent and their chemistry. Punk vs. Cena/Bryan/Joe are all four star matches when they're not having an off-night (disagreement is okay, but I like Punk as a worker...a lot). Those pairings also resulted in five star matches, but they're not a guarantee and honestly shouldn't be expected. They can't be expected because the greatest of art is spontaneous. It's why DDP could never eclipse 4 stars.


    Honestly, the way I watch wrestling, four stars is the highest you can go without any prep work with character development and payoff or a hot storyline. Pitbulls vs Raven and Richards is five stars because it was the climax for a whole bunch of shit ECW had laid the ground for. I'd say that Neville/Zayn would be five stars because it had the great moment of Zayn refusing to cheat.


    Five star matches by their very nature are not repeatable, they're solitary, isolated affairs that transcend the ringwork. That's why Punk/Cena at MiTB was 5 stars, but Punk/Cena at SummerSlam was 4, even when the workrate was better, the match lacked the je ne sais quoi of the first one.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Well that's a very optimistic way of putting things in my opinion. What they're doing NOW is clearly better than WWE, though. I include the massively-overrated (and unusually defended) WM31 in that.

    TNA have lost so much good will in the past due to incompetence, though, so they deserve the low ratings and a lot of the hate and dismissiveness that occurs on here.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I'm not sure this kind of stuff is a useful way of convincing the reviewer that they're overly jaundiced (which I suspect he is).

    ReplyDelete
  30. Sounds like they are.

    I don't think they'll go face/heel. They have a decent thing going.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thanks for the considered reply. I agree - there isn't an easy fix for "here comes Gail Kim again".

    I'd seriously consider making her the spokesperson for one of the generic factions TNA has going. They could have teamed her up with Drew as a voice of the disaffected or something.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Ehh Tommy's lightened up a bit on the hate and has grudgingly given TNA
    their dues, though it did take a long time for that to happen. He did
    give the Wembley show a pretty good rating.

    There just really isn't that much to complain about with TNA these days on the large scale.Sure there's lots of little things that need improving, but overall the booking has been great.

    Unfortunately there's a segment of fans who will never accept TNA, no matter what.
    These fans also call themselves "smarks" usually, which implies they are
    smart to the business, but ironically it seems they've been worked by
    the WWE pushed notion that it's WWE or bust.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Extremely bizarre seeing Meltzer of all people way overrating a WWE show.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Amen to the above. The response to WM31 was embarrassing in this respect.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Wow. No one comments on this thread.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Im surprised no one has brought up his comments about Ziggler.

    unlockpwd.com/

    ReplyDelete

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