Impact
Wrestling
Date: May 15, 2014
Location: Impact Zone,
Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike
Tenay, Tazz
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
Another week has passed
and the main story is, say it with me, a heel authority figure
corrupted by power. Last week MVP turned heel and announced himself
as the #1 contender to the World Title. Other than that we've got
Bully Ray heading to Texas to go after Dixie Carter. Why he would
wait a week to do so is beyond me but maybe they'll show us footage
from the previous week. Let's get to it.
Eric Young is waiting
for MVP to arrive but security pulls him away from the boss' limo.
Video on MVP turning on
Young last week.
Here's Young (minus the
belt) in the arena to open things up. Eric rants about how he
thought MVP was something different that's why he fought so hard for
him. Anything would have been better than Dixie Carter but this
isn't good at all. Eric says if MVP wants a fight he can come out
here right now. MVP pops up on screen and says he did this for the
money and the power. He's going to do Eric a favor though: Young can
keep the title until Slammiversary when MVP takes it away.
Dixie is in Nashville
driving around with Spud. They go to her house and see a bunch of
tables spray painted with Dixie Fears Bully.
Recap of Bram trying to
make Magnus into his old self by sending him after Willow.
Willow is ready for
revenge but wants it in his realm.
Bram/Magnus vs.
Willow
They start in the dark
rafters but are down on the floor in about ten seconds. Tagging is
required here and it's Bram whipping Willow into the corner to start.
Bram hammers Willow in the corner and brings in Magnus for some
stomping of his own. Back to Bram but he gets reversed into the
corner for forearms and the slingshot dropkick. Willow decks Magnus
off the apron but can't hit the Twist. Magnus trips Willow up,
allowing Bram to suplex him down. Back to Magnus with Bram sliding
in a metal object. Magnus won't go insane like Bram wants though,
allowing Willow to small package Magnus for the pin at 4:22.
Rating: D+.
This was more storytelling than a match and there's nothing wrong
with that. Bram wanting Magnus to be all violent and evil again is a
good idea for Magnus as his time on the top just didn't work for the
most part. He's boring as a proper Englishman and all that jazz, so
have him be evil instead and get something interesting going instead.
Bram looked good.
Young
trashes MVP's office.
Bully
Ray calls Dixie and tells her and Spud to come inside.
Gail
Kim comes to the ring and says she's not here to wear an evening gown
or to get a makeover. She calls out the Beautiful People and gets
what she wants. Angelina says the Beautiful People are what everyone
should aspire to be. Velvet jumps Gail from behind and it's time for
a match.
Velvet
Sky vs. Gail Kim
Gail
is in trouble to start but jumps over Velvet in the corner to get a
breather. She hits the running cross body in the corner but misses a
charge and falls out to the floor. Angelina gets in a few shots and
throws Gail back inside for a DDT and two. Gail comes back with Eat
Defeat out of nowhere for the pin at 3:43.
Rating: D.
It's the same story with the same ideas and the same people we've
seen doing this FOREVER now and I don't care anymore. I'm assuming
Gail gets a title shot at Slammiversary, but who cares if she wins?
What difference does it make as they've all been champion like a
million times anyway. Match was nothing.
Gail
gets laid out post match.
Ethan
Carter brags about injuring Kurt Angle last week and says this is his
world now.
Crazy
Steve vs. Kazarian
Steve
is the Menagerie's clown. Kaz
sends him to the floor to start as we have carnival music and weird
lighting. Kaz trips over Steve on the floor as the Freak stares him
down. Steve low bridges Kaz to the floor as we're in full on comedy
match mode. The balloons are brought in and Steve breaks them with a
top rope splash. Now he's running around with a horn as Freak poses
on the apron. Rebel is in the ring as well, hanging upside down on
the ropes. The referee gets pantsed and it's thrown out at 2:34 with
Kaz winning by DQ.
The Menagerie doesn't
seem to mind losing.
Aries tries to get into
MVP's office but security stops him. MVP comes out and gets some
cheap shots but Young shows up to jump the boss as we take a break.
Back with the two still fighting and MVP in control. He tries to
hang Eric with his tie but the champion fights back as they head to
the ramp. Young seems to be favoring his arm so MVP hammers away on
it back in the ring. Security comes down to break it up but MVP gets
in more shots on the arm, including a flying armbar. MVP makes the
title match tonight with him getting the title shot.
Spud tries to sneak up
on Ray in Dixie's house but the cameraman gives him away. Spud is
captured but Ray tells the camera guys to stay there.
Mr. Anderson vs.
James Storm
The opening bell is
after a break and the brawl is already on the floor. Anderson takes
him into the barricade but Anderson's hand is slammed into the steps
to give Storm control. Back inside with Storm working over the arm
but getting caught in the swinging neckbreaker. Storm tries to run
from the Mic Check, allowing him to hit a quick low blow for two, as
the referee catches Storm's feet on the ropes. A running DDT gets
two on Anderson and it's beer bottle time. The referee takes the
bottle away but Storm spits in Anderson's face, setting up the Last
Call for the pin at 5:00.
Rating: D+.
These matches are starting to get repetitive. The arm work went
nowhere here and the match was only ok if you stretch a lot. It's
nice to see Storm FINALLY get a win though. That's his first singles
win on TV in over a year. That simply should not happen to a former
World Champion.
Samuel
Shaw is in an institution and can only say Christy.
Video on Sanada
training and what the X Title means to him.
X-Division Title:
Sanada vs. Tigre Uno vs. DJZ
DJZ is coming in with
bad ribs. Sanada is defending and he teams up with Tigre to take Ion
down to start. Tigre tries a quick rollup for two on the champ.
There's a bunch of confetti in the ring from Sanada's entrance and
it's all over everyone's back. Sanada misses a standing moonsault on
Tigre but snaps up with a dropkick to the back. DJZ comes back in
but gets caught in a rolling cradle for two for the champ.
Tigre stays on the
floor for a bit as DJZ nails some forearms to Sanada in the corner.
Sanada comes back with some chops as Tigre is still on the floor.
Tigre finally comes back in with a dropkick to both guys, followed by
a spinning Asai Moonsault to the floor. He throws DJZ back inside
but Ion breaks up a moonsault. Sanada springboards back in with a
chop to DJZ's head and hits a tiger suplex for the pin to retain at
5:33.
Rating: C.
Sanada is still good but these guys are pretty much the entire
division right now. It's the same problem the division has had for
years now: you can find one guy that does well for awhile but the
division is dead save for the month before Destination X. Nothing
much to see here but it wasn't bad.
Ray
calls Dixie from Spud's phone and tells her she's all alone.
Gunner
comes to see Samuel Shaw in the institution because Shaw needs
someone to talk to.
We
recap Ethan injuring Angle's knee last week.
Dixie
goes into her house and finds Spud tied up. Bully shuts the door and
asks Dixie if she ever though it would come to this. He's doing it
because of what she did at Sacrifice and wants to know if she
believes he's afraid of her. Ray asks if she wants this to end. She
does of course but he wants her to say she fears him. She's about to
say it when Ethan jumps Ray from behind. Dixie says she fears no
one.
We
recap Roode and MVP brawling last week, leading to MVP suspending
Roode from Impact for the foreseeable
future.
TNA
World Title: Eric Young vs. MVP
Young
attacks before the bell but is sent bad arm first into the steps.
MVP works it over even more as the match hasn't actually started yet.
Back from a break with the opening bell and MVP staying on the bad
arm. Eric fights up and hits some of his usual stuff before loading
up the top rope elbow, only to have Kenny King of all people come
down and shove Eric off the top for the DQ at 3:10.
Rating: D.
I don't have a rating in me for this one. Most of it was just arm
work anyway.
MVP
tells the referee to restart the match or he's fired. The referee
won't do it so King decks him. King and MVP beat up Eric until Bobby
Lashley comes out for the save....before joining up with them to
destroy Young. Eric is slammed through some chairs by Lashley and
taunted with the belt. The new heel faction stands tall to end the
show. Taz: “This is bad Mike.” Preach it brother.
Overall Rating: D.
TNA is entering it's summer lull and they're diving in head first.
There was some watchable stuff tonight but the stories are just
killing everything else. As I've complained about probably a dozen
times before, it feels like we've seen every bit of this before. The
Beautiful People are dominant and calling people ugly, the heel
authority figure(s) are receiving far more TV time than anyone else,
and the title picture is about the plucky champion fighting to keep
the main evil authority figure from gaining ultimate power.
It's
the same stuff this company has run with for YEARS now and it's just
not working here. We're coming up on one of the biggest shows of the
year and looking at Eric Young vs. MVP for the World Title. I could
picture that being a midcard title match, but TNA doesn't have time
for a midcard title. Maybe if Dixie didn't have to have five
segments a show we could, but Heaven forbid she's not one of the
focal points of the show. The more I think about it the more it
seems like they want her to turn face, which would be about the
dumbest thing they could do. In other words, look for face Dixie to
send her guy in to face MVP at BFG.
Results
Willow b. Bram/Willow –
Small package to Magnus
Gail Kim b. Velvet Sky
– Eat Defeat
Kazarian b. Crazy Steve
via DQ when Menagerie interfered
Sanada b. DJZ and Tigre
Uno – Tiger suplex to DJZ
Eric Young b. MVP via
DQ when Kenny King interfered
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
Roode will help Young retain at Slammiversary.
ReplyDeleteKenny King decked the ref, not MVP.
ReplyDeleteThe Tag Team, KO and X Division needs an influx of talent ASAP. I'm getting tired of watching the same people wrestle.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it was a decent show.
And then cost him the belt a week later.
ReplyDeleteI'd much rather TNA hire cheap indy talent rather than hiring guys like Lashley and Low Ki.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The funny thing is that with signing the younger, less expensive talent they are doing what Heyman wanted to do a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteWait. So Bram wants Magnus to find his "dark side"?
ReplyDeleteI'm normally not into the "TNA is stealing storylines" crap, but how is this NOT Wyatt/Cena? I guess since Bram/Magnus are on the same "side"?
TNA, I want so bad to love you, but you make it so damn hard sometimes. Most times. Pretty much always.
That ship has sailed, though. The better indy guys won't work TNA unless they have nowhere else to go. And the crappy ones ... well, they're all pretty much already IN TNA with the WWE midcarders.
ReplyDeleteEvery week I forget that Bobby Lashley is on the roster.
ReplyDeleteTeam Canada vs. the black guys!
ReplyDeleteIt's not as blatant as that. At least with this one they knew each other beforehand and Magnus has been vicious before, at least in the backstory.
ReplyDeleteIt's gotten to the point where I don't even acknowledge when TNA is on. This review is the only reason why I remembered it was on tonight.
ReplyDeleteCan you say..race war?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I say Flairs daughter is getting the gold.
ReplyDeleteI really hope El Local takes the pin and the lucha team breaks up or something, because Kalisto really should be a solo act.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm sure there's a lot of indy talent out there that are full of potential. TNA doesn't need to hire the best indy talents, just unknown guys that have potential to become stars. And I'm pretty sure the cheap indy guys would be thankful for the job rather than worrying they're working in a dying company.
ReplyDeleteBully is so mad at Dixie because she cost him a meaningless tables match? Compared to his costing her control of wrestling operations (granted, by thwarting her attempt to cheat), not to mention the whole Aces & Eights thing? ECIII-Bully could at least be interesting.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I stopped watching TNA a long time ago, but continue reading the reviews praying TNA would get it's act together.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Impact Wrestling the name of a third rate wrestling news site a few years back?
ReplyDelete....The Beautiful People are still doing the same thing?
ReplyDeleteAnd now it's a 3rd rate promotion.
ReplyDeleteIt's worldwide TV exposure. You won't get that working in the indies.
ReplyDeleteone of the highlights of impact was james hetfield playing "battery" in the guitar center ad
ReplyDeletei'm guessing it's ok for all of us to talk about mvp's stable since jef is around
ReplyDeleteBTW, here is how TNA copied Jay Z
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/9_8SUnNyf3E
THIS is what everyone was up in arms about?
ReplyDelete"THIS is what everyone was up in arms about?"
ReplyDeletenot john cena's sister
I know the feeling all too well.
ReplyDeleteBlack Evolution. Love it.
ReplyDeleteEbolution?
ReplyDeleteThat's what the external auditors are for. Any time a publicly traded company sends out an official press release, all of the numbers contained in it are tested for validity by their auditing firm. Even forward-looking statements have to pass certain "reasonableness" testing.
ReplyDeleteJBL could just return to the ring.
ReplyDeleteBlack Lotion.
ReplyDeleteAll it's missing is Dixie Carter in blackface.
ReplyDeleteAs someone that hasn't watched Impact in the last few weeks, is the Menagerie supposed to be a poor man's Exotic Express? Would that make Knux an Adam Rose knockoff?
ReplyDeleteNo. They're very, very different.
ReplyDeleteJoel McHale, Donald Glover and Alison Brie aren't Tina Fey, but they have buzz. Glover left, but the show wasn't exactly being treated well prior to that. Alison Brie is in one of the most talked about TV shows (in a small but significant role) and is a movie actor (which is the highest caliber of acting, prestige-wise), and Joel headlined the White House Correspondents Dinner and is in the talks for hosting the Late Late Show. Yet again, that's not Tina Fey, but that's still something. Jim Rash won a fucking Oscar, and while I don't care for the Hangover, Ken Jeong was an iconic part of it and is going to have his own TV show.
ReplyDeleteIf Parks and Rec is getting a season seven (an unnecessary season, but one all the same) on the strength of pretty weak ratings. But they have Amy Poehler, who by the eyes of the public is Tina Fey's wife, Chris Pratt, who is going to be in one of the bigger movies of the summer, Audrey Plaza, who's in movies. So, Audrey Plaza and Alison Brie have comparable careers/future prospects...Amy Poehler has more pedigree than Joel, but he's had more current success. Are they getting a seventh season because the Office was good to them and they think GoTG, a movie sold entirely on the the Marvel brand (look at the the posters), is going to clean up and turn Mr. Pratt into a big star?
I like P&R, but I don't get the logic of renewing them, when the last season finale basically resolved all the characters arcs, and not Community, when they have ratings not too far apart, and a cast that's about equal in terms of prestige, plus the actual space for a satisfactory final season.
You don't get the outrage? It was a great show that deserved to end on better terms. It's the rage at a man swinging a hammer at the Pieta. They destroyed something beautiful, even if it makes commercial sense to convert a park into a housing development, you're still burning a lot of trees. I think it would've been worth it to give them 13 more episodes, appease the fanbase and wring what you can out of a cast that's going somewhere. It's a prestige show in potentia.
I think what they're going for is a Captain Spaulding/House of 1,000 Corpses type of vibe
ReplyDeleteI was a fan from day 1 (yep, I was one of the people who bought the monthly PPVs -- I'd say about 2-3 a month) until 2013, when I finally got tired of giving TNA "one more chance".
ReplyDeleteThey broke my heart after 2012. I thought for sure they'd turned a corner, but nope.
I see! That actually sounds pretty neat.
ReplyDeleteI've thought from the beginning Karl should have been the guy.
ReplyDeleteI know the likelihood of a Diva getting killed is due to a bikini model horribly botching a move or something, but before my brain put that together I imagined them all trapped in a building with increasingly elaborate deathtraps, Saw style.
ReplyDeleteWell played.
ReplyDeleteA group of rich conceited black dudes as heels will do real well in the South.
ReplyDeleteBlack Wall Street (It makes sense if you know the story behind it)
ReplyDeleteDid they announce a date for the Destination X special?
ReplyDeleteDonald Glover and Alison Brie are not even remotely near Amy Poehler and soon to be Chris Pratt.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with keeping Parks and Rec on the air for 7 seasons either, If I was NBC, I also would've cancelled it.
NBC kept a low rated niche sitcom on the air for 97 episodes. I think they deserve nothing but praise. Shows don't run forever and Community's time was up.
I was thinking more like Juggalos.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch TNA but how is MVP these days? I've always liked him a lot and think he'd be a great return to the WWE roster at some point if he's in shape.
ReplyDeleteStock down 42% today. Investors seem less than thrilled, i wonder who gets fired for this latest blunder of the century?
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, at least The Bryan And Vinny Show is soooo much better when Impact is a bad show. You would think Granny frequently cutting better promos than Dixie Carter would be enough to tell those in TNA that maybe, just maybe Dixie shouldn't be on TV.
ReplyDeleteThey had a chance but then did the blood-letting talent cuts last year that lost a lot of fresh talent and indy guys are wary of working for a company that makes such moves.
ReplyDeleteTNA has been absolutely unwatchable once they got rid of Bad Influence. Kaz was just going through the motions the last two weeks since he knows he's done too. I hope they make it back to tv sometime soon, maybe with Jarret's new promotion.
ReplyDelete13 episodes are cheap. And if you can afford to give P&R 13 more, why not give Community 13 more? Yes Community does the genre episodes, but Parks films outside of a studio.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would compare Amy to Joel, and Ken to Chris. Donald to Aziz, both comedians turned actors, and Donald has the writing props and the rap career above Ansari. Ms. Plaza is the couterpart to Ms. Brie, which is leaning towards Brie, in terms of exposure and positive response to their talent.
Amy Poehler is much a bigger name than Joel McHale and I think Chris Pratt is getting there. Also, NBC owns Parks and Rec, while Community is owned by Sony.
ReplyDeleteAgain, both would've and should've been out. Shows get more expensive as they age, so 13 episodes aren't as cheap as you'd think. Community's 9 lives had run out
Shows get more expensive because contracts increase. If I remember correctly, the cast was still on their original, six season contract. I don't think they had the chance to renegotiate given the...dicey situation the show was always in.
ReplyDeleteI understand Community wasn't paying the bills, but why did they bother giving them a 4th and 5th season then? After booting Harmon, why bother keeping the show around?
They probably would rather throw up shows with an audience against Big Bang rather than just have two new shows be beaten to death. I'm already pissed with how they are throwing A to Z to the wolves. NBC is just rightfully righting itself and doesn't need shows like Community dragging it down.
ReplyDeleteParks and Rec also has the off network deal with FXX which probably makes the show an easier sell than Community.
Why ever throw Community against BBT? I mean, why not throw the most anti-BBT thing ever against it? Something completely against its demos. Community and BBT are for the 20something nerd, why not run, Truck Repair Unlimited on Thursday?
ReplyDeleteIt's like running another sports franchise against NFL.
Community has Comedy Central right? Isn't that a bigger deal than FXX?
If Community finds another home on a network more appropriate for it I won't be pissed. But if Community dies, I'm going to pretty bitter towards NBC for a while. Amputation may be necessary, but you're still going to miss your leg.
Community on Comedy Central hasn't done very well so I doubt it's making them any money. Parks and Rec seems to be on FXX and Esquire all the time, so NBC is making money off of it.
ReplyDeleteAnything against BBT is going to get killed yet they have to throw something. So why not put a show that at least has a semi loyal audience.
NBC was in such a position of weakness that any promising new show they didn't want to put against it, so why not just throw Community up against it and count the days until syndication. That's probably why they kept renewing it. It had a loyal enough audience so why not let hang around for a while?
Also, shows get more expensive as they go on. It's not just cast who gets paid, but the crew, showrunners, licensing fees, etc.
Community is dead. Hulu probably doesn't have the money to keep it around and I don't think Comedy Central would pick it back up either.
It had 97 episodes, more than 99.9999 percent of all TV shows get. That's awesome.
What are they throwing up against BBT now?
ReplyDeleteAnd from my limited knowledge of TV contract law, it's a specific, unchanging amount unless you can renegotiate, which...I don't think they've been in a position to do so. I don't know everything, but the shows shitty position hasn't allowed Danny Pudi to walk into NBC headquarters and ask for 10 mil to stay with the show.
And Community did have a great, great run. But I'm holding out a smidgen of hope that it'll get one more shot. What about Amazon, they're trying to get into TV, right? Between Amazon and Sony something could happen. And does Sony have connections in any other network? Or perhaps their own streaming service they're trying to launch?
Well BBT is airing Monday to start the year so it will face The Voice.
ReplyDeleteThen it will face Biggest Loser and TBA when BBT moves back to Thursdays.
A lot of shows renegotiate at a certain point, especially when a show is a hit. I know Modern Family and BBT both did it, not sure about Community since there's not as much leverage. But I imagine people get raises every year.
I think because hulu already has exclusive rights to stream Community, there's really no incentive for Amazon to come in, which is also why Netflix is iffy.
Maybe you get raises automatically, just by being in the union.
ReplyDeleteHulu is jointly owned by Comcast, Fox and Disney. I don't know how much freedom Hulu has in the buying and selling of shows, but I could see them selling the rights, if NBC isn't interested in Community, I doubt Fox or Disney would want it either. Though...getting exclusive content might be nice for Hulu.
Huh, this business speculation stuff can actually be somewhat interesting.
Wonder what their handles are on Black Twitter.
ReplyDelete