Impact
Wrestling
Date: October 29, 2014
Location:
Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Commentators:
Mike Tenay, Taz
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
Tonight
is a big show for TNA as we have Bobby Roode vs. Lashley for the
World Title and the two semi-finals matches in the tag team
tournament. TNA is capable of throwing a lot of good wrestling at us
and having a solid show when they cut out all the storyline nonsense.
Granted at this point they need to worry about having a place to air
their TV shows instead of what's on them. Let's get to it.
Lashley
arrived earlier today. I wish regular companies praised you for
showing up for your job.
We
open with a recap of the first Lashley vs. Roode match. I'm not sure
what I think about Roode losing the first time and potentially
winning a rematch to even the series. There would be something to be
said about a guy rising to make two unbeatable forces.
Tag
Team Tournament Semi-Finals: Kenny King/MVP vs. Samoa Joe/Low Ki
King
and Ki get things going with a quick wrestling sequence on the mat
until Kenny sends him into the corner to take over. Ki
takes him into a corner of his own and snaps off a chop before they
circle each other again. Off
to Joe vs. MVP with the Samoan cranking on a hammerlock but MVP rolls
into a headlock to escape. Joe comes back with a legbar, sending MVP
running into the ropes.
Ki
gets another tag to face MVP but gets driven into the corner by King
to give the heels control. That
doesn't last long though as a chop and snapmare get to for Ki and
it's back to Joe for some right hands. MVP
pulls his partner to the floor for a breather so Low Ki just dives
onto both of them to take over again. Back
in and Ki kicks King in the chest for two but poses too long,
allowing MVP to nail him in the back of the head.
We
take a break and come back with MVP still in control without much
having changed. Back
to King for a spinning kick to the face and two with Joe making the
save. Ki
fights out of a double arm crank and hits a springboard spinning kick
to the face (hands) for two on MVP but King gets a tag to keep Joe
out.
Kenny
works on the arms again for a few seconds until Ki just nails both
guys with kicks and makes the hot tag. Joe
cleans house and King taps to the Clutch in front of the referee but
it doesn't count for some reason. MVP makes the save as everything
breaks down. Ki
dives over the top onto MVP with a kick to the head, setting up the
Clutch on King for the submission at 15:20.
Rating:
C+.
Nice match here but it never got to a level they were hoping for.
I'd assume we're setting up Joe vs. Ki again because that's almost
all the division is anymore. If nothing else we can always have a
six man elimination mess that proves nothing but somehow tells us the
division's rankings before getting back to Joe vs. a challenger of
the month named Low Ki again.
We
recap Bram and Magnus attacking D-Von last week.
D-Von
says Bram is just a punk. He likes a fight just as much as anyone
and has something up his sleeve for Magnus. D-Von's phone rings and
his buddy is here.
Video
on Roode vs. Lashley.
Here's
Bram who says he's rewriting history. He's going to destroy the
brotherhood of hardcore and nothing is going to stop him. D-Von and
Abyss' time is up and it's now Bram on top. He wants to call out his
brother Magnus and here's the other Brit to join in the fun. Magnus
says they may not see eye to eye but they're brothers due to the
blood they've spilled. They've been disturbing the peace since they
were kids and Bram's potential can be unlimited.
Magnus
is still the guy that broke the glass ceiling for the Brits and it's
their time. Bram
says they're going to make all the hardcore dinosaurs extinct but
here's D-Von to interrupt. He
says the two guys in the ring are the only ones that believe
everything they're saying. Now it's time for D-Von's backup and of
course it's Tommy Dreamer. I mean, where would we be without Tommy
Dreamer in 2014? The brawl is on and the Americans clean house.
Madison
Rayne
and
Taryn Terrell don't like each other but they'll work together against
the Beautiful People.
Shark
Boy is annoyed that some
kids
interrupt his hot dog to request an autograph. Simon
Diamond comes in to yell at him and wants the REAL Shark Boy back.
Sharky says SHELL YEAH and leaves so a cameraman can ask Diamond if
that's possible. Diamond: “Of course not!”
Beautiful
People vs. Madison Rayne/Taryn Terrell
Angelina
and Madison get things going with a brief slugout until Taryn gets
two off a swinging neckbreaker. Some drop toeholds put the Beautiful
People down and a dropkick puts them down again. Terrell
knocks them outside but Madison goes to throw them back in instead of
tagging. She
also watches
Velvet trip Taryn to take over and
doesn't seem to mind all that much.
Terrell
comes back with a double clothesline but Rayne drops down again
instead of taking the tag. That's
fine with Taryn as \she
cross bodies both Beautiful People, only to have Madison come in
without a tag. She cleans house but nails Terrell and lays her out
with the Rayne Drop. Madison
walks out and the Beautiful People get the pin at 4:56.
Rating:
D+.
This was more about building up Terrell as a giant killer who can
beat the Beautiful People by herself, but you can't really have them
lose to a single girl who has her partner turn on her. Terrell could
be a big deal for the division if they give her the ball, even though
it's only a matter of time before we get back into the same cycle
we've been stuck in for years on end.
Video
on Lashley.
Angle
promises to call it down the middle.
Tag
Team Tournament Semi-Finals: Hardys vs. Ethan Carter III/Tyrus
Matt
and Ethan trade hands to the face to start before Carter takes him
down into the corner. It's
quickly off to Jeff for a middle rope splash after Matt takes Ethan
down with a suplex. A
headscissors puts Carter down again and there's Poetry in Motion,
followed by the Side Effect for two. Tyrus
gets the tag to clean house and Matt is in trouble. It's
back to Carter to slam Matt face first into the mat before Tyrus
slaps on a nerve hold.
Carter
comes back in almost immediately with a chinlock of his own before
mocking Sting in the corner. Matt
kicks him away though and makes the hot tag to Jeff. The
more famous Hardy destroys Ethan with the usual as everything breaks
down. Tyrus comes in off the tag and nails a double clothesline,
only to miss a middle rope splash. The Twisting Stunner and Twist of
Fate set up the Swanton to give Matt the pin at 7:06.
Rating:
C-.
This was fine with the power heel destroying the smaller guys but the
teamwork and experience coming back to win at the end of the day.
The Hardys are going to be in any major match like this because
they're the Hardys and one of the best teams ever, so I'm not sure
what the benefit is to have Tyrus lose this early.
Ethan
blames Tyrus for the loss.
James
Storm says the Revolution expands tonight.
Lashley
is getting ready.
The
Revolution is in the ring and Storm says there's always a calm before
the storm. TNA needs to listen to him: the storm is very close.
Sanada and Manik were lost on their own but now they preach his
gospel. They want another now and that man is Davey Richards. This
brings out Davey on his own (with no belt) but he isn't all that
talkative.
Storm
says Davey is in a great tag team, but he's (Storm) been in several
great tag teams of his own. His partners let him down though, so
Davey needs to join the team so that will never happen. Cue Edwards
to say this isn't something Davey should listen to because Storm is
out of his mind. Richards
takes the mic away and says he can speak for himself. Eddie
says Storm is crazy and wants to fight right now. He slaps James'
face and we have a match.
James
Storm vs. Eddie Edwards
Edwards
nails a kick to the head to start but he stops to look at Davey,
allowing Storm to nail a running shot in the corner to take over.
James
hammers away with forearms but charges into a boot to the face. An
over the shoulder Stunner out of the corner gets two on James but he
comes back with a DDT to plant Edwards.
Richards
is looking conflicted as Storm stalks Edwards. A mic shot to
Edwards' head misses and Eddie grabs a rollup for two. Edwards
dives on Storm as Manik goes over and whispers to Richards. That
earns Manik a baseball slide but Davey gets up to yell, allowing
James to hit the Last Call for the pin at 5:11.
Rating:
C.
This is an interesting story as there's only so much left for the
Wolves to do in the division. They've dominated the whole thing all
year so what else do they have to prove? It's better to build up
another story than to just have the same boring ideas that they've
done for years so at least it's fresh.
TNA
World Title: Lashley vs. Bobby Roode
They
have a ton of time for this, Lashley
is defending and Kurt Angle is guest referee. MVP
and King are nowhere in sight.
Lashley
powers Bobby into the corner to start and easily takes him down with
an amateur move. A
hard shoulder to the ribs has Roode in even more trouble but Bobby
comes back with a clothesline and tells Lashley to bring it on. The
champ is all fired up but his clothesline is countered into the
Crossface, sending Lashley out to the floor.
We
take a break and come back with Lashley
holding a reverse wasitlock until Bobby fights up with forearms. A
quick Blockbuster gets two but Roode charges into a spinning
spinebuster. Lashley
ducks another shot but clotheslines Angle (first time he's meant
anything in the match) by mistake. The Roode Bomb is countered and
Lashley nails the spear with no one to count the pin. Another
spear hits Angle to knock him to the floor, allowing Roode to
enziguri Lashley to the floor.
Bobby
follows and avoids a spear, sending a ring attendant flying. A
Roode Bomb on the ramp puts both guys down but there's still no Angle
to count anything. Instead
Brian Hebner comes in to count the near fall and Bobby is frustrated.
Lashley hits Roode low and gets the belt but Hebner says no.
That
earns him a knockout clothesline, allowing Lashley to hit Roode with
the belt. Angle comes in to count two and
is finally back to his feet. The Roode Bomb is countered and Lashley
snaps Bobby's throat across the top rope. Another
attempt is countered into a sunset flip attempt but Roode falls on
top for the pin and the title at 17:49.
Rating:
B.
The match got going near the middle but I really don't see why Angle
needed to be out there. Any
regular referee could have played his role to the same degree but
maybe they're setting up Lashley vs. Angle down the line? The
important part though is Roode being made into a bigger deal than he
was before, but now he needs to have a very solid title reign to make
it even better. TNA is really needing a top face and if Roode is
that guy then so be it.
The
announcers mention a rematch clause as the show ends.
Overall
Rating: B-.
TNA is actually starting to click, which means it must be time for a
disaster sooner than later. This episode was all about one match
which delivered so it's almost an automatic success. The tournament
matches were good enough and the Revolution stuff continues to
intrigue me. Good show this week as TNA is starting to make things
interesting again.
Results
Samoa
Joe/Low Ki b. Kenny King/MVP – Koquina Clutch to King
Beautiful
People b. Madison Rayne/Taryn Terrell – Both Beautiful People
pinned Terrell after a Rayne Drop from Rayne
Hardys
b. Ethan Carter III/Tyrus – Swanton Bomb to Tyrus
James
Storm b. Eddie Edwards – Last Call
Bobby
Roode 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
#postsfromfourdaysago
ReplyDeleteTNA has the feel of WCW 2001. It's better than it's been for a long time, but you know it's ending soon.
ReplyDeleteNope! NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete*covers ears* NOPE!!!!!!!!
Going...going...
ReplyDelete::Hands WWF1987 a pair of reality-cancelling headphones::
ReplyDeleteThe light from TNA takes three months to reach Earth.
ReplyDeleteFor all we know, it may already be dead.
Roode vs. Lashley has been a better title feud/story than Cena vs. Lesnar. And that's with Lashley speaking even less than Brock.
ReplyDeleteGreat Roode/Lashley match but one thing I've been wondering: Why does Bobby Roode's Death Valley Driver have such a lame name like the Roode Bomb?
ReplyDeleteThe Roode Interruption is right there for the taking and is a much better finisher name to boot.
I'm in England at the moment so I've been having to squeeze shows in where I can. I'll be back to normal this week.
ReplyDeleteYep, WCW was surprisingly watchable at the very end. They finally went towards a youth movement, but it was WWWAAYYY too little, WWAAYY too late.
ReplyDeleteReally? I know it got less Russo-Crazy towards the end, but I still thought it was unwatchable, just in a torturously dull way rather than an aggressively annoying way.
ReplyDelete