TNA IMPACT! Reviews and Thoughts

TNA IMPACT! REVIEW AND THOUGHTS

TNA displayed a stronger showing on this past week’s Impact! I felt the show was better than last weeks, but the company didn’t receive very good news on Friday night on its program (see bottom for initial ratings).

The show opened very quietly with Sting cutting a promo about himself and Slammiversary against Rob Van Dam for the TNA World Heavyweight Title. Eric Bischoff interrupted Sting, addressing his drastic change. 

Samoa Joe, who suddenly appears behind Sting, is granted a match against “The Icon” Sting. However, Matt Morgan entered the picture and attacked Joe. RVD would then come out and save Joe. Bischoff came out again, announcing it wasn’t over. After RVD requests a four-way match, Hulk Hogan appears and approves of it.

Wasn’t that opening segment really quiet? This could have been the most silent piece I’ve seen in quite some time.

Match one featured Rosey Lotta Love vs Roxxi in a very short match up. Roxxi won the match. After Rosey threatened to take down The Beautiful People one by one, she would then kiss Jeremy Borash on the lips. Moving along...

The A.J. Styles vs Kazarian vs Jay Lethal was quite entertaining. Both Styles and Kazarian attempted to display their best moves in front of Ric Flair, who has been taking Kazarian’s side. After Kazarian and Styles continue to argue, Lethal pinned A.J. for the victory. 

Flair, who is fuming on the upset, tells Styles to leave, effectively choosing Kazarian as his new student. Could we be seeing a change in A.J. Styles? A possible feud with Flair? 

Kurt Angle then makes an appearance, and after talking with Flair in the ring, attacks both Ric and Kazarian. A very enjoyable segment.

After, Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy displayed their new found friendship and when Beer Money came out, another match was set for Slammiversary. I think Anderson and Hardy could formulate into a good tag team. Mr. Anderson’s babyface reaction has been great thus far.

The third match featured James Storm against Jeff Hardy in a solid showing that didn’t feel rushed, which TNA has been doing with quite a few of its matches on recent episodes.

Mr. Anderson would then face Robert Roode. Rodde would win the match by grabbing the middle rope for leverage. Pretty good match again, and should be a great showing at Slammiversary.

Rob Terry and Abyss would then square off against Desmond Wolfe and Orlando Jordan. The winner was Terry and Abyss.

In the main event, Rob Van Dam vs Mott Morgan vs Sting vs Samoa Joe was a pretty solid match. During the match, what caught my attention, was the reappearance of what seemed to be Hernandez. RVD hit his signature Five-Star Frog Splash on Morgan for the win.

OVERALL THOUGHTS : Two straight weeks of solid Impact! episodes. The focus is being placed on the right wrestlers and did a nice job promoting Slammiversary. I really like how Mr. Anderson babyface turn is developing. The matches were also longer than past episodes. Hogan is also appearing less, but it doesn’t hurt to see him a little bit in the show. TNA is headed in the right direction, no matter what the ratings say.

THE RATINGS : TNA got slammed hard this past week. After three straight weeks of growing viewership, TNA only averaged 1.05 million viewers, down from last week’s 1.34 million. However, Game One of the NBA Finals was on ABC, and the show couldn’t generate enough buzz. (I will update this page once full details of the ratings come in shortly)

THE FINAL WORD : Don’t give up. TNA has been producing better episodes as of late, as the focus is on the right stars. TNA needs to shake off this week, continue producing well, and ratings will grow once the summer arrives.