You could probably count the number of times that TNA has had to revamp itself, but why would you want to? Before their contract with Spike TV was up last year they had a good string of shows taped in New York City, shows I was actually staying up on Wednesday nights from 9 to 11 pm to watch or somehow watching after the fact. With a new year and a new television deal which should be a lot better than their old one, this seems like the perfect time to reset Impact Wrestling once and for all and build the brand that we all know they have the talent roster and resources to become. When I say resources I mean that they would likely sign wrestlers that WWE wouldn't which works to their advantage as well as the fact that the TNA talent doesn't go through NXT so someone like Chris Hero could debut on any given night as opposed to spending years in developmental.
I'm going to break down this show segment by segment for you, but before I do I need to address the one issue that made this overall show so hot in my opinion and that is the simple fact that it was live. What is it about Impact Wrestling that makes it so much better when it is live? I'm not sure. I could read spoilers for a number of other wrestling programs I watch including anything WWE based that isn't Raw or a pay-per-view, ROH TV and so on... The appeal of NXT is not lost in the fact that it is taped (And, no, I don't read the spoilers because I like to be surprised) so why is it that TNA just seems to always feel like Smack Down! in the sense that you just read the spoilers and don't watch it? (Admittedly, I do watch Smack Down! sometimes, but I usually read the match list first and use that as well as how much time I have in the week to determine whether or not I watch it)
If TNA was to go live more often I think it could provide a better atmosphere to the product overall, but for 2015 I'm going to try and no longer read spoilers and just watch the show and see if that somehow makes it better. Granted, I read match listings for some of the last shows they had on Spike TV and thought, "Tommy Dreamer? Sign me up!" so maybe they are finally turning a corner for the better.
So Impact opened with various wrestlers going from their hotel rooms to the arena and then brawling into the arena. This should be how every show opens from now on. Okay, maybe not really, but the live crowd ate it up and it was great. Kurt Angle broke it all up by announcing every title would be defended tonight and that he was no longer in control of the company as a majority shareholder or whatever but he was back to being an active roster member. This lead to an impromptu street fight between Kurt Angle and MVP and wow can these two go. The idea of Kurt Angle vs. MVP in a real deal match, perhaps in a cage even, just really appeals to me and I feel like this was a preview to that as this ended with MVP saying that he had kicked out by three.
For those watching Impact Wrestling for the first time, Kurt Angle is to Impact Wrestling what Ric Flair was to WCW and that is in no way a bad thing.
I'm liking Josh Mathews on commentary with Taz and it isn't the worst idea because there are far worse commentators in pro wrestling today (Get well soon, King) but it was kind of funny that the crowd was chanting "Shut the fuck up" at MVP and later on "M-V-Pussy" and as the chants were censored the commentary sort of suffered for it too. Oh well, you still have to love this live, rowdy New York City crowd.
The first official match with ring announcements and all that was James Storm & Abyss aka The Revolution defending the TNA Tag Titles against the American Wolves, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. Richards and Edwards were sporting scratch marks on their chests that I hope were body paint and not tattoos. I was kind of hoping for a loss here for Storm & Abyss because as much as I like them both individually the whole idea behind this gimmick where James Storm plays Raven and the undercard plays his Flock is just overdone at best. Abyss is better than this and needs to go back under the guidance of The Sinister Minister James Mitchell (Seriously, what is he doing now a days anyway?) or someone else in a managerial role and not as a friend to another wrestler. Still, the match wasn't terrible and as I'm beginning to realize that maybe I am just not a fan of tag team wrestling in general, I did like this match and the American Wolves didn't make me a fan per se but they weren't terrible either. (They used to be my least favorite tag team until the Young Bucks unfortunately came onto my radar)
The ending had The Hardys set up their match with the Wolves, even in an "Oops! I Did It Again" sort of context, but it's better than the Wolves losing clean at this point. When The Hardys came out though I was really hoping this would turn into a triple threat match, but alas, it was still fun for what it was and I hope that maybe Sanada and Manik can break away into their own tag team and James Storm and Abyss can just be a tag team for a little while instead of this faction nonsense. Maybe this will be the year the American Wolves win me over as a fan, but I highly doubt it.
In a backstage segment that spilled out into the ring, Ethan Carter III- the best part of Impact Wrestling hands down- was going to shave the head of Rock Star Spud but instead shaved the head of Jeremy Borash, who just looks like a current version of Dick Clark (and yeah, I realize Dick Clark is dead). If you notice, EC3 has been growing out his hair a little bit lately, so I expect this to lead to an eventual hair vs. hair match between the two former friends. But the only question is whether or not EC3 is still injured. Perhaps he is, and if so, this was a good way for him to be a part of the show without having the wrestle. Should EC3 go around shaving heads like Jeff Jarrett once did? Probably not. But this bit still accomplished what it needed to for the night.
The next match was for the X Division Title and they really put a strong emphasis on the division and what it meant to be champion. They pointed out that Low-Ki was the first ever ROH Champion and I thought that was a nice nod. These two worked hard and I'm interested to see where they go from here since Austin Aries recaptured the title. I'd prefer Aries in the TNA Title picture, but if this means making the X Division that much stronger than I'm all for it. Low-Ki is good and all, but he really hasn't done anything significant for me as X Division Champion (or since he's been back in TNA for that matter)
Robbie E made his return from "The Amazing Race" and did you know that guy was once tag team partners with the same Matt Striker who does awful commentary for Lucha Underground? It was nice to see the NYC reaction for him, as that is probably the most over he will be all year. This fed into a Knockouts battle royal for the title, which basically meant there was no number one contender and they just wanted to show you which women they had on their roster. I'm probably one of the few who are not a fan of Taryn Terrell who spent time in WWE as "Tiffany" and was briefly married to Drew McIntyre (no joke), so seeing her retain the title was a bit disappointing. I would have rather started the new year with Havok as champion and then had Terrell fade into obscurity, but oh man, when Havok started pounding Terrell and the lights went out... It was goosebumps when they came back on and I saw Awesome Kong. What a return and what a shock for TNA fans because the former "Kharma" is home and not in WWE. (I'd like to see her smash the Bella Twins as much as anyone, but TNA is where she rightfully belongs) Now, let's not rush this, TNA. Kong and Havok could have the feud of the year right here.
In the main event, MVP came out with "The Family" of Kenny King and two masked men who were revealed to be... Samoa Joe and Low-Ki. On one hand, this is something nice for Low-Ki to do, but on the other hand it just feels too much like what Big Ryck is doing in Lucha Underground and what every other wrestler who has ever built a faction behind him has done. I was intrigued by the masked men but then it seemed to just go over like a fart in church when Joe and Ki were revealed. This could have at least been a nice way to bring in Haas and Benjamin, am I right?
The TNA Title match seems tarnished by this and the Eric Young heel turn. It was nice that the fact EY and Bobby Roode were in Team Canada together was made mention but, ugh, another "He's turning on his best friend" storyline just makes me want to stop watch professional wrestling altogether (and I watch *a lot* of professional wrestling) So on one hand, we have a new TNA Champion who seems kind of surprised that EY gave him the assist and on the other hand we have a cheap finish to what should have been an early contender for Match of the Year.
So what does this spell for TNA in 2015? Well, Austin Aries is X Division Champion and the tag team division is looking good. Awesome Kong back in TNA spells an eventual (hopeful) Havok vs. Kong vs. Gail Kim match which will just RULE, but everything else seems to fall short right now. It's like everything that is wrong with WWE is going right in TNA and vice versa. Do I really want to see the Jay Briscoe-looking Eric Young feud with Bobby Lashley or Bobby Roode or anyone named Bobby? Nope. I would have loved a clean finish with Lashley winning back the title the right way and then a tournament or something set up for the next number one contender. This bag of gimmicks needs to end, but it was only really the end of the show that bothered me so I guess I can sit back and suck it up until we eventually reach the Reign of EC3 (which needs to happen this year)
For one bad match and a bad ending to this show, it still had some great and memorable moments throughout so let's hope that TNA can continue to build on that. Oddly enough, some of my favorite names such as Magnus, Bram, Samuel Shaw, Gunner and Mr. Kennedy were absent from this show (Aside from the pull apart brawl to open the show, I think), so thinking about those characters coming into play later on this year as well just makes for what could be some excellent professional wrestling. I am hopeful for a great 2015 for Impact Wrestling but only time will tell. I will check in as often as I can, but might not be able to maintain a weekly review of the program, but let us just not hope that time makes fools of us all.
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