The Bound For Glory Series
Jeff Hardy defeated Kazarian in an exciting and fun match to watch. I always hate on Kazarian because I do not see the overall progress from him. I think he has done the same thing time and time again and has become stale. I should take that back, somewhat, because he is a consistently good performer. I enjoyed his mixture of simplistic moves and old school execution, with kicks and punches into a chicken wing. He tries to go up top and finish off Hardy, but Jeff was able to knock him off and hit a Swanton Bomb for the victory. The outcome was predictable. The ending was logical. The match was solid with no missed spots. It was as simple as can be, but it was fun to watch to kick off the wrestling part of Impact.
Grade: B-
AJ Styles defeated Bobby Roode to earn some points towards his surge to the top. Before the match, AJ Styles cut a great promo that many people are calling a "shoot." Yeah, it wasn't planned at all. It was real, guys. Get a clue. This was a great promo that had some very real issues, but IT WAS PLANNED. AJ Styles is going through "contract talks" and we know he is going to re-sign with TNA after this promo. He talks about being the guy that carries the company, no matter who comes in and out of the door. I liked the realistic approach to it. He has to be careful because if everyone cuts a "real" promo, it will become predictable and less important. The match was what you expect from two veterans. I wanted it to last much longer than it did. The promo lasted longer than the match itself. Styles picks up the victory after reversing Roode into a rollup. What are they doing with Roode? I do not think even TNA has that answer right now.
Grade: B-
Austin Aries defeated Christopher Daniels in the most complete match of the night. Daniels took the early advantage with a quick pinfall attempt. Both men reverse moves and Daniels lands on his feet after a springboard moonsault. I cannot begin to explain how hard that is because I have never tried it. Daniels quickens the pace by hitting a boot to the face of Aries. Much like a veteran does, he locks in a submission hold to ground Aries for a few minutes. As the match goes back and forth, Daniels ducks a crossbody and hits a sit out powerbomb for two, then he sets Aries up on the top turnbuckles but Aries counters by boxing his ears and he connects with a missile dropkick. Daniels avoids a crossbody and hits a powerbomb for a two count, then he sets Aries up on the turnbuckles only to have Aries counterA by boxing his ears and he connects with a missile dropkick. Aries ends the match with a dropkick to the back of Daniels and Brainbuster for the win. It looks like TNA wants Aries to be a face again. This is a huge problem, in general, for TNA. They cannot simply flip guys like a pancake from a face to a heel. It begins to get annoying and hard to follow.
Grade: A-
