Contract vs. Contract Match
Joe and Austin Aries work a quick bout with a few submission holds. Aries locks in his submission hold, but Joe reverses him with a near naked choke. Eric Young comes out and talks to Brian Hebner. Hebner argues about having to feed his family and doing what MVP says. Bully Ray knocks out Hebner and Young says they have to do what they have to do. MVP comes out and Bully Ray says that he should book them four against his guys in a first blood match. MVP says no, but King jumps the gun and says yes.
It seems like a complete mess, but it makes sense. We have some sort of "Authority" with King and MVP arguing. Lashley, who is the most interesting of the three, says nothing and does nothing. That needs to be changed. Anyways, the main event of the night is an 8 Man First Blood Match. It is something different, but the interest of this show (at this time) is winding down very fast. It is just lazy booking and a complete mess of multiple storylines meshing together.
Score: 4/10
-Mr. Anderson comes out dressed as a cowboy and makes fun of James Storm. Storm says he will fight Anderson, but not tonight. Storm says wants to go another round. Anderson runs at him and they exchange blows. Storm chokes Anderson and then hits Last Call.
I am not a fan of how the feud is being built, but I give credit for both guys trying to create chicken salad out of chicken s*it. Storm and Anderson will give us a good match at Slammiversary, but it is a step back from their two previous feuds. Shaw/Anderson was good, while Gunner/Storm was excellent.
Score: 5/10
First Blood Match
I can bash TNA at any point, but I am going to give them some credit here for the main event. It seemed like a complete mess earlier in the night, but the main event entertained me. Lashley and Joe work in the ring for a brief period until EY gets in and kicks down Lashley. Lashley tosses him around and then throws him into the boot of King. The champion is beaten down time and time again, which continues the role of Young as the "underdog." TNA is consistent in that aspect and will continue to book him in such ways.
The ending of an entertaining match came when Bully Ray and EC3 are in the ring. He misses a splash into the corner and Ray hits him with a steel chain. Even though the end of the match was anti-dramatic, afterwards would intrigue me. Dixie is backstage and tells MVP that this is personal and needs to be about business. MVP is yelled at by Dixie and she says that they are going to pay.
It intruges me because Dixie could turn…face? MVP and Dixie need to be far away from one another, but it will get me to tune in next week to see what happens. I would love to see EC3 as a face because of how comical he can be. The guy is just likable to me and could be a really good piece of their future. With my interest expiring throughout the night, this drew me back in…barely.
Is this "power struggle" that is not really a power struggle, but is a power struggle, interesting to you? It is not riveting, but I am intriuged to see what TNA does in this odd situation.
Score: 6/10
Impact Wrestling Reaction Score: 5/10
@JoshIsenberg4 on Twitter. Reaction, over.
