Impact opens with Bobby Lashley cutting a promo about Bound For Glory and how he has no challengers that can even come close to ending his dominance. Aron Rex interrupts him, mentioning his game-changing win at the PPV against Eddie Edwards for the Impact Grand Championship. Gail Kim follows suit, talking about how times have changed and it's time for a woman to hold either the Grand Championship or the World Title. Eventually every living, breathing mammal holding a championship in this company was standing in the ring cutting promos on each other until Billy Corgan made two announcements. One being that every title is on the line tonight except for the X-Division Championship because of a new concept in that division, and that Bobby Lashley must either face Eddie Edwards, EC3 or Moose in a title defense on this program. All in all, not the best segment on this edition of Impact, but it set up matches for the rest of the show, so I can't complain too much due to this segment having a clear purpose.
Rating: 3/5
The opening contest tonight is the beginning of this new X-Division concept, known as X-Gold, where members of this esteemed division will be competing in 6-Man Tag Team Matches. The first round of such groundbreaking events is a match between the team of DJ Z, Braxton Sutter and Mandrews, and their opponents Andrew Everett, Trevor Lee and Marshae Rocket. Fun match, wasn't the best match I've seen all week, but everybody performed exceptionally well in this instance and set the tone for the rest of this tournament, which will be taking place over the next few weeks. As for notable moments, Marshae's kicks were lethal in this match. He displayed a more aggressive style that the X-Division has not seen in a long time, and I sincerely hope TNA does not mess up with this new talent.
Rating: 3/5
Following this enjoyable match was a highly entertaining return of Eli Drake's talk show, Fact Of Life! His guest this week was EC3, and it didn't disappoint for sure! I just love how he annoys all the wrestlers and pushes his comical "dummy" button while the crowd just eats it out of the palm of his hands, and there was no shortage of that at all. Ethan Carter played to his character perfectly, as he showed another side that we don't usually see from him. That my friends, was a side of pure, unadulterated anger. It got to a point where these two egos were face-to-face, about to come to blows. The segment went from senseless hilarity to visible intensity in only a matter of minutes. I look forward to seeing more between these two great athletes, hopefully a match!
Rating: 4/5
Sadly, the show goes a little downhill for a short while, as the frustratingly annoying Maria Kanellis and her "assistant" Allie, make another irritating appearance on all of our televisions, before Maria and Laurel Van Ness interfered in Gail Kim's match with Sienna, forcing the referee's hand to call a disqualification. It was the usual disgustingly mediocre heel promo followed by a 3 on 1 assault with Madison Rayne on commentary just talking about it and not helping, although she's a face. Yeah, these Maria segments seem to be the only thing that are a constant annoyance on this show. Thankfully, this angle should end next week in the No DQ match between Maria and Gail Kim for the Knockouts Title. If not, well this part of the show will be the time that I have to nap every week.
Rating: 2/5
Switching gears from a depressing low of the night to another entertaining portion of bliss from the Broken Hardy's, as they face Decay in a Wolf Creek Cage Match. Chainsaws, Crowbars, Staffs, Razor Wire, and Staple Guns were all at the disposal of these two teams. It is safe to say that this has turned from a wrestling rivalry into a how-to on how to maim your opponent with weapons that should classify this match as attempted murder. Unlike their past encounters, there was no shortage of blood here, as Reby was bleeding, Rosemary was bleeding, Broken Matt and Brother Nero were both busted open and so was Abyss. Crazy Steve was the only one who came out with no blade marks on his forehead. This was definitely the time to put your kids to bed, because the sensitive generation would have nightmares, and the PTC would have something to complain about. Great match.
Rating: 4/5
Cody Rhodes makes his Impact On Pop debut side by side with his wife Brandi, cutting a promo about his list of potential matches and how Michael Bennett was on that list. "The Miracle" himself made his presence felt, cutting a scathing promo on Cody and his wife, which escalated rather quickly into a fight. I can already sense that these two will have a worthwhile program, no matter how long it lasts. This is absolutely another feud that I cannot wait to see more of and I hope these two have a match fairly soon.
Rating: 3.5/5
Succeeding this segment was a match for the Impact Grand Championship, as the title holder Aron Rex struggled to retain against Baron Dax, as there was an intensity, a fire in this former NXT Mid-Carder's eyes that no one has really seen from him. This contest was not at all what I expected, but it was still worth viewing,as I personally enjoyed it. I wonder who will challenge Rex next, presumably Drew Galloway when he comes back, but until then, his challengers could be anyone in that locker room, and I am intrigued to see who is next in line.
Rating: 3.5/5
Ladies and Gents, it's finally main event time! Our TNA World Heavyweight Champion, "The Destroyer" Bobby Lashley has to make a decision. All three challengers cut a promo earlier on in the night, explaining why they should be chosen, so now it's decision time! Instead of choosing Moose or the man he defeated last Sunday (EC3), he instead selects who he feels is his easiest match, and that was Eddie Edwards!
The match itself was a very good one, as it told an engaging story. The dominant champion who is far too overconfident, manipulating the crowd by cutting the unlikely challenger off at every possible avenue while not even going for the cover tells the story of a man who is his own worst enemy. Just when it seemed all hope was gone and this mercenary of a man was gonna mutilate another one of TNA's heroes, the former Ring Of Honor World Champion surprised him with a Boston Knee Party, obtaining the pinfall victory and another amazing accomplishment, that being the TNA World Heavyweight Championship!! This was a great match, and an unforeseen ending if you did not read the spoilers or cut yourself off from Social Media. The new champion rightfully deserved that win, and I hope he has a very good run at the top of the mountain!
Rating: 4/5
Full Show Rating: 3.5/5
Although I have many grievances with Maria Kanellis & Allie as characters, it was overall an incredibly enjoyable show, with numerous positives that effectively outweighed the negatives in this particular edition of #ImpactOnPop . That's all I have left to say about this show, as it was well worth watching.
This has been another fun review, I hope you all enjoy reading it, as much as I did writing it! I will be back this afternoon for a Ring Of Honor review, Episode 263 so if you're an ROH fan like myself, be on the lookout for that! This is the Local Hero, the Review Guy Cameron Mcdonley, saying Goodbye Everybody!
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