Bryan Staebell
Impact Recap for 9/26
The company is in an interesting spot right now. I’m not talking about the financial stress (at least not directly) or rumors of them stopping Impact’s on the road or any of that. What makes this company interesting right now is the shift happening as they write off characters seemingly every other week while beginning a focus on who will be carrying the ball after the dust has settled.
A few weeks back they wrote Devon (whose contract was coming up) off the show by having him drop a loser leaves TNA fall in a 10 man tag. A couple of weeks later it was Mr. Anderson’s turn (whose contract has since expired) who did a major injury angle at the hands of Bully Ray. Last week Mickie James (whose contract has since expired) quickly dropped the Knockouts title to ODB. Next week, on the already taped Impact, they write off Hulk Hogan (whose contract is up at the beginning of October). The ongoing main event storyline centers around the contract status of AJ Styles (whose contract is up at the end of the year). Sting’s contract is also up at the end of the year. Now any of these people can re-sign at any time. They didn’t write any of them off in a way that doesn’t build for a return with the exception of Devon…who Bully Ray has name dropped on several shows since his exit…which would usually indicate he isn’t done yet.
As this is going on TNA has made strides in actually attempting to push talent into new positions. Magnus, as a character, is at a crossroads. He wants so desperately to prove himself as a main event player that it shapes everything he does on the show. The end result of this story should be that the young babyface proves himself at Bound For Glory by defeating the legend (Sting) before ultimately winning the TNA title sooner than later (again…that UK tour/Impact taping sure looks ideal doesn’t it?). This is a good storyline for Magnus, provided he actually wins those big matches of course. What I like about it most is that it’s become pretty clear that Magnus is the heir apparent to that top spot, and that can really work against a babyface when fans don’t feel like it has been earned. Giving his character self doubt, struggles and a worked toward goal alleviates that problem. Now…the problem is that I could have written much of that about James Storm 2 years ago. TNA blew it. Here’s hoping they’ve learned.
The other guy benefiting from a renewed focus is Chris Sabin. Now a full heel, Sabin is playing a character with surprising depth to it. His character turn is the result of no one respecting what he accomplished in winning the TNA title (after back to back ACL tears no less). Part of what makes it work so well is that…he’s right…no one does really respect that win. Those who know see it as what it was…a stop gap to get them through the summer while the BFG series was ongoing. Those who don’t need look no further than him winning by using a hammer, quickly losing it back and then vanishing from the top programs completely. From Chris Sabin’s perspective, however, look at everything he went through physically and mentally for 2 years just to get back, win the biggest match of his career, and do it to the sound of no one caring. It has the makings of a great heel character and it only improves with the execution. Sabin has taken to believing (and telling people constantly) that he is some kind of TNA legend having won every belt and putting in over a decade in the company. It works on the level of that being what he would think…and that, quite frankly, no one does see him at that level. That he pushes it beyond a simple “no one respects my title win” into “why can’t everyone understand I built this place” only adds to it. There’s also the Velvet Sky angle. Velvet, his real life girlfriend, has started valeting him to the ring. She hasn’t turned heel yet so they’re kind of doing a Savage/Elizabeth relationship right now. The twist is that unlike Savage’s obsession with Elizabeth…Sabin is only obsessed with the viewer knowing that he’s dating Velvet. He doesn’t just hide behind her…he throws her right into his opponent. It’s still early in the character’s progression but so far it makes sense. A guy nailing the hottest chick in the company who has won every title there is…and he can’t figure out why no one else thinks he’s the coolest guy in the room. I don’t know that it will turn into a main event level gimmick…but it is certainly enough to move him up the card from nondescript X guy that he’s been playing for over a decade.
Talent turnover will be a recurring theme going forward. On the show this week we had a video hyping the debut/return of Lei’D Tapa (which takes place next week), the return of Kenny King to action and a cryptic “Ethan is coming” video. Tapa will be a good fit in the Knockouts division because she’s so different than what they have (and they don’t have much anyway). As for Ethan…no word on who Ethan is but there was a Gut Check contestant (not the TV version of Gut Check, the actual indy guys try out for the company version) named Ethan HD who tried out in Oregon some time back. I don’t know anything about him other than he’s in his mid-20s.
Kenny King’s return was a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that he cut a strong promo and had a very good match with Austin Aries. The bad news is he was busted open early and bled all over the place. It was a fine return for King who has the look and ability to be something for the reshuffling company.
Chris Sabin lost to Manik in an X title match. More about getting Sabin’s new character established than trying to have a great match. Still was decent.
ODB, Joseph Park and Eric Young beat Bro Mans and Gail Kim in a fun 6 person tag. Kim got the spot because she’s all they had to fill in. It would have been Mickie James if they had come to an agreement on a new contract. Talks are ongoing.
The Aces and 8’s dropped another member as Wes Brisco tapped out in a 6 man tag against the Main Event Mafia. Post match Bully Ray destroyed Brisco. Unlike all the recent departures…Wes Brisco’s makes no sense. He’s young, cheap and kind of what they’re looking for. At this point I’m assuming the slow destruction of the Aces and 8’s is going somewhere. Either a swerve where the lost members come back to help Bully Ray…or maybe to relaunch them as babyfaces at some point. For what it’s worth the group is now getting very strong reactions when they stand up to Bully Ray. That may just be because Bully Ray is such an effective heel.
The main event segment came off flat again this week. Hulk Hogan gave AJ Styles the new contract he deserved and heel Dixie Carter came out to rip it up. I’ll say this for Dixie…she plays heel completely different than she played babyface. Note I didn’t say it was good. Part of this whole deal remains similar to the CM Punk’s contract is running out story…but Styles still isn’t really threatening to do anything if he does win the title at Bound For Glory. He’s still not interacting with Bully Ray (which is the match they’re trying to sell) and I’m not sure what is supposed to happen if he wins…or loses for that matter. Right now I understand he wants to be TNA Champion…but there doesn’t seem to be much of a plan past that. If he wins…he’s a champion without a contract. If he loses…I guess he just goes away? This is where they’ve made the biggest wrong turn.
If BFG was headlined by AJ vs. Dixie and Hogan vs. Bully Ray…I’d say they’ve been doing a great job.
Impact Preview for 10/3
They’ve already taped the show. Here is the lineup:
Bully Ray vs. Samoa Joe
Magnus vs. EGO in a gauntlet match
Chris Sabin & Kenny King vs. Manik & Jeff Hardy
Velvet Sky vs. Brooke Tessmacher
Bound For Glory IX (spoilers)
Bully Ray vs. AJ Styles for the TNA title
Sting vs. Magnus
Manik vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries vs. Chris Sabin in an Ultimate X for the X title
They’ve announced that Kurt Angle will make his return at BFG. No word on what shape that will take. They did have Bobby Roode complaining about Angle going into the Hall of Fame when he, Daniels and Kaz were more deserving. This is where I come up one guy short again. They can do Angle, Joe and a mystery partner vs. EGO…but they don’t have anyone to put in that spot. They can split it up (and might need to since the roster is so slim right now) and do Angle/Roode and a tag match with Joe finding a partner. Of course that leaves the same problem of being a man short. Maybe Angle isn’t even wrestling on the show and they’ll do Joe vs. Roode and figure out something for Bad Influence. With next week taped already…whatever they decide we won’t know for a little while.
James Storm and Gunner vs. Hernandez and Chavo seems like a lock.
ODB will be defending against someone on the show…perhaps Tapa if they go all in on an immediate push. Maybe a multi-woman match if they don’t trust her.
Random Morsels
The list of upcoming TV/PPV tapings is as follows:
10/10 – Tulsa, OK (the live 10/10 show and the taped 10/17 show. Go home shows for BFG)
10/20- San Diego, CA – Bound For Glory
10/24 – Salt Lake City, UT (the live 10/24 show and the taped 10/31 show)
11/7 – Cincinnati, OH (the live 11/7 show and the taped 11/14 show)
11/21- Baltimore, MD (the live 11/21 show and the taped 11/28 show)
12/27 – Philadelphia, PA (taped for 1/2 and 1/9 I guess. No idea why. December 27 is more in the holidays than January 2…)
