Impact 1-5-16 - Pop TV Debut

[MGFanJay]

Lashley vs. EC3 was fine-ish. LOLed at the schoolboy finish. Also, Smurf Jeff Hardy. They did a great job teasing Davey vs. Angle for the first and only time to deliver...Drew and Angle as a team against the Wolves and ED and EY. Beer Money reunion was fun. BPs deal didn't accomplish much, but Kong turned...re-turned heel. Also, Rebel is now a boat captain-cosplaying stripper. Viva la Boat Captain Mike Rotunda! World Title match was a fine video game match, but nothing really memorable beyond the nasty side effect on the steps and the super One Percenter. 

 

Bennett and Maria legit came off like the biggest stars on the show with their whole presentation. Maria's promo was fantastic and Bennett's was pretty good. His look seemed great early, and then they revealed the weird mustard yellow hat and blue Nikes and he came off like a guy trying to be a star with a $250 clothing budget. I chuckled so much at the seemingly endless plug of Schitt's Creek - it's like them plugging their future home, and for a while there, I was wondering if they'd thrown a tape of a whole episode on because that promo had to last at least 10 minutes.

 

http://jayreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2016/01/tna-impact-1-5-16-pop-tv-debut.html

 

Screens - 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Suplex Ever

 

http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/fgxq28zs8az86ji7w54m83yck9xugs6v

[hammerva]

Yeah this show was a mess.   They begin the show exactly like a RAW or Smackdown with a dull promo have a so so match and then another long promo.  The idea that Beer Money is going to have their first match back on one of the those One Night Only PPV that nobody watches is laughable.  I like Mike Bennett but he looks like a cross between Heath Slater and Armando Estrada.   I figure they will book him exactly like they booked EC3 assuming TNA can pay POP TV enough money to make it to a year.  

 

Having EC3 winning the title even more proves how this World Title Series was just an excuse to fill hours.  Although Matt Hardy is so awful in the ring (look and skill) that it is probably for the best he did win.   The highlight of the show is that you do this best set up for the title match but first you have to wait 5 minutes for a commercial about Shits Creek.  Now granted Eugene Levy is funnier than most things in TNA but a real company wouldn't have their guys stand in the ring like idiots while this was going on.  Kind of worried they are going to build up something involving Reby Sky and EC3 which given that she is holding a baby in her hands really up the sleeze factor times 10

[Ace]

Positives:

 

I really like the entrance-way. A white wall you can project on with the door underneath. 

 

EC3. He deserves better than this company.

 

Awesome Kong as the new leader of the Dollhouse. Hopefully this means she gets promo time now, since she's a better talker than the rest of the women on the roster.

 

Beer Money is back!

 

Negatives:

 

Billy Corgan's new Impact theme is a droning, unenergetic mess. You're supposed to build energy in opening a show, not bore them in the beginning.

 

Speaking of boring in the beginning? 45 minutes. 1 match. 2 extended promo segments. 

 

Tyrus literally has no instincts for wrestling. At all.

 

Hey! Look! It's Jesse Godderz! No chyron! No mention of his name!

 

I figured out why Bram said 2006 would be his year. He's signed so many multi-year TNA contracts this year that they've broken spacetime and gone retroactive.

 

Mike Bennett was the opposite of a star. Cheap suit (not tailored). Cheap $20 straw fedora. And his promo? A mediocre rehash of Jericho's Raw debut promo.

 

Matt Hardy Will Not Die(t)! Out of shape, blowing spots. Still wearing late 90s kikwear pants.

 

The biggest issue was the directing. So many missed shots, bad angles, and missed cues. 

[steve]

Alright, I'm gonna have to put him on ignore now, that last one with the caption is clearly trolling.

[Matt D]

Well, we know three people watched this thing.

[Charlie M.]

Jericho rehashing his RAW debut promo himself on Monday made Bennett doing it look even sillier. I'm not going to say that's why Jericho did it on Monday seemingly out of nowhere but if someone told me that was the reason, I'd probably believe them.

[DreamBroken]

Fun enough show that had some excitement and fresh feel to it with the new champ being crowned and being live though nothing was blowaway great on the show. Angle/Davey is a match I wanna see once before Angle goes, so they had me excited with teases then the Wolves tag, but adding Godderz/Drake to it seems to take away from the match a bit even though I like those guys. Definitely looking forward to Angle/Galloway next week. As big of a TNA fan as I am, I think it sucks for James Storm that he didn't get to do anything further with WWE as he seemed rejuvenated there and could've done some cool stuff. Beer Money reunion is fun despite almost ruining the "surprise" by hitting the wrong music and too early. Bennett's debut came off ok with a good presentation of his entrance at least. Knockouts tag had some good stuff bu was too short. Matt/EC3 was a solid finisher trading match, not knowing what the outcome was going to be. Josh was about to lose his voice yelling for the finish. Overall looking forward to see where things go next now that the World Title series is over.

[Casey]

I don't think it was live, I saw full show spoilers like 5 minutes before it started.

[cool arrow]

That's the way TNA does "live." It's on a tape delay.

[Phantom Lord]

Mike Bennett is doing a fine Armando Estrada gimmick. Did he have the cigar? I'm getting POP according to Optimum, but they did not say when.

 

So this is TNA's ninth life right. There is no coming back after this.

 

Also didn't Kong retire?

[cool arrow]

SWERVE~!

 

Nah, apparently that was just for Japan.

[Tim Evans]

Pope busting out laughing when Josh mentioned Schitz creek was the best part of the show. It wasn't bad but just normal boring TNA with no fire or sense of direction. Just so sad seeing Beer Money reunite in TNA and not NXT. Mike Bennett's character is useless with EC3 as champ but at least Maria will make tv weekly. The knockouts match was a total mess. They need some new blood bad in that division but they probably won't last the year on Pop so it doesn't matter.

[BrianS81177]

Really bummed James Storm came back here. I was hoping to see him work with a lot of the NXT roster, and maybe even be a surprise Rumble entrant.

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

THAT was their idea for a great re-debut on a new network?

 

Fuck off TNA!

 

Oh, and creepy ass pic! YAY!

[Jamal]

The Knockouts have always been a bright spot on Impact. Decent six ladies tag match and I like the idea of Kong taking over the Dollhouse with the others being her minions. Reminds me a bit of the Kongtourage from back in the day.

[hammerva]

Problem with Knockouts is that the entire division was in that match last night including Awesome Kong and half of them are terrible in the ring. 

 

By the way you know you are anorexic when you are 7 months pregnant and still people think you are too skinny.  

[Playa Shunna Ver 3.0]

Watched a few minutes and decided last night would be a good night to finish the tokyo dome show.  Rewinded for the Miracle debut which was dogshit awful.  

[Dewar]

Schitt's Creek is pretty funny, and you need to watch it.

[Hollywood Cibernetico]

I don't know why I think that in 2016 TNA is going to surprise me and do something fun. Its the same stuff. Same format. Nothing has changed. And I don't care what anyone says, TNA needs to get rid of its KO division. The majority of that division sucks and that fact shouldn't be sugar-coated. the division has been the shits every since TNA decided to emulate The Divas division more and push real talent (Taylor, Sarita, Hamada, Flash, Daffney) to the background and eventually out of the company. There are absolutely zero matches I want to see in the division and I know a broken clock is right at least twice a day, but I don't believe its worth it at this point. KO's are BARELY having better matches than ROH's WOH division and that's pretty fucking sad because if TNA wanted to it could.

 

I am glad I am not the only one who thought Estrada returned to the ring ( I saw the screenshot first before the actual show). TNA really needs to give some of its talent a monthly stipend for fashion. If Mike is SUPPOSE to be a big deal, he needs to dress like one and that doesn't mean wearing something off the rack. Not many people in TNA are running the 'suit and tie' gimmick right now so it shouldn't be that hard to make sure EC3 and Bennett stay nice and sharp. Since Roode is now the 'money' in 'Beer Money' again, he should be tossed some dough as well.

 

Also, I am a bit sad that Storm is teaming with Roode to 'have some fun'. Can this company stop sucking off the worst of WWE tropes.

[RIPPA]

I am STILL laughing at Bram saying 2006 was his year

[Nice Guy Eddie]

I'm severely disappointed at the lack of Maria's backside in this recap.

[Phantom Lord]

I'm severely disappointed at the lack of Maria's backside in this recap.

 

We all know when she wears her usual attire, that's the real Miracle.

 

If Kong and the Dollhouse are a thing now, I hope Corgan has the guts to just have Kong say they are her concubines. When they had Raisha/Cheerleader Melissa under in the Arabian gimmick with her it was pretty much that just unspoken.

[JimBob Skeeter]

I was channel surfing last night after the wife went to bed early, and came across Impact. So, I figured wtf, I'll stop. In the entire time TNA has been together, I have NEVER made a point to make sure I have caught an episode, so you can guess my mind frame here.

Turned it on in time to see Bobby Roode win his match, get attacked and then saved by JAMES STORM! OMG I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING, especially after Storm was trying to distract people with his tweets yesterday that he was at a gym elsewhere. Anywho, Storm went on for a while, and, thankfully, he didn't go full Bischoff and slam his time at NXT/WWE. It actually was a decent story in why he returned, and we got a Beer Money reunion.

Next, the Knockouts match, complete with Christy Hemme in the crowd announcing the upcoming match.

Ok, speaking of the crowd, this was AWA/ESPN2, (back when it WAS the OCHO), level of crowd out there. What was there, maybe 300 people? Seeing this, I do remember in '88 watching the AWA dying days ans still getting into it, what with the crappy casino crowds. At least this crowd was blacked out.

Anywho, The Dollhouse come out, and I'm sorry, who exactly are these three gals? I read spoilers all the time, and don't remember hearing about any one of them.

So, The Beautiful People come out, and their surprise partner is GAIL KIM, who comes out to exactly NO FAN FARE. Fuck you people. Switch channels.

I go back to Netflix and finish watching the 30 on 30: The Day The Game Stopped. This finishes just in time for me to switch back to the tv at 9:56, and holy hell, Matt Hardy looks like me, and that is not good. I at least cut my hair short so the grey doesn't show.

I keep this trainwreck on until the very end in time to see EC3, (drink every time they say his name!) yell in Hardy's ear: "NOW!", fall of the top ropes, (whatever his maneuver is called), 1-2-3, new champ!

Off goes the tv and I go to bed.

[Zheroen]

espn2 didn't launch until 1993, whereas AWA ran on ESPN proper from 1985-1990.

[Ace]

I'm curious why when saying Gail Kim would be a first-ballot TNA Hall of Famer, she'd have to retire. Especially considering none of the other recipients were retired at the time. Even Jarrett did at least one match post-induction.