EC3 introduces Kurt Angle's opponent
I've been really enjoying Kurt on the mic lately. He & EC3 in particular have been having some great segments and this was another fun one. They go back & forth about their title match..next week? I thought it was at the PPV on Sunday? Alright then, I guess that's my fault for not keeping up, but I'm really confused why they're hyping next week's TV over an upcoming PPV. Angle tells EC3 that he's going to make him tap out. EC3 teases facing him now then introduces Kurt's opponent for the night. Music hits and it's JEFF HARDY..no, wait, it's Matt Hardy! I wish they would've used different music for Matt. Hearing Jeff's voice on the track gets you thinking it's him making his return then Matt comes out. I don't mind the choice though. Angle/Hardy should be decent.
1) Low Ki vs. Tigre Uno vs. Grado - X Division Title Match
"Anyone but Grado" was my thought going into this match. I'm a big comedy wrestling guy. Hell, I love Chuck Taylor. Grado, however, just isn't my cup of tea. I figured he'd win here though and if not him, Low Ki. I personally wanted Tigre Uno to win and despite not having any faith in that happening, it did! Grado got eliminated first to my surprise then Ki & Uno had a fun little exchange before Uno pinned Ki. That was a shocker. I'm glad to see Tigre Uno get the belt, I just wish they would've given this bout a bit more time so it could have been a more memorable victory. You know good & well that Ki & Uno could have torn the house down if given about five more minutes!
Match rating - **1/2
2) Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love
I'll give this credit. It was no where near as bad as I expected. Velvet actually looked like she knew what she was doing and the storyline was kind of interesting. The match didn't go too long either so this wasn't bad at all. Velvet picks up the victory, gets a nice pop, AND gets her job back!
Match rating - **
3) The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. Austin Aries & Bobby Roode - Full Metal Mayhem Match - Match #4 in the Best of 5 Series for the TNA World Tag Team Titles
Here's the main reason that I tuned in tonight (before the rumors began). Aries & Roode cut a pretty awesome promo pre-match that gave me a hint towards how this match would go. The Dirty Heels lived up to their name and also tried to keep this clean as possible because it was clear a weapons filled match wasn't their things. At one point, they sat in the middle of the ring in chairs with both of the Wolves in headlocks. Things like that got a lot of heat because most fans expected this to be a trainwreck. While it wasn't a train wreck, it was well done and featured a number of cool spots. You had Eddie double stomping a chair onto the back of Austin Aries, Roode holding up Eddie as Aries dropkicked him off the top rope through a table, and The Wolves covering Roode's head with a trashcan and double dropkicking him from different turnbuckles. This was no where near the level of last year's Full Metal Mayhem match between The Wolves, The Hardys, & Team 3D however it was good for what it was. The third match still reigns in the best match in the series, even after this. I wonder what they're going to do in the final bout.
Match rating - ***1/2
Jeff Jarrett returns to Impact Wrestling
Why, internet, why?! This would have been a pretty epic moment if the rumors hadn't began early in the day. It was still really interesting though and felt like something you never thought you'd see because Double J has moved on, or so we thought. I won't cover everything Jarrett said because I'm sure you've already heard. Bottom line is he enters himself into the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary and says he wants to go out of TNA the right way. He also mentioned his new promotion Global Force Wrestling several times in the promo and was wearing a GFW shirt. This wasn't everything I was expecting although I'm certainly interested in what this leads to.
4) Bram vs. Vader
What in the fuck is going on?! Vader is in TNA in 2015 answering an open challenge. This was a sight to see, that's for sure. For those who don't know, Bram has been calling out former TNA stars and Vader was the man to answer him this week. He went for the Vader bomb and missed it which ends up allowing Bram to get the win. He's beating Vader down afterwards and MATT MORGAN HITS THE RING! ANOTHER RETURN! I used to always like Morgan so this was a pretty fun moment because I wasn't expecting it all. Morgan runs Bram out of the ring and it's later announced that they'll be facing off at Slammiversary on Sunday.
5) Eric Young vs. Chris Melendez
EY has been one of the only consistent, bright spots in TNA during the past year or so and somehow he managed to be on the backburner of this show. With everything going on, I totally forgot about this match which began with the unbelievable angle of EY ripping of Melendez's prostethic leg and choking Kurt Angle with it. I feel like TNA could've capitalized more on this heat this garnered because this match felt like a throwaway or an eventual squash. EY picks up the win. I wanted so much more from this.
I changed the channel during a commercial and come back to a huge brawl between the BDC and the Rising. When out of nowhere, HERNANDEZ HITS THE RING! What the hell!? He was just on Lucha Underground an hour ago and now he's on TV with another promotion?! I know LU isn't live, but that's still mindblowing. Who knew Super Mex would be such a hot property in 2015 after he disappeared from the limelight for awhile in recent years. He cleans house and joins the BDC with MVP, Kenny King, & Low Ki. No Homicide? He's gone now? That sucks majorly because WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN AN LAX REUNION! Man, TNA missed the ball there. That would have gotten me really hyped. LAX (Homicide & Hernandez) against The Wolves would be awesome.
6) Kurt Angle vs. Matt Hardy
I'm surprised this was the main event. Then again, I'm not. Both men have star power and huge legacies in wrestling so may as well close the show with them. They got around 10 minutes, probably a little less. They ended up just trading big moves for the most part. Side effects, angle slams, etc. Angle picks up the win as you'd probably expect considering he's the champion. After the match, EC3 & Tyrus jump Angle. Hardy helps Angle out and the TNA Champion ends up locking EC3 in the ankle lock and he taps out. They close the go home show before a PPV making last minute match announcements and hyping the TV that will air AFTER Slammiversary. Wow..
Overall thoughts: TNA was right, there's a lot here that left people talking. Jarrett's shocking return and Vader's surprise appearance will get the casuals buzzing for sure. I think Hernandez's appearance will get a fair amount of attention as well considering he will now be on two Wednesday night wrestling programs. With all those surprising moments also came some horrible booking as TNA spent the majority of their go-home show before their anniversary PPV hyping next week's episode of Impact. It shows where their priorities are and considering the situation, I can understand why they're doing it. It just makes them look kinda bad when they have a PPV that's supposed to be a huge event and it's not getting half as much build & hype as it should. Who's in the King of the Mountain match along with Jarrett? Does anyone even know? What's the main event of the PPV? There's no way Slammiversary will draw many buys with so many questions and so little hype heading into it. This was truly a bittersweet episode of Impact, in my opinion.
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