Coming off of Bound For Glory, TNA Impact on POP will feature the fall out of the huge pay per view. Will there be any indication of a sale that has been rumored for weeks now? TNA looks to ReBound From Glory on tonight’s episode.
TNA Review: 10/6/16 – ReBound From Glory
Bobby Lashley made his way to the ring and quickly got down to business by saying it does not matter who comes from the back, they quickly realize that he is the “man” in this business. Lashley said that whoever is brought out gets destroyed and that Ethan Carter III was just a warning. Aron Rex’s music played and he walked out holding up the Grand Championship title that he won at Bound For Glory over Eddie Edwards. Lashley didn’t even bother to turn around and face Rex as he walked to the ring.
Rex congratulated Lashley on his win and said “but, at Bound For Glory, I changed the game.” He said that since he is the “grand” champion, he is the man around TNA. Lashley said the title means nothing and that he is the man. Gail Kim’s music hit and she walked out to the ring with the Knockouts Championship that she won at Bound For Glory. Kim said that last time she checked, it is 2016 and it’s a level playing field. She said she is proud to be the first female TNA Hall of Famer and that the women are changing the business. Broken Matt and Reby, who was carrying King Maxel, made their way to the ring as Matt laughed the entire time. The crowd chanted “Maxel.” Matt addressed everyone in the ring as “fellow champions” and said that he is change. Matt claimed that everyone now lives in a broken universe since the Hardy’s won the great war. Not to be left out, the X Division champion, DJZ, made his way to the ring. Z said tonight will be the debut of Team X Gold. Lashley said that there is only one champion, he has a big fight coming up, and he is going to go train for something more important than second rate title holders.
Billy Corgan made his way out with Aiden O’Shea. Corgan was not wearing his usual suit and tie, but was dressesd like an emo Alabama Crimson Tide fan. Corgan said that all of the champions will be in competition, including Lashley. Lashley said to serve up another victim for him. Corgan said that he would allow Lashley to choose his opponent out of three people that Corgan picked out. Team X Gold is next.
Rating: 4/10 – Boy, that dragged on. I get wanting to showcase all of the champions, but it got stale very quickly. None had the opportunity to really say much as too many people were involved. Corgan still comes across like a robot, but he is still fresh to the business. His outfit tonight just looked completely out of place. He looked like the spoiled rich character you would see at your local American Legion Post on a Saturday night. Corgan said all of the titles will be on tonight.
Back from commercial, DJZ, Braxton Sutter and Mandrews were in the ring. Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, and Marshe Rockett. Apparently Team X Gold is a series of three on three tag team matches where the rules are strictly enforced. Marshe Rockett took control over Mandrews a few minutes into the match. There was a neat spot where Rocket was kneeling near the ropes and DJZ used him as a spring board to land on Trevor Lee outside of the ring. Eventually, Sutter ignored the part where rules are strictly enforced by tagging out, then powerbombing Everett. Mandrews followed up with a shooting star press to win the match for his team.
Rating: 6/10 – The six competitors tried hard, but it’s hard to get behind some people who have had so little development. Mandrew’s shooting star looked fantastic. Rockett was touted the entire match as being something special, however it felt like he under delivered by not looking a little more dominant. He was considerable bigger than the other five men.
Jeremy Borash announced that Moose was one of the potential opponents for Bobby Lashley in the main event. Moose said all of the people want to see Lashley against Moose. He said Lashley is scared to face him.
Eli Drake hosted the Fact of Life. The crowd gave him the “what” treatment. Drake’s guest was the “choke artist” Ethan Carter III. Drake said that Carter wants to be like him. Every time Carter started to speak, Drake would hit the red button that would play a “dummy, yeah” sound effect. Carter eventually stopped him from pushing the button. He said he will not make any excuses and that Drake shouldn’t be wasting his time with his show and that he should focus on the opportunity he has with the Bound For Gold win. Carter said if Drake presses the button again, he will “rip him apart piece by piece, rip his limbs off and beat him to death with it, light his corpse on fire and piss on his ashes.” Carter even got on his knees “like Drake’s mother” begging him to press the button again. Drake teased pressing the button but pushed it aside. Drake said that he had to fight his way to the top while Carter came right in at the top. Drake said that was not an insult, it was just a fact of life.
Backstage, Maria Kanellis Bennett confronted Allie about the events that happened at Bound For Glory. Sienna and Laurel Van Ness said it was Allie’s fault that Maria lost the championship to Gail Kim. Sienna said she would win the title back for the group tonight and warned Allie not to mess it up.
Rating: 7/10 – Moose got a nice reaction from the crowd but don’t count on him being the choice tonight. That’s a program down the road that TNA can really cash in on. Carter showed great intensity with Drake. Does it bother anyone else that Drake pronounces “E-li Drake” the same way Stone Cold Steve Austin would say his name? Maria is still very good with her segments despite being tied to the atrocious Allie.
Eddie Edwards was announced as the next potential challenger for Bobby Lashley. Edwards said that he assumes Lashley views Edwards as the easy way out. He begged and dared Lashley to pick him tonight.
Sienna made her way to the ring with Allie literally in tow. Madison Rayne was on commentary for this match. TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim made her way to the ring. As Kim was entering the ring, Sienna threw Allie into her, knocking her off the apron. Sienna dominated the early portion of the match and asked the crowd “what about me?” There was a cool spot where Sienna blocked a huricanrana, but instead of power bombing Kim, Sienna fell backwards and threw Kim on her face. Shortly after, Kim rolled Sienna up for the win. Maria Kanellis Bennett and Laurel Van Ness made their way down and attacked Kim. Maria said she gets a rematch and that it will be a no disqualification match. She tried to force Allie to slap her, but she refused. Maria pushed Allie down and slapped her herself.
Rating: 4/10 – Sienna was better in the ring here than previous weeks, but the match still left a lot to be desired. It was odd that Rayne spent the entire match putting over Kim only to sit there and watch her get beat up by three women and not bother to help.
Ethan Carter III was announced as the third potential opponent for Bobby Lashley, joining Moose and Eddie Edwards. Carter said he did not think that Lashley would pick him.
The first ever Wolf Creek Cage Match was explained. Apparently it’s Lethal Lockdown with a couple of different weapons included. Reby played piano on the stage while Broken Matt and Brother Nero made their way down to the ring to a surprisingly small reaction. The Decay made their way to the cage for the tag title match. Before the match started, Matt told Reby that Rosemary was not at the ring and she needed to go to the back and protect King Maxel. Nero got a staple gun and stapled the head of Abyss. Crazzy Steve grabbed a grappling hook and put it in Matt’s mouth. The Decay took over and used multiple weapons on the brothers for a few minutes before Abyss decided to just start banging a kendo stick against the cage, allowing Matt to recover and take control. Matt climbed the cage and grabbed a chainsaw, but it would not start. Nero ended up hitting a Twist of Fate on Abyss. As Nero climbed the cage, Rosemary showed up and spit the mist into his eyes. Reby pulled her down then made her way over to stop Abyss from escaping. The broadcast froze (apparently for everyone), so the end of the match was not shown. According to reports, Broken Matt and Brother Nero did win the match.
Rating: 7/10 – Wow, what a disappointment to not see the finish of a match, particularly one of the most entertaining things on television. The match itself was a play on a new Pop show called Wolf Creek. The main character carries around a rabbit head staff, which is something that Reby carried down to the ring before the feed cut out. The action was good, though it was not anything more than a Lethal Lockdown match. It will be interesting to see where the teams go from here.
Cody and Brandi Rhodes made their way to the ring. Cody got on the microphone and said that his arrival is a “game changer.” He said he did not know how accurate that was, but feels like the game is just changing forever. Cody put over Gail Kim’s Hall of Fame induction and the Great War. Cody said he didn’t want to be kicked out of his former house, he left on his own, and that his guiding light, brought him to TNA. Cody said the guiding light was the list that he posted on social media some time back. Cody pulled the list out, but Brandi whispered something in his ear. Cody said that maybe he should not have put Mike Bennett on the list, but instead the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
Mike Bennett and Maria made their way to the ring. Bennett waited for the crowd to finish chanting “Cody” before saying anything. Bennett said he was interrupting Cody much like Cody did to him the night before. Bennett to exception to the fact that Cody was just handed a World Championship match while he had to fight his way to the top. Cody said they should fight. Bennett started to say something else when Cody took a shot at him. Cody set up for Cross Rhodes but Bennett escaped and retreated up the ramp.
Rating: 7/10 – Even though Cody never won the WWE Championship, he still feels like a big deal. The casual fan wouldn’t know what his list is, so they may need to expand on that if they’re going to bring it up again. The idea of Bennett versus Rhodes is something that fans will want to get behind. It will be interesting to see how long Cody stays around.
Back from commercial, Cody was on the ramp and said he wanted his first match to be against Mike Bennett.
Backstage, Maria stormed to Billy Corgan’s dressing room but was cut off by Aiden O’Shea. He said that Corgan told O’Shea to tell Maria that she will get her match against Kim, but if she loses, she will no longer be the leader of the Knockouts.
Baron Dax made his way to the ring to challenge for the Grand Championship. Aron Rex was out next. Almost the entirety of the first round was filled with head locks. Dax won the first round 30-27. At the start of the second round, Dax quickly went after Rex. Rex locked in a submission move, which caused Dax to tap. After the match Jeremy Borash interviewed Rex. Rex said the Grand Championship is a title of opportunity and it shows that he is the best.
Rating: 5/10 – The Dax and Rex match was nothing special. This format still has many flaws. It’s easy to appreciate the uniqueness of it, but it just does not feel like a fit in professional wrestling. Will we only see these rules when the title is defended? If so, how does one qualify for a title shot? It is interesting for Rex to continue to say that he is the best. Perhaps a turn is in store shortly?
Bobby Lashley made his way to the ring to pick his opponent tonight. Out of Moose, Ethan Carter III and Eddie Edwards, Lashley chose Eddie Edwards because he said he would be the easiest of the three. Lashley dominated the match and threw Edwards over his head which caused Edwards to do a complete 180 to land on his chest. Lashley hit a nice delayed standing vertical suplex. Edwards started to make a comeback, but Lashley caught Edwards in a beautiful power bomb. Edwards caught Lashley with an enziguri followed by a top rope huricanrana. Lashley regained control and set Edwards up for a spear. Edwards hit Lashley with the Boston Knee Party as Lashley ran in for the spear and pinned him to become the TNA World Champion. Edwards shot a look of disbelief as he held the title, and the show quickly came to an end.
Rating: 6/10 – The title change is a huge surprise. It’s likely that most expected Edwards to give it everything he had only to come up a little short. The match itself was nothing special. It’s nice to see TNA take a chance on Edwards, but they really could have done themselves a favor by showing Edwards celebrating a little more. There was less than 60 seconds of screen time from when Edwards won to when the show went off the air.
Overall Rating: 6/10 – TNA packed a lot in to tonight’s show. While some of the matches were related to the events at Bound For Glory, the show still felt like it was moving in a new direction overall. It really is a shame they did not give Edwards more screen time to celebrate, as that could have really drove home how much it meant to him.
