3/13/15 TNA Impact Review – EC3 Finally Shaves Rockstar Spud

 EC3 def. Rockstar Spud

With EC3 in a heavy arm brace and a barber’s chair set up outside the ring, the odd couple finally got in the ring with each other in the show’s main event. Early in the match, Spud used his speed and athleticism to keep himself in the match. When Tyrus tried to interfere on EC3’s behalf, Mr. Anderson evened the numbers and eliminated Tyrus with a mic check.


EC3 used his oversized arm brace to clock Anderson and to bust Spud’s forehead wide open. EC3 smeared Spud’s blood across his own chest to enhance the impact and yelled at Jeremy Borash while he continued to throttle Spud.


The blood-soaked Spud fought valiantly to stay in the match. He crawled up EC3, but EC3 shook his head and hit the One Percenter to get the pin. After the victory, EC3 gave a babyface promo that complimented Spud for his toughness and resolve. He stuck out his hand to Spud, held the ropes for him, then smashed Spud with his arm brace. He hung Spud in the tree of woe and shaved his head while he yelled that the whole wrestling industry belongs to him.


There were lots of missteps in the Spud-EC3 rivalry. It seemed interminable and sometimes felt like it was not doing EC3 any favors as a rising star. In the end, they wrestled a solid final match and EC3 got some real heat for his (admittedly telegraphed) double cross. If TNA moves on from this program now and EC3 gets into something closer to the main event, it will not have been a waste after all.


Bobby Roode def. Eric Young in a Last Man Standing Match

A couple of weeks ago, MVP proclaimed that the results at TNA’s Lethal Lockdown did not matter. He said so in order to preserve some heat in the feud between Lashley and the Beat Down Clan after the former’s decisive victory. His words proved to be prophetic this week as Roode and Young repeated a match that seemingly blew off at Lockdown.


After Young beat Roode up the ramp, Roode blocked a suplex and hit his own on Young. In the time it took him to set up a table, Young recovered and hit a neckbreaker on the floor. He pulled Roode onto the top of a set of stairs for a piledriver, but Roode countered with a back drop. They made it to their feet and clashed with chairs and a double clothesline. When Young hit a piledriver in the ring, Roode made it to his feet just before the referee reached a ten count. He retrieved a chair, but Roode piledrove him on it before he could use it. Young made it to his feet, but Roode hit the Roode Bomb off of the apron, through a table on the floor. Only Roode made it back to his feet to get the win.


The match was a microcosm of TNA in many ways. It was a very fun match to watch and showcased the talent and ring savvy that both wrestlers possess. On the other hand, the story was rushed to completion several weeks ago, so there was no urgency associated with the mathcup.


Drew Galloway def. MVP by DQ

Drew Galloway entered the crowd to give a cloying rallying cry to the fans. He said that the BDC are the types of wrestlers who get jammed down fans’ throats. The promo did not make sense- if Galloway wants to break kayfabe with his gimmick and indict manufactured wrestling stars, then it makes no sense for him to use that real life critique on MVP in kayfabe.


In any case, Galloway faced off with MVP in a flashback to Smackdown in 2010. One fan near the mic in the crowd repeatedly sang the 3MB entrance song while Galloway looked solid in the ring. When he set up for the Future Shock DDT, the BDC ran in and caused a DQ. The assault continued until Low Ki drew blood with a lead pipe. The BDC got some heat back while Galloway got a chance to shine in the match and built some sympathy. In that sense, the match was booked pretty well.



Other Notes

-Mickie James came to the ring against her husband’s wishes while Magnus and Bram slugged it out. Bram got himself disqualified with a kick below the belt. Bram destroyed Magnus with a chair after the bell whle the referee pointlessly corralled MIckie. Bram ziptied Magnus to the ropes and threatened Mickie until Magnus kissed his boot. This program has not been clicking, and nothing happened here to change that.


-Despite plenty of interference from the Bromans, Brooke got a pin on her ex, Robbie E, with a jackknife. It was incredibly stupid. After Brooke and Robbie gained notoriety on The Amazing Race, TNA has tried to keep them together on TV, but it has worked poorly.