What’s up guys? I’m TheCannon, brining you another review. Tonight we look at the February 20, 2015 edition of Impact Wrestling. How would the second episode from the UK do? Let’s find out.

Show starts off with a hype video for the gauntlet match tonight, and going over the Impact top 5. Remember how last week they said that Roode beating Aries would mean he’d be ranked #1 and come out in the gauntlet? Remember how Roode won that match? Well guess who’s not in the Top 5. Apparently Young attacking him knocked him out of the Top 5. Why establish that set up if they weren’t gonna follow that this week? Top 5 (from 5 to 1) are Ethan Carter III, Samoa Joe, Low Ki, MVP, & Kurt Angle, so they’re gonna be the final 5 guys in the gauntlet. Now honestly, what has Angle done to get the #1 spot? He & Lashley lost a tag match last week, so shouldn’t MVP really be above him?

Show starts with Angle coming out and saying he came back to win the TNA world title. Angle says that 20 men enter the gauntlet tonight, and not one of them can beat him. That’s about it. Why did he need to come out and do that?

Backstage Lashley is asked about what Angle just said. He says that Angle talks a lot, and they’re gonna go have a little chat.

Match #1 - Matt Hardy & The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. The Revolution (James Storm, Abyss, & ???)

Thanks TNA for telling us who the partner of Storm & Abyss is. I originally thought it was Koya due to him getting into some sort of brief brawl with Matt outside the ring when it started, but then Manik was in-ring and revealed to be their real partner. Why couldn’t that have just been announced Manik with Storm & Abyss? And Sanada was barely existent here BTW. Gotta love how this storyline started by centering around him, but now he’s the most irrelevant guy. And The Wolves’ claw tattoos are just terrible.

Anyway, the match was solid. Nothing amazing and it could get a tad hard to follow, but it was alright. Could have used some more time. Finish comes when The Wolves take out all the Revolution outside the ring while Matt sets up the Twist of Fate on Manik in-ring, and The Wolves come in and do a little bit of high-flying stuff to make it more exciting. One of the Wolves got the pin, but I couldn’t tell which. Think it was Davey, but I’m not positive. Like I said, nothing amazing, but it was solid.

Winners via pinfall: Matt Hardy & The Wolves

After the match The Revolution get back in the ring and begin beating down on Matt & The Wolves. Once they’re layed out, Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam on Manik. Okay... After that, they rolled Manik out of the ring and started leaving. Have to say that I didn’t see that coming. Could be setting up Manik leaving the Revolution, but I think it was just to show how crazy Storm is and what he’ll do if you disappoint him.

After commercial, EC3 & Tyrus come out. EC3 says that he’s not in a good mood, and talks about how he was gonna scalp Rockstar Spud last week, but someone ruined it. He then begins to issue a warning to that someone, until Mr. Anderson’s music hits and he appears on the entrance ramp. Anderson says that that someone EC3 mentions is a person and has feelings, and says that that someone hails from Greenbay Wisconsin and is Mr. Anderson, doing his whole self-announcing thing. Anderson says that EC3 shaved Jeremy Borash’s head and now he’s trying to shave poor Rockstar Spud’s head, and says that he should try to do that to EC3. EC3 says that no one is going to remove his dignity, and Anderson says that he’s talking about EC3‘s stupid hair. It’s not stupid, he has some of the best hair in wrestling! He pulls a razer out of his tights (eww) and begins to walk down to shave EC3‘s head, but EC3 says he has Tyrus as a plan and Tyrus gets out of the ring to keep Anderson from walking. While they’re staring at each other outside the ring, Spud & Mandrews (ugh, I hate typing that name) sneak up and attack EC3. A bit of brawling happens and EC3 almost gets his head shaves by Anderson, Spud, & Mandrews, but Tyrus is able to save him. EC3 escapes but Tyrus ends up getting taken out and they shave his head. He only had a semi-small mohawk, so it didn’t require much work. Afterwards Spud grabs the mic and says that Tyrus was the first costumer at Rockstar Spud’s Barber Shop, and that EC3 is next. It really wasn’t a barber shop, more an assault in a wrestling ring where you just happened to shave Tyrus’s head. Afterwards Spud says “let the scalping begin” and starts a “scalp” chant like EC3 did before.

Not gonna lie, this is one of the worst EC3 segments I’ve seen. I liked the anger he showed early on, and I’m glad the crowd seems to be getting behind Spud, but I just have trouble getting into him as a face. And I’m really sick of Anderson. I liked him at one point, but I just haven’t been a fan the past few years. He just doesn’t seem to be putting the effort in that he could be, and he’s just a natural heel that I can’t get into as a face. So yeah, wasn’t a fan of this scene.

Backstage the BDC are hanging out, and MVP asks them all if they can stop Angle, and after they all give the answer of yes, he says the gauntlet shouldn’t be a problem tonight. But can any of them stop Crazy Steve?

After commercial, we see Mickie James arriving at the arena and says that she wasn’t there to hang out, and something about Magnus’s condition after he was attacked by Bram a few weeks ago. For those who don’t know, Mickie & Magnus have been in a relationship (not sure if they’re married or not) and had a kid together. I do like Mickie James and am glad to see her back, but I’m not sure I want to see her in the Magnus/Bram feud, especially since it’s barely even started between them yet.

Match #2 - Al Snow vs. Grado

Yeah, this match is happening. I understand that Grado seems to be popular in the UK, but I never saw him before last week, and I never saw British Boomcamp, so I just don’t care about this, and I’m sure a lot of the US fans feel the same way. I think this would have been better to have on Xplosion (which I’m pretty sure airs in the UK) and leave room on Impact for something else. Match was terrible. Al Snow sucks, and I can see why Grado didn’t win British Bootcamp. Grado wins after something. I just couldn’t get into this.

Winner via pinfall: Grado

After the match, Al Snow ends up raising Grado’s hand and they begin to celebrate. But BDC members Samoa Joe, Low Ki, & Kenny King run down and attack them for some reason. Seriously, why are they attacking them? A guy in a hood runs down to chase them off, and he’s revealed to be the debuting Drew Galloway. He got a nice reaction from the crowd, which was good for him. I know Galloway was with the WWE, but I’ve never seen him before, so I have no comments on him. I’m willing to give him a chance, but hopefully running off the BDC was just down to get a pop from the UK crowd. I really have no desire to see him immediately thrown into the main storyline in the company when I’ve never seen him before.

Match #3 - TNA Knockouts Championship: Taryn Terrell (c) vs. Angelina Love

There was a backstage scene where Robbie E takes an “usie” with the other Bro-Mans and Angelina Love. Angelina comes out with Robbie, Jessie, & Zema, and I realized Angelina is probably my favorite or 2nd favorite Knockout in the company just because she’s with them and we see the Bro-Mans with her. I don’t know what it is about them, but I just like that group.

Now, what’s Angelina done to deserve a Knockouts title match? The match itself was short and not very good. Taryn wins after hitting something. Highlight was Zema’s announcing.

Winner via pinfall: Taryn Terrell

After the match the lights go out and Awesome Kong appears in the ring. She got out there pretty fast, not sure how. She & Taryn stare down for a moment before they begin brawling, and Kong ends up taking her out. Afterwards Gail Kim (looking really good in an all-black outfit) runs out and she stares Kong down. Kong picks up the Knockouts title belt, but throws it back down on Taryn and leaves as Gail continues staring. I assume they’re building towards Kong vs. Gail? I like Gail and know they had great matches 7 years ago, but just because it worked then doesn’t mean it’ll work now. I really have no desire to see that match again.

Taz & Matthews are shown talking, and they mention that Low Ki got involved in some situation and it backfired, leading to him getting hurt. They showed a pic, and it’s hard to explain. He got a massive cut on the back of his head, and they mentioned it’ll require something like 20 or 25 stitches. Looked pretty brutal, hope Low Ki is doing alright.

Video package showing EC3, Zema, Robbie E, MVP, Low Ki, & Joe hyping up the gauntlet & themselves. Not much to say really, but I liked seeing EC3, Zema, & Robbie E get focus like that, bro.

Tommy Dreamer (ugh) comes out and says that last time he was in the ring, he was dropped on his head and his neck got jacked. Except he wasn’t in this ring, he was in a different ring back in one of the New York shows. He then says he came to fight, and tells Eric Young to get out there now. EY’s music hits, but he doesn’t come out. After he tries again and it doesn’t work, Dreamer goes backstage and starts searching for him. He asks two guys where he is, they say they don’t know, and EY comes up and attacks him from behind. They didn’t see Young coming up behind Dreamer? Would have been funny if one had said, “I don’t know, but there’s a bearded follow behind you.” They end up fighting back out to the ring, and the bell rings to start a street fight between the two.

Match #4 - Street Fight: Eric Young vs. Tommy Dreamer

Tommy Dreamer apparently made this match happen. When did he get the authority to book matches? This wasn’t announced prior or anything, they just brawled to the ring and the bell was rung for a match. This had some cool spots in it, but I just couldn’t get into it. It’s not that anything was wrong with it, I just really have a problem anymore getting into hardcore wrestling. And the confusing set-up for this match didn’t help. Eric Young wins after a piledriver, and this one was actually hit pretty well. Made Young look good and half-insane, so I guess it did its job.

Winner via pinfall: Eric Young

Backstage Mickie James is walking backstage, and Matthews reminds us that he has some business in Gasglow and asks what’s on her mind. She already said she was here about Magnus. Do you pay attention to anything on the show beyond what’s going on that specific moment Matthews?

After commercials, we see a video showing the Bram/Magnus storyline so far, going back to Feast or Fired. But they say Feast or Fired was last week when it was 4 weeks ago.

Mickie James comes out and the crowd is really quiet. Well, I’m happy at least. She gets a mic and thanks them, even though they were quiet when she came out. They get louder and welcome her back after she gets in the ring. She says that her heart is broken with the actions of Bram and how much has happened in the past year. She mentions she had a beautiful son and is engaged (to Magnus, but they never specifically say it’s him for some reason). But a few weeks ago, someone attacked her fiance who was supposed to be his best friend. She says that she knows Bram likes to think he’s a tough guy, but attacking someone from behind means he’s a coward. Bram comes out, with the cue ball he attacked Magnus with. Mickie says generic stuff about how could Bram do that, and Bram asks if she’s ready to shut up. Bram says some stuff about why he attacked Magnus, how the Magnus he knows now is a watered-down version. Magnus used to be a whiskey-drinking guy who could get any woman he wanted. Bram says he doesn’t know what Magnus sees in Mickie (is he blind & deaf?), and how Mickie ruined his life as he’s now stuck with a redneck and a dirty kid at home. Mickie slaps him, and Brams moves in closer and looks to be ready to attack her, but in typical TNA fashion, some referees run out to get Bram to back off and Bram ends up leaving.

Now I’m gonna be honest, I was disappointed with that scene. I like Mickie and know she can cut good promos, but that wasn’t it. Bram is great, but he didn’t seem to be in full Bram-mode tonight. I guess they thought him screaming at a women would look bad? I would have liked it. Regardless, I just hope Magnus returns soon and we can have them interacting.

Backstage Lashley & Angle are talking backstage. Lashley says that he’s the world champ, and Angle says that he respects everything Lashley’s done, but he’s never been in the ring with him before, and he’s beaten everyone he’s been in the ring with. He says tonight he wins the gauntlet, and Lashley says that if that’s what he believes, he’ll stay out of his way and watch him do it. It felt like the writers of the show realized when they were done that Angle & Lashley weren’t featured outside the main event, so they threw this scene & the opening together at the last moment just to get them on the show earlier.

Match #5 - 20-Man Gauntlet match for #1 contendership for World title

Rules to this are that 2 guys start off, and a new one comes out every 60 seconds. Have to be thrown over the top rope to be eliminated. I’m not quite sure the best way to talk about a battle royal, so I’m just gonna go over the list of everyone who entered and the order, and the order of elimination and who they were eliminated by until we get down to the final few, which I feel it’d be better to just describe it.

1. Kenny King
2. Austin Aries
3. Crazy Steve
4. Jesse Godderz
5. Bram
6. Koya
7. Chris Melendez
8. Mr. Anderson
9. Samuel Shaw
10. DJ Z/Zema Ion
11. The Great Sanada
12. Tyrus
13. Rockstar Spud
14. Robbie E
15. Gunner
16. Ethan Carter III
17. Samoa Joe
18. Low Ki
19. MVP
20. Kurt Angle

Some notable things that happened included EC3 immediately going after Anderson, which I liked and thought made sense. Tyrus goes on a huge elimination streak until getting sprayed with mist by Sanada and he gets thrown out. While I don’t think Tyrus is the best guy to make look good, I will say I like seeing stuff like that done in a battle royal. Not sure why, just do.

Low Ki brings down the X-Division belt and throws it in the corner, which confused me at first, but I called that some shenanigans were gonna occur from it. Didn’t happen though, so why did be bring it down? Also, Low Ki has grown some hair now, and it really throws me off. Not saying it looks bad, I’m just not used to it.

Anyway, eliminated order was:

1. Crazy Steve (by Koya)
2. Chris Melendez (by Bram)
3. Samuel Shaw (by Tyrus)
4. Jesse Godderz (by Tryus)
5. DJ Z/Zema Ion (by Tyrus)
6. Rockstar Spud (by Tyrus)
7. Koya (by Tyrus)
8. The Great Sanada (by Mr. Anderson)
9. Tyrus (by Mr. Anderson)
10. Robbie E (by Austin Aries)
11. Bram (by Gunner)
12. Ethan Carter III (by Mr. Anderson)
13. Mr. Anderson (by Samoa Joe)
14. Gunner (by MVP)
15. Austin Aries (by MVP)

At this point we’re down to all the BDC members (MVP, Kenny King, Samoa Joe, & Low Ki) and Kurt Angle. For some reason the BDC just decides to beat him up instead of trying to eliminate him. Angle ends up eliminating Ki, Joe, & King, leaving just Angle & MVP. While I personally wanted someone else to win, they are the two most logical guys to win based on the storyline so far. Goes back and forth between the two until Kenny King grabs Angle’s leg and gets him eliminated. And Taz mentioned shenanigans! That’s my thing!

Battle royals never give amazing technical wrestling or anything, but I’ve always found them entertaining when handled right. I felt this one was handled pretty well. Booking made sense, some people who should look strong did look strong, and I liked that MVP won. I might not be his biggest fan, but it seemed obvious by the end that Angle would win and they gave something a bit more unpredictable that makes sense with the story. So not something amazing, but I found it entertaining.

Winner via trickery (since Taz stole my shenanigans thing) & #1 contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship: MVP

Overall Impressions:

Tonight’s episode of Impact was basically the same as last week in that it was just okay. There was nothing too terrible here (outside of Grado/Snow I guess), but there wasn’t anything great either. The 6-man tag was alright and I liked the battle royal, but not much stands out in the way of matches. Promos really didn’t stand out either. I am interested in where some things go, like the Magnus/Bram storyline (hope Magnus comes back soon) or what Drew Galloway can do, but overall I really didn’t think this episode was that great. Again, it wasn’t bad, but not that great either. Still, I’ve seen far worse from TNA, and the booking tonight was generally logical, so I can’t complain too much. I will say I’m not that interested in the title match next week between Lashley & MVP, which really isn’t good for TNA.

That’s it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you guys thought of tonight’s show or the review in the comments. And I will see you guys next time.