Before I start ripping the end of Impact tonight, let me write this. Having two moles within the company that a group is infiltrating is a great, tried-and-true story trope. If you're going to run an invasion angle, that makes all the sense in the world. I'm not dissatisfied at the story as much as I don't like the two guys who were part of the reveal. Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff are among two of the least impressive wrestlers on the Impact roster. I have no use for them, and judging by immediate reactions to the reveal as well as continued reactions that I've seen to these two from fellow Impact watchers, I am not alone.
Of course, having it follow yet another exercise in excess that was a Kurt Angle TNA main event didn't help matters either. Where I come from, you'd better have a good reason for kicking out of a top rope variant of a finisher. That's not being pedantic, that's wanting some semblance of order. Every other match in Impact ends in death off a regular finisher. Why do wrestlers get more HP when they are or step in the ring with Kurt Angle? That's why I don't take people seriously who still insist Angle's a great wrestler. He's not even a good one at this point.
But the show wasn't all awfulness. Any program they do in England just has a better atmosphere. They have better lighting and better camera work. They kicked off the show with Kazarian and Christopher Daniels doing regional cheap heat vis a vis Braveheart. Even the oldest, most hackneyed pro wrestling tropes are gold in their hands. I have to say that I also dug Hulk Hogan showing actual human character growth. I honestly feel like Impact could be a consistently great show if they actually had a management structure that knew how to tell good, steady stories. The characters are there, man. They're right there. Bully Ray's got fire. For all his faults, Hogan has never been short on charisma and ability to connect with the crowd. D-Von actually plays a really effective cocky prick. Yes, Brooke Hogan may only have range between apathetic and disinterested, but it's been easy to ignore her deficiencies thanks to her father and "husband."
Also, I don't care that it wasn't a mat classic. Joseph Park vs. Robbie E was such an incredibly fun match. Park's mannerisms and facial expressions are so on point. It's wonderful, the opposite feeling of seeing Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff revealed as members of Aces and Eights.
Of course, having it follow yet another exercise in excess that was a Kurt Angle TNA main event didn't help matters either. Where I come from, you'd better have a good reason for kicking out of a top rope variant of a finisher. That's not being pedantic, that's wanting some semblance of order. Every other match in Impact ends in death off a regular finisher. Why do wrestlers get more HP when they are or step in the ring with Kurt Angle? That's why I don't take people seriously who still insist Angle's a great wrestler. He's not even a good one at this point.
But the show wasn't all awfulness. Any program they do in England just has a better atmosphere. They have better lighting and better camera work. They kicked off the show with Kazarian and Christopher Daniels doing regional cheap heat vis a vis Braveheart. Even the oldest, most hackneyed pro wrestling tropes are gold in their hands. I have to say that I also dug Hulk Hogan showing actual human character growth. I honestly feel like Impact could be a consistently great show if they actually had a management structure that knew how to tell good, steady stories. The characters are there, man. They're right there. Bully Ray's got fire. For all his faults, Hogan has never been short on charisma and ability to connect with the crowd. D-Von actually plays a really effective cocky prick. Yes, Brooke Hogan may only have range between apathetic and disinterested, but it's been easy to ignore her deficiencies thanks to her father and "husband."
Also, I don't care that it wasn't a mat classic. Joseph Park vs. Robbie E was such an incredibly fun match. Park's mannerisms and facial expressions are so on point. It's wonderful, the opposite feeling of seeing Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff revealed as members of Aces and Eights.
