Week Two
Hangman needed a bounce back win, and he got one after a killer bout against Claudio Fucking Castagnoli. Hard work, kept simple, and it delivered nicely. What's not to love!?
Red's Rating: ****
Cagematch User Rating: 7.87
The most popular episode of the week was Dynamite: Homecoming edition! A return to Daily's made for a nice #restorethefeeling vibe that was needed, especially as AEW continues to get poor gates. Tony, wake up! Anyway, this show was pretty damn fun!
The above TVMOTW started the event. Next, Edge, Orange, Dustin, and Vance defeated Mogul Embassy and Archer. The third match saw Sammy beat Starks in a card placer. They tossed eight of the women's division talents together for a big clusterfuck in the four spot. Texas star Bryan Keith got another TV moment, falling to Strong in the semi. The main was...insane. Check it out above.
Sting, Darby vs Don Callis Family
Red's Rating: ***3/4
BONUS
Before we move to the real TV MOTW for the third week of January, I needed to spotlight this one.
Joe and Hook put on a fucking show! This was exactly what it needed to be and made for compelling television. The champ keeping his attitude after, instead of solidifying the Taker/Jeff moment they had available, as well as the Swerve and Hangman matches teased, also in post, worked well as a cherry.
In short?
Fuck yes!
Oh, and props to the production changes I'm starting to see.
Red's Rating: ****1/4
Cagematch User Rating: 8.00
Week Three
What was the best episode of pro-wrestling television last week? Well, TNA is back everyone and they're back with a damn statement! A massive six-way X-division style sprint kicked off the action, the knockouts had a brief window, and then a solid tag match with the GYV beating Young and Kazarian followed it up. Very, very TNA to start a show that way, to be honest. Later, PCO picked up an easy win. The show also featured Nemeth on the mic and a strong energy throughout.
The main event?
Oh, just the MOTW! Yeah, this time I started by talking about the show and then moved to this. Which worked better? Let me know.
Ospreay versus Alexander 2 was amazing. Just TNA's ace and the best worker in the world going one on one once more. Nothing else was needed. In all, this was a perfect wrestling match and one of my favorites ever. Considering how small my five star list is in comparison to most, that should say something.
Missed it? Fix that mistake NOW!
Red's Rating: *****
Cagematch User Rating: 9.33
TNA will never be a perfect company. That's always been the case. They are a fed that I feel has usually been far better than general perception would have you believe and there are many weeks that I find them to be the best US fed on TV. That has been true for most of their existence and it remains true here.
Go in with an open mind, because this roster deserves your attention and I think Impact could easily end up being the US TV Program of 2024.
More on TNA and their successful rebirth in next month's Pro-Wrestling Digest!
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