When I read that Jeff Jarrett’s GFW group of wrestlers was going to be on Impact wrestling to start a rivalry with TNA Wrestling, I was interested. I didn’t delete the episode from my DVR like I normally do. And as I watched with excitement for what this angle could bring, my hopes were shattered right from the start.
Jeff Jarrett’s announcement, just like when he showed up a couple weeks ago, was boring.
There was no fanfare. There was no heat. There was no emotion in his voice. There was just volume.
Things picked up only slightly when Eric Young showed up, but at that point, they had failed to explain why this was happening or why we should care.
Oh, and then the brawl that ensued. Why? I can understand the GFW roster showing up to save Jeff Jarrett from the Eric Young beatdown, but then once EY was out of the ring, being dared to go back in, a portion of the TNA roster showed up and rushed the ring. The only reason I can see for them doing that is because they didn’t like the “invaders” in “their” ring.
If they had wanted to start the show off hot, they could’ve had NO explanation for what was happening, instead they could have just showed the GFW guys showing up as part of a “cold open” with no commentary. Then have the GFW crew head to the ring and get Jeff Jarrett to establish the fact that it’s NOT an invasion, but a rivalry born from his grudge with TNA. Was Jeff Jarrett just inducted into the Hall Of Fame? Yeah, and he should probably have a grudge with TNA over the length of time it took them to induct him. He’s got his guys, the second time he has started a wrestling company, and he’s going to show them that they should’ve never parted ways with him.
Then have Jeff say that the first match is going to be Sonjay against Tigre Uno, and that TNA officials already agreed to the match that’s about to start. Anyone who watched Nitro back in the day, or TNA Impact more recently than that, you know that there’s few better ways to start off a show than to have two fast guys battling each other at a frantic pace.
Starting things out the way they did, it felt like they were holding our hands through the process that had a lame payoff to end the segment. No offense to Awesome Kong and Lady Tapa, but their match is better suited to wait until things are already rolling. Give extra meaning to the match by explaining the ramifications. If Lady Tapa wins, does GFW take a commanding lead or are things getting all tied up?
I’m not going to review the entire show, but the point is that TNA Wrestling continues to disappoint with their failure to execute on otherwise interesting concepts.
