Welcome to Cheap-Heat.com and welcome to "Scraping the Barrel"— the once-weekly video countdown ranking the best moments and matches from TNA Impact. We're on to the "Round of Eight" in TNA's World Title Series . The original thirty two participants have been whittled down to only eight, and this week we'll learn what wrestlers will comprise the semi-finals. Without getting too ahead of ourselves, let's start "Scraping the Barrel ."
5. Matt Hardy vs. Jessie Godderz
The former world heavyweight champion
Matt Hardy
has done wonders in the last several weeks. From his undefeated streak in the round-robin tournament to his victory last week over former champion
Bobby Roode
, Hardy has proven his most fervent detractors wrong and is on his way to the
finals
of the tournament. Or so it would seem. This week Matt must contend with a performer whose image is now synonymous with
Impact on Pop TV
—the unofficial
poster boy
of Total Nonstop Action
, "The Man
" Jessie Godderz. Will Jessie be the champion of the world when Impact debuts on
Pop
, or will Matt Hardy reach the finals and regain the belt he was forced to relinquish?
4. Bobby Lashley vs. Mahabali Shera
This week's
Impact
kicked off with the
"Round of Eight.
" Former World Heavyweight Champion, the
"Destroyer"
Bobby Lashley was pit against the pride of India—former
Ring Ka King
Champion—Mahabali Shera. Shera was a favorite for many people for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being the now-cancelled tour of
India
that was set to close-out 2015. Mahabali Shera was now faced with his greatest challenge since the start of the �
Series
; did he
Shera Shake
his way to victory, or did Bobby Lashley
Destroy
his chances of being champion?
3. The Dixie Carter Interview
For all that she's done to
hinder
Impact Wrestling throughout the years, no one can deny the dedication of
Total Nonstop Action
owner Dixie Carter. Everything Dixie does is with the best of intentions, and for the betterment of her company and contracted talent. This week Dixie spoke candidly about
TNA Impact
in 2015, and discusses plans moving forward in terms of what to expect, the world championship, and the move to
Pop TV.
2. Eric Young vs. Tigre Uno
Among the more exciting matches on the card was the one-on-one encounter between the eccentric Eric Young, and the current X-Division Champion Tigre Uno. From the high flying acumen of
Tigre Uno
, to the smash-mouth piledriver-driven mat game of
EY
, this match had a little bit of everything without going overboard on anything in particular. Tigre Uno would of course love to be a duel-title holder, but Eric Young—a former world heavyweight champion himself—knows what it takes to reach the top of the mountain.
1. Davey Richards vs. Ethan Carter III
Davey Richards of the
American Wolves
is a tag team champion, and former
world
champion with
Ring of Honor
. Despite his loyalty to Eddie Edwards and their popular tandem, Richards would most certainly like to be called a
two-time
world champion by adding the TNA belt to his collection. The only thing standing in his way is a former world champion who never received a direct rematch—because he chose to proceed via legal avenues instead. Ethan Carter III will stop at nothing when it comes to reclaiming the world title. It's been said that the
"belt doesn't make the man
." Ethan Carter has been the
"man who makes the belt
" for the better part of 2015, bringing some degree of prestige to an almost entirely tainted title. Which of these combatants will step closer to realizing their dream and enter next week's
"Round of Four?"
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