By Nicholas Jason Lopez

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 3/1/16)

The Penultimate

– TNA has put out compelling television lately, with a wide array of storylines, whether it’s the TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy-Ethan Carter III feud rechristened with new personas, Kurt Angle’s Farewell Tour, Decay’s rise or Beer Money against the TNA World Tag Team Champions, The Wolves. You name it, there’s something for everyone and that creates a well-rounded show. The opening video highlighted Rockstar Spud’s sudden heel turn on EC3 ending last week’s show, going back to the moment when EC3 left him bloodied, humiliated and bald last year as his reasoning. It’s a perfect time to turn Spud heel, as it allows his feud with EC3 to keep going and also gives the Matt Hardy Brand (or The Family, it’d be nice if his stable actually had a name) another new member. We also saw Spud get approval from Hardy, Reby and Tyrus backstage, Hardy calling Spud his “number one guy.”

– Angle’s penultimate farewell match against Bobby Roode was treated like a major occurrence and thus, felt bigger. Also liked that James Storm, Roode’s partner, was kept away from ringside, so the focus could be solely on Roode/Angle. The match was good, following the usual “Angle formula” of calculated near-falls and submissions, but it felt fresh here since it’d been some time since we last seen it. This encounter was chock-full of Roode Bombs, crossfaces and ankle locks, ending how you’d imagine – Angle making Roode tap out to the Angle Lock. The post-match promo segment that also involved Storm and The Wolves cleverly mixed Storm’s genuinely thankful promo to Angle calling him an inspiration (Wolves also did the same) and hyping the Tag Title match where Beer Money would face The Wolves next week. Plus, Beer Money might’ve also given Angle a milk jug, which he may or may not have chugged.

– Rockstar Spud’s so good on the mic, he can push almost anything, as we saw in the in-ring promo with him, Reby, Hardy, Tyrus and EC3 to hype the main event. Hardy was his usual heatseeking self, bragging about beating EC3 again to the point it was boring now. Spud used heel logic in explaining his actions, criticizing the England crowd for jumping on the bandwagon for the “flavor of the month” and disregarding one of their own in him, also referencing how he had his head shaved last year and never forgot it. EC3’s portion of the segment involved no words, but actions, as he rushed the ring with a chair, hitting Tyrus, but getting briefly ambushed by Hardy before turning the tables and being unable to get his hands on Spud, as we saw EC3 challenge Spud to a fight. Good set-up for later, with anything Hardy-related being gold at this point.

– Knockout Champion Gail Kim’s backstage promo was basically her wanting to call Maria out for wasting the chance to back her words up as the self-proclaimed “Miracle of The Knockouts.” Basic.

– The backstage segment with Dixie Carter, Hardy, Spud, Tyrus and Reby continued the main storyline, as Hardy blamed this all happening because Dixie didn’t fire EC3, while she blamed Hardy for letting it get this far to begin with. Hardy basically tried to get out of it by saying this “fight” shouldn’t be sanctioned and it let Dixie clear her hands of any legal troubles by declaring it an unsanctioned, anything-goes brawl. We say why not?

– The Decay faction continues to intrigue us with the whole horror-crazed look. It helps Abyss put over new talent all while giving Crazzy Steve a new character and throwing Rosemary in there as their leader. Mix in an awesome Marilyn Manson theme song and you’ve got a hit on your hands. The whole saga with Jimmy Havoc has been interesting given his supposed past with Rosemary, but it’d be nice to know where Havoc falls on the heel-face spectrum. The No Disqualification match with Abyss and Havoc followed the way of usual Abyss hardcore matches – clunky spots, chair shots and needless shots to the head with garbage cans and kendo sticks. What kept our attention was Rosemary/Steve playing a physical distraction for Havoc, which wasn’t enough to overcome by the end. Decay gets one over on Havoc and it seems they have no interest in welcoming him aboard. Never say never though.

– EC3’s backstage promo was finely delivered, as he looked to take Spud’s last breath, comparing him to a cow going to the slaughter, while also giving him credit for waiting a year to get revenge.

– The in-ring segment with Kim, Maria and Jade was a decent way to continue the Maria-Kim feud while establishing Jade as a threat to Kim’s Title. Maria was fine on the mic, though much of the back-and-forth between the two was pretty eh. We’re sure Maria can wrestle, we’d rather get to see it already. Did like how it set up Jade’s blindside attack, but Jade wasn’t great on the mic. However, it did its job in establishing her as a threat and made her come off as cold and calculating. Also liked that it was only her and no one else from The Dollhouse.

– “Big Damo” had a decent debut, as he showed good intensity on the mic, standing up to TNA King Of The Mountain Champion Eric Young and Bram, taking him on in the ring. The match itself was alright, where Damo got to work off some signature spots before taking the Pilderiver to end all hopes. Was this a one-off or will Damo continue to show up on TV?

– Galloway’s backstage promo on Miracle hyped their match well, giving credit to Miracle for trying to make a name for himself, but warning that he wasn’t the man to pick on and would have no ways to jump him from behind this time, in fact, he’d look to make him tap out. Good promo.

– The Galloway-Miracle match was actually surprisingly good, with back-and-forth action all throughout, going from inside the ring to the outside barricades, showing how both men detested one another. At the right time, it was Mike Bennett’s best TNA match to date, while being set up as a “redemption win” of sorts for Galloway, but we were pleasantly shocked to see Miracle get the nod, albeit with help from Maria. Since Galloway hit the Claiborne Kick and put his new submission move on, it was established that he had him beat, but it was Maria that provided the thorn in his side to undo all of that. All in all, Miracle gets over with a win and we want to see Galloway get his revenge on Maria. Perfect.

– The backstage segment with Hardy, Tyrus and Spud were basically Hardy/Tyrus riling Spud up for battle and wanting to send a message to Dixie to make her regret making this happen by destroying EC3. We had mixed feelings on this based on what happened after. More on that below.

– Grado’s promo from outside the arena hyped him revealing next week his “proof” that would show he was screwed over by Feast Or Fired. Did like his little speech on how he grew up wanting to wrestle in big arenas and it was TNA letting him live his dream when he worked for them. felt a wee little bit of sympathy there, but it wasn’t much, because it’s you know, Grado.

– The unsanctioned street fight segment between EC3 and Spud was a worthy way of closing the show, as EC3 got his revenge on Spud by powerbombing him through a table and choking him out. Spud tried his best to heel it up, looking to run away at one point and laying in a mean low-blow and mocking the crowd. Did like the idea of Hardy/Tyrus attacking EC3 before he came to the ring, though the idea that they’d get locked in a tractor trailer was kind of hokey. Also, Josh Mathews mentioned that Spud had been “in” on the idea that Hardy/Tyrus had a plan to attack EC3, but if that was the case, why would Hardy/Tyrus “rile him up” for battle? They should’ve had them say something that hinted at the idea they’d protect Spud. Something about it seemed off, but that’s nitpicking. After getting screwed out of the Title yet again, we saw EC3 get some payback, though we still want to see him get to Hardy. He has won a battle, but the war’s still going.

Quick Results

• Kurt Angle def. Bobby Roode via submission
• Hardcore Rules – Abyss (w/Crazzy Steve, Rosemary) def. Jimmy Havoc via pinfall
• TNA King Of The Mountain Championship – Eric Young (Champion) def. Damo via pinfall to retain
• “The Miracle” Mike Bennett (w/Maria) def. Drew Galloway via pinfall