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 10/20/16)

The Dream That Won’t Stop 

– The opening video was a good mashup of current storylines, as we saw the outcome of last week’s Moose-Ethan Carter III main event to determine who’d face Lashley this week where Moose cleanly stood victorious. Also featured was Maria’s downfall, as she lost the TNA Knockouts Championship and then control of the Knockouts Division to end her “reign of terror” and lastly, we saw how the main event match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship between Champion Eddie Edwards and Cody was set up. This was a decent show on paper with some can’t-miss stuff.

– The in-ring segment with Cody, Lashley and Edwards was a nice main event preview with a memorable promo exchange. Cody spoke from the heart about how his father, the late Dusty Rhodes, approved his desire to become a wrestler but only if he were to be the best and that meant being World Champion. Edwards’ portion saw him show respect for Cody’s means of adaption and praised him, but reminded us that he was a “fighting Champion living his dream” and if he had to beat Cody to prove his point, he would. Lashley’s portion showed us more of that brash confidence as he stated it didn’t matter who won between the two of them because he was in a quest to destroy to get his belt back. Moose came out and we thought he’d join the conversation, but instead, that only meant the next match was up. On another note, why the hell did they slow down Cody’s awesome theme song? They took all the energy out of his entrance.

– The TNA World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender’s match between Moose and Lashley was a display of power from both men, but the story was jumbled with false finishes that lacked true drama. While Moose had a highlight moment with his crazy tope, he had a near-fall with a spear. Commentary should’ve played up the idea that Moose tried to beat Lashley with his own move. Even worse than that, Moose kicked out of the spear and it was treated routinely. Lashley also kicked out of the Game Changer, which wasn’t treated like a big deal either. If they don’t, why should we? Anyways, the finish went the same way as Bound For Glory, as Lashley hit his torpedo spear to put down Moose for good. We never doubted the result, we just wish there was more tension in there.

– The Tribunal’s backstage promo was a follow-up on their attack of the TNA World Tag Team Champions The Broken Hardys last week. They claimed it was a way to impress TNA President Billy Corgan. Baron Dax called the Champs “weak” and demanded that they get respect. Before anything else, they were interrupted by loud static and distorted images, as DCC came onto our screen. A ticking clock was emphasized, as they promised no one was safe because chaos would occur tonight. Oh god, are we ready for this?

– The “Fact Of Life” segment with Eli Drake, TNA Impact Grand Champion Aron Rex, EC3 and Jessie Godderz had its share of good and bad. On one hand, we furthered the Drake-EC3 feud rapidly and Rex was showcased as more of a heel than face, as this followed up his cheap win over Godderz nicely. We also got a kick out of the cheesy laugh track and canned crowd noise over the segment, as it was a nod to its obvious low budget. To help Rex get over as a heel, it helps that him and Drake see eye-to-eye on things. EC3 showed more of that Grade-A fire on the mic as things winded down to physicality between the two heels and faces, which would presumably set up a tag team match. What we weren’t crazy about was the reveal that Drake’s set was just to the left of the actual stage. We were under the impression that this was some random room backstage. That took the “canned applause” element out of it for us since they recorded over the live crowd that they sat in front of.

– The TNA World Tag Team Championship match between Champions The Broken Hardys and The Tribunal was fine as a logical squash of sorts to keep the Champs warm with momentum in lieu of their next challenge. Good pre-match promo from the Champs as Broken Matt Hardy likened The Tribunal’s attacks to taking food off King Maxel’s plate and that wouldn’t stand. The ring story was good, as the heels isolated Brother Nero from getting to Matt, but once he did, Matt changed the vibe as he bit his opponent. Poor Basile Baraka suffered a Twist Of Fate from each Hardy to be pinned. That was all well and good, until the DCC made their debuts. Three masked men with white masks stood in the ring, as two of them took out The Tribunal as the Champs watched from the stage, fascinated yet confused. We hope that this isn’t TNA’s yearly invasion angle, but at least there should be some fun in the “Broken Universe.” Without many challengers left, this was a smart idea. Just create somebody new and menacing. The trouble is, we don’t know much about this DCC group. They’ve remained anonymous. We were able to buy unto Decay because we were on a journey with them for a good six months before their “Delete Or Decay” feud.

– The backstage segment with Allie, Laurel Van Ness and Braxton Sutter gave us more of the adorable Allie, as she was approached by Sutter as the first instance of somebody who truly believed she wasn’t at fault about anything. We also liked the idea that Allie was at least practicing in a mirror to stand against Maria. LVN was fine as a bully heel, who told Sutter that Allie didn’t need to be felt sorry for. She then hit on Sutter, which was eh.

– The DCC hype video news style promo stated the attacks were “just the start” and that they were about control and chaos, but were here to stay. Dear god, don’t be an invasion angle. Keep this to the Hardys.

– We saw more of classic Lashley’s mind games, as he approached the main event players separately, firstly with Cody. Lashley boldly told Cody he didn’t see all the hype, but wished him good luck. Cody said he didn’t need the luck and pointed out Edwards beat him, so he shouldn’t be confident. Lashley threatened physical harm and promised their paths would cross sooner than later. Nice.

– The in-ring segment with Maria, LVN and Allie gave us more of that awesome Maria-Allie feud with LVN as Maria’s lackey. Maria blamed a company conspiracy for her downfall and that Allie was in the center of it. Allie put over her loyalty before Maria mocked her. Maria teased firing Allie, before LVN argued that Allie “carried their bags and ordered their sushi perfectly” as “people like them served people like us,” which got some nice heat. At that point, Allie stood up and said “No” as the crowd cheered. Maria screamed in dramatic hilarious fashion, as she demanded Allie apologize and thought better – a match next week between her and LVN. Of course, she no longer had power, but had influence over LVN, so that was her full manipulation right there.

– The backstage segment with Lashley and Edwards hyped the main event more as Edwards wouldn’t fall for the mind games. Edwards again spoke his view that Lashley underestimated him and begged him to do so, because he wasn’t afraid of him. Lashley told him that he and everybody else needed to be. He called Edwards a “feel good story” that would vanish as fast as he appeared. Some nice tension.

– The backstage segment with Tyrus and Mahabali Shera revealed that “The Fixer” was now set to help Shera, as he pleaded with him to no longer dance and be serious. He claimed he set up a match to out him against one of the best TNA had to offer. His words hinted that his opponent was The Miracle. So, what does “The Fixer” do exactly? Does he actually help people or take their money and screw them over?

– The backstage promo from EC3 and Godderz laid down the challenge to Drake/Rex, as the faces wanted revenge on their separate foes. Looking forward to that.

– The Shera-Miracle match was standard stuff, probably set up more as a bounce-back win for Miracle to stay somewhat on top of things. Despite the “Fixer” stuff, Shera came out more serious, but it didn’t matter in the end. The Miracle made pretty quick work of him as he won with the Miracle In Progress. Will Shera seek out Tyrus next week?

– Moose’s backstage promo set perspective on his loss to Lashley, as he gave credit to “The Destroyer,” but promised that it’d be different the next time they face off. What’s next for him in general?

– The in-ring segment with TNA X-Division Champion DJZ and Rockstar Spud was more about Team X Gold than anything. They had DJZ put over this new concept, but again, we still have no idea what it is from what he said. He just mentioned that it’d combine different wrestlers and different styles. Um, isn’t that already the X-Division? Probably a poor man’s attempt at a Trios Division. Why go through the trouble? On the other hand, Spud showed some good fire on the mic as he showed frustration at not being approached for a Team X Gold match. When DJZ told him that nobody likes him, we automatically assumed he must think Trevor Lee/Andrew Everett/Marshe Rockett are swell guys then. Anyways, this had a good hook for next week, as Spud bragged about a team that he formed behind DJZ’s back that was “better than X, Y and Z.” Shake in your boots now. Hopefully, the reveal won’t be a letdown.

– The TNA World Heavyweight Championship match between Champion Edwards and Cody was about as good as you can have a face-face main event for a Title. The two had similar styles and played off each other nicely, though this wasn’t long enough to go into the classics catalogue. It was nice to see a clean finish though, as Edwards rolled up Cody for the three after he suffered a superplex and we guess tried to bring him up for a follow-up brainbuster. Our only gripe might’ve been that the fans stuck to Cody more than Edwards, so they weren’t all too thrilled with the finish. That has to say a lot about how over Cody is in TNA, but he had a good showing there. The post-match angle with Brandi Rhodes, Cody, Maria and Miracle was great, as we saw Maria attack Brandi behind Cody’s back. It became apparent that Maria/Miracle were out to show they were the only power couple in town. Would’ve been a lot more effective had we not already been through this program. The two work together just fine though, so maybe we will get our mixed tag after all.

Quick Results

• TNA World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender’s Match – Lashley def. Moose via pinfall 
• TNA World Tag Team Championships – The Broken Hardys (w/Reby) def. The Tribunal via pinfall to retain 
• The Miracle (w/Maria) def. Mahabali Shera via pinfall 
• TNA World Heavyweight Championship – Eddie Edwards (Champion) def. Cody (w/Brandi Rhodes) via pinfall to retain