Sandwiched (along with next week’s episode) between two major events, tonight’s “TNA Impact” was a bit of a strange one, with four matches and a whole lot of jabberjawing in between. There was plenty of setup for next week’s TNA Rebellion, and the main event did have a title on the line, though it didn’t spark enough of a reaction in any of our staff to warrant an entry here. WWE

As with any wrestling show, not all faces and figures can fit into a singular broadcast. Still, I expected more from tonight’s edition of “Thursday Night iMPACT.”

Across the first hour, we saw an exhilarating eight-man tag bout pitting members of The System and Order 4 against TNA World Champion Mike Santana, X-Division Champion Leon Slater, International Champion Trey Miguel, and Moose (see elsewhere in this column for a more extensive breakdown). The duration of this match plus the preceding promo segment, however, totaled 35 minutes, over a fourth of the entire “iMPACT” broadcast.

While an overall fun match to watch, I did find myself growing tired of it as time stretched on, especially knowing that TNA had already spent 13 minutes to set it up with a series of mini promos and faceoffs in the ring. By the time we reached the 30 minute mark of this match-promo combo, I simply wanted it to end so I could see the other action that “Total Nonstop Action” promises.

Following this, the only other substantial piece featured in the first hour was another promo segment, in this case between the Hardy Boys and The Righteous. Again, the work itself wasn’t bad; the exchange between the two teams actually sparked intrigue in me. The fact that there wasn’t more notable content surrounding it was disappointing, and frankly, seemed to be a disservice to talents that could have furthered their respective stories in that time as well. Instead, the same hour closed out with another scene involving Mike Santana backstage.

Written by Ella Jay