+/- #’s: Impact Wrestling, 7/11

Segment 1: Main Event Mafia + Aces & Eights Promos

Positives: Nobody got hurt.
Negatives: I’ll be honest, I barely remember anything about this segment other than the fact that I found it totally unnecessary at the time. Obviously Aces & Eights vs. the Main Event Mafia is the big storyline between now and Bound For Glory, but given that this episode of Impact was seven days before Destination X, it would have been a better idea to do something X Division related with this time. The Main Event Mafia felt pushed at the expense of Destination X this entire show.
Segment Score: -1

Segment 2: Samoa Joe & A.J. Styles vs. Jeff Hardy & Joseph Park

Jeff Hardy front suplexes AJ
Positives: It was nice for the Joker’s Wild competition to start with a match in which  both teams worked together. TNA could have easily copped out and had all these matches be about tension between teammates, but they did well by establishing a serious win-first tone with this first match. It’s always good to see Joe and A.J. look good, as they’ve been booked criminally inconsistently over the years.
Negatives: This match displayed the foolhardiness of Joseph Park being in the BFG series for the second week in a row. The Series needs to be portrayed as serious, important, and featuring the top talent in TNA. Park hurts rather than helps all those criteria. Even more importantly, why on earth was Jeff Hardy kept out of the gauntlet? For the second week in a row, TNA made their most marketable, over star look weak for the benefit of a nudge and wink novelty act.
Segment Score: +0

Segment 3: Hernandez & Jay Bradley vs. Mr. Anderson & Magnus

Positives: Magnus was put over hard, albeit in a convoluted, unnecessary way. Bradley continued to display breakout potential, although TNA would be wise to explain who he is, where he comes from, and what he stands for if they want him to really get over.
Negatives: This was by far the least compelling of the three Joker’s Wild matches. Hernandez is a powerhouse, but beyond that, it’s becoming very apparent that he doesn’t have much of a character to portray. Anderson’s antics suffered from a large logic hole: What if Magnus had been getting his rear handed to him? Would Anderson have been content to lose just so he could laugh in the face of his enemy/partner? It seemed so, which is the wrong way to portray any wrestler.
Segment Score: +0
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