Random Match Review – Grado/Mahabali Shera/Eddie Edwards vs. Robbie E/Jessie Godderz/DJ Z
Grado/Mahabali Shera/Eddie Edwards vs. Robbie E/Jessie Godderz/DJ Z
One Night Only: Against All Odds – Impact Zone – Orlando, Florida
Recorded: August 16th – 17th 2016. Broadcast: November 4th 2016.
The Alcoholics Anonymous twelve-step program states that acceptance of your situation is the first step to recovery. The original first step read as such: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.” While there are many critics of the effectiveness of the twelve-step program and it’s reliance on faith, I still think there is something we can take from this first step so without further ado…
I admit that I powerless over wrestling, because I watched a TNA One Night Only PPV, and my life has become completely unmanageable.
These monthly PPVs are nothing more than a box-ticking exercise, to ensure TNA does not breach their contract with the PPV provider. As the extent of TNA’s hellish spiral of debt continues to become clearer and clearer by the day, these PPVs have become a stone around the company’s neck, with zero emphasis made on making these special events and even less mention of them on Impact week-to-week. One Night Only: Against All Odds was our November offering, featuring very little to be excited about until this thing turned up.
The segment started with Jessie teasing a surprise for Robbie, which turns out to be a full Brounion with DJ Z. They harp on about partying when they are interrupted by Grado, who says that he can out party the BroMans. The BroMans make a couple of jokes about Grado and his fanny pack, saying that he can’t party with them. Frankly, the idea of Grado not being able to party with the BroMans is a step too far for me and my suspension of disbelief, because Grado clearly has the highest propensity for getting absolutely fucking wrecked out of anyone involved in this match.
It’s really bizarre seeing how Grado is able to have my 2015 match of the year with Drew Galloway at ICW Fear and Loathing and then be booked like an absolute dork in TNA. Case and point, Mahabali Shera comes out to inflict his own brand of televisual death, dancing and telling us about how he should be a BroMan. Robbie tells both of them to jog on, saying they have never been Tag champions only for CURRENT TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION EDDIE EDWARDS to come out. Edwards cuts the sort of impassioned champion promo that you expect, talking about he likes to turn into a bit of a “drunky monkey” before calling himself, Grado and Shera “the squad” and challenging the BroMans to a six-man tag where if the BroMans lose, they have to take them all out and pay for their drinks afterwards.
The match itself was a total comedy match. Generally, whenever Grado was in the ring, the match featured some innovative comedy spots. Grado and Robbie E re-enacted the famous Hogan-Rock staredown from Wrestlemania X-8, soaking in the Pripyat-esque atmosphere of the Impact Zone and taking it to parody levels. At one point, Grado scanted DJ Z, pulling his trousers down to his ankles like your dickhead pals used to do in primary school. Later, all six men entered the ring and engaged in a West Side Story face-off, circling each other and clicking their fingers, before everyone wiped themselves out with a sextuple clothesline. Eddie Edwards then took out two members of the BroMans at the same time with a double hurricanrana, leading to a Nitro Lucha-esque sequence where everyone hit a hurricanrana, including Grado who hit his from the second rope as well as Raquel who managed to hurricanrana Grado. The BroMans then hit Grado with the BroDown to get the 1-2-3.
I thought this was a silly match with a good few innovative comedy spots that were not overdone. Shera is still the pits and it was very jarring to see your World champion in a midcard match, but I can’t say I hated this. Comedy fans might get a laugh out of this, but this was a fun piece of wrestling that “serious fans” who want realism and hard-hitting action from their matches will probably hate it.
I would include a link to the match but, and I’m not even joking here, there is not enough people who watch or give a shit about these PPVs to actually pirate this show and put it online so make of that what you will.