Kester's TNA Impact Wrestling Rundown: Aces and Eights comes out in force, AJ Styles is not the father, Gut Check featured another sob story, and Taryn Tarrell is a referee with an entrance

By Ryan Kester

Aces and Eights

Despite the myriad of words below, the majority of last night's show focused on Aces and Eights and it really helped to flesh out the group. We saw the rankings of the various members and, perhaps best of all, we saw a leader in their ranks. I was worried for a bit that TNA would die this group to a current act and make them more of an accessory than their won entity, but that does not appear to be the direction they are going.

All that being said, there is an underlining feeling of NWO rehash about this angle. I hope TNA managed to avoid the obvious pitfall and allow this angle to be its own entity. We have seen too many NWO angles to date and I really don't want to see this angle spiral into just another rehash of the same tired concept.

AJ Styles baby drama

Hallelujah! The Claire baby mama drama has finally come to a close and now the currently TNA storylines are free from some of the terrible writing that plagued the show for years.

I am still expecting a showdown between Styles and Daniels, and to a lesser extent Kazarian. After that conclusion, I hope TNA does something to keep those men away from each other for a long, long time. Styles and Daniels have feuded countless times at this point and it's beginning to feel like that is the only thing TNA knows to do with Styles.

Gut Check

Just once, I would love to see a Gut Check participant say they had a happy childhood full of a family that loved them and they still wanted to wrestle. As it stands I have learned two things thanks to Gut Check; TNA is apt at recruiting scrubs that can't hang in the ring and you have to be some sort of damaged to pursue a career in professional wrestling. Now, I know that is not the case, but that is the message TNA is sending with the slew of sob stories we have heard from every single Gut Check.

I honestly hope TNA just scraps this concept soon. It was a good idea but the execution has been poor. It's become something I dread rather than looking forward to and I feel it hinders the TNA product more than it enhances it.

Taryn Tarrell

Alright, I'm not crazy about the idea of Taryn being the Knockouts' referee. I'm fine with female referees and I am happy to see Tiffany getting more work, but referees are not supposed to have attention drawn to them. Giving a referee their own entrance, having the referee wear less than some of the match participants, having them scream each and every single count, and having the announcers talking more about them than the match that is going on really flies in the face of that concept. It's the same problem with Brian Hebner and his flashy shoes.

If TNA is wanting to have a female referee for the Knockouts division, great. I simply wish they would get an actual referee rather than someone that is going to overshadow the match that they are officiating.

Overall Show

Last night's show was another solid TNA show. Once again, TNA strayed from the Open Fight Night concept and it felt like the show was better for it. The concept simply hasn't worked and TNA is doing more convincing work without the gimmick.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at @TheRyanKester.