Kester's TNA Impact Rundown: Chris Sabin wins the TNA Title, Austin Aries overcomes Bobby Roode, and Gail Kim gets the better of Mickie James

By Ryan Kester

Chris Sabin and Bully Ray

The move to give Sabin the TNA Title is questionable at best, a complete mistake at worst. I'm willing to see where TNA goes with this decision in the weeks to come, but on the surface it looks like they made Sabin a TNA Champion in the least convincing manner possible.

That's really the issue here. Sabin returned a few months back, got very little in the way of fanfare or attention on Impact, and now has won the title due to a weapon spot after getting torn to pieces for an entire match. This doesn't make him look like a credible babyface champion, nor did TNA invest enough time in him to make his chase feel truly meaningful. Add in the one week loss of his X Division belt, and Sabin doesn't look like a star, which he should after beating the top heel in the company.

Now, there's plenty of time for TNA to move the belt back in time for Bound For Glory, but right now this looks and feels eerily similar to Austin Aries's capture of the TNA belt without the strong build and without a clear feud for BFG. I don't think this was the time for TNA to try and make Sabin, and I can only hope that they have a plan to play catch up for the lack of chase he had because as it stands, this has "hotshot" written all over it.

Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode

This was easily the highlight of the night, and it helped to get the crowd riled up. Aries and Roode simply work well together, and they put on a good show.

I was happy to hear the announcers playing up Roode's performance in this year's BFGS. It's at this stage that the Series begins to shine for TNA, when enough of the points have been accumulated that everyone involved can have some sort of story.

Mickie James and Gail Kim

I was more than a bit surprised by the way TNA followed up on Kim claiming the Knockouts Championship shot. With Kim winning the contract in such a fluky fashion, it seemed like TNA was poised to tell the story of Terrell getting added to the match, and instead they chose to have Kim come off as the babyface in the equation.

I don't think that's a good call on TNA's part. I more than understand the desire to give the fans someone to rally behind, but Kim is a solid heel for a division that is already low on credible acts. If the choice was between pairing Kim and James and turning one of them or not turning either and keeping them apart, then TNA should have gone with the latter.

Overall Show

This Impact was solid for the most part. There was plenty of great wrestling on the show, but it was soured by the decision to move the TNA Title off of Bully Ray in such a way.

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.