Kester's TNA Impact Wrestling Rundown: Bully Ray and Sting negotiate a stipulation, Joseph Park smashes D-Lo Brown, and Kenny King retains his X Division Championship

By Ryan Kester

Bully Ray, Sting, and Hogan

TNA did a good job with this angle on last night's show. The contract "negotiation" made Bully Ray look like a jerk and established how bad Sting wants to get his hands on Ray. The stipulation they put in place is intriguing if TNA actually sticks to it.

My biggest issue is that the lead babyface in this feud is Sting. This story is only going to appeal to his diehard fans and feels like a retread of so many angles from the recent years. TNA had their hands on a hot heel act coming out of Lockdown, and it feels like a waste that he is being paired with someone that has suck a limited mobility and lasting power going forward. TNA had a chance to make someone with a great summer feud, and they've squandered the opportunity.

Joseph Park

It's an odd thing, but the Park character has made me care about Abyss. The angle they are going with can go south in so many facets so very, very quickly, but for now it is intriguing.

The biggest issue facing Park is what TNA has planned for the future of the character. If the final step is full time Abyss, then it's a massive step backwards. The Park character has often been a surprisingly bright spot for TNA television, and I question of the man playing Park will be able to be anywhere near as effective if called to transfer back into the monster role on a permanent basis.

Kenny King vs. Chris Sabin vs. Petey Williams

This was one of the better matches in the X Division since TNA brought it back with its new format. The little bit of storytelling that we got going in was enough to give the near falls some weight and helped it stand out on the show.

The new triple-threat format is going to be a bit of a bugbear in this feud, however. There's only so many times TNA can go back to the same well before Sabin will get damaged by being unable to pick up the victory, and they can't establish a third figure in the feud because every time one of them is pinned, they'll be removed from the title picture.

Overall Show

This was a solid edition of Impact. It wasn't the most memorable episode of Impact ever, but the pacing worked well and was relatively inoffensive. TNA is still in desperate need of a shakeup for their stories, but it seems like they're waiting until Slammiversary to get there.

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.