Kester's TNA Impact Wrestling Rundown: Bully Ray claims he still loves Brooke Hogan, AJ Styles walks alone, and Mickie James becomes the new Knockouts' Champion

By Ryan Kester

Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan

It's good to see TNA stop hinting at a Brooke Hogan heel turn and start to lay some solid foundation for it to happen. It's easily the most compelling story they can tell with Brooke at this point, and anything is better than having her do another round of self-loathing fueled attempted retirement.

Bully Ray really stood out on this episode. Between trying to win back Brooke to his confidence during Styles' joining ceremony for Aces and Eights, he was easily one of the focuses of the show. TNA should take note of how much focusing on one of their hot acts helps to make the show engaging for its viewership.

AJ Styles

Last night was a good moment for Styles. He kept his status as a lone wolf intact and helped raise a few more questions about his motivation. Considering that's the entire hook of his current character, this was well done.

That being said, TNA will need to decide if he's a babyface or a heel soon and stick to it. The tweener role can only carry a silent act so far, and I don't see it having the lasting power to make it from Slammiversary to Bound For Glory and still be any near as compelling.

Mickie James

James was in need of a character shakeup after her extended stint off of TNA television, and her actions last night were perfect for a slow burn turn. It's one of the rare opportunities that a wrestler can claim they did nothing against the rules, yet still have done something wrong. It's a very good story that could do wonders for her character if given the proper treatment.

One has to hope that the return match with Velvet Sky can come and go soon enough. Sky is a great act for NA to have around as she gets a good pop form the crowd, but she has shown so little improvement in the ring over the years, and her match last night was riddled with botches and clumsy transitions. It's impossible to expect perfection from a wrestler, but the frequency of those missteps consistently kills the flow of her matches.

Overall Show

Last night's Impact was good. They had a clear outline of what they wanted to accomplish and every player did their part well. TNA still isn't telling the best stories they could considering the rampant rehashes, but I left last night's show feeling a bit more optimistic about Slammiversary than I did going in.

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.