By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
TNA Impact (Episode 1,037)
Taped May 18-19, 2024 in Newport, Kentucky at MegaCorp Pavilion
Aired June 6, 2024 on AXS TV
Highlights from last week’s TNA Impact show aired. The opening video aired with Impact’s first opening theme as opposed to the “Cross the Line” Throwback theme they’ve been using since the rebrand…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Jade Chung was the ring announcer…
Hannifan welcomed viewers to the 1037th episode and the 20th Anniversary of the Impact show. Hannnifan noted that Impact is one of the longest running brands in the history of professional wrestling…
Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. Big Kon vs. Jake Something. Something and Kon started the match with a collar and elbow struggle, leading to a stalemate. Both men then traded right hands. Kon sent Jake to the corner and chopped his chest. Something flipped Kon to the corner and did the same thing. Jake dumped Kon to ringside several times.
Kon threw his plaid shirt at Jake which allowed Kon to drag Jake to ringside and toss him into the ringpost. Kon did his L pose a few times to taunt the crowd. Kon fishhooked the upper jaw of Something. Kon worked on Something with shortarm lariats. Jake no sold come lariats and fired up. Both men then no sold each others’ lariats until Jake got the advantage.
Jake finally took down Kon with a clothesline. Kon came back with a double leg takedown. Jake rolled away from an elbow drop. Jake gave Kon a right hand forearm and got a one count. Kon held Jake in a choke. Jake broke the choke, but Kon dragged Jake the hair into neck snap position. Jake escaped the snap and gave Kon a headbutt. Kon reversed Jake’s finisher initially. Jake reversed Kon into his finsiher “Into the Void” (Black Hole Slam) for the pinfall win.
Jake Something defeated Big Kon via pinfall in 5:27.
Hannifan noted that Jake’s finisher reminds him of Abyss’s finisher “The Black Hole Slam”, which is perfect for the anniversary episode. Big Kon attacked Jake Something after the match and put the boots to him. Kon planted Jake with a chokeslam. Kon was about to snap the neck of Something, but he stopped because Eric Young ran out and dumped him from the ring (I mean? He did have time to finsh the snap. Music didn’t even play).
Eric Young talked about drinking a liter of burbon backstage to celebrate something special. He said he thought to himself, “why keep this to myself, when I can come out here and be with my people”. Young said that Impact as a TV show on Cable TV is 20 years old. A TNA chant ensued.
20 years of excellent, 20 years of caring about the most important thing in the business, the fans. Young said the fans are the lifeblood that makes TNA go and we will celebrate 20 years together. Another TNA chant ensued. Hannifan closed the segment…
John’s Thoughts: A decent big man match with Jake picking up a momentum building win, while Kon gets his heat back in the end. I like Kon shifting away ever so slowly from his old “Ascension” look (even though the plaid kinda reminds me of Cowboy Josh Briggs from NXT 2.0). I hope he introduces a few more big man moves into his arsenal because he should do more feats of strength as opposed to walking a punching a majority of the time. Sucks that Scott D’Amore couldn’t be around for the anniversary as he was always good at showing his love and passion for TNA. That said, in recent rah rah moments, Eric Young has taken up the mantle and I think he’s done a solid job as the flag waver of TNA in lieu of D’Amore.
A replay was shown of Moose’s chair assault on Matt Hardy at the end of last week’s show. Hannifan said that attack put some question on Hardy’s medical status for Against All Odds…
Gia Miller interviewed Frankie Kazarian and asked him why he’s taking orders from the System to face Nic Nemeth later in the show when she thinks a king wouldn’t take orders. Kazarian said he doesn’t take orders, he gives orders. Alisha Edwards, Eddie Edwards, and Brian Myers walked into the scene. Alisha mocked Gia’s southern accent (which Gia sometimes hides) and said nobody can understand Gia.
Myers said the System is successful because they know how to play the game. Myers noted how Masha Slammovich benefited from working with the System. Myers said that Kazarian could benefit too. Kazarian said The System have a Nic Nemeth problem while Kazarian will eliminate the problem. Kazarian said it wouldn’t have been better other than have a TNA OG main event the anniversary show. Kazarian asked Moose if he gets a TNA Title shot after taking care of Nic?
Moose grated Kazarian a title shot at the title “if” he can take out Nic Nemeth. Kazarian said that will happen “if” Moose can get past Matt Hardy. Moose said Matt Hardy might not even make it to Against All Odds after what he did to Hardy last week. The System left with Eddie sticking around a bit. Eddie gave a cold glare at Kazarian before walking away (referencing their recent feud over being Killer Kowolski students)…
A replay aired of PCO giving Steph De Lander a black rose three weeks ago after her tag match. They then showed a replay of last week where PCO protected Steph De Lander from Xia Brookside’s suicide dive…
Gia Miller interviewed Steph De Lander, who was holding PCO’s black rose and note from last week. Gia noted that PCO gave Steph a black rose and love letter in recent weeks. De Lander said she thinks PCO might have a crush on her. De Lander opened the note and it said “PCO. Oui or Non” (Through the power of Google, it says “Yes or No”. I just had to confirm that “non” meant “no”).
Xia Brookside cut in and said that even though De Lander might be made at her after last week, she thought last week’s moment Steph had with PCO was real sweet. Xia told De Lander to take some time to ponder on her decision. De Lander said she’ll give it a week. Xia and Gia squee’d after De Lander left…
Gisele Shaw made her return entrance with new hip hop sounding entrance music. Her opponent Shazza McKenzie was “already in the ring”…
2. Gisele Shaw vs. Shazza McKenzie. Shaw soaked in some cheers a bit. A picture-in-picture showed that Gail Kim was watching the match from the break. Shaw hit Shazza with a huracanrana. Shaw hit Shazza with a running uppercut. Shaw then hit McKenzie with a modified Yakuza Kick. McKenzie dodged Shaw’s running knee and dragged Shaw to ringside.
McKenzie slammed Shaw to the mat and got a two count. McKenzie gave Shaw disrespectful shortarm boots. Shaw came back with a choke and slap. Shaw rallied with clotheslines and a Northern Forearm. McKenzie kicked out at two. Shaw hit McKenzie with a springboard Cutter. Shaw hit McKenzie with her running knee finisher for the victory.
Gisele Shaw defeated Shazza McKenzie via pinfall in 3:20.
John’s Thoughts: Good return for Gisele Shaw. A few rough looking moves, but nothing too bad. As I said in the past when she was given a lot of TV time, that she had gotten too damaged as a pest heel that always loses. She also got stuck in a bunch of bad sports entertainment comedy (the worst in my opinion being Gisele Shaw vs. Deonna Purrazzo over bowls of chili). I like starting her repackage as a babyface with a match against a local competitor as it shows that she’s truly rebooted, and is starting from the bottom on the way to the top. Fingers crossed that this works out for her because I really think she has a lot of untapped potential.
The show cut to a stylstic Rosemary vignette. It was black and white with flashes of creepy imagry. Rosemary was having a conversation with herself (I’m assuming her and Courtney Rush). Rosemary said she remains alone, stripped of family, allies, and those she loved. She asked herself who does she love because demons can’t love?
She said she “favored” them. Rosemary said the children of the hive who helped her were like a husk of protection who would go to war with her, and now they’re gone. She said they were stripped from her like snakeskin that she outgrew. She said with that shedding her sins and failures are gone.
She told herself that she has no failures because she’s a god and gods don’t fail. She agreed with herself and said those responsible for taking her sins away will pay. She said she is her sins and she is many…[c]
John’s Thoughts: While the zoom-in on the mouth reminds me of the recent Jonathan Gresham therapy cinematics, I do like the attempt to reboot Rosemary back to her 2016 form where she was more of a realistic goth as opposed to the crap ass undead realm magic s-it. Back to back segments of rebooted Knockouts. This is what TNA needs to do because they are a bit thin in terms of developed women characters. So thin, that Jordynne Grace needs to wrestle guest NWA and NXT wrestlers to get compelling matches.
A replay aired of The Rascalz attacking Steve Maclin and Mike Santana during their match last week to invoke a no contest…
Mike Santana was backstage unpacking and got jumppy when approached by Steve Maclin. Maclin said he comes in peace and he’s not like the Rascalz who do sneak attacks. Maclin said he understands that they have an issue with each other, but they have a common issue in taking care of the Rascalz is their common issue. Santana said he’s moved past that part of his career and he doesn’t rock with tag team wrestling on this side of the lane.
Maclin said he understands, but they need to take care of The Rascalz. Maclin proposed a one-and-done match between The Rascalz vs. Santana and Maclin. Santana agreed as long as it’s one-and-done…
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Mustafa Ali and Campaign Singh (w/”Ali’s Secret Service”) vs. “Speedball Mountain” Mike Bailey and Trent Seven. Seven and Ali started the match. Ali tagged out to take away the title match preview from the crowd. Singh and Seven started with a collar and elbow lockup. Bailey tagged in during the lockup. Seven and Bailey used double team moves on Singh.
Bailey got a one count after Seven hit Singh with an assisted backflip. Bailey hit Singh with a dropkick. Ali tagged in and took down Bailey with a sweep kick. Singh tagged in and got a two count after a chop. Singh and Ali then cut the ring in half on Bailey. Ali dropkicked Seven off the apron to prevent the hot tag. Ali hit Bailey with an assisted neckbreaker. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Back from break, Bailey and Singh traded a few rollups. Ali hit Singh with a Missile Dropkick for a window of opportunity. Seven caught the hot tag. Ali dropped from the apron to avoid a strike. Seven hit Singh with a DDT. Ali broke up the pin and ran outside to ringside. Seven hit Singh with a Scoop Slam for a nearfall. Ali grabbed Seven’s leg to prevent a Burming-Hammer on Singh. Singh hit Seven with a Flatliner. Ali tagged in and got a two count.
Ali trash talked Seven while giving him boots when Seven would respond wiht chops. Seven got to his feet and gave Ali strikes. Ali flipped out of the corner and ducked chop. Seven ate a boot, but responded with Tyler Bate’s Bop and Bang. Singh dragged Ali to ringside to prevent a pin. Bailey hit Singh and Ali with a flip dive.
Seven and Ali brawled to the top rope. Ali knocked Seven off and hit Seven with a lariat. Seven dodged a 450 and hit Ali with a Seven Star Lariat to leave both men with a moment of respite. Bailey and Singh tagged in with Bailey hitting a dropkick. Singh ducked a chambered thrust kick and responded with a back elbow. Bailey escaped a move and hit Singh with a PK and standing Ultima Weapon.
Bailey kicked Singh in the face and got a two count. Seven tagged back in and dragged Singh to his feet. Ali tripped and drag Bailey to ringside. Bailey took out Ali with a right hand. The “Secret Service” got in metween Bailey and Ali. Ali hit a distracted Bailey with a DDT after running off a guard’s back.
Singh hit Seven with a backfist for a nearfall. Seven gave Singh a Seven Star Lariat. Seven saw Ali coming, which sent Ali into retreat. Seven hit Singh with the Burming-Hammer for the victory.
Speedball Mountain defeated Campaign Singh and Mustafa Ali via pinfall in 13:30.
Tom Hannifan hyped up Jordynne Grace vs. Allysin Kay for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A well worked match between veterans, but it seems like all four men are miscast in their current roles. Raj Singh only seems here because “Champagne” rhymes with “Campaign”. Josh Alexander and Mike Bailey used to be 1a and 1b in terms of must-see TNA television as two of the top wrestlers in the world. Now he feels like the Moustashe Mountain surrogate for Seven because Seven misses his un-related son in Tyler Bate. Seven meanwhile needs to be a heel. Ali, while doing great heel work (which we saw at the end of his NXT run) is held back with this 90s WWF New Generation style vocational gimmick. There’s a reason Vince, Hunter, and HBK quickly pulled the plug on this gimmick three times despite Ali being dead set on geting it over.
Tom Hannifan was in the middle of running throgh the Grace vs. Kay Tale of the Tape, but he was interrupted by Ash by Elegance’s personal concierge (the still unnamed George Iceman). Iceman did his usual elaborate introduction for Ash by Elegance. Ash by Elegance made her entrance in a violet dress. Ash was going to watch the next match sitting at ringside.
Entrances for the title match took place. Hannifan noted that Allysin Kay is a former Knockouts Champion (as Sienna). Jade Chung handled the formal in-ring championship introductions. Hannifan recapped Grace’s recent NXT appearances while also hyping up NXT Battleground for Sunday. Hannifan also noted that if Grace is still Knockouts Champion at Against All Odds, she’s holding an open challenge at that TNA Plus show…
4. Jordynne Grace vs. Allysin Kay (w/Marti Belle) for the TNA Knockouts Championship. Kay dumped Grace to ringside. Belle gave Grace cheap shots after Kay distracted the ref. Kay dragged Grace to the mat for a two count. Kay dumped Grace again to ringside, leading to more cheap shots by Belle. Grace turned the tides with a backdrop and back elbow. Kay came right back by tripping Grace with a low kick.
Grace deadlifted herself to the apron and hit Kay with a slingshot Spear for the two count. Grace pummelled Kay with forearms. Kay dragged Grace to the mat after Belle distracted Grace. Kay hit Grace with a Saito Suplex for a two count. Grace dragged Kay to the top rope and hit her with a Kinniku Buster for a nearfall. Grace dumped Belle to ringside. Kay rolled up Grace for a two count.
Kay escaped a Vetebreaker attempt. Kay hit Grace with a Reverse Thrill of the Kill Pile Driver for a nearfall. Grace got a two count off a victory roll. Grace struggled, but hit Kay with a power bomb. Grace hit Kay with a Grace Driver for the victory.
Jordynne Grace defeated Allysin Kay via pinfall in 6:13 tp retaom the TNA Knockouts Championship.
Hannifan plugged Roxanne Perez vs. Jordynne Grace for the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT Battleground…
John’s Thoughts: That was very one sided for a match against a former Knockouts Champion. No reason to think Kay had any chance. Hex-Kay is more of a tag team wrestler. If anything, this match would be good for NXT viewers to check out for more of a Grace showcase before Battleground. No real clues as to the direction of the Knockouts division as this was taped before Grace appeared in NXT. Very excited to see what comes from the NXT-TNA relationship given NXT’s very deep roster with plenty of developmental level wrestlers they can feed to Grace if need be (meanwhile TNA can cultivate and develop their own native Knockouts to rebuild towards a strong Knockouts division).
The intro for Sami Callihan’s Death Machine TV (DMTV) talk show aired. The intro was in the style of a 70s variety show intro, even using the words “in technicolor”. The show then cut to Sami’s old OvE style promo where he holds the camorder in selfie position to cut his promo (Sami’s old tag partner Jon Moxley also did this while in The Shield). Sami said he can do or say anything he wants on his talk show. He said he felt like dog sh*t after getting Jonathan Gresham’s octopus ink on him.
Sami said the joke’s on Jonathan because Sami always feels like sh*t. Sami said he eats pieces of sh*t like that for breakfast. Sami asked Gresham if he’s a man trying to play an octopus or an octopus trying to play a man? Sami had some “Breaking News”. He cosplayed as a news reporter and reported that a man got kicked in the balls by an octopus man. Sami said he doesn’t care if he has to cut off one, two, or eight legs, at Against All Odds, Sami is eating Sushi. Sami ended his show with his thumbs up catchphrase…
John’s Thoughts: Well? It’s not good; but I’m not completely turned off since we’ve seen a lot worse in TNA (and this is nowhere as bad as QT Marshall’s QTV in AEW). It just seems random, unproductive, and overstuffed. Sami’s actually delivering the lines well, like he usually does. He’s even not going full sports entertainment, and simply just cutting promos like he did in Ohio vs. Everything. I just don’t know what entertainment value they want the viewer to extrapolate from this. Sami’s at his best when he’s finding better ways to play his base Death Machine character. It doesn’t help that he’s feuding with Jonathan Gresham and his corny ass ink.
A tale of the tape aired for Laredo Kid and AJ Francis…
Entrances for the next match took place. Hannifan noted that Laredo Kid is trying to keep up a tradition that Crazzy Steve started where the Digital Media Champion has to defend their championship every time they wrestle (so no “non-title”/”Eliminator” matches)…
5. Laredo Kid vs. AJ Francis (w/Rich Swann) for the TNA Digital Media Championship. Kid tried to chop down Francis with low kicks. Kid got AJ to the mat with a basem*nt dropkick to the calf. Kid escaped a suplex. AJ dodged a moonsault. Kid dodged to ringside and hit AJ with a Gamengiri. Kid hit AJ with a Missile Dropkick to dump AJ to ringside. AJ caught Kid during a dive attempt and gave Kid a spinebuster on the apron.
AJ stretched Kid on the top rope. AJ then worked on Kid with methodical offense while also taking trash with the audience members. AJ hit Kid with Tennessee Whiskey (a modified version of his imfamous flop). Kid reversed a power bomb with a huracanrana. Kid rallied with dropkicks and a missile dropkick to set Francis in the corner. Kid hit Francis with a forearm and meteora. Hannifan noted how Kid is coming off a life threatening intestine injury.
Kid reversed Francis into a DDT and knocked Swann off the apron. Kid hit AJ with a neckbreaker. Kid hit Swann at ringside with a top rope flip dive. AJ caught Kid into a choke. AJ hit Kid with a delayed Chokeslam that he calls the Down Payment for the clean victory.
AJ Francis defeated Laredo Kid via pinfall in 5:00 to become the new TNA Digital Media Champion.
Hannifan hyped Kazarian vs. Nic Nemeth for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Is this company allergic to pushing Laredo Kid? This was the first time in his many year career with the company where they got behind him and even gave him the beneficial Hannifan interview. Then they give him the title off screen in TNA Plus, only to quickly have him lose the title clean? The guy is very underutilized. That aside, I like what they’re doing with AJ Francis. Consistant week-to-week character development, what more can you ask for? This match was probably the best I’ve seen him in, even including his WWE/NXT stuff. The Digital Media title still feels like a meaningless toy belt, but I’m intrigued to see how AJ and Rich make it work with the social media aspects of their gimmick. So far, Matt Cardona is the only person to get something beneficial out of the title.
The following matches were plugged for next week: Dani Luna vs. Tasha Steelz, Mike Santana vs. Zach Wentz, Masha Slammovich vs. Marti Belle, and The Nemeths vs. ABC…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the center of the ring. The announcers ran through the advertised June 14th Against All Odds card…
Hannifan then sent the show to a Jordynne Grace Promo. Grace talked about how she’s been patient, doing anything asked without complaining. She said she’s wrestled through injuries and cheered on colleagues who took spots she wanted. Grace said it’s her turn now. B-roll footage was shown of Grace’s WWE highlights so far. She said all eyes are on her and it’s time to flip the wrestling world on it’s head.
She said it started at The Rumble, then to Stevie Turner, and will end with Grace holding the NXT Women’s Title at the UFC Apex arena. Grace said she and Roxanne Perez are two sides of the same coin. Grace said Perez is a prodigy that started wrestling at the age of 14. Grace said she also started wrestling early. Grace said the only thing different between the two women are that both decided to take a different path with different companies.
Grace said those paths cross now and she’s the catalyst of change. She said this is a new world with Jordynne Grace leading the charge. Grace said when she wins the NXT Women’s Title at Battleground, not only would the TNA audience remember her, but so will the WWE Universe…
John’s Thoughts: Solid and effective promo segment that did a good job adding final hype for Sunday’s NXT Battleground PPV. Grace has improved over time on the mic and was solid here as the modern face of TNA. Though the booking says that Grace won’t win, I wouldn’t mind if HBK and crew shock the world by putting the strap on Grace. NXT is looking for a fresh champ too, and Grace would definitely draw eyeballs to the product since she’s one of the top women wrestlers in the world. It would also be cool if Vic Joseph and Booker T could do what Hannifan and Rehwoldt are doing, and return the the favor by maybe plugging TNA Plus and Against All Odds on next week’s NXT show. It’s only fair.
Entrances for the main event took place. Hannifan also noted that TNA Impact is only behind WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown as the longest running weekly flagship in wrestling history and one of the longest overall on television..[c]
6. “The Wanted Man” Nic Nemeth vs. Frankie Kazarian. Nemeth went for a few quick early rollups and pins attempts. Nemeth dug deep with an armdrag and armbar. Kazarian escaped a armwrench and worked on Nemeth with methodical strikes. Kazarian hit Nemeth with a body slam and springboard leg drop for a two count.
Hannifan noted that Nic and Ryan Nemeth have never teamed om their careers and will team for the first time on next week’s Impact. Nemeth sent Kazarian in the corner and hit him with a Stinger Splash. Kazarian backdropped Nic to ringside. Nemeth broke up the ten count and Hannifan noted how The System want Kazarian to damage Nemeth heading into Against All Odds. Nemeth went back to methodical offense on Nic.
While working over Nic, Kazarian threw in the line “I’m here to show the world” to draw boos from the crowd. Kazarian dominated for a few minutes heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Kazarian was still dominating back from the break. Hannifan noted how Kazarian was in the closing match in the first episode of Impact. Nemeth fended off Kazarian and got a window of opportunity by tossing Kazarian into the ringpost. Nemeth hit Kazarian with a hanging DDT. Nemeth hit Kazarian with a stinger splash and reverse DDT. Nemeth went for repeted elbows, but Kazarian caught Nemeth into a Chickenwing. Kazarian locked in the grapevine.
Nemeth managed to get his hands on the bottom rope for the break. Nemeth escaped a Fade to Black attempt. Kaz went for a few pins. Nemeth broke it with a neck bridge. Nemeth strugged and got Kazarian with a backslide for a two count. Nemeth hit Kazarian with a superkick for a good nearfall. Kazarian blocked a Zig Zag attempt by holding the ropes. Kazarian hit Nemeth with a Guillotine Scissors Kick.
Kazarian slingshotted Nemeth into a cutter for a nearfall. Nemeth hit Kazarian with rapid back elbows. Kazarian dodged a stinger splash and hit Nemeth with a Slingshot Sunset Flip for a two count. After trading hands, Nemeth managed to hit Kazarian with a Zig Zag for the victory.
Nic Nemeth defeated Frankie Kazarian via pinfall in 14:51.
Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, and Alisha Edwards ran out to beat down Nic Nemeth. Ryan Nemeth ran out to back up Nic. Moose ran out to give the System the numbers advantage. Moose hit both Nemeths with the TNA Title Belt. Moose hit Ryan Nemeth with a Spear.
Myers and Edwards held up Nic and Moose also hit him with a Spear. Say name and he appears… I believe in Joe Hendry… Clap Clap. Joe Hendry ran out and cleaned house. Hendry hit Eddie and Myers with Fallaway Slams. Alisha hit Hendry in the back to prevent him from giving Moose a Fallaway Slam. Moose gave Hendry a Spear.
Myers gave Hendry a Impaler DDT. Eddie gave Hendry a Boston Knee Party. Myers and Eddie held up Hendry so Alisha could hit him with a Kendo Stick. Moose gave Hendry another spear. The System stood tall to close the show…
But wait? There’s more. The show cut to Matt Hardy cutting a promo from the Matt Hardy Compound. After Matt talked a bit, he showed his entire family and Senior Benjamin (who’s his father in law). Hardy invited Moose to come to the Hardy Compound next week. TNA Closed…
John’s Thoughts: A well worked television main event between veterans. Nic was in Dolph Ziggler mode in a good way in that he was selling his ass off for Kazarian. The difference in TNA is Nic actually wins matches after the long heat segment. Did feel a bit low-energy though, and a part of that I assume is that the crowd was tired near the end of the tapings (do they have next week’s show taped?). What I do feel like a waste, is Nic Nemeth in the tag division.
It’s admirable that he’s doing his brother a solid, but I feel he’s better utilized as a traveling worldbeater. Would rather see him vs. Moose as opposed to Matt Hardy (Hey, if they put the title on Grace, can we put the TNA Title on Trick Williams who would be way more over and developed than the undercooked Moose?). Interested to see what they do at the Hardy Compound and it was cool seeing King Maxel Hardy grown up to a kid after all these years (Hey, and now that TNA’s working with WWE can they bring in Jeremy Borash to produce the cinematic? Those things haven’t been as good without him behind the production seat and drone controls).
This week’s 20th Anniversary show felt like an anniversary show “in name only”. The obvious comparisons we can go to are both their 1000th show where they did go all out on in terms of TNA nostalgia, as well as the yearly Slammiversary shows which come off as the real annual anniverasry of the company. As a TNA show though, solid weekly edition. No Squid ink this week, that’s a plus. Still a few weird things like The System roaming around, but I like the concerted effort too, to try to develop new characters.
