10 Pleasant Surprises For Wrestling Fans In 2017
7. Jeremy Borash & Joseph Parks Vs. Josh Matthews & Scott Steiner
Matt Hardy's right hand man during the celebrated '#BROKEN Universe' skits, Jeremy Borash was credited with much of the invention and innovation that went in to the outside-the-box vignettes from the Hardy compound in 2016. Impact Wrestling's hardest working staffer and MVP saw himself on the other side of the lens for a 2017 production that hugely over-delivered on tempered expectations.
The announcer feud between Borash and Josh Matthews was tepid at best and mind-numbingly irritating at worst, particularly when it was apparent the bickering would continue until June's Slammiversary supercard. Additions of the played-out Joseph Parks/Abyss persona and a deflated Scott Steiner didn't do an awful lot to raise stakes in the build-up, but all four put in a double shift to ensure the match was one of the most entertaining spectacles of the year.
Meshing live and taped footage, the contest involved a car chase, fighting in a swimming pool, the return of Shark Boy and James Mitchell, Scott Steiner hilariously beating his 'Fat A**es' joke into the ground and Jeremy Borash hitting an absurd frog splash onto Matthews as he lay in tacks for the finish.
That the ultra-enthusiastic Don West made a one-night return to the commentary table to call the chaos offered the briefest sweet reminder of TNA's short stint as a genuinely enjoyable product.