6 Ups & 5 Downs From Impact Wrestling (19 Jan)

2. Soft By Design

The team of Eric Young, Joe Doering, and Deaner debuted the Violent By Design name literally four days ago at Hard To Kill, yet, their performance last night was the exact opposite of what that name entails.

Opening the show was 'EY' vs. Rhino, one of VBD's three opponents at the pay-per-view. A match that went on longer than it needed to, 'The World Class Maniac' used numerous nefarious means throughout the match, including Doering rather softly smashing Rhino's leg against the ring post behind referee Brian Hebner's back. A heel hook secured a submission win for the former two-time World Champion, with a post-match beatdown being the drizzling sh*ts.

Focusing on 'The War Machine's' ankle while Cousin Jake was forced to watch, Joe Doering weakly stomped on Rhino's ankle while it was trapped in a chair. Not once, not twice, but three whole times, each time more powerless than the last. For a guy the size of the All Japan great, Doering should have applied much more impact than he did. No wonder Rhino didn't sell it too much.

A fine match otherwise let down by its aftermath. On another note, why didn't Tommy Dreamer come to the aid of his Hard To Kill partners?