9 Ups & 4 Downs From Impact Wrestling (5 Jan)

1. Repetition Is(n't) Key

Chris Bey and Rohit Raju are, for whatever reason, working together again to identify the true identity of Manik. There are a few reasons for this being a Down, really;

1. Bey and Raju have both screwed each other over in the past. Raju essentially stole the X Division Championship from Bey at Emergence last August, and Bey managed to get himself added to Rohit's title rematch against Manik at Hard To Kill. Why do they trust each again? Granted, they have the same goal, but they shouldn't be aligned so soon given their recent run-ins together.

2. Everyone knows it's TJP under the mask. From a kayfabe standpoint, we have to pretend it's not TJP, but unless the casual fan is supposed to know it's him under the guise, perhaps he should have wore a full bodysuit to cover up the tattoos drenching his arms.

3. Their gameplan for working out the Manik/TJP 'mystery' is to simply go up to TJP, and ask him if he's Manik. What else do they expect to happen?

The X Division Championship three-way will no doubt be excellent, but do we really need to go through all of this?