Impact – December 16, 2010
Impact
Date: December 16, 2010
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz
Episode Title: Head Games?
Tonight it’s another episode of Impact with three announced matches. First off we have the X Division Title on the line as Robbie E defends against Jay Lethal. We also have Mickie James and a partner to be named facing Madison Rayne and Tara in the tag title tournament. Finally, Rob Terry is back and facing Rob Van Dam. Kind of random but ok. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the events last week that set up Anderson vs. Morgan at Genesis. Anderson talks about having a lot of concussions including the one from Hardy on Impact a few months ago. Is Hardy wrestling at the PPV? It doesn’t look like it.
Anyway Anderson gets here and kicks what looks like a time card display but it’s the match listing for tonight. Anderson is in a tag match against Hardy but it all ticked off about it. Morgan comes up to ask him what’s wrong but Anderson won’t say. It might be something about him not being cleared tonight. Morgan is his partner to little surprise.
Morgan comes into the arena and talks about how he made a choice to turn his back on Immortal and stand up for the injured Anderson. It was the right choice according to him. Tonight it’s Morgan/Anderson vs. Hardy/Kazarian and once the bell rings he can’t help Anderson anymore. If Anderson gets hurt tonight it’s not on him.
Here’s Anderson who talks about cheese and rice. Oh I get it. He says that he appreciates what Morgan has done for him but he is a man and a wrestler, so that’s what he’s going to do. Anderson offers a note from mommy or his doctor but Morgan says that’s not what matters. He says do what’s right by his fans. Morgan talks about Christopher Nowitski’s Sports Legacy Institute and about how they’ve been told to stand up to promoters if they’re injured.
Anderson can’t respond as Jeff comes out and says they should just get married. There’s so much smoke you can only see the outline of Jeff and barely anything behind him at all. Jeff asks how Anderson knows Morgan isn’t still working for Immortal. He goes on to say that Morgan needs to worry about himself, not Anderson. Hardy rambles about marks and how it’s all about the belt and the match tonight.
Tonight it’s another Jarrett MMA invitational thing.
Mickie/??? Vs. Rayne/Tara and the aforementioned main event tag match.
X-Division Title: Jay Lethal vs. Robbie E
At least Cookie looks good. Lethal jumps him for a fast start. Cookie trips Lethal seconds into it and his nose slams into the mat. Here comes Christy bouncing down the ramp with a pair of handcuffs to hook herself to Cookie. It’s a new zany comedy coming this Fall! We take a break with Robbie hammering on Lethal in the corner.
Back with Lethal getting a small package for two. Robbie gets a nice Russian leg sweep for two. The girls start fighting at ringside which means Christy beats on her. ReAction starts at 11:30 tonight only. Hopefully that’s a permanent thing. Lethal gets a suplex to take over again. We cut to Christy jumping in excitement. I regain consciousness as Lethal gets a nice top rope elbow for two.
Robbie gets a rollup with the ropes for two but gets caught as he goes up top. Superplex by Lethal has Robbie and the title in big trouble. Cookie tries to slip the spray in to Robbie get it winds up in her own eyes. Lethal Injection gives Jay his 6th title reign at 7:00 shown out of 10:30 total. Jay kisses Christy post match.
Rating: C+. Pretty good match here but all the interference and focus on the girls hurt a bit. This wasn’t terrible and Lethal should have the title again. At least we don’t have to see Robbie on TV as much anymore. Pretty good match and the longest Impact match I can remember in awhile.
AJ makes fun of Robbie until Eric calls him out for losing the TV Title. Anyone can imitate Flair apparently and he needs to be a leader. Possible seeds of a face turn?
Douglas Williams says that he thinks beating AJ with his own finisher was entertaining. He calls over Magnus who for some reason still has a job. Chelsea is gone and Wolfe is coming back soon. We follow Williams into his dressing room as he answers some questions about AJ but is jumped by AJ himself who beats the tar out of him.
Actually this looks like an apartment or a really nice trailer. The girls are getting dressed in there and freak about the guys being there. Williams takes a big beating as I still have no idea where we are. The girls are getting annoying, throwing shoes at AJ to get him out. This goes on for a good while as Williams gets destroyed.
And from that to this. Jordan is trying to find Eric Young who has his own Hooters girls and a title belt that he found in a garbage can and claimed for himself. Jordan isn’t sure about the girls and walks off. His outfit makes him look like a peacock exploded on him. We follow Eric who goes to find his sensei. It’s Brian Kendrick who says a lot of philosophical stuff including “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Uh…..yeah.
Hardy talks about the tag match tonight and about how he’s glad to be in the tag match tonight.
Generation Me vs. Eric Young/Orlando Jordan
We hear about a Hooters special of Hooters girls in bikinis while skiing. And I was right about what I was expecting: Orlando Jordan comes out in a Hooters outfit. I knew I recognized that title belt: it’s the old TNA World Title belt, as in the one that Hardy threw in a trashcan. Young says this is a battle royal for the title. He dumps out the referee but Brian Hebner slides back in.
Ok so it’s a tag match. Eric throws out everyone anyway including his partner and declares himself the winner. Gen Me jumps Young and hit on the Hooters girls before Jordan comes in to clean house. Young gets a nice dive to take out Gen Me. Jordan gets a modified cobra clutch to end this comedy match at roughly 3:00.
Rating: C-. From a quality standpoint it was pretty bad but from a comedy standpoint which was the point of the match it was ok. Nothing all that great but it filled in some time I guess. I hope they can stick to Eric’s comedy thing of the month for awhile for a change though.
Mickie comes up to Eric and wants to know who her partner is. It’s Miss Tessmacher and I don’t think Mickie is thrilled.
Knockouts Tag Title Semi-Finals: Mickie James/Miss Tessmacher vs. Tara/Madison Rayne
Sweet GOODNESS Tessmacher is gorgeous. Mickie and Rayne start us off but Tessmacher comes in instead. Rayne vs. Mickie for the title at Genesis. Madison beats Tessmacher down for awhile and chokes away. She misses a shoulder off the middle rope though and here’s Mickie. Neckbreaker takes down Madison as Tara hasn’t been in yet. Tara gets in a shot with her brace on her arm and a punch from Madison is enough to pin Mickie at 4:30.
Rating: D. This was pretty bad indeed but the girls looked great so I’ll give them that. With the recent cuts to the division having Tessmacher out there could help a bit. Tara must be hurt from the cage match as she was never in the match. Mickie getting the title shot is also a good thing as she’s the best they have in the division at the moment.
Beautiful People vs. Madison/Tara for the titles next week.
Kaz insults Rob Terry a bit and might have been recruiting him for Fourtune/Immortal. We also hear that Rhyno is officially gone.
Pope is in the back and gets a donation from some guy. That’s worthy of an amen. It’s nice to actually see them going somewhere religious with this street preacher thing.
Brother Ray comes out with a name patch that says hardcore. He wants the toughest guy in the locker room.
Brother Ray vs. Amazing Red
This is another bully themed angle it seems. It’s a total squash for a few minutes until Ray runs his mouth off to Red. The announcers push the whole bullying aspect to no end. Red gets in a few shots but Ray kicks his head off and the Bubba Bomb ends it at 3:00. No rating for it being just a squash. D-Von runs out to stop a Conchairto and it’s the Dudley Explosion at Genesis.
Jarrett talks about his MMA thing some more.
Someone that might be Pope gets into a car and drives off.
Rob Van Dam vs. Rob Terry
RVD says that he doesn’t care who Bischoff puts in front of him because he’ll get by them. Van Dam hammers away to start but falls victim to the power game soon. Terry gets some shoulder blocks in the corner to RVD then changes gears by going to the front. Terry takes him down as we take a break.
Back with Rob Terry sending RVD into the railing ribs first. More power moves have Van Dam in trouble until Van Dam unleashes the kicks. Rolling Thunder hits for no cover but the Five Star ends it at 6:00 shown of 9:30.
Rating: C. Pretty one sided match for the vast majority of it but wasn’t that bad. I do kind of wonder why they brought back in Terry to have Van Dam no sell most of his offense and then win with a few kicks and the splash, but there may be something coming in the future so it’s too early to tell. Decent match but nothing great or anything.
We get a quick recap of Jarrett’s MMA career and the MMA challenge is up next.
Pope gets out of his car with the donation in hand and goes into a strip club. Cue evil, ominous music!
Jarrett comes out to Kurt’s riser entrance. His students help him get fired up along with Gunner and Murphy. Some guy in a green hat is picked after various people are insulted. A rear naked choke ends it in about a minute or so of course.
Mr. Anderson/Matt Morgan vs. Jeff Hardy/Kazarian
Anderson starts with Hardy but Jeff flips him off and it’s off to Kaz. Anderson is actually wrestling so I guess he really is back. Enziguri to the back of the head by Kaz gets two. Kazarian is whipped into the corner and falls down and his head rams into Anderson’s for a scary shot. Here comes Morgan who drills Kaz with a big right hand.
Hardy’s cheating allows Immourtune to take over with more shots to the back of Anderson’s head. He looks a bit deceased but gets back in to break up a double suplex. Down goes the referee and Anderson goes up. Rob Terry comes out and shoves him off to allow Jeff to hit the Twist of Hate on Morgan for the pin at 6:40. Anderson and Morgan had a mini-staredown to end the show.
Rating: C+. Well they did something with Terry so points for that. This was your run of the mill main event tag match and while it was pretty decent it wasn’t anything great. Furthering the wedge between the two good guys is a smart idea as it builds up their PPV match and we also add in something with Terry, which is a bit of overkill but nothing too bad. Decent main event to a pretty bad show.
Overall Rating: D+. Where did this show go? What actually happened here? The matches were ok but this was one of the most lackluster shows I’ve seen in a very long time. It felt like it was barely half an hour in when we were on the verge of being done.
Ok so Pope uses his donation money at strip clubs, Anderson can wrestle again and some matches were announced for the show. Some minor things happened but this show flew by and it felt like nothing of note happened (the X Title change wouldn’t be classified as something of note if you’re wondering). Not a terrible show by any stretch but rather lackluster.
Bill Lesnor, you have to admit that TNA were trying to push him like Goldberg and Bobby Lashly with all the squash matches he had and putting the Global/TV title on him. They even tried to keep him mute like they did Goldberg and Bobby Lashly but they realized that keeping a wrestler mute is a bad idea because wrestlers have to show some type of personality in order for the fans to get by them. Or they could’ve gave him a manager to be his mouth piece. So much they could’ve done with Rob Terry but its really not TNA’s fault. Rob Terry isn’t ready yet. He needs to wait a couple of years or more then he will be ready to become a star.
Bill lesnar is Bill lesnar
No, Terry wasnt supposed to be Lashley or Goldberg. hes too boring to be a tweener aswell, does this guy even get a decent reaction, like ever?. Hes still not relevant
Bill lesnar doesnt know,he cant see the score. Yes
Bill Lesnor, I have to agree with you. Man that is weird to say! Anyways, Rob Terry is shit. He was suppose to be another Bobby Lashly or Goldberg but ended up like Vladimir Koslov which isn’t a good thing. He could’ve been a monster tweener but his fued with OJ didn’t help him at all as it made him look bad.
Putting him in Immortal was to make him relevant in TNA. He hasn’t been on TNA since he lost the TV title to AJ Styles. Creatives really had nothing for him so putting him in Immortal was the only thing they could do. Hell if that doen’t work, we will be seeing Terry jobbing at FCW! LOL
BTW Bill, sorry to get off topic but do you see yourself winning against Jenks because Jenks looks pretty close to beating you. I am not trying to start anything but will we see the last of BL on WZ?
Bill lesnar would also like to add, Rob Terry heel turn…who cares?
Bill lesnar just said, the immortall storyline so far has been one big fail. TNA got thier ratings up for one night, and now they are back in the shitter. with the amount of build that it got, this is in no way accetpable. This is why TNA is so shit. They were thinking short term. Jarrett is boring and always has been, he isnt going to draw new viewers in..no chance. AByss is currently going through a bad patch, Hogan cant even appear on t.v and Hardy is extremly unreliable and may even turn face and leave the group when TNA signns Matt, opening the MCMG vs Hardys fued. The gropu is now mainly Bischoof and thats the worse way to go.
Womens wresting has been on the slide since Trish left, and none of the new gilrs do anything for Bilㅣ Lesnar. Having Knockouts ME your Show is just poor business, becuase they dont draw like the men do, and know one cares about them enough. Poor form all round
Any decent company will always have a Champ headlining a ppv, as he is the guy that casual fans watch the show for. Instead Tna are going with Anderson vs Morgan in a face vs Face mathc with No build WTF, if your going to make a ppv with no Champ atleast make sure your contenders are worthy. Morgan? really, these gusy wont make a good watch and this wopnt draw or bring the company any money what so ever. It rreks of fail and thsi should be Anderson vs HArdy. This only worked way back when they were given months to have a proper build ot make the angle interesting, but this grew stale LONG LONG AGO, so they cut not having champs on PPVs. Immotal screwed up on thier very first night with Hardy stupidly injuring Anderson. This whole thing is goin to stink wow Bill lesnar could go on.
As for Aj he is being used liek shit, and shouldnt be in the midcard vs guys like Williams Period. Hes a Tna guy who has been with them for a long time and Hardy being pused over him is a crime. Once again its bad business and the only reason why AJ hasnt left TNA is becuase the WWE dont want him. Maybe Working with flair will help him…
Bill lesnar juts said this comapny is being run by a ditz like Dixie and its going nowhere. They ahve tried everything, brining in Hogan and WWE stars like Hardy and Angle, rehashing old WCW angles the like.
Nash being the shrewd business man that he is jumped fro the sinking ship, others should follow suit.
“The Immortal storyline is trash TBH but TNA is doing all they can to turn the storyline back around.”
That’s just it though: it shouldn’t be turned around. It was doomed from the start when Hogan and Flair and Bischoff were the top guys in it and Hardy was their star. Hardy is WAY too popular to try to push as that guy. It’s the same trap WWF fell into with Rikishi as the driver that ran down Austin. No one bought him as the top heel, no matter how logical the explanation might have been. Some people flat out should not be turned heel. Hardy is one of them, especially given his style.
“I mean I see what you mean how TNA should have announced AJ Styles vs Doug Williams in an Iron Man match on Impact and not Reaction.I had no idea that they announced it on Reaction. Thats stupid. Announcing it on Impact It would have boosted the ratings for next week. Nobody really watches Reaction so for them to announce it on there makes no sense to me. Guess its no big deal though.”
That’s exactly the point I was going for in that big rant. There’s no thinking in this company. It’s very simple advertising: you have something you think people might be interested in seeing in a big match between two guys that are both intriguing to fans in a match based around wrestling instead of entertainment which is what they’re allgedly supposed to be (we’ll ignore that this should have been on PPV rather than Impact as well). Their solution: announce it a week before on a show where there’s maybe 1/4 of the audience that is in a different time slot than usual. It would be like announcing a WWE Title match on Superstars the week before Raw. It would make no sense at all. That’s what I mean when I say this company is stupid.
Yeah your right. The tag titles are worthless and is taking up space for the Knockouts title. They should really get rid of that.
The Immortal storyline is trash TBH but TNA is doing all they can to turn the storyline back around.
I mean I see what you mean how TNA should have announced AJ Styles vs Doug Williams in an Iron Man match on Impact and not Reaction.I had no idea that they announced it on Reaction. Thats stupid. Announcing it on Impact It would have boosted the ratings for next week. Nobody really watches Reaction so for them to announce it on there makes no sense to me. Guess its no big deal though.
Good review BTW KB!
‘I think you were little too harsh with TNA. They are building the Immortal storyline perfectly. They are giving the Knockouts Division a name, pusing EY & OJ as a tag team,building the feud between Doug Williams and AJ Styles, pushing the Matt Morgan/Mr. Anderson/Jeff Hardy storyline very well, and turned Rob Terry to a heel in which they should’ve did a long time ago. This show at least deserves a B-.”
Not really. The Immortal storyline may be being pushed, but that doesn’t mean it’s any good. Bischoff is the top heel in the company, Hogan is second biggest, Flair is third and Hardy is the fourth, and he’s barely ever doing anything but talking.
What name? The “we have tag titles even though they’re worthless but we have them so we’re better than WWE” name?
They’re a comedy act as they always have been. Comedy is fine, but that division is about as overrated as you could ask for it to be.
AJ vs. Williams is good. The iron man match this week should kick ass. Know what else would kick ass? Announcing it on Impact instead of ReAction. I get that they want to make ReAction a must see show, but not a lot of people are going to stay up to see it when it comes on at 11-1130.
The main event storyline is ok, but it’s nothing special at all and if the matches that it builds to suck, what’s the point?
And a heel turn. What a novel concept in TNA. They hadn’t had one of those in a whole hour.
I think you were little too harsh with TNA. They are building the Immortal storyline perfectly. They are giving the Knockouts Division a name, pusing EY & OJ as a tag team,building the feud between Doug Williams and AJ Styles, pushing the Matt Morgan/Mr. Anderson/Jeff Hardy storyline very well, and turned Rob Terry to a heel in which they should’ve did a long time ago. This show at least deserves a B-.
Given the way WWE revises history, I doubt it. Also they have the feuds so quickly anymore that I doubt it for the most part.
Bill lesnar feels that the wwe needs more personal fueds like Hardy-Edge or even HHH vs flair etc. It draws the fans in, puts both guys at the top of their games and allows for more emotion and intensity in the matches.
Miz vs Morrison, is the only Fued Bill lesnar can think of, that can rival anything the wwe have done in the past. Bill lesnar wishes Vince would use thier history for the rumble fued, but he wont.
This brings Bill lesnar to ask this question, do you see another HHH vs HBk fued down the line between two guys, with 10 years of history?, Miz vs Morrison is the only thing close Bill Lesnar finds.
I don’t believe a word that come out of Bischoff’s mouth.
I’m getting to all of them eventually.
Hardy vs. Edge was great but the ending didn’t work too well. Good while it lasted though.
Bill lesnar read osme news about eric today. He says the company is in a fine financial state. Bill lesnar thinks Bischoff nows about how bad the booking is, and he will likey fix it eventually. Bill lesnar just said they cant get any worse, surely?
Bill lesnar just said the wwe needs competiton
as for AJ, Bill lesnar cant see him turning face whilst he is with Flair. Bill lesnar thinks it will be RVD, as rob has the history will Jeff and they can put good matches on. Although both are garbage on the mic, the segments should be okay due to the personal issues between both.
Also, Bill lesnar just read the reviews on WZ. is it possible for you to put Unforgiven 2004 or Unforgiven 2005 on the list?
2004 was Ortons 1st defense and ofcourse wwe panicked and put the strap around the safety of hhh’s waist.
2005, had the hardy vs edge stuff. Bill lesnbar thought this was one of the many great fueds of the year, Bill lesnar would like to read your thoughst on that.
it also had the Masters test vs HBK and angle vs Cena aswell as Rics last title win
I’m not sure how much of a future the company has, not with the way they’re running things. Probably AJ out of any of them.
Bill lesnar found the deilivery to be awful, with the rushed down and the ‘bro’ stuff. For a world champ that talks a lot of shit, Bill Lesnar found that promo to be shocking.
Bill lesnar thinks that pope and anderson are the future of TNA, do you agree with this?
also, once Hardy is done with anderson and Moragn, who do you see him fueding with?
Hardy has a lot of options
– pope (Bill lesnar thinks he will turn)
-angle
-joe
– beer money, 3 way dance would be good, or even MCMG
-lethal
-williams
-aj, face turn maybe
Having no world title match on the PPV is rather stupid. If there’s no title match, what’s the point in spending money to see it if I can get the results on Impact for free?
Keeping Kurt off TV isn’t going to help the ratings or hurt them. Way too many other things holding them down.
It wasn’t that horrible.
Bill lesnar also just said hardys promo was awful, and was easily up there with mike migillicuttys as the worst delivered promo of the year
good review KB
Bill lesnar wonders waht your thoughts on thier being no world title match at final resolution and that event havnt a guy thats just comeback from severe concussion.
Bill lesnar also wonders what your thoughts on keeping Kurt off t.v are?, it is holding back tnas ratings in Bill lesnars opinion