Impact Wrestling – August 16, 2012: It Wasn’t Him

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 16, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

We’re past Hardcore Justice and for the most part things are the same. Aries is the world champion still and Roode has no rematch. The BFG Series is starting to wrap up with the finals being at the next PPV in the form of No Surrender. Tonight we have at least two BFG Series matches as most of the guys don’t have many matches left. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the end of the show last week with Aces and 8’s not attacking Ray. No mention of the PPV is made at all.

Here’s Aries to open the show. He spells and defines the word fluke which he says he’s proven wrong. The doubters can go fluk (I spelled that right) themselves because he’s now the face of this company. No one is going to tell him what to do or think and this company isn’t going to be held hostages. Aces and 8’s has always been near the world title but he’s going into BFG and keeping the title he walks in with.

This brings out Jeff Hardy who is limping. Jeff, who looks like a tire ran over his face, says he’ll win the Series. Hardy calls out Aces and 8’s but gets Bully Ray instead. He calls Hardy stupid and says Storm is behind Aces and 8’s. Ray references Matt Hardy but he didn’t realize Jeff was that stupid. He talks about how Hardy had Storm in trouble when Aces and 8’s came back. Ray got lucky and won the match, meaning he beat Jeff Hardy and that he’s going to BFG to win the title.

Aries disagrees and talks to Ray’s calves because that’s where the brains are. He says Ray isn’t going to win the title because Aries will be waiting at BFG. Aries suggests Ray is behind Aces and 8’s and the group pops up on the screen. The leader says they’re all about I think luck and commitment. He references Ray getting lucky at the PPV and says sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you get the Dead Man’s Hand. Tonight they’re going to make a big impact. Ray says it’s right in front of Aries’ and Hardy’s face and we cut to commercial in mid sentence. It’s very annoying when they do that.

Back with recaps of the three BFG Series matches on Sunday.

Bound For Glory Series Leaderboard

James Storm 66

Rob Van Dam 55

Samoa Joe 56

Kurt Angle 48

Bully Ray 48

Mr. Anderson 40

AJ Styles 36

Jeff Hardy 35

Christopher Daniels 33

Magnus 28

D’Angelo Dinero 7

Robbie E 5

Magnus talks about how he’s ready for Joe because he knows him better than anyone.

Bound For Glory Series: Samoa Joe vs. Magnus

Joe has three matches left and we’re not told how many the Brit has left. Joe quickly takes Magnus down but misses a backsplash. Magnus misses an elbow but ducks a kick. The idea is that they know each other so well that they keep countering each other. Joe can’t hook a Crossface so Magnus heads to the floor.

A HARD forearm puts Magnus down but he comes back with a kind of scoop brainbuster (think the Snow Plow but starting in a slam position instead of a suplex) for two. Joe takes him into the corner and kicks him in the head but can’t hit the MuscleBuster. Magnus’ middle rope elbow misses and he charges into the release Rock Bottom. The Clutch is escaped but Joe hooks an ugly looking La Majistral for the pin at 3:23.

Rating: C+. I was digging the idea here and Joe goes to second place again with the win. Magnus is fine in the jobber roll in the competition despite having a lot of points of his own. He needs something to do after the competition so hopefully he gets a feud soon. The match was short but they packed a lot into it which is a good idea.

Post match Magnus hits Joe with a chair but it seems to annoy him instead of hurt him.

Madison is summoned to the ring by Brooke Hogan.

Here’s Madison, the new Knockouts Champion, to the ring. With no Brooke here, Madison says we’re going to party tonight. She says there’s a strong referee behind every great woman, so here’s Earl Hebner. Here’s Brooke who says Madison has some shady stuff going on. Earl isn’t going to referee anymore Knockouts matches. Tessmacher gets her rematch tonight and there’s a female guest referee for later.

Madison yells and says this is typical Hogan, as in she’ll talk about everything but is no action. Brooke charges (well as fast as you can in a dress that short) but Madison runs. Aces and 8’s pop up behind Brooke but the locker room empties out to chase them off. Storm comes in behind them after Aces and 8’s are out and we take another abrupt break.

Post break Sting, Angle, Aries and Hardy are in the ring with Sting going on a rant against Aces and 8’s. Next week on Open Fight Night, it’s on at the top of the show.

Kaz and Daniels are apparently in the new issue of Amazing Spider-Man. Kaz says that the Phenomenal Fetus won’t be Amazing. I have to pause for a second to appreciate how awesome of a line that was. Anyway AJ pops up and says if he loses to Daniels tonight, he’ll accept being the father. If he wins though, there’s a paternity test. Kaz: “HE’S GOING MAURY POVITCH ON US!”

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

Kaz is ejected before the match. They quickly head to the floor and back inside, Daniels tries a rollup with feet on the ropes but gets caught. AJ punches him down and then sends him into a few corners to take over. Styles beats Daniels up for a bit, hitting a BIG backdrop to make Daniels beg off. A clothesline puts Daniels down for two.

We take a break and come back with AJ escaping a headlock and hitting the drop down/kick for two. AJ puts Daniels in a bridging Indian Deathlock and then off to a half crab. Back to the Deathlock but Daniels bites the fingers to get out of it. That’s a smart move if nothing else. Styles gets hot shotted and Daniels hits kind of a clothesline to the back of his head for two. A back suplex gets two as well. Daniels hits a kind of Eye of the Hurricane for two before trying again with his feet on the ropes.

Styles is thrown to the floor as we’re getting close to a time limit here. Daniels knocks him into the barricade in an attempt at getting a countout but AJ comes back in with a sunset flip but he can’t roll through it into the Clash. Daniels tries a standing Koji Clutch and AJ is in trouble. It breaks down into a regular Clutch but Daniels lets it go for some reason. A suplex gets two and we have two minutes left. Daniels pounds away in the corner but AJ comes out with a running layout powerbomb.

Both guys are down but AJ gets up first, hitting the springboard forearm. A gutbuster and clothesline get two as we have less than thirty seconds. AJ neckbreakers him down but Daniels gets his foot on the rope. No mention has been made yet of the time limit as they slug it out. AJ is sent to the floor as we pass fifteen minutes. They trade places and AJ hits his flip dive over the top to the floor to take Daniels out. AJ gets back in as Kaz comes to ringside. They try the Ultimate Warrior at Mania 5 ending and it works, but the referee sees Kaz and waves it off. AJ Pele’s Daniels for the pin at 16:58.

Rating: B-. This was one of their better matches but the time limit thing bugs me. I know that it’s something petty and stupid, but if you say the match is going to last fifteen minutes, then have it last fifteen minutes. The ending was fine as the Pele is good for a secondary finisher for Styles. Good match here.

Hulk is on the phone and says he’ll be here next week because if we don’t fight, they die. They’re going old school next week.

Hardy confronts Storm about Aces and 8’s. Storm says he’ll be there to fight next week and he’ll be at ringside for the main event too.

Here’s Roode to discuss the main event from Sunday. He talks about how he underestimated Aries but there were some shenanigans that cost him the belt. Roode says he should be world champion but due to people like Aries, the referees, Sting and the fans here, he isn’t. Now he’s faced with the question of “what now”. Roode stutters a bit before dropping the mic and walking away.

Next week’s Gut Check guy talks about his brother getting him into wrestling and then getting shot and killed. His name is never given here so I have no idea what to call him.

Knockouts Title: Madison Rayne vs. Miss Tessmacher

The guest referee is Taryn Terrell, more famous as Tiffany in WWE. The best part: Brooke kneels down for no apparent reason as Tiffany is coming out and falls down. Madison chokes a lot so Tiffany yells at her. Tessmacher gets thrown around but grabs a rollup for two. She misses a charges in the corner and gets rolled up herself but Madison’s tights grabbing is caught. Tiffany and Madison argue a bit more until Tessmacher grabs Madison and hits her release mat slam from behind for the pin and the title at 3:55. What in the world was the point in changing the title in the first place?

Rating: D. The match was mainly Tiffany and Madison arguing so the match didn’t do anything. What in the world was the point of this? They mentioned Tiffany being in the new movie The Campaign but it was mentioned so quickly that a lot of people probably didn’t hear it. This was nothing at all and didn’t do anything for anyone.

Aces and 8’s say they’ll be here next week when the clock strikes 8. They have more business tonight though.

Bound For Glory Series: Jeff Hardy vs. Bully Ray

Before anything of note happens, here’s Storm. Ray goes to the floor and shoves him but Jeff hits a baseball slide to take ray out before anything can happen. We take a break and come back with Ray getting two off something we didn’t see. An elbow drop gets two for Ray and it’s off to a chinlock. An overhead suplex gets two for Ray but he misses a splash.

Hardy makes his comeback and hits the legdrop between the legs for two before walking into a side slam for two for Ray. Bully Bomb is broken up and Jeff hits the slingshot dropkick in the corner. The Swanton only gets two and Ray heads to the floor. Hardy dives over the top but hits Storm by mistake. Back in and Hardy hits the Whisper in the Wind to put both guys down. Aces and 8’s run in but Sting and Angle make the save before any contact is made. Twisting Stunner gets the pin for Hardy at 10:50.

Rating: C+. This is one of those pairings that is hard to screw up due to the familiarity these two have with each other. Hardy is near the top four now but I don’t think he’s quite in it. Ray looked ifne after the possible arm injury from Sunday which is a good thing. Aces and 8’s didn’t mean much here but I think that was the point.

Post match Ray hits Hardy and then yells at Storm, drawing the Cowboy in. Storm superkicks Hardy by mistake and here are Aces and 8’s again. They applaud Storm before taking his head off. Storm gets beaten down as we go off the air.

Overall Rating: C. This was really a placeholder until next week with the big showdown with Aces and 8’s. The more I think about it, the more it looks like Hogan is a candidate. We never saw him get beaten down, the group never attacked Brooke when they had the chance, he’s coming back right in time for the big fight, and he could be jealous of Sting for the attention he got at Slammiversary. There are a lot of candidates for who the boss could be and the more I hear of them, the more I don’t like. The show overall was decent tonight but it felt like it was a building show for next week, which is ok.

Results

Samoa Joe b. Magnus – La Majistral

AJ Styles b. Christopher Daniels – Pele

Miss Tessmacher b. Madison Rayne – Tess Shocker

Jeff Hardy b. Bully Ray – Twist of Fate

 

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