Impact Wrestling – July 18, 2013: They Got Me

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 18, 2013
Location: Broadbent Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash

It’s Destination X 2013! This is the show that the company has been building towards for weeks and is more or less the PPV of the month. The focus will be on the X Division tonight with a main event of former X Division Champion Chris Sabin challenging Bully Ray for the world title after cashing in his title for the shot. We’re also likely to find out the future of the X Title and there’s a fight between the Aces and 8’s and the Main Event Mafia. Let’s get to it.

We open with a shot of the X Division on the stage before going to a video on Sabin’s career and knee injuries. Tonight is the culmination of his comeback.

Here’s the world champion to open the show from the entrance as opposed to the usual crowd entrance. Ray says enough is enough because he’s sick of hearing everyone talk about Chris Sabin. The fans chant for Sabin but Ray says there’s no way he has a chance to win the title. Now it’s a Daniel Bryan YES chant. Ray talks about how he’s the most hated man in wrestling and that’s how he wants it.

Right now though Ray wants to talk to his wife so get out here Brooke. She says that Mark (Ray’s real name) has tricked everyone and there’s nothing left for him to do. Brooke is ready to move on but doesn’t know why Ray isn’t. Ray gets all somber but says that Brooke moves on when he says they move on. This brings out Hulk himself to say he’s tired of Ray raping and pillaging (his words) this company and it’s time for a change. He takes Brooke away but Ray says he’ll never stop. The Mafia pops up on screen and says the title is coming from Ray tonight in a fair fight.

Bobby Roode calls Aries beating him last year a fluke. Tonight he starts his path back to Bound For Glory.

Bound For Glory Series: Bobby Roode vs. Austin Aries

Aries has restyled his facial hair into a soul patch and mutton chops in a strange look. Roode starts with a headlock and puts Aries on the apron with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Aries blocks a splex back in with knees to the head and a backdrop sends Roode to the floor. A spinning fist to Roode’s head puts him down again but Roode dropkicks him out of the air back inside. Roode clotheslines him off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Roode getting two off the spinebuster but Aries blocks a superplex with some claps around Roode’s ears. The 450 connects for two as Aries continues to wrestle like a face in this match. Roode rolls to the floor for the suicide dive from Aries followed by a missile dropkick. The corner dropkick looks to set up the brainbuster but Roode counters into the Crossface.

They trade rollups for two and Roode DDTs Aries down to take over. Another corner dropkick is countered by a boot to Aries’ face but Austin counters the spear into a brainbuster attempt, only to have Roode escape and clothesline him down for two. The fisherman’s suplex is countered into a roaring elbow but the brainbuster is countered into a fireman’s carry which is countered into the brainbuster for the pin on Roode at 11:55.

Rating: B. Great match here with both guys looking incredibly crisp out there. Aries was so over with the crowd it’s unreal, which is the same reason he turned face last year. The fans are going to respond to talent and there’s no way a heel turn can get around that. Very good match here with a hot finish.

Post match Roode snaps and destroys a bunch of stuff at the announce table due to his losing streak.

Homicide and Hernandez reunite in the back but Chavo pokes his nose in for whatever reason.

Anderson talks to the Aces about Doc leaving over not winning the election. All of the guys know their assignments tonight.

Homicide vs. Petey Williams vs. Sonjay Dutt

This is the first of three qualifying matches for an Ultimate X title match next week. Homicide sends both guys to the floor for a big dive before Petey takes over back inside. The slingshot Codebreaker takes Homicide down and Dutt is put in a leg lock, only to have Homicide come off the top with a headbutt to break it up.

Homicide takes both guys down and gets two on Dutt but Petey is back in. Dutt is crotched on the top but neither Homicide nor Petey can hit their finisher. Dutt suplexes Williams out of the corner and into the Gringo Killer but Dutt hits his standing sliced bread on Homicide. The moonsault double stomp is enough for Dutt to pin Homicide at 4:10.

Rating: C+. This was fine but it continues the same trend of all these three ways: every time I watch one I feel like a five year old leaving the dentist: it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but it still wasn’t anything great. Homicide wouldn’t sell a thing other than the finisher, which is still awesome.

Kenny King vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Manik

Chavo is sent to the floor as King takes over on Manik. Manik hooks a quick Black Widow followed by an Indian Deathlock, only to have Chavo get caught in a northern lights suplex at the same time. Chavo hits dropkicks to both guys but Manik comes back in with springboards and cross bodies all around. Chavo launches Manik into a dropkick to King but gets rolled up for two. Guerrero hits Three Amigos on King but Manik breaks up the frog splash. King hits a running enziguri to knock Chavo off the top but Manik takes King down with a double chickenwing gutbuster for the pin at 4:36.

Rating: C. The action is decent in these matches but they feel so choreographed that it takes me out of them. Chavo is so thoroughly uninteresting and he kills the entire match he’s in every single time he’s out there. I don’t know why they changed Manik’s name to Suicide when they reference him as the guy who used to be called Suicide but the new name sucks. The match was decent though.

Angle and the Mafia are ready to start their plans tonight.

We get the same package on Sabin from earlier.

Hogan tells Sabin to make people remember him and to bring the title back home.

Here’s the Mafia to call out Aces and 8’s. The bikers pop up on screen and say they’re going to spend their energy on the celebration after the show instead of a fight right now. Anderson invites them back there so they head to the back where Anderson draws them into a hallway. Ray jumps Angle and sends him into a wall before throwing him in the back of a truck. The rest of the Mafia is locked in a room.

Rubix vs. Rockstar Spud vs. Greg Marasciulo

Greg is WWE’s Trent Barreta and has some great talent. He also has a Bill Murray knee pad and two Abraham Lincoln wristbands. Seriously. Spud is a tiny guy who barely stands 5’3. Greg sends everyone to the floor and dropkicks Spud into the barricade. Rubix can’t hook an O’Connor Roll but can hit a suicide dive onto Spud. A rollup gets two on Greg but Rubix slams Spud down. Greg’s running elbow in the corner puts Spud on the floor but Rubix takes Greg down with a bad looking top rope rana.

A German suplex gets two on Spud and Greg hits a sick missile dropkick to take him down. Spud is sent to the floor for a flip dive by Greg but Rubix crotches Greg coming back in. A Van Terminator gets two on Greg but Spud sends Rubix to the floor. Spud has a sunset flip countered into something like Kaz’s Fade to Black to give Greg the pin at 6:00.

Rating: C-. Greg (you think I’m going to type that name over and over again?) looked great, Rubix looked ok, and I want to punch Spud in the face. Signing Trent Barreta isn’t a bad idea at all and hopefully he’ll stick around, but Spud is going to get the push because of some reality show that most fans have never watched. Such is life in modern wrestling.

Ray is on the phone with the truck’s driver and says to take Angle to the spot they talked about. Also make Angle an offer he cant refuse.

The truck is back but Angle is driving it. It’s also light at 10:30 at night in Louisville.

Mickie James is in the arena to brag about a great moment from last week. We see a clip from a concert of hers in Nashville and Mickie brags a lot until Gail Kim cuts her off. The only thing people were talking about last week was her ladder match, but Mickie cuts her off because Gail is interrupting her oxygen space. Mickie says her performance last week was five starts but Gail ducks a slap. The brawl is on and Gail is in a very short dress. The title match is next week.

Austin Aries tells Sabin to be ready tonight. Sabin knows he can beat Aries and Aries can beat Bully Ray and Aries is pulling for him.

AJ Styles is ready for his test from Jeff Hardy and is going to take the points next week.

TNA World Title: Chris Sabin vs. Bully Ray

After the big match intros Ray gets right in Sabin’s face and talks trash but Sabin doesn’t blink. Ray goes to the corner but Sabin gets right in Ray’s face and says he’s going to win the title. Ray shoves him down and we’re ready to go. The champ grabs the leg to start as the fans are entirely behind Sabin. Chris fires off some kicks to the ribs and no sells a chop to the chest. Another chop sends Chris back but a third fires him up.

Ray offers him a fres kick to the ribs before chipping the tar off his skin. Sabin’s chest is BLOOD red but says bring it on. Now it’s Sabin firing off strikes to the face and chest before pounding away in the corner, only to have Ray go after the knee. Here are the Aces for backup as Sabin is laid out on the stage. Cue the Mafia who are somehow free as we take a break.

Back with Ray working over the leg and yelling at Rampage Jackson. It’s basically a lumberjack match now with the Mafia running interference when the Aces try to get involved. Ray hooks a leg lock and kicks at Sabin’s back while unhooking Sabin’s boot. A chop stops Sabin’s comeback bid and there goes the knee pad as well. Ray hits a Hennig neck snap on the leg and talks a lot of trash. Now he yells at the Mafia but stops to kick Sabin’s knee again.

Ray mocks Hogan’s hand to the ear which is always good for some heel heat. He pounds on the knee even more as the methodical offense continues. A chop to a downed Sabin makes him scream and Ray thinks he should take off the other knee brace. Ray whips him across the ring but Sabin collapses halfway there.

Instead he drills Sabin with a superplex for two but Chris fights back. He somehow gets up top for a missile dropkick but the referee goes gets bumped. Anderson tries to come in but the Mafia is there to stop the bikers. Ray got a hammer in there somehow but Sabin kicks him down. Everyone else is gone and Sabin blasts Ray in the head with the hammer for the pin and the title at 18:40.

Rating: B. This was all about the drama but the action was pretty solid as well. The ending really did surprise me which isn’t something that happens all that often anymore. There’s no way Sabin is going to be a long term champion due to his knee injuries but it’s still an awesome moment which is exactly what they were shooting for. It’s not like Ray was doing exceptional business or anything anyway. Ray being overconfident here was a fine story and it’s the perfect way to get the fans to go nuts. Well done stuff here.

Overall Rating: B+. They called this a PPV quality show and I can’t say I disagree with the statement. Things were hot all night long and the whole show worked quite well. The ending was a surprise but there’s no way Sabin survives that long with the title. All three of the triple threats were decent to ok but the Ultimate X should be fun next week. Very solid show all night here and it worked quite well.

Results

Austin Aries b. Bobby Roode – Brainbuster

Sonjay Dutt b. Petey Williams and Homicide – Moonsault double stomp to Homicide

Manik b. Kenny King and Chavo Guerrero – Double chickenwing gutbuster

Greg Marasciulo b. Rockstar Spud and Rubix – Over the shoulder piledriver to Spud

Chris Sabin b. Bully Ray – Hammer to the head

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