Destination X 2012
Date: July 8, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash

This is a rare bit for me as I’m watching the replay instead of the live broadcast due to having to take care of some stuff. This is the X-Division show which will have a series of four matches followed by an Ultimate X match between the winners for the title. Also we have Aries vs. Roode for the world title. This has the potential to be awesome or horrible and all points in between so let’s get to it.

The opening video is pretty awesome with the X-Division being spolighted, until they talk about Ultimate X. Scratch that, because it isn’t Ultimate X. It’s #Ultimate X. I don’t use Twitter and therefore I am SICK of seeing a hashtag in front of everything. Just getting something trending doesn’t make you cool, no matter what WWE wants you to believe. It looks silly and if Twitter dies in a few years, these videos are going to look ridiculous. The rest of the video is good though, focusing on Roode vs. Aries.

JB is on commentary instead of Tazz. That’s strange.

Rubix vs. Mason Andrews vs. Lars Only vs. Dakota Darsow

The winner of this gets the last spot in the tournament. Rubix is Chikara’s Jigsaw and Mason Andrews is PWG’s Scorpio Sky. The two of them start off fast and we get a good sequence, resulting in Andrews being sent to the floo. Rubix headscissors Only down before heading to the floor. Lars and Darsow go at it and this isn’t going to be pretty. Only takes over with some armdrags but Darsow hits a knee to the chest and some legdrops for two. Rubix pops in with a top rope cross body on Darsow for two as things stay fast paced to start. Darsow comes back with a falcon arrow for two as everyone is in the ring again.

Only and Darsow head to the floor while the two competent guys go at it in the ring. Andrews hits a huge dive over the top to take out both guys, followed by a flippier dive from Rubix to all three of them. Back in and Andrews grabs a Fujiwara Armbar on Rubix as Kid Kash, the guy who gets the winner, watches in the back. Geez that guy is still kicking around? Only takes all three down again and gets two on Rubix. Darsow is sent to the floor and Andrews charges into the boot of Andrews.

Dakota crotches Lars and we get the Tower of Doom for two on Only. Rubix pops back in with a Coast to Coast dropkick for another two, this time on Darsow. The fans seem completely behind Rubix here. Everyone takes their shots at each other as things speed up again. Only escapes a fireman’s carry from Andrews but a jumping knee misses. Andrews hits a TKO on Only to advance.

Rating: C+. This was a flipping showcase and there’s nothing wrong with that as an opener. Rubix or Andrews were clearly the right choices here so I’m fine with having Andrews take this one. It’s not a classic or anything but for an eight and a half minute opener to an X-Division show, there wasn’t much wrong here.

X-Division Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Mason Andrews vs. Kid Kash

This starts immediately and Kash jumps Andrews from behind, sending him to the floor. Andrews gets sent into the post and is in trouble early. Back in for some punches as we’re told that Kash has to have security around him all the time, because you just don’t know what he’ll do. Well those 40 year old kids are hard to predict. Andrews’ comeback is quickly taken down and it’s time for kicks from Kash.

A kind of powerslam gets two on Andrews as does a middle rope elbow. This has been total dominance so far, but not the good kind of dominance like Ryback. This is the “why am I supposed to care about Kid freaking Kash?” kind of dominance. Kash fires off more kicks and works on the arm a bit. Back to the floor again with Kash yelling at a fan. That’s the extent of the “action” out there so it’s back inside for a Kash moonsault which hits knees.

Andrews makes his comeback with some clotheslines and a missile dropkick for two. A running knee to the face gets the same and we get a pinfall reversal sequence minus any actual pinfall attempts. The Moneymaker (double underhook piledriver) is countered and Andrews rolls him up for the pin.

Rating: D. I really didn’t like this, although that likely has a lot to do with me not liking Kid Kash at all. He doesn’t interest me at all and I don’t care for his insane guy that could snap at any moment character. Andrews is good in the ring but he’s a bit plain. To be fair though, this was his third match in TNA so it’s hard to complain much here. Andrews has potential though.

Joe says that he picks Aries in the main event. His strategy tonight is to get to the world title through the BFG Series. Angle is nothing more than a means to that end.

Time to look at some tweets because that’s what wrestling is really about anymore.

X-Division Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Douglas Williams vs. Kenny King

Williams still has a job? King is the top story of the week as he’s out of ROH due to jumping to TNA on Thursday. King takes him to the mat to start with a headscissors as the announcers talk about him being a male stripper. That’s not quite as interesting as him being a female stripper but it’s good enough to fill in some time on the mics I guess. Williams is fine on the mat and wraps up King’s legs to take over.

King grabs a few rollups for two and it’s a standoff. The fans are being King here which isn’t really that surprising. Douglas fires off right hands to the face so King heads to the floor. Williams goes after him but King goes into the ring and dives out with a dive to take over. Back in and they head to the mat again with King grabbing a headlock. Williams takes him right back down with a hammerlock. This is fun stuff so far.

They fight over an armbar with King in control for a few seconds. Williams takes him down again and hooks a camel clutch which is quickly broken. Douglas pounds away in the corner but Rolling Chaos Theory (a sick rolling German suplex out of the corner) is broken up. King comes back with an atomic drop and an enziguri to put both guys down. Kenny hits a bit spinwheel kick for two and a spinebuster gets the same. Williams goes up and knocks Kenny to the floor in a big crash. Douglas drops a knee to King to keep King down, just not enough for a countout.

The crowd is quiet here, which is why the Impact Zone sucks: they have bad taste. This has been a good back and forth match and it gets even better with King hitting a springboard Blockbuster for two. They go back to the corner and King shoves Williams off this time. Just like on Impact, King hits the reverse F5 for the pin to advance. That’s the right choice.

Rating: B. I was really enjoying this and both guys were working well out there. Williams is a guy that can be used to make anyone look good, which makes me wonder why he’s hardly ever on TV. They’re smart to push King here, even if he doesn’t win the title, as he is coming over from another company. If you want more people to come there, you need to make them think they’ll be rewarded for it.

Daniels says tonight is about a beating. He’s done well the past year as he’s standing here as a champion unlike AJ. Daniels talks about AJ using Clair and Dixie to get where he is and then he ran away. Based on that, he knows there’s no way AJ is winning a last man standing match.

X-Division Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Sonjay Dutt vs. Rashad Cameron

Cameron is indy guy Sabian. I missed that before. They speed things up to start and it’s a fast standoff. Dutt pounds on the afro and dropkicks Cameron down for two. Sonjay is sent to the floor where Cameron hits a big flip dive to take over. That gets two back in the ring and Dutt snaps off a rana. Out to the floor and Cameron slams Dutt into the apron to break up what probably would have been a moonsault of some kind.

Back in and Cameron gets two again off the counter. He starts to get frustrated so it’s off to a bodyscissors to give him a chance to breathe. Dutt escapes and sends Cameron into the ropes in 619 position before dropping a leg across the back of his neck. A springboard splash gets two and things speed up again.

They trade armdrags and Cameron hits a headscissors off the top. They head to the mat and it’s Cameron hooking a cross armbreaker to take over. Sonjay escapes that too and grabs Cameron in Diamond Cutter position but backflips into a reverse DDT. Dutt goes up and hits the moonsault stomp for the pin to advance.

Rating: C+. That finisher of Dutt’s is incredible. Cameron has some charisma to him and would work well as a heel in the newly refurbished X-Division. This was a solid enough match that ate up about nine minutes which was exactly what these qualifying matches needed to do: hold the fort until we get to the bigger stuff later on tonight. Good match here.

We talk about Jesse Sorensen a bit and how he got hurt. This is followed by a video on Sorensen who says that he barely remembers any of this. The doctor says Jesse should be able to get back in the ring eventually. He hopes to make a full recovery. Good video to have on a show like this.

Sorensen is here and talks about how he remembers being taken out of the arena with the fans chanting his name. It’s those same chants that made him able to come out here again, because this is what God put him on the earth to do. After a lot of cheering, Sorensen says that he hopes Ion wins the title tonight so that Sorensen can take it from him and cash in next year to become World Heavyweight Champion.

X-Division Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Zema Ion vs. Flip Cassanova

Ion stares down Sorensen as he comes through the curtain. That could be an incredible moment when they have their match. Hopefully this match is short though as Cassanova was downright dangerous on Impact. Ion kicks him in the head to start and clotheslines Flip down. Ion misses a clothesline and Cassanova sends him to the floor, followed by a flip dive.

That gets Cassanova nowhere so Ion pounds him right back down. Cassanova gets sent to the floor for a baseball slide to send him down again. Back in and Flip kicks Ion down and hits a namesake moonsault for two. The flip dive that he won with on Impact misses here and Ion ends this with a modified Gory Bomb.

Rating: D+. This was just a step above a squash. Now hopefully we never see Cassanova and his dangerous self for a LONG time. He didn’t have the chance to screw much stuff here and for the sake of Ion, that’s a very good thing. Ion looked decent here, which is about how he’s looked the entire time he’s been around: not bad but nothing great.

Sonjay, King and Andrews say they’ll win. Roode comes in and yells at them because it’s his moment, not theirs.

Bound For Glory Series: Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe

Angle is far higher up the rankings due to making Pope tap out at a house show. Joe fires off some kicks but Kurt ducks and they head to the corner. Joe hits a shoulder block but Angle rolls out of the Clutch. Angle rolls him down again and it’s a standoff. Kurt takes him down in a front facelock but Joe powers him into the corner and fires off right hands. Joe hits the Facewash and Angle is in trouble.

Angle gets knocked to the floor and there’s the suicide elbow. As they head back in, Kurt kicks Joe in the chest and stomps him down in the corner. Joe comes right back and sends Angle into the opposite corner and hits an enziguri, but the MuscleBuster is broken up by a headbutt. Kurt pulls off a middle rope dropkick and both guys are down. He puts Joe in a chinlock followed by the overhead belly to belly.

There’s a small cut on Angle’s forehead. Off to another chinlock by Kurt, this time while sitting on Joe’s back. Joe counters that and goes up, only to have Angle run the ropes. Kurt gets shoved off though and Joe hits a middle rope leg lariat for two. A big boot puts Angle down and a backsplash gets two. A snap powerslam gets a third two count for Joe and it’s off to an armbar. Kurt blocks most of it and counters into the ankle lock.

Joe quickly breaks that, only to get caught in Rolling Germans. This has been pretty awesome so far and it’s getting better now. Another MuscleBuster is broken up and there’s the ankle lock again. Joe rolls out of that one as well and Angle charges into the release Rock Bottom out of the corner. This time the MuscleBuster hits, although he dropped Angle on his back instead of the usual head.

That gets two and Angle grabs the ankle lock again. Joe needs to work on his facials as he looks annoyed rather than in pain. Either way he spins around and counters into the Clutch. Angle stays in that for a good while but fights up and hits the Angle Slam for two. There go the straps and you know it’s serious now. Another Angle Slam is countered into another Clutch and Angle is in trouble. He doesn’t tap but the referee calls for the bell.

Rating: B+. I was really getting into this and I stayed in it the whole way through. The legacy these two have against each other is enough for a story which is a good place to be in. I liked this better than almost any of their other matches, which is a surprise as I wasn’t expecting anything near this. Also Joe winning is a very nice surprise and hopefully a sign that he’s on the verge of becoming a bigger player again.

That puts Joe in first place in the Series.

We recap this chapter of Styles vs. Daniels. Daniels claimed that AJ had an affair with Dixie Carter but it turned out that nothing was happening and that Dixie and AJ were covering for a girl named Clair who was in rehab. Daniels then claimed that AJ slept with Clair when she was unconscious and is the father of her unborn baby. I’m still not wild on this angle.

Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles

Last Man Standing here. Daniels immediately stalls on the floor which goes on long enough to tick AJ off. Styles chases him out and back into the ring, where Daniels spits in his face. Styles chases him to the floor again and they finally get going. It’s a slugout won by Daniels but Styles sends him into the barricade to take over. Back into the ring and AJ snaps off that gorgeous dropkick to take over.

Daniels begs off so Styles stomps on his hand. A suplex puts Daniels into the corner but he comes back with chops. Daniels head fakes Styles out of the corner and drills him in the face to take AJ down. Chris throws in a chair but pulls AJ to the floor first. That doesn’t last long so they head back in with Styles missing a springboard corner dive using the chair to launch at Daniels. Daniels hits the release Rock Bottom onto the chair but AJ is back up almost immediately.

They head to the floor again and Daniels yells at some fans. Fan: “Do a BME Daniels!” Daniels: “I did one on your mom last night.” AJ is busted open and Daniels pounds away at the skull. Daniels suplexes him on the floor but AJ comes back with some chops. Not that they matter as Styles charges into a big boot and they head back inside. Styles gets in a shot and loads up the springboard forearm, but he hits the chair, driving it into Daniels’ face.

Both guys are down now with Daniels on the floor and Styles in the ring. AJ is up first and sends Daniels head first into the steps on the floor. Now Daniels is busted too so AJ blasts him in the head. Daniels starts backing up the ramp and they go to the stage. Styles gets a running start but they clothesline each other. There haven’t been many counts in this so far. AJ wins a slugout with a Pele but tells the referee not to count because he’s not done.

Daniels breaks up a Styles Clash with a backdrop on the stage. AJ gets up on a piece of the stage and hits the moonsault into the reverse DDT for a seven count but as the count is going on, Kaz comes out and shoves Styles off the stage and out to the floor. AJ makes it up by nine so Daniels finds a table under the ring. Daniels loads up the Angel’s Wings off the stage through the table but AJ escapes and shoves Kaz off the stage. Another Pele puts Daniels down so AJ picks him up and hits the Clash off the ramp and through the table. Daniels is out for the ten while AJ is up at 9 and down at 11, but it’s good for the win.

Rating: B. Another good and solid match here, bad storyline aside. This is a feud that has been done to death for years now but we got a good match here. It never quite hit a level that would make it great, but the ending move was good enough to make it a solid entry in the never ending series. Hopefully this ends it for at least a few months, because it’s never going to end forever.

We get some tweets from various people, some of whom are TNA people.

Aries dominates an online poll with 71% saying he wins the title.

Aries says he’s looking forward to the Ultimate X match, but the division is in his rear view mirror. Instead he’ll be looking ahead and he sees Bobby Roode. He says Roode wins his matches with belt shots but Aries wins them with brainbusters and tonight he’ll prove that he’s the best in the world.

We recap the semi-final matches from earlier in the night.

X-Division Title: Mason Andrews vs. Kenny King vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Zema Ion

It’s Ultimate X and the title is vacant coming in. Ion puts in some hairspray and goes for a quick win, only to be brought down just as quickly. He runs to the corner but dives at the three guys instead. That goes just as badly as Ion dives into three dropkicks at the same time. Things start speeding up and Dutt is the only one left. He goes up but King breaks it up. Ion breaks up the breaking up and it’s Andrews vs. Ion at the moment.

King comes back in and counters an Andrews DDT by suplexing him into Ion who was in the Tree of Woe. King and Dutt slug it out on the apron and a cartwheel kick knocks Dutt to the floor. Kenny goes for the belt but Dutt takes him down with a springboard dropkick. Dutt fires off a standing shooting star but hits his arm on the rope in the process. Keep that in mind. Ion makes a run for the belt but Andrews and King make the save. The two saviors go to the corner and Andrews suplexes King down.

Dutt is being takes out of the match because of his arm/elbow/shoulder. Ion goes for the belt but gets brought down into an atomic drop from Andrews. King and Ion go to the floor with Andrews hitting a flip dive over the top to take both guys down. Andrews goes for the title but King hits a springboard spear to take him down in a good looking spot.

Here’s Dutt again, after having his arm/elbow/shoulder being popped back into place. King and Andrews go for the belt but they knock each other down. Ion and Dutt go up top onto the structure which makes my fear of heights cringe. They slug it out up there and slip down onto the cables, but Ion sprays Sonjay with the hairspray. That knocks Dutt down and Ion wins the title.

Rating: B-. This was pretty good and I can live with Ion as the champion. Unfortunately his main feud is going to be months away as Sorensen isn’t going to be ready for a long time. As for now that, he’s ok I guess but King probably would have been the best choice. Still though, decent match and a solid performance from Dutt as he worked through injury. That’s probably the first feud too, which should be good.

Ion dedicates this to all of his haters and all of his critics. He also dedicates it to his greatest inspiration: Jesse Sorensen. Ion says he’s pretty now and all that jazz. This should have been an awesome heel promo but these two IDIOTS will not stop chanting “transition”. We get it: you’re smarks, you think you know something, and you got on TV. Nice job of distracting the audience and making the new champion look like less of the focus than you are. People like that get on my nerves and they’ll probably be so happy with what they did because that’s the highlight of their year.

We recap Aries vs. Roode. Aries has dominated the X-Division for almost a year now but he’s no longer satisfied with it. Now he wants to be world champion, but he agreed to give up the title in exchange for a guaranteed title match here, which is going to be the tradition every year for this show.

TNA World Title: Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode

Feeling out process to start without a lot of offense either way. After about a minute and twenty seconds they lock up and Roode grabs the arm. Aries grabs the arm to counter but gets run over. They’re still in slow mode and that’s fine. A rolling cradle gets two for Aries and he hooks an STF. They hit the mat and Roode slaps him in the back of his head a few times. Now Aries takes him down to the mat and hits a slingshot tope for two.

Roode hooks a headscissors on the mat which is quickly broken up and they head outside. Aries hits a top rope ax handle to the floor but his missile dropkick misses back inside and Roode takes over. Roode hooks a chinlock but a knee drop misses. Aries fires off with kicks and tries the Last Chancery but it doesn’t go on right. Roode goes to the floor but avoids the suicide dive, sending Aries into the barricade.

Roode hooks a bodyscissors back in the ring followed by a hard whip into the corner. He talks a lot of trash to the downed Aries and hits a combination F5/Samoan Drop for two. Off to a body vice on the mat and Aries is cut on the nose. Aries makes a comeback and fires off forearms and chops in the corner. They slug it out and a discus forearm puts Roode down. A clothesline puts Roode on the floor and there’s the suicide dive which connects this time.

This time the missile dropkick hits as well but Aries charges into a powerslam out of the corner. Aries comes back again and tries the Last Chancery again, but Roode is pretty bad at selling it. Roode counters into a Crossface but Aries counters right back into the Chancery. Aries gets in another shot to the head and goes up for the 450, but Roode moves. Aries rolls through it anyway but walks into the spinebuster for two.

The champion sends him shoulder first into the post and goes back to the Crossface. That stays on for a long time but Aries makes the rope. Roode is frustrated now so he grabs the belt, only to have it taken away by the referee. That allows the champ to hit a low blow for two. Roode argues with the referee and gets shoved into the corner, allowing Aries to hit the corner dropkick.

Aries tries the brainbuster but Roode escapes and the ref is bumped. Roode hits a belt shot for a VERY close two. The fisherman’s suplex is countered into a small package for two and Aries punts Roode in the head. He grabs the brainbuster out of nowhere for the pin and the title in a huge shocker.

Rating: B+. Another good match to close the show here, but the point of this was in the surprise. This felt like a big moment and it was the right call to pull the trigger here. This show was designed around the X-Division and having the longest reigning champion win the world title here was the right way to make the X Title look like it can be something comparable to the world title. Good match too.

Aries celebrates with confetti to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was another great PPV from the boys in Orlando. This didn’t feel as big as Slammiversary but for a B show, this was very solid. The main event was a great touch with Aries winning the title. Even if it’s a month long reign it got the job done and that’s all that counts at the moment. Very solid show here with some excellent matches and a show long theme. Good stuff again.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Against All Odds 2006
Date: February 12, 2006
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 775
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay

We’re back to Orlando as we finish off this company’s PPV series with this set of three shows. The main event here is Christian getting his first world title match against Jarrett, which is probably the best option they had at the moment. We also have Daniels vs. AJ vs. Joe because this is TNA and that’s how we roll around here. Other than that the card looks pretty interesting, so let’s get to it.

Christian arrived earlier.

Coach D’Amore and Eric Young were there waiting when Jeff got there. They have a tape about Jackie Gayda, the contents of which were never revealed. Eric Young doesn’t think Sting is really gone. The Coach yells at him.

The opening video is about Christian coming here to be in on the new thing. Tonight is his shot. Jarrett doesn’t think Christian deserves a shot and that he’s a midcarder getting this show because Sting bailed on TNA.

Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs. The Naturals

Good choice for an opener. This is a rematch from Impact where the artificials (as in not naturals) cheated to win. It’s a brawl to start but the Naturals hit stereo atomic drops and clotheslines to take over. Let’s see if I can remember which Natural is which for once. Aries and I think Douglas start until it’s off to Stevens. It’s so strange to see Aries getting destroyed like this. The fans chant for him but he gets double teamed down for two.

Dang it Tenay say which Natural is which already! Stevens (I think) hits a Downward Spiral for two and it’s off to Douglas. Douglas throws Aries into Strong which sends them both to the floor. Stevens hits a Shooting Star off the top to take everyone out. That was awesome looking but the fans don’t seem to care for some reason. I think Aries hurt his knee on that. Stevens goes back in, only to slide to the floor and take out Strong. That allows Aries to hit the suicide dive and yeah he’s limping.

Back in and Stevens gets double teamed with some punches. Strong stays in and it’s time for a backbreaker. Strong is called the Messiah of the Backbreaker so that might explain why I thought you needed to know that move. Back to Aries who keeps Steven on the mat in a nice move. Chase (Stevens. The other is Andy Douglas) hits a jawbreaker on Strong but can’t get to Douglas. Aries hits the dropkick in the corner for two and the knee seems fine.

A bottom rope elbow gets the same and it’s off to Strong. Aries comes in quickly but he goes up (with the knee looking shaky again) and gets crotched. There’s the hot tag to Douglas who hits a jumping high knee to Strong. A rana out of the corner gets two on Aries. Douglas holds Austin up for a powerbomb forever, allowing Strong to chop block him to break it up.

Aries and Strong hit a clothesline/German combo for two on Douglas. A dropkick from Aries gets the same as everything breaks down. The Naturals load up the Natural Disaster but Strong makes the save. Aries tries the rollup with the rope grab that won them the first match but the referee breaks it up. Natural Disaster (elevated Stunner) gets the pin on Aries.

Rating: B-. This was perfectly fine for an opener. It was fast paced with some nice high spots and a good finish that tied back into the match that set it up. I don’t get why the fans didn’t care, but I guess it was because the teams don’t matter much. That being said, screw them because this was a solid opener and I was getting into it at the end.

We run down the rest of the card as is the custom for TNA.

Larry insists that the best man will win the main event tonight.

AMW says they’ll keep the titles over Sabin/Dutt. Team Canada is there too and Gail is forced to apologize to Coach D’Amore for saying Coach couldn’t get the Jackie tape. Larry is there too for some reason and says that if “anyone interferes in the main event, they’re fired.” Remember that line.

Alex Shelley vs. Matt Bentley vs. Jay Lethal vs. Petey Williams

One fall to a finish here. Bentley has Traci with him and we get the eternally stupid Bentley Bounce. Can we just watch Traci bounce instead? Bentley and Williams start things off as the fans chant for Lethal. It’s a feeling out process to start with Williams taking over. He goes to do the O Canada deal but Traci offers a curvy distraction. Lethal and Shelley come in and the fans get loud for the first time tonight.

We get a gymnastics routine resulting in them both trying dropkicks at the same time. They chop it out and Lethal hits a dropkick to the back of the head for two. A modified northern lights suplex gets the same for Jay as Shelley tags out with his foot. I guess that doesn’t count so Alex hooks a modified Koji Clutch on jay to take over. Shelley hits a slingshot hilo for two on Jay but Williams tags himself in to face Lethal.

Petey hits a dropkick to the back and slams Jay down. Off to a camel clutch but Shelley comes in to argue about Williams getting the win. That allows Jay to tag in Bentley as this is coming off more like a tag match than a fourway. Bentley cleans house but gets crotched by Petey. A Tower of Doom is broken up and Lethal grabs a bridging German for two on Shelley, but Bentley drops a top rope elbow to break it up. Williams counters a suplex and hits a rolling neckbreaker for two on Bentley.

Lethal comes back in and goes off on Shelley but Alex gets a drop toehold to break it up. Bentley comes back in and things speed WAY up as he and Shelley do a too fast to call sequence. Jackie Gayda comes out and goes after Shelley (Shelley filmed the tape that has been brought up multiple times tonight). She beats him up in the aisle as Bentley backdrops out of the Canadian Destroyer. Lethal dives on Bentley and steals the pin while he’s still down.

Rating: C+. This was fine but after we already saw one match similar to this, there wasn’t as much interest in seeing another one. Still though it was fine and a good use of about ten minutes. Also the fans were into Lethal which is more than can be said for anyone in the opener, save for Aries when he did the suicide dive. Decent match here but nothing that I’ll remember in about ten minutes.

Rhyno says he grew up in Detroit, the murder capital of the world. If he can survive that, he can survive Mitchell and Abyss. Larry comes up and says don’t interfere in the main event. Rhyno says spread your word yourself.

We get a video narrated by Truth who says mistrust led to the split of the Kru. Konnan wants him to join LAX despite not being Latino. LAX beat up BG James’ papa and tonight there’s a tag match for revenge. This gets a music video treatment for some reason.

James Gang vs. LAX

This is Homicide and Machete, a mostly indy wrestler who is most famous for being on this team and wrestling in Puerto Rico. Konnan says he beat up Bob Armstrong because BG did something wrong. The James Gang is of course the New Age Outlaws. LAX including Konnan jumps the James Gang before Kip can do his thing. BG and Kip (seriously, WHO PICKED THE NAME KIP?) send them to the floor and LAX caucuses.

Tenay tries to explain the name changes (although we were never told how Bob Armstrong’s son is named BG James) as Homicide starts with Kip. They stare each other down and then botch a tilt-a-whirl slam from Kip. I think Homicide was distracted by the ponytails. Off to BG for some dancing punches on the tagged in Machete, getting two. Kip comes back in and gets chopped back as well as having his Cobra Clutch slam broken up by Homicide.

Kip gets sent to the floor and Konnan sends him into the barricade to give LAX control. Back in and Homicide charges into a boot but Konnan cheats again to keep the advantage with LAX. Kip gets a clothesline and there’s the tag to BG with zero reaction at all. Everything breaks down and BG hits the pumphandle slam on Homicide out of nowhere for the pin. This wasn’t even six minutes total.

Rating: D. I’m not sure what the point of this was. The match was short and not that good, and it didn’t really accomplish anything. The ending had no build and the match had no heat at all, so I’m not sure what it accomplished. The James Gang just didn’t work at all in TNA as they were basically trying to be the Outlaws, but they were older and it didn’t work anymore.

LAX beats up the James Gang until 66 year old Bob Armstrong comes in for the save.

Slick Johnson goes to see Larry (who has Dave Hebner with him). They argue about who should be referee.

Tag Titles: America’s Most Wanted vs. Sonjay Dutt/Chris Sabin

Sabin and Dutt won some tournament to win this shot. Sabin might have an ankle injury coming into this. Dutt and Storm start and the fans want the Cowboy killed. Dutt starts with his usual flipping offense and a cross body for two. Sabin comes in with some of the same double team offense that he and Shelley would use as the Guns. Sabin gets in a kick to the ribs of Storm but Harris trips him up and wraps the bad ankle/leg around the post.

AMW starts in on the leg and it’s off to Harris. He takes off the knee wrap and puts on a leg lock. Sabin gets up and tries to fight out of the champions’ corner, only to be taken right back down by the leg. Storm comes back in with a chinlock and a Backstabber for two. Back to Harris as the leg work continues. The referee checks on Sabin’s knee but Storm jumps him anyway.

Sabin misses an enziguri and kicks Storm off so he can make the hot tag. Off to Sonjay who speeds things way up. A rana and low dropkick get two on Storm. A springboard double dropkick puts the champs down as does a springboard moonsault press for no cover. Sabin saves Sonjay from a Hart Attack and Dutt counters the Catatonic into a sloppy rollup for two. The champs bring in a chair and Sabin hits a tornado DDT on Harris onto said chair. A springboard splash by Dutt gets two on Harris but Storm puts the knee into the barricade. Hindu Press misses and the Last Call sets up the Death Sentence to retain.

Rating: C. This was pure formula and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. The division was kind of weak at this point as Team 3D was busy fighting some incarnation of Team Canada so AMW needed some opponents tonight. Sabin was the guy you called when you needed a filler for a match on the card and he filled that role very well.

Post match AMW cuffs Dutt to the ropes but Sabin makes the save with a chair.

Jarrett says the pressure is on Christian, not him. Monty Brown comes up and gets cut off by the champ. Jarrett demands respect because Brown is going to say the same thing he always says. They shake hands and say they have a deal.

We recap Rhyno vs. Abyss. This is falls count anywhere and they’re fighting because that’s what these guys did around that time. There never was a real reason for these matches other than proving who the toughest was. The video basically says they’re here to fight and that they’ll both win.

Rhyno vs. Abyss

Rhyno charges into the ring and we’re ready to go. They head to the floor quickly due to a Rhyno clothesline and it’s time to hit the crowd. In a funny bit, Rhyno tries to dive off the apron over the railing and onto Abyss but he realizes that would be a good chance of dying so he dives off the barricade instead. Abyss takes over and throws him into that wooden wall that is always used in brawls.

They head back to ringside and Rhyno grabs a trashcan full of your usual weapons. Abyss gets in a series of Singapore cane shots as the fans do that stupid OH ABYSS chant from this period. Rhyno is busted open but comes back with some trashcan lid shots. He finds a trophy and baseball bat, but instead of crushing Abyss’ skull, he puts the trophy between Abyss’ legs and hits the trophy with the bat.

They head to the floor and Abyss counters a suplex into one of his own on the ramp. Abyss sets up some tables next to the stage so you can guess what the finish to this is going to be. Abyss pokes him with a pipe or something to keep Rhyno down and sets up the third of four tables. He loads up a powerbomb but Rhyno escapes. Rhyno sets for the Gore but Abyss big boots him to the floor.

They head into the back and find a parade float and a car. Abyss finds a ball bat but Rhyno knocks it away and takes it back into the arena. Back at ringside and Rhyno throws a table into the ring. Mitchell hands Abyss a staple gun and it gets fired into Rhyno’s head. Abyss brings in ANOTHER table to go along with the one Rhyno set up in the corner. This one is set up regularly in the ring, but Rhyno comes back with a belly to belly.

Rhyno tries the Gore but charges into a chokeslam through the table for two. Mitchell hands in a bag of tacks but Rhyno gores him into the corner for another two count. With no more weapons to use in the ring they head up into the audience again and get to the end of the bleachers. Abyss throws Rhyno through the wall and kicks his way through the rest of it. Rhyno goes low to break up a chokeslam off the bleachers and hits the Gore through the previously set up stack of tables. Abyss is left somewhere in the carnage and Rhyno gets the academic pin.

Rating: B. There was nothing new here, but sometimes there’s nothing wrong with having two big guys break a lot of stuff. That’s what they did here and it worked well. This is Abyss’ bread and butter and Rhyno isn’t too shabby at it either. Good stuff here with the ending being a nice big spot. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Joe says he may not adhere to the Code of the X-Division or whatever but it doesn’t matter. Daniels and AJ aren’t fighting for friends and family tonight, but rather against him, which is much worse.

Rhyno and Abyss are helped up.

We recap the X Title match. The idea is that AJ and Daniels are the old guard when Joe came in and ran through everyone to take the title. He destroyed Daniels and left him bloodied, so tonight it’s a threeway. Daniels didn’t like being saved by AJ so they’re at odds. Joe says it’s all about the title and not being friends or anything like that.

X-Division Title: Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

Joe is defending and brings out two towels: one with Daniels’ blood on it and a clean one for AJ’s. Nice touch. Daniels and AJ jump Joe but Daniels jumps AJ to take over. Joe runs over the Fallen Angel and hits a knee drop but he walks into a slam from Styles. This is very fast paced so far. AJ dropkicks them both but can’t suplex Joe. Instead the champ hits a SICK release Gordbuster to Styles to take over again.

Daniels comes back in and monkey flips AJ into a rana position on Joe, but Joe counters into a Boston Crab. AJ and Joe go to the floor but Joe slaps a charging Daniels to break up his dive. AJ sends Joe into the barricade and hooks the bridging Indian Deathlock on Daniels back inside. Joe finally breaks it up and hooks the STF on Styles. Daniels grabs a Koji Clutch on Joe at the same time but everyone breaks it a few seconds later.

Daniels’ slingshot elbow gets two on Styles but Joe runs Daniels over and hits the Facewash. This is VERY fast paced so far. AJ charges at the champ but gets caught in the release Rock Bottom. While Joe is busy with Daniels on the apron, AJ charges at Joe but hits Daniels instead. Joe dives onto both of them to keep control and we head back inside. AJ sweeps the champ’s legs and Daniels hits a knee to send Joe to the floor.

A quick rollup gets two for AJ and Joe is back in. Daniels gets suplexed down and Joe hits a leg lariat for two on Styles. A running boot to Daniels’ face and a backsplash get two for Joe. Snap powerslam gets the same results with the same people. A cross armbreaker is quickly broken up by Daniels getting to the ropes so Joe tries the MuscleBuster instead. Styles kicks Joe in the head to break it up but he walks into a Downward Spiral by Daniels.

Daniels hits a release German out of nowhere on Joe followed by a release Rock Bottom. The BME only gets two and Joe was out closer to two than three. Daniels tries Angel’s Wings but AJ dives over him and tries the Clash but Daniels blocks it. Joe clotheslines Daniels down for two but Styles escapes the Buster.

It’s clotheslines all around from Styles and one of them gets two on Daniels. A spinning torture rack powerbomb gets two on Chris and the backflip DDT gets the same on Joe. Daniels breaks up a Clash attempt on Joe before hitting a DVD on Joe of his own. Styles goes up but Daniels distracts him. Joe nails Daniels and hits the Buster to retain and stay undefeated.

Rating: B+. Not as good as Unbreakable but that’s an unfair standard to hold them too in a rematch. Still though, very good stuff here with all three guys nailing it and working hard and fast. This is one of those combinations that almost always works, but this was back when it was still pretty fresh, making it much more interesting.

We recap Team 3D vs. Team Canada. Team 3D has been destroyed by almost all of the heels so far, but Team Canada cost them the titles last month. The fans got to vote for who they wanted Team 3D to face so here’s the obvious match.

Team 3D says they’re mad and if ticking them off was an Olympic sport, Team Canada would have a gold medal. Ray talks about how all of the fans want Team Canada’s blood all over the arena and various places the Canadian flag can go.

Team 3D vs. Team Canada

It’s Roode/Young. Team 3D run in from behind to get an early advantage. It’s a brawl on the floor to start with the Dudleys in full control. Ray backdrops Roode onto the ramp and dents it in the process. Young gets chopped from the floor up to the apron by Ray. We get down to Ray vs. Roode in the ring and they’re the official starters. Ray hits a wicked release German suplex on Roode and it’s off to Eric and D-Von.

A side slam/legdrop combo gets two on Young but Roode low bridges D-Von to give the Canadians control. The cut that D-Von had on his head coming in is busted open again and the Canadians hammer away on it. There’s blood on the Tag Team of the Year plaque that the Dudleys won last night. Off to a chinlock as Roode shouts ASK HIM. Is that a Canadian thing?

Eric hooks a camel clutch, followed by a top rope knee from Roode, followed by a top rope elbow from Young, all for two. Back to the camel clutch, this time from Roode and now from Young. The Canadians are tagging in and out very fast. We get the Arn Anderson drop down onto the knees to give D-Von a breather and the hot tag to Ray.

Ray comes in with a cross body off the top (!) to take out both Canadians. House is cleaned and a side slam gets two on Young. A flapjack gets two on Ray and Roode misses a hockey stick shot. A low blow hits though and there’s the stick shot. Eric only gets two off that and then walks into the Lariat from Roode as Ray ducks. 3D pins Young.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as from what I can tell the blood part of the angle was set up last night. Good enough to pass I guess but for the life of me I have no idea why the Dudleys didn’t get their titles for so long. The match was decent enough I guess but there was nothing that was required viewing at all.

AMW comes in to beat down the Dudleys and they almost put Ray through a table, but Ron Killings comes in for the save and puts Young through the table instead.

After a recap of the show so far, Christian asks everyone how they’re feeling tonight. He’s nervous tonight because the culmination of a 12 year career is tonight. Tonight everything is answered: was it smart to leave WWE? Is Christian just a midcarder? Has Jarrett passed his white jeans phase? After all the cliches are over, Christian will leave as world champion because that’s how he rolls. Really good promo here from Christian.

We recap the world title match, which is pretty much summed up by Christian’s promo.

NWA World Title: Jeff Jarrett vs. Christian Cage

Zbyszko and Hebner are here. That would be Dave Hebner as Earl will be refereeing. Total references to Montreal in the first minute: 4. Jarrett is defending of course. Gail is looking good too. Feeling out process to start with Christian getting a pair of twos off a pair of shoulders. Jarrett takes him to the mat and slaps him in the back of the head to get on the challenger’s nerves.

A sunset flip out of the corner gets two for Christian so Jeff heads to the apron. They both wind up out there and Christian hits a reverse DDT onto the apron to take over. Christian tries a big dive but lands on the barricade. Jeff slams him into the barricade and Christian is in big trouble. They head over to the announce table and the beating continues, followed by a slingshot into the table. This has all of the old TNA brawling favorites in it.

Back into the ring and Jarrett hooks a chinlock but Christian breaks it in seconds. And never mind as Jeff hot shots him onto the top rope. Hebner gets involved because he’s Earl Hebner and since he did something eight and a half years ago, he has to do something here. To be fair he did stuff like that before Montreal but get over it already. Gail snakes in for a rana that gets two for Jarrett.

Christian comes back with a powerbomb out of nowhere and hooks a figure four. Jarrett makes the rope so Christian yells at Hebner some more, allowing Jarrett to hit an enziguri. Jeff hooks a Sharpshooter and my head begins to hurt. Christian breaks the awful looking Sharpshooter and puts on one of his own (again with the freaking Montreal stuff!) but Jeff breaks it pretty quickly. Christian gets sent into the corner on the counter and both guys are down.

The challenger wins a slugout and runs Jarrett over a few times. Tornado DDT gets two. Jarrett slides through Christian’s legs and hits Earl’s ankle to take him down. Gail interferes again (wasn’t there some rule about anyone that interferes is FIRED?) and Jeff hits a top rope Stroke, but there’s no referee. Jarrett pounds away but walks into the Unprettier. Slick Johnson slides in to count two as everything starts going nuts as it is known to do in TNA main events.

Johnson (thankfully in full pants here) tells Gail to get down as Earl is unconscious despite being hit in the ankle and not in the, you know, head. Jeff hits Christian low so Jeff hits the referee before there can be a DQ. Why would you do that? Gail throws in a chair but Christian dropkicks it into Jarrett’s face. No referee so Christian chases Gail a bit. That gets him a guitar shot to the head which gets two. Another Gail rana attempt is countered into a powerbomb and the Stroke is countered into the Unprettier to give Christian the pin and the title.

Rating: C. You know usually I would list off the things that we had to sit through to get to the title change, but SWEET GOODNESS MAN there were too many things to remember here. This was a total mess which somehow had plot holes in it. On top of everything, WHERE WAS LARRY? He was there to open the show but he was gone for this. That makes no sense. Anyway, WAY overbooked and not even that good in the first place.

Fans fill the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a solid show with almost nothing being truly bad. The James Gang match was bad but it wasn’t even six minutes long. This was somewhere between a major show and a B level show but it was still good stuff overall. TNA was on a roll at this point and Christian coming over and becoming world champion was a part of that. Good show here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 19, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s Open Fight Night again and Roode is calling out Aries tonight. Why he would do this when he has a world title match at the next PPV is a bit of a mystery but that’s wrestling for you. We also might get an update on the Aces and 8’s faction which is a pretty cool idea. We haven’t had masked me in awhile so that’s kind of a cool thing. Let’s get to it.

After the standard opening recap, we have another recap of the Aces and 8’s beatdown last week.

Hogan is shown in the hospital, which is due to a legit back surgery.

Theme song hits. Get your reinforcements.

Bound For Glory Series standings:

James Storm 43

Samoa Joe 37

Kurt Angle 27

Jeff Hardy 21

Mr. Anderson 16

Rob Van Dam 14

Magnus 14

Christopher Daniels 12

AJ Styles 7

D’Angelo Dinero 7

Bully Ray 0

Robbie E 0

Tonight the high scorers get to do the callouts.

Here’s Storm to talk about Aries being the new champion and wanting the title shot no matter who it’s against. He hasn’t forgotten about Roode either, because the title is just business while Roode is personal. As for Aces and 8’s, if this was the wild west, he’d be the sheriff because he’s the Cowboy. While he doesn’t have a star on his chest, he has a set of balls. Hogan gets a shoutout but Storm wants Angle tonight.

Bound For Glory Series: James Storm vs. Kurt Angle

And there’s no Kurt. The music plays again and it’s Aces and 8’s in the back destroying Angle. We go to a break with Angle out cold and Tenay wondering if the guy in an American flag t-shirt with no hair that looks exactly like Angle is in fact Angle.

Bound For Glory Series: Samoa Joe vs. D’Angelo Dinero

I’m not going to bother listing the quick callouts that happen unless anything significant is said in them. Dinero tries to knock Joe into the corner but Joe pounds him with elbows and an enziguri to take over. Joe pops him in the face but gets sent into the corner and out to the floor. Back in and Pope hits a powerslam for two and it’s off to the Rings of Saturn. Pope starts pounding away and gets caught in a cross armbreaker for the tap at 3:20.

Rating: C. See how easy it is to push Joe as a submissions master? It goes this fast and Joe continues to dominate the Series. Pope is still floundering and it’s still pretty dull to see him out there as he’s nothing more than a jobber at this point. Still though, they need people like that in the Series to keep things interesting. This wasn’t bad though and Pope looked good.

Roode denies having any connection to Aces and 8’s despite being the last guy seen with Hogan before the attack. He’ll prove Destination X was a fluke later too.

Bound For Glory Series; Jeff Hardy vs. Robbie E

Jeff says he has someone in mind to call out but Robbie E interrupts. T jumps Hardy to take over but Hardy realizes he’s Jeff Hardy and takes over with his usual stuff. T interferes again to send Jeff out to the floor. That gets two for E but Jeff comes back again and hits the Whisper in the Wind for two. A plancha to the floor misses as T shoved E out of the way. Jeff fights T up the aisle and E wins by countout at 2:49.

ODB and Eric Young are in the back and Eric is back. It turns into a plug for his fish show.

We recap Clair/Daniels/Kaz with Clair saying that AJ is her baby’s papa.

Daniels rants a lot as does Kaz, saying that AJ is a coward.

Smoe guy named Sam Shaw comes out for Gut Check and while he’s talking, here are Aces and 8’s. There are six of them this time. The beating continues as they go to a break.

Post break Shaw is helped up.

Bound For Glory Series: Mr. Anderson vs. AJ Styles

Anderson works over the arm and hits a hiptoss to take over. He hooks an armbar but AJ counters into a headscissors. They stay on the mat for a bit until a stalemate takes us to a break. Back with Anderson holding a headlock but AJ comes back with the drop down/kick sequence. AJ grabs the arm but gets elbowed in the face and a neckbreaker puts Styles down for two. Anderson hooks a cravate for a submission attempt but Styles rams him into the buckle to escape. Springboard forearm gets two for AJ.

Mic Check and Clash are countered as we’re getting close to fifteen minutes here. Regal Roll gets two for Anderson but the Mic Check is countered again. AJ goes up but Mr. snaps off a superplex with AJ landing on his arm. That only gets two for both guys as we have less than two minutes left. Pele out of nowhere (missed by the announcers) sets up the Clash but Anderson counters and they hit the mat with Anderson getting a pin out of nowhere at 13:38.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t really hitting on all cylinders but it worked well enough all things considered. Anderson needs some points and having him get a clean pin over Styles isn’t going to hurt anything at all. Besides AJ has bigger things to worry about right now, and here she comes to continue the soap opera portion of your show.

Clair comes over the rail and yells about the night that AJ came to the hotel but AJ doesn’t remember it. She says Styles was drinking that night too but Styles says this was all in her head. Clair has pictures of them in bed together with AJ looking very drugged/drunk.

Back and we look at the pictures again with AJ looking stunned in the back.

Bound For Glory Series: Rob Van Dam vs. Christopher Daniels

Some MMA guy is on commentary here because when you watch wrestling, you think MMA. Van Dam fires off some kicks but Daniels comes back with an elbow to the face. Daniels gets caught in an abdominal stretch, only for Daniels to fall backwards into the ropes. Back in after a quick run to the floor and Daniels hits the slingshot elbow for two. The MMA guy at least is interested here and sounds like a wrestling fan.

Daniels drops a knee to the back and puts on a chinlock with a knee in the back. Van Dam escapes and superkicks Daniels down, followed by a monkey flip. Five Star misses so RVD hits the walk over kick to take Daniels down. Rolling Thunder misses and Daniels rolls Van Dam up with feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:13.

Rating: C. Not bad again here and the announcer wasn’t that annoying for the most part. Daniels is doing a great job at being completely evil and that’s the right thing for him to do. RVD is fine for a warm body in the Series, which means that he’ll wind up in the middle of the standings and will get some wins here and there. This was fine.

Austin Aries says he can trump anything Roode can do. He finds playing cards on the floor and says he can trump Aces and 8’s too.

It’s Brooke Hogan time! She does a phone interview to talk about her dad’s injuries and how her dad doesn’t know what he’s in for. Nothing of note is said here.

Joseph Park offers his legal services to Garrett Bischoff as a way to talk about what happened last week when Park snapped. Park says that was all him.

Bound For Glory Series: Magnus vs. Bully Ray

Ray jumps Magnus in the aisle but Magnus fights back. Magnus sends him into the barricade and heads into the ring for the bell. Ray kicks him in the chest to take over but I think he was aiming for the face. Ray chops him in the corner and slams him down, but the splash misses. Magnus makes his comeback and throws on a Texas Cloverleaf but Ray makes the rope. Falcon’s Arrow gets two for Magnus. He misses a middle rope elbow though and it’s the Bully Cutter for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but Ray finally gets some points. Magnus has everything you need to be something good but for some reason he’s never risen above the level of a jobber. Unfortunately we didn’t get any Joseph Park stuff here but this got the job done well enough I guess.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. debuts next week.

Here’s Roode to call out Aries. That’ll be after a break though.

Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode

Non-title of course, because why would you think of asking for a title match in a match where you have to accept said challenge? Aries snaps off an armdrag followed by Roode getting sent into the corner. The fans sound like they say they want t-shirts. Roode sends him to the apron but Aries counters and hits a slingshot hilo for two. Roode goes face first into the apron so Aries dives on him on the outside as we take a break.

Back with Aries in trouble as Roode hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. A spinebuster gets the same and it’s time for a chinlock. Aries fights up but walks into an elbow to the face to put him right back down. Aries gets up again and they slug it out but the spinning forearm gets caught in an armbar. Last Chancery goes on but Roode breaks out and hits the spear for two.

Roode loads up a superplex but Aries knees him in the head to escape. A missile dropkick puts Roode down but the brainbuster is countered into the Crossface. Aries hits the discus forearm and clotheslines Roode to the floor, followed by the suicide dive. And here are Aces and 8’s for the DQ at 13:42.

Rating: C+. This was pretty good and I guess this is supposed to prove that Roode is behind this, but that would make no sense as they appeared before he lost the title. Aries getting beaten down is a nice touch as it shows that it’s a company wide problem, but it doesn’t answer any questions. This was the only ending they could go with though, as if Roode won then Aries is a fluke but if Aries won, why watch the PPV match?

Roode gets beaten up too and it’s a big beatdown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show has really slowed down a lot in the last few weeks, but there was still some good stuff tonight. Aces and 8’s is still an interesting idea but with these random attacks, they’re not really going anywhere yet. That’ll change when Hogan and Sting get back or when someone mounts an attack against them. As usual though, the problem with Open Fight Night is that nothing of note happens from it. These matches could happen on any show and the calling out means nothing at all. Not a horrible show but it was nothing great at all.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 12, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s the beginning of the Age of Aries which is more astrology than I ever expected to use in this show. Aries beat Roode for the title on Sunday in a big upset but it worked very well. Also the people that attacked Sting are here tonight which should be interesting. TNA continued its roll on Sunday and hopefully they can get a new Impact streak going tonight. Let’s get to it.

Bully Ray vs. Joseph Park

This is the rematch after their match at whatever show that was. Slammiversary I believe? This is anything goes and Abyss is barred from the building. We start with some comedy stuff as Park puts his hands up like he did at the PPV, but Ray has had enough of the attorney and beats him down. He even tweets something during the match. Ray heads to the floor and gets some weapons in a trashcan. Park takes Ray down but takes too long getting a chair ready and Ray takes over.

Park makes a comeback with some rights and lefts but he gets caught by a big boot to the head. Ray heads to the floor and pulls out a bag of something. Ah it’s the classic bag of tacks and Ray asks for the mic. He says this is what he should have done to Abyss a long time ago. Park comes back with a cheese grater to the balls and a kendo stick shot to the head for two. He hits something like a chokeslam onto the tacks for two and Ray gets the chain. A shot to Park’s face with that gets the pin at about 6:00 (I missed the opening bell).

Rating: C. This was the only possible outcome they could have here. Park winning once on a fluke with Abyss helping was one thing, but when it was one on one there wasn’t much else they could do. This was exactly what you would expect it to be and there’s nothing wrong with that. Fun match and the right continuation for the feud.

The shot busted Park open and he freaks out about it. Ray charges at Park and runs into the Black Hole Slam. Park wakes up and doesn’t believe what just happened. Tenay: “Ray just brought out the monster in Park.” Subtle Mike.

Sting is in the back with the Dead Man’s Hand from last week. That should be interesting.

After a break Ray wants to know who that was. He beat Joseph Park, but who was that.

Here are the updated BFG Series Standings:

Samoa Joe 37

James Storm 36

Jeff Hardy 21

Kurt Angle 20

Magnus 14

Mr. Anderson 9

D’Angelo Dinero 7

Rob Van Dam 7

AJ Styles 7

Christopher Daniels 5

Bully Ray 0

Robbie E 0

Bound For Glory Series: Samoa Joe vs. Rob Van Dam

Van Dam has fewer points so he goes for a fast submission. Joe will have none of that and stands Van Dam up, taking his head off with a clothesline. Van Dam heads to the floor but gets caught in a dragon screw leg whip back inside. Joe fires off kicks and rolls into a heel hook. Snap powerslam sets up a cross armbreaker but RVD makes a fast rope. Van Dam makes a comeback and hits Rolling Thunder. Joe takes him down and puts on a modified figure four, but RVD counters into a small package for the pin at 4:54.

Rating: C+. This was another fun little match. Van Dam needs some points to get back in the tournament and a small package win over Joe is a fine way to do that. The idea of the match was that Joe was so focused on the submission that he left himself open to be pinned. That’s a basic idea but it worked very well. Good stuff here and it did a few good jobs at once, which is hard to do.

Clair says she has nothing to say.

Hogan is looking for someone.

Here are Daniels and Kaz for a chat. Kaz says that AJ thinks this is ending but it’s just the beginning. They’ve been feuding HOW MANY YEARS now and it’s just beginning? Daniels agrees that what AJ did at the PPV was wrong, but that’s what you have to expect from Styles. He has Clair come out and talks about how she’s gone through a lot, which made her make mistakes. Clair reached out for someone, and that someone wound up being AJ.

Cue Styles who tells Daniels to let it die. Daniels says that there’s something that Styles doesn’t know. He says that he (Daniels) and Clair have talked about this and that there’s something Clair wants to admit. Clair keeps trying to talk but AJ keeps cutting him off. Clair finally gets in and says that Daniels is right about AJ being the father of the baby. AJ says no he’s not and we go to a break.

AJ has no idea what’s going on.

Anderson talks about his match with Angle.

We recap the X Title tournament on Sunday with Ion getting the title. When Sorensen comes back and beats him, the roof is coming off the Impact Zone.

Dakota Darsow says he doesn’t like Ion and what he did on Sunday. Of all the people in the tournament, you pick THIS GUY to put on first?

Zema Ion vs. Dakota Darsow

Non-title. Ion points to his neck so Darsow goes after him. Darsow takes over for a second but gets sent to the apron. In a cool counter, Darsow hits a slingshot spear through the ropes to take Ion down again. Ion hits a Stunner on the top rope and a jumping DDT to take Darsow down and the snap Gory Bomb gets the pin at 2:22. Just a step above a squash.

Ion snaps Darsow’s arm post match. SWEET. Ion says that if Sorensen doesn’t want to see his friends get hurt anymore, he needs to realize that Ion is dangerous. When have Darsow and Sorensen been friends on camera?

Here’s Aries to celebrate his title win. He says this was a great moment for the wrestling industry and actually asks the fans to chill with the cheering so he can talk. It wasn’t in a rude way though. He talks about how wrestling has down cycles and then it booms. TNA is about to lead wrestling into the next boom. He’s gotten congratulations from a lot of people, including celebrities, NFL players, and world champions from other organizations. This is the most important title in wrestling now because he holds it.

Cue Roode who is so angry that he can barely speak. He tries to yell at Aries about having all of this now but he can’t get the words out. There goes his jacket and he shouts the word YOU a lot. He finally calls Aries a fluke and Aries says he may be a fluke, but he’s the champ. Roode freaks out and leaves. Good stuff here.

Sting and Hulk are in the back talking about the attack when D-Von and Garrett come in and says they’re offering protection in case the guys jump Sting again. All Sting has to do is say the word. Hogan says thanks but we’ve got it covered.

Angle talks about his match later tonight.

Madison talks about how she likes Hebner.

Knockout Title: Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher

Brooke Hogan is on commentary because I haven’t suffered enough today. Gail takes over to start and works on the arm of the champ. She hooks a belly to back suplex with a hammerlock slam at the same time. Gail hooks some kind of a hold on the arm, followed by Cattle Mutilation of all things. Tessmacher makes her comeback with a facejam out of the corner and that Russian legsweep into a clothesline gets two. A rollup gets two for Gail and she stomps away. Tessmacher knocks her down and hits a top rope elbow off the top to retain at 5:12.

Rating: D+. These girls are getting worse again. Tessmacher is someone who has charisma and looks good in those shorts of hers, but there’s no skill in the ring that I can see. She’s about as good as you can get at this point in her career as she was a model and dancer up to this point, but her matches are nothing to see. Gail was her usual self here.

Clair says she has proof that AJ is the father.

Magnus talks about calling out James Storm next week.

Bound For Glory Series: Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson

Anderson takes him to the mat to start which is surprising. Angle gets put in an armbar but Kurt quickly breaks it. He takes over with a belly to belly as we take a break. Back with Anderson hitting a suplex to put both guys down. He hits a neckbreaker but Angle rolls the Germans. Angle Slam is countered and there’s the Regal Roll to Angle. That gets two and the Mic Check misses. Angle Slam gets two and there’s the ankle lock, which stays on for a LONG time. Anderson finally rolls out of it and there’s there Mic Check for two. With the bad ankle hindering him, Anderson walks into the Angle Slam for the pin at a time I didn’t get.

Roode rants to Hogan and Sting and it’s going to be Roode vs. Aries next week and if Roode wins, he gets the rematch for the title at Hardcore Justice.

Here’s Sting to close the show. He says it’s great to be back in the Impact Zone and calls out Hogan for his assistance. And there’s no Hogan. The music plays three times and there’s no Hulk. We cut to the back where Brooke is running off what appeared to be four masked guys who have jumped Hulk. Hogan says it’s his leg and the guys jump Sting in the arena. There are five of them here.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this one. There was way too much focus on Sting and Hogan here and Aries, the guy leading the company into the new era, was on for what, six minutes? That’s not a good sign as while the Sting story is interesting, it’s not what the focus should be on in this company. Decent show overall and WAY better than last week, but it looks like the focus is shifting to the old guys again and that’s the last thing they want to do at this point.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 5, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s the final show before Destination X and we’ll mainly just be driving home the stories for the show. We’ll likely get more on the AJ/Dixie/Clair/Daniels/Kaz story which isn’t really clicking all that well. Other than that we also have the other two X-Division tournament qualifying matches which can bring in some new blood to the division. The main event tonight is Hardy vs. Storm which should be good. Let’s get to it.

We open with the voiceover guy explaining the Park vs. Ray story so far. Actually he’s also explaining the AJ/Dixie thing.

Here’s Ray to open the show. He has a huge announcement: he’s going live on Twitter. After his first tweet, he wants Joseph Park out here right now. Cue Park so Ray can accept the challenge for I assume next week. Park talks about precedent and how Park already beat Ray once, so he can do it again. Ray gets in his face but Park says that everyone is fed up with Ray and his bullying and he’ll win again. It’s next Thursday and anything goes. Ray pulls out a paper which is a restraining order against Abyss. If Abyss shows up, he’s going straight to jail. Ray jumps him and walks out. Nice change of pace here.

Aries and Hogan are in the back. Hogan says that Aries has to relinquish the title tonight and Aries says he’ll do it at the end of the night.

After a break we get ANOTHER recap of the AJ/Dixie thing.

Dixie is in the back with the agents and apparently she hasn’t talked to Clair (she was sitting next to Clair last week when everything happened) or AJ and has no comment.

TV Title: D-Von vs. Crimson

Crimson grabs a pair of quick two counts and make it three, the third try having his feet on the ropes. That gets him nowhere so he hammers D-Von into the corner. A low clothesline gets two and D-Von starts his comeback. Crimson takes his head off with a clothesline for another two which was really sloppy. Crimson walks into the spinebuster for the pin at 2:02. As usual, D-Von comes, he goes, the match ends and we move on to the next week.

Here’s Madison Rayne and she likes……Earl Hebner. Oh sweet goodness.

Here’s Sabin for a statement after his latest knee injury. He talks about how his dream is turning into a nightmare. He went home and talked to his family and they weren’t sure if he could keep doing this. His doctor isn’t sure either….and here’s Bobby Roode. Roode says that this is heartbreaking, but it’s also pathetic.

Just like every other X-Division guy, Sabin is complaining about his little injuries, just like he did last year and just like Sorensen is doing about his broken neck. Aries is giving up his title for one big score, but it could all go away from him, just like this. And with that, Roode kicks the leg out from under Sabin. He stomps away until Aries makes the save. Pure evil from Roode here.

X-Division Title Tournament Qualifying Match: Dakota Darsow vs. Flip Cassanova

Cassanova is Flip Kendrick. He does exactly what his name says and flips A LOT. Cassanova hits a standing 450 moonsault, landing in a sitting position on Darsow’s (Demolition Smash’s son) chest. Out to the floor and Flip hits a big spinning flip dive moonsaut. Cassanova has some freakishly skinny legs. Darsow kind of sucks in this as he’s looking completely off. His nose is also busted. Cassanova hits a springboard clothesline and a 630 dive off the top for the pin at 4:08.

Rating: F. This was BAD. Cassanova is one of those guys that flies all over the place but it looks like a mess most of the time. The ending looked horrible and I’d be stunned if Darsow wasn’t legit hurt. I can easily see why Darsow isn’t in FCW anymore. This was absolutely terrible and easily the worst match on TNA in months.

There’s no Knockout Title match tonight for no apparent reason. It’s a tag match instead.

We recap the end of the Gut Check segment last week.

Gail Kim/Madison Rayne vs. Tara/Miss Tessmacher

Madison jumps Tessmacher to start and sends her to the floor. Back in and Gail takes over as we get some great shots from behind of Tara. Madison comes back in and beats on the champ a bit more before it’s hot tag to Tara. House is cleanted by Gail breaks up the Widow’s Peak. Tara whips Madison into Gail and the Peak hits this time. Back to Tessmacher so that legsweep into a clothesline can get the pin at 2:57. Another bad match here and stupid booking as the right idea would be to have Gail pin Tessmacher to set up next week’s match. This advances nothing.

Storm talks about losing at Lockdown. He can’t live in the past anymore.

Here’s AJ to address the situation from last week (which we see for the third time in less than an hour. He talks about how Daniels had a big fake story last time, so how is he going to prove it this time? Cue Daniels and Kaz who say that while AJ might not get this, he does get junkies pregnant. AJ says he’ll use his redneck hands to rip Kaz’s head off. Daniels says he has proof but AJ cuts him off.

AJ says this started last year at Destination X when AJ won and Daniels couldn’t handle it. Now it’s a year later and Styles wants another match at Destination X. It’s a last man standing match and since Daniels isn’t a man, he doesn’t stand a chance. That’s it apparently, as we won’t be hearing from the girls at all. Next.

We look at a camera filming Hogan talking about Sunday when a guy comes in with an envelope, saying that this is the end for Hogan. He hands Hogan an envelope which Hogan opens to see playing cards: two pair, aces and 8’s, which is famously known as the Dead Man’s Hand. It also says see you next week. The guy leaves and that’s it.

Video on Jeff Hardy who wants to win the BFG Series.

X-Division Title Tournament Qualifying Match: Kenny King vs. Lars Only

King is one half of the ROH Tag Team Champions. Only looks like a rocker or something. Apparently the title match will be Ultimate X. King hits a Japanese armdrag and makes fun of Only’s guitar playing gimmick. Only speeds things up (he’s a TINY dude) and hits a cross body to the back and a kick to the head for two. Actually there’s going to be 8 people in the tournament and the four winners of semi-finals will be in Ultimate X. Ok then.

They head to the floor and Kenny hits a flip off the apron as Tenay talks about male strippers. Back in and a kind of Pele gets two for King. Only avoids a legdrop and sends King back to the floor. Lars takes Kenny down with a kind of 619 around the post into a bad rana. A HORRIBLE looking modified Stunner gets two for Only. Lars tries a tornado DDT but King escapes and hits a reverse F5 (same starting position but Lars landed on his back) for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: D+. Lars is REALLY bad. This has been one of the worst in ring nights from TNA that I can remember in a very long time. This didn’t work for the most part at all but King was light years ahead of Only out there. If nothing else he doesn’t look to be Mysterio’s size but with none of the talent.

King says on Sunday a King will be crowned.

Video on Aries who is getting ready for his match on Sunday. He always finds a way to win, usually with brainbusters. He can win on his own merits, unlike Roode who needs beer bottles.

Aries hugs King in the back and they chat a bit. King leaves and a guy asks Aries if he’s going to relinquish the title tonight. Aries says of course he is.

Here are the BFG Series standings:

James Storm 36

Samoa Joe 27

Magnus 14

Kurt Angle 10

Mr. Anderson 8

D’Angelo Dinero 7

Jeff Hardy 7

Rob Van Dam 7

Christoper Daniels 5

Bully Ray 0

Robbie E 0

AJ Styles 0

Bound For Glory Series: Jeff Hardy vs. James Storm

Feeling out process to start and it’s a standoff about a minute in. Hardy runs from the Last Call and Storm runs away from the Twist of Fate. Tazz tries to explain that the Twist is faster than the kick which is kind of head scratching. We’re three minutes into this now and there’s been barely any contact. Storm hides on the floor so Jeff dives at him but only hits ropes. They lock up and we take a break. Great.

Back with Hardy having his chinlock broken up. This match is almost going in slow motion. They’re not doing anything of note which I hope isn’t what they call an epic match feel. Storm makes his comeback but Hardy takes him right back down and hits the legdrop between Storm’s legs for two. Storm goes to the corner and hits a kind of mat slam out of the corner for two. Hardy is holding his arm. He sends Storm to the floor and hits a dropkick through the ropes.

Hardy dives onto Storm but gets caught in a Codebreaker which the announcers seem to miss. Back in and Storm clotheslines him down but misses a corner splash. Hardy hits the slingshot dropkick and there goes the shirt. Swanton misses so Storm goes up and hits a top rope elbow for two. Last Call misses and there’s the Twist for the pin at 14:07.

Rating: D+. If this was supposed to be their big epic main event, it really didn’t work. The stuff before the break was Storm running away like a heel would and the stuff after the break was nothing better. TNA main event matches have a real problem with building drama and it was no exception here. Hardy avoided the kick and hit the Twist out of nowhere. It wasn’t horrible or anything but it was nothing great. Just kidn of there.

They shake hands post match.

We recap the history of Angle vs. Joe because they have a match on Sunday. Scratch that as it’s just Angle debuting and fighting Joe.

We run down the card, which is Angle vs. Joe, the title match, AJ vs. Daniels, four X matches and the Ultimate X match. Based on what we saw tonight…..oh dear.

Bound For Glory is in Phoenix.

Angle vs. Anderson is the main event next week.

Here’s Hogan for the closing segment with five minutes left. Hogan says he isn’t used to the fans being this loud….and here’s Roode. Roode says Hogan has been suckered in by this Option C thing and it’s been nothing but false promises from Hogan. On Sunday he’s killing the X Division and it’s on Hogan’s hands.

Cue Aries who says Roode has a tendency to do this a lot. Aries says the options tonight are to give the belt to Hogan, or wait for Sunday to beat up Roode, or Option C: beat up Roode now. There goes the jacket and they get in each others’ faces and Roode backs down. He swings the belt but Aries ducks and blasts Roode with the X Belt to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. The streak of hot shows didn’t end tonight. It was shot through the head and dismembered tonight. This show was awful with bad matches throughout and a pretty weak build up for the PPV on Sunday. Aries vs. Roode looks good but other than that, I have no desire to see anything on the show. This didn’t work at all and I really hope it’s a one off problem so it doesn’t end their great streak forever.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 28, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

Back to the Impact Zone for another live show. The main thing tonight is a tag title rematch from the PPV which was great in the first place so hopefully it’ll be the same here tonight. Other than that we have the fallout from Gut Check which isn’t anything of note so far. Also we’ll build up more towards Destination X. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s events.

Dixie and AJ say they’re ready to move on.

Bound For Glory Series: Mr. Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam

Anderson has 9 points coming in while Van Dam has zero. They’re already tweeking the rules as all matches are now fifteen minutes. That’s probably a very good idea as the matches last week were really short. They go to the mat for some near falls off small packages to start. Anderson hits a snap suplex for two but Van Dam comes back with a bridging Indian Deathlock with a chinlock as well.

They go to the mat and Van Dam hooks some freaky hold with Anderson getting all tied up. It’s hard to describe actually but it’s kind of like an abdominal stretch on steroids. Russian legsweep gets two for Anderson as does a northern lights suplex for Van Dam. A cartwheel into a moonsault gets two for RVD as well. The split legged moonsault hits knees so Anderson hits his neckbreaker for two again. Van Dam grabs a crucifix rollup out of a fireman’s carry for the pin and seven points at 5:57.

Rating: C+. Anderson’s matches have a style that I don’t usually care for but it worked pretty well here I guess. Van Dam was fine out there and it looked about as good as it was going to. Adding the extra five minutes seems to be a good idea, but it’s not like the other matches couldn’t have done this as well. Still though, not bad here and a good opener.

Here are the updated standings:

Storm 36

Joe 17

Angl 10

Dnderson 9

RVD 7

Pope 7

Magnus

Jeff Hardy 7

Christopher Daniels 5

Bully Ray 0

Robbie E 0

AJ Styles 0

Here’s Aries to talk about his path to get here. He’s graduated from the X Division and has beaten up heavyweights, but he still respects the title. That’s why he came up with Option C and it’s why he’s facing Bobby Roode for the world title at Destination X. But what happens to the title? There’s going to be a tournament at the PPV and it’ll have old and new faces of the Division.

Cue the world champ who says that what he’s holding is the real title. It’s the real world title because he’s made it that way. There are 12 people waiting for a shot at this at Bound For Glory because the title matters so much. Aries gets his shot because of Hulk Hogan and because of Hulk Hogan alone. Option C is a failure, now get out of his ring. Aries says this is his ring, and if Roode wants him out of it, make him get out. Roode bails.

We get a clip from the end of the show last week with Clair admitting she’s an addict.

Clair and Dixie are in the back and Clair says that she met Dixie at a party. She says she has no idea who Kaz and Daniels are but she can’t believe they would use her to get at Dixie and AJ.

Kaz yells at Daniels who he really has no reason to be with anymore. Kaz says this ends tonight and walks out on Daniels. See? It’s not hard to be logical.

X-Division Tournament Qualifying Match: Sonjay Dutt vs. Rubix

No idea who Rubix is but he’s in a mask so it might be someone I’ve seen before. He’s got long limbs. This is one of four qualifying matches so it’s a four man tournament at the PPV. Rubix flies around a bit and sends Sonjay to the floor for a suicide dive. Back in and Sonjay hits a springboard splash for two. Rubix hits a German for two but gets caught in a tornado DDT. A moonsault into a double stomp (FREAKING OW MAN) gets the pin for Sonjay at 3:15.

Rating: C+. Take two guys, give them a few minutes, have them fly around and fire up the crowd a lot. Dutt was around back in the day to do lots of flips and there’s nothing wrong with that. He never won the X Title so it’s cool to see him here like this. Good little match here but the amount of time they had hut it a lot. SICK finish though.

We hear from the Gut Check people who talk about Taeler. They aren’t sure about her but they think she’s been through a lot. Apparently her cancer diagnosis was a false one.

We get a clip from last week with Joseph Park and Ray having another confrontation.

Bound For Glory Series: Samoa Joe vs. Bully Ray

Ray gets in his face so Joe gets right back in his face and it’s a standoff. Ray stalls some more as you would expect him to. They ram into each other a few times but Ray drops him with an elbow smash. There’s a suplex and a falling headbutt for no cover for Ray and we take a break. Back with Joe making a comeback by running at Ray a few times. He slugs Ray in the head but a double clothesline puts both guys down.

Joe tries a suplex but hurts his shoulder in the process. Ray goes after it as the fans chant for the fat boy. Allow me to adjust that statement: they chant for the fat Samoan. Ray works on the arm for awhile but Joe takes it to the floor. That goes badly for him as well as the arm gets rammed into the steps. They’ve been going almost ten minutes here so the time is starting to become a factor.

Ray misses a splash and Joe pounds away with right hands. An atomic drop puts Ray down and the senton backsplash gets two. By my math they’re over 11 minutes in now as Ray hits a Rock Bottom for two. Ray’s middle rope splash misses and he rolls to the floor. Joe hops out and gets his head kicked off….but here’s Joseph Park. He pops Ray with a right hand and Joe grabs the choke for the tap at 13:00.

Rating: C+. Pretty good stuff here with Joe making a big jump up in the standings. Actually scratch that as he’s still in second but he’s a lot closer now. Park continuing his story and having more confidence now is a nice touch as he continues to be one of the most interesting characters on the show. I was thinking this would be a draw so a surprise is always nice.

Park says he’s Joseph Park but Ray is a bully. He talks about being bullied his whole life and it stops tonight. He’s tired of Ray imposing his will on everyone and the people are sick of it too. Park says that in two weeks, he’ll fight Ray again and he’s bringing the fight to Ray.

Tazz and Tenay say to go to the website to listen to the full unedited version of Dixie and AJ’s phone call from a few weeks ago.

Back to Dixie and Clair with Dixie explaining the photo. It was the time that AJ explained how bad it was to Dixie and she kind of snapped. They were going to the hotel to see Clair after she got out of rehab too. The call about Serg was about his birthday. I CALLED THAT ONE WEEKS AGO!

Kaz pleads his case to Daniels and says he can’t tag with him tonight. He wants the tag match but not with Daniels. Hogan says prove that you’re a new man when you’re out there tonight with Daniels. Please, not tag champions that hate each other.

Madison goes up to Garrett and looks very nervous. She says she has a crush on someone and asks what he’s like. It’s not Garrett apparently but she whispers the name in his ear. Garrett says good luck with that and leaves.

Brooke gives Tessmacher a campaign with Direct Auto Insurance. Gail comes up to complain and talks trash. Hogan continues her bad acting and tells Gail that she gets her rematch next week.

X-Division Tournament Qualifying Match: Rashad Cameron vs. Mason Andrews

Cameron has a BIG afro while Mason looks almost identical to Percy Watson. They speed things up to start and Andrews sends him to the floor. He hits a HUGE dive but trips on the rope and hits Rashad in the head. If he wasn’t out cold I’m amazed. Back in they speed things up again and Cameron dropkicks him out of the air for two. Apparently Mason is Scorpio Sky from PWG.

They go back and forth a bit with Andrews hitting a jumping knee to the head and a springboard cross body for two. Cameron knocks him to the floor and hits a BIG flip dive. Back in he goes up but gets ranaed down for two. Andrews is almost sent into the corner but as he turns around Cameron hits a jumping Downward Spiral (think R-Truth’s Little Jimmy) for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: C. Not bad here but the sloppiness hurt it. Again the idea of throwing people out there and having them fly around is the best idea you can go with at times. I just hope this lasts beyond the PPV unlike last year where Destination X happened and then it stopped happening. Bringing in some new faces for it doesn’t hut at all though.

Cameron says this is the beginning of the Rashad Cameron movement.

Hogan is on the phone and talking about Sting. Storm and Hardy are with him and want to know what’s going on with Sting. Hogan doesn’t quite know what’s going on. Storm says he’s ready and Hardy says he’s feeling the Series. They fight next week.

Gut Check time. Taeler says last week she gave it her best and she’s ready to shine. The fans chant YES and Tazz agrees with them. Snow says he’s been around Taeler a lot and here’s Joey Ryan to yell at Tazz. He’s in the front row and yells a lot but we can’t really hear what he’s saying. Security gets him out as the segment grinds to a halt. Ok back in the ring now and Snow says no. Taeler gets 30 seconds to convince Pritchard. She says someone gave every one of them a shot and that’s all she wants. Bruce says he isn’t sure if she’s ready yet but he’ll give her a yes anyway.

Angle says the old AJ is back and that’s a great thing. AJ says he’s ready. He gets Daniels at Destination X in a last man standing match.

Tag Titles: Kurt Angle/AJ Styles vs. Kazarian/Christopher Daniels

Daniels and Kaz are challenging but Kaz doesn’t like Daniels all that much right now. He and AJ start and AJ takes him down followed by a kick to the back. Off to Angle and Kaz tags out, almost by slapping the taste out of Daniels’ mouth. Kurt charges into a boot and Daniels hits his slingshot elbow. Off to Kaz who covers off that elbow for some reason. Daniels yells at Kaz and tags himself back in but runs from AJ. The challengers argue on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Daniels in control of AJ and hitting his running STO for two. Angle comes in and cleans house. He fires off Rolling Germans on Kaz and does the same to Daniels. Kaz grabs a TKO for two on Kurt but gets caught in the ankle lock. That gets broken up quickly and everything breaks down. AJ clotheslines Kaz down but gets caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb. Angle gets sent into the referee by Daniels so Chris grabs a chair. Kaz pulls it away and lets AJ hit the Pele. Kaz tells AJ to finish this, but then hits AJ in the back with a chair, giving Daniels the pin and the titles at 11:34.

Rating: B-. So Kaz is evil for the sake of being evil. I guess that works, but would this count as two turns in the same show? Eh it’s fine as it’s better with AJ and Kurt not being champions again as the titles weren’t really fitting on them. This was nowhere near as good as the Slammiversary match but it was fine for a TV main event.

Daniels says Clair didn’t tell all of the truth because her baby’s daddy is AJ. Let the soap opera continue.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good show this week although there are some holes in it. It’s personal taste but I can’t stand the Gut Check stuff. I don’t like reality TV at all so I’m definitely not the right audience for it. Bringing in new people for the X Division is a good thing as that division is dying for a lack of depth right now. This was another good show though as the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 21, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s Open Fight Night 3 and the BFG Series gets going tonight as well. The two main focuses of the show though are going to be Aries decision about forfeiting the X Title in exchange for a world title match and Dixie revealing what is going on with her and AJ. TNA is on a total roll at this point so hopefully they can keep things going. Oh and we might be able to find out who attacked Sting. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Hogan to open things up. He isn’t going to give the masked men any more publicity but things will be made right for Sting. That’s enough about that though so let’s talk about Austin’s choice. Here’s Aries to answer Hogan’s ultimatum. He talks about being given two options, either to drop the title for a shot or keep this title. Aries says he has Option C: he’ll hand over the title for his title shot, but every year the X Champion gets the same option at Destination X. Hogan says ok, and here’s Roode.

Bobby freaks out and asks if Hogan and Aries are kidding him. He told Hogan to stay in the office a long time ago. Roode wants to know what Aries thinks he’s doing because the X Title means nothing to Roode. He talks about how he won’t be a footnote and says he’ll keep his title at Destination X. Aries says this is Open Fight Night so let’s do it right now. They brawl in the aisle until the agents break it up. Once they’re split up, here’s Anderson, who says he’ll win the BFG Series and face the winner.

Bound For Glory Series: Mr. Anderson vs. Christopher Daniels

They’re going to have everyone face everyone in this which is a BIG improvement over last year where they seemingly had people fighting at random. Also every match has a ten minute time limit. Daniels works on the arm of Anderson which may have been injured by Roode last week. An elbow to the face puts Daniels down but the Mic Check is countered into a Blue Thudner Bomb. Anderson pops back up again and hits his spinning neckbreaker into the Mic Check for the pin at 3:04, giving Anderson 7 points.

Rating: C-. This was barely long enough to rate which makes it hard to talk about. This is the first part of a LONG series so it’s hard to say where things are going from here. Anderson seems to be getting a push in this as he’s coming in after being the #1 contender. I’m not wild on either of these guys but how much can you complain about in three minutes?

AJ thinks there’s another way to do this. Dixie isn’t sure.

Brooke is in the back with the Knockouts who might be getting the title match tonight. The girls have to tell her why they want the title. ODB says she’s different than everyone else. Madison says she’s held the title forever and Brooke tells her to drop the crush. Mickie says she’s the best female wrestler in the world and Madison says she’s the second longest reigning champion ever. Madison gets thrown out. Velvet didn’t say anything.

Robbie challenges anyone in the BFG Series to a match.

Bound For Glory Series: Robbie E. vs. Kurt Angle

Suplex, Angle Slam, ankle lock, ten points for Angle in 31 seconds.

Video on Taeler Hendrix who is the Gut Check girl tonight.

Here’s Magnus who says he’s going to pick his opponent for a BFG Series match here. Women around the world want a shot at him so he knows what it’s like to have women trouble. He doesn’t go after other men’s wives though, so AJ, get out here.

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. Magnus

AJ charges into the ring and starts fast. A backbreaker puts Magnus down but AJ changes his mind before going up. Magnus pops up and catches AJ’s cross body into a suplex. Cool counter. AJ snaps off his dropkick but the Pele misses. Off to a chinlock which AJ breaks before Daniels and Kaz come out with more papers. The distraction allows Magnus to hit a Juvy Driver for the pin at 2:31 for seven points.

Taeler Hendrix vs. Tara

Gut Check time. Tara suplexes her down but gets caught in a quick sunset flip for two. Tara chokes her in the corner for awhile before getting caught in a Stratusphere. Joseph Park is being taken out for some reason. Hendrix comes back with some clotheslines but a spin kick misses. Widow’s Peak and it’s over at 2:36.

Back from a break and Park wants to know why he’s being taken to the back. It turns out to be a trap set by Ray, who yells at Park. Park talks about Ray beating him up last week and gets shoved for it. If Ray ever sees either of them again, it’ll be the last time they’re ever seen.

Bound For Glory Series: Samoa Joe vs. James Storm

Joe pounds him down into the corner and hits his kick to take Storm down. The armbar is countered as Storm makes the rope so Joe slaps on a nerve hold. Storm fights out of it but walks into a snap powerslam for two, followed by an armbar. They trade forearms but Joe goes back to the arm to slow Storm down. There’s a crossface chickenwing but Storm breaks that quickly as well. The Cowboy goes up top but gets kicked in the head. No MuscleBuster but Joe hooks the Clutch. That gets broken up and the Last Call ends this at 3:56.

Rating: C. This wasn’t bad but Joe seemed to be outmatches by Storm at almost every turn. I like Joe being all fired up again and he looks like he’s lost some weight on top of that. Storm is pretty clearly the favorite to win the whole series which is probably the right move, but again I don’t know if they need to spend three months building that up when he has a built in story already.

We recap the AJ/Dixie stuff which has been going on for awhile now.

Back to the Knockouts Reality Show with Velvet saying she never got a rematch. ODB gets thrown out because of Eric Young. Next.

Bound For Glory Series: D’Angelo Dinero vs. Bully Ray

This is another call out, this time by Bully. Ray jumps Pope to start and gets some quick two counts. A boot to the face puts Dinero down but a splash misses for Ray. Dinero comes back with some elbows but Ray hits a corner splash. As he pounds away in the corner, here’s Abyss in the crowd. He tells Ray to bring it and the DDE sends Ray to the floor. Abyss comes over the rail and goes after Ray, who gets back in the ring but walks into an STO for the pin at 3:45.

Rating: C-. Not much here as these short matches are getting a little annoying. Abyss vs. Ray is still probably the most interesting story on the show right now which is covering a lot of territory. Pope was pretty much there to fill in a spot and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I’m not sure if he’s going to be able to do that forever.

Hogan makes Hardy vs. RVD as the main event because they’re the only two BFG people that haven’t fought tonight.

Here’s the Montgomery Gentry video with Velvet in it.

Knockouts Title: Miss Tessmacher vs. Mickie James

Ok then. Feeling out process to start with Mickie taking her down to the mat pretty quickly. She hooks a chinlock with a bridge and even adds in a cheap shot. Mickie hasn’t ever been heel in TNA that I remember so that could be something interesting to see. Brooke gets in a few shots including a facejam out of the corner but Mickie takes her down with that spin kick of hers for two. Tessmacher hooks a sunset flip out of nowhere for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: D+. The match was nothing of note but it was fuel for Mickie’s apparent heel turn. See, this is a big difference in what you get in today’s TNA than what you would likely get under Russo’s TNA. Here, Mickie has had little things like the music video going to Velvet to start her down this path before she just does it. With the old system of stuff, it would happen all of a sudden and you would have to fill in the gaps yourself. Here, it’s slowly built up and we get the payoff for the build. That’s called good storytelling.

Bound For Glory Series: Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy

Van Dam takes him down with a leg scissors but Jeff speeds things up, hitting a legdrop to the back of Van Dam’s head and a pair of dropkicks for two. Hardy sends him to the floor but van Dam comes off the top with the jumping kick. Rolling Thunder gets two as does the split legged moonsault. Hardy comes back with a bulldog but the Swanton misses. Van Dam goes up and tries a 450 of all things, but Hardy moves. DDT gets two and the Twist gets the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C+. This was pretty good but again the shortness of it isn’t helping anything. The 450 was a nice surprise and it’s good to see someone getting a clean pin in the main event here. Granted that’s what’s been happening lately though so I can’t complain much in that regard either. Good stuff here, but way too short.

Here are AJ and Dixie for the big reveal. The fans still cheer for Styles because he’s their hero. Dixie has trouble talking and AJ says we don’t have to do this. Some woman comes out and says she wants to do this. Both of them seem to know who she is and she seems to be pregnant. She says she’s known both of them forever and says they’ve both helped her a lot. She’s going to tell us the truth: they’re not having an affair.

This chick says she’s an addict and she’s stolen money to pay for it. She’s woken up with a stranger more than once and had to go to AJ and Dixie for help. AJ took her to rehab and the video/photos were about her. Daniels is freaking out in the back and here he comes. AJ runs him over as the girls get out. Here’s Kaz as well and AJ beats him up too. AJ kills Kaz with a powerbomb and Peles Daniels. He pounds away on him as the show ends.

Overall Rating: B-. I was happy with the amount of wrestling we got, although the longest match being less than six minutes if I remember right didn’t help much. I like the way this show is going lately though as Hogan has been kept to a MUCH more reasonable amount and the angles have been given time to grow and develop, which was probably th ebiggest issue with Russo’s booking. Another solid episode here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 14, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

After this Sunday’s great Slammiversary show, it’s time for Impact again. We begin the 2012 Bound For Glory series tonight as well as see the return of the Ultimate X, which I believe is the begin of the buildup to Destination X. We also have Anderson vs. Roode for the title which should be….uh yeah. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video on Storm, who returned at the PPV and is coming for the title again.

X-Division Title: Austin Aries vs. Chris Sabin vs. Zema Ion

Ion immediately goes to the corner and is promptly pulled down and gets LAUNCHED into the corner. Aries and Sabin have a nice gymnastics routine resulting in Aries taking Sbain down for the Pendulum Elbow. Ion pops back up and goes for the belt, only to be taken down by Sabin almost immediately. Sabin comes back with the springboard tornado DDT but Aries stops Sabin from going for the belt.

Aries gets Sabin onto his shoulders and rams him into the buckle a few times like he’s setting for an Oklahoma Stampede, but instead goes with an airplane spin. Since he’s dizzy he can’t climb, so he tries a slingshot dive instead. Ion gets back in and Aries has to take them both down before hitting the suicide dive to both guys on the floor. Aries almost makes it to the belt but Ion makes the save.

Aries and Ion go to the corner and Ion gets rammed into the structure so that Aries can go for the belt. Ion gets back up though, only to get ranaed down to the mat. Brainbuster ends Ion and it’s time to go for the belt. Using his legs to help hold him up, Aries crawls across and gets the title at 7:23. Sabin disappeared for the last minute or two of the match and is helped to the back by the referee.

Rating: B-. This was very fast paced but the ending and length of the match hurt it. It looks like Sabin is legit injured given how long he was out at the end of the match, and though I don’t think he was supposed to win or anything, it didn’t help that he was gone for so long. Aries keeping the title is interesting, although with Destination X in a few weeks it’s not surprising.

Post match Aries gets in the ring and says that he’s been here for a year and things are going slowly for him. He’s been champion longer than anyone else but he’s tired of things moving so slowly. He wants to take respect rather than wait for it….and here’s Hogan as we take a break. Hogan talks about how he’s been where Aries wants to go and holds all the records and then calls the fans down for chanting for some reason. Hulk has never gotten goosebumps like he gets when he sees Aries wrestling. He’s willing to make Roode vs. Aries for the world title, but if Aries wins, he has to forfeit the X Title. Aries has a week to decide.

We get some clips from Slammiversary, including Joseph Park beating up Ray. We go to the back at catering with Park eating and talking to some people about the match at Slammiversary. They all leave when Ray comes up, wanting to know where Abyss is. Park says he was last seen putting Ray through a table. Ray turns the table over and says he won’t rest until he finds Abyss.

TV Title: Hernandez vs. D-Von

Before the bell Hernandez dives over the top to crush D-Von. A quick cover gets two and we’re off very fast. D-Von avoids a charge in the corner and gets his head taken off by a clothesline. Hernandez throws on a bearhug but D-Von comes back with a shoulder block and right hands. D-Von starts getting some momentum together but gets run over by Hernandez with a kind of shoulder to send him flying. SuperMex goes up top and kind of slips off with a shoulder block. And never mind as the spinebuster retains the title at 3:34.

Rating: C-. Not bad here and I’ll give them credit for this: TNA is doing a much better job of making their titles seem like they matter. When the titles finally change hands, the wins are going to mean something. Even with D-Von, as long as it’s not to some schmuck like Garrett or Robbie. Decent match here but nothing great.

We recap AJ/Dixie/Serg last week.

AJ and Dixie are in the back and AJ says he doesn’t want to keep this going anymore. It can’t be a secret anymore.

Bound For Glory Series: Gauntlet Match

I have no idea how the points are working here but the Series is back and the winner gets the title match at BFG. The participants are going to be introduced in this match. Up first we have AJ vs. Jeff Hardy. There’s a new entrant every 90 seconds and the winner gets 20 points and it’s over the top elimination only. After nothing between those two, RVD is #3. I’d assume there are 12 people in this too.

RVD monkey flips AJ and hits Rolling Thunder on Hardy as we take a break. Back with Magnus already in at #4 and Ray coming down as #5. With still nothing of note going on and no eliminations, Angle is #6. Other than Magnus this is pretty stacked so far. Angle Germans everyone and things slow down again. The Pope finally returns at #7 and we’re told that he’s going to be in Dark Knight Rises, which is only called The Batman Movie.

No one has been eliminated yet. Hardy is thrown to the apron and a big boot from Ray puts him on the floor and out. Abyss comes out from under the ring as everyone closes in on ray. They point out Abyss and the Monster puts Ray out. We take ANOTHER break and come back Robbie E in at #8 but there haven’t been any other eliminations. As I finish that word, Van Dam is out.

#9 is Daniels, giving us Daniels, Pope, AJ, Angle, Robbie and Magnus in the ring at the moment. Angle and AJ try to double team him but AJ accidentally kicks Angle in the head, allowing Daniels to toss Styles. He tosses Angle too and Joe is #10. Joe throws out Robbie with ease and fights off everyone ganging up on him. He and Magnus have a showdown and a low bridge puts the British guy out.

Daniels jumps Joe but the Samoan and Pope double team him as James Storm is #11. He immediately tosses Pope and backdrops Daniels, but doesn’t toss him. Codebreaker to Daniels sets up the superkick to…not eliminate him as it’s a clothesline instead. So we have Joe vs. Storm now and there won’t be any other entrants, as the winner will be whoever loses the main event tonight. Joe throws him to the apron but Storm skins the cat and gets back in. Joe gets sent to the apron but puts on the Clutch. Last Call puts Joe out to win it at 20:40.

Rating: C+. This took awhile to get going but the ending was good. It’s pretty clear that the simple answer would be to have Storm vs. Roode V or whatever number they’re on at BFG but you never can tell with TNA. That’s probably the right move, although I don’t think they need a three month series to set that up.

Storm talks about being here and saying that the last time he was here, his luck had run out. Then he was on his farm with his daughter and his daughter asked if he was really done with wrestling. That was enough to get him back here and he knows what this means to him again. He came back to be world champion and now he’s back for good.

Roode isn’t worried about Storm, nor is he worried about Anderson.

Angle wants to know what’s up with AJ. He yells at styles about everything being messed up with AJ for the last week and tells him to get his head on straight. AJ says he will.

Miss Tessmacher vs. Madison Rayne

Non-title here. Madison rams her into the corner to start and hits a spinning hair slam for two. Tessmacher comes back with a neckbreaker and a forearm. A middle rope facejam gets two. Brooke (screw you Hogan’s daughter) hits a Russian legsweep into an Eye of the Hurricane for the pin at 2:53.

Brooke is with Gail in the back and is talking about having a fourway for the title next week. Gail complains and says that it should be just her. Brooke doesn’t like the attitude but Gail yells and says she has a rematch clause. Brooke says she has the clause and that she gets to pick the title match. Gail won’t be in the match next week.

TNA World Title: Bobby Roode vs. Mr. Anderson

It’s just past 9:30 so there’s plenty of time. Anderson takes over to start and cleans house, knocking Roode to the apron and hitting a suplex back in for two. Roode launches him to the floor and misses a dive, sending him crashing out to the floor. Anderson sends him into the steps and we take a break. Back with Roode holding a chinlock followed by a neckbreaker for two.

A knee drop to the back of the neck gets two and it’s back to the chinlock. Anderson comes back with a clothesline and neckbreaker followed by the double spin kick. Mic Check is countered into the Crossface but Anderson escapes. Roode sends his shoulder into the post and puts the hold on again….making Anderson tap at 10:46. Ok then.

Rating: C. I wasn’t all that into this match. Anderson came off as a guy challenging because we needed a challenger. The ending was good for putting Roode over and it’s probably good to not have Roode win by the skin of his teeth all the time, but it didn’t quite work that well.

AJ and Dixie say they’ll tell everything next week.

We get a long recap of the whole show up to this point.

We get the Sting HOF video.

Here’s Sting to close the show. He talks about how it took him a long time to get here and how he wants to thank the Jarretts. He starts talking about the future…..and we’ve got masked men. Three big guys jump Sting and choke him with a wire to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a pretty good show, but I’m really not looking forward to the BFG Series. I’d much rather have the title match be about a feud or a rivalry rather than making the match and then putting the feud in, unless they go with the obvious Roode vs. Storm. That being said, Roode vs. Storm doesn’t need a three month series to be set up. I wouldn’t call the show a letdown from Slammiversary, but it had to be a step down given how good that PPV was.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 7, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s another live show and we’re leading up to Slammiversary X this Sunday. The main event is Sting vs. Roode which doesn’t really blow the roof off the place but it’ll do I guess. Tonight we’re supposed to hear from Dixie about the AJ issue, which has been one of the big issues over the past few weeks. Other than that I can’t think of anything else for this week. Let’s get to it.

We open with a clip from after the show last week of Dixie freaking out and screaming a lot. She goes into the production truck and wants to know where the footage came from but can’t get an answer.

Dixie is in the ring and is on the verge of tears. She feels sorry for Kaz and Daniels and gets booed out of the building. The two of them are filled with doubts and anger and various other bad things. Dixie says she’s going to tell the truth tonight, but here are Kaz and Daniels. Daniels says he knows what’s going on and Dixie had to have what she wanted. He wants to know who called who first and where the first meeting was. She tries to hit Daniels so he shoves her down, until AJ comes out and chases both guys off.

Serg, Dixie’s husband, gets in the ring and helps her up then lays out AJ with a punch. Serg leaves and AJ whispers something to Dixie and they both leave.

Crimson vs. Austin Aries

Joe continues his complaining to Aries in the back before the match. Aries attacks the legs to start, hitting the low dropkick in the corner. A slingshot corkscrew plancha hits Crimson but a Lionsault misses. Red Sky is countered into a rana to send Crimson into the corner. Brainbuster is escaped and we head to the floor where Aries hits the suicide dive. Joe makes the not shocking interference and drives Aries’ head into the apron, giving Crimson the pin at 3:28.

Rating: D+. The match was ok but the ending might as well have been written in the middle of the ring. They hit a wall with Crimson months ago as there’s no point to him winning much anymore but they’re starting to play up the streak even more. Not much here but it set up Aries vs. Joe at Slammiversary.

Crimson brags about being undefeated longer than Goldberg was and says he’ll keep that going at Slammiversary with an open challenge.

Hogan says nothing of note about Brooke.

Brooke introduces herself to the Knockouts and there’s a fourway for the title match on Sunday. Also Velvet is going to be in a music video with Montgomery Gentry.

Here’s Hulk in the arena for a chat. He talks about how this Sunday is the anniversary and it’s a big party. We’re going to keep the party going through next week’s show in the form of a world title match. Roode comes out and complains. Hogan keeps trying to talk but Roode keeps saying he’s not done yet. Roode calls Hogan jealous and grabs him by the shirt, saying get out of his ring. Cue Sting who gets beaten down, but as Roode looks at Hogan he turns around to face Sting.

Joseph Park isn’t sure how things got where they are now.

Mickie James vs. Tara vs. Velvet Sky vs. Brooke Tessmacher

Mickie and Velvet clear the ring to start and Mickie gets a rollup for two. Gail comes out to watch and we take a break about a minute in. Gail sits in on commentary as we’re back. Brooke grabs a rollup for two on Mickie and takes her down for two. Velvet makes the save as Gail brags about her accomplishments. Tara comes in to roll up Sky for two.

Boston Crab goes on Brooke by Tara, but Mickie grabs a dragon sleeper on Tara but Brooke grabs a headlock on Mickie for a quadruple submission. Think about that and you’ll get why it’s stupid. The ring gets cleared again but Tara misses a moonsault on Mickie. Tessmacher wants Tara to hit her but the older one is reluctant. Tara takes over but as she shakes her hits Velvet takes her down. Mickie hits the top rope Thesz Press and kicks Velvet’s head off. She takes too long yelling though and Tessmacher hits her flip mat slam for the pin at 10:36.

Rating: C. These girls are WAY better than the Divas. The match ran long and I’m not liking Tessmacher’s finisher at all, but it’s better than the ton of kicks we used to have. She could be something special given her looks, but getting the title off of Gail is what matters. She’s had the thing FOREVER now and the division is starting to suffer as a result.

Bully Ray is ready for the contract signing later.

We see the opening segment again.

Hulk yells at AJ on the phone.

Time for the contract signing. Ray says his usual stuff and here’s Park. Ray rips up the contract and says that was for a standard wrestling match. He pulls out a new one that has a whole harmless clause in it, meaning no matter what he does to Park, there’s no legal recourse. Ray signs but Park starts sweating. Park won’t sign because he’s not crazy, so Ray spits on him.

That makes him snap and he talks about how Abyss has given his life for the last ten years to make this happen, so he’ll sign. Abyss pops up on screen and yells at Chris to step away from the fire before he gets burned. Chris says he was doing it to help but Abyss says he doesn’t need help. As for Ray, he left Abyss for dead, but Abyss isn’t dead. They’re both going to find out how alive he is at Slammiversary. Ray jumps Chris as he’s looking at the monitor.

Garrett wants to have D-Von’s back in the TV Title match tonight.

Joey Ryan rants about Gut Check from last week. Al Snow comes up and tells him to drop it.

TV Title: Robbie E vs. D-Von

This is the FIFTH TV Title between these two. Garrett is seconding D-Von here. Madison comes out to watch this, so her guy is one of the four. Robbie jumps him to start and takes over with basic offense. D-Von spears him down and hits a clothesline and elbow to the face. A flying shoulder takes Robbie down. Rock Bottom is followed by a headbutt, but Robbie T interferes. The seconds get into it but the distraction allows Robbie T to switch a small package. He gets caught and Garrett switches it so D-Von retains at 2:50.

Post match the Rob’s get beaten to the floor.

Here’s Hulk to talk about Bobby Roode but Anderson interrupts him. After taking forever, he asks if he’s getting the title match next week. Hogan says to chill and Anderson says he wants the title match. Hogan says he wants to finish the announcement, but he calls out RVD. I think Hogan is losing his voice. Now he asks Jeff Hardy to come to the ring. Anderson says he deserves the title match and Hogan goes on a rant about how these three have been trying to get title shots. The required three way match is made for Sunday.

We run down the Slammiversary card, which only has five announced matches plus an open challenge.

Kazarian/Christopher Daniels/Bobby Roode vs. Kurt Angle/AJ Styles/Sting

And there’s no AJ. He and Dixie left earlier and he’s not back yet. The tag champs jump Sting and Angle to start but are immediately put in submission holds, drawing in Roode who doesn’t seem that interested in helping. Kaz and Daniels make the ropes and it’s time for a huddle on the floor. We take a break and come back with Daniels taking Sting down and posing.

Off to a chinlock and Sting is in trouble. Slingshot elbow from Daniels and a slingshot legdrop from Kaz combine for two. A spinwheel kick from Kaz gets the same and Sting can barely stand. Off to Roode who drops a knee and chokes with the boot. Roode misses a charge but Sting misses a splash and both guys are down.

Daniels comes in illegally to break up what would have been a hot tag and it’s a triple beatdown. There’s the Crossface and here’s AJ for the save. He cleans house and Angle is back in as well. Kurt suplexes Kaz to the floor and AJ beats on Daniels. Pele takes Daniels to the floor and AJ hits a BIG dive to take everyone out. Roode tries a belt shot but gets caught in the Scorpion for the tap at 10:13.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what AJ being gone added here but the match was ok. It was your standard main event tag match where a few feuds were combined, which is something that is always a good idea. Two feuds get advanced at the same time, which is all you need at times. Good stuff here but nothing great.

Sting holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started off REALLY slow and it picked up a bit halfway through. Having just four matches is annoying but it’s something you’ve come to expect from TNA anymore. The PPV only has five at the moment but I’m sure a few more, like Aries vs. Joe, will be added and that’s ok for the most part. This wasn’t a bad show, but it wasn’t great either. The good outweighed the bad though, so I’ll give it a break.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

ECW on TNN
Date: November 19, 1999
Location: Broome County Arena, Binghamton, New York
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

Back for another week as I can’t believe it’s already the middle of November and that I’m somehow almost 1/5 of the way through this entire series. We’re getting closer to Guilty As Charges which is still about seven weeks away. This show was taped after the previous PPV though so at least we should be able to get some fallout from that show. Let’s get to it.

Joey and Joel do their intro but here’s Rhyno. Rhyno says that he and Credible are challenging for the titles tonight but he doesn’t like Credible. Gee there’s a new idea. Tonight Rhyno is going to beat up Dreamer and Raven on his own.

Rhyno is in the back and Tammy Sytch offers sex for something not mentioned.

Opening sequence.

Jerry Lynn vs. Super Crazy

Nice to them them following up on last week’s angle. The Baldies are waiting for New Jack at the subway. The other Baldies are in a loser leaves ECW match tonight against Rotten and Mahoney. Back to the actual match at hand as Jerry starts fast and sends Crazy to the floor. A big dive takes Crazy out and they head back inside. Crazy tries a moonsault out of the corner ala Daniel Bryan but he doesn’t quite clear Lynn. A backbreaker gets two on Lynn who still has bad ribs.

A powerbomb gets the same but the American hits a German on the Mexican for two. Lynn hits a tornado DDT out of the corner for two and Crazy is in trouble. Jerry goes up but gets shoved off the top and down through a table, which gets two back in the ring. Triple moonsaults get two as Lynn’s ribs are in big trouble. Piledriver gets two as does a brainbuster. Corino runs in with Tajiri and the referee takes some Mist. Tajiri hits a brainbuster on Crazy to put both guys down. Lynn rolls over and gets the pin on Crazy.

Rating: C+. For some reason I liked this. It was fast paced and while the ending was kind of out of nowhere, it fits with the story from last week which is a big improvement over a lot of the stuff you get on here. These guys worked well together but then again I like Lynn a lot which has a lot to do with it.

The Baldies are still waiting at the subway and go New Jack hunting. They want New Jack.

Corino thinks he’s blind and sends Jack Victory to get help. He comes back with Sinister Minister (James Mitchell) who slaps his chest and “heals” him. Victory says that just cost him a million bucks. Minister lights up a cigarette and says it’s better than managing Mortis and Wrath.

Da Baldies vs. Balls Mahoney/Axl Rotten

This is joined in progress for the sake of the previous segment. Whoever loses the fall is gone from ECW. This would be PN News and Vito for the Baldies. Balls beats on the fat man News in the ring but gets taken down by a clothesline. Axl moves him out of the way of a News splash and a double chair shot takes down both Baldies. Mahoney superkicks Vito down and the Nutcracker Suite (sitout powerslam) pins Vito to send him to WCW. This was short and nothing.

Corino and Victory go looking for Rhyno and find him with Tammy and Candido. Candido is his partner for tonight now.

Gertner is very proud of Rhyno in a funny bit.

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Back to the subway or L train or whatever it is. The Baldies challenge New Jack to a New York street fight anywhere.

Tag Titles: Chris Candido/Rhyno vs. Raven/Tommy Dreamer

After the intros, we cut to the back where Danny Doring and Roadkill complain about being passed over for a title shot. Of note is that his chick Miss Congeniality has gone to WWF, only to be replaced by Elektra. Back in the arena Corino says he didn’t like being punched in the face by a referee. He demands restitution in the form of the tag titles. Dreamer punches him in the face and we’re ready to go.

Dreamer and Candido get us going with both guys missing enziguris. It’s a standoff as we take a break. Back with Candido pounding away on Dreamer but getting caught in a Russian legsweep. Off to Raven so the champs can hit a double gordbuster for no cover. Out to the floor and Raven gets double teamed down, but Dreamer hands him a weapon to fight out of it.

Everyone goes into the crowd and Raven drives Rhyno through a table back at ringside. Candido throws Dreamer off the apron and onto the concrete as Raven plays cheerleader. Things settle down again and Rhyno hits a spinebuster on Dreamer for two. A Gore puts Dreamer down but it only gets two as Bird Boy makes the save. A delayed vertical suplex gets two for Candido on Dreamer.

Chris loads up the Blonde Bombshell (superbomb) but Dreamer backdrops him down. Rhyno hits a powerbomb out of the corner to take Tommy down but Dreamer makes the tag anyway. Rhyno misses a Gore so that it hits Candido. Drop toehold puts Rhyno face first into the chair for two as everything breaks down. Tammy hits Dreamer low to break up the Death Valley Driver and it’s time for a catfight. Dreamer hits a DDT out of nowhere on Candido for the pin.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty decent ECW main event tag. Rhyno and Candido were clearly just a filler team but they made the most of it, which can take a boring match like this and make it a decent one. This was fine for a TV main event, especially when you don’t have the big time team there for whatever reason.

Post match Corino and Victory join in for a four on one beatdown of the champions. Sandman finally comes in for the save. Raven jumps Sandman and Dreamer is caught in the middle again. Dreamer winds up getting caned in the head and the Impact Players run in for the big beatdown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a more entertaining show than last week, mainly because of the main event. The Lynn match was good too so I don’t have many complaints about the in ring part of this show. That being said, has Mike Awesome vanished or something? The guy is the world champion but he hasn’t been on the show in weeks. This was a better show than ECW has had in weeks though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews