Impact Wrestling
Date: November 8, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz, Todd Keneley, Jeremy Borash

Last week’s big moment was the unmasking of Luke Gallows who doesn’t actually have a name at this point. Other than that we had Gut Check and the announcement of a three way for the #1 contendership. Odds are tonight is mostly about Aces and 8’s, but that’s pretty much all you can expect to get on Impact anymore. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the announcement of the triple threat. The guy who takes the fall can’t get a title shot until BFG next year, which is a nice idea actually. We also hear about Aries vs. Hardy being a ladder match. Aries: “IT WAS JUST A METAPHOR JEFF!” Those things are just about the world title match though, so now let’s focus on the important thing: ACES AND 8’s! And that guy who we don’t have a name for yet but is more famous as Luke Gallows!

Aces and 8’s are yelling at Gallows, who is now named Doc (Director of Chaos), because he lost his mask before he was even made a full fledged member of the team. Tonight it’s Doc/D-Von vs. Angle/Sting. This sums up the major problem with the reveals so far: how in the world am I supposed to buy D-Von and Luke Gallows as a legitimate threat to beat Sting and Angle, two of the best of all time?

AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode

Storm is on commentary. They fight for control of a wristlock to start before heading to the mat. Roode appears to have gotten a haircut. He blocks AJ’s drop down/kick sequence but AJ sends him to the floor with ease. Styles sends him into the steps and drops a knee back inside as Storm says he would pin Roode if he had to pick. There are ads on the mat now too, which is fine as it brings in some extra cash.

A big backdrop puts Roode down but Bobby gets in a shot to the back to take over. We take a break and come back with Roode hot shotting AJ on the top rope. A Blockbuster gets two for Roode as does an elbow drop. Storm says he’d work with Roode to beat AJ if necessary. I can see the “BEER MONEY REUNION???” posts already. Roode hooks a chinlock for a bit but AJ fights up and hits an enziguri to put both guys down.

We head to the corner with AJ pounding away but getting guillotined on the top rope to slow him down. The disadvantage lasts about eight seconds as AJ comes back with a top rope rana for two. The Clash is escaped and there’s the spinebuster from Roode for no cover. The spear misses though and AJ rolls him up into a Styles Clash position, but Roode kicks him in the head to escape. Pele misses and the fisherman’s suplex gets two for Bobby. Really good sequence there.

Bobby goes to the floor for a chair but Storm comes down to take it away from him. Styles hits a BIG springboard dive to take Roode out but stops to yell at Storm. Back in, AJ loads up another springboard but Roode knocks him off the ropes and gets a fast pin at 10:50 shown of 14:20.

Rating: B. Solid match here and for a TV match, this was great stuff. AJ and Roode have good chemistry together and when you can beat AJ Styles clean on TV, you’ve got something going for you. As for the PPV, you have to think Roode wins, but PLEASE don’t let Storm get pinned. There’s no reason to keep him out of the title scene for ANOTHER year as he never got a real run with the belt anyway which he’s more than capable of doing.

Aries runs into Hogan in the back. Aries complains about the ladder stipulation so Hulk says that if Aries doesn’t give the belt back by the end of the show, Aries loses his title shot.

We run down the remaining card for the show when the feed starts messing up. The screen says “An Ancient Evil Awakes”. Abyss maybe?

Angle is talking to Wes Brisco about timing when Sting comes up. Sting wants Brisco watching their back in the main event tonight. Are we really supposed to not get that Brisco is a member of the team? It’s obviously him given the hair, but are we supposed to not notice it?

Joseph Park is in the ring and after asking if it’s ok for him to talk, he says his body isn’t meant to go through tables and he loved the feeling of taking off Doc’s mask. His legal partners don’t want him to have a match with Aces and 8’s but he has to be a man. First though we have to make the pilgrimage to Mt. Hogan to beg for the match though, because if Hogan’s ego doesn’t get stroked every other segment, that’s just not cool brother.

Here’s Hogan who says that Park is a great guy but he got lucky last week instead of being good. Before Hogan can say no though, here’s Ray with an interruption. Ray says Park isn’t a fighter but he has a lot of guts and a lot to prove. The Bully believes in Joseph Park and so do the fans. Bully to Hulk: “Why say no when it feels so good to say yes?” It’s that mentality that led to the sex tape issue brother. Hogan says just this one time and shakes Park’s hand.

Tara hits on Jesse, who says that he used shooting star presses and a super double tiger driver last week. ODB comes in to yell at the two of them and wants a handicap match next. Jesse: “We’re going to need A LOT of hand sanitizer.”

AJ rants about Storm when the Cowboy comes in.

ODB vs. Tara/Jesse Godderz

Tara and Jesse actually skip down to the floor. They don’t have to tag here so ODB beats up both of them at once. Jesse gets rammed into ODB’s cleavage and there’s a double noggin knocker. A double elbow puts ODB down before Tara raves over the bicep a bit. ODB slams them both down and avoids a charging Jesse. Tara gets sent into his crotch and it’s a double bronco buster. ODB spears Tara down for the pin at 2:40. I smell a tag match Sunday.

ODB gets beaten down with a flask shot post match. Jesse pours the contents on her body.

Post break, ODB is on the phone with Eric’s voicemail and says the tag match is on.

Apparently on Thanksgiving, all of the Gut Check winners will be there. Oh joy.

The Gut Check judges have a chat. Taz thinks it’s a no brainer but doesn’t say which side he’s on. This goes on for awhile and Snow’s jacket gets made fun of.

Sting/Kurt Angle vs. Doc/D-Von

Before you ask, no I don’t be calling him DOC in all caps. Seriously, it makes zero difference so spare me the arguments that I’m saying it wrong. Tenay and Taz take over on commentary. The brawl starts on the floor with Angle destroying D-Von and Sting doing the same to Doc. Sting and Doc start in the corner and Sting hits a quick DDT for two. A D-Von distraction lets Doc hit a clothesline to take over as things get down to normal.

Off to D-Von who drops an elbow for two before bringing Doc back in. A suplex gets two and it’s off to the chinlock. That goes nowhere so D-Von drops a leg for two. Angle gets punched in the face to break up a tag and D-Von pounds Sting down in the corner. A Doc splash gets two as Angle makes the save. Back to D-Von for the spinning elbow for two as Aces and 8’s are using REALLY basic stuff so far.

Doc and Sting clothesline each other down and there’s the hot tag to Angle. House is cleaned and it’s a German for Doc and the Slam for D-Von. Everything breaks down but as Sting puts Doc in the Deathlock, D-Von hits Sting and Angle with the ball bat for the DQ at 5:41.

Rating: D. Nothing to see here as the match existed to get to the end. Like I said earlier, it’s really hard to buy these guys as threats to a team like Sting and Kurt Angle. The match wasn’t horrible or anything it was was absolutely nothing to get excited or interested about at all. If nothing else, Doc has a good look to him with the size and bald head.

Post match here’s Bully for the save and he loads up a table. D-Von runs as soon as he sees it so Sting comes back to beat up Doc. More members come in with a hammer to save Doc and Sting gets put through the table. Angle gets knocked to the floor and Doc “hits” Sting with the hammer, clearly missing his hand by a good space. Joe, Chavo and Hernandez make the save. You know, because you should be afraid when you have the high ground AND A HAMMER. Sting gets taken out by medics.

This has nothing to do with what just happened, but apparently that Ancient Evil Awakes is a Halo 4 ad. Silly me for thinking an ad during a wrestling show was about wrestling.

Time for Gut Check, because that transition is fine. Taz says yes without a doubt and Prichard says yes as well, giving York the contract. I can’t argue with that one.

Aries is in the back on the phone when he sees Brooke and Ray arguing over something. They see him coming and stop immediately because they don’t want him to hear. We’ve got intrigue!

We recap Hardy vs. Aries.

We run down the Turning Point card. Unless I’m missing it, does Ray not have a match?

Hogan is on the phone asking for updates on Sting when he runs into Joey Ryan. Ryan says Hulk can congratulate him on winning the X Title which he hasn’t gotten a shot at yet. Hogan tells Morgan that Matt isn’t allowed at ringside on Sunday. Morgan says Hulk has no idea who he’s messing with but he’ll find out. I still want Morgan as the Aces and 8’s boss. Morgan and Ryan leave and Hogan says he does know.

Samoa Joe/Chavo Guerrero Jr./Hernandez vs. Christopher Daniels/Kazarian/Magnus

It’s a big brawl to start with Chavo vs. Daniels finally getting things going. Daniels gets beaten around like a pinball before Chavo suplexes him down for two. Daiels hits a knee and tags Kaz but the beating continues very quickly. SuperMex comes in with a splash for two and it’s time for Magnus vs. Joe. The British guy who used to be a gladiator for some reason runs to the floor and upon reentry, the heels gets in a shot to Joe’s back to take over.

Everything breaks down again until it’s Joe hammering away on Daniels in the corner. Daniels drops a knee and brings in Chavo with a slingshot hilo for two. Hernandez hooks a bearhug into an overhead belly to belly before it’s back to Chavo who gets two off a dropkick. Some double teaming FINALLY slows Chavo down and the beatdown begins. A running jumping swinging neckbreaker gets two for Kaz and it’s off to Magnus again.

Daniels acts like he’s riding a horse for some reason before it’s off to Kaz for a bow and arrow hold. Chavo fights up and hooks a headscissors to take Kaz down and make the tag off to Hernandez. House is cleaned and Daniels gets launched with a shoulder block. The Border Toss is broken up but Daniels/Kaz’s double suplex is countered into a suplex on both of them by Hernandez. Off to Joe vs. Magnus with the Samoan taking over. Magnus charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner.

The two of them head to the floor as does Daniels, so here’s a big dive by Hernandez to take them out. Chavo loads up the Frog Splash on Magnus but Kaz breaks it up. Joe loads up the MuscleBuster on Magnus but Daniels makes the save. There’s the Clutch on Daniels but it’s broken up by a jawbreaker. Daniels and Kaz go High/Low on Joe and a top rope elbow from Magnus gets the pin at 11:00.

Rating: B-. Solid six man tag here with the exactly right ending. This gives you a reason to believe Magnus can in fact win the title from Joe which wasn’t really something that was easy to buy into earlier. That’s basic booking and that’s all you need to do most of the time, yet most companies don’t get it.

Roode says his plan is coming together with AJ fighting Storm.

We recap the attack on Sting.

Here’s Aries to return the belt. There’s a ladder at ringside and another one in the ring. Aries says that Hardy says he’s the best wrestler on the planet. Well Aries is the best wrestler in the universe. Either this universe, or any universe. They’re going hard with the WWE jabs lately. Austin talks about how Hardy has lived and died by the ladder match. Hardy has fallen a lot, but on Sunday the fall is going to be worse than any he’s ever had. The fans keep chanting WHAT so Aries goes off on them a bit.

Aries says he’s going to use Hardy’s belt as a belt buckle, meaning Hardy’s face will be down by his crotch (his words, not mine). If Hardy wants this belt back, come and get it. Here’s Hardy who knocks Aries to the floor and takes the title before climbing up the ladder. He hangs both belts and poses but Aries shoves him off the ladder and stomps him down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good show overall here and pretty good hype for the PPV, but again, we’ve got a lawyer fighting a career enforcer and Kurt Angle vs. D-Von which we’re supposed to pay for. They need to reveal someone big soon or the interest they’ve got left in this story is going to die soon. That’s a problem because it’s ALL OVER the TV shows. The other stuff with the world title related matches is really good though and I’m looking forward to the show. Still though, where is Bully Ray?

Results

Bobby Roode b. AJ Styles – Pin after knocking Styles off the top rope

ODB b. Tara/Jesse Godderz – Spear to Tara

Sting/Kurt Angle b. D-Von/Doc via DQ when D-Von hit Angle with a baseball bat

Magnus/Kazarian/Christopher Daniels b. Samoa Joe/Chavo Guerrero Jr./Hernandez – Top Rope Elbow To Joe

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Bound For Glory 2012
Date: October 14, 2012
Location: Grand Canyon University Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

It’s the biggest show of the year for TNA and honestly I’m not all that excited about it. The main event tonight is Aries vs. Hardy for the title, but the REAL main event is Aces and 8’s vs. Sting/Bully Ray. The question is much more about who is going to be the leader of the gang, or if that’s even going to be revealed. I’d look for a fun quality show tonight but nothing that jumps off the page. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is about what you would expect: it talks about the history of the company and how big the show is. Most of this has been shown on Impact in the Memories Are Waiting promos.

There’s a ramp to get to the ring which is always cool.

X-Division Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Zema Ion

Ion is defending. Rob came out on Impact when Ion was running his mouth and Van Dam said Hogan said he could have any match he wanted at this show. Zema has been injuring a lot of people lately. Rob takes over to start and knocks Ion to the floor but Ion moves before Rob can dive. Back in and Ion takes out Rob’s leg followed by a corkscrew kick out of the corner for two.

The champ goes up again and gets crotched, followed by a kick to take him down again. Out of nowhere Ion hits a jumping tornado DDT for two and then two more. Rob goes up but gets shoved into the barricade like he’s had done to him a few dozen times over the years. Ion hits a flip dive to keep Van Dam down while also barely avoiding breaking a rib on the barricade.

Back in and a missile dropkick gets two for Ion. As usual with Ion, his in ring stuff isn’t bad but the promos and persona getting there don’t do him much good. Off to an abdominal stretch which is pretty quickly broken. Van Dam makes a very fast comeback, takes Ion down, hits Rolling Thunder and the Five Star and wins the title at 8:00.

Rating: C. I can’t complain about Van Dam winning the title at all as this gives the title some credibility that it hasn’t had in a new champion in awhile. Also this gives the fans something to pop for early on which is the right idea. The match itself was nothing you wouldn’t see on Impact, but the right ending helps.

Magnuis says it’s his time to shine and therefore take the title.

TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Magnus

They used to be partners and then split. Feeling out process to start with Joe taking him into the corner for the enziguri to take over. The champ pounds away and Magnus has to hide for mercy. Magnus comes back with punches of his own as we have a strike heavy match so far. A big old clothesline takes Joe down and Magnus takes over for the first time so far. Magnus takes him down with a knee and stomps away, followed by a jumping elbow for two. This is pretty decent stuff so far.

Joe fires back with some right hands but charges into something like a Michinoku Driver (sitout slam) for two. Magnus runs into an atomic drop and Joe starts speeding things up, firing up the fans in the process. They’re in Phoenix so you wouldn’t think that would be too hard. The backsplash and snap powerslam get two for Joe. Joe gets all crafty now and counters a leapfrog into a powerbomb to kill Magnus.

In a sequence that is always cool, Joe hooks an STF but once Magnus is getting too close to the ropes, he shifts it into Rings of Saturn. After Magnus gets a foot on the ropes, Joe loads up the MuscleBuster but Magnus goes to the eyes. A kick to the face takes Joe down and Magnus hits a top rope elbow for two and Joe is all fired up. He throws on the choke but Magnus escapes by climbing the corner. A jawbreaker escapes the hold again and Magnus goes for the knee. You don’t try holds on Joe though, and the choke retains the title for Joe at 8:57.

Rating: C+. They’re going with the fast matches tonight and that’s probably a good idea with these less interesting matches. This was a better match than the first one but when you have two talented guys in there instead of one, you’re often going to have a better match. There was no reason for Joe to lose the title yet anyway so no complaints there.

Roode says it ends tonight with Storm.

Video on Roode vs. Storm. Last year Roode lost in the main event of BFG, then Storm won the world title the next week on Impact. Roode used a beer bottle to beat Storm for the title and turn heel, which led to Storm wanting both revenge and the title back. Roode lucked out at Lockdown and then cost Storm the BFG Series, leading to a street fight tonight.

James Storm vs. Bobby Roode

MMA fighter King Mo is guest outside referee for no apparent reason. Storm takes over to start and hits a fast backdrop. We head to the floor with Storm in control. He hits Roode in the back with a chair but Roode sends him into the barricade to counter. Storm leg sweeps him into the barricade as well and Roode is in trouble early. Bobby comes back and sends Storm into the post, busting him open. Well at least they’re not waiting on bringing the violence here.

We get the weapons thrown into the ring and the fans want tables, because what would a street fight be without tables? Oh man Storm’s cut is a gusher. Roode puts a chair between the top and middle ropes, allowing James to come back with some kendo stick shots to the ribs. Storm hits a trashcan into Bobby’s balls using a kendo stick like a golf club to make Roode vibrate on the mat.

They head to the ramp with Storm hitting a DDT on the I guess wood. Storm jabs Roode in the ribs with a fan’s crutch and DESTROYS him with a trashcan. Mo hasn’t been a factor yet. Roode snaps off a spinebuster onto the ramp out of nowhere to give himself a breather. Storm grabs a fan’s beer for a quick refreshment. They head to the announce table and Roode kind of spears Storm through the other table to take over. There is blood EVERYWHERE. That gets two back in the ring and Roode yells at Hebner, which gets him in trouble with Mo.

The distraction lets Storm hit the Codebreaker and Last Call….for two. I’m glad that was only two as it would have been a pretty weak ending. Another superkick is caught and Storm is sent face first into the chair Roode set up in the corner a long time ago. That gets two so Roode puts Storm on the top rope. He gets a chair for a hard shot to the head and busts out the bag of thumbtacks. See, now that it’s been awhile since we’ve done this, it means something again. Roode tries a superplex onto the tacks but gets shoved down into them in a painful looking spot.

Storm drops a top rope elbow for two but Roode hits him low to stop Storm’s comeback. Roode goes to the floor and gets a beer bottle which is what started this whole thing. Storm hits Bobby low, takes a drink of the beer, and cracks the bottle over Roode’s head. Storm stands him up, and with Roode out on his feet, a second Last Call sends Roode into the tacks for the pin at 17:27. King Mo was barely a factor here and didn’t need to be around at all.

Rating: B+. In short, the cage match was better. That’s all this boils down to: the match at Lockdown was one of the best built up matches I can remember in a long time but they extended the feud because that’s what seemed like the right idea. Now don’t get me wrong: this was a great brawl and a good bloodbath and it had the perfect ending to the feud, but the feud didn’t need to be here, or at least not with Storm losing the second match. This is like Rock beating Austin at Wrestlemania 19 with nothing on the line. It’s a very good match, but it doesn’t mean as much.

Joey Ryan talks about says he should be on the roster already. He and Snow are polar opposites and tonight, they’re on the west coast where he has the advantage. He’s bringing sleazy back tonight.

We recap Ryan vs. Snow. Ryan was on Gut Check and got a big percentage of the votes, but the judges said no. Ryan terrorized Gut Check, becoming the only interesting thing about the segment for months, and tonight he faces Snow for a contract.

Al Snow vs. Joey Ryan

Ryan hides in the corner to start and the fans want Head. Snow is in workout clothes instead of wrestling gear. Snow gets down on all fours and lets Ryan get in a free chance to start. That goes about as well as you would expect for Ryan and he hides in the corner again. This is a good choice for putting on after the big street fight that just happened. It’s a way for the fans to calm down a bit.

Ryan keeps trying basic offense and Snow stops him at every turn. A delayed slam puts Joey down and Snow takes him to the mat with a headlock. Ryan gets in a shot to the ribs and a suplex for two. Snow comes back with the trapping headbutts and grabs Joey’s chest hair. Snow takes him down again for two and the fans want Head. And that’s what they get from under the ring. Ryan shoves the referee down and steals the Head for a makeout scene. Snow ties Joey up in the ring skirt….and here’s Matt Morgaon to Carbon Footprint Snow into next week. Ryan gets the easy pin at 8:28.

Rating: D+. This was about what you would expect from Al Snow in 2012. The Morgan twist was fine and a pairing between him and Ryan could be interesting, as if nothing else Ryan could use a bodyguard. This was the ending they had to go with and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially with faces being undefeated in the first hour.

Ryan and Morgan shake hands.

Kaz and Daniels don’t care about Twitter questions and brag about how awesome they are. These two feel totally greasy and evil and they’re GREAT at it.

We recap the tag title match. Basically both challenging teams should be able to maul the champions but they can’t quite get there. AJ and Angle keep arguing and Hernandez and Chavo don’t have the experience yet.

Tag Titles: Kazarian/Christopher Daniels vs. Hernandez/Chavo Guerrero Jr vs. AJ Styles/Kurt Angle

Angle and AJ come out separately. Wes Brisco is in the front row and I’d bet we’ll see him later. Daniels and Kaz are in orange and black to start jokes from Taz. Chavo and AJ start things off and in a strange visual, Angle and Hernandez are standing on the same side of the apron. Daniels and Kaz are chilling on the floor. This starts with the usual technical goodness you would expect from these two.

Off to Angle who stomps Chavo down in the corner and Chavo has some tape on his shoulder. Angle slams Chavo down on said shoulder and Daniels blind tags Kurt to come in and….scratch that as Angle stays in. Off to AJ vs. Hernandez with the big guy throwing AJ around and getting two off a splash. Kaz tags himself in to stomp on AJ but there’s the drop down/kick and it’s back to Kurt.

Chavo comes in to face Kaz and some good basic wrestling takes Kazarian down. Hernandez drops Kaz with a backbreaker and it’s back to Chavo to dropkick the freshly tagged in Daniels. AJ comes back in because we can’t have a PPV without Daniels vs. AJ right? A clothesline puts AJ down and it’s time for some pelvic thrusting. The champs hit a double team move with Daniels hiptossing Kaz into AJ for two.

Kaz puts on a full nelson of all things on Styles but a quick Pele takes Kaz right back down. There’s the hot tag to Kurt who beats up everyone in sight. He snaps off some suplexes and counters a sunset flip into an ankle lock on Daniels. There go the straps but Angle misses a charge in the corner and hits the post. Angle shrugs that off and suplexes Kaz onto Daniels for two.

Kaz comes back in with the slingshot DDT on Angle but Hernandez comes back in and takes out Kaz. Daniels smacks AJ in the face and there’s no one in the ring. Daniels dives onto Angle from the apron and there’s the REAL big dive from Hernandez to take everyone out. Kaz tries a rana off the top to Hernandez off the apron but Hernandez goes the wrong way and Kaz basically crashes on his shoulder in a SICK looking landing.

AJ gets the attention off Kazarian by hitting a BIG dive on the champs and Hernandez. Kaz is at least sitting up now. Chavo suplexes Angle over the top and back in as he rolls some suplexes. Angle Slam out of nowhere puts Chavo down and a double suplex takes SuperMex down as well. Kaz is back in with a clothesline to take Daniels down and the BME gets a VERY close two on AJ.

Chavo sends Kaz to the floor and hits another big dive to take him out. Angel’s Wings are broken up by Styles and the moonsault into the reverse DDT takes Daniels down. Hernandez actually tags in and hits a slingshot shoulder block followed by the Border Toss. Chavo hits a Frog Splash to give Hernandez (the legal man) the pin on Daniels and the titles.

Rating: B. This was a good match from these six as you would expect, but it didn’t really get close to the other matches that the teams have had before. That has to be expected though and this was certainly entertaining. All the dives were great, but man alive someone is going to get hurt badly from one of them one day. Daniels and Kaz losing makes sense as they’ve done almost all they can with the belts at this point.

Chavo says that was for the fans and for Eddie.

We recap Tessmacher vs. Tara. Tara is the teacher, Tessmacher is the student, Tara snapped, you fill in the rest. Oh and Tara has some Hollywood boyfriend who is likely some reality TV schmuck.

Knockouts Title: Miss Tessmacher vs. Tara

Tess is defending. Tessmacher’s robe/jacket is on the ropes as we start. A quick crucifix gets no count for the champ. Teryn Terrell is referee again because…because…I have no idea why she’s still around actually. Tara gets sent to the floor and we get a chase scene. Tara hides behind the referee and we head right back to the floor where Tess gets dropped on the apron to give Tara the advantage.

Back in and the champ gets one on a sunset flip and it’s off to a chinlock by Tara. Tara whips her into the corner but charges into a boot followed by a DDT from Tessmacher to put both girls down. Tessmacher takes Tara down and nips right back up, followed by a top rope rana (decent one too) but Tara blocks the Tesshocker. Widow’s Peak and Tara gets the completely clean pin at 6:18.

Rating: D. The rana looked good and the girls looked good in their outfits, but thank goodness Tara won here. Tessmacher is just worthless as champion and hasn’t changed a bit since she won the belt the first time. Tara has had the belt before but at least she’s better than Tess, but most people would be.

Tara introduces the boyfriend: Jesse Godderz from Big Brother. To the shock of no one, there is zero reaction. He’s been training in OVW for like a year and has won five tag titles there. Tara and Jesse make out in the ring. Crowd: “WHO ARE YOU?”

We get a video from the Hall of Fame ceremony last night. Lex Luger inducted him, which is way better than Christian. Hogan dressed up in a t-shirt while everyone else was in suits. Sting talked about owning a gym in California and having Hulk Hogan working out there.

Aces and 8’s vs. Sting/Ray is No DQ.

We recap said tag match. Aces and 8’s is a motorcycle gang who has been terrorizing TNA for about four months now and tonight, there’s a match between Sting/Ray vs. two members of the team. If the masked men win, they get full access to the Impact Zone. If they lose, the whole group leaves forever. The whole mystery here is about who their leader is, but in theory we’re going to find out tonight. Anderson was going to be the partner of Sting but Aces and 8’s beat him up, resulting in Ray getting the spot instead.

Aces and 8’s vs. Sting/Bully Ray

Sting and Ray both have facepaint. Aces and 8’s have theme music now. They bring out Joseph Park who looks a bit near death. There are two members here, one in a plaid t-shirt and another in a black one. We’ll call plaid shirt #1 and black shirt #2. This is No DQ and a brawl starts on the floor. Sting fights #1 and Ray has some issues with #2. #2 seems to be the taller of the two.

Sting gets sent into the announce table as the fans chant for Bully. Sting and Ray double team #1 and the fans want tables. The Stinger Splash hits the barricade as it has all but one time that I can ever remember. #2 and Sting start in the ring with Sting in trouble. Off to #1 who hits a clothesline for two. Park is chained to the barricade at ringside. #2 hits another clothesline for another two on Sting.

A bit boot gets another two and Ray is starting to play cheerleader. Sting makes a fast comeback and tries the Scorpion but #1 breaks it up. A suplex is countered by Sting into the Death Drop but Sting doesn’t cover for some reason. Double tag brings in #2 and Ray with Ray cleaning house. A middle rope shoulder takes #2 down and the fans are way behind Ray. Ray double clotheslines them down and a splash gets two on #1.

#1 brings in a chair but Ray hits a big boot to stop the shot. A third Aces and 8’s guy, pretty clearly Wes Brisco, comes in and hits Ray low. Park gets spat on and breaks the chain off the barricade. He comes in and destroys the third guy before beating him up the ramp. The match breaks down and #2 gets caught in a Doomsday Device. Double splashes crush #2 in the corner again and it’s Table Time with Sting playing Bubba’s role. Ray gets the table but #1 pulls Sting to the floor. Another member of Aces and 8’s comes in and spinebusts Ray through the table to give #2 the pin at 10:51.

Rating: C. Not much of a match here but the point is that Aces and 8’s won. How this makes anything any different is beyond me but this story hasn’t made much sense in the entire time it’s been running. Hopefully we’ll get some more to this tonight because if this is it, then it’s going to feel flat. The match was pretty much fine.

The rest of the group comes in and beats down Sting/Ray until Hogan comes in for the save and marches through them all until only the guy that jumped Ray is left. Hogan cleans house and Sting is back up. They go for the mask….and it’s D-Von. Yes, D-VON. Fans: “This is awkward!”

Aries says Hardy needs to win this to complete his comeback. Tonight, Aries is coming in angry and that’s not good for Jeff.

We recap the world title match. Aries is jealous of Hardy, Hardy wants the title to complete his redemption.

TNA World Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries

The fans are pretty much split which isn’t what they were hoping for I don’t think. We start with a long feeling out process and we have roughly half an hour for this. They head to the mat and Hardy actually keeps up with the champ (Aries is defending if I didn’t mention that) until they head to the corner for the slingshot dropkick. Aries comes back and puts Hardy on the apron for a slingshot ax handle. He takes a victory lap and then one in reverse.

Back in and Hardy gets two off a suplex. They’re still in first gear here and that’s fine. Jeff knocks Aries to the floor and mocks Aries. The fans don’t seem pleased with Jeff so he jumps off the apron with an ax handle of his own. Jeff charges at Aries but Hardy crashes into the barricade and hits Aries at the same time. Back in and Aries gets two off a top rope splash. Aries charges into a boot in the corner and the crowd is probably 80% pro Aries.

A backbreaker gets two for the champ and it’s off to an abdominal stretch on the mat. Aries takes him down again and hits a corkscrew plancha for two. Hardy blocks the Last Chancery and hits something Big Show used to call the Alley Oop. He sets for a powerbomb but throws Aries backwards instead of forwards. Show’s was a bit slower but it’s the same move. Hardy makes his comeback and hits the low dropkick for two.

Whisper in the Wind gets two and the fans have quieted down a bit. Twist of Fate is countered and Aries is knocked to the floor. Hardy misses a slingshot and there’s the suicide dive to drive Jeff into the barricade. Another dive takes Hardy out again with this one getting two in the ring. Aries is busted but nowhere near what Storm was earlier. There’s the Last Chancery but Jeff escapes quickly.

They head to the ramp and Jeff can’t hit the Twist, but rather gets clotheslined into the ropes. Aries drops him on his head, sending the back of Jeff’s head into the edge of the ramp. And people wonder why he’s a drug addict. A missile dropkick sends Jeff into the corner but he comes out with the Twist for two. Jeff loads up the Swanton but gets crotched and super ranaed down from a double standing position. That looked awesome. Corner dropkick sets up the Brainbuster for two and Aries is STUNNED. Aries puts Jeff on top but gets knocked off and the Swanton gives Jeff the title at 23:04.

Rating: B+. This was a good main event but after the Aces and 8’s stuff, this came off a bit flat. Also, TNA REALLY needs to mix up their main event styles. The kicking out of finishers and then the pin soon thereafter can only take you so far and they’ve done it for years now. Watch a few TNA PPV main events and the formulas are almost always the same. Hardy winning is the right choice but it doesn’t feel like a huge moment at all for the most part. Still though, a quite good match.

Hardy celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Was this a great show? No. Was it their best show of the year? No. Was it good enough to be their biggest show of the year? Not really. What it was however was a quite enjoyable show, other than the big surprise which my jaw is still having issues closing over. The ending was the right call as Hardy had to win the title to send the fans home happy. There are a lot of ways they can go now, but unfortunately Impact is going to be ALL about D-Von and that pretty much freaking sucks.

I can’t get over that and if they thought the angle was going nowhere already, they’re in for a big surprise now. I don’t think he’s the leader, but man alive this is BOUND FOR GLORY, not Impact. It’s a good show overall though and it sets up a bunch of stuff for the future, but man alive I don’t know who went with D-Von as the surprise. Even as a regular member, which is what he likely is, who thought that was a good idea for BFG?

Results

Rob Van Dam b. Zema Ion – Frog Splash

Samoa Joe b. Magnus – Koquina Clutch

James Storm b. Bobby Roode – Last Call

Joey Ryan b. Al Snow – Pin after a Carbon Footprint from Matt Morgan

Hernandez/Chavo Guerrero Jr. b. AJ Styles/Kurt Angle and Christopher Daniels/Kazarian – Hernandez pinned Daniels after a Frog Splash from Guerrero

Tara b. Miss Tessmacher – Widow’s Peak

Aces and 8’s b. Sting/Bully Ray – Ray was pinned after a spinebuster through a table

Jeff Hardy b. Austin Aries – Swanton Bomb

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Impact Wrestling
Date: August 22, 2013
Location: Constant Center, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Tazz, Mike Tenay

We’re still in Virginia for the other main event from Hardcore Justice. Tonight’s main event is the Mafia vs. the Aces in a big ten man brawl with the person taking the fall being banished from Impact Wrestling forever. Other than that we’ve got another four way match for twenty points in the BFG Series. We’ve got about a month left in the entire Series so points are becoming more and more important. Let’s get to it.

We open with the Aces and 8’s in the back. Ray and Anderson get in an argument over whose corner Tito Ortiz will be in tonight. The world champion tells Anderson to worry about his own business.

Here are Roode, Daniels and Kaz to open us up in the arena. Roode congratulates Ray on becoming a two time world champion by screwing the system. Now it’s Ray with the target on his chest and it’s going to be one of them that will take the title from him. Roode talks about setting the tables for 20 points in the Series last week and Kaz says he did the same. Tonight Daniels will complete the sweep for the Extraordinary Gentlemen’s Organization because he’s the best street fighter in TNA.

Roode says they’re 25% of the BFG Series but they should be 1/3. They want to add Austin Aries to the group because it’s the best chance Aries has at becoming the world champion. Instead they get Storm and Gunner, who are tag champions in case you had forgotten. Storm doesn’t like hearing Roode talk about trust because it’s only a matter of time before Roode turns on Daniels and Kaz. James takes off his shirt and is ready to fight, with the tag champions clearing the ring. Apparently this is going to be a tag match.

James Storm/Gunner vs. Kazarian/Bobby Roode

Non-title. It’s a brawl to start with the champions in control as we go to an early break. Back with Roode sending Gunner into the corner and chopping away before Gunner comes back with forearms of his own. Kaz comes in with a spinwheel kick for two as Storm makes the save. Everyone is in jeans here to give it more of a street fight feel. Roode comes back in for some shots of his own before Kaz gets two off a legdrop.

Gunner no sells a kick to the chest and hits an Irish Curse to allow for the double tag. Off to Roode vs. Storm with James cleaning house. The corner enziguri drops Kaz and a top rope elbow gets two on Roode. Everything breaks down and Storm hits the Closing Time to put Roode down. Roode pulls the referee in the way of the Last Call, so Kaz takes the kick instead. A low blow from Bobby is enough for the pin on Storm at 9:45.

Rating: C. These four guys and Daniels have been stuck in midcard limbo for a good while now and it’s sad to see them not move up at all. Storm had so much going for him last year but it was all thrown away and has never come back. It’s a shame too as he could have been a huge deal for the company. The match was just ok and didn’t have time to go anywhere given the commercial.

Aries thinks he has a lot of offers on the table and has an idea.

Sonjay Dutt vs. Manik

Non-title. Sonjay tries to dive onto the champion during the entrance but Manik dives to safety. Manik hooks a quick Black Widow submission hold but Sonjay rolls out. They’ve moving very fast out there. Dutt misses a big kick to the head but hits a standing moonsault for two. Sonjay puts on a modified Octopus Hold before shifting to a double arm choke.

Back up and Manik does his land in the ropes spot and avoids a charging Dutt to send him to the floor. A slingshot dropkick gets two for Manik and he counters a Rocker Dropper into a sitout powerbomb for two. Manik charges into a boot in the corner and hits a running boot of his own, setting up a springboard splash for two. The moonsault double stomp doesn’t connect and Manik hits his wheelbarrow gutbuster for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: C. Standard flippy match here and if you’re into that style, you would have liked this. There was nothing special to see here as I’m not huge on Manik for the most part. He’s just another guy in the division and happens to be the flavor of the month with the title. Nothing to see here, as usual once Destination X is over.

Mr. Anderson gives the bikers a pep talk.

Sting and the Mafia huddle.

Bound For Glory Series: Hernandez vs. Joseph Park vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Jay Bradley

This is a street fight for twenty points. It’s a big brawl to start with SuperMex clotheslining Bradley to the floor so Daniels can get two off a rollup. Eric Young is in Park’s corner because TNA loves their wacky pairings. Bradley breaks up a cover by Hernandez with a chair to the back before wrapping the chair around Hernandez’s neck to ram it into the corner. Park is back up and helps SuperMex double team the other guys while doing his “Who me?” schtick. Bradley and Daniels are both splashed in the corner and we take a break.

Back with Hernandez cracking Daniels in the back with a kendo stick but Daniels backdrops him on the stage. Back in the ring and park avoids a big boot from Bradley in the corner but Bradley gets in a shot to stop his momentum. Park takes Bradley down to avoid a chair shot but his Boston crab is broken up by a Roode/Kaz distraction. Eric Young tries to make the save but gets beaten down as well. Bradley is back up to beat on Daniels in the ring. A big boot sets up a chair shot to the back followed by a suplex onto the chair.

Kaz breaks up the Boom Stick as Hernandez hits the charge from the ramp over the ropes to take Daniels down. Daniels escapes the Border Toss and Austin Aries is here. His distraction allows Daniels to hit a running STO on Hernandez, but after high fiving Roode, Aries lays out Daniels with the brainbuster. Bradley knocks out Park with brass knuckles but they bust Park open, meaning it’s Abyss mode. The Black Hole Slam is good for the pin on Bradley at 12:20.

Rating: C. I know I’ve used that rating a lot tonight but that’s the case with almost everything tonight. It’s just ok with none of the matches standing out. That’s the case here again: Hernandez does his power stuff, EGO does their stuff, Bradley is in way over his head and Park is very cautious until he bleeds and then he snaps for the win. It’s not a bad or boring match but it’s like a ham sandwich: it’ll get you through the day but it’s nothing you’ll remember in about an hour.

We recap the far too long Brooke Hogan/Bully Ray saga.

Here’s the new world champion, flanked by Tito Ortiz, for his championship celebration. Ray asks how it feels to have the wool pulled over your eyes again. Do you know who he is? He’s Bully Ray, the world champion. Notice that he didn’t say the two time world champion, because he doesn’t count Sabin’s fluke win. This brings him to his new best friend: Tito Ortiz. Tito says he’ll knock Rampage out again on November 2^nd.

Ray says if you thought that was a surprise, there’s an even bigger shock. This one is about Ray and his woman. It’s time for the world to know about them. He tells Brooke to come out here but it’s Brooke Tessmacher instead of Hogan. They kiss in the ring and Ray says now he has the hot Brooke. Ray brags about being unstoppable and says there’s only one thing left to do. Brooke bites his ring off and spits it out, which I guess is writing Brooke Hogan off TV. I think this was supposed to be some big surprise but no one seemed to care.

ODB vs. Gail Kim

ODB shoves her around to start and rams Gail face first into the buckle. Gail heads to the floor for a breather as ODB rubs her own body in the ring. Back in and Gail takes her down by the arm and sends it into the buckle. ODB is put on the top rope and taken down by a shoulder breaker for two before Gail hooks a hammerlock.

Gail goes to snap the arm over the ropes but gets hit low to give ODB a breather. Back to the corner for ODB’s crotch rams (don’t ask if you don’t know) followed by the middle rope Thesz Press for two. A superplex puts Gail down but it hurts ODB’s shoulder again, meaning it’s only good for two. Gail pops back up with a crucifix for the pin at 6:42.

Rating: D. There was no heat to this match at all and it didn’t seem like the wrestlers cared either. ODB’s one joke has been played out for years now and for the life of me I don’t get why the fans cheer for her so much. This was a very dull match as the show continues to just fill in time until the main event.

Jeff Hardy talks about what winning the Bound For Glory Series means.

Austin Aries says he’s going to win the world title with his own skills alone.

Hulk Hogan will be back next week after meeting with lawyers.

Chris Sabin says it sucks that Aces and 8’s keep interfering. Rampage had his back and Sabin will get his revenge.

Aces and 8’s vs. Main Event Mafia

Aces and 8’s: Wes Brisco, Garrett Bischoff, Knux, D-Von, Mr. Anderson

Main Event Mafia: Sting, Samoa Joe, Rampage Jackson, Magnus

The loser of the fall is gone from TNA forever and the Mafia comes in down a man due to Angle going to rehab. Before the bell Anderson calls out Ray to sit on the stage and watch. Anderson goes on to say that the Mafia can pick someone to lay down without a fight. Sting says no way because they want to fight. There go the lights for some reason and here’s AJ Styles. He throws the hood back and the music changes to Get Ready To Fly, meaning the Phenomenal One is back and part of the Mafia tonight.

It’s a huge brawl to start until we finally get down to Magnus vs. Wes to start. Magnus throws him into the corner and brings in Joe to pound Brisco down. Joe hits the enziguri in the corner for two before it’s off to Garrett. AJ comes in for the fireman’s carry flip into a backbreaker as we take a break. Back with Magnus in trouble in the Aces corner. The bikers take turns on the Brit with everyone getting in shots.

Garrett gets two off a clothesline as the fans chant YES. Anderson comes in for a suplex before it’s back to D-Von for a neck crank. The fans tell him he sucks and Taz rants about Hogan a bit. The back elbow puts Magnus down again and D-Von Spinaroonis up. Back to Knux for some choking but Magnus scores with a quick DDT for a breather. There’s the hot tag to Sting and everything breaks down. Jackson starts cleaning house but Knux gets in a cheap shot.

Sting takes Knux down with the Death Drop and puts on the Deathlock but D-Von makes the save. Knux can only get two though and things settle down again. AJ gets the hot tag and hits the springboard forearm to D-Von. A backfist and a standing enziguri get two for Styles but everything breaks down again. Styles loads up the Clash on D-Von but has to hit the Pele on Anderson. D-Von spears Styles down but AJ comes right back with the Clash to get rid of D-Von at 16:16.

Rating: C+. The match was ok because it actually got some time. The fans were pleased for AJ’s return to form which has been needed for a long time. Getting rid of D-Von is fine as he doesn’t really do anything other than say TESTIFY. Hopefully it leads to the end of the Aces as they’re so far past their expiration date it’s unreal.

Taz is furious to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event was pretty good but it doesn’t safe a very dull show up to that point. I’m glad to see AJ back in his old form but I can’t stand it when a story is just dropped like that. The Aces stuff is beyond boring at this point but them losing a member is a good sign as hopefully they’re gone soon after Bound For Glory. Boring show but helped by a decent main event though.

Results

Kazarian/Bobby Roode b. James Storm/Gunner – Low Blow to Storm

Manik b. Sonjay Dutt – Wheelbarrow gutbuster

Joseph Park b. Jay Bradley, Christopher Daniels and Hernandez – Black Hole Slam to Bradley

Gail Kim b. ODB – Crucifix

Main Event Mafia b. Aces and 8’s – Styles Clash to D-Von

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So 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.

First of all, the stadium is less than 15 minutes from my house so driving was no issue. The tickets were $15 each and include a voucher each to any Lexington Legends baseball game this season. The seats were along the third base line with a view of the ring at home plate. For you non baseball fans, we had good seats and were looking down on the ring. The ring is clearly smaller than a WWE ring but it doesn’t look bad at all.

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

The first interesting thing was the way the wrestlers came to the ring. They came out of the right field wall and rode golf carts to the ring. There’s something amusing about that and it made me chuckle every time. Also, you have to love TNA breaking its own rules as this was a one on one X Title match instead of a triple threat. The fans didn’t care about King but gave Sabin some polite applause. The champion (Sabin) stomped his foot to get the fans to clap. King tried the same thing and got silence in a funny bit.

The match was fine and about what you would expect from these two. Sabin worked on the arm to start but the most notable thing to start was how loud the ring was. Every time they hit the mat it sounded like cymbals crashing together. The ring mic was turned way down for the rest of the night and it was an improvement. King snapped Sabin’s neck across the top rope to take over and swung a bat like a home run. Kenny missed something off the top, Sabin hit some kicks, and Hail Sabin ended it in about 8:00. It was a good fast paced opener and the crowd was into Sabin.

Before the next match, Earl Hebner got his own entrance. He took off his regular referee shirt to reveal his YES I DID (screw Bret) shirt. He even pulled out some Bret glasses and did Hart’s poses in the ring.

Knockouts Title: Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky

Velvet limped to the ring to sell the knee injury from Impact. Mickie is fully heel, but you would have no idea that was the case tonight. Surprisingly enough, if you have a gorgeous brunette in Daisy Duke shorts and a sports bra with theme music talking about being a southern girl in Kentucky, the fans are going to cheer her a lot. This match didn’t do much for me although the view was very nice.

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

This was long and all about AJ Styles. Bischoff got no reaction from the crowd, but AJ got a standing ovation. There wasn’t much to see here but Garrett didn’t completely embarrass himself, meaning he’s improving. AJ worked on the arm and Garrett shouted OW in a funny bit. Garrett took over with a spear and beat on AJ for a long bit but AJ came back with a dive to the floor and the springboard forearm. They rolled out of the corner and AJ got the Calf Killer for the tap out at 11:45. It was a better match than expected but AJ completely carried it.

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

As you may have heard, Storm is wrestling hurt and it’s very clear if you watch him for a few seconds. Storm was introduced as the Cowboy instead of the Tennessee Cowboy to keep the Kentucky fans from booing him. Just before the bell the challengers (Aries/Roode) went to the pitcher’s mound with Aries pretending to pitch as Storm caught and Gunner took a batter’s stance in the ring. Storm got bored and picked up some cotton candy from a vendor to give to fans.

Roode and Aries wanted quiet from the crowd but Brian Hebner couldn’t get the fans to be quiet. It was a comedy match to start with the champions sending Roode into Aries’ groin. The challengers went to the floor with Roode shaking his head and Aries doing squats to stretch things out. Everything spilled onto the floor with Storm throwing a bunch of beers into Roode’s face while Gunner and Aries spent a good 45 seconds trying to suplex each other next to the pitcher’s mound (Gunner won with a front suplex).

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.

There were two sets of tables set up with Bully Ray and D-Von on one side and everyone else on the other. I told D-Von that I loved the TLC matches and he gave a quiet but distinct thank you and gave me a fist bump (no handshakes for him apparently). Ray signed his name with WHC underneath it and basically punched my fist when I reached it out to him for a fist bump. He’s either playing a great heel or a huge jerk in real life but it fit very well.

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.

James Storm and Gunner were next and both were very nice. I told Storm I had been a big fan of AMW and he smiled and thanked me. Gunner will almost crush your hand when he shakes it so the intensity thing really suits him. I said I enjoyed his match and he said he was really enjoying teaming with James. He sounded professional for lack of a better word, but it was an odd visual to see him still in his trunks and a t-shirt. As I was talking to him, a kid in a New Orleans Saints jersey was talking to Storm and Storm asked who the Saints QB and coach were. The kid said something I couldn’t hear and Gunner asked Storm what the kid said. Storm said he had no idea and didn’t know the answers either and laughed.

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.

After this we literally ran back to catch Earl and Brian Hebner signing pictures and Hebner’s shirt for $20 total. Earl asked if we liked the VIP signing and was happy we enjoyed it. Becca is a huge Earl Hebner fan (I don’t get it either) and freaked out when he shook her hand. He asked if we had a camera so I got a quick picture of them. Earl was a nice guy and I got to ask him which referee was the evil one when Andre and DiBiase cheated Hogan out of the title in 1988 (Earl said he was the evil one, like always).

Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson

Hardy got a big pop once people realized it was his music playing. Jeff went around the front row and high fived fans while Anderson did what looked like a Nazi goose step and salute. I didn’t get a good view of it but he was definitely doing the high step. There wasn’t much to this at all but Anderson did Hardy’s dance in a funny moment. Anderson controlled most of the match but Hardy came back with his usual stuff. The Mic Check was countered into the Twist of Fate for the pin at about 7:30. I had never seen Jeff wrestle live so this was a bit of a treat. It looked like he had an ice pack on his elbow after the match but it didn’t look serious.

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

The world title belt is very shiny as you could see the reflection from across the field. Sting and Angle came out to Sting’s music and both were introduced as Hall of Famers. The fans were WAY into both guys so the star power was rolling here. Angle got beaten down to start and the Dudleys hit a kind of botched reverse 3D (the one where Bully does a belly to back suplex into a D-Von neckbreaker. For some reason D-Von was doing Bully’s part and then they seemed to realize they had it backwards).

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).

After the main event JB talked about Angle being inducted in the Hall of Fame and Kurt was cheered to the back. JB told us that for $30 (or for free to those that bought the VIP pass) your entire group could get a picture with Sting with no limit on the amount of people. For a large group of people that’s a great deal. The line took a bit to get through but it was an amazing feeling to walk through the ropes and get inside a ring. The fact that Sting is one of my favorite wrestlers ever made it even better.

The mat is a lot softer than I expected and actually has some give to it. I was surprised at how hard a turnbuckle felt too. I got my picture taken with Sting and was surprised at how tall he was. I’m 6’0 tall and I was looking up at him. As I was leaving I told Sting I had been watching for 25 years and he was the first thing I remembered (Black Scorpion). He said wow that’s awesome and said thanks for being a fan.

We were given a copy of our photo as we left and a card telling us how we can get digital copies of them in a few days. That’s really efficient for such a short amount of time.

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.

Overall, this was VERY fun and probably the most entertaining wrestling show I’ve been to, which covers a lot of ground. The show felt like it was very personal and focused on making sure the fans have a good time. The $80 combined for all the autographs, meeting the wrestlers and tickets was more than worth it as we were back home in just over four hours.

We were at a WWE Smackdown show a few months ago and it’s a very different feeling. WWE feels like a big spectacle and was certainly fun and affordable (tickets were the same price and about the same distance from the ring) but the star power was nothing compared to this show. The biggest stars I saw at the WWE show were Orton, Sheamus and Del Rio. Tonight I saw Angle, Sting and Jeff Hardy which pretty much crushes the WWE roster.

The other main difference is how accessible things were tonight. At the WWE show it felt like there was a huge divide between the fans and the wrestlers. Tonight they made us feel welcome (not to say WWE didn’t) and like we were in a much more intimate setting. The vibe is completely different here too. With WWE it felt like you were getting an entertainment show whereas tonight was about kicking back and enjoying two and a half hours of wrestling. There were no Twitter polls, promos to hype up matches, or pointless filler matches. Tonight was entertaining, fast paced, and above all else: FUN.

If you ever have the chance to go to a TNA show, make sure you take the opportunity and spring for the VIP package. The show feels so less polished (in a good way) than a WWE show and doesn’t walk you through everything. The WWE show had a better quality to the matches (Barrett vs. Del Rio and Sheamus/Orton vs Shield) but tonight was so basic (one heel wins in six matches) and focused on the fans that it was a blast.

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.

Slammiversary 2013
Date: June 2, 2013
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Todd Keneley, Tazz, Mike Tenay

The Aces and 8’s saga reaches the end of its first year tonight as TNA is eleven years old tonight. The main event is Sting vs. Ray in a no holds barred match for Ray’s world title with the stipulation that if Sting loses, he can never challenge for the world title again. Other than that we have a four way for the tag titles, Angle vs. Styles, and the second inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is all about Bully Ray and Aces and 8’s, recapping the last few months of the stories and talking about the bikers taking out TNA’s heroes such as Hardy, Hogan and Sting tonight.

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

King is defending and this is an Ultimate X match, meaning there’s an X made of cable above the ring. You have to climb across the cables and pull the belt down to win, making this a combination of monkey bars and a ladder match. Sabin has only been back from a knee injury for a few months and the knee really hasn’t been tested all that well. King immediately bails to the floor but both challengers follow.

Everyone quickly gets back in but Suicide is the only one to stay inside long. He teases a dive to the floor but climbs up instead, only to be pulled right back down by Sabin. King suplexes Chris down and stomps away on both guys but the numbers quickly catch up with him. Suicide suplexes both guys down but it’s Sabin up first to take over on both guys with a suplex of his own. Sabin hits yet another suplex on Suicide to drop him onto King before going for a climb.

Suicide makes a quick save as King goes for a half crab on Sabin, only to have Suicide put a modified abdominal stretch on King at the same time. Dropkicks put King and Sabin down but King is able to stop a quick Suicide climb. Sabin hits a fisherman’s buster on King out of the corner but Suicide stops Sabin from climbing. King goes up but is pulled down by Suicide as well, followed by a series of rapid fire kicks all around, leading to a springboard Blockbuster from King to Sabin to put everyone down.

Sabin and King head to the floor where Suicide takes them both down with a springboard dropkick to take both guys down. All three head back inside with Suicide shoving the other two together and try a climb with King quickly breaking it up. They load up a Tower of Doom but instead it’s a double superplex to put Suicide down. King and Suicide both go for the belt but King knocks Suicide off with a rake of the mask. Sabin goes across as well and takes King down before pulling the belt down to win at 14:08.

Rating: B-. Nothing wrong with a good old fashioned spot fest to start. This is the same idea that got WCW PPVs off to a good start and it worked here too. I still don’t think Suicide should have been here at all, but at least the right guy won and there was no major swerve at all. Good match here and a solid win for Sabin. Also thank goodness the title is off of King, but who is Sabin supposed to fight now?

Before Sabin leaves the arena, here’s Hulk of all people. He shakes hands with Sabin and tells the fans to cheer for Sabin like they cheered when he beat Andre in Boston for the first time. Just like last year, Sabin can cash in the title for a shot at Destination X. Does that show exist anymore?

Hogan stays in the ring after Sabin leaves and says we have something else to talk about, “Macho Man.” Before he can get anywhere, here are Anderson, Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco. Anderson tells Hogan that tonight Aces and 8’s take over. Hogan says that Boston isn’t afraid of ghosts, terrorists, or pussies wearing leather BROTHER. Hogan brags about how TNA will dominate tonight in all their matches before introducing Joe, Magnus and Hardy.

Jeff Hardy/Magnus/Samoa Joe vs. Aces and 8’s

The bikers jump Hardy as he comes in and it’s Anderson starting against him for the Aces. Jeff comes back with a clothesline and a low dropkick for two before it’s off to Brisco. He walks into a right hand of his own and here’s Garrett to take a beating of his own. Off to Joe to a big pop to beat the tar out of Garrett in the corner with a rapid flurry of chops, punches and stomps.

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.

After some dancing (I think?) from Jeff he cleans house on the bikers and gets two off the Whisper in the Wind. Everything breaks down and a bad looking Twist of Fate puts Brisco down, but it’s Garrett in to break up the Swanton. Magnus and Joe come in for the snapmare/middle rope elbow combo on Garrett, but Brisco hits Magnus low. He rolls the Brit up but Hardy comes off the top with the Swanton for the pin on Wes at 10:11.

Rating: B-. The match wasn’t bad up until the VERY hot ending which brought it up a lot. That low blow actually had me thinking Aces would win here, so well done on making me believe that the ending was up in the air. The match was better than I was expecting on top of that, so good stuff here again.

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

The winner of this gets into the Bound For Glory Series. Shaw speeds things up to start and tries for a quick pin, only to be shoved down by the much more powerful Bradley. Sam hooks a headlock on the mat but Jay pops up and pounds him down with elbows to the head. A hard whip into the corner has Shaw down again and the pace slows down a lot. Off to a chinlock for a bit before Shaw hits a standing Thesz Press to pound Jay in the head. The fans don’t seem all that impressed here as Bradley pokes him in the eye to break up a neckbreaker. The Boom Stick Lariat ends Shaw for the pin at 4:58.

Rating: D. This was pretty unpleasant as the fans didn’t care about either guy whatsoever and it showed badly. Bradley definitely was the better choice here as Shaw looks like any other indy guy. The fans had no reasons to care about either guy here and it really brought things to a halt. Thankfully it was kept short and now the show can pick up again.

Christy asks Bradley how it feels to be in the BFG Series. “How do you think it feels? GOOD!” Bradley says he’ll win the world title.

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

Park doesn’t show up due to the beatdown from earlier tonight so D-Von talks some trash about the Boston Celtics. D-Von demands a ten count for Park to get out here….and there’s still no Park so D-Von retains.

D-Von of course makes the eternal mistake of running his mouth, saying that if Abyss was here, he’d take a beating like Park would have. You all know what’s coming next.

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.

Rating: D. The match was barely there but it was the right result. D-Von has done nothing at all with the title in the six months he’s held it so maybe Abyss will actually defend the thing. If nothing else the split personalities deal is interesting when you add in a title. Nothing to see here, but that wasn’t the point of the match.

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

Here’s Dixie to announce the second Hall of Fame inductee. After thanking all of the fans, Dixie calls the roster to the stage for the announcement. The inductee is……..Kurt Angle.

We get a nice video package on Angle’s TNA career, complete with a miniature shot of Angle watching the video in the ring. Dixie congratulates Kurt and gives a brief history of his career before handing the mic off to Kurt. Angle thanks his family and everyone else you would expect him to thank. He also thanks the TNA originals which is the right thing to do.

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

Bad Influence says that they’ll win the tag titles tonight because they’re just that awesome.

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

Chavo and Hernandez are defending, this is under elimination rules and Storm has a badly hurt leg. Chavo and Daniels get things going with Daniels getting caught between right hands from both champions. Off to SuperMex to face Aries, with the latter jumping into a fall away slam. Back to Chavo who immediately pulls the now legal Roode into a headlock. Off to Storm vs. Roode and James can actually move. He throws a few right hands to take Roode down and it’s off to Gunner.

Bobby tags in Gunner as everything breaks down. Hernandez puts Roode on his shoulder for the backbreaker but Chavo suplexes Aries onto Hernandez’s other shoulder for a double backbreaker. That’s SCARY power. Storm and Gunner whip Roode and Aries into each other before Bad Influence comes in to stomp both guys down. Hernandez gets a running start to jump over the top rope and clothesline both guys down for two on Daniels. Kaz breaks up the delayed suplex on Daniels with a kick to Hernandez’s back before coming in legally.

After some more kicks to the legs of Hernandez it’s off to Roode for a stomping in the corner. Aries comes in with the slingshot hilo for two before putting on a front facelock. The fans chant for Aries but Hernandez suplexes both Aries and Roode down at the same time. Kaz gets the tag but Chavo comes in as well to clean house. There are Three Amigos to Kaz but Daniels sneaks in for Angel’s Wings on Chavo. Hernandez runs over Aries and Border Tosses Kaz, allowing the frog splash from Chavo to connect. Daniels breaks it up with a title belt for a DQ elimination at 10:52.

Aries immediately rolls up Chavo for the elimination at 11:10, leaving us with Aries/Roode and Storm/Gunner. Aries and Roode double team Gunner in the corner but he comes back with some running clotheslines. There’s the tag to Storm who pounds away on Roode and DDTs Aries down. Back to Gunner who catapults Aries into a Storm DDT for two. There’s the Gun Rack (Torture Rack) to Roode but Aries kicks Gunner in the ribs to break it up. The spinebuster from Roode sets up the 450 from Aries but it’s only good for two. Roode throws in a title belt but it’s the Last Call and Gun Rack to Aries for the submission and the titles at 16:28.

Rating: B. Another good match as this show is on a roll so far. I’m glad Storm is healthy enough to do the limited stuff he could do out there and Gunner looked solid as well. Hopefully we never have to see the other three teams fight again as the feud has been done to death already as the tag titles just need fresh blood now.

Brooke Hogan is proud of the Knockouts but won’t say if she still loves Bully or not.

We recap Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell. Basically Gail went nuts and hurt a lot of Knockout’s knees with Taryn being a favorite target of hers. Tonight it’s a Last Knockout Standing match.

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.

Terrell is up at 8 and dodges Gail’s charge into the corner, sending her head first into the chair in a SICK looking crash. That only gets eight so Taryn puts her in the Figure Four around the post for eight more. Taryn misses a charge and lands on the ramp for nine, only to be caught in a legsweep onto the ramp for nine more. Gail tries a piledriver but gets reversed into a bulldog off the ramp to put both girls down. Taryn beats the count for the win at 9:18.

Rating: B-. This was the best Knockouts match in YEARS. The bulldog off the stage was a bigger spot but the missed charge into the chair should have been the finish. It looked MUCH more painful and I thought Gail was out cold. Still though, very entertaining match and I was really impressed with Taryn here. I’d bet on her vs. Mickie at BFG for the title in a veteran vs. underdog title match.

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

AJ has some new very slow music about changing his ways. Kurt is coming in with a taped up leg. Styles tries a leg takedown on Kurt which goes as well as you would expect it to go. Instead they head to the floor with AJ sliding back in for a baseball slide to send Angle into the barricade. Back in and Angle stomps away but AJ kicks at the bad knee to take him down. AJ connects with a springboard dropkick into the knee before hitting a regular one to Angle’s face.

Styles tries for a half crab but gets reversed into an ankle lock for a few moments. A big clothesline puts AJ down but Kurt can’t follow up. They slug it out until Angle hits a t-bone suplex for two. AJ comes back with a spinebuster and a Lionsault for two. Angle comes back with rolling Germans including a release on the last one. AJ rolls to the apron and Stuns Angle over the top rope, followed by a slingshot splash for two.

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.

Rating: B. Good match here but I don’t see why Angle needed to win. The guy is already in the Hall of Fame, so don’t you think he could go without winning a major match like this? AJ still looks good and the Calf Killer is a good finisher….if it had actually finished a guy with a bad leg that is. Good match with bad thinking here.

Ray talks about how a no holds barred match is his kind of match. He talks about various moves being banned, with one in particular being the piledriver. That’s what Ray plans to beat Sting with tonight because it’ll break Sting’s neck.

There isn’t much of a story here. Sting is TNA’s white knight and is trying to take the power back from Aces and 8’s.

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.

Ray fires off some clotheslines but misses a chair shot against the post. Sting whacks Ray in the spine with the chair a few times and the champ is down on the ramp. Cue Brooke Hogan in terror but Sting tells her to go to the back. Ray comes back with a low blow and more chair shots to Sting’s back, followed by a big boot to send the chair into Sting’s face. The piledriver connects for two so it’s table time. Did you expect anything else from a Dudley? A big old powerbomb through the table kills Sting dead but it’s only good for two here.

In something new, Ray gets a knife and cuts the ring apart, exposing the wood under the canvas. A piledriver onto said wood only gets two and Ray is shocked. Sting hits a quick backdrop to get himself a breather but is quickly taken down by Ray. The senton backsplash misses though and Sting hits the Death Drop onto the wood but here are the rest of the Aces for the save. Sting fights them off as they’re just the Aces and 8’s and hits Ray in the face with the chain but D-Von makes the save. Anderson throws Ray the hammer and a shot with that to the head is enough for Ray to retain at 14:27.

Rating: C+. Yeah it was a garbage brawl but that’s what Sting does best anymore. It continues to amuse me that Hogan preaches coming together to fight off Aces and 8’s but has no issue with letting Sting fight off like six guys at once. I don’t think anyone expected Sting to win here so it’s hard to complain much here. Cutting up the ring was a nice touch too.

Aces and 8’s celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was TNA’s best show in a very long time. The only bad matches are less than five minutes each and we had three new champions tonight. The ending was what was expected and while I would have liked something different, it is what it is. I had a good feeling about this show as the card looked good despite the lame build up on television. The problem now is that we have four and a half months before Bound For Glory, which means a lot of slow paced television as TNA will likely take three months off before really getting going on things.

Results

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

Jeff Hardy/Samoa Joe/Magnus b. Aces and 8’s – Swanton Bomb to Brisco

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:

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 30, 2013
Location: USF SunDome, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz, Todd Keneley

We’re finally at the go home show for Slammiversary but there are actually a few things to get through tonight. We have a six man tag between Sting and Joseph Park partners vs. Aces and 8’s, as well as finding out which “big” free agent TNA has signed. The problem with that is Dixie Carter has called many people a big signing over the years so it’s hard to take her at her word anymore. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s show with Bully saying he still loves Brooke and Styles still being neutral.

Bully is with Aces and 8’s, saying tonight is about AJ Styles. Ray leaves and Anderson lays out D’Lo Brown for not being angry enough I guess.

Here are the former Dudley Boys to open things up. On Sunday it’s Sting vs. Ray and Joseph Park vs. D-Von for the respective titles. Sting wanted no holds barred and that’s exactly what he got. Ray talks about the legends that Sting has beaten, such as Flair, Hogan and Angle. Oh and Sting beat Jeff Hardy but Ray has too. The difference is Ray took Hardy out of action like he’ll do to Sting at Slammiversary. However, Ray wants the tag match NOW.

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

It’s a big brawl to start with Sting ramming D-Von into whatever metal objects he can find. The brawling on the floor continues for about two minutes with nothing of note happening. Ray rams Joseph’s hand into the steps before climbing into the ring. Sting looks up at him and the in ring part of the match finally begins. They throw a few punches and it’s a double clothesline to put both guys down as we go to a break.

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.

Sting loads up the Scorpion on D-Von and Park tries one on Ray, only to be kicked into Sting to break the hold. Sting takes both guys down clotheslines but misses a Stinger Splash in the corner. The reverse 3D takes Sting down and the bikers load up What’s Up, but Abyss’ music hits. The distraction lets Sting hit the Scorpion Death Drop on D-Von for the pin at 13:28.

Rating: D+. This didn’t do anything for me for the most part. I do like the idea of putting two feuds into one match though as it’s a great way to free up space for later in the night. However, the match didn’t work when neither feud is anything interesting at all, which is the case here. You can barely even say that Park and D-Von are feuding as they’ve only been interacting for a few weeks. Sting vs. Ray is the filler main event of the year, which is a bad idea when you only have four PPVs a year. Not terrible here but very pedestrian.

Kurt Angle will be watching AJ’s match very carefully.

Dixie Carter comes out to say that we’ll induct a new member into the Hall of Fame on Sunday. The fans will all be cheering for Sting in the title match….but here are Aces and 8’s to disagree. Garrett says that Sunday is going to be more like a funeral but here are Joe and Magnus for the save. Joe doesn’t know who gave Garrett a chance to speak, but instead of talking let’s fight right now.

Samoa Joe vs. Garrett Bischoff

Joe pounds away and hits the corner enziguri as we go to a break. Back with Joe being tripped up by Doc, drawing in Magnus for the save…..and the DQ when Garrett goes to the floor to beat him down. The bell rang at about 5:40 but about four minutes of that was in a commercial.

Post match Joe says that it’s a six man on Sunday with Jeff Hardy making his return.

Storm says he picked Gunner because he’s a beast who has killed people for our country.

Hulk yells at Brooke about being suckered in by what Bully said. Hulk: “When he looks at you like that, it’s permission to rape your life.” Apparently Hogan is betting everything he has on Sting on Sunday, pretty much guaranteeing Sting loses.

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

Gunner and Daniels start things off with Gunner running him over with a back elbow. A backdrop puts Daniels on the floor where Kaz has a quick consultation. Back in and it’s off to Aries who is rather tentative to face Gunner. He’s so worried about it that he tags in Bobby before making any contact. All of Roode’s partners are on the floor so he has to do this on his own, which include charging into a boot to the face before it’s off to Chavo.

Hernandez gets the tag maybe ten seconds later to hit a splash before bringing Chavo right back in. Chavo hits Three Amigos but is sent to the floor very quickly to give the heels their first control. Aries comes in with a slingshot splash to Chavo before it’s off to Kaz for a chinlock. Daniels misses a splash in the corner though, allowing for the hot tag to 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.

Rating: C-. If they don’t change the titles on Sunday, just retire the things already. There’s nothing interesting about this never ending feud and it’s been boring for months. Adding Gunner and Storm to the thing just makes it more cluttered and keeps Storm from ascending up the ladder even longer. The match was ok but there’s nothing interesting here, which is the tagline for this whole feud.

AJ Styles arrives, causing Bully to go into a massive speech to the Aces. He has a job for Knux and declares war on Impact Wrestling. If there aren’t victims, any member of the team could end up like D’Lo.

Bound For Glory is in San Diego.

Here’s Mickie James to celebrate her title win. She brags about winning and thanks her fans for standing by her, but there are some people doubting the way she won the title. Mickie calls out Velvet to clear the air because they’re friends. Mickie talks about how tough Velvet is and how much she loves her for giving Mickie the shot when she wasn’t 100%. Velvet wants her rematch which Mickie is cool with, but Velvet wants the match at Slammiversary. Mickie says no because there’s already a Knockouts match at Slammiversary.

This brings out Gail to yell at Mickie, claiming that Mickie wouldn’t have won the title without Gail hurting Velvet’s knee weeks ago. Gail has been hurting anyone in her path lately because of how frustrated she’s been. She says she gets the first shot but Velvet gets in her face and says no. Gail goes after the bad leg but Taryn makes the save as Mickie stands around.

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

Taryn goes nuts on Gail to start and hits a quick neckbreaker to take her down. A high cross body takes Gail down for two before it’s off to the guys. Sabin takes King down and cranks on the arm, only to be clotheslined in the back of the head to give the X Champion (King) control. King misses a slingshot legdrop and gets caught in a spinning DDT for two but everything breaks down. Taryn spears Gail down and Sabin hits whatever his driver is called for the pin on King at 5:00.

Post match Sabin says he’ll win on Sunday but King lays him out. Suicide comes in to clear out both guys and hold up the belt.

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

We run down the Slammiversary card.

Mr. Anderson vs. AJ Styles

Anderson jumps AJ as he comes into the ring but AJ fires off some right hands to come back. Mr. runs him over but gets tripped down and hit with a quick suplex for one. AJ snaps Anderson’s neck on the top rope but keeps looking around for the bikers to run in. Anderson is sent to the floor for a baseball slide as we take a break. Back with AJ not being able to suplex Anderson back in so we head to the floor with AJ being sent into various objects.

Back in and Anderson takes it to the mat with a body scissors and arm lock. AJ fights up and takes Anderson down to shift momentum again. A knee drop gets two but Anderson comes back with the fireman’s carry roll for two. AJ loads up a superplex in the corner but here’s Kurt Angle for the DQ at 13:58.

Rating: C. This was fine but it was too late to save this show. I do like that AJ is wrestling while in this Sting from 1997 period as it keeps him fresh and crisp in the ring. The ending makes sense, but it doesn’t do much for the rest of the show. At the end of the day, it would be ok to have Anderson lose here. Not much of a match but not terrible.

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.

Overall Rating: D+. If you don’t like Aces and 8’s, do not watch this show. Literally over half of the TV time this week was dedicated to that single storyline, making for a very tiring episode. The ONLY other stories going on are the three other title matches and none of them have what I would call a strong buildup. This show has become so hard to sit through as the Aces and 8’s story continues to drag on and on. Slammiversary looks good on paper, but the main event feels like nothing but filler, which is very stupid with just four PPVs a year. This show built up the PPV well enough, but man alive stay clear if you don’t like Aces and 8’s.

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 9, 2013
Location: BancorpSouth Arena, Tupelo, Mississippi
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz, Todd Keneley

It’s another live show this week as we’re less than a month away from Slammiversary. The main event tonight is yet another tag match with Sting captaining a TNA team along with Kurt Angle and a mystery partner, which may be AJ Styles to face Aces and 8’s. In other words, almost everything is the same as it always is, which is TNA’s major problem at the moment. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week with Sting beating Matt Morgan for the title match last week and D’Lo Brown potentially being kicked off the team.

Here are Angle and Sting to open things up. Sting talks about wanting to take the heart out of Aces and 8’s by taking the title from Ray in Boston. He doesn’t want to wait another month though so tonight he’s going to war with the machine. Angle talks about making Brown scream I QUIT last week, but tonight it’s AJ Styles that can turn the tide in the war. Kurt calls out AJ and yells at him to make a decision right now.

Sting says hang on a second and talks about his time of hanging in the rafters and being the loner for awhile. He calls this place the house that AJ built and sticks out his hand to Styles. Angle takes the mic away from Sting and yells at AJ that he’s either with them or against them, so Styles walks away. Angle goes after Styles and AJ takes off the jacket. They slug it out on the ramp and the bikers sneak in and lay out Sting with a 3D.

Post break AJ has nothing to say.

Tara/Gail Kim vs. Mickie James/Velvet Sky

Mickie pounds on Gail to start as we have a very good view of Velvet from the apron. Gail interferes though and lets Tara take over, allowing Tara to put Mickie in the Tree of Woe. A baseball slide hits Mickie in the face and it’s off to Gail for a splash in the corner. Mickie comes back with a kick to the face in the corner and it’s off to Velvet. She quickly loads up In Yo Face on Tara but has to send Gail to the floor. No that it matters as In Yo Face hits Tara for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here other than the nice upskirt shots of Velvet. I’m guessing they’re moving towards Mickie taking the title and then doing the legend vs. rookie wonder in Taryn at BFG, which doesn’t do much for me, but then again very rarely does anything the Knockouts do get me interested.

Post match Gail lays out Tara and puts her in the Figure Four around the post.

Bully isn’t pleased with D’Lo and the bikers leave him standing there as they go to the ring.

Bad Influence offers Storm some beer to hopefully sway him to their side. They leave and Storm starts drinking.

Here are Aces and 8’s to hype up the main event tonight. They know the mystery partner isn’t AJ Styles because AJ has seen the light of day. However, there’s club business with D’Lo Brown. A couple of weeks ago (it was last week), Brown disappointed the team so turn in his colors right now. Brown says no so Ray gives him one more chance. Brisco and Bischoff take the vest off of him and Ray yells at him for quitting. Brown offers to beat up Magnus tonight to get the vest back. Ray says no because Doc gets to beat up Magnus instead. Apparently Brown’s spot rests on Doc winning.

Magnus vs. Doc

This is joined in progress after a break with Doc in control and knocking a jumping Magnus out of the air. After a quick chinlock, Doc kicks him in the face but Magnus starts his comeback with a big boot of his own. Some clotheslines puts Doc down and after shoving him off the top, a top rope elbow gets two for Magnus. Brown interferes but is thrown into the steps for his efforts. Back in and Doc hits a fireman’s carry into a pancake for two. Brown tries to trip Magnus but grabs the wrong foot, allowing Magnus to get a quick rollup on Doc for the pin at 4:12 shown.

Rating: D+. The ending was kind of obvious, but if this cuts some of the lame fat from the bikers I’m all for it. So many of their lower level guys are just worthless and Brown might be the most worthless of them all. This doesn’t exactly make the bikers look strong though, but that’s WAY past helping at this point.

Post break Ray wants to CRUSH BROWN’S SKULL WITH A HAMMER. Instead of murdering him, Ray calms down and makes him a prospect instead.

Hogan wants to team up with Angle and Sting but his doctors told him no. Hogan got a phone call today and if the guy is who he says he is, but apparently they would save the six man. Sting isn’t sure and suggests Magnus.

Aries and Roode also offer Storm beer.

Bad Influence vs. Bobby Roode/Austin Aries

James Storm is guest referee and the winners get a tag title shot. Aries starts with Kaz and they spin around a lot with Aries taking over and relaxing on the top rope. Both guys try to rake the others eyes and both try the clap tag to trick Storm, but James looks at both and shrugs. Regular tags bring in Roode and Daniels and they shake hands before both kick the other in the ribs at the same time.

Roode takes Daniels down in the corner with a neckbreaker and it’s off to Aries for a middle rope elbow into the back of a seated Daniels. It only gets one since Storm is distracted so it’s time for some HARD chops in the corner from Aries. Daniels is sent to the floor for an ax handle from Aries. Off to Roode and Bad Influence finally double teams to take over. An elbow drop to Roode’s back gets two and Roode is in trouble. Tazz suggests putting a bowl of beer down on the mat to make Storm get down faster.

Roode throws Kaz into Daniels and finally makes the hot tag off to Aries. It’s elbow strikes all around but Daniels escapes the brainbuster. Aries throws him onto Kaz on the floor though and takes both guys out with a suicide dive. Back in and Austin goes up for a frog splash (complete with Eddie dance) for two. Bad Influence hits a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo on Aries for two before Kaz has Fade to Black countered by Roode.

A spinebuster puts Kaz down but an STO puts Roode down as well. Aries suplexes Daniels down but Austin charges into a boot in the corner. Angel’s Wings are countered but the brainbuster is countered as well. Daniels rolls up Aries but Storm won’t count because Daniels is pulling the tights. Aries loads up a swig of beer and sprays it in Daniels’ face. Storm drinks the rest of the beer but gets shoved by Aries.

Storm loads up the Last Call but hits Daniels by mistake. He won’t count the three though because that’s not right. Instead it’s a Last Call on Aries and both guys are out. Storm walks away and the match seemingly just ends at 11:20. My guess is this sets up a triple threat tag because we haven’t had one of those in awhile.

Rating: C+. Good match here with a stupid ending to set up yet another triple threat. I mean, we haven’t had one in like two weeks, so clearly it’s time for another one right? The tag division continues to be nothing of note from a storyline perspective but the matches are at least entertaining.

Aces and 8’s destroy Magnus in the back. What is that, the third time that’s happened?

Suicide is back soon.

Video on Chris Sabin returning last week.

Here’s Kenny King to remind us he’s still around. King brags about being awesome and how impressive it is that he has to beat two people every single week. More like every month but whatever. He calls out Chris Sabin as someone who has overcome the odds so here’s Chris to a big ovation. Chris talks about being in physical therapy for the last year but how it’s been worth it. King hands him the belt and says that’s as close as “Frail” Sabin will ever get to being champion. Chris pops him in the face and King leaves.

Storm is out cold in the back with the four guys from the tag title match standing over him.

The Bound For Glory Series is back and this year a Gut Check winner will be in the Series. There’s a four man tournament next week with the winner getting into the Series for a shot at the world title at BFG.

Ray tells Aces and 8’s that they’re weeding out the weak ones. Knux is tasked with making sure D’Lo keeps the beer cold and the bikes washed.

Angle leaves without a partner. Hogan gets another call and the mystery partner might be here.

Kurt Angle/Sting/??? vs. Aces and 8’s

It’s Ray/D-Von/Anderson here. Angle and Sting are on their own to start. Kurt and D-Von get things going here with the fans completely behind Angle. A quick belly to belly puts D-Von down but it’s off to the world champion for some hard elbows to the back of Kurt’s neck. Kurt grabs ray’s arm but it’s quickly off to Sting, sending Ray running into the corner. Anderson gets the tag but he walks into a dropkick and atomic drop before it’s back to Angle.

Kurt beats on Anderson a bit before it’s back to D-Von who takes Kurt down for a quick two count. Angle slugs him in the face but the numbers came catches up with him again. The Dudleys hit a reverse 3D on Angle before knocking Sting off the apron. Something is apparently going on in the back and it’s the rest of Aces and 8’s all laid out. We take a break and come back with Ray hitting a good dropkick (Tazz: “LIKE MIL MASCARAS!”) for two on Kurt.

D-Von comes back in to crank on Angle’s neck for a bit before slamming him down and dropping a leg for no cover. WE get the Hogan imitations of course and it’s back to Ray for more pounding on Kurt. Angle snaps off an Angle Slam on Ray out of nowhere and it’s hot tag to Sting. The Splash and Death Drop get two on D-Von as Anderson makes the save. There’s another splash on D-Von but now Ray makes the save.

Sting basically Hulks Up and gets in Ray’s face and they slug it out. There’s the Scorpion on Ray but Anderson makes the save. Sting is taken to the floor as the Dudleys load up a table, but here’s ABYSS to return and clean house. He chokeslams Anderson through the table (not a DQ) and hits the Black Hole Slam on D-Von for the pin at 18:27.

Rating: C+. Good main event here with a nice surprise too. This doesn’t exactly change much because if I had to make a bet, I’d be on the side that says Abyss is hot for a few weeks and then goes back to doing nothing of note for months like everyone else on the roster. Still though, a good surprise here and it had to happen sooner or later.

Overall Rating: C+. FAR more entertaining show tonight with a lot less annoying stuff to sit through. The main event was fine and the surprise wasn’t bad, but at the end of the day it still leads to a pretty lame PPV main event in a few weeks. Ray vs. Sting does nothing for anyone but it’s Sting so we have to give him at least one PPV title shot a year just because we have to. There was some good stuff here tonight and the show was light years easier to sit through than last week, which is a very good sign.

Results

Mickie James/Velvet Sky b. Tara/Gail Kim – In Yo Face to Tara

Magnus b. Doc – Rollup

Austin Aries/Bobby Roode vs. Bad Influence went to a no contest

Kurt Angle/Sting/Abyss b. Aces and 8’s – Black Hole Slam to D-Von

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of the WWE Championship from Amazon for just $5 at:

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 18, 2013
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Todd Keneley, Taz, Mike Tenay

We’re getting closer to Slammiversary now but the main question is who challenges Bully Ray next? He’s already taken out Hardy and beaten him again in a rematch, so the next opponent isn’t clear yet. As for tonight, we’ve got AJ Styles vs. James Storm in what would be AJ’s first match in about six months. It should be interesting to see what he’s capable of at the moment. Let’s get to it.

We open with a nice graphic about praying for the Boston bombings.

We get the usual recap to open things up.

Last week after Impact went off the air, Aces and 8’s attacked Hardy with the hammer and he was taken away in an ambulance.

D-Von gives Bischoff and Garrett a pep talk for their handicap match with Angle tonight.

Garrett Bischoff/Wes Brisco vs. Kurt Angle

We get a quick video package on Bischoff and Brisco being mentored by Angle before turning on him to join the bikers. Brisco starts things off with Kurt easily throwing him around. Angle rams him into a buckle and then throws Wes off to Bischoff for a tag. Kurt easily throws Bischoff around and even tosses Wes to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Angle getting punched down by Bischoff before it’s off to Brisco for a chinlock. Angle suplexes out of it and it’s time to unleash the rest of the suplexes. Both bikers get a few Germans including one to both of them at the same time. That was awesome. Ankle lock to Brisco but here are the other Aces and 8’s to distract the referee and throw Bischoff a chain. One shot with that and Angle is done at 11:03.

Rating: D+. Dull stuff here with Angle having to slow himself WAY down to let the other two keep up with him. Brisco isn’t bad and Bischoff is improving, but that’s not really saying much when you consider how far down he was to start things off. At least they’re winning matches now though.

Post match Bischoff and Brisco hit a double powerbomb on Angle. Anderson says they’re taking over tonight and wishes AJ luck in his match.

Zema Ion and Petey Williams talk about the threeway tonight.

X-Division Title: Kenny King vs. Zema Ion vs. Petey Williams

Ion is knocked to the floor very quickly and apparently the referee now has a camera on his head. King kicks Ion down but gets caught in a quick Canadian Destroyer for two. Ion gets two of his own and the challengers get in an argument. Williams hits a middle rope rana for two but Ion comes back with some shots of his own. King is still down on the floor.

Zema puts on a half crab for a bit until Petey makes a rope. The Destroyer is broken up but Williams dives on King. Petey hits a release german suplex on Ion and a slingshot rana on King. After Ion gets in some generic high flying offense, Petey locks him in the Sharpshooter until King makes the save and steals a pin on Ion to retain at 5:47.

Rating: D. This match exists and I can’t think of much else to say about it. Seriously that’s it. It wasn’t anything exciting, it was nothing we haven’t seen before, there’s no reason to care about any of this match because there’s no issue between any of these guys, and the title is worthless. Nothing to see here at all.

Magnus says he’ll win the TV Title tonight.

The Knockouts are getting their own website.

Brooke Hogan wishes Mickie and Tessmacher luck. Tessmacher tells Brooke she’s here if Brooke needs anything.

TV Title: D-Von vs. Magnus

Knux and Doc jump Magnus on the steps until D-Von comes up to make it 3-1. The big guys give Magnus a double chokeslam but Joe comes out to make the save. No match.

Joe says that he’s getting the title shot against D-Von tonight instead.

We recap the AJ story with him walking out oon TNA and now being offered a spot in both factions.

Video on Velvet Sky’s knee injury.

Mickie James vs. Miss Tessmacher

Winner gets a title match against Velvet. ODB is guest referee again. They go back and forth for a bit with nothing of note going on until things get heated fast. ODB says cool it so Tessmacher grabs a quick rollup for two. Mickie puts on an armbar but Tessmacher is in the ropes. They head to the floor and ODB breaks up another brawl before they go inside again.

Tessmacher pounds away and hits a kind of X Factor out of the corner before giving Mickie a Stink Face. Mickie comes back with a flapjack and the Thesz Press off the top for two. They clothesline each other because this match hasn’t gone on long enough yet. They start slugging it out….and we get a short highlight package of big moves in the match so far. Mickie gets a rollup out of nowhere for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: D+. Business as usual for the Knockouts: two interchangeable chicks have a match for a title shot, then the title shot happens and that’s it. As usual, no story, the match was just ok, and there was nothing memorable about it at all. There is no focus on ANYTHING in the midcard at all and it’s getting really old.

D-Von harasses Joseph Park in the back until Bully jumps Park. Joseph gets choked by a chain and thrown into a shower.

Mickie says it’s time for her to be back.

Here’s Bad Influence for their sales pitch to AJ. Apparently the Bad Influence movie is in production and Morgan Freeman is in talks to play Dixie Carter. However, the important thing is that AJ is about to rejoin the band and they even have a shirt for him. First up though, they want the tag titles back and ask if the champions have the huevos to give them a shot.

Cue Aries and Roode for an interruption. Roode says he and Aries should get the title shot first. Daniels says that would work if Roode wasn’t Canadian because his opinion is only worth 75% of an American’s. Aries makes gay references and the insults start flying too fast to type. Chavo and Hernandez come in and Bad Influence bails. Aries and Roode turn around and get laid out by the champions.

We look at Hardy being injured again and hear from various wrestlers saying they have to unite against the bikers.

Recap of Aces and 8s’ carnage tonight.

Matt Morgan thinks it’s interesting that all this stuff with Aces and 8’s is going on when Hogan isn’t here. He lists off all of Hogan’s mistakes so far.

TV Title: D-Von vs. Samoa Joe

D-Von jumps Joe to start and chokes away with the towel. Joe fires back and pounds D-Von down into the corner as he’s all fired up here. D-Von gets in a shot of his own and starts choking away on the ropes followed by some choking in the corner for good measure. Off to a chinlock but Joe fights up and hits a quick enziguri. He loads up the MuscleBuster but here are Aces and 8’s for a distraction. Anderson hits Joe with a chain and D-Von gets the pin at 3:37.

Rating: D. What in the world are you expecting here? The match was like three and a half minutes long and had a run-in ending. D-Von is beyond worthless at this point but hey, he used to be part of a big time team so he must be worth something right? Nothing to see here for the most part, much like the rest of the matches tonight.

Post match Anderson hits Joe in the face with the knuckles again, seemingly injuring him in the process.

James Storm vs. AJ Styles

AJ turns around to leave but Storm follows him up the ramp and beats him up. A suplex is blocked as is the Eye of the Storm. They trade right hands with Storm knocking Styles back into the ring for the opening bell. Storm pounds away but Styles kicks him down as we take a break. Back with AJ suplexing Storm and putting on a chinlock to slow things down a bit. Storm fights up and hits a kind of TKO for two but gets crotched when trying a superplex. AJ hits a Tree of Woe dropkick for two and here’s Bad Influence to cheer Styles on.

Closing Time hits AJ and a Cactus Clothesline sends them both to the floor. Back in and Storm hits another Closing Time but the Last Call is caught and AJ hooks a rolling let lock for the tap out at 10:54. It looked like a cross between an Indian Deathlock and a half crab. How rare is it to see Storm tap out?

Rating: B-. AJ looked good here which is a good sign given how long he’s been out of the ring for. He looked very crisp and in good shape so at least we don’t have to worry about ring rust. That leg lock wasn’t bad and AJ mostly wrestled heel here, which is fine for a change. Good first step back for Styles.

Post match AJ lays out Bad Influence and leaves the ring for Aces and 8’s to destroy everyone in sight. Ray says that they’re responsible for destroying all of the fans’ heroes like Hardy and Storm. He then contradicts himself by saying it’s all Hogan’s fault. Next week Ray is going to call Hogan out.

Overall Rating: D+. Oh sweet merciful goodness the midcard was on display here and SWEET MERCIFUL GOODNESS was it awful. There are no stories to these matches and the only story going on, which is the Bikers attacking various midcarders, has literally been done before with the same exact people. It’s very clear that the main event is the only thing with any development at all and it’s really dull otherwise. Bad show tonight to say the least.

Results

Wes Brisco/Garrett Bischoff b. Kurt Angle – Bischoff hit Angle with a chain

Kenny King b. Zema Ion and Petey Williams – King pinned Ion after a Sharpshooter from Williams

Mickie James b. Velvet Sky – Rollup

D-Von b. Samoa Joe – D-Von pinned Joe after Anderson hit him with brass knuckles

AJ Styles b. James Storm – Leg Lock

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the WWE Championship from Amazon for just $5 at:

This could make for an interesting debate.In short, which means more: the time of Bubba Ray or the time as Bully Ray?  By that, I mean what means more: the TNA world title or all the tag titles and success he had with his brother?  Does beating Jeff Hardy mean more than all the TLC matches and ladder matches and main event spots as a tag wrestler that Bubba had?

For me it’s Bubba.  At the end of the day, Ray still hasn’t accomplished much on his own.  Yes he’s world champion, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be a success as one, not with those nitwit bikers working for him.  He and D-Von own the record for most tag titles by so much that it’s unthinkable.  They main evented PPVs, they stole a lot of shows, and they were some of the biggest stars in ECW.  That trumps being champion of a glorified regional promotion.

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 1, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash, Todd Kennely

It’s Open Fight Night and the two fights announced so far are Bully Ray vs. D-Von and ODB calling out Jesse Godderz because for some reason TNA thinks we care about him. Other than that we’ve got one more show after this before Turning Point and a few more matches being announced would be nice. Also Angle got beaten down last week so we’ll probably hear something about that. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Joseph Park to open things up. He talks about how he was attacked and had his rights violated by Aces and 8’s and because of that, he wants a match with Aces and 8’s. Since he’s not allowed to do that though, he has to use Open Fight Night. He challenges any member but gets four instead. Angle and Sting make the saves and Sting promises to take a mask off someone in Aces and 8’s tonight.

Jesse is annoyed at having to fight ODB tonight but Tara says she has his back. Jesse makes her sterilize him. This guy is still annoying.

Magnus calls out Joe for a TV Title match. So do champions automatically have to defend their titles? If so, the entire roster is rather stupid. Magnus says Joe is the Howard Stern of wrestling: he has a radio face and isn’t the image we want.

TV Title: Magnus vs. Samoa Joe

Joe comes straight to the ring and beats Magnus down in the corner. I’m assuming this is for the title but I’m not sure. Magnus gets a boot up in the corner but charges into an atomic drop. Joe kicks him down and hits the backsplash for two. A jumping knee to the face puts Joe down and it’s off to a quick chinlock which Joe fights out of without much difficulty. Magnus charges into a Rock Bottom out of the corner to send him out to the floor. Joe rams Magnus’ back into the post but Magnus pulls something from underneath the ring. It’s a wrench and Magnus hits Joe in the head with it for the DQ at 3:44.

Rating: D. What was the point of this again? Magnus gets the match he wants and cheats to lose it? I’m not sure what they’re going for here as Magnus has potential but he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere at all with this feud. Joe beat him clean at BFG, so why is this feud still going?

Angle wants D-Von tonight but Hogan says he has to wait until Turning Point. Angle has Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco to help in the fight tonight, so I’m guessing they’re ready to be revealed as members.

Post break Joe rants about wanting to fight Magnus with No DQ.

We recap Aries attacking Hardy after the title defense against Angle and stealing the belt.

Hardy is putting his paint on and we get those inner thoughts of his again.

Here are Daniels and Kaz with something to say. Kaz says that the real masked men around here are Hernandez and Chavo. Apparently what he and Daniels said last week has offended some people, so tonight they’re calling out the Spanish announcers Hector Guerrero and Willie Urbina.

Christopher Daniels/Kazarian vs. Willie Urbina/Hector Guerrero

Post break the announcers are still getting into the ring as the younger guys are making fun of them with very basic Spanish. Daniels shoves Willie so Hector punches him down, but Hector is quickly in trouble. The tag champs finally make the save and there’s no match of course.

We get the Christian York Gut Check video from last week.

ODB wants Eric here and wants her fried chicken. For the love of goodness GET ANOTHER JOKE.

Gut Check; Christian York vs. Zema Ion

York throws Ion’s hairspray away and things start fast. York works on the arm for a bit and flips out of the corner. To say York is more polished than the rest of the Gut Check guys so far is a huge understatement. With Ion down in the corner, York hits a rolling flip attack to put Ion in even more trouble. York goes up but Ion rolls to the apron and comes back in with a tornado DDT. A middle rope moonsault hits York’s knees and York hits Eve Torres’ rolling neckbreaker for two and we head to the floor. As they come back in, Ion kicks the ropes into York’s balls and hooks that arm hold (Submission Impossible) for the win at 4:20.

Rating: C-. York looked solid here and I have zero idea at all why Ion won this match. I mean….IT’S ZEMA ION. Do you REALLY need to protect a guy like this? York looked more than good enough to get a contract, especially after some of the people that have gotten one through this concept. It still doesn’t mean anything if they’re never on TV afterwards though.

Aries goes to see the Rob’s about something.

Garrett Bischoff says he’s got Ray’s back tonight. Someone comes up and says Aces and 8’s is outside right now. Ray and Bischoff find find Sting and Angle and see five members of the team not including D-Von. D-Von shows up and gets Bully to chase him. Aces and 8’s run off. Oh and Wes Brisco was there helping Sting and company but I didn’t see him at first.

Here’s ODB to call out Jessie Godderz because someone thinks that wrestling fans want to see some Big Brother alumnus. ODB makes fun of Jesse before calling him out

ODB vs. Jessie Godderz

This is your first hour main event for some reason. ODB chops Godderz to start until Jessie shoves her down and we get a lot of posing. ODB comes back with a bad wheelbarrow slam and does the face into the crotch stuff in the corner. A middle rope Thesz Press misses and Jessie slams ODB down. ODB spanks Jessie a bit and GOOD GRIEF END THIS ALREADY! Tara’s distraction lets Jessie pin ODB with a handful of I guess tights at about 4:00 (forgot to time it).

Rating: R. As in reality stars suck. Miz took forever to get going before he got good and I have no idea why someone thought this was a good idea. Terrible match and the ODB character has LONG lived out its usefulness now. Just end the Knockouts Tag Titles already and get rid of ODB while they’re at it.

Taz isn’t here tonight because of Hurricane Sandy so Tenay and JB do the second hour.

Here are the Rob’s and the smaller one is calling out Jeff Hardy as per Aries’ request.

Jeff Hardy vs. Robbie E

As expected, Hardy takes over quickly to start and hits a middle rope legdrop. We head to the floor where Hardy sends him into the steps and hits Poetry in Motion off the same steps to take Robbie down. We take a break and come back with Robbie in control off stuff that isn’t important enough to show us. Jeff comes back but can’t hit the Twist, allowing Robbie to hit the Twist for two. The second attempt at the Twist hits and it’s the Swanton for the pin at 4:15 shown of 7:45.

Rating: D. Of all the people Hardy could pick, he picks ROBBIE E to beat up Hardy? Why not like, I don’t know, THE BIG STRONG GUY THAT HANGS OUT WITH ROBBIE E??? Nothing match here as Hardy didn’t really have to break a sweat to beat Robbie. It was the world champion against a jobber to the stars. What were you expecting here?

Post match Aries comes out and says the difference between them is three seconds. Aries says he’s climbed the ladder of success in the time he’s been here. Hardy says let’s do it this way and pulls out a ladder. Aries: “You going to put some new shingles on a roof?” Austin says no to the ladder match and leaves.

We get a video of Hogan’s Beach Shop opening when Matt Morgan showed up and wanted an explanation of why he hasn’t gotten a chance at the top. Morgan takes one of Hogan’s old ropes which is apparently like 30 years old. He says he’ll make history with it.

Storm tells Hogan he’s ready for the world title. Hogan says he might have an idea for Storm. This is unlike last week when Hogan DID have an idea for him.

Here’s Bobby Roode, presumably with another challenge. Actually he says he’s here with a fact: he’s getting screwed once again. Roode says that he got screwed last week when he wasn’t included in the four guys who could have gotten a shot. This brings out AJ Styles who talks about how Roode got the longest world title reign ever while AJ had personal issues to deal with. AJ: “I got accused of something because I was in an elevator with a female, WHICH SEEMS TO BE THE NEW NORM IN WRESTLING IF YOUR NAME IS AJ!” BURN on WWE!

The brawl starts with no referee but here are Hogan and Storm. Hulk makes a three way at Turning Point with Roode, Storm and AJ and says the winner gets a shot, but the loser CAN’T get a shot until next Bound For Glory.

We run down the Turning Point card.

Here are Morgan and Ryan with Morgan talking about how he’s doing this to get Hogan’s attention. He’s also wearing the robe that he stole from Hogan’s shop. Morgan says he’s going to go through the whole roster until he owns the world title. Ryan says he usual avoids VD’s, but tonight he wants RVD so he can show us that the X Title can be X-Rated.

Joey Ryan vs. Rob Van Dam

Joey jumps him to start but Rob fights back with shoulders in the corner. Van Dam takes him down but Morgan pulls Ryan out of the way and Joey grabs a side roll and trunks for the pin a 1:37. The announcers and Tenay sounded surprised that happened so maybe it wasn’t as planned.

Morgan kicks RVD’s head off post match.

Here’s Ray for the callout of D-Von. First though he shouts out to the people in NYC who have been hurt by Hurricane Sandy. Nothing wrong with that. He wants D-Von RIGHT NOW and here we go.

D-Von vs. Bully Ray

We’ve only got about five minutes left so this won’t be much. D-Von immediately heads to the floor so Ray grabs a table. There’s been no bell yet unless I missed it. D-Von keeps up the stalling and here come the troops, including the one that looks to be Wes Brisco. Ray grabs his chain to fend them off but there are like eight guys not counting D-Von. A big army of guys come from the back to help in the fight but it’s quickly down to just Bully and D-Von.

Ray punches him down and the fans want the table. A big guy breaks up a powerbomb attempt by Ray but Joseph Park of all people comes in to face off with the big guy. Park gets punched in the ribs and the big guy pounds him down. Park comes back and gets the mask to reveal….Luke Gallows. Gallows chokeslams Park through the table to end the show. Naturally we don’t hear Gallows’ name because that’s copyrighted by WWE.

Overall Rating: D. This show didn’t do it for me at all. Look at the matches on here along with some of the segments and tell me what was good on this show. I like the three way they announced with the loser stipulation, but other than that I’m not sure what I’m supposed to care about on this episode. Just dull all around, like almost all wrestling is anymore at this point. Open Fight Night is totally worthless as a concept as it’s just not needed to make the matches we’re getting.

Results

Samoa Joe b. Magnus via DQ when Magnus hit Joe with a wrench

Zema Ion b. Christian York – Submission Impossible

Jeff Hardy b. Robbie E – Swanton

Joey Ryan b. Rob Van Dam – Side Roll

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