Impact Wrestling
Date: August 1, 2013
Location: Kay Yeager Coliseum, Wichita, Texas
Commentators: Jeremy Borash, Mike Tenay

It’s another live show tonight with two major stories. First of all we have champion vs. champion with Chris Sabin facing Manik in a non-title match. TNA is still in their annual “We love the X-Division! Seriously we do!” stage so Manik is still a focal point for awhile. The other big news tonight is the reveal of the August 1 mystery man who was announced about five days ago. That’s TNA for you: announce something after the TV show and rely on Twitter and Facebook to carry the story instead of, you know, your national television broadcast. Let’s get to it.

Security won’t let Taz in the arena so he’s making a phone call.

After the recap we get another video from the mystery man. He says he’ll inflict pain and we won’t know how. It’s going to shock us and we’ve been warned.

Here’s Austin Aries to open the show. He’s cut off by an appreciative chant from the crowd. Aries talks about how a lot of stuff is going on in TNA but it all revolves around the World Heavyweight Championship……and my screen froze. It comes back with Aries talking about winning the BFG Series and coming for Sabin’s title. Tonight the people get a treat (video goes out for a second) that they voted for: AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries. And now it’s frozen again.

Back with him listing off everyone in the company who wants to see that match. Aries says he’ll be leading Impact Wrestling into the future and if anyone takes issue with that, come see him right here. This brings out Bobby Roode who wants to talk about nightmares. He’s been living a nightmare since the day he lost the world title. It’s been a bad year for Bobby Roode because everyone has forgotten what he’s capable of doing in this ring. Bobby lists off his catchphrases and says tonight it pays to be Roode. Aries wants Roode to get his mojo back so he can beat him in the BFG Series finals.

Bound For Glory Series: Hernandez vs. Bobby Roode

Roode jumps Hernandez on the ramp and we take a quick break before the bell. Back from a break with Roode elbowing Hernandez down for two and the spinebuster gets the same. Roode sends him into the steps before going back inside for another near fall. A running clothesline puts Hernandez down in the corner but he backflips to the top for a missed top rope splash.

Roode hooks the Crossface but Hernandez pulls himself up and suplexes Roode down to escape. SuperMex throws Roode off and hits the shoulder block from the ramp. Roode escapes the Border Toss and lands on the referee, allowing for a low blow on Hernandez. That’s only good for two and Roode throws in some chairs which are thrown out pretty quickly. Roode uses the distraction to smash Hernandez in the head with a beer bottle for the pin at 5:48 shown.

Rating: D+. This didn’t do much for me but Roode’s story continues to be interesting. It would be nice to see a crazy do anything to win heel and it would give Roode some character for a change. The match wasn’t much to see though as Hernandez continues to be nothing special outside of a few moves.

The Mafia says they’re going to give Aces and 8’s an offer they can’t refuse.

ODB is back in the ring tonight but Eric Young can’t be there. He finds Joseph Park and explains the idea of Park losing his mind when he bleeds. Eric has a solution in a bag for him.

Sabin goes in to see Manik who has his mask off and his back to the camera. Manik says he’s turned the mask into the face of the division which is something Sabin can respect. Sabin wants him to bring his best tonight and Manik says absolutely.

A white Hummer arrives.

Bound For Glory Series: Jay Bradley vs. Joseph Park

Park is going to be wrestling in headgear like an amateur boxer. Bradley jumps him from behind but ramming him into the buckle has no effect. An elbow to the jaw puts Park down and a knee drop gets two as Eric Young plays cheerleader. Bradley takes him down again and wants to take the headgear off but Park comes back and knocks Bradley down a few times.

Park blocks a kick and puts on a Boston crab of all things but Jay makes the ropes. Park runs into another kick in the corner and a bad looking backbreaker puts him down again. Now the headgear is off but the Boomstick is countered into a Samoan drop to give Park seven points at 5:24.

Rating: D-. Well the headgear did nothing, the match was sloppy, and it gets Eric Young back on TV. What exactly was good about this match again? Park is fine in his role but it’s kind of hit a roadblock unless they’re going to go with the lawyer character full time, which seems to be the case.

Sting goes a little psycho about Bully Ray not being champion. They’re only halfway home though and someone might have to make a sacrifice to get rid of Aces and 8’s. Rampage wants to fight.

Manik vs. Chris Sabin

Non-title all around. Sabin takes him down to the mat in a test of strength grip and they flip around the ring a bit without breaking the hold. A headscissors sends Sabin into a cartwheel and we have a standoff. Back with Manik spinning Sabin around and driving him down into a quickly broken armbar. Sabin takes it to the floor and drops Manik face first onto the apron before going back inside.

Back in and Sabin drops him with a suplex and puts on a chinlock. Sabin’s surfboard is quickly broken and Manik snaps off a hurricanrana and a springboard kick to the side of the head. A springboard missile dropkick gets two and a sitout powerbomb gets the same. The masked man goes up and gets crotched followed by a delayed superplex from the world champion for two. They slug it out with Manik taking over but getting caught by a boot to the face. Hail Sabin is countered but Sabin gets an ugly rollup for two. A low superkick staggers Manik and Hail Sabin is good for the pin at 11:56.

Rating: C. This had some decent action but it felt like any given champion vs. champion match in the WWE. Thankfully that’s not something that’s been driven into the ground here in TNA but the match didn’t mean much given that they’ve had their titles for less than a month combined. Sabin still doesn’t feel like a world champion.

Post match here’s Bully Ray to beat up Sabin but as he turns his attention to Manik, Sabin comes back and beats Bully Ray out of the ring.

We look at the Hummer again but Taz comes into the camera shot and says he’s going to reveal August 1. He opens the door and says you’ve got to be kidding me in a sarcastic voice. The camera looks in to show another August 1 video.

Daniels and Kaz think it’s ridiculous for them to have a match in the BFG Series next week. Daniels mentions that Kaz is 0-3 and Kaz gets annoyed, saying don’t pity him and pouring out the appletini.

ODB vs. Gail Kim

ODB chases her around to start and splashes her against the ropes on the ramp. She puts Gail on the ropes for some Sheamus forearms to the chest for two. Gail avoids a charge in the corner and chokes away with a boot. A running dropkick gets two and the running cross body in the corner gets the same on ODB. Gail misses another charge in the corner and ODB hits some shoulder blocks to set up the fallaway slam. A powerslam gets two on Kim but she tries the figure four around the post. ODB sends her face first into the post to escape but Gail sends her into the steps and it’s a double countout at 6:14.

Rating: D. There are six minutes of my life I’ll never get back. ODB not being in the ring was kind of nice because I had forgotten how worthless she was. With such a small division they have to build up a single feud at a time and that’s not enough to sustain much of anything. I’m sure we’ll get a Hardcore Justice match out of this.

They brawl a lot after the bell.

AJ Styles says he’s tired of hearing about dream matches because there’s no room for dreams in this world, just like heroes.

Bully Ray rants to the Aces about taking care of the Mafia. Ray goes to leave and finds Brooke waiting on him. She messes with his vest and flicks his hat. Brooke has heard some things about the contract for the rematch with Sabin and if Ray wants to be happy, he needs to divorce her. Ok then.

Bound For Glory Series: Austin Aries vs. AJ Styles

Feeling out process to start with AJ grabbing a headlock before they botch a leapfrog spot by colliding. Aries bails to the floor to reset a bit before coming back in and escaping a wristlock. AJ can’t hook the Calf Killer as Aries counters into a rollup for two. Styles misses a baseball slide to the floor and Austin hits a top rope ax handle to take over. Aries goes up top but gets dropkicked back out to the floor and AJ hits a sweet slingshot dive as we take a break.

Back with AJ dropping a knee for two and sending Aries to the floor in a painful looking fall. Back in and Styles cranks on the head but Aries gets an elbow up in the corner to stop AJ’s momentum. A backslide gets two for Aries but AJ backdrops him to the apron. Austin hits a neckbreaker onto the middle rope to take over again and follows up with the corner dropkick.

AJ blocks a suplex and lands on top but Aries pounds away. A neckbreaker out of the corner gets two for AJ but the springboard 450 only hits canvas. Aries hooks the Last Chancery but Styles rakes the face to escape. There’s the Calf Killer but Aries goes to the eyes to escape as well. The brainbuster connects but AJ actually kicks out at two. Aries’ 450 hits knees and both guys are down.

They head to the ramp with Aries loading up a brainbuster but having AJ escape into a Styles Clash attempt. Aries backdrops him to the floor but misses a suicide dive. They tease the countout but get back in to slug it out yet again. Aries snaps off a quick suplex but AJ hits the Pele and collapses. Aries falls on top of him for the pin at 17:48.

Rating: B. Other than the clock going longer than it was supposed to and the badly screwed up ending (Aries was supposed to pop a shoulder up at the end but he was barely covered), this was an excellent match. They were letting it all hang out in there and the match looked great as a result. AJ’s character of “I’ll be awesome for money and money alone” is starting to click and Aries is getting more and more face like every day. Good stuff here.

Here’s the Mafia to make their offer to Aces and 8’s. Before they say anything here are the Aces to say they can fight just as dirty as the Mafia. Angle offers a five on five match at Hardcore Justice with the losing wrestler leaving TNA forever. That’s not a negotiation and the fight is on. The Mafia clears the ring with ease and Anderson says the match is on.

The lights go out and here’s MMA fighter Tito Ortiz as the big reveal to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked tonight’s show for the most part although there were some flaws. To begin with we had the reveal which doesn’t work for me as I don’t care for MMA for the most part, but if TNA would rather co-promote instead of build up their wrestlers who can barely get TV time so be it. Aries vs. Styles was great and the offer to the Aces was a fine idea. Good show here, flaws aside.

Results

Bobby Roode b. Hernandez – Beer bottle to the head

Joseph Park b. Jay Bradley – Samoan Drop

Chris Sabin b. Manik – Hail Sabin

ODB vs. Gail Kim went to a double countout

Austin Aries b. AJ Styles – Aries fell on Styles after a Pele Kick

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 25, 2013
Location: Broadbent Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash

We’re still in Louisville and the main question tonight is where do we go from here. We’ve got Chris Sabin as the new world champion and we’ve got Bully Ray along with Aces and 8’s who are in a state of panic now. Other than that we have the Ultimate X match for the vacant X Division Title. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week with less of a focus on the world title than you would expect.

Here’s the Main Event Mafia to open things up. Sting calls last week the best night he’s ever had in wrestling because he got to see Ray lose the title. Angle says they’re here for a celebration instead of a fight, because they’ve accomplished one of their two goals. Angle introduces the new world champion who says he now has what everyone wants. Tonight there’s going to be an Ultimate X match for the vacant X Division Title and Sabin wants to face the winner next week.

This brings out Bully Ray with a man in a suit. Ray says this is his attorney and if Sabin doesn’t return the title to Bully Ray, the attorney is going to take TNA down. The attorney is played by OVW TV commentator Dean Hill. Sabin has until the end of the show to return the title to Bully or else.

Video on Greg Marisculo.

Hulk won’t comment on the threat of a lawsuit.

Video on Manik with his mask off.

X-Division Title: Manik vs. Greg Marasciulo vs. Sonjay Dutt

This is Ultimate X where you have to pull down the title to win. Manik backdrops Greg to the ramp and hits a quick dive to take him out but Sonjay takes Manik down a second later. Everyone heads to the floor and Manik is slammed onto the ramp but Greg has to go back in to stop Sonjay from climbing. Sonjay hits a combination Downward Spiral/DDT on both guys but can’t climb up because Manik is waiting on him. Greg takes both guys down but also has to take Manik down, allowing Manik to springboard into a wrist drag/headscissors combo to take everyone down.

Back from a break with Greg hitting the over the back piledriver on Manik on the ramp to knock him out, but possibly injuring his own knee in the process. Greg goes for the belt but Sonjay comes back in to make the save. They slug it out and kick each other in the face to put both guys down.

The referees are checking on Manik who is just starting to stir. Greg and Sonjay climb the structure and crawl on top to slug it out even more. They trade suplex attempts up there and Greg slips through so that his feet are on the wire. Manik uses the opportunity to go for the belt. Greg can’t make the save and Manik wins the title at 14:03.

Rating: C. Well that happened. Seriously that’s about all I’ve got to say here. Manik is a guy we’ve been introduced to in the last few weeks and now we’re supposed to get behind him as champion. The match was nothing special without any major high spots other than the tease on top of the structure. Not much to see here.

Ray (with a BIG bandage on his head) tells Anderson to go win the BFG Series.

Bound For Glory Series: Hernandez vs. Mr. Anderson

Anderson can’t run Hernandez over so he punches SuperMex in the head. A big shoulder puts Anderson down and a suplex gets two for Hernandez. Anderson comes back by slamming Hernandez off the top and works the arm a bit. Hernandez is sent to the apron but catches Anderson with a slingshot shoulder to take over again. A corner splash sets up the over the shoulder backbreaker for two but the ramp running dive misses, allowing Anderson to hit the Mic Check for the pin at 5:00.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but Anderson getting the clean win was the right call. Hernandez isn’t winning the Series and is just there to give heels victories over an intimidating face. Thankfully they kept this short as Hernandez has no business being near a long match at all.

Dixie has nothing to say about the lawsuit.

Eric Young shows Joseph Park a video of him going into Abyss mode during the Hardy match. Park has no memory of this but Young says he’ll investigate.

Here’s Velvet Sky to say her mistake was trusting Mickie James. She’s going to start playing things a lot closer to the vest and that starts with watching the match from ringside.

Knockouts Title: Gail Kim vs. Mickie James

Feeling out process to start with Mickie kicking away in the corner but getting dropkicked down for two. The running cross body to the ribs in the corner has Mickie in trouble but she kicks Gail off the apron to get a breather. Gail tries to pull Mickie into the Figure Four around the post but Mickie kicks her away and hits the Thesz Press off the apron.

Back in and a flapjack puts Gail down but she still tries the spinning octopus hold. Neither girl can hook a leg lock and Gail http://onhealthy.net/product-category/blood-pressure/ gets caught trying to cheat on a rollup. Mickie is sent to the floor as Gail and ODB get in an argument in the ring. Gail slaps ODB and the distraction lets Mickie roll Kim up for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but I don’t think anyone expected Kim to be a real threat to the title. The ending sets up a non-title feud and I guess we’re getting Mickie vs. Velvet already again, because we only have six girls in the entire division, one of which is Tessmacher who hasn’t wrestled since like April.

Brooke Hogan comes out to make ODB vs. Gail, presumably for next week.

Dixie and Hogan debate the lawsuit.

Bound For Glory Series: Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels

Tenay says Daniels has never beaten Joe one on one, which is true as far as I remember. Joe pounds him down to start and hits the Facewash in the corner but gets sent throat first into the ropes. A clothesline puts Joe down and Daniels hooks a headscissors to choke on the ropes. We hit the chinlock for a few seconds but Joe fights up and hits his big boot to the chest and the backsplash for two.

A powerslam gets two more but Daniels comes back with the palm thrusts. Daniels charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner but Mr. Anderson of all people comes out for a distraction. Two straight BME’s (the first one was like a moonsault clothesline) are enough for the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C-. Not bad here and the ending was fine. Anderson wasn’t helping Daniels as much as he was screwing over Joe which the announcers emphasized a lot. Daniels doesn’t fit Aces and 8’s so thankfully we don’t have to deal with someone defecting over to the bikers. Also I’m glad the first moonsault didn’t get the win as it looked horrible.

Sting and Angle talk about the lawsuit and agree Ray needs to be kept isolated.

You can pick from three sets of BFG matches to see over the next two weeks. That’s a cool idea.

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy

AJ hits a few shoulder blocks to start but Jeff takes it into the corner for the slingshot dropkick. Back with AJ kicking Hardy into the announce table before going back inside for a chinlock. Styles throws him back to the floor and slams him on the mat before putting the chinlock back on. Jeff fights up and hits a falling powerbomb to put both guys down. Back up and AJ hits his drop down/dropkick sequence for the first time in months.

Jeff comes back with a World’s Strongest Slam and a middle rope splash for two but walks into a release German suplex into the corner. The Whisper in the Wind gets two for Hardy but he walks into the Pele to fire up the crowd. AJ hooks the Calf Killer out of nowhere and Hardy taps (!) for the win at 13:15.

Rating: B-. This had the big match feel to it and a very surprising finish with Hardy tapping. I don’t remember that happening in years so the Calf Killer looks even more awesome now. AJ is still doing the middle of the road character which is interesting to a degree, but at the end of the day he’s AJ Styles and born to be the hero.

Post match AJ won’t shake hands.

Hulk has made a decision and Dixie agrees with him.

Here’s Bully Ray to plead his case. He says he’s been wronged because Sabin hit him in the head with a hammer last week (“Who would do such a thing?) and demands the title be returned to him right now. Sabin comes out and Ray says Chris must be here due to intimidation. Sabin says he wanted to see how big of a crybaby Ray is in person. He talks about having his knees destroyed and never crying once.

Instead he worked even harder and now he’s world heavyweight champion. Ray says he’ll get the title back by suing Sabin and demands Hogan get out here right now and hand over the title. Hogan comes out and says he has a counteroffer for Ray: Sabin remains the champion but Ray gets his rematch August 15 in a cage at Hardcore Justice.

Overall Rating: B-. The lawyer stuff drags this down but there was enough good on here to make the show good. Bringing the focus back to the BFG Series is a good idea and I have no problem with Ray likely getting the title back soon. The biggest problem with this show continues to be the Hogans. Their segments just suck the life out of the show and I find myself caring about them less and less every time they’re on screen. The rest of the show is solid but those two need to go.

Results

Manik b. Greg Marisculo and Sonjay Dutt – Manik pulled down the title

Mr. Anderson b. Hernandez – Mic Check

Mickie James b. Gail Kim – Rollup

Christopher Daniels b. Samoa Joe – BME

AJ Styles b. Jeff Hardy – Calf Killer

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This has been the hottest topic in wrestling for the last week or so and I think it’s time for an overview of the whole thing.To recap, TNA has cut a lot of wrestlers, had a lot of turnover backstage, messed up a house show and people think TNA is on its last legs.  In short, I think they’re fine.

Here’s the thing to remember about TNA: they have two hours a week of TV as compared to the five that WWE has (excluding internet broadcasts).  WWE has more than twice the room to get talent on TV so it’s much easier for WWE to maintain a large roster.  Think back: before this batch of releases, can you think of ten people let go by TNA in the last four years?  Now can you think of twenty people hired in the last four years?  The numbers were catching up to them and the cuts had to come eventually.

As for cutting costs, every company does this at some point.  TNA recently lost tens of thousands of dollars a month by not having regular PPVs anymore.  Couple that with the additional cost of taking Impact on the road and it’s no wonder they need to cut some salaries.  Cutting guys from Gut Check and people who are never used isn’t a sign of going out of business.  It’s a sign of smart business.

The main thing to keep in mind though: Panda Energy is pouring money into TNA and will do so until they don’t feel like it anymore.  Spike is reportedly very happy with the ratings and it’s not costing them a fortune to keep TNA on the air, so TNA isn’t going anywhere anytime soon unless Panda pulls the plug.

In short, it’s an overblown (yet interesting) story.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bound For Glory Series: Bobby Roode vs. Austin Aries

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Homicide vs. Petey Williams vs. Sonjay Dutt

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

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

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

Kenny King vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Manik

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

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

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

We get the same package on Sabin from earlier.

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

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

Rubix vs. Rockstar Spud vs. Greg Marasciulo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TNA World Title: Chris Sabin vs. Bully Ray

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Austin Aries b. Bobby Roode – Brainbuster

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

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

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

Chris Sabin b. Bully Ray – Hammer to the head

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

Neither of these are really surprising.  Brown was an agent and Pritchard was head of talent relations.  This shouldn’t mean much in the short term.

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 14, 2011
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s the first show post Destination X and most importantly it’s the Midsummer Nightmare. The main event is Sting vs. Anderson for the title in Anderson’s first match I believe. He’s also in Immortal now and since they have all the power, I’d bet a lot on Sting getting the title back since that’s what almost always happens: one side gets all the power including the title and then they lose it on the next show. Let’s get to it.

We open with a Bully Ray narrated video about the whole Sting vs. Anderson feud and title match tonight. Hogan comes out in a tuxedo along with Immortal. There are various women with them too. Even Abyss is in most of a tuxedo. Everyone is in a tux here. No Anderson though. There’s a card table in the ring and Bischoff sends the girls away. Eric says they’re here to gamble with some people’s careers, because they can according to Hulk.

Bischoff talks about the party that Anderson threw for himself a few weeks back that no one came to. Tonight Immortal is making up for it though because Anderson is part of the family now. The party tonight is in celebration of Anderson as the world champion. Here comes the champ in a camouflage tuxedo. When I woke up today, I really didn’t think I’d see one of those but I guess you never know what you’re going to see.

Hogan says he and Anderson haven’t seen things eye to eye forever for the most part. However there’s always been the constant of them both wanting to be the best they could possibly be. Hulk calls him champ and formally welcomes him into Immortal. Anderson says this is a gamble to join Immortal but as long as Bischoff and Hogan live up to their promise of him being the top card in the deck, it’s a gamble he’s willing to take.

The lights go out and Sting is at the card table. He says he heard someone say gamble and wanted to join in. Eric accused Sting of being the cancer and that tonight Anderson gets rid of it. Sting asks if Eric wants to bet on that because they have a poker table here. Sting sees himself becoming champion tonight and kicking off his crusade of bringing the company back to Dixie Carter. Didn’t he start that months ago?

Hogan threatens Sting with attacking him and says that Sting is leaving on a stretcher. Sting freaks out and says no a lot. Even Sting is starting to worry about himself. Sting says Hogan is wrong about that because he has a lot of aces in the whole, such as the Network Ace. He recalls that the Network told Hogan and Bischoff that they’re on a short leash with little room for error. Apparently any shenanigans will bring about someone with a bigger bite than Sting’s.

Sting says he has a lot of magic bullet aces. They’re magic because they’ll just appear. He points to the rafters and there are four clowns up there. Eric: “You’re a freak!” Sting: “Why thank you Eric!” Sting says he’s all in tonight (hasn’t he said that before?) and turns over the poker table before leaving. We go to a break with Immortal being confused.

Bound For Glory Series Standings with 8 weeks to go:

Crimson 31

Gunner 21

Devon 21

Matt Morgan 14

AJ Styles 14

James Storm 14

Rob Van Dam 14

Bully Ray 14

Scott Steiner 7

D’Angelo Dinero 0

Bobby Roode 0

Samoa Joe 0

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

No entrances other than the very ending of Joe’s music. Joe jumps Roode to start us off and hammers him down in the corner. Pope heads to the floor and Roode gets crushed in the corner. Pope stays on the floor as Roode makes a comeback with the spinebuster. His arm gives out though and Pope comes back in, hitting an STO for two. With Joe down Pope takes over on Roode, working over the arm.

The fans are behind Bobby here. Pope gets a DDT for two but Hebner looked like he counted REALLY slow on the three. Middle rope fist gets two for Pope. Joe finally starts getting back in but Pope knocks him right back. DDE misses and Roode fires off some clotheslines. Russian legsweep puts Pope down and Joe is knocked back to the floor again. Blockbuster hits for a close two.

We finally get everyone in the ring at once and Roode gets a Perfectplex on Joe for two. Joe gets the Clutch but we get the Austin vs. Hart at Survivor Series 96 ending as Roode climbs the ropes and goes backwards onto Joe for the pin at 5:55. Roode was tapping just after the three. Joe freaks out on the referee post match.

Rating: C+. Not bad here and the idea of keeping Joe out worked well enough I guess. Not much of a match otherwise but for a six minute TV triple threat it was fine. They didn’t go fully into the standard procedure for one of these matches which is a perk and it’s good to see one of them getting somewhere in this series. Also you can probably expect Joe to just start ending people with submissions soon.

The Jarretts are here.

Hogan wants Sting eliminated tonight. He’s talking to all of Immortal rather than just Anderson. Eric implies staging an accident which Abyss kind of volunteers for. Eric blasts Abyss for losing the X Title and says get this done someone. Abyss leaves and the Jarretts are here. They have presents for everyone but Hogan gets the AAA World Title. No mention of the company name that I could hear.

Pope is with D-Von’s kids and D-Von says stay away from them. The kids leave and D-Von yells at Pope. Pope says they look up to him and D-Von calls him a con man. D-Von calls Pope stupid for giving up the seven points. Pope says if the kids turn their backs on D-Von, that’s not his fault and he leaves.

Highlight package from Destination X with highlights from every match.

Austin Aries vs. Shannon Moore

Shannon gets some arm drags very fast to start us off. Apparently the X-Division has their own locker room. Basic X-Division style match here which is fast paced with some nice speed stuff. Aries can’t get control or deal with Moore’s speed but finally gets a forearm to the back. Brainbuster is blocked and Aries mostly skins the cat back in through the top and middle ropes.

He gets dropkicked to the floor though and Moore hits a dive to take him down. Something similar to a Whisper in the Wind gets two. Aries grabs the Book of Dilligaf but gets it taken away. He keeps the chain though and after knocking Moore out, a slingshot spinning splash ends this at 3:42. Shelley runs out to yell at Aries post match.

Rating: C. Not bad and just a basic debut for Aries who needed a win to establish himself on the roster. Things got a bit sloppy here but they fit in a lot of stuff in a short amount of time so it’s hard to complain. Aries will likely get a lot more time soon and that’ll help him a lot, even though he’s rather skilled already.

Abyss wants his title back tonight. He turns to leave and one of the clowns from earlier blasts him with a bat.

Shelley and Moore complain about Aries cheating.

Aries says he’s the best and that he doesn’t think he can be beaten.

Recap of Tara vs. Madison and their feud that has barely meant anything in like a month. Both chicks talk about their match tonight and Tara has a gift for Madison but it’s for after the match.

The match is after a break.

Ad for Bound For Glory which will be in Philadelphia.

Steiner shows off for one of the girls from earlier and gets jumped by a clown as well.

Madison Rayne vs. Tara

Tara has the gift for Madison but it’s for after the match remember. Madison wants Tara to lay down like before. Tara takes over to start and hits her standing moonsault. There’s the spinning side slam and this is looking like a squash. No cover though and the Widow’s Peak is countered. Tara gets sent to the apron and dropped face first onto it. So much for the squash. Tara is sent into the steps and Madison goes for the present. And it’s a spider. Madison screams at it and the distraction allows Tara to get up and hit the Widow’s Peak for the pin at 4:00.

Rating: D. Seriously, who cares? This feud started what, last year? Who in the world cares at this point about these two and whatever issue they have? The Knockout Division is dying for capable wrestlers at this point and all we can get is Angelina Love being all creepy and these two talking about a spider? Such a shame. Nothing match here too which was all about setting up the spider thing.

Tara chases her off with the spider post match.

Angle is coming to the ring.

The Brits are mad at Mexican America. Tonight they fight for the #1 contender spot. About time Beer Money defended the belts.

Here’s Kurt, who says he has his title shot at Hardcore Justice. He’d prefer to face Anderson due to their history together. He remembers the cage match and thought there was some respect there, until Anderson joined Immortal. Title match or not, Angle is coming for Anderson. As for Sting, they have history also in the form of the Main Event Mafia and the empty arena match. Angle has never beaten Sting before (yes he has) and that doesn’t sit well with him. He’s leaving Hardcore Justice as the champion, and it’s real.

The Jarretts try to leave and a clown jumps Jeff in the car and takes him away with the bat to Jeff’s throat.

Mexican America vs. British Invasion

This is for the #1 contendership. I wouldn’t have guessed this but Beer Money’s current reign is the longest reign in the history of the TNA tag titles. The Mexicans say their usual stuff pre-match. The Brits storm the ring and we’re ready to go. Williams dives out of the ring onto Hernandez and it’s Magnus vs. Anarquia to start us off. Off to Williams who gets caught by Hernandez off a blind tag.

Shoulder block sets up a backbreaker submission into a regular backbreaker for two. Mexican America takes over as we talk about the clowns taking Immortal out. More double teaming keeps Williams down but he manages to get a middle rope European uppercut to bring in Magnus. Williams is bleeding a bit from his head. Magnus takes over and beats up both guys. Anarquia gets double teamed and a top rope elbow gets two for Magnus. Their top rope European uppercut hits but Rosita comes out for the distraction, allowing Hernandez to drill Magnus and let Anarquia pin him at 6:43.

Rating: C. Just a tag match here and thankfully we finally have some challengers for Beer Money. The girl coming out at the end worked fine as it was what the Brits were worried about in the first place. Not bad, but just a tag match for the most part here. Also it gives the Mexicans something to do.

Eric says it’s up to Gunner and Ray to take Sting down. Gunner wants to go find the clowns and Sting instead of just waiting around. Ray stays behind though.

Video of Kendrick winning the title on Sunday.

Kendrick defends next week. Also Mickie defends against Velvet and there will be a four way ladder match in the BFG series.

Main event is next.

Gunner has a pipe and is looking for the clowns and here they come, pounding their bats on the ground like a revival of West Side Story. They surround him and take him down with a shot to the knee. The clowns beat him down and he’s outmatches. They take their masks off band it’s Fourtune. They say Ray is already taken care of.

TNA World Title: Mr. Anderson vs. Sting

Anderson has the mic in hand but doesn’t say anything this week. Pretty slow start as they’re feeling each other out. Sting gets a solid dropkick to send Anderson to the floor. Back in Anderson can’t get a sunset flip so Sting punches him in the face. Stinger Splash hits but a second one misses as Anderson dropkicks the knee. Anderson works on the knee and tries the Scorpion on him.

That doesn’t last long and Anderson works on the leg a bit more. There’s a half crab which is more like a half Liontamer. Sting kicks him off and does a good job of selling the knee. He manages to hit the Mic Check for a close two. There’s your required ref bump and Sting gets the Scorpion which looks awful here. Anderson taps but there’s no ref. Here’s Bully Ray who Fourtune said was taken care of.

He hammers Sting and pulls out a chain. The lights go out and there’s another clown in the ring. He takes out Ray and looks at Anderson but the lights go out again. When they come back Anderson is alone in the ring and the clown is on the ramp. Sting pops up and the Death Drop gives Sting the title back at 9:11.

Rating: C+. I liked this actually. It’s probably their best match ever which isn’t saying much given their pretty weak efforts a lot of the time. The ending with the clown was kind of overbooked but they tried and made a decent effort out there. Not sure what the point was in giving Anderson the title for a month but it’s whatever I guess.

Angle was the clown. The reveal ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Well it was a bit down from previous weeks but this certainly was better than I was expecting. I’m not a fan of a lot of the stories they have going on, but there was a nice pacing to the show and the stories make sense for the most part. Nice to see Fourtune back into things as a unit again so it’s not Sting vs. the whole Immortal team. Not a great show but it’s definitely not bad. I’d call this a nice surprise.

Results

Bobby Roode b. Samoa Joe and D’Angelo Dinero – Roode pinned Joe while in the Koquina Clutch

Austin Aries b. Shannon Moore – Slingshot spinning splash

Tara b. Madison Rayne – Widow’s Peak

Mexican America b. British Invasion – Anarquia pinned Magnus after a forearm from Hernandez

Sting b. Mr. Anderson – Scorpion Death Drop

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 11, 2013
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s the go home show for Destination X so tonight is going to be all about Sabin vs. Ray next week, which is going to be a decent match but will also have issues drawing in an audience. Other than that we’ve got the Aces and 8’s feuding with the Mafia and potentially having a fight tonight. Other than that it’s going to be all about next week. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s events with the focus on Sabin winning the title back.

Bully Ray rants about Brooke’s real life engagement, saying he isn’t ready for her to move on yet.

Here are the bikers to open the show. Ray’s first order of business is Chris Sabin, who now has the right to face him next week at Destination X. Later tonight Hogan is going to come out here and ask Sabin to hand over his title. Sabin needs to keep the title he has now because he wants no part of Bully Ray. As for the club business, the Aces and 8’s get to vote in a new vice president. Ray takes a thinly veiled jab at WWE’s fan polls by saying the fans have nothing to do with the pick. As for the Mafia’s challenge to a fight next week, absolutely not because the bikers fight on their own terms.

This brings out the Main Event Mafia with Sting and Angle in suits and the rest in wrestling gear. Angle says their challenge was specifically for that date because the Mafia could kill two birds with one stone. Next week they’re going to take out every member of the Aces and 8’s, leaving Bully alone to face Chris Sabin. Sting promises yet another new member of the Mafia tonight and that he’s a heavy hitter.

As for the BFG Series, tonight there are going to be three Joker’s Wild tag team matches with the six winners going on to a gauntlet where the winner receives 25 points.

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

Park and Styles get things going with AJ easily taking him down. It’s quickly off to Hardy who hits the sitout front suplex for two and it’s off to Joe with a running elbow to Jeff’s face. The corner enziguri puts Jeff down and it’s back to AJ who puts on the Calf Killer, only to have Hardy make the save. Park gets to face Joe and the lawyer cleans house. It doesn’t last long though as Joe shoves him into the springboard forearm which knocks Park into the Koquina Clutch for the submission at 4:34.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere which is a shame given the talent in this one. Styles and Joe could have been a dream team if given the time together but they would have likely wound up feuding sooner than later. Park continues to just kind of float around at the moment as his development has stalled.

Mr. Anderson/Magnus vs. Jay Bradley/Hernandez

Anderson offers to start against Hernandez but he immediately tags out to Magnus. Bradley comes in as well and hits a nice jumping knee to the chest. Off to Hernandez who gets caught in a wristlock but Anderson won’t tag back in. Hernandez takes over on Magnus with a splash in the corner and the slingshot shoulder for two. Back to Bradley who charges into an elbow in the corner and gets taken down by a boot. Anderson still won’t tag but Bradley accidentally trips Hernandez, allowing Magnus to roll him up for the pin at 3:53.

Rating: D. Well this match happened. Bradley continues to be a screwup with potential while Hernandez continues to be a waste of oxygen. Magnus and Anderson having their issues was a logical story and it’s cool to see Magnus’ push to the stars continue. I’m just not sure where he’ll land in the whole thing.

Aries is annoyed that Roode didn’t help him last week. Roode wants to focus on the BFG Series when Bad Influence comes in. They’re the final four men for the Joker’s Wild stuff and they’re sure the teams will be as expected. Many jokes are cracked.

Christopher Daniels/Austin Aries vs. Kazarian/Bobby Roode

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

The Fade to Black is escaped with a forearm and it’s a double tag to bring in Roode vs. Daniels. Aries tags himself in to break up the BME and lays out Roode with a missile dropkick, only to miss the corner dropkick. Kaz comes in with the slingshot DDT for two on Aries but Daniels makes the save. Kazarian has his eyes raked and rolls up Daniels for the blind pin at 10:00.

Rating: C+. This was a fun tag match but I’m not wild on the dissent between Bad Influence. We need a feud between these teams before the inevitable splits for the comedy of the promos alone. Still though, good match here with the ending being a creative way around screwing over your partner.

The Aces and 8’s are voting for the new VP.

Hulk comes in to see Brooke but Brooke doesn’t want to talk about Bully. She’s more interested in the Knockouts ladder match tonight. Hulk says take care of all your business tonight.

Doc and Anderson are the candidates for VP and Bully abstains from voting. They both vote for themselves, Brisco votes for Anderson, D-Von for Doc, Taz for Doc, Bischoff for Anderson, so it’s up to Knux for the deciding vote. He picks Anderson to give him the position. Doc isn’t pleased with Knux and glares a lot.

Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell

This is a ladder match with the winner getting a title shot at some point in the future. Taryn throws her out to the ramp to start and spears her through the ropes for good measure. The first ladder is brought in and rammed into Gail’s ribs in the corner. Taryn dropkicks the top of the ladder to drive it further into the ribs as Taz is back on commentary. Gail’s cross body is kicked out of the air and the ladder is set up in the middle of the ring. Gail sends her into the side of the ladder to take over but can’t hook the figure four around the post.

Back from a break with both girls climbing and slugging it out on top. They both fall down and land on the ropes with the ladder nearly crushing Gail’s skull in the process. Taryn shoves the ladder face first into a charging Gail but her leg is tied up in the ladder. Taryn has to find a replacement but Gail gets up and climbs, only to be pulled back down by Terrell. The other ladder is bridged between the ropes and the standing ladder but Gail gets off before Taryn can crush her against the bridge.

Gail puts the figure four on Taryn inside the ladder but both of them climb up anyway. Taryn chokes Gail off the ladder and shoves her to the mat, but the knee won’t let her stand high enough. Instead Terrell dives off the ladder with a cross body and both girls are down again. They both climb onto the bridged ladder with Taryn being thrown to the mat again in a big thud. Terrell is up first and hooks a dragon sleeper, but Gail TIES TARYN’S HAIR AROUND THE ROPES. Gail climbs the ladder to get the shot at 15:10.

Rating: B+. Solid match here with a creative ending. The match was so good that it makes me get over Gail getting ANOTHER title shot which I don’t think anyone wants to see. Taryn is showing good promise in the ring which goes along with her looks. I liked the last man standing match better but this was certainly good stuff.

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

Bound For Glory Series Gauntlet Match

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

The winner gets 25 points. AJ starts with Magnus and we have two minutes before the next entrant. You can be eliminated over the top until we’re down to the final two where it’s pinfall/submission only. Feeling out process to start with both guys cranking on the arm. AJ hits a hard elbow to stun Magnus as Kaz is in at #3. A snap suplex by AJ sends Kaz into the middle rope but Styles can’t eliminate him. Joe is in at #4 as Taz complains about the Mafia having the fix in. Magnus and Joe double team Kaz before they split off to work on both guys. Kaz sends AJ to the apron but gets backdropped out at 5:27 and we take a break.

Back with Anderson already in and Bobby Roode coming in at #6 to complete the field. Magnus is sent to the apron but slides back in with ease. Roode powerslams AJ down and goes for the elimination but it’s Anderson with a running clothesline to eliminate Styles at 11:50. Magnus throws Roode to the apron but Bobby slides back in. Anderson and Joe eliminate each other at 12:50, leaving us with Roode vs. Magnus for the 25 points.

A jumping knee to the face puts Roode down but Magnus walks into the spinebuster for a close two. Roode hooks the Crossface but Magnus rolls over into a cradle for two. Magnus hooks the Cloverleaf on Roode but Bobby gets into the ropes. Roode loads up a superplex but gets shoved off, only to have Magnus miss the top rope elbow. Roode tries an O’Connor roll but Roode kicks him off and cradles the shoulders for the pin at 16:51.

Rating: C. The one on one part was good but the battle royal part was very uninteresting for the twelve minutes was had to sit through. Magnus’ Superman push is continuing but I can’t imagine him getting the world title shot at the biggest show of the year. Crimson was on fire like this last year and I don’t think he even wrestled at the PPV.

Here’s Hulk to accept Sabin’s title for the shot next week. Sabin talks about being a kid and watching Hogan dominate the world over the years. He heard a lot of people saying he couldn’t do this but now he’s proven them wrong. Sabin goes to hand the title to Hulk but is cut off by the world champ.

Ray says he and his wife has unfinished business, but it’s time to focus on Sabin. He says Sabin shouldn’t hand over the title because Ray is a bad person. There’s no way he could ever beat a man like Bully Ray and the beating next week will be one for the ages. Sabin says Ray should shut up because Sabin has pinned Ray before. It was him that pinned Ray in Team 3D’s retirement match and the only man to kick out of the 3D (in TNA that is).

Most of the time a guy like Ray is going to win but all Sabin has to do is win one time and that’s what he’s going to do next week. Next week it’ll be Sabin asking if people know who he is, and he’ll be the world champion. Sabin hands over the X title to make it official so Ray calls in the bikers. This brings out the Mafia and Sting reveals the newest member: Rampage Jackson. Ray is STUNNED to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was all about the future but it was still entertaining for the most part. Magnus was the star of the show and looked great in the process so points to TNA for trying someone new. The Sabin stuff was a nice push towards next week and the match should be fun. Couple all that with a very good ladder match and it’s hard not to like this show. TNA continues to be on a roll right now and this was another good episode.

Results

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

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

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

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

Magnus won a gauntlet match last eliminating Bobby Roode

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 4, 2013
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

We’re in Sin City tonight for a taped Independence Day show. The main story is Austin Aries stole the X Division Title last week and as of this moment gets to challenge Bully Ray two weeks from tonight at Destination X. Other than that we’ll have a lot more buildup towards Bound For Glory in the BFG Series as points continue to be accumulated. Let’s get to it.

We open with the usual recap of last week’s show.

Here’s Austin Aries to open things up. A lot of people like him, a lot of people boo him, but now everyone has to respect him. He’s the man who initiated Option C last year and this year he’s the man who is going to cash in the X Title for another shot at the world title. Aries demands Hogan get out here right now to make the cash in official.

Cue Hogan who says that Aries is the man who initiated Option C and then won the world title (where have I heard this before?). He brought the division to new highs but last week he brought it to new lows. Aries committed the greatest sin of all: gimmick infringement. Therefore, tonight Austin has to defend the title against Chris Sabin and TJ Perkins, now known as Manic. Manic is in the same attire as Suicide, but without the word Suicide on his chest.

Kazarian says he’ll beat either version of AJ Styles he faces tonight.

Bound For Glory Series: Kazarian vs. AJ Styles

Kaz and Daniels come out dressed as Sigfried and Roy, with Kaz promising to make the world title appear around his waist in October. Styles knocks Kaz to the floor at the bell and hits a baseball slide to take him down again. Back in and AJ misses a forearm in the corner so Kaz can pound away on the mat. AJ comes back with a hard clothesline as Daniels is holding a stuffed tiger and wearing a blonde wig while playing cheerleader. The springboard forearm gets two on Kaz but Kaz dropkicks AJ down to get himself a breather. Not that it matters though as the Calf Killer makes Kaz tap to give AJ ten points at 4:02.

Rating: C. This was a nice little match as AJ continues to hone in his new character. The Calf Killer looked great and AJ can still fly as well as anyone else in the company. This is a pairing that has worked for years but I’m not exactly looking forward to Daniels vs. Styles #845 when they’re paired together in the Series.

Chavo gives Hernandez another pep talk.

Mickie James is in the ring with a ladder. She talks about having to climb the ladder to success and brags about being a country singer and being pursued for commercials. So Taryn and Gail can go out and break a leg and everything else, because they’ll never be as great as she is. Mickie is going to be Knockouts Champion of the century and will destroy whomever she faces for the title.

The Gut Check judges debate Ryan Howe vs. Big O. Howe gets to face the judgment.

The Main Event Mafia says the fourth member is revealed tonight.

Bound For Glory Series: Jay Bradley vs. Hernandez

Bradley takes over with a headlock and sends Hernandez to the ramp. SuperMex shoulders him in the ribs and hits the big dive over the top to take over. The over the top backbreaker gets two but Bradley comes back with a backbreaker of his own. Chavo tries to get in and the distraction lets Hernandez hit the big shoulder for the pin at 3:13.

Rating: D. This was barely anything at all with Bradley just being a warm body out there. I don’t know why TNA thinks fans care about Hernandez and Chavo as the fans go nearly silent during their interactions. They’re not interesting and the eventual match between the two isn’t going to draw any interest. Not much to see here.

Aces and 8’s talk about the X Title match tonight and Ray suggests no one should win it.

Bro Mans vs. Gunner/James Storm

Non-title here. Robbie and Jesse jump Gunner to start and take over for a bit, only to have Gunner clothesline Robbie down. Hot tag brings in Storm to clean house and backdrop Jesse onto Robbie’s crotch. Gunner tries a sunset flip attempt on Jesse but Robbie breaks it up, only to eat the Last Call. A Rock Bottom backbreaker (Irish Curse) puts Jesse down again but it’s a powerslam/neckbreaker combo from the champs to get the pin for Storm at 2:59. Basically just a squash but it was something of a mess.

Jeff Hardy is ready for Joseph Park tonight and hopes he doesn’t have too much Abyss in him.

Here’s the Main Event Mafia with something to say. They’re here to destroy aces and 8’s and to ensure that Bully Ray loses the World Title. Sting brings out Samoa Joe to be the force of change in the new Mafia. Joe says that with Angle and Sting at his back, he’s going to run through the BFG Series and earn his shot at Bully Ray for the world title. Angle says he put Joe in the Mafia because of the grueling matches they’ve had over the years. As for the fourth member, he’s another man who is rising up the charts in TNA: Magnus.

Magnus, also rocking a suit, comes out to a solid reaction. He praises the other Mafia members and Joe in particular for putting him on the map last year. It’s not just about the Mafia, but about the Mafia’s mission: putting an end to Aces and 8’s. Sting challenges Aces and 8’s to a fight at Destination X and guarantees a winner in the X Title match tonight.

Bound For Glory Series: Jeff Hardy vs. Joseph Park

Jeff grabs a headlock to start but bounces off Park in a shoulder block attempt. A dropkick works a bit better and Hardy takes Park down with a headscissors out of the corner. The Twisting Stunner looks to set up the Swanton but Park rolls away at the last second. Park isn’t sure what to do so he slowly whips Jeff from corner to corner and crushes him with a splash.

Off to a chinlock for a few moments until Jeff fights up and hits his usual stuff. A low dropkick gets two but the Twist of Fate is countered into a Samoan drop. The middle rope splash connects for two but Jeff comes back with the Twist of Fate to put both guys down. Hardy’s leg hitting Park’s face busted his lip open though, meaning it’s a Black Hole Slam for the referee, earning a DQ at 8:07.

Rating: C. This was better than I was expecting but the Park character has pretty much hit its limit. It’s been the same idea for months now and there aren’t many other places you can go with it without incorporating more Abyss into it. Thankfully they’re not treating him as anything special in the Series.

It’s time for Gut Check with Ryan Howe. Al Snow says no so Howe gets to Kick Out in thirty seconds, but the fans won’t stop booing him. Danny Davis says the booing has changed his mind because Howe didn’t stop what he was saying, so it’s a yes. Bruce Pritchard says Howe got a reaction from the audience, but it’s a no.

Doc and Anderson argue over who is the next VP of the club. The vote is next week but Ray yells at them for wasting time.

Video on Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell in a ladder match next week.

Next week there will be three Joker’s Wild tag team matches in the BFG Series.

X-Division Title: Austin Aries vs. Chris Sabin vs. Manik

Aces and 8’s are watching in the crowd. Aries is put in the Tree of Woe to start and Sabin nails a delayed dropkick to his face. A sunset flip gets two on Manik but Aries is back on his feet, only to be thrown out to the floor. Manik hooks an Octopus Hold on Sabin but Aries comes back in for the save. The masked man hangs onto the ropes and avoids a charging Sabin to send Chris out to the floor. Aries sends Manik to the floor as well and gets two off a middle rope dropkick to Sabin’s back.

A forearm to the back of Sabin’s neck puts him down on the ramp but Sabin blocks the brainbuster into a front suplex. Aces and 8’s come to ringside and try to pull Manik to the floor. The masked man dives on Doc and gets powerbombed down onto the floor for his efforts. Cue the Mafia to get rid of the bikers as we take a break.

Back with Manik being taken out on a stretcher as Aries hits a belly to back suplex on Sabin on the apron. Aries rolls Sabin up three or four times in a row for two each but Sabin comes back with rapid fire chops to the chest and a choke in the corner. A running boot to the chest gets two for Sabin but Aries drives him back into the corner. The running dropkick is countered by a boot to the chest, but Sabin misses another kick in the corner, banging up his knee in the process.

Aries goes after the knee and hits the running dropkick in the corner, but the brainbuster is countered into a small package for two. The brainbuster is only good for two so Aries hooks the Last Chancery, but Sabin grabs the rope to escape again. Aries can’t hit the 450 so Sabin connects with Hail Sabin but THAT just gets two. Another Hail Sabin is countered into a victory roll for two but Sabin pops back up with a discus forearm to put both guys down. Aries sends him into the corner for another running dropkick, but Sabin catches him going up and hits Hail Sabin from the middle rope for the pin and the title at 16:11.

Rating: B+. The stuff with Manik was just kind of there but things got WAY better after it got down to a one on one match. Imagine that: a showdown between two guys is better than a spot fest between three guys. Who would have guessed that? Anyway, this was a tremendous match and that finish looked excellent.

Sabin says he’s the next world champion to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was awesome but it was the only thing on this show that was above average. Everything else on the show just wasn’t all that good, as it was a bunch of filler stuff before we can get to Louisville for Destination X. That being said, the main event was one of the best matches we’ve seen in a LONG time int his company, which makes the rest of the show worth it.

Results

AJ Styles b. Kazarian – Calf Killer

Hernandez b. Jay Bradley – Shoulder Block

Gunner/James Storm b. Bro Mans – Powerslam/neckbreaker combo to Godderz

Jeff Hardy b. Joseph Park via DQ when Park gave the referee a Black Hole Slam

Chris Sabin b. Austin Aries and Manik – Hail Sabin from the middle rope to Aries

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Sabin winning the X Title at Slammiversary.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gut Check: Ryan Howe vs. Adam O’Reiner

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

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

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

Knockouts Title: Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James

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

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

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

Velvet cries about losing.

We recap the events of the night so far.

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

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

Bound For Glory Series: Magnus vs. Bobby Roode

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

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

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

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

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

Sting and Angle want to go find Suicide.

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

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

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

Joe is the third member of the Mafia.

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

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

Results

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

Adam O’Reiner b. Ryan Howe – Powerslam

Mickie James b. Velvet Sky – Deathlock

Magnus b. Bobby Roode – Falcon’s Arrow

Samoa Joe b. Mr. Anderson – Koquina Clutch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Robbie challenges anyone in the BFG Series to a match.

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

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

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

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

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. Magnus

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

Taeler Hendrix vs. Tara

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

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

Bound For Glory Series: Samoa Joe vs. James Storm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Knockouts Title: Miss Tessmacher vs. Mickie James

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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