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

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

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

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

Theme song hits. Get your reinforcements.

Bound For Glory Series standings:

James Storm 43

Samoa Joe 37

Kurt Angle 27

Jeff Hardy 21

Mr. Anderson 16

Rob Van Dam 14

Magnus 14

Christopher Daniels 12

AJ Styles 7

D’Angelo Dinero 7

Bully Ray 0

Robbie E 0

Tonight the high scorers get to do the callouts.

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

Bound For Glory Series: James Storm vs. Kurt Angle

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

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

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

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

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

Bound For Glory Series; Jeff Hardy vs. Robbie E

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

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

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

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

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

Post break Shaw is helped up.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bound For Glory Series: Magnus vs. Bully Ray

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

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

Chavo Guerrero Jr. debuts next week.

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

Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TV Title: Hernandez vs. D-Von

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

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

We recap AJ/Dixie/Serg last week.

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

Bound For Glory Series: Gauntlet Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Miss Tessmacher vs. Madison Rayne

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

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

TNA World Title: Bobby Roode vs. Mr. Anderson

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

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

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

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

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

We get the Sting HOF video.

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

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews