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

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

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

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

AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AJ rants about Storm when the Cowboy comes in.

ODB vs. Tara/Jesse Godderz

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

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

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

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

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

Sting/Kurt Angle vs. Doc/D-Von

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We recap Hardy vs. Aries.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We recap the attack on Sting.

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

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

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

Results

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

ODB b. Tara/Jesse Godderz – Spear to Tara

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

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

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

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

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

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

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

TV Title: Magnus vs. Samoa Joe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christopher Daniels/Kazarian vs. Willie Urbina/Hector Guerrero

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

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

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

Gut Check; Christian York vs. Zema Ion

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

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

Aries goes to see the Rob’s about something.

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

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

ODB vs. Jessie Godderz

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

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

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

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

Jeff Hardy vs. Robbie E

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We run down the Turning Point card.

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

Joey Ryan vs. Rob Van Dam

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

Morgan kicks RVD’s head off post match.

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

D-Von vs. Bully Ray

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

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

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

Results

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

Zema Ion b. Christian York – Submission Impossible

Jeff Hardy b. Robbie E – Swanton

Joey Ryan b. Rob Van Dam – Side Roll

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 11, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

It’s the final show before BFG and I can’t say I’m chomping at the bit to see the show on Sunday. Bound For Glory is mainly focused on Sting/Ray vs. Aces and 8’s, whoever they are. The world title match is mixed in there somewhere but it’s way beneath the tag match as far as importance. As for tonight, I wouldn’t expect a lot of matches as the focus will likely be on building up what’s already there through a lot of promos. Hopefully there’s less King Mo tonight too. Let’s get to it.

After the recaps, we’re told that it’s Storm vs. Aries and Roode vs. Hardy. Those should be good.

James Storm vs. Austin Aries

We don’t have to wait long to see if they’re good I guess. Non-title here of course. Feeling out process to start and Storm armdrags Aries to the floor. Back in and Storm pounds away before he skins the cat. Aries tries to slide beneath the Cowboy as he pulls himself back in, but Storm dives at the champ. Aries slides back in and hits the suicide dive to take over in a sweet sequence.

After a quick chinlock from the champ, they chop it out in the corner. A dropkick from the middle rope to the back of a seated Storm gets two. James is all fired up now and he pounds away in the corner. Another ten punches hit Aries in the other corner but he comes back with five punches of his own. Storm shoves him off but the Eye of the Storm is escaped and Storm gets guillotined on the top rope.

The champ misses a missile dropkick but the Codebreaker is escaped. Brainbuster doesn’t work for Aries and they roll through an O’Connor Roll. Aries flips him over and they hit head to head. Roode runs out and posts Storm which I’m not sure Aries saw. The brainbuster finishes Storm at 7:20.

Rating: B. This was a fast paced opener and it worked really well. Storm has grown up so much in the last year it’s unreal. I really hope they haven’t screwed him up to the point where he can’t get near the world title again. This match could set up a post BFG feud if Aries retains, but if Hardy wins then it’s Bully Ray getting the first feud I’d assume. Still though, very good opener.

Wes Brisco asks Angle if he can go to Phoenix. Angle says ok and that can’t end well. AJ comes in and says Angle needs to get his head in the game and leaves.

Sting’s 4^th or so BFG Moment is the Hogan face turn from last year.

Here are Sting and Hogan to the arena. Hogan and Sting don’t like having to play by Aces and 8’s rules and Hulk says it feels like they made a deal with the devil. This brings out Daniels and Kaz, saying that they’re the angels that can fix this problem. Hogan made the wrong move by picking Ray, because instead of Sting/Ray, it should be the two of them fighting Aces and 8’s.

Kaz: “Listen Thunderlips…” Ok Kaz is awesome. Kaz tries to get out of the title match and suggests that Angle is put in Ray’s place in the tag match. Here’s Ray who says Angle is a great choice for a wrestling match, but this is going to be a fight. Ray says he doesn’t have to be Sting’s friend because he has a unified goal in getting rid of Aces and 8’s. Hogan isn’t convinced and makes the tag champs vs. Ray/Sting. The champs PANIC.

Hernandez vs. AJ Styles

AJ takes him down to start and escapes a choke hold with a Pele. Styles keeps yelling at Chavo instead of following it up, which allows SuperMex to avoid a charge in the corner. Off to a bearhug for a few moments before AJ escapes and speeds things up. The drop down/kick sets up another dropkick to send Hernandez to the floor. Styles yells at Chavo AGAIN and Hernandez gets up again. Back in and Hernandez hits something like a Monty Brown Pounce for the pin at 3:53.

Rating: C. This wasn’t great but they were telling a good story with AJ being distracted by the numbers game but without Angle out there to even the numbers, AJ lost in an upset. They’ve built up the title match very well and I’m really not sure who is going to win, which is the right idea for a match. It should be awesome too.

Aces and 8’s feed Joseph Park and imply that tonight they’ll determine if they’ve been locked out or if everyone else is locked in.

Here’s Zema Ion who complains about not having a title match on Sunday because he’s injured everyone in the division. This brings out…..Rob Van Dam? He says Hogan has told him he can fight anybody he wants at BFG, and instead of picking Aries and Hardy in the world title match, he picks Ion. Rob kicks Zema to the floor and that’s the match setup.

Ray comes in and asks Sting if he’s ready but Hogan isn’t pleased. Ray asks why Hogan doesn’t trust him and they get in an argument. Sting snaps and says Ray can be trusted. If there is anyone you want to trust the instincts of, it’s Sting.

Brooke and Teryn are talking when Tara comes up with a list of stuff she has to do once she’s champion. Brooke rips it up and says no green room for the boyfriend on Sunday.

Christopher Daniels/Kazarian vs. Sting/Bully Ray

Ray and Daniels start with Ray hitting a BIG chop in the corner. Another one has Daniels screaming and Kaz gets scared off the apron. Sting takes over on both champions and it’s off to Ray vs. Kaz. Ray gets two off a belly to back suplex and it’s off to Sting. Off to Ray for another suplex as Sting and Ray are tagging very fast. Sting hits the first splash in the corner but Daniels pulls Kaz away from the second one.

Sting gets crotched on the post and sent into the barricade as the champions take over. Ray chases Daniels off with a chair and it’s off to Kaz for a chinlock on Sting. Back to Daniels who pounds away some more but they clothesline each other, allowing for the double tag to bring in Ray and Kaz.

Bully cleans house and everything breaks down. Daniels tries to hit Sting with a belt but Ray kicks him down. Sting saves Ray from a top rope double ax from Kaz and the unlikely partners shake hands. Sting says Bully Get The Tables. Great way to stop the D-Von chants there guys. Ray powerbombs Daniels throug a table for the DQ at 10:09.

Rating: C. So the tag team champions just got slaughtered by a makeshift team that is likely going to split up due to Ray being himself on Sunday. That’s TNA logic for you, and if a team going into the third biggest match on the card has to be sacrificed along the way so be it. At least it wasn’t a pin.

Video on Aries vs. Hardy with Aries still being jealous of Jeff.

We get a video recapping Aces and 8’s.

Video recapping Snow vs. Ryan.

Joe and Magnus get in an argument in the back about the match on Sunday. Magnus says he’s a businessman and Joe hides behind politics. As Magnus is leaving he says “Bound For Glory….or at least I am.” Good line.

Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher

Non-title of course. Tessmacher takes over to start but Gail avoids the Stinkface. Gail takes over with a guillotine on the top rope and starts choking away before hitting a backbreaker for two. Tessmacher comes back with a slingshot and some shots in the corner followed by that sitout legsweep of hers. Tessmacher goes up and gets crotched before countering a fireman’s carry into a sloppy rollup. Gail counters a rana into a powerbomb for two and Tessmacher hits a bad looking release mat slam which I can’t remember the name of for the pin at 5:31.

Rating: D. This was another uninteresting and pretty sloppy Knockouts match. The move is called the Tesshocker apparently. Good to know. Tessmacher is doing nothing for me as champion as she’s the exact same person she was months ago and that’s not a good sign. Tara is someone that can help her but the whole division is just there anymore.

Tara comes out for a beatdown but Tessmacher beats her down and hits the Tesshocker.

Roode is talking in the back when Storm comes in and says he knows it was Roode that attacked him earlier. Storm chokes Roode and a fight starts before King Mo, the real star of the match Sunday, breaks it up and says save it for Sunday.

Sting’s Hall of Fame video.

We run down the BFG card.

Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Hardy

Roode jumps Hardy as Jeff is slapping hands at ringside. They head inside for the opening bell with Roode in full control. Hardy makes a brief comeback with his seated dropkick and they slug it out in the corner. A clothesline puts Roode on the floor and Hardy hits a big old plancha to take Roode out. Back in and Roode clotheslines him down and we head back to the floor. Hardy hits a suplex on the outside and we take a break.

Back with Roode holding Hardy in a front facelock and keeping control. Hardy fights up but gets put in a sleeper for his efforts. That gets two arm drops but Hardy finally breaks the hold. Hardy rams him into the buckle and hits Whisper in the Wind for no cover as he’s too far down. Hardy fires off right hands and hits a middle rope splash for two.

Roode comes back with a spinebuster for a near fall of his own and Jeff goes up, only to get caught in a superplex attempt. Hardy knocks him off but misses the Swanton. A spear puts Jeff down for two and the fisherman’s suplex is countered into a Twisting Stunner. Another Twist is loaded up but Roode this Hardy low for the DQ at 16:18.

Rating: C. Not bad here but it wasn’t ever going to hit an epic level given the ending they had to do. Hardy is likely going to win the title on Sunday but that doesn’t really make it a huge moment. The title match’s build is only so good at best and it doesn’t really make me care about it or the PPV as a whole. The match will be good but they’re approaching WM 18 area with the Aces and 8’s match as related to the world title. Gee and it’s Hogan again. Shocking.

Anyway post match Hardy runs Roode off and here’s Aries. Aries is tired of being told to the fans and it’s not true that he’s jealous of Hardy. He’s not jealous of the rap sheet Hardy has or of Hardy being so crippled he can barely play with his little girl. He’s tired of Hardy getting special treatment while he can’t even get the new music and the new entrance he wants. Aries says he does his best when it’s him against the world.

The only failure at BFG is Hardy because until Hardy beats Aries, he’s still a failure. Hardy is a lot taller than Aries. Jeff’s response: “Austin, my nuts hurt.” He says he’ll win on Sunday and Aries asks Jeff to leave so he can bask in the fans’ glory. Hardy goes to leave but Aries kicks him low and loads up the brainbuster which lays Hardy out. No Aces and 8’s tonight.

Overall Rating: C-. This didn’t do much for me, but the point of the show wasn’t to blow the doors off the place. The idea of this show was to set up the PPV and they did that for the most part. Adding RVD and the X Title to the card was a good idea as both should be on the biggest show of the year. This wasn’t a thrilling show but they have the PPV ready to go, although I’m not wild on where they’re going with it.

Results

Austin Aries b. James Storm – Brainbuster

Hernandez b. AJ Styles – Running Body Attack

Christopher Daniels/Kazarian b. Sting/Bully Ray via DQ when Ray powerbombed Daniels through a table

Miss Tessmacher b. Gail Kim – Tesshocker

Jeff Hardy b. Bobby Roode via DQ when Roode hit Hardy low

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 4, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

We’re closing in on Bound For Glory with this show and then one more next week before the biggest show of the year. Last week Hogan and Sting agreed to a tag team match against two Aces and 8’s guys at the PPV and it’ll be Sting and someone else, possibly RVD, to face the bikers. However, the deal is nothing else happens from Aces and 8’s until the PPV, so it’s not likely that’s what we’re going to be discussing tonight. Let’s get to it.

Normal recaps open things up.

Hogan and Sting are in Hogan’s office but Hogan can’t be with Sting at the PPV. Sting is going to watch every match tonight to determine who his partner is going to be at BFG.

Mr. Anderson vs. Gunner

Anderson says he wants to be Sting’s partner and to watch him do his thing here. Gunner immediately jumps Anderson to take over. Anderson knocks him to the floor but Gunner takes over back inside. A quick chinlock doesn’t really get Gunner anywhere so he whips Anderson into the corner only to miss a charge. Mic Check gets the pin at 2:28.

Post match Kid Kash comes in to beat on Anderson but gets Mic Checked as well.

Tara is on the phone with her boyfriend when Gail comes up. They have a tag match later and Tara insults Gail’s cable TV star husband, who is a TV chef I think.

Gail Kim/Tara vs. Miss Tessmacher/ODB

ODB and Gail start things off with the bigger chick throwing Gail into the corner. The beating continues with ODB in complete control. Off to Tess for a Stink Face because that’s what she’s good for. ODB comes back in and misses the Bronco Buster but saves herself before pain hits her crotch. Off to Tara who can’t get out of the way of the Bronco Buster but a Gail distraction allows the heels to take over.

Tara and Gail keep having issues as Tara wants to come in and get the glory after Gail does the work. Tara’s standing moonsault hits ODB’s knee and it’s off to Tessmacher to very little reaction. A headscissors takes Tara down as does a faceplant out of the corner. ODB gets a shot from the flask and spears Gail down but Gail comes back in and is shoved by Tara into Tessmacher. The Widow’s Peak pins Tessmacher at 4:44.

Rating: C. The Knockouts are a shell of what they used to be but there’s an angle here which is tried and true over time (teacher vs. student) and it’s hard to screw up. On top of that we have the mystery of Tara’s boyfriend which could wind up being something interesting. Either that or it’s Jason Hervey which would just be stupid.

Bruce Pritchard is showing Al Snow something on a contract and Snow says he’ll get it done.

We recap Al Snow vs. Joey Ryan over the months.

Here’s Snow and he brings out Joey Ryan with something to say to him. Snow says that several months ago he did something he shouldn’t have and put himself and TNA in a bad position. He offers an apology to Ryan but that’s not good enough for Joey, who wants it more personalized. Ryan says tonight he’s in control and wants to hear about the other legal agreement they’ve come to. Snow pulls out a contract for Ryan but Joey wants to sign it on Snow’s back. There’s a catch though: Ryan has a match with Snow for BFG and it’s win and get a full time contract.

Angle wants to pull a double at BFG but Sting will only think about it. Kaz and Daniels are seen in the back hoping that Sting says yes. Angle leaves but Ray steps in and says he should be in the world title match, but he’ll take a spot on Sting’s team instead. Sting says go be a bully and prove your worth.

TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Rob Van Dam

Joe won the title last week and it’s his first defense. That’s a different belt than the one he held last week too. Joe takes him down to start but Van Dam comes back with a few forearms. Those get him nowhere as Joe clotheslines him down and hits an enziguri in the corner. Van Dam tries his rolling roll up but Joe catches the leg and puts on an STF. They head to the floor and Van Dam dropkicks the leg out before trying to drape the wide load over the barricade.

That fails due to the laws of gravity and RVD gets rammed into the steps for his efforts. Back inside and Van Dam hits a middle rope cross body to put Joe down but he goes up top WAY too fast. Joe pulls him off the top and the MuscleBuster is enough to retain the title at 4:27. I miss that move.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have any time to get going but it worked while it lasted. Joe being all dominant and tough again is a good thing as he’s one of the guys that is hard to screw up when he’s booked right. RVD continues to be kind of there in TNA. He doesn’t really do anything but he’s a big enough deal that he can be thrown into whatever story and fit. Match was short but it was decent while it lasted.

Everyone in the tag team triple threat but Angle gets in an argument about last week and Chavo losing the match because of interference.

Dixie talks about her BFG memories.

Aries talked to Hardy earlier today about their tag match last week where Hardy stole the pin after Aries did the work. Ray comes up and says he’s not going to punch either of them right now, but he’ll punch one of them later. It’s to prove himself to Sting by beating Hardy. Aries takes offense to this and wants to fight Ray instead. They argue so Hardy suggests a triple threat. Ray is cool with that.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle

No Kazarian? I would have thought it would be another triple threat like last week but this is a nice surprise. Feeling out process to start with Chavo hooking a headlock that can’t be broken by an Angle suplex. That’s quite the headlock. Angle takes him into the corner and stomps away but Chavo comes back with some uppercuts. Angle finally gets Chavo on the mat with a go behind grip and a kind of slam gets two.

Back up and Chavo dropkicks Kurt down and literally rolls onto him for two. A release belly to belly puts Chavo down but he escapes the Angle Slam and hits a quick rana for two. It’s time for Three Amigos but Angle blocks the third and rolls some Germans. The ankle lock is countered and there are the Three Amigos in full. The Frog Splash misses and there’s the Angle Slam. Hernandez looks at Angle and the distraction is enough for Chavo to roll up Kurt for the pin at 6:42.

Rating: B-. Another pretty good but short match here. I don’t know what the deal is with that unless Angle is still hurt and can’t go at full speed yet. His thigh is taped up so maybe there’s something not quite healed yet. They’ve done a good job with the three way feud and I’m digging the idea of the match at the PPV. Pretty good stuff here.

Hernandez and AJ get in for a staredown as the tag champs stand on the stage.

X-Division Title: Douglas Williams vs. Zema Ion

Williams starts out fast and clotheslines Ion to the floor. Ion is defending in case you had forgotten this title existed. Back in and Ion cranks on the arm with a hold and Williams taps almost immediately at 1:19.

Ion won’t let go and the decision is reversed. He says he’s on the top of Sting’s list but he wants off it, because his looks aren’t worth the risk.

We look at King Mo, an MMA guy who is coming to TNA and will be guest referee for Storm vs. Roode because that match needs a guest referee for some reason.

Pritchard and Brown are looking at a video of Matt Morgan running in at a house show and beating up a referee. Pritchard yells at Brown for letting this happen.

Here’s Storm to talk about the match with Roode a bit more. Ten days from now this war with Roode started and at BFG, it’s not about proving that Storm is a better fighter or a better wrestler. It’s about being a better man. Hogan doesn’t like the referees being pushed around so he’s brought in King Mo to be the guest referee. Cue Roode for the interruption.

Roode accuses Storm of riding his coattails and being jealous of Roode for years. Bobby promises that this isn’t just a match, but it’s going to be a fight. He’s not going to stop at BFG until he knows Storm’s career is over. It’s going to be a bloodbath and Roode doesn’t care about King Mo, because no one is going to stop him at the PPV. If Mo were here, Roode would say it to his face. Mo comes out in a glittery silver robe, MMA gloves, a big freaking medallion and a crown and shoves Roode down. Mo gets in the ring in Storm’s face and they share a beer.

Hogan has picked his guy and has it written down, because he can’t say it to Sting who is right next to him. Sting likes the idea but wants to see Bully first.

Aces and 8’s tortures Joseph Park a bit more. He’s been kidnapped for three weeks now. WHY HAS NO ONE CALLED THE COPS??? They tear Park’s shirt off and apparently are going to attack car battery clamps to his nipples. We’re going to find out who their two guys are tonight to face Sting and whoever it is.

Joe vs. Magnus at BFG. That was obvious and that’s the right call for sure.

Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries

Non-title here. This is joined in progress after a break with Ray knocking down Hardy in the ring. Aries is on the floor I presume but he pops back in as Hardy is sent to the floor. Aries and Hardy start working together with some Poetry in Motion with Aries playing Matt. The legdrop between the legs and a low dropkick set up a Twisting Stunner to Ray and Jeff goes up. There’s the Swanton but Aries makes the save. Aries hooks the Last Chancery but Hardy makes the save this time.

Hardy is sent to the floor and Ray backdrops Aries onto Jeff in a good looking crash. Back in and Aries says he doesn’t need anyone, which is pretty solidly heel of him. He hits the running dropkick to Ray but Bully blocks the brainbuster. He goes to look for his chain but settles for the title belt instead. Hardy back in now and Ray sends Jeff into the champ. Bubba Bomb to Hardy gets the pin at 4:10 shown. Yeah less than five minutes.

Rating: C. This is the night of the short matches. Ray winning is one way they could have gone although I’m not sure it’s the right one. It’s also not the wrong move but they put themselves in an awkward place here. Ray winning is probably the best possible outcome they could have gone with, but this likely wasn’t the best match for them to pick.

Here are Hogan and Sting to announce Sting’s partner for the match. Hogan talks about how Aces and 8’s are running wild around here and now it’s getting personal. Really? Just NOW it’s getting personal? Hogan says he needs a real partner for Sting and it’s going to be….Anderson. Yes, apparently beating Gunner is more impressive than beating the world champion and the number 1 contender. And never mind as Anderson is beaten down by Aces and 8’s in the back.

Ray runs out and says it should be him now for sure. He gives a great speech about going to war (ruined by the fans chanting for D-Von) and sticks his hand out to Hogan. Sting likes the idea and Hogan waits before shaking his hands. The fans boo of course because nothing makes these people happy. Ray is ready to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was…..understandable. It certainly isn’t a good show but they built up the PPV. This is the funky period before a major PPV where the card is mostly set and now you’re filling in the stories before you get there. It happens every year before Wrestlemania and it happens every year before BFG. It’s not fun but it has to happen. Nothing on here was terrible, but nothing on it was great either. They’re not even trying to hide that Aces and 8’s is the real main event and I’m actually hoping it goes on last so we don’t get the same thing Roode and Angle got last year where no one cared. Slow, but not awful show.

Results

Mr. Anderson b. Gunner – Mic Check

Gail Kim/Tara b. ODB/Miss Tessmacher – Widow’s Peak to Tessmacher

Samoa Joe b. Rob Van Dam – MuscleBuster

Chavo Guerrero b. Kurt Angle – Rollup

Douglas Williams b. Zema Ion via DQ when Ion wouldn’t release his hold

Bully Ray b. Jeff Hardy and Austin Aries – Bully Bomb to Hardy

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 27, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s another pretty big show tonight in that we have Hogan going to Aces and 8’s clubhouse which hopefully means we can move to something of substance instead of teasing everything anymore. Other than that we’re going to have a new TV Champion tonight in the form of either Magnus, Samoa Joe, Mr. Anderson or Garrett freaking Bischoff. Let’s get to it.

We open with the usual recaps from last week.

Aries and Hardy are teaming up tonight against opponents to be named later.

Here’s Hogan to open the show. He talks about how tonight is a turning point for the company, but first and foremost he needs to address the TV Title. Tonight there are going to be four people trying to convince him that they deserve a shot at the title and there will be a new champion tonight. As for Storm and Roode, there’s going to be a street fight at Bound For Glory and there’s going to be a special enforcer in the form of King Mo, the MMA fighter who is coming to TNA for awhile and try to do both sports at once.

That brings us to Aces and 8’s. Tonight he’s going to their clubhouse and he explains the story so far in case you missed the opening five minutes ago. He’ll go alone if he has to, and this brings out Sting. Sting says he promised to have Hogan’s back and he’s backing that up tonight.

Anderson’s BFG moment is being in the main event of BFG 2012.

Kurt Angle vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Christopher Daniels

BFG preview here. Daniels immediately heads to the floor and tells the other guys to fight it out. That goes about as well as you would expect a diabolical plan to work, with Chavo and Angle taking over on him very easily. Angle gets sent shoulder first into the post so it’s time for Daniels to fight Chavo on his own. The referee checks on Angle for a while and Kaz trips up Chavo, leading to a fight between the face teams on the floor. All six get in the ring for a staredown as we take a break.

During the break the three non-wrestlers got ejected and we come back with Angle caught in a top wristlock from Daniels. Chavo is nowhere to be seen. Angle snaps off a German to Daniels and one to a charging Chavo. The Angle Slam is countered by Guerrero and he knocks Angle to the floor. Chavo starts speeding things up on Daniels but Angle comes back in to suplex him down very quickly.

A big German takes Daniels down but Chavo rolls Kurt up to break up the ankle lock. Chavo loads up the Three Amigos on Angle but has to settle for them on Daniels instead. Chavo goes up but Angle puts the ankle lock on Daniels, who counters and sends Angle into Chavo, crotching him. An STO out of nowhere on Chavo is enough to get the pin for Daniels at 9:06.

Rating: C+. This was the usual fast paced match that you would expect from these three. Angle is great at running three way matches and this worked like the rest of his matches with two opponents do. Daniels winning is a good way to keep the chances up that the champions could retain at the PPV, which is something they’ve been missing lately. Good match.

Time for the first round of voting from Hogan regarding the TV Title. He asks the four of them why they should get the shot. Garrett says he’s worked since day one and D-Von saw something in him, which is why he should be here. Magnus and Joe get in an argument and Anderson says he’s action and not talk. Joe says none of them deserve to be in the ring with him. Based on resumes, that’s mostly true. Magnus talks about how great he’s been all around the world and how he knows how TV works, which is what a TV Champion should do. Hogan throws Magnus out to keep Magnus and Joe apart.

Brooke Hogan goes to see Tara and Tara takes a call from her boyfriend. Make that two. Apparently she has to earn a title shot. Brooke takes the phone and leaves with it. She still isn’t interesting.

Tara vs. ODB

Winner gets the shot at Tessmacher at the PPV. Eric does his stupid schtick before the match starts. ODB pounds away to start and chases Tara around the ring for a few seconds. Eric gets on the apron like a tag partner and gets down before he does anything of note. ODB hits a splash in the corner followed by a Bronco Buster. Tara is sent to the floor and gets in an argument with Eric, allowing ODB to hit a baseball slide to keep control.

ODB hits her fallaway slam and knocks Tara out to the floor where she’s holding her knee. Tara seems to hit on Eric, who insists to his wife (yeah they’re married. Remember that?) that his pants are still up. Tara takes her knee brace off but she’s goldbricking and pins ODB with a small package at 4:44.

Rating: D. I don’t remember a less interesting or less surprising match in years. Gee, ODB and Eric do goofy stuff, Tara wins to set up the obvious title match at the PPV, and the match was nothing of note. The Knockouts have falled through the floor as of late and they’re not going to get better anytime soon it doesn’t seem. At least they look good. Well, other than ODB that is.

Gut Check is next.

Time for Gut Check and Snow is in trouble due to the Joey Ryan stuff. Now the judges talk about Markopoulous or however you spell that.

Bully Ray is on his Twitter Machine and won’t talk about who his partner is tonight against Hardy/Aries.

Joe is in the title match and Hogan has to pick between Anderson and Garrett. Garrett says he can hang with Joe. Thankfully Anderson gets picked because it’s not Joe’s time. Garrett stares down Hogan with a look that says something more is coming from him. Just what the world needs.

Roode goes in to see Aries and implies he’s going to be Ray’s partner tonight. Roode can’t stand the idea of Aries being champion because he can’t get a title shot while Aries is still champion. He tries to get into Aries’ head about Hardy, presumably to mess him up at the PPV.

TV Title: Mr. Anderson vs. Samoa Joe

Both guys try for their finishers very fast but neither can get them to work. Joe hits his back elbow and enziguri in the corner for two and he takes over. He stomps away a bit and hits a chop to the back but gets rolled up for two. A swinging neckbreaker gets two for Anderson as well and he pounds away. Anderson hits a jawbreaker and a Regal Roll but Joe rolls it through into a crucifix for two.

The Mic Check is countered but Joe counters a rollup into most of the Clutch but he doesn’t have the bodyscissors. Now the scissors is on and Joe gets the back too. He traps Anderson’s arm before Anderson can make the rope. This hold has been on for like 90 seconds now and Anderson is still conscious. Anderson passes out to give Joe the title and the Grand Slam at 5:21.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t much of a match for the TV Title if they were going for something special. The ending was pretty absurd with Anderson holding on in a choke for two minutes. Wouldn’t the guy be dead after that? Anyway, the match was dull as it pretty much just came and went, which isn’t what you want in a title match.

That wasn’t the red TV Title. It looked like the world title that was around before Jeff won the title for the first time.

Hogan and Sting are talking when a chick shows up saying there are documents that have to be signed. Before they can, the chick maces them and Aces and 8’s pop up and put hoods on Hogan and Sting’s heads before throwing them into a van which pops up out of nowhere.

Gut Check time. Taz thinks Evan has a ton of potential and says yes. Bruce says he’s too young. We go to the kickout and he talks about Snow trying to get into ECW and SMW when he was under 18. Snow says Evan is the epitome of what this is about and that he has all of the things that he needs. But he’s 18 so it’s a no.

We get a preview of TMNT’s new series. As a TMNT fan, this scares me to death.

We get a clip from the clubhouse and the big boss is on his way. Hogan looks….scared?

Douglas Williams won a tag title at BFG one year in a ladder match.

Back at the clubhouse Hogan and Sting are at the card table with presumably the big boss sitting across from them. He says his identity doesn’t matter and he has a business off for Hulk. Hulk wants to fight right now. The boss wants to be allowed to come and go from the Impact Zone. Joseph Park is brought out on a table. The boss offers a tag match at BFG and Hogan immediately says himself and Sting.

Boss: “Hulk, for the first time in your adult life, THIS ISN’T ABOUT YOU.” The Boss says that at the PPV, if Aces and 8’s win, they get full access to the Impact Zone but if they lose, Aces and 8’s go away. It can’t be Hogan and Sting in the ring though. Parks (apparently he gained an s on his name somewhere) is held until after the match.

Storm is happy with having a street fight with Roode at BFG.

Bully Ray/Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Hardy/Austin Aries

Hardy and Ray start things off with Hardy immediately speeding things up to send Ray into the corner. Off to Aries vs. Roode with Bobby looking a bit nervous. Hardy comes in sans tag and cleans house while Hardy clears the ring. We take a break and come back with Hardy getting knocked off the top to give Ray and Roode the advantage.

Ray is in so the fans of course have to chant about D-Von because THEY CAN’T SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE FREAKING MATCH FOR FIVE MINUTES. Off to Roode and Hardy grabs a Twist of Fate out of nowhere to take Roode down. Aries and Ray get tags but Roode distracts the champ and Ray knocks him to the floor. Aries gets sent into the steps and it’s off to a bearhug from Ray back in the ring.

The champ bites his way out of it but won’t tag in Hardy and it’s Ray running wild. Hardy gets kicked in the face and Aries has to fight off both guys by himself. Jeff seems content to just look up into the ring and let this happen. Aries hits the suicide dive on Roode and a missile dropkick takes Ray down. Aries talks trash to Hardy but hits the Brainbuster on Roode anyway. Hardy tags himself in and hits the Swanton for the pin on Roode at 14:00.

Rating: C. Standard main event tag match here to further the idea that the champ wants respect and admiration that Hardy has. It doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere with the idea of Ray being added to make it a threeway but to be fair that never really was mentioned on TV. The match was fine for what it was.

Hogan and Sting are returned to the Impact Zone. Sting is untied and doesn’t do anything because of a threat to Park. Aces and 8’s leave in their van and apparently Sting is going to be one half of the tag match.

Overall Rating: C. This didn’t do it for me for the most part. This show was mainly about Aces and 8’s and that story isn’t getting my interest up at all. It’s been dragging on WAY too long and it looks like the boss is going to be revealed at the PPV, which makes sense. The problem with that though is that it looks like we’re heading for a faction war, which is TNA’s bread and butter. That doesn’t do anything at all for me though and it seems like it’s going to dominate the show.

As for the rest of the show, nothing really happened other than Joe winning the TV Title which means nothing for the most part. Just nothing going on here outside of Hogan, which really fill me with confidence for the next two weeks. The tag title match is going to be fun, but the world title match is on the back burner and that’s the last place it needs to be.

Results

Christopher Daniels b. Chavo Guerrero and Kurt Angle – STO to Guerrero

Tara b. ODB – Small Package

Samoa Joe b. Mr. Anderson – Koquina Clutch

Austin Aries/Jeff Hardy b. Bobby Roode/Bully Ray – Swanton Bomb to Ray

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 13, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

Well we’re past No Surrender and it looks like we have two of our three main matches for the biggest show of the year. Hardy won the BFG Series in what can only be called a surprise given that he did almost nothing until the last few weeks. I mean, the guy lost to Robbie E. Also it looks like we’re having Roode vs. Storm in the likely blowoff to their nearly year long feud. That just leaves the Aces and 8’s match which will probably be Lethal Lockdown. We’re headed to Phoenix now so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the PPV with the voiceover guy.

Here’s the champ to open things up. He holds up the title and talks about how important it is, and how it makes the company go around. It’s also why Aces and 8’s have been all over him. On Sunday he didn’t unmask anyone but he got a piece of one of them. That brings us to Bound For Glory and his opponent at Bound For Glory: Jeff Hardy. The champ asks Hardy to come out here so here’s the painted one.

Aries congratulates Hardy for winning the Series, especially given how much he went through on Sunday. Hardy is a man of few words, but the fans love him. The fans cheer for Aries as well, and at Bound For Glory, it seems like Aries has something Hardy wants. Aries sees it as Hardy has something Aries wants.

Before he can elaborate on that, here’s Bully Ray to tell both of them that they’re lucky. Aries is lucky that Ray isn’t getting the shot and Hardy is lucky that Ray felt badly for him for one second when Aces and 8’s took out Hardy’s shoulder. Ray goes on a rant about how many times he’s beaten Hardy and now he screwed it up. Aries cuts Ray off and says maybe Ray and Hardy should fight again. Apparently it’s on for later.

X-Division Title: Zema Ion vs. Sonjay Dutt

Didn’t we see this match on Sunday? Dutt immediately takes him to the floor and hits a moonsault and headscissors to take the champion down. Back in the ring and a rana gets two. Ion tries to hit a charge in the corner but gets caught with a pendulum kick. Another rana takes Ion down but Dutt misses a standing moonsault and Ion hooks a Rings of Saturn. Dutt escapes and slams Ion down for the moonsault double stomp. That move is still insane. Dutt goes up again but gets crotched and rolled up for the pin by Ion to retain at 3:30.

Rating: C-. Ion had ONE offensive move the whole match and that’s the rollup. I’m not a fan of the idea of the champ getting beaten down until he pulls off a miracle win at the end. Dutt continues to look awesome here and is probably the best X-Division guy to never be X-Division Champion.

Post match Ion cranks Dutt’s arm back.

Hogan walks in on Daniels and Kaz imitating him in a funny bit. We get an overly complicated deal for later: Daniels is going to face either Chavo or Hernandez while Kaz is going to face either AJ or Angle. If both of them win, they don’t have to defend against either team again. If either of them lose, they have to face the member of the team that beat them. Assuming both guys lose, they have to face both teams.

Angle and Styles talk about who gets to face Kaz. Apparently it’ll be AJ. Styles leaves to get ready when Wes Brisco comes up and says nothing of note to Angle.

We recap Roode and Storm from Sunday.

Here’s Roode to the ring. He says he’s back and talks about getting screwed against Aries at Hardcore Justice. He can’t get another rematch with Aries during this reign so he left. So then he shifted his views to James Storm, who made a living off Roode for years. Roode made sure Storm wasn’t getting the world title shot either…..and here’s the Cowboy.

It’s on immediately and Storm takes him down to the floor and up the aisle. Storm rams him into the stage and puts a dent in the thing. They head to the back and some equipment is knocked over and we go to a break.

We get a clip from BFG 09 where AJ beat Sting to retain the title. The tagline of Memories Are Waiting is great.

Kazarian vs. AJ Styles

AJ snaps off some armdrags to start and a big right hand takes Kaz to the floor. The drop down/kick takes Kaz down and Kaz heads to the floor where he gets pounded on even more. We take a break and come back with AJ hitting a backbreaker to stop Kaz’s momentum. AJ heads to the apron and blocks a suplex back in before DDTing (kind of) Kaz on the apron. AJ tries to go after Kaz but gets caught in a monkey flip on the floor. Back in and Kaz gets three quick two’s but AJ pops up and tries the Clash. That doesn’t work so he settles for the springboard forearm for two. Kaz gets a rollup with feet on the ropes for two but he walks into the Pele and the Clash for the clean pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was somewhat sloppy but the match worked well enough. At the end of the day you can’t mess up Styles in a match when he can fly around the ring. Decent match here and a good way to set up at least one set of challengers for the tag champions. I sense a triple threat for BFG though, because what would a PPV be without one of those?

Hogan is in the back with Brooke and says he doesn’t want her going anywhere around here without two bodyguards. Joseph Park comes in and after some legalese, he says that his key piece of evidence is coming next week. Hogan tells Park to guard Brooke until further notice. Hulk leaves and Park givers her his legal pitch which goes nowhere.

Ray yells at Hardy in the back and asks for tonight’s match to be for the title shot at BFG. Hardy doesn’t say anything but eventually he opens his eyes and says sure.

After a quick package from Sunday about Aces and 8’s, here’s Hogan to the ring. He praises all 12 guys in the BFG Series but Hardy came out on top. Hardy is from another solar system and it’s cool with Hulk if the title is on the line tonight. Hogan talks about how Sunday at No Surrender was a game changer with the lockdown and all that. The Impact Zone is going to be locked down forever.

This brings Aces and 8’s to the monitor. The leader says that it’s not that they’re locked out. It’s that they’re locked in. From this moment on, Hogan will never have any idea who is working against him. Hogan looks scared. Well he might be hungry. With his acting abilities you never can tell.

Christopher Daniels vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Feeling out process to start with Guerrero hooking a headlock and an over the shoulder backbreaker for two. Daniels heads to the floor and avoids a kick but gets taken out by a running flip attack off the apron. Back in and Daniels takes over and works on the ribs of Chavo a bit. A backbreaker puts Chavo down but he pops back up and starts his comeback. Daniels gets hiptossed to the floor and grabs his belt but the swing with it misses. Chavo rolls some suplexes and the Frog Splash gets the pin at 6:30.

Rating: C. This wasn’t as good as the first match but it was fine. Chavo is fine in the role he’s in but I really can’t see him moving up at all. The triple threat match should be fine and I could see the newest team pull off a surprise win with the other two canceling each other out. This was fine.

Aaron Markopoulis is the next Gut Check guy.

Storm wants more of Roode and he’s getting it next week at Open Fight Night.

Gail Kim talks about winning the first Knockouts Title.

Here’s Tara for a chat. She asks Tessmacher to come out here and says that on Sunday, the student beat the teacher. Tara asks to put the belt on Tessmacher (a rare sight with that belt) and after awhile there’s the obvious heel turn. Widow’s Peak leaves the champ laying.

Another video from Sunday and the main event.

Dixie yells at the people in charge of TNA (agents/Hogans) about Aces and 8’s so Hogan talks about how this is war. Dixie is worried about everyone because there must be someone inside. They’re going to look Aces and 8’s in the eye instead of running.

Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy

Winner gets the shot at BFG. Ray jumps Hardy during his posing on the ropes to get us on fast. Hardy sends him to the floor and hits a plancha as we take a break. Back with Ray dropping an elbow for two and backdropping Hardy. A splash gets two as well but Jeff tries the Twist. Bully shoves him shoulder first into the post and Jeff is in trouble. Hardy rolls in to break the count but it ticks Ray off even more and he drops a forearm on the back from the apron.

Back in and Ray goes for the chops in the corner. Dang those are loud considering Jeff has a top on. A corner splash from Ray hits but Jeff counters the second and hits Whisper in the Wind. They slug it out from their knees with Jeff taking over with an atomic drop and the legdrop between the legs to set up the basement dropkick for two. Twist of Fate is countered into a Bubba Bomb for two

An attempt at a second Bomb is countered into a DDT for two and Jeff is going up. Ray dives to crotch him and there’s a superplex for two. A Vader bomb misses but the Swanton does as well. Another Bubba Bomb hits for two and we’ve got like 30 seconds left of air time. The Twisting Stunner sets up the Twist of Fate which sets up the Swanton to cement Hardy in the title shot at BFG at 14:35.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than the main event on Sunday as the fans were more into it and things didn’t get ridiculous with the kicking out of finishers. If you do it over and over again, the kickouts stop meaning anything at all. Here they only did it like twice and you got a better match out of it. Good stuff.

Overall Rating: B-. For the first of the last five shows before Bound for Glory, this was perfectly acceptable. The main event hopefully is set in stone now and the whole mole idea is interesting for the eventual Aces and 8’s match. Other than that we’ve got a blood feud with Roode vs. Storm where the blowoff is going to rock. I’m a lot more excited for this show than I am for anything WWE has coming up and that’s a good sign.

Results

Zema Ion b. Sonjay Dutt – Rollup

AJ Styles b. Kazarian – Styles Clash

Chavo Guerrero b. Christopher Daniels – Frog Splash

Jeff Hardy b. Bully Ray – Swanton Bomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Hardcore Justice 2012
Date: August 12, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

It’s the last stop before we start heading towards BFG which means tonight is all about getting points in the BFG Series. Well that and the world title match with Aries defending against Roode which is the final encounter, as no one is eligible for a rematch due to a pre-match agreement. TNA has done a good job lately of making us wonder who is going to win all of these matches tonight so let’s get to it.

The opening video is about how tonight is all about violence and the Series and the title is in there somewhere too.

Tenay says the TV Title is on the line tonight too so I guess we have a bonus match. Word on the street says it’s Kaz challenging D-Von.

Gunner/Kid Kash vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr./Hernandez

This is probably the right choice for the opener as I don’t think anyone really cares about this for the most part but it should be fine from a technical standpoint. The villains jump Chavo and Hernandez before the bell and the fans seem to be behind Chavo. The fans’ pick starts with Kash and Chavo quickly hits the Three Amigos to take over. He goes up but Gunner knocks him down to slow Chavo down.

The heels use some nice double teaming moves, including a double slingshot suplex for two. Kash spends a little too much time bragging and Chavo snaps off a headscissors to take him down. There’s no tag to SuperMex though as Chavo and Kash stumble into the ropes for some reason. Off to Gunner with a right hand to take Chavo down followed by a backdrop. Back to Kash who hooks a cool neck scissors (only way I can think of to describe it) on Chavo.

Hernandez is getting annoyed on the apron but Chavo is stuck in the corner. Kash hooks a camel clutch but Chavo escapes into an electric chair. Gunner breaks up ANOTHER tag attempt. When that hot tag hits the place is going to erupt. Chavo hits a European Uppercut but goes after Kash instead of making the tag. That’s not very veteranly of him. They clothesline each other down and NOW we get the hot tag to Hernandez.

SuperMex cleans house and throws the evil tag stoppers around like they’re small men being thrown around by a large Mexican American. Gunner breaks up a pin attempt off a shoulder block so Hernandez clotheslines them both down at once. Gunner is knocked to the floor and SuperMex dives over the top to take Gunner out. Chavo tagged himself in as Hernandez was diving and after Kash is taken down by a slingshot shoulder block, the Frog Splash pins Kash at 9:37.

Rating: C+. This was perfectly fine for an opener. I don’t think most people really cared about the match but they worked the tag formula to perfection and it still works to this day. Chavo tagging himself in could lead to some friction so maybe there’s something to build off from this. Good stuff here though and a fine opener.

The people in the Series say they’ll win.

Bound For Glory Series Leaderboard

James Storm 66

Samoa Joe 54

Kurt Angle 48

Mr. Anderson 40

Jeff Hardy 35

Rob Van Dam 35

Christopher Daniels 33

Bully Ray 28

Magnus 21

AJ Styles 16

D’Angelo Dinero 9

Robbie E 5

Bound For Glory Series: D’Angelo Dinero vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Mr. Anderson vs. Magnus

This is Falls Count Anywhere and it’s for 20 points. Dinero is jumped in the back by Aces and 8’s before the match so I guess we have a three way instead. Apparently someone is late to the show but I didn’t catch the name. Anderson is fine with Dinero being out because it’s one less guy to worry about. They play to the crowd to start but Van Dam gets jumped by Magnus and knocked over the top rope to the floor.

Anderson clotheslines Magnus down but can only get a one count. Van Dam comes back in and monkey flips everyone in sight. Well everyone who isn’t a referee that is. Magnus and Van Dam go to the floor but Anderson breaks up the spinning legdrop off the apron. Anderson sends Magnus into the apron for one on the floor. Magnus gets a chair as I assume this is hardcore and not just falls count anywhere.

Anderson knocks the chair away from Magnus but his DDT onto the chair is broken up. The two of them brawl up to the stage on the floor but Van Dam pelts a chair at Magnus to break it up. Now he hits the spinning leg to the back of Anderson who was on the barricade next to the ramp. Magnus gets in a shot to Van Dam’s knee and puts on a Texas Cloverleaf on the stage, only to have Anderson clothesline him in the back of the head to break the hold.

Back to the ring and Anderson and Magnus hit a double clothesline to take each other down. Van Dam stumbles in to try the Five Star but Anderson crotches him. They load up a Tower of Doom but Anderson breaks it up. He tries the superplex on RVD but gets knocked down and Five Starred but Magnus breaks up the pin. Magnus suplexes RVD on the ramp and asks for an expletive chair. RVD goes up the ramp with the Brit following with the aforementioned chair. Apparently no one has watched tape because YOU DON’T HOLD UP A CHAIR IN FRONT OF VAN DAM! Van Daminator gets the pin on Magnus at 9:06.

Rating: B-. I was digging this although I’m not wild on them taking Dinero out. My best guess would be it’s someone trying to take people out of the Series because they’re low in the standings, but wouldn’t you want to take out the people with the most points so you could move up? Maybe it has nothing to do with the standings. Either way, another good match here in a show that feels like it could be awesome.

Security can’t find Aces and 8’s.

Madison Rayne says she doesn’t need help to win titles so Earl Hebner won’t mean anything. If only that were true.

TV Title: D-Von vs. Kazarian

D-Von is defending. Kaz stalls on the floor to start but D-Von launches him into the ring. They head to the floor and a drink is knocked into the camera. D-Von is in full control and hits Kaz in the head with a bottle of water. Kaz tries to run up the steps but slips a bit, giving D-Von a heads up and letting him slam Kaz when he dives at the champ. Back inside and Kaz gets in his first offense in the form of a clothesline.

A springboard reverse elbow sets up a springboard legdrop for two. Off to a chinlock which doesn’t last long, but it gives the announcers enough time to talk about the planets for some reason. D-Von starts a comeback with some chops but gets poked in the eye to stop that cold. A spear out of nowhere takes Kaz down so hard that he stands on his head for a bit.

D-Von starts his comeback with the shoulders and a headbutt for no cover. Another shoulder gets two and D-Von has his goofy look. Kaz misses a charge in the corner and D-Von hits the neckbreaker out of the corner for two. A crucifix gets two for Kaz but Fade to Black is countered into the spinebuster for the pin to retain at 8:34.

Rating: C. Given the rumors of D-Von leaving soon, this might have been a way to throw the fans off and make them think D-Von would be leaving. Maybe that’ll happen on Impact or maybe it won’t happen at all, but either way this was fine for what it was. It was a comedy match in a way at first but it turned into your usual TV Title match. D-Von losing the title soon will likely be a good thing for it though as there’s nothing to most of his matches. Not that they’re bad though.

We recap Earl Hebner and Madison. The hot chick has a crush on the old man and he’s helped Madison win some matches. Tonight it’s a title match. Gee I wonder if that’ll mean anything.

Knockouts Title: Madison Rayne vs. Miss Tessmacher

Tessmacher is defending. They shove each other around to start and Earl is refereeing. WHY WOULD STING LET HIM DO THAT? Madison takes over by sending Tessmacher into the corner and then launches her across the ring by the hair. That has to hurt like no other. Tessmacher comes back with some clotheslines but walks into a northern lights suplex for two. The real comeback starts with some clotheslines but that mat slam of Tessmacher’s is countered. The champ slams her down by the hair and hits a top rope elbow for two. Out of nowhere Madison grabs a rollup and uses the ropes for the pin and the title at 5:30.

Rating: D. This was your usual Knockouts match: not that good but the girls look good in their little outfits. Hebner didn’t cheat at all in this which makes the sights of Madison kissing him COMPLETELY POINTLESS. Yes I get that it could mean something later, but WHY DID I HAVE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN INT HE FIRST PLACE??? Not a terrible match but man alive I do not care about women’s wrestling at all in either company. It’s just dull all around.

Bully Ray, with his back to the wall, shows JB a Dead Man’s Hand he found on his car. He tells Aces and 8’s to bring it on and says he’s going to Bound For Glory.

We recap the history of Aces and 8’s.

Bound For Glory Series: James Storm vs. Robbie E vs. Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy

Another 20 points on the line here and this is a tables match. I believe it’s one fall to a finish. Storm is still being accused of being behind Aces and 8’s but there’s no concrete evidence. Ray tells everyone to go after Storm but Robbie wants nothing to do with it. Robbie is promptly chopped in the chest and punched in the face for his disagreements. Jeff and James throw him to the floor but they get their heads taken off by Ray.

Ray beats on Robbie a bit and brings in the first table of the match. Hardy breaks up an attempted suplex through said table but Robbie moves the table to avoid a double suplex to Ray. Unfortunately he doesn’t move it well enough and Ray’s arm knocks off a piece of the table. That doesn’t count though because we can’t have a three minute match so we keep going.

Robbie comes in and takes over, putting Jeff on the table but he stops to fist pump. Storm breaks the attempt up and tries a superplex on Robbie, but Jeff turns it into a Tower of Doom. Ray moves the table but lets Robbie get destroyed anyway. Smart man there. Storm moves the table so Hardy can’t be backdropped through it and the Cowboy is the only one standing.

Storm takes too long setting up a table in the corner and Rob gets in a shot to the Cowboy’s back. Hardy gets back up and knocks Robbie down again to take over. There’s a table set up on the floor with the Jersey Shore dude placed on it but Robbie T comes out as a distraction. Since Hardy isn’t the smartest guy in the world, he dives over E on the table to take T out instead. Storm and Ray are fighting off camera as Jeff is placed on a table on the floor. Robbie dives off the middle rope but Hardy moves, sending Robbie crashing through the table.

Back in the ring Storm beats up Ray and hits an enziguri in the corner, only to have his head taken off by a Ray clothesline a second later. There’s a table set up in the corner and Ray sets to drive Storm through it but here are Aces and 8’s. They don’t get in but the distraction lets Storm kick Ray down. The masked men give Storm a thumbs up but he doesn’t care.

Hardy comes back and jumps Storm as the match continues. The table is set up in the middle of the ring and Hardy hits Whisper in the Wind (not through the table). Last Call is blocked and Hardy hits the Twist of Fate. He puts Storm on the table but Aces and 8’s distract Jeff. Storm hits the superkick on Jeff but Ray comes back in and kicks Storm down before powerbombing Hardy through the table for the win at 9:45.

Rating: C. This was pretty entertaining but it was more about the storyline than the match which is fine. The signs seem to point to Storm being in charge of the attacks but there’s no direct evidence so far and Storm may be being framed. Ray getting the win is interesting, even though he may be leaving soon. Could it be a red herring? The fact that I don’t know for sure makes this much more fun.

Ray seems to have a bad elbow due to the inadvertent crash through the table earlier.

Austin Aries talks about how Roode seems obsessed with having a rematch clause. Tonight he’ll take care of everything that he has to, and if that includes Aces and 8’s so be it.

We recap the X Title match. King jumped to TNA and wants to be champion because if not, it was a failed risk.

X-Division Title: Kenny King vs. Zema Ion

King is challenging. Feeling out process to start with King finally taking over with a headlock. A backslide gets two as does La Majistral. Back to the headlock and then out to the floor with King hitting a sweet flip dive off the apron. They head back inside for a second but King is knocked back outside where the champ hits a flip dive of his own. Ion hits a neckbreaker for two and it’s off to a chinlock.

That only lasts a few seconds as Ion chokes instead. Now we get a longer lasting chinlock followed by a DDT for two. King comes back with an atomic drop and things speed up a bit. A high collar throw puts Ion into the corner and out to the floor. King hits a BIG corkscrew dive to the floor which gets two back in.

The modified F5 is broken up but King puts on a half crab of all things. A kick similar to Trouble in Paradise misses and a flipping backbreaker gets two for Ion. King hits a knee to the head for two and knocks the hairspray out of Ion’s hand. They head to the corner and King sets for some kind of sunset flip but gets countered into something like a shoulderbreaker for the pin by Ion to retain at 11:03.

Rating: D+. Ion is really freaking boring. At the end of the day all he has is big hair and that’s nothing interesting at all. I get that they want to wait on Sorensen to come back and take the title from him in a big moment, but do we have to sit through him as champion that long? Nothing to see here and Ion winning was a letdown as he was shown up in this match.

Joe tells Aces and 8’s to bring it and that he’s winning tonight.

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels

20 points and it’s a ladder match. AJ immediately jumps Daniels and beats on him until Angle pulls Styles off. Angle jumps in and stomps on Daniels until Joe wants a turn. All three guys take their shots at Daniels who finally tries a BME, only to miss completely. Joe takes over but AJ knocks him to the floor and hits a big flip dive. It’s Styles vs. Angle in the ring but Daniels gets the ladder and hits AJ in the knee with it to take over.

The ladder is brought in but Joe slams Daniels onto it and goes for a climb. Angle and AJ come back in and knock the ladder down with Kurt taking over. Daniels jumps Angle from behind and sets the ladder up, only to get buckle bombed by Joe. The Samoan goes up but Angle makes the save and hits the overhead belly to belly to take Joe down. The fans chant USA despite all four guys being American.

Angle stomps on Styles but AJ shoves the ladder into his face to change control again. The Pele takes Joe down and AJ pounds on Daniels in the corner. Joe gets back up and cleans house, throwing around everyone in sight. He loads up the MuscleBuster on Styles but Angle comes in and grabs Joe for a German while he’s still holding AJ. Since that would probably kill AJ, he falls out and lands on Joe instead. Daniels hits an STO on Angle and goes for a climb but Kurt grabs the ankle to break it up.

AJ knocks everyone down and goes up, only for Daniels to shove him off the top and out to the floor in a scary landing. Joe and Angle bring Daniels down and it’s time for some suplexes. It turns into “can you top this” on Daniels which is always fun. There’s an Angle Slam and then Angle starts thinking. Daniels is put inside the ladder so that his head is coming through one hole and his legs are through another. The beating continues until Kurt climbs up. Daniels grabs his leg so Joe sets up another ladder and climbs as well. AJ pops in out of NOWHERE with the Shelton Benjamin leap and grabs the envelope to win at 16:18.

Rating: B. The stuff with Daniels was great and the match was good, but other than the ending there was nothing that stood out as great. Thankfully there was no Clair involvement here as she drags down almost everything she’s involved in. Good match here though and Daniels sold like a master.

Roode says he’ll win and that Aries is a fluke.

We recap the world title match. Roode was champion forever and Aries got the title match because he was X-Division Champion. He won the match to prove he could hang with the big boys and Roode has been furious since. Tonight it’s the final match and there are no rematches for either if they lose.

TNA World Title: Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode

After some big match intros we’re ready to go. Roode is challenging if that last paragraph was too tough for you. Aries grabs a quick Last Chancery and Roode bails to the floor. Roode stalls and hides on the floor and the match slows down a lot. The fans call Roode a coward and he’s walking away. The referee reminds him that there’s no rematch so Roode asks for time. When that’s denied he slips in and back out, so Aries dives on him in a great looking jump.

Aries knocks Roode around the ring a bit and goes to the apron again for another dive. This time Roode moves and Aries crashes into the barricade ribs first. Back inside and the challenger keeps up his advantage with a belly to back suplex and a knee drop for two. Roode wraps up Aries from behind to squeeze on the ribs a bit followed by some shoulders into the ribs. Aries grabs a sunset flip for two but a gutbuster stops him cold.

Back to the body vice for a bit before Bobby puts Aries up in the Tree of Woe. Aries finally escapes and hits an atomic drop and clothesline to send Roode to the floor. Aries loads up the suicide dive but Roode moves before it’s launched. Unfortunately for Roode he moves into position for a double ax off the top. Back in the ring and there’s the Last Chancery from the champ. Aries switches that off to a Crossface instead but Roode reverses into one of his own.

Aries finally makes the rope and we’re back where we started. They chop it out and Aries hits a missile dropkick for two. The brainbuster is countered into Roode’s spinebuster for two and both guys are needing some air. Aries goes up and after knocking Roode off the top, he fires the 450 but Roode gets the knees up.

Since this is a TNA PPV main event, the referee gets speared down by mistake, followed by a spear to Aries as well. Another referee comes in and counts two off the spear. The second referee doesn’t last long though as he gets crushed in the corner by Roode. The brainbuster hits Roode but the delayed cover means it only gets two. Aries goes up again but gets crotched. Roode hits a superplex but Aries hooks Roode’s feet for a kind of small package. Both referees count and it’s a double pin at 22:55.

Rating: B+. Good match here and I’m assuming it sets up a blowoff match at No Surrender, which at least gives that show something else to see with the world title. The No Rematch clause is at a kind of standstill here because you can’t really have a rematch if no one lost the match. I like this better than giving it to either guy, especially since the matches have been good and a trilogy is better than…..what do you call a series with just two entries?

We get the traditional arguing post match….and we’re going to restart it? Apparently so and Aries loads up the suicide dive, only to ram his head into the belt that Roode was holding at the time. HOW IS THAT NOT A DQ? Either way it only gets two. Roode goes to pick Aries up and gets rolled up for the pin after maybe a minute of restart time.

Overall Rating: B. This was a good show but there’s nothing on it that I would call great. That being said, it’s still better than I expected, although it wasn’t the runaway surprise I was expecting. The Series is a bit more interesting now and there were only a few matches that were weak, but nothing major changed here other than the main event with Roode basically out of the title picture now. This was a good show overall but it could have been a bit better.

Roode panics to end the show.

Results

Chavo Guerrero Jr./Hernandez b. Gunner/Kid Kash – Frog Splash to Kash

Rob Van Dam b. Mr. Anderson, D’Angelo Dinero and Magnus – Van Daminator to Magnus

D-Von b. Kazarian – Spinebuster

Madison Rayne b. Miss Tessmacher – Rollup while holding the ropes

Bully Ray b. Jeff Hardy, James Storm and Robbie E – Ray powerbombed Hardy through a table

Zema Ion b. Kenny King – Shoulderbreaker

AJ Styles b. Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle – Styles pulled down the envelope

Austin Aries b. Bobby Roode – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

I haven’t done one of these on here in awhile.  Time for a PPV Preview.The show on paper has the looks of a good show which isn’t really a shock for TNA anymore.  I can’t believe I’m saying this but this has the potential to be a better show than Summerslam.

For the world title, I’ll go with Roode getting it back.  It’s pretty clear that Roode vs. Storm is coming again, but I can’t see Aries defending the title against anyone in the BFG Series for the title.  Also with there being no rematches, it’s a way to get Aries out of the title picture easily.

In the falls count anywhere match, I’m going to play a hunch and say Anderson.  I can’t imagine Magnus will win as he’s basically one of the jobbers of the Series which is fine.  Van Dam is the other likely candidate and Pope is just Pope.  They might throw it to Pope to shake things up a bit but I’d be surprised.

AJ to win the ladder match.  He’s behind in the standings and this would rocket him up as we close in on No Surrender.

I think I’ll take Hardy to win the tables match.  It’ll be either him or Ray, as there’s a chance that Aces and 8’s count help Ray win to further confuse things.  That would be an interesting twist.

Tessmacher to retain and King to win the title and Chavo/Hernandez to win, in the three filler matches on the card.

Overall this looks like a good looking card and I’m so glad they added different gimmicks to the fourways to keep them interesting.  This is the last show before we get into the BFG cycle which is a good thing as No Surrender is only kind of interesting most of the time.

Thoughts/predictions?

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 9, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

It’s the go home show for hardcore Justice and most of the card is set. Last week we had three fatal fourways added which is a pretty quick way of stacking the card. Other than that we’ll get more of a build to Roode vs. Aries, but more interestingly we’ll get more on Aces and 8’s. Another interesting thing is that there’s a chance D-Von won’t be re-signing with the company, so the TV Title may be in danger. Let’s get to it.

Recap to start in the overly dramatic fashion.

Here’s Bully Ray to open the show. He has his Twitter machine but wants to talk about Joseph Park. If there’s enough evidence against someone, they must be guilty. All of the evidence points to James Storm being guilty about being behind Aces and 8’s. Tonight Ray is going to beat up Storm and then he’ll do it again on Sunday in the tables match.

Cue Storm in street clothes. Storm says he’s sick and tired of a lot of things, but the top one of them is that he’s tired of being sick and tired. He says again that he had nothing to do with the attacks because he wants to win the BFG Series and winning back the world title. Storm draws a line in the ring and says Ray has a count of three before Storm punches his way across that line. Ray turns his hat around and says start counting. At three Ray backs off and bails. Storm says anyone can cross the line and fight him tonight.

Cue Aces and 8’s on the screen. Their voices are distorted and it’s hard to understand them. The one that talks says that Sting has invited them here tonight but they’re going to do it on their own terms. The guy talking had the word “prospect” on his jacket. Ray says I TOLD YOU SO and we abruptly cut to commercial.

Pope says he’ll win on Sunday.

Bound For Glory Series Leaderboard:

James Storm 66

Samoa Joe 53

Kurt Angle 41

Mr. Anderson 40

Jeff Hardy 35

Christopher Daniels 33

Rob Van Dam 28

Magnus 21

Bully Ray 21

AJ Styles 16

D’Angelo Dinero 7

Robbie E 5

Bound For Glory Series: Rob Van Dam vs. Magnus

This should be good. Magnus takes over to start and knocks Van Dam to the floor. Back inside and Van Dam gets in a kick to take Magnus down. More kicks take the Brit down again and the Five Star gets the clean pin at 3:22.

Rating: C. My goodness there wasn’t much in this. Still though it’s nice to see a clean win like this for a change as compared to all of the screwy ones you usually get on wrestling TV. Magnus has a great look but he can’t quite get a push rolling. Giving him matches against these eleven guys isn’t a bad thing at all though and will only help him.

Roode says the contract signing tonight might not happen because of some language in the paperwork.

Time for the Clair portion of our show this evening. Ok maybe just a recap.

Tag Titles: D-Von/Garrett Bischoff vs. Kazarian/Christopher Daniels

D-Von and Kaz start things off and the (tag) champ is taken down by a back elbow. Off to Garrett who hiptosses Daniels down and hits a clothesline for two. Back to the TV champ who uses his usual stuff to take over. Soon all is right with the world again as Garrett gets beaten down by both guys, including a sweet standing stomp to the chest off the top by Daniels. Hot tag brings in D-Von who cleans house. Rock Bottom gets two on Kaz and there’s the spinebuster to Daniels, but he isn’t legal. While the referee is putting him out, Kaz hits D-Von with a belt for the pin at 4:08.

Rating: C. Garrett Bischoff is still not a champion, meaning there is still hope for the world. This was just a quick match for the champs which is fine. They’ve had the titles for like a month now and I don’t remember them defending the things. A quick defense like this is fine as it keeps them looking a bit more legit. Also Garrett being attacked is always a good thing.

We recap Brooke being threatened last week.

Sting is in the back and calls out Aces and 8’s again. Brooke isn’t here tonight apparently.

People in the four ways talk about how they need to win.

Robbie E gets promo time. Ok then. He says he’s got five points at the moment and then he’s going to get 20 more on Sunday. Robbie plans to put Jeff Hardy through the table to get the extra points because that’s who he got the five from in the first place. We get a clip of that win which was by countout. Rob lists off five reasons why he’s better than Hardy but only gets through the first one (he wears pink sweaters) before Jeff cuts him off. Jeff cleans house but Robbie T makes the save and powerbombs Jeff through the table.

AJ says he doesn’t remember having sex with Clair, nor does he drink, so he doesn’t know what’s going on.

Joe comes out to commentary and rants about how he’ll win on Sunday.

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

AJ goes behind him to start but gets elbowed in the face. We get the signature drop down/kick sequence from AJ to send Kurt to the floor followed by a big slingshot dive onto Angle. We take a break and come back with AJ getting rammed into the corner before getting his boot up to the face of a charging Angle. Kurt will have none of that and snaps off an overhead belly to belly to take over again.

Kurt hooks a chinlock followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to a charging AJ, getting two. Back to yon chinlock while Clair is cheering for Styles. She never was a stable person for the most part. AJ gets back up and they clothesline each other down. Apparently AJ has only been in five matches in the Series so far which is why he doesn’t have that many points.

AJ starts a comeback and he hits the FU into a backbreaker for two. Styles tries a springboard but misses and it’s time to roll some Germans. The big one at the end gets two and Angle is frustrated. The Pele out of nowhere gets two as does the Angle Slam. The ankle lock is quickly countered and AJ tries some Germans, only to be quickly countered into the ankle lock again.

That gets broken again and there’s the springboard foearm for two. AJ hits the Clash….for two. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that kicked out of before. Styles goes up but Kurt runs the ropes and hits the belly to belly off the top. THAT gets two so Kurt goes up for the moonsault. Say it with me: it misses. AJ busts out the springboard 450 but it hits knees. Another Angle Slam finally gets the pin at 12:45.

Rating: B. This is another of those pairings that falls under the category of almost impossible to screw up. I don’t ever recall these two not tearing the house down and they did it again here. With guys like these there’s no point in using basic stuff so just having them bust out signature move after signature move is fine. Good stuff here.

As AJ is leaving Clair shouts encouragement to him. He looks at her and he keeps walking.

Aces and 8’s says a lot of people have gotten the Dead Man’s Hand and the next target is revealed tonight.

Anderson goes up to Storm in the back and says he thinks Storm is behind Aces and 8’s. Storm says it’s not him and Anderson says if Storm is lying and Anderson gets attacked, he’ll be coming for the Cowboy.

Austin Aries says the contract will work out tonight.

Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher

Gail tries to jump Tessmacher during the entrance but the champ (this is non-title) avoids the charge. Back inside Gail kicks Tessmacher down and hits a gutbuster for two. After more of the beating it’s off to a bodyscissors by Kim. Tessmacher makes her comeback with some clotheslines and a dropkick followed by another clothesline out of the corner. There’s a Stinkface followed by the belly to back mat slam for the pin for Tessmacher at 3:42.

Rating: C. This wasn’t bad and for the Knockouts this was one of their best matches in a long time. At the end of the day, Gail may be good in the ring but I don’t think anyone cares about her at all. Apparently Tessmacher’s move is call the Tess Shot. That’s certainly better than whatever name I can come up with most of the time.

Post match here’s Madison who kisses Earl Hebner, freaking Tessmacher out.

Joseph Part talks about contract signings.

Video on Kenny King.

Here’s Sting to address Aces and 8’s. Actually he’s here for the Roode and Aries signing but he says Aces and 8’s can come out if they’d like. We get the champ and the challenger Roode doesn’t like the contract because it says that if he loses on Sunday, he doesn’t get another shot while Aries has the belt. Roode goes on a rant against Sting, saying that Sting has had it in for Roode since he won the title.

Aries cuts him off and says enough whining. He says that for someone so convinced that Aries’ win was a fluke, Roode is awfully worried about a rematch clause. Aries says he has Roode’s number and if there’s a clause that’s holding him back, forget the contract. Aries says that if Roode wins on Sunday, he’ll give up his rematch clause, so it’s winner take all and no rematches period. Roode finally shakes on it and we have a deal. They get rady to brawl but Roode sticks his hand out again. Aries shakes it but gets water thrown in his face. Roode bails before the champ can kill him.

Chavo/Hernandez/Gunner/Kash talk about the tag match on Sunday.

We run down the PPV card.

Bound For Glory Series: Bully Ray vs. James Storm

Ray says he isn’t going to let anyone jump him so he hides in the ropes a lot. They fight over arm control before Ray sends him to the floor. We take a break and come back with Ray missing an elbow drop. Ray works on the leg a bit but goes back to punches to the face instead. Why try to be fancy I guess. A splash misses though and Storm starts his comeback. He gets sent to the apron and hits an enziguri to Ray’s head but walks into a Rock Bottom for two back in the ring.

Storm elbows him in the face and hits a top rope cross body for two. Storm goes up again and knocks off a Ray superplex attempt but a top rope elbow misses. Bubba Bomb gets two but the backsplash off the middle rope misses for Ray. Codebreaker (didn’t Storm have a name for that?) looks to set up the Last Call but Ray avoids it. Instead Storm rolls him up for two but walks into the Cutter for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. Now that’s a bit of a surprise. At the end of the day though, you have to have Storm lose once in awhile because he’s way ahead in the standings so it’s not like it matters that much anyway. Ray picking up a clean win like that is a good thing too as he doesn’t get that many of them and needs to be kept strong. Decent main event here.

Ray screams WHERE ARE THEY and gets his chain but no one comes out for the second week in a row. Instead Aces and 8’s pop up on screen and say Ray is going to see a lot more of them on Sunday. Ray panics to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I really liked tonight’s show. Everything seemed like it had a point and we got some solid wrestling on top of that. The Aces and 8’s stuff and the Clair story are likely going to die in the desert at BFG which is ok, but I wouldn’t mind if they had some more interesting stuff to carry us out there. Hardcore Justice is all set up and I really like the idea of the three fourway matches on Sunday each having a different gimmick as four straight matches would get dull. This was a really good show and I was digging it the whole time.

Results

Rob Van Dam b. Magnus – Five Star Frog Splash

Kazarian/Christopher Daniels b. D-Von/Garrett Bischoff – Kazarian pinned D-Von after hitting him with a title belt

Kurt Angle b. AJ Styles – Angle Slam

Miss Tessmacher b. Gail Kim – Tess Shot

Bully Ray b. James Storm – Bully Cutter

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 26, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

After last week’s Aces and 8’s show, it should be interesting to see what the retaliation is tonight. We’ll have a ton of BFG Series matches I’m sure, plus some other stuff if they have time. That’s the one issue with the Series: it takes up SO much time on every show that there isn’t much room for anything else. The good thing is that the matches aren’t bad so it’s not like it’s torture. Let’s get to it.

We open with the usual recap from last week.

Tonight it’s Storm vs. Styles and Ray vs. Angle. Also Chavo debuts.

Here’s Sting to open things up. Dixie has named him the interim GM until Hogan is back, so his first act is to call out Aces and 8’s, even though he’s alone. Instead he gets Aries, who says if Aces and 8’s jumps anyone, he’ll jump on them. Here’s Angle who was beaten down last week by Aces and 8’s as well. He says they tried to cost him a world title shot so he wants them too.

Now cue Roode who says he isn’t here with them but he’s here announce that he knows who is behind Aces and 8’s. The mic goes out so Angle gives Roode his own mic. It’s someone who has been in the world title picture for a year and is jealous of both Roode and Angle: the Cowboy James Storm. Storm charges out and jumps Roode. Tehy brawl into the ring while the other three guys let it go. Angle finally breaks it up and Roode leaves. Roode says the truth hurts and we go to a break.

People talk about Chavo debuting tonight.

Post break Roode yells about it being Storm. He takes his bags and leaves as Jason Hervey is apparently the interviewer.

Madison Rayne/Gail Kim vs. Mickie James/Tara

It’s been too long since Mickie has been on my TV. Next week these four are in a fourway for the #1 contender shot. Tara and Gail start with a fight over arm control. Off to Mickie for a low dropkick that gets two. There’s the Thesz Press to Gail and it’s off to Madison who looks GREAT in that blue number.

Madison does little of note and it’s off to Tara to clean house. She hits the spinning side slam for two and it’s off to Mickie. The good chicks hit a cool double rolling mat slam into a double half crab. Gail tries a double dropkick and gets caught in the same hold. Madison is with Earl Hebner though and Mickie rolls Madison up for the pin at 3:51. But Madison gets the win instead. Yep this is the angle they’re giving the Knockouts now. They made a point to show that Mickie’s shoulder was off the mat.

Rating: D+. The ending makes me hate this division all over again. Why in the world would we want to see Earl Hebner get a storyline? BECAUSE IT’S WACKY!!! These four have a fourway next week and I’d bet the ending is going to be the same thing. For the life of me I don’t get who thinks this is a good idea.

Sting tells Aries to make some cuts to the X-Division. You know, right after they were introduced a few weeks ago.

Sam Shaw says he loves this business.

More people talk about Chavo. Ray: “Didn’t I tell you never to bother me when I’m on my Twitter machine?”

Gut Check: Sam Shaw vs. Douglas Williams

Shaw is a smaller guy and a high flier. There are people with signs that say 87, which means Joey Ryan. Shaw controls the early stuff here but there’s a camera on the crowd so you know something is coming. Shaw hits an Orton backbreaker and goes up top. Some people come out as Shaw is slammed off the top rope. Here’s Ryan who hits security and runs. Apparently he hit Snow. Williams kills Shaw with a clothesline and pounds away before hitting Rolling Chaos for the pin at 2:38. Ryan was the bigger focus here but Shaw looked better than any Gut Check guy so far as far as almost winning. The judging is tonight.

Aries is with the X guys and they all do the reality show stuff, saying they should get the X Title shot. Ion comes in and brags a bit before leaving. Aries cuts Rashad Cameron. I think this is just about who gets the title match and that these guys aren’t fired or anything like that. We have King, Darsow and Dutt left as contenders.

More Chavo stuff. This is some of the biggest hype I’ve seen in a long time.

Here’s Chavo in a suit. He says he’s humbled to be here because the Guerrero Family has conquered everything. They’ve been champions everywhere they’ve been except for here in TNA. He says timing is everything and people need to remember this time and date. It’s Guerrero Time. Good debut speech.

Chavo wraps it up but Kid Kash and Gunner come out. Kash lists off all of Chavo’s family members who have been wrestlers. He wants to know where Chavo’s uncle Hector is and suggests that Hector is too drunk. Chavo jumps them and gets beaten down until Hernandez makes the save.

Angle asks Storm if he’s involved with Aces and 8’s. Storm says he doesn’t because if he had a problem with someone, he’d take it up with them. Storm says he has their backs tonight if Aces and 8’s attack. Angle leaves and Storm has a look on his face that says…nothing of note actually.

The Gut Check judges talk in the back and Snow is ticked off about Ryan.

We get a recap of last week’s AJ/Clair/Daniels drama.

Bound For Glory Series Standings:

Samoa Joe 47

James Storm 43

Mr. Anderson 30

Jeff Hardy 28

Kurt Angle 27

Christopher Daniels 26

Rob Van Dam 21

Magnus 14

AJ Styles 14

D’Angel Dinero 7

Bully Ray 7

Robbie E 5

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. James Storm

Feeling out process to start as Clair is watching from the crowd. Storm gets control with the form of a chinlock and a kind of mat slam for one. A backdrop sets up another chinlock but AJ pops up again. The drop down/kick gets two and AJ sends Storm face first into the buckle. A suplex puts Storm down and it’s back to the chinlock. Storm makes his comeback with some clotheslines and a forearm for two. Another suplex gets two for Storm.

AJ sends him into the corner but misses a splash/forearm. Storm puts him on the top rope with AJ’s back to the ring. Styles tries to escape but gets caught in the Eye of the Storm for two. Storm goes to the middle rope but his tornado DDT is countered into a release northern lights suplex into the corner for two. Springboard forearm gets two. Styles Clash is countered into an Alabama Slam for two. Storm rams Styles’ face into the apron for another two. AJ kicks him in the head out of nowhere and hits the Pele….and here are Aces and 8’s for the beatdown at about 11:00. They didn’t touch Storm.

Rating: B-. This was getting good at the end and I’m assuming it was a DQ win for Styles as he was the one that they hit first. At the end of the day, sometimes the best idea is just to have two guys that are talented go out there for awhile and do big moves and near falls to each other. This worked well as you were wondering who was going to get the win, and above all else: CLAIR DIDN’T DO ANYTHING.

Gut Check time. Shaw says he’s got what it takes, Snow says he didn’t get to see what Shaw did tonight but he wants to stick it to Ryan and say yes, but he has to say no due to a lack of evidence. Pritchard says yes. Shaw cuts a promo and sucks up to Taz because he wants to work with the best. Taz says yes, meaning we won’t be seeing Shaw for a few months if the pattern holds.

Back to Aries and the X guys. Aries: “Dutt: Himalayan American, King: African American. Darsow: Wasn’t your dad Russian?” Darsow: “Just a sympathizer.” Darsow says he’s flashy but Aries says he’s cut because Darsow isn’t ready. Aries: “Tell your dad hello and that his repo business is doing great.”

X-Division Title: Zema Ion vs. Kenny King

Dutt doesn’t get it because of his shoulder. Ion pauses for some hairspray and things speed up. King dropkicks him down and hits a flying shoulder attack in the corner. Springboard crossbody gets two and it’s time for some punches. Ion sends him to the floor and hits a flip dive to take over. A missile dropkick puts King down and hooks a crossface chickenwing. Ion has a busted lip or mouth. A sunset flip out of the corner gets two for King but he walks into a modified backbreaker for two for Ion.

King clotheslines him down again and hits an atomic drop followed by a spin kick to the head for two. Overhead high cradle suplex puts Ion down but he keeps coming for some reason. Ion kicks him to the floor and hits a corkscrew plancha to take Ion down again. King loads up a springboard…and Bobby Roode trips him up and posts him, allowing Ion to hit a moonsault for the pin to retain at 6:14.

Rating: C. This was a very strange ending but it’s certainly intriguing. King looked good here and if he’s going to be getting programmed with Roode (even though Roode has a world title match at the PPV) there’s nothing bad about that at all. Ion is going to hold the belt for awhile, but I’d be surprised if there isn’t at least one title change before Sorensen comes back.

My guess is that Roode did that because Aries picked King. Aries runs out and jumps Roode.

Ray says he respects Angle but he’s beating him tonight.

Ion/Roode vs. Aries/King next week.

Bound For Glory Series: Bully Ray vs. Kurt Angle

Feeling out process to start with the Angle Slam and Big Boot both missing. Ray tries to use power but gets caught in the ankle lock as a result. He makes the rope and it’s off to the arm for Kurt. Ray hits a SICK piledriver for two as we take a break. Back with Ray working on the neck some more, only for Angle to come back and hit a belly to belly for two. Ray hits the Bully Bomb for two of his own and it’s time for Rolling Germans.

There’s the ankle lock but Ray rolls through to escape. They slug it out and Ray hits a Rock Bottom for two. Ray misses a big boot and the Angle Slam gets two. Moonsault misses but Angle breaks up the Bubba Cutter. Big boot gets two and Ray is frustrated. Ray misses a charge and the Angle Slam gets the pin at 11:54.

Rating: B. I was digging this as it was Angle 101, which means it works very well. Good match here as you had two guys beating on each other for about twelve minutes and seeing who was going to be able to get the pin finally. Angle winning makes the most sense but it looked great to see Ray getting that close.

Post match here are Aces and 8’s on Angle but AJ, Aries, Sting and eventually Storm come out to clear the ring. Angle still thinks Storm was behind it. Next week: Angle vs. Storm.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked this show better than I have the last few episodes. Aces and 8’s were a factor here but they didn’t dominate the show like they did last week. King being brought up a bit is also a good thing and it gives Roode and Aries something to do before the PPV. They had a good balance going tonight and that’s what the show has been lacking in recent weeks. Better show this week by far.

Results

Gail Kim/Madison Rayne b. Mickie James/Tara – Rollup to James

Douglas Williams b. Sam Shaw – Rolling Chaos Theory

AJ Styles vs. James Storm went to a no contest when Aces and 8’s interfered

Zema Ion b. Kenny King – Moonsault

Kurt Angle b. Bully Ray – Angle Slam

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews