Impact Wrestling
Date: November 10, 2011
Location: Macon Coliseum, Macon, Georgia
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

We’re still in Macon and it’s time for the go home show before Turning Point. At this moment, we have no main event as the world title has changed twice in three weeks so we haven’t had much of an opportunity to set anything up. I’d expect a tacked on main event which is TNA’s custom far too often. This show has been better than Raw (arguably) recently. Let’s get to it.

We open up with a video of Roode turning heel last week to win the title.

Here’s Roode to open the show with the belt. He doesn’t know why the people are booing him. Wait, are they booing him or are they chanting Roode, because that’s what they were doing last week when they were cheering him on. Is it because he killed Beer Money? Or is it because he did everything that they all would have done in the same situation? This is a new generation and he’s the leader of that generation.

You can do everything right and it means nothing. We see an inset of Storm wanting to come to the ring but the agents hold him back. Roode talks about how after BFG, he learned you have to take your opportunities and that’s what he did. Here comes Storm and the fans are happy to see him. Storm beats them down and charges the ring but Roode bails.

As security holds Storm back, here’s Sting. He makes the rematch for tonight and that’s it.

Tonight it’s AJ vs. Daniels. AGAIN.

Here’s a video on Crimson vs. Morgan. This isn’t a dream match no matter how much they want it to be.

D’Angelo Dinero vs. Crimson

After having to watch Elijah Burke and Matt Morgan reach levels of uninteresting that I honestly didn’t think existed in their feud in OVW in I think 03 or 04, THANK GOODNESS this is Crimson. They exchange headlocks to start us off and I don’t think anyone knows who Pope is. A DDT gets two as does a middle rope fist drop. Crimson grabs a Cravate but gets punched back again. Pope goes up again but jumps into the Red Sky for the pin at 2:38. As almost usual with Crimson, he got beaten down but hit one move for the win.

Gunner says he’ll destroy Garrett Bischoff and something about a code in the military.

Gunner vs. Garrett Bischoff

Gunner is really lous and talks trash to Garrett. He turns to talk to Eric (he and Flair are on the floor) and walks into a pretty decent armdrag and make it two of them. Garrett takes over with some basic stuff and isn’t half bad at it. And then Flair and Eric come in, I think for a DQ, as Garrett runs. It ran about 1:45. Based on this, Eric can have his contract rewritten.

Robbie E and Big Rob try to get to Ronnie from Jersey Shore. This goes nowhere.

After a break we see Storm out cold and covered in blood.

Zema Ion vs. Jesse Sorensen

Basic stuff to start and Ion goes up. The 450 misses a reverse Cross Rhodes ends this at 1:57. There’s nothing else to say here.

Kid Kash comes out to run his mouth and be annoying and southern. Kash says Sorensen gets the title shot at Turning Point but it’s in a three way dance. Sorensen signs the contract and Kash implies he slept with Sorensen’s mother.

Karen tells Gail and Madison that they look pretty.

Knockout Tag Titles: Mickie James/Velvet Sky vs. Gail Kim/Madison Rayne

Velvet spears Madison down to start and hammers away. Madison gets beaten down quickly and it’s off to Mickie who looks great tonight. Gail shoves her off the top and then comes in to beat on her a bit. The match means nothing at all as it’s all to set up Gail pinning Velvet to set up the PPV match for the singles title. Velvet comes in and takes over, hitting an awful looking spinning bulldog or something. Mickie goes up and something is clipped as Mickie hits the Thesz Press. A sitout Pedigree ends Madison but Velvet walks into Eat Defeat for the pin at 4:00. See? Told you so.

Rating: D. Whatever man. That’s what I’m going to start every Knockouts rating with. The problem at the end of the day is that these stories don’t mean anything and the feuds usually have zero heat on them at all. Nothing to see here and like I said, the ending was about as obvious as any I’ve ever seen in my life.

James is awake and Sting comes to see him. The trainer is trying to sew him up and he can’t stand.

We recap the Robs vs. Ronnie/Eric Young. Let’s get this over with.

Ronnie/Eric Young vs. Robbie E/Rob Terry

Ronnie and Robbie start us off but they tag out before there’s any contact. Eric locks up with the referee. Oh that wacky comedy! Eric gets beaten down as we await the “reality” TV star to make the save. A belly to belly suplex puts Robbie down and there’s the hot tag to Ronnie. To the shock of no one, he does some basic stuff not that horrible and we’re supposed to care for some reason. Eric drops a top rope elbow…and he’s in leopard print underwear now. A splash from Ronnie gets the pin at 4:15.

Rating: F. I hate the Jersey Shore and I review wrestlers having matches. That is all.

Immortal says they’ll win tonight.

Mexican America gets in a fight with Ink Inc in catering. There’s a tag title match Sunday.

Here’s an MMA guy on commentary for the next match.

AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

This is match #eleventy billion between them. The MMA guy gets a closeup as we miss part of the match. The match is a backdrop as we praise Bellator and how great it is. They’re debuting on Spike soon after UFC leaves. AJ flips over in the corner and Daniels takes over. This is just their usual match with Daniels controlling for the most part and then AJ starts his comeback. He hits his usual stuff and we talk about MMA. Here’s the screwdriver after we go to the floor. RVD comes out to take it away and AJ uses the distraction to hit the Clash for the pin at 7:27.

Rating: C. This is a good example of a match that’s fine but I just don’t care. The problem again is that we’ve seen this so many times that there’s nothing to see in it anymore. We’ve seen AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels so many times that there’s nothing left to watch them do. Daniels vs. anyone else would be interesting.

Here’s the card for Turning Point. The tag title match is in a six person match.

Immortal vs. Jeff Hardy/Mr. Anderson/???

The mystery partner is Abyss. Well that was shocking. Scott beats on Hardy a bit as Hardy sells like only he can. He really is good at that. Jeff hits the mule kick and it’s off to Anderson. The heels beat on him a bit with a bunch of elbows from Ray. Off to Hardy as we’re waiting for Abyss to come in and dominate.

The Matt Hardy leg drop hits Bubba but Jarrett breaks up the Swanton. Hardy gets beaten down for a bit and it’s off to Abyss for the real hot tag. The Stroke is countered into Shock Treatment and Ray walks into the Twist and Swanton. Stroke to Hardy, Mic Check to Jarrett, suplex to Anderson, Black Hole Slam and pin to Steiner at 8:15.

Rating: C-. Basic match here but the ending was pretty good. Abyss as a mystery partner was kind of odd as it’s not like there’s anyone else they would have put in there that would have made sense. Him as an official face isn’t bad and it’s good to see Immortal pretty firmly in the midcard where they belong.

TNA World Title: Bobby Roode vs. James Storm

The match is set to start after a break and there’s no Storm. The music plays twice and he finally comes out. He’s COVERED in blood. Storm goes off to start but then collapses. Storm is out cold. The referee throws up the X and the trainer is here. Roode acts all concerned and says he wants to check on Storm. He asks if the amtch is over and then rolls Storm up for the pin at 2:40.

AJ and Kaz come out and it’s AJ vs. Roode on Sunday.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t great here but the big thing is we had 8 matches. That’s a HUGE improvement as that means 8 different stories or angles were addressed, plus the tag title match was actually mentioned on TV. This was a well put together show which is what they’ve been lacking for a long time. Good stuff here, although not great. Major improvement in some areas though.

Results
Crimson b. D’Angelo Dinero – Red Sky
Garrett Bischoff b. Gunner via DQ when Ric Flair interfered
Jesse Sorensen b. Zema Ion – Reverse Spinning DDT
Gail Kim/Madison Rayne b. Velvet Sky/Mickie James – Eat Defeat
Ronnie/Eric Young b. Robbie E/Rob Terry – Ronnie pinned Robbie E after a splash
AJ Styles b. Christopher Daniels – Styles Clash
Abyss/Jeff Hardy/Mr. Anderson b. Jeff Jarrett/Scott Steiner/Bully Ray – Black Hole Slam to Steiner
Robert Roode b. James Storm – Pin after Storm collapsed

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Impact Wrestling
Date: November 3, 2011
Location: Macon Coliseum, Macon, Georgia
Commentators: Taz, Mike Tenay

We’re on the road again in Georgia because we’re not allowed to go outside the SEC for some reason. Tonight’s main event is the Beer Money explosion because who needs months of build for a team that people have wanted to see feud for a very long time? I mean, they’ve had a week to build things up so that’s more than enough time I suppose. Anyway let’s get to it.

The opening video is about Storm vs. Roode which is still thrown together way faster than it should be.

Here’s the champ to open the show. He talks about respect because this is TNA. You say yes ma’am and no sir and you hold the door open for a lady. He talks about how he’s not going to be a champion that fights seven days a week because he watches football on Saturdays and Sunday is for church. Storm says he’s been around the world six times and there’s been one man at his side every time.

Cue Roode to a nice pop. Storm says they’re fighting tonight and his daughter wants to hold the belt after they go to Chuck E. Cheese. Roode says exactly what you would expect him to say. It’s the we’ve been friends forever and we’ll steal the show tonight jazz.

Ronnie from the Jersey Shore is here with Eric Young because TNA thinks we care.

Knockout Tag Titles: Tara/Brooke Tessmacher vs. Gail Kim/Madison Rayne

Time for the monthly defense of the titles. Brooke’s outfit is designed like a Texas flag for some reason. She and Madison start us off but it’s off to Tara quickly. The arm work begins as the champions are tagging fast. Gail comes in and is all dominant and evil for a bit. Tessmacher’s corner hijinks don’t really work this time. Gail beats on Brooke a bit more until it’s a hot tag to Tara. Everything breaks down and there’s the Widow’s Peak. Karen Jarrett has the referee though and Eat Defeat gives us new champions at 5:05.

Rating: D+. It’s not like anyone cares about the belts, but this is what you do with the titles here as they’re actually having a division wide angle going on. Karen is evil and trying to have her girls get the titles. It’s not particularly interesting but a dull story is better than a repetitive one on a treadmill like the Divas have so this was fine, just not that interesting.

Garrett Bischoff won’t apologize to his father tonight.

Garrett is in the ring after a break and calls his dad down to the ring. Garrett apologizes for not being the man his father wanted to be but he’s most sorry he didn’t do this years ago. With that he blasts his dad and beats him down until Flair and Gunner make the save.

Joe comes up to Sting and offers help with whatever Sting might need. Sting says it’s cool as there’s no Bischoff to mess with anything right now. Joe says he’s not going to be shut up even with a new sheriff in town. If Sting doesn’t respect Joe, there might be some mysterious injuries. Sting says cool. Joe leaves and here are Bischoff and Flair. Bischoff says Sting can’t fire him so Eric wants a match: his son against someone to be named later. If Sting grants it, Sting can rewrite Eric’s contract.

Daniels says that he’s awesome and beat AJ and never said he quit. He wants title shots because he’s earned them. Daniels says he beat RVD last week. As he’s talking, RVD pops up behind him but Daniels doesn’t see him. He goes on a rant about the screwdriver last week (Daniels that is) and the cameraman asks Rob if he has any thoughts. The thought is a right hand and a brawl breaks out. RVD beats him up and Daniels runs. RVD implies there’s a match at Turning Point.

Jesse Sorensen vs. Austin Aries

Non-title here. Kid Kash sits down on commentary to rant about old vs. new as usual. They speed things up a lot and Kash is already on my nerves. Sorensen misses a dive to the floor and Aries hits a GREAT suicide dive as Sorensen was flattened against the barricade. Kash spends the whole match ranting about how great he is and how he’ll be respected and all that jazz. Sorensen starts his comeback which doesn’t last long. Aries takes over again and hits a running dropkick in the corner to put Sorensen down. He loads up the brainbuster but Sorensen grabs a small package for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: C+. That dive really was awesome and a lot of this grade is for that. They beat on each other out there and it was a pretty fun match. They kept it short which is the right idea for X-Division matches as it keeps them from getting dull. Fun little match and it gives Aries a new opponent. Keep Kash away from anything that amplifies his voice though.

Post match Kash threatens to cut Sorensen with a knife.

Storm says the title is his and he’s keeping it.

Roode says this is the match they’ve talked about for years.

Here are the Robs for the Jersey Shore segment. Robbie E runs down Ronnie and Young (who are in the ring now) and I guess this is going to be a tag match. Oh joy. Robbie keeps calling people hamsters. A brawl breaks out and it’s Big Rob dominating. Ronnie gets whipped by a belt and the heels leave. Eric gets up and suggests a tag match.

Bully Ray/Jeff Jarrett vs. Mr. Anderson/Jeff Hardy

Anderson looks like he has darker hair now. No complains about the double feuds in one match. Ray vs. Hardy starts us off and they trade some shots. Off to Jarrett but that goes nowhere either. Ray comes in and hammers away as Hardy does what he does best: sell things like death. Jeff finally gets the tag off to Anderson as Ray comes in as well. Everything breaks down and here’s Scott Steiner to break things up and crotch Anderson for the DQ at 5:38.

Rating: D+. The main event better be good and I think that’s what they’re setting up for here. Everything else has been really short and it looks like they’re setting up for a huge title match to close the show which is fine. This set up both presumable PPV matches (though do we need more Anderson vs. Ray?) which is always a good idea. Boring match though.

Sting comes up to Garrett in the back and says he’s known him since he was 6 years old. That might raise a few questions but I’m not sure if it does or not. Garrett says he’ll take the match with whoever his dad picks.

Here’s Morgan who calls out Crimson. Morgan talks about how he’s always hearing about how he’s always being asked if he can beat Crimson. He talks about how he’s the real giant in pro wrestling and says let’s give the fans what they want. Crimson says he’s been thinking about it too, but let’s raise the stakes. That means…let’s just have a match. Ok then.

Hype video for the title match.

TNA World Title: James Storm vs. Bobby Roode

Feeling out process to start as they’re playing up the idea that they know each other very well. Off to a test of strength which doesn’t last long. Neither guy has an advantage as we go to a break. Back with Storm ramming shoulders into Roode in the corner. They keep countering each other and Roode can’t get much of an advantage. Storm stays ahead with a superplex but both guys are down.

They slug it out and Storm takes over with some running shots. Blockbuster gets two for Roode. Backstabber gets two for the champ. Eye of the Storm is countered into a spinebuster for two. They head to the floor and both guys barely get back inside in time. Storm tries an Orton DDT but gets countered into a Crossface. Storm makes a rope and Roode is frustrated. Roode tries a superplex but Storm counters into a top rope elbow for two.

This is getting good. Last Call misses as Roode grabs the fisherman’s suplex. Storm counters that and is almost sent into the referee. The referee avoids the contact but twists his knee in the process as Roode is sent to the floor. Roode succumbs to the demons inside and grabs the beer bottle which he breaks over Storm’s head to BIG heat. It gives him the world title at 17:40.

Rating: B. This was a very solid match that could have easily main evented a PPV with about five minutes extra. Still though, good stuff here and that’s what they needed to do. I’m really not sure I like the ending but it’s TNA after all so how good can it get? The heel turn was needed, but Roode is going to have to step up his emotions as a heel to deserve this spot. Good match though.

Overall Rating: C+. The title change alone makes this worth checking out. As is almost always the case with TNA, the end result is fine but the path of getting there is bad. The problem is that this could have been a PPV main event easily but instead it’s thrown together here on a week’s notice. The heel turn is a good thing as there isn’t really a top heel coming into this show so Roode gives you that guy. Decent stuff, but it’s strictly a one match show.

Results
Gail Kim/Madison Rayne b. Brooke Tessmacher/Tara – Eat Defeat to Tara
Jesse Sorensen b. Austin Aries – Small Package
Mr. Anderson/Jeff Hardy b. Bully Ray/Jeff Jarrett via DQ when Scott Steiner interfered
Bobby Roode b. James Storm – Pin after a beer bottle to the head

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 27, 2011
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

We’re in the James Storm as champion era now which is what a lot of fans have wanted to have happen for a very long time now. It’s nice to have some fresh blood in there because there’s no reason to have Angle as champion anymore. His reign was becoming stale so having the change was a good thing. That being said, let’s see if TNA can keep up their hot streak. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s title change as Storm won the world title in a shocker, providing you don’t read spoilers.

Here’s the champ to open the show with a new video, a new song and the belt. He talks about watching Wrestlemania III with his dad and saying he wanted to be a pro wrestler. He couldn’t do it without all of the fans. However there’s another group of guys he wants to thank, so get out here Fourtune. Storm wants to set a few things right, and that means Roode gets the first shot at the title.

That brings out Joe of all people. He says he used to be part of the group that was always held down. James has broken out of that role though because he’s now the champion. Joe sees the same four people before he got that belt. He looks at Fourtune and sees a group trying to keep it all in the family. Incest is implied. Storm says Joe hasn’t earned anything so why is he running his mouth? Joe says because Storm is about to give the title shot to a failure.

Cue Sting who makes Roode vs. Joe for the title shot tonight. The winner gets the title match next week.

Hardy vs. Ray tonight in his first match since March.

Daniels says he didn’t say he quit at BFG. AJ doctored audio allegedly, which is what Rock/the Corporation did in 99. He fights Van Dam next.

Christopher Daniels vs. Rob Van Dam

Feeling out process to start with both of them having control for a bit each time. AJ pops in for commentary a few minutes into things. Standing moonsault gets two for Van Dam but Daniels takes over again with a release Rock Bottom. BME doesn’t hit so Van Dam fires off some kicks. He loads up Rolling Thunder but Daniels rolls to the floor. Van Dam is like whatever man and dives out to take Daniels down again. Five Star misses but RVD lands on his feet. They go to the floor where Daniels finds a tool box. A shot to the ribs of RVD draws the DQ at 5:23.

Rating: C-. I don’t get the appeal of Daniels. The guy bores me to death every time I see him out there. He’s glued to AJ’s hip which isn’t helping him at all either. Get the two of them apart and let Daniels face someone else. ANYONE else. Not a bad match here, but I didn’t want to watch it at all, especially since it’s just leading to more AJ vs. Daniels.

AJ comes down for the save from a screwdriver.

Here are Gail, Karen, Madison and Traci. Gail talks about how she did what everyone told her to do for years until Karen brought her back and told her that it’s all about Gail. Karen makes Gail vs. Velvet for the title at Turning Point. Gail says get someone out here for her to beat up.

Gail Kim vs. Tara

Gail jumps her to start and it’s all her in the opening. Tara is sent to the floor and Traci is yelled at for trying to help her. After a break we’re back with Gail still in total control. Tara fires off some basic stuff but Gail uses the same finisher she used back in WWE, which is that boot to the jaw where she drops the other girl down onto the side of her boot. That’s good for the pin at 6:57.

Rating: D+. Same thing as before here, although the legs looked better in this. Gail practically squashing Tara isn’t something I expected. Not that Gail shouldn’t have squashed someone, but is there really no one else? Gee I guess there actually isn’t. At least it wasn’t ODB or Jackie.

Bischoff and Flair are here. Didn’t they hate each other or something like 13 years ago?

TV Title: Eric Young vs. Robbie E

Eric starts by locking up with the referee and now we’re ready to go. Eric gets a sunset flip for two. A crucifix ends this at 1:00.

Rob Terry and Robbie E beat Young down with little Rob saying he’ll win the belt. Eric gets on the mic and says a Jersey Shore guy is coming next week.

Daniels is on the phone and says he wants his title match after beating RVD. Kaz comes in and says he wants AJ and Daniels to make up. He offers Daniels a mini vacation in California and Daniels says he’ll call him about it.

Ray says he’s going to take care of Hardy tonight and make his first match back his last.

Garrett Bischoff recaps the story of his dad making him be all evil. I’m not sure I buy that but it works for a backstory.

Here’s Eric who says he has important family business to take care of tonight. He calls out Garrett and after awhile here he is. Eric talks about how he raised Garrett to follow him instead of to think for himself. He says about what you would expect him to say to his son. Garrett says this isn’t what he wanted. Eric says he has half an hour to either apologize or it’s child abuse time.

We cut to Flair in the back where he rants about Garrett a bit and says he’s going to yell at him.

After a break Flair and Garrett miss up (Garrett: “Yes Mr. Flair?” Flair: “Not Mr. Flair. God.”) and Flair says Garrett is a punk. He rants for a long while more and says he might beat Garrett up later.

We recap Jeff Hardy’s return and all of the people reacting to him. Jeff Jarrett’s voice is over the video, talking about how no one wants him here.

Here’s Jarrett who says someone forgot a piece of video in that package. He’s talking about Victory Road which Jarrett will never forget. We also can’t air the main event of Turning Point 2006 when Jeff no showed there too. That brings out Hardy for another pull apart brawl. Bully Ray jumps Hardy and it’s time for their match.

Jeff Hardy vs. Bully Ray

Ray gets in a chain shot and we go to a break almost immediately. Back with Hardy hammering away a bit and hitting a Whisper in the Wind. Twist of Fate is countered and Ray hits a big boot to take him down. Ray pounds him down and a big elbow drop gets two as does an avalanche splash. He hammers in with some crossface shots but a charge gets feet in the corner. There’s a Matt screaming legdrop for two. Twist of Fate and Swanton give him the clean pin at 9:42.

Rating: C. It wasn’t that good of a match, but for a return by Jeff this was a decent enough performance. They kept Hardy to what he does best (selling) and only had him hit high spots. This wasn’t that bad for the most part and for a meaningless match, it was a good way to get Jeff back into the ring with someone he’s familiar with.

Jeff is being interviewed post match and Jarrett comes through the crowd to blast him. Immortal sets to put him through a table but Anderson makes the save.

Roode says this is another obstacle in his way and he’ll go through Joe tonight.

Robert Roode vs. Samoa Joe

Roode has a new entrance as well. Winner gets the shot against Storm next week. They take turns beating each other down in the corner and Roode gets a neckbreaker for one. Crossface is countered as Joe heads to the floor. Joe hooks him into some chinlocks on the mat but Roode fights up and hits the spinebuster.

They slug it out and Roode gets the best of that because he’s the good guy. Blockbuster gets two but Joe escapes the Payoff. Death Valley Driver gets two for the fat boy. MuscleBuster is countered into a crossface but Joe escapes. Joe goes after the knee but Roode snaps off a fisherman’s suplex for the pin at 7:00.

Rating: C. Not a bad match again but nothing of note. Was there ever any doubt that Roode would win? I have no idea why they’re using Roode vs. Storm so quickly. That could be BFG next year or Lockdown or something but instead, we get it next week at a show that has already been taped. Nice to see them having this huge match after such great build right?

Storm comes out for the post match staredown.

Here’s Bischoff (older version) for the big showdown with his son. As he’s coming to the ring, it’s announced that next week that we get Hardy/Anderson vs. Ray/Jarrett. Eric calls out his boy and is all happy because he’s sure Garrett is going to apologize. Garrett says nothing and Eric gets testy. Eric keeps shoving him and saying to apologize until Garrett grabs him with a fist pulled back.

That brings out Flair because he has to be out here for some reason. He rants and raves for a bit until Garrett hits him. Eric hits him low and Garrett gets beaten down. Remember, this is what is ending the show. My goodness. Flair and Eric stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was boring. That’s the only way to describe it. The matches were all just ok, the main event for next week was built along with some other stories but it was nothing interesting, and the focus is right back on Bischoff and Flair and whatever their drama of the week is. I don’t know who they think they’re drawing to the show with a 62 year old vs. the non-wrestling son of an executive, but I don’t think it’s too many people. Bad show this week.

Results
Rob Van Dam b. Christopher Daniels via DQ when Daniels hit Van Dam with a toolbox
Gail Kim b. Tara – Eat Defeat
Eric Young b. Robbie E – Crucifix
Jeff Hardy b. Bully Ray – Swanton Bomb
Bobby Roode b. Samoa Joe – Fisherman’s Suplex

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Bound For Glory 2011
Date: October 16, 2011
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s the major show of the year for TNA and I can’t say I’m as excited about it as I was for last year’s. It should be good though as we have two major main events. Now that’s part of the problem: one of them is Sting vs. Hogan. They couldn’t have a good match 14 years ago so what are you expecting from them here? Other than that the rest of the show looks pretty solid. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is about exactly what you would expect: a highlight package with everything leading up to the double main event.

The dark match was the tag title match with Mexican America retaining. Well at least the title didn’t change hands on a dark match. To be fair it was streamed free on the website so anyone could see it.

X-Division Title: Brian Kendrick vs. Austin Aries

I’m not sure if I’d have gone with a rematch for Kendrick so soon after Aries too the title from him. They have the garage door style lifting wall for the guys to come through. The fans are way behind Aries here. The crowd looks good here. They fight over a wristlock to start as we get a good feel for the crowd here with the loud Austin Aries chant. Tazz talks about how this crowd isn’t like most and that’s an understatement.

Things speed up a bit as they hit the mat. Aries goes to the floor so Kendrick is like PORKCHOP and dives onto him in a huge spot. Back in Kendrick gets caught in an STO and Aries loads up the Pendulum Elbow which blows the roof off the place. Kendrick counters and hammers away but the fans are all over Brian since this is the ultimate smark town. This could become a problem tonight.

They try what looks to be a rollup but Kendrick falls to the floor. Aries hits a HUGE suicide dive to fire the crowd up even more if that’s possible. Back in Aries tries the brainbuster but Kendrick knees his way out of it. They go up on the ropes but Aries talks to the crowd too much and gets caught in a top rope Sliced Bread for two as Aries grabs the ropes. They head to the apron and Kendrick tries it out there again but gets dropped onto the apron and then the floor. That and the brainbuster in the ring gives Aries the clean pin at 10:27.

Rating: B-. Can’t complain much here band this was what I was expecting for the opener. You can’t ask for much more than a cruiserweight match to start things off, but I’m hoping the show stays hot throughout the rest of the match. The right idea is to have things like this for later on in the show when you need to fire the crowd back up, but in Philly I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Keep that in mind: all rules about crowds are thrown out the window tonight.

The Knockouts are with some kids in the back and Karen comes in and she’s not happy. Oh ok they’re Kurt’s kids. The kids leave and Karen freaks out as always. Karen is refereeing the Knockouts match tonight. That means Madison wins tonight. Traci has to stay in the ring unless Karen is in danger.

We recap RVD vs. Lynn which is over Jerry being jealous or something. It’s Full Metal Mayhem which means TLC with pins. Can’t argue with putting this match on in Philly.

Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam

Technical stuff to start but they’ve probably got a lot of time. There are only 8 minutes on this card and I can’t imagine that Hogan vs. Sting will break ten minutes. Rob takes over early and tries Rolling Thunder but Lynn pops up with a kick to the face. Tornado DDT is countered but the suplex is as well. The psychology here is solid and we hit a stalemate. They try a cross body over the top and that doesn’t work right, drawing half boos/half silence from the crowd.

We’re on the floor now and Van Dam tries a moonsault off the apron but misses and might have hurt his knee. Lynn brings in a ladder but Rob sends him in and gets a chair. He takes too long though and Jerry hits a baseball slide to send it into the face of Van Dam. Van Dam gets a spinning cross body onto Lynn onto the chair for two. The surfboard dropkick with the chair in the corner gets no cover. Rob does however get a ladder so the crowd is pleased.

The fans chant ECW and the ladder is splashed with Lynn under it for two. The fans never stay silent for long in this city. It’s something I wish you could hear in more cities too. Rob does a springboard moonsault over Lynn which appeared to be intentional. No idea what the point of that was other than to have Lynn hit him with the chair to take over. Lynn misses a senton backsplash onto the ladder and Van Dam takes over again.

Van Daminator misses so Lynn pelts the chair at him. Lynn gets a German for tow and Lynn is down more from it than Rob is. Lynn gets suplexed onto a ladder which is a lot more effective, so I guess American > Germany. Lionsault onto the ladder gets two for Rob. Rob tries one of his rolling moves but Jerry jumps off the middle rope and they collide at the same time. Lynn goes to the floor to get another ladder and I have the same question as Tazz: how many ladders do you need?

The second ladder is put up against the railing and Lynn tries a sunset bomb, resulting in Rob’s head slamming into the railing. FREAKING OW MAN!!! Lynn has a big bump under his eye. Van Daminator gets two. Rob sets up the Van Terminator with a ladder over Lynn’s face and it’s enough for the pin at 13:16. So Lynn can get up from a Van Daminator after two seconds but he can’t move after about 30 seconds of sitting in the corner?

Rating: B. Good match but it’s going to be overrated because it’s Lynn vs. Van Dam. This was more about the weapons and the violence than the whole psychology which was the standard of their old matches. The fans were of course into it because these guys used to be huge in ECW like 10 years ago. It was entertaining though and that’s the point of these matches.

They hug afterwards, meaning I guess it’s cool to cost Van Dam a title shot. I guess he doesn’t seem to mind or whatever.

We recap the triple threat which is all about getting the world title shot or something. It’s the first I’ve heard of that but they’re talking about it which is the right idea. Joe went crazy and hurt Crimson once Joe was mathematically eliminated from the BFG Series so Morgan went after him for being a bully. Hence the triple threat.

Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan vs. Crimson

New music for Crimson. I’m not digging it. Joe tries to get both guys to fight each other but they beat him up instead. Joe is wearing red and blue tights while the others are both in white. Morgan’s continue to be way too small for him. Crimson hits the floor against his wishes and Joe takes down Morgan with ease. Crimson tries to steal a pin off a Morgan side slam but just gets one.

The non-Samoans are sent to the floor so Joe tries a huge suicide elbow. Morgan steps to the side so Crimson takes all of it. As Crimson gets up and brawls with Joe, Morgan goes up and dives onto Crimson from the top. Not a good few seconds for the red one there. Back in Crimson suplexes Joe and Morgan tries to steal the pin. We’re into the triple threat formula here and that’s all fine and good.

The non-Samoans slug it out and Morgan takes him down, only for Joe to trip him up and pull him to the floor. Crimson’s leg injury is fine by the way, despite him having it on Impact. Joe loads up the MuscleBuster on Crimson but Morgan comes in to break it up. I’ve never gotten that. Why wouldn’t he let Joe take Crimson out? Anyway Crimson sends Morgan to the floor and Crimson hits the spear on Joe for the pin at 7:15.

Rating: C. Not much here and this was something you could have seen on any Impact. To be fair though, there was no real heat on this match as it was all about pride or whatever. I mean, we have to have the TV Champion fighting Scott Baio in his underwear so we can’t have the TV out there. It’s TNA though so titles mean less and less all the time other than the world title. This was probably going to be the weakest match on the card and it was certainly watchable.

Ray says he needs no introduction and talks about himself anyway. He buries Philadelphia, talking about how he’s never liked it here and he’s used the idiot fans for years to get where he is. This was really needed because Ray would have been the crowd favorite otherwise.

Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson

Anderson charges the ring and we start fast. Remember that this is a falls count anywhere match. Anderson tries to control early but Ray kicks his head off and puts Anderson down. Is there a reason why Anderson wears his shirt in his matches anymore? Ray chops him haRD in the corner (not good enough for all caps but decent) as Anderson’s hair is uh….weird. Anderson goes to the floor and takes a sign which has to be loaded. Yep there’s a metal sign in there and Ray goes down in a heap. Dead end sign and it goes over Ray’s head again.

They fight on the floor and a fan throws a beer on Ray. Anderson gets two on the floor and they go up the ramp. Anderson is infinately more entertaining when you let him stop wrestling. Ray reverses a suplex on the stage for two. Ray grabs the mic and talks about New York but Anderson beats him down and says this is Philadelphia. They head into the back and Ray hits a piledriver onto the concrete for two. Anderson gets choked with a red chair.

Back into the arena and they’re near the Spanish announce area. That has to be a copyrighted brawling area. Anderson takes part of the railing away and slides it into the ring but Ray beats him down and sets up a table. There’s another set up on the floor as well. Ray gets backdropped onto the railing and it’s bent.

Anderson goes up and misses the swanton onto the railing, allowing Ray to hit the Bubba Bomb (why is it not the Bully Bomb?) for two. I thought that was the ending. Anderson gets in a trashcan shot and loads Ray up onto the table on the floor. He goes up and channels his inner Jeff Hardy. There’s the huge Swanton BUT THE TABLE DIDN’T BREAK! FREAKING OW MAN!!! A Mic Check onto the table finally ends this at 14:28.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches that was fun to watch. It wasn’t technically good or anything but if you’re expecting it to be you’re totally missing the point. This was a fun weapons match, although I kind of question having two of them on the same show like they did with Lynn and Van Dam. Decent match here and rather entertaining.

Bischoff is talking to a referee and says it’s a big night. It’s implied that the referee is in Immortal’s pocket. Eric says Hogan has to win and Sting has to be taken out for good. It’s revealed that Jackson James, the referee, is the son of Bischoff. This is treated as a shock by the announcers.

Knockouts Title: Winter vs. Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne

Karen is referee and Winter is champion. The crowd is WAY into Velvet. Winter is in a coat of some kind and Angelina is in a pink corset. Karen looks good in her referee stuff and Madison gives her the tiara. They have to tag here and it’s Winter vs. Mickie to start. Winter controls early but Mickie snaps off the slick rana in the corner and a neckbreaker puts Winter on the floor.

Madison comes in sans tag and tries to slap Mickie or throw something in her face but it doesn’t work. They’re playing up the Karen factor a lot here as the fix is in or something like that. Mickie goes to the floor and Velvet comes in. I guess it’s lucha tag rules. Velvet hits a bulldog but Karen ties her shoes instead of counting. Velvet and Mickie have to fight but shake hands first.

Both get rollups but Karen won’t count for either of them. The fans are all over this in a hurry. They slug it out for a bit with no real purpose because Karen isn’t going to count. Winter and Madison pull them to the floor and that’s a tag in a way I guess. Madison is in there finally and make that all four are in now. The good girls take over and the fans aren’t going to stick with this much longer.

Mickie vs. Winter at the moment but Mickie won’t cover because there’s no point to it. She beats Winter down but argues with Karen, allowing Angelina to give Winter blood. It gets loaded up but Mickie ducks, sending the blood into Karen’s eyes. I typed that before it happened. There’s the jumping DDT and here’s Traci. Things totally break down and Velvet hits the double underhook X Factor to win the title at 8:45.

Rating: D+. They wanted Velvet winning to be a huge moment and it just wasn’t. There was so much going on here and most of it wasn’t anything we haven’t seen before so this wasn’t much to see. Winter’s second reign was about as worthless as her first but at least there’s the title reign for Velvet which has taken forever to get to. Not the big moment they were looking for though.

Kaz doesn’t know who to cheer for in the I Quit match but he hopes Daniels sees the light after it’s over.

We recap Daniels vs. Styles #4895 which is about Daniels being way too excited about beating him on a fluke and turning heel on him, setting up an I Quit match.

AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

It sounds like new music for both guys. AJ has another new remix. This is I Quit. There’s also no pyro for anyone tonight so far. The guys have the mic here and it’s a brawl to start. Daniels is asking if it’s over about 30 seconds in with a choke on AJ. AJ hooks a bridging Indian Deathlock and Daniels says no. We’re in that place in the match where they’re trying for fast submissions but no one believes it’s happening yet.

AJ hits his leapfrog/drop/dropkick spot and we head to the floor. AJ hits a flip dive and both guys are down. They find a tool box and Daniels tries to stab AJ with a screwdriver. The maiming attempt fails and they fight to the apron where they botch some kind of a suplex move. The screwdriver is stuck in the buckle. AJ has pink on his tights for breast cancer awareness month. Nothing wrong with that.

AJ still won’t quit so Daniels busts out the BME to AJ while he’s on his knees, making it more like Shadows Over Hell (Delirious move). Off to a half crab and of course AJ doesn’t quit. A spin kick is blocked and Daniels gets a backbreaker. There’s no eyeliner on Daniels either which is a weird look. He’s in tights instead of shorts too. It’s chair time and Chris sits down on it with the bar over AJ’s throat. Styles is bleeding over the top of the head, right around his hairline.

Daniels says everything AJ has in TNA will belong to him and he never wanted to hear AJ say I qu….”oh no I’m not saying it.” The fans chant for him to shut up and Daniels lets up for some reason. He looks into the camera and talks to Wendy (AJ’s wife) and says take the kids out of the room because they shouldn’t see their father murdered. Yeah this isn’t overkill at all.

AJ gets fired up and hits the backflip reverse DDT. Styles Clash fails and Daniels misses the BME. He shouts DIE AJ but runs into the Pele and the Clash. So….how does this make Daniels say he quits? AJ picks up the chair but grabs the screwdriver instead. And Daniels quits to avoid the pain ala JBL vs. Cena in 05. He quit at 13:52.

Rating: C. I’m not a fan of these matches because the ending is either the heel giving up after being hurt for a few seconds or giving up before something big happening. I wasn’t into this and the fans weren’t really either. I think they were going for a big ending and emotional moment but it never got to the level they were hoping for.

As AJ is leaving, Daniels jumps him and plants him with Angel’s Wings on the ramp, meaning this is going to continue.

We recap the final two matches on the card but here’s Jeff Jarrett.

He yells about Jeff Hardy and says no one here wants anything to do with Hardy. The fans chant for Hardy as Jarrett buries the city. He calls out Hardy and here he is with new music. They brawl with Hardy only saying a few words and it’s a brawl. This isn’t a match. Security comes out to break it up but Hardy gets free for a bit as happens in most brawls. That happens with both guys more than once. The agents come in and we get a D’lo chant. Hardy is left in the ring and poses to his music.

We recap Hogan vs. Sting. I’m shocked this isn’t the main event. The recap covers like a year and a half which is all about Hogan stealing the company from Dixie and Sting trying to get the control back for Dixie because it’s her’s.

Now the announcers talk about the match and how big it is.

Hulk Hogan vs. Sting

This is a “fight” remember, so Hogan is in an Impact Wrestling shirt and black tights. Dixie Carter is in the audience. If Hogan loses, Sting and Dixie get control of the company. Sting is in his Hogan shirt again. Jackson James, Bischoff’s son, is the referee. Before anything of note happens, Hogan waves out someone and it’s Flair. Dixie isn’t happy. And they lock up. We get a headlock in this “fight”.

Hogan Hulks Up and there goes the bandana. Sting throws off the Hogan shirt too. The fans sound into it so points for that. Hogan puts on a neck crank and we look at Dixie again. It’s in a rest hold so no complaints there. Hogan keeps crotch chopping. All Hogan so far with him sending Sting to the floor so Flair can pound away a bit with chops and a low blow.

All Hulk still as he hammers away on Sting on the floor. There’s some kind of object given to Hogan by Flair and Hulk pounds away with it. Sting is busted and Hogan struts and WOOs. Sting fires back and Hogan is in trouble. He keeps going to the floor to chase Flair and this time gets the object from him. Flair tries to warn Hulk but he can’t get away in time. Hulk is busted.

There’s the splash and down goes Flair. Hogan takes another splash and Hogan is down in the middle of the ring. Here’s the Scorpion and Sting gets it on full. He sits down on it and Hogan taps out right in front of the referee…..and he rings the bell for the submission at 9:49. The fans are not happy….like at all.

Rating: D+. The ending hurt it a lot but the fans were WAY into this. Tis is a fine example of a match where the match wasn’t the important part. However, there was nothing important to see here and the ending didn’t work at all for the most part. Keeping it short was good but Eric’s son wound up meaning almost nothing at all.

Immortal runs out for the beatdown with the chairs and Abyss is watching from behind the stage. Eric sets for a chair shot but his son takes the chair away. Down goes the son and Hulk is getting up. For no apparent reason Hulk turns face and beats up Immortal. Hogan and Sting clean house and Flair takes the brunt of the beating. Bischoff is cowering in the corner.

Hogan and Sting go back to back and stare each other down. They don’t shake hands but Hogan beats up Bischoff. This makes absolutely NO SENSE but the fans are more into it than anything ever in TNA. Hogan says he’s back and kicks Bischoff out of the ring. Hogan and Sting stare it down again and Sting wants Hogan to pose. They play to the crowd and that’s about it.

We recap Roode vs. Angle and I think you know the drill here.

TNA World Title: Bobby Roode vs. Kurt Angle

It’s 10:36 when the bell rings so they have about 20 minutes or so, barring them going right up to the hour. They head to the floor for a few seconds and Angle kicks him low on the way back in. Angle is coming in with a legit hamstring injury. They go to the mat and Angle works on a gutwrench. The fans are all behidn Roode. The American hits a German on the Canadian and make it three of them, getting a two count.

Kurt sets for the moonsault but Roode suplexes him off and Kurt lands on his head. The fans went SILENT after that. Kurt seems to be ok as they slug it out. Roode hits a forearm and some clotheslines to take over. Blockbuster hits for what looked to be three but they’ll call it two. Belly to belly gets two for the champ as does a DDT. Angle Slam is countered into the spinebuster (no pop at all for it) for two.

Angle does the run up the rope suplex for two. They’re really just using signature stuff here instead of a longer match. Roode grabs the Crossface out of nowhere and Kurt can’t reach a rope. Angle teases tapping but he grabs the ankle to escape the hold. Now Roode is in the submission and teases tapping but reverses right back into the Crossface in the middle of the ring. Angle reverses again and is put in the hold on the other arm this time. Kurt rolls through into the Slam for two.

Back to the ankle but Roode kicks him off and hits the spinebuster to still not much of a reaction. The crowd just does not care after the Hogan vs. Sting stuff. Fisherman’s suplex gets two. The dueling chants start up and Kurt hooks the ankle again. Angle Slam is countered into an armdrag as the fans are starting to get into this a bit. Angle gets the referee in between them and kicks Roode low. There’s another Slam and it only gets two again.

Time for more rolling Germans but Roode reverses into the Crossface again, this time on the left arm which is the one that I think it’s been on more often than the right one. Roode’s face is really bad when he’s got these holds on. Kurt’s arm is under the ropes so the hold is broken. Spear gets two for Angle. I’m so over the move I can’t stand it anymore. Angle goes up for something but jumps into the Crossface. Kurt escapes and tries the Slam but Roode tries the Fisherman’s into another Slam and Kurt grabs the rope….for the pin at 14:20. Oh….oh no they can’t be doing this. Roode’s arm was under the ropes too.

Rating: C. The ending cripples this. It wasn’t a classic before that but the ending hurt it more than I can comprehend. The match was so based on having finishers escaped and kicked out of and all that stuff which was the vast majority of the match. Not horrible but man, that ending is actually standing and it’s over. That CRIPPLED things.

Overall Rating: B+. The ending to this show brings it way down. I mean WAY down. There isn’t a truly bad match on the whole card but there isn’t a classic either. Still, it’s a very good show and worth checking out, but the ending to the main event hurt this like nothing else. There was zero point to having Angle go over there and he was helped out by the trainer post match so maybe he was legit hurt. I’m in awe over that ending. The rest of the show was solid though and Hogan’s illogical heel turn is fun stuff. Worth seeing, but prepared to roll your eyes at the main event.

Results
Austin Aries b. Brian Kendrick – Brainbuster
Rob Van Dam b. Jerry Lynn – Van Terminator
Crimson b. Samoa Joe and Matt Morgan – Spear to Joe
Mr. Anderson b. Bully Ray – Mic Check through a table
Velvet Sky b. Winter, Mickie James and Madison Rayne – Sitout facebuster to Rayne
AJ Styles b. Christopher Daniels – Daniels said he quit
Sting b. Hulk Hogan – Scorpion Deathlock
Kurt Angle b. Bobby Roode – Angle Slam

It’s the biggest TNA show of the year so I probably should have a thread about it.

My thoughts: I’m cautiously optimistic about the double main event because it should lead to the downfall of Immortal which has been needed for the last few months.  However, this is TNA we’re talking about so do you really expect them to get something this simple right?  I’m hoping for Roode over Angle, but that really does nothing for me.  It’ll be a good match, but it’s not something that brings to mind a classic when I think of it.  Roode feels like a tag wrestler who is hot right now.  This feels like it should be at Against All Odds, not BFG.

As for Hogan vs. Sting…..I’m not getting any hopes up.  It feels like it will be a total disaster.  Hogan has said he’s not taking any bumps in this and in this situation I think he’s telling the truth.  Other than that, I don’t know what to hope for here other than hopefully it’s VERY short.  This is going to be in Philadelphia and the fans are either going to love this or it’ll be as popular as a “no beer” sign on a Saturday night in the south.

Oh and the “no interference” thing in both mains is laughable.

Your thoughts/predictions for any part of the card?

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 13, 2011
Location: Knoxville Civic Auditorium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s the go home show for Bound For Glory and the card is mostly set I believe. The two big matches have been well built but I can’t say they have the same kind of pop as last year’s show did, at least not for me. I’d expect a final push to the show and a lot of work being done for the importance of how big this show is for TNA. Hogan vs. Sting should get roughly 7 segments. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video about the two main events as you would expect.

Hogan is here.

Angle opens the show and wants to talk to Roode one more time. He talks about how he had Roode fight Fourtune and Roode passed the test. Angle says he’s better than all of Fourtune and he’s the best ever, which he’s going to prove again at BFG. He offers a handshake but Roode grabs the mic again. Roode talks about having heart and says he wants a clean match. They shake hands and say no interference. The lack of hatred and everything being based on respect is really hurting this build for me.

Angle goes to leave but says that tonight it’s Roode vs. Gunner/Jarrett.

RVD, AJ, Daniels and Lynn are all brawling in the back.

The brawl is still going after a break and they’re out on the ramp now. There’s a bell. Ok so it’s a match.

AJ Styles/Rob Van Dam vs. Christopher Daniels/Jerry Lynn

It’s a big brawl to start as Rob is missing. Oh there he is. Things finally get down to Daniels vs. AJ but it’s off to Rob quickly. Rob gets beaten down by some double teaming. Daniels and Lynn have some decent chemistry for a random pairing. Hot tag brings in AJ and he cleans house. We go to the floor and it’s time to dive! AJ hits the springboard forearm back in and loads up the Clash but Daniels escapes. Lynn is back in and takes the Clash for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C+. This was kind of a crazy match but I think that was the point with the way the match started. It’s a decent match and the dives were pretty good. I’m always a fan of combining two feuds like this as you can build them both fairly well at once and it saves some time for other stuff later. It’s an old booking idea but it works very well and it did so here.

Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan

Morgan is all fired up to start and hits a running knee to set up the corner elbows. Joe hammers away with his usual strikes but when he puts Morgan up top, Morgan jumps over him and rolls Joe up for the pin at 2:09. That came out of nowhere.

Post match Joe goes after Morgan’s leg and gets a hold on it until Crimson comes out with a chair to clear the ring. Joe yells about the two of them always ganging up on him. He suggests a three way at the PPV and the non Samoans say ok.

There’s a new Jeff Hardy DVD. I’ll keep quiet on that.

Here’s Mexican America who wants to have Ink Inc out here. The fans chant USA and the tattoo guys talk about the tattoo they gave Anarquia recently. Ink Inc tells them to get out and a brawl breaks out. Mexican America takes over so the tattoo chick from the tattoo parlor comes in for the save. The tag match is made post brawl.

Jesse Sorensen/Brian Kendrick vs. Austin Aries/Kid Kash

The good guys dive out onto the floor to get us going. Kash vs. Sorensen gets us going and Sorensen uses his speed stuff to get going. A McGillicutter gets two. The heels take over quickly and we’re waiting on the hot tag to Kendrick. Kash tries a springboard moonsault and is supposed to hit the knees but hits most of the move instead. There’s the hot tag to Kendrick who cleans a few rooms. He tries Sliced Bread on both heels at once which makes them fight. Sorensen goes into Kash and Aries gets the belt but Kendrick hits a superkick and Sliced Bread for the pin at 4:34.

Rating: C. Not a bad match but the opener did it better. The idea here was to set up the title match and give us a reason to think Kendrick can win. I don’t get the point in having Kash and Aries fight out there but they were trying something I guess. Not a horrible match but it was pretty generic.

Here are the four Knockouts in the title match on Sunday plus Angelina. Madison is brought out with Karen and Traci has to trail behind. Karen talks about how she got them the PPV match because no one else wanted them. She talks about how she’s better than they are and singles out Velvet. They yell a lot and then Traci helps shove Karen down. It’s brawl time and security pulls them apart.

Ray is the enforcer for Anderson vs. Steiner later and says don’t tick him off.

AJ rants about Daniels, saying he ruined the relationship their families have. AJ gets in his truck and says he’s ready for an I Quit match. He shuts the door to his truck and Daniels decks him, tying a cord around Styles’ throat. Daniels lets go saying he wants everyone to hear AJ quit on Sunday.

Scott Steiner vs. Mr. Anderson

Ray is the guest referee. Steiner goes straight at Anderson with the power and a belly to belly gets two. There are the elbows and it’s still all Steiner. Ray is talking trash since he’s very good at it. Anderson grabs a neckbreaker for two. Mic Check hits but he’s in the rope before the referee can raise his hand for one. Anderson takes out Ray but comes back in for a low blow with the referee looking at Steiner as if to say “oh come on” but it’s not a DQ. Here’s Abyss for no apparent reason with Ray’s chain. Steiner holds Anderson up and it hits Steiner but that’s not a DQ. It is however enough for a pin at 4:03.

Rating: D. Am I watching ECW or something? The referee wasn’t bumped or anything. He watched all that happen and was totally cool with all of it. I get that it’s to build to the Abyss face turn eventually but it still was pretty stupid overall. Was there any reason to not have this be a DQ win for Anderson? I mean it’s not like it changes the ending or anything.

Post match Ray yells at Abyss as Immortal runs out. Abyss gets tired of being yelled at so he grabs Ray by the throat. It’s time for the Immortal beatdown and Ray brings in a table. Anderson finally runs out for the save but Ray runs over him and the Bubba Bomb puts Anderson through the table.

Angle comes up to Storm and tries to bring him to the dark side. Storm says he’s talking to Bobby and that’s about it.

Jarrett and Gunner say nothing of note about Bobby.

We run down the BFG card, which looks pretty stacked.

Video on Bobby Roode who is on a roll. Angle talks about how he has the experience and no pressure on him.

Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Jarrett/Gunner

Roode grabs a chair but it gets taken away from him. He fights them off for a bit but the numbers catch up with him pretty quickly. Roode sets for the Blockbuster on Gunner but Jarrett makes the save and the beating continues. After a double suplex Jarrett and Gunner do the Beer Money taunt which ticks Roode off. There’s the Blockbuster to Jeff and Gunner is sent to the floor. Stroke is countered into the spinebuster and the crossface goes on both guys but gets the tap from Gunner at 3:58.

Rating: C. It’s juts a handicap match here and a way for Roode to look good. That’s fine but the whole respect thing isn’t doing much for me as far as the build for the match goes. Not a bad match but it doesn’t really tell us anything that we don’t already know. Not bad but it wasn’t too bad overally.

Immortal comes out for the beatdown and Storm’s save attempt fails. Angle comes out to beat on Roode too but before he can get a hand on him Jeff Hardy runs out for the save. Storm doesn’t like it and Roode isn’t sure if he should shake Jeff’s hand. Eventually he shakes it. Hardy goes to leave but Storm stops him. Storm raises Hardy’s arm and shakes his hand.

Jeff says he’s back. That’s Hardy by the way. Jarrett comes up and yells at Hardy over a lot of things. He says they’ve been friends for a long time and that Jeff is out of chances. Hardy says he’ll be at BFG.

With about 5 minutes left in the show, it’s time for the Hogan/Sting contract signing. Both are in Hogan shirts and Hulk doesn’t want to sign. Sting signs but Hogan isn’t on yet. Ok so he signs it. Hogan stands up and turns over the table. Sting’s yellow shoes are great. Hogan says he’s been watching Sting avoid Hogan for over thirty years. He talks about how Sting could have fought Hogan any time ever and finally gets him here. This is Hogan’s last match but it’s going to be a fight. You need a contract for a fight? Hogan swears no interference and keeps saying gut instead of got.

And here’s Bischoff with a rebuttal. He’s mad about Sting hurting him a few weeks ago and threatens Sting. Sting turns his back and Hogan pops him with a chair and hammers away in the corner. Sting is being choked out as we go off the air.

Overall Rating: B. This was an excellent go home show. Yeah I said it. I’ve made no secret about the fact that I’m less than thrilled with the choices for the double main event and think that Hogan and Sting need to go away instead of taking the main event picture up, but this show built up that and Kurt vs. Roode very well. The whole card got something and having the segments for the main events not really take up all of the show was a hue plus. The pacing was good here too and it made for a great build for BFG, which should be a good show. I’m stunned but this was the best TNA show I’ve seen in longer than I can remember.

Results
AJ Styles/Rob Van Dam b. Christopher Daniels/Jerry Lynn
Matt Morgan b. Samoa Joe – Rollup
Jesse Sorensen/Brian Kendrick b. Austin Aries/Kid Kash – Sliced Bread to Kendrick
Mr. Anderson b. Scott Steiner – Pin after Abyss hit Anderson with a chain
Bobby Roode b. Gunner/Jeff Jarrett – Crossface

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 6, 2011
Location: Knoxville Civic Auditorium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

We’re in Knoxville now (if that wasn’t clear before) and it’s Hulk Hogan’s retirement announcement. Why do I have a feeling that may not be legit after last year’s hospital ordeal. Anyway, we have two more shows before BFG so I’m sure Bobby Roode still respects Kurt a lot and that he’s the next world champ. If you’re not sure, just listen and I’m sure you’ll hear it a few dozen times tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Beer Money to open the show. Roode finishes the Fourtune gauntlet tonight and they’re in the semi main event. Storm isn’t happy with this because Hogan is taking the spot from them. It’s time for Hogan to retire. Roode talks about facing the other members of Fourtune and needing to beat them to get here. He needs Storm at his best for the sake of getting him ready for Angle. Storm will do that later and tonight he might be a little better than Roode.

Sting is here in a red jacket and a Hogan t-shirt.

Since it’s Hogan’s big nights, we look back at Hogan moments in Impact Wrestling. First up: Hogan arrives on January 4, 2010.

Kazarian vs. Gunner

This is fallout from last week with Traci’s pull apart brawl and Gunner laying out Kaz. They fight over the arm and Kaz’s goes into the post. Back in Gunner works on the arm for a bit but Kaz takes the leg out to take over for all of a second. Kaz’s arm goes into the post again, setting up an armbar for the tap at 4:12. That came out of nowhere but I kind of like it….I think. And never mind as Gunner hits him just a tiny bit more and it’s reversed to a DQ.

Rating: C-. No idea what the point of this was although it was cool to see a feud/story go from one week to another. The ending was kind of strange though because it came out of nowhere. It made sense from an injury standpoint as Kaz had his arm worked on for a bit before the tap, but it looked like a regular armbar/wristlock. I don’t get it, nor do I get the point of the post match DQ.

Here’s Anderson to apologize to the people who mean the most to him: his anal openings known as fans. He’s worked for his whole life to get here and isn’t sure what he was thinking when he joined Immortal. He mentions Ray and here he is. They talk about how Ray keeps using weapons to beat him down (“Overcompensating with the chain?) and Ray says Anderson doesn’t get another match. Anderson challenges him to a Philadelphia Falls Count Anywhere match. Wasn’t that already set up?

Roode and Storm are getting ready.

Eric gets here and isn’t happy about the Hogan announcement. They’ve worked together for years and it ends tonight.

Kendrick talks about how Aries has weaknesses and he can exploit them. It’s your usual insane stuff. He insults Kid Kash and here’s Kash to retort with his fists.

Mickie James/Velvet Sky vs. Winter/Madison Rayne

Mickie vs. Winter to start and it’s off to Madison quickly. Kaz is going to the hospital. Velvet comes in and doesn’t so much so it’s off to Mickie again to beat up Winter. A Thesz Press sets up a neckbreaker which sets up a rana which sets up a two. Angelina’s cheating gets two for Winter. After some uninspired stuff, Velvet comes in and cleans house with a modified X Factor which doesn’t look that good. Angelina grabs the wrong chick’s leg and Winter gets in trouble. Not that it matters anyway as Madison rolls up Velvet with the tights at 4:41 for the pin.

Rating: D+. So what was the point of the leg trip exactly? If you’re going to have Angelina screw up, shouldn’t it lead to it ending badly? The Knockouts are better than the Divas but that’s still not saying much. I do kind of like the sexiness of the Knockouts more but it’s not exactly the best it’s ever been. Nothing to see here but it had all four chicks for BFG in the same match so points for that.

Jeff Hardy is here. AND HE HAS SLEEVES!!!

Remember the one time Hogan wrestled on Impact?

Angle is worried about Jeff and Eric says chill. Angle says cool.

Here’s Eric and he calls out Jeff Hardy. He talks about how he’s been in the business for 25 years and he’s never dropped the ball. I guess we’re overlooking WCW and their huge lead. Anyway Jeff has turned dropping the ball into an art form. Jeff has been looking for another chance but Eric says Jeff is out of chances with him. Eric says Jeff is done so here’s a Twist of Fate for Uncle Eric. He shouts Screw You and Immortal chases him off.

Jeff is still here.

Hogan throwing Dixie out is another moment.

Samoa Joe vs. Crimson

They fight to the corner quickly with Joe taking an early advantage. Off to a cravate which doesn’t get Crimson much of anywhere. They go to the floor and Joe gets in a shot to the leg/ankle that he injured on Crimson a few weeks ago. Joe works over the leg for awhile and then it’s back inside. A leg sweep takes Crimson down and here’s a leg lock that isn’t quite a heel hook according to Taz. Crimson grabs a small package out of nowhere for the pin at 5:13.

Rating: C-. This was more of a brawl than a match but I’m not sure what it solves if anything. Joe still can’t win anything and Crimson continues to win without looking dominant. Not much here but I’ve seen worse. It’ll likely be a three way at BFG with Morgan being thrown in.

Ray tries to talk down Philly to make sure he’s a heel in Philly.

Long video on Roode getting ready for BFG.

James Storm vs. Robert Roode

Face vs. face here and partner vs. partner so you know the respect is way turned up. They feel each other out a lot and Roode controls with a headlock. Storm grabs the arm but gets caught in another headlock. Very technical stuff so far. They hit the ropes and Roode avoids a super kick and takes Storm down with an arm drag. The Fujiwara is avoided and we take a break.

Back with more back and forth stuff. Daniels vs. AJ will be I Quit for no apparent reason. They start slugging it out and Storm is fighting more like a heel than he usually does. Blockbuster gets two. Roode gets sent to the apron so Storm challens his inner Orton with an elevated DDT for two. Back in the spinebuster gets two for Roode. The idea is Storm is getting frustrated while Roode is staying calm.

After Roode gets crotched Storm hooks a superplex for a very long two. Superkick is countered into the Crossface but Storm rolls into the ropes. So I guess Storm > HHH? Codebreaker sets up the Backstabber but it only gets two. The fans say this is awesome and while it’s good I don’t know if it’s awesome. There goes the referee (naturally) and Angle comes out to send Storm into the steps. Nice planting of seeds there but it only gets two. Storm tries another superkick but falls into a fisherman’s suplex for the pin at 13:14.

Rating: B-. Solid stuff here but the ref bump made me roll my eyes. I did like what Kurt is doing though as he’s trying to make Storm turn on Roode and since no one is ever capable of watching tape in wrestling it might cause some of it for the PPV. Good main event and I’d expect to see this headlining a PPV someday soon.

Here’s Hogan for the retirement speech. He talks about how he’s been in Knoxville and how much he loves the fans. He isn’t sure what he’s going to do now with all the free time he has now. Some fans had asked if it was worth a ten hour drive to be here for it and he says yes it’s real. Hogan thanks the fans and they cheer for him again. He holds up the weight belt and lays it down in the ring, saying that Hulkamania is over and let the celebration begin.

Here’s Sting with a rebuttal I guess. He looks like a Hogan/Beetlejuice hybrid here. Sting says he doesn’t buy it but Hogan is like dude it’s real. Sting talks about how amazing it is today that you can have a camera anywhere today. Nothing is sacred today and Sting has some compelling footage about Hogan. Here’s Hogan and Bischoff with Hogan talking about how the fans are going to fall for this retirement hook line and sinker. Hogan makes fun of hillbillies in Knoxville and Hulk in the ring freaks. He says he’ll fight Sting at BFG and if Sting wins he’ll give the company back to Sting and Carter. WOW that was forced.

Overall Rating: C. Not a terrible show here but me being half asleep for a lot of it didn’t help. The wrestling was short but at this point I can live with that because it’s about building up to BFG now and with the card being set, you don’t really need many more new matches or stories going on. Decent show overall but it’s really just holding down the fort until BFG and that’s fine.

Results
Gunner b. Kazarian – Armbar
Madison Rayne/Winter b. Mickie James/Velvet Sky – Rollup
Crimson b. Samoa Joe – Small Package
Bobby Roode b. James Storm – Fisherman’s Suplex

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 29, 2011
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

After this week we move off to Nashville for two weeks and then it’s Philadelphia for Bound For Glory. Tonight we’re going to hear that it’s Hogan’s retirement which is a big announcement and a spoiler but by the time this is posted it’ll be fair game. Anyway other than that there’s a five way ladder match which will be lucky to go six minutes. Let’s get to it.

Sting is here to open the show and he calls out Roode. It’s the same stuff you would expect: Sting says he’s awesome and can beat Angle, Roode says he’ll do his best and that it means a lot and says that Sting needs to beat Hogan. Here’s AJ to say take care of things and go become world champion because you might never get another shot. Here’s Angle who says if AJ wins tonight he’ll get a shot at the title. This felt really rushed for some reason.

Hogan is here and is looking nervous.

Alex Shelley vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Zima Ion vs. Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen

This is a ladder match and the winner gets the shot at Aries at BFG. Aries is on commentary and says he wants to face Kash. It’s your usual insane match with all the people doing everything they can. There’s a chair brought in and Sorensen is dropped onto the ladder by Kash and looks like he was shot. Kash goes up but Kendrick makes the save. Tazz: “Austin what would you do in this match?” Aries: “Climb the ladder as fast as I could.”

Ion takes Kendrick out with a moonsault to the floor and no one is really trying to go up. Shelley kicks Kash down and makes a run up but takes forever because it’s a wrestling match involving a ladder and Ion makes the save. BIG chop by Kash to Ion and Aries says maybe he doesn’t want to face him. Ion gets countered and Sorensen puts him into the ladder. Kash goes up but is taken down by Kendrick. Kendrick and Shelley go up at the same time but Kendrick knocks him down and wins at 5:45. Nice to see them expanding the title feuds.

Rating: C+. The match was exciting but I’m tired of these matches that are supposed to be special and draws etc being given five and a half minutes so that we can have everyone on the roster post on their video blogs about how they feel about everything that is happening tonight with nothing interesting to say at all. Not a bad match or anything, but these matches need more time to build up some kind of drama.

Kaz is talking about the Roode/Styles match when the Jarretts come in and say get to the ring now.

Flair is on the phone and is upset about something. He wants to be part of a decision that is being made and is coming to someone’s office.

Here are the Jarretts and they call out Kaz and tell him to bring Traci with him. Jeff gets in his face, talking about how he gave Kaz a job and how Kaz went to the WWE and then Jeff let him come back and then left again and Jeff let him back in again. He insults Traci a bit and they almost get into it but referees and agents come out. Jeff threatens to fire them because he can I guess and another brawl starts up. Gunner comes in and leaves Kaz laying with an F5.

We recap last week’s thing with Ink Inc and Mexican america with the tattoo raping.

Hernandez vs. Jesse Neal

Mexican America jumps Ink Inc and we’re told that Hernandez hurt Neal which is why we haven’t seen them lately. Well that’s better than nothing. The beatdown goes on for awhile and the bell hasn’t rang yet. Anarquia and Moore are in the ring and Moore gets crushed by a splash. Here’s one for Neal also and the Mexicans stand tall. They spray pain MA on both of their backs and it’s 1996 all over again. No match. Hernandez’s splashes looked great.

Ray says he knows what Hogan is going to say and says he was the first one that Hogan told about it.

Storm says if Roode wins, Storm will be winning with them because they’re a team.

Flair rants to Hogan about what Hogan is going to do and says it’ll change the business. Whatever it is, it’s not a good decision.

We recap Tara vs. Madison Rayne which started back at Sacrifice 2010 where Tara put her career up for a title shot. Then Tara came back with Madison because I guess Madison had the authority to break the contract. Tara rebelled against Madison and won her freedom. Do we really need a year plus recap for a TV match where you get a spot in a title match?

Crimson is here just as he promised he would be.

Madison Rayne vs. Tara

This is a qualifying match to be in the Knockouts Title match with Mickie and Winter and whoever else is the final person. By the way, total time from the end of the ladder match to the bell for this: 33:54. Madison hits on Earl and screams a lot. Tara grabs her hand and bends the finger back, making Madison tap but it doesn’t count I guess. I have a feeling we’re in a comedy match.

Tara takes it to the mat with a headlock takeover and Madison keeps carressing Earl. Madison uses the distraction to take over with a right hand and beats on her in the corner. She does the hump the mat spot and hits on Earl AGAIN. That’s about 8 times now. Madison cheats to escape a chokebomb by hitting Earl so Earl says kill her. Release chokebomb hits Madison but Rayne escapes the Widow’s Peak and rolls her up with the feet on the ropes at 4:43.

Rating: D. I have no idea what the point of the video was as this really wasn’t a match that required a lot of explanation or backstory to it. Also I don’t get the point of the hitting on Earl as it didn’t play into the ending at all. Pretty much a nothing match that didn’t need a backstory or the cross generational flirting.

Daniels says he wouldn’t want to face AJ again at BFG because there’s no point. The match is happening it seems and Daniels says if he beats AJ again it would be a kick in the nuts, which makes him chuckle.

Here’s Crimson after having his leg broken or something similar to that by Joe. He wants Joe out here right now to settle this. Joe appears and says he’s allowed Crimson to be here and to continue his farce of an undefeated streak. Without Crimson, who else is going to be Joe’s female dog? Crimson charges and the brawl is on. Joe goes to the ankle and kicks Crimson low and into the ring we go. He puts on the leg bar until Matt Morgan comes out to make a save. Morgan helps Crimson up.

AJ is ready for Roode but they’re cool.

D’Angelo Dinero vs. Mr. Anderson

Just 19:37 between bells this time so they’re improving. Feeling out process to start as this is the always rare face vs. face match. They do nothing of note for awhile until they head to the floor and Anderson pulls back to punch Pope. D-Von’s kids grab his arm and Pope misses a charge into the railing. Anderson goes into the ring and Ray pops up with a kendo stick. Pope comes in and gets the pin at 4:12. D-Von came down to yell at his kids.

Rating: D. I can’t call it a failure because it plays into both stories. Anderson and Ray are fine, but is this Pope/D-Von/D-Von’s kids thing going ANYWHERE? They’ve been doing this same stuff for months now and I guess D-Von is mad at Pope again or maybe now at his kids or something? I have no idea what the end goal of this is but it’s taking way too long for an angle with D-Von Dudley in it.

Roode is ready.

D-Von yells at his kids and Pope. D-Von is training his kids to be wrestlers it seems. Pope says chill and D-Von yells at his kids more, saying he calls the shots and says when for the kids to jump.

We get one of those serious videos about Roode training for his one match and how he’s given up so much for his family and his dream and all that jazz.

AJ Styles vs. Robert Roode

Just 12 and a half minutes this time. LONG headlock by AJ to eat up some time and then a dropkick gets two. Off to another headlock as I think it’s one of those “big” matches where they do very basic stuff but nothing actually comes out of it. AJ tries the springboard but gets caught in an over the shoulder gutbuster for two, injuring Bobby’s leg. They go to the floor and once that goes nowhere, AJ puts on a bridging Indian Deathlock to work on the knee a bit more.

They continue with this slow pace and it’s ok but it’s not much to watch, especially after how boring the rest of the show has been. Roode knocks him off the top but gets caught by the springboard forearm for two. Here’s the springboard 450 but Roode moves. Styles Clash is blocked twice, the second time into a sunsef flip for two. Pele misses and Roode grabs the Crossface and AJ taps at 8:32.

Rating: C+. The ending was good but this is another match like the opener: they needed more time to make it good. A win over AJ is a good thing but there’s still a total lack of heat in my eyes on the title match. They’re trying so hard to make this a huge match and I’m not getting into it at all. Roode simply isn’t that interesting and would rather talk about how much he respects everything and show absolutely no emotion other than serious which is logical I guess, but MAN is it dull.

AJ praises Roode and says he’s going to be the next champion. This takes forever and AJ says he wants a shot. Roode says ok.

Here’s Hogan for the big announcement. He talks about how he’s been soul searching recently and started thinking about how the Hulk Hogan run has been awesome. He talks about Hiro Matsuda breaking his leg when he started training and how he came from the beginning to the match with Andre and how many times he sold out MSG and all those big matches. Sting is watching in the back.

Hulkamania could go on forever. Then he had a chance of a lifetime: to come to Impact Wrestling and make a difference. He saw a bunch of hungry eyes and now they’re all stepping up. Every moment has been worth it and Sting is still watching. He (Sting) talks about Suburban Commando and says Hogan is a great actor.

Hogan says this is the end of the road and he’s retiring. He wants to thank the Impact Zone fans because they’re the important ones. Even his wife hasn’t heard this yet. But Flair and Bully Ray have? The fans are always with him and he’s leaving. Next week will be the formal announcement and it’ll be a big celebration of Hulk next week. Sting doesn’t buy it.

Overall Rating: D. Oh man I did not like this show. They spent the whole night plugging Roode vs. Angle and I still don’t care to see it. The match will probably be very good, but at the end of it I’ll say something like “Ok so what’s next?”, which will be Sting vs. Hogan because that’s been built up far better, although the match will be a disaster. These buildup shows for BFG have been built on two matches and I’m not thrilled to see either, which isn’t a good thing.

Results
Brian Kendrick b. Kid Kash, Alex Shelley, Zima Ion and Jesse Sorensen – Kendrick pulled down the contract
Madison Rayne b. Tara – Rollup
D’Angelo Dinero b. Mr. Anderson – Pin after Bully Ray hit Anderson with a kendo stick
Robert Roode b. AJ Styles – Crossface

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 22, 2011
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

Counting tonight there are four shows left before Bound For Glory. Last night the rest of the shows leading up to the PPV were taped in Nashville so the entire thing has been set. I’ve never been a fan of that but that’s just me. Anyway, tonight we continue with Roode facing Fourtune in his gauntlet style thing as well as continue having Hogan and Sting set up since now that match is official for BFG. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Sting in a Hogan shirt and jeans to open the show with a contract in his hand. He talks about how things are great right now and he wants Hogan here right now. Hogan comes out and says he’s not medically cleared to wrestle. Sting FREAKS (in his insane way) and says he has some footage. It’s of Hogan killing Sting with a chair and beating him up from a few weeks ago. Hogan says he’s not going to fight at BFG even if he’s in shape as Sting has been chasing him for years but never caught up to him.

Sting says ok then. Screw BFG and let’s do it right now. Cue Bischoff for the interruption. He goes off on Sting and Sting doesn’t seem that interested. Eric tells Sting to look at him and Sting does as he clocks Bischoff with a right hand. Eric looks a bit dead now. Sting gets in Hogan’s face and says the match will happen.

Karen talks to Mickie and Tessmacher and says get ready for their match. Mickie leaves and Tessie says none of that erotic stripping stuff. She also tells Traci to cover those things up. She yells at Karen again and Kaz comes up to her to call Karen a madam. He and Traci leave and Karen immediately calls Jeff to yell.

Jeff Hardy arrives and is looking for someone to talk to.

Brooke Tessmacher vs. Mickie James

This is part of the qualifying series for the title match at BFG. The crowd goes almost silent once the bell rings. They fight over a wristlock (the girls, not the crowd, although that would be interesting to see) and we’re in the always awkward face vs. face match here. Tessmacher gets a rana for two and a dropkick to take over.

She grinds onto Mickie’s face in the corner and Mickie is ticked off. I guess she’s changed teams since her infatuation with Trish. She beats up tessmacher with a bad flapjack and the jumping DDT gets the pin at 2:55. Tessmacher looked MUCH better here than she usually does and is downright watchable.

Mexican America is off to get some new tattoos in a truck.

Al Snow talks to Jeff hardy who says Jeff made a mistake. He shakes Jeff’s hand and says to not make that mistake again and start at the top. Al also says he’s here if Jeff needs him.

X-Division Title: Jesse Sorensen vs. Austin Aries

No entrance for Sorensen. Aries asks for silence before the match which is an old school heel tactic and it works. He takes Jesse to the mat and tries to tick him off. Jesse is all annoyed and Austin steals Jesse’s football. Sorensen adds a third sport to things with a baseball slide and then a HUGE dive over the top to take Aries out. Kid Kash comes out to distract Sorensen which only works for a bit as Sorensen gets a big old Kingstonesque top rope cross body for two.

Aries goes up and jumps into a dropkick for two. Sorensets for something but Austni counters by ramming him into the corner. We get a Let’s Go Jesse/Austin Aries dueling chant. Kash is still there and distracts Jesse again, shoving the football into his chest. That isn’t a DQ for some reason and Jesse throws the ball into Kash’s chest. Aries hits a dropkick to the back of the head and a rollup for the pin at 4:27.

Rating: C. Not bad but Kash vs. Sorensen is something that should be over already. They had a three match series and Sorensen won the thing. What’s the point in continuing it now? Aries probably needed to get a clean win here but I see the idea of having him win with some shenanigans. Not bad but nothing great. Sorensen can jump though.

Anderson and RVD talk about their tag match tonight with Ray and Lynn, their respective opponents at BFG.

Anarquia has a new tattoo on his chest and says we need some tequila. The chicks go off to get it and the tattoo artist has to switch with someone else. Anarquia says he’s afraid of needles so they pray for him to not be scared. As they open their eyes, Ink Inc pops in and beats them up. They fight into the lobby of the place and the tattoo lady pops Anarquia with an elbow. This beating is going on for awhile. Hernandez was put through a table. They beat Anarquia onto a table and tattoo him but we’re not allowed to watch.

Jeff Hardy is looking for Kurt but finds Matt Morgan. Matt says hang for a bit. He rants about what Jeff did from a professional standpoint. Personally though he says he used to be a painkiller addict and he’d be a hypocrite to not give Jeff one last chance. Matt says if Jeff screws up one more time, Morgan will be the first person on him.

In the back, RVD has been put through a table. No idea who did it.

Hardy is talking to Kurt and Kurt doesn’t want him here. Angle says no one wants him here now and Kurt tries to throw him out. Jeff wants to know who Kurt is to judge him. Kurt goes on his rant about how great he is and tells Jeff to get out again. He goes to leave and Jeff stops him, saying it’s because Kurt knows he’s the biggest threat to the title. Kurt says don’t ever say that again and leaves.

Here’s Kurt and he calls out Robert Roode. Here’s Bobby still with the Beer Money theme. We take a break before Roode gets in the ring. Back and Angle says that Roode has passed the first test against Kaz in a great match. Tonight however he has Christopher Daniels. Kurt isn’t sure if Daniels will play by the rules tonight. Roode says this isn’t going to work. For 13 years now he’s given everything to the business and he knows Kurt is the best in the world. However at BFG he’s going to become world champion.

Angle implies he’s gotten to someone that Roode is close to and implies it’s Storm. Here’s the Beer in Beer Money. Roode looks confused and Kurt gives Storm a thumbs up on the way to the ring. He says to Roode that he makes his own rules. However he’s not here to get into it with Roode but rather Angle. Oral sex is implied but Storm wants a match with him instead. Kurt doesn’t turn it down or accept it but Storm seems confident it’s happening. I guess it is happening.

Bully Ray/Jerry Lynn vs. Mr. Anderson/Rob Van Dam

There’s no RVD due to the attack earlier. Ray starts us off but tags in Lynn almost immediately. Anderson is crotched on the top and it’s off to Ray. A splash gets a fast two and we’re in a chinlock about two minutes into this. Lynn gets a rolling…eye poke and Anderson is down. He sets for the Rolling Thunder but stomps on Anderson instead. He’s making fun of Van Dam if that wasn’t clear.

Some double teaming fails and Anderson takes them both down. A neckbreaker gets two on Ray and Anderson takes them both down again, including with an Amazing Red double spin kick to Ray for two. Lynn is sent to the floor and the Bubba Bomb is countered into the Mic Check for two. Lynn made the save but Anderson is able to hit the swanton for two. Lynn comes off the top for a save but hits Ray by mistake….for two. Ok then. Lynn distracts Anderson and a shot with the chain is enough for Ray to pin Anderson at 6:23.

Rating: C. I kind of liked the idea of this match as Anderson couldn’t get the win against the numbers game. The attacker of Rob isn’t a huge issue as it’s pretty clear it was Lynn and Ray, which is fine as it makes sense. Not bad here but it was a bit of a stretch to have Ray kick out of the swanton and the shot off the top from Lynn, although that’s a minor complaint.

Storm says he’s happy about Roode getting the title shot and says he’ll make some trouble with Angle even if he didn’t win the Series.

Christopher Daniels vs. Bobby Roode

Daniels comes out in street clothes. He talks about how he won’t wrestle Roode tonight because it would be a great match, but he has nothing left to prove. Three weeks ago he beat AJ in this ring which means a lot more. Cue AJ who wants to know what the deal is with Daniels. Daniels says there’s nothing to get over because Daniels is the better man. AJ is glad he has his confidence back but if Daniels keeps bringing up AJ’s name, there’s going to be another match. Daniels declines but AJ slaps him. AJ goes to leave but Daniels talks some trash and the fight is on.

After a break they’re STILL fighting. They fight to the back and into the Direct Auto Insurance offices. Why would you have an office in the back of a wrestling arena? They go back to the ring and Kaz comes out to break it up. They get calmed down and Daniels kicks AJ in the balls before bailing.

Angle is with Steiner and says he’ll beat Storm tonight because of the training he’s been doing. Steiner has been training him. Steiner says Angle is the best ever and says Kurt will beat Storm.

Back from a break Kaz and Daniels are still arguing. This makes about 20 minutes on the three parts of this segment. Kaz says they’re not his enemies and to calm down.

Kaz goes to AJ and AJ says that was Daniels showing his true colors. He says Daniels lost his mind after getting a little something going. Kaz says that’s Chris being Chris and says the whole thing is BS. AJ throws up in a trashcan due to the pain in his balls. Kaz talks about how this is about the difference between wrestling and life.

Bischoff tells Hogan he’ll find a loophole. Hogan says he’s got it and has a bombshell waiting for next week.

Kurt Angle vs. James Storm

Storm tries to take it to the mat, probably due to a lack of sobriety. Angle for some reason doesn’t want to do that and Storm pops him with a right hand. We go to the mat again with Storm in control but then Kurt is launched over the top and gets to do his front flip and lands on his feet spot. Angle suplexes him on the floor and takes over back in the ring. After a rest hold they both try cross bodies to send both guys down. Angle might be bleeding from somewhere on his arm.

Storm starts his comeback with some clotheslines and Kurt is in trouble. Backstabber gets two. Angle snaps off a belly to belly for two. Angle Slam is countered into what looked to be the Eye of the Storm but Kurt reverses into the ankle lock which Storm can’t break. Yeah Kurt’s forearm/elbow is bleeding but it’s nothing too serious. Storm finally rolls through for two and sends Kurt’s shoulder into the post for two more. Superkick is countered into rolling Germans for two more. You would think all those twos would get three eventually but they never do.

Moonsault misses (duh) and Storm heads to the apron. Kurt, looking like he could use a cheeseburger, tries to run the ropes but gets his head bitten instead. A top rope elbow gets a VERY close two as this has gotten good. They slug it out and the Eye of the Storm is broken up again. And here’s Gunner for interference to set up the Slam for two.

Angle slaps him around and Storm superkicks the referee. Naturally the kick hits Angle the second time and here’s Earl for two as Gunner pulls him out. Gunner clocks Storm with the belt and I guess the match is thrown out at about 11:30. Roode comes in to take out Gunner. He picks up the belt

Rating: B. This was getting good until the end which is probably the best way they could have gone. I still think Storm costs Roode the title at the PPV which is both good and bad as their feud is pretty much guaranteed at some point but they need to let Roode win the title and have a moment first to set up a slow burn heel turn for Storm. Good TV match here until the pretty obvious ending.

Roode holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Well the pacing problems are back. There were two stretches tonight with over half an hour between matches. In short, that is not something that should happen. With TNA’s roster as big as it is, that should never be a problem. You could throw anything out there to bridge one of those gaps. The TV Title was won in late May and has been defended twice since, once in June and once in August. You could throw that out there. Maybe the Pope or someone like that.

But no, instead we need to spend THREE segments on AJ vs. Daniels to set up their 900th match on PPV and have a long segment with Ink Inc beating up the tag champs. The wrestling, what little there was, was just ok and the talking was nothing special other than to show that it should be Storm challenging for the title and not Roode. Not their best effort here but they added to BFG so points for that.

Results
Mickie James b. Brooke Tessmacher – Jumping DDT
Austin Aries b. Jesse Sorensen – Rollup
Bully Ray/Jerry Lynn b. Mr. Anderson – Chain to the throat
Kurt Angle vs. James Storm went to a no contest

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 15, 2011
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

We’re back home in Florida now and we’re on the way to Bound For Glory. The BFG Series is over as well and we’re in the Robert Roode Era as the main event (in name only) of BFG is him challenging Angle for the title. The main part of the show tonight though is Sting vs. Flair with Sting’s career being on the line and Flair trying to prevent Sting vs. Hogan from happening. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the BFG Series matches resulting in Roode winning the tournament. Also Hogan helping Angle keep the title.

Here’s Flair to open the show in robe and presumably ring gear underneath it. He wants to talk to Sting and here’s the crazy man. Flair says tonight it’s Icon vs. God. Sting has an old school colorful robe on. The only way Sting can get to Hogan is over Flair’s dead body. Sting says Flair is going to die tonight then. He’s the Stinger and he’s going to do a lot of evil things to Flair. He’s right in Flair’s face and Sting wants it right now. Security comes in to break it up and Flair says Sting got lucky.

Jeff Hardy is here again.

Jeff says he’s taking another step tonight as far as his recovery goes.

Mexican America vs. D-Von/D’Angelo Dinero/Tara/Miss Tessmacher

It’s an 8 person mixed tag. Hernandez vs. D-Von gets us going with Hernandez asking D-Von to come at him. He does just that and down goes SuperMex. Off to Anarquia who gets beaten up by Pope a little bit. Despite having black hair, being a black man, being about 20 years younger and sounding nothing like him, Pope winds up playing Ricky Morton. Maybe he’s a method actor or something.

That doesn’t last long as he takes Hernandez down with a clothesline and a double tag brings in the other guys. The girls haven’t been in legally at all yet. Clothesline/shoulder puts Anarquia down and a neckbreaker gets two. The fans chant USA as the good guys avoid stereo low blows. The chicks chase each other on the floor and the Mexican chicks hit on D-Von’s kids. Instead of cheering them on like a normal dad would, D-Von and Pope aren’t happy. The girls get in a big catfight and the male champs are sent to the floor. Despite being illegal, Tara and Tessmacher hit stereo moves (couldn’t see Tessmacher but Tara hit a chokebomb on Rosita) for the pins at 5:04.

Rating: D+. What a mess this was. The girls never were legal and the second half of the match was a big mess with everyone running around in a big brawl. That’s Russo 101: when all else fails, throw the wrestling out the window and have people do so much at once that you can’t tell what’s really going on. It works on occasion but it didn’t here, not with that many people at once.

Karen yells at Traci about being late and says to cover up her chest. Traci’s jobs tonight is to bring the Knockouts to Karen’s office.

Karen is yelling at the Knockouts and tells Mickie she gets no rematch. I don’t see Winter. There will be three matches over the next three weeks to determine who qualifies for a fatal fourway at BFG for the title. Mickie fights Tessmacher, Tara vs. Madison and tonight Velvet vs. Angelina. They’re called Queen’s Qualifiers because if there’s one thing you know about Russo, it’s that he has a name for EVERYTHING.

Fourtune is in the ring and AJ brings out Roode for his big entrance. AJ sings his praises and Daniels does as well. Him beating AJ on a fluke a few weeks ago is mentioned a few times as Daniels brings it up at every possible chance. He brings it up a third time and everyone laughs it off. Kaz says they’re a family and they’ll have each others’ backs. They all have goals and Kaz is lucky to be able to call Roode his brother and his friend. Time for the big one in Storm. After all the time he’s missed with his family and everything he’s sacrificed, this is the payoff. Storm sounds legit here.

Storm says he’s sorry about Kurt’s luck and here’s the champ. He tries to convince the rest of Fourtune that they’re jealous but no one seems to buy it. Angle calls the title the Impact World Heavyweight Championship. Angle has the ability to make matches now (what is he the fourth person in this company that can do that?) and Roode has to fight the members of Fourtune and tonight it’s Kaz.

Back and Eric is proud of Kurt’s decision.

Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love

Angelina jumps her during the entrance (the camera was on the wrong end anyway) but Velvet gets something resembling a bulldog to send Angelina to the floor. Back with Angelina getting two off something we don’t see. Sky’s tights now say Let the Pigeons Loose. Oh great. Just what Tazz needs: a thought that it’s catching on. Sunset flip out of the corner gets two for Velvet. Velvet starts her comeback and tells Winter to get up on the apron. Winter clocks Angelina on the head with the belt (Hebner is cool with it) and a DDT (called a BeauDT but screw that) gives Velvet the win at 9:05 counting commercial.

Rating: D. Your usual Knockout mess here and the ending was really stupid. Why wasn’t that a DQ? Because the script didn’t call for it I suppose. Also, why would Angelina want to go fight Winter? Don’t they love each other or something? Also, seriously, the Beau-DT? I hated the Mick-DT but this is even worse.

Hardy comes up to AJ in the back and AJ doesn’t want to hear it. He calls Jeff selfish and says he almost brought down the whole company. Jeff is selfish and people talk bad about TNA because of him. He’s not out there drinking and doing drugs. AJ says there’s never going to be a time or a place for Jeff to be around AJ. Good stuff from Styles here.

Hogan talks to Flair about the match and says he has a Plan B. Sting pops up and wants to hear Plan A.

Crimson is via satellite and talks about how he’s going to make Joe pay. He’s back in two weeks.

Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan

This is a submission match because…..because we needed a gimmick match. Joe jumps him in the corner which gives him an advantage for what must have been a good three seconds. Morgan beats him down but has no idea what to do as far as submissions go. He puts on a triangle armbar but Joe escapes. He gets up and pounds Morgan down then throws on kind of an inverted figure four for the tap at 4:30. I know that’s a short recap but there’s nothing else to say at all.

Rating: D. Again, WHAT IS THE POINT OF IT BEING A SUBMISSION MATCH??? Joe can beat Morgan at something that is Joe’s specially. Is this a stunning revelation and a great achievement for him? I don’t get it but Russo is obsessed with throwing gimmick matches out there so we’ll chalk it up to one of his quirks.

Kurt comes in to talk to Kaz again, offering him the next title shot after Roode. Kaz throws him out.

D-Von talks to Hardy and the truth is that Jeff is a Little Jimmy. Oh wait wrong show. The truth is that Jeff is trying to throw everything away. D-Von says get it through his head and be the Jeff Hardy he can be. At the end if Jeff fails again it’s over. Jeff turns to leave and D-Von says he’ll have Jeff’s back if he needs it.

Kazarian vs. Robert Roode

Roode has some new tights which is a good thing as he needs something to set him apart as a singles guy now. They still have the dollar signs on them which doesn’t make much sense as the money hasn’t meant anything in a long time. They start technically and Roode grabs a front facelock. Kaz breaks out of it and tries his spinning legdrop but Roode moves.

Tornado DDT is countered into a northern lights suplex for two by Rob. Roode goes a bit harder now and Kaz is sent to the floor. Back inside he grabs a front facelock of his own but they speed it up a bit moer and Kaz tries the Fade to Black. Roode counters into the Crossface and Kaz hangs on for a bit but has to tap at 6:07.

Rating: C+. Fun little match here and Roode getting clean wins over his stable mates is a good idea to give him some main event credential. A clean win like that over AJ, especially one where he catches him in the crossface in a counter, would do very well for his career. Good stuff here and a nice surprise.

Angle is watching in the back.

During the replay Taz calls the Fade to Black the Kryptonite Krunch. There’s already a move called that and it’s nowhere near the reverse piledriver.

Video about the premiere of Angle’s new movie Warrior which has gotten really good reviews.

Roode and Kaz had a small argument during the break because Kaz wants to be in that position but he says Roode proved he was the right man for the spot and they shake hands. Roode says he wasn’t expecting this match but they respect each other.

Austin Aries says he backs up his talk. It’s now the A Double Division because he’s a level above the A Level. Next week he makes his first defense.

Roode vs. Daniels next week and Mickie vs. Tessmacher.

Also Ray/Lynn vs. Anderson/RVD. Lynn says RVD is gullible and if RVD hadn’t been high he would have caught on. Ray says he’s been beating up RVD for 15 years but now he’s tired of Anderson sticking his nose in other people’s business.

Sting vs. Ric Flair

They start off with their usual Sting vs. Flair stuff with Flair getting frustrated because Sting keeps escaping his stuff. It’s not exactly crisp but they’re an average age of 57. We take a break and come back with Sting hitting a clothesline to send Flair to the floor. Back in Flair gets a low blow and after about two shots to the leg it’s Figure Four time. Sting gets out of it and Flair works on the knee ever more.

Sting makes the superhero comeback and hits a superplex for two. It looked more like 3 but Immortal ran in late so the referee had to stop. Hogan and Abyss come out but Anderson runs out for the save. Hogan slips something to Flair and he KOs Sting for two. Flair throws a weak chop and Sting Hulks Up. Stinger Splash sets up the Scorpion and Flair taps at 15:06. Yes, fifteen minutes.

Rating: D. Well it was bad but the initial reports of this being unwatchable are a stretch to put it mildly. They were out there WAY too long and I’d love to see the raw footage of this to see how bad it was minus editing and the commercial. Flair shouldn’t be taking those kind of bumps, but who said he made sense?

Hogan and Sting stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Sting vs. Flair was pretty bad as most of it was chop/punch/no sell for fifteen minutes but the rest of the show wasn’t horrible. The first hour was pretty weak but the rest of it worked well enough I guess. We have most of the pieces set for BFG and I hope we get more of a concrete card set before the show unlike No Surrender. Not a great show but it’s better than most of their recent stuff.

Results
D-Von/D’Angelo Dinero/Tara/Miss Tessmacher b. Mexican America – Chokebomb to Rosita
Velvet Sky b. Angelina Love – DDT
Samoa Joe b. Matt Morgan – Inverted Figure Four
Robert Roode b. Kazarian – Crossface
Sting b. Ric Flair – Scorpion Deathlock