Impact opens with a video package highlighting Tomko’s rise from sidekick to one of the “most elite athletes in TNA.” Tonight, Tomko will face his biggest challenge yet, the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Kurt Angle.
After the video package, we are shown video from moments ago of AJ Styles and Kurt Angle in the dressing room. Styles pleads with Angle not to go through with the match and put Styles in an awkward position. Angle doesn’t care which aggravates Styles, who tosses off his crown and tells Angle that he was once a World Champion. Angle states that he was when TNA was a startup company and that if he decides to interfere in his match tonight, he will kick his ass, too.
The Impact intro hits and we are welcomed to this week’s broadcast that will feature Samoa Joe’s contract signing, Awesome Kong speaks for the first time and Tomko will take on Kurt Angle in the main event.
Team 3D and the new X Division Champion, Johnny Devine, make their way to the ring. Brother Ray gets on the microphone and Jay Lethal and the Motorcity Machine Guns will step in the ring to go up against the greatest tag team ever says at Against All Odds. Shelley and Lethal appear on the screen wearing old Dudley Boys garb, while Sabin is dressed as Devine. Shelley stutters and talks about how the Team 3D used tables to play bingo as they are attacked by Team 3D & Devine.
The action makes its way to the Impact Zone where the MMG’s and Lethal are beat down with everything Team 3D & Devine can get their hands on, including kendo sticks, chairs and tables. Brother Ray tells them that in ECW, Team 3D were little boys once, but were forced to become hardcore heroes. In WWE they became legends and in TNA they became gods and warns them not to show up at the pay-per-view.
Crystal is backstage with Scott Steiner and Petey Williams who are going to be teaming together for the first time. Steiner says that after Cornette put the X Division in perspective for him, he is okay with the X Division title shot. Crystal brings up the match stipulations at Against All Odds and Steiner asks Williams if he knew about it. Williams said he might have heard something about it but it was his problem to deal with now, not his.
Match 1: Rock n’ Rave Infection vs. Petey Williams & Scott Steiner
Prior to the match, Williams emulates Steiner’s every move and pose in the ring. Petey Williams starts the match and is able to handle the RnR Infection very well on his own. Williams even copies Steiner some more and breaks his own pin attempt to do some pushups and delivers a Frankensteiner and Steiner Recliner to Rave. After some brief offense by Hoyt, Steiner is tagged in and also handles his opponents well. Steiner tags in Williams and tells him to finish the job. Williams enters and sets Rave up for the Canadian Destroyer as Steiner begins to leave with both briefcases. Williams tries to stop him as Steiner clock him in the head with one of the cases and walks away as Rave is able to pick up the pin fall.
A video package showing BG James & Bob Armstrong’s training is aired. Armstrong makes his son do pushups, weight lifting, sparring and jogging, all of which help prepare BG for his upcoming tag team match and make him throw up.
Match 2: Kip James vs. Hernandez
James and Hernandez go back and forth in the opening moments of this slow paced match. Salinas gets on the apron and tries to distract James, but Roxxi is there to pull her down to the floor. James spits at Homicide, which gets him on the apron and distracts the referee as Roxxi tries to toss powder into Hernandez’s eyes but misses and blinds James instead. Hernandez levels James with a clothesline and picks up the pin fall.
After the match, Kip James tells Roxxi that she hasn’t done anything since they hired her. James then talks down about how she looks, acts and dresses before telling Roxxi that she is fired. Mike Tenay wonders what BG James will think about all of this.
Jeremy Borash is with the tag team champs in the locker room. Styles apologizes for walking out on him last week during their match and pleads for him not to go up against Angle later on tonight. Tomko says it’s not in his nature to back down and tells him to stay out of his way.
Mike Tenay plugs Brock Lesnar and the UFC as they show footage of Angle and Lesnar talking about each other. Even his upcoming opponent Frank Mir got to say a few words about Lesnar.
Match 3: Judas Mesias vs. Cory Chavis
Cory Chavis put up little offense in the match up before being driven Straight to Hell by Mesias, who picked up the win.
After the match, James Mitchell says that Abyss always wrestles in barbed wire and thumb tacks due to the guilt he feels over his mother shooting Mitchell and to pay for his sins. Mitchell then goes on and says this chapter of their family tragedy will be over once his step-brother defeats him in a barbed wire match at Against All Odds.
A video package highlighting Shark Boys transformation into his new Stone Cold persona is aired. Shark Boy then comes down to the ring and issues an open challenge to anyone – wrestlers, janitors or fans – to come down to face him. Nobody comes out so he turns his attention to referee Slick Johnson. Shark Boy verbally runs him down for a bit before delivering a stunner. Security comes out and Shark Boy delivers three more stunners before sucking down the clam juice.
Matt Morgan and Jim Cornette are seen arguing in Cornette’s office. Morgan wants to take action for what happened to him last week, but Cornette won’t allow it. Nash enters the office as Morgan gets in his face. Nash agrees to fight Morgan, but won’t do it for free. Nash also tells Cornette that the word on the street is that if Joe’s signing doesn’t happen tonight, both Cornette and Morgan will be out of a job. Nash leaves and Styles comes in and begs Cornette to not let the match between Tomko and Angle take place. Cornette says he will do something about it and tells Styles to sit back and wait until he is called upon.
After a commercial break, Cornette is in the ring and hypes the Against All Odds card before calling AJ Styles out to the ring. Cornette says that the match between Angle and Tomko will still take place and Styles is appointed as the special guest referee. Furthermore, Styles must declare a winner or his TNA contract will be terminated.
Crystal is backstage with Awesome Kong and wants to get a word with her but she is interrupted by her advisor, Raisha Saed, who reads a statement from Kong. The statement says that Kong doesn’t want to hurt anyone as long as they stay out of her way. She then goes on to say that ODB has agitated Kong and gives her one last warning.
Match 4: Roxxi Laveaux vs. Angelina Love vs. ODB
Roxxi and ODB mimic each others mannerisms in the opening part of the matchup and go for quick pin fall attempts. ODB and Roxxi both trade off delivering chops to Love. The two begin to fight each other and ODB is able to cover Roxxi, but the referee, Rudy Charles, is being distracted by Love and doesn’t make a count. ODB gets the referee’s attention as Love squirms in to steal the pin fall victory. After the match, ODB drives Love down to the mat with a power slam.
Borash is backstage with AJ Styles and asks him what he is going as he is now the special guest referee in tonight’s main event. Angle comes in and says he will make it easy for him to count to three and raise his arm in victory. Tomko comes out and the two get into a scuffle that is broken up by security.
Robert Roode’s actions against Sharmell at Final Resolution are aired. When then see a video message from Booker T where he says Sharmell is on the road to recovery and is at home. Booker then says he looks forward to seeing everyone real soon. Robert Roode comes out and calls his video pathetic.
Match 5: Robert Roode/Payton Banks/James Storm vs. Sonjay Dutt/Traci Brooks/Eric Young (Mixed Six-Person Tag Team Match)
Dutt starts the match off with a flurry of offense until Storm is able to trip him up off of the ropes. Storm and Roode then work Dutt until he is able to squirm to his corner and make the much needed tag to Young. Eric Young comes in and comes at both Roode and Storm and the action breaks down with all six in the ring. Brooks chases after Banks on the outside as Young walks right into a superkick to which Roode follows with the Payoff for the victory.
After the match, Booker T comes from out of the crowd and attacks Roode. Storm tries to help his partner, but Booker just throws him down. Booker then chases after Roode down the entrance tunnel.
Crystal is backstage with Kaz who is wearing a blond wig and is calling himself White Sunshine. Marlena the rat has also been turned white. Kaz says he is doing this because Dustin Rhodes has wasted his time for the past couple of months and challenges Rhodes to a pole match next week in which one of the four boxes will have Marlena in it.
Jim Cornette is in the ring with Samoa Joe’s contract and calls him out to the ring to sign it. Joe comes out along with Kevin Nash and Cornette tells Joe that there are no hard feelings between Joe and TNA management for his actions as of late and calls him one of TNA’s best acquisitions. Joe and Nash look over the contract for a bit and is about to sign, but there is no pen. Morgan has one in his pocket and slings it in Joe’s face before pie-facing him. Joe responds by smashing Morgan through the table with a suplex. Joe then tears up the contract and tosses it at Morgan.
Match 6: Kurt Angle vs. Tomko w/ AJ Styles as the special referee
Tomko goes on the assault before the bell even rings and takes Angle down with a flurry of rights before dumping him out to the floor with a clothesline. Tomko goes out to the floor and tosses Angle into the guard rail and steel steps before sending him back into the ring. Tomko lands a power slam on Angle and goes for the cover, but Styles refuses to make a count and pleads with Tomko some more. Angle finally begins to fight back and lands a German suplex on Tomko as we head into a commercial break.
We return to see that during the break, Styles also made a hesitant pin fall count for Angle as well. Back to the match, Tomko levels Angle with a clothesline and Styles make a very slow count in which Angle kicks out of. Tomko picks up a few more long two counts before Angle applies the ankle lock, however, Tomko is able to roll out of it and sends Angle flying into Styles, which knocks Styles out to the floor. Christian Cage comes out and cracks Angle in the head with the title and Tomko slams Angle to the mat. Styles comes back into the ring and reluctantly makes the three count, which takes about 10 seconds to make.
Karen Angle yells at Styles after the match and informs Tomko of the interference from Cage. Backstage, Crystal catches up with Christian in the back he says that Tomko wants to do what’s best for Tomko and so does he. Mike Tenay wonders what Tomko will think about that as Impact comes to a close. Next week, Cage will face Judas Mesias.
Quick Results
- The Rock n’ Rave Infection defeated Petey Williams & Scott Steiner by pin fall.
- Hernandez defeated Kip James by pin fall.
- Judas Mesias defeated Cory Chavis by pin fall.
- Angelina Love defeated Roxxi Laveaux and ODB by pin fall.
- Robert Roode/Payton Banks/James Storm defeated Eric Young/Sonjay Dutt/Traci Brooks by pin fall.
- Tomko defeated Kurt Angle by pin fall.
Starman’s Thoughts
Mediocre matches, more WWE references than I can shake a stick at and not one mention of Curry Man. Meh.
