Take My Wife… Please (2/28 Impact Recap)

Impact opens with Kurt Angle getting ready for his match with Kevin Nash by doing squats when he is interrupted by Karen. She apologizes to Kurt and asks him to start their relationship over, but Kurt doesn’t go for it tells her that if she would listen then they wouldn’t have any problems. Angle tells her to leave as he continues to get ready for his match.

The Impact intro hits as we are welcomed to this week’s show that will feature Awesome Kong against Angelina Love, Eric Young vs. James Storm in a ladder match for the drinking championship, plus Kevin Nash going up against Kurt Angle in the main event.

Booker T makes his way down to the ring as a video package highlighting the feud between Booker and Robert Roode is aired. Booker says he is all about doing things face to face and calls out Roode to the ring. Payton Banks comes down to the ring and says that Robert Roode hasn’t made it to the Impact Zone yet and was asked to deliver a personal message to Booker and slaps him across the face. Banks then challenges Booker to hit her back as Traci Brooks comes to the ring and does it for him. Security has to come in and finally separate the two.

A video package showing Team 3D’s quest to lose weight over the past week is aired. They are at a Chinese restaurant where Johnny Devine is loading up on cheesecake in front of Brother Ray. The cook then refuses to serve them as he claims they are not under the 275 pound mark yet. Brother Devon then finds the mother load over at the salad bar where Ray proclaims is dislike for his diet.

Jeremy Borash is standing backstage with Scott Steiner & Petey Williams and asks them about their tag team match later on tonight. Williams still can’t believe what Steiner did last week as Steiner tells him that Williams may be short and squatty, but has a heart of a lion, which he likes. As for their match tonight, Steiner is testing Williams to see if he is ready for the initiation.

Match 1: Scott Steiner & Petey Williams vs. Sonjay Dutt & Jay Lethal
The action went back and forth between the teams until Lethal took a dive through the ropes and onto Williams on the floor. So Cal Val showed a look of concern for her boyfriend but Rhaka Khan was there and chased her to the back as we head into a commercial break.

We return to see Steiner & Williams in control of the match as they continue to work on Lethal, however, he is able to squirm back to his corner and make the hot tag to Dutt. Dutt comes in a clears house and takes control of the match away from Williams, until Williams distracts the referee, which allows Steiner to nail Dutt with a briefcase. Williams then hits the Canadian Destroyer to pick up the pin fall on Dutt.

More footage of Team 3D and their diet quest is shown. This time, Devine has leads them into a dessert stand. Team 3D think they are in heaven and begin pouring candy into their mouths and Devine has to coax them into spitting everything out. Brother Ray proclaims that he hates Devine.

Backstage, Jeremy Borash sneaks up on Eric Young who is hiding from Black Reign and Rellik. Kaz comes over to comfort Young by showing him pictures of monsters and tells him that they are all actors wearing masks. He says that Reign and Rellik are just wrestlers with alter egos and tells Young that he also has an alter ego somewhere inside of him.

Another Team 3D video is aired in which Ray has to stop his brother from indulging in his one true weakness… barbecued pork. This brings us to their match and their weigh in.

Match 2: Team 3D vs. Curry Man & Shark Boy
As usual, Earl Hebner walks into the ring with a scale and this week neither Ray nor Devon make weight. Team 3D begins stripping down to their boxers and even go as far as removing the “extra enhancement” socks from their underwear. None of it helps and Hebner disqualifies both of them.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with Karen Angle and asks where her marriage to Kurt goes from here. She doesn’t want to talk as AJ Styles comes out to comfort her. Styles says that Kurt loves her and she says that only Styles makes her feel special. Styles tells her that he will talk to Kurt for her and walks away.

Back in the ring, Slick Johnson is trying to raise the arm of Shark Boy, but he doesn’t want any part of it a grabs a microphone and calls out any two people to come out to the ring. Black Reign & Rellik answer the challenge and make their way to the ring.

Match 2: Curry Man & Shark Boy vs. Black Reign & Rellik
Reign & Rellik come to the ring and begin destroying their opponents. Curry Man begins to make a comeback and make a pin attempt on Black Reign but Brother Ray comes down to the ring and distracts the referee. With the ref’s attention on Ray, Devine comes in and nails Curry Man in the back with a kendo stick. Reign goes for the cover but Curry Man is still able to kick out. Curry Man then soars over the top rope and takes out Team 3D as Kaz comes out and nails Reign with his club, which allows Shark Boy to land his stunner and picks up the pin fall.

After the match, Team 3D and Reign & Rellik beat down Kaz, Curry Man & Shark Boy. Eric Young comes out to help out but freezes when he sees Rellik and Black Reign. Young then leaves the ring and heads back up the ramp. Team 3D then powerbomb Kaz though a table as we head backstage where Crystal is chasing down Robert Roode. Roode says the legend of Booker T falls tonight and walks away.

A video package recapping the history of VKM is aired. It spans from BG James’s debut in 2002 to the fighting that is going on between them today. Mike Tenay says the decade long history is over and next week we’ll be treated to TNA Rough Cut, where both BG and Kip James are being followed by TNA cameras to see what it’s like behind the scenes with them.

Robert Roode makes his way down to the ring with Payton Banks. Roode says the talking is over between them and calls out Booker T to meet in the ring, man-to-man. Booker comes running down to the ring and the fists begin to fly. Roode manages to deliver a DDT to Booker and handcuffs him to the ring ropes.

Traci Brooks comes down to the ring and tackles Roode from behind, but Banks is there and takes her down. Banks handcuffs Brooks to the ring and both Roode and Banks begin whipping them with belts. Security comes to the ring but Roode begins swinging the belt at them to keep them out. Mike Tenay is disgusted by their actions.

Backstage, Crystal is standing between an argument with James Storm and Jacqueline Moore. Storm wonders why she agreed for him to do a ladder match when he was out partying with his friends the night before. She says she did it for him to get over his fear of heights. Storm says he is not afraid of anything and tells her that she better have a plan.

Match 3: James Storm vs. Eric Young (Ladder Match for the Drinking Championship)
James Storm attacks Eric Young on the entrance ramp to get this match started. Storm starts moving the mats around the ring and goes for a suplex but Young is able to reverse it and send Storm crashing down to the unprotected floor as we head to a commercial break.

We return to see Storm use a ladder as a battering ram on Young’s head. Storm starts to climb towards the belt but he decides to get off the ladder and give it some more thought. Young tries to come back into the ring and Storm delivers a super kick to his face knocking him back out to the floor. Storm begins to climb up again as Jacqueline gives him a push up the ladder but he refuses to go up high enough to get it. Jacqueline finally climbs up the other side and grabs the belt for him, thus Storm wins the match and gets the title belt.

Storm celebrates with his new title as Rhino comes in from behind and delivers a huge Gore on Storm that turns him inside out. Rhino grabs the drinking title and leaves the ring with it.

AJ Styles joins Kurt Angle in his dressing room and says that Karen is all tore up about their situation. Angle calls her a crybaby and a bitch and ends the conversation.

Match 4: Angelina Love vs. Awesome Kong
Prior to the match they show footage of a premonition from Roxxi Laveaux where she tells Love not to do the match as she will get hurt. Love makes referee Rudy Charles check Kong for any foreign objects and attacks Kong while he does so, however, her punches do little to affect Kong. Kong then begins to overpower Love and nearly knocks her head off with a spinning back fist at one point. An Implant Buster and Awesome Bomb later and Kong picks up the victory.

After the match, ODB comes out with a microphone and says that she will meet both Kong and Gail Kim at Destination X, but neither of them have anything on her. Gail Kim comes into the ring from behind and attacks Kong but is still knocked down by the champ. ODB comes in and gives Kong a shot and is leveled by a clothesline. That isn’t enough to keep them both down as the two begin to work together against Kong and work together to toss her out of the ring. Their teamwork doesn’t last long, however, as they begin to argue and get into a shoving match in which Rudy Charles has to step in between them.

Match 5: Kurt Angle vs. Kevin Nash (Non-title match)
Kurt Angle has the tag team champs in his corner as Kevin Nash is joined by his Destination X partners, Christian Cage & Samoa Joe. The match starts as Nash methodically goes after Angle who fights back by going after Nash’s legs. The four men on the outside begin brawling on the outside and Hebner sends them all to the back as we head to a commercial break.

We return to see Angle still working on the legs of Nash by kicking in the back of the knee. Angle applies the figure four and keeps Nash locked in for a few minutes until Nash is able to turn it over and reverse it out of desperation. Angle is able to make it to the ring ropes to break the hold. Nash comes back and delivers a side slam on Angle and picks up a very near fall. Nash then tries to put Angle away with the jackknife powerbomb but Angle counters into the ankle lock. Nash is finally able to kick Angle off and is able to duck out of the way of a charging Angle, who collides with the ring post and goes out to the floor.

Angle begins to hold his neck on the outside as his wife comes out to check on him. Angle pushes her aside and knocks her to the ground as Nash comes out and tosses him back into the ring. Styles and Borash come out to check on Karen Angle, who is bleeding, as Hebner goes out to tell Styles to return to the back as Nash delivers a jackknife powerbomb on Angle in the ring. Nash goes for the cover, but there is no referee in the ring. Nash tries to get Hebner’s attention as Angle delivers a low blow to Nash, followed by the Olympic slam to pick up the win.

AJ Styles carries Karen Angle to the backstage area as Kurt Angle celebrates his victory in the ring and Impact comes to a close.

Quick Results
- Scott Steiner & Petey Williams defeated Sonjay Dutt & Jay Lethal by pin fall.
- Curry Man & Shark Boy defeated Black Reign & Rellik by pin fall.
- James Storm defeated Eric Young in a ladder match to win the Drinking Championship.
- Awesome Kong defeated Angelina Love by pin fall.
- Kurt Angle defeated Kevin Nash by pin fall.

Starman’s Thoughts
As Impact went off the air last week, Kevin Nash made a challenge for Kurt Angle for a match on tonight’s show. This week’s show opened with Angle getting ready for the match, but aside from that there was no big main event type build up whatsoever. Hell, Kevin Nash was barely even mentioned, let alone showed his face prior to the match. And this is a guy who rarely wrestles at all and, according to his own words, won’t wrestle on free TV unless he Jim Cornette cuts him a check.

Yes, these two will be on opposite teams at Destination X, but there should be a little more than just that going into this match. Even with Kevin Nash getting up there in years, this should have been treated as huge deal. A promo from Nash or Angle or anything else would have at least made the match a little more special in my eyes, yet TNA failed to deliver anything.

As for the main event itself, I was actually pleasantly surprised by it. It wasn’t a match of the year candidate, or even close to it, but it wasn’t a total stinker as I expected it to be either. They worked a slow match that was geared for Nash’s style and pacing, but it worked well. That’s two weeks in a row now that we have witnessed a match that is more than quick spot moves, so maybe we are heading somewhere with all of this. The only thing that took this match down was the standard screw job ending, however, that was pretty much a given with this one.

The rest of the matches were pretty standard tonight, but I did enjoy how a fear of heights was introduced for James Storm. Ladder matches are a type of match that needs to serve a purpose to make it work properly. Having James Storm and Eric Young fight for a fake championship title when it seems the two are heading in opposite directions does not serve that purpose. However, introducing a fear of heights for James Storm a little more than a week away from his Elevation X match at Destination X does. This adds a little more depth and a new dimension to the match at they pay-per-view, but I do hope it isn’t for the drinking championship.