Fur will Fly at the Pink Taco (6/19 Impact Recap)

Tonight’s show opens up with Jay Lethal inside of the Pink Taco.  Lethal is begging Sonjay Dutt to come out and get his due for ruining his and SoCal Val’s wedding at Slammiversary.  Footage of last week’s Impact is aired with the dissention between Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash and Kurt Angle putting a hit out on his wife in the form of Awesome Kong.

The Impact intro hits and we are welcomed to this week’s show, which will feature the start of the World X Cup Tournament, a $25,000 challenge for Awesome Kong, Team 3D against Christian Cage & Rhino in the main event, and we will be hearing from Karen Angle.  We then hear Booker T’s music and it is time to head to the ring.

Match 1: Booker T vs. BG James
Booker T attacks James from behind as he is heading out to the ring.  Booker sends him into the guard rail and head first into the steps before rolling him into the ring to get this match officially started.  Booker continues to work over James with chops and kicks before slowing the match down with a headlock.  Samoa Joe is in the locker room with Jeremy Borash and is intently watching the match.  James finally gets a little spurt of offense in, however, it is put to end quickly with an axe kick from Booker, which is enough to pick up the pin fall.

In the locker room, Borash questions Joe about what Kevin Nash said to him last week.  Joe doesn’t take kindly to the question and is joined by Nash, who questions Joe’s choice to be in the regular locker room.  Joe says that he is a wrestler and belongs in a locker room.  Joe, still upset over Nash comments about him not being able to beat Booker, challenges Nash to prove to him that he can beat Booker T himself.  Nash takes up the challenge for next week and promises to show him how to make it a mental game instead of a physical one.

A video package featuring footage of the World X Cup is aired.  It runs down the four different teams that will compete in the four rounds and will culminate at Victory Road in an Ultimate X match.  With that said, it’s time to get the tournament started with a first round World X Cup match.

Match 2: Team International vs. Team TNA (World X Cup Match)
Tyson Dux & Davari are teaming together for Team International while the Motorcity Machine Guns are representing Team TNA.  Mike Tenay announces that round one of the tournament will feature tag team matches, while round two will be singles matches.  Round three will be a 12-man elimination tag team match and the fourth round will be Ultimate X.

Both teams go back and forth in the opening minutes of the match up.  The MMG’s begin to double team Dux and Shelley picks up a two count.  Davari manages to distract Shelley long enough to let Dux gain the advantage and tags in Davari.  Davari works over Shelley for a bit before tagging Dux back into the match.  Dux comes in and Shelley manages to make it over to his corner to tag in Sabin, who takes him down with an ensuguri.  Sabin tries to go for a high risk move but Davari pulls him off of the ropes and out to the floor.

Mike Tenay receives word that there is a commotion going on in the back and we see AJ Styles taking out Tomko in the locker room area.  Back to the ring, Dux gets a two count on Sabin and we see a split screen of the match and Styles taking out Tomko with a steel chair as we head into a commercial break.

We return to the match to see Sabin take out both members of Team International before tagging in Shelley who takes them both down with a cross body block of the top rope.  Shelley then lands a frog splash from the top rope and goes for the pin but Davari manages to kick out at the count of two.  Davari comes back and lands a hurricanrana off of the top rope on Shelley and picks up a two count of his own.

Sabin comes in and the MMG’s double team Davari until Dux enters the ring and tosses Sabin out and drives Shelley down to the mat with a brainbuster.  Davari goes for a pin attempt but it is broken up by Sabin and the MMG’s regain control of the match and Shelley takes Davari down with the Sliced Bread #2 and picks up the pin fall to gain the point for his team.

We then see AJ Styles beating on Kurt Angle in the parking lot as Mike Tenay wonders what has gotten in to him tonight.  We see a close up look and it isn’t Angle at all, it is Frank Trigg.

Mike Tenay announces that Gail Kim will be facing Angelina Love at Victory Road and we are treated to a video of Kim talking about her career and how she got her start in the wrestling business.  Scott D’Amore and Pat Kenney (a/k/a Simon Diamond) talked about working with Kim in Border City Wresting and how she impressed them with her skill and desire.

Karen Angle joins the show via satellite and the announce team asks her about her condition.  Karen says she doesn’t remember what happened and is thankful to be alright.   Mike asks about her relationship with AJ Styles and Karen still denies that anything happens.  Karen the finishes the segment saying that she will be back in Orlando next week.

Jay Lethal is then showing pacing around in the Pink Taco waiting for Sonjay Dutt to show up as we head into a commercial.

Footage of the brutal attack on the LAX last week at the hands of Robert Roode and James Storm is aired.  Jim Cornette is in the ring who says that after last week a very unique challenge has been issued by the LAX.  Cornette calls them down to the ring and says that a Fan’s Revenge Strap Match has been issued against Roode & Storm.  Hector Guerrero gets on the microphone and tells that what happened to them last week awoke the Latino fire in them and signs the contract for his team.

Cornette then calls out Roode, Storm and Jacqueline out to the ring to sign the dotted line.  Jacqueline comes out by herself as her and Salinas almost get into a scuffle that is broken up by Cornette and the LAX.  Cornette then books a match between them later on tonight and tell them to come alone.

Awesome Kong’s music then hits as Borash announces that it is time for the $25,000 Challenge.  Borash looks for some volunteers as we head into a commercial break.  We return to see a few girls standing by the railing with Kong sizing them up and choosing a fan named Taylor.

Match 3: Awesome Kong vs. Taylor
Taylor attacks Kong quickly on the outside and heads into the ring.  Kong follows her into the ring and Taylor ducks and dodges Kong for a bit until Kong finally catches her and tosses her around the ring.  Kong goes for an Awesome Bomb but Taylor squirms out.  Kong is able to knock her down while Raisha Saeed hands her a chair.  Kong looks to use the chair but Taylor kicks it into her face and uses the chair to her advantage until the referee takes it away.  Taylor then takes Kong down with a missile dropkick and even gets a two count.

Kong retreats to the outside as Taylor climbs the ropes and dives down on Kong, but Taylor is caught in midair and is driven into the steel ring post.  Kong then goes for the spinning back fist but Taylor ducks and Kong nails the post instead.  Taylor tries to mount a comeback but Kong levels her with a clothesline and rolls her back into the ring.  Kong goes for another Awesome Bomb but Taylor again escapes.  Taylor throws a couple of kicks towards Kong and goes for a hurricanrana, but Kong counters into the Awesome Bomb for the win.

After the match, Kong looks spent but still celebrates with the Knockout Championship over the fallen fan.

Team 3D are shown in the back celebrating Rhino, who has been put through a table.  Mike Tenay says that it appears that Rhino has been taken out of the main event and wonder who Christian Cage will get as a tag team partner.

Jeremy Borash is standing by with Sonjay Dutt who wonders why he isn’t meeting Lethal at the Pink Taco.  Dutt says that love has taken over him and wonders if Lethal will forgive him when he finds out that SoCal Val is in love with him.

Match 4: Alex Koslov vs. Kaz
This is not a part of the World X Cup and was brought upon by Kaz after how his team lost the preview match last week against Koslov.  Kaz gains the advantage in the match with a power slam and a slingshot leg drop, which gets him a two count.  Koslov, however, comes back and kick Kaz out to the floor and follows with a springboard dive out to the floor.

Koslov rolls him back in the ring and continues to work over Kaz until he begins to fight back and the two trade quick pin attempts.  Kaz delivers a DDT and looks to land the Flux Capacitor, but Koslov counters it and shoves him down to the mat.  Koslov then misses with a springboard splash and Kaz drives him down to the canvas with the Wave of the Future to pick up the win.

Jeremy Borash is standing by with Christian Cage and asks what’s going on with his team.  Cage says that Rhino has a concussion and cannot wrestle tonight but he is cool about all of this.  Cage says he sees a phenomenal opportunity in all of this and walks away.

TNA brings back the rough cut segments and this week it features Matt Morgan talking about being an athlete.  Morgan talks about getting into high school sports, especially basketball, where he was chosen as a McDonald’s All American with the likes of Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury.  Morgan says his ultimate dream at that point was to make it to the NBA and this segment will be continued.

We hear that Sonjay Dutt has arrived at the Pink Taco and we see Dutt asking Jay Lethal to hear him out.  Dutt apologizes for what he did and wants Lethal to ask SoCal Val what is in her heart.  Lethal doesn’t seem to like the question and attacks Dutt and begins to choke him with a power strip cable.  Lethal then tosses him around the bar and then speared him through a garage door.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with Team 3D and Brother Ray says that he isn’t stupid and know that Cage has AJ Styles as his partner.  They say that they have taken great pleasure in beating Styles as of late and they will try to break his neck tonight for Kurt Angle.  Brother Devon chimes in and says that there will be a massacre tonight and Styles will find out why he shouldn’t mess with Team 3D.

Match 5: Jacqueline vs. Salinas
Salinas hops on Jacqueline and lays down a few punches to start this match out.  Salinas then goes for a high risk move but Jacqueline moves out of the way and Salina lands hard on the canvas.  Jacqueline tosses Salina around by her hair for a bit before sending her out to the floor and tosses her into the railing.  Back in the ring, Jacqueline delivers a t-bone suplex and continues to work over Salinas until she nails a desperation slam and follows with a couple of clotheslines.  Jacqueline comes back with a kick and a DDT before she locks in a submission move to make Salinas tap out.

After the match, Jacqueline refuses to break the hold.  Once she does, Jacqueline pulls out a leather strap and begins whipping Salinas and referee Slick Johnson for good measure.

Match 6: Christian Cage & AJ Styles vs. Team 3D
Styles & Cage meet Team 3D on the ramp and get in a few licks before the match gets under way.  When the match finally gets in the ring, Brother Ray hits a back body drop on Cage and tags in Devon, who works over Cage for a bit.  Cage fights back, though, and tags in Styles who misses with a corner splash.  Cage tries to get involved in the match and is tied up by Earl Hebner, which allows Team 3D to land a flying headbutt on Styles.  Team 3D then leave the ringside area to bring a table to the ring, but Cage kicks the table into them before the get it into the ring.  Styles then jumps off of Cage’s back and over the ropes onto Team 3D and we head into a commercial break.

We return to see that Team 3D has regained control of the match as Ray is tossing Styles around in the ring.  Both Ray and Devon work over Styles until Devon finally misses a corner splash and Styles takes down Ray with an ensuguri.  Styles tags in Cage, who takes both members of Team 3D down and picks up a near fall on Devon.  Cage then lands the frog splash on Devon and goes for a pin fall but Ray breaks it up before the count of three.  Team 3D begins to double team Cage until Styles makes a blind tag and enters the match.

Styles and Cage show off some double team moves of their own and nails a double flying headbutt on Devon but Ray makes the save and Team 3D nails a doomsday on Styles, but it isn’t enough to keep his shoulders down on the mat.  Team 3D then look for the 3D, but Styles nails Devon with a Pele kick and sends Ray to the floor.  Styles then lands an inverted DDT on Devon and picks up the pin fall.

After the match, Frank Trigg comes down to the ring and causes a distraction for Kurt Angle to come in from behind and knock down Styles.  Angle then applies the ankle lock and says that Styles has finally found him as Impact comes to an end.

Quick Results
- Booker T defeated BG James by pin fall.
- Team TNA defeated Team International by pin fall (World X Cup Match)
- Awesome Kong defeated Taylor by pin fall in the $25K Challenge.
- Kaz defeated Alex Koslov by pin fall.
- Jacqueline defeated Salinas by submission.
- Christian Cage & AJ Styles defeated Team 3D by pin fall.

Starman’s Thoughts
This week’s episode didn’t quite have the energy that was brought forth last week, but it was an entertaining show nonetheless.  For the most part, the matches were decent and served their purposes to further storylines.

Again, the World X Cup match with the Motorcity Machine Guns stole the show and I am impressed that they were allowed to win two matches in a row, which is about the same amount of matches they won all of the rest of the year.  There wasn’t any build of this tournament at all, but fresh faces and matches like these are a welcomed addition to Impact in my mind.

Although the World X Cup match stole the show, I will have to say that the $25,000 challenge is the match that impressed me the most.  I was getting ready to see another squash match and what I saw was something completely different.  The fan actually took Kong to the limit and nearly pulled off the upset.  It now appears that Kong may have a few weaknesses, although I really don’t see her losing the $25 grand any time soon.

There were also a few great video packages tonight.  First, we saw a very well put together video package to further develop Gail Kim’s character and show the fans that TNA’s female wrestlers are more than just one-dimensional eye candy as other promotions tend to treat their talent.

TNA’s Rough Cut also made its return and is featuring a series on Matt Morgan.  Morgan’s character hasn’t done much lately and I am hoping that this leads to something decent for him to work with.  I am also hoping that these videos give a personality to the big man being as I believe he needs more than just his size to get him over with the fans.

I loved the intensity that AJ Styles was displaying throughout the show.  What I didn’t like, however, was the fact that the Frank Trigg attack wasn’t brought up by the announcers or anyone else until the show was nearly over.  What was worse, though, was the fact that Mike Tenay even mentioned that they didn’t follow up on it as the show progressed.   The announcers don’t need much to make them look bad and not mentioning that it was Trigg didn’t help them out at all.

Aside from not mentioning the Trigg incident, I also felt there were some strange cuts that killed some of the key moments during tonight’s show.  The Salinas and Jacqueline scuffle during was abruptly cut off by Awesome Kong’s music and $25,000 challenge.  To me, it hadn’t seemed like the previous segment had ended before they cut out to the next one.  It certainly made it look like the match between Jacqueline and Salinas seem second rate to the fan challenge.

That wasn’t the only time, however, as it also happened during the brawl at the Pink Taco.  Jay Lethal brutalized Sonjay Dutt for a few minutes and sent him crashing through a garage door.  Before we were given time enough to let that sink in, we are sent into a commercial break.  Nothing else was mentioned about it until it was stated briefly during the main event that Sonjay Dutt escaped and ran off.  This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from all of this since the show opened with an intense promo from Lethal and the title of the show was even about the angle.