Victory Road “Drive-By” (7/10 Impact Recap)

Impact opens with a video package highlighting the Fan’s Revenge match.  Tonight, the LAX and Beer Money will get the chance to be in a Victory Road “drive by” as they will battle in a LAX gang car fight.  The Impact intro hits as we head right into the parking lot brawl that is kicked off by Jeremy Borash.

Match 1: Homicide vs. Robert Roode (Parking Lot Brawl)
Robert Roode and Homicide start slugging each other and bashing their heads on the cars surrounding them.  Don West informs us that Hernandez and James Storm have been barred from this one-on-one match tonight between these two.  Homicide nails Roode with a garbage can as Jacquelyn shouts out words of encouragement.  Roode then takes over by sending Homicide flying into the side of a trailer before nailing him with a lead pipe.  Roode then misses with a 2×4 and Homicide comes back and hits Roode in the head with a Dead End sign.

Jacquelyn tries to interfere and a hooded masked wrestler comes in and begins beating on Homicide.  The man takes off the hood and it is James Storm, who handcuffs him and the referees try to stop it, but Roode chases them away.

Beer Money then bring a handcuffed Homicide back into the Impact Zone and roll him into the ring to continue their beat down.  Storm levels Homicide with a superkick before he begins to lash into him with a leather strap.  Hernandez comes in to help his partner and tosses Beer Money around for a bit until the numbers game catches up to him.  Beer Money’s double team attack on Hernandez doesn’t last long, though, as he is able to take them both down with a double clothesline and chases them out of the ring with a leather strap.

Hector Guerrero and Salina come out to check on Homicide and Hernandez as Sting’s music fills the arena as Don West says it is the third week in a row that Sting’s music has been played – by my count it is only two.  Whether it is two or three times, Sting is spotted looking down on the ring from the rafters.

A video package highlighting the World X Cup is aired and the second round is going to continue tonight with some more singles match, one of which is coming up right now.

Match 2: Team Japan vs. Team International (World X Cup 2nd Round)
Masato Yoshino is representing Team Japan this week and Doug Williams is fighting for Team International.  The match starts and Yoshino takes Williams down with his speed in the early going.  Williams, though, is able to stop the speed with a well placed knee to the face.  Williams continues to use his knees and powers Yoshino around and even picks up a near fall for his team.  The battle of power and speed go back and forth until Williams rolls up Yoshino and follows with a German suplex with a bridge for the pin to finally put Team International on the board with two points.

Kurt Angle is backstage and is looking for the Beautiful People.  Angle finds them in the Knockout locker room and tries to get them focused and makes them do squats instead of putting on makeup.  They start doing squats in front of Borash and Angelina Love is disgusted as she feels a bulge in Borash’s pants.  The Beautiful People stop the squats and then give Borash the brown bag treatment before leaving the dressing room.

Footage of Sonjay Dutt teaching a yoga class is aired.  Dutt is with a bunch of kids and TNA interviewer, Lauren, and begins to get close to her.  Petey Williams is also in attendance and Dutt kicks him out for not paying.  Shortly after, Jay Lethal appears and begins beating the hell out of his former friend until the kids surround Dutt and stop the attack.  Dutt says they are going to set SoCal Val free.  Don West says that Dutt is starting to become creepy and says the two will meet one-on-one at Victory Road.

Mike Tenay and Don West finally run down the schedule for tonight’s show that will feature the captains of Team TNA and Team Mexico meeting in another World X Cup match, Booker T will offer a public apology to Samoa Joe, Awesome Kong will face Taylor Wilde and the main event will feature a inter-gender six-person match with Kurt Angle and the Beautiful People taking on AJ Styles, Gail Kim and ODB.

Lauren is backstage with Taylor and asks her how she is feeling before her big match tonight.  Taylor says that she is nervous but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Taylor says that she will lay it all out on the line tonight in the ring against Kong.

A video package highlighting the huge six-man tag team match between Kurt Angle & Team 3D against AJ Styles, Christian Cage and Rhino is aired.  The polls will open for the fans to vote to see if their match will be a tables match or a Full Metal Mayhem match at the start of the Victory Road pay-per-view.

The next edition of TNA Rough Cut is aired and it is about Matt Morgan deciding to do things in TNA his own way and be himself.  Jim Cornette says that he is on track to be one of the biggest stars in wrestling as he is the “blueprint for the perfect athlete.”  Kurt Angle says that he can see him being a full time main attraction and Matt’s wife even gets the chance to say a few good things about him.

Match 3: Kip James/Petey Williams/Tomko vs. BG James/Eric Young/Matt Morgan (Six-Man Tag Falls Count Anywhere Match)
Petey Williams is still wearing a face guard as this match starts.  Since it is falls count anywhere, all six men are going at it at once as there are a few referee’s watching this match.  Morgan scores the first pin attempt and tries to pin Kip James until Tomko breaks it up.  All of the action goes to the outside and Morgan levels Tomko with a boot to the face and gets another pin attempt.

Kip James and BG James begin going at it as Eric Young and Petey Williams begin fighting in the bleachers.  Both Kip and BG join them in the bleachers as there are bodies flying everywhere.  Williams and Young make their way back into the ring and Young nearly picks up the win over the X Division champion until Tomko breaks up the attempt.

Young then dives over the ropes and onto Tomko, but Tomko is waiting with a lead pipe and nails Young with it.  Williams then slingshots over the ropes onto Young and takes him down with a hurricanrana for the win.

After the match, Abyss’ music hits as he makes his way down to the ring and nails Tomko with a right and knocks him out to the floor with a clothesline.  Abyss then grabs the lead pipe but throws it down on the mat and stares at it as Tenay wonders if we are seeing a different side of Abyss since his return from the insane asylum.

A video package airs highlighting Awesome Kong’s dominance and her $25,000 challenge.  With Taylor being the only one who has stood a chance against Kong, she won the opportunity to go at the championship and the title one more time.

Match 4: Taylor Wilde vs. Awesome Kong (Knockout Championship/$25,000 Challenge)
Kong goes on the attack as soon as she enters the ring, however, Taylor is able to turn the tide by hoping on her back and punching her in the head.  Raisha Saeed trips up Taylor to slow down her momentum and Roxxi comes out to help even the odds as we head into a commercial break.

We return to the match to see Kong in control and tosses Taylor around the ring by her hair.  Kong, though, misses with a splash off of the ropes and Taylor comes back with a missile dropkick and nearly picks up an upset with a near pin fall.  Kong quickly comes back and goes for an Awesome Bomb, but Taylor is able to escape and pick up another pin fall after landing a drop kick.

Kong comes back and drives Taylor down with an Implant Buster and goes for the pin, but she kicks out much to Kong’s dismay.  Kong them tries for a spinning back fist, but Taylor ducks out of the way and rolls up Kong for the upset win to get the $25,000 and the TNA Knockout Championship.

After the match, Kong looks on in disbelief as Borash runs out to congratulate Taylor on her victory.  Taylor says that dreams can come true and they did for her tonight.

After a commercial break, Borash is with Team TNA and reminds them that Team TNA is in last place and their opponents, Team Mexico, are in first.  Kaz says tonight is all about pride and their team is the heart and sole of TNA.  Kaz guarantees that he will not let TNA down in tonight’s match up.

Match 5: Team Mexico vs. Team TNA (World X Cup 2nd Round Match)
Ultimo Guererro is up for Team Mexico and Kaz is wrestling on behalf of Team TNA.  The match starts and these two captains go back and forth in the opening moments of the match until Guerrero is able to gain control with a front face suplex off of the middle rope.  Team TNA is shown cheering on the leader from the entrance ramp but their appearance does little to help Kaz.

Guerrero continues to work over Kaz as he delivers an inverted suplex from the middle rope.  Kaz finally gets in some offense with a few clotheslines and takes him down with a series of kicks.  Kaz tries to then spring off of the ropes but he falls off and it appears that he hurt his knee.  Kaz, though, is able to fight through the pain and tries for a hurricanrana, but Guererro blocks it and drives Kaz down to the mat with a power bomb from the middle rope.  Guerrero then misses with a moonsault which allows Kaz to land that Wave of the Future and picks up the win for his team.

Lauren is backstage with AJ Styles, Gail Kim and ODB and asks if they are all on the same page.  AJ Styles says it not about him of Angle tonight, it is about Kim and ODB.  Styles says he respects them and Angle will also respect them after they are through with him.  Kim says that they will teach the Beautiful People a wrestling lesson that they will never forget.

A video package about the Ultimate X match is aired as it returns this Sunday for the conclusion of the World X Cup match.  Mike Tenay and Don West then hype the rest of the card for Victory Road.  Jim Cornette comes out and announces a rematch between Taylor Wilde and Awesome Kong for the pay-per-view as well.

Angle again tries to motivate the Beautiful People who are sitting around and tanning instead of getting ready for their match.  Angle compares them to his wife as Borash warns him that they might put a paper bag over his head.

A video package focusing on the Victory Road main event between Samoa Joe and Booker T is aired.  It shows that Joe has risen through the ranks of TNA and will take on Booker, who has held World Championship gold wherever he has been, except for TNA.

Booker T then comes out to the ring with a microphone and calls out Samoa Joe to the ring.  Joe comes out and Booker tells him that he respects him and apologizes for his past behavior and is sorry for what will happen this Sunday night in Houston, TX.  Booker says that Kevin Nash is right about Joe not being able to beat him and calls Joe a paper champion.  Booker runs down the list of competitors that he has beaten like Rick Martel, Steve Austin, and Chris Jericho and says that he is the best in the business today.

Joe says that Booker will be sorry for calling him out and speaking to him with bass in his voice.  Joe then promises that he will beat in front of his family, friends and wife in his own hometown.  Sting’s music then hits as he comes out of the tunnel and makes his way to the ring.  Sting says that both of them have him hooked as he is wondering who will win on Sunday.  Sting says he will be there to watch and leaves the ring as the announce team wonders if Sting will want to take on the winner.

Another video package furthering the feud between Gail Kim and Angelina Love is aired.  Love doesn’t think that Kim is smart enough and Kim thinks that Love is jealous of her and the rest of the Knockouts.

Match 6: The Beautiful People & Kurt Angle vs. ODB/Gail Kim/AJ Styles
ODB & Kim work over the Beautiful People in the opening moments until Kurt Angle is tagged in, which also makes AJ Styles come into the match as well.  Styles gets a pin attempt on Angle after a slam and a knee drop.  Styles continues in on the attack as Frank Trigg comes out to the ringside area and Karen Angle comes from the other side as we head into a commercial break.

We return to the match to see Angle in control and trying to pick up a pair of pin falls on Styles.  Angle tries for an Olympic Slam but Styles counters into a DDT.  Styles then begins to fight back with a couple of clotheslines and a Pele kick and sets up for the Styles Clash, but Angle escapes out of it and they knock each other down with a clothesline.

The guys makes tags into their partners as all four enter the ring and ODB and Love take control.  Meanwhile, Styles dives over the ropes and knocks Angle down to the floor as Kim delivers a neckbreaker to Velvet Sky to pick up the victory.

After the match, Angle and the Beautiful People attack the winners from behind and Karen helps out Styles as he nails her husband with a low blow.  However, Trigg gets involved and nails Styles from behind as Angle locks in the ankle lock.  Meanwhile, the Beautiful People give Kim the brown bag treatment.

A video preview of the Victory Road pay-per-view is aired as Impact comes to a close.

Quick Results
- Homicide and Robert Roode fought to a no contest in a parking lot brawl.
- Doug Williams defeated Masato Yoshino in the World X Cup by pin fall.
- Petey Williams/Kip James/Tomko defeated Eric Young/BG James/Matt Morgan by pin fall in a Six-Man Tag Falls Count Anywhere Match.
- Taylor Wilde defeated Awesome Kong to win the Knockout Championship and the $25,000 Challenge.
- Kaz defeated Ultimo Guerrero by pin fall in a World X Cup match.
- Gail Kim/ODB/AJ Styles defeated The Beautiful People & Kurt Angle by pin fall.

Starman’s Thoughts
This show featured a ton of action from top to bottom, but I think a few parts didn’t work very well; especially considering this was the Victory Road go home show.

One thing I enjoyed tonight was that it didn’t seem like your standard cookie cutter Impact broadcast.  We started off with a flurry of action with the parking lot brawl, and it didn’t seem to slow down any for the next 60 minutes.

The parking lot battle wasn’t anything spectacular, but it at least gave Beer Money, Inc., some much needed momentum going into their title match on Sunday.  I think they are still hurting from losing two matches last week, but this was a step in the right direction.  It’s unfortunate that it wasn’t like this the entire length of the feud thus far.

The big surprise of the night is the upset victory for Taylor Wilde over Awesome Kong.  Taylor was able to do the unthinkable and not only win the $25,000 challenge, but she was able to defeat Kong and take her Knockout Championship.

Like I wrote about last week’s show, this is a reason why I am glad that I don’t read spoilers in advance, as this did come to me as a shock.  Taylor has been impressive in the ring thus far, but I’m not sure she should be holding the title when I see a whole impressive roster of females that are standing in line waiting for the chance.  I doubt her reign will last long, if even past this weekend.

Another great thing on tonight’s broadcast was the interaction between Booker T and Samoa Joe.  I feel that too much focus has been put on the tension between Kevin Nash and Joe as of late that the main event for Victory Road sort of got lost in the mix.  The feud between Booker and Joe seemed to get back on the right track as they both gave great promos without being overshadowed by the Nash situation.  Although, I did find Booker’s reference to beating the best and bringing up Rick Martel was a bit odd - or maybe just plain arrogance on Booker’s part.

To me, Jay Lethal’s and Sonjay Dutt’s feud has lost all of its steam.  Ever since the battle at the Pink Taco the feud has gone nowhere.  You would think that after teasing the Dutt turn on Lethal for months and having a wedding with former pro wrestlers in attendance interrupted would lead to a boiling point between the two, however, this feud has barely reached a simmer.  I was expecting something a little more than this when I was watching Dutt continuously interrupting and ruining the dates between Lethal and SoCal Val and this hasn’t reached even the lowest of my expectations whatsoever.

Was it just me or did the first six-man tag team match seem out of place?  Aside from Matt Morgan recently being in the Rough Cut segments, none of the six people have really been doing much lately, which is horrible considering one of them is a champion.  Anyway, you’d think they would use the time on the last show before a big pay-per-view to promote the upcoming matches instead of having something like this take place.

A filler match like this would probably be best used on the week following a pay-per-view or the week after.  Tonight wasn’t a good night for it, especially since it had nothing to do with anything.  Abyss did come out after the match was over, but again, if you are planting the seeds for an upcoming feud, don’t do it three days before a pay-per-view.

Of course, this weekend I will be providing my Victory Road Preview and Predictions so be sure to check back for that on Saturday