The Return of Double J (9/18 Impact Recap)

Impact opens with No Surrender video footage in which Sheik Abdul Bashir won the X Division Title, SoCal Val turned on Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett came out to nail Kurt Angle with a guitar to assist Samoa Joe in retaining the World Championship.

The normal Impact intro hits and we are welcomed to this week’s show that will feature AJ Styles & Christian Cage against the Motorcity Machine Guns and Booker T will take on Jay Lethal.  Don West wonders if we will hear from Jeff Jarrett and what Kurt Angle and Sting think of his involvement in the main event at No Surrender.

Samoa Joe’s music hits as he comes walking out to the ring with the World title slung over his shoulder and a microphone in his hand as Mike Tenay reminds us that Sting will face Joe for the title at Bound for Glory.  Joe is sporting a black eye and applauds his opponents from No Surrender and the TNA fans.  Joe then begins to question Sting’s work ethic and says that at Bound for Glory, he will make Sting ask Joe for his respect.  He tells Sting to get ready for his final bow and when he does, he can kiss Joe’s ass.

Footage of Jeremy Borash waiting for Jeff Jarrett’s arrival is aired.  Jarrett says that he has something to say and hopes that Sting is listening as we head into a commercial.

Mike Tenay and Don West hype tonight’s show some more as they are interrupted by Kurt Angle’s music.  Angle walks over to the announce table and says that he also has a message for Jeff Jarrett.  Angle then goes on to say that he is going to get his gold medal back from AJ Styles when he comes down the entrance ramp.  Security comes out to escort Angle to the back as we head into our first match of the night.

Match 1: Motorcity Machine Guns vs. Christian Cage & AJ Styles
The match opens with a lot of fast action between both of these teams.  The MMG’s are able to gain the advantage in the match after Sabin nails Cage with a big boot.  The MMG’s continue to work over Cage with quick tags in and out until Cage is able to duck out of the way of an ensuguri attempt by Sabin and he nails Shelley instead.

Cage comes back with an inverted DDT and rolls over to his corner to tag in Styles, who flies into the ring with a missile dropkick.  Cage nails Sabin with a frog splash and Styles hits Shelley with a flying forearm before taking Sabin out with the Styles Clash for the pin fall.

After the match, the MMG’s shake hands with Styles but Shelley gives Cage the finger, which enrages him.  The referee has to step in between them as Mike Tenay says that this is exactly what Sting is talking about.

Jeremy Borash is in Booker T’s locker room and asks about his thoughts on the respect in the locker room.  Booker, who is clutching a briefcase, says that the kids don’t have any respect around here and that Jay Lethal is disrespecting Macho Man Randy Savage by being the Black Machismo.  Borash asks about the briefcase and Booker tells him he can be dismissed.

A video package on the Steel Asylum (a/k/a the TerrorDome) is aired and it will be featured in a match at Bound for Glory IV.

Lauren is backstage with Sheik Abdul Bashir who says that winning the X Division Title is the first step in getting his life back together.  He says that he has lost everything and dares anyone to take the X Division Title away from him.

Match 2: Petey Williams/Johnny Devine/Jimmy Rave vs. Prince Justice Brotherhood
The superheroes are on the attack in the early going of the match.  Jimmy Rave is able to stop their momentum after sending Curry Man down hard on the ring apron as Williams dives over the ropes and gives Curry Man a hurricanrana onto the floor.  Christy Hemme gives Curry Man a couple of slaps across the face before he is sent back into the ring.

Devine continues to work over Curry Man in the ring until Devine misses with a forearm shot and nails Williams.  Curry Man tags in Super Eric and this match begins to break down with bodies going everywhere.  Super Eric finally lands a high cross body block on Williams to pick up the pin fall.

After the match, Rave and Devine blame Williams for losing the match as Shane Sewell tries to break it up.  Lance Rock shoves Sewell to the canvas as he then gets into the melee and rips off his shirt before landing a low blow kick to Rock.  Williams and Sewell clean house before Earl Hebner runs out to try and calm Sewell down.

Jeremy Borash catches up with Sting in the back who tells Jeff Jarrett to speak now or forever hold his peace.

Footage of a press conference earlier in the week is aired in which Matt Morgan is honored for having his DNA sent to the International Space Station.  Morgan is given a plaque by David Reed of Operation Immortality for donating his DNA.  Morgan says he is leaving his imprint on his legacy.

We then see Abyss and Matt Morgan standing by with Lauren.  Morgan says that he has watched the tape and sees that Brother Ray was the one that hit him.  Abyss says that it is okay and gives him a gift of his hair that he pulls out of his head.  Morgan says that they are unstoppable as a team and says that he signed them up for a tag team invitational tournament at Bound for Glory.  Team 3D come out and are separated by security and talk about a lack of respect and call their win a fluke.  Ray says that they will be in any match they are in at Bound for Glory.

As we head into a break, we see Jacqueline walking in the back and heading towards the LAX entrance.  We from the break to see her slapping Hector Guerrero at the Spanish announce table as Beer Money come out to continue on the beat down.  They bring Guerrero to the ring as the LAX come out and chase them out of the ring.  Traci Brooks comes out and blames Jacqueline for starting the melee and orders both her and Guerrero to go to Jim Cornette’s office immediately.

The newest Rough Cut segment is aired and this week it about the Hardcore Knockout, Roxxi, who says that she was trained with a bunch of guys which is why she is a little stiffer than the rest of the Knockouts.  Roxxi says that she doesn’t like to label herself hardcore, but it is just a part of how she is.

We see Sting walking towards the ring and Joe standing around in the locker room as we head into a commercial.

We head to Jim Cornette’s office where Traci Brooks suggests having Beer Money with Jacqueline wrestle the LAX with Hector Guerrero.  The loser of the match will lose their manager forever.  Jim Cornette agrees to the match and it will happen next week.

Footage of Sting’s respect saga is aired as we see him head to the ring with a microphone.  Sting says Joe’s words earlier cut right to the bone but says that he already paid his dues by going up and down the roads and wrestling for $20 in small gymnasiums.  Sting says that he learned respect from the very best in the business such as Magnum T.A., Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes, Tully Blanchard and Ric Flair.  As for Bound for Glory, Sting says that Joe is a lot younger than he is, but he has some tricks up his sleeve before leaving the ring.

A video package showing us the live version of Suicide, who says his patience has worn thin and it is time to take revenge.

Jeremy Borash is with Christian Cage and AJ Styles and Styles says they are on the same side with each other.  Cage wonders what side that is exactly and tells Styles to remember who put him in the spotlight.

Lauren is standing by with Jay Lethal, who says he doesn’t need anyone’s pity.  Lethal says he was screwed by his ex-fiancé and says that takes great pride in honoring Randy Savage and it pisses him off to hear Booker say that he is disrespecting his name.  Lethal says he is going to disrespect Booker’s ass all over the Impact Zone.

Match 3: Booker T vs. Jay Lethal
Booker and Lethal talk trash to start this match out and Lethal sends Booker to the floor with a clothesline over the top rope.  The two begin to fight on the outside where Lethal sends Booker into the ring post.  Lethal rolls Booker back into the ring and follows up with a missile dropkick.  Sharmell hops on the apron and causes a distraction, which is enough to take Lethal’s mind off the match for a moment and allow Booker to gain the upper hand.

Booker begins to work over Lethal with a series of chops and knees to wear down his opponent.  Booker, though, misses with an axe kick and Lethal fires back with a couple of forearms.  Lethal tries to regain the momentum, but he is tripped up by Sharmell and Booker finally finishes him off with an axe kick to pick up the pin fall.

Lauren is backstage with the Beautiful People and Cute Kip, who says that Rhino has stuck his horn in their business to many times.  Lauren tries to ask about their upcoming match but Angelina Love is more concerned with a blemish on her forehead.

Match 4: Velvet Sky & Cute Kip vs. Taylor Wilde & Rhino (Mixed Tag Team Match)
Taylor hip tosses Velvet a few times until she crawls back to her corner to tag in Kip.  Rhino enters the ring and misses with the Gore and Velvet sprays perfume into Rhino’s eyes as Kip distracts the referee.

Kip and Velvet take turns working Rhino over until Kip misses with a corner splash and Rhino crawls back to tag Taylor.  Velvet is tagged in as Rhino takes out Kip with a Gore.  Angelina Love comes out and hands a pipe to Velvet and takes a swing at Taylor but misses and is then rolled up for the pin fall.

The Beautiful People go on the attack as Taylor and Rhino and celebrating their victory.  Rhino is driven to the mat with the Fameasser but Taylor comes and takes out both Angelina and Velvet with a double clothesline.  Awesome Kong then comes out to the ring as Taylor flies off the top rope onto her and we head into a commercial break.

We return to the ring as the Beautiful People and Awesome Kong are working together as they give Taylor and Rhino the brown bag treatment.

A video package about Jeff Jarrett’s career in TNA is aired.  Jarrett’s return to No Surrender is aired, where he nailed Kurt Angle in the head with a guitar.  The voiceover man said he is ready to step back into the ring.

Jarrett’s music hits as he walks out to the ring with a guitar in his hand.  He grabs a microphone as the fans greet him with a “welcome back” chant.  Jarrett said that six years ago when TNA got its start, people were not just watching Jeff Jarrett the wrestler, but they were also watching Jeff Jarrett the founder.  Jarrett said that he had a vision to create a company to give young hopeful wrestlers their big break and thanks the fans for supporting his vision.

On to other things, Jarrett wants to talk to Sting face to face and calls him out to the ring.  Sting comes out and Jarrett compares his father giving Sting his first big break to him giving all of the younger stars in the locker room their break.  Jarrett says he has been watching and listening to what Sting has been saying over the past few weeks and calls him full of crap.  Jarrett says the young stars have carried TNA on their backs and have shown him nothing but respect and the feeling has been mutual.

Jarrett says that they worked together in a multimillion dollar corporation when it went out of business due to the fact that the veterans didn’t want to pass the torch to the younger guys.  He then says that the issue isn’t about a lack of respect but the fact that the veterans like Sting, Booker T and Kurt Angle want nothing more than to take and are unwilling to give back.  Jarrett then reminds Sting that this isn’t WCW, but TNA, as Kurt Angle’s music hits.

Angle comes to the ring and confronts Jarrett about talking about him behind his back.  Jarrett says that two years ago, Jarrett hand picked Angle to fill his shoes and he regrets that decision to this day.  Angle says that Jarrett left the business because he didn’t have any more heart and he has carried to company by himself for the past two years.  Angle says he doesn’t want to trade words, but punches at Bound for Glory.

Jarrett says he is not a wrestler anymore and has nothing left to prove.  Angle says that the ring is for wrestlers and tells Jarrett to leave.  Jarrett fires back and says that Angle won’t want any of the pain that he has been dealing with for the past two years but points his attention to the big screen where we see a familiar smiley face wrapped in barbed wire.

Mick Foley appears on the screen and says that “it’s real.  It’s damn real.  Bang! Bang!” as Impact comes to a close.

Quick Results
- Christian Cage & AJ Styles defeated the Motorcity Machine Guns by pin fall.
- Prince Justice Brotherhood defeated Petey Williams/Johnny Devine/Jimmy Rave by pin fall.
- Booker T defeated Jay Lethal by pin fall.
- Taylor Wilde & Rhino defeated Velvet Sky & Cute Kip by pin fall.

Starman’s Thoughts
It wasn’t an action filled show, but it was expected as we are now heading full steam into the biggest pay-per-view of the year.  The main focus the night was Jeff Jarrett’s return and I have to say that the last fifteen minutes of the show was one of the best quarter hour segments I have seen on Impact.  As an added bonus, Mike Tenay and Don West managed to shut their mouths and let the wrestlers speak for themselves during the entire time.

While I’m sure there are a lot of fans out there who are not impressed by seeing Jarrett back on television, the live crowd was eating it up and he added a lot to the new star/old star feud.  Jarrett seemed to be speaking from the heart and there was a lot of truth to what he was saying about the current state of TNA.

Jarrett was vocal about one of the biggest gripes that fans have with the company.  He didn’t pull any punches when he talked about the veterans stealing the spotlight and looking out for themselves while the younger guys bust their backs week in and week out only to get pushed out of the way and lost in the shuffle.  Nothing can be truer than that statement when it comes to TNA, and they now have a great opportunity to remedy the situation.

With that said, I can’t help but to play the Devil’s advocate for a second and think about the possibilities of how this will all play out.  As much as I would like to see the “younger” talent such as Joe and Styles get the focus and attention they deserve, I can’t help but think that the veterans will end up making them look foolish and dumb in the end.

The old saying is that history is bound to repeat itself, and looking at TNA’s past track record, there is a very good chance of that happening.  I hope they end up proving me wrong on that point as this has the potential to be one of the best feuds of the year.  Sure, it isn’t at the level of the current Chris Jericho/HBK feud, but it is the next best thing going today.

On to a couple of other thoughts…

Another TerrorDome match?  Didn’t we see one of these a few months ago at Sacrifice?  Even with the name change, I’m not looking forward to seeing this match again.  The last one had way too many people in a confined space that to even tell what was going on.

Hopefully they will have only six participants in the match, but I have a feeling there will be a slim chance at that as TNA will go through great lengths to cram every single contracted talent onto the Bound for Glory card.  Need I say more than the tag team invitational tournament?

Finally, and Mick Foley debuted in a backstage segment.  Not quite the splash that I would have liked to see him make in his TNA debut, but I guess it had to do.  It will be interesting to see how he plays into the major storyline in the coming weeks.