Highlights of the Turning Point pay-per-view is aired, which focuses on the sweep of the Main Event Mafia. We then join Jeremy Borash who is standing by with Jeff Jarrett and Mick Foley who asks for words of advice for the young stars. Jarrett says all they need to do is stand up and get back into the game tonight. Foley says he was embarrassed for the young talent on Sunday night and is going to deliver a message to them tonight.
The Impact intro airs and we are welcomed to this week’s show as Mike Tenay wonders how the TNA Originals will respond after being beaten in all of their matches on Sunday. Don West then goes on to tell us that Scott Steiner will face Rhino and Christian Cage will become a member of the MEM.
Mick Foley’s music hits as he comes out with a microphone and calls AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, the Motorcity Machine Guns, Eric Young, Petey Williams, Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed to the ring. Foley says that he wasn’t embarrassed of their efforts but says that they didn’t earn any respect by losing all of their matches. Shelley doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to Foley’s words and Foley gets on Shelley’s case. Hell says that Shelley is valuable to TNA but is not invaluable and tells him that he will be dealt with next week.
Foley then says that Joe beat Kevin Nash from pillar to post but still lost the match. He tells them all to learn from their mistakes or this will happen over and over again. Foley then says that Eric Young earned his shot to face Sheik Abdul Bashir and lets him cash in on his title shot tonight. He then gives Styles & Joe a shot at the tag team titles later on tonight. Since he is handing out title shots, he gives Jay Lethal a shot at the World Championship and tells everyone, except for the MMG’s, to hit it out of the park tonight.
We see footage from earlier today where Lauren catches up with Christian Cage and asks him for his thoughts about joining the MEM. Cage says his thoughts don’t matter since he doesn’t have a choice. The MEM come around and Kurt Angle tells him that they are going to throw him a welcome party and Scott Steiner gives him a suit to wear. Once they leave, Cage throws the suit in the trash.
Lauren meets up with ODB in the back who is building a set in the back. ODB says she is going to debut a new talk show next week.
Match 1: Awesome Kong & Rhaka Khan vs. Roxxi & Taylor Wilde
A brawl starts on the ramp and around the ring before the match officially starts. Kong rolls Taylor into the ring and this match gets underway. Kong and Khan take turns working Taylor over until she is able to counter with jawbreaker and tags in her partner. Roxxi comes in and this match quickly breaks down as Roxxi and Taylor are able to control the match with some double team moves. As Taylor begins fighting with Khan on the outside, Kong delivers an Implant Buster to Roxxi to pick up the win.
Lauren is in the locker room with the Motorcity Machine Guns and Alex Shelley talks about the pecking order of the TNA Originals and thinks that they should be at the front of the line. Chris Sabin agrees with him and says that since AJ Styles and Samoa Joe are in the lead, they better get things done and by any means necessary.
Lauren is in the office of Traci Brooks where Raisha Saeed is telling her to find Awesome Kong some real opponents. If she doesn’t she will feed on innocent civilians, including tourists. Lauren then asks why she joined sides with Kong and she says that she wanted to be on the side of the beast.
Match 2: Eric Young vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir (X Division Title)
Eric Young picks up a quick two count after landing a belly-to-belly suplex on Bashir. Young, however, loses control of the match after Bashir sends him face first into the turnbuckle. Bashir begins to slowly pick him apart with headlocks and leg scissors until Young is able to get out of it and takes Bashir down with a snap slam.
Bashir fires back with a low blow and makes the cover but referee Shane Sewell doesn’t want to make the count and stops counting after two. Fans begin to tell Sewell what happened and Bashir pushes the referee down. Sewell takes off his shirt and begins leveling Bashir with rights before taking him down with a dropkick. Young then hits the Death Valley Driver to pick up the three count and win the X Division Title. The Originals then come out to the ring and celebrate as Earl Hebner tries to calm down Sewell.
Lauren is with the Originals in the locker room and Eric Young dedicates his win to Mick Foley. Young says it is their time to shine and says there is one down and two to go. Mike Tenay and Don West then run down the rest of tonight’s matches before sending us to latest installment of TNA Rough Cut which is featuring the LAX.
Hernandez talks about growing up and that he was recruited for football even though he never played until his junior year of high school. Hernandez says that he got a junior college scholarship but gave up football due to financial reasons. He then said that he tried his hand in pro wrestling and got his start in Mexico as “Mr. Texas.” Hernandez then talks about teaming up with Homicide and says that he is one of his mentors. This will be continued next week.
Jeremy Borash is with the MEM and tells them that the Originals are on a roll after Eric Young won the X Division Title. Kurt Angle says he didn’t beat anyone from the MEM and says that their domination will continue. Petey Williams walks in and wants to talk to Steiner but Steiner tells him to leave and that he will talk to him after his match.
Lauren is with Jay Lethal who says that he shocked the world by beating Kurt Angle and that he will do the same with Sting. Petey Williams wishes Lethal good luck and Lauren warns him about Steiner. Williams says the two are buddies and not to worry about him.
Match 3: Scott Steiner vs. Rhino
Kurt Angle joins the announce team during this match and says that he is there to show his support for Scott Steiner. Rhino and Steiner go back and forth in the opening moments of the match until Steiner takes control after landing and belly-to-belly overhead suplex. Rhino comes back with a shoulder block and hits a belly-to-belly suplex of his own. Rhino then sets up for the Gore as Kurt Angle runs to the ring and grabs his leg. The distraction is enough for Steiner to hit another suplex and pick up the win.
Jeremy Borash is with Sting who says that the TNA Originals are their own worst enemies as they will start the finger pointing once the losses begin racking up. Sting thinks that is what separates them from the boys.
Match 4: Jay Lethal vs. Sting (TNA World Heavyweight Championship)
Jeremy Borash did the usual big match introductions for this match. The bell rings and Jay Lethal throws everything that he has at Sting. Lethal picks up a two count after landing a double axe handle from the top rope and then comes back with another high risk missile dropkick that sends Sting out to the floor. Lethal doesn’t let up, however, and dives through the ropes and onto Sting as we head into a commercial break.
We return to see Sting in control of the match as he works over Lethal but is favoring his knee. The match goes out to the floor as the Motorcity Machine Guns come out to support their teammate as the action returns to the ring. Lethal is able to turn the tide of the match and picks up another near fall after landing a seated dropkick.
Lethal and Sting soon collide in the ring and Alex Shelley begins distracting the referee as Chris Sabin slides in and holds Sting for Lethal but he doesn’t want them interfering in his match. Lethal sends Sabin out of the ring the hard way and Sting delivers the Scorpion Death Drop to pick up the win.
Samoa Joe and AJ Styles come down to the ring and get in the faces of the MMG’s as Consequences Creed, ODB and Eric Young come out to try to p lay peacekeepers. We are suddenly interrupted for a Spike 2008 Video Game Awards promo. What the hell is this? After that interruption, we head to the back where the MEM is beating down Petey Williams. Steiner says that it was the wrong place at the wrong time for him.
We return from a break to see a bloody Petey Williams. Mike Tenay calls this an out of control situation and we are sent to Jeremy Borash who is with Beer Money. Robert Roode says that Foley needs to hit the road while James Storm says that they don’t have much to worry about as they are not involved in that soap opera that AJ Styles and Samoa Joe have gotten themselves in to.
Match 5: Samoa Joe & AJ Styles vs. Beer Money, Inc. (TNA Tag Team Championship)
James Storm comes down to the ring riding on a beer cooler scooter. The match begins and the team teams quickly go at it and the Originals have the edge as they work over both members of Beer Money and send them both out to the floor. Team 3D makes their way out to the ringside area as we head to a commercial break.
We return to see Styles still in control but Roode is able to turn the tables as Beer Money begin working over Styles with quick tags. Team 3D joins the announce team and talk smack about Beer Money not wanting to face the 20-time tag team champions and give their thoughts on the MEM/Originals feud. After taking a beating, Styles gets out of the Eye of the Storm and delivers a Pele kick to Storm and tags in Joe.
Joe comes in and clears the ring and takes Roode down with a snap slam for a near fall as Styles attacks Storm on the outside. Roode gouges the eyes of Joe as Jacqueline helps Storm with Styles on the outside. She then distracts the referee which allows Storm to enter the ring and spit beer in Joe’s face. Team 3D head to the ring and Brother Ray spits some beer into Storm’s face and the referee calls for the bell. Team 3D then beat down Beer Money but Styles and Joe are not happy about their interference.
The Beautiful People and Cute Kip adorn our television sets as Angelina Love and Velvet Sky are dressed up like Sarah Palin. They talk about her spending habits on her clothing and offer her a spot in the Beautiful People. Sky says that if she joins they will donate $50,000 to her favorite charity. Cute Kip says he approves this message at the end of their offer.
The Main Event Mafia, sans Sting, make their way to the ring for Christian Cage’s induction ceremony. Kurt Angle calls Cage out and he slowly walks out to the ring in his regular clothes. Angle tells him he needs to wear a suit but are willing to welcome him into the family. Angle talks about their commitment to their group and to their wrestling organization before questioning Cage’s commitment.
Angle says that he has heard about Cage turning down TNA’s contract offers and is looking to jump ship to the WWE. Angle says that that his welcoming party has turned into a going away party as they are going to give him one last beating before he takes a trip up north. Cage then fires a right at Angle but the numbers game proves to be too much for him as the four begin to beat him down. They all get a chance to perform one of their signature moves on Cage before standing over him as Impact comes to a close.
Quick Results
- Awesome Kong & Rhaka Khan defeated Roxxi & Taylor Wilde by pin fall.
- Eric Young defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir by pin fall to win the X Division Title.
- Scott Steiner defeated Rhino by pin fall.
- Sting defeated Jay Lethal by pin fall to retain the TNA World Championship.
- Beer Money, Inc. and Samoa Joe & AJ Styles fought to a no contest.
Starman’s Thoughts
Tonight was supposed to be all about the TNA Originals getting themselves together and back in the game but they once again came off as the big losers before the end of the show. Sure, Eric Young did win his match against Sheik Abdul Bashir to capture the X Division Title, but the victory was tainted as the referee refused to make the three count when needed and got involved in the match. So much for winning matches on your own merit to earn that respect you think you deserve.
Aside from that, I think TNA may have gone a little overkill on the whole MEM/Originals feud this week. I recently wrote that TNA had been doing a good job by keeping other angles alive and well while this major storyline played out, however, that wasn’t the case this week. Other than anything that was about the Knockouts and the Rough Cut segment, tonight was all about MEM/Originals angle. Thankfully the tag team titles didn’t change hands to keep them out of the angle for the time being. Three titles between the two factions seem to be more than enough for now.
Speaking of the Rough Cut segment, once again I applaud TNA for putting together a great video package. Aside from being the muscle for the LAX, Hernandez hasn’t gotten a chance to let any of his personality show. Keeping him as a silent killer is fine with me, but it was nice to find out a little more about his history and how he got into the wrestling business.
Before I wrap this up, here are a few more random thoughts from tonight’s broadcast.
- Just like Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas, Christina Cage took punishment from his family instead of becoming a made man. Unlike DeVito, though, Cage survived, but I will say that I liked how they set up this angle. From what I have read, Cage hasn’t decided on his plans to either stay in TNA or see what he can do back in WWE. Whatever he does decide, this angle will serve as either his final bow or as fire to revolt against the Mafia.
- As far as Mafia beat downs go, at least they finally got to Petey Williams. I didn’t like how he was still carrying on with the Steiner look and this at least put some closure to their relationship. Everyone, including Lauren, saw this coming a mile away but at least they didn’t just pretend that there wasn’t something going between the two.
- I don’t like ODB’s new hair style but I am like the idea of her having her own talk show. ODB can be very entertaining for the most part and it should be a huge step up from Karen Angle’s boring interview segments.
- Did Jeremy Borash really say “world famous Impact Zone” prior to the World Heavyweight Championship bout?
