A video package hyping Hulk Hogan is aired to start off Impact and Hogan says he and Dixie Carter are going to be moving forward at a rapid speed. The intro hits, the pyro goes off and we are welcomed to this week’s Impact that will feature an interview with Dixie Carter where she will address such topics as Hulk Hogan’s role in TNA and the future of the company.
We head to the ring where Desmond Wolfe is standing inside the Six Sides of Steel. Wolfe admits to tapping out to Angle but he says Angle didn’t beat him. Wolfe then issues a challenge to Angle in a “Three Degrees of Pain” at Final Resolution. Wolfe explains that it is a best 2 out of 3 falls match with the first being a pin fall match, the second being a submission match and the final being an escape the cage match. Wolfe promises to defy the rules and embarrass Angle three times in one night.
Kurt Angle comes out and is wearing his wrestling gear and starts walking down towards the ring. Wolfe has the cage door locked but Angle just starts climbing up the side and begins pounding on Wolfe and knocks him down with an uppercut. While on the ground, Wolfe slips on a pair of brass knuckles and knocks down Angle with one punch to the jaw before sending him head first into the cage wall a couple of times.
Jeremy Borash is with Mick Foley in the office and Kurt Angle comes in and demands a match with Wolfe tonight. Foley says that he doesn’t even know if he has the power to book matches but he will get it as long as Angle spills what he knows about the Hogan partnership. Angle tells Foley to get over his jealousy against Hogan.
Match 1: Doug Williams vs. Alex Shelley
Slick Johnson sends all of the partners for both wrestlers to the back before the match starts. Williams starts out strong against Shelley but it doesn’t last long as Shelley connects with a kick to the back of the head and follows with a suicide dive. Shelley then connects with a cross body block and picks up a two count. Williams fights his way back into the match and works over Shelley’s back.
Williams hits a back elbow off the top rope and picks up a two count after hitting a running knee into Shelley’s shoulder. Shelley then counters with a kick to the back of the head and hits Williams in the face with a superkick. Shelley then hits the Sliced Bread #2 and picks up the pin fall for the victory.
Suicide is in the back and the Pope walks up to him and offers him a spot in an 8-man elimination tag team match at Final Resolution. Suicide says that he hasn’t earned his trust and begins to walk away but Dinero stops him. He gives Suicide a piece of a table that Suicide put him through and that is when he realized that Suicide would do anything in his power to get the job done. Dinero tells Suicide to think about it as he walks away.
Mick Foley is in the office with D’Lo Brown and wants to talk to him about Hulk Hogan. Brown says that Hogan has always treated him with respect and that he has heard that Dixie brought him in to help TNA. As Brown leaves Foley starts tossing things off his desk out of anger of getting no information from D’Lo and Jeremy Borash asks him if he has lost his mind.
Match 2: Homicide vs. Suicide
Suicide and Homicide go back and forth in the opening moments until Suicide begins working Homicide over with a side headlock. Homicide is able to get out and takes control of the match and works over Suicide with a nerve pinch. Homicide then goes for the mask but Suicide kicks Homicide in the head and hits Homicide with a series of kicks. Suicide goes for the Suicide Solution but Homicide counters and tries for the Gringo Killer but Suicide counters with a back slide for the pin fall.
After the match, Homicide gets up and attacks Suicide and again goes for the mask and begins to pull it off before D’Angelo Dinero runs down to the ring and chases Homicide away. The Pope extends his hand for a handshake but Suicide backs off as the lights go out and we head into a commercial.
The Beautiful People are walking in the hallway where they are stopped by Daniels. Daniels says he has a plot for their next movie and offers to go talk about somewhere else. The Beautiful People take him up on his offer and walks away together.
The next installment of Trash Talk with ODB is aired and her guest this week is Tara, who won the Knockouts Battle Royal and is her next opponent at Final Resolution. ODB asks how Tara can come over to TNA after being a diva and become a TNA Knockout after they built the division from the ground up. Tara becomes a little emotional about has she became a laughing stock in the WWE and wants to become the best in TNA. ODB apologizes before slapping her across the face and tells her that she is nothing but a diva to her. Two “security” guards come in and pull ODB off as Tara runs off.
Match 3: Jesse Neal vs. D’Angelo Dinero
Neal and Dinero go back and forth until Neal gets control of the match after sending him crashing out to the floor. Back in the ring, Neal continues on the attack and picks up a two count after hitting a shoulder breaker. Dinero finally gets into the action and hits Neal with an uppercut before hitting the DDE for the pin fall.
After the match, Neal gets up and spears Dinero before the lights go out. When they come back on, Suicide is in the ring and hits Neal with a missile dropkick. Suicide then offers his hand to Dinero and the two shake hands before they are surrounded by Team 3D and Rhino. Matt Morgan and Hernandez run out and chase them away as the two sides stare each other down.
We get a little preview of the Dixie Carter interview before heading to a break so we at least know that she didn’t no-show like Sting did a few weeks ago.
A Hogan video package is aired where he talks about TNA taking its place in wrestling history once all of the Hulkamaniacs jump over and turn the tide.
Match 4: Eric Young & Kevin Nash vs. Beer Money
Beer Money work over Eric Young in the opening moments and Roode picks up a quick two count. Roode powers Young down with a spinebuster and gets another two count but EY comes back by raking Roode’s eyes and tags in Nash. Nash taunts Storm, who comes in and takes Nash down but the referee pulls him away as Young works over Roode on the floor.
Back in the ring, Nash works over Roode before they begin making quick tags while wearing down Roode. Roode is finally able to fight his way back into his corner and tags in Storm, who takes down both of his opponents. Storm picks up a two count after hitting a back cracker on Young but Nash breaks up the pin fall. Roode comes in and takes out Nash as Storm hits the Eye of the Storm on Young, but he kicks out.
On the outside, Nash sends Roode into the ring post and grabs Storm’s leg as he was setting up for the Last Call superkick. The distraction allows Young to nail Storm with a low blow before putting the match away with a piledriver and picking up the pin fall.
After the match, Mick Foley comes out and wants to talk to Nash about why Hulk Hogan is coming to TNA. Foley says he could use his power to force it out of him, but wants to be personable and asks him exactly what Hogan is up to. Nash says Foley will be looking for a job in the coming weeks and tells Foley to call Hogan himself. Nash then says he has to go since he has some old band mates that he needs to get back together with.
Bobby Lashley and his wife come out to the ring with a microphone. Lashley says he has nothing to say to Scott Steiner and will do all of his talking at Final Resolution. Kristal grabs the microphone and calls Steiner obsessed and delusional and says she has never been treated like that at any MMA event. She goes on to say that Lashley will eat Steiner for lunch at Final Resolution.
Lauren is backstage with Daniels who says there is change in TNA. He says he got a one-on-one title shot against AJ Styles at Final Resolution and invites Styles to watch his match tonight as it will be a preview of what will happen to him. Lauren wonders if Daniels should be focused on his match with Abyss but Daniels just brushes her off.
AJ Styles comes out and joins the broadcast table and pleads with Sting to give him a phone call to make sure he is okay and he wants to get a front row seat for the match between Daniels and Abyss.
Match 5: Daniels vs. Abyss
Abyss starts off by slamming Daniels down to the mat. Daniels gets up and slaps Abyss across the face before Abyss takes him down with a big boot. Abyss tries to put the match away with the Shock Treatment but Daniels gets out of it but runs into Abyss’ grasp for a choke slam. His attention is then diverted as the Beautiful People are shown pushing Lauren around in the back is aired on the big screen. Daniels then gives Abyss a low blow and rolls him up for a pin fall.
Daniels then points at Styles and taunts him to come in the ring. Styles starts walking in but he is attacked from behind by a masked man in a hooded sweatshirt as we head into a commercial break.
Mike Tenay’s interview with Dixie Carter is aired and she starts off by saying that it is her duty to keep everyone focused and motivated, which is why she gave that speech a few weeks ago. As far as Sting is concerned, she is giving him space and is letting him make his own decision on his own time. Tenay then asks about Jeff Jarrett’s role in the company and his future in TNA. Carter says there was a personal situation in the company and he was put on leave and is going to leave it at that.
Tenay brings up Hogan and his signing with TNA. Dixie said that they had some talks in the past, but it wasn’t until they met at her place that they knew it was the right time and it was an easy negotiation. As far as his role, he brings TNA instant recognition and he will be working with her in every aspect of the company. On TNA’s future, she wants to make history and wants to take to another level.
Another video package with Hogan is aired who talks about TNA going mainstream with his partnership. Hogan promises that it will be the biggest and fastest rise that anyone has seen in professional wrestling.
Desmond Wolfe meets up with Mick Foley in his office and wonders why he granted a match to Kurt Angle so quickly. Foley says he will not be wrestling Angle tonight as he has other plans for him tonight. Foley says he still has some stroke around here and makes a phone call and tells the person on the other end to show up to Impact next week. That person is Jeff Jarrett and he tells Foley off and tells him to shove it up his ass before hanging up.
Match 6: Hamada vs. Sarita
The match starts off with fast paced offense on both side with the two coming to a stand still after they both tried for a dropkick at the same time. Sarita takes Hamada down with a hurricanrana but Hamada comes back with a superkick and nearly puts the match away. Sarita fights back into the match and picks up a couple of near falls before locking in a submission move. Hamada powers out of it and comes back with the Hamada Driver to score the pin fall.
AJ Styles is in the locker room who calls out the masked man who jumped him. Styles promises to get his revenge and says it will be the last time he does anything.
Mick Foley comes out and says he had a deal with Kurt Angle and said that he didn’t give him the information he was looking for. Because of that, he is not going to have his match against Desmond Wolfe, but he will face Dr. Stevie and Raven in a handicap match. Foley goes on to say that Raven was the one who burned him so the outcome of the match doesn’t matter as Foley wins either way.
Match 7: Kurt Angle vs. Dr. Stevie & Raven
Raven and Stevie go on the attack right away until Angle rolls out to the floor. Stevie and Raven follow him and give him a double Russian leg sweep into the guard railing as Mike Tenay announces TNA is going to go to Nashville next week to talk with Jeff Jarrett. Back to the action, Angle starts fighting back with a series of rights and clotheslines and sends Stevie over the rope who lands awkwardly on his hand.
Stevie walks up the ramp to leave the match but he is met up by Abyss who drives him down with the Black Hole Slam on top of the stage. Back in the ring, Angle locks the ankle lock on Raven and makes him tap out to win the handicap match. Desmond Wolfe then enters the ring from behind and drops Angle to the mat as Impact comes to a close.
Quick Results
- Alex Shelley defeated Doug Williams by pin fall.
- Suicide defeated Homicide by pin fall.
- D’Angelo Dinero defeated Jesse Neal by pin fall.
- Eric Young & Kevin Nash defeated Beer Money by pin fall.
- Daniels defeated Abyss by pin fall.
- Hamada defeated Sarita by pin fall.
- Kurt Angle defeated Dr. Stevie & Raven by submission.
Starman’s Thoughts
Impact seemed flat this week with some lackluster matches and backstage segments. The highlight of the night was an interview conducted between Mike Tenay and Dixie Carter where the fans got to send in their questions via Twitter to make the interview. The questions that were aired on tonight’s broadcast resembled cream puffs as the interview segment certainly did not live up to the hype.
Hogan’s role in TNA is still undetermined, Sting is still MIA and Jeff Jarrett is serving a suspension. Nothing real groundbreaking there as we are still in the same boat as we were at this time last week with everything. Dixie Carter did say that Hogan will be working closely with her on a variety of aspects, so I guess that is a start. The complete video is being streamed on tnawrestling.com, so maybe there is a little more substance to it that didn’t make it on air.
Aside from the interview, a few angles did progress nicely during tonight’s show, which is about the only compliment I can offer for this week’s broadcast. I like the idea of the best 2-of-3 match with the different stipulations between Kurt Angle and Desmond Wolfe. TNA showed some restraint and didn’t make the stipulations too involved (pin fall, submission, and escape matches) which is nice. I also like how Wolfe is always one step ahead of Angle. Even though he tapped out at Turning Point, Wolfe still looks like a credible opponent for Angle.
The masked man returned tonight and once again attacked AJ Styles from behind. I was glad to see that he didn’t make an appearance at Turning Point to take away from what was one of the better matches TNA has put on all year. After that, it seemed like this angle had been dropped but it is alive and well after tonight’s show. At one point it was reported that Tomko was the one behind it, but one has to wonder if they have changed their mind about it by now since Tomko was shown on air a couple of weeks ago.
It seems that D’Angelo Dinero and Suicide has put their past behind them and are now working together. I was surprised to see that they brought up their history and didn’t just have them work together since the Pope is on different sides now. TNA has a history of letting small aspects like that slide all too often so you have to give them credit when the acknowledge their past angles like that.
While I am on the topic of small aspects, did I really hear Taz and Mike Tenay compare the partnership between Eric Young and Kevin Nash to the one that was had between Nash and Shawn Michaels in the WWE? In the words of Booker T, “Tell me they didn’t just say dat!”
