A recap of last week’s show is aired where the Top 10 Contenders poll was announced, Abyss pinned Ric Flair to win his Hall of Fame ring and Hogan’s announcement about who Hogan plans to give the ring to.
Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan are in a limo together talking about Sting, Ric Flair and about a plane touching down in seven minutes with a big fish jumping into the pond. The Impact intro then hits as we are welcomed to this week’s live edition of Impact where Hogan promises to found out what’s behind Sting’s recent actions.
Mike Tenay then announces a huge announcement that Impact will be moving back to home to Thursday nights beginning May 13th. SpikeTV has also picked up TNA Reaction and will air on TNA Thursdays. Taz then says that Sting pulled him aside earlier in the day and said that he promises to break his silence tonight.
Ric Flair’s music then hits as Jay Lethal comes out wearing a suit with Flair’s Hall of Fame ring on his finger and is strutting his way to the ring. He begins talking doing a great impersonation of Flair including the patented knee drop on the jacket in the middle of the ring until the fans begin to chant “we want Flair!”
Flair’s music hits once again and the real Ric Flair comes down to the ring to confront Lethal. Flair tells Lethal that he is standing in front of god and says nobody disrespects him. Lethal says he was just messing around and hands his ring back to the Nature Boy. Lethal says he meant no disrespect and tells Flair that he is the man and says that him standing in the ring with Flair is the best moment in his life.
Flair thanks Lethal for giving back his ring and then proceeds to slap him across the face. Lethal fires a slap back and the two begin to go at it as Lethal fires off a series of chops before taking him down with a back body drop. Lethal then puts Flair in the figure four until Beer Money, AJ Styles and Desmond Wolfe run into the ring and help out Flair.
The five begin to beat him down until Abyss runs down and begins to clean house but the numbers match catches up with him. Team 3D then runs out and helps Abyss and Lethal as bodies are flying everywhere in the melee. They are then interrupted by RVD’s music as he runs out and clears the ring with a steel chair.
We head back to the limo where Hulk Hogan checks his phone and calls Jay Lethal an idiot. Hogan then tells the limo driver to turn the car around and get back to the Impact Zone.
We return to see Team 3D, Abyss, RVD and Jay Lethal still standing in the ring with Flair and company standing on the entrance ramp. RVD gets on the microphone and challenges the “four horses asses” to a fair fight. Flair’s group makes their way back to the ring and the brawl continues with the fight going in all directions.
All of a sudden Hulk Hogan’s music hits as he begins laying people out on his way to the ring. Hogan takes out Roode, Storm, Wolfe and Styles before tossing Flair over the top rope and onto the floor as we head into another commercial break.
We return to see the brawl still going on as security and referees are out there trying to break up the fight. Hogan then gets on the microphone and says that the TNA fans want action and that is what they are going to get. Hogan then puts Desmond Wolfe in a match against RVD for the TNA World Championship. He then books AJ Styles to face Abyss in a Monsters Ball match. To keep things rolling, Hogan adds Team 3D into the match between Beer Money and the Motorcity Machine Guns.
Sting is then seen walking around in the rafters with a baseball bat as we head into yet another commercial break.
The Beautiful People are seen getting ready in their dressing room and are complaining about having to defend all of their titles at once in a match tonight against Taylor Wilde, Sarita and Tara.
Brian Kendrick and Douglas Williams are standing in the ring and Williams is wearing the X Division Championship. Williams says he cannot believe that he is being stripped of the title due to conditions out of his control. To add to it all, he is now being booked in a match with Kendrick. He then tells Kazarian that if he wants to be a real champion he will have to beat him at Sacrifice.
Match 1: Ink Inc. vs. Douglas Williams & Brian Kendrick
Ink Inc. is the new tag team of Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal, pretty clever name if you ask me. Along with their new name, I guess they will also be getting a shot at Matt Morgan’s Tag Team Championship at Sacrifice and Hulk Hogan will be naming Morgan’s tag team partner.
The match starts and Williams and Kendrick gets the upper hand over Jesse Neal as Matt Morgan joins the announce team. As the match goes on, Morgan says that Hogan better announce who his partner is in seven days or else it will be open season on the TNA roster. Back to the action, Neal is able to make the tag to Moore, who comes in and turns the match into his favor. Neal is then tagged in and takes Kendrick down with a spear to pick up the pin fall.
After the match Kendrick and Williams start arguing and Williams slaps Kendrick across the face. Samoa Joe’s music then hits and he takes Williams down with a clothesline on the entrance ramp. Joe then takes Kendrick down with a super kick before dragging him back to the ring for a muscle buster. Joe then grabs a microphone but before he says anything he just tosses it down on the mat before leaving the ring.
Jeremy Borash is in the dressing room with Flair and company but Flair kicks him out of the ring. The door doesn’t close all of the way and the camera man sticks with them as Flair gives them an aggressive pep talk to fire them up and wants them all to prove themselves or he will find replacements.
Hogan is seen talking to someone in the back saying that nothing has been easy in TNA and has had nothing but problem after problem. To top it all off, Sting is now acting like he is and how he is going to get to the bottom of it tonight. The announce team then breaks down what they just saw and how they deserve an explanation from Sting. They then break down the matches scheduled for tonight as they are told something is going on backstage.
Mr. Anderson and D’Angelo Dinero are seen brawling in the back and Anderson is repeatedly smashing the Pope with a moving case. Anderson is wearing an altar boy gown as he puts on the Pope’s sunglasses before leaving the scene and we head into a commercial break.
We return to see Mr. Anderson making his way down to the ring and he gets on the microphone and says that he has had the realization that he will not go to heaven but he will instead burn in hell. Jeff Hardy’s music then interrupts as he comes down to the ring with a microphone.
Hardy says because of Anderson, the Pope will not be able to fight next week or at Sacrifice. Hardy then steps up in place of the Pope and challenges Anderson to a match at Sacrifice. Anderson steps back and says he already has something go on that night and can’t wrestle on that night.
Anderson begins to walk away but turns around and tries to hit Hardy with the microphone. Hardy sidesteps him and takes him down with a Twist of Fate. Hardy then acts like a ventriloquist and accepts the match on behalf of Anderson.
Match 2: Taylor Wilde/Sarita/Tara vs. the Beautiful People (All Knockouts Championships)
If Madison Rayne is pined she will lose the Knockouts Championship, if one of the other two are pinned, they will lose the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. Tara starts the match beating on Lacey Von Erich and nearly picks up a pin fall before putting on a choke hold. Lacey is able to hit Tara with a kick before tagging in Velvet Sky. Sarita and Taylor use their tag team background on Velvet before there is some dissention between Tara and her partners.
Tara tags herself back into the match before she and Taylor get into a shoving match. The Beautiful People then takes Sarita out with a double DDT and Madison moves in for the pin fall to retain all of the titles. As the Beautiful People celebrate on the entrance ramp, Tara yells at her partners in the ring while pulling at her hair.
After a commercial break, Tara is with Christy who says she has busted her butt to be in TNA and hasn’t been given any respect unless she is the champion. She then challenges Madison Rayne to a title match at Sacrifice and puts her career on the line.
Match 3: Beer Money vs. the Motorcity Machine Guns vs. Team 3D
The match starts with a quick exchange between Chris Sabin and Robert Roode. James Storm and Alex Shelley are tagged in as the Guns use their quickness to takes down Storm and Brother Devon tags himself into the match. Devon pounds on Storm for a bit until a distraction allows Beer Money to get back into the match.
Beer Money works over Devon for a while until Devon is able to make the hot tag to Brother Ray, who comes in and takes out Beer Money. Team 3D delivers the flying head butt to Robert Roode as the Band sneaks into the ring and the referee calls for the bell. The bell doesn’t stop the Band, though, as they continue on the attack.
Eric Young then runs down into the ring with a kendo stick and teases hitting the Band but turns and hits Team 3D. The Guns can’t believe their eyes and Shelley runs in and tosses EY over the top rope. They then use their quick double team moves to take both Scott Hall and Kevin Nash down. Their moment in the spotlight is cut short, though, as Beer Money takes them out. EY then comes in and joins in on the attack as Beer Money and the Band are working together.
Orlando Jordan’s O-Zone segment is up next as he comes out and sits on a couch next to the entrance ramp. OJ spouts out a couple of sexual comments before introducing his first guest, Rob Terry. Instead of the actual Terry, Jordan begins talking to a cardboard cutout as Taz can be heard asking how long this segment is going to go.
OJ asks the cutout about his fantasies as the real Rob Terry comes out and pushes Jordan down before telling him not to make him come back. Terry turns around and poses with the Global Championship which leaves himself open for an attack from behind, no pun intended. OJ chokes Terry out with a steel chain before taking him out with a large flower pot.
The announce team then briefly run down what they just saw before we head into the next match, Abyss against AJ Styles in Monsters Ball.
Match 4: AJ Styles vs. Abyss (Monsters Ball Match)
Abyss comes to the ring carrying a trash can full of weapons. The bell rings and Styles tosses the garbage can at Abyss but Abyss shakes it off and back drops Styles into the ring. Abyss tries to nail Styles with a chair but he misses and Styles Pele kicks the chair into Abyss. Styles continues on the attack until Abyss finally shoves Styles’ head into a chair that was placed in the corner. Abyss then hits the Shock Treatment but Styles is able to kick out.
Abyss then heads out to the floor where he picks up a bag of thumbtacks. Ric Flair and Chelsea are seen walking towards the ring and Flair is instructing her to take off her coat. She won’t do so as Abyss grabs her, which allows Styles to regain control of the match with a chair shot to the back. Styles then nails Abyss in the crotch with the brass knuckles and hits a springboard on Abyss into the tacks to pick up the pin fall.
After the match, Flair and Styles continue to beat on Abyss as Chelsea flaunts her stuff as it was all a set up to give Styles an edge. As the beating goes on we head into a commercial break.
Match 5: Desmond Wolfe vs. Rob Van Dam (TNA World Championship)
Wolfe attacks RVD before he even makes it to the ring to get this match underway. The fight quickly makes it to the ring as Wolfe continues to work over RVD and picks up a couple of near falls. Wolfe then begins to take his time and taunt the crowd a bit which allows RVD to get into the match momentarily but Wolfe crotches him on the ropes.
Wolfe tries for a Tower of London onto the floor but RVD is able to counter and kicks him onto the entrance ramp. RVD then back drops Wolfe into the ring and hits a five star frog splash to pick up the victory in his first title defense. His celebration is cut short, though, as AJ Styles comes flying into the ring and takes out the champion. Styles says he is going to enforce his rematch clause for a match at Sacrifice.
The camera then catches Jeff Jarrett laid out in the back as Hulk Hogan runs up and asks who did it to him. Jarrett claims it was Sting as we head into a commercial break.
We return to hear Hulk Hogan’s music hit as he makes his way down to the ring. Hogan says he knew what he was in for when he joined TNA but had no idea that Sting would be the one changing when he talked about change. Hogan then calls Sting out to the ring and Sting complies as he comes out with his baseball bat.
Hogan says he wants to know what Sting’s change is all about and Sting says TNA makes him tick and that his agenda is the same today as it was five years ago when he first joined the company, which is to give back to the business that he loves so much. Sting talks about how Hogan was protected in WWF and WCW, but he doesn’t have that same protection in TNA.
Hogan interrupts and says that Sting has blood on his hands after choking Dixie Carter and now attacking Jeff Jarrett in the back. Hogan invites Sting to try to put a stop to Hogan in TNA and asks him to take his best shot. Sting, though, drops the bat as Jeff Jarrett walks down and hits Sting with bat in the midsection. Jarrett tries to continue on the attack but Hogan steps in and stops him as Impact comes to a close.
Quick Results
- Ink Inc. defeated Douglas Williams & Brian Kendrick by pin fall.
- The Beautiful People defeated Taylor Wilde/Sarita/Tara to retain all of the Knockouts Championships.
- Beer Money vs. the Motorcity Machine Guns vs. Team 3D went to a no contest.
- AJ Styles defeated Abyss by pin fall in a Monsters Ball match.
- Rob Van Dam defeated Desmond Wolfe by pin fall to retain the TNA World Championship.
Starman’s Thoughts
Usually the live editions of Impact are stellar, but this one wasn’t so much. The unfortunate thing is, though, is the fact that this may be the last non-special live edition of Impact we’ll see for a long time as Impact is “returning home” to Thursday nights. I’ll have more to say about that later on, but first I want to talk about tonight’s show.
Impact started off with a hot segment with a pull apart brawl in the middle of the ring. However, the segment went on… and on… and on. Pretty much the first half hour was dedicated to this fight that seemingly went on forever until Hulk Hogan finally showed up and cleared the ring before making the matches for the night.
The trio of matches that Hogan booked for the night were pretty huge, however, only one match – an unadvertised one – took place during the first hour. For being all about “action” as Hogan stated earlier in the broadcast, there sure was little of it. Just because they are moving back to Thursday nights doesn’t mean they should waste their unopposed hour from Raw on their final Monday night broadcast and fill up the rest with short lackluster matches.
I will have to admit, though, that I truly enjoyed Jay Lethal’s impersonation of Ric Flair. It wasn’t nearly as good as the Macho Man impersonation that he has perfected, but he actually had me laughing out loud on how he had his trademark lines and mannerisms down pretty well. I almost had tears coming out of my eyes when he pointed out a “fat boy” from the crowd.
I also have to give credit for having Lethal give Ric Flair’s Hall of Fame ring back to him. Maybe this was Flair’s stipulation for losing the ring in the first place, but the whole Ring vs. Ring match last week was pretty lame. Of course, this act pretty much said last week’s main event was pointless, but I can’t argue with that.
At any rate, I know I have said this many times before, but I hope Lethal breaking the Black Machismo character means he is about to come into his own persona without having to resort to impersonations. I have a feeling, though, that we’ll be seeing Black Machismo character return soon again.
Although they have only wrestled in one match, I like what the Ink Inc. tag team brings to the table so far. Both Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal have been stuck in the shadows of others and this will give them a chance to shine without having Jeff Hardy/Team 3D/Rhino around them. The pairing of the two seems to be pretty natural as it pairs two people with a similar look but have different styles of wrestling. I don’t think they deserve a title shot just yet, but it makes sense as they have a brief history with Matt Morgan.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed tonight when Jeff Hardy challenged Mr. Anderson to a match at Sacrifice. Yes, the Pope is suffering from an injury but after last week’s interaction I was looking forward to a match between the two. I’m sure it will come in due time, but both Anderson and Dinero were gold last week and I wanted to see more of that. Hardy is fine, but it seems like this match is there to take up space on the card.
So, let me see a show of hands of those who didn’t see Eric Young joining the Band this week. Anybody? No. Okay, that’s what I thought. As if that wasn’t plain to see as well as anticlimactic. I guess I’d rather see Eric Young along with the Band instead of that ass clown Bubba the Love Sponge.
Since I am on the topic of segments that were anticlimactic, it is tough to watch RVD’s championship reign go on with very little fanfare. TNA really sold the title change two weeks ago but the follow up since then has been horrible. RVD was barely on television last week and this week he is in an unannounced title match (his first title defense by the way) in a match against an opponents that the fans wanted to see judging by the poll results and it lasts all of three minutes. I guess it was one of the longer matches of the night, though, so I guess that counts.
That was sarcasm.
As for the move back to Monday nights, I really feel that TNA jumped the gun on the move. Yes, judging by the ratings they have had some minor ups and some huge downs, but those downs happened during the post-WrestleMania show and up against the WWE Draft. Tough competition to say the least.
Will the move mean more viewers? More than likely, but competition is always good and I think it at least brought out the best in TNA during their live shows, save for tonight. With the move back to Thursdays, Impact will more than likely lose their live broadcasts and a lot of the excitement that came with it.
