The Enigma and the A-H*** (5/27 Impact Recap)

A recap of last week’s episode with the revealing of the Top 10 rankings kicks off Impact.  When then head into the Impact Zone where tonight’s show is hyped where the Beautiful People will defend the Knockouts Tag Team Championship against Taylor Wilde & Sarita and The Band will go up against Ink Inc. and Team 3D in a three way tag team match.  Jay Lethal will see if he can keep things rolling by taking on Kazarian.

Jeff Hardy’s music then hits as he comes out to the ring and says that he is out there to find out what is going out with Mr. Anderson.  Hardy tells Anderson to come out an explain himself.  Anderson comes out and Hardy hands him the microphone and says that he lends a helping hand to confuse people and says that he likes to be an a-hole.  Anderson tells Hardy that he needs to embrace his inner a-hole as everyone is one deep down inside.

Anderson then leads the fans in an a-hole chant until he is cut off by AJ Styles’ music as he comes out with Ric Flair, Desmond Wolfe and Beer Money.  Styles says he just found out that he has a match tonight with Anderson and that he requested to have it.  Styles says they shouldn’t even be in the same ring together and he wonders if Anderson knows who he is.  Anderson says he knows who he is and introduces himself as Mr. Anderson… Anderson.

A recap of Team 3D’s turn on Jesse Neal is aired.  Team 3D and Ink Inc. are both standing in the ring and they appear to have let calmer heads prevail as their three way match is up next.

Match: Ink Inc. vs. Team 3D vs. the Band
Ink Inc. starts off strong against Young and pick up a series of near falls before Brother Ray makes a blind tag on Young to get into the match.  All three members of the Band are on the ring apron as Ray begins working over Neal.  Devon is tagged in and allows Neal to tag in Moore as Ink Inc. regains the advantage.  Ray makes the blind tag back into the match and goes after Neal some more and heads out to grab a chair.  Ray brings it in and is about to use it but Devon stops him.  Ray then turns around and is speared by Neal and picks up the pin fall.

The match is over without Hall or Nash getting into the action.  After the match, Ray and Devon get into an argument before Ray gets on the microphone and tells Neal that his head is getting too big.  Ray then challenges Neal to a match at Slammiversary, teacher vs. student.

Christy is in the locker room with Kazarian who says he feels more confident because of Ric Flair, who walks in.  Flair says he see passion and skill in Kazarian and wants him to wear down Lethal and take him out.  Styles walks in and wants to talk to Flair but Flair says he will be fine as he is AJ Styles.  Christy then tells us that Kazarian and Lethal is up next.

RVD is with the docu-cam who says he is going to call out Sting tonight.  RVD says Sting got his moment last week but he won’t get a victory over him.

Match 2: Kazarian vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal goes on the attack in the early part of the match before Kazarian rolls out to the floor.  Lethal dives out of the ring and takes him out before rolling him back into the ring to continue on the attack.  Ric Flair begins walking towards the ring which distracts Lethal and gives Kazarian an opening.  Kazarian takes Lethal down and follows with a springboard leg drop but Lethal fights his way back and nearly picks up a pin fall.

Flair begins chanting encouragement to Kazarian as Lethal puts him in the figure four.  Flair begins to go crazy on the ring apron as Kazarian makes it to the ring ropes to break the hold.  Flair then pie-faces Lethal and Lethal fires back with a right but Kazarian then rolls Lethal up and pulls the tights to pick up the pin fall.

After the match, Flair takes Lethal down with a hard chop but Lethal comes back and gives Flair a few chops and takes him down with a back body drop.  AJ Styles then runs out to the ring and takes Lethal out as Kazarian is lying down in the corner the entire time.  Kazarian finally gets up and pushes Styles aside and the two get into an argument as Lethal takes them both out with a single dropkick.  Flair then gets in Styles’ face on the ramp as they look to both be irate.

We then head to the back to see Shannon Moore laid out in the back and has an Ace of Spades card on his back.

A video package highlighting the angle between Abyss/Desmond Wolfe/Chelsea is aired.  Abyss walked off with Chelsea last Thursday after winning a match with her as part of the stipulation.

Match 3: Orlando Jordan vs. Abyss w/ Chelsea
Orlando Jordan looks to be wearing pasties with Abyss’ face on them and kisses the camera prior to entering the ring.  The match starts and Jordan focuses on Abyss’ taped arm from where he was cut by Desmond Wolfe last week but Abyss comes back with a huge back body drop.  Abyss charges after Jordan in the corner and misses as Jordan continues to focus on the arm and removes the tape.  Jordan reopens the wound but Abyss comes back with a big boot and picks up a two count before sending him out to the floor.

On the floor, Jordan shoves Abyss into Chelsea as Abyss has a worried look on his face.  Abyss then shoves Jordan into the ring post and goes to check on Chelsea and Wolfe comes out and nails Abyss with a lead pipe as the referee calls for the bell.  Abyss is rolled back into the ring as Wolfe and Jordan continue on the attack.  Rob Terry then comes out and takes Jordan out with the Freak Buster as Wolfe runs out of the ring.  Abyss then goes back over to Chelsea and carries her to the back.

Footage of Sting’s recent action is aired which leads us to Rob Van Dam coming out to the ring to call him out.  RVD talks about the accomplishments both he and Sting have had in the wrestling business and says that their paths have never crossed.  Their paths are crossing now and RVD wants to give Sting a preview of what he will be seeing at Slammiversary.

Sting’s music hits but it turns into footage of Sting attacking RVD with a baseball bat when RVD debuted in TNA.  Sting then appears in the rafters and says that was only a taste of what he will get at Slammiversary.  Sting says it will be showtime at Slammiversary and he will be taking the TNA Championship.

The docu-cam catches up with Hulk Hogan talking to Mr. Anderson.  Hogan says Anderson backed himself into a corner and now everyone hates him, the good guys and the bad guys.  Hogan says he needs to figure out what he is doing because he sees dollar signs when he looks at Anderson.  Anderson says he is turning a new leaf and is going to prove it tonight.

A video promo for Half Pint Brawlers is aired.  Puppet the Psycho Dwarf then joins the announce team to talk more about the show that will start airing next Wednesday on Spike TV.

Christy is backstage with Roxxi who scored a huge pin fall against the Knockouts Champion last week.  Roxxi talks about her injury that happened last year and says she is now ready for anything that TNA has to give her.  Christy then tells her that she has been chosen to take on Madison Rayne at Slammiversary for the Knockouts Title.  Roxxi is overly happy for being given the opportunity.

Match 4: The Beautiful People vs. Taylor Wilde & Sarita (TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship)
Puppet is still with the announce team and says that he thinks he just grew an inch after the Beautiful People come out and do their entrance.  The bell rings and Taylor and Sarita work over Velvet Sky in the opening moments and pick up a couple of near falls in the process.  A referee distraction allows Lacey to take Taylor down with a clothesline and she is tagged into the match.  Lacey then takes Taylor out with a claw slam and picks up the pin fall.

Puppet then joins the Beautiful People in the ring and gives them high fives before spanking Velvet in the ass.   Velvet then slaps him across the face and Madison takes him out with a DDT as Lacey cannot believe what they just did.  Lacey goes to check on him and he plants a kiss on her lips and rolls around the ring for a bit as the Beautiful People are applaud by her actions.

The docu-cam is with Jeff Hardy who says he is wrestling Desmond Wolfe and has little experience with his European style so it will be unique vs. unique when the two face off in the ring.

Kurt Angle comes out and joins the announce team who says he is on a scouting missing to check out some future competition.

Match 5: Desmond Wolfe vs. Jeff Hardy
Wolfe and Hardy go back and forth with a series of counters and reversals to start this match out.  Wolfe finally gets the advantage and picks up a two count but Hardy comes back with a few kicks and Wolfe rolls out to the floor.  Hardy then kicks Wolfe through the ropes and into the railing before flying over the top rope and onto the floor.  Hardy turns his back for a moment and allows Wolfe to get back into the match.

The fans are split between the two as Wolfe picks up another near fall.  Wolfe then sets up for the Tower of London but Hardy blocks it.  Wolfe, though, continues on the assault and takes him down with a hammerlock takedown.  Hardy finally comes back with a head scissor takedown but misses with a corkscrew moonsault but he misses and hits the referee instead.

Hardy hits the Twist of Fate on Wolfe and goes for the pin fall but the referee is out.  As Hardy goes to revive the referee, Wolfe pulls out a slapjack and knocks out Hardy to pick up the pin fall.

After a commercial break, Matt Morgan is seen standing in the ring and says that in the past two weeks “we” were attacked by Samoa Joe, lost the tag titles to the Band and was told to find a new partner to get a rematch for the tag team titles.  Morgan says they are in the mood to give an opportunity and sends out an open invite to anyone who wants to be in a tag team match with them at Slammiversary.

Nobody comes out and calls out the “little bald guy” at the announce table, which is Kurt Angle.  Angle goes down to the ring and Morgan asks him if he wants to be a star and Angle asks if the last time they were in the ring if he pinned him.  Morgan laughs at it and asks Angle once again if he wants to be their partner before knocking him down.  Security runs into the ring and holds Angle back as Samoa Joe’s music hits.

Joe walks down to the ring and chases Morgan out of the ring.  Morgan says he obviously isn’t going to get an answer tonight and says he is no longer on the clock.  Joe then turns around and stares down Angle before Angle leaves the ring.

The announce team then runs down the Slammiversary card with the matches that have already been set before we head into the main event.

Match 6: AJ Styles vs. Mr. Anderson
Anderson and Styles go back and forth in the opening moments with Anderson working over Styles with a headlock before Styles counters into a leg scissors.  Styles then puts Anderson in a headlock of his own before he fights out and the two trade blows and chops in the middle of the ring.  Styles finally takes Styles down with a dropkick and gets a two count over his opponent.

Anderson and Styles go back and forth once more with both picking up near falls over each other.  Anderson begins to gain the advantage with a series of blows before he comes at Styles with a cross body block.  Styles, though, rolls through and uses the ropes for leverage and pulls the tights to pick up the pin fall.  Mr. Anderson has a smirk on his face as he knows Styles just beat him at his own game.

Anderson calls for his microphone and gives Styles credit before asking the crowd if Styles pulled his tights.  The crowd responds with a “yes he did” as Anderson then hits Styles with the microphone.  Anderson begins beating down Styles until Beer Money comes out to help Styles.  Jeff Hardy’s music then hits as he comes down to the ring with a chair and clears the ring.

Anderson then recovers and sees Hardy in the ring and the two shake hands as Impact comes to a close.

Quick Results
- Ink Inc. defeated Team 3D and the Band in a triple threat tag team match.
- Kazarian defeated Jay Lethal by pin fall.
- Abyss defeated Orlando Jordan by disqualification.
- The Beautiful People defeated Taylor Wilde & Sarita by pin fall.
- Desmond Wolfe defeated Jeff Hardy by pin fall.
- AJ Styles defeated Mr. Anderson by pin fall.

Starman’s Thoughts
Tonight’s show was headlined by two huge matches, and while neither of them were too long, they both were decent television matches.  The two matches that I am referring to, of course, are Desmond Wolfe vs. Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles vs. Mr. Anderson.  Both of which could possibly headline a pay-per-view in my mind.

Wolfe defeated Hardy in their match and it was nice to see Wolfe actually doing something meaningful once again.  It seemed that Wolfe had stalled out once his feud with Kurt Angle was through and became just another face in the crowd.  Maybe TNA is taking the Top 10 voting to heart and giving Wolfe more focus since the fans seem to be behind his character.  One can only hope, and even though his victory was dirty, it still went a long way to help his character.

Styles and Anderson were in the main event and put on an entertaining wrestling match.  This match also saw the heel win by dirty means with Anderson easily knowing what had just happened.  Instead of being irate over the loss, Anderson took it all in stride as he was beaten at his own game.  Both matches didn’t do much in terms of furthering an angle with the exception of the alliance formed by Anderson and Hardy, but it did do a good job in showcasing the Top 10 contenders.

My main concern with both matches, though, is that they both could have been saved from future pay-per-view bouts.  I’m sure we’ll see both matches happen down the line at some point, but there is always something special about the first meeting between two wrestlers.  Giving them away in short television matches takes away from all of that.

Another concern of mine is the amount of times they said a-hole on the air.  Yes, I’ll admit that I enjoy that fact that TNA isn’t trying to put out a PG-style product, but they went a little overboard today with that word.  I don’t mind hearing it a few times but there has to be some sort of limit put in place, especially since Spike TV let them get away with it without any censors.

Time to move on to other aspects…

I usually hate post-match attacks as TNA has a tendency to overuse them, however, I did enjoy the post-match action after the Kazarian/Lethal match.  It wasn’t just used to make the loser look strong in the end as it usually is meant to and seemed to focus more on the dissention in Flair’s group, especially between Flair and Styles and let Lethal and Kazarian mix it up with some main event talent.

As far as the tension between Styles and Flair, I’m not quite sure I am feeling it yet. Neither of them would benefit by turning at this moment and I feel that the two have been working well together.  With that said, Styles tends to overshadow a group that consists of Beer Money, Desmond Wolfe and Kazarian, so I can see a reason why they would want Styles out of the picture.  A split could work, but I would want to see both sides remain heels if it is done.

One thing that I do like is the smaller on-air role that Hulk Hogan seems to be taking.  It seems that we are seeing less and less of Hogan as the weeks go by, which can do a couple of things.  One, it puts the spotlight on the active talent, and two, it makes Hogan’s appearances mean even more when he does appear.  Maybe this is all just wishful thinking, but I hope it stays that way.

Finally, maybe I missed it, but was it ever announced who laid out Shannon Moore in the back?  Or is he just laying back there.  I figured it was Orlando Jordan with the whole card thing, but you never know with TNA.