A video package highlighting the friendship and fallout between Hulk Hogan and Abyss kicks off Impact. We then head into the Impact Zone where Abyss, who is now wearing a black mask, is tossing chairs into the ring. Abyss then turns his attention to SoCal Val who trips on the mat around the ring and falls to the ground. Abyss points at Val but he is interrupted by Hulk Hogan’s music.
Hogan comes down to the ring and kicks some chairs around and calls Abyss into the ring. Eric Bischoff comes out and gets in the middle of them and tells Hogan that the situation is nuts and tries to talk him out of confronting Abyss but Hogan wants nothing of it. Security then comes into the ring and steps in between the two and Bischoff slaps Abyss across the face.
Abyss then goes crazy and takes out security and turns his attention to Bischoff but Hogan hits Abyss with a couple of chair shots to the back. Abyss grabs Hogan by the throat but Jeff Hardy runs out and hits Abyss with a Twist of Fate before hitting the Swanton Bomb. Hardy then leaves Abyss lying in the ring as he walks off with Hogan and Bischoff. Abyss gets up, though, and calls Hardy to the ring but security separates the two.
The announce team then tells us that AJ Styles will take on Samoa Joe in a match that will effect the ratings. Before they can say anything else, Abyss heads to the announce table and points at Taz and stares him down as we head into a commercial break.
After the break, Bischoff is talking to Hogan in the back and they are talking about taking out Abyss and getting rid of the cancer. Hardy is pacing around behind them and he says he has Abyss tonight as Hogan and Bischoff say they will cover his back. Hardy promises to take Abyss down as we head into the first match of the night.
Match 1: Ink Inc. vs. the Motorcity Machine Guns
Shelley and Moore go back and forth in the opening moments before Ink Inc. takes control of the match. Moore then sends both members of the Guns out to the floor before diving over the ropes and taking them both out. Brother Devon is then seen joining the announce team and says that he is out there to make sure that Brother Ray doesn’t interfere in the match.
Back to the action, the Guns have taken control of the match and have isolated Moore in their corner. Moore is able to make a hot tag to Neal and he takes out both Shelley and Sabin before nearly picking up the pin fall after hitting a spear. Neal then sets up Shelley in the corner for a superplex and Ray begins making his way towards the ring. This distracts Neal as the Guns hit a double team move in the corner and pick up the pin fall.
The announce team then tells us that D’Angelo Dinero will be making his return to Impact as they are then cut off by Eric Bischoff’s music. Bischoff announces that Hulk Hogan has booked tonight’s main event being Abyss against Jeff Hardy. Bischoff then announces that to call the match down the middle, Rob Van Dam has been selected to be the guest referee for the match.
Dixie Carter is seen walking in the back and talking on the phone as Mike Tenay wonders what she is doing here and we head into a commercial break. Once we return the docu-cam asks Dixie what she is doing there but she just keeps walking by.
Match 2: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
Ric Flair and Kazarian accompany Styles to the ring for this match. The bell rings and the two lock up and Styles hits Joe with a couple of chops but they have no effect. Styles retreats to the floor to regroup and Joe goes on the attack when he comes back in. Joe picks up a couple of near falls until Styles comes back and pokes Joe in the eyes before taking him down with a dropkick.
Styles begins choking Joe out and follows with a body slam. Styles then tries for a suplex but he can’t get Joe up and Joe counters with a front face suplex. Joe isn’t able to capitalize, though, as Styles takes him out at the knees before putting Joe in a headlock. Styles then tries for an Irish whip but Joe counters with a forearm to the face. Joe then hits a couple of clotheslines and hits a senton backsplash but isn’t able to keep Styles down.
Joe then sets Styles up in the corner and tries for the muscle buster but Styles is able to counter and takes Joe down with a dragon screw. Styles then goes for the figure four leg lock but Joe counters into the rear naked choke and makes Styles tap out. Ric Flair cannot believe what he just saw and heads into the ring and pulls Styles up to his feet. Flair, Kazarian and Styles talk in the ring for a moment before the two leave Styles in the ring.
Styles gets on a microphone and asks Kazarian if he thinks this is funny to him. Styles says he can beat Kazarian in the ring whenever he wants. Styles then challenges Kazarian to a match next week and Kazarian agrees to it.
Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are talking to Dixie Carter and want to talk to her about Sting. Bischoff and Hogan say he is dangerous but Carter says that this is not like him. Kevin Nash walks in but they send him out as they are in a meeting. Bischoff then continues and tells Carter to look at the facts as to what he has done in the past few weeks. Hogan says she needs to draw the line and get rid of Sting. Carter promises to do something about it tonight.
Match 3: Desmond Wolfe vs. Brian Kendrick (Submission Match)
Wolfe and Chelsea show some tension prior to the match as she reluctantly grabs his ring gear. The match starts and Kendrick goes on the attack and locks Wolfe in a cobra clutch but Wolfe makes it to the ropes. The match spills out to the floor and Wolfe focuses much of his attention to Chelsea as he continues to attack Kendrick. The match returns to the ring and Chelsea begins walking away which distracts Wolfe. This allows Kendrick to put the cobra clutch back on Wolfe and makes him tap out to win the match.
The docu-cam catches up with Tommy Dreamer in Yonkers, NY, but he refuses to answer any questions as he says he is on his own time at the moment. A video package highlighting D’Angelo Dinero’s time in TNA is aired as the Pope makes his return to Impact and his congregation.
The Pope comes out to the ring and gets a strong reaction from the crowd. Dinero thanks the congregation for the warm welcome back and says his shoulder is at 80 percent. The Pope says he hasn’t forgotten about Mr. Anderson and he isn’t buying into his lying and deceptive ways. He then says he wants to earn his way back up to the top to take on the TNA Champion once again.
Kurt Angle’s music then hits as he comes down to the ring with a microphone. Angle welcomes the Pope back to TNA and says he is a big fan of his. Angle says the Pope is the future but he is also working his way to the top of TNA. Angle says the two will meet at Victory Road and wants to shake his hand before saying he will be victorious.
A video package highlighting the feud between Jay Lethal and Ric Flair is aired. This all led up to Flair and AJ Styles beating up Lethal’s brother last week.
Lethal then comes down to the ring with a microphone and begs Flair or Styles to come down to the ring so he can get his revenge for what they did to his brother. Neither of them come out, but Matt Morgan does. Morgan says he was the first person Flair asked to join Fortune but he hasn’t made his mind up about it yet but says they did see eye-to-eye about kicking his ass.
Match 4: Jay Lethal vs. Matt Morgan
Morgan goes on the attack and begins to pick Lethal apart before taking him down with a fallaway slam. Morgan then misses with a kick and crotches himself on the ring rope, which gives Lethal an opening. Lethal takes Morgan down with a shoulder block and a dropkick to the face to get a two count on Morgan. Lethal then goes for a springboard but Morgan catches Lethal and dumps him out to the floor. As the referee is looking out to Lethal, Hernandez runs down and hits Morgan with a low blow. Lethal then connects with a springboard dropkick to pick up the pin fall.
The docu-cam sneaks up on Abyss who is driving nails into a 2×4. Abyss says with each nail they take more and more control of TNA. Abyss then stares down his new tool and says it looks like it is really going to hurt somebody.
Match 5: Taylor Wilde vs. Madison Rayne (Non-title Match)
The match starts and Madison spears Taylor down to the mat and slams her head into the canvas a couple of times before starting to choke her out. Taylor fights her way back into the match but they take each other out with double clotheslines. Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Stevie Richards and Raven are then seen walking in the crowd as the fans start an “ECW!” chant. Back to the match, Taylor misses with a cross body block and Madison hits her finisher to pick up the pin fall.
After the match, Angelina Love slides in with a chair and hits Madison with it. Angelina then tries to plant her onto the chair with a DDT but Madison squirms out and exits the ring. Angelina then taunts Madison as she walks up the ramp. We then see Dixie Carter heading up to the rafters to confront Sting as we head into a commercial break.
After the break we see Taylor Wilde and Sarita fighting in the back and Sarita is beating the hell out of her former partner. Sarita says she is sick of losing and that she knows she doesn’t give a damn about her. Security then comes in to break them up as Sarita gets in one last hard slap.
The announce team then go over what just happened between the former Knockouts Tag Team Champions before running down the current Victory Road card. We then head to the rafters where Sting greets Dixie Carter. Dixie says she doesn’t know what Sting is doing but she put her in a bad position. Dixie then suspends Sting for 30-days without pay but Sting says he doesn’t care about money. Sting says he has been trying to tell her but she isn’t listening. Sting says she is being conned as Eric Bischoff runs in and says the conversation is over. Sting says the suspension can be indefinite before walking away. Bischoff tells Carter that Sting is not going away and needs protection.
Match 6: Abyss vs. Jeff Hardy (Guest Referee Rob Van Dam)
Abyss carries his new nail-board weapon to the ring but Hardy doesn’t seem to mind as he goes right on the attack and knocks it out of his hand. RVD tosses the board out and the bell rings to get this match underway. Hardy knocks Abyss out to the floor and Hardy dives over the ropes and takes Abyss out. Hardy then tries for the Twist of Fate but Abyss shoves Hardy into the ring post.
Abyss sends Hardy into the ring and continues on the attack and picks up a two count after a side slam. Abyss heads out and grabs a chair but RVD takes the chair away from the Monster. This gives Hardy an opening and he takes Abyss down with a Whisper in the Wind but he isn’t able to keep Abyss down for the three count. Abyss then comes back with a big boot and a splash, but Hardy is able to kick out.
Abyss then tries for the Shock Treatment but Hardy counters with a Twist of Fate. Hardy then heads for the top rope but Abyss knocks him down. Abyss then tries for a chokeslam but Hardy fights Abyss off and sends him down to the canvas. Hardy then hits the Swanton Bomb on Abyss to pick up the pin fall. Abyss then recovers and takes out both Hardy and RVD.
Abyss then heads out and grabs his nail-board but Mr. Anderson’s music hits and he comes running to the ring with a steel chair. Anderson knocks the board out of Abyss’ hands and swings the chair at Abyss but he ducks out of the way and he connects with a shot to Hardy instead. Anderson keeps looking down at Hardy as Abyss gets up and takes Anderson out with a Shock Treatment. Abyss is then standing tall in the ring as Impact comes to a close.
Quick Results
- The Motorcity Machine Guns defeated Ink Inc. by pin fall.
- Samoa Joe defeated AJ Styles by submission.
- Brian Kendrick defeated Desmond Wolfe by submission.
- Jay Lethal defeated Matt Morgan by pin fall.
- Madison Rayne defeated Taylor Wilde by pin fall.
- Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss by pin fall.
Starman’s Thoughts
Abyss got a much needed updated look and was the main focus of tonight’s show. Jeff Hardy took on Abyss in the main event where the TNA Champion, Rob Van Dam, was booked as the special guest referee. Unfortunately for RVD, this was all of the camera time he got this week.
I’m glad to see TNA taking the time to build a credible heel contender, but RVD should not be pushed to the background each and every week. It is a shame that he has barely been on television the past three weeks and a lack of the champion is making me want to see this four way match at Victory Road less and less every week.
The Pope returned to TNA after being put on the shelf with a shoulder injury and I can tell you that he was sorely missed. He didn’t seem to miss a beat while gone, in fact, it almost seemed like he improved with the time off. Dinero cut a fine promo and it was good to see that he hasn’t forgotten about Mr. Anderson even though it appears he has made a face turn… or has he? At any rate, it’s too bad that Dinero will most likely lose his first match back in TNA to Kurt Angle.
AJ Styles and Samoa Joe had a decent television match this week and I was surprised to see Joe win cleanly over a higher ranked opponent. It almost begs to wonder if Samoa Joe will eventually turn heel, if he isn’t already as it’s too hard to tell at times, and be a member of Ric Flair’s Fortune faction.
The group will need a credible main event star to help get it over and if Styles isn’t going to be in the group, someone needs to step in his place. No offense to Desmond Wolfe, Kazarian or Beer Money, but I don’t see them belonging in the main event title scene at this point. Flair got a ringside view of Joe today picking apart his former protégé in the ring and I could see it moving beyond that.
While I’m on the topic of Wolfe, he really needs something better to work with. He had one of the best debuts in TNA in quite some time but it has been derailed to the point that he might as well just be a jobber at this point. It’s amazing to see how much TNA has dropped the ball when it comes to Wolfe.
Finally, this has nothing to do with TNA whatsoever (although he did take part in a TNA event in the past), I wish Ricky Steamboat a speedy and safe recovery from the brain aneurysm.
As usual a good read. Thanks for your recaps.