A video package that focuses on Abyss and the locker room clearing brawl with the ECW invasion from last week’s Impact is aired. Dixie Carter is then seen walking in the back as we are promised to hear from her as to why she invited the former ECW stars to TNA.
The Impact intro the hits as we are welcomed to this week’s show that will feature a match between Kurt Angle and Hernandez. Also, Samoa Joe will take on Jeff Hardy for the first time ever and the Global Championship will be on the line, which is up right now.
Match 1: AJ Styles vs. Rob Terry (TNA Global Championship)
Kazarian comes down to the ring with AJ Styles for this match, while Rob Terry comes down by himself. Styles tries to dance around the ring but Terry just powers him around and sends him crashing down to the mat with an impressive press slam. Terry continues to work over Styles and tries for a pin attempt but Kazarian distracts the referee. Terry knocks down Kazarian and Styles rolls Terry up from behind for a close near fall. Terry then grabs Styles for a suplex but Kazarian trips Terry and holds his leg as Styles covers for the pin fall. AJ Styles celebrates with Kazarian and the Global Championship in the entrance ramp as Terry is livid in the ring.
The announce team breaks down what happened last week with the ECW stars and Taz says he is shocked by it and cannot wait until he hears what Dixie Carter has to say about it. They also talk about Mick Foley’s appearance last week and what he has to do with everything.
Sarita and Madison Rayne and talking to each other in the locker room as Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich walk in behind her. Velvet gets into Madison’s face but she says she has better things to do as she will be getting her TNA Knockouts Championship back. Lacey tries to play peacekeeper but it does no good.
The docu-cam catches up with Dixie Carter talking to the agents and yelling at them for what happened last week. Pat Kenney sees the camera and gets up and closes the door.
Match 2: Taylor Wilde & Angelina Love vs. Sarita & Madison Rayne
Prior to the match, Earl Hebner grabs a microphone and tells Angelina Love that they have no proof as to who interfered during the match at Victory Road and that she must surrender the belt. Angelina hands the belt over before clobbering Madison Rayne to get this match started. The two sides then go back and forth for a moment before it breaks down once again with all four in the ring. Angelina then hits the Lights Out before picking up the pin fall.
The motorcycle woman appears once again as the Beautiful People walk down the ramp. The masked woman then enters the ring and lays some boots into Angelina as the Beautiful People wonder who she is. Madison then hops on the bike and yells at Lacey to get on the bike with her. Lacey is torn between the two but decides to go with Madison.
Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Stevie Richards and Mick Foley are seen walking in the back as we head into our next match up.
Match 3: Kurt Angle vs. Hernandez
Hernandez gets a good start against Kurt Angle and takes him down with a flying shoulder block before hitting a back breaker to pick up a two count. Angle fights his way back into the match and picks up a near fall after hitting a belly-to-belly suplex off the middle turnbuckle. Angle follows with a series of German suplexes before going for the Angle Slam but Hernandez counters and slams Angle hard down to the mat for a near fall.
Hernandez then tries for a Border Toss but Angle counters with an Angle Slam but it isn’t enough to keep Hernandez down. Angle then heads to the top for a moonsault but misses and Hernandez comes back with a shoulder block that sends Angle flying down to the canvas. Hernandez then tries for a long vertical suplex but Angle counters into an ankle lock. Angle cinches it in and finally makes Hernandez tap out to pick up the victory.
Kevin Nash’s music then hits as he comes down to the ring and shakes hands with Kurt Angle on the way. Nash grabs a microphone and calls out Jeff Jarrett as we head into a commercial break. We return to see Jarrett come out and Nash tells him that after having a week to think about it, he says Jarrett is amazing at what he does and almost had him thinking that Sting was the problem. Nash said he realized it wasn’t Sting, but Jarrett that is the problem.
Jarrett says he has no idea what he is talking about and hopes the fans aren’t buying into it. Jarrett says Nash used his deceitful ways to get his buddies into TNA and hurt the company. Nash steps in and says that the young stars are the victims and that he knows his place before calling Jarrett a selfish prick and walking away.
The docu-cam catches Dixie Carter pacing around in the backstage area as Kurt Angle walks up and asks what last week was all about. Dixie says that he has to have faith in her and that it will only help TNA. Angle warns her to watch out with the people she is dealing with.
Match 4: Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy heads out to the floor to shake hands with the fans after the bell rings and we hear the voice of Eric Bischoff who is on the phone. Bischoff explains why both he and Hulk Hogan aren’t in the Impact Zone and how they are team players and they are there to support Dixie Carter and her decisions. Back to the match, Hardy is working over Joe in the ring and has him locked in a headlock. Joe, though, counters with a jawbreaker and takes control of the match.
Joe hits Hardy with a series of blows and chops before sending him crashing to the mat with a kick to the head. Joe then picks up a near fall after a snap slam and slowly goes back on the attack. Hardy begins to mount a comeback and picks up a couple of near falls over Joe. Joe again comes back with an atomic drop and a senton splash to pick up yet another two count. Joe hits a powerbomb and goes into an STF submission but Hardy will not submit. Joe slides into a crossface but Hardy is able to back into the ropes to make Joe break the hold. Joe the tries for a rear naked choke but Hardy sends Joe into the turnbuckle before hitting a Whisper in the Wind.
Jeremy Borash then announces that only 30 seconds remain in the match as the two start trading blows back and forth. Borash counts down and neither of them are able to pick up the pin fall. Borash announces that it is a time limit draw as Joe is livid about the decision. Hardy then goes after Joe once again but referees come out to separate the two.
The docu-cam shows a conversation between Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter and she tells him that she saw the look of disappointment last week in the eyes of the talent. She wants his help to tell everyone that what is happening is a good thing and Jarrett says he will do his best.
Match 5: Matt Morgan vs. Mr. Anderson
Anderson goes for a couple of quick roll ups but Morgan easily kicks out as this match starts. Morgan quickly comes back and stomps a mudhole in Anderson before picking up a two count. Morgan lands a fallaway slam and picks up another near fall but Anderson kicks out. Morgan then methodically picks apart Anderson with a series of clotheslines until Anderson counters with a Mic Check to pick up the surprising pin fall.
After the match, Morgan clocks Anderson across the forehead with his own microphone that busts him open. Morgan then drops the microphone across his chest as Morgan slowly walks around the ring.
Match 6: Beer Money vs. the Motorcity Machine Guns (Best of Five – Street Fight)
The Machine Guns run right out and go after Beer Money as this street fight gets underway. They focus on Roode on the entrance ramp and Sabin hits his patented hesitation dropkick on hitting Roode after running down the ramp. James Storm begins to toss weapons into the ring as Sabin tries to dive out onto Roode but he holds up a chair and turns the tide into his team’s favor.
Beer Money isolates Alex Shelley in the ring but Roode runs into a steel chair that was set up in the corner. Sabin then connects with a missile dropkick but Roode kicks out of the pin attempt. Storm then spits some beer into Sabin’s eyes but he doesn’t stay down for a three count. Shelley then comes in and starts taking people out with a kendo stick as Sabin takes Roode down with a trash can shot.
There are two referees for this match and the Machine Guns hit a powerbomb/Sliced Bread #2 on Roode but there is no ref to make the count. Storm then comes in and hits Shelley with a beer bottle and takes Sabin out with a superkick. Storm then revives the referee and makes the three count as Beer Money steals another victory over the Motorcity Machine Guns.
The docu-cam catches up with Brother Ray and Brother Devon who are arguing in the locker room. Devon wants to know if he has the ECW stars back. Ray says they have done it all and don’t need them as he walks away.
Christy Hemme is backstage with Rob Van Dam who wants to know what it felt like to be with his old friends last week. RVD says he is proud of his past career and had a blast with his friends. RVD goes on to say that he has no inside information as to what Dixie Carter’s big announcement will be and plans to watch it on a monitor so he doesn’t miss anything.
The announce team begin to ponder what Dixie Carter’s big announcement is and how they are interested in what she has to say. Mike Tenay says that she owes the fans an explanation over what happened last week and doesn’t want to leave the situation open ended. We are then treated to a video package of what has been going down over the past few weeks and we Dixie walking in the back as we head into a commercial break.
Dixie Carter comes out to the ring with her own entrance music and she is carrying a microphone in her hand. Dixie says that TNA will always be about their fans and she has fun listening to them and has learned a lot from them. She says that one thing she hears a lot of is that the fans love extreme hardcore wrestling and welcomes her ECW buddies to the ring.
Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Stevie Richards, Raven and Mick Foley all come out to the ring. Dixie says the group in the ring represents what wrestling was all about in the 90s and doing it for the love of the business and the fans. Foley says he should be thanking Dixie since the last time he was in the Impact Zone he was being fired. Foley says she has given them all another chance and hands the microphone over to the ambassador, Tommy Dreamer.
Dreamer says he has watched TNA from the beginning and said that he saw many similarities in TNA and the original ECW. He says he saw young stars making their names and legends reinventing themselves. Dreamer goes on to say that he saw firsthand at Slammiversary the passion and love that goes into TNA and thanks Dixie for bringing that passion back to him.
Dreamer says he found that passion once in 2005 at One Night Stand and he had his closure… but then they brought it back. Dreamer goes on to say that he got to see his friends get fired to the point that he had to quit because he couldn’t stomach watching something that he loved so much. Dreamer then says that he started talking about the similarities in TNA with some of his old friends and they put this plan together.
Dreamer says it is not about an ECW invasion or a take over but it is about people who lost their jobs, the fans who chant it, and to make sure that their legacy is not destroyed. Dreamer pleads for one night to have their legacy live forever and asks the fans if they want one more night. Dixie finally steps in and says she just has one stipulation and they have complete control over it so they can do it the right way. Dreamer then tells the Impact Zone that they are going extreme as Impact comes to a close.
Quick Results
- AJ Styles defeated Rob Terry by pin fall to win the TNA Global Championship.
- Angelina Love & Taylor Wilde defeated Madison Rayne & Sarita by pin fall.
- Kurt Angle defeated Hernandez by pin fall.
- Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy fought to a time limit draw.
- Mr. Anderson defeated Matt Morgan by pin fall.
- Beer Money defeated the Motorcity Machine Guns by pin fall in a street fight.
Starman’s Thoughts
I am going to keep my thoughts about tonight’s show brief as I am fairly tired and need some sleep. I have mixed feelings about the whole ECW angle at the moment and will take the time to sit back and see where they are taking this.
Just as Tommy Dreamer said during his promo, I also felt several years ago that TNA shared some similarities to the original ECW, but that doesn’t mean I want to see it again in 2010. I have no doubt that Dreamer and company can put together a great nostalgia show, but it would have been so much better had WWE not done it already five years ago and tarnished the ECW name since then.
I also get the feeling that most of the current angles and storylines will get pushed out of the way to set this up, and that is not a good thing considering the little amount of television time they already have on a weekly basis. Like I said, though, I will let this angle grow some legs before I pass judgment on it. At the very least, it should give TNA a slight buyrate increase.
Maybe it is because of the ECW-themed PPV coming up, but it seemed that TNA has been giving away some quality matches on free television. There were two this week with Kurt Angle going up against Hernandez and Jeff Hardy facing Samoa Joe.
I stated before that I hate how TNA rushed into the Angle/Wolfe match last month and wished that all of his contender matches would be exclusive to pay-per-view. I can understand that after a series of matches between Angle and Wolfe that they would decided to put that one on free television, but Angle and Hernandez could have been a special match given more time to let it build and more time to let them tell a story. This was a wasted opportunity in my mind.
The Jeff Hardy/Samoa Joe match on the other hand was decent and didn’t give too much away. I figured the match would end in a draw as Jeremy Borash pointed out prior to the match that there was a 10 minute time limit. They also stalled a lot and didn’t give away too much and I could see this turning into a contenders challenge down the road. This is a match that I would love to see given lots of time to develop on a PPV, it’s just too bad that TNA jumped the gun and tossed out their first meeting ever with very little build up.
After two weeks it is finally decided that Angelina Love is being stripped of the Knockouts Championship. The title picture has been a mess in this division as of late but it seems that a solid angle is looming on the horizon that involves a good portion of the Knockouts. Honestly, though, TNA couldn’t send out some other authority figure aside from Earl Hebner to strip Angelina of her title?
Finally, it is great to see Rob Terry lose the Global Championship. Sure the title still doesn’t mean anything but it was doing absolutely nothing for him. Giving AJ Styles another run with it couldn’t make it any worse.
