TNA iMPACT!
Orlando, Florida (Impact Zone)
June 17, 2010
Commentators: Mike Tenay & Taz
Report by: Josh Boutwell of Wrestleview.com
Fresh off the heels of this past Sunday’s 8th year anniversary PPV, “Slammiversary VIII” Impact starts off tonight with highlights from the PPV which included all 3 defending champions of the night (RVD, Doug Williams, and Madison Rayne) retain their belts as well as the surprise debut of former ECW Champion, Tommy Dreamer, the return of Jeff Jarrett, as well as impressive matches from Kaz-Angle, Lethal-AJ, and Beer Money-Hardy/Anderson.
After the “Slammiversary” highlights we cut to a shot of Eric Bischoff in his office. He says that today he met with TNA Executives to discuss a number of issues and they agreed that being apart of TNA was an honor and a privilege so being a World Champion brings a certain level of responsibility in and out of the ring. Because of personal issues involving Scott Hall, TNA is stripping The Band of the TNA World Tag Team Championships (if you aren’t up to date on wrestling news, Hall was arrested last month and failed to even mention this to TNA, more on that in my ‘Final Thoughts’). The camera zoom outs showing that the TNA Tag Titles are sitting on the desk in front of Bischoff. Bischoff wishes Hall well in his future and hopes that he will some day be back in TNA, but tonight will be the beginning of a tournament. The winning team of this tournament will face the TNA Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders, The Motor City Machine Guns, at Victory Road for the belts!
TNA Tag Team Championship Series Semifinals
“Big Sexy” Kevin Nash & “Showtime” Eric Young vs. Ink, Inc.
Tenay and Taz point out how pissed Nash looks as he and Young make their way out to the ring after only finding out ‘today’ that they have been stripped of the belts. Nash and Young attack Ink Inc. as they attempt to climb into the ring. Nash knocks Moore out of the ring and then Young tosses Neal into the corner and starts stomping on him. Young chokes Neal with his boot in the corner and then picks him up and hits a Scoop Slam. Young climbs to the middle rope and hits a Diving Knee Drop for a nearfall. Young then picks Neal up and throws him into Nash’s waiting boot. Tenay says that the TNA Championship Committee couldn’t decide between 3 men who would be the new #1 contender so tonight Abyss, Jeff Hardy, & Mr. Anderson will meet one-on-one to decide who gets the shot at RVD at Victory Road. Nash tags in and throws repeated knees at Neal in the corner and then throws a nasty elbow at Neal. Nash follows up with another stiff elbow followed by another. Nash now chokes Neal in the corner with his foot and then Young clotheslines Neal from the outside as Nash distracted the referee. Young tags back in and whips Neal into the ropes and nails him with a clothesline. 1…2…NO Neal kicks out! Young hits Neal with a series of right hands but finally Neal blocks one and punches Young in the gut. Neal follows up with a headbutt and then he comes off the ropes only to eat a Back Elbow from Young for another nearfall. Young tosses Neal into the corner and throws a big right hand at Neal. Young holds up the Wolfpac symbol and then chokes Neal again. Young continues to beat on Neal in the corner a she puts the boots to the spikey-haired one. Young hits another Scoop Slam and then climbs to the top and connects with the Flying Elbow Drop! 1…2…NO Neal kicks out gain! Young throws Neal’s head into the top turnbuckle and then whips him into the opposite corner. Young charges in on him but Neal nails him with a back elbow and then reaches for a tag but Young cuts him off. Neal then levels Young with a Forearm Smash. Neal tags in Moore and Moore ducks a clothesline from Young and hits one of his own. Moore follows up with a dropkick and then a spinning heel kick. Moore hits a Forearm Smash followed by an Atomic Drop and then he comes off the ropes with another Spinning Heel Kick! 1…2…NO Young kicks out! More whips Young into the corner and Young tumbles up and over the top rope to the apron. Young lands on his feet and then goes to climb to the top but Moore cuts him off. Moore then dropkicks Nash off the apron and climbs up top with Young. Moore hits a Superrana! 1…2…NO Nash breaks it up with a sickening Forearm to the face of More! Nash grabs Moore and sets up for the Jackknife but Neal hits with a Spear out of nowhere! Neal lifts Young up on his shoulders as Moore climbs up to the top. Moore leaps off the top with the Mooregasm on Young as Neal hits a Samoan Drop on Young at the same time! 1…2…3 and Ink, Inc. moves onto the finals!
Winners: Ink, Inc. via pinfall (Samoan Drop/Mooregasm combo)
At the announce table Tenay and Taz discuss what happened at Slammiversary along with showing several clips from the PPV. Tenay and Taz discuss the 3-Way set for the Main Event to determine the new #1 Contender tonight. They’re cut off by Ric Flair’s music.
Ric Flair comes through the tunnel leading his group of thugs, Beer Money, AJ Styles, Desmond Wolfe, and Kazarian. Flair stops on the ramp and says he is going to make an announcement that will rewrite the history books in Professional Wrestling. Flair tells us to stay tuned because when he talks the world listens and then starts to walk to the ring as we go to a break. Perfect way to go to a break.
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Back from commercials the documentary style camera catches Abyss in the back talking with Chelsea. Chelsea tells Abyss she doesn’t want to be with Desmond anymore. Abyss says it was 30 days with him and now she needs to go back to Desmond. Abyss says tonight is not the night for him to have to listen to his crap. She tries to stop him from walking away but he turns around and turns psycho and says she should trust him, she won’t want to be with him after tonight. Did I just see shades of the Monster returning there?
Back to the ring Flair and his group are waiting. Flair says that tonight he is reforming the 4-Horsemen! Oh damn. He says this new group will be called Fourtune. Flair says Fourtune will change the destiny of this business going forward and will change the direction of TNA forever. He says the reason the 4-Horsemen was the most dominant wrestling group of all time, it’s because they lived, breathed, and died trying to be the best. He says they tried to be the best whether they were wrestling, drinking at a bar, or making love to a woman! Flair looks at AJ and asks him if he thinks for one minute that Arn Anderson would be looking at him the way AJ is looking at him. Flair says Arn would go to the skinny kid in the front row, drag him into the ring, rub his face into the mat, and stomp his head in! Flair says that’s what AJ needs to do. He turns to Kaz and says Barry Windham would pick him up and throw him out into the crowd. Flair looks at Beer Money and says that Tully Blanchard and Ole Anderson would eat them both for lunch, that was the state of mind they had. Flair says he must have forgot about Desmond Wolfe and that’s because he’s the Lex Luger of this group (oh damn). Flair says Desmond hasn’t done anything yet. Flair says it’s not the Four Horsemen, it’s the same four fingers, but now it’s Fourtune. Flair says it’s time for a change in TNA and Fourtune will be the one to do it. Flair asks AJ if he’s kidding him losing to Jay Lethal. Flair tells the fans to shutup when they start chanting Lethal’s name. Flair says AJ committed suicide by losing to Lethal, who Flair says is a piss ant from New Jersey. Jay Lethal’s music cuts Flair off before he can say anything else.
Lethal is dressed in the Flair suit and is doing the Flair impersonation tonight. This should be interesting. Lethal “Woo’s” at Flair and asks if he really just heard ‘that punk’ say something about the 4-Horsemen. Flair calls the Horsemen the ‘greatest group of men to grace God’s green Earth’ and as far as he’s concerned the guys in the ring look like the Horsemen came, took a dump in the ring, and left what’s standing before us. Oh man that was harsh. AJ says he’ll break Lethal’s neck. Lethal talks about going up the roads and making the girls cry with the Horesemen and Fourtune is no Horsemen. He says that’s disrespectful to him and the business. Flair says, “mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all? WHY IT’S YOU NATURE BOY not that piss ant Jay Lethal!” Flair takes his jacket off and tosses it into the crowd and then takes his shoes off and throws them at Lethal! Flair dares Lethal to get in the ring. Lethal takes his jacket off now and throws it down and then elbow drops it Flair-style! Flair says he can’t be him and he can’t do him. He says he’s cutting Lethal off now and Woo’s at him. Flair and Lethal start Woo’ing at each other! Flair says his ‘kiss stealing’ phrase and then Lethal tells Flair not to be upset because they tore down the old Space Mountain. Flair says he might have the oldest ride, but he’s always got the longest line. Lethal can’t help but to smile at that one as Flair decides to elbow drop the air. Lethal takes his shoes off now and takes his tie off and says he’ll come to the ring right now. Flair and Lethal are Woo’ing at each other again and this time longer! This is the greatest freaking thing I’ve ever seen! Flair thrusts his pelvis and tells the girls to watch it. Finally Wolfe cuts Lethal off and tells “Tinkerbelle” to shut his mouth. Wolfe says he’s not going to stand by and watch a cheap imitation of the greatest wrestler that’s ever lived. He says he’s here to make a name for himself and he suggests Lethal do the same thing. He says Lethal needs to take his “ghetto booty off Space Mountain” for five seconds and get it in this ring so Wolfe can kick it! Lethal says that’s big talk from a man that can’t even control Chelsea. Lethal says Chelsea told him that she tried ‘the old guy’ and young guys are much faster, stronger, and their 60-minute men. Flair says Lethal doesn’t know what 60 minutes is in the ring OR the bedroom. Lethal accepts the match against Wolfe and says tonight Wolfe will find out that “jumping on is a lot easier than jumping off.” Flair says that’s his line but Lethal says it’s his. Flair screams at Lethal to stop stealing his stuff. Lethal finally walks back down the ramp and Flair tells Wolfe to take care of Lethal tonight and he’ll make him the ‘first member of Forutune’ but if he loses he’ll be history forever. Flair looks at a girl in the crowd and tells her to get ready to ride the mountain tonight.
We cut to a pair of long legs in the back and then we see that it’s Lacey Von Erich getting a massage. She’s supposed to be facing Angelina Love tonight.
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In the back Mr. Anderson arrives to the arena and the behind the camera asks if we’ll get to see the ‘real Mr. Anderson’ tonight. Mr. Anderson says that depends on who you think the real Mr. Anderson is.
“Super Mex” Hernandez vs. “Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe
Talk about a hard hitting match, right here. Hernandez is off the heels of his DQ loss to Morgan at Slammiversary (where he demolished Morgan but got DQ’ed in the process). Hernandez is fresh off his stint in AAA (which he actually is still wrestling in actually, I believe he was in the Main Event of last night’s TV Taping in Mexico). Hernandez and Joe lockup in the center of the ring and Hernandez forces Joe back into the corner. Hernandez releases Joe and breaks cleanly. Tenay says that at Victory Road Morgan and Hernandez will met once again but this time it will be inside a Steel Cage! Hernandez & Joe lockup again and this time Joe forces Hernandez into the corner, but instead of a clean break he punches Morgan in the face! Joe follows up with a series of jabs in the corner and then puts the boots to Hernandez! Joe whips Hernandez into the opposite corner and then charges in with a Running Back Elbow followed by a Leaping Enziguri! Joe picks Hernandez up but Hernandez answers back with body shots and elbows. I don’t know if TNA has better crowd microphones (or if they’re just turned up higher somehow) but the crowd is loud as hell right now. Hernandez comes off the ropes but eats a Back Elbow from Joe. Joe throws Hernandez into the corner as a “Joe’s gonna kill you” chant starts up. Joe attempts to whip Hernandez into the opposite corner but he reverses it. Hernandez charges in at Joe but Joe backdrops Hernandez up and over the top rope. Hernandez lands on his feet on the apron but Joe grabs him by the head and slams his head into the top turnbuckle. Joe picks up his momentum coming off the ropes but eats a Slingshot Shoulder Block from Hernandez! Hernandez follows up with a clothesline and then he whips Joe into the corner followed by a Corner Splash! Hernandez comes off the ropes and destroys Joe with a nasty clothesline! Hernandez picks Joe up off the mat but Joe slaps his hands away and nails Hernandez with repeated jabs and then a nasty chop. Joe comes off the ropes but Hernandez kills him with another Shoulderblock that sends Joe crashing to the floor! The referee goes out to check on Joe as Matt Morgan runs into the ring and low blows Hernandez! Morgan hides out the outside of the ring as Joe slides in (having not seen what just happened). Hernandez gets to his feet and Joe crushes him with a T-Bone Suplex! 1…2…3!
Winner: Joe via pinfall (T-Bone Suplex)
Joe starts to walk down the ramp as the replay of what just went down is shown on the screen. Joe looks back at Morgan with that psycho look on his face. Morgan says “I helped you” and then starts to call Joe out as Joe walks slowly to the ring. Morgan turns around and sees Hernandez is back up now and decides to bail out before either Joe or Hernandez can get their hands on him. Joe and Hernandez stare each other down in the ring and Joe walks out followed by Hernandez.
In the back AJ walks up to Desmond in the back. Desmond says he has to do what AJ couldn’t do and beat Lethal. AJ says he heard that Chelsea doesn’t want to be with Desmond anymore. He says he doesn’t care but Wolfe needs to get his girl in line. AJ says he needs to take care of Lethal because remember, Flair says he’s out if he doesn’t.
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The documentary-style camera catches up to Hardy and speaks briefly about how it’s been awhile since he’s been in the ring with Abyss. He says he doesn’t know if he can trust Anderson tonight and then Anderson knocks on his door and walks in. Anderson asks if he’s ready for the big match tonight and says may the best man win. He walks away and Jeff says “asshole…” and Anderson responds, while still walking down the hall, “yes I am!”
In the ring the TNA X-Division Champion, Douglas Williams, says at Slammiversary they were celebrating TNA’s 8 years and celebrating everything that it has created including the X-Division. Williams says it was also a time of a mourning, a mourning of the passing of the X-Division as it once was. Williams says with one incredible high flying move (the Diving Tornado DDT he beat Kendrick with) he made every other high flying move redundant. Williams says the X-Division, as it was, is dead and the fans boo him. Williams says from now on the X-Division will be known for the ground and pound, mat-based style that he is famous for. Williams says he knows the fans are all dying for a demonstration for that style so he’ll give one against his opponent tonight.
Non-Title Match
Douglas Williams vs. Max Buck
Williams and Max lockup and Williams quickly puts Max into a Full Nelson and then transitions into a Snapmare. Max gets to his feet and then they lockup again. Williams gets Max in a wristlock and Max rolls through and reverses into a wristlock of his own. Williams attempts to spin out of the move but Max holds on so Williams nails Max with an armdrag. Max then hits a Moonsault into a head scissors takeover out of nowhere on Williams! Williams rolls out to the floor as Max gets ready for a Slingshot move. Williams rolls back into the ring and Max is able to catch himself on the apron. Max then hits Williams with a shoulderblock through the ropes and then slingshots back into the ring. Max comes off the ropes and goes for a Cross Body, but Williams catches him in midair and hits a Samoan Drop! Williams mocks Max and then hits a Knee Drop. Williams picks Max up and nails him with a European Uppercut followed by a Snapmare Takeover. Williams locks Max in a Headlock but Max gets to his feet and breaks the hold with back elbows. Williams punches Max and then locks him in a Abdominal Stretch. Williams releases the hold as Max starts to elbow him in the knee. Williams then hits Max in the back and tosses him into the corner. Williams whips him into the opposite corner and hits a Running Knee Strike followed by a Snap Suplex followed by a Gutwrench Suplex! Williams follows up with a T-Bone Suplex now! 1…2…NO Max kicks out! Williams climbs to the top and goes for the Diving Tornado DDT but Max avoids it and then hits a dropkick followed by a Springboard into a Stunner off the top rope! 1…2…NO Williams kicks out! Max charges at Williams in the corner but Williams catches him with a back elbow followed by a headbutt to the chest and then a European Uppercut. Williams climbs to the middle rope and connects with the Diving Tornado DDT for the pin.
Winner: Williams via pinfall (Diving Tornado DDT)
After the match Williams locks Max in a Cravat to try and choke Max out until Kendrick comes out and makes the save and locks Williams in a Sleeper! He chokes Williams out as Kendrick screams at him the whole time.
A quick video package recapping Sting and Jarrett’s history is shown.
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Back from commercials clips of Dixie Carter announcing the new line of TNA Action Figures which will include Sting, AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, and Samoa Joe. Even Suicide was shown despite that character being gone for awhile.
In the ring Angelina Love is standing with a microphone. She says she’s been sitting on the sidelines for the last 6 weeks due to an injury and she came to realize that any athlete’s career can be cut short with any match or any move. She says everytime they step into the ring it could be their last time so she’s not wasting anymore time. She says tonight it’s her and Lace Von Erich and then next week she’s coming after Velvet and at Victory Road she’s reclaiming her Knockouts Title against Madison Rayne! Angelina says Lacey needs to forget her “happy ending” and roll her little butt of the massage table and get her butt on to the ring now.
Angelina Love vs. Lacey Von Erich
As Lacey flips herself into the ring (no really, she flipped over the top rope) Angelina lays her out with a clothesline. Angelina tosses Lacey into the top turnbuckle and then throws her into the opposite turnbuckle. Angelina puts the boots to Lacey and then she drags Lacey to the middle of the ring and throws a series of Knee Strikes before tripping Lacey down to the mat. Angelina puts the boots to Lacey again and then chokes her in the corner! Angelina whips Lacey into the opposite corner and charges but Lacey Moonsaults off the middle rope over the charging Angelina and lands on her feet. Lacey then hits a sloppy Droptoe Hold and gets a nearfall. Lacey starts screaming at Angelina and starts to call her a ‘little b*tch’ but before she could get it out Angelina punches her in the mouth. Angelina tries to whip Lacey into the ropes but Lacey counters her and slams Angelina to the mat by her hair. Lacey beats on Angelina in the corner with repeated right hands but Angelina grabs her and Powerbombs her out of the corner! Angelina goes out to the floor and tosses So Cal Val to the side and grabs her chair! Angelina starts smiling as she lays the chair down in the ring. Angelina picks Lacey up and DDT’s the hell out of Lacey on the chair! The referee DQ’s Angelina but she doesn’t seem to care as she smiles at what she has just done.
Winner: Lacey via DQ
In the back Lethal is talking with Hogan and Hogan tells him that all those impersonations that he does is all ‘hee-hee-haw-haw’ and everything but that’s not why he was attracted to Lethal. He says they saw raw talent in Lethal and now he’s been raised to a new level. He calls Lethal a ‘main eventer’ and puts over his talent. Lethal talks about how all this is a dream for him and Hogan says Lethal now has a target on his back.
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In the back Christy is with Jeff Hardy. Jeff says he would love to mix it up with RVD at Victory Road but it all boils down to tonight because to get to RVD he has to get through Anderson and Abyss. Christy asks if Jeff can trust Anderson when Mr. Anderson walks up and interrupts her. Anderson says she’s trying to stir the pot and then asks Jeff how many times he and his ‘brother’ (Matt of course) had an argument that led to a fist fight. Jeff says ‘all the time’ and Andersons after they beat other’s a** they picked each other up and hugged it out, right. Jeff says ‘yes’ and the only thing different here is that there is a shot at the TNA Title on the line here and that’s why they do what they do. Anderson says at the end of the night they’ll be able to look at each other in the eye and say they did it as men. Anderson tells Jeff to not believe what everyone is saying and then they give other a fist bump and we go back to the ring.
TNA Tag Team Championship Series Semifinals
Team 3D vs. Beer Money Inc.
Lots of history with these two teams. Bubba and Devon are arguing all the way down to the ring and Bubba tells Devon that the thing with Jesse is over and now they have to focus on the Tag Titles but Devon isn’t buying it. Roode and Devon will start the match off. They lockup and Devon gets Roode in a side headlock but Roode shoves him into the ropes only to eat a shoulderblock. Devon runs the ropes and Roode goes for a Hiptoss but Devon reverses into one of his own. Devon goes for a Leg Drop but Roode moves and the hits a Rolling Neck-snap on a seated Devon. Roode whips Devon into the corner and charges but Devon moves out of the way and hits a clothesline for a nearfall. Bubba tags in and 3D whip Roode into the ropes. Bubba lifts Roode up and hits a Sidewalk Slam as Devon connects with a Leg Drop on Roode at the same time! 1…2…NO Roode kicks out! Bubba hits a Scoop Slam and then goes for an Elbow Drop, but Roode moves out of the way and tags in Storm. Beer Money whips Bubba into the ropes and hit him with a Double Backdrop! Storm picks Bubba up and nails him with an Uppercut and then rakes the eyes of Bubba. Ink, Inc. are now at the announce table as Bubba shoves Storm into the corner and tags Devon in. 3D whips Storm into the ropes and hits a Double Hiptoss. 3D then treats Storm’s legs like a wishbone before hitting a Double Diving Headbutt on Storm! Devon covers Storm and gets a nearfall. Devon whips Storm into the ropes and goes for a clothesline but Storm ducks and hits a big right hand. Roode comes in and hits an Atomic Drop on Devon and then Storm hits him with a Russian Leg Sweep. Roode hits a Knee Drop on Devon and gets another nearfall. Roode taunts Bubba and then Storm comes back in and they hit the Beer Money Double Suplex! Bubba comes in with a clothesline on Storm and then an elbow for Roode. Bubba chops Storm while Roode beats on Devon in the corner. Bubba comes over and cuts Roode off and then lifts Roode up on his shoulders as Devon climbs to the top! Devon hits the Doomsday Device! 1…2…NO Roode kicks out! Bubba calls for the 3D and as they were setting up for it Bubba notices Neal and Moore at the announce table and starts to walk towards them as Devon lifted Roode up for the 3D. Devon can’t believe what just happened as Bubba charges over at Ink, Inc. and security tries to separate them. This distracts the referee which allows Storm to come back in the ring and spit beer in Devon’s eyes! Storm tells the referee to turn around as Roode rolls Devon up! 1…2…3!
Winner: Beer Money via pinfall (rollup)
In the back Wolfe says he is about to snap and he’ll talk to her later about Slammiversary and what she said to Abyss earlier, but tonight she has a chance to redeem herself.
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Desmond Wolfe w/Chelsea vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal is fresh off his big win over AJ Styles this past Sunday while Wolfe had his girl turn her back on him against Abyss. As Lethal stands on the top rope playing to the fans before the match Wolfe shoves him off and down to the floor! Wolfe screams at Chelsea on the outside as we see Tommy Dreamer walking in the fans again. Back in the ring Wolfe hits an Arm Wringer on Lethal and then he screams at Chelsea again. Lethal answers back on Wolfe with a Flair Chop and a right hand but Wolfe comes right back with the Hammerlock DDT. Wolfe goes right back to screaming at Chelsea and she screams back and then walks off! Wolfe follows her onto the ramp and she trips as she turns and sees Wolfe coming. Wolfe continues to scream at Chelsea as Lethal comes out and turns Wolfe around and levels him with rights and chops and then he tosses Wolfe back into the ring as Chelsea walks to the back. In the ring Lethal hits a running clothesline on Wolfe and then a Running Back Elbow. Lethal comes off the ropes and hits a nasty Back Heel Kick. Lethal attempts to whip Wolfe into the ropes but Wolfe reverses it only to have Lethal back handspring off the ropes into a Back Elbow on Wolfe! Wolfe comes back with a drop toe hold on Lethal that sends him crashing into the middle turnbuckle. Wolfe goes for the Lariat but Lethal ducks and then hits the Back Suplex into a Neckbreaker for the pin!
Winner: Lethal via pinfall (Back Suplex into Neckbreaker)
Lethal goes out to the fans after the match and celebrates with them as Tommy Dreamer looks on and claps for Lethal. Lethal then eats a Forearm Smash from behind from Wolfe as he came back to ringside! Wolfe grabs Lethal and rolls him back into the ring and hits a hard Arm Wringer and then chokes him as Ric Flair walks out. Flair gets into the ring and Wolfe holds Lethal for Ric to chop away at Lethal! Flair punches and chops Lethal and then low blows! Hulk Hogan’s music hits!
Hogan walks out and Flair is going ballistic. Hogan gets in the ring and Wolfe and Flair leave it. Hogan helps Lethal up and then raises his arm in victory. Hogan grabs a microphone and says this is the reason that TNA is on fire right now, because of guys like Jay Lethal. Hogan talks about Lethal coming up watching Flair and Hogan and now being in the ring with guys like that. Hogan says he’s so high on Lethal that he forgot he was a TNA Executive. Hogan says since he’s about to make a big announcement he needs Flair to come back out for it. Flair comes out onto the ramp and Hogan says Flair has been a thorn in Jay Lethal’s side ever since Lethal has risen to this next level. Hogan says that imitation is the highest form of flattery but in this case imitation is going to bite Flair in the a**. Hogan says he’s going to make Lethal’s dream come true because at Victory Road Flair is getting back in the ring and he’s going one-on-one with Jay Lethal! Lethal smiles at this and Flair goes nuts.
In the back Sting is walking down the stairs from his perch in the rafters.
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Back from commercials Tenay announces the new Top 10 Contenders. Angle is up to 10, Wolfe is down to 9, The Pope at 8, Lethal at 7, Joe is 6, Sting down to 5, AJ is 4, and Anderson, Abyss, and Hardy are 1, 2, and 3. #1 will be decided in their three way and then the Championship Committee will decide between Hardy and Anderson for 2 & 3.
In the ring Jeff Jarrett calls out Sting who comes out to the ring dressed in street clothes and no face paint (but he is wearing sunglasses). Jarrett asks Sting to take his glasses off because he doesn’t just want Sting to hear what he says but he also wants to be able to look into Jarrett’s eyes so he can know that Sting feels what he’s saying. Jeff says he won’t ask Sting ‘why’ again because he doesn’t want to hear Sting’s reasons or excuses. He says he asked Sting out to the ring tonight to remind him of one thing and that he called Sting to come to TNA when he started it (actually a few years later, though Sting did wrestle on the 1 Year Anniversary) for his leadership and his real icon status. Jarrett says he made it clear that he didn’t want Sting to work FOR him but to work WITH him. Jarrett says for the last 8 years they have given everything they could for TNA (more like 6 for Sting), and even though they haven’t been on the same side of the fence everytime their paths crossed in their careers they treated each other with respect and dignity. Jarrett says that all ended at Sacrifice and he says Sting tried to end his career. He says it may have not been Sting but the demons inside of Sting that have possessed him. Jarrett says Sting wanted to destroy everything Jeff is about. Jarrett says Sting made one mistake, he left Jeff standing (actually I believe he was laying). Sting laughs at him and Jeff asks if he really thinks this is funny and next week he won’t be laughing when they rematch goes down! Jeff says he knows what this is all about and Sting is dead wrong about ‘both of them.’ Jeff says every minute of every hour those ‘two guys’ have been in TNA they have given their heart and soul. Jeff says that Hulk has even given his body and at this stage in his career that’s too much to ask. Jeff says next week he’s not just going to be fighting for him and his family, he’ll be fighting for Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan. Jeff says he’ll be fighting for the TNA fans as well. He leaves the ring and Sting is no longer smiling.
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TNA World Championship #1 Contenders Triple Threat Match
Mr. Anderson vs. “Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy vs. “The Monster” Abyss
Winner of this match faces RVD next month at Victory Road for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Abyss reaches at Jeff as the bell rings but he backs away and Anderson throws a few leg kicks at Abyss. Jeff and Anderson take turns throwing right hands and kicks at Abyss. They whip Abyss into the corner and then Anderson drops down to all fours and Hardy goes for Poetry In Motion off of Anderson’s back but Abyss catches him in midair! Anderson kicks Abyss and he drops Hardy. Hardy & Anderson then whip Abyss into the ropes and they hit him with Double Back Elbows. Abyss shrugs it off and grabs them both by the throats! Anderson and Hardy kick Abyss in the gut and then they Double Suplex Abyss. Hardy covers Abyss, 1…2… NO Anderson pulls him off and covers Abyss! 1…2…NO Hardy pulls him off now! Anderson and Hardy come face to face but then they both turn around and eat a nasty Spear from out of nowhere from Abyss! Abyss chokes Anderson in the corner as we see another shot of Dreamer in the crowd. Abyss whips Anderson into the opposite corner and then Abyss grabs Hardy and whips him into another corner. Abyss hits a Splash on Anderson and then goes for one on Hardy but Hardy nails him with aback elbow and then the Whisper In The Wind off the top! Abyss rolls out to the floor and Hardy hits a dropkick through the ropes on Abyss. Hardy gets ready for a dive onto Abyss but Anderson hits a Sliding Dropkick onto Abyss on the floor as it looked like he was going to attack Hardy. Anderson holds Abyss as Hardy hits a Slingshot Plancha over the top onto Abyss on the floor! Anderson then mounts Abyss and throws repeated right hands at him. The bell rings as the referee counts all 3 men out!
Winner: NO CONTEST via TRIPLE COUNTOUT
Hardy and Anderson are pissed but Abyss absolutely freaking snaps! Abyss lays out Anderson and then lays out Hardy with right hands! Abyss chases the referee away and then picks Hardy up and tosses him back into the ring. Abyss tosses Anderson back in as well. Abyss picks Hardy up throws him back out to the floor and then picks Anderson up and hits the Shock Treatment! Abyss goes to the outside and pulls out his bag of either thumbtacks or glass from under the ring and then he pulls out a trashcan full of weapons! Abyss nails Hardy with a kendo stick repeatedly! Abyss kicks the trashcan away and then slides back into the ring with the bag. Abyss dumps the bag out and it’s GLASS! Abyss nails Anderson with the Kendo Stick now repeatedly and then he grabs Anderson Black Hole Slams him into the damn glass! that was bare back into shards of glass, my friends! A replay of that is shown over and over. Abyss goes over to Hardy on the ramp but just walks past him. He then stops and looks back at Hardy. Hardy gets o his feet and starts punching away at Abyss but Abyss knees him in the gut repeatedly. Abyss then grabs Hardy and drags him up the ramp and rips Hardy’s shirt off and then he Chokeslams Hardy off the freaking ramp through a piece of staging! Abyss taunts him until Hulk Hogan walks down the tunnel and asks Abyss what the hell he’s doing. Abyss looks Hogan in the face and points at him and says “YOU!” (like Hogan does after he Hulks up)! Is the Monster back?!
Final Thoughts
Before getting into the show from tonight I’m going to speak on the Scott Hall matter. A few weeks ago an Orlando-based website broke news that before the Sacrifice PPV Scott Hall had been arrested due to an incident that happened at a bar (apparently he had gotten drunk and began harassing people that worked their and some women and even punched out a car window). Hall didn’t miss the PPV and the TV tapings that followed (which was three weeks worth I believe) but didn’t bother to mention to TNA what happened. The news broke only 2 weeks before Slammiversary and with two weeks left of shows that featured Hall. I had thought that maybe TNA would just sweep it under the rug but decided this week to fire Hall and strip The Band of the belts. I just want to say kudos to TNA for that and I hope Hall gets his life straight but if he never steps foot back in TNA I won’t be hurt any.
Now to the show, we had a pretty entertaining show tonight with a lot of in-ring stuff along with promos. Firstly, they have already set up some matches and feuds going into Victory Road which is nice.
The opening promo was extremely entertaining, though I would have rather the stuff between Flair and Lethal been done at another time because it kind of took the steam out of the big Fourtune announcement. And to that name, I actually like that name (unlike the Front Line name that TNA came up for last year which I despised). I’m guessing we’re eventually going to have it come down to just Beer Money, AJ, and Wolfe (I don’t think Wolfe is done either despite losing tonight). The banter back and forth between Flair and Lethal was hilarious.
Ink, Inc.-The Band was a pretty solid tag match with Ink, Inc. getting a quality win. Where Young and Nash go from here? Who knows but hopefully disbanded The Band for good.
Joe and Hernandez had something going there with that extremely stiff, but short match they had until Morgan got involved. It was obvious that he should get involved though but a Joe-Hernandez feud down the line could be really good. A Cage Match to blow off Hernandez-Morgan should be good.
Williams and Max had a decent (yet still short) match but they really have got to do more with Generation Me. I like Kendrick’s new character and the feud with Williams has been good so far. We need more X-Division though if they really are going to bring that division back to full force.
Angelina cut a nice promo before her beatdown (because that wasn’t a match that was just an a** whooping) of Lacey. Lacey actually wasn’t horrible while the match was going on too which is an improvement.
Beer Money-3D was a good match though the drama between 3D-Ink, Inc. overshadowed it. I don’t know if we’re heading to 3D vs. Ink, Inc. or Bubba vs. Devon or both.
I’m extremely confused as to what Dreamer is going to be doing. I have never been a fan of the guy but I’m willing to give him a chance.
The Jarrett promo was pretty solid though I really hate his ‘I love you, I’m the greatest’ promos when trying to get the fans behind him.
The Main Event was solid as it was going on but I hate double/triple countout finishes but what it lead to was pure brilliance! Thank god, babyface Abyss is dead (as it appears) and the true MONSTER is back. He went absolutely apesh*t and that’s what I’ve been begging for, for months.
Overall solid show coming out of a PPV to set up some interesting stuff going forward.
Quick Results
1) TTCS Semifinals: Ink, Inc. def. The Band
2) Samoa Joe def. Matt Morgan
3) Douglas Williams def. Max Buck of Generation Me
4) Lacey Von Erich def. Angelina Love via DQ
5) TTCS Semifinals: Beer Money Inc. def. Team 3D
6) Jay Lethal def. Desmond Wolfe
7) TNA World Title #1 Contender Triple Threat: Abyss fought Jeff Hardy & Mr. Anderson to a TRIPLE COUNTOUT
– Promo/Segment of the Night: Fourtune/Jay Lethal promo
– Match of the Night: Williams vs. Buck (**)
– Overall Grade: B –
Scheduled for Next Week:
– TTCS Finals: Beer Money Inc. vs. Ink, Inc.
– Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky
– Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett
– Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe
Victory Road Lineup:
– TNA World Title: RVD (c) vs. TBA
– TNA World Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Beer Money/Ink, Inc. winners
– TNA Knockouts Title: Madison Rayne (c) vs. Madison Rayne
– Ric Flair vs. Jay Lethal
– Steel Cage Match: Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan
TNA Heavyweight Top 10 Contenders Rankings
CHAMPION: Rob Van Dam
1) ? (Abyss, Hardy, or Anderson)
2) ? (Abyss, Hardy, or Anderson)
3) ? (Abyss, Hardy, or Anderson)
4) AJ Styles
5) Sting
6) Samoa Joe
7) Jay Lethal
8) D’Angelo Dinero
9) Desmond Wolfe
10) Kurt Angle