TNA iMPACT!
Orlando, Florida (Impact Zone)
September 23, 2010
Commentators: Mike Tenay & Taz
Report by: Josh Boutwell of Wrestleview.com
Impact kicks off with highlights from last week focusing on the World Title situation and the beef tension between Dixie and Bischoff (which continued on Reaction).
We’re going right to the ring now.
“The Freak” Rob Terry vs. “The Monster” Abyss
Before the match even starts we see wrestlers and security holding Rob Van Dam back from going after most likely Abyss. Abyss has his girl, Janice, with him. Abyss jumps Terry before the match and starts the beatdown early. Abyss nails Terry with repeated right hands in the corner and then he whips Terry into the opposite corner, but Terry explodes out with a Running Clothesline. Terry whips Abyss into the ropes and goes for a Backdrop, but Abyss kicks him and then goes for a clothesline. Terry ducks and then hits the Spinning Heel Kick. Terry actually caught that one pretty flush for once. Terry charges at Abyss but Abyss gets a boot up and hits a clothesline. Abyss throws Terry into the corner and nails him with more strikes. Abyss then hits a Corner Splash and follows up with a Chokeslam attempt but Terry blocks it. Terry then goes for a clothesline but Abyss ducks and hits the ropes. Terry then lifts Abyss up in the air and hits a Front Suplex! Pretty impressive strength there. Terry lifts him up again and hits a Powerslam! 1…2…NO Abyss kicks out! Terry goes for a Chokeslam of his own but Abyss rakes his eyes and then hits a Sidewalk Slam for a nearfall. Abyss then hits the Chokeslam but still only gets a two count. Abyss clotheslines Terry over the top rope to the floor. We cut to the back where RVD and Jeff Hardy are walking through the backstage talking about getting Abyss. Jeff is pretty much sneaking RVD to the ring. Back at ringside Abyss rips off a part of the guardrail away from the rest and shoves the referee out of his way. Abyss then nails Terry with it! The referee calls for the bell.
Winner: Terry via DQ
After the match Abyss picks the guardrail back up and nails Terry with it again! Abyss hits Terry with it yet again and then we get a shot of RVD walking through the crowd holding a chair and bandages all over his arms and legs. He also has one on his neck. Abyss picks up Janice as security runs out and holds RVD back. D-Lo Brown, Al Snow, & Simon Diamond lead more security out wielding chairs to hold Abyss back. The fans chant “let him through” as RVD argues with security and Abyss backs up the ramp. RVD slams the chair into one of the security guards and climbs into the ring! RVD is limping noticeably as he grabs a microphone.
RVD thanks the fans for all their support and he says that one of the reasons he’s here tonight is to show the fans that he “ain’t going nowhere!” RVD then asks Eric Bischoff to come out to the ring and we’ll find out if he comes out after the break.
———————-COMMERCIAL BREAK————————-
Back to the ring RVD is telling Bischoff (who’s in the ring now) about how he was pissed off that he was being stripped of the belt while he was recuperating and never giving him a shot to return and defend the belt. He says he doesn’t know if it was a liability issue or for his well being. RVD then wishes Kurt Angle, Mr. Anderson, and Jeff Hardy all good luck at BFG, but he wants the first shot at whoever wins the belt. Bischoff says that is fair. RVD then says that’s not why he asked Bischoff down here, he wants to talk about is physical condition. RVD says he hates being seen like this and he hates to be put in a situation where anyone sees him as being vulnerable. RVD says he doesn’t need for people to tell him that hope he gets better. RVD says he will be better and his doctor has already given him his date of medical clearance and that date is 10-10-10! RVD says he wants to make his return and fight Abyss at BFG! Bischoff agrees to it and they shake hands.
At the announce table RVD and Taz talk about RVD-Abyss for BFG. They then start hyping up the live special edition of Impact which will air on 10/07 which is being dubbed “TNA Impact: Before the Glory.” Tenay says that later tonight Dixie Carter will have a major announcement.
The Pope’s music hits and he comes walking out as Bischoff is still in the ring. Pope doesn’t look too happy right now. Pope says since Bischoff is handing out favors then he should do Pope a favor and tell him what the hell is going on around here. Pope says he’s not ‘new to the game, he’s true to the game’ and he can smell the crap from a mile away and Bischoff is full of it. Pope says in the past month he has done what few men have been able to do, he’s beat Matt Morgan, pinned Kaz in a 8-man tag, and pinned Kurt Angle in a Tag Match all in a month. Pope says he’s not going to complain about losing to Anderson and calls it a little ‘hickup’ but then asks how RVD gets the first title shot and how both Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy are moving onto the Finals despite not winning the Semifinals. Pope says he should be in the match too since they didn’t win either. Bischoff says he hopes Pope isn’t accusing him of what he thinks he’s accusing him of and Pope starts laughing. Pope says he’s not accusing him of anything but he’s telling him that he’s a conman. Bischoff says they need to go discuss this in the back like professionals not out in the public right here. Bischoff walks off and Pope says fine and walks back with Bischoff.
In the back Lacey Von Erich walks into the BP locker room as they’re getting ready. BP is talking about wanting to win the KO Tag Titles as Lacey just sits quietly and listens. Velvet asks Lacey if she’s okay and Lacey explodes out of nowhere saying she’s not okay and that she’s pissed off. Lacey calls Madison a “stupid b*tch” and says she wants to kick her and Tara’s a**. Lacey storms out as Velvet says she’s never seen her upset before.
———————-COMMERCIAL BREAK————————-
During the break Pope and Bischoff continued to argue. Pope demands that Bischoff make the match at BFG a 4-Way. Bischoff says he’ll put Pope in the ring with Joe tonight and IF he gets by Joe then they’ll talk about putting Pope in the match at BFG. Pope agrees and walks off.
Jeremy Buck w/ Max Buck vs. Chris Sabin
Footage of GenMe’s attack on Shelley at No Surrender is shown before Sabin makes his entrance. Still no Shelley and Sabin has his shoulder taped up due to the attack on him last week. Jeremy and Sabin lockup and Sabin gets Jeremy in a side headlock. Jeremy shoves Sabin into the ropes and there Max trips but the referee saw it! Instead of DQ’ing Jeremy he sends Max to the back! In the ring Jeremy looks on and gets rolled up by Sabin out of nowhere! 1…2…NO Jeremy kicks out! Jeremy gets to his feet quickly and charges at Sabin but Sabin leapfrogs him and then hits a gorgeous Overhead Armdrag! Sabin then hits the ropes and hits a big Running Forearm for another nearfall. Sabin locks in an arm lock but Jeremy gets to the ropes. Jeremy then starts nailing Sabin in the injured shoulder with his forearm. Jeremy then goes to the apron and hits a Slingshot Facebuster over the top onto Sabin in the ring! 1…2…NO Sabin kicks out! Jeremy follows up with a Snapmare Takeover and then locks in a Dragon Sleeper! Sabin fights to his feet and breaks the hold with right hands. Jeremy cuts him off with more shots to the shoulder and then a Spinning Neckbreark for another nearfall. Great work on the neck/shoulder by Jeremy as he stomps on it now. Jeremy grabs Shelley and chokes him on the ropes. He then charges at Sabin but Sabin gets his foot up. Jeremy charges again and again Sabin gets his foot up. Sabin then springs himself over the top rope to the apron and nails Jeremy with a shoulder block through the ropes. Sabin then attempts to Suplex Jeremy over the top rope but Jeremy blocks it and lands on the apron. Jeremy then nails Sabin with a Neckbreark onto the arpon! Jeremy rolls Sabin back into the ring and gets another nearfall. Jeremy grabs Shelley and locks in a Full Nelson now. Sabin backs Jeremy into the corner and then he goes to grab Jeremy’s arm but Jeremy nails him with a Spinning Back Elbow out of nowhere! Jeremy hits a Reverse Jawbreaker and then goes for a Tornado DDT but Sabin blocks it. Jeremy charges at Sabin but Sabin gets his foot up. Jeremy catches the foot this time but Sabin uses the free leg to hit a Leaping Enziguri! Sabin then quickly rolls Jeremy up! 1…2…3!
Winner: Sabin via pinfall (rollup)
After the match Max Buck runs out and jumps Sabin again! GenMe put the beating on Sabin, focusing on the shoulder/neck area. They grab Sabin and hit the Hanging Spike DDT off the top yet again! Max and Jeremy then grab Sabin’s Tag Title belt and walk off with it.
———————-COMMERCIAL BREAK————————-
Commercial airs hyping “The Best of Asylum Years Vol. 1” which I’m definitely going to try and get. It’s available now in stores.
Footage from last week’s Reaction is shown of Pope talking about him wanting to win the TNA Title. He says to get to that belt he has to move certain stumbling blocks out of the way and that he’s being held back. Jeff Jarrett says that Pope is 100% ego, he heard what Pope had said. Jarrett says Pope needs to go out to the ring and perform like Angle and Hardy and get the reaction they get and earn the respect from the fans. Jarrett seemed very annoyed by the comment.
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships
Taylor Wilde & Hamada (c) vs. Velvet Sky & Lacey Von Erich
LET THE PIGEONS LOOSE! Taylor and Lacey will start this one out. they lockup and Lacey hits Taylor with an arm drag but then Taylor comes right back with a Drop toe hold. Taylor then rolls over Lacey and locks in a side headlock. Taylor gets to her feet and hits a Side Headlock Takeover for a nearfall. Taylor then hits another Side Headlock Takeover. Lacey fights to her feet and shoves Taylor into the ropes. Lacey hits a Hip Toss and Taylor tags out. Hamada comes flying in but eats a hip toss and then an arm drag from Lacey. Lacey locks in a wristlock and then she tags in Velvet. Velvet dives off the top with a Axe Handle Drop onto the arm of Hamada as Lacey held it. Velvet locks Hamada in a wristlock but Hamada rolls through it. Hamada then hits the ropes and hits a Running Yakuza Kick. Hamada follows up with a Scoop Slam and then she climbs up top and goes for the Diving Moonsault but Velvet moves. Velvet hits a Sliding Dropkick and Hamada tags out. Taylor charges in and rolls Velvet up! 1…2…NO Velvet kicks out but then Taylor rolls her up with a small package this time! 1…2…NO Velvet kicks out again! Taylor goes for a clothesline but Velvet counters with a backslide. 1…2…NO Taylor kicks out and then Velvet follows up with a series of Elbow Drops. Velvet tags in Lacey and holds Taylor as Lacey puts the boots to her. Lacey tries to whip Taylor into the ropes but Taylor reverses it and then eats Lacey’s leg up with a leg kick. Taylor hits the ropes and Hamada blind tags her! Taylor nails Lacey with a Sliding Dropkick and then she and Hamada grab Lacey and hit a Double Suplex for a nearfall. Hamada hits an Enziguri and then a modified Fisherman’s Suplex! 1…2…NO Velvet kicks out! Hamada tags Taylor back in and she lights Lacey up with chops and leg kicks. She follows up with a Running Forearm for a nearfall. Taylor tries to whip Lacey into the corner but Lacey reverses it and then she tries to mount Taylor in the corner but slips. She finally does and nails her with right hands. Lacey then wraps her legs around Taylor’s head (insert bad thoughts) in a head scissors and hits her somemore before connecting with a horrible hurricanrana. 1…2…NO Taylor kicks out. Hamada comes in but eats a Bulldog from Velvet! Taylor then tosses Velvet out of the ring. Lacey then kicks Hamada out of the ring and Hamada hits Velvet as Velvet was trying to come in! The referee checks on Velvet & Hamada on the outside and then Madison Rayne comes from out of nowhere and hits Lacey in the back with the motorcycle helmet! Taylor then hits a Running Enziguri! 1…2…3!
Winners & STILL KO Tag Champs: Taylor & Hamada via pinfall (Running Enziguri)
Angelina Love & Velvet Sky run out to check on Lacey as Madison makes a run for it.
In the back we see Mick Foley arriving alongside the rest of EV2.
———————-COMMERCIAL BREAK————————-
Back from commercials a vignette highlighting Jesse Neal is shown.
At the announce table Dixie Carter is sitting alongside Mike Tenay and Taz for an announcement. Dixie announces the Main Event for that match will be a Battle Royal where the winner receives $100,000 and it will feature every wrestler that competes at BFG. Taz mentions that Dixie’s been talking about major changes and she reiterates that it is not a surprise but a change. She says we’ll find out on October 7th.
“The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero vs. “Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe
Joe jumps Pope before the bell and assaults him with repeated jabs and big shots in the corner. Joe picks Pope up and then whips him into the ropes and hits a Leaping Knee Strike! Joe hits Pope with jabs and then goes for a big left hook but Pope blocks it and then connects with a body shot followed by a series of kicks and an STO! 1…2…NO Joe kicks out! Pope hits Joe with an elbow and then hits the ropes but eats a nasty Forearm from Joe! Joe nails Pope in the corner with a stiff chop and then he whips Pope into an opposite corner. Joe comes charging in with a Running Back Elbow followed by a Leaping Enziguri! Joe then rolls Pope over and gets a nearfall. Joe locks in a chinlock on Pope but Pope gets to his feet and breaks the hold with shots to the gut. Pope hits the ropes but eats a clothesline from Joe! Joe follows up with another chinlock. Pope fights to his feet again and breaks the hold with elbows. Pope then follows up with a kick and a backhand followed by a series of forearms. Pope hits an Atomic Drop followed by a Running Shoulder Block! 1…2…NO Joe kicks out! Pope hits the ropes again but this time Joe hits a Snap Suplex! 1…2…NO Pope kicks out! Joe tosses Pope into a corner and hits a series of jabs and then he attempts to whip Pope into the opposite corner but Pope reverses it. Pope then charges at Joe but Joe gets his boots up. Pope catches Joe’s feet and then swings them into the ropes hanging up in the ropes! Pope then hits a Hanging Neckbreaker on Joe as he was hung up in the ropes! Pope pulls his knee pads down and calls for the DDE but Jeff Jarrett walks down to the ring and starts clapping for Joe which distracts Pope. Pope screams at Jarrett to leave and then he turns around and nails Joe with a big right hand to Joe followed by a series of stomps. Pope goes for another big right but Joe ducks and tosses Pope into the corner. Sting and Nash walk out now and jump Jarrett! Joe attempts to whip Pope into the opposite corner again but Pope reverses it and then hits a nice Cross Body onto Joe in the corner as Sting and Nash beat on Jarrett at ringside. Pope sees what’s going on and looks at it. He then turns back to Joe and goes for a DVD or something but Joe counters into the Coquina Clutch! Pope passes out!
Winner: Samoa Joe via KO (Coquina Clutch)
Immediately after the match Joe goes after Nash at ringside! Jarrett is coming back on Sting now as the sides are evened up! All 4 men continue to brawl at ringside and Sting tosses Jeff into the guardrail as Nash low blows Joe.
In the back Christy Hemme approaches EV2 and Dreamer says AJ made him forget who he was but EV2 made him remember. He says they just left Dixie Carter’s office and she told us that at BFG there will be a Lethal Lockdown! Also, tonight Sabu faces AJ Styles in a Ladder Match. The winner gets the advantage for his team at Lethal Lockdown.
We cut to a shot of the A**hole making his way to the ring.
———————-COMMERCIAL BREAK————————-
Mr. Anderson makes his way out to the stage as we come back from break. Anderson does his usual intro and then he walks down to the ring. Anderson calls out Kurt Angle to the ring. Angle walks out to the ring and Anderson says it’s no secret that Anderson is an a**hole. Anderson says that won’t change between now and BFG and he’ll tell Angle that face to face. Anderson says that neither of them came into wrestling to play politics and then says, “we don’t sit back there every night and swing from the bosses nuts.” He then says that would technically be impossible (since Dixie is a woman) but we get it. I wonder if somewhere Triple-H, let go of Vince McMahon’s nuts long enough to hear it, and was offended by that comment? Anderson says because of that reason he’s telling Angle the truth when he says Kurt Angle without a shadow of freaking doubt the absolute best wrestler in the world. Anderson says at 10-10-10 he plans on being just a little bit better, by about 3 seconds. Angle says he respects that and he respects the fact that Anderson said that to him to his face. Angle says when he started in wrestling he had the same mindset as Anderson and he wanted to be the best and everything else would be a failure. Angle says here he is 10 years later and he’s accomplished everything he set out to do. Angle says they have a little bit of a problem now because he promised everyone that if he lost on his way to get the title back he would retire. Angle says there is something Anderson needs to understand and that’s what he does in the ring is what he is. Angle says he’s sacrificed everything for wrestling. He says that a lot of people don’t know where his drive comes from. He respects Anderson but at BFG he won’t lose because without wrestling he has nothing. They shake hands and then Anderson raises Kurt’s hand and says it’ll be the last time his hand is raised. Angle snatches his arm away and Anderson laughs at him.
In the back Ric Flair is hyping up his crew for the Lethal Lockdown at BFG. Flair says they’ll get rid of EV2 forever at Lethal Lockdown. Flair then hypes AJ up for his Ladder Match. Fourtune then plays a drinking game prank on Flair and he chugs a drink. Flair enjoyed that a little too much.
———————-COMMERCIAL BREAK————————-
In the back Kevin Nash asks Pope if he has any information for him. Pope says he won’t just volunteer information to him and then Nash says they watched his back the other night. Nash asks Pope if he’s been talking to any “broads” getting information and Pope says that maybe he has. Nash asks if it was Tessmacher and Pope says yeah. He asks Nash “you know?” and Sting asks Pope what he thinks they’ve been fighting for all this time. Pope says they can count him in. Ahhhh, things are coming together now. THANK GOD! Nash slept with Tessmacher awhile back and then Pope slept with her last week and now apparently she had some type of info.
A vignette hyping the EV2/Fourtune feud runs. Also, they run a great package describing Lethal Lockdown which is great for newer fans.
Main Event
Lethal Lockdown Advantage
Ladder Match
“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles w/ Ric Flair & Matt Morgan vs. “Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal” Sabu
This could be considered a dream match for some fans. One of the best high flyers of the 90’s against probably THE best high flyer of the 2000’s going at it in a Ladder Match. AJ and Sabu circle ach other and then AJ kicks Sabu in the gut as he went in for a lockup. AJ nails Sabu with right hands and elbows but Sabu comes back with a series of right hands of his own. Sabu goes to walk outside the ring but AJ kicks the middle rope into his groin and then he pounds on Sabu with big right hands. AJ lights Sabu up with a chop and then he whips Sabu into the ropes and goes for a clothesline but Sabu ducks and then hits a gorgeous Spinning Headscissors Takeover on AJ! Sabu charges at AJ in the corner but AJ gets his boot up and then lights Sabu up with another chop. AJ nails Sabu with a forearm and then he attempts to whip Sabu into the corner but Sabu reverses it and then follows up with a Running Clothesline. Sabu climbs out to the floor and grabs the ladder from ringside but AJ blindsides him as Sabu grabbed it. AJ nails Sabu with rights and elbows and then he goes for a Suplex on the floor but Sabu blocks it and then drops AJ onto the guardrail! Sabu slides the ladder into the ring and then climbs into the ring but AJ grabs the ladder and snatches it back out to the floor. Sabu kicks AJ as he was trying to get back in the ring. AJ answers with a Jawbreaker onto the top rope on Sabu! AJ grabs the ladder and starts to put it in the ring but Sabu dropkicks the ladder hard into AJ! Sabu tosses AJ into the guardrail again and then he tosses a chair into the ring. Sabu then slides the ladder into the ring. Sabu sets the chair up in the ring and then he kicks AJ as AJ climbs back into the ring. Sabu sets the ladder up but AJ clocks him with a right hand again. AJ whips Sabu into the corner and then charges but Sabu moves and then throws the ladder at AJ! Sabu then tosses it again but this time AJ ducks and the ladder goes flying out of the ring! AJ rolls out of the ring and grabs the ladder again and then when he starts to put the ladder into the ring Sabu goes for the dropkick again, but AJ lifts the ladder up and Sabu slides under it onto the floor and AJ throws the ladder at him! AJ tosses the ladder back into the ring and then he slides in. Mick Foley walks through the tunnel and points at Flair.
———————-COMMERCIAL BREAK————————-
Back from commercials Sabu throws a chair at AJ and then he sets the chair up and dives off it with Air Sabu onto AJ in the corner! Sabu slams AJ into the chair headfirst and then he sets the chair up again. Sabu dives off it with a Flying Cross Body that sends both AJ and Sabu over the top to the floor! Flair was about to attack Sabu but Mick Foley backs him off. Matt Morgan then blindsides Foley! Foley & Flair put the boots to Foley. Flair then low blows Foley. Dreamer runs down and Kaz cuts him off and they start brawling at ringside now! Security runs out to pull them apart. In the ring AJ nails Sabu with a big right hand as the rest of EV2 runs out followed by Fourtune as another big brawl has broken out! AJ sets the ladder up in the ring and starts climbing it but Sabu pushes it over! Sabu then dives off the chair onto the top rope into a Springboard Plancha onto Fourtune & security! Sabu sets the ladder back up in the ring and starts climbing it but Robert Roode comes in and pulls Sabu down and then clotheslines him! He turns around right into the Gore! Storm in and he hits the Last Call on Rhino! Sabu decks Storm and then he sets the ladder back p in the center of the ring. Sabu climbs up the ladder and AJ follows him up the other side! They punch each other at the top and then Sabu grabs AJ’s head and slams him into the ladder repeatedly knocking AJ off! Sabu grabs the key but Storm pulls him off the ladder and then blasts him with the beer bottle! AJ climbs up the ladder now with Storm helping him up and AJ pulls the key down! Fourtune gets the mad advantage at Lethal Lockdown!
Winner: AJ Styles via pulling the key down
In the back Jeff Hardy and RVD talk about what’s been going down. He says when he wins the title he will make sure RVD gets the first shot. As RVD walks out Abyss attacks Hardy! Hardy beats on RVD and screams “just like your little buddy!”
———————-COMMERCIAL BREAK————————-
A highlight package hyping Abyss’ “they.”
Back to the arena Abyss drags Hardy’s body to the ring. Abyss calls out RVD and says he’s sure that RVD is wondering why he has RVD’s buddy Jeff Hardy with him. He says he’ll get to that in a minute. He says seeing RVD tonight was like seeing a ghost. Abyss says RVD was never supposed to come back and the mere fact that he did only proves that RVD is just as ignorant and pathetic as he thought. Abyss says ‘they’ gave him strict orders to eliminate RVD from TNA. He says he made one mistake and that’s that he left RVD breathing but he will correct that at BFG. Abyss says ‘they’ will finally reveal themselves and begin the takeover of TNA. On 10-10-10 he says he and Janice are going to finish the job they started. Abyss says he won’t hurt or cripple RVD, they will slaughter RVD! Abyss says he was talking to Janice backstage and she doesn’t want to wait until BFG, she wants another a piece of RVD tonight! Abyss calls RVD out to the ring and RVD’s music hits!
RVD walks out, steel chair in hand. Abyss starts to climb out of the ring to get after RVD but RVD throws the chair at Abyss! RVD gets in the ring and throws the chair at Abyss again! Abyss then kicks the chair into RVD’s face and then starts beating on RVD. Abyss hits a Corner Splash on RVD and then he stands over Van Dam as we go to Reaction.
REACTION BONUS
Ink, Inc.’s music hits as Abyss stands over RVD! Tenay makes sure to point out how close Moore and Hardy are. Abyss swings Janice at Moore but he ducks and then Abyss turns around right into a Missile Dropkick from Neal! Moore then hits a Missile Dropkick on Abyss! Abyss rolls out of the ring and grabs Janice and bails.
Final Thoughts
Overall an okay show this week, nothing special though.
The opening match with Terry and Abyss was a typical big man match. Terry showed some impressive strength but nothing more.
RVD’s return was good, he actually showed some rare emotion in his promo. They should’ve skipped that stupid phone interview last week and just do this. I know they wanted to make it clear that RVD was going to be back this week but they could’ve done something like Tenay saying that he heard that RVD might be making an appearance next week or something like that.
The stuff with Pope is interesting and I don’t really know where they’re going with his character. I do LOVE that they tied in the stuff with both Nash and Pope talking to Ms. Tessmacher and getting ‘information’ but they haven’t said how Sting knew yet.
Sabin and Jeremy was a good match with Jeremy working on the shoulder/neck great the whole time. This feud should be good and I’m expecting a match at BFG.
Knockouts Tag Titles match was pretty bad and it had everything to do with Lacey. God she is bad. She belongs absolutely nowhere near a wrestling ring. At least Hamada and Taylor continue to win.
For those that haven’t heard there is supposedly a big signing in the Knockouts division for TNA but I wont spoil it for those that don’t like spoilers. That person will likely be revealed on 10/07.
The video package hyping up Jesse Neal & Ink, Inc. was very well done.
Joe and Dinero had a good, hard hitting match.
Anderson and Angle had a good promo but my problem with it is there is just so far you can go with a ‘I respect you, you respect me’ type of deal especially when all 3 are babyfaces in the match. I’m expecting them to go the “we’re competitors” route with this match but somebody needs to get some hate going on with this thing.
AJ and Sabu was a little disappointing but they had some nice spots though Sabu looked a little lost at a couple of times. The brawl at ringside (though good) took away from the match and they’ve done the beer bottle to the head finish to death. Lethal Lockdown should be good.
The final segment with RVD and Abyss was nothing special but they are continuing to build up BFG nicely. They actually did some considerable build towards both BFG and the live show in a couple of week. By the way, a new character called Shore will debut on that 10/07 show. It’s supposedly a Jersey Shore inspired character played by Rob Eckos.
For those that are interesting Amazing Red defeated Lay Lethal in NYC for the X-Division Title tonight. They could just do the title exchange right back tomorrow night and just wanted to throw Red a bone in his hometown.
Quick Results:
1) Rob Terry def. Abyss via DQ
2) Chris Sabin def. Jeremy Buck
3) TNA Knockouts Tag Titles: Hamada & Taylor (c) def. Velvet Sky & Lacey Von Erich to retain the titles!
4) Samoa Joe def. The Pope
5) Ladder Match: AJ Styles def. Sabu
– Promo/Segment of the Night: Kurt Angle & Mr. Anderson showdown
– Match of the Night: AJ vs. Sabu (***)
– Overall Grade: C –
Scheduled for Next Week:
– Tommy Dreamer & Rhino vs. Beer Money
– Mr. Anderson vs. Samoa Joe
– TNA TV Title: AJ Styles (c) vs. Brian Kendrick
– Steel Cage Match: Abyss vs. Kurt Angle
Bound for Glory Lineup:
– TNA World Title 3-Way Dance: Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy
– RVD vs. Abyss
– Lethal Lockdown Steel Cage Match: Fourtune (AJ Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, & Matt Morgan) vs. EV2 (Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Stevie Richards, Sabu, & Raven)