TNA iMPACT!
Orlando, Florida (Impact Zone)
April 14, 2011
Commentators: Mike Tenay & Taz
Report by: Josh Boutwell of Wrestleview.com
4 days away from TNA’s Lockdown PPV Impact opens up with a recap of the happenings last week. We cut to the arena where Hulk Hogan leads Immortal out to the ring as we see replays of how Mr. Anderson played Hogan last week. Hogan says it’s obvious to him that there is nothing but top choice talent in the ring. Hogan says there still is a lingering stench of rotten there so he wants Mr. Anderson to get out to the ring. Anderson doesn’t make him wait long either.
Anderson walks down to the ring and Hogan welcomes him to the “big show” and then he says for the last 6 weeks he’s given Anderson every opportunity to do the right thing, and he has repeatedly told Anderson he could do things the right or wrong way. He says time and time again Anderson spits in his face so he will have to make an example out of Anderson. Anderson says he used to respect Hogan but now he’s just disappointed and calls everyone in the ring in Immortal sheep and says they’re just “swinging from Hogan’s nuts.” Anderson says Bischoff made his entire fortune riding Hogan’s coattails. Anderson says he will not step in line, BROTHER! He says he has to look himself in the mirror at the end of the day and when he does he says “Mr. Anderson…Anderson, you really are an asshole” and he’s okay with that. Anderson says everyone else in Immortal has to live with the fact that they’re up Hogan’s asshole. Hogan slaps Anderson and the rest of Immortal jumps him! They beat Anderson down and then hold him up as Hogan tells him he disrespected Immortal for the last time and when they get done with him tonight he won’t even make it to Lockdown. Hogan says Anderson is responsible for this ass beating and he brought it all on himself so whatever happens to him he did it to himself. Hogan says before tonight is over they will cross paths again and he’ll take Anderson out on his time, not Anderson’s. Bull Ray steps up to Anderson and Anderson spits in his face so Ray punches him in the mouth. Taz says nobody is helping Anderson because nobody likes an asshole.
In the back Velvet is trying to get Angelina to open her door but no one does. Winter finally walks out and tells Velvet to keep it down because Angelina is resting. Winter says Angelina wants nothing to do with Velvet asks Winter what she’s done to Angelina, but Winter says that’s insulting and Angelina makes her own decisions. Winter tells Velvet to live with it and then Velvet tells Winter to tell Angelina that she is going to call Angelina out tonight and if she refuses to come down then she’ll drag Angelina out and give her the receipt she has coming.
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In the back Immortal is happy about beating down Anderson while Bischoff is on the phone with someone. Bischoff cuts off the celebration and says that the network just called him. He says tonight they want a Best of 3 Series between Fortune and Immortal with the winning team getting the man advantage at Lockdown! Hogan says Bischoff was supposed to take care of the network and there has to be someone that is smartening Spike up behind the scenes. Bischoff says he’s on it and leaves while Ray says they’ll just beat Fortune.
Ink, Inc. and EY/Jordan are in the ring.
Fatal 4-Way Match
Crimson w/Scott Steiner vs. Douglas Williams w/Magnus vs. Orlando Jordan w/Eric Young vs. Jesse Neal w/Shannon Moore
This is a preview of the Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match at Lockdown with a member of each team represented here. Williams and Neal will start the match off and they lockup with Williams getting a headlock on Neal. Neal shoves Williams into the ropes only to eat a shoulder block. Williams then hits the ropes and ducks under a leapfrog from Neal. Neal then connects with an Armdrag and holds onto the armbar as he hits the mat. Neal tells Moore to backoff from ringside where Moore is talking trash to Scott Steiner. In the ring Williams grabs Neal as he turns around and connects with a Snapmare Takeover. Williams locks in a headlock but Neal counters into a wristlock. Williams slaps the arm away and then connects with a European Uppercut. Williams whips Neal into the ropes and goes for a Hip Toss but Neal blocks it and reveres into one of his own. Williams rolls out of the ring and Jordan connects with a Sidewalk Slam on Neal as he turns around. 1…2…NO Neal kicks out as for some reason tags aren’t necessary. Jordan whips Neal into the ropes and goes for a clothesline but Neal ducks and connects with a Flying Forearm off the ropes! Jordan rolls under the ropes and Crimson comes in and connects with a kick on Jordan. What the hell is up with no tags, is this Lucha Libre Rules for some stupid reason? Crimson connects with a big T-Bone Suplex for a nearfall of his own. Crimson then grabs Neal and throws him into the corner and then whips him into the opposite corner. Crimson charges but Neal gets a boot up and then connects with a Springboard Cross Body for a nearfall of his own. Neal gets to his feet and connects with the Spear! Moore taunts Steiner on the outside again and Neal notices it and argues with Moore. Moore shoves Steiner and Steiner throws Moore into the guardrail! Neal goes out to the floor to pull Steiner off of Moore. In the ring Crimson connects with a Jawbreaker on Williams and notices Steiner fighting with Ink, Inc. and follows out. Abyss comes from out of nowhere and jumps Crimson from behind on the outside! Remember it was Crimson who took Abyss out a few months ago! On the opposite side of the ring the referee tries to get Magnus & Young to stop fighting. Abyss rips out one of the guardrails and lays it down on the floor. Abyss grabs Crimson and Chokeslams him onto the guardrail! Oh man, it looked like Crimson’s head hit the metal. That looked nasty. In the ring Williams whips Jordan into the corner and charges but Jordan gets out of the way and then connects with a few back elbows and starts grinding on Williams. Williams shoves Jordan away but Jordan comes back with a clothesline. 1…2…NO Williams kicks out! Young comes into the ring and starts messing with the referee and eventually picks him up and acts like he’s going to toss him out of the ring. Magnus comes into the ring and jumps Jordan. Williams holds Jordan as Magnus sets up for something but Young nails Magnus with a big clothesline! Williams chases Young out of the ring but turns around into the Gender Bender (Roll of the Dice) on Williams for the pin!
Winner: Jordan via pinfall (Gender Bender)
That was a clusterf*ck.
In the back Bully Ray approaches RVD who is playing an X-Box. Ray tells RVD that this might not be the time to play video games. RVD drops the controller and gets to his feet. Ray tells him to relax because he’s not there to fight. Ray says Hogan is going to make RVD an offer that RVD shouldn’t refuse. Ray says he and RVD have a ton of history together and he says this time the grass IS greener on the other side and there’s less seeds too (pot head reference, hey next week IS 4/20! I’m sure pot heads will get this and laugh). Ray says RVD doesn’t want what happened to Anderson to happen to him. Ray says RVD should take the advice this time and walks away.
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Best of 3 Series Match #1
“Cold Blood” Matt Hardy w/Immortal (Bully Ray, Ric Flair, & Abyss) vs. Kazarian w/Beer Money & Christopher Daniels
Ha, some girls at ringside grabbed Ric Flair towards them as he walked by, Naitch still got it. Before the match Earl Hebner kicks Fortune out from ringside and Bully Ray gets happy and tries to give Hebner a high five but he kicks Immortal out too! Flair gets heated and tries to go after Hebner but Immortal holds him back. As the bell rings Kazarian surprises Hardy with a Crucifix Rollup! 1…2…NO Hardy kicks out! Looks like Matt doesn’t go down as easy as Jeff. Kazarian rolls Matt up again and gets another nearfall. Kazarian hits Matt with a right hand and then whips Matt into the ropes. Matt holds onto the ropes and Kaz charges but Matt backdrops him over the top. Kaz lands on the apron and connects with a right hand but then as Kaz was climbing back into the ring, Hardy kicks the ropes between Kaz’s legs! Hardy grabs Kazarian and hangs him up in the ropes, and connects with a Hanging Neckbreaker! 1…2…NO Kaz kicks out! Hardy hits a series of elbows to the back of Kaz’s head and then connects with a Leg Drop for another nearfall. Hardy chokes Kaz on the bottom rope and then he Catapults Kaz hard into the middle rope! 1…2…NO Kaz kicks out! Hardy grabs Kaz in a Cravate but Kaz fights out of it with elbows only to get slammed to the mat by his hair. Hardy kicks Kaz and then goes for a Twist of Hate but Kaz counters into a Backslide! 1…2…NO Matt kicks out! Matt goes for the Side Effect now but Kaz blocks it with back elbows and then hits a rollup for another nearfall! Kaz goes for a clothesline but Hardy blocks it and this time he connects with the Side Effect! 1…2…NO Kaz kicks out! Matt hits a second Side Effect! Matt then climbs up top and goes for the Moonsault, but Kaz rolls out of the way! Kaz ducks a clothesline and then connects with a Cross Body Block and hits a clothesline and a dropkick! Kaz then hits a Scoop Slam as Tenay announces that Anderson will be running the “Immortal Gauntlet” tonight. Kaz connects with the Springboard Guillotine Leg Drop! Kaz then grabs Matt and goes for the Fade 2 Black, but Matt counters into a rollup. Kaz rolls through it and backs into the corner, and Hardy charges at Kaz but Kaz slides through the top and middle ropes to avoid him! Kaz hits Matt with a right hand and then connects with a Springboard Missile Dropkick! 1…2…NO Matt gets his foot on the bottom rope! Kaz grabs Matt and attempts to whip him into the corner but Matt reverses it. Matt charges at Kaz but Kaz gets his boot up. Matt sells it like he just got shot and he is telling Hebner that he injured his eye. Kaz springs to the top and Matt shoves Hebner into the ropes to crotch Kaz acting like it was an accident! Hardy then grabs Kaz and locks in a Hanging Guillotine called the Ice Pick! Kaz taps out. Taz points out that Hardy attacked Kaz’s neck the entire match (Tenay had pointed it out earlier) to set up that move, nice.
Winner: Hardy via submission (Ice Pick)
In the back Tara and Madison talk about what happened last week and Madison says she is going to apologize to Mickie tonight. Tara says she’s proud of Madison.
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Back from commercials Madison Rayne and Tara are in the ring, Madison is rocking the hell out of that tight red dress. Madison says for the last 7 days she hasn’t been able to sleep because every night all she can do is play back the events that happened last week (Tara and Madison running Mickie down). Madison says if she had the opportunity to go back and do things differently, what would she have done. She says that question has been weighing heavily on her mind and she says she would have backed that bike up and ran Mickie’s ass over one more time and then she would have taken her left hand and then she would have slapped Tara across the face for questioning her. A mild “Tara” chant starts. Madison says the last few weeks Tara has become a little bit too comfortable in her role. She reminds Tara what that role is, she is Madison’s bitch. Tara wasn’t too please with that. Madison says Tara does what she says to do and does not question her. She says Tara will do her job and keep her mouth shut as she reminds Tara that she is responsible for getting Tara her job back. Madison says if Tara continues to question her then she will make sure she’s back behind the makeup counter stocking lip gloss. Madison tells Tara that if she has something to say then spit it out. Tara grabs the microphone but before she can say anything Mickie James music hits!
Mickie walks out wearing a sling and says she really hates to interrupt this heart breaking moment but she has something to say. Madison says she doesn’t want to hear it but Mickie tells her to shutup. Mickie says if Madison thinks a little separated shoulder is going to stop her from ripping every strand of hair out of Madison’s head at Lockdown she is sadly mistaken! Mickie is intense tonight. Mickie says Madison is right, she should have ran her over again because at Lockdown she will put Madison through every ounce of pain that Madison put her through last week and then plus some. Mickie says Madison has made every moment she’s been in TNA a living hell and that she has mocked everything Mickie stands for and last week Madison went too far. She says Madison took the cowards way out but at Lockdown there will be no way out of the cage! Mickie says she will beat her within an inch of her life and she’ll show Madison just how “Hardcore Country” she can be!
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6-Man Tag Team Match
“King of the Mountain” Jeff Jarrett, “Super Mex” Hernandez, & “The Pope” D’Angleo Dinero w/Karen Jarrett & Mexican America vs. “Olympic Hero” Kurt Angle, “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan, & “Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe
All six of these men face each other at Lockdown in singles matches (Angle-Jarrett, Pope-Joe, Hernandez-Morgan). No Okada with Joe this week. Angle and Jarrett look like they are going to start the match off but Jarrett says hell no and tags Hernandez in before Angle can get a hold of him.
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Back from commercials Pope is laying into Morgan with body shots and then he hits the ropes, but Morgan grabs him by the throat! Morgan goes for the Chokeslam but Pope blocks it and grabs Morgan in a Waistlock. Morgan backs Pope into the corner and nails him with those nasty Back Elbows. Morgan calls for the Carbon Footprint but Hernandez pulls Pope out of the way and Morgan gets his leg caught him in the turnbuckles. Pope then chop blocks Morgan’s knee and then repeatedly slams the knee into the mat and tags in Hernandez. Hernandez puts the boots to Morgan’s knee and then he picks Morgan up and slaps him. Morgan hits the ropes but eats a clothesline! Morgan sells the knee like it’s injured, both men are down. Morgan tags in Angle and Angle goes after Hernandez but Hernandez gets his foot up, and then he reaches up and grabs the top rope and rolls backwards up to the top rope! Angle quickly leaps to the top and hits Hernandez with a Belly-to-Belly Superplex that sends Hernandez clear across the ring! Hernandez crawls to his corner and tags in Jarrett and Angle rolls over and tags in Joe! Jarrett comes charging in but Joe ducks him and connects with a right hand. Joe nails Hernandez with a forearm and then one for Jarrett and another for Hernandez! Joe throws Jarrett into the corner and then sidesteps a charging Hernandez which causes Hernandez to Splash Jarrett! Joe then hits a Leaping Enziguri on Hernandez! Joe hits Jarrett with a Snap Powerslam! 1…2…NO Jarrett kicks out! As Jarrett kicks out Joe grabs his arm and locks in the Cross Armbreaker! Pope comes in and breaks up the hold but Joe grabs him and runs him into the corner. Joe lifts Pope up onto the top rope and sets up for the Muscle Buster! Pope tries to fight it off but eats a Leaping Enziguri! Joe then grabs Pope for the Muscle Buster but Jarrett attacks Joe from behind and tosses Joe out of the ring! Jarrett turns around and Angle is waiting on him! Jarrett freaks out and literally runs out of the ring to the back with Angle giving chase! Pope rolls Joe back in the ring and Hernandez connects with the Slingshot Shoulder Block on Joe! Hernandez then grabs Joe and goes for the Border Toss but Joe counters into a Standing Fujiwara Armbar! He lets it go as Hernandez fought from going down to the mat. Hernandez swings at Joe with his free arm and Joe ducks and locks in the Coquina Clutch! Pope climbs up top and dives off with a Flying elbow Drop to break up the hold! Morgan comes in and connects with a big uppercut on Pope and then he tosses him out of the ring! Anarquia tosses Hernandez some brass knuckles but as he catches him Morgan nails Hernandez causing them to fly off. Pope picks up the knuckles as Morgan clotheslines Hernandez out of the ring. Pope rolls back in the ring and nails Joe with the brass knuckles as the referee is distracted by Mexican America! 1…2…3!
Winners: Pope, Hernandez, & Jarrett via pinfall
After the match Mexican America jumps Morgan and then tosses him back into the ring where Hernandez hits Morgan with the brass knuckles. Mexican America and Pope then pose together in the ring over their laid out opponents.
Moments ago Jarrett and Karen run to their car to leave but Karen left her purse like every female on the planet. Jeff screams at her to forget her damn purse but she goes back to get it and she walks right into Angle! Karen runs back to the car which Jeff as already started up and Jeff pulls off leaving Karen! That is awesome! Kurt laughs and tells Karen “that’s your husband, real good pick Karen” and mockingly claps for her.
In the arena Immortal’s music hits and Hogan & Bischoff make their way to the ring. Hogan says Immortal is taking care of all the family business so they want RVD to come out to the ring and RVD comes out. By the way Hogan is visibly wearing the back brace now, didn’t notice it earlier or maybe he just had it UNDER his shirt then. Hogan says he’s going to say this one time and one time only, “please don’t make the same mistake Anderson made.” Hogan reminds RVD that it was him that brought RVD to TNA and he wanted him to be part of the team. Hogan says people have been taking advantage of RVD all of his career with his laid back attitude, but recently he’s seen a new attitude and fire from RVD. He says RVD would fit perfectly in Immortal and that last week when Anderson took out Sting, RVD took advantage of the situation and beat Sting.
Hogan says he liked that but before RVD can say anything Sting’s music hits and the World Champ makes his way out to the ring wearing a red variation of his new t-shirt. Sting says what Hogan just said was a lie because RVD never saw Anderson lay him out and the RVD he knows would never take a win like that. Sting says the last place RVD should want to be is on the side with Hogan. He says it is an awesome honor and privilege to be the TNA World Champion, but he won’t take his eyes off the issue which is getting rid of Hogan and Bischoff. Sting says at the end of the day RVD will have to make his own choice and if RVD is the better man then he will take the Title at Lockdown, but if RVD isn’t the better man and he decides to get in bed with Immortal then he will have to kill Sting to take the belt. RVD looks like he’s about to say something but instead leaves the ring without saying anything leaving us guessing what he’s going to do.
Bischoff says he’s confident of RVD and then he says despite everything Sting has accomplished, the fact of the matter is Sting is just not quite the chess player that Hogan is. Bischoff says Hogan has been out manipulating Sting for the better part of his career and he is playing Sting like a violin right now. Bischoff says he feels a checkmate in Sting’s very near feature, but Sting says checkmate is his right now! Sting then punches Bischoff in the gut! Sting then grabs Bischoff and hits him with the Scorpion Death Drop! Hogan turns his attention to Hogan but Hogan points at the brace and begs Sting off. Sting corners Hogan but then he says he’s going to steal a page out of Hogan’s book, it’s on Sting’s time not Hogan’s and then leaves Hogan begging in the corner. AFTER Sting left the ring Hogan says Sting is a lucky man.
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Best of 3 Series Match #2
“The Monster” Abyss vs. “Cowboy” James Storm
Abyss has new music this week, it’s definitely a lot better than his old music. Storm takes a swig of the beer as he gets in the ring and then as Hebner takes the beer away from Storm he spits the beer into Abyss’ face behind the referee’s back! Storm then clotheslines Abyss out of the ring and nails him with a big uppercut. Storm throws Abyss into the guardrail and then the ring steps. Storm rolls Abyss back into the ring as Tenay says Jarrett-Angle at Lockdown will now be 2/3 Falls! First fall is pinfall only, 2nd fall is submission only, 3rd (if necessary) is escape the cage. Storm runs Abyss into the corner and then lays into him with repeated right hands. Abyss shoves Storm away and then gets up a boot as Storm charges. Abyss has turned things around as he beats on Storm in the corner. Abyss then goes for a Corner Splash but Storm gets out of the way and connects with a clothesline followed by a 2nd but Abyss doesn’t go down. Storm goes for a third but as he came off the ropes Abyss went for a clothesline of his own. Storm ducks it and then connects with a Flying Forearm that finally takes Abyss down! Storm charges at Abyss but Abyss backdrops him over the top rope. Storm lands on the apron and then connects with a Leaping Enziguri to the back of Abyss’ head! Storm climbs up top and dives off with a Flying Cross Body! 1…2…NO Abyss kicks out! Storm connects with right hands on Abyss and then he hits the ropes but Abyss grabs him by the throat and goes for a Chokeslam, but Storm counters in midair with a Codebreaker! Storm then follows up with a Backstabber! 1…2…NO Abyss kicks out! Storm attempts to whip Abyss into the corner but Abyss reverses it and then charges at Storm. Storm gets his boot up and charges only to eat the Chokeslam this time! 1…2…NO Storm kicks out! Abyss can’t believe Storm kicked out. Abyss picks Storm up and goes for the Shock Treatment but Storm rakes his eyes and goes for the Last Call! Abyss blocks it and spins Storm around into the Black Hole Slam! 1…2…3! Immortal wins the Best of 3 Series and the man advantage at Lockdown, no third match necessary!
Winner: Abyss via pinfall (Black Hole Slam)
After the match Fortune and Daniels run down to the ring and chase Immortal off before they can attack Storm.
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In the back Jarrett is talking to someone at Spike and he tells them he is getting tired of everything. He says he knows someone inside TNA is pulling strings and they have been straight with Spike so they want them to be straight with Hogan and Bischoff. The person tells Bischoff he’ll know in time and then hangs up on him.
Velvet Sky makes her way out to the ring looking as good as ever. Velvet says she’s going to give Angelina a chance to come out here and explain her actions and if she doesn’t like what Angelina has to say then she won’t hold back from whooping that ass. Winter’s music hits and Angelina walks out, she has that blank look on her face again. Angelina gets in the ring and starts to get in Velvet’s face but Velvet shoves her away. She asks what the hell is wrong with her and Angelina starts to come back towards again so Velvet hits her! Angelina turns around and Velvet hits her again. Angelina Spears Velvet and starts beating the hell out of her. Angelina crawls toward the ropes and rolls out of the ring and grabs a chair from ringside! Angelina grabs Velvet and hits her with a Reverse DDT into a Backbreaker and then she DDT’s Velvet onto the steel chair! Angelina blankly stares into space and then Winter walks out and smiles at what just happened. Winter tells Angelina to come back to her and she immediately does.
At the announce table Taz and Tenay hype up Lockdown and run down the card.
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Main Event
Immortal Gauntlet Match
Mr. Anderson vs. Immortal (Bully Ray, Gunner, Murphy, & Rob Terry)
First up for Anderson is Murphy, as Mike Tedesco & Dave Stephens would say…JOBBER ALERT! Murphy attacks Anderson and Anderson lays him into with strikes in the corner. Murphy shoves Anderson and then goes for a clothesline but Anderson counters it into a Swinging Neckbreaker attempt, but Murphy counters into a clothesline! Murphy picks Anderson up and clotheslines him into the ropes, his knees hit the ropes on the way down. I don’t know if that was meant or if Murphy is just really sloppy. My question is answered as Murphy starts working on Anderson’s leg by slamming it into the mat and kneeing it and stomping on it. Murphy attempts to Knee Drop Anderson’s knee but Anderson rolls out of the way and connects with the Mic Check! 1…2…3! JOBBER DONE!
Next up is Jobber #2, Rob Terry. Rob Terry nails Anderson as he comes into the ring but Anderson then rolls him up with a Small Package! 1…2…NO Terry kicks out! Anderson rolls Terry up again for another two count. Terry follows up with a sloppy clothesline and then he starts slamming Anderson’s knee into the mat, working on the knee Murphy injured. Terry picks Anderson up by that leg and locks in a Knee Bar dangling Anderson in the air. I don’t know if he’s showing off that power or if he just doesn’t know how to do a Half Boston Crab. Anderson actually lifts himself up into the air and grabs Terry by the head and hits him with repeated right hands. Terry then slams him down to the mat! Terry connects with a Corner Splash and then he goes for a Powerslam but Anderson blocks it and hits the Mic Check! 1…2…3!
Next up is the TV Champion, Gunner. Gunner ducks a clothesline and kicks Anderson in the knee. Gunner kicks the knee again and then sweeps the leg and covers Anderson for a nearfall. Gunner hangs Anderson’s knee up in the ropes and pulls on the knee. He then slams his knee into Anderson’s exposed knee and goes for another one but Anderson hits him with a back elbow. Anderson then kicks him with the free leg and connects with a clothesline and then a back elbow and then the Swinging Neckbreaker! 1…2…NO Gunner kicks out! Anderson picks Gunner up for the Green Bay Plunge but sells it like his knee can’t hold him up and drops Gunner. Gunner then shoves Anderson into the corner and charges but Anderson rolls out of the way! Anderson then connects with the Mic Check! 1…2…3!
Bully Ray is up next and he taunts Anderson as the fans are getting behind him. Ray starts beating on Anderson on the mat and connects with an Elbow Drop. Ray chokes Anderson and then starts working on that same leg. Ray picks Anderson up and lifts Anderson up on the top rope. Ray hangs Anderson upside down from the top rope hanging him up in the ropes with that hurt knee. Ray nails Anderson with repeated strikes on that knee and taunts him the whole time. He then drags Anderson to the center of the ring and locks in a Knee Bar. He lets it go and blasts the knee again. Ray gets in Anderson’s face and talks trash to him which causes Anderson to punch him in the face. Anderson gets fired up and starts reeling off right hands on Ray and then he attempts to whip Ray into the ropes but Ray reverses it and connects with a Back Elbow. Ray climbs up top but Anderson punches him in the gut and then takes Ray up off the top and connects with the Green Bay Plunge! 1…2…NO Ray kicks out! Ray and Anderson exchange right hands in the center of the ring but Ray gets the advantage with a Big Boot. Ray then picks Anderson up and tosses him out to the floor. Ray then attacks the referee from behind, knocking him out! Ray grabs Anderson and drags him up the ramp by that hurt leg. Ray sets up for a Powerbomb off the stage again this time on Anderson! Hulk Hogan’s music hits and he walks out onto the stage as Bully Ray picks up his chain. Hogan wants to do the honors! He takes off the back brace! Hogan grabs Anderson and sets up for the Powerbomb but Sting comes from behind with the bat! Abyss comes from behind Sting but Sting hits him with the gut with the bat! Sting nails Sting with the bat repeated and the turns around right into Bully Ray’s face! Sting takes Ray out with the bat! Hogan begs Sting off and backs away as Sting looks down at Anderson and points the bat at him.
Winner: NO CONTEST
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Back from commercials Fortune are in the back and Roode says they are the heart of TNA and at Lockdown they will end Immortal in Lethal Lockdown. Storm says he let Fortune down and throws a chair against the wall and says he let AJ down. Storm calls Immortal a bitch and he says Abyss beat him but they are all standing. Storm says at Lockdown they will do more than beat Immortal.
We cut to RVD who is pacing back and forth and he refuses to answer the camera mans questions as he walks away.
Anderson says what Sting did doesn’t change anything and he says he came to TNA for the belt. He gets pissed and says he’s been here for a year and a half and he came for the f*cking title.
We cut to Sting and he said it wasn’t about saving Anderson tonight, it was about getting his focus back on taking Hogan and Bischoff out. Sting says he’s feeling real good and at Lockdown he’s keeping his title no matter who Hogan gets to .
Hogan says if Sting wants a war he’ll get one and at Lockdown Immortal will break him in half and take their belt back.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Wow, tonight was really, really good and for those of us that have been BEGGING for more in-ring action, tonight we got it. I thought it was a really good go-home show for the PPV and instead of filling the show with an hour and a half of promos, they hyped up most matches with actual WRESTLING! What a concept! Pretty much everything had a purpose tonight and every match except the X-Division Xscape Match was hyped up.
The opening segment was good and set the motion for everything tonight.
The Fatal 4-Way Match hyped up the 4-Way Tag at Lockdown and everybody got to show a little something in the match, but the random no tag rules was dumb. At least state it before the match or during the match. Even Taz was confused as to why tags weren’t necessary. The actual stuff in the ring was pretty good though.
Hardy-Kaz was about as good as it gets for a regular TV match, both guys worked well together and Matt is continuing to show he still has something left in the tanks. I love the new finisher, the Hanging Guillotine. Kaz looked good with Hardy needing to cheat. Abyss-Storm was solid too with Storm looking REALLY good. I love the story they told especially with Tenay pointing out how much size advantage Abyss had. The story obviously being the smaller Storm will hit Abyss with everything he has and catch him with some surprises and big sequences of moves while Abyss gets coming back because of how much of a monster he is. I have no problem with Abyss winning clean (especially since I say all the time heels need to win clean some) I do question them ending the Best of 3 Series with a 2-0 sweep. Yes it gives the heels the heat going into the match and the heel team ALWAYS needs to have the advantage in a Lethal Lockdown/Wargames Match, but I think building towards the 3rd match to have the suspense a little more would have been better but this way was fine.
The Mickie-Madison-Tara face off was done really well and Mickie was intense tonight. For those wondering, Mickie legit has a separated shoulder and as someone who has played football with that type of injury I can respect the hell out of Mickie being willing to go out there and have a match with it let alone a CAGE Match. Respect to her and I’m interested to see where they go. It obviously seems like we’re headed to the eventual Tara-Madison showdown, I just don’t see Mickie losing her hair period.
The 6-Man Tag was really fun with everybody getting in offense and everybody furthering their respective stories. Joe looked like a beast and despite taking the pin still looked strong. I love the chickenshit heel role for Jarrett and I also love that they never put their hands on each other with Angle trying to go after Jarrett repeatedly but Jarrett chickening out and then actually leaving Karen behind was gold.
The Hogan-Sting-RVD stuff was really good and leaves us with a cliffhanger going into the PPV. Sadly, I think RVD will actually make the heel turn because Immortal needs another big star in their group and supposedly Hogan has wanted RVD to turn heel for awhile. I really hope I’m wrong and they swerve us all by having no one join Immortal. Either way if RVD turns heel, he wins the belt.
The BP-Winter is just not good, period. Instead of showing that pointless stuff tonight they should have had a quick X-Division Match to hype up X-Division Xscape.
Gauntlet Matches typically make one guy look strong and everybody he beats like complete crap. Luckily 2 of the 4 guys (3 if you include Gunner) were jobbers that probably won’t be in TNA for very much longer. Anderson did look really strong and I love that all 4 guys worked on Anderson’s leg the whole match trying to hurt him before Lockdown. The No Contest really doesn’t matter and it keeps Anderson from having to be beaten there or taking away some of Ray’s heat by having him beat.
All the stuff afterward with everyone hyping up their matches was nice and I love that RVD said nothing, just stood there acting as if he was thinking.
Overall I though the build for Lockdown was excellent tonight and I’m looking forward to the PPV. Tonight’s show was one of the best Impact’s of the year so far.
–Promo/Segment of the Night: Mickie James-Madison Rayne faceoff
–Match of the Night: Kaz vs. Hardy (***)
–Overall Grade: B +
Lockdown Lineup:
– TNA World Title Triple Threat Steel Cage Match: Sting (c) vs. Mr. Anderson vs. RVD
– Lethal Lockdown Steel Cage Match: Team Immortal (Abyss, Ric Flair, Bully Ray, & Matt Hardy) vs. Team Fortune (Christopher Daniels, Beer Money, & Kazarian)
– 2/3 Falls Steel Cage Match: Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett
– TNA Knockouts Title vs. Hair Match: Madison Rayne (c) vs. Mickie James
– Steel Cage Match: The Pope vs. Samoa Joe
– Steel Cage Match: Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan
– X-Division Xscape Steel Cage Match: Suicide vs. Amazing Red vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley vs. Jay Lethal vs. Robbie E. vs. Jeremy Buck vs. Max Buck vs. Brian Kendrick
– Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Steel Cage Match: Crimson & Scott Steiner vs. Ink, Inc. vs. British Invasion vs. Eric Young & Orlando Jordan
– Pre-Show Steel Cage Match: Devon vs. Anarquia