“Screwed”
Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff make their way to the ring. Mick Foley is called out and things need to be resolved. Bischoff says that he’s resolved things already by firing Foley last week. Hogan sees the situation differently. Foley claims that he didn’t touch Bischoff last week, but Bischoff doesn’t believe him at all. Foley says that if he truly went after Bischoff, he wouldn’t be standing here today. Hogan tells Foley to work it out or walk out.
Christy Hemme is backstage with Ken Anderson. He corrects her…he wants to be called Mr. Anderson. He issues an open challenge to anyone in the locker room, specifically Abyss.
Mike Tenay announces that at Against All Odds, the 8-Card Stud Tournament will be taking place. The winner of the tournament will become the #1 contender for the TNA World Title.
Opening Match: 8-Card Stud Tournament Qualifier: Desmond Wolfe vs. Sean Morley
Wolfe’s valet is named Chelsea. They trade control of a hammerlock. Morley connects with a series of clotheslines but Wolfe goes to work on the left shoulder. Morley blocks a charge and hits a neckbreaker. He follows with a half nelson slam. Wolfe crotches him on the top rope and hits a Tower of London for the win at 3:53. I was a little nervous that Morley might go over. Wolfe didn’t really get enough time to shine here. Then again, Morley didn’t get enough time to show his mediocrity. *¾
Jeff Jarrett walks into Hogan’s office. He’s ready to start anew and willing to start at the bottom of the ladder. Bischoff suggests that Jarrett should accept Ken Anderson’s open challenge. That…actually made sense? I need a commercial to process all of this.
AJ Styles and Ric Flair are in their locker room looking at suits. They’re apparently taking a vacation.
Match #2: 8-Card Stud Tournament Qualifier: Daniels vs. Hernandez
Daniels attacks before the bell. Hernandez hits a delayed vertical suplex along with an overhead toss. Daniels connects with an enzuigiri followed by a STO and a springboard moonsault. Hernandez powers out of Angel’s Wings and hits a slingshot shoulder block. He blocks a superplex but misses a splash. Daniels sneaks in a rollup for a nearfall. Hernandez hits a dominator for the victory at 4:34. A little longer than the usual Impact match, which is appropriate considering these two are legitimate forces. I’ll be fine with these qualifiers as long as quality talent wins them. Essentially, that equals quality matches at Against All Odds. **
Mike Tenay is in the ring. He introduces….THE NASTY BOYS!! He also welcomes their opponents at Against All Odds, Team 3D. Oh cool. Security has to keep both teams apart. Brother Ray wants to know where the Nasty Boys have been for the past ten years. Team 3D have been winning titles everywhere that they have been. The Nasty Boys run down the teams that they have beaten…and Team 3D is next. Brother Ray says that they’ll see them at Against All Odds. I’m not doubting that these two teams are capable of some great promo exchanges. I just hope the match turns out to be slightly better than an abortion.
The Beautiful People are backstage with Christy Hemme. They are tired of hearing about Angelina Love. They have moved onto better things and will show the world that they are champions.
Match #3: Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne, and Lacey Von Erich vs. Tara, Awesome Kong, and Hamada
A fan in the front row is holding a “Bubba Army” sign. Probably not a good idea with Kong out there. Hamada connects with some headbutts on Rayne and walks the ropes into an armdrag. The Beautiful People make quick tags to take control. Tara enters the match and hits a standing moonsault on Rayne. Sky catches her with a shot from the apron and the Beautiful People isolate her. Tara hits a bulldog on Sky and makes the tag. Hamada connects with some kicks and lands a moonsault on Von Erich. Rayne uses the ugly stick against Hamada for the win at 4:32. Another pretty long match when considering the standard Impact knockout’s match. The problem is that the Beautiful People are pretty useless in the ring besides Sky to an extent. *½
Rayne and Von Erich attack Tara after the match until Angelina Love comes out to make the save.
Hogan confronts Earl Hebner in his office. Earl tries to make us believe he genuinely thought Angle tapped, but Hogan isn’t buying it. HOGAN WANTS THE TRUTH!!! EARL SCREWED BRET…AND ANGLE….FOR THE MONEY!?!?!?! HE NEEDED THE MONEY!?!?!?!??? HOGAN SUSPENDS EARL!?!? TNA! TNA! TNA! TNA! Sorry, I have those moments when Impact gets really good .
AJ Styles and Ric Flair welcome some ladies into their locker room. They all act like idiots for about thirty seconds.
Bubba the Love Sponge finds Mick Foley backstage. Foley has an open mind about his meeting with Bischoff.
Kurt Angle makes his way to the ring. He says that his match with Styles at Genesis was the greatest match of his life. Well I appreciate the honesty we have going on here. Styles has disappointed the TNA fans with his actions. Angle questions Flair’s motives and talks about his spot in the 8-Card Stud Tournament. Hogan interrupts and thinks that Angle spitting in his face last week was unacceptable. He tells Angle that if he ever CROSSES THAT LINE again, he will be unemployed. So should I cross the line or not? Angle apologizes and they shake hands. Sean Waltman and Scott Hall attack Angle from behind. Well, Waltman attacks and Hall just kind of lags behind.
Security is shown making Waltman and Hall leave the building.
Match #4: Brian Kendrick, Chris Sabin, and Alex Shelley vs. Amazing Red, Max, and Jeremy
Kendrick attacks Red before the bell. Red comes back with a dropkick and fights off the Motor City Machine Guns. Generation Me showcase some of their double team maneuvers. The MCMG respond with some double teaming of their own. Shelley stops a code red by superkicking Red. There is some miscommunication between the MCMG and Kendrick as Kendrick blind tags himself into the match. The MCMG go for a double team on Red, but Kendrick just runs in and kicks him in the face for the victory at 2:40. Good character development for Kendrick but that’s about it. *
The British Invasion’s music hits after the match…they have the briefcase! The British Invasion attacks Red and Big Rob hits a chokeslam. They decide to let Doug Williams cash in the title shot apparently…
Match #5: X Division Title: Amazing Red © vs. Doug Williams
We join the match in progress, coming back from commercial. Red hits a flatliner but Williams comes back with Chaos Theory to become the new X Division Champion. I’m mixed on this one. I think that the X Division Title really helped Red get over and there was still some rope left in his title reign. On the other hand, Williams gives off the “Samoa Joe vibe” as X Division Champion because he’s not the type of wrestler usually associated with the belt. And maybe that’s a good thing. I didn’t see enough of this match to give it a fair rating. N/R
Foley is having his meeting with Bischoff. In a roundabout way, Foley explains that he rather be a janitor than work for Bischoff. However, Bischoff controls the fate of Abyss and Jeremy Borash as well. Bischoff tells Foley to think about that and reconsider. Bischoff walks into Styles’ locker room to see Flair giving strut lessons. He tells Styles to get ready for Against All Odds.
Match #6: Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Jarrett
Bischoff pulled Jarrett’s entrance music in an attempt to truly make him feel like the bottom of the barrel. I actually think that was a nice touch. Anderson goes for a cheap shot but pays for it. Jarrett hits a few shoulder blocks along with hip tosses and a dropkick. Anderson is clotheslined to the floor and Jarrett does his signature strut as we go to commercial. Back from break, Anderson rams Jarrett shoulder-first into the ringpost and starts to work over the left shoulder. Jarrett avoids a top rope swantan and connects with some punches. Anderson blocks the Stroke and goes low. Anderson gets a rollup for the victory at 10:51. This match was taking place on the back of some logical booking and was generally solid. That’s a rarity on Impact. It also went a long way in helping to legitimize Anderson. **¼
Anderson attacks Jarrett after the match and hits the Mic Check to end the show.
Overall: This edition of Impact didn’t annoy me once. Last week’s episode annoyed me for almost the entire duration. To say this week was a great improvement would be an understatement. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing to really go out of your way to see. However, there was an increase in match time and they are trying to do some logical things with the booking. Believe it or not, Impact was a solid show this week.
