TNA Impact Recap – 5/27/10

“The Enigma And The A-H***”

TNA just keeps getting wittier with their episode titles. Jeff Hardy makes his way to the ring. He says that he’s trying to figure out what’s going on with Mr. Anderson. Anderson comes out and explains that his recent actions might be a ploy to fool Hardy. He tells Hardy to embrace his inner-assholiness. AJ Styles, Ric Flair, Beer Money, and Desmond Wolfe interrupt and ruin the fun. Styles and Anderson banter back and forth. They will have a match later tonight.
Opening Match: Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal vs. Brother Ray and Brother Devon vs. Eric Young and Scott Hall
Moore hits a wheelbarrow bulldog on Young and hip tosses Neal onto him. Nash is on the apron, even though he isn’t in the match. Additionally, Hall forgot to take off his title belt. Neal lands a springboard crossbody on Young. Ray catches Neal with a clothesline and bullies him around. Devon tries to stop him from the apron. Moore connects with a leg lariat on Devon. Ray tags in and goes back to work on Neal. He brings a chair into the ring but Devon stops him from using it. Neal spears Ray for the win at 4:49. I have no idea why The Band was even involved. Regardless, this match did a good job of advancing the Ray/Neal storyline. *½
Ray asks Devon if he’s out of his mind after the match. Ray challenges Neal to a match at Slammiversary and tells Devon to stay out of it.
Christy Hemme is with Kazarian. He is more confident now than he’s ever been. Ric Flair walks in and says Kazarian can impress him tonight by taking out Jay Lethal. AJ Styles interrupts and asks Flair why he’s with Kazarian. Flair brushes Styles off.
Match #2: Kazarian vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal connects with a dropkick and snaps off a slingshot hurricanrana. He lands a dive to the floor as Ric Flair comes out to watch the match. Kazarian immediately shows aggression and takes control. Lethal comes back with a springboard moonsault and an enzuigiri. He applies a figure four to mock Flair but Kazarian makes the ropes. Flair provides a distraction, allowing Kazarian to roll up Lethal for the victory at 4:25. I wouldn’t have minded this match happening at Slammiversary to be honest. They worked well together and the solid booking continues tonight…surprisingly. *¾
Flair attacks Lethal after the match. Lethal comes back with a flurry of offense and clotheslines Flair to the floor. AJ Styles runs out and beats him down. Styles and Kazarian fight over who gets to attack Lethal. Lethal sends them both to the floor and they argue to the back.
Cameras show Shannon Moore laid out backstage. He has an ace of spades on his back.
Match #3: Orlando Jordan vs. Abyss
Jordan goes to work on Abyss’ injured left arm. Too bad it’s impossible to take him seriously. Chelsea looks on nervously from ringside. Abyss lands a corner charge and hits a wheelbarrow slam. He clotheslines Jordan to the outside. Jordan pushes Abyss into Chelsea, knocking her down. Desmond Wolfe runs out and attacks Abyss with a lead pipe, drawing the disqualification at 4:35. Once again, this match was used strictly for storyline advancement. However, I automatically lose interest every time Jordan is involved. I’m willing to take a “wait and see” approach towards the Wolfe/Abyss feud. ½*
Desmond Wolfe tells Jordan to “get up bubblegum”. Amazing. They attack Abyss until Rob Terry makes the save. He hits the Freakbuster on Jordan and stands tall.
Rob Van Dam makes his way to the ring. He calls out Sting. Instead, a video plays of Sting attack RVD on Impact awhile ago. Sting appears in the rafters and says that he is taking the title at Slammiversary.
A video is shown of Hulk Hogan talking to Mr. Anderson. Hogan tells Anderson that he’s backed himself into a corner in TNA. Anderson says that he’s trying to do the right thing and that he’s turning over a new leaf. He tells Hogan to watch what he does tonight against AJ Styles.
Christy Hemme is with Roxxi. She says that she’s excited to be back and ready for action. Hemme tells her that she’ll be challenging for the TNA Knockouts Title at Slammiversary. Roxxi is very excited for her four-minute match on pay per view!
Match #4: TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich © vs. Taylor Wilde and Sarita
There’s a midget on commentary promoting his new television show. Besides being annoying, he is really obnoxious. Sarita and Wilde catch Sky with sentons and elbow drops. Von Erich catches Wilde with a clothesline from the apron. Von Erich chokeslams Wilde to retain the titles at 2:20. More of the same, except worse. ¼*
The midget runs into the ring and celebrates with The Beautiful People. He spanks Sky, who DDTs him. Von Erich, feeling sympathetic, starts making out with the midget. This division is a joke.
Match #5: Desmond Wolfe vs. Jeff Hardy
Kurt Angle is on commentary. Wolfe connects with his kick-lariat combination in the corner. Hardy responds with his corner dropkick and lands a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Wolfe counters the Twist of Fate with a divorce court. They trade finisher attempts and Wolfe goes back to work on the shoulder. Hardy snaps off a headscissors but takes out the referee with Whisper in the Wind. He hits the Twist of Fate but there’s no referee. Wolfe uses some kind of weapon to pick up the win at 5:52. TNA seems to be very hot and cold when it comes to Wolfe. This week they actually cared about him and we received a decent match to boot. Hopefully these two have a rematch down the line. **
Matt Morgan is in the ring. He talks about how he’s been cheated in the past couple of weeks. He puts out an open invitation for a tag team partner. No one comes out, so Morgan eventually picks Angle, who confronts him in the ring. Morgan shoves Angle and security holds him back. Samoa Joe interrupts and chases Morgan away. Angle and Joe stare each other down.
Match #6: AJ Styles vs. Mr. Anderson
Anderson holds onto a side headlock. They trade control on the mat and then have a strike exchange. Styles connects with a dropkick but gets caught with a finlay roll. He recovers with an enzuigiri and tries to ground Anderson. Styles rolls through a crossbody and uses the ropes on a small package for the victory at 5:39. This was a pretty tame match as the action never went past first gear. They could clearly do better with more time. *½
Anderson asks the crowd if Styles pulled his tights on the pin attempt. He punches Styles until Beer Money make the save. Jeff Hardy comes out and chases the heels away. Anderson and Hardy shake hands to end the show.
Overall: Slightly better than usual this week. The wrestling quality still isn’t up to par but at least there are some interesting storyline advancements taking place. The tension between Styles and Kazarian could lead to some great matches down the line. I also support another Angle/Joe encounter at some point and hopefully their stare down was a possible foreshadow. I wouldn’t go out of my way to check out this show but I also wouldn’t label you as completely crazy if you did.