TNA Impact Recap – 7/1/10

“The Voices In My Head”
The show opens with Abyss throwing chairs into the ring. He scares some kids in the front row and takes their chairs. He looks to attack SoCal Val until Hulk Hogan’s music hits. Hogan challenges Abyss to step into the ring with him. Eric Bischoff runs out to talk some sense into Hogan. Security separates Abyss and Hogan. Bischoff just walks up to Abyss and slaps him. Abyss takes out security and corners Bischoff. Hogan hits Abyss with two chair shots but gets goozled. Jeff Hardy makes the save and hits the Twist of Fate on Abyss along with a swantan. I’m not sure what all of this accomplished. Abyss makes a challenge toward Hardy for tonight. Mike Tenay and Taz run down the happenings for tonight. Abyss interrupts and stares down Taz as we head to commercial. Back from break, we learn that Abyss didn’t touch Taz and just destroyed the backstage area. Elsewhere, Hogan and Bischoff make Hardy/Abyss official for later.
Opening Match: Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal vs. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley
Shelley and Moore have a nice exchange. Moore hip tosses Neal onto Shelley and armdrags him to the floor. He headscissors Sabin to the floor as well and follows out with a dive. Brother Devon joins commentary. The Motor City Machine Guns take over with some double teaming back in the ring. Moore finds an opening to catch Sabin with a springboard moonsault. Neal adds a springboard crossbody and spears Shelley. Sabin sends Moore to the outside but walks into a swinging slam from Neal. Brother Ray walks down the ramp and Devon goes to stop him. Neal is distracted long enough for the MCMG to hit an assisted sliced bread for the win at 5:26. The match felt a little rushed but it was going along solidly until the predictable finish. *¾
Eric Bischoff makes his entrance and announces Hardy/Abyss for tonight. He also reveals that Rob Van Dam will be the special referee for the match. Mike Tenay and Taz comically flip out in reaction.
Match #2: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
Let’s see if TNA can screw up this match. Ric Flair and Kazarian accompany Styles to the ring. Joe shrugs off a few chops and slaps Styles. Joe unleashes a flurry of offense in the corner and connects with an enzuigiri. He maintains control until he gets caught with a dropkick. Styles impressively picks up Joe and slams him to the canvas. Joe responds with a gourdbuster but Styles kicks out his right leg. Joe recovers with a senton and goes for the Muscle Buster. Styles escapes and catches him with a dragon screw leg whip. Joe turns a figure four attempt into the Coquina Clutch for the victory at 6:42. This was good stuff from these two for the time given. I appreciated the small leg psychology they worked in and it played into the finish. **
Flair yells at Styles after the match as Kazarian watches on. Styles gets on the microphone and challenges Kazarian to a match next week. Kazarian accepts and Flair approves.
Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Dixie Carter have a meeting backstage. They discuss Sting and Dixie doesn’t believe that he’s evil. Kevin Nash walks in but they tell him to leave. Hopefully he’s trying to get Scott Hall back into the company. Hogan and Bischoff tell Dixie to fire Sting. She says that she’ll do something about it…TONIGHT!!! And she’s doing it alone!
Match #3: Submission Match: Desmond Wolfe vs. Brian Kendrick
Wolfe doesn’t get an entrance. Considering that Kendrick is in a storyline where he wants to prove that he’s capable of submitting somebody, I think the result of this match is still up in the air. That’s sarcasm. Wolfe attacks before the bell but Kendrick fights back with an enzuigiri. Douglass Williams joins commentary. Wolfe sends Kendrick to the floor and shows off for Chelsea. In the ring, Wolfe applies an arm submission. Chelsea heads up the ramp, causing Wolfe to break the hold. Kendrick uses the distraction to synch in a cobra clutch for the win at 3:35. This is one of those cases where TNA wants to highlight one wrestler but totally throws his opponent under the bus. Wolfe has survived wars with KURT ANGLE of all people but loses in four minutes here. I know Chelsea provided a distraction, but Wolfe still came out of this match looking like a fool. ½*
D’Angelo Dinero makes his way to the ring. This is his return to TNA. He cuts his usual promo and says that even at 80%, he’s ready to take charge. He hasn’t forgotten about Mr. Anderson and talks about his place in the Top Ten Rankings. Of course, when anyone even utters the words “top ten rankings”, Kurt Angle appears. Angle says that he sees the future of TNA when he looks at Dinero. At Victory Road, it will be Angle vs. Dinero. Angle says that if he loses, it may be his last match. Way to take away any unpredictability. Angle reiterates that he must be victorious and leaves.
Jay Lethal stomps down to the ring and doesn’t look happy. He talks about how Ric Flair and AJ Styles beat up his brother last week. He calls them out but Matt Morgan appears instead. Morgan reveals that Flair has asked him to join Fortune. He hasn’t decided yet but he apparently told Flair that he would defeat Lethal. Morgan hits Lethal with the microphone, leading to…
Match #4: Matt Morgan vs. Jay Lethal
Morgan connects with repeated elbows in the corner and hits a side slam. He follows with a fallaway slam and maintains control. Lethal dodges the Carbon Footprint and connects with an enzuigiri. He takes Morgan down with a shoulder tackle and adds a dropkick. Morgan powers Lethal to the outside. Hernandez just strolls down to the ring and low blows Morgan. No problem. Lethal connects with a springboard dropkick for the victory at 5:00. The action was pretty uninspired and the finish was illogical. Considering that Hernandez is a face, a low blow is a pretty heelish move. However, when two of your finishes already involved simple distractions, I guess you have to mix up your wacky endings a little bit. ¾*
Match #5: Taylor Wilde vs. Madison Rayne
Rayne spears Wilde and really shows her vicious side. Wilde comes back with a headscissors and connects with a few forearms. Rayne catches her with a clothesline on the apron. Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Stevie Richards, and Raven appear in the crowd. Wilde misses a flying crossbody and Rayne hits a modified neckbreaker for the win at 2:57. Not a particularly strong outing from the Knockouts this week. What’s new? ½*
Angelina Love runs out and attacks Rayne with a chair after the match. Rayne escapes a DDT and retreats to the floor.
Cameras backstage show Sarita attacking Taylor Wilde. They brawl until security separates them.
Dixie Cart approaches Sting in the rafters. She tells Sting that he’s a cancer and suspends him. Sting tries to explain himself but Eric Bischoff interrupts with security. Sting says that Dixie should have made the suspension indefinite.
Match #6: Abyss vs. Jeff Hardy
Rob Van Dam is the special referee. Abyss comes out with a board that has nails sticking out of it. Hardy dropkicks Abyss and he loses his weapon. Hardy sends Abyss to the floor and follows out with a plancha. Abyss pushes him into the ringpost and takes control in the ring. Abyss brings a chair into the ring but RVD takes it away. Hardy uses the chair to connect with a leg lariat in the corner. He follows with Whisper in the Wind for a two count. Abyss answers with a big boot and a splash. Hardy escapes Shock Treatment and hits the Twist of Fate. They battle up top and Hardy fights off Abyss. Hardy lands the swantan for the victory at 6:35. Decent match between these two but it didn’t exactly make Abyss look like a monster. Thankfully, the post-match happenings somewhat made up for that. **
Abyss attacks Hardy after the match. He lays out RVD with the Black Hole Slam. He grabs his nail board but Mr. Anderson runs out with a chair. Anderson knocks the board out of Abyss’ hands but accidentally hits Hardy with the chair. Abyss hits Shock Treatment on Anderson and stands tall to end the show.
Overall: Average edition of Impact. The storyline developments were a mixed bag as usual. I like what they are doing with Abyss’ character and the Sting angle is slightly interesting. However, they buried Desmond Wolfe this week and didn’t increase my excitement at all for Victory Road. The wrestling quality wasn’t worthwhile, resulting in a show that can easily be missed. Read the recap and you’ll be fine.