TNA Impact Recap – 7/8/10

“Friends Till The End?”
Mr. Anderson makes his way to the ring with a chair in hand. He calls out Jeff Hardy, who comes down to the ring as well. Anderson says that the chair shot last week was an accident. If he had meant to hit Hardy, he would have told him, because Anderson is an asshole. Anderson tells Hardy that they have a match tonight. He’s going to bring the chair with him. If he uses it, then Hardy knows that there’s a problem. If Hardy uses it, then he knows that there’s a problem.
Opening Match: Kazarian vs. AJ Styles
Yes, there is a ten-minute time limit. This is such a grudge match. Styles means business and they go at it immediately. They exchange armdrags and punches. Kazarian pulls off a monkey flip and connects with a shotgun dropkick. Ric Flair walks down the ramp to watch the action. Styles connects with a dropkick and hits a neckbreaker. He follows with a backbreaker. They tease finishers and Styles hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Kazarian avoids another backbreaker and lands a slingshot leg drop. Styles answers with a pele kick. Kazarian catches him with a slingshot DDT on the apron. They brawl on the floor and the match results in a double countout at 6:03. This was going along just fine until the finish. I’m not going to sit here and criticize the booking. It makes sense that these two would brawl past the ten count. However, it doesn’t help the match quality at all. *¾
They continue to brawl after the match. Flair interrupts and tells them that they have a tag team match at Victory Road. Wait…tag team partners that don’t get along? Cool.
Match #2: Daffney vs. Angelina Love
Love controls from the start. She connects with a spin kick and slams Daffney to the canvas. Love hits a flatliner for the win at 2:01. A squash, but not an impressive one. ¼*
Love calls out Madison Rayne after the match. Rayne enters the scene and asks Love what she is putting on the line at Victory Road. It’s decided that Love will put her career on the line on Sunday. There’s also a stipulation that any interference from Velvet Sky or Lacey Von Erich will get Rayne disqualified and she will lose her title.
Brother Devon, Jesse Neal, Shannon Moore, and Brother Ray meet in the ring for an intervention. Ray actually decides to stay on the ramp. Devon explains what a standup guy Neal is. Ray says that he’s the leader of Team 3D and tells Devon that he has no loyalty. Devon answers that he’s loyal to both Ray and Neal. Ray reveals that there will be a triple threat match at Victory Road between Devon, Neal, and himself. That match has the potential to be very Hills-esque.
Match #3: Samoa Joe vs. Rob Van Dam
RVD wins a strike exchange. Joe tries for an early Muscle Buster but RVD fights it off. Joe pushes him off the top rope and into the entrance ramp. RVD answers with a spin kick but Joe catches him with a dive to the floor. Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Stevie Richards, and Raven take their weekly spots in the crowd. Back in, RVD connects with some kicks and adds a guillotine leg drop. Mike Tenay questions Taz about the ECW superstars appearing in the Impact Zone. Tenay even brings up the fact that Tommy Dreamer was Taz’s best man at his wedding. Joe hits a powerslam and takes over. RVD comes back with a springboard thrust kick. He follows with Rolling Thunder and a flying thrust kick. Joe responds with a huge clothesline, STO, and powerbomb. He applies a boston crab and transitions into a half crab. RVD makes it to the ropes but finds himself in the Coquina Clutch. RVD turns it into a pin attempt for the victory at 10:40. Well here’s a case of TNA doing something right. While they gave away a first-time match on free TV, this did wonders for Joe. He has been completely directionless lately and this was a nice reminder that he’s still a main player in TNA. The action was good and I could definitely see these two having a great match on pay per view. **¾
Joe hits a Muscle Buster on the referee after the match because he can.
Match #4: Ladder Match: Jeremy Buck vs. Douglass Williams
This is a non-title match and the winner will simply grab the red X. Taz reveals that Williams is afraid of heights. I love the depth that TNA adds to their wrestlers. Jeremy lands a springboard crossbody and follows with a moonsault to the floor. He brings a ladder into the ring. Williams puts him in a tree of woe but hesitates to climb the ladder. Jeremy dropkicks him off of it. Williams props up the ladder in the corner and sends Jeremy into it. He misses a knee strike and Jeremy catapults him into the ladder. Jeremy hits a slingshot facebuster, sending Williams face-first into the ladder. Jeremy tries to climb but Williams knocks him off with an electric chair. Now Williams attempts to climb but Jeremy sunset bombs him off the ladder. Jeremy is able to retrieve the X at 4:32. I’ll be the first to say that I think the whole “Ultimate X/Submission” match at Victory Road is ridiculous. However, this was the right way to build to it. They accomplished a lot in under five minutes and worked in some nice spots. **¼
A video is shown of the Motor City Machine Guns making fun of Beer Money. I’m pretty sure this video was made awhile ago but it’s still funny.
Match #5: James Storm, Robert Roode, and Matt Morgan vs. Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, and Hernandez
Sabin comes off the middle rope with a hurricanrana on Roode. The MCMG follow with some double teaming. Morgan takes out Sabin with a big boot on the apron and the heels isolate him. Sabin connects with a spin kick on Roode and makes the tag. Hernandez takes care of Beer Money while Morgan stays away. Morgan actually heads up the entrance ramp. Shelley flatlines Roode into the turnbuckles. Hernandez hits a slingshot shoulder block on Beer Money and then chases Morgan to the back. Sabin lands a dive to the floor onto Storm. Sabin hits a flying crossbody on Roode. Roode rolls through the pin attempt into one of his own for the win at 5:53. They packed a lot of action into six minutes and built towards their matches on Sunday nicely. I liked how Morgan eventually left the match. It shows that he’s weary of Hernandez and he also has a history of leaving his tag team partners. It seems like there’s something in the water at the Impact Zone tonight. **
D’Angelo Dinero is interviewed backstage. He says that you can’t trust Mr. Anderson. Dinero’s focus is on Kurt Angle and he must bring his best on Sunday.
Kevin Nash is backstage waiting for a meeting with Eric Bischoff. Hulk Hogan enters and they’re comically wearing the same shirt. Hogan says that they’re still friends but that’s the extent of it.
Jay Lethal is in the ring. When he saw his brother getting attacked last week, it ripped his heart out. So at Victory Road, he’s going to rip Ric Flair’s heart out. Makes sense to me. Lethal sends a nice message to his mother and Flair interrupts. Flair says that he could care less about Lethal’s mother. Flair cuts a tremendous promo and leaves Lethal in the ring. Lethal cut out his antics and Flair’s promo was top notch. While I’m not necessarily looking forward to their match on Sunday, this was amazing promo work.
Match #6: Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy
Anderson keeps his promise and brings a chair to the ring. Anderson hits a neckbreaker and dodges a pendulum dropkick in the corner. Hardy connects with a clothesline and lands Whisper in the Wind. Anderson reverses the Twist of Fate into a finlay roll. He misses a swantan and Hardy hits the Twist of Fate for the victory at 3:32. After a truly solid show, it’s a shame that this had to happen. These are two participants in the main event on Sunday. There’s no reason why this match couldn’t have received at least six or seven minutes. Everything just felt rushed and it didn’t make me excited for the main event of their pay per view in three days. You know, the match that should sell the show. *¼
Hardy checks on Anderson after the match. Abyss comes out with his board of nails. The referee takes away the board and they try to take down Abyss. Abyss connects with a double clothesline. He chokeslams Hardy and boots Anderson. Abyss tries to hit Anderson with the board but misses and gets it stuck on a turnbuckle. Rob Van Dam tries to make the save to no avail. Anderson grabs a chair, tells Hardy to move out of the way, and hits Abyss with it. RVD kicks the chair into Abyss’ face and the faces stand tall. Anderson and RVD stare each other down and get intense. Abyss slowly rises from ringside to end the show.
Overall: This was the best edition of Impact since the show where RVD won the TNA World Title in April. By no means is this a “must see” show, but it’s a solid two hours of professional wrestling. The promos between Ray/Devon/Neal and Lethal/Flair were both excellent. They help made matches I’m not looking forward to at Victory Road more tolerable. On the wrestling side, RVD and Joe had a good match that did wonders for Joe’s status in TNA. Of course, that can all be tarnished in upcoming weeks. However, as far as this week goes, it was an effective go-home show leading into Victory Road and that’s more than I could have asked for from TNA.