TNA Impact Recap – 9/23/10

“They Say…Only The Strong Will Survive”
Opening Match: Rob Terry vs. Abyss
This is a rarity as Impact almost always opens with a segment. Cameras show security restraining Rob Van Dam backstage. Abyss attacks before the bell while a section of the crowd chants for Homicide. Go figure. Terry connects with a clothesline followed by a spin kick. Abyss answers with a clothesline of his own and lands a corner charge. Terry hits a front slam along with a powerslam. Abyss responds with a side slam and a chokeslam. All kinds of slams tonight. Abyss clotheslines Terry to the floor and throws a piece of guardrail at him, causing a disqualification at 4:01. Pretty much what you would expect out of these two. Generally sluggish until the arbitrary finish. *

Abyss continues to attack Terry after the match. Rob Van Dam comes through the crowd but security holds him back. Additional security is used to contain Abyss. RVD enters the ring and thanks the crowd for their support. He calls out Eric Bischoff, who makes his way to the ring during commercial. RVD states that he wants the first shot at whoever wins in the main event of Bound For Glory. The doctor has cleared him to wrestle at Bound For Glory and he wants to battle Abyss. Bischoff makes the match official. RVD leaves and D’Angelo Dinero comes to the ring. He tells Bischoff his credentials and complains about his position in TNA. Bischoff says that they need to have a private meeting backstage.
Lacey Von Erich is extremely upset at Madison Rayne. She explains this to Angelina Love and Velvet Sky backstage while using various expletives.
A short profile is shown on Shannon Moore. It’s actually nicely produced but I still feel as though he’s lost in the shuffle.
Bischoff tells Dinero that if he can defeat Samoa Joe tonight, he might get a spot in the main event at Bound For Glory.
Match #2: Jeremy Buck vs. Chris Sabin
Max Buck becomes involved immediately and the referee sends him to the back. Sabin currently has an injured neck due to Generation Me’s actions. Jeremy hits a slingshot facebuster along with a neckbreaker. They battle on the apron where Jeremy hits another neckbreaker. Sabin avoids a tornado DDT and rolls up Jeremy for the win at 3:43. Jeremy did a fine job of working over the neck and they made the finish not seem completely annoying. *½
Max Buck reenters the scene and Generation Me beat down Sabin. They hit a rope-assisted DDT and stand tall.
Match #3: TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Taylor Wilde and Hamada © vs. Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich
Von Erich finds success with a series of armdrags. Hamada boots Sky but misses a top rope moonsault. Sky tries a couple of quick pin attempts on Wilde to no avail. Wilde basement dropkicks Von Erich and the champions hit a suplex. Hamada connects with an enzuigiri on Von Erich and hits a fisherman suplex. Sky and Hamada are sent to the outside. Madison Rayne comes through the crowd and hits Von Erich with her motorcycle helmet. Wilde connects with a leaping enzuigiri on Von Erich to retain the titles at 4:20. Everyone was working hard and this was a slight improvement upon the Knockouts’ match last week. Wilde and Hamada as a team is the right move and hopefully they continue to defend their titles. *¾
Match #4: D’Angelo Dinero vs. Samoa Joe
Joe comes out of the gates aggressively and connects with a leg lariat. Dinero fights back with an STO but gets caught with a corner enzuigiri. He finds success with a flying shoulder block. Joe stops him on a second attempt by hitting a powerslam. Dinero catches Joe with a neckbreaker in the corner. Jeff Jarrett comes out to cheer on Joe. However, Kevin Nash and Sting start attacking Jarrett at ringside. Joe applies the Coquina Clutch for the victory at 5:01. This was an intriguing match up and I think it would have served TNA well to give this contest more time. The situation at ringside also took away from the finish. Good action for the time given but I could have done without the appearances from Jarrett, Nash, and Sting. **
Joe starts brawling with Nash after the match while Jarrett and Sting battle elsewhere.
The members of EV 2.0 are in the building. Tommy Dreamer announces backstage that they will face Fortune in Lethal Lockdown at Bound For Glory.
Mr. Anderson makes his way to the ring. He calls out Kurt Angle, who comes to the ring as well. Anderson comically talks about how competitive they both are. He calls Angle the best in this business but claims that he will be a step ahead at Bound For Glory. Angle explains his promise to retire and says that he will not lose at Bound For Glory. Anderson raises Angle’s hand but makes sure to throw a dig in at the end of the segment.
D’Angelo Dinero is talking to Kevin Nash and Sting backstage. Nash wants information out of Dinero and they seem to form an alliance.
Match #5: Ladder Match: AJ Styles vs. Sabu
The winner’s team will receive the advantage in Lethal Lockdown. Sabu snaps off a headscissors and connects with a clothesline. He slides a ladder into the ring but Styles quickly takes it out. Sabu baseball slides the ladder into Styles. The same situation is setup but Styles hits Sabu with the ladder instead. Mick Foley comes out as we head to commercial. Back from break, Sabu throws a chair at Styles’ face and lands a corner charge. A crossbody from Sabu sends both men to the floor. Matt Morgan attacks Foley at ringside and Flair adds a low blow. Kazarian and Tommy Dreamer start brawling down the ramp. The rest of EV 2.0 and Fortune battle at ringside. Sabu lands a dive onto the crowd. Robert Roode stops Sabu from climbing the ladder but Rhino Gores him. James Storm superkicks Rhino but Sabu fights him off. Storm recovers and smashes his beer bottle over Sabu’s head. Styles grabs the cage key for the win at 11:03. Much like Joe/Dinero, we had a possible quality match hurt by interference and distractions. Sabu looked decent and Styles winning was definitely the right move. However, the match itself lacked any structure. **
RVD and Jeff Hardy are having a conversation backstage. RVD leaves and is confident that Hardy will win the TNA World Title. Abyss suddenly enters and attacks Hardy.
After a commercial break, Abyss carries Hardy to the ring. He says that RVD’s return only shows his ignorance. At Bound For Glory, “they” will finally reveal themselves and begin the takeover of TNA. Abyss claims that he will slaughter RVD with the help of Janice. RVD comes to ringside and throws a chair at Abyss. He tries to fight despite his injuries but Abyss eventually gains the advantage. Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal of all people come out to make the save. Abyss retreats but reiterates that “they” are coming on 10.10.10.
Overall: Standard edition of Impact. There was the potential for two quality matches but the usual TNA wackiness ended up hurting more than helping. There’s really no need to watch this show. If you plan on ordering Bound For Glory, you might want to view the segments that setup matches for the pay per view. Other than that, you’ll be fine reading the recap.