TNA Impact Recap – 11/18/10

“Morgan Woooo’s The Nature Boy”
Ric Flair makes his way to the ring as I wonder how TNA continually creates progressively stupider episode titles. Flair announces that he will be the special referee for the Matt Morgan vs. Jeff Hardy rematch. He calls out Morgan, who joins him in the ring. Flair cuts a quality promo and ultimately challenges Morgan to a match tonight. Morgan accepts the challenge and Flair continues to rant on the microphone. Flair is a tremendous asset promo-wise but needs to stay far away from in-ring competition. We’ll see how he fares later.
Opening Match: Jay Lethal, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, and Velvet Sky vs. Robbie E., Max Buck, Jeremy Buck, and Cookie
Lethal snaps off a few armdrags on Max and the faces follow with a series of dropkicks. Robbie holds Shelley in place, allowing Max to kick him into the guardrail. The heels isolate Shelley until he catches Robbie with an enzuigiri and makes the tag. Lethal cleans house and lands a springboard crossbody on Max. He adds a handspring back elbow to Generation Me and hits the Lethal Combination on Jeremy. Sabin catches Jeremy with a springboard clothesline and the match breaks down. Sky snaps off a satellite headscissors on Max and the MCMG follow with some double teaming. Sky spears Cookie while the MCMG hit their neckbreaker-splash combination on Jeremy. Matt sprays Sabin with Cookie’s hairspray and Jeremy rolls him up for the win at 5:30. Fun sprint that packed a lot of action into five minutes. It looks as though Generation Me will be receiving another title shot and I’m looking forward to their eventual rematch against the MCMG. **¼
Backstage, Jeff Jarrett is talking about his MMA exhibition tonight. He tells Murphy and Gunner to not allow Kurt Angle into the building. He slaps Jeremy Borash and yells at him whenever possible.
After a video package showcasing Kurt Angle, Jeremy Borash is in the ring to introduce Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett, in MMA gear, comes out accompanied by six supposed MMA fighters. There is definitely some comical value here in Borash’s general disdain for the situation. Jarrett also demands that production put a “do not try this at home” caption at the bottom of the screen so the hearing impaired know what precautions to take. In the first demonstration, Jarrett avoids a punch and applies a cross armbreaker. He also demonstrates an ankle lock and gives Ken Shamrock credit for the hold. The crowd chants “boring”. Jarrett says that the rear naked choke is next and Samoa Joe’s music starts playing. Joe stands on the entrance ramp and challenges Jarrett to a sparring contest. Jarrett says that if Joe can beat his two MMA students, he’ll face Joe in a submission match. Joe enters the ring and quickly dispatches of the two students. Earl Hebner signals the start of the submission match. However, Jarrett throws his students at Joe, who lays them out. Jarrett runs up the ramp and tells Joe “not tonight”. Joe hits the Muscle Buster on one of the students because he can.
Match #2: Jeff Hardy vs. Raven
If Raven loses, he will be fired. For that kind of stipulation, this match has received no build. Raven sends Hardy to the floor and russian leg sweeps him into the guardrail. In the ring, Raven drives Hardy down to the canvas and grabs a chair. He props it in the corner. Hardy whips him into the chair but misses Whisper in the Wind. Raven connects with a discus lariat and hits a bulldog. Hardy answers with the Twist of Fate and lands a swantan for the victory at 2:55. I’m not saying that Raven has been extremely helpful to TNA in the past few months, but the guy deserved more than three minutes. *
EV 2.0 come out to say goodbye to Raven. Hardy stands atop the entrance ramp and Hulk Hogan joins him. Hogan makes fun of Raven and has a great line: “You’re fired Raven…quote the Hulkster, nevermore.”
After a commercial, Tommy Dreamer is the only one left in the ring. He calls out Rhino, who turned on EV 2.0 last week. Rhino enters the ring. He claims that his contract with TNA was over after Turning Point and Eric Bischoff was the only one that cared. He says that EV 2.0 stole the spotlight when they came to TNA and he became an afterthought. Rhino doesn’t take a backseat to anybody. Dreamer explains his decision to join TNA and says that Rhino sold out. Rhino eventually has enough and starts attacking Dreamer’s dislocated wrist. Rob Van Dam runs out to make the save. Rhino catches him with a Gore and stands tall.
Match #3: Casket Match: Abyss vs. Shannon Moore
Moore uses his agility to evade Abyss until he runs into a front slam. Abyss takes him to the floor but can’t put him into the casket. In the ring, Abyss misses a charge and Moore hits a bulldog. Moore tries to knock Abyss into the casket but ends up getting thrown over the top rope. Moore slams the casket lid onto Abyss’ arm and lands a springboard moonsault over the casket. Back in, Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam. He opens the casket lid and D’Angelo Dinero appears in the casket. The match is thrown out at 5:51. The stipulation was unnecessary, especially with the unclean finish. This match also didn’t put over Abyss’ ruthlessness because Moore received just as much offense. ½*
Dinero attacks Abyss and Moore knocks him down with a missile dropkick. Abyss flees the ring as Dinero stares him down.
Match #4: Angelina Love vs. Mickie James
The winner will receive a shot at the TNA Knockouts Title at Final Resolution. Mickie tries a few quick pin attempts to no avail. Love grabs hold of a headlock but gets monkey flipped. Mickie connects with a dropkick but walks into a clothesline. Love hits a front slam and shows some disrespect. Mickie snaps off a hurricanrana and hits a neckbreaker. Love finds success with a bicycle kick. Mickie spikes her with a DDT for the win at 5:54. Solid outing for the Knockouts. Mickie is already adding legitimacy to the division and TNA should continue to showcase her. **
Brother Ray makes his way to the ring. Fifteen years ago, he created the best tag team finishing move in the business. It’s a move that won him twenty-three world tag team titles. Nobody has ever kicked out of the 3D…until Chris Sabin. The only reason he kicked out was because Brother Devon was weak. Ray claims that his brother has always been the weak link of Team 3D. Ray says that he’s the Shawn Michaels and Devon is the Marty Jannetty.
Match #5: Matt Morgan vs. Ric Flair
If Morgan wins, he gets to choose the special referee for his title match at Final Resolution against Jeff Hardy. He shoves Flair to the mat. Flair connects with some chops in the corner but Morgan returns the favor. Flair pushes Morgan into the referee and low blows Morgan. Flair takes control, getting in a few shots on the outside. Morgan rams his head into the guardrail, busting Flair open. Back in, Morgan connects with punches in the corner and hits a side slam. He follows with a chokeslam. Fortune rush the ring and start attacking Morgan. Douglas Williams appears hesitant to help. Styles starts yelling, prompting Williams to punch him. Williams takes out the rest of Fortune with help from Morgan. Flair tries to chop Morgan with no success. Morgan connects with the Carbon Footprint for the victory at 7:22. This match thankfully served some purpose, as Williams completed his face turn. The action was what you would expect given the competitors. *¼

Overall: I’m beginning to notice a trend with Impact. Everything that doesn’t involve the Immortal storyline, namely the knockout and tag team division, has been entertaining. That’s not exactly a positive observation, considering most of the show involves Immortal, but it’s true. Standard episode of Impact this week. I’m not sure how I feel about Hardy/Morgan headlining another pay per view. Their match at Turning Point left a lot to be desired as far as main events are concerned. I really don’t see them improving upon that match, especially with the wackiness that comes with a special referee…and the fact that this is TNA.