Photo credit: impactwrestling.com
Before the show had begun Shaquille O'Neil informed Hulk Hogan that he would be near the arena if he needed him and had his back regarding Aces & Eights. That was the only appearance he made.
As part of the Open Fight Night Kurt Angle and AJ Styles challenged Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez to a match to determine who deserves the next shot at the TNA Tag titles. Angle and Styles predictably received a good reception.
Kurt Angle and AJ Styles versus Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez ended in a no contest as Christopher Daniels and Kazarian ran in and attacked Chavo and Styles. The match itself had been an entertaining one, with all four men providing good displays throughout with solid back and fourth action.
Douglas Williams beat Gut Check challenger Evan Markopoulus in a pretty average bout. Williams as usual was on good technical form as he largely dominated Markopoulus. Unfortunately Evan didn't really look like anything special, but saying that I wouldn't have minded seeing a bit more offense from the rookie to get a better idea of what he's capable of. I can't see him being kept on.
James Storm called out Roode for a straight up fight, stating that their feud had moved beyond personal and now he just wanted to see him hurt. Bobby Roode came out and announced that he wouldn't fight 'The Cowboy' as he was superior to Storm and that as long as he was around he wouldn't become World Champion again, and left. But unfortunately for Roode Hogan warned him backstage that if he refuses the match (as part of the Open Fight Night you must accept any challenge) then he'll be fired, so the 'It Factor' made his way out gingerly to face Storm.
James Storm versus Bobby Roode ended in a no contest (two in one night? Is Russo back?) after the referee Brian Hebner realised that he couldn't control the two wrestlers. It wasn't so much a wrestling match as a brawl outside the ring for the majority of the fight, which was enjoyable enough and made sense considering their personal rivalry. The crowd seemed to also be up for it and were firmly lending their support to Storm. The battle continued through the fans and into the back.
Austin Aries explained to Jeff Hardy backstage that although Hardy was after his World title at Bound for Glory he was also after Hardy's admiration and respect that he gets from his fans, along with all his accomplished in his career so far and the only way to get that is by defeating him at BFG. Aries once again came off quit heelish here as he called Hardy's fans "mindless sheep." Not really appropriate for one of the top faces in TNA right now.
Tara claimed that the reason she turned on Tessmacher last week was because she was tired of being all pally pally with her and was reminded from her new, apparently top Hollywood star boyfriend that she is the top female wrestler in the World. She also accused the fans of just chanting for her for her looks. Tara went on to challenge announcer Christy Hemme to a match up. As Tara began getting physical with Hemme, Brooke Tessmacher raced to her aid and chased off her former mentor.
Hulk Hogan decided to make a deal with Aces & Eights that they let the kidnapped Joseph Parks go and he'll go into their clubhouse. The gang's leader appeared on screen and agreed to the deal, he also had a fellow member of the group destroy Park's laptop and crack the lawyer in the head with a hammer. The 'Hulkster' did not look amused.
After a video package for Jeff Hardy played, Aries thanked the producers for playing it right before he made his way out sarcastically, explaining that that kind of attention Hardy receives is exactly what he's after. He also claimed Hardy wasn't the hunter but "the hunted" and wanted to prove that whatever Jeff could do he could do better and called out Bully Ray for a match. Bully said that AA had a lot of nerve calling him out, but was eventually cut off as the World Champion came flying over the top rope at him to start the bout in an impressive fashion.
Bully Ray defeated Austin Aries in a decent enough main event. Bully dominated for the most part, with Aries making a brief comeback towards the end. It wasn't a particularly memorable contest but it was watchable, and both men put in fair efforts. After referee Earl Hebner was struck accidentally, Bully took full advantage and walloped AA with his signature chains to score the winning pin. Afterwards Bully wanted to finish the job and attack Aries with his own title belt, but was chased off as Hardy came to his aid. Could they maybe be setting up a Triple Threat for the World title at BFG?
Overall it felt like a mostly average show, nothing that special to speak of really. Which is disappointing considering the quality of most Impacts recently.
No comments:
Post a Comment