My Impact Wrestling, 31st May 2012 Recap

Sting defeated Bobby Roode in a surprisingly decent Lumberjack match. To be honest I wasn't really expecting much from this bout but both men put in a good effort and the crowd were certainly well behind 'The Stinger', creating a great atmosphere. Afterwards Hogan called Sting Impact's "number one" guy, wrongly ahead of the younger and clearly more talented (now that is) certain other wrestlers on the roster, and announced that Sting will be facing Roode for the World title at Slammiversary. I was hoping for the return of the King of the Mountain match myself. 

Bully Ray called out Joseph Parks and presented footage from last week where he attacked him with his trademark chain. After mocking Parks and his family, Joseph decided to enter the ring with Bully. After refusing to fight, Bully informed Parks that he was the one responsible for taking out his brother Abyss which caused Parks to grab Ray. A shocked 'Calfzilla' suddenly threatened to sue if Parks hurt him so he let Ray leave. On his way out Parks challenged Bully to a fight, so he agreed, but to fight at Slammiversary instead.    

Austin Aries (c) defeated Chris Sabin to retain the X Division Championship. It was a brilliant contest between the two big talents, trading counter for counter with some traditionally exciting X Division moves at a fast pace. Worth checking out if you watch anything from the show. Judging by Sabin's reaction at the end I reckon there may be a heel turn in the near future for him possibly.

We were shown earlier footage of Taz, Bruce Pritchard and Al Snow as the Gut Check judges discussing the possibility and promise of last weeks contender the charismatic Joey Ryan. I personally don't mind these segments, there's a refreshing air of reality compared to most of TNA with them. Although I still hate the over the top reality show music that plays in the background.    

Dixie Carter said that at Slammiversary they will have their first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame announced, something which I feel is far, far too premature. Their own Hall of Fame and they've only been running for just under ten years? She then also introduced the new head of the Knockouts Division Brooke Hogan. A choice which has been met with much bemusement and distain by most fans, including myself admittedly.

Brooke went on to state how passionate and excited she was about this new opportunity in TNA. Hopefully I'm proven wrong and she does a good job, but after witnessing what happened the last time someone with authority had their child come in (Garet, I'm looking at you) I'm not so optimistic.  

Jeff Hardy versus Devon (c) for the TNA Television title ended in a disqualification after Robbie E and Robbie T both ran in and attacked the competitors. It had been a quite drab match up until the end, and I wasn't too fussed when it was over. 

We were then shown a VT of James Storm on his ranch with his daughter, discussing the events of Lockdown and what his next step might be. Storm asked for the filming to stop after his daughter asked if he'll be going back to wrestling.  

In the ring the three Gut Check judges voted two to one to not offer Joey Ryan a contract. It eventually came down to Taz's final vote, who said "No" and then got into an argument with the charismatic Ryan. The fact that Silva was offered a contract and Ryan wasn't is ridiculous. Ryan oozes character and proved himself in the ring, looking like he belonged and getting a big reaction from the fans in the arena and online. While Alex Silva was decent in the ring, he lacked any character and looked nervous and out of his depth in TNA. Hopefully his heated argument with Taz is going to lead to a return.

AJ Styles defeated Christopher Daniels in a brilliant main event. As expected both men put on a great display of exciting and crisp action. Although I feel Daniels versus Styles has been done to death almost, they still can't fail to produce in the ring each time. 

Afterwards Daniels and Kazarian began attacking Styles until Kurt Angle raced in to his aid. But this was short lived as Kaz and 'The Fallen Angel' also took out Angle. Daniels then presented a recording of a phone conversation between Dixie Carter and AJ where it sounded as though they were meeting up in secret. Carter then came racing out and in her only decent acting performance I can remember furiously demanded that the recording be stopped. In a nice touch you could still hear her shouting as the show was going off the air and the Spike logo showed. it was a nice end to the show I thought.

My Impact Wrestling, May 17th 2012 Recap

World Champion Bobby Roode came to the ring and spoke about how he's "overcome the odds" as far as his title defences have gone, and also gave RVD credit for his performance against him at Sacrifice in the Ladder match. He went on to remind us that in a weeks time he will have had the longest reigning TNA World Heavyweight title reign ever, eclipsing AJ Style's run. He then called out GM Hulk Hogan and began listing off demands that he wanted for his celebration on next weeks Impact Wrestling.

'The Hulkster' complimented Roode on giving the company some direction and order since becoming champ since now everyone is gunning for him, but then ripped up Roode's printed off list of demands. He reminded him that he hadn't broken the record yet, and would be defending the title on next weeks Open Fight Night Impact. He also asked the large majority of the locker room who wanted a piece of Roode to come out and announced the qualifying matches between them to determine who will face the World Champion next week for the title. 

Bully Ray defeated Rob Van Dam in the first World title qualifying match. It was a passable bout, if a little short. Although with RVD's supposedly injured leg the length of the match actually made sense, never thought I'd type that about TNA. 

AJ Styles won the World title qualifying Battle Royal. It was a decent enough match. For the most part it was the usual affair for a battle royal, but fortunately picked up in quality when Styles and Aries went head to head towards the end. A match between them two is a must for the near future I reckon. AJ's win was understandably well received. 

Afterwards AJ grabbed a mic and addressed the photos shown last week of him and Dixie Carter looking intimate, claiming that "things aren't always as they seem." Christopher Daniels and Kazarian then joined him and stated that they'd been left in Style's wake for the last ten years due to his relationship with Carter and that revealing the photos wasn't meant to hurt anyone but just expose the truth. Daniels then revealed yet more evidence to the accusations when he and Kaz presented a video of Styles and Carter arriving at a hotel room together arm in arm on an iPad, which actually makes it seem more effective to me. I mean, if you were presenting footage like this of the president of the company then would you really get to present it on the big screen? Doubtful.  

Backstage Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle began brawling after discussing their memorable history together, until they were separated by various wrestlers who just happened to be nearby. Boy, thinking back to their original superb feud Joe really was on fire back in those days wasn't he?

Jeff Hardy defeated Mr. Anderson in a good effort by both men. They managed to outdo their match last Sunday, which was okay. While their feud hasn't really got much substance behind it, their matches are certainly watchable and have exceeded my expectations.   

Gail Kim (c) defeated Brooke Tessmacher and Velvet Sky to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in a fair to dull Triple Threat match. To be honest the bout could've done without the average Sky involved considering what little she really brought to the match, I would've much rather have seen the superior Tara or Mickie James in there. Hopefully Kim will get some new competition for Slammiversary. 

Kurt Angle defeated Samoa Joe in a solid and intense main event to earn the final qualifying spot for the World title match next week. As expected from two wrestlers of this high standard they put on a very enjoyable contest, going back and fourth with crisp action and making it look easy. I'm glad this was also made the main event, it had and deserved to be.  

Afterwards all four men who qualified for their chance at Roode's title cornered the World Champion, who'd been on commentary. 

My Impact Wrestling, May 10th 2012 Recap

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode boasted about taking out Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy and RVD on last weeks Impact Wrestling. As Roode was then claiming that no one could stop his "world title domination" Rob Van Dam made his way out and began brawling with the champ. Roode managed to escape the ring, only to have Mr. Anderson block him off and beat him down with RVD. Jeff Hardy also predictably joined in the on the attack for some retribution, only to also begin fighting with his opponent at Sacrifice, Anderson. All four were eventually separated by staff and officials.

Hogan made his way out and booked a Fatal Four Way match between the wrestlers for that night, with the added stipulations that if either Hardy or Anderson win then they get RVD's spot as number one contender on Sunday, and if Roode wins then he gets to choose his opponent between the three, but if Van Dam is victorious then he gets to choose the stipulation for the World title bout. Interesting start to the show.

Brooke Tessmacher defeated Velvet Sky in a passable, if no particularly memorable contest. Let's face it, putting these two together is never going to produce anything incredible is it?

Bully Ray fortunately attacked Matt Morgan before he was about to face Crimson in a match no one wanted to see. He struck him in the head with a steel chair, causing 'The Blueprint' to be stretchered off. Bully was strangely calm and quiet as he warned Aries that this would be him, it was some nice work by Ray who's become one of my favourite things about TNA as of late.

Crimson grabbed a mic after and mocked Morgan, who he stated was never going to defeat him anyway. He went on to request that the referee give Morgan till the count of ten to get back to the ring, of course Morgan didn't make it and Crimson was declared the victor.

Austin Aries (c) defeated Zema Ion to retain the X Division Championship in a superb title match. Aries and Ion went back and fourth with smoothly executed and impressive maneuvers, as you'd expect from them. Both men put in a solid display and gave even more proof as to why the X Division, something WWE don't have an answer or equivalent to, should be pushed far more then it is. The fans were also really into it, showing their appreciation for the efforts of both talents.

My only very slight gripe with it would be that the talented Ion wasn't made to look like he would ever dethrone Aries as champ here. Previously he'd been made to look like the future champion, and has the credentials to do so. If it were up to me I would've had Ion be the one to finally win the X Division title from AA, leaving Aries to be able to move further up the card with his new and deserved push. 

Christopher Daniels, accompanied by Kazarian, gave AJ one last chance to confess publicly the big secret that Daniels has been blackmailing him with. AJ Styles sure enough came to the ring and warned both men that they are about to make a huge mistake by revealing the secret. But nonetheless Kaz and Daniels then presented a series of photos of AJ with TNA President Dixie Carter, including one of them kissing. Oh my!  

Devon (c) defeated Robbie E to retain the TNA Television title in a short and drab match up. Afterwards Robbie's bodyguard Robbie T took out the champion, supposedly setting up another rematch or a bout between himself and Devon. 

We were shown a VT of James Storm at his ranch, talking about his loss to Roode at Lockdown, how if deflated him and his possible exit form pro wrestling due to it. It was as usual a nice promo from Storm and a smart way of keeping him in the fans minds still. I'm hoping he'll return for Slammiversary. 

Joseph Parks, Abyss's brother, came to the ring and explained that his search for his missing brother over the last few months had brought up one common name, Bully Ray. H e went on to say that he might just buy a ticket to Sacrifice to have more words with Ray, but there might not be any need as Bully then made his way out. 'Calfzilla' claimed that Parks had no business being in a wrestling arena and threatened him if he stayed. Joseph retorted by reminding Ray of his recent losses in TNA and his beat down at the hands of Aries last week, asking him "how's that bullying thing working out for you?" This mickey taking obviously didn't please Bully who then pushed Parks over and left the ring.

The logical thing to do here is build up to a match between Bully Ray and Parks (who will be revealed to also being Abyss after Sacrifice I'm guessing) at Slammiversary. Which  would make sense and be a nice, slowly built feud as apposed to most rushed ones you get in WWE and TNA nowadays.     

Rob Van Dam defeated Bobby Roode, Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson in a Fatal Four Way match, thus giving him his match of choice against Roode on Sunday which he already announced as a Ladder match earlier in the show. It was a fair match up, they weren't given as much time as I was expecting but it was entertaining enough and helped build towards the matches at Sacrifice.

Afterwards Abyss then made his surprise return to TNA and warned his younger brother to "back away from the fire before you get burned." So maybe I was wrong? I didn't see the sense in bringing back Abyss this soon, it could've waited until next week.

My TNA Victory Road 2012 Recap

Before his match up Bully Ray came to the ring and announced himself "the talk of the wrestling world" due to him taking the pay-per-view hostage. This was because he demanded that his match with James Storm later that night to be changed into a number one contenders match to the TNA World Heavyweight Title. James Storm joined Ray and said that he never had to waste the peoples time and he gave him that number one contenders match right there and then.

James Storm defeated Bully Ray in a very brief bout after Ray sipped some of Storm's beer and then received a Last Call Superkick for the one-two-three. I think this could have been quite a decent match if they'd given it a bit more time.  

Austin Aries (c) defeated Zema Ion to retain his X Division Championship in a thrilling and all round solid match up. Both men went back and fourth with their impressive display of moves throughout and Ion had a nice near fall towards the end after spraying Aries in the face with his hair spray, which also blinded Aries for the remainder of the bout. Before the match Aries stated that it doesn't matter where he appears on the card it's always the main event. On another night, he would've maybe been right, but tonight there was a special match to come involving an Olympic Gold Medallist and the 'Charismatic Enigma'.

Magnus and Samoa Joe (c) defeated Matt Morgan and Crimson to retain the TNA Tag Team Titles. The majority of the match was quite dull with the average Crimson involved, it at least picked up a bit in excitement once Joe got into the action and picked up the pace. After arguing throughout the tag bout, Crimson eventually had enough and speared his partner Morgan, leaving him to be finished off and pinned by Magnus and Joe. Well at least we won't have to watch them as a tag team any more, but unfortunately this also means we'll have to endure them going into a singles feud.

Robbie E opened up his first ever 'Robbie E Invitational' for the TNA Television Title to any fan in the crowd. But after much deliberation Robbie decided to cancel the invitational and start posing with his manager/bodyguard Robbie T until Devon made his way through the crowd and accepted the challenge.

Devon defeated Robbie E (c) to win the TNA Television Title in a rather short but action packed contest. The win was very well received with the fans and Devon did look pretty decent between the ropes, with a fast pace and solid maneuvers.

Gail Kim (c) defeated Madison Rayne to retain her TNA Knockouts Championship in quite an average bout that played before a largely indifferent crowd. And I don't blame the fans there, with the build up to the match it was never made clear who you were really meant to be cheering on. Now the action wasn't bad, in fact Rayne's moves looked better then they maybe ever have, it just didn't draw you in like every title match should.      

AJ Styles and Mr. Anderson defeated Kazarian and Christopher Daniels in a solid tag team contest that started off a little drab but certainly pulled you in with a blistering finish. Styles and Daniels were the top performers of the match up with a good effort by both wrestlers, Kaz and Anderson also looked decent. 

Kurt Angle defeated Jeff Hardy in a thrilling match up that even exceeded my expectations. Both men put on a superb display, with plenty of effective near falls and crisp action. If you only watch one match from this pay-per-view (although not sure why you would) then watch this one. 

Bobby Roode defeated Sting in a surprisingly engrossing No Holds Barred match. I can't remember the last performance from 'The Stinger' that was this entertaining, he gave a great effort here and deserved the fans applaud. Fortunately there weren't too many weapons used in the bout either (which is what I usually expect from a TNA in these kinds of contests) I believe that may have tainted it a bit and taken away from the enjoyable wrestling on display. Roode gained the winning pin after Sting accidentally knocked himself out on a steel chair he was unaware was there as he applied a Scorpion Death Drop.

Afterwards the World champ threw the referee out of the ring, dragged Dixie Carter (who'd been at ringside) in and forced her to look at the beaten Sting. As he then prepared to strike 'Stinger' with a steel chair 'The Icon' made a comeback, but this was short lived as Roode managed to KO Sting with the chair and tape his hands to the ropes. Dixie pleaded with him to stop as Roode almost struck her with the chair, but instead he just left with the World title. It was an effective finish, but also a bit absurd, as if no one would come to a defenseless woman like Dixie's aid?   

Overall Victory Road was a bit of a mixed bag, but was fortunately saved by a few matches which definitely gave the fans their money's worth and a very memorable one in Angle versus Hardy.

Vince Russo parts ways with TNA

The news of Russo's departure was initially kept quiet from the talent until the official announcement on the 14/2 television taping. Apparently he was unhappy with amount of power he was loosing within the creative department. 
About. Bloody. Time. I have been waiting to hear this news for years now. Hopefully the company, which was at one point even more entertaining than WWE, can once again begin to reach the potential it's capable of. It's clear to us all that it has the talent, it's just the poor booking and nonsensical story lines that have really let it down and put people off. Along with the occasional ex-WWE talent making their way in and instantly gaining a more prominent spot. 
Now I'm not putting the blame entirely on Russo, but I think it's quite clear the promotion was in a far better place quality wise before he came along. Here's hoping TNA, and Carter, learn from their mistakes and move forward.    

My iMPACT Wrestling, December 8th 2011 Recap

The Stinger started things off by calling out the World champion Bobby Roode and the dull TNA President Dixie Carter. Sting demanded that Roode publicly apologise to Carter after using her as a shield two weeks ago on iMPACT. Bobby obliged and apologised to Carter, but then also went on to express how now he's the champ he can be much more honest. Honest about how since he's won the championship "business is better then ever" for TNA, which isn't really true at all but whatever.
Roode went on to give his honest opinion on Dixie Carter, who he believes is "a fake, a wannabe, Daddy's little rich girl," who's had everything handed to her. Not sure how true that is to be honest but I do believe that Carter doesn't deserve a place in professional wrestling, that's not a personal jab but my own opinion. He continued, "You couldn't run a lemonade stand, never mind a wrestling company, Dixie" my sentiments exactly. She just doesn't seem to have a clue how to run things and is a poor, worthless on screen persona to boot. The champ carried on to call himself "the leader of the selfish generation" (a moniker I quite like actually) and just before he left, spat in the face of Dixie Carter. For me this was a great promo by Roode and definitely the strongest since he won the World title. Most of it you could actually believe in, and the spit at the end just added that dramatic factor and is sure to buy him a ton load of heat. Nicely done Roode.
AJ Styles confronted Roode backstage but explained that the only reason he doesn't "rip him apart" right then and there was that he instead wanted everyone to see it in the ring. 
Abyss defeated Samoa Joe in a decent enough match up, for Abyss anyway. The finish came when Joe and the referee got distracted by Immortal member Scott Steiner at ringside. During this Bully Ray ran in and struck Joe with a chain, leaving Abyss (who had seen the attack by Ray) to choke slam Joe and grab the one-two-three. Ray and Steiner celebrated with 'The Monster' after believing that they had turned Abyss back into an Immortal member after helping him out, but instead he Black Hole Slammed Steiner and chased off Bully Ray. So why did they do this with a heel like Samoa Joe? And why was Abyss, a face, so happy to go along with the tainted win? Welcome to Russo-ville folks! Where it doesn't matter if you're good or bad!
D'Angelo Dinero and Devon asked out their opponents on Sunday, the TNA Tag Team champions Crimson and Matt Morgan to congratulate them on winning the titles and Devon also gave them his own personal belief that they could be "number one for a long time," really, Devon? He also warned them that him and 'Pope' will be bringing their A game at Final Resolution. Pope with a different tune then called the champions"two of the biggest, dumbest honkies that we've come across in some time," so there's clearly a heel turn approaching here. He also added that they were going to be taking the tag titles from them. It was a strong speech from Dinero that elicited a big cheer from the crowd, and proved once again that he deserves to be in a bigger position in TNA. Like for instance, the one that's been given to the average Anderson.
After the exchange of words Dinero barged Morgan on the way out which sparked a brawl between the teams. As Crimson and Devon wondered off out of the ring, Devon's two sons entered the ring to help out D'Angelo take out 'The Blueprint'.           
Mickie James defeated Madison Rayne in a bout that started off quite heated and exciting but ended sloppily. Should be a solid match between James and Gail Kim on Sunday though. Although I see Gail retaining with some outside help.
Garrett Bischoff defeated Gunner once again with a lucky pinfall victory. The match itself was average. Afterwards Gunner continued attacking Garrett and threw him into the steel steps. He also piledrivered him onto some exposed floor (uncovered by Eric Bischoff) on the outside of the ring. That's something you wouldn't see done in WWE, the piledriver is saved for only certain experienced wrestlers there.   
James Storm confronted Kurt Angle in the ring. Angle gave Storm credit for coming back so soon to action after the concussion he had caused him, he also warned that at Final Resolution when Storm enters the ring with him "you come into my world." Storm retaliated his threats by letting Kurt know that "there's nothing on God's green Earth that intimidates me." He also threatened Angle by adding that when he beats him at Final Resolution, he's going to crush his head "like a beer can."
Gail Kim defeated Traci Brooks in a heated match up where Brooks denied Karen Jarrett's earlier orders of just laying down and giving Kim the victory. Brooks had the majority of the exchange until Karen approached the ring, distracting the ref and allowing Madison Rayne to crack Traci over the head with her title belt and Gail Kim to pick up the pinfall win.
AJ Styles and Jeff hardy defeated Jeff Jarrett and Bobby Roode in an exciting main event. Hardy and Jarrett's battle ended up spanning off into the backstage area while AJ managed to get the win (with an injured leg and all) with a quick roll up pin on Roode. The fight continued after the match where Styles took the offence to the World champion until he ran off, only to return to take out the story-line-injured leg of AJ Styles.