My TNA Destination X, 18th July 2013 Recap

All hail Sabin. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com

World Champion Bully Ray opened Destination X by claiming that the challenger to his title later in the show, Chris Sabin, had no shot against him. He also boasted that it was the perfect night to end Main Event Mafia and that he was the "most hated man in pro wrestling, and that's just the way I like it!" 

Bully went on to call out his wife Brooke Hogan, who told him to "move on" like she now had, but he couldn't accept that. So the champ's furious father-in-law Hulk Hogan stormed out and told Bully that "enough was enough" and walked away with his daughter. As Bully continued to yell at them Kurt Angle and the rest of the Main Event Mafia appeared on the big screen and warned Ray that they'll be bringing the fight to Aces & 8s very soon.

Austin Aries pinned Bobby Roode in an enthralling Bound for Glory Series encounter. As usual these two worked brilliantly together, putting together exciting sequences and effective near falls. I don't think I could ever get tired of watching them go at it (mind out of the gutter). Afterwards a furious Roode, who has failed to obtain a single point in the series so far, began chucking around various items at ringside. 

Sonjay Dutt bested Homicide and Petey Williams in an entertaining three-way contest. In traditional X Division-style the match was fast paced with innovative wrestling from the get go, and to be honest with this level of talent (and three of my personal favourites from the X Division's past) the quality of the match was never really in doubt. As a result of the win Dutt qualified for the three-way Ultimate X match to crown a new X Division Champion next week.

Manik beat Kenny King and Chavo Guerrero in a largely enjoyable three-way to qualify for the X Division Title match. Although it wasn't quite as exciting as the previous affair it was still a fun watch.

The Main Event Mafia (Sting, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Magnus and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson) came to the ring and asked Aces & 8s to join them so they can settle things and finally rid the company of the gang that's been terrorising them since last year. But instead Mr. Anderson appeared on the big screen and goaded them into coming backstage to confront them.

So after the MEM began tangling with Aces backstage they were locked in a room so Bully Ray was able to crack Angle against a wall and then throw him into the back of a truck and send him on his way.

Greg Marasciulo outdid Rubix and Rockstar Spud in another stellar three-way to qualify for the X Division Title match. All three men provided worthy efforts, and although he still may have a bit of work to do in the ring, Rockstar Spud certainly showed character here. I'm glad to see Marasciulo (formerly Trent Barreta in WWE) appear in TNA. I always felt he was a solid talent and hope he's given more of a chance to show what he can do.

The charismatic Knockouts Champion Mickie James presented a VT of highlights from a gig of hers in Tennessee last week, renaming it "Mickie City." However she was soon interrupted by the number one contender to her strap Gail Kim, who called the champ "delusional" for believing that people were paying more attention to James' music than her Ladder match against Terrell last week. 

After a few more exchanges the two began attacking each other until they were separated by referees. As the two top female talents in the company I'm very much looking forward to their title clash. I'm also still really into James' new obnoxious heel persona, she's pulling it off well. 

Chris Sabin pinned Bully Ray (c) to obtain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in an eventful main event. The action was solid, with Bully logically targeting the formerly injured knee of the challenger and dominating for the majority, and the fans were very much into it.

While I did enjoy the outing, the outside interference between Aces and the Mafia did feel like overkill and spoil it a bit for me. Towards the end after the referee was KO'd by accident (which looked daft) the two factions faced off and brawled in the ring and ended up travelling down the ramp to the back. Meanwhile Bully had been handed a hammer, but Sabin managed to snatch it and crack the champ in the head as he went for a powerbomb and grabbed the momentous winning pinfall.  

Last year when Aries won it felt even more satisfying to me, maybe it was the build up and Aries' record-breaking X Division Title reign leading up to it, but I reckon it was due to his cleaner and more defining victory. Don't get me wrong I'm still excited by Sabin winning the strap as a big fan of his, and it certainly makes things interesting, but I just wish they'd had a simpler one on one match with the Mafia erasing Aces from the equation like they promised to last week.    

Overall it was a solid show, with not one bout failing to entertain and some enjoyable segments. My highlights were James' promo, Dutt versus Homicide versus Williams, the main event and Aries versus Roode. It didn't quite live up to last years Destination X but for an Impact broadcast it was a very satisfying and memorable show.  

My TNA Impact Wrestling, 2nd May 2013 Recap

Chris Sabin makes his much welcome return. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com

Hulk Hogan kicked things off by calling out Sting and apologising for his behaviour towards 'The Stinger' when he pushed him away, so Sting accepted. As Hogan was about to then name the number one contender to Bully Ray's World title at Slammiversary, Matt Morgan joined the icons  and reprimanded 'The Hulkster' for picking his friend Sting. But Hogan had other ideas and instead booked Morgan versus Sting in the main event to determine the number one contender. I just tend to drift away whenever Hogan grabs a mic by this point.

Chris Sabin bested Sonjay Dutt and Zema Ion in a stellar Triple Threat contest to qualify for an X Division Title match. While all three men gave fine displays here, Dutt was the standout performer for me, with a series of crisply executed maneuvers throughout. Sabin started off a little slow, and oddly looked fairly weak at the start (which is strange for a returning wrestler) but once he got going he didn't miss a beat.

My only gripe with the bout was the unfortunate return of the annoying 'X Division Cam' that's connected to the referee's hat. It moves so fast that it almost gives me a headache and makes me feel a little sick. It's really unnecessary and the sooner it goes the better.  

Rob Terry beat Joey Ryan, Robbie E and Jesse in a Handicap match. As expected it was pretty average for the majority with pedestrian action. But to be fair Terry gave a better effort than normal, although that's still not saying much for the limited Welshman. I would normally mention how damaging this is to the three opposing wrestlers, but to be honest I don't exactly envisage a main event future for any of Terry's foes here.  

Bobby Roode and Austin Aries came out and spoke about how Bad Influence (Christoper Daniels and Kazarian) screwed them out of the tag titles last week, and also claimed that they weren't in the same league talent-wise considering that they've never been World Champions like themselves. Daniels and Kazarian then stormed out and told their future opponents (on next week's Impact) that when it comes to tag team wrestling they don't come close to them.

Finally the tag champs themselves, Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez strolled out and informed the two teams that next week their number on contender match will be refereed by James Storm, who also came out and shared some beers with them. It makes a nice change from WWE seeing time and effort put into the tag title scene consistently and not just short periods of time when they can be asked to, and the annoying thing is WWE have no reason not to do the same. 

Kurt Angle defeated D'Lo Brown in an I Quit match that ranged from drab to decent. The first half was pretty dull, with nothing particularly remarkable happening, but fortunately the second half picked up in quality and interest as the two upped their efforts in the ring. Angle managed to force D'lo to scream "I Quit!" after applying the Ankle Lock. Anderson and Doc, who'd been watching from ringside, walked away from their fellow Aces member afterwards.

Angle then called out AJ Styles to confront him about his recent behaviour, and gave him the ultimatum of either joining him and Sting in representing TNA against Aces & 8s, or joining the opposition. Styles has until next week to decide, hopefully we'll finally get an answer then, this has been getting a bit tedious for a little while now.

Taryn Terrell and Mickie James bested Tara and Gail Kim in a fair tag bout. As usual James and Kim were the stand out wrestlers here, giving solid displays. Unfortunately there were fairly average periods here that let it down a bit such as Terrell's hot tag offence, she still has some way to go but she's looking competent enough.

After Taryn rolled up Tara for the one-two-three all four women started to brawl in and around the ring, ending in Kim applying a nice Figure Four on Taryn around the ring post from the outside until she was ordered away by ref ODB and other officials.

Sting beat Matt Morgan after 'The Blueprint' passed out from the Scorpion Deathlock, therefore meaning 'The Stinger' will face Bully at Slammiversary for the strap. It was a pretty average main event, with passable (but forgettable) wrestling, the highlight being a vicious-looking Carbon Footprint from Morgan. Watching an out of shape Sting make his trademark heroic comebacks against the far younger, bigger and more powerful Morgan just looked too hokey and only marred the contest even more.

Afterwards Bully Ray then arrived on the scene with Devon and Anderson and exchanged a few words with his future opponent before the show ended. I can't say this World Championship encounter has me  hyped at all, there were other options available to face Bully, Angle for instance, who would've been a more exciting option. 

Overall it was a passable enough show, but unfortunately most of it that lacked excitement or interest. The highlights for me were the X Division Triple Threat (which really saved the show to be honest) the second half of D'Lo versus Angle and the Aries, Roode, Bad Influence, etc, segment. The rest didn't feel like anything special or essential to watch, and the main event was largely average, which was hardly a shocker. 

My Impact Wrestling, 13th September 2012 Recap

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries started the show off by explaining just how important his World title was, and how it's significance is why he was targeted by Aces & Eights recently. He added that although they came after him he managed to take out one of their members at No Surrender. He then called out his opponent at Bound for Glory, Jeff Hardy. AA first congratulated his future opponent for getting through both Samoa Joe and Bully Ray in one night, and with a storyline shoulder injury.

Bully Ray shortly interrupted Aries and called both men lucky. AA because he won't have to face him at BFG and Hardy because he supposedly only won because Bully felt sorry for him. The World Champion decided to make Ray put his money where his mouth is and challenged him to face Hardy that night, but Bully backed out.

Zema Ion (c) defeated Sonjay Dutt to retain the X Division title in an enjoyable enough bout. Dutt was once again on solid form with his crisp and impressive maneuvers, unfortunately Ion looked quite average again. I was hoping Ion would grow into the role of the X strap holder and up his game when given the chance, but it just hasn't really happened. I hope I'm proven wrong and that he does improve in the future, he has shown glimpses of becoming more engrossing. Zema retained after grabbing the ropes for a cheeky pinfall win.     

Bobby Roode came out and explained that he smashed a beer bottle over Storm's head at No Surrender (thereby costing him the match in the BFG Series) because he felt that 'The Cowboy', who he accused of riding his coattails when they were a tag team, didn't deserve a chance at the World title that he'd once held. James Storm inevitably came out and the two once again began brawling, with Storm gaining the upper hand and dragging Roode outside.   

AJ Styles beat Kazarian in an decent, if a little disjointed at times match up. While the action came fast and for the most part well, there were a few little mistakes here and there. But like I said they were only little and it failed to really spoil the contest. The crowd were also really into and thoroughly behind the face Styles. As per the stipulation put in by Hulk Hogan, AJ and Kurt Angle will receive a shot at the TNA Tag Team titles sometime in the future as a result of Style's win.  

Joseph Parks informed Hulk Hogan in his office that he was very close to "one key piece of evidence" regarding the Aces & Eights case that will be revealed on next weeks Impact. I'm liking Parks in this role, he suits it.

Bully Ray challenged Hardy backstage to put his spot as number one contender at BFG on the line in their match later on, claiming that he didn't have the "balls" to do it. Hardy accepted, as all good guys should.

Hogan stated that the Impact Zone would always be in lockdown mode from here on out  to help capture Aces & Eights. Right on cue members of the gang itself appeared on the big screen and warned Hogan that he'd now locked in all the members with him and he has no way of knowing who they are backstage. 'The Hulkster' looked rather concerned at his plan backfiring.   

Chavo Guerrero defeated Christopher Daniels in a great contest. In Chavo's best match since joining TNA so far both men went back and fourth with perfectly executed moves and at a nice pace. For the finish Guerrero managed to avoid an attempt from Daniels to strike him with his title belt and applied his signature Three Amigos and Frog Splash to have his hand raised.

Tara wanted to officially congratulate her good friend Brooke Tessmacher on toppling her last Sunday and offered to present the Knockouts Championship to her to signify that she was now the top woman in TNA. The divvy Taz piped in with an inappropriate "What are we watching Oprah here?" Granted it maybe was a little too sweet for pro wrestling but he should've just kept quiet, like most of the time. After wrapping the belt on the champ, Tara predictably turned on her and took her out with a Widows Peak. The attack pleased the crowd. It was just a bit too obvious, I personally think the heel turn should've happened slowly in the build up to BFG and then occurred there.

Jeff Hardy beat Bully Ray in an intense main event to retain his place as number one contender. In a bout superior to their outing last Sunday, both men gave a solid effort to be proud of and had an electric crowd behind them. It was an enjoyable match from start to finish and a good way to end the show. Although I'm not sure where any of this leaves Bully as far as BFG goes?

Overall it was a solid show with matches that were at the worst decent, which is always a good sign. The advancements in the storylines also made sense (still feel Tara's heel turn was a little early but still) and didn't feel rushed or over the top. TNA is on form right now, I recommend checking it out if you don't normally.

My TNA Destination X 2012 Recap

Mason Andrews defeated Lars Only, Rubix and Dakota Darsow in a Fatal Four Way to qualify for the X Division title tournament. It was a blistering match for the most part until the final few minutes. Unfortunately because of the sheer pace they all impressively kept up there were a few mistake here and there, but on the whole I very much enjoyed the opener. Exciting way to start the show and get the crowd going.

Mason Andrews defeated Kid Kash in an X Division title tournament match up. It was a decent if fairly unmemorable bout, with both wrestlers looking solid enough. As the typical heel Kash had the majority of the offense as Andrews made his heroic comeback towards the end, applying a quick roll up for the one-two-three.

Kenny King defeated Doug Williams to qualify for the X Division title Ultimate X match. It was an enjoyable contest, with both men giving a solid effort in the deliberately slow paced match up. It made a nice change from most X Division bouts with the more technically based wrestling from the talented Doug Williams too. King received a good backing from the fans.

Sonjay Dutt defeated Rashad Cameron to qualify for the X Division title Ultimate X match. Again it was another good display from both participants involved. Both Dutt and Cameron rarely let up at all in this red hot contest, with Dutt eventually gaining the winning pin after a brilliant twisting two footed stomp from the top rope onto Cameron's torso.

We were shown a VT displaying the awful injury that Jesse Sorensen suffered to his neck months ago and his progress to the present. Jesse himself then came out to the ring and stated that it was the fans support that motivated him to come back and do what he believes he was meant to do and wrestle. He also warned Zema Ion that he hopes he wins the X Division title so he can take it from him when he returns, then cash in the title at next years Destination X and become World Champion.

Zema Ion defeated Flip Cassanova to qualify for the X Division title Ultimate X match. Flip looked a lot more competent and less reckless here then he did on last weeks Impact in my opinion. It was a good bout, with the charismatic Ion being the predictable victor.

Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle via referee stoppage in a Bound For Glory Series match. It was, as expected, a superb and thrilling contest. Angle (for my money the top talent in the company) and Joe once again put on a display that brought the divided fans to their feet in respect and captivation of the action happening in front of them. The referee called for the bell after Angle had failed to move for a while while in the Cocina Clutch.

AJ Styles defeated Christopher Daniels in a Last Man Standing match. And what a match this was. Both AJ and Daniels majorly surpassed my expectations here (and I had high hopes) and put on the match of the night and one of the finest and dramatic PPV bouts of the year so far. It was truly a war as both men bled, threw each other onto the ramp, stage and through a table for an epic finish as AJ used the Styles Clash on Daniels to put him through it. Kazarian also attempted to help out 'The Fallen Angel' but failed as he was taken out by Styles. Honestly, if you weren't planning on checking out this event then at least do yourself a favour and watch this one match.

Zema Ion defeated Sonjay Dutt, Kenny King and Mason Andrews to win the X Division Championship in an Ultimate X match. While for the majority of the bout it was entertaining enough, it also felt fairly disappointing considering the huge build up and quality of matches leading into it. For me it certainly isn't up there with the top Ultimate X matches of the past. I do whole heartily agree with the victor and new champion though, Ion has shown his charisma and skill in the ring and proven his worth as the successor to Aries as the top X Division wrestler. I'm personally also really hoping that Sonjay Dutt sticks around.

Austin Aries defeated Bobby Roode (c) to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in an extremely feel good main event. The first half of the contest was admittedly quite drab for me, the action was slow and there were a few sloppy moments. But fortunately the second half of the bout really started to gain some steam as the intensity increased and both men had some very effective near falls, including one after Roode had struck AA with the title belt. Aries then managed to apply his signature Brainbuster for the one-two-three, causing the fans to jump up in excitement as it settled in that Aries had really just toppled the seven month long reign of Roode and won a World Championship after all his hard work and dedication to professional wrestling. 

As Aries stood there with his newly won title, confetti falling around him, it really was the perfect ending to yet another solid pay-per-view from TNA. From start to finish this was a show worth watching (with some very rare exceptions) and proof that the company, its roster and its bookers can do it right and pull it off when they really want to. Perhaps the future, like the new World Champion's, is bright for TNA after all?