2.21 Impact Wrestling
by Jeff Hamlin ( hamlin37@hotmail.com) Twitter: @hamlin37
The Big News: The final taped show from England featured a title switch with Velvet Sky taking the TNA Knockouts title for the 2nd time, and Bully Ray receiving the title match at Lockdown versus Jeff Hardy. Hulk Hogan was supposedly going to wrestle in the main event of this show, but it was a bait-and-switch as he never got to the ring. And Aces and Eights even got a win, against Sting, no less.
Hulk Hogan came out and said he had already decided the number one contender at the end of last week's show, but Aces and Eights interrupted him. But Hogan then introduced the number one contender, and it was Bully Ray, who didn't wrestle last week. Which pretty much made last week's show entirely pointless. Ray, who will wrestle Jeff Hardy for the TNA title at Lockdown, acted overwhelmed and acknowledged his quad injury. Hogan said he was the toughest SOB they had in the company. Ray said all he wanted was to make Hogan proud, and the happiest day of his life was when he married Brooke. Ray suggested a main event six-man with three members of Aces and Eights vs. Ray and Sting. Then Ray let the crowd chant for Hogan to be the third man in the match, and they complied. Hogan agreed to be the partner.
Bobby Roode and Austin Aries and Bad Influence ran into each other backstage. They're teaming in an eight-man tag tonight, and Christopher Daniels told them to follow their lead. Aries and Roode couldn't believe anyone would tell them to follow their lead, then started arguing with each other about who should take the lead.
Chavo Guerrero, Hernandez, James Storm and Joseph Park defeated Bad Influence, Bobby Roode and Austin Aries in 12:18. Match was well crafted to show Joseph Park barely knows what he's doing, but still can do damage. They had a Irish Whip from opposite corners spot where Roode and Aries both took bumps after running into a stationary Park. Body of the match was the heels argued with each other over who was calling the shots, and Kazarian would only tag Daniels, not anyone else. At one point, Roode, Aries, and Kazarian all tagged in at once, and fought over who was the legal man. Park leveled both Kazarian and Daniels with a double clothesline, at which point Roode and Aries walked out. So the program with Bad Influence vs. Roode & Aries may take place, which has all sorts of potential. Hernandez gave Daniels the Pounce, and Chavo Guerrero followed with the Frog Splash. James Storm hit Kazarian with Closing Time and the Last Call, and Park came off the second rope with a splash, which allowed Guerrero to pin Kazarian. Park celebrated by drinking some of Storm's beer, and later tweeted it was the first drop of alcohol he had had since he was an altar boy. **3/4
2. Rockstar Spud defeated Robbie E. in 2:44. It was kept short enough to hide any limitations by Rockstar Spud, and Robbie E. was fine in his role. Robbie got the advantage after a second rope forearm dropSpud made his comeback with a tornado DDT and attempted a top rope legdrop, but missed. Robbie then tried to grab the clipboard from Robbie T, even though the referee was staring right at him. And I can think of better foreign objects than that. Robbie T held on to the clipboard and refused to hand it over. After a momentary tug of war, Spud recovered and pinned Robbie with a Toyota Roll. *1/4
Postmatch, Robbie E was furious, blamed the loss on Robbie T, and then slapped him. The slap was pretty stiff because the fans at ringside were noticeably surprised, and it made for a great visual. Robbie T. didn't strike E, who just ran away from his bodyguard. Robbie T's physique in just as freaky now as it was when he debuted for the company, but we've also seen how far his wrestling has progressed. Which is very little.
3. Velvet Sky pinned Gail Kim to win the TNA Knockouts title in a four-way elimination match that also included former champion Tara and Miss Tessmacher in 8:32. Brooke Hogan was at ringside to make sure Jessie Godderz didn't interfere. Considering Brooke was kidnapped last month by Aces and Eights, was it really the wisest move to have her sitting alone with four women in the ring? Tara looked good in her stint in the ring, including giving Velvet Sky a Spider Web. Needlessly, Gail Kim broke up the pin. That was stupid since it was an elimination match. Later, Kim tried to send Miss Tessmacher into the post, but Tessmacher turned it into a Stratusfaction on the floor. Back in the ring, Tara hit a picture perfect moonsault on Tessmacher, but Sky cut Tara off and gave her In Yo Face (Pedigree). Kim threw Sky out of the ring so she could pin Tara at 4:36, which meant the champion was eliminated first. Sky pinned Tessmacher at 6:31 after reversing a rolling reverse cradle. Tessmacher was really close to the ropes. Kim tried to pin Sky by using the ropes, but referee Taryn Terrell nixed that immediately. Then Sky tried a sunset flip out of the corner, but Kim grabbed the ropes to keep from falling over. Terrell ordered her to break it. I always have hated that spot. It's not like the ropes are like the cage in MMA. They can be used to break moves, why not pinfalls? After Terrell forcibly removed Kim's hands from the ropes, Sky pinned Kim with In Yo Face to take the strap. Mike Tenay pointed out the backstory that it was Kim who took the title from Sky last year. Looks like a Terrrell-Kim program is in the works. *3/4
Hogan explained to Sting that being back in the ring made him feel weird. Sting left and Bully Ray wanted to know if Hogan was cool to be wrestling tonight.
Mike Tenay announced a special interview with A.J. Styles would air next week.
4. Samoa Joe defeated Garrett Bischoff by DQ in 5:07. Crowd didn't buy Garrett Bischoff on offense against Samoa Joe at all. Joe selling for the first half of the match really didn't help the crowd, because Aces and Eights has no real heat right now. And Bischoff looks like a tall greaser in that Aces and Eights outfit instead of an ass kicker. In fact, this crowd was lackluster by previous Impact trips to England. Joe hit a senton and set up Bischoff for the Muscle Buster when Wes Brisco ran in for the beatdown. Kurt Angle ran down for the save, then announced Brisco would face him at Lockdown. *1/2
5. Rob Van Dam pinned Kenny King in 6:21 to retain the X Division championship. Kenny King jumped Rob Van Dam before the bell with a dropkick and went after him on the floor. King's offense included a great looking spin kick and plenty of counters of Van Dam's springboard moves. King hit a sloppy Royal Flush, where Van Dam landed on his knees, for a two count. Van Dam made his comeback after King missed a double running knee in the corner, and Van Dam finished him off with Rolling Thunder and the Five Star Frog Splash. **1/4
Brooke cautioned her father about wrestling again backstage. Hogan said he had her husband and Sting, "the greatest wrestler who ever lived," on his side.
Jeff Hardy did a promo, presumably from the U.S., about how he will return next week after having his knee injured by Aces and Eights. He talked about facing Ray at Lockdown. Of course, we were supposed to pretend that this was live and Hardy had already received word of Hogan's announcement earlier in the show that Ray was getting the title shot, even though the promo had to be taped weeks ago.
6. Aces and Eights defeated Bully Ray, Sting and Hulk Hogan (who never got involved in the match) in 11:24. It was Mr. Anderson, Doc and Devon representing Aces and Eights. Hogan never arrived in the ring because he and Brooke were taken captive by Aces and Eights, and this wasn't acknowledged until the final minute of the show. Ray got the heat by taking a pounding from Anderson, Doc and Devon. Sting led a comeback and Ray was about to give Wazzup to Anderson, but then Brisco and the unnamed man who was Mike Knox came out holding a helpless Brooke. Then Bischoff and a masked D. Lo Brown came out with Hogan, who appeared to have been worked over in the back. Ray abandoned the match to check on his wife. Meanwhile, Sting was about to deliver the Scorpion Death Lock on Anderson, but Doc caught him with a big boot and pinned him. Why couldn't Doc have pinned him like that at the Genesis PPV? Aces and Eights continued their beatdown in the ring and posed over Sting as the show ended. *1/4
SUMMARY: Good idea to give Aces and Eights a win in the main event for some sort of credibility, for what it's worth at this point. Pretty ordinary show.
by Jeff Hamlin ( hamlin37@hotmail.com) Twitter: @hamlin37
The Big News: The final taped show from England featured a title switch with Velvet Sky taking the TNA Knockouts title for the 2nd time, and Bully Ray receiving the title match at Lockdown versus Jeff Hardy. Hulk Hogan was supposedly going to wrestle in the main event of this show, but it was a bait-and-switch as he never got to the ring. And Aces and Eights even got a win, against Sting, no less.
Hulk Hogan came out and said he had already decided the number one contender at the end of last week's show, but Aces and Eights interrupted him. But Hogan then introduced the number one contender, and it was Bully Ray, who didn't wrestle last week. Which pretty much made last week's show entirely pointless. Ray, who will wrestle Jeff Hardy for the TNA title at Lockdown, acted overwhelmed and acknowledged his quad injury. Hogan said he was the toughest SOB they had in the company. Ray said all he wanted was to make Hogan proud, and the happiest day of his life was when he married Brooke. Ray suggested a main event six-man with three members of Aces and Eights vs. Ray and Sting. Then Ray let the crowd chant for Hogan to be the third man in the match, and they complied. Hogan agreed to be the partner.
Bobby Roode and Austin Aries and Bad Influence ran into each other backstage. They're teaming in an eight-man tag tonight, and Christopher Daniels told them to follow their lead. Aries and Roode couldn't believe anyone would tell them to follow their lead, then started arguing with each other about who should take the lead.
Chavo Guerrero, Hernandez, James Storm and Joseph Park defeated Bad Influence, Bobby Roode and Austin Aries in 12:18. Match was well crafted to show Joseph Park barely knows what he's doing, but still can do damage. They had a Irish Whip from opposite corners spot where Roode and Aries both took bumps after running into a stationary Park. Body of the match was the heels argued with each other over who was calling the shots, and Kazarian would only tag Daniels, not anyone else. At one point, Roode, Aries, and Kazarian all tagged in at once, and fought over who was the legal man. Park leveled both Kazarian and Daniels with a double clothesline, at which point Roode and Aries walked out. So the program with Bad Influence vs. Roode & Aries may take place, which has all sorts of potential. Hernandez gave Daniels the Pounce, and Chavo Guerrero followed with the Frog Splash. James Storm hit Kazarian with Closing Time and the Last Call, and Park came off the second rope with a splash, which allowed Guerrero to pin Kazarian. Park celebrated by drinking some of Storm's beer, and later tweeted it was the first drop of alcohol he had had since he was an altar boy. **3/4
2. Rockstar Spud defeated Robbie E. in 2:44. It was kept short enough to hide any limitations by Rockstar Spud, and Robbie E. was fine in his role. Robbie got the advantage after a second rope forearm dropSpud made his comeback with a tornado DDT and attempted a top rope legdrop, but missed. Robbie then tried to grab the clipboard from Robbie T, even though the referee was staring right at him. And I can think of better foreign objects than that. Robbie T held on to the clipboard and refused to hand it over. After a momentary tug of war, Spud recovered and pinned Robbie with a Toyota Roll. *1/4
Postmatch, Robbie E was furious, blamed the loss on Robbie T, and then slapped him. The slap was pretty stiff because the fans at ringside were noticeably surprised, and it made for a great visual. Robbie T. didn't strike E, who just ran away from his bodyguard. Robbie T's physique in just as freaky now as it was when he debuted for the company, but we've also seen how far his wrestling has progressed. Which is very little.
3. Velvet Sky pinned Gail Kim to win the TNA Knockouts title in a four-way elimination match that also included former champion Tara and Miss Tessmacher in 8:32. Brooke Hogan was at ringside to make sure Jessie Godderz didn't interfere. Considering Brooke was kidnapped last month by Aces and Eights, was it really the wisest move to have her sitting alone with four women in the ring? Tara looked good in her stint in the ring, including giving Velvet Sky a Spider Web. Needlessly, Gail Kim broke up the pin. That was stupid since it was an elimination match. Later, Kim tried to send Miss Tessmacher into the post, but Tessmacher turned it into a Stratusfaction on the floor. Back in the ring, Tara hit a picture perfect moonsault on Tessmacher, but Sky cut Tara off and gave her In Yo Face (Pedigree). Kim threw Sky out of the ring so she could pin Tara at 4:36, which meant the champion was eliminated first. Sky pinned Tessmacher at 6:31 after reversing a rolling reverse cradle. Tessmacher was really close to the ropes. Kim tried to pin Sky by using the ropes, but referee Taryn Terrell nixed that immediately. Then Sky tried a sunset flip out of the corner, but Kim grabbed the ropes to keep from falling over. Terrell ordered her to break it. I always have hated that spot. It's not like the ropes are like the cage in MMA. They can be used to break moves, why not pinfalls? After Terrell forcibly removed Kim's hands from the ropes, Sky pinned Kim with In Yo Face to take the strap. Mike Tenay pointed out the backstory that it was Kim who took the title from Sky last year. Looks like a Terrrell-Kim program is in the works. *3/4
Hogan explained to Sting that being back in the ring made him feel weird. Sting left and Bully Ray wanted to know if Hogan was cool to be wrestling tonight.
Mike Tenay announced a special interview with A.J. Styles would air next week.
4. Samoa Joe defeated Garrett Bischoff by DQ in 5:07. Crowd didn't buy Garrett Bischoff on offense against Samoa Joe at all. Joe selling for the first half of the match really didn't help the crowd, because Aces and Eights has no real heat right now. And Bischoff looks like a tall greaser in that Aces and Eights outfit instead of an ass kicker. In fact, this crowd was lackluster by previous Impact trips to England. Joe hit a senton and set up Bischoff for the Muscle Buster when Wes Brisco ran in for the beatdown. Kurt Angle ran down for the save, then announced Brisco would face him at Lockdown. *1/2
5. Rob Van Dam pinned Kenny King in 6:21 to retain the X Division championship. Kenny King jumped Rob Van Dam before the bell with a dropkick and went after him on the floor. King's offense included a great looking spin kick and plenty of counters of Van Dam's springboard moves. King hit a sloppy Royal Flush, where Van Dam landed on his knees, for a two count. Van Dam made his comeback after King missed a double running knee in the corner, and Van Dam finished him off with Rolling Thunder and the Five Star Frog Splash. **1/4
Brooke cautioned her father about wrestling again backstage. Hogan said he had her husband and Sting, "the greatest wrestler who ever lived," on his side.
Jeff Hardy did a promo, presumably from the U.S., about how he will return next week after having his knee injured by Aces and Eights. He talked about facing Ray at Lockdown. Of course, we were supposed to pretend that this was live and Hardy had already received word of Hogan's announcement earlier in the show that Ray was getting the title shot, even though the promo had to be taped weeks ago.
6. Aces and Eights defeated Bully Ray, Sting and Hulk Hogan (who never got involved in the match) in 11:24. It was Mr. Anderson, Doc and Devon representing Aces and Eights. Hogan never arrived in the ring because he and Brooke were taken captive by Aces and Eights, and this wasn't acknowledged until the final minute of the show. Ray got the heat by taking a pounding from Anderson, Doc and Devon. Sting led a comeback and Ray was about to give Wazzup to Anderson, but then Brisco and the unnamed man who was Mike Knox came out holding a helpless Brooke. Then Bischoff and a masked D. Lo Brown came out with Hogan, who appeared to have been worked over in the back. Ray abandoned the match to check on his wife. Meanwhile, Sting was about to deliver the Scorpion Death Lock on Anderson, but Doc caught him with a big boot and pinned him. Why couldn't Doc have pinned him like that at the Genesis PPV? Aces and Eights continued their beatdown in the ring and posed over Sting as the show ended. *1/4
SUMMARY: Good idea to give Aces and Eights a win in the main event for some sort of credibility, for what it's worth at this point. Pretty ordinary show.
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