[Official] TNA TV Shows Aftermath, Review & Ratings Thread

[Y 2 Jake]

Post you're thought's on the weekly iMpact taping's in here.

2/23/2007 3:40:00 AM

TNA Impact TV report

by Jeff Hamlin

TNA Report 2.22
By Jeff Hamlin ([email protected])

The Big News: Kurt Angle and Scott Steiner did a heated contract signing in one of the stiffest angles in a long time. Steiner delivered a head butt, and Angle followed with punches that made Steiner bleed hardway. Also, Jerry Lynn became the #1 contender for the X-Division title by winning a rushed ladder match.

The Elevation X match was pushed strongly to open the show. A.J. Styles climbed the scaffold and challenged anyone, claiming to have invented Elevation X. Rhino came out. Mike Tenay acted surprised. Considering Rhino’s feuded with Styles for months, I’m not sure why. As Styles bailed, Rhino climbed up and accepted the challenge for the March 11th PPV.

Team 3-D did an interview previewing tonight’s “Belting Pot Match” (basically a lumberjacks with straps match). Brother Ray tried to do in with an Italian accent. For some reason, I found it funny when Cousin Steve said “Blood runs deep with the Pizanos. Right D-Von?” You mean D-Von’s Italian, too?

Team 3-D defeated LAX in a Belting Pot Match. Several unidentified members of the Pizanos were in the 3-D corner, while unidentified members of the Latino Nation were in LAX’s corner. Homicide and D-Von spent the opening minutes of the match getting tossed out and beaten to a pulp with the straps. As Hernandez got whipped outside by the Italians, Homicide blasted D-Von from behind. After he recovered, Hernandez tried a tornado DDT, but D-Von powered out and made the usual hot tag to Ray, who hip tossed Hernandez, backdropped Homicide, a Samoan drop to Hernandez and an uranage to Homicide for a two count. D-Von recovered to give Homicide a reverse 3-D. D-Von and Hernandez both got knocked to the floor, and the lumberjacks got into the predictable brawl with each other. Cousin Steve ran in, and joined Ray in lifting Homicide’s leg for D-Von to deliver the Wazzup. Steve and Ray told D-Von to get the tables. Hernandez ran back in, only to get caught in the 3-D for the pin at 5:28. Solid match, and Cousin Steve was solid in his role. **3/4

Sting did an interview lying on a deathbed in the ring. It was more of a package. Watching this reminded me how much this company has missed David Sahardi’s video packages over the last few months. The highlight in the buildup to Sting-Jarrett was watching those tremendous pieces back in October. Here, Sting challenged Abyss to a Last Rites match at Elevation X, where the object is to strap your opponent to a deathbed. Sting told Abyss he can choose life and be a new man, but he has to die first.

They cut to the back where Jeremy Borash tried to get a word from Abyss (without James Mitchell). Abyss just moaned. Borash was about to send it back to Tenay, but before he could, Abyss choked him, and lifted him up in the air. They acted like Abyss was in pain because of Sting’s interview. Hey, it could have been Hemme.

Eric Young, Richard Roode and James Storm defeated the Voodoo Kin Mafia and Lance Hoyt in 2:00. Thankfully, they didn’t mention the Kip James/Christy Hemme program. VKM chant early. Not as much regarding Eric Young this week. He continued to be depressed about being under the control of Roode. Young and B.G. opened by dancing, and actually did a double-clothesline on Roode. Young acted like he didn’t mean it. Storm did the world’s first double-arm spinning neckbreaker as a transition move on B.G. That should be his finisher. Hoyt got the hot tag, gave Storm a flap jack and climbed the top rope. Roode crotched him, and Storm got the pin. Afterwards, Roode screamed at Young, while Chris Harris ran out of the crowd and chased Storm to the back.

Another Chris Daniels video aired, vowing to change from within.

Andre Rison did an interview in the ring. I was afraid he was going to announce the 1st annual Left Eye Memorial Burning Down the House match. Instead, he was there to promote his upcoming appearance on Pros vs. Joes. He was wearing an Indianapolis Colts jersey, which was his first pro team. Abyss came out. Rison stuck his hand out like a total dork. Abyss responded by giving him the Black Hole Slam. Rison sold it well. Considering he owed $127,000 in child support payments two years ago, I’d say he needed the money. Either that, or get ready to share a jail cell with Jake Roberts. (Gotcha! Didn’t say Dick Slater this week.)

The lame comedy segment of the show started with Ron Killings’ latest production, Rambuck Killings. If someone wants a lesson in how to make these segments funny, watch the King Booker/Queen Sharmel production from last week’s Smackdown. That’s wrestling humor at it’s best. Then again, there aren’t many wrestlers with the comedic touch of Booker.

The Paparazzi production was more of Paparazzi Idol. Jay Lethal did more Randy Savage impersonations. Here’s four minutes of this show that could have gone to the ladder match by the end of the show, but instead we got this. Suddenly, Killings rapping about trying to quit smoking didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Tenay and Jim Cornette came out for the Steiner/Angle contract signing. This was the highlight of the show. Cornette mentioned Christian Cage and Samoa Joe weren’t here this week because they were training for their upcoming title match. Steiner cut a promo about how he would take Angle’s gold medal and melt it, and said it was worthless. West chimed in that someone from Angle’s former employer said the same thing. Angle responded that Steiner came to TNA to rape the company out of every cent its worth. Why is it whenever Angle says “rape,” I have flashbacks to horrible Smackdown shows? Crowd was behind Angle for the first time in weeks, and this came off like a match people want to see. After each man signed the contract, they had a staredown, where Steiner threw a stiff headbutt, which opened Angle up. Angle responded with some hard forearms, clearly designed to get hardway blood. And he succeeded. Tomko did a run-in, followed by Cage, who I guess wasn’t training after all. The heels (who were never given the name Christian Coalition) triple teamed Angle, with Steiner getting in a belly-to-belly, and Cage railroading Angle with the NWA belt. Good angle, and it set up the PPV match well.

Samoa Joe did an interview previewing his match with Cage. It was almost a relief to see no Angle-Joe interaction this week, considering that program has been beaten to death.

Jerry Lynn won a five-way ladder match to become the number one contender for the X-Division title over Sonjay Dutt, Senshi, Jay Lethal, and The Austin Starr. It was a disappointment because they never had time to get going. They literally went straight to high spots, because that’s all they had time for. Dutt and Lethal worked as a team, doing the old Hardy Boys’ fistdrop/somersault splash combo on Lynn. Immediately, Lynn came back with a satellite head scissors on Lethal and a spinning backbreaker on Dutt. After barely selling it, Dutt did a dropkick on Lynn while running up the ladder. Lethal and Dutt did a double baseball slide into the ladder onto Starr and Senshi, who spent the early minutes of the match brawling on the floor. Dutt and Lethal followed with stereo pescados, as they went to a commercial. Yep, they interrupted the flow of this match, but gave us two minutes of Kevin Nash telling Lethal he was black. Mr. Backland came out on the ramp. Senshi tried a handspring elbow on Lynn, who reversed it into a powerbomb attempt, but Senshi countered into the Warrior’s Way. They lined three ladders in a row. Lynn got knocked off by Lethal. Dutt and Lethal climbed up one side, while Starr and Senshi climbed up the other. Senshi and Starr knocked each other down, while Lynn powerbombed Lethal and Dutt at the same time (which we really didn’t see). Lynn climbed up and got the X to win. Backland came to the ring, shook Lynn’s hand, and offered his hand to Starr, who threw his sweat on him instead. Starr tried to jump Backland from behind, but Backland put him in the crossface chicken wing to end the show.

SUMMARY: One of the better shows in awhile. If Steiner wasn’t so far past his prime, his match with Angle would come across as a bigger deal. But after months of throwing a thousand angles against the wall, this contract signing is the one that finally stuck.

 

[Dj Martyn]

I was quite impressed with this weeks impact, it seemed to flow better than most of the recent impacts.

I just wish that management would relinquish this obbession that they have with having everyone on the show in an hour, as well as storyline development, No wonder Russo is getting frustrated, (its been said over and over but) they need two hours, or in fact what i think would be more beneficial at this time a second weekly show. (this is something i thought of yesterday)

You give them a second show and then you have a way to create easy tension and suspense. I mean Sexxy jake will know about how good it was int he uk when you could watch RAW on a friday night be left with a great piece of suspense about what the hell was gonna happen on smackdown the next day. If TNA had two shows they could leave Impact with a big moment that we wouldnt have to wait a week to resolve. Plus you could leave talent off one and put them on the other and switch them around to create a more interesting structure to the show.

(thats quite a mess of a paragraph)

But Yea as far as this weeks impact goes, liked it alot more than i have the last two. Didnt like the 6 man tag, it seemed like a complete waste of time. and could have been saved for next week and minutes could have been added to the ladder match. I did enjoy how pissed off both steiner and angle seemed during that signing and how stiff the whole thing seemed just brutal.

IS it me or did there seem to be alot of swearing that was bleeped out last night as well??

 

[X]

lmao, oh man you totally beat me to the punch Sexxy Jakey I was thinking all yesterday about why there wasn't an Impact aftermath thread and I was coming on here this morning to make one but damn, you got there before me.

I personally found last nights iMPACT to be great, the promos were good, the matches were good, and although they clearly didn't give enough time for the X Division ladder match, it still was decently good.

I'm really looking forward to next weeks iMPACT, damn TNA needs a 2-hour show.

 

[X]

So last nights iMPACT! was damn good I thought. I really enjoyed all of the matches, as Jarrett's desicison to make television matches longer is already showing it's merits. The 6 man tag was pretty good, entertaining definately. I'm getting sick and tired of the god damn Roode company ordering around Eric Young, it's a very idiotic storyline along the lines of something WWE would do. Also, I am sick and damn tired of the Paparazzi Productions, it was okay when it was first introduced, but damnit its run its course get rid of it.

I really enjoyed the Tomko v. Samoa Joe match, I thought it was great when Abyss came in at the end and just wiped everybody out.

Overall this show was even better than last weeks, iMPACT and TNA just keep getting better and better man.

 

[Big Ace]

Abyss really surprised me. I seriously thought he was playing babyface by sort of scaring Cage, Steiner, and Tomko out of the ring like that and then attacking Joe? I like that. I only saw from the part where they attack D-Von's trainer but I wish that for once, LAX wouldn't go over and beat up the Dudleyz because LAX is getting cheered and they're getting major heat for it.

 

[Abyss]

I havn't seen it yet in UK, but from what I heard it was really, really good.
I look forward to watching things when it gets good feedback from other trusted members

 

[Dj Martyn]

Credit: PWTorch.com

We open with a recap of Samoa Joe losing to Tomko last week. Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe were then in the ring to start the show. Angle said Steiner's ass is his at the PPV. He then said Christian wouldn't be going through the back door on him like he did to Joe last week. Angle said he's going to be Joe's biggest fan at Destination X when Joe beats Christian Cage for the NWA Title. He then said Joe and himself can solve their issues when that happens. Angle called out Christian and Steiner, then Christian, Tomko, and Steiner came out. Christian reminded Angle that they're an inseparable family: the Christian Coalition. The fans paid tribute to Steve Austin with the "What?" chants. Christian then told Angle and Joe to find themselves a tag partner so they can't say the odds were stacked against them when they kick their asses later in the match. So far, the bleep count on "ass" is about five or six. Network for men, right? More like PBS. Angle then said he has a partner in mind that might be a little crazy. He teased that they would find out who the person is later in the show. Joe, the #1 Contender to the NWA Title, gets no speaking parts in the opening segment.

The usual Impact intro aired, then Tenay plugged two other six-man tag matches on the show tonight.

1 -- B.G. JAMES & KIP JAMES & LANCE HOYT vs. SEROTONIN (KAZARIAN & BENTLEY & DEVINE)

Tenay let us know that Raven has re-named his group Kaz, Martyr, and Havoc. Kip took a chop block from Bentley to start the match, then Kaz tagged in and took a weak Ace Crusher from Kip. The announcers talked about everything else but the match, then Hoyt tagged in and cleared Serotonin. He then gave Havoc (Devine) a "Texas Tornado" slam from the fireman's carry position for the win. This time, B.G. gets no ring time. Afterward, Raven walked to the ring and caned all three men.

WINNERS: James Gang in 2:00. I'm sorry, but how is Raven caning three men who have one victory in 2007 going to sell a PPV? Ridiculous waste of time. (1/4*)

Borash was backstage and found Christian Coalition for a promo. Christian wanted to know who Joe and Angle's partner is. Steiner, didn't know, which led to him and Christian forcing an exchange about the Hunchback of Notre Dame. And you think I'm making this up. Christian said he thinks their partner is Abyss, then he discussed strategy with Steiner. This brings up the issue of why Christian and Steiner are discussing strategy in front of the camera when Angle and Joe are presumably watching on the monitors backstage. Steiner bailed, then Tomko said he would help Christian when he gets his NWA Title shot. Tomko left, then Christian told Borash that they need to go find Abyss. Borash said he has to go to the ring.

[Commercial Break]

[Q2]

We saw a video package on Elevation X featuring Styles vs. Rhino.

Tenay was in the ring with Borash, Leticia, and the lovely So Cal Val to present an award to Hector Guerrero. As Hector walked out, West did a voice-over complementing Hector on his accomplishments as part of the Guerrero family. Hector thanked TNA and Eddie for inspiring him. He cut a promo in Spanish, then Val was about to present him with a plaque, but Abyss's music interrupted. Abyss walked out and West, again, had to carry the broadcast alone. Once Abyss entered the ring, Hector dropped his jacket and stared him down. Val then slowly handed the plaque to Abyss, who accepted it before giving Val the Black Hole Slam. He posed for the hard camera. Again, I'm not seeing how this segment is selling a PPV match with Sting.

We saw a pre-tape promo exchange from Samoa Joe and Christian Cage about their title match at the PPV.

[Commercial Break]

Tenay then recapped Abyss giving Val the Black Hole Slam before the break.

They suddenly went back to Cornette's office where random people were screaming and hollering. Cornette granted James Storm & Jackie Moore a double bull rope match against Petey Williams & Gail Kim. Cornette then addressed Chris Sabin, who was doing the old man gimmick. He gave Sabin a two-out-of-three falls match against Jerry Lynn. Backlund jumped onto Cornette's office and wanted to know if he could special referee the Austin Starr vs. Senshi match. Cornette rejected that offer, then said the match could only be won by using the Chicken wing. Backlund left, then we saw Christy Hemme sitting in the corner waiting for her turn. She said she said she wanted VKM at the PPV. Cornette made some sexist jokes, then Christy said she had a surprise team to face VKM. Cornette gave her the match, then shooed her away. And Leticia just stood there the whole time holding the mic.

2 -- SONJAY DUTT & JAY LETHAL & PETEY WILLIAMS vs. ERIC YOUNG & ROBERT ROODE (w/Ms. Brooks) & JAMES STORM (w/Jackie Moore)

Tenay talked about Lethal's "character development," then Dutt asked Lethal to do a Savage impersonation. He did a brief impersonation at Young's encouraging, but Roode jumped him from behind. Young then did a Hogan-like slow walk towards Lethal, who accepted a handshake. So, the match is based around TNA wrestlers having no unique personalities, and trying to "develop character" by imitating former wrestlers.

[Q3]

The match broke down at 3:00, then Petey hit a slingshot huracanrana onto Roode on the outside. Gail Kim then came to ringside and brawled with Moore. Back in the ring, Storm gave Dutt a superkick for the win. Afterward, the camera focused on Gail vs. Jackie before the men broke up the fight.

WINNERS: Roode & Storm & Young in 4:00. Inconsequential match trying to get in too many things at once. WWE has stepped up its quality of programming the last few months, while TNA is content doing the same running gags that don't work. TNA is apparently content with status quo right now, otherwise they would be raising their level of play. (3/4*)

Suddenly, we went backstage where Christian and Borash found Abyss rocking back and forth in a chair while staring at a picture of James Mitchell. Christian reminded Abyss that he kept Abyss's secret, but Sting blurted it out. Abyss nearly ripped Christian's throat off at the mention of "Sting". Christian said Sting is just like Angle and Joe because they all look at Abyss like a piece of meat. He told Abyss that he's a friend to him and he'd like to help him out. Abyss calmed down, then Christian said he brought a peace offering. He nodded toward Borash, then Christian grabbed Borash and threw him to Abyss, who slammed him into the wall before locking him inside a temporary cage. Christian was great here with his Gob-like demeanor.

[Commercial Break]

We came back for footage of LAX beating down Brother Ray last week. Devon then cut a pre-tape promo challenging LAX to a ghetto brawl where any weapons go. Ray said they would keep fighting LAX until they finally have revenge.

Tenay and West, with his heavy breathing, plugged the Destination X card.

We saw a video package on Sting vs. Abyss in the Last Rites match. Sting told Abyss not to choose death now that he doesn't have the devil (Mitchell) in his ear any longer.

Scott Steiner, then Christian Cage and Tomko came to the ring for the main event.

[Commercial Break]

[Q4]

Samoa Joe came to the ring and Tenay talked about Joe's quest for the NWA Title. It sounded like completely empty words since the focus of the show has been nowhere close to Joe's title quest without a new video package, no interview with Joe, and too many other angles muddying the water on the show. Angle came out, then Rhino showed up as Joe and Angle's tag partner.

3 -- KURT ANGLE & SAMOA JOE & RHINO vs. CHRISTIAN CAGE & SCOTT STEINER & TOMKO

They fought on the outside to start the match. Back in the ring, Joe gave Steiner an atomic drop followed by boot to the face and sentaun splash. Joe then caught Christian with a sidekick to the head before Christian sent him to the outside. Angle picked up where Joe left off and gave Christian a European uppercut. As Rhino set up for the Gore on Tomko at 2:00, A.J. Styles hit the ring in street clothes. Rhino cleared him to the outside, though. Styles then climbed the Elevation X structure and Rhino chased him up top. They cut to a break.

[Commercial Break]

Back from the break, the "dream six-man tag match" that all of 30 minutes of build-up continued with Christian holding Rhino in a chinlock. Tenay thanked the tens of thousands who voted in the Styles or Rhino text messaging poll. Considering they're following "American Idol", which has millions of millions of people voting for their contest, Tenay just made the company sound completely minor league. Angle took a hot tag at 8:00 and gave the Tomko and Steiner a series of German suplexes. He then gave Christian a belly-to-belly suplex. The action broke down and Angle put Steiner in the Anklelock, but Tomko gave him a big boot. Rhino then gored Tomko, but Christian caught Rhino with the Unprettier. Joe then took Christian to the corner and gave him the Muscle buster. Steiner and Joe then faced off with Steiner giving him a belly-to-belly suplex. Angle then took a turnaround belly-to-belly suplex and Steiner put him in the Steiner Recliner, but Angle slipped out and hit the Olympic Slam. He followed with the ankle lock before Abyss hit the ring and jumped Angle to give us yet another No Contest in a main event prior to a PPV.

Angle and Abyss fought center ring before Abyss gave Angle the Black Hole Slam. The lights went down and up, then we saw two different Stings sting atop each entrance tunnel. Suddenly, the real Sting was in the ring standing behind Abyss. He attacked Abyss as the show faded to a video package complete with more heavy metal and screaming and yelling.

WINNERS: No Contest in 10:00. Just way too much happening in one match trying to sell a PPV in three days. The finishing sequence was fine to give viewers a taste of "non-stop action" before the PPV, but none of it mattered when the focus at the end was on Sting vs. Abyss. It just amazes me how horrible of a job they've done building up Joe these last four weeks, and they made matters worse by digging into the NWO bag-of-tricks for the "multiple Sting" trickery at the end. On a show that featured X Division wrestlers trying to imitate other wrestlers, it was only fitting that TNA's writers tried to imitate one of the most successful angles of the Monday Night Wars era, but completely botch it in the process by doing a five-minute show-closing angle in ten seconds. Conspiracy theorists who say Vince Russo is trying to sabotage TNA have new material to work with this week because 99 percent of wrestling fans watching this show and last week's show could have come up with better ideas to sell a PPV. (*1/4)

I dont agree with alot of the Comments on those results.

Because i thought this weeks impact was brilliant, just the right amount of chaos going into a PPV and just a perfect blend of Action/Storyline, the only section i didnt like was the serotonin match... just not really digging there gimmick at the minute, maybe because they dont have the TV time to push it at the minute.

THE BLACK HOLE SLAM on so cal val made me happy though, looked proper brutal.

This weeks impact was one of the best so far.

 

[X]

I've got to say, that last night's iMPACT! was one of the best there have been in monthes. It was a great show all around, it really kind of reminded me of like some 1996 Raw or something like that, just how everything played out. A couple of very entertaining matches, a whole SHITLOAD of new matches made for the TNA PPV, and all kinds of proper build up for Destination X.

I've got to say that I wasn't sure whether or not to order this PPV until last night when they sold me on it, and now I'm very excited to see it. It should be a stellar show from what i've seen and will be expecting.

Thank God for TNA.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I hope Val's ok. She's my favorite wrestling lady. I think it's love. Great bump. I love it when Abyss deliver's the Black Hole Slam to somebody light, he always does it to Spud when he's in the U.K.

I thought the show was better than usual but it's still too rushed. Two hour's cant come soon enough.

 

[Dj Martyn]

Two hour's cant come soon enough.

I hear that.

With them recently telling russo to involve everyone in the broadcast as well as lenghten the matches, its becoming harder for him, but judging by this week epsiode he may have found a balance.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I give it 6 month's or less before they get two hour's. I'm really optimistic with what they can do with that. There's no real problem's with there PPV's. It's just the build for them. Imagine what it would be like if they could have more time. The only feud's that really seem to get plenty of time are L.A.X. one's

 

[Dj Martyn]

Yea but thats because L.A.X are damm good, shame they are facing Team 3d at the PPV. Although they may be able to put on a good show, there performances lateley have been a bit...boring, they just dont seem to put the effort in nowadays, they spit effortlessley good promos, Ray is just good on the mic, but there in ring is drab and they seem to work between spots alot of the time.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

They need to get the whole Dudley family going again. Have them as inbred hick's like they were in ECW. And have them fued with Brother Runt and other's. That's the only way I can see them continuing. They've been stale for year's now. Personally I'd get rid of them. I dont think they bring anything anymore.

LAX deserve so much more.

 

[Dj Martyn]

Same is true about VKM in my opinion, keep BG as an on air character but as a tag team ... They lack chemistry and havent put on a good performance in a while either.

Having the dudleys as hicks again would be good, although it would suck a little that they couldnt call them the dudleys from dudleyville, they would end up being from 3dtown or something lame.

 

[mcgrath]

Is this not about impact?

Well for me,impact was crap apart from ending the ending made up for the rest of the show
Sting tricks were good,but three 3man tags come on.

And the ppv looks like its going to be acar crash

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
- Christian Cage © vs. Samoa Joe
Will Be a Great Fight.

Elevation X Match
- AJ Styles vs. Rhino

ummm, could be really bad, Hope this feud is over with after this.

and rest of teh card is overgimmicked.

overall over booked and gimmicked PPV 3 PPV in a row and the last 3 PPV have been poor

 

[Dj Martyn]

i would agree that it is overgimmicked yes... but not overbooked, i think alot of the matches will make for an enjoyable ppv, with good outcomes for the matches in terms of storylines and the forwarding of the company, one thing TNA has needed to develop for a long time has been rivalries, sure they have had feuds but it seems to me that for ages everyone was just there and got along fine and teamed with everyone else that was there, now we have defined heel and face characters, Switches in character run-ins tag matches and feud development can make more sense and have deeper seated meaning and in a way i reckon Destin X if the set up PPV for the rest of the year. Ending old feuds and creating new ones and making chracters all on sunday night.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The following is from TNAWrestling.com:

EARLY PREVIEW FOR THURSDAY'S "iMPACT!" ON SPIKE TV
TNA Begins The Road To The April 15 "Lockdown" PPV

This Thursday night on "iMPACT!" on SpikeTV, the wrestling world will feel the aftermath of the "Destination X" Pay-Per-View as TNA begins the road to the April 15 "Lockdown" epic event from St. Louis.

- As announced on Sunday's "Destination X", TNA management director Jim Cornette has a major announcement to make concerning "Lockdown". TNAwrestling.com has learned that the first match for the upcoming epic event will be revealed on Thursday night on SpikeTV.

- Team 3D of Brother Ray, Brother Devon and Brother Runt will reunite this Thursday night for six-man action against Alex Shelley and The Latin American Xchange! At Sunday's event, Alex Shelley cost 3D the bout against LAX - now Team 3D is out for revenge as Brother Ray and Devon have recruited Brother Runt to go back to war!

- Also this Thursday night, it will be a three-way X Division match with Jerry Lynn vs. Jay Lethal vs. Kaz of Serotonin! After his controversial loss to Chris Sabin on Sunday night, can Jerry Lynn rebound? Also, will the returning "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels be in attendance? Will we find out more about why Daniels attacked both Lynn and Sabin on Sunday night?

All this and much more this Thursday night, including an update on AJ Styles (who took the plunge from the top of the Elevation X on Sunday night), the fallout from Christian Cage overcoming Samoa Joe to retain the World Title, the status of Abyss after he he lost the "Last Rites" match to Sting and so much more!

Catch "iMPACT!" this Thursday night on SpikeTV starting at 9pm - including more news on the upcoming "Lockdown" epic event!

 

[X]

iMPACT! Just keeps getting better for me, and this week was no exception. Another great show, I can't believe all that TNA can fit into just an hour, can't wait until they get two hours then the classic matches will be all the time.

Great triple threat x division match, I enjoyed it alot, and I'm glad as hell that TNA is bringing back the War Games match, I always loved that one, one of WCW's better gimmick matches.

Also, TEAM 3D vs. LAX & Shelley was awesome, a great TV match, haven't seen a match like that on TV in awhile.

Great show, can't wait for next week.

 

[Dj Martyn]

26/04/07 - iMPACT

STING ASSAULTS KURT ANGLE FOR COSTING HIM THE WORLD TITLE
On Thursday’s “iMPACT!”, it was Sting vs. Kurt Angle for the World Title shot against Christian Cage at “Sacrifice”, but the bout ended without a clear-cut winner as Cage and his army hit the ring and assaulted both Sting and Angle! Later in the broadcast, Don West (via TNA management director Jim Cornette) informed Cage he would have to defend the gold that night against Sting in the main event! During the bout, Sting was close to claiming the gold, but Kurt Angle came out �" still hurt and in a neck brace �" to seek revenge on Cage. Angle cost Sting the bout by DQ and his shot at the World Title, which enraged the wrestling icon. As “iMPACT!” went off the air, Sting hit Angle with his bat out of anger! The question is, what will happen between Sting and Angle next week �" and who gets the shot against Cage at Sacrifice?

ERIC YOUNG’S FRIEND IS REVEALED TO BE JEFF JARRETT
Also on “iMPACT!”, Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks demanded to know who Eric Young’s friend was. At first, Young refused to answer, which led to Roode and Brooks brutalizing the eccentric TNA star. However, before the beating could go any further, it was Jeff Jarrett hitting the ring to reveal himself as Young’s backup! Jarrett cleared the ring of Roode and then smashed Brooks with a guitar shot! However, Roode still owns Eric Young thanks to their contract, so it remains to be seen what punishment Roode will hand out to Young for what went down on “iMPACT!”.

OTHER NEWS ITEMS FROM “IMPACT!”:

- “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt have earned the shot at the X Championship at the “Sacrifice” Pay-Per-View thanks to their win on Thursday night. Lethal got the pin to get the shot, but apparently Dutt wasn’t pleased with his partner and Kevin Nash following the bout. Regardless, it will be Sabin defending the gold against both Lethal and Dutt in a three-way bout at the PPV!

- The Latin American Xchange cost Scott Steiner and Tomko their chance at the Tag Team Title on “iMPACT!”, leading to a brief brawl between both teams!

- Also on the broadcast, Alex Shelley presented a new Paparazzi Production video, featuring a walk with Mr. Backlund to Universal Studios. However, as the video ended, Mr. Backlund was surprised by X Champion Chris Sabin, and the two apparently had an impromptu brawl which will air next week on Part 2 of the video!

Very good impact this week. enjoyed it muchly.

Brother Ray of Team 3d still annoy me with his in ring work. He needs to lose some weight.

 

[X]

I thought this week's iMPACT! was awesome too. TNA just keeps getting better and better to me, but maybe that's because I wasn't watching it until about January of this year.

The fan's must've been pissed about the show though. That was one thing that really irked me, was that first off they advertise for a Sting vs. Angle match that everyone is looking forward to highly (including me), then they end it within two minutes by a run in from Team Cage. Now I figured that could be forgiven because later in the night we'd see Sting take on Cage for the NWA title, however that was broken up in about two minutes by Angle! Luckily the crowds there get to see three iMPACT!'s in a row, if I had gone to the show simply for that one hour of material I would've been pissed by those endings. I'm also a bit confused about what the situation is now for Sacrifice, does Sting still get his title shot or was that his title shot? Who knows.

X-Division is still not getting enough time IMO, but what time they do have they prove once again why they are the premier division of lightweight wrestlers in the US right now. Great, awesome action filled match all fit into maybe five minutes. Looking forward highly to the triple threat match at Sacrifice with Sonjay, Sabin, and my main man BLACK MACHISMO! Damn I love that gimmick so much, maybe it's because I'm a huge fanboy of the original Macho Man, but it's just...well it's just the shit, they best keep Lethal like this for awhile cause me and the fans are lovin' it.

The Eric Young segment was great also I thought, they've done an excellent job on this feud IMO. And the crowd really loves Eric. It's a shame I haven't seen much of anything of his wrestling ability, or else I too would be raving about the guy. I don't think ANYONE expected Jarrett to be his friend. So now I'm seeing probably a Jarrett vs. Roode match at Sacrifice for Eric's contract. Then again though I think they also might build up a Jarrett-Angle match, so we'll have to see.

The tag title match...was meh. Nothing too special. Always great to see my boy Konnan and the legend Steiner. I'm starting to really appreciate Tomko as well, never really gave the man his due when he was in the WWE.

The one thing I thought was odd however was the new Paparazzi Productions. So next week we're going to have an impromptu Backlund-Sabin match in some random park? Weird. I loved it though when Shelley was taunting Backlund about losing to Nash back in 94 in 9 seconds. Am I the only one that just loves when TNA talks about WWE history, or mentions that Team 3D have held the WWE tag titles? I just think it gives it a lot more authenticity to it's product, unlike WWE's policy of ignoring that any other wrestling promotion exists on the planet besides them.

Overall another great show, looking forward to next week and I cannot wait for Sacrifice!

 

[Dj Martyn]

Well XbeforeFear i couldnt have said it better lol

I also loved the Eric/Roode/Jarrett segment and was suprised Ms Brookes took that guitar shot so cleanly and the powerbomb as well.

I would quite look forward to a jarrett/roode match at sacrifice, god knows jarrett can carry anyone through a match and to be fair i dont think roode needs it, he has consistently looked good in the ring since his rebranding after team canada.

Black Machismo also makes me happy. and Yeah the sacrifice match , triple threat for the title is exciting.

Looking forward to see what senshi is doing this PPV, although i can probly guess it will be Senshi Vs Shelley and have something to do with the backlund incident.

 

[Kasey]

Decent episode this week. I thought the X-division match came off well and had some clever spots (Lynn biting Sharkboy's ass was hilarious) and seeing Low-Ki in action is always tops. Lethal is also near and dear to my heart with his amazing Savage impersonation. I'll give whoever credit that is booking this stuff when it comes to the characters. Plus, Shelley spitting water in Petey's face was great.

Also, the Eric Young segment was much, much better than I figured. I'll give it to Ms. Brooks for taking those two shots, man. That powerbomb looked painful.

The only thing that upset me was that they didn't give Angle and Sting enough time to work and spoiled a PPV main event in the process. That pissed me off greatly because it seemed like they had great chemistry in the small amount of time they were in the ring together. Bummer. I hate when TNA spends a week touting an Impact main event...only to have it be a complete joke and piss on their own credibility in one fell swoop.

I loved Scott Steiner's promo. It's like they've finally acknowledged the fact that he has trouble speaking English. I also didn't think the tag match was half as bad as I'd figured, either. I also loved the fact that they had two heel teams at each others throats. THAT is the kind of intelligence and unpredictability that is needed for once. The whole good guy/bad guy thing sucks ass if it's bled to death all the time.

Now for the Paparazzi Productions segment. WOW. That was some of the funniest stuff I've seen in a long time. The worked shoots against Backlund were hilarious, and it was awesome when they ended the video with Sabin jumping out of a tree and showed the clip of him getting manhandled by Backlund. It was so funny I nearly choked on my lunch (seriously, I had water come out of my nose from laughing so hard). They still need the two hours, though. Then the wrestling will be far enough back up to par to keep pace with the storylines they've been working on. Some of the booking also needs serious adjustments. The competitive aspect of TNA needs to come back and replace the circus cartoon bullshit.

 

[FTWChamp]

I'm going to do a run-down of the show and I would like everyone's opinions on the show last night:

TNA opened up with a pretty good match between Robert Roode and Jerry Lynn. I have to say I think it's good that Lynn is putting over the younger talent and I think he did a great job of doing so last night with Robert Roode. The more I see Mr. Roode, the more I truly think of as a possible superstar in TNA. Now I don't know if he'll be a world champ anytime soon but I think he could honestly be a guy like Rick Rude, Curt Henning, Owen Hart. Guys that truly took the mid-card title to another level. The only problem is that TNA, once they get a two hour show and develop their other title divisions, needs a mid-card title for guys that do not really fit the X-division mold. I could see Roode holding something along the lines of a TV Title and really making it his own like Mr. Perfect and Rick Rude did with the I-C and US Titles. Now if Roode gets more character development and continues to garner the heat he has gotten as of late, I think he would be a great main eventer someday and could really be a great heel in the business.

Back to the show Roode looked very good in his match with Lynn. I love seeing the Perfect-Plex from Roode to finish a match. It shows that he can be a technical wrestler and it brings back memories of one of the greats for me, Curt Henning. I think Ms. Brooks continues to be the perfect fit for Roode. Hot as hell and helps him garner the cheap heat by helping him cheat his way to victory. Lynn looked good in the match as well and truly made the most of their limited time in this match.

Eric Young coming to the rescue of Lynn was a given. It helped them forward Roode and Young's program and Roode throwing Ms. Brooks to the wolves was a classic heel move. I cannot figure out how they are going to let Eric Young win his match at Slammiversary and not de-push Roode at the same time. It will be interesting to see.

Next we see the segment between Sting and Christopher Daniels. I had a hard time buying this calm interview segment after the beat-down that Sting gave Daniels last week. I know we're living in a fake scripted world but I just had a hard time envisioning Sting and Daniels being this calm and not trying to beat the hell out of each other. I guess it's building up to something with this new mindset of Daniels. I do like seeing Daniels talking about last week being his penance for what he did to Sting in the main event a few weeks ago. Hopefully they're going somewhere with all of this as much build up as there has been.

The next segment was the fight in the make-up room between Gail Kim and Brooks. Honestly a waste of 30 seconds but not enough to ruin what I've seen on the show so far.

Up next was the weekly segment of Paparazzi Productions between Lethal/Nash/Dutt. I thought this was much better than their recent promos together. Lethal talking about Jake Roberts was cracking my ass up! Talking about how Roberts ruined the Macho Man's wedding. That's wrestling nostailga right there. I have some problems with the Black Machismo gimmick but hell at least they're letting Lethal show that he has some personality. Also the Dutt gimmick is kinda funny. I was a little let-down. I was hoping that we would see the split between Dutt and Lethal with his new change of heart Dutt talked about the week before but I'm sure it will happen after Lethal and Sabin finish up their program. Having Dutt snap on Lethal will get the job done and he shouldn't be in this guru gimmick for too long.

After a commercial we come back to clips on news coverage of the TNA Slammiversary Storm/Wycheck angle. Honestly I don't know how I feel about this build-up between the two but it was pretty entertaining to see Storm spit in a Nashville legends face. Pretty fun to watch but I don't personally love the idea of the angle between the two.

Up next we see a nervous Styles getting threatened by Angle and Christian pulling him behind a closed door as Christian was seen incognito. I thought this whole Christian hiding from Tomko was pretty damn funny as it played out last night.

Next we see Kim fighting Ms. Brooks in what was a true waste of 5 minutes to the show. I could care less about seeing these two fight. TNA has a hard enough time of showcasing their talent without taking up TV time with women's wrestling. If they want to have women's wrestling for the love of God wait until you get your two hour show. As hot as Ms. Brooks and Kim are, put this crap on your website show for now.

The Steiners-Team 3D promo was pretty good but it was just more of the same from two weeks ago. I honestly had a hard time getting into it with the uncertainty of the match between the two teams now that Scott is injured. I did like Scott's line at the end about Team 3D not kissing their ass unless they were told to. I think this program is bringing out the better of Scott which is pretty hard to do.

We finally see the Cage-Tomko confrontation. It was actually pretty entertaining as you got some insight between the two, kayfabe or not, and got to watch Christian continue to manipulate Tomko. I like seeing Christian pulling all the strings with Styles and Tomko and seeing them continue to follow his every command. It's pretty damn funny.

We then get to the main event between Chris Harris and James Storm. Again this was a fantastic match. Not as good as their last encounter but still it was a great match and a great way to handle this match between the two with the refs pretty much letting them do anything. There were some good spots and it really showed some of the hardcore talent between the two. It wasn't a technical wrestler's dream but it was entertaining as hell. The only thing I can't understand is how in the hell they can end the match and not let either in the KOTM match. Hopefully there is a reason and we'll see someone good take the 5th spot at the PPV but I really think one of these guys should have been in the main event at Slammiversary. It would have really shook up the match and added an x-factor to the main event. I hope this will at least give us a final match between the two at Slammiversary and hopefully we'll see Wycheck in Harris's corner instead of seeing a match between Storm and Wycheck. I hope to God this is where all of this is going and not an ex-NFL player-TNA wrestler match. I think that if you put Wycheck in Harris's corner you are still getting the local publicity out from Wycheck being involved and still help to keep the PPV credibible. Still I hated to see one of these guys not get in the KOTM match.

We close out with the confrontation between Angle/Joe/Styles. I am fine with this but it just seemed a little out of place and didn't really go anywhere. We then see Christian trying to get a name from Cornette. Okay way to lead into next weeks show but nothing to write home about.

In conclusion I would give this show a 7.5 out of 10. I was leaning towards a 6.5 before the last match. The wrestling was nothing to write home about before the main event but the promos between Christian/Tomko and Lethal/Nash/Dutt were great. The main event really put this show over the top for me. I think it could have been an 8 or 9 if they had just taken some time off of the promos, cut out the women's wrestling match and added a good quick x-division match to the fold. Still a good show and I have to say that TNA is doing a good job with Impacts leading up to Slammiversary. Hopefully the trend will continue.

 

[A.J.]

Last night's edition of Impact was good but could have been better. The start of the show was a little bit too long for me. As they let the segment about Victory Road go on way too long. i know they were trying to make the emphasis for the PPV and get Angle over more as a heel, but it was way too long. And the match idea is old as has been done before in WWE, but who knows this could interesting.

The tag match with James Storm & Robert Roode vs Rhino & Eric Young was ok but again nothing special. Ok first match of the night but most will remember this match from Rhino going crazy after storm poured his beer in Rhino mouth after the match. I guess they are setting up a Storm and Rhino feud.

Then we have Chris Harris vs Raven in a ok match. Chris Harris looks good in the ring and i still see big things from him. And after the match Christian and Harris have there little talk well Christian does all the talking so looks like if Christian is not in the main event at Victory road he will be facing Harris then for his revenge for Harris costing him the TNA Championship.

The whole Abyss and Christian feud needs to end soon as these attack are pointless as Abyss never get his revenge on Christian. i do expect at Victory Road one more match between Abyss and Tomko.

Then James Mitchell has little promo to which i say was well done actually as it prepares fans for his new project. I expect his new project to attakc Abyss at Victory Road.

Then the main event saw Samoa Joe d. Chris Sabin & Jay Lethal in a 3 way to win the X Division Title. It was a good match but Joe just dominated the match and in this match they made lethal look week as he was champion for just one day WTH. Anyways Joe wins and now he will team with Angle at Victory Road.

Overall an ok show after a PPV as this show was to start new feuds going to Victory Road and set up the main event at Victory Road,

 

[Dj Martyn]

Ok well last nights impact....05/07/07....

Probably one the best so far this year....no?

The three way tag match was PPV quality action. No doubt about it...although Brother Devon is just getting fatter and slower....i really wish LAX had won because Team 3d are just getting more and more stale by the weeks.

The segment with Hoyt and Hemme was a little odd....but i guess its fuelling some sort of christy hemme stable....

Joe's promo was a little weak...mainly because they made the mistake of not putting it up in front of a live crowd, so all the atmosphere was lost.

The womens match suprised me, it was in my opinion more than a passable match....although a few botched spots made me feel sorry for Gail Kim...she took some stiff neck bumps.

Sting with a good promo....Abyss unmasked!! slightly....but there is a moment for ya...

Kurt worked a great promo, classic cocky angle. Flawless heat building. With some great comeback from Brother Ray (kinda makes up for his weight gain and lumpyness in the ring) Joe got a huge pop when he came out.