klunderbunker
Welcome to My (And Not Sly's) House
Monday
Smackdown got its highest rating ever on SyFy, going over a 2.1. Nicely done indeed.
Edge says hes done after his contract expires in 2012, which has been said before. If so that could be a big blow to the company.
Monday Night Raw
Date: January 24, 2011
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole
It's the go home show before the Rumble so something tells me they're going to be talking about one thing quite a bit. Tonight is probably going to be the last push for people that actually think they have a chance at it while they're nothing but cannon fodder for the people that really have a chance. Also tonight we get to find out a little something about the guy that might as well be Batista's son. Let's get to it.
Theme song opens us up. I cant remember the last time that happened.
Edge vs. Miz in a champion vs. champion match.
Melina challenges for the Divas Title tonight.
Heres Edge to open the show. He says to Miz that he doesnt have a lot of patience and doesnt want to wait. After listing off things he doesnt like to wait for he says lets do it now Miz. An E-Mail cuts him off though and the GM doesnt like Edge still. Thankfully theyve gotten what looks like an e-mail on the screen now. Were going to have a mini Rumble right now and whichever of the three can throw Edge over gets #40.
Edge vs. Tyson Kidd/Drew McIntyre/Jack Swagger
They all come and are in at once. Edge takes them all down and eliminates Kidd. Drew kicks him HARD in the head and almost gets him out. Swagger makes the save as he wants the final spot but charges at the champion and goes flying out also. Edge throws Drew out without much effort to win at 1:14. No rating of course and Im not even going to call it a real match of course.
Post match Edge says hes going to get ready for Miz but first of all he wants to relive something that he did the last time he was on Raw. Does anyone want to see a smashed computer? Edge goes out to the computer but Cole stands in his way. Edge is going after him but heres Nexus instead. Five guys this time, including the new guy.
Punk says that in this world only the strong survive and they do that by evolving. He talks about the Rumble being bigger and to survive, the New Nexus had to evolve as well. Punk introduces the new man, and his name is indeed Mason Ryan as we all knew coming in. At least its official now. Ryan says faith. Thats the only thing he says. Everyone is in Nexus because of faith according to Punk.
He talks about Corre (yes I know its the wrong spelling and I dont care) and how Nexus has more faith than they do. He will win on Sunday and Nexus will become the most powerful group the WWE Universe will ever see. Could that mean a new addition? As he stops talking, cue the Corre (I hate myself at times).
Barrett says hes looking at the poor mans version of Nexus. Jackson says Corre will try to win the Rumble for themselves but will eliminate Punk. Ryan gets in his face and we have an e-mail. The GM makes Barrett vs. Punk. The losers entire group is out of the Rumble. The guest referee is Cena. King says its a match you never thought you would see on Raw. Why wouldnt you expect to see that on Raw? Anyway that takes us to our first break.
Back and we get a clip of the mini Rumble from last week with Henry clearing the ring.
John Morrison/Mark Henry vs. Sheamus/Alberto Del Rio
Alberto and Morrison start us off. Cole is ripping into Jerry over him lasting 4 seconds in the 97 Rumble. Alberto controls early and brings Sheamus in after a few seconds. Morrison fights back fairly well against the Human Jar of Mayonnaise. Off to Alberto again and Morrison may want to consider a tag. Hes fought off Del Rio but wont tag.
Morrison sets up for Starship Pain but Sheamus pulls him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Del Rio holding Morrison in a chinlock. Sheamus interfered during the break to give his team the advantage. Off to Sheamus again and we see that Michael Tarver is watching on. He looks a bit slimmer but that could be due to being in a suit. Sheamus continues to hammer away and locks in that highly modified crossface chickenwing that hes been using recently.
A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two. Brogue Kick misses and Morrison gets an enziguri to take down Sheamus. Henry finally is tagged in after 9 minutes. He runs over Del Rio a few times and gets a standing splash for two. He and Sheamus face off but get Sheamus gets taken down by the Flash Kick. Morrison dives out onto Sheamus and may have tweaked his knee on the landing. In the ring the cross armbreaker ends Henry at 10:07.
Divas Title: Melina vs. Natalya
Melina is shrieking early and knocks Natalya to the floor very early. Natalya is in trouble and Melina locks on a Full Nelson using her legs while sitting on the mat. Thats a new one on me for sure. Natalya stands up and rams Melina in the corner and fires off some forearms.
She pulls back for a big right hand but Melina drills her to take her down. Melina tries a leg lock but Natalya grabs the legs and pulls into a Sharpshooter, wrenching back on it so hard that shes laying on her back. Theres the easy submission at 2:45. Too short to grade but that submission was great.
Post match heres Laycool. They say that this Sunday Natalya is losing some weight in the form of the title. They dont say which it is but apparently one or both is getting a shot.
Back and we recap last weeks main event with Punk winning by DQ due to Ryan kicking him in the face. Theres a religious sounding song in the background as Punk narrates about loyalty and faith.
Nexus is worrying about how Punk could cost them their spots in the Rumble. Punk and Ryan come up and Punk talks about making a sacrifice to beat Cena. He says that Sunday they will all sacrifice their spots so that Punk can win. Harris isnt looking happy about that. He says there are 40 people this year and what if Punk is already gone when they get there? Ryan says Punk wont be eliminated.
Punk says take care of the Corre tonight but McGillicutty says what about Cena? Punk says hell win because Barrett was Cenas main enemy, not Punk. The leader has them take a knee and raise their fists, drawing great heat from the crowd.
Matthews is with Cena who says hes always done the right thing and hell do that tonight. If Punk wins hell eliminate every member of the New Nexus. If Barrett wins he has to deal with the Corre, which has an extra R. He found out what it stands for earlier today but gets cut off by Miz and Riley. Apparently it stands for rectum.
Miz says everyone needs to realize that winning the Rumble could be the worst thing possible as it means they could face him. Cena stares him down and says Miz might lose at the Rumble and lose his rematch and not make it to Wrestlemania. Cena leaves and Miz gets rid of Matthews. Miz asks the audience if they think hell win the Rumble. He asks Riley if its ready and Riley says roll the footage. We get a clip of the beatdown of Orton from last week and Cole is very happy with it.
The Miz vs. Edge
As were about ready to go heres Dolph. Can we get to some wrestling already? Ziggler and Vickie join us on commentary and we finally get the bell. Edge has taped ribs due to the Corre attack on Friday. After a brief feeling out process Edge takes over with some basic stuff. Later on well get an update on Teddy Long. Miz fires back but no one has had a long advantage yet.
Edge gets a clothesline to take Miz to the floor and we take a break. Back with Edge getting a cover over what looked like a backdrop. Jerry: Vickie Im glad you could be here. I thought youd be at the birth of your next boyfriend. King gets a good line in every now and then like there. Miz takes over but lowers his head and gets caught in a spinning neckbreaker. Edge wants the spear but Miz hits the floor.
Miz goes for the ribs but cant send Edge into the railing as the Canadian reverses. Back in and Miz cant get a superplex. Edge knocks him off and gets a top rope cross body for two. Jerry gets in an argument with Vickie and Dolph over glasses and pants or something like that. Miz drapes Edge over the top rope as we take another break.
Back with Miz getting a two off an unseen move. Some right hands get another two. Miz has a body scissors on Edge as Cole goes on and on about how great Miz is, listing off various people hes a combination of: Sammartino, Thesz, Michaels, just to name a few. Edge fights up and gets his half nelson face crusher for two. Mizs corner clothesline misses and Edge gets two.
Riley grabs the leg of Edge and Edge goes after him. Nothing comes of that but Miz gets a small package on Edge when he comes back in for two. Edge hits the ropes and misses a clothesline but Edge takes out Riley with a baseball slide. Edgecution puts Miz down and Edge wants the spear. And never mind as Ziggler trips him for the DQ at 16:40.
Post match Ziggler hits the Zig Zag but here comes Orton for the save. The crowd wakes way up for his appearance. RKO to Riley and RKO to Ziggler, but Miz gets a shot in and leaves with the title as we take a break.
Back with Barrett saying that he always talked about how Nexus was about the bigger picture. However he lost sight of that and only cared about the title and humiliating Cena. We pan out to see everyone else but Barrett repeated that there are no leaders here. Matthews asks about the attack on Long but Barrett again denies it. He respects Cena and hopes that can be mutual someday.
Daniel Bryan/Bella Twins vs. Ted DiBiase/Alicia Fox/Maryse
The genitaila have to match here. The guys start and its off to a Bella and Maryse very soon. The other Bella hits on Daniel and Maryse gets a rollup with ease to end it at 57 seconds. No rating of course. Alicia I beg of you: straighten your hair again.
Back and the Bellas are arguing about Bryan. Tarver is staring at them and then disappears. That was .odd. They go into Bryans locker room and find him making out with Gail Kim who is apparently his girlfriend who hes been dating for SIX MONTHS??? And yes he was in fact a vegan. Gail says he was hanging with the Bellas because he felt sorry for them since there were no more guest stars and they had nothing to do. They call Gail a nothing and a brawl breaks out. This was surprisingly hilarious.
Heres Nexus and the tag titles are on the line next.
Miz/Ziggler vs. Rated RKO on Friday.
Michael McGillicutty/Husky Harris vs. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov
Cole corrects himself as this is not a title match. McGillicutty and Kozlov to start. Off to Santino and he loses the advantage for his team. Harris beats him up for a good while as the Canaditalian is in trouble. He needs a tag but Harris takes Vlad down before it can be made. Santino wakes up and fights Harris off on his own. Time for the Cobra but he walks into a clothesline from Husky. Downward Spiral ends it at 3:52.
Otunga says lets hear it for the winners and introduces Punk. Cena is coming and we go to a break.
Wade Barrett vs. CM Punk
Cena is referee and the winners group gets to stay in the Rumble. Before the match, Cena throws Nexus out. Hey Corre, youre out too. Cole gets on Cena for abusing his power with those ejections. Ah theres the bell but Cena shoves Punk down almost immediately. Punk comes up with a fist but Cena points out the referee. Theres a slap to Barrett from Punk and again with the shirt.
Punk jumps Barrett and were finally on. Barrett is thrown to the floor and Punk jaws at Cena, saying thats him on Sunday. Naturally Cena throws Punk over the top. Punk charges back in but wont hit him because it would mean hes out of the Rumble. Barrett jumps him from behind, but Cena hits the floor to sign some autographs instead of counting a pin.
Back in the ring and its a bell? Its a double DQ for use of excessive profanity on a PG show at 2:00. Both teams are out of the Rumble! Cena starts to leave but its an E-Mail. The teams are back in, but if Cena doesnt apologize to both guys then hes out.
Wade Barrett vs. CM Punk went to a Double DQ @ 2:00 when they both used too much profanity
Cena apologizes but drills them both. The rest of the teams run in and Cena hits the floor. The locker room empties and its the annual pre-Rumble big brawl to end the show.
Results
Edge b. Drew McIntyre/Jack Swagger/Tyson Kidd Edge last eliminated McIntyre to win
Alberto Del Rio/Sheamus b. John Morrison/Mark Henry Cross Armbreaker to Henry
Natalya b. Melina Sharpshooter
Maryse/Ted DiBiase/Alicia Fox b. Daniel Bryan/Bella Twins Rollup to Nikki Bella
Michael McGillicutty/Husky Harris b. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov Downward Spiral to Marella
Wade Barrett vs. CM Punk went to a Double DQ when they both used too much profanity
Tuesday
Raw got a 3.3, the same as last week.
Ric Flair missed a show in Europe due to getting into an argument with a member of management and not boarding a flight. This isnt the first time this has happened.
NXT
Date: January 25, 2011
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Todd Grisham
I was a political science major in college so Im having to stop watching the State of the Union Address for this show. I hope you people are happy. Itll be on in the background so if you get random political ramblings I apologize. Anyway on with NXT. This is the eighth week in the season and were down to the final four. The show should get a lot more entertaining now as other than arguably Curtis, everyone is at least mostly interesting. Lets get to it.
Theme song opens us up. I cant believe this show has been on almost a year now.
Striker is in the ring with the rookies. There are two challenges tonight, one of which is a fatal fourway. The winner gets the opportunity to switch their rookies if they choose to. Before we start though we have a violation of rules and it involves Bateman. We see a clip of Bateman as a ninja, slipping the answers to the Know Your Pro challenge to Bryan. Nice to see them addressing this I think. Bateman gets penalized for this challenge. Bryan: That was the Ultimate Warrior! Not Bateman!
The first challenge is called Outthink The Fink. There are trivia questions in envelopes that have been thought up by Fink. They have thirty seconds but Bateman gets twenty as a penalty. Heres the Fink! He always makes things seem more special. Fink is uh, kind of chunky here. If anyone beats Fink, they get an extra two points. Fink picks the first envelope and the question is: 93,173 was the attendance at what show? Ah ok its rapid fire trivia questions and its most in 30 seconds. Fink gets 2 right but cant get the third out in time. Striker asks questions very slowly. He also got Takers first Streak victime.
Curtis goes second with the category of WWE Titles and gets very specific questions about individual PPVs. He only got one, which was who is the youngest WWE Champion in history. I knew some of them but they went way too in depth such as who did Edge beat at this PPV.
Bateman gets Firsts and gets one, which was who did Edge beat for his first singles title (Jarrett).
Saxton gets Potpourri and gets that HHH put a bounty on Goldberg and thats it. He didnt know the team that Orton and Edge formed.
Going last is Clay and his category is the Royal Rumble. He says that Cena returned at the Royal Rumble called Summerslam. Thats not a typo either. Clay gets one, which was who won the first Rumble. So its a four way tie? Does anyone get the two points? No one gets the extra two points for beating Fink.
The fatal fourway is elimination. SWEET!
They plug the Top 10 Rumble moments on WWE.com which is an absurd list. Shawn winning from #1 is the top moment but Rey winning from #2 at almost twice the time is like 5th. Cenas return, which should be the top moment, was #6.
Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase
Before the match we get a clip of the Gail Kim moment last night which had me rolling. Im a bit sick of this match at this point. Bryan starts by slipping behind him and Ziggler continues his shouting during these matches. Thats always kind of funny as hes a funny guy. They speed it up a bit but Bryan takes it to the mat with an armbar. Josh starts talking to Maryse and gets her autograph.
More arm work and he adds a leg lock at the same time. Hes like a doctor out there with his submission precision. They go to a test of strength which Ted throws a kick in to get control and he gets the hold down onto the mat. LeBell Lock cant go on. Bryan controls as we take a break.
Back with DiBiase hammering him down in the corner. Bryan misses a charge and its control back to DiBiase. Neckbreaker by DiBiase as this is dragging a bit. Truth and Ziggler start dueling chants in kind of a funny bit. They hit the floor as this match is getting a good deal of time. Ziggler keeps cracking jokes about Bateman cheating. All DiBiase here as he rams Bryan into the steps and wants a count out.
Bryan beats the count and gets stomped on. Ziggler makes jokes about being a Vegan while DiBiase gets a two count. We hit the chinlock and Truth starts the When I say Daniel you say Bryan chant. That lasts for three full names. Bryan does his backflip out of the corner to take over. This would be a lot more interesting if there was any doubt about the ending.
Big kick by Bryan puts DiBiase down and a flying dropkick off the top gets two. This match has gotten over 10 minutes, probably making it the longest match this season. Bryan gets a rollup for two twice and make it three times. Dream Street is reversed and a sitout chokebomb gets two for DiBiase. Bryan comes out of the corner and almost walks into a spinebuster. He reverses into a guillotine but cant get the LeBell Lock.
DiBiase gets sent to the floor and Bryan charges but runs into an elbow. Ted sets for Dream Street and actually hits it ..for the pin??? DiBiase just got a totally clean pin on the United States Champion on NXT at 12:30. I lay corrected on what I said about the ending being in doubt. Im really quite surprised by that and it makes the match a lot better actually.
Rumble by the Numbers promo again which is still interesting indeed.
Maryse, Ted and Clay are talking about how DiBiase finally won. If anyone else wins, Ted says theyll want him. Clay admits hes flawed but DiBiase says hes still the best choice. Clay says hell win for DiBiase tonight. He leaves and Maryse speaks more French which Ted still doesnt understand.
Package on Miz vs. Orton for the Rumble.
Brodus Clay vs. Byron Saxton vs. Johnny Curtis vs. Derrick Bateman
This is the second week in a row where I couldnt remember Curtis name. Thats not good when Ive watched every episode of this show. This is elimination rules, no tagging, winner has the option of changing their pro. Everyone goes after Bateman for some reason instead of Brodus. He is thrown into a suplex from Brodus and is pinned in less than a minute.
Now they both go after Brodus as I scratch my head trying to figure that out. They manage to get a suplex on him but Curtis tries to steal a rollup on Saxton which gets two. Brodus is collecting himself on the floor so the others are in the ring. Curtis takes out Brodus with a dive, leaving Saxton in the ring as we take a break.
Dont try this at home. These are good PSAs for lack of a better term to run.
Back with Brodus nailing Saxton with a clothesline. Curtis is down on the floor and lets Saxton get beaten down like an intelligent person would. Saxton gets something close to a Stunner to take Brodus down for two. Curtis tries to come in off the top but gets caught. He knocks Saxton down and gets a double guillotine legdrop to put out Saxton at 4:30. Were down to Clay and Curtis.
Clay is reeling and Curtis adds a European Uppercut to send him back on his heels. Brodus is like wait Im huge and splashes Curtis in the corner. Off to the nerve hold which is my least favorite rest hold of all time. Curtis fights out of it and rams some shoulders into the corner. Josh has picked Rey to win the Rumble apparently. Johnny goes up but jumps into the Tongan Death Grip Slam to end it at 7:20.
Post match Clay says his pro is rich and is likely going to dominate in the Rumble. The one thing his pro isnt is Ted DiBiase, as hes switching to Alberto Del Rio. The Death Grip Slam puts DiBiase down to almost dead silence. Del Rio comes out and shakes hands with DiBiase to end this show kind of early at about 10:45.
Results
Outthink the Fink Ended in a Four Way Tie
Ted DiBiase b. Daniel Bryan Dream Street
Brodus Clay b. Johnny Curtis, Derrick Bateman and Byron Saxton Tongan Death Grip Slam to Curtis
Wednesday
Flair is back with the TNA tour. Not surprising that it seems like its blowing over.
The Diva Search is coming back. Why not? Its not like you need to be a wrestler anyway to get a job as a Diva.
Thursday
Hernandez should be back soon. This is in contrast to the report from 2-3 weeks ago saying he would be back soon.
There was an implication during a conference call that WWE could add MORE PPVs to their schedule. And they wonder why no one buys their bad shows already.
Impact
Date: January 27, 2011
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz
Episode Title: Crimson Sees Red
Its almost a go home show tonight as theyve spent more time building up to February 3rd than Against All Odds which is perfectly fine as 2/3 is a huge show. Also, its nice to see TNA building up to a major event for weeks rather than hours. When you do that, more people might actually watch. Anyway, tonight well likely be focusing on the new THEY and hopefully finding out some more about how Crimson is connected to this. Also expect more about Angle vs. Jarrett. Lets get to it.
As usual we open with a recap of last week, mainly focusing on Jarrett/Angle and then Crimson.
Angle opens the show properly without music for some reason this week. He talks about last week and everything that happened before moving on to how he made a promise not to wrestle again. But sometimes there are things you have to deal with, and in this case its Jarrett. Hes the best in the world and he does it for the people. Would the people want to see Kurt in the ring one more time? Based on the cheers it seems that they would.
Bischoff and Immortal come out and Bischoff says that theres no way hes wrestling again because hes retired. Kurt apparently needs to find a new hobby. Eric sends Immortal down and they beat the hell out of Kurt. Taz mentions that Eric took away the pyro and music so thats covered. Crimson runs in with a bat for the save and clears the ring.
Flair goes on a classic rant, saying that THEY is him, Bischoff and Hogan and are already here. Hogan hasnt been seen in two months but hes still here I guess. Flair, as Kurts god, lifts the ban on Angle wrestling and makes Angle vs. Jarrett tonight. Jeff loses it but Flair finishes his statement and makes it Angle/Crimson vs. all of Immortal. Flairs face is beet red. He screams more as we go to a break.
Back with Eric taking credit for making Angle says hed retire if he lost. Ric, have you lost your mind? Flair of course responds with taking off his jacket, shouting at the top of his lungs and talking about Kool-Aid. This is absolutely hilarious and I really dont know if thats intentional or not.
Dixie speaks tonight.
Sarita/Tara/Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Skye/Mickie James/Angelina Love
We see the Beautiful People in the back but Winter grabs Angelina and asks why are you doing this to us? Love says chill because Velvet is my BFF. Winter is crushed and screams, beating the hell out of a wall or something. Damn it quit having the camera on anything other than Velvet during her entrance? This is under elimination rules because a gimmick is needed in at least half the matches on a Russo show.
They brawl before the match starts and then we get a bell. Tara vs. Angelina to start but its off to Sarita and Mickie soon. Dixie is the topic of course and we get the legal ruling on Immortal and TNA next week. Also shes still President. Im assuming that means a figurehead spot at the moment? Off to Velvet and Sarita now as Velvet is still obsessed with beating her.
Madison tries to come in but Mickie counters her. Madison tries to load up the glove but is thrown out by Velvet. The distraction allows Sarita to roll her up to make it 3-2. Mickie gets in but is sent to the apron soon. She gets rammed by Taras elbow pad and Madison comes in. Madison is knocked down and falls on her own glove to knock herself out and Mickie gets the pin. A second later Sarita rolls up Mickie to get us down to Angelina vs. Sarita/Tara.
Angelina gets a small package on Sarita for two as we take a break. Back with Anelina vs. Sarita still. Angelina reverses a belly to back and gets a spin kick for two. They show a reply of the Madison elimination and see that she completely missed the glove that knocked her out but thats an understandable error as fast as she was falling. We cut to the back with Velvet on the ground holding her head. Winter vs. Velvet for Angelinas affections works for me.
Over to Tara now after a long body scissors by Angelina. Tara lasts just a few seconds as its back to Sarita. Sarita gets something close to a snap suplex for two. Were over 12 minutes into this match now with a lot of it being this handicap match. I dont remember a Knockouts match this long in awhile other than maybe the cage match. The heels double team Angelina a bit but Love fights them off and hits the Botox Injection to Tara to make it 1-1. Sarita gets a rollup reversed and Angelina gets the win at 13:35.
Angle is on the phone with someone and says they have to accelerate their plans. Kurt wants the person here tonight.
Back with Matt making fun of Andersons saying things twice deal. Matt says Anderson wont make it to February 3. He also mentions having Cold Blood which gets some emphasis.
Kaz is at the announce table. Were going to have three triple threats over the next three weeks. The winners will meet at Against All Odds for a final triple threat for the #1 contender spot. Wow think theyre taking enough time getting to that?
Max Buck vs. Amazing Red vs. Chris Sabin
We get comments from everyone with Red saying hes the original face of the X Division, Max saying its either his or his brothers time (Kaz: dont your balls have to drop before its your time?) and Sabin says destiny is knocking at his door (Kaz: wouldnt that upset Velvet Sky? Sabin and her date if that makes no sense). Its a wild match as you would expect to start with Max being sent to the floor a few times.
Big dive by Sabin takes out Red and its Max vs. Sabin in the ring. A low dropkick gets two. Surprisingly enough Kaz is the most entertaining part of this match. Jeremy chokes Red on the floor for a bit. That apparently doesnt work as he gets a dropkick off the top to take out both guys. Red gets his speed going to take down Max with a spinning DDT. Red dives at Sabin who catches him in a suplex position and slams him down into a neckbreaker for two.
Max vs. Sabin now with a nice gymnastics routine resulting in a faceplant by Max which gets two for him. Nice kind of sunset bomb by Red for two as Jeremy pops up so his brother can still win. Red goes up but gets crotched by Jeremy. Elevated DDT out of the corner by Max is enough to pin Red at 5:10. Fun match.
Karen is paranoid about Kurt being on the phone. Jeff says to calm down but Karen is still worried.
Jeff Hardy is up next.
Back with Velvet saying shes fed up with Winter who attacked her. She tells Angelina to deal with Winter or she will.
We recap Jeff vs. Anderson and their feud to hype up next week.
Heres Jeff. I still dont see him as a big star when I look at him. I didnt in WWE and I dont here. He yells at the fans and says that theyre all a bunch of smarks and internet junkies. At BFG he took the title and the money because he is TNA. Half the fans chant for him and half of them chant wheres your title. Now lets talk about the Asshole. Jeff says hes going to win the title back next week and shove it up all the fans asses. This was just bad. He sounded like a guy in OVW that has been around for three months.
Anderson comes down to the ring and holds up the title. He says Jeff bitches and moans a lot, sounding like Charlie Browns mom. Everything in wrestling is about wins and losses apparently and right now Anderson has the big win. Anderson says that even after what Hardy has put the fans through, they still like him. Next week its all about the title and when the match is over, Anderson will still be the Total Nonstop Action Total Nonstop Asshole. Im not a fan of Anderson but he destroyed Hardy here.
Eliminate the Hate PSA.
Crimson says a few weeks ago he was here for his brother Red. Recently though he was given an offer he couldnt refuse. Next week well find out who that offer came from. Could they make this any more obvious?
We get a recap of what Crimson has done. Abyss is hurt badly apparently and is out indefinitely. No word on the TV Title.
Heres Velvet with no music. She calls out Winter with a ton of profanity. Winter comes out and Velvet drills her before she can get in. This goes on for awhile until Winter beats her down with some shots. Angelina finally comes out to break it up. The fans chant Shes a Screamer. I want to end the Impact Zone audience.
Pope is on his way to the ring as we take a break.
Heres Pope who says that maybe he said some things that shouldnt have been said but he said some things that should have been said. Pope is pure which is why he always wears white. Tonight hes going to confess to something. Pope talks about how so many people arent honest with themselves and dont like the people theyre around.
Hes better than all of us apparently, so hes going to kneel down and confess. He gets about one knee down but pulls up saying that he doesnt like Joe. Pope goes on a rant saying he is going to fix things like he always has. Next week someone is going to confess just like he did.
Flair is giving Fourtune a pep talk and for no apparent reason Eric Young is there. Fourtune leaves and Eric stays. Flair goes off on him and says the title Eric has means nothing. Eric leaves saying good talk Ric. This was kind of pointless. The Eric aspect I mean.
Back with a recap of Hogans arrival in TNA and how it led to the whole THEY story. When you condense it really well like this the angle actually looks and sounds pretty awesome.
Dixie is on the phone and says that the day in court will be next Thursday and well hear the decision that night. This phone call lasted all of 30 seconds. So in other words control of a major company and a fraudulent contract signing can be settled in court in a single day along with the action of that day in court being enacted on the same day?
Eric offers a rebuttal, saying next week Immortal will get the gold back and Hogan is back too.
Matt Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson
Matt hammers Anderson down a bit but cant get a move off the top. He does manage to drape Andersons arm over the top though and gets a one arm DDT for two. Andersons arm goes into the post while the announcers plug next weeks major show. The top of Andersons calves near his ass are really pale. Lots of arm work here but Anderson gets a spinning neckbreaker for two.
Andersons rolling firemans carry slam is reversed and Matt uses an FU for two. Twist of Hate is countered into the rolling firemans carry slam for two. Mic Check is blocked and theres the Side Effect for two but Anderson rolls him up for the pin at 4:12. That came out of nowhere.
Post match Jeff comes out for the beatdown. RVD runs out for the save but the Hardys get away. You know maybe RVD would be able to sneak up on them better if he didn't have loud music saying ROB VAN DAM as soon as he came out.
Angle and Crimson are coming to the ring. Angle says theyre not alone out there.
Kurt Angle/Crimson vs. Immortal
Immortal here is represented by Beer Money/Kaz/Rob Terry and Gunner/Murphy. AJ is in street clothes as is Flair. Theyre staying on the floor it seems. No Jarrett? AJ is on the apron now and you have to tag here. The referee makes them switch corners for some reason. It seems like theyre wasting time. Crimson vs. Roode to start with Roode hammering him back in the corner. Is this Crimsons official debut?
He takes over on Roode very quickly with a shoulder block and a Falcon Arrow for two. Off to Angle who gets only a moderate pop for his first official match in months. Kaz comes in and Angle takes over. Off to Storm now who takes a suplex. Angle knocks all of Immortal off the apron but Storm is able to hit a Backstabber. Superkick misses and down goes the referee.
Angle Slam to Storm and it breaks down rather quickly. With Angle in trouble we get Jarretts music. He and Karen come out and Jeff wants Kurt on his own. Kurt easily grabs a German but Immortal beats him down. Im assuming the match was thrown out at some point earlier. Stroke to Angle and Jackson James runs out for the pin at 3:35. No rating as the vast majority was a big beatdown.
Morgan runs out as apparently the call recipient. I was wondering where he was tonight. The numbers catch up with him though and there go the lights. A siren goes off and SCOTT STEINER is back, pipe in hand. He clears the ring to end the show.
Also I wont be here for the review next week so Ill see you in two weeks.
Results
Angelina Love/Velvet Sky/Mickie James b. Tara/Madison Rayne/Sarita Angelina last eliminated Sarita to win
Max Buck b. Amazing Red and Chris Sabin Elevated DDT to Red
Mr. Anderson b. Matt Hardy Cradle
Immortal b. Kurt Angle/Crimson Stroke to Angle
Smackdown got its highest rating ever on SyFy, going over a 2.1. Nicely done indeed.
Edge says hes done after his contract expires in 2012, which has been said before. If so that could be a big blow to the company.
Monday Night Raw
Date: January 24, 2011
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole
It's the go home show before the Rumble so something tells me they're going to be talking about one thing quite a bit. Tonight is probably going to be the last push for people that actually think they have a chance at it while they're nothing but cannon fodder for the people that really have a chance. Also tonight we get to find out a little something about the guy that might as well be Batista's son. Let's get to it.
Theme song opens us up. I cant remember the last time that happened.
Edge vs. Miz in a champion vs. champion match.
Melina challenges for the Divas Title tonight.
Heres Edge to open the show. He says to Miz that he doesnt have a lot of patience and doesnt want to wait. After listing off things he doesnt like to wait for he says lets do it now Miz. An E-Mail cuts him off though and the GM doesnt like Edge still. Thankfully theyve gotten what looks like an e-mail on the screen now. Were going to have a mini Rumble right now and whichever of the three can throw Edge over gets #40.
Edge vs. Tyson Kidd/Drew McIntyre/Jack Swagger
They all come and are in at once. Edge takes them all down and eliminates Kidd. Drew kicks him HARD in the head and almost gets him out. Swagger makes the save as he wants the final spot but charges at the champion and goes flying out also. Edge throws Drew out without much effort to win at 1:14. No rating of course and Im not even going to call it a real match of course.
Post match Edge says hes going to get ready for Miz but first of all he wants to relive something that he did the last time he was on Raw. Does anyone want to see a smashed computer? Edge goes out to the computer but Cole stands in his way. Edge is going after him but heres Nexus instead. Five guys this time, including the new guy.
Punk says that in this world only the strong survive and they do that by evolving. He talks about the Rumble being bigger and to survive, the New Nexus had to evolve as well. Punk introduces the new man, and his name is indeed Mason Ryan as we all knew coming in. At least its official now. Ryan says faith. Thats the only thing he says. Everyone is in Nexus because of faith according to Punk.
He talks about Corre (yes I know its the wrong spelling and I dont care) and how Nexus has more faith than they do. He will win on Sunday and Nexus will become the most powerful group the WWE Universe will ever see. Could that mean a new addition? As he stops talking, cue the Corre (I hate myself at times).
Barrett says hes looking at the poor mans version of Nexus. Jackson says Corre will try to win the Rumble for themselves but will eliminate Punk. Ryan gets in his face and we have an e-mail. The GM makes Barrett vs. Punk. The losers entire group is out of the Rumble. The guest referee is Cena. King says its a match you never thought you would see on Raw. Why wouldnt you expect to see that on Raw? Anyway that takes us to our first break.
Back and we get a clip of the mini Rumble from last week with Henry clearing the ring.
John Morrison/Mark Henry vs. Sheamus/Alberto Del Rio
Alberto and Morrison start us off. Cole is ripping into Jerry over him lasting 4 seconds in the 97 Rumble. Alberto controls early and brings Sheamus in after a few seconds. Morrison fights back fairly well against the Human Jar of Mayonnaise. Off to Alberto again and Morrison may want to consider a tag. Hes fought off Del Rio but wont tag.
Morrison sets up for Starship Pain but Sheamus pulls him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Del Rio holding Morrison in a chinlock. Sheamus interfered during the break to give his team the advantage. Off to Sheamus again and we see that Michael Tarver is watching on. He looks a bit slimmer but that could be due to being in a suit. Sheamus continues to hammer away and locks in that highly modified crossface chickenwing that hes been using recently.
A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two. Brogue Kick misses and Morrison gets an enziguri to take down Sheamus. Henry finally is tagged in after 9 minutes. He runs over Del Rio a few times and gets a standing splash for two. He and Sheamus face off but get Sheamus gets taken down by the Flash Kick. Morrison dives out onto Sheamus and may have tweaked his knee on the landing. In the ring the cross armbreaker ends Henry at 10:07.
Divas Title: Melina vs. Natalya
Melina is shrieking early and knocks Natalya to the floor very early. Natalya is in trouble and Melina locks on a Full Nelson using her legs while sitting on the mat. Thats a new one on me for sure. Natalya stands up and rams Melina in the corner and fires off some forearms.
She pulls back for a big right hand but Melina drills her to take her down. Melina tries a leg lock but Natalya grabs the legs and pulls into a Sharpshooter, wrenching back on it so hard that shes laying on her back. Theres the easy submission at 2:45. Too short to grade but that submission was great.
Post match heres Laycool. They say that this Sunday Natalya is losing some weight in the form of the title. They dont say which it is but apparently one or both is getting a shot.
Back and we recap last weeks main event with Punk winning by DQ due to Ryan kicking him in the face. Theres a religious sounding song in the background as Punk narrates about loyalty and faith.
Nexus is worrying about how Punk could cost them their spots in the Rumble. Punk and Ryan come up and Punk talks about making a sacrifice to beat Cena. He says that Sunday they will all sacrifice their spots so that Punk can win. Harris isnt looking happy about that. He says there are 40 people this year and what if Punk is already gone when they get there? Ryan says Punk wont be eliminated.
Punk says take care of the Corre tonight but McGillicutty says what about Cena? Punk says hell win because Barrett was Cenas main enemy, not Punk. The leader has them take a knee and raise their fists, drawing great heat from the crowd.
Matthews is with Cena who says hes always done the right thing and hell do that tonight. If Punk wins hell eliminate every member of the New Nexus. If Barrett wins he has to deal with the Corre, which has an extra R. He found out what it stands for earlier today but gets cut off by Miz and Riley. Apparently it stands for rectum.
Miz says everyone needs to realize that winning the Rumble could be the worst thing possible as it means they could face him. Cena stares him down and says Miz might lose at the Rumble and lose his rematch and not make it to Wrestlemania. Cena leaves and Miz gets rid of Matthews. Miz asks the audience if they think hell win the Rumble. He asks Riley if its ready and Riley says roll the footage. We get a clip of the beatdown of Orton from last week and Cole is very happy with it.
The Miz vs. Edge
As were about ready to go heres Dolph. Can we get to some wrestling already? Ziggler and Vickie join us on commentary and we finally get the bell. Edge has taped ribs due to the Corre attack on Friday. After a brief feeling out process Edge takes over with some basic stuff. Later on well get an update on Teddy Long. Miz fires back but no one has had a long advantage yet.
Edge gets a clothesline to take Miz to the floor and we take a break. Back with Edge getting a cover over what looked like a backdrop. Jerry: Vickie Im glad you could be here. I thought youd be at the birth of your next boyfriend. King gets a good line in every now and then like there. Miz takes over but lowers his head and gets caught in a spinning neckbreaker. Edge wants the spear but Miz hits the floor.
Miz goes for the ribs but cant send Edge into the railing as the Canadian reverses. Back in and Miz cant get a superplex. Edge knocks him off and gets a top rope cross body for two. Jerry gets in an argument with Vickie and Dolph over glasses and pants or something like that. Miz drapes Edge over the top rope as we take another break.
Back with Miz getting a two off an unseen move. Some right hands get another two. Miz has a body scissors on Edge as Cole goes on and on about how great Miz is, listing off various people hes a combination of: Sammartino, Thesz, Michaels, just to name a few. Edge fights up and gets his half nelson face crusher for two. Mizs corner clothesline misses and Edge gets two.
Riley grabs the leg of Edge and Edge goes after him. Nothing comes of that but Miz gets a small package on Edge when he comes back in for two. Edge hits the ropes and misses a clothesline but Edge takes out Riley with a baseball slide. Edgecution puts Miz down and Edge wants the spear. And never mind as Ziggler trips him for the DQ at 16:40.
Post match Ziggler hits the Zig Zag but here comes Orton for the save. The crowd wakes way up for his appearance. RKO to Riley and RKO to Ziggler, but Miz gets a shot in and leaves with the title as we take a break.
Back with Barrett saying that he always talked about how Nexus was about the bigger picture. However he lost sight of that and only cared about the title and humiliating Cena. We pan out to see everyone else but Barrett repeated that there are no leaders here. Matthews asks about the attack on Long but Barrett again denies it. He respects Cena and hopes that can be mutual someday.
Daniel Bryan/Bella Twins vs. Ted DiBiase/Alicia Fox/Maryse
The genitaila have to match here. The guys start and its off to a Bella and Maryse very soon. The other Bella hits on Daniel and Maryse gets a rollup with ease to end it at 57 seconds. No rating of course. Alicia I beg of you: straighten your hair again.
Back and the Bellas are arguing about Bryan. Tarver is staring at them and then disappears. That was .odd. They go into Bryans locker room and find him making out with Gail Kim who is apparently his girlfriend who hes been dating for SIX MONTHS??? And yes he was in fact a vegan. Gail says he was hanging with the Bellas because he felt sorry for them since there were no more guest stars and they had nothing to do. They call Gail a nothing and a brawl breaks out. This was surprisingly hilarious.
Heres Nexus and the tag titles are on the line next.
Miz/Ziggler vs. Rated RKO on Friday.
Michael McGillicutty/Husky Harris vs. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov
Cole corrects himself as this is not a title match. McGillicutty and Kozlov to start. Off to Santino and he loses the advantage for his team. Harris beats him up for a good while as the Canaditalian is in trouble. He needs a tag but Harris takes Vlad down before it can be made. Santino wakes up and fights Harris off on his own. Time for the Cobra but he walks into a clothesline from Husky. Downward Spiral ends it at 3:52.
Otunga says lets hear it for the winners and introduces Punk. Cena is coming and we go to a break.
Wade Barrett vs. CM Punk
Cena is referee and the winners group gets to stay in the Rumble. Before the match, Cena throws Nexus out. Hey Corre, youre out too. Cole gets on Cena for abusing his power with those ejections. Ah theres the bell but Cena shoves Punk down almost immediately. Punk comes up with a fist but Cena points out the referee. Theres a slap to Barrett from Punk and again with the shirt.
Punk jumps Barrett and were finally on. Barrett is thrown to the floor and Punk jaws at Cena, saying thats him on Sunday. Naturally Cena throws Punk over the top. Punk charges back in but wont hit him because it would mean hes out of the Rumble. Barrett jumps him from behind, but Cena hits the floor to sign some autographs instead of counting a pin.
Back in the ring and its a bell? Its a double DQ for use of excessive profanity on a PG show at 2:00. Both teams are out of the Rumble! Cena starts to leave but its an E-Mail. The teams are back in, but if Cena doesnt apologize to both guys then hes out.
Wade Barrett vs. CM Punk went to a Double DQ @ 2:00 when they both used too much profanity
Cena apologizes but drills them both. The rest of the teams run in and Cena hits the floor. The locker room empties and its the annual pre-Rumble big brawl to end the show.
Results
Edge b. Drew McIntyre/Jack Swagger/Tyson Kidd Edge last eliminated McIntyre to win
Alberto Del Rio/Sheamus b. John Morrison/Mark Henry Cross Armbreaker to Henry
Natalya b. Melina Sharpshooter
Maryse/Ted DiBiase/Alicia Fox b. Daniel Bryan/Bella Twins Rollup to Nikki Bella
Michael McGillicutty/Husky Harris b. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov Downward Spiral to Marella
Wade Barrett vs. CM Punk went to a Double DQ when they both used too much profanity
Tuesday
Raw got a 3.3, the same as last week.
Ric Flair missed a show in Europe due to getting into an argument with a member of management and not boarding a flight. This isnt the first time this has happened.
NXT
Date: January 25, 2011
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Todd Grisham
I was a political science major in college so Im having to stop watching the State of the Union Address for this show. I hope you people are happy. Itll be on in the background so if you get random political ramblings I apologize. Anyway on with NXT. This is the eighth week in the season and were down to the final four. The show should get a lot more entertaining now as other than arguably Curtis, everyone is at least mostly interesting. Lets get to it.
Theme song opens us up. I cant believe this show has been on almost a year now.
Striker is in the ring with the rookies. There are two challenges tonight, one of which is a fatal fourway. The winner gets the opportunity to switch their rookies if they choose to. Before we start though we have a violation of rules and it involves Bateman. We see a clip of Bateman as a ninja, slipping the answers to the Know Your Pro challenge to Bryan. Nice to see them addressing this I think. Bateman gets penalized for this challenge. Bryan: That was the Ultimate Warrior! Not Bateman!
The first challenge is called Outthink The Fink. There are trivia questions in envelopes that have been thought up by Fink. They have thirty seconds but Bateman gets twenty as a penalty. Heres the Fink! He always makes things seem more special. Fink is uh, kind of chunky here. If anyone beats Fink, they get an extra two points. Fink picks the first envelope and the question is: 93,173 was the attendance at what show? Ah ok its rapid fire trivia questions and its most in 30 seconds. Fink gets 2 right but cant get the third out in time. Striker asks questions very slowly. He also got Takers first Streak victime.
Curtis goes second with the category of WWE Titles and gets very specific questions about individual PPVs. He only got one, which was who is the youngest WWE Champion in history. I knew some of them but they went way too in depth such as who did Edge beat at this PPV.
Bateman gets Firsts and gets one, which was who did Edge beat for his first singles title (Jarrett).
Saxton gets Potpourri and gets that HHH put a bounty on Goldberg and thats it. He didnt know the team that Orton and Edge formed.
Going last is Clay and his category is the Royal Rumble. He says that Cena returned at the Royal Rumble called Summerslam. Thats not a typo either. Clay gets one, which was who won the first Rumble. So its a four way tie? Does anyone get the two points? No one gets the extra two points for beating Fink.
The fatal fourway is elimination. SWEET!
They plug the Top 10 Rumble moments on WWE.com which is an absurd list. Shawn winning from #1 is the top moment but Rey winning from #2 at almost twice the time is like 5th. Cenas return, which should be the top moment, was #6.
Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase
Before the match we get a clip of the Gail Kim moment last night which had me rolling. Im a bit sick of this match at this point. Bryan starts by slipping behind him and Ziggler continues his shouting during these matches. Thats always kind of funny as hes a funny guy. They speed it up a bit but Bryan takes it to the mat with an armbar. Josh starts talking to Maryse and gets her autograph.
More arm work and he adds a leg lock at the same time. Hes like a doctor out there with his submission precision. They go to a test of strength which Ted throws a kick in to get control and he gets the hold down onto the mat. LeBell Lock cant go on. Bryan controls as we take a break.
Back with DiBiase hammering him down in the corner. Bryan misses a charge and its control back to DiBiase. Neckbreaker by DiBiase as this is dragging a bit. Truth and Ziggler start dueling chants in kind of a funny bit. They hit the floor as this match is getting a good deal of time. Ziggler keeps cracking jokes about Bateman cheating. All DiBiase here as he rams Bryan into the steps and wants a count out.
Bryan beats the count and gets stomped on. Ziggler makes jokes about being a Vegan while DiBiase gets a two count. We hit the chinlock and Truth starts the When I say Daniel you say Bryan chant. That lasts for three full names. Bryan does his backflip out of the corner to take over. This would be a lot more interesting if there was any doubt about the ending.
Big kick by Bryan puts DiBiase down and a flying dropkick off the top gets two. This match has gotten over 10 minutes, probably making it the longest match this season. Bryan gets a rollup for two twice and make it three times. Dream Street is reversed and a sitout chokebomb gets two for DiBiase. Bryan comes out of the corner and almost walks into a spinebuster. He reverses into a guillotine but cant get the LeBell Lock.
DiBiase gets sent to the floor and Bryan charges but runs into an elbow. Ted sets for Dream Street and actually hits it ..for the pin??? DiBiase just got a totally clean pin on the United States Champion on NXT at 12:30. I lay corrected on what I said about the ending being in doubt. Im really quite surprised by that and it makes the match a lot better actually.
Rumble by the Numbers promo again which is still interesting indeed.
Maryse, Ted and Clay are talking about how DiBiase finally won. If anyone else wins, Ted says theyll want him. Clay admits hes flawed but DiBiase says hes still the best choice. Clay says hell win for DiBiase tonight. He leaves and Maryse speaks more French which Ted still doesnt understand.
Package on Miz vs. Orton for the Rumble.
Brodus Clay vs. Byron Saxton vs. Johnny Curtis vs. Derrick Bateman
This is the second week in a row where I couldnt remember Curtis name. Thats not good when Ive watched every episode of this show. This is elimination rules, no tagging, winner has the option of changing their pro. Everyone goes after Bateman for some reason instead of Brodus. He is thrown into a suplex from Brodus and is pinned in less than a minute.
Now they both go after Brodus as I scratch my head trying to figure that out. They manage to get a suplex on him but Curtis tries to steal a rollup on Saxton which gets two. Brodus is collecting himself on the floor so the others are in the ring. Curtis takes out Brodus with a dive, leaving Saxton in the ring as we take a break.
Dont try this at home. These are good PSAs for lack of a better term to run.
Back with Brodus nailing Saxton with a clothesline. Curtis is down on the floor and lets Saxton get beaten down like an intelligent person would. Saxton gets something close to a Stunner to take Brodus down for two. Curtis tries to come in off the top but gets caught. He knocks Saxton down and gets a double guillotine legdrop to put out Saxton at 4:30. Were down to Clay and Curtis.
Clay is reeling and Curtis adds a European Uppercut to send him back on his heels. Brodus is like wait Im huge and splashes Curtis in the corner. Off to the nerve hold which is my least favorite rest hold of all time. Curtis fights out of it and rams some shoulders into the corner. Josh has picked Rey to win the Rumble apparently. Johnny goes up but jumps into the Tongan Death Grip Slam to end it at 7:20.
Post match Clay says his pro is rich and is likely going to dominate in the Rumble. The one thing his pro isnt is Ted DiBiase, as hes switching to Alberto Del Rio. The Death Grip Slam puts DiBiase down to almost dead silence. Del Rio comes out and shakes hands with DiBiase to end this show kind of early at about 10:45.
Results
Outthink the Fink Ended in a Four Way Tie
Ted DiBiase b. Daniel Bryan Dream Street
Brodus Clay b. Johnny Curtis, Derrick Bateman and Byron Saxton Tongan Death Grip Slam to Curtis
Wednesday
Flair is back with the TNA tour. Not surprising that it seems like its blowing over.
The Diva Search is coming back. Why not? Its not like you need to be a wrestler anyway to get a job as a Diva.
Thursday
Hernandez should be back soon. This is in contrast to the report from 2-3 weeks ago saying he would be back soon.
There was an implication during a conference call that WWE could add MORE PPVs to their schedule. And they wonder why no one buys their bad shows already.
Impact
Date: January 27, 2011
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz
Episode Title: Crimson Sees Red
Its almost a go home show tonight as theyve spent more time building up to February 3rd than Against All Odds which is perfectly fine as 2/3 is a huge show. Also, its nice to see TNA building up to a major event for weeks rather than hours. When you do that, more people might actually watch. Anyway, tonight well likely be focusing on the new THEY and hopefully finding out some more about how Crimson is connected to this. Also expect more about Angle vs. Jarrett. Lets get to it.
As usual we open with a recap of last week, mainly focusing on Jarrett/Angle and then Crimson.
Angle opens the show properly without music for some reason this week. He talks about last week and everything that happened before moving on to how he made a promise not to wrestle again. But sometimes there are things you have to deal with, and in this case its Jarrett. Hes the best in the world and he does it for the people. Would the people want to see Kurt in the ring one more time? Based on the cheers it seems that they would.
Bischoff and Immortal come out and Bischoff says that theres no way hes wrestling again because hes retired. Kurt apparently needs to find a new hobby. Eric sends Immortal down and they beat the hell out of Kurt. Taz mentions that Eric took away the pyro and music so thats covered. Crimson runs in with a bat for the save and clears the ring.
Flair goes on a classic rant, saying that THEY is him, Bischoff and Hogan and are already here. Hogan hasnt been seen in two months but hes still here I guess. Flair, as Kurts god, lifts the ban on Angle wrestling and makes Angle vs. Jarrett tonight. Jeff loses it but Flair finishes his statement and makes it Angle/Crimson vs. all of Immortal. Flairs face is beet red. He screams more as we go to a break.
Back with Eric taking credit for making Angle says hed retire if he lost. Ric, have you lost your mind? Flair of course responds with taking off his jacket, shouting at the top of his lungs and talking about Kool-Aid. This is absolutely hilarious and I really dont know if thats intentional or not.
Dixie speaks tonight.
Sarita/Tara/Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Skye/Mickie James/Angelina Love
We see the Beautiful People in the back but Winter grabs Angelina and asks why are you doing this to us? Love says chill because Velvet is my BFF. Winter is crushed and screams, beating the hell out of a wall or something. Damn it quit having the camera on anything other than Velvet during her entrance? This is under elimination rules because a gimmick is needed in at least half the matches on a Russo show.
They brawl before the match starts and then we get a bell. Tara vs. Angelina to start but its off to Sarita and Mickie soon. Dixie is the topic of course and we get the legal ruling on Immortal and TNA next week. Also shes still President. Im assuming that means a figurehead spot at the moment? Off to Velvet and Sarita now as Velvet is still obsessed with beating her.
Madison tries to come in but Mickie counters her. Madison tries to load up the glove but is thrown out by Velvet. The distraction allows Sarita to roll her up to make it 3-2. Mickie gets in but is sent to the apron soon. She gets rammed by Taras elbow pad and Madison comes in. Madison is knocked down and falls on her own glove to knock herself out and Mickie gets the pin. A second later Sarita rolls up Mickie to get us down to Angelina vs. Sarita/Tara.
Angelina gets a small package on Sarita for two as we take a break. Back with Anelina vs. Sarita still. Angelina reverses a belly to back and gets a spin kick for two. They show a reply of the Madison elimination and see that she completely missed the glove that knocked her out but thats an understandable error as fast as she was falling. We cut to the back with Velvet on the ground holding her head. Winter vs. Velvet for Angelinas affections works for me.
Over to Tara now after a long body scissors by Angelina. Tara lasts just a few seconds as its back to Sarita. Sarita gets something close to a snap suplex for two. Were over 12 minutes into this match now with a lot of it being this handicap match. I dont remember a Knockouts match this long in awhile other than maybe the cage match. The heels double team Angelina a bit but Love fights them off and hits the Botox Injection to Tara to make it 1-1. Sarita gets a rollup reversed and Angelina gets the win at 13:35.
Angle is on the phone with someone and says they have to accelerate their plans. Kurt wants the person here tonight.
Back with Matt making fun of Andersons saying things twice deal. Matt says Anderson wont make it to February 3. He also mentions having Cold Blood which gets some emphasis.
Kaz is at the announce table. Were going to have three triple threats over the next three weeks. The winners will meet at Against All Odds for a final triple threat for the #1 contender spot. Wow think theyre taking enough time getting to that?
Max Buck vs. Amazing Red vs. Chris Sabin
We get comments from everyone with Red saying hes the original face of the X Division, Max saying its either his or his brothers time (Kaz: dont your balls have to drop before its your time?) and Sabin says destiny is knocking at his door (Kaz: wouldnt that upset Velvet Sky? Sabin and her date if that makes no sense). Its a wild match as you would expect to start with Max being sent to the floor a few times.
Big dive by Sabin takes out Red and its Max vs. Sabin in the ring. A low dropkick gets two. Surprisingly enough Kaz is the most entertaining part of this match. Jeremy chokes Red on the floor for a bit. That apparently doesnt work as he gets a dropkick off the top to take out both guys. Red gets his speed going to take down Max with a spinning DDT. Red dives at Sabin who catches him in a suplex position and slams him down into a neckbreaker for two.
Max vs. Sabin now with a nice gymnastics routine resulting in a faceplant by Max which gets two for him. Nice kind of sunset bomb by Red for two as Jeremy pops up so his brother can still win. Red goes up but gets crotched by Jeremy. Elevated DDT out of the corner by Max is enough to pin Red at 5:10. Fun match.
Karen is paranoid about Kurt being on the phone. Jeff says to calm down but Karen is still worried.
Jeff Hardy is up next.
Back with Velvet saying shes fed up with Winter who attacked her. She tells Angelina to deal with Winter or she will.
We recap Jeff vs. Anderson and their feud to hype up next week.
Heres Jeff. I still dont see him as a big star when I look at him. I didnt in WWE and I dont here. He yells at the fans and says that theyre all a bunch of smarks and internet junkies. At BFG he took the title and the money because he is TNA. Half the fans chant for him and half of them chant wheres your title. Now lets talk about the Asshole. Jeff says hes going to win the title back next week and shove it up all the fans asses. This was just bad. He sounded like a guy in OVW that has been around for three months.
Anderson comes down to the ring and holds up the title. He says Jeff bitches and moans a lot, sounding like Charlie Browns mom. Everything in wrestling is about wins and losses apparently and right now Anderson has the big win. Anderson says that even after what Hardy has put the fans through, they still like him. Next week its all about the title and when the match is over, Anderson will still be the Total Nonstop Action Total Nonstop Asshole. Im not a fan of Anderson but he destroyed Hardy here.
Eliminate the Hate PSA.
Crimson says a few weeks ago he was here for his brother Red. Recently though he was given an offer he couldnt refuse. Next week well find out who that offer came from. Could they make this any more obvious?
We get a recap of what Crimson has done. Abyss is hurt badly apparently and is out indefinitely. No word on the TV Title.
Heres Velvet with no music. She calls out Winter with a ton of profanity. Winter comes out and Velvet drills her before she can get in. This goes on for awhile until Winter beats her down with some shots. Angelina finally comes out to break it up. The fans chant Shes a Screamer. I want to end the Impact Zone audience.
Pope is on his way to the ring as we take a break.
Heres Pope who says that maybe he said some things that shouldnt have been said but he said some things that should have been said. Pope is pure which is why he always wears white. Tonight hes going to confess to something. Pope talks about how so many people arent honest with themselves and dont like the people theyre around.
Hes better than all of us apparently, so hes going to kneel down and confess. He gets about one knee down but pulls up saying that he doesnt like Joe. Pope goes on a rant saying he is going to fix things like he always has. Next week someone is going to confess just like he did.
Flair is giving Fourtune a pep talk and for no apparent reason Eric Young is there. Fourtune leaves and Eric stays. Flair goes off on him and says the title Eric has means nothing. Eric leaves saying good talk Ric. This was kind of pointless. The Eric aspect I mean.
Back with a recap of Hogans arrival in TNA and how it led to the whole THEY story. When you condense it really well like this the angle actually looks and sounds pretty awesome.
Dixie is on the phone and says that the day in court will be next Thursday and well hear the decision that night. This phone call lasted all of 30 seconds. So in other words control of a major company and a fraudulent contract signing can be settled in court in a single day along with the action of that day in court being enacted on the same day?
Eric offers a rebuttal, saying next week Immortal will get the gold back and Hogan is back too.
Matt Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson
Matt hammers Anderson down a bit but cant get a move off the top. He does manage to drape Andersons arm over the top though and gets a one arm DDT for two. Andersons arm goes into the post while the announcers plug next weeks major show. The top of Andersons calves near his ass are really pale. Lots of arm work here but Anderson gets a spinning neckbreaker for two.
Andersons rolling firemans carry slam is reversed and Matt uses an FU for two. Twist of Hate is countered into the rolling firemans carry slam for two. Mic Check is blocked and theres the Side Effect for two but Anderson rolls him up for the pin at 4:12. That came out of nowhere.
Post match Jeff comes out for the beatdown. RVD runs out for the save but the Hardys get away. You know maybe RVD would be able to sneak up on them better if he didn't have loud music saying ROB VAN DAM as soon as he came out.
Angle and Crimson are coming to the ring. Angle says theyre not alone out there.
Kurt Angle/Crimson vs. Immortal
Immortal here is represented by Beer Money/Kaz/Rob Terry and Gunner/Murphy. AJ is in street clothes as is Flair. Theyre staying on the floor it seems. No Jarrett? AJ is on the apron now and you have to tag here. The referee makes them switch corners for some reason. It seems like theyre wasting time. Crimson vs. Roode to start with Roode hammering him back in the corner. Is this Crimsons official debut?
He takes over on Roode very quickly with a shoulder block and a Falcon Arrow for two. Off to Angle who gets only a moderate pop for his first official match in months. Kaz comes in and Angle takes over. Off to Storm now who takes a suplex. Angle knocks all of Immortal off the apron but Storm is able to hit a Backstabber. Superkick misses and down goes the referee.
Angle Slam to Storm and it breaks down rather quickly. With Angle in trouble we get Jarretts music. He and Karen come out and Jeff wants Kurt on his own. Kurt easily grabs a German but Immortal beats him down. Im assuming the match was thrown out at some point earlier. Stroke to Angle and Jackson James runs out for the pin at 3:35. No rating as the vast majority was a big beatdown.
Morgan runs out as apparently the call recipient. I was wondering where he was tonight. The numbers catch up with him though and there go the lights. A siren goes off and SCOTT STEINER is back, pipe in hand. He clears the ring to end the show.
Also I wont be here for the review next week so Ill see you in two weeks.
Results
Angelina Love/Velvet Sky/Mickie James b. Tara/Madison Rayne/Sarita Angelina last eliminated Sarita to win
Max Buck b. Amazing Red and Chris Sabin Elevated DDT to Red
Mr. Anderson b. Matt Hardy Cradle
Immortal b. Kurt Angle/Crimson Stroke to Angle