NWA-TNA Impact 7/27/2006

Written by: Bob Colling

National Wrestling Alliance/Total-Nonstop Action presents Impact
Date: 7/27/2006
From: Orlando, FL

A video package highlighting what happened last week is shown to kickoff the show. Tonight, we will have Rhino vs. Samoa Joe in the main event.

Backstage, James Gang are with Eric Young entering the arena. BG tells Borash that his plan last week reeked of makeup. BG tells Young to not worry about being fired because they’ve been fired from everywhere. BG tells Young that he doesn’t think he’s that good, but he’s a good segment and he’s entertaining. Young doesn’t know if this is going to work.

Brother Runt is brawling with Abyss into the Impact Zone. Runt low blows Abyss on the aisle and continues to deliver right hands. Abyss shoves Runt down the aisle. Raven is standing in the crowd. Runt avoids a chair shot and whacks Abyss over the head. Runt has the chair in the ring and gets a big boot into his face with Abyss sending the chair into Runt’s face. Abyss plants Runt with the Black Hole Slam onto the steel chair. Security pulls Runt out of the ring and they head backstage. Raven continues to stare from the crowd.

Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviews Monty Brown regarding the main event. Brown says that Borash’s thoughts are useless. Monty says that he has unfinished business with Rhino from Victory Road. Monty wants to be put in the main event to settle his business. Monty doesn’t care about Jeremy’s prediction and he doesn’t care who wins. Monty says that Rhino and Joe deserve to feel the Pounce!

Opening Contest: Petey Williams vs. Johnny Devine vs. Shark Boy vs. Sonjay Dutt: Dutt and Devine start the match until Devine tags in Boy after being kicked down to the mat by Dutt. Boy controls Dutt with a headlock on the mat. Boy backs Dutt into the corner and Petey tags into the match. Williams puts Boy in the tree of woe and gets his ass bitten by Boy. Boy trades right hands with Dutt and gets kicked by Williams on the apron. Dutt hits a standing moonsault on Boy. All four men are down after several kicks. We go to commercial.

Devine has kept control on Boy but didn’t get a three count on a cover. Boy stops Devine with a neckbreaker as we see Kevin Nash and Alex Shelley watching the action on a scissors lift. Williams and Devine trade strikes and chops. Devine eye rakes Williams and misses a clothesline. Williams hits a tilt a whirl side Russian leg sweep. Dutt tags in and decks Williams with forearm strikes. Dutt plants Williams with a spinebuster and hit a springboard moonsault for a near fall. Dutt nails Williams with a kick to the head, but Boy tags in and hits a slingshot splash for a two count. Devine and Boy are knocked down as Dutt hits a Slice Bread on Williams. Divine drives Dutt down with a powerslam. Boy hits the DSD on Devine, but Williams connects with the Canadian Destroyer to pin Boy. (*1/2. A lackluster match as I don’t think Shark Boy and Devine should have been in this one. It’s a fine win for Williams as he appears to be getting a push now that he’s a singles guy.)

Backstage, Jeremy Borash is with Brother Runt. Runt says that he looks for the meanest and baddest guy in the locker room and slaps them in the face. Runt isn’t scared of anyone and says he’s Abyss worse nightmare. Runt is issuing an challenge to Abyss for any match at any time and that he’s coming for him.

Jerry Lynn talked to Chris Sabin saying that Kevin Nash is using his knowledge against Sabin. Lynn says that if Sabin loses to Kevin Nash then it makes the X-Division look bad. Lynn motivates Sabin to care about the division and they walk-off happy with how that went.

Christian Cage makes his way down to the ring with a microphone to cut a promo. Cage appreciates the fans gesture, but doesn’t think he deserves it. Cage is out here to apologize, which he’s never done before. Cage says he’s doubted Sting and his character. He’s doubted the reasons that Sting had come to TNA. Cage finally realized that Sting returned to make TNA Wrestling the best promotion in the world. Sting came back to pave the road for people like him, but he didn’t see it and was being selfish. Cage apologizes to Sting. Cage asked Jim Cornette if he could be in Sting’s corner at Hard Justice and was told that only Sting could answer that question. Naturally, Sting appears in the rafters. Sting didn’t come here to make the company the number one company in the world because it already is that. Sting tells Cage that he will give him an answer in due time. Sting is going to remove the cancer from TNA at Hard Justice because it will be showtime.

NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett says that he did what he did at Victory Road as a way to retaliate against Sting for what happened on Impact. Jarrett doesn’t understand why management is listening to the fans. Jarrett takes zero responsibility for what happened at Slammiversary. Jarrett believes there is a conspiracy to get him out of TNA. Jarrett doesn’t believe that Sting is on his level and if Sting fails at Hard Justice he thinks that Sting should pack up and leave the company. Jarrett says he may not have an option in regard to leaving the company if he loses at Hard Justice.

A video package of LAX saying that they are tired of being disrespected and they are going to start taking things. They are going to take the tag titles and celebrate with their people in Puerto Rico.

Second Contest: James Gang & Eric Young vs. America’s Most Wanted & A-1: Kip and A-1 kickoff the match with neither man budging on a shoulder block. A-1 hits a powerslam on Kip for a two count. Young doesn’t want to hit A-1 upon entering because they were friends. Harris decks Young from behind and A-1 didn’t look to like that. Harris enters the match and backdrops Young. Harris tags in A-1 and he doesn’t look to want to hit Young. Storm accidentally decks Harris. BG dropkicks A-1 into Storm and Young rolls up A-1 for the three count. (DUD. That segment sucked.)

Paparazzi Productions continues with Kevin Nash training with masked wrestlers, but Nash thinks they look like crackheads. Nash doesn’t do a drop toe hold and settles for a forearm over the back. Devine does a moonsault and Nash says he’s been working on three somersaults. Nash leaps off and Shelley says that Nash looked incredible.

A video package promoting Bobby Roode is shown saying that he’s had a lot of offers to manage him. Don West says that Roode equals money. Roode says that nobody has been on the rise like him and that an interview process begins.

Main Event: Rhino vs. Samoa Joe: They have a stare down and then proceed to trade strikes in the middle of the ring. Rhino clotheslines Joe, but Joe drops Rhino with a leaping kick to the head. Monty Brown walks down with a chair in hand. Joe jabs Rhino, but Rhino fights back with chops and right hands. We go to commercial.

Joe atomic drops Rhino followed by a yakuza kick and a senton splash for a near fall. Rhino collides with the referee and Joe connects with a powerslam. Rhino plants Joe with a spinebuster after Joe checked on the referee. Rhino signals for the Gore, but Monty pulls Rhino to the floor and they brawl. Joe takes Monty out with a suicide dive on the floor. Rhino and Joe brawl up the aisle where Rhino tosses Joe with a belly to belly suplex. Rhino goes down the tunnel as Joe and Monty are both laid out. Joe struggles to his feet and Rhino returns with a table. Rhino sends Joe face first into the wall. Rhino sets the table against the tunnel and puts Joe in front of the table. Rhino wants a Gore, but Monty yanks Rhino down by his hair. Joe nails Monty with a kick to the head and puts a chokehold on Monty. Rhino proceeds to GORE both men through the table! The show comes to an end. (NR. The match doesn’t really happen and it’s more of a segment to justify a three way match at Hard Justice, I’d assume.)

Final Thoughts:
A lackluster episode this week as they focused a lot of talk segments and lacked entertainment in the ring. I think they are building Sting/Cage fairly well and I’m interested to see how that relationship fares in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading.