Written by: Bob Colling
Total Non-Stop Action presents Impact
Date: 8/2/2006
From: Orlando, FL
A video package promoting the Samoa Joe, Monty Brown and Rhino feud starts the show. The video package also highlights Christian Cage wanting to be in Sting’s corner at Hard Justice.
Jeremy Borash is backstage revealing that Sting has accepted Christian Cage in his corner at Hard Justice. NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett enters the scene and he’s pissed about this news. Slick Johnson enters the scene and says that Jim Cornette is having a meeting and wants everyone there. Johnson notes that Cornette wants to talk to Steiner especially. Johnson is bullied by Steiner and Jarrett. Steiner smacks Johnson on the head before walking off.
Konnan takes over the announcers table running Don West and Mike Tenay from the table.
Opening Contest: LAX (Homicide & Hernandez) vs. Jerrelle Clark & Chasyn Rance: LAX waste no time attacking their opponents sending them to the floor. Hernandez press slams Rance into the ring from the floor. Hernandez splashes Clark in the corner and delivers the Border Toss. Homicide delivers the Gringo Killer on Rance and they get the win with a double pin. (NR. LAX is a lot of fun.)
NWA Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels appear on the big screen. Styles has a neck brace on and says he’ll send Homicide to the hospital. Daniels issues a challenge to Homicide for next week. Daniels says their match will end with a 187 on Homicide, bitch. Konnan chimes in and says that guys like Daniels are his bitch. The audio is a bit off as it’s doubling up.
Backstage, Samoa Joe cuts a promo on Monty Brown saying that Brown loses when he gets to the big show. Joe talks about being undefeated for fourteen months and they will know why.
Backstage, Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner attack Jay Lethal wanting to know where Christian Cage is at. Lethal is left laying.
A video promoting Bobby Roode who is seen as the hottest free agent in professional wrestling.
Shane Douglas cuts a promo in the ring saying that every team has a roadblock and puts over America’s Most Wanted for dominating the division. Douglas introduces the Naturals, who have dealt with AMW for their entire career.
Second Contest: America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) vs. The Naturals (Chase Stevens & Andy Douglas): Harris knee lifts Stevens but misses a left hand. Stevens and Douglas hammer away on AMW in opposite corners and hit leaping shoulder blocks on Storm. Harris is rammed into the corner and dropped to the mat for a near fall. Storm sneaks a tag and they hit a side slam/reverse DDT combo on Stevens. Storm hits a side Russian leg sweep for a near fall on Stevens. Storm nearly decks Harris on accident. Stevens sends Storm into Harris on the apron. Storm accidentally clotheslines Harris and Stevens gets a rollup on Storm for the win. (1/2*. Well, they got very little time and it would appear that they are pushing forward with AMW’s dissension.) After the match, Steiner and Jarrett run down to the ring and attack the Naturals. Harris plants Stevens with the Catatonic and Storm superkicks Douglas.
NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett has a microphone and says that they will force Christian Cage to come out right now. Larry Zbyszko, with an awful wig, comes out and says he just got off the phone with Jim Cornette. Zbyszko has to tell Jarrett some important orders. Zbyszko says that if the people involved don’t comply with the orders then they will suffer the same fate as Earl Hebner and will be fired. Zbyszko says that Scott Steiner must meet with Cornette tonight. Jeff Jarrett must leave the building right now. Jarrett doesn’t like that news, but AMW is talking sense into Jarrett.
Mike Tenay had a sit down interview with Sting. Tenay asks for Sting’s thoughts on Cornette. Sting thinks that Cornette is calling the shots that he should. Tenay brings up having Christian Cage in his corner at Hard Justice. Sting doesn’t see anyone else to have in his corner than Christian Cage. Sting is glad to have Cage in his corner. Sting doesn’t disagree with the notion that if he were to lose than his run in TNA has been a failure. Sting wants to win the NWA World Championship and also get rid of Jarrett from TNA. Sting agrees with Jarrett on one thing and that is there is not enough room for the both of them in TNA.
A video package promoting the TNA X-Division Champion Senshi. Senshi highlights the five men competing in the main event to challenge him for the championship at Hard Justice. Senshi gives a scouting report on all five men.
Main Event: Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Petey Williams vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley: All five men start off brawling with Kazarian sending Shelley and Lethal to the floor. Dutt head scissors Kazarian to the floor. Dutt takes everyone out with a somersault dive over the top to the floor. Williams puts Dutt in a tree of woe, but Kazarian kicks Williams off the ropes. Shelley enters and kicks Dutt before choking him over the middle rope. Shelley scoop slams Dutt and kicks Lethal off the apron before hitting a slingshot senton for a two count. Kazarian hip tosses Dutt for a near fall. Dutt drops Kazarian with right hands and a spinebuster. Dutt is punched by Williams on a springboard. They end up doing a four way side Russian leg sweep as Lethal hit a missile dropkick. Lethal leaps off the top to headbutt Williams for a two count. Lethal hip tosses Kazarian followed by a dropkick. Lethal nails Kazarian with a diving headbutt for a two count. Dutt kicks Shelley coming off the middle rope. Shelley drives Dutt down to the mat gut first to counter a head scissors. Shelley nails Lethal with a Codebreaker in the corner. Lethal shoves Shelley off the middle rope and hits another diving headbutt. Williams plants Lethal with the Canadian Destroyer to win the match. (***. They didn’t get a bunch of time, but this was classic X-Division action. Loads of fun here. Despite Williams winning, I feel as if Lethal is on the verge of breaking out in the division considering his performance here.)
In the parking lot, Jeremy Borash is waiting for Jim Cornette to arrive. Cornette does arrive in a limo and asks if Scott Steiner is still here and if Jarrett is gone. Eric Young enters the scene and asks if he’s going to lose his job. Cornette says they’ll talk about his future later. Christian Cage pops out of Cornette’s limo and says he’s in a good mood. Cage teases that he knows what’s going on and Young wants to know what’s going on. Cage promises to talk to Cornette to change his mind for Young.
Jim Cornette is in the ring cutting a promo about how he’s not out here every week like some other company’s ruining the in-ring stuff. Cornette talks about Daniels and Styles signing open contracts for Hard Justice. Cornette announces that the James Gang, AMW, Naturals and Kazarian/Shane will compete in a four way to earn a title match. Brother Runt will wrestle Abyss. There will be a three-way dance where Monty Brown, Rhino and Samoa Joe will square off. Cornette says that next week there will be a six man tag match. Lethal, Dutt and Sabin taking on Shelley, Devine and Nash. Cornette dismisses everyone except for Christian Cage and Scott Steiner. Cornette has them come into the ring.
Cornette wants to resolve the problem and talks about how they are going to be in the corner of Jarrett and Sting. Cornette is going to give Cage the chance to help or hurt Sting. Next week, Cage will wrestle Steiner in a singles match. Cornette expects these two to brawl all over the arena. Cornette suggests one of them will not be well enough to be at the PPV. Steiner grabs the microphone and tells Cornette to backup. Steiner says that Cage isn’t big enough to compete against him. Steiner also insults Cage for being from Canada. Cage responds asking if Steiner is speaking English. Cage wants Steiner to spit the marbles out of his mouth. Cage promises that Steiner isn’t going to make it to the PPV. Cage leaves the ring and is attacked by a fan wearing a Sting mask! The fan is revealed to being Jeff Jarrett! Jarrett and Steiner send Cage into the wall. Cornette is standing in the ring watching in disgust. That’s it.
Final Thoughts:
Not an overly strong episode of Impact, but they setup some stuff for the PPV and next week appears to be a stronger episode. The main event X-Division match was good and LAX continues to be fun to watch.
Thanks for reading.