Total Non-Stop Action presents Impact
Date: 8/26/2010
From: Orlando, FL
A video package highlighting Ric Flair reforming the Four Horsemen, but it’s known as Fortune. The members are Ric Flair, Robert Roode, James Storm, AJ Styles, Kazarian, Matt Morgan and Douglas Williams. Dixie Carter responded by hiring all the former ECW wrestlers associated with Tommy Dreamer. Abyss got involved and cost Dreamer his match against Styles last week.
Backstage, Eric Bischoff is talking with Dixie Carter. Carter says she needs to handle the situation herself and she feels confident with her decision.
Dixie Carter makes her way down to the ring to cut a promo. Carter says a lot of great things have happened during her time with the company, but they’ve had some challenging times. However, the hard times make the good times sweeter. They have become more unified due to the hard times. Dixie notes that the critics gave them eight weeks to survive, but they’ve been going for eight years with great success. Dixie made a vow that she wouldn’t allow anything or anybody hurt the company. Dixie intends to keep her promise. Dixie calls out Ric Flair to come out to the ring.
Ric Flair makes his way down to the ring on his own without any other members of Fortune by his side. Flair has So Cal Val hold the ropes for him to enter the ring. Flair tells Dixie that she’s drop dead gorgeous and suggests they go back to the hotel and resolve this like two grown adults. Flair doesn’t want to put their business out there on national television. Flair says everyone knows he wants her. Dixie doesn’t entertain the idea and talks about being proud to have Flair, but he’s failed miserably to be a mentor and a good locker room leader. Dixie says that Hogan and Bischoff warned her and she didn’t listen. Dixie puts down Flair’s actions as being pathetic and embarrassing. Dixie says Flair gets treated the same as everyone else. Dixie reveals that Flair is suspended for 90-days without pay. Flair asks if that means Fortune is suspended, but it’s just him. Flair tells Dixie that Fortune is one and the same. Fortune makes their way out to join Flair in the ring. Flair puts over Fortune as some of the greatest wrestlers that he’s ever seen, which Dixie agrees with. Dixie notes that each of them were there long before Flair got into the company. Dixie asks if this is Flair’s idea of mentoring. Flair doesn’t believe that Dixie is trying to get him upset. Dixie tells Flair that while he’s suspended Fortune will be wrestling and doing great things while Flair isn’t there. Flair starts to get heated and removes his jacket. Dixie’s husband, Serg, gets in the ring and is tackled by Fortune.
Flair is about to use his belt and whip Serg, but Hulk Hogan makes his way out alongside D’Angelo Dinero, Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle. Hogan threatens to kick Flair’s ass if Fortune doesn’t let Surge go. Hogan and his pals make their way down to the ring. Flair tries to calm down Fortune. Hogan says the smartest thing for Flair to do right now is to listen. Hogan says he made an agreement with Dixie to run the company 50/50. Hogan is going to override what Dixie said and he’s not going to suspend Flair. Hogan doesn’t want to take the easy way out. Hogan says that Flair has done a great job at pissing him off. Hogan puts over his guys as the real TNA. Flair insists they are taking over. Flair tells Hogan they will takeover when he’s ready and it’s not ready. Flair promises the takeover will take place when he’s ready on his terms. Hogan suggests an eight-man tag match. Hogan makes it official for tonight.
EV 2.0 come out and brawl with Fortune on the ramp as the show goes to commercial.
Backstage, Kurt Angle cuts a promo about how the TNA World Championship is important for all four men. Angle has risked his life for the title and he wouldn’t be him without it. Angle believes they are indebted to Bischoff and Hogan for the chances they’ve been given. Angle says they are going to fight for Dixie tonight.
Opening Contest: Samoa Joe vs. Orlando Jordan: Joe starts off with a series of jabs and stomps in the corner. Joe nails Jordan with an elbow and kick in the corner. Joe puts a choke on, but Jordan backs Joe into a corner and rubs up on Joe. Jordan elbows Joe and continues with strikes in the corner. Jordan sends Joe into the ropes and delivers another elbow strike. Jordan punches Joe into the corner and removes his glove. Jordan punches Joe several times and grabs an action figure necklace, but Joe delivers an atomic drop, boot and an back splash. Joe tosses Jordan with a t-bone suplex. Joe sits Jordan on the top rope and hits a Muscle Buster for the win. (*. Lets build Joe back up.)
Jeff Jarrett’s music hits and Jarrett comes down to the ring. Jarrett notes that it has been five years since Joe arrived in TNA and knew that he wanted Joe to be part of the company when he first saw Joe on the independents. Jarrett says everyone knows that Joe has come a long way in five years. Jarrett feels he’s helped a lot of guys along the way. Jarrett wants Joe to be in his corner for when he wrestles Kevin Nash tonight. Jarrett says that Sting and Kevin Nash are trying to tear down what they built from the ground up. Jarrett say they are greedy and pissed because they aren’t the top guys anymore. Jarrett says he’ll take care of Nash in the match, but asks Joe to take care of Sting if he gets involved. Joe says he doesn’t choose sides because he doesn’t need to. Joe only knows how to play for one team, which is his own. Joe walks off.
Second Contest: Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash: Nash pulls Jarrett to the floor after trying to use a chair. Nash sends Jarrett over the railing into the crowd, but pulls Jarrett back to ringside. Nash rams Jarrett into the apron and ring steps. Nash continues to beat on Jarrett with strikes in the ring. Nash knee lifts Jarrett in the corner a few times. Nash continues with elbow strikes and chokes Jarrett. Nash tries to use the chair again, but the referee stops Nash. Nash removes the top turnbuckle pad. Nash tries for snake eyes, but Jarrett sends Nash into the exposed steel and drops Nash with a few right hands. Jarrett jumps onto Nash over the middle rope and slides to the floor to deliver a punch. Jarrett leaps off the middle rope and axe handles Nash. Jarrett leaps off the middle rope, but is caught by Nash. Nash tries for a chokeslam, but Jarrett elbows free. Nash sends Jarrett into the exposed steel and hits a chokeslam for a near fall. Jarrett ducks a clothesline and puts a sleeper on Nash. Nash rams Jarrett into the corner, but the referee is taken out, as well. Jarrett rams Nash head first into the exposed steel. Jarrett hits the Stroke, but there’s no referee. Sting slides in with a baseball bat and decks Jarrett. Nash crawls over and covers Jarrett for the win. (*1/4. Hey, at least Nash finally has a win over Jarrett in TNA, right?)
After the match, Sting pulls Jarrett up as Eric Bischoff makes his way out to confront Sting on the aisle. Bischoff calls Sting scum and says that Sting has fallen pretty low. Sting declares he wants Hogan. Bischoff says Hogan is busy. Bischoff tells Sting to be careful what he wishes for. Bischoff doesn’t know if Sting is man enough to understand that. Bischoff is stalling as Hogan comes in from behind and whacks Sting over the back with a chair shot! Hogan stands tall.
Backstage, Hogan is talking with Tommy Dreamer saying that they are on the same team whether they like it or not. Hogan calls his foursome the Fatal Four and tells Dreamer they are taking care of Fortune and asks Dreamer to backoff. Dreamer assures Hogan that he will backoff. Hogan tells Dreamer that Abyss needs his leg cutoff. Dreamer says they are going to take Abyss out, too.
Third Contest: Beer Money Inc. vs. Tony Mamaluke & Little Guido: Roode and Storm go right after Mamaluke and Guido before the bell. Guido is slammed by both men as Tenay notes that if anyone in Fortune or EV 2.0 get involved they will be fired. Roode delivers a gut buster to Mamaluke followed by a backstabber from Storm and Roode hits a clothesline. Storm pummels Guido with strikes in the corner. Guido is kicked by Storm on the apron and Roode nails Guido with a big boot. Roode decks Mamaluke off the apron. Roode slams Guido to the mat. Guido nearly wins with a surprise inside cradle. Guido kicks Roode away and tags in Mamaluke. Roode catches Mamaluke coming off the top to hit a spinebuster. Beer Money hit a double team neckbreaker/powerbomb combo to pin Mamaluke for the win. After the match, Guido tries to fight off Roode, but Storm breaks a beer bottle over Guido’s head. Storm hits the Last Call on Mamaluke. Guido has been busted wide open. Beer Money his the double team neckbreaker/powerbomb combo on Guido, as well. (*1/2. I really like the intensity shown by Beer Money. Roode looks like an absolute star aside from when he’s forced to do the Fortune hand signal. Guido and Mamaluke would make great additions to the tag team division even if they are just the enhancement duo.)
Backstage, Angelina Love and Velvet Sky are walking towards the ring.
Backstage, Tommy Dreamer is leading a talk amongst Foley, Sabu, Rhino, and Richards. Richards ends up stepping up to the plate and says he’ll take out Abyss tonight.
TNA Knockouts Champion Angelina Love and Velvet Sky make their way down to the ring to cut a promo. Love says she’s made a lot of mistakes in her life, but she’s learned from her mistakes. Love says their friendship is hard to come by in the business. Love feels like when they split, something was missing. Love is sure that the fans all felt the same way. Love knows she’s not a perfect angel and can be a mean bitch when she wants to be. Love values their friendship and suggests they forgive and forget to move on with their lives. Sky chimes in and suggests they don’t rehash the past. Sky brings up Madison Rayne and wants to continue where they left off and that’s dominating the Knockouts division.
Madison Rayne’s music hits and she comes out on the back of a motorcycle with the mystery biker woman. Rayne tells the biker woman to enter the ring with her. Rayne says she’d barf in the ring if she wasn’t the lady she is. Rayne promises a lawsuit for copyright infringement for them calling out to her music and being called the Beautiful People. Rayne says she’s all natural unlike them. Rayne focuses on Love and says she doesn’t know if the Botox has gotten to her brain. Rayne says she was brought into the group because of her youth. Rayne says Sky has always been one thing and that’s her little bitch. Sky tackles Rayne and that leads to all four women brawling. Love and Sky have the advantage until security gets in the ring to stop the brawling.
Backstage, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are playing Rock Band. They have a match with Generation Me tonight. Shelley says Generation Me has bad haircuts and they are coming for the belts. They don’t seem overly worried about their upcoming match.
Earlier today, Magnus and Desmond Wolfe are hanging out at the mall with Chelsea. Chelsea grabs Magnus’s no limit credit card and looks as if she’s going to have a good time while the oblivious heels walk off in the other direction.
Fourth Contest: TNA Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me: Sabin and Jeremy kickoff the match with Jeremy getting a quick one count on a rollup. Sabin shoulder blocks Jeremy to the mat, but Jeremy drop toe holds Sabin and gets another near fall with a rollup. Max comes in to hit a double hip toss and dropkick for a near fall on Sabin. Shelley tags in and atomic drops Max. Sabin hits a dropkick and dropkicks Max after Shelley holds Max on the mat. Shelley kicks Max to prevent a tag to Jeremy. Shelley slams Max and goes for a single leg Boston Crab, but delivers a kick to the back. Sabin tags into the match and splashes down onto Max’s arm over Shelley. Sabin tries for a cover, but only gets a two count. Sabin sends Max into Shelley’s boots on the apron. Shelley knee drops Max for a two count. Shelley keeps a neck vice on Max, but doesn’t get a submission. Max fights out, but Sabin tags in and hits a springboard axe handle. Max elbows Sabin and dumps Shelley to the floor. Max rolls through Sabin and tags in Jeremy. Jeremy cleans house with dropkicks. Shelley stops Jeremy on the apron, but is nailed by an elbow. Jeremy hits a slingshot facebuster on Sabin for a two count.
Max nails Sabin with a baseball slide dropkick. Jeremy hits a springboard moonsault to the floor onto the champs! Max spears Sabin and they hit a standing moonsault/slingshot splash combo on Sabin. Jeremy kicks Shelley off the apron. Max hits a rolling fireman’s carry on Sabin and Jeremy misses a 450 splash. Shelley double stomps Jeremy and a slice bread to Max. Sabin hits a neckbreaker on Jeremy while Shelley hits a splash that’s good enough for the win. (***1/2. Yeah, it’s matches like this where I can deal with the chaos of the other parts of the show and enjoy this. The action is obviously great and the crowd went nuts for it. Give me more of these two teams. together.) After the match, they shake hands to show mutual respect.
Backstage, Ric Flair says he’s pissed off and so are his men. Flair promises that Angle, Anderson, Hardy, and Pope will find out. Sting and Kevin Nash come into the scene and Sting chokes Flair with his baseball bat. Sting tells Flair that they are coming for him.
A vignette for a new wrestler coming to TNA airs. There is footage of the Jersey Shore and the screen says “Shore, coming soon.”
Backstage, Stevie Richards is brawling with Abyss. Richards is getting the better of Abyss. Abyss tosses Richards into the garbage area. Abyss tosses a bag of trash onto Richards. Abyss grabs his barbed wire board, Janice. Richards avoids the strike and punches Abyss several times. Richards sends Abyss into a guard railing. Abyss tells Richards that what happened to RVD is going to happen to them. Abyss rams Richards into the production truck.
Rhino comes down to the ring and calls out Abyss to have a fight. Abyss comes down to the ring through the crowd with Janice. Rhino goes after Abyss on the floor. Rhino tries for the GORE on the floor, but Abyss delivers a big boot. They brawl into the crowd where Abyss sends Rhino into the railing. Abyss tries for a chokeslam, but Rhino elbows free to avoid going through the Spanish announce table. Rhino rams Abyss into the steel and hits the GORE on the platform. Rhino leaves Abyss laying.
Backstage, AJ Styles cuts a promo with Fortune saying that this is the house that he built and nobody else. Styles misread Dixie Carter and Fortune is his guys. Styles made the company and Dixie Carter. Styles will tear it down if he has to, as well.
Main Event: Fortune (AJ Styles, Kazarian, Douglas Wiliams & Matt Morgan) vs. Kurt Angle, Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy, & D’Angelo Dinero: Kazarian and Anderson kickoff the main event. Kazarian slaps Anderson and delivers a shoulder block. Anderson hip tosses Kazarian followed by a slam. Dinero tags into the match and elbows Kazarian. Styles forearms Dinero to gain control, but Dinero delivers a forearm smash. Dinero decks Styles to the mat for a near fall. Styles rams Dinero into the corner and Fortune pummels Dinero. Williams tags into the match and quickly tags out to Kazarian. Styles returns to the match and chops Dinero in the corner. Styles kicks Dinero over the back and continues with strikes. Styles tags out to Morgan, but Dinero breaks free and has a standoff with Morgan. Morgan wants a piece of Hardy, and Hardy tags into the match. Morgan mocks the height difference. Morgan elbows Hardy into the corner to gain the advantage. Hardy tries to get out of the corner and is tossed back. Hardy punches Morgan several times in the corner and hits a dropkick in the corner. Hardy forearms Morgan, but is grabbed by Styles on the floor. Morgan nails Hardy with a clothesline.
Styles tags into the match and slams Hardy before hitting a knee drop. Styles tries for a cover, but Hardy kicks out at two. Styles prevents Hardy from tagging out. Morgan returns to the match and stomps Hardy. Morgan delivers a flurry of elbows. Morgan hooks Hardy to hit a vertical suplex for a two count. Williams drops Hardy over the top rope to maintain the advantage. Flair pulls Hardy to the floor and delivers a low blow. Williams knee drops Hardy for a two count. Styles stomps Hardy on the head. Hardy elbows Styles a few times, but Styles tags out to Williams. Williams keeps a neck vice on Hardy. Hardy runs the ropes and is met with an uppercut. Hardy clotheslines Williams and both men are down. Angle gets the hot tag and cleans house with clotheslines. Angle backdrops Kazarian and tosses Styles overhead with a suplex. Angle hits a German suplex on Kazarian. Angle puts the ankle lock on Kazarian, but Styles hits a springboard forearm. Dinero nails Styles with a strike. Williams tosses Dinero. Everyone is getting involved. Hardy nails Morgan with a corkscrew dive. Kazarian hits the Wave of the Future. Angle hits the Angle Slam on Kazarian. Dinero tagged in and pins Kazarian for the win. Angle isn’t happy about that. (*1/2. It’s an interesting choice to have the heel group take a clean loss on TV in a convincing manner. When the match broke down it got better, but a good portion of this match was rather boring to me.)
Angle and Dinero shove each other, but Anderson tries to keep the peace. That allows for Fortune to attack all four men. Beer Money run into the ring to gang up. EV 2.0 come down to the ring to make the save and leads to a massive brawl. Foley pummels Flair on the floor. Sabu hits Williams with a chair shot. Sabu whacks Williams over the back with a chair shot and hits a leg drop onto Williams through the table. The show goes off the air with a brawl taking place.
Final Thoughts:
I’m not sure why they felt the need to have Fortune take a clean loss and have Abyss be left laying by Rhino, but it seemed to cool off the heels a little bit this week. Action wise the only match worth the time was the Guns/Generation Me, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. The storylines tend to progress well, but they overuse Hogan quite a bit.
Thanks for reading.