Total Non-Stop Action presents Impact
Date: 11/1/2007
From: Orlando, FL
Matches:
1.) Frankie Kazarian defeated James Storm in the Fight for the Right Tournament
2.) Awesome Kong defeated Christy Hemme
3.) Samoa Joe & TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim defeated Robert Roode & Traci
4.) Christian Cage defeated Chris Harris in the Fight for the Right Tournament
5.) TNA Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Tomko defeated Hernandez & Homicide to retain the titles
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) TNA World Champion Kurt Angle and his wife Karen Angle make their way down to the ring to kickoff the program. The crowd lets Angle know how they feel about him. Kurt talks about putting Sting in a three on one situation when he won the title. Kurt puts himself over as a great guy and his tag partner wants to tear his throat out, Kevin Nash. Kurt promotes the tag match for his title at Genesis that features Sting and a mystery partner. Kurt got sick of Nash and flipped him off. Now, Nash wants to kill him. Angle thinks it makes no sense for Cornette to make Nash his tag partner. Kurt wonders why it must be a mystery for Sting’s partner. Kurt says that Sting has underestimated him. Kurt calls the fans losers because they don’t have a medal.
Sting’s music hits and Sting appears at the top of the ramp. Kurt says that he’s a world class athlete and a world scholar. He has a two degrees in phyiscal education and liberal arts. That makes him a genius. Kurt also watches NCIS, Law & Order and 24, so he’s able to crack a good case. By the end of the night, Kurt is going to find out who the mystery partner is. Sting chimes in and says that Kurt knows that the physical education degree was hard. Sting says his partner is a champions champion. He’s been a world champion in many different companies including WWE and WCW. Sting’s partner doesn’t like Kurt and Kurt rubbed him the wrong way. Kurt knows that everyone loves him.
Kevin Nash’s music hits and Nash appears on the other ramp. Nash knows Kurt and doesn’t love him and doesn’t even like him. Nash calls Angle a jackass. Nash has a recommendation for Kurt and suggests that Kurt worry about his own partner, him. Nash says there stuff is just heating up. Angle believes he can take Nash and wants Nash to come to the ring. Nash makes his way down to the ring. Nash gets in the ring and Kurt bails to the floor. Sting is behind Kurt and attacks Kurt on the floor. Sting rolls Angle into the ring and Nash decks Kurt with a right hand. Sting and Nash deck Angle a few times causing Kurt to bail to the floor and runaway with Karen. Security gets between Sting and Nash to end the segment.
2.) It’s announced that for unknown reasons that Junior Fatu is no longer in the Fight for the Right tournament. As a result, a mystery opponent has been given to Christian Cage tonight. Fatu actually couldn’t agree to a contract with TNA and is no longer with the company.
3.) Kaz arm drags Storm a few times and tosses Storm to the floor. Kaz hits a slingshot crossbody to the floor. Kaz rolls Storm into the ring and is met with a kick. Storm plants Kaz with an elevated DDT over the middle rope. Storm kicks Kaz and hits the Eye of the Storm for a near fall. Storm nails Kaz with a kick to the head and a backstabber for a two count. Storm waits in the corner and misses a superkick. Storm connects with a running high knee for a near fall. Storm clotheslines Kaz in the corner. Kaz gets a rollup out of the corner and does a back bridge to pin Storm. (*1/2. Well, that was a sprint of a match and one that I was enjoying quite a bit. I wish these guys had more time because this could have been a hidden gem of a TV match.) After the match, Eric Young has entered the ring with some beer. Young offers a beer to Storm. Storm accepts the beer and drinks it. Storm gives Young a beer. Young chugs the beer and Storm is surprised by that. Storm drinks another beer. Young chugs another beer. They chug another beer and Storm is frustrated and also impressed by Young’s beer drinking.
4.) Backstage, Kurt Angle is smoking a cigar with Jeremy Borash. Karen asks what they are doing because Kurt doesn’t smoke. Kurt wants to find out who Sting’s mystery partner is. Karen is going to take care of business.
5.) Earlier today, Kevin Nash was interviewed and he said there’s no current relationship with Kurt. Nash says people think they are still in cahoots, but there’s Team Angle and there’s Team Nash. Nash has a chance to win the title and he’s not going to help Angle win. Nash talks about being a former champion and compares it to riding a bike. Nash has made a lot of enemies and a few friends. Nash promises to know who the mystery man is by the end of the night once his calls are returned.
6.) Team 3D make their way down to the ring to cut a promo. They are both wearing “X sux” shirts. Ray taunts the crowd to chant “that was awesome” and says they don’t know why they’re saying that in X-Division matches. Ray says that the only thing that was awesome was the tag team match they had in the hotel room with Sabin and Shelley’s mothers three hours ago. Ray insults the X-Division as little boys flip flopping and flying. Ray claims to have taken bigger craps than the X-Division. Ray talks about the star rating system and says they are only two stars right now. Ray brings up keyboard warriors who offer their opinions saying they could never cut it in the ring. The reason they will destroy the X-Division because they can.
Motor City Machine Guns make their way out to the ramp to join the segment. Shelley asks if anyone else wants them to shut up. Shelley says mother jokes are very original. Shelley has heard Ray talk about stuff he hates and is sure Ray hates low carb diets. Ray has an arch enemy in exercise. Shelley tells Ray that the X-Division hates them, too. Shelley knows one way to standup to bullies and they make their way down to the ring. Shelley promises to bitch slap Ray in the mouth. Devon taunts them to slap his groin. Devon thinks it’s over between them and wants to end it tonight. Ray calls for Devon to get a table. Devon looks under the table, but there’s no tables there. Sabin tells them they won’t find any tables. Behind the Guns are other X-Division wrestlers with the tables. Shark Boy, Dutt and Petey Williams attack Team 3D from behind. Guns, Daniels, Havok and Skipper runs into the ring to assist on the beatdown. The crowd is loving it. Ray and Devon manage to escape the ring to avoid being hit with the belt. Shelley gets on a microphone and says that at Genesis they will meet Team 3D face to face.
7.) Backstage, Kurt Angle is interviewing TNA X-Division Champion Jay Lethal. Lethal thinks the snake man is behind a door, but there’s nobody there. Lethal thinks Angle is talking about Ultimate Warrior. Lethal is describing WrestleMania VII. Angle wants Lethal to tell him who the mystery partner is. Lethal thinks it’s Wahoo McDaniel. So Cal Val enters the room and they bump into each other. There appears to be some romantic feelings there.
8.) Backstage, Christy Hemme, Jimmy Rave and Lance Hoyt are interviewed. Hemme says there is in house fighting because of Rave getting involved. Rave says that he’s never said anything to Hoyt about Hemme. Rave tells Hemme that a red snapper is about fishing. Rave tells Hemme to focus on her match with Awesome Kong. Rave doesn’t want her worried about the Rock ’n’ Rave Infection. Hemme hates that name. Hoyt likes the name. Hemme tells Hoyt he’s getting nothing tonight and Hoyt blames Rave.
9.) Kong continues to come to the ring with an 8×10 of Gail Kim.
10.) Hemme is trying to not show fear, but she’s afraid. Hemme starts off with forearms, but Kong doesn’t budge. Hemme ducks a clothesline and slaps Kong. Kong uses her body to knock Hemme to the mat. Kong tries for a slam, but Hemme gets on the back with a sleeper hold. Hemme eye rakes Kong and grabs Kong’s hair. Kong tosses Hemme across the ring. Kong nails Hemme with a spinning back fist. Kong puts Hemme in a torture rack and tosses Hemme to the mat. Kong plants Hemme with a sit down powerbomb for the win. (NR. Kong is a star no doubt about it.)
11.) Backstage, Crystal tries to interview Sting, but Eric Young is outside the door trying to figure out who the partner is and whispers it to Crystal. Young is excited, but they can’t tell anybody else.
12.) Backstage, Kurt Angle is interviewing Bobby Roode and says he likes Roode for slapping around Samoa Joe. Angle likes how Roode treats women, too. Roode says sometimes you have to lay the hammer down and wear the pants. Roode asks where Karen is at right now. Roode asks when was the last time a woman took care of business. Roode thinks that Karen is doing something behind Kurt’s back and she should be sent back to the kitchen where she belongs. Kurt asks Borash where Karen is at and he has no idea.
13.) Backstage, Crystal is with Dustin Rhodes. Rhodes tells Crystal that he wouldn’t be responsible for Black Reigns, but nobody listened to him. Rhodes says everyone is mad and Reign is mad. Rhodes is scared of what’s going to happen. Abyss enters the scene and attacks Rhodes tossing Rhodes through a wall. Abyss hits Reign with a black box and takes out a key from the box. Abyss throws the key to the ground and walks off.
14.) Backstage, Kurt Angle is talking to Chris Harris. Harris has some evidence of people complaining about Kurt on TV. Kurt is fed up and tells Harris that he’s worst than his wife.
15.) Backstage, Kurt Angle is interviewing Kip James with BG James and Roxxi in the background. Kip asks if Angle is smelling him, but Kurt says he’s not. Kurt notes that Kip promoted his ass first and the marriage with Chuck. Kip thought this was about Sting. Kip says he doesn’t need to be fixed. Kip gets in Kurt’s face, but BG cools things down. BG has Kurt take a seat and now the VKM interview Kurt. BG asks if this has anything to do with his father. That prompts Kurt to breakdown and says that his father never told him he loved him. VKM sneak out as Kurt cries.
16.) Backstage, Christian Cage is interviewed and wants to know what is going on. Cage talks about Kurt interviewing the locker room trying to figure out the mystery. Cage tells Angle to solve the real mystery that when his opponent doesn’t show up he doesn’t get an automatic win. Cage thinks this was Cornette’s idea. Cage wonders if Matt Morgan could have done this. Cage says he’d have Tomko slap Morgan. Cage goes off to find Styles and Tomko. Crystal goes over to Kevin Nash, who is on the phone. Nash is flipping out and walks off.
17.) Roode rolls Traci into the ring and Joe stalks Traci in to the corner. Joe jabs Roode a few times and hits a leg lariat. Joe chops Roode in the corner. Roode bails to the floor to regroup. Traci is tagged in again and she slowly returns to the match. Kim tags into the match, as well. Traci kicks Kim and delivers a few chops. Traci rams Kim into the corner and runs into an elbow in the corner. Kim hits a neckbreaker and a dropkick. Kim forearms Traci a few times, but misses a crossbody attempt. Traci hits a gut wrench suplex for a two count. Traci drop toe holds Kim over the middle rope and delivers a double knee and clothesline for a two count. Traci misses a splash in the corner. Kim goes to the top hitting a missile dropkick. Roode is not on the apron to tag in. Kim kicks Traci and tags in Joe. Joe hip tosses Roode into the ring. Joe elbows Roode followed by a clothesline. Joe backdrops Roode and hits a running knee strike. Joe is stopped by an eye rake, but Joe snap powerslams Roode. Joe locks in a choke hold and Traci tells the referee Roode never tagged her. Joe tags in Kim and Kim delivers a spear followed by right hands. Joe hits a suicide dive on Roode. Brooks boots Kim in the corner and misses a spear in the corner. Kim gets a rollup and pins Traci for the win. (*1/2. I’m just glad that they didn’t have Joe pin Roode before their eventual PPV match. The action was fine here and Roode dude the usual heel thing to hide behind Traci.) After the match, Roode says that Traci is worthless and useless. Roode begs Traci to quit, but Traci can’t quit. Roode asks for one reason to not fire Traci. Gail Kim returns to the ring and shoves Roode. Kim is tired of watching Roode treat Brooks that way. Kim asks if Roode knows what he needs. Roode asks what he needs and Kim slaps her. Samoa Joe returns to the ring and attacks Roode. They go to the floor and into the crowd as the show goes to commercial.
18.) Joe and Roode have continued to brawl during the break. Joe has been busted wide open. Roode’s number one fan got involved in the front row. Roode sent Joe face first into the ring steps and Joe has a gusher from that. It’s really a nasty cut.
19.) Backstage, Angel Williams and Talia Madison are now being interviewed by Kurt Angle. Borash says this is not about him and them, but rather the three of them. Kurt asks what Borash what he’s talking about. Kurt needs to find out the mystery partner for the PPV. Angel says that Eric Young has been telling everyone who the partner is going to be. Talia wants to know what is in it for them. Kurt admits he sucks at this and Borash offers his hotel room key. Angel takes the key and says its a deal. They will only tell Borash. Talia knee lifts Borash and they walk-off. Angle asks who it is and Borash says “pain” which Kurt thinks is Powers of Pain. Angle suggests that Borash wear a cup next time trying to pickup a girl.
20.) Cage stomps on Harris to kickoff the match. Cage hammers away on Harris in the corner and chokes Harris. Cage elbows Harris to the mat and taunts Harris. Cage slaps Harris, but Harris fires back with left hands. Cage knee lifts Harris and runs into a clothesline. Harris backdrops Cage coming off the ropes. Harris hooks Cage for a suplex and drives Cage to the mat with a delayed vertical for a two count. Cage chops Harris a few times and drops Harris to the mat. Cage rams Harris into the corner and taunts Harris before delivering a few punches. Harris counters by dropping Cage over the top rope and hits a full nelson slam for a two count. Cage rolls to the apron to regroup. Harris hooks Cage on the apron, but Cage hits a kick from the apron. Harris falls to the floor as the show goes to commercial.
Cage misses a frog splash from the top rope. Harris plants Cage with a spinebuster for a near fall. Cage leaps off the middle rope to uppercut Harris for a near fall. Cage eye rakes Harris on the mat. Cage drops Harris with a right hand and goes to the middle rope, but Harris counters with a flapjack. They begin to trade strikes from their knees before getting to their feet. Harris is stopped by a kick to the gut. Cage misses a splash and Harris hits a leaping clothesline. Harris hits a bulldog off the ropes for a near fall. Cage punches Harris, but Harris fights off. Cage avoids Harris and Harris hits the post. Cage hits a reverse DDT for a two count. Cage is dumped to the apron, but blocks a strike and shoulder rams Harris. Cage slingshots in and is met with a spear by Harris for a two count. Cage eye rakes Harris and tries for the Un-Prettier, but Cage counters with one of his own for a near fall. Cage avoids Harris in the corner and Harris tries for the Catatonic, but Cage counters and rolls through a rollup to get one of his own with a handful of tights and rope leverage to win the match. (**1/2. I thought this was a solid TV match. They had some good counters and the action held my interest throughout. I didn’t think Harris had a fighting chance, but it was good competitive encounter.) After the match, Harris complains to the referee about Cage using the ropes. Cage hits Harris with a ladder. Cage sets the ladder up and leaps off hitting a frog splash to leave Harris laid out.
21.) Backstage, Crystal meets up with Kevin Nash. Crystal notes the conversation earlier was heated. Nash never expected this to happen, but to expect the unexpected. Nash has to go talk to Kurt now.
22.) Backstage, Kurt Angle is interviewing Eric Young, but is yelling at Young to find out who the mystery partner is for Genesis. Angle wants to know and hits Young with a paper. Young says it’s the Shockmaster, but Angle hits Young again. Kurt was using a phonebook. Kurt tells Borash to get Young out of there or he’ll beat up Borash.
23.) Backstage, Black Reign appears on the screen and says nobody flips his house nobody does. Reign says if you wanted to play all you had to do is ask. Reign invite Abyss to a Shop of Horrors match at Genesis. Reign says that Abyss should have taken the key. Reign says that Abyss worst nightmare will be unleashed.
24.) Styles and Hernandez kickoff the main event. Hernandez ducks a clothesline and shoulder blocks Styles. Hernandez tosses Styles across the ring and shoves Styles to the mat. Styles tries for a shoulder block and dropkick, but Hernandez avoids them both causing Styles to flip out. Tomko tags into the match. They trade right hands with Tomko getting the advantage. Hernandez knocks Tomko to the floor. Hernandez catches Styles and dumps AJ to the floor. Homicide hits a suicide dive to the floor as the show goes to commercial.
Homicide backdrops Styles and hits an overhead suplex, but the referee is dealing with the other guys on the floor. Homicide hits a neckbreaker on Styles, but there’s still no referee. Styles gets out of the Gringo Killer and low blows Homicide. Tomko gets in the ring and tosses Homicide with a fallaway slam. Tomko chokes Homicide over the bottom rope. Tomko works over Homicide in the corner and tags in Styles. Homicide comes off the ropes, but Styles delivers a forearm strike. Styles dropkicks Homicide to keep the advantage. Styles covers Homicide for a two count. Styles elbows Homicide over the back of the head. Homicide blocks a clothesline with a cutter. Homicide sends Styles into the corner and Hernandez hits a slingshot shoulder block. Hernandez tosses Styles across the ring and plants Tomko with a spinebuster. Hernandez plants Styles with a powerbomb. Hernandez picks Styles up, but Tomko delivers a big boot. Tomko misses a clothesline and Homicide dropkicks Tomko. Hernandez clotheslines Tomko to the floor. Homicide suplexs Styles and Hernandez hits a backbreaker for a near fall.
Hernandez has Styles over his shoulder, but Styles breaks free and kicks Homicide off the top rope. Styles sends Homicide through the ropes to the floor. Tomko clotheslines Hernandez and Styles hits a springboard 450 splash on Hernandez for the win. (***. An enjoyable tag title match to end the show with constant action and believable near falls. They made good use of their time and it was a good title defense for Styles and Tomko.) After the match, Styles and Tomko beatdown LAX. They hit the Tornado Plex on Hernandez. LAX member gives Homicide a weapon to send the champs bailing. The Steiner Brothers come down and attack the champs.
25.) Backstage, Kurt Angle interviews Karen Angle where she was and Karen says she took care of business. Kurt accuses Karen of cheating on him. Kevin Nash enters the scene and Kurt hides behind Karen. Nash says they can handle their issues later. Nash knows who Sting’s mystery partner is and it’s Scott Hall. Nash says that Scott Hall will be there next week. Kurt can’t believe it.
Final Thoughts:
There was quite a bit of segments, but I thought the show was enjoyable and advanced the major angles that needed to be advanced. The show long story with Kurt interviewing other wrestlers provided comedy that delivered very well. There was also quality wrestling with a good main event. I’d say it was a productive episode of Impact.
Thanks for reading.