Total Non-Stop Action presents Impact
Date: 3/20/2008
From: Orlando, FL
Matches:
1.) Scott Steiner & Petey Williams defeated Eric Young & Kaz
2.) Tomko defeated Rhino
3.) Sonjay Dutt defeated Homicide in a Lockdown Xscape qualifying match
4.) Booker T defeated TNA Tag Team Champion AJ Styles
5.) Gail Kim & ODB defeated Velvet Sky & Angelina Love
6.) Christian Cage & Rhino defeated Team 3D by disqualification
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Backstage, Jeremy Borash is standing outside of Jim Cornette’s office. Borash says there will be a public workout with TNA World Champion Kurt Angle tonight. Plus, Sharmell returns to Impact. Christian Cage leaves Cornette’s office, but walks off without saying anything to Borash. Cornette tells Borash that Rhino will be wrestling Tomko tonight.
2.) Booker T makes his way out to the ring to cut a promo. In the ring, there is a table with champagne. Booker wants to bring someone out that is very special to him, and that’s his soulmate, his queen, Sharmell. Sharmell makes her way out with a strap. Sharmell returned at Destination X and used the strap on Robert Roode and Payton Banks. Booker welcomes Sharmell back to TNA. Booker promises that he’ll never put Sharmell in harms way ever again. They embrace, but Robert Roode’s music hits to cutoff the segment. Roode is with Payton Banks on the aisle. Booker wants Roode to come down to the ring. Roode tells Booker that he doesn’t need to worry. Roode says that Sharmell will not be in harms way, at least not tonight. Jim Cornette and Matt Morgan come down to the ring. Cornette tells Roode and Banks to shut their mouths and has something to tell Booker. Cornette says they ran into a problem at Destination X. Cornette tries to keep things fair and says that someone that was unannounced for Destination X got involved. Cornette notes that Sharmell whipped everyone at ringside and whipped him, too. Cornette books a match for Lockdown where Booker will wrestle Roode inside a steel cage. However, the match will a mixed tag match inside the steel cage. Roode and Banks appear to like that news while Sharmell is stressed out. Booker is not happy and flips the table over. Cornette puts Booker in a match tonight against AJ Styles!
3.) Backstage, AJ Styles is with Crystal and he’s pissed about being booked into a match with Booker T. Crystal wants to know who the special guest is for AJ tonight. Team 3D enter the scene and Brother Ray tells Styles to relax. Ray says Styles is part of the family now. Ray reveals that they will be their partners at Lockdown. Ray says they are far ahead of the trend and knows what the people want to see. Brother Ray isn’t going to give the fans Team 3D beating up Styles and Tomko. Instead, they are going to become a well oiled team. Ray tells Styles to get ready for his match tonight and they will be watching. Brother Ray warns Booker to beware.
4.) Backstage, Jeremy Borash is with Kazarian and Eric Young for an interview. They will be wrestling Scott Steiner and Petey Williams tonight. Kazarian is proud of Young for nailing the alter ego and he’s been on a roll. Young feels confident and feels better knowing that Super Eric is here to have their back. Young is still scared to death of Rellik and Black Reign and hopes they don’t show up.
5.) We see footage of Steiner dunking Williams into water last week due to Williams losing. The footage is courtesy of the website and wasn’t shown on TV last week.
6.) Kaz rolls Williams up for a two count and arm drags Williams a few times before keeping arm control. Kaz avoids an arm drag and rolls Williams up for a two count. Kaz keeps arm control on the mat again. Young tags into the match and works over Williams arm. Williams backs Young into a corner and delivers a clothesline. Young is sent upside down into the corner, but returns to the ring and hip tosses Williams followed by a slam. Steiner tags into the match to try his luck against Young. Steiner kicks Young in the midsection and delivers a chop against the ropes. Young ducks a clothesline and bails to the floor. Kaz enters the match and kicks Steiner a few times, but is distracted by Khan. Steiner tosses Kaz overhead with a suplex and rams Kaz into the corner. Steiner continues with a chop in the corner and clotheslines Kaz coming off the ropes. Steiner delivers an elbow drop and does a few pushups to taunt Kaz. Steiner rams Kaz into the corner and tags in Williams. Williams rams Kaz into the corner and hits a slingshot Codebreaker into the ring for a near fall. Williams locks in a modified abdominal stretch, but Kaz doesn’t give up and manages to dropkick a seated Williams.
Young and Steiner tag in with Young cleaning house hitting dropkicks. Young plants Williams with a Death Valley Driver, but Steiner makes the save. Kaz kicks Steiner, but Williams tries for the Canadian Destroyer. Kaz counters with a reverse piledriver! Young heads to the top rope, but Black Reign and Rellik appear on the aisle. Reign says that evil always triumphs. Steiner hits a middle rope Samoan Drop and pins Young for the win. (**. A fine tag match and the distraction by Reign continues the issue between the “monsters” and Young. Super Eric has connected well with the crowd and they prefer Super Eric at this point. Kaz going from working Angle to being in a forgotten tag match is a bit disappointing. I’d rather continue the momentum upward for Kaz after last weeks performance.)
7.) Earlier today, Mike Tenay hosted a sit down between Christian Cage and Rhino. Tenay asked Rhino to come to the interview to hear what Cage has to say. Tenay tells Cage that he’s going to be pissed if Cage tries to set him up and embarrass Rhino. Cage has had some time to reflect over the past several months. Cage has thought about the people he betrayed to become a two-time world champion. Cage still considered Rhino a friend despite them not talking. Cage admits he should have picked up the phone when Rhino went through his issues drinking. Cage tells Rhino that he needs him for Lethal Lockdown. Rhino asks if he looks like a fool to Cage. Rhino says that Cage hurt his family and friends which matters most. Rhino says his daughter was watching TV and saw Cage bloodying Rhino in the ring. Rhino says that his daughter asked why uncle Christian was beating up daddy. It had to be explained to his daughter that they were playing around. Rhino is most bothered by that. Rhino asks how Christian is going to fix things with his daughter before departing the interview segment.
8.) Rhino works over Tomko with strikes in the corner. Rhino stomps Tomko in the corner several times. Tomko sends Rhino hard into the corner to gain control of the bout. Rhino punches Tomko, but runs into a big boot. Tomko covers managing a two count. Tomko keeps a chin lock on Rhino, but Rhino fights out with elbows. Rhino ducks an elbow and clotheslines Tomko over the top to the floor. Rhino plays to the crowd as the show goes to commercial.
Rhino strikes Tomko and hits a leaping clothesline. Rhino shoulder rams Tomko in the corner and hits a belly to belly suplex. Rhino waits in the corner, but AJ Styles gets on the apron and decks Rhino before hiding under the ring. Tomko nails Rhino with a clothesline and picks up the win. After the match, Earl Hebner finds AJ Styles under the ring. Hebner doesn’t end up doing anything even though it’s incredibly obvious Styles did something. Tomko and Rhino beatdown Rhino. Christian Cage runs down to the ring and makes the save. Rhino sends Tomko to the floor. Cage helps Rhino to his feet, but Rhino pulls away. Cage offers his hand. Rhino accepts. Team 3D come in from behind and attack Cage and Rhino. Kevin Nash comes to the ring with a steel chair to make the save. (*. Tomko being the captain for the Lethal Lockdown team made it obvious that Tomko was going to prevail here. I thought they’d tease Rhino not trusting Cage a little longer.)
9.) Jim Cornette comes out and books a tag match where Team 3D will wrestle Christian Cage and Rhino tonight!
10.) Footage of Jay Lethal and So Cal Val being on their date is shown. They are out to eat and Lethal notes that the prices are a bit high. Val doesn’t care about the price as long as they are together. Lethal has something to ask Val, but Sonjay Dutt comes into the scene with their waters and Lethal can’t believe Dutt works here. Lethal asks if Dutt can hook them up with a discount if he works there. Dutt is ignoring Lethal and focusing mostly on Val.
11.) Dutt arm drags Homicide and flirts with Val on the floor. Dutt arm drags Homicide and again focuses on Val. Homicide nails Dutt with an elbow strike, but Dutt arm drags Homicide. Homicide hits a suplex for a two count. Homicide hits a snap suplex for a two count. Homicide sends Dutt into the corner, but Dutt delivers a kick and tries for a springboard, but slips and crashes to the mat. Dutt doesn’t want the match to be stopped. Dutt continues to favor the injured knee. Dutt surprises Homicide with an inside cradle to win the match and proved to be lying. (1/2*. I didn’t care for that angle. Clearly this is setting something up between Dutt and Val. Dutt is digging Val and that’s going to cause friction.) After the match, Homicide attacks Dutt and Hernandez hits a Border Toss on Dutt.
12.) Backstage, Crystal is with Booker T and Sharmell. Crystal can’t believe Cornette would put Sharmell inside a steel cage. Booker is pissed and can’t even think straight. Booker calls Roode a sadistic fool and doesn’t know what’s wrong with Cornette. Booker warns Roode that he’ll mess him up bad if he puts his hands on Sharmell. Booker tells Styles that it isn’t personal and it’s just business. Booker wants Styles to bring his A-game.
13.) TNA Rough Cut is next involving BG and Kip James. BG considers the James Gang to be forced along with Kip joining TNA in the first place. Kip mentions either do it or don’t do it. BG compares their act to guys like AJ Styles doing dives to the floor. BG says people were expecting their act from ten years ago and they didn’t get that. Kip tried to get BG to go to the gym, but it didn’t happen. BG says there are more important things than going to the gym. BG would rather be with his kids. Kip says you don’t blow your partner off overnight. BG thought their relationship was better than ever, and it clearly wasn’t. BG thought their relationship matured and can’t understand where Kip is coming from. Kip thinks that he carried 60% of the weight and he’s pissed.
14.) AJ Styles cuts a promo in the ring and says he has a special guest tonight. Styles introduces his guest as being Karen Angle. Karen sits at ringside to watch AJ’s match.
15.) Booker decks Styles with several right hands in the corner followed by a clothesline. Booker scoop slams Styles to the mat and continues with strikes against the ropes. Booker plays to the crowd as Styles regroups on the mat. Styles tries to fight back, but Booker delivers a few knee strikes. Booker forearms Styles in the corner. Styles ducks a strike and chops Booker several times. Styles misses a splash in the corner and Booker delivers a kick for a near fall. Booker stomps Styles on the mat to keep control of the contest. Robert Roode appears on the ramp and is watching the match. Styles nails Booker with a jumping spin kick for a near fall. The show goes to commercial.
Styles hits a slingshot crossbody to the floor. During the break, Roode was escorted backstage and Styles hit a dropkick. Styles nails Booker with another kick to the head for a two count. Styles chops Booker against the ropes, but Booker delivers a heel kick. Booker takes Styles over with a snap suplex. Booker drives Styles down with a side slam and manages a near fall on the cover. Booker kicks Styles and misses a scissors kick. Styles hits a pele kick. Payton Banks comes out and tries to attack Sharmell, which looked horrible. Sharmell whips Banks with her strap instead. Styles is distracted and Booker gets an inside cradle to win the match. (*1/2. That finish was horrible. Banks looked awful in trying to attack Sharmell. Booker could have just won cleanly.) After the match, Styles notices that Karen Angle has left.
16.) Backstage, Crystal is with Raiesha Saeed and TNA Knockouts Champion Awesome Kong. Saeed says that Gail Kim and ODB failed at Destination X and they were doomed at the beginning. Saeed puts over Kong as being a machine who will destroy anything and everything in her path. Saeed says that Kim and ODB are women destined for destruction. Their destruction will commence soon.
17.) ODB and Love kickoff the tag match with ODB backing Love into a corner. Love forearms ODB, but is met with a shoulder block. Love trips ODB and they have a standoff. ODB drop toe holds Sky to keep control of the contest and tags in Kim. Kim kicks Sky in the ribs and continues with an uppercut and chops. Kim avoids Sky in the corner and tries for an arm drag, but Love held Sky. Kim arm drags Love followed by a dropkick. Kim forearms Love into the corner. Kim hits a middle rope crossbody and is fired up. Kim runs the ropes to hit another arm drag. Sky knee strikes Kim from the apron. Love nails Kim with a pump kick and gets a two count. Sky slams Kim and they hit a double elbow drop on Kim for a two count. Sky clotheslines Kim in the corner and hits a bulldog for a near fall. Sky tags in Love to continue the match. Love dropkicks a seated Kim for a near fall. Love yanks Kim down to the mat by her hair and slams the back of Kim’s head onto the mat. Kim fights back with a few strikes and clotheslines Love. ODB is ready on the apron for a tag. Kim crawls over to ODB looking for the tag and ODB enters to deliver several clotheslines. ODB plants Sky with a faceplant for a near fall as Love make the save. Kim spears Love and knocks Love to the floor. Sky stops ODB with a jawbreaker and forearms ODB. ODB catches Sky coming off the ropes and hits a powerslam for the clean win. (*. Sky and Love are painfully inexperienced and shouldn’t be matches longer than three minutes. Kim and ODB are a good unit and the two top challengers for Kong’s title. I enjoy them.) After the match, Roxxi comes down to the ring, but Sky and Love run backstage.
18.) Backstage, Jeremy Borash enters TNA World Champion Kurt Angle’s locker room. Angle grabs Borash and says there is no Karen and there is no more fun and games. Angle says they are weeks away from Lockdown. Angle talks about Samoa Joe saying he would quit TNA if he lost. Angle has tried to eliminate Joe since he arrived here and now it’s his chance. Angle says Joe can do all the training he wants, but it will not matter. Angle has never been more focused in his career. Angle is going to punish four people tonight.
19.) A video promoting the match between TNA World Champion Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe is shown. Marcus Davis is training with Samoa Joe and thinks Joe will the title.
20.) Kurt Angle enters the ring for his training session. Angle first works against Efron Sims. They are treating this as an MMA fight, by the way. Kurt takes Sims down and delivers several strikes. Angle locks in a side choke and submits Sims quickly. Jon Davis (indie wrestler) is up next. Angle knee strikes Davis after Davis delivered several strikes. Angle puts a heel hook on Davis and wins by submission. Frank Ciaso is the third opponent. Angle quickly gets a choke on Ciaso for a quick submission. The final opponent is Korey Chavis (indie wrestler). Angle nails Korey with a headbutt and knocks him out with strikes on the mat. Chavis is bleeding after the headbutt. Kurt gets on the microphone and tells Joe to keep training because it won’t matter.
21.) Backstage, Jeremy Borash is with Team 3D, Johnny Devine, TNA Tag Team Champions Tomko and AJ Styles. Brother Ray tries to grab the tag title off of Styles, but Styles hangs onto it. Tomko says his team is standing together strong. Tomko puts down Cage’s team consisting of Rhino and Kevin Nash. Tomko promises to break Nash. Tomko is going to break Cage at Lockdown. Brother Devon chimes in and says this is the pack they are rolling with at Lethal Lockdown. Devon jokes they can get Curry Man and the Machine Guns or Shark Boy. Devon tells them to beat them if they can, survive if they let them. Brother Ray tries again to grab the tag title, but fails.
22.) Another vignette promoting a new wrestler with the theme continuing to be consequences. The date is now April 10th and not Lockdown on April 13th. There will be a debut three days before the PPV.
23.) A video highlighting the friendship and career of Christian Cage and Rhino.
24.) Rhino and Devon kickoff the tag match with Devon getting the cheap shot with strikes. Rhino shoulder rams Devon in the corner and tags in Cage. Cage kicks Devon in the ribs. Devon drops Cage with a strike. Cage slides to the floor and yanks Ray off the apron. Cage heads to the top and delivers an uppercut managing a two count. Devine trips Cage from the floor and Devon knocks Cage to the mat. Rhino chases Devine around ringside, but Brother Ray clotheslines Rhino on the floor. Ray sends Cage into the ring post shoulder first. Devon strikes Cage and delivers a scoop slam. Devon misses a diving headbutt off the middle rope. Brother Ray knocks Rhino off the apron. Cage gets an inside cradle on Devon, but the referee was distracted. Devon tries for a reverse DDT, but Cage counters with a reverse DDT of his own. Cage crawls and tags in Rhino. Rhino hammers away on Ray and delivers a backdrop. Rhino backdrops Devon and hits a double clothesline. Rhino plants Ray with a spinebuster, but Devon makes the save. Cage punches Devon in the corner several times. Brother Ray has Cage on his shoulders as Devon goes to the top rope. Cage rolls through and Rhino shoves Devon off the top causing Devon to headbutt Ray. Cage hits a slingshot crossbody onto Devine on the floor! Rhino hits the GORE on Ray. Tomko comes out and pulls the referee out. The referee calls for the bell. (*1/2. Team 3D in main events and not in a tag title situation. In ECW it worked because, well, they were a big fish in a small pond. When you’re working in a company with many big names and several guys who are simply better, it doesn’t translate as well. There’s no reason for there to be a DQ finish here. Do the beatdown stuff after a clean finish. It’s not a hard concept.)
25.) After the match, Cage fights off the heels as best he can, but Tomko nails Cage with a forearm strike. Kevin Nash enters the ring and makes the save delivering strikes to all the heels. Devon chop blocks Nash and Tomko pummels Nash on the mat. Shark Boy and Curry Man come out to help, but Tomko takes care of Curry Man. Sabin and Shelley slide into the ring, but they are taken care of, as well. Cage is met with the 3D. Shark Boy is nailed with a twisting suplex. Sting’s music plays and the lights flicker. Sting could be on Impact next week?!
Final Thoughts:
A subpar episode this week. I wish they’d drag out the Cage/Rhino trust angle for a bit longer instead of cementing Rhino on the team already. The action wasn’t notable this week and the segments were mostly bland aside from Kurt Angle’s workout segment. TNA continues the yearly tradition of Sting making an appearance on a live special next week. That already feels played out, as well. The build towards Lockdown has left a lot to be desired.
Thanks for reading.