Total Non-Stop Action presents Impact
Date: 4/2/2009
From: Orlando, FL
A video package promoting Samoa Joe and his return to TNA is shown. Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle are captains for Lethal Lockdown.
Jeff Jarrett makes his way out to the ring to kickoff Impact. Jarrett brings up how Joe and Angle won the right to be the captains at Lethal Lockdown. Over the course of the next several weeks the teams would reveal their team members and they’d wrestle each other. Jarrett reveals that Joe has no interest in being the captain and picking new members. Jarrett is going to name the new team captain and didn’t take long for him to come to a conclusion. Jarrett introduces AJ Styles as the newest captain of the team for Lethal Lockdown.
TNA Legends Champion AJ Styles comes out to join the segment. Jarrett notes that Styles has to pick two new members to join Styles and Samoa Joe in Lethal Lockdown. Styles says he’s honored to be in this role. Styles says he has to decline the offer with much regret. Styles doesn’t believe he has earned the spot as captain. Styles knows that Jarrett took a chance on him, Christopher Daniels, Eric Young and James Storm. Styles thinks they let Jarrett down. Styles will be on the team, but thinks someone who believed in them from the beginning should be the captain. Styles thinks Jarrett should lead them at Lockdown as a captain against Main Event Mafia. Styles thinks they will be lead into victory. Jarrett accepts the offer.
Scott Steiner comes out to join the segment. Steiner talks about Jarrett starting the company with nobodies seven years ago. Steiner says the roster is still filled with wannabes and nobodies aside from the Mafia. Steiner says he’s out here as Jarrett’s friend for the past twenty years. Steiner talks about how they succeeded because failure wasn’t an option. Steiner thinks the Mafia and Jarrett are the same. Steiner thinks Jarrett might be a little desperate because Mick Foley has lost his mind. Steiner says Jarrett is just like him and the Mafia. Steiner recalls meeting Jarrett and his wife and he respected Jarrett’s wife. Steiner tells Jarrett that Jill told him to help Jeff and take care of the girls. Steiner says Jill trusted him and his heart. Steiner tells Jarrett he needs to trust TNA with the Mafia. Steiner is going to ask Jarrett a question. Steiner tells Jarrett that when there was an emergency he trusted him. Steiner insists Jarrett to trust him because he always had the best interest at heart. AJ Styles chimes and says Jarrett can trust a whole roster. Styles appeals Jarrett to trust his heart and have faith in the originals. Styles wants Jarrett to do what is right. Styles suggests he wrestle Steiner tonight for the team advantage at Lockdown. Steiner accepts the challenge.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash chats with the Main Event Mafia. Kurt Angle says everything looks crystal clear and says the landscape looks different in TNA. Angle says it is time for the Mafia to go to work. Angle thinks Jarrett and Foley tried to recruit Sting to their side. Angle notes that Jarrett was close, but Foley went into business for himself. Angle tells Borash that Sting never left and admits that he was paranoid. Angle says Sting proved he is Mafia through and through when he prevented Jarrett from hitting Angle with a guitar. Angle is going to apologize to Sting publicly. Angle tells Kevin Nash to charm Jenna to prevent her from investing her money into TNA.
Backstage, Lauren interviews Sheik Abdul Bashir. Bashir says that TNA’s problem gets larger an larger by each day. Bashir says they stand united and divided they fall. By the end of the promo No Limits, Naito and Kiyoshi joined Bashir.
MATCH #1: LAX (HOMICIDE & HERNANDEZ) & LETHAL CONSEQUENCES (JAY LETHAL & CONSEQUENCES CREED) VS. NO LIMIT (NAITO & YUJIRO), KIYOSHI & ABDUL BASHIR
FINISH: Bashir plants Creed with a DDT for the win.
Bob’s Take: Anytime there’s a match with eight guys there’s going to be a bit of chaos, but it’s not too much to not know what’s going on. Lethal and Homicide hit stereo suicide dives to the floor to make the action pickup a bit. Hernandez did a dive, but the crowd couldn’t have cared any less about it. Bashir getting the clean win makes sense as it looks like TNA is going to be pushing Bashir again. This was just a formula eight man tag match.
Match Rating: **
Backstage, Jeff Jarrett meets Mick Foley in his office. Jeremy Borash is there and knows that Steiner offering a spot in the mafia was shocking. Foley wants them to only worry about having fun. Jarrett wants Foley out of his chair and says he never thought he’d regret having Foley buy into Impact. Foley continues to joke around and Jarrett wants to know what Foley is thinking. Foley had fun taking Sting’s head out with a chair shot. Foley thinks they need the mafia for conflict . Jarrett suggests Foley wasn’t ready to be a leader. Foley is going to make a big decision tonight.
Backstage, Team 3D asks Jim Cornette if they are going to get the favor they are owed. Cornette is ready to give the favor back to Team 3D. Main Event Mafia Security enter the scene and they don’t like Team 3D getting involved in their business. Sal doesn’t think this is funny. Rocco says they want Team 3D in the ring tonight. Bubba thinks that is funny as the security guys depart.
The Beautiful People come out and confront Mike Tenay saying the fans are dogs for thinking about what they could do to the Beautiful People. Angelina Love says Taylor Wilde is getting a haircut tonight.
Earlier today, Mike Tenay interviewed Mick Foley. Tenay talks about how Sting seemed close to joining the side to end the Mafia. Foley thinks it had building in his head for a while to hit Sting with the chair. Foley thinks Sting is a bit arrogance and Foley was annoyed by the statement that he had enough. Foley may have given Sting too much credit for the success of his career. Foley notes that his career isn’t over and is going to drop the perfect elbow onto sting from high heights. Tenay asks if Foley ever had the thought of being champion six months. Foley says six months he never thought about being champion because he had been a settler. Foley asks why not have Foley be the TNA World Champion.
Abyss meets with Dr. Stevie about his mother having too many kids. Dr. Stevie told Abyss to not use any more weapons. Stevie asks why Abyss has missed the past two meetings. Abyss says he was with his family, but he doesn’t have family. Stevie is not happy with Abyss for disobeying him. Abyss admits to accepting a match with Matt Morgan at Lockdown where he has to make your opponent bleed. Stevie shuts the door and slaps Abyss several times. Stevie strikes Abyss several times and screams at Abyss “no more violence!” Stevie gathers himself and sits back down as Abyss tries to catch his breath. Abyss agrees to next weeks appointment.
TNA Roughcut focusing on Team 3D and what hardcore means to them. D-Von admits it takes a toll on their body. Brother Ray lists the injuries he has suffered working hardcore.
MATCH #2: MAIN EVENT MAFIA SECURITY (ROCCO & SAL) VS. TEAM 3D
NOTE: Beer Money are on commentary for the match.
FINISH: Team 3D hit a back supex/neckbreaker combo on Sal to win the match. After the match, the security guys attack Team 3D with a chair allowing Beer Money to enter the ring. Beer Money ends up taking out the security guys with chair shots. Beer Money give the IWGP Tag Titles to Team 3D for a proper standoff.
Bob’s Take: Security attacked Team 3D from behind to get the cheap advantage. I can’t believe the guys that were once Phi Delta Slam circa 2005 are on TNA programming. For the most part, this is just an extended squash for Team 3D.
Match Rating: SQUASH
Backstage, Jeremy Borash is with Mick Foley trying to convince Foley to make things right with Jarrett. Foley and Borash are stopped by Samoa Joe with his machete. Joe tells Foley that he wants every member of the Mafia and Foley can make that happen. Foley tells Joe he will see what he can do.
Backstage, Lauren is with the TNA Tag Team Champions Beer Money Inc. Lauren asks if her eyes deceived her and saw them make the save. Roode says they saw a serious side of them in their interview with Tenay. Roode wants Team 3D at their very best and not have any injuries or excuses. Roode says they have Team 3D’s back until Lockdown. James Storm chimes in saying they are the greatest tag team on this planet. Storm wants the crazy fans to show up in Philadelphia and wants to see their faces when they beat Team 3D.
Kurt Angle makes his way out to the ring with the Main Event Mafia. Kurt Angle calls out TNA World Champion Sting to join the segment, and he does with his own theme music. Angle says he’s not above admitting he was wrong about Sting and questioning his loyalty. Angle recalls spitting in Sting’s face. Angle admits he was wrong about Sting and he’s here to humble himself and admit he’s wrong. Sting says that a simple handshake isn’t going to settle things. Sting notes that Angle questioned everything about him and how they shook hands in Vegas and it was all about respect. Sting talks about how Angle is the biggest spoiled brat in TNA. Sting thinks his ego has gone too far and he’s not buying it. Angle apologizes again. Sting leaves the ring and goes to the apron. Kevin Nash grabs the microphone and asks that Sting is just going ti walkaway. Nash asks about what happened about turning the other cheek. Nash points out the crowd telling Sting to walkaway, but Sting is the only guy who can make a difference. Nash tells Sting that Angle needs him. Nash says if Sting walks away then Angle will never know about respect. Nash asks Sting to give Angle a chance.
Mick Foley comes out to join the segment. Foley is up in the rafters. Foley has been busy getting reacquainted with an old friend, which is a barbed 2×4. Foley wants to make sure Sting is ready for their match and is ready for him. Foley reveals that he’s booked Sting in a match tonight. Sting will be wrestling Samoa Joe tonight in a non-title match. Foley will be up in the rafters watching.
Dr. Stevie is having a meeting with Daffney where Daffney talks about being told she is insane and she got better. Daffney likes to act and she did that. Daffney did some odd jobs and then took part in a prank on the Beautiful People. Daffney talks about the scissors being used to cut her hair. All the feelings she tried to suppress came back. Daffney says sometimes the brain just has a mind of its own and chemicals can’t be fixed.
MATCH #3: TAYLOR WILDE VS. MADISON RAYNE
FINISH: Wilde pins Rayne with a cradle. After the match, Beautiful People attack Wilde. Love grabs scissors, but Wilde escapes. Rayne is told to go get Wilde and she runs after her.
Bob’s Take: Angelina and Velvet assist Rayne from the floor to give Rayne the advantage early on. There isn’t much to the match.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Backstage, The Beautiful People have attacked Taylor Wilde in the shower and they cut some of her hair off. Security run into the scene to stop the attack.
Backstage, Lauren is with Jenna from Survivor. Kevin Nash comes up and chats with Jenna asking if she’s ready to leave. Jenna wants to know what Kurt Angle said, but Nash prevents Lauren from saying what he said. Nash says that Angle called her the hottest thing in TNA. Jenna loved that.
MATCH #4: SCOTT STEINER VS. TNA LEGENDS CHAMPION AJ STYLES — NON-TITLE
FINISH: Late in the match, Jarrett prevents Styles from using a chair, but that distracts the referee. Steiner plants Styles with a flatliner onto the chair to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Steiner runs through Styles at the start of the bout to gain the advantage. Steiner counters a hurricanrana at one point to deliver a powerbomb and maintain control of the bout. Styles tries for a springboard forearm, but Steiner pulled the referee into the way. Kurt Angle came running down and slid a chair into the ring for Steiner to use. Styles avoided the chair to deliver a Pele kick. Jeff Jarrett comes out to attack Kurt Angle on the floor. The finish is a little dramatic and I feel like this is going to cast doubt in trusting Jarrett, which would be a bit much for me. I didn’t enjoy this, which is rare for a Styles match.
Match Rating: *
Backstage, Jeremy Borash is with TNA World Champion Sting for an interview. Sting knows that Samoa Joe has snapped, but he’s going to survive. Sting promises Foley will pay next week.
MAIN EVENT: TNA WORLD CHAMPION STING VS. SAMOA JOE — NON-TITLE
FINISH: Joe throws the referee to cause a disqualification. After the match, Joe hits the Muscle Buster on Sting and locks in a choke. Booker T slides into the ring and attacks Joe to help Sting. Joe ducks a kick and nails Booker with a kick of his own. Joe pummels Booker on the mat. Joe grabs a chair as Sharmell protects Booker. Joe drops the chair because he has some morales. Joe instead goes to the floor and grabs Sharmell. Joe carries Sharmell over his shoulder and heads out of the arena to end the show.
Bob’s Take: Joe pummels Sting to kickoff the match, but I must say I really dislike the sweatpants that he’s wearing. Sting clotheslines Joe a few times to fight back, but Joe slams Sting out of the corner. Joe snapped on the referee throwing him to the mat qucikly, so we get a Nitro main event. So, this is just a focus on angle development.
Match Rating: NR
Final Thoughts:
This is not the TNA that I once enjoyed watching on a regular basis. The action has taken a complete backseat to all the promos and rather dull angle advancements. TNA was so much better when they focused on in-ring and sprinkled in some angle advancements, but we’ve reached the point now where the talking is taking up 10+ minutes at a time and the action is very, very little. I didn’t enjoy this episode, and I’m hoping they shift away from such a heavy angle approach sooner rather than later.
Thanks for reading.