Monday Night Impact! – 1/4/10

This is the night that TNA Wrestling has been hyping for weeks since the Hulk Hogan signing.  Last night, TNA went head to head against WWE to try and draw 1st blood against the wrestling giant!  Here’s what happened in their offering:

Video Package: The history of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Taz & Mike Tenay run down the card for tonight.

Video Package: Earlier today, Bubba The Love Sponge is interviewing people waiting to get into the Impact Zone.  The consensus is that people want real wrestling!

Steel Asylum Match
Participants: Chris Sabin, Alex Shelly, Kiyoshi, Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Suicide & Amazing Red
WINNER: No contest as Homicide smuggled a riot baton into the structure and beat the crap out of everyone!

• Theme music plays, cameras pan the crowd and we see… Jeff Hardy!  He jumps the rail and gets attacked by Homicide, but Hardy turns it back on Homicide hitting him with a chair and then a Twist of Fate.  Climbs the Steel Asylum and sits on the roof.

Backstage: Jeff walked backstage and meets up with his buddy and fellow wrestler, Shannon Moore.

Live Video: Police escorted motorcade that we believe is Hulk Hogan.

Backstage: Christy Hemme is with Kevin Nash who says, “Tonight is a great night for TNA!  My 1st mentor was Hulk… where Hulk goes, so does the numbers and the money!”

Knockout’s Title Match
Tara (Champion) vs. ODB
WINNER: ODB via roll up pin fall with a grab of the tights to become the NEW Knockout’s Champion!

• After the match, Tara attacks ODB with a Widow’s Peak and then puts her tarantula, Poison, on ODB.

Backstage: A limo pulls up to the arena.  Out walks Ric Flair!

Video Package: Earlier today, Christy Hemme caught up with Mick Foley as he was walking up to the Impact Zone.  She informs us that he’s been barred from the building by Dixie Carter thinking he may attack Hogan.

Bobby & Krystal Lashley come out to the ring to address the crowd.  Krystal does all the talking.  She says, “wrestling is full of vile people… as of today, Bobby wants his outright release from TNA!”

Backstage: Velvet Sky leads the camera man to a room set up with a poker table and Madison Rayne & Lacey Von Erich sitting at it… They’re going to play strip poker!

Backstage: Scott Hall & Sean Waltman are trying to get in the back door and security won’t let them in.

Backstage: Motorcade is stopped and another limo pulls up next to it.  Someone gets out and climbs into the main limo.  Cannot see who it was.

Hall & Waltman are filing through the crowd now and take a seat along the entrance ramp railing.

Hulk Hogan comes out to the ring to what sounds like the old NWO theme music, but tweaked.

• “We’re making history tonight!  TNA is going to be the #1 company in the world!”
• Hall & Waltman jump the rail and are stopped by security.  Hogan allows them to enter the ring to talk to him.  They’re here for “another big pay day!”
• Hogan tells them, “It’s going to be different this time! It’s time we all grew up and do the right thing for the business!”
• Kevin Nash comes out, tells Hall & Waltman that “Hulk is just playing a role tonight!”
• Hogan responds, “I’ve given Dixie my word!” and Nash snaps back calling him “corporate.”
• Music hits.  Out walks Eric Bischoff who says, “I’m the one who put the band together… I think there has been a communication break down.  Everyone here has to EARN their spot in this company!”  Hogan reiterates what Bischoff says.
• Bischoff gets a production sheet of the show, tears it up and has a new one for the show producer.
• Segment ends as we see Sting watching from the rafters.

Knockout’s Tag Team Titles Match
Awesome Kong & Hamada vs. Taylor Wilde & Sarita (Champions)
WINNERS: Kong & Hamada via pin fall after hitting a Missile Drop Kick to an Awesome Bomb to become the NEW Knockout Tag Team Champions!

• Mid match, the screen split and we saw backstage that Chris Sabin & Alex Shelly were found laid out.

Backstage: The Beautiful People are still playing their poker game when in walks Val Venis who deals himself into the game.

Outside: Foley is still trying to get into the Impact Zone… As he walks away, The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Saggs) walk up to the door trying to get in, and they are turned away.

Matt Morgan & Hernandez vs. Raven & Dr. Stevie with Daffney
WINNERS: Morgan & Hernandez via pin fall in about two minutes!

Backstage: Christy Hemme is with “Pope” D’Angelo Dinero who says he’s going to the top of the mountain.

• His interview is interrupted by former WWE wrestler Orlando Jordan who’s looking for Hulk.

Desmond Wolfe vs. D’Angelo Dinero
WINNER: D’Angelo Dinero via small package pin fall in a huge upset!

Backstage: Jeff Jarrett enters the building.

Backstage: Bubba The Love Sponge reporting that now Rhino was attacked backstage!

Video Package: A look back at what happened earlier when Hogan came to the ring.

Backstage: Jeremy Borash is with AJ Styles who says, “I’ve been here for 7 years and I’ve never seen this place so excited!  It’s electric!”

• Eric Bischoff interrupts the segment and introduces himself to AJ Styles.  He says there’s good news and bad news.  The bad news is the match between him and Kurt Angle that was set for the next PPV, Genesis, has been canceled.  The good news it the match is TONIGHT in the main event!

Jeff Jarrett comes to the ring to address the crowd.  “Every critic said that we wouldn’t make it 6 months and now we’re on Monday Night… I’ve given dozens if not hundreds of guys their chance!  You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!  Anything can and will happen in TNA!”

• Hogan appears on the screen to interrupt Jarrett.  Hogan calls out Jarrett for using the word “I” in his statement.  Says that he is Dixie’s partner and “no one cares about your past accolades!”

Backstage: Christy Hemme is with Daniels who says, “I’m not concerned with my spot in TNA!”

• Segment is interrupted by JB who has Mick Foley on the cell phone trying to convince him to open a back door to let him in which JB reluctantly does.

Backstage: Jeff Hardy & Shannon Moore are backstage.  Hardy is painting a picture.  They’re waiting to see someone about something… a contract maybe?

Abyss vs. Samoa Joe
WINNER: Samoa Joe via submission due to a Rear Naked Choke.

Backstage: Bischoff is talking to a producer when he is approached by Krystal Lashley who wants to know about Bobby’s request to be released from his contract.  Bischoff says, “If you want to meet with Hulk, take a number!”

Backstage: Bubba The Love Sponge reporting that now Beer Money Inc. has been attacked backstage!

Outside: The Nasty Boys are still trying to get in and use their buddy, Bubba The Love Sponge as a distraction to get by security.

Backstage: Jeremy Borash is with Kurt Angle who says, “One thing hasn’t changed, AJ Styles can’t beat me!  He may be good, but he’s not the best!”

Backstage: Hardy & Moore are leaving with manila envelopes in hand when they’re approached by three teenage girls who are excited to see Jeff.  They ask him for his autograph and he decides to give one of the girls his painting from earlier and a kiss on the cheek.  They freak out and run away, while Hardy & Moore get into a car.

Backstage: The Nasty Boys head into a locker room that happens to belong to Team 3D who aren’t there and they destroy it.

TNA World Title Match
Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles (Champion)
WINNER: AJ Styles via pin fall after hitting a springboard flip splash

• Mid match, the masked figure came out again to attack AJ, but Kurt comes to his rescue.  The match continued!
• Near the matches end, Ric Flair came out onto the entrance ramp and got a better view.
• After the match, both men show mutual respect for each other with a handshake and an embrace.
• Hogan comes out and acknowledges them saying, “Those are the two greatest wrestlers in the business today!”
• Hogan is approached by a security guard who whispers something in his ear and he runs backstage.

Backstage: Mick Foley interrupts the poker game and asks Val Venis where’s Hogan’s office!  He finds Hogan’s office and Eric Bischoff is sitting in the chair.

• Bischoff tells him, “You have no power, NOTHING!”
• Foley goes to beat Bischoff down and he’s jumped by Nash, Hall, and Waltman.
• Hogan walks in to see the aftermath and looks slightly disgusted.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

7 matches in 3 hours with as much dialogue as they did is just remarkable… not really in a good way though.  The steel asylum match was called a no contest… WTF it’s a cage match!  There’s no stopping a cage match!  The Knockout’s Title match was very lackluster!  The men’s tag team match was epically short!  In my opinion that’s just crap… almost WWE-esque crap!  The Knockout’s Tag Title match was good.  The match between Wolfe & Dinero was decent and somewhat shocking.  Abyss and Joe was okay.  The main event was pretty damn good!  Styles and Angle are truly the best that TNA has to offer with Wolfe coming in closely behind them!

Too many people got their own segments!  Hall, Waltman, and The Nasty Boys got way too much TV time!  What the hell is with Bubba The Love Sponge?  I know he’s got his own silly ass radio show on satellite, but WTF does he have to do with wrestling?  I’m guessing he got a gig because he’s one of Hogan’s boys!  The same goes for Val Venis and Orlando Jordan, two names that haven’t been relevant in wrestling in a few years.

As I watched the NWO reunion segment I started to get a knot in the pit of my stomach thinking that TNA may be screwed!  Just the site of all those guys in the ring together makes me think that chaos is upcoming!  I hope that my gut reaction is wrong and they’re trying to give us that feeling on purpose as a swerve.  The segment with Hogan interrupting Jeff Jarrett and calling him out gave me the same feeling.  I would hate to see TNA die because of “outside interference” when they were going fine on their own.

It wasn’t a real pleasant surprise to see Jeff Hardy on TNA again.  When I heard rumors that he was going to be backstage at the show I had a feeling he’d be on TV.  He’s a great risk taker and a decent wrestler at best, but considering he’s still going through all the problems with the law right now for his drug situation, I don’t get why people would want to put him on TV.  I know he’s a crowd favorite, but you should not be pushing a guy like that.  Just my opinion.

I’m wondering where they’re going to go with Mick Foley.  He’s pissed that his power is being usurped by Hogan and Bischoff, then he gets barred from the building and by show’s end he gets jumped by the former NWO members.  I don’t have a clue why, and yet again, that knot appears in my stomach.  Is Foley going to rise up and fight back?  Or is this the end of Mick Foley in TNA?