TNA Impact – 5/20/10

On the first Impact broadcast after the Sacrifice PPV, what would be the fallout and who would be named the next number one contender for the TNA World Title?  Find out what happened right here:

Video Package: Highlights from the Sacrifice PPV.

Eric Bischoff and his well endowed assistant Ms. Tessmacher come to the ring.  He talks about the process of coming up with a list of Top 10 Contenders and says that it’s a mix of fan polls, career w/l record, and TNA w/l record.  He then reveals the Top 10 Contenders list.

10) Samoa Joe
9) Rob Terry
8 ) Desmond Wolfe
7) “Pope” D’Angelo Dinero
6) Abyss
5) Mr. Anderson
4) Jeff Hardy
3) AJ Styles
2) Kurt Angle
1) Sting

• Each competitor, except Kurt Angle, comes to the ramp and a video package is shown why each of them is in that position.
• Sting comes to the ring and Bischoff congratulates him on being #1 contender to Rob Van Dam‘s TNA World Title.  Then tells Sting he’s going to face off against Jeff Hardy.
• Sting goes crazy and attacks Bischoff with the baseball bat.  Abyss tries to save him, and gets run out.  Hardy jumps in ring and steals the bat, but gets kicked in the junk for his trouble.  RVD runs down and distracts Sting enough for Hardy to regather himself and hit a Twist of Fate.

Backstage: Hulk Hogan talking to Eric Bischoff who’s in some pain.  Matt Morgan enters asking Hulk about his Tag Team Title rematch and Hogan’s very short with him saying “You got it now get out!”

Non-Title Match
Roxxi vs. Madison Rayne
WINNER: Roxxi via pin fall after hitting the Voodoo Drop

Backstage: Chelsea is crying to Desmond Wolfe about having to go with Abyss.  He tells her that if he does anything to her, Abyss will have to deal with him.

Backstage: Kurt Angle arrives at the building and the camera man tells him he’s been ranked #2 in the Top 10 Contenders list.  Angle shows no emotion.

Video Package: Highlights from Kurt Angle’s TNA career.

Kurt Angle to the ring, “I notice a lot of changes since I started four years ago…  I was the elite, the best.  Now with the additions and the rising starts, Kurt Angle is now just another name on the roster… Kurt Angle will wrestle for free… It’s about putting everything on the line… Kurt Angle was born to be a winner… I’ve done it all.  What can I do to reinvent myself?  I’m going to start from scratch.  I’m going to take myself out of the #2 spot and I’m going to wrestle everyone of the ranked superstars.

Backstage: Christy Hemme is with Ric Flair & Beer Money Inc. She asks about who they think will be Jay Lethal‘s tag team partner tonight, when they square off.  Flair doesn’t care because Beer Money is TNA’s muscle…

• Interrupted by Kazarian who wants to talk privately to Flair.

Backstage: Rob Terry telling us that he hasn’t been cleared by the doctors to wrestle because of his knee injury that occurred at Sacrifice, but he’s going to go out there anyways.

Non-Title
Rob Terry vs. Orlando Jordan
WINNER: OJ via referee stoppage after locking on a leg/knee bar

• Post match, medical tends to Terry, and OJ comes back to lock on the knee bar.  It takes like 5 referees to get him to release the hold.

Backstage: Jay Lethal talking about how upset his is that Ric Flair thought he was being disrespectful…

• Interrupted by RVD who says that since Lethal had his back at the PPV, he’ll get his back tonight and be his tag team partner.

Backstage: Jeff Hardy remembering when he was a little kid and how he grew up idolizing Sting.  Now he finally gets to square off with him.

Backstage: Shannon Moore trying to stop Jesse Neal from confronting Brother Ray to no avail.  He busts into the Team 3D locker room and calls him out.

• Ray, being held back by Brother Devon, says that he gave Neal an attitude adjustment.
• Brawl nearly breaks out in the locker room.

Beer Money Inc. vs. Jay Lethal & Rob Van Dam
WINNERS: Lethal/RVD via submission after Lethal locked on the Figure Four

• Post match, Ric Flair took exception and came out to the ramp.  He and Lethal brawl all the way to the back.
• RVD continues to celebrate with the ringside fans and gets attacked by Sting who was sitting in the crowd.

Jeff Hardy comes to the ring and cuts a promo on Sting saying, “Nobody really knows what goes on in my mind… Sting I dare you to try to figure me out… The creatures of the night are going to take you beyond your wildest imagination.”

Backstage: Security knocks at the door of Wolfe and Chelsea to head to the ring for the hand over to Abyss.

Abyss to the ring and is ready to collect his prize from winning at Sacrifice.

• Chelsea practically being dragged by security to the ring with Wolfe following behind.
• Abyss tells Wolfe, “It’s quite ironic, at Sacrifice I made you my bitch, and tonight I’m taking yours!”
• Wolfe goes off on a tangent and then kicks Abyss in the junk and then attacks the security.  He then pulls a glass bottle out of Chelsea’s bag and breaks it, threatening to slice Abyss with it.  He does causing a nice gash in his arm.
• Chelsea tries to stop Wolfe from doing any more damage because she wants to leave and it distracts Desmond enough to where Abyss can get up and hit him with the Black Hole Slam.
• Abyss then carries Chelsea out of the Impact Zone.

The Band comes to the ring.  Eric Young takes the mic and talks about how they’re like brothers and how they’re going to take everything and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

Eric Young with Scott Hall & Kevin Nash vs. Shannon Moore with Jesse Neal
WINNER: Young via pin fall after hitting a Pile Driver

• Mid match, Brother Ray came out to be met by Jesse Neal.  It cause enough of distraction that Hall hit Moore with the tag team title, giving EY the advantage.
• Post match, after Neal goes to check on his partner, Brother Ray comes back again and attacks Neal from behind saying, “I brought you in, I can take you out!”

X-Division Battle Royal to replace Kurt Angle in Top 10
Competitors: Amazing Red, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Max & Jeremy Buck, Kazarian, Homicide & Brian Kendrick)
WINNER: Kazarian

• Mid match, Ric Flair came out to scout Kazarian, and he applauds his victory.

Sting vs. Jeff Hardy
WINNER: Hardy via pin fall

• Mid match, ref bump to the floor.  Mr. Anderson hits Sting with a Scorpion Death Drop allowing Hardy to get the pin.
• Post match, Anderson gets in the ring to celebrate with Hardy who takes exception.  Anderson is about to explain when Sting attacks both men with the baseball bat.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

I’m slightly upset with Sting being number one on the Top 10 list, but I’m not shocked either.  He’s the controversial heel character right now on the main event stage, so I get it.  Part of me wishes it was someone else, but considering who else is on the list, you sort of need a heel character to go against RVD and the next highest would be Styles, and we just saw that.  They also couldn’t have Anderson because they just started his feud with Hardy.  So I guess Sting for now is the only logical choice.

Roxxi comes back and gets a win.  Now let’s pray she didn’t trip on her way back to the locker room.  That girl has such bad luck with injuries.  I hope she’s fully healed and didn’t rush a comeback.

Angle pulling himself out of the Top 10 was a surprise, but I get that too.  Angle’s personality is that which doesn’t want to be given a handout.  Angle will get to the top of the heap again soon, it’s just a matter of time.

The Brother Ray/Jesse Neal angle is logical, but I don’t care for it.  I know in any job, especially something that can get you famous, people can grow an ego the size of Texas in a short time span.  You would think though, that coming out of the Navy, and coming out of the Team 3D school, Jesse Neal would’ve already been humbled quite a bit and wouldn’t have an ego.  That’s really my only beef with this storyline.

Kazarian with a possible shift towards being a heel, and aligning himself with Ric Flair..?  I didn’t see that one coming in a million years!  Kaz is a good wrestler, and I’m excited to see that he got into the Top 10, but against guys the likes of Abyss and Desmond Wolfe, I don’t think Kaz has a chance in hell.

I’m slightly baffled with Anderson being nice all of a sudden when he’s gone on record saying that he’s an asshole.  You can tell Hardy doesn’t trust him, and why would he, but it’s just odd.  I’m wondering where this whole angle is going to go.