TNA Impact – 6/24/10

After last week’s edition of TNA Impact, will we finally get the answers to all of our questions?  What prompted “The Monster” to return, and will “The Icon” be forced to speak?  Find out here:

Video Package: Last week’s 3-way match for the #1 contender spot ends in a triple count out and Abyss morphs back into “The Monster” destroying Mr. Anderson & Jeff Hardy.  Hulk Hogan is concerned.

Hulk Hogan to the ring.  “Because of last week’s count out, I’ve decided to make it a 4-way at Victory Road for the TNA Title.  Rob Van Damn vs. Abyss vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson

• Abyss comes down to the ring (with his old theme).  Hulk asks him, “Where is he going with all of this?”
• Abyss responds, “I don’t know if you know the seriousness of this… I’m doing this for one reason, THEY told me to… THEY are the one who told me what to do, and Hulk, THEY are coming and they’re going to be here sooner than you think… Nothing is going to be able to stop it!”
• Hulk starts to ask about their bond, and Abyss cuts him off, “THEY told me that I don’t need you anymore… When THEY get here, they’re taking TNA over… and THEY told me, I don’t need this garbage ring anymore…”
• Abyss then chokes Hulk out, and shoves the Hall of Fame ring in his mouth.  He then goes under the ring and grabs a bag of broken glass and dumps it in the ring.
• RVD runs down to stop Abyss, but to no avail.  Then Mr. Anderson runs down with a chair and cracks Abyss in the back three times before grabbing Hulk & RVD to bail out.

Backstage: Hulk and Eric Bischoff are talking about Abyss and how they’re so unsure of where things went wrong, and who got to him.

Backstage: Madison Rayne is marveling at herself in the mirror while Velvet Sky is looking upset in the background.  Madison tells her to get her head in the game because if she doesn’t it’ll be her carried off on a stretcher just like Lacey Von Erich.

Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky
WINNER: Velvet via DQ after Angelina hit her with a DDT on a chair

• Post match, Madison came down to the ramp, and Angelina love points at here saying, “Two down, one to go!”

Backstage: Jay Lethal is getting ready for his match when his brother walks in the locker room.  They talk a little bit about his match with Ric Flair at Victory Road.  Lethal’s brother heads to catering to grab something to eat.

Backstage: Eric Young & Kevin Nash are walking and talking.  Nash warns Young to keep his distance now since Scott Hall & Sean Waltman are gone.  He doesn’t want EY to get lumped with him when Eric Bischoff puts the hammer down on him.

Matt Morgan to the ring.  “I hate to say it, but I told you so… I knew I was walking out of Slammiversary victorious…”  He then calls out Hernandez who’s in Mexico doing PR for TNA.  Obviously, he doesn’t come out.  Morgan then rants about how Hernandez is afraid of him and that at Victory Road there will be nowhere to run when they square off inside a steel cage.

• Morgan is jumped from behind by Homicide (Hernandez’s ex-partner from LAX).  Morgan quickly turns it around and then hits Homicide with a Carbon Footprint against the post, the same move that put Hernandez out of action.

Backstage: AJ Styles and Ric Flair walking through the back entrance area.  AJ asks about if Ric saw a package he was supposed to be getting today, and Ric doesn’t want to deal with it.  He’s looking for someone right now.

Jay Lethal vs. Kazarian
WINNER: Lethal via pin fall after hitting the Lethal Injection (Toss up, neck breaker)

• Mid match, backstage we see Flair and Styles attacking Lethal’s brother back in catering.
• Post match, Flair appears on the screen.  Lethal sees them beating up his brother.  Lethal runs to the back to help.

Jeff Jarrett to the ring for his match with Sting, but he doesn’t come out.  Jarrett looks up to the rafters and sees him, so he goes to the back to meet him.  They brawl down the stairs heading back to the Impact Zone.

• Cameras switch back to the ring, where we see Sting.  Jeff doesn’t realize that he’s beating up a fake.  By the time Jeff gets the fake back to the ring, he doesn’t see the real Sting and gets caught from behind.  Sting starts to choke him out with the baseball bat, and then beats him with it.
• Sting then takes the mic, “If you’re going to walk with them, you’re going to go down with them!”

Video Package: 10/10/10 – Bound For Glory on PPV from Daytona Beach, Florida.

Video Package: Eight months ago, Desmond Wolfe debuts with TNA and makes a direct impact trying to take out Kurt Angle.  Their feud was epic!

Desmond Wolfe with Chelsea vs. Kurt Angle
WINNER: Angle via submission after locking on the Ankle Lock

Backstage: Mr. Anderson talking about Abyss using his toys last week… He’s excited about this week’s match because this week weapons are legal and he’ll use them gladly.

Video Package: Doug Williams talking down about the X-Division and how he’s the new prototype of the X-Division.

Doug Williams is in the ring talking about the attack from last week by Brian Kendrick.  He says he now needs to educate the X-Division about professionalism and sportsmanship.  He calls out Kendrick.

• Kendrick to the ring, “At Victory Road, the X-Division title will be on the line, but there’s some stipulations.  It’s an Ultimate-X match, and the other stipulation is that it can also end by way of submission.
• Looks like things might end peacefully, but Williams tries to attack Kendrick.  Brian turns it around on Doug, and puts him into that Cobra Clutch variation.

Backstage: Abyss talking to himself.  “Nobody seems to understand… I’m going to do what I have to do because they told me to… when they get here TNA won’t be the same, and there will be no stopping them or The Monster Abyss.”

Backstage: Shannon Moore and Brother Ray brawling.  We see Jesse Neal laid out on the floor as security breaks up the fight.  Brother Devon runs in and grabs Ray by the shirt and asks him what his problem is.  He then says, “I promise you, do NOT test me!”

Tag Team Championship Tournament
Beer Money Inc. vs. Ink Inc.
WINNERS: Beer Money via pin fall after hitting the DWI

• Jesse Neal didn’t come out at the beginning with Shannon Moore because of the beat down.  He did make his way out to the ring eventually.
• Mid match, Tommy Dreamer, Raven & Stevie Richards come through the crowd and have a seat to watch the match.

Backstage: Kazarian and AJ Styles are arguing in the locker room about losing to Jay Lethal.  AJ spots his package, and it’s his new TNA action figure.

Falls Count Anywhere – No DQ Match
Abyss vs. Mr. Anderson
WINNER: Abyss via pin fall after hitting the Shock Treatment

• Post match, Abyss throws Anderson to the ramp, and leads him to the stage.  Abyss goes to slam Anderson off, but it’s countered.  Anderson looks like he’s going to hit the Mic Check off the stage, but it’s countered.  Abyss then finally Choke Slams him off the upper stage to the lower stage.
• While Abyss is enjoying the moment, Hulk Hogan comes out from the tunnel with a steel chair and cracks Abyss in the back with it.  Abyss whips around and security gets between him and Hulk as broadcast goes off the air.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

The opening sequence was sort of silly, with Abyss shoving the ring in Hogan’s mouth and trying to choke him out, but I think when it comes down to this turn for Abyss it was necessary to sever all ties with Hulk.  Now there’s bad blood between them and it works.  I can only imagine who is the THEY that Abyss is talking about.  The main event wasn’t good.  For it being billed as Falls Count Anywhere and No DQ, it was really lame.  They really didn’t get to much into the weapons and the action didn’t leave the ring side area until after the bell.

Now that Flair has assaulted Lethal’s brother it has gone from just business to personal.  The one thing I didn’t like about what happened tonight was that they didn’t show Lethal going to rescue his brother.  I would’ve like to see them rectify that situation either with Lethal finding him beaten down or actually getting into it with Flair and Styles.  Missed opportunity there.

Sting once again outsmarts Jeff Jarrett.  Shocker!  Remember, Sting is now all about deception!  This rivalry will be drawn out all the way until Victory Road or even longer.

The pot keeps boiling and it’s going to boil over soon enough for Team 3D.  Devon is getting pissed at Ray, and it’s only a matter of time before they come to blows.  I’m looking forward to the fallout.

WWE dark matches have the cameras rolling once again as Superstars is on the air.  Who got a chance to show their stuff this week?  Find out right here: