iMPACT
September
13, 2007
Recap by
Sassy
Comments by Sassy in
italics.
From No Surrender – we
see the film clip of AJ Styles and Tomko winning the ten man gauntlet match to
secure a TNA tag team title shot; Christian Cage beating Samoa Joe by
disqualification; Sting and Kurt Angle losing the tag team titles to Ron The
Truth Killings and Adam “Pacman” Jones by a three count; Black Machismo Jay
Lethal winning the X Division championship by pinning Kurt Angle in the ring;
Kurt Angle retaining the TNA World Heavyweight Championship by making Abyss tap
out. And we see James Mitchell
sending his son, Judas Mesias, to take Abyss down through the ring to the
unknown waiting below.
Jeremy Borash is in the
backstage/parking lot area with Christian Cage, Tomko and AJ Styles who appear
to have just arrived at the building. JB
asks Christian about the battle between Christian and Joe. Christian says the
feud with Joe is far from over but he isn’t there tonight for Joe.
He is there for the big stooge that interfered where he didn’t belong
and he asks Tomko and AJ what the guy’s name is.
AJ says he wrote the name down but he gave it to Christian. Christian
says the guy he is there for is Matt Morgan. Christian says he talked to Jim
Cornette this week and Jim said that one more time, it will be Christian Cage
again Samoa Joe at Bound For Glory and this time there must be a winner.
Christian said he told Cornette to get the biggest baddest Samoan he could find
and Christian doesn’t care who it is, he will make an example out of him just
as he will make an example out of Samoa Joe. He tells JB they can even get Don
Ho for all he cares. AJ walks past the mic and says “Don Ho?
I love that song.” And proceeds to sing Tiny Bubbles.
I’m a little confused
as to why Christian would be upset with Matt.
I saw No Surrender and all Matt did was save Christian from being
murdered by Samoa Joe.
AJ, Christian and Tomko
are not the Three Stooges but they make a great comedy team. I pick on AJ for
being a lackey for Christian Cage for I pick on Tomko for not standing up for
himself, but these three together can make you chuckle.
All three are talented wrestlers in their own right and I enjoy their
little skits.
Welcome to iMPACT being
broadcast from Universal Studios, Orlando, FL
Announcers: Mike
Tenay and Don West.
Ring announcer:
Tenay tells us that Abyss
will be looking to get revenge on Kurt Angle in a rematch from Sunday’s No
Surrender and it will be in a six-sided steel cage. If Abyss taps out, he will
leave TNA.
Before she even gets to
the ring – ENOUGH already with the Mrs. Angle boring story line. Sorry, folks,
had to get the blah, blah, blah out of my system.
Back to Karen Angle coming
to the ring. She is there to introduce Kurt Angle to the audience. There are
more nays than yeas from the crowd. However, once the smoke clears, the person
standing at the top of the entrance ramp is none other than Sting. Sting says he
doesn’t blame Kurt for what he did at No Surrender because if it had been
Sting, he would have done the same thing. He
tells Mrs. Angle that she cost Kurt and Sting the tag team titles. Sting says he
doesn’t want her apology because it wouldn’t mean anything anyway but he
does want her to tell Kurt the truth, Sting never laid a hand on her. Mrs. Angle
says she fell and hit her head after Sting hit her and she can’t remember
anything. Sting says that she can’t remember anything because it didn’t
happen. West says that “this is weak”. Kurt Angle is standing at the back of
Sting and he lays Sting out with a chair. Kurt then drags Sting to the ring, goes in after him, and has
handcuffs and, if you will excuse this recap writer, I am pushing the mute
button until there is something on Thursday night iMPACT worth watching and
right now that would be anything other than The Thursday night Angle Family
Show.
This entire
opening leads us all to believe that Kurt is not bright enough to watch the
tapes of No Surrender to find out that Sting didn’t hit the broad. This story
line is getting progressively worse. Karen’s outfit improved slightly from No
Surrender but she needs instructions walking in those heels. And as far as
West’s remark “This is weak”, he sure knows how to call ‘em.
Way to go, Don!
We are relieved to go to a
commercial break.
Back from commercial break,
Tenay reminds us that in order for Abyss to get the match tonight against Kurt,
Abyss agreed with Cornette that it would be a submissions match and if Abyss
loses the match, he will quit TNA. But, due to outside interference from other
parties we won’t name, Cornette decided that the match would have to be held
in a six-sided steel cage.
JB is backstage with Abyss
to talk about the match. Abyss tells Angle that tonight is not his last night,
but it will be Angle’s last .breath because Abyss is bringing out Doomsday!
I can tell
everyone right now I don't want Abyss to leave!
Black
Reign from the Deepest Darkest Corner of His Mind
accompanied
by Misty, the Rat
Vs.
Shark Boy
from the Deep Blue Sea
Black Reign charges Shark
Boy as he attempts to enter the ring. Shark Boy delivers shoulder blocks in an
attempt to back Black Reign away from him but when he tries for the second
shoulder block Black Reign brings up a knee and catches Shark Boy in the face.
Black Reign executes a neck breaker with Shark Boy in between the ropes, picks
him up and sends him to the opposite ring post. Black Reign charges and takes
Shark Boy down with a forearm, sending Shark Boy crashing to the mat. Black
Reign picks Shark Boy up again and delivers a flurry of fists to Shark Boy’s
jaw until the referee gets involved. Black Reign brings Shark Boy across the
ring for a bulldog. Again Black
Reign picks up Shark Boy and delivers the schizophrenic, makes the cover and
gets the three count.
The match is over but Black
Reign is not finished with Shark Boy. Black Reign brings out his weapon and
delivers a blow into the back of the head of Shark Boy. Black Reign then brings
Misty’s cage into the ring, removes Shark Boy’s mask, puts Misty into the
mask and attempts to put the mask back over Shark Boy’s head.
Eric Young runs to ringside, pulls Shark Boy from the ring and covers his
head with a towel so we don’t get a look at Shark Boy’s face.
A slight mismatch
between these two. Shark Boy was
obviously the fan favorite even though we knew going into this match it would be
a miracle for Shark Boy to take Black Reign down.
I am not warming up to the Black Reign character although I have nothing
against “dark characters” in wrestling. There is something that just isn’t
working with this one and I hope against hope Dustin Rhodes can turn it around
and pull it off. I have issues with the use of a live rat in the ring and
have voiced a complaint to TNA who, in turn, did not respond.
If one fans voice does not count, perhaps several voices would make a
difference? We’ll find out.
Stay tuned.
We go backstage to Crystal Loutham who is with Team Pacman for an interview. The Truth brags about them being TNA tag team champions, reminds the audience they will be defending their titles against AJ and Tomko at Bound For Glory. The Truth reminds Jones that he is from Atlanta and then tells AJ and Tomko they don’t know whose backyard they will be in and tells them they don’t know the neighborhood. Jones speaks to his Tennessee Titan teammates and tells them he will be back in the NFL.
I liked Leticia's
interviews but Crystal has done a great job so far. She's bright, she uses all
the appropriate facial expressions and works well in front of the camera.
Jones is under the
assumption the NFL wants him back but we have heard different opinions.
Let us hope that someone wants him because TNA fans don’t seem to want
him in the ring and The Truth is getting shortchanged big time by being paired
with this guy.
Again we are grateful
for a commercial break -- no offense, Crystal, it wasn't the interviewer, it was
the interviewees that were getting on our nerves.
We see a promo of Bound For
Glory, Atlanta, GA and the most touted person in the promo is none other than
Jones. If I were a George wrestling fan, I would be insulted that TNA would
think a non-wrestler facing felony charges would bring me to an arena.
If I were the talented wrestlers on TNA’s roster I would be insulted
that TNA would even pretend this guy actually works for TNA.
He collects a big fat paycheck and that’s it.
Non-Title
X Division
The
Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels, representing Triple X
accompanied
by Senshi and Primetime Elix Skipper, Triple X
Vs.
Black
Machismo Jay Lethal, from Elizabeth, NJ
TNA X
Division Champion
accompanied
by The Guru Sonjay Dutt
Before Lethal can remove
his jacket, Daniels charges him, but Lethal is ready. He sidesteps Daniels and opens up with a series of punches,
tosses Daniels into the ropes and takes him down with a clothesline as he comes
off the ropes. Lethal delivers an elbow to the top of Daniels head, throws
Daniels back across the ropes and Daniels grabs the ropes and goes out to the
floor. Lethal goes back against the ropes, comes across the ring and via suicide
dive takes Daniels down to the floor. Lethal stops to remove his jacket and goes
back after Daniels, delivers a fist to the jaw, sends Daniels head down on the
ring apron and sends a staggering Daniels back into the ring. Lethal delivers an
elbow to the head and Daniels, on his knees, tries to get Lethal to stop.
Lethal doesn’t fall for the show and delivers a stomp to the
midsection, sends Daniels across the ropes and sends him to the mat with an arm
drag, then delivers a drop kick. Lethal goes for the pin, gets a two count.
Lethal has Daniels in a side headlock, Daniels sends Lethal face first into the
turnbuckle, then slams him backward onto the mat by pulling his hair. Daniels
goes for the pin, gets a two count. Daniels picks Lethal up by the hair but
Lethal fights back sending fists to the abdomen then delivering fists to the
face. Lethal comes off the ropes and Daniels gets Lethal in a headlock. Lethal
gets back to his feet and delivers elbows to try to break the hold and then
picks Daniels up and slams him back into the corner post making Daniels release
his grip. Lethal attempts to send Daniels across the ring but Daniels gets the
switch sending Lethal into the opposite corner post and is greeted by Lethal’s
boot as he goes after him. Lethal is up on the turnbuckle and comes off with an
elbow but Daniels gets out of the way and Lethal lands on the mat. Daniels flies
across the ring and delivers a high knee to Lethal’s chest, sending him back
against the corner post, picks Lethal up over his shoulders and slams him to the
mat. Daniels covers and gets a two
count. Daniels picks Lethal up and sends him into the ropes, slams him to the
mat again and pins the shoulders, and again gets a two count. Daniels now gets
in ref Hebner’s face to complain about the count, then Daniels looks to the
heavens and heads back to Lethal. Daniels picks Lethal up and sends him into the
ropes, Lethal comes off the ropes and ducks Daniels’ clothesline, hits the
opposite ropes, comes off and ducks another clothesline, comes off the ropes
again, slides under Daniels and comes up with a couple of fists to Daniels’
face, ducks under Daniels’ arm again, comes off the ropes, and takes Daniels
down with a clothesline. Both men are on their feet, Lethal delivers an elbow to
the top of Daniels’ head, then a clothesline, another elbow, and another
clothesline. Daniels is back up but not for long as he falls face first to the
mat. Lethal works the crowd and when Daniels is back to his feet, Lethal
delivers a knee to the head before grabbing Daniels by the back of the head and
flying over the top rope, slamming Daniels against the top rope as Lethal drops
to the floor. Lethal climbs up to the top of the turnbuckle to deliver an elbow
on his way down, Daniels sees it coming and gets out of the way, Lethal lands on
his feet in the ring. Lethal follows up with a high kick to the back of
Daniels’ head, then adds a super kick. Lethal goes for the cover but only gets
a two count before Daniels manages to get a shoulder up. Lethal delivers two
fists and tries to set Daniels up for the lethal combination, but Daniels blocks
the move. He tries again and Daniels slams Lethal to the mat. Daniels
springboards off the second rope and delivers a moonsault, goes for the pin,
only gets a two count before Lethal powers out. Again Daniels looks skyward,
picks Lethal up, sets him up on the top turnbuckle and attempts to deliver a
blow, but Lethal blocks it and gets a blow in of his own. As Lethal comes back
down to the mat, Senshi grabs the ropes, distracting Lethal. Daniels comes at
Lethal with a clothesline, but Lethal gets out of the way sending Daniels into
the corner post. Lethal delivers part of the Lethal combination, but Daniels
grabs the ropes, sending Lethal to the canvas. Daniels looks to the sky, grabs
Lethal and delivers a swinging neck breaker, goes for the pin and gets the three
count.
NOOOOOOO, Lethal had it
won, I KNOW Lethal had it won! Okay,
that’s not fair. Christopher Daniels did a superb job in this match up.
If you did not see the match, you missed another X Division fast paced
action job by both participants. If
you did see the match, did you notice Jay Lethal right after his suicide dive
before the match even started? Lethal
looked one hundred percent confident. I
don’t think I’ve ever seen him look like that before, during or after a
match. If winning the X Division championship did that for Lethal we
have a lot to look forward to during his title reign. Kurt may have put Lethal
over at No Surrender but I felt this was a much better match for the X Division.
JB is now backstage with
Jim Cornette and Matt Morgan. Cornette tells JB that Bound For Glory is already
taking shape. There will be a
fifteen man Fight For The Right match, fifteen men start, four men win and those
four men will fight for the right for a TNA World Heavyweight Championship
match; an Ultimate X match between LAX and Triple X; and the ten girl knockout
gauntlet match with five girls we know and five girls we have never seen.
Cornette tells Matt Christian is going to call him out tonight.
Cornette tells him he knows Matt needs to do what he needs to do but
Cornette doesn’t want any of the wrestlers injured, even Christian Cage and
Cornette knows what Matt is capable of. Matt
tells Cornette not to worry about anything and leaves the area.
Cornette tells JB he would love to stay and chat but he has a big meeting
to attend.
If TNA gave Jim Cornette
the most boring lines in the world, he would manage to pull them off in a way
that made them very entertaining. Cornette
delivers everything in a high speed no nonsense way that keeps you listening.
Next time I'm going to watch to see if Cornette ever takes a breath when he's
talking.
Christian, AJ and Tomko
come down the entrance ramp and make their way to the ring so that Christian can
call out Matt regarding what happened at No Surrender.
We go to commercial break.
We see another promo for
Bound For Glory.
Back from commercial break,
Christian is yelling for Matt Morgan to come out to the ring before Christian
sends Tomko to the back to drag him out. Matt appears and walks down the ramp to
the ring, Christian backs up AJ and Tomko. Matt enters the ring stepping over
the top rope. Christian tells Matt
that he, Christian, wrestled Samoa Joe at No Surrender and that Joe realized he
couldn’t beat Christian so Joe went ballistic and got himself disqualified.
Then Joe took a t-shirt and wrapped it around Christian’s gorgeous
neck…Matt is busy looking at Christian’s neck…and Joe hung Christian over
the top rope and that is the reason Christian wants to talk to Matt.
Christian says he knows Jim Cornette is Matt’s boss, but Christian is
the one who runs TNA and when the marquee attraction is thrown over the top rope
and choked, you don’t wait five minutes to show up and do something about it.
Christian tells Matt he should make sure it never happens. Christian
tells Matt he is going to get a crash course in what it’s like to be the
muscle. Matt takes off his jacket and his shirt, ready to take on all three men,
but Samoa Joe appears out of nowhere, spearing Christian and taking him down to
the mat. Tomko and AJ are trying to pull Joe off of Christian but Matt picks up
AJ and sends him over the top rope to the floor while Joe does the same with
Tomko. Christian has rolled out of
the ring. Matt tells Christian not
to go anywhere and then tells Christian that at his match with Samoa Joe at
Bound For Glory there will be a special enforcer and that special enforcer will
be Matt Morgan. Christian grabs a mic from the announcer’s table and tells
Matt he can’t just appoint himself an official or an enforcer but Cornette
shows up on the opposite entrance ramp and tells Christian that Matt will be the
special enforcer at Bound For Glory so Christian can’t get away with any of
his shenanigans when he wrestles the Samoan Submission Machine. Cornette then
says that speaking of Samoans, Cornette has Christian’s Samoan opponent for
next week and introduces Christian and company to Junior Fatu, formerly known as
Rikishi.
This wasn’t even a
match but it was as entertaining as if it had been.
Junior Fatu looks good and ready to rock and roll with anyone on the TNA
roster. It’s nice to see that Matt Morgan will now be involved in the
wrestling side of things although I wouldn’t mind having him around for as a
bodyguard. Let’s hope the match next week between Junior and Christian is as
good as the hype was this week. I have seen Junior live as Rikishi and I have to
tell you that’s a whole lot of Samoan. He
has a lot of agility for his size and is a talented wrestler.
Welcome to iMPACT Junior Fatu!
We see the six sides of
steel as an introduction to the match between Abyss and Kurt Angle.
As we come back to the iMPACT Zone, we see the steel cage in place for
the submission match between the two.
Non-Title
Six Sides of Steel Submission Match
The
Monster Abyss, weighing 350 lbs., 6’8”
Vs.
Kurt
Angle, from Pittsburgh, PA
TNA World
Heavyweight Champion
Abyss checks under the ring
before Kurt is introduced looking, no doubt, for Judas Mesias who attacked
him after the match at No Surrender.
Commercial break.
Back from commercial break,
we see another promo for Bound For Glory, this time naming several of the
wrestlers who will be involved in matches.
The bell rings and Kurt
immediately goes after Abyss’s knee previously injured at No Surrender.
Kurt kicks and stomps the knee area as Abyss holds onto the ropes to keep
from going down to the mat. One direct kick to the back of the knee sends Abyss
down to the canvas and Kurt continues stomping on the knee, stopping only to
deliver a kick to the head, then back to the knee area. Abyss uses the ropes to
get back to his feet, Kurt delivers a kick to the knee and Abyss counters with a
fist to Kurt’s skull. Abyss continues the assault but Kurt again manages to
deliver a kick to the knee. Kurt
goes back against the ropes, comes off and is met by Abyss who picks him up and
delivers him battering ram style to the steel cage. Kurt hits the mat hard and
Abyss uses the ropes to hold himself up. Abyss then picks Kurt up and throws him
face first into the opposite side of the cage sending him back to the mat one
more time. As the camera pans in, we see Kurt’s forehead is bleeding. Abyss
picks Kurt up again and sends him face first into the steel cage. Kurt is back
to his feet and he delivers a series of boots to Abyss’s midsection, back up
and comes at him, ducks Abyss’s clothesline and goes into the opposite ropes.
Kurt comes off the ropes but is met by an Abyss spine buster. Abyss
delivers several fists to Kurt’s face before turning him over in a Boston
crab. Kurt works himself to the ropes and Abyss must break the hold. Abyss goes
after Kurt working on the injured forehead area, then throws Kurt across the
ring where he runs into the ref sending the ref to the mat. Abyss sets Kurt up
for a choke slam but Kurt delivers a low blow sending Abyss down to the mat.
Kurt immediately attempts to climb up the side of the cage and away from
Abyss but Abyss pulls him back down and into the ring. Kurt is standing on the
top turnbuckle, Abyss climbs up to the second rope and delivers blows to
Kurt’s head and face. Abyss takes Kurt down to the mat with a superplex and
both men hit the mat hard.
We go to commercial break
and are shown a promo for the two-hour iMPACT that will start October 4, 2007.
Back from commercial break,
Abyss sends Kurt into the ropes, Kurt goes to the top and comes off with a
moonsault, landing on Abyss and taking him down. Both men are down to the mat.
The ref is back to his feet, Abyss is down.
Kurt works on Abyss’s head with hard rights, then tries to set up the
ankle lock, but Abyss gets his other boot up and sends Kurt down to the mat with
a kick. Kurt is back to his feet and works on Abyss’s leg, head and chest with
boots all around. Kurt then picks up the steel chair that Abyss brought in when
he arrived in the ring, but the ref is telling Kurt he can’t use the chair and
the distraction of the ref gives Abyss time to send a fist into the chair
sending it directly into Kurt’s face. Kurt
is now down on the mat. Abyss picks Kurt up, sets up for a choke hold but Kurt
uses a boot to break the hold then goes after Abyss with a hard right, but Abyss
blocks the punch and delivers his own series of fists to Kurt’s head and face.
Abyss sends Kurt across into the ropes and as Kurt comes off, Abyss lifts him
high in the air and drops him face first onto the mat. As Kurt gets back to his
feet, Abyss sets up for the shock treatment but Kurt gets out of the hold, sends
Abyss to the mat and goes for the ankle lock. Abyss is in the ankle lock, but he
manages to turn over and roll, sending Kurt face first into the corner post.
Abyss grabs Kurt’s ankles, taking him down to the mat and goes for his own
version of the ankle lock. As Kurt tries to find a way to get out of the hold,
we see a knife come up through the canvas, and then a hand with a purple glove
comes up through the mat from under the ring. As the someone who belongs to the
hand comes up from under the ring, Tenay and West are telling us that it has to
be Judas Mesias, he spits blood out of his mouth. Judas has a piece of barbed
wire in his hands and he throws it around Abyss’s neck to choke Abyss.
Abyss lets go of Kurt and Kurt can’t move fast enough to get out of the
ring, never taking his eyes off of the spectacle in the ring. Judas continues to
choke Abyss in the ring then stomps him. The
ref tries to get to Abyss, but Judas grabs the chair and delivers a slam to
Abyss’s head twice, then takes Abyss’s head down to meet the chair on the
mat. Judas then picks up a bag of glass and goes after Abyss with a piece of
glass and rips down Abyss’s arm, then does the same with the other arm. As
Abyss bleeds from the head and arms, Judas bites Abyss on the forehead then
stands over Abyss in the ring before going back to work on Abyss’s head with
fists.
Now THAT was a match Kurt Angle! Prior to the arrival of Judas, you showed the iMPACT audience that you are tough and you can work the ring even with a power house like Abyss. Abyss did what he does best, manhandling and that superplex was fantastic!
Judas Mesias made his
entire body debut this evening. I
could have done without the blood spitting but the audience seemed to relish his
unique entrance into the iMPACT Zone. We
didn’t see any of his wrestling abilities in this short go around with Abyss.
It will be interesting to see him in future matches against other TNA roster
members, especially Abyss. I couldn't tell what the size difference there
was between the two men but I think Abyss is the taller and larger of the two.
TNA iMPACT !! / THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 6 / PLAY-BY-PLAY ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY BY SASSY
TNA Wrestling . Com
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