Full Credit: Jeff Hamlin, WrestlingObserver.com
7.12 TNA Impact Report
By Jeff Hamlin (jhamlin@vilcom.com)
The Big News: In a booking move that hasn’t been done since last week, the team comprising the Match of Champions couldn’t get along in the main event. The rest of the Victory Road PPV was finalized. It will include the return of the Ultimate X match, another chapter of the Eric Young/Robert Roode saga and the possibility of Brother Ray as TNA World Champion.
Abyss defeated Lance Hoyt. Abyss didn’t have his face painted like last week. Too bad. He looked like Gene Simmons after Kiss’ Alive III album. Well, if Gene had a 38 waist. Mike Tenay referred to Chris Park coming out from hiding to honor Sting. Hoyt and Christy Hemme made out in the entrance. This was strange booking. If Hoyt has potential as a heel, why feed him to Abyss now? Especially since Hoyt and Hemme look like a good pairing. Having said that, they did try to keep Hoyt strong with an extended match. Crowd wasn’t into Abyss as much as you’d think. Hoyt decked Abyss before the bell, but Abyss hammered him with a big boot and a clothesline over the top rope. Abyss sent Hoyt to the rail and brought a chair into the ring. Hoyt cut Abyss off before he got into the ring, but Abyss sent him down with a running splash into the corner and the Umaga ass bump. Abyss missed the inverted splash off the second rope, and Hoyt got a running kick to the head. Hoyt missed the world’s tallest moonsault, and Abyss teased the choke slam. Hoyt broke it, but Abyss caught him with a series of clotheslines and got the choke slam for a near fall. Abyss went after the chair, but Hemme grabbed it, allowing Hoyt to get the big boot. Hoyt grabbed the chair and teased the Van Terminator, but Abyss got the chair and nailed Hoyt with it. Shockingly, he got a two count. Hoyt recovered immediately, but got caught with the Black Hole Slam for the pin. Good match, but it was unnecessary to have Hoyt kick out of the chair shot. Speaking of unnecessary, Abyss brought the bag out from under the ring, exposing glass. Basham pulled Hoyt out of the ring, but for some reason, Hemme just stood around like a total bonehead. Abyss teased choke slamming her into the glass, but A.J. Styles and Tomko jumped Abyss from behind. They teased sending him to the glass, but Sting came out and cleaned house with the baseball bat. Sting handed Abyss the baseball bat, then gave the microphone to Abyss. ***
Abyss’s first interview consisted of “Styles. Tomko. Three days till Doomsdayyyyy!!!†Tenay screamed about how they had waited five years for that moment. Then they cut right to the opening package and never mentioned it again.
A ten man Ultimate X gauntlet match; Robert Roode/Ms. Brooks vs. Eric Young/Gail Kim, Abyss/Sting vs. Tomko/Styles and Christian Cage vs. Chris Harris was officially announced for Victory Road.
A video package profiling the Match of Champions aired. Kurt Angle did his cocky heel persona, looking like a heel Shawn Michaels with a better wardrobe.
Christian Cage was upset that he didn’t get a world championship match at Victory Road. Styles wanted to know who the fourth person was for tonight’s eight-man tag match against Team 3-D/Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. Cage brought out Robert Roode. Styles acted jealous because Cage called Roode kid, while Tomko just laughed at it all.
Kaz defeated Havok and Martyr in a three way. Winner got to be Ultimate X gauntlet match. As great as Kaz looked last month against Sabin, there wasn’t much heat. Havoc and Martyr double teamed Kaz early. They brawled out to the floor, where Kaz was rammed backfirst into the apron. Martyr and Havok gave Kaz the old RockerPlex for a two count. Kaz made a comeback with kicks and punches, but Havok threw him over the top rope. Kaz flipped out of an atomic drop and gave Havok a drop kick. Martyr teased the superkick, but Kaz gave him a reverse leg sweep and a jackknife cradle for a pin. Raven caned Kaz after the match, and Martyr and Havok joined in as well. Martyr superkicked Kaz, and Raven blew his nose into a rag and rubbed it in Kaz’s face. Martyr and Havok continued the caning afterwards. *
They ran down the past of the Ultimate X match. Looks like Senshi and Petey Williams will be two of the competitors.
James Storm invited Don West for drinks in a bar. Despite West’s overacting, this was pretty funny. They talked about Rhino’s past alcohol problems. Storm is good as the redneck asshole. Storm recommended Rhino seek counseling at AAA. When West corrected him and said AA, Storm said maybe AAA could drive Rhino to the AA meetings.
A Chris Harris retrospective aired, detailing his entire stint in TNA. It’s interesting that TNA has pushed new singles stars at the same time ratings have gone up. Effective piece.
For the first time in months, an anti-smoking commercial aired with, of all people, Ron Killings.
James Mitchell did another promo profiling “his son†arriving soon. His name will be Judas Mesias
Kevin Nash moderated an old school vs. new school. Bob Backland and Jerry Lynn were on one side, while Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin were on the other. Shelley called Lynn the lead singer of Nickelback. They ended up in a comedy brawl. Shelley can be funny. So can Nash. As for Backland, well….
Samoa Joe, Team 3-D and Kurt Angle defeated Christian Cage, A.J. Styles, Tomko and Robert Roode. Standard face team teasing dissension which they do every week. Part of the match was designed to have Roode show he can hang with the main eventers. The story was Angle showed total indifference in the match while his teammates were busting their asses. Roode started whaling away on D-Von, who reversed a hip toss into a drop kick and a clothesline into the corner and elbow smash for a two count. Roode tagged Cage, who took a shoulder block from D-Von for a two count. 3-D gave Cage a flapjack. Ray held Cage up awhile for a vertical suplex. Joe tagged Ray, who gave Cage an inverted atomic drop, a dropkick and a mistimed senton where Joe landed on Cage’s face. Joe nailed Cage with a kneedrop for a two count. Cage tagged Tomko. After trading forearms, Tomko gave Joe a big boot, but Joe came back with a kick to the head. Roode tagged in and received a series of elbows. Joe and Ray started arguing, while D-Von tagged in. D-Von choke slammed Roode as they went to a commercial. Before the ad started, West screamed how the faces would get ruined because they couldn’t get along. This after they stayed on offense for the first five minutes. During the break, they built heat on D-Von with Roode delivering a spinebuster and Styles landing his gorgeous drop kick. Tomko powerslammed D-Von for a two count. D-Von came back with a sloppy tornado DDT. Joe made the hot tag and unloaded on Styles. He got a powerslam and a powerbomb into the STF before Roode made the save. It turned into a 7-way brawl, while Angle just watched with indifference from his corner. 3-D gave Roode a reverse 3-D. Cage went for the unprettier on Ray, but D-Von came off the top with a Doomsday Device. 3-D gave Roode a 3-D, but Tomko gave Ray a big boot. Joe gave Tomko a death valley driver, but Styles ran in for the Pele kick. Joe responded with a clothesline, and catapulted Styles into Cage, who was standing on the top rope. Joe lifted Styles for the musclebuster, but while lifting him up, Angle finally tagged in, chop blocked Joe who landed the move on Styles. Angle then pinned Styles for his only offensive move of the match, to play it up like he was a glory hog. **3/4
