iMPACT Wrestling Results (3/7): Last Stop to LockDown

Source: TNAStars.com

Opening Segment

Let’s just say that I just now got an internet connection that lasted long enough for me to post this…ugh. Anyway…

The last episode of Impact Wrestling from the Impact Zone opens with a graphic for the late Bill “Paul Bearer” Moody. ((Jarrett’s Jab – To my knowledge, Bearer only worked for TNA for a year in the very beginning of the company, but it was a very classy move from TNA to do this. Many of people in TNA have worked with Bearer in some capacity over the years and he’s one of the longest tenured managers that I can remember in pro wrestling. Rest in Peace Paul.))

The narrated opening video package looks back at last week’s main event when Bully Ray and Jeff Hardy teamed up to beat Bad Influence, the Lethal Lockdown teams being announced, and Kurt Angle discovered who the VP of Aces & Eights is. The Mystery Cameraman catches up with Kurt Angle on his way to the ring, and Angle says he’s shocked and pissed off over who the VP of Aces & Eights is. He’s said that he’s held it in all week and he wants to make his announcement to everyone live, and that this is a problem that will have a rippling effect throughout TNA. He promises that we’ll find out who the VP is later tonight.

Austin Aries comes out to the ring to kick off the final Impact in the Impact Zone, and says if there is a better way of opening the show than A Double, they haven’t found it yet. Aries states that he hasn’t been able to get ahold of his tag team partner Bobby Roode, but he did just fine when he took out Hernandez by himself. After his win, Aries went and found Bully Ray and Jeff Hardy and gave them confidence for their match this weekend, but neither one of them appreciated it a damn bit. They disrespected him, so now it’s a whole new game, and after Bully told him that he’d never again be the World Champion, he’s about to prove him wrong because he’s calling out the World Champion Jeff Hardy, and he’s challenging him to a match right here. If Hardy’s the man he says he is, he’ll come out and prove it. Jeff Hardy comes out to the ring in awful pink face paint and stops to acknowledge all his friends with sleepwalking high fives, but Aries dives through the ropes and wipes Hardy out! Aries dumps Hardy into the ring, and the referee rings the bell.

TNA Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries

Aries keeps up the pressure on Hardy, drilling him with kneestrikes to the head and covering for two. Aries chokes Hardy on the ropes before dragging him to the center of the ring and getting a two count. Hardy fights back and gets Aries in the corner for the ten punches, he tries a leapfrog out of the opposite corner but gets caught and sent out to the floor by Aries as we go to commercial.

-Commercial Break-

Both men are trading rights as we come back from the break until Hardy takes Aries down with a headscissors. Aries manages to kip-out and dropkicks Hardy in the face for a two count. Aries mocks the crowd with a chant for Hardy and goes for the brainbuster, Hardy counters to a small package for two, but Aries lays Hardy right back out with a clothesline for two. Hardy knocks Aries into the corner and tries a charge, Aries moves out of the way and Hardy goes down, Aries goes to the second rope and mocks Hardy’s humping, ants-in-his-pance dance before coming off with a second rope splash for two. Aries argues with the referee about the count and gets rolled up for two, then Hardy hits a sitout jawbreaker and connects with a running clothesline in the corner. Hardy connects with a flying clothesline, then comes off the second rope with a howling splash of his own for two. Hardy unzips his shirt and goes for the Twist of Fate, Aries shoves him off into the corner, but charges right into a headscissors and Hardy leverages him out to the floor. Hardy comes off the apron with a crossbody that wipes Aries out, then rolls Aries inside the ring and goes to the top rope for the Swanton. Aries stops him and knocks Hardy back out to the apron, Aries tries to suplex him in, but Hardy slips out the back and hits a pair of Twists of Fate. Hardy signals for the Swanton by taking his shirt off, but Matt Morgan comes into the ring out of nowhere and flatlines Hardy with a Carbon Footprint!

Winner by Disqualification: Jeff Hardy

Morgan drags Hardy outside the ring and puts his head against the post and prepares for another Carbon Footprint that would make Hardy’s head fly into the crowd, but Bully Ray runs out before Morgan can hit the move and chases him off with a chain, then goes to check on Hardy. ((Jarrett’s Jab – I don’t understand what this match did for Aries or Hardy, unless Morgan is being brought in as a heel challenger to Hardy, but that would mean Bully Ray would have to lose. My brain hurts trying to wrap my head around all this. Morgan is a maineventer waiting to happen for YEARS in TNA, but every time he looks like he’s about to win the belt, something happens. I hope this signifies that he’s going to get to at least challenge for the belt at some point this year.))

Sting is backstage and gives Team TNA a pep talk going into this weekend’s Lethal Lockdown match. Sting says he’s going to kick the fun off tonight for the Lockdown Advantage.

-Commercial Break-

Kurt Angle is shown walking backstage with the mask in his hand in the same “Save Olympic Wrestling 2020” shirt he was wearing last week.

The Mystery Cameraman catches up with Matt Morgan backstage and asks him to explain his actions, and Morgan said when he returned that he was going to tear through the roster. Bully’s the handpicked challenger, but Morgan’s just getting started.

We see a video package looking back at the history between Kurt Angle and Wes Brisco, then we go back out to the ring as Brisco comes out to get something off his chest before Angle reveals who the VP of Aces & Eights is. His dad and uncle are two of the greatest wrestlers ever, and they said that Angle is the best wrestler they’ve ever seen. Wes studied Angle, and wanted to be him…until he got the chance to meet him and realized how worthless he really is. He got that tin metal around his neck for a sport the Olympics kicked out, and this weekend in the cage, Wes Brisco will be on top and will use Angle as a stepping stone because everyone knows that a Brisco is better than an Angle. Angle comes out to the top of the ramp with the VP’s mask in hand, and says he remembers is differently. He remembered a little snot-nosed kid asking him all kinds of questions about the sport that’s not good enough for the Olympics. Wes isn’t like his dad and uncle because he doesn’t respect wrestling, Angle made a mistake by trusting him, and it’s a mistake he’s going to correct. Angle says he’s not going to wait for Lockdown because he’s going to kick Brisco’s ass right now, Brisco tries shooting on Angle’s legs as he gets in the ring, but Angle gains control and they brawl out to the floor. Al Snow, Pat Kenney, and D’Lo Brown run in to break the fight up, and Angle starts yelling at Kenney and Snow that “IT’S HIM! IT’S HIM!” while pointing at D’Lo. D’Lo responds to this accusation by kicking Angle DOWNTOWN before laying Kenney and Snow out, then picking up the mask Angle had in hand. D’Lo gets a microphone and says that he thought he’d come down and reclaim a little club property and spoil Angle’s big surprise by revealing that D’Lo Brown is the VP of Aces & Eights. D’Lo tells Angle to recognize that. ((Jarrett’s Jab – I’m trying to think of a single time in D’Lo’s career that he has been relevant, but I can’t think of any. I was hoping that TNA would pull a Russo-like swerve and have AJ Styles be unmasked. It would have at least made sense with Angle’s panic attack and shock. With all the names reveled in Aces and Eights lately from Taz to D’Lo, what’s the point of any of them if Devon is still going to talk? Give Anderson the damn microphone!))

-Commercial Break-

Aces & Eights is backstage celebrating, and D-Lo says that when he joined Aces & Eights, he was told he’d never walk alone, and he trusts Aces & Eights with his life. He asks Sting if he can trust his teammates, and says that he doesn’t think so.

Devon vs. Sting

Sting attacks Devon as soon as he gets in the ring, but Devon nails a spear. Devon unloads with rights in the corner, and then a big clothesline for a two count. Devon cinches in a neck vice and Sting tries to fight his way out. Devon gouged the eyes and hits a neckbreaker for two. Devon slams Sting and comes off the second rope with a headbutt, Sting moves out of the way and starts running Devon over with clotheslines. Sting with a Stinger Splash and then clotheslines Devon out to the floor. Sting goes after him and they brawl around ringside as Sting rams Devon back and forth between the barricades, the ring, and the steps. A fan in the front row throws his drink in Sting’s face, apparently disabling him enough that Devon rolls Sting inside and drills him with a big boot for the win.

Winner by Pinfall: Devon

Devon holds the TV Title belt high. How long has it been since it was defended?.  ((Jarrett’s Jab – I’m not sure what the fan exactly did, but whatever it was, busted Sting open. I thought it was the drink at first, but after the match I could tell it was blood. The fan was wearing a Red Plaid shirt and an Aces and Eights skullcap if that means anything.))

-Commercial Break-

Velvet Sky is backstage talking about how great it feels to have the Knockouts Title back, but Gail Kim comes in and accuses Velvet of conspiring with Taryn Terrell to screw her out of the Knockouts Title. She says she beat Tara in England and she’s beaten Velvet, too. Velvet ignores her, so Gail flips Velvet’s hair. Velvet slaps her in the face and walks off while Gail looks on pissed.

We go backstage to the Gut Check judges, and Bruce and Al announce that Taz will no longer be a part of Gut Check because they can’t have a member of Aces & Eights deciding who gets a contract, then they introduce OVW Owner “Nightmare” Danny Davis as his replacement. They say that this is an extremely tough decision and he even hesitates in announcing their decision, but Ivalisse Velez is eliminated and Lady T’apa will find out if she earned a contract later on tonight. Velez was clearly very disappointed, but thanked the judges and left as the focus shifted back to Lady T’apa thanking the judges. Al told her not to thank them because she doesn’t have a contract yet. ((Jarrett’s Jab – This is where Gut Check confuses me, how does the woman that tapped out in the middle of the ring supposed to be better to the stronger woman that made her quit?))

Chavo Guerrero Jr, Hernandez & Velvet Sky vs. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Gail Kim

Taz bitches about how he just found out he was cut from Gut Check, did not being at deliberation not tip you off. Screw Logic! Daniels and Hernandez start the match off. Daniels dances around Hernandez but and tries to bodyslam him but obviously it didn’t work and he goes flying outside. Chavo and Hernandez frequently tag in and out to isolate Daniels. Double clothesline connects for Mexican America. Bad Influence tries a double clothesline of their own, but Hernandez breaks through and flat lines both of them. Chavo and Hernandez are in control on Daniels, but the Gail taunts Velvet until she gets into the ring to distract the referee. Kazarian can blindside Chavo with a clothesline from the apron while Velvet has the referee distracted. Kazarian comes in and hits a rolling neckbreaker on Chavo for two, then Gail chokes Chavo from the floor while Daniels distracts the referee. Kazarian cinches in a chinlock, Chavo fights out, and Kazarian nails a dropkick to the face. Daniels stops to blow a kiss to Velvet and gets dropkicked by Chavo, who finally makes the tag to Velvet. Wrong girl to blow a kiss at Daniels. Velvet cleans house on the number one contender Gail Kim. Velvet hits the spear for a two count, but Daniels drags Velvet off of Gail and gets slapped. Daniels grabs Velvet by the arm and gets PPPOUUNNCCEEDDDD into next week by Hernandez, who is then taken out with a missile dropkick from Kazarian. Chavo dropkicks Kazarian to the outside and goes after him, Daniels tries an Asai moonsault on the outside, Chavo moves and Daniels takes out Kazarian, then Hernandez takes them both out with a dive. Meanwhile in the ring, Gail hits Eat Da Feet for the win.

Winners by Pinfall: Gail Kim, Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels

Gail tells Taryn Terrell to raise her hand in victory, then gives chews her out as Daniels and Kazarian pose in the ring.

Sting is backstage flipping out and smashing stuff over what happened with Devon and D-Lo Brown. He’s still bleeding and, then we do the requisite “I need to know where you’re at” promo they do EVERY DAMN TIME Sting or Hogan is in a tag match with anyone. Everyone swears their loyalty, and Sting is happy again now that he knows where everyone’s at. ((Jarrett Jab – I actually laughed that there was some blood on the Sting face on his shirt too. Don’t know if that’s intentional or not, but it reminds me of a cartoon where a kid had a face on his shirt that would mirror his expression no matter what. Wish I could remember what that is. Anyways, Impact so far has been a waste. I don’t know how any of this is going to make people want to buy LockDown.))

-Commercial Break-

The TNA camera crews are still trying to stalk AJ Styles in Gainsville. They see his bike by a shack where he’s talking to someone. AJ looks like he’s running away, but he runs with the backstage interviewer by his throat and violent backs him up against his truck. He tells him to leave now before opening the door and shoving the guy in the truck. He shoves the camera away and we go back to the Impact Zone for our next match.

D.O.C. & Garett Bischoff vs. Samoa Joe & Magnus

Joe and Garett start the match as Joe goes after the arm. Garett tries to rake the eyes, but Joe runs him over with a back elbow and tags Magnus in. They argue and Garett goes to the eyes again and bails out to the floor where Doc cheapshots Magnus. Garett unloads with double axhandles to Magnus, Magnus tries to fight back but Garett manages to outpunch Magnus. The fans start a loud “You can’t wrestle” chant at the young Bischoff. Never seen wrestling fans be so right before. Garett and DOC nail a series of charging clotheslines in the corner before DOC unloads with hard right and left hands. Since the video was from earlier this week, AJ Styles just NOW decides to send out a tweet (that he really sent earlier in the day) that says since TNA came to his house uninvited, he’s coming to Chicago next week uninvited. Why show the tweet in the middle of the match. Before or after would have been better. Magnus lays DOC out and tags in Joe, who nearly sends Bischoff into early retirement with some clotheslines and a suplex before dealing out a series of double teams on DOC. Magnus flattens Garett with the Marufuji clothesline, then they hit their old double-team elbow drop on DOC for the win.

Winners: Samoa Joe & Magnus

Joe and Magnus smile at each other and high five. The crowd loved seeing them back together. Why did they break up again?

-Commercial Break-

Kenny King is in the parking lot and since he got here that he’s the main event, and he’s the star of the X Division. He took the belt from Rob Van Dam last week and never looked back, and it doesn’t matter who he faces at Lockdown or how many, because he’ll do whatever it takes to hold onto that title now that he’s won it.

Eric Young and James Storm are backstage as Sting walks in. Eric says that he knows he’s the funny guy, but there’s nothing funny about what Aces & Eights did to him. They tried to take away what he loves the most, and Sting better not be waiting for a punchline because there isn’t one. He’s been in some wars and has met every challenge head on, and he wants the last match tonight. Sting says he appreciates that, but he’s Sting’s wildcard and Storm gets the match tonight.

It’s Gut Check time! Jeremy Borash introduces the judges, then brings Lady T’apa out to face the music. Borash asks her if she felt like the judges saw her best last week in this ring, and as the fans chant “NO” at her, she says she showed the judges and the fans her best, and she may have lost that match last week, but she got here in less than two years and she’d show them what else she can do as her career continues if she got that contract. Davis says the fans are chanting no, but she sees a future for her and he votes yes. Prichard starts off by saying we lost a member of our family a few years ago, and the fans applaud as he tells Paul Bearer/Percy Pringle that he will be missed. The fans chant “rest in peace” as Prichard decides to get back to judging, and he says that Lady T’apa has all the tools, she looks like she belongs here, but he agrees with the fans and the answer is no. Borash gives her 30 second “Kickout” to convince Al Snow that she deserves the shot, and she says she started her career two years ago, and she came here last week to show what she’s capable of doing, and she knows what she can do in the future to help TNA and bring to the Knockouts division. Al says he knows her pedigree, he sees a lot of things in her like how she evokes a reaction from the crowd, so his answer is yes, Lady T’apa earns the contract and is the newest member of the TNA roster!

Robbie E is backstage saying that Robbie T violated the rules in the Book of Bro, and he’ll never be on the list again.

((Jarrett’s Jab – Wrong choice by TNA, the person that tapped out is the one that got the contract. I would have rather her win if this was the plan. And Robbie T is off the list bro? Is it sad that this match has more hype than any other match at LockDown))

Ken Anderson vs. James Storm

Anderson gets hiptopssed into the ropes by Storm, but the Cowboy gets thumbed in the eye and clotheslined. Anderson pounds on Storm down in the corner and whips him hard into the opposite corner and covers for barely a one count. Anderson unleashes a fury of an assult and covers for a two count, and then bars the arm of Storm. Storm gets out and they trade rights. Bulldog and a leaping enziguiri connects before Storm nails the running neckbreaker. Storm charges at Anderson, but gets backdropped out of the ring. Storm manages to skin the cat and nail Closing Time as the rest of Aces & Eights comes out. Team TNA comes out to even the odds, but with Storm distracted by Aces and Eights, Anderson recovers and hits the Mic Check for the win.

Winner by Pinfall: Ken Anderson

-Commercial Break-

Time for the face to face between Bully Ray and Jeff Hardy, the two men that will main event Lockdown this Sunday. Bully says that it’s only three days until Lockdown, and the word on the street is that this will be the biggest TNA PPV of all time. Three days until they do what they do best: make professional wrestling history. They’ve done it before and they’ll do it again, and he’ll tell Hardy something he’s never said before: holding that title is a big deal, but Hardy battling back from all those personal demons is an even bigger deal, and he speaks for the fans and himself when he tells Jeff that he’s proud of him. The crowd chants for Hardy. Hardy states that he’s been through wars with all his challengers, but he’s still the champion. He knows Bully will beat the hell out of him this weekend, but he’s not sure it’ll be enough. Regardless of who wins, he wants Bully to know he’s proud of him too for everything he’s done. Bully says he’s proud of his accomplishments and the history they’ve made, but he’s not proud of himself. He expected to be the greatest of all time, and the only way he can do that and be proud of himself is to beat Hardy. He’s not going over the top of the cage or through the door, he’s pinning Hardy in the middle of the ring, taking the title, and holding it up high as he declares that he’s the World Heavyweight Champion. Hulk Hogan’s music hits and he comes hobbling out on crutches to say that Hardy and Bully are two of the best, and this little company became a good little company, and now everyone in TNA is looking for the next leader, the one who’s going to lead them into the future. If he has to crawl to Lockdown, he’s going to find out who the World Champion will be after Lockdown. Hardy’s been a great champion the last six months, Bully’s been like family to him, and at the end of the day, may the best man win. Hardy and Bully shake hands, but Bully suddenly hustles Brooke out of the ring as Aces & Eights rushes the ring and attacks both men. Team TNA runs out to even the odds, and a huge brawl erupts in the ring. ((Jarrett’s Jab – What the hell was that? The WWE did the same thing on Raw with Cena and The Rock. Unlike TNA they did it right. The show should have ended before Hogan came out. If TNA isn’t a good little company, then give the keys away. After 10 years, you can’t call TNA a little company. It’s a slap in the face to Jeff Jarett, Jerry Jarrett, and every guy who has ever worked there. How can we get Jeff Jarrett’s TNA back? Anyway the ending was what it was, at least they didn’t end it with that Hogan promo.))