A recap of last week’s triple threat main event is aired and Hogan’s frustration over who is calling the shots from the network. We then head into the Impact Zone where Immortal is standing in the ring as Sting and RVD are heading down the entrance ramp but they are cut off by TNA agents. Hulk Hogan says Sting can hide behind the agents all he wants and says he is sick of his head games.
Hogan then demands to know what Sting knows about the network representative. Sting says he will have to wait until next week where “she” will be in the Impact Zone to talk to him face to face. Immortal then takes out the agents as RVD, Sting and Fortune rush the ring as a huge brawl ensues as Immortal is cleared from the ring.
Robert Roode calls out Hogan and says Hogan inspired him to wrestle but he has pride in himself and earned all his money for doing blue collar work. Roode says Hogan hasn’t earned a thing and all he has done is rape and steal from TNA while ruining people’s lives. Roode brings up that Jay Lethal was fired last week and said he did whatever he was told because he loved TNA. Roode introduces himself as “Bobby Roode” and goes on to say that he will stand up to Hogan and says next week everything will change.
Jeff and Karen Jarrett are outside of the Knockout dressing room and Karen is pounding on the door and yelling for Velvet Sky. Velvet comes out and Karen says she knows that Kurt Angle hired her to take her out and says she’s not going to allow that to happen. Karen tells Velvet that she has an offer that she cannot refuse before leaving.
Matt Hardy is backstage and introduces himself as Cold Blood Matt Hardy and says Bobby Roode needs to be taught a lesson. Hardy says he is going to call a special friend and challenge Beer Money for the tag team titles at Sacrifice. Hardy goes on to say if Roode kept his mouth shut he would have had a long successful career, but no he cannot promise that after running his mouth.
Match 1: Suicide vs. Sangriento
The two masked wrestlers lock up and go back and forth in the opening moments of this match. The match spills out to the floor where Suicide takes control of the match before returning to the ring. Suicide hits Sangriento with a dropkick and covers but Sangriento kicks out. Sangriento turns the match into his favor and hits a hurricanrana from the middle rope and picks up a near fall of his own. Sangriento then hits a springboard neckbreaker on Suicide to pick up the pin fall to win the match.
Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are in the office and are discussing who could be working with the network. The two rule out Ric Flair and Hogan says they will run down the entire roster until they find the rat as we head into a commercial break.
Mexican America are in the ring and have the ring decked out with decorations for Cinco de Mayo. The Mexican flag drops from the rafters as confetti flows and Hernandez tells everyone to stand up and salute their new flag. Anarquia explains the meaning of Cinco de Mayo as Sarita invites the Spanish announce team to join the party. Anaquia gives Hector Guerrero props but calls out Willie Urbina for being a Puerto Rican, not Mexican. Sarita kicks Urbina in the gut and they tell Guerrero that he isn’t part of Mexican America and tell him that he is going to get a proper burial.
Ink Inc. run out and chase Mexican America out of the ring as Jesse Neal says they will not allow them to disrespect America and their flag. As Shannon Moore holds up an American flag, Neal tells Mexican America to grab their green cards and let the door hit them in the ass on the way out as we head into a commercial break.
Match 2: Bully Ray & Gunner vs. Christopher Daniels & AJ Styles
Bully Ray tags Gunner into the ring to start things off as he doesn’t want to go up against AJ Styles. Styles quickly takes control of the match and utilizes quick tags with Daniels to work over Gunner. Ray finally gets involved and nails Daniels from behind to turn the tide of the match into their favor. Gunner and Ray wear down Daniels until he is able to make it to his corner and make the tag to Styles.
Styles comes in and nails Gunner with a flying forearm and Pele kick before trying for a springboard but Bully Ray is able to knock him off the rope. The match then breaks down as Ray grabs his chain and chases the referee out of the ring. Tommy Dreamer then runs out to the ring and stares down Ray before grabbing AJ Styles and driving him down to the mat with a piledriver as this match is thrown out. The announce team are shocked over what just went down and hope to get some answers after the commercial break.
Tommy Dreamer is in the locker room and is trashing the place. The camera man tries to talk to him but he doesn’t say anything. AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian are seen backstage and says it wasn’t like Dreamer to do something like this and they are looking to get answers. Elsewhere, Bully Ray catches up with Matt Hardy and says he put Dreamer between a rock and a hard place and he did what he had to do to stay in TNA. Ray says he is going to enjoy toying with his head and walks away with a smile on his face.
Winter is seen in the dressing room and is seen giving Angelina Love a drug. Winter says soon she won’t need them anymore as their two souls connected a long time ago. Winter says that she travel eons to find her and Angelina will soon come back to her as kisses her on the cheek and we head into another commercial break.
Jeff Jarrett’s music hits as he makes his way towards the ring with his wife Karen. Karen gets on the microphone and calls out Velvet Sky as she makes her way to the ring. Karen says the mistress mystery is over and says that almost every Knockout has been a champion except for Velvet. Karen says she had the idea to latch on to Kurt Angle with the thought that everyone would notice her and goes on to say that it will all come to a halt tonight.
Velvet says she has no idea what she is talking about and says the only thing that her and Angle have shared over the past years were conversations. Velvet says she wouldn’t stoop so low to sleep with someone to get ahead, however, she says Karen is right as she hasn’t been a champion. She says that she is no longer BFF’s with Angelina Love, she has her sights set on become Knockouts Champion. Karen says Velvet isn’t going to fool her and says her big daddy pulled some strings to book her in a handicap match against Winter and Angelina Love so she won’t cause anymore problems.
Winter and Angelina Love make their way to the ring and Karen tells them to take Velvet out. Kurt Angle’s music hits as he comes down to the ring and tells Jeff Jarrett that he comes in peace. Angle says he spoke to the network representative and she has made it a mixed handicap tag team match with Angle being with Velvet and Jeff Jarrett being with Winter and Angelina. Velvet then steps in and says that once they are finished with the match, Velvet will be coming after Karen and she will get what is coming to her.
Eric Bischoff is backstage and is irate over the fact that Kurt Angle can now make matches through the network. Rob Terry and Murphy walk up to him and ask what’s wrong and Bischoff says he is tired of non-committal people like the two of them who haven’t shown him a damn thing. Bischoff then books a match between the two of them and the loser is history while the other one will be in Immortal. Bischoff walks off and complains some more while Murphy and Terry stare each other down.
Crimson is seen walking backstage and is looking for Samoa Joe with a sledgehammer slung over his shoulder. Crimson is doing his best imitation from “The Warriors” and telling him to come out and play.
Match 3: Murphy vs. Rob Terry
The bell rings as the two stiffs go at it in the middle of the ring. Terry drops Murphy with a clothesline and picks up a near fall after landing an elbow drop. Murphy takes control for a moment and slams Terry down to the mat before heading to the top rope and leveling Terry with a clothesline for a near fall. Terry is able to counter Murphy’s offense and takes him down with a power slam to pick up the pin fall.
Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are in the office as Hogan says he is done with both Murphy and Rob Terry as they both shake their heads in disbelief. Bischoff changes the subject and says if he were the network, he would pick someone they wouldn’t think about as they are hoping to get to the bottom of all of this.
Samoa Joe is seen walking in the back as Crimson walks up to him. Crimson thanks him for the assist last week and lets know the next time he sees someone attacking Joe, he will turn his head and walk away. Joe says he didn’t need anyone’s help when he was an undefeated phenom. Crimson says he is not asking for his help and tells him to stay out of his way before walking away from Joe.
Match 4: Miss Tessmacher vs. Mickie James (TNA Knockouts Championship)
The match starts as the two work each other with arm bars and trade pin falls in the early going in this match. The two then trade forearm shots as Tessmacher begins to focus on Mickie’s injured shoulder. Mickie begins to fight back with a series of clotheslines before taking Tessmacher down with a neckbreaker. Mickie then nails Tessmacher with a DDT to pick up the pin fall and retain the Knockouts Championship.
After the match, Madison Rayne and Tara come out of the entrance tunnel and Madison tells Mickie that she was the longest reigning Knockouts Champion of all time and was nice enough to give her a shot at the title even though she didn’t need to. Madison wants her to return the favor and demands a rematch at Sacrifice. Mickie agrees to her rematch, however, she wants to know what she will put on the line to get her rematch. Mickie suggests that if Madison loses, her contract with Tara is null and void and she will be free to do what she wants in TNA. Madison agrees to the stipulation as Tara tells Mickie “thank you” for adding the stipulation.
Brian Kendrick is leading Amazing Red and Generation Me in the back and is saying that they are going to talk to Eric Bischoff. Kendrick says they are the best wrestlers in TNA and don’t want the same thing to happen to them that happened to Jay Lethal as we head into a commercial break.
The X Division wrestlers catch up with Eric Bischoff in catering and want to know why Jay Lethal is gone and why they aren’t doing anything. Bischoff says he really cares about their careers and believes in them but tells them all to grow about a foot and a half. Bischoff says he won’t take crap from a bunch of runts and tells them to go somewhere else if they don’t like what they aren’t getting around here.
A video package highlighting Sting and Rob Van Dam is aired. Sting is seen talking about choosing RVD because he was stripped of the title after being brutally beat down by Abyss during the formation of Immortal. RVD says he is still doing everything he has always done even though he never lost the title. Sting talks about having a few tricks up his sleeve while RVD says he has respect for Sting and hopes that Sting doesn’t take that as a weakness.
Match 5: Winter/Angelina Love/Jeff Jarrett vs. Velvet Sky & Kurt Angle (Handicap Mixed Tag Team Match)
Winter starts the match off against Velvet as the two go back and forth until Winter tags in Angelina. Velvet hits Angelina with a flurry of offense and it has little effect on her but is finally able to take her down with a spear. Velvet then turns her attention to Karen Jarrett as Angelina dumps Velvet out to the floor and we head into a commercial break.
We return to the match to see Angelina in control and is beating Velvet down in the ring. Angelina tags Winter back into the match but Velvet is able to crawl to her corner and make the tag to Angle. Angle and Jarrett are now in the match as Angle quickly takes Jarrett down and tries for an Angle Slam but Jarrett is able to counter and picks up a near fall after landing a DDT. Angle is able to counter a sunset flip with an ankle lock and Karen is dragged into the ring as she is trying to help her husband to the ropes.
Velvet tags herself into back into the match as she wants to get her hands on Karen but is attacked from behind by Angelina and Winter. Velvet is able to turn the tide and takes both of them down with a double DDT and she covers Winter to pick up the pin fall.
After the match, Kurt Angle congratulates Velvet on her victory and says he hopes this brings her one step closer to the Knockouts Championship. Angle turns his attention to Karen Jarrett and tells her that Velvet wasn’t the chosen one and she will be here next week so she can meet her face to face. Angle says the chosen one will take her out so he can focus on Jarrett one-on-one with no distractions.
Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are walking in the parking lot and are discussing whether or not Vince Russo is dealing with the network. As they approach their car, Hogan notices that “you’re next” is spraypainted on the drivers side. Hogan wonders if Goldberg is the one working with the network as they drive off. The X Division wrestlers are then seen laughing among themselves about how they got back at the two as Impact comes to a close.
Quick Results
– Sangriento defeated Suicide by pin fall.
– Bully Ray & Gunner against Christopher Daniels & AJ Styles went to a no contest.
– Rob Terry defeated Murphy by pin fall to earn a spot with Immortal.
– Mickie James defeated Miss Tessmacher by pin fall to retain the TNA Knockouts Championship.
– Velvet Sky & Kurt Angle defeated Angelina Love/Winter/Jeff Jarrett by pin fall in a handicap mixed tag team match.
Starman’s Thoughts
Impact featured a handful of matches on tonight’s show – none of which were particularly good – but they did a decent job hyping next week’s show and there were a few shinning moments that happened outside of the ring of note.
For starters, Robert Roode (or is it Bobby Roode again?) delivered some of his best work on the microphone tonight. It was a very spirited promo that touched on a few topics that were very true for the most part. He, along with Fortune and a few others, helped build TNA only to see other big names come in a take their spots and their money.
Roode is quickly becoming the mouthpiece for Fortune, and I am digging it. He has been stepping up quite a bit lately and I’m assuming that Roode will be referring to himself as Bobby once again to put over his “blue collar” work ethics. I’m not sure how well his blue collar character will mesh with his man with a ton of money character, but I am wait and see where this is all heading. Roode deserves to be a bigger player and I hope this is his opportunity to shine.
Aside from Roode in the opening segment, TNA put some hype into next week’s show with Sting revealing that the network representative will be at Impact next week and will meet with Hulk Hogan face to face. On top of that, Kurt Angle let it be known that his “mistress” will be revealed and that she will take out Karen Jarrett. I haven’t read the spoilers to find out who is behind the network, but I did see who is aligned with Angle, and it wasn’t who I first thought it was going to be. Should be an interesting show next week.
Much like Robert Roode did tonight, Velvet Sky also impressed me on the microphone tonight. Velvet is much more tolerable to listen to when she isn’t constantly screaming like the has in the past. She really seemed comfortable on the mic and looks like she is finally ready to step out of the shadow of Angelina Love.
Jay Lethal was recently released from TNA and probably got mentioned more on tonight’s show than he had been over the past four months. Both Robert Roode and Brian Kendrick brought up Lethal being released, with Kendrick using it as a reason to gather some of the X Division stars to confront Eric Bischoff. With Lethal getting so many mentions on television, I am starting to wonder how long he will be gone from TNA. I have heard rumors that Destination X will feature all X Division matches (of course, that has been said in the past as well), but this would be a good way to bring Lethal back into the fold with a surprise return. The division confronting Bischoff is also a good way to plant the seeds for this pay-per-view to take place.
A new masked luchadore debuted tonight on Impact that goes by the name of Sangriento. Like many of the masked wrestlers in TNA, it is another wrestler on the roster who is filling the role, and that person is Amazing Red. Red was seen on the show as part of the X Division group that confronted Eric Bischoff, so why they just didn’t let Red be himself in his match against Suicide is beyond me, unless TNA is trying to get more bang for their buck by adding a new X Division wrestler to the roster without actually adding a new X Division wrestler to the payroll.
Mexican America had another lackluster promo in the ring where they beat down Willie Urbina for not being Mexican, but for being Puerto Rican. Ink Inc. came out and chased them out of the ring, which made a bit of sense seeing that Jesse Neal was part of the US Navy and would fight for the honor of his country. What didn’t make sense, though, was that Shannon Moore’s recent heel tendencies seemed to have disappeared without any mention. A little consistency would be nice.
Miss Tessmacher hasn’t been seen much over the past four months, nor has she barely been in the ring, but for some reason she was given a shot at the TNA Knockouts Championship against Mickie James. A non-title match would have probably been more logical in this match since I’m not sure what Tessmacher did to deserve a shot at the title. As for her skills, she was very green in the match and it looks like she needs some more training. Thankfully this was just a one-off match for her as Mickie will be resuming her feud with Madison Rayne. Hopefully Tessmacher won’t get another shot at the title until she deserves it… if ever.
All in all, it was a pretty standard show with forgettable matches but furthered some angles and set the pieces in place to put on a noteworthy show next week.