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TNA Impact Report

Blaine van der Griend / November 30, 2012 - 11:09am

I missed the first five minutes of this show, so you’ll just have to bear with me.

Hulk Hogan kicks the show off by demanding some answers from Bully Ray about the nature of the relationship between Ray, and Hogan’s daughter Brooke. Ray brings up that Hogan has trusted him for the last several weeks, since he’s been helping the Hulkster out with his Aces and 8s problems. Ray thinks that Hogan has a lot of nerve to be questioning his intentions at this point, and asks Hogan if he really wants to know who the number one man is in his daughter Brooke’s life. As things start to heat up in the ring, Brooke comes out to try and ease the tension. She tells her dad that she’s not 18 anymore. Hogan tells Brooke that he doesn’t care how old she is, and that he doesn’t want her to get romantically (or sexually) involved with a wrestler; especially not Bully Ray. The argument continues between Ray and Hogan, as Brooke is between them. Austin Aries then appears on the big screen and tries to get his puppets to dance some more, stating that it’s clearly obvious what’s going on here. Aries continues that while Hogan is once again dealing with his own personal issues, he is neglecting some of the X-Division stars, who are surrounding Aries in Hogan’s office. Aries then lies down on Hogan’s desk and says it’s uncomfortable, telling Brooke that he doesn’t know how she does it. Hogan then rushes to the back, as Brooke is about to cry (father of the year award for sure).

Match #1: Gail Kim vs. Mickie James

I completely forgot that Mickie James was the number one contender for the Knockouts Title. Gail tries for the quick win with a schoolgirl, but Mickie kicks out at one. Gail then pulls Mickie by the hair into a backbreaker. Gail delivers a bowtie neckbreaker for two. She then applies a seated headscissor and spins her hips to drive Mickie’s head into the canvas, which was pretty unique. Mickie comes back with a flapjack and then nips up. She misses the seated senton off the top rope, which allows Gail to come at her with a dropkick, sending Mickie into the far corner. Mickie responds with a spinning crescent kick, which she calls the Mick kick, but only gets two. She then delivers a hurricanrana out of the corner and then a neckbreaker for two. Gail avoids the swinging DDT, but Mickie is able to rebound with a tornado DDT for the win.

Winner: Mickie James by pinfall

James Storm tells the Reaction crew that he made a bad choice two weeks ago when he put his title shot on the line against Bobby Roode. He says the one thing he doesn’t regret was that he was trying to defend his daughter’s honor. This is interrupted by AJ Styles, who tells Storm that he has a lot of nerve to whine about not receiving a title shot at the next pay per view, while AJ has to wait an entire year before he can get another title shot. Storm tells AJ that he needs to worry less about that, and more about winning their match tonight.

Hulk Hogan barges into his own office (a full 12 minutes after the first segment!). Hogan immediately tries to put Aries in his place and orders him to get off of his desk. Hogan then turns to Kenny King (who?) and tells him that he hasn’t done anything in this company, so why does he think he deserves a title match. King says this has got to be some kind of joke. Aries cannot seem to shut his mouth in the background, and I just realized that Aries is one of the potential challengers for RVD tonight. Hogan tells Aries to shut his mouth and says that as of right now, Kenny King is out of consideration (we’ll see you in another three months), and then he orders everyone else out of his office.

Bobby Roode comes out for the next segment. He says he made a statement last week, when he speared Jeff Hardy. He says the message he wanted to send was that at Final Resolution, Roode will be the new TNA Heavyweight Champion. Roode then brings up that last week was Open Fight Night, and Hardy was called out by a no-named rookie. He says it was the same rookie that Roode took out in three seconds. Roode then tells Christian York that if he wanted to call someone out, he should have called out the man who is the longest reigning Heavyweight Champion in the history of this company, instead of calling out someone like Jeff Hardy. This is interrupted by Christian York himself. Roode gets in York’s face and tells him that his 15 minutes of fame were up last week, and he better make a quick exit. York then decks Roode and clears the ring of him. He then picks up the mic and tells Roode that if he wanted to be called out so badly, York is calling him out right now. The two of them exchange a few more words, before we head to commercial.

Match #2: Bobby Roode vs. Christian York

There’s a very awkward spot where Roode hits a shoulderblock and then takes about a full minute to mouth off to the crowd, before finally running the ropes again. The action spills to the floor, where York reverses Roode into the steel steps. York then heads to the top rope, but Roode shoves Referee Brian Hebner into the ropes, which causes York to get crotched on the turnbuckle. Roode snaps off a vertical suplex and then comes off the middle rope, but lands face-first into York’s boot. York fires away with his own flurry of offence. He finishes the sequence with a press slam. He then heads upstairs and delivers a double-footed stomp to Roode’s back, as Roode is bent over. York follows up with a cannonball in the corner. He then tries the mood swing (swinging neckbreaker), but Roode counters. York re-counters into an inside cradle, which gets him the nearest of near falls. Roode comes back and applies the crossface for the tap out.

Winner: Bobby Roode by submission

After the match, Roode grabs a chair, but Jeff Hardy runs to the ring and cuts him off. Hardy goes for the twist of fate, but Roode avoids it and heads back up the ramp.

Up next is a quick reminder of all the havoc that Aces and 8s have wreaked in the last several weeks.

Back to live action, Aces and 8s are in their clubhouse. The VP says they are getting one Christmas present early, as DOC gets a match with Kurt Angle. Devon then looks into the camera and demands a match for the Television Title, which he never lost. He tells Hogan to make it happen next week.

Earlier footage is shown of the Gut Check judges in the back, discussing Wes Brisco. Pritchard mentions that Brisco is second generation, to which Al Snow responds that he’s trained a lot of wrestlers who are second generation, but it doesn’t mean that they’re as good as their dads. Taz actually brings up a couple of good points that Brisco is the first Gut Check contestant who won his match (but is a win against Garrett Bischoff really a win?). Taz also mentions that Brisco has been endorsed by Kurt Angle, which is a huge deal.

Back to live action, Bruce Pritchard is panicking in the back, as he can’t seem to find Al Snow. Kurt Angle walks up to him and once again pleads with him to hire Wes Brisco. Pritchard says he’s busy at the moment, but will take Angle’s words into consideration. He then tells D-Lo to go find Snow.

Christopher Daniels and Kazarian come out. Kazarian refers to the crowd as butt nuggets. He continues that it doesn’t matter that AJ beat him last week, because in less than two weeks’ time, the only words that are going to be repeated in AJ’s head over and over again will be ‘Ladies and gentlemen, your winner and FOREVER the better man, Christopher Daniels!’

Match #3: Christopher Daniels and Kazarian vs. AJ Styles and James Storm

AJ misses his explosive dropkick in the early going, which I believe is the first time that’s happened. Storm regains the momentum for his team with a neckbreaker on Kaz and then a back body drop to Daniels. The heels regain the advantage when AJ gets in the ring. Daniels hip tosses Kaz on top of AJ with a leg drop. Kazarian follows that up with an explosive dropkick of his own. Storm tags back in and picks up the pace again. The heels take control, after Storm attempts the backstabber, but Daniels holds Kazarian by the hands, to prevent the move from happening. Daniels delivers a slingshot elbow drop, which is followed by a slingshot leg drop by Kazarian. AJ finally gets the hot tag. He takes Daniels down with a spinning heel kick and then plants Kaz with a belly-to-back faceplant. He then delivers a hangman’s neckbreaker to Daniels. AJ goes for the win, but gets distracted by Kaz. He tries to meet Kaz on the floor, but ends up taking a nasty spill out there. The heels deliver a combination neckbreaker/sitout powerbomb to AJ for two. AJ misses the Pele, but Storm is able to come in off a blind tag and quickly flicks Daniels’ light switch off with the last call super kick for the win.

Winners: AJ Styles and James Storm by pinfall

After the match, Storm celebrates in the ring, but AJ takes a long walk to the back and sells that he is frustrated.

The remaining three X-Division stars reenter Hogan’s office. Ion is running his mouth, but Hogan quickly shuts him up. Kash gets in Hogan’s face, telling him that he knows RVD better than anyone in the room. He adds that he’s beaten RVD in the past. As Aries continues to get under Hogan’s skin, Hogan says that the only person in the world who hates Aries more than he does is Rob Van Dam (what?). So with that, it’ll be Aries challenging Van Dam tonight (Aries being rewarded for his actions last week seems fair).

Samoa Joe is in the back and he apparently has a message for Devon. He admits that Devon was never beaten for the TV Title, but he did abandon it. Joe then challenges Devon to come and try to get his belt back next week.

Joey Ryan comes out and tells Christy Hemme to go make herself useful and make him a sandwich. He continues that he’s here to prove that size matters. With that said, Ryan introduces Matt Morgan (and the cape is back as well).

Match #4: Douglas Williams vs. Matt Morgan

Morgan uses his power to his fullest advantage in the early going. He chokes Williams with his boot in the corner and then plants him with a sidewalk slam. Williams tries to fight back, but he gets caught with a chokeslam. Morgan then drives one home with the carbon footprint for the win.

Winner: Matt Morgan by pinfall

D-Lo Brown approaches Bruce Pritchard backstage, telling him that he couldn’t find Snow. Pritchard says they’re getting ready to do Gut Check in a few minutes, and they need to do something. D-Lo says he’ll step in to replace Snow if necessary.

Wes Brisco joins the Gut Check judges (and D-Lo Brown) in the ring for his evaluation. Before things get started, Pritchard says that Al Snow hasn’t shown up at the Impact Zone tonight, and nobody knows where he is. He also mentions that D-Lo is replacing Snow tonight, as D-Lo is a Gut Check judge on the road (they actually do these segments on the road?). Pritchard says he’s known Brisco since he was a kid, and that he’s known his father and uncle personally. Pritchard says Brisco’s match last week wasn’t great, but he says that there is still room for improvement and he does think that Brisco has a future in TNA, and therefore, his answer is ‘Yes.’ Taz says that he’s also known Brisco’s dad for a while, and he also respects Kurt Angle, who has endorsed him as well. Taz says no, based on the fact that Brisco’s match wasn’t the greatest last week. Brisco is then given the mic and cuts an emotional promo. He says he’s doing this for his family and his fans (what fans?). D-Lo then takes the microphone and says that he’s unsure if Brisco is ready to be on this roster. D-Lo says if Brisco’s in-ring work is good enough for Bruce Pritchard, then it’s good enough for him, and he says ‘Yes.’ After Brisco passes the test, Kurt Angle and Garrett Bischoff come out to congratulate him.

Hulk Hogan tells the Reaction crew that he isn’t in the mood for interviews today. He is then interrupted by Bully Ray, who asks if Austin Aries pissed him off last week, because he sure as hell pissed Ray off. Ray then tells Hogan that he is once again confusing business with personal. Hogan turns it around, and says that perhaps it is Bully Ray who is confusing business with personal.

Footage from Spike TV’s Ink Master is shown, with Jeff Hardy as their special guest, which will air next Tuesday.

ODB cuts an emotional promo, saying that she was waiting for weeks for her husband to finally come back, and then when he does, the whole thing with Aces and 8s happened. ODB chooses not to continue, saying that she’s not in the mood for this.

Austin Aries is in the back with Hulk Hogan. He thanks Hogan for playing right into his hands earlier, as him getting back his X-Division Championship was his plan all along. Hogan tells Aries that he had a plan of his own, which is to watch Aries get his teeth kicked out by RVD.

Match #5: Rob Van Dam vs. Austin Aries for the X-Division Championship

There is some very nice chain wrestling in the early stages of this match, as these two appear to have great chemistry. Aries avoids a dropkick and tries a hilo, but wastes too much time mocking Van Dam from the apron, and catching nothing but knees. Van Dam capitalizes with a dropkick, knocking Aries to the floor. RVD meets him out there with a plancha. Aries attempts his tope under the middle rope, but Van Dam counters with a spin kick in mid move (or at least he tries to, as it was botched terribly). Aries avoids Van Dam’s spin kick off the apron, and then delivers a neckbreaker over the guardrail. He rolls RVD back in the ring and gets a series of near falls. Aries delivers a wicked DDT for two. He then attempts his own version of rolling thunder with a splash instead of a senton, but he only gets two. Aries then tries his own five-star frog splash, but misses his mark. Van Dam connects with the original rolling thunder and then follows up with the split-legged moonsault, but Aries gets the rope to break the pin. Aries fires back with a running discus forearm. He then tries to spell his own name with the thumbs taunt. This allows Van Dam to elevate Aries and catch him on the way down with a dropkick. As RVD heads upstairs, Aries knocks him off his perch and sends him into the guardrail. Aries quickly rolls Van Dam back in the ring and then grabs the microphone and says that with Van Dam flat on his back, with his hair a mess and being all sweaty, he kind of looks like Brooke Hogan. Aries continues that he will be the new X-Division Champion. Bully Ray then runs out and attacks Aries for the DQ.

Winner: Austin Aries by disqualification

After the match, Aries avoids a beating by Bully Ray and starts to head up the ramp, only to be cut off by Hogan. Aries eventually finds an exit, as the show ends with a serious staring contest between Bully Ray and Hogan, with Ray mouthing to Hogan ‘You still don’t trust me?’

Final thoughts:

I thought this was a decent episode; it was much better than the last two weeks at least. I really enjoyed the booking of Matt Morgan tonight as a monster heel. It’s been a while since we’ve really seen a one-sided squash match on this show, or any show for that matter, so that was nice to see. I actually thought all of the matches were really good tonight, but Aries and Van Dam definitely stole the show. I liked the continued tease of an AJ heel turn. I thought that match was booked perfectly, where AJ kept messing up all these spots, and Storm had to pick up the slack. I really hope he doesn’t go over Daniels again, because that would be a waste. But then if he doesn’t, the feud would have to continue, which also doesn’t make sense. It seems like TNA have booked themselves into a corner yet again. The only thing I really hated on tonight’s show was Hogan’s interactions with just about anybody. Him choosing Aries to get the title match made no sense at all. I’m glad that they’ve at least downplayed the whole Aces and 8s thing for the time being, until it finally gets interesting. Having said that, I actually liked tonight’s Gut Check segment for a very specific reason. Since Wes Brisco and D-Lo Brown are supposedly both in Aces and 8s, it makes perfect sense that Al Snow conveniently goes missing tonight, so Brisco can have a judge on the inside. Overall, I really enjoyed this show. 8 out of 10.