TNA Impact Report for July 22
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Impact this week starts with a video
package about Abyss’ insanity and the big ECW vs. TNA fracas at the end of last
week’s show. The title of tonight’s show is “Extreme Invitation”.
After that, we go into an honest-to-goodness intro video and theme song- we
haven’t seen one of those in ages.
Tonight! Kurt Angle takes his next step up
the championship rankings system by taking on Hernandez, Samoa Joe takes on
Jeff Hardy for the first time ever, and most importantly Dixie Carter will
explain why she invited the ECW alumni to the Impact Zone. Not only that, we’re
starting tonight with a title match!
AJ Styles (with Kazarian) vs. Rob Terry
(TNA Global Championship Match)
Styles and Kazarian are officially on the
same page now, having put their rivalry behind them. As they make their way out
to the ring, we see a clip of Styles and Kazarian’s match against Terry and
Samoa Joe from Victory Road. As the match begins, Taz points out the
interesting coincidence that Terry is the longest reigning Global Champion in
TNA history, and Styles was the longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion.
Styles and Terry circle each other until
Styles throws a punch, but he just ends up hurting his hand. Styles hits Terry
with a leg kick and starts to celebrate prematurely, but Terry isn’t phased in
the least. Styles gives us a little rope-a-dope, but Terry nails him with a
huge clubbing forearm to the back. Terry launches Styles into the corner and
drives his shoulder into Styles’ gut, then launches him across the ring with a
Biel Throw. Kazarian tries to pull Styles to safety by his arms, but Terry
yanks Styles back by his ankles, dragging Kaz halfway into the ring with him.
Styles blocks a charge from Terry in the corner by getting his boots up, but
when he goes for a Springboard manoeuvre Terry catches him with a Military
Press, then throws him across the ring again. (Meanwhile, Mike Tenay mentions
that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are both absent again this week, but we’ll
hear from Bischoff later via the telephone. He also tells us that Flair isn’t
here tonight, suggesting he’s off scouting for the next two members of
Fortune).
Terry goes for the Freakbuster but Styles
fights him off and hits a Leaping Enzuigiri. Terry no-sells the kick, and downs
Styles with a Jumping Spinning Crescent Kick. He goes for the cover, but
Kazarian is distracting the referee. Terry knocks Kaz off the apron with a
right hand, and the distraction allows Styles to roll Terry up with a Schoolboy.
Styles pulls Terry’s tights, but Terry still kicks out at two. Styles slips out
to the apron and Terry tries to Suplex him back into the ring, but Kazarian
trips Terry and Styles lands on top of him in a Cross Body Press. Kazarian
continues to hold down Terry’s feet out of sight of the referee, who counts the
pinfall- we have a new champion!
Winner and new TNA Global Champion- AJ
Styles by pinfall.
Rob Terry pitches a fit afterward, yelling
at the referee and insisting he was cheated, but it’s all for naught, as Styles
and Kazarian leave with the title in hand.
We move over to the announce table, where
Taz and Mike Tenay discuss the brawl that ended last week’s show. Tenay
apologizes to Taz for not believing him when he said he wasn’t involved with the
appearances made by Tommy Dreamer and friends. Taz reiterates that he was just
as surprised as anyone, and he can’t wait to hear what Dixie Carter has to say
later tonight. We get a quick clip of Mick Foley’s return prior to the brawl,
and Taz and Tenay remind us that the last time he was seen on Impact, he lost a
“loser gets fired” match.
In the locker room, Madison Rayne and
Sarita are joking around about how Sarita choked out Taylor Wilde last week.
Rayne starts mocking Velvet Sky as Sky and Lacey Von Erich walk in behind her.
Rayne soon realizes she’s got company and wheels around, ending up nose-to-nose
with Sky, while Von Erich tries to play peacekeeper again. Sky tells Rayne that
is she has something to say to her, she can say it to her face. She accuses
Sarita of being the woman in the motorcycle helmet that has been helping Rayne
as of late. Rayne says that she isn’t afraid to say whatever she wants to, and
says that everything’s right with the world because tonight she’s having her
Knockout Title returned to her. Sky points out that she never even lost her
Knockouts Tag Title. Rayne tells her Beautiful People teammates to take a hike,
because she and Sarita have a match to prepare for.
[commercial break]
In a backstage conference room, Dixie
Carter is seen yelling at trainers Al Snow, Pat Kenney, Terry Taylor and D’Lo
Brown for getting involved in the brawl last week. She lambasts Snow for
punching a referee. Snow defends himself, saying they didn’t know what was
going on, but Carter counters that he doesn’t need to know, it’s his job to
break fights like that up. Kenney suddenly notices that the conference room
door is open, and quickly swings it shut in the cameraman’s face.
Angelina Love and Taylor Wilde vs.
Madison Rayne and Sarita
Before the match begins, referee Earl
Hebnur announces that the TNA Board of Directors has ruled that since there is
no proof the woman who interfered in the Knockout Championship match at Victory
Road was a member of the Beautiful People, the decision to award the title to
Love has been reversed. Hebnur orders Love to surrender the title belt so it
can be returned to Rayne. Love reluctantly hands the belt over, but then blasts
Rayne with a right hand. Wilde quickly jumps Sarita, as Hebnur calls for the
opening bell.
Love continues to attack Rayne until she’s
cut off by a knee to the gut. Sarita manages to pin Wilde’s arms behind her
back and Rayne whips Love at them, but Wilde slips loose and Love manages to
his Sarita with a shoulder block to the gut that sends he out of the ring. Love
and Wilde hit Rayne with a Snap Double Suplex, followed by a Flying Clothesline
from Love. Wilde tags in Sarita, but Love catches her coming in with a Spear.
Love makes the tag to Wilde who charges at Sarita, but she runs with into an STO.
Sarita slaps Wilde and goes for an Irish Whip, but Wilde reverses into a
Falling Clothesline. Sarita comes back with a Back Drop Reverse Suplex, and
both women make tags to their partners. Rayne immediately tries to get back of
the ring when she sees Love coming in, but Love gets a hold of her and slams
her down by her hair. Love follows up with a Spinning Facebuster and a Falling
Powerslam. Sarita attacks Love from behind, leading Wilde to come in after her.
They brawl to the outside, as Rayne tries to hit Love with the Rayne Drop, but
Love reverses into the Lights Out for the win.
Winners- Angelina Love and Taylor Wilde
(Love over Madison Rayne by pinfall).
Immediately after the match, the mysterious
woman in the biker leathers once again rides her motorbike down to ringside
(proving that it’s not Sarita under the helmet). Wilde and Love stare her down,
as Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich head out to the top of the entrance ramp,
clearly confused by the new development. Rayne and Sarita recover and attack Love
and Wilde from behind, and the woman in the helmet gets into the ring to join
in on the beat-down. The heels leave Love and Wilde laid out on the mat, and
Rayne leaves the ring with the Knockout title. As Rayne, Sarita and the biker
woman turn to leave together, Rayne demands that Sky and Von Erich follow them.
Sky refuses, but Von Erich hesitantly complies, apologizing profusely to Sky as
she meekly follows Rayne to the back.
[commercial break]
In a clip from earlier tonight, we see
Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Raven, Stevie Richards and Mick Foley arriving at the
arena together. As we get ready for the next match, Taz acknowledges that
Dreamer suffered a torn MCL during last week’s brawl (though he’s still moving
fairly well).
Kurt Angle vs. Hernandez
The two men tie up and Hernandez backs
Angle into the corner, but allows him a clean break. Angle drops down behind
Hernandez and uses a Single Leg Takedown, floating over into a grounded Front
Facelock. Hernandez fights back to his feet and backs Angle into the corner
again forcing another break, but Angle is immediately on him again with a pair
of European Uppercuts. Hernandez hits Angle with a hard forearm and charges,
but Angle backdrops him to the apron. Hernandez connects with a Shoulder to
Angle’s gut through the ropes, followed by a Slingshot Shoulder Block. Angle
comes back with some right hands, but runs into a big Body Avalanche from
SuperMex. The crowd is chanting for Angle as Hernandez puts him into a Canadian
Backbreaker. After holding it as a submission for a bit, Hernandez drops down
into a Backbreaker Rack Drop and covers Angle for two.
Angle rallies again with more punches and a
Clothesline in the corner, but Hernandez kicks him away and skins the cat to
pull himself up to the top rope. Angle meets him there with a Running Belly to
Belly Superplex for two. Angle hits Hernandez with a quartet of Rolling German
Suplexes for another two count. He stalks Hernandez for the Angle Slam, but
Hernandez slips behind him and hits an impressive Sit-Out Inverted Side
Powerslam. He goes for the Border Toss, but it’s Angle’s turn to slip out and
he hits the Angle Slam for a long two count. Angle goes up top and attempts a
Moonsault, but Hernandez rolls out of the way. Angle staggers back to his feet,
and Hernandez blasts him with a huge Leaping Shoulder Block. Hernandez takes
Angle up in a Delayed Vertical Suplex, but Angle manages to drop down to his
feet and picks Hernandez’s leg, slapping on the Ankle Lock. Angle locks in a
grapevine, and Hernandez is forced to tap out. Good match, Angle and Hernandez
work well together.
Winner- Kurt Angle by submission.
Angle’s celebration after the match is cut
short by the arrival of Kevin Nash. Angle meets Nash on the entrance ramp and
after a moment of tension they shake hands, and Nash shows his former Main
Event Mafia teammate the proper respects. Angle heads to the back, as Nash gets
into the ring and grabs a microphone. As we head to break, Nash asks Jeff
Jarrett to meet him in the ring.
[commercial break]
We return just as Jarrett is making him out
to the ring. Nash tells him that he’s had a week to think about things, and
something about Jarrett still doesn’t feel right. He says that Jarrett is an
amazing guy, who’s very good at what he does, and for a moment he almost had
Nash convinced that it was Sting that left a turd in the punchbowl. Nash says
that he’s known Sting for twenty years, and when he was broke and just starting
out in the business, Sting let him sleep on a roll-away bed in his room for
free. Nash says that looking closer at things, he’s not sure if Sting was the
problem with TNA, or if Jarrett is. He says that he can deal with Jarrett’s
insincerity, but there’s a locker room full of young guys who look up to
Jarrett as a veteran and a leader, and they’re the victims in this. Didn’t Nash
attack one of those guys last week? And isn’t his whole gimmick for the past
few years been about how he wants to hold back young wrestlers, because he
think they’re undeserving and disrespectful?
Jarrett echoes my thoughts by saying he has
no idea what Nash is talking about. He says that he doesn’t buy what Nash is
saying, and neither do the fans. Jarrett points out that Nash screwed Hulk
Hogan and Eric Bischoff when he did a run around to bring Scott Hall and Sean
Waltman into the company, and his deceit hurt the company. Jarrett says that
Nash can spin his tale however he wants, Jarrett and the fans know the real
him. Nash says enough with history, he’s already drawn his conclusions about
Jarrett. He asks Jarrett what he’s going to do when his three daughters grow up
and realize that their loving father is really a selfish prick. Nash leaves
Jarrett alone in the ring, but this is far from over.
Backstage, Dixie Carter is preparing for
her public address later tonight. Kurt Angle comes over to speak with her, and
she congratulates him on another hard fought victory. Angle asks what’s going
on with Carter bringing in the ECW alumni, but she just tells him to trust her
that this is a good thing for TNA. Angle says that he has faith in Carter, but
he hopes she knows what she’s getting herself into, because these guys have a
reputation. Nevertheless, Angle says that he has trusted Carter since he signed
with TNA four years ago, and that isn’t going to stop now.
[commercial break]
Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy
Mike Tenay calls this a wrestling purist’s
dream match- Jeff Hardy is a great many things, but a pure wrestler isn’t one
of them. As the opening bell sounds, Hardy rolls out of the ring to high-five
some fans, buying time for the announce team to tell us that Eric Bischoff is
on the line. Bischoff says that he misses being at Impact, and blames his
absence on the fourth of July and Hulk Hogan having previously-scheduled back
surgery. (To get this out of the way quickly, Bischoff is on the line for about
two minutes, but all he says is that he supports Dixie in whatever she’s up
to).
Hardy gets back into the ring and quickly
gets hit by a punishing leg kick from Joe, followed by some hard knees and jabs
in the corner. Joe throws Hardy out of the ring and follows him out, ramming
him into the apron and the ring steps. Hardy returns the favour, throwing Joe
into the steps and the ring post, before rolling him back into the ring. Hardy
delivers the Ten Punch to Joe, followed by a Snapmare into a Rear Chinlock. Joe
escapes the hold with a Jawbreaker, and goes for a signature combination with a
Snapmare, a Knife-Edge Chop to the back, a kick to the chest and a Running Knee
Drop. Hardy fights back with punches and slings over Joe in the corner, but Joe
immediately takes him down with a Superkick. Joe sits Hardy up and delivers
some hard elbows to the top of his head, followed by a Running Back Elbow and a
Leaping Enzuigiri in the corner.
Taz shows some rare continuity, mentioning
that he was aligned with Joe when he first came to TNA, and saying he learned
as much from Joe as Joe did from him. Hardy comes back with some elbow strikes,
but runs into a Snap Powerslam that gets Joe a two count. Joe peppers Hardy
with jabs and back shops, but Hardy reverses an Irish Whip into an Inverted
Bulldog, followed by a pair of Flying Forearms and a Spinning Mule Kick. Hardy
hits Joe with a Clothesline in the corner, followed by the Hardiac Arrest for
two. Hardy heads up top and dives at Joe, but Joe catches him coming down with
an Inverted Atomic Drop, followed by a Yakuza Kick and a Running Senton for
two. Joe hits Hardy with a Powerbomb into a Prawn Hold, then rolls him over
into an STF. He turns that into an Arm-Trap Crossface, wrenching back on Hardy’s
forehead and neck.
Hardy manages to edge himself backward
until his feet are in the ropes, and Joe is forced to break the hold. They
exchange forearms and punches, until Hardy reverses another Irish Whip and goes
for the Twist of Fate. Joe reverses that into a Standing Read Naked Choke, but
Hardy escapes by running toward the corner and dropping down, pulling Joe
head-first into the turnbuckle. Hardy hits Joe with the Whisper in the Wind.
They continue to exchange punches, when Jeremy Borash suddenly announces that
we’re thirty seconds away from the match’s ten minute time limit. (It bears
mentioning that since around the time TNA moved to Monday nights, every match
is announced as having a time limit, but this is only the first or second time
it’s really mattered). Joe and Hardy continue to brawl as the final seconds
tick away, and the match ends in a rare time limit draw. Great match, and a
smart decision not to give away a clean finish on free TV, when they can do a
big rematch on pay-per-view.
Result- Time limit draw.
The crowd is chanting “let them
fight” after the match, as Joe argues with the referee. Sure enough, Hardy
strips off his shirt and launches himself at Joe. They go back to exchanging
punches until the referee calls for back up, and a trio of refs manage to get
Hardy and Joe seperated.
Backstage, we see a shot of Jeff Jarrett in
deep discussion with Dixie Carter. Jarrett is saying that we’re going down the
same road as with Sting again, because Nash has a personal vendetta going on.
Carter says that she has something else to worry about right now- last week a
lot of the TNA wrestlers were disappointed to hear that she had invited the ECW
alumni to the Impact Zone, and now she has to win them back over. Carter
reiterates that this is a good thing for everyone in TNA, and Jarrett assures
her that he has her back.
[commercial break]
Matt Morgan vs. Mister Anderson
Before the match begins, we see clips of
D’Angelo Dinero defeating Morgan last week, and Anderson saving Dinero from a
subsequent beatdown. Anderson gets a huge reaction doing his own introductions-
it’s amazing how over he is right now. Anderson starts the match by trying to
roll up Morgan with a quick Schoolboy and an Oklahoma Roll, getting a one count
off of each cradle. He applies a Side Headlock, but Morgan forces him into the
corner and hits him with a cheap back elbow. Morgan stomps away at Anderson and
chokes him with his foot, then delivers his “vintage” alternating
back elbow strikes. Morgan continues with a Body Avalanche and a hard Sidewalk
Slam for a one count of his own. Anderson tries to come back with some punches,
but Morgan cuts him off with a big knee to the gut. Morgan catches an attempted
Running Cross Body from Anderson and delivers a Fall Away Slam for two. Morgan
plays with Anderson a bit with some mocking kicks and slaps to the face, then
lifts him up and nails him with a pair of Short-Arm Clotheslines. Morgan goes
to finish Anderson off with a Discus Clothesline, but Anderson hits him with
the Mic Check from out of nowhere and gets the surprising pin.
Winner- Mister Anderson by pinfall.
Afterward, the camera cuts to the announce
table for the usual post-match analysis, before quickly cutting back to the
ring just as Morgan blasts Anderson in the head with Anderson’s hanging
microphone, splitting Anderson wide open. I wonder if that edit was planned, or
done in post production to cover a gaffe like an obvious blade job. Don’t take
Cinema Studies as your major, kids- you’ll spend the rest of your life over
thinking every movie and TV show you watch.
[commercial break]
We return to a video package of footage
from recent TNA house shows and meet-and-greet events. The video ends with the
slogan “TNA: Where the Fans Come First”.
Beer Money Inc. (Robert Roode and James
Storm) vs. The Motor City Machineguns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) (Falls
Count Anywhere Street Fight, Match Two in a Best of Five Series)
As Beer Money make their way to the ring,
we see clips from last week’s ladder match, including the ref-bump I missed
(which saw Roode kicking Shelley into the referee). This week we have two
referees, Brian Hebnur in the ring and his father Earl Hebnur on the outside.
Sabin starts the match out in style,
sprinting down the entrance ramp and diving over the ropes onto Storm. They
quickly brawl to the outside where Sabin starts to lay in the boots, while
Shelley throws Roode out onto the ramp. Storm whips Sabin into the side of the
ramp, then Beer Money try to Suplex Shelley off the ramp to the floor, bur
Sabin saves him by yanking Storm off the ramp by his ankles. The Guns set Roode
up on the apron leaning against the ropes and hammer at him with Flying
Forearms and Running Back Elbows. Sabin nails Storm with a running kick to the
face then backs all the way up to the ring entrance, while Shelley puts Roode
in the Camel Clutch on the ramp. Sabin sprints all the way back down,
delivering the Hesitation Dropkick directly into Roode’s face- nice spot. Roode
walls down to the floor, and Shelley follows with a Diving Double Stomp off the
ramp onto Roode’s chest.
Roode comes back with a knee strike, while
Storm goes after Sabin. Roode misses a chair shot and connects with the post,
stunning him long enough for Shelley to come off the apron with a Flying Knee
Strike off the apron. On the other side of the ring, Storm pulls out a trash
can, which he throws into the ring. He climbs up onto the apron, but the Guns
both beat him into the ring, Shelley ducks down and Sabin uses his partner’s
back as a step to nail Storm with a Running Elevated Dropkick that sends him
crashing into the guardrail. Shelley heads over to the opposite apron and steps
up on the bottom rope and Sabin flies through his partner’s legs with a Suicide
Dive toward Roode, but he ends up crashing into a chair held by Roode. Storm
takes advantage of the distraction by knocking Shelley down to the apron, and
Roode nails Shelley with a chair shot to the leg.
Storm brings the chair into the ring and
wedges it between the ropes in the corner, then returns to Roode to help double
team Shelley. They whip Shelley towards the chair, but Shelley drops down to
avoid it, and catches Roode coming in after him with a Reverse STO into the
chair. Storm hits Shelley with a Lung-Blower for two, as Sabin slowly makes his
way back into the ring. Storm chokes Shelley in one corner while Roode sets
Sabin up on the opposite side of the ring. Beer Money whip Shelley at Sabin,
but just before they collide Sabin essentially runs up Shelley’s chest, landing
on the apron and spinning Shelley around to face their opponents. Shelley
delivers forearms to both Storm and Roode, then throws the chair into Roode’s
hands, allowing Sabin to kick the chair into his face with a Springboard
Missile Dropkick for two.
Shelley slings out over the ropes towards
Storm, but Storm dodges and Shelley crashed down to the floor. In the ring,
Sabin sets Roode up for Cradle Shock, but Storm comes in and spits beer in
Sabin’s eyes. Roode slips off Sabin’s shoulders and catches him with a
Spinebuster for two. Beer Money set Sabin up for the DWI, but Shelley comes in
behind them with a Singapore cane and nails Storm with a shot to the back.
Roode grabs Shelley in a choke hold, but Shelley uses the cane to trap Roode’s
head and hits him with a Stunner, followed by a cane shot to the forehead.
Shelley rolls out after Storm, while Sabin ducks a Clothesline from Roode that
ends up levelling Brian Hebnur. Sabin throws the trashcan into Roode’s head,
dazing him and forcing him to roll out of the ring. Sabin tries to hit Roode
with a Baseball Slide, but Roode has the wherewithal to pull Earl Hebnur in
front of him, resulting in our second ref bump in under twenty seconds.
Roode hits Sabin with a big Clothesline, as
Storm nails Shelley in the head with a trashcan lid. Beer Money throw Shelley
into the ring and set him up for a Double Superplex, but Sabin makes the save
by pushing Storm off the ropes to the outside. The Guns hit Roode with an
Avalanche Shiranui/Sit-Out Powerbomb combination and Shelley covers him, but
both referees are still out. Sabin tries to revive Brian Hebnur, but Storm
comes back into the ring with a beer bottle, which he breaks over Shelley’s
head. Storm pulls Roode on top of Shelley and nails Sabin with the Last Call.
He manages to revive the referee, who groggily makes the three count, giving
Beer Money the win. Other than the ref-bumps, this was another excellent match-
these two teams have the same charisma that Edge and Christian had with the
Hardy Boyz a decade ago.
Winners- Beer Money Inc. (Robert Roode
over Alex Shelley by pinfall)
In the locker room, Brother Devon
approaches Brother Ray. Devon says that he isn’t there to talk about what
happened at Victory Road, or about Jesse Neal, but to explain why he ran out to
help the ECW alumni without Ray last week. Devon says that the guys from ECW
are like his family, and he needed them to know that he had their backs no
matter what. Devon wants to know if Ray feels the same way, but Ray says he has
nothing left to prove to the guys from ECW, since he’s done it all, more than
they ever have.
[commercial break]
When we return, Christy Hemmer is with Rob
Van Dam. Hemme brings up RVD’s history with ECW, and asks him how it felt to be
back in the ring with all his old friends last week. RVD says that it was
awesome, fun times, like being home again. RVD says that he’s proud of the part
of his career in which he was in ECW, saying that was where he honed his craft
and became the Whole F’ing Show. He says that to have that come back to the present
while he’s the World Heavyweight Champion feels like having everything at once.
Hemmer asks RVD if he has any insight about what Dixie Carter’s announcement
tonight may be, but RVD says that he doesn’t know, though he’s excited to find
out.
RVD says that he hopes Carter’s
announcement has something to do with what he thinks it might, with all the
faces from his past coming back. RVD puts over the fans for showing respect for
that time in his career, saying that it makes it clear they’re hardcore fans who
stuck with him through the best and worst times. RVD says that he’s going to
find a monitor to watch the announcement himself, but reminds us that he still
has the title, and Abyss still wants it. RVD says that he has to have eyes in
the back of his head, because a Monster may be coming around at any moment. He
says that there’s a time for celebrating, and a time to take care of business.
At the announce table, Taz and Mike Tenay
discuss Carter’s announcement, which she’ll be making after the next commercial
break. A music video airs showing the build to the ECW angle, set to the Black
Label Society song “Parade of the Dead”. The video ends with the line
“the legacy of ECW can never be destroyed”. From there, we get a
quick shot of Carter walking backstage- the Extreme Explanation is up next.
[commercial break]
When we return, Carter walks down to the
ring. She has her own theme song and everything- I hadn’t realized it before,
but this is the first time she’s ever been the focus of a segment like this.
Carter puts over the fans, thanking them for supporting TNA and for continually
offering her feedback through Facebook and Twitter. Carter says a common theme
she’s heard is the fans’ love for “extreme hardcore wrestling”. She
welcomes the guys who made hardcore an art form, as Tommy Dreamer, Rhino,
Stevie Richards, Raven and Mick Foley head down to the ring. Taz says that he’s
flattered that his boss is showing such love for what he and the other did in
the day.
Carter says that she didn’t think it was
fair for her to be the only one to hear how much ECW meant to the fans, so she
thought Dreamer et. al. should hear it for themselves. Foley jokes that Dixie
is doing a great job with her first promo, but she insists that this isn’t
meant to be one, she’s just speaking from her heart. Carter says that she feels
like what Hulk Hogan was to the 1980s, ECW was to the 1990s. The crowd is
loudly chanting “E-C-Dub”. Carter says that for the ECW alumni,
wrestling wasn’t about being hardcore or fat pay-cheques, it was about honour,
dedication, respect and a love for the business, for the fans and for their
brothers in the ring. Carter says that the stars of ECW always gave the fans
what they asked for an more, and no one will ever forget that. She says that
she has a history with four of the guys in the ring and says they brought those
same traits to TNA which is what has allowed the company to survive and to
thrive. She thanks them for setting the bar so high.
Foley says that he should be thanking her,
because the last time he was inside a TNA ring, he was fired. He says he
appreciates her giving him another chance to make one last good impression. The
crowd chants “Welcome Back” at Foley as he continues that no one’s
last moment should be one where they walk away, head low, disappointed and
dejected. With that in mind, Foley turns the microphone over to Dreamer,
calling him as good an ambassador for the wrestling business as there ever has
been.
Dreamer says that he’s watched TNA since
its beginning in the Asylum in Nashville. As he watched a small company grow,
Dreamer says he had friends who would always want him to quit his job and come
to TNA, but he was too scared. Dreamer says that he’s a dad with two young
kids, and he needed the security his then-current job offered him. Even still,
Dreamer says that he kept seeing similarities between the original ECW and TNA.
Dreamer says that the original ECW was a place where unknowns became legends,
and where legends came to reinvent their careers. He says that long before
Samoa Joe was dumping people on their heads and choking them out, the Human
Suplex Machine Taz was doing the same thing every week. The crowd pops huge for
Taz, and Mike Tenay gives his announce partner a nice round of applause.
Dreamer says that what Ric Flair did for Jay Lethal, Terry Funk did for himself
and Mick Foley. He says before there was the Beautiful People, there were
Francine and Beulah McGillicutty.
Dreamer says that when he was invited to
Slammiversary, he got to feel what TNA was like first hand, and saw a bunch of
men and women doing what they do for the sake of passion and love for the
business and the fans. The crowd is chanting “TNA” now. Dreamer
thanks them for bringing back his passion. He says that he got his closure at
One Night Stand 2005, but then Vince McMahon brought ECW back, and he got to
witness his friends being fired and their legacy destroyed, and for no reason.
Dreamer says it bothered him so much he eventually had to quit, which was a
hell of a risk at the age of 38, but he just couldn’t stomach seeing that
happen to something he loved so much anymore. Dreamer says that Raven,
Richards, Rhino and Foley all reminded him of the similarities between TNA and
ECW, and with Carter’s help they put together a plan. He says this isn’t about
an invasion or taking over- it’s about men and women who lost their jobs, whose
lives were affected. It’s about the fans who watched ECW, his friends that
lived it and that legacy not being destroyed.
Dreamer begs Carter for one night to show
the world what they had, so the legacy of the original ECW can live forever.
The crowd is going crazy for this. Carter says that she believes in them, and
they can have their show on one condition- Dreamer and company have to plan
every level of the show, they have to have complete control so that it’s
absolutely authentic and has nothing to do with TNA. Dreamer tells the Impact
Zone to get ready, because we’re going to the extreme. That was a fantastic
promo, and a great way to end another excellent show.
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