TNA Impact 1.3.2012
Kurt Angle / Jeff Hardy segment
Gauntlet Match: AJ Styles Vs Chris Daniels Vs Kazarian
ODB Vs Madison Rayne
Sarita & Angelina / Velvet Sky Brawl
Austin Aries & Alex Shelley featured in music video
Roode, Aries, Bully Ray / Sting segment
Zema Ion Vs Shannon Moore
Angelina Love & Sarita Vs Mickie James & Velvet Sky
Bully Ray, Bobby Roode & Austin Aries Vs James Storm, Samoa Joe & Magnus

TNA Impact Wrestling 1.3.2012

After highlights of Kurt Angle attacking Jeff Hardy during his match with Robert Roode last week, Kurt Angle says that he will be going to the ring with cue cards to help him list all of the reasons why he jumped Hardy last week.

1. Hardy has hair, Angle doesn't
Hardy colours his hair, but that doesn't make him a champion
2. The way Hardy dresses is embarrassing
3. Hardy comes in late and fans flock to him
4. Girls love Jeff Hardy
5. He has over 100 wrestling figures and posters, but his son is a big Jeff Hardy fan...

Jeff Hardy comes to the ring and Kurt offers him at match at Victory Road, where he plans to destroy him.
Hardy slaps Angle and gets a double leg take down before attacking him with ground and pound before officials separate them.
Hardy picks up the microphone and agrees to the match...

Bobby Roode is backstage cutting a promo on what Sting did to him last week, saying that it's bad for business when the authority figure wants to book himself in a main event while there are lots of guys backstage who really deserve the spot.
Austin Aries drops by and agrees with Roode. Austin thinks they both have a lot in common and they agree to talk...

Austin Aries and Alex Shelley comment on their match together after TNA Turning Point... I love this match by the way. I thought it was an updated, 2012 equivalent to Randy Savage Vs Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania 3.

AJ Styles and Kazarian (with Daniels) comment on their match after TNA Turning Point...
All great, serious promos here...

Gauntlet Match
AJ Styles Vs Chris Daniels

Daniels and Styles are having a great match. While Daniels is in control, Kazarian jumps into the ring and attacks Styles.
Daniels gets DQ'd and Kazarian quickly pins Styles to win the Gauntlet match.

I think it's an interesting twist for Kazarian to now be leading the charge against Styles... It looks like the weeks he has seemed reluctant to attack Styles has just been a mind game?

Backstage, Gail Kim says that she has arranged for her friend and No.1 contender to the KO Title, Madison Rayne to have a warm-up match tonight against ODB...

ODB Vs Madison Rayne
ODB gets a clean win over Madison in a short TV match.
Gail Kim claims that she tried to interfere in the match to help Madison...

Bully Ray is backstage venting his anger to a female employee... Roode and Aries talk to Bully Ray about his problems with Brandon Jacobs last week.
Roode and Aries tell Bully Ray that all of their problems have been caused by Sting. They tell Bully Ray to call them...

Sarita and Angelina jump Velvet Sky outside and it develops into a brawl. Sarita and Angelina get the better of Velvet and they leave her laying as Mickie James comes to help...
This was done pretty well.

Austin Aries and Alex Shelley featured in a music video... the song sucks, but it's great that these guys are featured in the video.
If I had a music video, I'd want these guys to be in it!

Backstage, Flair, Gunner and Eric Bischoff are talking to Garret.... Flair tells him that if he is here next week they are going to take things to another level.... Garret thanks them for the "heads up" and leaves....

Roode, Aries and Bully Ray come to the ring and blame Sting for causing all their problems. They claim that they are "done" until Sting is gone from TNA.
The lights go out and when they come back on, Sting is in the ring with them.
Sting says if they are "done", then Aries and Roode need to hand over their titles and they are all out of work....
They agree that they aren't "done" in that case and Sting books them in a 6 man tag match main event for later tonight.

Shannon Moore Vs Zema Ion
They have a good, short TV match, which Ion wins with his Tilt-a-whirl face buster.

Angelina Love & Sarita Vs Mickie James & Velvet Sky
Velvet Sky pins Angelina Love in a short TV tag match.

James Storm along with the tag team champions, Joe & Magnus cut a backstage promo on Roode, Bully Ray & Aries before their match, which is up next....

"Abyss is missing" video package airs..... Abyss has been missing since his PPV match with Bully Ray and no one knows where he is....

Bully Ray, Bobby Roode, Austin Aries Vs James Storm, Samoa Joe & Brutus Magnus
Great 6-man main event. Everyone in the match looked great and had their chance to shine in a really action-packed match.
James Storm pins the world champion, Bobby Roode after hitting the super kick.

After the match, Bully Ray attacks Joe, Storm and Magnus with a chair to get his heat back and TNA Impact Wrestling goes off air.....

This was a good edition of Impact, which did well to further feuds and advance storylines as well as feature some really good promos and some great wrestling too.

I haven't noticed too much of a difference in the show since Russo left the company so far and I wonder if any changes are going to show themselves in future weeks.








TNA Impact 8.3.2012

Eric Bischoff, Ric Flair, Gunner & Kurt Angle Segment
KO Tag Titles: Gail Kim & Madison Vs Eric Young & ODB
Austin Aries Vs Zema Ion
World Title: Robert Roode Vs Bully Ray
Matt Morgan & Crimson vs Robbie E & Robbie T
AJ Styles / Chris Daniels & Kazarian
Kurt Angle & Gunner Vs Jeff Hardy & Garret Bischoff


TNA Impact Wrestling 8.3.2012

Eric Bischoff, Ric Flair and Gunner come to the ring.
Eric says that Gunner and his partner will face Garret and a partner of his choosing later tonight.
Eric thanks Ric Flair for warning his son last week and trying to protect him.
They announce Kurt Angle as Gunner's partner tonight.
This opening segment was fine, it's main purpose was to set up the tag match main event.

Sting is backstage cutting a promo into the bathroom mirror.
Eric Young interrupts him and asks for his permission to give ODB "What she deserves tonight"...
Sting tells Eric that what ODB wants is a shot at the Knockout Tag Team championships, with Eric as her partner.
Sting continues his crazy promo when Eric walks away, he is obsessing over his feud and upcoming Title match with Bobby Roode...
I don't think it was a good idea to make that match before Roode's next title defence on PPV against James Storm, that is very counter-productive
in my view because it pretty much says that Roode is coming out of the next PPV as champion.

Knockout Tag Team Titles: Madison Rayne & Gail Kim Vs Eric Young & ODB
This was pretty much a comedy tag match, with Eric and ODB taking the Knockout Titles.
Madison hit Eric with one of the belts and he fell on Gail Kim and pinned her accidentally.
I'd rather have seen Tara and Tessmacher win the KO Tag Titles.

After the match, Eric Young gets on one knee and proposes to ODB.... Damn, I really don't like comedy weddings in pro wrestling... It seems that this is the influence of Bruce Prichard as WWE always loves doing these hokey comedy wedding angles.

I really think that losing Vince Russo and bringing in Bruce Prichard was a bad move for TNA.
It's a shame that Vince Russo has such a bad name with wrestling fans, because the guy really could write some great angles and promos. It's just the in-ring aspect of wrestling that should have been handled by someone else and I believe that Matt Conway was working on those aspects with him, anyway....

Austin Aries Vs Zema Ion
Fast-paced action here, in a short TV match.
Aries gets DQ'd for using Zema's own hairspray to spray him in the face.

Bully Ray is in the ring and he tells Sting to come out and make him the No.1 contender to Roode's World title. Sting comes out and grants him the match and tells him that it's going to happen right after the break....
Roode comes to the ring and tries to get out of the match, but Bully Ray tells him to fight like a man.
They have a short, hard-hitting match before Roode grabs Bully Ray's chain. Ray takes it away from him.... James Storm runs into the ring at this point.... Bully Ray escapes the ring and Storm hits Roode with the Super kick.

As Morgan and Crimson are getting ready for their match, a man by the name of Joseph Parks comes into their locker room as asks if they have seen his brother, Chris “Abyss” Parks around lately.
They say that they haven’t seen him in a while and didn’t know that he even had a brother….
This is obviously the new character change for Abyss that Hogan has been saying needs to happen in different interviews.
Abyss looks very, very different. I don’t think I would have known it was the same guy if I was standing next to him.

Matt Morgan & Crimson Vs Rob Terry & Robbie E
This wasn't very good, but served it's purpose which was to further the dissention between Morgan and Crimson.
Leading to the finish, Matt Morgan takes out Robbie E & Robbie T before Crimson tags himself in and pins Robbie E.

Kurt Angle & Gunner cut a promo on Garret Bischoff and they plan on sending him to the hospital later tonight.

AJ Styles comes to the ring and talks about how Daniels, Roode and now Kaz have turned their backs on him...
Kazarian comes down the ramp with Chris Daniels to give him some answers. Kaz tells Styles that he should look at himself and ask why friends end up stabbing him in the back.
Styles says that he doesn't see any friends, but he does see an "Asshole" which is Mr Anderson's cue to return.... Anderson and Styles send Kaz and Daniels out of the ring.

Kurt Angle & Gunner Vs Garret Bischoff and.... Jeff Hardy.
The work between Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy was top-rate, as always. I think they have excellent chemistry in the ring together and I've always enjoyed their matches.
Gunner and Garret? Not so much.
Jeff Hardy hits the Swanton Bomb on Kurt Angle and gets the win for his team.

Overall, this Impact was fine - but I do think I'm noticing a slight drop in quality compared to the Vince Russo and Matt Conway penned shows I've been used to watching for a long time now.