13/06/2013 TNA Impact Wrestling Review: The New Main Event Mafia, Trouble In Aces And Eights’ Paradise and The Bound For Glory Series Particpants Decided

Evening wrestling fans, I am Tommy ” The Fucking Animal” Robinson. XD OK, seriously, TNA review. Last night we had the last of the Bound For Glory series qualifiers and the road to Bound To Glory  is about to begin. Who qualified for the series? Who’s got a chance for glory? Also, what’s next for Sting after losing to Bully Ray at Slammiversary, It’s time to TALK TNA!

Up until last night, only 3 participants were announced to be a part of the Bound For Glory series…

• Jay Bradley, who earned his spot by defeating Sam Shaw at Slammiversary.
• Hernandez, who earned his spot by defeating partner Chavo Guerrero last week.
• And Samoa Joe, who earned his spot by defeating Robbie E last week also

So, 3 wrestlers were already in the series and at the top of the show, Hulk Hogan awarded spots to the last two winners of the Bound For Glory Series, Bobby Roode and Jeff Hardy. In the opening segment, Roode declared that he would call out Jeff Hardy next week on Open Fight Night. Hogan responded by allowing the fans to decide who out of Roode and Hardy would be the first person to call someone out next week!

In the first Bound For Glory series qualifier of the night, “Bad Influence” Christopher Daniels and Kazarian defeated the new tag championship James Storm and Gunner in a sound non-title tag match, which resulted in both Daniels and Kazarian earning spots in the series. Bad break for Storm, who twice has came close to winning the series, but hopefully Daniels or Kazarian can gain high positions by the end of the series. If any of these two were to win the series, I would not complain.

In the second Bound For Glory series qualifier and in one of the most disappointing upsets ever, Joseph Park earned a spot in the series by beating the once 470 days defeated and returning Crimson. Crimson looked alright here and him not being in the series is a little bummer for Crimson has he tries to rebuild himself after being gone a year or so. Someone commented in a YouTube video suggesting that Crimson should be a member of Aces And Eights and you know… why not? He’d make a lot of sense as muscle for the group.

In a little break from the BFG series qualifiers, Velvet Sky gave new Knockouts Champion Mickie James a present… a document saying that Velvet was cleared to compete after her “ankle” injury. However, Mickie made sure that Velvet wasn’t ready by assaulting Velvet and turning heel in the process. She locked on a submission hold which looked painful as hell. Starting to like these new developments in the Knockouts Division with Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell stealing the show at Slammiversary, Taeler Hendrix coming back last week and Mickie James turning heel.

Back to the BFG series qualifiers, and we had Magnus earn a spot by winning the most random fatal four way I’ve ever seen. I mean it was a slow OK four way, but we had 4 guys in the match that looked so badly matched-up. Magnus, Rob Terry, Matt Morgan and Kenny King. It’s like TNA got a bowl of wrestlers names and picked out four at random and said, “OK, lets put these guys in a fatal four way”. With Rob Terry and Matt Morgan in the match the pace of the match slowed right down but there were some slick exchanges between Magnus and Kenny King and in the end , the Englishman walked away with the spot in the Bound For Glory series. Magnus – Representing good old England in the BFG series! Come on England!

Next up was the Stinger, who was kind of pissed off about no one in the back helping him during his match with Bully Ray at Slammiversary. His loss to him meant he was out the title picture… FOREVER!

Sting mentioned that Aces And Eights are like family having each others back and believed it was time for another family to return to TNA – THE MAIN EVENT MAFIA! Sting is assembling a NEW Main Event Mafia to battle the Aces And Eights! I’m loving this war – The Main Event Mafia vs Aces And Eights! This could be a great faction rivalry… the important word being “could”. We’ve seen how TNA’s faction vs faction rivalries have went down before. And well most of them kinda sucked. Fortune vs Immortal. Fortune vs EV 2.0. Main Event Mafia vs TNA Frontline. Main Event Mafia vs World Elite. Most of them have been rather terrible. But given how well the Aces And Eights storyline has done ever since it started a year ago, this could be an exciting part of the storyline. And if Scott Steiner returns to TNA and joins the Mafia, I will mark out. I know the odds of this happening a very slim like! The chances of this happening are like the chances of Samoa Joe retaining the TNA World Title at Sacrifice 2008. What were the chances of that happening? Well, I’m glad you asked! Take it away Scott!

Anyway, back to the Bound For Glory series qualifiers. Austin Aires vs Eric Young, Two very charismatic superstars who put on a great show, A seriously entertaining match between the two. Loved it when they started mimicking one another. Very slick match. But in the end, only one could advance to the Bound For Glory Series, and that one was Austin Aires, who defeated Eric Young off the Brain-buster for the win. Aires has never been in the BFG series, so its nice to see some new faces on the scene.

Next up was a 6 man battle royal with all the entrants being members of Aces And Eights. So we had DOC, Knux, Devon, Mr Anderson, Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff competing for the right to be in the BFG series. However, Aces And Eights didn’t take things too seriously….

Yeah, tension is boiling over in the club with DOC refusing to eliminate himself in the battle royal – but got eliminated anyway. Mr Anderson earned the spot in the BFG series. I’m just wondering why TNA would have DOC attack Anderson if he was going to get eliminated by Anderson anyway? If I was booking it, it would be down to DOC and Anderson and they’d have this intense argument in the match which leads to DOC reluctantly eliminating himself. And afterwards, have DOC go in a wild frenzy and possibly have him strike members of Aces And Eights. That’s the way I see it. Personally, I don’t like the thought of DOC possibly turning face. I think if there was anyone that had any excuse to quit the club/turn face, it’d be Knux considering he’s done jack shit since he was revealed as a member. But TNA have there plans and hopefully, something good will come out of this.

So far we’ve had 11 of the best TNA has to offer earn a spot in the BFG series. And we have only ONE spot remaining. Who was it going to go to… the Olympic Gold Medallist and TNA Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle or the new dark and phenomenal lone wolf AJ Styles? And the winner was…….. AJ Styles! He won a good TV match off Aces And Eights distraction and a roll up to earn his spot in the BFG series! Afterwards Aces And Eights beatdown Angle, until Quinton “Rampage” Jackson came in swinging a chain and coming to Angle’s aid! Very interesting end to Impact Wrestling.

And the final list of entrants in this year’s Bound For Glory Series IS:

• Jay Bradley
• Hernandez
• Samoa Joe
• Bobby Roode
• Jeff Hardy
• Christopher Daniels
• Kazarian
• Joseph Park
• Magnus
• Austin Aires
• Mr Anderson
• and…. AJ Styles

Anyway, thanks for reading the Armbar Express. I’m Tom Robinson! And for a random video, I’m going to leave you with this epic scene from last week’s episode of Imapct Wrestling! (Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, following the username @TomRobinson5199)

TNA Slammiversary 2013 Review – Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell Steal The Show In The Best PPV Of The Year

GAIL KIM AND TARYN TERRELL: What happens when you put Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell in a Last Knockouts Standing match? You get insanity!

Evening wrestling fans, I’m The “King Of The Mountain” Tom Robinson here with a quick recap/review of Slammiversary last Sunday before Impact airs tonight.

I got to admit, it was a hell of a PPV. If all TNA PPVs delivered are going to be this good than this new four-PPV-per-year strategy may be a stroke of genius.

The show kicked off with the high-flying X-Division Championship Ultimate X match with Kenny King defending against Suicide and Chris Sabin. As usual, a quality Ultimate X Match with all 3 guys given plenty of time to showcase their skills. 15 minutes of high-impact, wham and bang stuff from the X-Division with Chris Sabin getting the Win. Hulk Hogan came out and re-assured Sabin that he’d get a chance to cash-in the X-Division title for a World title shot in the summer. It’s good to hear that the Destination-X Stipulation is still in tact despite Destination X not being around again. I think with that stipulation plus with the returning X-Division guys like Sabin, Suicide and Petey Williams, the X-Division is certainty on the right tracks and it can be a force to be reckoned with again.

We then got a segment with Hulk Hogan being confronted by Mr Anderson, Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff of the Aces And Eights which led to their match against Samoa Joe, Magnus and the returning Jeff Hardy. I loved Hogan’s segment with Aces And Eights, and him calling Garrett and his father Eric a bitch. Definitely giving the middle finger to any parental TV ratings that get in their way. XD Anyway, Team TNA won in an OK 6-Man Tag. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from it anyway but at least this got Jeff back in the ball game and into the fight with Aces And Eights. I just hope TNA don’t have Jeff dominate them like Kurt Angle did for a period after they got full access at Bound For Glory.

Incredibly short and not that special match between Jay Bradley and Sam Shaw followed which saw Bradley pick up the victory with his BOOMSTICK clothesline, which provoked me to shout at the top of my lungs….

Anyway, this victory meant tha#t Jay Bradley is now in the Bound For Glory series. It’ll be nice to see Bradley having more TV time with his Bound For Glory participation.

Up next was supposed to be Devon defending the TV Title against Joseph Park. However after Joseph was taken out by Aces And Eights backstage beforehand, Devon was awarded the victory. However, Devon was then given a 2nd opponent for the night…. THE MONSTER ABYSS! And typically enough, Abyss won the title without breaking a sweat! What a badass! I really hope this is the end for the Joseph Park thing. Just let Abyss come back full-time and defend his title like he should. Anyway, great that Abyss is the TV champion. Not a great night for Aces And Eights so far…

And in a pretty good 16 MINUTE fatal four way elimination tag team match we crowned NEW TNA Tag Team Champions! Yes, Chavo and Hernandez were eliminated shortly after Christopher Daniels and Kazarian were eliminated for getting DQ’d. Then it came down to the team of Austin Aires and Bobby Roode and team of Gunner and “The Cowboy” James Storm. In a really back and forth finish to the match, Gunner made Aires tap to the torture rack to win the titles for him and Storm. I loved the ending to this match. It kept you in suspense thinking which team would win, and it was a great exchange between all 4 teams to be honest. A great elimination 4 way tag match. Honestly shocked by the result of this. I figured this team was just booked in the match just to make the numbers. However, it appears that these two are getting a run at the tag titles, and it’ll be interesting to see how they are utilized. At least it gets James Storm doing something. XD

Now we get on to the match of the night… Taryn Terrell vs Gail Kim in a Last Knockout Standing match. If you haven’t watched the match yet, here’s a YouTube link (Sorry that it’s flipped horizontally. I’m assuming this guy uploaded it this way to prevent it being taken down for copyright)….

UNBELIEVABLE! 10 minutes of f’ing insanity! When was the last time you saw women wrestlers do these sorts of things and take them sorts of bumps? It was so… brutal! Chairs were involved! Gail Kim ran head first into a chair which got me marking out. The fans were so into this match. HOLY SHIT chants and THIS IS AWESOME chants just erupted in Boston. This crowd was amazing through-out the night! But they loved this match. Taryn’s little diamond cutter of the stage onto the floor was insane. I bet you about 75% of internet wrestling fans that was giving Taryn beef over her wrestling have changed their mind over her now. That was a gutsy performance from both of them. TMZ uploaded some of the photos of Taryn’s bruises after the match. Click here for the link. If one of your women’s matches gets covered by TMZ, you know you’re doing something right. That’s probably the greatest women’s match I’ve ever seen. And I’m not overselling it either. Crowd were great, the women were great. It was just incredible what I was watching thinking “OH MY GOD!” Insane!

AJ Styles FINALLY got a new theme song as he made his down the ring to face Kurt Angle (who got inducted into the TNA Hall Of Fame. Good inductee, but a little bit early for him. I was hoping it’d be Jeff Jarrett). It was a really badass theme song too. I’ll post it down below. These two put on a good match. I’m not sure I agree with the decision to give Angle the victory. I think AJ needed to win if he was being built up to defeat Bully Ray and save TNA. A loss like this is not going to do AJ any good. Ended a little abruptly too, but it was still good. There was one really good sequence where Angle tried a top rope German Suplex on AJ, which saw AJ flipped and he ended up landing on his feet which I thought was incredible. It was a good match, but AJ should have won.

And finally, the TNA World Title match. Sting vs Bully Ray for the TNA World Title. It was a brutal no holds barred match. There was freaking piledrivers for gods sake. One of the most dangerous moves in wrestling which even Bully said wrestlers weren’t supposed to do. As you’d expect Aces And Eights got involved. And as you’d expect, they helped Bully win. Mr Anderson gave Bully the hammer, who smashed Sting in the head with it to retain the title. That means Sting is now out of the TNA World title picture… FOREVER! Muahahahahaha! Unless they pull out some bogus ruling that overturns the decision or something like that. And if they do that, TNA are a bunch of knobheads. XD Still a great match, to end a phenomenal PPV.

No doubt my favourite PPV of the year. There’s was a lot of action and some insane matches at Slammiversary. Really looking forward to what happens next in TNA. It’s a great way to begin the Road to Bound For Glory for TNA.

Oh and before I leave…. here’s AJ Styles’ new theme song. Pretty badass don’t you think?

TNA Slammiversary 2013 Predictions – Will Aces And Eights Steal The Show?

Evening wrestling fans, I am “The Alpha Male” Tom Robinson here with the Armbar Express. TNA Slammiversary predictions! Tonight’s the night. The 11th annual Slammiversary. Big matches, big announcements and big things expected for tonight’s Slammiversary. Lets run down the card…

Bound For Glory Series Qualifier – Jay Bradley vs Sam Shaw

Background: About a month ago, TNA made the announcement that 4 former Gut-Check winners would compete in a mini tournament to determine who the first confirmed entrant in the Bound For Glory Series would be. Gut Check Winner Christian York battled Gut Check Winner and Chiacgo-born Jay Bradley in a close encounter. However, it was Bradley’s Boomstick Clothesline that got him the victory that advanced him to the finals of the tournament at Slammiversary. The 2nd semi-final of the series was scheduled to be Alex Silva vs Sam Shaw. However, Aces And Eights took it upon themselves to take out Alex Silva backstage. This meant that Sam Shaw automatically advanced to the finals at Slammiversary. So it’s Bradley vs Shaw for the right to be in the Bound For Glory series. Will Double S Sam Shaw slide his way into the series, or will Bradley’s Boomstick put down Sam Shaw?

What Should Happen?: I’m honestly not bothered who wins. I’m happy already that one of these guys will finally get some spotlight now in TNA. Since winning Gut-Check, neither of these guys have done much in TNA. Being in the Bound For Glory series and picking up a couple of wins along the way can get them utilized a lot more in TNA. But if I had to pick someone, I’d pick Bradley, purely because I want to see his Boomstick clothesline and shout at the top of my voice….

What Will Happen?: It’s hard to call… errrmmm… Again, I think I’ll go with Bradley because I think with his “Boomstick” Bradley has got something marketable about it, and I think TNA would want to go with him because he’s only one out of the two competitors in this match that actually won a match to get to the qualifier. I don’t know. It’s hard to call this match, but I’m going with Bradley.

TNA Television Championship – Devon (c) vs (sighs) Joseph Park -.-

Background: Joseph Park’s feud with Aces And Eights began in the build up to Bound For Glory with Park being taken hostage by the group.  Park broke free from his captivity during The Aces And Eights match at Bound For Glory and assaulted members of the group. Joseph then competed against Aces And Eights member DOC at Turning Point, but lost. Park then attended wrestling school at OVW for a grand total of TWO WEEKS in order to get better prepared for Aces And Eights. He was then given the chance to fight Devon at Genesis, but was once again defeated. After Bully Ray betrayed TNA and Brooke Hogan at Lockdown, Park stepped in again trying to implement “Justice” by drawing up divorce papers. This didn’t sit too well with Bully Ray and Devon, who attacked Park. A couple of weeks later, Aces And Eights faced the wrath of Park’s brother Abyss who returned and whooped all kinds of Aces And Eights ass. After Abyss’ return, Devon promised to “take a piece out of his (Abyss) ass”. This angered Abyss’ brother Joseph who challenged Devon to a match. Devon told Park he had to earn his shot at him, and had him fight D’Lo Brown for his chance. Park won the match and a TV Title match at Slammiversary was set.

What Should Happen?: Park gets taken out backstage beforehand by Aces And Eights. Abyss replaces his brother in the TV Title match. Wins The TV Title.

What Will Happen?: Devon wins. If TNA have Joseph Park beat Devon for the TV Title, I will do this to my table…

TNA Tag Team Championship – Chavo Guerrero (c) and Hernandez (c) vs Bobby Roode and Austin Aires vs Christopher Daniels and Kazarian vs James Storm and Gunner in a Fatal Four Way Elimination Tag Team Match

Background: In April, Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez defeated Bobby Roode and Austin Aires to become Tag Team Champions for a 2nd time. Aires and Roode then began a squabble with “Bad Influence” Christopher Daniels and Kazarian over who should have a crack at the new champions. A Number One Contendership Match took place between the two teams with James Storm serving as special referee (because apparently, Storm doesn’t have anything better to do). After both teams were getting under the ref’s skin, Storm delievered Last Call Super Kicks to Daniels and Aires, ending the match in a no contest. The next week, a fatal four way elimination match was made between 4 teams for the PPV – Daniels/Kazarian, Aires/Roode, Chavo/Hernandez and James Storm and a partner of his choosing. After the likes of Shark Boy and Robbie E offered their help to James, the returning Gunner was picked as his partner.

What should happen?: Not exactly a fan of Chavo and Hernandez as tag team champions to be honest. Then again, I don’t want the tag titles changing hands every couple of months. It’d damage the prestige if it kept swapping between the same teams over and over again. So, I want Chavo and Hernandez to win and hopefully feud with some other teams.

What will Happen?: Chavo and Hernandez win. The way I see it, I think TNA want a face tag team to hold the titles for now… so they can serve as transitional champions until Aces And Eights get the belts. I think Aces And Eights will get their hands on the belts. It’s just a matter of when and which two members. Tazz mentioned the possibility of Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff winning the titles, but I personally want DOC and Knux to get the gold.

TNA X-Division Championship – Kenny King (c) vs Suicide vs Chris Sabin in an Ultimate X Match

Background: The X-Division has seen a number of returns from a number of former champions. Petey Williams and his CANADIAN DESTROYER came back in April, Chris Sabin came back from two torn ACLs in May, and Suicide returned 2 weeks ago. Everyone has been gunning after the X-Division Champion Kenny King. Sabin was involved in a triple threat for the title about a month ago involving champ King as well Petey Williams. However, Sabin was unsuccessful in winning, but stayed in contention as Petey was the one who got pinned. Suicide won a X-Division title qualifier in his return match, defeating Joey Ryan and Petey to earn a chance for the title at Slammiversary. With the new format in the X-Division, Kenny is set defend the title at the PPV against Suicide and Chris Sabin but things have gotten cranked up… because they will all compete… in an Ultimate X Match!

What should happen?: I’d mark out if Suicide won the title. I’m not saying I’d be pissed if Sabin or King won, but I loved the Suicide character back in the day and the new guy (T.J. Perkins) donning the mask impresses me. Sure Sabin winning would make sense, and King winning would bring a lot of credibility to him as champion. However, Suicide was just a character that captivated me when he was around, and I loved the fact that everyone wanted a piece of them. Him winning the title would be a great way to rebuild his character.

What will happen?: I sense a new champion being crowned tonight. Either Suicide or Sabin will win the title I think. If I had to pick I’d say Sabin because it would be the sort of triumphant-return-from-injury and I think they want to reward Sabin for coming back from all of injuries and stuff.

Gail Kim vs “The Hot Mess” Taryn Terrell – Last Knockout Standing

Background: At Lockdown, Gail Kim wrestled Velvet Sky for the Knockouts Championship with Taryn Terrell as referee. However, when Gail got physical with Taryn, Taryn attacked Gail costing her the title. Due to her actions, Taryn was fired as the Knockouts Referee. However, Taryn was signed onto the Knockouts roster meaning she could get physical with anyone she wants. And on Open Fight Night, she wanted to… hehe get “physical” with Gail Kim…

Gail Kim go out of the match with Taryn by having Tara come out and help her, hehehe, double-team Taryn. Taryn retaliated by attacking Gail Kim backstage. The next week, Gail Kim regained the advantage over Taryn when she defeated Taryn in a tag team match. In their first singles match against one another, Taryn would gain an upset victory over Gail. This led to Gail Kim attacking Taryn post-match, applying the figure four leg lock on the ring-post. After it was announced that Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell would compete in a Last Knockout Standing match at the PPV, Taryn got revenge. She attacked Gail backstage 2 weeks ago. And in their final encounter before the PPV, Taryn teamed up with Chris Sabin to defeat Gail Kim and Kenny King, getting the crucial advantagebefore Slammiversary.

What Should Happen?: I just want to say, I’ve really gotten into this feud so far. We barely see a decent diva feud any more. The Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell anger story is seriously intriguing, as the animosity between the two has been building for months, and all that intensity will just blow up in the Last Knockout Standing match. Since Taryn won their match a month or two ago, I think Gail should get the victory here and level things up at 1-1.

What Will Happen?: I think Gail will win to even up the score. I don’t think they’d have Taryn beat Gail again, especially in a match like the “Last Knockout Standing” match.

 

Magnus, Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy vs The Aces And Eights (Wes Brisco, Garrett Bischoff and Mr Anderson)

Background: Jeff Hardy faced Bully Ray in a rematch from their World Title match on Lockdown in April. The match was Full Metal Mayhem, and was won Bully after he hit Jeff in the HEAD with a HAMMER and fell threw the table. Last week on Impact, it was announced by the newly-reunited Samoa Joe and Magnus that the Aces And Eights would take on Joe, Magnus and the returning Jeff Hardy in a 6 man tag team match.

What Should Happen?: As much as I hate to admit, Jeff Hardy’s team should win. While this would be a huge boost for Aces And Eights, it’d make zero sense for Jeff to make his return and lose in his return match. Then again, it doesn’t make sense to have Jeff fully recover from getting hit in the head with a hammer in less than 2 months. Surely a shot like that would at least paralyse Jeff or even kill him. And people call John Cena “Super Cena”.

What will happen?: Jeff Hardy’s team wins.

 

Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles

Background: AJ Styles returned to TNA in March, right after Lockdown. On his return, he decked James Storm with a clothesline. AJ became a man of few words, taking a more darker approach than before. AJ acted as a lone wolf rather than joining any team. This would include AJ watching superstars like James Storm and Kurt Angle getting beatdown by Aces And Eights. AJ refused declare what side he was on in TNA’s war with Aces And Eights, which irritated Kurt Angle, who brawled with AJ about 4 weeks ago. This led to people believing that AJ would joining Aces And Eights, and Mr Anderson even announced that AJ would be patched in to Aces And Eights. It was also announced that Kurt and AJ would settle their differences at Slammiversary 1 on 1. 2 Weeks ago, AJ attacked Kurt Angle as well as members of Aces And Eights with a hammer, making it clear that he wasn’t affiliated with anyone. He was going to be doing his own thing.

What should happen?: AJ Styles wins. You have NO IDEA how much I’d rage if Angle won.

What will happen?: AJ Styles wins. If TNA has any common sense.

 

TNA World Heavyweight Championship – Bully Ray (c) vs Sting in a No Holds Barred match. If Bully Ray wins, Sting can never compete for the TNA World Title again

Background: At Lockdown, Bully Ray shocked the world by winning the World Title and announcing that he was the President of Aces And Eights. General Manager Hulk Hogan blamed Sting for convincing Hulk to pick Bully Ray as the number one contender for the World Title in the first place. The two traded words for weeks, and this led to Hulk Hogan telling Sting to “get the hell out of my ring”. After a couple of weeks, Sting came back two aid Hogan in the fight with Aces And Eights. Hogan booked a number one contendership match between Sting and Matt Morgan, not wanting to make the same mistake of picking a number one conteder. Sting won the match and the match was set for Slammiversary. During a contract signing between the two, Sting asked Bully for a No Holds Barred match at the PPV. Bully agreed, on the condition that Sting promised never to wrestle for the TNA World Title again if he lost. Sting agreed to the stipulation and the stage is set for the showdown at Slammiversary. Will Sting take away a great deal of power from Aces And Eights, or is this the last time we see Sting compete for the World Title?

What Should happen?: Bully Ray wins.

What Will happen?: Bully Ray wins. I don’t think they’ll have Bully drop the title this early.

 

And finally….

Who Will Be The 2nd Inductee Into The TNA Hall Of Fame?

Who It Should Be?: Jeff Jarrett. Come on… he FOUNDED the god-damn company.

Who It Will Be?: I’m going to say Jeff Jarrett, but I would not be surprised if TNA pulled off the Dick Move of having Hulk Hogan be the 2nd inductee.

 

That’s it. The stage is set. Predictions done! Enjoy Slammiversary. I know I will.

16/05/2013 TNA Impact Wrestling Review: Big Matches And Stipulations Added, As The Road To Slammiversary Takes A New Direction

BULLY RAY AND STING: Face To Face ahead of their encounter at Slammiversary

Evening Wrestling fans, I am the “Phenomenal” Tom Robinson with another TNA Impact review for you as Slammiversary draws near.

We started off the show with Hulk Hogan announcing Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles for Slammiversary and wanting to say thanks to “The Monster” Abyss. And we got a Park alright. Unfortunately…

Joseph Park showed up instead. Urrrrgghhh. Really TNA? REALLY? Surely the Joseph Park character has surely had its day by now. Just please get him off TV and have Abyss back full-time. Anyway, Hogan’s had enough of Park’s crap and demands to know where Abyss is. This draws out the “Sergeant Of Arms” of Aces And Eights Devon and fellow member D-Lo Brown who was demoted to “prospect” level last week, which is the lowest of the low if you’re a part of Aces And Eights. Devon said he wanted to, and I quote, “take a piece out off his ass”. LOL. I might actually incorporate that line into my daily vocabulary. What a line. I’m really starting to like Devon on the mic. Anyway, Joseph got mad at Devon, and challenged him to a match. However, Devon said Joseph had to prove himself and D’Lo stepped up to the plate. So Hogan set up the match between Joseph Park and D’Lo Brown, and if Joseph wins, he gets a match with Devon. And if D’Lo loses, well… he’s in the shit.

Meanwhile, in the tag team division, the tag team champions Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez going up against Bobby Roode and Christopher Daniels respectably. In Chavo vs Roode, Chavo got disqualified because James Storm came out and spit beer in Roode’s face. And in Daniels vs Hernandez, Hernandez defeated Daniels off a James Storm distraction. After the Daniels vs Hernandez match, James Storm announced that it would be a fatal four way match for the TNA Tag Team Titles at Slammiversary. Chavo and Hernandez will be defending the gold against Daniels and Kaz, Roode and Aires, and James Storm, who will pick his own partner for Slammiversary. As much as I don’t like seeing the same old teams competing for the gold, James Storm being brought into play is a good way to mix it up. I’d mark out if James Storm chose “The Wildcat” Chris Harris for his partner at Slammiversary! America’s Most Wanted reunited would be a legendary moment that I’m sure true TNA fans will love.

Kurt Angle called out his Slammiversary opponent AJ Styles. However, he gets everyone’s favourite asshole… MISTEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ANDERSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Anyway, Mr Anderson cuts a decent promo and basically says that next week will be the “patching-in” of AJ Styles as a member of Aces And Eights, and dares Angle to come. However, Angle doesn’t want to wait and takes down Anderson. This brings out AJ, who takes down Angle with a kick. Nice segment. I really wonder what’s gonna go down next week with the “Patching-in”. And I’m looking forward to AJ vs Angle at the PPV.

Also, 4 former Gut-Check winners started off a mini-tournament to determine who gets a spot in the Bound For Glory series. In a match between two former Gut Check winners, Jay Bradley defeated Christian York in a quick match to earn the right to go to Slammiversary to try and earn a spot in the Bound For Glory series. Personally, I think Christian York should really be the one getting a spot in the Bound For Glory series. I’m not saying Jay Bradley isn’t worthy enough or isn’t talented enough. It would just make a lot more sense if the guy that’s actually been active in TNA since getting his contract would be rewarded for his work over guys like Jay Bradley who have only showed up once in a blue moon. HOWEVER, competing in the Bound For Glory series can give whoever wins the mini-tournament some much needed exposure and can give him a lot more air-time post BFG-Series. Who knows? For all we know, TNA may have them win it!

Gail Kim lost a non-title match to Knockouts Champion Velvet Sky via a roll-up (is it me or is too many women’s matches in TNA ending in roll ups?). It was a decent TV Women’s match, which included Gail attacking Velvet post-match in similar fashion to how she attacked Tara and Taryn Terrell in the last couple of weeks – figure four leg lock on the ring-post. Anyway, Mickie James was also given a Knockouts Tag Title match with Velvet next week so I hope to hell this match was much better than their match about a month ago.

Kenny King retained the X-Division Championship in a sound triple threat title match also involving Chris Sabin and Petey Williams. Petey got the wrong end of the stick and was the one that got pinned. This means that Petey is out of the title picture for a while and has to earn his way back in under the new X-Division rules. It’s a shame because I’m a big fan of Petey. It was also announced that at Slammiversary, Kenny King will defend the X-Division Title against Chris Sabin and the returning Suicide… in the Ultimate X Match. That will be an enjoyable match if TNA give them a lot of time at Slammiversary. I’m sure Sabin, King and whoever takes on the mantle of Suicide (likely Kiyoshi) can pull a terrific match together if given enough time.

Joseph Park defeated D’Lo Brown… unfortunately. Same old stuff with Joseph Park. D’Lo Brown kicks his ass for a bit. Makes him bleed. Park turns into Abyss. Blackhole Slam. And got the win. -.- However, I will admit. D’Lo looked very slick in the ring for someone who has barely wrestled in the last couple of years. I’m surprised how well he could move for someone his size and age. But because Joseph Park won, D’Lo will likely be in the shittest of shit with Aces And Eights. Nice seeing you D’Lo.

Contract Signing for the TNA World Title match between Sting and champion Bully Ray at Slammiversary. Jeremy Borash introduces Bully Ray who comes out and pushes Jeremy out the ring and calls out Sting and Hulk Hogan (Bully wanted Hogan to watch the contract singing go down). Sting proposes a stipulation for their match at the PPV… NO HOLDS BARRED! Oooooooooooooooooooooo. Bully Ray agrees to Sting’s stipulation as long as Sting agrees to Bully’s stipulation. If Bully Ray wins at Slammiversary… Sting can NEVER compete for the TNA World Title again!

Sting agrees to the match and a brawl between Bully and Sting breaks out to end the show.

A very interesting night indeed. It’s nice that some PPV matches are getting announced and the card is starting to take shape. Next week with the “patching-in” of AJ Styles at Aces And Eights, D’Lo Brown facing the fury of Bully Ray, the return of Suicide and the Knockouts Title match is going to be a hell of a show to build on the foundations set on this one. Anyway, that’s my TNA weekly review done. And I’ll see you with the Extreme Rules predictions later on today!

14/03/13 TNA Impact Wrestling Review – Aces And Eights Dominate/AJ Styles Returns

What up guys? Tom Robinson here, with TNA blogging for you guys. We had the fall-out of Lockdown on the 14th of March, and what were the implications from the shocking events in the Lockdown main event?

 

Aces And Eights Opening Segment

Yeah, Chavo and Hernandez came out for a TNA Tag Title match when Aces And Eights came out of nowhere and attacked the tag team, much to the delight of the Chicago crowd. Once Aces And Eights took out the trash, Devon cut a promo to basically introduce the president of the Aces and Eights and… NEW TNA World Heavyweight Champion… Bully Ray. He came out to a great reaction at the top of the show, and I’ve got to say, I love the new Aces And Eights theme song, with lyrics added on. It’s a cool addition. 🙂

Anyway, Bully Ray, who turned heel at Lockdown, and revealed himself as the President of Aces And Eights, basically did an extended edition of the speech he delivered at the end of Lockdown. He got loud “BULLY” chants too. He dared Hulk Hogan to fire the group (who are apparently under contract in TNA). He wanted Hogan to fire them before the end of the night. It was a solid heel promo from Bully (which is funny because the Chicago fans were cheering everything Bully said). A good start to the show. I also noticed two look-alikes in the audience. I saw a guy who looked like Jay Lethal, and a guy who looked like Gandalf. XD

 

Gail Kim and Tara vs Velvet Sky and Mickie James

Anyway, we get the action starting with a tag team knockouts match, with Mickie James and Velvet Sky taking on Tara and Gail Kim. While Mickie James and Velvet Sky (and her ass! XD) got great pops, they didn’t come close to the pop Chicago’s own Tara got. Such a great appreciation of the knockouts in the windy city! And it was a great showing by the women, with some good tag team moves on display, a slightly messed up japanese arm drag by Velvet Sky, and even a tarantula by Tara! That got a great pop from the fans. You can tell the difference between a TNA women’s match and a WWE women’s match. These knockouts are always great to see. Referee Taryn Terrell, who’s on probation for attacking Gail Kim at Lockdown, gave Gail Kim a HELL of a slap en route to Velvet’s victory. I’ve seen an awful lot of slaps in wrestling, but that has to go up there as one of the best. So it appears that Taryn Terrell will likely get fired as a ref, which will lead to her been given a wrestling contract instead, and the Gail Kim/Taryn Terrell feud will result in a match some time down the road. I hope if that’s the case, that Terrell is actually good in the ring. She’s spent time in OVW, so she should be preapred.

 

Aces And Eights Backstage Segments: Bully Ray calls his Wife, threatens his dad-in-law and attacks Kurt Angle

Anyway, segments were aired backstage with the group celebrating Bully’s win and included Bully ringing up his “wife” Brooke Hogan on the phone. To be honest, it was funny when D’Lo said “Mama’s on the phone”. XD Funny segment there, and you could tell something was gonna happen with the group later on in the show. They also attacked Kurt Angle, sending out a statement to the TNA roster.

 

Rob Terry vs Robbie E

Yep, it appears “Robbie T” has changed his name back to Rob Terry. But there’s something that bothers me. Christy Hemme introduced Terry as from “the New Jersey Shore”, but during his match, Tazz said he was from Wales (which is where he is actually from). WTF? Make up your mind, TNA!

Anyway, Rob Terry destroyed Robbie T in about a minute for the win in their rematch from Lockdown. Rob Terry got “Feed Me More” chants from the fans, which I thought was hilarious. I don’t think he’s that much like Ryback to be honest. XD Maybe Batista. But if Terry squashes his next opponent similarly to how he beat Robbie E, then them chants maybe justified. XD By the way, Rob Terry has horrible dance moves. His dancing this week was really below par. I guess it beats my dances moves, I guess. XD

 

Sting Backstage Segments – Tension with Hulk Hogan

Sting was INCREDIBLY pissed on Impact. He was raging ALL over the place after what Bully did at Lockdown. And looked like he was about to hurt someone. He went too see GM Hulk Hogan, who was just as pissed as Stinger. But it seemed as though he was more pissed at Sting than Bully, because it was Sting that kept convincing Hulk that Bully Ray was a good guy. He said that their partnership was done, and told Sting get out his office, saying that Sting made me sick. A really heated segment from Sting and Hulk. After that confrontation, Sting was confronted by the tag team champions Austin Aires and Bobby Roode, who mocked Sting and had a go at him for allowing Bully Ray to become the TNA World Champion. This eventually led to Sting picking a fight with Austin Aires (since Bobby Roode sneaked away XD).

 

Christopher Daniels vs James Storm

This was supposed to be AJ Styles’ big return to Impact Wrestling. But instead, Christopher  Daniels and Kazarian imitated the Road Warriors (who were from Chicago).  Pretty funny segment, with Daniels ending on “WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…. tush!” XD

Interrupted by James Storm who started a match with Daniels, which he won… easily. After their great match at Genesis, this was a really disappointingly quick match.

 

AJ STYLES RETURNS

After the match, Daniels and Kazarian delivered a beatdown, until AJ Styles appeared (dressed up in a hoodie and sporting a beard) and took down Kazarian (which unhooded him) and saved the “Cowboy” from a beatdown… from them anyway. When Storm started to celebrate… BAMM! AJ nails Storm with a hard clothesline. That got a heck of a pop from the Chicago fans. That clothesline was powerful, he re-hooded himself from the draft off the clothesline. A really great way to return from AJ. And BEFORE you jump to conclusion that AJ Styles is now heel, I just want to state… he isn’t.

This may be exactly as I wanted to be. If you read my AJ Styles/Aces And Eights Tease post (which is here on this link if you haven’t read it) you’d know that I don’t think AJ will turn out as a full-blown heel. I think he’s an anti-hero. He’s got that kind of “I’m going to do whatever I want” attitude, where he don’t take no sh*t from anyone. As for the clothesline to Storm, I just think that’s just a personal score that he’s going to settle before he goes after the Aces And Eights. In fact….

BOLD PREDICTION TIME!

I think that AJ Styles will win the Bound For Glory series, and defeat Bully Ray to become the TNA World Champion at Bound For Glory. That’s what I think is going to happen.

 

Oh by the way, TNA kept saying that “TNA is coming to your hometown”. I sincerely doubt that TNA will come to the glitz and glamour of Middlesbrough like. XD Also, Matt Morgan did a segment with Joseph Park and said that he was “An abortion to the sport of wrestling” before laying him out. WTF? An abortion to the sport of wrestling? Really?

 

Austin Aires vs Sting

This was a great match between the two. While Sting took full advantadge, Aries got some edge back, before Sting locked in the Sharpshooter, before it was broken up by Aces And Eights. I’m amazed how well Sting is able to wrestle at his age. Aries is a good opponent for him, and it was funny too see Austin Aries failing at locking in the sharpshooter, because he didn’t know how it was supposed to be done. XD Sting was all over Roode on the outside, who kept interfering before being ejected from ringside. Funny Sting was all over Roode, considering how Bobby Roode was making Sting his bitch around this time last year. XD But seriously, a really good main event…

 

Aces And Eights Win The Battle

…interrupted by Aces And Eights, who were booed at the end. So the group got cheered at the start of the show, and booed at the end of the show. LOL I guess people really wanted to see a finish to the Aries/Sting match. Anyway Hulk Hogan came out and said “If you live by the sword, you die by the sword!” and rallied the troops from backstage to get a piece of Aces And Eights, setting up a big-ass brawl at the end… which had a finish. Normally, these sorts of brawls are still going as the show stops airing, but Aces And Eights ended up defeating Hogan’s calvary. A great way to make Aces And Eights seem powerful. They have the TNA World Championship, they have the TNA TV Championship (which hasn’t been defended in months), and they won this latest battle. They even took over the TNA website for brief period. Unfortunately, TNA “regained” control of the site, and it’s back to normal, but here’s a look at the memo that was on the site when it was under Aces And Eights control…

WEBSITE TAKEOVER: Aces And Eights Take Over The TNA Website

Aces And Eights trying to take over TNA will be a really good angle to see. I mean we’ve seen groups come in and cause havoc before, but we haven’t really seen a lot of groups recently try to take over their wrestling company. We’ve had the Alliance try to take over WWF, and nWo try to take over WCW, but they were more than 10 years ago. It’s nice to see these angles. Aces And Eights are now a threat to TNA. Put away any doubt, Aces And Eights are a legit threat to TNA. They may be the hottest thing  in wrestling right now… and this is during Wrestlemania season! WWE need a word with themselves here. This week was TNA’s week. The Chicago fans were amazing here! As always!

 

Anyway, it’s good to be back blogging guys! I’m off from University for a grand total of 3 WEEKS, so I’ve got a lot things planned. Not just with WordPress. Several accounts are going to be opened and several projects are going to be put in place. YouTube, that Instagram thing, Keek, I’m going to use Tumblr again. Seriously, all sorts planned. Stay tuned to the blog and stayed tuned to my Twitter @TomRobinson5199, for updates. I’ll be seeing you guys very soon. 🙂

 

 

 

TNA Genesis 2013 Review – Super Hardy Wins Again! Christopher Daniels Becomes The Number One Contender!

BULLY RAY: A little strange that the man on the poster for Genesis doesn’t even have a match on the card. Did show up for 2 segments though.

 

“Greetings and salutations, all you ham sandwiches!” Christopher Daniels

Hehehehe

TNA Genesis review for you guys!

SUPER HARDY! SUPER HARDY!

Yes, TNA have their very own John Cena, in the Charismatic Enigma Jeff Hardy, who successfully retained the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat elimination match against Bobby Roode and Austin Aries at Genesis. I think it was a decent triple threat match and they were some brilliant spots in the match which included the traditional Doomsday Device modified with Jeff Hardy hitting the Whisper In The Wind. However, I’ve got 3 problems with the match:

1. 75% of the match was effectively a handicap match. OK, I get that that Bobby Roode and Austin Aires gonna team up up to take out Jeff Hardy, but considering the egos these guy supposedly had, surely they had to turn on each other sooner than later. The whole point of a triple threat is that all 3 guys fight one another. Roode and Aries fought each other for about 1 minute. Roode or Austin should’ve turned on the other a lot sooner.

2. The eliminations were way too close to each other in time. After Bobby Roode got eliminated, Aries didn’t last before being eliminated himself. I really wanted to see him and Hardy scrap for a little bit longer.

3. Why do TNA feel the need to make Jeff Hardy out to be their very own John Cena. Overcoming the odds of the greatest heels in TNA like Cena would? Really? Jeff Hardy gets his ass-kicked for about 90% of the match and at the end of the match somehow defeats them both? BULLSHIT.

I’m not surprised that Hardy won the fight, but this was totally the wrong way to end the match. Decent match, but seemed like a glorified handicap match than a triple threat.

Christopher Daniels Becomes The Number One Contender For The TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Yes! I am so happy with this result! Daniels defeat James Storm, and became the number one contender for the World title. Get In! Daniels is no doubt worthy of being the world champion, and I’m surprised he hasn’t been up until this point. Daniels defeated James Storm in a solid match between the two after a distraction from Kazarian, and he gets a TNA World Title shot on the 24th of January Episode of Impact, and I REALLY do hope that he wins the gold. YES! Happy with the match and happy with the result.

Sting Gets Revenge

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

In what was a pretty boring match, Sting defeated DOC and got revenge for the hammer attack a couple of a months ago. Seriously, the had Sting win with such ease, it made DOC look SO goddamn bad. Aces And Eights tried to jump Sting afterwards, but Bully Ray made the save. DOC seriously should have won here. And the match absolutely sucked.

 

Rob Van Dam Retains The X-Division Title

Kenny King and Christian York faced off in what I thought was a pretty decent match. Kenny King showed off some amazing abilities and York did pretty well and there were a couple of spots in that match that were pulled off really well. I thought the finish was good to with the cradle pin being reversed into another pin by York to get the win. Kenny King then laid out York with a beast finisher, which I don’t know the name of. And York was out… which wasn’t a good thing considering he had his title match with RVD next, which RVD easily won. I’m not surprised by the results of both matches, but all I want to say is… Kenny King needs the X-Division Title. Come on, TNA. Put the belt on him already.

 

DO NOT BOOK SAMOA JOE VS MR ANDERSON AGAIN TNA

These guys do not click AT ALL. This match was beyond boring. It started of pretty feisty and aggressive by Samoa Joe, but then the match just slowed right down. It was slowly becoming boring as hell. That’s not to take anything anything away from Mr Anderson or Samoa Joe. I think they are both capable wrestlers. But its hard to get interested in a match with wrestlers these sizes, and it limits the work these two can do together. Samoa Joe is athletic and can move, but is still very big and Mr Anderson isn’t as quick with his game as Joe. So I wasn’t expecting much from this match, and I didn’t get much. TNA, Anderson and Joe just don’t seem to click. By the way, Mike Knox distracted Joe, allowing Anderson to get the win.

 

GAIL KIM DOMINATES THE KNOCKOUTS GAUNTLET, BUT GETS SCREWED

Gail Kim basically dominated this gauntlet, eliminating Miss Tessmacher, ODB and Mickie James in quick succession, not allowing any of the pairings to put together a good showing. I get they were trying to keep energy up through-out the match, but these matches should have been at least a little bit longer. It was then down to Gail Kim and Velvet Sky, and Sky won despite Kim’s foot being on the rope. Now it seems that the knockouts referee Taryn Terrell is about to start a feud with Gail Kim, considering they were arguing through-out the gauntlet, and Kim got screwed at the end. And if this feud results in a match between the two, I do hope Taryn’s training in OVW will help perform in the ring. I don’t know how well this girl works in the ring, but hopefully she and Gail can put together a good match. I’m not surprised that Velvet Sky won. You could tell she was gonna win, because she just returned and now she is gonna feud with Tara over the Knockouts title. Hopefully this is a good feud for the gold.

 

Send Joey Ryan To OVW

Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez defeated Matt Morgan and Joey Ryan to retain the tag team titles. Worst Tag Team Match I’ve seen in a while. This match was just a total mess, and it’s bad enough they put together two big guys in a tag match… but Joey Ryan needs to stay the hell away from the ring. Seriously, he f**ked up a lot of moves in that match, and nearly broke his own neck taking a powerbomb from Hernandez. Ryan has a great gimmick, no doubt. But his ring-work is absolutely terrible. He’s sloppy and was all over the place in that match, and what’s worse is that he was tagged in a lot in that match, so TNA showcased his shitness a lot, and his front-facelock on Hernandez looked plain ridiculous. And he’s just bringing down Matt Morgan, who came back to TNA, big-booting everyone and looking like this total bad-ass, and he’s stuck with this tool, acting like his trainer. Matt Morgan looked like he was about to snap Ryan in half after the match, and I do hope he turns on Ryan starts going into singles competition.

 

Devon Defeats Joseph Park

The fans were into this one a lot. The fans were split, with “Let’s go Devon” and Let’s go Joseph” chants colliding. They started off the match with Devon toying with Joseph and out-wrestling him and slapping him in the hand, being the traditional heel giant Goliath facing David. Park would then assemble a comeback, demonstrating actual wrestling from his “OVW training” which got the fans popping, and got Devon really peeved. This match was similar to the DOC one, except Park actually showed some wrestling in this one, and the match actually wasn’t that bad. As you’d expect, Park was busted open, saw blood, morphed into Abyss, kicked the crap out of Devon, and delivered a Black-Hole Slam. I’m actually suprised Devon kicked out. It made him look good when he did it. Park was about to chokeslam Devon, but then he got stunned, and like his match with DOC, he got beat. Very similar to his match with DOC, but it was actually made a lot better with Park showing wrestling abilities and the crowd were really into it, making me really into it. And the crowd does make the match sometimes. Pretty good.

 

Overall, I think Genesis was a good PPV, but I think it was just predictable as hell. All my predictions were right (expect with the Daniels vs Storm match. I thought Storm would win to be honest) and I just feel that they should have had some moments that none of those would suspect would happen. The show should be flat out unpredictable, but it wasn’t, and it made the show seem flat.

TNA Genesis 2013 Predictions

BULLY RAY: A little strange that the man on the poster for Genesis doesn’t even have a match on the card. Hmmmmm.

What is up wrestling fans? Tom Robinson here. With predictions on tonight’s TNA Pay-Per-View “Genesis”. To be honest, this card could have been a LOT better, but this card is set and the PPV is here. So let’s get down to the predictions…

Matt Morgan and Joey Ryan vs Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez for the TNA World Tag Team Championship

Background: This feud has been building up for a while. The two teams first met for the tag titles at Final Resolution, with Ryan and Morgan challenging Chavo and Hernandez. The match ended in Morgan and Ryan get DQ’d, but somehow, they were able to get a rematch for the tag titles set for Genesis. Last week on Impact, Morgan and Ryan were attacked by Chavo and Hernandez  backstage when Matt Morgan was cutting a promo. Pretty boring feud for the tag titles at the moment so I do hope this is the last tag match between the two. These two teams just don’t seem to click for me.

What I think should happen: Chavo and Hernandez retains, Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan break up and Matt Morgan gets a serious storyline.

What I think will happen: I think Chavo and Hernandez will retain. There is a chance that Morgan and Ryan could win the titles, but if TNA were smart they’d have Chavo and Hernandez drop the belts to a different team. I don’t think they want Morgan to be Joey Ryan’s bodyguard for too long, and putting the belt on Morgan and Ryan would be a huge risk.

Christian York vs Kenny King, with the winner facing Rob Van Dam for the TNA X Division Championship later that night

Background: Rob Van Dam defeated Kenny King to retain the X-Division Championship at Final Resolution. However, on the next episode of Impact Wrestling, King defeated RVD in a non-title match using the ropes as leverage in order to make the pin. The next week, King was confident that Rob Van Dam would call him out on Open Fight Night. Instead, RVD called-out Christian York who was producing strong showings against the very best TNA has to offer since earning a TNA contract. RVD did defeat York that night, but the next week, York defeated Kid Kash to earn a spot in a X Division Title  number one contendership match at Genesis, with the winner getting a shot at the title against RVD the same night. The next week, Kenny King defeated Zema Ion to earn the second spot in the number one contendership match, meaning Kenny King would face Christian York at Genesis for the right to face RVD for the X-Division Title the same night.

What I think should happen: Rob Van Dam should lose the title. I don’t know I just don’t feel excited for the X-Division with him being champion. I mean, let’s not forget, RVD is a veteran after all. The champion should be way more energetic. I get why RVD is the X-Division Champion. They want the X-Division to feel prestigious again, so they put the strap on a big-name star like RVD, but despite his abilities in the ring, he just isn’t fast-paced enough for this division in my opinion. I think Kenny King should win the belt tonight, and be built as champion for months and months to come. Remember, Destination X is finished because of the new 4 PPV system from TNA, so they don’t need to have someone trade the X-Division title for a TNA World Title shot, so use the new specials in production to build the X-Divsion again. They are PLENTY of guys around the world who wouldn’t think twice about joining TNA and being a part of their division if they give it enough exposure, and bring by the Six Sides.

What I think will happen: Christian York defeats Kenny King, and Kenny King costs York the title match later that night. I don’t think TNA would want to have RVD drop the belt just yet. I think Kenny King is destined for the belt, I just don’t think it’ll happen tonight.

Christopher Daniels vs James Storm

Background: At Final Resolution, Storm defeated Kazarian in a random match that was put together that night. But after AJ Styles lost to Christopher Daniels in their final match at Final Resolution and “left” the company, Storm took exception to Daniels and Kazarian taking the piss out of AJ on the next few weeks on Impact. Three weeks ago, Daniels and Kazarian first had “Santa Claus” come out and slander AJ, before Storm got involved and attacked Santa. Then, two weeks ago, Kazarian came out dressed as AJ Styles making fun of AJ. A match between James Storm and Christopher Daniels was then put in place for Genesis to settle their dispute.

What I think should happen: Christopher Daniels wins, because he’s freaking awesome! Seriously, that segment with Daniels calling out “AJ Styles” for “one SECOND last time” and calling the fans “Ham Sandwiches” was funny as hell. Yeah Kazarian was funnier with his AJ Styles impression, but I would love it if Daniels got pushed to the World Title, and defeating James Storm would be huge for Daniels.

What I think will happen: James Storm will win. As much as I’d like to see Daniels win, they want Storm to win the title down the line, and they would not want him to lose to someone like Daniels.

Devon vs Joseph Park

Background: At Turning Point, Joseph Park was defeated by DOC. On the next Impact Wrestling, Joseph Park agreed to go to OVW (TNA’s developmental territory) for training so he could face Aces And Eights on more time. Over the weeks, TNA started showing segments which showed Park hard at work. Despite getting off to a bad start, Park actually made some progress and dedicated himself to wrestling a lot more while there. He returned to TNA on Thursday to ask Hulk Hogan for a match with Aces And Eights. Hogan eventually agreed to giving Park his match with an Aces And Eights member at Genesis, who was later revealed to be Devon.

What I think should happen: Devon wins. I think Aces And Eights should just kick the crap out of Park, take him out. And have Abyss come back, to try and avenge his brother. That’s what I think should happen.

What I think will happen: Devon wins. Despite training, Joseph Park is still gonna get squashed I think.

Miss Tessmacher vs Mickie James vs ODB vs Gail Kim vs Velvet Sky in a Gauntlet Match to determine the #1 contender for the TNA Knockouts Championship

Background: The Knockouts Division has been picking up as of late. With the returns of Velvet Sky and Mickie James, competition for the title held by Tara has picked up. So, this gauntlet has been put together, pitting 5 former knockouts champions against each other for the right to face Tara for the Knockouts Championship.

What I think should happen: I’m a big fan of Tessmacher, so I’d like to see her win the match. While it’d make more sense for Velvet Sky to win the match since she just returned, there’s still some kind of storyline going on between Tara and Tessmacher. I mean she teamed with Robbie T to defeat Tara and Jesse on Thursday’s Impact. So I’d like to see Tessmacher face Tara again. These two can do good work together.

What I think will happen: I think Velvet Sky will win. Mickie James won’t win, since she had a shot at Final Resolution. I doubt ODB will win. Gail Kim won’t win. I see Sky winning it over Tessmacher to be honest, since she just returned.

Sting vs DOC

Background: 2 weeks before Turning Point, DOC was unmasked as a member of Aces And Eights. The next week, The VP told DOC to prove his worth to the group to become a full-pledged member. So, DOC went after Sting, delivering a brutal beat down to Sting with a hammer. With this attack, DOC was fully accepted into Aces And Eights. However, vignettes started to air which would reveal that Sting would return on the 3rd of January 2013 edition of Impact Wrestling. And he made good on his word, saving Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle from Aces And Eights. Sting then stated that he was coming for DOC. DOC vs Sting was made for Genesis.

What I think should happen: If TNA want the Aces And Eights faction to show more significance and become more of a threat, they’d have DOC beat one of the biggest stars in TNA. While DOC is terrible on the mic, he still posses that mean streak that gives him importance in the group, and I feel DOC could really go places in TNA.

What I think I will happen: Sting will win. This is his revenge match. I don’t see TNA having him lose (even though he should).

Austin Aries vs Bobby Roode vs Jeff Hardy (c) in an elimination triple threat match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Background: At Bound For Glory, Jeff Hardy won the TNA World Title from Austin Aries, and successfully defended it against him at Turning Point in a Ladder match. Afterwards, Bobby Roode became the number one contender for the TNA World Title, and on the Impact Wrestling before Final Resolution, Bobby Roode paid Aces And Eights to attack Jeff before the Roode vs Hardy match at Final Resolution. However, Aces And Eights refused to help him during the title match with Hardy at Final Resolution, which led to Jeff Hardy retaining the title. Aces And Eights then attacked Hardy AND Roode after the match. On the Impact Wrestling after Final Resolution, Roode demanded to know why Aces And Eights attacked him. Devon then revealed that Roode was outbid by Austin Aries, who paid the group to take out both of them at Final Resolution. The next week, Austin Aries was granted a World Title the next week in a one on one match with Jeff Hardy However, Roode screwed Aries out of the title, by hitting a spinebuster on Aries, allowing Jeff to pick up the win. This would lead to Aries calling out Roode for a match at Open Fight Night the next week, which was interrupted by Jeff Hardy. The next week, Jeff Hardy decided to take on both of them at Genesis for the World title in a triple threat match. Hulk Hogan made the match an elimination match.

What should happen: Jeff Hardy loses the title. Whether it’s Aries or Roode that win it, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think Jeff should on to the belt for that long, and Roode and Aires are capable main event heels, so either of them two holding the belt would make good TV.

What will happen: Jeff Hardy will retain the title, because he is TNA’s John Cena. Super Hardy wins!

That’s it. I will watch Genesis tomorrow, since I don’t have University tomorrow. YES! I’m not gonna watch it live. The last PPV I watched live was Hell In A Cell, and that didn’t end so well, and had really bad morning side-effects. Hehe. Later. BYE

Follow me @TomRobinson5199 as always. 🙂 See ya!

10/01/13 Impact Wrestling Review/Reactions – The Prelude To Genesis

Yes, Genesis is this Sunday, so one last stop has to be made before that event takes place. And this stop was certainty an eventful one.

Aces And Eights

Aces And Eights were certainly busy tonight, and this storyline is starting to get some momentum with someone being unmasked (Mike Knox), Mr Anderson apparently joining the crew and Sting’s return. So we started off the show with Sting, Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle in the ring talking trash about Aces And Eights. Kurt Angle calls out Mr Anderson to ask who’s side he’s on. Anderson came out and had a dig at them all for not helping him when Aces And Eights kicked his ass a couple of months ago, and had a go at Sting for choosing Bully Ray over Ken to team up with him at Bound For Glory. It was an alright promo, but considering how great Anderson is on the mic – for god’s sake, he sounded so dull. Anderson’s gold on the mic, and if he is a full-time member of Aces And Eights, make him a little more charismatic and enthusiastic please. Anyway that set up Mr Anderson vs Kurt Angle later on that night. Also, the VP of Aces And Eights put Mike Knox on notice. He told him to earn his place in the group, just like DOC did a couple of months ago by attacking Sting. So, the match was about to take place, when Knox decks Angle with the hammer, and bails with the group when Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco tried to make the save. Angle is stretchered to the back, and then Sting challenges Knox to a match, which ends with Sting getting the win. Not that bad of a match, which afterwards saw Brooke Hogan become a Danzel in Distress and being captured by the Aces And Eights. Of the course the “suspended” knight in shining armor Bully Ray makes the save, which sets up the next segment, which we’ll get to later on.

Austin Aries And Bobby Roode

These two were funny as hell on this episode of Impact. Them two bickering over their  ring attire before their match with Jeff Hardy and James Storm. I love it, seeing these two heels trying to out-do one another. I also loved them arguing through-out the tag match. Austin Aries slapping Roode really hard on the back to make the tag was funny as hell. You’ll have to watch it yourself either on Challenge at 9pm in the UK on Sunday or on YouTube to comprehend the awesomeness of these segments. These two should do this stuff a lot more often. The tag match itself was actually a really good tag match. Daniels and Kazarian tried to take out James Storm, who faces Daniels at Genesis, continuing that feud. But Jeff Hardy’s Twist Of Fate at the end looked a lot more like a stunner if you asked me. The Stunner Of Fate? Anyway, I’m looking forward to the triple threat elimination match for the TNA World title, between Roode, Aries and Hardy at Genesis. Should be a great encounter. As well as the Daniels/Storm match at Genesis. They could deliver a great match given enough time.

Robbie T Gets With Miss Tessmacher

Right so Robbie E goes up to Miss Tessmacher and asks her to team up with him to take on Jesse and Tara tonight. Tessmacher agrees to face them, but with Robbie T. The match itself was essentially a squash match. Tessmacher squashed Tara, while Robbie T squashed Jesse. So Tessmacher and Robbie T win… BUT Robbie T does a little of his dance routine from a couple weeks ago in the bro-off, but with the assistance of the lovely Tessmacher. While I was a little freaked out by the segment, Robbie T turning face may be very good, and the crowd seems to get really into him. Also, this segment saw Tessmacher shaking that ass, which is ALWAYS a good thing. Tessmacher and Robbie T also made out. Robbie T is getting some ASS! LOL This face turn storyline could be rather good if done correctly. Robbie T’s got a lot of potential.

Joseph Park

He’s back! And he’s willing to put his law-business aside as he is set to ask Hulk Hogan for one more match with Aces And Eights. And then he walks into a door! XD Oh man, that had me in tears! Back to the matter at hand, Hulk Hogan gives Park a match with Aces And Eights, which is later confirmed to be at Genesis, and against Devon. Meh. Not exactly fussed on Devon vs Park at Genesis, but then again, I wasn’t that fussed when Park took on DOC, and I actually enjoyed that match. So this could actually be not bad.

Kenny King vs Zema Ion

A pretty slick match from the X-Divsion once again. Kenny King won and advanced to the finals of the X-Divison tournament against Christian York, with the winner facing RVD later that night. I would have liked to see them go a little longer, but that match was pretty awesome for the short amount of time it was showcased. The X-Divsion is such a great feature on TNA. They just need to promote it a lot better – and I don’t mean giving them their own PPV and signing some talent to short-term contracts. Do you remember back when TNA just started, they had like 30 different guys competing for that title? Now they’ve only got like 6. Come on TNA.

Brian Cage vs Jay Bradley

Meh. Alright match. Some good wrestling abilities on show. Not exactly big on the idea of Gut-Check. I just think the whole thing is pretty boring. By the way, I thought it was cool when Bradley referenced CM Punk during his video package before the match. That was a cool shout-out.

Bully Ray Pops The Question

Yes, this storyline has gotten the point where Bully Ray has proposed on TV to Brooke Hogan, and the wedding is all set for next week. Really not into this storyline. But, why do I get the feeling that both Bully Ray and Brooke are gonna turn heel on Hulk soon. I don’t know. I just see it happening. But yeah, expect a broken up wedding next week. Cool. -.-

Good show, I think. And good build to Genesis. That’ll be a good PPV to watch I think.

LATER!

@TomRobinson5199