12-8-11 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the December 8, 2011 episode of Impact

 The show starts with Sting coming to the ring. He calls out Bobby Roode and he comes out. Sting then asks Dixie Carter to come out and she does. Sting tells Roode to apologize to Dixie. Roode says that he will. He says that he is sorry for not being honest with her and that she needs him since he is the Champion. He calls Dixie a fake and that she everything handed to her. Then he says that like it or not he is the face of TNA and that he has just spit in the face of authority. Then he spits on Dixie and he bails as Sting chases him up the ramp. This was decent. I thought Roode cut a good promo.

AJ Styles tells Bobby Roode off backstage saying that he will take care of him tonight and at Final Resolution. Then Sting comes in and AJ tells him to be level headed. Jeff Hardy & Al Snow were also there.

Abyss vs. Samoa Joe. Abyss gets the pin when Bully Ray and Scott Steiner come in. Steiner distracts the referee and Ray comes in and hits Joe with a chain. Then Abyss hits the choke slam for the pin. This was ok. I wasn’t crazy about the run in. After the match Abyss gives Steiner the Black Hole Slam and Ray bails. I don’t get this. Immortal crapped all over Abyss when he was in the fold and now that he’s the “unstoppable monster” they want him back in the stable? Plus Samoa Joe is still being booked liked a jobber!

Karen Jarrett is backstage with Gail Kim & Madison Rayne and she tells Madison to take care of Mickie James. Then she tells Gail that she has a match with Traci. Gail freaks out but Karen has a plan and she shuts the door on the cameraman. This was terrible.

Sting is backstage telling Gunner it’s over and Gunner says that Sting gave Garrett 2 matches with him and Gunner asks for a third without Flair or Eric at ringside. Sting agrees after Gunner gives “his word.” This was lame.

Devon & The Pope come to the ring and Devon asks Matt Morgan & Crimson to come out. They come out and Devon congratulates them on winning the tag team titles. Then he talks about the teams he and Ray have faced over the years. Then he talks about their tag title match and he tells them to bring their A game and that he & Pope will win the titles. Then he does the testify bit and says may the best team win and they shake hands. Pope then gets the mic and says he may not agree with what Devon said but they do agree that Morgan & Crimson are 2 of the dumbest guys they’ve come across. He then says that with the gold comes the money and says that he will do whatever it takes to win the titles. Then they brawl. Then Devon’s sons come in and they help out Pope by beating down Morgan. Morgan then gets up and they bail. Why are Devon’s sons the heals? This storyline has made no sense from the start. Devon doesn’t trust Pope, but his sons love him and now they’re a makeshift tag team that doesn’t get along challenging another makeshift tag team FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLES! This segment was idiotic!

They show James Storm coming into the building.

Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne. Mickie gets the pin. This match was decent. After the match Gail Kim comes out and she and Mickie have a stare down.

They show Bully Ray & Scott Steiner backstage trying to figure out what to do to get Abyss back in the fold. Ray says that he talked to Eric and Steiner says that he will now. Steiner walks off and Ray is screaming at him to go talk to him. This was crappy!!

Garrett Bischoff vs. Gunner. Flair & Eric come out with Gunner! Sting is still playing the sap! Wait a minute, Gunner tells Flair & Eric that he’s got this and they go to the back. Garrett gets the pin. So Garrett beats Gunner for a THIRD time! After the match Gunner attacks Garrett and throws him into the steal steps. He was about to pile drive him on the mat but Eric came out and told Gunner not to do it. Then Eric take the mat off and Gunner pile drives him on the concrete. Back from commercial and Garrett is on a stretcher and wheeled into the ambulance while Flair & Eric rag on him. This was beyond stupid! I’m really tired of the Bischoff and son saga!

James Storm comes to the ring and calls out Kurt Angle. Angle comes out says that he won’t screw up at Final Resolution and that he will be well prepared this time. Storm says that Angle doesn’t scare him and that he will take care of him at Final Resolution. Then Storm turns his back and dares Angle to hit him. Angle doesn’t. Then Storm uses Angle’s catchphrase and tells him that at the PPV, “It’s real. It’s damn real.” This was a great segment. Both guys cut really good promos. This was one of the better parts of the show.

Karen Jarrett is backstage with Gail Kim & Traci Brooks and Karen tells Traci that she wants her to lay down for Gail. This was just as terrible as the other knockout segments.

Devon is backstage yelling at his sons saying that he calls the shots. Then Pope comes in and Devon grabs him but his sons stop him from attacking him. He tells his sons to beat it before he does something he might regret. Devon walks off and Pope comes back in and Devon’s sons walk off with him. This was idiotic! Can they end this storyline!?

Jeff Hardy & AJ Styles are backstage saying that will take care of business in their match later.

Traci Brooks vs. Knockouts Champion Gail Kim. Gail gets the pin. Traci lies down but kicks out at 2 and goes after Gail. Then Karen comes out and gets Traci’s the referee’s attention. Traci was about to let Karen have it but Madison comes in and lays out Traci and that allows Gail to get the pin. This was crappy. This storyline is idiotic too!

Jeff Hardy & Bobby Roode are backstage talking about their matches at Final Resolution and their match later.

They show a Christopher Daniels promo from “earlier today” challenging “Bob” Van Dam to a regular wrestling match at Final Resolution. This was a good promo.

Jeff Hardy & AJ Styles vs. Jeff Jarrett & TNA World Champion Bobby Roode. AJ & Hardy win when AJ pins Roode. They brawl right away. Then Hardy & Jarrett brawl to the back and then AJ gets the pin. This was a really good match. After the match Roode attacks AJ but AJ fights back and Roode bails. AJ then celebrates on the ramp but Roode comes back out and attacks AJ from behind and then he went after his injured knee. Roode then get the belt and tells AJ that it is his an AJ can’t beat him. Roode holds the Title above his head to end the show. This was good.

I thought that this was a typical episode of Impact. There was a lot of crappy booking. What is with fathers and sons feuding in this company? Eric Bischoff and his son and Devon and his 2 sons? These 2 storylines are idiotic. Having Bully Ray & Scott Steiner trying to get Abyss back into the fold is also idiotic as is everything with the knockouts. I thought the opening segment was decent. Bobby Roode cut a good promo. I also liked the James Storm-Kurt Angle segment. They did a good job leading into their match Sunday. The Christopher Daniels promo was short but good too. Even if they did just throw his match with RVD in there. I also enjoyed the tag match main event. There was some good action in there. I thought they did a good job in hyping the AJ-Roode, Hardy-Jarrett and Storm-Angle matches for Final Resolution. Overall I thought the show was a mixed bag. It certainly had its ups and downs.