4-19-12 Impact results and thoughts

     Coverage and thoughts on the April 19, 2012 episode of Impact

The show starts with Bobby Roode coming to the ring with short hair. He brags about winning and retaining the World Title at Lockdown. He says that he made a promise that he would beat James Storm at Lockdown in Nashville. He says that he made good on his promise. Then he says that Storm promised to super kick him and he did. Then he says that with that super kick he cost himself the match. Roode says that he beat Storm, AJ, Jeff Hardy & Sting and there are no more heroes left for him to beat. Then Ken Anderson comes out and tells Roode to shut up. Then he says that he will take Roode’s title and says he doesn’t need any weapon to do it. Roode says that while Anderson sat at home in Green Bay he has been the most dominant Champion in TNA. Then he tells Anderson that there are others who deserve a Title match more than him. Then Jeff Hardy comes out and says that Roode’s is champion because of Kurt Angle. He says that Angle is now out of his way and is looking for a title match. Anderson says that he came out first and wants a title match. Anderson & Jeff argue and referees come in to separate them. Then Hulk Hogan shows up on the Tron and says that Roode and all the champions will be in the ring later. Then he says that Jeff Hardy will face Ken Anderson later to determine the number one contender. This was a mixed bag segment. Roode cut a good promo but I wasn’t into the Hardy-Anderson bickering over who gets a title match next. I wasn’t really into Hulk Hogan showing up on the Tron either.

X Division Champion Austin Aries & Matt Morgan vs. Bully Ray & Crimson. Ray & Crimson win when Ray pins Aries. This was a good match.

They show Garrett Bischoff walking backstage.

Jeff Hardy is backstage saying that he deserves a Title match. He says that he beat Kurt Angle out of the way. Then he talks about his match with Anderson and says Anderson also deserves a title match.

Team Garrett (Garrett, RVD, AJ & Anderson) comes out to celebrate their win at Lockdown. Garrett says that Lockdown was one of the biggest nights of his life. He says the stakes were high but they came out on top. He says that they were victorious and they got rid of Eric once and for all. Then he thanks the other guys and says he couldn’t have done it without them. Then AJ Styles says that Garrett took a beating but came back and hit Eric over the head with a guitar. Then Ric Flair comes out on the stage and says that the talent that are in the ring are there because of Eric. They bleeped out the name Bischoff. Flair then calls Garrett a punk and he says that AJ and the others are punks too. Then he says that next week he will host a party in Eric Bischoff’s honor. This was idiotic! I’m so tired of Garrett getting this push and Ric Flair’s promo was stupid too! I’m beyond sick of these guys. Putting Garrett over at the expense of AJ who’s been in TNA since day 1 is mind boggling! I also hated that they bleeped out “Bischoff” every time Flair said his name! Terrible segment!

They show Daniels & Kazarian backstage and Daniels says that the secret that he had over Kazarian wasn’t about him but about AJ. He has a sheet of paper and says that they will reveal the answers tonight. Ok. I’m not sure what they’re doing with this.

They show Devon, Magnus & Samoa Joe backstage talking about all having to be in the ring for Hulk’s announcement.

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle. Angle gets the pin. During the match Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian come out. Angle is surprised they’re there. Daniels distracts AJ by giving him the paper. That allows Angle to get the pin. Then Angle tells AJ that he nothing to do with what Daniels & Kazarian were up to. The match was good but the finish was lame.

They show Joseph Park giving somebody his card. Then he runs into Gunner and Gunner tells him to leave him alone. Then Joseph says that he wants answers. He asks where Abyss is. Gunner says to ask Bully Ray. Gunner walks off and Joseph found his second clue. What is this?

All the champions come to the ring. Then they show RVD backstage with Hulk Hogan. Hulk tells RVD that he will make the Hardy-Anderson match a 3 Way and puts RVD in the match. Then Hulk Hogan comes out and he says that once a month Impact will have an “Open Night Fight”. This means that wrestlers outside of TNA can show up and have a match. He says that during these matches he and 3 judges to determine if the wrestler should get a TNA contract. Hulk says that the talent can challenge anybody they want and that TNA talent will face the “outside” wrestler. Then Roode complains and says that this is his show because he is the World Champion. Hulk says he called all the champions out for a reason. He says that the Champions will need to be ready in case they get called out. Gail Kim asks who decide this. Hulk says he decides who defends their Title. Then he says that he wants to hear what the fans want to see. Then Devon says that he agrees with Hogan and says that he will be a fighting Champion. Then Hogan says that the TV Title will be defended on Impact every week from now on. Devon says Testify. Hulk says that everybody fights on open fight night “Brother.” Roode is all pissed and Gail Kim isn’t thrilled either. The other champions were good with this of course. This was a decent segment. The idea of open fight night sounds good but I’m not sure how it will be when they start that. Hulk’s promo was better than usual.

Brooke Tessmacher, Tara, Mickie James & Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne, Rosita, Sarita & Knockouts Champion Gail Kim. Brooke, Tara, Mickie & Velvet win when Brooke pins Kim. This was a good match too.

They show Ken Anderson backstage talking about the 3 Way main event.

They show Eric Young & ODB outside somewhere. Then some guy walks by and Young gets freaked out because he thinks the guy’s looking at her. This was dumb.

They show James Storm walking backstage.

TV Champion Devon vs. Gunner for the Title. Devon gets the pin. This also was a good match.

James Storm come to the ring and he hugs Devon. Then Storm makes his way to the ring and it’s time for commercial. Back from commercial and Storm apologizes for losing at Lockdown. He says he feels like he let everyone down. Then he asks if this something that he still wants to do. Then he says that when he got home he had to tell his daughter that he lost at Lockdown when he was tucking her into bed. He says that the next day he saw a man who was beaten. Then he says that Roode might have won the match but he didn’t beat Storm. He says he beat himself. Then he says this is what he loves to do and he thanks the fans for having this life. Then he mentions that maybe Roode was right was he said that Storm’s luck has run out. He was going to say more but he dropped the mic and headed up the ramp. This was a really good emotional promo. Storm was really good here.

Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Ken Anderson to determine the number one contender for the World Title. RVD wins when he pins Jeff. This was a good match too. RVD and Jeff hug afterwards. Jeff slaps a few fans’ hands while RVD celebrates in the ring to end the show.

I thought this was a decent show overall. There were a lot of good matches on here. I liked Morgan & Aries vs. Ray & Crimson. AJ-Angle was good too but I wasn’t crazy about the finish. This whole story with Daniels & Kazarian having something on AJ is kinda weird. I have no idea where they’re going with that. I like the 8 Knockouts tag match too. I thought they worked hard. Devon-Gunner I thought was good too. I also liked the 3 way main event. I wasn’t really into the opening of the show. Roode cut a good promo but Hardy & Anderson were painful to hear. I wasn’t really into Hogan showing up on the Tron either. I thought the segment where Hulk Hogan had all the champions in the ring was good and I like the idea of doing an “Open Fight Night.” Hopefully they’ll bring in some young guys and put them over but you never know with TNA. The Team Garrett-Ric Flair segment was idiotic! I’m really tired of seeing Flair at this point and Garrett is where he’s at because of who is dad is. That really is a shame for guys like AJ Styles and the other guys who work really hard. For them to be background players to Garrett is stupid. I also hated that they bleeped out the Bischoff name. I found that to be really idiotic. The Eric Young-ODB bit was the typical comedy we get from them but thankfully it was short. I’m also not sure what they’re doing with “Joseph Park” looking for Abyss. This bit is getting old fast. I also liked James Storm’s promo. I thought he showed a lot of emotion and did a good job guy who felt bad that he lost. Overall though I thought this was a decent show this week.