4-26-12 Impact results and thoughts

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

The show starts with Hulk Hogan backstage with all the TNA Champions (except for Eric Young & ODB). He says that his champions will fight. Gail Kim says it’s ridiculous and Hulk says it isn’t. Then he says that he knows all his champions can deliver and says to Roode & Gail how they feel. He says that Aries is in a league of his own and that Magnus & Joe are tough guys. Then he says that Magnus & Joe will be defending the belts. Hulk says that they deserve to face the best. He says it could be the machine guns, Anderson & Hardy. It might even be Eric Young & ODB or Daniels & Kazarian. Then he says “Let the fight night begin brother.” This was ok but a little bit too long.

Apparently the Open Fight Night ruling is that anyone on the TNA roster can challenge for that month’s title. It sounds like the gut check challenge will be where we see guys “outside” the company.

Devon comes to the ring and talks about how any of the champions might be called out on Impact once a month. Then he says that the TV Title is being defended on Impact every week. He then calls Bully Ray out. Ray & Flair come to the ring. The whole roster seems to be at ringside. Ray gets the mic and says that Devon is stupid. He asks Devon what makes him think he would want to be in a ring with him. He says that he had to carry him for 15 years and it made him sick. Then he says that Devon wouldn’t have the chance to be TV Champion if it weren’t for him. Then he says that he won’t make Devon look like a star. Then he says that the fans would love to see Devon get his hands on Ray but Devon isn’t going to get that chance. Then Ray tells Devon where to go. Then Devon goes after Ray and pounds him outside the ring.

TV Champion Devon vs. Bully Ray for the Title. Devon gets the pin. This was a solid match. It was cool to see the former Dudley Boys in the ring facing each other.

Austin Aries is backstage and says that Ray can’t win without cheating. Then he says that he might get a chance to leave a good impression.

Ric Flair talks about throwing a party of Eric Bischoff all night long. Flair says that Eric is the greatest promoter ever. Whatever. This was idiotic! I’m so tired of Ric Flair. Also when Flair said Bischoff is wasn’t bleeped out this week.

Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian come into Kurt Angle’s dressing room and Kazarian talks about how they helped him beat AJ. Then Angle says that if they get involved in his matches again they will see a side of Kurt Angle they don’t want to see.

Jeremy Borash comes to the ring and thanks Hulk Hogan for coming up with Open Fight Night. He says that he that he is taking this time to call out an employee. He says that he has been there longer than anyone in TNA. Then he says that there hasn’t been a bigger to come into TNA then Eric Bischoff. JB says that if this is Eric’s final night with TNA he wants to shove his fist down his throat. JB tells Eric to put down his blackberry and to his ass out there. Then Eric comes out and takes a pic of JB. He talks about Eric’s drunken tweet. Then Eric tells Borash that he hopes he enjoys these 15 minutes of fame Then Eric yaps more and then Bully Ray low blows JB. Then Eric tells a referee to come to the ring and he covers Borash. The referee counts the pin and Eric tweets a pic of Borash lying on the mat. This was terrible! I’m not surprised that they’re making a storyline out of Eric’s drunken tweet but I still hate that they’re doing that. Hopefully we won’t have to see Eric on TV for a while! Also having Flair say that Eric is the greatest promoter ever was beyond stupid. They have had their issues in the past.

Ken Anderson is backstage and says that Eric Bischoff is a douche bag and that douche bag needs to go bye bye. This was lame.

Mexican America come to the ring and Anarquia says there’s no team or man that can beat them. Then Anarquia challenges anyone to face them right now. This leads to Kurt Angle comes out. Then Anarquia says that if Kurt Angle wants to fight then Hernandez will fight him. Angle and Hernandez face off and Anarquia attacks Angle from behind.

Kurt Angle vs. Anarquia. Angle wins by submission. This was a pointless squash. Wasn’t Kurt Angle a heal last week? Why is he a face out of no where?

They show a video package of Alex Silva from OVW talking about how he got in the wrestling business. Al Snow also says that the guy has potential. This was a good video.

Al Snow & Alex Silva come out. Al mentions that he will be the head judge for tonight’s Gut Check. He says that that once a month a young wrestler will get a chance to wrestle on Impact. He says that TNA will give the young hungry talent this opportunity. Then Al has Alex’s opponent come out. He will be facing Robbie E.

Al Snow replaces Mike Tenay on commentary for the match.

Alex Silva vs. Robbie E. Robbie E gets the pin. This was a decent match.

They show Hulk Hogan in his office and Taz says that Hulk will decide who Magnus & Joe will defend the tag titles against next.

They have Dixie Carter talking about how Eric Bischoff lied to her, is a trouble maker and took TNA from her.

Hulk is in his office with the a few tag teams and he says that he will let each team say why they should challenge for the titles. Daniels says that he and Kazarian should be the tea. He says that the Machine Guns lost at Lockdown. Then Sabin says that they deserve the shot. Then Hulk gets to Anderson & Hardy and asks if they can get along. Anderson & acts like he will get along great with Jeff. Then Hulk comes to Eric Young & ODB. Young says they’re the only married team and talks his usual nonsense. Hulk says that he can’t pick a team right now. Hulk then says that because of the knee injuries the Guns are out of the running. This was ok. 

Brooke Tessmacher comes to the ring and says that everyone is talking about how she pinned Gail Kim in the 8 Knockout tag last Thursday. She says that it wasn’t a fluke and that she is a legit threat to Gail’s title. Then she challenges Gail Kim to a match right now. Then Gail Kim comes out.

Brooke Tessmacher vs. Knockouts Champion Gail Kim. Brooke gets the pin. This was a decent match.

Daniels & Kazarian talk about how they’ll be wrestling for the tag titles. Then Kazarian says that if AJ Styles shows up next week they will let the cat out of the bag.

The have a video recapping last week’s 3 way and RVD comments. He says that he’s going be World Champion again. Then Roode says that RVD proved himself and gets to face the champ. He then says that he knows what RVD’s capable of but he hopes that RVD knows what he is capable of. RVD then says that he deserves to be on top. This was decent video.

Al Snow & Alex Silva are backstage and Al tells him that he and the other will see if Alex gets a contract. Then Roode comes in and rags on the guy. Roode says that it took a lot for him to get a TNA contract. Then he tells Alex to be ready for the unexpected and he punches him in the gut. This was a decent backstage bit.

Back to Hulk in his office with the tag teams and he eliminates Eric Young & ODB from the running. Then Hulk tells Daniels & Kazarian and Anderson & Hardy to head to the ring and that he will make his decision next.

They have Garrett ragging on his dad backstage. Then he says that Impact will be a better place without him.

Bully Ray is on his phone and then Joseph Park comes by. He asks Ray if he knows anything about the disappearance of “his brother.” Ray says he hasn’t got any answers but wouldn’t give them to him even if he did. Then he gives Ray his card and Ray tells him to shove it. Ray walks off and Joseph laughs. This was ok too. I’m getting tired of Joseph looking for Chris but Ray was good as usual.

Magnus & Samoa Joe come to the ring. Then Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian come out. Then Ken Anderson & Jeff Hardy come to the ring also. Then Hulk Hogan comes out on the stage. He says that Open Fight Night has been wilder in the back then it’s been in the arena. He says that picking the team to challenge for the titles has been a hard choice. Then he decides to eliminate Daniels & Kazarian. SO Ken Anderson & Jeff Hardy will challenge for the titles.

Tag Team Champions Magnus & Samoa Joe vs. Ken Anderson & Jeff Hardy. Magnus & Joe win when Joe makes Anderson tap. This was a good match. Hardy & Anderson had some friction during and after the match. Then as Magnus & Joe are headed up the ramp Daniels & Kazarian come out from behind and attack the champs.

Immortal apparently is back together again because they come out for the Eric Bischoff “Farewell.” Immortal is made up of Flair, Ray, Gunner, Daniels & Kazarian. This is idiotic. Flair says that tonight they’re there to celebrate and no one alive knows how to do that more then him. He says that Eric Bischoff has been a major “Impact player. No pun intended.” Flair says that the fans are the most rude and out of line people he has ever met. Then he introduces Eric Bischoff. Eric comes to the ring. The fans sing hey hey good bye. Eric sits on the throne. Flair mentions what an honor many people have had to work for him. He says that Dixie should be thanking Eric. Then Flair says that Eric is why Hulk is there. More importantly Eric is why Flair’s there. He thanks Eric and says that Eric has a lot for everyone on the ring. He says that he hopes that the fans appreciate what Eric has done for the industry. Then Gunner takes the mic and says that Eric has been like a father to him and he thanks him. Flair says that in all the excitement he almost forgot. They give Eric a Rolex watch. Ray says that Eric should wear it with pride. Then Ray praises Eric too and hugs him. Then Garrett, Alex Shelly, Chris Sabin, Austin Aries, RVD & Jeremy Borash come out on the stage. Garrett says that if this is Eric’s final night on Impact they wanted to give him a farewell gift too. Then JB says that they got something more symbolic for Eric. JB says that Eric is the first inductee into the shed of shame. A Port-A-Potty is wheeled out. Then a brawl starts and JB & Garrett throw Eric into the Port-A-Potty. Then they shove it off the stage and Eric is covered in crap. Eric is all pissed as Garrett & JB celebrate to end the show. This was crap. Pun intended.

I thought this was a mixed bag show overall. The whole Open Fight Night thing is ok but I’m not sure what it will do for TNA long term. The Gut Check challenge was ok. Alex Silva & Robbie E had a decent match. I hated the Eric Bischoff “farewell.” The whole thing was just beyond idiotic! Magnus & Joe vs. Hardy & Anderson was the best part of the show. They had a good match. I liked that they had Daniels & Kazarian come out afterwards too. It looks like they’ll be having Magnus & Joe vs. Daniels & Kazarian next. The Jeremy Borash-Eric Bischoff bit when JB called Eric out was dumb. I hate when they turn a real life thing like this into a storyline. The opening bit in the back with Hulk Hogan and all the champs was ok but I thought it went a bit long. Brooke Tessmacher & Gail Kim also had a solid match. I guess Brooke will challenging for the Knockouts Title next. The Alex Silva Video package was also a good way to introduce the guy. I thought the RVD video package was good too. He and Roode both had good promos. I’m not sure why Kurt Angle is a face out of nowhere. His match with Anarquia was pointless. I also liked the Devon-Ray match. It was nice to see the former Dudley Boys in the ring. The show wasn’t tremendous but it wasn’t totally horrendous either. Except for the end. Overall I thought this was a mixed bag show.