3-15-12 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the March 15, 2012 episode of Impact

The show starts with Sting walking around backstage and then they show Bobby Roode backstage also.

They show a video package recapping the Sting-Roode story line.

James Storm comes to the ring and says that he has been waiting for a World Title match and a little bit of revenge ever since November 3. Then he says that Roode is selfish and that’s what’s wrong with the world today. Too many takers and wanters and not enough givers. Then he says that at Lockdown he will be all 3 because he will give Roode the ass whipping of his life, he wants the World Title and he will take it at Lockdown. Then he says that at Lockdown Roode will need all the luck that he can get. Then Bully Ray out and says that Storm is ready but Ray he isn’t sure if Storm knows where he’s at and they go back and forth and Storm tells him to come in the ring to do what they do best, beat the crap out of each other. Ray says that Storm won’t make it to Lockdown because of him. He says that he will be the guy that takes him out in 3 days. Storm challenges him again and goes out after him. Ray tells him that he has good news and bad news for Storm. The good news is he won’t face him, but the bad news is that Gunner. Gunner comes out and gets in Storm’s face and then Storm says he hopes he brought his lunch and then he attacks him. They go at it and security and agents come in to break it up. This was a good opening segment. Both Storm & Ray cut great promos as usual and the pull apart brawl with Gunner was good too.

Madison Rayne & Gail Kim argue backstage where Sting is and Sting tells Gail that she will face Mickie James and that Madison will face Velvet Sky and Madison’s match is next.

They show a Bobby Roode promo asking who Sting thinks he is booking himself in the main event of a PPV and that he will finish Sting at

Victory Road

. Good Promo. They showed a video package on Sting during this.

Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne. Madison gets the pin. This was a solid match.

They show Matt Morgan & Crimson backstage and Morgan puts over Crimson for his great team work with him last Thursday and Crimson says that he won after all. Then Crimson says that this isn’t about his undefeated streak, this is about regaining the tag titles. Then Morgan says that it is about winning and making money. Then Crimson says that to make money you need to win matches and he mentions that he has been undefeated for 14 months. This was a decent promo. Looks like they’re setting up Morgan vs. Crimson for Lockdown.

Crimson vs. TNA World Tag Team Champion Samoa Joe. Crimson gets the pin after Morgan gets involved. This was a good match.

They show Austin Aries backstage with a champagne bottle and glass and heads to the ring. We’ll hear from him next.

Austin Aries is in the ring and he says that it is a great day to break records. He mentions that there have been 53 X-Division title reigns held by 25 different guys. Then he mentions that he is longest reigning X-Division champion in TNA history and mentions that he broke the record of 182 days. Then he goes to the tron and has a music video with highlights of himself. Then he thanks all the X-Division guys for being good but for him being better. Then Zima Ion comes to the ring and Aries says that he never sent him an invitation. Then he says that Ion beat him at his own game. Ion says that he beat him at his game by proving that Aries isn’t as smart as he thinks he is and says that if he doesn’t hand him the Title now he then what happened to Jessie Sorensen will happen to him at Victory Road. Then Aries offers for Ion to do the toast. Ion says that Aries had a great title run but it will end this Sunday. Then he says that he’s not just f’n pretty but he is pretty f’n dangerous. Then he throws the champagne on Aries and then they go at it a bit and Aries pushes him out of the ring. This was a good segment too. Aries was good on the mic as usual and Ion was also.

They show Gunner coming out of a trailer and Abyss playing his own brother comes in and tries to ask if he’s seen him. Gunner walks off. I’m not sure where they’re going with this.

Eric Young & ODB are backstage and Young is talking about where they’ll have their wedding. They throw out a few places. Then Young decides that it will be in the ring on Impact. No surprise there! Whatever. I’m not into this bit.

Kurt Angle cuts a promo complaining about Garrett Bischoff and mentions the 5 minute beat the clock challenge. Then he says that Jeff Hardy might have his last match at

Victory Road

because Angle hates him. This was weak. Angle sounded kinda weird here I thought.

Mickie James vs. Knockouts Champion Gail Kim. Gail gets the pin after hitting Mickie with the belt. This was a decent match.

Ken Anderson talks about his teaming with AJ Styles. Then Kazarian & Daniels come by and Daniels says that their problem with AJ has nothing to do with him. Then he asks him why he picked AJ’s side when they all know how this movie will end. Daniels tells Anderson that he will find out how everything will go when he & AJ face them Sunday. Then Anderson mentions that they can find out what will happen in tonight when they have their match.

Before the next match Ken Anderson does his old mic bit.

Ken Anderson vs. Christopher Daniels. Anderson gets the pin. This was a decent match too. Kazarian came out but AJ came out to prevent him from getting involved and they brawled up the ramp.

Jeff Hardy promo backstage saying that Kurt Angle is the reason he isn’t World Champion.

Garrett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle in a 5 minute beat the clock match. Garrett survives. This was awful. Angle beat the crap out of him and show boated most of the match. Afterwards Angle flips and locks the Ankle Lock on Garrett and then Jeff Hardy comes out and runs Kurt Angle off.

Robbie E & Rob Terry are backstage and they rag on the merchandise. Then the cameraman asks him about the open challenge at

Victory Road

and Robbie says he’s beaten everyone. No he hasn’t. This was stupid.

They run down the

Victory Road

line up.

James Storm vs. Gunner. Storm gets the pin. This was a solid match too. Afterwards Ray hints at going after Storm but he bails.

They show a Bobby Roode promo saying that Sting is trying to relive his glory days.

The contract signing is next.

They have the Sting-Bobby Roode contract signing for their match at

Victory Road

. Jeremy Borash mentions that the match will be a no holds barred one fall to a finish. Sting signs it and then Roode does. Then Roode cuts a promo talking about the day he became World Champion. He says that since that day Sting has been a pain and says he found out why Sting has a problem with him and that is because he is jealous of him. Roode then mentions 22 years ago when Sting beat Flair for his first World Title and says that Sting had it all and he wanted to be just like him. He says that now when Sting looks at Roode he sees himself in him because he has all the same traits that Sting had except that Roode is better than he was. He puts himself over and says that he is a better World Champion than Sting was. Then he talks about Sting taking the spot light from the young guys and that the business has past him by and this Sunday he will step in the ring with the World Champion. He then says that Sting wears the face paint because when he looks at himself he knows that he doesn’t have what it takes anymore and that Roode will expose for who he really is, a washed up has been who should have left the business a long time ago. Sting is getting ticked off and doesn’t speak. Roode than asks him if the truth hurts. Then Sting flips the table over, smears the face paint on himself and then smears it on Roode. Then he attacks Roode and clotheslines him over the top rope to the floor. Roode lays at the bottom of the entrance ramp with his face covered in paint and Sting poses in the ring to end the show. This was good too. Roode cut a really good heal promo and Sting going after at the end was really well done.

This week’s show was better than last week’s. The opening promo with James Storm & Bully Ray was good and the Storm-Gunner match was solid. The contract signing at the end was really well done. Roode cut a tremendous heel promo and Sting did a great job of getting irritated before he finally attacked Roode. The rest of the show wasn’t totally memorable but it wasn’t bad either. Austin Aries cut a great promo and Zima Ion coming in and throwing the champagne at him was good. Crimson & Joe had a good match and Anderson-Daniels was decent too. I wasn’t into the Garrett-Angle match. Complete waste. The Robbie E promo was dumb too. The 2 knockouts matches were also decent. The whole “Abyss playing his own brother and looking for himself” bit is weird. I have no idea where they’re going with this. Overall I thought this was a decent show.

3-12-12 Raw results and thoughts

   Coverage and thoughts on the March 12, 2012 episode of Raw

The show starts with Jerry Lawler in the ring saying that tonight will be a first because there will be the first concert-hip hop contest tonight in Cleveland. He says that both guys will get the chance to express there views in there way. Lawler says they will start with some Thuganomics. Cena’s Thugonomic music plays and he comes out in his old hip hop gear. Then Cena does his hip hop bit saying that Rock’s been legit pissed for the last few weeks and says that Rock is a G.I. Joke. Then he does a whole hip hop promo ragging on Rock saying that things are getting scary because last week they were chanting tooth fairy. Then he says a bit more. I wasn’t into this and I don’t know why they’re having this concert vs. hip hop contest. Sorry I didn’t recap everything Cena said but it was too much to keep track of. It was mostly lame hip hop trash talk on Rock. Thankfully this was short.

Then Vickie Guerrero comes out and says that daylight savings should be illegal because the whole world would be deprived of a whole hour of this man. Then Dolph Ziggler’s music hits and he comes out.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler. Sheamus gets the pin. During the match Josh Mathews interviews Daniel Bryan along with AJ who are watching in the sky box and Josh asks about telling AJ to shut up on Smackdown and Bryan asks AJ if he was rude to her. AJ says no and then Bryan says that AJ she loves him and the feeling is mutual. Then he tells Josh that the interview is over. The match was really good and the Bryan bit in the sky box was ok for what it was. Afterwards they show Bryan & AJ watching again.

They announce that on wwe.com the Board of Directors announced a 12 Man Tag Team match for WrestleMania, Team Long vs. Team Ace. The guy’s team that wins gets him control of both Raw & Smackdown. We’ll hear from Long & Ace next.

Johnny Ace comes out to a good amount of boos as he waves to the crowd. He will be doing commentary for the next match.

Santino Marella & Aksana came out for a mixed tag team match, but after David Otunga comes out Ace announces that instead of a mixed tag this will be a “handicap” match. Then Mark Henry’s music plays and he comes out.

U.S. Champion Santino Marella vs. David Otunga & Mark Henry. Otunga & Henry win when Henry gets the pin. Before the match starts Teddy Long comes to ringside and he & Ace argue AGAIN and Long shoves him AGAIN! Afterwards Henry holds Santino & Otunga trash talks him. Then Kofi Kingston comes in and Mark Henry head butts him and then gives him the World’s Strongest Slam. Then R-Truth comes out and Otunga attacks him and gives him his scary looking spine buster. Then Henry splashes Truth. Then Ace gets in the ring and announces Mark Henry as the newest member for Team Ace. They show Teddy Long & Aksana watching all worried with Otunga, Henry & Miz in the ring. This was just as idiotic as everything that has to do with this story line has been.

They show a behind the scenes video of The Miz on Psych.

They show some chick from this show Extra and they interview Alicia Fox & The Bella Twins. BORING!

They show Eve backstage and Zack Ryder comes by and says that he is confused and asks Eve if she is trying to play him. Eve says that he is playing himself and asks if wants to go to dinner after the show. Ryder is all over it and then Beth Phoenix comes in and says that she should have been the focus on Extra. Then Zack walks out and Beth says that she likes how she’s using Zack and asks if she would mind if Beth does the same. Eve says that she would mind. This was really idiotic! Ryder gets used by Eve and then after ONE kiss he’s all goofy and confused and agrees to go to dinner with her? Then Beth coming in was a waste for both her and the fans! Total crap! They’ve made Ryder look like a complete imbecile!!

Johnny Ace is on his cell phone & The Miz comes in and asks when he was going to put him in a match at WrestleMania. Then Miz brings the star of Psych in. Then Miz says that he should be on Ace’s team and Miz says that he has a match tonight and if he wins he’s on the team. Then Ace asks the Psych guy to be the ring announcer and he says that he will “Fink it up.” Then Miz asks who he will be facing and Ace says CM Punk. After Miz leaves Ace asks the Psych guy what he thinks Miz’s chances are and the guy says Miz doesn’t stand a chance. This was idiotic.

Brodus Clay will be making his return next. OH NO!

Brodus Clay vs. Jinder Mahal. Brodus gets the pin. This was a pointless squash. I really haven’t missed the Funkasauris character! Poor Jinder!

They show Shawn Michaels backstage walking to the ring for his face to face with The Undertaker next.

Shawn Michaels’ music hits and he comes out pyro and all. He gets in the ring and poses for the fans for a bit. Then he gets the mic and says that in 3 weeks Taker & HHH will be locked inside hell in a cell at WrestleMania and it will truly be the end of an era. Then he talks about telling Hunter that he was made the referee for the match. Then he says that he got some information that caught him off guard and they show the Shawn-HHH promo from last week where HHH said that he was going to end the streak. Then Shawn says that he’s walked around the locker room and no one has called him a loser, or a failure and no one has implied that he couldn’t get the job done. Then he mentions that Taker is here and asks him to come out so they can settle this. Taker’s gong hits, the lights go out, the flaming pyro goes off, his music hits and he comes to the out. He gets in the ring and circles Michaels and then Shawn says that after sharing the locker room for 20 years, despite being on opposite sides they had respect for each other and they they both did something that will stand the test of time. Then Shawn says that he thought Taker would have the guts to say whatever’s on his mind to his face. Taker asks if Shawn wants him to say if he’s a failure and a loser or that he couldn’t get the job done. Then Taker asks if Shawn is repeating his words or his words chosen for him by HHH. Taker then mentions Shawn’s insecurities and Shawn says that Taker begged for this match. He says that both he & Taker know that HHH beat Taker within an inch of his life last year. Taker then says that whatever happens at WrestleMania he will accept the outcome but he will not accept Shawn sticking his ego in this. Then he says that at Mania it will be the end of an era and that if the outcome isn’t pure there will be hell to pay. Then Shawn says that it is ironic that the guy whose career Taker ended could possibly be the guy who counts Taker’s shoulders to the mat and makes Taker a loser and that he could still possibly end the streak. Taker says that he will beat HHH and that the streak will continue and he will officially and an era but if Shawn doesn’t do the right thing then he will officially end him. Shawn pats Taker on the shoulder, walks out of the ring and his music hits as he walks up the ramp. Then HHH comes out and looks at Shawn. Then Shawn walks to the back and HHH stands on the stage and he and Taker have a stare down. HHH gives Taker the crotch chop and he walks backstage with his music playing. This was a bit long and the whole “Shawn is a failure because he couldn’t beat Taker” bit doesn’t make sense since him losing to Taker twice shouldn’t be what decides how his career was. I thought that the promos were good but this story line is getting a little stale and I gotta say I’ll be glad when this is over. Also Taker said that WrestleMania will be on April 21. Whoops.

Justin Roberts introduces the Psych guy to ring announce the next match. He says that he found his way to Raw and does the ring announcing, putting over The Miz and his appearance on Psych. Then The Miz comes out. Then the Psych guy announces CM Punk and Punk comes out. They show Chris Jericho watching backstage on a monitor.

WWE Champion CM Punk vs. The Miz. Punk wins by submission. This was a solid match. WWE once again has a guy job in their home town. I don’t why they do that. Then Jericho shows up on the tron and tells Punk to enjoy his wins while he can. Then he says that Punk is a fraud as a person. He says that he found out that Punk is straight edge because his dad is alcoholic and that he doesn’t want to end up like him but he will because booze is in his blood and that terrifies him. Then he asks if the tattoos were to erase that pain from his mind. Then he says that at WrestleMania he will leave Punk a broken man and then Punk will take a drink and continue to while Jericho will be recognized as the best in the world and that Punk’s dad will be recognized as a pathetic drunk. Punk stands in the ring for a bit and then walks up the ramp all upset. This was a good Jericho promo and Punk’s reaction was good also. I’m looking forward to this match more than the “big 2” matches by far!

They show a David Otunga Lawyer ad. That was idiotic!

Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger. Orton gets the pin. This was a good match but the outcome was never in doubt. Afterwards Kane’s pyro goes off and the red lights go on and Orton looks around for a bit but nothing happens.

They announce that next week John Cena will face Mark Henry.

The Rock’s music hits and he comes with his guitar. He gets in the ring and gets a mic and does his finally The Rock has come back bit. He says that the fans tonight have broken a record. He says that tonight is the largest sell out in the history of WWE in Cleveland and he thanks the fans and they chant Rocky. Rocks says that he appreciates the chants but they should be chanting Cleveland and they do for a bit. Then he says that the guy who came at the start of the show wasn’t the same John Cena. Then on the tron he shows some guy and a Tellitubby and that they mad Cena. Then he says that tonight in Cleveland is about something special. Then he gets his guitar and says that tonight isn’t a rap because everyone knows Cleveland “Rocks.” Then he sings his version of Jailhouse Rock ragging on Cena. Then he sings about Cena making out with Eve but he has a wife. Then he asks if there are any grown men who are Cena fans and they mostly boo but Rock spots a couple and asks the fans if he should mess with the male Cena fans. Then he sings about those guys. Then he says that there’s a special lady watching at home that he wants this part of the song to be about. He was referring to Cena’s mom. Then he says that there is only one way to end the night and this song is for the millions of Rock’s fans. Then he does his usual kind of promo. Then he says that they’re going to sing this special song for Cleveland and they play we will rock you and Rock does a karaoke bit with his lyrics on the tron. Then he thanks the Cleveland fans does the if ya smell bit and poses to end the show. This was kind of funny. I thought that it went on a little long but Rock was good as usual.

I thought that this was a middle of the road show at best. I wasn’t into the opening hip hop bit with Cena and The Rock’s concert was funny but it was a bit too long for me. The rest of the show was hit and miss. Jericho cut a great promo on the tron. That was probably the best part of the night. The Undertaker-HHH-Michaels end of an era bit is getting really old and I’m not really feeling the buzz for it too much. The rest of the show wasn’t too memorable either. Orton & Swagger had a good match and so did Sheamus & Dolph but the winners were never in doubt. They jobbed out Miz in his home town and they made Ryder look like a total goof. Overall this was a weak show.

3-9-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the March 9, 2012 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with the cage being lowered and Johnny Ace & David Otunga are in the ring and Otunga introduces Johnny Ace. Ace thanks the Board of directors for letting him run Smackdown this week. He goes off on usual spiel and says that Teddy Long never had a Championship cage match to start Smackdown. Then he says that he will show the fans and Teddy Long how it should be done. Then the bell rings and Lillian announces that the opener will be for the U.S. Title in the cage.

U.S. Champion Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger in a Steel Cage match for the Title. Santino wins by escaping the cage. Dolph tries to interfere but Santino hit him with a cobra (which looked really idiotic) and the referee kicked Dolph out. Also Vickie hit Swagger with the door by mistake, which allowed Santino to escape for the win. Afterwards Santino walks up the ramp and Teddy Long comes out, hugs Santino and raises his hand. This was actually a pretty good match.

They show a video package for Alicia Fox. I have no idea why!

Backstage Teddy Long is pleading with Johnny Ace to call off the Aksana-Kane match but Ace doesn’t. Then Ace says that Long will face him later and if Long wins then Aksana will face Kane. This was a crappy segment.

Drew McIntyre comes to the ring and talks about how Teddy Long sacked him last week but he is here tonight because of Johnny Ace and says that Ace has given him a chance to get his job back. His mystery opponent comes out and it’s The Great Khali. Then David Otunga comes out and reveals Drew’s new opponent and Hornswoggle comes out looking upset.  

Hornswoggle vs. Drew McIntyre. Drew wins when the referee stops the match and Drew regains his Smackdown job. Afterwards Khali comes in and head chops Drew. This was idiotic.

They show Teddy Long backstage lacing up his boots and Aksana comes in all terrified and Long says that he’s got this and he has to make an impression on the Board of Directors. Then he says that Ace needs to be taught a lesson for insulting Long’s manhood. What ever. This was more idiocy.

They show Johnny Ace in work out get up getting ready for his match. David Otunga comes in and Ace asks if he saw Kane and Otunga says he is one angry monster. This was another dumb segment.

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Mark Henry. Henry gets the pin. This was ok. Zeke got in a good amount of offense before Henry pinned him.

Teddy Long vs. Johnny Ace. Long gets the pin. Before the match started, Ace told Long that if he wins then Aksana will face Kane. Ace tells Long to lay down for him. Then Kane came out but Randy Orton came out too and lays out Kane with an RKO. Then Long rolled up Ace for the pin. This was awful. Afterwards the show Teddy Long & Aksana backstage all happy and they left the arena. Ace was in the ring pissed off. Crappy segment.

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Primo & Epico. Kofi & Truth win when Truth pins Primo. This was a solid match.

Michael Cole is in the ring and he brings out Sheamus & Daniel Bryan for a face to face about their World Title match. Sheamus tells Daniel not to hide behind AJ. Then AJ wanted to speak but Daniel told her to shut up. This was a decent segment. Bryan did his usual good job at being the cocky heal and Sheamus’ promo was good too.

Then Cody Rhodes comes out for the 6 man tag followed by Big Show. Then Miz and then Randy Orton.

Randy Orton, Sheamus & Big Show vs. The Miz, Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes & World Champion Daniel Bryan. Orton, Sheamus & Show win when Orton pins Miz. Afterwards Kane came out and he & Orton brawl into the crowd to end the show. I liked the match here. I thought they all worked hard and the Orton-Kane brawl into the crowd was a good way to end the show.

I wasn’t a big fan of this week’s show too much. The 6 man main event was good and so was the Sheamus-Daniel Bryan face off. The Orton-Kane brawl was a good way to end the show and the Non Title tag match was solid also, but I thought the rest of the show wasn’t too memorable.

3-8-12 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the March 8, 2012 episode of Impact

The show starts with Garrett Bischoff pulling into the lot and he says that he appreciates Flair’s and his dad’s warning and that the target on his back probably just grew. He says that he’s not going anywhere.

Eric Bischoff, Gunner & Ric Flair coming to the ring. Eric says that he talked with Sting and says that he asked Sting for gunner to find a partner ad face that Garrett & a mystery partner tonight. Then he thanks Flair for giving Garrett the heads up about showing up in the Impact Zone and Eric has his gratitude. Then he says that Garrett will have a hard time finding a partner cause no one wants to team with him. Then he says that there are a lot of guys who would like to team up with Gunner. Then Kurt Angle comes out, hugs all 3 guys and says that he will team with Gunner because Garrett doesn’t respect his dad. He tells Garrett that he doesn’t like him because of that. Then he mentions that he listened to his dad and he became an Olympic gold medalist. Then he says that everyone hates anyone with the last name Bischoff but means no disrespect to Eric. Then he says that he and Gunner will make him tap out tonight. This was a weak opening segment. The whole Bischoff and son feud is idiotic.

They show Sting looking at himself and going bonkers. Then Eric Young comes in and says that he wants to give ODB the world and he wants Sting’s permission. Sting does his crazy man bit and they go back and forth with a lot of nonsense. Then he makes Eric Young ODB’s partner and they will challenge Madison Rayne & Gail Kim for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Then he puts some of his face paint on Young and tells him that he is a warrior. Then he talks to himself again about Bobby Roode. This was too weird.

Eric Young & ODB vs. Knockouts Tag Team Champions Madison Rayne & Gail Kim. Young & ODB win to become the new Champions when Young pins Gail after Madison hits Eric with the belt but Young falls on top of Gail for the pin. Afterwards Young proposes to ODB. They go to commercial and when they come back Young gets the mic and pops the question and she accepts. This was typical Eric Young goofy comedy.

They show some guy outside the building saying that he is here to see Impact Wrestling officials. The guy lets him in. I have no idea where they’re headed with this.

Bully Ray talks about how he kicked James Storm with a chair and he tells him that he won’t make it to Lockdown. Solid promo.

Austin Aries comes out of his dressing room complaining that Sting sent him an e-mail putting Aries in a Title match with Zima Ion. Aries says that putting the Title match on free TV is bad for business and says that he will show him what show time is all about. This was a good promo. Aries asked a good question, why would they have this match on Impact when they can on PPV?

Zima Ion vs. X-Division Champion Austin Aries for the Title. Ion wins by DQ when Aries sprays Ion. Ion was going to use it but Aries got it and the referee caught him. This was a decent match but the end was lame.

The show this “official” from before and he comes in to talk to Velvet Sky. He says that he is Abyss’ brother and asks if she know where he is. She has no idea. I’m not sure where they’re going with this new character.

Bully Ray is in the ring and cuts a promo on James Storm saying that he is the guy who took him out by kicking a chair into his head. He says that he deserves to be the number one contender. Then he calls out Sting and demands a TNA World Title match. Sting comes to the ring and says that he feels so alive and says that they can’t just make a match with the World Champion. Ray says he can whatever he wants and says he wants Roode. Sting tells him to say it with conviction and Ray demands a match with Roode. Sting then says that no one does Bully like him and grants him his wish. Ray thanks him and Sting then says that the match will be right after the break. This was typical crazy Sting. A little weird but Ray was great on the mic as usual.

They show Roode backstage complaining to Sting saying he can’t defend his title. Sting says the title isn’t on the line. Roode calls Sting a lunatic and then he heads to the ring not wanting to face Ray. He offers Ray his hand but Ray says he wants the match. Roode says that they don’t have to do this. Ray tells him to take his belt off and get ready to fight.

Bully Ray vs. TNA World Champion Bobby Roode. The match goes to a no finish when James Storm comes out and chases Ray off. Then Storm turns to Roode and gives him a super kick. Then Storm gets the belt, kisses it and places it over Roode. This was a decent match and Storm coming in was ok too.

Garrett is backstage saying that the stakes are incredibly high and says that he is confident about who he asked to be his partner tonight.

They show Matt Morgan & Crimson backstage and Abyss’ “brother” comes in and he asks if they know where he’s at. They don’t know. Then Crimson talks about how they lost the titles but Morgan’s not to blame for getting pinned and they’ll put that behind them.

Matt Morgan & Crimson vs. Robbie E & Rob Terry for a TNA World Tag Team Title match. Morgan & Crimson win when Crimson pins Robbie E. They had more dissention. This was ok. Crimson & Morgan bickered more afterwards

They show AJ Styles in the empty Impact Zone and he says that Kazarian & Daniels are his former best friends but he has a way to deal with ‘em and they won’t like it.

Gunner is backstage with Kurt Angle saying that he picked the right guy to team with. Then Kurt says that he doesn’t like Garrett and that Garrett & his partner will be taking out tonight.

They show a video package recapping the AJ-Daniels-Kazarian storyline.

AJ Styles comes to the ring and he talks about TNA’s 10^th anniversary. He says he thinks about all the great matches he’s had and the allies and enemies he’s made. Then Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian come out and Daniels says that as the new face of Impact Wrestling he says that he was AJ’s best friend and returned to TNA to stand by his side. He then says that Daniels’ friendship got AJ World Title runs but AJ’s friendship got him canned. Then Kazarian says that everyone has turned their backs on him because he trusts too many people (that was kind of a weird reason). Then he says that maybe the problem is with AJ. AJ says that he doesn’t see any friends but he does see lying back stabbing pricks that are the reason that he won’t associate with friends anymore. He says that he will associate himself with an, AJ asks for someone to help him out and Anderson’s voice goes over the speakers saying, “a**hole”. Then Ken Anderson makes his return and he & AJ brawl with Daniels & Kazarian and run them off. This was a decent segment.

They show Garrett backstage peaking into his partner’s dressing room door and asks if he’s ready and then he walks off.

They show a video package of fans putting over the TNA talent.

Garrett comes out and stands by the ramp and then Jeff Hardy’s music hits and he comes out.

Jeff Hardy & Garrett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle & Gunner. Jeff & Garrett win Jeff pins Kurt. This was a good back and forth match. (Note: this was taped a different night because Jeff got sick). Kurt Angle & Gunner walk up the ramp while Jeff & Garrett celebrate in the ring to end the show.

I thought this episode was a bit weaker than usual. It wasn’t terrible but I didn’t think it was as good as Impact’s been. I wasn’t into the opening promo but the main event tag match was good. The AJ-Daniels-Kazarian promo followed by Anderson coming out for the brawl was good. It looks like we’ll be getting AJ & Anderson vs. Daniels & Kazarian at

Victory Road

. The Crimson & Morgan vs. Robbie E & Rob Terry was ok but not that great. Austin Aries cut a good promo and his match with Ion was good but the end was lame. Bully Ray was great on the mic as usual and his match with Roode was good too. The Eric Young-ODB stuff was idiotic and Sting being the crazy man didn’t work for me. I wasn’t into the hole; “Abyss’ brother asking where he is” bit was lame too. Overall I thought this was weaker than the usual Impact we’ve seen.

3-5-12 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the March 5, 2012 episode of Raw

The show starts with Shawn Michaels coming out. He comes out to his music and the pyro goes off. He slaps a few fans’ hands and then heads to the ring and poses more. The fans chant HBK. Then he gets the mic and talks about how he came out a few weeks ago and caused some trouble. The fans chant HBK more. Shawn says that it got heated with him and Hunter because he wanted Hunter to step in there with Taker and take down the streak. He says that it will happen and that Hunter upped the anty making it a hell in the cell. Then he asks Hunter to come so he can find out why he changed his mind. Triple H’s music plays and he comes out in his COO suit. Shawn says that he was hard on Hunter a few weeks back and says that he hit Hunter below the belt and is amazed that Hunter never buckled. He says that Hunter is a man of conviction, honor and integrity. Shawn says that Hunter never caved in despite Shawn calling him a coward. Then he asks what made Hunter change his mind and says that somebody must have said something so degrading and asks what it was. He was about to speak but Shawn then says that he doesn’t want him to tell him and that he wants to see it so they can share the moment together. They replay the Taker-HHH promo from last week. Then Hunter & Shawn stare at each other for a bit and then Shawn says that the worst thing that anyone can say to Hunter is that Shawn is better than him. Hunter says it has nothing to do with who is better and he says that he is tired of listening to people like Taker talk behind Shawn’s back saying he couldn’t get the job done, is a failure and that on the way out he couldn’t do it because he wasn’t as good as he thought. Then Hunter says that eats at him and says that Shawn is the greatest of all time and that it pains him to look at him as a loser. He says that is why he is going to end the era and do what everyone runs their mouth saying Shawn couldn’t do. He says that he will do this for both him & Shawn. Shawn says that like always HHH in his nice suit has everything under control. Then he says that it hurt him last year to tell Hunter that he couldn’t get it done and then he says how he saw the epic match he & Taker had, but that Hunter lost and he was right. Then he says that he knows who will win this year too and will be right again and that is because he will be the guest referee. Shawn’s music hits and he walks up the ramp while HHH stands in the ring with a disgusted look on his face. This was a decent opening segment. I had a feeling that they were going to have Michaels referee the match. I don’t think the match needs it, but I’m not surprised that they went with that.

Santino Marella vs. U.S. Champion Jack Swagger for the Title. Santino gets the pin to win the Title. Johnny Ace & David Otunga came to ringside. Then Teddy Long came out with Aksana & Kofi Kingston. Long & Ace argue AGAIN! Time for commercial. Back from commercial and the mach continues. Ace distracts the ref and Long yanks him off the apron, David Otunga got in the way and more crap happens. Then Ziggler nailed Santino from behind but then Santino got him with the cobra. Vickie got on the apron and Santino was going to cobra her. Then Aksana shoves Vickie down and more crap happens and Santino roles up Swagger for the pin. Then Ace says that this won’t happen on his show. Long then says that it’s his show tonight and he has security come out. Long says that the best thing for Ace to do is to get out of the building and to take Otunga with him. Security take Otunga & Ace out and Long tells the ring announcer to re announce Santino as the new U.S. Champion. Then Santino & Long do the trombone bit. This fricken sucked! There was way to much crap happening on here. This GM vs. GM storyline is so f’n idiotic!

The show The Rock somewhere in Boston on the tron and he says that Cena will get history lessons from The Rock. He mentions that like Cena, people had enough of the British and they started a revolution and there will be a Rock revolution tonight. Then he talks about the Boston Tea Party and says that he will have a Boston Party of his own. Then he takes out some Cena merchandise (some of it looks pretty stupid too) and he throws it all in the water. Then he says the revolution starts tonight and tells Cena to take his merchandise, turn it side ways and….you know the rest. He says that the People’s party starts tonight. This was a decent promo. Not Rock’s greatest but he wasn’t off like last week. Probably because it was pre taped.

Alicia Fox vs. Eve Torres. Eve gets the really quick pin. Kelly was on commentary. Afterwards she stares at Kelly and then Zack Ryder’s music hits and he comes out. He tells Eve that he’s glad they never hooked up. Not much of a return for Ryder and the match was short and pointless.

They show John Cena from earlier today sitting in the empty arena and he will give his comments on The Rock next.

They show Zack Ryder backstage and Eve runs up to him and says that she has something to tell him and then she kisses him. I’m not sure what they’re doing here.

We go to John Cena and he says that WrestleMania 28 will be full of moments but all eyes will be focused on him & Rock. He says that this will be more than a match. This is a once in a life time opportunity. Then he puts over Rock for what he accomplished. Then he says that he needs to win this match. He says that he grew up in Boston and that it’s a city of champions. Then he talks about how it used to be a city of heart break and that biggest heart break was the year the Patriots won every game and lost the Super Bowl to the Giants. Then he says that if Rock beats him then he will be another name in the notebook of people Rock beat. But if he can beat Rock at WrestleMania then he wins the big one. He says that this is an event that will make history and will break every record in WWE history and that no one will remember second place which is why he needs to win. He says that this will be all or nothing him. This was a good promo. Having Cena cut more realistic (as realistic as possible for WWE) promos is way better than the cartoon Cena.

WWE Champion CM Punk & Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho & World Champion Daniel Bryan. Jericho & Bryan win when Jericho pins Punk. This was a good back and forth match.

Back to more pre taped comments from The Rock. This time he talks about Paul Revere and says that what if it was Cena riding the horse and that he would have been shot on sight and the British would have won. He says that he would invent a time travel machine to whoop John Cena’s ass and he talks about how he would step out of the time machine and the fans would go bonkers. He says that Ben Franklin would have said that Rock invented electricity. He says that they would be so happy and singing songs about The Rock and then sings his version of Yankee Doodle. Then he says that if Revere were alive today he’d be riding his horse saying The Rock is coming. Then he says that he is coming to the TD Garden to get in Cena’s face. This was another decent Rock promo. He was good with his delivery but I’m not really digging this whole tie in with the history lesson.

Big Show vs. The Miz. Big Show gets the really quick pin. The bell rang but before anything happens Cody Rhodes comes out before the match starts and rags on Big Show again. This time he has a clip of him at WrestleMania 18 eating at WWE’s old New York restaurant. They show the clip of from 10 years ago. Then Miz attacks Big Show from behind. Then Big Show punches put Miz and gets the pin. This was short too. Man Miz has really gone down hill in the last year.

Time for a third history lesson from The Rock. This time he is standing in front of the State House that overlooks the Boston Common. He talks about how the Americans never stopped fighting till they won. Then he says that the Rock revolution with over through Cena. He says that he has that charisma of George Washington, the intelligence of Ben Franklin and the you know what of John Hancock. Then he says that he will beat Cena at WrestleMania. Then he says that he will be coming to the TD Garden and tell everyone what he sees and tells Cena to get ready. Then he says the if ya smell line. This was decent too. I wasn’t a big fan of the whole history lesson bit but Rock’s promos were good.

They announce that next week Undertaker will respond to Triple H and Shawn Michaels will be there live.

R-Truth vs. Kane. Kane gets the pin. This was pretty much a squash. Afterwards Randy Orton’s music hits and he comes out. Truth holds on to Kane’s ankle. Then Orton gets in the ring and gives Kane an RKO. Then he gets the mic and he says that it is good to be back. This was ok. It looks like they’ll be having Orton vs. Kane at WrestleMania.

John Cena is in the ring and he gets booed. Then he says that finally The Rock is back, the real Rock that he needs to face at WrestleMania. He talks about Rock’s history lesson promos and says that they’re everything The Rock needs to be. Then he says he told Rock what he is going to do and then asks what Rock’s saying about him. Then he asks if he’s fighting Rock or the situation from Jersey Shore. Then he says that for the first tome in Rock’s career he was shook up and that he wasn’t sounding like The Rock. Then he mentions that he was the guy who shook him up. Cena then mentions how dumb he himself looks and rags on himself at the way he dresses. Then he says that The Rock is back with the Hollywood Swagger. He then says that talking to Cena face to face might not be the best idea for Rock and then asks which version of Rock we’ll be seeing. He says that he hopes The Rock comes out not Dwayne Johnson. He says that he doesn’t want to beat the second best at WrestleMania. Then he asks the fans if they want to see them face to face. The crowed cheers and Cena says to bring out The Rock. The Rock’s music plays and he gets in the ring and says that finally The Rock has come back to Boston. He says that he was going to look Cena in the eye and tell the world what he sees. He says that he sees fear in Cena. Fear that Rock is taking everything that he worked hard for. He says that he sees right through him. Rock says that he has never been more confident about anything in his life. The fans chant tooth fairy and Cena plays off of that. Rock tells Cena that if you strip away WrestleMania, Hollywood, Twitter, etc. The Rock will rip his throat out. Then he says that at his core Cena will always be a little boy who will go down in history as the Rock’s b**ch. Rock’s music plays and he walks to the back. Then Cena says that Rock doesn’t intimidate him and says that Rock has other options but his back against the wall. Then he says if Rock thinks Cena’s afraid of him he lost his mind. Then he says that at WrestleMania he will be the SOB that whips Rock ass. Then Cena’s music hits and he hugs a fan and poses with a few. Then he poses in the ring with his music playing. Then he goes the front row to hug his dad and the rest of his family saying that these are his people to end the show. This was a really good promo. I liked how they had Cena playing off of Rock reading his wrist notes last week by having notes on his wrist. Rock & Cena both cut good promos and I think Cena’s was actually the better of the 2 once again.

I wasn’t into this week’s show for the most part. The Shawn Michaels-Triple H promo at the start was good and I liked the Rock-Cena promo at the end. Everything else was mostly crap. Punk & Sheamus vs. Jericho & Bryan was the only other good part of the show. The rest of it I didn’t care for. I wasn’t into Rock’s history lesson promos too much either. His delivery was decent but the promos were not as good as other ones he’s cut. There were only 5 matches on the show and 3 of them were pointless squashes (Alicia-Eve, Truth-Kane, Show-Miz) the other was overbooked with too much crap (Santino-Swagger) and the tag match (Punk & Sheamus vs. Jericho & Bryan). Zack Ryder’s return was also pretty anti climactic and Eve kissing him backstage made no sense to me. So overall I didn’t think there was much memorable material this week.

3-2-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the March 2, 2012 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Sheamus coming to the ring and he talks about his World Title match at WrestleMania with Daniel Bryan. He mentions that since Daniel became World Champion that he has become conceded. He also says that Daniel reminds him of himself when he won his first WWE Title 2 years ago. Sheamus mentions that when he first won the Title he became what he hates, a bully. He mentions that he should have realized that the WWE Title was the greatest trophy he could have had at that time. Then he says that he wishes he had had someone to set him straight and realize who he was. Then he says that’s what Daniel Bryan needs now and that on April 1 he will kick Daniel’s “arse” and become the new World Champion. Then Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero come out and Vickie says that Sheamus told a great story but her favorite part is when he stops talking. Then Dolph says that Sheamus wants to give the fans what they want/deserve. Then he Dolph says that they deserve to see him in the WrestleMania main event. Then Dolph says that Sheamus’ hair is on fire (that was corny) and then Sheamus says that that joke is about as old as Dolph’s “grandmother” (Vickie). Then Vickie says that she is not old, she is experienced. Then she mentions how she & Dolph prefer Johnny Ace to Teddy Long as GM. Then she says that she is the only person who is not a McMahon to be GM of both Raw & Smackdown. Then Teddy Long comes out and tells Vickie that the only that she will run is Dolph’s career into the ground. Then he sets up Sheamus vs. Dolph and that happens right now. This was a decent opening segment. Sheamus’ promo at the start comparing Daniel Bryan to himself was good. The stuff with Dolph & Vickie was mixed. Dolph cut a good promo but the short back and forth with Sheamus & Vickie was corny.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler. Sheamus gets the pin. This was a good match. Swagger came out at one point but Sheamus easily Brogue Kicked him.

They recap the Teddy Long-Johnny Ace storyline and show what happened on the live Smackdown last Tuesday and Raw this past Monday. I don’t know why they’re flip flopping the GM roles for next week. This storyline is idiotic.

Teddy Long Is walking backstage on his cell phone talking to Aksana and then gets to his office and Johnny Ace & David Otunga are there. Long asks what he’s doing there and Ace says that he came to be the better man and demanded an apology for attacking him on Raw. Ace says that he hurt his back and went to the hospital that night. He says his back isn’t broken but he has some kind of a strain. Then Otunga says what a tough guy Ace is and then that even though they dropped the criminal charges he is still thinking about filing a civil action against him. Ace says he will still accept the apology. Long says that he’s not going to and that the fans enjoyed seeing Long shove Ace to the mat (I’m not sure if we all did) and he got a laugh out of it. Then Ace says that Long won’t be laughing when he runs Smackdown next week shows him and the Board of Directors how the show should be run. Long then says that Ace won’t be laughing when he runs Raw this Monday. Then he says that David Otunga, or as he called him, “the coffee drinking sap” (that was pretty funny) will face The Great Khali (that won’t be funny, that will be awful!) Then he kicks them out and Ace tells him to calm down and try some yoga. This was crap! Does anyone really give a rat's you know what about this idiotic storyline with the GMs?

Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater. Santino gets the pin. This match was short and pointless. I’m tired of Santino’s bit with the “cobra.” Also Booker T said that Santino was in his “fav 5.’ WHAT!?

They show the undertaker-Triple H video package that had clips of their match at last year’s WrestleMania.

Then they mention that Shawn Michaels will be on Raw this Monday.

They show Eve backstage looking at herself in a hand held mirror and then Natalya comes and says that they haven’t always seen eye to eye but she doesn’t like what Eve did to Zack Ryder. Natalya says that Zack is a good guy and then Eve jumps in and says that she admitted that she used him. Then the fart noise hits. This was stupid too. Eve is one of the worst actresses I’ve ever seen.

Natalya vs. Eve Torres. Eve gets the pin. The match was ok but short and Eve as a heal doesn’t click. Also the commentary during this was idiotic.

Cody Rhodes comes to the ring and talks more about Big Show’s matches from WrestleManias 21 & 24 and showed a “Big Show’s Most Embarrassing Moments” on the tron. Then he says that he is at the top of Show’s you know what list because he cost him a World Title match at this years WrestleMania. Cody says that he hopes that Show’s list is a thank you list because he saved him the embarrassment of floundering yet again on the grandest stage of them all. He says that he maybe the Big Show but at the big show, he is a choke artist. Then he says that WWE has archives of Shows lousy moments at WrestleMania. Then Big Show comes out and Cody bails and jumps over the guard rail. Show gets the mic and asks Cody where he’s going because he wants to watch his next video segment. He says that he can laugh at himself because he’s pretty funny, well sometimes. He invites Cody back into the ring and says that they watch this stuff like friends. Then he says that if Cody won’t go back in the ring then he will have come and get him. Then Teddy Long comes out and says that Cody will have his moment when defends the Intercontinental Title against Big Show at WrestleMania. Then Long says that he knows Show has unfinished business with Mark Henry. Then Mark Henry comes out for the match. This was a decent segment. I liked Cody’s promo and I thought that Big Show was good on the mic too.

Big Show vs. Mark Henry. Show gets the pin. This was a solid match. Cody Rhodes was on commentary. I’m not sure what they’re doing with Henry. The guy’s worked through injuries and he gets de pushed back to Jobber Ville! I don’t get it!

Teddy Long is backstage and walks up to Drew McIntyre and says that he’s been cutting Drew some slack. Then he tells him that if he loses tonight he is fired. Long walks off and Drew is all upset. I’m not sure why they keep doing the “Drew loses and is fired and then gets unfired” bit.

They show the clip of Daniel Bryan hitting Randy Orton with the belt in the back of the head that lead to his storyline concussion.

Matt Striker is backstage to interview Randy Orton. Orton says that he is back to normal for him, meaning angry and cold blooded and looking to get revenge on Daniel Bryan. He say’s it isn’t about the concussion and that this goes beyond physical pain. He says that Daniel cost him an opportunity to walk in to WrestleMania as World Champion and he doesn’t think that Daniel fully appreciates the stupid price he’s gonna have to pay. He says that tonight he collects. This was a good intense promo.

Justin Gabriel vs. Drew McIntyre. Gabriel gets the pin. This was a short match. Afterwards they show Teddy Long on the tron and he says that he gave Drew lots of chances but he has to let him go. Drew’s in the ring all devastated.

They show the Rock-Cena promo from the end of Raw.

Matt Striker is once again backstage. This time interviewing Daniel Bryan and Daniel says that he is way beyond having butterflies in his stomach but he will talk about Orton later. Then he mentions Sheamus’ promo from the start of the show and he says that Sheamus is wrong. He says that he is still the same confident guy he was before. He then mentions that he’s a vegan and is healthier than everyone. He says that he doesn’t have a TV and that he is still the love of AJ’s life. Then he says that he is still a role model and the guy who beat 2 giants inside a cage at the Royal Rumble. He says that he is also the guy who beat 5 guys in the Elimination Chamber. He then says that he is the guy who beat Randy Orton tonight and he is still the guy who will defy people’s expectations and will walk into and out of WrestleMania World Champion.

Randy Orton vs. World Champion Daniel Bryan. The match goes to a no finish when Kane’s pyro goes off and his music hits. He comes out and the referee calls for the bell. Then he and Orton go at it and Kane tosses Orton in the ring and Daniel bails. Then Kane stares down AJ. Then Orton gets back up and gives Kane a couple right hands and clotheslines him over the top rope but Kane yanks Orton out from under the bottom rope. They continue to go at it and they put each other face first into the announce table. Then they go back in the ring and Orton gets a few punches but then Kane throws him into the turnbuckle and then choke slams him. Then Kane gets a mic and kneels down over Orton and says, “Welcome back Randy. Welcome back.”  They show Johnny Ace & David Otunga watching backstage on a monitor and Ace says that he is impressed with Kane’s destruction but it won’t be half as bad as the destruction he brings to Smackdown next week. Otunga asks what he has in mind. Ace maybe he will have Kane face Aksana. Otunga says, “Really?” and takes a sip of coffee to end the show. The match was good and the Orton-Kane brawl was too. The Johnny Ace-David Otunga bit was idiotic.

I thought that this was a mixed bag show overall. Sheamus’ opening promo was good and Dolph’s was too but I found the Sheamus-Vickie exchange to be corny. The Orton-Bryan match was good and I liked the Orton-Kane brawl. I have no idea why they’re doing this feud yet, but I thought the brawl was good. Cody Rhodes cut a good promo too about Big Show’s WrestleMania streak and I thought that Big Show’s promo was good too. I also like the Orton & Bryan interviews. Orton showed his usual intensity and Bryan was his usual jerky type heal. The Big Show-Mark Henry match was solid too even though Henry appears to be back in Jobber land. Speaking of jobber land, Drew is now apparently “gone” from Smackdown. His match with Justin Gabriel was too short to comment on. The Natalya-Eve segment and match were both meaningless and so was the Santino-Slater match. The bit where Ace & Otunga were in Long’s office was dumb too. This was a middle of the road show this week.

3-1-12 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the March 1, 2012 episode of Impact

The show starts with Kurt Angle backstage saying that he will tell everyone why he hates Jeff Hardy.

Kurt Angle comes to the ring and cuts a promo on Jeff Hardy saying that there are many reasons why he hates Jeff Hardy and why he attacked him. First he says that Jeff has lots of hair and he doesn’t. Then he says that having colored hair doesn’t make him a champion. Second, he hates the way Jeff dresses. Third, he says that he will be doing a signing and then Jeff will come in and the fans will all run up to him. Fourth, the girls like him. Finally fifth, he has over 100 Kurt Angle figures, posters and t-shirts. Then he says that when he goes into his son’s room he sees Jeff’s poster on the wall and figures of Jeff and that he’s wearing a Jeff Hardy t-shirt. Then he mentions that he’s dressing like Jeff. Then he says that Jeff is his son’s hero. Then he calls Jeff Hardy out. Jeff comes to the ring and Angle says those are the reason Jeff isn’t World Champion and challenges him to a match at

Victory Road

. Then Jeff slaps him, and then a pull apart happens. Then Jeff says that at

Victory Road

he’s on. This was a good opening segment. Angle cut a good promo and Jeff coming out and having them go at it was good.

Bobby Roode is backstage saying that he is the “it factor” and World Champion. Then he says that Sting booking himself in the

Victory Road

main event is bad for business. Roode says that Sting’s past his prime. Then Austin Aries comes in and Aries says that they’re both champions and that Sting is trying to keep them out of the spot light. This was a good promo. Both these are really talented at both the in ring and promo departments.

AJ Styles vs. Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels in a gauntlet match. Daniels & Kazarian win. Before the match AJ said that when he wins then Kazarian would have to say what Daniels has over him. Then Daniels says that they don’t have to but then Kazarian takes the mic and accepts. AJ faces Daniels first and Kazarian comes in and gives AJ fade to black, getting Daniels DQ’d. Then Kazarian pins AJ. Daniels wasn’t sure what was happening and they walk up the ramp and Kazarian tells Daniels, “That’s a victory.” The AJ-Daniels match was good stuff. I’m not sure where they’re going with this storyline. Now Kazarian is playing mind games with Daniels it looks like.

They show Madison Rayne backstage hanging up some pics of Gail Kim and Gail comes in and says that she made a spa date for them “tomorrow”. Then she says that she also got Madison a match with ODB. Madison wasn’t thrilled.

ODB vs. Knockouts Tag Team Champion Madison Rayne. ODB gets the pin. Madison wanted Gail to help her put but when Gail goes to hit ODB with the belt she purposely drops it and that allowed ODB to get the pin. This was ok. Gail tells Madison that she dropped the belt “by mistake.”

Bully Ray tells some woman that James Storm embarrassed him by bringing Brandon Jacobs in. Then Roode & Aries come in and Roode & Ray bicker and then Roode & Aries tell Ray that Sting is the guy messing with ‘em all. This was a good backstage segment too.

Velvet Sky is complaining and then Sarita & Angelina Love shove Velvet from behind and she tries to fight them off. We’ll see the whole segment next.

Back from commercial and Velvet says that she should be challenging for the Knockouts Title but she always gets screwed of the chance. Then she says that it’s her time and then Sarita & Angelina Love shove her from behind. She tries to fight them off but they get the upper hand. Then Mickie comes in and checks on Velvet. This was ok. Velvet showed some intensity.

They show Ric Flair, Gunner and Eric Bischoff are backstage with Garrett and Flair tells Garrett that he is giving him a week to come to his senses and realize that this isn’t his time in Flair’s world. Garrett says he appreciates the heads up and walks off. This was lame. I’m tired of the Bischoff and son feud and Flair at this stage is tiresome.

They show Bobby Roode, Austin Aries & Bully Ray backstage and they’re heading for the ring.

Bobby Roode, Austin Aries & Bully Ray come to the ring and Roode says that he is why all the fans are in the building and the reason everyone is sitting at home watching this show. He says that he is the most dominant World Champion in TNA history. Then he says that Sting is an authority figure not a wrestler and that Sting crossed the line when he attacked him last week. Then he says that there won’t be any main event at

Victory Road

because he (Roode) is done. Then Ray says that he realizes that Sting was the guy who let Brandon Jacobs into the Impact Zone and jump the guardrail and put Ray through a table. He says that it was Sting’s fault that the most embarrassing moment in his career happened. Then they show the clip on the tron. Then Ray says that he is also done. Then Austin Aries says that he’s been watching everything and that Sting is one of those guys who doesn’t know when to step out of the spot light. He then says that Sting is jealous of them because Roode is a better World Champion, Ray is tougher and Aries can do stuff in the ring that Sting can’t do in his dreams. Then he says that he doesn’t have a main event and he says that he is done. Then they sit on the mat and Ray says they’re not moving. Then the lights go out and when they come back on Sting is in the ring. He asks if they’re just stirring the drink like he was doing. Then he says that if they’re done then that’s ok and he will strip Roode & Aries of their Titles, bite Ray’s finger off and can them. Then they change their minds and Sting says that they will be in a 6 man tag tonight against Storm, Magnus & Samoa Joe. Then the lights go out and when they come back on Sting isn’t there. This was good too. All 4 guys cut good to great promos.

They show a video package on Jessie Sorensen with comments from him and his mom. Hopefully he will recover soon.

Then Zima Ion cuts a promo backstage saying that there is risk in wrestling and that he is the number one contender for the X-Division Title. Good heal promo from Ion.

Shannon Moore vs. Zima Ion. Ion gets the pin. This was a good match too. Then Ion sprays his own hair.

They have a video package of fans mentioning how great TNA is and how much the wrestlers do. Good video.

Mickie James & Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love & Sarita. Mickie & Velvet win when Velvet pins Angelina. This was also a good match.

James Storm is backstage and says that at Lock Down he will do his talking. He says that tonight he will give Roode a sample of what he will get then. Then Magnus says that it’s unusual to see a Tennessee guy and a British guy team up and then he mentions that no one thought that he & Joe would work as a team but they have. Then he says that tonight is about taking care of the heals. Good backstage promo.

They show a video package recapping the Abyss storyline and that his family is asking where he is. He’s in Ring Ka King!  

James Storm & TNA World Tag Team Champions Magnus & Samoa Joe vs. TNA World Champion Bobby Roode, X-Division Champion Austin Aries & Bully Ray. Storm, Magnus & Joe win when Storm pins Roode. This was a really match too. Afterwards Ray attacks Magnus & Joe with a chair and then he threw it at Storm and kicked him in the face with it. Then he tells Storm he’s not making it to Lock Down and that he is the number one contender. This ends the show.

This was a good show overall. The Roode-Aries-Ray protest promos were good and I liked their in ring promo with Sting. Sting does a good job in his role too. The main event was also really good and I liked Ray telling Storm that he won’t make it to Lock Down. Ray is a really awesome heal. The rest of the show was good too. I liked AJ-Daniels and Kazarian confusing Daniels was a nice touch. The Madison-Gail segments were ok too. They’re doing a good job of building tension between the 2. Madison & ODB had a decent match but it was more about the Madison-Gail split. The stuff with Velvet Sky, Mickie James, Sarita & Angelina was good too. I thought the backstage brawl was good and Velvet showed some intensity. The match was good too. Shannon Moore & Zima Ion also had a good match. Ion is doing a good job in the heal role. The Jessie Sorensen video package was good also and hopefully he will be back soon. Kurt Angle’s promo about why he hates Jeff Hardy was decent too and Jeff coming out and slapping Angle was good too. That could be a good match. The only part of the show that I wasn’t into was Flair telling Garrett not to show up next week. Besides that I thought this was a good show. TNA’s been really good the past few months.