Coverage and thoughts on the April 25, 2013 episode of Impact
The show starts with Aces & 8s coming into the building but security stops them. Ray tells them to get out of their way or Mr. A—hole will let them have it. Security lets them through. I’m not sure why they had security preventing Aces & 8s from entering the building and then they let them go in.
James Storm comes to the ring. He says last week he fought AJ and AJ brought the fight. AJ is in the crowed & Storm points him out. Storm says AJ’s new submission move hurt and AJ was the better man last week. What Storm didn’t sign up for was the Aces & idiots that jumped him from behind. If they wanted a fight all they had to do was ask. Then he looks at Taz. Storm says that if he calls 1 of them out they’ll all show up. That’s fine with Storm; he will take them all out. Then out come Daniels & Kazarian. Daniels says before Storm challenges anyone, Bad Influence was also a victim of the Aces & 8s. Hulk doesn’t have the answer to the problem, but they do. Aces & 8s have been playing the numbers game and the magic number TNA needs is 4, as in Fortune. Kazarian says AJ’s brooding looking like a Twilight vampire but Kazarian & Daniels forgive AJ for giving them cheap shots. Then Kaz says that AJ needs to get in the ring with his boys to reform Fortune because that’s the right thing to do. Storm says the fans wanna see Kaz & Daniels to shut up. Kaz says the people don’t concern him or Daniels. Then he says that Storm is irrelevant just like the fans. Then Storm goes after them but they get the upper hand. Then out come Aces & 8s. Anderson
Back to the show and Park is getting stretchered out. Ray says Aces & 8s weren’t screwing around. Do we know who they are? They’re the guys responsible for the carnage in TNA and the guys responsible for taking out all the heroes. The fans have no heroes left. No Samoa Joe, no Magnus, no James Storm, no Joseph Park, nobody. Last week Ray called out 1 guy, Hulk Hogan. He tells “Dear old dad” that he has till the end of the show to answer his challenge. When you ride with Aces & 8s you never walk alone. Great promo from Ray.
Time for a video package recapping the Mickie James-Brooke Tessmacher match from last week.
Backstage we see Hulk Hogan. Camera guy mentions that Hulk was there and then left. He asks what happened. Hulk doesn’t say anything. As he’s walking camera guy follows him and keeps bugging him. Hulk tells him to let it go. This was terrible.
Taryn Terrell vs. Tara . Taryn gets the pin. Tara dominated most of the match, showboated and then Taryn got the win with a roll up. This was decent.
Backstage we see Robbie E. He asks Jessie if he will take care of Rob Terry. Robbie says he showed that he is more of a bro that Terry, now Jessie will show that he is a better dude than Terry. Robbie then says that Terry used to say he was afraid of Jessie and that Jessie has bigger arms than Terry. After Jessie beats Terry tonight Jessie will be on the bro level of George Washington Al Bundy & Oprah Winfrey. Then Jessie flexes. This was stupid.
Robbie E comes out and introduces the guy who will beat Rob Terry bro. A real Hollywood super star unlike the people in the crowed. Mr. Pectacular, Jessie Godderz bro.
Rob Terry vs. Jessie Godderz. Rob Terry gets the pin. This was weak. Big Rob power slammed Jessie and covered him but Robbie E pulled the referee’s ankle to stop the count. Then Big Rob went after Robbie. Jessie tried to get Big Rob from behind but he threw Jessie into Robbie. Then Terry hit a spine buster for the pin.
Backstage Daniels & Kazarian come into Roode’s locker room. Kaz & Daniels tell Roode about wanting to reform Fortune, but without James Storm. Daniels knows AJ better than anybody and he says if they stand together there’s no way AJ can say no. They walk out and then we see Aries was watching from another door. This was good.
They show a video package on Chris Sabin. He will be returning next week. This was well put together and it will be great to finally see Sabin back.
Backstage we see Aries & Roode. Aries mentions that he overheard Kaz & Daniels talking to Roode about reuniting Fortune. If Roode wants to reunite Fortune that’s his business. Aries says he & Roode aren’t best friends. They’re 2 dominant world champions. If Kaz & Daniels are such great wrestlers how come Aries beat him for the world title? Aries says that he is looking to win back the tag titles, but if Roode screws Aries he will also be screwing himself.
Daniels & Kazarian are at the announce table for the next match & Daniels is on commentary replacing Mike Tenay.
TNA World Tag Team Champions Chavo Guerrero, Jr. & Hernandez vs. Austin Aries & Bobby Roode for the Titles. Chavo & Hernandez win when Chavo pins Roode. This was a solid match. Kazarian got up on the apron & distracted the referee and then Daniels came in & went after Hernandez. Then Daniels went to clothesline Hernandez but he got out of the way & Daniels hit Roode. Then Hernandez chucked Daniels out of the ring and then Chavo hit the frog splash on Bobby for the pin.
Backstage Matt Morgan says hiding from camera guy doesn’t work. Then he says that if Hulk calls out Ray this will be the biggest mistake Hulk’s made. Morgan is headed to the ring right now because he has a solution. This was a good promo.
Time for a look back at Bully Ray turning heel and Hulk blaming it on Sting. They also show Matt Morgan telling Hulk that his mistakes will come crashing down on him.
Matt Morgan comes to the ring. He says over the last year his issues with Impact have centered around mistakes made by Hulk. It all started when Hulk took Sting’s advice and made Ray the number 1 contender for the world title. We all know how that turned out. Ray became champion and Aces & 8s have been dominating. Since then Impact has been imploding around Hulk. Then he says no one has heard from Sting since Hulk kicked him out. Then he mentions that Jeff Hardy got stretchered out by Aces & 8s when he tried to regain the title. Before Hulk comes out & goes face to face with Ray, Morgan wants to present Hulk a solution. He tells Hulk to come on out. Cue Hulk’s music & out he comes. The fans chant Hogan. Morgan says he called out Hulk because Hulk has no more back up. If he goes face to face with Ray he will inevitably be taken out by Aces & 8s. Morgan offers his services as the solution. No one on this roster has been begging & waiting for this chance more than Matt Morgan. He is the 7 foot knight in shining armor and if given the chance he will carbon foot print Ray’s head into the fifth row…for a small price. Morgan says he’s all Hulk’s got. Morgan will handle Hulk’s problem with Ray if Hulk gives Morgan a world title match at Slammivesary. Hulk says Morgan brought him right up to the edge and Morgan has the good to get the job done. Morgan probably could get the job done but Hulk was hoping Morgan would do the right thing. Hulk mention Morgan taking his old cape. Hulk was hoping Morgan would be the second coming of the “Mania”. Hulk says if he handed this to Morgan it would be a bigger mistake than Ray. Hulk says he will step in the ring with Ray even if he isn’t capable, and take what needs to be taken even if it has to do it by himself. Then he says that he never heard Andre the Giant come out & whine like a little b***ch. Than Hulk walks out. This was a typical Hogan bit. Morgan was ok here but Hulk was his usual hokey self & I didn’t go for him mentioning Andre. However, I liked that he finally remembered that Morgan took his old cape.
We see Aces & 8s in the clubhouse. Ray says he almost felt bad for Joseph Park and that it had been 2 years since they gave someone a 3D through a table. Then Ray says Hulk’s all stitched & glued from all the knee surgeries he’s had. He tells Aces & 8s not to come to the ring because he wants to handle this situation with “dad” by himself.
Knockouts Champion Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James for the Title. Velvet gets the pin with a small package. This was solid too. Velvet sold the knee injury throughout the match and I thought they did a good job here.
Backstage we see Ray & Devon. Ray says that Devon can have Brooke. They were the most successful team that ever existed. Devon ’s the TV Champion & Ray’s the World Champion. They lead a pack of wolves that no one can stop & in a bit he will go out to that ring and be the guy that puts the final nail in the coffin of Hulkamania.
Cut to Hulk & Brooke. Brooke says she messed up, but Hulk says Ray screwed over their family & the business and it’s up to Hulk to fix it. Brooke says Hulk just had knee replacement. Hulk is going to prove that he is a good man & Brooke can’t stop him. Brooke tells him to be careful. Then Brooke walks out & Hulk asks himself what he’s doing. This was a typical Hogan backstage bit. The acting from Brooke was the usual crap we get from her.
Bully Ray comes to the ring. He has a list with the names of Sting, Magnus, Jeff Hardy, Joseph Park, James Storm, Eric Young, Kurt Angle & The Pope. He says those names are all victims of Aces & 8s. There’s only 1 victim left & he tells Hulk to come out right now. Out comes Hulk. Ray screams for Hulk’s music to be shut off. Then he asks “dad” how his knee is. Ray says Hulk is raring to go. Hulk probably can’t wait to hit Ray with the big boot and drop the big Hulk Hogan leg. That won’t happen. Hulk can get in the ring & try to fool the fans but he will never fool Ray. As he looks into Hulk’s eyes he sees fear. Hulk fears Ray. He fears Ray because Ray reminds Hulk of himself. Ray is the last of dying breed, Hulk’s breed. Did Hulk ever think Ray would be standing here? He’s the president of Aces & 8s, the world champion, Hulk’s “son in law” & the guy who will put an end to Hulkamania. Hulk says Ray can’t put an end to Hulkamania because it will never die brother. Ray spits in Hulk’s face. Then Hulk tears his shirt and does the old finger point. Then Ray points to him and then Hulk punches Ray & then send him off the ropes for the big boot but Ray bails. Then the rest of the Aces & 8s guys come out & Ray tells them to surround him. Then the lights go out & when they come back on Sting is in the ring & points his bat to Hulk’s chest. Then Sting turns to Ray & then Sting & Hulk take out Aces & 8s. Then Sting points the bat to Hulk again but then retracts it. Sting goes to the back as Hulk stands in the ring looking puzzled to end the show. This was stupid I thought! Sting being in the ring when the lights came back on was predictable & so was him cornering Hulk only for him & Hulk to take out Aces & 8s. They had Sting & Hulk; the older guys take out this group of guys. They also completely forgot about AJ Styles making his decision. He wasn’t even mentioned!
I thought this week’s show was decent overall but I really wish that they would quit starting & ending the shows with these in ring talking segments (The same goes for WWE). This has just gotten way too predicable! The opening segment with the former Fortune guys at the start was solid & I thought Storm, Daniels & Kazarian were all great on the mic. I also like seeing Ray & Devon pull out the 3D. The end was a mixed bag. Ray was great with his promo like usual but I thought having Sting & Hulk clean house on Aces & 8s was kind of lame. Rob Terry-Jessie wasn’t much. The tag title match was solid and I was fine with the finish. I liked that they had the tension with Aries & Roode too. The Taryn-Tara was solid too and I thought the Knockouts Title match was decent. The bit with Aces & 8s in the clubhouse was ok and I liked the backstage bit with Ray & Devon. The Hulk & Brooke bit that followed that however, I wasn’t a fan of. The Hulk-Morgan segment was a mixed bag. I thought Morgan was decent on the mic here but Hulk was his usual hokey self. I liked the Chris Sabin video package & I’m looking forward to his return next week. So overall I thought this was a decent show.
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