Coverage and thoughts on the May 30, 2013 episode of Impact
The show starts with Aces & 8s backstage. Ray says the club business tonight is AJ Styles. D’Lo tells Anderson Anderson
Bully Ray & Devon come to the ring. Ray says it’s 3 days till Slammiversary. In 3 days Devon takes out Joseph Park for good. Also in 3 days in the main event live on PPV the Icon Sting vs. the world champion, Bully Ray. Ray says Sting wanted no holds barred & Ray gave it to him. Did Sting really give it thought? He’s not taking anything from Sting. To be an icon he must have accomplished something in this business. Sting beat Flair & Ray’s “father in law” Hulk Hogan. Sting also beat Kurt Angle. Not everyone can beat an Olympic gold medalist & Sting beat him for the world title. Then Ray mentions how everyone loves Jeff Hardy & Sting beat him to become world champion. Ray beat Jeff too but he also put him on the shelf. Ray can’t wait to make sure Sting never gets to wrestle for the world title again. Tonight right now it will be him & Devon against Sting & Park. Ray says, “come on out & lets fight.” Out come Joseph Park & Sting. This was the usual great promo we get from Ray.
Joseph Park & Sting vs. TNA World Champion Bully Ray & TV Champion Devon . Park & Sting win when Sting pins Devon . Abyss’ music played & that distracted Ray & Devon allowing Sting to hit the Scorpion Death Drop for the pin. The brawl at the start was good & the match itself was solid but how come whenever someone’s music plays somebody has to get distracted by it?
Backstage Kurt Angle says that it’s good that AJ decided not to be part of Aces & 8s but AJ has also done unforgivable stuff to him. They have a lot of history together. Tonight Angle will literally be watching his match very closely.
Dixie Carter comes to the ring. She says this Sunday’s a special night. At Slammiversary TNA will be celebrating 11 years of being in business. She thanks the fans & says the most amazing talent have been in this ring. This Sunday they will announce the next TNA Hall of Fame inductee. It was Sting last year & this year Sting’s challenging Ray for the Title. She wishes & Sting luck & says that everybody’s pulling for him. Out come Doc, Wes Briscoe & Garrett Bischoff. Garrett asks where the love for Aces & 8s is. He knows she’s excited about their celebration at the PPV but it will feel more like a funeral. They corner Dixie & then out come Magnus & Samoa Joe. Doc, Wes & Garrett retreat. Joe says he sat at home for a month waiting to get his hands on Aces & 8s. Tonight that wait is over. Joe doesn’t know who gave Garrett permission to speak & he gets real lippy when it comes to women. How about Garrett faces Joe right now & see how lippy Garrett really is. This was actually better than I thought it would be. I wasn’t a fan of Dixie being in the ring but at least it wound up leading to a match.
Backstage they show James Storm & Gunner. Storm says that everyone has asked him why Gunner. Storm says that Gunner is a beast. Gunner has served his country overseas and has killed people (did they have to have him say that) & Storm wants someone who will kill in the ring also. That is why Storm chose him to be his partner. Gunner says that if the other teams want a war, they will get one. This was ok. I get that they wanna put Gunner over as being a beast as Storm said, but did they have to mention that Gunner has killed people? They could have just said that he served overseas.
Now we see Hulk & Brooke backstage. Hulk asks Brooke what happened out there with Ray last week. He saw the look in her eye. Brooke says it isn’t easy hearing Ray say that he loves her & he is technically still her husband. Hulk says Ray’s saying that to mess with her head. Brooke thought she knew a good guy but she was wrong. Brooke can’t focus on the Knockouts. Hulk believes in Sting. Brooke questions if Sting can get the job done. Whatever! This was a typical painful & idiotic Hogan(s) bit.
TNA World Tag Team Champions Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez and James Storm & Gunner vs. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Austin Aries & Bobby Roode. Chavo, Hernandez, Gunner & Storm win when Gunner makes Aries submit to the torture rack. This was a solid match.
AJ Styles rides into the arena.
Back at Aces & 8s clubhouse. Rays says TNA doesn’t have them where they want them like they think they do. Anderson Devon says he will take care of Park Sunday & if Abyss shows up he will take care of him too. Ray says that he put Jeff Hardy out & now he’s coming back. He tells Wes, Garrett & Doc to take care of Magnus, Joe & Jeff. Then he tells Knox that he’s got a job for him. Knox is psyched. Then Ray says that Hulk always talks about there being a war. Tonight Aces & 8s declares war & Ray wants victims laid out. If not then 1 of all of them even Devon might end up like D’Lo. This was a decent backstage segment.
They show a Bound for Glory video package. How come they’re promoting that PPV when Slammiversary hasn’t even happened yet?
Mickie James comes to the ring. She says it feels good to be champ. She wanted to thank the fans who have supported her. This has been a crazy year for her. First the release of her album & now she’s the Knockouts Champion. It’s been almost 2 years since she’s held that belt. She loves all the fans that stood beside her, but there have been a small handful of people who have doubted how she won the title. She wants to address that right now & asks Velvet Sky to come to the ring. Out comes Velvet Sky. Mickie says there has been some negativity & Mickie has found hit a bit hurtful. She asked Velvet last week if she was ready & was willing to hold off on the match. Mickie says Velvet has guts & hearts. It’s a shame Velvet’s knee gave out & Mickie became champion. She says how great a Knockouts champion Velvet WAS. Velvet says she wants her rematch. Mickie says she can have it when her knee’s ready. Velvet wants the rematch Sunday. Mickie would love to but Brooke Hogan said that she already has Taryn vs. Gail set for Sunday. Then out comes Gail Kim. Gail appreciates the love but lets get 1 thing straight. Gail says Mickie wouldn’t have won the title without Gail’s help. Gail softened up Velvet & destroyed her leg. Gail has been so frustrated to the point where she took out her own partner Tara & Taryn Terrell. Sunday Gail will take care of Taryn and then go for the title. Velvet says she’s first in line for a title match. Then Gail kicks Velvet’s knee. Then she was going for the turnbuckle figure 4 but Taryn comes out & Gail backs off. Then out comes Kenny King. Sabin & Taryn will face Kenny & Gail next. This was mediocre. Mickie turning heel was predictable & I thought that Velvet & Gail were ok on the mic but nothing too memorable. I’m not sure why they don’t have Velvet vs. Mickie in a rematch this Sunday.
Chris Sabin & Taryn Terrell vs. X Division Champion Kenny King & Gail Kim. Sabin & Taryn win when Sabin pins Kenny. This was a solid match too.
Then Sabin says this Sunday after 2 years of physical therapy he will get redemption & become X Division Champion. Then Kenny goes after Sabin & puts him on his shoulders but then Suicide hits the ring to make the save. He gives Kenny a double chicken wing into a lung blower. Then he picks up the X Title at Suicide & Sabin stare at each other.
Time for a Sting video package. He talks about winning his first world title from Ric Flair. Flair was the first guy he beat for the title. His feud with Hulk was a big time feud too. Angle took him to his limit. Jeff Jarrett was the very first guy with TNA. This match with Ray is about more than the title. This is about taking the power from Ray. This was a decent video.
AJ Styles vs. Ken Anderson. AJ wins by DQ when Kurt Angle comes in & goes after AJ. Angle & AJ go at it. Then Aces & 8s hit the ring but out come Sting, Joe, Park & Magnus & then the brawl starts. Angle & AJ continue to go at it. Then Sting & Ray face off & they exchange punches. Then Sting gets Ray in the Scorpion but Devon hits Sting from behind. Then they give Sting the 3D. Aces & 8s stand tall to end the show. The match was solid & I liked the brawl afterwards too. Angle & AJ battling it out was also solid & I liked the Sting-Ray exchange. Having Aces & 8s stand tall at the end made sense since this was the go home show before the PPV.
This week’s show felt like it was just kinda there & for a go home episode before a PPV that isn’t good. The final hype to Sunday wasn’t really much. Ray’s promo at the start of the show was good & Sting & Park vs. the former Dudley Boys was a solid match. AJ-Anderson was solid too & I was ok with the mini brawl. Angle & AJ going at it was decent too. Sting & Ray going at it was solid also & it made sense to have Aces & 8s stand tall at the end. The 8 man tag was also a solid match but I’m not sure why this was here since these 4 teams will face each other Sunday. The Dixie-Wes-Garrett-Doc-Magnus-Joe bit was ok, The Joe-Garrett match was barely a match at all & I have no idea why they waited till now to mention that Jeff Hardy will be back Sunday. The Hulk-Brooke backstage segment was terrible. I’m sick of the Hogans! The bit with the Knockouts was a bit too long I thought. It was very predictable that Mickie would cut a heel promo & I thought Velvet & Gail were decent here but there wasn’t anything that memorable. The mixed tag was also solid & I was ok with Suicide coming out & saving Sabin from a Kenny King beat down. The backstage bits with Aces & 8s were ok too and I liked the Sting video package. Overall though I felt that they really didn’t do much to hype the PPV for their go home show. These taped episodes really feel like filler to me.
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