Thursday, October 17, 2013

10-17-13 Impact results and thoughts


Coverage and thoughts on the October 17, 2013 episode of Impact

The show starts with Dixie Carter coming to the ring with Atlas security (God help me)! She knows how Michelangelo felt when he the Sistine Chapel. Great pieces of art take time. This Sunday will be here finest work. Michelangelo didn’t have to deal with a red neck AJ Styles. Bully Ray destroyed AJ last week. AJ was too dumb not to stay down. Doesn’t AJ wanna walk away with a little bit of integrity? As a leader it’s her job to motivate, which she does well. Her other job is to evaluate. There’s a contract signing planned for tonight for the world title match. But what if AJ didn’t make it to that signing. And what if another talent got the shot, gets $50,000 richer & puts AJ out of TNA. She says AJ will not be in the BFG main event. There will be a spot opened for another guy. Creating opportunities is what she does best. Then the security guy opens the case to show the camera the $50,000. Then out come Bully Ray & Brooke. He says that he & Dixie haven’t seen eye to eye & he’s not on team Dixie. But $50,000 buys a lot. Last week he took out AJ for free. Now he gets to take him out, get 50 grand & can face another guy at BFG. Then out comes Magnus. He says that 12 guys over 3 months put their lives on the line for this company & for a chance to win the world title. Now because Dixie doesn’t like AJ she will give the chance to anyone who is greedy enough to take him out. Dixie says she’s being smart. Magnus agrees with the fans that Dixie sucks. $50,000 might be chump change to Dixie or Ray, but not to him or the fans here in Tulsa. Magnus is tired of hearing Dixie talk every week. He will fight Ray for free. Ray says he knows Magnus is the future of pro wrestling. Magnus has all the tools, is a tough guy, can fight, has heart & the fans seem to like him. The fans believe in Magnus & Sting does too. Now Ray will tell everyone the truth. Magnus is a fraud. Magnus hasn’t got a tough bone in his body. He’s known Magnus since the day he got in a ring. Magnus is the biggest disappointment he’s ever seen. Magnus might as well be from Oklahoma. Then Magnus decks Ray & Ray rolls to the floor.  Then Ray accepts Magnus’ challenge.  They will face each other tonight. This was a bit overbooked. I’m way past tired of Dixie being the heel that’s a cheap knockoff of Stephanie’s character. Ray was good on the mic as usual & Magnus was decent here too but I thought this opening segment was too long.

Backstage we see Bully Ray. He says the way they came together as a club last week felt like “old times.” He’s proud of Garrett & Knox for taking the spotlight & glory he gave them last week. Tonight Knox will get the shot at the $50,000. He knows Knox will face 1 half of the tag champions tonight. He knows Garrett will have his back but Ray will be there just in case. Ray has their backs & they’ll have his back at BFG. This was decent but the Aces & 8s faction is pretty much done.

Eric Young vs. Hernandez vs. Robbie E vs. Christopher Daniels. Robbie E wins when he pins Daniels. This was decent.

So Robbie E & Jessie will get to be the final team in the 4 team gauntlet on the BFG Pre show. I’m not sure why they’re having that be a gauntlet match rather than the usual 4 way.

Backstage camera guy asks AJ how it feels to be in the place with a bounty on him. AJ starts to speak & then Jessie attacks him from behind. AJ takes him out & says it’s gonna be a long night.   

AJ Styles comes to the ring. He says Dixie reeks of desperation. She wants to put a bounty on his head & give someone a chance to go to BFG if they take him out? He finds that flattering because that means Dixie knows he will win the title at BFG. He knows Dixie is scared to death & when he does win the world title he will make her pay. Whoever wants to cash in, he won’t run or hide. Come & get paid. Out come Knox & Garrett. They go after AJ & get the upper hand. Then out come Gunner & James Storm. They chase Knox & Garrett out of the ring. Storm goes over to AJ on the floor but he’s a baby face so he didn’t go after AJ. This was solid. AJ cut a decent & quick promo. The other guys were decent here also.

TNA World Tag Team Champion Gunner vs. Knox. Gunner gets the pin. This was ok. Nothing amazing.

Backstage we see Chris Sabin & Velvet Sky. Sabin talks about having to be in Ultimate X. Then he says that he’s gonna collect the $50,000 & get to challenge Ray for the world title at BFG. Velvet isn’t thrilled with this & he says he will get her something nice . Then he hurries off. I’m not sure why they turned Chris Sabin heel. It feels like a waste of a talent.

Backstage Garrett asks Knox where Ray was. Knox doesn’t know. Next time Ray needs their help it will get interesting. Just get rid of this Aces & 8s already.

Backstage we see Brooke taking pictures of herself for Ray. Gail Kim comes in. She says BFG is the biggest show of the year. Then Gail mentions what Tapa’s been doing & says that she & Brooke should team up if Tapa goes after 1 of them. Brooke has none of it & walks of. Gail says it’s every knockout for herself. Thankfully this was short.

Time for a video package on the 5 guys in the Ultimate X match.

Backstage Chris Sabin is looking for AJ. He asks some guy if he’s seen the not so phenomenal one. The guy hasn’t. Then Sabin bumps into Samoa Joe. Joe figures Sabin is looking for AJ so he can collect the bounty money. Then Joe says Sabin doesn’t have his priorities straight. They’ll face each other tonight & then they’ll face each other in the Ultimate X match Sunday. This was decent. Joe cut a good promo.

Time for a look back at the opening segment. Then we see Magnus warming up backstage.

Samoa Joe vs. Chris Sabin. Joe wins by submission. This was a decent match but kinda short.

Then out comes Austin Aries. He drop kicks Joe from the top rope. Then Jeff Hardy comes out. He & Aries go at it & Jeff gives him a twist of fate. Then Jeff gets a ladder out from under the ring & brings it in. He sets it up in the corner & climbs but Sabin stops him. Then Manik comes out, climbs the ladder & dives onto Aries & Sabin.

Backstage Daniels & Kazarian are double teaming AJ Styles but AJ fights back & sprays them with an extinguisher & gets away. This was decent just because it was Daniels & Kazarian.

Backstage Ethan is having his pic taken. Then he says at BFG EC3 will make SD really proud. EC3 is coming to BFG. This gimmick is lame.

Magnus vs. TNA World Champion Bully Ray. Ray gets the pin. This was solid but the finish was screwy. Earl Hebner got knocked out like usual. Then Ray grabbed his chain but Sting came out & stopped him from using it. Hebner comes to & tries to separate Sting & Ray. Then Ray hits Magnus low & gets the pin. WINNER – BULLY RAY. Then Magnus gets in Sting’s face & Sting tells Magnus Ray tried to use the chain on him. Sting offers Magnus his hand. Magnus lightly slaps it & the go to the back. This whole bit with Magnus saying he doesn’t have it makes no sense.

Backstage Sting catches up with Magnus. Magnus says he got hit in the balls & pinned. The referee missed it because the referee was looking at Sting. Magnus is trying to prove to Sting & to everyone that he can do this by himself. Then Joe comes in. Sting tells Magnus he will be by himself in San Diego. It will be just Sting & Magnus. This angle is weak. Magnus deserves way better.

Kurt Angle comes to the ring. He says it’s great to be back. Time to get down to business. Bobby Roode is one of the most talented wrestlers he’s ever seen. Roode reminds Angle of himself from 5 years ago. But when Roode tried to rain on his HOF parade he made it personal. Roode just dug his own grave by messing with Angle’s legacy. Roode might be 1 of the best today but he will never be Kurt Angle. Then out comes Roode. Roode says he is no Kurt Angle. He’s not Angle but he’s ok with that. He doesn’t wanna be Angle. 2 years ago maybe, 5 or 10 years ago he wanted to. Angle was the be all & end all of wrestling but Roode is that guy now. Roode says Angle ruined Roode’s HOF induction last week. Roode’s more worthy of an HOF induction than Angle. Angle’s done a lot of nothing over the past few years. Then he mentions that Angle beat him at BFG 2 years ago. That made Roode see the light & then he became the longest reigning world champion in TNA. This Sunday Roode won’t be Kurt Angle. He will be Bobby Roode. This Sunday Roode will beat Angle. Angle asks how Roode can beat him when he will be tapping. Roode says he won’t tap because…Then he decks Angle & punches him for a bit. Then Angle goes for the ankle lock but Daniels & Kazarian come in & beat on Angle. Then Roode tells Daniels & Kazarian to get out of the ring. He’s got this. Then Roode locks Angle in the cross face. Then Roode says he will make Angle tap out. This was a solid in ring promo. Both Angle & Roode cut good promos here & I liked the Daniels & Kazarian ambush. I also liked that Roode mentioned that they headlined BFG 2011.

JB, Dixie Carter & Atlas security are in the ring. JB says this is the contract signing for the world title match. Then out come Ray & Brooke. Then out comes AJ. JB says this match will happen Sunday. This will make it official. Ray signs first. Ray didn’t waste any time signing that contract. He’s gonna make this simple for AJ. AJ doesn’t have the brains in his head, the passion in his heart or the thunder in his fists to beat him. Ray then says in 1985 Ric Flair destroyed, maimed & took out Dusty Rhodes. A month later Dusty returned & told the world how Flair had put him & the wrestling industry, wresting fans & Dusty’s family on hard times. Here we are 30 years later & Ray has put the wrestling world on hard times. It started when he beat Jeff at Lockdown. Then he beat Sting at Slammivesray to make sure Sting never gets another title shot. He ran Sabin back into the X Division. And he’s the guy who ran Hulk Hogan out of there & put him on hard times. In 3 days when Ray beats AJ he will put AJ on hard times that he will send him home a defeated man with no contract or title. When AJ gets back to that trailer in Gainesville Ray wouldn’t be shocked if AJ’s wife & kids weren’t there. Ray’s the Darth Vader of wrestling & AJ is no Luke Skywalker. AJ says Ray’s no Flair & he’s no Dusty. That was in the past & we’re in the future. Ray comparing himself to Flair just shows what kind of a guy Ray is. Ray is no more than a big dumb B**ch. Ray has no idea who he’s getting in the ring with Sunday. AJ has to win Sunday. AJ’s the most dangerous, intense & desperate man Ray will ever get in the ring with. He will make Ray pay & be the next world champion. Then AJ signs the contract. Ray tells Dixie that he’s not putting his world title on the line, but he will cash in on the 50 grand. Ray goes after AJ & AJ hits Ray with the briefcase. Then he tosses the money out of it. Then AJ tells Ray to hand the title over to him now. That title means everything to AJ. Ray will beat AJ within an inch of his life. AJ will take everything Ray’s got & then take his title. This ends the show. This was a good closing promo. Ray was great on the mic as usual. I loved that he brought up the old Dusty-Flair feud from the 80s. AJ was great here too being the hungry intense guy here too.

I thought this was kind of a lackluster show overall & didn’t really do a lot to make me wanna see Bound for Glory. Dixie’s opening promo was terrible. I have no idea why she’s copying Stephanie. The closing segment was good. Both AJ & Ray were great on the mic here. The rest of the show felt like it was just there, which for a go home show before their biggest PPV of the year isn’t good. The Angle-Roode segment was solid. I thought both guys cut good promos & I liked Daniels & Kazarian coming out too. The bounty on AJ Styles was lame. The only guys who tried to take him out that were entertaining were Daniels & Kazarian. The Gail-Brooke bit was ok for what it was Magnus-Ray was solid but the finish was a bit overbooked. The Sting-Magnus bit backstage didn’t really do anything for me. I’m not sure why they have Magnus being this guy who thinks he’s not good enough. I’m also not sure why they turned Chris Sabin heel. His match with Samoa Joe was decent but a bit short. I did like the post-match brawl with the other guys who will be in the Ultimate X though. The 4 corners match was decent too but I’ve never been a fan of the 1 fall stip in a multi man match. Having the tag rule made no sense either. Gunner-Knox was ok but it wasn’t anything to write home about. So on the whole I thought this was a lackluster show & the final build to Bound for Glory was weak. I’m really hoping to God that Bound for Glory will be a good show.

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