10-31-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the October 31, 2013 Halloween episode of Impact

The show starts with Dixie Carter coming to the ring. She says that last week she served AJ the world on a silver platter & he threw it right in her face. No one walks out on Dixie Carter. From now on AJ doesn’t exist & is no longer world champion. She says he can keep the title & the convertible. She figures he’s probably trick or treating with the title saying he is world champion. But he’s no different than other kids doing the same with their toy belts. She needs a champion that can help make the company bigger than it is. There will be an 8 man tournament to crown a new world champion. She brings out 7 of the 8 on the stage, all of whom are former TNA World Champions. Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Austin Aries & Chris Sabin. As Dixie announces each guy they show a clip of when they each won the world title. Then Dixie says there’s 1 guy missing. Then out come Bully Ray & Brooke. Dixie steels Ray’s line & says to shut Ray’s music off. Then she says the 8^th slot will be determined by the winner of a gauntlet match. Ray says Dixie forgot 1 person. How’s he supposed to win back his title if he’s not in the tournament? Does Dixie know who he is? She says he’s the guy who lost to AJ twice. He’s the guy who has caused all this to begin with. Ray says he’s not to blame. Earl Hebner is at fault for the first loss & Anderson is at fault for the 2^nd. Then out go the lights, cue Anderson’s music. The lights come back on & Anderson is punching away on Ray. Security hits the ring to break it up. Break time. This was ok. Dixie as the heel owner doesn’t work for me & they’re copying the CM Punk storyline from 2 years ago when he left with the WWE Title! Why does TNA feel like they have to copy WWE?

Back from break & They show Anderson being cuffed & being escorted out by security. Then Brooke gets in his face & tells Anderson that he shouldn’t have come back because her old man (I’m not sure why she referred to Ray that way) will “kill” him. Then Ray takes out Anderson from behind with his chain. Ray says Anderson is worthless & nothing without him. He tells Anderson not to be stupid & to stay away.

Backstage camera asks for Garrett’s thoughts on the Anderson-Ray issue. Garrett says there’s a lot going on right now but business is business. Garrett mentions that Ray ripped off Anderson’s “cut.” Then Knox shows up, asks what Garrett is doing talking to the camera guy. Knox says that he has a big chance tonight & then the 2 walk off.

Gunner & James Storm vs. TNA World Tag Team Champions Robbie E & Jessie Godderz for the Titles. Robbie & Jessie win Jessie pins Storm. This was decent. Storm had Jessie up in the suplex position & Robbie grabs Storm’s leg. Storm falls & Jessie is on top of him & gets the pin as Robbie holds Storm’s leg. WINNERS & STILL TNA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS – ROBBIE e & JESSIE GODDERZ

Backstage we see Dixie on her phone. Then in comes Sting. She says that since she is so tired of hearing about how Sting can no longer challenge for the world title she is willing to lift the ban for tonight if he will be the first guy in the gauntlet match. Does Sting feel like he can do this? Sting says he’s earned everything that he has ever gotten & has never had a sense of entitlement. He walks out & Dixie asks if that means yes. This was lame. Dixie as a heel is terrible & Sting didn’t really do much here either.

Backstage we see Daniels & Kazarian dressed like Sherlock Holmes. They’re going to solve the case of Abyss & the missing TV Title. This was the usual great comedy that we get from Daniels & Kazarian. These guys are the best part of TNA.

Time for EC3 to squash a local Indy guy.

Norm Fernum vs. Ethan Carter III in a BFG rematch. EC3 gets the pin. This was mostly a squash. How long will it be before EC3 faces a TNA regular? Having him squash Indy guys is already old.

Then Ethan gets the mic & says he is EC3 & he’s Carter. The world needs “Us.” This character is awful.

Backstage Bobby Roode is with some Dr. named Scott. They’re checking out the video where Angle tore the cartilage in his knee at BFG. Then Roode mentions that Angle was knocked out too. Roode says that he is looking out for Kurt’s safety. He wants to make sure that Kurt will be medically cleared tonight. This was a decent backstage bit.

Backstage ODB talks about having to face Gail Kim tonight. Gail never pinned her to win the Knockouts Title. Gail needed Tapa’s help & she’ll take out both of them if she has to. Then Daniels & Kazarian come in. They figured out that ODB stands for overly massive bosoms. They know about her relationship with EY & about Joseph Park. Does she know anything about Abyss? Then EY comes in & he tells them not touch ODB. Daniels tells EY to keep out of this or they will drop him like they did to Park. Then EY says that it’s Halloween & they might see a monster later tonight. This was a solid backstage bit. Anytime Daniels & Kazarian are in a segment you’re guaranteed good entertainment. EY & ODB were good here too.  

Gauntlet match to see who the 8^th guy will be in the TNA World Title tournament. Magnus wins when he eliminates Sting & Kazarian. This was decent but they have these gauntlets too often.

Entrance Sequence - 1. Sting 2. Frankie Kazarian. 3. Knox 4. Eric Young 5. Christopher Daniels 6.  Manik 7. Magnus

Elimination Sequence – 1. Knox by Manik 2. Manik by Kazarian 3. EY by Kazarian 4. Daniels by Magnus. 5. Kazarian & 6. Sting by Magnus

WINNER – MAGNUS.

Backstage the Dr. is checking on Kurt Angle. Then camera guy asks if the Dr. has cleared him. Angle says the Dr. advised him to take the night off, but he is medically cleared so he will face Roode tonight.

Backstage camera guy asks for Dixie’s thoughts about Magnus qualifying for the tournament. She’s glad Magnus is in there. She can’t wait to announce the brackets. That will be determined by something the called the wheel of Dixie. That sounds awful & I’m sure it will be worse than it sounds!

ODB vs. Knockouts Champion Gail Kim for the Title. Gail gets the pin. This was a solid back & forth match. Tapa got on the apron & distracted the referee when ODB had Gail pinned. Then ODB got distracted with Tapa. Then Gail rolled up ODB & held onto the rope for the pin. WINNER & STILL KNOCKOUTS CHAMPION – GAIL KIM.

Backstage we see Daniels & Kazarian. Daniels says that things didn’t work out in the gauntlet but on the bright side they solved the mystery of Abyss. They’re heading to the ring to tell us how.

Daniels & Kazarian are in the ring. Sherlock Holmes costumes & all. Daniels is going to tell us how they have solved yet another crime. The case of the on again, off again monster Abyss. It took every ounce of their intelligence but everyone’s favorite wresters cracked the case. The beast resides beneath the ring. Daniels gets a pumpkin from under the ring. Daniels says that this isn’t Abyss. It’s just a talentless vegetable. Kazarian then says that the pumpkin is brighter than the Knockouts & the fans in Salt Lake City. Then out comes EY dressed as Joseph Park. EY says he’s a scientist. There’s no scientific proof that Halloween’s a real holiday but it is the big guy’s favorite holiday. EY got ahold of Abyss & he wanted EY to give his favorite tag team a message. Then EY goes after them but they get the upper hand. Then Abyss’ music plays & out he comes. He double clotheslines Daniels & Kazarian. Then he gives Kazarian a black hole slam. Then he faces off with Daniels. Daniels bounces off the ropes & Abyss gives him a black hole slam too. Then Abyss looks at EY & helps him up. This was a decent comedy segment. Daniels & Kazarian were really funny as usual. Eric Young dressed as Joseph Park was kinda funny & I was fine with his promo. Abyss coming out & black hole slamming Kazarian & Daniels was decent too.

They show the brackets for the TNA World Title Tournament. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Sabin, James Storm vs. Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle vs. Austin Aries & Samoa Joe vs. Magnus.  

Backstage we see Dixie, Jeff Hardy & Chris Sabin in Dixie’s office. They’ll be facing each other in the first round. Then Dixie spins the wheel & they’ll be in a full metal mayhem match. Dixie then says that Jeff is 1 step closer to winning the world title. Sabin says, “So am I, right?” Dixie kinda blows him off. She thanks them for coming. This was idiotic! Now Dixie’s taking the old “Spin the wheel, make the deal” bit from WCW! I don’t get why they have this wheel to see what kinda match each guy in the tournament will be in. This whole thing feels really overbooked.

Time for a video package recapping the Kurt Angle-Bobby Roode feud.

Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode. Roode wins by referee stoppage. Kurt Angle was knocked out after superplexing Roode from the top turnbuckle & the referee called for the bell. This was a good back & forth match.

Then referees come in to Check on Angle. Roode walks up the ramp. Angle lays in the ring with the referees checking on him to end the show.

This week’s show was easily better than last week’s overall. The opening segment with Dixie, Bully Ray, the 7 guys on the stage & Anderson was decent, the Angle-Roode match was good, the tag title match was decent too, the ODB-Gail match was also solid, The Daniels-Kazarian-EY-Abyss in ring segment was really funny (Daniels & Kazarian were funny throughout the whole night dressed as Sherlock Holmes), The whole Dixie heel character is terrible, Her backstage bit with Sting was weak & I don’t get why they had Dixie use the spin the wheel make the deal/Raw roulette wheel. The bit with her, Jeff & Sabin in the office was weak too. I’m also not into the EC3 character. I thought the gauntlet match was decent but they kinda tend to use the gauntlet too often. So overall this week’s show was better than last week’s but with the exception of Angle-Roode match the show felt average.