TNA iMPACT Report – July 1st, 2010
Report by Richard Trionfo, PWInsider
We open with a recap of the Hulk Hogan-Abyss relationship, leading up to two weeks ago when Abyss snapped and attacked Mr Anderson and Jeff Hardy, and then last week when Abyss said that “they” are coming to TNA.
We head to the Impact Zone and go right to Abyss, who is throwing chairs into the ring. He goes to ringside and menaces So Cal Val, then scares away a bunch of kids at ringside and steals their chairs, too. He goes back after Val and she tries to run away but falls down, and as Abyss stands menacingly over her, Hulk Hogan’s music hits and out he comes. He gets in the ring and calls Abyss in there with him, but before this has a chance to get interesting, Eric Bischoff comes running out and gets between them. Hogan moves him aside and turns his attention back to Abyss, who now comes into the ring, but security comes out and gets between them. Bischoff calls Abyss an ungrateful son of a bitch and slaps him, which just enrages Abyss, who lays out the security guards and goes after Bischoff. Hogan grabs a chair and lays in two shots on Abyss, but Abyss no-sells. Jeff Hardy’s music hits, Hogan fights his way out before Hardy even makes it to the ring, and Hardy lays out Abyss, throws a few chairs on him, and nails him with a Swanton. Hogan, Bischoff, and Hardy head for the hills as an enraged Abyss gets back to his feet and calls Hardy back to the ring. Hardy goes after him but security again gets in the way and talks Hardy to the back.
Tonight: AJ Styles takes on Samoa Joe in a Top 10 Contender’s Match! But before we go any further, Abyss crashes the broadcast booth and threatens Taz. Security again comes after Abyss and again he beats them up and goes back to menacing Taz as we go to commercial.
We’re back, and during the commercial break, Abyss was tearing up the backstage area. We go to Hogan and friends, who are all in agreement that Abyss has to go. Jeff Hardy wants him tonight, and Hogan says that Hardy has his number, but that’s not enough, he has to take Abyss out. Bischoff says Hardy has the match, but they’ll be out there to watch Hardy’s back.
Let’s go to the ring for our first match…
Ink Inc vs Motor City Machine Guns
Moore and Shelley start us off and do a wristlock reversal sequence, Shelley escapes and sweeps Moore’s legs for 1, but Moore goes back to the arm, tags in Neal, and they hit a double hiptoss and then Moore hiptosses Neal onto Shelley for 2. Tag back out to Moore, who comes over the ropes with a sunset flip for 2, then a springboard armdrag sends Shelley to the floor and, one flying headscissors later, Sabin follows him out. Moore dives over the top onto the MCMG, then tosses Shelley back in the ring as Brother Devon joins Mike and Taz on commentary, saying he’s just out here to make sure Brother Ray doesn’t get involved in this match. MCMG hit a springboard dropkick to send Neal to the floor as they continue to double team Moore. MCMG with a leapfrog splash onto Moore for 2, but Moore gets an elbow to Sabin’s jaw and hits a Lionsault and both men are down. Moore makes the hot tag and Neal comes in and cleans house on the MCMG. He hits a springboard crossbody on Sabin, then spears Shelley but Sabin breaks up the fall. All four men are in the ring, but Sabin tosses Moore to the floor, then turns around into a Boss Man Slam from Neal. Neal puts Shelley up top as Brother Ray comes out from the back, but Brother Devon cuts him off. However, the distraction is enough for the MCMG to hit the double team Sliced Bread #2 for the win.
Winners: Motor City Machine Guns
Tonight: The Pope return to TNA Impact! But first, Eric Bischoff’s music hits and he comes out to let us know that tonight’s main event will be Abyss vs Jeff Hardy, and Bischoff says that we’re going to have a special referee: TNA World Champion Rob Van Dam.
Meanwhile, Dixie Carter is backstage, and she’s…WALKING…AND TALKING ON HER CELL PHONE!
We’re back and the cameraman is asking Dixie Carter what she’s doing here, but she ignores him and walks away. Oh well, let’s go back to the ring instead…
AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe
Ric Flair and Frankie Kazarian join AJ at ringside, and he doesn’t look happy to see them. Joe takes AJ to the corner as the crowd chants “Joe is gonna kill you”. AJ tries a couple of chops but Joe no sells and slaps AJ down and out to the floor. AJ gets back in and Joe takes him right back to the corner and just lays into him with punches and kicks. Joe with a running elbow and a leaping enziguiri in the corner, then just kills AJ with a chop before stopping to stare menacingly at Flair. Joe with a snapmare and the chop/kick/kneedrop combo, Joe comes off the ropes and AJ tries a leapfrog but Joe stops in front of him and slaps the taste out of his moutn. AJ goes to the eyes and takes Joe down with a dropkick, then chokes him on the ropes, and finally slams Joe, but it seems to have taken something out of him. AJ rams shoulderblocks into Joe’s midsection in the corner then tries a suplex, but Joe blocks and reverses to a gourdbuster. AJ goes low with a dropkick to the knee, then a snapmare and we HIT THE CHINLOCK! Joe fights his way out and starts running over AJ with clotheslines, then a running boot and a senton for 2. Joe puts AJ up top for the Muscle Buster and AJ escapes, so Joe starts firing kicks at him, but AJ catches the foot and hits a Dragon Screw Legwhip. AJ goes for the figure four but Joe pulls him back into the Kokina Clutch and AJ taps.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Flair and Kazarian get in the ring and Flair starts getting on AJ’s case again, then he and Kazarian leave together and leave AJ alone in the ring. AJ takes the mic and asks Kazarian if he thinks this is funny, then says that he would beat Kazarian like a little girl. AJ challenges Kazarian to a match next week, then asks Flair is he’s cool with that, and Flair says he’s fine, and it’s going to be AJ vs Kazarian next week!
Backstage, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Dixie Carter are sitting around a conference table, and Bischoff is complaining about Sting’s behavior since they came to TNA. Kevin Nash comes in and they kick him out. Okay, then. Bischoff talks about what Sting did to him, and to Jeff Jarrett, and then Hogan asks Dixie why they’re in TNA. I was wondering the same thing, actually. Dixie says he’s there to help TNA and Hogan says thank you, then says Sting is a cancer and everyone in TNA will abandon ship if they don’t get rid of him. Bischoff says that Dixie needs to do something about Sting, so Dixie says okay, she’ll do something tonight. If she’s going to make this decision, she needs to make the decision, so she’ll see Hogan and Bischoff later.
Back to the ring…
Desmond Wolfe vs Brian Kendrick
Wolfe attacks Kendrick before the bell, but Kendrick turns the tide and starts going absolutely crazy firing back on Wolfe. Kendrick goes for his choke but Wolfe makes the ropes and Tullys Kendrick to the floor. Wolfe goes outside, yells at Chelsea, then nails Kendrick a couple of times and tosses him back in the ring. Wolfe with a running knee and Kendrick goes back to the floor again, so Wolfe goes after him and beats him up some more, then puts Kendrick in a neck vice while yelling at Chelsea some more and tells her that if she doesn’t like it to do something about it. Back in the ring, Kendrick with a double leg takedown but Wolfe goes to the eyes and then gets an armscissors. Chelsea’s seen enough and walks out, and Wolfe is so surprised that he gets caught in the Cobra Clutch and Wolfe taps.
Winner: Brian Kendrick
Still to come, Abyss takes on Jeff Hardy with Rob Van Dam as the guest referee, and up next, the Pope returns to TNA!
Actually, first we go to a camera crew stalking Tommy Dreamer at his home in Yonkers, NY and asking him what he’s doing in TNA. He says it’s his personal time and that now’s not the time to talk.
Okay, now we go to a video package looking at the Pope, and then head to the ring for an in-ring promo with the Pope. Pope thanks us because it’s moments like this that make him realize that when he comes out and busts his butt in the ring, it’s worth every minute of it, and he couldn’t have done it without the entire congregation. Pope says they asked if this could really be the return of the Pope, and Pope says to mark it on your calendar, because at 80% he still has the responsibility of being the Pope of the congregation. He wants to let Ken Anderson know that he hasn’t forgotten about him, and he’s pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes, but if he thinks for a second that Pope doesn’t know how to get down, Pope will reference him to one person: Suicide. At 80%, he is still kicking on all cylinders because he is the cadillac of professional wrestling. Pope is here for one reason: to earn his way back to the #1 contender’s position so that he can take on the TNA World Champion and make history. Everyone here knows that Pope…is…pimpin’! Oh wait, Kurt Angle’s music hits and here he comes. Angle wants to welcome the Pope back, and he and the congregation have been making a lot of noise, and Angle’s a big fan because he sees Pope as the future of TNA. But Angle is also trying to climb the rankings for a shot at the TNA World Title, and unfortunately, their paths have crossed, so at Victory Road it’s going to be Pope vs Kurt Angle. Angle says that Pope has everything to gain and nothing to lose, but Angle has everything to lose because his first loss could be his last match. He wants to shake Pope’s hand and say may the best man win. Oh, and one more thing: Angle must be victorious.
We now go to a video package recapping the build to the Jay Lethal-Ric Flair match at Victory Road, and then we head to the ring for a Jay Lethal promo. Lethal says he doesn’t respect Flair anymore, and to try and come out to fight him because his brother’s not a wrestler, but he is and he’s not going to stand for this. Instead, out comes Matt Morgan and he says that he’s sorry to interrupt Lethal like this…actually, no he’s not. Just 2 weeks ago, Flair announced that he was going to form a group called Fortune, and as it happens, Morgan was the first person Flair asked to join. He respects Flair for coming to Morgan, but he hasn’t decided what he’s going to do just yet, but there was one thing that Morgan and Flair could agree on…and he nails Lethal with the microphone and the bell rings, so it looks like we have…
Jay Lethal vs Matt Morgan
Morgan takes Lethal to the corner and hits the series of elbows, then a Stinger Splash and a side suplex. Morgan chokes Lethal on the ropes then puts on a surfboard in the ropes. Lethal tries a high crossbody, but Morgan catches him and hits a fallaway slam. Morgan chokes Lethal in the corner, then chokes him on the ropes and hits a top rope Boss Man Straddle for 2. Morgan goes for a Carbon Footprint, but Lethal moves and Morgan crotches himself on the top rope. Now Lethal starts firing back and hits an enziguiri and a flying shoulderblock takes Morgan down. Running dropkick to the face gets 2 for Lethal. Lethal goes for a springboard something, but Morgan catches him by the throat and just tosses him over the top to the floor. While the referee’s checking on Lethal, Hernandez comes running out and lowblows Morgan, allowing Lethal to hit the springboard dropkick to Morgan for the win.
Winner: Jay Lethal
Backstage, Abyss is building a nail bat, and says with every nail he drives in, he paves the way that much more for when “they” come to TNA.
Back to the ring…
TNA Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne vs Taylor Wilde
Sky with a hair pull to start, Taylor shoves her so Rayne spears Taylor and chokes her on the ropes. Rayne with a forearm to the chest and goes for the flying headscissors, but Taylor escapes and lays Rayne out with a forearm. Rayne and Taylor with a double clothesline as Tommy Dreamer comes out of the back with Rhino, Raven, and Stevie Richards as the crowd chants you know what. Taylor tries a high crossbody off the top, but Rayne moves and gouges the face of Wilde. Rayne hits her finish and covers for the win.
Winner: Madison Rayne
Angelina Love runs out and attacks Rayne and tries to DDT her on a chair like she did to Lacey Von Erich and Velvet Sky, but Madison bails out to the floor to save her neck.
Dixie Carter is backstage, and she’s…WALKING!
We go backstage and Sarita is beating the crap out of Taylor Wilde, she tries rolling a big crate into Taylor and Taylor moves and starts firing back, but Sarita rams her into a fence and continues the beating until security comes and breaks them up.
We go to Mike and Taz, who run down the card for Victory Road and then we go backstage to Dixie, who has found Sting. Sting says it’s about time, but Dixie says that Sting has become a cancer here in TNA and this can’t continue. Dixie has put her in a position where she has no choice, and she suspends Sting for 30 days without pay. Sting asks her if she thinks it’s about the money, and she says she knows it’s not, but asks Sting what it is about. Sting is about to tell her, but just at that moment Eric Bischoff brings security in to kick Sting out, and Sting says forget the 30 days, just make it indefinite. Security removes Sting, and Bischoff tells Dixie that she needs a bodyguard 24/7 because Sting is out of control and is dangerous.
It’s main event time!
Jeff Hardy vs Abyss, Special Referee: Rob Van Dam
Hardy goes right after Abyss and Abyss tries to swing the bat at Hardy, but Hardy ducks and dropkicks Abyss and the bat drops. RVD tosses it out of the ring as Hardy nails Abyss and sends him tumbling to the floor. Hardy with a dive over the top and almost hits Abyss, but Abyss sells it anyway. Hardy goes for the Twist of Fate but Abyss shoves him off into the guardrail and then rams him into the steps. Abyss tosses Hardy back in the ring and whips him hard into the corner and Hardy comes bouncing back out and crashes to the mat. Abyss with a side suplex for 2, then goes to ringside and grabs a chair from the same kids he stole the chairs from earlier and gets back in the ring. RVD takes the chair away and Hardy rolls Abyss up for 2, then drops him with a clothesline and the double legdrop to the groin. Now Hardy goes and gets the chair and RVD goes to grab the chair, but Hardy says to wait, and then he sets up the chair and uses it to springboard onto Abyss in the corner. Hardy with the Whisper In The Wind for 2 and then comes off the ropes and runs right into a big boot from Abyss, which he follows up with a big splash for 2. Abyss goes for Shock Treatment but Hardy escapes and hits the Twist Of Fate, then goes up top for the Swanton, but Abyss nails him and goes up to chokeslam Hardy off the top, Hardy fights him off and Abyss crashes down and Hardy hits the Swanton for the win.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Abyss attacks Hardy after the match, then gives RVD the Black Hole Slam. He goes out to the floor and gets the nail bat, but here comes Mr Anderson, and he knocks the bat out of Abyss’ hands with a chair, then goes after Abyss with the chair, but Abyss ducks and Anderson hits Hardy…by mistake? Can’t quite tell as Anderson doesn’t look too upset, and Abyss gives Anderson the Shock Treatment and stands tall as we go off the air.
