We start off by looking back at last week when Brutus Magnus wound up on the wrong end of a 3-on-1 attack by Ego, Bully Ray pissed off his Aces & Eights brothers by giving Brooke Tessmacher complete credit for his success, and AJ Styles shot on Dixie Carter before Dixie came out and turned heel by taking credit for the success of TNA and cutting the show off just as it was about to go off the air anyway.
Speaking of Dixie, she comes storming into the building when she is stopped by Sting, who tries to talk to her about AJ Styles. She acts like she doesn’t have time to talk to Sting, ignoring him and playing on her phone before telling Sting not to worry about Dixie and AJ because she’s got this one under control.
We go to the arena where Bully Ray and Brooke Tessmacher come out to the ring so Bully can share his thoughts with the fans. Bubba says he’s rarely at a loss for words, but Dixie Carter shocked the hell out of him. Bubba’s been up at night wondering how he’s going to beat AJ Styles, but now he doesn’t have to worry about it because of how inside AJ’s head Dixie Carter has gotten. He doesn’t always see eye to eye with Dixie, but she’s right when she said she made AJ Styles, then Bully Ray asks if the fans know who he is. Knux comes out with Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco and says that he knows who Bully is supposed to be, but he’s out here taking care of Bully Ray business and is more worried about his ho than his bros. Bubba says he’s only going to tell Knux once not to call Brooke a ho, so of course the fans uniformly start chanting “HO HO HO” at Brooke. Knux says they’re going to take care of club business, meaning the three of them, not Bubba. Bubba tells them to stay in line because they don’t make the rules in this club, his patch says President, and theirs should say lackey because he makes the rules around here. They saw what he did to D-Lo, Anderson, and his own brother Devon, and they need to ask why he wouldn’t do the same to the three of them. If they want to start making decisions without him, then that’s fine, because if they lose tonight, one of them is going to be out of the club. Let’s see, who else’s contract is up…?
Tonight: Manik defends the X Division Title against Chris Sabin! Also, ODB is the new TNA Knocked Up Champion, and she’ll team with Eric Young and Joseph Park to face Gail Kim and the Bromans! Speaking of Joseph Park, he’s backstage shaving and singing Sweet Caroline, but EY and ODB come rushing in and stop him in case he cuts himself shaving. There are civilians back here and they can’t risk anyone getting hurt, so there’s a new rule: no shaving on match days. ODB tells EY not to even think about it because momma loves the beard.
ODB, Eric Young & Joseph Park vs Gail Kim & The Bromans
Mike Tenay is forced to plug Dixie Carter’s Twitter as Robbie E bounces off Park on a crossbody attempt. He tries to slam Park, but Park easily blocks and slams him in return for 2. Chicanery in the heel corner lands Park in trouble, and he winds up on the receiving end of a beating from Jessie, who dropkicks Park in the face. Jessie tries a sunset flip, Park tries to vertical splash him, but Jessie moves out of the way and tags out to Robbie, who comes off the second rope with a clothesline. He hits it again for 2, then mounts Park and drills him in the face with right hands. Gail tags in and starts unloading on Park with strikes, and Park tries to warn her, but she makes the mistake of slapping him in the face, and she tags out as soon as she sees how made she made Park. The Bromans try to double team Park, but he takes them both out with a double clothesline and tags in EY, who goes crazy beating up both Bromans. Gail takes a shot at EY, but ODB comes in and dumps her out to the ramp. Robbie gets in her face and shoots his mouth off, so she rubs his face into her boobs, Park clotheslines him to the floor, and EY hits a Death Valley Driver, Park splashes Jessie, and Young hits the top rope elbow. ODB tags in and splashes Jessie for the win, slappipng him on the ass for good measure as the referee counts 3.
Winners: ODB, Eric Young & Joseph Park
Austin Aries is backstage and a new Mystery Cameraman asks what’s next for him now that the Bound For Glory Series is over. Aries says that instead of telling him, he’ll walk out to the ring so he can tell everyone at once.
Jason Hervey catches Hulk Hogan as he shows up at the building to ask about Dixie Carter, and he says he had to READ THE TRANSCRIPT several times to believe it. Hey Hulk, they have this thing called a DVR! Hogan says he’s going to straighten this crap out tonight.
Austin Aries comes out to the ring and says everyone wants to know what’s next for him. He says that last year, he was battling Jeff Hardy for the TNA World Title at Bound For Glory, and that’s not happening this year, but he’s always in the main event no matter where on the card he is. Aries is cut off by Kenny King’s music, and the PRetty Boy Pitbull himself comes out to say that he heard what Aries was saying and it was starting to get on his nerves a little bit. Aries tells him to say what’s on his mind, and King says that he knows that Aries likes to make headlines, but King was the one making headlines last year when he was the X Division Champion. One day the headline read that he had his X Division Title stolen by Chris Sabin, and he was all ready to get it back, but someone snuck into that nasty Manik costume and stole his title. King asks if Aries remembers who that was (hint: it was Aries), and Aries is out here talking like the future of wrestling, and he might have been Generation Next ten years ago, but now King is the next generation. Aries says if King wants to talk about the future, then Aries can talk about right now, so he says that if King wants to stop talking, they can do something right now. King is going to tell Aries what Hillary Clinton says in bed: you don’t want none of this. King says he’s not fighting Aries today, but he sucker punches him anyway. Aries is infuriated and goes back after King, and King runs away, but Aries says he doesn’t get to suckerpunch him and run, and he demands that a referee come out right now. A referee heard King back toward the ring as Aries nails King with a double axhandle off the top rope, and this match will start after the commercial break!
Austin Aries vs Kenny King
We come back from commercial to join the match in progress as Aries tosses King into the ring and pummel him with left hands. King is busted open for the only time I ever remember seeing, but he has the presence of mind to elevate Aries and hotshot him on the top rope to turn the tide. King drives his boot into the throat of Aries in the corner, then a snapmare and indy kick before King starts hammering Aries with right hands. King hits a leaping elbow in the corner and tries the slingshot legdrop, but Aries moves and King lands on his ass. Aries starts to mount a comeback with multiple chops and an atomic drop, he gets backdropped to the apron, but slingshots his way back in and hits a backbreaker/STO combo. He sets up and hits the pendulum elbow, then waits for King to get to his feet so he can go for the brainbuster. King turns out of the move and DRILLS Aries with a big right hand, ducks a shot from Aries, and nails him with a leaping leg lariat for 2. Aries pops up and drops King, he goes for the 450 splash, but King hits a nice leaping enziguiri and a head and arm suplex off the top rope for 2. Aries dodges Shotgun Knees in the corner, hits the IED, and finishes King with the brainbuster.
Winner: Austin Aries
I sometimes wonder if Kenny King regrets leaving ROH. We barely even see him start to roll out of the ring because we hype the main event and go to commercial.
A video package tells us that Lei’D Tapa is coming to Impact!
Chris Sabin and Velvet Sky catch up with Austin Aries and says he’s glad to see him get back into the X Division he made, without any help from anyone, and says he’s greater than the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived. He says his World Title win was a lot more memorable than Aries’ was, and Aries says “Yeah, you got your ass kicked for fifteen minutes before pulling out the hammer.” Sabin says he’s going to make history tonight by becoming an eight time X Division Champion. Aries makes a kissy face at Velvet as they leave.
We go to the Main Event Mafia locker room where Magnus is getting pissed over how Ego got in his head. Joe and Sting talk Magnus down, and Sting reminds everyone that they’re herer to take out Aces & Eights. He tells MAgnus not to get worked up by Ego because he’s better than that.
Hulk Hogan is backstage, and he’s…WALKING!
We’re back from commercial, and Hulk Hogan comes out to the ring to talk about how great it is to be in Little Rock, and hearing the roar of the crowd makes him feel powerful, and there’s a situation he has to deal with. He’s been in TNA for nearly four years now, and he’s always had his opinions of Dixie Carter, but she gave him the job of General Manager, and it’s his job to keep things straight around here. In all his years in the business, he’s seen a lot of bloodshed, but you should never air your dirty laundry in public. Hulk of all people is telling us this? Hulk asks the fans how many of them want to see AJ Styles stay with TNA, and he makes them cheer twice, then says that’s exactly what he thought. He knows AJ Styles is in the back, and he wants AJ to hear the love and respect the fans have for him, and he tells the fans to give it up for AJ one more time. Hulk says it’s time to cut the crap, he’s bringing both AJ Styles and Dixie Carter out here later tonight, and he’s going to fix it for them, for TNA, for himself, and for the fans.
Guess who’s back at Bound For Glory? Here’s a hint: he hates black ice. Oh, and “Ethan” is coming.
Jason Hervey catches up backstage with AJ Styles and asks for his thoughts on what Hogan had to say, and he says he has no problem hearing him out.
X Division Title Match: Manik vs Chris Sabin
Manik takes Sabin down right off the bell and goes after him with a flurry of right hands. Sabin tries to get away, so Manik drags him back into the ring and goes to the eyes. Sabin leapfrogs Manik and pretends to reinjure his knee, rolling out to the floor to be attended to by Velvet. Manik goes out after him, but makes the mistake of backing off to give Sabin time to recover. Sabin is really selling the knee, but Manik comes back out, moves Velvet out of the way, and Sabin shoves Velvet into Manik and hops up to the apron where he drills Manik with a running kick to the chest. SUCKER! They go back inside where Manik gets Sabin in the modified Texas Cloverleaf, but Sabin twists out of the move in such a way that he sends Manik crashing into the referee. Sabin takes the opening to go to the throat and make a cover for 2, then sits Manik on the top rope and goes for a superplex. Manik blocks, gives Sabin a top rope gourdbuster, then comes off the ropes with a missile dropkick. Manik peppers Sabin with a flurry of kicks and a twisting senton for 2. Sabin cradles Manik for 2, but Manik catapults Sabin into the corner before going back to the modified cloverleaf. Velvet is fervently cheering Sabin on, and he crawls to the ropes…but grabs Velvet instead of the ropes. Manik drags Sabin back to the center of the ring and Velvet with him. Sabin uses the confusion to go for a cradle, but Manik reverses to a cradle of his own for 3.
Winner: Manik
Sabin attacks Manik after the match, and Velvet looks concerned as Sabin puts the boots to Manik. Austin Aries runs out and chases Sabin off, and Velvet hesitates a bit before following him to the back.
We go to the Aces & Eights clubhouse where they talk about how it’s not supposed to be this way, but Knux says he’s going to fight for the colors because they can’t afford to lose another member. Garett says it’s not another member…it’s another brother. The main event is up…NEXT!
We see another video package hyping Kurt Angle’s return at Bound For Glory, then we go to Ego, who protest Angle’s upcoming induction into the TNA Hall of Fame. They think the Main Event Mafia is a bunch of losers, even if Magnus is a real good loser. Daniels and Kazarian do a Dr Evil laugh, and Roode refuses to play along and walks off.
IT’S MAIN EVENT TIME!
Knux, Wes Brisco & Garett Bischoff vs Sting, Brutus Magnus & Samoa Joe
Magnus goes right after Knux, pummeling him until he tags out to Garett, who doesn’t have much luck either as he falls victim to a uranage from Magnus. The match spills out to the floor where the two sides brawl. Magnus gets Bischoff back inside and goes for a top rope elbow already, but Ego runs out and shoves him off the top rope, then they mob Magnus on the floor. Sting and Joe chase them off, but the damage is done and we’r down to 3-on-2, and Knux is choking Sting over the ropes as we go to commercial.
We’re back, and Sting is still in trouble in the Aces & Eights corner. Seriously, we’re talking about Knux, Garett Bischoff, and Wes Brisco, are we really supposed to believe they have a shot of beating Sting, Joe, and Magnus? Sting humors us by getting beat up for a few minutes before dodging a dropkick from Brisco, clotheslining him, and making the tag to Joe, who comes in like a house of fire and cleans up on the entire Aces & Eights group. He hits a senton on Brisco for 2, then hits him with a snap powerslam for 2. All five men are in the ring as Sting whips Knux into Bischoff, hits them with a Stinger Splash, another Stinger Splash on Brisco, and Joe gets Brisco in the Kokina Clutch and forces Brisco to tap out.
Winners: Sting, Samoa Joe & Brutus Magnus
And Aces & Eights is down another member. Garett Bischoff looks shocked that his partner is gone, but he doesn’t have much time to reflect on things before Bully Ray comes down to the ring, waits for Brisco to get to his feet, and stares him down once he’s up. He gets a microphone and asks Brisco what he told him. He says that if anyone of them lost, it would be lights out, and Brisco lost. He tapped out, he’s a disgrace to his colors, and he tells Brisco to hand over his cut right now. Bischoff and Knux get in the ring as Brisco shakes his head no at Bubba. Bully calls Brisco a disgrace and tells him again to hand his cut over, but Brisco still won’t do it. Bully says that’s fine, and tells Garett and Knux to get that cut off of him right now. They hesitate, so Bubba says he doesn’t pay them to think and tells them to take the cut off of his back right now. Bischoff and Knux look at each other while they consider what to do, then the two of them turn to Bubba and shake their heads. Bubba lays Brisco out, then asks Knux and Bischoff where their balls are. Bubba picks Brisco up, piledrives him, and as Bischoff and Knux look on in agony, the Aces & Eights music starts. Bubba says to shut the music off, then tells Knux and Bischoff to take off his cut and give it to him, or he’ll do it again. Knux and Bischoff gently lift Brisco up and take the cut off, then lay him back on the mat. Bubba tells Knux specifically to hand the cut over, but Knux doesn’t. Bubba asks if Knux is going to let the fans get in his head and whether he’s going to listen to Bubba or the fans, but Knux shoves him away and he and Garett lift Brisco up before we hastily cut away to Hulk Hogan and AJ Styles, who are backstage, and they’re…WALKING! We’ll hear what they have to say…NEXT!
Hulk Hogan comes out to the ring and says there’s a lot of bad blood here between AJ Styles and Dixie Carter, but he’s going to get to the bottom of this right now and asks AJ Styles to come out to the ring. AJ comes out, and Hogan says it’s great to be in the ring with the next TNA World Champion, but he can’t have a TNA World Champion who isn’t under contract, and he hands AJ A contract, tells him that he’s already signed it, and just needs AJ to sign as well. AJ hesitates, then signs it and says that he’s TNA’s. Dixie Carter comes out and tells us to hold on just a moment, and she doesn’t mean to be rude, but she was very clear why she brought Hogan to TNA: to open doors and present opportunities. Hogan’s done that, and he’s taught her so much about the business, but guess what? He’s just and employee, and they both know he’s capable of so much more than that, and she’s here to make the best for him. Dixie says Hulk may see some value in the Phenomenally Marginal One, but she (takes the contract), she does not. Dixie rips the contract up and smiles at AJ, and she cuts him off when he tries to talk and tells him to get out of her ring. AJ gets in her face and she waves him off and tells him to get out of her ring, so AJ drops the mic and walks off. Hulk asks if she knows what’s happening here, and Dixie says she does and she knows they’re not happy with her and neither is Hulk, but 99% of the people in this world haven’t had to live in her world and make the decisions she has. All the people who contacted her, criticized her, and put her down need her. Hulk puts his hand on his forehead while Dixie says it’s the 1% that creates the world they get to live in, and she gets to live with the burden. It’s no popularity contest and she’s been down this road for 11 years, and look what it’s gotten her. Dixie won’t say what Hulk did jsut now was a mistake, but she wishes he would have asked her first. We’ll let it go and call it a life lesson because they both know the hard decisions that have to be made, and now Hulk has a decision to make: is he going to get in line and get on Team Dixie, or be like AJ and watch from the sidelines. She doesn’t want things to be like that, so she’ll give him a week to think about it, and she knows he’ll make the right decision. Dixie winks at Hogan, then walks to the back with a big smile on her face as Hogan stares after her in disbelief. The crowd chants for Hogan as we call it a week.
Source: PWInsider.com
