We kick the show off with a recap of the events leading into last week when Sting announced Roode vs Storm in the main event of Lockdown, followed by Roode’s heartless destruction of Sting’s groin and ribs. But forget that: Brandon Jacobs of the NY Giants is back on Impact tonight, and we’ve also got a big tag match with Kurt Angle and Bully Ray taking on Jeff Hardy and James Storm!
And before all that happens, the World Champion comes out to kick off the show by addressing his adoring fans. We’re informed that Sting apparently tweeted that he’s done, and then we see all kinds of kayfabe tweets back at him from other TNA personalities and their thoughts on this momentous statement. Roode gloats that Sting is done, and says that Sting willbe here later tonight to explain just how done he really is. But for right now, Roode wants to talk about himself and consider all the accomplishments he’s made recently. Winning the World Title and retaining it on a nightly basis are huge accomplishments, but ending Sting’s career is without a doubt the greatest thing he’s ever done in his life, period. Roode reminds us that Sting has fought Harley Race, Vader, Luger, Hogan, and Flair, and after all those people he fought, it was Roode who ended Sting’s career. Roode wants to put all their hardships aside so that later tonight, when Sting says goodbye to Impact Wrestling, he should make sure the door doesn’t hit him in the ass on the way out. Great promo!
We go backstage where earlier today, Crimson and Matt Morgan argue over who was at fault for losing the World Tag Team Title. Crimson says they need to overcome all the disagreements and win the title back, and Morgan says that even though they both had doubts, they’ve been nothing short of dominant, and that they should go out there and win the title back as a team.
World Tag Team Title Match: Samoa Joe & Brutus Magnus vs Matt Morgan & Crimson
Crimson and Morgan jump the champions before the bell, dump Magnus to the floor, and run over Joe with a double shoulderblock. Morgan hits a big side suplex on Joe, Crimson and Magnus tag in and Crimson runs through Magnus with a series of clotheslines, followed by a snapmare and a running kneestrike. Magnus backs off to the ropes, but quickly gets caught in a cyclone Flatliner for 2. Crimson charges Magnus in the corner, but Joe pulls his partner out of the way and Crimson crashes shoulder first into the ringpost as we go to commercial.
We’re back as Crimson is trying to fight his way out of the champions’ corner, finally succeeding after hitting a spinebuster on Joe. Morgan is slapping the top turnbuckle with his hand extended and Crimson finally makes the tag and Morgan comes in to clean house on Magnus with a kneelift and takes Joe out with a discus clothesline while he’s at it. Morgan takes them both out with a double clothesline, but charges right into Magnus’ boot in the corner. Magnus comes off the ropes with a crossbody, but Morgan catches him and hits a cyclone slam for 2. Joe goes after Morgan but Crimson takes both Joe and Magnus out with big boots. Morgan tries to hit the Carbon Footprint as Crimson tries to clothesline Joe, but Joe ducks out of the way and Crimson takes Morgan’s head off with the clothesline. Crimson gets dumped to the floor and then the champions hit their finishing sequence on Morgan for the win.
Winners: Samoa Joe & Brutus Magnus
Joe and Magnus high five with big smiles on their faces as Crimson stands over Morgan with a look of disgust on his face before walking off.
We look at last week when Brandon Jacobs got into an altercation with Bully Ray, and we’ll see Jacobs back on Impact next!
Okay, it’s next now, and Jacobs comes out to the ring and says the only thing a guy can do after winning the Super Bowl is come to the Impact Zone. He was here last week when his buddy James Storm beat Bully to earn a title shot. He’s buddies with Storm because they both like beer, and after winning last week, Storm came over and they drank beer and it was great. But coming over the rail put him in Bully’s zone and he shouldn’t have done that, but at the same time, Bully shouldn’t have spit in his face, and he’s here to let Bully know that he’s in his backyard one more time. He wants Bully in this ring, one on one, and wants him to come out to the ring because they have unfinished business. Bubba comes out and tells Brenda…he means, Brandon, that they may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but he reintroduces himself and asks if he’s seen his calves because they’re huge. The two of them have a lot in common: they’re both champions, Brandon’s a two time champion, Bubba’s a 23 time champion, Brandon plays for New York, Bubba’s from New York…Bubba gets cut off by the fans chanting for Jacobs, who holds the ropes open so Bubba can join him in the ring. Bubba says there’s nothing he’d like better than to come down and beat the crap out of a Super Bowl champion, but he’s got a very important tag team match tonight and he’s not going to waste his time on a guy who only got 59 yards in the Super Bowl and never even scored a touchdown. Jacobs says if Bubba’s not coming into the ring, Jacobs is going to go after him, and he hops out of the ring and chases Bubba to the back.
Brandon Jacobs apparently lost Bubba because he’s backstage saying he wants to kick Bubba’s ass, but Storm and Hardy show up and whisper an idea to him, and Jacobs likes it because he says he’s going to get Bully. This dude is really enthusiastic to be on this show!
Zema Ion vs Alex Shelley
Ion baseball slides Shelley through the ropes on Shelley’s way to the ring, then rolls him back inside and hits a missile dropkick for 2. Ion stops to spray his hair as Austin Aries comes down to the ring with a glass of wine and a bowl of popcorn, distracting Ion and allowing Shelley to drop Ion throat first on the top rope followed by a slingshot splash for 2. Shelley with a drop toehold into the second turnbuckle followed by a missile dropkick. Ion goes out to the floor and Shelley goes after him, but Ion pulls his ankle out and drops Shelley face first on the apron. They head back inside where Ion gets Shelley in a super nasty looking cross armbreaker, but Shelley makes the ropes. Shelley catches a kick and hits a leg whip, then tears into Ion with some chops and an enziguiri. Shelley clotheslines Ion to the floor and follows him out with a dive through the ropes that sends both men crashing into the guardrail as Aries gets up from his seat and cheers them on while pumping his fist. Ion sticks his hairspray can into his tights just before Shelley rolls him back into the ring and goesfor a top rope double stomp, Ion moves out of the way and shoves Shelley into the ref, then takes out the hairspray and sprays Shelley in the face before finishing him with the running double kneestrike to the face.
Winner: Zema Ion
Ion tells Aries that he’s coming for the title, but Aries seems unimpressed.
We see a video package looking at the history of the Garett Bischoff-Eric Bischoff angle, and then we go to comments from Garett as he says nothing his dad does is going to dissuade him from continuing in the business and he’s just going to keep working at it. Hulk Hogan comes in and asks Garett if he realizes what he’s getting into and what kind of bullseye he has on his back, then says that he’ll stick with Garett if he wants to keep going, but he doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone. Garett says he intends to keep going, and Hogan reiterates how people aren’t going to just try to break his arm or something, they’re going to try and take him out. Way to pump him up, Hulk!
Madison Rayne is backstage saying that she hopes Sting is done because he hasn’t been fair to her or to Gail Kim. Oh, and speaking of Gail, just because she’s the number one contender to Gail’s title won’t hurt their friendship. She saw the low caliber of competition in the Knockouts division and stepped up because only she could provide the competition Gail needs.
Knockouts Champion Gail Kim vs ODB
This is non-title, which is good for Gail since ODB has the overwhelming might of Eric Young in her corner. Eric gets on the apron and tells Gail to tag him in, but she opts instead to go face to face with ODB and gets knocked on her ass. ODB gets Gail in a front facelock and slaps her on the ass, then whips Gail to the corner and follows in with a charging bodyblock. Gail drops to her butt, so ODB gets a Bronco Buster and a foldover press for 2. Gail comes off the ropes with a crossbody, but ODB catches her and hits a fallaway slam before doing a kip up and going BAM with her boobs. ODB goes after Gail, who desperately clings to the bottom rope, but Gail gets in a quick kick to the jaw as soon as ODB gets an opening. Gail off the ropes with a running clothesline for 2, ODB tries to fight back but Gail kicks her in the ribs and dumps her out to the ring apron. Gail drags ODB in over the second rope like a Randy Orton DDT, but just dumps her on her face before whipping her into the corner and hitting a running shoulderblock to the ribs for 2. Gail with a Royal Octopus, but ODB just drops her with a side suplex, and I wonder why nobody ever thought to do that before. Gail rips ODB’s head off with a clothesline, then fires off a barrage of kicks in the corner and chokes her with her boot. Gail gets distracted as Madison comes trotting down the ramp, and EY takes the opportunity to give ODB a nip from her flask, and this revitalizes ODB, who comes back on Gail with a series of bodyblocks and then sits on the top rope and repeatedly rams Gail’s face into her crotch. ODB comes off the second rope with a Thesz Press for 2, but Gail blocks the GAM and hits Eat Da Feet for 3.
Winner: Gail Kim
Madison gets in to celebrate with Kim, who doesn’t seem to know what to make of Madison’s enthusiasm.
AJ Styles is up next as he challenges Robie E for the TV Title, and we go to comments from AJ as he says he’s past the deal with Daniels and Kazarian and it’s time to focus on his end goal of regaining the World Title.
We go to a pretty moving video package about Jesse Sorensen as we get comments from his mother talking about watching what happened from home in Houston and thinking everything was okay when she saw a call coming in from Jesse’s cell phone, only to pick it up and hear Dixie Carter telling her what happened to Jesse. Jesse himself speaks from the hospital bed with a big neck brace on and talks about what it was like going through the injury as it happened. If you want to send get well wishes to Jesse via Twitter, you can do so at #GetWellJesse.
TV Title Match: Robbie E vs AJ Styles
AJ absolutely dominates Robbie E, tearing through him with clotheslines and nearly breaking him in half with a modified Muta Lock. Robbie makes the ropes and scurries to the outside where Robbie T stands between his boss and AJ. Robbie E rolls into the ring and puts the boots to AJ as he gets back in and whips him hard into the corner. AJ tries to fire back, but Robbie gets a slick Jersey legsweep for 2. Robbie whips AJ to the corner again, face first this time, and Robbie T gets a cheap right hand from the floor while Robbie E distracts the referee. Robbie slams AJ and then takes his time showboating as he goes to the second rope, pumps his fist, but still manages to hit a kneedrop off the second rope for 2. AJ suddenly fires up out of nowhere and starts rocking Robbie with strikes, hits a nasty backbreaker for 2. Robbie goes for the Styles Clash, but Robbie T gets on the apron to distract AJ before he can finish the move. Robbie E recovers and blindsides AJ with a series of right hands, but AJ hits a Pelle Kick and goes to the apron as Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian come marching down the aisle. Kazarian yanks AJ off the apron and rams him into the guardrail, and the referee calls for the bell.
Winner: AJ Styles by DQ
Daniels looks shocked at the viciousness with which Kazarian attacked AJ, and stares after him in disbelief as they head to the back.
It’s main event time!
Bully Ray & Kurt Angle vs Jeff Hardy & James Storm
James Storm gets a mic before the match and asks if there’s any beer drinkers in the audience, prompting an overwhelmingly positive reaction as you might imagine, then introduces his beer drinking buddy Brandon Jacobs, who runs out and stares Bully Ray down. Everyone else clears out and we start off with Storm and Angle, and Storm gets the early advantage but Angle comes back and stomps Storm down in the corner. Storm fires back with some big right hands and flattens Angle with a clothesline as Brandon Jacobs cheers him on from ringside. Hardy tags in and Angle immediately bails out to the floor as we go to commercial.
We’re back as Hardy hits the Whisper In The Wind on Bully Ray for 2, but Bubba quickly recovers and lays Hardy out with a clothesline before stopping to razz Jacobs. Bubba whips Hardy to the corner and Hardy knocks Angle off the ring apron, but turns his back and Angle trips him by the ankle and drags his nuts into the ringpost. Angle follows that up by wrapping Hardy’s leg around the post and then rolls him back inside as Bubba continues jawing at Jacobs. Bubba stands over Hardy and rains right hands down into the skull of Hardy, but misses an elbowdrop as Mike Tenay informs us that AJ Styles has requested a Gauntlet Match against both Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels for next week. Angle tags in and hits a snap suplex on Hardy for 2, then goes to a rear bearhug. Hardy elbows his way out, but comes off the ropes right into an overhead release suplex. Bubba tags back in and quickly finds himself eating an inverted enziguiri from Hardy, who tags out to Storm. Storm comes in and cleans house on Bubba, knocks Angle off the aprn, then goes back to Bubba, taking him out with a neckbreaker, an enziguiri from the apron, and a running forearm off the ropes. Angle comes in and suplexes Storm, but is quickly intercepted by Hardy, who then turns around right into a big boot from Bubba. Bubba tells Angle to help him get a table, and they go out to the floor to drag old Mr Table from under the ring. Storm and Hardy stop them by baseball sliding the table into the heels, then drag the table inside and set it up themselves. Angle and Bubba comes in and lay them both out and dump Hardy to the floor, but Storm lays Angle out with the LAst Call. Bubba lays Storm out, but Brandon Jacobs climbs into the ring and goes face to face with Bubba, who challenges him to go at it in a three point stance. Storm nails Bubba before this can happen, and Jacobs chokeslams Bubba through the table so Storm can cover him for the win.
Winners: James Storm & Jeff Hardy
Storm pulls up the leg of Jacobs’ jeans so he can show off Jacobs’ calves, then they share a victory beer. Jacobs gets a microphone and tells Bubba that like Storm says, he’s sorry about Bubba’s damn luck.
We go backstage as some director guy knocks on Sting’s dressing room door and tells him that it’s showtime. We’ll find out what Sting has to say…NEXT!
Sting comes out to the ring (NOT WEARING HIS GLOVES!!!) to somberly inform the fans that he’s done: there’s too much for him to handle and he’s been pushed over the edge by Bobby Roode, so he’s done. Roode comes out to the ring while mockingly slow clapping Sting and wiping tears away. Roode says he has to apologize because he didn’t want to come out here and interrupt Sting’s goodbye speech, but he wanted to come out here and see Sting and listen to his words when he says that Bobby Roode is the better man and tells the world that he’s done. Sting tells Roode that he didn’t win any award or battle, and as a matter of fact, he helped Sting out because he woke him up. Sting takes off his sunglasses and starts applying his crazy Joker facepaint, then tells Roode again that he woke him up and he feels so alive. He wants to thank Roode from the bottom of his heart, and now he’s going to tell Roode what he’s not going to do (and he’s going to prance around the ring like a maniac while he does it): he’s not going to do it halfway, he’s not going to be Mr Nice Guy, no more going back to the same pile of vomit over and over again, but what he IS going to do is that he’s going to put on his boots, his tights, his war paint, and then guess what he’s going to do at Victory Road? He’s going to kick the living crap out of Roode. Sting goes face to face with Roode, giving Roode his serious face, and a clearly shaken Roode has his “oh crap, I’m dead” look on his face. He tries another kick to Sting’s groin anyway and Sting catches the foot, then instead of getting violent, he calmly puts it on the ground…and kicks Roode in the groin. Roode goes down like a ton of bricks, and Sting stands over him telling him to follow the yellow brick road, it’s showtime, and he’ll see Roode at Victory Road.
Source: PWInsider.com
