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Impact opens with a video package the recapped the events that took place at Final Resolution. We then see Crystal trailing Robert Roode in the back who tells him that he broke Sharmell’s jaw at the pay-per-view. Roode blows her off and says it was an accident and blames Booker T for not being there for his wife. He then says Robert Roode, Inc. will take on Ms. Brooks and finish her off tonight.
The Impact intro hits as Mike Tenay and Don West welcome us to the show that will have all of the fallout from Final Resolution, plus Awesome Kong will take on Gail Kim for the Women’s title in the main event.
Match 1: Senshi & Elix Skipper vs. the Motorcity Machine Guns Senshi & Skipper attack the MMG’s before the bell and dominate in the early going by isolating Alex Shelley to their side of the ring and using quick tags. Senshi & Skipper do finally slip up as Shelley sends them flying into one another and then makes the much needed tag to Sabin. Chris Sabin enters the ring and cleans house which leads to Sabin & Shelley showing off their double team skills. After a series of kicks on Senshi from the MMG’s, Shelley makes the cover for the pin fall.
After the match, Christian Cage makes his way to the ring and tosses out Skipper & Senshi. Cage gets on the microphone and talks about how AJ Styles cost him the World title at Final Resolution. Cage says that he gave Styles everything he has in wrestling and tonight, he will be taking it all back.
Chris Harris is in Jim Cornette’s office whining as usual. Cornette gives him the opportunity for more TV time in the form of a match against Judas Mesias, and that match will be up next. As Harris leaves, Samoa Joe shows up and asks Cornette if he was set up in his match with Nash. Cornette says he just made the match to help sell tickets and tells Joe to take care of the situation on his own. Joe says it will be taken care of tonight.
Footage from earlier is aired which shows the arrival of the Angle Alliance and Jeremy Borash. Angle tells Styles that there will be a coronation tonight in which Styles will be formally introduced into the Angle Alliance and becomes “Prince” AJ Styles.
We then head backstage to see the Angle Alliance in their dressing room where Borash is telling Styles to watch his back tonight as Cage will be after him. Styles asks Angle what he should do about Cage and Angle tells him not to worry about it and get ready for the coronation. Tomko comes in and tells Styles that he is on his own as Borash and Styles leave to go hide.
Match 2: Judas Mesias vs. Chris Harris Prior to the match, Harris stops over by the announce table to complain as Mesias attacks him from behind and tosses him into the ring. As Mesias dominates Harris, James Mitchell, who joined Tenay and West at the announce table, says that next week, either “Chris” or himself will reveal the secret to the world that Abyss has been hiding. With that being said, Harris begins to mount a comeback in the ring and gets a near fall on Mesias after a flying lariat. Harris goes for the catatonic as Mitchell climbs on the apron and distracts the referee. With the ref dealing with Mitchell, Mesias sprays red mist into Harris’s eyes and nails the Straight to Hell for the victory.
Backstage, Crystal is pleading with Ms. Brooks to reconsider her match tonight against Robert Roode. Brooks tells her that she has to face him to get out of the nightmare he has put her in and walks away.
Tenay & West run down what’s left to come on tonight’s show, which will still have a coronation, an interview with Booker T about his wife’s condition and a Women’s title match. Speaking of that match, a video package highlighting the Women’s title match at Final Resolution is aired.
Match 3: VKM vs. Petey Williams & Sonjay Dutt The match starts out with Dutt & Williams taking it to the long-time tag team partners, however, VKM is able to turn the tide during a commercial break as Kip James scores a near fall on Williams. As Williams is getting worked on in the ring, Scott Steiner sneaks down and exchanges Feast or Fired cases with Williams. Dutt is tagged in and comes into the match as Williams realizes his case has been switched. Williams leaves as BG & Kip get into a shoving match and Dutt rolls up Kip for the pin fall.
Sonjay Dutt celebrates his victory by stealing another kiss from So Cal Val. Meanwhile, BG & Kip continue to argue in the ring. BG leaves the ring as Kip gets on the microphone and tells BG that he wants to know who his partner will be next week.
Backstage, Christian is still looking for Styles as he grabs Crystal and takes her along to document it, however, he is heading in the wrong direction as Styles is seen hiding under a table. Eric Young comes in a tells Styles that he should hide in the theme park as it would be hard to be found with all of those people around. Styles thinks it’s a good idea and leaves with Borash.
Footage from Final Resolution is aired that shows how Team 3D was able to hold on to the possession of the X Division title. In the ring, Brother Ray says that they beat the X Division at their own game at Final Resolution. He then proposes that the MMG’s and Lethal fight them in a hardcore street fight at Against All Odds. If they somehow win, they can have the belt back, but if they lose, they have to put an end to the X Division.
Samoa Joe is seen backstage going into Kevin Nash’s dressing room where Nash is waiting for him with a baseball bat. Nash tells him that he won’t fight Joe for free and says what he did to Joe at the pay-per-view was a wake up call for him. Nash tells Joe to stop acting like an angry child and offers him his wisdom. Nash hands the bat to Joe and dares for him to swing it as Nash leaves the room.
We are then treated to footage of a sit down interview conducted at the hospital between Mike Tenay and Booker T. Booker says that Sharmell has a shattered jaw and blames himself for the accident. However, once Sharmell is able to leave the hospital, he plans to focus all of his energy on Robert Roode.
Robert Roode comes down to the ring and says that Booker T and Sharmell agreed to the match at Final Resolution, so it was his fault that his wife’s jaw is broken. As for Ms. Brooks, Roode officially fires her and calls her out to the ring. Brooks comes out to the ring and stands up to Roode by telling him that although he has money, talent and looks, he is still just a prick named Bob.
Before Roode is able to retaliate and lay a hand on Brooks, Jim Cornette comes down to the ring and stops Roode by saying, SpikeTV, TNA and himself will not allow him to touch Brooks. Cornette says he should suspend Roode but won’t as he wants to see what Booker T has in store for him. Brooks leaves the ring but she is attacked by Roode’s stalker on the ramp and Roode introduces her as Ms. Peyton Banks. Cornette and Matt Morgan tend to Brooks as Roode and Banks walk off together.
Jeremy Borash is in the Universal Theme Park and finds Styles who is in a costume. Borash tells him that Karen Angle is looking for him in the men’s bathroom.
Match 4: Rock n’ Rave Infections vs. the LAX This match goes back and forth in the opening moments as each team’s big guy works on the other’s small guy. Hernandez ends up tossing Hoyt off of the top rope and onto the floor as Homicide tries for a Gringo Killer but it is reversed into a rollup by Rave, but it only scores a two count. Homicide tries again for the move and lands it this time to pick up the win.
Crystal is with Tomko who says that from this point on he makes his own decisions and that his tag team partner can get himself out of the situation that he got in to. Crystal asks Tomko why he thinks Styles picked the Angle Alliance and he says it is probably came from a schoolboy crush.
Match 5: Shark Boy vs. Tomko Shark Boy comes out with even more bandages on than usual this week and he actually requested this match against Tomko. Shark Boy charges at Tomko with his crutch but receives a kick to the face instead. Tomko toys around with him for a bit until he finally pins him. Security comes out and rolls Shark Boy onto a stretcher.
AJ Styles and Jeremy Borash meet with Karen in the men’s bathroom. Karen asks for Borash to leave and she tells Styles that he has become more of a man in the last six months than her husband is. Karen tells him that it is his night and that Christian cannot take that away from him. Styles is now full of courage and goes to put his tuxedo on.
Crystal is backstage with Kaz who has a rat named Marlena. Crystal says it looks a lot like Misty and Kaz says he is watching it for a friend and if his friend wants it back, he has to come get it.
The Angle Alliance makes their way to the ring for the coronation. After a brief introduction, Angle places a crown on Styles’ head and pronounces him Prince AJ Styles. As Angle explains to Styles that he made the right choice by joining the Alliance, Christian Cage interrupts and says that Angle forgot to mention that Cage made him tapout during their match. As for Styles, Cage wonders if he is ready to man up. After some consulting with Karen, Styles says that he is and Cage begins to walk to the ring as Samoa Joe’s music hits.
Joe comes out the other ramp and says that he is here tonight to get a shot at Angle’s World title. Cage chimes in and says that although they haven’t agreed on much in the past, they can at least agree that the Angle Alliance needs their asses kick tonight. Cornette comes out and stops the madness and books a three way match against Cage, Joe and Styles next week. If either Cage or Joe wins, they will get a title shot at Against All Odds. If Styles wins, he will have a choice of a title shot or to give Angle two months off from defending the title.
Match 6: Awesome Kong vs. Gail Kim (TNA Women’s Championship) Awesome Kong is followed to the ring with an associate who is clad in a burqa. Jeremy Borash does the ring introductions for the title match and Kong charges at Kim before Borash is able to finish. The fight quickly spills to the outside after Kong knocked Kim off the ring apron with a spinning backfist. The two fight up the ramp and Kong tosses Kim around and bounces her off a couple of walls. Hebner yells at them to take it to the ring and Kong again charges at Kim, but she moves out of the way causing Kong to smash through the wall as we head into a commercial break.
After the break, the action is finally in the ring and Kong is still in control until Kim lands a tornado DDT and picks up a near fall on Kong. Kim then tries for a senton splash off the top rope and is still only able to get a two count on Kong. Kim climbs the ropes again but this time she is caught by Kong and is driven down to the mat with a choke slam. Kim is able to kick out before the ref counts to three and tries to fight back, but Kong turns an attempt at a hurricanrana into two powerbombs followed by an Awesome Bomb for the pin fall and we have a new Women’s Champion.
Awesome Kong celebrates in the ring with the title as we head to a video package of tonight’s action to close out Impact.
Quick Results - The Motorcity Machine Guns defeated Senshi & Elix Skipper by pin fall. - Judas Mesias defeated Chris Harris by pin fall. - Sonjay Dutt & Petey Williams defeated VKM by pin fall. - The LAX defeated the Rock n’ Rave Infection by pin fall. - Tomko squashed Shark Boy. - Awesome Kong defeated Gail Kim to win the Women’s Championship.
Match of the Night Awesome Kong vs. Gail Kim
Quote of the Night “I thought you had to have Jack Kevorkian here for assisted suicide.” - Don West on Shark Boy requesting a match against Tomko.
Starman’s Thoughts Tonight’s matches, and overall show, seemed to be lacking in all areas. Even with great teams like the Motorcity Machine Guns and the LAX both in tag team matches, everything just seemed to be going through the motions. I was especially disappointed in the main event. Seeing as how these two seem to put on great match after great match, I was expecting a nice treat to end the night. I guess my expectations were too high.
What I got was a brief brawl interrupted by a commercial followed with a wrestling bout that consisted of move, pin attempt, move, pin attempt, move, pin attempt until one person was pinned. Sure, Kim and Kong has just fought it out in another great match at Final Resolution this past Sunday, so this type of match shouldn’t have come as a surprise. But this match seemed very lackluster - not quite how I would have envisioned a title change of what has been one of the better rivalries in the recent past for the promotion, but I do welcome in the new era of Kong.
I will say that I was surprised on how much they promoted next week’s show. Let’s hope that a show that has a Cage/Joe/Styles triple threat, the reveling of Abyss’ dark secret and BG James announcing who his Feast or Fired tag team partner will be, will not fall flat.
Speaking of flat, more TNA hilarity ensues as Kaz has renamed Black Reign’s rat to Marlena. I’m hoping I’m not the only one who thought that was a lame attempt at humor. I’m guessing the ongoing writers strike has affected TNA as well.
