IMPACT TV report 03/21/2013

Impact begins with Bully Ray, the recently revealed President of Aces and Eights, bragging about destroying the Hogan family.

The first person to the ring is Hulk Hogan. Hogan is upset about being fooled, but he wants to thank the 4 men that led the (unsuccessful) charge against Aces and Eights last week and calls out Magnus, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, and former champ Jeff Hardy.

Hogan wants them to take out Aces and Eights and win back the TNA title. Hardy suggests a four way match to determine the #1 contender and everyone agrees.

More explanation of the Aces and Eights storyline follows.

Commercial

Match #1:  Tag champs Austin Aries and Bobby Roode versus Chavo and Hernandez.

Chavo and Roode start things off. Roode gets behind Chavo and takes him to the mat with a headlock takedown. Chavo works his way out and Roode applies a hammerlock. Chavo and Roode go back and forth until Chavo is able to get some separation.

Roode lands a punch and Chavo responds with a European uppercut. Chavo hits Roode with a hurricanrana and follows up with a few punches. Chavo tags in Hernandez and Hernandez bodyslams Chavo onto Roode. Hernandez hits Roode with a big splash and Roode responds with a knee lift.

Roode tags in Aries and Aries hits Hernandez with an elbow, a kick and then tags in Roode. Roode and Aries try a double team suplex on Hernandez but Hernandez blocks it and then suplexes Aries and Roode at the same time. Hernandez tags in Chavo and Chavo dropkicks Roode and Aries to the floor.

Commercial

Roode rolls Chavo into the steps, but they end up fighting outside again almost immediately. Roode throws Chavo into the steel steps. Roode holds Chavo in place as Aries climbs to the top and flies off onto Chavo on the floor.

Aries tries for a cover but Chavo kicks out. Aries and Chavo exchange a couple strikes and then Aries tags in Roode. Roode suplexes Chavo and then puts him in a headlock.  Chavo escapes and hits Roode with a tornado DDT. Chavo tags in Hernandez and Roode tags in Aries.

Hernandez press slams Aries and then hits him with a shoulder block. Hernandez walks up the entrance ramp and then runs into the ring, diving over the top rope into Aries and Roode at the same time. Hernandez picks Aries up again but Roode runs in to save him.  Hernandez knocks Roode down with a shoulder block.

Aries hits Hernandez with an elbow. Aries gets ready to fly and dives at Hernandez, but Hernandez catches him. Aries slips free and takes Hernandez down with a hurricanrana.  Aries tries to hit the Brain Buster on Chavo, but Chavo slides out and hits Aries with the three Amigos.

Chavo climbs to the top rope while Kazarian and Daniels run to the ring. Kaz distracts the ref while Daniels knocks Chavo off the top rope. Aries pins Chavo for the win.

After the match, Kaz and Daniels attack Roode and Aries and then demand a title shot.  Kaz and Daniels also do a bullshit product placement for an energy drink, but I’m not going to say which one because I’m not getting any of TNA’s advertising money. I find product placement annoying unless it’s a commercial free episode of Raw, then I can sort of understand it.

Commercial

Match #2:  Zema Ion versus Sonjay Dutt versus Kenny King for King’s X division title.

Before the match, it was announced that the X division is evolving and title matches will now be three ways. The action starts off fast and is a little hard to follow.  After a few minutes of back and forth action, Sonjay hurricanranas King and Ion to the floor at the same time.

King and Ion pull Sonjay out onto the floor and into the guard rail. King climbs to the edge of the ring and flips off onto Zema Ion. King rolls Zema into the ring and gets a 2 count. King hits Ion with a running elbow and a boot to the face. King grounds and pounds Ion.

King knocks Sonjay back to the floor and then hits Zema with a spin kick. Sonjay springboards back into the ring and crashes into King. Sonjay goes back to the top and King pushes him to the floor. Ion hits King with a few punches and King responds with a wheel kick to the head.

Ion hits King with a shoulder block and then follows up with a DDT. Sonjay flips into the ring and hits Ion with a hurricanrana. Sonjay goes to the top and hits Zema and King with a moonsault. Sonjay hits Ion with a scoop slam and then climbs to the top again.

Ion tries to cut Sonjay off but Sonjay knocks him back down and hits him with a moonsault/double stomp to the chest.  King springboards back into the ring and hits Sonjay with a blockbuster for the win.

After the match, there is a lot more explain and reviewing of the Aces and Eights storyline.

Commercial

When we return, Sting enters Hogan’s office and says he wants to fight Bully Ray. Hogan wants nothing to do with Sting anymore. Hogan tells Sting to go and hide by himself in the rafters for a couple years, because he always causes trouble when he’s here.  Sting says he wants revenge. Hogan does to.

Taryn Tyrrell makes her way to the ring. Taryn has been on probation for fighting with a wrestler; Gail Kim. Taryn knows she is in trouble but said she had to retaliate when pushed and is ready to accept the consequences.

Gail Kim comes out to gloat and calls Brooke Hogan out to fire Taryn. Brooke does come out and does fire Taryn, but then she re-hires her as a wrestler, giving her permission to get physical with anyone. Gail is outraged, and Taryn spears Gail out of the ring.

After the confrontation, Brooke remains in the ring and Bully Ray sneaks up behind her.  Brooke is upset and Bully taunts her by pointing at his wedding ring and saying “till death do us part.”  Brooke says she hates him; Bully says he loves her, but I don’t think he means it.

Commercial

When we return, there is a whole lot more Aces and Eights/Bully Ray recap. They wouldn’t need to blow half the show explaining their storylines if their storylines made more sense.

In addition to wasting a lot of time that COULD have been spent on wrestling, the fact that the explanations are being allowed makes no sense: why would TNA management (Hogan and Dixie Carter) give all this air time to a faction that is trying to destroy them?

Match #3: Matt Morgan versus Joe Park.

The two men lock up and Morgan pushes Joe down to the mat. The match starts off lopsided in favor of Morgan. Morgan lands several strikes, a couple headbutts, and then ties Joe up in the ropes and pulls back on his arms.

Morgan goes for the Carbon Footprint but misses and gets caught in the ropes. Joe bounces the ropes up into Morgan’s groin and goes on offense. Joe lands a few punches, a clothesline, and a shoulderblock that knocks Morgan down. Joe goes to the top rope but misses with the splash.  Morgan hits the Carbon Footprint for the win.

Commercial

When we return, Mike Tenay calls AJ Styles out for an interview. AJ comes out and says nothing. Tenay asks him about the rumors that AJ has gotten into alcohol and drugs.  (Maybe he got the drugs from Claire?)  AJ says nothing and Tazz interrupts the interview and takes over.

Tazz offers AJ a place in  Aces and Eights, but AJ says nothing. James Storm comes out and asks if this is the new AJ Styles, the one that sucker punches people and walks away.

The crowd starts chanting “hug it out” as AJ and Storm face off. Hugging is wildly popular with wrestling fans these days, maybe even more than violence. That is pretty funny, but also makes me a little sad at the same time. Storm looks AJ in the face and threatens to kick his teeth down his throat; AJ says nothing and walks away.

Commercial

When we return, we get still MORE explanation of the Aces and Eights/Bully Ray storyline.

Match #4:  Samoa Joe versus Magnus versus Kurt Angle versus Jeff Hardy for the #1 contender spot.

All four men start brawling right away. Joe beats Angle down while Magnus attacks Hardy. Joe hits Angle with an elbow and follows up with an Enzuigiri. Joe takes Angle down with a snapmare and then hits him with a kick followed by a knee drop.

Hardy and Magnus take their fight to the floor. Joe whips Angle to the floor near Magnus and Hardy and then takes all three of them out with a suicide dive to the floor.

Commercial

Magnus, Hardy, and Angle all exchange strikes. Joe and Hardy double team Angle. Joe hits Magnus with a punch and Magnus retaliates with a clothesline. Angle lands a kick and a punch to Magnus; Magnus responds with a knee strike to Joe.

Hardy dives into the ring but Magnus catches him and drives him into the mat. Magnus hits Hardy with an elbow and then puts Jeff in a headlock. Jeff fights his way out but Magnus knocks him down again.

Out on the floor, Kurt Angle rakes the eyes of Samoa Joe. The fans seem to be supporting Angle and Joe a lot more than Hardy or Magnus. Magnus hits Hardy with an elbow and then lands a kick each to Angle and Joe, knocking them both back to the floor. Joe re-enters the ring and hits Magnus with an elbow and a couple headbutts.

Magnus gets Joe up in the air and then drives him to the mat. Magnus goes after Hardy next and slams him into the corner. Hardy responds with a hurricanrana, an inverted atomic drop, and a double leg drop to Magnus. Hardy hits Magnus with a Twist Of Fate, and then hits Angle and Joe with the TOF as well.

Hardy climbs to the top to try a Swanton bomb, but Angle cuts him off. Hardy pushes Angle off and Magnus knocks down Hardy. Angle hits Magnus with a German suplex and follows up with another one for Samoa Joe. Angle applies the ankle lock to Joe and has it locked in for a while.

Joe eventually kicks Angle off and into Magnus. Hardy hits Joe with the Swanton Bomb for the win. Jeff Hardy is the #1 contender and will be the first man to face Bully Ray for the title.