Impact
Wrestling
Date:
October 31, 2013
Location:
Maverik Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators:
Tazz, Mike Tenay
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
It's
Halloween night and the main story is the TNA World Champion left in
a nice car last week, apparently not wanting to sign a contract and
taking the title with him. Since this is TNA, you can see the
brackets for the tournament being filled out as we speak. I'd assume
we're heading for a champion vs. champion match because that's what
WWE did a few years ago and if WWE can do it, TNA can as well, albeit
with more mistakes and stupidity. Let's get to it.
We
open with a recap of AJ literally driving away from TNA and Dixie
with the title in hand to end last week's show.
Here's
Dixie to open the show, talking about how she served AJ the world up
on a plate but he just walked away with his nose in the air. From
here on out, AJ is no longer world champion and is just like everyone
else that buys replica belts. The title is officially stripped and
the car is a present to AJ for all his work.
Therefore,
we need a new world champion so we'll be holding an eight man
tournament over the next few weeks for the vacant title. Seven of
the entrants are former world champions, so here are James Storm,
Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode and
Chris Sabin. Everyone gets a video bio of their accomplishments.
There's a spot left so here's Bully Ray to interrupt.
Before
he can say anything though, Dixie announces a gauntlet match for the
final tournament spot. Ray gets in the ring and says he's been
forgotten but the fans tell him he tapped out. He blames Earl Hebner
and Ken Anderson for the losses, but the lights go out and here comes
Anderson. Ken slowly stomps on Ray in the corner as we take a break.
During
the break Anderson was taken away by security where Brooke yelled at
her. Bully jumps him from behind and whips Anderson with the chain.
He yells that Anderson is nothing without the club so stay out of
club business.
Garrett
Bischoff is asked what he thinks of this and says it's club business.
Knux comes up and says he needs Bischoff's help in his match
tonight.
Tag
Titles: Bro Mans vs. James Storm/Gunner
The
challengers jump the Bro Mans in the aisle before Gunner sends Robbie
into the corner to start the official beating. A splash crushes
Robbie and a slingshot suplex gets two. Off to Storm for a double
back elbow and a knee drop to give James a two count. Jesse comes in
and takes a big chop in the corner to mess with his blood vessels.
Back
to Storm who gets two off a back elbow to the jaw followed by Storm
getting the same via the Eye of the Storm. Things break down a bit
with Gunner being sent out to the floor and Storm backdropping Jesse
onto the back of his head. Robbie pulls his partner to the floor to
avoid the Last Call before tripping up Storm on a suplex attempt and
holding the foot down to give Jesse the pin at 4:15.
Rating:
D+. Not much to see here but
it's good to have the Bro Mans get a win like this. They're the kind
of team that is going to have to cheat all the time to keep the belts
and it's just going to make the reaction even bigger when they lose
the titles. I'm not wild on Storm and Gunner but they're good enough
for stuff like this.
Sting
goes in to see Dixie who is willing to lift the ban on Sting getting
a world title shot for tonight only. He can be in the gauntlet but
has to start first. Sting leaves without saying yes or no.
We
get a recap of Abyss returning last week, leading to Bad Influence
dressed up as Sherlock Holmes and Watson. They promise to solve the
Abyss mystery and unveil the monster tonight.
Norv
Fernum vs. Ethan Carter III
Bernum
is the guy Carter squashed at BFG and weighs about 104lbs. Carter
tosses him around to start before putting on a standing chinlock.
Fernum comes back with some flying shoulder blocks but can't knock
Carter down. Norv scores with a missile dropkick but walks into the
bulldog driver (which might be called the 1%) for the pin at 3:10.
Rating:
D. Yeah it was a squash, but
I'm digging Carter's character. The turnaround from his character in
WWE is reminding me of Rick Rude when he jumped to WCW. In the WWF
he was a glorified comedy guy but in WCW he was nothing short of a
killer. Carter has gone from Derrick Bateman who was nothing to
Carter who looks solid in the ring and has a great look. Well done
TNA.
Bobby
Roode asks the doctor how Angle can be cleared in just a week. He
wants Angle checked again.
Bad
Influence run into ODB and Eric, with the latter promising a surprise
for them later.
Gauntlet
Battle Royal
Sting
starts out with Kazarian as this is over the top only with two minute
time intervals. They start with a WOO off until Sting rams him into
some top turnbuckles. A backdrop puts Kaz down and a suplex does the
same. Kaz comes back with some shots to the ribs but can't put him
out in the corner. Knux is in at #3 and we take an early break.
Back with Eric Young coming out and no eliminations so far. It's
been way more than two minutes since the break so screw the clock I
guess.
Eric
cleans house on the heels and pounds away in the corner as Sting gets
back up. Kaz pulls at the beard to slow Eric down as Taz rips into
Utah and all the wives the people around here have (his words not
mine). Knux tries to put Eric out but he “pulls some of the pubic
hair out” (again Tazz's words) to escape. Christopher Daniels is
#5 and saves Kaz before he even gets to the ring. Daniels comes in
and pounds away on Eric as Bad Influence takes over. Sting suplexes
both of them down and we take our second break in than eleven minutes
since the opening bell.
Back
with Manik in at #6. They're clearly not doing anything during the
break as the guys are in virtually the same positions as when the
cameras went off. Manik cleans house and saves himself by
headscissoring Kaz down. No eliminations so far and the ring fills
up even more with Magnus at #7, the last entrant. Magnus cleans
house but gets taken down by a cross body from Knux of all people.
Manik escapes a pumphandle slam and catches Knux in a hurricanrana
for the elimination.
Kaz
hits a springboard elbow to eliminate Manik a few seconds later.
Tazz says Aces and 8's suck. Eric goes up but gets crotched down and
kicked in the head by Kaz for an elimination. We're down to Mafia
vs. Bad Influence with Sting clotheslining Kaz down before Magnus
hits a Snow Plow on Daniels. Sting gets his eyes raked so the double
teaming of Magnus can begin, only to have the Mafia come right back
with a clothesline to eliminate Kaz. Magnus sneaks up on Kaz and
Sting with a double elimination for the win at 19:40. I'm pretty
sure there was no extra action during the commercial though.
Rating:
C-. This was pretty lame with
just seven people and no real need for the match to go this long.
Magnus winning the way he did extends his heel turn a bit more which
is the right idea, but I can't picture him winning the tournament to
set up an eventual champion vs. champion match.
Angle
has been advised to take the night off but will wrestle anyway.
Dixie
has a surprise for us later: the Wheel of Dixie.
Knockouts
Title: ODB vs. Gail Kim
ODB
spears her down to start and pounds away on the champion in the
corner. A splash sets up a Bronco Buster attempt but Gail bails to
the floor. Gail loads up Eat Defeat on the floor but gets caught in
a fallaway slam instead. ODB looks to go after Gail's enforcer Lei'D
Tapa but gets dropkicked into the announce table instead. There's
the Figure Four around the post as Tenay announces Turning Point for
free on November 21.
Back
in and Gail puts on a headscissor choke, only to have ODB counter
into a half crab. Gail gets to the rope but a Thesz Press gets two
for ODB. A front suplex out of the corner puts Gail down but Tapa
distracts the referee. Gail grabs a rollup and a rope for the
retaining pin at 6:25.
Rating:
D+. I am so over the Knockouts
as a whole. It's the same five or so girls having the same feuds
with the same dull stories (calling them stories is a stretch. It's
more like Knockout A is champion and Knockout B wins a contenders'
match) resolved in the same dull matches. Nothing to see here and
ODB continues to get on my nerves.
Bad
Influence has solved the mystery of Abyss.
Back
from a break with Daniels and Kaz in the ring to explain their
findings. With British accents, Daniels and Kaz say they've figured
out the on again off again monster Abyss. Apparently it's under the
ring, which is certainly not a ripoff of when Santino dressed up like
Sherlock Holmes and was told to solve the mystery of the Raw GM and
it wound up being under the ring.
It's
a pumpkin under the ring though, which apparently has more brains
than the entire Knockouts roster put together. This brings out Eric
Young dressed as Joseph Park in a decent imitation. He has no proof
that Halloween is a real holiday but it's the big guy's favorite
holiday. Eric has a message for bad Influence so he punches them
both, earning himself a beatdown. Abyss comes out for the save and
crushes Bad Influence before helping Young up in the corner.
Here
are the world title tournament brackets.
Hardy
Sabin
Roode
Storm
Angle
Aries
Magnus
Joe
As
simple as this sounds, the wheel of Dixie will determine what the
gimmick is for Sabin vs. Hardy. It's Full Metal Mayhem, which is
basically TLC.
Kurt
Angle vs. Bobby Roode
This
would be the third Bound For Glory rematch of the night. Roode was
inducted into the EGO Hall of Fame to mock Angle, but since Angle
declined the induction into the TNA Hall of Fame, the whole thing is
kind of worthless now. Angle takes him into the corner to start but
Roode bails to the floor to escape the ankle lock. Back in and Roode
chops away but gets caught in a belly to belly. Roode bails to the
floor again and has to rake Angle's eyes to break up another suplex.
Back
from a break with Roode working on the ribs with an abdominal
stretch. Angle escapes and puts on Rolling Germans, getting up to
about five of them this time. Roode fights up but has to escape the
ankle lock. There's the Crossface but Kurt tries to grab the ankle
lock to counter. Roode rolls back and puts the hold on again, only
to have to let go to escape a cradle and get it on for a third time.
Angle rolls backwards again and puts on the Angle Slam for two but
his shoulder is almost gone.
There's
the ankle lock but Roode rolls through into a cradle for tow. Roode
comes back with an AA into a neckbreaker for a close two as this
starts getting better. Angle gets the ankle lock again with the
grapevine but Roode is too close to the ropes. Roode goes up but
Angle runs up the ropes for the big Angle Slam for two. Angle stops
moving and the match is stopped at 16:23.
Rating:
B. Good match for the most part
here until the storyline finish, which was again, THE SAME THING WE
SAW AT BFG. Is this company really that creatively bankrupt that
they can't come up with something else? Like Roode dropping him in
the fisherman's suplex and Angle being knocked out that way?
ANYTHING else? Good match until the ending though.
Angle
is shaking badly to end the show.
Overall
Rating: C. The show wasn't bad
tonight but it was yet another rehash of Bound For Glory with over
half the matches being rematches from the PPV. The tournament will
help things out but they need something new to light a fire under
this company. Maybe the changes behind the scenes will help out but
they rarely have before. Not a bad show this week but nothing that
set the world on fire.
Results
Bro
Mans b. Gunner/James Storm – Suplex reversal to Storm
Ethan
Carter III b. Norv Fernum – Bulldog driver
Magnus
won a gauntlet battle royal last elimination Sting and Kazarian
Gail
Kim b. ODB – Rollup
Bobby
Roode b. Kurt Angle via referee stoppage
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
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