10/17 Shore's TNA Impact Wrestling live coverage: Final hype for Bound for Glory, Bully Ray and AJ Styles contract signing, Four-way match to determine order in tag team gauntlet match, Samoa Joe vs. Chris Sabin

By Chris Shore

TNA Impact Wrestling on SpikeTV
Taped on 10/10 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

[Q1] The show opened with Dixie Carter getting no response and Atlas Security holding a briefcase. Also, Dixie's music deserves more heat than she does. Dixie compared herself to Michelangelo and a "Dixie sucks" chant broke out. She cut her rambling fast promo and said she was here to evaluate everyone. The crowd chanted for Hulk Hogan and Dixie essentially no sold it. Dixie put a bounty of $50,000 on AJ Styles to make this his last night in TNA.

She said once that happens AJ Styles will not be in the main event at Bound for Glory. She said she would find someone to replace him because giving people opportunities and making them rich is what she does best. Bully Ray's music hit and he came to the ring with Brooke. Ray said he wasn't on Team Dixie, but he would gladly take the $50K and get rid of AJ and then face whoever she wanted at Bound for Glory.

Magnus's music hit and there were two edits in there that looked like a cat did them. What in the blue hell was that? Magnus said if Dixie thought this was how to do things it was no wonder people were saying "Dixie sucks." Dixie got mad and Magnus challenged Ray to a fight for free tonight.

Ray put over Magnus huge and then called him a fraud and smoke and mirrors. He said Magnus didn't have a tough bone in his body. He called him a loser and then pulled Magnus's head up by the chin and said he was the biggest disappointment he had ever seen. Magnus took it all and then punched Ray in the face. Ray rolled to the floor and accepted the match with Magnus… Kurt Angle was shown walking backstage…[C]

Shore's Slant: Dixie wasn't near as all over the map as last week, but she's still trying to say too much. Less is more here. I can't believe those edits. Could there possibly be a worse time to look like a bunch of amateurs than right before Bound for Glory? I almost feel bad for them. Almost.

[Q2] Backstage, Ray put over Knux and Garett for what they did last week, which was to lose so whatever. He told them to take care of business tonight, collect the bounty, and if they needed him all they had to do was give the signal and he would be there…

Shore's Slant: Just a little too obvious with the setup, but otherwise a good promo from Ray.

1. Robbie E vs. Hernandez vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Eric Young in a fourway match. The winner's tag team will go last in the Bound for Glory pre-show gauntlet match. The heels worked together on Hernandez until EY got the hot tag. EY ran his comeback but was shut down by Daniels and Robbie. Daniels shoved Robbie down as they turned on each other. EY hit his finisher on Daniels and Robbie shoved EY out of the ring to cover for the win…

Robbie E won at 5:17. Robbie E and Jess Goddard will go last in the gauntlet match.

Backstage, AJ started to talk to the cameraman when Jesse attacked him. AJ fought him off and said it was going to be a long night…[C]

Shore's Slant: Oh no. I hope they didn't just build in the excuse for how the Bro-Mans ends up in the tag title match. That might be the worst choice of the four teams.

[Q3] AJ Styles made his ring entrance and called out Dixie for putting a bounty on his head. He said after he won at Bound for Glory he was going to make her pay. He said for everyone who wanted to collect, he wasn't going to run and hide. He told them to come get paid. Aces and Eights music hit and the two guys who lost to AJ last week came out to try again. They beat AJ down until the tag champs made the save. Storm got in AJ's face and then smiled at him. AJ headed to the back…[C]

Shore's Slant: Good promo from AJ. It was short, simple, and to the point. Usually he makes the same mistakes as Dixie and tries too hard. This was well done.

2. Knux (w/Garett Bischoff) vs. Gunner (w/James Storm). Both guys worked their power offense. Garett distracted Storm and waved to the back. Storm spit beer in Garett's face who sold it as acid. Gunner tried for the Gun Rack but Knux kicked away and hit his crossbody. Knux called for Ray. Ray didn't come and Gunner hit a spear for the win…

Gunner defeated Knux at 4:54.

Backstage, Chris Sabin got worked up about winning $50K and being in the main event at Bound for Glory. He said he was going to go collect and would buy Velvet Sky something nice. Velvet tried to stop him and said it wasn't him but he ran off…

Shore's Slant: Meaningless match that should have meant more when two of the physically dominating guys in the promotion match up. And I don't understand why they were calling for Bully in the first place. Bischoff wasn't in trouble when he did it and Knux had just hit a big move. What a weird ass way to get there.

[Q4][C] Backstage, Knux and Garett complained to each other about Ray. Knux said the next time Ray needed their help it was going to be interesting and Garett agreed… A video recapped Lei'D Tapa's attacks. Tenay and Taz hyped the Knockouts match. Backstage, Gail Kim walked up to Brooke and asked her to work together if Tapa showed up to attack them. Brooke said she wasn't helping anyone and walked off…

A video hyped Ultimate X. Chris Sabin sneaked around backstage looking for Styles. He asked a security guard who said he hadn't seen AJ. Sabin bumped into Joe and Joe said Sabin was on the wrong side of town. He said he understood why Sabin was trying to collect, but he had his priorities off. He said Sabin had to survive Joe twice and then maybe he could collect on the bounty. Sabin sold being scared and backed away…[C]

Shore's Slant: Sabin's character is so bad. He doesn't come across as anything other than a second rate Miz. I don't mind the heel turn so much, but they just haven’t delivered on it yet.

A video recapped the opening segment and Magnus was shown getting ready backstage…

[Q5] 3. Chris Sabin (w/Chris Sabin) vs. Samoa Joe. Sabin hit a thumb to the eye and attacked Joe, but Joe punched back and beat Sabin up. Sabin rolled to the floor and hugged Velvet and Joe dragged him back in by his hair. Sabin ducked an elbow and hit a bunch of chops in the corner that Joe no sold. Sabin grabbed Velvet and started to leave. He used her as a shield and a screen to hit a DDT on the stage. Joe took until nine to make it back to the ring.

Sabin hit three moves and Joe started his comeback. Sabin bit him to stop it and hit a tornado DDT for two. Sabin tried for a roll-up, but Joe dropped down and hooked the rear-naked choke. Sabin tapped almost immediately…

Samoa Joe defeated Chris Sabin at 5:15.

Post-match. Austin Aries ran out and hit a missile dropkick on Joe. Jeff Hardy ran out and attacked him. Hardy setup a ladder, but Sabin pulled him down and Manik ran out to hit a crossbody from the ladder onto Aries and Sabin. Manik's music played to close the segment…

Backstage, Bad Influence beat AJ down, but he came back and slammed them into each other. He pulled out a fire extinguisher and sprayed them down o escape…[C]

Shore's Slant: The bad edits continue to happen. They haven't been as egregious as in the opening segment, but there are still a bunch of jump cuts that make the product look bad. I guess that match was supposed to hype Ultimate X but all it really did was bury Chris Sabin. Joe sold like five moves total and Sabin was tapping out before Joe even had the move hooked in.

Ethan was somewhere doing a photo shoot. He saw the video camera and said at Bound for Glory he would be there to make "Aunt D" proud…

Shore's Slant: Wait, he's supposed to be Dixie's nephew? Oh god.

[Q6] 4. Magnus vs. Bully Ray (w/Brooke). Magnus showed early that he was even with Ray on strength, but Ray knocked him from the top rope to take control…[C] Back from commercial, Ray continued his methodical offense while playing to the crowd. Magnus started his comeback dodging an elbow and hit his top rope elbow for two. Ray pulled Earl Hebner into the way of Magnus to knock him down.

Ray pulled out his chain and wrapped it around his hand. Sting ran out and stopped Ray from using it. Hebner recovered and yelled at Sting. That allowed Ray to drop the chain and hit a low blow on Magnus for the win…

Bully Ray defeated Magnus at 10:38.

Post-match, Magnus complained to Sting. Sting said he tried to help him and offered his hand. Magnus half shook it and left the ring with Sting in tow… Kurt Angle was shown heading toward the ring…[C]

Shore's Slant: An OK match from Magnus and Ray, but not a lot to write home about. The finishing sequence was stupid with Hebner chastising Sting but whatever. After as many Impact shows as I have seen I just expect the referees to be cast as morons. I guess it makes sense, what with all of the bumps the refs take.

[Q7] Backstage, Magnus raged at Sting for what happened. Magnus said he just wants to prove he can do this by himself. Joe walked up and told Magnus to walk it off. Sting said Magnus would be alone at Bound for Glory and Magnus agreed… The announce team ran down the BFG card...

Kurt Angle made his ring entrance and put over Bobby Roode. He said when Roode tried to rain on his parade for the honor of being in the Hall of Fame, Roode made it personal. He said Roode might be great, but he would never be Kurt Angle. Roode's music hit and he came to the ring. Roode agreed that he wasn't Angle and didn’t want to be, especially today. He said 10 years ago he wanted to be just like Angle because he was the "be all, end all" of pro wrestling, but now that was Roode.

Roode said Angle interrupted his hall of fame ceremony and he deserved it more than Angle did. Roode mentioned how Angle beat him at BFG in 2011, but Roode that to wake up and became the longest reigning champion in TNA history. Roode said at BFG he was going to be Bobby Roode and beat Kurt Angle. Angle asked how Roode was going to win when he would be tapping.

Roode hit him with the microphone, but Angle grabbed the leg for the ankle lock. EGO ran out to make the save and Roode sent them to the back after Angle was beat down. He locked on a crossface and made Angle tap out. He took a mic and said Angle would tap again Sunday…

Shore's Slant: An OK promo but this feud hasn't had enough time to marinate. Angle was in rehab so what are you going to do, but it still needs a couple more weeks of build. It should still be a great match Sunday.

[Q8][C] Jeremy Borash stood in the ring with Dixie Carter and Atlas Security. He introduced bot Ray and AJ. Borash held up the contract and Ray took it immediately and signed. He took the mic and said it was real simple, AJ couldn’t beat him. He said AJ didn't have the brain in his head, the heart in his chest, or the thunder in his fists to beat him.

Ray referenced Flair beating up Dusty Rhodes and then Dusty's "hard times" promo when he came back. Ray said for the last year-and-a-half he had put the wrestling world on hard times. Ray went through all he had done during this run as champ and culminated with running Hogan out of the company and put him on hard times. He said on Sunday, he was going to put AJ and his fans on hard times. He said he would send AJ back to the trailer par with no title or contract and his family would probably be gone.

AJ said it was a good story, but Ray wasn't Flair and he wasn't Dusty. He said Ray was a big, dumb bitch. AJ said Ray had no idea who he was getting in the ring with. He said he had everything to lose and everything to gain. He said he was the most dangerous and intense man Ray would ever get in the ring again. He said he would win the title and make him pay. He signed the contract and shoved the mic back to Ray.

Ray said he changed his mind, he wasn't going to put his title on the line, he was going to cash in on the bounty. He shoved the podium into AJ and went to hit him with the chain, but AJ ducked, grabbed the briefcase, and hit Ray with it. He opened the case and dumped the money on Dixie and the guards. He and Ray jawed to close the show…

Shore's Slant: A little bit of a mess at the end with the briefcase and whatnot, plus the two of them arguing over the ropes wasn't the best visual they could have closed on, but at least this was about the title and not Dixie. That's what it should have been all along. I realize they needed to get Hogan off TV, but the main event of Bound for Glory didn't have to get muddled by a leaving personality. There were better ways to get rid of him than this.

All in all a decent episode of Impact, minus the intern editing job, but it didn't do a great job of selling the PPV. Part of that is structural problems with the crash TV style, but part of it is dumb match making. Why was Knux fighting a tag champ? Why was Magnus fighting Bully Ray? Neither of those matches did anything to build for Bound for Glory. Yeah, Sting's interference advanced the storyline, but only the slightest. That match is what it is and all we wait for now is to see if Magnus turns. Jason Powell and Will Pruett will have more tomorrow, and be sure to follow along with Jason on Sunday night for Bound for Glory. Thanks for watching along tonight.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com or tweet me @TheShoreSlant with whatever is on your mind.

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