7/2 Twilling's TNA Impact Live Coverage: Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett and A.J. Styles for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Team 3D vs. Booker T and Scott Steiner for a tag team title shot

TNA Impact on Spike TV
Taped in Orlando, FL

[Q1] Footage aired of the Main Event Mafia and Samoa Joe beating down Sting week. Tonight’s show is entitled, “Double J Takes Control.” ...

The opening video aired, fireworks lit up the stage, and Mike Tenay introduced the show. The Main Event Mafia made their way to the ring. Samoa Joe was with them, but Matt Morgan was not. Don West chimed in on commentary and said Kurt Angle was the Godfather of the Main Event Mafia.

Angle told Sting, who was at home, that it wasn’t personal, it was business. He then called Mick Foley out to the ring and he obliged. Foley was joined by his security team. The ring was very crowded. Angle was pissed that Foley said Team 3D could earn a tag team title shot by beating Booker T and Scott Steiner.

Angle pointed out that Foley lied to him. He quoted a line from another Italian classic movie, Rocky. “If you want to dance, you have to pay the band.” Angle said it was time to pay the band. Steiner beat the crap out of the security guys. Foley asked the Mafia to respect him. Angle said Foley could choose any of the Mafia members to kick his ass.

Foley confirmed that Angle was the first choice and he took that option. He hit him and then got attacked. Jeff Jarrett’s music hit and he came out to the ring. The Mafia retreated. Jarrett hit Foley with the guitar and left the ring. The Mafia acted like Jarrett joined them, but Jarrett just walked by all of them before stopping to look at Angle... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: I love how strong the Mafia looks, but does Foley really have to be such a dumbass? At first I was pissed that the Mafia took off just because Jarrett came down, but if they are going to tease Jarrett joining the Mafia, I am all for that.

[Q2] During the break, Foley refused medical attention. Tenay sent it back to JB and Foley was in Jarrett’s locker room. Security kept Foley away from Jarrett as Jarrett screamed at Foley that things would never work between them...

Tenay interviewed Kevin Nash earlier in the day. Nash talked about being the WWF Champion as Diesel back in 1994 and that he “barely made seven figures.” He said Eric Bischoff offered him and Scott Hall twice as much money for half of the dates. He then put over A.J. Styles and the Legend’s Title, but said winning it would allow him to charge kids to take a picture with the belt, so it became about money again... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Wow, Nash comes across as very unlikeable. He’s right though; it is all about the money and anyone in his position would feel the same way, so I respect him for being straightforward and honest about it.

Backstage, Abyss was throwing stuff around looking for Dr. Stevie. He freaked the shit out of Lauren too. He even pulled out a variation of a Rocky line. “I’ve never asked you to stop being a woman; don’t ask me to stop being a monster.” Lauren said Abyss was a man and not a monster. He said he would come for her after he found Stevie...

1. Amazing Red defeated Cody Deaner (with ODB) in 4:26. Red knocked Deaner to the floor and hit a twisting plancha onto him. He scored a two count. Deaner came back and gained the advantage with his power. Deaner missed a top rope splash and Red hit the Red Eye for the win...

Twill’s Two Cents: Red was impressive and Deaner could be a fun act, but I just don’t think I’ll jump on his bandwagon.

[Q3] Backstage, Abyss was still tipping things over and screaming for Dr. Stevie. TNA security approached him with bats. That old guy approached Abyss and told him this was not going to happen in his house... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: I wonder if Abyss has been yelling, screaming, and throwing things for the past couple of weeks.

JB approached Jarrett backstage and wondered why he was getting his ring gear out. The Mafia came in applauding Jarrett. He asked Jarrett to have a seat and for Joe to hold his belt. He offered Jarrett an olive branch. He said with Jarrett’s power, they could rule the business for ten years.

Jarrett rejected Angle’s offer and then said the TNA Title would be on the line tonight as Angle would team with Samoa Joe to face Jarrett and A.J. Styles. Angle looked pissed and Booker screamed at him as the Mafia left Jarrett’s locker room...

Twill’s Two Cents: That is two opportunities the Mafia had to beat up Jarrett but they elected not to. One has to wonder if Jarrett is turning at this point.

Lauren interviewed Jenna Morasca. Jenna cut a decent promo saying Sharmell was all talk and all she did was wave her finger in people’s faces. Then Sojo Bolt (I think) approached Jenna and said Sharmell was her girl. She made a bigoted comment to Jenna and she would personally make sure Sharmell would be ready to face her at Victory Road... [C]

JB tried to interview Angle backstage and Angle took over the interview. He asked if Jarrett was ready for him and Joe because the two of them were a unit. Angle took off and Booker asked Sharmell to go find Matt Morgan. They argued. Apparently, Sharmell doesn’t know what her role would be in a traditional Mafia...

[Q4] 2. Eric Young defeated Rhino (with Jesse Neal) in 3:36. With Young in control, he stepped to the floor and beat the crap out of Neal. Rhino hit a spinebuster and covered Young, but Neal was distracting the referee. Young used the distraction to roll up Rhino for the win. West called it the biggest win of Young’s career...

Twill’s Two Cents: Is that the biggest win of his career? It might be; I honestly cannot remember. I think Young could fit in nicely in the midcard to upper midcard with the right amount of tinkering.

Lauren walked with Sharmell backstage. She ran into Morgan and said Angle wanted to see him. Morgan thought he was in the Mafia and picked up Sharmell in celebration. He grabbed her by the wrist and rushed off to see Angle... [C]

JB was in the Mafia’s locker room. Morgan referred to Angle as “GF.” It was short for “Godfather.” Wow. Angle said Morgan was not in, but he was on the right track. He gave him the job of keeping Christopher Daniels away from the ring. Morgan said his patience was running thin and Angle better make the right decision quickly...

Twill’s Two Cents: Wow, I hope they leave Morgan laying in a pool of his own blood.

3. Awesome Kong (with Raisha Saeed) and Tara defeated The Beautiful People (with Madison Rayne) in 4:35. Velvet’s shirt said “I’m the hot friend.” Yes Velvet, you are! West said he and Velvet were texting at 4:00 AM and Tenay made a horrible “texting and sex-ting” joke. Ugh. Kong and Tara didn’t show any remorse toward one another at the start of the match.

[Q5] Kong dominated Love early on, but TBP had success double teaming Tara. Tara finally made the tag to Kong and my dream wife (Velvet) unfortunately took the brunt of her attack. Tara took care of Love outside of the ring and Kong hit the Implant Buster on Sky for the win...

After the bout, Tara took the tarantula out of the box and placed it on Velvet’s tummy. Love and Rayne hauled ass to the back. Even Kong was scared a bit of the snake... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Fun match. I love TBP’s act and always enjoy their segments. I was expecting some sort of dissention between Kong and Tara, but they did not tease anything, which is smart. I am waiting for a nice, slow build between the two. I could also see Kong squashing that spider at some point.

Backstage, Lauren held the microphone as Angelina freaked out about the spider. Lauren then asked Angelina what was on her shoulder. She freaked out. Lauren laughed, looked into the camera, and said “what goes around, comes around.” ...

Beer Money made their way to the ring and joined the announce booth. Team 3D made their entrance followed by the Main Event Mafia...

4. Scott Steiner and Booker T (with Sharmell) defeated Team 3D to earn a shot at the TNA tag team titles at Victory Road in 7:16. Robert Roode did a nice job putting over both teams and the many tag team champions won by all four men. Storm said it would be an honor to face Steiner and Booker, but a privilege to beat them.

[Q6] Steiner hit a nice overhead suplex on Brother Ray. Ray scored a nearfall after a side suplex. West is being annoying as hell kissing Beer Money’s ass. Even Beer Money called him out on it. Back on the ring, Booker hit a series of kicks on Devon and Steiner followed up with a belly to belly overhead released suplex for another nearfall.

Right before Ray received the hot tag, Storm referred to him as “Bubba Ray.” Sheik Abdul Bashir and Kiyoshi approached the announce table. Beer Money fought them off to the back. Team 3D hit the 3D on Booker but Sharmell distracted the referee. The British Invasion then hit the ring and Brutus Magnus hit Brother Ray with the briefcase, draped Booker over him, allowing the Mafia to get the win... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Could they please book matches that did not make the referees look like completely dumbasses? Geez, a freaking butterfly would distract the referee enough to where he would not make the three count. Nonetheless, a pretty fun match that showed the depth of the tag team division.

By the way, has anyone seen those commercials where the Miller High Life delivery guy goes to places he doesn’t belong and takes their High Life away from the people drinking it? Tell you what, if that guy came and tried to take my beer, he wouldn’t be walking anywhere anymore...

5. Black Machismo vs. Jethro Holliday never got underway: Holliday waited in the ring but Abyss beat the crap out of Lethal backstage. Abyss came to the ring and laid out Jethro. He then grabbed the microphone and told Dr. Stevie he was no longer in need of his treatment. He said he was going to snap Stevie like a twig...

Backstage or somewhere, Stevie abducted Abyss. He said he treated Abyss for ten years, so I guess he was with him during his ECW and WWF Right to Censor days. He called Lauren a worthless piece of meat. He said Abyss would come to his office for treatment and if he didn’t, he would do something to Lauren... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Ugh. I don’t know, maybe bring a cop with you to your appointment Abyss? I’ll tell you what, Lauren has a damn good case for filing a report for working in a hostile work environment.

[Q7] The World Heavyweight Championship graphic was shown on the screen. Wow, they are getting a lot of television time tonight. Jeff Jarrett came out to the ring and don’t ask me why I noticed this, but his gear is silver and blue, but the gear he laid out earlier was silver and gold.

6. Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe defeated Jeff Jarrett and A.J. Styles to retain Angle’s TNA World Heavyweight Championship in 12:49 Angle and Joe came out to the Mafia’s music, which I like, but Joe is not wearing any Mafia related apparel... [C]

Jeremy Borash handled the in ring introductions. The question I have is this: JB gave what each wrestler “weighed in at this morning.” If Jarrett made the match during the show tonight, why would they have been weighed this morning?

Jarrett and Angle started the match together. Jarrett went for the Stroke right away and was not able to hit it. Angle went for the ankle lock and was unsuccessful. They had a face off and the fans cheered in appreciation for the early fast pace.

[Q8] West made his second funny remark of the show by wondering how many monikers Jarrett could possibly have. Styles and Joe tagged in. Joe hit a sweet leg sweep but Styles followed up with an impressive leapfrog and dropkick. The show went to commercial as the babyface team had the advantage... [C]

Back from commercial, Joe and Angle worked over the leg of Styles. Jarrett was very cheerleader like on the apron. Styles tried to make the tag but Joe knocked Jarrett off the apron. Styles had nobody to tag. Styles hit an inverted DDT on Joe and a DDT on Angle at the same time. Nice spot. Jarrett tried to pull himself to the apron.

Joe applied the rear naked choke, but A.J. fought out and hit the Pele. Jarrett tagged in hit a Pedigree (really!?!?) on Angle for a two count. Jarrett scored a two count after countering an Angle Slam into a DDT. Styles hit a springboard forearm but the referee was hit too. Jarrett hit a middle rope Stroke on Angle but there was no referee to count.

Jarrett grabbed his guitar but before he could use it, Slick Johnson grabbed it from him. Angle applied the ankle lock and Styles reached for a tag. Joe pulled Styles from the apron and Angle reapplied the move. West said, “Jarrett, you better tap now or you’ll do further damage to the hamstring.” Yes, the dreaded ankle lock doing damage to the hamstring.

Styles was not able to get back into the bout and Jarrett refused to give up. However, he passed out and after three arm drops, the referee awarded the match to Angle and Joe. The Mafia came out to celebrate. Styles ran off the Mafia with the Legends’ belt. Joe realized it’s only a freaking belt and came in to take out Styles. The Mafia joined him.

Backstage, Matt Morgan was beating up Daniels. In the ring, as Nash was about to hit Styles with the belt, the lights went off. Suicide is here! Just kidding; Sting appeared in the ring and took everyone out with his baseball bat. He held up Angle’s title. The lights went out again and Sting was gone...

Twill’s Two Cents: I hate the baseball bat, or Triple H’s sledgehammer as weapons because it cannot be used properly (if they were swung as they should be, somebody would be killed). Nonetheless, that was a hot final angle which followed a solid main event. There is a lot going on in TNA right now and the pay-per-view is shaping up nicely.

What did you think of the show? Let me know by shooting an email to dotnetrich@gmail.com.