By Jason Powell

TNA Impact on Spike TV
Live from Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

[Q1] The show opened with a good video that recapped last week's show... The show is called "Hogan/Sting - The Summit"...

Inside a limo, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were talking about a plane touching down shortly. Hogan said Flair is going to jump off a cliff when he finds out. Hogan said he plans to call out Sting to find out what's behind his attitude change. "Hold on for the ride," Hogan said... The opening video was shown...

Powell's POV: Don't forget that you can also follow along with Joe Mathieson's coverage of the ROH on HDNet show right now on the main page. My guess is that no one is happier than ROH officials that TNA is going back to Thursday nights.

Mike Tenay and Taz introduced the show and welcomed viewers to the live edition of Impact. Tenay said that Dixie Carter listened to the fans and they are moving the show back to Thursday nights beginning May 13. Tenay also hyped that Spike TV has picked up the "TNA Reaction" television show. Taz put over the news and said he can't wait for "TNA Thursdays."

Powell's POV: No surprise to anyone who has been reading the site today. We broke the news regarding the move back to Thursdays, the TNA Reaction show being picked up, and the "TNA Thursdays" billing. TNA will need to really drive home those announcements throughout the show since they didn't have Dixie Carter or any of the major players deliver the news in the ring. By the way, you can't blame TNA for putting a positive spin on the situation.

The announcers shifted their focus to the Sting and Hulk Hogan situation. Taz said Sting pulled him aside and told him that he would break his silence...

Ric Flair's entrance music interrupted the announcers. However, Jay Lethal walked onto the stage wearing a suit as Flair's video wall was shown behind him. "That's definitely not the Nature Boy," Taz said. Lethal appeared to be wearing Flair's WWE Hall of Fame ring, and he strutted down the stage.

Once in the ring, Lethal continued with his Flair impersonation and delivered all of Flair's catchphrases. The live crowd ate it up. The real Ric Flair came to the ring to confront Lethal, who continued to do his impersonation. Flair told Lethal that in the world he wants to make his living in, he's standing in front of God.

Lethal leaned in and said he wasn't trying to disrespect him. Flair said he was and then stomped on Lethal's shades. Lethal apologized and said he wasn't trying to disrespect him. He even handed Flair the Hall of Fame ring back. He said he's always wanted to be the Nature Boy even if it was for only two minutes.

Lethal said Flair is the man. He said this is the greatest moment in his life. Lethal said there's a beautiful woman watching the show in New Jersey with a tear in her eye because she knows that her son is standing in the ring with Flair. Ric remained stone faced and then thanked Lethal for giving him back "his most prized possession."

Flair said that doesn't dig Lethal out of the hole he's in. Flair slapped Lethal across the face and then removed his own shirt. Flair slapped him again and said, "I am Ric Flair, I am wrestling," Flair said. He slapped Lethal again. Lethal finally slapped Flair back. They jockeyed for position in the corner, where Lethal chopped and then backdropped Flair.

Lethal applied the figure four on Flair in the middle of the ring. A.J. Styles, Beer Money, and Desmond Wolfe hit the ring and put the boots to Lethal. They removed their belts and whipped Lethal, who the announcers were still calling Black Machismo. Abyss ran out for the save, but was eventually outnumbered by the heels. Team 3D ran out and joined the fight.

[Q2] Rob Van Dam's music played and he headed to the ring to a big pop. Van Dam brought a chair to the ring with him and the heels fled.

Powell's POV: Flair was tremendous. Lethal's impersonation was good, but Flair made the segment by remaining stone faced and then cutting the scathing promo on Lethal. I really hope this leads to Lethal abandoning the Black Machismo gimmick and becoming his own man.

Inside the limo, Hogan and Bischoff were talking when Hogan received a text. He said he told "him to show that thing off, not show it to the world." They told the limo driver to turn around... [C]

Powell's POV: I sure hope they were talking about Lethal and not Orlando Jordan!

An ad aired for the new Jeff Hardy t-shirt. Better sell those while they can just to be on the safe side... The announcers recapped the previous segment and said there was still a lot of tension.

Flair and the heels were standing on the stage. RVD told them that instead of beating up "Macho Dude," the "Four Horse's Asses" should come to the ring for a fair fight. Flair accepted the invitation. The heels headed back to the ring. The babyfaces dominated the battle. Flair fought Lethal, Van Dam fought with Wolfe, Styles brawled with Abyss, and Team 3D brawled with Beer Money.

The wrestlers were still brawling when Hulk Hogan's entrance music played. Hogan walked onto the stage. Robert Roode tried to hit him, but Hogan blocked the punch and knocked him down with a punch of his own. Rinse and repeat with Wolfe. Once Hogan was in the ring he punched STorm and Styles. Hogan and Flair squared off. Hulk got the better of the fight and cleared Flair from the ring... [C]

Powell's POV: Super Hulk! I would have been fine with Hogan getting the better of Flair in this case, but did he really need to punch out all the other heels? By the way, Jason Sensation is probably out there somewhere saying to Lethal, "Impersonations will only get you so far in pro wrestling."

After the break, the brawl was finally concluding with the babyfaces remaining in the ring. Hogan announced RVD vs. Wolfe for the TNA Title, Styles vs. Abyss in a Monster's Ball match, and Beer Money vs. Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns in a three-way...

Powell's POV: Good mic work by Hogan, who did a nice job of playing to the fans by talking about how they want action and he's going to give it to them.

[Q3] A shot aired of Sting hanging out in the rafters as the announcers hyped the Hogan and Sting confrontation for later... [C]

Backstage, The Beautiful People were in the makeup room. Lacey Von Erich said her back is killing her. It turns out she's been sleeping with the TNA Tag Title belt around her waist because she thought they weren't supposed to take the belts off. Cute.

They hyped match for later in the show. Madison said the belts are staying right where they are. "See, I told you we're not supposed to take them off," Lacey said. She petted the hair of her partners and rolled her eyes like they were the dumb ones. Funny...

Douglas Williams, who was wearing the X Division Title belt he was stripped of, and Brian Kendrick were in the ring. Williams got some mic time to complain about being stripped of the title. He also complained that he was stuck teaming with Kendrick. Williams said Kazarian will have to beat him to take the title at Sacrifice...

1. Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore defeated Douglas Williams and Brian Kendrick in 3:05. The announcers said Hulk Hogan will be choosing the tag team partner of Matt Morgan for his title defenses going forward. Taz complained about Williams being stripped of the title. Morgan joined in on commentary and said "we will do what we want, when we want."

Tenay said Morgan and a partner of Hogan's choosing will defend the tag titles against Moore and Neal. "Well, whoopty freaking do," Morgan responded. Funny. Morgan said Hogan had seven days to announce who his partner will be. Morgan left the broadcast table.

Meanwhile, Moore was getting the better of Kendrick in the ring, as Williams was on the floor acting disinterested in the match. Moore hit "Mooregasm" and Neal followed up with a move on Kendrick to get the win.

After the match, the heels bickered. Samoa Joe came out and attacked Williams on the ramp. Kendrick patted Joe and it looked like Joe was going to walk away, but he turned and kicked Kendrick. Joe brought Kendrick to the ring and hit him with a Muscle Buster. Joe picked up the mic and teased talking, but then dropped the mic...

Powell's POV: There was too much crammed into that segment. I'm not crazy about Moore and Neal, but maybe they'll grow on me. Overall, it feels like the show is living up to its name with all the action so far. There's only been one match, but the brawl certainly qualifies as action. The announcers are doing a really nice job of keeping everything straight thus far.

[Q4] [C] A graphic and narrator hyped upcoming house shows and plugged that Don West would be at the shows with deals that can only be had in person...

Backstage, Flair hyped up his troops. He was tough on Styles and even tougher on Beer Money. He threw Storm's beer aside and said, "Don't talk about it, do it." Flair told Wolfe that he hopes he's giving more to Chelsea than he's giving him. Flair slammed the door shut...

The documentary style camera focussed on Hulk Hogan backstage talking about Sting. He questioned why Sting has turned. He brought up Sting putting his hands on Dixie Carter. Hogan said he wants answers...

Powell's POV: The documentary camera is cool, but it would have been nice if they had inserted footage of Sting putting his hands on Dixie Carter when he mentioned that. Talking about it is one thing, but that's something that can be drove home nicely with Hogan talking about it as the footage aired.

The announcers hyped the upcoming matches. They got word that something was going on backstage. They cut to the back where Mr. Anderson was dressed in religious attire (it actually looked like a dress at first, but it turned out to be a robe) and was roughing up D'Angelo Dinero. Anderson left him lying and then put his shades on and made a chanting sound... [C]

Anderson came to the ring wearing the religious garb with Pope's shades on. Taz said it looked like an "alter boy uniform" and intentionally stumbled over his words while explaining the outfit. Funny. Once in the ring, Anderson's mic was lowered to him for his promo.

Anderson told the members of "the congregation" not to judge him or his attire. Anderson delivered his promo like an over the top preacher (just two notches up from the usual John Cena preacher promo). Anderson said he won't go to heaven, but instead will go to hell.

[Q5] Jeff Hardy came out in street clothes at the top of the hour and confronted Anderson in the ring. Hardy said Pope's Congregation and the "creatures of the night" are one in the same. He said it's obvious that Pope won't be able to compete tonight or at Sacrifice because of Anderson, who laughed and insincerely expressed remorse.

Hardy said he needs a match at Sacrifice and wants it to be against Anderson. "You challenging me?" Anderson responded. Anderson questioned whether Hardy thought he would pass on the match, which he ended up doing. Anderson claimed he was busy that night.

Anderson tried to take a cheap shot at Hardy, who ducked and took him out with a Twist of Fate. Hardy ripped off Anderson's outfit, revealing a pair of ridiculously tight black trunks that read, "Talk into" on the back and "The Mic" on the front. Hardy moved Anderson's mouth while pretending that Anderson was accepting the challenge for Sacrifice... [C]

Powell's POV: I enjoy Anderson's act way more often than not, but this was a little too out there. Anderson and Hardy failed to get me excited about seeing their match. I guess this means TNA is confident that Hardy will be available despite his legal issues. For those who missed it this morning, Hardy is scheduled to be back in court on May 10. I suppose it's possible the case will be delayed again. TNA has a lot of advertised matches to get through in the next hour.

2. The Beautiful People defeated Tara, Taylor Wilde, and Sarita to retain the TNA Knockouts and TNA Tag Titles in 2:50. Tara, who is on her way out of the company, spat at Sarita for no reason during the opening minute. Later, Tara punched Sarita and then bickered with Taylor before taking a shot at her. Lacey and Velvet Sky hit a sloppy double DDT on Sarita for the win. "That was ugly," Taz said of the move...

Powell's POV: Both titles were on the line. If one of the Beautiful People had been pinned, they would have lost their respective title(s) to the person who pinned them. I don't know how they would determine who the tag champs would have been if it had played out that way, but they probably didn't think that far ahead. I always get a kick out of the way Taz lets viewers know what he's really thinking. He won't bury the company, but he maintains his credibility by sneaking in lines here and there. By the way, can we never have Lacey involved in giving or taking a DDT ever again?

The announcers hyped Styles vs. Abyss in a Monster's Ball match, and RVD vs. Wolfe for the TNA Title...

Powell's POV: I like the way they're hyping so many matches, but they really need to do a better job of making RVD's title defense feel special. It received the same level of hype as the Monster's Ball match. This is RVD's first televised title defense and that should be a major focus of the hype.

[Q6] [C] Backstage, Christy Hemme interviewed Tara, who was holding her stupid spider. She said she doesn't get respect from anyone. She challenged Madison Rayne to a shot at the TNA Knockouts Title at the pay-per-view. Val asked her about the ranking system. Tara upped the ante by saying she'd put her own career on the line in exchange for a shot at the title...

Powell's POV: For those keeping score at home, the Sacrifice pay-per-view is May 16, which is five days before Tara's TNA contract expires.

3. Beer Money vs. The Motor City Machine Guns vs. Team 3D in a three-way tag match. Team 3D hit the "Whassup" spot on Beer Money late in the match when Scott Hall and Kevin Nash hit the ring and attacked Brother Ray and Devon. Eric Young came out with a kendo stick. He teased hitting Hall and Nash, but predictably attacked Team 3D instead.

Young did the Wolfpac sign with Hall and Nash. The Guns attacked The Band, but Beer Money cut them off. The Band and Beer Money celebrated in the ring while the babyfaces lied in the ring... [C]

Powell's POV: Eric Young has to lead all of pro wrestling when it comes to the number of turns his character has had over the last year. I knew the moment he came out that he'd be turning, but the live crowd seemed surprised by the development. It makes sense on paper simply because Sean Waltman is out of action, and Hall and Nash need someone to take the bumps.

After the break, the ring announcer introduced Orlando Jordan's "O-Zone" talk show. Jordan was lying on a couch while a masked man was doing a handstand on a twisting ball behind him. Jordan introduced his first guest, Rob Terry. It turned out to be a cardboard cutout of Terry. They cut to a shot of the expressionless announcers. Taz flashed a smile.

[Q7] Jordan raved about Terry's body. You know, because why wouldn't you draw even more attention to how jacked up the guy is? Jordan asked the cutout who he fantasizes about and then said, "I'm honored." The real Terry showed up and shoved Jordan onto the couch. He tore up the cutout and said, "Don't make me come back."

Terry mugged to the crowd while holding up the little red toy belt that no one cares about. Jordan took a shot at Terry from behind and then choked him with a chain. He picked up a big decorative piece of his set and dropped it on Terry, who was left lying with an abrasion on his elbow...

The announcers spoke briefly about the segment. Taz said he knew it would be different, but he didn't expect Jordan to bring the violence...

Powell's POV: Bad segment. Jordan doesn't have real heat, and Terry isn't over. Terry looked like a total goof for playing to the crowd and then being attacked from behind.

4. A.J. Styles defeated Abyss in a Monster's Ball match in 4:10. The announcers explained that there are no countouts or disqualifications in a Monster's Ball match. Abyss took the advantage at 3:30 and spread thumbtacks in the middle of the ring. Flair dragged a trench coat wearing Chelsea to the ring and told her to take it off.

Abyss showed concern for Chelsea. Styles struck Abyss from behind with a chair to the back of the head (WTF?). Moments later, Flair tossed Styles the brass knuckles, which he struck Abyss with. Styles followed up with a springboard cross body that drove Abyss onto the tacks.

Styles got the pin and was holding his hand in pain after presumably landing on a tack. Afterward, Chelsea opened her coat to reveal she was wearing a dress. It was all just a big ruse that everyone in the world not named Abyss saw coming a mile away... [C]

Powell's POV: That was really corny. Does every match need a run-in? Sadly, they seem to in TNA more often than not if the heel is going over.

After the break, Tenay said TNA listens to its fans and is giving Wolfe the title shot because of their votes... Ring introductions for the title match took place...

Powell's POV: I'm really disappointed in the lack of buildup to this match. They did nothing to build up Wolfe as a credible challenger, nor have they made it feel like it's a special thing to see RVD's first televised TNA Title defense. Going into the match, it feels like it's RVD taking on a mid-card guy in a throwaway match simply because they've dropped the ball on Wolfe.

[Q8] 5. Rob Van Dam pinned Desmond Wolfe to retain the TNA Title in 3:00. Tenay wisely pointed out that the Hogan and Sting confrontation was still to come. Van Dam hit his signature spots early and was super over with the live crowd. Van Dam hit the Five Star Frogsplash and scored the clean pin.

After the match, A.J. Styles attacked Van Dam with a forearm shot off the top rope. Styles stood over the fallen champion and said he was going to invoke his rematch clause, presumably at the pay-per-view...

The documentary camera showed Hulk Hogan standing over a groaning Jeff Jarrett, who said Sting had just "knocked the hell out of me." Hogan called for help and the show cut to commercial... [C]

Powell's POV: The title match was good for RVD and horrible for Wolfe, who looked like a jobber. I wish TNA would be more selective with when the documentary style camera is used. It felt unnecessary in that spot with Jarrett and Hogan. Save it for when it can make the most impact (no pun intended) or it won't feel special.

Hulk Hogan came to the ring. As he was making his entrance, the announcers noted that his issues with Sting date back over 10 years to when both men were in WCW. Hogan said he came to TNA for nonstop action, a ton of talent, and running wide open. He said that when he spoke about change in TNA, the guy he was counting on the most to be the leader in TNA is the person who changed.

Hogan said it was time to find out what was real and what was not real. Sting came to the ring and had a staredown with Hogan. Hulk said Sting can fool some of the people some of the time, but Hulk said he knows who Sting is and what he's all about. He then asked him what's up with the change and what makes him tick.

Sting said TNA and total nonstop action is what makes him tick. The crowd cheered. Sting said his agenda hasn't changed in the five years he's been with the company. He said he wants to give back to the pro wrestling business and the company he loves so much.

Sting said that when Hogan was in "the WWF" he had a veil of protection over him the entire time. Sting said Hogan had the same veil in WCW. "This is TNA and you don't have protection, Hulkster," Sting said.

Hogan said it sounds like it's all about him and Sting. Hogan said Sting has blood on his hands. He said Sting left Jeff Jarrett lying in the back and asked if that's what makes him tick. Sting laughed maniacally and said Hogan is one of the best chess players of all time. "You want to play games, it's you're move, Hulkster," Sting said.

Hogan told Sting to try to do to him what he's been doing to everyone else. Sting pointed his bat at Hogan. "Take your best shot, brother," Hogan said. Sting dropped the bat. Jeff Jarrett came to the ring and picked up the bat. Jarrett attacked Sting with the bat. Hogan held Jarrett back to close the show. Tenay closed the show by saying they'd see viewers on May 13 when Impact moves to Thursday...

Powell's POV: WTF was that? I seriously have no clue what the point of that segment was. Sting gave no answers and came off like a babyface when he was talking about the company, and both guys sounded like they were talking gibberish at different times during the verbal exchange. A lousy way to close the show. Given how short the RVD match was, I wonder if they were running short on time tonight. For those keeping track at home, there was not an overrun.

I'll have much more to say about the show and TNA Impact moving back to Monday nights in Dot Net Members' audio later tonight. Plus, Rich Twilling will post his audio review of tonight's WWE Raw show exclusively for Dot Net Members. You can access all Dot Net Audio and all the perks of membership at the charter rate of just $5 per month via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

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