TNA TV Reports 1/3 TNA Impact Review: Gauntlet Matches Determine New No. 1 Contenders By Jason Powell Jan 3, 2008 - 10:06 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing [Q1] Jeremy Borash ventured out to A.J. Styles’ grandparent’s house to get the answer that was supposed to be delivered. Styles refused to answer the door even though his son knocked for Borash, who vowed that he would not leave until he got an answer. A male member of AJ’s family acted like a yokel when he found out he was on television. Jim Cornette and Matt Morgan stood in the ring. Corny hyped the fact that there would be four gauntlet matches on one television show for the first time in history. That had to kill him. Samoa Joe interrupted and took a jab at Scott Hall by referring to him as “The Phantom of TNA.” He complained about Cornette granting Hall and Nash a tag title match. Nash walked out and said, “Scott Hall has more problems in an hour than you’ll have in a lifetime. You don’t have the right to run your mouth about Scott Hall.” Joe said Nash had to move aside or be pushed aside, which led to a staredown. Corny stepped in and said Hall has other plans and won’t be at Final Resolution, so Joe and Nash will team and challenge for the titles at the pay-per-view. Why tease Hall in the first place? Powell’s Take: A solid, yet unspectacular, verbal exchange between Joe and Nash. Cornette’s decision to team them was odd. More often than not, he is portrayed as a general manager who is at the end of his rope and frustrated with the wrestlers. It would be nice if he seemed more in control and less flustered by the wrestlers and less concerned about what management thinks. Robert Roode told Ms. Brooks that they are teaming up for a mixed tag match against Booker and Sharmell in the pay-per-view. More browbeating from Roode and more Miss Elizabeth-like pouting from Brooks. Same old. Same old. [Q2] [Commercial break] Crystal the interview girl flipped out and bolted on Team 3D because of the way they mocked her. They cut their usual promo. Devon got offended when Johnny Devine compared him to King Kong. PWTorch.com columnist Bruce “Silverback” Mitchell must have loved that. The James Gang interrupted. 3D insulted Kip’s trunks. Powell’s Take: It’s about time someone mocked those Torrie Wilson specials that Kip has been wearing for a while now. Ugh. 1. The Motor City Machine Guns won a tag team gauntlet match to become No. 1 contenders for the TNA Tag Titles. The other teams were Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave; the James Gang; Team 3D, LAX. [Q3] After the match, Team 3D attacked the Guns. They placed their hands on a table and struck them with a single cane shot. Brother Ray bragged that they broke the Guns’ wrists. Powell’s Take: Will the Guns get their title shot before or after BG gets his? These gimmick match wins don’t mean much since Nash and Joe, who aren’t even a team, will get their title match before both of the teams that won the right to face Styles and Tomko. BTW, the matches supposedly determine each wrestler’s rankings in their respective divisions. I’d track them if I thought TNA would actually follow up on this. Kurt Angle and Karen were interviewed in a room backstage. Kurt stumbled over his words and said he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. After Kurt left, Karen told Crystal that she didn’t marry Kurt for his brains. [C] [Q4] Borash interviewed AJ’s third grade teacher, who said AJ was shy as a kid and had bad skin from eating chocolate. She pleaded with him (through his front door) to make a decision. 2. ODB won a gauntlet match to become No. 1 contender for the TNA Women’s Title. The other participants were, well, the same Knockouts who wrestle every week on Impact. Kong was out last and destroyed half of the women before the break. [C] Jackie Moore, Roxie, and ODB teamed up to eliminate Kong. ODB pinned Roxie with the Thesz Press. Powell’s Take These women will get stale quickly if TNA keeps booking them all against one another every week. It’s nice to get everyone on television, but it’s going to do the division more harm than good if they give away all of the matchups right away. [Q5] Crystal interviewed Tomko, who said he was going to call out Angle and demand the respect he deserves. This wasn’t the laid back, cool, Batista in Evolution type of Tomko we usually get. He lost his temper and vented about the way Angle and Christian treat him. [C] Tomko didn’t get the respect he was looking for. Angle tried to turn it around on him and asked whether he’s with or against him. Tomko said he wouldn’t take a bullet for Angle or Christian. “So what are you saying?” Angle hilariously asked. Tomko declared his independence. Angle said he doesn’t agree with the decision but he respects it. Kurt tried to sneak attack Tomko, but he was caught. Tomko grabbed Angle by the throat and then gave him a pass because of their history. Powell’s Take: This probably would have been more effective if Tomko finally stood up to Christian rather than Angle. Tomko has come a long way on the mic. Borash interviewed the wacky yokel, who turned out to be AJ’s high school wrestling coach. He told a story about AJ drinking urine. AJ popped his head out and disputed the story. More campy comedy. [C] [Q6] Borash interviewed Mary Jane, who said AJ was frisky in high school and noted that she once caught him in the bathroom... He interrupted and asked for a baloney sandwich and then slammed the door when she demanded to know whether he is siding with Angle or Christian. Crystal interviewed Black Machismo and Sonjay Dutt. More comedy. After the walked away, Christian stepped in and said he’s proud of Tomko for wanting to be his own man. He talked in a calm tone and said he wants to know where AJ stands. [C] 3. Petey Williams won a Gauntlet Match to become the No. 1 contender for the X Division Title. The other participants were Sonjay Dutt, Shark Boy, Elix Skipper, Johnny Devine, and Senshi. [Q7] The match came down to Senshi and Petey. “Maple Leaf Muscle” picked up the win after a couple of solid minutes of action with a Canadian Destroyer. Powell’s Take: This is what the X Division has become? Sure, there are some talented wrestlers in the bunch, but the emphasis is definitely on comedy gimmicks rather than in-ring action. Crystal interviewed James Storm and Jackie. Storm hyped that he and Eric Young will face off in another beer drinking contest at the pay-per-view. If that doesn’t sell you on the pay-per-view then nothing will! [C] Borash interviewed AJ’s clergyman. No Priest jokes. Instead, the clergyman was hard of hearing. AJ came out and the clergyman said, “That’s not AJ Snipes.” The Priest put his arm around Borash and asked, “Lad, do you need to confess?” Mike Tenay and Don West offered final hype for Final Resolution. Crystal interviewed Booker and Sharmell about their pay-per-view match. [C] Powell’s Take: Booker hasn’t even been in TNA for six months yet and he’s already being wasted in what is sure to be a forgettable mixed tag match. [Q8] 4. Booker T won a 14-man gauntlet match to become the No. 1 contender for the TNA Title. The other participants were Booker T, James Storm, Robert Roode, Eric Young, Rellik, Black Reign, Chris Harris, Eric Young, Kaz, Scott Steiner, Judas Mesias, Kevin Nash, Abyss, Samoa Joe, and Christian. Tenay told viewers that Booker requested to be the first wrestler in the ring because he wants to earn his title match. Guess who’s going to win. [C] Christian, the last man out, brawled with Angle at ringside. Inside the ring, it came down to Nash and Joe. In a gesture of friendship, Nash eliminated himself. However, Christian snuck into the ring and rolled up Joe for a quick three count to win the match. Weak. Powell’s Take: For the record, these are the TNA Title rankings (not that the announcers or anyone else bothered to mention them despite the fact that they initially hyped that the gauntlet matches would determine the rankings for the new year): 1. Christian. 2. Samoa Joe. 3. Kevin Nash. 4. Black Reign. 5. Rellik. 6. Booker T. 7. Abyss. 8. Judas Mesias. 9. Eric Young. 10. Scott Steiner. 11. Kaz. 12. Chris Harris. 13. Robert Roode. 14. James Storm. Be sure to write those down because they’ll never be mentioned again. BOOKMARK DOT NET AND ADD US TO YOUR RSS • HELP DOT NET: TAKE OUR ADVERTISER DEMO SURVEY CLICK TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY TNA TV Reports Latest Twelve Articles 9/4 Twilling's TNA Impact Live Coverage: A.J. 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