By Jason Powell

TNA Impact on Spike TV
Taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

The show opened with a video that focussed on the Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle feud. The footage included Angle talking about his desire for another shot at Jarrett. The video also showed footage of Mr. Anderson defeating Matt Morgan and then beating Jeff Hardy to win the TNA Title. The other title changes were also acknowledged.

Footage was shown of Mr. Anderson backstage after his TNA Title win. He said he's waited 12 years to win the World Title. He also complained about Jeff Hardy's version of the TNA Title belt. He said it's not the real title belt... The show is called "The One That Got Away"... A shot aired of Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett arriving at the building...

Mr. Anderson headed to the ring with Hardy's version of the TNA Title. Mike Tenay and Taz checked in. Taz assumed that Dixie Carter is ecstatic that Immortal no longer has the TNA Title. Anderson spoke about working six and a half years on the indy scene to get a job with a major company.

Anderson said he got a job "over there" in reference to WWE. There were some boos. He said he had a rocket put up his ass and was on his way to becoming a World Champion. Anderson impersonated Triple H while saying that a little birdie got in the boss's ear. He said he was told how to walk and talk. He said he was told he couldn't even chew gum on his way to the ring.

Anderson recalled getting a phone call from Eric Bischoff, who told him that they were going to let him be himself. Anderson mentioned Dixie Carter, Vince Russo, and others for letting him be the asshole that he is today. He said he could have done it without the fans, but he said he wanted to thank his assholes.

Matt Morgan was the last person Anderson wanted to thank, so he called him out. Morgan came out dressed in his ring gear. There was some tension between Anderson and Morgan. Andeson said they haven't always seen eye to eye, but Morgan stepped up when he needed him most. "Thanks, pal."

Morgan said the only reason Anderson is wearing the TNA Title is that Morgan let himself down on Sunday. Morgan said Anderson respects him and he respects Anderson after their long battle. Morgan said he's busted his tail not just to be a good pro wrestler, but to be the best giant of all-time. He said he can't make that claim without the TNA Title.

Morgan said he is coming for the TNA Title and declared 2011 as the "Year of the Blueprint." Morgan said it's not about him tonight. He said this is Anderson's party and his night. Morgan congratulated Anderson and said he's won every ounce of the title. Morgan offered his hand and Anderson shook it...

Powell's POV: Good opening segment with Anderson putting over how hard he's worked for the TNA Title, and Anderson and Morgan endorsing one another. Wait, it's not finished.

After Morgan left the ring and made it backstage, Eric Bischoff's music played. Bischoff asked who in the hell Anderson thinks he is. Bischoff said no one cares about Anderson's backstory. Bischoff said the only thing Anderson got right in his promo is that the only reason he's in TNA is because of of himself, Hulk Hogan, and Ric Flair.

Bischoff said they are finished with Anderson. He told him to mark the date February 3 on his calendar. Bischoff said Jeff Hardy will get his rematch and will get his title back. He said Hogan will get out from under the legal bullshit (censored) and everything will be right with the world.

Anderson asked if Bischoff had anything else to say. He backed him in the corner. Jeff Hardy appeared on the big screen and said Anderson was not the better man. He said the family simply made a mistake. He said the TNA Title will be his on February 3. Rob Van Dam attacked Jeff and roughed him up until Matt Hardy ran onto the interview set and attacked Van Dam.

[Q2] Anderson ran backstage to help Van Dam. Abyss, Rob Terry, Beer Money, Kazarian, A.J. Styles, and Ric Flair showed up. The Immortal crew beat up Anderson and Van Dam and left them lying... [C]

Powell's POV: Uneventful Impact debut moment for Matt Hardy through no fault of his own. I thought they would have saved his first appearance for something a little more meaningful rather than just have him save his brother out of nowhere.

The announcers hyped The Hardys vs. Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam as the main event... Backstage, Jeff Jarrett asked Karen if she's ready. She said she's been sitting home for two years and has never been more ready for anything in her life...

1. Beer Money defeated The Motor City Machine Guns in 7:40 to retain the TNA Tag Titles. A cameraman caught The Guns before they made their entrance and they cut a short, serious promo. The announcers said we were going to get several straight weeks of TNA Genesis rematches. Kazarian will face Jay Lethal next week, Abyss will defend against Douglas Williams the next week, and then Anderson vs. Hardy on February 3.

[Q3] The Guns set up a foot stomp off the ropes on James Storm for a good near fall. Storm came up bleeding at 5:40. In the end, Beer Money hit their DWI finisher on Alex Shelley to get the clean pin...

A shot aired of Kurt Angle arriving. Tenay said it wouldn't take long for Angle to receive word that his ex-wife was in the building... [C]

Powell's POV: The match lacked the they type of energy you'd expect those two teams to generate. It was a decent match, but the live crowd didn't get as fired up as you'd expect, and Taz was a little to lighthearted for a tag title match. I'm surprised they went right to that rematch. As I've been saying, if you're going to have a TNA Tag Title match on television, then push it as the main event of the show or at least make it feel special.

Backstage, Anderson and RVD found weapons for their match against The Hardys... D'Angelo Dinero came to the ring. Pope said he forgives Samoa Joe for what he's done to him by following him around. Pope asked if Joe would be as forgiving if Pope followed him around during his free time.

Pope said he followed Joe and his wife around. He directed viewers to the "Dixie Tron" where an image showed two pigs getting it on. Pope showed another video and teased that it was Joe's wife feeding their children. Rather, it was a piglets feeding from their mother.

Samoa Joe's music played and he came to the ring in street clothes. Pope ducked out to ringside. Joe said Pope is a phony, a fraud, and a pretender. Joe promised that when Pope least suspects it, he will get his hands on him. "And rest assured, daddy, Joe is gonna kill you," Joe concluded...

Powell's POV: This feud is flat. I can't blame the wrestlers much for this issue because the story that Joe followed Pope around with a camera is strange. I don't think the fans know which wrestler to cheer for yet.

Backstage, Anderson and RVD entered the Beer Money dressing room and brought their weapons with them. They shut the door behind them and a bunch of commotion could be heard. Anderson and RVD emerged from the room and said they were gong to look for the Hardys...

[Q4] The announcers teased other events for later in the show... [C] Backstage, Bischoff told Flair and Styles that Hogan is pissed that Anderson has the title. Styles said he wanted to soften him up, but Flair told him he needs to let his injury heal. They entered the Immortal locker room and found Beer Money and the carnage left by RVD and Anderson. Flair said that if it's a war they want, they got it...

A video package recapped the Angle and Jarrett drama... Backstage, Jarrett cut a promo in which he boasted about his MMA exhibition match with Angle while Karen stood by his side. Jarrett said he's going to the ring to hang up his MMA boots just as he said he would.

Jarrett asked Karen not to lose her temper. She said she would not and kissed him. Jarrett looked nervous as she led the way. In another part of the backstage area, Kurt said that his ex-wife is in the building and they have some catching up to do... [C]

Jeff Jarrett and his MMA team made their entrance. Tenay explained to viewers that Kurt Angle dominated Jarrett at the pay-per-view.

[Q5] Jarrett entered the ring with his posse and delivered a short MMA retirement speech. He said that behind every man there's a great woman. He introduced "Mrs. Karen Jarrett." Her name received a smattering of boos. However, Karen didn't come out. Rather, Kurt Angle's music played.

Angle walked to the ring. Angle sent his MMA posse after Angle. Kurt disposed of them one-by-one until he was in the ring alone with Jarrett, who backed into a corner. Karen came out and got Kurt's attention on the stage, which allowed Jeff to leave the ring. Karen yelled at Kurt.

Karen said the fans would hear her side of the story next week. She said it would be a night that Kurt would never forget. Kurt remained stone faced in the ring while Jarrett's music played... Tenay hyped that The Hardys had not teamed in three years, but would do so tonight... [C]

Powell's POV: Angry Karen is hard to understand. She's a good performer and did fine once she stopped screaming. I don't really understand why she didn't tell her story on the spot, though. As for The Hardys, their first tag match together in three years should feel a lot more special than it does. It reminds me a lot of Ric Flair's debut match in TNA not feeling nearly as important as it should have.

Backstage, Angle was shown throwing around various objects in a fit of rage... Ring entrances for the Knockouts tag match took place. Before the tag champs were introduced, Velvet was complaining to Angelina about her winning the tag titles without her. Angelina said every time she turns around Winter is there. Winter showed up and pulled Angelina by the hand...

2. Angelina Love and Winter defeated Madison Rayne and Tara to retain the TNA Knockouts Tag Titles in 3:05.

[Q6] Madison tried to load the black glove early in the match, but Mickie James ran out and attacked he. Late in the match, Love tagged in Winter, who went nuts on Tara. Winter choked out Tara for the win as Love looked on uncomfortably...

Powell's POV: The match was totally forgettable and Winter's choke on Tara left plenty to be desired, but Love did a nice job of selling how uncomfortable Winter's aggressiveness made her.

Backstage, Matt Hardy said that if Anderson and RVD want the Hardys, they're going to get them. He said they have a new mindset and they know that the business is about making money, stepping on people, and taking what you want. Jeff said they are brothers, whereas RVD and Anderson are just two guys. Matt said their bloodline is immortal... [C]

Powell's POV A solid promo from both Hardys that established their mindset and showed they are on the same page.

3. Matt Morgan defeated Abyss (w/Ric Flair) in a non-title match in 3:15. Morgan was going for the Carbon Footprint early on, but Flair reached in and grabbed his leg. Abyss used the distraction to attack Morgan and go on the offensive. Morgan ended up hitting the Carbon Footprint. Flair tried to pull the ref from the ring, but the ref fought him off and counted the pin for Morgan.

After the match, Rob Terry came out and joined Abyss in attacking Morgan. Morgan was holding his own until Flair low-blowed him from behind. The wannabe NWO music played as Flair waggled his tongue at ringside... The announcers hyped the main event...

Powell's POV: Morgan needed the win. They've been giving him a big push on television, but he came up short in his matches with Jeff Hardy, and now he lost to Anderson at Genesis. They are doing a good job of hyping the main event consistently throughout the show. That's one they should have hyped online as well, but the match was set up during the show, so apparently they are worried about trying to give the impression that the show is live.

[Q7] [C] An anti-bullying ad aired. It concluded with Mr. Twist of Hate Jeff Hardy telling viewers to eliminate the hate...

Powell's POV: They don't want to let people know the show is taped, but they're having heels cut character breaking PSA spots?

Backstage, Red's little brother was choking out Abyss. He told him to go tell Immortal that "they are coming" on February 3... At ringside, Taz said we're once again wondering who "They" are. Taz said we'll find out on February 3...

Abyss entered the Immortal locker room and tried to talk to Eric Bischoff, but he was busy addressing the Immortal troops. Bischoff hyped his crew on February 3, and build up tonight's main event. Abyss told Bischoff that someone grabbed him and said they are coming. Bischoff and Flair didn't look too concerned...

Powell's POV: I've said all along that I had a bad feeling Sting and Kevin Nash would return and be cast as the saviors that help Dixie Carter get her company back. I don't know whether that's the plan, but I hope it's not. There is one of their former running buddies who appeared at the taping for January 27, but I will spare you the spoilers.

Anderson and Van Dam made their entrances for the main event... [C] The Hardys came out to Jeff's theme. The babyfaces met them on the stage and the brawl began. Anderson had a bloody forehead from the attack earlier...

4. Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy defeated Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam in 13:35. The match officially started once the teams were in the ring. There were crowd chants for both teams.

[Q8] Taz said Matt told him he was punished while he was with "the other company" because his brother left. Taz said Matt told him that he got tired of doing the right thing and he's now about himself. At 4:00, Matt missed a moonsault on Van Dam, who followed up with a split-legged moonsault attempt. However, Jeff pulled Matt to ringside. RVD dove onto both brothers at ringside. [C]

Anderson got the better of Jeff after the break and went for a pin, but Matt broke it up. Anderson charged at Matt and accidentally bumped the referee. Anderson hit the Mic Check on Matt. With the babyfaces in control, Beer Money hit the ring to help their Immortal running mates.

Beer Money roughed up Anderson in the ring and then Storm superkicked RVD on the floor. Matt flexed his biceps in the ring. Funny. Matt hit the Twist of Hate on Andeson, and then Jeff followed up with a Swanton. Jeff pinned Anderson to win the match for The Hardys.

After the match, Rob Terry, Styles, Kazarian, and Abyss hit the ring. Immortal worked over RVD and Anderson in the ring while Bischoff walked onto the stage to watch. The wannabe NWO music played as the beatdown continued and Bischoff applauded on the stage. The heels mugged in the ring to close the show...

Powell's POV: Where the hell are all of the babyfaces? Seriously, why didn't Morgan, The Guns, Doug Williams, Jay Lethal, or anyone else who has been feuding with Immortal run out to make the save or even to get their hands on Bischoff since he was left vulnerable?

Overall, it was a talk-heavy show with a lengthy main event. There was a lot to talk about coming out of Genesis, so I didn't mind most of the talking. Matt Hardy looked better tonight than he did at Genesis, and the main event was entertaining. Unfortunately, I don't think they got everything they should have out of The Hardys reuniting for the first time in three years. However, I do like they way they are building toward and hyping the hell out of the February 3 show. I'll have more to say about the show in Friday's TNA Impact Hitlist.

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