1/20 Powell's TNA Impact Live Coverage: Beer Money vs. Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam, the build toward the big February 3 show continues


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TNA TV Reports


1/20 Powell's TNA Impact Live Coverage: Beer Money vs. Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam, the build toward the big February 3 show continues
Jan 20, 2011 - 10:00 PM


By Jason Powell

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


The show opened with a recap video that focussed on the Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, and Karen Jarrett drama... The show is called "Dirty Laundry"... Kurt Angle arrived at the building in his car. He walked to the backstage area and told the production staff (which included Jimmy Hart) that he wanted his music played.

The production crew complied and Angle headed to the ring as Mike Tenay and Taz checked in on commentary. Angle said that he wanted to set the record straight before Jeff and Karen came out and delivered lies and mistruths. He said the heat is between him and Jeff.

Kurt said he went to management and said Karen would be a great asset. However, he said Karen was standing by Jeff whenever he turned his head. Kurt said Jeff made it personal by rubbing it in his face. Angle said neither one of them could take away his character. The fans cheered.

Angle teared up as he said he was a great husband and an incredible father. He said that if he's guilty of anything, it's not spending enough time with his family. He said that's only because he wanted to give his family everything they dreamed of having. The fans chanted "Angle" as he regained his composure.

Kurt addressed Karen by saying they could do things they easy way or the hard way. He said the easy way is to make amends and go separate ways while getting along for the kinds. He said the hard way is that if she makes life difficult for him and provokes him, he will pull out every skeleton in her closet. "So what's it gonna be, Karen?" Angle concluded.

Jeff Jarrett's music played. Four members of his MMA posse headed to ringside and surrounded the ring. Angle knocked each man off the ring apron. Angle took the mic and asked if that was all Jarrett had. Eric Bischoff's music played. Bischoff and Ric Flair walked onto the stage and crossed their arms.

Several police officers headed to the ring. Tenay said it appeared that Immortal contacted the authorities. Bischoff and Flair laughed on the stage while the police officers led Angle out of the ring. The policemen led Angle out of the studio... [C]

The announcers recapped the previous segment... Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle walked through the backstage area. They pretended like they were disappointed that Angle was escorted out of the building...

Powell's POV: For those who missed it, I'm taking my dog to obedience class on Thursday nights, so that's why I've been running behind the last few weeks. The opening segment was fine. I'm apprehensive about the Angle family drama playing out on television, but we'll see how it goes. Karen and Jeff are so over the top with their affection that it's hilarious.

[Q2] 1. Mickie James defeated Madison Rayne (w/Tara), Sarita, and Velvet Sky in a four-way match in 4:15. Late in the match, Madison loaded up her glove and tried to hit Mickie. However, Mickie ducked, and Madison struck Velvet with the glove instead. Mickie rolled up Madison and got the pin...

Powell's POV: The match was a cluster. I normally don't comment on the looks of women in wrestling unless they're wearing atrocious ring gear, but in this case I have to say that Madison gear was amazing. Damn.

Backstage, Beer Money spoke about their tag match with Rob Van Dam and Mr. Anderson... A shot aired of Kurt Angle walking backstage. So much for the police escort... [C]

Powell's POV: Does it strike anyone else as odd that the heels are out for revenge in this match since the babyfaces left them lying backstage last week? Granted, Immortal got their revenge at the end of the show, but I don't recall it being a shining moment for Beer Money.

Backstage, Samoa Joe told a Japanese friend (Kiyoshi?) to follow around D'Angelo Dinero. The man had a camera and indicated that he would comply... Ric Flair and Rob Terry came to the ring together.

[Q3] Once in the ring, Flair told three women at ringside that Terry would take all three of them and hurt them (and not in a physically violent way). Flair called out Matt Morgan. He acknowledged that Morgan used to be with him, but he said Terry is "the man" now...

2. Matt Morgan pinned Rob Terry (w/Ric Flair) in 0:10. Terry talked strategy with Flair in the corner as the bell rang. When he turned around, Morgan drilled him with the Carbon Footprint. Afterward, Morgan went to ringside and no sold Flair's chops. They headed back to the ring and Morgan continued to no-sell. Flair must have been having Lex Luger flashbacks.

Abyss hit the ring and attacked Morgan from behind. Abyss roughed up Morgan in the corner. Morgan came back with a discuss clothesline. Abyss recovered and attacked Morgan from behind again. Abyss and Terry doubled up on Morgan, but he took them both out with a double clothesline. Flair hilariously shadow boxed at ringside. The heels came back again. This time they left Morgan lying...

Powell's POV: Flair cracks me up in his managerial role. Morgan gets another needed win, and viewers don't have to suffer through a long Terry match. Abyss means nothing right now.

The announcers set up a video package of the TNA crew wrestling at the New Japan Tokyo Dome show on January 4. They also showed out of the ring footage... The announcers hyped the upcoming matches...

Backstage, A.J. Styles and Kazarian were shown talking. Kazarian asked what's up with Bischoff. Styles said it's not important. He said the X Division Title is important as he pumped up Kazarian for his match. After Kazarian left, Amazing Red's little brother choked out Styles and warned him that "they are coming" on February 3... [C]

Powell's POV: So the tension with Styles and Bischoff is apparently still in play. I'm open to the idea of Red's storyline brother getting a push, but I'm not sure if he's the guy to deliver the "they are coming" line simply because viewers don't have any reason to take his threats seriously.

Ring introductions took place for the X Division match...

[Q4] 3. Kazarian pinned Jay Lethal to retain the X Division Title in 4:35. Tenay mentioned that Red's brother's name is Crimson. Jackson James was the ref in charge of the match. Lethal hit his Lethal Combination around 3:00, but he didn't go for the pin. He hit a top rope elbow and went for the cover, but Kazarian kicked out. In the end, Kazarian pinned Lethal and held onto the ropes for leverage...

Powell's POV: The announcers questioned how long they'd have to talk about the learning curve for referee James. They're doing a good job of building toward the reveal that it's Bischoff's son. Granted, the word leaked on the net a while back, but the casual fans will be surprised. By the way, if the titles mean power in TNA, then why did Flair come to ringside for Rob Terry's match, yet no one bothered to accompany Kazarian? Perhaps the answer is that he has the ref on his side, but it wasn't really addressed by the announcers.

Backstage, Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam talked about their match with Beer Money. Van Dam grumbled about not being able to get his hands on Jeff Hardy. Tommy Dreamer said that he has Hardy in the ring for the first time ever tonight. He said he'd take care of Hardy while they took care of Beer Money...

A shot aired of Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett walking backstage... In another part of the backstage area, Kurt Angle entered a door that warned patrons that the show may not be suitable for all ages... [C]

Powell's POV: Sure, Kurt is risking arrest, but when you've avoided punishment for DWI and stalking allegations, why wouldn't you feel above the law? Hey, I'm just saying.

Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett headed to the ring. Jarrett wore a suit with no tie, and Karen wore a nice dress. Jeff said the fans were witnessing a lovely wife and a caring mother. He said she's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. "And that is saying a hell of a lot," Jeff said. He labeled Karen a victim.

The fans booed as Karen kissed Jeff and took the mic. Karen said it's true that Jeff is part owner of the company. "And guess what that makes me," Karen said. She started to talk about Kurt winning the gold medal in 1997.

[Q5] Suddenly, Kurt hit the ring and suplexed Jeff. Karen spun Kurt around, spoke to him off-mic, and slapped him. As Kurt was distracted with Karen, Jeff recovered and low-bloed him. Jeff removed his jacket and attacked Angle. He told him not to get in the ring again while punching him repeatedly.

Powell's POV: A disappointing segment in that I was curious to hear what Karen had to say, but she was cut off quickly by Angle's interruption. Karen has has had better nights on the mic, but she and Jeff are drawing heat anytime they show affection. Kurt will seem more sympathetic if Karen complaints about him are over the top. Such complaints won't ring true, but the goal here has to be generating heat, not airing dirty laundry no matter what the title of the show is.

4. Jeff Hardy defeated Tommy Dreamer in 4:20. Late in the match, Hardy set up for the Twist of Hate, but Dreamer countered with a Death Valley Driver. Dreamer went for the cover and had the pin, but Hardy put his foot on the rope. Hardy came back a short time later with the Twist of Hate for the win. Tenay quickly pointed out that Hardy will get his rematch with Mr. Anderson on February 3..

Powell's POV: What was Dreamer wearing? Anyway, that was fine for what it was. While it's easy to question why Dreamer received so much offense, I didn't have a problem with it. After all, Ric Flair gave a ton of offense to guys who were in Dreamer's spot on the card back in his day and it didn't hurt him. The live crowd was flatter than usual for the match. Then again, they've been given no reason to care about Dreamer lately.

[Q6] A shot aired of Angle walking through the backstage area with a bat in his hand and a pissed off look on his face... Tenay hyped the tag main event... [C]

Backstage, D'Angelo Dinero was on the phone when he spotted a staff member named Brian. He asked the staff member if he could use his computer to make a couple of transactions. Pope used his phone to call the staffer. The man got up and left the room while saying "hello" repeatedly. Pope grabbed his computer and walked away...

Powell's POV: Wow, Brian is a huge moron for falling for that one. I'll bet Pope just wanted to check Dot Net on the guy's laptop, but he didn't want to get in trouble for reading it backstage. Pope, just download the app to your phone, buddy!

In another part of the backstage area, Ric Flair iced A.J. Styles. As Styles was slamming the drink, Angle took him out with a shot from behind. Flair begged off. Angle choked Flair and told him to tell Jarrett to meet him in the ring. He said that if Jarrett didn't comply, he would take it out on Flair...

Ring introductions for the tag team main event took place. Anderson did his mic work on the stage... [C]

[Q7] 5. Beer Money defeated Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam in a non-title match in 8:10. Jackson James was the referee of the match again. Rob Van Dam had James Storm pinned, but Jeff Hardy came out and James was busy at ringside trying to keep him out of the ring. Matt Hardy hit the ring and performed a Twist of Hate on Van Dam, which led to the heels getting the pin...
Powell's POV: Okay, two Jackson James finishes in one night is a little much. I can live with one here and there, but I can only hope this is a sign that the payoff is coming sooner rather than later.

Backstage, Brian Kendrick tried to talk Bully Ray into doing yoga. Ray had him demonstrate the breathing technique with his eyes closed and then shoved him hard into the locker... [C]

Powell's POV: Funny. Good use of Kendrick and his quirky character. Don't get me wrong, I hate the character because I think there are so many better ways to use him (namely as a heel), but it was a good setup for Ray's bully character, which I'm really digging. A bully pushing the smaller guy into a locker? Perfect.

[Q8] Flair was shown yelling about Angle to Jarrett while inside Bischoff's locker room...

Brother Devon came to the ring for a promo and called out Bully Ray, who came to ringside. Kendrick ran out and pushed Ray inside the ring so that Devon could attack him. Ray pulled out a chain, but Devon got the better of him and knocked it out of his hand.

Devon picked up the chain, but security came out and stopped Devon. Ray took advantage of the distraction and attacked Devon from behind. Ray grabbed a chair and wrapped it around Devon's head. He picked up the chain and slammed it onto the chair...

Kurt Angle was shown walking backstage. Tenay said the explosion is next... [C]

Powell's POV: I was fine with the Bully Ray and Devon segment until that awkward chain onto the chair conclusion. It just didn't look very damaging. By the way, the Orlando police suck in the TNA universe. They escort Angle out of the building, yet they don't seem to care that he's been roaming around the building and even appeared in the ring once already since then.

Angle was in the ring after the break. Jarrett's music played. He came out, but he sent Gunner and Murphy to the ring to face Angle while he remained on the ramp. Once Gunner and Murphy got the better of Angle, Jarrett hit the ring to take his shots. Angle eventually fought back and cleared Gunner and Murphy from the ring.

Angle applied the rear naked choke on Jeff. Karen Jarrett ran to ringside and screamed. She reached inside the ring and tried to pull Jeff out. Kazarian hit the ring and put the boots to Angle. Beer Money, The Hardys, Rob Terry, and A.J. Styles followed. They all beat up Angle while Karen consoled Jeff in the corner.

Abyss walked onto the stage and held his arms out. Flair motioned for him to come to the ring. However, Abyss fell flat on his face and revealed that Janice was stuck in his back (he had a jacket on). Crimson (Red's little brother) walked out behind Abyss and warned Immortal that "they" are coming on February 3. Angle yelled at Immortal, who were at ringside, to close the show...

Powell's POV: Another show ends with an Immortal attack and only one babyface bothered to help out the guy who was being attacked this week. I guess that's a step up from the zero babyface help from last week. By the way, shouldn't those Orlando police arrest Crimson for attempted murder?

I'm still not sure why we're supposed to take Crimson seriously. It's actually worse that he was cast as Red's brother. If he was just a mystery man with no background story, then maybe it would be easier buy into the mystery. Unfortunately, I still think of him as the guy who surprised Jarrett in the MMA comedy match. Red means so little these days that it's hard to get excited about his storyline brother.

Overall, an average show. It was entertaining at times, but I don't feel like any of this will really stick with most viewers beyond tonight. Angle showed good intensity, but his program with Jeff needs a better build on the mic. I'm hopeful that Abyss being stuck with Janice means he'll disappear for a couple months. Abyss is deader than Lindsay Lohan's career at this point. He needs yet another repackaging. I'll have more to say abut the show in the TNA Hitlist on Friday.

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