By Ryan Kester

TNA Impact on Spike TV

Taped in Orlando, Fla. at the Impact Zone

[Q1] The show kicked off with Bischoff asking Hogan what he was doing in the back. Hogan said he was waiting for the Network rep, and Bischoff told him to come inside. He said they couldn't solve this with a fight.

A video package aired about the various reveals hyped for the evening. The show is titled, "The Network's Revenge."

The Jarretts made their way to the ring as the announcers hyped the reveal of Kurt Angle's mistress. Jeff asked Kurt Angle for a truce, and said this time he was sincere. He gloated over Karen and begged for Kurt to hear him out. He talked about how she's always stayed out of his matches and how she had nothing to do with Jeff beating Kurt on several occasions. He called Kurt's plan to have her beaten down by his mistress a crime.

Karen then took the stick and she played the victim while mocking Kurt. She talked about her kids and said everything that had happened the past few months was a misunderstanding. She asked for Kurt to come out so she could accept his apology and Kurt obliged. As Kurt made his way to the ring, Jeff extended his hand and waited for Kurt.

Kurt said it was done. He said Karen was going to reap what she had sowed. He said they were going to have a mined tag match at sacrifice, and that the Network representative would give her a proper introduction. He hinted at her identity by implying that Jeff had prior experience with her before leaving the ring... [C]

Ryan's Rant: Quick and painless opener that did a good job of hyping the different reveals for the night and didn't take up too much time. TNA did a good job here of not overloading the viewing audience with talk.

[Q2] Madison Rayne and Tara made their way to the ring quickly followed by the team of Miss Tessmacher and Mickie James.

1. Mickie James and Miss Tessmacher defeated Madison Rayne and Tara. In 2:11 Tara and Mickie started the match. The woman worked some chain wrestling in the early going as Madison screamed from the apron. Tara and Mickie shook hands and Tara tagged in Madison. Tessmacher tagged in and scored a quick victory roll to get the 1-2-3.

The announcers hyped the Knockouts match for the PPV.

Hogan confronted Flair and accused him of being the Network rep. The two yelled at each other but eventually cooled down. Hogan apologized and Flair proceeded to kiss Hogan's ass. The two talked with Bischoff about how they were going to handle the Network.

A limo pulled up and the announcers wondered if it would be the Network representative… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Short match that looked like it was going to get good and then simply ended. I can't say I am very excited about the Knockouts match this Sunday, and this match did nothing to sell me on it.

Back from commercial, Tara called Madison a skank. Madison showed up and told Tara her life would be hell after she won her title back.

Tommy Dreamer avoided an interview backstage and showed some very heelish behavior in the process. AJ Styles showed up and confronted Dreamer, who suddenly became much softer in his words and mannerisms. AJ asked for a match at Sacrifice and dreamer walked away.

[Q3]Sting was backstage in a photo shoot. He cut a quick promo putting over RVD and said he would be fighting for his life on Sacrifice. He also hyped the Network rep showing up… [C]

Ryan's Rant: While all of that technically furthered some storylines, it all felt like filler. I hope this was the only segment of the show like this because the rest of the show has been well-paced thus far. Segments like this that flash between storylines so quickly only make it harder to digest what's going on before we are moving on to something else, and it really lessens the impact of each story.

Back from the break, a video package about Beer Money aired.

Ryan's Rant: Coming from someone who is fairly green to TNA, this was excellent. It did a decent job of hyping the reveal and put Beer Money over in a big way. We need more videos like this in TNA.

Beer money made their way to the ring in suits.

Ryan's Rant: That kind of hurts the "Bobby Roode" character we heard from last week.

Roode cut a promo about matt's mystery partner and claimed to know who the mystery partner was. He called out Matt hardy, and Matt obliged. The announcers kept wondering if matt was going to call in a "family member." Matt talked about how last week Bobby showed that he was a man for the first time last week. He mocked Storm and called him a drunk. Matt said he was one-half of the greatest tag-team of all time.

Matt continued to mock Beer Money and said at sacrifice he would put them in their place. Storm took the stick and told Matt to shut up. He talked about matt's brother, how he enjoys "adult beverages", and how he doesn't disrespect people like Matt does.

Beer Money met Matt at ringside and Storm got in Matt's face. He said Matt would have to bring him beer and watch him have a "good time" with matt's girlfriend. He told him to bring his brother out. Matt said he wasn't going to make his reveal about his partner tonight, but he would make it at Sacrifice.

At that point, Chis Harris's music hit and he made his way to the ramp. Storm looked like he saw a ghost… [C]

Ryan's Rant: I was so close to complimenting TNA like crazy. Then, Matt let it slip that his partner wasn't Jeff, which I think could have gotten TNA some buys. Then Harris came out and did nothing, so the entire hook for Sacrifice just sort of fizzled. Harris didn't look to be in the best shape of his life, either, so the air just let out of that angle quickly. That's unfortunate because it went from a hot segment to flat in the course of a couple seconds.

[Q4] Sangriento and Suicide made their respective entrances.

2. Sangriento defeated Suicide in 3:41. Suicide went on the offense early and worked over Sangriento in the corner. Sangriento quickly came back with a huracarana. Sangriento then hit a corkscrew cross body to the outside. Suicide battled back and mounted Sangriento and punched his head.

Sangriento came back and hit a tilt-o-whirl DDT. Sangriento went to the top and missed. Suicide hit a slam and got a near fall. Sangriento hit a flying inverted STO. Sangriento then hit his springboard cutter move to get the victory.

Immortal's music hit and Flair, Hogan, and Bischoff headed to the ring. Flair kicked Suicide in the family jewels. Hogan demanded to have the Network rep come to the ring… [C]

Back from the break, Hogan screamed about wanting the network rep. Mick Foley's music hit and he headed to the ramp. Mick immediately jumped into a promo and put over his involvement with the Network and how they were undermining Hogan's plans. Bischoff got in Foley's face and he dropped him.

Foley got passionate and talked about how he had all the power. Foley said the show was not about Immortal anymore. He said it was about wrestling and the show was not to be known as Impact Wrestling.

[Q5] Foley made the main event, a 25-man battle royal to determine the number-one contender for the TNA title. He then introduced Kurt's mistress, Chyna.

Chyna made her way to the ramp… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Foley was talking like he was on speed. That whole segment felt rushed and crammed together. The Chyna reveal was nice, but she doesn't look anything like she did back in her prime. I hope she can still go in the ring, but the reveals tonight leave something to be desired. The two wrestlers look broken down and out of shape, and Foley is yet another talker that will take time from the wrestlers. It is way too ironic that he is the champion of bringing wrestling back to TNA considering there likely no chance that he'll lace up a pair of boots again, yet he is now another man wrestling for control of TNA.

Back from the break, Foley talked about what wrestling and being a part of TNA means to him. Chyna showed up and listened to Foley rant and rave.

The show flashed to Anderson talking about Foley. Anderson complained about how Foley has been screwing him.

The announcers ran down the card for Sacrifice.

[Q6] Abyss, Samoa Joe, and Crimson made their entrances.

3. Crimson defeated Abyss and Samoa Joe in 2:29 Abyss and Crimson traded blows in the early going. Samoa Joe jumped in and worked over both men. Joe hit a back splash on Abyss. Crimson hit Joe with a big boot, and then hit Abyss with a neckbreaker. Crimson charged and Joe hit Crimson with a huge powerslam. Abyss hit Joe with the black Hole Slam. Crimson nailed Abyss with a spear and covered Joe for the win.

Post-match, Abyss hit Crimson with the Black Hole Slam… [C]

Ryan's Rant: That was not a good match to have after Foley made a big deal out of wrestling. Each guy hit a few big moves and the match was just over. Nothing was really of any consequence here, though, as they just did what happened last week with Abyss actually being in the match.

[Q7} Back from the break, RVD talked about the main event and RVD said the winner would be his first challenger after he wins the title at Sacrifice.

4. Mr. Anderson won a 25-man battle royal to become the No. 1 contender to the TNA Title in 28:04. The British Invasion were the first eliminated. Orlando Jordan and Anarquia were next. Bully Ray almost eliminated Angle. Ink Inc. was the next to be throw out, quickly followed by Robbie E. Eric Young eliminated Gunner and then eliminated himself. Eric walked away with the TV title as the show went to the break… [C]

Back from commercial, Daniels was trying to eliminate Jeff Jarrett. Bully Ray tried to and failed to eliminate Kurt for the third time, and Jarrett suplexed Kazarian from the ring to the floor. Hardy and Storm eliminated each other. Hardy pulled Bobby Roode to the floor, and Mick Foley joined the announcers. Morgan eliminated Hernandez, who was then eliminated by Steiner, who was then eliminated by Bully Ray. Morgan and Steiner battled at ringside.

[Q8] Bully Ray failed to eliminate Kurt for the fourth time. Devon charged Pope and Pope pulled the ropes down... [C]

After the break, Bully ray failed to eliminate Kurt for the fifth time. Dreamer worked over AJ Styles and saved Bully Ray from Kurt's ankle lock. Dreamer eliminated AJ Styles, who was then eliminated by Bully Ray. The final four are Bully Ray, Mr. Anderson, Kurt Angle, and Jeff Jarrett.

Anderson and Bully Ray were both knocked through the ropes. Karen got involved in the match, Kurt put his hands on her, and Jeff eliminated Kurt. Chyna got in the ring and eliminated Jeff. Chyna choked out Karen, but Jeff pulled her out of the ring.

Bully ray and Anderson got back into the ring. The two battled back and forth. Anderson got knocked to the apron, but Anderson got ahold of Bully ray and pulled him over the ropes to eliminate him and win the match.

Anderson cut a promo after the match complaining about how he's been screwed over so many times and how he's finally the number-one contender. He said he is to String what the U.S. Navy seals are to Osama Bin Laden.

Backstage, Sting talked about how he was going to shut Anderson up, but RVD showed up and called Sting overconfident. Then Anderson showed up and said he doesn't care who wins because come Slammiversary, he would be facing one of them.

Ryan's Rant: That match just went on and on and on. Battle royals aren't my thing, especially when they take up a fourth of the show. I can't help but feel that all of that time could have been much better spent hyping the main event of the PPV or even the Jarrett/Angle match. Instead, we got a half-hour worth of match that doesn’t even matter until Slammiversary.

Overall, this night had its highs and its lows, but it was the best edition of Impact I have seen since I started covering the show. I just don't think they did enough hype for the PPV this Sunday, and what hype they did was too-little, too-late. Thank you for following along with me and I'll see you all next week.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or find me on twitter at @Ryan_Kester.

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