By Jason Powell

TNA "Impact Wrestling" on Spike TV
Taped in Orlando, Fla. at the Impact Zone

[Q1] The show opened with a recap video that focussed on the TNA Sacrifice pay-per-view and hyped the upcoming Sting vs. Mr. Anderson match for TNA Sacrifice... The show is called "Back From the Dead"... A new opening video featuring the new blue color scheme (you're welcome for the inspiration, TNA) was shown...

The Immortal music played. Mike Tenay and Taz checked in on commentary as Eric Bischoff, Ric Flair, Matt Hardy, Abyss, Bully Ray, and Gunner headed to the ring. Once in the ring, Bischoff asked the fans if they like what he and Hulk Hogan "have done with the joint."

Bischoff said Foley has been taking credit for it, but everyone knows Foley didn't have anything to do with it. He said Foley would bill the show as "thumbtacks matter," not "wrestling matters." Bischoff asked when Foley woke up and decided he was Frank Gotch.

Bischoff said Hogan and Foley are in New York meeting with network executives. Bischoff said that he, Flair, and Immortal are in charge of the show since Foley and Hogan aren't present. Bischoff said that if anyone gets in their way, they will pay the price.

Powell's POV: TNA kicked off a relaunch by rewinding to two weeks ago when Immortal was in power? They really started the show with the ongoing power struggle? I'm sorry, but nothing says "nothing has changed" like TNA focussing on this never ending, uninteresting power struggle.

Brian Kendrick, Generation Me, and Amazing Red came to the ring. Kendrick complained about Bischoff. Eric said he's going to wipe out the X Division tonight. Bischoff noted that the X Division isn't about weight limits, it's about no limits. Thus, he said X Division Champion Kazarian will face Abyss.

Bischoff booked "Mildly Moderate Red" in a match against Samoa Joe, and also announced Generation Me vs. himself and Matt Hardy. "I'm going to kick me some vanilla midget ass," Bischoff said. Kendrick said Bischoff forgot about him. Bischoff slapped him, and then Immortal attacked the four X Division wrestlers.

Fortune hit the ring and helped the X Division wrestlers. The X wrestlers hit dives on the Immortal wrestlers. The brawl continued at ringside with Bischoff and Flair looking on from the stage. Eventually, Fortune and the X Division wrestlers stood tall. Flair said he needs to talk to Robert Roode tonight...

Powell's POV: Kendrick was normal this week compared his deep thinker character. That's one of the only encouraging things I can find in the opening segment. If you're going to preach that "wrestling matters," wouldn't common sense tell you to open the first show with a hot match rather than a promo about power struggles and vanilla midgets? The announcers tried to put over the brawl as being huge, but it felt like a regular brawl that went 30 seconds longer. The new look of the set is solid. I never knew TNA officials liked the Dot Net color scheme so much.

A shot aired of someone wearing old Sting gear backstage...

[Q2] 1. Mickie James, Miss Tessmacher, and Tara beat Madison Rayne, Sarita, and Rosita in a six-Knockout tag match in 4:00. Anarquia and Hernandez joined the announcers on commentary. Anarquia had the headset, Hernandez just stood there and did his same three poses.

Madison was trying to avoid Tara. They came face to face late in the match, but Madison grabbed Rosita and threw her into Tara, who hit a two-handed chokeslam move for the win... [C]

Powell's POV: Wrestling matters, but the commentators and their guests spent most of their time talking about everything other than the match. At least Hernandez couldn't hurt anyone while standing on the stage. Again, I don't understand why TNA couldn't take the obvious approach by starting with a hot match between two strong workers to drive home the message that their "wrestling matters" slogan is more than just words.

[Q3] The shot aired of the person wearing the old Sting gear. Tenay seemed oblivious to the old gear and said they were expecting Sting shortly...

Backstage, Bischoff caught Abyss before he made his entrance. Bischoff told Abyss to destroy Kazarian...

2. Abyss beat Kazarian to retain the X Division Title in 5.00. Taz said he agreed with Bischoff regarding the X Division wrestlers in that they were going about their business poorly. Tenay defended them, which led to some bickering between the announcers.

Kazarian countered Abyss's offense and hit some crowd pleasing offense. Late in the match, Abyss missed a Vader Bomb and came up holding his knee. Kazarian went to work on the knee, but referee Jackson James pushed him away. Abyss recovered with a kick to the gut and followed up with a Black Hole Slam for the win.

Tenay said the knee injury "was a setup the entire time." Taz said: "I guarantee you the internet is burning up right now. I'm telling you, watching that man Abyss with that championship." Tenay questioned whether there will even be an X Division after tonight's show... [C]

Powell's POV: A good match. Abyss and Kazarian worked well together, particularly early on when Kaz was countering his moves and hitting high spots. The crowd was into it. There was a time when Taz would have been right about the online fans being pissed about a non-cruiserweight wearing the X Division Title. However, we've seen this gimmick before, and the X Division has been mistreated so long that I don't think there's going to be much outrage. I am curious to see what's next for Kazarian. Will they have him chase Abyss or could he move onto the heavyweight division?

Backstage, Gunner complained about Eric Young stealing his property (the little red toy belt that no one cares about), and said we'll see how funny it is when he tracks him down...

3. Samoa Joe beat Amazing Red in 0:50. Red charged at Joe when the bell sounded, but he was quickly slammed to the mat. Joe hit a Muscle Buster and scored the pin.

[Q4] Joe continued to rough up Red after the match, but Red's storyline little brother Crimson ran out for the save. Crimson hit an impressive t-bone suplex to clear Joe from the ring...

Powell's POV: Joe destroys an X Division wrestler in less than a minute? Shit yeah, wrestling matters! Okay, not really. I'm guessing this somehow leads to the X Division wrestlers getting redemption. I guess Red can be sacrificed given that he's likely to end up working more as Sangrienta than he is as Red. Still, I don't like the message it sent about the X wrestlers being pussies who can't hang with the big boys.

A.J. Styles stood in the ring wearing a neck brace, and called out Tommy Dreamer, who came out sporting a beard, wearing a suit, and shades. Styles said his doctor told him he needs to wear the brace for a couple more weeks because Dreamer piledrove him through a table. Styles said he may have come back from injury too soon, but "I'm a pro wrestler, that's what I do."

Styles said that he doesn't hold Dreamer responsible for what he did to him at Sacrifice because he knows Immortal controls his contract and destiny. Styles put his hand on Dreamer's shoulder and said that he knows wrestling matters to him, just as it does to him.

Dreamer questioned whether Styles was saying he couldn't have beaten him if he had not have been injured. Dreamer questioned whether Styles was saying he could walk a mile in his shoes after everything he's done for the business. Dreamer said he built a wrestling company and didn't need anyone to hold his hand. Um, what?

Dreamer said he does what he wants to do because he wants to do it. Dreamer knocked Styles down with a shot to the head and said the fans will turn on him. Dreamer said the people say he sold out, and how quickly they've forgotten what he's done. Styles fired back at Dreamer, who eventually got the better of the fight.

Christopher Daniels ran out and pushed Dreamer off of Styles. Dreamer teased leaving, but then tried to take a shot at Daniels, who saw it coming and attacked Dreamer. Bully Ray ran out and hit Styles from behind with a chain wrapped around his fist. Dreamer caught Styles with a low blow. The fans chanted "You sold out" at Dreamer, who piledrove Styles and called the fans "sons of bitches"...

Powell's POV: I guess this means Dreamer is a full fledged heel. It's an interesting twist and he played it up very well with his mic work. I wish they would have told a story leading up to the turn rather than just jumping into it the way they did, but I was definitely ready for Dreamer to move on from the same character he'd been playing for far too long. Why is there a commercial airing at the top of the hour when people are likely to be flipping channels?

[Q5] [C] A fan shook his head no repeatedly while talking about what wrestling means to him. A cool idea, but the guy was like an opposite direction bobble head... Backstage, Sting said he had a lot to say about taking away the power of Hogan and Bischoff...

A shot aired of the other person in the old Sting outfit. It finally hit Tenay that it might not be the real Sting, who has never worn those colors in TNA before...

Kurt Angle came to the ring for a promo. "Ding dong, the bitch is dead," Angle said regarding his ex-wife. "After months and months and months, that big, fat, throbbing pain in my ass is gone." Angle gave the credit to Chyna for coming out of retirement after ten years to do a favor for him.

Angle said he will get Jeff Jarrett in a one-on-one match at TNA Slammiversary without Karen present. Angle said Foley informed him that the match will be a No. 1 contenders match for a future shot at the TNA Title. Jeff Jarrett's music played and he walked to the ring to confront Angle.

Jarrett said it was Kurt's own mental incompetence that allowed him to become distracted. Jarrett said he didn't let himself be distracted. Jarrett said he's better than Angle, and he didn't back down when Angle got in his face, and he ignored the "You tapped out" chants from the fans.

Jarrett said he's up for one more match with Angle at Slammiversary. "If you really believe you're better than me, then you'll have no problem at all to agreeing to this stipulation," Jarrett said. Jeff said he's taken everything from Angle except one thing - his Olympic gold medal. Angle agreed to put his gold medal on the line by shaking Jeff's hand and engaging in a nose-to-nose stardown.

Jarrett's music played again. Karen was raised onto the stage in a wheelchair. She looked fine and was smiling. The had a wrap around her ankle. Karen said Jeff wouldn't be alone at Slammiversary. Velvet Sky approached Karen from behind and pushed her carefully down the ramp. Jeff put himself into position to brace Karen's fall...

Powell's POV: I like the way Jarrett asserted that he thinks he's better than Angle. I've enjoyed his comedy heel "Big Daddy" antics and even the MMA character he played previously, and now he's making it seem like he's not intimidated by Angle. They can build this up as a showdown match if Jarrett continues to not show fear whenever Angle is around. Will the gold medal stipulation sell even one additional pay-per-view?

Backstage, Max Buck and Jeremy Buck acknowledged their recent issues. Max said they should put the past aside for the good of the X Division. "Let's show those guys that blood is thicker than water," Max said...

Bischoff spoke with Hogan on his cell phone inside his office. Bischoff indicated that Hogan got the better of the meeting with the network. He also boasted about knocking around some vanilla midgets. Spike censored the word midget...

Powell's POV: It's good to see Generation Me acknowledged their recent history, as it was awkward to see them hanging out together out of the blue a couple weeks ago. Why in the hell is Spike censoring the word midget? It wasn't too long ago they were airing Half Pint Brawlers, and the leader of the group used the word repeatedly and said they were proud to be midgets. I know, it's a P.C. world. By the way, bring back Half Pint Brawlers!

[Q6] [C] Backstage, Jeff Jarrett was on the phone with Eric Bischoff while Karen complained in the background. Jeff informed Karen that Bischoff was making Velvet face Angelina Love and Winter in a handicap match...

4. Eric Bischoff and Matt Hardy beat Generation Me in 6:10. Bischoff worked in a black gi. Tenay went back into defending the X Division. Generation Me worked over Hardy for the first five minutes of the match. Tenay announced that Hogan and Foley would return to Impact Wrestling next week. Um, yay?

Bischoff tagged into the match around 5:30 after Hardy had Max worn down with his Ice Pick submission hold. Bischoff delivered a few kicks to Max and then pinned him. Taz put over Bischoff's kung fu grip" and then laughed...

Powell's POV: I'm sure the X Division will eventually triumph and Bischoff will get what he has coming to him in the end, but how many frustrated TNA fans will still be watching by that time?

Backstage, Winter spoke to the whacked out Angelina Love. She said Velvet will never bother them again after tonight. Winter said it will be "just like before" when they were happy in a different time and a different place. "Do you remember?" Winter asked twice before kissing Love. "Let's go, love," Winter said...

Powell's POV: Well, the kiss didn't make "Quantum Leap" Sam leap as I thought it might. Maybe Angelina has to kiss her back in order for Sam to finally leap home. Yes, we're really watching a chick who thinks she's traveling through time and she's drugging someone she thinks she previously loved. Wrestling F'n Matters, baby!!!

[Q7] [C] A guy in the crowd yelled about wrestling being in his veins and blood...

5. Velvet Sky beat Angelina Love and Winter in a handicap match in 4:35. Angelina was still drugged out. I wonder if they include whatever Winter is using in those Don West brown bag specials? Tenay hyped Hogan and Foley for next week, and said Jeff Jarrett selected Rob Van Dam as Kurt Angle's opponent for next week, and Angle gets to pick Jarrett's opponent. Tenay also hyped Styles and Daniels vs. Bully Ray and Dreamer.

Love and Winter dominated the action. However, Sky caught Angelina with a small package and scored the clean pin. Velvet rolled to ringside. ODB attacked her from behind. The announcers acted like they didn't know who ODB was at first, but then figured it out because of her "nappy hair"... [C]

Powell's POV: It's good to see TNA is hyping matches for next week's show. I've never understood why TNA and especially WWE these days don't do a better job of giving viewers more incentive to watch the following week. It's good to see ODB back, but I'm surprised to see her playing a heel because her gimmick is generally a crowd pleaser. Why does Velvet Sky have current feuds with Karen Angle, Winter, Angelina Love, and now ODB? I don't know if anyone else in pro wrestling has this many feuds going on all at once.

[Q8] Backstage, Eric Young was carrying the old TNA Title belt that over his shoulder. He was directing a Miss Tessmacher photo shoot. He took off his pants to show her what he wanted her to do for the shoot. Gunner showed up looking for the little red toy belt that only he cares about. Young said he beat him fair and square for the belt by eliminating him from the battle royal. Gunner punched Young and beat him down. Young got up babbling about how Gunner was smart to take the old TNA Title so that they could keep the belts separate...

Powell's POV: Eric Young is walking around with two title belts? This shit has to confuse the hell out of anyone who missed a week or two.

Ric Flair headed to the ring and called out Robert Roode, who walked to the ring without his faction mates. Footage aired of Roode applying a submission hold to Flair in the Lethal Lockdown match, which they claim injured Flair's shoulder. Flair said he hasn't been able to sleep or live with himself since he tapped out to Roode during that match.

Flair talked smack, and Roode said what happened in Lethal Lockdown was business, not personal. He spoke about how he respects Flair. He eventually told Flair that he's had his time. Flair said people have been telling him that for 25 years and he called Roode and asshole.

Flair dared Roode to do the move again. Roode eventually snapped and applied the hold. Immortal hit the ring and attacked Roode. Bully Ray whipped him with a chain and ordered Abyss to get two chairs. They held out his arm and pressed one chair into his shoulder and then Matt Hardy slammed the other chair on it. Roode cried out in pain while selling the attack...

Powell's POV: Where the hell is the rest of Fortune? This would have been more effective if they had kept the image of Roode "injuring" Flair with that hold alive. This felt dated. Plus, Roode has had better nights on the mic.

A shot aired of the real Sting and then the back of the other Sting... [C]

The real Sting came to the ring carrying the TNA Title. "How about Impact Wrestling tonight, huh?" Sting asked. Um, sure. Sting said it was good to be there. "I love this place," Sting said. He praised Rob Van Dam for taking him to the limit on Sunday, and asked the crowd to give it up for RVD.

[Overrun] Sting started to talk about Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. His own music eventually played. The lights went out and when they came back on, Mr. Anderson was in the ring dressed like the old school version of Sting. Anderson hit Sting in the gut with a bat shot and followed up with a Scorpion Death Drop.

Anderson did the Sting yell to the fans mockingly while standing over the fallen Sting. "What is Anderson up to now?" Taz asked. "I guess we'll find out next week." Anderson mocked Sting with his own yell to close the show...

Powell's POV: Anderson wearing Sting's old gear was easy to see coming, but as a longtime viewer it brought back memories of when Barry Windham did a double Sting gimmick back in the day.

If wrestling matters so much to TNA, why the hell wouldn't they give viewers an actual main event match on the first episode of the supposedly new show? Same old shit with a different look. I really wanted to believe this was a new beginning for TNA, but it looks like it was mostly cosmetic changes. Of course, we all know the issues lie with creative, and I just don't believe anything will truly change without a major creative shakeup that leads to someone with a different vision taking control of the book. A major disappointment.

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