By Ryan Kester

TNA "Impact Wrestling" on SpikeTV
Taped earlier in Huntsville, Alabama

[Q1] The show opened with Immortal heading to the ring. Lord, does this et look so much better than the Impact Zone.

Hulk Hogan said that the Network was making sure that on Thursday, September 15, Sting will face Flair. The stipulations are if Sting loses, he will have to retire, but if Sting wins, then Sting gets a match with Hogan.

Hogan said it's about time that they stop bowing down to the Network and that it's time for the Network to bow down to him. He said Sting would get him in the ring when he's ready.

At that moment, Kurt Angle's music hit and he headed to the ring. Hogan told Angle he was sorry that he had to be the one to tell him the truth about Dixie. Hogan said the company was sick when he arrived, but he would be the one to eradicate the bacteria from its veins. Hogan told Angle to cut the cancer tonight, and tear Sting apart.

Angle told Hogan that his enemies were now Angle's enemies. He told Hogan that he'd do it by the rules to appease the Network. He said that Sting would not be walking out of the arena on his own power.

Sting's music hit and he joined the heels in the ring. Hogan told Sting no one wants to see him out there. Sting told Angle he was honored to be on his hitlist. Sting told Angle he was all in. he said he'd first go through Kurt, then Flair, and then he'd get his "grand prize" Hulk Hogan. His music then hit again and he left the ring.

Hogan demanded that they cut Sting's music and he asked Sting who the hell he thinks he is. He told Sting that he was going to be the special enforcer in the main event. He then demanded that they play his music and the production team obliged… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Solid opener that made some pretty good hype for the main event. I could go on about Sting and Hogan, but I just feel like I am beating my head against the wall at this point.

[Q2] The announcers checked in with matt Morgan for the BFGS match. They replayed the footage of Samoa Joe breaking Crimson's leg. They then showed a video package of the final four in the BFGS, Bully Ray and Beer Money. Tenay said the next match would determine the final member of the final four.

1. Gunner defeated Rob Van Dam in a Bound For Glory Series match in 4:54. Samoa Joe walked down to the ring the moment the match started. Matt Morgan blocked him from getting to the ring, but got kicked in the crotch.

Back in the ring, RVD was taking control with a series of kicks on Gunner. It didn't last long, however, as Gunner knocked Rob to the floor. Gunner hit a slingshot suplex on RVD. RVD suddenly exploded with offense on Gunner, and finished an onslaught with Rolling Thunder for a near fall.

Moments later, Gunner regained control and Jerry Lynn made his way down the ramp. RVD went to the floor to confront him, and sent Lynn to the back. RVD went over to Gunner, who tried to roll him up after playing possum.

RVD hit the Van Daminator for a near fall. He went to the top for a Five Star Frog Splash but Lynn ran down and shoved him off the top rope. Gunner immediately hit a running knee and won the match.

The entire Knockout division made its way to the ring… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Well, that was convoluted and terrible. They managed to make a match that didn't even last five minutes feel like it wouldn't end with everything they had going on. RVD and Gunner were having a good match, but it was completely overshadowed by everything they felt they had to pack into that segment. TNA just proved how much wrestling matters to them by finishing the BFGS in that fashion.

Back from the break, the women of TNA stood in the ring as Eric Bischoff and Traci Brooks made their way to the ring. Bischoff said he never had the pleasure of working with such a tremendously talented group of individuals.

[Q3] He said the Knockouts were proven "ratings getters" and he appreciated them, but he said they were still women. He said they can't shut up, they are catty, and they are full of sexual innuendos. He said they drive him up the wall. He then made a few groan-worthy jokes about Traci before announcing the next VP of the Knockouts division, Karen Jarrett.

Karen and Jeff made their way down to the ring. Karen said that the difference between her and the Knockouts was that she's a lady, and they obviously were not. She said they would learn to respect her.

Karen said her first act would be to hire ODB and Jackie. Karen told Traci that everyone knew she "put out" for the job, and Eric chimed in to say she did it three times. Karen told Traci that she would be her assistant, a role Traci did not seem thrilled to have.

Karen then made Traci hold the ropes open for her as she left the ring… [C]

Ryan's Rant: First of all, I like the idea of them making Karen the person in this role. However, could they have been anymore sexist in that segment? I have been complaining for months about TNA's tendency to appeal to the lowest common denominator, and it only seems to be getting worse. This is the last thing they need to be doing when exposing their product to a fresh audience.

2. Jesse Sorensen and Brian Kendrick beat Austin Aries and Kid Kash in 5:07. Brian Kendrick debuted a new…hat…thing as a part of his attire.

Kendrick and Kash started the match with Kendrick in control. Sorensen tagged in and Kash immediately gained the upper hand. Aries tagged in and threw Sorensen into Kash's boot. The heels worked a series of quick tags to keep Sorensen in their corner.

[Q4] Sorensen battled out and got the hot tag to Kendrick, who immediately took out the heels. The match broke down with all four men in the ring. They all worked a tower of doom spot. Aries took out Sorensen on the outside, but Kendrick beat Aries all the way to the back.

Kash clotheslined Sorensen from the top and followed up with a beautiful butterfly suplex. Moments later, Sorensen rolled Kash up for the win.

Ryan's Rant: TNA needs to take a moment an d breathe. Everything feels so incredibly rushed tonight. The match was alright, mostly thanks to Aries. I'm not a tower of doom fan. Those spots take forever to set up, to the point they expose the business and rarely do you get a payoff that's worth it. Also, TNA has a crop of fresh X-Division talent but they are having them win with roll ups. They may be smaller guys, TNA, but they should still be winnings matches in a decisive fashion.

A video package aired focusing on the creepy pairing of Winter and Angelina Love. Apparently Winter is a time-traveling lesbian vampire werewolf. At least, that's what I got from it.

Backstage in a broom closet, Winter talked to Love about how they would feast on Mickie's bones tonight. Alrighty then… [C]

Ryan's Rant: It seriously looks like the backstage area has about two feet of room to maneuver in. Poor TNA talent. That was the shortest segment I have ever seen on a wrestling show. Also, Winter was intriguing when she first showed up in TNA, but it seems like they are trying to Frankenstein four or five different characters together. Winter's doing the best she can with it, but my lord is it so over-the-top.

[Q5] An advert aired for Jeff hardy. They focused on the fact that he was having personal troubles and demons and that he was on the road to redemption. He will return next week. He will have time to address the crowd.

Backstage, Hogan talked to Kurt about the loser, Jeff Hardy, was returning next week.

Back in the arena, Tenay mentioned Jeff's legal issues and personal demons and questioned why he would be given a live mic. He said the last time we saw Jeff, he was a wreck. Wow.

Mickie James came to the ring wearing what I can only describe as a Pocahontas trench coat. Please, Mickie, just stop it.

3. Mickie James defeated Winter to win the TNA Knockouts Title in 6:10. The women grabbed each other's hair and walked around the ring to start the match.

Mickie almost won early with a roll-up. She hit a dragon screw and hit a thez press from the top rope. Angelina Love tried to get involved by tossing the Knockouts belt in the ring but Hebner caught it and expelled Love.

Winter took advantage of the distraction and beat down Mickie. Mickie battled back and locked in a single-leg Boston crab but Winter made the ropes. Mickie kept on top of Winter and went for her jumping DDT. Winter fought her off and went for her own finisher.

Mickie got out of it and hit her finisher, but Winter got her foot on the rope. Winter immediately hit an enziguri and Mickie sold it like she'd been shot.

Moments later, Mickie hit a kick and scored a three count out of nowhere. The show went to commercial without showing any of the celebration... [C]

Ryan's Rant: What was the point of even putting the title on Winter in the first place? TNA goes right back to the disappointing Mickie James without giving us any reason to care. Still, the match they had was pretty good. I hope this will lead to Angelina Love chasing for the belt.

[Q6] A video package aired covering Christopher Daniels and his feud with A.J. Styles.

Matt Morgan made his way to the ring. He grabbed a stick and said that Samoa Joe attacking him was suicidal. He told Samoa Joe to come out to the ring and face him man-to-man.

Samoa Joe immediately obliged and headed to the ring, but stopped halfway there. Joe took out the referee and stormed the ring. Joe and Morgan brawled for a bit before Morgan gained control and worked his move set on Joe.

Morgan went for the Carbon Footprint but Joe managed to get away. Joe dragged Morgan to ringside but Morgan again started to beat down Samoa Joe. Morgan went for the Footprint again but Joe punted him in the crotch. Joe followed that up with a huge chair shot to Morgan's arm while he had it wrapped around a steel post… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Morgan got way too much offense in there, and Joe using the same tactic as ODB to get the better of Morgan just makes him look weak. Joe shouldn't have to resort to those tactics with the role he's been given. He should just be destroying people a la Mark Henry.

An advert aired for TNA Sacrifice/Slammiversary. Matt hardy was prominently shown. Yeah, I would have edited that out if I were you, TNA.

Robbie E was talking to Rob Terry when Eric Young showed up in a banana hammock. He challenged "Johnny D" to a title match.

Backstage, Styles and Daniels were talking. Styles mentioned hardy's return and question why he was getting a third or fourth chance. Lord, they are ripping that man to shreds… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Another super-short segment. I'm not sure how I feel about all of the hardy mentions yet. While I can see where they are going with this, and I respect the fact that they aren't trying to pretend Jeff didn't have issues, I can't help but not be thrilled about this considering the other Hardy's recent actions. It's all just hitting a bit too close to home.

[Q7] Back from the break, Hogan again complained about Jeff Hardy. Hogan rallied the Immortal troops and said tonight they would be taking out Sting. Abyss was briefly shown making sad faces in the corner.

4. Christopher Daniels defeated A.J. Styles in 7:03. The two workd some rapid-fire chain wrestling in the opening moments.

Daniels gained control and went for an early roll-up. Styles immediately kicked out and followed up with a dropkick. Daniels locked in a rest hold to kill Styles' momentum. Styles battled out and hit a bodyslam. Styles followed up with a stall suplex and only got a one count.

The fight spilled to the floor and Styles his a huracarana on Daniels. Back in the ring, Styles locked in an inverted STF. Daniels got out of the hold but Styles nailed him with a gutbuster. Styles went for another suplex but Daniels battled out and hit a running STO.

Daniels hit a series of clotheslines but Styles managed to get some separation and hit a springboard clothesline. The two battled back and forth with chops. Styles went for a springboard reverse DDT but Daniels grabbed the ropes to avoid the impact.

Styles went to the top rope and slipped. Daniels immediately pounced on him and got the pin.

[Q8] After the match, Styles went to shake Daniels' hand but Daniels wove him off.

All the participants in the main event were shown walking backstage… [C]

Ryan's Rant: That was a very good match and after the quick and convoluted matches we have gotten this evening, I needed it. It looks like this feud is going to continue, and if they keep giving us matches like that, I welcome it. They did give away a lot, though, so their eventual PPV showdown will have to deliver in a big way if they want people to feel like they got their money's worth.

5. Kurt Angle defeated Sting to retain the TNA Title with Hulk Hogan as special guest enforcer in 6:31. Sting took early control off the match but Angle rolled to the floor to catch his breath.

When Angle returned to the ring, he immediately took control, but Sting battled back. Once again, Angle rolled to the floor. Sting followed this time, however, and got Angle back in the ring. Sting went for the Stinger Splash but Angle caught Sting and hit his belly-to-belly suplex to take control.

Sting looked like he was going to make a comeback after a DDT but Angle no-sold and hit a series of German suplexes. Sting hit the Scorpion death drop but Angle kicked out.

Angle locked in the ankle lock but Sting rolled through and kicked Angle off of him. Angle came back and hit the Angle Slam but Sting kicked out. Sting crawled to the corner and Angle charged but Sting caught him with a clothesline.

[Overrun] Sting locked in the Scorpion Deathlock. Gunner ran down with a steel chair and Angle tapped but the ref was distracted. Sting let go of the hold and jawed with Hogan but Angle hit the Angle Slam on the chair to get the three count and the win.

Post-match, Sting took out Kurt and Hogan was all alone. Immortal charged and attacked Sting. Mr. Anderson ran out holding Sting's bat and he cleared the ring. The show went off the air with the babyfaces in the ring and Immortal on the ramp.

Ryan's Rant: I feel like someone took out the middle of that match. It went from slow and plodding to people hitting finishers. There was no middle ground whatsoever. This was your typical overbooked TNA main event. There was some good wrestling but once again it was diminished by all he extra garbage. Overall, this was a lackluster edition of Impact Wrestling. There were moments of brilliance but they were diminished by overbooking and a lack of focus. I was hoping for a more energetic and fresh edition of Impact with the show going on the road, but it was just more of the same with different faces in the background. Thanks for following along with me and I will see you all next week.

If you have any questions or comments, or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter at @TheRyanKester. Have a great week.

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