By Ryan Kester

Impact Wrestling on SpikeTV
Taped on September 22 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

[Q1] The show started with a video covering Hulk Hogan's retirement announcement from last week.

Beer Money kicked things off by making their way to the ring. James took tot eh mic and asked the crowd if there were any beer drinkers in attendance. The crowd popped. Storm said it was about time that Hulk Hogan took a back seat to the younger men in the business, and he talked about how the two of them were in the "semi-main event" slot tonight. He told Hogan good luck trying to follow them after they tear the place down.

Bobby took his turn on the stick and welcomed Storm back to his home state. Roode talked about facing Fortune for the past several weeks, and he said that the matches he had were exhausting, but they were what he needed to prepare for Bound For Glory. He said it was because of them that he knew he was ready for Kurt Angle.

Roode said tonight he needs Storm to do the same thing, and he needed him to give him everything he had in their match. Storm said that tonight was important to him as well, and he said that he knew four years ago when they first met that he was in the presence of a future world champion. He said tonight he had a lot to prove to both Roode and to himself. He said tonight eh may just be better than Roode.

Storm put over Roode in a big way and he looked Roode right in the eye and told him "Sorry 'bout your damned luck."

Backstage, Sting was in a Hulkamania shirt and he happened upon a picture of a clown. He put his Joker face on and kept walking through the backstage area… [C]

Ryan's Rant: You can't beat having two young guys in the opening segment hyping the match they have later for all it's worth. This was easily one of the better openings TNA has had recently. It was brief, it was too the point, and it did its job, which was to get everyone ready for their match.

The announcers sent us to footage of Hulk Hogan's first appearance in TNA.

[Q2] 1. Kazarian beat Gunner via DQ in 3:58. The two traded control several times in the early going.

Gunner went to the floor at one point and Kazarian tried to attack, but Gunner cut him off. Gunner immediately began to target Kazarian's arm. Gunner hit a shoulder breaker.

Moments later, Kazarian started to fly around the ring and took Gunner down with a springboard back elbow. Kazarian hit a springboard leg drop for a near fall. Gunner poked Kazarian's eye and then threw him into the steel ring post.

Gunner locked in an armbar and Kazarian tapped, but Gunner continued his assault, resulting in the referee reversing his decision to disqualify Gunner… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Good TV match, even if it was a bit on the short side. The two men worked a fast pace and Gunner looked really good when making Kazarian tap. I don't think the reversed decision was necessary as Gunner could really use a decisive win, and Kazarian didn't gain anything from winning by DQ.

Mr. Anderson's music hit, and he came to the ring wearing street clothes. He said he was out here with his hat in his hand and then he said he was out there to apologize. He said he wasn't apologizing to any authority figure, but he was apologizing to his assholes.

Anderson talked about how he didn't kiss people's asses and thus, he had to scratch and claw for everything he had. He said he joined Immortal in a moment of weakness. He said that he learned from that mistake, however, and he said he learned that Bully Ray is a "giant freakin' douche bag."

Sure enough, that brought Bully Ray down to the ring. Anderson told Bully ray that Ray has been attacking him the past few weeks, and then he asked Ray if he was compensating for something with his big chain. Ugh.

[Q3] Anderson said that it seems like Ray was always getting the better of him. Ray said he embarrassed Anderson in front of his "jagoffs." Anderson corrected him, and said that they were assholes, not jagoffs. Bully Ray said Anderson wasn't getting another match.

Anderson talked about how Philadelphia was Bully Ray's old stomping grounds, and he challenged him to a Philly Falls Count Anywhere match. Anderson asked if Ray's ego would let him back down from that one. Anderson's music then hit… [C]

Ryan's Rant: I'm a big fan of Bully ray since he took on this heel persona, but Anderson is another matter entirely. He's just obnoxious and his act is stale and tired to this viewer. There are times in TNA when it seems like someone's music comes out of nowhere to end a segment, as Bully Ray really should have had a chance to say something in response to Anderson. I hope they allow Bully ray to be the driving force in the final promo this feud has before Bound For Glory as I don't trust Anderson to properly sell this match.

A split screen was shown of Bobby Roode and James Storm preparing for their match later.

Backstage, Bischoff talked about Hogan retiring and he said that everything was in order, but it was tough to see an era come to an end.

Brian Kendrick was also backstage talking some gibberish before getting to the point that he wanted to beat Aries for the X-Division title. Kid Kash showed up and said that if Kendrick has a problem, he needs to bring it to him. Kendrick tried to say something, but Kash just destroyed him. Kash spit on Kendrick and called him a bitch.

Mickie James and Velvet Sky made their way to the ring… [C]

[Q4] 2. Winter and Madison Rayne (w/Angelina Love) defeated Mickie James and Velvet Sky in 4:31. James and Winter started the match, but Winter quickly tagged in Rayne. A few rapid tags later, James and Winter were once again the legal women, and James hit a neckbreaker on Winter for a near fall.

Winter quickly regained control and the two heels began to work over James in their corner. Winter in Rayne tagged in and out of the match and double-teamed James.

Mickie eventually escaped and tagged din Velvet, who took it to the heels. Velvet hit Winter with a double-underhook facebuster, but Madison broke the pin. Winter attempted to run the ropes, but Angelina tripped her by accident.

Moments later, Rayne rolled up Velvet for the quick pin.

Jeff Hardy was shown walking backstage... [C]

Ryan's Rant: That wasn't good. There was no real rhyme or reason to the match, and the ending was so clustered that the pin had no impact on the crowd.

The announcers sent us to the March 8, 2010 edition of Impact, featuring Hogan's relationship with Abyss.

Backstage, Kurt Angle was complaining to Eric Bischoff that Jeff Hardy was in the arena.

Bischoff made his way to the ring. Bischoff told the crowd to sit down, shut up, and take notes. Bischoff called Jeff Hardy to the ring, who took a brief moment before obliging.

[Q5] Bischoff told Jeff he had the honor of working with some of the greatest in the industry, and he said that they paved the way for people like them. Bischoff said he never dropped the ball, but he said Hardy turned dropping the ball into an art form.

Bischoff put hardy over huge before saying he was one of the biggest screw ups he's ever seen. Bischoff said Hardy was out of chances with him. He told Hardy he was done, and he said when he came to the ring pilled-up at Victory Road, he let everybody down. He told Hardy to twelve-step his way out of the ring.

Hardy said he was glad Bischoff got the chance to get that off of his chest. He said there may be some that agree with him, but then again, maybe they don't. He said he had only one thing to say, and Bischoff told him if he wanted to say goodbye, go ahead.

Hardy hit the Twist of Hate on Bischoff, said "screw you," and took off through the crowd as Immortal stormed the ring… [C]

Ryan's Rant: I'm not a fan of this, but mainly because there's already too many rebel-led invasion storylines in wrestling right now, and it looks like that's where they are headed with this. If that's not where this ends up, then I will see this in a better light, but if that is their eventual goal, then I can only groan. I'm tired of seeing different rehashes of the same storyline throughout wrestling.

Jeff Hardy was shown walking backstage and he said if he was leaving, he was doing it on his terms.

The next huge Hulk Hogan moment was Hogan announcing that he was in control of TNA.

3. Crimson defeated Samoa Joe in 5:18. Crimson pounced on Joe early and beat him down in the corner.

Joe quickly fought back and tore into Crimson with a series of rapid-fire jabs. Crimson battled back with a clothesline and locked in his cravate. Crimson hit a series of knees on Joe and hit a neckbreaker. Crimson then hit a t-bone suplex on Joe.

Joe rolled to the floor, and Crimson followed. Crimson shoved Joe into the ring apron. Joe attacked Crimson's injured leg, and he put his foot in the barricade.

[Q6] Joe shoved crimson back, who effortlessly fell out of the barricade. The announcers seemed flustered as they tried to sell the hit despite the weak camera angle.

Back in the ring, Joe continued to work over the injured leg of Crimson. Joe went for his heel hook, but stopped midway through and Crimson rolled Joe up for the surprise win.

Bully Ray was shown backstage talking about Mr. Anderson, and he said that despite what Anderson thinks, he's not at a disadvantage. He said "screw you" to Anderson... [C]

Ryan's Rant: So far tonight we've had two roll-ups and a reversed decision. This does not make for entertaining wrestling, my friends. There has been some good action on the show, but when it ends in such a lackluster manner, and the rest of the show is filled with promos, I start to get bored. As far as the match goes, Joe is getting far too little offense in on his matches, and I think TNA would be better served to make him look more like a beast when he is going to be facing two babyfaces at Bound For Glory.

Backstage, James Storm talked about how he was happy to prove that he was one of the best in the business tonight.

An advert showcasing Bobby Roode training for Bound For Glory aired.

James Storm made his way to the ring. His music kept going, and Bobby Roode made his entrance.

[Q7] 4. Bobby Roode defeated James Storm in 14:48. The two men shook hands to start, and they circled one another as they sized each other up.

Then, it was on as the two men worked some rapid-fire chain wrestling. Storm went for the superkick early, and Roode managed to avoid it. The two men stared at each other before returning to the chain wrestling. This time, Roode went for his finisher when he tried for his fujiwa armbar. The men got in each other's faces as the show went to commercial… [C]

Back from the break, Storm was working over Roode in the corner. Roode quickly battled out and he hit a snapmare on Storm. Roode hit a series of clotheslines and got a one count. Roode shoved Storm,a nd the two men started exchanging punches. Storm landed a haymaker and shoved Roode into a corner.

Roode immediately fought back and hit a flying neckbreaker for a near fall. Moments later, Storm hit a hanging DDT for a great near fall. Roode hit a spinebuster for another near fall. Roode went to the top rope only to get cut off by Storm, who then hit a superplex on Roode.

Storm scored another near fall after the superplex, and he set up for his Last Call superkick, but Roode moved and tried for his Fishermen Suplex. Storm battled out, and Roode locked in the crossface, but Storm made the ropes.

Storm hit a backstabber for a near fall. The referee then got bumped, and Kurt Angle ran down to the ring knocked out Storm, and threw him into the ring to Roode. Roode covered Storm, but he managed to kick out before the three.

[Q8] Roode hit his Fishermen's Suplex for the 1-2-3.

Hulk Hogan was shown walking backstage… [C]

Ryan's Rant: I could have done without the bump and run-in, but this sets up something for Roode and Storm to play off of after Bound For Glory. Great back-and-forth match that more than lived up to my expectations. We need more matches of this caliber on Impact.

Hulk Hogan made his way to the ring. He played to the crowd and he had them eating out of the palm of his hand. Hogan said that when he woke up in the morning, he realized today would be his last day in the wrestling industry. Hogan said it was hard to believe it was all over after thirty years.

Hogan talked about the love he received from the fans in Knoxville, and the crowd cheered for him. Hogan said he felt like it was his first day in the business again, and he thanked the fans. Hogan said it was weird to try and figure out what to do with his life now that he was done with wrestling. He said he would miss the fans.

Hogan said that people asked him if he was really retiring, and he said he had to answer countless fans that yes, this was his last night in a wrestling ring. Hogan held up a red and yellow Hulkamania strap to the crowd. A loud "Thank you, Hogan" chant broke out. Hogan said this could go on for another thirty years, but he said Hulkamania lasted longer than anyone else in the business, but it was time for it to rest. He said it was time for the celebration to begin.

Sting's music hit and he made his way to the ring. Hogan said Sting wasn't going to turn this into a circus. Sting was in full Joker mode when he asked if there's anyone out here who's buying this retirement spiel.

[Overrun] Hogan said nothing lasts forever, and it was time for Sting to leave him alone. Sting said that he may just be jaded, but he knows Hogan better than anyone. He said there are cameras everywhere, and nothing is sacred. Sting said he had some footage of Hogan. Hogan told Sting to leave, but Sting had the production truck play the footage.

The footage was of Hogan and Bischoff bragging that they fooled everyone and the merchandise sales soared through the roof. Hogan was mocking the fans for being hillbillies.

Back in the ring, Hogan screamed that Sting crossed the line. Hogan said he would fight Sting at Bound For Glory, and if Sting won, he's give the company back to Sting and Dixie Carter. Hogan looked stunned at his own words as the show went off the air.

Ryan's Rant: I was with that segment right up until the very end, when Hogan declared the stipulation of putting the company on the line. How dumb would someone have to be to do that? It's not like Sting tricked him into that stipulation, he simply made it himself. I'm all for suspension of disbelief in wrestling, but that was so far out of left field that it felt jarring.

Overall, tonight's show was decent. I haven’t been as thrilled with the past couple of editions of Impact as others simply because I haven't been impressed with the wrestling work we've received outside of the Bobby Roode vs. Fortune matches. Tonight was much the same, where Roode and Storm stole the show, but the rest of the matches ended in unspectacular fashion or simply were devoid of good in-ring work.

I hope this doesn't come across as me just hating on TNA. I simply cannot pretend like a show that is mostly composed of promo segments and lackluster matches is enough to entertain me. However, TNA has been making slow transition out of packing too much into each segment and they have cut a lot of the overbooking out of the show. Now, if they can just get the undercard matches to a little higher quality, then I will be on board. Until then, I have to call it like I see it, and say that this was a decent edition of Impact, but it was by no means great. I'll have more to say tomorrow in my Rundown of tonight's show.

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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