10/29 Powell's TNA Impact Live Coverage: Hulk Hogan makes his Impact debut, Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle, Eric Young vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA Legends Championship, Tara vs. Alissa Flash


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TNA TV Reports


10/29 Powell's TNA Impact Live Coverage: Hulk Hogan makes his Impact debut, Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle, Eric Young vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA Legends Championship, Tara vs. Alissa Flash
Oct 29, 2009 - 10:00 PM


TNA Impact on Spike TV
Taped in Orlando, Fla.


[Q1] The show opened with a clip that told viewers to stay tuned for the debut of Hulk Hogan in TNA. The video featured clips of Hogan and Dixie Carter at the press conference on Tuesday... An abbreviated version of the opening video aired... Highlights aired from last week of Desmond Wolfe attacking Kurt Angle... Pyro exploded on the stage...

Mike Tenay and Taz spoke about Hulk Hogan signing with TNA. They said the "mammoth announcement" would take place tonight...

Powell's POV: It's cool they had the announcers do some fresh commentary for the show because it would have been awkward if they didn't mention it during the show.

Desmond Wolfe came to the ring and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, and I use that term loosely, my name is Desmond Wolfe." He said he's known as "Wolfe" to his friends, but "Mr. Wolfe" to "you wankers." He said he's not going to call himself the next big thing. Rather, he's the only thing. He said he was raised in London and was born to be a fighter.

Wolfe said he doesn't need a gold medal to prove how tough he is. He said Angle didn't win his medal on points. He said the judges gave it to him because they felt bad for him. He said he could have broken Angle's neck, but he didn't because he'd already made his mark. He said that made him the greatest wrestler in the history of TNA.

Kurt Angle's music played and he walked onto the stage wearing his ring gear and a t-shirt. He said he didn't know Wolfe's name before, but he knows it now. He said he doesn't know where Wolfe came from or who sent him, but he's overstayed his welcome and he will be leaving TNA.

Angle said the young wrestlers in TNA have earned his respect, but Wolfe has earned nothing. "No one comes to my backyard and pisses in it," Angle said. Kurt said he would face Wolfe one-on-one in the ring with no outside interference. He said it would be him and Wolfe in a street fight. Wolfe nodded confidently...

Powell's POV: I didn't care for Desmond's promo. It was a decent wrestling promo, but I like the calm, relaxed Wolfe we saw last week and I was hoping that would come through on the mic this week. In other words, I was hoping he'd stand out by doing something other than a basic yelling promo.

Backstage, Lauren and A.J. Styles watched footage of the mystery man attacking him last week. He said they've watched the tape several times and couldn't tell who it was. Samoa Joe entered the room and said it wasn't him. Joe said it was Styles's "bald buddy" Daniels.

Joe implied that Daniels is jealous of Styles and wants his spot. Styles refused to believe it. He took offense at Joe's accusation. Joe said that Styles is so mad at him that maybe he can't see his own friend stabbing him in the back... [C]

Powell's POV: It makes A.J. look like a goof for not running through the few bald guys he's worked with during his career. I wonder how many people who don't know the man's identity have figured it out by now.

[Q2] Backstage, Awesome Kong trashed Booker T's old dressing room. The announcers implied that it was because she was without a handler for the first time...

Powell's POV: Um, shouldn't this have happened last week since she didn't have a handler then either? Silly.

Highlights aired of Dixie Carter and the TNA brass arriving in New York City on Tuesday. A couple shots aired of the scene of the press conference before it started. The announcers continued to tease Hogan's debut...

1. Tara defeated Alissa Flash in 5:10. Flash got plenty of offense, but Tara won with a fireman's carry into a side slam for the clean win. Taz said it wasn't pretty, but it was effective. After the match, Kong came to the ring and attacked Tara. She hit the Implant Buster on Tara on top of Flash...

Powell's POV: Why can't Flash win? I'm not saying she should have beat Tara, but why won't TNA get behind her character? I don't get it. By the way, it's a shame that Tara has lost so much momentum.

Backstage, the camera just happened to be inside Team 3D's locker room while they joked around. Rhino entered the locker room and told them that Hernandez tried to end his career last week because that's what TNA management wanted him to do. Rhino said he has Matt Morgan tonight and implied the same thing could happen.

Brother Ray said Rhino is dishing out conspiracy theories. Ray said Rhino is paranoid and insane. Rhino said something is going on and all the young wrestlers are in on it. Team 3D laughed it off and left the room... [C]

[Q3] 2. The Motor City Machine Guns beat Team 3D in 4:50. The announcers started the match by pondering what Team 3D must be thinking about Hulk Hogan coming in. Taz pointed out that Devon was wearing a knee brace and said he suffered an injury at Bound For Glory.

At 2:25, Brother Ray hit the urinage that injured Sabin. They replayed it several times and pointed out that it was obvious Sabin was injured. Tenay said it was hard to watch (after they showed it like 200 times). Sabin was shown rolling to the corner and tagging in his partner. The match continued while trainers tended to Sabin in the corner.

Late in the match, Sabin locked Devon in a half-crab. Devon slammed his hand down on the mat in pain. The referee called for the bell. Shelley went right to his corner to check on Sabin...

Powell's POV: Wow, nasty looking spot. Sabin is lucky to walk away without serious injury. It looked like Ray dropped Sabin on the back of his head when he hit the urinage (a/k/a Rock Bottom). I believe they cut a chuck of footage out because Sabin was unable to tag out right away.

Backstage, Lauren interviewed Scott Steiner, who was still in Clubber Lang mode. He apologized to Bobby Lashley's wife for not knowing what it's like to be with a real man... [C]

Powell's POV: TNA is airing brief clips in between commercials just as UFC is doing on Ultimate Fighter. Must be a Spike TV thing. TNA doesn't do much with these. They just showed Desmond lacing up his boots and hyped his match. UFC airs some fun footage during these clips.

The latest edition of "Hermie's Hotseat" aired with Hermie Sadler interviewing Amazing Red and Don West. Red said he's not a good talker. West said Red is everything that's right about the business. The announcers teased that the rest of the interview is available on the TNA website...

Powell's POV: I'll never understand why Hermie has his own interview show, but this was a nice teaser for the website.

3. Eric Young fought Bobby Lashley to a no-contest in a TNA Legends Championship match in 1:45. Tenay said it's only a matter of time before "The Boss" is wearing TNA gold. "Tonight may be the night," he said. Ugh. Horrible line by Tenay. He may as well have said Lashley wasn't winning this match. Kristal Lashley was in the crowd again.

[Q4] The wrestlers fought to ringside early on. Lashley tried to throw Young back inside the ring, but Young fought it off to make sure Lashley was in position. Steiner came out clotheslined Lashley. Steiner posed for Kristal while wearing a t-shirt that had a weak cartoon version of Kristal in a bikini.

The wrestlers headed back inside the ring. Lashley applied his finisher on Young, but Steiner entered the ring and hit Lashley with a chair to end the match. Steiner put Lashley in the Steiner Recliner. Tenay said the match had been thrown out... [C]

Powell's POV: It's Rick Rude harassing Jake Roberts's wife Cheryl with a fraction of the heat.

After the break, the World Elite were standing in the ring wearing horrible white matching gym gear. Taz cracked that it looked like they were selling ice cream. Brutus Magnus said the British Invasion was suspended without pay until Turning Point. He said they were upset because they found a loophole by getting themselves disqualified during Beer Money's final title shot last week.

Eric Young took the mic and boasted that he gave Lashley his first loss. Tenay pointed out it was a no-contest. Young said the TNA Legend's Championship is dead. He said the belt will now be known as the Global Championship. He said there are two rules. He said the belt won't be defended on American soil, and he will never defend it against American wrestlers.

Kevin Nash walked onto the stage and bitched that Eric Young didn't keep up his end of the bargain at the pay-per-view. Nash said Sheik Abdul-Bashir tried to pay him in Iranian money. Young said he screwed Nash before Nash screwed him. Beer Money hit the ring from behind World Elite and ran them off with chairs. Nash said Young can run, but he can't hide...

Powell's POV: If the British Invasion are suspended, then WTF are they doing on television? And if TNA management is so pissed, can't they just give Beer Money another title shot? I mean, they do manage the company. Happy to see the Legends Title dropped, but it's still the same toy belt with a new name. By the way, I believe this was the promo that started with Nash bitching about the way management handled Sabin's injury. Oh, and those World Elite jumpsuits are horrible.

Backstage, Styles told Daniels he didn't think he attacked him last week. Daniels took offense to Styles not saying he knew for sure. Daniels said he was going to take it up with Samoa Joe... Ring introductions took place for the six-Knockout tag match... [C]

Powell's POV: It's always a smart hook to have the Knockouts coming to the ring just before a break.

[Q5] 4. The Beautiful People defeated ODB, Hamada, and Christy Hemme in 4:20. The announcers immediately plugged that the video footage of Hulk Hogan joining TNA. They hyped it as a partnership and said they would be asking about the implications of the move until Hogan's role is defined.

After four minutes of throwaway action, Lacy tagged in for the first time. She awkwardly set up Hemme for a chokeslam and pinned her. After the match, Awesome Kong came out. Tara ran out and jumped Kong. They had a pull apart brawl at ringside with security between them...

Powell's POV: Lacy found a way to look uncoordinated during the 10 seconds she was in the match.

[Q6] [C] Highlights aired from Bound For Glory of Abyss beating Mick Foley... Dr. Stevie came to the ring and challenged Abyss to come to the ring and see the monster he created...

5. Abyss beat Dr. Stevie in a no DQ match in 3:00. There were weapons at ringside. Tenay said it was scheduled to be a handicap match, but management decided this was the only way to settle things. Abyss dominated the action. Tenay hyped the Hogan footage. He said the press conference took place after this week's Impact was taped.

Abyss won the match clean, but Dr. Stevie attacked him from behind with a kendo stick just seconds after the pin. Stevie choked out Abyss with a kendo stick. Mick Foley's music played and he came to the ring and instructed Stevie to hand him the stick. Foley wound up and hit Stevie with the stick... [C]

Powell's POV: I'm surprised Tenay acknowledged the show was taped. They didn't really need to. Sure, it seemed a little odd that the wrestlers weren't talking about Hogan, but the overdubbed commentary was enough to make the show seem as if it could have been new. Get ready for the promo from Foley where he says Abyss earned his respect.

Backstage, Jeremy Borash asked Mick Foley for comments. He said no comment and then channeled Baron Von Raschke...

6. Matt Morgan pinned Rhino in 3:05. The announcers mentioned that Hogan and Morgan were both on American Gladiators. Morgan controlled the first couple minutes of the match, but Rhino came back with a belly-to-belly. Moments later, Morgan hit the Carbon Footprint and pinned Rhino.

[Q7] After the match, Rhino jumped Morgan and hit another suplex and then gored Morgan. Rhino set up for another gore, but Hernandez ran out and Rhino left the ring. Rhino took the mic and said no one is taking him out of TNA...

Backstage, Daniels told Joe to stop the games. Daniels said he should take out Joe for messing with his head. Joe played the same mind games with Daniels by saying Styles didn't respect Daniels enough to think that he had the ability to take him out. Joe left and Daniels slammed his hand against the Joe picture on the wall... [C]

Powell's POV: It's nice to see Joe play mind games. He's usually portrayed as an angry hot head, so this is a nice change of pace.

Don West was delivering the house show pitch when Homicide entered the picture and demanded his title match. He grabbed West by the collars and dmanded it. He took West's wallet, and grabbed some cash and his license...

Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Kurt Angle, who cut a promo about Desmond Wolfe attacking him. Borash asked whether Angle thought there was more to the story. He questioned whether someone who doesn't want Angle in TNA could be behind it...

Powell's POV: Why would the TNA broadcast team jump to this conclusion? This is the second time someone has brought this up tonight even though there's no reason for them to think Wolfe is aligned with someone.

A shot aired of A.J. Styles lying on the ground. It was implied that he was attacked again... [C] After the break, Lauren stood outside as an ambulance hauled Styles away. She told viewers to check the TNA website for updates this week...

[Q8] 7. Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle. Taz said he'd heard from some of the wrestlers that Wolfe has a dangerous clothesline. Taz knew Wolfe as Nigel McGuinness last week, but doesn't know about his clothesline? As the wrestlers brawled at ringside, Tenay hyped that the press conference footage was coming up afterward.

Tenay, who previously acknowledged that the show was pre-taped, said he was handed a note informing him that Chris Sabin is going to be okay. Angle was playing to the crowd when Wolfe approached him from behind. There was an awkward edit because the next shot showed Desmond clotheslining Anlge face-to-face.

Angle was motionless on the mat. Desmond rolled him over and gloated. The announcers used the subdued commentary tone, which felt out of place. Desmond backed up the referee and then rolled Kurt over and gloated as the show went to break... [C]

Powell's POV: You know, because Desmond wouldn't want to pin Angle. The followup for last week's red hot Desmond and Kurt angle was completely overshadowed by the Hogan press conference hype. This match would have been the big moment of the week in wrestling had it not been for Hogan. Even without Hogan, I don't know why they would give away the first match between these two on television. Too bad.

After the break, the announcers showed Angle being stretchered out. They aired the clothesline again and then cut right to the Hogan footage...

Powell's POV: Wow, that was bad. The angle stretcher job meant nothing because they cut away so quickly. Tenay went from sounding semi-concerned at one point, only to go into excited mode for the Hogan press conference. It's not his fault, though, because it was just an awkward position for him to be in.

The press conference footage featured Eric Bischoff introducing Hulk Hogan, who then introduced Dixie Carter as "my new business partner." He told a fan they were getting back in the ring. Dixie stood up and announced that she was thrilled that Hogan was joining the company. A graphic featured Dixie's new Twitter page address.

Hogan said he felt like he's been born again. He said TNA was the company that would lead the way in the future. Spike TV's Kevin Kay stared at his script as he spoke about how excited he was to have Hogan in TNA. Hulk said his goal is to make TNA the number one sports entertainment company in the business. He said he thinks the company needed this move to make a statement. "I'm really looking forward to getting in the mix," Hogan said...

Powell's POV: They gave just enough to satisfy viewers and leave them wanting more. However, they didn't hype any type of followup for next week's Imapct or even the pay-per-view. Maybe Hogan isn't going to be there next week. Overall, I was disappointed to see the Angle vs. Wolfe match come off so poorly.

TNA was in a tough spot, but there had to be a way they could have rearranged the show so that they could have made the Angle stretcher job more meaningful. Wolfe looked like a star last week, but he felt like just another wrestler tonight. That said, the Hogan signing makes the company look more major league to the masses. I'll have more to say about the show in Friday's TNA Impact Hitlist.

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