7/17 Twilling's TNA Impact Live Coverage: Sorting out the TNA Title situation with Samoa Joe and Booker T, What is Sting's involvement? Petey Williams vs. Kaz for the X Division Championship

TNA Impact on Spike TV
Taped in Orlando, FL

[Q1] A video aired showcasing the events of Victory Road. The show is entitled “Why Sting, Why?” Sharmell, with the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, and Booker T exited an Escalade limousine…

The opening video aired. Mike Tenay and Don West welcomed us to the show. Booker T, in a cheetah skin coat, and Sharmell made their way to the ring. Hilarious. Booker was met with “You suck” chants. He said, “Thank you.” Booker said he proved Joe could not beat him and that he was the greatest champion of all time.

Jim Cornette interrupted Booker by saying “Hold on one cotton pickin’ minute.” He told Booker to give him the championship back so he could give it back to the rightful champion, Samoa Joe. He told Booker if he wanted the title, he would have to win it from Joe at Hard Justice. Joe’s music hit and he came out in a suit.

Joe started to talk but Booker interrupted him. Booker told Joe everyone knew he could not beat him. Joe wondered how Booker could call himself a champion after he kicked Booker’s ass in his own hometown. He told Booker he could keep the belt because he would never accept a handout from a punk.

Joe asked Booker if he had what it took to beat him. “Can you do what I did to you in front of your wife?” He told Booker to shine the belt up real nice. He said to tell Sting he was going to take a piece of his ass too…

Twill’s Two Cents: Good segment. Booker was great and Joe looked like a badass. I am glad Cornette made a quick decision and did not hold up the title. One thing though, is Joe still the champion? I was not sure what he meant when he allowed Booker to keep the belt.

Backstage, Lauren mocked Beer Money. Robert Roode said he was not able to sit down for four days. He said they were going to beat on people in the park followed by whipping every fan in the Impact Zone. They dragged Lauren with them as they took off… [C]

[Q2] Jeremy Borash interviewed Kaz backstage. He said Kaz could redeem himself tonight. Kaz said he let down Jerry Lynn, A.J. Styles, The Amazing Red, Senshi, Christopher Daniels, and every other X Division wrestler…

1. Petey Williams (with Rhaka Khan) defeated Kaz to retain the X Division Championship in 4:53. At least they are calling Williams “Maple Leaf Muscle” and not “Little Petey Pump.” That is a start. Petey went for the Canadian Destroyer in the first thirty seconds but both men countered each other numerous times. Petey threw Kaz to the outside. He slingshot himself over the top and hit a hurricarana.

Petey tried the Destroyer again but Kaz countered it into a Wave of the Future attempt. Petey countered and tried it one more time. He then tried it for a fourth time but Kaz spiked him. Rhaka Khan distracted the referee. Kaz chased her off and hit the Wave of the Future for a two count.

Petey went to the top but Kaz knocked him out with a kick. He tried the Flux Capacitor but Petey fought him off. Kaz rolled Petey up but Petey pulled him through, held the tights, and scored the pinfall…

Twill’s Two Cents: This was a very clean, very crisp match. It looks like they could be building to a Kaz heel turn given his frustration over losing.

JB waited to interview Williams but Eric Young entered the picture. He told JB he knew of a top secret meeting with the “Prince Justice” connection. He said JB could not tell anyone but JB told Eric they were on live TV… [C]

Borash interviewed Joe backstage. He asked about Sting but Kevin Nash approached Joe. He told Joe he never doubted whether or not he could beat Booker. He called Joe the best in the business. Nash said Joe won that fight. Joe doubted whether or not he could beat Booker because he “nearly put Booker in a coma” and he never gave up. Nash concluded by saying, “If a man no longer believes in himself, he has nothing left.”…

[Q3] Tenay and West wondered if Sting would be in the building tonight. They plugged a Matt Morgan match and said Booker T would pick his opponent and match type for tonight. In the production truck, Roode and Storm were whipping the producers as Lauren screamed for them to stop… [C]

Tenay received word that Sting arrived at the arena and sent it out to Borash. Brother Ray and Kurt Angle exited a limousine in Sting costumes. JB approached Curry Man, Shark Boy, and Super Eric. Eric said something about ridding TNA of its filth before they were all attacked by Beer Money…

2. Matt Morgan defeated Jimmy Rave (with Christy Hemme) in :40. Morgan is being billed as “The Blueprint.” Christy ran to the back after Morgan hit a big kick. Morgan hit a finisher that was a suplex into a Blackhole Slam. After the pin, Lance Rock, formerly known as Lance Hoyt, came out and challenged Morgan. He told Morgan to mess with the guy on lead guitar…

3. Matt Morgan defeated Lance Rock (with Christy Hemme) in 1:33. After trading a little bit of offense, Morgan hit that finisher again for the win. It actually looked better the second time since he performed it on a bigger wrestler…

Backstage, all of the knockouts were yelling and screaming. Cornette and then Traci Brooks had to quiet everyone down. Cornette made a ten woman gauntlet match to determine who would face Taylor for the championship. After everyone left, Traci reminded Cornette what she offered him and that he should take her up on the offer. He thought it may be a good idea. She said he knew where to find her… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Morgan is still uncoordinated. Introducing someone with a new name and squashing him in 90 seconds is not exactly a great way to “debut” him.

[Q4] There is a new talk show segment debuting next week called “Karen’s Angle.” She said it would be the best show ever, or something like that…

Outside the building, Beer Money kept beating on people as Lauren tried to act scared and appalled…

Kurt Angle and Team 3D came out in Sting gear. Tenay sent the show to commercial… [C]

Kurt said they were there not only to celebrate, but to welcome Sting to their fraternity. Although no one thought it would ever happen, anything can happen in TNA.

Twill’s Two Cents: Anything except a rating in the twos.

Angle said Sting showed his true colors. He said he talked to Sting last night. A.J. Styles, Christian Cage, and Rhino came out with Styles as the spokesperson. Styles struggled through a promo saying he trusted Sting and would give his reasons for his actions in due time.

Brother Ray took over and ran through each guy. An “Instant Classic” chant broke out. Ray told Cage he had a bigger ego than Awesome Kong’s toilet seat. Ray “booked” a rematch for the PPV. Cage said the rematch would take place next week in a five table elimination match, meaning if you go through a table, you are out.

Twill’s Two Cents: Good thing Christian took over the promo for Styles. He and Ray were very good on the mic. I am also glad they are doing the match next week because for a second there, it looked like the PPV would be a repeat.

[Q5] A video aired showcasing the past few months of the Knockout’s Division and the winner of the gauntlet match would face Taylor Wilde for the title next week…

4. Velvet Sky pinned Gail Kim to win a gauntlet match that included Rhaka Khan, Angelina Love, Jacqueline, Salinas, Roxxi, Traci, Christy Hemme, and ODB to earn a title match in 16:22. Gail Kim and Jacqueline started the match, with participants entering every sixty seconds. Eliminations take place when a woman is thrown over the top and to the floor.

Angelina Love was the third entrant. She and Jacqueline argued over who would take out Gail. Salinas was the next entrant, which allowed two pairs to separate themselves. Velvet Sky was next and as predicted, she and Love teamed to work on Salinas. Roxxi came out next and was smart because she did not run to the ring. She took her time.

Roxxi tried the Voodoo Drop on Salinas but it was countered into a face plant. The Beautiful People eliminated Salinas as Rhaka Khan entered the match. Velvet looked scared of her. Traci was next and she knocked The Beautiful People down before going after Rhaka Khan, who is an absolute beast. Christy Hemme came out and at this point, there has only been the one elimination.

ODB was announced as the final participant. I guess she would be more drunk then since she came in last. ODB avalanched both Beautiful People in the corner. She punched a much taller Rhaka Khan as the show went to commercial… [C]

[Q6] Rhaka Khan, Christy Hemme, and Traci were eliminated during the break. Jacqueline then eliminated ODB. Roxxi threw Jacqueline over but she skinned the cat and used a head scissors to eliminate Roxxi. Roxxi then pulled Jacqueline out, leaving The Beautiful People and Gail Kim as the final three.

Love accidentally knocked out Velvet with a kick. She and Gail went at it as Sky recovered. Kim eliminated Love and Sky used the distraction to schoolboy Kim for the three count. She acted shocked that she won the match…

Backstage, JB interviewed Booker in his locker room. He said he wanted to face Consequences Creed because it reminded him of the movie Rocky. He called 911 and said, “911? This is Booker, I need an ambulance outside of the Impact Zone right now.”… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Velvet Sky wins the gauntlet match and Booker makes a Rocky reference? You would think I personally booked that segment. Great stuff, especially that 911 call.

Backstage, JB interviewed Jay Lethal. SoCal Val asked Lethal what he expected Sonjay to do since he had feelings for her. She said Jay was being too hard on Sonjay…

5. Sonjay Dutt defeated Eric Young and Johnny Devine in a triple threat match in 2:32. Dutt collected cash in a tambourine. Tenay wondered why Val would care about Dutt’s feelings. West said, “That is just like a woman… I’ve been married for 17 years and I still do not understand them.” Funny. Devine scored a nearfall on Young in the first minute.

[Q7] Dutt stayed out of things as Devine and Eric worked the match. Eric hit a Death Valley Driver on Devine. Sonjay took out Eric’s legs and rolled him up for the win. Lethal attacked Dutt but Devine intervened. Lethal started beating the crap out of Dutt but Val came out and begged him to stop. Lethal grabbed a chair from the crowd but Val grabbed it and set it down.

Sonjay grabbed the chair and instead of hitting Lethal with it, he hit the ringpost, went down, and tossed the chair to Lethal. Val turned around and freaked out because she thought Jay hit Sonjay with the chair. Lethal said he did not do anything as Val took off hysterically...

Beer Money continued to look for people to beat up… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Is Val the biggest idiot in the company or what? That was pretty clever though and Dutt is doing a fantastic job right now. Lethal has been very good too. This is a good example of making an undercard feud important.

Beer Money came out and Roode said they were going to “get whippin’.” They walked around and pulled a plant out of the stands to whip. Referees came out and they were whipped too. Scott D’Amore and Pat Kenney came out. They were whipped too. They pulled off D’Amore’s belt and his pants fell down. Don West tried to act outraged but he started laughing.

On their way to the back, they grabbed Hector Guerrero. Hector fought back but they dragged him to the ring and cuffed him to the corner. They pulled his shirt off and whipped his bare flesh. LAX finally came out to run off Beer Money. Where the hell were they?

Backstage, JB interviewed Angle, Team 3D, and Tomko. Angle said 3D had never lost a tables match. He said Sting would be in their corner next week. He then asked Tomko to crash Karen’s party next week. Tomko said it would not be a problem and he had one like Karen at home too… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Tomko stole the segment with that one line. Great stuff. Once again, what was LAX doing?

Lauren interviewed Consequences Creed. He did an Apollo Creed/James Brown type promo and even did a spinarooni. Tell you what, they should let this guy talk more often. He was fantastic…

6. Booker T. (with Sharmell) defeated Consequences Creed in a Stretcher Match in 9:01. Booker wore the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to the ring. Creed wore a non-exact replica of the outfit worn by Apollo Creed in the original Rocky movie, which was an Uncle Sam type outfit. He should wear that thing permanently. Creed frustrated Booker with his quickness, causing him to regroup on the floor… [C]

Making my head spin, Tenay said Creed may be living the real life Rocky story. He then announced a strap match for next week between Beer Money and the Motor City Machine Guns. Booker slowed things down, hitting a thrust kick followed by the axe kick. He threw Creed to the floor.

Creed tried to fight back but Booker hit him with multiple knees to the head. He placed Creed on the stretcher. The EMTs rolled Creed out through the LAX entrance. Booker followed them out to the ambulance.

Stone Cold Steve Austin errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Samoa Joe came out of the ambulance, attacked Booker, threw him in the ambulance, and watched it take off. Sharmell tried to hit Joe with a black baseball bat but Joe grabbed it. He yelled at her to tell him who gave her the bat. Joe looked on in confusion as the show went off the air… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Although a commercial aired right in the middle of it, the main event was solid. The angle at the end was predictable but interesting nonetheless.

What did you think of the show? I thought it was pretty good. I like some of the things they did tonight and how they set up a strong looking show for next week. Email me and let me know whether or not you agree. I can be reached at dotnetrich@gmail.com.