TNA Impact TV taping report
February 24, 2011
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Report by Shawn Cavender, PWTorch VIP member

The Crown Coliseum was set up like TNA usually does with big arenas, with one-half blocked off by a big black curtain with the entrance stage in the middle. By the opening bell, the floor and lower level was almost completely full, so for TNA it was a big crowd, a couple thousand people at least. The crowd was loud, but not as loud as it felt like it could have been given the number of fans in the building.

Before and during the show, Jeremy Borash did the spiel he does at the house shows, promising backstage passes to the loudest fans.

Before the taping started, some footage from the February 24 Impact episode was shown; a bunch of Jeff & Karen Jarrett skits as they picked out wedding clothes and talked to a priest, and the first half of the three-way match between Angle, RVD, and Anderson.

Impact Taping for March 3

Dixie Carter came to the ring to speak to the fans. She said that the morning’s decision by the judge concerning who controls TNA didn’t go in her favor. Eric Bischoff and Immortal (Matt Hardy, Rob Terry, Gunner, and Murphy) came out to gloat, saying they are in total control of TNA now. Bischoff said he still thinks Dixie’s got a lot of balls, even though she is a woman in the man’s world of pro wrestling. Ric Flair came out next (to a babyface pop, since the show’s in N.C.) and said some stuff to Dixie, like that there was a Holiday Inn nearby where they could go.

Eric Bischoff then introduced the returning Hulk Hogan. He got more cheers than boos. Hogan rambled a little less than he usually does on TNA shows, talking about how he and Eric were 100 percent in control of the company now.

Next, Fortune came out and cut some decent promos (except for Kazarian, who just had a bad one-liner). When they tried to go into the ring to fight Immortal, TNA security stopped them.

(1) TNA tag champions Beer Money (Robert Roode & “Cowboy” James Storm) beat Gunner & Murphy to retain the TNA World Tag Team Titles. The match was even-steven until Beer Money took control in the last minute and won with a DWI.

After the match, Ink Inc. came out and Shannon Moore issued a challenge to Beer Money for a tag title match at Victory Road, which Storm and Roode accepted.

(2) Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) beat Sarita (w/Rosita) with a DDT. This was the match with the stipulation that if Velvet lost, she would quit TNA. During the match, Love and Rosita ended up in the ring fighting each other, so referee Earl Hebner sent them both to the back for the rest of the match. The action in this match wasn’t pretty, but the contest was short, at least.

After the match, Robbie E., Cookie, and Angelina Pivarnick from “Jersey Shore” came out to confront the Beautiful People. In the first of many slips of the night, Robbie E. fell on his butt as the Shore reached the bottom of the entrance ramp and Cookie was cutting a promo. It ended up a brawl, then Velvet issued a challenge for a six-woman tag match on the next week’s show.

Next was supposed to be the Jarrett vow renewal ceremony. A multi-tiered wedding cake was set up on the entrance stage. Eric Young and Orlando Jordan came out first, with Young as the ring bearer and Jordan (in a woman’s skirt) as the flower girl. Jeff Jarrett followed, but before he could make his way down the ramp, Kurt Angle attacked him from behind, slipping on the stage as he ran out. Angle beat on Jeff for 30 seconds, then Karen ran out and jumped on Kurt’s back to get him off of Jeff. Kurt ended up grabbing Karen and putting her face through the wedding cake.

(3) Scott Steiner beat “The Freak” Rob Terry with the Steiner Recliner. Steiner dominated most of the match, which only lasted a few minutes.

Around this time, Borash announced that the Jarrett ceremony would still take place tonight. It ended up being the last thing filmed, so presumably it airs on March 10 instead of March 3 as advertised.

(4) Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan ended in a double count-out. During this match, someone I didn’t recognize joined Taz and Tenay on commentary. Morgan controlled the match until they ended up on the outside and Hernandez sent Morgan into the ring steps. Hernandez kept beating on Morgan at ringside until the ref called for the DCO.

(5) Sting beat TNA World champion Jeff Hardy to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Up until Jeff Hardy was in the ring, all that the fans knew was that Hardy would be defending his World title against a mystery opponent. Hardy came out to a loud crowd response, almost all of it positive. On the big screen, the “3/3/11” numbers were shown, followed by a lot of lightning, then Sting’s video and music hit, getting a big pop. Sting came out wearing a shiny, colorful new ring coat and new wrestling gear. As Sting walked down the ramp, a big technical glitch happened, as backstage video of some of the Knockouts was shown on the big screen for a few seconds. Sting looked in better shape than he’s looked in a year or so. Hardy and Sting had a 12-15-minute match that was about what you’d expect from the two of them, and Sting won clean after a couple of Scorpion Death Drops. Sting celebrated in the ring for a few minutes after the match, enjoying the adulation of the surprised fans.

Continue Reading: Impact SPOILERS 3/10

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