James Caldwell, Torch Team Contributor

TNA Impact Review
March 18, 2005
Taped March 15, 2005 in Orlando, FL at Universal Studios
Aired on Fox Sports Net
Report by James Caldwell, Torch Team Contributor

- We opened with Mike Tenay and Don West narrating still shot photos from Destination X when Diamond Dallas Page challenged Jeff Jarrett for the NWA Title, only to lose as a result of Monty Brown's heel turn to join forces with Jarrett.

- From the Impact Zone, Mike Tenay and Don West welcomed us to the show, where Tenay set the stage for Monty Brown's impending explanation for why he joined Jeff Jarrett. West said we're going to see two "six sides of steel matches" at TNA Lockdown.

- We went to a video clip from last Sunday's post-show victory celebration in Jeff Jarrett's locker room. Inside the room was Jarrett, Monty Brown, the Naturals, Chris Candido, and Jarrett's lawyer, Dirk Daggert. Jarrett shook Brown's hand congratulating him on seeing the light and joining his side. Brown paused and asked, "You owe me one, right?" Of course, Jarrett was jubilant in reassuring Brown that he was going to take care of Brown's "favor." The heels celebrated some more with that out of the way.

- Mike Tenay & Don West speculated as to what Jarrett owes Brown. Possibly a Title match?

(1) Christopher Daniels defeated Jerrelle Clark in a non-title X Division Match at 2:35. The new X Division Champion, Christopher Daniels, entered the ring and mouthed, "I told you," in the direction of A.J. Styles. Daniels pounded on Clark before the bell rang, much to the crowd's delight. Despite being portrayed as a heel, Daniels still receives one of the more thunderous ovations from the Orlando audience. After reversing a whip to the ropes, Clark snapped off a quick huricanrana and scored a two count on a pin attempt. Daniels recovered and scored a modified STO. Daniels pounded on Clark then screamed in his face before landing some stiff punches to the head. Daniels dropped Clark with an overhead suplex and played to the camera. Daniels with a scoop slam followed by a springboard moonsault off the top rope. Daniels refused to make a pin as Tenay and West built up Daniels' swerve on Prime Time Elix Skipper at Destination X. Clark slipped out of a suplex and ran over Daniels with a clothesline followed by a drop kick. Clark took Daniels down with a DDT after avoiding a tilt-o-whirl slam. Clark went up top, but took too long, allowing Daniels to recover and throw him off the top turnbuckle. Daniels picked up Clark and delivered the Angel's Wings for the three count and the win.

Match View: Christopher Daniels continues to be Orlando's favorite heel, continually cheering for him while Daniels continues to ignore the cheers from the crowd. It's very similar to how Randy Orton was cheered extensively prior to his babyface turn, with him ignoring the chants to continue in his heel role. Jerrelle Clark continues to do nothing but job, with no character development being given to him despite showing potential in the ring. Good match that the crowd ate up because Daniels is so over with the Orlando fans.

- Following his victory, Christopher Daniels picked up the house mic and said, "My all out assault on the X Division that started at Against All Odds ended triumphantly at Destination X." Daniels touted his Destination X victory over a four-time X Division Champion and two former World Champions. The fans chanted, "Fallen Angel." Daniels said, "Not only did I prove that I am the heart and soul of the X Division. I proved that I alone deserve to be the flagship for this company. I will blaze a trail of glory for TNA that everyone will follow." Daniels closed, "I humbly accept the title of Mr. T-N-A." Prime Time's music hit and out came Elix Skipper with a big grin on his face. Prime Time gave Daniels a mocking applause for his victory last Sunday. Prime Time said A.J. Styles and the fans don't know Daniels, but "I've heard that speech a thousand times and I know you." Prime Time laughed and said, "You know me. You know what I'll do to you." Prime Time laughed to himself and left as Daniels tried to figure out what Prime Time was referring to. Mike Tenay said Prime Time brings a good point that no one knows Daniels better than his former tag team partner from Triple X.

Impact Note: Very good promo exchange between Daniels and Prime Time as the beginning of the build up to their X Division Title Match at Lockdown. Daniels showed why he is one of the best characters in TNA, while Prime Time effectively mocked Daniels and gave us a teaser of exposing Daniels. By virtue of Daniels positioning himself as the truth in TNA, Prime Time planted a nice seed that we may not even know the truth. Very intriguing lead-in and build up. I'm excited to see where they go with this in the five weeks before Lockdown occurs.

[Commercial Break]

(2) Kid Kash (w/Lance Hoyt) defeated Mikey Batts at 3:54. Batts and Kash stared each other before the bell with Kash waiting out Batts' plea to the fans for vocal support. Kash took Batts down with a waist lock then worked on Batts with an arm twist. Kash knocked over Batts with a shoulder block off the ropes, but then ran into a high-elevated kick to the face. Kash recovered and took Batts down with a double hand press. Kash dropped Batts on his back with an elevated double foot kick to the chest. Kash opened up on Batts with a knife-edge chop, but was sent to the ropes and clotheslined over the top rope to the outside. Batts tried to leap over the top rope onto Kash, but Kash moved and Batts fell into the arms of Lance Hoyt. Hoyt caught Batts and drove him into the ringpost before throwing him back into the ring. Kash went up top and scored a flying clothesline onto Batts. Kash went back up top and connected with an awkward cross body block on Batts that resulted in a two count. Kash sent Batts to the ropes, but Batts took control with a flying fist to the face. Batts connected with an overhead suplex then ducked a clothesline and went for a wheelbarrow maneuver, but turned it into a quick roll up for a two count only. Batts picked up Kash and dropped him with a DDT. Lance Hoyt went up on the apron to distract Batts. With the referee's back turned, Hoyt punched Batts in the face putting Batts on the seat of his pants against the ropes. From the opposite end of the ring, Kash leapt off the top rope with a springboard missile drop kick to Batts' back. Kash covered an unprecedented distance reaching Batts' back! Kash picked up Batts and delivered his double underhook piledriver – the Moneymaker – for the pin.

Match View: Good effort from both wrestlers. The match could have gone another five minutes and been a real nice X Division showcase, but it was certainly comparable and on par with how TNA has presented the X Division. Along the lines of Jerrelle Clark, Mike Batts could certainly use some character development because he has potential in the ring. A victory might also help him out since the Orlando fans could care less about him because he hasn't won a match on Impact in a long time. Kid Kash is always enjoyable because he performs at such a high level in the ring. Good work all around from both wrestlers.

[Commercial Break]

- We went backstage where Konan was standing alone next to a table looking very preoccupied. From his left, BG James and Ron Killings entered the scene to greet Konan. Konan greeted Killings with the usual handshake, but brushed BG James aside like a gnat on a muggy Southern night. Konan brought up BG's accidental guitar shot from Destination X and said, "It's all good; accidents happen. I call you all the time; you don't holler right back, but I want to know what you and the Outlaw were talking about last week." BG and Killings threw their hands up in disbelief that Konan was still upset. BG said, "I can't believe you're letting that punk get inside your head…That freak is playing games and you're letting him do it." Killings took BG James' side and tried to reassure Konan that it was all good in the Kru. Konan turned to BG and said, "You know I got your back like a car seat, but the bottom line is he's (The Outlaw) trying to drive a wedge between us and you're letting him." BG said it wasn't like that, but Konan still wasn't convinced. Killings separated Konan and BG as the discussion heated up. Konan told BG, "You go do what you got to, but I'm going to end this thing tonight a lot quicker than you think." Konan went back to the table and turned his body away from BG and Killings.

- Don West and Mike Tenay speculated that Konan was feeling very insecure about what BG James was getting himself into. West said he was feeling worrisome about the relationship between BG and the Outlaw.

(3) Dustin Rhodes & America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) defeated The Naturals (Chase Stevens & Andy Douglas) & Chris Candido defeated at 3:23. The match began with all six wrestlers standing off against each other. A punch was thrown by James Storm and all heck broke loose with action spilling to the outside. In the ring, Dustin Rhodes and Chris Candido were the two remaining stars with Dustin missing with a cross body block and falling to the outside. The Naturals and Candido worked over Dustin outside of the ring, then Candido sent Dustin back into the ring. Candido knocked Dustin down with a stiff right hand as the fans chanted, "Dustin Sucks." Candido snapped off a suplex then covered Dustin for a two count only. Candido sent Dustin to the ropes and missed with a drop kick when Dustin held onto the ropes. Dustin knocked over Candido with a clothesline then fell to the mat in exasperation. Chris Harris took the hot tag, as did Andy Douglas for the heel team. Harris knocked down Douglas with hard left hooks before dropping him with a back body drop. Harris knocked Candido off the apron then dropped Stevens with a left arm clothesline. Storm tagged in and helped Harris pick up Stevens and use him as a battering ram on Douglas. AMW picked up Candido in the same battering ram position, but handed him off to Dustin who connected with a powerbomb. Very good teamwork on display by the babyfaces. Harris took Douglas off the ropes and dropped him with a bulldog. Storm flipped Stevens out of a seated position and connected with an amazing superkick. Storm measured Douglas and picked him up in a rocking chair position. Harris climbed up to the top turnbuckle and connected with a top rope leg drop on Douglas – the Death Sentence. Storm made the pin and scored the victory for the babyfaces.

Match View: Real good action that certainly was exciting to watch. Unfortunately, the excitement comes with the drawback of not having a tag match build up enough drama to have an effective climax. It felt like a quickie tag match that could have been drawn out for a more believable tag match considering the long-standing feud between both sides. Additionally, having AMW & Dustin go over the Naturals & Candido appears to be a short-sighted move when there was a lot of additional heat that could have been added to the feud before having the big six man tag match. They should have gone with some one on one matches between both sides leading into a big six-man tag match that could have gone ten to fifteen minutes and been an effective blow off match. With the decision being made to have the babyfaces go over the heels in such a quick, convincing manner, there isn't a whole lot of reason to have another match between both sides. It's a bit of backwards booking that TNA is notorious for using.

[Commercial Break]

- Mike Tenay stood in the center of the Impact Zone ring to introduce NWA Champion Jeff Jarrett. Tenay said Jarrett takes care of business, because every obstacle Dusty Rhodes has placed in his way, he has overcome. Out came Jarrett accompanied by his "insurance policy," the Outlaw. Once Jarrett hit the ring, the fans chanted, "Drop the Title." Jarrett smiled and literally dropped the title on the mat. That didn't phase the fans, who continued their chant. Tenay asked Jarrett two questions: How did you convince Monty Brown to join your side and why did Monty Brown agree to do it? Jarrett smirked and responded, "Opportunities." Jarrett said that Dusty Rhodes wasn't going to give Monty Brown any opportunities, so Brown decided to join Jarrett and get those opportunities he was missing out on when was alone. Jarrett reminded us that Nash and DDP received Title shots, but Monty Brown didn't. (Wow. A little history lesson is needed here.) Jarrett said it was fairly simple to get Brown to go along with his plan because, "great minds think alike." Jarrett said the only two people who knew about the plan were himself and Monty Brown. The fans chanted, "Jarrett Sucks" and "Shut up," before Jarrett addressed the crowd and said, "Monty Brown made the right decision…Monty Brown wanted to stand beside a winner when he decided to align himself with Planet Jarrett. The entire wrestling world is his for the taking." Jarrett brought out Monty Brown, who he described as "my personal friend; someone I have always admired and held in a very high regard." During Brown's walk to the ring, Don West said Brown had "made a deal with the devil." West reminded us that Jarrett had called Brown a Double A ballplayer for months on end and never showed Brown any respect.

Brown entered the ring and shook hands with Jarrett as the fans chanted, "You sold out." Brown said, "I will continue to sell out." Brown said, "It's time for us three to take the world over." Brown said he was going to do whatever he wanted and no one – not even Dusty Rhodes – could stop him. Brown said, "If you don't like it, don't talk about it, be about it. We are about it." Brown continued, "You are looking at three individuals who are taking it to another level, and we will Poooounce the world." Brown stood atop the top turnbuckle and stared into the audience as Don West described the scary prospect of Brown, Jarrett, and the Outlaw ruling TNA.

Impact Note 2: That's it? Wow. The premise of Monty Brown's explanation for turning heel and joining forces with Jarrett is built on several false truths. One falsity is a mere heel tactic – Jarrett sucking up to Brown after denouncing him for months – while another one is built on a distortion of truth. Monty Brown has received several NWA Title opportunities within the past few months, so for the premise of this storyline to be Brown's lack of Title shots shows a blatant disregard for the past. Jarrett and Brown acted like Brown hadn't received a Title shot against Jarrett, when in fact, he received a Title shot before Nash and DDP. He even received two NWA Title shots before Nash and DDP. That's just ridiculous for the key aspect of the storyline to be built on something so shortsighted and lacking in a historical perspective. As for Brown's new heel persona, I like it simply because he appears more uncomfortable as a heel rather than a babyface trying to act cool. His babyface promos were too lame and forced, while his first heel promo came across more natural. I just hate the actual message within the promo because it doesn't work.

[Commercial Break]

- Dusty Rhodes was backstage with Trinity and Traci. Traci was gushing with pride since her team – the Disciples of Destruction – was victorious over Trinity's team – Phi Delta Slam – last Sunday at the PPV. Trinity stood in silence awaiting Dusty's ill-fated confirmation of Traci as the sole secretary to the Director of Authority. Dusty began the discussion by talking about his two "six sides of steel" cage matches for the Lockdown PPV, which his new secretary will go to work on after his announcement. Dusty recapped Traci's victory as Traci put her hands all over his chest. Dusty said both teams had been signed, despite PDS losing. (Ah crap!) Dusty segued to announcing that Traci will be his personal secretary, just as the PPV match stipulation indicated. Traci hugged Dusty and Dusty soaked it all in before turning his attention to Trinity, who was crestfallen. Dusty said, "You (Traci) will share the duties with my other personal secretary, Trinity." Traci stopped shaking her breasts in Dusty's face and screamed, "What?!" Dusty hugged Trinity and told the audience to get ready for Lockdown.

Impact Note 3: You've got to be kidding me, right? TNA used two PPV's to build up this "battle for Dusty Rhodes' secretary position" and Dusty makes his decision that both women win? Wow. Why not just throw out every single match and feud and call all of them a draw? Obviously, match stipulations just don't matter in TNA because Traci's team won, yet she's sharing the spoils of her victory with Trinity. Unfortunately, the holes in Dusty's booking aren't just limited to a meaningless battle for secretary, but also most of the other feuds and storylines in TNA. Whether it's a Jeff Jarrett Title defense or the ending to a PPV match, someone wins, but the loser comes out on looking better with a post-match beat down. Why even have matches if Dusty wants to book every major match the same cheap way? This isn't merely an indictment on an obvious failure to make a decision, but an indictment on Dusty's entire philosophy for booking the blow-off of a feud.

(4) The Shocker defeated David Young at 2:01. Shocker came to the ring with a lot of fire and energy for his first match in TNA. In a cringe inducing moment, Tenay brought up the Shocker's appearance in "all those McDonald's commercials." You know, those commercials Wade Keller hasn't seen yet. Tenay and West emulated the story of the commercial making me wonder why TNA can't get some respectable announcers to call their product. To the match where "Mr. 1,000% Guapo" opened up with a waist lock on David Young. Young turned the waist lock into an arm drag takeover. Shocker tripped up Young and scored a nearfall to which Young countered with a trip up leading to a nearfall. Young knocked over Shocker with a shoulder block then tripped Young and drop kicked him in the face. Shocker leapt off the top turnbuckle with a turnaround missile drop kick sending Young to the outside. Shocker flew over the top rope with a somersault splash on Young, knocking him down to the concrete. Shocker went back into the ring and played to the crowd, giving Young ample time to re-enter the ring and knock Shocker down with a clubbing double axehandle smash. Young picked up Shocker and went for a powerbomb, but Shocker turned it into a huricanrana. Shocker hopped up to his feet and drove a big boot to Young's head, knocking him to the mat. Shocker grabbed Young's foot and twisted him over into a quick roll up for a nearfall. Young was up to his feet first and kicked Shocker in the head. Shocker went for a weak clothesline, but Shocker blocked it and turned it into a quick leg roll up – the Shockwave – for the pin and the win.

Match View: Good debut match for the Shocker notwithstanding the porous effort from David Young. Storyline-wise, Young may have been given another opportunity by Dusty Rhodes, but he certainly doesn't look like someone trying to keep his spot in TNA. From a wrestling standpoint, Young's offense looked horribly weak and non-believable. That's been his infamous calling card as long as I've watched him wrestle, and he doesn't appear to be improving anytime soon. I'm not sure what they have planned for Mr. McDonald's other than giving Tenay more chances to hurt his credibility by describing a lame commercial, but he appears to be in good physical shape and could contribute to the product if given a true direction. Based on how TNA brought in Apollo for a one shot deal, I doubt TNA will actually do something meaningful with Shocker.

[Commercial Break]

- Prior to the main event tag match, Kevin Nash joined Don West & Mike Tenay ringside for commentary.

(5) Sean Waltman (w/Kevin Nash) & Diamond Dallas Page defeated Buck Quartermain & Lex Lovett at 8:47. The match began with Waltman and Lex locking up in the center of the ring. Waltman and Lex went to a standing switch with Waltman taking Lex down with a leg trip. Curiously, the camera went to a five-second audience shot while action was going on in the ring. This may have been the point in the match where Waltman and Lex blew a spot in the ring. We came back to see the briefest glimpse of Waltman attempting a hip toss, which didn't come off clean. Waltman popped to his feet and kicked Lex in the chest. Lex covered himself up as Waltman tagged in DDP. Buck took a tag from Lex as well. DDP knocked over Buck with a shoulder block then played to the crowd as Buck recovered in a corner. DDP drove a shoulder into Buck's shoulder then tagged in Waltman. Waltman delivered a kick to the gut then took a right hand to the face. Buck hammered down on Waltman's back with a clubbing forearm then Waltman recovered with an arm drag take over. Waltman fought back with a right hand then tagged in DDP, who scared Buck into flipping himself over the top rope to recover on the outside. Nash discussed Waltman's appearance on Surreal Life. (Tenay is up on pop culture such as McDonald's commercials and TV shows, so he should know all about that.) We went to our final commercial as DDP played to the crowd.

[Commercial Break]

Back from commercial, DDP was in the ring with Buck. DDP ran over Buck with a shoulder block then dropped him to the mat with a short arm clothesline. DDP scoop slammed Buck then missed with an elbow drop allowing Buck to tag in Lex. Waltman took a tag as well and landed stiff chops to Lex's chest. Lex responded with chops of his own then walked into a spin kick to the head. Waltman played to the crowd as Nash touted Waltman's karate background. Waltman scored another martial arts kick on Lex that sent Lex to the seat of his pants in the corner. Waltman went for a Bronco Buster, but Lex moved out of the way. Buck tagged in worked with Lex on a double team knock down on Waltman. Buck made a quick cover, but scored a two count only. Buck picked up Waltman and delivered a stiff side belly to back suplex. This was where the problems between Waltman and Buck began because Waltman's head snapped right up and Waltman told Buck something. Buck dropped an elbow on Waltman's head then went in close to talk to Waltman. Buck picked up Waltman and locked in a front facelock. Waltman fought to his feet and tagged in DDP, but the refere would not allow it because he did not see the tag made. Lex made a tag and covered Waltman for a two count only. Lex placed Waltman on the bottom rope then connected with a slingshot leg drop across the back of Waltman's neck. Lex made a cover, but scored a two count only. Lex sent Waltman head first into the corner turnbuckle then tagged in Buck. Buck missed with a clothesline allowing Waltman to tag in DDP. DDP ran over Buck with a right hand then took Lex down with a right hand. DDP spun around and tried to clothesline Buck, but the spot fell apart. DDP sent Buck to the seat of his pants in one corner then did the same for Lex. Waltman mustered some energy then delivered a Bronco Buster to Buck followed by Lex. DDP signaled for the Diamond Cutter and dropped Buck with his finisher. DDP covered Buck and scored the victory.

Match View: Maybe it was being in a main event match or simply gaining enough experience in the ring, but Lex and Buck – well, mainly Buck – showed some potential in the ring. Buck looked like he had more confidence than we had seen from him over the last two months and certainly held his own in the ring. If only TNA stuck to having Johnny Fairplay manage Buck & Lex, they could be on to something with making a potentially solid tag team. The only drawback from Buck's in-ring work was the side suplex he delivered to Waltman that left Waltman's neck unprotected. I can see where Waltman may have become upset as a result. Before the mid-match commercial, it appeared that Waltman and Lex blew a spot, which TNA tried to cover up with a quick crowd shot. Those two factors may have led to Waltman's disgusted glaze into the audience following the conclusion of the match. The match ending was a little sloppy with some minor mess-ups because of a lack of spacing. It didn't hurt the overall match flow, but it's something that's unacceptable because DDP has been involved in several blown spots in recent matches on Impact. Let's tidy it up, Page.

- Sean Waltman looked upset after the match and Nash entered the ring to console him with a pat on the rear end. Nash, as promised during commentary, called out Dusty Rhodes to discuss some issues. Rhodes came out with Traci and Trinity to listen in on Nash's request. Nash said he wanted himself, Sean Waltman, and DDP to mix it up with Jeff Jarrett, Monty Brown, and the Outlaw in one of the cage matches at Lockdown. Dusty Rhodes said it was up to the people to decide, but he would let Nash know next week on Impact. Nash asked, "next week?" Mike Tenay screamed that we would get the answer next week.

---

Matches Announced for Lockdown. No official match announcements, but Dusty Rhodes will announce Nash & Waltman & DDP vs. Jarrett & Brown & Outlaw on next week's show. Hints were dropped for Daniels vs. Prime Time.

Closing Thoughts: No Abyss. No Styles. No Hardy. No Team Canada. That's unacceptable for a post-PPV edition of Impact. If anyone should have been featured on this week's edition of Impact, A.J. Styles should have been given the opportunity to restore heat following his loss of the X Division Title. Hardy needed to be featured in some capacity to capitalize on the "respect earning" thumbtack bump he took at Destination X. Hardy picked up a lot of momentum following Abyss' heinous act, but TNA failed to focus on that outside of a quick video clip in the "order the Destination X replay" commercial promos. Something more was needed. To not feature any members of Team Canada is absurd as well. There appeared to be something brewing between Team Canada and AMW & Dustin Rhodes, but nothing was done to solidify the existence of their feud. After AMW & Rhodes won their six-man tag match, Team Canada could have easily come out to cut a promo on the babyfaces, reminding viewers of the difference in opinion between the groups. It didn't even have to be a run-in leading to a big brawl, just something of substance to give viewers a little reminder.

TNA set the stage for a great Christopher Daniels vs. Prime Time feud with a subtle, yet effective promo from Prime Time, but didn't do much else from a storyline perspective that made a whole lot of sense. I'd like to see Dusty patch up some holes in the storyline logic because there's just too much floating around without a direction. The actual wrestling is finally getting to a point where TNA can hang its hat on quality competition, so now it's a matter of TNA providing effective and intriguing storylines to complement the wrestling.

As always, feel free to send me feedback on today's show at revenge_nwo@yahoo.com. I'm open to any and all reader comments. I'll be checking in with more TNA commentary in this week’s edition of the Sunday Brunch, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

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