By James Caldwell, Torch columnist

TNA Impact on Spike TV
April 13, 2006
Taped April 10, 2006 in Orlando, Florida
Report by James Caldwell, Torch columnist

1 -- CHRISTOPHER DANIELS vs. SAMOA JOE -- X Division Title match

We go straight to the middle of the X Division Title match with Daniels on the floor bleeding. They did rapid-fire clips from the first four minutes of the match while Daniels recovered in real time on the floor. Joe rolled Daniels back into the ring. The camera focused on Daniels's bloody forehead. Joe walked around Daniels before biting the champ's forehead to draw more blood. Joe stared at the hard camera with blood hanging out of his mouth. Tenay announced that Daniels would not face Jushin Liger at the Lockdown PPV because Liger refused to compete inside a steel cage. If TNA presents New Japan as the heel faction in the upcoming X Cup tournament, this is a good way to translate the actual behind-the-scenes issue - New Japan pulling Liger because he doesn't do cage matches - into a storyline. Joe worked on Daniels with chops in the corner. Daniels slumped to the bottom turnbuckle. Daniels tried to fight back, but Joe caught him with a forearm chop to the head followed by a soccer kick to the head. Joe placed his hands on his hips and watched as Daniels tried to recover. Joe washed Daniels's face before hitting the charging kick to the face.

[Commercial Break]

Joe hit a powerbomb into Boston Crab right out of the break. Joe quickly changed the hold into an STF and pounded on Daniels's blood-soaked forehead. Daniels broke the hold and Joe went into deep thought on one knee. The fans rallied behind Daniels. Daniels blocked a punch to the head and hit a side kick. Daniels hit a jawbreaker across his knees. He snapped off a huricanrana from the top turnbuckle for a nearfall. Joe caught Daniels napping with a charging kick to the face. Daniels hit a turnaround Cena slam for a two count. They exchanged weak chops before Daniels dropped Joe with the STO. He hit the Best Moonsault Ever for a nearfall. Daniels went up top, but Joe caught him. He hit the Island Driver off the top turnbuckle for the win to capture the X Division Title. Afterwards, a Sabu video package greeted Joe. Tenay said Joe would defend the strap against Sabu at Lockdown.

WINNER: Samoa Joe in 13:00. The final minute of nearfalls was great. Prior to that, both men appeared to be winded and the action became a bit sluggish. Still, 13 minutes of solid athletic, competitive wrestling is a strong "thumbs up". This should be TNA's calling card for televised wrestling action, not boring squash matches. Mike Tenay did a good job setting the stage for the match after we joined the match four minutes in. It's always preferable to see a match from the beginning to establish the story and tone of the match, but TNA did a good job with this. Joe's victory is a head-scratcher since it's time for him to move on and conquer the heavyweight division. It's time for someone else to step into the top few spots in the X Division. We'll see where this goes in the next few months.

- Jeremy Borash interviewed Sting. He said we would find out if Jeff Jarrett accepted his challenge from last week for a match tonight. Sting comes across like the youth pastor playing a wrestler.

[Commercial Break]

- Mike Tenay did a sit-down interview with Christian Cage. They aired clips of James Mitchell and Abyss stalking Christian's wife while Christian discussed the personal nature of their actions. He said he's never wanted to beat anyone as much as he wants to beat Abyss.

2 -- AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (JAMES STORM & CHRIS HARRIS w/Jackie Gayda and Gail Kim) vs. -- Non-Title Street Fight match

They brawled in the ring early on. Gail and Jackie had a catfight one minute into the match. Gail slapped Jackie across the face.

[Commercial Break]

Harris choked Devon in the corner right out of the break. Ray quickly took a hot tag, which means TNA strategically cut out the repetitive heel beat down on TV. Good decision. The action broke down before spilling to the outside. They went into the crowd. Devon threw Harris into the wall of the bleachers. Ray threw Storm through the wall, but not all the way through. Tenay said the winner of Team 3D-Team Canada at the PPV will have their National Anthem played after the match. Is there a U.S.-Canada war I'm not aware of? The fans chanted for tables. Harris cut off Team 3D from hitting the top rope headbutt spot. Ray flipped Storm over the top rope to the floor. Ray missed with a top rope cannonball splash. Harris cracked a trashcan over Ray's head. He tipped over like a tree in the forest then Harris made a cover for a nearfall. AMW set up for the Death Sentence, but Ray cut off Harris. Ray went for a pin, but Petey Williams interfered. The rest of Team Canada jumped Ray and Devon from behind. Petey pulled out a table from under the ring. The referee threw the match out. (Isn't this a street fight?) Spike Dudley ran to the ring and hit the Acid Drop. He set up a table and Team 3D hit the 3D on A-1. Spike pounded his chest and celebrated. Tenay called him "the brother of Team 3D."

WINNER: No Contest in 9:00. The same match we've seen from these two teams before. Spike's debut wasn't the type of major surprise TNA was relying on two months ago, but he brought good energy to the ring. TNA needs to define rules. Why would a street fight match be thrown out for outside interference when standard contest matches are allowed to continue after outside interference?

- Global Impact from Martinsville, Virginia aired. We saw Jeff Hammond take a guitar shot from Jeff Jarrett.

[Commercial Break]

- We saw clips of Sting, as Steve Borden, describing why he returned to TNA after Jarrett ruined his perfect moment of closure at Final Resolution by invading his personal life.

- Borash was backstage with Jarrett's army. Jarrett said he never backs down from a challenge and he has always solved his own problems. He answered Sting's challenge by giving Eric Young a match against Sting. Eric wasn't so sure about it. Alex Shelley, Jarrett, and Team Canada cheered on Eric to convince him the match was a good idea.

3 -- ERIC YOUNG (w/Scott D'Amore) vs. STING

D'Amore pushed Eric into the ring after Eric began to have second thoughts about the match. Eric is hilarious as the confused, jittery nut case. Sting entered the ring to a strong reaction. Eric quickly left the ring when the bell rang. D'Amore encouraged him to fight. Alex Shelley set up his camera ringside. Back in the ring, Eric took Sting to the corner and cowered against Sting's chest. Sting quickly tossed him straight over the top rope to the floor. Sting went after Shelley then went for the Stinger splash on Eric, but he moved out of the way and Sting ate ringpost. Sting rolled back into the ring.

[Commercial Break]

Eric dominated Sting out of the break. He hit a scoop slam then dropped an elbow. They exchanged right hand blows. Eric took a shortcut by raking Sting in the eyes. Eric mocked Sting's scream. He went for a Stinger Splash, but Sting easily moved out of the way. Sting cleared D'Amore then hit the Scorpion Death drop on Eric for the win.

Afterwards, Shelley jumped Sting, but Sting dropped him and applied the Scorpion Deathlock. Shelley tapped out furiously. Jarrett ran to the ring with his guitar. Sting ducked a guitar shot then dropped Jarrett with an elbow. Jarrett no-sold then grabbed his guitar as Sting simultaneously went for his baseball bat. Jarrett swung and Sting blocked the guitar with his bat. Sting smashed the guitar with his bat. AMW hit the ring. Sting fought them off with bat shots. Scott Steiner jumped Sting from behind. A.J. Styles, Ron Killings, and Rhino hit the ring with bats. They cleared the heels. Sting took the mic and called Jarrett's army a bunch of children. He named his team for Lockdown as himself and Styles, Killings, and Rhino.

WINNER: Sting at 4:01. Decent action and a good move to get a younger star in the main event with Sting. It was a safe, basic formula match. I'm expecting more compelling performances from Sting in the future for the money he's being paid, but this was fine for tonight. It's safe to say that the more Eric Young bumps around the ring, the better the match quality.

- We ended with rapid-fire clips from the entire show.

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