By: Daniel Wilkenfeld, PWTorch Contributor

Where We've Been (Special New Year's Edition) Looking back at 2008, the major story really seems to be the reemergence of AJ Styles, Sting, and possibly Rhino as main event players. The start of 2008 was all about two people, Kurt Angle and Christian Cage. Of those two, one has become a cartoon villain (I'm just waiting for him to grow an oddly large mustache and tie Jarrett's family to a railroad track) and one has left for greener financial pastures. AJ's cartoonishness seems to be inversely related to Angle's, as he went from pining for Karen to supplanting Samoa Joe as the face of the homegrown TNA talent. The other two pushes are more questionable. The Rhino main event spot came out of nowhere, and aside from one strong match with Sting on Impact he's not yet shown that he can still work a main event. Sting is golden while he's there, but it's hard to build a company around a tweener who only shows up eight out of every twelve months. The Women's Division continued to fly high and the X Division continued to sink low, but those trends were already in the works in 2007. The tag division has probably had a small upsurge since they took the titles off the division killers of AJ Styles & Tomko. Overall, I'd say 2008 was a slightly downward trending year, as the acquisition of Foley doesn't quite offset for the mammoth lost of the Instant Classic, and no news is bad news for the X Division.

The Show:

[Opening Credits]

Tonight we're going to see a whole bunch of whole of old matches, and Beer Money defend the tag titles against LAX.

(1) JEFF JARRETT vs. KURT ANGLE (Bound for Glory IV)

Mick Foley was our special guest referee, as we start this match complete with original commentary. Rachael points out that it would actually be kind of cool if we got DVD-like commentary by the performers, and just as she says it we get Jarrett and Mick popping up in split screen. Mick thinks Kurt might have set the bar too high for himself. Angle appears and says that he and Jarrett have managed to coexist to some extent. We go back to the old commentary as Angle picks a leg and Jarrett makes it to the ropes. Angle hits a Side Headlock Takedown. Jarrett pops up again in a sidebar and reiterates the talking points about Kurt's heir apparent. They awkwardly segue between the sidebars and the action by having the TNA logo pop up, breaking up the match. Kurt talks about CODE: SCREW YOU TNA, THAT'S NOT COOL. Jarrett has taken control in the ring with a Side Headlock of his own. Angle tries to break it up with a Back Drop, but Jarrett hangs on. Kurt makes it to his feet and drives him into the corner for a rope break. He hits some knees and some uppercuts as Jarrett breaks the hold. Angle whips Jeff into the ropes, but Jeff leapfrogs Angle and comes back with a dropkick. Jarrett clotheslines Angle over the top rope and follows him out with a cool Vaulting Cross Body Block. He whips Angle into the guardrail, but whiffs on a Double Axe Handle from the apron. His ribs catch the top of the barricade. Angle takes him back into the ring and chokes him against the ropes. He reverses an attempted Irish Whip from Angle and nails him with an Inverted Atomic Drop. He goes for a kick, it's blocked, but he nails the Ensuguri to follow up. Kurt vaults to his feet with a clothesline, and both men are down.

[Commercial Break]

We get back just in time to see Jarrett hit a School Boy for two. Angle gets up and nails a clothesline for two of his own. Angle (on commentary) talks about how he used holds and throws to take advantage of Jarrett's being out of shape. Jeff says that he had to spend the first ten minutes of the match just getting his bearings. In the ring, Jarrett is fighting out of a Sleeper, but Angle drives him into the corner. Jarrett dodges a charge and puts Kurt down with a DDT. Both men get up swinging, with Jarrett gaining the advantage with a series of clotheslines. Jarrett hits what I think is a Blue Thunder for two. When he tries to follow up after the cover Angle catches him with a Belly-to-Belly Overhead Suplex for two of his own. Angle goes for the Olympic Slam, but Jarrett reverses it into another DDT for two. Jarrett puts Angle up on the top rope, and after a bit of jockeying he's able to nail the Superplex for two. He puts Angle in a Figure Four Leg Lock, which Angle (on new commentary) says probably hurts as much as his ankle lock. He vows never to let Jarrett get him in the Figure Four again, as Angle (in-ring) gets the rope break.

[Commercial Break]

We get back in time to see Angle nail a Bridging German Suplex for two. Angle hits two more Germans, then covers for two more. He takes down the straps and goes for an Olympic Slam, but Jeff reverses it into an Arm Drag. Jeff looks for a Piledriver, but Kurt reverses into an attempted Back Body Drop, which Jeff re-reverses into a Sunset Flip, which Angle re-re-reverses with a roll-through into an Angle Lock. That was neat. Jarrett rolls Kurt off a few seconds later, but Angle comes back with the Olympic Slam for a long two count. Kurt looks frustrated. He goes to the top rope, but misses his patented Moonsault. Jarrett psyches himself up and taunts Kurt. Kurt charges, Jarrett ducks, and the ref goes down. Kurt and Jeff reverse each others' attempted strikes, with Jarrett eventually able to nail The Stroke. Mick Foley comes in to make the count, but only gets to two. On commentary Mick says that he figured he had to do something to give the fans their money's worth. Kurt goes to ringside to get a chair, and when Foley tries to stop him Angle brutalizes him with a chair shot to the side of the head. Kurt nails Jarrett inside the ring, but when the original ref goes to make the count Mick pulls him out of the ring. Mick gets into the ring and exchanges rights with Kurt before sinking in the Socko Claw (which the TNA commentators apparently aren't allowed to say). Kurt gets up, but walks right into a guitar shot from Jarrett. Mick counts the three. I would think consistency would have demanded Mick not make the count after a guitar shot, but such is life.

Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 22 minutes. ***3/4

[Commercial Break]

Mick tells us to cross the line, as he will at Genesis.

We see a video package hyping the Gail Kim-Awesome Kong feud, leading into our (TNA proclaimed) Knockouts' Match of the Year. Since this match was on Impact, I'll just (largely) recycle my commentary from back on January 10th:

(2) GAIL KIM vs. AWESOME KONG

Kong starts things off by jumping Kim before the bell, but Kim sidesteps. The crowd is split maybe 65/35 in Gail's favor. Kong takes Kim out of the ring with a Spinning Back Fist, and then tosses her around as she beats her up the ramp. Kim tries to jump on Kong from the ramp to the floor, but she gets caught and driven into a wall. Kong whips her into some other wall for kicks. She goes for some sort of charge towards the entrance way, but Kim sidesteps and Kong ends up going through the wall under the stage. The crowd starts a "this is awesome" chant.

[Commercial Break]

Kong is back in control, and rolling Kim into the ring. Kim tries to rally but Kong just no-sells her offense. She props Kim up on the top rope, but Kim bites her and nails a Tornado DDT for two. We get some new commentary, and then Angelina love complaining that there's no reason to be showing a women's match that doesn't involve The Beautiful People. In the ring, Kim hits a Senton Splash off the top for a long two count. She goes back to the top, but Raesha Saeed approaches her; the distraction is enough for Kong to regain her feet and nail a Choke Slam. Kim tries to rally again, but gets caught in an Implant Buster for two. Kong goes for the Awesome bomb, but Kim slides out. Kim tries to follow up with a Hurricanrana, but gets caught in a Power Bomb…and then another Power Bomb…and then an Awesome Bomb. It's extremely over.

WINNER: Awesome Kong, in about 15 minutes. ***1/2 Another few minutes and the removal of Raesha Saeed could have easily pushed this into **** territory.

Various people tell us to cross the line.

[Commercial Break]

We come back to hear the opening bell for TNA's pick for TNA MOTY.

(3) SAMOA JOE vs. KURT ANGLE

Kurt's decked out in full MMA gear; Joe's looking pretty much normal. He backs Kurt into the ropes, but Kurt gets away. Joe looks for a Test of Strength, but Kurt hits a low kick. Joe comes back with a low kick of his own, then picks a leg and tries to hyperextend the knee. Kurt breaks the hold, but when he tries to charge Joe he gets pulled down into a choke. Angle escapes, but Joe's able to get his knees up and keep Kurt from locking in any offense of his own. They get up, Kurt picks a leg, but again Joe is able to keep Angle at arm's length. Joe takes Angle down, but Kurt uses his legs to keep Joe's weight off him, and tries to hyperextend Joe's elbow. I'm woefully under-qualified to call this match, as I'm almost sure I'm missing all sorts of cool subtleties. Both men get up; Joe stomps Angle's toes and looks for a Texas Cloverleaf, but Kurt fights him off. They lock up in the middle of the ring, and Kurt takes Joe over with some sort of Headlock Takedown. He goes right into a Choke Hold/Key Lock, but the ref breaks it up. Angle locks in a Front Chancery, but the steel cage prevents him from shuffling a card back into his arsenal (sorry—I love my gratuitous Raw Deal references). Joe gets away, but Angle catches him with a quick Belly-to-Belly Overhead Suplex; Joe gets a foot on the rope after two. Angle goes for an Arm Bar, but Joe clasps his hands and rolls Kurt into a cover. Kurt grabs the rope and gets the break. Kurt goes after Joe with right hands, but that just ticks him off. He comes back with a series of right hands of his own, but Kurt clips his leg.

[Commercial Break]

Kurt has a Figure Four Leg Lock cinched in when we get back. Joe rolls over to reverse the pressure, but Kurt quickly gets to the ropes. Kurt stomps Joe in the corner, then tries to twist his knee. Joe comes back with some slaps from the mat, so Kurt transitions into a headlock. Joe powers out and comes off the ropes; Angle tries to nail another Belly-to-Belly Suplex, but Joe blocks it with a Mongolian Chop and floors Kurt with a Decapitator Clothesline. He follows up with a few more clotheslines and a high knee in the corner. Kurt tries to fight back, but Joe hits his Pele-like high kick. Joe goes for a Muscle Buster, but Kurt slips out and nails an Angle Lock. Kurt on commentary explains that because of Joe's power, if he doesn't have it locked in perfectly he'll just get brushed off. Sure enough, Joe knocks him off. Angle charges, but Joe reverses him into a Yurinagi for two. Joe hits a Powerbomb, then transitions into a Lion Tamer. I don't get why he's allowed to do it but Jericho's not. Kurt almost gets to the ropes, so Joe keeps him down by switching into an STF. Kurt almost makes it to the ropes again, so Joe transitions one more time, this time to a Crippler Crossface. That might be a mistake, since Angle has a certain amount of experience reversing that into an Angle Lock, which he does. Apparently Joe's studied those tapes too, as he re-reverses back into the Crippler Crossface. Angle slips away, but then walks right back into another one. Kurt tries to roll through, Joe hangs on, but Angle rolls onto his feet and nails an Olympic Slam for two. Angle cinches in another Angle Lock; Joe tries to kick him off, but Angle keeps his hold. Joe looks like he's contemplating tapping out, but then spins Angle around and locks in the Kokido Clutch. Angle grabs the referees shirt and uses it to pull himself over to the ropes. Joe goes to yell at the ref, which lets Angle try for an Olympic Slam. Joe slips out, tosses Angle into the cage, nails a Superkick, then finishes Angle off with a Muscle Buster.

WINNER: Samoa Joe. **** The start was a tad slow if you didn't know what was coming, but on second viewing you can see how well it builds. Somehow I didn't like the finish—the Superkick followed by a Muscle Buster just didn't seem to flow. Otherwise this was just about perfect.

[Commercial Break]

(4) STING vs. AJ STYLES

I think this is our "Heavyweight Championship MOTY"—I guess the same match couldn't win this and the MOTY award? AJ and Sting are jockeying for position in the ring, trading Hammerlocks. AJ generally has the advantage, but Sting seems more annoyed than anything else. Sting comes back with some elbows, and grabs the ropes when AJ goes for his high dropkick. Sting puts AJ down with a Face Plant, but when he gets up AJ connects with the high dropkick out of nowhere. Sting rolls out of the ring to reassess the situation.

[Commercial Break]

Sting Gorilla Presses AJ out over the top rope and onto the floor. He follows him out and drops him chest first onto the barricade. He rolls him back into the ring, and keeps working over the ribs. AJ fights back from the mat and nails a Back Breaker. He whips Sting off into the ropes, but when he tries for a Hip Toss Sting catches him with an Abdominal Stretch. AJ hits an Arm Drag to escape, but Sting Flapjacks him face first into the ropes. Sting attacks AJ's ribs in the corner, working him over with kicks and shoulder thrusts. He whips AJ into the opposite corner, them slams him headfirst into the ring post on the rebound. Sting locks in a Bear Hug, AJ head butts his way out of it, but Sting goes back to the Abdominal Stretch. AJ powers out, and he and Sting trade punches in the center of the ring till AJ nails a Standing Ensuguri. He hits a series of clotheslines and a Back Drop. Sting dodges a charge in the corner, but AJ flips out onto the apron and comes back with a Flying Forearm for two. A Vertical Suplex (almost a Brainbuster) by AJ gets two more. Sting gets up looking for the Scorpion Death Lock, but AJ kicks him off into the corner. AJ charges after him, but Sting sidesteps and nails the Scorpion Death Drop for a long two count. Sting goes to the top for a Flying Clotheslines, but AJ dodges. AJ goes for the Styles Clash, but Sting kicks him in the head and nails a trio of Stinger Splashes in the corner. Sting lifts AJ up onto the top rope, but AJ reverses the attempted Superplex into a Sunset Flip Power Bomb. AJ pulls Sting back towards the corner, where he nails a Spiral Tap. He tells the crowd he wants to do it one more time, but when he goes back to the top rope Booker and Angle take the chance to run down to the ring. AJ goes to the ropes to deal with them. Sting gets up and goes for a clothesline; AJ ducks and attempts a Pele, but Sting ducks below it and rolls AJ up for three. On commentary, Sting says that he didn't see the Main Event Mafia coming out to interfere. AJ seems skeptical

WINNER: Sting in 21 minutes. ***1/2 This would have been a lot better if an AJ win had been a lot more believable. The roll-up finish was also a bit unconvincing. Otherwise, this was stellar work.

[Commercial Break]

(5) BEER MONEY INC. (c) vs. LAX

I don't know why LAX don't get to carry their briefcases to the ring. Storm comes down to the ring on a beer cooler scooter of some sort. Storm shoulder blocks Homicide to start, but Mr. 187 comes back with a Twisting Leg Scissors, a Monkey Flip, and a dropkick. Storm goes over to his partner, but Homicide knocks him into Roode and Suplexes him for two. Hernandez makes a blind tag, comes in with a Slingshot Shoulder Block, and, along with Homicide, nails the Drive By for two. Roode tags in, and, after taking control for a few moments with some chops, he runs right into a shoulder block that knocks him halfway across the ring. Homicide tags in just long enough to nail the Three Amigos, tags back in Hernandez for a high Back Breaker, then comes back in to Back Body Drop Roode out of the ring. He follows him out with a Somersault Suicide Dive, taking a moment to grab a beer from Storm's cooler.

[Commercial Break]

Storm plants Homicide as we come back. Homicide gets up swinging and makes a leaping tag to Hernandez, but Earl Hebner doesn't see it. Apparently Beer Money took control during the break off interference by Ms. Jackie, which we probably should have guessed anyway. Storm sets Homicide up on the top rope, but the attempted Superlex is reversed into some sort of Face Plant. Roode tags in, but Homicide slips away from him and makes the tag. Hernandez knocks down both members of Beer Money, Scoop Slams each of them, hits them both with a Double Drop Kick, Stinger Splashes each of them, and clotheslines each of them. Roode tries to slow him down with kick and a Cross Body Block off the top rope, but he gets caught in a Power Bomb, which gets broken up at two. Hernandez tags back in Homicide, whom he Hip Tosses into both members of Beer Money. Roode tosses Homicide from the ring as Hernandez nails a Superplex on Storm. Hernandez turns around into a Spinebuster from Roode, who in turn walks into a Gringo Cutter from a returning Homicide. Storm comes back in, and Beer Money Double Team Homicide; however, when Roode hoists him up for a double team move Hernandez knocks Roode aside, catches Homicide, and alley-oops him into Roode. Hernandez Super-Mexes Storm on the outside as Homicide nails a Frog Splash for a long two count. (Side note: I would have believed this was over of the commentators hadn't proclaimed that we had new tag team champions. Someone really needs to stop giving them a copy of the script.) Jacqueline slides Roode the belt as the ref is busy with Hernandez and Storm on the outside, but Homicide ducks underneath it, grabs it, and nails Roode in the head. Hebner turns around in time to make another long two count. Meanwhile, Ms. Jackie got a chair, into which Roode shoots Homicide head first. Roode rolls Homicide up with a School Boy and holds the pants for a three count.

WINNER: Beer Money Inc. ***1/4 This was a great Impact main event, though I don't know why Robert Roode gets to kick out of 97 finishers.

We see a recap music video of what TNA feels were the biggest moments of 2008.

Where We're Going: For a few minutes I was hoping they were actually going to pull the trigger on making 2009 the year of LAX. They still could, but this would have been a great place to start. With The Motor City Machine Guns also slowly rising back to the top, this would be the ideal time to start a long-term feud between them. There's little cooler than when a feud starts in the mid-card and works its way up through the main event, as that one hopefully would.

Star of the Night: Hernandez.

Overall: As recap shows go, this was one of the best I've seen. All "wacky" moments were consigned together as part of a three minute music video to finish the show, along with a whole host of big wrestling moments. For a recap show, I really think this was the grade A standard, though obviously that grade should not be compared to standard show grades.

Daniel is a graduate student at The Ohio State University. He's not sure, but he might have messed up and subjected some users to long delays in their virtual-time coverage mid-show. If so, he sincerely apologizes. Complaints can be sent to dawilk316@gmail.com

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