By Matt Baxendell, PWTorch Writer

BAX’S TNA IMPACT REPORT
FEBRUARY 3, 2011
TAPED IN ORLANDO, FLA.
AIRED ON SPIKE TV

Last Week’s Recap: Impact continued the Jarrett-Angle feud as TNA's main program, ending with a handicap match that marked Kurt Angle’s return to the ring. The feud got a little more interesting as Scott Steiner made his return to TNA as the show went off the air. The other big news was the build up for this week’s TNA Heavyweight Championship match between Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy, which will main event the show. One final note: Last week’s Impact was the fourth most-watched Impact on Spike TV. Is a rise in ratings on the way or was it just another one week bump?

[Q1]

-To start, a montage was shown of Immortal members cutting promos during TNA’s recent European tour. Primary focus goes to the TNA Title match as Anderson and Hardy get some time to talk up their match. Show title: “Expect the Unexpected.”

-Cold opening for Impact with Immortal in the ring, sans Ric Flair. Bischoff immediately calls Big Poppa Pump out. I guess he’s not messing around tonight.

Neither is Steiner, as the siren sounds and he hits the ring decked out in his Main Event Mafia finest. Taz remarks that there are very few men who would be brave enough to step into the ring with Immortal on his own. Bischoff says that a lot has happened in the last two weeks, first of which is that Hulk Hogan won’t be on Impact tonight due to Dixie Carter’s legal wrangling.

But the good news for Bischoff is that there’s no ‘they.’ Bischoff says he told Nash to take the money, dye his hair, get a new action figure, and ride off into the sunset. He says Sting isn’t coming back and neither is Booker T. Bischoff tells Steiner to quit following people, whether it is his brother’s footsteps or joining the NWO, whatever. He tells him to man up and join Immortal.

Steiner asks if that’s his choice. Bischoff says that Door Number One is join Immortal, the elite force in pro wrestling. Door Number Two is get his ass kicked. Steiner tells Bischoff that he’s picking Door Number Three: Stick his foot up Bischoff’s ass. He says that his first impression of Bischoff was that he was a piece of s--- and nothing has changed since. Steiner says he’s more man than everyone else in the ring put together.

Kurt Angle comes out with Crimson before things get out of control. Both men are decked out in really nice suits. Angle tells Bischoff the ramp that Steiner is right: Bischoff is a piece of s---. Angle says he was in the back and he heard everything that Bischoff said and he needs to correct him on one thing: They’re here. It's real, it's damn real. Tenay explodes with excitement as they go to break.[c]

BAX REAX: This was a nice opening segment. They don’t need to set up the Main Event since they’ve been hyping it for a month, so instead they focused on Steiner’s return that closed out last week’s show. On top of that, it was interesting to see Bischoff attack the widespread Main Event Mafia reunion rumors head on, which was unexpected but welcome. Either way, it was short and sweet: Steiner is on Angle’s side and “they” are coming.

-Immortal is shown backstage arguing. Jeff Hardy says two things were supposed to happen tonight: Hogan was supposed to return and Hardy was supposed to get his TNA Championship back. Bischoff tells him that he can’t control the legal system, but Immortal will make sure that Jeff gets his belt back. Bischoff wants to know where the hell Flair is.

Before anyone can answer, Angle, Steiner, and Crimson appear as Angle laughs at Bischoff’s predicament. He tells Immortal that ‘they’ are here as security separates them. “Who the hell is ‘they?'” screams Bischoff as Al Snow and company usher the faces away.

-Back out in the Impact Zone, Ink, Inc. is posing on the turnbuckles. They’re facing Gunner and Murphy in tag team action tonight. As Immortal Security hits the ring, Tenay explains that the judge in Texas has granted a ‘continuance’ in the legal issue and Christy Hemme will be updating everyone live from Dallas. Taz talks up the size of Immortal’s security pairing as they slide into the ring and attack Moore and Neal.

[Q2]

1 –INK, INC. vs. GUNNER & MURPHY

Gunner and Murphy gain the edge early as Taz continues to talk up how big they are. I just wish I knew which one was Gunner and which one was Murphy. Jesse Neal starts off down in the corner and Murphy is beating him up. I guess Murphy is the taller one with no tattoos. As Taz is talking him up, he hits a solid-looking big boot that drops Jesse Neal to the mat.

TNA is really hitting on the ‘Main Event Mafia is NOT they’
point tonight because Taz tells everyone he thought it was the MEM as well. Meanwhile, Moore gets a hot tag from Neal and manages to hit a moonsault off of the top turnbuckle for a nearfall. However, Gunner grabs him from behind and holds his arms behind his back. Murphy lines up for another big boot but Moore moves and Gunner takes the boot instead. This leads to the double team Mooregasm move on Murphy for the three count. Tenay says that perhaps Immortal is distracted after the opening revelation that ‘they’ isn’t the Main Event Mafia.

WINNER: Ink Inc. in 4:00.

-Backstage, Angle was shown talking with Steiner and Crimson, telling them that tonight was the night that everything comes crashing down on Immortal. Angle gets a phone call that is to his liking because he tells the other two that everything is on pace. Their strategy is apparently for Steiner to go to the ring and for Crimson to stick next to Angle.

Taz and Tenay plug the World Championship match before a quick vignette is shown featuring Jeff and Karen Jarrett at home. Karen says that she has someone now who loves her and is a good daddy to her kids. Apparently we’re getting an in-home interview next. [c]

-Back from break, the announcers throw to a report from Christy Hemme "in Dallas" that was filed earlier in the day. Apparently now they’re hyping March 3 as the new date for a legal resolution on the Hulk/Dixie issue. That might upset some people since TNA advertised a resolution tonight, but it will probably be overshadowed by Hardy-Anderson and the ‘they’ reveal.

Anyways, Eric Young randomly makes an appearance at the announce booth. Eric says that Angle is a cyborg and he doesn’t want to cross him but he just saw ‘they.’ Young doesn’t realize that he’s on air and is trying to give Taz and Tenay the scoop, but won’t reveal the information. He’s STILL wearing the real TNA title belt, by the way.

BAX REAX: Can they please get that belt off Eric Young and around the waist of Anderson? That’s been driving me nuts: Does anyone believe that Anderson wouldn’t go find the old belt immediately instead of carrying around a belt that would cause even the Ultimate Warrior to do a double take?

-Off to the Jarrett household, where Karen and Jeff are touring their house and all of the kids are shown. Jeff says his favorite picture is one of him smashing his guitar over Angle’s head, but the kids (including Kurt’s two) say their favorite is the one that has ‘Aunt Dixie’ in it, which greatly upsets Jarrett. He says something about a big night to close the bit.

-Backstage, Mr. Anderson is show in his dressing room. He addresses Jeff Hardy directly through the camera. He says he’s going out to the ring at the top of the hour and says if Jeff wants to join him alone, he’d like to have a chat. [c]

[Q3]

-Back to the Impact Zone, Pope and Bully Ray are in the ring. Ray tells Pope that it feels really good to have a partner next to him that he can actually depend on. Ray says that it felt great two weeks ago to smash Devon in the head with a chain and maybe now Devon realizes that Ray was Team 3D. Ray says he’s got a new partner who is bigger, badder and tougher than Devon ever was. The crowd starts a ‘we want Devon’ cheer.

Pope tells the crowd that Devon is an afterthought. He says that “Some More” Joe decided to have a date with destiny, as he went to management to get a match at Against All Odds with the Pope. Dinero says that he could have worked out his differences across a table but now he’s going to wreak vengeance on Joe.

With that, Joe’s music hits and he and Devon come flying down to the ring. The former Team 3D square off in the ring while Joe chases Pope out to the ramp. They stare each other down before Okada appears in the entryway. This causes Pope to run with both men in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile, Ray lined up to hit Devon with a chain, but got a couple of clotheslines instead, before being dumped to the outside of the ring. I have no idea whether the bell rang or not. Meanwhile, Tenay tells the audience that Ray & Devon are meeting at Against All Odds in a Street Fight, which is previewed when Devon bashes Bully Ray with a chair. After Devon knocks Bully Ray (whose face is literally purple) down the ramp, security splits things up. Just when things look like they’re going to settle down, Bully Ray spits a beer into two fans’s faces at ringside. Taz tells everyone that they’re Devon’s sons. The two announcers quickly plug a ‘taped fists’ match between Mickie James and Sarita before going to break. [c]

[Q4]

-Returning from the commercial break, Max Buck is sitting with Taz and Tenay at the commentary booth. I’d be excited about the X Division match coming up if Max wasn’t making such weird faces at the camera. He’s literally licking his lips and staring at the camera like it is the best cheeseburger ever made.

2 – JAY LETHAL vs. JEREMY BUCK vsS. DOUGLAS WILLIAMS - X
DIVISION #1 CONTENDER’S TOURNAMENT MATCH

Judging by the early action, this is going to be another match with 20 minute of action jammed into five minutes of actual ring time. Jeremy Buck hit a big moonsault to the outside of the ring before Lethal followed it up with a suicide dive. Lethal re-entered the ring with a spinning heel kick and got a two count for his efforts.

Meanwhile, Max Buck talks up the X Division as the most exciting wrestling that he and his brother have seen in their travels all over the world. In the ring, Williams has taken control of things and has Jeremy prone atop one of the turnbuckles while Lethal is down. This prompts Max to make the surprisingly funny comment that his brother’s shoe is untied and he needs to go down to ringside to tell him. Safety first, after all! Max was surprisingly good on commentary for the two minutes he had a headset on.

Before Max can get down to ringside, Lethal hits a powerbomb on Williams, who is perched on the top turnbuckle and ready to suplex Jeremy Buck. This leads to a giant superplex/bomb that allows Lethal to get back in control. While Williams and Lethal face off, Max helps Jeremy up at ringside, where they smartly bide their time. Tenay takes this opportunity to tell the audience that next week’s three way match will feature Robbie E, Brian Kendrick, and the return of Suicide.

They don’t have to wait long. After Lethal tries his handspring elbow move off the ropes, Williams catches him and runs him into the corner, allowing Douglas to hit the Rolling Chaos Theory Suplex. However, Max is distracting the referee and this allows Jeremy to hit a low kick on Williams and steal the three count.

WINNER: JEREMY BUCK in 4:00 to move on to the #1 contender’s
match at Against All Odds.

BAX REAX: Same issue as last week - how does a fun, action-packed match like this only get four minutes? These guys jammed in so much action that it seemingly never stopped but if every X Division match on TV is less than five minutes, it really makes the division look weak. However, I liked the dirty finish to enhance GenMe. I'm interested to see Christopher Daniels returning as Suicide on next week's show.

-Backstage, Bischoff is on his cell phone, looking for Ric Flair. Fortune says the last time that they saw him was at a pub in London. Roode tries to calm down Bischoff by telling him that they’ve got it under control and he’s not sure whether Angle is telling the truth. Furthermore, Fortune is the strongest faction in professional wrestling, so Bischoff shouldn’t worry.

Bischoff asks A.J. Styles before he leaves to promise him one thing: that Immortal will regain the Heavyweight Championship tonight. A.J. tells him that it is over tonight, that Fortune isn’t taking a back seat to anyone anymore. He says that Fortune is in the driver’s seat. Bischoff says just to make sure that he drives home with the belt. TNA is also jamming in their commercials early tonight, opening up a lot of time in the second hour.[c]

BAX REAX: Did anyone else just watch that and think that A.J. Styles was getting ready to turn face tonight? That’s absolutely the vibe I got from that promo. Fortune takes a back seat to no one? I bet that includes Immortal...

-Sarita leads back from break with a quick promo saying that he’s going to beat Mickie James and spit in her face afterward. She also announces that her cousin Rosita will be joining her in the ring next week.

-Footage of Jeff Hardy from Berlin is shown where he says the belt is going back to the anti-Christ tonight. Hardy says that Anderson’s head is getting huge after winning the belt. Anderson is also shown signing autographs for fans at ringside, saying he waiting eleven years to win the belt and he’s not ready to lose it yet. Hardy closes the back and forth pre-filmed bit from Berlin by saying he’s still the baddest Mother Effer in TNA.

-This leads to Mr. Anderson’s entrance into the Impact Zone. Interestingly enough, he doesn’t use the drop-down microphone to call out Jeff Hardy, saying that he wants to see the self-professed anti-Christ of pro wrestling in the ring.

[Q5]

Hardy takes his time coming down to the ring, drawing more boos than usual from the Impact Zone crowd. Taz says that the championship match isn’t scheduled for now, but it wouldn’t surprise him to see it break out right now if things get out of control.

Anderson interrupts the cheering crowd by asking how many a-holes are in the building tonight. That draws a huge cheer and a ‘we are a-holes’ chant. He then asks how many creatures of the night are in the building. This draws heavy booing from everyone except for one screechy girl. Anderson says that those two groups represent two guys who had huge dreams, one from Cameron, N.C. and the other from “GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN” that had a dream of holding this.

As Anderson holds up Hardy’s personalized belt, he stops himself and says ‘well not this belt, I think this belt sucks,’ which is both true and hilarious. Anderson is feeling it tonight. He says he dreamed of what that belt represents. He says that both men don’t deal well with authority figures. He asks how Hardy deals with it when people tell him how to put his makeup on or dance out to the ring. He says that he’s the same way, then uses a mock Vince McMahon voice to say that he doesn’t deal well with people telling him how to walk to the ring or chew gum in the ring.

Anderson says that his response to that is that they can kiss his ass. Every time he faces Hardy in the ring, it isn’t about him and Jeff, there’s always everything going down around them. Instead, tonight he wants the focus to be on Hardy vs. Anderson instead of having to deal with Immortal or Kurt Angle’s cavalry coming to the ring. He wants it to be Enigmas versus A-holes, Cameron, North Cakalaky vs. “GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN!” So what’s it gonna be Jeff?

Hardy smirks and tells Anderson he talks a good game and he is the World Champion. He says he doesn’t need Immortal to beat Anderson and if anyone thinks that then they’re wrong. The crowd starts a ‘Prove It!’ chant. Hardy sarcastically says that he’ll dedicate this match to his Creatures of the Night and Anderson’s A-holes. And may the best man win.

Hardy holds his hand out for Anderson shake before telling him the belt is rightfully his and storming out of the ring.

-Mickie James is shown backstage, saying she’s never been in one of these taped fist matches, but she has been in a couple of bar fights and they never turn out well for the other side. [c]

BAX REAX: They still haven't explained what a taped fist match is. Anyways, that Anderson-Hardy promo was awesome, mostly because Anderson was really on fire. Both men also drew the biggest reactions from the crowd. You can tell the Impact Zone is fired up for the Championship match tonight. If anyone was flipping channels and saw that promo, I’d be surprised if they didn’t tune back in to see the Main Event. Anderson is just gold.

-Another Jarretts in suburbia segment. The kids are shown saying what they’re most grateful for, all of whom are thankful in some way for Double J. Apparently he’s giving a present to Karen tonight. They’re playing elevator music during these bits, which makes it seem like its supposed to be funny. That doesn’t jibe with the extremely serious nature that they’ve treated this feud with in the last two weeks.

[Q6]

3 – MICKIE JAMES vs. SARITA --- TAPED FIST MATCH

We find out early in the match that Mickie’s Knockouts Title match at Against All Odds will be a Last Knockout Standing match. Anyways, it looks like this is just a regular wrestling match, except you apparently have to win by knockout. Get it?

Mickie is in control for the first few minutes but Sarita manages to recover by throwing Micke into the ring post. She then focuses on Mickie James’s wrist by slamming it into the ring steps. Taz points out that it is hard to knock someone out with a broken hand, a nice point.

Sarita continues beating on Mickie and starts to play to the crowd before locking in a wristlock on the same wrist she’s been targeting all match. However, Mickie fights out with a head scissors before Sarita stops her and hits a backdrop suplex on Mickie to kill her momentum.

Tenay rightly points out that Sarita has been in control for most of the match. Well, it looks like Mickie is going to win this one. True to form with the giveaway on commentary, Mickie slithers behind Sarita and knocks her unconscious with her good hand.

WINNER: MICKIE JAMES IN 6:00

After the match, Madison Rayne comes through the crowd and attacks Mickie from behind while she is selling the effects of Sarita’s concentrated attacks on her wrist. Madison uses the loaded glove, so Mickie is knocked unconscious, leaving both ladies from the ‘taped fists’ match out on the mat.

-Backstage, Jeff Hardy is in Bischoff’s office, arguing about the deal he just cut with Anderson. Bischoff tells him that Mr. Andreson beat him last time out, but Jeff counters by saying that it was E.B.’s fault he lost the belt with his impromptu decision. Hardy says that he doesn’t want anyone from Immortal out at ringside during his match, asking Bischoff if that's clear. Bischoff quietly says ‘Yes, Boss’ as Hardy storms out. Bischoff is left selling serious concern.

After a quick Jarrett tease about Double J’s big gift, it is time for another commercial. Can’t be more than one left tonight. [c]

-A quick recap of TNA’s European tour was shown before going back to the Jarrett household. The kids started dancing to Double J’s theme song before he asked if they wanted to see the surprise he has for them. Karen decides to tell everyone she likes to call him ‘Big Daddy.’ Great. Anyways, Double J decides he wants to renew his vows with Karen on Impact so the whole world can see their love.

BAX REAX: It's segments like this why I really can’t stand Jeff Jarrett. There’s no way he’d be in such a prominent position if he didn’t have so much sway backstage. And this is what they're using to lead into the TNA Championship match? You have to be kidding me.

[Q7]

-Back to actual wrestling-related issues: there's a TNA Championship match tonight. Anderson is shown walking down the hallway backstage with a purpose before the Impact Zone goes dark and he makes his entrance onto the stage to introduce himself with the drop down mic. However, he doesn’t get the words ‘Green Bay’ out of his mouth before Jeff Hardy decks him from behind, looking oddly impressive in the low light. This draws big boos from the crowd.

Tenay says the he believes that the blindside attack shows Immortal’s desperation to get the TNA Championship back. The match hasn’t yet officially started but there’s one ominous sign: Jackson James is refereeing the match. He gets a little bit of help from a few other men in stripes, who come out to help break up the fight at ringside. Both men keep fighting through the referees. Taz asks why they can’t just let them fight and hope they end up in the ring. Another good point for Taz. The start of the title match comes after the break. This has to be one of the final commercials because TNA has front-loaded their breaks. [c]

4 – JEFF HARDY vs. MR. ANDERSON (TNA CHAMPION) - TNA TITLE MATCH

Back from break, the match is in progress. Anderson drops two quick elbows and earns a quick nearfall. After Hardy bails out of the ring and Anderson follows him, Jeff hits him coming back into the ring and then hits a strong-looking neckbreaker from the second rope to take control of the match.

Taz and Tenay talked up the one-on-one agreement between the two men to finally get an answer on who is the better man. Hardy hit a hard clothesline at 2:00 for another nearfall as the crowd starts dueling “Let’s go Hardy” and “Let’s Go A-hole” chants, the latter of which is the louder of the two. While the fans are chanting, Hardy locks in a lengthy chinlock.

Anderson eventually manages to get back to his feet and hit a sunset flip powerbomb on Hardy. However, his momentum was stalled by Hardy hitting a big clothesline. The anti-Christ celebrated by giving the crowd the double bird. Hardy decided to start beating up on one of Anderson’s legs, hitting numerous leg drops and slamming his knee into the ring post. Taz continued his solid color commentary by saying that a bad wheel could negatively affect the impact of Anderson’s Mic Check finishing move.

[Q8]

At 5:00, Hardy rolled Anderson back into the ring for another long chinlock. His comeback attempt failed for the second time in this match as Hardy hit a Whisper in the Wind to lay both men out on the mat. This led to a long count by the referee before the two hit dueling big fists with the crowd appropriately responding loudly with big ‘yay’ and ‘boo’ cheers for each blow landed. The Impact Zone is hot.

Anderson finally managed to regain full momentum with two clotheslines followed by a back body drop and a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Anderson tried to set up the Mic Check but Hardy blocked it. Anderson then hit a very similar series of kicks to the combination that Amazing Red uses, where the first kick whiffs but the second follows through with a vengeance. Another nearfall but then Hardy managed to fight back.

At 9:00, the two men countered a few moves in a row, culminating in a blocked Twist of Hate that led to Hardy bumping the referee to the outside. Right afterward, with the ref down, Hardy hit the Diamond Cutter, though the announcers called it the Twist of Hate.

But with the ref down, all of Immortal and Fortune hit the ring. Matt Hardy nailed a Side Effect and Fortune had Jeff hold up Anderson for Styles to take out. However, A.J. stopped his punch and held up the Fortune hand signal instead. Suddenly the other three members of the group cleared the ring while A.J. stared down Hardy, who sold shock. That led to Roode hitting a big clothesline on Jeff that allowed A.J. to hit the Styles Clash on Hardy before dragging Anderson on top for the three count victory.

WINNER: MR. ANDERSON in 12:00

-Post-match, Matt Hardy and the rest of Immortal were shown ringside throwing a fit as Fortune stood tall in the ring. Styles picked up the purple belt and handed it to Anderson as Tenay hyped A.J. Styles explaining Fortune turning on Immortal. Guess there was still one commercial break left. [c]

-A.J. Styles was on the microphone telling the Impact Zone to hold up the Fortune hand signal as they came back from break. He said that he had told Bischoff that A.J. Styles and Fortune weren’t going to take a back seat to anyone. He said that ‘they’ is Fortune.

Bischoff came flying out, calling Fortune ungrateful SOBs and a bunch of inbred hillbillies. Behind him, Matt Hardy was still throwing a fit while Jeff was being held up Rob Terry. Bischoff told A.J. that he had forgotten more success than A.J. had ever known. Styles had the line of the night in response: “You put a billion dollar company out of business!”

Apparently Angle, Steiner, and Crimson came to the ring during the break because they were standing behind A.J. Styles. A.J. said that he wasn’t going to let Hogan and Bischoff run TNA out of business. He said when they showed up they started changing things and hired a bunch of guys who didn’t deserve to be in wrestling in the first place. Every hardcore TNA fan out there has to be loving this.

Ignoring the idiots in the front row chanting for the Six Sided Ring, Bischoff told A.J. that Jeff Hardy was more of a success on his worst day than A.J. ever will be. Styles replied that the men in the ring built TNA from the ground up. Oddly enough, they showed Angle and Crimson, who don’t exactly fit the ‘from the ground up’ criteria.

Bischoff’s response? TNA was nothing until he and Hulk showed up. He told A.J. to mark his calendar for March 3. Dixie’s lawyers caused a big delay but that’s the date the Hulk will return and take full control of the company and Fortune would be left hung out to dry.

A.J. Styles had the final word, asking Bischoff what he was going to do when Fortune picked apart Immortal one piece at a time. The crowd ate it up and the final shot of the show as A.J. playing to the crowd while posing on the turnbuckles, Fortune hand sign high up in the air.

BAX SHOW REAX: Did someone in TNA remember that A.J. Styles is one of the best wrestlers in the world, the kind of guy that you’re supposed to build a promotion around? It sure looks like it after tonight. What this does is put the wrestler who really is associated with TNA more than anyone else squarely in the middle of their biggest storyline. Furthermore, A.J. is a natural face with his crowd-pleasing offense and diminutive size that makes him seem like a natural underdog. Positioning Fortune as the faces in this feud is a great move.

Whether TNA will follow this show up with more exciting TV is now my biggest concern. They’ve finally realized that A.J. Styles is their franchise player, so I hope they run with him for the foreseeable future. I expect TNA to pop a rating for this show, perhaps a record after last week’s strong showing. All of the major show content was in the second hour and was promoted heavily, so this could be the type of show that draws in the 1.4 range or even above. While I’m cautiously optimistic going forward, there’s no doubt in my mind that this was a good night for TNA on a night that they needed to deliver.

SHOW GRADE: B+

Matt Baxendell is one of the Torch’s new contributing writers covering TNA Wrestling. He’s also live on air as one the Young Guns on Sports Radio 790 The Zone in Atlanta. If you want to talk wrestling, hockey or football with Bax, please email him at matt.baxendell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @MattBaxendell

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