TNA Impact Wrestling TV Results
September 9, 2015
Taped in Orlando, Fla.
Report by Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonPW), PWTorch contributor

Impact Wrestling opens this week with a recap of last week’s episode, highlighted mostly by GFW vs. TNA and the Lethal Lockdown match that was set up for next week. The package also highlighted Ethan Carter III retaining the TNA World Hvt. Championship over Matt Hardy, where Jeff Hardy became ECIII’s personal assistant.

In-studio: Josh Mathews introduced Impact with The Pope also on commentary. Mathews says in one week, we’ll find out the fate of TNA. Tonight it’s a lumberjack match between the TNA and GFW captains in the main event, with Chris Mordetzky taking on Drew Galloway. The winner will have his team with the man advantage in Lethal Lockdown.

In-arena: ECIII makes his entrance along with Tyrus. Jeff Hardy is nowhere to be found (yet).

ECIII grabs a mic and the crowd seems to be all over him. ECIII said there is a war on the horizon and the line is drawn in the sand. On one side it’s Jeff Jarrett and GFW and on the other side it’s Dixie Carter and TNA. ECIII said he couldn’t give a crap about that. He said he’s still TNA World champion.

ECIII told the crowd that they shouldn’t have bet against him. He said that one man made a crucial bet. One man bet on his brother to win the World Title, and that man is now his personal assistant. ECIII said that to the victor, goes the spoils. He then called out Jeff Hardy, or as he called him, Jeffrey Hardy.

Hardy’s music hits and he walks to the ring. As Hardy makes it to the ramp, ECIII tells the production people to cut his music, because personal assistants don’t have music. That prompts a loud “Hardy!” chant from the crowd.

Hardy brings a few bottles of water with him to the ring. Mathews says that this must be humiliating for Hardy. ECIII takes a sip of the water and spits it out, saying it was 73 degrees and ECIII likes it 72. He then throws the rest of the water on Hardy, saying that it was “a first day rib.”

ECIII says he convened with Tyrus and they picked Hardy out a first day present. It’s a big sign of ECIII’s face on a large stick. ECIII said that Hardy must hold it at all times. ECIII said it cost him $13,000, so there’s a Kinkos somewhere in the Orlando area that’s really overcharging people.

Hardy takes the mic and starts to introduce ECIII, at his request. Hardy is reading his introduction:

“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Jeffrey Hardy, and I am ECIII’s biggest fan. He is unbendable. He is unbreakable. Unpinned, unsubmitted, unbeatable, and undefeated world champion. And I’m dead serious, he’s also pretty handsome, too. He is ECIII.”

ECIII says that was well done.

ECIII said that tonight, in a tag team match, ECIII and Tyrus would be taking on Matt Hardy and Rockstar Spud. That match is apparently happening now, because out comes Hardy and Spud for the match.

[Reax: Not a terrible promo. ECIII still tries to be a little hokey and funny for my liking, especially as a heel, but it worked. I’m also glad they addressed that ECIII doesn’t care about the GFW-TNA feud. He should care, because he is TNA’s champion, but he doesn’t because he’s a self-centered heel. That’s a good enough explanation, and having ECIII address it was the right move.]

[Commercial Break at 9:12]

1 -- TNA World Hvt. champion ETHAN CARTER III & TYRUS vs. MATT HARDY & ROCKSTAR SPUD

[Q2] Hardy and Tyrus start the match. Tyrus has the early advantage and he tags in ECIII, who puts the boots to Hardy on the mat. Hardy is able to spin him into an reversal into the corner and starts to land some haymakers. Hardy whips ECIII and drops him with a side Russian leg sweep.

Mathews plugs that ECIII will be on Jim Ross’s podcast soon, and Hardy arranged it. Pope then called J.R. a legend, which I’m sure made Mathews squirm given his comments on J.R. earlier this year.

ECIII is now the legal man on Spud. He’s keeping him on the mat and tags in Tyrus, who lands a splash. ECIII and Hardy start to brawl on the outside and Hardy lends a hand on Tyrus on the inside. That allows Spud to land some quick moves on the much slower Tyrus.

On the outside, ECIII lands a low blow on Hardy. ECIII is now demanding that Jeff Hardy blast Rockstar Spud with a steel chair. Hardy tosses the chair to the ground and says no way. Tyrus grabs Spud and hits a powerbomb for the victory.

WINNERS: Tyrus & ECIII via pinfall. Solid match to open the show. They did a nice job playing up Jeff Hardy’s role as a man stuck in the middle. Usually angles where someone is an assistant or servant just doesn’t get over in 2015. It’s an old gimmick. This was executed fine, though.

Post-match, Hardy gets called into the ring to raise ECIII and Tyrus’s hands.

Mathews throws to a replay of the GFW-TNA brawl from last week, transitioning to Brian Myers and Trevor Lee winning the TNA World Tag Team Championships.

Backstage: Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards are warming up. Drew Galloway walks in and says they’re in a war right now. Galloway said GFW is trying to take over, and they aren’t going to let it. Richards said that The Wolves have their re-match tonight, and they’ll take care of business.

Backstage: Taryn Terrell is with The Dollhouse. She keeps repeating that she’s so tired of Velvet Sky. Taryn tells Rebel she has the most to prove, but tonight it’s time for them to go to work. She demanded the three Dollhouse members take out Velvet Sky.

[Commercial Break at 9:28]

Back from the break, The Dollhouse catches Madison Rayne backstage and jumps her. Velvet Sky and Angelina Love run into the picture. There’s a loud sound and Love is hurt. Marti is holding a steel chair.

In-arena: Jeff Jarrett and Karen are headed to the ring. Jarrett takes the mic and said someone is walking around the Impact Zone with something that belongs to him. He demands Bobby Roode come out and return Jarrett’s King of the Mountain Championship.

Jarrett said he’s dead serious. He doesn’t want to argue, he just wants his title. Roode said that he earned it, and he is the KOTM Champion. Roode said it belongs to TNA and the fans. Jarrett counters with “I’m still King of the Mountain,” and said he’ll give Roode one more chance to hand it over, or else.

Roode then lays the title on the turnbuckle and removes his shirt. Karen yells at both of them to stop and says they’re acting like children. She said he has five at home, she doesn’t need two more. Karen told Jeff that he’s a week away from having everything he wants and fighting tonight jeopardizes that.

Karen tells Roode that he should be concerned with securing his spot for when Jarrett takes over. She then tells Jeff they’re leaving, and they do.

[Reax: The fear is that TNA/GFW is going to go in the direction of The Authority in WWE with Stephanie and Triple H being played by Karen and Jeff Jarrett. This feels slightly different than the over-used authority figure storyline, but it also has a lot of similarities and that’s not good. Karen’s delivery in this promo was reminiscent of Stephanie in WWE. The story here is Jarrett vs. TNA, and they can’t forget that.]

Backstage: Drew Galloway walks in on Kenny King, Eli Drake, and Jessie Godderz talking backstage. They say they’re not interested in fighting for TNA, and Galloway is yelling that they should because TNA gave them a chance. He said he’ll introduce them to people who will fight for TNA, and in walks Robbie E., Tigre Uno, and Micah. They almost immediately start to brawl backstage as Pope says this isn’t what TNA needs right now.

[Commercial Break at 9:41]

[Q3] Back from the break, ECIII goes after Jeff Hardy backstage, telling him that when he tells him to hit someone, he should hit someone. ECIII said he’ll chalk it up to first day jitters. He said Hardy pushes a lot of merchandise, so he wanted him to take all of his ECIII merch and go sell it to the fans.

2 -- X Division champion TIGRE UNO & ROBBIE E. & MICAH vs. KENNY KING & JESSIE GODDERZ & ELI DRAKE -- six-man tag match

The babyfaces are introduced second and charge the ring to get the match underway. After some settling down, it’s Robbie E. against Godderz to start things off. After a tag, Uno is in the ring with Drake. Uno lands a dropkick and tags in Micah. The heels are getting serious heat on Micah in the corner. He’s barely had any offense and was the victim of many double-team moves near the turnbuckle.

Drake tags in, but Micah starts to get some momentum back. He tags in Tigre Uno. After Drake gains the upper hand, he tags in Godderz, who applies some holds and then tags in King. Micah then clotheslines Kenny King to the outside. The action is fast here and tough to keep track of. No one knows who the legal man is, not even the announce team. Godderz powerbombs Uno, but Robbie E. gets to him before he can go for the pin. Robbie then gets a pin of his own.

WINNERS: Team Robbie E. via pinfall. An okay match but it was set up a bit oddly. Matches used to have meaning and some back-story. This was set up as the show crashed to break in the previous segment, and that match was all said and done less than 11 minutes later. Longer-term booking could help some of TNA’s character development. It's difficult to do that, though, when the show is centered on two promotions feuding.

[Commercial Break at 9:54]

3 -- TNA Knockouts champion BROOKE vs. GAIL KIM -- Knockouts Title match

After some back-and-forth wrestling early in the match, Brooke begins to take control. She climbs to the second rope and connects with a bulldog. In the corner, Brooke lands several boots, but Kim powers out and goes on the offense.

[Q4] On the mat, Kim is going for an armbar submission. A pair of close calls on the pin and both wrestlers are up. Brooke whips Gail, but Gail rolls through. Brooke is able to lock in a rear chinlock into a bridge. Kim is reaching for the bottom rope. Brooke lets go and Kim tries a roll-up, but it’s only for two. Brooke and Kim both go for a cross-body attempt and they end up bouncing awkwardly off each other.

Suddenly Lei’D Tapa comes to ringside. Brooke goes for a cover on Gail, but gets up at two when she notices Tapa has grabbed the Knockouts Title. Brooke dives on Tapa on the outside. Brooke is yelling it’s her belt as the referee keeps counting in the ring. Tapa then attacks Brooke with the title on the outside.

WINNER: Brooke via disqualification; Brooke retained the KO Title. TNA is doing its best to get Lei’D Tapa over as a monster, and she’s on a collision course with Awesome Kong not long from now, it would appear.

Post-match, Awesome Kong rushes to the ring representing TNA in an effort to stop Tapa from inflicting any more punishment. Tapa waits in the ring and they go face-to-face before Kong starts it off with a series of punches. Tapa and Kong are no-selling big moves as they brawl in the ring. Kong hits some spinning backfists before clotheslining Tapa over the top rope. Kong then grabs and poses with the Knockouts Title.

[Reax: Interesting to see Kong not only focus on clearing Tapa from the ring, but also posing with the Knockouts Title. I wonder if TNA was doing a bit of foreshadowing there.]

Backstage: Jarrett is firing up his GFW troops, saying tonight he has something special for his roster.

Backstage: Jeff Hardy is shown thanking Galloway for fighting for TNA and saying he’ll do his part. ECIII peeks in and tells Hardy it isn’t their fight, before mentioning he has gear to wash.

[Commercial Break at 10:11]

4 -- TNA Tag Team champions BRIAN MYERS & TREVOR LEE vs. THE WOLVES (EDDIE EDWARDS & DAVEY RICHARDS) -- TNA Tag Team Title match

The match starts with a lot of action right away, with The Wolves hitting suicide dives. After the match slows down a bit, Lee hits a standing moonsault for a two count. Myers and Lee then double-team Edwards before he’s able to fight back later in the match and tag in Ricards.

Edwards and Richards hit a powerbomb and would have had a three count, but Sonjay Dutt drags Earl Hebner out of the ring to interrupt the count. Hebner then smashes Dutt from behind. Back in the ring, Richards has Lee up for a spike piledriver. Edwards lands a kick to Lee’s head and Richards connects hard with the piledriver.

WINNERS: The Wolves to win back the TNA Tag Team Championships. Really good match, particularly with the spots at the beginning. On the surface, this quick title change over the course of just one week doesn’t seem to make much sense - it doesn’t really give the GFW roster a boost if they lose a week later - but there’s still more to play out it seems.

Backstage: Sergeant Chris Melendez said he’s here tonight to get in Erc Young’s face.

[Commercial Break at 10:24]

Back from the break, Chris Melendez is making his ring entrance. While he’s coming to the ring, replays of Eric Young beating Melendez for his prosthetic leg is being shown to the audience. Melendez gets a loud “USA! chant” starting. Melendez said he put his leg on the line two weeks ago. He said it’s hard to stand out there right now; he lost and that’s fine. Melendez said he’s literally on his last leg, and then challenged Young to a fight.

[Q6] Here comes Young, holding the prosthetic leg like a trophy as he carries to the ring. Young has a mic as he slowly gets into the ring. Young tells the crowd to look at the American hero. He says if that is what a hero looks like, he doesn’t want to be a hero.

EY said that all of the heroes fall at his feet. He says he’s God, and the most dangerous man in pro wrestling. Young said Kurt Angle learned he’s crazy, and he then took credit for putting Angle out of action. Young said Melendez is on one leg because of him, and Sarge agrees, saying he’s ready to fight.

Young said he didn’t need to take a re-match, but he was so sure he’d beat Melendez he would grant him one. EY offered Melendez his leg back and shoved him down. Young said Melendez is never getting his leg back. EY said next time he’ll take more than his leg, he’ll take everything, and he’ll never come back.

[Reax: This still isn’t working. The same as it was two weeks ago, this was a cringeworthy segment that made the viewer feel more uncomfortable than anything else. Cheap plug, but I know Torch editor Wade Keller has talked on his Keller Hotlines in the past about WWE and TNA not booking segments that would make wrestling fans embarassed to have the show on if non-fans were in the room. This EY-Melendez stuff with EY stealing his leg is the type of embarrassing stuff that I know would make me want to change the channel if a non-fan was in the room while I had it on. It’s the type of angle that would make non-fans roll their eyes at the product.]

Backstage: Drew Galloway says he’ll get the advantage for Team TNA tonight, and he’ll get redemption on Chris Mordetzky, who attacked him.

[Commercial Break at 10:35]

Back from the break, Mathews welcomes in Mahabali Shera for an interview in the announce studio. Shera said he’s so happy to be in TNA and that Kurt Angle is his hero. Shera said now it’s his turn to give Angle back the effort 200 percent.

[Reax: That doesn’t make sense, I know, but that’s what he said.]

Shera said moving to America was very difficult. He said he was all alone and then Manik became his friend. Manik told him about James Storm and that’s how he got involved with The Revolution. Shera said he didn’t like the Khoya name. He had a name. Shera said he’s not part of the Revolution anymore. He promised he’d beat James Storm. Shera said he would show everyone he’s a man.

Next week, Shera will fight Abyss.

Mathews then runs down more of what we’ll see next week on Impact.

In-arena: Drew Galloway is entering the arena for the lumberjack match. He’s accompanied by The Wolves and Bobby Lashley. The lumberjacks appear to just be the teams for Lethal Lockdown next week. Galloway has the mic and says this is TNA and it’s their house. Mordetzky is out next with Dutt, Lee, Myers, and Scott D’Amore. A brawl begins almost immediately.

[Commercial Break at 10:41]

5 -- CHRIS MORDETZKY vs. DREW GALLOWAY -- Lumberjack match -- winner gets the man advantage in next week’s Lethal Lockdown match

Back from the break, Mordetzky has a pin attempt, but Galloway kicks out at two. Mordetzky sends Galloway into the ropes and then hits a double-axe handle off the second rope, getting another two count. Galloway begins to get some control back, but Sonjay Dutt distracts Galloway, allowing Mordetzky to regain control.

Mordetzky lands some chops. Galloway then responds with chops of his own before connecting on a big boot to the face. There was then a spot where both men reversed a few Irish whips. That led to Mordetzky being thrown to the outside where Team TNA rolled him back into the ring.

Mordetzky starts to gain control of the match again, working on Galloway’s back and then a few minutes later, locking in a Camel Clutch. Mordetzky then gets back up and tosses Galloway to the outside. After Galloway gets chucked back into the ring, Mordetzky goes for the Masterlock, but Galloway counters and hits a Future Shock DDT.

Galloway then goes back to the outside and that’s when the match dissolves into chaos. Jeff Jarrett comes to ringside with a guitar and Eric Young is down at ringside as well, stealing the guitar from Jarrett and smashing it over Galloway’s head, seemingly siding with GFW. That allows Mordetzky to score the pin.

WINNER: Chris Mordetzky via pinfall. The Young involvement here was interesting, and you have to think will be followed up on next week. It adds another wrinkle to the match, that’s for sure.

Post-match, Mathews again pumped what was happening next week, including the Lethal Lockdown match between TNA and GFW.

[Final Thoughts: Well, TNA has some things going for them heading into this match next week. First, as someone who doesn’t read spoilers, I genuinely have no idea what’s going to happen, and that’s usually a good thing. There’s a number of ways they could go with this, ranging from TNA just winning clean and GFW going away, or GFW winning clean and perhaps airing some of the Amped footage that Jarrett has in the can from a few weeks ago in Las Vegas instead of Impact, even if just for one week. Similar to when the NWO would take over a Nitro back in the '90s.

This week’s show was more about preparing the viewer for next week, and that’s fine. Not every show needs to be filled with big happenings. There wasn’t a lot of news here, other than the Tag Title change and Young’s involvement in the main event, but it was still a good maintenance show to set up next week.]

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