Friday 20 January 2012

TNA Impact Wrestling 1/19: Storm vs. Hardy, a Steel Cage,

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Impact Wrestling opened with James Storm. He defeated the best wrestler to become the No. 1 contender, because he was that much better that night.
He will kick Booby Roode’s ass at Against All Odds and take the title from him.
Jeff Hardy then made his way to the ring. He got screwed at Genesis and last week. Nobody gets a shot until he gets a final encounter.
Storm declared that he got screwed first, and that brought out Roode.
Storm did beat Angle to get the title shot, but since there was no winner last week between himself and Hardy, his spot is null and void.
Sting then headed out the ring. He made a No. 1 contender’s match between Hardy and Storm then left.
I felt that this was a good way to open the show. Storm, Hardy and Roode were all very good on the mic, and Sting continues to be a damn good general manager.
TNA has been opening with a lot of in-ring segments lately, but they’re short and to the point. I’m starting to enjoy them for that reason.
Add in the great mic work from the main event stars, and it creates a good segment.
Earlier, Angelina Love declared that she felt dirty after having Eric Young attack her last week. She then challenged him to a match.
It’s good to see Angelina back in the ring, but I was hoping that it would be in a legit match.


Gunner vs. A.J. Styles
Gunner picked up the victory with a DDT after Kazarian clotheslined him.
Post-match, Gunner tried to piledrive Styles onto concrete, but he was able to get away.
This was a good match. It had some nice back-and-forth action and had a good pace to it.
It was good to see Gunner in an actual match instead of him squashing someone and slamming him into the concrete.
He really impressed me here, as he was able to keep up with one of the best TNA has to offer. With Ric Flair as his manager, Gunner is going places.
I just hope that this potential mess between Flair, TNA and the WWE Hall of Fame will be cleared up so Flair can stay.
I’m quite intrigued by the Christopher Daniels/Kazarian partnership. It was Daniels who ordered Kaz to attack Styles, but he seemed very hesitant to do so.
I wonder what Daniels knows about Kaz. He’s got to know something to keep Kaz under control like that.
Backstage, Magnus is ready for Crimson. The champions walk up to them, and Crimson declares that Magnus is dead.
I’m so glad TNA is keeping Samoa Joe and Magnus together.
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Hoping that they eventually win the belts, I’d love to see them go up against the Motor City Machine Guns once Chris Sabin is able to return.
Elsewhere, Sting is with Bully Ray. Ray wanted a favor since he hasn’t lost a single match since becoming a singles wrestler.
Sting declared that he’s the boss, and that because Ray screwed Hardy last week, he won’t be getting a shot at anything.
Hasn’t lost a match? When I attended Bound for Glory this past October, I could have sworn that he was beaten by Mr. Anderson. He was also beaten by Abyss a few weeks ago at Genesis.
I think Bully Ray has been hanging around Scott Steiner too much; his brain is turning to mush.
Magnus vs. Crimson
Crimson picked up the win with Red Sky out of nowhere. Magnus dominated the whole match only to see the undefeated Crimson hit one move to stay unbeaten.
Samoa Joe then came out, and he and Magnus beat down Crimson. Morgan finally came out to make the save, but he was taken out as well.

I was disappointed that the match didn’t last longer and wasn’t more back-and-forth, but it did help get the Joe/Magnus team over more.
This is the second week in a row that they have beaten down the champions and are hungry for those belts.
This could create frustration for Morgan and Crimson, which may result in them losing the belts.
After the show went off the air, TNA officially announced that these two teams will go at it for the titles at Against All Odds. It should be a good, physical match.
Earlier, Eric Young is outside talking about Bellator Fighting Championship and soon begins to fight with a spoon as it's held by one of the caterers.
As she left, he declared that he doesn’t fight women. ODB then ran up to him and wanted EY to take Angelina out.
If he does a number on Angelina, then she’d do a number on EY later on.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I love this pairing. They work great together and will definitely be couple of the year.
Up next was a video package on Garett Bischoff training. He’ll be back soon and once again said that his father would be surprised who his trainer is.
Anyone else think Garett’s trainer is going to end up being Hulk Hogan?
Backstage, Madison Rayne is freaking out about the cage match. Gail Kim calmed her down and said that she’ll be there for her.
I like the pairing of these two, but much like when Madison was being used by Karen Jarrett, I think she’s once again being used, this time by Gail.
While I don’t see her as a face, mainly because she works great as a heel, I think she’ll turn on Gail sooner rather than later.

Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne: Steel Cage Match
Before the match, referee Earl Hebner sent Gail Kim to the back. She didn’t even put up a fight; she just waved to Madison and walked off.
As for the match, Mickie James picked up the victory with her DDT. This was a good match between two good wrestlers.
Mickie was always good in the ring and was the best WWE had after Trish Stratus left. WWE was stupid for letting her go.
Madison really doesn’t get the credit she deserves. She’s a great heel that knows how to draw heat from the crowd and put on a good match.

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It was nice to see the cage get some use with Mickie’s face getting slammed and Madison getting thrown into it.
That’s why I love the TNA Knockout’s division; the company lets them wrestle and get violent when they have to!
Backstage, Austin Aries is bragging about himself.
Can you blame him? He’s the best X-Division champion the company has seen in a while.
Elsewhere, Mickie James is celebrating her win with Velvet Sky and Tara.
We later find out that the three of them will go at it next week with the winner getting a shot at the title.
As big a fan as I am of Mickie, I hope she doesn’t win the match. She’s been the center of the division for a while now; it’s time for someone else to shine.
Staying backstage, Jeff Hardy wants a no-DQ match with Bobby Roode, but you don’t always get what you want. After he beats James Storm, he’ll get his final match.
As much as I’d like to see Hardy vs. Roode one more time, I think some kind of multi-man match at Against All Odds would be better to see.
Austin Aries then made his way out to the ring. He has once again successfully defended his title, and there’s no one in TNA that’s in his league.

The fans chant “you suck,” and Aries asks: If he sucks, then why is he champion? The fans then chanted his name, to which he said that he didn’t want his name chanted as he already knows how great he is.
The music of the Motor City Machine Guns hit, and Alex Shelley made his way to the ring.
He missed TNA but not Aries. Since he was little, his life has revolved around wrestling.
He was going to stay home and wait for Chris Sabin to heal, but he returned because he didn’t want a “douchebag” as champion in the X-Division.
Aries declared that Shelley had been riding Sabin’s coat tails and was no good. If Shelley was no good, then Aries wouldn’t have a problem giving him a title shot.
Aries wanted him to earn his shot by beating someone, to which Shelley told Aries to pick his opponent.
This was a great segment.
Aries’ mic work gets better and better every time he speaks. Not many stars of the X-Division have been able to deliver on the mic, and Aries really sets the bar for current and future X-Division athletes.
Alex Shelley was never really good on the mic, but he impressed in the ring with the champion. He must have been practicing while taking a break.
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Even though the match isn’t official, these two should have a great match at the PPV.
Backstage, ODB wants Eric Young to rip Angelina in half. Winter then showed up and attacked her.
They brawled until Winter pulled a pipe out of her pocket or something and hit her with it. She then whipped and choked ODB with her belt.
I’m liking this feud. It not only gives ODB and Winter television time, but it helps create an eventual new contender for the title.
Angelina Love vs. Eric Young
Eric Young won the match by DQ after Angelina Love kicked him between the goal posts.
Angelina and Winter beat on him until ODB ran out and started to beat down Winter. Angelina cut her off, but before they can whip her, EY tosses them both outside.
ODB then proceeded to make out with Young.
As a wrestling match, this was obviously horrid.
Being a pure comedy match, though, it was entertaining as EY kept locking up with the referee and running around the ring.
Young has really embraced this character and has made it his own. His partnership with ODB is making some very entertaining television, and I hope they stick together throughout the year.
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As for Angelina, I hope to see her in a legit match soon.
Backstage, James Storm is all in. He helped build TNA, and it’s his time to be champion.
He’s sick and tired of talking, as it’s time to show everyone that he can be a champion.
And a champion he will be, but not at Against All Odds. I’m still hoping to see him and Roode go one-on-one at Slammiversary.

James Storm vs. Jeff Hardy: No. 1 Contender’s Match
The match ended in a no contest, when Bully Ray knocked out the ref and proceeded to beat both Hardy and Storm with a chain.
As he beat them, he would knock out two more referees before throwing up the horns and mooing.
Sting finally made his way out with a bat and took out the bully, chasing him off.
Roode then slid in and hit both men with the title. He then grabbed the mic and declared the match a no contest and that he was still champion.
This was a great match. It had a pretty good pace to it, and both men performed quite well.
A lot of fans may not be happy with the ending, but it makes sense to me. The ending of the match sets up two possibilities for Against All Odds.

Bobby Roode will either be defending his title in a triple-threat match against Hardy and Storm or in a fatal four-way match with Bully Ray added.
I hope that next week’s main event doesn’t end like this, though, as having this happen for weeks on end will become quite frustrating.
Overall, I thought this was another good episode of Impact Wrestling. It was quite enjoyable from beginning to end.
The matches were either good or advanced their storylines nicely, while the in-ring segments were straight and to the point.
TNA once again went a little overboard with the backstage segments, but they too were short and to the point.
Hopefully, next week, they’ll cut down on the number of them.
A good show, though, and I can’t wait until next week!
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1031922-tna-impact-wrestling-119-stormhardy-a-steel-cage-alex-shelley-and-more 

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