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Live from Orlando, Fla.
At Universal Studios

The show opened with a video that featured Hulk Hogan, Dixie Carter, A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, Daniels, and other TNA wrestlers... Mike Tenay and Taz introduced the show from ringside and hyped the X Division Title match...

Powell's POV: Am I the only one getting the two bars on the sides of the screen? I can't order TNA in HD on DirecTV, but they usually don't have the two bars for the standard feed.

1. Amazing Red (w/Don West) pinned Homicide for the X Division Title in 10:05. Big clothesline earlier from Homicide that Red sold with a big back flip. West played cheerleader at ringside and did a good job of reacting to the early big moves. Homicide controlled the bulk of the offense for the first six minutes.

Red came back with some flashy offense including a wild spinning DDT. "He's amazing" changed the crowd. Red got the first quality near fall at 7:15. Homicide came right back with the Bronx Bomber for a near fall of his own. "Fight, Red," West yelled from ringside.

At 9:15, Red went for a moonsault off the top, but Homicide caught him with a Diamond Cutter on the way down. Homicide tried to follow up with a huracanrana, but Red pushed him off and hit the Code Red for the 1-2-3. West entered the ring and gleefully hugged Red...

Powell's POV: A good match that didn't belong in the opening slot. TNA officials have convinced themselves that the X Division matches should always open the show because of the fast-paced action, but it does no good for the value of the title. It makes the X Division Title seem cheap. Why don't they put an X Division contenders match on first and move the X Title matches to later in the show? Again, though, good opening match with a clean finish.

At ringside, the announcers shifted gears to the Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle match. They also discussed the main event three-way...

2. ODB, Sarita, and Taylor Wilde defeated Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky, and Lacey Von Erich (w/the pink dildo) to retain the TNA Knockout and TNA Knockouts Tag Titles in 5:55. Tenay explained that the person who pinned ODB would be the TNA Knockouts Champ, and if one of the tag champs was pinned they would lose their titles. Taz said the streak of Lacey not introducing herself to him is still in full effect.

The tag champs hit some flashy moves early. A fan in the front row held up a sign that read, "Lacey Von Botch." Taz even acknowledged it by saying she has a fan in the front row. Funny. A couple minutes later, a loud "You can't wrestle" chant broke out in Lacey's honor. Double ouch. In the end, ODB hit a finishing move on Rain and scored the pin. Someone's hair extension came out, as Lacey was holding it afterward...

Powell's POV: They desperately needs to get Angelina Love back in the fold. The Beautiful People just aren't the same without her.

Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Desmond Wolfe, who said the wolf would devour every scrap that remains. He said he "more than has the number of Kurt Angle." Wolfe added that he's studied Angle since day one and knows him better than Angle knows himself. "And you can bow to my howl, wanker," Wolfe concluded...

Powell's POV: The promo was fine aside from the cheesy "bow to my howl" line. At least he didn't say he's hungry like a wolf again. By the way, there's a good pace to the show. They're not showing a bunch of videos in between each match. Rather, they're having brief buffers in the form of interviews or the announcers previewing the next match.

3. British Invasion defeated Beer Money and Motor City Machine Guns in a three-way to retain the TNA Tag Titles in 9:10. No sign of Rob Terry. He didn't come out with the Invasion. The three teams took turns on offense early. There was a "USA" chant early on, but the live crowd wasn't very lively for the early action. They perked up when Beer Money hit some of their signature tag moves at 7:00.

Eric Young ran to ringside and pulled James Storm off the ring apron at 7:40. Referee Earl Hebner saw Young and ordered him to leave ringside. Kevin Nash walked out and took the TNA Legends Title from Young. Storm grabbed Young on the ramp, but Nash slammed the Legends Title over Storm's head.

The announcers said Young seemed as surprised as anyone by Nash helping him out. Roode was distracted by Nash hitting his partner with the belt. Brutus Magnus grabbed Roode and held him up while Doug Williams hit him with an elbow or forearm off the ropes. Magnus pinned Roode to win the match for his team...

Powell's POV: Overbooked match number one. The early action was solid, but this match never really got going. Disappointing. I seriously have no idea what happened to The Guns. They just disappeared. These teams could have delivered a hell of a match, but creative felt their silly swerve with Nash was more important.

The announcers recapped the match and then shifted their focus to Mick Foley taking the fireball from Raven. Tenay said Foley was told by doctors to stay away from TNA for the time being, but he's blowing off that advice and will be on Impact on Thursday...

Backstage, Borash asked Nash, "What the hell was that?" Nash asked him whether he kisses his mother with that mouth. "I kiss your mother with this mouth," Nash told Borash. Funny. Nash, who was still holding the Legends Title, said he did what he did for Hulk. He said Hulk was in on it and he'd explain more on Thursday if Hulk would let him...

Powell's POV: Technically, Young's toy belt is now called the Global Title or something like that. They could call it God's Title and I'd still consider it a toy belt. Nash kept saying Hulk, but I don't believe he mentioned his last name. That probably means nothing, but you never know.

4. Tara pinned Awesome Kong in a six sides of steel cage match in 8:00. Kong attacked Tara as the bell rang to start the match. Kong dominated the first five minutes of the match, but Tara came back by slamming Kong's head into the cage several times. She followed up with a superkick, dropkick, and a standing moonsault for a near fall.

At 7:10, Tara powerbomed Kong off the ropes for a strong near fall. Tara climbed to the top of the cage. As Kong stood up, Tara dove onto her in Thesz Press style in and scored the clean pin. Tara was emotional after the referee counted the pin.

After the match, Lauren interviewed Tara at ringside. She said she wanted to beat the best women's wrestler ever. She said she was going after ODB and would become the next TNA Knockouts Champion...

Powell's POV: Think about how excited people were about this match when Tara debuted with TNA. Sadly, the buildup for this match was terrible. It was treated like another match rather than a dream match. The match was solid, but it's nothing people will remember a month from now.

At ringside, Tenay and Taz spoke about Hogan joining the company. They introduced another video on Hogan joining the company. After the vide, Tenay questioned what Hogan's role would be and what impact it would have on the roster. "We'll find out...sooner or later," Tenay said...

5. Rhino and Team 3D defeated Matt Morgan, Hernandez, and D'Angelo Dinero in 14:30. Dinero got the fake money falling entrance. Early in the match, Brother Ray tore one of the bills. Dinero tackled him and wailed away with punches. The heels spent the next several minutes taking turns working over Dinero.

At 9:45, Ray dropped an elbow off the ring apron and onto Dinero on the floor. "That's what you get, pimp," Ray said while looking into the camera. "I'm a bigger pimp, pimp." Dinero finally tagged in Morgan at 10:50. Morgan backed Rhino into the corner and hit him with repeated elbows.

Morgan tagged in Hernandez at 11:40. He plowed through all three heels and scored a near fall on Rhino. Hernandez followed up with the suicide dive over the top rope onto all three heels at ringside for a big pop. At 13:05, Team 3D set up Hernandez for the Whassup spot, but Dinero shoved Devon off the ropes.

Rhino knocked Morgan to ringside and he came up holding his knee in pain. Moments later, Hernandez set up Devon for the Border Toss, but Rhino hit Hernandez from behind with a chair. Rhino followed up with a gore and pinned Hernandez...

Powell's POV: Good action, but the finish was really flat. The live crowd was into the action, but they just sat on their hands when Rhino pinned Hernandez. Let the complaints begin bout the old guys beating the young guys again. I'm just stunned that their big followup to Morgan vs. Angle was having Morgan on the losing team in a throwaway six-man tag at the next pay-per-view.

Backstage, Lauren interviewed Scott Steiner, who said Lashley can't control or satisfy his wife. He said Kristal knows he can go and wants him to "bust her out." Steiner said he'd pin Lashley and then "cover his wife too"...

A video recapped the Steiner vs. Lashley feud...

Powell's POV: Steiner went full fledged Rick Rude by having Kristal Lashley's face airbrushed onto the front of his trunks. As much as I loved the Rude vs. Jake Roberts feud back in the day, it is sad that Russo has resorted to copying a classic storyline rather than come up with his own material this early in his run as the head of creative.

6. Scott Steiner pinned Bobby Lashley in a no DQ, falls count anywhere match in 12:00. Lashley went on the offensive to start the match, but Stiner came back with a series of suplexes. Later, Steiner hit the Frankensteiner off the ropes for a near fall. Taz pointed out that Steiner appeared to land on his head, yet was walking around like it was no big deal.

Steiner went to the top rope, but Lashley caught him and then dropped him on the top rope. The wrestlers fought to ringside and then to the backstage area. The camera crew didn't follow the action. "We got a camera crew back there or what?" Taz asked. A few seconds later, the cameras showed Lashley stalking a bloody Steiner.

Lashley picked up a board backstage and hit Steiner with it, which drew the inevitable "Hooooo!" chants from the crowd. Steiner came back by whipping Lashley into some bigger pieces of wood (that's what she said) that were backstage. Steiner followed up by wrapping a cord around Lashley's neck.

Steiner and Lashely eventually fought their way back inside the studio. There was a cooler next to the Spanish broadcast table, but neither wrestler used it as a weapon. Apparently, they missed how damaging it was when Legacy laid out Triple H with it. Rather, Steiner knocked a piece of pipe off the set behind the announcers and slammed it over Lashley's head. Steiner covered Lashley on the floor and got the pin...

Powell's POV: The feud lives on. A fun brawl. Steiner has been working really hard lately. I guess this means Lashley can lose in TNA after all.

Backstage, Kurt Angle told Borash that Desmond is playing under prison yard rules in that he's tying to take out the biggest dog to make a name for himself. Angle said he doesn't need to know Wolfe to beat him...

Powell's POV: Good, intense promo from Angle. That's the money version of the Kurt character that we haven't seen enough of over the years.

A video recapped the Wolfe vs. Angle feud...

7. Kurt Angle defeated Desmond Wolfe in 16:15. Wolfe worked over Angle's arm and hand early, and the announcers told the story that he was trying to take away Kurt's "awesome gripping strength." Angle got in his share of offense, but Wolfe continued to target Angle's arm. Taz said one of the moves Wolfe used reminded him of Billy Robinson.

Angle went for the ankle lock at 6:30, but Wolfe shoved him off. Angle came back with a suplex and a series of clotheslines. Angle hit four German suplexes at 8:00. The live crowd cheered loudly in hopes of getting a fifth suplex. Angle obliged with two more before finally releasing Wolfe.

Angle dropped the strap on his singlet and went for the Angle Slam, but Desmond countered and nailed Angle with a great clothesline. It should have been a great near fall, but the live crowd didn't react when Desmond went for the cover and Angle kicked out at the last moment.

Desmond set up Kurt for the Tower of London, but Angle eluded it and his his finisher for a near fall. Desmond came right back by targeting Angle's left arm again. Kurt came back with the ankle lock. Desmond teased tapping, but he countered into an arm hold. Angle escaped that and applied the ankle lock again. Desmond nearly reached the ropes, but Angle pulled him back into the center of the ring. Desmond teased tapping again before reaching the ropes at 11:50 to break the hold.

"This is awesome," chanted the live crowd. Angle went for the Angle Slam, but Desmond countered with a big DDT. Desmond hit the Tower of London, but Kurt kicked out. Tenay did a lousy job here of making it seem like Wolfe was on the verge of winning.

Angle came right back with a big clothesline. He followed up with a moonsault, but Wolfe moved. Desmond caught Kurt's arm in a submission hold, but Kurt backed his way to the ropes and put his foot over the bottom rope to break the hold. At 14:35, Desmond went for a superplex, but Kurt knocked him off the ropes with punches. Kurt hit a frogsplash for a great near fall.

The two wrestlers traded position as both went for tombstone piledrivers. Angle caught Desmond's ankle instead. Desmond pushed off, but Angle held on. Angle applied what Taz referred to as a side triangle choke and Wolfe eventually tapped out to lose the match...

Powell's POV: Fantastic match with great submissions and near falls. Wolfe was elevated with the win, but I am disappointed he didn't get the win. He needed it more than Angle, and it would have given him a ton of credibility with the fans had Angle tapped to him. Still, a great match that exceeded my expectations. Taz was strong on commentary, but Tenay was lousy when it came to putting over the near falls.

Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Samoa Joe, who said no one has sent Styles and Daniels to the hospital more than he has. He said he just needs to defeat one of them to win the title... A video set up the main event... The announcers read the bullet points for the matches...

A shot aired of Daniels walking backstage and then he walked to the ring. A shot aired of Joe walking backstage and then he made his entrance. Tenay said Joe is known for his Nation of Violence smash mouth offense, but his brilliance this time around has been the mind games. Joe made his entrance.

The camera showed A.J. walking backstage and putting his hood over his face. He made his entrance and was the only one of the three to receive pyro. The other two just walked to the ring and made no frills entrances. Borash handled the in-ring introductions. Slick Johnson was the referee.

Borash said it was a rematch four years in the making. He introduced Daniels first a the fans threw streamers. Joe was introduced next. More streamers. Styles was introduced last. More streamers flew and he received the best reaction of the bunch...

Powell's POV: I'm guessing TNA handed out the streamers since we've never seen that at the Impact Zone. Nothing wrong with that, though. It's a cool trend to start.

8. A.J. Styles defeated Samoa Joe and Daniels in a three-way to retain the TNA Title in 21:50. The three wrestlers met in mid-ring. Daniels surprised Styles with a punch to the face to start the match. Joe caught Daniels in a submission hold, but A.J. broke it up at 4:00.

There was a fun spot at 6:20 when Daniels caught Styles in a Boston Crap while on top of Joe. He then reached down and simultaneously put Joe in a chin lock. The crowd poppep for that one. Joe broke free and nailed both opponents with running boots. He hit a dropkick on A.J. and fell into a senton on Daniels in the same motion.

Joe went for a suicide dive, but A.J. kicked him in the head from the floor. Joe returned the favor by sweeping Styles's leg from the floor. Daniels entered the picture with a dive onto Joe. Daniels set up for an Asai moonsault, but Styles caught him on the ropes and kicked his back while Joe punched him. Cool spot.

Styles hit a great dive onto both opponents at 10:00. He showed awesome enthusiasm by slamming the mat on the floor a few times in excitement. He stood up and yelled. At 11:40, Joe caught Styles and powerbombed him onto Daniels. Moments later, Joe applied the STF, which he turned into the crossface. Styles eventually reached the ropes.

Joe caught the fallen Daniels with a kick to the face that knocked him off the ring apron.

At 13:50, Daniels ran at Styles and slammed him with both knees in the corner. He followed up with a Death Valley Driver for a near fall. At 15:00, Joe knocked down Styles with punches. Daniels knocked down Joe with punches and a kick. Styles got up and took down Daniels with a Pele kick. Styles got a nice near fall a few seconds later with the springboard into the flying forearm on Joe.

At 18:15, Joe hit the Muscle Buster on Daniels, but Styles broke up the pin attempt. Joe was taken out momentarily, leaving Styles and Daniels to counter move after move. Daniels won that battle and had A.J. set up in his own Styles Clash setup, but Joe broke it up by kicking Daniels in the head. Styles and Daniels teamed up a short time later with a high/low on Joe that left him lying on the mat.

Styles and Daniels fought in a corner on the ropes. Joe got up and chopped Styles off the ropes and down to the floor. Daniels got the better of an exchange with Joe and hit the Best Moonsault Ever, but Styles hit a 450 move off the top rope and landed with both knees on Daniels's back. Styles replaced Daniels on top of Joe and scored the win...

A commercial hyped Final Resolution and the Feast or Fired match for Dec. 20...

Powell's POV: The best TNA main event this year. It really makes you wonder where TNA would be right now had they pushed Styles, Joe, and Daniels aggressively four years years ago. The last two matches made the show. The lineup looked good on paper, and the creative staff let the wrestlers do their thing rather than bog them down with lame finishes. I didn't agree with the finish of Angle vs. Wolfe, but in retrospect they may have needed Angle to go over if he's challenging Styles at the next pay-per-view. I'll have much more to say later tonight in the audio recap, which is available exclusively to Dot Net Members. Thanks for watching along with me.

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