By Jason Powell

TNA Impact on Spike TV
Taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

[Q1] The show opened with a recap that focussed on Rob Van Dam and Abyss from last week... The show is called "Eliminating The Monster"... Backstage, Kurt Angle was on the telephone with Hulk Hogan. Angle said Hogan has no idea what it means to have his support.

Angle said he would win the TNA Title at Bound For Glory. He also vowed to annihilate Abyss in the cage match main event. Angle told Hogan to take care of his back. Angle walked to his area below the stage and wrapped up the phone call because the show was starting. A voice told Angle to stand by and then his music played.

Kurt made his usual entrance as Mike Tenay and Taz introduced the show on commentary. Tenay stressed that Angle will retire if he doesn't win the TNA Title at Bound For Glory. Angle wished Hogan well in his recovery from back surgery. Angle said he's 10 days away from accomplishing his ultimate goal of winning the belt.

Angle put over Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy as great competitors. "But Bound For Glory will be my night to shine," Angle said. He added that he won't let Hogan down on the favor he requested. Angle said Abyss has caused too much damage in TNA lately. Angle noted that Abyss has taken out Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy and has been warning everyone about 10/10/10.

Angle said 9/30/10 is the night when he will cut the cancer out of TNA. He announced that he would be facing Abyss in a cage match later tonight. Abyss's music played and he headed toward the ring. Angle raced out of the ring to greet him and they brawled in the studio and then into a side area as Taz put over Angle for taking the fight to Abyss.

The camera cut to the announcers briefly. They said they were trying to get a camera in place. They cut backstage a few seconds later as Angle and Abyss brawled inside a locker room. There was a ladder in the room. Abyss slammed it over Angle. Kurt ended up with a chair and struck Abyss with it.

Angle put the boots to Abyss and then choked him. Angle questioned whether Abyss wanted to do to him what he did to RVD and Hardy. Kurt said he's a completely different animal. Abyss reached up and low-blowed Angle, and then slammed his head into a locker. Angle returned the low-blow and then TNA agents and security entered the room to pull them apart.

Taz hyped Beer Money vs. Rhino and Tommy Dreamer for after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: I liked the opening shot of Angle talking with Hogan on the phone. It was out of the norm and brought fans into the backstage area. It's just a little thing, but I'm not sure it was wise to show the area where Angle is raised onto the stage simply because it's good to leave a little mystery, but it's not a huge deal. Good mic work from Angle. They had to give these two a beef heading into their cage match. I thought Angle might be in on the "They" gimmick, but the fact that he's booked against Abyss in a cage match leads me to believe that Hogan is trying to soften him up before BFG.

Abyss and Angle were backstage near the interview set behind held apart. They broke free briefly and were quickly restrained...

[Q2] 1. Tommy Dreamer and Rhino defeated Beer Money in a lumberjack match in 5:35. A.J. Styles, Matt Morgan, Ric Flair, Douglas Williams, Sabu, Raven, Mick Foley, Stevie Richards, and Brian Kendrick served as the lumberjacks. Taz was quick to explain the rules of the match during the opening minute. Tenay hyped next week's live show and the $100,000 battle royal. He also hyped the release of Foley's book for tomorrow in all major book stores.

Routine tag action early. Dreamer got a nice reaction when he entered the match at 4:00. A short time later, Rhino and Robert Roode tumbled over the top, which led to the the lumberjacks brawling. In the end, Storm missed a beer bottle shot and took Dreamer's finisher before being pinned. Afterward, Sabu performed a big dive onto the brawling lumberjacks at ringside.

Mick Foley took the mic and said he doesn't want to see anymore fighting. He said he wants two men in the ring - himself and Ric Flair. Foley said it's time for them to resolve their differences. Foley invited Flair to join him inside the ring. Foley instructed EV2 to step aside for Flair... [C]

Powell's POV: Tenay's hype for Foley and Flair was terrible before the break. He said something about it being 20 years in the making and then delivered the rest of the line with the same passion he'd use to tease a squash match coming up after the break. If viewers sense that the announcer doesn't think it's a huge deal, why should they think it's a big deal? Anyway, the tag match was fine, but I hate the idea of a non-tag team getting the win over the best team in the business.

After the break, Foley and Flair were in the ring together. "Did you say you want to talk to Ric Flair, the wrestling god?" Flair asked. Foley said he wants to talk to Ric Flair the man so they can have a normal conversation. Flair twirled around and said he's just like Superman and now Foley has Flair the man. "What do you want, asshole?" asked Flair.

Foley said all the focus is on 10/10/10, but they should be thinking about 10/7/10. Foley said he told Dixie Carter that they need to end their differences. He said Bound For Glory is big, but he thinks their showdown should be seen on live television. Foley asked Flair to meet him one-on-one "for the very last time."

[Q3] Flair dropped his mic and headed to ringside, where he grabbed a copy of Foley's new book. Flair called Foley a best selling author, father of the year, couch potato and questioned if he really wanted to wrestle him. Flair dropped the book, stomped it, elbowed it, and dropped a knee on it.

Flair said the match was on. "How do you plan to get out of it, you son of a bitch?" Flair asked. Foley said he may have made a mistake in making a private conversation public, but it brought out a glow in him. Flair said he makes everyone around him better. Flair punched himself in the head until he bled. Foley did the same to himself and bled from the forehead and mouth.

They stared at each other and dared one another to take the first shot. Flair said he plans to have his entire family in attendance "just like at my retirement." Flair said he's bringing his family to see Foley's retirement. Flair recalled Dreamer referring to him as hardcore. Foley mocked him for taking all this time to figure that out.

Foley said there was something different about Flair. "You're renewed." Flair said he loves that Foley has it back. "Your balls are big again," Flair said. Foley said he doesn't like Flair, but he doesn't hate him either. Foley said he hasn't walked the mile in a long time and lately he's had a hard time standing up.

Foley asked Flair to meet him in a last man standing match. Flair flashed a serious face at Foley. He said two men walk in and one man walks out. "You got it," Flair said. Flair said he's so confident he's going to win that if Foley beats him, he'll kiss his ass on national TV. Flair shadow boxed and flipped out before leaving the ring. Foley told him he'd see him in the ring one week from tonight and then did the "bang bang" bit...

Powell's POV: Good energy from both men in a fun showdown. It was a bit sad to see them beating the shit out of themselves for a match at this late stage in their careers, but the live crowd was really into it and they managed to get me a lot more interested in the match than I was before the promo. Why in the hell was there something placed after this?

Backstage, Mr. Anderson was talking with Eric Bischoff. Anderson complained that Hogan called Kurt Angle rather than him. Bischoff said Hogan goes with what he knows. He said Hogan carried a company on his back, and so has Angle. Bischoff said Hogan has confidence in Anderson.

Bischoff said he has confidence in Anderson and that's why he booked him in a match against Samoa Joe tonight. Anderson said if he was a betting man he'd bet on himself. He said he'd also bet on him winning the $100,000 battle royal next week... [C]

Powell's POV: There was nothing about this segment that swayed me from thinking that Anderson and Bischoff are aligned. I could go either way on Hogan at this point. I know he's talked about wanting to be a heel and I assume he's part of "They" but I suppose there's nothing stopping them from keeping Hogan a babyface. By the way, they've been showing crawlers for next week's show. They've hyped the battle royal and a tag match over The Beautiful People name.

The announcers ran through the pay-per-view lineup...

[Q3] 2. Generation Me defeated Ink Inc. in 4:55. Ordinary tag action without much heat. There was a cool spot late in the match where Moore performed a double huracanrana on his opponents. In the end, Max Buck caught Moore with a low blow while his brother distracted the ref, which led to the pin.

Afterward, Generation Me were setting up Moore for the move they used on the Motor City Machine Guns, but the Guns came out and ran them off. Generation Me lied on the stage while the Guns made silly looking mean faces. The Guns got the tag title belt back that Generation Me stole from them...

Powell's POV: Moore and Generation Me worked well together. Moore is underrated in the ring, and he's obviously carrying the green Jesse Neal at this point. I'm not crazy about Moore's look or the Ink Inc. gimmick, but it's a wise pairing of the veteran worker with the green rookie.

Backstage, Samoa Joe said he's appreciative of the shot that Hogan and Bischoff are giving him against Anderson. He said that if he beats him, he'll be in line for a title match, and then win the belt. "By the way, Anderson, you're right about one thing, you are an asshole"... Tenay hyped Joe vs. Anderson for after the break... [C]

Backstage, the Guns cut a promo. Alex Shelley said their revenge begins at the Before The Glory live special next week. He said they will go around the other bodies in the battle royal to get to Generation Me. Chris Sabin said revenge is sweet...

Powell's POV: The Guns and Generation Me are still missing something. They obviously work well together in the ring and they've both been getting some mic time, but I think Generation Me needs consistent mic time to establish their arrogance. How about giving Generation Me a manager to do the bulk of the talking for them?

Ring introductions for the Samoa Joe vs. Mr. Anderson match took place...

[Q5] D'Angelo Dinero's music played and he joined the announcers on commentary. Kevin Nash and Sting came out and stood behind Pope...

3. Mr. Anderson pinned Samoa Joe in 4:05. Pope and the announcers spoke about the Miss Tessmacher situation that was brought up last week. Anderson hit Joe with the Mic Check and pinned him clean. After the match, Kevin Nash came to ringside with Sting's baseball bat and told Joe, who was still in the ring, to join them... [C]

Powell's POV: I generally dig Pope's mic work, but this was not good placement. He distracted from what should have been portrayed as a big match between two of the company's top stars. Sadly, the live crowd wasn't really into the action. Anderson is the title match so he couldn't be pinned in this match, but I was surprised to see Joe lose clean in a forgettable match.

After the break, Nash had the mic while Pope and Sting stood by. Nash said bad things happen to bad people. He noted the face that Hulk Hogan is in the hospital. Nash said the three men in the ring know exactly what's been going on. Rather than share it with everyone, Nash handed the mic to Pope.

D'Angelo Dinero spoke about how Nash and Sting know about running with wolves because they've led their own pack. He accused Bischoff of pulling the wool over everyone's eyes. He said Bischoff is a liar and a cheat. Pope said they're not going to lose the game, where as Bischoff and Hogan are coming out on the losing end.

Sting took his turn on the mic and said it's really all about him and Hogan. He said it started back in WCW. "This is a classic case of good vs. evil," Sting said before making a silly "whooohooohooo" noise. Um, okay. He asked the fans where they came to see the good guys or the good guys. He got cheers for both.

Sting said it's a question of who is wearing the white hat and who is wearing the black hat. Sting said they should add to their planned match. He proposed Sting, Nash, and Pope vs. Samoa Joe and Jeff Jarrett. Sting invited Hulk Hogan to lace up the boots one more time. "Hulk, at Bound For Glory, let's show the world what's really going on," Sting said.

[Q6] Eric Bischoff's music played. Bischoff and Miss Tessmacher walked onto the stage together. Bischoff said what's taking place is disgusting. He said the three men in the ring are showing their true colors. He said Sting and Nash are at the end of their careers and their best days are behind them. Bischoff said Pope is still green behind the ears and has a lot to learn.

Bischoff said it goes back to WCW 15 years ago when he tried to convince Sting that he was knocking on the door of the twilight of his career and he wanted him to work with younger guys. For some reason, the cameras kept showing Nash and Pope rather than Sting. Bischoff said Sting pouted if he didn't get his way. He said Nash has always been self-serving and all about himself.

Bischoff said he's most disappointed in Pope. He said he gave him a chance last week and he came up short. Bischoff told Pope to ask Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, and Mr. Anderson whether there is a conspiracy. Bischoff said Hulk Hogan will be on the live edition of Impact next week to tell them whether he accepts the challenge or not...

Powell's POV: Solid mic work by Bischoff, who is at his best when he can tear into someone. However, I'm not sure it's a good idea to point out that Sting was entering the twilight of his career 15 freaking years ago. By the way, shouldn't he be pissed at Miss Tessmacher for apparently spilling the beans?

Backstage, A.J. Styles cut a promo while Ric Flair stood by. Styles said he's going to rip Brian Kendrick's head off. "He's a buck-forty," Flair said. Styles said he's willing to put the little red toy belt on the line. Styles iced Flair, who got down on one knee and slammed the drink just like last week... [C]

The TNA live events video aired. No shot of Abyss making faces again this week. Hopefully that's been scrapped. I hate that clip, but it's a cool video package otherwise...

Video footage aired of Amazing Red defeating Jay Lethal to win the X Division Title, and of Lethal regaining the title two nights later at the live events from last weekend. The narrator said anything can happen...

Powell's POV: Why bother? I'm happy they acknowledged the title change, but that's something they should have been talking about during the show. I know it's a taped show, but they have the ability to change the commentary. That just felt totally insignificant. The message was supposed to be anything can happen at live events, but it felt more like even if something does happen it won't be treated like a major happening on TV.

Backstage, the Beautiful People past and present bitched at one another inside an office while Miss Tessmacher sat at the end of the table and announced that Bischoff has ruled that there will be a four-way match between them for the TNA Knockouts Title at Bound For Glory. After everyone left, Tessmacher told a caller that she'd meet him/her at their usual spot in 20 minutes...

Powell's POV: Shouldn't it be a five-way since Lacey Von Erich was in the room? I wonder if they'll make her the special referee. Hell, maybe they did already, but there was so much bickering and commotion that I'm not really sure.

[Q7] 4. A.J. Styles (w/Ric Flair, Matt Morgan) beat Brian Kendrick to retain the TNA TV Title in 4:20. As the match was starting, Flair joined the announcers and cut a brief promo about his match against Foley. Kendrick wore his silly looking karate gi and wrestling shoes outfit to the ring.

At 3:30, Kendrick had Styles down. He went to the top rope and dove onto Morgan instead of Styles. Moments later, Kendrick went back up top, but Morgan crotched him while Flair distracted the referee. Styles hit the Styles Clash and got the win...

Powell's POV: So disappointing. Kendrick vs. Styles should be a great match, but I can't take Kendrick seriously in that bad Jedi ninja outfit. We're supposed to think he's crazy and unpredictable, but he just looks low budget and ridiculous.

Backstage, Abyss said Kurt Angle isn't going to Bound For Glory because "They" instructed him to take him out of the match. Abyss said he will face Rob Van Dam at Bound For Glory, but he wants it to be a Monster's Ball match. He encouraged RVD to appear in the battle royal so that he and Janice can finish the job... [C]

Some dude named Richard G. from California won the Bound For Glory sweepstakes...

Powell's POV: Richard Gere? Okay, probably not.

A video aired with Rob Van Dam admitting it was probably foolish of him to appear on TNA Impact last week, but he'll make a full recovery and take out Abyss on 10/10/10...

Tenay hyped that the steel cage was in place for the main event, and then introduced a video package for the Before the Glory special. They hyped the battle royal, the tag match for the Beautiful People name, the debut of Shore, and Foley vs. Flair...

[Q8] Abyss made his entrance for the main event. He brought the weapon he can't use because he'd kill someone to the ring with him. Angle made his entrance...

5. Kurt Angle fought Abyss to an apparent no-contest in a cage match in 17:30. For some reason, Abyss was allowed to leave Janice in his corner. Angle got control of the match and picked up the weapon. Rather than strike Abyss with it, he threw the weapon over the top of the cage. Fortunately, not one died, as it landed safely on the floor. [C]

Abyss rammed Angle into the cage. Angle bladed heavily. Later, Abyss went for a move off the ropes, but Angle recovered and hit the Angle Slam on Abyss. Angle climbed to the top of the cage. Abyss chokeslammed the referee. Tenay said they were out of time on Impact, but Reaction was starting right now.

TNA Reaction

Angle jumped off the top of the cage. Abyss tried to catch him and turn it into the Black Hole Slam. Angle landed awkwardly. Abyss rammed Angle into the cage. With the ref down, Abyss chokeslammed Angle. Abyss tried to revive the referee. He then frisked him. The announcers assumed he was looking for the keys to the cage.

Mr. Anderson's music played and he came to the ring and climbed over the top of the cage. Anderson entered the ring and punched Abyss repeatedly. The announcers assumed Anderson got involved because he respects Angle. Abyss fought back and hit the Black Hole Slam on Anderson.

Abyss went to the door of the cage and started shaking it. He lifted it up and the door came off its hinges. It looked really weak. Abyss shoved the door aside and headed to ringside where he grabbed the weapon he can't hit anyone with because he'd kill them. Angle recovered and fought Abyss when he headed toward the ring.

Angle ended up with Janice in his hand. Abyss started to leave and they cut to a preview for TNA Reaction. One of the teases was for "TNA executive Vince Russo with some shocking comments for Eric Bischoff"...

Powell's POV: A cage match without an f'n finish? You've got to be kidding me. Strong work from both men with the exception of that ridiculous leap off the top of the cage into an attempted Black Hole Slam. For that matter, Abyss lifting up the door, er, ripping it off its hinges looked really campy. These two worked well together, though, but TNA has to stop ruining gimmick matches. Overall, a ton of talk on tonight's show prior to the main event. Isn't that what Reaction is for? Entertaining at times, but the finish of the main event left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I'll have more to say in the TNA Impact Hitlist on Friday.

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