TNA Impact on Spike TV
Taped in Orlando, Fla.

[Q1] Highlights aired of the Samoa Joe and Booker T in-ring confrontation from last week... The show is called "No You See Him, Now You Don't"...

Powell's POV: I don't like these titles for the shows. They try to give the impression that the shows are live, yet the title implies they somehow know what's going to happen.

Mike Tenay and Don West introduced the show while Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash walked to the caged ring together. Once in the ring, Joe challenged Booker to meet him inside the ring in a six sides of steel match at the Hard Justice pay-per-view. Booker T's music played and he walked onto the stage with Sharmell.

Booker called for their match to include tables, chairs, and ladders. He said he'd come back later in the show with a contract in his hand and questioned whether Joe would sign it. "Be afraid of the dark, Joe," Booker said in a tease for Sting. "Be very afraid of the dark"...

Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed A.J. Styles, Christian Cage, and Rhino. Styles doubted that Sting would show up in Kurt Angle and Team 3D's corner later in the show. Christian cut him off and said he'd put Sting through a table first if he showed up in their opponents' corner. "Don't get sucked in," Rhino told Styles... [C]

Powell's POV: Styles just isn't cool right now. He's the defender of women and his own tag partners are treating him like a naive Sting fanboy. I'm guessing Styles's confidence in Sting will be rewarded in the end, but I still don't think it's wise to have other babyfaces talking down to him. That being said, I liked the opening of this show with a quick verbal exchange between Booker and Joe (why was Nash there?) and a quick babyface promo backstage. Plenty of star power in the first 10 minutes of the show.

Tenay and West hyped the show, which led into a Sting video... Ring introductions for the first match took place...

[Q2] 1. Consequences Creed defeated Eric Young and Johnny Devine and Jimmy Rave (w/Lance Rock) in a four-way in 4:00. There was a series late in the match with everyone scoring nearfalls. Creed fought off Divine Intervention and turned around a rollup attempt to pin Devine. After the match, the heels roughed up Creed until Abyss came out for the save.

Powell's POV: The announcers sold the storyline that Abyss keeps coming out to rescue people when they're in trouble. The other end of the storyline is that he is trying to fight off his violent tendencies. In this case, he picked up a chair and dropped it. Of course, the fans want him to use it.

Backstage, Angle and Team 3D made Borash lay down on a table. Brother Ray told him he has a pretty mouth. He said Sting is now one of them and a scum bag just like they are. Devon said Sting will shock the world. Angle said Sting is tired of doing the right thing and trying to please the fans... [C]

[Q3] A video recapped Kaz's history as the guy who is unable to win the big match. Loser... Karen Angle's new sitdown talk show debuted. It's called "Karen's Angle" and Kaz was the first guest. He recapped his career and noted that he loves his trainer Killer Kowalski. He also said his hero growing up was Bret Hart.

Karen pointed out that he was with TNA in week one. He said he takes pride in that. She pointed out that he left TNA in 2005. He said the politics (in WWE) got to him and he felt like he was walking on eggshells. He said it only took a couple months to lose the passion. "I didn't enjoy going to work," he said. "I didn't enjoy being a professional wrestler." Tenay and West hyped that part two of the interview will air next week... [C]

Powell's POV: The set looked nice and the background music was really annoying. Can't TNA just slow down and tell the entire story this week? I hate this to be continued stuff they do for their sitdown interviews. That being said, Kaz came off well here. He was calm and came across like a decent guy rather than a nervous guy trying to deliver a wrestling promo.

An ad aired for the Hard Justice pay-per-view. They're having Ice T and another rapper perform live...

Powell's POV: I hope they open the show with those guys. The Affliction pay-per-view reminded me how much I dislike musical performance in the middle of an wrestling or MMA show unless it's for a ring entrance.

2. Matt Morgan pinned Cory Chavis in 2:20. Tenay acknowledged Morgan's debut on "American Gladiators" as "Beast." Morgan has joined Batista in doing the "Goldberg jump." In the end, Morgan finished off Chavis with the Hellevator finisher...

Powell's POV: Really nice energy from Morgan this week. The live crowd picked up on the energy and stayed with his reaction.

Backstage, Lauren interviewed the Motor City Machine Guns. Chris Sabin mocked the "Beer Money" nickname by saying they stole it from a movie that starred Zach Morris ("Saved By the Bell" guy). Alex Shelly talked about how proud they are to represent the Motor City and how it is a violent city with a high murder rate...

Powell's POV: Sabin's promo was okay, but Sabin kind of lost me with the Motown talk.

[Q4] Backstage, Lauren interviewed Shark Boy, Curry Man, and Super Eric, who are known as the Prince Justice Brotherhood. They decided to come up with a motto. Eric suggested, "We come in peace, they leave in pieces" and Shark and Curry were cool with it...

Powell's POV: Shouldn't Shark be mocking this? After all, he is Stone Cold so you'd think he'd be the guy bickering about how stupid the Prince Justice Brotherhood name is and mocking the other two guys. By the way, the Prince Justice Brotherhood name is ridiculously bad...

Speaking of ridiculously bad names, Beer Money made their entrance. The Guns came out next. Tenay said the Guns are going back to their Detroit roots... [C]

Powell's POV: Haven't they already been acknowledging Detroit when they point to their hands after like every other move they perform? I like the Guns, but that hand signal stuff gets old.

3. Robert Roode and James Storm (w/Jacqueline) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns in a strap match in 7:45. In this version of the strap match, both teams are attached to each other by the strap. It's not a country whipping strap match or a fans revenge strap match, but the creative team member with the fetish for watching men whip each other still gets his rocks off. I'm just kidding, but not really.

In the unintentionally hilarious moment of the night, Tenay watched the Guns crotch Storm and Roode with the straps and said, "You've gotta be loving this more than anyone, Don West." He followed up by pointing out that West was strapped by the heels, but it was really awkward before the followup.

[Q5] Late in the match, Jacqueline passed handcuffs to Storm. Sabin rolled up Roode, but Storm hit him with the handcuffs. Roode rolled up Sabin and scored the pin. Afterward, the heels used the straps to whip Shelley until LAX ran out for the save... [C]

Powell's POV: Leather straps and handcuffs. What the hell? This is getting weirder every week. Maybe they should put Jackie in "The Gimp" outfit from Pulp Fiction

Shots aired of Pittsburgh Steelers players Ike Taylor and James Farrior watching the show in the crowd. Farrior is popular with the TNA wrestlers, who say he's kind and a bud...

4. Taylor Wilde pinned Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) for the TNA Knockouts Title in 0:05. The bell that you can barely hear on television rang while Sky was talking to Love in the corner. Widle ran over and rolled her up for the win. The ring announcer stated that it was a new TNA record for shortest match. Afterward, Sky said she wasn't ready and dared her to give her another match.

5. Taylor Wilde defeated Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in 0:20. This time the ring announcer noted that she set a new record for winning two falls in 25 seconds. Afterward, Love asked who Wilde was dating to get the special treatment in TNA. I've wondered that myself. Love offered Taylor $5,000 if she could win a third straight fall.

Powell's POV: Why pay her five grand when you could have just double dared her?

[Q6] 6. Taylor Wilde beat Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) by DQ to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in 6:15. Apparently, the gimmick was that Wilde had to pin Sky because Love ran in and broke up the pin attempt for the DQ. The heels beat up Wilde and gave her the brown bag treatment. The crowd chanted for ODB. They got ODB and Gail Kim. For some reason, ODB came out chewing on a turkey leg. No shit. Really...

Tenay said Daivari is going by his royal Arabic name. I believe it was King Abdul Bakshir (not sure on the last name). He was wearing a nice suit and bragged about pulling off the impossible by making come true. He said he's lived the American dream and said he's "more American than you."

Powell's POV: Very good video and an intelligent promo by Daivari. Well done.

Borash hosted a segment in front of the worst hospital set in the history of television. Sonjay was lying in a bed and was totally over the top in his comments to a sympathetic Val. He claimed he was in a coma for three days an thought about her the entire time. Borash asked the obvious question, but Val told him to have some sympathy. Sonjay swiped the engagement ring that Jay Lethal gave Val and smiled about it after she left the room...

Powell's POV: It's official. Val doesn't watch Impact. If she did, then she'd know that Sonjay playing her.

Ring introductions for the six-man elimination table match took place...

[Q7] [C] 7. Kurt Angle and Team 3D defeated A.J. Styles and Christian Cage and Rhino in a tables elimination match in 14:00. All six men were legal so they brawled in and out of the ring. Team 3D was about to put Styles through a table, but Rhino and Christian broke it up and put Devon through the table to eliminate him from the match. Rhino gored Brother Ray, but Angle snuck into the ring behind the heels and hit his three opponents with a chair. [C]

During the break, Rhino tried to gore Angle, but Brother Ray pulled Kurt out of the way and Rhino charged through a table set up in the corner of the ring to eliminate himself. Dummy. Devon returned to the match and helped Ray hit 3D on Christian through a cage while Angle held the referee and prevented him from seeing the interference. The ref turned around, saw Christian lying on a broken table, and ruled that he was out of the match.

[Q8] Johnny Devine ran out to help Brother Ray. He threw powder at Styles, but A.J. ducked and the powder blinded Ray. Brother Ray put Devine through a table because he was blinded and through he was putting Styles through a table. Moments later, Styles shot Angle into Ray, who fell off the ring apron and through a table at ringside for the elimination.

The match came down to Styles and Angle. A.J. placed Kurt on a table and then climbed to the top rope. Frank Trigg ran out and hit Styles with a kendo stick. Angle hit the Olympic Slam through a table to win the match...

Powell's POV: All that just for a repeat finish from the pay-per-view? Disappointing finish, but an entertaining garbage match. Not nearly as good as the pay-per-view match. Still a solid television match, though. Um, wasn't Sting supposed to be with the heels? Did I miss something or was that heel claim completely ignored once the match started?

A shot aired of Booker T walking backstage with the title belt draped over his shoulder... [C] Booker and Sharmell walked to the ring with a contract for Samoa Joe to sign. Joe and Nash walked to the ring together. Booker pointed out that he had his wife with him and added, "And I can see you have your..." regarding Nash. Funny.

Booker said the cage match contract makes everything legal, including tables, ladders, and chairs. He said he wanted Joe's "little buddy" to leave the ring. Joe took the mic and said he'd send Nash to the back if Booker sent "the bat wielding wench" to the back. Booker kissed his wife and sent her to the back. "Now if you want to do the same, Joe." Nice line. Joe topped him by saying, "I would, but I hear your wife is not a very good kisser."

Joe shook Nash's hand and sent him backstage. Tenay kept questioning whether Joe would sign. Booker signed the contract and asked Joe to do the same. Joe took the contract and the lights went out. Sting's music played. When the lights came back on, Joe was laid out in the ring and Booker was holding a black baseball bat while staring at the ceiling. "Why, Sting, why?" asked West to close the show.

Powell's POV: This made zero sense. First, the announcers kept questioning whether Joe would sign the contract. Didn't Joe challenge Booker to the cage match to begin with? Of course he would sign the contract. Only he didn't sign the contact because Booker is stupid and hit him with the bat before he could sign it.

Let's pretend it was Sting and he's working in cahoots with Booker. Wouldn't he also allow Joe to sign the contract first? Speaking of Sting, West sounds like a total tool for doubting Sting. This is one of those storylines that only makes sense to the TNA creative team. That being said, this was better than the average edition of Impact from a pure entertainment standpoint. I'll have more to say about it in the TNA Hitlist on Friday.

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