By Chris Shore

TNA Impact Wrestling on SpikeTV
Taped on 9/12 in St. Louis, Missouri.

[Q1] IQG asked Magnus about being "this close" to winning the BFG series. He blamed EGO and Bobby Roode walked up and told him to blame himself. Magnus grabbed him and EGO attacked from behind. They beat him down until the refs and agents broke it up… The recap/opening video aired and Mike Tenay and Taz checked in on commentary…

Magnus made his ring entrance to almost no response. Ouch. Magnus said he was still hurting and his food didn't taste good because he lost last week. He said he thought AJ was the best in the business and wished him luck. He said nobody cared anything about EGO because it was Mafia country. He said his family wasn't there, so he dared any one of them to come out and fight him.

Kazarian came out and Magnus beat him down in the corner. Christopher Daniels attacked and Magnus fought him off as well. Roode jumped him next and the three men beat Magnus down again. Sting's music hit and he and Samoa Joe ran to the ring. EGO split and Sting took a mic and demanded a six-man match for later…

Backstage, Chris Sabin talked to TJ Perkins and said he liked how Perkins demanded a match with Jeff Hardy. He said if he hadn't cashed in the X Division title Perkins probably wouldn't be champion. He said "Your welcome" to Perkins. Perkins said he needed to go get ready for his match and Sabin wished him luck. Perkins walked off and put the mask on. Sabin asked Velvet Sky if she wanted to go watch with him and she said yes…Jeff Hardy made his ring entrance…[C]

Shore's Slant: Not a great start to the show with the beat down and then delayed response for the match. You really need to go right into matches off beat downs to keep the heat alive. Also, Magnus said he didn't have his family with him. I realize he might have meant in the ring but the wording was clumsy. And does anyone else hate that they always shoot Perkins from behind when he doesn't have the mask on? If you're going to show his face, then show it. Stop with the silliness about the character. I don't mind him wrestling with the mask on I guess, but the behind the head shots are just goofy.

[Q2] Manik made his entrance, followed by Sabin and Velvet who sat at ringside…

1. Jeff Hardy vs. Manik. Both guys flew around the ring hitting various big spots. Hardy hit Whisper in the Wind at 2:30 for two and then they botched a roll through attempt by Hardy for a near fall for Manik. Hardy came right back with the Twist of Fate and Swanton for the win…

Jeff Hardy defeated Manik at 4:02.

Post-match, Hardy congratulated Manik and left. Sabin got in the ring and congratulated Manik too, but then attacked him and put the boots to him until Hardy ran him off. Velvet Sky looked shocked as she and Sabin left… Dixie Carter was shown arriving backstage and she blew off IQG's questions…[C]

Shore's Slant: Crash TV match that made Manik look out of his league in the ring with Hardy. Sabin's heel turn might be interesting at some point, but I'm bored seeing him back in the X Division.

Sabin told Velvet to get her stuff and they would leave. IQG asked Sabin why he did what he did and Sabin said because Manik was the most disrespectful person he had met and he was going to teach Manik, and all the other wrestlers, to respect him…

Shore's Slant: That's pretty weak logic for a heel. And Velvet seemed to have put her shock aside and was all smiles for the camera. Weird.

[Q3] 2. Mickie James vs. ODB for the Knockouts Championship. ODB slapped Mickie before the bell to start the match. Mickie came right back and choked ODB on the second rope while hooking her own legs on the ropes too. That was a neat looking move. Mickie missed a move off the top rope and ODB hit a fall away slam. Mickie rolled to the floor and trapped ODB behind the apron when she tried to follow. Mickie punched her in the face into the break…[C]

Back from commercial, both women traded punches and then ODB slapped all her sexual organs before hitting a suplex on Mickie. God I hate her act. Mickie came right back with a spinning heel kick, but she didn't cover. Mickie screamed at her to standup and then helped her to the corner for a tornado DDT. ODB pulled her off for a slam instead and covered for the win…

ODB won the Knockouts Championship at 10:52.

Shore's Slant: An OK match, but the ending came out of nowhere and caught the crowd by surprise, leading to a delayed reaction. And of course they can't let the win sink in before parading out the clowns.

Post-match, Eric Young and Joseph Park ran out to celebrate with her. Park had chocolate milk with him as well. The Bro-mans came out almost immediately and cut a promo trashing them. He said it was the creepiest three-way in history. Jesse pretended to gag.

Park said if he didn't have his suit on he would punch them. Robbie said it sounds like he wanted to fight. Park said he didn't say that. Young said he would fight and challenged either man. Robbie accepted the challenge…

3. Eric Young (w/Joseph Park and ODB) vs. Robbie E. (w/Jesse). EY rolled him up immediately for the win…

Eric Young defeated Robbie E at 0:14.

[Q4] Robbie took the mic and said that didn't count because he was challenging Park, not Young. He dared Park and Park shook his head. He called him a fat bastard and Park headed toward the ring…[C]

Shore's Slant: This shit is TERRIBLE!

4. Joseph Park vs. Robbie E. Park rolled him up immediately for the win…

Joseph Park defeated Robbie E at 0:07.

Shore's Slant: I can't. I just can't.

Bro-mans attacked both guys and put the boots to them. They pulled Park to the floor and slammed him into the rail. He came up bleeding and destroyed both men in the ring. He snapped out of it and asked EY what happened. EY smiled and hugged him…

Tenay and Taz talked ringside and Tenay said they still didn't have an update on Anderson's condition. Taz said he was surprised at what Bully Ray had done to Anderson last week. A video recapped that angle from last week. Ray and Brooke were shown heading toward the ring…[C]

[Q5] A video recapped Styles winning last week and calling out Dixie. Dixie walked out of her office backstage as Hulk Hogan walked up. He asked her what was going on with Styles and she told him to hold on while she read something on her phone. Hogan offered to go out with her and help. She said she had it under control…

Shore's Slant: That was pretty rude for Dixie.

Aces and Eights made their entrance. Ray asked where Anderson was and then said apparently he couldn't make it tonight. He insulted the crowd and then did his question gimmick. My PC hung for a moment and when it came back, Wes was bitching about Brooke. Ray told him to check himself and Garret said Wes had a point. He backed Garret into the corner and said if either of them talked to him that way again he would slap them in the face.

Knux took the mic away and asked what about him. He said he had been there since day one and they had started with 25 people and were down to 4. He asked what that said about Ray's leadership. He said Ray was always talking about club business, but Ray forgot the first rule of the club: Bros before hoes.

Ray slapped him and said if Knux ever referred to his girl as a hoe again he would knock his head off. The crowd chanted "Hoe" as Knux pulled his hat off and looked crazy. Ray said it was time to leave and quickly stepped from the ring as Knux closed on him. Ray and Brooke left as the other three seethed in the ring…Backstage, Sting talked up Magnus and got him ready to fight EGO…[C]

Shore's Slant: Boy I bet those three are happy about the choice they made last week. I'm very underwhelmed with the collapse of Aces and Eights, but I am happy to see an actual exit strategy. I asked Bully Ray during a conference call about this because as we saw with the NWO, these groups can often hang on too long and drag the whole ship down with them, so I'm happy to see an actual end on the horizon, even if it isn't all that exciting yet.

[Q6] Mexican America 4.7 made their ring entrance. The tag champs were out next. Chavo took the mic and said he was injured so as much as he wanted to embarrass them, the doctor said he couldn't fight. Gunner took the mic and said he wasn't leaving till he fought someone. He asked about Hernandez and Hernandez said he was fine. Storm said he would sit on the floor and ring beer while they fought…

5. Hernandez (w/Chavo) vs. Gunner (w/James Storm). I assume the stipulation of if Hernandez wins he and Chavo earn a title shot is still in play. Hernandez hit his diving shoulder tackle from the ramp, but Gunner hit a weak looking fall away slam and a back breaker for the win…[C]

Gunner defeated Hernandez at 4:17.

Shore's Slant: As good as last week's show was, this one is bad. They are rushing through everything and the booking decisions are bizarre. For example, now that Gunner beat Hernandez clean, why would we care about the two teams wrestling? Why didn't Chavo cheat to allow Hernandez to win to keep heat going? So strange.

Ring introductions occurred for the six-man match. Sting went back and got his bat from behind the curtain…

[Q7] 6. EGO (Bobby Roode, Christopher Daniels, and Kazarian) vs. the Main Event Mafia (Sting, Magnus, and Samoa Joe). Joe and Daniels started. Daniels attacked Joe to start as Roode distracted the bigger man, but Joe no sold it and destroyed Daniels. Kazarian tagged in and took a beating from Magnus and Sting. Sting knocked Daniels and Roode to the floor, but that allowed Daniels to trip Sting on a whip and the heels took control just before the break…[C]

Back from commercial, Sting continued to take the heat. He had one tag that the ref disallowed, but finally got the hot tag to Magnus. Magnus hit a slam on Roode and covered, but Daniels broke it up. The match broke down from there and it was MEM hitting big moves and EGO breaking up pins. Joe hit a nasty looking suicide dive that looked like he hit the railing. Sting put Daniels in the Scorpion. Roode ran in with the bat and Magnus took the shot instead to protect Sting. Roode covered for the win…

Ego defeated MEM at 14:27.

Shore's Slant: A pretty good six man match. The announce team tried to sell it as Magnus being in a slump by losing again, but he was in the finals of BFG and EGO was partly responsible for his loss, and here he took a baseball bat to the back. That's not a slump. This is what happens when TNA logic runs into real world logic. You're left looking at the announce team like they're trying too hard.

[Q8][C] AJ Styles made his entrance and said he's been here since day one trying to make this company a viable alternative. He said Dixie Carter's daddy bought her a "rasslin company" with no blood, sweat, or experience in wrestling. He said Dixie broke up what worked. He asked what happened to Jerry Lynn or Low Ki. He said they were replaced for MMA stars and guys who came for a two year, well paid vacation before going back to where they came from. He said that pissed him off.

He said Dixie's biggest mistake was staring her in the face. He said contrary to the Internet he didn't have a contract anymore, and that none of the contracted stars in the back respected her anyway. He said he was going to win the TNA title for himself and all the boys she dumped. He said he was going to make her get on her knees and beg, and then make her pay.

Shore's Slant: That was an unfortunate choice of words.

Dixe Carter walked out with no music and stood in Styles face. Styles told her to say something. He said he expected a tweet or something so she needed to say something. Dixie said if Styles was saying these things in public then it must be from his heart. She said as president of the company she was responsible to the fans and the office staff and all the people in the back and she was sorry while almost in tears.

Her mood changed and she said she was sorry that she ever let him think he was anything special in this company. Dixie said he was only slightly better than an average fish in any pond anywhere. She said they should call him "the marginal one" because she couldn't remember the last time he had a great match. She said "the phenomenal one" was a marketing gimmick she came up with and that she made AJ Styles, just like she was the one who built this house, not AJ.

Dixie said without her daddy's paycheck he would still be in a trailer doing nothing. She said he was lucky he was even allowed to ever be a part of the company, and then mockingly thanked him for letting her come out to her ring to address his issues. She started to leave and AJ told her before she left to put her mic where it belonged.

Dixie ran over and yelled for his mic to be cut. She snatched a headset off the head of the cameraman on the ring apron and demanded his mic be cut. The mic was cut, and then Dixie demanded the lights be turned off because the show was over. All the lights went out and the fans booed in darkness to close the show…

Shore's Slant: Jason Powell and I discussed this on Dot Net Weekly today and we both agreed we needed to see it before we passed judgment. Unfortunately, it was worse than I thought it would be. There is absolutely zero logic here. AJ's frustration with Dixie has a little bit, going back to the way she "abandoned him" during the Claire Lynch thing, but that was based off a heel promo he cut when he came back as a heel.

Dixie's reaction was completely out of left field and so out of character for everything we have seen from her it came across as completely fake and forced. She found a decent cadence by the end of her promo, so there may be hope down the road for her heel character, but none of this makes any sense whatsoever. I can see getting pissed off at AJ, but telling him he's the "marginal one?" Come on! There's not enough there to explain her outright nastiness. Hopefully they do a better job of explaining it next week.

Last week was one of the best Impacts in a long time, and this one was one of the worst in a long time. The bulk of the show was crash TV that reminded me of Vince Russo's reign, and the only part of the ending I liked was the lights being turned off. It was a cool visual to end the show, but not cool enough to make up for the rest. Dixie's sudden character change is probably enough to hook viewers for next week, but they need to deliver some solid logic, a la Bully Ray's explanation from months ago. Jason and Will Pruett will have more tomorrow. Thanks for watching along with me tonight.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com or tweet me @TheShoreSlant with whatever is on your mind.

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