By Chris Shore

TNA Impact Wrestling on SpikeTV
Taped in Orlando, Florida.

[Q1] The opening video hyped the semi-finals of the title tournament… Tenay and Taz checked in on commentary and hyped the same matches… Kurt Angle made his ring entrance. Angle cut a promo on Thanksgiving and thanked the fans for helping him on his quest for the Hall of Fame and the world title was his pathway.

He put over his match with Austin Aries and called out Magnus. Magnus made his entrance as a video showed him hurting his knee last week. Angle asked him about it and Magnus said he respected Angle more than anyone in the business. Magnus said his knee kept buckling on him and he had to make a quick judgment.

Angle said a champion works hurt and questioned whether Magnus had the heart of a champion. Magnus said he had heart and hunger to be the best and be number one. The crowd gave him the "What?" treatment. Guess I was wrong about his reactions from the crowd. Angle said Magnus stood in his way to redemption and Magnus had to go through him.

Bobby Roode's music hit and he walked out. Roode said he got it because he had heart and hunger once but didn't get the job done. He said you also need a killer instinct, like the one he used to hit Storm with a beer bottle to become champion. Roode said his match with Jeff Hardy was next and he was going to do more to Hardy than he did to Storm. Roode said Angle knew what he could do and Magnus would never be champion.

Magnus got pissed and Angle held him back. Hardy's music hit and he walked out and dragged a table to the ring. He told Roode he stood in his way and he was going to put him through a table tonight. He started his own "Hardy" chant to end the segment…[C]

Shore's Slant: A fair opening. A little slow to start, but Roode and Hardy closed it well. Only Kurt Angle can turn a gift into a quest. And Magnus was dead to this crowd. Ouch.

[Q2] 1. Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Hardy in a tables match in the TNA Championship tournament. The first minute of this match was in the last quarter. Roode brought the first table into the ring and set it in the corner. He tried to toss Hardy into it but Hardy fought back. The table slid down a moment later when Hardy missed whisper in the wind he almost hit it.

The fight went to the apron and they knocked each other off onto the table at the same time. Brian Hebner looked to the fans for help as the show went to commercial…[C]

A video showed the refs arguing about what happened during the break and Earl Hebner deciding the match should continue. Bleh. Cheap pop done poorly. Roode put a table in the ring and set it up. Hardy hit the Twist of Fate and Roode fell onto the table. He went to the top and Roode rolled off. Hardy hit the move over the table.

Hardy setup the table in the ring and tried for a superplex. Roode reversed into a front suplex onto the ropes. He tried to suplex Hardy over the ropes to the floor, but Hardy kicked him with the mule kick and Roode fell through the table on the floor…

Jeff Hardy advanced to the finals of the TNA Championship tournament at 13:51.

[Q3] A video showed EC3 getting his makeup put on and he challenged a TNA legend who was a first ballot hall of famer and a guy who had wrestled legends…[C]

Shore's Slant: A good tables match I guess, but I don't know. There isn't a ton of excitement coming from this show right now, but nothing has been bad yet. I'm just more…indifferent right now I guess. They haven't made this tournament feel special with all the gimmicks and now that it's coming to the end it doesn't really catch my attention.

Dixie Carter cut an Impact 365 video and showed a letter she said was from AJ Styles's agent with the tracking number for her belt being shipped back…EC3 made his entrance. He said he had faced a "litany of stars" since arriving in TNA but there was one man who had been in the ring with legends. A HUGE "You suck" chant broke out, but the crowd didn't really seem to be doing it. Carter said his opponent was Earl Hebner.

Earl said he wasn't a wrestler and wasn't going to wrestle. Carter said Earl worked for his family and he would wrestle him tonight or he would be fired. He said not to worry about who would ref the match. He snapped his fingers and Rockstar Spud dragged Brian Hebner to the ring. Brian got in the ring and Carter said Earl would lay down and his disappointment of a son would count the fall. Earl wouldn't lie down so Carter yelled at him. He finally laid down and Brian started the match…

2. Ethan Carter III vs. Earl Hebner. Carter covered with one finger and made Brian count the fall, which took him close to 15 seconds to count to three…

Ethan Carter III defeated Earl Hebner at 0:47.

Post-match, Carter made Brian roll Earl from the ring, but not before he kicked dust off his feet onto Earl… A video recapped Bad Influence messing with Joe Park and then they promised to take it to the next level tonight…

Shore's Slant: I'm not the biggest Hebner fan so the segment didn't work all that well to me, but he is sympathetic enough to see this getting Carter some more heat without wasting another guy on the roster.

[Q4][C] A vignette showed Christy Hemme and Sam Shaw at dinner. She went to the bathroom and he signed the bill. The waiter came back and Sam grabbed him. He told the waiter he saw the way he was looking at Hemme and would kill him if he did it again. The waiter ran away and Christie came back from the bathroom. His demeanor changed and they left together…

The "Friends of AJ" spot aired… Backstage, Dixie was on the phone when an assistant came in and said she had a delivery. The delivery guy came in with flowers and Dixie yelled at them not to come back until they had the title… Bobby Roode cut a promo complaining about being out of a wrestling tournament buy slipping and falling through a table… Sting was shown heading into the building…[C]

Dixie spoke to a group of men and announced the Feast or Fired match next week. Who exactly is in the match was kept a little secret…

[Q5] Bad Influence made their ring entrance with a manila envelope. Daniels said some people had their ovaries in a twist over what they did to Joe Park, but they were going to expose Park as a fraud tonight. Park's music hit and h came to the ring. He told them all kidding aside they needed to stop. He said they won and maybe he should have just stayed an attorney.

Kaz said that was the information they had. Park snatched the envelope away and tore it up. Kaz called him a fatty and told him to look at the screen. An Impact 365 video aired of Bad Influence at the offices of Park, Park, and Park. They went into the office and it was empty. They went back to the building receptionist and asked about it and she said the law office closed 13 years ago.

Daniels said they confirmed it and asked him what he had been doing for the past 13 years. Park asked them, as human beings, to leave him alone. He started to leave and they wouldn't let him. Kaz spit in his face and called him a liar. They put the boots to Park until EY made the save. EY said he was tired of the bullying so they were going to have a tag match next week. Park didn't look happy about it…

Backstage, Sting told Magnus he believed in him and they had a bromance moment. Sting asked Magnus if people had told him Sting's rant about being entitled was about Magnus. Manus said people talk but that was wrestling. He asked if it was and Sting said, "You tell me." Sting blew it off and wished him luck before leaving…[C]

Shore's Slant: A Joe Park segment is the top of the second hour? WTF? That sentence doesn't even make sense. How bad is that? And how bad was Sting's logic. Why would Sting care if people told Magnus it was him unless he wanted to assure him it wasn't? What Sting did was a heel move. Terrible logic.

Backstage, Rockstar Spud told some lackey to watch for the delivery guy…

[Q6] 3. The Bromans (w/DJ Zema) vs. Gunner and James Storm. Gunner and Storm dominated the match. Storm hit the Last Call and went to pin Jesse. Robbie spit beer in Gunner's face and Gunner attacked. The ref tried to pull Gunner off and Gunner shoved him causing a DQ…

Bromans defeated Gunner and Storm at 4:12.

Gunner and Storm argued afterward… Backstage, Sting was trying to see Kurt Angle when Spud came up and acted like security for Angle. He asked Sting who he was and Sting said he's probably heard his albums. It was all downhill from there. Spud mocked Sting for failing to win in the tournament and Sting mocked Dixie's accent when Spud told him Dixie wanted Sting to leave. Spud got word that the package had arrived and gave Sting a final "Leave" before leaving himself. Sting yelled "What is going on here" and left… Gail Kim and Robert Irvine cut a 365 video about how she hasn't had any competition…[C]

Shore's Slant: Gunner and Storm, yeah yeah. Who cares? The obvious teases are wasting time. Just get there. Neither guy has enough juice behind them to draw this out. Make a call on who is turning and execute. Spud not knowing who Sting was absolutely killed the segment. He didn't play it as mocking, he played it as genuine ignorance. That segment was terrible. This started as a good show but it has come off the rails.

Chris Sabin cut a 365 promo while Velvet Sky looked at herself in the mirror while he started talking about "you" helping him defeat Austin Aries next week. She asked him how she looked and he grabbed the title belt, which is what he was talking to, and said the question was how do "they" look. Velvet agreed…

Shore's Slant: So uh, Velvet is a moron? That's what I got from this segment.

[Q7] 4. Gail Kim (w/Lei'D Tapa) vs. Laura Dennis. Kim had Dennis beat early but pulled her up from the pin attempt. Dennis had a brief comeback but lost after Eat Defeat…

Gail Kim defeated Laura Dennis at 3:04.

Post-match, Kim and Tapa roughed up Dennis. ODB ran out to make the save and clotheslined Tapa over the top rope… Angle and Magnus were shown backstage…[C]

Shore's Slant: Boy the Knockouts division needs some more talent big time.

5. Kurt Angle vs. Magnus in a Last Man Standing match in the TNA Championship tournament. Both guys played even through the first part of the match…

[Q8][C] Backstage, even though there was a match going on, Spud delivered the box to Dixie. Dixie said it proves you always get what you want if you are willing to fight for it. Taz and Tenay said they got a text telling them to announce Dixie would reveal the belt after this match. A text message. Because Spud can't talk to them through their headsets.

Shore's Slant: LOGIC RAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the ring, Kurt hit 10990372948183 German suplexes before spearing Magnus to the floor. Angle had a near fall on the floor and Magnus had one back in the ring. Angle slammed Magnus and went for the moonsault but Magnus moved. Magnus hit the top rope elbow and told the ref to count. Angle made the count at nine.

Magnus charged in and we had the requisite ref bump. Angle hit the Angle Slam. Roode ran in and took out Angle before waking the ref up. The ref counted for both men and Magnus made his feet before the ref got to ten…

Magnus advanced to the finals of the TNA Championship tournament at 15:24.

Post-match, Roode went after Angle and Hardy made the save. Angle and Roode powdered as Magnus and Hardy faced off in the ring. They shook hands to close the segment… Backstage, Dixie and Spud hyped revealing the belt. They opened the box and it was a toy replica of the TV title. Dixie freaked out and stormed off…

Another friends of AJ video aired and he spoke to the camera and told Dixie if she wanted to have the title she had to come to the trailer park to get it. He told her to watch her back because she wasn't well liked…

Shore's Slant: TNA drives me crazy. They have a couple of better shows in a row and then come back with the Thanksgiving stinker and now another middling show with several head scratchers in presentation. I don't think Magnus and Hardy did enough to setup their match, but they have another week so hopefully they make that feel special. Jason Powell and Will Pruett will have more tomorrow. Thanks for watching along 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.

And read my first work of fiction: The Following Contest is a Dark Match available exclusively on ebook for all eReaders, smartphones, tablets, and PCs for only 99 cents.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: