By Chris Shore

TNA Impact Wrestling on SpikeTV
Taped on 1/30 in Glasgow, Scotland.

[Q1] A video recapped the MVP reveal from last week. The Wolves and MVP were shown walking backstage… Abyss and Eric Young were brawling around backstage. They brawled out onto the stage and the ref ran out and called for the bell…

1. Eric Young vs. Abyss in a Monster's Ball match. Abyss beat EY up the aisle. EY grabbed a "pole" and hit Abyss with it several times. Abyss hit a backdrop and setup a table. EY fought back so Abyss rolled him in the ring. He filled the ring with goodies allowing EY to hit a suicide dive on the floor. Mike Tenay said it was a bad time to do it but prompted Jeremy Borash to tout Dixie's Twitter page. EY tried to take the mask off and Abyss beat him down for it.

EY hit a nut shot with a chair and started his big offensive run. He tried to float over in the corner but Abyss stopped and slammed EY into a chair in the corner. He followed with a choke slam for a near fall. Abyss poured out a bag of tacks and set EY on the top rope. Abyss climbed on the second rope and EY hit a sunset bomb on the tacks for two. He climbed to the top rope and Abyss knocked him off through the table on the floor. He rolled EY in the ring and Young got his floor on the rope to break the count.

Abyss went to the floor and got Janice. He raised it above his head and EY popped up and snatched the mask off to reveal Joe Park. Park hit the Black Hole Slam and covered for the win…

Abyss defeated Eric Young in a Monster's Ball match at 9:36.

Post-match, Park took a piece of broken mirror and saw his reflection. He shook his head like he was in denial still… Backstage, Bobby Roode walked into Dixie's office with a contract and demanded her to sign it for his title shot. Dixie hemmed and hawed and said she couldn't book the match because Roode lost his last match. She booked him in a match against Samoa Joe for the number one contenders match and said she had his back.

[Q2] Roode said if this was a setup it would come back to bite her in the ass before storming out… MVP was hyped for later…[C]

Shore's Slant: A good hot start to the show, but the tack gimmick always makes me uneasy. We really need to get past the need for that spot at this point. I hope this is the end of the silliness but I fear this may go all the way to Lockdown. Roode and Dixie were both good here except for Dixie's stupid "diet" comment about Joe eating guys alive. The comedy is stupid. Stop it.

A video recapped Abyss's pot-match angle… MVP made his entrance. He held up a fan sign that said "I am the new investor." MVP came out and did his catchphrases. He said he was tired of watching owners ignore the talent and the fans. He said he was there to make changes because TNA had the talent and the fans and they were being held back by poor leadership.

Shore's Slant: Wait…is this a shoot?

MVP explained that he had invested his money wisely and made contacts with people who invested with him in the company. Before he could go on, Rockstar Spud cut him off and came to the ring. Spud said MVP should introduce himself to the Queen. Spud said she would welcome him with open arms. MVP told Spud to go back and tell Dixie he had booked Magnus vs. Kurt Angle in a non-title match…

Backstage, Bully Ray quoted Coolio said he was going to stuff the next person he saw in the coffin to pay for Ken Anderson's sins. He said Anderson took his family away and that he would take Anderson away from his family next week…

Shore's Slant: Obviously that wasn't a shoot but that doesn't mean MVO wasn't telling the truth either. I like that they went out of the way to explain where MVP got the money from, but it still just doesn't ring true to me. I'm not hating on the story, but the logic feels thin.

[Q3][C] Chris Sabin was somewhere in a purple room and said he was in a room that as special to he and Velvet Sky and he wanted to do something nice for her tonight…

Shore's Slant: What the hell was that?

Curry Man made his ring entrance. Bully Ray came out with the coffin. Ray said Curry Man was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Curry charged and ate a big boot. Ray lifted for the piledriver, yelled "Anderson!" and hit the move. He stuffed Curry Man in the coffin and took a mic. He said he was going to end Anderson's career and slammed the lid…

Backstage, Magnus whined about facing Angle to Dixie. She told him it wasn't a title match and to suck it up. He left and Ethan Carter came in, He said he had to talk to Dixie but she told him she didn't have time while cracking about her lipstick. He asked if that was true even for family and she said he would still be family tomorrow and the next day so they would get together in a week. He was visibly upset but left anyway…[C]

Shore's Slant: I don't understand the EC3 storyline but I like him so I'm willing to wait and see.

[Q4] Austin Aries made his ring entrance to a huge pop and chant. Aries put himself over and said he was the guy who invented Option C. He said he intended to do it again. He started to say more, but the BroMans music cut him off. They acted an ass on the stage and Zema Ion attacked Aries from behind. He hit him several times and called for a ref…

2. Austin Aries vs. Xema Ion for the X Division Championship. Ion covered and Aries kicked out. The battled to the floor and Ion got the better of Aries for a moment, but Aries hit the corner dropkick and brainbuster for the win…

Austin Aries retained the X Division Championship at 2:10.

The announce team hyped Magnus vs. Angle…[C]

Shore's Slant: What, exactly, was the point of that segment? Did anybody gain anything? It sure doesn't feel like it.

The shitty security footage video aired with Same Shaw and Christy Hemme. Hemme was shown putting her makeup on and Shaw walked up. She said they need to talk. Shaw said he collected things of beauty. She freaked out and asked about the mannequin and then said they need to just be friends. She asked if he understood and he said yes. She walked off and he didn't look happy…

[Q5] Backstage, Roode was complaining about facing Joe when Magnus walked up and told him to suck it up, it was his job. They bickered back and forth and Roode stormed off pissy, wishing Magnus luck with his match…

MVP met Dixie in her locker room backstage and they talked, with Dixie playing innocent of everything, saying she was fair, and MVP seeming to accept her explanations. He said he was looking forward to working with her and said they should discuss details in the ring. She tried to bicker with him about the Magnus vs. Angle match and he said he was fair and made it a non-title match. He posed a little before leaving the room…

Kurt Angle made his entrance, followed by Magnus…[C]

Shore's Slant: Roode and Magnus seems so far away that it's too soon to have them this angry at each other. If it is sooner rather than later then OK, but it just feels out of place. Dixie was really bad here and it dragged the whole segment down. It was really rough and hard to pay attention to.

3. Kurt Angle vs. Magnus. Angle hit the German suplex series quickly and went for the Olympic Slam. Magnus fought out and after a moment of confusion, Magnus hit a slam for two. Angle came right back and hooked on the ankle lock. EC3 ran out and attacked Angle to cause the DQ…

Kurt Angle defeated Magnus by an apparent disqualification at 2:28.

Post-match, EC3 attacked the injured leg of Angle. Angle fought back for a moment, but EC3 used a chair on the leg and then rolled Angle in the ring where he hooked on a leg breaker. He held it for a long time until Brian Hebner finally begged him off.

[Q6] Hebner held up the X sign and the medics came out. Angle did the stretcher job while EC3 looked on crazily…[C]

Shore's Slant: Well that seems wildly out of character for EC3. He's certainly spoiled and whatnot, but he hasn't ever come across as unstable like he did there.

A video recapped Carter's attack on Angle. Backstage, Joe checked on Angle as the IQG walked up. Joe yelled and asked what he wanted. He said Dixie started a war by taking out AJ, Hardy, and Sting and it was a war he was going to win…

A video recapped what has happened between Sabin and Velvet. They cut back to Sabin in the purple room and he said that was where they shared their first kiss. He said he had something to say tonight and he wanted the world to see it. He pulled a ring-sized box from his pocket. Velvet walked in and he thanked her for coming. She asked about the cameras and he told her to sit…[C]

Shore's Slant: I think I missed a short talking segment in there somewhere, but it shows you how much impact it made on me when I don’t remember what it was. I'm unable to rewind to confirm though.

[Q7] Back from commercial, Sabin said Velvet broke his heart when she told him they were through, but he also saw the world clearly for the first time and he knew what to do. He said he had something to ask her and held out the box. He said, "Will you, Velvet? Will you?" She cried and took the box and opened it. It was empty.

Sabin said, "Will you get out of my life?" He said when he was champion all anyone talked about was Velvet. He said he was going to prove that he was the superstar in the company and challenged her to a match next week. He said if she didn’t show up she would prive she was a coward. He left her crying…

A video recapped MVP's segments tonight and the announce team hyped the meeting with MVP and Dixie for later… A video recapped how Joe became number one contender… Bobby Roode made his ring entrance, followed by Joe…[C]

4. Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Roode to become number one contender. Joe hit a straight right hand to gain quick control. He went for the face wash kick but Roode stopped it and hit a dropkick that drove Joe to the floor. Roode rolled him back in the ring for a blockbuster and a chin lock.

[Q8] Both men traded big shots and missed big shots. Roode hit the spine buster that Joe no sold and hit a power slam. Roode came back with an enziguri and the rabbit clothesline for two. Roode lifted for his finisher but Joe fell off in an awkward spot. Joe hit a muscle buster and locked on the rear naked choke for the win…

Samoa Joe retained the number one contendership at 6:52.

MVP was show walking backstage, as were Dixie and Spud…[C]

Shore's Slant: An alright match, but the outcome never really felt in doubt (could have been from the spoilers, I admit) and it was pretty short to be so important.

Dixie introduced MVP in an over the top way. MVP made his ring entrance and put over being in Glasgow again. Dixie said MVP had a good idea to do this in the ring and said she wanted to go first. She put over Magnus as a classy champion the people could look up to. The crowd rained heat on her and started a chant but I couldn't make it out. She said if everyone just followed her, things would continue to be great.

MVP asked if he could make some suggestions for changes. She told him to go ahead and MVP said they only agreed on one thing: they disagreed. He ran down Dixie for creating a playing field that only her and her cronies could thrive in. He said he didn’t come there to be a hands off investor, he was going to be very hands on. He told her the party was over. Dixie threw a fit and Spud escorted her to the back…

Shore's Slant: Zzzzzzzz. Seriously, I almost fell asleep. I don't care about control of this God awful company. I don’t. If the company felt like a big deal it might make a difference, but they aren't. This is like getting elected president of the local gardening club. Who gives a shit?

All in all this was a dreadfully boring episode of Impact that I wanted to turn off before the first hour was over. Don't expect Will Pruett to go off this week because I don’t think they gave him enough to work with. It was just a flat and lifeless show. Maybe I'll be wrong though. Find out tomorrow when Jason Powell and Will add their thoughts. Thanks for watching along with me tonight.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: