TNA Impact on Spike TV
Taped in Orlando, Fla.

[Q1] The opening montage aired to start the show... Mike Tenay and Don West introduced the show and hyped the top three matches on the Genesis pay-per-view. They also ran through the Impact lineup...

1. Alex Shelley (w/Chris Sabin) defeated Eric Young in an X Division Title tournament match in 4:35. Early in the match, Sabin reached up and pulled Young off the ring apron when the ref wasn't looking. At 4:00, Young hit a top rope elbow drop for a good nearfall. Moments later, the Guns collided on the ring apron when Sabin tried to interfere. Young decided to stick his head through the ropes for no reason, so Sabin took advantage of the situation and interfered. Shelley hit Sliced Bread No. 2 and scored the clean pin...

After the match, Prince Abdul Bashir came out and roughed up Shawn Sewell. Bashir attacked Sewell and threw him back inside the ring. Sewell came back with an flying forearm and then went into spaz mode. Sewell ripped off his shirt and got the better of Bashir. He eventually cleared Bashir from the ring.

Jim Cornette ran out and told Sewell to stay put. Cornette told Sewell he's a referee, not a wrestler. Cornette fired Sewell as Bashir celebrated in the background. Cornette turned his attention to Bashir. Cornette turned the tables by saying that Sewell was fired for three days. He announced that Sewell would be back on the TNA payroll as a wrestler on Sunday when he faces Bashir at Genesis.

Powell's POV: It seemed silly that Bashir was allowed to taunt and beat up Sewell whenever he felt like it, but the payoff to this storyline should be fun. I'm also looking forward to the Sabin vs. Shelley finals for the X Division Title on Sunday. The pay-per-view suddenly looks better on paper.

A shot aired of the Main Event Mafia members walking backstage...

[Q2] [C] The Mafia stood in the ring for a promo. Kurt Angle talked first and said the faction was formed so that they could run the company the way they want to. Shots aired of Jeremy Borash standing in Jeff Jarrett's locker room with Mick Foley. Angle questioned why Jarrett would put B.G. James in the ring with him.

Sting took the mic and said the Mafia is still all about respect. He predicted that the war would end at Genesis. Kevin Nash stepped up and said he didn't think the feud would end there. Scott Steiner delivered a brief line and then turned over the mic to Booker T, who said they were coming for Jarrett and Foley...

Powell's POV: That was not an effective segment. Angle's promo was okay, but the rest of the promos felt rushed. They tried let Angle and Sting sell their matches, and then let the other Mafia members get mic time.

Backstage, Borash asked Jarrett and Foley how they would survive with the Mafia after them. Devon and Styles entered the room. Devon said they would survive by sticking close to them. He handed Foley a flannel shirt (Brother Ray's). "Testify," Foley said... [C]

[Q3] The latest Sarah Palin impersonator and Beautiful People skit aired. She took them to a farm to do charity work as "training" for their White House appearance. For some reason, Lauren was there with them holding the microphone. No, really. Angelina Love and Velvet Sky flipped because she wanted them to shovel horse manure...

Powell's POV: Let me guess, the TNA creative finally got around to watching the first season of "The Simple Life." Are they airing that on CMT now?

2. Awesome Kong (w/Raisha Saeed, Rhaka Khan, Sojourner Bolt) pinned Madison Rayne in 2:00. They are now calling all the women in Kong's corner the "Kongtourage." Kong hit the Awesome Bomb for the pin. "Thanks for playing," West said. Nice line...

Backstage, Lauren interviewed Abyss, who said Matt Morgan doesn't want to talk to him. He said Beer Money took advantage of him by getting him drunk. I swear to God he said that. He said Beer Money shouldn't mistake his kindness for weakness. He said his therapist told him the key to any good relationship is communication. He laughed as he said the old Abyss might come out at Genesis. He asked if Lauren was mad at him. She said no. "Oh, good, because I don't know if I could handle by girlfriend and my best friend mad at me the same time"... [C]

Powell's POV: Well, I guess we know he likes girls too. Please let the old Abyss come back. The current character is nothing more than the creative team getting their rocks off by playing on his neurotic behavior behind the scenes. It's a shame what they've done to this once entertaining act.

Backstage, Lauren interviewed LAX about winning the briefcases. Homicide said he'll be the X Division Champion, and Homicide will be the next TNA Champion. Lauren asked whether this will be the end of LAX. Homicide said LAX will never die...

At ringside, Tenay and West ran through the pay-per-view lineup...

Powell's POV: A reader recently wrote to tell me that one of the Impact Zone upgrades was an announcers table that swivels. In other words, Tenay and West don't sit with their backs to the ring, the table turns when they do the on-camera bits. And knowing is half the battle.

[Q4] Backstage, Borash asked Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin whether their X Division Title match would create problems in their friendship. Sabin basically mocked the belt by sarcastically saying: "Gosh, Jeremy, what an interesting, intriguing, insightful question. Is the X Division Championship belt more important than the bond that we hold? Gosh, I don't know, that's a tough one."

Shelley joked around about how best things come in pairs, such as Mick Foley and poor hygiene. Alex said their bond is more important than the X Division belt. Foley entered the scene and said they have the ability to steal the show or take it to a "level of sucktitude not seen since (Bill) Kazmaier and Oz in 1992." He said they would go all out on Sunday or he would ship them back to Detroit with a one way ticket...

Powell's POV: Horrible! I know these two are wise ass characters, but the belts should be important to everyone. If they don't care about titles, then why are they even wrestling?

Another Cross the Line video aired. I'm officially sick of that song... The latest edition of Rough Cuts aired with Beer Money. They both said the TNA Title is at the top of their list of goals. Storm said his daughter is the most important thing in the world to him. Roode said his legacy will be that he was one of the best wrestlers to ever get in the ring. Storm said he hopes people remember that he entertained them...

Powell's POV: How are we supposed to hate a guy who is shown playing with his daughter? Are these guys turning babyface?

3. Matt Morgan (w/Abyss) defeated Robert Roode (w/James Storm, Jacqueline) via referee stoppage in 4:45. Abyss came out after Morgan, who told him to back off. The announcers said Morgan is losing patience with Abyss. Good, turn on him already.

[Q5] At 4:00, Morgan sent Roode over the top rope and Roode came up holding his left knee in pain. The trainer came out to examine Roode's knee. The referee called for the bell and named Morgan the winner of the match. A shot aired of Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed walking onto the stage with the Money in the Bank, er, Feast or Fired briefcase that Lethal won... [C]

Lethal said everyone knows the rules of Feast or Fired. Ha! He said they could cash in their briefcases anytime they wanted, so he was cashing in his on the spot...

4. Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed beat Beer Money (w/Jackie) to win the TNA Tag Titles. Storm worked the match in street clothes, while Roode nursed his bad knee at ringside. [C] After the break, the babyfaces continued to work over Storm, who survived some nearfalls.

[Q6] Storm not only survived, he scored a nearfall of his own on Lethal when he hit the Eye of the Storm. Roode remained at ringside and played cheerleader with Jackie. Lethal hit the top rope elbow, but the ref was distracted. Roode crawled in with the briefcase, but Lethal saw him and kicked his knee. Lethal grabbed the briefcase and struck Storm with it. Lethal covered Storm for the 1-2-3... [C]

Powell's POV: Good match with all three guys working hard, but it took two guys and a briefcase to beat Storm. Tenay talked about how "opportunistic" it was of Lethal and Creed. If they're going to rip off WWE gimmicks, the least they could do is come up with their own adjectives.

The TNA Frontline celebrated their huge, er, flukey victory over the Main Event, er, Beer Money. Lethal remained in Macho Man mode. Lauren asked Devon what was going through his mind. Devon said the important thing was to let Machismo and Creed enjoy the moment. Nice to see he's sticking close to Jarrett and Foley...

Tenay and West announced Creed and Lethal vs. Beer Money vs. Matt Morgan and Abyss in a three-way for the tag titles at the PPV. They ran through the rest of the lineup again. Tenay said the match we've all been waiting for is Jarrett vs. Angle...

Backstage, Borash stood by while a tearful B.G. James told Jarrett that he had to go after Angle for everything he said about his late wife and children. He said Jarrett has always taken care of him and he had to do this for him... [C]

Powell's POV: Good emotion from B.G. even though I despise the idea of bringing the Jarrett's children and late wife into the Angle vs. Jarrett storyline.

[Q7] Love and Sky shoveled shit while the Pahlin impersonator stood by. Lauren continued to hold the microphone while Pahlin said they would sign official documents next week to make them official members of her "cabinet." Then they're heading to the White House...

Powell's POV: Please tell me these skits will end when the next set of tapings take place. I've like almost everything the Beautiful People have done, but the Pahlin skits are insufferable.

5. Kurt Angle defeated B.G. James in a No DQ match in 10:00. James came out and hid on the side of the stage, then attacked Angle when he made his entrance. James controlled the early action, but Angle whipped him into the ring post. James bladed. Angle pounded away on his head at ringside as the show cut to commercial. [C]

Angle continued to work over James after the break. James made a comeback, did his dance, and hit the pumphandle slam for a nearfall. Angle came back with the ankle lock, but James kicked him off. However, Angle hit the Angle Slam a short time later for a nearfall. In the end, Angle applied the Ankle Lock. James held on forever and reached the ropes, but Tenay pointed out that the ref couldn't force Kurt to break the hold in a No DQ match. James eventually tapped out...

Powell's POV: Kurt should have looked dominant heading into the pay-per-view against a guy that the fans see as a part-time wrestler. At least Angle finished him off clean, which doesn't happen enough in TNA.

After the match, Booker T, Scott Steiner, and Kevin Nash walked to the ring. Angle worked over James with punches and then placed the chair around B.G.'s ankle and stomped it repeatedly. Jarrett and Foley ran out and the Mafia fled even though they had them outnumbered. "How will Jeff Jarrett react to this?" Tenay asked. "We'll be right back"... [C]

After the break, B.G. was carted off on a stretcher. Jarrett was seated in a chair inside the ring while Foley, Devon, Styles, and Rhino stood by. Jarrett looked at the ground while cutting a promo. He said B.G. had nothing to do with it. "I have prided myself on setting an example of doing things the right way every time," Jarrett said. "Kurt, that's character. But this Sunday, Kurt, all I can think about is beating the shit (censored) out of you." Jarrett stood up and looked into the camera. "Kurt, I'm talking to you, you son of a bitch (censored)..."

Foley patted him on the back to calm him down and then took the mic. Foley said he couldn't help but feel ashamed. He recalled telling the Mafia that Foley is crossing the line. He said he couldn't help but think he looked bad on the HD screen. He pointed out that one of his bottom teeth is gray. He said he's looking rough. He said the tooth is gray because that same tooth was jammed up his nose 10 years ago. He said they put it back and that's okay.

"All these things represent who I am," Foley said. "Yeah, I walk a little slower, and I stumble when I talk, and I am not a handsome man, but I am the hardcore legend." He said the hardcore legend is coming home at Genesis. Foley said he knew Jarrett had his hands full and Rhino will be challenging for the TNA Title, so he will draw strength from Devon and Styles. He referred to A.J. as the gutsiest performer of this generation.

"I may not be as good as I once was, but for one night I will be as good as I ever was," Foley said. Jarrett stood up and hugged Foley. "Damn, I can't wait until this Sunday," West said... A video previewed the pay-per-view to close the show...

Powell's POV: That was the money promo we've been waiting to hear from Foley. Too little too late? Bad timing with the national championship game taking place on another network? I say yes to both questions, but Foley definitely delivered in that segment. Good hype for Jarrett vs. Angle, and a strong promo from Foley to hype his six-man tag match. I'll have a lot more to say about the show in Friday's TNA Impact Hitlist.

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