TNA

[cardsflyinhigh]

I'll admit it, I'm a TNA fan. Mostly though cause I remember the good ole days, pre Hogan. I still stick with it cause ocassionally I still see a glimmer of hope it can return to what it once was.

Therefore, I am going back in time and taking over TNA, and attempt to keep building it to what it could've been.

I'm going to start at Final Resolution in January of 2008. For those of you not familiar with TNA, or can't remember what was going on, here's a refresher:

Kurt Angle was the world champion and set to face Christian Cage for the title. The two were once aligned then splintered and were fighting over the services of Tomko and A.J. Styles, who were the World Tag Champions.

The Motor City Machine Guns along with Jay Lethal were in a feud with Team 3D and Johnny Devine, who wanted to see the X Division go away, and had even stolen Lethal's X Title belt.

Gail Kim was the first ever Knockouts Champion and was getting ready to face the seemingly invincible Awesome Kong.

Also around were the Feast or Fired briefcases, good for title shots. Petey Williams held one for a World Title shot, Scott Steiner held one for a X Division title shot, and B.G. James held one for a world tag title shot.

Also I am starting out one month after Samoa Joe gave a shoot promo against a no-showing Scott Hall, ripping on him and his partner at the time Kevin Nash.

Final Resolution will come out later tonight. Just incase anyone thinks this is going to be another circuit that gets abandoned quickly, I already have 3 months of cards typed out and have it simmed well into the future. So This should be around a while.

Hope you enjoy.

[snabbit888]

Interesting time period to start with. I enjoy how opinions on wrestling can be so different. I enjoy current TNA much more than this time period. Just found it interesting.

I'll see how it goes. Welcome to the boards.

[wickedrex1]

Welcome to the boards. Look forward to seeing what you can do with this.

[JoshiQ]

Will be reading. Didn't follow TNA too closely around this time so it should be fun. I'm a big fan of guys writing up a few months worth of cards before posting. I think it definitely helps in building a reader base since it guarantees quite a few cards.

[cardsflyinhigh]

FINAL RESOLUTION (January 6, 2008)


Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) defeated
The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave) when Homicide defeated
J. Rave after a Gringo Killer in 0:11:42.
Rating: ** 1/4

LAX has been making noise in recent weeks about wanting to get back in the picture for the TNA World Tag Team titles. They continued their march with an impressive showing against the Rock N Rave Infection. After the match, they let it be known to whoever leaves tonight as the tag champs, they’re coming for them.

Kaz pinned Black Reign with the Wave of the Future in 0:10:14.
Rating: ** 1/2

Kaz ended his rivalry with Black Reign with an impressive victory. The size of Black Reign gave the alter ego of Dustin Rhodes a momentary advantage early in the match, but Kaz was quickly able to turn it back in his favor with his quickness and impressive offensive ability.

When it looked like Kaz was on his way to a victory, Black Reign's partner Rellik ran to ring side in an attempt to aid his partner, but got dropkicked back down to the floor by Kaz.

Kaz nailed Wave of the Future to get the win.

Abyss defeated Judas Mesias by disqualification in 0:10:38.
Rating: ** 3/4
[Father James Mitchell interfered against Abyss.]

Abyss looked like he had his match won after hitting Mesias with the Black Hole Slam, however Father James Mitchell jumped on the apron and distracted Abyss from making a cover. The distraction allowed Mesias time to roll out of the ring, grab a chair and smack Abyss in the head with it.

This caused a disqualification but didn’t stop Mesias from repeatedly beating down Abyss after he was awarded the win.

No-Countout-No-DQ-Match for the TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE:
Awesome Kong pinned Gail Kim after a short lariat in 0:16:46.
Rating: ** 1/4
(Awesome Kong won the TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE.)
[Raisha Saeed interfered against Gail Kim.]

Awesome Kong became the new TNA Knockouts Champion scoring a win over Gail Kim. Kong got a No-DQ stipulation added to the match which worked perfectly as Raisha Saeed proved to be the difference, pulling the ref out of the ring when Kim looked to have Kong pinned, and running in for a sneak attack, that had little effect on Kim, but did distract her enough that Kong hit a monster lariat and got the pin.

Ultimate X Match:
Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) and Johnny Devine defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) and Jay Lethal in 0:19:48.
Rating: ** 1/4

Sabin and Shelly were still clearly hurting from Team 3D’s attack on Impact, when the Brothers smashed each of their hands with kendo sticks. The Guns had a very hard time crossing the cables to get to the X. But on the same token, 3D was too fat to cross the cables either.

Team 3D however broke the unwritten rule of the X Division and brought a ladder into the ring and climbed to the X that way to win the match.

Booker T pinned Robert Roode with the Book End in 0:12:00.
Rating: *** 1/2

Booker T scored the victory over Robert Roode, but if anyone thought Roode was going to let things end there, they were greatly mistaken. Roode came back into the ring to blindside Booker, but unfortunately, Booker’s wife Sharmell had come in to celebrate with her husband.

Booker was able to sidestep Roode’s attack, but Sharmell didn’t as she was hit hard by Roode. Roode even seemed a little shaken seeing Sharmell knocked out and quietly left the ring with a stunned look on his face while Booker attened to his fallen wife.

As paramedics came in and took Sharmell to the back, Booker could be heard saying this was his own fault.

AJ Styles and Tomko defeated Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash when Styles pinned Joe after a spiral tap in 0:11:10.
Rating: ***
(AJ Styles and Tomko retained the TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

Tensions had been running high between Joe and Nash since Joe made his shoot speech last month against Nash’s best friend Scott Hall. No one knew if they would be able to work together and it turned out that they couldn’t.

At one point, Joe reached out to Nash for a tag and instead, Nash punched him in the face. Nash then pulled a pair of brass knuckles out of his pants and hit Joe one more time, this time knocking him out and leaving him at the mercy of the tag champs.

A.J. hit the Spiral tap to finish things off and keep the belts for his team.

Kurt Angle pinned Christian Cage with the Angle Slam in 0:20:37.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Kurt Angle retained the The TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

Up until this point, A.J. Styles had refused to pick a side between the feuding Angle and Cage. Tonight though, he finally made his allegiance known.

A.J. stood at ringside the entire match, silent and nearly motionless. No body language indicating which side he was pulling for.

Kurt's wife Karen decided to get involved after the ref took a bump and was out on the floor. Karen grabbed a chair and was going to give it to Kurt, but A.J. ran over and pulled it out of her hands.

Styles tossed the chair away and went into the ring and hugged Cage, but as he was walking out, hit Cage with a Pele. Angle then hit his Angle Slam, Karen woke up the ref and Angle held on to his world title.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (January 10, 2008)

The show opened with Kurt Angle and wife Karen coming to the ring to gloat about beating Christian Cage at Final Resolution. They called out the man who helped make it all possible, A.J. Styles.

Styles came out to a round of boos but smiling none the less. He gave Karen a hug and shook Kurt’s hand, then took the mic and had some harsh words to say about Christian and how much better life is being in the Angle Alliance than the Christian Coalition.

This cued up Christian’s music and out came the Instant Classic. He called A.J. a little tag-along brat who could never do things on his own. This ended up with setting the night’s main event, Christian vs. A.J.

Johnny Devine defeated Jay Lethal by countout in 0:09:02.
Rating: * 3/4
(Jay Lethal retained the TNA X DIVISION TITLE.)

The first match of the night was Jay Lethal defending his X Division title against Johnny Devine, actually trying to regain possession of it from Devine, who stole it. Team 3D came out in the middle and while Devine had the referee distracted, 3Ded Lethal on the floor. Lethal got counted out and 3D went into the ring for an announcement.

They said its time to end this thing with the whole X division. They made a challenge to Lethal and the Guns. At Against All Odds, 6-man street fight. If the Guns and Lethal win, then it’s over and they get their X title back. If they lose, the X division disbands.

Triangle Match:
Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) defeated
The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave) and
Black Reign and Rellik when Homicide pinned Rellik with the Gringo cutter in 0:15:52.
Rating: * 3/4

It looked like LAX took another step towards the TNA Tag Titles by winning a 3-way No. 1 contenders match. This appeared to set them up for a title shot at Against All Odds. However, as LAX was celebrating, the Voodoo Kin Mafia appeared at the top of the ramp with B.G. James holding the briefcase he won in the Feast or Fired match.

He told LAX not so fast, because VKM was cashing in the case for the title shot at Against All Odds, so LAX was SOL.

Backstage interview with Samoa Joe

Joe was pissed off. He said he should’ve known better for putting any trust at all into Kevin Nash. Now, Nash’s name is right alongside Kurt Angle’s on Joe’s hit list.

He will not stop until he gets his hands on Kurt Angle and the TNA World title, and Nash is just a 7-foot tall bug that he’s going to squash along the way.

Awesome Kong pinned Gail Kim with the Awesome Bomb in 0:07:55.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Awesome Kong retained the TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE.)

Gail Kim got a rematch against Awesome Kong trying to win back her Knockouts title, this time with Raisha Saeed banned from ringside. That didn’t seem to make a difference though as Kong was just too much for the former champ.

Judas Mesias pinned Shark Boy with the Straight to Hell in 0:07:41.
Rating: *** 1/2

James Mitchell and Judas Mesias spent time after his destruction of Shark Boy to declare that Abyss had met his match and will never be the same again. But they want to end his career and challenged him to a barbed wire massacre.

Interview with Booker T

Booker T gave an interview from his home in Houston saying that he felt guilty and responsible for what happened to Sharmell. He was upset at himself for putting her in that position and didn’t know when he’d be coming back.

AJ Styles pinned Christian Cage after a Frankensteiner from the top rope in 0:13:11.
Rating: *** ¾

Cage was red hot looking for revenge on AJ At first, it looked like Styles wanted nothing to do with Cage was seemingly running away from him. Cage kept tracking him down, but A.J. got the advantage when Cage tried to dive at Styles on the floor, who moved and Cage caught nothing but guardrail.

Karen Angle came down to the ring in support of AJ and was cheering him on the entire time AJ had control. However, Cage came back and rallied. He had Styles set up for the frog splash, but Angle grabbed on to his leg while he was on the top rope.

This let AJ recover, as he ran up and hit a Frankensteiner that led to the win.

Tomko and Kurt Angle came down after the match to congratulate AJ and to keep on attacking Christian. Samoa Joe tried to run in for the save but Kevin Nash came down to join Angle’s side and the numbers game was too much for Joe and Christian.

It was a 4-on-2 until Angle got an unpleasant surprise. Sting’s music hit and the Icon, made his return to TNA, running to the ring, bat in hand, and clearing the ring as the show ended.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (January 17, 2008)

Kurt Angle, A.J. Styles, Tomko, Karen Angle and Kevin Nash all come to the ring together to open the show. Angle calls out Sting and says he shouldn’t stick his own where it doesn’t belong.

Nash has words for Samoa Joe, saying he should’ve kept his mouth shut about his friend Scott Hall. He wasn’t going to let him get away with the crap he spewed back in December. If Joe wants a piece of him, Nash says he’s not a hard man to find.

Angle gets the mic back also speaks to Joe that if he wants a piece of the champ, he has to go through Nash first. Then he calls out to Christian Cage that the Alliance is done with him. He’s not getting another title shot, he’s not getting anything. They’ve proved that anyone in the Alliance can destroy Cage.

Jim Cornette interrupts Angle’s tirade saying that Angle needs an opponent for Against All Odds and that opponent will be decided tonight in a 4-way match. Samoa Joe vs. Christian Cage vs. Kevin Nash vs. A.J. Styles.

Angle is visibly upset. A.J. pats him on the back and tells him not to worry. Nash though has a rather pleased look on his face and leaves the ring without any other interaction with the Alliance.

B.G. James and Kip James defeated
Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) when B.G. James pinned Homicide with the Pumphandle Slam in 0:15:01.
Rating: *** 1/4

LAX was seeking some revenge on VKM for stealing their title shot. However it was VKM getting the last laugh when Kip James hit Homocide with the Feast or Fired briefcase leading to a pin.

No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Johnny Devine pinned Jay Lethal after the Vertebreaker in 0:07:28.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Johnny Devine won the TNA X DIVISION TITLE.)

He held the X Division title, now he’s officially the champ. A Kendo stick shot to Jay Lethal’s lead led to Johnny Devine getting the win and officially winning the X Division title he was already in possession off.

He went in for a further attack after the match but the Motor City Machine Guns ran in to chase him off. The Guns and Lethal stood together in the ring and addressed Team 3D’s challenge from last week. They agreed it’s time to put an end to this, and they will shut 3D up for good.

Backstage attack on Christian Cage

Apparently Kurt Angle didn’t want Christian Cage to have anything to do with the 4-way main event. Angle, Tomko and A.J. all jumped Cage in the back, injuring him to a point where there was no way he’d be able to compete tonight.

Robert Roode pinned Kaz with the Payoff in 0:11:55.
Rating: ***

Robert Roode and Peyton Banks appeared for the first time since he injured Sharmell at Final Resolution. Roode showed no remorse and said good riddance to Booker T. TNA is better off without him.

The only regret Roode said he had was that he wished it was his former assistant Traci Brooks he took out instead of Sharmell. Roode said how much better things are with Banks by his side, instead of someone that always screwed things up.

Banks even had some words for Brooks saying she doesn't blame Traci for being jealous of her.

Kaz came out as Roode’s opponent and gave Roode a heck of a match. Brooks ran down and tackled her "replacement" Banks at ringside setting off a catfight. As referee Earl Hebner tried to break them up, Roode hit Kaz with a low blow and then hit the payoff for the win.

Backstage in Jim Cornette’s office

Jim Cornette is at his desk when his assistant Matt Morgan comes in to gives him an update on Christian Cage, confirming that he wouldn’t be able to wrestle in the main event.

Cornette says he’s got the perfect replacement in mind, but as he goes to leave, Scott Steiner comes in complaining about his Feast or Fired briefcase.

Cornette said he has bigger things to worry about and tells Morgan to handle this.

Steiner made the case that him having an X Division title shot is worthless since he’s not an X wrestler. He asks Morgan to force Petey Williams to switch cases.

Morgan said his hands are tied. As long as Petey has that briefcase, he’s entitled to a world title shot.

Abyss pinned Black Reign with the Black Hole Slam in 0:10:59.
Rating: ** 1/4

Father James Mitchell sent out Black Reign to face Abyss in hopes he can soften him up for Judas Mesias. However, Abyss showed a rage that was intense even for him as he destroyed Black Reign to send a message.

After the match he pulled out a piece of barbed wire from under the ring and proceeded to choke Black Reign with it until the ref pulled him off.

In-ring interview with Jim Cornette

Cornette came out and spoke to Kurt Angle saying he really hoped that Angle wasn’t that stupid to think he could just take out people from the main event, pick and choose who his opponent would be.

While Christian Cage wouldn’t be able to wrestle, he found a replacement. The fourth man in the night’s main event will be Sting.

Four Corners Match:
Samoa Joe defeated Kevin Nash, AJ Styles and Sting when Joe pinned Nash after an Aztecan suplex in 0:16:59.
Rating: ***
(Christian Cage no-showed.)

The World Title match at Against All Odds will be Kurt Angle defending against Samoa Joe.

The match started off as a fight with Joe and Nash, and Sting and AJ pairing off. At times it looked more like a tag team match, but everyone showed, they were out for themselves.

AJ was outside trying to regroup and get some advice from Angle, but Sting flew off the top rope and splashed down on both of them. However, it effectively took each of them out of the match.

It turned into a 1-on-1 affair between Joe and Nash and Joe got the better of Big Sexy to earn his title shot.

Card rating: *** 1/4

[snabbit888]

I'm really digging what you're doing here. I'm not super familiar with this time frame of TNA history (most I did was skim results at this point) but I like what you're doing so far. Your main event scene is fun. Steiner being pissed about having the X division contract could lead to some fun interactions with Petey.

Angle's plan backfired a bit as he still has to fight Samoa Joe, and now, you know Christian is going to be pissed to get revenge.

Good stuff - will be reading!

[dynamite81]

Wait a second... Kevin Nash took a bump?! Nowhere else would this happen except for TNM

Samoa Joe looks like he has all the momentum, and he could capitalize if Angle gets too frustrated and looses focus.

[magiccitydawg]

Love this. TNA has been my favorite since day one. Will follow this one.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (January 24, 2008)

The show begins with the man who will face Kurt Angle at Against All Odds for the TNA World Heavyweight Title, Samoa Joe coming to the ring. He accuses Angle of ducking him for months. Now there’s nowhere to go. Angle has no choice to step into the ring, 1-on-1.

Angle comes out to the ramp with Kevin Nash by his side. Angle said he’s not worried about Joe, because he has a 7-foot tall insurance policy in his corner. Nash takes the mic and tells Joe, there is no way in hell, he’s going to let him beat Angle and walk away with the title.

Before Joe could even respond, Christian Cage runs out from the back and attacks Angle, obviously seeking revenge on Angle for attacking him last week. Nash tries to help Angle, but Joe runs down to even up the fight.

Many members of TNA security come to try to separate everybody. TNA Management representative Matt Morgan also came down. Once everyone was separated Morgan got the mic.

He said he was talking things over with Jim Cornette during the week, that a special referee was probably going to be needed for Against All Odds. And he’s got the perfect way to decide who that referee will be. Tonight’s main event will be a tag match. Joe and Christian vs. Angle and Nash. If Joe’s team wins, then Christian will be the referee for the world title match. If Angle and Nash win, then Nash gets to ref.

Petey Williams defeated Elix Skipper by disqualification in 0:05:33.
Rating: * 3/4

Petey Williams came to the ring with his World Title Shot briefcase in hand, for his match against Elix Skipper. However it didn’t take long for Scott Steiner to make an appearance. Obviously taking what Matt Morgan told him last week to heart, about as long as Petey had the case, he gets the world title shot. Steiner attacked Williams, knocking him out and then placing him in the Steiner Recliner. Steiner then then left ringside with Petey’s briefcase.

Peyton Banks pinned Traci Brooks with the Layout in 0:07:06.
Rating: 1/2*

Robert Roode gave a helping hand in allowing his current valet Peyton Banks to score a victory over his old one. The duo though wasn’t satisfied with the win as after the match, Peyton Banks took a strap and started whipping Traci with it with Roode watching.

Fortunately for Brooks, Kaz ran down to chase Roode and Banks out of the ring before too much damage could be done. As Roode retreated up the ramp, he could be heard telling Kaz “You’ll pay for this.”

Backstage interview with Awesome Kong

With Raisha Saeed doing the talking, she calls Kong an unstoppable force that no one can beat. She points out her repeated beatings of Gail Kim as evidence of Kong’s dominance.

The interview was interrupted by ODB who told Kong maybe she should stop wrestling Barbie dolls and fight a real woman.

The two just stared each other down with no altercation.

The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave) defeated
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) when J. Rave pinned C. Sabin in 0:00:25.
Rating: *

This match never really got started, as Team 3D attack the Guns before they made it to the ring. Both Sabin and Shelley got sent through tables. Jimmy Rave played the opportunist and laid on top of Sabin for the 3-count.

Eric Young pinned Scott Steiner after a small package in 0:06:40.
Rating: * 1/2

Steiner came to the ring showing off the briefcase he stole from Petey Williams earlier in the night. However, he left the case unattended during his match with Eric Young. While Steiner was busy in the ring, Williams ran down and re-stole the case.

Steiner was distracted seeing Williams run off with the case, and Young rolled up him for the pin.

B.G. James and Kip James defeated Shark Boy and Curry Man when B.G. James pinned Shark Boy with the Pumphandle Slam in 0:08:26.
Rating: ** 3/4

World Tag Team champions A.J. Styles and Tomko sat in on commentary as their future challengers tuned up against Shark Boy and TNA newcomer, Curry Man. VKM won the match pretty easily but Styles and Tomko refused to be impressed.

[TO DECIDE SPECIAL REFEREE AT AGAINST ALL ODDS]:
Christian Cage and Samoa Joe defeated Kevin Nash and Kurt Angle when Cage pinned Nash with the frog splash in 0:13:15.
Rating: *** 1/4

When Angle defends his title at Against All Odds against Samoa Joe, Christian Cage will be the referee thanks to scoring the win. Joe locked Angle in the coquina clutch, and although Angle never tapped, he was unable to help Nash when Christian hit his frog splash and got the pin.


Card rating: ** 1/4

[seanh529]

Just wanted to write a few comments to let you know I was reading your fed.

I really like the format of your Impact shows. The stipulation for the special guest ref in the main event was a good way to continue the buildup to the PPV, without needing to add a title match to your main event.

I also look back at this roster and must admit I like the mix of some younger guys and the more established roster members that TNA had at this time.

It's funny how with most promotions in real life, it takes a few years to really appreciate what was going on a the time. I already miss the Motor City Machine Guns in real life.

[snabbit888]

Entertaining Impact overall. I like Steiner taking Morgan so literally from last week, like merely stealing the briefcase is enough to have the title shot. Petey getting it back was a fun moment too.

Usually you see the heel getting to have the referee advantage, so Christian getting to be ref for Angle/Joe is a nice twist. I could see Christian turning on Joe to help Angle, but that remains to be seen.

Good stuff!

[JoshiQ]

Just letting you know I am reading this as well. It has been a lot of fun so far, and you're laying some good groundwork.

Christian being the referee looks like it should give the advantage to Joe, but that is not how things usually work in the wrestling world.

[cardsflyinhigh]

This is kinda an interesting spot for me to do this circuit in. I really liked what TNA was doing in real life at this point, but I feel the need to put my own spin on things and take things a sort of different way.

Glad you guys are liking this so far. IMO though, I'm currently writing out cards in May and I think it's just going to get better. Some challenges have been thrown my way I had to work around, so stay tuned

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (January 31, 2008)

Kip James defeated Hernandez by disqualification in 0:05:15.
Rating: **

The show opened with a match between Kip James and Hernandez to try to settle matters between their two feuding tag teams. It quickly turned into a mele as their partners, B.G James and Homocide got involved with each other.

World Tag Team Champions A.J. Styles and Tomko finally took it upon themselves to get involved against VKM. While VKM and LAX were going at it, the champs rushed in and attacked Kip James causing a DQ.

They managed to get to the back before getting fully caught up in the brawl between the other two teams.

In-ring Samoa Joe promo

Joe came to the ring saying how much he was looking forward to finally getting his chance to get his hands on Kurt Angle and take his world title away. But before he can solely focus on Angle, he still has to take care of a piece of garbage known as Kevin Nash.

Joe called Nash an example of everything that’s been wrong with professional wrestling in the last 10 years. Tonight, he’s going to take out the trash.

Backstage James Mitchell, Black Reign and Rellik

James Mitchell is seen backstage talking to both Black Reign and Rellik. He tells them they need to seek out Abyss and bring him to Mitchell and Judas Mesias.

James Storm pinned Kaz with the Last Call in 0:12:23.
Rating: ***

Traci Brooks accompanied Kaz to the ring for his match against James Storm. However, this led to Robert Roode and Peyton Banks coming to ring side to confront Traci. This served to distract Kaz and allowed Storm to hit the Last Call superkick.

After the match, Roode and Storm double teamed Kaz and shouting at Brooks that this is what happens to people who try to help you.

The beating continued and it looked like Kaz was helpless, until the familiar sounds of “Can you dig it? Sucka!!!” blared over the arena. Booker T made his return, rushing to the ring to make the save.

Booker said he’s been sitting at home feeling sorry for himself, feeling responsible for what happened to Sharmell, when all the while, the man who truly was responsible was Robert Roode. Now Booker’s back to make sure to pay him back.

Backstage Black Reign and Rellik looking for Abyss

Mitchell’s two hunters found Abyss in the boiler room back stage. They tried to double team the Monster, but Abyss was able to fight off both men. However, from behind, Judas Mesias smacked Abyss with a lead pipe over the head, knocking him out, revealing the whole plan of sending Black Reign and Rellik was nothing more than a set up.

Four Corners Match:
Shark Boy defeated Jimmy Rave, Elix Skipper and Curry Man when Shark Boy pinned J. Rave with the Chummer in 0:13:33.
Rating: ****

In an X Division showcase match, Shark Boy scored a victory. Curry Man took out Elix Skipper, flying over the top rope splashing down on him on the floor. This left Shark Boy alone in the ring with Rave and Shark Boy hit the chummer for the win.

Backstage interview with Kevin Nash

Nash said that’s he’s been hearing Joe talk for months and he’s tired of it. According to Nash, Joe has been talking down him, been talking down his best friend Scott Hall, and Nash is sick of it. It’s time he shuts Joe up for good.

Jay Lethal defeated Johnny Devine by disqualification in 0:12:45.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Johnny Devine retained the TNA X DIVISION TITLE.)
[Brother Ray interfered against Jay Lethal.]

Jay Lethal got a chance to win back his X Division title, and looked on the verge of doing it until Team 3D stepped in and put an end that. Lethal nailed Devine with the Lethal Combination, then made his way to the top rope for the flying elbow, only to have Brother Ray shove him off causing a DQ.

For a moment it was a 3-on-1 beating of Lethal until the Machine Guns ran down to even things up and eventually cleared the ring.

In-ring promo by the Beautiful People

Angelina Love and Velvet Sky made it to the ring and made a vow to clean out the Knockouts locker room of all the ugliness. They pointed out Gail Kim in particular.

Love commented on how everyone praised Gail Kim for getting the Knockout Division started, but then said Kim was here for years and they never had a division. Only once they got some Beautiful People on the roster, they were able to start the Knockout Division.

Gail came to the ring to take offense to their words, but ended up being beaten down 2-on-1 by Love and Sky.

Samoa Joe pinned Kevin Nash after the Muscle Buster in 0:14:57.
Rating: **

Joe got his revenge on Kevin Nash. The spent the early part of the match clearly trying to deliver as much pain on the other as possible.

TNA World Champ Kurt Angle was at ringside cheering on Nash and getting a close look at his next challenger.

Joe definitely gave him something to watch and sent a message. Picking up the 7-foot tall Nash and putting him on the top rope, then hitting the Muscle Buster for the pin.

Joe just stared down Angle after and a look of concern could be seen on the champ’s face.

Card rating: ** 3/4

[snabbit888]

Booker T is back, and out for revenge. I'm a big Booker fan, so that's sweet.

Impressive showing by Joe, not only beating Nash, but getting him up in the Muscle Buster to do so. Joe will beat Angle for the title - I just don't think it will be at this upcoming ppv.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (February 7, 2008)

Kurt Angle opened the show with Alliance members Tomko and A.J. Styles by his side. Angle told them he needs them more than ever. Joe and Christian are going to try to do everything possible to steal his title from him at Against All Odds, and he needs them to make sure they don’t try anything tonight.

Tomko tried to tell Angle that they have their own title match to worry about against VKM, but A.J. interrupted telling Angle not to worry, they got his back.

Joe’s music plays and him and Christian come out. Christian tells Kurt that it is his job as special referee to make sure everything is fair and that Angle gets what he deserves. Joe also tells Kurt not to worry. He's not going to sneak attack him or try anything dirty. He’s just going to come meet Angle face-to-face, punch him in the mouth and beat him cleanly in the middle of the ring for his title.

Joe then says Sunday is a long ways away, so why don’t they have a 6-man match tonight.

Angle said great, but asked who their third man is. That’s when Sting’s music hit and the icon stepped out to stand by Joe’s side.

The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave) defeated
Shark Boy and Curry Man when J. Rave pinned Shark Boy with the
Move that Rocks the World in 0:08:02.
Rating: *** 1/4

The opening match of the night featured two teams trying to move up the tag team ladder. The Rock N Rave infection’s experience seemed to pay off against the newly formed team of Shark Boy and Curry Man.

ODB defeated Angelina Love by disqualification in 0:00:33.
Rating: *

Angelina Love demanded this match when she found out ODB would get the knockouts title shot at Against All Odds. And it didn’t take long once the match started for Velvet Sky to jump in and attack ODB.

Gail Kim rushed down to side with ODB and try to get some revenge on the Beautiful People for last week.

The mele in the ring was soon joined by Awesome Kong, who looked to get a piece of her PPV opponent, ODB. However, once ODB saw Kong coming down the aisle, she rushed out and went right at the Knockouts champ.

Those two fought back to the locker room, once again leaving Kim up against both Beautiful People. The numbers didn’t work out in her favor and at the end, The Beautiful People put a brown bag over an unconscious Kim’s head.

Petey Williams pinned Elix Skipper after hitting him with brass knuckles in 0:06:23.
Rating: * 3/4
[Scott Steiner interfered against Petey Williams.]

Scott Steiner remains on a quest to obtain Petey Williams’ briefcase. He tried to lob Elix Skipper a pair of brass knuckles to use against Williams, only Williams intercepted the pass and used them of Skipper.

After the match, Steiner ran in and tried to blindside Williams, but he ducked out and got away. Steiner made a proposal though, At Against All Odds, a 1-on-1 match between the two, the winner gets both the X Division and World Title briefcases. Williams accepted.

Robert Roode pinned Booker T with the Payoff in 0:09:45.
Rating: ***
[James Storm interfered against Booker T.]

Booker T returned to the Impact Zone last week for the first time since Robert Roode knocked out Sharmell, this week he faced Roode 1-on-1, or what we thought would be 1-on-1. James Storm, who’s been helping Roode out in recent weeks, snuck in while Roode and Peyton Banks had the referee distracted, and nailed Booker with the Last Call kick. Roode got the easy pin soon after.

He wasn’t satisfied with just getting the victory. Roode and Storm doubled teamed Booker after the bell, until Kaz came down to make the save, returning the favor for Booker’s save last week.

Backstage interview with Team 3D

According to Team 3D, only 3 days remain before the X Division shuts down for good. Week after week, they’ve beaten the crap out of the Machine Guns and Jay Lethal. Now on Sunday, if they do it again, they retire the X Division for good.

They said how last month they beat them in their own match, Ultimate X. Now this time they get them in their match. A street fight. They said this might not only be the end of the X Division, but the end of their careers.

Judas Mesias pinned Rhino with the Straight to Hell in 0:09:39.
Rating: *** 1/4

Mesias got a tune up for his match with Abyss by facing the War Machine, Rhino. Rhino gave him a good fight, but in the end, Mesias was too much.

After the match, James Mitchell and Mesias stood over a fallen Rhino and said that is exactaly how Abyss is going to look on Sunday.

Samoa Joe, Sting and Christian Cage defeated AJ Styles, Tomko and Kurt Angle when Joe made K. Angle submit to the Coquina Clutch in 0:16:53.
Rating: ** 3/4

Three days before Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle meet for the TNA World title, they led their respective teams in a 6-man tag between 6 men who plain don’t like each other.

The match was a vicious fight. In the end, Sting and Christian held A.J. and Tomko at bay while Samoa Joe locked in the coquina clutch and made the world heavyweight champion tap out.

After the match though, Angle came up from behind and hit Joe with a low blow. Angle then hit an Angle slam and put the Ankle Lock on Joe as the camera faded out.

Against All Odds is this Sunday, the final card looks like this:
World Title Match
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Samoa Joe
Christian Cage will be the special referee

World Tag Title Match
A.J. Styles and Tomko (c) vs. Voodoo Kin Mafia

Barbed Wire Massacre
Abyss vs. Judas Mesias

For the Feast or Fired Briefcases
Petey Williams vs. Scott Steiner


Knockouts Title Match
Awesome Kong (c) vs. ODB

Street Fight
Team 3D & Johnny Devine vs. The Motor City Machine Guns and Jay Lethal
If 3D & Devine win, the X Division dissolves

Booker T and Kaz vs. Robert Roode and James Storm

[snabbit888]

Sting is a great partner to have. I always forget how long he's actually been around TNA. Crazy.

The Knockouts mele was a fun segment. Awesome Kong was a bad ass during this time. Glad you look to be doing a lot with the division still.

Petey needs to beat Steiner. Steiner trying to get the case from Petey has been awesome, and there's still a lot of comedy to be had for this angle.

Good that Kaz saved, but man, talk about being late. Should have been in his corner to start with, Kaz!

I care so little for Abyss, especially around this time. He just bled a lot. It's no fault of yours as you picked up where TNA was right now, but man, all the barbed wire hardcore stuff is just painful.

Joe pins Angle which is sweet, but means he probably not going to get the title if you use traditional booking. Christian is the wildcard though.

PREDICTIONS:

Angle retains thanks to a Christian turn.

AJ & Tomko keep the tag titles

Abyss bleeds a lot, probably falls onto some tacks, and wins.

Hoping for Petey to have the briefcases.

Kong retains.

MCMG/Lethal have to win. Don't think you're eliminating the X-Division.

Beer Money wins it.

[JoshiQ]

I like Sting joining the side of Joe and Christian.

The stuff with Williams and Steiner is a lot of fun.

Are Roode and Storm not Beer Money yet?

Regardless, big win for Roode.

Joe making Angle submit doesn't bode well for Samoa Joe's title chances at the PPV.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IRL, Roode and Storm didnt start teaming up I think till April or May, then officially became Beer Money during their title run over the summer. I just jumped the gun a bit on teaming them up.

[cardsflyinhigh]

AGAINST ALL ODDS (Febuary 10, 2008)

No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) and Jay Lethal defeated Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) and Johnny Devine when Lethal pinned BRD with the flying elbow in 0:16:01.
Rating: *** ½

It wasn’t just a victory for the Machine Guns and Jay Lethal, it was a victory for the X Division as a whole. With the future of the division on the line, the Guns and Lethal beat Team 3D and Johnny Devine at their own game. Beat them in a street fight.

The Guns took out Ray and Devine. They set up Ray on a table on the floor, then slammed Devine on top of him. Alex Shelley dove off the top rope and splashed everyone through the table.

In the ring, Devon tried to do a flying shoulder block, but Lethal grabbed a street sign which Devon crashed into. Lethal then went up top. Hit his flying elbow and got the win.

[For the Feast or Fired Briefcases]
Scott Steiner made Petey Williams submit to the Steiner Recliner in 0:13:49.
Rating: *** 3/4

Steiner came out like a raging bull to open the match, but the speed and quickness of Williams was able to gain him an early advantage. Steiner though turned the tables, as Williams tried to go for a Canadian Destroyer, but Steiner was too strong and slammed Williams hard to the mat.

Steiner used his power throughout the match, but Williams was again able to turn things around, but as Steiner protested to the ref, behind his back, Elix Skipper snuck in with one of the briefcases and smashed Williams in the head with it.

Steiner then went back to a fallen Williams, locked in the Steiner Recliner and got the win.

James Storm and Robert Roode defeated Kaz and Booker T when J. Storm pinned Booker with the Last Call in 0:13:36.
Rating: *** 1/2

Booker T and Kaz had all the tools to get the best of Roode and Storm. The difference in this match turned out to be Robert Roode’s associate Peyton Banks.

She spent the entire match distracting the referee and trying to give her team any advantage they could. This was until Traci Brooks ran down and started a catfight with Banks.

In the middle of the confusion, Roode smashed one of Storm’s beer bottles over Kaz’s head. As Booker tried to get the ref to see what happened, he walked into a Last Call kick from Storm.

Awesome Kong pinned ODB with the Awesome Bomb in 0:15:03.
Rating: ** 1/4
(Awesome Kong retained the TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE.)

No one has been able to stop Awesome Kong since she came to TNA, but ODB might’ve come the closest. She brought a power and intensity to the match that perhaps no other knockout has, yet it still wasn’t enough to match Kong.

ODB gave a great effort, but Kong’s power laid out ODB and an Awesome Bomb finished off the job.

Barbed Wire No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Abyss pinned Judas Mesias with the Black Hole Slam in 0:15:53.
Rating: ***

It was brutal, it was bloddy, it was everything you would expect this match to be. Both men took turns throwing their opponent into the barbed wire in various ways. Mesias even tried choking Abyss with some.

Abyss got wire wrapped around Mesias then blackhole slammed him for the pin.

B.G. James and Kip James defeated AJ Styles and Tomko when B.G. James defeated Tomko via pinfall in 0:11:25.
Rating: ** 1/4
(B.G. James and Kip James won the TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

The Voodoo Kin Mafia cashed in their title shot and walked out as tag team champs. The whole time though, the match was under the watchful eyes of LAX who just stood at the top of the ramp seemingly scouting the match. They seemed to give a slight grin when VKM took the titles.

Each team tried to one-up the other with cheap shots and double teams. The Feast or Fired briefcase came into play several times with both sides using it, but wasn’t enough to put anyone away.

With AJ distracting the referee, Tomko grabbed one of the title belts and tried to nail BG with it. However, Kip caught him with a kick. The belt dropped to the ground and Kip hit Tomko with the Famouser on it. BG got the cover and the pin.

Match with Special Referee Christian Cage:
Samoa Joe made Kurt Angle submit to an armbar submission in 0:20:30.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Samoa Joe won the TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

In the opening few moments of the match, it seemed as if Christian was toying with Angle. Every time Angle locked a hold on Joe, Christian would make him break it, claiming it to be a choke, or any other reason to make him let go.

As the match went on, Christian began calling it more down the middle as Angle and Joe went back and forth with submissions, suplexes and power moves. Neither seemed to really hold any kind of advantage for more than a couple minutes before the other countered it.

It was clear each man well scouted the other. Each knew how to escape each other’s finishing holds. Angle escaped the Coquina Clutch and Joe escaped the Ankle lock.

It looked liked Christian's influence would turn out to be a non-factor, that was until Angle pulled Cage infront of him as Joe went for a leaping kick. Joe connected with Cage and the Instant Classic rolled out to the floor.

Angle hit a low blow, then an Angle Slam. A referee ran in from the back to make the count, but the extra time allowed Joe to be able to Kick out at 2. Angle put Joe in the Ankle lock and after a few minutes, Joe was able to break free.

But Angle hit a second Angle Slam. As the ref began to count, Christian came to and pulled the referee out to the floor with him, where he hit the ref with an Unprettier.

Christian got back in the ring and Angle got right in his face. Cage said he's the referee of this match, no one else is going to make a 3 count. While Angle was arguing, Joe came from behind Angle and locked in an armbar. Angle tried to resist, but ended up tapping out, making Samoa Joe the NEW TNA World Heavyweight Champion

[snabbit888]

Good PPV. Joe as World champ is the right move. I thought we might see a Christian heel turn, which might still be coming, but that was a satisfying end to the show.

X-Division is still alive, which is no surprise. Looks like Beer Money is officially off and rolling, which I'm a big fan of too. Only thing I wasn't a fan of was Steiner winning. I think there was a lot more mileage with Steiner chasing Petey, but I'm willing to give it a shot going forward.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (February 14, 2008)

The show began with Jim Cornette in the ring, ready to present the title belt to the new TNA World Champion Samoa Joe. Joe graciously accepted the title and claimed this to be the beginning of a new era in wrestling. It’s time for a new generation of stars to rise to the occasion to replace the washed up has beens.

The coronation was cut short by Scott Steiner coming out holding the briefcase granting him a world title shot. Steiner said he was cashing in his title shot suitcase tonight.

Backstage, the new World Tag Champs, the Voodoo Kin Mafia were watching on a monitor asking each other why they didn’t get some fancy ceremony. Stepping in to answer that was TNA Management representative Matt Morgan. He apologized for there being no ceremony, saying he figured they needed all the time they could get to get ready for their first title defense. Which would be tonight, against LAX.

Elix Skipper pinned Petey Williams after a flying sunset flip in 0:13:50.
Rating: ** 3/4

Steiner returned the favor to Elix Skipper for giving him a helping hand against Petey Williams at Against All Odds, by presenting Skipper with the briefcase containing the X Division title match.

Petey was going for revenge and looked on the verge of getting it, but Williams got too close to the ropes as Skipper went outside. Steiner nailed Petey with the briefcase, knocking him out. This led to an easy victory for Skipper.

Angelina Love and Velvet Sky defeated ODB and Gail Kim when Love defeated ODB by disqualification in 0:07:33.
Rating: * 1/2
[Awesome Kong interfered against Gail Kim.]

Awesome Kong is adapting a new and unusual strategy for a champion. She’s not waiting for her challengers to come to her. She’s going after them herself and trying to take them all out.

Tonight she saw them all in the ring at one time fighting each other. Kong felt like she just had to go and make her presence known.

Gail Kim was the first to be pulled from the ring and thrown to the floor. Kong then went into the ring and attacked both Beautiful People, then ODB, leaving complete carnage in the ring.

Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) defeated
B.G. James and Kip James when Hernandez pinned B.G. James with the Border Toss in 0:14:24.
Rating: ***
(Latin American X-Change won the TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

The new champs were clearly unhappy with having to defend their newly won titles so soon and against a team as tough as LAX.

At one point they tried to grab the belts and walk away, but LAX chased them down and brought them to the ring.

It looked like though they might escape as champs when BG nailed Homicide with a title belt behind the refs back, but Hernandez flew off the top rope landing on James to break the count.

He put up BG for a Border Toss, threw him into an arriving Kip James knocking him out of the ring, he then pulled BG into the middle and got the 1-2-3 and for the second time this week, we have new World Tag Team Champions.

Backstage interview with Team 3D

Team 3D is putting their feud with the X Division in the past, and focusing on the future. They had words for Abyss. The monster wasn't present, healing up from his barbed wire match. 3D though said it was sick how Abyss was getting famous off a style of wrestling they introduced.

They called Abyss a sorry excuse for a modern day hardcore wrestler. And if Abyss wants, Team 3D will show him how it’s really done.

AJ Styles and Tomko defeated Christian Cage and Sting when Styles pinned Sting after a Styles Clash in 0:12:20.
Rating: ** 3/4

Kurt Angle is carrying a grudge against Christian, whom he feels cost him the title at Against All Odds with his officiating. While Christian Cage was teaming with Sting against AJ and Tomko, Angle ran in and attacked Cage leaving Sting to get beat by the former tag champs.

As if that wasn’t enough, Kevin Nash is also harboring ill will towards Cage and Sting, and he came down and joined in making it a 4 on 2 beating.

Samoa Joe made Scott Steiner submit to the Coquina Clutch in 0:11:30.
Rating: ***
(Samoa Joe retained the TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

Samoa Joe’s first title defense was a successful one as he made Scott Steiner tap out. Joe was able to match strength and suplexes with Steiner, then eventually finished him off with the Coquina Clutch.

After the match though, Joe was blindsided by Kurt Angle with a chair shot to the leg. Angle put him in the Ankle Lock as the broadcast ended. The final shot before fading out was a look of great pain on Joe’s face.

[JoshiQ]

Good start to the show with Joe getting the World Title and Steiner coming out for the challenge. Might be the start of a feud between the two which I am all for.

Poor Williams. He needs some help going against Steiner and Skipper.

Normally I like longer title reigns, but this type of thing with the titles switching hands quickly is okay if done right. No problems with this. Plus I'm a fan of Homicide.

Looks like it is back to Angle for Samoa Joe. No problems with that. Would like to see Steiner stay involved somehow.

Fun Impact.