TNA

[dynamite81]

LAX as Tag Team Champions... awesome! IMHO they seem to look better holding the belts than they do in a chasing/challenger type of role.

[snabbit888]

Steiner cashing in tonight. Interesting...

Wait, you can just give out the contracts? Petey needs to get on Elix. By the way, thanks for reminding me how awesome Skipper is.

Kong is so bad ass. I enjoy the gimmick of the champion being the one to go out and make the challenges. Who's going to step up to the plate?

LAX win the titles! Like Josh said, a short title reign can be very effective if done right, and this was done very well. VKM shouldn't be long term champs at this point.

Angle seems to have a lot of oars in the water. Feuding with Christian, Sting, Samoa Joe... could get worse for him before it gets better.

Joe retains, but more is happening with the Angle feud. I hope Steiner's not completely out of the picture.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (February 21, 2008)

Jay Lethal pinned Johnny Devine with the Flying Elbowdrop in 0:15:50.
Rating: ****
(Jay Lethal won the TNA X DIVISION TITLE.)

The feud between Team 3D and the X Division is over with the X Division coming out on top, but Johnny Devine still was the X Division Champion. Jay Lethal finally got a 1-on-1 match and made the most of it.

Without Team 3D there to interfere, Lethal proved to be the better man, hitting the Lethal Combination, which led to the flying elbow and the title win.

Lethal stood in the center of the ring, arms raised holding the X Division title, but the celebration was short lived as Elix Skipper, who held the Feast or Fired X Division title shot, ran into the ring and clubbed Lethal from behind with the briefcase.

He handed the briefcase to the ref to cash in his shot. Lethal was never able to recover from Skipper’s sneak attack. Primetime got the easy pin and for the second time tonight, the X Division title changed hands.

Elix Skipper pinned Jay Lethal with the Sudden Death in 0:02:40.
Rating: **
(Elix Skipper won the TNA X DIVISION TITLE.)

Backstage with Kurt Angle and Jim Cornette

Kurt Angle was in Jim Cornette’s office demanding a title shot at Samoa Joe. And said if Joe was any kinda man at all, he’d face him tonight.

Cornette said Joe isn’t here because of Angle’s cowardly cheap shot last week. But what Cornette could do is book Angle against Christian Cage, with the winner getting a World Title shot at Destination X.

Traci Brooks and Booker T defeated Robert Roode and Peyton Banks when Traci pinned Banks after a gutwrench suplex in 0:08:39.
Rating: ** 1/2

Traci Brooks finally looked to get some revenge on Peyton Banks by pinning her in a mixed tag match. But after the match, James Storm helped Roode attack Booker.

With Kaz still out from the beer bottle hit he took at Against All Odds, there was no one to help Booker. Traci even tried to jump in front of Booker to get Roode to stop, but Banks took her out of the picture leaving Booker at Roode and Storm’s mercy.


Abyss pinned Rhino with the Black Hole Slam in 0:12:36.
Rating: ***

Two of TNA’s biggest and strongest met in a physical contest. Rhino thought he had Abyss set up and was ready to run in for the gore, but Abyss grabbed hold of the charging Rhino and hit a blackhole slam for the pin.

However, after the match Team 3D ran in and double teamed Abyss. They said they wanted to show Abyss what real hardcore was all about and 3Ded him through a table.

Four Corners Match:
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) defeated
Black Reign and Rellik, The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave) and Curry Man and Shark Boy when C. Sabin pinned Black Reign after the Double Enzuigiri in 0:13:45.
Rating: *** 1/4

Now that they’ve finished with 3D, The Motor City Machine Guns can concentrate on trying to climb up the ladder towards a world title shot. They took a big step by coming out on top in a 4-way tag showcase match.

Kurt Angle defeated Christian Cage by countout in 0:13:47.
Rating: *** 1/2

Kurt Angle earned his rematch at Samoa Joe by beating Christian Cage, although he has to thank the rest of the Angle Alliance for it.

Cage got counted out, as the two were fighting outside the ring. Angle snuck back in, but someone was hiding under the ring grabbing hold of Cage’s foot preventing him from getting back into the ring.

It turned out to be A.J. Styles. Christian tried to drag him into the ring, but Angle low blowed Christian. Tomko and Kevin Nash ran in to join Angle and Styles.

Sting tried to make the save, but the numbers advantage was still too great as the Angle Alliance dominated both men.

[snabbit888]

Though I'm a little sad about Petey not at least having the X Title shot, the double title switch was well done. A move that's risky o do, but this was done pretty well. Let's Elix feud with Lethal and also Petey.

Would imagine Angle wins the main event.

Good win for Abyss, even though I still don't like him.

MCMG might get their tag title reign a lot sooner in this universe than in real life, which I approve of.

And Angle wins, and we might get a sweet Christian/AJ match too.

[JoshiQ]

I'm a big Lethal fan, but the briefcase was used properly. Hard to be too upset about that. Plus, Skipper seems to be in the middle of a big push.

Angle/Christian should be good. Can't see a Joe/Christian match right now, although it would be very interesting, so looks like Angle is going over later.

A Dudley/Abyss feud is going to turn bloody pretty quickly. Looking forward to see what sort of gimmick match you put them in. And who will Abyss find to be his partner?

Stinkin' Styles. It's obvious that the numbers are too great without Joe there. Hopefully he's back for the next Impact.

[dynamite81]

Now that he cashed in his title shot it will be interesting to see how Skipper is able to handle the pressure of being X Division Champion. He cant use the briefcase as a weapon or as a 'plan b' so he will have to stand on his own.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (February 28, 2008)

The show began with the Voodoo Kin Mafia coming to the ring saying they were the victims of an injustice when they lost their world tag team titles a few weeks back to LAX. And if management was looking for a team to wrestle LAX at the pay-per-view, their names should be at the top of the list.

This brought out the Motor City Machine Guns who also staked a claim to the No. 1 contenders spot, saying they’ve gone through all the tag teams in TNA, including three at once last week. But if they had to go through VKM for a title shot, so be it. And an impromptu match was made.

Kip James and B.G. James defeated
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) when K. James pinned C. Sabin after a powerslam in 0:12:16.
Rating: *** 1/4

The Guns looked poised to get the win and move on to face LAX, but VKM took advantage of a distracted ref. All four men were in the ring fighting at once and BG James got knocked to the floor. As the referee tried to get Alex Shelley out of the ring, BG grabbed a chair and hit Chris Sabin with it.

Sabin was then easy pickings as Kip James hit a powerslam and got the win.

Backstage interview with Christian Cage

Christian was being interviewed about his scheduled match tonight with AJ Styles. Christian pointed out AJ cost him his match with Kurt Angle last week, and a title shot. He said AJ will just be the first as he plans on running through the entire Angle Alliance one by one.

However, at the moment, the entire Angle Alliance came to Christian in a sneak attack. Angle, Styles, Tomko and Nash brutalized Cage all over the backstage area, finishing up with Nash powerbombing him through a catering table.

James Storm and Robert Roode defeated Shark Boy and Curry Man when R. Roode pinned Shark Boy with the Payoff in 0:08:01.
Rating: *** 1/2

The newly formed team of Roode and Storm had little problems beating Curry Man and Shark Boy. As they celebrated in the ring after the match, Booker T came to the top of the ramp to make a challenge.

Booker T challenged Robert Roode, one-on-one at Destination X. Roode accepted the challenge and warned Booker that it will be in everyone’s best interest if he made sure to keep Traci Brooks away, as Roode or Storm can’t be held responsible for what might happen if she was around.

Eric Young and Petey Williams defeated Jimmy Rave and Johnny Devine when Williams pinned J. Rave with the Canadian Destroyer in 0:07:43.
Rating: * 1/2

Petey Williams was looking for a partner to fight by his side and found one in old Team Canada buddy Eric Young. The two made quick work of Jimmy Rave and Johnny Devine, then Williams challenged Scott Steiner and Elix Skipper to face them next week, now that the odds have evened up.

Backstage with the Angle Alliance

The Angle Alliance sat in their dressing room celebrating their attack of Christian Cage earlier in the night. The celebration though was interrupted by TNA management representative Matt Morgan who informed them that their still will be a main event match tonight, as he found someone to step in against A.J. Styles. Morgan told him that tonight, Styles will go one-on-one against Sting.

Needless to say, the Alliance wasn’t too happy with the decision. Nash got up in Morgan’s face trying to intimidate him, but Morgan was able to look him eye to eye and not back down.

Gail Kim pinned Angelina Love with a small package in 0:12:59.
Rating: * 1/2

Gail Kim moved closer to getting another shot at Awesome Kong and the knockouts title beating Angelina Love, despite interference from Velvet Sky. Kim rolled up Love for a surprise pin, then snuck out of the ring before Sky could jump in.

But as Kim was reveling in her victory, Kong came from the back and clotheslined Kim from behind. Keeping with her new method of attacking all potential challengers before they can get to her, Kong started an assault of Kim, until ODB ran down to help out Kim and fight off Kong.

Rhino pinned Black Reign with The Gore in 0:07:19.
Rating: *** ¼

After Rhino beat Black Reign, Abyss made a surprise appearance into the ring. He said he needed someone to fight by his side against Team 3D and asked Rhino to be his partner, saying there’s nobody that could get as violent as Rhino.

Rhino thought for a moment, looked at the crowd which was overwhelmingly telling him to say yes, then accepted and shook Abyss’ hand.

AJ Styles pinned Sting after a spiral tap in 0:14:46.
Rating: *** 1/4

The numbers advantage once again played into the hands of the Angle Alliance allowing Styles to score the victory over Sting.
Sting had Styles set up in the corner for a Stinger Splash, but Tomko grabbed Styles’ arm at the last second and Sting crashed into the turnbuckle. This set him up for Styles to hit the Spiral Tap to get the win.

The Alliance though wasn’t satisfied with just the win. They all piled into the ring to beat down Sting after the bell.

Christian was going to be no help to Sting as he was already taken out, but when things looked bleak for the Icon, the TNA World Champion Samoa Joe made his return after being taken out by Angle two weeks ago. The champ charged the ring and he and Sting cleared out the Alliance.

The show ended with Joe and Angle staring each other down.

[snabbit888]

So was that an official #1 contenders match? I like VKM getting their rematch, and it sets up a future feud with MCMG, titles or not.

Man, Cage got his ass KICKED.

I love Beer Money, and I like the way you've been up the alliance. Menacing words for Traci Brooks too. Hmmm...

Gail Kim has the best shot at beating Kong right now, I think.

The numbers games with the Angle Alliance keeps playing them big dividends. Joe/Christian/Sting really need to organize, because their little post-match win is a small victory at best.

[JoshiQ]

I like that you had VKM face MCMG for the number one contendership. More fun than just giving them an automatic rematch.

That's probably the last we are seeing of Christian tonight. Ouch.

Going to be tough for Young and Williams to match up with Steiner, but I like you adding a partner for Williams.

Rhyno and Abyss make for a formidable duo. Don't see them beating 3D, but at least Abyss has his partner now.

Tough loss for Sting. He's such a hard guy to write around this time period. I never know how far someone should push him. Anyway, the show continued the build nicely for the next PPV.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (March 6, 2008)

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Samoa Joe came to the ring to open the show, still showing a little bit of a limp from Kurt Angle’s attack a few weeks back.

He addressed Angle and the entire Angle Alliance calling them scared little boys, and this Sunday, Kurt is going to step into a man’s world when he faces Joe 1-on-1 for the title.

Joe said he’s always been dangerous. Now, Angle’s got him pissed off to.

This of course brought the entire Alliance down to ringside. Angle told Joe he’s biting off a little more than he can chew. He called Joe cowardly for rushing them from behind last week and the last time they met face to face, Angle nearly crippled Joe’s ass.

Angle pointed out right now, Joe’s standing there on the wrong side of a 4-on-1 beatdown.

At that moment though, Christian Cage’s music hit and the Instant Classic showed up at the ramp, showing no ill-effects from last week’s beating. Angle waved Christian down to ringside as well, then his music cut off and Sting’s began to play.

The Icon stood at the top of the ramp next to Christian with bat in hand. At that moment, Joe ran and leaped over the ropes splashing on top of the Alliance. Christian and Sting ran down and joined in the fight.

The Alliance retreated and Sting took a mic. He issued a challenge, saying the three of them want all four Alliance members tonight in the main event. Angle shouted back that if that’s what they want, they got it.

Consequences Creed pinned Johnny Devine with the Creed-DT in 0:07:36.
Rating: *** 1/4

Consequences Creed continued his move up the X Division rankings with an impressive win over former champ Johnny Devine.

Rhino defeated Rellik via pinfall in 0:10:36.
Rating: *** 3/4

After Rhino finished off Rellik, Team 3D came down to the ring to talk to Rhino about the fact that he was going to be Abyss’ partner against them at Destination X. They asked them if he really knew what he was getting himself into, as he should know more than anybody what Team 3D is capable of.

They added that if Rhino needs a refresher, they’ll show him right now. Team 3D readied to come into the ring and Rhino looked ready to fight them off, but Abyss’s music hit and the monster ran down to the right, scaring off 3D who ran to the back, telling Abyss and Rhino they’ll see them Sunday.

B.G. James pinned Homicide with the Pumphandle Slam in 0:15:21.
Rating: *** 1/2

In a preview of the World Tag Title match, B.G. James ensured the Voodoo Kin Mafia will go into Destination X with some momentum after beating LAX’s Homocide. This was due in part to Kip James’ interference. Both Kip and Hernandez were supposed to be away from ringside, but Kip ran down and DDTed Homocide on the floor while BG had the ref turned away.

Kip rolled Homocide into the ring, BG hit a pumphandle slam for the win.

Elix Skipper and Scott Steiner defeated Petey Williams and Eric Young when Prime Time pinned E. Young after a flying forearm in 0:13:08.
Rating: ***

Steiner and Skipper answered the challenge from Williams and Young last week and scored a victory over the former Team Canada members. The celebration though was short lived as Jim Cornette came down with a message for Skipper, the current X Division champion.

Destination X this week is a perfect time to bring back Ultimate X. Skipper will be defending his title, against Petey Wiliams, Consequences Creed and Jay Lethal.

Backstage interview with Awesome Kong

Kong stood by as her handler, Raisha Saed talked about both Gail Kim and ODB claiming they should get the next shot at Kong. She said both have had their chance, and both have failed.

Kong then in a rare moment, stopped Saed and spoke up herself. All she said was “Give me both.”

Management granted her request. It was later announced that Kong will defend the Knockouts title in a 3-way match against Gail Kim and ODB at Destination X.

James Storm pinned Booker T with the Last Call in 0:11:26.
Rating: *** 3/4

Robert Roode sent his partner James Storm to try to soften up Booker T before their match at Destination X. It looked like Booker T was going to prevail through the challenge, but Roode and Peyton Banks got involved.

Banks distracted the ref and Roode got on the apron, but Booker caught him with an ax kick sending Roode crashing to the floor. But when Booker turned around, Storm was there to nail him with the Last Call to get the win.

Handicap-Match:
AJ Styles, Tomko, Kevin Nash and Kurt Angle defeated
Christian Cage, Sting and Samoa Joe when Nash pinned Cage with the Jackknife Power Bomb in 0:14:25.
Rating: *** 1/4

Nothing scientific here. These were two groups who simply don’t like each other and the result was a massive fight. People were fighting all over the Impact Zone.

The numbers though proved to be the difference. Joe and Angle brawled all the way to the back. Sting and Tomko paired off and they’re fight spilled into the crowd. Christian seemed to have Styles put away, nailing him with the frog splash, but there was Kevin Nash hitting a powerbomb on Cage to win for him team.

As Nash stood victorious in the ring, Joe came back down and blindsided Nash, then locked him in the Coquina Clutch. However, Angle wasn’t too far behind, he grabbed the world title belt and smashed Joe in the back of the head with it.

Cameras faded out on Angle standing over Joe holding the title belt.

Final Card for Destination X
World Heavyweight Championship
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Kurt Angle

Christian Cage and Sting vs. Tomko and A.J. Styles

X Division Championship
Ultimate X
Elix Skipper (c) vs. Jay Lethal vs. Petey Williams vs. Consequences Creed

World Tag Team Championship
LAX (c) vs. Voodoo Kin Mafia

Street Fight
Team 3D vs. Abyss and Rhino

Knockouts Championship
Awesome Kong (c) vs. Gail Kim vs. ODB

Booker T vs. Robert Roode

[murphy42782]

Really looking forward to the ppv. I dig where ur taking tna at this juncture. Christian turn on sting after a win maybe?

[snabbit888]

The guys against Angle need a fourth. The main event proved it. They're going to keep getting their asses beat unless they find help.

I like Kong being the champ who makes challengers. It will make when she's finally beaten for the title a big deal.

Ultimate X should be great. I think Elix retains though.

Good show leading into what should be a fun PPV.

[cardsflyinhigh]

All I can say at this time is that after this PPV, the road to Lockdown begins. There will be a world title match and a Lethal Lockdown match. I think it'll be interesting seeing it all play out over the next month.

[JoshiQ]

Loved the big guy jumping over the ropes onto the heels. Reminds me of the Undertaker doing his plancha bit.

Glad 3D didn't beat down Rhyno before their match. I don't think Rhyno and Abyss get the job done against the Dudleys, but should be a hell of a brawl.

No problems with BG James going over Homicide.

Ultimate X is going to make it hard for Skipper to retain. I think Lethal might actually come out of it with the title.

I don't know who Joe, Cage, and Sting can find, but they do need a fourth. Angle standing over Joe with the title makes me pretty sure that Joe will retain. Possibly due to the actions of a fourth ally?

[cardsflyinhigh]

DESTINATION X (March 9, 2008)

Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) defeated
B.G. James and Kip James when Homicide pinned B.G. James with the Gringo Killa in 0:14:44.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Latin American X-Change retained the TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

Destination X opened with the World Tag Title match and LAX retaining their belts over the Voodoo Kin Mafia. VKM tried to take several shortcuts to steal the belts, but LAX was ready for anything.

Hernandez took Kip James out to the floor and press slammed him into the crown. In the ring 1-on-1, Homocide nailed BG with the Gringo Killer to seal the win.

Booker T pinned Robert Roode after a scissor kick in 0:09:01.
Rating: **

It was supposed to be a 1-on-1 match with Booker T finally able to get his hands on Robert Roode. Only problem is, it started out 3-on-1 as Peyton Banks and James Storm each came to the ring with Roode. But slowly, the numbers evened up.

The first time Roode threw Booker out of the ring, Roode distracted the ref while Storm threw Booker into the ring post. They tried it again a short time later, only this time, Kaz, who has been out of action since Storm broke a beer bottle over his head at Against All Odds, made his return, rushing to the ring and hitting Storm before he had a chance to get to Booker. Kaz ended up chasing Storm all the way to the back.

Peyton Banks was still there to help out Roode, but the first time she tripped Booker when he ran into the ropes, Traci Brooks came down to even up the sides.

Towards the end of the match, the ref took a bump and Banks slid Roode a chair. But Brooks got in the ring, grabbed the chair from Roode and kicked him in the crotch. As Roode was hobbling around, he ran right into a Booker T scissors kick. The ref recovered to count 1-2-3 and Booker took the win.

Triangle Match:
Awesome Kong defeated Gail Kim and ODB when Kong pinned Gail with the Awesome Bomb in 0:11:50.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Awesome Kong retained the TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE.)

Rarely has a champion ever asked for a 3-way title defense, but Awesome Kong did. And in doing so, further proved why she just very well be the most dominant female wrestler of this era by coming out victorious.

Maybe as it turned out, a 1-on-1 match would’ve been better for either challenger, as there were several times where despite being friends, Kim and ODB wouldn’t let the other get in a position to score a pin on Kong.

Kong took advantage of their miscommunication and did a running smash on both in the corner. ODB fell out of the ring, so Kong grabbed Kim and hit an Awesome Bomb for the win.

No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) defeated Rhino and Abyss when Devon pinned Abyss after 3D in 0:13:36.
Rating: ** 1/4

Chairs, tables, thumbtacks. This match had it all. What it didn’t have was four wrestlers the entire way. After both teams hit the ring and an initial brawl broke out, Rhino went for an early gore on Devon in the corner. Devon moved and Rhino went into the ring post hurting his shoulder to the point where he had to leave the match.

This left Abyss at 3D’s mercy, but The Monster more than held his own against the team. At one point he even had both men down and out. At that point he went under the ring to grab his bag of thumbtacks and spread them in the ring. As he was ready to grab Brother Ray and chokeslam him onto the tacks, Ray countered with a low blow.

At that point, Rhino made a return to the ring, kendo stick in hand. However, he smacked Abyss with the stick, allowing Team 3D to hit Abyss with 3D ontop the tacks.

After the match, Rhino stood with 3D arms raised in victory.

Christian Cage and Sting defeated Tomko and AJ Styles when Cage pinned Styles with the Unprettier in 0:13:23.
Rating: ***

Despite everything Kevin Nash could do to help out his friends, there was no stopping the team of Christian Cage and Sting from gaining a measure of revenge on Angle Alliance members Tomko and AJ Styles.

Nash tried a few times to run in , but each time was knocked down by either Sting or Cage. The final time, Sting drop kicked Nash off the apron and into Tomko’s arms on the floor. While Tomko held Nash from falling to the floor, Sting got to the top rope and splashed down on both.

In the ring, Christian hit the Unprettier on Styles to get the win.

Ultimate X Match:
Jay Lethal defeated Consequences Creed, Eric Young and Petey Williams in 0:19:02.
Rating: ***
(Elix Skipper no-showed.)

Mass confusion took place for the Ultimate X match that was supposed to be for the X Division title. Only, the X Division champion never showed up. Eric Young took his spot in the match.

The match saw several high spots, including Williams hit Creed with a Canadian Destroyer off the top rope, Young climbing to the top of the post and splashing down on the other three on the floor and Lethal, inches away from grabbing the X, letting go of the cables to drop an elbow on Williams.

The ending came when Creed cleared Williams off the cables with a spear off the top rope. With everyone else down and out, Lethal crawled across the table to grab the X.

We still have no idea what this means for the X Division title. Jim Cornette will address the situation Thursday on Impact.

Samoa Joe pinned Kurt Angle after the Muscle Buster in 0:23:26.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Samoa Joe retained the TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

Joe and Angle put on an absolute classic that will be remembered for a long time. Tons of near falls, and more than a few submissions that each athlete was able to break or counter out of.

The match was also interference free as the Angle Alliance members were still recovering in the back from the match earlier in the night.

After not being able to get a pin on Joe with a couple of Angle Slams, Angle went to the top rope to try a moonsault, only to be caught by Joe who was able to get to his feet as Angle made his climb.

Joe turned Angle around and dropped him in a muscle buster and got the pin to retain his title.

[JoshiQ]

Here we go! PPV time!

VKM take the loss which is not surprising. At least they put up somewhat of a challenge.

Love that Brooks and Kazarian were there to help even the odds for Booker. Fun match with the faces finally getting their revenge.

Kong looks unstoppale so far as the champ.

Didn't think Abyss and Rhyno would be able to beat 3D, but I didn't see the turn coming. With Rhyno by their side, don't see the Dudleys being stopped anytime soon. Wonder if they'll go after the tag straps?

Figured Cage and Sting would beat Angle's henchmen.

Tough that Skipper no-showed. Glad to see you followed through with the nasty hand TNM dealt you. Don't know where you go from here, but I could see him being stripped of the title.

Huge win for Joe! This probably puts the feud with the Angle Alliance to bed, but I wonder who his next challenger will be? Could easily be someone from his group of allies that were fighting earlier in the evening.

[snabbit888]

Good title defense for LAX to kick off the show. They need a win like that to establish themselves as the top dogs.

A lot going on outside the ring with Booker/Roode, but glad to see Booker win. He's been on the negative side of this feud most of the way, so the win was much needed.

Awesome Kong is just awesome. Period.

Didn't see the Rhino turn coming. That is an unstoppable group if there ever was one. Abyss surely won't take this lying down though.

Cage/Sting win a good match. Right decision there.

Glad to see you went with the no-show, but shitty that Skipper no-showed on you to begin with. Hope Skipper gets stripped. Lots of angle mileage there.

Hell of a main event, and especially impressed there was no interference. Just a damn good match between two of the best.

[wickedrex1]

Good card. Sadly, it's the first one I'm reading/commenting on, but here goes!

Nice turn there by Rhino, aligning himself with Team 3D. Abyss will not be happy about that, and though he's just one guy, he's a monster! This might come back and bite Rhino in the backside.

I'm interested to hear what Cornette has to say about Elix Skipper no-showing his title defense. And, Skipper's explanation for not showing up...

Big win for Samoa Joe tonight.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (March 13, 2008)

Kurt Angle stormed the ring to open things up all by himself, as opposed to being flanked by Alliance members like usual. He claimed he was robbed of the TNA World Title at Destination X and wants one more shot at Samoa Joe.

Christian Cage’s music came on and the Instant Classic made his way to the ring. Cage told Angle that he’s had his chance. It’s time to move on. He should be the rightful number one contender and should get the next title match at Samoa Joe.

Obviously neither was going to back down to the other, so TNA management representative Matt Morgan came down to settle things. Morgan said Jim Cornette is busy with other matters tonight, so he’s going to settle this for everyone. Tonight’s main event, Angle vs. Cage, winner get the title shot.

Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) when BRD pinned A. Shelley with the Brother Bomb in 0:06:06.
Rating: ** 3/4
[Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas interfered against Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin.]

Two old rivals met again with Team 3D facing the Motor City Machine Guns. The difference in this match was a returning team coming back to TNA.

At one point in the match, the ref took a bump, which was soon followed by Shelley leaping over the ropes crashing down on everyone else. With all four men down, the Naturals, Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas came from the crowd and attacked the Machine Guns.

Team 3D even looked surprised at what was happening as they crawled back into the ring and watched the Naturals take it to the Guns on the floor. Finally, Shelley was rolled back into the ring. Devon woke the ref up and Ray hit a Bubba Bomb to get the pin.

In-ring interview with Jim Cornette and Elix Skipper.

Jim Cornette came to ring and said everyone has been asking him about what was going on with Elix Skipper and the X Division title. So he called out Skipper to the ring. Primetime came out, with the title belt firmly around his waist.

Cornette started by asking him where in the hell he was Sunday night.

Skipper tried to play the sympathy card, saying he gave up his seat on the airplane, to some old lady who desperately was trying to get home to be with her sick husband. He wanted so much to defend his title in Ultimate X, but couldn't get another flight out in time. He tried to argue that his decency as a human being, should be enough to skip any form of punishment.

Cornette said, he wasn't buying it and he doesn’t really care what his excuse is. Bottom line, Skipper is no longer the X Division champion.

Skipper yelled and argued, but Cornette forced him to remove the belt from around his waist and give it to him. Skipper protested but finally did.

Cornette though said Skipper will have a shot to get it back. The title will remain vacant until Lockdown, when the title will be up for grabs in a 10-man X Division battle royal.

MatchLoser-Leaves-Town Match:
Traci Brooks pinned Peyton Banks with a DDT in 0:6:40.
Rating: 1/4*

Peyton Banks came to the ring on her own, and called out Traci Brooks, saying its time to settle this thing between them.

Brooks was more than happy to answer the challenge but put out a stipulation of her own. She wanted to make it a “Loser Leaves Town Match.” Banks agreed and we had a match.

Brooks showed herself to be far superior to Banks as a wrestler and pinned her rival, eliminating her from TNA.

After the match, Jeremy Borash came down to have a word with Brooks. She said now that she got rid of that bitch, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things. She wants Awesome Kong and the knockouts title.

Rhino pinned Abyss with the Gore in 0:05:12.
Rating: ** 1/2
[Brother Devon interfered against Abyss.]

Abyss was out looking for revenge on Rhino for turning on him Sunday. But all he got was another beating from Team 3D. They aided Rhino in the win, then all attacked Abyss after, including a 3D through a table.

Backstage with ODB and Gail Kim

ODB and Gail Kim were arguing over what happened at Destination X, each blaming the other for costing them the Knockouts title. Angelina Love and Velvet Sky just happened to be passing by and started making jokes at their expense.

This turned ODB and Kim’s attention from each other to the Beautiful People. Words were exchanged, then a fight broke out. Matt Morgan was around to break it up and ordered all four to the ring to settle it there.

Four Corners Match:
ODB defeated Angelina Love, Velvet Sky and Gail Kim when ODB pinned Love with the Flying Thesz Press in 0:13:46.
Rating: **

The match was designed as a four corners match, but the pairs were clearly evident. Kim even gave an assist to ODB, hitting Love with a kick that set her up for a Thesz press from ODB.

In-ring with Jim Cornette

Cornette came back into the ring and said he’s got more business to take care of concerning Lockdown. One of the highlights every year is Lethal Lockdown. This year he has already selected the two captains and he’s going to call both out here right now.

The first man he called out was Kevin Nash. The second, was Sting!

Nash and Sting took turns trash talking each other, until A.J. Styles and Tomko ran in and attacked Sting from behind. Nash joined in a 3-on-1 beating. Nash then introduced Styles and Tomko as the first two members of his team.

Christian Cage and Kurt Angle battled to a double countout in 0:15:48.
Rating: *** 1/2

Samoa Joe joined Mike Tenay and Don West on commentary for the match to decide the No. 1 contender.

Only problem was, at one point in the match, Kurt Angle got knocked to the floor infront of the announcing booth. He had some words for Joe and then went as far as to slap him in the face. This brought Joe out from behind the table to tackle Angle.

Cage slid out of the ring and joined in the fight. It seemed as if Joe and Cage were arguing over who would beat on Angle. Then Joe told Cage if you want to take my title, then your against me to now. This led to Cage going after Joe.

The referee ended up counting both men out and the show ended with all three brawling.

[wickedrex1]

Good show. I'm sure that old lady was lying anyway, and she wasn't even married! Primetime acted the way any well-deserving champion should!

Looks like Abyss is in a world of trouble with Rhino and Team 3D. I wonder what they have planned for the "Monster".

Good way to end the main event. Joe is clearly willing to take on all comers. I wonder what Cornette will have to say about this situation next week.

[snabbit888]

Glad Elix got stripped. It sucks having a title vacant like that, but there's a lot of angle potential here.

Cage/Angle double countout, and Cage goes after Joe. A triple threat on the way?

[murphy42782]

With Cage, Joe, and Angle looking like a 3 way, where does it leave Sting in lockdown? Nash still has Styles and Tomko, Sting has noone. Hope Beer Money makes their way onto the PPV. Love them. Good couple of shows. Im watching for Abyss to finally get back at the hardcore trio somehow at the PPV as well.

[dynamite81]

Elix Skipper and an old lady... I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

[JoshiQ]

I think Angle has had plenty of opportunities. I hope Christian beats Angle for the shot.

Good win for 3D. Surprised Rhyno or Abyss didn't make an appearance though.

Tough love from Cornette, but stripping Skipper of the title makes sense. I doubt he gets it back too quickly either. The story about giving up his plane ticket for an older lady had me chuckling.

Ah, there is Abyss and Rhyno. Surprised Abyss took the loss so quietly. He's going to need some help and soon or he'll start to look extremely weak.

And looks like we are headed towards a triangle match. No problem with that.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (March 20, 2008)

Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) defeated AJ Styles and Tomko when Hernandez pinned Tomko after a throat suplex in 0:06:20.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Latin American X-Change retained the TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)
[Sting interfered against AJ Styles.]

Former tag champs AJ Styles and Tomko got a shot at winning their titles back against LAX and looked to be poised to accomplish that with some help from Kevin Nash.

Nash was at ringside and was ready to give a winning assist to his two Lethal Lockdown teammates. However Sting rushed to ringside and knocked out Nash preventing him from passing a chair to Tomko. Instead, Tomko was left just standing there and got caught by Hernandez with a suplex and got pinned.

After the match, Sting got in the ring with the champs and asked them to join his Lethal Lockdown team. They accepted and all shook hands to the delight of the crowd.

In-ring promo by Jim Cornette

Jim Cornette came to the ring, announcing he had made a decision about the world title match at Lockdown. However, before Cornette could announce his decision, Kurt Angle came down to join Cornette in the ring and plead his case as to why the title shot should go to him.

Not to be outdone, Christian Cage came down, stating his case to Cornette and running down Angle.

And just because there wasn’t enough people in the ring, Samoa Joe came down and said he didn’t care who Cornette fed to him. At Lockdown, inside the cage, there’s nowhere for anyone to run or hide. Whoever the opponent is, Joe is going to kill them.

Cornette finally got to speak again and said that no that everyone’s done yapping, he can announce that at Lockdown, it will be a 3-way match with Joe defending against both Angle and Cage.

Cornette also made one final announcement, tonight in the main event, Samoa Joe will team with Sting against Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash.

All three men stared each other down, but security ran down and separated all three before a repeat of last week’s brawl commenced.

Triangle Match:
Elix Skipper, Jimmy Rave and Johnny Devine defeated Eric Young, Petey Williams and Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed, Curry Man and Shark Boy when Skipper pinned E. Young after the Play of the Day in 0:12:18.
Rating: ***

In a preview of what’s to come at Lockdown in the X Division Battle Royal, 9 of the 10 men in that match meet in a 3-way, 9-man tag match.

Bodies were flying everywhere as the match turned into nothing short of mass chaos. Former X champion Elix Skipper got the win for his team, and more importantly, momentum heading into Lockdown, by getting a pin over Eric Young.

Skipper took a mic after and said that should be proof, that he never should've had his title taken away. He got the win tonight, and he'll do the same at Lockdown.

Awesome Kong pinned ODB with the Awesome Bomb in 0:23:15.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Awesome Kong retained the TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE.)

Awesome Kong had yet another successful title defense, this time beating ODB. After the match though, Traci Brooks came out with a mic. She repeated her statement from last week, this time speaking directly at Kong.

She said if Kong wanted a new challenge, here she was. Kong stood in the ring holding her Knockouts title belt and was waving Traci down. Raisha Saeed told Brooks to be careful what she asked for, because she was going to get it. And she’ll end up like all the rest.

Booker T and Kaz defeated James Storm and Robert Roode when Booker pinned R. Roode with the Book End in 0:11:52.
Rating: *** 1/2

Kaz was so eager to get even with James Storm for taking him out of action for a month, he kept attacking Storm, chasing him all the way to the back, leaving Booker and Roode all alone. In what then turned out to be a 1-on-1 match, Booker got a clean win.

Sting made another appearance after the match. He got into the ring with Booker, saying he’s got one more spot to fill in his Lethal Lockdown team, Sting asked his old friend to join him, and Booker gladly came aboard.

The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) when A. Douglas pinned A. Shelley with the Natural Selection in 0:13:52.
Rating: *** 1/2

The Naturals had their first match since returning to TNA, against the team they attacked last week. In a prematch interview, the Naturals were asked why did they attack the Guns. The answered that when they left TNA a year ago, the Machine Guns were formed to replace them. Since then, the Guns got opportunities the Naturals never had. Now they want to show, that they could never be replaced.

In the match, The Naturals used a low blow to lead to Natural Selection and the win.

Sting and Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash when Sting pinned Nash with the Scorpion Death Drop in 0:13:42.
Rating: **

Angle didn’t seem too eager to mix things up with Joe, content to let Nash take care of things. Nash didn’t seem to mind as he still has a grudge against Joe still from his speech a few months back.

Joe was more than happy to beat on Nash for a while, but was dying to get his hands on Angle. He finally got his chance only to have Angle draw him outside where Nash was waiting with a big boot. That set off several minutes of Angle and Nash beating on Joe, till he was able to turn the tide and make the hot tag to Sting. Sting cleaned house for a while, till Joe recovered and went after Angle.

Nash got Sting set up for a powerbomb, but Sting was able to slide down Nash’s back, turn him and hit the scorpion death drop for the win.

The celebration though was short lived as Scott Steiner came from behind and nailed Sting with a lead pipe. Nash grabbed a mic and shouted to an unconscious Sting that he’s got some old friends to. Meet the final member of team Nash, Big Poppa Pump.