Previously on Impact Wrestling
AJ Styles returned for a title vs. title showdown with Magnus, and Dixie Carter got her lawyers involved. In exchange for a one night contract, The Phenomenal One had to agree to make World championship showdown a No Disqualification match. AJ wasn't worried, because his boys in the locker room had his back.
Like a pro wrestling Injustice Gang, the heels of TNA immediately snapped into action. Tag champs The Bro-Mans applied their finisher to Joseph Park - in ring and out, before the bell and after. The barrister was alone because his tag partner ran off in an attempt to save his beloved ODB from an attack by Knockouts champ Gail Kim and her muscle Lai'D Tapa. And Dixie's nephew, Ethan, took a DQ loss in his match-up against Samoa Joe - just for the privilege of laying the submission machine out with a wrench.
James Storm tried to lecture Gunner on the lessons he has learned about ego (not to be confused with the Extraordinary Gentleman's Organization) destroying tag teams. But the owner of the Feast or Fired briefcase for a World title shot wasn't letting that distract him from pursuing singles glory. The Cowboy then appealed to their shared love of violence - so the two will battle for the case in a ladder match.
And then they were taken out by a backstage sneak attack. An attack that Sting tried to investigate. But that investigation was halted by the pipe-hitting villainy of EC3 and Rockstar Spud, who took out The Icon during his steel cage match against Bobby Roode.
The It Factor tried to take out his nemesis, Kurt Angle, by goading him into facing Bad Influence in a two-on-one handicap match in that same steel cage. But the Olympian overcame Kazarian and Christopher Daniels...only to fall for that old "emergency that has to be handled by driving away with Al Snow" trick.
Which, after Bully Ray and his soundtrack creeped Ken Anderson and the viewing audience out in a funeral home, cleared the stage for Dixie to throw everything and the kitchen sink at AJ during the main event. The new champ looked like he needed, among other things, three finishers from Roode to win. But win he did.
Dixie, at least, looked pleased.
TONIGHT
Live and Free on Spike TV! From Huntsville, Alabama!
They'll broadcast two hours tonight live and then tape two hours for next week. These are always a little difficult to take for a few reasons: it's hard to tell which matches will appear (or TNA is misleading in which matches to expect) on each show, spoilers come out for the second half and the non-Impact Zone crowd isn't sure how to pace itself.
From the promo video, it seems that tonight will feature the past vs. future showdown of Sting and EC3...where I think The Icon has to do the job, right? Honestly, if a condition of his not stinking up my annual Undertaker match was that he beats the new kid, I'd be okay with it. Sorry, Ethan.
Looks like we can also expect to see Kurt Angle and Bobby Roode take their feud into a cage, with Angle's future with TNA and spot in their Hall of Fame on the line. That, and the fact that Bobby has come out with wins in almost every other match during this program, would seem to telegraph a victory for The Cyborg. But I've also seen rumors that Kurt is headed to the shelf for knee surgery soon...so there may be some drama here, yet.
Other bouts that will show up either this week or next include Gail Kim against Madison Rayne for the women's belt, the nightmare of Bully Ray vs Anderson and Gunner putting his title shot on the line in the ladder match against James Storm.
Plus...BIG DEBUTS!
Expect to pop for:
EC3. Looking around the interwebs, it seems I may be in the minority in digging the lower levels of power in Dixie's Authority-light. Magnus leaves me pretty cold, and the Pres herself only occasionally registers as "so bad it's good" before slipping back into her "nope, this is just bad" comfort zone. But Spud and especially the former Derek Bateman have shown me glimmers of potential.
Carter has shown us a pretty decent range in his short stint on Spike. The program with Members Only was fun and pulled off the rare feat of getting both sides of a feud over - or as over as anyone in Impact can be these days. The stuff with the Hebners went on too long, but let EC3 do some quality heelin'. And I like the different ways he's played over-confident: aggressive in wanting a piece of Sting and less-than-committed in his support of his Aunt's chosen titleholder.
Take the picture above this post - begrudgingly pointing attention to the champ in a comedic fashion - compared to the in-your-face snarl of the staredown with Sting in the commercial for this week's show.
The only thing I don't like is that as a heel, he doesn't fit in the main event right now. But if old Steve does the right thing tonight, and Carter is kept strong (and actually given a chance to show off his in-ring skills) for a few months, he can be Aunt D's next weapon to keep control of Impact when a face eventually dethrones Magnus. Or, he could grow tired of waiting in the wings and turn on the family to get some gold.
Either way, if the company stays afloat, he could be a key element of the future.
The heat is on:
All of the "good guys". Some have (rightfully) said that the champ looked like a chump after last week's show. But what about all the guys who were supposed to have AJ's back? Sure, it's a wrestling show and sometimes you just get jumped. But fooled into rescuing your woman from two people she routinely wrestles in handicap matches against? Didn't Angle just fall for this "emergency" trick a few months back during the whole Main Event Mafia and Aces & Eights deal?
What a buncha maroons.
Plus, I don't really care to see any of them challenge for the belt...least of all the guys being most prominently positioned for it - Gunner and Storm. Well, I could get excited for a chasing Joe, but he'd have to prove that he cares and isn't just playing out his contract before following Jay Lethal and Styles back to Ring of Honor.
TNA desperately needs a hero that fans can rally behind. And I just don't see who that person is right now.
Are you excited for live Impact? Or did last week burn all the bridges between you and TNA (again)?
If you're sticking it out, do it with your fellow Cagesiders in tonight's open thread!