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Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Impact Wrestling comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Thurs., July 26, 2012) from the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida, for yet another live show of the summer series that will run through the next however many weeks.
Dixie Carter tweeted the other day that the show will open with a new authority figure stepping in for Hulk Hogan while he recovers from the Aces and Eights attack that was really just an angle to get him off TV for another back surgery.
Also set for the show is the debut of Chavo Guerrero, who recently signed with the promotion and has been getting pushed big. Don't be surprised if he's the guy they trot out at the top of the opening hour.
Plus, two Bound for Glory Series matches (Kurt Angle vs. Bully Ray, James Storm vs. AJ Styles), continued Aces and Eights fallout, Mickie James and Tara vs. Gail Kim and Madison Rayne, Zema Ion defending the X Division title, and Sam Shaw getting another chance at Gut Check.
All that and more.
Remember, the show starts 8 p.m. ET on Spike TV, so be sure to get here nice and early to join in with all your favorite Cageside commenters. Impact Wrestling live blog after the jump.
TNA IMPACT WRESTLING RESULTS LIVE BLOG JULY 26
Geno here.
Broadcast is live.
The replay from last week makes sure to showcase the rape of AJ Styles. How nice.
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We'll start with Sting. He's not happy, obviously because an unknown group continues attacking and beating the shit out of him.
He says Dixie put him in charge as interim General Manager thanks to Hulk Hogan being out due to surgery. As the boss, and even though he's only one man, Sting calls out Aces and Eights.
Instead, Austin Aries comes out.
"I admire your courage but as you know and I know and everyone else has seen, Aces and Eights is a numbers game."
Yeah.
Aries says he has a statement to make and that is if any one of the group shows up tonight, he'll jump on them and make a statement.
That leads to Kurt Angle and he comes out, presumably to throw his support behind this movement against the invading faction. He says Aces and Eights tried to hurt him physically last week and they also tried to take away his chances of winning the world title. So he wants to fight "these son of a bitches" too.
Now it's Bobby Roode's turn to come out. He already has a microphone and tells those in the ring to relax, he's not here to fight anyone. But he's also not here to have anyone's back. He's just here to point out the obvious. He knows who the man is that is behind these attacks.
Just then his microphone stops working.
Angle gives his to someone off camera and they give it to Roode, who continues his promo while the Impact Zone gives Roode the "WHAT?!" treatment.
It's awesome when it's done in TNA.
Roode goes on to blame James Storm for being behind Aces and Eights. Roode's case? Storm is jealous, manipulative and a piece of crap.
This leads to Storm running down the ramp and blasting Roode in the back. They end up brawling in the ring. This is an intense altercation that Sting, Aries and Angle aren't making any effort to stop. Angle goes to step forward but Sting holds him back.
Finally, Angle grabs up Storm and that allows Roode to bail out. This only serves to strengthen Roode's claim that "the truth hurts" and "I told you!"
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Backstage and an interviewer is chasing Roode around.
Roode continues saying he knows "for a fact" that Storm is behind Aces and Eights. "Why is everyone questioning me? I was his tag team partner. I know what makes him tick."
He then grabs his travel case and bails out.
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Gail Kim and Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James and Tara -- The babyfaces get control early with Tara working over Kim before tagging in James, who hits a running drop kick off the ropes. The heels don't come back until Rayne kicks Mickie in the back when she runs the ropes and Kim uses it to take advantage.
Rayne tags in and flirts with Earl Hebner, her big crush. Clothesline gets two. Rayne sends James into the corner but she flirts with Hebner some more and that leads to Mickie tagging out to Tara, who comes in and wrecks shop on Rayne with clotheslines and a spinning side slam.
Kim comes in to make the save on the pinfall attempt.
Tara and James together work a submission on both legs of Rayne. Kim comes in to break it up and she ends up in a heel hook from both girls. Except only Tara knows to do the heel hook and James just looks lost.
That was a terrible spot.
They work to James getting a bridge with a pin but her shoulders were down on the mat. She picked up her left shoulder but Hebner called it for Rayne anyway.
Lame.
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Cut to Sting and Aries talking backstage and Sting is asking Aries "to make some cuts" in the X Division because Sting is too preoccupied with Aces and Eights.
They bicker a bit but Aries agrees. He walks into an office and orders someone off his desk.
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Sam Shaw vs. Douglas Williams -- Shaw is in there doing his thing. He hits a backbreaker then a neckbreaker that gets two. Tazz evaluates in real time. "He's putting together moves, doesn't waste time on the cover. He's pretty good so far."
He slams his Douglas and as he does so, we see signs in the crowd that say 87-percent. Al Snow comes out and he ends up going down in a heap.
Joey Ryan is shown running away with Snow chasing after him. The 87-percent signs remain.
Back in the ring and Shaw is selling now with his opponent getting all the offense in. Rolling Chaos and that gets the pin.
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Backstage again for Aries and he says he was given the decision to see who challenges Zema Ion for the title tonight.
A few guys make their case to Aries. Ion is in there with them and Aries suddenly kicks him out by giving him a poster of the wall and having him take it out.
Kenny King and Sonjay Dutt continuing making their case.
Aries calls out Rashard Cameron and sends him out, leaving three guys. Dakota Darsow is the other. I guess they'll make their case throughout the night as they cut away to another video hyping Chavo Guerrero's debut. He's next, apparently.
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They show Ben Saunders from Bellator in the crowd. Then Chavo comes out wearing a suit while Mike Tenay puts over his famous family. That's an interesting way to go about this, considering how much bigger the rest of his family was.
Guerrero poses with fans ringside, mugging for the camera.
Once his music stops, the fans chant his name. He starts by speaking Spanish. No clue what he said, sorry, I don't speak multiple languages. Where's Sergio when I need him?
He switches to English and says he's humbled to be allowed in the TNA ring. He says his family goals were to be a champion on every continent in every country and in every company they've ever been in. But they haven't done it in TNA.
Now he's putting over the wrestlers in the back being hungry to steal the show every night and hungry to be the very best. It's terrible when they do this with debuting guys. It just looks weak.
Chavo says he sees guys who are the best and that's what he's here for, to beat the best.
VIVA LA RAZA. VIVA GUERRERO.
This leads to Kid Kash who comes out making fun of the Guerrero family and how they're all apparently legends. Chavo says he's not saying he's a wrestling legend, the fans are.
Uh ... what?
Kash is with Gunner, by the way. Who knows why he's here.
Kash asks Guerrero where his famous family is right now. Chavo says the fans are his family. Kash calls them "government funded jerk offs" and he's not looking at them. He wants to know where Chavo's grandfather and uncles are.
Kash brings up being drunk and that sends Guerrero over the edge. He punches Kash but ends up overwhelmed by the duo attacking him. Hernandez comes running down to make the save and the babyfaces send the heels out.
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Angle is backstage telling Storm he believes him when he says he's not involved with Aces and Eights.
Storm says if he has a problem with a guy he just tells them straight to their face.
Angle relents and asks if Storm has their back tonight if and when the Aces and Eights attack. Storm says he does. Angle wishes him good luck and walks off.
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We see Bruce Prichard, Tazz and Al Snow deliberating on Shaw. Snow gets pissed and starts cutting a promo on Ryan. He speaks straight into the camera and tells Ryan he's got his attention.
All three guys admit to not seeing the match in full but Tazz says Shaw looked really good.
I guess they're making their decision tonight.
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Top of the hour kicks off with a Bound for Glory Series match. They go through two fast commercial breaks before the match gets underway. Nice of them to do so.
AJ Styles vs. James Storm -- Back and forth to start and they quickly show Crackhead Claire in the crowd with a bitter scowl on her face.
Storm takes control of the match in the ring by sending Styles head into the corner post. Pinfall attempt doesn't even get a one count. Good on Styles for not bothering to sell for Storm, seeing as he's done absolutely nothing at all to warrant a pinfall attempt this early in the match.
Storm hits one move and goes back to the well but Styles kicks out after one. They run the ropes and Storm sends Styles flying with a back body drop.
Styles comes back with a dropkick and his pinfall attempt gets two. Body slam reversed by Storm but Styles ends up sending him into the corner post and hitting a suplex that gets another two count.
Storm drives Styles into the corner and they both sell. Storm ducks a clothesline and gets one of his own. Flying forearm gets another two count and they slow it down again.
Styles gets two on a back drop. Sends Storm into the corner and goes for a splash but Storm moves out of the way. He puts Styles on the top rope and looks for a suplex off the top but Styles fights him off. Storm ends up racking him on the ropes and then picking him up like he's going to do the Razor's Edge. Then he starts spinning rapidly and then throws Styles up in the air, who keeps spinning until he crashes to the mat.
Cool spot.
The ensuing pinfall attempt gets a deep two. Clotheslin in the corner from Storm, who sets up for something big. But, again, Styles gets out. He hits a suplex entirely too close to the ropes and Storm bounces off. Two count on that.
AJ goes flying across the ring with a forearm on a springboard but that also only gets two.
It feels like there have been a million near falls. At least these later attempts make sense.
Styles sets up for the Styles Clash but Storm reverses into a spinebuster. That gets a two count after Storm took a minute to go for the cover.
Styles comes back with a big kick to the head. Again, he goes for the Styles Clash but Storm pushes him out and hits a codebreaker. He looks for the Last Call but Styles shrugs it off. He hits another kick to the head but immediately after, Aces and Eights hits the ring and wrecks shop on everyone, referee included.
After a commercial break, it's revealed the match is a No Contest. That's two points for each guy.
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Backstage and Storm is asked why he wasn't attacked by Aces and Eights. I guess he wasn't.
He gets super pissed at the interviewer and slams him into the wall before calling him a son of a bitch and saying he doesn't need anyone to do his dirty work for him.
This angle is promising but not if Jeff Jarrett is the pay off.
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The Gut Check judges are in the ring and it's time to see if Shaw gets a spot.
He says even though he lost, he's got the drive and determination to become one of the best so please give him that chance.
They ask Al Snow what his answer will be. He says he didn't get to see Shaw's match and he wants to say yes just to stick it up Ryan's ass but he has to say no.
Uh ... why? You didn't see anything. That makes no sense.
Prichard says he doesn't disagree with Snow often but he does here and while Snow was getting punched out by Ryan, he was actually watching Shaw's match. Prichard gives him a yes.
Because it's one vote to one, Shaw gets a chance to cut a promo.
He tells Tazz that if he can show half of what Tazz did in 1999 when he called himself the Bush League Shooter, he can do great things. Or something dumb like that. Please say yes, please say yes.
Tazz says he loves Shaw's athleticism and what he brought out. He did take his eye off the ball for a minute and it cost him the match but ultimately, Tazz says yes.
Shaw hugs all three judges multiple times and says he still loves Snow, despite the no vote.
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We're backstage and Aries tells the three guys left they get two sentences to sell him on getting the shot tonight.
Dutt says he separated his shoulder twice in one match and came out and nearly won anyway. Hair spray stopped him from doing so.
Kenny King says he'll take the ball and run with it. "Call me Emmitt Smith."
Darsow says he's got nothing flashy, he just gets the job done. Aries says unfortunately, the X Division requires some flash and good looks. Since Darsow doesn't have that, he has to go.
Down to Dutt and King.
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Time to find out who Aries chose. Ion out first to build suspense for who Aries will choose.
They show the three guys at the gorilla position and Aries says he talked to the doctor and they aren't sure about his shoulder. Because of that, King gets the shot.
Zema Ion vs. Kenny King -- Ion dominates early while the announcers discuss James Storm and his potential involvement with Aces and Eights. Meanwhile, the crowd cheers King on to a comeback but his attempt falls short thanks to Ion tossing his head against the buckle. Irish whip into the corner and a knee.
King finally comes back with a float over into a roll up that gets two. Ion comes right back and gets two but King comes off the ropes and hits a series of clotheslines. Inverted atomic drop into a kick to the back of the head.
King sends Ion out with a kick while Ion was on the apron, then a dove out on top of him to the outside.
Before he can climb back into the ring, Bobby Roode shows up and beats up King before sending King back into the ring. Ion hits the moonsault and gets the pin to retain his title.
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Main event time.
Bully Ray vs. Kurt Angle -- The guys circle each other for what feels like forever until a collar and elbow tie up. Ray pushes Angle into the corner and the referee breaks them up.
They tie up again and Angle takes Bully's back. Ray reverses and takes Angles. Kurt reverses again but goes for the Angle Slam. Ray breaks out and looks for a high kick but Angle ducks and they reset.
Props to Angle for working a match where both guys look even. I'm sure this was Ray's idea.
Ray gets a few shots in but when he goes for the full nelson, Angle picks the ankle and almost gets the Ankle Lock. Bully gets out and then hits Angle with a piledriver.
Uh ... that's not a move Angle should ever be doing. And wouldn't you know it, he's selling like he's legitimately hurt. Bully goes for a pin but Angle's arm is under the ropes. Once Ray gets up from the pinfall attempt, Angle rolls out of the ring holding his neck and looking like he's in pain.
He's doing a good job selling but with his history, who knows. What a stupid spot to do with a guy like Angle.
They do the double commercial break thing. Coming back, Ray does that ridiculous spot where he spits up into the air and then catches it himself ... back in his mouth.
Ugh.
Angle hits a clothesline to signify his comeback. He's doing a tremendous job selling, unless he's legit hurt and just working through it. Suplex gets two. Misses the Angle Slam and Ray hits the Bully Bomb. He only gets a two count on it.
They go back and forth for a minute until Angle puts on the Ankle Lock. Bully kicks out and they exchange slaps. Ray hits a Rock Bottom and gets two. He looks for a big boot but Angle ducks under and hits the Angle Slam.
Bully kicks out at two!
Finishers really are dead in pro wrestling.
Angle goes up top and looks for a moonsault but Ray moves out of the way. He hits Angle with a big boot and gets another two count. Finally, Angle gets yet another Angle Slam and this one is good enough to get the pin.
That's seven points for the Olympic gold medalist.
The Aces and Eights hit the ring to attack immediately after.
Sting, Aries and Styles come down to brawl with Aces and Eights. Storm's music hits and he comes running out to go after Aces and Eights. Suddenly Angle and Aries are asking him something. Angle is acting like he thinks Storm might have something to do with this. Storm is, of course, acting like that's not the case.
Tenay announces the two will have a BFG Series match next week.
End.