TNA Impact spoilers- WWE Hall of Fame rings on the line

Hulk Hogan introduced the new TNA champion Rob Van Dam, who came out to a big pop.

Van Dam cut a promo saying he came to TNA because he knew the company would give him an opportunity. AJ Styles and Ric Flair came out. Styles claimed RVD cheated and must be high if he thinks he’ll be the greatest TNA champion ever. He called RVD a pothead. Styles warned RVD he’ll use his rematch clause when he wants to. Flair then cut a promo about his match with Abyss.

*TNA Knockouts champion Madison Rayne defeated Tara and Angelina Love in a Three-Way. Tara continued her heel turn, brawling with Love after.

*TNA X-Division champion Kaz defeated Shannon Moore. After a ref bump, Matt Morgan interfered and attacked Moore, which set up the Kaz win. Samoa Joe came out and destroyed Kaz after.

*AJ Styles & Sting defeated Jeff Jarrett & Jeff Hardy in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Hardy had Styles set up on a table and went to the top of the ladder to dive off when the bell rang and Styles and Sting were announced the winners. Jarrett and Sting had battled into the rafters, where Sting pinned Jarrett.

*Pope Dinero comes out with his arm in a sling and wearing an eyepatch. He warns AJ Styles that the Pope hasn’t forgotten about him or the TNA championship. Ken Anderson comes out and insults the crowd and challenges Pope to a match at Sacrifice. Pope backhands him with his good hand. Anderson tries to take out Pope and injure his shoulder but security breaks it up. Good promo work by both.

*TNA Tag Team champion Matt Morgan & Jesse Neal vs. Team 3D ends in a no contest when the Band comes out. 3D and The Band brawl to the back. Morgan chokeslams Neal. Neal is laid out and 3D come out to check on him as Morgan goes to the back, Neal calls out Morgan. Morgan, backstage, refuses but runs into Hulk Hogan, who tells him to go back to the ring. Morgan goes back out and they brawled. Morgan hit a low blow but Shannon Moore made the save. Neal and Morgan shook hands.

*Abyss pinned Ric Flair. Flair was busted open. Flair used brass knucks and got the pin but Earl Hebner saw them and restarted the match. Hogan came out after Abyss scored the pin. He took the Hall of Fame ring off Ric Flair’s hand and said next week, he knows who he is going to give the ring to. He and Abyss celebrate to end Impact.

credit: Pro Wrestling

TNA Impact results- ROB VAN DAM wins TNA Championship

A shockingly great show. Van Dam’s win was played off as a huge deal, and he looked big league in the process. The wrestling told the story tonight, and it wasn’t overbooked. This is the show TNA should have more often.

A.J. Styles came out after his victory over Pope D’Angelo Dinero gloating over being the best wrestler in the world. He said Ric Flair would be a little late because he got carried away at the postmatch victory party. Man, I can understand getting caught up in Europe because of Icelandic volcanoes, but for that? Styles is getting better and better at carrying interviews as a heel, which couldn’t be said in 2007.

Rob Van Dam came out to a huge ovation. His interview was scattershot, but he basically said he wasn’t as impressed with Styles and Styles was with himself. Jeff Hardy then showed up and said he was going to complete his quest to become the TNA Heavyweight champion soon. Then Hulk Hogan showed up to another monster pop. He actually did a great interview putting over what it meant to be the World Heavyweight champion, saying when he won the title it meant barbell curls and hot girls, money, limousines and proving yourself night in a and night out. In fact, this show did the best job of any in TNA history of getting the TNA title over.

Hogan, who had the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout all this, then announced that Hardy would face Van Dam tonight with the winner being the number one contender. Styles got upset thinking the winner would face him at the Sacrifice PPV in May, and claimed he wouldn’t be ready by Sacrifice. Hogan said he wasn’t talking about the winner getting the title shot at Sacrifice, the winner was getting the title shot tonight. Styles was furious. Flair was shown walking into the building and was irate upon learning Styles had to put the title on the line tonight. Somehow, all of this took 20 minutes, but it was actually good because of Hogan’s interview and the crowd.

As the next match began Taz, in what sounded like a statement handed down from management, mentioned that Dixie Carter had been in constant contact with Sean Waltman in the days leading up to Lockdown. She had approved that Waltman had been unable to attend, so he’s apparently not getting fired.

Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich defeated ODB and Daffney to retain the TNA Knockouts tag team titles in 2:41. I guess the Beautiful People are this decade’s Freebirds where the tag belts can be divided among three people. With Rayne the new Knockouts champion, Von Erich now has a share of the tag belts. There’s now competition between Von Erich and Judy Bagwell as the worst co-holder of a tag team championship ever. Lacey Von Erich and Daffney had about a minute of ring activity, which sounds like a recipe for disaster. It didn’t get far enough to become horrid or good, with Von Erich doing her handspring into an elbow drop. Still looked awkward, but it makes more sense than doing the moonsault, landing on her feet and doing an elbow drop. Finish was somewhat screwed up as ODB gave Velvet Sky a rolling reverse cradle while Madison Rayne distracted the referee. Von Erich was supposed to put hairspray into ODB’s eyes, but Von Erich was totally out of position. So ODB had to walk over to Von Erich in order to have hairspray put in her eyes, leading to Sky getting the pin. DUD

Jeremy Borash was backstage trying to catch up with Flair backstage. Instead, we eavesdropped on a conversation between Flair and Styles, where Styles told him that Flair was banned with ringside. Flair was upset and said he wanted a rematch from last night between Team Flair and Team Hogan, who had five minutes to accept or else they would lose by forfeit.

After a commercial, Abyss and Jeff Jarrett came out and said Team Abyss had already accomplished everything they wanted to do. Abyss pointed out that Van Dam and Hardy already had a match scheduled for tonight, but if they didn’t, Team Abyss would continue the beatdown of Team Flair. This brought out Flair, Sting, James Storm, Robert Roode and Desmond Wolfe, who attacked the faces. Jarrett and Abyss held off the heels until Sting came in the ring and hit Abyss and Jarrett with bat shots. Then Rob Terry, called “The Freak,” came out and again couldn’t muster a good pop from a hot crowd. Beer Money set aviation records bumping for Terry. But then Terry was supposed to gorilla press Wolfe and it was worse than painful because Terry couldn’t get him up. Even worse, Wolfe was supposed to be thrown onto Sting, and the spot looked clumsy. Then Terry tripped over his own feet delivering a clothesline on Sting, who looked none too happy about bumping as a heel to begin with, much less against someone still so green.

Flair was screaming about a rematch, and Bischoff came out. Despite his abrupt face turn from the night before, the crowd didn’t know how to react to him. Bischoff announced that Flair would get his wish and there would be a rematch between Team Flair and Team Hogan, except Hogan’s squad would consist of Jarrett, Abyss, Terry and a mystery partner.

Matt Morgan walked up to Shannon Moore, referring to himself in plural tense as the tag team champions. Moore was ready the Dilligaff book. Moore asked him if he was referring to his ego as a second person. Morgan asked him if he wanted to defend the tag belts with him tonight, but Moore told him he had an X Division title shot next week and told him to kiss his ass. Morgan told him he made a big mistake.

Bischoff and Hogan talked backstage about how they conned Flair at Lockdown. Hogan brought up the ranking system that was supposed to be unveiled weeks ago, but Bischoff said he would get on it next week. Bischoff then asked his secretary Miss Tessmacher about the papers for his rankings. Tessmacher asked him if they were “in the green thingee or the red thingee.” Hogan watched Tessmacher’s ass as she walked away and asked Bischoff about his “little thingee.” Humor straight from “Thunder in Paradise.” This was all for Hogan on the night as he did his second hour disappearing act.

Van Dam did a promo about how difficult it was to face one of his best friends tonight, but he was still ready. Show was pretty great from this point forward.

Rob Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy to get the title shot against Styles later in the show in 13:29. Most of the first six minutes was interrupted by commercials because they wanted to time the meat of the much against the opening of Raw. Crowd was into it all the way like they were seeing a dream match, and both men came off as big deals here for the first time since they joined (or in Hardy’s case, rejoined) the company. Once they came back from the break, Van Dam had hardway juice coming straight down his nose, which Mike Tenay explained was from his match against Storm the night before. Great match. Van Dam hit a corkscrew legdrop off the apron while Hardy was draped on the barricade, then came back with a slingshot legdrop with Hardy on the apron. Van Dam flew back in the ring with a crossbody for a two count. Hardy came back with a flying clothesline and a legdrop across the groin. Van Dam reversed an Irish Whip and teased the rolling monkey flip, but Hardy crossed up the spot with a flying clothesline for a two count. Van Dam fought back with right hands and did a split-legged dropdown, but Hardy dropped down into a cradle for a two count.

Crowd was chanting “This is Awesome” and unlike last night, it was much better suited. Hardy went to the top rope, but Van Dam crotched him, place him on the ropes, and came off the top with the Rider Kick, which sent Hardy to the floor. Van Dam put Hardy back in the ring, and came back with a corkscrew legdrop and rolling splash for a near fall. Hardy backed Van Dam into the ropes and went for the Hardiac Arrest, but missed. Van Dam came off with a split-legged moonsault, but only got two with his original finisher. Hardy escaped a splash and hit his gourdbuster, then went to the top rope for the Swanton, but Van Dam against crotched him after a spin kick. Hardy recovered and threw Van Dam off the top rope, then went for the Swanton again but missed. Van Dam then quickly followed with the Five Star Frog Splash for the pin. ***3/4

Christy Hemme was backstage with Van Dam and Hardy. This was weird. Van Dam and Hardy did commentary on the highlights from their match while Hemme laughed in the background. They were still better than Michael Cole. Van Dam admitted Hardy took a lot out of him, but he would still be ready for Styles tonight.

Abyss gave Terry and Jarrett a pep talk about their rematch with Team Flair tonight. He acknowledged that he didn’t know who Bischoff has selected for their mystery partner tonight.

Tenay laid out the rules of the Team Flair-Team Hogan rematch, which was basically Lethal Lockdown without the cage or weapons. The rules were Sting and Jarrett would open the match for five minutes, and each member would come in at two minute intervals. After the first five minutes, it was standard tag team rules. With Bischoff now a face, Jarrett had his full ring entrance back. A pin or submission couldn’t be recorded until all eight men were involved in the match. They actually did a better job explaining this match in five minutes than they did in the three weeks proceeding the PPV.

Team Hogan of Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Rob Terry and the returning Samoa Joe defeated Team Flair of Sting, James Storm, Robert Roode and Desmond Wolfe in 16:39. Sting and Jarrett brawled to the back of the building before the bell even sounded. Sting hit Jarrett with several chair shots and threw him into wall several times. Jarrett made his comeback with a series of chair shots to Sting’s back. Sting reversed an Irish Whip and Jarrett went flying back into the wall. Someone in the crowd had a sign that said “How Much Does That Guy Weigh?” Apparently, somebody longed for the color commentary of Art Donovan. They finally got in the ring, and Sting missed a Stinger Splash and Jarrett followed with a flying clothesline. Both men gave each other a clothesline and were down as the five minute interval ended. The first partner out was Wolfe, so they actually got the psychology right. Wolfe tagged in and went to work on Jarrett. Wolfe teased the Tower of London, but Jarrett escaped and gave him a back suplex. Terry was the first partner out for Team Hogan, and Wolfe barely got over for a Terry backdrop. Meanwhile, Orlando Jordan watched Terry from the ramp. Terry gave Wolfe a powerslam and a Jackhammer.

This was the only sight of Jordan the entire match, so who knows where they’re going with that? Hate to beat up on the guy, but the crowd was going nuts for everything tonight except for Terry’s offense, though he got a good pop coming out. After a commercial, Roode was out for Team Flair and Abyss out for Team Hogan. Abyss gave Roode a choke slam. Storm was out last for Team Flair to make it 4-on-3. Abyss missed a charge in the corner and ran into Storm’s boot, followed by a blockbuster from Roode. Abyss recovered and gave Storm a sidewalk slam and make a tag to Jarrett. Storm tagged in Wolfe. Storm tried to give Jarrett a Bronco Buster but missed, and Jarrett came out of the corner with a clothesline to Roode and Wolfe. Then the clock ran down for the mystery fourth member, and it was Samoa Joe, who got a good but not great pop. Joe had a catatonic look in his eyes, and Tenay pointed out Joe hadn’t been seen since he was abducted two months ago. He didn’t mentioned Joe lost to Jordan, and the quicker everyone forgets that the better. Joe cleaned house on everybody, including giving Roode the STO out of the corner. Joe got the pin with a musclebuster on Roode. Joe refused to stay around with the rest of the faces to celebrate, and Abyss and Jarrett just looked confused afterwards. Hopefully, there will be an explanation of who abducted Joe, but I’m not holding my breath. ***1/2

At this point there must have been a timing issue because Flair came out to cut a promo, but as he was in mid-sentence, they cut to a commercial. They aired the point of the segment afterwards, where Flair challenged Abyss next week for his Hall of Fame ring, and Flair put up his Hall of Fame ring. Wouldn’t it be great if somebody stuck in Europe right now found Douglas Williams in an airport in Istanbul right now, then kidnapped the TNA title, hijacked it and talked Vince McMahon into putting it on the line next week on Raw? Well, no it wouldn’t because the WWE would acknowledge someone not even on their radar. So why does TNA do something like this?

Rob Van Dam defeated A.J. Styles to become the TNA World Heavyweight champion in 10:32. Styles threw his robe over Van Dam’s head before the bell and wasted no time in busting him open across his forehead again. Styles then followed with his somersault tope over the top rope. Van Dam didn’t catch him right and Styles landed partially on the back of his head. Tenay and Taz were at their best here because they didn’t have to call anything that insulted your intelligence. Van Dam was doing his Ricky Morton-style babyface selling with Tenay mentioning he was wrestling his fourth match in two days.

Styles gave Van Dam a dragon screw, and Van Dam sold his left leg for the rest of the match. Van Dam came back with a monkey flip and Rolling Thunder. Styles came back with a single-leg takedown into the Figure Four leglock, but Van Dam made the ropes after a bit of a struggle. Styles went for the Figure Four again, but Van Dam got the small package for a two count. Van Dam missed a clothesline, and Styles came back with the Pele kick. Styles went for the Styles clash, but Van Dam backdropped him over the top rope. Styles landed on his feet on the apron and went for a springboard missile dropkick, but Van Dam gave him a power bomb. Van Dam then went right to the top rope and gave him the Five Star Frog Splash for the surprise pin, and the pop was enormous. ***

Confetti started pouring into the ring. Hardy came down, and I was waiting for modern day wrestling rules to kick in and have Hardy turn on him. Instead, it was something great. Hardy congratulated Van Dam, and it turned into the best postmatch world championship celebration in ages. All the faces, Hogan and even Dixie Carter came in to congratulate Van Dam, which was one hell of a way to get the belt over as a big deal.

credit: Wrestling Observer

TNA Impact spoilers- Jeff Hardy returns to action against AJ Styles

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TNA Impact Spoilers For March 15, 2010

AJ Styles and Ric Flair out. AJ calls Abyss a 6’8 scary looking but stupid monster. Did he really think a magical ring would help him? He recalls their classic battles and how the result was always the same. AJ Styles up, Abyss down. AJ doesn’t believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause or in magical rings. He does believe he’s the best wrestler and a gift from God and The Pope will learn that too. Flair shows the scars on his forehead which are deep and bloody. He says Abyss is a dead man and they’ll get Jeff Hardy too. Flair’s forehead is bleeding and covered half his face. Jeff Hardy comes out. AJ asks Hardy who he thinks he is. AJ says Hardy has done nothing here and proved nothing. AJ asks him if he wants the spotlight and it doesn’t get any bigger than on Styles and Flair.

AJ asks why don’t they get it done right here, right now. Hardy says it will be a breeze. Flair sayas a breeze is painting pictures backstage and getting high. Hardy says something about the drifters of the night, crowd pops, his music plays, lights go out, everybody leaves.

Backstage, Bischoff is mad at Foley for helping Jarrett. Foley apologizes and Bischoff says there’s no saving Foley. Bischoff says he’s bringing Foley to the ring to shave his beard, cut his hair and make him the executive he should be.

Brooke Hogan just came out and sat down ringside.

Backstage, The Nasty Boys beat up Jesse Neal at catering and powerbombed him through a table. It was supposed to be Team 3D and Jesse Neal vs. the Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart but now it’s a handicap match because of what happened to Neal. Team 3D says it’s not a handicap match because they have a partner. Out comes Spike Dudley to make it a 6 man match. Jimmy Hart gets the pin on Bubba after Knobs hit him with Jimmy’s motorcycle helmet. Nastys set up a table to put Bubba through it but Jesse Neal runs out for the save. Saggs ends up getting 3Ded through the table.

Backstage Christy asks Angelina how she feels that the Beautiful People won the tag belts. She says it sucks and makes her mad. When she gets mad she does something about it and issues an open challenge to any of the Beautiful People, especially Velvet.

JB backstage with Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac. Syxx-Pac says they’ve been kicked out of better places than this. Hall says at Destination X Nash is getting what’s coming to them and then Monday they’ll see the new big money players. Nash and Young walk up and Nash offers Hall a big wad of cash for five minutes with him tonight. Hall accepts and that match happens later.

Mr. Anderson & Desmond Wolfe with Chelsea vs. Kurt Angle & “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero. Pope and Angle win after Pope got a small package on Wolfe. Afterwards Anderson gives Angle a Mic Check and then uses the dog tags on Angle’s head and busts him open. Anderson says this is just a preview of what he’s going to do to him on Sunday. He beats Angle down some more.

Backstage, there was a Beautiful Segment but it was inaudible to the live crowd.

Hardy and RVD are in Hogan’s office but it was also inaudible to the live crowd. Abyss is a special enforcer in one of their matches. Bischoff comes in after they leave and asks if they’re cool. Hogan says yeah but he has to keep some things secret like Bischoff kept the Foley ref thing a secret. Bischoff leaves and Hogan says that was weird.

Angelina Love vs. Daffney. Velvet said Daffney is a member of the Beautiful People for one night only. The Beautiful People are watching from the ramp. Daffney tried using a hammer but the referee stopped her. The Beautiful People interfere and crotch Angelina on the ring post. Daffney attacked Angelina outside and then leaves. The Beautiful People beat up on Angelina until Tara makes the save. Tara and Daffney have a stare down while Daffney backs away.

Scott Hall vs. Kevin Nash with a five minute time limit. Syxx-Pac runs in and takes out Nash’s knee. They then handcuff Nash to the ring and begin beating him down. Young tries to make the save but Hall and Pac are too much for him. Pac and Hall take the money and leave.

Hulk Hogan is out. He says what happened last week was more than a trainwreck. The one thing he can’t forget or let go of is when Abyss said “Why Sting, why?” Hogan calls Sting out and asks if the spotlight wasn’t enough or his star wasn’t big enough. Sting is seen walking in the rafters. He passes over the ring area and makes his way to ringside. RVD attacks Sting and they brawl as Hogan watches on. RVD tosses Hogan a bat and then throws Sting in. Before Hogan can use it, Bischoff runs down with security and says Hogan has to leave that side of him behind. He has security escort Sting safely away. Bischoff says he promised his daughter last week he was done with this type of thing. Brooke is ringside acting shocked and shaking her head at her dad. Hogan goes to ringside where Brooke is and they embrace. Hogan then leaves.

Hernandez and Jeff Jarrett are talking about getting it done tonight. Bischoff says no way this happens. He says Hernandez gets a handicap match against Beer Money. Bischoff says since Jarrett wants in so bad that he can be the referee in the match.

Hernandez vs. Beer Money, Inc. with Jeff Jarrett as special guest referee. Matt Morgan was going to go to the ring but joins Mike Tenay and Taz on commentary instead. Winner via Keg Stand, Beer Money Inc. After the match, Beer Money continue to beat down Hernandez. Jarrett tries to break it up he gets shoved away. Jarrett takes the ref shirt off and helps Hernandez clear the ring. Bischoff is shown backstage with a mirror and clippers. A barber chair is being set up in the ring. Bischoff is out. He says Jarrett’s ass is his next week. Right now he has a certain look for the company and for weeks he’s been trying to help Foley. He calls Foley out so he can take matters into his own hands and clean Foley up once and for all. Foley is out and takes a seat in the barber chair. Foley stips Bischoff from shaving him and instead gives him Mr. Socko. He then uses the clippers to shave Bischoff’s head.

They’re setting up for an Ultimate X Match but Tim is unsure if they’re doing one tonight. Dave Penzer just called the pay-per-view Degeneration X rather than Destination X.

Christy Hemme backstage with Shannon Moore. He says he’s not worried because he’s been studying the book of Demigoth (who knows what he actually said) and that he’s going to beat Williams for all his freaks.

The Motor City Machine Guns are out. Chris Sabin says this Sunday at Destination X it will be a night to remember. Not only is it the return of Ultimate X, not only do the winners become #1 contenders but it will mark the rise of the Machine Guns. Sabin questions who Generation Me think they are to come into their company. Who have they ever beaten? Generation Me come out and say they have beaten the Guns when they first came in. Shelley says Generation Me is good but not great while MCMG are great. Generation Me are the Atari to the MCMG’s Xbox. Shelley says enough about that, let’s talk about the night we spent with your girlfriends.

A fight breaks out. Kendrick, Daniels, Amazing Red and Kazarian all run out to fight. A ladder is used during it. Amazing Red does a plancha off the top of the ladder onto the Motor City Machine Guns, Daniels and Kendrick. The segment ends with Kazarian on top of the ladder and Generation Me and Red posing around it.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with the special enforcer for the main event, Abyss. He says ever since Hogan gave him his ring, AJ and Flair have been trying to take it from him. He says at Destionation X he’s going to take the title from AJ and smack around Flair if he gets involved. He then asks WHATCHA GONNA DO FLAIR AND AJ WHEN ABYSS GOES CRAZY ON YOU!

Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles w/Ric Flair and Abyss as the special enforcer. AJ hit a slop drop that hit the referee too. AJ went to grab a chair but Abyss stopped him. AJ went for a springboard 450 and missed. Hardy hit a Swanton Bomb and Abyss slid in to count three. Flair hit Hardy and Abyss with a chair after and kept hitting him up the ramp until Abyss “hulked” up and chokeslammed him through the ramp! Abyss poses over the hold Flair went through and points at AJ who is cowering in the ring with his belt.

credit: Wrestling News World

TNA Impact results(full episode)- Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam align with TNA

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Complete TNA Impact Results Report For March 8, 2010

The second Monday night show featured the debut of Rob Van Dam, the returns of Sting and Jeff Hardy, and Hulk Hogan pushing himself as saying tonight would be his final match.

It appeared his daughter actually believed him, which may make her the most naïve human being on the planet. It was a so-so show that only had two lengthy matches combined with some nonsensical stuff.

Hulk Hogan and Abyss came out to open the show. Brooke Hogan and Dixie Carter were shown at ringside. Hogan did all the talking and Abyss appeared as his tag-along, which is hardly the way to build a new star. Hogan did the same interview he’s done in recent weeks about how Ric Flair and A.J. Styles had changed the rules of the game. Hogan called them out, so we were supposedly getting the main event in the opening segment.

Abyss and Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair and A.J. Styles went to a no contest in 2:21. Abyss gave Styles a Manhattan Drop, and tagged in Flair, who threw some of his trademark chops. Abyss nearly killed Flair by barely getting him over for the backdrop. Hogan came in after Flair poked Abyss in the eyes, and Styles gave Hogan a Pele kick. It was a four-way brawl right away. Then the lights went out and Sting’s music played. Sting appeared in the ring with his baseball bat, and it appeared he was going to go after Styles and Flair. Then Sting hit Abyss in the midsection with the bat, and followed with another shot to Hogan. Abyss and Hogan juiced, and Sting then walked out with a cocky smirk on his face. Flair and Styles continued to lay the boots down, and Flair gave Hogan a safe chair shot over his head. Hogan got on the microphone and said that Styles and Flair would still have to wrestle him and Abyss tonight, and this time it would be a no DQ match. You know what the cliché is about those that don’t learn from history, and it’s not like Sting hasn’t already failed as a heel in this company.  DUD

Sting went backstage, where Carter confronted him. Sting started to grab her around the throat, but it was clear Carter didn’t want anything too violent looking, so he gently pushed her against the wall. It looked so awkward. He told her he owed her nothing, then walked away. Carter is fun to look at, but she’s just not a wrestling character.

Hogan and Styles did an interview. Styles says there are no do-overs in wrestling, but would give Hogan and Abyss another match if they wanted one. Flair did his usual great promo about sending Hogan and Abyss out in the ambulance, and said that he always knew he owned Sting, so he’s happy he’s joined him in a battle against Hogan.

Abyss was shown backstage with blood all over his head screaming about Sting’s betrayal.

Brooke Hogan was backstage distraught over Hogan bleeding. His fiancé Jennifer, who looks like Linda Hogan at 33, was trying to console her. Brooke was surprisingly effective here.

Kazarian was in the ring saying he left the company two years ago. That deflated the crowd because you could tell no one was buying it. Kazarian did a speech trying to propel the X Division, which actually prompted a “X Division” chant. Daniels came out and proclaimed himself the king of the X Division, and bragged about being the longest reigning X Division champion of all time. That would have come off better if the current X Division champion hadn’t jobbed in 62 seconds just four days ago. Daniels did his new catchphrase of “I Am X.” Then the aforementioned X Division champion Doug Williams came out, which spawned a “USA” chant. Kazarian and Daniels continued to argue, and finally Eric Bischoff came out. He came out and put over the X Division strong, saying the group wasn’t the heart of TNA, it was the adrenaline of TNA. Bischoff ordered a three-way X Division title match between Williams, Daniels and Kazarian immediately.

1. Doug Williams defeated Daniels in a three-way match that also included Kazarian to retain the X Division title in 6:48. All three men traded near falls at the opening bell. Daniels gave Williams a leg lariat. Kazarian did a rolling reverse cradle. As Daniels tried to make the save, Kazarian gave him a northern lights suplex, pinning both men, but they both kicked out. Kazarian gave both Williams and Daniels a combination head scissors/sidemare takedown. Kazarian then followed with a somersault tope on both men to the floor. Daniels stayed on the floor for awhile after that one.  Kazrian missed a somersault legdrop back into the ring, and Williams gave him a running knee to the jaw. Daniels returned with a slingshot elbow drop on Kazarian into the ring. Daniels gave Kazarian a quebrada and a death valley driver for near falls. Daniels and Williams started exchange stiff forearms and clotheslines, but Kazarian knocked them both down with a missile dropkick. Williams tried a chaos theory, but Daniels rolled both Williams and Kazarina up with a schoolboy cradle, but both men kicked out. Daniels delivered a uranage on Kazarian, but missed the moonsault ever. Daniels landed on his feet, but Williams came up from behind, sandwhiched Kazarian in the corner, and got the pin on Daniels with a chaos theory. Best match in several weeks, and it’s great to see the company actually gave solid workers some time to shine. ***

Shannon Moore, with his hair spiked like a punk rocker, did a run in and laid out Williams with a spin kick. Crowd didn’t appear to know who Moore was. Bischoff announced that Moore would face Williams at Destination X. Sure makes Williams look bad to get chased away by a guy who was never anything more than a prelim wrestler in WWE.

Carter did a promo, calling him “Steve.” She said Sting would face a surprise opponent tonight. She can’t deliver a promo either.

Mike Tenay announced that Awesome Kong and Hamada had been stripped of the titles because they had not been defended within a 30-day span. This was the first time since New Year’s Eve that the Knockouts tag team titles were referred to.

Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne won the vacant TNA Knockouts tag team titles in a three-way match over Tara and Angelina Love in a bout that also included Sarita and Taylor Wilde in 2:12. The Beautiful People actually did some double team moves, so it appears they could be a team for the long haul. Sarita and Taylor Wilde did stereo schoolgirl cradles on Tara and Angelina Love at the opening bell. Sarita tried a stratisfaction on Tara, but turned it into a diamond cutter, which was cool. Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky did a double side Russian leg sweep on Tara. Love ran in and gave Rayne a scissor kick. Finish came when Tara tried to give Rayne the widow’s peak, but Daffney ran in and hit Tara with the TNA Knockouts title, and Rayne got the pin. Finish was rushed, so it appeared they were told to go home early. ½*

Pope D’Angelo Dinero started to do a promo, but Desmond Wolfe attacked him backstage and attacked his already injured left leg. Wolfe took a chain and slammed Dinero’s knee against the steps. It was announced at the end of the show that the Dinero-Wolfe match set for tonight had been cancelled because of this angle.

The Beautiful People were backstage celebrating with Jeremy Borash, whose speech pattern resembles Gene Okerland more and more. Borash called for some champagne, and Sky grabbed the bottle and said things were ready to explode. When she said that, she popped the cork and champagne was supposed to come out. Instead, nothing came out, so in an unrehearsed moment Sky dumped the bottle on Borash and left him soaked. Pretty funny. It’s clear Sky is the life of the party away from the ring.

Sting came to the ring for a match with a surprise opponent. It turned out to be Rob Van Dam, who got a huge pop. His arrival in the company had been anticipated since the day he left WWE two years ago, so he got a monumental pop.

Rob Van Dam defeated Sting in :09. Van Dam ran through the crowd, then knocked Sting down before the bell with a rider kick. Van Dam then got the pin with rolling thunder. So Sting did one of those Kevin Nash/Lex Luger jobs where he loses in ten seconds to make it feel like a fluke. DUD

Crowd was on fire at this point, which made the following ten minutes all the more mind-boggling. As Van Dam posed in the corner, Sting knocked him down from behind with the baseball bat, and followed with several more shots to the knee and chest. Sting then clotheslined him with the bat and walked up the ramp as the referees ordered him to back off. Even though he was still laid out, the crowd was still chanting “RVD.” Sting then pushed down the ref on the ramp, then went back to the ring to resume his attack on Van Dam with several more bat shots. Sting finally got some heat at this point, but you could tell the crowd doesn’t want to boo him. The referees ordered Sting to leave, but he tagged two more refs with bat shots, and went back to the ring again. Crowd was begging Van Dam to make a comeback, but Hogan came out. It was amazing in 2010 that Van Dam, in his first match on national television in two years, could be the set up man for a 50-year-old and a 56-year old. It got worse when Bubba the Love Sponge came out to try to hold him back, along with security. As they did Sting hit Van Dam with the bat some more. Hogan finally got to the ring, but Sting hit him in the stomach with the bat. As security tried to carry Hogan away, Sting hit him with the bat. Hogan had to be helped to the back, and the deal was Hogan still had to wrestle tonight. What happened to Van Dam, you ask? I don’t know, because the camera was solely on Hogan. And they’ve dropped the ball on Van Dam ten minutes into his stint in the company. All for a Sting heel turn that has never gotten over anywhere else, and won’t this time.

Kevin Nash and Eric Young came out to the ring. Nash announced that he’s been granted a contract for one night only so that Scott Hall and Six-Pac (since they aren’t officially in the company) can wrestle Nash and Young in a tag team match at Destination X. Nash called out Hall and Six-Pac to accept. Hall and Six-Pac where shown walking backstage. As Nash and Young were waiting, crowd was chanting “Hall is crazy.” Hall and Young emerged from the back of the building. Tenay wondered how they’re able to get in the building every week when they supposed to be banned. That’s another loose end that should be tied up soon. Nash is usually very good in non-wrestling segments, but you can tell by looking at him he’s still tight with Hall. So it’s hard to take this program seriously. Hall appeared in better condition than January 4th. He said that he and Six-Pac wanted to be in TNA now that it was cool. It so weird hearing Hall say that in 2010, because he’s become a parody of himself. Hall said if he and Six-Pac went at Destination X, then they get TNA contracts. Bischoff appeared on screen and agreed, but announced that if Nash and Young win, Hall and Six-Pac leave town. Hall and Nash shook hands, but Six-Pac slapped Young, leading to another pull-apart. Bischoff ordered a match between Six-Pac and Young.

Eric Young defeated Six-Pac in 1:12. Crowd was hot at the start of the match, but Young mistimed some spots that would have made them hotter. Finish came after Six-Pac missed the bronco buster and Young pinned him with a piledriver. Good heat. ¾*

An army humvee with several soldiers in camouflage pulled up in the back of the arena. They walked out to the ramp flanked to the sides, making way for Kurt Angle’s introduction. Angle did a great promo as the soldiers came out to surround the ring. He said the soldiers put their lives on the line every day for what he and Mr. Ken Anderson believe in. He said Anderson spit in the face of every one of those soldiers when he stole the dogtag from Angle. Anderson appeared on the big screen, and got some major heat when he referred to the troops as a bunch of high school dropouts. Angle then ran backstage and jumped Anderson, who’s head appeared to bump into the ramp. Angle then followed him to the ring, but Anderson hit him with the dog tag. As Anderson started to leave up the ramp, some of the soldiers stopped him. Anderson, feeling trapped, ran into a recovered Angle, who laid him out with punches. Angle then threw him out of the ring, where the soldiers put some poorly timed forearms and stomps to him. This cycle repeated several more times. To their credit, the troops all kept their game faces on. Angle finally ended the segment by giving Anderson the Olympic slam, then stood over Anderson with the American flag as all the troops hoisted Angle into the air. A good angle, though they still need to get Anderson’s heat back. Angle’s promo was so solid, Anderson really got some big time heat from the crowd.

Up to this point, the show had largely made sense. That changed quickly. Bubba was trying to talk Hogan out of wrestling again tonight. Didn’t we see 100 of these segments on Thursday? Then Earl Hebner walked in. The announcers never reminded us that Hebner had been suspended for screwing Angle in a match with Styles that hardly anyone remembers now. Hebner was begging for a second chance. At first, Hogan didn’t want to think about it. But Bubba talked Hogan into it. So Hogan arranged for Hebner to referee his match against Flair and Styles. Let’s just count the ways in how this doesn’t make sense. First of all, Hebner screwed Angle based on a payoff from Flair (since he’s Styles’ advisor). So how do we know Flair hasn’t paid him off again to screw Hogan? This reminded me of so many of Hogan’s angles in WCW that were the biggest booking clusterfucks ever. My favorite was the time in 1995 when Hogan booked himself as a face in a tag match against a heel Flair—in Charlotte. Amazing to watch the crowd totally against Hogan, and yet he had the arrogance to still pin Flair with the legdrop. The fans responded by throwing Hogan’s own planted merchandise at him.

The nonsense didn’t end there. Jeff Jarrett confronted James Storm backstage. Apparently, Bischoff arranged for Beer Money to face Jarrett tonight in a handicap match with Mick Foley as the special referee. None of this was brought up beforehand, and the match was treated like a time killer. That’s particularly amazing since Jarrett has headlined more TNA main events than anyone, and Beer Money might still be the most over act in the company. Jarrett wanted to know if Bischoff forced Beer Money to be in the match. Storm said they volunteered. Jarrett brought up the fact that he hand picked Storm to be among the original workers in TNA, and Storm even trained as a wrestler in Jerry Jarrett’s backyard ring. Storm responded it was all about him. It came off like Beer Money had turned heel again, thought they were faces the last time we saw them. Jarrett punched Storm, but Robert Roode jumped Jarrett from behind. Foley broke it up and told them to take it to the ring.

Beer Money defeated Jeff Jarrett in a handicap match in 3:41. I guess Beer Money are heels again, because that’s how they wrestled. Crowd seemed really confused at first, but picked up on it eventually and started booing. Good spot where Jarrett teased giving Storm the running knees to the back, but Roode cut him off with a spinebuster. Roode gave Jarrett a catapault into a Storm DDT. Jarrett made his comeback by throwing Roode out of the ring and backdropping Storm over, as well. Foley pulled out a barbed wire baseball bat and tried to hand it to Jarrett. Then referee Mark “Slick” Johnson, who refereed Thursday’s falls count anywhere match that Sean Morley won over Jarrett (and look how that propelled Morley in the company), grabbed the belt from Jarrett. Johnson must be a heel now, too. That allowed Storm to give Jarrett a low blow, and Roode got the pin after the DWI. *1/4

Brooke Hogan came into Hogan’s dressing room in tears, and it turned into another one of those endless segments where she begs Hogan not to wrestle again. This would have been better if it hadn’t already been done to death and back. Hogan promised his daughter this would be the final time he would wrestle again. Well, aside from the match they’re now teasing with Sting that ruined the RVD debut.

Hulk Hogan and Abyss defeated A.J. Styles and Ric Flair in 7:55. When Hogan was in, it was mainly punch and kick spots. Hogan and Flair move like two men their age move nowadays. Keep in mind, they had programs in 1996 that looked like old timers matches, so you can only imagine what it’s like now. Hogan got all the early offense on Flair, including brawling around ringside where Brooke was seated. Flair got rammed into the barricade and juiced buckets like he was facing Dusty Rhodes in the Greensboro Coliseum. Styles got the tag and went on offense after a low blow. Finally, Abyss got the hot tag and went one-on-one with Styles to set up the Destination X main event. Styles hit the springboard flying forearm and went for the cover, but Abyss kicked out. At that point, Hogan and Abyss started doing the Superman comeback simultaneously. It led to Abyss doing Hogan’s trademark comeback spots (five punches, big boot to the face) on Styles at the same time Hogan was doing them to Flair. Well, roughly the same time because they were off, which even Taz mentioned. Abyss pinned Styles with a black hole slam. Just like Saturday Night’s Main Event from the 80s. *1/2

Postmatch, Wolfe ran in and hit Abyss with a chair, and Flair cut off Hogan with a kick to the chest. Dinero ran down to go after Wolfe, but then he got beat down. This brought out Jeff Hardy, who ran in and gave Wolfe a gordbuster. Wolfe landed at a horrid angle. Hardy climbed the top rope and appeared to be going for a swanton on Styles. Just as he got to the top, the picture went to black and everything ended.

SUMMARY: Show had its high points and low points. It was better balanced, but pushing Hogan to this extinct is just a death knell because it brings the perception they can’t make new stars. Certainly a better show than Thursday, but it’s hard to compete when the WWE has A game going building toward Wrestlemania, which is largely the case right now. The treatment of Van Dam in his debut was wretched. Trying to turn Sting has been futile for years, and it was ironic that Flair was on hand for it tonight. On Flair’s shoot interview from 2008, he laughed about TNA trying to turn Sting heel during the Main Event Mafia days because it just doesn’t work with him. Yet he and Hogan were the two hardest pushed men on the show. The real story comes in a month to see where the ratings are then. I don’t imagine it will be pretty.

credit: Wrestling Observer

RVD Returning to Wrestling?

If RVD Returns To WWE, Will He Be Pushed To The Top?

Lately the internet has been buzzing with rumors about rob van dam considering a return to the ring.  He has options in both WWE and TNA if he decided to return.

If RVD goes to TNA he will undoubtably recieve the star treatment similar to kurt angle, if he goes to WWE he may end up in the same position he was in before he left, nowhere.

The WWE has never used RVD the way he should be used, which is in big mathes with big superstars.  Rob has great in ring skills and has arguably the best array of moves for any wrestler, albeit he used them all in almost every match.  He did hold the WWE title for a bit but it was mostly to bring ECW’s status up right away, but it was still cool to see.

… for more visit bleacherreport/rvd returning?