TNA Impact TV tapings report
January 28, 2012
London, England at Wembley Arena
Report by Anthony Beckingham, PWTorch contributor

To put my cards on the table, between WWE, ROH, and Shimmer, I don't have much time to keep up with TNA, but since they were in town recording TV, I figured I'd pop along, though I only have a loose grasp on what's happening on Impact right now. Wembley Arena was maybe 85 percent full, there were dotted empty seats in the back rows on tiered seating, and one section was completely tarped off.

The only real stage, as such, was a big screen (not big enough to be JumboTron really) with the Impact Wrestling logo playing on it all night. There were no entrance videos or broadcasting of the in-ring action. This was fine really, as most people recognized the music of wrestlers, although I didn't for everyone, but it did mean there were no backstage segments, which made it a little hard to invest in matches. There were two tapings done and they didn't make it clear when one stopped and the other began.

Bully Ray and TNA World Hvt. champion Bobby Roode started the show with some typical local heat - Roode confused the place with Ireland and they reinforced that Jeff Hardy couldn't make it to the show after what they did. Surprisingly, there were lots of chants for Devon at Ray. James Storm came out, but before he could say much, so did Sting to a massive pop and said that he's tired of handicaps, so, tonight Storm will face both Ray and Roode in singles matches.

(1) Magnus & Samoa Joe beat TNA tag champions Matt Morgan & Crimson in a non-title Buckingham Brawl. One team had tornado tag rules, the other traditional tag rules. Morgan was meant to call a coin toss in mid-air, but didn't, and the coin dropped out of the ring. On the second go, he miscalled heads. As Morgan and Crimson left, they were greeted with "Who are ya?" football chants.

(2) X Division champion Austin Aries beat Mark Haskins, a British independent wrestler, in a non-title match. Haskins botched a Shooting Star Press a la Brock Lesnar, but I imagine it was worked, as Aries followed it with a kick to the head and brainbuster for the win, which earned him some heat after lots of cheers.

(3) TNA World Hvt. champion Robert Roode beat James Storm in a non-title match. Storm had the crowd really involved and everyone was on their feet counting a pin after a flying elbow drop. Roode went for the title belt and people started groaning with anticipation, but Storm ducked the weapon and hit a backcracker. Ray came down and clipped Storm's leg, so Roode picked up the win anyway. Sting came down to prevent a beat down.

Eric Bischoff came out and I have very little clue what he was talking about, as the heckles of "boring" and people generally talking amongst themselves with disinterest was too loud. There was also a growing "F--- off Bischoff" chant. Garett came out and more boring chants were heard. Eric tried to put a stop to the noise by name-checking London, which helped a bit. Garett mentioned Hogan was there.

(4) Tara beat Knockouts champion Gail Kim in a non-title match. After the entrances, the crowd was really dead for the women's match, but the two worked their socks off getting people back into it, including a Brock Lock from Kim, which had everyone clapping for Tara. Madison Rayne mis-timed a hit on Tara and hit Kim, then she was thrown out, which led to Tara's finisher. Everyone was on their feet counting the pin.

(5) James Storm beat Bully Ray. Roode came down during the match, but before he could get involved, Sting came down with a black cricket bat to replace his baseball bat. Nice local touch. There was a badly orchestrated ref bump and Roode came in the ring, but Sting chased him out. TNA seems to have gone meta with their swerves - run-ins are so expected now that to swerve people, they don't do them.

Garett Bischoff came out and thanked us all for having his back, which produced an ironic laugh from most people. Eric Bischoff cut him off but before much was said, Hogan came out. Bischoff's lackey, Gunner, was then pinballed between Garett and Hogan.

(6) Christopher Daniels beat A.J. Styles. Big pop for A.J. and a terrific match. Daniels tried putting on a knuckleduster, but the referee suspected, so he threw them outside. Much later, he grabbed them again and punched his way out of a powerbomb to win.

Jeremy Borash tried to pop the crowd with a mention of the 2012 London Olympics. When most people booed, he quickly changed tactics and joked he couldn't get tickets either. That local attention to detail (like the cricket bat) does separate TNA from WWE. Borash mentioned Sports Personality of the Year Mark Cavendish was in the crowd. I also saw a popstar from Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly at the event.

Bully Ray called out Bobby Roode and confronted him about how Ray has Roode's back, but not vice versa. Ray was on top form and tried his best to stymy the mounting "What?!" chants. Sting came out and booked himself in a tag match with Storm against Roode & Roode.

(7) Alex Shelley beat X Division champion Austin Aries and Doug Williams in a non-title three-way match. A pretty good match, but the lack of any emotional investment made it hard to get involved.

Magnus & Joe came out. Magnus started talking about "the U.K. tour" and how he wanted to make a correction. A lot of people were expecting a heel turn, but he clarified that he wasn't here for Scotland, Wales, or Ireland, just England. He said few people expected Joe and he to last, but they have the chemistry of a tag team, unlike the champions who are only a team because they are afraid to fight each other. Crimson and Morgan came out for a brawl.

(8) Velvet Sky beat Mickie James. Just like the earlier Knockouts match, the crowd was dead after the entrances. Unlike before, these two did little to engage the crowd and it ended with a roll-up to no reaction.

Hogan and Garett came out and already there was less of a pop. Hogan sycophantically played up how the crowd has supported him and are the best in the world, then said we should all support Garett. Eric and Gunner came out, then Gunner kicked Hulk in the crotch while he beat down Garett. Hogan managed to Hulk Up against no one and cleaned the ring.

(9) Sting & James Storm beat Bully Ray & TNA World Hvt. champion Bobby Roode. Sting submitted Roode with a Scorpion Deathlock. As Roode was in the lock, Ray came in with the title belt, then realized he had nothing to gain and left.

Presumably after the show went off air, Sting cut a promo about not knowing if this is his last U.K. Tour or not. Ray came back down for a beat down, then Kurt Angle did as well for the first time of the evening. He hit an Angle Slam, then Hogan came down and cleaned house before another Hogan style promo. Then, he shared a beer with James Storm because someone finally realized that the under 50s were on the card, too.

All in all, it was a decent-enough show with some good wrestling, but without a terrific match and backstage segments, it didn't feel very spectacular. I'll probably go again next year as a way to spend a Saturday evening, but it didn't make me want to watch the weekly show.

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