By: Daniel Wilkenfeld, PWTorch Contributor

Where We've Been: Not only did the Main Event Mafia continue their domination on Sunday, but they managed to do so without peeling any veterans away from The Front Line, and without Sting really having his heart in the whole "cheat to win" deal. I'm not sure I see the point of drawing the battle lines this way, but I already covered that in my PPV recap. On the bright side, the show after a PPV is a good time to get some new feuds started, particularly as no one stands as the clear #1 contender to Sting's title. I had been fearing they'd move it off him to Angle, but at least we know that can't happen this month. I suppose that makes Rhino the wave of the future, but will TNA management have second thoughts after his middling match with Kurt at Final Resolution?

The Show: Angle Gets Jarrett: It's Real, It's Damn Real

[Opening Credits]

On tonight's show we find out the fate of X Division Championship, see Abyss vs. James Storm, and (allegedly) open the remaining three Feast or Fired briefcases (Lethal's was revealed at the PPV to contain a shot at the tag titles).

The MEM hit the ring. They're somehow trying to sell Nash's use of a low blow at Final Resolution as controversial—seriously? Kurt says that at Final Resolution he beat Mick Foley at his own game. It's like they say—all's fair in wrestling, and whatever else you do in life. He says that things didn't have to turn out this way, since he left WWE to bring this company to the top. But the more press he got, the more his boss got jealous of him. Jarrett was such an egomaniac that he didn't even realize that Angle was making money for him. So now Angle hates Jeff more than he hated his former boss, who shall remain nameless. Jeff only has four weeks till he has to get in the ring with the greatest wrestler who ever lived. Now Angle feels callous, and doesn't even care about CODE: SCREW TNA, THAT'S NOT COOL (for those who missed my PPV recap, that's my new way of dealing with references to Jarrett's daughters).
AJ Styles hits the entrance-way, and he predicts that at Genesis Jeff Jarrett will make an example out of Kurt. But AJ's not here to talk to Angle, he's here to talk to Sting. I guess AJ has another month in the title picture after all. Sting has been talking about honor and doing things the right way, but then he let Kevin Nash screw Joe out of getting the pin. He wants Sting to tell him if he can tell his family that he dealt with business the right way, but it's Kurt Angle who answers. He calls AJ a punk, and says that Sting has done more in two years than AJ will in his entire life. He invites AJ to the ring to confront Sting face-to-face, but AJ insists the rest of the MEM leave first. They stand around the ring, which really doesn't seem to have improved AJ's situation any. He and Sting exchange words, then Sting unloads with a right hand. The MEM come back into the ring to beat down AJ till The Frontline come down to make the save. As the MEM retreat, Kurt says that by the end of the night one member of The Frontline will be eliminated.

JB is in the back with Mick Foley and Jeff Jarrett. He wants to know how Jeff will balance being the TNA founder and the TNA wrestler, and he says he won't—from this point on he's back to just being The King of the Mountain again. He tells Mick to step up and be in charge of everything while he returns to active duty as a wrestler, since Mick is the only person he can trust. Mick says he's going to start by having a little talk with the MEM.

[Commercial Break]

Don West announces that Jim Cornette has held up the X Division Championship, with the new title holder to be determined by tournament. The entrants are both Motor City Machine Guns, Eric Young, Sheik Abdul Bashir, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Consequences Creed, and…Kiyoshi? I'm not sure if that name is supposed to mean anything to me.

Not-Crystal is in the back with The Motor City Machine Guns, whom she thinks have become a target. Shelley first echoes his agreement with me that she has a talent for pointing out the obvious, and then says that it's "crystal clear" that they have become a target. There's no way that was a shout-out, is there? That would be awesome. Shelley says that the reason they're targets is that they tell the truth. They called Foley out on his irrelevance and lack of style, and then they ended up getting attacked by a videogame character (Suicide was the center of the TNA Impact videogame's story mode months before his debut this past Sunday).

(1) ERIC YOUNG defeats SHEIK ABDUL BASHIR
This is a quarter-final match in the X Division Championship Tournament. Young starts things off with a shoulder block, an Arm Drag, and a Body Slam, for one a piece. Bashir gets up chopping, and briefly regains control before Young takes him down with a leaping forearm. EY misses an attempted Splash in the corner, and Bashir crotches him on the top rope. Bashir starts working his slow offense, culminating in the always-exciting Chin Lock. Young powers out, but gets taken down with a Body Slam for two. Bashir comes off the top rope in a position that couldn't have possibly led to an offensive maneuver, but thankfully EY reverses by lifting a boot. This time Young does hit the Splash in the corner. Bashir creates some room and goes to the top rope, but gets caught with a Death Valley Driver. For some reason EY goes to follow up with an elbow off the top, but Bashir rolls out of the way. Bashir decides that this would be a good time to get in Earl Hebner's face, which distraction allows Young enough recovery time to reverse an attempted WMDDT into some type of Bridging Suplex.

Brother Ray is in The Frontline's locker room, talking about how proud he was to take on the MEM with them last week. He says that AJ is hopefully the next World Heavyweight Champion, which I guess means that Rhino isn't getting promoted after all. He suggests that they don't wait for the MEM to come after them. ODB asks what he has in mind, but Ray insists she share his flask first. He winces, then says that he's going out there right now to make Kurt an offer he can't refuse.

[Commercial Break]

JB is outside the MEM's locker room, which Mick Foley comes out of laughing. He says that he forgot how much he likes these guys. He says they're good guys, even if sometimes misunderstood.

Not-Crystal is in the back with The Beautiful People and "Sarah Palin", who's considering letting them into her cabinet. She says they can't go into the white house dressed as they are, but thankfully she brought some suits with which to give them a makeover.

[Commercial Break]

Brutus Magnus is debuting soon.

(2) ALEX SHELLEY (w/CHRIS SABIN) defeats JAY LETHAL
Shelley pounds on Lethal in the corner to start. Lethal comes back with right hands and a Handspring Elbow. He works a Standing Side Headlock, Shelley flips out, but Lethal takes him down with a Leg Lariat for tow. Lethal goes up to the top rope, but Chris Sabin distracts him from the apron. Shelley takes him down, but Lethal comes right after Sabin with a Suicide Dive. Shelley kicks the rope underneath him as he gets into the ring, then levels him with something that looked like the Celtic Cross for the win.
After the match, Sabin takes the mic and gives Mick Foley props for doing what the Knockouts have been trying to do for months—he screwed The Motor City Machine Guns. They tried to give Mick a chance to make things right, but since they're such kind, polite, well-bred men, they'll give Foley one more chance to come down and fix things. The crowd chants for Foley, but they'll have to settle for Suicide. He takes a zip line down to the ring and beats up both Guns. I thought he was Kaz, but he's wrestling a bit more like Senshi. If anyone knows who is under the mask, please drop me a note in the comments.

[Commercial Break]

Not-Crystal is in the back with Abyss and Matt Morgan, who doesn't understand why Abyss would keep walking into Beer Money's traps. He tries to explain to Abyss that Family Guy isn't real (if you don't know why, don't ask), and tells him to stop being so gullible.

This month's Rough Cut is focused on Beer Money. James Storm talks about growing up in a farm in TN. He was a wrestler in high school, but had to quit to help pay the bills after his father's death. Then he saw an ad for professional wrestling training, and worked local shows till he got a contract with TNA.

(3) JAMES STORM (w/JACQUELINE) defeats ABYSS
There's a bucket suspended over one corner with a beer bottle that can be legally used as a weapon. Storm tries to climb right away, but Abyss pulls him down and tosses him out of the ring. Abyss chases him into the crowd, where he gets his hands on some liquid to toss in Abyss's face. Storm goes for a chair, but Abyss punches it back into his face. He rolls Storm back into the ring and charges him in the corner. He tries to go for the bucket, but Storm recovers, knocks him down, and floors him with a Superkick. Storm gets the beer bottle, but before he can use it he walks into a Black Hole Slam. Abyss picks up the bottle, but Jacqueline darts through the ring and grabs it. She tries to get away from the ring, but runs right into Matt Morgan. Before Morgan can do anything, Roode runs down and nails him with a low blow. Since he's there anyway, Roode covertly smacks Abyss in the head with a chair while the ref's back is turned. Storm makes the cover for the win.
After the match, Roode and Storm work Abyss over for a minute, but foolishly stay long enough for Morgan to recover and reenter the ring. When Morgan goes for a Hellavator on Roode, Storm gets the beer bottle from Jacqueline and cracks it over his head. Abyss comes back with a chair and clears the ring.

[Commercial Break]

That last commercial took us past the 10 o'clock mark, in another sign of great pacing.

JB is in the back in the MEM's locker room. He tries to ask Sting AJ's question about honor, but this time it's Nash who answers. He says that it was just a low blow, and if he hadn't done it someone on The Front Line would have. Nash is dismayed to learn that JB is in league with The Front Line, a charge which he strenuously denies.

Brother Ray is in the ring, apparently having an interesting idea of what it means to call someone out "right now". He points out that he's all alone, and asks Kurt to join him to discuss a proposition. Ray warns Kurt that there's the potential for a lot of bad things, like blood spilled, bones broken, and careers ended, to happen here. He knows that the MEM wants to rid TNA of the Front Line, and that The Front Line won't rest till they destroy the MEM. The crowd chants for TNA, which Ray notes that he likes. They then inexplicably shift to a "you suck" chant, which Ray says he likes even better. In the meanwhile, what are Ray and Kurt going to do? If MEM and The Front Line keep trying to destroy each other, they'll end up destroying TNA instead, and then they'll all have to go back and work for "the devil." So Ray proposes instead that Angle send the MEM away, Ray will send The Front Line away, and then he and Kurt can try to kill each other in the ring like civilized people. He extends his hand to Kurt, who accepts it.

[Commercial Break]

In The Front Line locker room, Joe says that he doesn't plan on leaving Ray alone. Ray says that if they walk away, the MEM will too, and that's how they'll figure out who's in control. The Motor City Machine Guns jump at the chance at leaving, and the rest of The Front Line grudgingly follow. Devon stays behind, cause he thinks Ray's an idiot for trusting Kurt's handshake. His voice sounds completely different when he's not "testify"ing. Ray reminds Devon that Angle beat an Iranian to bring a gold medal home to America, which Devon refers to as the one good thing he's ever done. Ray says he has to trust the handshake of an Olympic gold medalist.

By the way, there's a sort of ticker that keeps cropping up that says how long it will be to various segments—in this case 7 minutes till we reveal the contents of the Feast or Fired briefcases. I realize this makes the show seem more scripted, but it's new and convenient, so I think I like it.

JB is in MEM locker room, where Kurt is asking the rest of the MEM to leave. He tells Nash to go ahead and order dinner for him, since this won't take long to care of. Booker is hesitant to leave too, as he wants to warn Kurt about Ray's tough, streetwise ways. He doesn't bother putting on his generic African accent, for which we can all be grateful.

[Commercial Break]

The Beautiful People are not happy with their makeovers, but they calm down when "Palin" tells them they look like Beyonce. Kip's finally had enough, and tries to tell them that this isn't really Sarah Palin, but Love interrupts and says that they'll get back to paying attention to him in no time.

We recap Feast or Fired.

JB is in the ring with LAX, Curry Man, and some woman who I don't think we know (Summer?). As expected, Hernandez gets a shot to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship.

[Commercial Break]

They open Curry Man's briefcase and, once again as expected, Curry Man got the pink slip. That of course leaves Homicide with the X Division Title Shot. JB tries to explain to Curry Man that he's been fired, but he doesn't seem to understand. He wants his title shot. Security comes down to escort him from the ring.

They air the same "Cross the Line" video for the second time tonight.

(4) CHRISTY HEMME defeats SOJOURNAR BOLT
It should probably be noted that Bolt, while in incredibly good shape, is not quite as obviously anorexic as most of the women in wrestling (that's not a euphemistic way of calling her fat—she's still plenty skinny); this makes me want to root for her fairly instantly. She and Christy alternate ground holds Lucha Libre style. Christy locks in a nasty looking Leg Scissors. Bolt powers out, but Christy puts her back into a Hammerlock. Bolt gets to her feet and knees Christy, then Snapmares her down and dropkicks her back for two. Bolt hits a Body Slam, then drops an elbow for two. She goes for a Running Clothesline, but Christy matrix-es under and takes her down by the hair. Christy then kicks the back of her head, and, when she kneels, dropkicks her in the face. Hemme goes to the top rope, but Bolt catches her with a Press Slam for two. Bolt goes for a Power Bomb, but Christy reverses it into a Sunset Flip for the win.
After the match, Christy helps Bolt up and shakes her hand. Bolt slaps her and shoves her back, so Christy jumps on her. Referees come out from the back to break things up. So are all the African American women in TNA heel now? That's…awkward.

Not-Crystal is in the back with Curry Man, who wants to know who the "fired champion" is, so he can get his title shot. She finally gets him to understand, and so he calls out for help and one more chance. That's actually really sad. And, to make it even sadder, they show a retrospective of his year in TNA. I know Daniels is probably coming back ASAP, but I'm still going to miss Curry Man.

[Commercial Break]

(5) KURT ANGLE and BROTHER RAY fight to a double count-out.

Ray hits the ring first, but when Angle's music starts he ambushes Ray from behind. Kurt works his advantage for a minute, but a Back Drop only gets a one count. Ray tries to fight back from his knees, but Kurt keeps pounding him. Finally Ray creates some distance with slaps to Angle's chest. Kurt tries to retake control with an Eye Rake, but that just ticks Ray off. He hits a series of clotheslines, and Arm Drags Angle almost out of the ring. Kurt kicks him in the head, but Ray comes back with a Release German Suplex for a long two count. Angle tries to whip Ray, but ends up getting Back Body Dropped all the way to the floor. Ray follows him out of the ring, pounding Angle's head against the barricade, the announce table, and the entrance ramp. He sets Kurt up for a charge against the stage, but Angle dodges and Ray goes through it. The props department should get well, props—the stage breaking looked slightly less rigged than usual.

[Commercial Break]

Ray and Angle are still fighting by the stage, only Ray is now busted wide open. Meanwhile, Slick Johnson started counting them out in frustration, and has reached ten. Ray takes Angle into the side of a production trailer as the crowd chants for the official to let them fight. Angle tries to beg off, but Ray beats him down all the way through catering. Security comes to try to break things up, but Ray takes down three guards. Ray tells Kurt that if he didn't have a wife or kids, he would end his career right now. Kurt starts to say that he's not with the Main Event Mafia, but that seems to have just been a stall tactic—Scott Steiner attacks from behind. The rest of the MEM brutally destroy Brother Ray, hitting some downright mean looking chair shots as Sting walks away in disgust. Ray tries to fight through, but the MEM (sans Sting) toss him into a dumpster. The announcers try to play this as a betrayal of Ray's trust, but A) the match was over, and B) I think they might technically have been outside the Impact Zone when the MEM attacked.

Where We're Going: Scott Steiner got to cash in his Feast or Fired title shot for a PPV main event spot. Kaz had to use his Road to Glory tournament title win on a random episode of Impact (and I'm not even sure it was the main event of that). I would assume the game plan is to treat Hernandez as more analogous to Kaz than to Scott Steiner, but why? Hernandez has all the tools to be a great big-man main event player. Even if they don't trust his promo skills, that's never stopped companies from putting the belt around big men before. The agile monster is a really great gig for those few who can pull it off, and I'd watch Hernandez over Brock Lesnar any day of the week. Moreover, I don't recall the big-but-agile Latino face thing having ever been done before, so it would at least be a moderately original archetype. Having Brother Ray lead a faction of new talent betrays the concept—having Hernandez come out of nowhere to be a legitimate title threat would validate it.

Star of the Night: Brother Ray. Rachael won't be happy to read this, but we all know it's true.

Overall: Ignoring my qualms about Ray leading The Front Line, this was an enjoyable show. This is the second week in a row we've ended a high-energy main event, and all of the matches were fairly watchable. The Feast or Fired reveal was a bit overdone, but the Curry Man parts were so sad (which I think is a plus?). B+

Daniel is a graduate student at The Ohio State University. He might be becoming your regular TNA coverage person in the near future. Congratulations can be sent to dawilk316@gmail.com

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