By: Daniel Wilkenfeld, PWTorch Contributor

Where We've Been: We haven't been anyplace good, that's for sure. For the first time since I got this gig a year and a half ago, WWE has been putting on better shows than TNA for a months-long stretch. The stretch, incidentally, started almost exactly when AJ Styles got moved out of the main event picture to make room for…um, well, that's sort of the problem. Brother Ray and Rhino have not exactly carried their respective title matches to glory. Now we've had the much-teased Sting-Angle breakdown, which doesn't really make all that much sense. What new information does Sting have now that he didn't have several months ago? It rang true that semi-face Sting bought into Kurt's BS. The only way out would have been to reveal that Sting had been in on Kurt's machinations all along, which would have had the added advantage of holding the Main Event Mafia together long enough for them to actually lose a frick'n match to someone under the age of 40. (Since Bound for Glory 2008, the MEM has gone a ridiculous 12/14 in PPV matches, with their only losses coming from Mick Foley and Jeff Jarrett). Anyway, while it's technically not too late to go there, it doesn't look like we will. Maybe by now they're just treading water till after Mania? Anyhow, last week Kurt Angle demanded Sting take a fall; Sting might have been willing to do it, but managed to guilt Kurt out of it first.

The Show: Main Event Mess

Jim Cornette is trying to talk Jeff Jarrett into not letting Kurt Angle have his requested empty arena match against Sting, since he (Cornette) thinks TNA will be liable. Jeff doesn't see much of a choice, since he certainly doesn't want to go against Kurt a third time. Cornette suddenly realizes that it might be imprudent to discuss legal liability on camera, so he kicks Borash (and the camera?) out of the office.

[Opening Credits]

Kurt Angle comes down to the ring to start off the show. He's glad to see that everyone, from management to the fans, got what they wanted—the demise of the Main Event Mafia. When he formed it, he always said that the only thing that could bring them down was selfishness from the inside. So tonight Angle is taking a stand for the Mafia, and it'll be either him or Sting. He wants the crowd cleared so there won't be any distractions, and suggests that Jeff will not get another opportunity like this.

Lauren is in the back with The Motor City Machine Guns. She observes that the MEM isn't the only stable that's breaking down, as The Guns have a street fight booked against Lethal and Creed. Sabin tries to cut a promo, but somehow manages to say that they both always look out for themselves and put everyone else first. I think I see why they generally let Shelley do the talking. Lethal Consequences jump the Guns.

[Commercial Break]

(1) THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS vs. LETHAL CONSEQUENCES

Lethal Consequences have beaten The Guns all the way to the ring before the Guns turn things around. They toss Lethal out of the way to quickly double team Creed against the barricade. They get into the ring with Lethal, nailing a Leaping Elbow and a Poetry in Motion Forearm. Shelley Baseball Slides Creed on his way back to the ring, then holds a chair in front of Lethal's face which Sabin dropkicks into him. Shelley knocks back Creed again, but when Sabin goes to follow up with a Suicide Dive he goes headfirst into another chair. Lethal Consequences double team Shelley in the ring. Lethal tosses him a chair, which Creed then Sprinboard Leg Drops him into. Wow. Creed flips over the top rope to take out Sabin. Wow again. Lethal tries to shove Shelley into a chair into the corner, but Shelley stops himself and yanks Lethal's head into it for two. Lethal rolls out of the ring, and when Shelley tries to follow him he gets a chair to the belly. Meanwhile, Creed tries to go for a Leg Drop off the top rope on Sabin, but he whiffs. Sabin sets up a chair in the ring, drops Creed's head into the edge, then kicks the chair back into his face. He goes to finish the match with the Cradle Shock, but Lethal breaks it up with a Lethal Combo on Sabin into the chair. Shelley breaks up the count at two. Lethal has at some point set up a ladder as a bridge from the ring to the barricade. Lethal goes for his Tajiri-style Handspring Elbow on Shelley, but Sabin has recovered enough to whack him with a chair. Shelley hits a Celtic Cross, but Creed breaks it up at two. Sabin grabs Creed and Shelley goes to nail him with the X Division Championship, but Creed dodges and Shelley whacks Sabin. Lethal comes back in for the attempted double team, but Shelley Back Body Drops him out of the ring and onto the ladder. Shelley grabs Creed, and this time Sabin can connect with the belt for the 1-2-3.

WINNER: The Motor City Machine Guns in 7 minutes (from the official start of the match). That was fun **. If it had been a bit longer it would have been PPV quality.

The MEM tell us to cross the line.

JB is in the Jarrett's locker room, where Cornette announces that, over his objections, Jarrett has ordered the arena cleared for an empty arena match. Foley is mysteriously taking notes on something in the background.

[Commercial Break]

JB is in the MEM's locker room, where Booker and Steiner aren't thrilled with Kurt. Steiner doesn't think it has to be this way. Kurt says Sting's been disrespecting them for weeks. Booker doesn't think Sting's ever disrespected him as much as some people have, to which Kurt suggests that maybe they should make tonight's match a handicap match. Nash breaks things up before they can get overly hostile, and Booker goes for a walk to cool off. JB goes with him, asking if the MEM is over. Maybe Sting is going to swerve us all after all. AJ Styles jumps Booker in the hallway, plastering him with the Legends' Championship.

Beer Money Inc., with Jacqueline, come down to the ring to issue a "special challenge". Roode says that while tonight's show has been exciting, he and Storm have been bored. They are the tag team champions and just like our slumping economy they've knocked down every tag team in their way. I didn't realize the economy was even in the tag division, nor can I find any way to punctuate that sentence to make it coherent. So Beer Money are bored, and have decided to issue an "Off the Wagon Challenge". That means that anyone who wants to can challenge them for the titles whenever they want, but if they (the challengers) lose then whoever loses the fall has to leave TNA forever (Storm even has the presence of mind to say that they can't come back under a mask). This challenge is real, and it starts tonight.

Lauren is in the back with Roxxi, Taylor Wilde, and "The Governor." Roxxi hopes Beer Money's challenge extends to the knockouts, cause they've never ridden anything as wild as Roxxi. "The Governor" says she'd much rather deal with The Beautiful People then her twelve kids back in Alaska. Lauren questions why she's staying in character even after the prank is over. That's a really good question—way to earn that name, Lauren. Anyway, Taylor has a match against Angelina Love. She suggests that since Spike TV rules dictate that Cute Kip can't touch them, that means that it's three against two, which sucks for The Beautiful People. There are two interesting things about that last bit: 1) I think it's the first time they've explicitly acknowledged that the no-women-hitting is a Spike TV rule, and 2) I just realized I got through a Taylor Wilde promo without cringing. She's still no Y2J, but she's at least matured into "competent". Good for her.

[Commercial Break]

Abyss is still in therapy with "Dr. Stevie." Nothing important happens, except to waste whatever good will Stevie Richards would otherwise have had coming in. Given that they have an nWo knockoff, I'm not sure why they're not just going for the obvious plot of having Stevie form some sort of bWo in response to the MEM.

(2) BRUTUS MAGNUS, SHEIK ABDUL BASHIR, & MATT MORGAN vs. SHANE SEWELL & LAX

Hey, they brought back the Random Match Generator 3001; I missed it. Bashir starts things off with Homicide, who takes him over with a Belly-to-Belly Suplex. Magnus tags in, but Homicide catches him and feeds him to Shane Sewell. If I had Hernandez and Sewell on the apron I'd have totally picked the semi-fired referee to get the tag also. Magnus gets away to tag Morgan, who floors Sewell with a Big Boot. Bashir tags in and works Sewell over for a bit before tagging Morgan back in. Magnus comes in for some illegal assistance behind the back of the referee, then Morgan nails a few knee lifts for two. Bashir tags in and hits a Neck Breaker for two. He tosses Sewell out of the ring, sending Morgan and Magnus to prevent LAX from coming over to help. Bashir tries to blast Sewell with a chair against the ring post, but they forgot to distract the ref. Hebner pulls Sewell out of the way. He goes into the ring—Magnus tries to hold him, but he ducks and Bashir accidentally nails Brutus. Sewell makes the tag to Hernandez, who squishes everyone else like small, insignificant bugs. He clears the ring. Homicide, apparently bored, nails a Somersault Tope to Morgan on the outside. Hernandez Border Tosses Bashir, then tags in Sewell to hit the Top Rope Elbow for the win.

WINNER: Shane Sewell & LAX in four minutes. If this was just supposed to be a good opportunity for Hernandez to beat up a bunch of people, I'm not quite sure why they fed him top prospect Matt Morgan and possibly-promising rookie Brutus Magnus. If that wasn't the point, then I'm not sure what was.

[Commercial Break]

It's time for another installment of Hardcore History 101. Foley's been wracking his brains to remember the most important moments in his career, and somehow he keeps coming back to his popping out of an old refrigerator box to hit an Apron Elbow Drop on Sting.

Jim Cornette says that Beer Money's challenge has been accepted by two people who haven't teamed for a few years. Triple X?

Lauren is in the weight room with Steiner. He's not trying to talk Kurt down, cause he doesn't like people talking him down when he's angry. The Front Line thinks this will hurt MEM, but that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. He offers her the opportunity to work out with him if she takes her clothes off. He starts bench pressing as she asks him about Joe. Steiner's not worried by a new hair cut and some face paint. He's beaten Joe before, and he will again. Is that true? If anyone knows what he's talking about, drop a line below. Suddenly an arm shoots onto the screen and pushes Steiner's dumb bell against his chest. We hear Joe's voice say that he could take out Steiner's sternum now, but he'd rather wait and introduce Scott to the nation of violence properly. So Steiner better get ready, cause Joe is gonna kill him. It was awfully thoughtful of the camera man not to pan out to include Joe in the shot, thus preserving his official return moment for later.

[Commercial Break]

Lauren is in the back with Sojourner Bolt, who says that Kong understands that whoever wins the title keeps it. Saeed comes in and says that they told her to keep her comments within the Kongtourage, and she wants to know what Bolt didn't understand. Bolt says she understood perfectly, but that no one but her mama gets to tell her what to do. After Sojourner walks away, Saeed tells Lauren that there's going to be trouble.

The MEM tell us to cross the line again. Wouldn't that just get you back to the side of the line on which you started?

(3) ANGELINA LOVE (w/VELVET SKY & CUTE KIP) vs. TAYLOR WILDE (w/ROXXI & "THE GOVERNOR").

Love is wearing a black and white striped bra, apparently thinking that that will empower her to make her own three-count. Wilde takes things to Love quickly with a Hip Toss, a Twisting Leg Scissors, and a Spinning Wheel Kick. Cute Kip trips her up from the outside, so Rudy Charles bans him from ringside. Love has still gained enough of an advantage to be able to pound on Wilde a bit. I just noticed that this is the second week in a row that the women get the 10 o'clock match. Love nails a Flying Clothesline for two. Wilde fights her off for a second, but Wilde catches her with a knee lift and a Big Boot for two more. She chops Wilde, but Wilde chops back, then explodes with a clothesline, a running dropkick, and a Back Breaker. Velvet Sky has the ref distracted, so he can't see the cover. Roxxi goes over to help deal with the ref, which distracts him long enough to miss a cover after by Love after she nails the Lights Out. The Governor trips Love behind the ref's back. When he comes back into the ring Love tries to plead her case and have The Governor banned too, but the distraction allows Wilde to win with a School Girl.

WINNER: Taylor Wilde in four minutes. There's nothing really to see here.

Apparently there's a video competition to win a date with ODB. Huh.

[Commercial Break]

JB is somewhere in the back with Sting, who says that Kurt should have known going into Against All Odds that, as TNA champion, he wasn't going to just let the title out of his hands. He's said it before and he'll say it again—if anyone but him or a select few get their hands on that title, it'll be tarnished. I wonder if Hernandez is on that list.

On today's Rough Cut people talk about the advantage X Division wrestlers have over heavyweights in an Ultimate X Match. Interestingly, when Hernandez is out of character he sounds like a fairly normal person.

(4) BEER MONEY INC. vs. PETEY WILLIAMS & ERIC YOUNG

Here's where it would be nice to not have the stupid new DQ rule. Whether or not they use it, the fact that they have that open as a potential screw job ending takes away from the match. Williams and Storm start things off jockeying for position. Storm gets a quick advantage with a shoulder block, but Petey gets away and nails a Spinning Wheel Kick. Storm comes back with an Inverted Atomic Drop, but Petey dropicks his knee out from under him and makes the tag. They double team Storm a bit, back Roode off the apron, then lather, rinse, and repeat a few times. Storm's able to get off an eye poke and tag in Roode, who doesn't do much better. EY nails mounted punches in the corner. Roode shoots him off into the opposite corner, but he flips over onto the apron and knocks back Storm. Before he can come back in Jacqueline grabs his leg, and the distraction is enough for Roode to take control.

[Commercial Break]

Jacqueline is interfering to help Storm retain the advantage against Eric Young. EY tries to fight out of the enemy corner with punches to Storm and back elbows to Roode, but Storm stops him with a kick. Roode tags in to stomp Young a bit. EY fights back from his knees; Roode shoots him into the ropes, but he comes back with a (sort of) high knee. Storm comes in to interfere, but EY fights him off. That buys Roode time to take Petey down off the apron and prevent the tag. He then distracts the ref while Jacqueline again interferes to help Storm keep control. Storm tags in and works EY over for a bit, but when he goes for the Eye of the Storm Young slips out and nails a spinning kick. Roode comes in to try to prevent the tag, but EY kicks him off and makes it. Petey tosses Roode into the corner, then dodges a charging Storm and makes Beer Money collide. Petey hits a Face Plant on Roode onto Storm. He hits a Tilt-a-Whirl Russian Leg Sweep. Roode blocks the attempted Candian Destroyed, but when he goes for The Payoff EY catches Williams and spins him around into a Tornado DDT. Petey nails a Springboard Hurricanrana on Storm on the outside as EY nails a Top Rope Leg Drop on Roode in the ring. Petey rolls in and makes the cover for two. Storm tries to scale to the top rope. EY and Petey cut him off and set up for a Superplex, but Roode comes underneath them and hits a Tower of Doom. EY Back Body Drops Roode out of the ring, and for some reason the ref follows them. Jacqueline tries to take advantage with a Top Rope Splash on Petey, but he's just playing possum. He sets up the Canadian Destroyer on her, but Roode grabs a leg from the outside. Storm nails a quick Last Call Superkick for the win.

WINNER: Beer Money Inc in 12 minutes, and Petey Williams is banished from TNA. That was a workmanlike tag team match; it's nice to see a tag match have an ending that doesn't involve Beer Money using a foreign object. *3/4

Petey stays in the ring, not happy. EY gets the crowd to rally for him. I wonder how TNA booking will get itself out of this corner.

Lauren is in the locker room with Team 3D and Rhino. Rhino says that the reason Kurt and Sting agreed to an empty arena match is because their money has skewed their sense of perspective. Wrestlers go out and work in the ring, but there are people around to make sure things are as safe as possible. He doesn't like Kurt Angle or Sting, but tonight he's just praying for them to survive. I feel like they're overselling the danger some. Brother Ray doesn't know why Rhino even cares, since those guys are poison for TNA. He tries to convince Rhino to just forget about everything and come join them at a strip club. Devon ushers Rhino and a hesitant Lauren out of the locker room.

[Commercial Break]

During the break, the wrestlers went home and the fans were escorted to a special viewing area outside the Impact Zone. Lauren, out with the fans, says that they're all rooting for Sting.

We get a PPV-style video package for the main event. This sort of strong sale I can get behind every once in a while.

JB gets some predictions from fans outside, who all think Sting will win. I never got that build-up—why do I care what some random people think. The only people left in the building are supposedly the camera crew, Tenay, West, Angle, and Sting. I don't get how we can pick the "winner" in a match with no ref. Also, why did Tenay and West have to stay? Can TNA not afford advanced "monitor" technology?

Kurt Angle comes out.

[Commercial Break]

(5) KURT ANGLE vs. STING

Sting and Angle exchange big right hands in the middle of the ring. Sting gains the advantage and clotheslines Kurt out of the ring. He flings him over the barricade and onto some chairs, then hurls him into a wall. Kurt creates some distance and nails a series of quick and brutal blows. The trade some stiff-looking punches, till Kurt slams Sting's abdomen into the barricade. He tries to whip Sting into a wall, but Sting reverses and he goes into it himself. Sting drives Kurt into the wall one more time. Kurt nails an extended eye rake, then drags Sting up to the upper deck. Sting retakes control long enough to flip Kurt over a railing and down to the floor. If they had something soft for him to land on, it was well hidden. If they didn't, Kurt's insane. When Sting goes down after him Kurt is wielding some sort of metal crate (a trash can?), which he rams into Sting. He hits some uppercuts, but Sting shoots Kurt back over the barricade towards the ring. Sting tosses him into the barricade again, but when he charges Kurt dodges and he hits the metal. Kurt nails a low blow, and while Sting recovers he grabs a chair. Kurt takes some time to trash talk though, and Sting kicks him and takes the chair away. He nails Angle with one shot, but then Angle starts apologizing and begging for mercy. Sting says that he's full of it. Sting looks ambivalent, but Kurt snaps. He starts begging Sting to hit him. Nash and Steiner are there, and Nash pulls the chair away. He says that this is crazy, and that they should both just extend their hands and end this. Sting says that he will, and he reaches out. Kurt just shouts about how much he hates Sting, but Sting reminds him of his promise that after Against All Odds everything would go back to normal. Kurt takes Sting's hand, but then spits in his face. Nash and Steiner pull them apart, as for some reason we cut to a commercial at 10:54.

[Commercial Break]

We come back at 10:56, but somehow still have time to recap what happens moments ago.

Lauren is in the back with Sting, who's plenty ticked. Kurt wants to spit in his face. In all his years in the business he's never been disrespected like that—Kurt extends his hand and then spits in his face? He doesn't care where or when, he'll be there, and he'll be all in. Kurt hates him? Well he hates Kurt too.

Kurt is in the MEM locker room. He's screaming about how he wants Sting, and wants his title. Nash seems to think that this is Kurt's fault, but Kurt can't believe that Nash seriously expected him to shake Sting's hand like a little bi!@#. He begs Jarrett to give him Sting at Destination X.

Star of the Night: Consequences Creed? This is more of a win by default. The highlight of the night was the opening tag match, and he had the coolest spots in that match. This is not an honor of which he should be especially proud.

Overall: I like that they tried to do something different. Ending on backstage reactions was a change of pace, and the empty arena match, like the classic Foley-Rock halftime bout, had a different, movie-like vibe. Unfortunately, as Mick himself observed in Foley is Good, that vibe and wrestling just don't jive very well. The show mostly petered out. The other matches were a collection of nothings and two decent tag matches, and the promos (outside of decent performances by Booker T and Steiner) were nothing special (at best). To top things off, they wrote off Petey Williams, and I can't think of any way that'll lead to anything good for the product. D+

Daniel is a graduate student at The Ohio State University. He blew off his recapping duties last week to go see Kevin Smith live. People with witty questions he should have asked can email them to dawilk316@gmail.com

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