By: Daniel Wilkenfeld, PWTorch Contributor

Where We've Been: Last week, Kurt Angle took out Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, and Eric Young on his way to being stopped by Jeff Jarrett. What's sad is that I'm not even surprised anymore. After three weak months, I've just sort of stopped caring. Their ratings are up, so I'm clearly out of sync with their current demographic, but if I weren't I'd think TNA should be concerned. When I'm annoyed at a show I keep watching, presumably on the grounds that if I care enough to be annoyed I must have some hope it'll turn around. When I don't care enough to work during finals period this week and next, it does not bode well. Anyway, Destination X is up against The Apprentice and The Unit, and it's sad that with an Ultimate X Match and Angle-Sting I'm even considering going for the other shows.
The Show: Final Destination for Main Event Mafia?
Angle is striding purposefully backstage.
[Opening Credits]
Are they still opening credits when no credits are aired? Mike Tenay is alone at the announce table. We can all be grateful that at least something good has come out of the MEM story. Tonight we'll see Matt Morgan & Beer Money taking on Team 3D & Abyss in an elimination match.

Kurt Angle comes down to the ring. He says that his suspension is over. Jarrett will be getting his money's worth for his "cross the line" promotion, cause last week he crossed the line when he gave Kurt's money to his "butt-buddies" in the Front Line. I wonder if that was a South Park reference. He calls Jeff down to the ring to get his ass kicked, taunting him with various profanities in the process. Jarrett starts down the ramp—he brings a guitar, but for some reason leaves it on the announce table. Jeff is cut off by Foley and BG James, who talk him into the back. Mick then joins Angle in the ring, asking what's gone wrong with Kurt since his days as an Olympic hero. Kurt tries to tell him that this has nothing to do with him, but Mick disagrees. Even before Kurt put him in an Angle Lock two weeks ago, he had something to do with this. Six months ago he invested his own money in the company, because he believed in guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, and also because he believed in Kurt Angle. He came to realize, though, that Kurt only cared about keeping his own spot. Mick thought he could reason with Booker and Steiner, but learned that they were just as bad as Kurt. Now he can only rely on Sting, who's finally realized that he has nothing in common with the rest of them. So when Sting leaves Destination X with the title, the balance in power will finally have shifted away from Kurt. Mick says that since Jeff left, maybe Kurt might like a shot at him instead. Mick begs him to take a swing and give him an excuse to go Cactus Jack all over Kurt. Kurt begs off.

JB is in the back with Jim Cornette. Sting comes in, and Cornette has a favor to ask. He's getting heat from TNA Management—while Sting and Angle have been killing each other every week, no one else has been getting any screen time. So tonight Cornette wants Sting to find some young wrestler he wants to back, and Kurt to do the same thing. They'll each stand in their respective champions' corners, but let someone else have the spotlight. The chance to be right around the ring from Angle is too good for Sting to pass up. After Sting leaves, JB asks why, if Cornette doesn't want Kurt and Sting fighting, he's putting them so close together. Cornette says he's learned that if your show is going to have chaos, you might as well make it chaos you create and you control.

[Commercial Break]

Lauren is in the back with Survivor: Amazon winner Jenna Morasca and Mick Foley. For those who don't watch the show, Jenna played a bimbo till the finale, when it turned out she had played everybody for a sucker. So she can clearly act a little, and this might be a much better celebrity tie in than you'd expect. Jenna met Mick at a business conference a few months ago, and was invited to appear on the show. Lauren asks who her favorite wrestler is, and she goes for Big Sexy Kevin Nash. Lauren then questions what she did with the $1,000,000 she won, and is told it was invested and became millions more. Mick says they have business to discuss. After they leave, Matt Morgan saunters on camera and asks Lauren if Abyss has accepted his challenge. She says that she can say that he hasn't, since he's come a long way with Dr. Stevie and has no reason to go back to mutilating himself. Morgan says that after their match tonight he's not going to leave Abyss any choice, and that he always gets what he wants. He pulls Lauren close to him, but she gets away.

(1) RHINO vs. SHEIK ABDUL BASHIR
Bashir tries to start things off with a quick kick to the gut, but Rhino no sells it and beats him from corner to corner. Don West comes out to the announce table. Bashir reverses an Irish Whip attempt and floors Rhino with a diving clothesline. He lays in with some stomps and chokes. He brings Rhino to his feet, then floors him again with a few right hands for two. Rhino comes back to his feet fighting, but when he tries to charge Bashir gets his legs up and kicks him down. A Neck Breaker from Bashir gets two. Bashir works a chin lock on the mat, allowing Rhino to power out with a Back Drop. Bashir gets to his feet first, but Rhino still drives him into the corner. Rhino nails a few rights and floors Bashir a couple of times with some clotheslines. He hits a shoulder block in the corner, then a Belly to Belly Suplex. Bashir gets up and tries to create some distance, but Rhino nails him with a quick School Boy for the win.
WINNER: Rhino in three minutes. They still haven't told us where Rhino's been for the last few weeks.
After the match, Bashir hits Rhino with a low blow then gets a steel chair out from under the ring. He nails Rhino with a (protected) shot to the head, then lays his Kafia over Rhino. Poor Rhino.

The X Division wrestlers tell us to cross the line.

JB is in the back with The Beautiful People, Madison Rayne and Kip James. Velvet Sky says that no one gets one over on The Beautiful People, so they've formed the new sorority of "My Pi Sexy" to even the sides (JB has the good sense to question that name). She challenges Wilde, Roxxi, and The Governor to a match at Destination X. Love says that they'll be initiating Rayne into their sorority tonight, and if anyone else gets involved they'll be bringing hazing to a whole new level.

[Commercial Break]

JB is in the MEM locker room, where Steiner is refusing to champion Kurt's cause. He says that he and Booker already have a match, and besides, they want him and Sting to work things out on their own. Nash has an IV in his arm, and can't help either. Kurt says that there are plenty of people in the back who'd love to represent him, and then sends his security guards to go find those people.

We recap AJ-Booker.

Lauren is in the back with Jim Cornette and Booker T. Cornette has gotten Booker's Legends' Belt back, but won't give it to Booker until he signs something saying that he'll leave the authorities out of things. There's no way that's a binding contract, is there? Booker says that's cool, cause he'd love to face off against AJ. He just hopes he'll bump into AJ in the street. Cornette tells him that that won't be necessary, since he has a contract for a match at Destination X right here. Booker says that he never signs anything without his woman and his lawyers. Cornette says he understands—he's getting on in years too. He knows that AJ's younger, faster, and likely to win, so it's cool. Booker gets annoyed and demands to sign the contract.

We run down the card for Destination X. The Ultimate X match will be for the X Division Championship and involve The Motor City Machine Guns, Lethal Consequences, and Suicide.

Eric Young is in the back with Sting. He says that he'll never get ahead without a chance. Sting says that while EY is among the handful in this company who understands respect, but he's concerned about sending him out with the frame of mind Kurt's in. Young says that he won't be sending him out, since he wants to go. He's always had it in for the Mafia, but still respected Sting. People say his problem is that he doesn't take himself seriously enough, and that might be true, but that Sting shouldn't make that same mistake. He just wants the same shot Flair gave to Sting when he was just a bleach-blond punk too, and that Sting should respect him a little. Sting doesn't see how he can say no to that.

[Commercial Break]

We recap Samoa Joe's return. He talks about how when he got here he cut a swath of destruction, but then things started to go wrong. It could have been the veterans, or the politics, but it was really something in him. He had become afraid of what he might do to people, but he's sick of wondering what could be. So in three days violent Joe will be back, and nothing will ever be the same.

Later tonight we'll be seeing Madison Rayne vs. Taylor Wilde.

Lauren is in the locker room with Lethal Consequences. She explains that Cornette has booked an eight-man tag for tonight, with Lethal Consequences and two partners of their choice vs. Booker, Steiner, and two partners of their choice. After taking some shots at Booker and Steiner and pronouncing the end of their stint as the MEM's doormats, they introduce their partners, LAX. Hernandez says that tonight LAX takes the first step to retaking their barrio.

[Commercial Break]

Kurt Angle is trying to explain to Kiyoshi what he wants him to do tonight. Kiyoshi and No Limit just bow, which Angle doesn't know how to take. He says he doesn't have time for this, so he (literally) kicks Kiyoshi in the stomach and (figuratively) kicks them out of his locker room.

(2) MATT MORGAN & BEER MONEY INC. (w/JACQUELINE) vs. TEAM 3D & ABYSS

Morgan comes down to the ring with a bag of thumbtacks. Roode starts things off by hammering on Devon, who eventually blocks a punch and comes back with some strikes of his own. He nails a Body Slam and drops an elbow for two. He tags in Brother Ray, who hoists Roode up for a Hanging Leg Drop for two. Ray hits a few right hands to the gut before tagging Devon back in. Roode creates some distance and makes a tag to Storm, but Devon just floors them both with a Double Clothesline and then takes down Storm with a Choke Slam. Who knew he could do that? Roode breaks up the ensuing cover after two. Ray takes him out of the ring, but while the ref is distracted with them Jacqueline nails Devon with a low blow. Storm hits a Last Call Superkick for the cover and the elimination.

[Commercial Break]

Brother Ray is being isolated in the ring by Beer Money. Roode goes for a Knee Drop off the top rope, but Ray rolls out of the way, then nails Roode with a Back Body Drop when they get up. Storm runs in and spits beer in Ray's eyes, but the ref sees it and calls for the DQ. Storm is eliminated. Meanwhile, Ray ducks below a punch and nails a Bubba Bomb for three on Roode. Ray's still a bit blinded though, so Morgan can come in and nail a quick Choke Slam for the elimination. Abyss comes into the ring, and he and Morgan start trading punches. Abyss gets the better of it for a moment, but misses a charge. Morgan takes him to the mat and chokes him a bit. He stands Abyss up in the corner and nails his standing reverse elbows. He whiffs on an attempted Big Boot and eats a charge and a Side Slam for two. Morgan reverses an Irish Whip into a Choke Slam, but then goes for the tacks instead of the pin. By the time he gets back Abyss is up, and unloads with a Choke Slam of his own. The crowd chants for him to use the tags. Abyss grabs the bag, but before he can let them out Lauren comes down to plead for him to think better of it. Morgan takes advantage of the distraction to nail a killer Carbon Footprint for the win.

WINNER: Matt Morgan (sole survivor) and Beer Money Inc in twelve minutes. *1/4 It had its moments, but the quick pins were a bit silly.

After the match, Lauren goes to comfort Abyss in the ring as Morgan lays out the tacks. The Blueprint then backs Lauren into the corner and grabs her by the throat. He signals that he's going to Choke Slam her into the tacks, which is enough to get a rise out of Abyss. Morgan runs away, but on his way out he taunts Abyss into accepting the match at Destination X.

[Commercial Break]

Don West is railing against how stupid Lauren was to get into the ring, and how she should have known her place. Tenay isn't happy, and suggests West "pull a Don West" and take off. West says that's cool with him, and that if anyone needs him he'll be at the hotel bar.

Abyss is ticked off backstage. He's going to drive Morgan into 10,000 tacks, and by the time he's done Morgan will have more holes in him than A-Rod's story. Heh. On Sunday night he'll avenge himself and his girlfriend by making Morgan his bitch.

Mick Foley joins Tenay on commentary—score one for the product.

(3) MADISON RAYNE (w/THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE & CUTE KIP) vs. TAYLOR WILDE (w/ROXXI & THE GOVERNOR)
Rayne's music is a bit generic, but it's decent. Wilde starts things off with a series of quick arm drags and a Wheelbarrow Kick for two. Traci Brooks is our referee. Wilde hits a Body Slam, but whiffs on an attempted Elbow Drop. Rayne comes back with a kick to the temple for two. She goes for three covers in a row, all with similar results. Rayne disagrees with the counts, but when she goes to argue the point Wilde rolls her up with a School Girl for two. Rayne gets up fighting, and chokes Wilde against the mat. Taylor shoots her off and into a Tilt-a-Whirl Back Breaker. Wilde bounces off the ropes and goes for a Sunset Flip. Rayne tries to grab Brooks for leverage, but when Traci keeps knocking her off Rayne shoves her in frustration. Traci shoves back, and Rayne rolls into the cover for game.

WINNER: Taylor Wilde in three minutes. I cannot overemphasize how awesome Foley is on commentary.

After the match The Beautiful People attack Wilde. Cute Kip goes to ward Roxxi and The Governor away from the ring, but they each grab a leg and use the ring post for a Wishbone Split. Roxxi and The Governor have an advantage for a second, but Cute Kip rolls back in and sprays something into The Governor's eyes. The Beautiful People retake control and nail stereo finishers.

JB is in the back for Trash Talkin' with ODB. He asks what it takes to get to first base was her, and she says "hello" usually works. JB tries to say hello, but she just laughs. He asks what it takes to get to second base, and she says that it'll take a drink. He borrows her flask and offers her a swig, so she shoves him into her cleavage. He asks about a triple, and is told that for third base the guy needs to wine and dine her at "Mickey-D's—Mickey Dees Nuts!" She has a drummer on her show just to nail rimshots for her punch lines, which is awesome. What JB really wants to know what it takes for her to go all the way, and she says it's usually a big box of stogies. He tries offering her a cigarette, which is apparently good enough since she's really horny. She jumps on him. They could actually make a moderately amusing on-screen couple someday.

The MEM come down to ringside.

[Commercial Break]

Booker T is at the announce table, wanting to know why they're always talking trash about Don West and the MEM. Mick gets in his face, and the crowd erupts. Security pulls Booker away before things can escalate. Mick gets up to follow him, when Steiner nails him from behind with a lead pipe. He hits a few more shots. The MEM storm off, and medics come out to deal with a busted open Foley.

[Commercial Break]

During the break the medics and BG James tried to talk Mick into an ambulance, but he wasn't having it. He said he had somewhere else he needed to be, as BG James called Jeff Jarrett to report.

On this week's Rough Cut we look at Sunday's Ultimate X Match. Lethal doesn't understand why there are only five guys, since he doesn't see how he can possibly lose against those odds. Shelley talks about how he'll be looking for any way to cheat or take a shortcut. They mention the tag team dynamic, and how both teams are only really worried about Suicide and what he's going to do.

(4) LETHAL CONSEQUENCES & LAX vs. THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS, SCOTT STEINER, & BOOKER T (w/SHARMELL)

Homicide starts things off taking it to Shelley in the corner, then makes the quick tag to Hernandez. Homicide slingshots Shelley into the waiting arms of Hernandez, who nails a Belly to Belly Release Overhead Suplex, which I think is a new move for him. Hernandez brings in Lethal Consequences, who work a quick double team till a kick from the outside by Sabin allows Shelley to take control of Creed. Sabin nails a Missile Dropkick, then Shelley tags in Booker T, who hits a few strikes before tagging in Steiner. Steiner puts Creed's legs on top of the ring posts and nails a Lifting Flatliner. He follows up with some chops to the chest, a rake of the eyes, and a Do-Se-Do Suplex that Lethal has to break up at two. Sabin tags in, but Creed leapfrogs over a charging Shelley and makes the tag. Things break down, resulting in Sabin and Hernandez being alone in the ring and seemingly legal. Hernandez goes for the Border Toss, Sabin slips out, but then when Sabin tries to come back with a Tornado DDT (probably) Hernandez just reverses that into The Border Toss instead. That's all she wrote.

WINNER: LAX & Lethal Consequences in five minutes. They're just feeding everyone to Hernandez these days—that's cool by me.

The wrestlers of the X Division again suggest we cross the line.

JB is in the back with Mick Foley and BG James. He says that he's seen Mick like this; this isn't why Mick came to TNA, and nothing good can come of it. Mick's glad to hear it, because he doesn't want anything good to happen—in fact he's looking forward to some very bad things happening. He called the MEM a bunch of thugs, and he guesses they proved him wrong. This might not be why he came to TNA, but it's exactly why he got into this business—because he likes the taste of his own blood. He didn't get into that ambulance because it would have been physically impossible for him to be in a hospital and at ringside at the same time. Things are about to get very, very ugly. BG laments that it wasn't supposed to be like this.

[Commercial Break]

Kurt's trying to get Brutus Magnus to represent him. Magnus thinks Kurt must have been smoking something if he expects Magnus to throw in with him after he picked a fight with the company's founder. Kurt doesn't know what he's going to do with his match up next, when he notices that his security guard Rocco is a fairly big guy.

[Commercial Break]

(5) ROCCO (w/SECURITY GUARD SAL & KURT ANGLE) vs. ERIC YOUNG (w/STING)
Rocco goes for a big swing, but EY ducks beneath it and lands a shot of his own. It happens again, and Young follows up with a series of rights. Young tries to bounce off the ropes, but the 400+ lb. Rocco just runs him over. He kicks EY a few times on the mat, whacks him in the corner, then tosses him across the ring. Rocco stands him up in the corner and charges him down. When he goes for a second charge EY catches him with a boot. Young nails a dropkick, but it barely stuns Rocco. He goes for a Cross Body Block off the middle rope, but gets caught and put down with a big slam. Angle gives Rocco the thumbs down, so he goes to the top rope for a big Splash. EY rolls out of the way, then catches Rocco with a quick (and messy) Death Valley Driver for the win.

WINNER: Eric Young in three minutes. Well, that certainly accomplished Cornette's stated goal of putting new talent in tonight's spotlight.

After the match Angle attacks Young, but gets cut off by Sting. Sal and Rocco attack Sting from behind, and Sting can't keep up with the numbers. Mick Foley runs down to make the save. He's briefly (and bafflingly) successful, till Steiner comes down and attacks him from behind. Jarrett runs down with a chair, with which he blasts Rocco and Sal (in the head, and seemingly unprotected, for those who track such things). Kurt runs away, but when Jarrett tries to swing at Steiner, Sting stops him. Jarrett grabs a mic, and says that he's sick of this three-ring circus, so to make sure things are clean on Sunday he's appointing himself the special referee and Mick Foley the special enforcer. Kurt isn't happy.

Where We're Going: I thought I had a good read on where this was heading, but the sudden insertion of Jarrett and Foley into the main event gives me pause. It certainly suggests a heel turn for one of them, but neither choice makes much sense. It can't be Mick—they couldn't get him booed with anything short of…well, anything. Jarrett is always more fun heel than face, but why would he turn now? And why would he bring Mick out to ringside? If he wanted to ambush him, he could always do it later. No, I'm guessing we have a replay of last month where they do the no-swerve swerve, which in this case would probably make the most sense anyway.

Star of the Night:: Mick Foley--his promo work was spot-on all night, and his brief stint on commentary elevated the show significantly.

Overall: This show was something of a bait-and-switch. After the explicit promise of new star elevation in the opening segment, we got three minutes of Eric Young vs. Rocco. The show was decent, but there was nothing great, and I don't much care for the trick. C-

Daniel is a graduate student at The Ohio State University. He is anxious but excited to teach his first college class in a few weeks. Well-wishes and other comments can be sent to dawilk316@gmail.com

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