SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 20 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
TNA Impact on Spike TV
February 25, 2006
Taped February 21, 2006 in Orlando, Florida
Report by James Caldwell, Torch columnist
– We opened with a clip from last week when Jackie Gayda discovered Jarrett’s crew watching the sex tape. We also saw clips hyping the Ultimate X match, Christian, and Monty Brown. Brown and Christian have apparently been sitting in Christian’s locker room for one whole week.
1 — MONTY BROWN vs. DYLAN KNIGHT
Knight is from Beverley Hills…Michigan. Brown jumped him before the opening bell and hit a fallaway slam. The fans weren’t too responsive. Pounce at 0:48. Pin at 0:58.
WINNER: Monty Brown at 0:58. Just the usual formula squash match that Brown does not need to be wrestling. He needs to be working independent dates, face real competition, carry a wrestler for five or ten minutes, and be prepared for an NWA Title match that will hopefully be better than the disappointing first match they had in Christian’s first TNA match.
– Afterwards, Brown took the mic and said he didn’t come here to destroy Dylan Knight. He said he checked the wrong locker room looking for Christian because he was in the men’s locker room. Brown said he is the male to build the company around. He told Christian to bring the title to him. Christian’s music hit. TNA is so five years ago as evidenced by the whassup last week with the Dudleys and Christian’s t-shirt this week, “Got charisma?” Christian walked into the ring and confronted Brown. Christian went back to middle school when the hot joke was, “What’s the capital of Thailand?” Brown played dumb. “Bangkok,” Christian said. The crowd didn’t respond. Christian slapped Brown in the crotch then pounded away on Brown’s forehead. Referees and officials broke up the fight. Larry Zbyszko walked out.
[Commercial Break]
– Jeremy Borash was backstage with AMW and Gail Kim. Harris said Destination X has become an eight-man tag war. AMW, Abyss, and Jarrett are on one team. Harris said Rhino and Ron Killings will get a sneak peek tonight. James Storm shared a beer with himself. Jarrett and Shelley walked in. Shelley said he had footage on Sting. Jarrett said they’re having another viewing party. Shelley complemented his work.
– Tenay and West discussed Shelley’s camera footage. West couldn’t contain his enthusiasm.
2 — A.J. STYLES vs. RODERICK STRONG
TNA took a pre-emptive measure against Strong and Aries by not having them appear together last week and this week. Christopher Daniels sat in on commentary. Strong delivered stiff forearm blows to the back early on. Styles came back with a dropsault. Daniels discussed the history of the Ultimate X match. Strong caught Styles across his knee with a back breaker when Styles went for a sunset flip from the apron to the ring. The dueling chants picked up at 1:45. Strong drove successive knees to the back. Daniels said, “I can’t wait to see Sloppy Joe make his way through an Ultimate X match.” For whatever reason, that sounds like a marketing opportunity. Styles delivered a springboard forearm at 3:00. Strong went for a huricanrana off the ropes, but Styles blocked it and hit a powerbomb. Styles instantly hit the Clash for the win.
WINNER: A.J. Styles at 3:24. Good wrestling match given the limited time. However, at the same time, it was just there without any pre or post-match reinforcement. Sure, Daniels did commentary to discuss the Ultimate X match, but this match itself lacked a purpose.
– Urgency in the back! Gail Kim handed Jackie Gayda a leopard-print bag. Gail told her to put on the outfit inside. Jackie asked why. Gail said it was under Jarrett’s orders. “Don’t ask questions,” Gail said. “Just do what you’re told.” Hey, isn’t that another promotion’s motto?
[Commercial Break]
– Don West wanted to know what outfit Jackie will have to wear tonight.
3 — TEAM CANADA (BOBBY ROODE & A-1 RALPHZ w/Scott D’Amore) vs. JAMES GANG (B.G. & KIP JAMES)
B.G. did his routine five-years-ago pre-match mic work. Canada jumped B.G. before he could finish his speech. Roode took out Kip’s knee with a shoulder tackle. Roode went right at the knee with a leg wrench. A-1 and Roode exchanged tags working on the knee. B.G. took a tag at 1:30 and landed left hands on Roode and A-1. LAX hit the ring and distracted James Gang. Konnan hit B.G. in the back with a foreign object. Roode hit the Northern Lariat to score the win. Dave Penzer’s call? “Your opponents, Team Canada.” Innocent mistake calling Canada opponents and not winners.
Afterwards, LAX attacked James Gang. Bullet Bob walked to the ring off camera. He emerged from off-camera and stepped into the ring. He knocked down Homicide and Machete with solid right hands. Konnan slipped out of the ring. B.G. and Kip picked up on their cue and tried to restrain Bullet Bob.
WINNERS: Team Canada at 2:06. Considering Ric Flair is only a few years younger than Bullet Bob, it doesn’t seem that far-fetched for Bob to be pounding away on the heels in a believable manner. If Flair wasn’t wrestling TLC matches in his late-50’s, Bob’s involvement in the angle would seem like a joke.
– TNA made a Global Impact in Duncaster, England recently. Joe, Jarrett, Styles, Daniels, and Abyss were on hand.
[Commercial Break]
– Styles, Sabin, Joe, and Daniels discussed the Ultimate X match in a video package. “Ultimate X separates the men from the boys,” Zbyszko matter-of-factly stated. Zbyszko guaranteed the X cables would support Samoa Joe.
4 — SAMOA JOE vs. SHARK BOY — Non-Title match
Joe scored with a boot to the face early on. Joe missed with a boot in the corner. Shark Boy pounded away on the leg. He landed ten punches then bit Joe’s head. He went up top for the DSD, but Joe kicked him in the head. He hit the Muscle Buster. Joe applied the Coquina Clutch and Shark Boy resisted for a few moments.
WINNER: Samoa Joe at 2:05. Same formula squash match we’ve seen from Joe, Abyss, Rhino, and Brown for the last three years. TNA should be consulting with Bill Watts to create a buzz around the product using Bill’s UWF-era television ideas.
– Backstage, Jackie Gayda was trying on her new outfit behind one of those temporary standalone curtains. Gail was applying lip-gloss as Jackie complained about the outfit. “I wouldn’t want that video to end up on the Internet,” Gail said. Jackie wasn’t pleased. For the record, several bras were strewn about on the couch that Gail was sitting on.
[Commercial Break]
– The Ron Killings story continued with chapter two this week. Good video package giving us some background on Killings’s story.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “Wrestling Coast to Coast” with Chris Maitland and Justin McClelland, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
5 — AMERICA’S MOST WANTED (CHRIS HARRIS & JAMES STORM ) vs. RHINO & RON KILLINGS
As I wrote last night, it’s never a good sign when the challengers come out to separate entrances. James Storm shoved a fan in the front row. Tenay said we would be back for the beginning of the match.
[Commercial Break]
Tenay said the people at Spike TV love this match because it’s a pay-per-view quality match on free television. Sure beats another squash. Storm drove Killings to the corner then played to the crowd. Killings flipped up to the top turnbuckle and put on Storm’s cowboy hat. Well, it is rodeo season. Storm turned around and walked into a top rope dropkick. The action broke down in the ring. The action spilled to the outside at 2:40. Harris and Rhino brawled near the announce table and up the entrance ramp. Rhino set up for the gore on Harris. Abyss snuck up behind Rhino and threw him down by the hair. James Mitchell ordered Abyss to hit a devastating move. Abyss threw Rhino through a breakaway portion of the entrance set. Next week, Rhino will charge to the ring as if nothing ever happened. They wouldn’t have to repeat the same spot if they actually took Rhino off TV for several weeks after the first breakaway spot. AMW hit the Death Sentence on Killings for the win.
WINNERS: AMW at 4:38 to retain the NWA Tag Titles. Not exactly a PPV-quality match, as Tenay described before the opening bell. Well, I take that back. It did contain outside interference and a referee deciding not to call for a DQ after one participant was illegally eliminated from the match. Standard PPV booking.
– J.B. was backstage with Jarrett and company to watch the Sting video. Jarrett told Jackie to come out from behind the curtain. She was wearing a puffy shirt – Seinfeld style – but with a much lower cut. For whatever reason, she had her hair in a ponytail off to the side. Jarrett dropped the Sting tape and told Jackie to pick it up. Jackie, who was holding a broom, covered her backside as she bent over to pick it up. (How did a broom fit in the department store-size bag?) Jarrett played the tape.
Alex Shelley narrated clips from his video on Sting. We saw Sting pick up his two sons and his one daughter from school in his Ford Excursion – Eddie Bauer edition. Shelley followed Sting to his house. “That’s a nice pad,” Shelley said. “I definitely want something like this when I move out of my apartment.” Absolutely classic. The boys and Sting played a game of basketball in the yard. Shelley said they suck at basketball. One of the kids made a shot. Shelley said it was a lucky shot. Shelley followed Sting on the freeway. Sting never noticed him. Sting parked in front of a Gold’s Gym and walked inside. Shelley quoted Ron Burgundy as Sting went into the gym. The best two minutes in the history of wrestling just for Shelley’s commentary.
The video ended and Jarrett asked Eric Young if he was convinced that Sting is gone. Eric said he wasn’t. Jarrett was pissed at Shelley for not convincing Eric that Sting is really retired. Eric said Sting’s not retired and he’s dropping “Showtime” from his name because Sting is “Showtime.” Jarrett told Shelley he had more opportunity to get it right. He told Shelley to fly to L.A. again and get a direct word from Sting. “None of that hiding in the bushes paparazzi stuff,” Jarrett said. He wanted a face-to-face interview with Sting saying, “I quit.” They walked away, except for Eric. He turned to the camera and said Sting’s not gone.
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