Well both TNA Impact and WWE RAW are in the books on this historic night in wrestling history. I normally don’t recap Impact or RAW on a regular basis, but here are results due to the importance of the night.
Here is what went down on, first on TNA Impact.
The show opens with Mike Tenay and Tazz hyping up their big show and then introduce shock jock DJ (and Hulk Hogan accomplice) Bubba The Love Sponge as their new backstage interviewer.
They then throw it to the Steel Asylum match featuring Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Alex Shelley, Homicide, Kiyoshi, Suicide and TNA X-Division Champion Amazing Red. The eight showed off the X-Division style for new fans as they explained the concept of climbing out through the domed roof in order to win. Homicide pulled out a police baton and beat on everyone in the ring, including his own partner Kiyoshi. The ref stopped the match and declared it a no contest while the crowd rightfully chanted BS. Homicide then tried to climb out of the cage and fails miserably at it as it looks more and more bush league by the minute. They all try to climb up the cage as Homicide falls from the top.
Post match, Jeff Hardy appeared through the crowd, attacked Homicide climbed the dome to the crowd’s cheers. Hardy was then shown backstage being greeted by Shannon Moore as clips of Hulk Hogan’s motorcade is shown.
After a Kevin Nash interview, ODB pinned Tara with a handful of tights to win back the TNA Women’s Championship in a short match.
So far two short matches with two awful finishes…
Backstage Ric Flair is shown arriving backstage and going into TNA World Champion AJ Styles’ locker room. Mick Foley is also denied entrance into the building.
Krystal and Bobby Lashley then come to the ring as Krystal badmouths everyone, hypes of Lashley’s MMA career and demands Bobby’s immediate release from TNA.
In the back, Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich (The Beautiful People) decide to play strip poker and show off their lack of intelligence.
More shots of the Hogan motorcade as Scott Hall and Sean Waltman are denied entrance in the building so they attack security. After a commercial Hall and Waltman are in the building as Hogan makes his inevitable debut, right about the same time WWE RAW is starting. Hogan comes out all in black and to a remix of the old nWo theme. He deservedly soaks in the cheers lets it all sink in. Hogan brings Hall and Waltman into the ring and they bring up old times, with Hogan says things will be different this time around. Soon Kevin Nash comes out and joins his old nWo crew center ring. Eric Bischoff then joins the party and it’s like 1997 all over again on both shows. Hogan and Bischoff establish they are in charge and Nash, Hall and Waltman leave. Bischoff then “breaks the fourth wall” by ripping up the old show format and hands off a new plan for the evening as they both keep repeating, “things are going to change.” Hogan than says that everyone will have to get in line and fight for their jobs. “If you can't talk and you can't wrestle, pack your bags and head north.” As the shot fades, Sting is shown in the rafters.
It was a good segment that established things now on TNA and was great counter programming for Bret Hart’s return on WWE.
In the next match Awesome Kong & Hamada beat Sarita & Taylor Wilde to win the TNA Women’s Tag Team Championships when Hamada and Kong used a great dropkick/powerbomb combo to pin Sarita. A women’s match on WWE happening at the same time of course countered it.
Backstage an unnamed former Val Venis interrupted The Beautiful People poker game. Also Mick Foley continued to try to get in the building as well as an inevitable appearance from The Nasty Boys, also trying to get inside.
Hernandez and Matt Morgan destroyed Dr. Stevie & Raven in seconds to become number one contenders for the TNA World Tag Team Championships. The match definitely established the pecking order in that regard.
Backstage, Christy Hemme interviewed “Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, but was interrupted by an unnamed, dreadlock ponytailed Orlando Jordan.
“Pope” then pinned Desmond Wolfe with a small package in a much quicker than anticipated match.
Backstage Jeff Jarrett arrived as Rhino was shown laid out backstage, much like The Motor City Machineguns were earlier.
Finally after two hours, TNA World Champion AJ Styles is shown, as he is interviewed backstage by Jeremy Borash. The interview is interrupted by Bischoff, who books Styles against Kurt Angle tonight for the Title, instead of at the upcoming Genesis pay per view.
Jeff Jarrett then comes out for a great rally the troops interview. He brings up the company’s history and reminds everyone he is the company founder. The crowd gets behind wildly. As he finishes his interview he is interrupted by Hogan on the big screen and essentially tells Jarrett he doesn’t mean anything in company hierarchy at this point and tells him to get in line with everyone else.
Backstage, Christopher Daniels’ interview with Christy Hemme is interrupted by Jeremy Borash freaking out and essentially letting Mick Foley in the building.
Jeff Hardy is painting a picture backstage when Shannon Moore summons him to meet “the big guy.”
In the next match, Samoa Joe made Abyss submit to the Kokina Clutch. It was a good match that established both men’s characters to a potential new audience, but especially put Joe over as a top star.
Beer Money (James Storm and Bobby Roode) are also found knocked out by Bubba. Meanwhile The Nasty Boys are let into the building. Kurt Angle then does his standard interview with Borash.
Hardy and Moore then leave the arena with envelopes, presumably containing contracts, as some teenage girls come up to Hardy freaking out. He gives them the painting he was working on earlier as they drive off.
After the commercial, The Nasty Boys vandalize Team 3-D’s locker room. Looks like The Nastys are here to stay at least for the short term.
In the main event, AJ Styles pinned Kurt Angle with a 450 Splash in a pretty solid match to retain the TNA World Title. Mid-match Ric Flair came out to observe the proceedings and do promptly nothing. The crowd was pretty hot for the match and even chanted “Who needs Bret?” at one point. The match ended quite abruptly after the second commercial break, but it was a good showing by both men.
Post-match, Angle and AJ embrace as Hogan comes out to put both men over as the top two wrestlers going today. Then Hogan is summoned backstage quickly. Backstage, Foley runs into the unnamed Val Venis and the girls. Foley then goes into his old office, only to find Eric Bischoff. An argument commences until Hall, Nash and Waltman attack Foley. Hogan then runs into the ring as credits roll.
Looks the old nWo is back in full force while Foley and Jarrett look to be heading up the other side. Many homegrown stars (like Styles, Hernandez, Morgan and Joe) were promoted heavily while others (like Daniels and Beer Money) were marginalized. The ending to the show wasn’t what I was expected and didn’t particularly like it, but it does set up a cliffhanger for the next show.
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