Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
We see a video package recapping the history of Evil Hulk Hogan as he stole TNA out from under Dixie Carter, and then the events of Bound For Glory as Sting defeated Hogan to regain control of TNA for Dixie, and Hogan's subsequent face turn. We go to the ring where Sting comes out for the opening promo wearing a Hulk Hogan shirt, and he made a promise to bring Impact Wrestling back to Dixie and set Hulk Hogan back on the straight and narrow as the icon who defines wrestling. He had to step out of his skin a little bit, but he had to help Hogan do the right thing for the wrestlers, the fans who have supported him for 30 years, and Hulk Hogan, the greatest wrestler of all time, came home. Sting asks Hogan to come out to the ring, and the Hulkster himself comes out once again wearing the red and yellow. So after everything, they're suddenly best friends? Hogan is walking a little gingerly on his way to the ring, and he gives Sting a big hug as the crowd chants "welcome back" at him. Hogan admits that for the last year, he's been wrong and he thanks the fans. He had a couple of rough years and he gives Eric Bischoff credit with helping to get his life back together, so he followed Eric's lead in the wrestling business and he now realizes how wrong he was. He's not blaming Bischoff because he was the one who made the choices he made, but he wants to give Sting credit for putting up with his crap for a year, he stayed true to the fans and Impact Wrestling, and now Hulk Hogan is back and he wants to know what we're gonna do when the Hulkster and Sting run wild on us. Sting beat him fair and square in the middle of the ring, and he'll never forget what Sting did for him.
Sting now asks Dixie Carter to come join him, and she makes her way down the ramp as we go to commercial.
Okay, we're back and Sting says it's a time to celebrate, but that doesn't erase how Sting tried to tell her about Hogan 18 months ago and she didn't listen. Dixie gave Sting a home in TNA and he's glad, but now Dixie needs to surround herself with sincere people who have the best interests of the fans and wrestlers in mind because there's no room for error anymore. Dixie apologizes because they were right all along and she didn't listen to them. Her place isn't in the ring, it's making sure it's the best it can be, and this last year has made her want to fight harder than ever before to make it the best wrestling company in the world. She'll spend a lot more time back at headquarters to do this, so she appoints Sting the General Manager or Commissioner or whatever they'll call it so he can run the day to day stuff because she needs his help to turn things around. Sting says he'll do it, and she thanks him and the fans again.
Wait a minute, Kurt Angle's music hits and the man who is inexplicably still the World Champion comes walking down the aisle with a big smile on his face. We'll find out what's on his mind after...this commercial break!
Okay, we're back again and Angle mockingly greets Sting and Dixie Carter even though they expected Robert Roode to be standing in his spot. Dixie may be back in charge and have given Sting control over the company, but he's going to do what he does best, and that's represent the company as the champion. They spent weeks making Bobby Roode look great, interviewed his family and everything, but Angle made him look like a loser because he's the better man. The Beer Money music hit and Roode powerwalks down the aisle and he's aghast that Kurt Angle, the Olympic Champion, had to screw Robert Roode by using the ropes to beat him. He spent 13 years working toward the goal of winning the title only for Angle to screw him in the end. Sting tries to make a rematch tonight, but Angle reveals that he had Hogan and Bischoff put a stipulation in the contract that Roode would only get one shot at the title. He goes to use James Storm's catchphrase on Roode, but Storm cuts him off and uses it himself, then makes his way to the ring and...you gotta be kidding me, another commercial break?
Okay, James Storm introduces himself to Angle and asks him if the contract Angle signed saves him from having to wrestle Storm. Angle screwed the fans and Impact Wrestling and especially Bobby Roode at Bound For Glory, and with all the screwing he's been doing, he screwed James Storm as well and now we have a problem. Storm knows a man who can fix the problem, and says that since he and Sting both wear sunglasses indoors, and since Bobby Roode can't get another title shot, and since the fans want to see a title match here tonight- wait, Angle cuts him off and says Storm needs to stop drinking on the job because there's ten guys ahead of him in line. Sting shuts Angle up and says that tonight, Angle is going to defend the World Title against James Storm. Roode says he just remembered his partner's line, and he tells Angle that he's sorry about his damn luck.
Eric Bischoff and Immortal confront Hulk Hogan in the parking lot and says he wants to have a meeting later tonight out in the ring, so if he still has balls after handing them to Sting and Dixie, to face him out in the ring because he has something to get off his chest. It's our favorite part...COMMERCIAL BREAK!!
Time for our opening match, 45 minutes into the show!
Knockouts Tag Team Title Match: Tara & Brooke Tessmacher vs Winter & Angelina Love
Angelina and Winter attack before the bell and dump Tara to the floor so they can double team Miss Tessmacher. Winter with a side backbreaker for 2 and then Angelina comes in with an elbowdrop for 2. Angelina misses a crossbody out of the corner and Tessmacher makes the hot tag, allowing Tara to come in and clean house. She nearly breaks Winter in half with a clothesline, then wraps her t-shirt around Winter's neck and tosses her across the ring. She gets a spinning slam for 2, Tara makes a blind tag and wipes Winter and Angelina out, then Tessmacher comes off the top with a nice flying bodypress for the win.
Winners: Tara & Brooke Tessmacher
The Jarretts arrive at the arena, and then it's the return of our old friend, the commercial break!
Jeff and Karen Jarrett come out to the ring and Jeff calls Jeffrey Nero Hardy out to the ring to finish what he started last Sunday. He reminds Hardy that he's been screwing Jarrett for years going back to the first time he no-showed a PPV, so he'll give Hardy a choice: either drop the microphone, head to the back, and never be seen again, or he can suffer the consequences at the hands of the founder. Jarrett takes his shirt off and awaits Hardy's decision, and Hardy hesitates a good long time as the fans chant his name before telling Jarrett that regardless of what he thinks, the fans want him there and Jarrett's the only one still bitching. He thinks it eats Jarrett up the way the fans react to Hardy, and he'll never be able to light up the crowd the way Hardy can. Jarrett attacks Hardy, but ends up getting his ass kicked by the Charismatic Enigma before security runs in to separate them. They keep breaking away and go back after each other as security again shows how effective they are at doing anything in wrestling. D-Lo Brown and Al Snow come out to help calm the situation, and end up getting in each other's faces as Jarrett comes in and kicks Hardy in the Nero. Hardy goes down like a ton of bricks, Jarrett kisses his wife, and they walk off as Jeff lays in the ring holding his nether regions.
We go backstage to Kurt Angle, who says that nobody backs Kurt Angle into a corner, and he's going to destroy James Storm tonight.
Eric Young is backstage and wants to do a sexy photo shoot for the troops, and Robbie E comes in with Rob Terry and says the TV Title belongs to him. Eric says he's going to go to Sting to make the match,and he's bringing Ronnie from the Jersey Shore with him. Robbie Eobviously doesn't believe him, but WE KNOW BETTER.
Gunner comes out for his match, but like everyone else on the show, he needs to talk first! He says that there's a code when you become part of Immortal, and Abyss forgot about that, so Gunner went to Eric and offered to take out the trash, and tells Abyss tocome out to the ring so he can finish the job.
Gunner vs Abyss
Gunner jumps Abyss on the way to the ring, but Abyss comes back with a chokeslam and then a right hand sends Gunner crashing out to the floor. Abyss goes after Gunner and rams him into the steps, so Gunner hops the rail and runs through the crowd and gets counted out.
Winner: Abyss by CO
Geez, we must be up to a cool six minutes of wrestling on this show! Go easy on us, TNA! Abyss convulses in the ring and thenVelvet says winning the Knockouts Title was the highlight of her life, and she has nobody but the fans to thank for being behind her 110%, and that's what she's going to do right now. Commercial time!
Ric Flair is backstage with Immortal, but Gunner runs backstage freaking out because that wasn't Abyss who just kicked his ass, it was THE MONSTER ABYSS, and he's someone they could use on their side with Hulk gone. We then go to a video package of Velvet Sky talkingabout people used to pick on her when she was young and she had to fight to earn the biggest win of her career at Bound For Glory. Somehow, I have a hard time believing the "getting picked on" part, but whatever.
We head out to the ring so a fan can hold up a sign misspelling pigeons and Velvet can thank the fans. She's proud to be able to finally stand in front of the fansas the Knockouts Champion,and with all the bullies she's had to deal with and all the bumps and bruises, this is for the people who tried to shut her down and makeher feel like she would neverbe good enough to be the champion. It took four years, but she did it and the fans have been great to her, and- wait, Karen Jarrett's music hits and shecomes out to the ring dragging Traci Brooks with her. Karen has the power to fire the both of them, but that would be way too easy, and nobody sees Karen out here crying about crap. If she thinks Traci's had it bad, she hasn't seen anything yet because she's about to make her life a living hell. She has security eject Traci, then tells Velvet she doesn't know who she thinks she is or who she's screwing with, and her first instinct was to strip Velvet of the title, but Jeff convinced her to take the high road, so she wants to see Velvet bleed instead. She's got just the person to make it happen, but first she tells Velvet to grow eyes in the back of her head.
Madison Rayne's music hits and she comes strolling down the ramp, but suddenly Gail Kim, fresh off her live shoot interview, comes out of the crowd and attacks Velvet from behind and she and Madison Rayne beat the champion down and then all three of them celebrate in the middle of the ring.
Hulk Hogan is backstage, and he's...WALKING!
Eric Bischoff comes out with Immortal in tow and he's going to take care of his punk kid in due time, but he's got business with Hogan right now and he wants Hulk to come out to the ring and show him what he's got. Hogan comes out and tells Bischoff that if he's got something to say, he's got one shot. Bischoff wants Hogan to explain how he turns his back on the guys who have been watching his back for months, and also turned his back on Bischoff, the man who made Hulk Hogan. Forget Andre and Hulkamania, if it weren't for Bischoff, Hogan wouldn't be here. But worst of all, Hogan came between Bischoff and his son, and he was trying to turn Garrett into himself, but Hogan made Garrett turn his back on him. Hogan says he learned a lot about both Eric and Garrett over the last few days, and Garrett is a man Eric could never be. Eric takes a shot at Hogan and Hogan no-sells, but Immortal comes into the ring before Hogan can go after Bischoff. Sting runs into the ring with his bat and Immortal (which needs a new name) clears out. Bischoff backs up the rampway and is yelling at Hogan, and therefore doesn't see his son behind him. Bischoff asks Garrett what he's got to say to him, and Garrett says he's a disgrace. Eric repeatedly pokes Garrett in the chest and tears open his shirt to reveal a "Bischoff" tattoo, and says he doesn't have a right to wear that. Garrett knocks his old man out and yells "SCREW YOU, DAD, SCREW YOU!" at Eric.
Beer Money is backstage and Storm says he wishes he had more time to prepare, and Roode says he's been preparing his whole career because he's been here since day one. He could complain about what happened at Bound For Glory, but now this is Storm's time, everyone believes that Storm can do it, and tonight he wants to celebrate with the new World Champion, James Storm.
It's main event time!
World Title Match: Kurt Angle vs James Storm
All right, main events that start at 10:55 are always awesome! The bell rings, they stare each other down, then Angle kicks Storm in the gut and unloads with a series of right hands, beating Storm down in the corner. Angle's right hamstring is heavily taped as he continues to punch and stomp at Storm, and the referee tries to back Angle away, but Angle just shoves him off. Angle plays to the crowd, but turns around and Storm knocks him out with a superkick and gets the pin to win the World Championship.
Winner and NEW World Champion: James Storm
Robert Roode runs into the ring to celebrate with his partner, they hug in the middle of the ring and then Storm takes the belt and goes out into the crowd to celebrate with the fans. Frankie Kazarian comes out to the ring to join Roode, as well as AJ Styles, and Storm makes his way back into the ring to join his Fortune teammates. The ring is absolutely drenched with beer from the celebration as the fans chant "Cowboy" at Storm, who gets a mic and says that he's been with the company since day one and he's seen people come and go, but the Cowboy is here to stay. Even though the victory was a little bittersweet, and Robert Roode is his best friend in the world and the best tag partner in the world, but the title belongs to him. Storm hands the belt to Roode, but Roode agrees with all the people that Storm deserves it. He wraps the belt around Storm's waist and fastens it, and then Fortune stands together in the ring with the new World Champion. Great moment and Storm absolutely deserves this.
Thanks for reading, and I'll be back to discuss this show and more tomorrow in the Elite section as Dave Scherer and I present the Stu & Pid Show!
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
