My TNA Catch-up, Victory Road PPV 2011

Its unfair to judge an entire PPV on one match so heres a quicky review of what TNA put on offer this weekend.

Bully Ray vs Tommy Dreamer - Ray made it no DQ, shades of classic EC Dub during the match. Tommy won off the 3D with an assist from Devon after Devons sons provided a distraction from the ramp.

Knockout Tag Championship, Angelina Love & Winter vs Sarita & Rosita - Its my 1st time seeing Rosita (imported from CMLL so a good background there) & Winter (former WWE worker Katy Leah) work in TNA as I don't watch Impact any more (because its shit). Not a bad match but it could have done without the gimmick finish. Sarita & Rosita win after failed interference from Velvet Sky as Sarita turned over a small package. Apart from the crappy finish this was a pretty decent match.

First Blood Match, Hernandez vs Matt Morgan - With Morgans reputation for not bumping & hating putting others over I felt this was always going one way only. Someone should tell Taz that a ref wouldn't kick a paying member of the audience (not unless he wanted to end TNA with a lawsuit) so whoever dived into the ring was an obvious plant, the fact it set up Hernandez to use the chain made it even more of an obvious work. If Hernandez was doing a blade job when he was face down in his own corner it looked VERY sloppy, the whole "squirting fake blood" was a stupid idea as was Brian Hebner getting bumped off camera. Hernandez got the win after 2nd Ref Jackson James saw the fake blood on Morgan. Piss poor gimmick finish.

X Division Championship Ultimate X Match, Kazarian vs Robbie E vs Max Buck vs Jeremy Buck - Not a bad match, not exactly spot heavy but some good aerials. Kazarian retained his title. Possibly setting up for Generation Me to feud and split up too at the end.

Tag Team Championship, Ink Inc vs Beer Money - Pretty dull spot free match where Beer Money retained their titles. Also seemed to be another set-up for Ink Inc to split as well.

AJ Styles vs Matt Hardy - Hardy looked a bit weird around the eyes in his pre-match interview, kinda drunk or drugged out. Whatever made him squint like that, it didn't look good for Matt. Exactly what is this issue with Matt Hardy & his weight? Last PPV he looked slim(ish) & pretty ripped, now he looks flabby around the edges again like he hasn't been training. Matt was a passenger for most of this match with 90% of the spots & bumps taken by Styles, AJ took the win off a Pele into a Spiral Tap. Despite recently coming back from an injury Styles gave an excellent account of himself.

#1 Contenders Match, RVD vs Mr Anderson - Not a great match that ended in a double count out after Anderson took a nasty fall & hit his head on the concrete after missing the ring mats.

World Heavyweight Championship, Jeff Hardy vs Sting - Well this is the match everyone is talking about and for all the wrong reasons. Jeff took a long time to finally come out to his music & stumbled & staggered his way to the ring. During Stings entrance Ref Brian Hebner said something to SoCal Val, Jeremy Borash really ran out the introductions as long as he could which allowed Eric Bischoff time to invent something then get himself to the ring.

Ignore what he's saying on the mic about "The Network", that was just the cover to pass whatever message to Jeff to take a fast dive.

Again ignore Bischoff asking Sting to shake his hand, yet another smokescreen to pass a similar message to Sting to put Jeff down as fast as he can. No clue if the punch & stamp on Bischoff were kayfabe or not but he looked in genuine pain. Here's Stings entire offence from start to finish - Headlock, kick, axehandle, punch, Scorpion Deathdrop.

Ring the bell, Sting is still champ. Yes, Jeff did ask about him kicking out. Yes Brian did say nope, never gonna happen. By the way, exactly what are the 2 blood marks that look like a vampire bite on the right side of Stings neck as he leaves? And if you are curious why Sting says "I agree" the fans were chanting "This is bullshit".

With 5 full minutes of airtime to fill the colour desk had to review the whole PPV to fill the dead air.

If this isn't what kills TNA then they can't be killed. Its going to take a lot to get TNA out of this hole, I recommend they all drop their spades.

My TNA Catch-Up, HardCORE Justice PPV 2010

As this PPV has nothing to do with either Eric Bischoff or Hulk Hogan I feel I am justified in writing a short review that doesn't violate my principles or previous feelings stated about those 2 individuals.

Your ring announcer for this evening is Steven DiAngeles, I don't recall him from ECW at all but I didn't watch a whole lot of the product.

6 Man Tag Match. The Full Blooded Italians (Nunzio, Tony Luke & Tracy Smothers) vs Kid Kash, Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger - Its not Kash's 1st bite at the TNA apple & Diamond is probably better known to most TNA viewers as Pat Kenney, Swinger was also around for the early Asylum days. You had to mark out for Kash's flipdive off the refs back. Not much of a match, Guido took the win off Diamond.

Video messages from Todd Gordon, Pitbull Gary Wolfe & The Blue Meanie in a "Where are they now" segment.

CW Anderson vs Too Cold Scorpio - Nice match from Scorpio, great to see he can STILL cut it. Scorpio nailed some great high spots & took the win.

P.J. Polaco vs Stevie Richards with Nova & Blue Tillie - For those wondering why Polaco isn't going under the Justin Credible name tonight he no longer owns the copyright for it, he's worked under the Polaco name in TNA before though. A bit of checking found Blue Tillie is actually Big Rocco formerly of MEM Security & Phi Delta Slam. Not a great match, Richards took the win off a Super Kick.

Video message from Francine in a "Where are they now" segment. Tribute to the fallen of ECW.

3 Way Elimination Match, Brother Runt vs Al Snow vs Rhino - The last time Rhino had an actual match was the Final Resolution PPV in December 2009 so he's been out of the ring for quite a while, Runts last TNA appearance was on Impact 16th April 2009 with Balls Mahoney. Runt & Snow had great matches with Snow making a lovely Reverse Moonsault & Runt nailing a wicked Headscissors on Rhino. Runt eliminated Snow off the Acid Drop but Rhino took the win off the Gore.

Open Challenge Axl Rotten & Kahoneys vs Team 3D (with Joel Gertner) - I assume Kahoneys no longer owns the copyright to his Balls Mahoney moniker, this was never going to be pretty but its pretty clear Axl has forgotten a lot as Ray had to help him on a Front Face Slam & Devon had to help him sell as well. This one finished with 3D taking the win after powerbombing Kahoneys through a Fire Table.

After proclaiming themselves to be the most hardcore team The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustapha) came out, Team 3D sold for them (and a couple of times gave some rather over obvious in ring directions as to what to do next so this clearly wasn't rehearsed), Gertner sold a wicked guitar shot off New Jack as well. New Jack hasn't been in a TNA ring since the very early Asylum days.

Video message from the ECW guys bigging up Joey Styles.

Raven vs Tommy Dreamer - With Mick Foley as special referee. Another one that was never gonna be pretty with both Raven & Dreamer bleeding this was almost over with Raven about to tap out when Nova & Blue Tillie did a run-in to jump Foley (JUST as Raven started tapping out with barbed wire wrapped around his face by Dreamer), No clue who the guy Foley hit the Barbed Wire Mandible Claw on was but Beulah did a run in. Had to mark out for Dreamer nailing a DDT on Raven whilst handcuffed behind his back but Raven took the eventual win off a DDT of his own.

RVD (with Bill Alphonso) vs Sabu - This was originally slated to be against Jerry Lynn but he injured his back during the week. Sabu has been in TNA at least twice that I can personally recall & has always delivered the goods. Quite frankly this match was just too good to call properly but its the type of match you should be showing to the young men & women wanting to get into the business or to improve their ring craft. You can see how the techniques of both these guys inspired AJ Styles, Samoa Joe & Hamada. RVD took the eventual win a 5 Star Frogsplash, I'm pretty sure Sabu bashed his ribs up pretty badly at some point though.

You clearly heard Dixie Carter saying "Dont chant that" when the fans were chanting "F**k you Vince". I was pretty happy with how most of the nights matches went, I was pretty annoyed that Sandman didn't get a proper match & I've no idea why he didn't work as he was there and clearly fit. I think Paul Heyman lost out by not coming and being part of the whole thing, I understand the reasons behind Joey Styles not being there though.

WWE Extreme Rules 18th Apr 10 reviewed

Caveat:- I do NOT watch WWE programming, I am unaware of any current storyline or who are faces or heels. This review does contain swearing, if that might offend you then stop reading now or you've no-one to blame except yourself.

Street Fight (No Count outs or DQ, win by pin or submission only), HHH vs Sheamus - Trips had his intro then failed to show & we cut to him & Sheamus already going at it backstage, Trips took a couple of steel pipe shots before Teddy Long finally got him away. No finish as the match never started so no result either.

Miz & The Big Show come out & shoot their mouths until Teddy Long cuts them off by booking them against a team of his choosing for a future shot at the Unified Tag titles. For continuing to run his (The Miz) mouth Long books them against 3 teams there and then.

Miz & The Big Show vs R-Truth & John Morrison - Big Show & The Miz are calling themselves ShowMiz, P**s poor bout with an even worse call, Morrison had Big Show in a Headscissors & Show was waving like he was tapping out yet for some bulls**t kayfabe reason the ref awarded the match to ShowMiz on a DQ for no reason that was explained.

Miz & The Big Show vs MVP & Mark Henry - Another piss poor match, MVP had it won off the Playmaker when Big Show hit him allowing The Miz to take the pin for an easy win.

Miz & The Big Show vs The Hart Dynasty (with Natalya & Brett Hart) - Over in seconds after Smith got a pin following the Hart Attack (better known as The Doomsday Device) meaning The Hart Dynasty earn themselves a shot at the Unified Tag Titles.

CM Punk (with Serena & Luke Gallows) vs Rey Mysterio - If Punk loses he gets his head shaved. Another p**s poor match that was mostly Mysterio, Serena & Gallows were sent back to the locker room after interfering but someone under the ring distracted the ref by throwing a chair into the ring long enough to hit a Reverse Powerbomb on Mysterio allowing Punk to take the easy win off the Go To Sleep.

Strap Match (actually a 4 Corners match), Shad Gaspard vs JTG - Won by JTG, completely shit.

World Heavyweight Championship Match, Jack Swagger vs Randy Orton - No Count outs or DQ, win by pin or submission only. Frankly its f**king hysterical how much of a big deal WWE make about holding this title considering it was once the most reviled belt in WWF history as the former WCW world heavyweight title. The only nods to extreme in the match were the use of a garbage can, Swagger taking a bump on the ring steps & Orton taking a bump onto a chair which bent it. Swagger took the win off a Gut Wrench Power Bomb to retain his title.

Street Fight (No Count outs or DQ, win by pin or submission only), HHH vs Sheamus - This time Sheamus came out 1st insisting the ref raise his hand if Trips was unable to show but obviously he came out anyway. Trips took this to the floor early hoping to beat Sheamus down, this was pretty s*t to be honest even though Trips worked "injured" and sold that pretty well, I'm not sure if him fucking up the DDT was kayfabe or deliberate it was hard to tell. Sheamus wasn't fully willing to sell the Drop Toe Hold into the ring steps (blame the badly positioned cameraman for that s**tty no-sell there) but he did sell the Kendo Stick shot, Sheamus took the eventual win.

Extreme Makeover Match for the Womens Championship, Michelle McCool (with Vicky Guererro & Layla) vs Beth Phoenix - McCool used hairspray & an ironing board, I assume the flub with the Iron was on purpose & I'd love the thank the replay team for totally no-selling the colour desk telling us McCools head hit the table when it clearly doesnt in the replay. Phoenix took a nice top rope bump onto 2 ironing boards & took the win off the Glam Slam to win the title.

Steel Cage Match, Edge vs Chris Jericho - Note the stipulations "Victory can be achieved by pinfall, submission or escaping the cage". Jericho clearly WINS the match by escaping the cage @9.26 & to the colour guy stating "he's gotta get down to the floor" I'm afraid thats sheer kayfabe bulls**t on your part mate, no such rule was stated at the start. Edge is declared the winner off The Spear 11 minutes later. F**K OFF.

Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship, Batista vs John Cena - Stipulations were announced as follows but after the last match its not like anyone is going to believe them for a f**king second:- No Countout, No DQ, No pinfalls or submissions, your opponant MUST stay down for a full 10 count for you to win. Erm, did one of the colour guys use Batistas real name? No Kayfabe? "Not only does it injure Dave" WHOOPS! You meant Batista you f**king rookie retard. Seems the ref didnt know how to do his job either by leaving the ring to count Batista, dont the rules say you have a 10 count to make it back INTO the ring or did this c**t get his refs shirt as a prize in a box of f**king cereal? Cena gets a truly awful win after taping Batistas feet together around a ring post with Duct Tape to retain his title.

If this excuse of a PPV is what passes for Extreme these days then WWE are not long for this world. Quite frankly I've had more extreme s**ts than this. Way to s**t on all your loyal fans WWE.

The State Of TNA Address

As I've stopped writing catch-ups I wanted to do something which would allow me to talk about TNA so I've decided to do this, my State Of TNA Address. I've been a fan of TNA since 2004 and watched enough of the product to know
its workers, announcers, writers and owner.

Where is TNA right now? Thats a good question, today is Tuesday 20th April 2010.

Yesterday was a fairly good live Impact where RVD was crowned the new Heavyweight Champion after a decent match with AJ Styles & a very good match with Jeff Hardy. Samoa Joe has returned seemingly as a face allied to Team Hogan. Madison Rayne is the new Knockouts Champion, The Beautiful People are Knockout Tag Champions, Kazarian is the new X Division Champion and Matt Morgan & Hernandez (currently working in Mexico) are Tag Champions.

Hogan & Bischoff are still most definately running the show but gradually Hogans Cronies are being trimmed. The Nasty Boys are out of favour if not officially gone & Sean "Val Venis" Morley is very gone, he may have seemed like a good idea at the time but he wasn't. Chris Daniels, Awesome Kong & Consequences Creed are also definately gone too with little to no explanation at all.

So where next for TNA?

Putting a title on RVD was an eventual idea which has happened sooner than later. RVD was the obvious choice over Jeff Hardy who still has legal issues looming in his immediate future and nothing will be worked around Hardy until those issues are fully resolved.

With Sean "Syxx Pac" Waltman no-showing for Lockdown his immediate future must be called into question & dealt with as quickly as possible. My personal choice there would be a definate clean & non-kayfabe on air firing by Dixie Carter who should precede her announcement with "This is NOT a work". TNA must also address their recent losses and give the fans hard information during an Impact, announcements about Creed, Kong & Daniels should be made ideally by someone like JB.

Now is also a good time to take a very hard look at the whole TNA roster to cut some deadweight, certain people are still gainfully employed who should be "future endeavoured" & at the very top of that list would have to be Sharkboy. I am very sorry you burnt your trailer to the ground & lost everything you owned but its time to either work for TNA or seek employment elsewhere. Despite being a current title holder I think its also time for Matt Morgan to find a new job & Tomko also needs to be released.

News of a possible return by Scott Steiner is not something I am happy to hear along with the continued employment of Bubba The Love Sponge. TNA are upping their game by giving RVD a title but its time the mens Tag Belts went to someone who can actually put on a show. The Knockouts roster needs at least 2 or 3 more women to replace Kong, Traci Brooks & the retired Christie Hemme. It would be nice to bring in some more hardcore style workers to replace Mickie Knuckles & Roxxi who I was sad to see leave again.

There is plenty of talent available globally, all TNA have to do is get it and use it wisely. We cant watch Beer Money, Team 3D & the Motor City Machineguns going at it forever. We need at least 3 more new tag teams with World Elite & The British Invasion both having recently disbanded. Teams like Triple X (Chris Daniels & Elix Skipper) were exactly what TNA thrived on before, skill & high flying fast paced action. There is no reason TNA can't regain that style again and finally REALLY stand for Total Non-stop Action.

Here endeth the address ;-)

WWE Monday Night Raw 8th Mar 10 reviewed

So whilst Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair were battling live on TNA what was billionaire Vince McMahon offering his hordes of fans?

Well the show was more than 16 minutes old before we were offered the 1st match, a 6 Diva tag match which lasted 3 minutes.
Over on TNA they already had a 2 minute long match with no finish (or no start or finish bell either). The divas match was no better (or worse but was slightly longer) than the Triple Threat Knockout Tag match TNA had but at least TNA had gold on the line.

We had a ton of blah including guest host Criss Angel then by 26 mins into the show WWE offered their 2nd match, a tag match between R-Truth & John Morrison vs Big Show & The Miz. TNA were already 4 minutes into their 2nd match by then (a 3 way X Division match which last 7 minutes & was easily a 4 star match with gold on the line yet again) however this match lasted then a minute.

After a shitload more BLAH, some shameless self advertising & plugs for this years Wrestlemania at almost 37 minutes in we got the 3rd match, Randy Orton in a handicap match against Legacy. TNA's 3rd match had already started and finished (lasting just over 3 mins crowning new Knockout Tag Champions) before this even got going. At almost 9 mins long WWEs match was nothing to write home about. After another crapload of nothing WWE eventually decided to have another match. TNAs 4th match only lasted 10 seconds but they also started their 5th match which was only just over a minute long.

65 mins in the show WWEs 4th match was a Money In The Bank Qualifier, Evan Bourne vs William Regal which was only over a minute long. Bourne had an ok match though. TNA started their 6th match at 73 mins into their show, it was a 2 on 1 handicap match that lasted just short of 4 minutes and it was god awful.

Kicking off at the 80 minute mark WWE's 5th & final match of this weeks RAW was John Cena vs Mr McMahon who decided to change the rules at the last minute making it into a handicap gauntlet match so Cena had to face Vladimir Koslov, Drew Mcintyre, Jack Swagger & Mark Henry before changing the rules again adding a no DQ stipulation. After Batista also came down & did a number on Cena McMahon took the win in 8 minutes. WWE's last match was 2 minutes old when TNA's 7th & final match of their show started, although it had technically never started at the top of Impact but it only lasted 8 minutes as well.

RAW - 5 matches, 22 minutes of actual in ring wrestling. No new talent worked.
TNA - 7 matches, 21 minutes of actual in ring wrestling. 2 titles were contested, RVD debuted.

Having watched both shows neither impressed me, if these are supposed to be the 2 biggest wrestling companies on tv today they are both piss poor excuses for shows. Both shows were on for at least 2 hours and both only just had over 20 minutes worth of actual wrestling.

Its a very sad state of affairs indeed.

My TNA Catch-Up, Genesis PPV 2010

Ladies & gentleman, presenting my FINAL original TNA Catch-Up. I very clearly stated a few days ago if the 6 sided ring went so did I. It was no idle threat. This will the last TNA new show I review. Anything appearing after this point will be reviews of old shows in order to fill the gap of shows I never reviewed when I started watching TNA.

Show opens with the lights being kept right down as Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff come out to reveal what most fans had already guessed & speculated about - the ring is now changed to a standard 4 sided ring. The Impact Zone redesign now also features only 1 entrance tunnel. Hogans welcome to "the brand new Impact Zone" got a massive boo and a "We want 6 sides" chant & Hogan told us we're stuck with it whether we like it or not. Taz marked for the 4 sided ring & Mike Tenay avoided commenting at all.

X Division Championship Match, Amazing Red vs An Unknown Challenger - Who turned out to be Brian Kendrick, how the f**k is he worthy of a title shot coming into the company from nowhere to get a title shot on a PPV too! Kendrick had an ok match but Red got hurt at least twice (his Cross Body off the top rope onto Kendrick on the floor also hitting the guard rail & his Head Scissors where he hurt his leg) but Amazing Red took the win to retain his title off The Code Red.

Backstage segment of Hogan & Bischoff lecturing Waltman, Hall & Nash to win.

Sean Morley vs Daniels - Morley is pretty lucky to be getting a PPV match as his very 1st match in TNA, I dont recall ever seeing Morley wrestle against anyone who wasn't jobbing to him as Val Venis in the WWE so I have no idea if the guy can even work or not. I found it hard to believe Daniels was going to job here but he kept the match on the ground & fairly slow so Morley didn't look like a complete cunt at least, Daniels did sell hurt as Morley was hitting a few power moves (what were the fans chanting when Daniels had the Koji Clutch on? It must have been funny because others were laughing & smiling at it). I think Daniels hurt either his right knee or ankle landing the missed BME but Morley took the underserved win off a Big Splash they were calling The Money Shot which he managed to f**k up on his 1st attempt.

Knockout Championship Match, Tara vs ODB - The stipulation (that I missed by fast forwarding through the introduction) was its best 2 out of 3 falls. After the mini brawl opening Tara had a great start nailing the Standing Moonsault & later hitting ODB with a lovely kick to the head that was very well sold, Taras Slingshot Legdrop only got a nearfall though. ODB hit a Fall Away Slam but Tara capitalized with a fast Small Package to take the 1st fall.

ODB started the 2nd segment off trying to use sheer power but Tara sidestepped a Splash answering with an elbow to ODB then Tara hit the Tarantula to stretch & wear out ODB, the Body Scissors weardown on Tara was a slow move at the wrong time so both women had clearly gassed & were taking time to rest. Tara managed to kick out after ODB hit a lovely Running Powerslam & after ODB checked her pulse for about the 15th time during the match Tara took the win after hitting The Widows Peak.

World Tag Team Championship, Hernandez & Matt Morgan vs The British Invasion - Has SoCal Val been sacked? Because there appears to be a new ring valet. Very poor match, Morgan took the win off The Carbon Footprint & we have new Tag Team Champions.

Backstage segement Abyss visiting Eric Bischoff, Bobby Lashley jumped Abyss who knocked him out. Hogan gets upset but tells Abyss he'll get a better match after having knocked out his slated opponant.

Desmond Wolfe (and unknown lady friend) vs D'Angelo Dinero - Wolfe has changed his ring gear and was wearing silver leggings with a purple wolf logo on them instead of his standard dark blue trunks. I assume Dinero hurt his knee doing the Slide Over through the ropes mid match? This match was too slow, too long, dull as hell & Wolfe took the eventual win off the Lariat Clothesline.

Backstage Segment, Bischoff tells Jeremy Borash he's being taken off tv until further notice. Christy Hemme interviews Ric Flair.

Tag Match, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall vs Beer Money - Or so we thought until Sean Waltman (who they are calling Syxx-Pac) came out with Nash so it appears Hall no-showed for a TNA match yet again, this match was going nowhere with Beer Money on top until Scott Hall came out as a distraction then Hall dragged a "fan" (clearly a plant as Waltman was getting himself into position on the apron to run & "stop" Hall) out of the front row & started beating him up which distracted Waltman to stop it so James Storm nailed Nash with a Super Kick & Robert Roode took the win off a Bridging Suplex. Nash looked very pissed off after the match. Dear Eric Bischoff, cheap heat is S**T heat!

Abyss vs Mr Anderson - Anderson was better known as Ken Kennedy in WWE where he was released for various violations of their drug programme as well as being accused of being too stiff by WWE workers. This match was too long, very dull & Anderson took the win after using Brass Knucks on Abyss.

World Heavyweight Championship, Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles - Billed as having a 60 minute time limit, its a shame there was only 33 minutes left of airtime when the opening bell actually rang. The match had been going nowhere for about 15 minutes when Ric Flair came down to ringside to watch, business did pick up for about 2 minutes then slowed right back down to a snails pace again. Angle actually hit the Styles Clash on AJ (which I'll admit was pretty cool) who returned the favour a few minutes later by hitting Angle with the Angle Slam, this thing looked over with about 6 minutes to spare when Angle put AJ into the Ankle Lock on the verge of tapping out & about 2 seconds before Styles started to tap out Flair yanked Ref Earl Hebner out of the ring to the floor so he didn't see Styles tap out leaving Angle giving Flair angry eyes. Flair suckered Angle into the ring & Styles hit a nice Flying Clothesline then threw Styles the belt who then nailed Angle in the head with it. Flair threw Hebner back in to make the worlds slowest 3 count and AJ Styles retains his title to become a heel with Ric Flair.

Again I must repeat this is the final new TNA show I will be reviewing. I have been reviewing the show every month, fortnight then weekly since 2007 and I did not like the idea of Hogan & Bischoff taking over as I feared his ego & cronies would destroy the show. By aquiring talent like Anderson & Morley as well as getting rid of TNA's iconic 6 sided ring has left me with nothing but hatred towards the company I used to be very passionate about. TNA has lost possibly one its most prolific free reviewers (I doubt there are many who have reviewed as many shows as me who dont get paid for it) and it upsets me that under Hogan the company will most likely crash & burn. It has been my pleasure to write these reviews and I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I did writing them.

Peace out - Ray Daley.

My Weekly TNA Catch-up, Impact 14th Jan 2010 reviewed

Tag Match, Generation Me vs The Motor City Machine Guns - Generation Me were previously known as The Young Bucks, Nick & Matt Jackson but here they are going under the names of Max & Jeremy. Max has the dark hair so we can tell them apart, clearly some of the crowd knew who they were as they were putting out a "Young Bucks" chant. Frankly this was a fantastic match with far too many great spots to call & even Taz marked out for them saying "Who are these Young Bucks", Generation Me took the well deserved win after finishing off Shelley with 2 awesome Moonsaults and if this is the calibre of new talent everyone in the X Division is seriously going to have to raise their game.

Kurt Angle comes out to praise AJ Styles, after they talk Styles gets jumped by his mystery masked man who finally reveals himself to be Tomko which we knew weeks ago.

Non-title Knockout Tag Match, The Beautiful People (with Lacey Von Erich) vs Hamada & Awesome Kong - Angelina Love was in the crowd & Madison and Velvet greeted her but Lacey looked really annoyed through a forced smile. This wasn't much of a match & Kong took the win off a Sit Out Awesome Bomb, Love hopping the guardrail wasn't entirely a surprise neither was her jumping Von Erich but her jumping Sky was quite unexpected so it looks like Love is back a week later than rumoured.

Various backstage stuff.

Tag Match, Lethal Consequences vs Team 3D - or rather not as Bobby Lashley came out & jumped Lethal Consequences during their entrance. I guess this was part of Lashleys attempt to ask for his release, its a c**p storyline & no-one cares about it. Team 3D did eventually come out, hit the 3D on Creed and took a rather pathetic & meaningless win. Brother Ray cuts a promo on The Nasty Boys & Hogan & The Nasty Boys jump Team 3D in their own locker room.

Sean Morley (probably better known as Val Venis to WWE fans) comes out to talk, Daniels interupts him then floors him.

Tag Match, Matt Morgan & Hernandez vs Beer Money - After the match Morgan & Super Mex had on last Mondays special I am amazed they are even employed as it was so terrible. This match was going nowhere so clearly Russo decided it was the perfect moment for a run-in & sent Big Rob out to waylay Hernandez. Morgan fought him back up the ramp and we heard the bell go in the background and Mike Tenay said the match was being thrown out as a double DQ.

Sean Waltman, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall came out & Waltman got a kicking but Nash soon levelled the field with his size. Black shirt security & the refs kind of broke it up then Eric Bischoff came out & booked Hall & Nash vs Beer Money at this weekends PPV.

Desmond Wolfe vs Samoa Joe - D'Angelo Dinero joined Taz & Tenay at the colour desk, this match was pretty dull. Joe was ok but Wolfe didn't do much and took the win off Towers Of London.

Backstage segment between Jeff Jarrett & Hulk Hogan finally making an appearance on the show after an hour, Bischoff shoots on Jarrett.

Heavyweight Championship Match, Tomko vs AJ Styles - Ric Flair joins Taz & Tenay at the colour desk, Kurt Angle came out to shake hands with Flair & watch the match which was really dull. Styles took the win off the Pele, Tomko jumped him post match but Angle made the save.

To be honest this weeks show wasn't very good apart from the X Division tag match, this weekends PPV will have to be awesome to keep the spark alive. I assume after the PPV they will tape 2 weeks worth of Impacts because TNA will be in England 2 weeks after the PPV. Although it'd be way cool if they decide to do Impact live from England on a Thusday because they will be in my hometown of Coventry ;-)

My Weekly TNA Catch-up, Impact 7th Jan 2010 reviewed

Basically all TNA did was replay Mondays show. So all you are getting here is the same review I wrote for Monday.

Finally its the show everyones been talking about, the TNA debut of Hulk Hogan. We have a new announcer in the shape of Bubba The Love Sponge (who I have NEVER heard of) & as far as the alterations to the Impact Zone set go all I noticed different was the bleachers go higher up & the colour desk has been moved even further back parallel to the face entrance tunnel.

Non-title Steel Asylum Match, Chris Sabin vs Alex Shelley vs Homicide vs Kiyoshi vs Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed vs Suicide vs Amazing Red - This was looking like it'd be a really good match when Homicide went apes**t & started using an extendable baton on everyone so the refs ruled it a no contest, Not a very good way to kick off the 1st Impact of 2010. This result got a MASSIVE "bulls**t" chant from the crowd. I guess Russo just had to show everyone he's still in charge.

The appearance of Jeff Hardy was more than welcome & if he's back for good its great to see him back in TNA if he can stay off the junk this time. Hardy made a nice chair shot then nailed an excellent Twist Of Fate on Homicide on the ramp. We also saw Shannon Moore backstage as well, we all remember what happened with him in TNA last time don't we? No? He toured the UK with them then went back to the US & right back to WWE.

Knockout Title Match, ODB vs Tara - Again the announcer was made to emphasize the 20 minute time limit just to let everyone know Russo still has the reigns here, ODB jumped Tara as she took her top off but Tara held her off & nailed a lovely Running Clothesline. Tara made some nice Kicks & Punches until ODB caught her leg but Tara answered with an Enzuigiri then a Scoop Slam but only got a near fall off the Standing Moonsault, ODB was stretched out after Tara hit the Tarantula on the rope then made a nice Springboard Legdrop over the top rope for another near fall. You had to question what the f**k the guys in the camera truck were doing cutting to a shot of the cage when ODB made the Schoolboy Roll-up with a handfull off Taras trunks as an assist to take the win to recapture her title but this wasn't a bad match, just not long enough. Tara nailing a postmatch Widows Peak was kinda predictable.

Backstage shot of Nature Boy Ric Flair arriving in a white limo. WOO! Video package of Mick Foley being denied entry to the Impact Zone. Bobby & Kristal Lashley come out & call out Hogan asking for Lashleys release from TNA. Apparently Bobby can't speak for himself as Kristal had to make the speech for him, its the 2nd time she's done that by the way. C***py segment of The Beautiful People playing Strip Poker. Shots of Scott Hall & Sean Waltman being denied entry to the studios but they do eventually get inside.

Finally after 37 minutes of show Hulk Hogan comes out (to his classic NWO Hollywood music dressed all in black) but he completely blanked Hall & Waltman as he came down the ramp, Brooke Hogan was in the crowd too. Both Waltman & Hall jumped the guardrail but Hogan let them in the ring to talk. Hogan tells them no more gravy train (thank f**k!), Hogan talking about "doing the right thing for the business" is clearly selling out to marks though so he's clearly been reading the internet on our opinions of him. Kevin Nash comes out as also gets told no more old school gravy train for him either.

Waltman & Hall take off their jackets & start facing off to Hogan like their going to fight then Eric Bischoff comes out telling Nash, Hall & Waltman "everybody has to earn their position in this company" the constant shots of Dixie Carter in the crowd showed a very nervous looking face. Bischoff brought his own script with him, presumptious fucker. And it was nice to see Sting in the rafters after Hogan & Bischoff were done.

Knockout Tag Championship, Awesome Kong & Hamada vs Taylor Wilde & Sarita - Sarita & Hamada made a nice start to this but Wilde made a big no-no by making signals to Hamada off the top turn buckle to check she was ready to do a spot, I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to semi-interupt this match to show that The Motor City Machine Guns had been jumped (I'm guessing by Hall, Waltman & Nash?) but the twin Suicide Dives by Wilde & Sarita onto Hamada & Kong on the floor might have been a little badly advised as Hamada had been limping & clutching at her upper thigh mere moments earlier.

Coming back from a badly timed break Hamada & Kong had taken the upper hand (and TNA REALLY need to stop doing that split screen on insanely tiny screens), Hamada was definately injured as she was limping again when she tagged Kong in, Wilde made a nice Jawbreaker on Kong tagging in Sarita to nail a beautiful Springboard Dropkick on Kong. Hamada practically begged Wilde to kick her out of the ring to get a moments respite leaving Kong to work the champions on her own with Kong powering out of Saritas Hurricanrana only to miss a nearfall on Sarita herself when Wilde made the save leaving the fans chanting "This is awesome" (something you certainly didn't hear over on RAW during their show!).

Wilde took a vicious posting from Hamada outside the ring who had to push Kong forward to reposition her (Ref Slick Johnson also had to feed Kong instructions to move into the correct position too) so Hamada could nail the Missile Dropkick off the top turnbuckle on Sarita which allowed Kong to make the pin so Hamada & Awesome Kong are new Knockout Tag Champions.

More of The Beautiful Peoples Strip Poker Game, former WWE star Val Venis joins them but he's not named though. It appears I have to make an apology & a correction, Big Rocco & Sally Boy are still working for TNA as we saw them denying Mick Foley entry to the studio closely followed by Knobbs & Saggs The Nasy Boys also being denied access.

Raven & Dr. Stevie (with Daffney) vs Hernandez & Matt Morgan - Extremely short & extremely s**t, Morgan took the win off The Carbon Footprint on Stevie & if this is the quality of matches Hogan & Bischoff are going to be offering us in the future then I see a massive exodus of people watching TNA to watching anything else including Knitting shows. This means Morgan & Hernandez will get a title shot on the next PPV.

Backstage interview with D'Angelo Dinero & Christy Hemme in what is her new full time job, they get interupted by Orlando Jordan but I needed Taz to tell me who the f**k he was because I sure didn't recognise the c**t.

Desmond Wolfe vs D'Angelo Dinero - Very poor match where both guys were equally as dull, Wolfe went for Towers Of London but Dinero powered out to take the win off a Small Package.

Backstage segment where we see Jeff Jarrett entering the building then they show that Rhino has also been attacked backstage. JB interviewing AJ Styles only to be interupted by Bischoff telling Styles his title is on the line for the main event tonight. Jeff Jarrett comes out to the ring to a rousing reception where he looked very emotional but Dixie Carter looked like she couldn't care less. Hogan goes heel against Jarrett (it was Russo that ran the company into the ground Hogan) getting himself a "bulls**t" chant from the crowd. Foley finally makes it into the Impact Zone.

Abyss vs Samoa Joe - Abyss was scheduled to meet Rhino but he obviously got beaten up backstage earlier so Hogan & Bischoff made this match on the fly. Joe started off well & just went like crazy nailing a kick to the head of Abyss out of nowhere, both guys had a very good match & it seems Joe is back to his best form now the "insane Joe" gimmick is done with. After nailing Abyss in the head with a chair Joe took the win off the Rear Naked Choke Hold.

Another backstage segment, Kristal Lashley talking to Bischoff then a shot of Beer Money who had also been attacked. Bubba The Love Sponge sneaks The Nasty Boys into the studios who then go on to destroy Team 3D's dressing room, its also sounds like Jeff Hardy & Shannon Moore now have TNA contracts.

TNA Heavyweight Title Match, Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles - I'm not sure why the announcer bothered telling us this had a 60 minute time limit as the show only had 21 minutes left on the air by that point anyway. This match had only been going for a few minutes before Russo decided it needed a run-in & sent out Styles' mystery attacker (who everyone knows is Tomko anyway) but Angle sent him out to the floor over the top rope with a clothesline and this match carried on as if nothing had happened. This match was far too slow & overly long for the sake of it, Angle had Styles in an Ankle Lock when Ric Flair came out to watch from the ramp (I'll assume Bischoff or Hogan thought that was a good idea but it totally ruined the flow of the match) & after a 4th or 5th Styles Clash AJ Styles took the win off the 450 Splash.

Angle made a very nice show of respect to Styles post match then Hogan came out seriously putting both Angle & Styles over big time. Backstage segment of Foley looking for Hogan only to find they've put Hogans name on Foleys old office & Bischoffs in Foleys old chair, show closes with Foley getting the shit beaten out of him by Nash, Hall & Waltman.

So it seems certain rumours were true (appearances by Flair, Hall & The Nasty Boys) whilst others were complete bulls**t (Appearances by RVD Or Sid Vicious & the return of Angelina Love).

It appears yes there was an Impact, all they did was replay Mondays show.

My Weekly TNA Catch-up, Impact 4th Jan 2010 reviewed

Finally its the show everyones been talking about, the TNA debut of Hulk Hogan. We have a new announcer in the shape of Bubba The Love Sponge (who I have NEVER heard of) & as far as the alterations to the Impact Zone set go all I noticed different was the bleachers go higher up & the colour desk has been moved even further back parallel to the face entrance tunnel.

Non-title Steel Asylum Match, Chris Sabin vs Alex Shelley vs Homicide vs Kiyoshi vs Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed vs Suicide vs Amazing Red - This was looking like it'd be a really good match when Homicide went apes**t & started using an extendable baton on everyone so the refs ruled it a no contest, Not a very good way to kick off the 1st Impact of 2010. This result got a MASSIVE "bulls**t" chant from the crowd. I guess Russo just had to show everyone he's still in charge.

The appearance of Jeff Hardy was more than welcome & if he's back for good its great to see him back in TNA if he can stay off the junk this time. Hardy made a nice chair shot then nailed an excellent Twist Of Fate on Homicide on the ramp. We also saw Shannon Moore backstage as well, we all remember what happened with him in TNA last time don't we? No? He toured the UK with them then went back to the US & right back to WWE.

Knockout Title Match, ODB vs Tara - Again the announcer was made to emphasize the 20 minute time limit just to let everyone know Russo still has the reigns here, ODB jumped Tara as she took her top off but Tara held her off & nailed a lovely Running Clothesline. Tara made some nice Kicks & Punches until ODB caught her leg but Tara answered with an Enzuigiri then a Scoop Slam but only got a near fall off the Standing Moonsault, ODB was stretched out after Tara hit the Tarantula on the rope then made a nice Springboard Legdrop over the top rope for another near fall. You had to question what the f**k the guys in the camera truck were doing cutting to a shot of the cage when ODB made the Schoolboy Roll-up with a handfull off Taras trunks as an assist to take the win to recapture her title but this wasn't a bad match, just not long enough. Tara nailing a postmatch Widows Peak was kinda predictable.

Backstage shot of Nature Boy Ric Flair arriving in a white limo. WOO! Video package of Mick Foley being denied entry to the Impact Zone. Bobby & Kristal Lashley come out & call out Hogan asking for Lashleys release from TNA. Apparently Bobby can't speak for himself as Kristal had to make the speech for him, its the 2nd time she's done that by the way. C***py segment of The Beautiful People playing Strip Poker. Shots of Scott Hall & Sean Waltman being denied entry to the studios but they do eventually get inside.

Finally after 37 minutes of show Hulk Hogan comes out (to his classic NWO Hollywood music dressed all in black) but he completely blanked Hall & Waltman as he came down the ramp, Brooke Hogan was in the crowd too. Both Waltman & Hall jumped the guardrail but Hogan let them in the ring to talk. Hogan tells them no more gravy train (thank f**k!), Hogan talking about "doing the right thing for the business" is clearly selling out to marks though so he's clearly been reading the internet on our opinions of him. Kevin Nash comes out as also gets told no more old school gravy train for him either.

Waltman & Hall take off their jackets & start facing off to Hogan like their going to fight then Eric Bischoff comes out telling Nash, Hall & Waltman "everybody has to earn their position in this company" the constant shots of Dixie Carter in the crowd showed a very nervous looking face. Bischoff brought his own script with him, presumptious fucker. And it was nice to see Sting in the rafters after Hogan & Bischoff were done.

Knockout Tag Championship, Awesome Kong & Hamada vs Taylor Wilde & Sarita - Sarita & Hamada made a nice start to this but Wilde made a big no-no by making signals to Hamada off the top turn buckle to check she was ready to do a spot, I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to semi-interupt this match to show that The Motor City Machine Guns had been jumped (I'm guessing by Hall, Waltman & Nash?) but the twin Suicide Dives by Wilde & Sarita onto Hamada & Kong on the floor might have been a little badly advised as Hamada had been limping & clutching at her upper thigh mere moments earlier.

Coming back from a badly timed break Hamada & Kong had taken the upper hand (and TNA REALLY need to stop doing that split screen on insanely tiny screens), Hamada was definately injured as she was limping again when she tagged Kong in, Wilde made a nice Jawbreaker on Kong tagging in Sarita to nail a beautiful Springboard Dropkick on Kong. Hamada practically begged Wilde to kick her out of the ring to get a moments respite leaving Kong to work the champions on her own with Kong powering out of Saritas Hurricanrana only to miss a nearfall on Sarita herself when Wilde made the save leaving the fans chanting "This is awesome" (something you certainly didn't hear over on RAW during their show!).

Wilde took a vicious posting from Hamada outside the ring who had to push Kong forward to reposition her (Ref Slick Johnson also had to feed Kong instructions to move into the correct position too) so Hamada could nail the Missile Dropkick off the top turnbuckle on Sarita which allowed Kong to make the pin so Hamada & Awesome Kong are new Knockout Tag Champions.

More of The Beautiful Peoples Strip Poker Game, former WWE star Val Venis joins them but he's not named though. It appears I have to make an apology & a correction, Big Rocco & Sally Boy are still working for TNA as we saw them denying Mick Foley entry to the studio closely followed by Knobbs & Saggs The Nasy Boys also being denied access.

Raven & Dr. Stevie (with Daffney) vs Hernandez & Matt Morgan - Extremely short & extremely s**t, Morgan took the win off The Carbon Footprint on Stevie & if this is the quality of matches Hogan & Bischoff are going to be offering us in the future then I see a massive exodus of people watching TNA to watching anything else including Knitting shows. This means Morgan & Hernandez will get a title shot on the next PPV.

Backstage interview with D'Angelo Dinero & Christy Hemme in what is her new full time job, they get interupted by Orlando Jordan but I needed Taz to tell me who the f**k he was because I sure didn't recognise the c**t.

Desmond Wolfe vs D'Angelo Dinero - Very poor match where both guys were equally as dull, Wolfe went for Towers Of London but Dinero powered out to take the win off a Small Package.

Backstage segment where we see Jeff Jarrett entering the building then they show that Rhino has also been attacked backstage. JB interviewing AJ Styles only to be interupted by Bischoff telling Styles his title is on the line for the main event tonight. Jeff Jarrett comes out to the ring to a rousing reception where he looked very emotional but Dixie Carter looked like she couldn't care less. Hogan goes heel against Jarrett (it was Russo that ran the company into the ground Hogan) getting himself a "bulls**t" chant from the crowd. Foley finally makes it into the Impact Zone.

Abyss vs Samoa Joe - Abyss was scheduled to meet Rhino but he obviously got beaten up backstage earlier so Hogan & Bischoff made this match on the fly. Joe started off well & just went like crazy nailing a kick to the head of Abyss out of nowhere, both guys had a very good match & it seems Joe is back to his best form now the "insane Joe" gimmick is done with. After nailing Abyss in the head with a chair Joe took the win off the Rear Naked Choke Hold.

Another backstage segment, Kristal Lashley talking to Bischoff then a shot of Beer Money who had also been attacked. Bubba The Love Sponge sneaks The Nasty Boys into the studios who then go on to destroy Team 3D's dressing room, its also sounds like Jeff Hardy & Shannon Moore now have TNA contracts.

TNA Heavyweight Title Match, Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles - I'm not sure why the announcer bothered telling us this had a 60 minute time limit as the show only had 21 minutes left on the air by that point anyway. This match had only been going for a few minutes before Russo decided it needed a run-in & sent out Styles' mystery attacker (who everyone knows is Tomko anyway) but Angle sent him out to the floor over the top rope with a clothesline and this match carried on as if nothing had happened. This match was far too slow & overly long for the sake of it, Angle had Styles in an Ankle Lock when Ric Flair came out to watch from the ramp (I'll assume Bischoff or Hogan thought that was a good idea but it totally ruined the flow of the match) & after a 4th or 5th Styles Clash AJ Styles took the win off the 450 Splash.

Angle made a very nice show of respect to Styles post match then Hogan came out seriously putting both Angle & Styles over big time. Backstage segment of Foley looking for Hogan only to find they've put Hogans name on Foleys old office & Bischoffs in Foleys old chair, show closes with Foley getting the shit beaten out of him by Nash, Hall & Waltman.

So it seems certain rumours were true (appearances by Flair, Hall & The Nasty Boys) whilst others were complete bulls**t (Appearances by RVD Or Sid Vicious & the return of Angelina Love).. I don't think Impact offered a great deal more than RAW did but we will see how the audience figures reflect in the morning. My only question is will there be an Impact this Thursday on not or are they sticking with Mondays?

WWE Monday Night Raw 4th Jan 10 reviewed

With your special guest host Bret "The Hitman" Hart returning to RAW after 12 years & he calls out HBK to discuss the Screwjob & they bury the hatchet with a handshake then a hug. Bret also calls out Vince but he doesn't come out. Backstage he tells someone he'll call Bret out later. The colour guys announce Divas Champ Melina is injured & has been forced to vacate her title so they'll have an 8 woman event to decide the title. Erm hang on just 1 minute, didn't TNA just do this very same thing mere days ago? Talk about stealing ideas from the competition but thats taking the piss!

1st round Divas Tournament, Maryse vs Brie Bella - Not a very good match at all where Maryse was double teamed left, right & centre, the Bellas did switch near the end but Maryse took the win off the French Kiss (a rather nice looking Inverted DDT).

Fatal 4 Way Match, MVP vs Jack Swagger vs Carlito vs Mark Henry - Neither Carlito or Henry were introduced as the show took a break once Swagger came out & the match was already under way when they came back from commercials. The winner here will become #1 contender for the US Championship, why the fuck should we care who is #1 contender for that joke of a title? Its only the old WCW US TV title anyway. Its never had ANY prestige EVER! Piss poor excuse for a match where MVP won off the Piemaker when Swagger finally decided he'd sell it.

Unified Tag Title Match, Degeneration X vs The Big Show & Chris Jericho - Was Jericho taking the mickey out of Hulk Hogan during this match doing the hand to the ears thing? Extremely poor match, HHH took the win off Jericho after HBK hit Sweet Chin Music meaning Jericho is on his way back to Smackdown.

Non-title match, Sheamus vs Evan Bourne - Not a great match, Sheamus took the win off what Scott Hall used to call the Razors Edge, I assume they haven't given his finisher a name yet? How about The Celtic Cross? (And if you use that WWE I expect to be paid for it!).

The colour guys pay their respects after the recent passing of Dr Death Steve Williams from throat cancer.

Kofi Kingston vs Randy Orton - Kofi had a great match, Orton was so so but Orton took the win off the RKO.

Vince McMahon comes out & refuses to call out Bret Hart, Mike Tyson as next weeks guest host gets no pop at all. Bret comes out anyway & Vince even mentions the punch in the locker room after the Screw Job. Vince says he wants to nominate Stu Hart for the WWE Hall Of Fame this year. The swerve during the celebration (where Vince kicked Bret in the gut) was totally predictable BTW. WWE completely telegraphed that one.

My TNA Catch-up, New Years Knockout Eve Dec 09

Tonight is basically an 8 woman tournament to decide #1 contender for the Knockout title and the best 3 matches of 2009 as voted for by the fans, if the reviews for those 3 matches look familar its because I couldn't be bothered to watch any of the 3 matches so I copied my original write-ups on them.

New Years Knockout Eve Tournament 1st Round, Madison Rayne vs Hamada - Rayne has improved immensely as she gave a good performance against the vastly more experienced Hamada who was selling for Rayne big time but Hamada took the eventual win off the Hamada Driver.

New Years Knockout Eve Tournament 1st Round, Traci vs ODB - In reality ODB shouldn't even have to have any matches because as previous champion she should automatically be #1 contender, after getting a facefull of liquid from ODB Traci was on the wrong end of an ass kicking. Traci's best offence was an excellent Spear that winded ODB & it seems that Taz has finally decided to stop saying "pectorial", I'm not exactly sure why Traci tore her shirt off to reveal her bra but ODB got the win off a TKO.

New Years Knockout Eve Tournament 1st Round, Roxxi vs Velvet Sky - I'd read that Roxxi broke her ankle during this tournament so I'm going to keep my eyes peeled to see if I can see where it happened, during Velvets intro Mike Tenay was trying to bulls**t us that The Beautiful People had got Lauren fired, I guess they decided as Lauren had left they could write any kayfabe storyline they liked? Roxxi started this one out by selling big time for Sky who seriously needs to learn to scream less when shes working, Roxxi's ankle seemed to go after the roll-up off Skys Octopus Hold as she appeared to just completely lose the use of her left foot. Roxxi took the eventual win off the Voodoo Drop but she seemed to work the rest of the match ok on her ankle.

Turning Point PPV Nov 09, Grudge Match, Desmond Wolfe vs Kurt Angle - This was too slow & far too boring, sadly all complaints I'd made about Nigel McGuiness in his past in ROH which he doesn't seem to have learnt from. All this slow mat c**p & technical wrestling might be over with the Japs but it has no place in modern sports entertainment, Kurt Angle took the eventual win off a submission when Wolfe tapped out. Now THAT is a s**t finish, I wouldn't have given this away for free on Youtube, let alone Impact or a PPV.

New Years Knockout Eve Tournament 1st Round, Daffney vs Awesome Kong - Kong was on top for most of this but she initially struggled to grab Daffneys foot for the Torture Rack (a move that had previously injured Christy Hemme in the past) but Kong took the eventual win off the Implant Buster.

Non-title Womens Tag Match, Lorelei & April Hunter vs Sarita & Taylor Wilde - Taz & Tenay were joined by Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams on the colour desk. Hunter has a decent wrestling pedigree having worked pretty much everywhere a woman can apart from WWE, Lorelei is better known from SHIMMER & also worked as Tyler Texas in Jimmy Harts Wrestlicious which is yet to air on tv. So you can tell who was who Hunter had the long ginger hair. Sarita kicked this off against Lorelei who worked some nice groundbased technical moves but also sold very well for Sarita & Wilde, Hunter had a nice run against Wilde especially her Single Arm Slam. Both teams had an excellent match (that could have done with being a little longer if I'm honest) & Wilde took the win off Lorelei.

Turning Point PPV Nov 09, 3 Way World Heavyweight Championship, Daniels Vs Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles - Extremely boring until about the last 10 minutes, Styles took the win off the Springboard 450 Splash on Joe to retain his title.

New Years Knockout Eve Tournament Semi Final, Roxxi vs Hamada - Roxxi's ribs were taped up due to the post match beatdown she had received from Lacey Von Erich. After Hamada's Drop Toe Hold & Ankle Lock Roxxi was trying shake off her foot so she was clearly in some discomfort, Hamada stuck with the attacks on Roxxi's ankles & Roxxi had to use a submission hold where Hamada was forced onto the ropes to get it broken. Roxxi may have hurt the ankle when they both did a double drop kick on each other as she did grab her lower leg & Referee Earl Hebner spoke to her & Hamada asked him something & Hebner gave her a sign.

Hamada hit a lovely Abdominal Stretch on Roxxi before jumping off the top turnbuckle hitting Roxxi in the back with both feet, Hamada made a wicked Hurricanrana off the top rope when Roxxi was sitting on the top turnbuckle. Amazingly Hamada kicked out of the Voodoo Drop but when Hamada wiggled out of a 2nd attempted Voodoo Drop & she took the win by making a Roll-Through. If Roxxi did break one of her ankles in 2 places I can't positively identify where or when it happened.

New Years Knockout Eve Tournament Semi Final, ODB vs Awesome Kong - ODB took it to Kong out on the entrance ramp before the bell went so the ref was forced to start this before either woman reached the ring. This was pretty even but ODB was on top as they entered a commercial break & was still in charge when they came back having jumped on Kongs back to apply a Sleeper Hold which Kong stopped by smashing ODB into the turnbuckles. ODB failed to drop Kong with a couple of Shoulder Charges but she certainly winded her with a Splash into the corner, ODB was stupid enough to go for a Scoop Slam but Kongs sheer weight dropped onto her for a near fall. We had a c***py predictable ref bump & ODB picked up the bottle we'd seen her drinking out of earlier & as Kong took ODB up for an attempt on the Implant Buster ODB smashed the bottle over Kongs head covering her for the pin as Kong fell.

Bound For Glory V PPV Oct 09, World Heavyweight Championship, Sting vs AJ Styles - Before this match rumours had abounded that this would be Stings final match for TNA as he was retiring, by the time the bell went this was only ever going to be a maximum of 20 minutes long. After several spots it became pretty obvious that both Sting & Styles were really enjoying this match as they both kept grinning wildy at each other, Sting was even polite enough to hold open the ropes for Styles after he was sent to the floor.

Styles nailed a lovely Enzuigiri on Sting leading to a near fall but Sting came back with a couple of nice Bulldogs, Styles sold a really high looking Backdrop off Sting like crazy before hitting a great Dropkick. Both guys got a taste of guard rail missing Splashes on each other with Styles interupting Earl Hebners count to allow Sting time to get back into the ring, Sting got a near fall himself off a Piledriver but by this time the match was backwards & forwards between both guys as to who was on top and closest to victory.

Styles took 2 successive Scorpion Death Drops kicking out of a pin but Sting went for the Scorpion Deathlock which Styles managed to get out of but he came VERY close to tapping out, Styles then really sold a Clothesline for all he was worth only just kicking out of the pin that followed it. After nailing Sting with a Headbutt Styles took a nasty tumble off the top turnbuckle before connecting with The Pele off the apron which Sting certainly wasn't expecting but Styles made a Springboard Splash to take the win to retain his title.

New Years Knockout Eve Tournament Final, Hamada vs ODB - This had a great start with Hamada's Headscissors Hurricanrana following up with an excellent Tornado DDT leading to a near fall, ODB bailed to the floor and was out there far too long (frankly she should have been counted out at least 3 times). Hamada made a couple of nice rolling submission pins before getting hung up in the Tree Of Woe after she went for a Moonsault that ODB cut her off from, coming back from another commercial break ODB was in charge & nailed the Fall Away Slam but missed the pin.

ODB made a Bearhug which Hamada sold really well, Hamada went for a kick that ODB caught but Hamada reacted instinctively nailing a lovely Enzuigiri that ODB made a great sell on. After an exchange of Forearm Shots Hamada went for a series of Headbutts & Chops missing a pin off a Cross Body Block, the crowd were seriously marking out for Hamada but ODB stopped her with a Jawbreaker. Some idiot backstage decided it'd be a good idea for Awesome Kong to do a run-in carrying a table which Ref Slick Johnson failed to stop her setting up but 3 or 4 more referees managed to get her to go backstage. Hamada sent ODB to the floor under the bottom rope with a Spinkick then took out ODB on the floor with a Flip Dive off the apron, Hamada repositioned the table by the ring then went up to the top turnbuckle to hit the Reverse Moonsault but ODB had already moved off the table. After rolling Hamada back into the ring ODB took the win off the TKO to become #1 contender which she was or should have been anyway showing this tournament was a complete waste of everyones time.

ODB wasn't a very popular winner judging by the boos during JB's interview.

This year in TNA:-

Debuts:- Madison Rayne, Mick Foley, Brutus Magnus, Dr Stevie, Kiyoshi & No Limit, Big Rocco & Sally Boy, Jesse Neal, Cody Deaner, Daffney, Suicide (both as Chris Daniels & Frankie Kazarian), Jenna Morasca, Jethro Holliday, Big Rob Terry, Tara, Alissa Flash, Sarita, Taz, Bobby Lashley, D'Angelo Dinero, Hamada, Lacey Von Erich, Desmond Wolf. So this year saw the arrival of 25 new people.

Departures:- Petey Williams, Lance Hoyt, Shane Sewell, Don West (sideways to sales), Sojourner Bolt, Jimmy Rave, Sonjay Dutt, Sheik Abdul Bashir, Lauren the announcer, Cody Deaner, Roxxi, Rhaka Khan, Angelina Love, Booker T, Sharmell, Jim Cornette, BG James. I assume Big Rocco & Sally Boy were also released when the MEM team disbanded, Jenna Morasca left after she'd finished promoting Kurt Angles new movie. I'm not sure if Shark Boy is still working for TNA either as its been a very long time since we saw him jobbing on Jethro Hollidays debut. So we definately lost at least 15 employees this year.

Returns of:- Traci Brooks, Christopher Daniels, Amazing Red, Doug Williams, Raven, Shane Douglas, Christy Hemme, Roxxi, Tomko, Giant Bernard, Jeff Jarrett.

In TNA news Cody Deaner has now been officially released & is already working the indy circuit (If it'd been me writing the Feast Or Fired scripts I'd have had Deaner & Bashir both claim the fired case with neither backing down about who won it then have Foley say they could both have the contents of the case resulting in them both getting fired) & there are rumours of Scott Hall & Angelina Love returning on the Hogan debut show as well as Sid Vicious, Rob Van Dam & Ric Flair who are all rumoured to be appearing on this Mondays live 3 hour Impact special.

WWE Monday Night Raw 21st Dec 09 reviewed

Its my 1st WWE show since 2nd Oct & my 1st RAW since 28th Sept so I won't apologise for not knowing who people are or what current storylines are either - someone described the show as outstandingly bad so I figured it was worth seeing the show that Vince thinks will keep people from tuning into Hulk Hogan on TNA in a few weeks time. With guest host Johnny Damon who being a baseball star no-one outside of America is going to have a f**king clue who he is. the show devolved into farce with less than 5 minutes having passed with some blonde attacking a guy in a tiger suit with a golf club. So domestic abuse is considered an acceptable thing to lampoon is it?

6 Diva Santas Little Helper Tag Match, Melina, Kelly Kelly & Gail Kim vs Maryse, Alicia Fox & Jillian - Poor Gail Kim, she gave up wrestling in actual matches in a company where she'd been champion & had everything going for her & now shes here wrestling dressed up in some weak ass lingerie gimmick match. I hope that alledgedly MASSIVE pay cheque is filling the empty hole in your career Gail?

As Kim was with the Champ & also on the team that didn't look like $5 hookers after a bad day I assume she's a face at the moment? Kim & Jillian worked an ok program but clearly Jillians never seen any WWE tapes else she'd have avoided the Springboard Flip that cost Chyna her WWE career. I also assume WWE have been trying to get Trish Stratus back unsuccessfully as Maryse looked pretty much exactly like her but not as pretty & nowhere near as talented a worker. I was quite impressed with Kelly who made a lovely Hurricanrana but this match broke down & Kelly took the win by pinning Maryse off an assist from Melina. This could have done with being much longer & we didn't see Melina or Alicia Fox work at all.

If you thought the Tiger Woods skit earlier was stupid then things hit a new level on the lowness scale with this c***py video package about DX being taken to Little Peoples Court. Listen WWE, Peoples Court airs in the US & no-one outside of America was EVER going to get this c***py joke. You have to wonder how much money Vince wasted doing this.

6 Man Tag Match, Randy Orton & Legacy vs Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne & Mark Henry - I see WWE announcers are still billing Henry as "Worlds Strongest Man" despite the fact the fat f**k has never even taken part in the contest? Listen WWE, he won an Arnold classic event f**king ONCE in 2002! Not a very impressive match at all, Orton mainly stayed out of it but is it me or does Cody Rhodes REALLY look like Johnny Knoxville from Jackass? After things broke down as expected Kingston took the win off Trouble In Paradise off Ted DiBiase Jr.

More backstage c**p & futher c**p from the DX skit that they should have given up on before they bothered airing it.

John Cena vs Jack Swagger - So Cenas still sticking with the thugganomics thing & Swagger still looks like Owen Harts evil twin on Ritalin, I'll assume from his outfit & his catch as catch can preferred style Swagger was an amateur wrestler before he joined the Dub? Oh & someone might want to tell Swagger Scott Steiner called & he wants his gimmick back. Cena took the eventual win after Swagger tapped out of the STF.

Carlito vs Chris Masters (with Eve Torres) - Its bizarre how much of a push Masters is getting for someone who fell foul of the Wellness program & who still looks like he's seriously hitting those 'Roids too. Masters actually reminded me of Paul Roma but his trouble is he's very much a 1 trick pony only ever using the Master Lock, its weird seeing Carlito as a heel at the moment as he was well into a face role the last time I tuned in when he was working having not long broken up tagging with Primo. Masters took the win off the Master Lock after he put Carlito to sleep so its a modified Sleeper Hold then?

Overly long video package schilling WWE's Tribute To The Troops show in case you missed it.

Sheamus vs MVP - Because he's willing to suck HHH's c**k Sheamus now has the WWE Heavyweight title but it doesn't stop him being an Adam "Mythbusters" Savage lookalike. P**s poor match where Sheamus took the win off a Jack Knife Powerbomb, someone might want to tell both Scott Hall & Kevin Nash this ginger Johnny Come Lately is stealing their finisher. John Cena comes out to ask for his rematch but Sheamus bails.

The Miz vs Santino Claus - I'm not sure why Miz was making such a fuss over his belt which is only the old WCW US TV title anyway but here he was facing Santino Marella in a Santa suit, considering that a big part of WWE's audience demographic is kids you had to wonder why they were allowing a guy dressed as Santa to get the s**t kicked out of him. Its a really good way to alienate a large percentage of your viewers, Miz took the win off The Skull Crushing Finale which he stole off Jeff Jarrett, its actually called The Stroke.

Video package for Ted DiBiase Jr in The Marine 2. Its bizarre how WWE have made a sequal to a movie that John Cena starred in yet Cena doesn't appear in it, even more bizarre they pick Ted Jr who hasn't even been on their f**king roster that long. I guess his daddy sucked some major c**k to swing that role for sonny boy then?

The Big Show calls out Santa (with the Bella Twins looking extremely slutty in their Elf outfits) who is revealed by Hornswaggle to be Chris Jericho, the whole skit with the jobber midgets just demonstrated theres no level so low that WWE won't sink to.

If Vince thinks this big old pile of s**t is going to keep him afloat on January 4th 2010 he may as well file for
bankrupcy now. He already proved he has no issues p***ing away company money on c**p like that "Little Peoples Court" hiring all those midgets for the video package & hiring midget wrestlers to job for Jericho & Big Show. Little wonder Linda left to go into politics & Shane has given notice too.

I guess it'll be down to Daddys Little Princess to run the empire into the ground frittering all her money away on shoes & 'Roids for Trips? WWE may not be dead yet but if this is their best defence they are not long
for this world. F**k, Eric Bischoff won't even have to try hard to steal their audience this time.

My TNA Catch-up, Final Resolution PPV Dec 09

Tag Team Championship, The Motor City Machine Guns vs The British Invasion - Absolutely nothing happened in the 1st 10 minutes but it picked up for the next 5 or so minutes with a ton of missed pin attempts by the Guns but Brutus Magnus eventually took the win off Chris Sabin.

Knockout Championship, Tara vs ODB - ODB tried to get into Taras head by delaying the start of this match then trying to jump her at the bell but Tara was having none of it nailing an early Tarantula hold then a Slingshot Legdrop on ODB who then got out of the Powerbomb attempt by Tara, this thing went back & forth with Tara making a very sloppy Single Leg Takedown but the Snap Suplex was very nice indeed & she only just missed the pin off the Standing Moonsault. ODB had Tara up on her shoulders but Tara wriggled out turning it from a Victory Roll to a Small Package to take the win & Tara is the new TNA Knockout Champion.

Feast Or Fired, Jay Lethal vs Consequences Creed vs Cody Deaner vs Robert Roode vs James Storm vs Eric Young vs Kiyoshi vs Sheik Abdul Bashir vs Homicide vs Big Rob vs Kevin Nash (with the Big Sexy World Tour winner Britney) vs Samoa Joe - We've had FOF before so you should be familiar with the rules but if you've been in a cave the last 3 years heres how it works.

Its a Russo inspired idea of 4 briefcases on poles, 1 has a Heavyweight title shot, 1 has a Tag title shot, 1 has an X Division title shot & the final case has a pink slip so if you get that case you get fired although the rules have been tweaked slightly because it used to be you took the case down but it wasn't yours until you left the ring & your feet hit the ground but now its been changed so as soon as you get the case its yours. I'd already been reading some TNA headlines before this so I already knew who'd be getting the Fired case ahead of time.

The 1st case to come down was Case #2 eventually claimed by Sheik Abdul Bashir (I can reveal that contained the pink slip as this was Bashirs last match in TNA, reports disagree as to if he left or was let go), moments later the 2nd case to come down was #4 claimed by Big Rob (my guess is that will be a shot at the Tag title), Roode & Storm made some nice moves on World Elite (Storms DDT was excellent!) but the 3rd case to come down was Case #1 claimed by Kevin Nash (guessing that'll be a Heavyweight title shot which he'll give to Hogan) leaving Case #3 left which everyone was fighting over. Homicide hurt himself making a Gringo Cutter on Lethal, Joe kicked Deaner off the ropes and claimed Case #3 (which is most likely to be an X Division title shot).

After a Christy Hemme interview with AJ Styles & Kurt Angle (more details at the end of the review about why) they return to open the FOF cases which is unusual as they normally drag out the results of who got what. Nash opened Case #1 first to reveal a Tag Title shot (well I wasn't expecting that but I can guess who his partner will be - Hogan), Joe then opened Case #3 to reveal the Heavyweight Title shot (so all my predictions were completely wrong this year), Rob & Bashir opened their cases together Robs Case #4 contained the X Division title shot & Bashirs Case #2 had the pink slip.

8 Man Tag Elimination Match, Team 3D, Rhino & Jesse Neal vs Hernandez, Matt Morgan, D'Angelo Dinero & Suicide - As a result of losing a match recently Hernandez started this match alone for the first 5 minutes, as expected Hernandez spent those 5 minutes jobbing & was almost pinned after Rhino hit the Gore but he dodged a 2nd Gore turning it into a Roll-up pinning & eliminating Rhino with just over a minute left on his own. Hernandez was then left on the wrong side of a beatdown with Jesse Neal about to whale on him with a chair when the 5 minutes expired & Morgan, Dinero & Suicide were finally able to run in & all hell broke loose.

Suicide worked Neal until Neal used a chair which bought Hernandez in to use the same chair on Neal which for some reason got him DQ'd (but Neal didn't get DQ'd for doing the EXACT same thing, wheres the logic there Ref Slick Johnson?), Neal was rolled to the apron & Suicide was eliminated by Devon making a pin after Team 3D hit the 3D (later as Ray was working Dinero Taz announced Jesse Neal had also been DQ'd), Dinero had been owning Team 3D for a few moments when Slick Johnson made his 2nd obviously bad call about Dinero not having pinned Ray (actually he had, as had he on the previous pin attempt too) when Devon pinned Dinero off a 3D out of nowhere leaving just Matt Morgan on his own.

Ref Slick Johnson gave Team 3D a HUGE amount of leeway considering how illegally they were double teaming Morgan who came back but was quickly stopped by Devon taking out one of his legs from behind, Morgan was down but not out eliminating Devon with The Carbon Footprint leaving just him & Brother Ray. Morgan was about to be on the wrong end of a chairshot when he hit Ray with The Carbon Footprint smashing the chair into Ray & Morgan took the win. Not a very good match at all to be honest.

Last Man Standing, Scott Steiner vs Bobby Lashley - I didnt watch this at all apart from the finish, I had that little interest in it. Bobby Lashley took the win after Kristal threw him Steiners lead pipe which he used to nail Steiner who failed to answer the 10 count leaving Lashley as the winner. Its a s**t angle & no-one cares, ok TNA?

Foleys Funhouse Rules Match, Raven & Dr Stevie vs Abyss & Mick Foley - Raven brought a kendo stick & Stevie had a chair so Foley made it anything goes & weapons legal, not a great match by any means but Foleys Elbow Drop off the ramp onto Stevie wrapped in barbed wire through a table was pretty impressive but Abyss took the eventual win off the Black Hole Slam on Raven. I'm pretty sure Foley hurt his wrist or elbow when he made that table jump though.

Two of of Three Falls 3 Degrees Of Pain Match, Desmond Wolfe vs Kurt Angle - To add an extra twist this was being held in a steel cage as well, it was always going to be a slow dull match mostly on the mat but the rules were as follows:-1st fall must come off a pin, 2nd fall must come off a submission & if it goes to the 3rd fall its 1st man to escape the cage. Wolfe took the 1st fall off theTower Of London, Taz was squeeing like a fanboi & if your curious the fans were chanting "this is wrestling" (I'm stunned they weren't as bored as I was by it all) as Angle took the 2nd fall when Wolfe tapped out of the Ankle Lock. Wolfe made a decent Superplex (possibly the 1st proper "wrestling" move I've ever seen him do) & was busted open hitting the cage but Angle took the win by escaping the cage by climbing over the top beating Wolfe to the floor. Extremely boring match that was FAR too long.

Heavyweight Championship, Daniels vs AJ Styles - We had around 23 minutes of air time left by the opening bell of this one so it wasn't really going to be an out & out slog but surprisingly both guys decided to take it slow keeping it on the floor with hold & counterhold, YAWN. Things did eventually pick up with some aerials & Daniels made a nice Headscissors takedown from the canvas on Styles who sold it very well indeed. This slowed down again & if I am honest neither guy was really trying at all in this match, both men are capable of far much more than they showed here. You'd think in the main event of a PPV where the companies main title is on the line both guys would be going balls out to win & impress the fans but that just was not the case here.

Clearly both guys were well aware of the time limit as things picked up a great deal in the last 5 minutes but working hard for 5 minutes in a 23 minute long match just doesn't cut it I am afraid, Daniels had Styles on the top turnbuckle & was about to hit a Hurricanrana (Tenay said Frankensteiner for some reason?) but Styles blocked it halfway & took the win off the Styles Clash off the bottom rope to retain his title. P**s poor match from 2 guys I thought had a lot of talent but failed to show it here.

Again mentioned during the Knockouts title match was that there will be NO Impact on Dec 24th, instead they will return on Dec 31st calling it their "New Years Knockout Eve" with a mini tournament between the 8 best Knockouts of 2009. In further news interviewer Lauren is leaving TNA, Christy Hemme has now officially retired as a wrestler & will be replacing her as an interviewer which I guess answers a lot of my recent questions about Hemme. Apparently in the new year there will be a new Impact set which is being built by contractors working for Eric Bischoff & there are also rumours the 6 sided ring may be being phased out.

Until New Years Eve this is me wishing you & yours a Merry Xmas.

My Weekly TNA Catch-up, Impact 17th Dec 09 reviewed

Non-Title match, Roxxi vs ODB - Well its very nice to see Roxxi back again but like before you have to wonder how long she's back for, Roxxi had a decent enough match & both of them got plenty of time on top. Both women seemed happy to sell & put each other over but ODB kicked out of the Voodoo drop. Roxxi kicked out of the Roll-up & ODB kicked out of Roxxi's Bridging Roll-up but Roxxi took the win off an excellent Roll-up & it took Tara to save Roxxi from the beatdown.

Video segment, exactly as predicted Mick Foleys meeting with "Hulk" turned out to be with Lou Ferrigno which cost Kevin Nash a serious beating at the start of the show.

Lumberjack Match, Brother Ray (with Devon, Jesse Neal & Rhino) vs Matt Morgan (with Hernandez, D'Angelo Dinero & Suicide who eventually runs out from the back) - A really c***py quality match that obviously broke down as expected with interference from the Team 3D wrecking crew as they've been dubbed, Morgan was set to hit the Hellavator when Devon distracted the ref & Jesse Neal dived in to nail Morgan with a low blow from behind which allowed Brother Ray to take an easy win off a DDT.

Team 3 Knockdown Non-title Tag Match, Lacey Von Erich & Madison Rayne (with Velvet Sky) vs Hamada & Awesome Kong vs Sarita & Taylor Wilde - During this match Mike Tenay announced there will be no Impact next week but instead they will have a 4 hour show on New Years Eve. Sarita made possibly the move of the match with her awesome Head Scissors on Hamada where she made 3 crazy revolutions. Hamada made a nice Reverse Moonsault off the top turnbuckle into Sarita, Wilde & Sky but Awesome Kong was in-ring working Rayne who wriggling out of the Awesome Bomb only for Kong to take the easy win by hitting the Sit-down Splash.

Black Machismo Invitational Match, Jay Lethal vs Tatanka - TNA, really? The biggest criticism made about TNA by fans & haters alike is they hire WWE cast offs. And look who they invite to this match, Tatanka. The guy was a decent worker in his day (which incidently was the 80's) & he got a bit of a push before WWF as was decided his face didn't fit & they canned him. As far as this match went Tatanka hit a nice Clothesline followed by a couple of Legdrops, Lethal got off some offence hitting a Knee-lift to the back of Tatanka that sent him to the turnbuckle. Lethal nailed the Flying Double Axehandle but Tatanka kicked out, Lethal sold some hard looking Chops off Tatanka who made a nice high Back-bodydrop which Lethal sold well too.

Lethal barely kicked out of the Flying Tomahawk Chop but Lethal recovered enough to make a Reverse Neckbreaker, Tatanka took the eventual win off the Indian Deathdrop. Not a bad match from the veteran to be honest, he might have looked a bit big around the midriff area but he worked pretty well. I am hoping if they do another of these they can persuade Randy Savage to come out (hopefully with Gorgeous George?) in the full Macho Man outfit & hand Lethal his ass on a plate.

Backstage segment with Jeff Jarrett & Dixie Carter who mentions the whole nasty Karen Angle affair.

Daniels vs Desmond Wolfe - This was slow & VERY dull with lots of holds, reverses & technical mat wrestling. Both men had their own cheering sections who were equally loud, Taz paid Daniels quite a massive compliment by comparing him to Dean Malenko. Daniels picked it up a bit towards the end with a nice Split Leg Moonsault off the ropes, both guys really went for it in the dying minutes as far as submission holds & pin attempts went but as they were jockeying for position to pin off the Small Package the bell went after the time limit had expired & this one was called as a draw.

Backstage segment, Jeff Jarrett goes to speak with Kurt Angle & he apologizes to him.

10 Man Tag Match, Scott Steiner, Raven, Dr Stevie, Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams (with Big Rob) vs AJ Styles, Tomko, Bobby Lashley, Abyss & Kurt Angle - Selling his "burnt leg" with a limp Abyss kicked this off by laying into Raven & Stevie which ended up with Abyss battling with Raven & Stevie out to the backstage area leaving Steiners team seriously outnumbered. Steiner & Lashley also started going at it out of the ring & fought up along the side of the entrance ramp, when we came back from the commercial break Steiners team was just down to The British Invasion as Lashley had clearly taken Steiner out of the arena & it was Magnus & Williams vs Styles, Angle & Tomko so it was the waiting game to see if or when Tomko would make his move & jump Styles from behind yet again to finally reveal himself as Styles' mystery assailant.

The match was deadly boring with Angle & Tomko keeping Styles out of the ring & it was actually so dull the camera truck cut to Lashley whaling on Steiner & Abyss beating the crapola out of Stevie & Raven, we did go back to catch Angle sending Williams for a ride off the Angle Slam & Big Rob yanking Tomko off the apron which finally allowed Styles to get tagged in. He had a little run of beating on Magnus & Williams but took the win off a Small Package on Magnus after Tomko made an assist & pulled Williams off the turnbuckle.

Styles & Angle went at it after the match but that was soon broken up by Daniels jumping Styles & Desmond Wolfe jumping Angle but considering what happened last week Wolfe & Daniels seemed pretty chummy at the close of the show.

In closing just to remind everyone there will be no Impact next week but instead they will have a 4 hour show on New Years Eve.

My Weekly TNA Catch-up, Impact 10th Dec 09 reviewed

Show opens & after arranging a meeting with Hulk Hogan for Mick Foley Kevin Nash is running the show & making the matches tonight.

3 On 1 Handicap Match, The British Invasion vs Chris Sabin - Its the 1st match that Kevin Nash booked, he announced all these at the top of the show. Not a very good match at all, Sabin took the eventual win off a Tornado DDT into a Roll Through off Big Rob.

Backstage segment with Scott Steiner, it appears Christy Hemme has been demoted to interviewer?

Mixed Tag Match, Bobby & Kristal Lashley vs Scott Steiner & Awesome Kong - I didn't expect any kind of match but once Kristal was tagged in this was always going to get ugly, Kristal took a Bodyslam (well sold by her by the way) & as Kong went up for the Banzai Drop Steiner made the cover off Kristal to take the win.

Video segment on UFC of the Hogan debut (on Jan 4th 2010) announcement.

Intergender Match for the TNA Global Championship, Hamada vs Eric Young - At Nash's bidding Young has gone against 1 of his preset rules & is defending his title on US soil which he stated he would never do. After powering Hamada to the turnbuckles & tousling her hair twice she decided she wasn't going to be treated like that & hit Young in the head with one of her excellent Spinkicks sending him to the floor where she followed up with Chops & Headbutts, cutting her off with a big Boot got Young another Spinkick to the head & he was sitting on the top turnbuckle at the time so no mean feat by Hamada there!

Hamada hit a badly sold Hurricanrana (I think Young was either unwilling or didn't fancy putting her over by selling it) but Young kicked out of the pin, Hamada caught nothing but air off her Moonsault & Young took the win with the help of the middle ropes for leverage that was missed by the ref.

Trailer Park Throw Down Match, Tara vs ODB - Basically its a no holds barred Hardcore Rules Street Fight but both women have had to sink a 6 pack of beer prior to the match so this one is definately in ODB's area of expertise. They went straight to the weapons with ODB getting the worst of it outside the ring & Tara took a Irish Whip into a ladder but the Splash by ODB off the tiny stepladder was a bit too silly to be honest.

Tara screwed up her 1st trashcan lid shot (by letting go of it) but ODB was savvy enough to pick up another, hit Tara then let Tara snatch it out of her hands & ODB took a whole bunch of trashcan lid shots to the head & back. Tara either took a bad landing or oversold the landing of her Standing Moonsault onto the trashcan lid she'd positioned on ODB's body, After Tara slipped off the ropes ODB choked her out with a chain before hitting a face first Facebuster into a chair which led to ODB taking the win.

Further video segments of Mick Foleys trip to Tennessee to find Jeff Jarrett (which he does, in a bar). They schill some "shocking" footage of Abyss, Daffney, Raven & Dr Stevie that TNA won't let them show on air & tell you to go look on the website after the show.

8 Man Tag Match, Rhino, Team 3D & Jesse Neal vs Matt Morgan, Hernandez, Suicide & D'Angelo Dinero - Jesse Neal came to the ring wearing Dineros jacket & Brother Ray was carrying his mask & announced Dinero wasn't going to be joining them in this match so clearly they'd jumped him backstage before the match started. So the person who gets pinned in this match will end up working alone for 5 minutes in the elimination tag match at the upcoming PPV. The problem with this match was it was zero action until the last few minutes where almost everyone hit their finishers but Jesse Neal took the eventual win off a Spear on Hernandez. They made a partial beatdown on Hernandez but a heavily bandaged & strapped up Dinero ran in to make the save.

Afterwards they aired a video package heralding the return of Tomko. PS, we already KNOW he's the mystery guy in black who had been jumping AJ Styles.

Mud Wrestling Match, Velvet Sky vs Lacey Von Erich - with Madison Rayne as guest referee this is the worst kind of Russo gimmick imaginable, obviously it was a complete farce with Rayne getting her fair share of the mud but Sky took the win off a Schoolboy Roll-up.

World Heavyweight Championship Match, AJ Styles vs Desmond Wolfe - Nash had thrown this one completely open by saying whoever paid him the most money could have the title shot tonight so it appears Wolfe has the biggest wallet. Angle came down to join the colour desk as he was the 2nd highest bidder for this match. All the aerial stuff came from Styles who seemed happy to let Wolfe stick with his usual ground based technical match, Styles was definately more over with the fans but Wolfe did have his own cheering section too. Styles hit a nice Springboard Flying Forearm but took a nasty low blow off Wolfe who had blood in his mouth, after a distraction from Daniels Styles made a Roll-up into a Bridge to take the win & retain his title.

The show closed with Foley persuading Jeff Jarrett to come back to Impact and having checked the "shocking" footage of Abyss, Daffney, Raven & Dr Stevie. it was a rehearsal of their match with Abyss being set on fire by them, the website claims he received burns to his leg so was hospitalised & this match never happened.

This weeks Web Match, Consequences Creed vs Sheik Abdul Bashir - And after watching it I can see why they were giving it away for free online, it was complete s**t. Creed took the win after dropping Bashir onto his knees. I think that'll be the first and last web match I review.

My Weekly TNA Catch-up, Impact 3rd Dec 09 reviewed

Show opens with Desmond Wolfe waffling on the mic inside a steel cage that he'd locked himself inside only to be interupted by Kurt Angle in his wrestling gear who comes down, climbs in then gets a facefull of brass knucks from Wolfe as well as a beatdown.

Doug Williams (with Brutus Magnus & Big Rob) vs Alex Shelley (with Chris Sabin) - Williams was on top for all of the opening second before Shelley got going, Williams had a pretty good comeback that was very stiff and I must say that this was one of Williams' best matches I have seen him in for a very long time but Shelly made his own major comeback & got the eventual win off Sliced Bread.

Homicide vs Suicide - An interesting opener in that Homicide didn't seem overly willing to sell the Side Headlock Takedown, both guys had a decent run on top and both had nearfalls too but Suicide took the win off a Back Slide. Homicide tried to unmask Suicide but D'Angelo Dinero made the save.

Trash Talk with ODB, Tara as guest. A lot of fuss was made about this in a couple of newsgroups but they failed to see it for the complete work it was.

Jesse Neal vs D'Angelo Dinero - This is the 1st proper Impact appearance for Neal the heel under his repackaged look, not very impressive from either guy with Dinero selling for Neal big time but Dinero took the win off the DDE. Neal jumped Dinero post match but the lights went out then came back up to reveal Suicide making the save on Dinero with a Missile Dropkick off the top turnbuckle.

Tag Match, Eric Young & Kevin Nash vs Beer Money - Extremely dull & exceptionally poor quality match, Young took the win off a Piledriver on James Storm.

Bobby Lashley comes out with Kristal to not say anything on the mic.

Daniels vs Abyss - AJ Styles had come out to join the colour desk but left to scout Daniels during the match, quite frankly this was going nowhere fast & Abyss had Daniels goozled but Daniels made a hand signal and the big screen showed Lauren being beaten up by The Beautiful People so Daniels took advantage of Abyss with his back turned and rhoshambo'd him. Daniels made some weird Side Roll to take the win.

Post match Daniels invited Styles into the ring but Styles was jumped from behind yet again by the mystery man in black.

Mike Tenays sit down interview with Dixie Carter:- Jeff Jarrett is on "leave", Stings future is open, Hogan will be "helping in every aspect of the company". Backstage segment with Mick Foley on the phone to what turns out to be Jeff Jarrett who said "I was done 4 months ago and I'm twice as done now" and "screw you and TNA", a shoot or does Jeff mean it? Personally I think they are building a distraction so when Jarrett comes back it'll be when we least expect it.

Hamada vs Sarita - This was an outstanding match, Sarita hit a wicked Hurricanrana before Hamada nailed her in the head with a Super Kick then Hamada made a nice Missile Dropkick that Sarita bearly kicked out of. Sarita managed to wriggle out of the Hamada Driver turning it into a Roll up which was also a near fall before hitting a great looking Floatover DDT, both women went for technical submission pins that looked great but Hamada hit Sarita twice with the Spinkick (that 2nd one looked a bit TOO convincing judging by Saritas reaction) but Hamada took the eventual win off the Hamada Driver.

Kurt Angle vs Desmond Wolfe - Or so we thought, before Wolfe came out Mick Foley came down and bitched that Angle hadn't told him all he knew about Hogan coming to TNA so Foley tweaked the match so Angle vs Wolfe never happened.

Handicap Match, Kurt Angle vs Raven & Dr. Stevie (with Daffney) - Initially this looked it was going be Angle getting the s**t kicked out of him and for the 1st 2 minutes it was until he got a 2nd wind, Stevie bailed up the ramp only to get a Black Hole Slam from Abyss which distracted Raven long enough for Angle to hit the Ankle Lock & Raven tapped out in seconds so Angle got the win. Only to take some sort of modified DDT from behind off Desmond Wolfe post match.

Having watched Dixie Carters whole interview she states the announcement of Hogans Impact debut is "days away", there is a high chance of a World X Cup match in 2010 and that Hogan coming won't mean newer wrestlers get pushed less because of it.