| SHOW REPORTS |
April 19, 2010
– Rich Tate
The show opened with clips from Lockdown.
A.J. Styles came out to the ring. He said due to the victory party after Lockdown, Ric Flair would be late. He said he proved Sunday night
that he was the best wrestler in the world. He said he stepped in the ring with D’Angelo Dinero, referring to him as one of the best in the
world, and he took care of business. He said Dinero was good but not good enough. He said it doesn’t matter where TNA goes, he is the
best athlete. He said he wasn’t slowing down anytime soon. Just then, he was interrupted by Rob Van Dam, who came to the ring.
RVD told A.J. the “RVD” chants might confuse him, so he explained that was a crowd reaction. He told A.J. he had been listening to him in
the back, and said he seems to think he’s the best wrestler in TNA. This drew chants of “A.J. sucks”. RVD said he might have been
previously, but it was obvious that times have changed. RVD told A.J. he understood why he was upset, as he was used to getting all the
attention. RVD said he had never been as impressed by A.J. as others were, including A.J. He said A.J. was having a hard time because
TNA is where all the wrestlers want to be, and that makes it hard for him to stay on top. This brought out Jeff Hardy, who joined them in the
ring.
Hardy told A,J. he had a little head to be so big-headed. He then said A.J. had done a lot in TNA, but he came here to do more, and a
movement has begun, drawing chants of “Hardy”, but that was interrupted as Hulk Hogan came to the ring.
Hogan said this was the reason everyone was talking about TNA. He said this is why RVD and Hardy were brought in. He said it is all
about the TNA World Title. He called out to the people in the back, telling them to pay attention because they were raising the bar. He told A.
J. that being the world champion means you’re the best. He talked about how it meant money and women, and that’s why he wanted to be
champion. He said that as champion you have to prove yourself every night. He had A.J. eating out of his hands in agreement, but then
Hulk told RVD and Hardy that A.J. wanted to know how bad each of them wanted the title, and if they were willing to put their friendship
aside to earn the shot at the title. RVD and Hardy agreed, and the crowd popped. Hogan then told them to come out and tear the building
down, and the winner would get a shot at A.J. and the title. A.J. objected to this, saying Hogan needed to consult with him first. Hogan then
announced the title match would be later tonight. A.J. went nuts. They cut to backstage, and Flair was told Hogan had just made the
match, and Flair freaked out as they went to a break.
After the break, Mike Tenay and Taz were talking about the announcement, and Tenay noted that Hogan had also banned Flair from
ringside during the title match.
Daffney & ODB versus the Beautiful People
During the match, Tenay explained Daffney’s babyface turn as the result of Lacey Von Erich having stole attention away from her two
weeks ago in the striptease segment. The finish came when Madison Rayne distracted the referee, Von Erich sprayed a substance into
the face of ODB, and Sky rolled her up for the pinfall.
Backstage, A.J. was yelling and Flair was listening to him. Flair then tried to calm him down, but was equally upset. He told A.J. he could
beat either one of them without him at ringside. As he started talking about wanting a rematch between Team Flair and Team Hogan,
Jeremy Borash walked in and asked him if he was sure about that. Flair told Borash to go see Hogan and make it happen, and they went
to a break.
After the break, Abyss was in the ring and Jeff Jarrett was at ringside hamming it up with the crowd. Abyss said they heard about the
challenge, but apparently Flair hadn’t heard that the war between Team Hogan and Team Flair ended at Lockdown, since they did exactly
what they said they were going to, which was “beat their ass”. He said RVD and Hardy were already wrestling tonight, but they would have
no problem taking Team Flair from pillar to post. He was interrupted as Flair, Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Chelsea, and Beer Money came out
to the ramp. He told Jarrett and Abyss to kiss his ass. He said Team Flair was here and they were going to kick their ass.
Everyone except Chelsea hit the ring and started a five-on-two brawl. Rob Terry came out to help even the odds for the babyfaces. He
managed to clear the ring. Flair yelled back at Jarrett and said he was a dead man. He was interrupted by Eric Bischoff, who said he
thought Flair would have learned his lesson at Lockdown. He said if he wanted a rematch, he would get one. He said he had someone in
the back who would be glad to join Terry as a new member of Team Hogan, and he couldn’t wait to see Team Flair get their asses kicked
again tonight. As Flair freaked out some more, they went to a break.
After the break, Matt Morgan walked up to Shannon Moore backstage. He said the reason “we” were here was because TNA was making
him pick a new partner to defend the TNA World Tag Team Title, although “we” don’t need any help. He said he would make management
happy and he chose Moore to be his partner. Moore mocked him, and said “both of you guys can kiss my ass”, and walked away. Morgan
calmly fumed as they cut away.
Hogan and Bischoff were shown backstage talking about the Team Hogan-Team Flair match at Lockdown. Bischoff said Hogan had
raised the bar tonight with the TNA World Title match, and Hogan said Bischoff was a genius for making the rematch between Team
Hogan and Team Flair. They teased about Hogan’s new partner. Then Hogan asked Bischoff about the revolutionary new ranking system
he had talked about. Bischoff said he would unveil that next week.
They then cut to RVD backstage, talking about how he was going to be wrestling his best friend, but that’s fine because he wanted a shot
at the world title, and they went to a break.
Jeff Hardy versus Rob Van Dam
Hardy came out first, followed by RVD. They cut to a break only a few moments into the match. Neither had done much in the way of getting
the upper hand prior to the break, as it was mostly them feeling each other out and traded move-for-move. They returned from the break
and thirty seconds or less later went to another one. After the second break, the action was taking place outside the ring. RVD set up
Hardy over the barricade, and came off the apron onto him, RVD had a gash open up on his forehead during the match. RVD came off the
top rope onto Hardy and rolled him up for the pinfall, setting up the title match later.
After a break, Christy Hemme was backstage interviewing RVD and Hardy, saying she was only supposed to be interviewing RVD, but
RVD had invited Hardy. They both said there were no hard feelings. They watched highlights of the match on a monitor. Hemme asked
RVD if he had any thoughts on the match. RVD told her they had both decided to support each other, no matter who won their match. He
said Hardy took a lot out of him, but he was ready for A.J.
They cut to Abyss talking to Jarrett and Terry backstage about the upcoming rematch. Terry said if they were looking for people to step up,
he was there to do it. Abyss said he trusted Bischoff and Hogan as to who their partner would be, and speculated that it would be a
bombshell.
Team Flair (Desmond Wolfe, Sting & Beer Money) versus Team Hogan (Jeff Jarrett, Rob Terry, Samoa Joe & Abyss)
Sting came out first for Team Flair, as Tenay announced the rules of the match, noting that after five minutes pass, others will come out in
two minute intervals. Jarrett came out first for Team Hogan. They went to a break before the match started. After the break, Sting and
Jarrett were brawling out in the crowd. Sting pretty much destroyed Jarrett, using any weapon he could fine and slamming him into every
hard surface available. They worked their way back to the ring just before the five minute mark, and as soon as that was announced over
the PA, Jarrett became Superman, as if the first four minutes hadn’t happened. As the five minute mark hit, both were laid out in the ring,
and out came Wolfe, accompanied by Chelsea. Wolfe got the tag from Sting and unloaded on Jarrett, but Jarrett fought back again. Next
out was Terry, and he immediately tagged Jarrett and went after Wolfe. Orlando Jordan was shown standing on the stage and watching
the match, with Taz wondering why he was out there. They took a break as Terry had laid out Wolfe. After the break, Abyss was in the ring
with Robert Roode. Along with a chokeslam on Roode, Abyss had matters well in hand. James Storm was out next, completing Team
Flair. Roode quickly tagged in Storm, who got the upper hand on Abyss, who countered with a sideslam that slowed it back down again.
As Abyss laid out at ringside, Terry stood in the corner doing nothing while Jarrett was triple-teamed at one point by Money and Wolfe.
Suddenly, Samoa Joe came out. Tenay noted they hadn’t seen him since he was abducted. He quickly tagged in and cleared the ring and
got the pinfall on Roode and the crowd popped big. Flair came out on the mic post-match, but they went to a break before anything could
be said.
After the break, they showed what had happened during the break. Flair told Abyss that next week, he would bet his own ring versus the
one Abyss was wearing in a one-on-one match, and Abyss accepted.
TNA World Title Match: A.J. Styles * versus Rob Van Dam
A.J. attacked RVD before the bell and got the upper hand early, re-opening the gash on RVD’s forehead. A.J. took a leap over the ropes
and crashed nto RVD, who fell back into the barricade, and they went to a break. They were back in the ring after the break, with A.J. still in
control of the match. RVD fought back and attempted a comeback, but A.J. tripped him up and then delivered a dropkick to the face of RVD,
giving him control again. RVD started favoring his left knee, and A.J. started working the knee. After RVD sent A.J. to the mat with a kick to
the head, both men were laid out. When they came to their feet, RVD took control and delivered a series of clotheslines, and sent A.J.
down with a monkey flip, and he took over the match. A.J. managed to lock in the figure-four leglock, and RVD sold like nobody’s
business. He got to the ropes and forced the break, but A.J. stayed on him. RVD countered A.J. and sent him to the match, climbed the
ropes and came off across A.J.’s chest, and got the cover for the pinfall and the title. The crowd popped and confetti sprayed the arena.
Hardy came out from the back and celebrated with RVD, as A.J. looked on in horror from outside the ring. Hogan escorted Dixie Carter to
the ring to join the celebration, as did all the babyfaces that had been on the show, including Team 3D.
Thoughts on the Show: I’m glad they got the women’s match out of the way early. I love the logic that Daffney, who clearly didn’t want to do
the striptease stip two weeks ago was upset enough with Von Erich to turn babyface over it, at least according to Tenay’s explanation. I
hate it that in today’s era, you can’t have two babyfaces work a babyface match. If I had to compete with my best friend for something, I
would think I would do it as cleanly as possible, out of respect, rather than pull out all the punches and begin working dangerously. Of
course, that’s logic, and there is very little of that in wrestling today. There’s a better story to tell when you have two babyfaces wrestle
cleanly. I mean, afterward, are we supposed to actually believe these two guys beat the hell out of each other and shake hands later? If
one were a heel, this would have been a good match, but the logic of having them beat each other senseless killed that for me. Since I’ve
already questioned the thinking, I won’t get into how they ignored the fact Joe was abducted, and then when he returned it was noted
again, but no one once asked him where had had been. There’s also the part about Jordan coming out for no apparent reason. I’m also
not sold on them having A.J. lose the title without Flair at ringside, as it makes him look weak. It wasn’t the worst show they’ve done under
the new regime, but it also wasn’t the best.
– Rich Tate
The show opened with clips from Lockdown.
A.J. Styles came out to the ring. He said due to the victory party after Lockdown, Ric Flair would be late. He said he proved Sunday night
that he was the best wrestler in the world. He said he stepped in the ring with D’Angelo Dinero, referring to him as one of the best in the
world, and he took care of business. He said Dinero was good but not good enough. He said it doesn’t matter where TNA goes, he is the
best athlete. He said he wasn’t slowing down anytime soon. Just then, he was interrupted by Rob Van Dam, who came to the ring.
RVD told A.J. the “RVD” chants might confuse him, so he explained that was a crowd reaction. He told A.J. he had been listening to him in
the back, and said he seems to think he’s the best wrestler in TNA. This drew chants of “A.J. sucks”. RVD said he might have been
previously, but it was obvious that times have changed. RVD told A.J. he understood why he was upset, as he was used to getting all the
attention. RVD said he had never been as impressed by A.J. as others were, including A.J. He said A.J. was having a hard time because
TNA is where all the wrestlers want to be, and that makes it hard for him to stay on top. This brought out Jeff Hardy, who joined them in the
ring.
Hardy told A,J. he had a little head to be so big-headed. He then said A.J. had done a lot in TNA, but he came here to do more, and a
movement has begun, drawing chants of “Hardy”, but that was interrupted as Hulk Hogan came to the ring.
Hogan said this was the reason everyone was talking about TNA. He said this is why RVD and Hardy were brought in. He said it is all
about the TNA World Title. He called out to the people in the back, telling them to pay attention because they were raising the bar. He told A.
J. that being the world champion means you’re the best. He talked about how it meant money and women, and that’s why he wanted to be
champion. He said that as champion you have to prove yourself every night. He had A.J. eating out of his hands in agreement, but then
Hulk told RVD and Hardy that A.J. wanted to know how bad each of them wanted the title, and if they were willing to put their friendship
aside to earn the shot at the title. RVD and Hardy agreed, and the crowd popped. Hogan then told them to come out and tear the building
down, and the winner would get a shot at A.J. and the title. A.J. objected to this, saying Hogan needed to consult with him first. Hogan then
announced the title match would be later tonight. A.J. went nuts. They cut to backstage, and Flair was told Hogan had just made the
match, and Flair freaked out as they went to a break.
After the break, Mike Tenay and Taz were talking about the announcement, and Tenay noted that Hogan had also banned Flair from
ringside during the title match.
Daffney & ODB versus the Beautiful People
During the match, Tenay explained Daffney’s babyface turn as the result of Lacey Von Erich having stole attention away from her two
weeks ago in the striptease segment. The finish came when Madison Rayne distracted the referee, Von Erich sprayed a substance into
the face of ODB, and Sky rolled her up for the pinfall.
Backstage, A.J. was yelling and Flair was listening to him. Flair then tried to calm him down, but was equally upset. He told A.J. he could
beat either one of them without him at ringside. As he started talking about wanting a rematch between Team Flair and Team Hogan,
Jeremy Borash walked in and asked him if he was sure about that. Flair told Borash to go see Hogan and make it happen, and they went
to a break.
After the break, Abyss was in the ring and Jeff Jarrett was at ringside hamming it up with the crowd. Abyss said they heard about the
challenge, but apparently Flair hadn’t heard that the war between Team Hogan and Team Flair ended at Lockdown, since they did exactly
what they said they were going to, which was “beat their ass”. He said RVD and Hardy were already wrestling tonight, but they would have
no problem taking Team Flair from pillar to post. He was interrupted as Flair, Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Chelsea, and Beer Money came out
to the ramp. He told Jarrett and Abyss to kiss his ass. He said Team Flair was here and they were going to kick their ass.
Everyone except Chelsea hit the ring and started a five-on-two brawl. Rob Terry came out to help even the odds for the babyfaces. He
managed to clear the ring. Flair yelled back at Jarrett and said he was a dead man. He was interrupted by Eric Bischoff, who said he
thought Flair would have learned his lesson at Lockdown. He said if he wanted a rematch, he would get one. He said he had someone in
the back who would be glad to join Terry as a new member of Team Hogan, and he couldn’t wait to see Team Flair get their asses kicked
again tonight. As Flair freaked out some more, they went to a break.
After the break, Matt Morgan walked up to Shannon Moore backstage. He said the reason “we” were here was because TNA was making
him pick a new partner to defend the TNA World Tag Team Title, although “we” don’t need any help. He said he would make management
happy and he chose Moore to be his partner. Moore mocked him, and said “both of you guys can kiss my ass”, and walked away. Morgan
calmly fumed as they cut away.
Hogan and Bischoff were shown backstage talking about the Team Hogan-Team Flair match at Lockdown. Bischoff said Hogan had
raised the bar tonight with the TNA World Title match, and Hogan said Bischoff was a genius for making the rematch between Team
Hogan and Team Flair. They teased about Hogan’s new partner. Then Hogan asked Bischoff about the revolutionary new ranking system
he had talked about. Bischoff said he would unveil that next week.
They then cut to RVD backstage, talking about how he was going to be wrestling his best friend, but that’s fine because he wanted a shot
at the world title, and they went to a break.
Jeff Hardy versus Rob Van Dam
Hardy came out first, followed by RVD. They cut to a break only a few moments into the match. Neither had done much in the way of getting
the upper hand prior to the break, as it was mostly them feeling each other out and traded move-for-move. They returned from the break
and thirty seconds or less later went to another one. After the second break, the action was taking place outside the ring. RVD set up
Hardy over the barricade, and came off the apron onto him, RVD had a gash open up on his forehead during the match. RVD came off the
top rope onto Hardy and rolled him up for the pinfall, setting up the title match later.
After a break, Christy Hemme was backstage interviewing RVD and Hardy, saying she was only supposed to be interviewing RVD, but
RVD had invited Hardy. They both said there were no hard feelings. They watched highlights of the match on a monitor. Hemme asked
RVD if he had any thoughts on the match. RVD told her they had both decided to support each other, no matter who won their match. He
said Hardy took a lot out of him, but he was ready for A.J.
They cut to Abyss talking to Jarrett and Terry backstage about the upcoming rematch. Terry said if they were looking for people to step up,
he was there to do it. Abyss said he trusted Bischoff and Hogan as to who their partner would be, and speculated that it would be a
bombshell.
Team Flair (Desmond Wolfe, Sting & Beer Money) versus Team Hogan (Jeff Jarrett, Rob Terry, Samoa Joe & Abyss)
Sting came out first for Team Flair, as Tenay announced the rules of the match, noting that after five minutes pass, others will come out in
two minute intervals. Jarrett came out first for Team Hogan. They went to a break before the match started. After the break, Sting and
Jarrett were brawling out in the crowd. Sting pretty much destroyed Jarrett, using any weapon he could fine and slamming him into every
hard surface available. They worked their way back to the ring just before the five minute mark, and as soon as that was announced over
the PA, Jarrett became Superman, as if the first four minutes hadn’t happened. As the five minute mark hit, both were laid out in the ring,
and out came Wolfe, accompanied by Chelsea. Wolfe got the tag from Sting and unloaded on Jarrett, but Jarrett fought back again. Next
out was Terry, and he immediately tagged Jarrett and went after Wolfe. Orlando Jordan was shown standing on the stage and watching
the match, with Taz wondering why he was out there. They took a break as Terry had laid out Wolfe. After the break, Abyss was in the ring
with Robert Roode. Along with a chokeslam on Roode, Abyss had matters well in hand. James Storm was out next, completing Team
Flair. Roode quickly tagged in Storm, who got the upper hand on Abyss, who countered with a sideslam that slowed it back down again.
As Abyss laid out at ringside, Terry stood in the corner doing nothing while Jarrett was triple-teamed at one point by Money and Wolfe.
Suddenly, Samoa Joe came out. Tenay noted they hadn’t seen him since he was abducted. He quickly tagged in and cleared the ring and
got the pinfall on Roode and the crowd popped big. Flair came out on the mic post-match, but they went to a break before anything could
be said.
After the break, they showed what had happened during the break. Flair told Abyss that next week, he would bet his own ring versus the
one Abyss was wearing in a one-on-one match, and Abyss accepted.
TNA World Title Match: A.J. Styles * versus Rob Van Dam
A.J. attacked RVD before the bell and got the upper hand early, re-opening the gash on RVD’s forehead. A.J. took a leap over the ropes
and crashed nto RVD, who fell back into the barricade, and they went to a break. They were back in the ring after the break, with A.J. still in
control of the match. RVD fought back and attempted a comeback, but A.J. tripped him up and then delivered a dropkick to the face of RVD,
giving him control again. RVD started favoring his left knee, and A.J. started working the knee. After RVD sent A.J. to the mat with a kick to
the head, both men were laid out. When they came to their feet, RVD took control and delivered a series of clotheslines, and sent A.J.
down with a monkey flip, and he took over the match. A.J. managed to lock in the figure-four leglock, and RVD sold like nobody’s
business. He got to the ropes and forced the break, but A.J. stayed on him. RVD countered A.J. and sent him to the match, climbed the
ropes and came off across A.J.’s chest, and got the cover for the pinfall and the title. The crowd popped and confetti sprayed the arena.
Hardy came out from the back and celebrated with RVD, as A.J. looked on in horror from outside the ring. Hogan escorted Dixie Carter to
the ring to join the celebration, as did all the babyfaces that had been on the show, including Team 3D.
Thoughts on the Show: I’m glad they got the women’s match out of the way early. I love the logic that Daffney, who clearly didn’t want to do
the striptease stip two weeks ago was upset enough with Von Erich to turn babyface over it, at least according to Tenay’s explanation. I
hate it that in today’s era, you can’t have two babyfaces work a babyface match. If I had to compete with my best friend for something, I
would think I would do it as cleanly as possible, out of respect, rather than pull out all the punches and begin working dangerously. Of
course, that’s logic, and there is very little of that in wrestling today. There’s a better story to tell when you have two babyfaces wrestle
cleanly. I mean, afterward, are we supposed to actually believe these two guys beat the hell out of each other and shake hands later? If
one were a heel, this would have been a good match, but the logic of having them beat each other senseless killed that for me. Since I’ve
already questioned the thinking, I won’t get into how they ignored the fact Joe was abducted, and then when he returned it was noted
again, but no one once asked him where had had been. There’s also the part about Jordan coming out for no apparent reason. I’m also
not sold on them having A.J. lose the title without Flair at ringside, as it makes him look weak. It wasn’t the worst show they’ve done under
the new regime, but it also wasn’t the best.