home | wrestling | flashback_reviews | tna | impact

TNA Impact!- October 8, 2005

by SamoaRowe

-An awesome Team 3-D promo kicks the show off. I am actually pretty excited about this 3-D/AMW feud.

-We see footage of Raven being hauled away from the iMPACT Zone by fake police. From the sounds of recent reports, Raven’s time in TNA could be ending.

Team Canada vs 3 Live Kru

This is a six man tag team match. 3LK consists of Konnan, BG James, and Ron Killings. Team Canada consists of Bobby Roode, Eric Young, and A-1. Konnan does his usual spiel on the microphone, followed by BG James who is still living off his Road Dogg glory. This act is beyond stale, good thing a break-up could be coming up… The Canadians attack 3LK, leaving James in the ring with Bobby Roode. James takes control of Roode, but is distracted enough for Roode to come back with a clothesline. Scott D’Amore is on commentary, so far D’Amore is the best part of this match. Team Canada starts taking turns tagging in to choke James. Bobby Roode is momentarily distracted by Kyp James sitting on the stage. Roode continues to beat down BG James and makes a cover attempt. This transitions into… a rest hold! Hurray! James fights his way out of it in a typical babyface fashion, and fires away at Roode and puts him in a side headlock. They collide, and both men are down. Tag is made to The Truth. Killings cleans house on Team Canada, with his spinning clotheslines and kicks. Killings really deserves a better spot in TNA, so hopefully 3LK will finally break up soon. Konnan is tagged in and takes down A-1 and tangles up with Eric Young. Fun spot has Konnan kicking Young into the air, who then lands crotch first on the ropes. Konnan follows this up with taking his shoes off and throwing them at Young. Honestly, who throws a shoe! Killings is tagged back in, and he immediately hits the axe kick on Young for the victory. The match was fun, had a hot crowd, and furthered an angle between 3LK and Kyp James. **. After the match, James helps keep BG from a Team Canada beat-down, but Konnan doesn’t take this assist kindly.

-They are hyping the hell out of AMW/Team 3-D tonight. A video package for the Ultimate X match plays, and I fondly recall the first one, which I ordered live. It was a fun match, though it was embarrassing when the X title kept falling from the top and a ladder had to be brought in to put it back up.

Christopher Daniels vs Austin Aries vs Matt Bentley (with Traci)

Hurray, another triple threat X division match that I will have trouble keeping up with. I am a bit of a mark for all three of these guys, so expect me to be biased. Fast start to the match, as all three men take turns arm dragging each other. Aries takes control, and hits some off the rope offense on Daniels. Bentley goes after Aries and hits a double neckbreaker on Daniels and Aries. Bentley stomps away on his opponents, but Daniels comes back with an STF take down. Aries goes after Daniels, to little luck as Daniels is on a roll. Bentley reverses a suplex on Daniels, but Daniels reverses and ends up hitting a double DDT maneuver on both Bentley and Aries. Daniels goes for a double pin-fall, but it is not to be. Daniels goes to the top rope, but Aries throws him off. Bentley is on Aries again, but gets caught in a side suplex. Aries knocks Daniels down, and hits a beautiful drop-kick on Daniels. Aries goes for a cover but Bentley breaks it up. Bentley whips Aries into the turnbuckles, but Aries fights back and hops on Bentley’s shoulders. This results in both of them falling over the ropes and onto the floor. Daniels goes for a moonsault onto the other two on the floor, but Bentley and Aries moves out of the way. Bentley rolls Aries back to the ring, and takes control until Aries catches him with a flying cross-body in the ring. Traci is meanwhile assaulted by Petey Williams, but Chris Sabin runs in to make the save. Bentley flips over the ropes onto both men, as they will be facing each other in the X match at Bound for Glory. Back in the ring, Daniels hits the Angels Wings on Austin Aries and gets the win at 5:37. Great spot-fest, though having Williams and Sabin at ring side was a bit random. At least it built up Bound for Glory. ***.

-Bound for Glory ad is next. Apparently we can watch the first 30 minutes for free!

-We are now treated to a video package for Abyss. We see Abyss at his most violent, which is pretty cool thinking about it now. It is important in these early episodes on Spike TV, that they distinguish Abyss as being a top-tier performer, I am afraid some new viewers might write him off as a second rate Kane.

Abyss (with James Mitchell) vs Sonny Siaki

I am thinking back to the first time I ever saw Abyss and I thought “Gawd, this guy is going to suck.” How ignorant I was, as Abyss is actually quite talented. It is nice of TNA to still mention that Siaki has been with TNA since the very beginning. However, they try not to mention that he is a former X Champion. Siaki is sporting sun glasses and a flashy outfit, no doubt trying to reestablish himself. Abyss pummels away at Siaki, and tosses him down effortlessly. Siaki ducks a clothesline and hits some offense of his own, and Abyss actually sells it. However, Siaki soon runs into an open hand from Abyss and is down. Abyss misses a splash in the corner, and Siaki is able to hit some more kicks and punches, and a hurricanrana! Mitchell distracts Siaki, and Abyss hits a big boot. Abyss charges Siaki, and the crowd is chanting for a black hole slam. Abyss delivers with a torture rack, but then gives the crowd what they want. Siaki is hit with a devastating black hole slam and Abyss is the winner! This actually was more than a squash match, as they tried to make Siaki look good too. Not a bad little match, but still short. ¾*

-We are now treated to a hype video for Samoa Joe. I am still eagerly awaiting Joe’s debut on Spike.

-Mike Tenay is interviewing Larry Z. in the ring. The director of authority (I’ll admit it, I’m trying not to have to spell the last name) brings out Tito Ortiz, announcing that he will referee the Nash/Jarrett match at Bound for Glory. The crowd does not seem to really know who Ortiz is or know why they should care about him. Ortiz states two rules for Nash and Jarrett. He demands that they respect him as a referee and that if they land a hand on him, he will break theirs. This brings out NWA Champion Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett is not pleased that Ortiz is the guest referee for Bound for Glory. Jarrett threatens to break Ortiz’s neck if he lands a hand on him. Jarrett goes on to bash Kevin Nash, calling him a “wannabe Hollywood actor.” I can’t argue with that statement. This brings out Big Sexy, and Jarrett rushes him on the ramp for a brawl. They make it to the ring, hitting each other with some fairly weak punches. Nash grounds Jarrett, but Tito Ortiz puts him in a rear naked choke. Jarrett takes advantage, but Ortiz throws him out of the way. Security hits the ring, as Nash and Jarrett try to tear into each other. This was a fairly cut and paste feud segment.

-Shane Douglas is interviewing Christopher Daniels. Daniels brings the promo goodness, particularly with some great facial expressions. Daniels challenges Styles to pick three friends from the X division to face him in a gauntlet next week. Styles interrupts the interview and claims he knows exactly which three guys he is going to pick. That should be a good one.

America’s Most Wanted vs Team 3-D

AMW comes out to some really good heat, while they absolutely love Team 3-D. I know others call Team 3-D stale, but this new environment is doing them well. Brother Ray looks to have put a few pounds on, but Devon looks to be in the best shape of his career. Devon and Chris Harris start the match off. Harris takes control in the early going, but Devon catches him with a scoop slam and a big leg drop. Storm rushes the ring, but gets taken down. Brother Ray comes into the ring and launches Devon into both members of AMW. Brother Ray does the same himself, and they unload AMW from the ring. We go to a commercial.

After the break, AMW has apparently taken control of the match. That was a very WWE-ish thing to do. AMW plays the “make frequent tag” game. Crowd is chanting “Let’s go, Bubba.” I’m now waiting for WWE to file a lawsuit against TNA fans. Anyway, James Storm is the legal man and he is nailing away at Ray, who fights back with some sick chops. Brother Ray gets to his feet and hits the Bubba Bomb on Storm. Brother Ray and Storm are both crawling to their corners for a tag. Ray makes the tag, and Brother Devon cleans house on AMW. He gets a neckbreaker and a cover on James Storm, but Storm kicks out. Devon hits another flying clothesline on Storm, as Team 3-D has complete control now. Ray and Devon hit a Doomsday Device on Chris Harris (I think, the screen is kind of blurry). Team 3-D is set to win the match, but Gail Kim enters the ring and low blows Brother Ray. Devon catches Gail Kim by the hair, and goes for a powerbomb, but Jeff Jarrett hits the ring and hits Devon with the NWA title. The match is a DQ at 4:46 (without the commercial). AMW hit the Death Sentence on Brother Ray. The former Dudleyz are bloodied up. Jarrett finishes the beat-down with a guitar shot to Brother Ray. It now appears that Jarrett, Gail Kim, and AMW are the newest top tier heel stable in wrestling. I marked out a lot for this match, but it was designed to further a feud for bigger (and better) matches in the future. I do not have a problem with this, as the feud is just getting heated up. **1/2.

Overall: This was another enjoyable hour of wrestling from TNA. Had they aired the first two Spike TV iMPACTS as a two hour show, it would have been better than any episode of Raw in recent memory. I cannot think of anything really negative to say about week two on Spike TV.

Thumbs up.

back to Index