Last night’s Impact was the final opportunity for TNA Wrestling to promote this Sunday’s Against All Odds PPV, and promote it they did. The focal point of the show, to no one’s surprise, was the ongoing feud between Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett. Early in the show, the two men signed a contract adding a stipulation to this Sunday’s grudge match: if Angle wins, he regains custody of his two children, whereas if Jarrett wins, Kurt will have to give Karen away when she and Double J renew their vows on the 3/3 edition of Impact.
The Angle/Jarrett rivalry spilled over into the show’s main event as well. Scheduled to be Jarrett & Jeff Hardy Vs AJ Styles and Robert Roode, Angle convinced Roode to step out of the match to allow the gold medalist to replace him. Throughout the match, the idea that Jarrett was afraid to face Kurt Angle was pushed heavily, as he avoided being the legal man while Angle was in the ring and ran away from him on more than one occasion. Styles and Angle picked up the win when AJ pinned Jeff Jarrett, but after the match Jarrett leveled both of his opponents with low blows and Strokes. This led to the locker rooms emptying and an Immortal/Fortune ring-filling brawl breaking out, very reminiscent of the WCW/nWo donnybrooks of the mid ’90s. Thoughts on the rest of Impact after the jump.
- The show opened with Immortal in the ring and a few minutes of Eric Bischoff lying through his teeth. He’s done nothing but build stars? Ha! Fortune interrupts, and Robert Roode cuts a promo about how frustrating it is as a young talent in TNA, being held back every time the company signs a big name in the twilight of their career. Good promo by Roode, probably because it was rooted in truth.
- Devon, Rob Van Dam, and Samoa Joe defeated Bully Ray, Matt Hardy, and The Pope in a tables match. The victory came after Devon’s sons held the legs of Ray, allowing Devon to knock him off the apron and through a table at ringside. This match was a preview of three Against All Odds matches, as the card is set to feature a match between the former members of Team 3D, RVD Vs Matt Hardy, and Samoa Joe Vs The Pope. Later in the night, the Ray Vs Devon match was changed to include both of Devon’s sons, making it a 3-on-1 handicap match.
- Sarita’s cousin Rosita debuted. The duo teamed with Madison Rayne & Tara to gain a victory over The Beautiful People, Winter, & Mickie James. Sarita and Rosita used a LOT of double team moves during the match, including the move that finished it all. After the contest was over, Mickie James confronted Madison Rayne to build towards their Knockout Championship match this Sunday.
- Ken Anderson was successful in retaining his title against Matt Morgan, although the bigger story here was the interference of Hernandez. In an audition for Immortal, Hernandez attacked Morgan, allowing Anderson to retain, and then put a hurting on the champ himself.
- Robbie E won a triple threat match, besting Brian Kendrick and the returning Suicide. I really expected Suicide to get the nod in this one, but alas, it was the Jersey Shore native that snagged the victory. As a result, Robbie E moves onto an X Division #1 contenders triangle match this Sunday, where he’ll meet both members of Generation Me, Max and Jeremy Buck.
- Lastly, a 6-man tag team match was added to Against All Odds, as Scott Steiner & Beer Money will stand across the ring from Rob Terry, Gunner, & Murphy this Sunday.
Impact definitely accomplished it’s goal of providing some last minute hype for Against All Odds. All eight matches for this Sunday received some time on the show, and in the case of Jarrett Vs Angle, a stipulation was added. I’ll be curious as to what closes the show Sunday night, if it’s going to be the World Title match or the battle between Karen’s boys.
