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Impact Wrestling 2010: From Russia With Love

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#1 · (Edited)

Timeline of Events

September 2009
- Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov makes offer to buy the NBA's new Jersey Nets.
- After several years of little to no growth in ratings or revenue as well as the struggling global economy, Panda Energy, the major financial back of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, announces their intention to sell the company. Dixie Carter, TNA's former president, determined not to sell the company to Vince McMahon and WWE, desperately begins seeking another buyer before they are ultimately forced to sell to WWE.

October 2009
- Despite not being a very big wrestling fan, Mr. Prokhorov sees a great opportunity. Adding to his plan to buy the New Jersey Nets, he announces plans to create his very own "entertainment empire" which will include movies, television shows, and sports and he hopes to make TNA Wrestling a part of that.
- Mikhail Prokhorov officially makes an offer to buy TNA Wrestling from the Carters and Panda Energy. After a brief negotiation, the deal is made official. Soon after that, at a press conference announcing the deal, Mr. Prokhorov announced that TNA would be going on a temporary hiatus to be ultimately rebranded.
- Prokhorov Entertainment is formed, a management company that will be in charge of running both the Nets, TNA, and all future projects.
- Mr. Prokhorov begins meeting with officials from the FX network about moving Impact from Spike TV to there as well as debuting several other shows he has planned.

November 2009
- An announcement is made that TNA Wrestling has signed a brand new deal with FX. Full details were not released at the time but according to sources, Impact would remain on Thursdays in the same time slow as well as remaining a two hour long show. The only difference, Impact would now be live full time.
- Another announcement is made. This announcement being that TNA would officially be renamed Impact Wrestling and a return to TV date was set for Thursday February 4th 2010 at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. This show would also be three hours long.
- Desperate for star power and looking for someone to run the company, Mr. Prokhorov makes a huge splash by announcing that he has signed "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan as well as former WCW boss Eric Bischoff. With Bischoff and Hogan now in charge, Mr. Prokhorov will be free to attend to his other business endeavors.

December 2009
- In a promotional appearance to hype up the return of Impact Wrestling as well as his own return to the wrestling business, Hulk Hogan announced that Impact Wrestling has signed "The Charismatic Enigma" Jeff Hardy as well as announcing that all championships would be vacated and everything would pretty much start from scratch.
- Hulk Hogan announced that the February pay per view Against All Odds would be cancelled due to not having enough time to build for it. Hogan also announced a massive new pay per view concept which sees the amount of Impact Wrestling pay per view events cut from 12 a year to 9 a year. Out of the remaining 9 events, 3 will be offered as free live events on FX. The order is also shuffled around with Bound for Glory moved to April, Lockdown moved to October and Slammiversary becoming their new biggest pay per view of the year. Also, due to their new owner, all Impact Wrestling events will be on the road.

January 2010
- Rumors begin flying that a recently fired WWE office employee who was hired by Prokhorov Entertainment has been feeding them information regarding certain trademarks and talent contracts that WWE let expire. It's being reported that Prokhorov Entertainment has already stolen one trademark away from WWE as well as signed away a talent whose contract had expired.
 
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#26 ·
3/18/2010
Impact Wrestling
Impact Zone
Orlando, Florida

Tonight’s show begins with the traditional video recap of the previous week’s action. The recap begins by focusing on Kurt Angle and his feud with Scott Steiner and Matt Morgan, including his match last week against Scott Steiner. The recap then transitions to A.J. Styles. The video takes a look back at A.J.’s experiences in the past few weeks and how it appears to have started to take its toll on him, resulting in him snapping and attacking Jeff Hardy following his loss to Samoa Joe in the main event. Once the video has completed, the opening music video begins and the show kicks off.

Once the pyro has finished up, the cameras go straight to the middle of the ring where Paul London and Brian Kendrick are standing by with their bodyguard, Tommy Mercer.

Paul London: Just a few days away from Victory Road and Tommy boy here’s first ever match in Impact Wrestling, we realized that you all have yet to witness the awesome physical, wrestling machine specimen that is Tommy Mercer in action. Good news though, you’re going to get your opportunity tonight because tonight we are calling out anyone in the back that’s not a Motor City Machine Gun. So anyone in the back that wants to try their luck against this mountain of a man, feel free to come out here right now.

Once Paul finishes speaking, there is an awkward silence. Nobody answers their challenge, at least not yet.

Paul London: Ok, ok we understand. We don’t mind, we’ll give all of you plenty of time and whenever one of you feels man enough, we’ll be waiting.

Right as Paul stops talking, the music of the T.V. Champion Raven begins to play. Raven slowly makes his way out of the entrance tunnel with a microphone in hand.

Raven: I’m game.

Short but to the point, Raven answers London and Kendrick’s challenge. Raven throws the microphone down, his belt down as well and makes his way to the ring as fast as he can. Both London and Kendrick quickly exit the ring as Tommy Mercer braces himself for a fight.

Match #1: Raven vs. Tommy Mercer w/ London & Kendrick

Raven enters the ring and the two immediately start fighting. Tommy, being the one standing up, is in the better position in the early going. Tommy manages to keep Raven down for quite some time but eventually Raven manages to get to his feet and it becomes a fair fight for once. As expected, the younger and stronger Tommy Mercer dominates for most of the match using said young and strength wisely to his advantage. However, things are not all lost for Raven as he has something that Tommy doesn’t and that’s experience. Being the veteran, Raven knows that all he needs is one moment and he can win. Raven wisely does not exert himself too much, deciding to let Tommy wear himself out before moving in. The match soon moves to the outside and this is where things start to turn in Raven’s favor. Knowing that Tommy can’t do a good majority of his moves without the use of his shoulders, Raven begins slowly targeting them. Nothing too fancy, just move after move targeting the shoulder of Tommy Mercer. Soon Tommy starts showing the affects. He is not able to do many of the moves he did before and the moves he is able to just be as effective as they used to be. Raven continues targeting the shoulder, knowing that the end is near. The end comes when Tommy attempts to pick Raven up but is forced to drop him because the pain in his shoulder is too much for him. As Tommy turns around to nurse his ailing shoulder, Raven sets up for the kill. When Tommy turns around, Raven knees him in the gut and hits a perfect Raven Effect DDT which he follows up with a pin and the 1, 2, 3!

Winner: Raven

Following the match, Raven is handed his T.V. title back as the referee raises his hand. Meanwhile Tommy Mercer has rolled himself out of the ring, catching hell from London and Kendrick for the loss in the process. The camera then cuts to a dual screen shot of the ring area and the backstage area where Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley were both watching the match on the monitor, laughing their heads off. Once everybody walks off camera, the camera cuts away.

Before going to commercial, we go backstage and see an odd sight. In a dark room we see Abyss talking to someone who the camera cannot see. We cannot see or hear what is going on other than the person Abyss is with is doing most of the talking. Once the mystery man has finished instructing Abyss, Abyss turns and walks away as the show goes to commercial.

*Commercial*

Coming back from commercial Impact Wrestling goes right to the announce booth where Mike Tenay and Taz begin commenting on what happened with A.J. Styles last week, attacking Jeff Hardy and all. Mike Tenay says that in all his years of knowing A.J. he would have never thought that he would just snap like that. Taz chimes in by saying that he knows what it feels like to be under pressure and he can see where A.J. is coming from. Once they are done with that, A.J.’s music begins to hit and the phenomenal one begins making his way down to the ring. A.J., dressed in street clothes, does not look too happy and understandably so, he must have a lot on his mind. A.J. eventually makes his way to the ring where he is handed a microphone.

A.J. does not speak right away; rather he takes a few moments to gather himself before talking.

A.J. Styles: I wanted to take this moment and address a few things that have happened recently but before I do that I would appreciate it very much if Jeff Hardy would come out here so I can get a few things off my chest.

Almost instantly the champion’s music begins to play and the crowd erupts. Hardy emerges from the entrance tunnel and immediately locks eyes with A.J. He slowly makes his way down the ramp, not taking his eyes off of A.J. for one second.

A.J. Styles: I would like to start by apologizing for attacking you last week, I was upset, I was not in my right mind, and for that I am sorry.

Jeff doesn’t say anything; he just continues to stare at A.J.

A.J. Styles: I also want to make sure that you know that come Sunday, when we’re locked inside that steel cage, you're going to get my best and nothing else, my attention will be right where it should be.

Again, Jeff doesn’t say anything; he just stares blindly at A.J.

A.J. Styles: So are we cool now or what?

Once again, nothing from Jeff.

A.J. Styles: Yes, no, it would be nice to know either way.

Jeff then turns away like he’s about to walk out but instead he hands the world tittle to a member of security on the outside as they hand him a microphone.

Jeff Hardy: I don’t know where your focus is at or why you’ve been doing what you’ve been doing but as long as you promise to bring it 100% come Sunday, it’s all good.

Jeff extends his hand towards A.J. but before the two can shake hands, they are interrupted by the music of the New World Order. “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash makes his way out of the tunnel and towards the ring.

Kevin Nash: If I can interrupt this little Oprah like love fest you two have got going on for a second…Jeff it shouldn’t matter whether or not A.J. brings his A game come Sunday because whichever one of you does win, you ain’t going to be champions for very long because when the N.W.O. wins their match, we’re coming right for that belt.

That seems to have fired A.J. up. He then gets right in to Nash’s face.

A.J. Styles: Is that so? Last time I checked you and your buddies were all broken down, gray haired has-beens!

Kevin Nash: We may have aged but we can still deliver, if you know what I mean.

A.J. then backs off in what looks like an attempt to try and cool his temper a little bit. A.J. then turns back around and charges right at Nash but before he can do anything he is stopped by Jeff Hardy.

Jeff Hardy: Whoa whoa whoa, calm down and let me handle it ok?

Hardy then turns towards Nash and starts attacking him. A.J. then joins in and the two together start beating on Nash. Not more than a few seconds in to the beat down we see Scott Hall and X-Pac coming through the crowd. Hall and Pac enter the ring area and A.J. and Jeff quickly turn away from Nash to face them. Nash is now alone in the ring but not for long. As soon as Nash is able to stand, Samoa Joe comes running out of the entrance tunnel and charges right towards Nash. Nash quickly ducks out of the ring as Joe stands in the ring ready to fight. Meanwhile security have broken up A.J., X-Pac, Jeff Hardy, and Scott Hall and they are leading Pac and Hall out of the building. A.J. and Jeff are then left to try and catch their breath as the camera cuts away.

Cutting away from the action, the show transitions to yet another promo video of “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero training in MMA for his upcoming match against Bobby Lashley. This video is extremely similar to the one shown last week, the only difference in his video is the Pope mentions his plan to call someone out this week so he can show off his new found skills. Once the video finishes up, the show cuts to commercial.

*Commercial*

Coming back from commercial Impact Wrestling goes right to the ring area where the music of “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero is beginning to play. The Pope slowly makes his way down the ramp, dressed in somewhat of an MMA outfit. Some members of the audience start laughing at him but this doesn’t bother him one bit, he just continues on. Once he makes it in to the ring he demands a microphone.

D’Angelo Dinero: As you just seen a few minutes ago, Pope has been training day and night in the world of mixed martial arts to better prepare himself to face the MMA fighter himself, the one and only, sir Bobby Lashley.

The crowd starts booing him.

D’Angelo Dinero: It’s only been a few days but Pope has already become a master and he believes it’s time to show his congregation just how well versed he has become. Now, I could make it easy on myself and call out some scrawny, no-named punk to beat up but no, when Pope wants to make a statement, Pope makes a statement and tonight Pope makes a statement by calling out everyone’s favorite underwater creature…SHARK BOY!

The audience, as well as Mike Tenay and Taz, give a collective “WTF” reaction to D’Angelo Dinero calling out of all people, Shark Boy. Never the less, Shark Boy answers the call and starts making his way to the ring to face the Pope.

Match #2: D’Angelo Dinero vs. Shark Boy

Both men face off in the middle of the ring as the referee calls for the bell. They both initially stare at each other awkwardly before Pope makes the first. Pope tries lunging at Shark Boy’s leg in an attempt to take him down but Shark Boy is too quick, dodging out of the way just in time, causing Pope to fall comically to the ring apron. Pope tries again but once again he fails. He tries a third time and still nothing. At this point the crowd and everyone else are laughing and this starts to piss Pope off. After a few other tries, Pope starts getting desperate. He starts trying things that you can tell he hasn’t tried before. It was after one of these new failed attempts at moves by Pope that Shark Boy takes advantage. Pope attempts some sort of version of a headlock which Shark Boy is able to counter in to his version of the Stunner, the Chummer. Shark Boy then follows this up with a pin and the upset victory.

Winner: Shark Boy

Following the match, Shark Boy celebrates his victory by posing for the fans while the Pope is left to pick up his shattered ego. Once Shark Boy has finished, he exits the ring. Shortly after that, after gathering his emotions, he too begins to exit the ring. Once both men have left the camera cuts away.

Before going to commercial, the show cuts to a four way shot of each tag team that’s going to be participating in the tag team gauntlet match upcoming at Victory Road. Each team must pick one man to represent them and then that man will compete in a four man mini battle royal to determine the starting positions for the gauntlet match. All four teams continue arguing as the camera cuts to commercial.

*Commercial*

Match #3: Desmond Wolfe vs. Eric Young vs. Hernandez vs. Kazarian – Four Man Mini Battle Royal To Determine Gauntlet Positions

Returning from commercial, Impact Wrestling cuts right to the ring area where the third match of the evening is about to begin. Each team has apparently chosen their representative as each man begins to make their way to the ring, starting with Eric Young, then followed by Hernandez, Desmond Wolfe, and last but not least, the X Division Champion Kazarian. Each man enters the ring and the match begins.

Right off the bat everyone goes right for the big man Hernandez, trying to toss him over the top rope. Hernandez stands his ground and they are unable to budge him. Hernandez then powers his way out, knocking all three of his opponents to the ground. He then targets “Hollywood” Eric Young, in an attempt to toss him out while Desmond Wolfe and Kazarian both start to square off. Eric Young manages to hang on, at least for now, avoiding elimination. Hernandez grows tired of him and turns his attention to Desmond Wolfe who is still battling Kazarian. Kazarian and Hernandez then start to gang up on Desmond which is not good news for him. Luckily for Desmond, Kazarian and Hernandez begin to get in to an argument which turns their attention away from him. Desmond then tries to get away but he doesn’t go far, getting caught in Hernandez’s powerful grip once again. This time though, he’s not getting out. After a brief struggle, Hernandez picks Desmond up and with ease, tosses him out and over the top rope, eliminating him.

Eliminated: Desmond Wolfe

Desmond Wolfe and Christopher Daniels will now begin the match in the ring as a result of Desmond’s elimination. After an impressive elimination, one would think that you would want to stay as far away from Hernandez as possible but apparently Eric Young doesn’t think that. Braving it, “Hollywood” goes right at Hernandez which actually turns out to be quite well for him. Catching Hernandez off guard, Eric Young is able to get him off of his feet. He attempts to drag him to the ropes and over the top. He struggles and struggles and with the help of Kazarian he manages to get Hernandez up but not for long. Once again Hernandez powers out. Enraged, he targets Eric Young. Despite his earlier success against Hernandez, Eric has no chance now. Hernandez easily takes him up and over the rope.

Eliminated: Eric Young

The two starting teams are now set. Desmond Wolfe & Christopher Daniels will face off against The New Mega Powers to start the match. Who will be #3 and #4? Kazarian, having avoided most of the action so far in this match, must now try and eliminate the big man Hernandez all by himself. Unsure of what to do, he simply charges right at Hernandez, attacking him with a series of lefts and rights. This dazes Hernandez for a few seconds but eventually he regains his focus and starts attacking Kazarian right back. The two start going back and forth like this for quite some time, inching closer and closer to the ropes. You can see the steam building up inside of Hernandez. As the fight between him and Kazarian continues on, Hernandez gets stronger and stronger until he just explodes, unloading on Kazarian, all but knocking him out. With Kazarian nearly knocked out, with ease Hernandez picks him up and tosses him out of the ring, winning the match.

Eliminated: Kazarian

Winner: Hernandez

Hernandez wins the match, putting LAX in a very good spot with a very good chance of advancing to Bound for Glory and the King of the Mountain match. Kazarian is helped up and to the back by the medical staff as Hernandez looks on. Impact Wrestling then cuts to commercial.

*Commercial*

Before Impact Wrestling resumes the in-ring action, a promo video is shown hyping up the pending debut of “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Once the video is complete, the camera cuts back to the ring area.

Match #4: Brutus Magnus w/ Doug Williams vs. Robert Roode w/ James Storm

It is now time for match #4 of the evening between The British Invasion’s Brutus Magnus and Beer Money’s Robert Roode. This will obviously be the final confrontation between these two teams before their upcoming match at Victory Road. It is extremely important that Robert Roode puts on a good showing in this match as he and James have not been working well together as of late.

Initially the match is very even, both men seem to have each other very well scouted, countering each other’s moves perfectly. Soon they start going more back and forth with each man trading momentum. One moment Brutus Magnus has control and then the next Robert Roode is in control. This seems to go on nearly forever, with neither man slowing down one bit. The first man to start showing some form of weakness is Brutus Magnus. Roode’s slight strength advantage starts to pay off for him as he slowly but surely starts to wear down his opponent. Although Magnus starts to show signs of wearing down, Roode is unable to put him away despite giving it all he has. To Roode’s credit, he does not give up though. He tunes out all outside distractions and puts his focus right where it should be, on Brutus Magnus. With the lack of a definitive “knockout punch” by Roode, Magnus is able to start building himself back in to contention for the match. He starts fighting back until the match is once again even. This is where things start to turn in his favor. To what only can be credited as Brutus Magnus being the better wrestler tonight, he starts to pull away. Again, Roode does nothing wrong at all, Magnus is just better at the moment. Magnus’ momentum builds and builds until it reaches a crescendo, nailing his finisher on Roode and covering him for the 1, 2, 3!

Winner: Brutus Magnus

Although not a victory, Beer Money can at least take comfort in the fact that they at least worked well together, Brutus Magnus was just the better man. Following the match, The British Invasion celebrates while Robert Roode and James Storm are only able to shake their heads in frustration. Hopefully they’ll be able to regroup and put on a good match come Sunday. Once each team is up and walking towards the back, the show moves on.

Transitioning to the back, the show goes in to an interview segment with Mick Foley who is standing by with “The Olympic Gold Medalist” Kurt Angle.

Mick Foley: So Kurt, long time no see, how you been?

Kurt Angle: I’ve been better Mick, I’ve been better.

Mick Foley: I understand. So your match last week against Scott Steiner ended the way nearly everyone expected, with Matt Morgan running in and causing a distraction which obviously resulted in you getting knocked out and losing the match. I have to assume that they’re going to try something like that this week, what are your plans in case that does happen?

Kurt Angle: I’ve just got to be more aware. I got mad at them for doing it once but I fell for it again and that’s nobody’s fault but mine. It’s time I start focusing.

Mick Foley: Of course they could very well do nothing, you never know.

Kurt Angle: True, it’s hard to tell with those guys. If there’s one thing I do know about them, it’s that they may have the advantage when it comes to size and strength but they certainly aren’t smart enough to outsmart the Olympic Gold Medalist.

Kurt then shakes Mick’s hand the two part ways as the show cuts to commercial.

*Commercial*

Match #5: Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan

It is now time for match #5 tonight, featuring “The Olympic Gold Medalist” Kurt Angle taking on “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan. Kurt demanded revenge for Scott Steiner and Matt Morgan costing him the Television Championship and this is step #2 in him getting revenge. First man out to the ring is “The Blueprint”, walking to the ring to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Next is Kurt Angle who gets the exact opposite reaction from the crowd.

Kurt begins the match by taking a very cautious approach, not wanting to overexpose himself, risking an attack from behind by Scott Steiner or someone else. Strangely Matt Morgan also takes a cautious, laid back approach to the match, not doing much to take advantage of Kurt being extra careful. It appears that Matt Morgan is simply waiting for something, more than likely that something being outside help from Scott Steiner. The match continues on, but still no Steiner. As the action moves on, Kurt slowly but surely gets braver and braver with his offense, feeling a little more comfortable about his chances. On the other hand, Matt Morgan, who planned the entire strategy in this match on an eventual outside attack from Scott Steiner, appears to be getting frustrated that Big Poppa Pump is nowhere to be seen. A little more than a minute goes by and still no sign of Steiner. In the meantime Kurt has taken firm control of the momentum in the match. Finally, just as things look hopelessly lost for Matt Morgan, Scott Steiner finally shows up, running to the ring as fast as he can. Matt has not been the only one that’s anticipated this however. As the referee turns his attention to Scott Steiner, Matt Morgan takes brass knuckles out of his boots and puts them on. As he goes to attack Kurt, Kurt ducks and Matt misses. Kurt counters that in to an Olympic Slam which he follows up with an Ankle Lock. At this time, all the commotion has gotten the attention of the referee who turns away from Steiner just in time to see Matt Morgan tapping out.

Winner via Submission: Kurt Angle

Kurt was ready for what Steiner and Morgan tried to throw at him and it resulted in him getting a victory. Steiner and Morgan on the other hand, cannot do anything but stare at each other and try to figure out where they went wrong. Kurt then quickly exits the ring, leaving Matt Morgan and Scott Steiner to argue with each other while the camera cuts away.

Before going to commercial, we get a shot of both Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash walking down the back hallway towards the ring. Their match, the main event, is up next.

*Commercial*

Match #6: Kevin Nash vs. Samoa Joe

It’s now main event time. The confrontation that was teased earlier in the night is about to happen, in the ring this time, only a few days before each man will be competing in arguably the most important match of the event at Victory Road. Before each man makes it to the ring, Mike Tenay and Taz are joined at the commentator table by Jeff Jarrett who is here to watch the match very closely. Oddly there is no sign of Eric Bischoff who has been seen watching Samoa Joe very closely these past few weeks. Once Jeff has been seated at the booth, the entrances can begin. First man out to the ring represents the New World Order and that man is “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash. Nash makes his way slowly down the ramp, taunting the fans as they boo him. Once Nash makes it to the ring, the music of Samoa Joe hits and “The Samoan Submission Machine” makes a mad dash to the ring.

Joe slides in to the ring and the match is on. From the get go, the match momentum swings very much in favor of Samoa Joe. Joe, being the far younger and slightly stronger of the two, as well as being the one that’s most determined, easily dominates. Joe employs a quick strike type offense, designed to wear Nash down slowly, by tiring him out. To Nash’s credit however, he appears to be in very good shape, not succumbing to Joe’s offense, at least right now. Nash also is very much aware of what Joe is trying to do and he does everything he can to avoid/counter it but Joe is just too good tonight. Nash makes the decision to try and go in to complete defensive mode, turning Joe’s tiring out offense against him, making Joe work harder for it. But just like Nash is in very good shape tonight, so is Joe. The defensive mode that Nash tries doesn’t seem to work which means that it may only be a matter of time before Joe wins the match. Nash manages to hang on a little longer but not long enough. Joe, showing off his power and strength, gets Nash up and hits what looks like half of the muscle buster, mixed with a power slam. Whatever it was supposed to be it worked. Joe follows up the move with a pin attempt and the 1, 2, 3!

Winner: Samoa Joe

Joe picks up an impressive victory against one of his Victory Road opponents. One has to wonder now if the N.W.O. even stands a chance against this guy. The show fades to black with a shot of Samoa Joe standing over the motionless Kevin Nash.
 
#27 ·
Just glanced over your last few posts. This is quite a great IW thread to read. I like that you're going to do a Knockouts Only show. Plus the team of Lehtal and Young as the new mega powers is something that I think is completely cool and logical. I will hope to follow more and get caught up with the rest of your shows over the next little while. Great Job:D
 
#28 ·
If anyone has any guesses as to who I will have winning at Victory Road, feel free to let me know. I'm interested in seeing how obvious/not obvious I've made it. Also, as far as the Knockouts show is concerned, I won't be writing full shows for those, more than likely I'll end up just giving a summary.

Preview for Victory Road 2010​
A.J. Styles vs. Jeff Hardy [C] - Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match

A feud that began on February 4th which continued because of mutual respect between both competitors has morphed in to something totally different in the past couple of weeks. A.J. Styles, who has always been known as someone who's acts cool, calm, and collected has allowed outside distractions, namely the New World Order, to get the best of him. This resulted in A.J. snapping and attacking Jeff Hardy out of nowhere. A.J. would go on to apologize but was his apology enough? Will A.J. be able to put everything aside and focus on regaining the world heavyweight title or will Jeff Hardy end up retaining the gold? We'll find out as the two clash inside a steel cage.
Beer Money vs. The British Invasion [C] - Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Championship Match

After defeating Team 3D in sound fashion and moving on to the tag team championship tournament finals, it looked like Beer Money would have no problem regaining the world tag team championships but once the finals got there, things started going south for them in a hurry. Problems communicating as well as working together began appearing, causing them to lose the final match which resulted in The British Invasion becoming champions. As the weeks went by, Beer Money still was unable to shake lose their communication problems. Now that Victory Road is upon them, in what could very well be their final shot at regaining the titles, can Beer Money start working together again and become the dominate team that they used to be or will problems arise?
Abyss vs. Raven [C] - Impact Wrestling Television Championship Match/King of the Mountain Qualifying Match

This feud began on the very first show back in February when Raven beat Abyss in the first round of the Television Championship tournament, a loss that apparently Abyss never forgot. As Raven moved on in the tournament, Abyss was always there. When Raven decided to finally confront Abyss about why he had decided to target him, Abyss revealed that "he" told him to do it. Who is this mystery man pulling Abyss' strings and how will it play in to this match with two different stipulations?
Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, & X-Pac vs. Samoa Joe

Arguably the most important match of the night for so many reasons. The New World Order shocked the world when they debuted on Impact Wrestling February 4th in Madison Square Garden, declaring that they were back in business and ready to take over. Luckily for Impact Wrestling, Hulk Hogan would not have any of that, putting his foot down and tossing Scott Hall and X-Pac out. Over the next few weeks, in an attempt to gain full entry in to Impact Wrestling, the N.W.O. began targeting everyone from Jeff Hardy to A.J. Styles to Jeff Jarrett. They succeeded in pushing Jeff Jarrett too far, getting Jeff to agree to a match where if the N.W.O. would win, Scott Hall and X-Pac would get contracts but if they lost, they all must leave. This was considered a victory for them until they found out who they were going to be facing. Since Jeff Jarrett was bared by Hulk Hogan from getting in-ring involved with the New World Order, Jeff needed to find someone who would be a suitable replacement and he found that and then some, recruiting "The Samoan Submission Machine" Samoa Joe to take his place. Does the N.W.O. even stand a chance against Joe or do they have some sort of plan under their sleeve to sneak out a victory and get contracts?
Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan vs. Scott Steiner - King of the Mountain Qualifying Match

Another match that has its roots in the Television Championship tournament is this one. It all began when Scott Steiner announced that he felt like competing for the T.V. title was beneath him and he proceeded to try and convince Kurt Angle and Matt Morgan of that same thing. Kurt would hear nothing of it, proceeding to beat both Steiner and Morgan in the tournament on his way to the finals. Matt Morgan on the other hand, after being beaten by Angle, had second thoughts. He ended up teaming up with Scott Steiner to cost Kurt the T.V. title. Steiner and Morgan thought that would be the end of it but it wasn't. Kurt went to interim general manager Jeff Jarrett and demanded retribution, getting it in the form of a shot at both of them in a triple threat match where the winner will go on to the King of the Mountain Match. Can the newly formed team of Steiner and Morgan work together enough to fend off Angle or will "The Olympic Gold Medalist" get his full revenge?
Bobby Lashley w/ Kristal Lashley vs. D'Angelo Dinero - King of the Mountain Qualifying Match

Definitely the most personal match of the night is this one between Bobby Lashley and D'Angelo Dinero. The feud began when "The Pope" attempted hitting on Bobby's wife Kristal, which ended up costing Bobby Lashley in the T.V. title tournament. This obviously caused Bobby to snap, attacking Dinero in the hallway the following week, resulting in this match being made. Does "The Pope" have enough MMA skills, like he says, to defeat the bigger and stronger Bobby Lashley or will Bobby make him submit?
The Motor City Machine Guns vs. Tommy Mercer w/ London & Kendrick

Feeling left out, The Motor City Machine Guns went to the middle of the ring February 4th and demanded a world tag team title shot. Instead of getting one, they were interrupted by the team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick, making their Impact Wrestling debut. What proceeded after that was a game of one up, with each team trying to prove that they were better than the other. London and Kendrick seemed to have won that temporarily when they hired the big man Tommy Mercer to be their bodyguard. Things were going good for them until the tide turned the other way when the Guns decided to call out Tommy for a match. How will the inexperienced big man do against the two members of the Machine Guns? Can the Guns exploit his inexperience to their advantage or will the advantage go back to London & Kendrick?
Christopher Daniels & Desmond Wolfe vs. Kazarian & Mistico vs. LAX vs. The New Mega Powers - King of the Mountain Qualifying Tag Team Gauntlet Match

Four teams will enter but only one will move on to Bound for Glory and the King of the Mountain Match. Which team will emerge from the Gauntlet and earn themselves a shot at the world title? We found out at Victory Road.
All this and more, as well as the debut of "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Sunday March 21st, from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, live on FX!
 
#29 ·
3/21/2010
Victory Road
Bojangles Coliseum
Charlotte, North Carolina

Victory Road 2010 starts off with a look back at all the changes that the company has gone through in a little over a month, from the shocking debut of the New World Order, to Jeff Hardy becoming champion, and everything in between. The opening video segment does not focus very heavily on any particular match; rather it decides to focus on this being a new beginning for Impact Wrestling as well as throwing in a hype for the pending debut of “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Once the video has completed, the cameras cut to the ring area, the pyro goes off and the show begins.

Match #1: Christopher Daniels & Desmond Wolfe vs. Kazarian & Mistico vs. LAX vs. The New Mega Powers – King of the Mountain Qualifying Tag Team Gauntlet Match

Tonight’s show kicks off with the first King of the Mountain qualifying match, a four team gauntlet match where the winning team will be the first two men to qualify for the King of the Mountain match at Bound for Glory. As per the mini battle royal that occurred last Thursday, the team of Christopher Daniels and Desmond Wolfe will start the match in the ring, where they will face off against The New Mega Powers. The New Mega Powers are the first team out to the ring, getting a huge reaction from the crowd here in Charlotte. Daniels and Desmond are out next, coming to the ring separately, getting mixed reactions from the crowd.

Initially the momentum of the match goes in favor of The New Mega Powers. Eric Young and Jay Lethal, feeding off the loud reaction they are getting from the crowd, dominate Daniels and Desmond. Meanwhile, Desmond Wolfe appears rather annoyed with having to team up with Daniels again, seeming to not want anything to do with him. As a result, Daniels spends most of the match in the ring while Desmond stares off in to space. Just when things are starting to look bleak for them, suddenly a light bulb goes off in Desmond’s head and he finally realizes that if he wants a shot at the King of the Mountain match and as a result, the world title, he needs to kick it in to gear. He finally tags himself in, unloading on Young and Lethal. The New Mega Powers don’t seem to have much of an answer for Desmond, not even the reaction from the crowd is helping them at this point. The New Mega Powers give a valiant effort but in the end they just had no answer for the reinvigorated Desmond Wolfe. After toying with them for a few moments, Desmond finally finishes them off, covering them for the 1, 2, 3!

Eliminated: The New Mega Powers

Daniels and Desmond move on while The New Mega Powers are forced to go home. Next up is the team of the X Division Champion Kazarian and the luchador Mistico. Coming down to the ring together, Kazarian and Mistico dash to the ring and immediately confront both Daniels and Desmond, hoping to catch them off guard and gain an advantage. This strategy works somewhat but both Desmond and Daniels are well prepared for it. Once the referee is finally able to separate the two teams and get them in to normal position, the momentum starts to go back and forth. Daniels, having issues with both Kazarian and Mistico as of late, is chomping at the bit to enter the match but Desmond refuses, hoping to use that enthusiasm to their advantage later on. Once Desmond gets tired, he tags in Daniels who, as expected, enters the match and just goes off on both Kazarian and Mistico. This energy is short lived, however. Kazarian and Mistico have apparently developed a very good chemistry, using that chemistry to their advantage in fighting off Daniels, going back and forth amongst each other so Daniels isn’t able to wear down either one enough. Slowly, Daniels starts to wear himself down. Knowing he needs to do something and fast, Desmond Wolfe hatches a plan. As Kazarian is attempting a cover on Daniels, Desmond pulls the referee away, breaking up the count. Both the referee and Kazarian begin arguing with Desmond which is exactly what he wanted. Without having to communicate, Daniels knows exactly what to do. Sneaking up behind Kazarian, he rolls him up with a school boy. The referee, seeing this, turns around and starts the count, counting 1, 2, 3!

Eliminated: Kazarian & Mistico

Only one more team stands in the way of victory for Daniels and Desmond and that team is LAX. As Kazarian and Mistico begin heading towards the back, LAX’s music begins to play as Homicide and Hernandez slowly start making their way down the ramp. This is an odd strategy since it gives Desmond and Daniels time to catch their breath. LAX then enters the ring and the two teams stare each other down as they ready themselves for this final showdown in the gauntlet match. Since LAX is the most rested of the two, they obviously start with the most momentum. Instead of just using the big man Hernandez to destroy the opposition; LAX opts to wear Daniels and Desmond down even more before unleashing the big man. Once they feel they have them right where they want them, Hernandez is unleashed. Initially Hernandez dominates, doing everything that you would expect. Desmond and Daniels seem to have two choices here, either attempt to go toe to toe with him or try and slowly wear him out. Smartly, they go for the second option. Targeting Hernandez’s left knee, Desmond and Daniels begin to chop him down to their level, taking away his power game in the process. Hernandez seems to not notice this, rather he continues on like nothing’s wrong. Eventually though, it catches up to him. As he attempts one move, his left knee gives out, presenting the opening that Desmond and Daniels have been waiting for. With Hernandez down, Desmond moves in, grabbing the injured knee of Hernandez and twisting it around in a version of an ankle lock. Hernandez screams in pain and Homicide desperately tries to get tagged in but Desmond has Hernandez in the middle of the ring. Eventually the pain is too much; Hernandez is forced to tap out.

Winners via Submission: Christopher Daniels & Desmond Wolfe

Christopher Daniels and Desmond Wolfe now become the first two qualifiers for the King of the Mountain match. Following the match, Daniels enters the ring and starts to celebrate with his tag team partner as Homicide helps Hernandez up and to the back. Desmond once again appears annoyed with Daniels but he goes along with it anyway. Once the referee has finished raising both men’s hands, the camera cuts away to a brief interview segment.

In this backstage interview segment we see Mick Foley standing by with “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, whose match against Bobby Lashley is up next.

Mick Foley: Pope, for a couple weeks now you’ve been training in mixed martial arts, showing videos of your training on T.V. even. Now the time has come to face Bobby Lashley. Do you feel you’re ready?

D’Angelo Dinero: Of course I’m ready daddy, why wouldn’t I be? You’ve seen it with your own eyes, Pope is now an MMA master, he has nothing to fear now.

Mick Foley: You don’t fear that Bobby has been training in MMA for much longer than you or that he’s angry because you hit on his wife?

D’Angelo Dinero: He should take that as a compliment, I mean look at her, she’s hot! But enough about that, no Pope does not fear that Bobby has been training in MMA for longer than he has, no because Pope is a natural when it comes to MMA. I make up the time difference by being such a gifted athlete.

Mick Foley: Well ok then, good luck to you.

D’Angelo Dinero: Thank you sir.

Pope then shakes Mick’s hand and walks off camera as the show goes to commercial.

*Commercial*

Match #2: Bobby Lashley w/ Kristal Lashley vs. D’Angelo Dinero – King Of The Mountain Qualifying Match

Coming back from commercial, Victory Road moves on to match #2 tonight, the second King Of The Mountain Qualifying Match, this one between Bobby Lashley and “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero. This match was made by Jeff Jarrett after Bobby Lashley tried to jump D’Angelo Dinero in the hallway because he had hit on his wife. As each man begins making their way down to the ring, Mike Tenay and Taz give a brief history of the feud. Once both Bobby and the Pope make their way to the ring, Mike Tenay and Taz stop talking so the match can begin.

Once the bell rings whatever confidence Pope had going in to the match was erased. Looking like a scared little child, Pope starts running away from Bobby, being bound and determined not to get caught in his grasp. Pope uses whatever he can think of to get Bobby off his back, exiting the ring even and having Bobby chase him up and down the ramp. On a few occasions Pope manages to catch Bobby off guard, landing a few offensive moves but the moves were so minuscule in effectiveness that Bobby barely notices them. Deciding to just let Pope wear himself out, Bobby stops trying to catch him, hoping that Pope will get brave and try to attack him again. Although this plan doesn’t work at first, eventually Pope musters up enough courage when he thinks that Bobby has given up to go up to him and try to attack. It turned out to be a big mistake on his part. When he gets close enough, Bobby lunges and grabs Pope, and after a brief struggle, Bobby power bombs him to the ring apron and covers him with ease, 1, 2, 3!

Winner: Bobby Lashley

With ease, Bobby Lashley becomes the third man to qualify for the King of the Mountain match. D’Angelo Dinero on the other hand, will be forced to re-think his idea that he is somehow an “MMA master”. Following the match, Bobby Lashley gets his hand raised by the referee with his wife by his side while the Pope manages to pull himself up and access what’s happened. When he finally realizes that he’s lost, the only thing he can do is hang his head and walk out. Once both men have excited the ring, the show moves on.

Before the next match starts, a video segment is shown highlighting the entire Television championship tournament, including the crowning of the first ever Impact Wrestling T.V. Champion in Raven as well as one of the feuds that came out of the tournament, the feud between Abyss and Raven which lead to the next match. As the video ends, it continues to play up Abyss’ new “leader” and whether or not this person will play a role in the match. Once the video is done, the camera cuts back to the ring area, the next match is about to begin.

Match #3: Abyss vs. Raven [C] – King Of The Mountain Qualifying Match/Impact Wrestling Television Championship Match

The third match of the evening is the third King of the Mountain Qualifying match as well as the first championship match of the night pitting the challenger Abyss against the champion Raven. As mentioned before, this feud has taken a slightly different turn in the past couple of weeks with the revelation that a mysterious person has been guiding Abyss to attack and destroy Raven. We’ll just have to wait and see if this person will play a role in this match or not. There is no sign of the man anywhere as Abyss begins making his down to the ring, neither when Raven makes his way down.

Both men just stare at each other as the referee calls for the bell. Raven is the one who cautiously makes the first move, locking up with Abyss in the middle of the ring. Early on in the match it appears that Abyss does not have the same fire in him that he has made the past few weeks, since he’s not doing much to fight back especially against someone who he’s apparently been instructed to destroy. Raven is not fooled however, he continues attacking Abyss with great caution, always on the alert. As time goes on, many, including Raven, are starting to wonder exactly what’s up. Abyss is just sitting there, taking everything and barely doing anything about it. Is he under orders to do this or something? Wanting to put Abyss away before things get worse, Raven ratchets up the pressure on Abyss. Raven’s new offense seems to be working great as Abyss starts to drag even more than he was before. Slowly but surely Abyss gets the life drained out of him but he still does nothing. Then, once it appears that Abyss is nearly done for, a mysterious figure dressed in an all-black robe with a mask covering his face, appears on the top of the entrance ramp. The sight of this figure is all that Abyss needs to snap out of the funk that he was in. Out of nowhere, Abyss starts unloading on Raven. This sudden burst of offense overwhelms Raven. Abyss tosses Raven all over the ring, from ring post to ring post. With Raven nearly motionless, Abyss looks down towards his new mentor and gets a non-verbal cue to continue. Ducking outside for a brief second, Abyss grabs a steel chair and tosses it in the ring. The referee pleads with Abyss to not use the chair but Abyss simply ignores him. As Raven staggers to his feet, Abyss nails him right across the head with the chair, forcing the referee to stop the match and rule it a disqualification.

Winner via DQ and Still Impact Wrestling Television Champion: Raven

Raven retains the T.V. as well as qualifying for the King of the Mountain match. Abyss, on the other hand, despite having just lost not only the T.V. title but the chance to qualify for the King of the Mountain match, does not appear too sad about the matter at all. Rather, he seems very pleased that he’s once again successfully knocked out Raven. Medical personnel check on Raven with Abyss looking on the show cuts to commercial.

*Commercial*

Match #4: The Motor City Machine Guns vs. Tommy Mercer w/ London & Kendrick

Coming back from commercial, it is now time for match #4 of the evening, a 2 on 1 handicap match between Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley of the Motor City Machine Guns and “The Masked Man” Tommy Mercer. This will only be Tommy’s second official match as a member of the Impact Wrestling roster so it should be interesting to see how he will fare against two veterans like Sabin and Shelley. Tommy is the first man out to the ring, followed closely behind by the two men that he protects, Paul London and Brian Kendrick. Next up are The Guns, coming out to the ring to a huge crowd reaction. As they approach the ring, London and Kendrick are busy getting Tommy hyped up.

As most would expect, for nearly the first three fourths of this match, the Motor City Machine Guns dominate. They use their speed, athleticism, and teamwork to confuse and wear down Tommy Mercer. Tommy spends a good majority of that time spinning around, trying to catch which either Gun is in the ring at the time. Tommy needs to focus and do it fast otherwise this match won’t end pretty for him. After actually managing to get some offense in, temporarily getting the Guns off of him, at least enough to go to his corner, he gets a pep talk from London and Kendrick. The cameras are unable to catch what London and Kendrick are saying to Tommy but whatever it was seems to have gotten Tommy focused and in a different state of mind. Tommy then returns to the action with a new sense of fire. This time he manages to catch Chris Sabin. With Sabin now in his grasp, Tommy starts wearing him down with a series of submission like holds as well as a series of irish whips/splashes in the corners of the ring. This ends up lasting for quite a while. Smartly, Tommy keeps Chris isolated, away from Alex Shelley. Eventually though, after struggling, Chris Sabin manages to inch his way over to his corner and tag in Alex Shelley. Tommy doesn’t have nearly the same success against Alex Shelley that he did against Chris Sabin. He struggles to get any sort of momentum going. At this point in the match, he is also starting to slow down considerably, having to catch his breath after nearly every move. Things are looking bad for Tommy at this point, he’ll need a miracle to win this match and a miracle is exactly what happened. After being backed up in to the Guns’ corner, Tommy elbows Chris Sabin in the side of the head which knocks him out, sending him crashing to the floor. As Alex Shelley turns to attempt to tend to his fallen friend, Tommy ducks away and stands and waits. As Alex turns around, Tommy nails him with a big boot which Tommy follows up with his version of the spine buster. Tommy then covers Alex Shelley and gets the 1, 2, 3!

Winner: Tommy Mercer

Tommy Mercer picks up the shocking victory. Following the match, both Paul London and Brian Kendrick enter the ring and celebrate with their bodyguard while on the outside medical staff are attending to Chris Sabin who is still not moving after taking a hard elbow to the side of the head courtesy of Tommy Mercer. Once London, Kendrick, and Mercer are finished celebrating, they exit the ring, not even stopping or looking back to check on the condition of Chris Sabin. They are just happy that they picked up the victory. As medical personal continue to attend to Chris Sabin, the camera cuts away.

Another video package is shown, this one concerning the next match about to take place, the final King of the Mountain Qualifying Match between Kurt Angle, Matt Morgan, and Scott Steiner. This match was made by Jeff Jarrett so Kurt Angle could try and get some measure of retribution for Steiner and Morgan distracting him during the finals of the T.V. championship tournament. This match will also put to the test the new relationship between Steiner and Morgan who only started working together a couple of weeks ago. Once the video finishes up, the camera cuts back to the ring area.

Match #5: Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan vs. Scott Steiner – King Of The Mountain Qualifying Match

Interestingly, as a show of teamwork perhaps, Matt Morgan and Scott Steiner walk down to the ring together, despite the fact that they will be opponents once the match starts. Could this signal bad things ahead for Kurt Angle or is it only a façade? We will find out shortly as Kurt Angle begins making his way to the ring. Ready for battle, Kurt enters the ring and gets right in to the face of both Steiner and Morgan.

Right off the bat, both Steiner and Morgan level Angle and start beating on him ferociously. It takes quite a bit of time but eventually Angle is able to fight his way to his feet. During the first half of this match, Angle is successfully able to fight both Steiner and Morgan at the same time, going back and forth between the two. Angle times everything just perfectly so he is never caught off guard. You can just see the frustration growing inside both Scott Steiner and Matt Morgan as they are unable to attack Angle together as they had originally planned. Surprisingly enough though, Steiner and Morgan do not begin arguing amongst each other, rather they remain calm and continue about their ways, knowing that Angle will have to tire eventually. As the match drags on, Angle does eventually start losing steam. The rapid fire way that he is fending off Steiner and Morgan starts to wear on him as his moves become less and less effective. Finally after trying so hard for so long, Steiner and Morgan get a hold of Angle and start beating on him. Just like Angle was going back and forth between each of them earlier, they now take turns wearing down Angle. Steiner uses submission type moves to wear Angle down whereas Morgan uses a combination of elbow strikes, punches, and kicks to knock him out. Soon enough, Angle starts getting to the point where he’s barely able to do anything, much less stand up. Now the question becomes, will Matt Morgan or Scott Steiner be the one to pin Angle? As expected, the two starts arguing as Matt Morgan attempts a pin on Angle. As they argue, this gives Angle just enough time to regain his senses and muster up enough energy to mount a comeback. When Morgan and Steiner turn around, Angle decks them both with a close line. He then tosses Steiner out of the ring, leaving him and Matt Morgan one on one. Angle begins working on Morgan, hitting the Angle slam on him to finish it off. Angle lowers the straps and prepares for the Ankle Lock. But before he can lock it in, Matt Morgan counters, ducking out of the way and on the way back around, nailing Angle with a big boot! Unbeknownst to Morgan, who is taking his sweet time celebrating the big boot, Steiner has snuck in from outside the ring and quietly covered Angle. The referee sees this and starts counting. Before Morgan can get there, he counts 1, 2, 3!

Winner: Scott Steiner

Scott Steiner becomes the fifth and final man to qualify for the King of the Mountain match, stealing a victory from Matt Morgan. Matt Morgan can’t believe his eyes that he let that happen as Steiner backs his way up the entrance ramp, laughing as he does it. Morgan paces back and forth in the middle of the ring for a few seconds, obviously still mad that Steiner stole the victory but that’s all he does. Eventually he calms down and exits the ring. Kurt Angle, after having time to regain himself, also eventually gets up and leaves the ring. As Angle is making his way up the ramp, the show cuts to commercial.

*Commercial*

Match #6: Beer Money vs. The British Invasion [C] – Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Championship Match

Coming back from commercial, Victory Road goes right in to match #6 tonight, a tag team championship match between Beer Money and the champions, The British Invasion. Before each team begins making their way down the ramp, Mike Tenay and Taz give a quick recap of the buildup to this match, mentioning how Beer Money has not been working together very well as of late. Once they are done with their recap, the entrances can begin. First up is Beer Money, followed by the champions. Once the Brits enter the ring, they hand the belts to the referee, the referee hands the belts to the outside and the match begins.

James Storm begins the match in the ring for his team, and Doug Williams begins the match in the ring for his team. Initially the match is very even, both teams deciding not to take many risks, rather opting to instead feel each other out and get a feel for each other’s strategy. The champs strategy seems to revolve around exploiting Beer Money’s struggles as of late which doesn’t work so well since Beer Money has apparently brought their A game for this match. Beer Money’s strategy is shock and awe, trying to overwhelm their opponents with brute strength quickly and effectively. Beer Money’s strategy appears to be working but they’re not quite getting the results they are hoping for. They hit every move but despite their best efforts, the champs still get back up and ready for more. Despite growing frustration, they continue on, not letting this get the best of them. Up until this point, the Brits had merely been playing defense, trying to survive Beer Money’s unrelenting offense but as the match continues on, they start growing bolder and bolder, firing back with some quick hitting offense of their own. Eventually the match becomes nearly evenly split with Beer Money and the Brits trading powerful strikes back and forth. It’ll come down to which one can last the longest. Despite their best efforts, it looks like it’s the champs who are lasting the longest. Since Beer Money has been using their powerful, quick strike offense the whole match, by this point they are starting to grow tired. The champs slowly build momentum while Beer Money slowly loses it. Eventually it reaches a point where Beer Money just doesn’t have anything left. They try but it’s no use. The match drags on for a little while but eventually the Brits put Beer Money away with the Chaos Theory by Doug Williams. Williams then covers Robert Roode for the 1, 2, 3, champs retain!

Winners and Still Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Champions: The British Invasion

The champs retain while Beer Money is left to once again re-asses themselves. Following the end of the match, the referee hands the Brits their belts while raising their hands. Beer Money is only able to put their hands on their hips and hang their heads in disbelief. Once the referee finishes raising the champs’ hands, Williams and Magnus then exit the ring, leaving Beer Money alone. Once they are out of site, Beer Money gets up to exit the ring. But before they can leave the ring entirely, they are stopped dead in their tracks by a very loud “WOO!”. The crowd goes absolutely nuts and Beer Money stands there with eyes wide open as that can only be from one man, that man being “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. The crowd erupts as Naitch himself steps out of the entrance tunnel. Flair pauses at the top of the ramp, posing for the fans, letting everything sink in before eventually making his way down to the ring. Beer Money remains wide eyed as Flair enters the ring and demands a microphone.

Ric Flair: Wooo!

The crowd woos back. Flair then turns and faces Beer Money.

Ric Flair: Do you two know who I am?

Both James Storm and Robert Roode nod their heads.

Ric Flair: You better, because you’re standing in the presence of God right now. I am a wrestling god, the greatest world heavyweight champion of all time! Limosine ridin’, jet flyin’, kiss stealin’, wheelin’ dealin’, son of a gun, the NATURE BOY! Woo!

The crowd once again woos back.

Ric Flair: I’ve been keeping my eye on you two for a long time. Ever since Hogan called me up and got me to come to Impact Wrestling, I said only if I got to work with those two, they’re future stars, championship material even.

Beer Money can’t believe they’re getting put over this way by Flair himself.

Ric Flair: But, as I’ve watched, I’ve noticed a lot of problems. You guys are good, real good but you’re not wrestling god material, not yet.

Both Storm and Roode give Flair a confused response.

Ric Flair: If you’re willing to follow me, learn from me, the 16 time world champion, I will make you in to gods, what do you say?

Flair extends his hand towards Storm and Roode. Storm and Roode then look at each other, trying to figure out what to do. Eventually they both agree and shake Flair’s hand. Flair’s new theme music begins to play and the three begin walking to the back together. As they make their way up the ramp, the camera cuts away.

Victory Road continues on with a backstage segment featuring the three members of the New World Order competing in the next match against Samoa Joe. Scott Hall and X-Pac are finishing getting ready when Kevin Nash enters the room.

Kevin Nash: Ready?

Scott Hall: Brother, I was born ready.

Hall and Pac then finish up lacing their boots and such, stand up and walk out of the room with Kevin as the show cuts to a video recap of the brief history of the New World Order in Impact Wrestling. The recap is in traditional N.W.O. black and white promo style. Nothing real important happens, just gets fans caught up on the story. Once the video is done, the camera cuts back to the ring area.

Match #7: Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, & X-Pac vs. Samoa Joe

Before anybody can begin to make their way down to the ring, Mike Tenay and Taz are once again joined at the broadcast table by “The King Of The Mountain” Jeff Jarrett. Once Jeff has sat down and gotten situated, the entrances begin. First up is the New World Order. Nash, Hall, and X-Pac all make their way down to the ring together, getting a mix of boos and a few cheers in the process. Once the N.W.O. enters the ring and gets all situated, the camera goes off in to the audience and focuses in on one spot, revealing the fact that Eric Bischoff is in the audience. Samoa Joe’s music then hits and “The Samoan Submission Machine” begins making his way down to the ring. Joe then enters the ring and immediately stares at all three N.W.O. members.

Scott Hall begins the match in the ring for the N.W.O. Scott locks up with Joe in the middle of the ring but that doesn’t last long. Pretty soon after that Joe has Hall down. He then gets him in position for the muscle buster which he hits. However, instead of covering him, he simply tosses Hall to the outside and taunts either X-Pac or Nash to come in and take him on. X-Pac is the next challenger. Pac has some measure of success; he’s able to use a series of quick karate-like kicks to Joe’s knees and legs. Pac is unable to do much more than this however; instead he spends most of the time in the ring running and darting away from Samoa Joe. This doesn’t last though. Eventually Joe catches up to him and X-Pac ends up suffering the same fate as Scott Hall, muscle buster, then tossed to the outside. There is now only one man left. “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash enters the ring and immediately squares off with Samoa Joe, trading punches back and forth. Nash has by far the most success of the three N.W.O. members, actually managing to get Joe backed up in to the ring post a couple times but what he is able to do turn out to not be that effective. Joe is just an unstoppable train at this point. After about a minute or so, Joe gets Nash in position to inevitably put him away. However before he does, in the audience Eric Bischoff stands up and points to Joe. This apparently was some kind of signal because once Eric points, Joe immediately lays down, waiting for Nash to cover him. Nash shakes the cobwebs lose, stands up, and puts a foot over Joe as the referee counts 1, 2, 3!

Winner: Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, & X-Pac

With that move, Samoa Joe turns his back on Impact Wrestling and aligns himself with the New World Order. Scott Hall and X-Pac join Nash and Joe in the ring and all four members start celebrating their victory. Enraged over what just happened, Jeff Jarrett gets up from the broadcast table and storms in to the ring. He gets right in to the face of Joe, yelling at him rather loudly. Joe just laughs, turns the other way for a brief second, turns back around and then nails Jarrett with a powerful right hook, knocking him out. The N.W.O. then exits the ring as the crowd continues to boo them. The camera then cuts back to the broadcast table.

Killing time as the steel cage is being set up, Mike Tenay and Taz comment on what just happened. They ponder the ramifications of Scott Hall and X-Pac getting Impact Wrestling contracts and what that’ll mean for the future of this company. Is there anybody that can stop them now? Once they are done commenting on that, they switch focus to tonight’s main event, the world championship steel cage match between A.J. Styles and Jeff Hardy. They show a dual screen shot of both Hardy and Styles preparing themselves in the back as the show cuts to its final commercial.

*Commercial*

Match #8: A.J. Styles vs. Jeff Hardy [C] – Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match

Coming back from commercial, it is now time for the main event, a steel cage world heavyweight championship match between the challenger A.J. Styles and the champion Jeff Hardy. First to make their way to the ring is “The Phenomenal” A.J. Styles. Styles, who has been distracted as of late, appears focused and ready to go. Once he enters the ring and the cage, the music of the champion begins to play. The crowd erupts, giving the champion the second biggest reaction of the night as he makes his way down to the ring. Once inside, Hardy hands the belt to the referee, another referee then locks the cage door, and the match can begin.

A.J. Styles wastes no time in rushing and attacking Jeff Hardy. Styles catches Hardy by surprise, knocking him to his feet. It is clear that Styles’ game plan is very similar to what Beer Money’s was before in their match, overwhelm their opponent with a heavy hitting, quick strike offense. Styles also uses the steel cage to his advantage, tossing Hardy into it a few times. Styles also wisely begins targeting Jeff’s knees and legs, to hopefully wear him down enough to take away his high flying offense. He uses a series of stomps/kicks coupled with a few submission holds to wear down Hardy’s legs. With how effective Styles has been you would think that this match would be over rather quickly but with the crowd firmly behind him, Hardy remains in the game. Every once in a while Hardy manages to get in a few moves here and there but Styles remains in firm control of the momentum, not letting up one inch. Eventually though, as the crowd starts chanting more and more for Hardy, Jeff starts building some momentum. A little here and a little there as Jeff climbs his way back in to contention. Styles does remain in relative control but Hardy has now fought his way back to where it is now more of an even fight. This is where the cage starts coming in to play once again. Hardy and Styles trade strikes back and forth, each seemingly taking turns in using the cage against their opponent. Neither man seems to have been able to change the momentum of the match quite yet until Styles once again starts to pull away. The work he did on Hardy’s legs earlier in the match starts to pay off as Hardy is starting to have a hard time standing up. This allows Styles to gain an even more sizable edge on Hardy. However, despite this he is unable to truly put Hardy away due to the massive following that Hardy has amongst the crowd. Hardy once again starts fighting his way back in to the match, this time though, he starts to take control. As the crowd builds and builds and builds, Hardy builds up a head of steam, overwhelming Styles. This all culminates in a Twist of Fate on Styles! Hardy then ponders covering Styles but before he does that, he gets an idea. Climbing to the top rope, Hardy then starts climbing all the way to the top of the cage. The fans and everyone know what Hardy is about to do. Jeff then positions himself a top the cage, jumps off and hits an impressive Swanton Bomb right on Styles from the top of the cage. The crowd goes nuts as Hardy covers Styles for the 1, 2, 3!

Winner and Still Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion: Jeff Hardy

Hardy, clutching his ribs, gets his arm raised by the referee as he is handed the belt. The crowd continues cheering as Hardy pauses to catch his breath. Once he’s caught it, he takes his title and holds it up high above his head as the crowd cheers on. Hardy then turns to exit the ring/steel cage but before he can, the lights suddenly go out. The arena is entirely silent for a few seconds before the sound of rain and thunder are once again heard. Once the lights come back on, only the ring is lit up, revealing “The Icon” Sting, perched atop the cage, pointing his baseball bat right at Hardy. The two stare each other down as the show fades to black.
 
#31 ·
Victory Road is a very well done PPV. I do like the matches you've put on your card and the outcomes look promising. I don't really see Samoa Joe joining the NWO, unless he's being forced to. Hardy and AJ for the World Title would definitely be a showstopper. I don't really like having the cage match won with a pinfall, but that's just my particular preference. I like Sting's return and how you are setting up Sting/Hardy.
 
#32 ·
Breaking Impact Wrestling News: Two Wrestlers Released, Also - Eric Bischoff on Future of N.W.O., Victory Road Ratings, & More

- Impact Wrestling has come to terms on the release of Hernandez and Consequences Creed. We wish them all the best in their futures.

- The Consequences Creed release was said to have been expected. Unfortunately for him he fell victim to "creative has nothing for you", however both sides are still on good terms so there's a chance he could be brought back in the future. The Hernandez release on the other hand caught people a little by surprise. Over the years Hernandez had gained a reputation of being dangerous to work against due to his sometimes reckless work in the ring. When the new regime took over, he was told to try and get this fixed but he was not able to get much better, at least to the level that management had hoped so he was released.

- Eric Bischoff gave his first media interview since joining Impact Wrestling when he appeared on the Monday Night Mayhem podcast. Not much interesting stuff was said until the interviewer asked him about what Impact Wrestling has planned for the N.W.O. storyline which Bischoff had this to say, "I can't say exactly what we have planned since nothing's 100% finalized but I can say this, we didn't go through all that trouble in obtaining the trademark to just use it for a storyline that'll end in a few months." Also, when asked if Impact Wrestling had any more plans for more programming, Bischoff said "Absolutely."

- The new Victory Road live format was said to have been a huge success in the ratings. The show garnered a 1.8 rating. The show finished slightly behind the February 4th show in terms of total viewers but considering all the changes that were made, this has to be viewed as a great achievement for Impact Wrestling. The show also did pretty well as far as live attendance went. Although it wasn't a sell out, they still sold way more tickets than they were expecting.




Preview for 3/25/2010
  • Witness the fallout from Victory Road as Impact Wrestling invades the J.S. Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina!
  • With less than a month to go until Bound for Glory, we will crown new #1 contenders to both the tag team and X Division championships. In a triple threat match, Amazing Red and Mistico will be going up against an unknown X Division competitor from Impact Wrestling's past to determine who becomes X Division #1 Contender. Also, after their bodyguard Tommy Mercer beat the Motor City Machine Guns at Victory Road, taking out Chris Sabin in the process, London & Kendrick will look to continue their good luck when they once again face off against The New Mega Powers to determine who goes on to Bound for Glory for a shot at the world tag team titles.
  • In a swerve that some would argue Jeff Jarrett and Impact Wrestling should have seen coming, Samoa Joe betrayed Impact Wrestling and allowed the New World Order win their match, thus granting both Scott Hall and X-Pac contracts. Now all under contract and with Samoa Joe at their side, what will the N.W.O. do now?
  • Following their loss against The British Invasion, Beer Money might have thought all was lost but not quite. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair then made his long awaited debut, offering his services to Beer Money, offering to teach them how to be champions again. This week, Naitch's training begins.
  • After having suffered yet another loss, A.J. Styles went home to think. Now this week, A.J. says he has an announcement to make about his future. What has "The Phenomenal One" decided to do?
  • All this and more, Thursday March 25th, live from the J.S. Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, only on FX!
 
#33 ·
Sorry I have been MIA for a bit, but I will give you a few notes on Victory Road. (in no particular order)

I liked Sting's return, and I thought it was a nice touch to end the PPV and give fans "just a little bit more" in terms of enjoyment.

The Main event was fine, but the ending of the match was obviously the best part. Hardy hitting a swanton from the top of the cage would be a nice sight, and would definitely pop the crowd. Styles lead for much of the match, and hopefully he stays in title contention moving forward.

I can't see Joe ever, ever, ever joining the n.W.o. but I am intrigued as to what Bischoff's deal was with Joe that he laid down so easily, especially after dominating much of the match. The n.W.o. needs younger guys, who can win titles and be believable, as Nash, Hall, and Pac are not it...

Flair managing Beer Money is exquisite, but I would have liked to see at least one title change hands here at the PPV.

The king of the Mountain stuff was all as expected, except for the tag match. Christopher Daniels and Wolfe both can definitely be in the title hunt, and I expect them to do most of the heavy lifting in the King of the Mountain.

Motor City vs Tommy Mercer was.. well odd. you put commercials in your PPV. I assume you just mean video vignettes? I understand Mercer winning, and seeming like an animal after being worked into a frenzy by London and Kendrick, but I don't think its a good idea to have a tag team, especially an established one like MCMG, lose to a singles guy who is a nobody at this point. London and Kendrick losing to MCMG makes everyone look bad, as it would seem like Mercer>MCMG>London and Kendrick which doesnt work since Mercer is their "second" and if L&K win, its the same situation.
 
#34 ·
you put commercials in your PPV. I assume you just mean video vignettes?
I changed up the PPV format, making Victory Road and a few others free on T.V. events so that's why I had commercials in there.

And just to let you and any one else who happens to read this know, it may be a while before I get the next event up. I'm currently in the process of finding a new job which is taking up a lot of my time. Hopefully when I do find one and get things more settled I'll be able to bring this back.
 
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