The Impact Crater 11.02.06
Posted by Ryan Byers on 11.03.2006
This week's massive Crater features feedback from last week's worst Impact ever, my fantasy booking of TNA, and Chris Daniels fighting for the right to stare at Traci's crotch.
Ahh, what a week it has been in the world of TNA analysis. For those of you who missed it, we're coming back from one of the worst episodes of Impact in history. After the review of this week's episode, I'll have a slew of feedback on that program, including a couple of people who actually thought the show was GOOD. No, I don't know what they're on or where you can get it. Also, as an added bonus, I've included my own plan for how to book TNA's main angles over the course of the next several months.
But that's all at the end of the review. Now it's time for this week's Impact.
It's a recap of the "Fight for Your Right (To PARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-TAY)" tournament to open the show. I still hate this goddamn match. Then they show the Angle/Joe pull apart, as Mike Tenay screams "We have never had a situation like this in TNA!" Yeah, except for the two other times that they brawled.
Mike and Don throw us to a backstage interview with Chris Sabin and Christy Hemme. Sabin runs down Jerry Lynn for being too old to wrestle. AJ Styles takes exception, saying that Lynn created the X Title and that Sabin should show more respect. Why isn't Jerry Lynn fighting his own battles? The two men shove each other, and Sabin says that he'll put the title on the line tonight, in what I believe is also a match in the ridiculous tournament.
Match Numero Uno: Chris Sabin (c) vs. AJ Styles for the X Division Championship in a Fight for Your Right (To PARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-TAY) Tournament Match
This could be good if it doesn't get too Russo-fied . . . as if having a tournament match for a title wasn't Russo-fied enough. AJ takes him down to start, and that leads to a bunch of quick reversals. Sabin cartwheels over his man but gets caught in a backbreaker for two. This is somehow a "move from the Jerry Lynn playbook" according to Tenay. A bow and arrow submission is then applied by Styles, but the Future is out of it quickly and gets a backslide for two before dropkicking his man's knees. The champ follows that up with a shining wizard-esque kick to the back of AJ's head, and now we hit the chinlock. Styles looks to power out but gets cut off and has a leg dropped on his face. Then it's back to the chinlock, which is actually powered out of this time. AJ hits some lariats and a spin kick to set up his springboard forearm for a nearfall. The Styles Clash is attempted, but Sabin pops out and gets what was supposed to be an enzuguri. It hit Styles' shoulder instead. That move leads in to a tornado DDT by the man from Hell, Michigan, and both wrestlers take a little time to sell. Sabin tries a discus forearm but gets Pele kicked. Then there's a NICE reversal as Sabin avoids Styles' inverted DDT and drills him with a Yakuza kick. Sabin looks for the Future Shock, but Styles reverses it in to a small package to get the three count, the title, and a birth in the next round of the tournament.
Apparently they're doing three singles matches tonight, with the three winners facing off in a triple threat match next week. Good thing that they explained that before they did this match. Oh, wait, they didn't.
Match Thoughts: For a typical Impact match, this was fine . . . maybe even a little bit better than average. For a match in TNA's wacky tournament, it was fine. For an X Division Title match, it was lacking. The two guys did a decent amount of back and forth stuff and didn't cram in too many spots, which is while I'll give it * and not knock the work at all. There has been far worse from the X Division guys throughout the last several months of Impact.
However, what I have a problem with is the booking of the match. First of all, I hate the fact that this match and title change took place with roughly forty-five seconds of build up. I understand that there's been a creative change and that, as a result, the card will get reshuffled a little bit. But, if you really wanted to get the title to AJ ASAP, why not at least run the footage of his confrontation with Sabin on last week's show? God forbid you actually give the fans something to tune in to next week. Furthermore, why do a Low Ki to Sabin to Styles series of title changes? If you want to wind up with the belt on AJ, he's a face and Low Ki is a heel. Just go ahead and do the angle with AJ chasing Ki for a while and put Styles over in the blow off.
Now it's time for a pre-taped interview with Sting. He puts over Jeff Jarrett for a little bit and says that, in the past, the NWA Title has been a cancer. Huh? It apparently represented greed, lust, and everything that was wrong in the business. However, Sting will be changing things. He says that now the belt will stand for all that is good in the world and that he will be giving credit to "god almighty." Oh jesus. If Impact turns in to the World Bible Thumping Federation, I'm out of here. On commentary later in the show, Tenay and West have a back and forth about whether Sting will stay good or succumb to the same temptation that made Jeff Jarrett in to a total prick. So apparently Sting's next feud is going to be against himself. It's an inner struggle. That will certainly make a PPV match difficult . . . unless the TNA booking committee has Jeff Farmer on speed dial.
(One thousand wrestling nerd points to whoever got that reference.)
Lance Hoyt and Ron Killings are in the back. They're fighting each other tonight, but they're still good friends. Awww, that's cute. Eric Young pops up when their love-fest ends, and he says that he's looking for Jeff Jarrett.
Match Numero Dos: Ron Killings vs. Lance Hoyt in a Fight for Your Right (To PARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-TAY) Tournament Match
Lockup to start, and Killings gets a couple of quick pin attempts before slapping on a headlock. Hoyt comes back with a shoulderblock and a big boot that misses Killings' face by a mile. There's a side slam from the big Texan, though it only gets two. Killings break dances and hits a leg lariat, but Hoyt avoids the axe kick. His second attempt at a big boot fails, allowing the Truth to hit the forearm and the axe kick. That does it.
Match Thoughts: Well, I can't really complain about a two minute squash where nothing got botched. 1/2* Despite that, I have to question the wisdom of putting Hoyt over strong in battle royale only to turn him right back in to a jobber seven days later.
After the match, BG James and Billy Gunn come out. BG shakes Ron's hand and grabs a microphone. Without naming any names, he basically says that Triple H and Sean Waltman were worthless and that it was the New Age Outlaws that carried DX. Um, ok. Then he says that "TNA management dropped the ball on Three Live Crew." He further complains about not getting pushed enough and says that he "knows where to find work." Yeah, I know that he's a big deal down in Wrestle Birmingham. He says that the Outlaws are going to walk out on TNA. Kip tries to agree but gets his mic cut off by the production truck. What the hell was that? Two guys that are treated like major stars in the company suddenly decide that they have an axe to grind? Then, after acting like heels, they actually have the company oppressing them in a way that makes their claims look completely justified. Throw in some "insider" references that would have been hip eight years ago, and we can officially deem this as the Impact Crater's first RUSSORIFIC SEGMENT OF THE WEEK.
Match Numero Tres: Bobby Roode vs. Christopher Daniels in a Fight for Your Right (To PARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-TAY) Tournament Match
Bobby is now apparently "Mr. Wallstreet," though it's not explained why exactly he's gone from being a "Canadian Enforcer" to being a second rate Million Dollar Man. Traci Brooks distracts Daniels at the opening bell and allows Roode to stomp a mudhole in his man. The Angel fires back briefly but is worked over with some elbows and a big kneedrop. Roode then goes in to the neck crank, which I've seen entirely too much of tonight. Daniels elbows out just like his partner did earlier. He then attempts a crucifix, but Roode blocks it, so Daniels responds by turning it in to a flatliner. Nicely done. There are some clotheslines and a backdrop by the veteran, and he uses those to set up an enzuguri. Roode rolls to the outside, so Daniels follows him out and hits an Asai moonsault before throwing his man back in to the ring. Christopher comes off of the top with a cross body for a nearfall. He misses a knee in the corner, allowing Roode to hit the Uncle Slam for two. A powerbomb is attempted by the Canuk, but Daniels slips out and hits a Death Valley Driver. Roode is up seconds later. The DVD is a transition move now? Add that to the list of reasons to hate TNA. The Angel uses that move to set up the BME, but Brooks distracts the referee to prevent a three count from being registered. Daniels gets rid of her and looks for the Angel's Wings, but she grabs his leg. That distraction allows Roode to Roll the Dice for a victory.
Traci stands over Styles after the match, so AJ Styles runs in. I don't know why. It's not like she was actually doing anything to him. Maybe Styles, as a good Christian, just didn't want Daniels to be tempted by Brooks' camel toe. They tease dissension between Chris and AJ, presumably because Daniels wanted to see the camel toe and Styles wouldn't let him. (Okay, so that's not the actual reason, but it makes more sense than what Mike Tenay fabricates.)
Match Thoughts: Another * contest. The bit with the DVD annoyed me, but other than that we had something that was solid yet unspectacular. My only other complaint is that they might have overdone the Traci interference just a bit, as she got herself involved roughly three times in four minutes. I understand that the company wants to get the character established, but cheating once at the end of the contest would have been a bit more effective.
Match Numero Cuatro: Christian vs. Rhino in a Four Corners Weapons or Escape Match
Rhino jumps Christian as soon as he comes out of the fallopian tubes and whips him in to the barricades many, many times. Probably not the best way to open this match, because it doesn't really give Tenay and West time to explain the rules well. Apparently the idea is that there are poles in four corners, and each pole has an item on it. If you grab an item, you get to use it in the cage match that the two men are having in two weeks on Impact. Wait a second, so how does somebody win this match?
Rhino chokes his man and tries to grab a chair off of a pole, but Xian cuts it off. Don West notes that the items that each man retrieves will be put on a "special box with their name on it" until the cage match. I love Don West. Christian now climbs up to get the key to the cage door, but Rhino shoves him off of the top rope and grabs the key. It's not explained exactly how Rhino will be able to use this. Will he be able to unlock the cage door, walk out through it, and win the match that way? Will he be able to unlock the door so that he can run away from Christian when he needs a breather? Will he just be able to hit Christian with the ridiculously large wooden block that's attached to the key? Fans need answers to these questions.
We're back after a commercial break, and there's a table in the ring. We're shown a replay of Rhino grabbing a straightjacket off of a pole during the break. Don West says that Rhino tried to use the jacket in this match but that the referees took it away and put it in the special box with his name on it. I still love Don West. The Detroit native then goes to gore Xian through the table, but he's cut off by a dropkick. Christian grabs a pair of bolt cutters off a pole and goes to use them as a weapon, but Rhino hits a double leg. A referee grabs the cutters and puts them in to Christian's special box with his name on it. Then, out of nowhere, Matt Bentley runs in and starts pummeling Rhino, allowing Christian to grab a pair of chairs off of the last pole. The bell rings, apparently meaning the match is over. I guess I'll never get my question about how you win this match answered . . . unless the answer is that the match wasn't designed to have a winner, which is stupid on many levels. Rhino blasts Christian and grabs the straightjacket out of the special box with his name on it. He straps the jacket on to Cage and looks for a chairshot, but now Frankie Kazarian is in the ring. He and Bentley are both "dressed like Raven" according to the announcers. They try to double team Rhino but get destroyed, including a slam through the table on Kazarian.
Match Thoughts: For the second consecutive week, TNA goes too far in attempting to do something "different" and winds up looking foolish for it. We wound up with another gimmick matches with rules that defy logic . . . and the whole purpose of this match was to add more rules to a match that's happening in the future. Top that off with the fact that this was match that is IMPOSSIBLE TO WIN, and I was just shaking my head when the final bell rang. Regardless of the stupid booking, Rhino and Christian managed to work well together and take a series of nice bumps that prevented this from being completely wretched. 3/4* Maybe they could have saved the battle royale last week if they were actually allowed to be a part of it.
But that's not the end of the show, folks! There's a special training video showing Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe preparing for their match at Genesis. It's very well put together, with epic sounding music in the background and no narration. The pictures tell the story very well, making both men appear ready to tear the ever-loving hell out of each other. No matter what goes wrong with TNA, Dave Sahadi will always be awesome.
Overall
This felt like it was just a filler show in which nothing major happened. A couple of undercard angles got furthered, but, other than that, it was just a show that was put together because TNA needed something to air on November 2. I really have no problem with that, as an occasional bland show is necessary in order to make the big shows all the more special. The in-ring product was solid enough, with nothing being actively bad and a couple of cool/memorable spots happening in the Daniels and Styles matches. What leaves my thumb leaning slightly down at the end of the night is the idiotic Russo booking, including the dated James Gang angle, the title match that was also a tournament match that had no build, and the main event that was impossible for anybody to win. However, even though there was still some idiocy present, just about anything looks good after last week, which is why I'm not being nearly as hard on this episode as I normally would. Let's just hope that things continue to improve from here. God knows we already saw them bottom out.
With that said, let's now take a look at some feedback from last week's Impact Crater.
John T. starts us off, and he's none too happy with me:
Wow, Your WWE bias opinion is amazing
When did I say anything about enjoying WWE?
Saying this was "the worst professional wrestling show" you haveever seen is going a little overboard. Like you, I also have an opinion.
How do you know it's going overboard? Have you seen every professional wrestling show I've seen? Do you know all of my opinions on ever show I've seen?
My opinion is that this was a great show.
Okay, fine, you're entitled to that.
To the casual fan, I imagine all of the non stop action would have caught their eye
And I can imagine that all of the non-stop action would have left a casual fan completely incapable of figuring out what was going on. I'm a guy who is watching the show for the specific purpose of recapping it, and I'm sure that I missed a lot of stuff, so I can't imagine what a person who was channel surfing was supposed to take away from the match. Let's say that you're not a wrestling fan, and you run across SpikeTV to see a bunch of nameless, faceless men standing around a ring and punching each other. What's going to make you care enough to stop and watch the rest of the match?
and then to have two big men at the end doing the moves they were doing was awesome.
Okay, so they were doing moves. I'll even say that they were doing impressive moves. So what? When has that ever mattered to getting a professional wrestler over on a national level? Steve Austin didn't do Van Terminators. The Rock never did a Shooting Star Press. Ric Flair never had to bust out a Phoenix Splash. Hulk Hogan can't do a Huricanrana. Hell, Jerry Lawler barely ever left his feet and he was over like gangbusters in Memphis for many years. What TNA needs to focus on is developing characters that people care about and putting them in to storylines that people care about before advancing and blowing off those storylines in well-executed wrestling matches. That's what gets people interested and makes stars, not standing in a ring and doing a bunch of highspots just because you can.
Abyss getting up after the van terminator just goes to prove he is a monster, which I believe
is what TNA wants the fans to think.
But did the company actually play it up that way? Did Mike Tenay or Don West say anything to the effect of "Oh my god, I can't believe that Abyss is still standing after taking that move!" Did Abyss make a big deal out of the no-sell in the ring? No. He just popped right up and went back on the offensive like he had just taken a hiptoss. If you're going to do the Superman no-sell spot, it needs to be played up like something special. If it's not (and this wasn't) you just wind up devaluing the move.
anyone that is being honest to themselves cannot say last night was a horrible show. You are
entitled to your opinion
Could you be more self-contradictory?
to draw the casual fans in you have to have matches like the 3 phase tournament that are different thanwhat you normally see.
No. You need characters that people will connect with and storylines that people connect with. That's what has been present during every wrestling boom in history.
there are probably a few like yourself that no matter what TNA does, its not good enough.
Have you read my other Impact reviews in which I have praised different things TNA is done? I love it when people read ONE negative review of a show and immediately jump to the conclusion that I have a grudge against the entire company and everything it's ever done instead of reaching the conclusion that is far more logical - that I just didn't care for one episode of this program.
Ryan is Forever chimes in with a quick observation that allows me to do more ranting. I'm assuming that his screenname is a tribute to me and not that his name is also Ryan:
Just wanted to say nice job on recapping Impact this week. I turned it off after the awesome promo job by Christian for the World Series, and thank you for saving me from watching this nonsense on Saturday.
No problem. Glad I could be of help.
I didn't have too big of a problem with Sting hitting him with the baseball bat, but I agree that he never should have ducked the challenge. A babyface should never duck a challenge.
And the weirdest thing is that Christian isn't even in the tournament to determine Sting's next challenger. So, if they continue with this angle, Sting will be ducking him for well over a month before Christian finally gets the shot. It'll only get worse from here.
Also on my side is John R.:
I'm almost there with you, bro. Until last night I loved TNA, even in the midst of non-sensical booking leading to Bound for Glory (which was nothing more than a series of rematches and "been there, done that" scenarios). I was willing to give it a chance because I really want to see it succeed. But if I have to put up with crap like that much longer, I'll go back to Adult Swim on Thursdays at 11. Maybe I don't understand the logic of most bookings, but wouldn't the simple approach to setting up a top contender to Sting's title would be a battle royal, or a fatal 4-way? Sheesh, it's one thing to be creative it's another to be stupid. Here's how it should've gone: have a battle royal and have the winner get the bye (as you suggested) then take the top six contenders (who really believes that Roode or Hoyt is a serious contender) and go from there. That way you at least give Abyss time to get over as a monster threat, even if he doesn't win and they want to stretch out the Christian/Sting matchup? I can live with that.
I truly believe the problem is the lack of a second hour and a second single title. I guarantee once they get both of those you'll stop seeing all of this "ok, let's cram everyone in with some stupid match stipulation" nonsense. I know i'm rambling, but I'm sick of this crap. At this rate Smackdown seems to be the only show that makes sense.
Great reviews as always. Hopefully you won't be too turned off from the show to
give us these reports.
Continuing the parade of guys with the same name, it's Ryan H.. If he writes in again, we're going to need to change his name to Garrison:
Hey, so, I don't usually write negative feedback to writers, so to be fair your stuff is usually pretty solid. However, I get to this week's Impact Crater, and I read your synopsis of the Fight For Your Right match. Now, I get that you don't like Russo; we all kind of still have it in for him. But it felt like you had a vendetta for the match because it was different.
No, I had a vendetta against the match becaue it was lousy.
First of all, the rules WERE simple. The first seven into the ring, over the top, adavnce to a battle royal. Not too tough -- just count to seven. The workers worked the match logically, each yanking each other off, then trying to sneak in when they had an opening. Is it the best way to determine title contenders? Probably not. But it's something WWE, to my knowledge, has never thought of, and that's a good thing.
Oh, you're leaving a few steps out, my friend. I believe the rules were:
1.) Thirteen men start outside the ring and have to fight until seven men get in the ring.
2.) Seven men then fight to throw each other out of the ring.
3.) The order of elimination in the battle royale determines the "seeding" for a tournament. The first man eliminated is the seventh seed, the second man eliminated is the sixth seed, and so on.
(Note that the structure of this tournament is never once explained. Is it two three way matches with the winners fighting each other and then fighting Abyss? Is it three singles matches and then a triple threat match with the winner facing Abyss? Is it three singles matches with Abyss basically getting a first round bye? If I hadn't read the spoilers, I never would have known . . . because TNA didn't explain it.)
4.) Oh, wait, we're not done with the rules yet. Then when there are two men left in the ring, they fight in a singles match. The winner gets a "bye" in the tournament, though nobody knows exactly what they're fighting for, since the tournament structure is never explained.
There's just too much going on there, and it gets even worse when you pile on the other angles that TNA was trying to shoot in and around the ring. It's bad enough when the rules need to be explained by on-screen graphics. It's worse when the rules are so lengthy that they have to be stretched out over THREE on-screen graphics.
Next, we have an over-the-top style battle royal down to the last two men. This is done fairly often. TNA just did it with the tag division; WWE has done it many times over several years, the most famous likely being Razor Ramon vs. Rick Martel for the IC title in 93 or 94.
I'll grant you that the "battle royale with the last two having a singles match" format is used frequently in TNA. In fact, if that's all the match was last week, I wouldn't have minded. I can't recall the WWF ever doing it, though. Martel/Ramon was the closest, but it wasn't exactly the same. They did the match the next week, not on the same show.
And so they bring it down to Abyss and Hoyt. Now, YOU may not like Hoyt, and I get that it is your job to bring some color commentary to your review. But try to get that maybe, just maybe, TNA was trying to give Hoyt some exposure.
I acknowledge that they were trying to get the guy some exposure, and I never said that I didn't like Hoyt. What I don't like is that the guy is essentially a jobber for several weeks and then all of a sudden winds up in the finals of what is supposed to be a major tournament/match/whatever the hell it was. If you want to push the guy, fine. However, the company should have the sense to do it properly, building him up and having him improve over a period of time instead of just deciding that he's a great wrestler one week despite the fact that (in storyline terms) he had sucked for months beforehand. It'd be the equivalent of Rob Conway entering this year's Royal Rumble at #3 and then being one of the last two men in the ring.
Making things even worse is the fact that TNA apparently isn't going to stick with the Hoyt push, because they put him up against Killings in the first round of the tournament and he lost in under three minutes.
The crowd seemed to like it well enough -- they were chanting his name at one point, and they popped pretty big for his spots. You seemed to have neglected this.
I never mentioned the crowd's reaction to anything.
As far as Abyss "getting up immediately" after the Van Terminator (which isn't weird, it's IMPRESSIVE, as per the crowd reaction), you've conveniently glossed over the near fall and the reverse Irish whip. So Hoyt hits this move, and Abyss BARELY escapes, then gets lucky as Hoyt tries an Irish whip, reversal, BHS, goodnight. Stay with me, here; that's called telling a story, and the story of this match was that Lance stepped up but made a mistake and got beat by a main eventer. It happens all the time, and it usually makes sense in the flow of a match. Hoyt went to the well twice, but came up empty, so he tried to hit another big move, but Abyss overpowered him, using his strength and weight to reverse the whip and catch his very quick finisher. WHOA! What crazy booking! Shawn Michaels and Shelton Benjamin had a similarly booked (albeit FAR better worked) match about a year and a half ago. Springboard into the superkick -- you know the one.
Okay, so maybe there was one Irish whip spot between the Van Terminator and the Black Hole Slam. So what? The Van Terminator isn't a freaking armdrag that a guy should be able to take and then get back up from quickly. It's a STEEL CHAIR BEING SLAMMED IN TO YOUR FACE BY A MAN FLYING THROUGH THE AIR. Call me old fashioned, but something like that should ALWAYS be a match ender. If it's not, you run the risk of killing the move, and that's far too risky of a move to have devalued. I don't want to see the Van Terminator winding up like the DDT or the piledriver, which used to mean something but now get kicked out of all the time.
Look, man, I don't mean to be a jackass and I realize that's how the end of this sounds. What I'm trying to say is that you can come down on anything if you put your mind to it, but there's often some merit to even the craziest shit if you keep your mind open.
Is there some merit to it? I'm sure there is. I'm sure TNA was honestly trying to put on a good show. They probably had good reasons for doing everything that they did. However, there is a huge difference between having good intentions and actually delivering the goods. The latter of those two things did not happen.
If sarcasm and scorn is your thing, there's plenty to ridicule in both companies
Again, go back and read my other work. I give credit to the company when it does well, and I say it sucks when it sucks. Sarcasm and scorn is not "my thing." If I have a "thing," it's writing down what my opinions are.
But when a fledgling company tries something new, and a guy tries to step up and get noticed, it'd be cool if the guy reviewing the show took notice of that.
When a fledgling company tries something new and a guy tries to step up and get noticed, it'd be cool if they were both done in a way that made sense.
Of course, I'm not the kind of guy that is going to criticize something without offering advice on how to do it better. With that said, earlier this week I sat down and thought about how I would book the main angles of TNA if I was the man in charge. Below is a quick rundown of what the next several months in Jarrett's company would look like if yours truly had the book.
(The first thing is to note that, if I were actually booking the company, Angle/Joe wouldn't even be happening for another year. However, for purposes of this scenario, I'm assuming that the book was thrown in to my lap today, meaning I'd still have to make good on the Genesis match.)
- TNA Impact, November 2 - 16: To avoid killing the pull apart brawl gimmick and to make sure that physical contact between the two men remains something special (you know, something you'd actually pay to see), Joe and Angle are kept apart completely. Each man is shown in a series of training videos talking down the other man, sort of a hybrid between the videos prior to Joe/Steiner and the videos prior to Rock/Brock.
- TNA Genesis, November 19 - Joe vs. Angle goes down. After twenty minutes of back and forth wrestling, Angle lets his guard down and gets caught by the muscle buster. Angle's body goes completely limp. He can't move in the slightest. Mike Tenay begins playing up Angle's history of neck injuries, and a referee calls for the bell, presumably giving the match to Joe by KO. Then, out of nowhere, Joe picks Angle up and hits a second muscle buster to the shock of the crowd. Angle's still not moving. Joe looks like he' going for the move a third time, but the entire babyface lockerroom clears and manages to hold him back.
- TNA Impact, November 23 - A Joe promo opens the show. He's in full heel mode and says that he showed Angle who the best wrestler in the world really is. Mike Tenay announces that Kurt Angle was injured at the PPV and is undergoing tests to determine what exactly is wrong with him and how long he'll be out. Later in the show, Team 3D cuts a promo, saying that they know Kurt Angle from "up north," they respect him, and that Joe went too far at the PPV. They vow revenge for their friend.
- TNA Impact, November 30 - It's announced that Angle has suffered a severe neck injury and will be out of action until sometime in 2007. Meanwhile, Jim Cornette announces that since he's disgusted by Joe's actions at the PPV and that Team 3D were disgusted by Joe's actions at the PPV, Bubba and D-Von can have Joe in any match that they want on the upcoming Turning Point show. The Dudleys say that they want him in a triple threat match.
- TNA Impact, December 7 - Joe and Team 3D are both given ample promo time to run each other down. All three men are booked in triple threat matches as a way of "warming them up" for the PPV. Joe beats the Naturals in his match, D-Von beats Hoyt & Killings, and Bubba beats Jay Lethal & Sonjay Dutt.
- TNA Turning Point, December 10 - Joe beats Team 3D in the triple threat match. It's competitive, but at no point does it look like Joe is in real danger of losing.
- TNA Impact, December 14 - Joe cuts another heel promo, this time saying that he's taken out Angle, taken out Team 3D, and that he's still undefeated. This should be enough to get him the title shot that he's been waiting for since coming to TNA. Jim Cornette grudingly agrees, and Sting vs. Samoa Joe is signed for the next PPV.
- TNA Impact, December 21 - Joe says that he's tracked down one of Sting's greatest opponents in order to help him train for the title match. Out comes Vader of all people. Joe puts over Vader for a while and says that he was once great - but that he's not anymore. Joe says that he tried to get Vader to help him but that Vader was not able to because he is old and washed up. Joe dismantles the man from the Rocky Mountains until Sting runs out for the save. Joe bails before any contact between the two can occur.
- TNA Impact, December 28 - The main event is Sting & Vader & Ron Killings vs. Samoa Joe & LAX. Killings works the majority of the match for the face team so that the contest doesn't completely suck. He gets beaten down but hits a hot tag. Sting cleans house and Vader waddles in for the couple of power moves that he can still manage to hit. Somewhere in the confusion, Joe manages to pin Killings with the muscle buster. Vader brawls to the back with Homicide & Hernandez. Joe somehow manages to get ahold of Konnan's slapjack, using it to disable Sting before putting him in the kokina clutch to end the show.
- TNA Impact, January 5 - It is announced that, due to Joe's attack, Sting has the night off to recover for the PPV. Both men are given promo time to hype up the match. It is announced that Sting will be in the Impact Zone and looking for revenge next week.
- TNA Impact, January 12 - Sting's appearance is hyped up all show long. Joe easily disposes of Spike Dudley in the main event. Sting runs in after the bell and gets in a couple of shots to the gut with his bat. He hits a Stinger Splash, but the show runs out of time and the cameras fade to black before we can see anything else happening.
- TNA Final Resolution, January 14 - Samoa Joe pins Sting clean in the middle of the ring to win his first NWA Championship.
- TNA Imapct, January 19 - Joe is out to celebrate his title victory, but it is announced, via video package, that Kurt Angle will be making his return to TNA at Against All Odds. It is also announced that Sting will be exercising his rematch clause at the same show.
- TNA Impact, January 26 - Joe and Sting are both given promo time. A hype video for Angle's return plays. Sting beats A-1 to show that he's preparing for bigger men like Joe.
- TNA Impact, February 1 - Joe and Sting are both given promo time. A hype video for Angle's return plays. Sting beats Lance Hoyt to show that he's preparing for bigger men like Joe.
- TNA Impact, February 8 - Joe and Sting are both given promo time. A hype video for Angle's return plays. Sting beats Hernandez to show that he's preparing for bigger men like Joe.
- TNA Impact, February 15 - A hype video for Angle's return plays. The advertised main event is Sting and Joe having a "face-to-face interview" in the ring. It ends with a brawl, during which Sting is able to take down Joe and put him in the Scorpion Deathlock. The announcers play up the fact that Sting's training against larger opponents may give him the edge at the PPV.
- TNA Against All Odds, February 18 - Joe again defeats Sting in the main event, although the match is closer this time. After Joe's victory, Kurt Angle appears. Joe is worn down from the match, so Angle is able to hit him with the Olympic Slam to end the show.
- TNA Impact, February 22 - Angle challenges Joe to an NWA Title match at the next PPV. Joe says that he'll fight Angle but refuses to put the title on the line since Angle hasn't been around for months and thus isn't a contender. Jim Cornette signs the match and hesistantly agrees with Joe, saying that Angle hasn't earned a title shot and won't get it. However, he goes on to state that since Joe will not be defending the title at the next PPV, he will have to defend it on Impact twice before then.
- TNA Imapct, March 1 - Angle and Joe are both given promo time against each other. Joe defeats AJ Styles in his first of two title defenses.
- TNA Impact, March 8 - Angle and Joe are both given promo time against each other.
- TNA Impact, March 15 - Angle and Joe are both given promo time against each other. Joe defeats Chris Daniels in his second of two title matches.
- TNA Destination X, March 18 - Angle defeats Joe by pinfall in a very close match.
- TNA Impact, March 22 - Angle is out and claims that his victory at Lockdown earned him a title shot. Jim Cornette agrees. The announcers play up the fact that Joe will respond on next week's show.
- TNA Impact, March 29 - Joe does a promo responding to the fact that he now has to defend his title against Angle. He claims that the only reason he lost at Lockdown was because he had to face two very tough contenders in the three weeks leading up to the PPV. He challenges Angle to do the same. Angle accepts, beating Raven in the main event.
- TNA Impact, April 5 - Joe and Angle receive promo time against each other.
- TNA Impact, April 12 - Joe and Angle receive promo time against each other. Angle beats contender number two, Kip James.
- TNA Lockdown, April 15 - Samoa Joe beats Kurt Angle in a competitive match for the NWA Championship.
- TNA Imapct, April 19 - Angle and Joe do a face-to-face promo. Angle admits that having the two hard matches before the PPV may have worn him down but that he's not going ot use that as an excuse. He says the record between the is 1-1-1, and they need a rubber match. Joe agrees. Jim Cornette says that next week he'll have a stipulation for the match that will truly let the fans determine who the better man is.
- TNA Impact, April 26 - Jim Cornette announces that the main event of the next pay per view will be Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle in a one hour iron man match. It is announced that, over the next two weeks, Joe and Angle will both be competing in mini-gauntlet matches to test their endurance before the one hour match.
- TNA Impact, May 3 - Samoa Joe beats BG James, Lance Hoyt, and Spike Dudley in his mini-gauntlet match.
- TNA Impact, May 10 - Kurt Angle beats Bobby Roode, Sonjay Dutt, and Matt Bentley in his mini-gauntlet match.
- TNA Sacrifice, May 13 - Samoa Joe beats Kurt Angle 2-1 in an Iron Man Match to retain the NWA Title. After the bell, the two men shake hands, finally having gained respect for each other after over six months of feuding. This allows for them to either be separated after the PPV or teamed up against a new pair of heels.
