TNA: iMPACT!
November 12, 2005
Orlando, FL
Universal Studios

The current NWA & TNA Champs were as follows:
NWA World Champion: Jeff Jarrett (11/3/2005)
NWA World Tag Team Champions: America’s Most Wanted (10/22/2005)
TNA X-Division Champion: AJ Styles (9/11/2005)

We recap events that went down at the Primetime Special nine days ago. Petey Williams won Ultimate X and Jeff Jarrett regains the NWA world title.

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Don West.

Monty Brown and his leopard print clothes comes out to the ring. He has dominated everyone in his path and deserves an NWA world title shot. In fact, he DEMANDS it. He congratulates Jeff Jarrett on regaining the gold and knows he has to feel pretty happy right now, but he will soon feel something quite differently. He will feel the POOOUNCE-ah, period. You would think the segment is over as Monty makes his plans clear, but then Abyss and James Mitchell show up. Mitchell gives Brown his due respect, but feels Abyss is way more deserving of a title shot. As these two prepare for a showdown, Jeff Hardy interrupts because apparently he feels he deserves a title shot as well. These three beat each other up until security guards run down to keep them separated.

• Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries
  

Fantastic match on paper, but really just serves to announce the eight-man Elimination X tag match scheduled for Genesis. Christopher Daniels joins us for commentary. He calls his team the Ministry, which consists of Daniels, Joe, Alex Shelley, and Roderick Strong. They will face Austin Aries, Chris Sabin, Matt Bentley, and Sonjay Dutt. Joe attacks first and hits the Running Face Wash early. They go through the headlock stuff where Aries escapes the headscissors and pops out for the dropkick. IED connects for two. Joe fights back with an atomic drop, a running boot, and then the running senton. Aries catches Joe with the crucifix bomb and looks for the Brainbuster, but Joe counters and puts him in position for the MUSCLE BUSTER followed by the COQUINA CLUTCH for the submission. (3:12) Joe looking strong heading into Genesis. However, they just weren’t REALLY pushing Aries in TNA at the time like perhaps in ROH. *½

Scott D’Amore meets with Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko’s office. He wants to have hockey sticks hanging from four corners of the ring during the Team Canada/3LK match to be used as weapons. This STINKS of Russo, but he’s not even in TNA right now. Larry Z grants D’Amore the addition to the match and even adds his own idea of making Kip James the special referee, which D’Amore isn’t quite as happy about. Shane Douglas adds in an obvious summation of what just transpired. Lots of adding going on here.

• Kip James vs. Lex Lovett
  

Lex shows off a leg lariat and his back flip into a back elbow in the corner for two. That’s all he gets though. James delivers the One and Only for the win. (1:06) Well, that was shorter than I expected. Afterwards, Team Canada come out armed with hockey sticks ready to take out James, but then 3LK scare them away with chairs. Poor Eric Young gets caught in amongst 3LK and gets punched down. While Konnan stands on the ramp, BG, Kip, and Killings hang out in the ring. Konnan is NOT happy. Apparently, he wasn’t invited. ¼*

• Non-title match: TNA X-Division Champion AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams (w/Scott D’Amore)
  

OK — why is this happening on free TV the night BEFORE the PPV? The only way to win is to hit your finisher first. Both men go for their finishers early here. They start throwing elbows leading to AJ hitting the vintage dropkick. VINTAGE, I say. D’Amore grabs AJ’s foot to turn the tide. Petey whips AJ from corner to corner and goes for the Canadian Destroyer, but AJ avoids the move and hits the Pele Kick. Here comes AJ. He delivers the suplex neckbreaker that I always loved. Petey fights off the Styles Clash though and lands a DDT. Canadian Destroyer ain’t happening, but Petey can hit the tilt-a-whirl into a Russian Legsweep. AJ blocks the Canadian Destroyer again and gives Petey the Asai DDT. While preventing the Styles Clash, Petey trips up the referee. In comes D’Amore with the X-Division belt, but AJ sees it coming and kicks D’Amore away. When AJ tries to give him the Styles Clash, Petey clean his clock with the title belt. While D’Amore wakes up ref Andrew Thomas, Petey delivers the CANADIAN DESTROYER for the win. (5:44) So there we go. I would have liked to have just seen a 10-minute time limit draw though. **½

Backstage, Raven confronts TNA DOA Larry Zbyszko for a peaceful meeting. Larry Z offers him a release form because otherwise, he will book Raven any way he wants to – starting tomorrow night at Genesis. Well, Raven freaks out and tries to jump Zbyszko, but security carries him away.

• America’s Most Wanted & Jeff Jarrett (w/Gail Kim) vs. Jeff Hardy, Lance Hoyt, and Chris Sabin
  

Weird that Jeff Hardy is a part of this mid-card team in a match that is clearly just a warm-up for Planet Jarrett. Sabin shows up Storm with armdrags and monkey flips to start. As Sabin tags Hoyt, Storm rushes over to Harris. Hoyt hits him with the side slam, but then Harris buries a knee and tags Jarrett. Tag to Hardy, who quickly becomes the face in peril. After AMW take turns beating up Hardy, Jarrett comes back in and delivers the Bossman straddle followed up with the Fargo strut. When AMW go for a double-team, Hardy takes them out with the Whisper in the Wind. Hot tag to Hoyt, who gives AMW a flapjack to show off. Jarrett eats a big boot from Hoyt. Meanwhile, Sabin catches AMW with a missile dropkick. As they head to the floor, Hardy springs off Hoyt and wipes them out with a plancha. Not to be upstaged, Hoyt hits AMW with a pescado. In the ring, Sabin and Jarrett counter each other’s finisher attempts. Once AMW is back on the apron, Sabin uses them to hit his tornado DDT on Jarrett for 1-2-NO! Chris Sabin in 2005 is the Brad Armstrong of 1992. He’s bulletproof, fun to watch, and you always want to see him pushed further than he is. Gail Kim crotches Sabin up top so that Jarrett can bring him down with the SUPER STROKE for the win. (6:05) Afterwards, AMW beat up Lance Hoyt some more and handcuff him to the ringpost so that Planet Jarrett can GEETAR Hardy without any problems. Unfortunately for them, Rhino makes the save with a steel chair to run them off. Next thing we see, Team 3D is behind Planet Jarrett for the big six-man brawl to end the show. **½

Very simple, logical booking; and I dig it.

TNA presents GENESIS – LIVE on PPV – from Orlando, FL on November 13!
Here is the card as it stands on this day:
MAIN EVENT: Rhino & Team 3D vs. Jeff Jarrett & AMW
TNA X-Division Champion AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams
#1 Contender’s Match for the NWA world title: Monty Brown vs. Jeff Hardy
Elimination X Match: Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Alex Shelley, and Roderick Strong vs. Chris Sabin, Austin Aries, Matt Bentley, and Sonjay Dutt
No-DQ Match: Sabu vs. Abyss
Hockey Stick Match: 3 Live Kru vs. Team Canada