Pulse Wrestling’s TNA Impact Report: RVD Wins World Title, Jeff Hardy, Hulk Hogan

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TNA Impact is LIVE the night after TNA Lockdown, let’s see what they have on tap!

“What We All Fight For” is the title for tonights Impact. We start with a recap of Lockdown and then the TNA Impact opening.

GET READY TO FLY. I AM I AM. It’s AJ Styles and is still your world heavyweight champion. He puts over the Pope as a great wrestler but just another in a list including Jeff Jarrett, Sting and Kurt Angle who’s he’s beaten. Flair is not with him, he’s still feeling the effects from the party last night. RVD’s music hits and he comes out. Crowd chants RVD. Taz calls him Mr. Monday Night. RVD cuts a promo! He’s not impressed with AJ. Crowd chants “AJ Sucks”. How could AJ think he deserves a top spot when there’s… and he drops the mic and points to himself and the crowd chants ROB VAN DAM with the thumbs. This prompts Jeff Hardy music and out comes the Charismatic Enigma (said by Tenay). Hardy has a mic and gets ROWDY. THE MOVEMENT HAS BEGUN. He wants to add to his World Title collection and the crowd chants Hardy. NWOish music plays and out comes Hogan. He tells all the boys in the back to up their game because he’s raising the bar around here. Hogan talks to AJ about being World champ – the girls, and the attention and the money. Puts over the title. He talks to RVD and Jeff, and the end result is a match between RVD and Jeff Hardy tonight to determine the #1 contender. AJ doesn’t like it – he says he wont be ready by Sacrifice and needed to be consulted. Hogan says “who said anything about Sacrifice, BROTHER”. That match will happen – TONIGHT. This was the best segment on TNA in as long as i could remember. Three good wrestlers, cutting promos, all focused on the World title – defining the top card, the main feuds and the central focus in the promotion. This is what we want from TNA.

Ric Flair enters the Impact Zone and a MYSTERIOUS VOICE tells him that Hogan booked AJ in a title match tonight. Flair wasn’t happy

Commercial Break

OK in thinking it’s a lot to give away in one night. But still, it needs to be done – either Jeff or RVD should be champ and this put over the title, the top guys, and used Hogan properly.

TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles
ODB & Daffney vs. The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky & Lacey Von Erich w/Madison Rayne

ODB and Daffney already in the ring. Taz says that he spoke to Dixie Carter and she knew that Sean Waltman wouldn’t be at the PPV with more details to come. TBP dominating thusfar. Tenay tells us to call or text our friends about tonight’s Impact. At least this is something to tell people about, unlike last week’s suggestion of Homicide vs. Rob Terry. Daffney hot tag to ODB who clears house for a bit. Rollup for the pin but Madison distracts the ref and Lacey sprays ODB’s face. Velvet rolls her up for the pin.
Winners: The Beautiful People

JB is backstage overhearing AJ berating Flair in their dressing room for not being there before Hogan booked the title match. Flair says last night was a disaster. He knows AJ will beat either RVD or Jeff, he’s not even worried. He demands a Team Flair vs. Team Hogan rematch for tonight. JB enters and Flair demands a rematch. Tells JB to get the word out and get out.

Commercial Break

We are back and Abyss is in the ring and Jeff Jarrett is ringside. He takes a sign from the crowd that says TEAM HOGAN. Abyss has the mic. He says the war with Team Flair is over because they won. Logical! Ric Flair’s music plays and Flair comes out. Tenay notes how Flair knows RVD and Jeff are already booked so its an empty challenge. Flair says Team Flair is here and they run down. Sting, Beer Money and Desmonde Wolfe destroy JJ and Abyss until… Rob Terry makes the save. Throws Desmonde into Sting. It’s pandemonium in the Impact Zone. Bischoff comes out and cuts a promo on Flair – I thought you learned your lesson last night! Bischoff makes a new Team Hogan with JJ, Abyss, Rob Terry and a mystery fourth person he has ready in the back. That match is tonight!

Commercial Break

Matt Morgan meets with Shannon Moore backstage and asks him about the Book of Dillygaff. The Worsts COLLIDE. Morgan wants Moore to be his tag partner.

Taz and Tenay hype Team Hogan/Team Flair and RVD/Jeff Hardy with the winner facing AJ. All this in the next hour or so, should be interesting

Hogan talks to Bischoff backstage. He will never doubt Eric again. “The easiest person to con is another con man” says Eric, presumably about Flair. They put over the World title and matches. Then Bischoff talks about the new upcoming TNA Rankings. Wow it’s back. Bischoff calls over that new assistant chick and asks her to get the rankings files to show Hogan. She asks about the “brown thingie” about a filing cabinet. Hogan says “what about my thingie?”. Then Bischoff says she takes great “dictation”. Yikes. Stay with me TNA, stay with me.

RVD is walking and taping his wrist, with grittier camcorder like camera-work. He says he’s fighting one of his best friends and one of the best wrestlers in the world, but it’s for a chance at the World Title. Really strong short segment to hype the match. What the hell is going on at TNA, it’s like everything is being fixed instantly. I’m afraid.

Commercial Break

#1 Contenders Match
Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy

Tentative to start and they feel each other out. Tease to go into a break.

Commercial Break

They did one of those 5 second inserts in the commercial with more non-action. Back from break and they are on the floor. Jeff draped across the guard rail and RVD does a corkscrew moonsault onto Jeff. Both are down.RVD up first and tosses Jeff back into the ring. RVD’s head is bandaged. Slingshot legdrop by RVD on Jeff’s head which was under the rope on the apron. RVD on the floor. His forehead cut is opened back up. RVD goes to the top rope and does a top rope cross body on Jeff for a 2 count. RVD controls. Jeff reverses and plants RVD’s head. Grabs RVD’s legs and does the double leg drop to the stomach/crotch. RVD somersault countered by a clothesline by Jeff out of the corner. Gets 2. Jeff up top, RVD follows. RVD grabs him and drags him from the corner along the top rope, crotching him. Leaves him in the middle, and goes up top himself and hits a sidekick from the top. Jeff tumbles to the floor. RVD controls. Split legged moonsault gets 2. Crowd is hot. RVD with repeated kicks. Jeff kick to the gut and then a front face suplex. Jeff goes up top. RVD pops up and spin kicks Hardy in the head. RVD sets up for a superplex but Jeff blocks. Pushes RVD off, goes for the swanton, but RVD moves out of the way. RVD goes to the top and hits the five star frog splash for the pin and the title match later tonight. Really fun match, went about 12-13 minutes, nice job.
Winner: RVD

Commercial break

Christy Hemme interviews RVD and Jeff together backstage. They both agreed they had a good match, thank each other and hug. Aww. Then they watch highlights of their match and talk about how great they are. That was awesome. RVD said they talked before the match to give it their all and no hard feelings. Jeff puts over RVD again. RVD puts over Jeff again.

Abyss, JJ and Rob Terry have a Team Hogan meeting backstage.

Sting does an entrance. JJ does an entrance. I guess this is Team Hogan vs Team Flair. We go to a break.

Commercial break

Team Flair (Beer Money, Sting, Desmonde Wolfe) vs. Team Hogan (Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Rob Terry and ???)
I’m going to guess either The Pope or Eric Bischoff as the mystery guy. When we’re back, Jarrett and Sting brawl around the Impact Zone. More brawling. They get to the ring after FOREVER. Now they will start the intervals for the two teams to enter, says Tenay. This makes little sense outside of the cage. Countdown. It’s Desmonde Wolfe. Jarrett and Wolfe go at it in the ring with Sting knocked out. Next in is Rob Terry and he almost murders Desmonde. Orlando Jordan comes out on the ramp randomly as we head to break.

Commercial break

We’re back and Abyss and Roode are in the ring, so next would be James Storm then the mystery guy. Storm is out. There are tags in this match! Abyss tags Jarrett. Heels have the advantage. The fourth guy is… SAMOA JOE! Impact Zone is pumped. Joe cleans house of the heels. Muscle Buster on Roode for the pin.
Winners: Team Hogan

Immediately after the match Joe storms to the back, leaving the rest of Team Hogan in the ring wondering what happened. Ric Flair comes out and points at Abyss as we go to break.

Commercial break

During the break Ric Flair challenged Abyss to a RING VS RING match on Impact next week.


TNA World Title
A.J. Styles (c) vs. Rob Van Dam

RVD is already bleeding standing in the ring waiting for AJ to enter. Just a minute or so before we take a break.

Commercial break

AJ controls coming out of the break and RVD begins a comeback. RVD trips, they make up for it nicely with AJ hitting a killer dropkick to the head and RVD sells by folding himself in half. AJ covers for 2. AJ working on the left leg. AJ chokes RVD with the foot in the corner. RVD with a desperation kick and both are down. Both stand up and trade chops and punches. Monkey flip by RVD on AJ and Styles flies across the ring. Rolling Thunder. RVD covers for 2. AJ recovers enough to get RVD in the figure four. RVD sells. Punches Styles’ legs. RVD reaches the ropes. Ref breaks it up. Small package by RVD gets two. Both up and AJ hits a pele out of no where and RVD falls over like a ton of bricks. AJ picks him up for the Styles Clash, RVD blocks and backdrops AJ over the top rope. AJ hangs on and lands on the apron. Hits a springboard onto RVD who catches him and powerbombs him. RVD jumps to the top rope and hits the five star five splash. He pins AJ and we have a NEW TNA CHAMPION.
Winner: RVD

Confetti pours down in the Impact Zone. The crowd is nuts. I can’t believe this promotion was the same TNA that put on last night’s PPV and the last four months of TV. Jeff Hardy comes out to celebrate with RVD. RVD limps to each corner and poses. Hogan and Dixie come down with the title, followed by JJ, Abyss, Rob Terry, Team 3D, Eric Bischoff. Huge celebration. This is awesome. Aj looks upset on the floor looking on. Tenay is gonna watch this episode all the way through again! For once, I can’t even argue.

Next week is Abyss vs. Ric Flair.

Best. Impact. Ever.

Jonathan Widro is the owner and founder of Inside Pulse. Over a decade ago he burst onto the scene with a pro-WCW reporting style that earned him the nickname WCWidro. Check him out on Twitter for mostly inane non sequiturs