Thanks for the feedback and comments on last week’s first edition of this limited series. The major thing to come out of that (and the fact that between this and the Fantasy Draft I’ve done nothing but write fake wrestling shows for the last two weeks) is that I’m ditching dialogue and cutting down the exposition somewhat. This week’s Impact notes should be leaner and easier to follow. Any questions or comments, feel free to use the box below or drop me an e-mail.

The Show
A huge blast of pyro welcomes us to The Impact Zone as Samoa Joe’s music hits the PA. The Samoan Submission Machine makes his way down to the ring and Mike Tenay talks about the amazing main event that closed last week’s show and promises us updates on the Kurt Angle/Desmond Wolfe situation, as well as some words from Raven, who has something to say about the injury to Daffney that occurred during last week’s broadcast. For now, let’s get to the ring. Samoe Joe has a microphone.

Samoa Joe Promo
Last week, Joe was beaten in the middle of the ring by AJ Styles. He’s never denied that Styles is an amazing athlete or that Styles deserves to be world champion. However, where Joe comes from, you don’t shake the hand of a man you just defeated; you shake the hand of the man you fear, the man you’d rather court respect from so he isn’t hunting you down. When Styles held out his hand, Joe knew he was afraid. He issues a challenge to AJ Styles for a thirty minute Ironman match at Final Resolution.

As Joe leaves the ring, the commentators run down tonight’s Impact. After his victory over Daniels last week, Chris Sabin, believing he deserves to be considered a contender for the world title, has issued a challenge to Kurt Angle. Meanwhile, Alex Shelley will face off against Angle’s nemesis, Desmond Wolfe. We’ll hear from both Raven and Mick Foley regarding the events of last week, and we hope to make some kind of attempt to figure out the machinations of Kevin Nash. In addition to that, TNA World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles is here at The Impact Zone, and we’ll get word from him on the challenge issued by Samoa Joe. All that and more still to come.

Match 1: The Amazing Red vs. Kiyoshi
The announcers put over the roll X Division champ Red has been on since beating Samoa Joe for the belt, with his only loss coming at the hands of Homicide in a non-title match. Don West is at ringside, cheering the champ on and encouraging the crowd. Red responds, hitting the Code Red for a clean pinfall.

Kevin Nash segment
Nash is sitting on a couch somewhere backstage talking to Consequences Creed when Lauren approaches. She asks Nash where he took Jay Lethal last week, and Nash refuses to tell her. Creed tells Lauren he’s been trying to get answers from Nash all day, as he and Lethal have a match against The British Invasion tonight, and he hasn’t been able to contact him. He asks Nash to just tell him if he needs to find a new partners. Nash tells them Lethal will be here, then says he has some other business to attend to and walks away.

Match 2: Hamada vs. Awesome Kong
Tenay tells us that Hamada specifically requested this match after their brutal encounter last week. Right from the bell, the two women go at each other with chops and punches. The referee struggles to separate them and they tumble to the outside, where the brawl goes on until Kong slams Hamada’s head into the steel steps and then stands her up against the railings. Kong charges and Hamada moves. She then sets up a table on the outside and drags Kong over to it. Kong responds with a low blow, then Awesome Bombs Hamada through the table. The referee calls for the bell as Kong stumbles away and the commentators sell Hamada’s injuries.

Raven promo
Raven is sitting in the dark at an undetermined location. He has a message for Mick Foley, and the message is that all of this is Mick’s fault. He blames Mick for Daffney, sure, but what about the others? In the end, isn’t Mick the hardcore icon? Isn’t Mick the patron saint of chair shots and thumb tacks and fire and fifteen foot drops. Funk may have made it all possible, but Mick was the one who did it for the largest audience, Mick was the one who wrote bestselling books about it, and Mick’s the one who inspires doomed copycats like Abyss. Raven invites Foley to think about the agony Daffney’s in right now. While he’s at it, he can spare a thought for all the crippled and brain-damaged ex-wrestlers who took what they thought was the shortest road to glory. But most of all, think about dupes like Abyss, who waste their youth and their energy so they can have the kind of middle age Foley and Raven have, where just getting out of bed hurts more than the chair shots used to.

Match 3: Matt Morgan and D’Angelo Dinero vs. Team 3D w/Rhino
Following on from last week’s brawl, this is a heavy-hitting encounter where Dinero spends the vast majority of the match being beaten on by Ray and D’Von. He finally makes the hot tag to Morgan, who cleans house on both members of Team 3D and then hits the Carbon Footprint on Rhino, who has climbed up on the apron. As he’s celebrating and preparing to set up D’Von for the finish, Dinero tags himself back in. Morgan and The Pope briefly argue, and Dinero turns around straight into 3D for the pin.

Morgan remains after the match to help Dinero up and they have a heated discussion before apparently working things out and leaving the ring together.

Match 4: Scott Steiner vs. Hernandez
Scott Steiner makes his way to the ring, leaving his pipe on the announce table as he goes by. Hernandez’s music comes over the PA, but it’s Lashley who emerges, running down the ramp to intercept Steiner as he tries to retrieve his weapon and spearing him at ringside. Lashley mounts Steiner and starts furiously punching away at his head and face. Steiner tries to cover up, but gets pummeled by The Boss until his arms drop away from his head and he goes limp. The referee has been trying to pull Lashley away from the first, but it isn’t until Hernandez finally arrives at ringside that they are able to get him away from Steiner. Hernandez tells Lashley Steiner’s done, to which Lashey responds that it’s done when he says it’s done as he walks away up the ramp.

Foley/JB segment
Borash hurries into Foley’s office and tells Mick that it’s really breaking loose in The Impact Zone, with Hamada getting put through a table and then Lashley destroying Steiner. Mick ignores him. He’s watching TV with a vacant expression. JB becomes insistent, telling Mick he has to do something, then trails off as he sees what’s on the screen. As understanding dawns, he laughs nervously and tells Mick he knows what Raven’s like. Last week was an accident. He’s just trying to get inside Mick’s head. Foley carries on ignoring him.

Match 5: Desmond Wolfe vs. Alex Shelley
As Desmond Wolfe makes his way down to the ring, Mike Tenay makes it official: Wolfe will face Kurt Angle in a submission match at Final Resolution. Alex plays underdog here and although Wolfe physically dominates the match, Shelley is the wily counter-puncher with plenty of strikes and pinning combinations. The turning point comes when Shelley looks for the Shiranui and gets shoved from the top rope to the outside by Wolfe, where he clearly injures his arm. Wolfe works this over ferociously, and then locks in the London Dungeon for the tap-out.

Match 6: Alissa Flash, Velvet Sky, & Madison Rayne w/Lacey Von Erich vs. ODB, Tara, & Christy Hemme
The commentators talk about the miscommunication between ODB and Tara last week, and that turns out to be prescient, as a missed tag from Tara – who is being distracted by Lacey on the outside – leads to ODB being cleanly pinned by the impressive Alissa Flash, who scorns the celebrations of The Beautiful People and leaves alone. Tara and ODB argue for the second time in two weeks, but this time ODB attacks and the two brawl until TNA officials manage to separate them.

AJ Styles interview
Lauren is with AJ Styles, who talks about the respect he has for Joe as a performer. AJ says that fear is a small part of respect, and he’s not ashamed to say that there’s an element of fear in going up against an opponent as strong as Joe is. He doesn’t need Joe’s respect, but God knows he’s earned it by now. And if Joe doesn’t think so, AJ’s more than happy to demonstrate why they call him phenomenal one more time. An Ironman match at Final Resolution? It’s on.

Match 7: Lethal Consequences vs. The British Invasion
Consequences Creed comes out alone for this match, and The Brits mock him as they prepare to begin the match, making Macho Man hand gestures. Then an unfamiliar track comes over the PA and Lethal, as Jay Lethal, not Black Machismo, hits the ring at full speed with kicks and clotheslines for all until he and Creed hit a double dropkick on big Rob Terry, sending him tumbling to the floor. Lethal starts the match proper, and this is the Jay Lethal we saw when he first came to TNA and everybody was buzzing about his ability, dominating Doug Williams until he tags out to Creed and some semblance of a normal tag match resumes. The British Invasion are clearly thrown off their game by this development, and seem unprepared for their fiery Lethal every time he gets in the ring. Finally, Lethal puts Magnus away with the Lethal Combination. Tenay and Tazz are amazed at the transformation, and point out that the first match Lethal Consequences has won in months is against the champions. Does this mean they’re in line for a shot at the belts?

Nash/Young segment
Nash knocks on the door of a locker room and the door is opened by Eric Young, who looks worried to see him there. Nash tells him that he just stopped by for a chat while most of the troops are away getting beat on by Lethal and Creed. Nash just wants to tell Eric that they’re even now and no hard feelings. As he walks away, Eric asks if he can have his TNA Global title back. Nash tells him he pawned it and walks away with a smile. Eric is shocked and pissed.

Match 8: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Sabin
Sabin is far more aggressive than his partner, and works over Angle’s neck without mercy throughout the match. Angle responds with high-impact suplexes as well as strikes aimed at Sabin’s legs. Sabin manages to escape both the Angle Slam and the Ankle Lock during the match, but when he goes for a Cradle Shock, Angle slips behind and locks in a second Ankle Lock. Sabin hangs in for as long as he can, but when Angle adds the heel hook, he has no choice but to tap.

Angle helps Sabin up after the match, and puts him over to the crowd by shaking his hand and holding it up. Sabin jerks his arm away angrily and limps to the ropes. As he does this, Desmond Wolfe slides into the ring from the other side and clotheslines Angle in the back of the head. Halfway through the ropes, Sabin turns and sees what’s happening. As Wolfe puts the boots to Angle, he climbs back into the ring and then hesitates. It’s then that Alex Shelley and AJ Styles hit the ring and Wolfe bails. Styles goes to Angle’s aid while Shelley turns to Sabin with a questioning look on his face and we fade to black.

End Of Show