10/6/11 Impact

Ratings:
Gunner vs. Kazarian: *1/4

Winter & Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James & Velvet Sky: *

Crimson vs. Samoa Joe: *1/2

Bobby Roode vs. James Storm: ***1/2
_________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
In Knoxville tonight. They got killer BBQ there, and I'd be going to every damn BBQ joint they got.

Oh, a Beer Money promo this time! You mean the faces (other than the likes of Sting and Anderson) get to open the show with mic time? No way! Tonight, Roode and Storm go one on one, and RR wants everything Storm has. I'd pay good money to see those two wrestle for 20-30 minutes.

They replayed Hogan's arrival from January 4, 2010. So he's been in TNA almost two years and Impact went next to nowhere in the grand scheme of things. Ratings still suck, the bookings are as confusing as ever, and I'm still not sold that TNA will ever get to the point where they can be taken very seriously as a pro wrestling promotion.

Interesting armbar submission from Gunner. Pretty weak way to reverse the decision. I've seen post-match attacks lasting longer where the decision never got overturned. Lame. Kaz either sold a shoulder injury well or was legit hurt there.

Anderson promo to apologize to his fans and to call Bully Ray a douchebag. Cue Bully! Anderson wants one more match, and since BFG will be in Philly, Anderson wants a Philadelphia Falls Count Anywhere match.

Knockouts tag match. Interesting stuff to come out of this one. Madison gets the fluky win, while possible storyline stuff is in the works for Angelina and Winter.

Bischoff and Jeff Hardy in the ring. Bischoff basically calls Hardy the biggest screwup ever and says Hardy's done. But hey, a Twist of Fate before leaving! At least Hardy can get his 10-day jail sentence over with now.

Crimson and Joe have had a decent storyline going. Just straight-up physicality. Too abrupt a finish for me, though.

Yeah, I skipped through all that Roode/Angle video package stuff. Seen it already, and frankly, the whole Roode part of the video was too cheesy for me.

What's not cheesy is the Roode/Storm match. Complete with main event intros. Very exciting match here. Crowd was just about the loudest it was all night for any match. Lots of counters and extreme near falls. Ref bump leads to Angle coming out. Angle...throws Storm into the steps? I was with Tazz and thought Angle would rough up Roode instead. Nice false finish there. I was hoping for a real big finish, but it felt just a little flat. It sorta gets a pass here because the two were beaten to shreds. What I wish didn't happen was Angle coming out. Just can't give it four stars due to Angle's involvement.

I'm seeing Roode more as a main eventer with each passing week. Having a submission finisher is always great to have. Heck, people have two finishers (see John Cena). It's all versatility, folks.

Hogan's little "retirement" speech was all a ruse (of course), and Sting naturally had it all figured out. Hogan and Sting at BFG, and if Sting wins, Hogan gives the company back to Sting and Dixie! Frankly, not sure where to go on this one, but I do know this: the match will be ugly. Hogan's very limited in the ring.Two guys over 50 years old. Why couldn't these two take a damn backseat? Let guys like AJ, Roode, Storm, etc. all shine instead.