9/26 Impact Wrestling Report

Impact opens up with highlights from last week and then Dixie Carter is shown arriving backstage. Sting approaches her but she ignores him, looking at her phone. Sting asks her why she’s doing what she’s doing to AJ but she continues to ignore him. Dixie tells Sting not to worry about her because she’s got this handled and walks away.

Bully Ray makes his way down to the ring alongside Brooke Tessmacher. Bully says it’s not often that he is at a loss for words but Dixie Carter shocked the hell out of him last week. He says she put AJ Styles in his place and it was awesome. Bully says ever since AJ won the BFG Series Bully has been wandering how he was going to beat AJ, whether he was going to use the Bully Bomb or Bully Cutter or Piledriver. But now he doesn’t have to worry about it because Dixie is so far in AJ Styles’ head it’s not even funny. Bully says that AJ should kiss the ground that Dixie walks on because she is the one that made AJ “Phenomenal” in the first place, and if it wasn’t for her he couldn’t perform in TNA’s ring in front of all the morons. The Aces & Eights music interrupts him.

Knux walks out with Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco and Knux says Bully is supposed to be their president but once again he’s out taking care of Bully Ray business instead of A&8 business. He says that Bully is more worried about protecting that title “and your hoe” than protecting the club. Bully says he’s going to tell Knux one more time and one more time only, do not call Brooke a hoe. The fans chant “hoe” at Bully screams at them too. Knux says tonight they’ll take care of club business against MEM without him and Bully tells them they better get in line before he knocks the smiles off their faces.

Bully says they don’t make the rules in the club and that’s why his patch says “president” and theirs should say “lackey.” Bully says they saw what he did to D-Lo, Anderson, and Devon so what makes them think he won’t do the same thing to them. He tells them again to fall in line and if they lose their match tonight it will be “lights out” for one of them, as in they’re out of A&8.

A replay of ODB winning the Knockouts Title last week is shown.

Backstage Joseph Park is shaving when Eric Young runs in and asks him what he’s doing. EY asks what if he cuts himself and EY reminds him that when he cuts himself he turns into a monster. Park says EY is one of his dearest friends but he’s starting to worry about EY and asks what in the world he’s talking about.

----COMMERCIAL BREAK----

Inter-Gender Tag Team Match 
Bro-Mans & Gail Kim vs. “Showtime” Eric Young, Joseph Park, & ODB

Gail and ODB start the match off but Gail decides to tag Robbie into the match instead of fighting ODB. ODB tags in Park and Robbie shoves him repeatedly. Park shoves Robbie back but Robbie punches him in the gut and then tries to whip him into the ropes, but Park reverses it and then goes for a clothesline. Robbie ducks it and goes for a Cross Body Block attempt but Park just shrugs him off. Robbie then goes for a slam but can’t pick Park up so Park slams him instead for a nearfall. Park picks Robbie up but Robbie pokes him in the eyes and shoves him into the heel corner. Gail and Jesse hold Park as Robbie hits a shoulder block. Robbie tags Jesse into the match and they whip Park hard into the turnbuckles. Jesse chokes Park in the ropes and then hits a clothesline that sends Park flying into the turnbuckles. Jesse attempts to whip Park into the ropes but Park reverses it and goes for a backdrop. Jesse counters with a Sunset Flip but Park blocks it and cannonballs down onto Jesse but Jesse rolls out of the way and tags Robbie back in. Robbie climbs up top and dives off with a Flying Clothesline. Robbie climbs back up and hits the Fist Pump Drop for another nearfall. Robbie chokes Park with his boot and then punches him repeatedly on the mat. Robbie slaps Park in the head repeatedly and calls him a loser. Park grabs Robbie and hits a Samoan Drop! Park tags in EY but the heels distracted the referee and then they stomp Park down doing the heel phantom tag in the process with Gail. Gail kicks Park repeatedly and then Robbie hits Park from behind and Gail tags in Jesse. Bro-Mans whip Park into the corner but he explodes out of the corner with a double clothesline onto them! Park tags in EY who dives off the top with a Double Cross Body off the top onto Bro-Mans! EY hits a Flying Forearm on Robbie and then a Belly-to-Belly Suplex on Jesse! 1…2…NO Gail breaks it up! ODB comes in and tosses Gail out of the ring and then turns around as Robbie gets in her face. Robbie threatens to hit her but she doesn’t flinch and then she shoves his head in her chest. Park then clotheslines Robbie over the top rope and EY hits the DVD on Jesse! Park climbs up top and dives off with the Closing Argument followed by the Flying Elbow Drop from EY! ODB tags in and hits a Splash of her own for the pin!

Winners: ODB, EY, & Park via pinfall (Splash)

In the back Austin Aries says he’s going to let everyone know how he’s going to stir the pot around here again tonight.

----COMMERCIAL BREAK----

Earlier today Hulk Hogan is shown arriving and he says he’s here to fix all the crap with Dixie tonight.

Austin Aries makes his way down to the ring and he says a lot of people have been asking him what’s next for him after he came up short in the BFG Series. Aries says it was a year ago that he and Jeff Hardy headlined BFG for the World Title but this year that’s not going to be the case, but everyone that knows him knows that every time he steps foot in the ring he IS the main event. He says that he is the common denominator of greatness and his future is looking just fine, but then Kenny King’s music hits interrupting Aries.

King says those trumpets (in his theme) are like music to his hears because when you hear it you know the “pretty boy pitbull” is in the building. King says he also loves the live mic because he gets to say whatever’s on his mind. He says he’s not trying to step on Aries’ toes but listening to Aries has gotten a little bit on his nerves. Aries tells King to step in the ring and say what he wants to say in the ring with him. King walks down to the ring and says that Aries is talking about making headlines but everyone knows it was him that was making headlines last year. King talks about his reign as X-Division Champion but then mentions how Chris Sabin “stole” his belt, but before he could whoop Sabin and get his belt back someone decided to “play Halloween” a few months early and put on that “dirty, nasty” Manik costume and steal his belt again.

Aries says that was him and King says he has to admit that it was “borderline genius” but now that means he owes Aries one and another thing that was getting “under my beautiful brown skin” was Aries talking about he is the future. King says maybe 10 years ago Aries was the future but right now King is the next generation of pro wrestling and HE is the future of wrestling. Aries cuts King off and says he doesn’t “see the pretty boy pitbull, I see the boy who’s pretty much the pits and full of bull.” Aries says if he wants to talk about the future, they can talk about the present instead and they can do something right now. King says “homeboy you don’t want none of this, I’m not fighting you…not today.” As Aries looks away King sucker punches Aries and stomps on him! As King taunts the crowd Aries comes back and lays King out. King bails out of the ring but Aries says that King isn’t going to sucker punch him and tuck his tail and run. He screams for a referee to come out and they can do this right now!

A referee stops King from leaving and then Aries dives off the top with a Plancha onto King on the ramp!

----COMMERCIAL BREAK----

“Pretty Boy Pitbull” Kenny King vs. “A-Double” Austin Aries

Back from the break the bell rings and Aries puts a shirt around King’s neck and tosses him over the top into the ring! It looks like King’s forehead is busted open pretty bad. Aries mounts King in the corner and reigns down right hands on him. Aries rubs the blood of King on his chest and then punches King in the head again but this time King grabs Aries and hot shots him onto the top rope and Aries falls out to the floor. King slams Aries into the apron and then rolls him back in the ring and chokes him in the corner with his boot. King hits a Snapmare Takeover and then kicks Aries hard in the back. King punches Aires in the head repeatedly now and then whips Aries into the corner. King hits a Flying Hip Attack and then looks into the camera showing the gash on his forehead and says “and I’m STILL pretty!” King then attempts a Springboard Leg Drop but Aries rolls out of the way and then hits King with forearms and chops. Aries whips King into the corner and then hits an Atomic Drop and whips King into the ropes. King holds onto the ropes and Aries charges at him but King backdrops him over the top. Aries lands on the apron and then hits a shoulder block through the ropes and slingshots himself over King. Aries hits a Gutbuster followed by a Uranage Suplex and then the Pendulum Elbow! Aries goes for the Brainbuster but King blocks it and hits a Spinning Openhand! King and Aries exchange forearms and then Aries goes for the Roaring Elbow but King ducks and hits a Spinning Heel Kick! 1…2…NO Aries kicks out! King goes for the Royal Flush but Aries blocks it and lands on the apron over the top. Aries snaps King’s head back across the top and then climbs up top. King crotches Aries on the top and hits a Leaping Enziguri! King climbs up with Aries and hits a Belly-to-Belly Overhead Superplex! 1…2…NO Aries kicks out! King goes for the Flying Knees in the corner but Aries ducks and then hits the IED followed by the Brainbuster! 1…2…3!

Winner: Aries via pinfall (Brainbuster)

----COMMERCIAL BREAK----

A vignette hyping up the return of Lei’d Tapa is shown.

In the back Chris Sabin and Velvet approach Aries and says that was a “cool” win out there and it’s great to see Aries back in the X-Division, the division he built. Sabin says when he goes on to be known as the “greater than the greatest man that ever lived” there is no hard feelings before walking away. Aries says they’ll test that “greater than the greatest” theory.

A replay of Bully Ray threatening to kick one of the A&8 members out if they lose tonight.

MEM are getting ready in the back when Magnus gets pissed. Joe asks what his problem is and Magnus says EGO and sarcastically mentions all of the things they’ve done. Joe says they’re all about mind games and they’re playing with his right now. Joe says they’ll get theirs but they need to get focused and get the job done tonight. Magnus says he’s going to get something done tonight and he’s going to find EGO, but Sting reminds Magnus that they came together to get rid of A&8 to begin with. Sting tells him not to let EGO get in his mind because he’s better than that.

----COMMERCIAL BREAK----

A replay of the drama between AJ and Dixie is shown again.

Hulk Hogan comes down to the ring and he panders to the crowd for awhile as a massive “Hogan” chant erupts. He says hearing the roar of that crowd makes him feel powerful and he says they have a situation going on right now that he needs all the power he can get to deal with. Hogan says for nearly two years now Dixie Carter has given him the job as GM for Impact to make sure things run smooth, but in his 35 years in the business he’s seen things blow up in the ring, in the back, and even in business meetings but airing dirty laundry in public is something that should never happen. Hogan asks the fans how many want to see AJ Styles stay with the company and they erupt in cheers. Hogan says he knows AJ is in the back and he wants AJ to hear the love and respect the people have for him. An “AJ” chant breaks out and Hogan says they need to cut the crap. He says later tonight he’s going to bring AJ out to the ring and fix this thing for TNA.

A video package hyping up the return of Kurt Angle, at Bound for Glory is shown.

----COMMERCIAL BREAK----

A short vignette with the words “ETHAN is coming” blinged out as a hip hop track plays is shown. Not really sure what that could be.

In the back AJ says he has no problem hearing Hogan out.

TNA X-Division Championship 
Manik (c) vs. Chris Sabin w/Velvet Sky

Manik tries to go after Sabin as he gets in the ring as Sabin hides behind the referee and taunts Manik. Manik takes Sabin down but Sabin shoves him away and then ducks a clothesline and hits Manik with a knee to the gut. Sabin whips Manik into the ropes and then goes for a clothesline but Manik ducks and hits a Springboard Flying Cross Body! Manik punches Sabin repeatedly instead of pinning him and then he grabs Sabin but Sabin quickly gets to the ropes to get away from Manik. Sabin reaches around and tries to pull off Manik’s mask which distracts Manik long enough for Sabin to kick him in the gut. Sabin attempts to whip Manik into the corner but Manik reverses it and charges at Sabin. Sabin floats up and over the charging Manik but as he lands he drops down and sells like he injured his knee again. Manik stops as the referee checks on him. Sabin rolls out to the floor and sells it like he blew his knee out again. Manik follows Sabin out to check on him and then Sabin shoves Velvet into Manik and then climbs on the apron and punt kicks Manik in the chest! Velvet looks shocked as Sabin starts squatting with one leg and taunting the crowd. Sabin tosses Manik back into the ring and approaches Manik but Manik lifts himself up using the ropes and gets Sabin in a headscissors and slams Sabin headfirst into the turnbuckles! Manik hits the ropes and slides between Sabin’s legs and then hits the ropes again and goes for his little spiderman spot between the ropes but slips. Manik gets up on the ramp and slides under the ropes and between the legs of a charging Sabin and then rolls Sabin up into the Figure Four Deathlock! Sabin grabs the referee and shoves him sending him crashing into Manik breaking the hold. Manik gets pissed at the referee and then goes after Sabin in the corner but as the referee gets between them Sabin sucker punches Manik. Sabin hits a series of elbow drops and then a leg drop for a nearfall. Sabin lifts Manik up on the top rope and then climbs up with him and attempts a Superplex, but Manik shoves Sabin off and then dives off the top with a nasty Missile Dropkick! Manik hits a European Uppercut and then a series of lightning quick slaps followed by a leg kick and then a Spinning Back Kick! Manik goes for a roundhouse kick as Sabin is seated on the mat but Sabin drops back onto the mat and Manik spins around into a Standing Corkscrew Moonsault! 1…2…NO Sabin kicks out! Manik attempts to whip Sabin into the ropes but Sabin reverses it and Manik holds onto the ropes stopping his momentum. Sabin charges at Manik but Manik drop toe holds Sabin into the ropes. Manik then springboards out of the corner over the top into a dropkick! Manik is distracted by Velvet for a second and then Sabin kicks the ropes into Manik’s nuts as he gets back in the ring and cradles him for a nearfall. Sabin goes for a Powerbomb but Manik trips Sabin and catapults him into the turnbuckles! Manik trips Sabin and locks in the Figure Four Deathlock again! Sabin crawls towards the ropes and grabs Velvet’s hand to pull him closer to the ropes and he holds onto her as Manik tries to pull him back towards the center of the ring. It ends up pulling Velvet all the way into the ring and Sabin uses her as a shield. Sabin then shoves her out of the way and sneaks in a rollup! 1…2…NO Manik counters it into a pin of his own! 1…2…3!

Winner & STILL X-Champ: Manik via pinfall (cradle)

Sabin attacks Manik after the match and chokes him as Velvet looks surprised at Sabin’s actions. Aries runs down and Sabin again uses Velvet as a shield. Aries chases Aries out of the ring.

A&8 bitch at each other, poorly, backstage. Bischoff and Brisco need to get their money back for those acting lessons.

----COMMERCIAL BREAK----

The vignette hyping up Angle’s return at BFG is shown again.

Backstage EGO bitch about Kurt Angle being put in the Hall of Fame. He says they’ve done more for TNA in the last 3 months than Angle has his whole career. Daniels says he’s sick of hearing about the Mafia and says that “Sting’s nothing but a dumpster fire, Joe’s a diaper explosions, and now Magnus has fallen apart and all he does is lose and cry.” Kaz says to his credit he’s a good loser, and it would be really funny if he lost again. Kaz said that might even bruise his “EGO” and then they start doing the evil laugh but Roode just looks at them disgustedly. Daniels says it’s their “maniacal laugh” and Roode just shakes his head before walking away.

6-Man Tag Team Match 
Aces & Eights (Knux, Garett Bischoff, & Wes Brisco) vs. Main Event Mafia (Sting, Samoa Joe, & Magnus)

If A&8 losses then Bully is going to kick one of the members out. Magnus starts the match off with Knux and hits a series of strikes followed by a European Uppercut. Magnus puts the boots to Knux in the corner and then Knux tags in Wes who gets clotheslined by Magnus. Magnus catches Wes’ attempt at a Cross Body and hits the Tormentum. Garett tags in and gets clotheslined as well. Garett kicks Magnus and then charges at Magnus but eats a spinebuster for a nearfall. A&8 breaks up the pin and now all 6 men are fighting. EGO attacks Magnus on one side of the ring as the referee was distracted on the other side before Sting chases them off. Magnus sells it like he injured his knee on a fall. In the ring A&8 3-on-1 attack Sting in their corner.

----COMMERCIAL BREAK----

Back from the break A&8 continue to beat Sting down. Knux chokes Sting and tags in Wes and then Wes hits a corner clotheslines for a nearfall. Wes puts Sting in a side headlock but Sting fights up to his feet and breaks the hold until Wes knees Sting in the gut. Wes chokes Sting in the ropes and then covers him for another nearfall. Wes beats on Sting and then whips him into the ropes and goes for a dropkick but Sting holds onto the ropes and then hits a clothesline! Both men are down. Sting crawls to his corner and tags in Joe and Joe lays all the A&8 members out. Joe hits an atomic drop on Wes and then the Backsplash Senton! 1…2…NO Wes kicks out! Joe whips Wes into the ropes but Wes kicks him and then charges at Joe only to eat the Snap Powerslam! 1…2…NO Bischoff breaks it up! Sting comes in and whips Knux into Bischoff and then Sting hits the Stinger Splash on both of them! Sting hits the Stinger Splash on Wes and Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch on Wes! Wes taps out!

Winners: MEM via submission (Coquina Clutch)

Bully and Brooke come down to the ring and he says he told them that if they lost then it would be lights out for somebody. Bully says that Wes lost, he tapped out and he is a disgrace to the colors. Bully tells him to hand over his cut as Knux and Bischoff climb in the ring as well. Bully tells him again to hand over his cut as Wes shakes his head. Bully tells Bischoff and Knux to take the cut off of Wes right now and do what he tells them to do. Bully clotheslines Wes as Knux and Bischoff just stand there. Bully asks where their balls are and then hits the Piledriver on Wes! Bully again screams at Knux and Bischoff to take Wes’ cut off of him or he’ll piledrive him again. They finally rip the A&8 cut off of Wes and and hand it over to Bully. Bully gets in Knux’s face and screams at him to hand it over which he finally does.

----COMMERCIAL BREAK----

Back from the break Hogan is in the ring with a clipboard. He calls AJ out to the ring and AJ doesn’t make him wait long. Hogan says he can’t even describe how electric the crowd is over AJ winning the BFG Series and he hands over a contract to AJ saying he can’t have his potential World Champion without a contract.

AJ signs the contract and looks out to the crown and says “I’m yours” but Dixie Carter walks out and interrupts them. Dixie says she doesn’t mean to be rude but she has been very clear on why she brought Hogan into TNA, and that was to bring big opportunities to TNA and open doors for them. Dixie says he’s done that and she appreciates it and she is grateful to Hogan, but he is just an employee and that’s it. Dixie says Hulk is capable of so much more than that and she is here to make Hulk the best than he can be, but then she turns to AJ and says “let me see if I can remember this right, “I’m gone make you get down on ya’ knees in beg” (using an embellished southern accent).” Dixie laughs and says “in your dreams” and she says his reality is staring him right in the face at BFG. She says that Hulk may see some value in the “phenomenally marginal one” but she doesn’t and then rips up the contract. AJ says she just made the biggest mistake of the life but she interrupts him and screams at him to get out of her ring. AJ starts to get in her face but stops and throws the microphone at her and leaves.

Dixie says she gets it and she knows the people aren’t happy with him and it doesn’t look like Hulk is either, but no one understands because 99% of the people in the world have had to live in her world. She says they don’t know all the decision and obstacles she has to make and all the 99% of the fans that have criticized and put her down they need her. Dixie says it’s the 1% that creates the world that they get to live in while she has to suffer the burden. Dixie says this isn’t a popularity contest and she went down that road for 11 years and look where it’s gotten her. Hulk tries to interrupt her but Dixie cuts him off and says that she would have really appreciated it if he had run this whole thing past her beforehand. She says they’ll just chock this up to a life lesson and they know all of the hard decisions they need to make to get TNA to the next level. She says that Hulk has a decision to make and asks if he’s going to get on “Team Dixie” or is he going to be watching from the sideline. Dixie says she’ll give Hulk a week to think about it and she knows he’ll make the right decision. Dixie leaves as Hogan looks confused