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The show opens with a video of Eric Young driving to the arena and talking about what he's going to do to Kurt Angle tonight. Angle's waiting for him in the parking lot when he arrives and attacks Eric through the car window as he pulls up. They brawl briefly before being separated as I wonder whether that qualifies as a moving violation.
It's May Mayhem tonight as three titles will be defended and the tag title series continues! Speaking of title matches...
Six Sides Of Steel/Knockouts Title Match: Taryn Terrell vs Gail Kim
Gail attacks Taryn as she enters the cage and unleashes weeks worth of pent up anger on Taryn, beating her from pillar to post. Gail is so blinded by her hatred of Taryn that she gets too close to a camera hole in the cage and Jade is able to reach through and slow her down long enough for Terrell to slip in and blindside her. Now Taryn has the advantage and presses it as Marti and Jade cheer her on from the floor, but Gail hits a flying bodypress out of nowhere for 2, then starts climbing the cage. Gail and Marti climb up to try and slow her down, and Gail manages to fight Jade off but it tossed off the cage by the hair and hits hard on the mat. Taryn quickly pops up and hits the Taryn Cutter for the win.
Winner: Taryn Terrell
Good match, but a little short and uneventful for a cage match. Taryn clotheslines Earl Hebner just for kicks, but Awesome Kong's music hits and she comes storming out to smack the Dollhouse up. The Dollhouse lock themselves inside the cage th keep Kong from getting in, and Kong is forced to watch helplessly as the Dollhouse stomp Gail out 3-on-1.
We see the recent history between James Storm and the Magnus/Mickie family, then Mickie comes out and says that she has agreed to come back for one more match, but that's not why she's out here. Mickie says that Magnus isn't just her fiance, he's her best friend. On the other hand, Storm is a very good, longtime friend, and that's why this is such a tough thing for her to come out here and talk about. Storm comes out before Mickie can continue and she starts to apologize for what happened last week, but Storm says she doesn't have to apologize for a damn thing because he might have done the same thing in his shoes. Storm thinks Magnus is jealous of their friendship, but Mickie says that's not fair because Storm knows what this business is like and how many times he's been stabbed in the back. Storm says that if being nice and being a gentleman and saving her from Bram is bad, then he's a bad, bad man. Storm also wants her to know he's set up meetings with (a bunch of people I assume are country singers...and also Billy Corgan in the back), and they all want to meet Mickie James. He knows she has to think about this, but he tells her to make the right decision for her and whatever she decides, he's going to be there for her. Storm gives her a hug and starts to leave, but Mickie stops him and says to tell them she'll see them in Nashville.
The Cameraman Of Doom asks Kenny King what his mindset is going into tonight's X Division gauntlet match, and King says he's been cracking heads all his life and the only reason he took this match was because he has the championship advantage and can come in last so he can crack all their heads.
We see Kurt Angle and Eric Young backstage locked in rooms with bars on the windows, presumably to keep them from doing anything ill-advised before their match tonight.
X Division Title Gauntlet Match: Kenny King vs Mandrews vs DJ Z vs Spud vs Manik vs Crazzy Steve vs Argos
Spud and Manik start us off and do spot spot spot spot spot. The X Division style really isn't conducive to battle royal style matches. DJ Z is next and does spots. Spud and DJ Z do the thing where they ping pong Manik back and forth with right hands and then try to eliminate him. Mandrews comes in at #4 and...that's right, does spots. He and Spud pair off against Manik and DJ Z, then some luchador named Argos comes in for more spots, about half of which connect. Manik dumps Mandrews to the apron and rams him into the post to knock him to the floor and eliminate him. Next up is...CRAZZY STEVE! Ah, of course now we go to commercial once the fun starts. We'll be back.
We're back as Kenny King enters to compete the field and blows through everyone in the ring. Steve gets backdropped to the apron and cartwheel kicked to the floor by King, then King hits a leaping enziguiri to knock Argos off the top and to the floor. King hits the Royal Flush on Spud, reverses a whip and backdrops DJ Z to the floor, and makes a deal with Manik to eliminate Spud. Manik doublecrosses King, but King quickly recovers and tosses Manik, so now we're down to a traditional pinfall rules finish with King and Spud, who has been out here since the beginning. Spud is in a bad way and doesn't put up much of a resistance to King, but King gets cocky and Spud small packages him to regain the title.
Winner and New X Division Champion: Rockstar Spud
Didn't see that finish coming! Good showcase for Spud as he ran the entire gauntlet to regain the title he had stolen from him.
Josh and Al inform us of TNA's move to Wednesday next week, then we head back to the ring!
Tag Team Title Best Of Five Series, Match Two: The Wolves vs Austin Aries & Bobby Roode
The match gets off to a hot start as Aries takes the Wolves out with a dive through the ropes during their entrance, then the battle moves inside the ring where the Wolves double team Roode until Aries comes in to hit a series of double teams on the Wolves. Now the Dirty Heels are in firm control and cut Eddie off from Davey as they proceed to wear him down. Eddie finally gets some space with a couple of enziguiris and tags in Davey, who cleans house and gets Roode in an inverted figure four. Roode makes the ropes, then he counters a double team by booting Davey in the face and turning Eddie inside out with a clothesline. He tags Aries in, and Aries takes on both Wolves by himself. Aries gets Davey in the Last Chancery as Roode catches Eddie in the Crippler Crossface, but Davey makes the ropes. Aries goes for the brainbuster, Davey fights out of that, and then the Wolves hit Chasing The Dragon on Aries for 2. Roode comes in and disrupts the Wolves' momentum, whipipng Aries into the corner to hit the IED on Eddie, planting Davey with a spinebuster, then Aries htis the 450 on Eddie, but Davey breaks the fall up at 2. Davey gets the boot up as Aries tries another IED and then backdrops Roode to the floor. Wolves hit the double team Alarm clock on Aries, then they go for the powerbomb/lungblower combo, but Roode knocks Davey down and Aries goes over Eddie and gets him in the Last Chancery as Roode holds onto Davey's ankles. Davey fights free and comes off the top with a double stomp to break up the Last Chancery, then the Wolves hit the powerbomb/lungblower combo on Aries for the win.
Winners: The Wolves
There was no way my recap could do this justice, this was flat out awesome and now the Wolves are up 2-0 in the series.
We go backstage where Angelina Love says she doesn't know what Velvet is doing here since she's FIRED, but Velvet can't stop following her around, so she's going to take care of this right now.
Kenny King is backstage on the phone griping about what happened earlier, then we go to the ring where Angelina Love comes out and introduces her own personal security team. She gets right up in Velvet Sky's face and says they'll haul her ass out of here if she puts her hands on Angelina again because she got fired and she's outta here. Angelina starts taunting her and asks her if she wants to hit her, then to go ahead and try it so her security can haul her out of here like the piece of trash she is. Angelina turns her back, and Velvet comes over the rail and starts beating the crap out of her. Angelina is hilarious screaming as Velvet beats her up, and security tries to haul her off, but Velvet now lays out the security team and goes back after Angelina. They handcuff her, and Angelina follows her, taunting her the entire way to the back.
Ken Anderson is backstage and unveils the cage that Tyrus will be locked inside when he faces EC3 after this break.
Ethan Carter III comes out for his match and says that despite all his rage, Tyrus will not be a rat in a cage. Okay, we know Billy Corgan's there, guys. Enough now. Ken Anderson comes out, pulls the curtain off the cage, then attacks Tyrus and tries stuffing him inside. EC3 attacks Anderson from behind, rams his face into the cage, then quickly rolls him inside to start the match.
Ken Anderson vs Ethan Carter III
Carter makes a quick cover for 2, then chokes and punches Anderson without giving him a chance to fire back. Snap suplex gets 2 for Carter, then he starts smashing Anderson's face into the mat over and over, then covers for another 2. Anderson finally tosses EC3 through the ropes and right onto Tyrus, and Anderson takes the opportunity to finally lock Tyrus in the cage. Anderson comes back inside and puts Carter down for a 2 count, then whips him from corner to corner and covers for another 2. EC3 goes for the 1%, but Anderson counters to a Finlay roll, hits a Swanton, and covers for a very close 2. EC3 blocks the Mic Check, but Anderson hits it on the second try, and Carter again barely kicks out at 2. Anderson goes for the Mic Check again, but this time Carter counters him and hits the 1% for the win.
Winner: Ethan Carter III
I liked this a lot because it showed that Carter doesn't need to cheat to win and can do it on the level. Anderson gets up and says something to Carter, then sticks his hand out to Ethan. EC3 thinks about it for a second, then smacks Anderson's hand away and walks off by himself, even leaving Tyrus in the cage.
Spud is backstage and the mystery cameraman asks him if the second title win is as sweet as the first, and Spud gushes about how happy he is to solidify himself as a two time champion. The cameraman says Destination X is quickly coming up and he will have to decide wheter to exercise option C or not. Spud says he really hadn't thought about it, and waffles a bit before saying how funny it would be if he wound up with the World Title.
It's main event time!
TNA World Title/I Quit Match: Kurt Angle vs Eric Young
They go after each other during introductions and have to be separated by the security team who escorted both men to the ring. Finally the bell rings and they go after each other once again, spilling out of the floor and then back into the ring where they trade right hands in the middle of the ring. Eric goes to the eyes, but Angle avoids a leapfrog and hits the rolling German suplexes on Young. Young won't quit, so Angle goes back for more rolling German suplexes. Young still won't quit, and he goes back to Angle's eyes and tosses him to the floor as we go to commercial.
We're back and Young cold cocks Angle with his knee brace, then slaps on the figure four. Angle reverses and forces Young to break the hold. Young goes for the Angle Slam, but dumps Angle right on his face instead and gets the anklelock on Angle. Angle won't quit, and he rolls through and gets Young right in his own figure four. Young gets to the ropes to break the hold and climbs the ropes, Angle follows him up and Young fights him off. Young tries a missile dropkick, but Angle catches his foot on the way down and puts him right in the anklelock. Young taps out and Angle breaks the hold, but it doesn't count because we need a verbal submission here. Young uses the opening to punch Angle in the ding ding and then hit a piledriver that I still think Angle's crazy to take after all the injuries it's sustained. Young tells Angle to give up or he'll break his neck, but Angle tells Young to kiss his ass, so Young hoists him back up for another piledriver, this time a cradle piledriver, but Angle backdrops Young, rolls through, and gets the anklelock with the leg grapevine, finally forcing Young to say I quit.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Okay, now this HAS to be the end of Young's run at the title, presumably putting us on the path to Angle vs EC3 at Slammiversary. Great match to wrap up Impact's Friday stint.
Thanks for reading this week's Impact Wrestling Report, I'll be back on Monday to discuss Impact and more with Dave Scherer on the Stu & Pid Show!
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