Impact begins with Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Miss Tessmacher in the ring.    Hogan then invites out the so-called "Fatal Four" who will compete on Sunday in the Semifinals of the TNA World Title Tournament.    Hogan then tells the Fatal Four that whoever wins has to raise the bar to another level.    You know, the same sh*t Hogan been saying every damn week since he's come to TNA.    Bischoff then talks up tonight's Main Event, Angle and Hardy vs. Pope and Anderson.    As Bisch talks, Abyss walks to the ring with "Janice", his 2x4 with the nails in it, in hand.    Abyss then tells us that "them" has something to say.    Hogan claims everyone knows "They" are FOURtune.    But Abyss reminds us what anyone who actually pays attention to this show already knew – "They" will show up on 10.10.10 – Bound For Glory.    "They" are going to come in, take away TNA, remove Dixie Carter as president of TNA… blah, blah, blah.

Seriously, I've been telling you for weeks now, "They" is Nash, Sting, and whoever else is running with them.   Possibly the Main Event Mafia.

We then go to a recap of the Beautiful People/Madison Rayne feud thus far, leading into the first match of the night, Love and Sky vs. Maddie and the Masked Biker.    The four brawl around ringside for a while before the BPs catch Maddie alone in the ring.    Just as they're about to spank her, the Biker makes the save, and the match officially begins.    Angie spears the Biker out of the ring, leaving Maddie in the ring with Velvet.    The Biker then grabs her helmet and whacks Velvet with it, allowing Maddie to get the win.    After the match, Maddie and the Biker take out the BPs, and the Biker, for some reason, finally unmasks, revealing that she was Tara all along.   

We then get a backstage promo from Stevie Richards, who tells us he's not afraid of Abyss, and will step out of the shadows of EV2.0 and stand on his own tonight when he takes Abyss out.    This is followed by a ReAction Rewind, where everyone and their mother talks about how Abyss is out of his f*cking mind.    We're then promised that RVD will speak for the first time since the assault next week on Impact.    Yep.    RVD, who was just written off TV because TNA didn't want to burn up all of his remaining dates, will be BACK on TV less than a month after Abyss nearly killed him (off-camera) with a 2x4 with nails sticking out of it.    The RVD who is supposed to be knocking on Death's Door as we speak because of this brutal assault will be on Impact next week.

Our next match is Stevie Richards vs. Abyss.    As expected, 90% of this match is Abyss beating the hell out of Stevie.    Abyss then rolls out of the ring, looking for "Janice", but settles for a chair, instead.    Abyss comes back into the ring looking to brutalize Stevie with the chair, just to get Superkicked in the face for his trouble.    Stevie Richards picks up the win, but Abyss just keeps beating the hell out of Stevie after the match anyway.    Meanwhile, EV2.0 and Fortune are brawling in the back as security tries to break it up.    Abyss manages to find "Janice" as was about to use it on Stevie, but Brian Kendrick runs in and makes the save, dropkicking Abyss in the face, and rushing Stevie to safety before Abyss can recover.

We then go to the back with Mr. Anderson, talking about how pissed he is that Pope ain't down with Anderson being a good guy now.    So, to reinforce this, Pope pops in to tell us he ain't buying that Anderson is trying to play nice with Pope.   

We then go back to the ring with EV2.0, who's calling out FOURtune for a fight.    FOURtune comes out, and AJ continues to prove how awesome the man truly has become on the mic since hooking up with Flair.    Sure, he's still channeling Flair a little too much for his own good, but he's certainly hitting his stride.    A couple months from now, AJ may end up being the best promo in TNA outside of Flair himself, the rate he's going now.    AJ talks up the various matches EV2.0 and FOURtune have coming up at the PPV – Williams defending the X Title against Sabu, and AJ vs. Tommy in an I Quit Match.    Tommy then challenges FOURtune to an 8-man tag, which they accept for later tonight.

To the back, where we see Jeff Jarrett once again pleading with Samoa Joe to have his back as he faces Sting tonight.    Joe then says that one thing he's learned in this business is that you should mind your own, then walks off.   

Our next match features Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting, but first, we get some documentary-style exposition from Nash and Sting walking in the back, talking about if "the guy we want to show" shows up, they're going to drag him into the ring.    Then, we get a ReAction-style promo from Jeff before we go to the match proper.    Sting, to note, is wearing the red face paint tonight, with black and white trim, which generally looks better than just the standard black trim we're used to seeing with the red paint.    So, once again, standing by the theory that "They" are a variation of the Wolfpac, likely even a Main Event Mafia reunion (which has been rumored for a while now) under the Wolfpac banner.    Jeff manages to hold his own rather well with Sting and Nash, and we actually manage to get a pretty decent match out of this, which has NOT been par for the course in the weekly Wolfpac segments as of late.    Jarrett tries to suplex Sting back into the ring after a lengthy brawl on the outside, and Nash trips up Jarrett, allowing Sting to fall onto Jeff and get the pin.    After the match, Sting and Nash assault Jeff until Hogan comes out, and while Hogan distracts Sting, Joe runs in and attacks Nash, then gets up in Sting's face.

Another promo vid hyping the new SHORE faction (Rob Eckos and Becky Bayless as Robbie G and Cookie), leading into the rundown for this Sunday's No Surrender PPV –

-           Abyss vs. Rhino in a Falls Count Anywhere Match

-           AJ Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer in an I Quit Match

-           Mr. Anderson vs. Pope D'Angelo Dinero in the Semifinals of the TNA World Title Tournament

-           Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy in the Semifinals of the TNA World Title Tournament

Which leads us back to the ring, where Desmond Wolfe, Magnus the Love Guru, and Chelsea are in the ring, as Taz and Tenay remind us that they are the #1 Contenders to the TNA Tag Teams Title.    Also, we're now apparently calling this team "London Brawling".    Not bad if you catch the reference to the Clash's famous album, "London Calling" (which if I recall is actually Desmond's favorite band.    He used to come out to the Clash's version of "I Fought the Law" on the independents).    Anyway, back to the promo… Des talks up how he and Mags beat every team on Xplosion (all two of them) to become top contenders.    Pass the mic to Mags, who claims that he and Des will save the TNA fans from the MCMG's reign as Tag Champs.    Cue the Guns, who come down to the ring the have a face to face with London Brawling.    The MCMG talk up their awesomeness, and then accuse London Brawling of being into each other.    Desmond Wolfe retorts by pointing to Chelsea.    We then learn that Alex Shelley is four years older than Magnus, and Alex asks the question I've asked for MONTHS now – what's with that sour look on Chelsea's face all the time.    Sabin then goes on to tell Alex to back off, that every call girl needs to make money.    Desmond then tells Chelsea to tell the guns that he's got a huge dick, to which, Chelsea says that Des in, well… not so well endowed, so to speak.    Des reacts the way most men do when they're told they have a small penis (not well), and the dissention of the ranks begins… or not.    London Brawling take out the Guns after a short argument with each other.

To the back with EV2.0, letting us know that EV2 is dropping like flies.    Brian Kendrick comes into the scene to offer to help out.    Tommy tries to talk Brian out of it, but Mick gives the crazy, high bastard the thumbs up.   

We then go to a promo with Hardy and Angle, who talks about the implications of their match tonight, and against each other at the PPV.

Our next match is an Elimination Tag Match between FOURtune (represented by AJ, Kazraian, and Beer Money) and EV2.0 (represented by Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Rhino, and Brian Kendrick).    Kazarian eliminates Sabu after Doug Williams trips up Sabu during a springboard move.    Sabu and Doug brawl to the back as the match continues.    Kendrick eliminates Kaz after nailing a running calf kick.    The fight spills out to the floor as Foley comes out.    Kendrick is eliminated after the ref tries to stop him from choking AJ, and Brian kicks the ref in the face.    Abyss runs down to ringside, and Rhino brawls with him, getting counted out in the process.    Dreamer nails Robert Roode with the DDT and eliminates Roode from the match after AJ accidentally takes out James Storm with a flying forearm.    Dreamer then picks up the scraps and pins Storm as well, leaving the match down to AJ and Tommy.    As Foley and Flair brawl on the outside, and Matt Morgan tries to interfere, Tommy gets a thumb to the eye and a Pele Kick courtesy of AJ, allowing AJ to pick up the win for FOURtune.

Final match of the night brings us the participants of the two Semifinal matches of the TNA World Title Tournament in a tag match against the other – Angle and Hardy vs. Pope and Anderson.    The match ends much the way the 8-man tag match last week ended.    Anderson nails the Mic Check on Angle, but Pope gets the blind tag and takes the pin for himself.    Our show closes with Pope and Anderson brawling outside of the ring as Hardy and Angle fight with one another inside of it.

This Week in Xplosion

We start off with, as usual, interviews from the participants.    Christy Hemme is with Jeremy Buck, and, once again, Eric Young walks in, thinking Jeremy is his partner against Tekno Team 3000.    We then hear from Doug Williams, more or less being bored with his competition tonight – Amazing Red, Jay Lethal and Brian Kendrick.    Lethal looks forward to the challenge and bringing prominence back to the X Division.    Brian Kendrick tells Christy Hemme about how he's preparing for his match by being batsh*t insane, then tells her to get lost.   

First match tonight features Eric Young vs. Jeremy Buck.    You remember that match EY had with Max Buck a couple weeks back that I reviewed here?    Yep.    Same thing happens here.    EY acts stupid, antics ensue, I imagine Mexican fans would be far more appreciative of whatever the hell it is EY's tying to do here, and I wonder why in the hell anyone thinks this would make good TV.    OJ comes down to the ring, and EY throws him into the ring, and the weirdness continues.    EY gets a small package on Jeremy, OJ tries to reverse it so Jeremy is getting the pin, but the ref sees it and awards EY the match.

Our final match tonight is a 4-way X Division (non-title) match between Amazing Red, Brian Kendrick, Jay Lethal, and the X-Champ Doug Williams.    Doug picks up the win after Jay nails Red with the Lethal Injection, and Doug tosses jay out of the ring and takes the pin for himself.    Jay chases Doug out of the arena as Xplosion comes to a close.

And Now, No Surrender…
Here we go, the first in-cannon Pay Per View of the This Week in TNA era. So, let's take a look at what we have in store for tonight's No Surrender PPV.

-           Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne

I do have to say that at least it's not yet another KO Title match between Angelina and Maddie.    I think I've seen something in the ballpark of at least four since taking on this gig six weeks ago.    As for who wins or why, I'm not really sure that's important.    The real match here is Maddie and Tara against the Beautiful People at Bound For Glory, and this, for the most part, is just pushing up towards that match.    If you really need a prediction, I'll say that Maddie wins it with Tara's help, and we may or may not find out who's side Lacey Von Erich is on, or if they're even going to bother with her    in this angle going forward.

-           Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe vs. Kevin Nash and Sting

Wolfpac goes over here, pretty much guaranteed.    We may or may not see one more addition to the stable to help stack the odds against Jarrett, up to and including a Joe turn, which I honestly see as inevitable.    For all I know, the Wolfpac and Joe's kidnapping and mysterious, unexplained return could be connected.    I still stand by my theory that the "They" controlling Abyss is a variant of the Wolfpac and/or Main Event Mafia, and there's an equally good possibility Joe is a part of this as well.    Why?    Because it makes about as much sense as the rest of this angle does, right now.    All we know for sure is that "They" will arrive at Bound For Glory on October 10.    Beyond that, "They" could be anyone, really.

-           The Motor City Machine Guns vs. London Brawling for the TNA World Tag Team Championships

Also a pretty easy call, as TNA has N-O interest in a London Brawling championship run, based on the virtual anti-push Desmond Wolfe and Magnus have had in the past month becoming contenders.    They win a tournament held on a C show only broadcast in Australia, the Middle East, Canada and the UK, they barely mention London Brawling on Impact until two weeks before the PPV, the team only has one direct interaction with the champs leading into the PPV, the primary storyline of London Brawling is that they're really only seconds away from breaking up and fighting over Chelsea, and, of course, the kicker – London Brawling has yet to have ONE MATCH on Impact as a team.    Not ONE.    The top contenders to the Tag Team Titles have never once competed as a team on the A-Show.    It'd be one thing if they teamed and lost.    At least they'd have been established as a team on the primary show.    They don't even have that.    So, it's a far gone conclusion the MCMG retain at No Surrender.    Heck, they could have just had the match on Free TV and got it over with, that's how much they've put into promoting it!

-           Doug Williams vs. Sabu for the X Division Title

Well, leave it to TNA to at least try to get what bang for buck they can out of Sabu while they can.    After his last showing on PPV, it's clear Sabu's on his last legs as the Sabu we knew and loved in ECW, but can still put on a show where needed.    As long as you're not expecting the wild, crazy Sabu of old, the match will be decent enough.    With that said, there's NO WAY Doug is losing this match.    There's no official word whether Sabu will still even be in TNA a month or two from now when they finally lay EV2.0 to rest.    Heck, from what I'm hearing, the FBI's already done (thus, the job boy squash with Beer Money last week on Impact).    So, with no long term plans to keep Sabu on payroll, there's no other possible conclusion – Doug wins.   

-           Abyss vs. Rhino, Falls Count Anywhere

If someone can explain to me the logic of booking a Falls Count Anywhere match and an I Quit match on the same card, please, do so, because I really don't get this at all.    It almost defeats the purpose of the matches entirely, as one virtually cancels out the other in importance.    With that said… I really could give a rat who wins this, as it seems that, out of everyone in EV2.0 that you could put up against Abyss to sell a PPV match avenging the brutal attack on RVD at the Whole F'n Show, we've thus far put Abyss up against two of the weakest candidates possible in Stevie Richards and Rhino.    Of course, the whole purpose of this match is to put over Abyss as an unstoppable monster (you would think), while giving Rhino a believable way to potentially beat the unstoppable maniac.    The problem here is that few people honestly care.    Most of us are so lost in this whole "They" storyline that we don't give a rat about Rhino or what's left of EV2.0.    Besides, EV2.0 is feuding with FOURtune, which only distracts us from Abyss and Rhino further, because we've outright established that FOURtune and Abyss are not working together.    So, in the end, Abyss wins because… well, why not?    Maybe, in the meantime, we get some semblance of advancement in the "They" storyline.    I don't know.

-           AJ Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer in an I Quit Match

This has the potential to be very interesting, in good and bad ways.    As we've seen over the years, the fewer rules involved, the more Tommy seems to shine.    Meanwhile, AJ has always been very good at adapting to other people's styles in the ring.    In all honesty, this could be a very interesting, if not good, match.    It also could go either way, although I tend to believe that this will be AJ's night, with EV2.0 getting the big win at Bound For Glory over FOURtune in the end.

-           TNA World Title Semifinals: Mr. Anderson vs. Pope D'Angelo Dinero

I think it's been in play for a while that Pope was likely going to turn heel once his program with Anderson started back up.    If that's the case, this is where we'll get the official turn, and Pope may actually move on to face Kurt Angle at Bound For Glory.    If not, I see Anderson moving on, simply based on his alleged star power.    Based on the past couple weeks of booking, though, with Pope stealing wins after his partners did all the work, it does look like the heel turn is likely.   

-           TNA World Title Semifinals: Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy

I'm going to say this now – If Kurt Angle loses here, and "retires", then you may as well bet the farm that the Main Event Mafia is reforming at Bound For Glory.    It's equally as likely that it may happen if Kurt wins, here, as well, if Anderson advances, or Pope doesn't turn.    Honestly, who wins here isn't nearly as important as who loses.    If Kurt loses, and is forced to "retire", he's going out a heel in his final run, likely as the leader of "They" who've targeted Hogan, Dixie, and the TNA World Title.    Now, why I believe this goes back to the tension surrounding Kurt and Hogan all the way back when AJ first aligned with Flair in January.    For some reason, I really think this whole angle concerning Sting, Hogan, and the constant bickering about backstage politics is part of the long-term plan concerning how TNA planned to use Hogan all along.    See, the plan, allegedly, was that sometime between January and now, we were to learn that Hogan and Bischoff were actually the bad guys, manipulating Dixie, bringing in their friends, and intentionally tanking TNA.    The plan, most believe, derailed something fierce once TNA learned that Hogan's friends, for the most part, are douche bags in Real Life, too, not just on TV/Radio.    The idea was to have Sting and Hogan double-turn upon the revelation that Sting was the dark avenger all along, trying to save TNA from the cancer of Hogan, thus recreating 1997 all over again.    Now?    I honestly have no real idea.    I have theories, one of which I've been exposing here repeatedly, is that "They" are a variation of the Wolfpac/Main Event Mafia, who will reform at Bound For Glory.    The thing is, if that is the case, where does Kurt Angle play into all of this?    After all, he was a part of the Mafia, too.    So was Joe, Nash, and Sting.    How this match plays out, along with how the Nash/Sting vs. Joe/Jarrett one, may or may not tell the tale of where this is all going to go in the end.    But, if you do think about it, it is the only conclusion that makes anything even remotely close to sense.

Then again, I may just be giving TNA too much credit…

So, there you go.    Everything you need to know about the Week in TNA in one spot.    Don't forget to check back later this week for the No Surrender recap, as we see who advances to the Finals of the World Title Tournament at Bound For Glory!

*****
Mike Johns, imbued with special, shameless self-promotional powers the likes of which haven't been seen since the height of DX's self-fellatious babyface run in 2006, is a contributor to WorldWrestlingInsanity.com and ClubWWI.com, single-handedly responsible for WWI's coverage of All Things TNA.    In what spare time he has left, Mike produces and records original music under the name 'SaviorSelf.07.05.98' as well as remixes and mash-ups of far more popular songs under the name 'TMJ'.

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