The Tim McManus Era of TNA Wrestling - The Reboot/Fix it Job

[Wrestling with Shadows]

For months, TNA has been struggling with cuts but all the while Dixie Carter had been claiming TNA was a profitable company while this was fact it was in fact in the mere 10,000s and it was beginning to struggle with raising costs of particular talents and poor management and with August the 1st fast approaching a winner of the European Euro Millions figured he’d spend some of 200 million dollar winnings on buying TNA for a shockingly cheap 6 million dollar figure but has vow to clear up the roster, reorganize the entire staff and more importantly make this company turn over into something bigger and better. Ladies & Gentlemen, this is the Tim McManus era of Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling.

In a series of shocking events of Jim Ross being fired from WWE and surprisingly lacks a no-complete clause, Tim McManus snapped at the chance and hired Jim Ross as the President of Talent relations, whose first job will be to restructure the entire TNA Roster and looking to bring in some new talent. Tim McManus has pledged 15 million USD to TNA to start heavy marketing while giving Jim Ross a strong budget to reorganize the roster count and apparently bring up to ten new members of the TNA roster.

Tim McManus has also been busy reorganizing the TNA backstage staff and has brought in four new young creative writers, two from England, one from Scotland & one more from Pittsburgh. The four of them will join David Laguna as the new TNA creative team.

Shocking News was announced as Tim McManus reveals that he fired Hulk Hogan, Brook Hogan, Mr. Anderson, Gareth Bischoff amongst a few other members of the TNA roster in cost cutting measures while Sting has agree a new legends contract which will see him and a few other members of the TNA roster take pay-cuts but in return they have a strong secure contracts.

Jim Ross has already been busy building bridges has rehiring Joey Ryan, Jesse Sorensen, Tara, Alex Shelley and most important he brought in Awesome Kong back into the fold and the rumours are there is heavy discussions with several Ring of Honor top talent. When asked about rehiring certain members of the TNA roster, Jim Ross was quoted as saying “the old TNA used to make promises and fail to keep, I have different mentality and promise to keep all the promises I and this company make and that includes the rehiring of Jesse Sorensen.â€

Tim McManus successfully announces new partnerships with both Ring of Honor and Chikara siting they will help improve both companies talents and he is also busy working on a newTV deal which will see TNA Wrestling have a second major show and hopefully see Chikara get their very own TV deal on children’s tv in a bid to branch out to a larger audience.

Jim Ross has also managed to secure the signing of both Melina & Johnny Hennign which will give boost to the TNA roster alongside the signing in the name of Sheik Abdul Bashir. But later in the day Jim Ross was pleased to announce that TNA had managed to sign Lita to shock of many people. Jim Ross then hinted he’s in discussion with two former WWE Champions and hopes to have their contracts sealed by next Thursday night.

Tim McManus made the major announcement that The American Wolves, The Briscoe Brothers, Mike Bennett, Michael Elign, Jay Lethal & Kevin Steen were to all be promoted to main roster and that this Thursday’s iMPACT will be a special three hour event but he was sadden to announce the news that Chris Sabin will be out for a month with complications due to his previous injuries and a new TNA Champion have to be crowned.

Jim Ross has finally gotten to work on the new Road Agent issues with the hiring Scott Levy aka Raven and Al Snow to front as two of a group of five agents, the feeling is that Jim Ross & Tim McManus want to see Jake Roberts & Scott Hall to be involved in TNA alongside DDP which DDP later confirmed on his youtube and is over the moon and has helped with the moods of both Roberts & Hall.

Tim McManus and his creative team have been busy and made the announcement that Gut-Check & Open Fight Night will both be scrapped alongside scrapping the new X-Division rules where Tim McManus and David Laguna both confirmed that TNA will be going back to 2005 with how the X-Division Championship and the rules operate… There is no rule! Another announced that Abyss will be dropping the Television Championship which will be brought back on August the 8th. Tim McManus then proceeded to announce that Joseph Park Esq. will replace Hulk Hogan as the General Manager of Impact.

Finally TNA have announced the tournament for the TNA Championship which will happen on August 1st. There will be five qualifying matches then the return of King of the Mountain to decide the new champion.

Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Hardy
Bully Ray vs. Alex Shelley
Austin Aries vs. Magnus
Samoa Joe vs. ???
Christopher Daniels vs. Kurt Angle

Also TNA made the huge announcement that they will be dropping their One Night Only PPVs which will be instead available direct to DVD or stream and instead there will be monthly iPPVs as they have upgraded their servers and that Bound for Glory will be returning to Astrodome this year in a move which Jim Ross has said “we’re expecting to hit at least Forty Thousand fans with the two big contracts signed and some great plans set in placed.â€

Joseph Park Esq then announced at very first iPPV for TNA Wrestling going by the name Victory Road on August the 25th which will focus on the number one contendership for the TNA World Championship at Bound for Glory but will also see Chris Sabin’s rematch clause against the TNA Champion.

TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match:-
Chris Sabin vs. ???

Other Members of the TNA Roster:-
Sting - TNA Legend & Hall of Famer
Brutal Bob - Mike Bennett's Manager
Taz - Color Commentator for PPVs
Mike Tenay - Play by Play commentator
Jeremy Borash - Color Commentator
Joseph Park Esq. - General Manager of TNA​

 

[Troy]

Interesting concept, nice to see someone take on TNA in a BTB. A lot going on and a lot of changes straight away which I like.

- JR running things is a cool idea, he isn't a name that many bring up when talking about reviving TNA but it makes a hell of a lot of sense to me.

- TNA having a working agreement with ROH and CHIKARA is a new idea that could help stregthen all involved. I like the idea that you are trying to get CHIKARA a tv show but one directed towards kids, WWE showed with SMS that the concept can work. Also curious as to what will happen with a second show for TNA, maybe too soon for it but we will see.

- Switching to iPPVs is a solid move and one that I am surprised TNA haven't done in real life.

- You have added some good names to the roster through ROH and free agents. It is nice to see that you picked sensible names to come in. John Morrison and Melina are a good pairing, Sheik Abdul Bashir was quality before in WWE and TNA and Lita is an awesome signing.

Will definitely be keeping an eye on this to see where you take it.

 

[Wrestling with Shadows]

- TNA having a working agreement with ROH and CHIKARA is a new idea that could help stregthen all involved. I like the idea that you are trying to get CHIKARA a tv show but one directed towards kids, WWE showed with SMS that the concept can work. Also curious as to what will happen with a second show for TNA, maybe too soon for it but we will see.

The second show is more to see TNA can move away from Spike because SpikeTV apparently is harder to get in America than some channels and the risk of rebranding, I would think it be sensible to at least to look for a second show to become the main show.

Chikara I always think would be great for children and in my next set of announcements, it'll come clear why the partnerships are being set up!

 

[Troy]

The second show is more to see TNA can move away from Spike because SpikeTV apparently is harder to get in America than some channels and the risk of rebranding, I would think it be sensible to at least to look for a second show to become the main show.

Chikara I always think would be great for children and in my next set of announcements, it'll come clear why the partnerships are being set up!

Ah okay, so that second show will be on a different network then at first I thought it was still on Spike.

CHIKARA does seem perfect for children and families so it does make sense to target that audience. Looking forward to that next announcement to see what is in store for this.

 

[Wrestling with Shadows]

As per Tim McManus looking to explain and explore new avenues in rebuilding TNA, him & Jim Ross have both agreed that have to focus tremendously on evolving their product and bringing new wrestlers into the field alongside with delivering a true alternative to WWE. This has led to TNA coming to yet another agreement with House of Hardcore and Tommy Dreamer, who will become another Road Agent alongside Raven.

The intentions of TNA is to use Chikara, Ohio Valley Wrestling, Ring of Honor & House of Hardcore to expand their training facilities and options. With Tim McManus pledging a heafty sum to OVW, RoH & Chikara's training facilities and to House of Hardcore's shows to assist with talent's development.

TNA has also announced that All four of their feeder companies will be welcomed to use TNA talent. Rumors are Tim McManus is looking to officially name the group of promotions if possible in the near future.

TNA have also officially confirmed that they are now going to be using a 20x20" ring as opposed to their 18x18 ring along a heavier emphasis on house shows, with plenty more shows being added to their schedule. TNA are aiming to deliver four to five house shows a week alongside their Impact show.

Various sources inside TNA are hinting that Jim Ross' wheeling and dealing have helped TNA sign two of the biggest few agents in the Wrestling world and notiably Bellator and SpikeTV have had involvement in one of these signings, both of which will be unveiled on Thursday Night.

Finally, Chris Sabin's medical report has returned and sadly Sabin won't be looking to return to November but Joseph Park Esq. has affirmed Sabin will get his rematch clause when he is fit to return.

One or two more important things added here and moving Sabin back to fit with my plans heading up to Bound For Glory >.<.​

 

[Troy]

With all these promotions working together it reminds me of a mini version of the NWA. Curious to see how you use all the guys and promotions involved to create your version of TNA.

 

[Wrestling with Shadows]

TNA Impact August 1st Live from Wichita Falls, Texas

Opening Segment:-
The brand new TNA Wrestling Impact opens up with a bang, no more ramp directly to the ring and noticeably the overhead HD screen has condensed down but there is now an massive neon Impact logo on the HD screen. Impact starts with Tim McManus in the ring and he explains that he brought this promotion because he wanted to see Professional Wrestling great again and this is a company with the platform to do this but first he had to right the wrongs and the company had to make good business decisions.

McManus then asks for the Main Event Mafia to join him in the ring as he’s got a special announcement to make and he feels they should be present. The group joins McManus in the ring as he continues to explain to audience that he had spoken to both Kurt Angle & Sting about introducing more fellow Hall of Fame members in September which leads into Tim McManus announcing that part of righting the wrong would be to acknowledging the hardwork Jeff Jarrett puts into the company and he would be joining the Hall of Fame.

Jeff Jarrett comes down to the ring with a teary eye and makes a good little speech which leads into Jeff Jarrett saying he wasn’t the only man who help build this company and the foundations was set by the X-Division and that there would be three other members to the Hall of Fame. Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles & Samoa Joe.

Before Joe can cut a promo thanking Tim McManus and Jeff Jarrett, AJ Styles comes out and says he won’t be brought and that this doesn’t change his opinions at all simply because he’s been announced for the Hall of Fame.

Finally to wrap up the segment, Bully Ray and Devon show up and criticise McManus not recognizing the hard work the two have put in and how it’s because of them TNA is still breathing today and it’ll still be breathing tonight because the Aces & 8s will continue and Bully Ray will be the World Heavyweight Champion again by the end of tonight because he’s activating his rematch clause and is entering into the King of the Mountain Ladder Match.

Backstage Promo:-
Austin Aries and Bobby Roode cut a promo together, slightly comical both teasing a one up menship war over whose going to win the King of the Mountain match then both maintain a level of seriousness which reveals around Roode talking about how it is his goal to recapture his glory and put TNA back on the map after months of mediocrity. Aries reminds Roode he lost his TNA Championship to him and that a Ladder match suits Aries more than it does Roode then both men shake hands and head off for their respective qualifier matches.

Opening Match:-
James Storm w/Gunner vs. Christopher Daniels w/Kaz
This match was one of your general Impact matches which revolved around with James Storm getting the early offense till Kaz grabs the foot of James Storm allowing Christopher Daniels to get the offense back. The turning point of the match was when Daniels missed the Best Moonsault Ever allowing James Storm to roll Daniels up for a close two count, Storm goes for the Last Call but Daniels catches the boot and spins Storm around and hits a boot to the gut looking for the Angel Wing but James Storm manages to hoist Daniels over with a bridge for the one, two, three.
Winner via Pinfall at 03:31 and qualified the King of Mountain Ladder Match: James Storm

Backstage Segment:-
Joseph Park is settling into his new office and comical moment accidently breaks gold bald eagle statute before being interrupted by AJ Styles; who intimidates Joseph Park by choking him out with tie demanding an opportunity at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Park reluctantly tells AJ Styles he’ll see if he can work something out by the end of the night. AJ Styles reminds Joseph Park he needs to make a good first impression.

Knockout’s Number One Contendership Match:-
Tara vs. Velvet Sky vs. Taryn Terrell
This match doesn’t even last ten seconds as the Godzilla-esque entrance theme of Awesome Kong hits the PA system which sets the crowd on fire leading to Awesome Kong arrival and quickly disposing of the three Knockouts and standing tall in the ring forcing the referee to throw the match out.

Backstage Segment:-
In the Aces & 8s now almost empty clubhouse, Bully Ray & Devon are trying to figure out how to get new members into the group when Brutal Bob, Mike Bennett and Maria all show up and explain they’ve came from Ring of Honor and they up for joining Aces & 8s if they can be guarantee “security” in return. Bully Ray, Devon and Brutal Bob share a chuckle in a short segment.

King of the Mountain Qualifier Match:-
Samoa Joe vs. ???
Joe enters the ring first and has to wait a moment before slow drumbeat and piano hits the PA system before the PA system explodes with “KILL STEEN KILL!” and this gets the crowd really riled up. This match very much an asskicking contest which goes back and forth for roughly four minutes with Kevin Steen and Samoa Joe hitting big power moves but ultimately Aces & 8s invade the ring when the referee takes a minor bump. Mike Bennett shows off an impressive feat of strength as he hits the Photo Finish (Fireman’s Carry Cutter) to Samoa Joe allowing Kevin Steen to get the three count. After the match Kevin Steen shakes hands with Bully Ray signifying him joining Aces & 8s.
Winner via pinfall at 05:49 and qualified for the King of the Mountain Match: Kevin Steen

Backstage Segment:-
Christy Hemme is backstage and she says she has managed to get an interview with Manik. Manik is holding the new TNA X-Division Championship and he talks about reaching his dream and that he spoke with both Jeff Jarrett & Tim McManus earlier and realised he didn’t need this mask and that he will be now wrestling under the name TJ Perkins but before he can complete his promo the August #1 Justice Promo interfes with the feed before cutting back to TJ Perkins and Christy Hemme when TJ Perkins is attacked from behind by Sheik Abdul Bashir who tells Hemme is he is tired of being treated differently even when he done good things and he wants justice and that TJ Perkins should give him justice by facing him at Victory Road for the X-Division Championship.

Tag Team King of the Mountain Qualifier Match:-
Bobby Roode & Austin Aries vs. Kurt Angle & Magnus
This match was explosive and didn’t have a single rest hold in it, trying to pack as much as possible into the time slot which included Bobby Roode hitting the Payoff on Magnus while getting German Suplexed by Kurt Angle. Towards the finish, Bully Ray and Kevin Steen both get themselves involved in the match both Joe and Sting could make the save allowing Bobby Roode to hit Angle with a Low-Blow and followed with the Angle Slam letting Austin Aries to land the 450 Splash to get all important three count.
Winners via Pinfall at 06:39 and qualified the King of the Mountain Match:- Austin Aries & Bobby Roode

Backstage Segment:-
AJ Styles returns to Joseph Parks office, this time Jospeh Park is coiled in the corner pointing a Sting signed baseball bat and begs AJ Styles not to hurt him and that he can be the sixth particant in the King of the Mountain Ladder Match.

Backstage Segment:-
Bobby Roode is walking through the backstage looking ready for the King of the Mountain Ladder match when James Storm bumps into him. Storm smirks and puts his hand on Roode’s shoulder and joking says “Sorry about yer damn luck tonight Bobbeh.” before walking off.

Main Event Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a Six man King of the Mountain Ladder Match:-
AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode vs. Bully Ray vs. James Storm vs. Kevin Steen
Should be interesting to note that it’s no longer a reserve ladder match but the Pinfall rules and Penalty box still apply. First thing off the bat is James Storm hits the Last Call on Bobby Roode as everyone else brawls around the ringside area to get the pinfall and eligibility to climb the ladder. Styles is next up to get the opportunity to climb to grab the championship as he managed to stop James Storm climbing the ladder and hooking the Calf-Killer while hanging upside down on the ladder. Bully Ray then manages to get the pinfall on Austin Aries after hitting Aries with Bully Bomb onto a folded up Ladder. Steen is next to get his opportunity nailing Bobby Roode with the F-Clique. Austin Aries finally gets his chance to climb the ladder after gaining the opportunity from making Bully Ray tapping out to the Horns of Chancery.

Roode barely gets any luck through the match but some sweet spots are happen including an F-Clique off the ladder by Kevin Steen to Aries, James Storm Last Calling Bully Ray through the rungs of a ladder. AJ Styles hitting the 450 Splash off the penalty box through the announcement table to Bobby Roode. Near the end of the match, Aces & 8s interject themselves into the match in a bid to help Bully Ray to climb the ladder but as both groups brawl on the outside AJ Styles leaps from in the ring off a ladder to the group on the outside with the Spiral Tap.

Leaving Aries and Storm to brawl in the ring but Storm has a beer bottle to hand and takes a gulp and spews it into the eyes of Aries blinding him. Roode takes that opportunity to hit Aries with the Payoff to get the opportunity finally, Storm is almost at the top of the ladder however. Roode rushes up the ladder grabbing the beer bottle with him and nails James Storm over the top of the head with the beer bottle before unhooking the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to steal the match.
Winner via grabbing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at 23:19: Bobby Roode

Ending Segment:-
Bobby Roode celebrates on the top of the ladder, he is absolutely ecstatic kissing the championship when a new vignette plunges the arena into darkness and the titantron lights up with an unknown male training inside an MMA cage before the titantron reveals that Dave Bautista has signed a dual contract with both Bellator and TNA! The crowd goes nuts for that announcement but the lights don’t come back on just yet instead…

Pssssssshhhhhhh…

Glass Shatters and possibly the loudest reaction in the history of Pro-Wrestling happens as Disturbed’s Glass Shatters fills into the PA system and the lights come back on to Bobby Roode looking on in disbelief to see Stone Cold Steve Austin emerging on the stage with a beer can in his hand and salutes Bobby Roode putting an end to first ever Tim McManus Impact.

====================

TNA Hall of Fame Class 2013:-
Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett, Christopher Daniels & Kurt Angle​

 

[Troy]

Really good show. Like how you brought back Awesome Kong by having her destroy three Knockouts in the ring. I am not too keen on active wretlers in the HOF but I get where you are going with them. Steen debuting against Joe is a nice touch, bit of symmetry there with Steen following a similar path to Joe. Sheik Adbul Bashir returning and going right after the X-Division champion is something I agree with, also like that TJ Perkins has dropped the mask. Quality mainevent and Roode going over is a good way to start the new era.

Crazy things happened after that mainevent. Batista as the August 1 guy makes so much more sense than what TNA did, quality addition to the roster. SCSA coming out at the end was a huge surprise, did not expect to read his name at all nice choice of GM.

Hopefully you are going to continue with this and produce some more shows. I want to see how it develops since at the moment it is still based mainly on what TNA have done, it will obviously take time to close out those programs and make it all your own.

 

[Wrestling with Shadows]

Hopefully you are going to continue with this and produce some more shows. I want to see how it develops since at the moment it is still based mainly on what TNA have done, it will obviously take time to close out those programs and make it all your own.

I'm hoping to pretty much wrap up majority of TNA Storylines by Victory Road (got 3 more shows and the iPPV to do that in, easy!)

Anyways time to have some fun in character!.

================================================

There's been a tremendous amount of buzz among TNA's wrestlers and backstage staff alongside SpikeTV. Interestingly the TNA Impact for the first hour and a quarter was a fluxating between 1.2mil and 1.5mil viewers with the Aries/Roode vs. Angle/Styles but then interesting soon into the Main Event after AJ Styles' Calf-Killer and some of the spots getting chatter over Social Media, TNA got a solid 1.9 million viewers to watch Bobby Roode win the TNA Championship.

Dave Batista's promo gathered an extra 300k of viewers putting their viewership at one of the highest at a single moment but then when Austin's debut hit, a shocking and surprising 900k viewers tuned into see a mere 3 minutes of Steve Austin, ending TNA an incredible 3.1million viewers, a record for TNA and Spike.

TNA also topped the trending for the day with Steve Austin's debut while Dave Bautista's promo was second, while on Yahoo all three were in the top ten search with Steve Austin being number one.

TNA also dominated Youtube's Sport section with Austin & Bautista's videos from TNA's official channel topping the most views and searched and surprisingly the King of the Mountain highlights for 5th on the list and AJ Styles' Spiral Tap off the ladder was 8th in the most searched under sport.​

Word from coming from TNA that Tito Ortiz was the original MMA fighter to be revealed but Tim McManus stopped that as one of his first actions with Jim Ross and they invested more money into Dave Bautista which has seemed to pay off. Austin arriving at the arena was kept incredibly quiet and arrived very discretely and the reception from the other wrestler's at the event was positive as well with many of them welcoming Austin's arrival even some saying they would rather have Austin than Hulk Hogan involved.

Tim McManus has made it clear to the writing team that need to tie up as many of the old TNA storylines by Victory Road and he doesn't want any more factions in TNA or in the spot like TNA has been doing since 2002. The general feeling among the writing staff is that they are looking at keeping Aces & 8s in some capacity as a vehicle to push Kevin Steen and Mike Bennett.

Tim McManus has invested a lot of money into getting more shows out of there with strong advertisement, from Victory Road to Bound For Glory there is now four house shows a week and a single Impact while Astrodome pre-sales for the new Bound for Glory location is apparently selling strongly as TNA announced straight after the show that both Bautista & Steve Austin will be working the event.​

In other small pieces of news, King Mo is being considered to become an enforcer for a member of the X-Division but no names are being revealed just yet but the feeling is he will be débutting at either Victory Road or No Surrender so he is present at Bound For Glory. The names which are set to debut are the John Hennigan, American Wolves, Michael Elign, Amy Dumas, Beth Carolan, Melina Perez and Matt Hardy are the only one's 100% locked.

There is plans for a lot of new talent to be slowly introduced over the next few weeks as the Bound For Glory card is pretty locked and it's a matter of getting it out there. Interesting TNA are warning that Bound for Glory will possibly end up being a Six Hour event if you include special one hour X-Plosion show which Spike will be airing prior to the Seven O'Clock kick off for Bound For Glory.​

[quote="Rumored Matches leading up and at Bound For Glory]

The big news coming from TNA Camp is that major storyline going into Bound For Glory will focus around Steve Austin and Beer Money.

All the Hall of Famers are booked for the card, interesting the Three X-Division Hall of Famers will be looking at big payoffs as they are apparently locked into title matches. It's unclear right now whether it's against each other or individual matches.

TNA are also looking into Kurt Angle facing off against one of the American Wolves in the up coming weeks to test the waters.

TNA also confirmed that Bautista will be wrestling at Bound For Glory and TNA are giving out signals that Michael Elgin, Kevin Steen or Bully Ray will be Bautista's opponent.

And finally at No Surrender the feeling is the TNA Champion and a partner of his choice will face off against the winner of Victory Road and a partner of their choice in the Main Event.

Finally Bobby Roode announced on Twitter he will be facing off against the Chikara Grand Champion Eddie Kingston on Chikara's Pilot episode on the Hub in three weeks time. the FWE Champion John Hennigan at the next House of Hardcore Show which is happening on Saturday the 10th of August and the OVW Champion Jamin Olivencia next Tuesday. While he will be at the next set of Ring of Honor tapings taking on Michael Elgin for the TNA Championship.

The feeling is with the matches against Hennigan and Michael Elgin is to see how much quality they can bring to TNA in Big Match Situations.​

[/quote]​

 

[Wrestling with Shadows]

Opening Segment:-
Bobby Roode comes out to open the show to a rapturous reception, the fans boo him out of the building as he opens his promo with a great line “I’m the World Heavyweight Champion… I’m the World Heavyweight Champion… I AM THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!†which gets the crowd riled up and going mad.

Bobby Roode then renounces the name Bobby and tells everyone they can either refer to him as Robert or the World Heavyweight Champion or Mr. Roode. Roode is building up a tremendous amount of heat in the opening promo, talking about he got the job done and how he’ll continue to get the job done because the World Heavyweight Championship is the most important thing in the world to him and he’s not going to let leave his grasp for a second time.

Roode reminds the fans that Chris Sabin is injured therefore he doesn’t have to defend his championship at Victory Road and now the fans are desperate for someone to confront Robert Roode and this time they don’t get it as Austin Aries comes out and reminds Roode he has Aries to thank for the victory last week and he’ll be collecting his debt sometime soon but like Bound For Glory because he’s going to be entering the Road to Victory tournament.

James Storm finally gate-crashes the party and Storm talks to Roode about their history and that this is the second time, Roode needed James’ own beer bottle to get the victory over him and that he is ready to challenge Roode at Victory Road if the General Manager of Impact books the match.

Joseph Park then comes out a great pop from the fans and he agrees that James Storm should be entitled to rematch or he would be permitted to sue the company for damages if he so wishes but Storm explains he has no interest in money but rather kicking Robert Roode’s ass for a second time but before Joseph Park can make the match official Bully Ray shows up and demands he gets the opportunity for one last shot at the belt he got screwed out of.

Joseph Park is forced to concede and announces that Bully Ray and James Storm will face off later tonight in a number one contenders match.

Opening Match, TNA Television Championship Match:-
Mike Bennett w/Aces & 8s vs. Magnus w/ Main Event Mafia
This match is messy but fun with plenty outside interference; Bennett dominates Magnus for the majority of the match with the help of his Aces & 8s members but Magnus manages to make a comeback after countering Mike Bennett’s attempt at the Photo Finish. Mark Johnson makes a great return to refereeing by ejecting the Aces & 8s and Main Event Mafia but during the chaos of the ejection Brutal Bob passes Mike Bennett the bullpoint hammer for Bennett to clock Magnus with for the one… two… three…
Winner via pinfall at 6:47 and new TNA Television Champion: Mike Bennett

Backstage Promo:-
Chrissy Hemme manages to interview Mickie James whose in full blown heel mode talking herself up to the be the greatest woman wrestler in history but when Hemme confronts her about the recent signings of Amy Dumas, Beth Cordan and Awesome Kong she blows them off as nothing she can handle.

Squash Match:-
Awesome Kong vs. Velvet Sky
This doesn’t last long, Velvet Sky did a half decent job selling the whole squash but really was a chance to make Awesome Kong look more dominant heading towards the TNA Knockout’s Championship. She wins the match with the Implant Buster.
Winner via pinfall at 00:27: Awesome Kong

Backstage Segment:-
Main Event Mafia lacking Magnus cut a promo in the backstage about how Aces & 8s continue to play dirty but they are up for fighting dirty themselves and while Aces & 8s out number them, that won’t stop them taking on Aces & 8s at Victory Road in anything goes war and dares Aces & 8s to step up like men and accept the challenge but Aces & 8s jump Main Event Mafia and completely beat them down but surprisingly and shockingly Jeff Jarrett shows up and smashes a guitar over Devon’s head and forces the rest of the group to clear off. The segment ends with Jarrett offering his hand to Kurt Angle which leaves Angle stunned.

X-Division Match:-
The TNA X-Division Champion, TJ Perkins vs. Joey Ryan
This was a fun spot fest match with both men pulling out some high spot moves and some good chain and counter wrestling with Joey Ryan working well as a heel and takes the time to sleeze up some girls at ringside while he’s at it but in the end his posing and showboating cost him allowing TJ Perkins to beat Ryan with surprisingly a Moonlight Drive for the vital pin count.
Winner via pinfall at 06:31: TJ Perkins

Aftermath:-
TJ Perkins takes a microphone and talks about how he’s earned this title and he’ll defend it whenever he’s challenged and accepts Sheik Abdul Bashir’s challenge and he’s going to bring his own Justice at Victory Road. Sheik Abdul Bashir then shows up and applauds TJ Perkins on the staging but reminds him he doesn’t know what Justice is but he will at Victory Road when he loses his X-Division Championship.

Backstage Segment:-
In a quick but important segment, Roode rushes into Bad Influences lockerroom and begs them to see if they can get a tag title shot for tonight and promises to make it worth their while.

Backstage Segment:-
After a commercial break, Bad Influence invade the General Managers office and threaten Joseph Park and harasses him to give them a title shot straight and in Joseph Park’s hast and panic he gives them the match forgetting James Storm has a match tonight already.

TNA Tag Team Championship Match:-
Bad Influence vs. The TNA Tag Team Champions, James Storm & Gunner
Another good TV match, this runs on a bit longer than the other matches and the match focuses on Bad Influence isolating James Storm from getting the tag and focus on beating him down and waring him out for Bully Ray but James Storm manages to make the hot tag to Gunner who clears house. The finish comes soon after where Robert Roode shows up and finds an opportunity to nail James Storm with the TNA World Heavyweight Championship allowing Kaz to hit the Fade to Black to win the TNA Tag Team Championship for the fourth time.
Winners via pinfall at 09:03 and the New World Tag Team Champions: Bad Influence, Kazarian & Christopher Daniels

Backstage Segment:
AJ Styles marches into Joseph Park’s office but this time doesn’t threat Park but let’s Park know he’ll terrorize the roster and him if he doesn’t get entered into the Road to Victory tournament, after moment of sweating it with Park. Park agrees to give AJ Styles the shot.

Main Event, Number One Contendership for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship:-
James Storm w/ Gunner vs. Bully Ray w/Aces & 8s & Robert Roode
This match was fantastically told and booked and focused on the fact James Storm has already taken some heavy moves to the head such as the Fade to Black and how it’s affecting him in this match and basically Bully Ray dominates the match throughout but James Storm refuses to lay down for him but towards the end of the match, Aces & 8s and Bully Ray get distracted by Sting, Jeff Jarrett & Kurt Angle taunting them from the staging allowing a wounded James Storm to roll up Bully Ray for the win.
Winner via Pinfall at 09:31: James Storm

Aftermath:-
Aces & 8s alongside Bully Ray flip out and give chase to Main Event Mafia into the backstage while Robert Roode invades the ring again and this time nails Gunner in the back of the head as a bloodied and battered James Storm picks himself up and gets nose to nose with Robert Roode and when people think the shows coming to an end glass shatters and Steve Austin arrives.

Steve Austin makes it into the ring and gets into a triple threat staredown with Roode and Storm but Austin has a microphone and in his jean pocket and proceeds to cut a promo which gets the fans involved yelling “What!?†as Steve Austin begins to unveil that he was hired for numerous reasons and he’s been asked if he can officiate the match between James Storm & Robert Roode at Victory Road because it’s going to be a No Holds Barred brawl between the two of them for the TNA Championship to close the show.

--------------------------

Confirmed matches for TNA iPPV Victory Road:-

TNA Championship Match, No Holds Barred Match:-
TNA Champion Robert Roode vs. James Storm
(Special Guest Referee: Steve Austin)

TNA X-Division Championship Match:-
TNA X-Division Champion TJ Perkins vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir

Road for Victory Entrants Announced:-
AJ Styles, Austin Aries
​

 

[Troy]

Really fun read again. Like the direction you are going with this and I really liked what you did with Storm tonight. Had him double booked so it looked like all was against him, loses the tag team titles but then wins a shot at the World title. Really well played. I like Roode's, or should I say Mr Roode's , opening promo good way to set things up. Good use of Austin as special guest referee for the No Holds Barred match, perfect role for him. Nice way to bring JJ back as well, helping out MEM and attacking Aces & 8's.

Like the two matches announced for Victory Road so far.

 

[SBS]

Very well put together show. I cannot wait till after Victory Road when you can start going in your own direction as I would love to see what you can do once Aces & 8's are gone lol. I like Bully Ray, but James Storm vs. Bobby Roode is quite possibly the best idea out there, and to make it for the World Title is fantastic. I'm not sure who I would want to win as I love them both, I'm leaning Storm simply because he should have been the Champion longer than 2 weeks. As for Stone Cold, perfect position for him, hopefully he will be used better than Mick Foley. lol. Jeff Jarrett, Sting, and Kurt Angle together!!! Yes please! Love that. Very good show my friend keep up the good work.

 

[Wrestling with Shadows]

A few interesting notes from this week's Impact, TNA secured a 2.3 in the ratings while Austin's segment was the highest rated segment drawing the close of Impact to a safe 2.9.

The reason for the lack of Dave Bautista Promo was because Tim McManus doesn't bring on the overkill but the feeling is another promo will be aired once an official début date is set.

The lack of Jeff Hardy is becoming more apparent and the word is backstage there is a contract despite due Jeff Hardy being uncooperative in working out a new contract.​

TNA decided to drop the Hardcore Justice gimmick but they have worked a surprise deal with SpikeTV to bring a 3-Hour Impact in replacement of the big pay off show and the card is stacked with the quarter-finals of Road for Victory Tournament.

Quarter Finals of the Road for Victory Tournament:
??? vs. Kurt Angle
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley
Magnus vs. Kevin Steen

Also

The TNA Tag Team Championship will be unified with the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship
TNA Tag Team Champions Bad Influence (Kazarian & Christopher Daniels) vs. TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Eric Young & ODB

Number One Contendership for the TNA Knockouts Championship
Awesome Kong vs. Tara vs. Gail Kim

TNA Champion Robert Roode has promised he'll be confronting Steve Austin.​

.

 

[Wrestling with Shadows]

TNA Live Special 3-Hour Edition of Impact, 15th of August 2013

Opening Segment:-
The fans are at a fever pitch for the opening segment as Steve Austin makes his grand entrance to a huge obvation from the fans. Austin cuts a pretty good promo to open the show talking about he got bored of sitting on ass watching Hulk Hogan and bad management run down a show and he felt like he could make some better use of his time by whoopin’ ass in TNA and that for one night only he is going to be the colour commentator with Jeremy Borash as Mike Tenay cannot be at the event,

That’s when Roode shows up and makes his presence known, showing up in his suit and tie the complete opposite to Austin. Roode reminds Austin he might have been big in the 90s but he is no longer the IT factor of professional wrestling but Roode is. Roode then threats Austin about screwing Roode at Victory Road, he will make Austin’s live hell.

Austin blows it off like it’s nothing and tells Roode he’ll do what he wants when he wants because that’s the bottom line but Austin can’t finish his catchphrase due to James Storm showing up. Storm tells Austin he doesn’t need Austin help but he also thinks it’s good to have a fellow redneck in TNA but Austin has no interest in what Storm has to say either.

Roode and Storm ultimately come to blows with the fans wanting Austin to get involved but instead Austin rolls out of the ring and joins Jeremy Borash on the commentary table and explains he’s not going to get himself invested in the match yet.

Roode ultimately gets out of the ring clutching to his TNA World Heavyweight Championship and escapes up the entrance ramp out of the arena leaving Storm standing in the middle of the ring with his hands on hips.

Road to Victory Quarter-Final Match:-
Samoa Joe vs. ???
Jeremy Borash explains before the match that Kurt Angle had checked himself into rehab leaving to a small change in line-up tonight’s card and Samoa Joe would be facing a mystery opponent which revealed to be Jim Cornette’s new tag team The American Wolves member Davey Richards.

Joe and Richards kick off the 3-Hour edition of Impact with a fantastic technical bout which had plenty chain wrestling to get the match underway with Richards and Joe counter each other’s moves with Joe selling the fact he doesn’t know much about Davey Richards offenses and keeps getting caught off guard by Richards’ moveset.

There was a good strength of submission holds during the middle of the match with Davey Richards working on the ankle and right leg of Samoa Joe while Joe tried to focus on Davey Richards back with both men not getting a huge advantage on the other.

The finish comes after Davey Richards managed to kick out of the ChimeraPlex forcing Joe to attempt to go for the Muscle Buster on his bad ankle which gives away on him allowing Jim Cornette to hand Davey Richards a pair of brass knuckles so when Joe goes for the second attempt on the Muscle Buster; Richards nails him with the Brass Knuckles before finishing Joe off with a Shooting Star Press for an impressive three count.
Winner via pinfall at 16:32: Davey Richards

Backstage Segment:-
Aces & 8s are in their cubby hole drinking beers and joking around as a group saying how with Angle being an addict, Main Event Mafia is easy pickings and how they managed to bully Joseph Park into giving Bully Ray yet another opportunity at getting a shot at the TNA in the Road To Victory Tournament. Steen reminds Bully he’s also got a shot tonight against Magnus and that Aces & 8s should look out for each other and come Victory Road then may the best man win but they have business tonight. The entire Aces & 8s group leave as a unit together.

Road to Victory Quarter Finals Match:-
AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray w/Aces & 8s
Aces & 8s come out first and all stand in the ring trying to intimidate AJ Styles who enters solo but AJ Styles doesn’t flinch doing his signature pose before climbing into the ring and squares up to Bully Ray regardless of him being surrounded by Aces & 8s.

This match for fast pace and filled with tons of action and a distinct lack of rest holds or slow paced moments with the whole story revolving around Aces & 8s taking every single opportunity to gang on AJ Styles but Styles refuses to stay down and keeps managing to get back on the offense or take out a member of Aces & 8s with a high impact flashy move.

The referee takes a bump about 7 minutes into the match leading to the whole group of Aces & 8s to get involved and the entire gang begins to beat down on AJ Styles but Sting, Samoa Joe (noticeably with a plaster over his forehead) and Magnus try to save the day but the number’s game catches up with the Main Event Mafia till Jeff Jarrett comes in and levels the score once again with a few acoustic guitars but AJ Styles has no interest in help from either side and hits the Péle to Jarrett taking him out before hitting a downed Bully Ray with the Spiral Tap to proceed through to the Semi-Finals.
Winner via pinfall at 09:01: AJ Styles

Aftermath Segment:-
AJ Styles walks out from the wreckage and off to the backstage while the Main Event Mafia and Aces & & 8s regroup themselves and go back to warring with each other till Joseph Park Esq and Tim McManus show up.

Joseph Park Esq stays oddly quiet while Tim McManus lays down the law and tells Aces & 8s and Main Event Mafia if they lay a hand on each other outside of official matches then they will be suspended for a year without pay and to make sure none of this continues the Magnus versus Kevin Steen match now will be a Steel Cage match and at Victory Road Aces & 8s will go to war one final time and that will be the end of it but Main Event Mafia will need to hurry up and find a tag team partner to replace Kurt Angle.

Backstage Promo:-
Sheik Abdul Bashir cuts a promo on the TNA X-Division and the mentality of America and his treatment even though he is an American citizen but promises at Victory Road everyone will learn what he is truly capable of and justice will be delivered.

Number One Contendership for the TNA Knockouts Championship:-
Awesome Kong vs. Tara vs. Gail Kim
This knockouts match is what TNA has been missing out, the exchanges between all three Knockouts were strong and creative with plenty of focus on Tara and Gail Kim trying to beat down on Awesome Kong but she manages to power out of it constantly. The finish comes when Gail Kim turns on Tara but it backfires on Kim and she gets nailed with the Widow’s Peak leading to Tara getting a close two count with Awesome Kong breaking up the attempt with an Awesome Splash to pin Gail Kim.
Winner via pinfall at 06:59: Awesome Kong

Aftermath:-
Mickie James shows up on the titantron clapping Awesome Kong but reminds her she isn’t the TNA Knockouts Champion nor will she be before blowing a kiss to Awesome Kong but Kong responds with a cut-throat taunt signalifing the end is near for Mickie James.

Backstage Segment:-
In another great backstage segment involving Joseph Park Esq, Tim McManus gives Joseph Park a pet talk and lets him know he supports Park all the way but he’s got to take this roster by the balls and start stamping his authority and not let the roster push him around but he believes Park can do it if he just has the confidence in himself and is prepared to unleash the beast inside.

TNA Tag team and Knockouts Tag Team Unification Match:-
The TNA Tag Team Champions, Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels & Kazarian) vs. The TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Eric Young & ODB
This match was surprisingly good with Bad Influence seemingly a bit intimidated by ODB and focused on isolating Eric Young from his counter with the two heels focusing on an interesting high-impact offense to waredown Eric Young but Eric Young manages to make a comeback and tags in ODB.

ODB gets a hot tag and seriously good reaction from the fans, Kaz & Daniels sell it extremely well as ODB throws Kaz & Daniels around like rag dolls for a while and seemingly gets the advantage but during the numbers and chaos, Daniels manages to throw Appletini into the face of ODB allowing Kaz to hit the Fade to Black to ODB to get the victory.
Winners at 04:41 and the Unified Tag Team Champions: Bad Influence

Aftermath Segment:-
Eric Young freaks out afterwards and attacks both Kaz and Daniels beating down on the two of them but Kaz and Daniels get the advantage and floor Eric Young with a dual belt shot which finally leads to Joseph Park Esq showing up and warns Kaz & Daniels they have crossed the line and Eric Young will get a shot at the TNA Tag Team Championship at Bound For Glory with a partner of his choice.

Kaz and Daniels do a Scott Hall & Kevin Nash with their mocking of Joseph Park’s threats till Eric Young speaks up himself and tells Bad Influence to turn around and to their surprise Michael Elgin is standing there. Elgin delivers a double clothesline to both men before powerbombing Kaz onto Daniels and leaves both men in a heap while helping Eric Young back to his feet.

Backstage Segment:-
Inside the Main Event Mafia’s locker room, the four them are deliberating over what to do because if Magnus wins then they are outnumbered going into the match against Aces & 8s but Jeff Jarrett tell Sting to cross that bridge when cross it but he’s got a few ideas in mind for who could be their partner but he stops midway through his sentence as oddly enough another Batiusta hype promo comes onto the television and this time a date is set… Sunday the 25th of August, Victory Road Batiusta will début! The Main Event Mafia smirk and nod their heads and are seemingly agree on a backup for Kurt Angle.

Road to Victory Quarter Finals Match:-
Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley
Alex Shelley is good shape for the match as him and Austin Aries have a typical fast pace, high impact X-Division Showcase-esque match with Austin Aries and Shelley also trading technical moves. Alex Shelley almost has the match won with a Shell Shock STO but Aries manages to kick out. Shelley manages to counter the Brain Buster but Aries manages to roll up Alex Shelley and grabbing a fist full of tights and the ring ropes, Austin Aries manages to seal his victory and proceeds to the Semi-Finals of the Road to Victory tournament.
Winner via pinfall at 07:43: Austin Aries

Road to Victory Quarter Finals, Steel Cage Match:-
Magnus vs. Kevin Steen
This match was exciting and bloody with Steen and Magnus both busting themselves open in the first five minutes of the match the hard way by being thrown against the steel meshing of the cage. Kevin Steen spent the majority of the match dominating Magnus and using the steel cage to his advantage including ripping off a part of the meshing to slice across the head of Magnus.

Magnus manages to keep himself in the match and kicks out of a few spots before finally getting himself back into the match by countering Steen’s Irish Whip to send Steen to the cage before hitting Steen with the Mag-Daddy driver but Steen kicks out.

Surprisingly Magnus kicks out of the F-Clinq which involved Magnus being slammed into the side of the Steel Meshing of the Cage. Kevin Steen seems frustrated by this and decided to scale the cage and almost manages to get to the top of the cage when Magnus manages to scale the cage himself and manages to knock Kevin Steen off the cage to the canvas below.

Magnus sits on the edge of the cage which has the fans going nuts and leads to Magnus leaping off the cage to hit the Diving Elbow Drop to Kevin Steen for the huge victorious three count.
Winner via pinfall at 19:31: Magnus

---------------------------------------

Confirmed matches for TNA iPPV Victory Road:-

TNA Championship Match, No Holds Barred Match:-
TNA Champion Robert Roode vs. James Storm
(Special Guest Referee: Steve Austin)

TNA Knockouts Championship Match:-
TNA Knockouts Champion Mickie James vs. Awesome Kong

TNA X-Division Championship Match:-
TNA X-Division Champion TJ Perkins vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir

TNA Tag Team Championship Match:-
TNA Tag Team Champions Bad Influence (Kaz & Christopher Daniels) vs. Michael Elgin & Eric Young

Road for Victory Semi-Finals:-
AJ Styles vs. Davey Richards
Magnus vs. Austin Aries

Eight Man Warfare:-
Aces & 8s (Bully Ray, Devon, Kevin Steen & TNA Television Champion Mike Bennett) vs. Main Event Mafia (Jeff Jarrett, Sting & Samoa Joe) & ???

Plus Dave Batiusta makes his TNA début!​

 

[Troy]

Quality show. Didn't expect Davey Richards to go over Joe in the opening match but I like the way it happened with the brass knucks. Gets The American Wolves over right away and shows that they will go to any length to get the win. Like how the Road the Victory Semi-Finals are shaping up I think that AJ will definitely go over Richards the other one I really don't know 50/50 match in my mind.

Little odd to see the title unification match but it is a fun way to get rid of the KOs tag team titles. Wonder who you will pick for Eric Young's tag team partner at BFG, good to see him back as a regular wrestler rather than in silly mixed tags all the time. My guess is Petey Williams.

Victory Road card is strong, should be a good show.