11/25/11 TNA Impact Recap (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner)
Footage of last week’s match between Ric Flair and Matt Morgan, which also includes Douglas Williams turn on Fortune, kicks off Impact. When then see Immortal hanging out in the back having a Thanksgiving feast where Eric Bischoff says he is proud to be with this group and that they all have plenty to be thankful for. They then toast each other before Bischoff points out an empty seat and he tells everyone that Dixie Carter will be joining them so he can make some sort of amends. Hulk Hogan goes off and says that’s not something that he can just spring on everyone.
The Impact intro then hits on this special Thanksgiving edition, where Matt Morgan kicks things off by coming down to the ring. Morgan says he has beaten Fortune over the past two weeks to get his rematch against Jeff Hardy at Final Resolution. Morgan goes on to say that by beating Ric Flair last week, he earned the opportunity to name his own special guest referee so the same thing won’t happen to him that happened at Turning Point. Morgan says he knows it will never be a fair fight, so he needs someone that will stand up and call it straight down the middle as Douglas Williams’ music kicks off and he comes down to the ring.
Williams comes out and says that he needs to look no further for a referee before running down each member of Fortune and says that he can be trusted to do the right thing. Morgan says he is definitely in the running and tells him that when he makes his decision, Williams will be the first person to know.
Fortune’s music then interrupts as they come out to the stage. Ric Flair says last week wasn’t his best week, but it opened his eyes. Flair begins to get all worked up before Kazarian steps in and tells Morgan and Williams to find a couple of partners so they can have a good old fashioned 8-man tag match. Kazarian runs down their game plan about how they are going to take out Morgan before they retreat back to their Thanksgiving feast.
A video package of the past few months are aired with EV2 and how they were systematically taken out. This ends with Rhino turning on his friends and Tommy Dreamer will be taking on Rhino in a final street fight and that will be up next.
We see Fortune in the back and they are getting a pep talk from Ric Flair about taking out Matt Morgan. Kazarian then says they can’t eat anything tonight because it is too carb heavy before they Ice Flair one more time. Bischoff then quiets everyone down and says that Dixie Carter is in Orlando and she is on her way.
Match 1: Rhino vs. Tommy Dreamer (The Last Street Fight)
The match starts and Dreamer sends Rhino out to the floor before grabbing a table from under the ring. Rhino begins to fight back and suplexes him onto the entrance ramp and starts to toss weapons into the ring. Rhino then cracks Dreamer in the head with a trash can, which busts him open, and slides Dreamer back into the ring. Rhino hits him a few times with a kendo stick before sending Dreamer into a trash can that is set up in the corner. Rhino then charges at him but Dreamer moves and Rhino nails the garbage can. Dreamer takes control of the match for a moment, but Rhino puts an end to it with a belly-to-belly suplex. Rhino then goes for a Gore but Dreamer is able to get up and nail Rhino with a cookie sheet to the head and picks up the pin fall victory.
After the match, Dreamer says that this is what EV2 was all about and how he went out with a fight. Dreamer then says their friendship is over and talks about how they do what they do for each and every fan. Rhino then gets up and the two share an embrace before Rhino picks up Dreamer and sends him crashing through a table. RVD’s music then hits as he comes into the ring with a chair but Rhino quickly exits. RVD then says he sold out and says it’s for his family, but wonders how they will feel after he busts him up at Final Resolution in a First Blood match.
Matt Morgan and Douglas Williams is seen talking to Samoa Joe in the back and Morgan says someone needs to take charge against Immortal and how they need to band together. Joe says there is no ‘we’ , to which Douglas Williams calls him a madman. Joe says they don’t have any idea what he is and says they will see him out there tonight. Morgan then says that he is their madman tonight.
Ric Flair joins the Beautiful People and invites them to their Thanksgiving party. Mickie James steps in for a moment before Tara and Madison Raune step in and Tara and Mickie go at it. The Beautiful People then go after Madison as they all fight around the catering area. During the melee, Mickie accidentally nails Angelina with a back elbow as Tara drags Mickie away and sends her into a pickup truck. The two then continue to go at it in the parking lot as Sarita joins in on the fight and nails Madison and stomps on Angelina. Winter then appears and saves Angelina and says that she’s with her now. Winter then goes to Angelina’s aid as we head into a commercial break.
We join the Thanksgiving feast once again where Eric Bischoff says there is one person in particular that is responsible for bringing them all together and it is time to give thanks to that person as he introduces Jeff Hardy. Hardy comes out and says he has nobody to thank but himself and says he is larger than life himself but says that he will eat and joins Immortal at the table.
We join Mike Tenay and Taz at the announce table who hype Dixie Carter’s return and last week’s ReAction where the Motorcity Machine Guns and Generation Me fought in an empty arena brawl. Footage of the fight is aired where the Guns were able to walk out from it all. The Guns are shown and talk about how great it was to do that and that at Final Resolution they will be taking on GenMe in a Full Metal Mayhem match. Madison Rayne then runs up to them and asks if they have seen Sarita but they haven’t seen her as she runs off.
Matt Morgan and Douglas Williams are seen talking with D’Angelo Dinero and they say they have a common enemy in Immortal and try to recruit him for the 8-man tag match. The Pope asks if Joe is the third member and says he can’t trust Joe and wonders if he can trust both of them. The Pope wishes them the best and begins to walk away before Morgan stops him and says he can’t beat them all by himself as the deck is stacked against him and the Pope reconsiders and says he will see them out there.
Madison Rayne is seen walking out of the tunnel and is dragging Earl Hebner with her. Madison then calls out Sarita and asks how she thinks she can put her hands on her. Madison calls her out to the ring so she can be taught a lesson. Sarita comes out to the ring and we have an impromptu match with this two Knockouts wrestling in street clothes.
Match 2: Madison Rayne vs. Sarita
The two go at it and Sarita scores a couple of near falls on the Knockouts Champion until Madison takes her down with a clothesline. Madison continues to work Sarita over and scores a couple of near falls until Sarita turns things around with a flashy top rope arm drag and a back body drop as Madison retreats to the floor. Sarita tries to go after her by flying over the ropes but Madison dodges it and Sarita ends up hitting the floor. Madison then begins to take her time working over Sarita until Sarita rolls her up for the surprise pin fall. After the match, Madison can’t believe what just happened and yells at Earl Hebner for her losing the match.
We join Immortal in the back where Jeff Jarrett says he wants to give back to everyone in the room and tells him that he has a special DVD to show everyone. The rest of Immortal say what they are thankful for before Jarrett personally thanks Eric Bischoff for not inviting Samoa Joe as he would eat all of the food. We are then shown Jarrett’s DVD where he is with a youth karate class and wants to teach them some submission moves. A kid says Kurt Angle created the ankle lock submission but Jarrett tells him that Ken Shamrock made it famous and he has perfected it as Jarrett then makes a couple of kids tap out.
We then see Jesse Neal walking in the back and laughs at Jeff Jarrett calling himself an MMA expert. Neal says Jarrett hasn’t been through half of the stuff that he went through in the Navy and says he will learn what Neal is all about tonight.
Match 3: Jesse Neal vs. Jeff Jarrett (Submission Match)
Jarrett and Neal feel each other out for the first few moments of the match until Jarrett puts Neal in an armbar but Neal is able to get to the ropes. Jarrett then again takes Neal down and he puts him in an ankle lock but Neal again gets to the ropes. Jarrett then nails Neal with a few blows to the body and head but Neal begins to mount a comeback and charges at Jarrett but Jarrett pulls the referee in the way and Neal connects with Brian Hebner. Jarrett then goes out to the floor and pulls out a guitar and smashes it over Neal’s head before putting him in the rear naked choke. The referee finally comes to and calls for the bell as Neal is out. After the match, Shannon Moore comes out and chases Jarrett out of the ring and tends to his partner.
We see a recap of what happened between Team 3D and Brother Ray will be up next where he promises to have a special holiday treat after the commercial break.
Brother Ray is in the ring and says that word is going around that people are upset with what he did to Brother Devon. Ray says Devon deserved it and had it coming to him as he was the weaker of the two. He said if it wasn’t for him, he could have retired a champion, but Devon lost the match because he was weak. Ray then says he put a video package together to show everyone how weak he is and how he was always the leader of Team 3D.
We then see the video package that shows Devon being beaten down by several tag teams over the years and Ray calls him an embarrassment. He then shows another video package where he is beating down opponents and holding championships. Ray then says if Devon has the balls he will meet him face-to-face in the ring next week and says if it wasn’t for him, Devon’s 15 years of fame would have been nothing more than 15 minutes.
A limo is arriving at the Impact Zone and we see Dixie Carter getting out of it and walking towards the Impact Zone as we head into a commercial break.
We join Immortal and their feast where Eric Bischoff says Dixie Carter has arrived and will be here shortly. Hulk Hogan ends everything by saying he won’t be responsible for what happens when she walks into the room.
Match 4: Douglas Williams/D’Angelo Dinero/Samoa Joe/Matt Morgan vs. Fortune (8-Man Tag Elimination Match)
AJ Styles and D’Angelo Dinero start this match out and the Pope quickly takes down Styles and picks up a one count on Styles. Styles then brings the Pope into his corner as Fortune pound on him to gain the advantage. James Storm is tagged in and the Pope quickly rolls up Storm for a three count to eliminate Storm from the match and we head into a commercial break.
We return to the match to see the Pope being worked over by Styles and Kazarian. Styles misses with a splash in the corner and the Pope is able to tag in Morgan into the match. Styles tags in Kazarian and Morgan tags in Samoa Joe to go up against Kazarian. Joe explodes in the ring and takes out the remaining three members of Fortune as the crowd begins a loud “Joe!” chant. Douglas Williams is tagged in and loses control of the match as Joe and the Pope are seen arguing in their corner. Back to the action, Williams hits the Rolling Chaos on Kazarian and picks up the pin fall to eliminate Kazarian.
Styles come into the match and regains control of the match for his team as Styles and Roode take turns wearing down Williams in the ring. Roode hits Williams with a knee drop from the middle rope but only earns a two count. Williams then comes back with a European uppercut and walks over to his corner as both the Pope and Joe make the blind tag. Both of them enter the ring at the same time and it soon becomes to blows between the two as they fight their way to the back.
Williams is once again in the ring against Roode as Roode finally hits Williams with a AA spinebuster and eliminates Williams from the match. Matt Morgan is the final man for his team as Joe and the Pope have eliminated themselves from the match. Roode and Styles then work over Morgan in the ring as this match continues on ReAction. Styles nails Morgan with a Pele kick and tries for a springboard but Morgan rolls out of the way and Styles catches nothing but canvas.
Roode comes in but Morgan is able to take him down with a side slam but Styles breaks up the pin attempt. Roode and Styles continue to work over Morgan but Morgan is able to sends Styles out to the floor and nails Roode with a discus clothesline before setting up for a Carbon Footprint but Jeff Hardy comes out and nails Morgan with a low blow before hitting the referee with a Twist of Hate. Hardy then continues working over Morgan as Styles and Roode join in. Hardy then poses with the championship along with Roode and Styles as this match ends without any conclusion.
Dixie Carter joins Immortal for Thanksgiving dinner and Eric Bischoff says that they are all glad that she is here. Bischoff thanks her for what she started and says it is a chance for a new beginning. Bischoff says she can go back to Nashville and stock the paperclips and go on Twitter while they take care of business. Dixie then hands over a piece of paper and says that her attorneys and the board of directors have agreed with her in making some unwanted talent signings. Dixie says that until things are resolved, he is no longer in control of things. Dixie then wishes them a great holiday and says she will see them in court. Bischoff and Hogan think that it isn’t fair and that this is trouble for them.
Quick Results
– Tommy Dreamer defeated Rhino by pin fall in a Last Street Fight.
– Sarita defeated Madison Rayne by pin fall in an impromptu non-title match.
– Jeff Jarrett defeated Jesse Neal in a submission match.
– Douglas Williams/D’Angelo Dinero/Samoa Joe/Matt Morgan against Fortune in an 8-Man Tag Elimination Match ended in a no contest.
