4/12/12 Impact Wrestling Recap
Video footage of Hulk Hogan taking over as Impact Wrestling general manager and using his power to reverse the outcome of last week’s main event between Bobby Roode and Mr. Anderson is aired. Hogan’s Lethal Lockdown announcement is also touched upon before we head to the Impact Zone where Eric Bischoff’s music kicks off.
Bischoff grabs a microphone and says he has business to take care of. Bischoff says his name is going to live on long forever and he will be a legacy in this business. He says he has assembled a team of top talent for Letal Lockdown and brings out Bully Ray, Gunner, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. Ray takes the microphone and says he is proud to go to war for him, but says he made one mistake, and that is his bastard son, Garett Bischoff.
Bischoff says he knows what the stakes are at Lockdown and Hulk Hogan decided to have a best of three series tonight to see who gets the man advantage. Bischoff says he knows Gunner is ready to take down anybody his punk kid can bring to the table. Garett Bischoff’s music hits and he steps out on the stage and says he has his team all lined up and they are ready to get their hands on all of them. One of those guys is ready to go now and out comes Mr. Anderson as we head into a commercial break.
Match 1: Gunner vs. Mr. Anderson (Match 1 – Best of Three Lethal Lockdown Advantage)
We join the match in progress to see Anderson stomping down on Gunner. Gunner is able to counter and sends Anderson into the turnbuckle to take control of the match. The fight goes out to the floor where Gunner continues on the attack but Anderson is able to shove Gunner into the ring post. Anderson the sends Gunner into the railing a couple of times before they return to the ring.
Anderson takes Gunner down with a clothesline and hits a series of elbow drops but Gunner is able to stop Anderson’s momentum with a poke to the eye. Gunner follows with a series of strikes and a headbutt and tries for a roll up while holding the tights, but Anderson kicks out. Anderson then begins to fight back and sends Gunner through the ropes and into the ring post a couple of times and Anderson begins to choke out Gunner with his boot. The referee tries to get Anderson to break the hold but he refuses and the referee calls for the bell, awarding the match to Gunner.
The announce team hype the wedding between Eric Young and ODB inside a steel cage and a final showdown between Bobby Roode and James Storm before we head into a commercial break.
Eric Young is in the locker room wearing a powder blue tuxedo and getting ready for his wedding. Joseph Park walks in and asks if he has thought about a prenup before asking if he knows anything about what happened to Abyss. Park tells EY to think real hard and he tells him that the last he knew he was messed up with the Immortal group.
The Motorcity Machine Guns are in the ring and Chris Sabin says it’s not the size of the man that matters, but the size of his heart. He says injuries have plagued them, but it’s now in the past and they are now looking towards the future. Shelley steps in and says they have been teaming together for six years, while the tag team champs of Samoa Joe and Magnus have been together for six months. They have beaten the likes of Beer Money, Team 3D and have wrestled around the world. They warn Joe and Magnus that they are not taking on Curry Man and Shark Boy, but one of the best tag teams in the world at Lockdown.
Samoa Joe and Magnus come out to the ring as Magnus says they are an impressive tag team and says he respects them from coming back from injury. He goes on to say, though, that it’s not about the best team ever, but who is the best team today, and that is the two of them. Magnus then hypes the match at Lockdown and says that the Motorcity Machine Guns look ready to compete, and says the two of them are always ready, so they can go right now.
Before anything can happen, though, they are interrupted by Mexican America. Anarquia says they were the tag team champs for six months but they are being left out of the picture. They try to jump in but Magnus and Joe make quick work of Hernandez while the Machine Guns quickly take out Anarquia. The two teams then stare each other down as the announce team hypes the next Lethal Lockdown advantage match between Christopher Daniels against a mystery opponent as we head into a commercial break.
Match 2: Christopher Daniels vs. Austin Aries (Match 2 – Best of Three Lethal Lockdown Advantage)
The announce team puts over the stakes of this match and how Aries needs to win to send the series to a deciding third match. The bell sounds and Daniels and Aries go back and forth in the opening minutes. Daniels finally gains the advantage and goes for a cover after hitting a suplex. Daniels then dumps Aries out to the floor and goes for a moonsault, but Aries is able to get out of the way and takes Daniels out with a suicide dive through the ropes.
The match returns to the ring and Aries clocks Daniels with a left before hitting an elbow drop for a near fall. The fans start a “this is wrestling!” chant as the two try to roll each other up with a handful of tights but the referee catches them both in the act. Aries is able to come back with a missile dropkick and follows with a corner dropkick. Aries then hits Daniels with a brainbuster to pick up the pin fall and even the series at a win apiece.
A steel cage is being set up around the ring as Jeff Hardy’s music hits. Hardy comes out to the ring and says everything between he and Kurt Angle started when he screwed him out of a title and it will all end on Sunday inside a steel cage. Hardy says they will make history on Sunday and they will hurt each other. Hardy then puts down the microphone and leaves the ring.
Footage from last Thursday is aired where James Storm is irate over what Bobby Roode did to his friends and says he is tired of his crap. The group Montgomery Gentry steps in and they want to get into the cage after Storm is through with Roode on Sunday.
Eric Young is in the locker room where he is approached by Sarita and Rosita wearing lingerie. The two warn EY about marriage but EY says he is getting married tonight and runs off as we head into a commercial break.
The steel cage has been set up, the red carpet is rolled out and the wedding of Eric Young and ODB is about to take place. Eric Young comes down to the ring while Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” is being played. The traditional bridal march is then played but the bride does not appear. ODB’s music hits and she comes out to her own music and is decked out in a camouflage dress. The cage door is then locked as EY gets a worried look on his face.
The wedding then gets started as the pastor talks about the symbolic steel cage the ceremony is taking place in. A video is aired that recaps their courtship before the two share their vows. EY promises to be with her forever, even when she farts. He also vows to be her tag partner in wrestling and in life forever. ODB promises not to take his last name, but to take his ring music. She also promises to give him a buffet of bam whenever he wants.
The wedding is then broken up by Sarita and Rosita as they come out and object to the wedding. Sarita asks EY if he’d rather spend the rest of his life with the beast in the ring or the best Knockout tag team of all time. Rosita and Sarita disrobe and strut around in lingerie as ODB begins to tear up. ODB says she knows she doesn’t have with they have as she takes off her wedding dress and strips down to her bra and panties and asks EY what he is going to choose.
EY grabs ODB’s hands and says she is perfect for him and to make the wedding perfect, he begins to take his clothes off and strips down to a pair of camouflage underwear. ODB and EY then get the pastor to disrobe as the crowd starts a “take it off!” chant. The happy couple then exchange rings as the crowd begins a Daniel Bryan type “Yes! Yes! Yes!” chant. ODB then takes EY down for a kiss as the wedding concludes.
Ric Flair is backstage with Bully Ray and gives him a pep talk about how their team needs a win. Flair says Hulkamania starts to fall tonight as the rest of the team give their encouragement. Bully Ray will take on a mystery opponent next in the finals of the best of three series.
Bobby Roode is in the parking lot with his security and says he has no problem meeting James Storm face to face tonight. Roode says it’s personal and he has no problem with personal.
Match 3: Bully Ray vs. AJ Styles (Match 3 – Best of Three Lethal Lockdown Advantage)
Both teams surround the ring for this important match that decides who gets the advantage at Lethal Lockdown. Ray and Styles lock up and exchange blows to get things started in this match. Ray is able to gain the advantage with a hard back body drop but Styles quickly comes back with a dropkick. Styles tries to clothesline Ray out to the floor but Ray doesn’t budge and he boots Styles in the face and knocks him out of the ring.
Both teams gather around Styles before Ray brings him back into the ring the hard way. Ray then locks Styles in a bear hug and follows with a back drop. Ray goes for a splash but Styles is able to roll out of the way as Ray hits the canvas. Both Styles and Ray get to their feet and exchange blows with Styles finally taking Ray down with a clothesline. Styles sets up for a tornado DDT but Ray counters with a Samoan drop for a near fall. Ray heads to the middle rope but Styles counters and takes Ray down with a hurricanrana for another near fall.
Styles is then tripped up by Kazarian as both teams begin to brawl around the ringside area. Back in the ring, Styles connects with a Pele kick and covers Ray but the referee is distracted by the action outside of the ring. Styles gets into the brawl on the outside as Ray grabs his chain and wraps it around his fist. Styles then tries for a springboard on Ray and Ray nails him with the chain. Ray covers Styles and picks up the pin fall to win the man advantage for his team at Lethal Lockdown.
After the match, Hulk Hogan’s music hits as he comes out clapping his hands. Hogan congratulates Eric Bischoff on his victory and knows how he won the match. Hogan then says instead of four on four at Lethal Lockdown, it’s going to be five on five and they have three minutes to decide who the new member will be as we head into a commercial break.
We return to hear Eric Bischoff’s decision and says that he will be the fifth man as he knows all four others can take them out. Hogan says he is taking the GM role seriously and will not be on Garett’s team, but says he gave Garett a heads up about looking for a fifth man earlier in the week. Garett then begins to do the RVD thumbs as RVD’s music hits. RVD comes out as Team Garett smiles and Team Eric looks to be a little worried.
A video package highlighting the history between Bobby Roode and James Storm. Roode says he carried Storm during their tag team run and made him into who Storm is today. Roode says the beer bottle smashed over Storm’s head is nothing compared to what he will do to Storm at Lockdown. Storm says they had a friendship for four years and it all ended with one beer bottle. On Sunday, all of the bulls**t stops.
The announce team runs down and hypes the Lockdown card before we head into the next contest of the night.
Match 4: Madison Rayne & Gail Kim vs. Mickie James & Velvet Sky
The match starts and Madison quickly takes Mickie down with a boot to the face and goes for a cover for a near fall. Gail is tagged in and Mickie manages to take her down and tag Velvet into the match as Gail quickly runs over and tags Madison back into the match. Velvet and Mickie take turns working over Madison but the referee becomes distracted as Gail comes in and takes Mickie down to turn the tide of the match.
Madison and Gail begin working together to wear down Mickie with quick tags in and out of the ring and pick up a few near falls in the process. Their double team doesn’t work, however, and Mickie makes the hot tag to Velvet, who comes in and takes Gail down with a series of clotheslines. Velvet takes Gail down with a faceplant and goes for a pin but Madison breaks it up. Velvet takes Madison down with a DDT before going taking Gail down with the In Yo’ Face to pick up the pin fall.
After a commercial break, James Storm comes to the ring for his showdown with Bobby Roode. Roode’s music then hits as he is accompanied to the ring with his personal security. Storm wonders what happened to the days when they would just talk to each other. Storm talks about their past and their accomplishments as Roode says they shared a lot of good times together and were part of one of the best tag teams in the business. Roode says Beer Money was one of the proudest moments of his life, however, beating Storm for the TNA World Championship has replaced that moment.
Storm says that was the same night that Roode destroyed Beer Money and their friendship. Roode says they were never friends and the only reason they were successful was because of their individual passion for wrestling. He says the two have always despised each other and Storm made a living off of his talent. Storm fires back and says Roode is selfish and sold his friends out for the money. Storm says he wrestles for the sport and for all the fans. In three days, friends or not, they will step in the cage and beat the living hell out of each other in Nashville and in front of his friends and family.
The two get into each others faces and begin to trade insults as tensions begin to rise after Roode brings up Storm’s deceased brothers and father. The two meet head to head and continue the trash talk as Impact Wrestling comes to a close.
Quick Results
– Gunner defeated Mr. Anderson by disqualification.
– Austin Aries defeated Christopher Daniels by pin fall.
– Bully Ray defeated AJ Styles by pin fall.
– Mickie James & Velvet Sky defeated Gail Kim & Madison Rayne by pin fall.
