TNA Impact Wrestling: Styles vs. Daniels, X-Division, Hulk Hogan, Sting and More

TNA Impact Wrestling opened with Bully Ray heading to the ring. He wanted to talk to Bobby Roode and he called out the champion.

They met at the walkway and Bully Ray declared that he has had Roode’s back since he became champion and when he needed him, Roode walked out.

They entered the ring and went back and forth on the matter until Sting came out.

He made himself the special enforcer for the World Championship match at Against All Odds and then booked a tag-team match for the main event.

Roode and Bully Ray will go up against James Storm and Sting.

I liked this segment, mainly because of Bobby Roode and Bully Ray.

I’ve been waiting for the bully to show some frustration over being Roode’s sidekick. He’s in a world title match; it's about time he acted like he was!

This also continued TNA’s trend of short and to-the-point opening segments.

While I’d prefer the show open with a match, I would rather see TNA’s short segments than WWE Raw’s 20-30 minute opening segments.

Backstage, Hulk Hogan had arrived with Garret Bischoff. While I’ll always be a fan of the Hulkster, I can’t wait for this storyline to end.

A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

Christopher Daniels picked up the victory when he hit A.J. Styles with some kind of brass knuckles.

Styles and Daniels put on another show here and treated the London fans to a good match. It featured a lot of back-and-forth action and had a great pace to it.

I think these wrestlers really have already given us everything in their arsenals, though. While it was a good match, it wasn’t as good as previous encounters.

You can only face the same opponent so many times before you run out of things to do.

I’m still very intrigued by the hold Daniels has over Kazarian. With Kaz’s match with Styles this Sunday at Against All Odds, I hope we’ll finally get some answers.

Backstage, Eric Bischoff is with Gunner. He wanted Hogan and his son taken out and wanted Gunner to do the deed. Once again, I can’t wait for this to end.

Samoa Joe and Magnus then made their way to the ring next.

No one thought they would work as a team, but they have proved everyone wrong. They not only have chemistry, they’re a well-oiled machine.

Matt Morgan and Crimson are only a team because they’re afraid to face each other. Joe and Magnus aren’t afraid of anybody, and they will be winning the titles at the PPV.

That brought out the champions, who said that the time for talking was over. They attacked their challengers and chased them off.

Magnus was great on the mic; TNA should give him mic time more often.

It was about time the champions actually gained some momentum in the feud, as the challengers have had the upper hand ever since the show after Genesis.

Joe and Magnus really do have great chemistry and are a way better team than the champions. I think we’ll be seeing new champions at Against All Odds.

TNA then aired a video hyping all of the social media sites they’re on. I thought I was watching WWE for a minute there.

Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley vs. Douglas Williams

Alex Shelley picked up the victory when he hit sliced bread on Austin Aries.

This was a good match that never slowed down for a second.

It was weird seeing Williams do some high flying since he’s a mat-based wrestler, but it was a nice change of pace for him.

His Rolling Chaos Theory finisher is also great to see! To me, it’s second only to Petey Williams’ Canadian Destroyer.

Aries was great, like he usually is, though, he did spend some time on floor. That gave Shelley and Williams a chance to fight, which was great.

Shelley was great and it really makes me miss the Motor City Machine Guns. I can’t wait for Chris Sabin to come back!

I think that Aries and Shelley will be stealing the show at Against All Odds.

Backstage, Hogan is talking to Garret when Sting walked in. The two legends hug and they talk of being friends, Hulkamania and Sting’s job as general manager.

Hogan told Sting that he had a huge target on his back and that he had his back if needed. Hogan then kicked out the cameraman as he continued to talk to Sting.

So Hogan has Sting’s back? That just put a lot of fear into me, fear that Hulk Hogan will be wrestling sooner rather than never.

That’s not a typo. I don’t mean "later," I really do mean never!

Your in-ring days are over, Hulk, please stick to the mic. You were always better on the mic than you were in the ring anyway.

The fans are then shown footage from earlier of a short brawl between Gail Kim and Tara. Gail won the encounter after she threw Tara through some double doors.

I kind of wished that this lasted a little longer. No matter the length, these two should have a great match at Against All Odds.

Hulk Hogan then made his way out with Garret Bischoff. It’s been 18 years since Hogan was in the U.K. and he felt loved and knows that Hulkamania will live forever.

He appreciated everything that the fans gave him over the years and he wanted them to give the same to Garret.

That brought out poppa Bischoff and Gunner. This isn’t about Hogan; it’s about father and son. It was time for Hogan to step aside, but the Hulkster said that he had the Hulkamania stroke.

Sting gave him the power to book Garrett vs. Gunner at the PPV and that led to Gunner pushing Garret. Hogan tried to break it up, but he received a low blow from his former partner.

As Gunner was beating down Garret, Hogan got up and threw Gunner out of the ring. He then held Eric for Garret to punch him in the face.

Hulk Hogan’s still got it on the mic, but this segment lasted a bit too long.

In fact, this storyline got a bit too much attention tonight. Like I said earlier, I’m a big Hogan fan, but he really is taking up too much time.

This storyline needs to end, and soon.

Backstage, Bully Ray is still pissed off about what they talked about earlier. Roode said he had his back and then they hugged. Brothers don’t shake hands, they hug.

The bully then said, “See you in three days” and walked off.

I like the tension between these two. I think it’ll make the match at the PPV much better.

Elsewhere, Hogan declared that he and Garret will take down Eric.

Really, Hogan, more television time? Come on, man, you said last week that TNA was heading for greatness. How can they do that when your storyline gets five segments each night?

Please, Hulk, stick to one segment and one segment only.

Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky

Velvet Sky picked up the win with the rollup of doom.

This was actually a lot better than I expected. The match featured some nice back-and-forth action, and even it had some mat wrestling. It was quite good.

Velvet has really improved since her debut in TNA. She really was just a pretty face early on, but now she’s able to put on a good match.

Mickie was Mickie and I was quite glad to see her lose. As I’ve said many times, I’m a big fan of hers, but she’s only been around for two years and we’ve seen her more than veteran Knockouts like Sarita and Angelina Love.

Mickie, it’s time to take a break and freshen up your character. Please let the other Knockouts have the spotlight.

The fans were then shown a video hyping the TNA Championship match at Against All Odds. Each of the four wrestlers said why they deserve the title and why they were going to win.

The video was really well done and I enjoyed every second of it.

Backstage, Sting and James Storm are ready for the main event. So am I!

Bobby Roode and Bully Ray vs. Sting and James Storm

The faces won the match after Bobby Roode tapped out to the Scorpion Death Lock when Bully Ray walked out on the champion.

While a bit slow at times, I thought this was a good match. I didn’t like that it was Sting who defeated Roode, but the match was good nonetheless.

James Storm really should have been the one to pin Roode, though.

All four wrestlers looked good in the ring, but Sting really should stay out of the ring unless it’s a special occasion.

I guess this could be considered a special occasion being in England, though.

Sting makes a great general manager and he should concentrate on that.

Without a doubt, my favorite part of the match was Bully Ray walking out on Roode. When the match for the PPV was made, I figured we’d be seeing a tag match of sorts, but now this adds a lot of intrigue to the match.

Bully Ray is hungry for the title and he won’t let anyone, not even Roode, stand in his way.

Overall, I thought this was another good showing of Impact Wrestling from TNA.

All of the matches were quite good and all but one in-ring segment was short and to the point.

While the Hogan/Bischoffs/Gunner feud got way too much attention tonight, the quality of the matches overshadowed that.

This was a great way to lead into Against All Odds on Sunday, and I can’t wait for the PPV and for next week’s show!