TNA Impact Wrestling, June 9, 2011: A Solid Show Leading into Slammiversary

TNA kicked off with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff in the ring. Why is it that every time I turn on the television to watch wrestling, people are flapping their gums when the show goes on the air? It would be nice to start things off with a match.

Anyway, they bragged about Mick Foley being gone, how wrestling mattered and that the X-Division will stay. 

Out came Mr. Anderson and Sting to talk about who’s going to win at Slammiversary. Sting went on to say that the title is the only thing standing in Hogan’s way of complete domination. 

He wants the old Hulk Hogan back. Looks like they’re setting up a match between the two, which will probably be a train wreck. Sting ended the segment by calling Bischoff the cancer of TNA and stating that Hulk needed to cut him away.

Wait a minute, so who’s the problem here? Is it Hogan or Bischoff? Or is it Hogan because of Bischoff? This just got more confusing. The whole power struggle over TNA has dragged on way too long.

The first match of the night was Winter and Angelina Love vs. Mickie James and Tara. The heels would get the win after Madison Rayne attacked Tara and Angelina hit her reverse DDT back-breaker on Mickie at a little over three-and-a-half minutes.

This was a decent tag team match. We got some nice action throughout. Angelina is being wasted with this character. She barely does anything in the ring anymore. I fear for the Women’s Title match because of that.

It was good seeing Tara in a match, though. It’s a shame that Tara and Madison won’t have a spot on the pay-per-view. Match rating: two-and-a-half out of five stars.

Backstage, Bobby Roode is worried about Gun Money. It’s your basic “partner is worried about his substitute” angle.

We then went to cell phone footage of Samoa Joe and Crimson fighting in a bar. Not very exciting. It would have been nice to see Joe in a match with a Crimson run-in instead.

Another tag team match came your way as Mexican America took on Gun Money. The heels got the win at four-and-a-half minutes after Alex Shelley accidentally super-kicked James Storm.

This was a good back-and-forth tag match. Gun Money work very well together, as they showcased some nice double-team moves.

Seems to me, though, that the British Invasion will be the new champions at the PPV. Looks like Roode’s singles push may be coming sooner rather than later.

And what about Mexican America? They went from dominating everyone in their path to basically being card fillers. It’s like they’re getting de-pushed for some reason. Match rating: four out of five stars.

Backstage, Anderson and Gunner are going to hurt Sting during the main event. Short and simple, the way all backstage segments should be.

Still backstage, Mexican America wanted a title shot. Hogan basically said no, and Hernandez told him that stuff is going to happen when he least expects it. So it looks like their push is still on track.

In the ring, Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett talked of their match at the PPV. Nothing too special here. Everything they said has already been said. While they’ll have a great match, I’m glad this will be the last one. This feud has gone on way too long.

Bully Ray and Rob Van Dam took on each other next. RVD would pick up the win at three-and-a-half minutes with the Five-Star Frog Splash after Ray was distracted by AJ Styles.

I was personally disappointed in this match. It had the potential to be a great physical match but was watered down by Ray controlling most of it and time constraints.

Ray, though, is a great heel. He really knows how to get under the fans' skin and is very good on the mic. He is no doubt the best heel in TNA right now.

RVD, on the other hand, has been reduced to being a card filler since being taken out of the title picture. It’s a damn shame. Match rating: two-and-a-half out of five stars.

Backstage, Kazarian and Brian Kendrick found Abyss. He read some more quotes about war and renamed the X-Division Title the Xtreme Title. I hope that’s not permanent. When it was all said and done, Abyss challenged both to a title match at the PPV.

We got more Knockouts action as Velvet Sky took on ODB. Velvet got the win at six-and-a-half minutes with a DDT.

This was a good physical match. There was a bit of back-and-forth action and brawling outside the ring, but ODB was in control for most of it.

Two Knockouts matches in one night shows that TNA has confidence in its female performers. I wish WWE had that same confidence in its Divas.

Velvet and ODB are two great talents and they were given the chance to shine, which they certainly did. Match rating: three out of five stars.

Backstage, Sting wanted Eric Young to put the comedy aside for tonight. EY is good in a comedy role, but sometimes it’s a bit much.

Main event time as Mr. Anderson and Gunner took on Sting and Eric Young. The heels would get the win after EY was pushed into Sting and Gunner hit the F5 on the Stinger at five minutes.

This was a good tag match. The heels were in control for most of it, which was a trend repeated all night. It was nice to see EY in the main event, and it looks like Gunner is in for one hell of a push since Sting did the job for him.

Sting and Anderson should have a great match at the PPV. As much of a fan as I am of Sting, though, he needs to hang up the boots. It’s time for him to step aside and give the younger guys a chance to shine in the main event picture. Match rating: three out of five stars.

The show ended with some backstage segments that culminated when Sting rubbed face paint on Anderson and then choked him out. It was good to see Sting get the upper hand for once.

Overall, TNA put on a solid show this week. We had some good matches, and most of the backstage and in-ring segments were short, sweet and to the point. Slammiversary IX is this Sunday, and it has the potential to be a phenomenal show!