Wow.  I say a lot of shit about TNA on this site, but they opened up with a great video on their history.  Then we go live to the crowd in Texas, and its a huge crowd!  They are all excited for tonight!  Then, Hogan comes out and its our first good view of the set and its a damn impressive display.  This is a great way to start off the show.  I am excited for what comes next.

Hulk Hogan comes out and my mood is infectious.  Hogan sounds excited about the crowd too.  He puts over everyone – but not himself.  Could this be a more humble Hogan?  His first order of business is to make a great title match to start out the show.

Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries (X Division title).

Its old school TNA time.  Sure, it may be strange to call something only ten years old, old school, but this X Division match isn’t about weight limits its about no limits.  Incredible match.  Both men go all out and numerous times the fans think the match is over.  Hell, even So Cal Val was fooled a few times.  The ending of the match was insane.  Aries escapes from the muscle buster, reverses a crucifix in a maneuver I have never seen before.  Then the much smaller Austin picks up Samoa Joe for a brain buster suplex.  Its a wonderful way to start off this tenth anniversary show.  Hopefully the rest of the night is as good.

Kid Kash vs. Hernandez.

Two men who have had great careers in TNA yet have not been seen in recent memory.  Its a cray match.  Kid Kash has far more muscle on his frame than one would expect, yet he still moves like his much lighter self from near 15 years ago.  Hernandez answers my words with a leap over the top rope.  Super Mex can fly.  Both men are going all out, holding nothing back, working stiff, and I can only assume it is all in the hopes of appearing more regularly each and every week on Impact Wrestling.  Hernandez dives over the top rope and lands on Kash, on the floor.   The height, the agility, it really is a super human skill for a man his size.  Hernandez gets knocked in the corner for only a moment, then powers back and hits a huge top rope splash for the pin.

Two really good matches in a row.  Thus far TNA is putting on one of their best shows ever.

TNA’s Top 10 Moments.  #10 AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn to crown the first TNA X Division champion.

Also, just so you’re all aware – Christy Hemme looks amazing tonight.  Thus far TNA is running a perfect show.

Robbie E and Robbie T vs. Devon (TV champion) and Garrett Bischoff.

Madison Rayne, with a new look, comes out to make goo goo eyes at someone.  We’re not sure which man in the ring its directed at.  The match is booked as well as it can be considering how limited some of the participants are.  Garrett shows off what he can do, then gets a beat down to lead up to the hot tag.  Robbie T sticks to power moves.  Devon shows off as a ring veteran.  Robbie E can go and needs a better gimmick so he can be taken as the wrestling talent that he is.  Not a great or memorable match, but all four men did as good as they could.

Jeremy Borash interviews Daniels and Kazarian.

Number One Contender match: Mr Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy.

Mr Anderson changed his hair, and just doesn’t look right tonight.  In fact he looks like a non descript wrestler.  The blonde hair at least helped him stand out.  Which is ironic because there’s tons of bleached blondes in wrestling.  Anyways, its a main event spot match which seems to be the new thing.  The idea is that each man is so familiar with the others, plus there are three men in the ring, that it must be all high impact moves.  Not a whole lot of down and dirty wear your opponent down wrestling going on here.  For that, the match was good.  Fair amount of near falls and false finishes.  It was a fun bit of work for main event talent.  So far its an enjoyable PPV. Oh, and Mr Anderson gets the win with a Mic Check.  He still just doesn’t look right though.  Anyone know if there’s an injury or anything similar in his recent history?

Crimson’s Open Challenge.

Crimson has been undefeated for “470 days”.  The fans start to chant “Goldberg”.  Are they chanting it to mock the undefeated streak or do they want Goldberg to answer the challenge?

James Storm answers the call.

Really good pick.  Storm gets to come back in a big way, TNA gets a huge surprise, and it plays in to the anniversary part of the show with a guy that’s been there from the beginning.  Storm shows Crimson how to wrestle a match, and its a trip to the learning shed.  Minimal offense from Crimson.  This is all about putting James Storm over as the star and face of TNA.  The undefeated streak is over, but I feel even ten years later we’re still only seeing the beginning from James Storm.

JB interviews Austin Aries.  Austin wants to get to the main event.

TNA moment number… two?  Guess I missed the number “3” earlier.  Why not show ten moments?  Anyways, this second one is the arrival of Hulk Hogan in TNA.

TNA President Dixie Carter comes out.  TNA founder Jeff Jarrett is not even in the building.  I can not wait for the inevitable Jeff Jarrett tell all book and/or shoot interview series.  The fans chant Thank you Dixie.  Um…. I guess.  I mean yes but no.  Thanks to her for sure, but that also ignores many other people.  Dixie asks the entire TNA roster to come out and be recognized.  That was actually a very nice and classy thing to do.  Although, there are a lot of people missing.  People that still technically work for TNA but have not been seen in quite some time.  When was the last time you saw Winter or the Pope on TV?  Sting is announced as the first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame.  Which I guessed as my number two pick.  If his entire wrestling career is considered, then yes he deserves it.  If the intention is a TNA only Hall of Fame then AJ should have been first.  Its a very nice video and tribute to Sting.  Sting says a lot of great things about TNA.  Very nice segment.

However, the TNA Hall of Fame logo looks like it should be on a bottle of beer.  Cold crisp taste, great TNA flavor.

Miss (Brooke) Tessmacher vs. Gail Kim (TNA Knockouts champion).

Brooke is becoming more and more popular every day.  Arguably, the hottest woman in wrestling today and guess what?  She’s learned how to be a fairly good wrestler.  Trying hard, busting her ass every week and always improving.  For someone who we all expected to be a joke she has earned the respect of all.

This match features the best head scissors I have ever seen in my life.  I mean, sure, part of it is because of the women.  But Gail’s aggression and the way Tessmacher sells it made that move all the more impressive.  Its great wrestling booking.  Gail is the more experienced, the better wrestler, the one who “should” win.  Yet Tessmacher wont give up.  She wont tap, she barely kicks out before the three, and she keeps coming back.  Tessmacher reverses on Gail and rolls up the champion for the pin.

Christy Hemme interviews Miss Tessmacher right after the match, and its a slight touch like that that puts over Tessmacher’s win as something significant.  She really does deserve it.

Bully Ray interrupts JB and cuts a promo.

Bully Ray vs. Joseph Park in an Anything Goes match.

Alright, to break kayfabe here guys, Joseph Park is very obviously Abyss under this new gimmick.  It is however a brilliant gimmick.  I had no idea Abyss was such a great actor as well.  He’s a dominant wrestler, he has had crazy matches against everyone put in his path. Now look at him. He plays the fool so well.  You believe that this is a man who is scared and has no wrestling training.  Wrestling is all about suspension of disbelief and I believe that this person in front of me is Joseph Park.

Hell, this is a better anti bullying idea than WWE’s BAStar.  Ray accosts Park, he takes cheap shots.  Then when Joseph has had too much and fights back Ray is scared and backs down for a moment.  Bully Ray adjusts his attack plan and begins to get in shots when Park’s back is turned.  Bully Ray looks like an asshole who needs to meet up with that one person who will kick his ass and put him in his place.  Park looks like the fool, the underdog, but deep down maybe he could surprise us all.

Side note, kudos to Christy Hemme and So Cal Val for acting as managers and hyping the crowd up to rally.  Good work by both ladies.

Ray sets up a table and grabs a kendo stick.  He starts to get cocky and Joseph takes advantage with a shot to the gut.  Park uses the kendo stick and is rewarded with an impressive two count.  Ray kicks out and Park hides under the ring.

Abyss comes out the other side of the ring?!  What the hell?!  Abyss comes in, scares the hell out of Ray, then choke slams Ray into the table.  Abyss goes back underneath and Joseph comes out.  He is shocked, he doesn’t know what happened to Bully Ray but he scores the pin anyways!  Oh this was awesome.  Also, how the hell did Joseph Park and Abyss do that quick change?  I suppose they could have had some other big guy play Abyss’s role.  That might be one of my favorite matches in all of 2012 and all of TNA history.

JB interviews Bobby Roode.

Hulk Hogan comes out and has a “big surprise” for everyone.  I’ll say so.  Current WWE Intercontinental champion… Christian Cage!!!  Damn that is huge. Christian makes a great joke that the last time he was in TNA there were a few more corners to the ring.  He is out to announce the number one moment in TNA.  It is from 2006 when Sting had his debut match for TNA.

The history of AJ Styles and Dixie Carter feud that then involved Daniels, Kazarian and Kurt Angle is reviewed.  This is speculation, of course, but every single time there is an angle in wrestling in which two people have an affair in “story” it turns out one is happening in reality.  Either in the past, or it happens because the two are involved on camera, but it happens.

Kazarian and Daniels (TNA tag team champions) vs. AJ Styles and Kurt Angle.

Daniels has been with TNA since damn near the beginning and shit on numerous times throughout.  He really should have been a world champion by now.  Kaz whips AJ into the guard rail but AJ slides underneath it!  Then comes back up and springs off of that.  I have NEVER seen that before in all my years watching wrestling.

Its crazy how good this match is.  All the guys should be getting more attention than this.  It should be for a world title, but for what this match is I would put the TNA tag team titles as the biggest ones in America.  This is one hell of a competitive match.  Angle starts throwing suplexes like a good ole’ boy tossing bags of feed.  All of these guys were wrestling 10 years ago when TNA started and they’re still putting on one of the best wrestled matches of the year.  Its a testament to their dedication and skill.

I was about to say how the hell is Angle finishing a match with a splash but then Daniels pulls out the referee and I realize its just set up.  For something that just pushed this match over into the match of the year list.  AJ hits a shooting star from the top rope to the floor on Daniels.  Insane.  While they’re on the floor Angle makes Kaz tap out to the ankle lock.  New tag team champions.  Maybe the best tag match you’ll see this year.  Can one of the sites, maybe even this one, start a tag team match of the year award?  Holy shit that was good.

Sting vs. Bobby Roode (TNA World Heavyweight Champion).

I am so hard on TNA so often, but there was a lot of greatness tonight.  This is the first time I really paid attention to everything throughout the show and there are a lot of little touches.  For example, Roode’s arms extended pose in the corner while the camera films him from above like the crucified messiah of pro wrestling.  Its a new, original and incredibly bad ass signature pose.  One move like that and it elevates Roode’s star.

Both men are busting their asses in this match.  Roode takes an ass kicking quite well and looks like the perfect heel champion.  The kind that will do anything to hold on to his title.  Sting takes the fight to Roode and its nasty as hell.   A Stinger Splash onto the guard rail.  Then a Scorpion Deathlock on the announce table.  Roode is tapping out, but its outside of the ring and doesn’t count!  So Cal Val crawling underneath the announcers to get away is unintentionally the funniest part of the evening.  Roode grabs a beer bottle that James Storm just happened to leave behind.  The referee catches the first one, but the second one finds its mark.  Sting is busted open by the bottle and Roode gets the cheap victory.  For what it was meant to be, good match.

Sting is pissed off afterwards, and can you blame him?  He beats Roode against every corner of the arena and then drops him off the entrance ramp with a Scorpion Deathdrop. Good move.  Roode still wins the match and gets to continue to be the asshole heel champion.  Yet Sting looks strong in the end.

Very impressive showing by TNA.  I’ll be sure to tune in to this week’s Impact Wrestling by any means possible.

“the flip just switched”