By Jeff Hamlin ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

The Big News: Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash and Christian Cage will have a 3-on-2 advantage for the first five minutes of their Destination X main event against the Angle Alliance this Sunday.

As an aside, I work in news radio in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where I covered the murder of the University of North Carolina student body president today. I’m sure many of you have heard about it. I’m not going to preach, but when I see a 22-year-old college student lose a life that was full of promise, it teaches me that every day you spend above ground is a good one. So take care of yourself.

On with the show.

Kurt Angle scolded A.J. Styles in the locker room. Karen Styles was at home selling her injury from last week’s match.

Jim Cornette was in the ring to announce Nash vs. Styles tonight in a street fight, Samoa Joe vs. Tomko in a First Blood match, and Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage in a six sides of steel match using the old WWF rules where the first man to escape the cage wins. So we’re back to having stipulation matches for the sake of having stipulation matches. He said the team that wins the majority of the singles matches tonight would have the advantage over their opponents for this weekend’s six-man main event. The losers will have to start the match shorthanded. Booker T came out, not selling anything from last week’s beating at the hands of Robert Roode and Payton Banks. The Booker-Roode match is now a strap match where Booker will have Miss Brooks in his corner and Banks will be in Roode’s corner. The winner of the match will have their second give the other’s second ten lashes with the strap. Cornette’s voice may not be what it was, but he must have the memory of an elephant to remember all those gimmicks in one segemtn. Roode came out pissed about the stips. Booker and Roode ended up in a pull-apart brawl where security made their weekly appearance.

Cage, Nash and Joe known as the Unlikely Alliance, did a backstage promo. Nash proceeded with a Hogan impersonation, asking what Styles was gonna do when his 17-time surgically repaired knees comes down on you.

Kevin Nash defeated A.J. Styles in a street fight. Styles bumped like hell for him. They fought into the crowd where Nash got in most of the offense. During a commercial, Styles came off the barricade with a flying forearm. Nash got the side slam for a two count. In the corner, Nash delivered some knees, but sold his knee in the process, I guess from last week’s Angle match. Nash gave Styles the snake eyes and attempted the jackknife, but his knees went out. Styles went for the springboard forearm, but Nash caught him with a chokeslam for the pin. No foreign objects were ever used, so why make this a gimmick match in the first place? **1/4

Black Reign did an interview from his shed on a tag match this weekend with Reign/Rellik vs. Kaz/Young. To use an old Meltzer line, Reign is so not over he’s under.

Black Machismo and So Cal Val were backstage. Fortunately, they haven’t gone out on their date yet. Surely we’ll get clips in a few weeks. A Sonjay Dutt run-in is even likelier. It’s Machismo vs. Petey Williams for the X Division title at the PPV.

Backstage, Brooks and Banks were brawling backstage. Banks’ offense consisted of throwing things at Brooks and missing. They cut away quickly, and you know the drill.

Eric Young was backstage still afraid of Reign and Rellik. Borash told him to reach down inside and pull it out. Young thought he was talking about giving himself a wedgie.

2. Curry Man won a 13-man X-Division Battle Royal. Well, it was billed that way. I didn’t know Black Reign, Rellik and Lance Hoyt were in the X-Division until now. The gimmick was the winner of the match would get to pick the stips for their PPV match this weekend. They did the scale gimmick with Team 3-D, and both Brother Ray and Dvon failed to make weight. Ray claimed it was because muscle weighs more than fat. Young acted scared of everyone. Hell of a babyface there. Then Sonjay Dutt walked in late and started hitting on So Cal Val. Turns out he wasn’t even involved in the match. Homicide was the first out after taking a Chris Sabin dropkick. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin were then eliminated simultaneously. Guess they’re still in the doghouse. Hernandez, who now has a mustache that makes him look like Bruiser Bedlam, was backdropped over, and Scott Steiner (who wasn’t involved in the match), pulled him off. Young got dropkicked out by Petey Williams. Curry Man and Shark Boy clotheslined Lance Hoyt over together. Rellik press slammed Shark over onto Hoyt, who made a good catch. Machismo threw Reign over. Williams did the Canadian Destroyer on Machismo, and gave Jimmy Rave a slingshot lung blower. Curry threw Williams over, only to get hit with a high kick by Rellik. So it was down to Rellik, Curry and Rave. Rellik no sodl several punches, so Curry and Rave double-teamed him, including Rave delivering a shining wizard. Curry gave Rave the spice rack over the top rope. Crowd started chanting for Curry Man. They did a unique finish, where Rellik threw Curry over, but Curry landed on Rave (who was still down selling the spice rack). Curry went back in the ring, gave Rellik a jawbreaker and clotheslined him over. Afterwards, Curry did a promo where he mentioned Osamu Nishimura. Shark came in and said he and Curry would face Team 3-D in a Fish Market Street Fight. If Team 3-D didn’t make weight, they would be gone from TNA. **

3. Tomko defeated Samoa Joe in a first blood match. What does Joe need to get a win over Tomko, a pass from God or something? The finish was lame. Tomko hit Joe with a chair shot that Joe blocked with his arms. Joe then got the Kokina Clutch. They teased a submission finish with the ref calling for the bell, but he raised Tomko’s hand because Joe was bleeding around his elbow because of the chair shot. *1/4

TNA Rough Cut debuted with B.G. James and Kip James. Kip proclaimed himself to be the workhorse of the group. What exactly did I miss in 1998? This was the first attempt by any pro wrestling group to do something similar to the De La Hoya-Mayweather 24-7-style pieces. Thing is, they chose the two most passé wrestlers employed by a major company to do it. Kip talked at length about how he and B.G. were paired after neither one was doing anything (in the days of Rockabilly and the new Double J, though those terms were mentioned). Have to give them an A for effort. Too bad they have to wrestle.

James Mitchelll did an interview with Judas Mesias in the background. He took credit for running Abyss out of TNA. He called Rhino “Whino.” He said Mesias wouldn’t drink wine tonight, but Rhino’s blood instead. Usual great Mitchell stuff.

4. Rhino defeated Judas Mesias. Rhino opened the match by destroying the drinking title belt, which he stole last week. Guess that’s the end of that. Mesias just doesn’t come off as a big deal anymore. He size aura was killed because Rhino was several inches taller. Mesias did a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Finish came when Mesias missed a splash off the top rope and Rhino hit the gore for the pin. Postmatch, James Storm hit the superkick, called the last call here. **

Awesome Kong and Raisha Saied did an interview. Saied did the promo for her in a horribly fake accent. Seriously, this makes John Malkovich’s Russian voice in “Rounders” sound realistic. Then LAX walked in for no reason, and Homicide started hitting on Saied. Kong looked like Andre the Giant standing next to Homicide. It ended with Hernandez and Kong in a pull-apart. For real. I was all for Kong battling a male wrestler a few months ago, but why choose a wrestler of the same size as Kong. That’s totally cutting her legs off. It still boggles my mind that gave her a manager, but she was getting over on her own. So the booking team botches another one. Is anyone really surprised?

5. Awesome Kong defeated Salinas. It looked like Salinas was scared to death of being the latest in the long line of Kong concussion victims. Kong didn’t sell a thing, finishing her off with an Awesome Bomb that Kong was clearly protecting her on. DUD

Gail Kim and ODB did a promo building up this weekend’s three-way with Kong for the Knockouts title. Kim said somebody would take Kong off her feet, and the better wrestler would win.

6. Christian Cage defeated Kurt Angle in a six sides of steel match. Angle’s entrance music is a hip-hop version of Red Rider’s “Lunatic Fringe,” which was the song Dan Henderson entered into last weekend against Anderson Silva. Henderson isn’t the most charismatic guy, but damn that makes for a great entrance. Of course, he stole it from the film “Vision Quest,” which was about amateur wrestling. First big move was Angle giving Cage a power bomb into the Cage. Angle tried to escape through the door, but Cage hooked him back in. Angle sent Cage into the cage several times. After catapulting Cage into the Cage, Angle tried the Olympic slam, but Cage reversed it into a DDT. Cage got the reverse DDT and tried to climb over, but Angle caught him and attempted a belly-to-belly superplex, but Cage threw him off and caught the frog splash. Angle sent Cage into the Cage, but Cage caught an arm drag after a failed attempt at the Olympic Slam. Cage missed a charge into the corner and caught nothing but fence. Angle tried to climb over, but Cage grabbed his foot. They fought on the top rope, where Angle tried a German superplex off the top, but Cage held onto the fence. Angle finally got the Olympic slam off the top. Angle landed awkwardly on his knee, and seemed to be favoring his hamstring for the rest of the match. Angle tried to get out the door, b ut Cage dragged him back. Angle got the ankle lock, but Cage kicked him off and nearly reached the floor before Angle brought him back and maintained the ankle lock. Angle tried another Olympic slam, but Cage reversed into a unprettier attempt, but Angle rammed him into the fence and hit two German suplexes. Cage blocked a third a reversed into a back suplex. Crowd was into it at this point. Cage couldn’t complete the climb over, and Angle put on the ankle lock on the top rope. Cage did a roll off, and Angle flew off the top. Very unique spot and the crowd loved it. Angle clipped Cage, and Cage had his leg wrapped up in the ropes right at the door. Angle tried to escape out the door, but Cage was blocking the entrance. Angle then opted to go over the cage, and reached over. But Cage grabbed Angle by the head and they fought on the ledge. They did the old Hogan/Orndorff photo finish where they jumped off together landing on the floor simultaneously, and Earl Hebner ruled Cage reached the floor first. The Angle Alliance rushed down to jump Cage, with Tomko locking the door shut. Angle gave Cage repeated Olympic slams, and Styles hit the Styles clash and Tomko hit the Hercules cutter (or as Don West calls it, what a move). Joe and ash tried to climb in, but could only watch. Show ended with Angle putting Cage in the ankle lock. So the face team won, which means they will have a 3-on-2 advantage for the first five minutes of their match on Sunday. Typical TNA upside down booking.Thank God J.J. Dillon got out of this company when he did, because his perfect coin flip streak would surely die under this regime.***3/4

SUMMARY: Better wrestling but not much for sensible booking.