This week saw TNA Impact switching to live broadcasts – and almost disappointingly, it went without a hitch - unless you were Dixie Carter.

We opened with the much-anticipated match between Bobby Roode, longestreigningWorldHeavyweightChampionofalltime, and the newly-returned Sting. The lumberjacks were already in place as the competitors entered the ring – Sting to thunderous applause, the champ to a determined chorus of “You suck”.

Sting was quickly on the offensive as the match kicked off, and when Bobby finally seemed to gain some ground, his chops on the Stinger's chest made little to no impact. Bobby went over the ropes a few times, but the ever-professional Devon, Rob van Dam and Eric Young made sure he got back into the ring in one piece.

It was a different story whenever Sting went over, getting quickly mobbed by the Robbies, Crimson, Kazarian and Christopher Daniels. It was clearly a part of Bobby Roode's strategy, keeping the veteran off his game and unable to build any momentum. 

After one too many drinks at that well, though, Chris Sabin and RVD moved around the ring to run interference and get Sting back into the action. Roode managed to get a two-count, and wear Sting down further with a waist-lock. Sting broke free, only to be thrown to the wolves again – but this time he came down fighting and the Robbies, especially, were the worse for wear.

Roode continued to dominate until Sting got off a fantastic Stinger Splash and Roode ran out of the ring. As the lumberjacks faced off to determine how the champ would be treated, Sting came over the top rope and took them all out.

Back in the ring Roode was once more on the attack, but Sting pulled off a Scorpion Death Drop and Deathlock in quick succession, and it was all over.

Hulk Hogan appeared post-match to make an announcement: the main event at Slamiversary will be Bobby Roode versus Sting. And it'll be a championship match.

Backstage, Madison straightened her ribbon and discussed the arrival of Brooke Hogan at TNA – but really seemed much more interested in making sure she was looking good. [Note – this seemed to be prep for a Knockouts segment which was cut from the broadcast]

Bully Ray was now in the ring, calling out Joseph Park, the brother of Chris – you know, Abyss! - who was in attendance. Joseph really didn't want to enter the ring, much less fight Bully, but Bully responded by calling him a coward – and then offering to change his plea from the week before to guilty.

Joseph went for Bully, who then heroically threatened to sue if Joseph hit him. When Joseph backed off, Bully again called him a coward and left the ring. Joseph finally agreed to fight, and took off his glasses and jacket to get ready – but Bully was done for the evening, and told Joseph they would fight – but at Slamiversary.

After the ad break we were treated to a montage illustrating Crimson's still-undefeated streak.

In the ring, the X-Divison Championship was up for grabs in a match between Austin Aries and Chris Sabin. The action was absurdly quick and incredibly evenly balanced as Aries and Sabin exchanged moves, exchanged counter moves, and exchanged two-counts.

The action spilled out of the ring in spectacular style, with suicide dives and top-rope jumps. The competitors are both incredibly versatile performers, and they really showed it.

In the end, Sabin had Aries in a fireman's carry and tried to spin him off, but Aries countered into a roll-up for the pin. A breathtaking match which no write-up can really convey properly.

We got a glimpse backstage, where earlier Hulk Hogan had a discussion with Taz, who is now one of the Gut Check judges. Taz promised he was going to be himself in the judging – but that some people may not like that.

After the break, it was into the Gut Check judging, assessing the performance of Joey Ryan who had taken on Austin Aries a week ago.

The judges – Bruce Pritchard, Al Snow, and Taz – felt there was some potential in his look and gimmick – though Bruce thought it was too much and not real – but that Joey Ryan didn't really come across like he appreciated the chance he was being given. That being said, Bruce Pritchard said it was a memorable match, and the Twitter fans clearly thought Ryan was superior to the previous competitor, Alex Silva, who had received a contract.

Joey Ryan was left with one more chance: to make the promo of his life.

Still backstage, Jeff Hardy, Rob van Dam, Mr Anderson and Robbie E (accompanied by Robbie T as always) awaited the results of live online voting – to determine which of them would face Devon for the Television Championship that night.

While they waited, Dixie Carter entered the ring. She talked about the upcoming Slamiversary and thanked the talent and the audience for helping them get to 10 years of TNA. She also had an announcement: at Slamiversary, they will induct the first member of the TNA Wrestling Hall of Fame.

There will also be some changes at Impact. Dixie loves the Knockouts division, but wants to make them even better and needs someone to help her achieve that – and that person is Brooke Hogan.

Brooke entered, and she and Dixie talked about how excited they were and how much the Knockouts mean to them.

Backstage once more, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian noted how Dixie completely avoided the topic of what they allege is her affair with AJ Styles. But, Daniels noted, it's a live broadcast now – and no one can stop them from doing what they need to do.

Following an ad break, there was a glimpse of the past as we relived Christian Cage's debut at TNA in 2005.

Then it was time for the TV Championship match. Devon entered the ring and we went backstage to hear the results of the online poll. With over 40% of the votes cast, Jeff Hardy was the man.

Much like the X-Division match preceding it, this was a very even-handed affair – but very different due to the nearly-opposite styles of the competitors. It was strength versus agility, experience vs quickness, and the sound of two-counts was in the air.

Jeff looked set to take the belt when suddenly the Robbies stormed the ring and the match was thrown out. Jeff and Devon took the guidos out and shared a secret handshake in the ring.

We were updated by James Storm, who spoke about living in small towns, having time with his family, and reflecting on his loss against Bobby Roode. He's made his decision – but he didn't let us know what it was.

It was Gut Check decision time in the ring. Joey Ryan entered, looking very cocky and taking up his signature pose in the corner. Giving a chance to speak his piece, he said he was “kind of a big deal” and noted that in an online poll, 87% of TNA fans said he should get the contract.

But his attitude – and the length of time he's been wrestling – was the decider for Bruce Pritchard, who said “no”. Al Snow still saw the potential there, so he was a “yes”. It came down to Taz – and one last chance on the mic for Joey Ryan.

Joey said it was irresponsible of the judges to ignore the wishes of the fanbase. That if Taz were smart, he wouldn't leave money on the table, because someone else would pick it up.

Taz was not impressed. He told Joey Ryan that if that was his idea of the promo to save his life, he was out of his mind.

Joey was unimpressed right back, declaring that he wasn't afraid of Taz, because Taz was just a commentator.

Unsurprisingly, Taz was a “no”, and there ended Joey Ryan's hopes of a TNA contract.

After the break we saw Bobby Roode standing outside Westminster Palace, London, telling a group of fans about his record-setting championship.

AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels now faced off in the ring. Initially dancing around each other, the match was very back-and-forth with neither man taking charge for very long. After a flurry of moves, counters, misses, capitalisations on misses, and a solitary two-count, AJ looked poised for a finisher – and was interrupted by a run-on from Daniels' partner Kazarian.

Daniels tried to turn it into a roll-up, but AJ countered and with a reverse inverted DDT it was all over – for the match.

Kazarian and Daniels laid into AJ, prompting Kurt Angle – who will tag-team with AJ Styles at Slamiversary - to storm into the ring and wreak some havoc. But Angle was taken out in turn and immobilised with cable-ties cinching him to the ropes.

When AJ and Angle were out, Daniels demanded a microphone. No one had believed the pictures, and no one had believed the video, but now he and Kazarian had another piece of proof to lay against AJ and Dixie Carter: their own words.

A recorded phone call played, seeming to clearly show that AJ and Dixie were arranging a secret rendezvous. As the closing credits ran, Dixie was on a headset at the commentary table, demanding the whole thing be stopped – but it may have all been too late.

Results

• Sting def. Bobby Roode
• Austin Aries def. Chris Sabin (X-Division Championship)
• Devon vs. Jeff Hardy - match thrown out due to interference
• Gut Check – Joey Ryan – no contract
• AJ Styles def. Christopher Daniels