Match One - World
Tag Team Championship Match: Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez (c) vs. Joey Ryan and
Matt Morgan
Crowd seems quite loud early on which is a good sign for me
because I love hot crowds. The momentum switches between both teams early on
where either Ryan or Chavo was isolated from their partner for a period of
time. Eventually Morgan and Ryan start to methodically pick apart Hernandez
keeping him away from Guerrero. Hernandez starts to fight out and tries to make
his way to Guerrero but is caught with a big discus clothesline from Morgan.
Hernandez battles out and tags Chavo in but the referee didn’t see the tag
because Morgan had him distracted. They may be overused and a little cliché but
I love to see classic heel tricks like that used. Finally Hernandez does get
the tag and this time the referee sees it. Chavo gets in the ring and
annihilates Ryan busting out the three amigos along the way. He heads top to go
for the Frog Splash but Morgan gets in the way. He goes for a double chokeslam
but instead receives a double dropkick. Hernandez hits a sick powerbomb on
Ryan, hope he’s okay after that. A frog splash later and the Tag Champions
retain their gold.
Winners: Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez
Time: 11:31
Rating: **1/2
We go backstage where Jeremy Borash is standing by with Mr.
Anderson. Standard Anderson interview, he says he doesn’t understand why he has
to hate Aces and 8’s in order to be friends with Angle & co.
Match Two – Mr.
Anderson vs. Samoa Joe
Anderson gets the upper hand after throwing his t-shirt in
Joe’s face but that doesn’t last very long as Joe soon establishes a firm grip
on the match. The pace of the match is very slow early as Joe systematically
destroys Anderson. Anderson finally musters up some offence after throwing Joe knee
first into the steel steps. He focuses on Joe’s bad wheel and every time Joe
attempts to get back into the encounter he just goes right back to the knee.
Joe fights back by throwing Anderson out of the ring though and follows it up
with an elbow suicida. This allows Joe to get back into the match hitting a
number of big power moves before Anderson attacks the knee again. Joe goes for
the Coquina Clutch and Anderson counters with a jawbreaker but then gets caught
in the corner with the STJoe! Joe is setting up for the Muscle Buster when Mike
Knox makes an appearance at ringside, he distracts Joe long enough for Anderson
to recover and hit the Mic Check for the three count.
Winner: Mr.
Anderson
Time: 10:44
Rating: **1/2
Jeremy Borash is again backstage this time with Kenny King.
He says by the end of the night he’ll be the new emperor of the X-Division
because he is putting Rob Van Dam out to pasture. There was a production mess
up during the promo and you could hear somebody saying something, it was a
little distracting from an otherwise excellent promo.
Match Three - #1
Contender Match for the X-Division Championship: Christian York vs. Kenny King
Neither man can get the advantage early on as they trade
moves and holds. York starts to dominate but then King sends him to the outside
but misses the corkscrew dive and York catches him with a nice hurricanrana. Back
in the ring and York continues to be in control until King catches him with a
kick that sends him to the outside. York then hits a leg hook back suplex which
looks very sweet and follows it up with clotheslines and leg sweeps before a
vicious knee to the face which only gets a two count. Both guys end up on the
apron attempting to exchange kicks before York makes the connection. York goes
top rope and hits a double stomp on King’s back but Kenny kicks out at two and
seven eighths. King fights back hitting a lovely spinning leg lariat and hits
the Royal Flush but York kicks out! King tries to use the ropes for a pin but
the referee catches him. York hits a nice half nelson suplex but his attempt to
follow it up with a cannonball fails. King hits the double knees in the corner
which elicits another two count from the referee, he goes for a roll-up but
York counters into one of his own and wins it.
Winner: Christian
York
Time: 10:12
Rating: ***
Post-match King attacks York and nails him with The Coronation.
I really hope he starts to use that as his finisher since I much prefer it to
the Royal Flush he uses in TNA. King calls Rob Van Dam out and he walks down to
the ring. RVD tries to convince York that he is in no shape to compete and
tries to help him up but York repeatedly pushes him away and eventually punches
Van Dam in the face.
Match Four –
X-Division Championship Match: Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Christian York
Van Dam hits a kick and then the Rolling Thunder which
almost puts York away. He locks in a Mexican Surfboard but York won’t quit. RVD
keeps telling him to stay down but he won’t so he starts to focus on the neck
in order to finish York off. York starts to reverse a couple of moves and then
hits a knee from the top rope which catches RVD flush in the jaw. RVD gets back
in control and is setting up for a standing moonsault but York rolls him up and
gets the closest of two counts you will ever likely see. I completely bit on
the false finish, thought we had a new X-Division Champion. Another kick from
Van Dam and it is Five-Star Frog Splash time but York moves and gets another
roll-up for two. He goes for the Frog Splash again and this time nails it to
retain his Championship.
Winner: Rob Van
Dam
Time: 5:31
Rating: **1/4
That was a very good match considering the match was more to
further the storyline than to put on the clinic and thus they only got five and
a half minutes. Good storytelling from both wrestlers though and a lot of fun
to watch. After the match RVD helps York up and applauds his efforts.
Jeremy Borash is backstage with Joseph Park who looks a
little nervous and he ends up asking JB if he thinks Park is ready. He doesn’t
give the most convincing of answers but it seems to perk Park up.
Match Five – Devon
vs. Joseph Park
The Impact Zone is massively behind Joseph, they love him.
Devon starts off by wrestling circles around Park, simply embarrassing him and
calling him an amateur. Devon goes down to the floor and allows Park to try and
put a move on him. Park does some chain wrestling and then slams Devon to the
mat, the crowd goes nuts and Devon looks shocked. Devon gets the upper hand
again but once more Park hits a succession of moves and the crowd eat it up
again. Devon throws Park to the outside though and thoroughly dominates him. He
tries to throw Park into the exposed top turnbuckle but Joseph fights out.
Devon regains control once more but misses a diving headbutt. Park gets more
offence in and, after a short fight with the turnbuckles, hits a frog splash
from the second rope but Devon kicks out – the crowd is devastated. Devon
fights back and throws Park into the exposed turnbuckle which busts his nose
open and sees him switch personalities. He hits a few power moves before crushing
Devon with the Black Hole Slam. He’s setting up for the chokeslam when another
change of demeanour strikes with Park left looking rather confused and Devon
takes advantage, rolling Park up for the win.
Winner: Devon
Time: 11:15
Rating: **
Not a good wrestling match by any stretch but it told the
storyline that they wanted and the crowd adored it. They were behind Park
completely and very upset to see him lose. After the match Devon attacks Park
from behind before posing with the Television Championship.
Back to Borash we go and he has Austin Aries with him. Aries
says it’s funny that Park was unsuccessful in his first wrestling match tonight
because later Hardy is going to be unsuccessful in his last wrestling match. He says he and Roode will take out their
common problem then settle things between themselves. He states that he will
walk out once again the World Heavyweight Champion.
Match Six –
Gauntlet Match for #1 Contendership to the Knockout’s Championhip: Gail Kim vs.
Mickie James vs. Miss Tessmacher vs. ODB vs. Velvet Sky
We start off with Gail and Tessmacher, the latter of which
doesn’t waste any time and attacks Kim as soon as she enters the ring. Kim
turns things around and starts to dominate with a succession of kicks and
clotheslines. Tessmacher regains the advantage though and hits a second rope
facebuster for a two count. Kim catches Tessmacher with Eat Defeat though and
she is eliminated after 2:41. ODB rushes down to the ring as the next
participant and gets the upper hand straight away after Gail completely failed
in an attempted early attack on the ramp. ODB exerts her power and Gail is in
dominated for a while. She hits a fallaway slam and kips up before going for
the TKO which Kim reverses. ODB goes top rope but Gail pulls her down and she
lands hard on her back. Gail rolls her up and, with a fistful of tights, has
the pin after 5:52. Next up is Mickie James who is attacked by Kim as she
slides into the ring. Mickie fights back and lands a nice dropkick, she goes
for the Mickie-DT but Gail fights out again. They trade holds and shots until
Mickie catches Gail with a lovely enzuigiri. Kim rolls out of the ring but
Mickie continues asserting her dominance with a hurricanrana on the outside.
Gail grabs the referee to protect herself but gets rolled up by Mickie which
Gail turns into a roll-up of her own for another elimination at the 9:00 mark
despite Mickie’s arm being under the rope. Finally we have Velvet Sky come down
to face Kim who has been in this from the beginning, wow I wonder who is going
to win this contest? (Sarcasm intended). Gail hides and then attacks Velvet
from behind, throwing her into the steps and telling the referee to count Sky
out. Velvet recovers slowly and makes it into the ring at nine. A very awkward
inside cradle from Velvet gets a two. Gail gets a roll-up of her own for two
but this time the referee sees her using the ropes and doesn’t count the three.
Kim argues with the referee which allows Velvet to hit her finishing manoeuvre
(I refuse to type its name out) for the three count which should never have
been counted as Gail had her foot under the rope. I assume that will be
referenced later on Impact.
Winner: Velvet
Sky
Time: 12:45
Rating: **1/4
It was a very hit and miss match depending on who was in the
ring with Gail Kim. The Mickie vs. Gail segment was very enjoyable but I have
less than zero time for Velvet Sky so I was not impressed with the final
section nor her eventual victory. Hopefully it will be an easy retention for
Tara when the match eventually occurs.
We once again go backstage to Borash and he is joined by two
of the most entertaining men in TNA today Kazarian and, more notably,
Christopher Daniels. Daniels comes armed with an appletini in this interview
and delivers yet another great promo basically stating that he is great and
Storm is a hillbilly.
Match Seven - #1
Contender Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Christopher Daniels vs.
James Storm
Storm dominates early on both inside and outside the ring.
He stays in control until Kazarian gets involved providing a distraction which
allowed Daniels to attack Storm’s arm. He follows that up by sending Storm into
the guard rail on the outside. Daniels distracts the referee and Kazarian beats
Storm down on the outside. Daniels continues to focus on the arm he initially
attacked. Daniels in-ring mannerisms are nothing short of hilarious whether it
be his disrespectful salutes or his strut – he is on top of his game right now.
Storm starts to fight back and hits a nice leg sweep to turn the tables a
little bit. They trade shots in the centre of the ring and Storm ends up
getting the best of it completely taking control which results in a top rope
elbow drop which gets him a long two count. Storm goes for the Closing Time but
Daniels reverses and goes straight back to the arm. Daniels gets caught on the
top rope though and Storm manages to then hit the Eye of the Storm but it only
gets two. Storm hits what Todd Kennelly refers to as the “Tennessee Slam” and
then nails Daniels with the Closing Time. He sets up for the Last Call but Daniels
reverses it and hits the Angels Wings for possibly the closest two count of the
evening which had me in almost celebration. Daniels then goes for the B.M.E but
Storm gets the boot up then hits the lung blower and the Closing Time once
more. He sets up the Last Call again but Kazarian gets up on the apron only to
get struck with the Superkick. Daniels hits Storm with the running STO though
and that’s it! He used the ropes for leverage but Daniels picks up the victory
and is the number one contender!
Winner: Christopher
Daniels
Time: 13:24
Rating: ***1/2
I realise they want to get Daniels over as the sleaziest
heel in the business but surely the distraction of Kazarian was enough? He
should’ve just hit the Angels Wings into the Best Moonsault Ever for the three
count but otherwise it was a good match. I love Daniels and am delighted to see
him get the title shot though. I’d be ecstatic if he managed to beat Hardy for the
title on Impact next week.
They air a replay of the segment which closed Thursday’s
Impact with Bully Ray proposing to Brooke Hogan and then we are joined by the
couple live. Bully says he so happy but they have a lot of people to invite:
The Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, oh yeah and everyone in the Impact Zone.
Everyone cheers and he records a video on his “fire breathing Twitter machine!”
He thanks everyone for always having their back and thanks Brooke for making
him happy.
Match Eight – The D.O.C
vs. Sting
Sting wastes no time going after the D.O.C repeatedly
throwing him into the steel steps and then the guardrail. They fight towards
the back before two members of Aces and 8’s attack Sting. The referee chases
them off but the damage has been done. The D.O.C brings Sting back towards the
ring and we officially get this match underway. The D.O.C carefully and precisely starts to destroy
Sting on the outside. Sting tries to mount several comebacks but every time he
gets some offence in the D.O.C stops him in his tracks. Sting finally manages
to get on the offensive but sees his attempt at a Scorpion Death Drop blocked,
he kicks the D.O.C’s legs out from underneath him though and hits a Scorpion
Death Drop from there instead but only gets the two count. Sting really starts
throwing everything at him before hitting a regular Scorpion Death Drop which
gets the win!
Winner: Sting
Time: 5:54
Rating: *3/4
I have to admit, I didn’t see the match ending that quickly.
I really don’t enjoy this Aces and 8’s storyline but if TNA are going to
continue with it surely the gang should be made to seem like some kind of a
threat? They just look weak every single time they fight somebody.
The Aces and 8’s surround the ring after the match and are
about to attack Sting when Bully Ray’s music hits and he comes down to chase
off the Aces and 8’s despite them outnumbering him and Sting by at least six
people to two.
It’s time for the main event now. World Heavyweight
Championship on the line. This should be a great match, especially since it is
being contested under elimination rules. It is the match I’ve been most looking
forward to on this show.
We go backstage where Bobby Roode is Jeremy Borash’s last
interviewee of the evening. Roode says he and Aries absolutely will work
together to eliminate each other before two of the greatest wrestlers in the
world collide and Roode will go home with the World Heavyweight Championship.
A video package highlighting the three-way feud airs and all
three men make their entrances. Say what you like about TNA and their pay-per-views
but they manage to make their main event’s seem like epic, must-see matches
with the way they build up to the match. The World Heavyweight Championship
really feels like the most important thing in the world.
Match Nine – World
Heavyweight Championship Three-Way Elimination Match: Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Austin
Aries vs. Bobby Roode
Aries and Roode team up to take out Hardy early on in the
contest but Jeff fights back to take both guys down. Eventually Roode and Hardy
are the two men in the ring and Roode takes control before hitting a Double R
Spinebuster but that only gets him a two count. Hardy fights back and looks
like he’s going for the Whisper in the Wind but Aries pushes him off the ropes
which leads to Aries beating Hardy down in the ring. After a period of success
for Aries it happens again as Hardy starts to fight back eventually leaving
Aries in the corner. Roode attempts to help but Hardy sends him into Aries and
Roode drops to the floor. Hardy uses a prone Roode as a springboard to hit
Poetry in Motion on Aries. Hardy sets up both men for the Swanton Bomb but they
combine to knock him off the top rope. This leads to both Aries and Roode
dominating Hardy again. Aries and Roode continuen to try and one-up each other
until Roode hits a superplex for two. It looks like dissension is starting to
grow between the two as they both tell the other to stop telling them what do.
It is short lived however as Roode hoists Aries onto his shoulders and they
attempt to hit Hardy with what Todd describes as a “super duper” back suplex
from the top. It backfires though as Hardy fights them off then hits a massive
Whisper in the Wind on Aries who was still atop Roode’s shoulders. All three
men recover but Hardy gets the upper hand and sends Roode to the floor. He goes
to fly over the top rope but Aries is back up and thwarts his plan causing Jeff
himself to fall to the floor. Aries then gets Roode to hold Hardy so he can hit
his patented Heat Seeking Missile on Jeff but once again it backfires as Aries
ends up hitting the move on Roode instead. Hardy then sets about destroying Aries
on the outside before turning his attention back to Roode. He sets him up for
the Swanton Bomb but Aries interrupts, Hardy fights back and then drops him on
top of Roode with an inverted suplex slam. He then sends Aries into Roode again
and looks set to use Aries this time as his launching pad for Poetry in Motion
but instead Roode uses Aries as a launchpad to hit a huge spear on Hardy for a
two count. The crowd chants “This is awesome” and it is hard to disagree. Aries
and Roode continue to try to eliminate Hardy and become increasingly frustrated
with each Hardy kick out. Roode holds Hardy’s ankles and Aries hits the I.E.D.
What a huge dropkick that was. He then picks him up and hits the brainbuster
but again Hardy kicks out. Aries and Roode can’t believe it. Roode tells Aries
to go top for the 450 splash but for some reason moves Hardy out of the way
which sees Aries crash and burn. He then hits the Payoff on Aries but Austin
kicks out at two. It then descends into a proper three-way match as Aries and
Roode now fight it out. Roode goes for a spear but gets caught in the Last
Chancery. A finger to the eyes of Aries sees Roode get free and then he locks
on a crossface, Aries reverses it into a roll-up for two. Roode goes for a
superplex but gets shpoved off that top rope and caught with a missile
dropkick. Aries then hits the I.E.D once more but Roode then fights out of the
brainbuster attempt. Aries gets the backslide and then Hardy returns to the
ring and helps Aries’ pin attempt which sees Roode eliminated after 18:49.
Aries is furious that he wasn’t given credit for the pin which gives Jeff a
chance to recover. Hardy hits the Twist of Fate on Aries and goes for another
but Aries pushes him off. Jeff ends up on the apron and then hits the Twist of
Fate on Aries there! Hardy climbs to the top and hits the Swanton Bomb on Aries
for the three count.
Winner: Jeff
Hardy
Time: 22:21
Rating: ****
Post-match Aries rolled from the middle of the ring and put
his foot on the bottom rope seemingly claiming he had it there when Hardy
pinned him which was rather humorous. I was disappointed to see Hardy retain
again but I saw it coming so I was prepared for it. It was still an excellent
match though by all involved. If one of Aries or Roode were going to turn on
the other I would have preferred if they had done it successfully but that is
my only real gripe with how the main event went. Some very good wrestling spliced
with some extremely entertaining moments between the three men. Hopefully Hardy’s
reign is coming to the end though and we see Daniels crowned new World
Heavyweight Champion come the 24th.
Overall, this was a good pay-per-view. It had some flaws
like the Sting match but most shows do. Everything else was at worst
acceptable. Both the main event and Daniels vs. Storm were excellent matches
plus the X-Division brought some entertaining midcard matches. TNA are picking
up in 2013 where they left off in 2012 by producing some excellent wrestling
shows.
Thanks for reading, comments and feedback are much appreciated.
Good stuff dude. Keep up the good work!
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