Category: Impact Wrestling

By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

Last week, we got the “GFW/TNA supershow” which was hyped up mainly on Youtube and social media with zero mentions of it happening on TV the prior week. Jeff Jarrett opened Impact Wrestling by talking about how Global Force Wrestling was the place to go for world-class competition and the best wrestlers in the planet. He also announced that his in-ring story has been told in TNA, and vacated the Legends/Global/World TV/King of the Mountain/Western States Heritage Championship and put it on the line in a KOTM match.

Instead of TNA fans chanting “drop the title” at him, the goal was to hang Jarrett’s title from a ring, and PJ Black did just that. He also chatted on his phone at all times and said before that the match was just another match and didn’t really seem to care if he won or lost. Despite being the Darewolf, he didn’t do much other than a 450 off the middle of the ladder, while Robbie E dove off the penalty box and ate a piledriver on the steps from Eric Young to take him out of the match. Jeff Jarrett also told Dixie to trust him over and over, The Wolves beat GFW’s Trevor Lee and Bryan Myers like a pair of jobbers, and Lei’D Tapa returned with her husband as a manager to face and go to a double countout with Awesome Kong in a fairly bad match. It wasn’t exactly a good show, but kudos to Jeff for getting his non-TV company broadcast on global television without paying a dime for it and actually ensuring paydays for himself and his roster.

Tonight’s show is a “No Surrender” edition of Impact, which wasn’t brought up until last week’s show. Ken Anderson faces Bram in an open mic match, Gail faces the Dollhouse in a cage, and PJ Black’s KOTM Title win gets him a shot at EC3’s World Title. The show opens with a recap of all of last week’s card and Lashley’s super-spear giving PJ Black the title. According to the graphics, this show is now Turning Point – and according to Josh, the term has never meant more. This show has had one week of hype – it could literally not mean less unless they just announced it tonight.

In the arena, the show begins with TNA/GFW’s husband and wife duo Jeff and Karen Jarrett coming out. Jeff is in torn jeans and a GFW shirt talking about how the baseball stadium shows are setting the world on fire and now a “Global Force” chant is starting. Jeff hypes up PJ Black vs. EC3 as the first-ever match of a GFW athlete going for the TNA World title. EC3 in red and gold gear comes down with Tyrus and mocks his early ’90s WWF gimmick with an awful Southern accent. EC3 boycotts the title match before Karen shuts him down and says that Jeff still has an ownership stake in it. Karen says EC3’s just upset over Jeff being put in charge over him. Karen implies that EC3 attacked Bully and Drew Galloway. EC3 says that this isn’t CSI and she has no evidence. EC3 tries to leave before Jeff calls him Eddie Haskel and Jeff says he’ll talk to Aunt D and he’ll either defend it or get stripped. Hopefully of the title and not his clothes, although Jeff wasn’t specific.

At the announcing area, Pope has the KOTM Title toy belt on his action figure and he bickers with Josh about tonight’s matches – which now includes Drew vs. Eli in a no DQ match. Drew arrives to the building and says he got attacked, Bully got attacked, and Eli took him out apparently. Perpetual TNA re-signee Bram came down to face Mr. Anderson. Anderson comes down and Josh says they’ll explain the rules after the break. Heaven forbid rules be explained before the match or anything. Jeff Hardy’s DVD ad airs.

Mr. Anderson vs. Bram in an Open Mic Challenge

Ken jumps the gun with a lariat and some punches. He gets a neckbreaker and goes for a table. Josh says that the man who gets the mic can use it. Anderson sets the table up at ringside and gets the Lambeau Leap off the apron through the table to the floor. Now he’s got a ladder – why even go for the mic when you can use longer range weapons like these? The ladder is set up and now the ladder makes sense – the mic is suspended above the ring, so it’s just a ladder match with a mic instead of a title. Bram gets the impaler DDT, but Ken gets up and eats some shots into the ladder. Bram gets a lariat.

Bram throws a ton of chairs into the ring here in this mic-based match. He piles the chairs up ala Ambrose in that awesome Cesaro-Ambrose street fight on SmackDown a year or so ago. Ken throws him into the ladder and hits a very weak lariat. Anderson goes up, but eats a powerbomb onto the chairs off the ladder. Bram grabs the mic and sings to Ken, but he gets caught going for a mic shot and eats a Mic Check onto the chairs before hitting him a ton with the mic. Ken cuts a promo on Bram, says his name twice and smashes him with the mic for the win. Boy howdy did this turn around – it started off as nothing special and then got both really fun to watch and pretty good. This was Anderson’s best match on Impact in a while.

Backstage, Bobby Roode is pissed off at Jeff Jarrett for not putting him in the main event last week – Jeff leaves and Bobby is still angry. After a break, EC3 is interviewed and mocks Jeff’s accent again and pleads to Dixie to not be stripped of the title. Storm, Manik, and Abyss come down to the ring. Josh talks about the issues Storm has had with Sheera  while Storm talks about all of the rewards you get in the Revolution without being specific. Unlimited access to the clubhouse? Free ghosthunting services from the Destination America guys? 10% off dental discounts? Storm says he helped teach Sheera English, took him into his home, and rode with him to teach him the way.

Sheera says he did everything, but Storm didn’t do anything for him. They argue over his name for a bit before getting into a great exchange. I LOVE DANCE AND THESE PEOPLE LOVE DANCE! Sheera showed something here. Sheera does “the Sheera dance” according to Josh and he does it with the fans and moves Manik’s arms around to do it too. Sheera attacks Storm and now Josh is a face and is for Sheera, while Pope is defending the Revolution attacking him. Abyss chokeslams him and then Manik frogsplashes him while Josh says that maybe he was apprehensive about that. Stiorm superkicks Sheera and says he’ll cut him down. Gail Kim is walking backstage before facing the Dolls next.

Backstage, JB talks about how this a historic event. He meets with PJ Black who says that in week one, he won the KOTM Title, but in week two, he’ll be World champ. Then Eric Young runs in and rants and raves. Jade and Marti come down to face Gail, and we see the history of their story for both that intro and during Gail’s. Josh says that Taryn ran out of Florida last time, and since she was in lingerie, I hope she at least changed into something else before hailing a cab or whatever.

Gail Kim vs. The Dolls – Cage Match

Gail uses defensive rolls to create offense and gets the edge with some lariats and a dropkick before stomping a mudhole in the corner. A legsweep and stomach kick hit for the Dolls and get a 2 count. Jade gets a cannonball after a double knee shot from Marti for 2. After a break, Gail gets a seated Octopus stretch, but Jade kicks her back. The Dolls hit a Kaientai clutch dropkick for 2. The Dolls go to escape, but Gail hits Jade with a rana off the top rope. Jade lifts her up into a tree slam and runs her into the cage a few times. Pope is apparently a heel now and is supporting the Dolls. Gail gets 3/4 of the way up the cage and does a blind diving bodypress onto the Dolls. Gail counters a double suplex into a DDT to both. After a cage dive miscue hits the wrong person, Gail beats Marti with Eat Defeat. Josh praises Gail for her “performance” and I’m sure he’ll soon say the Dolls are headed to a “local medical facility”.

Backstage, Jeff met with Dixie and told her he was here as TNA Shareholder Jeff Jarrett and not GFW Owner Jeff Jarrett, while in a GFW shirt. EC3 comes in and Dixie says they’ve made a decision – he’d better get in the ring tonight. Okay then. Eli Drake vs. Drew Galloway is up next. A World Cup of Wrestling PPV ad airs and then we get some highlights from the cage match. Backstage, Gail runs around backstage to look for Taryn with some bad acting. EC3 talks to Tyrus while Matt Hardy yells at him about how they aren’t done. Why? EC3 beat him cleanly and now Matt’s bullying EC3. Matt is facing Tyrus at some point. Josh runs down the Road to BFG tour dates. Eli Drake is mid-ring in a goofy X-shaped vest with ED on it? Is he a superhero who suffers from erectile dysfunction?

Eli Drake vs. Drew Galloway – No DQ Match

Drew punches and kicks away before they fight on the floor and Drew gets a chair that is used against his own midsection by Eli. Drew slams him against the steps and slaps him. Drew eats another chairshot to the ribs while Josh talks like this match has been going on for ages two minutes in. Eli gets a chinlock before slamming him for 2. Drew comes back with clotheslines and gets about a billion good punches in the corner. After a match full of chair use, Josh notes that since this is a no DQ match, Drew can bring the chair in and not be DQed. Drake kicks the rope into his crotch and gets a DDT into the chair for 2. Drew sends Eli headfirst into a corner-set chair and then Drew stomps his foot.

Instead of signalling for a superkick, he’s “standing up”, so he goes out and gets a table. Eli kicks the table into his face and gets his crutch from under the ring. Drew hits an overhead belly to belly and tries to toss Drake into a corner table, but he stops shirt, kicks him in the balls and hits him with the crutch in the back. Eli sets up a second table, puts Drew on it, but he eats a Sick Kick up top and hits a super Kryptonite Krunch for the win. This was pretty good – not amazing, but they’ve got solid chemistry together.

Backstage, Velvet traps Taryn for Gail. After a break, Gail gets to Taryn and she sets her own hand up to be broken while Velvet takes the camera man away…so they’re heels now, right? Shouldn’t babyfaces hold themselves to a higher standard than the heels instead of lowering themselves to their level?

Eric Young rants about being a world class maniac and how the world title goes through him. Chris Melendez, a true hero, came down to save us from more of this promo. Eric rants about him being done with Melendez and screeches at him to leave. Melendez says he’ll do anything to get this rematch and EY makes him put his leg on the line for the match. Melendez accepts and they get into a brief brawl won by Melendez while Josh runs down “the story”.  Next, Matt Hardy faces Tyrus.

Backstage, Jeff meets with Dixie about EC3. Dixie says she’s prepared to strip the title from him if need be, while Jeff wants to talk about something else. Tyrus and his new very orange tron come down to EC3’s theme. Matt Hardy has a new one with a giant neon green “MH” with one letter taking up each of the left and right side trons.

Matt Hardy vs. Tyrus

Matt punches away at the midsection, which is pretty stupid and Tyrus takes control with a slam. Tyrus has the right half of his head shaved, a mohawk, and thicker growth on the left side – it’s a weird look. Matt sends Tyrus into a ringpost while Josh talks about Turning Point trending and recaps the events of tonight’s show. Tyrus gets a t-bone and a Vader bomb, but eats a Twist of Fate, gets up, and eats a second for a loss. EC3 jumps Matt, which Josh supports – so he’s a heel in this segment. EC3 says that he wants Jeff’s best so he can sacrifice them on his alter. PJ comes down to his theme sung by Jeff Hardy and the main event is ready to go…after a break.

EC3 vs. PJ Black – TNA World Title Match

EC3 gets an early edge, but eats a series of corner chops and forearms. PJ hits a sliding dropkick and a corkscrew dive over the top. A springboard crossbody is met with a dropkick for 2. Some kids chant for PJ Black, which bodes well for him already having some fan support. EC3 gets a chinlock and Josh yammers on about how EC3 is defending TNA for all of us. PJ takes EC3 down and gets a springboard splash for 2. He goes up for a 450, but EC3 meets him and gets a superplex for 2.

PJ gets a nice spinning back elbow and a high kick to send him down. Moonsault off the top gets 2. PJ is shining brightly here. PJ goes for a top-rope Lionsault, but rolls through it when EC3 moves, leading to EC3 getting a seated Rampage powerbomb for 2.5. PJ counters the headlock driver with a Blue Thunder bomb for 2. Josh, who has been with TNA for under a year, says that the chants for PJ infuriate him as a TNA guy. PJ gets the springboard 450, but EC3 kicks out. PJ goes up top, but he gets crotched, hit with a headlock driver, and EC3 wins. This overdelivered, and it was a perfect showcase for what PJ Black could’ve done in WWE if he had been given much of a chance outside of Superstars.

Jeff and Dixie talk backstage. Jeff is impressed by EC3, and says they’ve got to do back to back big matches. Last week, they had KOTM, tonight, they had a World Title match. He plays on Dixie’s nostalgia for the glory days of TNA by wanting to run TNA Impact on a weekly basis. She feels good about it, and wants one week to decide. Next week, we find out who has been attacking people and get three title matches.

To see every screenshot taken for the show, just click here.

By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

Last week, TNA paid tribute to Roddy Piper with a video package – it wasn’t quite as long as Dusty’s, but still good.Ken Anderson beat the perpetually-contracted Bram, Gail Kim beat the Dollhouse, and Eli Drake stole a pin and debuted a new yellow and black taped-up #sitdown shirt. Rockstar Spud beat Austin Aries in a Rockstar name vs. Career match to send Aries out of the company for at least a little while. In bigger news, EC3 beat Matt Hardy in a TLC match, and Bully Ray was taken out by a mystery attacker. As a result, TNA was left without an authority figure until Jeff Jarrett volunteered.

 In the days since, TNA has released information on Facebook and Youtube about this being a GFW vs. TNA show. Instead of using their global TV show to announce this, they used social media, which seems like either forward thinking or not thinking things through. Either way, the company announced some new talent will be getting exposed nationally like Trevor Lee, while Lei’D Tapa returns to a TNA ring and the former Justin Gabriel PJ Black debuts in TNA alongside Chris Mortetsky as highly-talented WWE mid-carders that could have been used better than they were.

The show begins with Jeff Jarrett and some of his GFW crew entering the building as the hype video builds up GFW vs. TNA as an interpromotional war. We’ll get the Wolves against Trevor Lee and Bryan Myers and a defense of the King of the Mountain title. Jeff and Karen come down and slap hands with the fans. Jeff says that he’s now done with his TNA days thanks to GFW, which is about competing at the highest level…isn’t that what all companies should be? Jeff equates this to the Lakers-Celtics and says that the KOTM title will be vacated and defended tonight. EY comes down and tells Jeff that he isn’t the King of the Mountain, he is the King of the World and God, while Jeff is just “the booker man”. Yes folks, it’s 2015. EY jumps Jarrett and the GFW crew comes down to brawl with TNA stars like Robbie E and some other people that can’t be seen due to tight camera shots and jump cuts.

The GFW roster is pissed about this attack, but Jeff tells them it isn’t an invasion and it’s all about respect. “Mr. TNA” Josh Mathews and Elijah Burke, whose action figure has his WWE jacket, are angry about all these damned non-TNA guys coming in to TNA. Lei’D Tana comes down with her husband Royal Red to face Awesome King. Red tells Kong to bow to Tapa, so hopefully he gets beaten up a bit. Kong comes down and they talk more about this not being an invasion, but hating the GFW guys anyway.

Lei’D Tapa vs. Awesome Kong

They ram into each other a bit until Kong gets 2 off a crossbody. Kong clotheslines her down a few times before hitting a splash and getting 2. Tapa took a pretty awful bump for the final of three lariats there, but gets a Samoan drop for 2. Kong gets a chokeslam and clotheslines her to the floor over the top rope. They brawl on the floor for a double countount and brawl some more. Wow was this not good.

Josh talks about the KOTM match and we learn that PJ Black will be here and we get a brief interview with him saying he loves jumping out of planes and then hops back on his phone like he was when he came into the building with Jeff. After a break, Drew says he jumped off a shark cage in the KOTM match, and he’ll do whatever it takes to win.

Bobby Roode is in the ring talking about being pissed about Jarrett coming in and him not being in the main event. Bobby Roode is perhaps the only man angry about not being included in the king of the mountain match. He’s mad at Jeff, but even more mad at Spud for ending Austin Aries’s TNA career. Spud appears to be starstruck by Roode, but says he’s amazed at what a prick he is. Spud talks about Roode being a bully while Roode says there isn’t a person who can stop him, and Spud attacks him. Roode defends himself and chokes Spud with his jacket before hitting the Roode Bomb. Spud gets tossed to the floor and then shoulder-first into the steps before a crossface.

Jeff runs into Roode backstage and yells at him. “The Man” Jesse Godderz is mid-ring to face LASHLEY!? They’ve spent the better part of a year to build up Lashley in some way and he’s just back here with no hype or anything. Also, the winner goes onto the KOTM match.

Jesse Godderz vs. Lashley

Lashley clotheslines him down after some trash talk. Josh talks about “that woman Ronda Rousey beat up” while both Josh and Pope talk about how they don’t remember her name. Lashley gets a corner shoulder and a delayed suplex. Jesse gets a knee shot and lands a dropkick to the face before getting an inverted bearhug. Lashley lands a punch and a spinning back elbow to send Jesse down. Lashley takes him for a brief trip to suplex city with a German and overhead belly to belly. An Edge “spear, spear, spear” chant breaks out, but Jesse powerslams him for 2.  Jesse poses instead of doing the Adonis Crab, but gets kicked off and eats a spear for a loss.

Full Metal Mayhem clips from last week air. EC3 and Tyrus walk backstage, but we hear that there’s something going on and Drew is taken out – so TNA is down a man for the KOTM Title match. We get clips on the Drew attack again and Jeff talks to Dixie about this being “something”  and telling Dixie “trust me” over and over.

EC3 comes down to cut a promo, with Tyrus in an “I’m a Glorious Unicorn” singlet. EC3 says that Matt fought him in his own game and lost. When he defends the title, he’s in God mode and he’s the champion forever. Matt Hardy limps down and gives EC3 credit for beating a Hardy in a Hardy specialty. However, he’s not going to stop because he won’t die. EC3 says he now respects Matt, but it’s up to the people to give Matt a shot. EC3 says no, so Tyrus attacks him. EC3 hits him with the title and it appears that TNA is now using a replica belt judging by the cheap-looking leather backing. The Wolves walk backstage to face Trevor Lee and Bryan Myers.

Taryn tells the Dolls to take out Gail Kim next week inside a cage. It will be a very special “Turning Point” show. Josh talks about Myers and Lee while Bryan’s “@TheCurtHawkins” Twitter handle is shown. While that is needed for his account to be verified, I’m surprised they showed it on TV.

Bryan Myers and Trevor Lee vs. The Wolves

Josh hypes up TNA’s Youtube shows while Myers eats offense from the Wolves. The GFW team gets low-bridged and hit with a pair of baseball slides. Stero dives hit on the floor and Josh talks about Trevor growing up in Cameron, NC and growing up admiring Shane Helms. Bryan’s Jerry Lynn circa-ECW gear is nice. A Davey missile dropkick gets 2 on Lee before we get a forearm exchange between Lee and Davey. Trevor gets a slick deadlift German suplex for 2! The Wolves get the powerbomb>back cracker to win.

Lashley talks about defending TNA and being able to win in any fighting area he’s in. Tigre Uno comes down to face Sonjay Dutt, who has a very generic theme despite being in TNA for years. He also has no entrance video, which kind of makes sense on one level since he’s a GFW guy, but this is being done with TNA’s cooperation.

Tigre Uno vs. Sonjay Dutt

After Tigre ties Sonjay up using his own limbs, Sonjay gets a rana. They fight to the floor where Sonjay gets a running spinning rana. Sonjay sends him in and gets a springboard Rey Mysterio splash for 2. Josh reads his WWE commentator rulebook and talks about Drew being taken to a local medical facility while Tigre wins by rolling through a rana with a sunset flip and Josh brags about it being yet another win for TNA. Jeff Jarrett talks to EC3 and Tyrus – he’s proud of EC3 and says that next week, he’ll defend the TNA World Title against the winner of the King of the Mountain match.

We get a Mr. Anderson highlight video in TNA while he talks about what the mic represents. The mic stands for all of his success in TNA – his world titles, and it’s a symbol for him. He’ll face Bram next week in an open mic challenge. Robbie E comes down to replace Drew Galloway and defend TNA like he did in the opening brawl. The second entrant is PJ Black, who has the best theme of any of the GFW guys. Chris Mortetsky comes out while Josh buries him for being the second Adonis in TNA – behind Godderz. The World Class Maniac, the Lunatic Unhinged, the Deranged Eric Young comes down. Lashley is the last man out. Wow is this a random match.

TNA Legends/Global/World TV/King of the Mountain Title Match – Robbie E vs. PJ Black vs. Chris Mordetsky vs. Eric Young vs. Lashley

Lashley pins EY quickly and now Lashley is eligible for win. PJ gets a flash pin on Chris, so both EY and Chris are in the box. Robbie hits the Boom Drop onto PJ Black to send a third man into the box. Lashley beats Robbie E and then the first guys in the box, who we never saw, leave and brawl on the floor. EY and Mordetsky celebrate after the break, but EY eats a schoolboy and loses.

Pope points out several logic holes here, including why guys on opposite sides are talking to each other and why guys on the same “team” aren’t helping each other. During the Mortetsky lock on Lashley, Robbie E dives off the penalty box onto them to break it up. Robbie tosses PJ into the box, which pisses off EY. EY leaves the cage and hits him in the nuts before piledriving Robbie onto the steps so he can be sent into the box. Mordetsky and PJ Black brawl over the belt while Pope talks about the very prestigious King of the Mountain/World TV/Global/Legends title. Chris and PJ brawl on top of the ladder, but Lashley tips the ladder over and hits them with spears.

Lashley climbs up, but EY tips the ladder over. PJ does the Shelton rope to ladder hop and brawls with EY. Lashley climbs up top and spears EY off the ladder. That was easily the best spot of the night. PJ gets a 450 off the ladder sorta onto Lashley and wins the King of the Mountain title. This was quite the must-miss show even though the potential was there for everything here to be at least interesting to watch with new blood on Impact. Absolutely nothing clicked on the show and it’s sad to see how much worse the show has gotten over the past few weeks after a mostly good-to-great run of TV shows.

To see every screen taken for the show, just click here.

By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

Last week, Jeff Jarrett was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. It was one of his greatest promos ever, and would’ve been a nice sendoff to TNA if need be. Eric Young beat Chris Melendez quickly, while Brooke defended her title against Marti. Jeff Hardy returned and helped Matt grab weapons before setting up tonight’s Full Metal Mayhem title match between Matt and EC3. Mickie James also wrestled possibly her final match in TNA with Magnus and won with the jumping DDT. Tonight, Matt Hardy faces EC3 for the title, Drew battles Eli Drake, Spud faces Aries in a “Rockstar vs. Career” match, Bram battles Mr. Anderson, and Gial faces the Dollhouse.

The show starts off with a quick tribute video to Roddy Piper. They did an awesome one for Dusty, but this was too short to really mean much. A hype video sets up tonight’s card and Bram walks down the aisle to start the event. Bram is shown beating Anderson down before they brawl in the aisle.

Ken Anderson vs. Bram

Josh talks about this being a match between “two rivals” which is generally a good reason for a match to occur. They brawl for a bit on the floor before coming back in and Anderson sends him to the floor with a clothesline over the top. Josh begs for #nosurrender to trend while using more WWE Speak about what the story of the match is. Pope calls Bram the reincarnation of Brody, and he smashes Ken’s face on the apron and clubs his neck. Bram hits a back elbow while Pope talks about a knockout being like being hit by a tornado to oddly quote Matt Hardy’s WWE theme. Ken gets a handful of jabs and gets 2.

Ken goes up top for the Kenton, but eats a punch – hopefully Bram didn’t hurt his contract-signing hand. Bram doing superplexes is apparently another day in the park – I can’t imagine him being welcomed at many parks with behavior like that. Ken rushes out of the corner and eats a spinning heel kick, which looked quite good. That’s a new move from Bram, and it looked great. Bram gets a series of shortarm clotheslines, but refuses to release the arm before another clothesline gets a 2 count. Bram grabs the mic to hit Ken, but he eats a small package for the loss. Anderson wins, but eats a mic shot and Bram does his intro – so this feud is basically right where it was a week ago. Josh and Pope talk about this feud has clearly started, which would make sense if this was before the first match. They talk about the Rockstar Spud vs. Austin Aries match and Eli Drake vs. Drew Galloway.

JB is backstage with Matt Hardy to do a wacky early ’90s Mean Gene promo. Matt talks about he and Jeff defied the odds in wrestling, and boy did they ever. You’ve got two guys who were undersized, largely self-taught, but hard workers. They wound up, like Foley, working from the jobber role to being main eventers to some degree nationally. In a cute bit, Matt gives a shoutout to Pat Patterson by saying the crowd will be going banana. This was a super-fun little promo.

They plug the TNA Youtube channel shows while EC3 says “why should I care?” in his clip – which is pretty valid. James Storm comes out looking more pissed off than usual, and his blue jeans and red shirt mesh nicely with the red and blue background. He rants about Khoya failing him and wants him out here next. Storm slaps him around and insults his homeland, resulting in him eating a Sky High. Khoya renounces Storm’s name and goes back to his given name and says he’s proud of his people and tells Storm to never touch him again. Taryn narrates a recap video of her destroying Gail leading to a “Playtime is Over” video hyping up Gail. The Dollhouse walks backstage and after a break, Storm tells Khoya to put his boots on to dance with the devil.

Gail Kim vs. The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse comes out followed by Gail getting a new slightly more epic intro. Gail rolls through Marti’s shots before kicking her down. Gail gets 2 off a schoolgirl cradle. Marti gets some damage and Taryn screams to come in and gets 2. Taryn has some fantastic disgusted faces on the apron – it’s glorious. Josh, who talks about Twitter constantly, buries Pope for talking about Twitter during this match. During an upskirt shot of Jade, he says he won’t be degrading the women tonight like Pope is, and then Gail gets kicked in the ass. Gail hits forearms and kicks against the Dolls and gets 2 off a crossbody onto Marti. Gail gets Eat Defeat while Josh talks about how unfair this match was to Gail, so Josh was a face for this match.

We get a very yellow video package for Drew Galloway talking about his #StandUp movement and his Rising group. Eli Drake was his brother and they fought side by side, but it was just a way for Drake to make himself famous. Drew says that he stands up tonight to see Eli Drake fall – Drew in soundbyte form is a damn fine promo.

Drew Galloway vs. Eli Drake

Drew comes down and Drake is out in a hand-made #SitDown shirt while Josh says that Eli is easily hateable instantly and buries him for carrying a gallon of water with him at all times. What does Josh have against staying properly hydrated? Drake and Drew fight on the floor while fans hold Drake for a chop. Drew gets a flying lariat off the steps. Eli has ED on his gear – does he #standup for erectile dysfunction? The bell rings to signal either the match ending or beginning – neither announcers knows or cares. They’re now fighting in the ring, so I guess the match has officially begun. Eli posts Drew’s shoulder, but he eats some lariats and a big suplex. Drew hits a German suplex into the buckle, which Brock needs to steal. Eli gets an eye poke and an O’Connor roll before both grabbing the rope and using the trunks. Josh buries this as a hollow victory and then immediately goes on to talk about Aries-Spud having more to it than meets the eye.

We get a recap video of it literally being one conversation about Aries wanting the name “Rockstar” – does he not remember Austin Starr? Bully Ray is in his formal sportscoat in his “office” meeting with Brian Hebner telling him that he could one day be TNA’s senior referee before Roode comes in. Roode says that Aries losing would end his team and that takes money out of his pocket and he vows to ensure an Aries victory. Okay then. Bully appears to have just given up all hope in just this one vignette.

“The Former Austin Starr” Austin Aries vs. Rockstar Spud in a Career vs. Rockstar Match

Aries comes out while Josh talks about him being a World champion while Josh talks about Spud losing his underdog nickname. Pope says that there’s no such thing as overachieving in wrestling, here on a show with Matt Hardy main eventing in a World Title match. Spud and his horrible spray tan get taken down early for a Last Chancery, but he gets to the ropes quickly. Josh literally just compared Rockstar Spud vs. Austin Aries to a Flair vs. Rogers match for the rights to the Nature Boy name. It’s perhaps a step above Booker vs. Big T for the rights to the letter T. Aries gets the outside-in tope con hilo, but Spud fires back with punches, so Aries responds with a weak-looking STO to the back and a pendulum elbow.

Pope talks about a period in TNA history where the Rockstar name would’ve fit Aries well – that’s literally the first time they’ve so much as implied the Austin Starr moniker as being important in this match. Missile dropkick by Aries is buried by Josh because Pope called him Rockstar in the process. Spud goes for the multiple elbows, but Aries figures things out. The key to a Spud match seems to be to just not kneel in his general direction and you’re fine. Aries avoids The Underdog and gets a kneebreaker>back suplex facebuster for 2. The Last Chancery is locked on while Pope talks about Rocky. Given that I had a cat named Rocky and currently have one named Spud, I’m all for that. Corner dropkick by Aries. A small package gets 2 for Spud, but he eats two rolling elbows and then a third. Corner dropkick leads to Aries looking pissed off, hitting the move, and getting a 2.9. Pope yells about this in a very annoying way.

Josh talks about how Spud, two time former X Title holder has never beaten the greats like EC3 and Angle. Spud fires up and gets some punches, but a shining wizard is met with a lariat. Aries eats a bolo punch that sends him to the floor to eat a dive. Spud gets a frog splash for 2.5 and goes for the Underdog, but gets sent to the apron. Aries does a top rope ear box, which I love, but it’s countered into a Super Underdog/Cutter for the win! This was Spud’s best match since the EC3 match and well worth watching. A second after the count is tolled, Josh talks about how this is now sinking in for Aries. Aries has his TNA career ended, but he hands him his bow tie and Josh thanks Aries for what he’s done in TNA.

Aries talks to Roode backstage and Aries says he hates leaving this locker room, but he’ll be okay. It’s not goodbye – just see you down the road. This was a pretty underwhelming end for Aries in TNA – it’s a shame too since TNA really did save his career in 2011. He was set to retire due to Tough Enough – not because he was in it, but because he was rejected by it. TNA brought him back for Destination X and he had a career-best set of matches over the next year and a half and even won the World Title. Now, Storm’s out to face Sheera.

James Storm vs. Sheera

Sheera has GenericIndianMusic.wav as his theme and eats a ton of overhand chops from Storm. They’re not quite on par with Wahoo’s on the NWAClassics site, but they’re good. Storm slaps him a bunch, but eats a series of clotheslines. Corner shoulder charges buckle Storm, so he grabs the cowbell and smacks him in the end. I enjoyed this a lot – it was really simple, but it told the story that was needed. Storm creepily stalks him and spits on him. Backstage, Bully has been taken out and since Roode promised vengeance if Aries lost, it would make sense for it to be him – or is he just an off the chain red herring?

Dixie is dressed like an orange talking on the phone before Jeff comes in and asks to help Dixie out. Dixie doesn’t know how long Bully will be out – he asks to run the show for one week. About a month of storylines has seemingly gone on in about ten minutes. Josh and Pope talk about “the authority figure” being taken out. What other kind of narrative fiction does that? Where else do you hear characters being referred to just by the name of their character type? Tyrus and EC3 talk smack to Matt Hardy backstage about their main event tonight. Matt comes down and Jeff leaves him as per Bully’s order about no one being at ringside. Amusingly, an ROH plug is put over Matt Hardy’s intro, which seems fitting since Corino still puts Hardy over huge on commentary. EC3 comes down in slick blue, white, and black gear.

EC3 vs. Matt Hardy – World Title TLC Match

JB, easily the best modern-day ring announcer out there, gives this a big match intro. Boy should Matt just work in a shirt now. He did it as V1 – so there’s no good reason to avoid doing it now when it would help his look. Matt gets a corner bulldog, but EC3 elbows his way out of a Side Effect. EC3 hits him with a chair to the back before sitting in it to talk smack – that’s great, and new. Matt’s head gets bonked into the chair, but he fires back with a Side Effect. Matt hiptosses EC3 into the ladder in the corner. Matt gets a suplex while they talk about Matt possibly going into BFG in North Carolina as a World Champion. Matt climbs the ladder, but EC3 clips the knee.

We come back from a break with EC3 stomping away at Matt under the steps. He’s apparently been using a kendo stick during the break. EC3 gets taken down and Matt gives him the old 7/10 split to the crotch in the corner with the ladder. Matt gets a swinging neckbreaker and then the Twist of Fate. Matt goes for a moonsault through a table, but EC3 counters with a powerbomb through it. EC3 climbs up, but gets powerbombed down. Matt sets up the steps as a wall on the floor before making a ladder bridge. Matt sets up some sort of move onto the ladder, but eats a low blow and a shove onto the bridge. Matt gets a Side Effect on the apron to counter an EC3 shot on the apron. Matt gets a legdrop off the top to the floor through the table, which is quite terrifying given Matt’s age, injuries, and personal problems in the past. The medical staff checks on EC3 while a sliced-up Matt climbs the ladder. EC3 hits a chairshot to the knee, but we get a race up to the top anyway. EC3 kicks his knee out from under him to send Matt to the mat and retain his title.

EC3 and Matt had a very good match here. While Lucha Underground and Ultima Lucha had tonight’s biggest showcase, TNA still delivered an excellent show overall that just flew by. Both Matt Hardy vs. EC3 and Aries vs. Rockstar Spud were outstanding matches deserving of your time, and while TNA is clearly in rough shape, tonight was a reminder of how good they can be even with less than ideal circumstances.

To see every screenshot taken for the show, just click here.

By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

Last week, we found out that Jeff Jarrett would be going into the hall of fame tonight. His induction video showcased his career from Memphis through now and put him over slightly more than even his ’02-’06 title runs did in TNA. Magnus faced Bram in a street fight for reasons that were never explained, let alone adequately explained.  Bram won this all-weapons match with a schoolboy cradle of course. Eli Drake cut a great promo on Drew Galloway, and we got a horrible and annoying exchange between Taryn and Brooke that was almost saved thanks to Gail coming in and cleaning house. Due to TNA not checking on Hernandez’s legal status with Lucha Underground, we got a re-airing of the Slammiversary main event. The King of the Mountain match aired without any explanation of the rules, so the reverse ladder penalty box title match might’ve been a bit confusing for some. Tigre Uno challenged Donald Trump to come to the Impact Zone tonight, and while I’m not a betting man, I would bet a healthy sum that he doesn’t show up on this pre-taped show from weeks ago.

Eric Young faced Rockstar Spud in a chain match for some reason. Since TNA has all of this extra time to fill due to Hernandez, why can’t they fill that up with storyline explanations? They’ve already got supplemental content like this shot in HD for Youtube, why not put it on the show so things make sense? Speaking of which, Matt was somehow named the number one man in the TNA Top 5 and beat Bobby Roode in a nothing tables match to earn a World Title shot. Don’t let all of the words fool you though – there’s very little exciting actually going on in TNA outside of Gail Kim being a ninja and destroying Taryn’s faction.

The show starts with a recap of the Storm and Mickie issues alongside the rise of Matt Hardy as a World title-level guy and we’ll see Mickie’s final match in TNA, and Jeff Hardy returns too. Austin Aries comes down while Josh says that Aries will probably go into the TNA Hall of Fame one day. Aries says he’s not in a good mood and mocks Bully for not making him a top contender. Bully comes out in jeans, a shirt, and a pleather jacket and praises the fans. Bully says that Aries lost to Kurt, but he will give him a shot at the X Title – which Aries literally laughs off as a title for guys who aren’t main eventers. Josh says that Spud main evented and only got that due to the X Title. No, actually he opened the show while cashing in that title and main evented before ever winning this title against EC3.

Spud puts over Aries as possibly the best TNA World Champion in history, and he’s very upset to hear him bury the X Title. Aries says Spud isn’t a rockstar, and that if he can’t beat Spud, he doesn’t even belong in this ring. Bully talks about how great “the kid” is, despite Spud being 32. Bully makes Spud vs. Aries, and if Aries loses, he’s done. But if he wins, he gets to be called “Rockstar” Austin Aries. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than Austin Starr, probably worse.

We get a quick rundown of next week’s show’s events – it’s being called No Surrender. Kurt Angle talks to Chris Melendez about “that kid” Eric Young is 35, and they’re coming to the ring to call out EY next. Chris Melendez comes down with Kurt Angle for a match with Eric Young, but he calls him out like he wants a match despite Christy announcing this like it’s a match. It is, but first, EY talks to him about piledriving him. He’s also got the chain still, but I can’t see if he still has the Hammer Jammer on.

Eric Young vs. Chris Melendez

Chris shoves EY down while Josh talks about Austin Aries vs. Rockstar Spud for the rights to the name “Rockstar” being made official for next week’s show. EY stomps a mudhole into him while Josh says that sure, EY lives in America now, but he’s really a Canadian who doesn’t respect America. EY drapes him over the apron and drives his elbow into the neck while Pope calls him the Bearded Terror a bunch. EY rakes the eye and gets a piledriver for the win. Josh hypes up Brooke vs. Marti Belle for the title next.

JB meets with Matt to ask about what match type he’ll pick tonight. Matt says “we” have picked the match, but we won’t know tonight. JB asks who “we” is – so is Jeff Hardy’s return supposed to be a surprise or something? The generic knockouts video brings us to Marti’s intro while Josh says he won’t talk during the intro, but does. Instead of showing Brooke bending over, they cut to a shot of Billy Corgan’s tour poster.

Brooke vs. Marti Belle – Knockouts Title Match

Taryn distracts Brooke, resulting in a rabbit lariat for 2. Brooke gets a flying lariat off the second rope and a series of clotheslines. Dollhouse gets involved to attack Brooke, but Gail’s tron hits and the distraction leads to the X-factor/butterface maker/butterface makeover. This wasn’t all that good or noteworthy in any way. Tigre Uno calls out Donald Trump next.

We see more of Tigre in Mexico with his kids and we go to the Impact Zone where Christy says that Donald isn’t here, and so he’s a coward. EC3 says he doesn’t care about Matt Hardy’s stipulation and we go to another break. Former country music sensation J-E-Double F J-A-Double R-E-Double-T meets with former pop music sensation Billy Corgan. EC3 comes down with Tyrus while Josh talks about how he has been victimized for supporting EC3.

EC3 Talks About Matt Hardy

EC3 buries Jeff for having nothing but rednecks as fans, and while he might be afraid of Jeff, he isn’t afraid of Matt. He talks about Jeff falling off of everything in wrestling, but getting hurt on his little moped and calls Matt Khloe to his Kim. Jeff saunters out while Josh tries to get “Humanomoly” over as his new nickname. Jeff and EC3 blather on for a bit while Jeff says he’ll be back wrestling soon. Matt comes out and says it’s not a competition between he and Jeff – they have one another’s backs at all times. Jeff has Matt grab some objects from under the ring. We get a table, chair, and a ladder. After a while, we get a Full Metal Mayhem match announced. Storm and Serena face Magnus and Mickie next.

We get Team 3D’s induction video alongside earlier clips of the Angle and Sting inductions to hype up Jeff Jarrett’s induction later. Magnus says that the the world has been waiting for he and Mickie to team for two years, but tonight, it’ll be a fight. Storm and Serena come out, with Storm in ridiculous orange and green camo gear.

Mickie James and Magnus vs. James Storm and Serena

Magnus and Storm start this with a brawl while Pope talks about Storm vs. Magnus at the PPV being one of the best matches in the history of the Impact Zone. Serena cheapshots Magnus and Storm attacks, but avoids Mickie and chinlocks Magnus for an ad break. We return to see Mickie chase Serena, but Storm backstabs Magnus. He gets another chinlock and a lungblower. Mickie gets the tag and runs wild on Serena, but Storm grabs Mickie and she slaps him. Gutbuster to Mickie from Serena, but Magnus spears Storm. Serena calls for Khoya to come down, and whips Mickie into the steps. Magnus sidesteps Khoya and the stick hits Storm, leading to a Magnus powerbomb. Mickie gets the jumping DDT on Serena for the win. Mickie’s portions of the match were exciting, but the Magnus-Storm stuff didn’t click.

Jeff Jarrett’s hall of fame induction is next. But first, we get Ken Anderson talking to Mike Tenay about his future in wrestling. Ken says that Bram is dark, but he can get dark too. Bram tells Ken to kiss his kids goodbye, because it’s personal. Why is it personal? What is their grudge? Gail Kim faces the Dollhouse next week, which is the only new match added to No Surrender right now. Jeff Jarrett’s hall of fame induction video from last week is aired again.

Jeff Jarrett Hall of Fame Induction

Mike Tenay is in the middle of the ring to introduce Dixie Carter. She talks about Jeff having the industry in his blood and how she met him when they happened to live next door to each other in an apartment complex. Thanks to Jeff, TNA exists and without him, they wouldn’t be here. Jeff thanks everyone who has ever bought a ticket or a piece of merchandise. He thanks everyone who has received a check from TNA, and thanks Bob and Janice Carter for believing in him. He tears up with this and says that he always got to the office first to make the first pot of coffee. He thanks the Ring Ka King crew for sacrificing their time around the holidays.

He thanks anyone who worked in the X division, anyone who was in the tag division, and thanks Team 3D for coming from WWE to TNA. He thanks Nash, Foley, Steiner, and Booker T for coming to TNA. He tells Dixie that they’d have some ups and downs, but without her making the decision to bring him into the Hall of Fame, he wouldn’t be here. He talks about the importance of family and how he and his father had a falling out seven years ago. They were estranged for many years, but six weeks ago, they reconciled. He thanks Jerry and says that Jerry should be here before he is, but he loves him and thanks him. He thanks his daughters and Kurt’s kids for loving and supporting him. He thanks Karen for being his rock over the past many months and their love conquered their obstacles. Mike Tenay is holding back tears, Karen is crying, Jeff is weeping, and the crowd is chanting “thank you, Jeff”. TNA could end right here and it would feel pretty much perfect. The roster greets Jeff on the ramp and we get a rundown of No Surrender.

To see every screenshot taken for the show, just click here.