Evolve Wrestling reported this morning that Davey Richards will be off its two weekend iPPV shows due to an injury suffered last night.
Richards, who is half of the TNA tag team chamion Wolves, was wrestling last night in West Virginia, and was knocked out during a match. He was rushed via ambulance to the hospital. Due to the injuires he was both forbidden from flying, and from wrestling.
He was scheduled for shows tonight in Ybor City, FL against Zack Sabre Jr., and tomorrow night against Chris Hero. In both cases, a new main event caliber opponent will be a replacement according to the promotion.
Last week, TNA followed up Slammiversary with a “bell to bell” show featuring EC3 winning the World title from Kurt Angle. The BDC beat The Rising, forcing Drew Galloway’s group to disband, while Eli Drake suffered an iffy “knee injury” that kept him from losing. Mickie James swore vengeance on James Storm and any woman he can get to join his Revolution. The Wolves beat the Dirty Heels in an iron man match to win the tag titles, and we got about 30 seconds of a Jarrett and Tenay interview that mentioned GFW and TNA, but little else. Gail Kim returned and is back to get her title from Taryn Terrell and the Dollhouse.
The Takeaway
EC3 defended the title three times in largely nothing matches. We also got a couple of handicap matches, a Bram vs. Anderson match, and a Robbie E-Jessie street fight. Dixie Carter also returned and turned face, while Josh turned face and heel several times throughout the show. You can safely skip this show.
We get a long recap of the EC3-Angle match from last week, with new camera angles. EC3 is shown holding the belt up last week, and comes out with it now. Josh hypes up a new day for TNA, but sadly didn’t use clap therapy for it. EC3 says he’s unbeaten and the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Tyrus holds the belt up for him and EC3 says that Dixie’s returning and has put him in charge tonight. He’s booked a heck of a card and will defend his title EC3-times tonight!
Matt Hardy comes down and wants a title match. He asks for a Twitter campaign here on this taped show. EC3 asks Tyrus if he likes the idea of #mattforchamp, and Tyrus disagrees while a giant “yes” chant breaks out. EC3 declines and Matt guarantees an ass-kicking anyway. EC3 points out that he’s running the show and mocks Matt for being a new dad and sings “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”. The Dirty Heels come down and we get a brief recap of the Wolves beating them.
Matt Hardy vs. The Dirty Heels
EC3 comes down for commentary and hypes up a slobberknocker. Pope asks why the dinosaur is here and EC3 buries Pope for not following him on Twitter. Josh buries Pope for preventing him from talking to EC3. Aries runs wild with kicks and face rakes while Pope buries EC3 for making this unfair match. Matt gets the Ice Pick, which you’d never know because Josh is too busy talking about EC3’s mic not working. Hardy gets the Ice Pick once again, now on Aries. Pope gives EC3 his headset and Matt gets some clotheslines and a bulldog/dropkick to both guys. Matt does his goofy stuff before the Twist and it gets countered, so he doesn’t do that crap and hits it. Aries runs wild, but eats a kick in the corner. Aries counters a suplex and Roode holds Matt’s foot down for the win. EC3 says he lives for this – I sure hope not.
Josh hypes up the return of Dixie Carter and the second part of Jeff Jarrett’s interview, which will hopefully go longer than a minute. The Rising is backstage with Eli on a crutch to deliver one final message. If they were forced to disband last week, why weren’t they allowed to deliver this message then? Why are they being given a one week stay of execution? Did the BDC sign off on that or does every broken up faction get an extra to talk from now on?
An ad airs for Knockouts Knockdown 2015 and The Rising is mid-ring. Drew is sad about the end of The Rising. Why? Josh said last week that you can just change your name and get around the stipulation. Eli says they all deserve better than this and he thanks him for bringing him into TNA, and soon, he’ll show him how much that means. I don’t like Drew’s odds. Drew says that wrestling will be around forever and the roster is the future and the future is bright. A very mild TNA chant breaks out. Drew says that #standup will continue and EC3 feigns crying at ringside.
Tyrus comforts his boss in his time of need, and EC3 laments that he’s already booked Drew in a three on three tag because he now has no partners and “this ship has sunk”. Yup, the ship sure has. EC3 says that it’s time for Drew to have a new one on three match against a totally different faction than the one he was feuding with. Josh points out that this is the second handicap match of the evening, which doesn’t make this any more interesting.
Drew Galloway vs. The Revolution
Pope calls the action, or at least the Twitter action as #standup is apparently a global phenomenon. Abyss chokes Drew on the ropes. Drew clotheslines and neckbreakers the heels down, but Khoya gets a Sky High for two because Abyss wants the win. Drew dropkicks Khoya into Abyss, which sends the 350 pounder to the floor and crotches Manik up top. Drew counts to three and gets a Sick Kick for the win.
Backstage, Anderson congratulates EC3 on winning. Even though he doesn’t like the guy, he appreciates him being able to accomplish his dream and do so on his own. Anderson respects him putting the title up three times and wants one of the shots. EC3 declines and says he already has a match – against Bram. According to Twitter, he’s re-signed a deal with TNA – and that match is next. Anderson comes to face “The Chesterfield Plague, The Human Hate Machine” Bram who seemingly gets a new nickname with every contract.
Mr. Anderson vs. Bram
Maybe TNA has signed each nickname of Bram’s to a contract and that’s why he’s signed up through the end of time. Bram gets an armbar on the ground. Anderson gets a neckbreaker and a two count off a Kenton bomb. Bram hits him with a chair to the head on the floor for a DQ and Josh ponders that he doesn’t care. Well, I sure hope Bram wouldn’t care about a DQ against Mr. Anderson. Bram yells at someone to drop Anderson’s mic, and Bram uses it to do Anderson’s intro and bash his head in with. Josh says “ouch” to every shot and we close to Bram rapping the mic against his own head. Okay then.
Jessie “The Man” Godderz is mid-ring and we see clips of a street fight from last week. Did that air on Xplosion? I have no recollection of it on Impact, but it’s leading to a street fight match this week. Pope says he wouldn’t wear his tights or boots to a street fight like these men are.
Jessie Godderz vs. Robbie E – Street Fight
Robbie dives to the floor and gets a running trash can lid shot to the head. Robbie gets a kendo stick from under the ring and gets a Cesaroplex onto a lid. Robbie puts the can over the genital region of Jessie and thwacks the lid with the stick. Jessie sidesteps a plancha and drives Robbie’s back into the post with a backbreaker. Josh theorizes that Jessie is trying to hurt him, which Pope buries him for since it’s a street fight. Jessie gets a slow buckle bomb and rakes the forearm across the face.
Jessie gets the cane and hits the gut and back, but tosses it to the crowd. Jessie tosses a garbage can in and puts it in the corner. Robbie is down and Jessie gets another cane, but Robbie legsweeps him. Robbie’s nose is busted up and he eats a big dropkick after a few punches. Jessie brings a few chairs in, but gets rammed into the trash can.
This is a by the numbers garbage match from nearly any video game of the past decade. Jessie lands a Last Ride through two chairs and it only gets two. Why not have that as a finish? It’s an over move, it looked vile, and it’s a mid-card match. Ah, now it makes sense – the Adonis Crab is locked on with Jessie sitting in the chair and trapping Robbie, who passes out from the pain. Why would you re-use the legendary Austin vs. Bret finish for Robbie E vs. Jessie Godderz of all things?
EC3 talks about having three five star matches tonight, thus creating a 15-star evening. Lashley bumps into EC3 and wants to be one of the opponents. EC3 declines, but does make Lashley vs. Tyrus. God, I hope that’s short. Angle is reading and the camera guy asks what he’s reading, and Kurt just says that things are going to get interesting. Okay then – maybe he was reading the new Dusty bio in the Observer.
Jarrett interview is up and Jeff says the deal between GFW and TNA is a work in progress. In August of 2014, he made GFW and has made alliances with companies across the world. He never thought TNA would be one of the alliances, thus framing GFW as bigger than TNA on TNA’s TV show. We get some GFW Youtube footage of the events of the past couple of weeks. Jeff says the KOTM title will now be the centerpiece of GFW and possibly other companies. Mid-ring, EC3 is here instantly – it’s title match time. EC3 says he has to go back to where he started – against Norv Ferman. Or Norv Fernum as he was known before and as the graphic states.
EC3 vs. Norv Fernum
Maybe TNA has re-signed Norv Fernum and/or Norv Ferman to contracts. Headlocker driver hits and Norv takes a great bump for it. EC3 doing his own intros and outros is quite great – he’s good at the job. Pope says that this is just a way for EC3 to stroke his ego while Josh strokes him. EC3 says that it’s Shark Week on Discover, so it’s time for Shark Boy!
EC3 vs. Shark Boy
Shark Boy was last seen being fat and thus getting a months-long series of storylines out of what was going to just be a one-shot – so kudos to him for that. He’s also lost his excess weight and is back in shape. EC3 tells him he’ll need a bigger boat and asks if he has a chance – Sharky responds with a shell yeah! Shark Boy pounds away with corner mount punches, but he eats a big lariat. Headlock Driver hits for the win. Josh wants a “shelfie” with Shark Boy. I normally don’t like Josh, but that was a great line.
EC3 asks Tyrus to cut him and Kurt comes down with his envelope. Kurt says he has a contract and can get his rematch whenever he wants. He wants the title back and wants the rematch tonight. Pope wants this while Josh clearly doesn’t. Lashley’s out now too – so maybe he’s the third man. According to Josh, it’s Kurt. I have no idea what’s happening here.
Lashley vs. Tyrus
So the series is over, and now it’s time for Lashley vs. Tyrus. Lashley manages to outwrestle Tyrus, but eats a facebuster. Lashley hops up for a sleeper, but eats a crossbody for 2. EC3 says that Norv is like his son and we’re seeing his guy dominate an MMA expert. Exploder by Tyrus to Lashley and we’ll be getting EC3 vs. Angle in the main event. Tyrus goes up for a Vader bomb, but he’s hit in the thigh and hit with an electric chair drop. This was pretty scary as he kept moving backwards a bit and Lashley couldn’t keep him very steady – he hits it and gets the spear for the win. Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne is up next.
But first, it’s part two of…part two of the Jarrett-Tenay interview. Jeff is asked what his legacy is in TNA ans he says the facts speak for themselves. In the ring, he was proud of his series with Kurt at that point in his career. He loved his early matches with AJ Styles and he’s proud to see him become what he is and he’s so proud of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and the other TNA Originals. He loved Don West and he takes great pride in that team. Velvet comes out first while Josh talks about her just wanting her spot back. Madison gets a jobber intro, but a mic. She says Velvet’s dressed like a fan, so Velvet beats her up.
Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne
Pope says that Velvet’s got not just any stunner – but the Number One Stunner. Velvet beats her up on the floor, but breaks the count at 7. Madison tackles her down for 2. Northern lights suplex gets 2 and Madison follows that up with a cravate and knee strikes. Madison does the wave and shakes her hips before the headscissor driver. Velvet gets up and hits a series of kicks while Pople rattles off the Konami code. Velvet gets the Number One Stunner for the win.
We see the TNA crew doing some charity work, and get Kurt Angle’s ring introduction right after. EC3’s intro is greeted with a pretty healthy amount of cheers. EC3 comes out and the belt looks great on him, but it’s hurt by him being scared and not arrogant – so he doesn’t look nearly as cool here as he usually does.
EC3 vs. Kurt Angle – TNA World Title
EC3 rolls to the floor out by “the man dinosaur” as Pope calls him. EC3 breaks the count a few times, but Kurt traps him in the corner and works on the leg. Kurt snap suplexes him over for 1. Rolling Germans hit for Kurt, but Tyrus goes up on the apron to take out Tyrus. Ankle lock is on EC3 mid-ring and EC3 pulls himself up via Brian Hebner and punches him out and taps out. Another ref came in and calls for the bell – and we’re told it’s via DQ. Josh says we’re not quite sure what happened and he recaps the events. Okay then. The main event will be Dixie Carter’s return and she comes into the building for the first time since being put through a table by Bully Ray nearly one year ago.
EC3 is mid-ring twirling the mic around and says he’s done it again. Tonight, his aunt returns and we get her theme again. Dixie gets no reaction coming out, but a quick “Dixie” chant. Ethan hopes his aunt is proud and she stumbles over her lines as he talks. She shuts him up and says that she hasn’t been in the ring since she broke her back due to the “reign of Carter”. She says she was the monster who lied and manipulated everyone while hurting the company and its fans. Now he’s making the same mistakes she made. Dixie says she can’t change the past and wishes she could, but she can make sure her mistakes aren’t repeated.
He’s earned the title, but he has to defend it without his last name. She’s embarrassed by the show tonight, but he’s right about one thing – the show needs someone in charge to make the tough decisions. She wants this to be the best wrestling company in the world and knows who can make it that – it’s not her, and it’s not EC3. Next week, we’ll get an X Title three way and Brooke vs. Taryn for the Knockouts title. Well, that was an abrupt ending to a largely bad show.
To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.
This Is Awesome Wrestling Show with host Glenn Moore, interviewed new TNA World Champion Ethan Carter III today about his win and other topics. EC3 talks about the title win, which is his first singles belt of his career. What will the future hold for EC3 and TNA? He discusses what’s going on with Global Force Wrestling. Also, he talks about his character progression, and how Wednesday’s win was a culmination of his work from the last two years.
On Becoming TNA World Champion:
“Everything I’ve ever been through, every stupid personal or professional hell I’ve ever had to overcome, it made it all worth it. I’m very fortunate. I hate using the word blessed, because people use #blessed way too much. But for one day, I can say I was #blessed.”
Being able to watch his win and experience it with everyone else:
“Watching it personally, I had a nice soiree. My girlfriend hooked us up with a party and a bunch of people came by. What was cool about it, as much as people who support either her or I, our friends, they not huge wrestling fans. They check it out from time to time. Kind of fans we need more of, which is mainstream people checking it out from time to time. You know, again, when we talk about smart fans and credibility, or messing with the finisher or outside interference. The hook, line, and sinker with every little thing we did and every part of that story we told, like, it was mostly clean, but I’m still kind of a dirt bag because I still need a little help — the stuff with Tyrus.
I guess, a guy whose never had a wrestling match in his life who can give out stars can say, ‘Hey, that’s typical TNA.’
When you watch the reaction of the people we try to get, and they are hooked, line and sinker, and they are buying into this and seeing it unfold, it was kind of an out of body experience.”
Impact of having Kurt Angle be the wrestler he wins belt from:
“He’s a Hall of Famer in every company he’s been in, let’s not forget that. But I mean, dude, whoa. Like, whoa.
Like you said, we grew up watching Kurt. It’s very, very rare you have the opportunity to have your dream match. And I think it’s even more rare that it happens to be for a world title. It’s surreal.
You know, I’ve had that match a thousand times in my head. I remember doing German suplexes and then Angle Slams in my backyard, locking in the ankle lock. Next thing you know, I’ll take about eighteen of them…I don’t remember because they all hit me in the head. Withstand that, then defeat him with a wrestling hold. Ha! Pin! What? Out of control.”
Who hugged him first after win?
“John Gaburick.”
What did Angle say after the match?
“Later that day, he was sitting down talking to me, and I will not say what he said to me. But to hear those words come out of his mouth, was maybe even more important than actually winning the title.”
Joining the list of past TNA World Champions, like Sting, Jeff Hardy, Bull Ray, Samoa Joe, Mick Foley, Angle, and more:
“When you read it like that, that’s a pretty damn exclusive list. I guess that’s a great thing about TNA World Championship, they take a lot of slack for doing things wrestling fans hate for some reason. One thing they do very well is keep the integrity of the World Championship. And that’s pretty cool to be on that list.”
Global Force Wrestling released a video Wednesday night announcing Bobby “It Factor” Roode is coming to their organization. As part of the video, Roode announced that he would be appearing on the 7/24 show in Las Vegas and would appear as part of a one-night tournament to crown the first GFW world champion.
The following is an interview with Nick “Magnus” Aldis from the Jobbing Out podcast:
On leaving TNA:
“When I gave my notice, by the time we got off the phone, I felt like 100 lb weight has been lifted off my back.”
On the locker room:
“To be honest, it’s been very turbulent.”
“There were certain things I heard in the conference call, where the talent said things like I’m disgusted by this, or we have the right to know…the thing you have to remember is nobody owes you a living. You don’t have a right to be guaranteed anything.”
Booking issues after Jeff Jarrett left:
“He had a good idea of some fundamental parts of booking…When Jeff left, there were a lot of things that I felt that there was a struggle, that when Jeff was there, he would have nipped it in the bud.”
He talks about a problem in the industry, people taking too little money to wrestle, and hurting everyone one else in the process:
“Guys are undercutting each other…There are too many people willing to come in and take the same spot for less money.”
“You might look like you have this super-great attitude, but you’re f*cking everyone over, because you’re doing things for way too cheap. So now it’s harder for everyone else to justify our pay.”
That attitude hurting TNA:
“You can’t blame the guys paying the money, because their job is to get the best services for the lower prices, but you get what you pay for. And I think that’s something that TNA is experiencing now, and understanding now.”
The feud with James Storm:
“At the beginning, we had a great in-ring segment.We put in loads of great little subtle nuances, and I thought this would be really good…Suddenly we get the word that this is what they want to do with this train thing. I think some of it unfortunately tied in to that they knew I wasn’t going to stay. That was an issue. Nonetheless, when the train thing came about…I’m trying to be as positive as I can. This was one situation that when it was described, I couldn’t find a single person that liked it. I couldn’t find a single person, apart from the guy whose idea it was, that didn’t say “what the hell is that?”
Last week was an eventful one for TNA Wrestling. Jeff Jarrett returned on the live-to-tape edition of the show, Tigre Uno won the X Title, EC3 beat Lashley, The Dirty Heels tied up the tag title series via cheating, and Vader faced Bram. The company also had what could be its final PPV event ever in Slammiversary, which saw Jarrett win the newly-created King of the Mountain title. It’s the former Legends/Global/World Television Title and Josh wondered just what this meant. If history is any indicator, it will be quickly abandoned and/or won by Devon. The PPV wasn’t all that good, but did feature the final appearances (for now) of James Storm, Magnus, and Austin Aries. Tonight, we get the Angle vs. EC3 match that has been built up for a good portion of the year, and EC3’s campaign trail ends tonight.
The show begins with a Kurt Angle hype video while we see EC3 beat every TNA hall of famer to this point, including Kurt Angle himself. Josh runs the card down and we’ll get the first part of a Mike Tenay sit-down interview with Jeff Jarrett. Josh announces that the BDC vs. The Rising will force the losing team to disband, which wasn’t announced before. It’s also an elimination match. Hernandez’s return is shown. The Rising comes down with Drew in black while his partners are in yellow and black.
Match One – BDC vs. The Rising – Losing Team Disbands
Drew and MVP start things off with punches. Drew wins this war and MVP goes to his corner and tags in Low-Ki. Ki charges away and gets some nasty corner chops before landing some on Ki too. Mica comes in and gets a big legdrop for 2. King comes in and talks smack for a bit. He gets 2 off a snap suplex and tags MVP in. Josh says that if the BDC loses, he’ll just make a new group called something else. Well, that’s certainly a new way to kill a stipulation. King and Ki come in and double-team Mica to take him out. Josh points out that it’s now 2-on-4, so The Rising agreed to this match with high stakes despite having the odds greatly stacked against them. What morons. An EC3 hype video airs made by DA.
Ki and MVP attack Drew, who eats a back suplex from Ki for 2. Ki locks on an abdominal stretch and we get a Dixie Carter Twitter plug. Drew escapes and gets a backdrop. Eli gets some punches in on MVP, who tags in and also eats a flying lariat. He hits a smooth pop-up superplex while Drew takes out Hernandez. Eli dives out and says he can’t go – he heard a pop. The BDC is overjoyed by this and Drew goes in to the battle and manages to come off like a badass in the process.
Hernandez and Drew exchange slaps and chops in the corner. Hernandez tags King in, who lands a corner dropkick. Ki misses a kick and hits King, and Drew pins Ki off a schoolboy. King is out from Ki’s kick and gets beaten 2. Ki and Drew brawl on the floor. Hernandez comes back in and eats forearms. Sick kick hits hard, but MVP attacks him. Hernandez gets the Border Toss while MVP comes in to pick the scraps. MVP lands the Play of the Day and tells Drew to stay down. Drew tells him “up yours” and eats a Drive By kick for the loss. Josh says the Rising must disband and then they just “to the back” it for match and interview graphics.
BDC talks backstage while King says that Ki might’ve separated his shoulder. King and MVP argue for a bit over Hernandez being brought in. Magnus comes out and the show’s video and audio go weird for a few seconds. Magnus tells Storm he’s sorry his parents didn’t love him as a kid, but that the human spirit is the biggest driving force in the world. He introduces Mickie, who looks fantastic after being tossed onto train tracks. Luckily, Magnus got revenge on Storm for this at the PPV. This wasn’t brought up at all. Mickie says that they have real love and then Storm’s theme hits while Mickie is overjoyed and wants him to bring his “coward ass” down there.
Storm comes down looking like a disco cowboy while Khoya is in a bland white and red shirt that says “I took the pledge”. Storm says if he pushed her harder, she’d be able to hold her son in a wheelchair. Storm says he didn’t want Mickie – he just wanted to manipulate a woman. Mickie mocks him for trying to get followers – maybe he should try paying for some on Twitter. Mickie thanks him for bringing the crazy out of her and promising one more match. She wants him to find “one woman” and she’ll kick her ass. Mickie was awesome here. A graphic for the iron man match is up next. But first, EC3 and Tyrus train a bit backstage with a “Win EC3 Win” shirt on EC3. Josh says that Full Metal Mayhem is still a trending topic on Twitter. Josh says this match came about due to Aries winning at Slammiversary – so nearly 40 minutes into the show, and we know one match result from that show. The Heels sadly don’t attack Davey while he does his goofy pose on the ropes.
Match Two – The Wolves vs. The Dirty Heels – Iron Man Tag Title Match
Aries and Davey get a collar and elbow and Davey kicks out quickly from a cradle. Roode tags in for a cheapshot to the ribs. Davey comes back and tags Eddie in. Back and forth babyface tags lead to more arm wringers. Aries comes in for a cradle and gets 2. Roode gets a second rope axehandle to the arm and we get a dueling bearhug/front chancery from Aries and Davey. Davey runs wild with kicks and gets 1. Inverted atomic drop leads to a kick and double stomp to Aries and double leg stretcher to Roode mid-ring. Aries cheapshots Eddie and sets up a brainbuster, but Eddie counters with a suplex.
Davey runs wild and gets a dragon screw and a modified Indian deathlock. Wolves attack in the corner. Aries stops a backpack stunner with an eye rake. Heels run wild and get a fake tag to get an edge. Aries destroys the knee with holds and Eddie gets the rope. Eddie gets some chops and eats a boot to the gut from Roode. Roode elbow drops the knee to keep the momentum rolling there. After 10 minutes, we get a clock on-screen with no falls at this point. Josh corrects Christy for saying there were 10 minutes left since only 10 had gone by.
Eddie gets a double rana to both Heels and tags in Davey. He dropkicks Roode to force a DDT to Aries. Davey t-bones Roode, but Aries comes in for a 2. Roode eats a flying headbutt from Eddie for 2. Everyone’s down at the 14 minute mark, with 16 minutes left in the match. After the break, we have 11:50 left and Aries gets 2 off a cover. Aries gets the axehandle to the floor for 2. Dirty Heels got a powerbomb>missile dropkick combo, but Eddie comes in for a save at 2.9.
Davey gets a double stomp to Roode as the commentators once again ponder this match either having no falls or it just getting one late in the game. I love this because logically, world-class guys shouldn’t be beaten in an iron man match any faster in this match than any other. Backpack stunner hits for Eddie and only get 2.9 – Roode just barely got his shoulder up in time. Eddie chops away in the corner, so Aries slaps his shoulder. Davey gets a big dropkick for 2.
Aries prevents the powerbomb>backstabber and they get their own backbreaker>pendulum elbow for 2. Roode gets a gourbuster setting up an Aries somersault senton and the Last Chancery, but Davey gets a sliding dropkick to break it up. Aries eats a two-man Alarm Clock and a pair of double stomps for a 2.9 thanks to Roode breaking it up. There are five minutes left with a 0-0 fall count. Aries gets a rana and a corner dropkick. Spinebuster hits and sets up a 450 for a 3 count. The Heels get the first win here with 4 minutes remaining. Aries goes for quick pins on the weakened Eddie, but only gets 2. Aries tries to keep them on the floor to run the clock down.
They tag in and out to keep a fresh man in. This is an excellent strategy and it makes for a compelling match even on a wrestling-heavy night like this where it can be easy to lose focus. This is a far better overall match than Mundo vs. Puma was, and isn’t nearly as gimmick-heavy. Eddie gets some chops and punches while Christy says there are two minutes left, so the Wolves need two wins to get the gold. Aries slugs away in the corner, but he eats a powerbomb>backstabber, so it’s now tied up 1-1.
Roode hits a belt shot to Eddie, but Eddie kicks out with 30 seconds to go. Roode’s in and goes for the DVD, but Eddie rolls him up and gets the third fall! Roode gets the crossface, but he can’t get the tap – the Wolves regain the titles. This was a stellar match overall, and this was a great tag team title series. While the tag title turmoil has really hurt the tag division in TNA, things like this do remind you of what makes TNA work when it does, which is why it’s sad to see the company in the state it’s in. Josh plugs EC3 vs. Angle tonight.
The “athletic, sexy, and powerful” knockouts ad airs, and is completely different than WWE’s old “smart, sexy, and powerful” ads for the divas. Kong comes out to face Brooke and Taryn in a three way for the title. It sure looks odd for the Dollhouse to have this fairly big setup with props and yet no time elapses for the intros. Taryn wrestling in lingerie strangely works for her.
Match Three – Taryn’s Got a Belt vs. Brooke’s Got a Booty vs. Kong’s Got an Implant Buster
Josh talks about how the heel is outnumbered here with WWE math. Kong gets tired of missing stomps, so she just grabs Taryn to attack her. Kong charges into Taryn and Brooke X factors Taryn. Brooke and Kong go at it with Taryn on the floor. Kong gets a spinning sleeper to Brooke, but eats a missile dropkick. Taryn gets a clunky shortarm clothesline and rubs Brooke’s face in the mat for 2. Pope says that Josh should have his face rubbed in the mat for basically talking too much smack. Taryn gets a snap suplex. Kong gets punches and a palm strike to Taryn. Chokeslam hits, but the Dolls trip her up to the floor. Brooke elbows away at Taryn mid-ring and spears her down. Dolls prevent a flying elbow from Brooke, who takes a nasty bump on her hip on the apron. Kong goes to splash Taryn, but Jade kicks her back and Taryn cutters her for the win. Taryn has now made history as the longest-reining knockouts champion ever. Does that really mean much with the company going dark for three months? The fire-filled video packages were all for Gail, who has a revamped theme and fire-themed graphics. Jarrett’s interview is next and then it’s title match time.
Mike meets with Jeff and Karen for their interview. He asks about what this all means for TNA and GFW. Jeff says that coming back was surreal and the win and the buzz says that there’s definitely a future with TNA and GFW. Well, that was it – it took maybe three minutes. EC3 comes out with a big intro, as does Kurt. TNA really does get the big match intro right – this feels like a huge deal with them going backstage for each guy and using expanded themes they never use otherwise.
Main Event – Kurt Angle vs. EC3 for the TNA World Title
Mid-ring, we get a tie-up and a dueling EC3/SUCKS chant. EC3 wins out and bows amid a “you can’t wrestle/yes he can” chant. Kurt starts working on the arm, but EC3 gets some punches. Kurt gets an overhead belly to belly and the rolling Germans, but EC3 blocks a third, so Kurt just tosses him to the floor – nice. EC3 elbows out of a German on the floor, but he eats a belly to belly. EC3 gets covered for less than 1. Rolling Germans once again, and EC3 avoids a third and gets a running lariat for less than 1. EC3 gets a chinlock as Josh talks about him having the Carter genes on his side. EC3 lands a belly to back suplex and gets a Stinger splash and a TKO for 2.5.
Pope says he can take the moves because he retired Sting. EC3 chops away in the corner, so Kurt just punches him. Kurt misses a shoulder charge and eats a DDT on the apron. That was scary in 2003 and much scarier in 2015. After an ad break, EC3 gets a mid-ring kneeling full nelson. Kurt powers out while Pope talks about the power of Kurt’s neck after working on it to protect it after surgeries. Kurt gets a corner charge boot and a lariat. Kurt goes for the rolling Germans once again and lands them all. Kurt’s readying the Angle slam, but EC3 avoids that and takes more Germans!
After a trifecta, Kurt gets 2.5. EC3 misses the Stinger splash and eats an Angle slam for 2.5. Kurt gets the ankle lock on, but EC3 rolls Kurt to the floor. Tyrus clotheslines Kurt down on the floor, resulting in a big Pope rant. Josh buries Pope for making a valid point. Kurt ducks out of the headlock driver and gets the ankle lock again. He counters and eats more Germans. Kurt tosses EC3 into Tyrus and gets one more Angle slam for 2.5!
A “that was 3” chant breaks out. EC3 is in the ankle lock again, but a roll through doesn’t hit the ref. Instead, an overhead belly to belly does with a boot. Tyrus attacks Kurt again. EC3 does the Taker situp and goes for the headlock driver again. It hits and gets 2.9! EC3 is shocked, which puts that move over nicely. Tyrus gets a chair and nudges the ref with it. Brian Hebner kicks Tyrus out, resulting in a yes chant from Pope. EC3 is absolutely terrified now, and Josh is now against Tyrus.
EC3’s finisher is countered into an ankle lock mid-ring. He grapevines the leg, which has been a deathknell in TNA in 2015. EC3 puts his wristband in his mouth to avoid submitting, but gets near the ropes. Kurt goes for it again, but EC3 kicks away. EC3 gets a cradle out of the Angle slam and wins the title. This was a good finish for doing a rematch – EC3 won reasonably clean by the end there, and EC3’s rise is one thing that TNA has done perfectly since 2013. EC3 closes out the show holding the title above his head. This was a must-watch show with a lot of really fun matches.
To see every screen taken for the show, just click here.
Jeff Jarrett on Twitter today stated that he sits down with Mike Tenay to discuss the future of GFW working with TNA tonight.
While not specified, my beilef is that this was an interview that was taped on Saturday or Sunday, that will be released by Jarrett tonight, as opposed to an interview being done today.
TNA’s Tyrus joined CBS Radio’s Chad Dukes Wrestling Show this past week to discuss working with EC3, working with Jason Albert,Dusty Rhodes, John Cena’s recent mention of him on Raw, TNA/ROH, and more.It’s a very hilarious listen in which Tyrus pulls no punches when joking about the Funkasaurus gimmick, John Cena, and ROH.
On Jason Albert:
“I think my game expanded tagging with him. So deep, man he knows so much he doesn’t let anything bother him, where I’m more emotional. Everything bothers me. Like somebody says something sideways I’m like, ‘I’m gonna kill that-‘ and he’ll be like, ‘Hey man, hey, relax it’s okay forget it.’ Perfect example, when we had to do that lingerie spot, I was more upset that he had to do that and he was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to make this work.’ And we ended up being a tag team. I wanted us to turn heel together.”
“Performance-wise not seeing him is a disservice to the fans but as a trainer, I think you’re going to start seeing this next generation of guys coming up under his tutelege, you’re going to see a lot of guys that really got their stuff together. His influence, I mean he was he was in the Attitude Era and he was in after that, he was in New Japan, as far as like moves, psychology, and stuff I can’t think of anyone better to be honest with you.”
On Dusty Rhodes:
“I mean, I couldn’t have done [The Funkasaurus] without Dusty Rhodes. He was so instrumental in the whole character thing.”
“I spent the whole day with Dusty and he played ‘Moves Like Jagger’ and me and him danced to it in the arena all day. I actually have the footage but I was told I was never allowed to show it but I watched it the other day because I missed him.”
“This is the same guy when I first got there and I was about four hundred sixty pounds they told me I had to wear trunks. I was like, ‘Oh my god, they hate me.’ So what does Dusty do? He comes to work with his shirt off. He walks around the arena with his shirt off. ‘If I can do it baby, you can do it.’”
Joking about John Cena’s mention of him on Raw recently:
“Cena ran his mouth a couple weeks ago that I was lumped in with the XFL, son of a bitch, and I was like he XFL was cool. And listen, the only difference between him and P.N. News is that he got a push, because he wasn’t the first rapping gimmick. He wasn’t the first guy with a chain, he just won some titles. If he didn’t he’s just white P.N. News. It’s good. He wants to do an open challenge, keep running your mouth you know, you’ll see the US Title in TNA. I’ll keep it for as long as I want to. But yeah I mean it’s one of those things where you know what my name’s being dropped in three wrestling promotions in one week, why not.”
– Kurt Angle will be having surgery to remove a tumor on his neck but it is not a major operation and he is expected to be ready to wrestle in about three weeks, which would be touch and go with the next tapings from July 22 to July 29.
– TNA’s Bob Ryder stated on Twitter that Awesome Kong and Taryn Terrell are still under contract, until December and March respectively, contrary to what was reported here earlier today.
– Kurt Angle announced at Saturday’s TNA Wrestling tv tapings that he had a tumor in his neck that finally needed surgery. Angle has had a benign tumor in his neck for some time, dating back more than three years ago, that was starting to cause him problems of late with muscular atrophy.
– Taryn Terrell and Awesome Kong’s TNA contracts expired as of this weekend and tonight’s Slammiversary is expected to be their last show, which explains Terrell losing her championship during the TV tapings this past week.
