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Category: Impact Wrestling

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Lockdown: Hardy vs. EC3, Knockouts Lethal Lockdown

    Last Week on Impact:

    On last week’s episode of TNA Impact, Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud reunited to defeat the team of TNA World Champion Matt Hardy & Tyrus.

    Tonight on Impact:

    Tonight is a special edition of Impact! It features a Pay-Per-View caliber line-up. The one, the only… TNA Impact Wrestling: Lockdown! All the matches are taking place inside the infernal and devilish Six Sides of Steel Cage.

    In the huge main event, TNA World Champion Matt Hardy will defend his title against the deadly, Ethan Carter III. For the first time in TNA history, the Knockouts will compete in Lethal Lockdown when The Dollhouse battles it out with The Beautiful People and Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. Additionally, X Division Champion, Trevor Lee puts his title on the line against Tigre Uno. In tag action, Beer Money takes on Eric Young and Bram.

    Show Recap:

    Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to the Wembley Arena in London, England. The Six Sides of Steel is already set up and ready for our first match.

    Beer Money (James Storm & Bobby Roode) vs. Eric Young & Bram

    James Storm rides down to ring on the Boozer Cruiser, with of course his Boozer Cruiser Cam. While Beer Money, EY and Bram brawl on the outside, Storm takes a beer from someone in the crowd and spits it in Bram’s face. This gets a “TNA” chant from this hot crowd in London. EY and Bram took out Storm on the outside and then locked the cage door with Storm on the outside still. They get the advantage on Roode by isolating him with double team moves. James Strom recovers on the outside and climbs the cage to get in, and then takes down both men on his own. EY countered out of the DWI in a cool spot, and then got hit with a violent super kick from Storm. Beer Money hits the DWI on Bram for the pin and the win!

    This was a really strong opening tag team match and a great way to start Lockdown. Beer Money continues to be one of the highlights each week on Impact.

    -Earlier today Matt Hardy, Reby Sky and Tyrus arrived in the arena.

    -Backstage, EC3 meanders around the halls alone before heading to the ring.

    -Back from commercial, we start backstage on Brian Hebner as he frantically runs down the steps and finds an injured Madison Rayne screaming in pain.

    -The Catchiest music in wrestling history hits and EC3 makes his way down to the Six Sides of Steel. He does his promo sitting on the steps and the electric crowd breaks out into a huge “EC3” chant while he talks about his feud with Matt Hardy and his match later. EC3 enters the cage and calls out Rockstar Spud. Josh mentions that last week EC3 wanted to face Hardy and Tyrus alone, but Rockstar Spud came out to be EC3’s partner. EC3 thanks Spud for helping him last week and extends his hand for a handshake. The crowd breaks out into a “shake his hand” chant. Spud shakes his hand and says “handshakes aside, I always does the ring thing.” Matt Hardy, Reby and Tyrus interrupt EC3 and Spud. Hardy says everyone should fear him. The crowd chants “We want Jeff”. For legal reasons Jeff can’t come to the U.K. for this tour, but Matt failed to mention that.

    -Backstage, Jermey Borash interviews Trevor Lee and Shane Helms.

    -Back from commercial, the Unnamed Man from last week (who is identified as Jimmy Havoc) talks about Rosemary of Decay. He mentions that she’s dangerous and he brings that out in her. He’s going to get her back from Crazy Steve and Abyss.

    TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee w/ Gregory Shane Helms vs. Tigre Uno

    This was a really good match with lots of intense and fast paced action throughout. Lee gains the advantage on Uno and uses his power moves to dominate. Tigre makes a comeback and the pace quickens. In an awesome spot, Uno climbs to the top of the cage, but instead of escaping and winning, he hits a sick cross body onto Lee inside the ring to a massive pop. That might have been a mistake as Lee hits the Fishermen Buster for the win. Trevor Lee retains the X Division Title.

    -Backstage, “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis runs into a stressed out Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. Maria mentions that it’s bad luck for Gail that Madison got injured. Gail tells Maria to stop criticizing and instead prove herself by taking Madison’s place in the Lethal Lockdown match.

    -Back from commercial, Rosemary is creepily singing alone when the Unnamed Man (Jimmy Havoc) approaches her. He gives her a token of his affection as a way for her to remember him fondly. Crazy Steve enters and that’s when things get weird.

    Lethal Lockdown: TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim and Velvet Sky vs. The Dollhouse (Jade, Marti Bell & Rebel)

    The Six Sides of Steel has several chairs, trashcans and various other weapons hanging from the sides. Josh explains the rules for the match: Two knockouts start the match. At intervals, another knockout joins the match, and the match can only end after all participants enter the ring.

    Jade and Gail Kim start the match off. Gail Kim and Velvet are already at a disadvantage because Madison was mysteriously injured earlier.  

    Back from commercial, Jade and Gail Kim are trading shots. The first entrant out is from the Dollhouse, Marti Bell. The Dollhouse work over Gail with double team moves. The Next entrant is Velvet Sky who runs wild on The Dollhouse. Josh and Pope mention that Gail and Velvet don’t have a partner unless Maria steps up. Rebel comes out next and The Dollhouse has a three on two advantage. Weapons are introduced to the match with all the Knockouts taking each other out. The final entrant comes out and it’s Maria Kanellis. She teases entering the match and teaming with Gail and Velvet but doesn’t. Maria locks the door and walks away leaving Gail and Velvet to fight on their own, Gail and Velvet hit a double flapjack from the top rope on Jade to huge pop. Gail hits eat defeat on Rebel, but Jade breaks up the pin. Jade hits the package piledriver on Gail onto the steel chair and pins Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. The Dollhouse wins Lethal Lockdown! 

    -Backstage, EC3 meets Kurt Angle, who wishes him good luck in his match later.

    -Next we see a creepy music video of Decay (Crazy Steve, Abyss & Rosemary). It ends with them spitting into the camera.

    -Back from commercial, we get a video for the Kurt Angle and Lashley match. They show clips from their second meeting where Kurt was victorious.

    -Back in the arena, The Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle makes his way down to the ring. Josh mentions that Kurt as two matches left in his career (In TNA). In two weeks, Kurt faces Lashley and next week Kurt takes on Bobby Roode. Kurt talks about the Farewell Tour. Lashley interrupts and comes down to the ring. Lashley mentions that he’s been waiting a year to get revenge on Kurt. This enrages Kurt, prompting him to tell Lashley he wants to fight, and he wants to do it right now. Lashley teases fighting, but doesn’t and leaves the ring. Lashley was really good here playing a very subtle heel. TNA is doing a decent job building up to this Kurt Angle vs. Lashley match.

    -Back from commercial, Eli Drake is in the ring talking about Odarg The Great and how it’s Grado. Eli points out that Grado was fired from TNA. Eli promises to take Odarg’s mask off.

    Eli Drake vs. Odarg The Great

    Total comedy match. Eli dominates Odarg. Eli tries to escape through the door and Odarg pulls Eli’s tights nearly off trying to keep him in the ring. Eli wrestles for a bit with his tights half way down. Odarg climbs to the top of the cage to escape. Odarg is hanging off the side of the cage. Eli pulls the mask off and Odarg falls to the ground, and wins the match. Odarg is revealed as Grado and Jeremy Borash was very surprised that it was Grado. He was the only one.

    -Backstage, Decay approaches Jimmy Havoc and they tell him that Rosemary is with them. Decay beats down Jimmy Havoc and leaves him there to rot.

    -Back from commercial, Grado is trying to plead his case to Billy Corgan, but security throws him out.

    -Next we get a cool video from “Miracle” Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis.

    TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy w/ Tyrus vs. Ethan Carter III

    We get the ring introductions for EC3 and TNA World Champion Matt Hardy. Both are shown walking backstage and out to the ring. The crowd is buzzing in anticipation of this match. The crowd sings along with EC3’s theme music.

    Josh tells us that there are no more commercial breaks and we’ll get this match without interruption. Tyrus throws two steel chairs in the ring. Hardy sets the chairs up in the corner, but gets sent head first into the chairs instead of EC3. Matt takes the lock and chain off the cage door and tries to use it. EC3 takes Matt down. EC3 tries to walk out the door, however Tyrus blocks the way. EC3 flips off Tyrus and says something that is bleeped out. Tyrus enters the cage and beats down EC3. Tyrus tries to use the chain and lock to tie EC3 to the rope, instead EC3 ends up tying Tyrus up. Matt hits the twist of fate with EC3 trapped in the chair, but only gets a near fall. Both EC3 and Hardy crawl towards the door. Reby comes down to ringside and teases using a hammer. Rockstar Spud comes out to stop Reby. Shockingly, Rockstar Spud turns on EC3 by slamming the cage door on EC3’s head. Spud helps Matt escape and win the match.

    After the match, Spud hits EC3 with a vicious chair shot while the crowd chants “You Sold Out” at Spud. As Rockstar Spud leaves he tells an unconscious EC3, “I always do the right thing.”

    Final Thoughts:

    TNA delivered a really good edition of Impact this week. There were several entertaining matches including, Beer Money vs. EY & Bram. The Knockouts Lethal Lockdown was also a jaw dropping event, and the night was capped off by an enticing main event. TNA continues to produce fun and exciting Impact’s since arriving on POP TV.

    Next Week on Impact:

    Next week, we’re still in London for Impact. The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour is nearing its end as Kurt wrestles his second to last match against one half of Beer Money, Bobby Roode.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Matt Hardy teams with Tyrus; Monster’s Ball match

    Last Week on Impact:

    On last week’s Impact, Ethan Carter III made his triumphant return and saved Rockstar Spud and Dixie Carter from Matt Hardy and Tyrus.

    Tonight On Impact:

    Ethan Carter III and Matt Hardy continue their feud over the TNA World Title. TNA World Tag champions, The Wolves defend against Decay in a Monster’s Ball Match. Tag action ensues when The Dollhouse faces off with Madison Rayne and TNA Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. Plus, appearnces by “Miracle” Mike Bennett, Dixie Carter, Rockstar Spud, Reby Sky, and Tyrus.

    Show Recap:

    -Backstage, EC3 approaches his Aunt and TNA President, Dixie Carter. Dixie grants EC3 his return title match on next week’s Impact: Lockdown. EC3 will challenge Matt Hardy for the title in a Six Sides of Steel Cage match. EC3 is happy to finally get his title shot, but has some business to take care of right now.

    -After the opening theme and video, Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to Impact and reminds us that we’re still in the U.K. this week. EC3 makes his way to the ring and talks about his title shot next week. EC3 wonders if Tyrus is babysitting Matt’s son Maxell or breastfeeding him. Tyrus comes out and makes a very subtle Scarface reference. EC3 and Tyrus brawl around ringside. EC3 gets the better of Tyrus until Matt Hardy runs out and attacks EC3 from behind. Tyrus and Matt double-team EC3. Matt gets a chair but EC3 uses it first and clears the ring. Matt grabs the mic and challenges EC3 to find a partner to face Matt and Tyrus in the main event or face them alone.

    -Back from commercial, King of the Mountain champion, Eric Young and his partner Bram are in the ring. EY mentions that Jeff Hardy isn’t tough enough to beat him for the KOTM title. Of course, a few weeks ago EY piledrove Jeff threw a table off the apron. Beer Money comes out, but EY won’t give Bobby Roode a title shot. James Storm takes the mic and professed his need for the title shot. Storm hits the ring, leading to our next match.

    King of the Mountain Champion Eric Young w/ Bram vs. James Storm w/Bobby Roode

    Eric Young gets the advantage over Storm with help from Bram, but Strom makes a comeback and sets up for the super kick. Before he can make contact with Young’s face, Bram jumps in the ring. Swiftly, Roode cuts him off and all four guys brawl again outside the ring. Storm and EY are counted out. Basically, both teams brawled all over the place, even went into the crowd.

    – Backstage, Drew Galloway approaches EC3 and offers to be his partner in the main event. EC3 declines and says he stands alone.

    – Back from commercial, Beer Money, EY and Bram do some more brawling backstage. The fight is out of control and goes everywhere, wrecking the backstage.

    – They show “Miracle” Mike Bennett interrupting Kurt Angle last week, which led to Angle knocking Bennett down.

    – Do you believe in miracles? Maria Kanellis sure does as she introduces “Miracle” Mike Bennett into the ring. Maria’s words give Bennett his cue, and they walk to the ring together. Side note, Bennett cut a promo where he talked about Angle and Drew Galloway. Once in the ring, Bennett said that because Kurt Angle is avoiding him, Bennett will face a local favorite.

    “Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ “First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis vs. Mandrews

    Mandrews strolls his way down to the ring on his skateboard. The Miracle dominated Mandrews making this basically a squash match. Bennett hit his finisher the M.I.P. (Miracle in Progress) to win the match. After the match, Bennett continued to beat down Mandrews until Drew Galloway ran down to help, making Miracle bail from the ring.

    – Backstage, Decay cut a creepy promo from backstage in a cage about tonight’s match. Suddenly, a guy comes towards the cage and promise to save Rosemary. They didn’t explain anything or even elabote slightly.

    – Back from commercial, Drew Galloway and Mandrews were being interviewed when “Miracle” Mike Bennett attacked them from behind and left them both beaten on the ground.

    – Next, we get a teaser for the debut of Mysterious Odarg The Great.

    – Still backstage, Matt Hardy and Tyrus warn Rockstar Spud to stay out of their business.

    – Kurt Angle will wrestle his last match (with TNA) in three weeks. Kurt will take on Lashley. We get to see a video package of their first meeting.

    Monster’s Ball Match: TNA World Tag Champions The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. Decay (Crazy Steve & Abyss w/Rosemary)

    Despite not being the champions, Decay comes to the ring with the belts. All kinds of trashcans with weapons and ladders surround the ring. A really good match between these two teams. Both teams brawl around ringside to start the match. The crowd is going crazy for all the violence and carnage in the ring. Crazy Steve pulls a table out from underneath the ring and Abyss pulls out a barbwire board.

    Back from commercial, Both Wolves were climbing to the top rope when Rosemary spits mist into Davey’s eyes. Abyss throws the steal chair into Eddie’s face, which causes him to fall off the top and into a table at ringside. Davey hits a suicide dive onto Abyss, which sends Abyss into the barbwire board. Crazy Steve sets up a chair and places Eddie Edwards on it. Rosemary pours thumbtacks on Eddie’s head. Eddie fights Steve off. Rosemary goes to spit the mist in Eddie’s eye but Davey kisses Rosemary. In the process he sucks out the mist, which he then spits back into Rosemary’s eyes. That sounds dirtier than it actually was. The Wolves defeat The Decay and retain the titles.

    – Backstage, Rockstar Spud and EC3 meet. EC3 tells Spud that he’s taking on Matt Hardy and Tyrus alone.

    – Backstage, The Wolves discuss their victory over Decay. Next, The Wolves want to face Beer Money to prove that the Wolves are the best tag team of all time.

    TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim & Madison Rayne vs. The Dollhouse (Jade & Marti Bell w/Rebel)

    The Dollhouse jumps Madison and Gail to start the match. The Dollhouse works over Gail Kim until she makes the hot tag to Madison. Madison runs wild and clears the ring. Madison rolls up Marti to pick up the win. After the match, The Dollhouse jumps Madison and Gail again until Velvet Sky returns and makes the save. Velvet then announces that next week Velvet, Madison and Gail will take on The Dollhouse in a first ever Knockouts Lethal Lockdown Match.

    – Backstage, Mahabali Shera introduces his mystery partner Odarg The Great. Odarg The Great is actually the recently fired, Grado in a mask.

    – Back from commercial, Beer Money and EY & Bram continue to fight all over the back stage area. EY & Bram ran off and Beer Money challenges them to match next week on Impact: Lockdown.

    Odarg The Great & Mahabali Shera vs. Eli Drake & Jesse Godderz

    Odarg The Great comes out and he got a really good reaction. It’s obviously Grado under the mask. Not a great match. Shera isn’t the best at selling. Eli and Jesse use double team and power moves to isolate Shera. Shera makes the tag to Odarg who runs wild. Eli tried to take off Odarg’s mask but Odarg took off his own mask, which distracted Eli. Odarg then rolled up Eli for the pin and the win.

    TNA World Champion Matt Hardy & Tyrus w/Reby Sky vs. Ethan Carter III

    EC3 comes out alone and starts his match with Tyrus. EC3 gets a great reaction from the crowd. Matt Hardy and Tyrus dominate EC3 for most of the match. Rockstar Spud comes out to be EC3’s partner. EC3 has the chance to tag, but chooses not to. Matt regains the advantage on EC3. EC3 finally makes the hot tag to Spud. Spud goes crazy on Matt Hardy. Matt and Tyrus turn things around on Spud and isolate him from EC3. They work over Spud until Spud makes the hot tag to EC3. EC3 goes crazy on both Hardy and Tyrus. EC3 clears the ring and then hits a cross body off the top to the outside on both Hardy and Tyrus. Tyrus went to hit EC3 with the spike but Spud hit Tyrus with a low blow. EC3 hits the One Precenter on Matt Hardy and scores the win.

    Next Week:

    In seven days, it’s a spectacular and can’t miss edition of TNA Impact: Lockdown.  All matches will take place in the Six Sides of Steel Cage. In the huge main event, TNA World Champion Matt Hardy will defend against EC3. Beer Money will take on EY & Bram in a tag match. The Dollhouse faces off with Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne & Gail Kim in the first ever Knockouts Lethal Lockdown Match.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: The Return of EC3

    On Tonight’s Show

    TNA Impact emanates from the United Kingdom tonight. The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour hits Manchester when Kurt Angle battles it out with Drew Galloway. Also, The Destroyer Lashley faces off with Bram. TNA World Champion Matt Hardy is expected to make an appearance tonight.  Additionally, Ethan Carter III has vowed to make his return in Manchester.

    Show Recap

    -Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to this week’s show in the U.K. TNA World Champion Matt Hardy, his wife Reby, bodyguard Tyrus and son Maxell come to the ring. Matt talked about his accomplishments in the last few weeks. Tyrus took the mic from Matt and made a Winston Churchill joke. Reby took the mic and got some intense heat from the crowd. Matt said if Dixie Carter wants to keep him happy she has to fire EC3 later tonight.

    -Backstage, TNA President Dixie Carter is shown arriving in the building.

    Lashley vs. Bram w/Eric Young

    Earlier in the day, EY and Bram were backstage and bragging about ending the career of Jeff Hardy. Lashley and Bram used a lot of power moves to start. EY interfered which gave Bram the advantage. Lashley made his own comeback, but Bram was able to cut off his momentum. EY came in the ring, but his interference backfired and Lashley hit the spear to win the match.

    -Backstage, Reby was assuring Matt that Dixie would fire EC3 to keep Matt happy. Matt’s also worried about the return of EC3 tonight. Tyrus promises to have it under control and introduced Matt’s security team in case EC3 shows up.

    -Kurt Angle comes down to the ring to a huge pop. Kurt said the crowd was making it hard for him to say farewell and they booed him. “Thank You Angle” chants fill the arena as Kurt talks about his time in TNA. Kurt talks about The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour, but he’s interrupted by “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis. She introduces “The Miracle” Michael Bennett. Bennett insults Kurt and his legacy. The Miracle wants to face Kurt and promises to beat him. Kurt told Maria she’s a very pretty girl but has bad taste in men. Kurt hit The Miracle with one shot and then bailed from the ring.  Drew Galloway came out on the stage and had a stare down with Kurt who was still in the ring. Kurt and Drew face off later tonight in the Kurt Angle Farewell Tour.

    -Backstage, Beer Money was walking down the hall. Beer Money was once again great in their segment. Bobby Roode wouldn’t let James Storm into their locker room because he got him a surprise. Storm tried to guess and asked if it was Pyro or a stripper. Roode gave Storm The Boozier Cruiser.

    X Division Champion Trevor Lee w/ Gregory Shane Helms vs. Tigre Uno

    Tigre has the early advantage in the match using lots of high-risk moves. Trevor dominates Tigre with power moves. Tigre makes a short comeback and hits a hurricanrana off the steal steps on the outside. Back in the ring, Helms interferes and Lee hits the fishermen buster to win the match and retain the X Division title.

    -Beer Money entered the ring and wanting to cash in their Feast or Fired title shot. They call out the TNA World Tag Teams Champions, The Wolves. Instead, Decay comes out, which leads to our next match

    Beer Money (James Storm & Bobby Roode) vs. Decay (Crazy Steve & Abyss w/Rosemary)

    All four guys brawl around ringside. Beer Money use double team moves on Crazy Steve until Abyss gets in the ring. Decay use great teamwork to isolate and beat down Roode. Roode makes the hot tag to Storm who runs wild. Beer Money hit the DWI on Crazy Steve but Abyss causes the DQ. After the match, Roode launches Storm onto Abyss from the ring to the outside. Rosemary distracts Roode who is attacked by Crazy Steve from behind. Abyss pulls out Janice from underneath the ring but before they could use it The Wolves hit the ring for the save. Decay challenges The Wolves to a Monster’s Ball match next week. The Wolves accept.

    -Backstage, Reby Sky approaches Dixie Carter. Reby claims she is talking to Dixie without Matt knowing. Reby is very sincere and genuine when talking to Dixie. She tells Dixie that she just wants what’s best for her family. However, as Reby walked away she rolled her eyes.

    -Back from commercial, the recently fired Grado comes through the crowd and jumps the guardrail. Josh points out that Grado doesn’t work in TNA. Grado gets a great reaction from the crowd. Grado is claiming that he was “screwed” by TNA in the Feast or Fired match. He was going to show us proof when Eli Drake with security interrupted him. Eli tried to get the proof, but Grado got away.

    Madison Rayne vs. Jade w/ The Dollhouse (Marti Belle and Rebel)

    Good match between these two. Madison hit a cross body off the apron onto all members of The Dollhouse. Madison hit Jade with some serious chops that would have made any man cry. Jade hit the package piledriver to win the match. After the match, The Dollhouse continued to beat down Madison until Gail Kim made the save and cleared the ring.

    -Backstage, Billy Corgan is being interviewed about being back in the U.K.  Billy Corgan is best known as the Senior Producer of Creative and Talent Development. Oh yeah, he’s also lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins. Grado runs up and asked for his help. Eli and the security guards beat up Grado.

    The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour: Kurt Angle vs. Drew Galloway

    Kurt and Drew have a tremendous match. Kurt is the regular amazing wrestler that he is, but Drew Galloway is showing that he is a lot better then people realize. There were several intense and great near falls. The crowd is solidly behind Kurt. Drew had the early advantage, but it didn’t last long and the veteran Kurt made a comeback. 

    Back from commercial, Drew is in control of the match and is dominating Kurt. Kurt got the ankle lock secure, but Drew fought him off. On the outside, Drew continued to beat down Kurt until Kurt hit the Angle slam onto the steal steps. This got a “TNA” chant from the crowd. Drew hit a very unique move that Pope described as being “a reverse Alabama Slam.” Drew hit two Claymore kicks, but only got a two and half. Drew locks on a unique submission and Kurt’s bleeding from the mouth, which makes the spot look amazing. Kurt countered into the Ankle lock, but Drew fought out. Drew locked on the submission a second time and shockingly Kurt tapped! Drew Galloway is victorious over Kurt Angle.

    -Earlier, Josh interviewed Tyrus about turning on EC3. Tyrus was really good here as he talked about all the reasons for turning on EC3. He explained that it was for money and because EC3 never gave him a title shot despite being number one contender. During the interview, at two separate points, Tyrus insulted The Pope.

    -Matt Hardy, Reby and Tyrus are in the ring. TNA President Dixie Carter comes to the ring. Matt is demanding that Dixie fire EC3. Matt’s loosing his mind insisting she fire EC3. Rockstar Spud’s comes out to defend Dixie. Matt says he wants Spud to make Dixie fire EC3. Spud thinks about if for a moment, teasing that he’s going to do it but instead stands up to Matt. Tyrus attacks Spud and beats him down. Matt and Tyrus back Dixie into the corner. EC3’s music hit to a big pop and he comes out for the save. He walks into beating Matt’s security team along the way. EC3 and Tyrus brawled around ringside. Spud and Dixie are holding each other in the corner.  EC3 and Matt had a stare down, but when he got in the ring Matt bailed. To end the show EC3 posed on the stage.

    Final Thoughts

    Another really good Impact this week. Impact continues to deliver really good matches and interesting characters. However, the show can be predictable at times. The Kurt Angle-Drew Galloway match was fantastic and topped their match from a few weeks ago. The show closing angle was energetic and entertaining.

    Next Week:

    We’re still in the U.K. for Impact. The Wolves face off with Decay in a Monster’s Ball Match. Also, more on the Matt Hardy-EC3 feud, and The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour continues.

  • TNA Impact shows minor drop in viewers

    TNA Impact ratings last night showed a minor decline from the past two weeks with last night’s 9 p.m. show doing 295,000 viewers and the midnight show doing 112,000 viewers.

    The show, built around Matt Hardy vs. Kurt Angle, was the final of the Bethlehem tapings, as next week will be the first of six weeks of shows taped in the U.K. before much larger crowds.

    The 9 p.m. show on 1/26 did 339,000 viewers and the midnight replay did 103,000.  The combined number on 1/19 was almost identical, both about eight percent higher than last night.

    There was little in the way of significant sports competition last night, as the highest rated sports show on television head-to-head was Indiana vs. Michigan college basketball on ESPN that did 1,042,000 viewers.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: TNA Champ Matt Hardy vs. Kurt Angle

    Tonight on TNA Impact:

    Ethan Carter III will break his silence and speak for the first time since losing the TNA World Title to Matt Hardy. Also, the TNA X Division Champion Tigre Uno puts his belt on the line against Gregory Shane Helms. Plus an appearance by TNA World Champion, Matt Hardy, and more on the Kurt Angle Farewell Tour.

    Show Recap:

    – Earlier today, Ethan Carter III ran into a camera crew. He’s willing to tell everyone what has been on his mind. He is shown throughout the show getting ready for his interview.

    – After the sweet opening theme song and credits, TNA World Champion Matt Hardy, Reby, and Tyrus make their way to the ring. Matt talked about his brother Jeff Hardy and he recapped how Eric Young piledrove Jeff through a table last week. Reby took the mic from Matt and said she was sick of hearing people say her husband was in Jeff’s shadow.  EY & Bram come down to the ring. EY wants a shot at the champ but Kurt Angle interrupts them. Kurt announces that he’s getting a shot at the TNA World title in tonight’s main event. Beer Money comes out to try and even the odds. A brawl breaks out with all six guys. Crazy Steve & Abyss come down but before they can make it to the ring, The Wolves run out and attack Steve and Abyss. Beer Money and The Wolves announce they’ll face EY, Bram, Crazy Steve and Abyss in Hardcore War. 

    – Backstage, Drew Galloway was being interviewed about winning the World Title shot in the Feast or Fired. Tyrus interrupts him and they set up a match for later.

    Lashley vs. Aiden O’Shea

    Aiden jumped Lashley as he was trying to take his t-shirt off. The beautiful and stunning Raquel made her way to ringside. Lashley sent Aiden to the outside. Raquel got in Lashley’s way and Aiden regained the advantage. Lashley made his own comeback and beat Aiden with the spear. After the match, Raquel got on the mic and said, “I can bring you pain or pleasure.”

    – Last week before the reveal of Feast or Fired, Eli Drake talked about the briefcase and that he has a 75% of getting the World title shot. Jesse Godderz was then interviewed and talked about Eli Drake winning the Feast or Fired.

    – “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis came out but without “Miracle” Michael Bennett. Maria wants to talk about women’s wrestling. Maria thinks the Knockouts Division is broken and that she is here to fix it. Knockouts Champion Gail Kim comes down the ring. This is a pretty good segment. Both Gail and Maria played their roles well. Gail challenged Maria but Maria escaped from the ring.

    Hardcore War: TNA World Tag Champions The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) and Beer Money (James Strom & Bobby Roode) vs. Eric Young, Bram and Decay (Crazy Steve and Abyss)

    A really good match with a lot of weapons. In fact, everyone came to the ring with a weapon. Davey Richards and Crazy Steve start the match. Davey had a chair and Steve had a baseball bat wrapped in a chain. Steve went to use the chair but Davey grabbed the bat and hit the chair back into Steve’s face. Bram is the next entrant to the ring with corner turnbackle pad pipe. The heels beat Davey all over the place. James Storm is the next entrant and he comes out with a Keg of Beer. EY comes out next with a Singapore cane. Back from commercial, Eddie Edwards is now in the match. Abyss comes to the ring with Janice. The final entrant is Booby Roode who has a hockey stick. Beer Money and The Wolves clear the ring and then all four do the Beer Money Signature. Beer Money and EY & Bram fight to the back. Steve spits the mist into Davey’s eyes and picks up the win.

    Drew Galloway vs. Tyrus

    Drew brings his Feast or Fired World title shot briefcase to the ring. These two had a good match. The action went back and forth with both having the chance to shine. Drew was about to finish off Tyrus when suddenly, the lights went out and when the lights came back on Michael Bennett and Maria were in the ring. He attacked Drew with the briefcase. Drew did a great sell job here. He sold it like he was dead, especially in the eyes. 

    TNA X Division Champion Tigre Uno vs. Gregory Shane Helms

    Shane Helms came out but was clearly not dressed to wrestle. Helms isn’t wrestling but he has a mystery representative, Trevor Lee. They have a good match but the crowd was flat for some spots. Lee dominated the early part of the match but Uno made a comeback. Tigre hit a sweet looking hurricanrana. Trevor Lee hits a fisherman buster into a roll up for the win. Trevor Lee is the new TNA X Division Champion.

    EC3 Interview

    EC3 cut a great promo from his home. This cemented his babyface turn, as EC3 was a total babyface here. He was tremendous talking about how he acted like a “piece of s**t” and that he just wants to win. This was done really well with the way it was shot and the incorporation of music. It’s worth going out of your way to see this promo. EC3 is going to take a plane to the U.K. to find Matt Hardy and he wants his world title back.

    TNA World Champion Matt Hardy (w/Reby & Tyrus) vs. Kurt Angle

    Another really good main event from TNA. Matt gets the advantage early but Kurt makes a comeback and hits three rolling German suplex. Tyrus jumps on the apron and Kurt sent Matt into him. Tyrus then took a really slow bump off of that from the apron to the floor. Back from commercial, Kurt locks on the ankle lock but Matt rolls through and sends him to the outside. Tyrus attacks Kurt on the outside and instantly went over and harassed The Pope on commentary. The fans broke into a small “Pope” chant.

    Angle scores several near falls but is unable to pick up the win. Kurt hits Matt with another series of German Suplex. Kurt kicked out of Matt’s twist of fate. Kurt hits yet another series of German suplex, which bring the total to around 12. Kurt went to the top rope but Tyrus and Reby tried to stop him. This gave Matt enough time to hit the twist of fate from the top rope to win the match. Matt retains the TNA World Title and beats Kurt in the Kurt Angle Farewell Tour.

    Next Week on TNA Impact:

    We’re in the UK where the Kurt Angle Farewell Tour continues as Kurt says goodbye to his U.K. fans. Bobby Lashley goes one on one with Bram and TNA World Champion Matt Hardy will make an appearance.

  • TNA Impact TV taping results (Birmingham, UK): Kurt Angle’s final match; possible injury to a champion

    Submitted by Tom Griffiths

    – Big Damo & Jimmy Havoc vs. Mike Bennett (No Maria) & Drew Galloway (Jokers Wild) (One Night Only)

    The match was basically a handicap match, with Bennett & Galloway doing the partners not getting along deal, as they are currently in a program together, although by the time this airs it probably won’t be the case, but who knows. As I say, 2-on-1 with Galloway in-ring for his team, at one point he went to tag Bennett who dropped down from the apron, then later he wanted the tag and Drew wouldn’t give it to him, Galloway made his comeback, hit the double-arm DDT, Bennett made a tag without Drew’s consent, threw him from the ring, and stole the pin. Drew was one of the more over guys on the show, Havoc got a nice reaction, the match was fine.

    – Matt Hardy promo to open, he’s said he has beaten EC3 so many times it’s now boring. He’ll never get a shot at Hardy again. Introduces Rockstar Spud (to his hometown). Points out that 1 year ago EC3 left him battered and bloodied, with his head shaved. Now the public are jumping on the latest bandwagon supporting EC3. He took some good old fashioned revenge, and took what EC3 craved. EC3 eventually interrupts with a run in and beats Tyrus, then Hardy. Spud tries to attack, but ends up getting away. EC3 challenges Spud to a “fight”, no ref, no rules.

    Xplosion:

    – Jessie Godderz beat Tigre Uno by submission with a Boston crab.

    Impact Episode 1:

    – Here came an hilarious part of the show for me personally. A time or two before this, Borash had added an incentive for the crowd being rowdy, the incentive being particular fans that were seen as the most rowdy would get backstage passes, which they seemed to follow through with. But this time he took it up another level. He encouraged the fans to give Gail a great ovation for the following segment, and said these extra rowdy fans would get to go in the knockouts locker room! Needless to say Gail came out, all the pervs and the place in general went nuts, and she got most probably the biggest reaction of the entire show. Maybe this is commonplace in wrestling, but this was a first for me, and I was in a fit of laughter. So when this airs, if you see some random guy in a second row laughing hysterically, that’s me.

    Gail cut a promo on Maria and her involvement in the cage match, said the knockouts division has always been about wrestling and all Maria does is talk etc., calls her out, Maria comes out, doesn’t want to fight, waffles on-and-on (I was tired before the show, and I was already getting agitated as this was close to an-hour-and-a-half into the show and we’d seen two short matches, so I wasn’t paying great attention), they go back-and-forth on the mic, Maria walks-off (was standing outside the ring the whole time), Gail chases her, gets jumped by Jade who gives her a beating on the entrance ramp, grabs the mic, cuts a promo on Gail, holds the title aloft and makes clear our next knockouts program.    

    Birmingham street fight: EC3 vs Rockstar Spud

    We were told by JB beforehand Dixie had made this match. No ref, both guys in street clothes. Standard street fight, lots of brawling around ringside, chair involvement, Carter took a lot of the match with Spud getting on top via shortcuts, crowd wanted tables, eventually got a table, EC3 powerbombed Spud through the table in-ring, locked him in a Cobra Clutch, Spud began tapping frantically, refs, Pat Kenney and maybe some other officials came running down, pulled EC3 off and successfully persuaded him that enough-was-enough.

    Impact Episode 2:

    – Opens with Dixie carter in ring, TNA roster outside ring. They’re here to celebrate Kurt Angle. Dixie hoped this day would never come, and can’t thank Angle enough for everything he’s done. Drew Galloway gets in the ring, says it was an honor to be picked to wrestle him on his farewell tour. Asks him please don’t go, but then says thank you so much. Angle talks, says he came to TNA to find himself, he’s a better person for being here. Bobby Lashley interrupts. It’s a bad day, but a great experience, an amazing thing for him, so thank you. But, he can see it as he looks at
    Angle’s eyes and Kurt’s just not ready to wrestle him.

    – Borash mentions this is the Feast or Fired episode of impact, and we’ll find out who got what later.

    Xplosion:

    – Marti Bell and Rebel of Dollhouse vs Beautiful People (Rayne & Sky)

    Crowd were really into The Beautiful People, especially Velvet, match was what you’d expect to be polite, but it wasn’t atrocious. Velvet won with a stunner, or some sort of variation. Not sure who she pinned.

    Impact:

    – King of The Mountain Title Match: Bram, EY, Will Osprey, Jimmy Havoc and Big Damo.

    Match didn’t seem that long, Ospreay had his fans, Ospreay took a bump off the ladder into the turnbuckle and appeared to get momentarily wedged between buckle and ladder but seemed ok, Havoc did a dive off the penalty box onto multiple combatants, Young & Bram did the deal where heel partners start off working together and then prize gets between them, Havox took a piledriver from Young onto the steps, Ospreay was climbing the ladder and then Young leaped from the top rope and caught him with a flying neckbreaker from the ladder which led to the Young win. 

    Feast or Fired briefcases:

    • Beer Money: Tag title shot
    • Eli Drake: KOTM title shot
    • Drew Galloway: World title shot
    • Grade: Fired

    – Mike Bennett & Maria come out for a promo, Bennett talks about Angle leaving and Carter having his chances, says he’s going to be #1 contender and win the title, as well as save wrestling, asks Dixie to come out and grant his request, Drew comes out, they go back-and-forth on the mic, Bennett tells Drew to go and get Dixie for him, Drew turns to do so and then turns back around and attacks Bennett, Bennett powders to end the segment.

    – Knockouts Champion Gail Kim vs Jade.

    Nice match, been a big admirer of Gail’s for a number of years, crowd really got into it. Gail did this ridiculous spot where he did a rope-walk whilst holding onto Jade, then leaped onto Jade for a hurricanrana, who reversed it into a powerbomb. I think she was ok, but it didn’t look pretty and was a pretty risky spot. Finish came when Gail performed a flying crossbody, Jade reversed the pin, then Gail reversed again for the win. The crossbody may’ve came a little earlier, but it definitely ended with the pinning sequence. With the nature of the finish this appeared to set-up another match, and for the aftermath Jade was screaming at Gail from the ring while Gail was on the ramp in a way that seemed to suggest this.

    – TNA Tag Champions Wolves vs Beer Money

    Crowd were super into Beer Money, really hot for the match, probably the most over match on the show, nice match, probably really good (again, I was beat), loud “this is awesome” chants, Davey Richards got injured leaping from the top rope and taking a super Codebreaker, after taking it whilst lying on the mat he faced my side of the arena clearly in a lot of pain, clutch his knee or shin (would think he injured his knee), rolled outside, Earl Hebner communicated with him and threw up the X, there was a “conference” between the three guys, they went a few more minutes with just the three guys, Hebner communicated with Richards just before the finish, DWI on Edwards by Beer Money to win the titles. Richards was helped to back by doctors and officials. Wouldn’t like to speculate but didn’t look good.

    – Borash is about to introduce the Angle-Lashley match, Grado comes running down (pretty over), says he has video evidence that he was screwed out of his job, is about to cue it when Drake & Godderz come out, cut a promo on Grado, 2-on-1 beatdown, Shera makes the save (who maybe the worst wrestler I’ve ever seen live, he looked terrible) Shera gets clobbered from behind with the briefcase by Drake, Drake & Godderz set Grado up for a briefcase shot, miscue, Jesse eats the briefcase, RKO on Drake, Grado steals the briefcase to end the segment.

    – Kurt Angle vs Lashley:

    Amateur wrestling to start-off, Germans from Kurt, Lashley powders, Kurt works over Lashley, Snake-Eyes for the transition move, Lashley works over Kurt, particularly his neck (being very careful of course), Angle makes his comeback with suplexes galore, Angle Slam nearfall, a Powerslam nearfall for Lashley in here somewhere, Angle Lock escape from Lashley, Spinebuster nearfall for Lashley, two nearfalls from two separate Spears, goes for a third and hits the post, very long Angle Lock escape, Kurt did his deal where he wraps his legs around the ankle, pulled him back to the middle, this went on maybe a couple of minutes, really putting over Lashley, third Spear for the clean Lashley win. Crowd was starting to get tired, so they weren’t super-hot, but had their moments. Good match, but nothing fantastic, but again I taped-out long ago.

    They embraced post-match, then as they were standing with their arms linked and aloft, Lashley ambushed Kurt with a punch and then gave him a fourth Spear to turn heel. I think there may’ve been a fifth Spear on Angle I’m not sure, Galloway ran down and attempted to calm the situation, turned his back and got a Spear for his troubles, Edwards ran down and got a Spear, absolutely monster heel Lashley, EC3 came down, there was a mid-ring stare-down, Lashley shot him a sly smile and backed-off, so Lashley-EC3 appear to be an upcoming big program, if this part airs, which I assume it does. Crowd really got into the post-match. Babyfaces all embraced Kurt and stood with their arms aloft, they left the ring to Kurt who cut a short promo saying wrestlers don’t show enough appreciation to their fans and greatly thanked the crowd, before departing with “I’ll see you again soon, some day”, or something to that effect. It was a nice moment.

    One Night Only PPV taping

    16 man gauntlet match, which for some reason only had 13 entrants. Borash said everybody would be involved but I saw no EC3, Lashley, Beer Money, Angle, or Richards (for obvious reason). Final four were Grado, Hardy, Galloway & Bennett, Hardy was eliminated, then Grado shortly afterwards, Bennett & Galloway went at it for a few minutes with Drew getting the win. Not a lot of people seemed to leave and they appeared to enjoy the gauntlet, especially with Drew winning who remained pretty over despite his numerous appearances throughout the show.  

    Order of entry: Bennett, Mandrews, Tigre Uno, Jade, Will Osprey, Bram, Eric Young, Eddie Edwards, Drew Galloway, Matt Hardy, Tyrus, Rockstar Spud, Grado.

    Order of elimination:

    • Mandrews by Bennett
    • Jade by Maria
    • Tigre uno by Bram
    • Osprey by Young
    • Young and Bram by Edwards
    • Edwards by Hardy
    • Tyrus by Grado
    • Spud by Galloway
    • Hardy by Grado
    • Grado by Bennett
    • Bennett by Drew Galloway

  • TNA Impact TV taping results: Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode, Matt Hardy vs. EC3

    Submitted by Joe Towner

    For February 28th Impact

    Note that all of these matches were in the Lockdown cage

    Beer Money beat Eric Young and Bram in a cage match with the DWI.

    Decent match. Crowd were hot for Beer Money.

    – Spud and EC3 did a promo, EC3 called Spud the most passionate person he’s ever met and they shook hands. Both guys got very good reactions. Matt Hardy came out with Reby and Tyrus, said ‘this’ was his house, etc. and he would win tonight.

    X Division Champion Trevor Lee (w/Shane Helms) def. Tigre Uno in a cage match

    Lee won with a pin. Another decent match, Uno hit a bit splash off the top of the cage, one of the spots of the night.

    First ever Knockouts Lethal Lockdown match

    The Dollhouse (Jade, Marti Belle and Rebel) vs. Gail Kim (who got one of the bigger pops of the night), Velvet Sky and a mystery partner – it looked like Maria, but they never announced who it was, so not actually sure. She was a redhead. Whoever it was came out last, teased getting in the ring and then locked the door, leaving the faces outnumbered. Dollhouse won. Not a bad match, they had a bunch of weapons in the cage that were used liberally.

    – Kurt Angle did a brief promo, was interrupted by Lashley, Angle challenged him to a fight, Lashley walked away.

    Eli Drake vs. Odarg the Great in a cage match

    Comedy match that was a lot of fun. Grado did a bunch of funny spots, like failing to climb over the cage. Drake did the old Flair bare-ass spot, which got some laughs. Mahabali Shera came out to stop Jesse Godderz interfering. Grado escaped the cage after Drake grabbed his ‘Odarg’ mask and it came off as he fell to the floor.

    TNA Champion Matt Hardy vs. EC3 in a cage match

    Decent match with lots of weapons. Tyrus interfered. Funny spot where EC3 chained Tyrus to the ropes and was poised to hit him with a chair, but Tyrus did the Brodus Clay claw dance while pleading with EC3 not to hit him. Reby then came out with a hammer. Spud stopped her before turning heel on EC3 by slamming his head with the cage door which killed the crowd a little bit.

    For TNA Xplosion! 

    Will Ospreay and Mandrews vs. TNA Tag Champions The Wolves

    Decent match, but only went 6-7 minutes, Mandrews took a nasty bump and was pretty shaken up. Wolves pinned Ospreay with their finisher. Was good while it lasted.

    For March 7th Impact

    Jimmy Havoc vs Abyss – Monsters Ball match

    Abyss wins with the Black Hole Slam into a barbed wire board. Was typical Abyss match. Havoc got a few chants and looked pretty good.

    Mike “The Miracle” Bennett vs Drew Galloway

    Crowd didn’t really know how to react to Mike Bennett, Galloway got a big pop however. Pretty decent TV match, they brawled outside a lot and Bennett won with a roll-up after Maria got involved and distracted Drew.

    Eric Young vs Big Damo

    Bram and Young cut a promo – calling out any challenger. Big Damo responded. He got a similar reaction to Ospreay and Havoc – pretty good, not huge. There were pockets of British indie fans, but many fans probably didn’t know them. Young wins with a piledriver. Okay match.

    Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode

    Angle wins via tap out with ankle lock. Good match, the usual Angle stuff, crowd was really into it. Angle got the biggest pop of the night for his entrance and win. Roode put over Kurt on the mic, James Storm came out and did the same. Storm pulled two beers out of a bag for himself and Roode and then a half gallon of milk for Kurt, that got a nice pop. Kurt drank the milk like Austin drinking a beer. The Wolves’ entrance music played at the wrong time, Kurt covered for it on the mic, Wolves then came out and set up a tag title match with Beer Money for the next show.

    One Night Only PPV matches

    Both were ‘Jokers Wild’ tag matches.

    Tyrus/Jade vs. Bobby Roode and Gail Kim

    Comedy match that the crowd enjoyed. Jade ended up pinning Gail with roll up.

    Eli Drake and James Storm vs. Will Ospreay and Matt Hardy

    Another fun match. Storm superkicked Drake for stealing his beer and then left, at which point Ospreay hit his 450 splash off the top. Hardy tagged himself in and took the pin.

    – Overall, this was a fun show. They packed a lot into four hours, but the crowd stayed pretty hot the whole way. No great matches, but nothing bad either.

  • NJPW-bound Will Ospreay loses planned TNA push – Updated

    Will Ospreay, one of the United Kingdom’s most talked about young wrestlers, debuted tonight with TNA but ended up losing in just five minutes in what was either a dark match or a match taped for Xplosion against Mark “Mandrews” Andrews.

    Apparently, the plan was to push Ospreay but TNA found out that he had signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling and decided not to put him on the main show. It is not certain when Ospreay will debut with New Japan other than he had been scheduled to be in this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament in May and June.

    Those in Japan have said that Ospreay has not been signed, but did confirm he would debut with the company at the Invasion Attack PPV on 4/10 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo and is working the Best of the Super Juniors tour.

    Rockstar Spud on Twitter claimed it wasn’t true and that there was just a time cue messed up and the Ospreay vs. Mark Andrews opener (which was not taped for Impact, it was either a dark match or an Xplosion match) was supposed to go longer.  I’m not sure how that’s relevant to the story unless they messed up the finish and he was supposed to win that match.

    The 22-year-old Ospreay has mainly worked in Progress, IPW-UK, and RPW, and competed in the 2015 PWG Battle of Los Angeles, advancing to the semifinals.

    Jimmy Havoc and Big Damo, the other U.K. stars scheduled to debut on this tour, as of right now are expected to be on the Impact shows taped tomorrow at Wembley in London.

    The dates listed in Stephen Lyon’s report for the shows may not be correct.  Jeremy Borash said to the live crowd several times that the shows taped would air on 2/2 and 2/9 in the U.S. and 2/7 and 2/14 in the U.K.

    That may be accurate, except there is still one more week of television taped in Bethlehem, PA that hasn’t aired, which features the Trevor Lee X division title win over Tigre Uno.  If that show does air, then the dates would move to 2/9 and 2/16 in the U.S. and 2/14 and 2/21 in the U.K.

  • TNA Impact TV taping results: Kurt Angle’s farewell tour, Will Ospreay wrestles for 5 minutes

    Submitted by Stephen Lyon from Manchester, England, UK

    – TNA returned to Manchester, England, for night one of their three night annual U.K. tour. Two episodes of IMPACT WRESTLING were taped this evening, said to air on February 2nd and 9th. 

    – The 20,000 capacity Manchester Arena appeared to be greatly cut down and curtained off for a 5000 capacity (only a small part of the lower tier only open), and I’d estimate a crowd of 3000 (possibly less). It wasn’t full for what they set up and there were lots of empty seats. The crowd were very hot at key points in the show, but it was a long show (a 4 hour taping) and a lot of people left during the 4th hour, presumably to catch the last bus or train home. I think there was only 1500 fans left for the main event of the taping, and the show started at 7pm and finished at 10:50pm.

    TNA XPlosion:

    Mark Andrews beat Will Ospreay

    Match went 5 minutes. After they made such a big deal about featuring British wrestlers on the taping, not only did Big Damo & Jimmy Havoc not appear tonight (despite tweeting earlier that they were both in Manchester), Will Ospreay was only featured in a five minute opening match spotfest that’s not even going to air on IMPACT. Match was okay but not a patch on their PWG stuff. This was a huge disappointment in many respects, and a waste of Ospreay’s talents.

    February 2nd (February 7th in the UK) IMPACT:

    – They aired an Ethan Carter 3 pretaped promo in his mansion, taped ‘earlier in the week’, where Carter cut a terrific babyface promo, acknowledging he’s been an jerk in the past, but saying the defeat to Hardy had been a wake up call, and that he was flying to England to get his revenge. I’m guessing they aired this to condition the live crowd as to him being a babyface during the show, to ensure the ‘right reactions’ occurred. This was really well done.   

    – IMPACT opened with a Matt Hardy interview. The TNA Champion was accompanied by Reby Sky, and Tyrus was carrying little Maxel. Hardy was heavily booed and cut a great heel promo, demanding that Dixie Carter fire EC3 later in the show.

    Bobby Lashley beat Bram

    Eric Young accompanied Bram to the ring, and his interference backfired when he tried to hit Lashley with a chair and hit Bram instead. Lashley speared both and pinned Bram.

    – Kurt Angle came out to a huge pop for a farewell interview. Mike Bennett & Maria interrupted and insulted him. Bennett challenged Angle, but Angle decked him, saying he’d only wrestle people he respected, and said his opponent tonight was Drew Galloway. Galloway then appeared on the entrance ramp before returning to the back.

    X Division Champion Trevor Lee beat Tigre Uno to retain

    Lee was accompanied by Shane Helms.

    Beer Money beat Decay by D.Q.

    Beer Money came out for an interview to a big pop. James Storm rode a scooter-like vehicle called a ‘Bruiser Cruiser’ to the ring. They mentioned their Feast or Fired Tag Title shot briefcase and challenged the Wolves to a title match tonight. Decay came out instead and challenged Beer Money to a fight. To the match, Storm had Crazzy Stevie pinned, only for Abyss to pull the ref out for the D.Q. Decay put the boots to both Roode & Storm afterwards, with the Wolves running in for the save. Wolves cut a promo on Decay, demanding their belts back, which Decay had stolen. Wolves offered Decay a tag title match. Abyss agreed, as long as it was a Monsters Ball match ‘next week’ (taped later).

    – Grado came out of the crowd in his wrestling gear, acknowledging he’d been fired and was disappointed he couldn’t wrestle tonight. He then claimed that he’d been screwed, and had proof, pulling out an envelope. Eli Drake interrupted him and both Drake and two security guys chased Grado out of the ring and to the back, Benny Hill-style. It was fairly amusing and the crowd ate it up. Grado got a good reaction.

    Jade beat Madison Rayne

    Rebel & Marti attacked Rayne afterwards, and Gail Kim ran out for the save.

    Drew Galloway beat Kurt Angle

    This turned into a pretty good 15 minute match. Finish saw Galloway escape from the ankle lock and apply his own submission move for the win. Afterwards, the pair embraced. Angle looked choked up afterwards, looking at the crowd.

    Finish of the first show saw Hardy, Reby and Tyrus in the ring (no Maxel this time), confronting Dixie Carter who came out. Hardy pleaded with Dixie to fire EC3, bringing up all the terrible things EC3 had done in the past. Rockstar Spud came out to a big pop. Spud was wearing a bright red suit with the POP TV logo on the back. Spud told Hardy that EC3 had done most of the terrible things to him, Spud, but that EC3 shouldn’t be fired because he can back it up in the ring, and claimed EC3 was still undefeated, unpinned and unsubmitted. Tyrus decked Spud. As the heels were about to attack Dixie, EC3 came out to the biggest reaction of the night. He stood at the top of the ramp, ripped off his suit then ran down the aisle. He nailed 2 security guards, then Tyrus, but once he made it to the ring, Hardy ran away. Crowd loved EC3, singing along to his music and waving their arms in the air.

    Taped for the February 9th (February 14th in the UK) IMPACT:

    Mike Bennett beat Mark Andrews

    Good match. Bennett was beating on Andrews after the match and Galloway ran out for the save.

    Eric Young went to double countout with James Storm

    Nothing match. Afterwards, Young & Bram brawled with Roode & Storm into the crowd and into the concourses.

    Mahabili Shera & ‘ODARG The Great’ beat Eli Drake & Jesse Godderz

    ‘ODARG The Great’ was the ‘fired’ Grado under a mask, ‘Odarg’ obviously being ‘Grado’ spelt backwards. Odarg came out to the same Madonna ‘Like A Prayer’ theme song, with ‘ODARG’ written across his singlet like Grado’s regular singlet. Everyone in the crowd knew it was Grado, not that it wasn’t obvious anyway. On the surface this seems dumb, but it was played for comedy and the crowd ate it up. Odarg pinned Drake, but his mask came off at one point during the match.

    – EC3 came out for an interview, and ended up brawling with both Matt Hardy and Tyrus. Hardy & Tyrus challenged EC3 to a tag match later.

    TNA Tag Champions The Wolves beat Decay in a Monsters Ball match to retain (and regain physical possession of the belts).

    This was a wild hardcore match, with chairs, tables, ladders, thumb tacks, a barbed wire bat and barbed wire board used. A key spot was the Wolves caught Rosemary trying to interfere, and with Edwards holding her, Richards at first teased using a cheesegrater on her (seriously), then even better, forced a big kiss on her (similar to the Ric Flair/Becky Lynch spot at the Rumble that people raised their eyebrows over, given it’s now 2016). Finish saw Richards give Crazzy Stevie a brainbuster on a chair covered in tacks for the win.

    – Jeremy Borash brought out Josh Matthews to wave to the crowd, and also later, Billy Corgan. Corgan did some brief mic work, thanking the crowd.

    Gail Kim & Madison Rayne beat Jade & Marti

    Afterwards, Rebel beat down the faces, with Velvet Sky making the save. Sky then cut a promo, challenging the Dollhouse to a 3 on 3 ‘Lethal Lockdown’ match, to be taped in London tomorrow.   

    Ethan Carter 3 & Rockstar Spud beat TNA World Champion Matt Hardy & Tyrus

    Spud came out mid-way through the match as Carter’s partner. Afterwards, Spud simply glared at EC3 then left. The storyline is that although both are now babyfaces, Spud hasn’t forgiven EC3 for the way he mistreated him in the past.

    Then in a dark segment to close the show, EC3 brought Spud out again, and told the crowd it was Spud’s birthday tomorrow, leading the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to him. Spud seemed happy, then said, “By the way, I still hate you’” and left.

    Notes:

    Overall an entertaining show. It did drag a lot towards the end of the third hour and into the fourth hour. The crowd were enthusiastic at the key moments. It was just sad to see the crowd smaller than it was last year (and the crowd size has decreased every year for the past 2-3 years), with plenty of empty seats visible on all 3 sides of the arena. The main event angle is strong, and they did a terrific job getting EC3 over as the top babyface to the point he was the most over babyface on the show by the end (with the possible exception of Kurt Angle).

  • Awesome Kong sent home following a TNA dressing room skirmish; lineup for Saturday

    At this time, we don’t have additional details, but we have learned that TNA’s Awesome Kong was sent home from the U.K. tour due to a physical dressing room altercation with Reby Hardy. Here’s the full results from Friday’s tapings.

    These matches have been announced for the Saturday tapings in London at SSE Wembley:

    • TNA Champion Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III cage match
    • Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode
    • Eric Young & Bram vs. Roode & James Storm cage match
    • Velvet Sky & Gail Kim & Madison Rayne vs. Jade & Marti Bell & Rebel cage match