Matt Hardy offered to put his career on the line against Ethan Carter III in order to receive one last shot at the TNA World Title.
On this week’s show:
The main event will be TNA Champion EC3 vs. Matt Hardy in a title vs. career Last Man Standing Match. Also Knockouts champion Gail Kim will defend against Awesome Kong, plus “Miracle” Michael Bennett and “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis will make their Impact debut, and more on the Kurt Angle Farewell Tour.
Recap:
Impact kicks off with an awesome video package previewing the main event. Josh Matthews is pushing on commentary that this match would be the last time the two will meet.
– Jeff Hardy makes his way to the ring and grabs the mic. He says “that something just doesn’t feel right” in regards to the main event. He calls brother Matt to the ring. They’re pushing that this could be the last night that we see Matt Hardy. Matt convinces Jeff that he’s going to beat EC3 and there’s nothing to worry about. Jeff starts a “Hardy” chant. EC3’s music hits but out comes Tyrus. Tyrus is upset that Jeff called him stupid last week when he implied that Tyrus couldn’t read. Tyrus challenges Jeff to a match and he accepts.
Jeff Hardy vs. Tyrus
Josh reminds us that Tyrus is the “de facto” number one contender for the TNA World Title. Jeff went to the top rope but lost his balance, fell and injured his knee. Tyrus dominates Jeff for the rest of the match. Tyrus goes for a steal chair and shoved the referee, which led to a DQ. After the match, Jeff hit the Twist of Fate on Tyrus.
– Next week it’s Feast or Fired on Impact. We get a video package explaining the concept of the Feast or Fired Match.
– Backstage, TNA tag champs The Wolves talk about the past two years in TNA. They name several tag teams they have beaten which includes the Bro Mans, The Hardys, and Team 3D. Now they’re looking to face off with Beer Money. Crazzy Steve interrupts them and laughs manically. Suddenly, The Wolves and the cameraman are attacked from behind by a mysterious monster. We see only his boot.
TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong
Before the match, Kong grabs the mic. Kong tells Kim that nobody cares that she’s married to the cook even though “he makes the best damn lobster raviolis I’ve ever eaten in my life.” This was in reference to Gail Kim’s husband, celebrity chef Robert Irvine. Kong dominated Gail in the early part of the match. Gail hits a crossbody off the top rope to the outside and takes out the entire Dollhouse. The Beautiful People run down and fight Marti Bell and Rebel to the back. Gail hits Eat Defeat on Kong, and throws Jade off the top rope onto Kong. Gail pins Kong to win the match and retain her title.
– They show Jeff injuring his leg earlier in his match with Tyrus.
– Back from commercial, we get scenes from the Kurt Angle Speaking Tour. Kurt talked about a match he had earlier in the year with Bobby Lashley and hopes to face him again.
– Beer Money head down to the ring and they’re looking for a fight. They call out Eric Young and Bram but instead, Eli Drake and Jesse Godderz come to the ring.
Beer Money vs. Jesse Godderz & Eli Drake
They brawl around ringside to start the match. Drake and Godderz get the advantage early on but Beer Money quickly puts an end to that. Beer Money hits the DWI to win the match.
– Backstage, Jeff is icing his knee when Matt, Reby, and Maxell come in to check on him. They convince Jeff to leave and go to the hospital to get the knee checked. Jeff wants to stay for the main event but Matt assures him he’ll be okay. Jeff leaves the arena.
– Kurt Angle makes his way down to the ring. Kurt wonders who should be the next person he faces in the Kurt Angle Farewell Tour. “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring. Lashley explains that 14 years ago Kurt Angle discovered him. Lashley then quotes Ric Flair and says, “To Be The Man, You Have to Beat The Man” and that Kurt Angle is the man. Lashley challenges Kurt Angle and Kurt accepts.
-Backstage Lashley is asked about his upcoming match with Kurt Angle, when a mysterious woman in a stunning/sparkling dress with purple hair interrupts. She says, “my pleasure is your pain.” She walks away and Lashley is checking her out hardcore.
“Miracle” Michael Bennett vs. Pepper Parks
-Maria Kanellis comes and introduces The Miracle. Bennett gets the advantage in the match with a sweet looking super kick. This was basically a squash match to showcase the skills and talent of Michael Bennett. “Miracle” Michael Bennett picks up the win.
TNA Champion Ethan Carter III vs. Matt Hardy – Title vs. Career Last Man Standing Match
It’s main event time. Both Matt Hardy and EC3 come out alone. They use a lot of weapons, such as tables, chairs, and ladders. Matt hits a twist of fate from the apron through a table at ringside. Reby Sky is watching the match from ringside. Tyrus makes his way down to the ring. Instead of helping EC3, Tyrus turns on him and attacks EC3. He then goes over and hugs Matt. EC3 is playing the face, while Matt is now playing the heel. EC3 fights off both Hardy and Tyrus. Matt uses the TNA World title to knock out EC3. Matt is the new TNA World Champion. After the match, Matt is now a full blown heel and is insulting the fans. Matt hits EC3 with a one man con-chairto. Matt Hardy, Reby, and Tyrus pose on the entrance way with the world title to end the show. A double turn happens with Matt Hardy now the heel, while EC3 is now a babyface.
Final Thoughts:
A good show this week with a really solid main event, which was followed up by a major angle. The double turn was an interesting choice. Next week’s show is built around the Feast or Fired Match with Booby Roode, James Storm, Rockstar Spud, Eli Drake, Jesse Godderz, Eric Young, Bram, Grado, Chris Melendez, Robbie E, Aiden O’Shea and Drew Galloway.
Here are the final results from the TNA tapings Saturday in Bethlehem, PA — the final night of the five-day taping. It was advertised as a PPV taping, but ended up being an Impact taping.
– X Division Champion Tigre Uno won three-way over Mandrews and DJ Zema Ion to retain. Shane Helms said he wanted a title match next week.
– Jeff Hardy challenged Matt Hardy for the TNA title, saying he was mad at Matt’s actions in winning the title. Here’s how that happened, btw.
– They had the annual Feast or Fired match with briefcases going to Drew Galloway, James Storm, Grado and Eli Drake. The reveal may be done secretly and not air until the shows from England.
– TNA Tag Champions The Wolves beat Abyss & Crazy Steve via DQ in a tag title match when Steve sprayed mist. Abyss & Steve have a female clown as their valet.
– Jeff vs. Matt for the title was supposed to be next. Eric Young and Bram attacked Jeff. Beer Money made the save. Heels Abyss & Steve joined in and Kurt Angle got involved. Tyrus knocked out Angle and Matt hit Angle with a belt shot, while Young piledrove Jeff through a table doing an injury angle as Jeff went out on a stretcher.
– Awesome Kong beat Velvet Sky. The Doll House also destroyed Madison Rayne after the match.
– Bobby Lashley beat Aiden O’Shea. There is a new character, a woman, who is trying to hit on Lashley after the match.
– TNA Champion Matt Hardy, Reby Hardy and Tyrus were out. Young and Bram came out. Young wanted a title match with Matt. Angle also wanted a title match with Matt.
– X Division Champion Tigre Uno came out to defend his title against Shane Helms. Helms came out in clothes and said the challenge was for Trevor Lee, not him, and Lee beat Uno to win the title.
– Drew Galloway beat Tyrus via DQ when Mike Bennett interfered and hit Galloway with his Feast or Fired briefcase.
– Crazzy Steve won a Hardcore war match by pinning Davey Richards when they were the last two.
– Maria Kanellis did an interview saying women’s wrestling needs a new leader. This brought out Gail Kim. They went at it, so they are going to have a program.
– TNA Champion Matt Hardy beat Kurt Angle to retain thanks to help from Reby Hardy.
Last week, Madison Rayne beat Brooke to advance, Bram beat Spud, and Manik beat Mandrews with a GTS. The Wolves collided in a very good match that went to a time limit draw, Mahabali Shera beat Kenny King, and Eric Young beat Robert Roode. Manik vs. Mandrews and Davey vs. Eddie were quite good, while EY vs. Roode wasn’t bad, it also wasn’t exciting in the slightest. The show begins with a recap of last week’s matches. Tonight, Madison faces Gail, while Matt faces Eddie Edwards, and Mr. Anderson faces EC3. Josh and Pope are in their green screen studio, and Pope is now doing Larry Zbyszko’s finger movements from the Nitro era. We see clips of Eddie Edwards destroying dudes while Madison walks to the ring. We get a wacky Ninja Queen video for Madison, which consists of someone singing “Ninja Queen” instead of Killer Queen while she moves plants around and is superimposed over footage of people talking. This was goofy and amusing.
Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne
They tie-up and Madison wins that exchange. Madison takes her down while Josh talks more about the ninja training. Pope gets a crack in about Josh not really wanting his honest opinion about Madison while Madison gets 2 off a crucifix that Gail reverses for 2. SOS cradle gets 2 for Madison. Josh talks about #worldtitleseries trending worldwide already. Madison gets a weak-looking Brogue kick onto Gail as she was draped over the second rope. Gail gets 2 off a blind dive crossbody and we go to a break. Gail sends Madison into the buckle with a wacky headscissor, but the corner crossbody misses. Gail comes in at 9 and then smashes Madison’s head into the steps. Gail gets a dragon sleeper, but Madison escapes and then kinda goes for a small package, but Gail puts her in a dragon sleeper again because Madison wasn’t at the right angle for the cradle. Madison gets a corner forearm and runs wild with chops and forearms mid-ring. A sliding crossbody gets 2 for Madison. Madison goes for the Rayne Drop, which got the win last week, but Madison gets cradled and loses. This was an excellent little match – easily the best women’s match of the series so far. Matt Hardy interview is up next.
We get a recap of Gail vs. Rayne, leading to Pope and Josh saying that two people in Matt Hardy and Gail Kim are in the field of 16. Matt is in a very squeaky room saying that he feels that he’s better now than he’s ever been and he’ll trend when he wins the series with an unbeaten record. They awkwardly around Matt vacating the title and Matt says that EC3 might’ve kept this going on for years, and due to EC3, TNA might not even have TV. Well, that’s an odd thing to say. Pope akwardly asks if Matt will take a night off with Eddie and Matt says that Eddie is the future of “this brand”, but tonight isn’t his night and he’ll be a victim of the Matt Hardy Formula. Eli Drake is out to face Jessie Godderz. Eli still has his goofy superhero vest on. Eli says E-li in the best way humanly possible and it at least helps him stand out in TNA. “The Man” Jessie Godderz, who is also “The Modern Day Adonis”, comes out in his giant robe.
Eli Drake vs. Jessie Godderz
Since Jessie’s finisher is the “Adonis Crab”, Josh talks about his favorite kinds of crab and how he enjoys having it served to him at a restaurant. Josh says that if Jessie wins the series, he’ll be on the cover of cereal boxes and getting all the TV show interviews. Eli gets a takedown, but Jessie gets a headscissor. Josh says that the World Title Series episodes of Impact are all on their Youtube channel, where you can “watch Dixie Carter explain the world title series”. Each guys tries to out-cheat each other with the hair while Josh talks about giving out World Title Series awards and talking about WHO WAS AT TNA HQ THIS WEEK!?
Jessie gets a slick double wristlock suplex for 2. Pope pimps his PopeTV Youtube channel. Eli drives the leg down onto Jessie’s to wear it down. Pope talks about Eli being the prince of Eternia, which Josh buries him for. Jessie gets a back elbow smash and both guys try to cheat via tights pulling to win, but the ref is right there. This reminds me a bit of Martel vs. HBK at Summerslam ’92 with two heels trying to out-heel each other to win. Jessie tries to cheat with a cradle, but Eli escapes for 2. Jessie climbs up top, but gets crotched and Eli puts his feet on the rope for the win.
EC3 is in front of the office of TNA Wrestling, which you might’ve seen from Finn Balor’s Twitter feed. EC3 and his grey and black checkered suit are angry and he’s here to deliver a check in person. Eli cuts a fantastic promo backstage about being tired from kicking so much keister. Josh names Matt Hardy, Gail, Drew, and Shera as possible MVPs. Match of the series goes to Davey vs. Eddie. Shera wins the Most Improved award. Storm gets the Biggest Disappointment award. Matt comes out in grey and white camo PJs to do battle and we see clips of his series matches. We get the same kind of clips for Eddie as he comes down.
Matt Hardy vs. Eddie Edwards
They exchange basic headlocks on the ground before Eddie gets a chinlock after a headstand. Eddie gets bonked into the buckle and placed onto the ropes for a sloppy Nightmare on Helms Street for 2. We go to a break and come back to Matt landing some corner lariats for 2. Matt takes an awkward leap over the top to the apron and eats a Yakuza kick. Big suicide dive takes Matt out for a bit. Pope says that the suicide dive is called that because if your opponent moves, it can end in catastrophe. Eddie chops away at Matt on the post and misses, so Matt starts getting the edge. Eddie avoids an apron Side Effect and lands an apron DDT. Matt eats some chops before fighting back with slaps and exchanging forearms. Double clothesline sends both men down. Matt avoids the backpack stunner and gets an awkward sleeper slam for 2. Matt gets a back elbow, but slips off the ropes before climbing up again and hitting a big kick for 2. Matt avoids a double stomp, but the Twist is countered into a cradle by Eddie for 2. Matt gets a super Twist of Fate to counter a superplex and wins. Very good match here.
Recap of the BFG main event with Jeff Hardy costing EC3 the title. EC3 walks down the halls of the building and says that he grew up and spent a lot of time here, but now he just sees the legends on these walls as people he’s beaten. EC3 goes to Dixie’s office, full of TNA history like replica belts, photos, and a gigantic Kurt Angle WWE action figure. Ethan says he’s not a kid anymore – he’s a big victory machine and he’ll be World Champion again. He gives Dixie the check, and Dixie is upset. Matt cuts a promo on Eddie and says he’s a guy and a hell of a competitor. They play a “pop” the roster game and pick who will advance to the round of 16. Mandrews comes down the aisle to face DJZ.
Mandrews vs. DJZ
They exchange armbars and flips to start. Mandrews armdrags him to the floor. Mandrews hops on the steps and moonsaults DJZ. Mandrews tosses him in and gets a jawbreaker for 2. DJZ drops him on his head for 2 and then locks on a chinlock. DJZ hops around before hitting a springboard elbow. DJZ’s wacky springing DDT is countered with a pop-up rana by Mandrews for 2. DJZ goes up and eats a big kick and top rope rana for 2. DJZ gets a schoolboy for 2 and Mandrews runs wild with forearms and they fight up top for a bit. Mandrews shoves him down and an SSP is met with knees and a cradle for the win.
We see video of Shera training by running across a bridge and working out in the gym. They play another game and Pope predicts a Roode win. Eric Young is pissed over his bubble being popped because he’d break Josh’s neck and he’s the most dangerous man in pro wrestling. Crimson talks about his opponent tonight, Micah, being an ass-kicker since birth. We see clips of Micah beating Crimson. We see EC3 in India cutting a promo from what sounds like a construction site. Josh says that the semi-finals of the series will be in December’s Impact shows from Mumbai.
Drew cuts a promo from his home, which like Matt Hardy’s house, features better lighting than the in-ring action. He says that he was motivated before, and while he was ripped off at BFG, he’s on track to fulfill his destiny. Next week, Brooke faces Awesome Kong while EY faces James Storm, and Bobby Roode faces Abyss. Josh talks about Anderson and EC3’s “rich history”, which we see in clip form. EC3 comes down and Anderson comes down adding “what and huh” to his intro.
EC3 vs. Ken Anderson
They exchange chops in the corner and go to a break. After the break, Ken gets some Kobashi-style machine gun chops on the floor. Pope laments that there will be no “textbookality” here. Maybe that can be added to the next Mortal Kombat game – a giant textbook can fall onto your opponent’s head. They go to the floor where Pope says that Anderson has to be careful being in dinosaur land before stating the obvious and stating he was talking about Tyrus. Tyrus sweeps the leg for 2. Gutwrench suplex gets 2 and then locks on a chinlock. Double clothesline leads to another double down on the show. Finlay Roll hits as does the Kenton Bomb for 2. They fight up top and Ken gets the Lambeau Leap for 2. Tyrus pulls Anderson to the floor with two minutes to go. Earl argues with Tyrus before Ken bashes Tyrus with a chair. Earl is completely fine with this. Earl takes the chair out of the ring and EC3 low blows him, but avoids a Mic Check and wins with a jackknife cradle. To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.
Last week, Aries beat Anderson in a fantastic match to advance in the series and also take Anderson out of it. Mandrews debuted a new skater/surfer gimmick, and surfed on Tigre Uno’s back. His Johnny Ace cosplay didn’t help him though, as Uno won the match. Manik beat DJZ with a funky GTS, and in the main event, EC3 beat Lashley thanks to cheating. It was a very filler-heavy episode of the show, and quite skippable outside of the Aries match. The show begins with a recap of last week’s events and we’ll see Uno face DJZ, while the main event is Awesome Kong against Gail Kim.
Storm faces Abyss, and Robbie E faces Matt Hardy tonight. Robbie E comes down in the background while Josh talks about how Group Champions “is being called the toughest group to get out of”, and offers up no explanation as to who is saying this. Pope rambles about how his prophecies come true and we get an EC3 promo after last week’s show. Robbie E should logically be in the ring and we get a recap of the rankings for Team Tag Team Specialists. Robbie’s intro is finally over, leading to Matt’s. Pope says that Matt should get a Wrestletarium award – okey dokey.
Matt Hardy vs. Robbie E
They start things off with some mat wrestling before Matt throws Robbie’s head into the buckle. Robbie counters the bulldog and lands some corner shots. Josh recaps the Robbie E vs. Robbie G rivalry and Matt trips Robbie up on the apron. Robbie avoids being tossed into the buckle on the apron, and kicks Matt before hitting a somersault dive off the apron. Matt’s trapped against the apron and eats a big lariat. Pope buries Robbie E’s old gimmick like he was Leif Cassidy or Avatar and praises him for getting extreme. In what way has he become extreme? Kudos on the horrible Al Snow gimmick bashing, but they did at least give Snow a WWF gig. Robbie goes up top and gets snapmared down. Pope mentions the Wrestletarian award and tells Josh to trademark that. Well, given how WWE swooped in and got “Four Horesweomen”, might as well.
Big flying Hart Attack hits for Robbie. Matt gets the splash mountain powerbomb for 2 – he hasn’t busted that out for many years. Robbie avoids Matt’s weird movements before the Twist to hit the Boom Drop for 2. Matt hits a second Side Effect and Robbie pops up into a Twist of Fate for the win. This was pretty fun – Matt is dong surprisingly well in singles matches and he and Robbie shake hands and hug after the match. Josh tells us to update our leaderboards at home – as if anyone on Earth is doing that. Gail is interviewed about losing to Brooke in the series, and she says that Brooke was better that night – and tonight, she’s coming for Kong.
We get a recap of Robbie vs. Matt and Matt cuts a post-match promo about how Robbie E has grown. Robbie says he doesn’t feel like a loser because he earned respect and he’s becoming more serious. Matt is interrupted by Grado, who wants a selfie. Matt does the V1-AAAAHHH bit and blocks Grado’s face. Well, that was a thing. Grado comes down while the commentary is drowned out by Pope talking about Game of War and Drew Galloway. Josh puts Grado over as “one of the top 32 competitors in the World Title Series” of 32 competitors. Poor Grado. We get a Galloway hype video.
Drew Galloway vs. Grado
Grado cradles Drew for 2, and Drew just can’t lift him up because he’s too fat – so he hulks up and chucks him. Drew chops him big-time in the corner and Drew eats an accidental low blow a little later while Grado asks the ref to “check his bollocks”. Drew fights back with more chops and a big overhead belly to belly suplex for 2. Drew wants him to fire back, so he does and he plants him in the corner for the cannonball! Drew gets locked into a tree of woe, which leads to a German suplex and he then preps the foot for the Sick Kick/Claymore for the win. We get a history lesson on Gail vs. Kong – with clips of Gail beating Kong for the title at Final Resolution 2008. We then see a far too long recap of the Storm, Abyss, and Shera storyline. Aiden ‘O Shea is out to face Crazzy Steve in one of the more random matches we’ve seen on Impact in a while. Aiden is apparently from Chicago, and comes to the ring in a wifebeater and slacks.
Crazzy Steve vs. Aiden O’Shea
Crazzy Steve starts the match shaking his ass to O’Shea’s theme. Josh brings up that Aiden is from Chicago and of Irish descent, and Aiden steals his horn and plays keep away with it. Steve gets a jawbreaker and GETS THE HORN. The horn is blown into Aiden’s ears and shocks him, but he lands a solid punch to get the lead. Aiden tosses him into the buckle and pounces him down to the mat. Steve attacks the hand on the floor, but Aiden hits him with He Used to Call it the Boom Stick lariat for the win. Abyss cuts a promo on Storm and we see a Storm vs. Abyss hype video showing Storm’s title win and some of Abyss’s title wins. Jeff Hardy DVD ad.
We get clips of Kong vs. Gail from earlier this year on Impact, with Kong beating Gail with a counter-to-center ring Awesome bomb. Recap of Drew beating Grado earlier and we get a subtitled promo from Grado backstage. Pope and Josh talk for a bit about the World Title Series while Storm comes out to face Abyss, who is already in the ring. Storm talks about he and Abyss being one of the four guys left in TNA who have been in TNA since day one – giving fans some great entertainment. Storm tells Abyss to do the smart thing and let him win by countout – if Storm’s smart, why doesn’t he just ask for a win via pinfall to get more points? Abyss tells Storm that he’s still the Monster and refuses. Storm is in his weird orange camo gear that never needs to be seen again.
James Storm vs. Abyss
They start a clubbering and Storm lands a superkick to the gut, but Abyss gains control quickly for an ad break. WWE 2K16 ad. When we come back, Storm slams Abyss into the steps. Storm hops off the steps into a chokeslam setup, but he shoves Abyss into the post. Storm brings a chair in and Earl takes it while the fans chant for tables. The chair is put in the corner and they fight over a corner shot, but neither hits it. Storm lands some corner punches and eats the chair. Abyss gets a splash and gets 2. They plug Earl Hebner’s Hall of Fame T-shirt, which they somehow felt was something anyone would want to spend money on. Pope says “that is available, indeed”. Abyss brings his implement of death Janice into the ring, but it gets stuck in the buckle. Storm hits him with a cowbell for 2. So to recap, you can bring a chair into the ring in TNA, and a board with nails in it – but no cowbells. They fight up top and Storm gets a sunset bomb and a big flying elbow for 2. Abyss gets a chokeslam for 2. Storm takes a swig and spits it at Abyss, who is blinded and eats two superkicks for the win. They recap the World Champions group, which sees EY have zero points.
Recap of Storm vs. Abyss and O’Shea vs. Steve. Shera will face Kenny King next week and we get a JB interview with Shera. He says he’ll win the title and make his friends, family, and country proud. JB is excited to announce the India tour and Shera says that he’ll return home as World Champion. Pope puts over the Shera Shake dance craze. Brooke faces Madison Rayne next week as well. Next week, we’ll see a Jeff Hardy interview about the BFG main event – and we see a little clip of him saying seeing his brother hold the title win in their home state with his family was the best. We get a recap video of an Eric Young vs. Robert Roode rivalry. I’ve forgotten about any issue they’ve had recently, so this is actually a good thing. We see their history over the past year and are told they’ll face off next week in the World Title Series. Tigre Uno comes out to face DJZ.
DJZ vs. Tigre Uno
Uno starts this off with a quick legdrop and armbar. A hammerlock leads to Josh being buried by Pope for not calling the action. Josh responds by saying he just wants to see Pope do it so he can fail. Is Josh supposed to be a babyface? DJZ lands a corner kick and hits a corner rana. DJZ flips around and eats a spinkick. Josh says the X division is like playing a video game, which Pope confirms. Uno goes for a hopping something or other and gets necksnapped on the rope. DJZ lands a tilt-a-whirl headscissors into the steps. Josh says that a win here means that DJZ can make a valid case to get an X Title shot just by beating the champion – excellent point there. DJZ gets some shoulder thrusts in the corner and lands some forearms with Uno perched up top.
Uno counters a superplex, but leaps into a dropkick to the ribs for 2. Uno goes for his wacky pop-up DDT, which is countered. Uno gets a spinkick and a baseball slide kick. Orno rolls around and then…stops before doing a tornado dive. Uno gets a springboard dropkick a pop-up rana for 2. DJZ hits a running spinning rana and gets shotgun knees to the spine. Pope implies it’s Vintage Elijah Burke, but forgives Josh for not watching TNA before he came into the company. Boy is this a bizarre commentary team. DJZ finally lands his goofy DDT for the win. We get a highlight reel of Gail vs. Kong from BFG set to epic music – it actually makes it seem like a good match, so they did their job here. Gail comes down and Josh says the champions don’t have their championship titles because they don’t want any distractions while going after the World title.
Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong
Gail tries to roll away from Kong, but gets shoved into the corner. Gail attacks the shoulder and lands some forearms before just getting clubbed down for a break. We come back to Kong tossing Gail’s leg on the mat before locking on a camel clutch. Gail goes for a handspring headscissor, but Kong flipped her around and hit a lariat. Kong lands a Mongolian chop and locks on a sleeper. Gail escapes and kicks away, but gets leg tripped by Kong. Gail locks on the standing Octopus stretch, but gets kryptonite krunched out of it. It gets 2 and Gail sends her to the floor and gets a flipping senton to the floor.
Gail gets a combination armbar/choke on the mat. Kong escapes, but eats a series of kicks. Josh announces that we have five minutes left in the match. Kong goes for a chokeslam, but gets DDT’d out of it. Gail lands some leg kicks and dropkicks, and gets 2 off a crossbody. Kong counters Eat Defeat, but goes for a powerbomb and eats a cradle for a loss. They had a pretty good match here, but nothing on the show topped anything Aries has done so far. Next week’s Davey vs. Eddie match has the potential to be quite good – as does Roode vs. EY. To see every screen taken for the show, just click here.
Last week, the World Title Series began with a mixed bag of matches. Austin Aries vs. EC3 was fantastic, while Grado vs. Rockstar Spud in a WWE cosplay match was among the worst matches on TV this year. Lashley beat Ken Anderson in a very good main event, while Kong beat Rayne to advance in the knockouts bracket. Gail also lost to Brooke in a good match in that same bracket. Tonight, we’ll find out the other 16 competitors that will fill out the field.
A Bound For Glory recap video starts the show off. We see Matt Hardy winning the title by beating Galloway, the injunction, and Matt’s vacating of the title. Dixie and Billy Corgan’s announcement of the World Title Series, alongside the various groups are shown before we see the results of each match from last week. Josh and Pope, who Josh calls “the most entertaining commentator in the business” are against their green screen.
They run down the next fields – Group Tag Team Specialists, Group Future Four. Group X Division, and Group TNA Originals were announced. Robbie E cuts a promo on Robbie G from his car, and in portrait mode. He challenges him to a TNA Impact match. Matt Hardy is set to face Davey, who comes out first. The Wolves’ win over Team GFW is shown from BFG. Matt comes out and we see Matt’s BFG celebration while Josh points out how little that wound up meaning.
Matt Hardy vs. Davey Richards
Matt and Davey have a nice babyface vs. babyface match here. They don’t want to hurt one another, but Davey does land a nice dropkick. During the roundtable, Davey talks about being ready for this while Matt puts over the fellow tag specialists and he plans to win. Apron warfare breaks out as Davey gets some kicks, but gets caught in a Side Effect on the apron. Matt gets a snapmare and a series of legdrops for 2. Matt locks on a sleeper and turns it into a slam for 2. Matt drapes him over the second rope and hits a Nightmare on Helms Street for 2.
Matt walks the middle rope for an elbow, but Davey gets a backstabber. Matt gets low-bridged and Davey hits a suicide dive while Josh talks about BFG trending non-stop for nearly two weeks. Handspring kick hits for 2. Josh talks about Little Pope, the doll, being a big star at BFG. Davey backslides his way out of a Twist of Fate. Side Effect gets 2. Matt goes up and eats a big kick to the chest. Matt avoids the double stomp off the top and hits a Twist of Fate for the win. Hooray! A Beer Money video package! We see some clips of their greatest moments, Storm’s title win, and then Roode winning it from him. Tonight, they will have their final match in TNA.
In the Group X Division roundtable, we get everyone insulting each other. Manik buries Mandrews and calls him Bart Simpson for having a skateboard. Is his gimmick now that he’s a Dynamic Dude? Pope makes two picks while Josh begs for hashtags. Aiden ‘O Shea makes his Impact debut and we see him throw hands while Josh tells pope that Aiden throws hands better than Elijah Burke ever did. Kenny King is out to face him.
Aiden ‘O Shea vs. Kenny King
Aiden throws his shirt at King to get in cheapshots. A pair of jabs to the jaw leads to a hard body shot. Aiden ‘O Shea misses the Boomstick lariat and then just spins around maniacally on one foot to stare at Kenny immediately. Aiden stands on the achilles tendon in a nice bit. In the roundtable, Shera says that he is bigger, stronger, and faster. Steve honks in either agreement or disagreement. Kenny gets a sunset flip for a loose 2 count. Aiden gets a back suplex into a backbreaker. Kenny kicks his way out of a Boomstick and gets a spin kick. Kenny goes for the Royal Flush, but he gets his eyes raked. Kenny gets a kick on the apron and hits a springboard blockbuster for the win. EY rambles backstage about how the World title goes through him in 2015. He’s also God, and he’s getting the World Title again because it’s all he’s ever cared about. EY faces Abyss next.
But first, we see Matt beat Davey in the opener. Davey says he won’t make excuses because Matt’s a legend. He isn’t about excuses, and tonight, Matt was the better man. Matt leads Team Tag Team Specialists with three points. EC3 will have an interview via Skype later tonight. Josh and Pope do a bizarre Tinder-style swipe for the TNA Originals brackets. Roode says that EY has lost his mind and that he’ll be screwed over by his mental problems. EY says that it was hard to decide who was going to lose, and EY says that he’ll answer JB’s “first question” even though we just saw one, and predicted that Roode will be eliminated. Storm says that Abyss will lose because he can’t even walk a straight line. Abyss says that Storm came to him, not the other way around. “YOU PROMISED ME ALL KINDS OF STUFF, AND NONE OF IT HAPPENED!”. EY comes down in his crazy fisherman getup.We see clips of EY attacking Kurt and the doctor, before EY lost to Angle at BFG. Josh and Pope talk about Pope entering Bound For Gold, and it takes more time to do that than his appearance took.
Eric Young vs. Abyss
Abyss shoulders him down a few time. Abyss goes for a chokeslam, but EY bites his hand for an ad break. We come back and EY has Abyss reeling, but Abyss still sends him over the top to the floor. They fight on the floor and Abyss misses a charge into the post. Josh says that unlike Storm, TNA doesn’t have empty promises and is coming to the UK soon. So what about that Halloween Hardcore tour? EY puts Abyss on the apron and boots his head. EY chokes him on the ropes and then dives into a chokeslam, which is countered – but a Samoan drop isn’t. Abyss clubs him down a few times and goes for another chokeslam, but he stomps his foot to escape. Abyss finally gets the chokeslam for 2. Abyss gets Janice (the weapon, not the person) from under the ring. TNA Hall of Famer Earl Hebner grabs it, and EY low blows Abyss and hits a flying elbow for 2. Abyss backdrops him out of a piledriver and hits the Black Hole Slam for the win.
We see the standings for the Originals team – Abyss is in the lead with three points. Josh is joined by EC3 on Skype. EC3 is in a cheap-looking room that is painted black, and it’s like an echo chamber in there too. EC3 says he should be champion and Josh says he was left with just one point last week. EC3 says that Aries didn’t beat him – no one will. EC3 will face Lashley next week and Josh asks if he’s behind the 8 Ball. EC3 says he’s confused by that unless it’s a reference to the Magic 8 Ball, and the series isn’t over until he wins.
We get a recap of Abyss beating EY, so EY is behind and Abyss leads the pack. EY says Abyss, the fans, and the company are all against him. EY says he wins in the end and he is serious and he will win. okay then. Abyss tells Storm and Roode that they’ll meet the same fate EY did. Robbie E is out first while Josh talks about Robbie wanting to be taken seriously. Well, that’s just not happening with this gimmick. Eddie Edwards comes out to face him.
Eddie Edwards vs. Robbie E.
They go into a collar and elbow tie-up and we see Eddie say that Robbie has turned over a new leaf. They exchange rolls on the mat and Robbie looks more impressive here as a wrestler than he has before in TNA. Robbie lands a big back elbow-leading lariat for 2. Eddie Matrixes out of a lariat and gets an inverted atomic drop and a running knee for 2.
Robbie avoids a corner charge that sends Eddie to the floor. Robbie dives to the floor onto Eddie and gets a big “Robbie” chant. Robbie gets a Hart Attack for 2. Robbie gets a big suplex while Matt says that Robbie is the least-likely to move on. Of course, the in-ring action takes up less space than the talking. Eddie flips out of a German and sends Robbie to the apron and then the floor. They double lariat each other on the floor. Nasty chop on the floor sends Robbie into the ring. Robbie gets the Boom Drop for 2. Eddie flips out of a reverse DDT and gets a German and a half crab. Running enzuiguri to the head hurts Robbie, but Robbie lands the reverse DDT for the win. This was a pretty solid little match – Robbie E’s stock rose a bit with it. Well, in theory. Pope calls Robbie’s story a Cinderella story that every wrestling fan can get behind.
We see clips of Roode’s dominant World Title reign. We see him lose it, then regain it before losing it again. He holds the KOTM Title, but wants to be the World Champion too and prove that he’s the greatest wrestler alive. Roode says that tonight, he and Storm put their history behind them – and he’ll beat him tonight and prove that he wants the title more.
Robbie vs. Eddie clips air and Robbie says that yeah, you might think he’s a joke – but he’s a two-time tag champ and a former X Division champion too. Eddie says that Robbie surprised a lot of people and he poked fun at him, but he regrets it now. Josh says that Robbie is now “trending in a positive direction” and we go to the roundtable for Team Future Four. Eli Drake cuts a great promo about how he needs to be in a roundtable with guys holding gold. One guy looks like a peacock and Micah still wants to be his friend. Jessie says that E-li Drake doesn’t matter and Crimson says he’s been to war and he’ll take Eli out. Micah says that the next person who will progress is he and Crimson while calling Eli a son of a bitch. Crimson says Micah will go on alongside him too. Crazzy Steve is out to face Mahabala Shera. Oh my God – this will be a thing.
Crazzy Steve vs. Mahabali Shera
Shera isn’t doing his Shera shake, and he’s in his Khoya gear – so this is definitely exposing the odd taping schedule of this. Josh says that he asked Shera why he has Khoya on his trunks and he says it’s a reminder of what he isn’t. Shera overpowers Steve and plows through him with a shoulderblock. Shera lands a corner lariat while the crowd chants for Crazzy Steve. Josh ponders what kind of interviews Steve will do with Conan ‘O Brien and Jimmy Fallon. Steve runs wild with lariats to the back. Shera swipes him away, but eats forearms and a dropkick. Steve bites the forehead, but eats a Sky High and Shera wins.
We get another recap of Storm being attacked by Roode, and how the Revolution was just his attempt to rekindle what worked with Beer Money. The Revolution broke up due to Storm, and now Storm walks alone in his quest for the World title. Storm vs. Roode is the main event, and up next. Josh ponders what’s going to happen tonight before we see the rankings for Group Champions. EC3 faces Lashley next week and we get a highlight reel of Lashley kicking ass in the ring and the gym. The song used here is pretty darn catchy. Storm comes out first looking great in his slicker jacket while Roode comes out in Terry Taylor’s black and red robe. He’s certainly got his money’s worth out of that investment. Roode doesn’t have the belt on during his intro.
James Storm vs. Robert Roode
Storm starts this by doing the “Beer!” part of Beer Money while Roode just stares there sternly. Josh calls Roode both the purist’s purist and the wrestler’s wrestler. Is he also a whistler’s whistler? Pope points out that Storm is holding up one finger to show that there’s always room for one more in the Revolution, while Josh says that’s silly since there is no Revolution.
Storm lands a knee to the gut and clubs the back. Roode comes back and gets some cornermount punches and a big dropkick. Storm gets a suckerpunch to send Roode back into the ring. They brawl to the floor and Storm is flung into the barricade. Storm distracts the ref while he low blows Roode. Roode takes three bumps for it. Josh says if you can’t keep track of this tournament, don’t worry – you can just check out the TNA site. Storm gets the Nightmare of Helms Street for 2 and plants a chinlock mid-ring.
Christy points out that there are five minutes left in the match. Nothing of real note has happened outside of the awesome low blow selling from Roode. Josh points out that the TNA Originals group has also been World Champions, alongside Group Champions. Spinebuster hits Storm for 2. Roode gets a blockbuster for 2. Storm avoids the Perfectplex and gets a very slow flying spinning headscissors for 2. Storm grabs a chair and Roode kicks him, so Roode grabs it and the ref takes it from him – it distracts the ref and Storm gets 2 off a cowbell shot. Roode avoids the superkick, so Storm goes for the whirlybird, but Roode kicks the gut and wins with a Perfectplex. For roughly eight years, Roode and Storm have been linked to each other and this was the end of it. The company did a fine job making the match feel epic beforehand, but it just didn’t come across as anything more than filler – it wasn’t even an homage to classic spots. It was just a series of moves that led to a finish and didn’t elicit any emotion whatsoever
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