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Tag: TNA Impact Wrestling

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: World Champ Lashley vs. EC3 vs. Galloway

    Previously on Impact:

    Last week on Impact, Jeff Hardy defeated his brother Broken Matt Hardy in a Six Sides of Steel Cage Match. Jeff further broke Matt by putting him through two tables and a pile of chairs. Also, Billy Corgan advised Dixie Carter to take a leave of absence due to her issues with Maria and The Miracle. On top of that, The Miracle defeated Eddie Edwards for the X Division title and promised to cash it in for a world title shot at Destination X. Life is full of miracles.

    Tonight on Impact:

    On tonight’s Impact, Bobby Lashley will defend the TNA World title against both Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter III in an electric main event. Additionally, Sienna will defend her TNA Knockouts title against future hall of famer, Gail Kim.

    Show Recap:

    The night kicks off with The Miracle and Maria already in the ring. Maria calls Billy Corgan a fair leader and thanks him for getting Dixie to take a leave of absence. This prompts her to welcome us to her show. She looks marvelous in her sparkly blue short shorts. The Miracle recaps winning the X Division title and brings up world champion Lashley. Lashley interrupts and is upset that The Miracle mentioned his name. The Miracle promises to cash in the X Division title for a title shot at Destination X. 

    EC3 heads down to the ring, and promises to win the world title tonight. He says The Miracle won the X Divison title by kissing up to a Rockstar and cheating.

    This brings out the subtle heel Corgan. Billy said that he’s an icon outside of wrestling. Billy is upset that EC3 brought him up; the struggle has officially become real at Impact High School. EC3 thinks that The Miracle should defend the belt tonight and Billy agrees. Billy announces that The Miracle will defend that title against the winner of an X Division Battle Royal later tonight. The Miracle and Lashley jump EC3, but Drew Galloway ran down for the save. Drew went to hit the Claymore on Lashley but he moved and hit EC3 instead. 

    – In the locker room, EC3 and Drew argued about the events that just happened. It got really heated. The other wrestlers in the locker room tried to separate them.

    TNA Knockouts Champion Sienna vs. Gail Kim

    As Gail made her way to the ring, Josh reminds us that Gail will be inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. Allie and Sienna to come out. Allie congratulates Gail for her Hall of Fame induction, but feels that Gail should retire.

    Gail and Sienna have a really good match. Sienna used power moves to dominate Gail. Gail hit the blockbuster and Allie jumped on the apron. Jade ran out and went to hit the package piledriver on Allie. Marti Belle ran out and knocked out Jade. Allie distracted Gail and Sienna hit the Silencer to win the match.

    – In the back, Broken Matt arrived to the Impact Zone. His wife Reby pushed him in a wheelchair as he held Maxel in his lap. He’s still broken and isn’t done with Brother Nero, aka Jeff Hardy.

    – The Miracle and Drew argue in the back. Miracle tells Drew the real problem is EC3. Drew tells Miracle not to underestimate the X Division guys. 

    Fact Of Life with King Of The Mountain Champion Eli Drake

    Eli called everyone dummies, yeah. He talked about being the KOTM champion and that guys who had been with the company a long time were jealous. Eli brings out his guest James Storm.

    Eli talks about Storm being a TNA original and wonders if he’s jealous of Eli. Storm calls him Eli “Dork”. Eli pressed his “Dummy, Yeah” Button and pointed at a different crowd member. Storm wants to play a drinking game: drink anytime Eli presses the “Dummy, Yeah” Button. Eli pulls out a jug of water and the crowd booed the water. Storm changed the drinking game to a slapping game. Eli teases pressing the button. Eli finally pressed the button and Storm gave him the Last Call Superkick.

    – The “TMZ” interview guys ask Jeff if he saw Matt. Jeff says they’re going meet face to face to find a solution for Matt.

    – We got a fake infomercial for “The Fixer”. 

    – In the back, Rosemary tries to seduce and convince Bram to join Decay. It was both scary and strangely a turn on. This segment caused lots of weird feelings.

    – Broken Matt comes to the ring with his new piano theme music. Reby pushed him down in a wheelchair. Matt was dramatic and played the part well here. He made Reby push him around the ring while he berated the “creatures” and blames them for following Brother Nero. He said he’s had a lot of bad memories in the Impact Zone. He’s not the only one. Matt called out Jeff to the ring. Josh wondered if Jeff would come to the ring as we cut to commercial.

    – Back from commercial, Jeff makes his way down. Matt tells him that he needs one more match and needs to win. He wants six weeks to “recuperate from his life threatening injuries”. Matt says that whoever wins this match will own the name and brand “Hardy”. Matt asked Jeff if he agrees to the stipulation for the match. Jeff says yes and starts to do the Daniel Bryan “Yes” Chant.

    Matt gets out of the wheelchair and attacks Jeff from behind. Broken Matt gave Jeff the Twist of Fate with Jeff’s head wedged in a chair. Matt says the match will take place next week but not in the Impact Zone. The final match will take place at their home in Cameron, North Carolina. Matt called it The Final Deletion and kept screaming it over and over.

    – We get another fake infomercial for “The Fixer”. They even leave a fake number to call.

    X Division Battle Royal: Eddie Edwards, DJ Z, Andrew Everett, Trevor Lee, Rockstar Spud, Braxton Sutter and Mandrews

    The Miracle and Maria are doing commentary for the battle royal. The Miracle doesn’t think anyone in the battle royal can beat him. Not a bad battle royal. Each guy had a chance to shine. Spud was the first eliminated followed by Mandrews and DJ Z.

    The final four were Braxton, Edwards, Lee, and Everett. Eddie and Everett ended up on the apron. Miracle left commentary and distracted Eddie, which led to his elimination. The Helms Dynasty double-teamed Sutter until Sutter suddenly eliminated both.

    Post-match, The Helms Dynasty triple teamed Sutter and left him in the middle of the ring.

    X Division Champion “The Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ “The First Lady of Wrestling” Maria Kanellis Bennett vs. Braxton Sutter

    The Miracle demanded the match start right away. He took his time taking off his ring jacket. Sutter rolled up Miracle for a near fall but Miracle quickly hit the MIP for the win to retain the title.

    – In the back, Mahabali Shera is worried about facing Al Snow and The Tribunal. He pointed out it’s 3 against 2. Grado said he’ll handle it and had a third man. Grado made a reference to the main event of the 1996 Bash At The Beach, which Shera didn’t get. One can only assume that they saw the infomercials for “The Fixer” and hired his services.

    -In the back, Sutter talks about his loss moments ago. He realizes he’s swimming with sharks and is going to show everyone that he is also a shark.

    Mahabali Shera, Grado, and Tyrus vs. Al Snow and The Tribunal (Basile Baraka & Baron Dax)

    Grado and Shera introduce their partner and problem fixer, Tyrus. Tyrus is apparently a babyface now; I may have missed his turn. Tyrus throws The Tribunal around and stalks Snow around the ring. The heels get the heat on Grado and isolate him in their corner. Tyrus gets the hot tag and runs wild. He scores the pin for his team. Apparently, Tyrus’s new gimmick is he’s a problem solver and you can hire him to solve your problems.

    – In the back, Shera wants to celebrate their victory by eating. He’s very hungry but he won’t be paying for Grado.

    – Still in the back, The Miracle says his match with Braxton earlier was the most difficult of his life. The Miracle promises to cash in the X Division title at 9pm next week.

    TNA World Champion “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley vs. Drew Galloway vs. Ethan Carter III

    This was a really good main event. EC3 and Drew tease fighting but instead chase Lashley. Drew and EC3 take turns stomping Lashley in the corner. Drew and EC3 try to one up each other with moves on Lashley. Drew and EC3 argue which gives Lashley the advantage on EC3. Drew just sits back and watches. Drew and EC3 hit dives on Lashley on the outside.

    EC3 and Drew trade punches in the middle of the ring. Drew chopped EC3 so hard it busted open EC3’s chest. Drew hit the Futureshock DDT but Lashley broke up the pin fall. EC3 set up for the One Percenter but Drew hit the Claymore on EC3 and Lashley hit Drew with The Spear. Lashley hit The Spear on EC3 for the win and retained the World Title.

    Next Time on Impact:

    Next week on Impact, Broken Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy will have their final battle at their home in Cameron, North Carolina. 

  • TNA Impact Wrestling taping results: Lashley vs. Galloway vs. EC3; more Hardy madness

    Here’s some notes on Wednesday’s TV tapings, courtesy of Jacob Cohen

    These shows should air on 6/28 and 7/5.

    – Braxton Sutter won an X Division Battle Royal to earn an X Division title shot. Afterwards, Shane Helms’ crew beat him down.

    – Mike Bennett (who is the X champion after winning it Tuesday night after the show that aired last night was over) demanded the title match right away. Bennett then beat Sutter.

    – Bram beat Rosemary via DQ as he wouldn’t fight her. She attacked him. He went to defend himself, but Abyss & Crazzy Steve ran in and attacked him. Rosemary stopped them and then started consoling Bram.

    – Matt Hardy was in a wheelchair because of his beating in the cage match from Sunday, but he wants one more match with Jeff Hardy, but said he needs six weeks to recover from the last match. He proposes the loser gives up the Hardy name. Jeff agreed to the match. Fans started a “Yes” chant and Jeff acknowledged Daniel Bryan. Reby Sky and Jeff were arguing. Matt recovered suddenly got out of the wheelchair and attacked Jeff..  Matt then said the match would be in one week, but it won’t be at the Impact Zone, it’ll be at the ring at his house.

    – Grado & Mahabali Shera & Tyrus beat Al Snow & Basille Baraka & Baron Dax

    – TNA Champion Bobby Lashley won a three-way over Drew Galloway and EC3 to retain after the champ pinned EC3.

    – Mike Bennett wants a match with Lashley for the title. Dixie Carter is back from her leave of absence (that didn’t last long but in the angle it
    was only one week) and said Bennett was disrespecting the X division title. Eventually, it was agreed he can cash in the X title for an TNA title shot if he retains the title one more time in an Ultimate X match against everyone.

    – Eddie Edwards won Ultimate X and took the title back.

    – James Storm beat KOTM Champion Eli Drake via DQ.

    – Jade beat Marty Bell in a street fight

    – Mike Bennett & Maria did an interview talking about how he was robbed of the title.  Maria wanted Dixie to come out. Billy Corgan came
    out.  Maria said she should be the President of TNA and told Corgan that either Dixie goes or she goes. Dixie then came out and said she wasn’t
    leaving, so Maria can leave. Bennett said they will both leave unless he gets a title match. Corgan said they are acting like spoiled children, and that Bennett had a title shot in the palm of his hands but he ruined it by losing. Corgan told them if they don’t like it here, they can leave.  Bennett refused to quit, but said he will ruin Destination X.

    – Jessie Godderz’s magic iPad found Rosemary and Bram making out.  History says that doesn’t end well.

    – Bro Mans & Raquel beat Abyss & Steve & Rosemary

    It’s announced that at Destination X (likely the 7/12 show), TNA Champion Lashley and X-Division Champion Edwards will have a match and both titles will be at stake.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: New TNA Hall Of Fame inductee, Maria vs. Dixie

    Previously on Impact:

    This past Sunday was one of TNA’s flagship PPV’s (Slammiversary) where Bobby Lashley defeating Drew Galloway to become the new TNA World Heavyweight champion. In other news, Billy Corgan is now a minority owner of TNA due to the company’s continuing financial issues.

    Tonight on Impact:

    Tonight’s show will feature the fallout and aftermath of Slammiversary. It shall be dubbed “Gold Rush” which means all the titles will be defended.  Also, the newest inductee into the 2016 TNA Hall of Fame will be announced.

    Show Recap:

    – Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to Impact and tell us that we’re live in the Impact Zone.

    – New TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley makes his way to the ring. Lashley mentions this is live TV and anything can happen. He said he’s better than everyone in the wrestling business. This brought out Ethan Carter III. On commentary, they mention that EC3 beat The Miracle on Sunday.

    EC3 and Lashley went face to face and EC3 challenged him for a world title match. Lashley kept calling EC3’s entrance music “cute”. Of course, Lashley refused EC3’s title match. The former champion Galloway interrupts them, limping and moving very slowly. He’s in pain but wants his title back. Galloway is invoking his rematch clause and taking his rematch tonight. It’s official tonight’s main event is Lashley defending against Galloway in a rematch from Sunday.

    – Josh and The Pope are at ringside and run down the card for tonight. We get shots of all the champions in the back.

    – Yesterday, King of The Mountain Champion Eli Drake and Jeff Hardy argue backstage. They do agree on one thing and that’s a match.

    – Jeff makes his way down to the ring to go one on one with Eli.

    TNA King of the Mountain Champion Eli Drake vs. Jeff Hardy

    The crowd is solidly behind Jeff. The announcers discuss Jeff defeating Matt at Slammiversary and not being 100 percent. Eli gets control of the match after taking out Jeff with a vicious clothesline on the outside. Not sure what happen but it seems like Eli botched a spot but was able to recover and caught Jeff with a nice slam. Jeff hit the Twist of Fate and hit the Swanton Bomb. Jeff had the match won when Broken Matt Hardy ran in and stopped the count by biting Earl Hebner’s hand. Apparently, Matt even had blood in his mouth presumably from biting Hebner’s hand.

    – Back from commercial in the back, EC3 praises Galloway for being a fighting champion but questions if it’s too soon to invoke his rematch clause. EC3 tries to convince him to postpone the title shot but Galloway refuses.

    – Back in the ring, Jeff takes the mic and addresses the situation with Matt. Jeff points out that Matt is still deranged and out of his mind. Jeff calls out Matt to end it tonight. Matt is standing in the rafters where Jeff leaped off of with the Swanton that created Broken Matt. Matt is still talking with the slow and broken tone. Matt says Jeff tried to hurt his son Maxell by hurting Matt. Jeff says that Maxell is the youngest TNA star ever. Matt and Jeff fight high up in the rafters. Reby shows up with a fire extinguisher to give Matt the advantage. Josh says they’re 40 or 50 feet up.

    In a pretty creative spot, Matt slid Jeff down the rail of the steps and Jeff crashed into a table at the bottom. 

    – Back from commercial, Matt cut another promo in the back. Matt challenged Jeff to a Six Sides of Steel Cage Match next week. He was both great and creepy here. He put Rosemary to shame in terms of being creepy.

    TNA X Division Champion Eddie Edwards vs. Trevor Lee w/ Gregory Shane Helms

    Helms distracts Eddie which gives Lee the chance to jump him to start the match. Josh explains that Helms complained to TNA management about being banned from ringside at Slammiversary and that’s why he’s back. Eddie makes his comeback and runs wild on Lee. Helms grabbed Eddie’s leg but Eddie kicked him off. Eddie hits a dive onto Helms on the outside. Eddie hits the Boston Knee Party to win the match and retain the title.

    – Next, we get a recap of Sting, Kurt Angle, Team 3D, Jeff Jarrett and Earl Hebner being inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. Up next, we find out this year’s inductee.

    – Still in the back, EC3 and Lashley had another face-to-face confrontation.

    – In the arena, all the wrestlers are lined up for the Hall of Fame announcement. TNA President Dixie Carter comes out to announce the newest inductee. She thanked everyone and reflected on the previous inductees. Dixie announced the newest inductee as TNA Knockout Gail Kim.

    Gail seemed genuinely surprised and began to cry. She clearly had no idea it was going to be her. Even Lashley could be seen smiling approvingly in the background. They aired a video recapping her TNA career and title wins. The crowd broke into a huge “Thank You Gail” chant. All the wrestlers applauded her. Dixie credits Gail with making the Knockout Division the best. They’re going to celebrate and officially induct Gail into the TNA Hall of Fame at TNA’s Flagship event Bound For Glory. Gail takes the mic and thanks the fans and all the women she’s worked with.

    – In the back, Decay discussed their match for later. Rosemary regained her creepy title.

    – Earlier today, JBorash interviews Marti Bell. We get a recap of Marti Bell attacking Jade and costing her the title at Slammiversary. Marti talked about The Dollhouse being her and Jade regardless of who the leader were but then Jade won the title and changed. Jade showed up and attacked Marti and left her on the ground.

    TNA Tag Team Champions The Decay (Abyss & Crazy Steve) w/ Rosemary vs. The Tribunal (Bassille Baracca & Baron Dax) w/ Al Snow vs. BroMans (Robbie E. & Jesse Godderz) w/ Raquel vs. Grado and Mahabali Shera

    Grado & Mahabali Shera and The BroMans are in the ring with The Tribunal at ringside as Decay makes their way to the ring. This was a fast paced match with lots of action. Each team got a turn in the ring and there were loads of blind tags. Jesse came in and run wild on the heels. Abyss took out Jesse with a choke slam. Grado climbed to the top but Snow pushed him off. Abyss choke slammed Steve on Grado. Decay picks up the win and retains the title.

    -Backstage, Maria is upset that TNA is inducting Gail into the Hall of Fame. She yelled out Allie and sent her away. The Miracle said he had the bags packed and they should leave. Maria said no and that they should go to the ring.

    – In the back, Jeff agrees to the Six Sided of Steel Cage match next week.

    -In the arena, The Miracle and Maria make their way to the ring and they’re not happy. The Miracle is upset with the way the fans and TNA treat him despite him being so great and the hero TNA needs. They claimed that TNA management doesn’t want to see them succeed. Miracle demands Dixie come out and strike his loss on Sunday from the record books. Instead of Dixie, they get Billy Corgan who comes out wearing a snappy suit and shades. Miracle and Maria are happy to see Billy and Billy says they’re the future.

    Maria calls out Dixie again and she comes out. Dixie cuts off Maria and tells her to shut up. Dixie says they’re wasting precise live TV time when instead they should have wrestling, which gets a big pop from the crowd. Maria claims that Dixie is the problem and that Maria could run TNA better the Dixie. Maria says herself, The Miracle and Billy work well together and have great ideas.

    Dixie removed Maria as leader of the Knockouts. Maria got really intense and started shoving Dixie until Dixie finally snapped and slapped Maria across the face. Maria sold this huge and Dixie left immediately.

    Seems like they’re setting up an angle, which will result in Maria running TNA. Maybe it’s just me, but Billy seemed to be siding with the heels.

    TNA World Heavyweight Champion “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley vs. Drew Galloway

    EC3 is joining Josh and The Pope on commentary. Galloway is doing a great job selling his injuries, which is a nice touch because we don’t see that often nowadays. Lashley targets Drew’s tapped up ribs. The Pope points out that unlike Sunday this match can end by pin fall.

    Back from commercial, Drew and Lashley are brawling around ringside. Lashley gave Drew a backbreaker on the apron. EC3 mentions that he thinks Drew should have postponed that match. Lashley sends Drew to the outside in front of EC3 and taunts EC3, but this gives Drew the advantage briefly. Lashley went for the spear but Drew caught him in a submission however Lashley made it to the ropes. Drew hit a beautiful looking pile driver for a near fall. Drew hit the Celtic Cross of the second rope but only got a near fall.

    Drew went for the Claymore but Lashley moved and he hit official Brian Hebner. Lashley hit two spears on Drew as the crowd chanted for “EC3”. Lashley brought in a steel chair but EC3 came in and took it away from him. EC3 and Lashley brawled and EC3 got a hold of the chair. EC3 accidently hit Drew with the chair after Lashley moved. Lashley took out EC3 with a spear and used a submission to win in a really good match.

    Next Time on Impact:

    Next week, Jeff Hardy goes one on one with Broken Matt Hardy in a Six Sides of Steel Cage match.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Slammiversary go-home show with Broken Matt Hardy

    Previously on Impact:

    Last week on Impact, Ethan Carter III was put in charge for the night. He had failed on his Road To Redemption and made a rematch with The Miracle for Slammiversary. Also, Matt and Jeff Hardy were featured in a series of very unique videos revolving a contract signing at Matt’s home in North Carolina and ended after Reby threw a fake doll at Jeff. This distraction allowed Matt to put Jeff through a table, which was done in slow motion.

    Tonight on Impact:

    Tonight’s Impact is the go-home show for Slammiversary this Sunday night.  All the key matches are set and the rest of the card should be filled out by the end of the night. In tonight’s main event, The Miracle and Maria take on EC3 and Gail Kim in a tag match. Additionally, Sienna and Madison Rayne go one on one to determine the number one contender for the Knockouts title on Sunday.

    Show Recap:

    – We kick the night off with the deranged and twisted Matt Hardy making his way to the ring. Josh Matthews reminds us that we’re 5 days away from Slammiversary.

    Matt took the mic and basically repeated everything he said for the last few weeks. He’s broken and it’s Jeff’s fault. He recaps the angle from last week and tells us that Jeff is out of his life. Matt wants his World title back and calls out current champion Drew Galloway. It must be noted that Drew has been really good in his role. Without saying anything, he was able to show that the new Matt disturbs him. Matt wants to be added to the main event at Slammiversary but Drew refuses and instead gives him a title shot tonight. It’s official for tonight; Drew defends the TNA title against Matt in the main event.

    – TNA Knockout Champion Jade comes out and takes a seat at ringside so she can get a better view of the next match.

    #1 Contenders Match Sienna w/ Allie vs. Madison Rayne

    Madison is introduced before the commercial. When we come back, Allie and Sienna are on their way to the ring. Allie is doing the intro for Sienna as they walk to the ring. Allie reminds Jade that if she interferes, Madison will be disqualified. On commentary, Josh tells us that next week they will reveal the 2016 TNA Hall of Fame Inductee. 

    Sienna dominated the match with power moves until Madison made a brief comeback. Sienna used her finisher, which The Pope called the “AK-47” to put away Madison and become the number one contender. Post match, Jade and Sienna brawled with Jade getting the better of Sienna.

    – Backstage, The Miracle and Maria recapped their respective feuds. They take on their Slammiversary opponents next.

    – Next we get a video package on the Galloway vs. Lashley feud that is very well done. It recapped Drew winning the title, pushing Lashley as a killer and recapped all of thier wild brawls. They’ve done a really good job with the build to this match.

    – Next we get a glimpse of Willow laughing. The announcers didn’t acknowledge it at all. Does anyone know where Jeff Hardy is?

    – Now we get a video of King of The Mountain Champion Eli Drake on top of a mountain. He mentioned tonight’s Fact of Life Championship Edition.

    – Back in the ring, its time for Fact of Life. Eli recapped winning the KOTM title and let us know that Bram will get his rematch Sunday. Eli introduced his guests, the TNA Tag Champs, Decay. So far, Eli has not used that ridiculous “Dummy, Yeah” Button. Decay discusses their match on Sunday until the challengers, BroMans, interrupt them. Josh and The Pope say that BroMans have a new look because they have a new manager. There was nothing new about them.

    BroMans bring out Grado and Mahabali Shera to even the odds. Eli started using the “Dummy, Yeah” button and kept pressing the button over and over. Is there anything more annoying? Yes, there is and its Al Snow with a whistle. The Tribunal ran out and a huge brawl broke out. Al Snow was acting like a coach blowing on his whistle (insert dirty joke here). Bram joined the brawl and we cut to commercial.

    The Tribunal (Basille Baracca & Baron Dax) w/ Al Snow, Decay (Abyss & Crazy Steve) w/ Rosemary and Eli Drake vs. Bram, Grado, Mahabali Shera and BroMans (Robbie E. and Jesse Godderz) w/Raquel

    – We come back from commercial and a ten men tag match is in progress. All these teams are involved in matches at Slammiversary. The Pope says that he talked to Al Snow earlier and he wants to be known as “The Coach”. Al blew on the whistle the entire match. It was very similar to John Tolos’s “Coach” gimmick when he was briefly in the WWE.

    Robbie hit a cross body off the top onto Decay and Jesse on the floor. Bram runs wild on The Tribunal and clears them from the ring. Eli uses a low blow and pins Grado to win the match for his team.

    – In the back, Jeremy Borash interviews EC3 and Gail Kim. Like every week, EC3 cuts an awesome promo. He gets better and better each week.

    – Backstage, Lashley approached Matt who was randomly kneeling. Matt again mentioned that Jeff is gone forever. Lashley isn’t letting anyone stand in the way of his title match on Sunday.

    – The Miracle, Maria and Allie made their way to the ring. Maria has a bag with her.

    – Next we get an UFC style weigh-in for the EC3 vs. The Miracle match for Slammiversary hosted by Joe Rogan…er…Josh Matthews.  Of course it ended in a brawl.

    Ethan Carter III and Gail Kim vs. “The Miracle” Mike Bennett and “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis

    Before the match, Maria takes the mic and announces that she will not participate in the match. Instead, her assistant Allie will take her place. Allie is surprised but luckily Maria brought Allie’s gear.

    The Miracle teased starting the match with EC3 but he tagged out to Allie. Allie screeched at the top of her lungs until EC3 told her to shut up. Gail Kim tagged in and dominated Allie until Maria tripped up Gail. The guys tagged in and EC3 ran wild on The Miracle. EC3 sent Miracle to the outside. Allie attacked EC3, who no sold every slap. Gail hit a cross body onto Maria and Allie from the top to the outside. EC3 chased The Miracle to the back after Miracle tried to use a chair. Gail rolled up Allie to win the match for her team.

    Post match, Sienna joined Allie and Maria in a beat down of Gail. They place Gail’s knee in a chair and Maria hit it with another chair.

    – Before the commercial, we get another short glimpse of Willow, which the announcers didn’t acknowledge.

    – In the back, we see Braxton Sutter warming up. Josh informs us that he’ll make his debut later tonight.

    TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee w/Gregory Shane Helms vs. Eddie Edwards

    As Eddie made his way to the ring, we get a recap of Eddie getting screwed out of the X Division title 2 weeks ago in Ultimate X. Eddie and Lee brawled around ringside to start the match. They have a really good back and forth competitive match. These two should really be on Impact more often. It was full of fast paced action with intense shots and highflying moves.

    Eddie was on top when Andrew Everett pushed him off but Lee only got a near fall. DJ Z came out but Helms took him out with a vicious shot. Helms hit Eddie with the X Division title and Lee pinned him to retain the title.

    – In the back, Lashley and Galloway had a face to face. Drew said that if he can make Kurt Angle tap he could do the same to Lashley.

    – Back from commercial, Gail is being checked on in the back. She’s in agonizing pain.

    – We see the video of Braxton Sutter from last week. He wants to be world champion eventually.

    Braxton Sutter debuts

    They make a big deal out of Braxton’s debut. He seems very nervous which Josh and The Pope point out. This was a good debut for Sutter. It was basically a squash match. Sutter uses the downward spiral to win.

    After the match, J.B. interviewed Sutter at ringside. The fans gave him a great reaction. He said he was going to be at Slammiversary. He ended the segment by saying, “its no B.S”, which are his initials.

    – Next we get a typical Willow promo in the back.

    TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway vs. Matt Hardy

    The Pope and Josh point out that they haven’t heard from Jeff but they did just see Willow.

    Drew and Matt always have good matches against each other. Drew gave Matt a backbreaker on the apron and then Matt gave Drew a side effect on the stairs. Matt is in control of the match until Drew counters a submission attempt by Matt. Drew set up for the Claymore when Lashley ran in for the DQ. Pope explained that Lashley interfered because he wants to be the one to beat Drew.

    Lashley and Drew brawled around ringside and to the back.

    Matt’s in the ring and saying that he should be champion. The lights went out and when they came back on the fans in the front are all wearing Willow Masks. This freaked out Matt. Then four guys wearing Willow masks came out. Willow cut a promo on the big screen. Then Jeff’s music hit and Jeff Hardy came out, not Willow. Jeff and Matt brawl in the ring to end the show.

    Next Time on Impact:

    Next week on a live edition Impact, the show will revolve around the fallout and aftermath from Slammiversary. Plus, next week they’ll reveal the 2016 inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame.

  • Aroluxe Marketing revealed as company negotiating with TNA

    Dave Meltzer revealed today in a breaking news audio update that the company that Impact Wrestling/TNA has been negotiating with is Aroluxe, a company that former wrestlers Ron and Don Harris are involved with. The Harris brothers were mid-level stars in both the WWF and WCW in the late 90s and were brought in to TNA by former owner Jeff Jarrett when the company started.

    Negotiations are still ongoing. TNA president Dixie Carter was hopeful of securing a deal whereby an investor would purchase 49% interest in the company, allowing her to maintain a majority interest. Whether she finds a company willing to do that or not, the company is in a crunch position as they are essentially out of money and will require a cash influx to get them through their next set of TV tapings scheduled for later this week.

    If Carter is not able to find an investor willing to let her maintain control of the company there will obviously be a shakeup in the company and details of that are likely to come out in the next week or so.

    Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling started in late 2002 as a weekly pay per view product owned and operated by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett. Father Jerry pulled out of the partnership early and Jeff went to Panda Energy for financing to keep the company afloat. They remained as a weekly PPV property until late 2004, when they secured a broadcast contract with Fox Sports Network and used that platform to move to the more traditional monthly PPV model.

    They were at times in their history profitable but ever since spending big money to acquire free agents Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam and others in 2010 the promotion has been a money loser. They started on SPIKE TV in 2005 and at times garnered audiences upwards of 1.5 million. By late 2014, they were down under a million and on top of the declining ratings, the promotion was secretly employing Vince Russo as a consultant despite the fact that SPIKE executives had made it clear they did not want the company to have any dealings with Russo.

    They moved to Destination America in 2015 and it quickly became clear that it would not be a good fit. Destination America announced midway through the first year that they would not be renewing them for a second season, despite announcing a “multi-year” contract  at the start of the relationship. In late 2015 the company announced that they would start the following year on POP TV, the former TV Guide channel. While no terms were announced at the time, it was believed to be an ad revenue sharing deal.

    POP TV president Brad Schwartz announced that they hoped that the promotion would return to the 1.3 million audience level with the move to POP. This despite the fact that the show averaged less than half of that number during it’s year on Destination America. With the move to POP, ratings declined even further, settling in around 300,000 despite being available in 80 million homes in the United States.

    Also discussed in the breaking news update was the cancelation of the New Japan PPV scheduled for later this month in Kumamoto, Japan. The earthquake was devastating as there are already 41 deaths and 968 injuries attributed to it and over 91,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

  • TNA Impact results: Drew Galloway vs. Matt Hardy; Eric Young vs. Jeff Hardy Six Sides of Steel

    Previously on TNA Impact:

    In Last week’s main event, Drew Galloway defeated Jeff Hardy in a hard fought battle to retain the TNA World title. Additionally, Matt Hardy, Tyrus and “Miracle” Mike Bennett defeated Ethan Carter III and Beer Money in a six-man tag. In an interesting note and potential spoiler for those who haven’t heard, one half of the Tag Team Champs, Beer Money’s Booby Roode, appeared in the crowd at NXT TakeOver: Dallas this past Friday night. He was shown and acknowledged on TV by the announcers. Roode was granted his release a few weeks ago from TNA and finished up at the last set of tapings. He is expected to appear tonight and in the coming weeks on Impact due to the show being taped several weeks in advance.

    Tonight:

    TNA is promoting tonight’s Impact with the theme Revenge. Tonight’s show is all about getting back what the wrestlers feel they so rightfully deserve. TNA World Champion Drew Galloway will defend his title against the very man he defeated for the title, Matt Hardy. Jeff Hardy battles Eric Young one on one in a Six Sides of Steel Cage match. Additionally, The Pope takes on “The Destroyer” Lashley in a street fight. 

    Show Recap:

    – Josh welcomes us to Impact with the heavy news that tonight is all about revenge and vengeance. Jeremy Borash joins Josh on commentary because The Pope will be in action later.

    Six Sides of Steel Cage: Jeff Hardy vs. Eric Young

    We kick off the night with Hardy’s Revenge. We get a recap of Eric Young piledriving Jeff through a table and injuring him back in January. EY promises to piledrive Jeff from the top of the cage. Jeff comes out and brings a table with him.

    Before the match officially starts, EY, Bram and Jeff brawl around the ringside area. Bram and EY throw a table and chairs into the ring.  Young sends Jeff into the ring briefly having the advantage until Jeff makes a comeback. Jeff hastily knocks Bram off the apron. 

    Back from commercial, the match has officially begun and Jeff is in control. Jeff sets up four chairs in the center of the ring. He attempts to give EY a twist of fate through the chairs, but EY countered and piledrove Jeff though the chairs creating a pretty sick looking spot. Jeff won the match after hitting a swanton bomb from the top of the cage onto EY who laid weary on the table.

    – Backstage, TNA President Dixie Carter is sick of the beef between Maria Kanellis and Knockouts Champion Gail Kim. Dixie asked both whom they spoke with in TNA management that gave them the authority to make two separate number one contenders matches. Neither had an answer for her. Dixie made Gail Kim defending against Jade and Madison in a triple threat for later. Maria started to annoy Dixie so Dixie walked away and Maria chased after her calling her name.

    – Backstage, Jeff ices his neck and quotes Vanilla Ice by saying “Ice, ice, baby.” Jeff acknowledges the he will be watching the world title match between Matt Hardy and champion Drew later.

    – In the ring, J.B. hosts “The Final Word” and brings out the participants in tonight’s main event to have their final words. First, Matt Hardy and The Brand (Reby, Maxell, Tyrus & Rockstar Spud) make their way to the ring. J.B. goes to introduce TNA World Champion Drew Galloway, but Matt interrupts and does the introduction. Matt did a pretty poor job introducing Drew, but that might have been the point.

    This was just a basic segment where they argued back and forth setting up the main event. Matt became irate when Drew brought up Jeff. Tyrus took the mic and reminded everyone that he is the number one contender after winning Bound For Gold back at Bound For Glory. Tyrus teased that he might use his title shot tonight. Matt was shocked after hearing this news.

    – Backstage, The Pope gets ready and pumped up for the street fight, which is coming up next.

    – Back from commercial, Ethan Carter III congratulated Tyrus for contemplating cashing in his title shot. EC3 reminded Tyrus that he cost him the world title. Tyrus told EC3 that he hates him and EC3 told him he hates him more.

    On commentary, Josh and J.B. point out that the Bound for Gold title shot is not like the Feast or Fired. Apparently, Tyrus can’t just cash in his title shot and must inform TNA Management ahead of time.

    Street Fight: “The Destroyer” Lashley vs. The Pope

    Lashley jumped The Pope has he made his way to the ring. This was basically a glorified squash match. Lashley dominated The Pope and got a majority of the offense. Pope smashes a trashcan into Lashley’s face, gaining him the brief advantage and allowing him to use the Singapore cane. It wasn’t enough as Lashley speared The Pope to win the match.

    Post match, Lashley wasn’t satisfied with beating The Pope and gave him two more spears. Ethan Carter III came down for the save, but once again Lashley just backed off and walked away from EC3. As Lashley walked away, “Miracle” Mike Bennett blind sides EC3 and jumps him with the steel chair, and then left him lying in the ring.

    – Back from commercial, EC3 is still in the ring and calls out Bennett to come back to the ring. “The First Lady of Pro Wrestling” Maria Kanellis comes out to introduce The Miracle, but EC3 interrupts and demands Bennett come out.  They argue back and forth and setup a match for next week. Bennett and Maria started to leave, but EC3 chased after Bennett. Mike pushed Maria into EC3 and ran into the back.

    EC3 and Bennett fought all over the backstage area and into the parking lot. Bennett hit EC3 with a tire iron and escaped in his car.

    – Backstage, Rockstar Spud met with Tyrus. Spud came up with a plan, which he wrote on crumpled piece of paper. Tyrus didn’t care about Spud’s plan and doesn’t need it.

    Knockouts Champion Gail Kim vs. Jade vs. Madison Rayne

    Josh recaps the events that lead to this triple threat match. Match starts with Gail and Madison taking turns beating on Jade. Jade hit a dive through the ropes onto Madison on the floor. Gail went to climb to the top, but Maria came out and hit Gail with the belt behind the refs back. Jade pinned Gail Kim to become the new Knockouts champion.

    – They’re teasing that Tyrus might be added to the main event to make it a triple threat or he’ll just use his title shot.

    – Backstage, Jade is celebrating becoming Knockouts Champion and her victory. Jade said The Dollhouse was holding her back.

    – Next we get a recap of TNA Producer, Al Snow attacking Grado and breaking his arm last week.

    Al Snow is talking to Billy Corgan and he’s upset that TNA management let someone like Grado into TNA. Billy informed Al that he is suspended and must give a public apology.

    – In the ring, X Division champion Trevor Lee and Gregory Shane Helms call out Eddie Edwards. Last week, Helms gave Eddie a week to decide if he wants to tag team with Helms to challenge Beer Money for the belts. Eddie turns down Shane’s offer and tells him “No”. Shane is not happy to hear that. Shane and Trevor are about to jump Eddie. Beer Money comes down to the ring and Shane and Lee leave immediately.

    Beer Money is left alone in the ring and they turn their attention to the other tag teams in the TNA. James Storm did most of the talking here and Roode paced back and forth. Suddenly, Decay came out and demanded a title shot. Beer Money and Decay brawled around ringside, eventually making their way into the ring. Security came out to break up the brawl.

    – In the back, Matt Hardy gives his final words for tonight’s main event (despite the segment earlier). The story here is that during the promo, Matt was unaware that Tyrus slowly approached in the background.

    – Backstage, Beer Money issues an open challenge to any or all tag teams for next week.

    TNA World Champion Drew Galloway vs. Matt Hardy w/ Tyrus and Rockstar Spud

    Josh reminds us that Tyrus must decide if he’s going to be a part of the match. Tyrus teases using his title shot but it’s all just a distraction to give Matt the early advantage. Matt jumps Drew and is in control right out of the gate.

    Back from commercial, Drew and Matt are trading shots on the apron. Spud grabs Drew’s leg, which gives Matt the chance to hit the side effect on the apron. Matt faked an ankle injury and took his boot off, which he then used, but only got a near fall. Drew hit the future shock DDT on Matt, but Tyrus pulled the referee out before the three. Jeff ran out and brawled with Tyrus. Matt screamed at Jeff, “Get out of my life!” like any other typical family drama. Drew made Matt tap out to the Iron Maiden to retain the TNA World title.

    Next Time on Impact:

    Next week’s Impact features Ethan Carter III taking on “Miracle” Mike Bennett for the first time ever. Also, Beer Money issues an open challenge to any and all TNA tag teams. Plus, the feud and bad blood between Jeff and Matt continues next week.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Matt Hardy vs. EC3 vs. Jeff Hardy title match; surprise finish

    Previously on TNA Impact:

    On last week’s Impact, “The Destroyer” Lashley defeated Kurt Angle in Angle’s final match in TNA. After the match, Lashley continued to beat down the Olympic Gold Medalist until Ethan Carter III made the save and Lashley backed off.

    Tonight:

    TNA returns to Orlando for a semi-live edition of Impact. Impact airs on a two-hour tape delay, which is the closest to live that TNA gets. In the main event, TNA World Champion Matt Hardy will defend his title against Ethan Carter III. Finally, coming back to the action, Jeff Hardy makes his return to TNA and will take on Eric Young. Additionally, “Miracle” Mike Bennett and “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis face off against the team of Drew Galloway and Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim in an exciting mixed tag team match.

    Show Recap:

    -Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. We kick the night off with Jeff Hardy making his return to TNA.

    -Backstage, Eric Young is going nuts and is looking for TNA President Dixie Carter. He finds her at the Gorilla Position and he promises to hurt Jeff Hardy. EY tells Dixie that what he does to Jeff is on her.

    Eric Young vs. Jeff Hardy

    Jeff and EY brawl around ringside with Jeff dominating the early moments. Jeff is seeking revenge after EY piledrove Jeff on the steel steps prior to the tour in the U.K. Dixie comes out and announces that the winner of this match will be added to the TNA World title main event later.

    Jeff goes for a springboard splash to the outside, but EY gets his knees up to gain the advantage. Jeff is over huge with the live crowd. They trade shots in the middle of the ring and Jeff gets the better of EY. Jeff hits the classic swanton bomb and scores the pin fall. Jeff is added to tonight’s main event making it TNA World Champion Matt Hardy defending against both EC3 and Jeff Hardy in a triple threat.

    TNA World Champion Matt Hardy, his wife Reby and son Maxell make their way to the ring without bodyguard Tyrus.

    -Back from commercial, we’re in the ring with the Hardy family. Matt congratulates Jeff for his victory and apologies for not saving him when Eric Young piledrove him on the steel steps. Reby tells Jeff that Jeff is Maxell’s second favorite wrestler. Jeff holds Maxell and the crowd chants “Uncle Jeff”. Suddenly, the tables turn when Matt asks Jeff to bow out of the main event tonight. Matt promises to give Jeff a title shot down the line, maybe at Bound for Glory 2017 or 2018. Jeff doesn’t agree to the deal and ends up hitting Matt Hardy with the Twist of Fate.

    -Backstage, Eddie Edwards address Davey’s injury and title loss last week. A commotion sturs as Decay jumps Eddie, beating him into the ground.

    -Still in the back, “Miracle” Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis promise to beat Drew Galloway and Gail Kim next.

    -Back from commercial, Beer Money approaches Eddie Edwards and wants to help him gain revenge on The Decay.

    -In the arena, Maria Kanellis introduces “Miracle” Mike Bennett. Both come out wearing hot pink, and to be honest both look pretty hot.

    “Miracle” Mike Bennett & “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis vs. Drew Galloway & Knockouts Champion Gail Kim

    Gail wants to start the match with Maria, but Maria tags out quickly. Drew and Mike start off the match, but Drew tags in Gail. They double-team The Miracle, and not in a fun way. Gail ends up taking out Bennett and sends him to the outside. Maria takes the chance to gain the advantage on Gail. Gail makes a comeback, but Maria quickly tags out again.

    Maria slaps Drew in the face and Drew does the gentlemanly thing and chopped the hell out of Mike instead of hitting Maria. Drew went to the top, and then Mike pulled him off. Maria tried to prevent Drew from tagging Gail; instead Gail furiously came into the ring and ran wild. She hit eat defeat on Bennett, but then got rolled up from behind by Maria for the three count. The Miracle and The First Lady of Pro Wrestling get the victory.

    -Next we get a video package on the Kurt Angle vs. Lashley main event last week. Josh tells us that he’s going to interview the man the ruined Angle’s retirement last week next in the ring.

    -Back from commercial, Josh Matthews is in the ring. He briefly discusses Kurt Angle’s retirement from TNA from last week before introducing “The Destroyer” Lashley. Basically, Lashley is a fighter and is not looking for friends. Josh asks Lashley why he would attack his friend and mentor Kurt after the match. Lashley says he has no friends. Crowd chants “Lashley Sucks”. Lashley gets mad at Josh and ends up throwing Josh around the ring. Lashley sets up for the spear, but The Pope leaves the announce booth and stops Lashley from spearing Josh. Pope gets Josh out of the ring, but then Lashley hits the spear on The Pope. This got a ton of heat from the crowd.

    -In the back, Decay cut a promo on Beer Money and The Wolves.

    -Back from commercial, Jeremy Borash replaces The Pope and joins Josh on commentary.

    -Backstage, EC3 approaches Jeff Hardy and mentions that Matt has pulled a surprise on him in each of their previous encounters. He’s implies that he doesn’t trust Jeff. Jeff is out to win the TNA world title.

    TNA Tag Champions Beer Money (Bobby Roode & James Storm) and Eddie Edwards vs. Decay (Abyss, Crazy Steve & Rosemary)

    Rosemary is going to be Abyss and Crazy Steve’s partner in this match. The babyfaces get the early advantage until the heels are able to isolate Roode in their corner. Rosemary comes in and hits Roode with some shots before tagging back out. Roode makes the hot tag to James Storm. Storm runs wild on Crazy Steve and tags in Eddie who also goes nuts in the ring. Eddie hits a dive to the outside on Abyss. Roode and Storm went to hit the double suplex on Rosemary, but Crazy Steve pulls her out of the ring. The crowd booed this, as they really wanted to see her get the double suplex. Rosemary spits the mist into Roode’s eyes and Steve rolls up Eddie for the win.

    -Backstage, Grado is seen talking to Billy Corgan. Billy tells him that they’re going to settle this issue with Eli Drake, in the ring.

    -Back from commercial, Matt Hardy and Reby approach Dixie. They argue back and forth about tonight’s main event. Basically, Matt and Reby are mad that Jeff is in the match and Dixie does everything for the fans. Like an idiot, Matt reveals his plan to Dixie that he’s just going to punch the referee in the face and get disqualified. Predictably, Dixie makes the triple threat a no dq and no count out match.

    -We get a video package recapping the Feast or Fired briefcase situation between Eli Drake and Grado. Eli Drake makes his way down to the ring. He demands Billy Corgan brings out his Feast or Fired Briefcase which Grado stole. Eli brings up Donald Trump to get some cheap heat.

    We see a video of Eli Drake switching the Feast or Fired Briefcase. Billy Corgan and Grado come down to the ring and Billy claims that the evidence isn’t clear of what Eli is doing. So Billy announces that Grado will face Eli in a ladder match with Grado’s new contract hanging from the ceiling. If Eli gets to it first he can tear the contract up.

    Ladder Match for Grado’s Contract: Grado vs. Eli Drake

    With zero promotion, we get a ladder match for Grado’s contract. Eli dominates Grado in the early moments of the match. Grado sends Eli into the ladder and starts to climb up. Jesse Godderz comes out and push’s the ladder over sending Grado crashing to the mat. Mahabali Shera makes the save and sends Godderz to the outside. Inside the ring, Grado dives off the ladder onto Eli, Shera and Jesse on the outside. This gets a “This Is awesome” chant from the crowd. Grado hits the electric chair on Eli off the ladder. The crowd was a bit dead at the start of the match, but now they’re going crazy and chanting for Grado. Grado and Eli are at the top of the ladder battling for the contract. Grado knocks Eli off and pulls down the contract.

    Surprisingly, this short match ended up being pretty good and the ending got a great reaction from the crowd.

    -Back from commercial and in the back, Eric Young is mad at Bram for not helping him earlier in the night. Suddenly in the background Willow (who is Jeff Hardy’s alter ego) made an appearance and disappeared. EY freaked out and pointed him out to Bram.

    TNA World Champion Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III vs. Jeff Hardy

    As Jeff made his way down to the ring, Josh made absolutely no mention of Jeff’s alter ego Willow appearing in the back. EC3 gets a decent reaction from the crowd as he comes down to the ring. Matt comes out alone. Match starts off with EC3 and Jeff taking turns stomping Matt in the corner. Matt jumps EC3 and sends him in the other direction. Matt wants to do the old Hardy Boys double team move in the corner, but Jeff refuses. He does it with EC3 instead. Matt and Jeff briefly work together to take out EC3, but soon turn on each other, just like old times. EC3 hits a powerslam on Jeff off the top, and then a beautiful looking drop kick on Matt.

    Back from commercial, Matt Hardy takes out EC3 and he rolls out of the ring. In the ring, Jeff and Matt exchange shots in the center. Jeff gets the better of Matt until EY and Bram interfere. They throw Jeff to the outside where EY hits another piledriver on Jeff. Jeff is apparently out of the match as officials take him to the back. EC3 gets back to his feet and attacks Matt. EC3 is beating Matt all over the ring when Rockstar Spud and Tyrus run down. EC3 gives Tyrus a huge Samoan drop, which sends Tyrus to the outside. EC3 press slams Spud onto Tyrus on the outside. EC3 hits the one percenter, but “Miracle” Mike Bennett interferes breaking up the pin. Bennett and EC3 brawl into the crowd. Bennett beats EC3 down with violent chair shots. EC3 is apparently out of the match as well as officials are helping EC3 to the back. The match is over.

    Matt takes the mic and said that he told everyone that he was going to leave as the TNA World Champion. Suddenly, Drew Galloway comes out and he cashes in his Feast or Fired Briefcase and World Title shot.

    TNA World Champion Matt Hardy vs. Drew Galloway

    The match is official and underway. They trade shots briefly, until Drew hits the claymore and then hits the Futureshock DDT for the pin! Drew Galloway is the NEW TNA World Champion! The crowd actually went nuts for Drew coming out and popped huge for the title change. Drew celebrates his win in the crowd. The show ends with Drew Galloway celebrating his title win

    Final Thoughts:

    Ratings for TNA on POP TV have been down and declining for the most part. However, TNA has attempted to put on a fun and exciting show since coming to POP TV. This week’s show was a good effort by the company. The show featured a good triple threat main event and then a thrilling surprise with Drew winning the World title. The title change came across good on TV and felt like somewhat of a big deal.

    Next Week on TNA Impact:

    On next week’s show, Beer Money has issued an open challenge to any TNA tag team for a shot at their belts. Also, the aftermath of Drew Galloway’s title win.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode, EC3 vs. Spud

    Last Week on Impact

    Last time on Impact Wrestling: Lockdown! All the matches took place in the diabolical Six Sides of Steel Cage, sending the audience into roars. The main event left an impact with Matt Hardy defeating Ethan Carter III to retain the TNA World title! Rockstar Spud turned on EC3 by slamming the cage door on his head helping Matt win the match.

    Tonight on Impact

    Tonight kicks of Kurt Angle Week in TNA. Kurt’s nearly ten year long career in TNA Wrestling is coming to an end. Kurt Angle Week will include: Kurt’s final two matches in TNA and a commemorative Kurt Angle Farewell Tour bundle, which are available at ShopTNA.com. The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour Bundle includes a Kurt Angle T- Shirt, Kurt Angle poster and other merchandise. Also, fans are encouraged to share their favorite Kurt Angle memories using #ThankYouKurt.

    The Farewell Tour is nearing its conclusion and tonight Kurt competes in his second to last match in TNA. Kurt will face off with one of TNA’s most talented wrestlers and one of half of Beer Money, Bobby Roode. Then later, bursting back into the ring, EC3 and Matt Hardy continue their feud over the TNA World title. Not just that, but “The Miracle” Mike Bennett meets his toughest challenge yet when he faces Drew Galloway.

    Show Recap

    – We start the show off backstage, as TNA World Champion, Matt Hardy, Reby and Tyrus approach Rockstar Spud. Matt proclaims to Spud, “You’re my number one guy.”

    – Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to the show and Josh lets us know that we’re kicking the night off with the second last match in The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour.

    The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour: Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode

    The night begins with a bang! Right off the bat we get hit with the main event, Roode vs. Angle. Roode comes out alone and leaves James Storm in the back. Josh mentions that Kurt is going to be inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame at the Arnold Expo next month. Josh failed to mention that HHH and NXT will also be involved with the Arnold Expo.

    What an amazing match. These two worked a babyface vs. babyface match like it was all she wrote. They have a charismatic dual back and forth, both sides scoring several near falls. They traded submission holds with Kurt going for the Ankle Lock and Roode going for the Crossface. Kurt powered out of the Crossface and hit the Angle Slam, but only got a two count. Roode hit the Roode bomb, but Kurt kicked out. Kurt got the Ankle lock on Roode again, and this time Roode tapped out.

    Post match, Kurt and Roode embraced and posed for the crowd. This was a fantastic match and they tore the house down, the roof was on fire, not literally obviously, but certainly metaphorically. The live crowd embraced this match and truly appreciated its significance by cheering for both men.

    – Bobby Roode grabs the microphone, but before he speaks we cut to commercial.

    – Back from commercial, it’s a mini Kurt Angle Celebration. Roode has the mic and says, “There is no shame in losing to one of the best wrestlers alive.” Roode thanks Kurt for everything he has done for the fans and the company. The crowd is chanting “Thank You, Angle, Thank You, Angle.” Kurt becomes humbled and emotional. James Storm comes down to the ring and thanks Kurt as well.

    Storm pulls out two beers to celebrate Kurt’s career. The only problem is Kurt doesn’t want a beer, so James pulls out a jug of milk. Kurt chugs down the milk as the crowd chants, “Chug! Chug! Chug!” Kurt says that he wants to see Beer Money vs. TNA Champs The Wolves. The Wolves came down the ring to join the celebration and to show respect to Kurt. The Wolves agree to defend their titles against Beer Money. Josh says it’s official for next week.

    – TNA World Champion Matt Hardy, his powerful wife, Reby and his brute force, Tyrus come down to the ring. Matt mentions that he’s beaten EC3 so many times it’s boring now, he’s no longer amused. Matt say’s he’s done facing EC3 and that EC3 will never get another title shot again. Matt thanks Rockstar Spud and encourages him out. Spud comes down to the ring wearing all black and not his custom bright colors and bowtie. The crowd chants “You Sold Out!” and “EC3”. Rockstar Spud becomes angry, and his enemies won’t like him when he’s angry, the crowd might though.

    Spud talks about how terrible EC3 treated him. Spud promises to dedicate his life to Matt Hardy, Reby and their son, Maxell. Spud tells Matt “they’ve gotten rid of the cancer” in reference to taking out EC3 last week.  Cue the catchiest music in wrestling, EC3 runs down and clears the ring. EC3 challenges Spud to a fight later tonight.

    – Backstage, Gail walks down the hallway when the interviewer asks to talk to him about Maria. Gail says she wants to talk to Maria and is going to call her out to the ring for a fight.

    – We get another creepy video featuring Decay walking down the streets. Bring on the nightmares!

    – Back from commercial, backstage Matt, Reby, Tyrus and Spud are arguing with TNA President, Dixie Carter. Dixie is disgusted by their actions. They want her to fire EC3. Dixie is going to wash her hands of the situation by making EC3 vs. Rockstar Spud an unsanctioned match.

    Monster’s Ball: Abyss w/ Decay (Crazy Steve & Rosemary) vs. Jimmy Havoc

    As Decay makes their way to the ring, we get a recap of Jimmy Havoc trying to get Rosemary back and Decay beating him down. Jimmy Havoc is wearing a “Die Havoc Die” t-shirt. Havoc is the hometown hero for tonight as he hails from London. Like most Monsters’ Ball matches, and Abyss matches, there are lots of weapons at the wrestler’s disposal. Crazy Steve and Rosemary set up tables ringside. Abyss tries to use a cheese grater but Havoc steals it. Havoc uses the cheese grater on Abyss’ groin. This gives Havoc a brief advantage.

    Jimmy goes to the top rope, but Rosemary distracts him and Abyss nails him with a chair shot. Jimmy falls from the top through a table on the outside. Abyss goes to use Janice, but Havoc makes another come back and he sends Abyss through a table in the corner. Havoc pulls out a barbwire board from underneath the ring. Havoc teases using Janice on Abyss, but Abyss hits the Blackhole Slam on the barbwire board for the pin and the win!

    – TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim comes down to the ring. They recap the Lethal Lockdown from last week and Gail talks about the Knockouts division. The crowd loves Gail and is going crazy for her. Gail calls out Maria Kanellis and requests a fight. Maria finally comes down to the ring. They argue back and forth. Maria mentions that she was on The Celebrity Apprentice and in Playboy. Maria brings up Donald Trump to get some heat, which she got. Maria says she won’t wrestle and starts to leave. Gail chases after her, but Jade runs out and jumps Gail, beating her pretty bad. Jade poses with the Knockouts Title over the fallen body of Gail Kim.

    – King Of The Mountain Champion Eric Young and Bram come down to the ring. EY wants a fight and demands a challenger and referee. Out comes Belfast’s own Big Damo. Big Damo is very well know on the Independent scene in the U.K. Josh mentions that Damo has a cult following. By the time Big Damo actually gets to speak, EY slaps him, stifling the large brute.

    King of The Mountain Champion Eric Young w/Bram vs. Big Damo

    Out of nowhere Big Damo hits a running dropkick that sends EY to the outside of the ring, starting the match. For a big guy, Big Damo is extremely agile and quick on his feet. Damo dominates the early moments with high impact moves. However, EY quickly gains the advantage. Damo makes a comeback and scores several near falls. Eric Young hits a very impressive Piledriver on Big Damo and scores the win.

    -Backstage, Drew Galloway talks about his upcoming match with “The Miracle” Mike Bennett.  Drew says that not even a Miracle can save Bennett tonight because he’s going to make an example of him.

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

    Back from commercial, “Miracle” Mike Bennett and “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling”, Maria Kanellis make their way down to the ring. They recap Bennett beating Drew backstage a few weeks ago. Drew has his Feast of Fired Briefcase with him as he heads to the ring. In another recap, they bring up Drew beating Kurt with Drew’s new submission, The Iron Maiden. 

    Drew dominates the early part of the match, but Bennett trips Drew on the apron and takes over. Bennett sets up for the M.I.P. but Drew counters into a sweet looking Celtic Cross that would make Sheamus proud. Drew hits the Claymore and locks on the Iron Maiden submission. Maria puts Bennett’s leg on the bottom rope, breaking up the submission. With Drew distracted by Maria, Bennett rolls up Drew for the three count to win the match.

    -Backstage, Matt Hardy and Tyrus approach Rockstar Spud and hype him for his upcoming match.

    -Back from commercial, backstage The Wolves talk about their match next week with Beer Money.

    -Earlier, Grado was outside talking about accomplishing his dream of competing in TNA. The dream was shattered in the Feast or Fired match. He says next week he is going to prove that he was screwed.

    Ethan Carter III vs. Rockstar Spud

    They recap Rockstar Spud turning on EC3 last week. Spud makes his way to the ring and he’s very confident. Backstage, as EC3 makes his way to the ring both Tyrus and Matt Hardy jump him. However, EC3 gets the better of both guys and he locks them in the back of a tractor-trailer. Back in the arena, Spud is shocked when EC3’s music hits as he expected Hardy and Tyrus to take him out.

    Back from commercial, Spud tries to run up the ramp, but EC3 cuts him off. Rockstar Spud is on his own because Hardy and Tyrus are locked in the back of the tractor-trailer. Spud keeps trying to escape, but EC3 is really enjoying throwing Spud around. Spud gets the brief advantage but EC3 quickly takes over. Spud continues to find ways to cheat in order to gain the advantage, but EC3 makes a comeback each time. The crowd is chanting for tables and unlike The Dudley Boys, EC3’s going to give them what they want. EC3 sets up a table in the ring. Spud tries to crawl up the ramp, but EC3 brings him back. Spud hits a low blow to slow down EC3. EC3 makes his own comeback and powerbombs Spud through the table. EC3 locks on a chokehold to put an end to the match.

    Final Thoughts

    Another good Impact this week. The shows have been solid lately and TNA is trying there best to make each Impact important. Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode was fantastic match and a show stealer. Exciting matches and decent angles throughout the show kept it fun to watch and compelling for the crowd.

    Next Week on Impact

    Next week is a historic and sad TNA Impact with an exciting line up. The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour and Kurt Angle’s TNA career comes to its final conclusion. The highly anticipated main event will feature Kurt Angle’s final match in TNA as he takes on “The Destroyer”, Lashley. Also, TNA Tag Champs The Wolves defend against Beer Money in a tag team dream match.

    #ThankyouKurt

  • TNA Impact results: Bobby Roode vs. Abyss headlines week 7 of the World title tourney

    Last week, Madison Rayne debuted wacky ninja training and used it against Gail Kim. Sadly, it didn’t do her much good as she still lost. Eli Drake cheated to beat Jessie Godderz, and Matt used a top rope Twist of Fate to beat Eddie Edwards. DJZ beat Mandrews with a cradle, while EC3 beat Anderson in the main event. A video package recaps the wins for last week’s matches, and tonight’s matches include Kong vs. Brooke and Roode vs. Abyss. There will also be a face off between Matt Hardy and EC3. Pope and Josh recap the events of the video package before we get another video package recapping the opening video. We’re two minutes into the show and they’re already loading the show with filler. Brooke, who just left the company, comes out to face Kong. Kong comes out and they recap her beating Rayne, but losing to Gail in the series.

    Brooke vs. Awesome Kong

    Pope talks about how the knockouts main event the show here in the opener, and then Josh says the main event will be Abyss vs. Roode. No part of that match screams “main event” at all. Kong gets a big Biel throw and Brooke responds with flying forearm shots. Kong takes her down and works on the fingers a bit. Kong stomps on the hand for a bit and they talk about having a target on her hand with the split. Brooke rolls to the floor and then rolls back in and gives her the double bird! Well, that was unexpected and hilarious. Kong whoops her ass for doing that and slams her down for a cocky two count with her foot on her chest. Brooke gets a drop toehold and gets a bizarre variant of the Cattle Mutilation that Kong counters. Josh plugs Dixie’s Twitter and Kong hits a modified AA on Brooke, but misses a corner splash. Turnbuckle X factor hits for 2. Kong counters a back suplex and hits the chokeslam for the win. Brooke is now out of the series as a contender, while Kong and Gail have advanced. This was pretty good. EC3 and Matt Hardy meet next. 

    We get a recap of Brooke vs. Kong while Josh asks just how for the knockouts can go in this tournament facing men. They throw to Matt Hardy on a very jumpy Skype video call where he says he’ll use the Matt Hardy Formula to win the series. EC3 says that Matt’s not in the champions group because he wasn’t a true champion. Matt rambles on about things and says “it’s gonna be YOU VERSUS I!” while EC3 says he wants to take him out in the series whenever he gets the chance. EC3 ends the promo mercifully while Josh threatens that it will continue later. EY talks about being a dangerous man and now isn’t a good night for Storm to face him and that Storm’s a has-been.

    After a break, we get a recap of EC3’s send-off on the promo. Josh says that EC3 has refused to be on-screen with Hardy, so we’ll get separate Matt Hardy and EC3 promos. Well, that will get the show closer to the grave, I suppose. Tigre Uno is out to face Manik, and he has to win to stay in the series. Pope calls Manik a maniac while Josh buries him for calling everyone a maniac and promises to buy him a thesaurus. Pope welcomes that as long as it has the word “maniac” in it.

    Tigre Uno vs. Manik

    They fly to the floor to start and Manik suplexes him on the ramp. Josh plugs their Youtube channel and says that in a couple of weeks, they’ll have a very interesting announcement with it. Well, that seems to indicate that they’ll be leaving DA and then publishing the show straight to their Youtube channel until they find a new TV deal. Something called Bracket Brawl is coming soon – I guess it’s a fan voting context, and the winner gets a free trip to an Impact taping. Josh plugs more things and says he’ll give Don West a run for his money. Manik gets a kneeling surfboard on Uno and turns it into an armbar. Uno kind of hits a weird springboard DDT. Uno gets a shotgun dropkick, but eats the double chickenwing lungblower for 2! Uno sends him down with a wacky inverted Samoan drop and wins with a split-legged corkscrew moonsault. 

    Recap of the TNA Originals’ finishes in the series so far. Josh says that EY vs. Storm is up next and one of the most important matches in the careers of either of these men. They recap Uno vs. Manik and Josh says that it will be a three way match between DJZ, Uno, and Manik next week to determine who goes on in the series. Basically, everyone moves on except for the guy who gets pinned. Josh brags about #bubbleburst trending since last week and then buries Storm for being done. A video of Abyss highlights airs while Roode puts him over as a monster. Storm comes down while Josh runs down a recap of how he got here, and then EY comes out and they do the same for him.

    Eric Young vs. James Storm

    EY jumps Storm and they cut to a break mid-mudhole stomp in the ropes. EY beats him up on the floor. Josh says there’s no honor among thieves while Pope says that EY just did it to Storm before he could have it done to him. So if cheating is okay for literally everyone to do, why should fans ever be angered by it? Storm fires back on EY with some elbows to the gut, but a hairpull sends him down for 2. Josh ponders that perhaps Storm will get fired up thinking about Eric Young being a trending topic in the series. Storm runs a bit wild and gets the corner hopping kick before landing a sloppy Codebreaker. EY goes for the piledriver, but eats a backdrop. Whirly Bird gets 2 for Storm and he’s cheered on by the fans. EY takes him down and grabs the legs for an ’80s cradle on the ropes for 2. Backstabber hits, but Storm gets lightly tapped off a forearm and EY low blows Storm and hits a piledriver for the win. Storm is out of the series. This was a basic match, but not bad outside of the commentary.

    Josh and Pope talk about Lashley vs. Austin Aries next week – well, that should be fantastic. Matt Hardy’s second promo of the evening is up next after a break. Matt says this could get anymore personal, and he loves taking haters and jamming their hate down their throats. He talks for 500 miles a minute and says that he is the guy. He’s confident and feels he’s as good as he’s ever been. No one can stop the Matt Hardy Train and he’s picking Roode to win the main event. Aiden ‘O Shea comes out in black slacks and a green shirt, looking like an angry Amish golfer to face Mahabali Shera.

    Aiden ‘O Shea vs. Mahabali Shera

    Shera does his dance in the corner before doing it in front of the corner and dodging a punch to send Aiden into the buckle. Shera takes him down with a headlock takeover before doing it again. Pope talks about chatting with ‘O Shea and realizing that this isn’t his first time being in TNA before just moving off of that point right away. Aiden lands his slick left handed jab before nailing him with a few elbow strikes. Aiden puts him over the apron and clubs away while Josh talks about how you’re seeing a lot of World Title Series copycats out there now. Aiden stands on the hand and slaps him in the face before going up top for some reason. Shera slams him off the top, but eats an eye rake. Aiden goes for a punch, Shera ducks and gets the Sky High for the win. EY cuts a backstage promo about how he’ll always win as long as he’s drawing a breath. Eli Drake still comes out with a goofy Aquaman vest and trunks with “ED” all over them. Eli is facing Crimson in what might be the only match in Group Future 4 to be aired in full.

    Eli Drake vs. Crimson

    Crimson tackles him down and takes him down with a big suplex. Crimson’s gear consists of small MMA-style shorts and MMA gloves – it’s a fairly unique look right now and works for him. Plus, it plays off of his debut in the company in the Double J-MMA angle. Eli drags him down and drops a knee on the arm for 1. EC3 interrupts and says he’s ready for his interview while Josh says he’ll have to wait – we have a match. Why would this match be more important than the other Future 4 matches we’ve seen the closing moments of? Crimson hits a lariat mid-ring and another in the corner. Eli gets a standing Kimura and wins. EC3 comes back and says that the TNA World title is his possession and he’ll take it back. He’ll prove that he is the rightful champion and then gives the show permission to move forward. They rundown the matches tonight and pick who will progress next week. Abyss comes down and they air clips of his matches in this series.

    Abyss vs. Bobby Roode

    Abyss shoves him into the corner before posing a couple of times. Abyss does the “Beer!” part of the Beer Money bit and eats a few punches. Roode avoids a chokeslam with a kick to the leg, but is sent down for an ad break. We come back to some floor brawling and Roode is flung into the steps knees-first ala Mick Foley. Abyss grabs a chair and brings it in and places it in the corner. Earl tries to move it, but Roode gets a schoolboy so he counts 2 for that. Abyss clotheslines him down. A nerve pinch/head twister is locked on, but Roode punches free and we get a five minute countdown clock.

    Three lariats take Abyss down. Blockbuster hits for 2. Abyss misses a corner charge and hits his own chair, but he counters Roode’s attempt at a chokeslam. Roode takes him down and gets a crossface locked on, but Abyss goes to the corner to break it up. Roode goes for the Roode Bomb, but he can’t hold him up and Abyss gets 2 off a chokeslam. Abyss leaves the ring to grab his implement of death, which isn’t a DQ here in this sporting tournament. Janice gets wedged into the buckle, but falls and luckily Roode spinebusters him away from it and wins. EY and Roode move on in the series, so we’ll probably get at least one more “final battle” between them this year. Pretty nothing happening show overall. To see every screenshot for it, just click here.