Impact begins with a recap of the Jeff vs. Matt saga and both men striking poses in the steel cage since tonight has Jeff vs. Matt in a Six Sides of Steel. Matt makes tons of goofy faces and we go to the arena where Josh and Pope are ringside where Josh says tonight is all about revenge. Drew Galloway comes down and says he’s not here to bitch – but he should be World Champion, and he isn’t due to EC3. He demands that EC3 comes down and he does while the fans sing his theme song.
As EC3 comes down, we get a video recap of EC3 accidentally hitting Drew with a chair to give Lashley the win in last week’s main event. EC3 says he had no intention of costing him the title and if he wants to blame someone, he can blame him. Drew says that he doesn’t want to blame him – he wants to kick his ass. EC3 tells him that Drew has been defending the title all over the world and exhausted himself by burning the candle at both ends. Drew says he burned the candle at both ends to help TNA and he did. EC3 says that he did that as well, and TNA is the only company that gave them the ball. Drew says that EC3 isn’t the ass-kicking machine, he’s the ass-kissing machine. EC3 says that Lashley made Drew his bitch last week, and he’ll do it now.
Lashley comes down and says they’re throwing blame around like he was throwing Drew around. Drew wants a match with EC3 and each wants to face Lashley. Lashley says that he’s talked to TNA management, and EC3 and Drew will team up tonight and if they win, they can face him. It’s never really explained just why Lashley as a heel would want a match against his two top challengers. Lashley says that if they lose, then his partner will get a shot at the title. Eli Drake comes out and says “yeah” a bunch before saying he’ll take this opportunity and win the gold when given the chance. The match is after the break.
Drew Galloway and EC3 vs. Lashley and Eli Drake
Lashley jumps EC3 in the corner and attacks with corner blows. EC3 Irish Whips him and Lashley leapfrogs over him before a standoff. Eli comes in and Eli eats an overhead belly to belly by Drew. Drew machine gun chops Eli in the corner before EC3 chops him and throws him into the corner. Eli eats a sloppy back body drop. Eli hits an odd STO that starts as a DDT and ends like an STO. Eli hits a neckbreaker and tags in Lashley, who chokes him against the ropes before hitting a floatover snap suplex for 2. Lashley goes for a rear naked choke, but tags Eli in, who punches away at him.
Eli hits a beautiful snap powerslam for 2. It’s rare that you see a new way to do an old move, but he basically merged the Thump with a snap powerslam and it looks great. Lashley comes back in and works over the back before blasting Drew off the apron. Eli and Lashley double team EC3 in the corner. Eli lands a snapmare and a chinlock and wrenches on it while standing – Eli is doing a great job mixing things up here. Josh plugs EC3’s new shirt and their ProWrestlingTees partnership. Eli kicks EC3 to the floor. Lashley comes in and we get a double down because each man hits the other with a lariat.
EC3 almost makes a tag, but Drew is knocked off the apron by Lashley once again. Lashley hits a serious of shoulderblocks into the corner before slithering around and hitting another one. EC3 recovers and hits the TK3 to finally get the tag. Drew comes in and beats up Eli after he tags in with a series of boots and forearm shots. Drew flies off the top for his flying clothesline. He sets up the Claymore, but Lashley attacks him in the corner to nix that. Drew boots Eli and EC3 hits the One Percenter. Lashley accidentally spears Eli and Drew sends Lashley to the floor with a lariat and wins – so now Drew and EC3 get a shot at the gold.
We see a recap of the super swanton off the steps through Matt and a series of tables. Abyss talks to Rosemary about who they’ve been talking to and Rosemary is now referring to herself with the royal “we” and says that she’s partnered with someone who is beautiful and deranged. Josh talks 1,000 miles per hour recapping the opener. Backstage, Drew drinks water and Lashley says that he’s only smiling because he won – but he still controls Drew since he can give EC3 the shot first. Drew wants a fight, but Lashley says he should just savor his small victory and he’ll kick his ass whenever he wants to.
Decay comes out and Josh talks about how it was bedlam last week. Shocked he didn’t say it was also fast and furious action. Thank God – he works in an Expendables mention to shoehorn in more movie references that don’t fit. Rosemary says they are different, but have the same goal and are the death dealers. She says they usually offer death, but now they have someone they want to offer life to – Bram. The Chesterfield Plague comes out and Steve and Abyss hate him for reasons that aren’t really explained. Bram says yes, the answer to every question she asks is Decay.
Rosemary talks about how many people have tried to fix him and how he answers his problems with violence – but they won’t judge him, they do it too. She says they feel his pain and that he lost the King of the Mountain Title because he was alone and they don’t want him to be alone. Bram says that he thinks she’s kinda hot and he likes her googly eyes – but he’s no freak and he doesn’t need anyone. He insults their face paint and Steve mists Bram and they beat him up. They spread paint on his face and she says that he will Decay. Rosemary remains the best part of this whole act and stands out in a way that no one else in TNA does. She’s amazing on the mic with this character and has a bright future playing it. Recap of the Jade vs. Marti feud leads to Marti Bell vs. Jade next.
EC3 walks backstage and bumps into Lashley, who tells him that he agreed to something without asking the right questions. EC3 says that Lashley is tough – but he’s also a bit of a coward. Lashley says EC3 will get his shot – but it will be on his terms and he’ll let them know tonight who he’ll face next week. Marti comes out in new booty shorts and her telescopic nightstick.
Jade vs. Marti Bell
Marti runs from Jade, who catches up and eats a spear mid-ring before a brief catfight. Jade kicks her down and lands a series of forearm shivers on the floor. She hoists her up for a bearhug and slams her into the post. Marti recovers and posts her before calling her stupid. Jade reverses a whip into the steps and then lands a basement dropkick. Jade runs the baton across the barricade and threatens Marti with it. Jade lands a gutwrench suplex and they talk about Gail being the first Knockut to go into the Hall of Fame. Jade hits a sloppy German suplex hits for 2. Shotgun dropkick takes down Marti, but she gets tossed into the corner and eats a pump kick. Jade eats a slap and then a hamstring kick. They talk about Dixie’s “slap heard around the world”. Jade lands an electric chair drop onto the apron. Marti grabs the baton and hits Jade with it to secure a victory.
Backstage, Mike and Maria say that they’re going to the ring to talk to Dixie. Backstage, Lashley talks to Dixie and he says he hopes she doesn’t hit him. He tells her that he doesn’t know who he’s fighting next and she says that Dixie will deliver the biggest match possible – a triple threat next week. Maria and Mike Bennett come down and Josh talks about how they’ve gone silent since “the slap that changed everything”.
Mike Bennett insults the fans for never being in love. He says that Dixie assaulted Maria, and she says that she hasn’t slept since. He didn’t deserve it and doesn’t understand what happened – so she wants Dixie to come out and explain her actions. Dixie and William Corgan come down to Dixie Carter’s theme. In a ring with heel owner William Corgan and Dixie Carter, Mike Bennett is easily the most ridiculous-looking person in the ring right now. Dixie says she did what anyone else would’ve done and Maria demands an apology.
Dixie says that she regrets letting Maria get to her, and for that, she is sorry. Maria wants Dixie ousted as President and Mike says they’ll file a lawsuit – and since his dad is a lawyer, he won’t have to pay any legal fees. William Corgan says that he’s tried to stay neutral, but Dixie has put them all in a difficult situation. William says that she should take a leave of absence for about a week and take a break to reset the situation – he isn’t siding with Maria and Mike, but is siding with the company. Dixie treats taking one week off like she’s being fired and says that this changes everything. Maria thanks William for making her feel more safe, and then Mike says it’s time to talk about the most important thing in the world – him.
Bennett says he’s a damn star and has won 99.999% of his matches and compares himself to Babe Ruth, Tom Brady, Lebron James, and Steph Curry. Corgan says they already have a main event next week, and Bennett says he wants a title shot at Destination X. He wants to make use of Option C and says that people will say he isn’t an X division guy because he doesn’t do cool GIFs, but he wants the X Title. Billy says if he wants a shot at Destination X, he has to win. Corgan says that if he wants to make real headlines – not internet headlines, he’ll make Mike Bennett vs. Eddie Edwards for the X Title next. Also, Eddie Edwards is now “Double E”. After the break, we get a bizarre X Division hype video with Josh saying ridiculous things.
Eddie Edwards vs. Mike Bennett – X Division Title
Eddie outwrestles Bennett on the mat and holds him down with an armbar. Bennett sends him to the corner and lands a cheap shot to gain the upper hand. Josh says that this will be Bennett’s first title win, and that everyone is impressed by what Eddie has done as champion. Bennett punches him and goes for a springboard something, but he slips. So now he’s just a pure comedy act? Eddie chops away in the corner, but runs into a boot. Josh talks about how Bennett will have to face the DJZs, Mandrews, and Trevor Lees of the world. Boy does that not sound like a threat at all. Maria distracts Eddie and Bennett gets an eye poke and a cutter for 2. Bennett hits a spinebuster for 2.
Eddie gets tossed into the buckle, but slides through and hits a series of back elbows before outfoxing Bennett with a baseball slide into the ring and landing a suicide dive. Eddie hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for 2. Bennett goes for the MIP, but Eddie goes for a cradle and Bennett holds onto the ropes to win.
Robbie is backstage going through Jessie’s bag to get some food since he’s late. He grabs Jessie’s iPad to watch Big Brother on Pop and he sees Racquel and Jessie talking without him. Jessie comes into their trailer and Robbie storms off. Braxton Sutter comes down to face Balam, but Rockstar Spud interrupts. Spud says this isn’t the Braxton Sutter Show and that what’s BS is that he’s been sitting in catering while Braxton gets matches. He tells Balam to leave and go back to the indies for $50 so he can show him what a star is. He says that he is Rockstar Spud and that he is what a pro wrestler should look like, and he also beat Kurt Angle’s ass too and he’s a former 2-time X Division Champion and a future World Champion. Spud is absolutely fantastic on the mic.
Rockstar Spud vs. Braxton Sutter
Sutter dominates with shoulderblocks in the corner. Spud gets 2 off a tornado DDT. Spud eats a few punches and lands a powerslam. He gets his eyes raked, but Spud misses a corner charge and eats a flatfliner to give Sutter another win. Spud tells Sutter that he belongs here before kicking him low and whipping him with his studded belt.
We get a Sienna profile video saying that she’s wrestled in front of 10 people or 10,000 and has no days off. She trains MMA and has won – and dominates everything she does. She’ll do the same to Gail and this was great – but too short to really mean much. Jeff Hardy comes down to face Matt Hardy in tonight’s main event. He fills the ring with weapons and then the ballad of the “broken” Matt Hardy plays while Reby insults the fans and carries Maxel on her back. Josh talks about how “Brother Nero” is now in the Urban Dictionary.
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy – Six Sides of Steel
Jeff jumps him and hops up top, but gets stopped and powerbombed into the cage. Matt runs a ladder into Jeff’s stomach. Matt goes for a table, but Jeff hits him in the face with a chairshot that Matt mostly blocks. A poetry in motion with a chair misses and sends him into the cage before Matt bites the knee. Side Effect through a chair gets 2. Matt hits him in the stomach with a chair before landing a series of headbutts. Jeff hits the jackbreaker and hits whisper in the wind. Jeff misses a running crossbody and Matt goes for a Twist of Fate, but Jeff hits him with a low blow. Jeff hits a Twist, but Matt gets up and eats a second one. Jeff lands a swanton for 2. Jeff lands a chair to the back and hits him with a Twist that puts Matt on a table. Jeff hits him with a chair, puts chairs on his chest, then puts a table on top of Matt before splashing Matt off the top of a ladder set up on the top rope above cage to win. This splash was scary because he had no room to move his feet, so he just kind of fell in a splash formation onto the pile and went splat.
Screenshot Gallery –
http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/mtqbvpquj1i7izd1xrix5sfpm27rp0yc
