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Universal Studios – Orlando, FL – Sunday, June 12, 2016
Josh Mathews and D’Angelo Dinero are on commentary.
~MATCH #1~
Eddie Edwards defeats Andrew Everett, DJZ and TNA X-Division Champion Trevor Lee at 10:12 in a Four-Way Match to win the title. Lee has been the Champion since 2.2.16, and this is his ninth defense. DJZ is a former X-Division Champion, and Edwards has five tag team title reigns under his belt with Davey Richards. The referee bans Gregory Shane Helms from ringside, so he will not be able to help his charges Lee and Everett. Edwards and DJ are excited by this, and they start the match unofficially on the floor. When they make it to the ring the bell rings and we’re officially underway. Edwards and DJZ work together, but also battle each other, as this is a single-fall match. The action here is non-stop, with all four competitors flying around in and out of the ring. Edwards and Lee wind up alone in the ring together and when Lee goes for a suplex, Edwards counters to an inside cradle to win the title for the first time. Fun match, dumb finish.
Rating: ***
~MATCH #2~
The Tribunal (Baron Dax & Basile Baraka) (w/ Al Snow) defeat Grado & Mahabali Shera at 7:35. Snow cuts a promo and his voice sounds different than his WWE days. He is playing a “coach” gimmick for some reason, complete with obnoxious whistle. The Tribunal starts off in control and they isolate Shera in their half of the ring. Eventually Grado gets a hot tag, and they do some nonsense. Eventually, the Tribunal gets rid of Shera and hits Grado with the Decapitation Knee to get the win. Well, all four of these guys are just bad.
Rating: *½
~MATCH #3~
Sienna (w/ Allie & Maria) defeats TNA Knockouts Champion Jade and Gail Kim in a Three-Way Match to win the title at 8:11. Jade has been the Champion since 4.5.16, and this is her third defense. It was supposed to be Gail v Maria and Jade v Sienna, but Maria has a broken hand so Billy Corgan just adds Gail to the title match and makes it a triple threat. The action is fast and furious from the get-go, and Sienna looks dominant. Sienna continually takes Kim out of the match, so she and Jade can fight one-on-one. Allie interferes to keep Gail from getting a pin, so Gail punches her in the mouth and then goes after Maria. Chaos ensues, as Allie tries to give Sienna the belt to use as a weapon, but Marti Bell sneaks in from out of nowhere and drills Jade with a foreign object. Sienna gets the pin and wins the title. This was okay action but the finish was a bit overdone.
Rating: **¼
~MATCH #4~
James Storm defeats Braxton Sutter at 6:41. The TNA veteran Storm says he was given an opportunity at the beginning of TNA, and he wants to return the favor, so he issues an open challenge. Braxton Sutter answers and here we go. Storm does his usual stuff and Sutter fights back with his stuff. It’s just stuff. In the end Storm hits the Last Call to get the pin. Total TV match there and a bummer that this is the best they can do for Storm.
Rating: **
~MATCH #5~
TNA King of the Mountain Champion Eli Drake defeats Bram at 8:37 to retain the title. Drake has been the Champion since 5.31.16, and this is his first defense. The former champion Bram is aggressive in the early going so Drake tries to bail. Bram will have none of that. Every time Bram starts to get something going Drake stalls or otherwise avoids his challenger. Drake suckers Bram in and hits him with Blunt Force Trauma to get the win and retain the title. These two showed zero chemistry and didn’t really ever appear on the same page.
Rating: *½
~MATCH #6~
EC3 defeats The Miracle (w/ Maria) at 15:01. It’s all EC3 in the early going, and he thwarts several of the Miracle’s attacks. They take it to the floor and that’s where Miracle takes over. Both men keep up a pretty fast pace here, with plenty of counters and reversals. EC3 lands the 1%er, but Miracle is able to kick out. Miracle responds with a piledriver and EC3 kicks out of that. The referee gets distracted by a chair that Maria threw in the ring, so he doesn’t see EC3 with what would’ve been a match-winning cover. With the referee’s back turned, Miracle hits the MIP but EC3 kicks out. EC3 pops up back up and hits a stunner and the 1%er to get the pin. I like the idea of these two wrestling, but both are such natural heels that this just felt … wrong, I guess? The work was technically fine but it didn’t tell an interesting story or anything. It was just a match.
Rating: **½
~MATCH #7~
Jeff Hardy defeats Matt Hardy in a Full Metal Mayhem Match. This starts as a fight in the aisle, as neither man is willing to wait for Jeff to complete his entrance. Weapons get involved early and remain so, as both men are well versed in this kind of match. Tables, ladders, and chairs are used, as expected, but they also throw in garbage cans, a keyboard, and other assorted objects. Eventually things escalate to the point that Jeff puts his brother on a table outside the ring, and then flattens him with a Swanton Bomb to get the pin. This is probably one of the better if not the best match these two have had against each other. It was all weapons and spots, but that’s exactly the kind of thing they popularized in their heyday, so they know what they’re doing.
Rating: ***¾
~MATCH #8~
TNA World Tag Team Champions Decay (Abyss & Crazzy Steve) (w/ Rosemary) defeat The BroMans (Jessie Godderz & Robbie E) (w/ Raquel) at 9:18 to retain the titles. Decay have been the Champions since 4.26.16, and this is their second defense. This is such a lame duck match and an obvious byproduct of a terrible division since the BroMans are beyond played out. They pretty much follow the formula here, and sprinkle in periodic interference from Rosemary, which Raquel just allows her to do. The BroMans hit Steve with the Bro Down, and Godderz turns it into a Boston Crab. Abyss pulls the referee to the floor and accidentally spits green mist in his face. Rosemary and Raquel get in the ring and brawl, and the distraction allows Steve to hit Godderz with one of the title belts but it only gets a two-count! That seemed like it would be the finish to me, based on my years of watching this company. Godderz puts the Boston Crab back on but Abyss breaks it up. Abyss hits a Black Hole Slam and then powerbombs Steve right onto Godderz and that’s enough to get the pin. This was okay but the teams didn’t particularly have a lot of chemistry together. Plus, the ending was a tad overbooked.
Rating: **½
~MATCH #9~
Lashley defeats TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway at 17:04 in a Knockout or Tapout Only Match to win the title. Galloway has been the Champion since 3.15.16, and this is his tenth defense. The Champ hits an immediate Claymore, which is an awesome way to start the match. Lashley recovers quickly and puts on a leg submission. This is going to be a fight, and I like that they established right away that Galloway will go for the Knockout while Lashley will try to get a tap out. Both men to try the other method as well, but I like knowing what their strengths are. This is a fast-paced match, as both men are going all out to walk out with the title. They fight both inside and outside the ring, and keep the crowd engaged. Big high spot comes when Galloway sets Lashley on a table on the floor, and then goes for a somersault senton over the ropes but Lashley moves and Galloway crashes hard through the table. It’s ridiculous that Galloway can do that at his size. A bloody Galloway makes his way back to the ring and Lashley catches him in a Crossface. Galloway counters into a Tombstone Piledriver! He goes for the Claymore but Lashley avoids it and puts on an Anaconda Vise. Galloway passes out and Lashley is the Champion for the third time! This was shockingly great, with both men making this feel like a big-time title match. They built everything up well and both men come out of this looking good, which can be tough to pull off.
Rating: ****¼
A2Z Analysiz
The main event is great and the Full Metal Mayhem match is a lot of fun, so that’s two matches worth checking out. Everything else is kind of middling or outright bad, which is not surprising for TNA. I’m still impressed they’ve managed to stick around this long. Happy birthday TNA GFW!
