Let’s take a look at the card –
1. Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode *TNA World Championship Match
2. Hulk Hogan vs. Sting
3. Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn *Full Metal Mayhem Match
4. AJ Styles vs. Chris Daniels *I Quit Match
5. Mr. Anderson vs. Bully Ray *Falls Count Anywhere Match
6. Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick *TNA X-Division Championship Match
7. Winter vs. Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky *TNA Knockouts Championship Match
8. Crimson vs. Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan
9. Mexican America vs. Ink Inc. *TNA World Tag Team Championship Match
MATCH #1: TNA X-Division Championship Match – Brian Kendrick vs. Austin Aries
I still don’t get why they put a weight limit on the division and how they can sell that as a good thing. These two have had some good matches together so hopefully this will be a highlight of the night. Kendrick dominates in the early going with some fast-paced offense until Aries cuts him off and starts wearing him down. The crowd is very pro-Aries so it’s hard for Kendrick’s offense to gain any momentum. Even so, Kendrick fights back with a superkick and lands a Super Sliced Bread #2 but Aries was too close to the ropes. Kendrick tries the Sliced Bread #2 on the apron but Aries holds on and Kendrick crashes to the floor. Back in the ring Aries kicks Kendrick in the head, hits the IED and a brainbuster to get the win around 10 minutes in.
WINNER – Austin Aries (Retains X-Division Title), ***
Borash is backstage with Traci Brooks and some kids. Karen Angle comes in, and apparently those are her kids. How should I recognize them? Angle announces that she will be the special referee for the Knockouts Title match, and tells Traci to stay in this room, or else. I don’t understand what’s going on here because I haven’t been keeping up on Impact lately.
MATCH #2: Full Metal Mayhem – Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam
They wrestle the same match they always do in the opening minutes, and weapons quickly get involved. They hit each other with and drop each other on the weapons. The crowd pops and chants “ECW†for the spots, so the match is successful in that regard. After some back and forth violence, RVD sets a ladder on Lynn in the corner, and hits the Van Terminator to get the win at about 14 minutes.
WINNER – Rob Van Dam, **½
Dixie Carter is in the building.
MATCH #3: Three-Way Match – Crimson vs. Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan
Morgan and Crimson both have a beef with Joe over how he was purposely trying to injure people during the Bound for Glory Series. To that end they wear matching trunks and work together in the early going. Joe is the smart one and tries to play everyone against each other and that works to a degree. Everyone shows off their power and impressive agility; even Morgan hits a big dive off the top rope to the floor. It’s Crimson who ends up in the right place at the right time, as he hits Joe with a Spear to score a quick pin around 7 minutes in.
WINNER – Crimson, **¾
Backstage, Borash gets a word with Bully Ray, who insults the people of Philadelphia and the city at length, making sure they will boo him. Good stuff.
MATCH #4: Falls Count Anywhere – Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson
Anderson is game but the more hardcore experienced Bully Ray is able to weather the storm and dominate most of the opening minutes. They fight up the aisle and to the backstage area, thus the crowd boos since they can’t see the action. Ray hits Anderson with a piledriver on the concrete floor but it only gets two. They make their way back to the ring and Anderson brings the guardrail in and slams Ray down on it. He goes for the Kenton Bomb but Ray moves out of the way. Ray hits a Bubba Bomb through a table but Anderson kicks out at two. Anderson comes back with a Mic Check into the guardrail but that also only gets two. He then sets Ray up on a table and goes up top for a Kenton Bomb to the floor, but he badly overshoots him and makes no contact. He laughs about it and then hits a hard Mic Check through the table (that was all they could do really) and gets the pin around 15 minutes in. Taz actually says Anderson called an audible, which is funny. The match was good until they blew the finish.
WINNER – Mr. Anderson, ***
Backstage, Eric Bischoff reveals that referee Jackson James is actually his son. There seems to be some kind of collusion between them!
MATCH #5: TNA Knockouts Championship – Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James vs. Winter
Karen Jarrett is refereeing this match, so expect her to be the focal point. That’s exactly what happens, and she seems particularly anti-Velvet Sky in her officiating. The crowd just doesn’t care about any of this. After some typical TNA women’s match stuff, Winter accidentally spits red mist in Karen’s eyes and Velvet Sky is able to get the pin on Mickie James around 10 minutes in to win her first Knockouts Title!
WINNER – Velvet Sky (NEW Champion), **
Backstage, Borash is getting a word with Kazarian, who ruminates on Bobby Roode’s title opportunity tonight as well as the I Quit Match between Styles and Daniels.
MATCH #6: I Quit Match – AJ Styles vs. Chris Daniels
MATCH #6: I Quit Match – AJ Styles vs. Chris Daniels
These two have quite a bit of heat between each other and it starts off as a fight right away. They try both submission wrestling and brutality with each other, trying to coax the other one to say I Quit. Daniels is able to focus on AJ’s back and tries to get a submission that way. He even hits the Best Moonsault Ever right to the back but AJ will not quit. Daniels then locks on a half-Boston Crab but AJ reaches the ropes. He tries to talk AJ into quitting but that doesn’t’ work either, and it just gives him time to recover. AJ is able to hit the Pele Kick and the Styles Clash. He then grabs a screwdriver that was introduced earlier in the match and Daniels quits around 14 minutes in before the weapon can be used. Ya know, I really liked that finish when JBL did it in 2005, but it’s been overused since then and it’s completely unsatisfying in this instance. It was a good effort from the wrestlers though.
WINNER – AJ Styles, ***
As he makes his way to the back, AJ is attacked and laid out by Daniels on the stage. This feud will continue.
Tenay and Taz begin talking about the TNA World Title match, but Jeff Jarrett’s music hits and he makes his way out to the ring. He immediately calls out Jeff Hardy. It doesn’t take long for Hardy, fresh off his jail sentence, to respond. It turns into a brawl immediately and security comes out to break it up. Are people really itching to see Jarrett versus Hardy again?
They switch gears to show the video package and talk about Sting versus Hogan. So what’s going to be the main event?
MATCH #7: Battle for Control of the Company – Hulk Hogan vs. Sting
I guess the TNA World Title match will main event. Good choice. Here we go, a couple of old men in t-shirts getting ready to bitch slap each other. Before any contact can be made, Ric Flair makes his way out and who can’t see the end of this match coming? They weakly brawl early on, and Flair liberally interferes behind the referee’s back. This is just absurd. Both guys are busted open. After more fighting, Sting locks Hogan in the Scorpion Deathlock and Hogan taps out around 9 minutes in.
WINNER – Sting, *
Flair gets in the ring and attacks Hogan, and the rest of Immortal (Eric Bischoff, Bully Ray, Gunner, Scott Steiner) comes out for a beat down. Abyss is shown watching on from backstage, just watching. Jackson James takes a chair from his old man, and then gets drilled by his dad for his troubles. Sting begs for Hogan’s help, and finally Hogan Hulks Up and he and Sting take out all of Immortal. The crowd goes BALLISTIC for Hogan turning face.
MATCH #8: TNA World Championship Match – Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode
They take it down to the mat, which obviously is where Angle dominates. In fact, Angle pretty generally dominates the action, though Roode gets his shots in, including a spinebuster for two. Moments later Roode locks on a Crossface. Angle fights out and hits the Angle Slam for two. He then locks on the Ankle Lock but Roode kicks out of that and hits another spinebuster. Roode then hits the Payoff but it only gets two. Angle comes back with a low blow out of view of the referee and another Angle Slam for another two count. He hits a Spear but Roode survives it and locks on the Crossface again. A series of reversals ends with Angle hitting the Angle Slam and he grabs the ropes for extra leverage to get the pin at 15 minutes. Also Roode’s hand was under the ropes. The referee even messed up the three-count. Angle may have legit injured his ankle, but who knows. What a terrible finish. Poor Bobby Roode.
WINNER – Kurt Angle (STILL Champion), ***
That was the typical nonsense from TNA.
