So TNA continues to present it's
pay-per-view themed editions of Impact Wrestling with this month's
Hardcore Justice. Whilst, personally I would have prefered to see TNA
stick to their original idea of using having only four pay-per-views
a year to build stronger storylines heading into the pay-per-view,
rather than hot shot these shows every four weeks, the proof, of
course, will be in the ratings.
World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match:
Chris Sabin ©
vs.
Bully Ray
Now, I've said it
more than once over the last few weeks, but I have hated Chris
Sabin's World Heavyweight Championship reign, and it has very little
to do with Chris Sabin himself, who for the most part has been
excellent. It all comes down to how he has been booked. The hammer
shot to win the title? The bout with Manik, that was great but did
nothing for him? Having him overshadowed by the Main Event Mafia? All
did nothing to help me feel like TNA were fully behind Sabin as World
Heavyweight Champion, and I went into this one expecting to see Sabin
drop the title back to Aces and Eight's President Bully Ray.
The match was
built up during the show, with a handful of backstage segments.
Firsty, Sabin was asked by TNA's mysterious backstage reporter (Jason
Hervey) for his thought on the main event. The promo took a while to
get going, when you could tell that what Sabin was saying about
remembering Team 3D putting someone through a flaming table,
resulting the his trademark “alright?”, which usually happens
when he doesn't know what to say. Fortunately, when Sabin began
talking about the match, he did a sound job, sounded convincing and
confident which actually help to build to the match well. We later
saw Bully Ray on the phone, talking to someone called “Brooke”
about what they would reveal to world next week. Whilst I'm not a fan
of the Bully/Brooke storyline, this segment was done very well, with
the timing of the reveal of “Brooke” being spot on. Bully Ray
also got in a verbal confrontation with Aces and Eights Vice
President Mr. Anderson, with Bully not seeming to believe he had the
full backing of his second in command. Again this was a good segment,
that began to plant the seeds of dissention with Aces and Eights
well.
The main content
of the Steel Cage was actually pretty strong, taking on a regular big
man vs. small man dynamic. With Bully doing a good job beating down
Sabin, who did have a few slight spells in charge of the match, Bully
is very good in this role, as we've seen opposite Jeff Hardy and
Sting over the last year or so, and Sabin worked well enough in this
match to make it enjoyable. Whilst, there wasn't a great amount of
use of the steel cage in the bout, when it did come into play it was
creative, such as Sabin's springboard crossbody. The only real
drawback on the main body of the match, was an awkward looking
hurracanrana out of the corner from Sabin, which just looked bizarre
and took me right out of the match.
Now, for
everything that the main body of the bout had done well, the finish
was about to throw out of the window. For some reason they did a ref
bump angle, with Bully accidentally splashing Brian Hebner against
the side of the cage. With Sabin getting the upperhand and attempting
to escape the cage through the door, Mr. Anderson made the save for
Bully sending the door into Sabin, and keeping him from escaping.
Main Event Mafia's Rampage Jackson and newest member Tito Ortiz (more
on that later) came down to ringside, with Rampage sending Anderson
crashing off the entrance ramp. However, with Rampage celebrating,
Ortiz pulled out Aces and Eights signature hammer and brought it
crashing down on Rampage. This caused a distraction for Sabin, who
ended up taking a vicious Release Powerbomb from Bully, to allow
Bully to pick up the pinfall victory and regain the World Heavyweight
Championship. There was so much wrong with this ending it was
ridiculous. Firstly, why do you need a ref bump in a Steel Cage
Match? Mike Tenay even made it clear the bout was no disqualification
earlier in the proceedings. Secondly, the focus was firmly on Tito
Ortiz, as TNA attempt to use a wrestling angle to build for an MMA
bout on someone elses pay-per-view. There's a lot more that I could
say, but I would like to end by mourning the end of the worst World
Title reign since Jack Swagger's in 2010 run.
Main Event Mafia Search for a New Member
The other major
storyline running throughout the show was the Main Event Mafia's
search for a replacement for Kurt Angle. For those who have been
hiding under a rock, Kurt Angle has entered a rehab facility, after
being arrested for another DUI. I'd like to take this moment to wish
Mr. Angle all the best, and hope that he is fit and well to return to
television soon. Dixie Carter appeared in the ring with the remaining
member of the Main Event Mafia to announce what had happened and that
Kurt would not be taking part in the Five on Five match between Main
Event Mafia and Aces and Eight's next week. I thought it was a classy
move by TNA, who could have easily just written Kurt off in angle, as
long as they don't turn it into a storyline, like they did with Jeff
Hardy's drug addiction then I'll be happy. Aces and Eight's members
Devon, Knux, Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff, lead by Vice President
Mr. Anderson came out, and took advantage of the numbers advantage in
a scuffle with the Main Event Mafia. This was a good segment that set
up the idea of Aces and Eight's having the number advantage well,
giving the Mafia even more reason to find a replacement.
The hunt for the
replacement began in a number of backstage segments. Firstly, Sting
suggested to the group that they go for Austin Aries. After some
disagreement, Sting said he would go and speak to Aries. I thought
Aries was a good choice for the Mafia, he brings something that the
group doesn't really have in terms of in ring style, whilst his
attitude clash with the group would make for some entertaining
television. With Aries playing hard ball with Sting, the Icon
returned to his group to tell them that Aries was a no go. This whole
section for me was entirely pointless, if Aries wasn't going to join
the group, then why show all this anyway. It didn't add anything to
the show and the time could have been given to another match.
Then my worst
fears were confirmed when Rampage Jackson stood up and said he had an
idea and it was clear from this point on who would be the new fifth
member. So with Jackson accompanied by Samoa Joe to the ring, he
called out Tito Ortiz, asking him to be Kurt's replacement. I've made
my feelings made before about Tito and TNA continues to make it
worse, with his promo accepting the place being absolutely awful. To
be fair to Rampage Jackson, he actually did a pretty good job with
his, if he can translate that to the ring I have no problem with him
being in TNA. Luckily, Bully Ray headed out to save the segment once
again, ripping into Jackson and Ortiz in superb fashion.
Now, with the
hindsight of what happened later in the night, the stuff with Tito
was almost as pointless as the stuff with Austin Aries. I have to be
fair to TNA though and say that this obviously wasn't part of the
original plan and we most probably would have got a different story
if Kurt Angle was healthy. It probably still would have involved Tito
Ortiz, but would have had a little more time to breath and the heel
turn from Ortiz would have felt more impactful. Hopefully, Angle's
absence doesn't effect TNA for too long and they manage to adjust
their plans accordingly.
Best of the Rest (In The World)
It was another big
night in the Bound For Glory Series with two lots of twenty points on
the line. Firstly, to open the show there was a Four Way Ladder
Match, with Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles, Austin Aries and Kazarian all
battling it out for the twenty points. Now, I have to say going into
this match my expectations were pretty high. Four of the best
high-flying talents of the last five years battling it out in a
Ladder match? Sounds like my cup of tea. Therefore this match really
had to deliver for me, in a number of different ways, especially
after seeing a number of top notch ladder matches recently at WWE's
Money in the Bank, as well as Taryn Terrel vs. Gail Kim on Impact
Wrestling.
Luckily, this one
did manage to deliver, with a number of entertaining and creative
spots. A backstage segment at the start of the show, reignited the
rivalry between Hardy and Aries and this was capitalised upon, with
the two going after each other in the match. The action was fast and
exciting throughout, with not really time to catch your breath as
once one wrestler seemed to be gaining an upper hand another would
come into challenge them. The highlight of the match for me, saw AJ
Styles about to the Styles Clash on Aries, only for Kazarian to plant
Styles' face into the mat. The culmination of the bout, saw Kazarian
stable mates Christopher Daniels and Bobby Roode come down to
ringside, with Roode holding Hardy off the ladder for long enough to
allow Daniels to pass Kaz his trademark Appletini, which subsequently
ended up in Jeff Hardy's face allowing Kaz to pick up the twenty
points. It was a decent finish to the bout, that set up the new
faction well, I'm interested to see how they work together and how
they will effect the Bound For Glory Series and interact with TNA's
other stables.
Bobby Roode was
involved in a Bound For Glory Series match of his own, taking on Main
Event Mafia's Samoa Joe and Magnus, as well as Aces and Eight's Vice
President Mr. Anderson. The tables match didn't really use it's
gimmick, at least not as well as the Ladder Match did, with the
tables often seemingly getting in the way of what the guys actually
wanted to do! With Joe and Magnus working as a tag team during the
bout, the dynamic was an interesting one, with Roode and Anderson
going it alone. Samoa Joe was the star of the bout for me, with some
good work with both Anderson and Roode. They basically used the same
spot as the ending of the Ladder Match, with Daniels & Roode
interfering and Daniels throwing the Appletini into the eyes of
Magnus, allowing Roode to powerbomb him through a table to pick up
the victory and twenty points in the Bound For Glory Series. Whilst I
understand the idea behind having identical finishes, to set up the
new stable, we haven't seen a clean finish in a Bound For Glory
Series match in the last two weeks and it's becoming a bit silly, no
one would have been hurt in the match if Roode had won clean.
There was also
women's action on the show, with Knockout's Champion Mickie James
taking on ODB and Gail Kim in a Hardcore Triple Threat bout. It was
an enjoyable bout, with the triple threat concept being used well,
with a nice dynamic between Mickie James and Gail Kim as they
reluctantly worked together, until Mickie went for a school girl roll
up for a two count. With ODB eventually making her comeback using a
singapore cane and her bra, yeah ODB used her bra as a weapon, Kim
and James had to reunite as a duo, with a great spot involving Kim's
signature figure four leg lock around the ringpost and James pulling
at ODB's arms. The ending of the bout saw ODB hit BAM! On Gail Kim
onto a steel chair to pick up the victory, with James just unable to
break up the three count. A strong outing for the Knockout's with ODB
showing that TNA's move to bring her back into active competition was
a wise decision.
Finally...
What did I learn from Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice?
1. TNA hasn't got a World Heavyweight Championship match right in a long time.
2. The Main Event Mafia aren't that great at choosing new members.
3. I think I actually like Taz on commentary.
Bound For Glory Series Standings
1. Magnus - 39 Points (Non-Mover)
2. Bobby Roode - 27 Points (Up Six)
3. Samoa Joe - 26 Points (Down One)
4. Jeff Hardy - 24 Points (Down One)
4. Mr. Anderson - 24 Points (Down One)
6. Christopher Daniels - 23 Points (Down One)
7. AJ Styles - 22 Points (Down One)
7. Kazarian - 22 Points (Up Three)
9. Austin Aries - 21 Points (Down Two)
10. Hernandez - 7 Points (Down Two)
11. Jay Bradley - 0 Points (Non-Mover)
12. Joseph Park - -3 Points (Non-Mover)
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