TNA Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice Part Two Review

I actually really enjoyed this week's Impact Wrestling as we got the second part of Hardcore Justice. The wrestling was strong throughout most of the card, with some nice developments in storyline as we head to Bound For Glory. Yes, there was an over use of recaps, and Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson continued to attempt to sell their MMA bout by having a wrestling storyline, but the main body of what was presented was pretty good.

Ten Man Tag Team Loser Leaves TNA Match: 

Main Event Mafia & ??? 

vs. 

Aces and Eights 

(Mr. Anderson, Devon, Knux, Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff)

The build up for this one saw a backstage segment from each team, as they discussed strategy for the match. This has become a regular feature of Impact Wrestling over the last few months and it works fairly well in building up to the main event match. With Aces and Eights members Mr. Anderson, Devon, Knux, Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff looking fairly confident in their promo, due to them believing they would be going into the match with a man advantage, the bulk of the promo was done by Mr. Anderson, who did a good job of getting the cocky attitude of his team earlier, they were clearly being set up for a fall later on. On the other side of the fence, the Main Event Mafia discussed their missing man in the bout, after having failed to recruit either Austin Aries or Tito Ortiz last week. There was a moment in this promo that really stood out for me, and that is when Magnus stood up to Sting and told him it didn't matter if they were a man down, because they were the Main Event Mafia. It's the first time we've really seen Magnus stand out as part of the group for me, and hopefully this trend will continue.

After the build up, there was a nice big match feel as the two faction headed to the ring. It looked like we might be about to see a handicap match between the two. This was not the case however, when AJ Styles music hit and he walked half way down the ramp, head bowed and hooded. Suddenly Styles' old music hit and he threw his hood back and out of nowhere the old “Phenomenal” AJ Styles was back. Now, at first I was a little disappointed to see the “Lone Wolf” AJ Styles end so abruptly, as although some people weren't a fan of the new character, I actually quite enjoyed it. However, with Kurt Angle taken away so abruptly, this was really the best move they could have made, and hopefully the fact that the show was taped and people knew the old AJ Styles was back on Impact Wrestling the rating will have gone up as well.

With Styles joing the Main Event Mafia in a mass brawl with Aces and Eights, everything else after this moment felt a little flat. It was by no means a bad match, but after the high point of Styles' character change, it was difficult for the in ring action to follow it. With the match settling down after the brawl, Main Event Mafia took control with Samoe Joe and Styles handing it to Brisco and Bischoff, it was an obvious decision seeing as Brisco and Bischoff are obviously the weekest member of either team, and have never really been built up properly by TNA. Now I'm not a particular fan of either man, but if TNA are going to have them around, they should at least have built them up with a few clean singles match victories. On the other side of the fence, Magnus was the one to take most of Aces and Eight's offence, which once again makes sense due to Magnus being the youngest man on his team, and allowed him to get the crowd behind well.

After the best use of Sting in month's as part of hot tag, the match began to break, and we returned to the mass brawl that we had seen earlier with bodies everywhere. Rampage Jackson also looked fairly good in his pro wrestling debut, granted all we really saw was a few clothesline and a body slam, but no one was expecting him to wrestle the whole match! The ending of the bout built up well with Sting looking to have match one with a Scorpion Deathlock on Knux, only for Devon to make the save. With Sting making a tag to AJ Styles, we got a glimpse Styles' trademark offence with springboards and strikes, but a lot of the time Styles looked awkward in the ring in exchanges with Devon and Mr. Anderson. With one last breakdown segment, Styles was able to hit Devon with a Styles Clash and pick up the pinfall victory for Main Event Mafia, retiring Devon in TNA. The ending was a little sloppy was saved by Bully Ray's reaction on the entrance ramp and Taz on commentary. Giving the Main Event Mafia the win makes sense here as it even the numbers between them and Aces and Eights, whilst also allowing Devon to move into D'Lo Brown's role backstage. I would suspect that this could very well be Devon's last match for TNA, and it's probably the right time for him to step away, his latest run with TNA hasn't been his best, but there is no denying he's had a great career spanning twenty one years and many of wrestling premier promotions.

World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray's 

Championship Celebration

Impact Wrestling kicked off this week with World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray on the phone, talking to his mystery woman, who we know is called Brooke about how they could reveal everything about them this week. Now, this idea was harmed by the announcement earlier in the week that Brooke Hogan had been released by TNA (Thank you, God), so we kind of knew that it wasn't going to be her. With Bully Ray hanging out with Tito Ortiz backstage they bumped into Vice President of the Aces and Eights, Mr. Anderson with some tension between Ray and Anderson being teased due to Ray not keeping Anderson in the loop. It was a nice seed planted for the inevitable turn of Anderson on Bully, and the two men played the moment pretty well, with Ortiz standing there like a plank.

With Ray and Ortiz heading to the ring later in the show, it was time for another great promo from Ray detailing his detailing the amount of times he'd shocked the fans, as well as burying Chris Sabin, adding another nail in the coffin of Sabin's awful World Heavyweight Championship reign. Ray handed the microphone to Ortiz and the segment quickly went down hill. With Ortiz talking about how he is going to beat Rampage Jackson in their Bellator fight in November, I still can't get my head around building an MMA fight using a wrestling storyline, people aren't stupid and it could very well end up turning MMA fans away from the fight. At this moment in time November seems a long for Impact Wrestling, when hopefully we'll see Ortiz and Jackson exit the company.

Luckily, Ray was quickly back on the mic to reveal another surprise this evening. Bully called out “Brooke” and of course Brooke Hogan's music played, and after sometime “Brooke” was to be revealed as...Brooke Tessmacher. I have to say I was shocked, I should have really seen it coming with the whole “Brooke” deal, especially with Hogan getting released, but I didn't. We haven't seen Tessmacher in four months, with her away filming for a reality TV series or something, and I'd even forgot she even worked for TNA anymore, with the flurry of releases we've seen recently I simply imagined she'd gone also. With Bully snogging the face off Tessmacher, which I think he enjoyed a lot more than her, with Ortiz once again looking on like a pervy plank, Ray finished the segment by declaring himself unstoppable with Ortiz and Tessmacher by his side, I foresee this playing a major part in the demise of Aces and Eights as we head towards Bound For Glory.

So Aces and Eight's lost one member in Devon, but gained two in Miss Tessmacher and Tito Ortiz in an interesting two weeks for the faction. It's good to see Tessmacher return for the Women's division in TNA and it will interesting to see if see becomes a factor in the title picture, but with the division looking heel heavy at the moment with ODB the only face they have, with Taryn Terrell and Velvet Sky out, it's difficult to see where a heel Tessmacher could fit in the division. As for Ortiz, I've made my feelings clear about him numerous times, he isn't likely to step in the ring anytime soon, his promos have been awful and he's taking the spot of an actual wrestler.

Best of the Rest (In The World)

Also this week on Impact Wrestling, we got the third of the special “Hardcore” themed Bound For Glory Series match, as Joseph Park, Hernandez, Jay Bradley and Christopher Daniels met in a Street Fight. Now the main story heading into this one was could Christopher Daniels pick up victory number three for his new faction, now named the Extraordinary Gentleman's Organisation, or EGO, as well as it being left open to whether Austin Aries would be joining the faction, with Aries saying he would deliver his answer later in the show, in a charismatic backstage interview. With three out of the four competitors currently proping up the Bound For Glory Series, I wasn't really expecting much from this one, with Hernandez and Jay Bradley especially looking like they were only there to make up the numbers.

What we got was actually a very entertaining bout that told a good story throughout. With an good dynamic between the four we saw Hernandez and Park teaming up to take down Daniels and Bradley with some nice double team offence, including Hernandez setting up Daniels and Bradley for a double avalanche in the corner. The match quickly broke down, with EGO attacking Joseph Park and then taking out Park's manager Eric Young when Young tried to help out. There was then some nice wrestling from Daniels and Hernandez, with Hernandez hitting Air Mexico out of nowhere for a big pop. With Daniels taking out Hernandez with an STO, Austin Aries made his presence felt making it look like he was joining EGO before hitting Daniels with a Brainbuster, to take Daniels out of the match and cement his face turn. There was then a good finishing section between Bradley and Park, with Bradley doing a good job of working over Park before hitting him with Brass Knuckles. Of course, Park saw blood, went crazy and picked up the pinfall victory after a Blackhole Slam. It was a nice twist on the Park character, and I'm actually starting to enjoy his role in TNA again, in no small part due to the wonderful Eric Young.

This wasn't the only EGO action of the night, as after they were interupted by World Tag Team Champions James Storm and Gunner, we got an inpromtu tag team battle with Bobby Roode and Kazarian representing EGO, with both teams competing in jeans. The majority of the match was pretty basic tag team action with Roode and Kazarian working over Gunner, before the World Tag Team Champion made an impressive comeback and looked really good, before tagging in James Storm. Storm certainly looks better than he did a few months ago and his time off has hopefully helped him recuperate any injuries that he had. With Storm on a roll we headed for the finish, with Kazarian attempting to hit Storm with the title belt, only to get a Last Call Superkick from Storm, however with the referee Earl Hebner distracted, Roode hit a low blow and rolled up Storm for the pinfall victory for EGO. I enjoyed the finish of the match, it was clever and presented the new faction well, even if the World Tag Team Champions lost.

There was also Women's action on the show, with ODB facing off against Gail Kim, in a good women's contest. ODB continues to prove that moving her into the role of a referee was ridiculous, as her talent lies when competing in that ring! Kim and ODB have a lot of chemistry in the ring, and they've wrestled multiple times for TNA, and with both spending time in control of the match we got to see a lot of what both can do, when given the time to perform. The ending saw ODB on roll, and about to hit BAM, only for Kim to slip down and use a Crucifix roll up to get the pinfall victory. There was a slight botch in the finish, in an otherwise sound match, which was a shame. This was essentially to give Gail Kim a victory over ODB, after ODB got the win in the triple threat last week. Whilst TNA's remaining women are incredibly talented, with ODB, Gail Kim and Knockout's Champion Mickie James typifying that, they really need to sign up some new talent to give the division some depth.

There was also X Division action with X Division Champion Manik taking on Sonjay Dutt. Yes, the X Division is back to regular matches rather than three ways, TNA really didn't give the three way concept much of a chance, but this is probably the right decision to make. The match was a great way to showcase the X Division with both Manik and Dutt using a number of highflying and creative moves throughout. However, it was harmer by a number of things, firstly Manik and Dutt both locking in the same submission hold, similar to AJ Lee's Black Widow, which looks so good it shouldn't just be used randomly, as well as the lack of any face/heel dynamic meaning the crowd didn't really know what to do. The finish saw Manik hold onto Dutt's hurracanrana attempt, and setting up for a Detonation Kick, before picking up the pinfall victory with a Elevated Double Chickenwing dropped into a Double Knee Gutbuster (that needs a name!). I liked the finish it was quick and exciting, a real good advertisment for the X Division, but it should have finished with the Detonation Kick.  

Finally...

What did I learn from Impact Wrestling this week?

1. AJ Styles' run as the Lone Wolf is done, and it was the best move TNA could have done under the circumstances.

2. The seeds for the demise of Aces and Eights could very well have been sown in this episode.

3. I'm going to go ahead and say it, I like Taz on commentary! 

TNA Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice Part One Review

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)