10 Reunion
Date: August 2, 2013
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

It’s a non-PPV month which means it’s time for another One Night Only. The theme this time is a celebration of the first ten years of the company, presumably because 10 Reunion sounds better than 11 Reunion. In other words, it’s more of the same idea but with regular matches instead of anything themed. Let’s get to it.

The opening video shows a few clips from the early days then jumps ahead four years to Angle debuting. Now it’s 2010 with Hogan debuting and the Band walking out. We get Angle headbutting Joe and various things happening to Abyss, plus the XXX vs. AMW cage match (Elix Skipper continues to amaze me) and various other moments.

We get a music video, set to a song about taking it higher and higher, of highlights from the X-Division with a focus on the old weekly PPV days. Nice stuff here.

Kenny King vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Petey Williams

It’s not enough that I have to watch these things on Impact but now I have to be bored by them on the PPVs too. Oh joy. It would seem more appropriate to have Dutt vs. Williams here as King wasn’t around for much of the first ten years, if any at all. Also spare telling me that he was around in 2006. Anyway Petey seems to be the crowd favorite here but both guys send him down in the corner. Sonjay sends King to the floor but Petey grabs him in a wristlock.

Off to some Rings of Saturn into a rollup for two on Dutt but now King is back in. Both Dutt and Kenny are put in 619 position but King gets up before taking a dropkick to the back. Sonjay hits a running forearm to Sonjay in the corner and bulldogs him down onto King for two. Kenny takes both guys down and sends Dutt to the floor. A legdrop crushes Williams for two and Dutt is dropkicked back to the floor. Off to a crossface chickenwing on Petey but King is no Bob Backlund so Petey fires off some elbows to escape.

Petey comes back with some chops but Sonjay has to come back in to break up the Royal Flush. Sonjay shoves Williams down to avoid a superplex but King crotches Dutt on the top. King is clotheslined to the floor and Williams snaps off a slingshot hurricanrana. Back in and Dutt hits a quick hurricanrana on Williams but King comes in to put Dutt down with snake eyes. We hit the chinlock on Sonjay followed by a running knee to the ribs for two. Williams comes back in to drop both guys but gets caught in a Sonjay small package for another near fall.

King and Williams are sent to the floor and Sonjay hits a big dive to take both of them out. Dutt seems to be the only one the fans like but King whips him into the barricade to take over again. Petey and Kenny get back in with Williams hitting the slingshot Codebreaker for two. Taz says Petey looks like Peter Boyle (“Not that Peter Boyle!” Thank goodness Taz is back….I guess.) as Dutt breaks up the Canadian Destroyer on King.

A slingshot legdrop to the back of Petey’s head gets two for Sonjay but Kenny kicks Dutt in the back of the head. Sonjay breaks up another Destroyer attempt and dropkicks both guys down but misses the moonsault double stomp. The Destroyer connects on Sonjay but King comes in with the Royal Flush on Petey for the pin.

Rating: C-. It wasn’t bad but MAN this went too long. It was obvious that King was winning as he’s the only guy currently on the active roster and Heaven forbid we don’t want the reunion show to be about the past right? This match wasn’t bad but it didn’t need to run over twelve minutes like it did here. That’s too long for a spot fest with no story.

We’re going to be counting down the Top Ten moments in TNA history from Slammiversary in 2012.

10 is Jarrett vs. Raven with Sabu debuting to prevent Jarrett from winning the title. That doesn’t sound like a top ten moment to me.

9. Hulk Hogan debuts and won’t rejoin the Band.

Video on Gail Kim, including her beating Awesome Kong for the first Knockouts title in a good match. We also get a video on Velvet Sky, talking about her being bullied as teenager. I still have a BIG problem believing that an athletic chick who looks like that was bullied a lot in high school. These two traded the title a few times and tonight it’s a grudge match.

Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky

Tenay can’t convince Taz to say let the pigeons loose again. They get into a hip shaking contest to start until Velvet dropkicks her out to the floor. Back in and another dropkick puts Gail down for two and a bulldog gets the same. Velvet pounds away in the corner but is dropped face first on the buckle to change momentum. A clothesline gets two for Kim as Taz accuses the referee of cheating.

Velvet comes back with forearms of her own and Gail waves at Taz for no apparent reason. Gail takes Velvet down as Taz compares Velvet to the Berzerker John Nord. Velvet’s knee is bent around Gail’s neck as Taz makes jokes about the referee selling illegal DVDs. Velvet makes her comeback with some clotheslines and a headscissors followed by a bad spear for two. Eat Defeat is countered into In Yo Face to give Velvet the pin.

Rating: D+. The match was ok and it’s nice to see two girls who were actually important to TNA over the years, but you expect more from a ten year reunion show match. The same is true of the opener. That’s the best we’re going to get to celebrate the signature divisions of the company? The match wasn’t bad but it’s nothing memorable at all.

8. Kurt Angle moonsaults Mr. Anderson at Lockdown, mostly missing.

7. Joe vs. Daniels vs. AJ in the Unbreakable three way. That should be higher up. Like WAY higher up.

We’re also getting the intro on each individual moment which is a waste of time. Gee I wonder why they’re doing that.

Joseph Park says his time here has been unbelievable. He’s reached the bar he set for himself and is proud to have beaten Joey Ryan. He’s only been here for a year but his brother Chris (You know, Abyss?) was here for over seven years. Tonight, Joseph will take his place in the gauntlet match and who knows what’s going to happen. Maybe at TNA 20 Park can be the star.

Gauntlet Battle Royal

Man TNA LOVES them some gauntlet matches. Basically this is a catch all mini Royal Rumble. Johnny Devine is #1 and Shark Boy is #2. Devine takes him down and pounds away with stomps to the ribs. After that, Devine stomps away even more before trying a double jump moonsault and TOTALLY botching it, falling off the middle rope onto the back of his head a good two feet from Shark Boy. Sharky throws him out to end Devine’s embarrassment.

Chase Stevens of the Naturals is #3 and is still as generic as ever. He pounds on Sharky for awhile until Shark Boy comes back with a Thesz Press. He’s a Stone Cold ripoff remember. Cassidy Riley, a former Raven tribute character, is #4. Seriously, these are the best guys you could find? Riley mostly misses a Lionsault on Shark Boy and covers like the nitwit that he is. Stevens and Riley are both guys in trunks with nothing distinguishing about them, making this match feel even more dull. They double team Shark Boy down and yell at the crowd, who likely doesn’t know who they are.

Here’s Robbie E at #5 because we don’t have enough heels in there already. Stevens and Riley double team him as well before pairing off with the comedy guys. Sharky hits a Dead Sea Drop on Stevens but Robbie knocks them all down and stomps around in a circle. Jesse Godderz is #5 and I groan out loud.

At this point it’s very clear that these themes mean absolutely nothing and that these matches are taking place to fill in time on a PPV they know people aren’t going to buy. TNA may not be the biggest promotion of all time, but there’s an actual history to them that they could present a good show from. To throw out a few no names like Riley and Stevens along with some comedy jobbers isn’t a tribute. It’s a way to con TNA fans out of a few bucks and fill in time on a show so you can’t be accused of flat out lying.

Anyway, Jesse and Robbie yell at each other long enough to have Riley and Stevens jump them from behind. Taz talks about the Heavenly Bodies for no apparent reason as Bromance eliminates Riley. Here’s Matt Morgan at #7 in perhaps his last TNA appearance. He immediately puts out Stevens but Bromance tries to double team him. Shark Boy bites Jesse and Morgan eliminates both Jesse and Robbie to get us down to two. Shark Boy can’t hurt Matt and gets lifted in the air in a choke as Mr. Anderson is #8.

Morgan knocks Shark Boy into the corner as Anderson offers a truce with the big man. Shark Boy hangs on in an elimination attempt but Anderson stomps him down onto the apron. Morgan finally turns on Anderson and chokes him in the corner until Johnny Swinger is #9. He fires away at the stars until Anderson takes over on him and the match slows down AGAIN.

Joseph Park is #10 to give us a final group of Park, Morgan, Sharky, Swinger and Anderson. Joseph fires away on everyone not named Shark Boy until Anderson pokes him in the eye. Swinger and Anderson team up to try to eliminate Park but Anderson dumps Swinger. Morgan kicks Sharky out and we’re down to the three biggest names. Park is double teamed but Morgan doesn’t want Anderson helping him.

Anderson charges at Park but gets low bridged to the floor. As usual Park is shocked that it worked and walks into a discus lariat from Morgan. Matt tries to throw him out in the corner but Park punches his way out. The Carbon Footprint misses and Morgan crotches himself on the ropes. Park pounds away and runs Morgan over with a shoulder block. There’s the middle rope splash and apparently you win by pinfall in the final two. Morgan kicks out and hits the Carbon Footprint for the pin.

Rating: D-. This match felt like it was about three days long and the ending was nothing of note. Again, there were ten people in this match and most of them were either jobbers or comedy guys plus Anderson and Morgan. This is probably going to be the longest match of the night and it was ridiculously boring. This show has been terribly uninteresting so far and we’re just over an hour into it.

6. Hogan loses to Sting at Bound For Glory 2011 and turns face. It was so nice of him to put over that young Sting kid.

Bad Influence is ready for Team 3D and LAX. Kaz says Team 3D was a great team and LAX is an airport. Team 3D split up and clearly aren’t best friends like Bad Influence so they clearly won’t win. Daniels says they’re the present of tag team wrestling and west coast boogeymen. Good stuff here as always.

Video on the tag team division over the years.

Team 3D vs. LAX vs. Bad Influence

Now THIS is more like it. Team 3D and LAX at least are famous tag teams and Bad Influence has been around for a long time in the company. We start with Homicide vs. Bully, who won the world title about a week before this was filmed. Bully pounds him down with ease but Homicide comes back with right hands to the jaw. Kaz tags himself in to work on Homicide and it’s a feeling out process.

Homicide takes him down but Kaz nips up, only to be taken into the LAX corner. It’s off to Hernandez for a front suplex before it’s right back to Homicide who gets popped in the jaw by Daniels. Hernandez gets the tag and helps Homicide with some double teaming followed by an overhead choke throw from SuperMex. Kaz finally starts cheating by tripping up Hernandez to give Daniels a breather. It’s off to Kazarian who gets two via an elbow drop to Hernandez before bringing Daniels back for a countered double suplex on SuperMex.

Bully punches the now legal Homicide from the apron but we stick with LAX vs. Bad Influence. Daniels drives Homicide down with two feet to the chest for two before offering either Dudley a tag. Homicide gets in a shot to Chris’ ribs and D-Von tags himself in. A headbutt gets two on Homicide and it’s off to Bully for a big elbow. D-Von comes back in for a nerve hold and a clothesline followed by a Spinarooni of all things.

A release Rock Bottom gets two on Homicide and it’s off to Kaz. Homicide ducks a clothesline and it’s FINALLY off to Hernandez to clean house. In an impressive power display, Hernandez puts Kaz and Daniels on his shoulders at the same time for a kneeling backbreaker. That guy is scary strong. Everything breaks down and Hernandez dives over the top rope to take out Kaz and D-Von. Homicide hits the Gringo Cutter to Daniels from the top but a blind tag brings in D-Von for the 3D on Homicide and the pin.

Rating: C+. This was MUCH better than the rest of the show so far as it actually had some interesting teams in there. The earlier matches have been ok but the people in them haven’t sparked any interest. You had to have Team 3D win here given their current status so I have few issues here. The show needed a match like this to save it from the spiral it was caught in.

5. Christian comes to TNA.

4. Kurt Angle comes to TNA and gets in a fight with TNA’s top guy Samoa Joe. That should be MUCH higher.

Austin Aries can’t believe he has to face Jeff Hardy. He was hoping to fight someone more exciting as he’s already fought Jeff Hardy over and over. The problem is he’s never beaten Jeff Hardy. The stakes aren’t all that high here though as it’s just a regular match with no ladders. We’re in the dump of an Impact Zone with all of Hardy’s Creatures of the Night, so of course Hardy is the favorite.

We get a hype video for Bound For Glory 2012 with Hardy vs. Aries to set this up. This doesn’t really work as the video is about Aries saying Hardy isn’t great until he beats Aries, which he did at BFG. We also get clips of Aries winning the title, losing it to Hardy and losing the rematch at Turning Point.

Austin Aries vs. Jeff Hardy

They throw a t-shirt around to start and the fans are completely behind Hardy. Aries scores first with an armdrag and lays out on the turnbuckle. Hardy jumps over him in the corner and drop toeholds Aries into the corner. Austin wants a DQ for some reason but has to settle for jumping over Hardy in the corner, only to be caught in another drop toehold. Hardy drop toeholds him down for a third time and Aries takes a breather on the floor. Make that he’s walking out before charging back in, only to be sent right back to the floor.

Hardy follows up with a running clothesline off the apron but Aries grabs the referee to block a Swanton Bomb. Jeff is crotched on top for two and Aries finally gets to go on offense. We hit an armbar because that’s little more than a rest hold anymore. A jumping elbow gets two for Aries and another from the middle rope gets two more. Aries pounds away in the corner but Jeff fires off right hands of his own, only to miss a charge in the corner.

Aries goes to the middle rope and does Jeff’s dance but a splash only hits knees. Hardy wins another quite slugout and clotheslines Aries down. A basement dropkick puts Aries down for two but he backdrops out of a piledriver. Now Hardy’s middle rope splash hits for two of his own but Aries counters a headscissors to crotch him on the top rope. The brainbuster gets two and Aries is shocked. He heads up top but Hardy rolls away from the 450 and grabs a small package for the quick pin on Aries.

Rating: B. Now THIS is more like it. This was a very good match with both guys working hard to fire up the crowd. Hardy is a big deal in TNA’s history and Aries is…..kind of I guess. Then again I stopped caring about the whole ten year thing an hour ago. Good match here as this show is suddenly on the right track.

3. AJ Styles beats Jerry Lynn twice in a row to become the first X-Division Champion.

2. Hulk Hogan signs with TNA.

Video on James Storm vs. Bobby Roode over the years. I think this is borrowed from the build to Lockdown. This even gets a music video, complete with video from Bound For Glory with the King Mo nonsense.

Bobby Roode vs. James Storm

Feeling out process to start with Storm taking him into the corner for a clean break. They trade hammerlocks before Storm runs Roode over with a shoulder. Storm takes him down with a backdrop but Roode bails to the floor to avoid the Last Call. Back in and Roode sends him over the top but Storm skins the cat and throws Roode to the floor. James hits Roode in the head with a water bottle but gets his throat snapped across the top rope to change control.

Bobby stomps away back in the ring and drops a knee for two before hooking a chinlock. A middle rope blockbuster gets two for Roode and he’s getting frustrated. Roode suplexes Storm down and puts on another chinlock. Storm fights up but gets caught in a sleeper to put him right back down. The arm only falls twice and the comeback is on with Storm suplexing his way out of the hold.

Storm wins a slugout and hits some clotheslines to take over. The corner enziguri and a running neckbreaker gets two for Storm and a top rope hurricanrana gets the same. Back up and Roode hits the big spinebuster for two but the fisherman’s suplex is countered into Closing Time. Roode grabs the rope and blocks a Codebreaker, allowing for a rollup with feet on the ropes to pin Storm.

Rating: B-. This was good stuff for the most part but of course Storm loses again. That’s really all he knows how to do in a big match situation, especially against Roode. It’s a solid match with a solid backstory but it’s not the best match in the world. The problem here is the hatred is gone so it’s almost a nostalgia match at this point.

1. Sting returns in 2006. Just….no. It’s a moment but Angle jumping should have been #1, especially considering that this wasn’t even Sting’s first time in TNA.

Speaking of nostalgia, Samoa Joe is ready to beat Kurt Angle and he wants to do it by knockout.

We recap Angle vs. Joe. Angle debuted in 2006 and challenged the undefeated Samoa Joe to his first match. Joe lost at Genesis, setting up another two matches with Angle winning 2-1. Joe would beat Angle at Lockdown 2008 for the world title so tonight is kind of a rubber match. There was another match at Hard Justice 07 but no one remembers that so we won’t count it.

Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle

We even get big match intros for this one. Joe grabs a wristlock to start but Angle counters into a hammerlock. We keep going with the basic feeling out stuff until a shoulder block sends Angle out to the floor. Back in and another shoulder puts Angle on the outside again. Kurt is sent face first into the steps but gets in an elbow to the back as Joe comes back in. This is pretty slow paced stuff so far.

Joe hits a running kick to the chest to put Angle down and there’s the enziguri in the corner for two. A hard kick to Angle’s chest and a knee drop get two more but Angle snaps off the belly to belly to take over. Off to the chinlock for a LONG time until Joe fights up, only to be taken right back down into the chinlock. Joe fights up again and hits a running boot to the chest to put Angle down.

The running backsplash gets two on Angle but he pops up and rolls the Germans. Joe escapes the third with another enziguri but a missed charge in the corner sets up the Angle Slam for two. There’s the ankle lock but Joe rolls through to send Angle face first into the buckle. Angle escapes the MuscleBuster into the ankle lock but Joe pulls him forward into the Koquina Clutch. Angle grabs the leg and puts the ankle lock on for the third time but Joe kicks away and tries the choke but Angle gets underneath the fat man for the Slam and the pin.

Rating: C+. The match was entertaining enough but the spark wasn’t here for this match. Much like the Roode vs. Storm match there’s no real reason for these two to be fighting other than they did before. The submission stuff at the end was good but the rest of the match really didn’t do much of note at all.

A LONG highlight video (as in like 5 minutes) ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show isn’t bad but the first hour SUCKED. It had me wanting to turn this off and forget about it for a few hours but then the three way tag team match started up and things got WAY better in a hurry. At the same time though, this whole show depends on how you look at it.

If you’re looking for a reunion and the return of a lot of former stars then this is a complete failure. How many people returned here? Homicide, Shark Boy, Swinger, Devine, Stevens, Riley, and arguably Dutt and Williams? So if you stretch, eight people? The biggest name being…..Homicide? Or is it Shark Boy? This felt more like a two year reunion as we repeated some matches from a few years ago and little more. The show (first hour aside) is entertaining but it misses the point it was shooting for by miles.

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This makes sense when you think about it.I’m 25 years old, meaning I grew up watching Hulk Hogan in the WWF and later in WCW as Hollywood Hogan.  Hogan retired from full time competition when I was about 15 years old.

Now let’s flash back to my childhood and a few years before.  The voice of the WWF was Gorilla Monsoon, a play by play announcer who would later become Commissioner.  Monsoon had been a wrestler in the 70s but retired in 1981, several years before I was born.  I never saw Monsoon wrestle and to the best of my knowledge his last match was in 1987 in an old timers battle royal.

This brings us to modern TNA.  Hulk Hogan is now retired and the GM of Impact.  He’s wrestled two matches in TNA but is far from an active competitor.  As mentioned, Hogan last wrestled in 2003 and to call him a regular back then is a stretch.  For all intents and purposes, Hogan’s last full year as an active wrestler was in 1999.

Therefore, unless you’re about 17 or older, you probably don’t remember Hogan as an active wrestler.  I’m sure you’ve heard of him and know who he is, but there’s no direct connection to him.  Growing up, I knew who Monsoon was and that he used to be a wrestler but I knew nothing about his career other than a few Coliseum Video matches.  In other words, Monsoon was an old guy who used to be a wrestler apparently.

For younger fans, that’s what Hulk Hogan is in TNA.  He’s like Jack Brisco or Dory Funk Jr. to someone my age.  I know of their work and I respect what they did, but there’s nothing that ties me to them, much like younger fans with Hogan today.

Yet in TNA, Hogan is the focal point of the show a lot of the time.  The portion of the audience that has a connection to him as a wrestler is shrinking and the portion of the audience that knows him as that guy who used to wrestle is growing.  To them, Hogan is a guy they’ve never seen wrestle other than on DVD.

And they wonder why their audience barely grows.

It’s another DWI, his fourth alcohol related incident in six years.  Can TNA have ANY good news?

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 1, 2013
Location: Kay Yeager Coliseum, Wichita, Texas
Commentators: Jeremy Borash, Mike Tenay

It’s another live show tonight with two major stories. First of all we have champion vs. champion with Chris Sabin facing Manik in a non-title match. TNA is still in their annual “We love the X-Division! Seriously we do!” stage so Manik is still a focal point for awhile. The other big news tonight is the reveal of the August 1 mystery man who was announced about five days ago. That’s TNA for you: announce something after the TV show and rely on Twitter and Facebook to carry the story instead of, you know, your national television broadcast. Let’s get to it.

Security won’t let Taz in the arena so he’s making a phone call.

After the recap we get another video from the mystery man. He says he’ll inflict pain and we won’t know how. It’s going to shock us and we’ve been warned.

Here’s Austin Aries to open the show. He’s cut off by an appreciative chant from the crowd. Aries talks about how a lot of stuff is going on in TNA but it all revolves around the World Heavyweight Championship……and my screen froze. It comes back with Aries talking about winning the BFG Series and coming for Sabin’s title. Tonight the people get a treat (video goes out for a second) that they voted for: AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries. And now it’s frozen again.

Back with him listing off everyone in the company who wants to see that match. Aries says he’ll be leading Impact Wrestling into the future and if anyone takes issue with that, come see him right here. This brings out Bobby Roode who wants to talk about nightmares. He’s been living a nightmare since the day he lost the world title. It’s been a bad year for Bobby Roode because everyone has forgotten what he’s capable of doing in this ring. Bobby lists off his catchphrases and says tonight it pays to be Roode. Aries wants Roode to get his mojo back so he can beat him in the BFG Series finals.

Bound For Glory Series: Hernandez vs. Bobby Roode

Roode jumps Hernandez on the ramp and we take a quick break before the bell. Back from a break with Roode elbowing Hernandez down for two and the spinebuster gets the same. Roode sends him into the steps before going back inside for another near fall. A running clothesline puts Hernandez down in the corner but he backflips to the top for a missed top rope splash.

Roode hooks the Crossface but Hernandez pulls himself up and suplexes Roode down to escape. SuperMex throws Roode off and hits the shoulder block from the ramp. Roode escapes the Border Toss and lands on the referee, allowing for a low blow on Hernandez. That’s only good for two and Roode throws in some chairs which are thrown out pretty quickly. Roode uses the distraction to smash Hernandez in the head with a beer bottle for the pin at 5:48 shown.

Rating: D+. This didn’t do much for me but Roode’s story continues to be interesting. It would be nice to see a crazy do anything to win heel and it would give Roode some character for a change. The match wasn’t much to see though as Hernandez continues to be nothing special outside of a few moves.

The Mafia says they’re going to give Aces and 8’s an offer they can’t refuse.

ODB is back in the ring tonight but Eric Young can’t be there. He finds Joseph Park and explains the idea of Park losing his mind when he bleeds. Eric has a solution in a bag for him.

Sabin goes in to see Manik who has his mask off and his back to the camera. Manik says he’s turned the mask into the face of the division which is something Sabin can respect. Sabin wants him to bring his best tonight and Manik says absolutely.

A white Hummer arrives.

Bound For Glory Series: Jay Bradley vs. Joseph Park

Park is going to be wrestling in headgear like an amateur boxer. Bradley jumps him from behind but ramming him into the buckle has no effect. An elbow to the jaw puts Park down and a knee drop gets two as Eric Young plays cheerleader. Bradley takes him down again and wants to take the headgear off but Park comes back and knocks Bradley down a few times.

Park blocks a kick and puts on a Boston crab of all things but Jay makes the ropes. Park runs into another kick in the corner and a bad looking backbreaker puts him down again. Now the headgear is off but the Boomstick is countered into a Samoan drop to give Park seven points at 5:24.

Rating: D-. Well the headgear did nothing, the match was sloppy, and it gets Eric Young back on TV. What exactly was good about this match again? Park is fine in his role but it’s kind of hit a roadblock unless they’re going to go with the lawyer character full time, which seems to be the case.

Sting goes a little psycho about Bully Ray not being champion. They’re only halfway home though and someone might have to make a sacrifice to get rid of Aces and 8’s. Rampage wants to fight.

Manik vs. Chris Sabin

Non-title all around. Sabin takes him down to the mat in a test of strength grip and they flip around the ring a bit without breaking the hold. A headscissors sends Sabin into a cartwheel and we have a standoff. Back with Manik spinning Sabin around and driving him down into a quickly broken armbar. Sabin takes it to the floor and drops Manik face first onto the apron before going back inside.

Back in and Sabin drops him with a suplex and puts on a chinlock. Sabin’s surfboard is quickly broken and Manik snaps off a hurricanrana and a springboard kick to the side of the head. A springboard missile dropkick gets two and a sitout powerbomb gets the same. The masked man goes up and gets crotched followed by a delayed superplex from the world champion for two. They slug it out with Manik taking over but getting caught by a boot to the face. Hail Sabin is countered but Sabin gets an ugly rollup for two. A low superkick staggers Manik and Hail Sabin is good for the pin at 11:56.

Rating: C. This had some decent action but it felt like any given champion vs. champion match in the WWE. Thankfully that’s not something that’s been driven into the ground here in TNA but the match didn’t mean much given that they’ve had their titles for less than a month combined. Sabin still doesn’t feel like a world champion.

Post match here’s Bully Ray to beat up Sabin but as he turns his attention to Manik, Sabin comes back and beats Bully Ray out of the ring.

We look at the Hummer again but Taz comes into the camera shot and says he’s going to reveal August 1. He opens the door and says you’ve got to be kidding me in a sarcastic voice. The camera looks in to show another August 1 video.

Daniels and Kaz think it’s ridiculous for them to have a match in the BFG Series next week. Daniels mentions that Kaz is 0-3 and Kaz gets annoyed, saying don’t pity him and pouring out the appletini.

ODB vs. Gail Kim

ODB chases her around to start and splashes her against the ropes on the ramp. She puts Gail on the ropes for some Sheamus forearms to the chest for two. Gail avoids a charge in the corner and chokes away with a boot. A running dropkick gets two and the running cross body in the corner gets the same on ODB. Gail misses another charge in the corner and ODB hits some shoulder blocks to set up the fallaway slam. A powerslam gets two on Kim but she tries the figure four around the post. ODB sends her face first into the post to escape but Gail sends her into the steps and it’s a double countout at 6:14.

Rating: D. There are six minutes of my life I’ll never get back. ODB not being in the ring was kind of nice because I had forgotten how worthless she was. With such a small division they have to build up a single feud at a time and that’s not enough to sustain much of anything. I’m sure we’ll get a Hardcore Justice match out of this.

They brawl a lot after the bell.

AJ Styles says he’s tired of hearing about dream matches because there’s no room for dreams in this world, just like heroes.

Bully Ray rants to the Aces about taking care of the Mafia. Ray goes to leave and finds Brooke waiting on him. She messes with his vest and flicks his hat. Brooke has heard some things about the contract for the rematch with Sabin and if Ray wants to be happy, he needs to divorce her. Ok then.

Bound For Glory Series: Austin Aries vs. AJ Styles

Feeling out process to start with AJ grabbing a headlock before they botch a leapfrog spot by colliding. Aries bails to the floor to reset a bit before coming back in and escaping a wristlock. AJ can’t hook the Calf Killer as Aries counters into a rollup for two. Styles misses a baseball slide to the floor and Austin hits a top rope ax handle to take over. Aries goes up top but gets dropkicked back out to the floor and AJ hits a sweet slingshot dive as we take a break.

Back with AJ dropping a knee for two and sending Aries to the floor in a painful looking fall. Back in and Styles cranks on the head but Aries gets an elbow up in the corner to stop AJ’s momentum. A backslide gets two for Aries but AJ backdrops him to the apron. Austin hits a neckbreaker onto the middle rope to take over again and follows up with the corner dropkick.

AJ blocks a suplex and lands on top but Aries pounds away. A neckbreaker out of the corner gets two for AJ but the springboard 450 only hits canvas. Aries hooks the Last Chancery but Styles rakes the face to escape. There’s the Calf Killer but Aries goes to the eyes to escape as well. The brainbuster connects but AJ actually kicks out at two. Aries’ 450 hits knees and both guys are down.

They head to the ramp with Aries loading up a brainbuster but having AJ escape into a Styles Clash attempt. Aries backdrops him to the floor but misses a suicide dive. They tease the countout but get back in to slug it out yet again. Aries snaps off a quick suplex but AJ hits the Pele and collapses. Aries falls on top of him for the pin at 17:48.

Rating: B. Other than the clock going longer than it was supposed to and the badly screwed up ending (Aries was supposed to pop a shoulder up at the end but he was barely covered), this was an excellent match. They were letting it all hang out in there and the match looked great as a result. AJ’s character of “I’ll be awesome for money and money alone” is starting to click and Aries is getting more and more face like every day. Good stuff here.

Here’s the Mafia to make their offer to Aces and 8’s. Before they say anything here are the Aces to say they can fight just as dirty as the Mafia. Angle offers a five on five match at Hardcore Justice with the losing wrestler leaving TNA forever. That’s not a negotiation and the fight is on. The Mafia clears the ring with ease and Anderson says the match is on.

The lights go out and here’s MMA fighter Tito Ortiz as the big reveal to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked tonight’s show for the most part although there were some flaws. To begin with we had the reveal which doesn’t work for me as I don’t care for MMA for the most part, but if TNA would rather co-promote instead of build up their wrestlers who can barely get TV time so be it. Aries vs. Styles was great and the offer to the Aces was a fine idea. Good show here, flaws aside.

Results

Bobby Roode b. Hernandez – Beer bottle to the head

Joseph Park b. Jay Bradley – Samoan Drop

Chris Sabin b. Manik – Hail Sabin

ODB vs. Gail Kim went to a double countout

Austin Aries b. AJ Styles – Aries fell on Styles after a Pele Kick

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 25, 2013
Location: Broadbent Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash

We’re still in Louisville and the main question tonight is where do we go from here. We’ve got Chris Sabin as the new world champion and we’ve got Bully Ray along with Aces and 8’s who are in a state of panic now. Other than that we have the Ultimate X match for the vacant X Division Title. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week with less of a focus on the world title than you would expect.

Here’s the Main Event Mafia to open things up. Sting calls last week the best night he’s ever had in wrestling because he got to see Ray lose the title. Angle says they’re here for a celebration instead of a fight, because they’ve accomplished one of their two goals. Angle introduces the new world champion who says he now has what everyone wants. Tonight there’s going to be an Ultimate X match for the vacant X Division Title and Sabin wants to face the winner next week.

This brings out Bully Ray with a man in a suit. Ray says this is his attorney and if Sabin doesn’t return the title to Bully Ray, the attorney is going to take TNA down. The attorney is played by OVW TV commentator Dean Hill. Sabin has until the end of the show to return the title to Bully or else.

Video on Greg Marisculo.

Hulk won’t comment on the threat of a lawsuit.

Video on Manik with his mask off.

X-Division Title: Manik vs. Greg Marasciulo vs. Sonjay Dutt

This is Ultimate X where you have to pull down the title to win. Manik backdrops Greg to the ramp and hits a quick dive to take him out but Sonjay takes Manik down a second later. Everyone heads to the floor and Manik is slammed onto the ramp but Greg has to go back in to stop Sonjay from climbing. Sonjay hits a combination Downward Spiral/DDT on both guys but can’t climb up because Manik is waiting on him. Greg takes both guys down but also has to take Manik down, allowing Manik to springboard into a wrist drag/headscissors combo to take everyone down.

Back from a break with Greg hitting the over the back piledriver on Manik on the ramp to knock him out, but possibly injuring his own knee in the process. Greg goes for the belt but Sonjay comes back in to make the save. They slug it out and kick each other in the face to put both guys down.

The referees are checking on Manik who is just starting to stir. Greg and Sonjay climb the structure and crawl on top to slug it out even more. They trade suplex attempts up there and Greg slips through so that his feet are on the wire. Manik uses the opportunity to go for the belt. Greg can’t make the save and Manik wins the title at 14:03.

Rating: C. Well that happened. Seriously that’s about all I’ve got to say here. Manik is a guy we’ve been introduced to in the last few weeks and now we’re supposed to get behind him as champion. The match was nothing special without any major high spots other than the tease on top of the structure. Not much to see here.

Ray (with a BIG bandage on his head) tells Anderson to go win the BFG Series.

Bound For Glory Series: Hernandez vs. Mr. Anderson

Anderson can’t run Hernandez over so he punches SuperMex in the head. A big shoulder puts Anderson down and a suplex gets two for Hernandez. Anderson comes back by slamming Hernandez off the top and works the arm a bit. Hernandez is sent to the apron but catches Anderson with a slingshot shoulder to take over again. A corner splash sets up the over the shoulder backbreaker for two but the ramp running dive misses, allowing Anderson to hit the Mic Check for the pin at 5:00.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but Anderson getting the clean win was the right call. Hernandez isn’t winning the Series and is just there to give heels victories over an intimidating face. Thankfully they kept this short as Hernandez has no business being near a long match at all.

Dixie has nothing to say about the lawsuit.

Eric Young shows Joseph Park a video of him going into Abyss mode during the Hardy match. Park has no memory of this but Young says he’ll investigate.

Here’s Velvet Sky to say her mistake was trusting Mickie James. She’s going to start playing things a lot closer to the vest and that starts with watching the match from ringside.

Knockouts Title: Gail Kim vs. Mickie James

Feeling out process to start with Mickie kicking away in the corner but getting dropkicked down for two. The running cross body to the ribs in the corner has Mickie in trouble but she kicks Gail off the apron to get a breather. Gail tries to pull Mickie into the Figure Four around the post but Mickie kicks her away and hits the Thesz Press off the apron.

Back in and a flapjack puts Gail down but she still tries the spinning octopus hold. Neither girl can hook a leg lock and Gail http://onhealthy.net/product-category/blood-pressure/ gets caught trying to cheat on a rollup. Mickie is sent to the floor as Gail and ODB get in an argument in the ring. Gail slaps ODB and the distraction lets Mickie roll Kim up for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but I don’t think anyone expected Kim to be a real threat to the title. The ending sets up a non-title feud and I guess we’re getting Mickie vs. Velvet already again, because we only have six girls in the entire division, one of which is Tessmacher who hasn’t wrestled since like April.

Brooke Hogan comes out to make ODB vs. Gail, presumably for next week.

Dixie and Hogan debate the lawsuit.

Bound For Glory Series: Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels

Tenay says Daniels has never beaten Joe one on one, which is true as far as I remember. Joe pounds him down to start and hits the Facewash in the corner but gets sent throat first into the ropes. A clothesline puts Joe down and Daniels hooks a headscissors to choke on the ropes. We hit the chinlock for a few seconds but Joe fights up and hits his big boot to the chest and the backsplash for two.

A powerslam gets two more but Daniels comes back with the palm thrusts. Daniels charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner but Mr. Anderson of all people comes out for a distraction. Two straight BME’s (the first one was like a moonsault clothesline) are enough for the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C-. Not bad here and the ending was fine. Anderson wasn’t helping Daniels as much as he was screwing over Joe which the announcers emphasized a lot. Daniels doesn’t fit Aces and 8’s so thankfully we don’t have to deal with someone defecting over to the bikers. Also I’m glad the first moonsault didn’t get the win as it looked horrible.

Sting and Angle talk about the lawsuit and agree Ray needs to be kept isolated.

You can pick from three sets of BFG matches to see over the next two weeks. That’s a cool idea.

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy

AJ hits a few shoulder blocks to start but Jeff takes it into the corner for the slingshot dropkick. Back with AJ kicking Hardy into the announce table before going back inside for a chinlock. Styles throws him back to the floor and slams him on the mat before putting the chinlock back on. Jeff fights up and hits a falling powerbomb to put both guys down. Back up and AJ hits his drop down/dropkick sequence for the first time in months.

Jeff comes back with a World’s Strongest Slam and a middle rope splash for two but walks into a release German suplex into the corner. The Whisper in the Wind gets two for Hardy but he walks into the Pele to fire up the crowd. AJ hooks the Calf Killer out of nowhere and Hardy taps (!) for the win at 13:15.

Rating: B-. This had the big match feel to it and a very surprising finish with Hardy tapping. I don’t remember that happening in years so the Calf Killer looks even more awesome now. AJ is still doing the middle of the road character which is interesting to a degree, but at the end of the day he’s AJ Styles and born to be the hero.

Post match AJ won’t shake hands.

Hulk has made a decision and Dixie agrees with him.

Here’s Bully Ray to plead his case. He says he’s been wronged because Sabin hit him in the head with a hammer last week (“Who would do such a thing?) and demands the title be returned to him right now. Sabin comes out and Ray says Chris must be here due to intimidation. Sabin says he wanted to see how big of a crybaby Ray is in person. He talks about having his knees destroyed and never crying once.

Instead he worked even harder and now he’s world heavyweight champion. Ray says he’ll get the title back by suing Sabin and demands Hogan get out here right now and hand over the title. Hogan comes out and says he has a counteroffer for Ray: Sabin remains the champion but Ray gets his rematch August 15 in a cage at Hardcore Justice.

Overall Rating: B-. The lawyer stuff drags this down but there was enough good on here to make the show good. Bringing the focus back to the BFG Series is a good idea and I have no problem with Ray likely getting the title back soon. The biggest problem with this show continues to be the Hogans. Their segments just suck the life out of the show and I find myself caring about them less and less every time they’re on screen. The rest of the show is solid but those two need to go.

Results

Manik b. Greg Marisculo and Sonjay Dutt – Manik pulled down the title

Mr. Anderson b. Hernandez – Mic Check

Mickie James b. Gail Kim – Rollup

Christopher Daniels b. Samoa Joe – BME

AJ Styles b. Jeff Hardy – Calf Killer

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This has been the hottest topic in wrestling for the last week or so and I think it’s time for an overview of the whole thing.To recap, TNA has cut a lot of wrestlers, had a lot of turnover backstage, messed up a house show and people think TNA is on its last legs.  In short, I think they’re fine.

Here’s the thing to remember about TNA: they have two hours a week of TV as compared to the five that WWE has (excluding internet broadcasts).  WWE has more than twice the room to get talent on TV so it’s much easier for WWE to maintain a large roster.  Think back: before this batch of releases, can you think of ten people let go by TNA in the last four years?  Now can you think of twenty people hired in the last four years?  The numbers were catching up to them and the cuts had to come eventually.

As for cutting costs, every company does this at some point.  TNA recently lost tens of thousands of dollars a month by not having regular PPVs anymore.  Couple that with the additional cost of taking Impact on the road and it’s no wonder they need to cut some salaries.  Cutting guys from Gut Check and people who are never used isn’t a sign of going out of business.  It’s a sign of smart business.

The main thing to keep in mind though: Panda Energy is pouring money into TNA and will do so until they don’t feel like it anymore.  Spike is reportedly very happy with the ratings and it’s not costing them a fortune to keep TNA on the air, so TNA isn’t going anywhere anytime soon unless Panda pulls the plug.

In short, it’s an overblown (yet interesting) story.

The more I think about this the less I like it.  Yeah the guy is injured and will likely never wrestle again, but are you telling me there isn’t some job for him in the company?  You can’t even have the guy answer the phones?  Now obviously if he asked for his release or is being given a backstage job (which I believe he already had) that’s a different story, but the guy had his neck broken working for you all.  If you can afford Brooke Hogan and Garrett Bischoff, you can afford this guy.

This is one of those ideas that makes no sense when you actually think about it.The common statement you hear is TNA needs to stay around to be competition to WWE.  TNA has been around for over eleven years and has never, not once, come close to competing with them.  Someone that thinks they have been, please tell me how they’ve competed.  Simply being in the same business and producing the same kind of material isn’t competing.  By that logic a seven year old writing a story in school is competition for Stephen King.  TNA’s highest rating ever for Impact is a long distance from Smackdown’s lowest number in years.  About three times as many people watch Raw as watch Impact.  The PPV buys are so lopsided it’s unreal.

TNA doesn’t compete with WWE.  They don’t come close and they won’t for a very long time.  If TNA goes out of business (and no I don’t think they are anytime soon), WWE isn’t going to be breathing a sigh of relief.  TNA is a promotion which has done better than most companies, but to even think they’re a serious competitor to WWE at this point or any point in their history is laughable.

This is getting embarrassing.

– At tonight’s TNA house show in Cape Girardeau, MO, road agent Pat Kenney came out at the start of the show and announced that around half the wrestlers who were scheduled would not be allowed to work due to commission licensing issues. The company offered refunds, and for those who don’t take refunds, a free fan interaction with all the wrestlers.

A wrestling license in Missouri costs $40, so let’s say that’s about $750 for half the roster.  Either TNA can’t afford $750, or they can’t manage simple tasks like making sure the talent can actually appear on the show.  They’re either broke or inept, neither of which is good.

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 19, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s Open Fight Night again and Roode is calling out Aries tonight. Why he would do this when he has a world title match at the next PPV is a bit of a mystery but that’s wrestling for you. We also might get an update on the Aces and 8’s faction which is a pretty cool idea. We haven’t had masked me in awhile so that’s kind of a cool thing. Let’s get to it.

After the standard opening recap, we have another recap of the Aces and 8’s beatdown last week.

Hogan is shown in the hospital, which is due to a legit back surgery.

Theme song hits. Get your reinforcements.

Bound For Glory Series standings:

James Storm 43

Samoa Joe 37

Kurt Angle 27

Jeff Hardy 21

Mr. Anderson 16

Rob Van Dam 14

Magnus 14

Christopher Daniels 12

AJ Styles 7

D’Angelo Dinero 7

Bully Ray 0

Robbie E 0

Tonight the high scorers get to do the callouts.

Here’s Storm to talk about Aries being the new champion and wanting the title shot no matter who it’s against. He hasn’t forgotten about Roode either, because the title is just business while Roode is personal. As for Aces and 8’s, if this was the wild west, he’d be the sheriff because he’s the Cowboy. While he doesn’t have a star on his chest, he has a set of balls. Hogan gets a shoutout but Storm wants Angle tonight.

Bound For Glory Series: James Storm vs. Kurt Angle

And there’s no Kurt. The music plays again and it’s Aces and 8’s in the back destroying Angle. We go to a break with Angle out cold and Tenay wondering if the guy in an American flag t-shirt with no hair that looks exactly like Angle is in fact Angle.

Bound For Glory Series: Samoa Joe vs. D’Angelo Dinero

I’m not going to bother listing the quick callouts that happen unless anything significant is said in them. Dinero tries to knock Joe into the corner but Joe pounds him with elbows and an enziguri to take over. Joe pops him in the face but gets sent into the corner and out to the floor. Back in and Pope hits a powerslam for two and it’s off to the Rings of Saturn. Pope starts pounding away and gets caught in a cross armbreaker for the tap at 3:20.

Rating: C. See how easy it is to push Joe as a submissions master? It goes this fast and Joe continues to dominate the Series. Pope is still floundering and it’s still pretty dull to see him out there as he’s nothing more than a jobber at this point. Still though, they need people like that in the Series to keep things interesting. This wasn’t bad though and Pope looked good.

Roode denies having any connection to Aces and 8’s despite being the last guy seen with Hogan before the attack. He’ll prove Destination X was a fluke later too.

Bound For Glory Series; Jeff Hardy vs. Robbie E

Jeff says he has someone in mind to call out but Robbie E interrupts. T jumps Hardy to take over but Hardy realizes he’s Jeff Hardy and takes over with his usual stuff. T interferes again to send Jeff out to the floor. That gets two for E but Jeff comes back again and hits the Whisper in the Wind for two. A plancha to the floor misses as T shoved E out of the way. Jeff fights T up the aisle and E wins by countout at 2:49.

ODB and Eric Young are in the back and Eric is back. It turns into a plug for his fish show.

We recap Clair/Daniels/Kaz with Clair saying that AJ is her baby’s papa.

Daniels rants a lot as does Kaz, saying that AJ is a coward.

Smoe guy named Sam Shaw comes out for Gut Check and while he’s talking, here are Aces and 8’s. There are six of them this time. The beating continues as they go to a break.

Post break Shaw is helped up.

Bound For Glory Series: Mr. Anderson vs. AJ Styles

Anderson works over the arm and hits a hiptoss to take over. He hooks an armbar but AJ counters into a headscissors. They stay on the mat for a bit until a stalemate takes us to a break. Back with Anderson holding a headlock but AJ comes back with the drop down/kick sequence. AJ grabs the arm but gets elbowed in the face and a neckbreaker puts Styles down for two. Anderson hooks a cravate for a submission attempt but Styles rams him into the buckle to escape. Springboard forearm gets two for AJ.

Mic Check and Clash are countered as we’re getting close to fifteen minutes here. Regal Roll gets two for Anderson but the Mic Check is countered again. AJ goes up but Mr. snaps off a superplex with AJ landing on his arm. That only gets two for both guys as we have less than two minutes left. Pele out of nowhere (missed by the announcers) sets up the Clash but Anderson counters and they hit the mat with Anderson getting a pin out of nowhere at 13:38.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t really hitting on all cylinders but it worked well enough all things considered. Anderson needs some points and having him get a clean pin over Styles isn’t going to hurt anything at all. Besides AJ has bigger things to worry about right now, and here she comes to continue the soap opera portion of your show.

Clair comes over the rail and yells about the night that AJ came to the hotel but AJ doesn’t remember it. She says Styles was drinking that night too but Styles says this was all in her head. Clair has pictures of them in bed together with AJ looking very drugged/drunk.

Back and we look at the pictures again with AJ looking stunned in the back.

Bound For Glory Series: Rob Van Dam vs. Christopher Daniels

Some MMA guy is on commentary here because when you watch wrestling, you think MMA. Van Dam fires off some kicks but Daniels comes back with an elbow to the face. Daniels gets caught in an abdominal stretch, only for Daniels to fall backwards into the ropes. Back in after a quick run to the floor and Daniels hits the slingshot elbow for two. The MMA guy at least is interested here and sounds like a wrestling fan.

Daniels drops a knee to the back and puts on a chinlock with a knee in the back. Van Dam escapes and superkicks Daniels down, followed by a monkey flip. Five Star misses so RVD hits the walk over kick to take Daniels down. Rolling Thunder misses and Daniels rolls Van Dam up with feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:13.

Rating: C. Not bad again here and the announcer wasn’t that annoying for the most part. Daniels is doing a great job at being completely evil and that’s the right thing for him to do. RVD is fine for a warm body in the Series, which means that he’ll wind up in the middle of the standings and will get some wins here and there. This was fine.

Austin Aries says he can trump anything Roode can do. He finds playing cards on the floor and says he can trump Aces and 8’s too.

It’s Brooke Hogan time! She does a phone interview to talk about her dad’s injuries and how her dad doesn’t know what he’s in for. Nothing of note is said here.

Joseph Park offers his legal services to Garrett Bischoff as a way to talk about what happened last week when Park snapped. Park says that was all him.

Bound For Glory Series: Magnus vs. Bully Ray

Ray jumps Magnus in the aisle but Magnus fights back. Magnus sends him into the barricade and heads into the ring for the bell. Ray kicks him in the chest to take over but I think he was aiming for the face. Ray chops him in the corner and slams him down, but the splash misses. Magnus makes his comeback and throws on a Texas Cloverleaf but Ray makes the rope. Falcon’s Arrow gets two for Magnus. He misses a middle rope elbow though and it’s the Bully Cutter for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but Ray finally gets some points. Magnus has everything you need to be something good but for some reason he’s never risen above the level of a jobber. Unfortunately we didn’t get any Joseph Park stuff here but this got the job done well enough I guess.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. debuts next week.

Here’s Roode to call out Aries. That’ll be after a break though.

Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode

Non-title of course, because why would you think of asking for a title match in a match where you have to accept said challenge? Aries snaps off an armdrag followed by Roode getting sent into the corner. The fans sound like they say they want t-shirts. Roode sends him to the apron but Aries counters and hits a slingshot hilo for two. Roode goes face first into the apron so Aries dives on him on the outside as we take a break.

Back with Aries in trouble as Roode hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. A spinebuster gets the same and it’s time for a chinlock. Aries fights up but walks into an elbow to the face to put him right back down. Aries gets up again and they slug it out but the spinning forearm gets caught in an armbar. Last Chancery goes on but Roode breaks out and hits the spear for two.

Roode loads up a superplex but Aries knees him in the head to escape. A missile dropkick puts Roode down but the brainbuster is countered into the Crossface. Aries hits the discus forearm and clotheslines Roode to the floor, followed by the suicide dive. And here are Aces and 8’s for the DQ at 13:42.

Rating: C+. This was pretty good and I guess this is supposed to prove that Roode is behind this, but that would make no sense as they appeared before he lost the title. Aries getting beaten down is a nice touch as it shows that it’s a company wide problem, but it doesn’t answer any questions. This was the only ending they could go with though, as if Roode won then Aries is a fluke but if Aries won, why watch the PPV match?

Roode gets beaten up too and it’s a big beatdown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show has really slowed down a lot in the last few weeks, but there was still some good stuff tonight. Aces and 8’s is still an interesting idea but with these random attacks, they’re not really going anywhere yet. That’ll change when Hogan and Sting get back or when someone mounts an attack against them. As usual though, the problem with Open Fight Night is that nothing of note happens from it. These matches could happen on any show and the calling out means nothing at all. Not a horrible show but it was nothing great at all.

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