Starrcade 1995
Date: December 27, 1995
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 8,200
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes

So again, we have a show without a ton of interesting matches on here. The World Cup was a pretty thrown together idea, but unfortunately it gives us the same problems that a lot of the late 80s/early 90s shows had: there’s no reason for most of these matches to be taking place other than for bragging rights, which is really all that the World Cup is good for. It’s been a problem before but hopefully things go a bit better this time. Let’s get to it.

The opening video sums up everything I just said plus listing off the seven matches in the World Cup.

The announcers welcome us to the show. The running gag of the show is that Heenan has been bought off by the Japanese boss but won’t admit it because he’s a weasel.

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Chris Benoit

Chris Benoit is a name that a lot of non-wrestling fans are familiar with for some very terrible reasons. However, before all that happened, Benoit was a fantastic wrestler and one of the toughest and most intense guys you’ll ever see. Right around this time he had been made a member of the newly reformed Four Horsemen, so apparently Ric Flair thought pretty highly of him. This should be an excellent match.

Benoit gets caught in some quick armdrags and a dropkick to send him to the floor. There’s a baseball slide for good measure and a dive takes Benoit down again. Back in and Liger hits a quick rana and a fast Liger Kick (rolling front kick to the head) but Benoit comes right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. The fans of course are completely behind Benoit, despite him normally being a heel. Liger counters a powerbomb into an armdrag and snaps off an overhead belly to belly. Benoit is great but Liger is WAY faster than he is here.

After Benoit is sent to the floor for a bit, he comes back inside and hits a snap suplex to take over. Another suplex puts Liger down and now we’re in Benoit’s world. Benoit hooks an elevated Boston Crab which would eventually become known as a Liontamer. Back up and Benoit hits a quick German suplex for two as Tony is snapping off the names of moves. This is very odd as Tony Schiavone would become one of the laziest announcers ever in about a year, barely being able to call anything properly.

Liger hooks Benoit up in a hold called the Surfboard, meaning Benoit is on the mat facing away from Liger as Liger interlocks their legs, rocks Benoit back and bends him upwards with all of Benoit’s limbs facing down. Basically he makes Benoit look like a four legged table with Benoit’s chest as the table top. Since that’s a very difficult hold to maintain, it’s off to a camel clutch on Benoit which keeps the punishment on the back.

Benoit stands up and drops Liger on his back before hitting a nearly botched superplex to put both guys down. Chris eventually gets up for a two count, only to be sent into the corner for another Liger Kick followed by a Liger Bomb (sitout powerbomb) for a two count. A brainbuster, one of Liger’s signature moves, gets another two, but Benoit pops up and hits a vicious clothesline to take over again.

Two rolling German suplex put Liger down and there’s a hard powerbomb for good measure. Benoit’s Swan Dive headbutt connects but here’s one of Benoit’s rivals Kevin Sullivan for a distraction. The distraction allows Liger to hit a standing hurricanrana for the pin out of nowhere and a 1-0 lead for New Japan.

Rating: B. Bad ending to a good match here as once Benoit got rolling he was going move for move with Liger. Jushin is one of the few foreign wrestlers that American fans almost always react to and this was no different. This was a solid match and probably the best opener Starrcade has ever had. Benoit would get MUCH better too.

New Japan – 1

WCW – 0

Eddie Guerrero is annoyed that Sullivan cost Benoit the match but he’s ready to represent WCW against Ohtani tonight.

Koji Kanemoto vs. Alex Wright

Kanemoto is the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion so Wright could be in a lot of trouble here. Also I should note that Sonny Onoo, the NJPW leader, is accompanying every one of the Japanese guys to the ring tonight. Kanemoto easily takes him to the mat with a leg trip and works on Wright’s knee. A spinning leg lock has Wright down but he fights up with an enziguri to take over. Off to the arm now with Alex cranking on an armbar.

A headscissors takes Koji down and a cross body puts both guys on the floor. Wright slides back in and hits a quick plancha onto Kanemoto before putting on a chinlock back inside. Kanemoto fights up and drills Alex with chops to take over. A spinwheel kick puts Wright back down so Koji puts him on the top rope to pound on his ribs a bit. Koji dropkicks him out to the floor and hits his own plancha to make up for the one he took earlier.

Wright fights back with a few uppercuts and Koji has to go to Sonny for some consultation. Back in and a Tiger suplex (double arm trap) suplex gets two but Koji pulls up after hitting a moonsault with no count. A German suplex, Wright’s finisher, gets two as does a slingshot splash. Kanemoto hits another kick to the face and both guys are down again.

A cross body out of the corner gets two for Wright but he walks into yet another kick to the face to put him down. Koji hits a spinning splash off the top rope for another near fall, but the next time he comes off the top, Wright catches him with a dropkick. A missile dropkick takes Kanemoto down and a superplex gets two. Koji shrugs it off and drops Alex face first onto the top rope before rolling Wright up for the pin.

Rating: D+. Koji never looked to be in any real danger here as he basically shrugged off all of Alex’s offense and took every big move that Wright could throw at him. To be fair though, Kanemoto is much more talented than Wright with far more experience. Wright would only get somewhat better than he was here, meaning this was never going to be an interesting match.

New Japan – 2

WCW – 0

Sonny has given Heenan a present with two flags in it.

In the back, Onoo says he wants to buy WCW.

Masahiro Chono vs. Lex Luger

You might remember Chono as the former NWA World Champion, meaning he’s one of the biggest stars New Japan has to offer. Jimmy Hart is with Luger and sings part of the Star Spangled Banner. That’s not the worst thing in the word as Jimmy was a singer in a real band called the Gents who toured with the Beach Boys back in the 1970s. Luger powers Chono down but gets caught by a forearm and the Mafia Kick (boot to the face) to send him out to the floor.

Luger chills on the floor for a bit as the stalling is on early. Back in and Luger sends him from corner to corner and adds a clothesline, only to have Chono catch him in a suplex. We hit a chinlock by Chono as this match continues to run slowly. Off to Chono’s STF submission hold, causing Heenan to be unsure of what to say.

Luger fights out of it with pure power, only to get caught in the face by another Mafia kick. Dusty, never one to phone in a commentary performance, goes on a huge rant about how it’s a kick to the face that has nothing to do with the mafia. Chono goes up top but jumps into an elbow to the face, allowing Luger to hook the Torture Rack for the win.

Rating: D. This was the first short match of the night and it didn’t do much of note. This match was mainly slow paced with neither guy looking particularly interested in being out there. To be fair though, you could make a case that Luger didn’t want to waste his energy because he had a shot at the world title later in the show.

New Japan – 2

WCW – 1

Sting isn’t pleased that Kensuke Sasaki beat him for the US Title in Japan a few months back. Tonight Sting gets to face him again but it’s just for bragging rights and pride. And that whole World Cup deal but why bring that up?

Johnny B. Badd vs. Masa Saito

This is just like Kanemoto vs. Wright minus Kanemoto’s speed and talent. Badd is TV Champion here with a woman called the Diamond Doll with him. Saito is a huge man that we’ve seen before and likes to hurt people. Before the match, Sonny goes on a big rant about the Doll being here so she calls him Hop-Sing (from Bonanza) and says women belong here. Saito easily takes him down with a heel trip and locks on a cobra clutch (modified chinlock).

Back up and they slug it out with Saito’s chops sounding much louder than anything Badd hits. Saito blocks a right hand before hitting him in the throat to take over again. Johnny is choked down on the ropes again as Johnny looks to be in completely over his head. Sonny gets in some choking and Saito hits a hard clothesline for two.

A side Russian legsweep gets the same but Badd comes back with a kneelift and a top rope sunset flip for two. Badd pounds away to almost no effect as Saito doesn’t seem to be all that interested in selling. Sonny gets on the apron and Badd goes after him, causing Saito to dump him over the top for a DQ.

Rating: D. As mentioned, Badd was in way over his head here but Saito wasn’t going to let anyone look good out there. He’s basically just a big guy who looks tough and won’t sell anything. The match was slow and boring too, as Badd pounded away but wasn’t getting anywhere, all leading to a lame ending. Nothing to see here.

Post match Saito goes after the Doll but Badd makes the save with a dropkick. He sends Saito to the floor and dives onto him, completely missing Saito who has to fall with no one touching him.

New Japan – 2

WCW – 2

Tony and Dusty yell at Heenan a bit more.

Luger poses a lot while Jimmy Hart yells at the Horsemen on Kevin Sullivan’s behalf. Lex is looking forward to the triangle match because he knows he can beat Savage. Also, he wants to go to the ring without Hart because this is a big one.

Otani vs. Eddie Guerrero

Eddie is still pretty new to WCW here but he’s been wrestling around the world for years. Otani is a very smug guy who gives a look that says “yeah, I’m better than you.” Eddie is ready to go but Otani stalls a lot before we get going. They hit the mat with Otani grabbing a quick armbar while pulling the hair a bit. Eddie rolls out and we hit another standoff as Guerrero can actually hang with Otani out there.

They both trip the other guy until Otani takes Eddie’s leg on the mat. Guerrero spins around and hooks a quick chinlock but Otani gets up and flips Guerrero down. Eddie comes back with a hurricanrana and Otani is sent to the floor. Back in and Eddie slams him down before hitting a quick slingshot hilo (headbutt to the ribs) for no cover. Off to a half crab by Guerrero but Otani crawls to the ropes. Eddie immediately picks him up and PLANTS him with a powerbomb for two.

A brainbuster gets two more for Eddie, but he stops to yell at Sonny, allowing Otani to hit a springboard missile dropkick. Guerrero is knocked to the floor so Otani hits a gorgeous springboard dive to take Eddie out again. Back in and Otani chokes away before hooking a chinlock. A wicked German suplex gets two on Eddie so Otani goes up, only to get caught in a big hurricanrana for two. Now Eddie hits another powerbomb for another near fall as the fans are starting to get into this.

Otani rolls through into an ankle lock but Eddie crawls over to the ropes for the break. Eddie sends him to the floor and then into the barricade as Guerrero is getting fired up. A BIG spinning springboard cross body takes Otani down but a suplex does the same to Guerrero. Another springboard missile dropkick puts Eddie down and Otani has a busted lip. He snaps off a rana on Guerrero for two but Eddie rolls through into a pinning combination of his own for a near fall, but Otani reverses the reversal into a sunset flip for the pin.

Rating: B+. Pretty awesome match here with the idea of two guys hitting everything they could think of on each other before a cradle was the solution to the win. They did a good job here of keeping both guys looking very strong as it wasn’t a big move that put Eddie down but rather a leverage move which came off a counter to another leverage move. They made both guys seem equal here which made for a very entertaining match.

Otani’s smug grin after the match is awesome.

New Japan – 3

WCW – 2

World Champion Randy Savage is ready for Tenzan and doesn’t care about the triangle match right now.

Tenzan vs. Randy Savage

Tenzan is primarily a tag team specialist but has a very fine singles career as well. Savage has a bad left arm coming in. They lock up to start with Savage taking it to the corner, only to be broken up by the referee. Tenzan chops him down and pounds him in the back before hooking a quick front facelock. Off to a nerve hold on the world champion followed by a jumping back elbow to send Savage to the apron. A big chop sends Savage to the outside as this has been all Tenzan so far.

Tenzan drops Savage throat first on the barricade before heading back inside for some forearms to the back. A Samoan Drop puts Savage down as we see legend Pedro Morales on Spanish commentary. Tenzan goes up top but misses a moonsault, allowing Savage to hit a clothesline to the back of the head. Savage drops him ribs first on the top rope before dropping his top rope elbow for the pin, tying the series.

Rating: D+. This is the normal formula for Savage at this point: get destroyed for the majority of the match, hit about two moves, then win with the flying elbow. Why they decided that was all the world champion should be able to do is beyond me, but that’s almost all Savage was allowed to do for months on end.

New Japan – 3

WCW – 3

Heenan is panicking.

Flair says the World Cup is cool but tonight is about him winning the world title.

Sting vs. Kensuke Sasaki

So yeah, the whole competition comes down to the US Champion defending the title he won from the American hero against said American hero who just happens to be the most popular guy in the company, winner take all. You could say this is cliched, but it’s you can’t say it isn’t the right way to get to the finals. To really hammer it home, Sting comes out carrying an American flag.

Sasaki attacks early and gets some quick control, only to have Sting fight back and hit a quick Stinger Splash. For some reason Sting tries another one but gets caught in a bulldog to put him right back down. Sasaki gloats a bit too much, allowing Sting to clothesline him out to the floor. Back in and Sting gets caught in a powerslam as the quick momentum changes continue. Sasaki knocks him down again and we stop to look at the Cup they’re fighting for.

The fans chant USA as Sasaki puts on an armbar before stomping away. Tony suggests that this is going to be a nationwide celebration when WCW wins. Sasaki puts Sting in a Scorpion Deathlock to embarrass him, only to have Sting power out of the hold. Sting comes back with a kick to the head to give himself a breather before escaping a powerslam. A clothesline sets up the Scorpion Deathlock and Sting wins the World Cup for WCW.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t terrible but again the idea of having someone get beaten down until they win with one Hail Mary move is pretty stupid. On the other hand though, there was no other way they could go than to have Sting beat Sasaki for the final victory in the series so it’s hard to complain there. The match wasn’t horrible by any means but it’s certainly nothing worth seeing.

New Japan – 3

WCW – 4

The WCW team comes in for a celebration followed by the trophy presentation. Heenan: “I have to give the Lexus back.”

We recap the triangle match. Macho Man won the title by winning World War 3, despite there being an alleged controversy which gave Hogan a potential claim to the title. This just has to be mentioned here because he’s Hogan and this is WCW. Luger returned to the company in September and demanded a title shot, Sting is Luger’s friend and has loyalties to both Hogan and Luger and Flair gets a shot just because he’s Flair.

Sting vs. Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair

This is a different kind of three way match as only two men are in at once and you have to tag in and out. It’s also one fall to a finish. Flair is the only fresh guy coming in. Sting and Flair start due to a pre match coin toss. Much like an old car, they stall to start with Flair being very tentative to get going. Flair hits a single chop and is taken down by a gorilla press and a clothesline for two. An early Scorpion Deathlock is escaped by Flair making the rope and it’s time for Flair to bail.

Back in and Flair grabs a hammerlock as Heenan implies Dusty is an uneducated country bumpkin. Sting is taken down and punched in the face before Flair starts pounding away in the corner. Off to the hammerlock on the mat again before Flair tries more chops, having no effect at all. Sting slams him down and pounds away in the corner as well, sending Flair to the outside.

They go inside again and Flair begs off and avoids a dropkick to put Sting down. Flair pounds Sting down again as this is going very slowly. That doesn’t mean it’s boring mind you, but rather very methodical. There’s a big difference between those two things. The referee is with Luger for some reason, allowing Flair to throw Sting over the top and out to the floor. Flair drops a knee on Sting’s head for five straight two counts before Sting no sells a suplex and pounds on Flair in the corner. Sting catches in a gorilla press and follows up with a superplex for a near fall of his own.

Luger comes in sans tag but Sting stares him back into the other corner. Sting turns his back on Luger so Lex tags in himself after ten minutes of Sting vs. Flair. Flair tries to bail but Luger pulls him back and shows him all the muscles. Ric charges into Luger and bounces off of his shoulder so Luger poses some more. There’s a gorilla press by Luger as Flair is being thrown all over the place by these power guys. Lex pounds away in the corner and we get the Flair Flop.

Flair comes right back with a thumb to the eye and it’s time to go after the knee. Ric goes after the knee as is his custom before alternating between chops and kicks to the knee. There’s the Figure Four on Luger but Flair, ever the overconfident schnook, slaps Luger in the face, angering Luger enough to turn the hold over. Flair bails to the apron but gets suplexed back inside for two. A slam off the top gets two for Luger and Flair’s chops have no effect. In a smart move, Flair tags in Sting to give us the battle of the best friends.

Luger and Sting shake hands to a lot of booing but Sting is ready to fight. Tony says these two last fought in Milwaukee at SuperBrawl II, prompting Heenan to say an historic line to Tony: “Is there anything you don’t know?” This sort of question will NEVER be made to Tony Schiavone again. Ever. Luger pounds Sting into the corner but Sting does the exact same thing to Luger before pounding him in the head. That’s not very friendly behavior.

Lex wants time out and comes back with some forearms to the back. A big clothesline takes Sting down as Luger has shifted from the face he was against Flair to a heel now against Sting. That’s something you don’t often see but it’s really cool to watch. Sting comes back with a slam but a middle rope splash hits Luger’s knees. A bunch of elbow drops have Sting in trouble for a few moments and Luger easily blocks a Deathlock.

Luger kicks Sting low in a VERY evil move and follows up with an atomic drop for good measure. As is Luger’s custom he loads up another of the same move, only to be rolled up for two. Sting suplexes Luger down and follows up with the bulldog for no cover. In a very smart move, Sting Irish whips Sting to the adjacent corner instead of the opposite because it would have allowed the fresh Flair to tag in. I love stuff like that.

There’s a Stinger Splash but second one misses, allowing Luger to hook the Rack. As Sting is lifted up though, the referee is kicked and knocked out. Flair nails Luger, sending him to the floor. Sting is thrown on top of Luger and the referee is up, allowing for a double countout to eliminate Luger and Sting, sending Flair to the title match.

Rating: A. This match ROCKED with three solid matches in one, along with some insanely good psychology and a brilliant ending with Flair sneaking in and stealing the win as only he could. This was a smart match, full of psychology which is something you almost never see anymore. If you haven’t seen this one before, do some research on their histories together and check it out.

The title match is immediately after the triangle match. Jimmy Hart comes out to manage Flair because that’s the kind of guy he is.

WCW World Title: Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage

Michael Buffer (the “Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet’s get ready to rumble!!!” guy) takes like five minutes to introduces the guys before we’re finally ready to go. Savage starts with a fast backslide for two and throws his shirt into Flair’s face. The champion pounds Flair in the face (why over complicate things?) as Paul Orndorff, who had his neck broken by the Horsemen, comes out into the aisle to watch. Flair goes for a quick Figure Four but Savage kicks him away.

Savage charges at Ric in the corner but gets sent out to the floor where Flair pounds him up against the barricade. Back in and Flair takes him down to the mat with a hammerlock, throwing his yellow and red boot onto the ropes for good measure. Flair stays on the bad arm before putting on a sleeper to stop a Savage comeback bid. Savage comes back with a belly to back suplex and pounds away with some clotheslines.

Jimmy Hart gets on the apron to distract the referee while throwing in his megaphone. Savage steals it away and blasts Flair in the head, busting it open. The top rope elbow hits but there’s no referee, so here are the Horsemen. The referee is taken down, Anderson hits Savage in the head with a foreign object, Flair gets the title back.

Rating: C-. This was the very abbreviated version of the Savage vs. Flair as they only had about nine minutes to work with here. It wasn’t terrible but at the same time, how much can you do in that amount of time in the main event of Starrcade? These two would trade the title back and forth a few times over the next few months and the matches would be much stronger.

Brian Pillman, one of the Horsemen, destroys Savage because Pillman is nuts. The Horsemen celebrate to end the show.

For some reason there was another match after the main event where One Man Gang won the US Title. Why it didn’t air and wasn’t mentioned isn’t explained but I’d assume time.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a tricky one to rate. There are nine matches on the card but anywhere from five to seven mean nothing (depending on your take), leaving you with the main events. Luckily, the triangle match is nearly half an hour long and is excellent, making it more than worth checking out. The problem at the end of the day was that none of this stuff meant much given what was coming in a few months, but we’ll get to that next year. This show is VERY different though and it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for a change of pace and a great match.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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TNA World Cup of Wrestling III
Date: August 5, 2015
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 1,100
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Jeremy Borash

Dang it I knew I’d get back to these one day. For some reason (likely because no one likes them) these are getting harder and harder to find online and the best I can do is usually two and a half months after the air date. In this case it’s another team competition, which is usually one of the better ideas they have. There will be four teams of six wrestlers each. All of the teams are going to face each other once, plus a four way with each of the captains. The teams with the most points (1 point per win) meet in an elimination tag for the whole thing. Let’s get to it.

No opening video for a change.

It’s time for Jeremy Borash to waste a lot of time by holding the live draft. We open with the introductions of the four captains:

Bobby Roode

Eric Young

Ethan Carter III

Jeff Hardy

Josh rips on JB for reading off a clipboard but praises Carter despite him carrying one of his own. Also ignore the part where Josh says Carter will make a great World Champion, despite winning the title a month before this aired. ALSO ignore the fact that Hardy was out with a broken leg three months before this aired.

We keep wasting time with an opening statement from each captain. Ethan (with his arm in the big brace) says he’s been thinking about his loss last year at the World Cup and he can’t wait to make it up. Young doesn’t want to hear from the fans because he won this last year. Roode and Hardy keep it more simple by saying they’ll win.

Now here’s the thing: it’s going to take a LONG time to get through the picks so I’m not going to say “this person picked this person” step by step. Instead, here are the teams in full with the captains listed first:

Bobby Roode, Lashley, Austin Aries, Magnus, Mr. Anderson, Taryn Terrell

Ethan Carter III, Tyrus, James Storm, Awesome Kong, Jesse Godderz, Robbie E.

Eric Young, Bram, Abyss, Havok, Samuel Shaw, Manik

Jeff Hardy, Gunner, Davey Richards, Gail Kim, Crazzy Steve, Rockstar Spud

There were only two funny bits here: Carter picked Jeremy Borash first. Carter: “Just kidding it’s Tyrus.” Second, when Robbie came out, he danced around, kissed Kong, and shouted I’M NOT LAST!!! Also Josh thought Roode was going to pick Hornswoggle when he said from Green Bay, Wisconsin. As usual, Josh isn’t funny.

The picks are done but JB says the opening match still isn’t ready to start.

Quick rules explanation.

Bram vs. Austin Aries

The first opening bell: 28 minutes into the show, leaving us with about two hours and twelve minutes to get through ten matches. Aries is quickly dumped out to the floor and sent into the barricade as the announcers are actually still on topic. I give it ten minutes. Aries gets smart by taking out the knee as Josh is showing JB a photo of him at Manchester United’s stadium. Dang they didn’t even make it three minutes.

The Last Chancery sends Bram going to the ropes for a break and things settle down again. Bram stomps on the chest to break up a sunset flip attempt as about four fans chant ANGRY JESUS. Off to a chinlock on Aries for a bit before he grabs a second Last Chancery. So the first one was the next to Last Chancery?

Back up and Aries goes to the apron to send Bram face first into alternating buckles over and over. A missile dropkick sets up the running corner dropkick but Bram gets a boot up for a block. An Edge-O-Matic gets two for Bram and he starts pounding on Aries’ back for good measure. Bram slowly kicks at him and is quickly rolled up for the pin.

Rating: C. Not a bad match until a pretty slow ending. Aries continues to be one of the best acts in the company’s history and of course he’s now gone because they decided to keep going with Angle and Hardy on top instead of going back to him in the years since he lost the title.

Team Roode – 1

Team Young – 0

Team Hardy – 0

Team Carter – 0

EC3 lists off the members of his team and promises to win. Kong looks terrified when the BroMans (with DJZ) start talking. This is even more filler.

James Storm vs. Lashley

Storm has Khoya (Mahabali Shera) with him. Feeling out process to start with Storm dropping down for some pushups. He can’t throw Lashley around though so James bails to the floor and meets with Khoya. The instructions seem to work as Khoya grabs the leg, sending Lashley outside after him. That’s about it for the success as Lashley shoulders Storm down inside and rams him into the buckle a few times.

Khoya blocks a spear attempt and Storm finally takes over with a Backstabber. Storm’s enziguri starts a bad cowbell chant but Lashley fires off right hands to make his comeback. Neither finisher can hit and Storm gets two off a neckbreaker. A spinebuster should set up Lashley’s spear but another Khoya distraction….doesn’t matter as the spear connects to give Lashley the win.

Rating: D+. Now we’re getting into the standard One Night Only match formula: short matches that don’t have time to go anywhere and have no heat on them because they’re part of some big show long idea, meaning this really doesn’t mean a ton. You can feel the lack of caring in the crowd though and it’s not a good sign going forward.

Team Roode – 2

Team Young – 0

Team Hardy – 0

Team Carter – 0

Storm blames Khoya for the loss and demands that Khoya bow to him.

Roode thinks his team will win.

BroMans vs. Magnus/Mr. Anderson

Jesse and Magnus get things going with Magnus taking over off a wristlock. Anderson comes in and works on the arm as well until it’s off to Robbie, who walks into a hiptoss. The announcers debate game shows as Magnus gets two off a suplex. Some heel double teaming lets Jesse take over and he actually wins a slugout against Magnus. As you might expect, the announcers spent the segment trying to figure out what to call Magnus and Mickie James.

Robbie chinlocks Magnus for a bit before some elbows to the BroMans’ faces allow for the tag to Anderson. I can’t really call it hot as the fans didn’t seem to notice but it was in fact a tag. Everything breaks down but DJZ distracts the referee. Anderson goes after him and gets hairspray in the eyes, allowing Robbie to grab a rollup for the pin.

Rating: D. Worst match of the show so far but a lot of that is due to Anderson and Magnus having gone through the motions for the last year (or several years in Anderson’s case). That being said, the ending makes sense as former World Tag Team Champions should be able to beat a thrown together team with no history.

Team Roode – 2

Team Carter – 1

Team Young – 0

Team Hardy – 0

Young says his team will win.

Manik/Abyss vs. Rockstar Spud/Davey Richards

This could be decent. Davey and Manik trade some basic stuff to start before it’s off to Spud vs. Abyss. Spud goes right at him and has about as much success as you might expect. A middle rope forearm staggers Abyss but Spud has to bite his way out of a chokeslam attempt. Spud actually puts him down with a missile dropkick and Abyss looks stunned.

Manik tags himself in and gets punched out, only to have Abyss run both good guys over. It’s Spud in trouble now as JB talks about James Storm’s stable. Davey leads a KILL SPUD KILL chant as the Revolution guys take turns on chinlocks. The announcers make their picks for the whole competition. I’m kind of stunned that they’ve stayed on topic this long.

Spud crawls through Manik’s legs to make the tag off to Davey for the rapid fire kicks in the corner. Everything breaks down and the giant is sent to the floor, allowing Davey and Spud to double team Manik in the corner. Abyss takes a suicide dive from Davey, leaving Spud to hit the Underdog on Manik. A top rope double stomp gives Davey the easy pin.

Rating: C. Very simple idea here but the match worked well enough all around. Richards and Spud were a good underdog team and fought off a regular pairing. Abyss is good for a monster who can come in at any time and play his normal role as well as anyone else. Totally watchable match here which is as good as it gets around here.

Team Roode – 2

Team Carter – 1

Team Hardy – 1

Team Young – 0

Hardy says his team will win.

Crazzy Steve vs. Samuel Shaw

I’ve had nightmares about things like this before. Steve comes in with a zombie cymbal playing monkey around his neck. Shawn frames the monkey but Steve won’t let him touch it. The announcers talk about Brian Stiffler’s pierced nipples because of course they do. Now it’s off to a discussion of mall stores because they like Steve’s belt. Shaw shoves Steve down and crawls for the monkey but Steve crawls over as well and shakes his head no. The fans (save for one guy) are silent for most of this.

Steve bites Shaw’s face and it’s time to play hot potato with the monkey. Now Shaw crawls after the referee as Josh sings Taryn Terrell’s theme music. Shaw hates Steve and I hate the horrible punches that Steve uses for his comeback. With Steve down, Shaw picks up the monkey and goes up, only to miss a guillotine legdrop. Fans: “LET’S GO MONKEY!” Steve picks up the monkey but the referee takes it away, setting up a low blow and Shaw’s standing choke for the win.

Rating: F. A little over a year ago, Bully Ray and Rockstar Spud beat the Dirty Heels in the funniest match I’ve ever seen. That match worked because Ray and Spud work really well together as an oddball combination. It felt like they were told to go out there and be funny for ten minutes while being allowed to pick the details themselves. This felt like they were given a bad idea and had no idea how to make it work, which is why comedy in wrestling rarely works.

Team Roode – 2

Team Hardy – 1

Team Carter – 1

Team Young – 1

Havok vs. Awesome Kong

Hardcore (not announced to the crowd) because I don’t think anyone wants to see these two have a regular match. They start fighting in the aisle as you would expect them to as Kong takes over off a trashcan shot. Josh: “No need for Duke Droese here.” Havok’s weapon shots knock Kong into the ring but Kong goes all ninja by spinning a pipe around. That’s the coolest thing I’ve seen on these shows in forever.

Of course the fans want tables as Havok beats Kong down again. Here’s a ladder because these two don’t listen to the fans. Josh starts asking about having water infused with fruit. Seriously where does he get this stuff? Kong “chokeslams” Havok onto the ladder (read as she shoved Havok down) for the pin.

Rating: D-. I can’t call it a failure when it had the ninja stick thing from Kong but this was another match limited by the time. Then again these two have never had the chemistry that people expected from them. Granted that could be due to the fact that big power wrestlers like this ALMOST NEVER WORK WELL TOGETHER but people want to see it anyway for reasons I’ll never understand.

Team Roode – 2

Team Carter – 2

Team Hardy – 1

Team Young – 1

Josh thinks that leaderboard looks like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on top of a golf tournament. I’d ask what that means but I’m sure it’s just me being an internet nerd.

Tyrus vs. Gunner

I had forgotten Gunner was a thing. Gunner charges right at the monster to start as Josh talks about Tyrus always being in the gym. I think he meant Gunner but who am I to doubt Josh Matthews? Tyrus slams him down and puts on a bearhug. Announcers’ topic: celebrities who Tyrus has worked for as a bodyguard, including Pete “Marinovich”.

I think Josh meant Maravich but…..dang he’s said so many stupid things tonight that I’m running out of insults. Gunner’s powerslam fails and it’s back to the bearhug. Josh keeps up his stupid namedropping and Gunner finally slams him. Josh: “Like when Hogan slammed Andre.” Not that it matters as the spike to the throat gives Tyrus the pin. Josh: “If Tyrus had been in Ford’s Theater that night, President Lincoln wouldn’t have been assassinated.” JB: “Yeah but he would be really old.”

Rating: D-. Another bad match as Josh has gone from annoying to obnoxious on commentary. I mean…..dang he sounds stupid with so many of the things he says. The commentary on these shows have always been a disaster and that’s the case here too. The match was bad again because they don’t have time to do anything and clearly don’t care in the slightest.

Team Carter – 3

Team Roode – 2

Team Young – 1

Team Hardy – 1

Taryn says she’s ready to compete like a champion.

Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell

Taryn grabs a headlock and headscissors to start as they seem to actually be trying more than anyone has in the last few matches. Gail gets up and sends her face first into the buckle, which Josh says we can experience by running into a tree backwards. Both women crash out to the floor as Josh talks about subliminal messages based on the IMPACT ring skirts. They can’t even afford a ONE NIGHT ONLY ring skirt to make this seem a bit more important? I mean, it looks like the least important show ever so it can’t be that difficult.

Now we debate whether counting for a DQ should count towards a countout as Taryn grabs a half crab. The silence from the crowd here is borderline eerie. Josh: “What’d you have for lunch today?” Taryn’s middle rope clothesline gets two as Josh writes the foreword to JB’s book. Gail misses a charge and hits the floor again but Russian legsweeps Taryn into the barricade. You would think she would be smarter than that, being a WRESTLER and all. Back in and Taryn fires off some clotheslines, showing some of the better fire all night. Gail ducks a high cross body though and counters the Taryn Cutter into a rollup for the pin.

Rating: C+. Maybe it’s Taryn being gorgeous, maybe it’s the idea of Jeremy Borash book actually sounding appealing or maybe it’s the effort put in here for a change but this was one of the more entertaining matches on the show so far. Of course that’s on a sliding scale because this show is another disaster that is clearly just here to fill in a slow but take what you can get.

Team Carter – 3

Team Roode – 2

Team Hardy – 2

Team Young – 1

Roode promises he’ll win the captains match.

Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III

One fall to a finish and no tags to start which makes things even better. Josh incorrectly says Team Young is mathematically eliminated from going to the finals as everyone goes after Eric in the corner. Carter and Young are sent to the floor, leaving Roode to work on Hardy’s arm. The taping schedule becomes an issue again here as Josh goes on a rant about how Carter should be World Champion already.

Carter comes back in and switches places with Roode, leaving Josh to insult JB for trying to be British. A belly to belly gets Eric a two count on Hardy and Josh freaks out that Carter is bleeding. With Roode still nowhere to be seen, Carter and Young start arguing over who is going to pin Hardy. In other words, it’s the same uninspired stuff you’ve seen every single time you watch a multi-man match.

Roode comes back in with some running clotheslines but Carter breaks up the comeback. Hardy breaks up a piledriver attempt from Young so Eric piledrives Roode instead. Back up and Eric bites Hardy’s head, actually not drawing any jokes from Josh. With Roode and Carter fighting on the floor, Hardy hits a quick Twist of Fate to pin Young.

Rating: C. The star power helped but this was every multi-man match you’ve seen in a very long time. Hardy going to the finals was pretty obvious and at least the fans reacted a little bit for the pin. Young losing is almost always a good thing to see as well but this was just a dull match that has been covered to death already.

Team Carter – 3

Team Hardy – 3

Team Roode – 2

Team Young – 1

Carter beats Hardy down post match.

Long recap of the whole show thus far.

Team Hardy vs. Team Carter

Jeff Hardy, Rockstar Spud, Davey Richards, Gail Kim, Crazzy Steve, Gunner

Ethan Carter III, Tyrus, Robbie E., Jesse Godderz, James Storm, Awesome Kong

Survivor Series rules, Storm has Khoya with him and Carter has written HARDY on the bandage over his head. The bell rings but Team Carter is still huddling, allowing Khoya to slip Storm a weapon. Hardy and Carter start things off so Carter tags out to Robbie before any contact. That’s another idea that we’ve seen a hundred times and it’s just as tired as it’s always been.

One shot sends Robbie off to Godderz for a tag as we’re already two minutes into this. Gunner comes in and we finally get a lockup. One shoulder sends Jesse bailing to the corner and it’s off to Carter. That goes nowhere either and it’s off to Tyrus because we didn’t see enough of this match earlier. Just like earlier, Tyrus takes him into the corner and it’s off to Storm……who tags Kong in fifteen seconds later.

Before she can even get both feet in the ring, Jesse tags himself back in. Oh and how lucky we are as we get to see Steve. Wristlocks are exchanged and Steve mostly headscissors him over, giving him the move of the match so far. Now it’s off to Richards vs. Tyrus and FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND HOLY STEVE COMES BACK IN AGAIN. Just freaking wrestle already! Thankfully Tyrus spikes Steve down for the first elimination. Gail comes in and says she wants Kong.

We get the Knockouts showdown and things are instantly more interesting as they do the same stuff they’ve done a dozen times. Kong gets dropkicked to the floor and they brawl up towards the stage for a double countout. It’s Robbie vs. Davey with Richards scoring a modified Crossface for the submission in less than a minute. Jesse comes in and gets headbutted by Gunner and Davey.

A slingshot suplex from Gunner brings in Spud, who is quickly gorilla pressed (read as Jesse lifts him up and moves his arms a bit) about fifteen times in a row, only to have Spud roll him up for the pin. Tyrus comes in for a head vice and the submission from Spud, followed by Hardy rolling Tyrus up for another pin. As you might expect, Josh doesn’t get that Spud was knocked out and thought he tagged Hardy despite not being within ten feet of him. Those eliminations all came in about thirty seconds.

We’re down to Hardy, Davey and Gunner vs. Storm and Carter. Gunner starts working on Storm’s shoulder but Storm hits a quick Last Call to tie things up. Davey rolls Storm up for two and the kickout sends him head first into whatever Khoya had slipped to Carter, giving Ethan another elimination. It’s Hardy vs. Storm/Carter with Jeff pounding away on the captain in the corner.

The Whisper in the Wind mostly misses Storm so Ethan drops Jeff again. Ethan pops up and hits Hardy with the big metal brace on his arm for a DQ elimination. Storm only gets two but he superkicks Jeff on top. It doesn’t knock Jeff out though as he throws Storm down, kicks Khoya away, and drops the Swanton for the pin and the victory.

Rating: D-. As you might have expected, TNA screwed this part up too as they went through eleven eliminations in the span of just over ten minutes because they had to keep up that stupid “no you’re it” nonsense to start. This was yet another uninteresting match with little drama and nothing I’m ever going to remember. Boring stuff, as I think all the fans knew were coming.

As soon as the pin goes down, Josh shouts about how Ethan wasn’t pinned because that’s the most important thing on the show.

The trophy presentation and a recap video wrap things up.

Overall Rating: F-. I know we talk about JBL, Cole and the rest of the WWE announcers being annoying and they’re valid complaints. However, Josh Matthews makes them seem like the patron saints of broadcasting. I cannot remember a time where I sat through a wrestling show wanting to scream at an announcer for all of the stupid, unprofessional, self serving, not funny and downright horrendous things he spent this show going on about.

I get that TNA doesn’t care about these shows, but at least the drivel that the commentators spew serves some purpose other than the amusement of one person. Matthews is following in Tazz’s footsteps on these shows and it’s somehow making them even worse. The wrestling was totally uninspired and dull but Matthews’ commentary made it that much harder to sit through, which continues to make these things the most grueling shows I’ve ever had to sit through. Act like professionals already and maybe you won’t keep getting bounced from one network to another. Or just fire Josh already.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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World Cup of Wrestling II
Date: September 5, 2014
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 1,400
Commentators: Taz, Mike Tenay

Of all the One Night Only shows, the first World Cup was probably the most entertaining. They actually did something different instead of just going with the same bracketed tournament that they almost always do. Last time they had a group of wrestlers from various countries (and Aces and 8’s) and used a point system. This time it’s four captains with teams and no real affiliation but the same points idea. Let’s get to it.

The opening video shows us the captains: Kurt Angle, Bobby Roode, Eric Young (World Champion when this was taped) and Ethan Carter III. Each guy gets a quick soundbyte saying they’ll win.

The structure is really simple: each team will have two singles wrestlers, a tag team and a Knockout. The teams with the most points (assuming a point per win) advance to a tag team elimination match for the World Cup.

JB brings out the captains for the draft. Carter says his aunt made sure he was a captain and he’s appointed Rockstar Spud as his co-GM. Spud comes out in a suit that looks like the UK flag was struck by lightning. Rather than just saying “this captain picks this wrestler” over and over again, I’ll just list them all in the order they were picked.

Team Angle

Kurt Angle

Mr. Anderson

Davey Richards

Madison Rayne

Sanada

Team Roode

Bobby Roode

James Storm

Samuel Shaw

Kenny King

Beautiful People

Team Young

Eric Young

Bully Ray

Gunner

Eddie Edwards

ODB

Team Carter

Ethan Carter III

Magnus

Jesse Godderz

Gail Kim

Robbie E

There was almost nothing interesting said during the picks. Young did his “comedy” and Angle made some implied gay jokes about Carter and Spud. Why Roode is allowed to pick two Knockouts isn’t clear. Also you would think Angle would have taken the chance to get the Wolves together. The draft was a cool idea but it took almost twenty five minutes.

James Storm (Roode) vs. Eddie Edwards (Young)

The fans are entirely behind Edwards to start and Storm nails a quick shoulder to start. A hurricanrana sends Storm to the floor for a baseball slide with Eddie in full control. Back in and Storm sends him face first into the corner before driving some elbows into the chest. Storm catapults him throat first into the bottom rope but Eddie sends him back to the floor for a suicide dive.

Back in again with Eddie still in control but James grabs a quick Eye of the Storm for two. Edwards gets draped over the top rope for a reverse Stunner and two before Storm goes after his hand of all things. Storm takes too much time though and gets caught by a jumping enziguri to put him into the corner. Eddie breaks up a superplex attempt but dives into Closing Time. The Last Call is loaded up but Eddie ducks underneath it and grabs a rollup for the pin.

Rating: C. I liked this more than I thought I would and Edwards continues to look like a better prospect than Richards. The downside to this match is it shows the issues with the show as a whole: the wrestling isn’t bad but without any reason for these guys to be fighting other than points, it’s kind of hard to get into things. It can be done but it’s not easy.

Team Young – 1 (3 matches remaining)

Team Carter – 0 (4 matches remaining)

Team Angle – 0 (4 matches remaining)

Team Roode – 0 (3 matches remaining)

Team Carter sends Gail out for the team’s first match. You can hear Edwards vs. Storm as this is going on. Carter talks about how his team is like a car working on all cylinders. He dubs Robbie as Wheels and we get DJZ’s sound effects (Carter: “Can you feel that in your loins?”). Godderz is called the Butcher and Magnus is a real life captain. This came off like filler. Ethan calls the team the Handsome Man Band.

Gail Kim (Carter) vs. Madison Rayne (Angle)

The fans are totally split as the girls take each other into the corner. Naturally the announcers ignore this to talk about some match from 1962. Madison takes her down to the mat and puts on a headscissors but Gail gets up and bails to the ropes. A headlock has Gail in trouble and she gets caught in a sunset flip for two. The mat humper sends Gail out to the floor before they shove each other a lot.

Madison wins a slugout but Gail clotheslines her down to take over. Taz sounds bored out of his mind on commentary. Gail puts her on the top rope, only to get sunset flipped for another near fall. Madison gets nailed again and Gail puts on a Brock Lock while wrapping her leg around Rayne’s head. It doesn’t last long though so Kim hits the running cross body to the ribs in the corner. They head outside and Madison scores with a spear before throwing Gail back inside. Madison misses a pair of charges and walks into Eat Defeat to give Gail the pin.

Rating: C-. Same match we’ve seen between these two a million times but at least Madison looked good. Gail is about as polished as you’re going to get but she just doesn’t have the charisma to back it up. The Knockouts continue to be miles ahead of the Divas and this was a good example of why.

Team Young – 1 (3 matches remaining)

Team Carter – 1 (3 matches remaining)

Team Angle – 0 (3 matches remaining)

Team Roode – 0 (3 matches remaining)

Bobby Roode brags about his team but isn’t sure why he picked Storm. He promises to lead his team to a win here tonight.

BroMans (Team Carter) vs. Mr. Anderson/Sanada (Angle)

Sanada actually cuts off Anderson’s mic drop and says the last name a few times. Robbie and Anderson get things going with Robbie doing some weird dance. Anderson sends him into the corner for some buckle rams before the good guys start working on the arm. Both of them take turns with top rope ax handles but Robbie rolls over to the corner for the tag off to Jesse.

Sanada slams him down and it’s quickly off to Anderson for a slam of his own. They alternate slams again before Robbie comes in and both BroMans get slammed. DJZ comes in but gets pulled out to safety. The regular team tries to to walk out but Anderson threatens the laptop to make them come back. Anderson puts the laptop down but realizes he doesn’t know how to work it. He does manage to play some music and Sanada busts some moves.

After the fans aren’t all that thrilled, Sanada fixes it up a bit with a slingshot plancha onto the BroMans. Robbie finally takes him down and puts on a chinlock. That goes nowhere as Sanada gets up and brings in Anderson for some elbows to the jaw. The rolling fireman’s carry drops both BroMans and DJZ takes one on top of both of them. Sanada hurricanrans Jesse to the floor but DJZ comes in with the laptop to Anderson’s back, giving Jesse the pin.

Rating: D+. This was your standard comedy match with a surprise ending. The BroMans winning makes the most sense but it would have been nice to see them get in a little bit more offense. I’ll give them this though: they’re at least mixing the matches up tonight so we don’t have to sit through the same stuff over and over again.

Team Carter – 2 (2 matches remaining)

Team Young – 1 (3 matches remaining)

Team Roode – 0 (3 matches remaining)

Team Angle – 0 (2 matches remaining)

Eric Young coins the term Dream Team and says he’s ready.

Eric Young (Young) vs. Bobby Roode (Roode)

Feeling out process to start with Eric taking him down to the mat before a shoulder knocks Roode out to the floor. Back in and Eric cranks on the arm as the announcers make fun of Mike Adamle. A right hand drops Roode in the corner but he sends Young out to the floor and into the barricade. Roode drops an elbow back inside before a neckbreaker gets two.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before the Blockbuster gets two on Eric. The fans get Young back into it to escape a sleeper but he gets sent to the apron for the strut. A belly to belly plants Roode and a missile dropkick gets two. Roode escapes the piledriver and gets two of his own off the spinebuster.

The Roode Bomb is countered into the wheelbarrow suplex into a neckbreaker for two. Eric goes up and blocks a superplex attempt before dropping the top rope elbow for a VERY near fall. Roode gets an elbow up in the corner but dives at Young and right into the piledriver for the pin.

Rating: B-. This was by far the best match of the night but the fans were almost silent. There’s something to be said for this theory that Impact Zone crowds bring the show down and this is a good example. I mean they just did not care about two World Champions going back and forth for thirteen minutes. That’s the kind of thing you can’t blame on the wrestlers but it really needs to be fixed, assuming it’s financially possible.

Team Carter – 2 (2 matches remaining)

Team Young – 2 (2 matches remaining)

Team Roode – 0 (2 matches remaining)

Team Angle – 0 (2 matches remaining)

Angle promises to show Carter why he’s a TNA Hall of Famer.

Video on Kurt Angle’s career in the Olympics and time in TNA.

Kurt Angle (Angle) vs. Ethan Carter III (Carter)

Ethan says he’s concerned for Angle’s well being because Kurt might try to maim him (Carter: “WHAT?”), hurt him (“WHAT?”) or injure him (“WHAT?”), so there’s going to be a change.

Kurt Angle (Angle) vs. Magnus (Carter)

They circle each other for a good while before Angle grabs a hammerlock, sending Magnus running into the ropes. The Brit puts on a headlock and even a suplex can’t break it up. Angle escapes and hammers away in the corner, only to take a knee to the ribs. We hit the sleeper on Angle but Kurt escapes with some rolling Germans.

The Angle Slam is countered into a kind of Rock Bottom around the ribs. He loads up the top rope elbow but Angle runs the corner for the belly to belly superplex and two. The ankle lock goes on until Magnus quickly kicks away and nails a running clothesline. Now the top rope elbow connects for two but Magnus charges into the corner for some reason, allowing Angle to step to the side and nail the Slam for the pin.

Rating: C. This picked up a bit at the end but there was barely anything in the first five minutes. Again the fans were dead and that’s very annoying but it’s a fact of life in TNA. Angle just didn’t have much in the tank at this point and the injuries were really mounting up. I’m almost hoping he doesn’t come back because he could hurt himself very, very badly if he keeps going.

Team Carter – 2 (1 match remaining)

Team Young – 2 (2 matches remaining)

Team Angle – 1 (1 match remaining)

Team Roode – 0 (2 matches remaining)

The Beautiful People say Roode picked them because they’re hot. Everyone needs a paper bag with their face on it and they start beautifying TNA tonight.

Angelina Love (Roode) vs. ODB (Young)

Velvet immediately trips up ODB and Angelina stomps away. They stop for a chest bump though and ODB comes back with running shoulders to send Angeling running to the floor. We get a slow chase scene and Earl Hebner gets caught as we’re in comedy territory. Back in and Earl yells at ODB, earning him a chest shake. Hebner falls to the mat and holds his chest as the Beautiful People come in to jump ODB.

Angelina puts on a chinlock and even jumps on ODB’s back, only to be rammed into the buckle. There’s the fall away slam and a Bronco Buster to Love but the Bam is countered with a rake of the eyes. Sky throws in hairspray but gets her face shoved into ODB’s chest (with the camera cutting away). Love comes back with the Botox Injection for the pin.

Rating: D-. ODB is not funny. I don’t know any other way to put it. She’s done the same “I’M NOT A LADY” stuff for years now and it was old years ago. The same can be said of the Beautiful People. They’ve done the same schtick for a very long time and I just do not care anymore. The comedy didn’t help things either and the whole match was a mess.

Team Carter – 2 (1 match remaining)

Team Young – 2 (1 match remaining)

Team Angle – 1 (1 match remaining)

Team Roode – 1 (1 match remaining)

ODB escapes the makeover post match and shoves Angelina’s face into her chest. Earl wants some but gets kissed and passed out.

Ethan Carter III (Carter) vs. Davey Richards (Angle)

Ethan quickly shoulders him out to the floor before knocking him into the ropes back inside. Back up and a flying tackle drops Carter to the floor where Davey can fire off kicks. Carter takes him down back inside and stomps away before driving in some shoulders in the corner. Davey gets taken down into a gutwrench before a knee to his ribs gets two.

Off to an abdominal stretch and the fans are actually into this one for a change. Spud offers some assistance until Richards flips Carter over to escape. Carter gets taken down by a sunset flip but Richards pops up for a double stomp and two. Ethan bails to the floor and gets caught by a suicide dive. Back in and a missile dropkick gets two for Richards and it’s time for the chest kicks. The big one misses though and Ethan nails a Batista Bomb for two.

Davey blocks the 1%er and nails the kick to the head. He puts on an ankle lock instead of covering but lets it go to try a top rope double stomp. Carter rolls away and nails a running clothesline for two. They head to the corner for a superplex but Davey headbutts Ethan down and gets two off a sunset bomb. The big kick to the head gets two more but Spud trips Davey, allowing the 1%er to send Team Carter to the finals.

Rating: C+. Another nice match here which probably has something to do with the extra time it was given. Spud and Carter work so well together and Carter is actually nailing the serious part of his character. Richards didn’t do much here and all the kicks were getting on my nerves.

Team Carter – 3 (0 matches remaining)

Team Young – 2 (1 match remaining)

Team Angle – 1 (0 matches remaining)

Team Roode – 1 (1 match remaining)

Gunner and Bully Ray are ready for their match. Ray brags about their legs and calves respectfully and Gunner says it’s all about making the finals. Tonight, Kenny King and Samuel Shaw will experience war. Ray: “OH WHAT A RUSH!” Gunner: “That’ll never get over.”

Bully Ray/Gunner (Young) vs. Kenny King/Samuel Shaw (Roode)

Shaw stares at Ray to start so Bully shoves him into the corner for the tag to King. Ray easily shoves him down too so it’s back to Shaw. Samuel gets taken into the corner and has his shirt raised for some skin breaking chops. The shirt stays over Shaw’s head and Ray starts a Gunner chant before bringing him in for a running clothesline. The Al Snow trapping headbutts rock Shaw and a falling headbutt gets two.

It’s off to King who scores with some kicks to Gunner’s face but it’s quickly back to Ray. Bully calls his spots as loudly as possible in a kind of funny bit until Shaw trips him down and crotches him against the post. Shaw comes in and screams a lot while choking. Back to King for more choking in the corner but Ray rolls underneath a double clothesline and tags in Gunner.

House is cleaned and Gunner rams his own head into the buckle before getting two off the top rope headbutt. Everything breaks down and Gunner plays D-Von in What’s Up. They do GET THE TABLES and even Taz mocks the crowd for not caring. Instead Shaw is whipped into Bully’s boot and Gunner nails an F5 for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was a glorified squash and I don’t think it was ever really in doubt. At the end of the day, Samuel Shaw and Kenny King aren’t much of a match for a Hall of Famer and a guy in the upper midcard at this point. Nothing to see here but it was as easy of a way as they had of getting Team Young into the finals.

Team Young vs. Team Carter in the finals.

Ethan sends Spud off to get some coffee and then takes credit for the team doing so well. He talks about fans caring about individuals and star power instead of the team but cuts himself off when Spud comes back with the coffee. This guy continues to be gold.

Bound For Glory is coming to Tokyo. I’m surprised it’s not a One Night Only show given how little TNA seems to care about it.

World Cup of Wrestling: Team Young vs. Team Carter

Eric Young, Bully Ray, Gunner, Eddie Edwards, ODB

Ethan Carter III, Magnus, BroMans, Gail Kim

Elimination rules. DJZ’s description of the team: the Handsome Man Band and one hot Asian chick. Jesse and Edwards get things going with Eddie speeding things up and hiptossing both BroMans. Off to Young for two off a double back elbow before he cranks on Robbie’s arm. Bully comes in for the loud chop and DJZ comes in for some embarrassment of his own.

Gail gets the tag and shoves Ray before hurting her hand trying chops. She sticks out her chest to let Ray chop her but Ray reaches out both hands in a funny bit. Ray goes racial with the Karate Kid crane pose before picking Gail up. He tags in ODB to spank Gail a few times before running her over with a chest bump. A front facelock allows ODB to spank a few more times but Gail comes right back with some of her own.

Jesse gets in one as well so ODB offers the rest of the team a free shot. She counters Eat Defeat into the Bam to take out Gail and it’s 5-4. Jesse comes in and gets his face sent into ODB’s chest but Robbie makes a blind tag and grabs a rollup for the pin. Gunner is in next for some headbutts before it’s back to Edwards for rapid fire chops in the corner. Some kicks set up a Shining Wizard for two but Jesse makes the save.

Off to Magnus for a stomping as Spud coaches from the floor. Jesse gorilla presses Edwards and DJZ is back on the sound effects. Eddie clotheslines both BroMans and hurricanranas both of them at the same time but doesn’t tag. A trip from Magnus lets the BroMans hit a clothesline into a cradle for the elimination.

It’s 4-3 now and Bully is taken into the Carter corner. Jesse actually slams Bully for two but walks into a Rock Bottom for the fast pin. Robbie tries to come in but gets launched into the air. The Flip Flop and Fly drops Robbie again but Magnus nails Bully in the face, giving Robbie the upset pin. It’s down to Gunner/Young vs. Magnus/Carter/Robbie.

Gunner charges in but gets caught in the heel corner again to give Carter’s team the advantage. Off to the chinlock by Carter but he makes the mistake of ramming Gunner face first into the buckle. Robbie takes the punishment in the form of an Irish Curse before the Gun Rack makes him submit. 2-2 now and we have a pretty decent looking tag match. The Brit comes in and takes a slingshot suplex but knocks Gunner out of the air with a European uppercut. A Michinoku Driver eliminates Gunner and we’re down to a handicap match.

Young charges in and the heels continue their idea of catching their opponent in the corner. Carter slams him down and gets two off a splash before putting on a chinlock. A belly to back suplex breaks it up but it’s back to Magnus to stop Eric’s comeback. We get the standard heel miscommunication and they argue, allowing Young to hit the wheelbarrow into the neckbreaker for two. Carter makes the save but hits Young low for a DQ. It’s one on one now and a hard clothesline puts Eric down. Magnus tries a piledriver but Young reverses into one of his own for the pin and the cup. Tenay of course acts like it’s no big deal.

Rating: C. You could pretty much pencil this in almost down to the exact eliminations but that’s fine. Young pinning Magnus was still a big deal at the time as he has just done it to win the World Title that week so the win meant more back then. It’s a nice way to cap things off and they even managed to protect Carter. That guy is going to be a big deal in the near future.

A VERY quick presentation ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s nothing great but this is my favorite of all the One Night Only series concepts. They keep things moving and offer you enough of a variety that there’s enough reason to care. If you like competitions and keeping track of scores you’ll like this fine and it’s a perfectly acceptable use of three hours. Again, the HD version is $15 so how much complaining can you do if things are at least decent?

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World Cup of Wrestling
Date: December 7, 2013
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s another One Night Only show but at least this time there’s a fresh idea to it. See, this time instead of a tag tournament or a singles tournament, it’s an international tournament. It’s in the vein of the World X Cup if you remember that from WAY back in the day. It’s an interesting idea but I’m not sure if it’s going to be all that interesting. This is TNA so I can’t imagine it being so. Let’s get to it.

We open with the highlight reel of stuff we haven’t seen yet. The four teams are USA, United Kingdom, International and Aces and 8’s. It looks like there’s a singles guy, a tag team, an X-Division guy and a Knockout each.

JB explains the rules: There will be eight matches with the winners receiving one point apiece. The teams with the most points advance to an eight man elimination tag for the cup.

Here are the teams, in order of X-Division, Knockouts, tag team and singles.

United Kingdom – Rockstar Spud, Hannah Blossom, Rob Terry/Douglas Williams, Magnus

International – Sonjay Dutt, Lei’D Tapa, Petey Williams/Funaki, Judas Mesias (from AAA in Mexico)

USA – Kenny King, Mickie James, Bad Influence, James Storm

Aces and 8’s – Wes Brisco, ???, Doc/Knux, Mr. Anderson

The Aces and 8’s will introduce their Knockout later, even though she was already shown on the opening video. On paper the USA team should dominate this.

Video on Team UK with each member getting a mini profile. Basically it’s a British Boot Camp and British Invasion reunion.

Magnus says he’s motivated tonight and he’s standing up for what is right. Tonight, it’s right for him to go to work.

Mr. Anderson (Aces and 8’s) vs. Magnus (UK)

Anderson takes him into the corner to start and shakes his head at Magnus. The Brit shoves Anderson into another corner and slaps Anderson in the face as the match stays in first gear. They slug it out until Anderson’s cross body is caught in midair for a modified scoop brainbuster. Anderson goes up top and as Magnus comes over to stop him, gets his arm snapped over the top rope to put Magnus down.

Mr. goes after the arm and bars it on the mat for a bit. A shoulder block gets a pair of near falls on Magnus and he gets whipped hard into the corner. Off to a hammerlock into a slam down onto the arm for two. Back to the armbar as Anderson is in full control. Tazz talks about Magnus being a metrosexual for some reason as the Brit charges into a boot in the corner. A double clothesline puts both guys down but it’s Anderson up first, stomping Magnus down in the corner.

Magnus’ arm is slammed onto the apron but he comes back with a knee to the face and a clothesline with the good arm. The top rope elbow gets two but Anderson comes back with a hot shot for no cover. Mic Check is countered and Magnus hits that Michinoku Driver of his for the pin and the first point.

Rating: C. Basic match here but it was a nice win for Magnus. The arm work was a decent enough story for the match, even though it didn’t play into the ending at all. The match didn’t have much heat but at least Magnus got a clean pin, which is what a glorified jobber to the stars like Anderson is good for.

UK – 1 (3 matches remaining)

USA – 0 (4 matches remaining)

International – 0 (4 matches remaining)

Aces and 8’s – 0 (3 matches remaining)

Video on Team USA in the same style as earlier with everyone getting a quick profile.

Kenny King (USA) vs. Sonjay Dutt (International)

King takes him into the corner to start and talks a lot of trash. The fans are behind King here even though he’s a heel at the moment. You have to love good old fashioned xenophobia. King takes him down with a headlock but Dutt counters into one of his own. Off to an armbar for a bit before Dutt sends him to the floor for a big flip dive. Back in with King dropkicking Dutt off the top as Tazz talks about moving Team International’s headquarters in a joke that goes on WAY too long.

King hooks a chinlock but Dutt fights up and puts on an octopus hold of all things. It looks good but doesn’t last long as King flips him over and gets two off some right hands. Back to the chinlock from King as Tazz keeps talking about Scandinavia for some reason. Dutt jawbreaks his way out of the hold and drops King with a jumping elbow to the jaw. A tornado DDT gets two on King and a slingshot splash gets the same.

The fans chant USA as you would expect them to do as King breaks up Sliced Bread #2. King catches a cross body in a spinning Irish Curse backbreaker for two. Dutt’s throat is snapped across the top rope and a springboard kick to the face gets two. King tries a reverse AA but Dutt flips out and rolls him up for two. A standing Sliced Bread #2 looks to set up Dutt’s moonsault double stomp but King rolls away and hits a running knee to the chest for the pin.

Rating: C+. Cut two minutes or so out of this and it’s much better. This was a much more fast paced match as you would expect but it dragged a bit in the middle. The current state of the X-Division continues to make me shake my head as the title is never defended and guys like these two never make it to TV at all. Such a shame.

USA – 1 (3 matches remaining)

UK – 1 (3 matches remaining)

International – 0 (3 matches remaining)

Aces and 8’s – 0 (3 matches remaining)

Team International says they’re going to turn things around. Well Funaki says he’s #1 but you get the idea.

Hannah Blossom (UK vs. Lei’D Tapa (International)

Blossom is a normal sized girl so this is power vs. speed. Tapa shoves her around to start and drives Blossom into the corner as Tenay and Tazz have one of their TOTALLY NATURAL moments of banter. Hannah gets an awkward looking cross body for two but gets kicked in the face to get us back to the natural order of things. Tapa slams her down as Tazz gets a text from Judas Mesias, saying where the party is when Team International wins. Blossom gets caught in a chinlock but fights up with some clotheslines to no effect. A high cross body gets two for Hannah but gets caught in the fireman’s carry Stunner for the pin for Tapa.

Rating: D. This was a glorified squash which makes sense given who was in there but it doesn’t make the match any more interesting. Even worse though was the commentary as they were practically going out of their way to be annoying and unfunny. I don’t know if someone is telling them what to say but good grief I’d hope they’re not this naturally irritating.

International – 1 (2 matches remaining)

USA – 1 (3 matches remaining)

UK – 1 (2 matches remaining)

Aces and 8’s – 0 (3 matches remaining)

Tazz declares the leader board to be lazy for reasons of general stupidity.

Aces and 8’s say they’re taking over the world tonight. Their Knockout is Ivelisse from Gut Check.

Video on Aces and 8’s which is a recap of the team’s history instead of profiles.

Doc/Knux (Aces and 8’s) vs. Funaki/Petey Williams (International)

Funaki gets thrown into the corner and stomped down during the entrances to give the bikers an early advantage. Doc gets things going against Funaki and the dominance begins quickly. Funaki is dragged into the heel corner and it’s off to Knux for some clubbing forearms and more double stomping. Some right hands have no effect on Knux but Funaki keeps swinging and actually staggers Doc. The bikers easily break up the tag attempt though with Doc taking Funkai down to the mat in a leg lock.

The slow beating continues and there’s not much to talk about here. It’s the same power offense over and over again on Funaki as we’re over five minutes into this. Funaki’s sunset flip is easily blocked but Knux sits on the mat instead of Funaki’s chest. The hot tag is broken up again though as the beatdown continues. Knux puts on a front facelock and we get the unseen tag for old times’ sake. Funaki stops a charging Doc with a boot in the corner but his tornado DDT is broken up.

An enziguri is FINALLY enough for the hot tag to Williams as things speed up. Petey headscissors Knux into 619 position and dropkicks him in the back as everything breaks down. A running DDT gets two on Knux and Petey low bridges Doc to the floor. Funaki gets two on Doc off a cross body but Knux comes back in with a hammer shot to Funaki for the pin.

Rating: D. This was REALLY boring as it ran nearly fifteen minutes with about twelve of those being spent on a long Funaki heat segment. It doesn’t help that the small guys have never teamed together that I know of and are facing a regular team. Nothing to see here and WAY too long on top of that.

Aces and 8’s – 1 (2 matches remaining)

International – 1 (1 match remaining)

UK – 1 (2 matches remaining)

USA – 1 (3 matches remaining)

Video on Rockstar Spud, including an endorsement from Hogan.

Wes Brisco (Aces and 8’s) vs. Rockstar Spud (UK)

Brisco pie faces Spud to start and the far smaller guy gets right in Wes’ face. Spud is a face here despite being a heel by the time this aired. Wes easily takes him down and puts on a chinlock before hitting a hard clothesline for two. Spud comes back with a dropkick and some right hands in the corner, only to be dumped out to the floor. Back in and we hit a chinlock as Tazz calls him Rockspar Stud.

A neckbreaker gets two on Spud and it’s off to a cravate. That’s too British for Brisco so it’s back to the good old American chinlock. Spud fights out and dropkicks Brisco out to the floor to set up a big flip dive over the top. The fans are actually behind Spud as he gets two off a high cross body. Brisco just shakes it off and powerslams Spud for the pin.

Rating: C-. Basic match here but at least it was a bit shorter than the other ones we’ve sat through so far. Brisco is a guy with some talent but he was stuck paling around with Bischoff for so long. Spud is far better as a heel who annoys everyone and his in ring stuff is only ok at best.

Aces and 8’s – 2 (1 match remaining)

International – 1 (1 match remaining)

UK – 1 (1 match remaining)

USA – 1 (3 matches remaining)

Bad Influence talks about great Americans, like George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Jefferson. “It took a lot of strength and work for him and Weezie to move up to the east side.” Tonight they’ll cement their names in American history with other greats like Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln and Spider-Man. Daniels even sings a little America the Beautiful. He says he’s sexually delicious like a bowl of Horny Charms and you have permission to worship them. Absolutely hilarious stuff and the fact that So Cal Val looked great in a low cut blue blouse helped quite a bit.

Bad Influence (USA) vs. British Invasion (UK)

It’s Terry and Williams for the Brits here. Bad Influence is WAY over as a face team here which is bizarre to see but fits perfectly well. Terry starts with Kaz and the smaller guy climbs the corner to escape a headlock. The power is a bit too much for Kaz so he rolls (completely unnecessary, making it all the more appropriate) to the corner for the tag to Daniels. Christopher doesn’t want him either but comes in to bounce off Terry a few times.

Williams comes in with some clotheslines and a freaky looking double arm hold (Daniels’ arms were wrapped around Williams’ legs) into a rollup for two. Back to Terry vs. Kaz as Rob cranks on the arm. Daniels and Williams quickly come back in with Chris being armbarred down like it’s nothing. Bad Influence finally cheats a bit, allowing Daniels to STO Williams down to take over.

Kaz comes in with a clothesline for two and we hit the chinlock. Daniels comes in behind the referee’s back as the dynamic of the match gets even more and more confusing. Williams tries to fight out of the corner with forearms but walks into a Daniels clothesline to put him back down. Daniels kicks away at Douglas and puts on a chinlock to slow things down. Williams comes back with a jumping elbow to the jaw for two and there’s the hot tag to Terry.

A double clothesline puts Bad Influence down and we get a double belly to back suplex of all things. That looked awesome. Terry hits a tilt-a-whirl powerslam on Kaz to set up a top rope knee drop from Williams but Daniels makes the save. A top rope European uppercut puts Kaz down but Daniels breaks up the Rolling Chaos theory. Bad Influence gets in a quick High/Low for the pin on Williams for the point.

Rating: C+. This was probably the best match of the night so far but the face/heel dynamic hurt it a lot. Bad Influence was over because of the USA idea but the Brits were wrestling as faces. It doesn’t help that Williams hasn’t been seen in forever and Terry had been a heel other than a quick face run against Robbie E which may or may not have even happened when this was taped.

USA – 2 (2 matches remaining)

Aces and 8’s – 2 (1 match remaining)

International – 1 (1 match remaining)

UK – 1 (0 matches remaining)

The Brits are officially eliminated.

Video on Mickie James, including something about her country music push as a heel.

Mickie James (USA) vs. Ivelisse (Aces and 8’s)

To say Ivelisse looks hot as the biker in leather is the understatement of the night. How in the world does she not have a job? They circle each other to start until Mickie grabs the arm and takes Ivelisse down. Ivelisse is sent into the ropes for a breather as Taz starts to sing for no apparent reason. James hooks a headlock and Ivelisse bails to the floor. Back in and Ivelisse takes Mickie down and pounds away for two.

Mickie gets choked on the ropes but escapes from a wristlock to dropkick Ivelisse down for two. James pounds away in the corner but gets sent shoulder first into the post. Ivelisse gets a VERY delayed two count and a backbreaker gets the same. The kickouts are frustrating Ivelisse so she hooks a chinlock. James fights up and scores with some clotheslines followed by a neckbreaker for two. Mickie goes up top but here are the Aces to shove her off, giving Ivelisse the easy pin.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing special but there is no reason why Ivelisse doesn’t have a job in TNA. She looks great, she has some MMA style to her and she would be a nice breath of air to a division that hasn’t had a new face in a long time. Mickie was her usual self here even though she’s gone soon.

Aces and 8’s – 3 (0 matches remaining)

USA – 2 (1 match remaining)

International – 1 (1 match remaining)

UK – 1 (0 matches remaining)

Now, to prove how little thought TNA puts into these things, here’s the Ultimate X match that determined the winner of the World X Cup from the summer of 2008.

Ultimate X: Kaz (America) vs. Volador Jr. (Mexico) vs. Naruki Doi (Japan) vs. Daivari (International)

 

This is for four points apparently, so more or less the winner wins everything, making the entire previous three rounds totally pointless. Daivari is allegedly predictable in this. Ok then. West thinks Kaz is the favorite because of his experience letting him know that he’ll know how to win earlier. YOU CLIMB UP AND GRAB THE FREAKING X! How hard is this?

 

Daivari wisely goes after Kaz’s arm. That makes the most sense here if nothing else. Oh and only Kaz is a face here. We can’t have nice foreigners! West says Kaz is close to being a world champion. Oh the comedy! Oh and also, great idea on telling us to stop watching your show so we can go get our computers to vote on something on the show later on. In other words, a stipulation for later on in the night is more important than the match you’re watching at the moment. Volador is pretty fun to watch. Kaz manages to get above the X and almost unhooks it but Daivari makes the save.

 

It worked as it’s not like Kaz had a long time up there like in a ladder match so it didn’t look completely ridiculous which is a very nice difference. Also he used his legs to get there so he kept selling the arm from earlier. In a MIND BLOWING spot, Daivari is going across a cable with his back facing the ring so he’s looking up at the ceiling. Kaz climbs up to the metal thing that holds up the cables and JUMPS off of it, crashing down with a clothesline onto Daivari and killing himself in the process. That was INCREDIBLE. It also lets Volador go up and get the X for the win and the Cup.

 

Rating: B. This was another great high impact battle that worked perfectly for what it was supposed to do. I wasn’t sure who was going to win and I was thinking it would have been Team TNA but a surprise is always good. This was your usual crazy spotfest but it worked quite well.

Now that the time filler is over, back to modern times.

James Storm likes the idea of his team depending on him and mentions Ricky Morton for some reason.

Mesias (International) vs. James Storm (USA)

This should be interesting. Mesias punches Storm into the corner to start but James comes back with right hands of his own. They head outside for more punching with Mesias being whipped into the barricade. Storm rams him into various other metal objects until they head back inside for a Mesias powerslam. A clothesline in the corner staggers Storm as we actually talk about Mesias being in TNA before.

Storm’s comeback is stopped by a pull of the hair but he grabs a quick Russian legsweep to get a breather. An atomic drop and bulldog drop Mesias and there’s the enziguri in the corner for two. Mesias hits a quick Downward Spiral for two and a clothesline gets the same. The frustration sets in for Mesias and Storm makes it worse by winning a slugout. Mesias jumps over Storm in the corner but turns into the Last Call for the pin and the spot in the elimination match for USA.

Rating: C-. Sluggish match here but there’s something awesome about winning a match with a superkick. Mesias is someone I’d like to see come back to a major American company but he seems content to just do his thing in Mexico. At least Storm gets a big win in the clutch for once.

Final standings:

USA – 3

Aces and 8’s – 3

UK – 1

International – 1

We recap the matches so far tonight.

Team USA vs. Aces and 8’s

James Storm, Kenny King, Bad Influence, Mickie James

Mr. Anderson, Wes Brisco, Doc, Knux, Ivelisse

Elimination rules and even the girls are in this one. Mickie and Ivelisse get things going but Ivelisse tags in Doc instead of fighting. Doc gets a slap instead of a kiss and it’s off to Daniels. Chris gets caught in the corner but scores with a back elbow before bringing in Kaz for some good old American double teaming. Kaz tags out to King who doesn’t do as well, getting caught in a full nelson, allowing for some shots by Anderson. Kenny gets a quick two off a clothesline before it’s back to Kaz for some forearms.

Anderson gets in a knee to the ribs and it’s off to Brisco who is taken into the American corner. I say American even though everyone in the match is American (Ivelisse is from Puerto Rico which is part of America). Bad Influence double teams Brisco in the corner and the other three partners come in for five straight splashes in the corner. Aces and 8’s just let this happen and a double suplex from Bad Influence gets a two count.

Off to King who puts Wes in a chinlock and a back elbow to the jaw for two. A jawbreaker sends Brisco to the apron but he counters a suplex into a cross body with Ivelisse holding Kenny’s leg for the pin. Daniels comes in for some hip thrusting, prompting Taz to ask why Bad Influence likes having sex with the air. Storm comes in and pounds away before it’s back to Kaz for a spinning springboard legdrop for two.

Brisco gets a knee up in the corner to stop a charging Daniels and tags in Ivelisse for some reason. Mickie pulls her in and beats on Ivelisse like she stole something. The beating continues until Mickie misses a charge into the post, only to come back with a clothesline. A top rope Thesz perss eliminates Ivelisse but Brisco comes in with a quick rollup to eliminate Mickie. Storm comes in just as fast and Backstabs Brisco for the pin.

We’re down to Storm/Bad Influence vs. Anderson/Doc/Knux and it’s Storm vs. Knux in the ring. The bikers get Storm into the corner for some triple teaming before Doc comes in and pounds away. James fights out of the corner and makes the tag off to Kaz, who catches Knux coming in with a dropkick. A slingshot DDT puts Knux down and Daniels’ BME is enough for the pin.

It’s Doc in next and the Americans speed things up with some double teaming in the corner. Kaz dropkicks Doc but can’t put him down, only to get caught by a big uppercut. Off to Anderson who puts on an armbar as a transitional move, which is a big reason why limb psychology is dying. A neckbreaker drops Kaz for two but he gets a boot up in the corner to stop a charging Anderson. Both guys hit cross bodies at the same time and we get a breather.

The double tag brings in Storm and Doc as everything breaks down. Daniels holds Anderson’s arms but Storm accidentally hits Chris in the face. That’s enough being nice for Bad Influence and they walk out, leaving Storm two on one. Anderson drops some knees into Storm’s back for two and it’s back to Doc for more powerful right hands. We hit the chinlock again but James fights up with some right hands to the ribs. The Aces try some double teaming but Storm sends them together and rolls Anderson up for the pin. Last Call takes Doc’s head off and Storm wins for the good old USA.

Rating: B-. This was good stuff and Bad Influence steals yet another match. The eliminations made sense here and made Storm look good to close things out. He’s a guy who needs that kind of a push more than anyone else so having him win again here is certainly a good thing.

Bad Influence comes out to celebrate and get beaten up as well. Dude Daniels pinned Knux. Show some gratitude already. Storm and James get the cup to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this way more than I expected to. Now of course there are some issues with it (old match, continuity being thrown out the window), but at the end of the day this is a fifteen dollar special and shouldn’t be held to the same standards as a major PPV. The idea for the show was a good one as well and felt like something of interest rather than just something they threw together. If you can ignore some of the flaws and just get into the competition and matches, you’ll have a good time with this. It’s pretty easily the best One Night Only to date.

Results

Magnus b. Mr. Anderson – Michinoku Driver

Kenny King b. Sonjay Dutt – Running knee to the chest

Lei’D Tapa b. Hannah Blossom – Fireman’s carry into a Stunner

Doc/Knux b. Funaki/Sonjay Dutt – Hammer shot to Funaki

Wes Brisco b. Rockstar Spud – Powerslam

Bad Influence b. British Invasion – High/Low to Williams

Ivelisse b. Mickie James – Pin after Wes Brisco shoved James off the top

James Storm b. Mesias – Last Call

Team USA b. Aces and 8’s – Superkick to Doc

 

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