ThunderStruck: TNA Hardcore Justice 2012 Reaction

Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez defeated Gunner and Kid Kash.

 


 

^Filler material. TNA wants to push Chavo as a legend, but aside from competing all over the world, the man has never really accomplished anything spectacular or stood out in any capacity. Let’s be honest, Eddie carried him when they were Los Guerreros. Using a family name to keep popularity is sad; at least Vickie has become a unique character over time.

Rob Van Dam defeated Mr. Anderson and Magnus in a falls count anywhere match.

^The Pope was attacked by Aces and Eights before the match. Good for him; it’s probably the most exciting thing to happen to his character since his near induction into the wolf pac. This was a short match, and it wasn’t really anything significant, but RVD goes over and jumps up the ladder in the BFGS.

Devon defeated Kazarian in a short match to retain the TV Title.

^Well, the TV Title was defended, but not on regular TV! This was nothing special, and I was a little surprised that Kazarian didn’t get the win given that he’s not even in the BFGS. I wonder if he’s in the doghouse with management for some, despite being a tag team champion. Devon is rumored to be leaving soon, but there’s no guarantee on rumors.

Madison Rayne defeated Miss Tessmacher to become the new Knockout’s Champion. Rayne held the ropes while Earl Hebner counted the pin.

^Earl didn’t technically screw this one up, but TNA loves to give us boring and controversial finishes. Tessmacher shouldn’t have lost the title so quick; the prestige of the title was built up well by Gail Kim for her lengthy reign, and this title loss for Tessmacher seems very premature to me, clean or not.

Bully Ray defeated Jeff Hardy, James Storm, and Robbie E in a tables match. Ray powerbombed Hardy through a table after Aces and Eights distrated Hardy from defeating James Storm. Aces and Eights also stopped Ray from beating Storm earlier in the match and gave Storm a thumbs up symbol.

^Aces and Eights is obviously “setting up” Storm to look like their leader, but the storyline could go one of two ways. First, Storm could actually be in cahoots with Roode and be in charge of the group, or Storm is simply being setup to look like the leader until someone else is revealed to be in charge(Sting, Ray, Roode…ect). This match wasn’t anything special, but the enhancement of the Aces and Eights storyline is SOMEWHAT intriguing. They need to do something different soon though or I’m going to lose interest. Maybe unmask one of the members?

Zema Ion defeated Kenny King to retain the X-Division Title.

^This was a good match, and I’d even go as far as to call it almost great. However, Zema Ion looked extremely sloppy and nothing like a champion. I wasn’t impressed by Ion, but I think TNA has plans for this rivalry to carry out, and so Kenny King will have to make the best of it until TNA booking is smart enough to put the strap on him. Solid performance from King as I expected.

AJ Styles defeated Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels in a ladder match.

^This match was the most overall exciting of the night, and it was a classic spotfest ladder match. Joe, Daniels, and Styles have combined to put on incredible matches in the past, and the trio plus Kurt Angle made for one helluva ladder match. It’s times like these where I get to eat my own words for knocking TNA’s continued pairing of Styles and Daniels in a rivalry. Excellent match.

Austin Aries and Bobby Roode wrestled to a double pin with two referees. The match was restarted and Aries was able to schoolboy rollup Roode for the three count to retain the World Heavyweight Title.

^This match went from brawling to wrestling to a false finish to a restart to a rollup “fluke” win after failed cheating. It was a great story, but the false double pin finish and restart really slowed things down and didn’t impress me. Much like the Ironman match at WrestleMania 12, I HATE restarts to matches that should’ve been properly booked. Restarts do not build momentum; they take away from the flow of the contest. As a fan, I personally don’t like it. What I do like is the fact that Austin Aries held onto the World Title, and I also like the potential for him to face other opponents outside of Bobby Roode now.

Final Thoughts: With the exception of the main event and the four way ladder match, this card was very average and I felt like I was watching an episode of Impact. The main event was great, and the ladder match was highly exciting and fun to watch. The X-Division Title match was solid, but it could’ve been the main event of Impact. Remember watching WCW Main Event on TBS on the same night of a ppv? Whether you do or not, that’s what this felt like. It’s somewhat of a common theme across the board with pay per views in general, but doesn’t it feel like you should be getting more for what you pay for? Overall, I’d give the show a thumbs up, but this definitely was not as good of a ppv as some of the others that TNA has put on in the last few months.

If I do a rundown this week, it will probably be without FCW(no uploads) and ROH(can’t watch on time) again. The rundown may be nixed this weekend anyway because of Summerslam predictions from the Smarks and the tribute column for our first inductee into Thunder and Lightning’s Pure Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame! Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!

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