Eric Young is in the ring with the microphone as the show opens, saying that he’s been the #1 contender for five weeks, and one way or another, he’s taking the title back. Suddenly some very familiar music hits, and Bully Ray comes out to the ring in a referee shirt (under his Aces & Eights jacket) as he will apparently be the special referee tonight. He smiles as the fans chant welcome back, then he asks if we know who he is and informs us that he’ll be the special referee for tonight’s TNA World Title match.
We see a video package hyping all of tonight’s top matches, and Impact Wrestling starts now!
EThan Carter III comes out to the ring with Tyrus, shaking fans with his constituents on his way down. He gets a mic and says there’s an energy in this building and it’s for something we’ve all been dying to see: EC3 for champ. He has faith in the democratic process and the fans had the right to vote, and he knows the fans chose an arm wrestling contest. He does this for the fans, he sat in their seat, and thank god for Impact Wrestling (you can’t wrestle/yes he can chants), and thank god for EC3. Ken Anderson comes out and does his intro, and reveals the results that landed 85% in favor of a falls count anywhere match. I know, I’m as surprised as you.
Falls Count Anywhere: Ken Anderson vs Ethan Carter III
Anderson fights off Tyrus at the beginning, then ducks out of the way of a charge to send Tyrus sailing out of the ring. Anderson dumps Carter out after him, then suplexes Carter back inside. Carter tries to beg off, but Anderson unloads with some big right hands before Tyrus drags Anderson out to the floor and whomps on him with big clubbing forearms. Anderson ducks one and gives Tyrus a Mic Check into the ringpost, and Carter gets an awesome “OH CRAP!” look on his face and tries to head for the hills. Anderson cuts him off and piung pongs him back and forth between the barricade and ring apron, then low blows Carter and covers for 2. Anderson looks like he’s toned up quite a bit since the last taping. Anderson pulls a bunch of chairs out from under the ring and forms a pile out of them, and he tries to dump Carter on them but Carter slips out and gets a schoolboy rollup on the floor for 2. Carter with a nice overhead release suplex onto the entry ramp and covers for 2. Carter spits right in Anderson’s face, but that just seems to piss off Anderson, who hoists Carter up and hits a Finlay roll onto the chairs for a couple of 2 counts. They head back inside where Anderson takes Carter’s head off with a clothesline, a rolling neckbreaker, and another Finlay roll. Tyrus finally recovers enough to come in and bowl Anderson over, then t-bone suplex him across the ring. Tyrus with a charging splash in the corner, a heart punch, and Carter crawls over to cover for 3.
Winner: Ethan Carter III
Great match, but if you’re going to have Carter pull shenanigans to escape certain defeat, I really wish they’d do it against someone a little more important than Ken Anderson.
Tonight, Kurt Angle defends the TNA World Title against Eric Young. Speaking of Angle, he’s backstage giving Bully Ray a big hug and welcoming him back to TNA. Angle wants to know that Bubba is going to call it down the middle, and Bubba responds by asking if he knows who he is before walking off.
Gail Kim comes up to Amazing Kong backstage and says she knows they’ve never been on the same page ever, but Taryn Terrell has made a mockery of the Knockouts Division and asks Kong if she’s in. Kong silently nods and walks off.
MVP comes down to the ring with a devil mask that belongs to Homicide, who can’t be here tonight because of someone who blindsided Homicide at a bodega in the Bronx while he was picking up some phillies. MVP thinks the Rising might know someone who could be responsible for that, but the BDC does what they want to do and takes what they want to take, and when they do that, people call them thugs. MVP says that thug is a new code word for ****** (fill in that one on your own), so these thugs are gonna take the Rising out.
Drew Galloway comes out with Micah and Eli Drake and says he knows MVP is upset, but the reality is that the streets aren’t his playground, that ring is, and if we’re going to be totally honest, a guy who calls himself Homicide isn’t probably the most endearing scamp in the world and it could have been anyone who jumped him. MVP asks Drew if he had nothing to do with it, and Drew says that they had nothing to do with it, and maybe they shouldn’t be looking at them, maybe they should look at home field. He saw Kenny King’s face when Homicide touched his title last week and asks where he was last Friday. MVP wants to make clear to Drew that he doesn’t give a damn about proi wrestling, he wants the money, prestige, and power that comes with being a champion like Kenny King did. Drew cares about workrate, MVP cares about interest rates, and asks if he’s seen MVP’s house, his cars, and his jewelry. MVP was supposed to bring the World Title back to the BDC, but Drew stuck his nose in and the movement starts now. Drew asks MVP if he wants Drew one-on-one, so since we’re live…
The Rising rushes the ring and clears the BDC out as we go to commercial.
MVP vs Drew Galloway
We’re back and MVP is beating down Drew Galloway and choking him on the ropes. Drew gets a shot in and goes to the second rope, but MVP yanks him out by the ankle and Drew hits hard. MVP makes a couple of covers for two counts, then goes back to unloading the heavy artillery. MVP with a knee to the breadbasket and a few more two counts, but MVP fires off a big boot and Drew comes back with one of his own that puts MVP firmly on the mat. They go out to the floor where MVP hoists Drew up and giant swings him into the barricade, then the BDC goes face to face with the Rising as a brawl is narrowly averted. MVP puts Drew into the post and then sends him back inside where he covers for 2. MVP tries one cover after another but Drew won’t stay down, and Drew also rolls out of MVP’s finish and hits the Future Shock DDT for 3.
Winner: Drew Galloway
The bell barely rings when Eric Young comes in and lays Drew out with a chair, then joins the BDC in an all out attack on the Rising.
We go backstage where James Storm is arriving with a big gift. The Dumbass Cameraman asks him what it is, and Storm says it’s a gift for a very special friend. He’s got all kinds of gifts for this person, and they’re going to unwrap them very, very slowly.
James Storm comes out with the giant gift box and says he could stand here talking about drinking beer, but he doesn’t want to take away from the greatest women’s wrestler, and introduces Mickie James, who comes out with a big naive smile on her face. Storm says he knows she’s transitioning to motherhood, and without his mother there to teach him right from wrong, he doesn’t know what he would do, so thank god for mothers. But to her now, she said she wanted to do one last match, and he also wants to celebrate her music. He got her a gift, and he can say she’s a great wrestler and a great musician, but she’s not…she’s an amazing wrestler, an amazing musician, and an amazing friend. Storm leads the fans in a chant to open it as he hands the gift box to Mickie, who gleefully tears it open to reveal…A BIG PURPLE GUITAR. Storm says on behalf of all the fans and himself, he wants to thank her. Mickie hoists the guitar high, and Mickie says it’s awesome and he shouldn’t have done it. Storm starts to sing, but the fans boo so he has a ringside photographer come in to take a picture of them making their metal faces. Magnus comes down to the ring and he doesn’t look happy. Storm tells Magnus not to ruin the party because he got Magnus a gift too. He pulls out a big spiked helmet and asks Magnus if he remembers it, then says he thought it was a great gimmick. He leads the fans in a chant to put it on, but Magnus shoves him and hustles Mickie out of the ring. Storm says he was just trying to have fun, but Magnus isn’t having it, he tells Storm he’s crazy and walks off. Storm says he has one more gift he forgot to give him one more present for his son Donovan, and he can tell him it’s from his good friend Uncle James. Storm turns to put the gift back in the bag, but Magnus powerwalks down to the ring, takes Mickie’s guitar, and KILLS Storm with it. Like DAMN, Jarrett wishes he could swing a guitar like that! That was like 13.4 on the Honky scale! Mickie looks upset, Magnus looks pissed, and Storm does an evil smile as they leave.
We look back at earlier tonight when Bully Ray returned to TNA, then the BDC catches up with Eric Young and asks what was upw ith his help earlier. He says that he saw they were down a man with Homicide out and decided to help out, then says he doesn’t like MVP but they make good business partners and they already took the title off of Bobby Roode together, but now they can take the title off of Kurt Angle and make it THEIR World Title. Eric tells MVP to think about it and leaves as Kenny King complains that he thought they were done with Looney Tunes.
We look at Robert Irvine’s show this past week when his wife Gail Kim showed up, and Gail got into a confrontation after the show with Taryn Terrell, who bought a ticket to the show and took selfies with Robert’s daughters after the show, who she says are awesome and nothing like Gail said they were.
Gail Kim & Amazing Kong vs The Dollhouse
Gail and Jade start off and Gail dominates, then Kong tags in and flattens Marti. Gail quickly tags herself in and they argue for a second before they double team both Marti and Jade together. Taryn comes in and blindsides Gail when they had their backs turned, and Marti quickly swoops in and attacks Gail, gouging at her back and hitting a hair bulldog. Jade tags in and she hits a rolling senton in the corner, then cradles Gail for 2. Jade with a series of martial arts kicks and tosses Gail across thering by the hair. Marti and Jade hit a version of Total Elimination for 2, but a botched double team allows Gail to clear Marti out and lock the royal octopus on Jade. Taryn comes in with a boot to the face to break that up, but Marti makes the mistake of trying a cheapshot on Kong, who goozles her and shoves her into a clothesline from Gail. Gail finally makes the tag and Kong is in with Taryn and absolutely flattens her, literally chases Jade and Marti off, and goes for an Implant Buster. Jade and Marti break that up, but Kong clotheslines them both, Gail missile dropkicks Taryn, and makes a cover that Marti breaks up at 2. Kong gives Jade an Implant Buster as Taryn sneaks in and pins Gail with a schoolgirl rollup.
Winners: The Dollhouse
Marti gets caught in the ring and takes Eat DaFeet and then the Implant Buster as Taryn and Jade look on helplessly from ringside.
Josh informs us of Jeff Hardy’s recent injury, and then we see Matt Hardy backstage with both belts as we go to commercial.
We look back at earlier tonight when Magnus ruined James Storm’s presents, then we go backstage where Magnus says he promised he’d try to keep his cool, but Storm crossed the line when he disrespected his family. Mickie says she thinks Magnus disrespected her out there, then tells him to think about it and leaves.
Jeremy Borash brings out Matt Hardy for an in-ring interview, and Matt says Jeff is in pain, and they promised each other they would still be the best team and defend the title everywhere because they’re still the best team in the world, but then the injury happened. The Jeff we see on TV is the real guy, he’s a daredevil and Matt’s always tried his best to deal with it, but this time the decision is being made for them and the Hardys are forced to vacate the TNA World Tag Team Title. Matt lays the belts down and says it’s time to go home and figure out what’s best for him, then he leaves. Bobby Roode and Austin Aries come out, give Matt props in the aisle on their way in, then hit the ring where Aries says he hasnt forgotten about Eric Young, but now he wants to talk about the World Tag Team Title, which seems to be cursed since whoever holds the title gets injured and is forced to vacate them. That’s unfortunate, but it’s also an opportunity, and standing before the fans are the two most dominant World Champions in the history of TNA, two men who held the World Tag Team Title and didn’t get hurt, and two men who are the greatest tag team in the world. Roode says the title doesn’t deserve to be forfeited every other week, they deserve to be defended by two men who get in the ring and bust their asses to prove that they’re two of the greatest wrestlers on the planet today, the best tag team in the world. Davey Richards’ music hits, and he powerwalks down the aisle to share his thoughts as well. Davey tells them they’re right that the title deserves to be around the waist of the best team in the world, and the best team here for the last two years has been the Wolves. He gives credit where it’s due because they are two of the best in the world, but that title belongs to the Wolves. Aries tells Davey they’ve known each other a long time, but he said Wolves as in plural, but there’s nobody standing next to him so there’s no Wolves. Davey says he didn’t finish and Wolves always hunt in packs, and he wants to introduce his brother, his partner: Eddie Edwards! Eddie comes out to the ring, no crutches, no hobbling, he seems to be just fine. Davey hands Eddie the mic as the fans give Eddie a nice welcome back chant, and he says the last time he walked out of this ring it was with a broken heel and a couple of crutches, but as everyone can see, he’s good and as of noon today, he’s been cleared to wrestle once again. Aries and Roode might believe they’re the best team in the world, but the Wolves know they’re the best team in the world, so let’s end the discussion right now by fighting for the TNA World Tag Team Title. Eddie says let’s not make it one match because we don’t want any excuses, so let’s give the fans something they’ll be talking about for a long time, so how about a tag team best of five series? Eddie asks the fans if they want to see it, which they do, and Roode says if they want it and the fans want it, they’re on.
Drew Galloway catches up with Matt Hardy backstage and tells Matt to look at the big picture because things change every week around here. He respects Matt so much and he thinks he and Matt are a lot alike because they both have their principles, and know that neither of them would ever walk away from a fight. Drew pats Matt on the back and leaves as Matt looks sulky.
Angelina Love is in the ring and says that she’s constantly getting asked what she thinks of the Bromans breaking up, Angelina and Gail teaming up for the first time, the Dollhouse, and she doesn’t care about any of it because she’s here to talk about MEEEE! (meaning Angelina) She’s a six time Knockouts Champion and the greatest Knockout ever! Suddenly, Velvet Sky appears in the crowd and Angelina asks how she got here because she’s supposed to be fired. Velvet comes into the ring and gives Angelina an angry glare as Angelina says Velvet looks like she hasn’t seen the sun in a hot minute, then she says Velvet seems mad and she knows it looked like she was happy when she got fired but she wasn’t. She got all of Velvet’s calls and text messages, but she was busy being awesome and having a life. Angelina says they can be best friends again and gives her a big hug, but Velvet stares Angelina down instead, so Angelina says she gets it, Velvet is back to steal Angelina’s spotlight again, but without her, Velvet is nothing. Velvet is just staring silently, so Angelina screams at her to say something, so Velvet spears Angelina and starts beating the crap out of her before choking Angelina with her own hair. Hey, you can get fired for that! The backstage officials run in and drag Velvet off as the fans chant to let them fight.
Eric Young gets in Bully Ray’s face backstage and asks him pointblank if he’s going to stab him in the back. Bubba says he doesn’t care what they do to each other out there, he’s here to ref the match and raise one of their hands and that’s it.
It’s main event time, and our special referee is in the ring!
TNA World Title Match: Kurt Angle vs Eric Young
They quickly go to the mat, Young tries to get rough but Angle quickly shuts that down with an overhead release suplex. Young goes to the eyes to turn the momentum, Angle tries to fire back, but Young goes to the eyes again and heads to the top. Angle suplexes Young off the top, then they head out to the floor where Young hits a clothesline and Bubba yells at them to take it back inside. The BDC comes out to observe the action as we go to commercial.
We’re back as Eric Young delivers a neckbreaker for 2. The Beat Down Clan has made their way to ringside as Young and Angle engage in a slugfest in center ring, Young gets the better of that and chokes Angle in the corner with his boot. Angle escapes a chinlock and it’s another slugfest before Angle starts unloading the suplexes. Angle gets the anklelock, Young desperately reaches for the ropes and does it with a little assistance from MVP. Young rolls forward and sends Angle out to the floor right in front of the BDC, and Bully Ray admonishes them to stay away from Angle. Young comes in and low blows Bubba from behind while he has his back turned, the BDC jumps Angle, and Sgt. Chris Melendez runs out to try and make the save, closely followed by the Rising. There’s a huge brawl going on out on the floor that gradually makes its way up the ramp, leaving Young and Bubba alone in the ring. Young does the throat slash and goes for a piledriver on Bully Ray, but Bubba backdrops him, Angle is back in and hits the Angle Slam, and covers for 2. Angle waits for Young to get back to his feet, goes for another Angle Slam, Young rolls through, hits a piledriver, and Angle kicks out at 2. Young can’t believe it, so he motions for the big elbow. He goes to the top, hits a crossbody, Angle rolls through and gets the anklelock, and Young taps out.
Winner: Kurt Angle
No surprise there, and glad Bubba didn’t screw Young after getting nailed in the ding ding and we got a clean finish instead. Bubba hands Angle the belt and goes back to holding his tender areas, which he does all the way to the back, even after raising Angle’s hand at the top of the ramp.
Source: PWInsider
