1.    8 Card Stud Tournament Quarterfinal: Desmond Wolfe vs. D’Angelo Dinero

The show opened with 4 straight quarterfinal matches in the tournament, the first of which was this Genesis rematch. This was a good match but not as good as their first encounter due to the shorter amount of time they were given. The two men do some chain wrestling early on before Wolfe hits a big uppercut. Dinero responds with some strikes but Wolfe hits a huge shoulder block. Dinero counters the Tower of London but Wolfe starts to regain control, working over Pope’s arm and utilizing a chin lock. He hits a DDT for a near fall and then starts to wrench at Dinero’s head. Dinero fights back into it with some more strikes and an inverted atomic drop before hitting the Coronation followed up by a top rope cross body for a near fall. Wolfe’s second attempt at the Tower of London fails but he hits a big chop followed by a superplex. Dinero ducks the big lariat and goes for a roll up but it’s only good for 2. Wolfe charges Dinero in the corner but Dinero moves and hits a second rope hung neckbreaker, followed up by the running knees to the back (the DDE) and a successful pinfall. The match was way too short but still enjoyable. Match Time: 7:40     Match Rating: 6/10

2.    8 Card Stud Tournament Quarterfinal: Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan

Our next quarterfinal match starts off with a stare down before the big men lock up. Morgan hits a couple shoulder blocks before Hernandez responds with one of his own. Morgan counters the Border Toss and hits the rapid fire elbows in the corner. Hernandez goes for a move off the second rope but they botch and Hernandez just sort of falls down. Morgan hits a splash in the corner and a side slam but only gets a 2 count. He connects with an apron leg drop for another near fall before hitting a couple clotheslines. Hernandez reverses an Irish whip and slingshots himself over the top rope with a shoulder block and both men are down. Hernandez hits a delayed vertical suplex before Morgan rolls onto the entrance ramp. Hernandez hits a big shoulder block over the top rope onto the ramp but clutches his shoulder. Morgan holds down the ropes to let Hernandez get back in the ring, but once he enters Morgan throws him shoulder first into the ringpost, then rolls him up and hooks the tights for the win. This was a very sloppy big man match with a dumb ending. Match Time: 9:01     Match Rating: 3/10

3.    8 Card Stud Tournament Quarterfinal: Mr. Anderson vs. Kurt Angle

This was arguably the best match in the whole tournament, which isn’t really saying much. Anderson gets a headlock takedown early but Angle responds with a shoulder block and a side headlock. Anderson chokes Angle with his boot but Angle hits a snap suplex and punches Anderson in the corner. Anderson sends Angle into the ringpost before cutting him open with Angle’s dog tag necklace. Anderson hits a DDT and puts on a rear chin lock. Angle fights back into it with some clotheslines, a belly to belly suplex, and a huge lariat. Angle hits three Germans in a row but can’t hit the Angle Slam. Anderson tries to tear the padding off a turnbuckle but the ref ties it back on. Anderson unties another turnbuckle and tries to send Angle into it, but Angle hits the Angle Slam for a near fall. Anderson fights out of the Ankle Lock and sends Angle into the exposed turnbuckle before hitting the Mic Check for the victory. Good, solid match. Match Time: 9:49    Match Rating: 6.5/10

4.    No Disqualification 8 Card Stud Tournament Quarterfinal: Abyss vs. Mick Foley

Bischoff makes this match No DQ in a backstage segment, making this match better than it would be ordinarily but still not that good. Basically a typical Abyss garbage match only with his opponent utilizing the weapons rather than him. The story was Abyss didn’t want to use weapons because he didn’t want to hurt Foley. The men lock up a couple times, with Abyss shying away from using a barbed wire bat. Foley hits Abyss in the face a few times before the two fight outside the ring. Foley sends Abyss into the guardrail before hitting him with a chair. The action returns to the ring where Abyss hits a big kick but Foley connects with a spinning neckbreaker. Foley pounds on Abyss before dumping a bag of tacks in the ring. Abyss grabs Foley by the throat, but is careful to chokeslam him away from the tacks. Abyss gets the sock and tries for the Mandible Claw, but Foley takes a shoe off the ref and takes his sock to put the Mandible Claw on Abyss. Foley breaks the hold and grabs the bat, but Abyss catches him with a Black Hole Slam onto the tacks for the win. Decent story but still not a good match. Match Time: 7:44     Match Rating: 4/10

5.    The Nasty Boys vs. Team 3D

Ugh. Yuck. What a horrible match between these dinosaurs. Match kicks off with the Nasty Boys punching and stomping at 3D as the faces entered the ring. The Nasties eventually leave the ring after 3D starts to get the upper hand. Wow, Knobs’s punches looked awful. Ray and Sags start things off with Sags raking Ray’s eyes before tagging in Knobs, who also uses some cheap tactics. 3D takes down Sags with a double clothesline and the Nasties take a long pause outside the ring. The Nasties then work over Devon for a really long time. Sags chokes D-Von on the floor before Knobs hits him with a scoop slam in the ring. Devon starts to fight back into it with some strikes but can’t make the tag. Knobs then applies a weak-looking abdominal stretch. Devon finally gets the tag to Ray who cleans house. Ray hits a couple corner splashes, but when he tries for a uranage on Sags, Sags refuses and just sort of falls down (BOTCH!). Sags takes a botched 3D, but Jimmy Hart enters the ring and gives Knobs a weapon. Knobs hits Ray with it and pins him to win the match for the Botchies (Sorry I meant Nasties, eh same thing.). This was an atrociously terrible match. The Nasty Boys should be ashamed of themselves. Match Time: 10:40     Match Rating: DUD (0/10)

6.    8 Card Stud Tournament Semifinal: D’Angelo Dinero vs. Matt Morgan

This was a little better than expected but still not a particularly good match. Dinero tries to go after Morgan’s leg but Morgan exploits his own size and strength, tossing Pope around. He hits the rapid fire elbows, a splash, and a side slam before choking Dinero against the ropes. Dinero fights out of a bear hug and kicks Morgan in the knee a couple times. Morgan hits a big slam for a near fall but Pope hits a big tornado DDT and both men are down. Pope sends Morgan into the ropes but Morgan hits a lariat as Pope went for the Coronation. Morgan pounds on Dinero in the corner, but Pope sidesteps the Carbon Footprint. Morgan is hung up in the corner and Dinero hits the DDE for the win to advance to the finals. Decent big guy vs. smaller guy match but way too short. Match Time: 8:31     Match Rating: 5/10

7.    8 Card Stud Tournament Semifinal: Mr. Anderson vs. Abyss

This was very similar to their match at Genesis, except this one was a bit shorter. Anderson does a good job playing the heel and hits a lot of punches and kicks early on. Abyss doesn’t budge during Anderson’s powerslam attempt, so Abyss just slams him. Abyss sends Anderson to the outside and uses the steps and guardrail as weapons. Anderson dropkicks Abyss in the knee back in the ring and pounds away at him before attempting to rip Abyss’s mask off. Anderson continues to focus the attack on the knee, kicking at it and tying it up in the ropes. Abyss comes back with a back body drop, corner splash, and a side slam. He hits Shock Treatment for a near fall as Anderson rips away at the mask. Anderson rips at the mask again as Abyss goes for a chokeslam. Mistaking the ref for Anderson, Abyss grabs the ref by the throat. Anderson then kicks Abyss in the leg before hitting the Mic Check for the win. Very uneventful match but some decent storytelling with the leg and mask. Match Time: 8:09     Match Rating: 4/10

8.    TNA World Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles(c) vs. Samoa Joe

Eric Bischoff is the special guest referee for this title match, which shockingly is not the main event. AJ comes to the ring with blonde highlights and a Nature Boy robe. Joe and Styles lock up several times before AJ hits a couple shoulder blocks. Joe responds with one of his own, pounds on AJ in the corner, and hits a big kick. Styles fights back with a jawbreaker and a chop but Joe hits a huge leg lariat. Joe hits a couple kicks but Styles counters a third kick with a dragon screw. Joe knocks AJ to the outside before hitting a suicide dive into the guardrail. AJ sends Joe into the ring post before removing some padding from the floor. He tries for a suplex on the exposed concrete, but Joe counters and tries for one of his own. AJ counters that but retreats to the ring. Both men trade several chops before AJ puts Joe on the top turnbuckle. He tries for a Frankensteiner, but Joe hangs on and hits a leg lariat off the second turnbuckle for a near fall. Joe connects with a uranage, but AJ starts to punch away at Joe before being admonished by Bischoff, allowing Ric Flair (who was at ringside the whole time) to slam Joe’s knee into the ring post. Styles goes to work on Joe’s knee, hitting elbow and knee drops onto it before putting on a modified Indian Deathlock. He then utilizes the Figure Four and holds Flair’s hand for leverage, but Bischoff sees this and forces AJ to break the hold. Joe hits some clotheslines and an atomic drop before hitting a snap powerslam for a near fall. AJ comes back with a springboard forearm before hitting a moonsault inverted DDT for a near fall. Joe reverses the Styles Clash with a rear naked choke, but instead of dropping to the mat he hurls AJ backwards with a suplex. Joe hits the Muscle Buster, but Bischoff is busy with Flair outside the ring and can’t make the count. Joe gets physical with Bischoff, allowing AJ to recover and hit a Pele kick followed by a Styles Clash for the win. Very good title match, but these guys have probably done better. Match Time: 21:27     Match Rating: 7.5/10

9.    8 Card Stud Tournament Final: D’Angelo Dinero vs. Mr. Anderson

In an interview segment, Pope got ambushed by Scott Hall and Syxx Pac, so he limps out onto the entrance ramp as the ref began counting him out to open the match. Anderson breaks the count repeatedly to beat down Pope on the ramp with punches. Pope hits a slap before the fight goes to the ringside area. Anderson hits a knee before sending Dinero into the steps. Dinero finally gets back into the ring after selling injuries and hits some strikes, but Anderson sends him into the corner and kicks him in the back of the head. Dinero comes out of nowhere with a small package attempt but Anderson sends him into the corner. Both guys trade even more strikes (this pattern goes on FOREVER) before Anderson chokes Dinero and applies a rear chin lock. Pope avoids some clotheslines but Anderson hits a knee and some stomps followed up by a clothesline for a near fall. Dinero finally mounts some offense by hitting a shoulder block and a couple suplexes. He hits and STO for a near fall but Anderson responds with more strikes. Pope hits the 4 Up before hitting the DDE to Anderson’s chest, but only gets a 2 count. Anderson hits a clothesline, then grabs the mic and says he’s about to be the number one contender. He hits the Mic Check but Dinero kicks out. Anderson hits a Finlay roll but misses a senton. He charges at Dinero in the corner but is sidestepped, which is followed by Pope hitting the DDE to win the match and the tournament. Putting over Dinero is the one good thing that came out of this “pay-per-view”. The main event itself was a very bland, slow, plodding match that was heavily repetitive and boring. Match Time: 15:47     Match Rating: 5/10

Overall PPV Rating: 5.75/10

My name is Jared Silberkleit. I am from Orange, CT and am a huge fan of pro wrestling. I mostly follow WWE and TNA but I also watch the smaller promotions such as ROH and DGUSA. I have been a lifelong WWE fan and have become a TNA fan over the past few years. Aside from wrestling, I also really love baseball and football and follow many other sports such as hockey and MMA. I have written for www.sportsgrumblings.com for over a year now.

1.    Ultimate X match for the TNA X Division Championship: Amazing Red(c) vs. Suicide vs. Homicide vs. Daniels vs. Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin

Wow. Talk about a way to kick off a PPV. What an amazing match for TNA to have as the opener to this show. Yes it was a spotfest but it was a very fun and jaw-dropping spotfest. The Guns replace D’Angelo Dinero because he had to leave due to a family emergency. Only a couple minutes in Red hits an amazing (no pun intended) hurricanrana to Daniels off the top turnbuckle which sends Daniels onto everyone else outside the ring. Homicide is one of the first to go for the title but Suicide springboards off the ropes to pull him down. The Guns do many of their double team moves throughout, including a nice doomsday device missile dropkick and a spot where Sabin did the giant swing to Suicide followed by a dropkick from Shelley. One of the most memorable spots for me was when Red was dangling from the X and Suicide did a springboard dropkick to him, resulting in Red falling a long distance to the ring. There was also a unique tower of doom spot where Red hits a powerbomb to Sabin while Sabin hits a release suplex to Suicide, who is able to dropkick Daniels while falling to the mat. The men also are able to connect with their finishers, which includes Red hitting a corkscrew leg drop, Daniels hitting the BME, and Suicide hitting the Suicide Solution. Eventually, Daniels, Suicide, and Red climb to the top of the structure: the X scaffold holding the red ropes in place. All 3 men brawl atop the structure and both Daniels and suicide tease suplexes to each other. Daniels climbs down through the scaffold and onto the ropes, then hits an absolutely stunning and dangerous looking release suplex to Suicide off the structure, resulting in both men crashing to the ring. The Guns then try to climb across the ropes to get to the title, but Red crawls through the scaffold and knocks off Shelley before grabbing the title to win the match. I have to catch my breath now. Match Rating: 8.5/10

2.    TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Sarita and Taylor Wilde(c) vs. The Beautiful People

Lacey Von Erich’s attempts at seducing the referees fail as she is ejected from ringside before the start of the match. This was for the most part the same fun match these two teams had at the last PPV but it was even shorter than that match. Both teams work each other over with hot tags and double team moves for a couple minutes before Sarita takes out Velvet Sky with a missile dropkick. With Wilde locking her hands around Madison Rayne’s waist, Sarita hits a dropkick to Rayne immediately followed by a German suplex into a bridge pin from Wilde, and the faces retain their titles. I feel that these belts should be on The Beautiful People and that this match shouldn’t have been on the card, but we can’t always get what we want. Match Rating: 3/10

3.    TNA Legends Championship: Kevin Nash(c) vs. Eric Young vs. Hernandez

This match really surprised me and ended up being probably Nash’s best match of the year and a pretty fun match in its own right. They told a good story with Hernandez looking like the big power guy who could take on anyone and Nash and Young staying allied to wear down the (face) big man. They use a lot of punches and kicks to keep Super Mex down while Hernandez went after the heels with his power moves. Young counters a suplex from Hernandez into one of his own, which is impressive considering the size difference between the two. Hernandez also impressed for a guy his size with some high flying moves such as a diving double clothesline, a suicide dive over the ropes onto Young, and a big missile dropkick to Nash. Late in the match, Nash big boots Super Mex and goes for the Jackknife Powerbomb, but Young throws Hernandez headfirst into Nash’s balls before pinning Nash to become the Legends Champion. I really liked the ending and thought it came off very well and this was a decent match. Match Rating: 5.5/10

4.    Full Metal Mayhem for the TNA and IWGP World Tag Team Championship: Booker T and Scott Steiner(TNA champions) vs. The British Invasion(IWGP champions) vs. Team 3D vs. Beer Money Inc.

Surprisingly, though it had its spotty moments, this match was not a complete nonsensical spotfest. The way they set this match up was that one of each title was hung on the steel X scaffold from the Ultimate X match. The match starts out with the Mafia and Beer Money accepting British Invasion’s earlier backstage proposal and ganging up on Team 3D. Eventually this breaks apart with 3D fighting the Mafia and Beer Money fighting the Brits. Steiner uses a ladder to work over Devon’s shoulder while Beer Money sends Doug Williams into a chair set up in a corner of the ring. Steiner chokes out Devon while Beer Money hit the DWI to Booker T, who is later seen outside the ring and is carted off on a stretcher. Meanwhile, Steiner chokes out Devon with an extension cord before going in the ring to clean house by belly to belly suplexing everyone. He then hits a very impressive Frankensteiner to Williams. I must say, Steiner really worked hard in this match and turned in a great performance. 3D eventually works their way back into by hitting chair shots to everyone, which leads to Ray giving Zakk Wylde a chair at ringside and letting him hit Magnus. Williams gets chokeslammed through a table before 3D gives simultaneous chokeslams through separate tables to each of Beer Money. Steiner scales a ladder to go for the TNA titles but 3D hits a dual powerbomb to him off the ladder through a table. Ray and Devon then climb the ladder to get the IWGP belt but Rhino charges the ring and hits both men with chair shots. Devon is able to hang onto the title as he falls off the ladder so Team 3D are the new IWGP Tag Team Champions. This was likely done because NJPW is very upset with TNA’s treatment of the belts and many in Japan already considered 3D to still be the champions. Anyway, the match continues with Beer Money hitting a nasty looking suplex off two side-by-side ladders to Williams before being met with chair shots from Magnus. Storm hits a sunset-flip powerbomb to Magnus off a ladder but takes a chair shot from Williams. Roode and Williams fight atop the ladder, with Roode getting the upper hand, but Rob Terry enters the ring and picks up Roode before press slamming him over the top rope through a table outside the ring. He then gives Williams a boost up to allow The British Invasion to become the TNA World Tag Team Champions to end the match. I was pleased with the outcome and the match was just awesome. Match Rating: 7/10

5.    TNA Women’s Knockout Championship: ODB(c) vs. Tara vs. Awesome Kong

This match was a mild disappointment after starting off so promisingly. Great action between all three ladies that included Kong hitting a double splash to ODB and Tara, Tara putting a tarantula submission hold on ODB around the ropes, and Tara hitting a moonsault to ODB for a near-fall. They did the short-lived alliances between ODB and Tara, Kong looking like the dominant heel, and all that good stuff and this looked to be one of the best women’s matches in a very long time. Unfortunately, it got hurt by a spot in the middle where Tara, while outside the ring, brawled with a “fan” revealed after the show to be Kim Couture, and she had to go to the back. This left the crowd silent as ODB basically had a one on one match with Kong. They did some okay back and forth but not nearly as good as what was going on with Tara in the ring. ODB hits a nice samoan drop for a near fall before Tara comes back to the ring. Kong tosses her out and hits a top rope splash to ODB, but Tara breaks the pin up. Kong again gets rid of Tara before hitting ODB with an Implant Buster for a near fall. Raisha Saeed then comes to ringside to give Kong a chair, but Kong doesn’t want it and keeps kicking it away. Kong goes for a second Implant Buster but ODB counters into a bulldog on the chair before covering Kong to retain her title. A decent women’s match but it could have been better. Match Rating: 5.5/10

6.    Submission match: Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley

This match greatly underdelivered and ended up being very disappointing. It started off very good with a lot of back and forth action from Joe and Lashley that included many power moves. Lashley hits a nice spinebuster to Joe and also at one point in the match counters an abdominal stretch with a solid hip toss. Joe did some cool things such as a powerslam and a suicide dive early on. Unfortunately, much of this match consisted of Joe and Lashley putting on various armbars and leglocks and the whole thing felt rushed as well. Just after hitting the 8 minute mark, Joe apparently passes out while Lashley has Joe in some kind of armbar/neck hold combination, resulting in Lashley winning the match. The finish was poor and Joe ends up getting really hurt by this match. Disappointing. Match Rating: 4/10

7.    Monster’s Ball: Mick Foley vs. Abyss w/ Special Guest Referee Dr. Stevie

Considered by some to be a dream match come true, this hardcore match was not quite as good as it could have been but it was still fairly enjoyable. Only a couple minutes in, Foley and Abyss brawl on the side of a steel structure on the entrance stage, which ends with Foley knocking Abyss off, sending him through part of the stage. This looks cool until we are shown that he landed on cardboard. Foley then dives onto Abyss with the barbed wire bat before walking back to the ring. Abyss then returns to the ring where he and Foley brawl with trash cans and a ton of barbed wire. Abyss drags the guardrail closer to the ring and lines up a barbed wire board across the rail and the ring apron. Abyss irish whips Foley into a barbed wire board in the corner, but goes into the barbed wire himself when Foley moves out of the way as Abyss charges at him. Abyss then gets sandwiched in between two barbed wire boards and is shown bleeding from the arm and the face. Foley then dumps tacks out in the ring and Abyss goes to chokeslam him on them, but Stevie tells him that if he does, he will be disqualified (a stipulation was that Abyss couldn’t use thumbtacks). Abyss hits a Torture rack backbreaker to Stevie before Daffney comes down to the ring and hands Foley a…….taser. Ugh. This time, there is an explosion when the taser is used on Abyss. Another ref comes down to the ring, botches the attempted pinfall, and Abyss kicks out. An insane spot then occurs when Abyss chokeslams Daffney through that barbed wire board set up earlier. He then gives Stevie a black hole slam on the tacks before chokeslamming Foley on another barbed wire board. Abyss then drags Stevie over to Foley and uses Stevie’s hand to count the pinfall. Good hardcore match but not quite as brutal as what people expected. Match Rating: 6.5/10

8.    Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan

This match was actually a very pleasant surprise. It started off somewhat slow and had me questioning how exactly they were going to book this thing, but it ended up being a very entertaining “what do I gotta do to beat this guy” match. Morgan hits many rapid fire elbows to Angle early on before the two brawl outside the ring. Morgan misses a Carbon Footprint and gets caught in a Figure Four from Angle. Morgan eventually turns over on his back and the hold is broken when Angle reaches the ropes. He later hits a big fall away slam and chokeslam to Angle for near falls, but Angle retaliates with three big German suplexes. He goes for the Angle Slam, but Morgan counters and hits the Carbon Footprint for a near fall. Morgan then misses a splash in the corner and gets caught with an Angle Slam, but kicks out. Angle then applies the Ankle Lock again but Morgan powers out. Morgan then hits a Hellevator for another near fall, then goes for a Tombstone Piledriver, but Angle rolls through and applies a third Ankle Lock. Morgan powers out yet again but is caught with a second Angle Slam. Rather than going for the pin, Angle hits a tope rope splash, but Morgan again kicks out. Morgan then has Angle on his shoulders, but Angle gets out of hit and gets the win with a victory roll roll-up. I didn’t mind the finish and the match told a great story and was highly enjoyable. Match Rating: 7/10

9.    TNA World Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles(c) vs. Sting

After doing so much right on this PPV, TNA ends the night on a sour note. The big confrontation between Styles and Sting was totally lackluster and disappointed greatly. For much of the first 5-10 minutes of the match, all the two did was brief headlocks and lockups before pausing to mug for the camera. The match finally starts to heat up when Styles dropkicks Sting, sending him out of the ring before Styles dives off the apron and crashes into the guardrail. The two then brawl briefly outside the ring before heading back into the ring, where Sting counters a Tombstone attempt from Styles with one of his own for a near fall. Styles hits a nice springboard elbow before a series of counters ends with Sting hitting the Scorpion Death Drop. Sting then splashes AJ in the corner before connecting again with the SDD for a near fall. After again briefly fighting in the ringside area, Styles hits a Pele kick to Sting on the ring apron before hitting a springboard splash for the 1-2-3 to retain his title. Really? That’s it? An anticlimactic finish out of no where? Anyway, Sting makes a speech after the match, where he basically answers those inquiring about the continuation of his career with, “I don’t know”. This lackluster match was the main event to TNA’s biggest show of the year. The company still hasn’t figured out a way to end a PPV well.  Match Rating: 5/10

Overall PPV Rating: 8.25/10

My name is Jared Silberkleit. I am from Orange, CT and am a huge fan of pro wrestling. I mostly follow WWE and TNA but I also watch the smaller promotions such as ROH and DGUSA. I have been a lifelong WWE fan and have become a TNA fan over the past few years. Aside from wrestling, I also really love baseball and football and follow many other sports such as hockey and MMA. I have written for www.sportsgrumblings.com for roughly a year now as well.