Rob Van Dam vs Zema Ion
How good this match is will largely depend on how motivated RVD is. Too many of his TNA matches have been by the numbers. Both guys look good out of the blocks, with an Ion twisting kick from the top being an early high. I really like some of Ion's offence here, with a tornado DDT from inside the middle ropes being really nice, followed by an insane plancha. Nice bit of work sees RVD selling the head injuries from the aforementioned DDT leading to him failing to hit a monkey flip, instead getting dropped headfirst on the top turnbuckle. The match seems to be building nicely, until RVD reverses an Irish whip into a knee to the face before nailing Rolling Thunder and the 5 Star out of nowhere to win.
Samoa Joe vs Magnus
It's heartening to see just how much Magnus has improved since joining TNA. He gets to show some nice agilty and speed early on, surprising Joe with a clothesline from nowhere before leapfrogging him and nailing a high knee. I was also impressed by Magnus catching Joe coming off the ropes with a Michinoku Driver. Both guys throw some big bombs at each other, drawing a (possiblt premature) "This Is Awesome" chant. I like the way that both guys are are to counter each other, thanks to knowing each other as tag partners. Hence Joe avoiding a Magnus clothesline for the Kokina Clutch, only for Magnus to reverse that with the Bret/Piper pin for two. The end was pretty nice too. Magnus tried a figure-four on Joe, only for Joe to grab him on the turnaround for the Clutch to gain the win. Good ten minute bout.
James Storm vs Bobby Roode
MMA fighter King Mo is the outside enforcer. Loved Storm hitting Roode with an early punch so hard that he needed to check his hand. The thing I always find odd with Storm is that he's got a gimmick that implies grizzled brawler, but he uses moves like Codebreakers, which don't really fit. Here, he shows that he really is a good brawler, with a nasty legsweep directly into the railings. Storm blades nastily following a slingshot into the post, and Roode hammers the cut. Storm's selljob of the blood-loss is top draw, even when on offence, and it's this that allows Roode to gain momentum. What is also great is how King Mo doesn't really get involved, but instead helps sell the match by reacting in horror at the carnage as both guys trade weapons shots. Cowboy is so bloodied he borrows a beer to try and wash some plasma off his face. Roode gets two after spearing Storm through a table. Last Call gets a totally convincing nearfall for Storm. Roode makes a big mistake by bringing tacks into the ring, as he tries to superplex Storm onto them, only to get knocked from the top onto the tacks himself. Storm insanely follows with a top rope elbow for two. Not learning from this, Roode brings a bottle of beer into the ring, and again it backfires as Storm smashes it over his head. Storm Last Call's Roode back onto the tacks and picks up the win. Bloody, brutal, fantastic match.
Joey Ryan vs Al Snow
Like the last match, this is another example of TNA actually building a storyline longterm with 5 months of buildup to this match. Snow still looks in good shape. The early parts show the veteran Snow dominating by out-thinking Ryan. Ryan takes control, but keeps stopping to pose, which gives Al advantage again. Ryan kicks out at two following a SnowPlow. Al goes under the ring to fetch Head, but the ref prevents him using it, leading to Ryan barging Snow into the ref. Ryan tries a baseball slide, but Snow outsmarts him again by trapping him in the ring apron. Snow goes to get Head again, but Matt Morgan appears from nowhere to hit the Carbon Footprint on Snow to gift the win. Decent enough for what it was.
Kazarian & Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles & Kurt Angle vs Chavo Guerrero Jr & Hernandez
The World Tag Team Champions of the World decide to let the two challenging teams go at it, until Angle takes control on Guerrero. Then Daniels blindtags himself in, only for an annoyed Angle to boot him and drag him to AJ for a return blind tag. The teamwork between Guerrero and Hernandez is pretty solid considering how recently they joined together. TNA have also done a good job of presenting them as being on the same level as Styles and Angle. Kaz and Daniels regain dominace by attacking AJ behind the refs back, and isolate him in their part of the ring. Nice little heat sequence, which you don't normally get in triple threats. In fact, you get the added bonus of AJ also having to avoid the Mexican corner. Finally, he tags in Angle, who races through everyone. We predictably head into non-stop spotfest territory, the highlight being a huge dive from the ring to the floor by Hernandez. Until, of course, seconds later AJ nails a double-jump springboard plancha to the floor. Insane. It suddenly feels like a different match to the first half. It all ends when Hernandez blind tags AJ as he falls from the ring, and a Border Toss/ Frog Splash combo win it for him and Guerrero. As I said, felt like two different matches, but the ending was undoubtedly exciting.
Miss Tessmacher vs Tara
I often find Tessmacher looks a bit hesitant on offence, but the opening moments here look pretty smooth. I guess because these two are real life friends. Tara takes control early, which makes sense as Tessmacher is a better seller than on offence. This isn't a great match, but at least they aren't afraid to lay in the blows on each other. Tessmacher's top rope flying headscissors was pretty good. A missed top rope elbow from Tessmacher leads to Widow's Peak for a clean Tara win. After this, Tara introduces her Hollywood boyfriend, who is some guy called Jesse from Big Brother.
Aces & Eights vs Sting & Bully Ray
Not sure how a man so awesome as a heel as Ray still works as a face, but he does. Aces appears to be Mike Knoxx and Luke Gallows. Sting and Ray attack them outside the ring as they cuff Joseph Park to the railings. Bully and Sting have control, until one Ace moves his partner out of the way of a Stinger Splash on the rails. The Aces wrestle in line with the gimmick, just big nasty guys hitting big meaty offence, so Aces vs Bully is just great. Ray's diving shoulder block from the 2nd rope looks killer. Another Ace runs in as Bully has control and downs him, before spitting at Park. This outrages Park so much he breaks his cuffs and downs the rogue Ace member to a huge pop. Bully and Sting nail a Doomsday Device on one Ace to another huge pop. Sting yells to Bully to get the table. A fourth Ace runs in though, and spinebusters Bully through the table for the Aces win. Afterwards Hulk Hogan comes to the ring to demolish the Aces members, and the faces unmask the interferring Ace as Devon.
Austin Aries vs Jeff Hardy
Aries seems more over here than Jeff. Jeff seems to be wrestling with a bit of an edge here, slapping Aries out of the ring. In fact, Jeff's offence looks more snug than usual, as he stomps Aries viciously in the corner. Aries takes over with a dropkick to the face, then takes a victory lap. Terrific. This might be the best Hardy has looked since joining TNA, using the ringsteps to hit Poetry In Motion on Aries into the railings. Back in the ring, Aries does a good job of keeping Hardy on the mat, as the crowd really is coming to life. I like the way that the few times Aries does go high-risk, it always looks painful for Hardy, like a dropkick to the back of his head. He also does so many subtle things, like drapping Hardy's legs over the ropes to hold him in place before slingshotting in with a twisting elbow. Hardy fires back with aplomb, hoisting Aries over his head with velocity. I also like the way he dazes Aries by ramming him into the turnbuckles before hitting the Whisper In The Wind, so it looks natural rather than contrived. This is absolutely the best Hardy match I've seen in ages, and it really feels like Hardy has upped his game to keep up with Aries. Austin really starts working Hardy over, including a sick looking DDT on the lip of the ramp. The ending stretch is super-heated, with both the Twist of Fate and the brainbuster getting kicked out of, before Hardy wins with the Swanton. Great match, but it feels like the wrong time to take the title off Aries.
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