Before the following match we were informed that after being taken out by Aces & Eights, D'Angelo Dinero would not be participating in the bout. Shame it wasn't Anderson instead.
Rob Van Dam beat Magnus and Mr. Anderson in a Falls Count Anywhere match in the Bound For Glory Series. The bout ranged from okay to quite enjoyable, just unfortunate a few sloppy and strange moments hindered it a bit. Magnus also showed a fair bit of character here which was nice, he really has come such a long way since his debut.
Devon (c) defeated Kazarian to retain the TNA Television Championship in a surprisingly decent title contest. Don't get me wrong I think of both men as good performers but I really wasn't expecting anything special here, but it was a fun match up and I'm glad I was proven wrong. The only let down was Taz's commentary, which was even more inane than usual.
Madison Rayne defeated Brooke Tessmacher (c) to win the TNA Knockouts title. It was a passable match up, which was more than what I was expecting from this to be honest. Still not a big fan of the Earl Hebner and Rayne love story, it's just absurd that they would still have him officiating her matches? It makes no sense.
Bully Ray defeated Jeff Hardy, James Storm and Robbie E in a BFG Series Tables match. The match itself was a mixed bag, there were some exciting moments for sure (superplex/powerbomb spot from the top rope involving three of them, Aces & Eights running in and further hinting at Storm's involvement with them, plus of course the near falls through the tables). But there were also some sloppy moments, such as Robbie E showing his inexperience in this kind of environment as he failed to move a table out of the way in time which caused Bully to just crack the corner. All in all it was quite a satisfying contest. Bully grabbed the victory after powerbombing Hardy through a table in the ring.
Zema Ion (c) beat Kenny King to retain the X Division Championship in a blistering contest. Both wrestlers certainly went for it and their efforts paid off as they delivered a very enjoyable match up.
AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle and Christopher Daniels in a BFG Series Ladder match. And let me just say, what a match. One more time, what a match. Considering the exemplary talent involved it's hardly surprising but this is one of the most superb ladder matches I've seen in a long time, and that's including some great ladder matches. The thrilling action was crisp and delivered perfectly, again something you've just come to expect from these four men each and every time they step into a ring. Styles grabbed the 20 points after a quick springboard onto the ladder and snatched the slip from under Joe's nose, it was flawless. Do yourself a favour and just check out this awesome Ladder match, you won't regret it.
Austin Aries (c) defeated Bobby Roode to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a tremendously intense main event. Going into this I wasn't convinced that it could live up to the drama and excitement of their title bout from last month, and although the ending wasn't as understandably thrilling, it wasn't far off of the same standard and both men should be proud that they delivered a true main event calibre contest.
The only thing that hindered it for me was when not one but two referees took bumps, then both counted a double pinfall finish, only to have the match restarted by Earl Hebner. It was completely unnecessary and tainted a bit what had otherwise been a largely enthralling World title match. Again this was a match well worth your time.
On the whole Hardcore Justice was yet again for the most part another highly enjoyable pay-per-view from TNA. The quality and effort from most of the talent involved really paid off. I now wonder how SummerSlam this sunday will compare, hm? And that's coming from someone who normally prefers the WWE product.
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