Wallop! Storm applies an impressive kick to Roode in a solid main event.
Photo credit: impactwrestling.com
James Storm thanked all his friends, family, fans and people that didn't think he could do it for spurring him on to become number one contender to the World Title at Turning Point. Soon after Booby Roode joined 'The Cowboy' and toasted to his victory with a couple of beers and thanked him for beating AJ Styles last Sunday (the wrestler pinned or made to submit in the bout doesn't receive a World Title shot until Bound for Glory next year due to the stipulations).
He also went on to claim that Storm won the match off of his own hard work, and that he's going to fail miserably against Hardy in their title match. Storm simply retorted with a few punches and chased off 'The It Factor'. Storm challenged Roode to a match, but Roode would only accept only if he put his number one contendership on the line, so a furious Storm agreed.
Rob Van Dam (c) defeated Kid Kash to retain the X Division Championship in quite a sloppy encounter. There were decent moments here and there provided from Kash for the most part, including a nicely executed hurricanrana to the outside.
Jesse beat Eric Young in a passable, if pretty unmemorable a match up. Jesse actually looked okay here as he gave his best display to date. He looks as though he's actually been working hard to improve himself, although there's still a fair way to go for him. Jesse grabbed the win after a distraction from Tara and ODB when they began brawling on the outside.
Joseph Parks begged Hulk Hogan for another chance at Aces & 8s, but Hogan was adamant that he shouldn't ever be stepping in the ring again. In response Parks announced that he was going to leave to be trained properly in the ring and return ready for action.
Before his following Television Title match Magnus was taken out by members of Aces & 8s, including Doc who once again attacked his victim using a hammer. Before Devon could strike with a baseball bat Bully Ray raced out and chased off the gang members. It seemed silly that it would take so long for anyone to come to Magnus' aid, they beat him down for a while here. To his credit Magnus did sell the attack quite well.
Backstage Austin Aries encountered his former opponent Jeff Hardy and admitted that he put on a great performance against him in their Ladder match, but that he was forced to to beat a top wrestler such as himself. He also claimed that he raises the performance of any man he steps in the ring with, which is actually true for the most part. We then heard a strange inner monologue from Hardy after AA left, I'm still not sure how I feel about these. It just felt a bit out of place and too unreal for this particular segment, especially after quite an honest speech from Aries.
Kurt Angle and Garett Bischoff bested Devon and a unknown member of Aces & 8s in a fair to average tag bout. Angle as usual was on good form, but most of the match just wasn't anything that special and felt more like filler for me, plus all the distractions hindered it a bit. Angle grabbed the win with a quick schoolboy after Wes Brisco ran down and went for Doc at ringside.
Mickie James bested Gail Kim, ODB, Madison Rayne and Brooke Tesmacher to win a Knockouts Battle Royal to earn a Knockouts Championship match. It was a decent effort from most involved, and it was especially nice to see the talented Kim and James in action again, it feels like it's been too long.
Aces & 8s informed Doc that he was out of the gang after some deliberation. But this turned out to be a joke as they handed him back his leather waistcoat at the door. It was a strange storyline this, and I'm not sure what it was meant to gain exactly.
A sour AJ Styles came out and spoke about all the bad luck he'd had over the last year, including being accused of being a father to a "crackhead's" child, loosing in the Triple Threat last Sunday and coming close to winning the BFG Series but just missing out. Christopher Daniels and Kazarian then joined him and claimed that all his issues this year were his very own fault, and called him a "complete and utter failure."
Styles responded by challenging Daniels to a match. Daniels accepted, stating that now was the perfect time to face AJ. It was a decent segment, and more proof that Daniels and Kaz are one of the best acts going in the company today.
Bobby Roode defeated James Storm to earn number one contendership for the World Title in an enjoyable main event. Both men put in solid efforts and provided a worthy main event calibre match up as they battled back and fourth. Earlier in the contest Roode exposed the top turnbuckle in the ring, which later came into play as he slammed Storm's head into it and scored the one-two-three with a quick roll up. I think the crowd were as surprised as I was as they went pretty quiet after Roode won. An unexpected win, especially considering Storm's current momentum. Roode versus Hardy should still be a good bout anyway.
Overall it was a mostly watchable show, with a few unmemorable bouts but a solid main event and entertaining segment between Styles, Daniels and Kaz. Unfortunately a lot of what happened also felt more like filler to me, what was the point of Doc having his membership up for debate? I would've rather had another match in that time.
No comments:
Post a Comment