Kazarian and Daniels on great form as standard. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com
Bully Ray came to the ring and as part of the Open Fight Night rules asked Hulk Hogan to come out to talk, which he was obliged to as part of OFN. But instead daughter Brooke Hogan joined Bully and quietly informed him that her Dad was aware of their relationship. The fact that Ray feigned shock just seemed stupid, I mean they were both kissing out in the clear open in the parking lot on last weeks show when 'The Hulkster' spotted them.
Austin Aries challenged Bobby Roode to a match in the main event to finally settle things after each man had screwed each other over in World Title situations over the past two weeks. He also claimed that as the top two wrestlers going it was suitable that they'd have the final televised TNA bout of the year.
An angry Samoa Joe called out a masked member of Aces & 8s that attacked him previously to a match up, and threatened to unmask him too.
Samoa Joe defeated the Aces & 8s member via submission in a passable, if uninspiring contest. The action was okay but nothing special or particularly exciting. As Joe began to unmask his opponent, other gang members raced out so he decided to leave it for now and left.
Robbie E challenged Jesse to a 'Bro Off', which consisted of simply dancing awfully or posing to their entrance themes. Robbie E announced himself the winner after Jesse broke the rules by not saying "Bro" and by using Tara and not "putting bros before hoes." But it wasn't over as Robbie T then also danced/posed to the music and walked off leaving a shocked Robbie E. It was a bad segment all round to be honest, it wasn't funny and the dancing wasn't remotely decent. I didn't personally find any amusement here at all, and I normally don't mind the duo of Tara and Jesse.
Rob Van Dam ridiculously stated that his efforts had "elevated the X Division to a whole new level." Please tell me doesn't actually believe that, right? RVD hasn't done anything close to what Aries did for the division, he gives average efforts most weeks and still thinks of himself as one of the top talents in the company. He went on to then challenge Christian York to a match, much to the surprise of Kenny King.
Rob Van Dam defeated Christian York in a fair contest. While York pulls out a few exciting moves in his match ups, he does still have a tendency to be a bit clumsy here and there, and I wouldn't have believed that he's had sixteen-years experience in pro wrestling if Tenay hadn't mentioned it. Overall the bout was decent enough, nothing exceptional about it.
Christopher Daniels as usual was on great form on the mic as he mocked the fans and named his rear the one that "makes the girls cheer." He also went on to introduce AJ Styles for one final match, but it was of course a hoax as Kazarian came out dressed as 'The Phenomenal One' and did an amusing impression of him as he claimed that Daniels was superior in every way. Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez then joined them and called the duo a pair of clowns and challenged them to a tag match.
Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez bested Bad Influence (Daniels and Kazarian) in a solid tag bout. All four men gave good displays here and finally provided a very enjoyable match for the night. It's also nice to see the tag champs back on our screens, it's felt like a while since they've been there.
Gail Kim boasted about her memorable Knockouts Title reign (longest in company history) and also challenged Brooke Tessmacher to a match as a bit of retribution for ending said reign. I do miss Kim as champ I have to say, for me she's the top female wrestler in TNA.
Gail Kim defeated Brooke Tessmacher in an intense back and fourth outing. I wasn't expecting anything special here but it was a very pleasant surprise as both wrestlers provided a great Knockouts match up. Tessmacher looked good throughout and put on one of her top performances to date, Kim was also on her usual stellar form. Good stuff here and worth a watch, miles better than any Divas contest you'll get nowadays.
Austin Aries versus Bobby Roode ended in a No Contest. It was a fun main event for the most part, with Aries and Roode each applying their own underhanded, heel-tactics throughout. It's a shame there wasn't more wrestling though, considering the high standard of matches they've put on before. The match ended when referee Earl Hebner screamed at both to stop ignoring the rules, so the competitors decided to kick Earl and chuck him out of the ring. Jeff Hardy then appeared from behind and took both men out.
Overall it was a largely average Impact, with the first half of the show providing quite pedestrian entertainment. Fortunately the Daniels and Kazarian segment was as usual solid, and their following tag bout, Kim versus Tessmacher and most of the main event were also decent to very enjoyable match ups.
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