The Undercard
Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries end in No Contest to kick off the night. I can watch these two fight all day and all night. Hardy and Aries are very similar in certain ways, but the differences are shown whenever Aries focuses more on techincality and Hardy is much more of an unorthodoxed wrestler. Both men are on the outside, as Aries connects with a beautiful dropkick to the face of Hardy. This is where Hardy was able to turn the tables. He came back from being beaten down the entire match with some flying clotheslines, a second rope splash onto Aries, and set up for a Swanton Bomb. Matt Morgan comes out of nowhere and attacks Hardy with the Carbon Footprint. He is about to hit it again, but Bully Ray makes the save. I have ALWAYS been a supporter and fan of Matt Morgan so this got me really excited. He needs to be a main event player and given an opportunity to stay at the top. Look for him to get a huge push after this, continuing the tease with Hardy, and ultimately cashing in that chance. Ray remains the good guy, Hardy remains the champion, Aries does not look weak with a loss, and Morgan immediately throws himself into a top spot for the near future. Grade: B+
Devon defeated Sting. This was the first of a best of 3 match between Aces and Eights and Team TNA for the night. I liked the concept, but did not like this pairing. Devon controlled the match until the action was taken to the outside. I thought that Sting should have won this match easily, but a fan threw a drink in his face to give Devon all the opportunity he needed to put him away. That is such a cheap and lame way to get the advantage. Even when guys use water bottles or a sort of liquid, it really doesn't do much to them besides get their faces wet. Come on, this is the best you can come up with? I hated the finish and think that it completely ruined a match that could have been really good for both men. Grade: C
Gail Kim and Bad Influence defeated Chavo, Hernandez, and Velvet Sky in some entertaining six man tag team match action. My favorite part was how simple and logical the match was. Kim looks like she will be the new contender to Velvet Sky, while Kazarian and Daniels prepare themselves for more tag team title chances in the future. I enjoy the fact that Chavo and Hernandez are built pretty solid (even though they lost) and Bad Influence are also strong looking. Props to TNA for being able to build a division with moving pieces, multiple contenders, and actually utilizing their talent to the fullest. When Roode and Aries won the titles I knew that it was going to be a good thing. Their star power could greatly help other teams. Kane and Bryan have not done that whatsoever in the WWE, which is a huge problem to me. Grade: B
