Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe slows the pace with some submission moves and punches him a few times. He works on Angle’s leg and then Angle hits a few German suplexes. Joe chops him and then connects with a big kick. He continues to work on him and puts him on the top rope. Angle fights out of the Muscle Buster and applies the ankle lock. Joe tries to break it by grabbing the referee and then he locks in the choke hold. Kurt Angle taps out from the choke hold.
After the match, Samoa Joe and the boys begin to beat him down. Bobby Roode makes the save.
This was more of a slower and meticulous match. I was not completely invested in it for some reason. It may be because I have seen these guys put on a much smoother and faster match. There was not much “wow” factors in the match. I wanted to see more spots and more dramatic elements, which would make the match more interesting and connect with the fans at home and in New York. It just fell short of my expectations.
The Wolves and The Hardys Put on a Show Stealer
The Hardy’s work on Davey Richards with a double back drop. Matt continues with some elbow shots to the neck and then hits a scoop slam. Both men hit a double clothesline and then a Fall of Man (similar to what the Ascension does). Matt heads up top and then gets pushed off. He is hanging from the rope and then both of The Wolves hit a double dropkick. Jeff gets thrown off the ropes and then hit with a Pele Kick. Jeff tries to go high risk and lands on his feet. Matt Hardy springboards onto the ropes and then hits a double DDT.
Jeff heads up top and then tightropes before taking out everybody. Eddie gets hit with a double team front suplex. Matt hits a neckbreaker and then Jeff heads up. He gets hit with some knees to the back and The Wolves hit a kick and suplex combination. Matt breaks up the count and hits a side effect. Eddie and Davey hit a Twist of Fate and then a foot stomp. Alas, Matt and Jeff pick up the win and are the Number 1 contenders.
The Wolves and The Hardy’s put on an excellent match. This stole the show. I loved the chemistry from both teams and the skill set they possessed. There were some new moves added and TNA really focused on the tag team aspect of the match. Different moves and unique executions were the story of this match. Matt and Jeff put on one hell of a match with The Wolves. Both teams keep adding new moves to their arsenal. When they fight over and over again but every match is great in different ways, that speaks volumes for how good of wrestlers and story tellers they really are.
