The Big Takeaway: A better show this week. Sarah Logan got her win back against Dana Brooke as the pair had their third match in as many weeks. Robert Roode stole a win against Cedric Alexander when he used the ropes to gain the advantage.
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Sarah Logan defeated Dana Brooke (5:45)
They ran the tape from two weeks ago and referenced Brooke’s nasty facial injury, then showed us how Brooke had gotten her revenge on last week’s show. This kind of continuity is entirely rare for Main Event.
The match wasn’t quite as good as last week’s but was still full of decent work. Logan took the lead and has quite an array of moves in her locker. Her submission holds throughout and an impressive gutwrench suplex later on showed off her skill set.
Brooke was plucky throughout, trying to get an advantage whenever she could, but ultimately Logan had her beat. Just as they did last week, they did another spot where Brooke took a nasty looking turnbuckle bump, playing up that Logan was a threat.
Logan normally uses the Kentucky Knee, but here she finished Brooke with a flying knee to the back as Brooke was kneeling down. Presumably, this feud must continue.
Robert Roode defeated Cedric Alexander (5:36)
Roode and Alexander have also had a few matches together over the last few weeks on Main Event. They work well together, but are being utterly wasted on this show, particularly in Roode’s case.
Alexander did a tope through the ropes and looked like he had Roode beaten until he got caught with a spinebuster. Roode went for the Glorious DDT, but Alexander countered with a springboard enzuigiri.
As Alexander was about set up for the frog splash, he couldn’t get Roode down, so he slid under the ropes through Roode’s legs. Roode caught him and sat down, using the middle rope for leverage, stealing the win. He made out of there like a bandit.
Roode has won two straight now against Alexander, but Alexander would probably benefit from a rebrand and a new gimmick. His in-ring work is strong, but he essentially just comes out smiling and sticks his thumb up. Main Event would be an easy place for them to experiment with him.
The Big Takeaway: Dana Brooke defeated Sarah Logan in a rematch from last week where Brooke had suffered a nasty facial injury. The main event saw the random team of EC3, Cesaro & Robert Roode see off the Lucha House Party in under three minutes.
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Dana Brooke defeated Sarah Logan (6:13)
Whether this show will reap any of the benefits of Paul Heyman becoming executive director on the Raw side of things remains to be seen.
The fact WWE acknowledged last week at all here is certainly a positive. Quite rightly, they did a rematch and made a much better go of it. Brooke was smiling and fired up throughout and they kept doing spots where she would get her face bashed.
The finish saw Logan with Brooke on the apron again. She went for the running knee that caused the stoppage from last week, but Brooke had it scouted. Brooke countered and then landed a Swanton Bomb from the top rope for the win.
Cesaro, EC3 & Robert Roode defeated The Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik) (2:40)
This, however, was a negative. If this show does see any changes, it would certainly benefit if they didn’t throw together arbitrary tag matches where the entrance times out-strip the running time of the match.
The first minute was EC3 getting dominated by the pace and tenacity of the Lucha House Party — before the ring filled and the LHP cleared it, posing in unison. And then we went to a break. Yes, a commercial break, in a three-minute match.
I can also confirm that wrestling took place during the commercials.
The last minute was everyone hitting their finishers but failing to get the pinfall. The finish was Cesaro hitting a European uppercut on Metalik as he came off the top rope. As usual, the timing looked fantastic.
The Big Takeaway: Dana Brooke got busted open when she was kneed and posted on the apron by Sarah Logan. Robert Roode made his first appearance on Main Event since November, defeating Cedric Alexander in a good match at the end of the show.
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Sarah Logan defeated Dana Brooke (4:03)
So, as most people will know, this match had a lot of publicity this week because it caused Brooke’s facial injury. The spot that caused Brooke to be busted open came about two minutes into the match after they had done some fairly solid back and forth.
Both of these performers have improved of late, but what led to Brooke being completely bloodied was partly because the spot was ill-conceived and partly because of a few mitigating factors.
Logan had Brooke in a chinlock at the ropes and the referee called for a break, so Brooke went out on to the apron under the ropes. Logan followed Brooke and kneed her in the face, which caused Brooke to turn around and take a posting.
From seeing the tape back, it was a combination of two things that meant that the spot went wrong: the force of the knee and the proximity of Brooke to the post. It was clear that Brooke had underestimated how close she was to the post.
Logan sat on the ropes, not entirely sure how to react as the ref dealt with the blood.
They threw up the “X” and raised Logan’s hand, but she couldn’t hide her concern for Brooke. Logan then swaggered out of the ring and back up the ramp.
Robert Roode defeated Cedric Alexander (6:50)
Roode hasn’t been on Main Event since the back end of last year when he and Chad Gable were tagging together. He looked in tremendous shape as he defeated Alexander here.
In contrast to the opening match, this was a good, solid wrestling match between two strong performers. Their different styles worked well together and, although it’s a crime that Roode is on this show at all, they put on a good match.
Alexander took a ton of the offense throughout. He flipped around and grounded Roode down, getting close to winning on several occasions. It was only in the last minute that Roode was able to turn things around.
Roode caught the charging Alexander and nailed him with a spinebuster for two. Then Alexander came back. He blocked Roode’s DDT attempts, but Roode knocked him off the top rope and was able to hit the Glorious DDT for the win.
A number of new champions were crowned after WWE introduced the 24/7 title tonight on Raw.
Mick Foley came out at the top of the third hour and introduced the title. It’s a championship that will be defended 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will be defended across all brands, including SmackDown, 205 Live, NXT and NXT UK.
A scramble match followed where the rule was whoever grabbed the title in the ring first would win. A number of Raw stars came down to the ring to try and grab the championship. It eventually boiled down to Titus O’Neil and Drake Maverick. O’Neil threw Maverick over the top rope to the floor, wiping out the others to become the first champion.
As he was celebrating on the ramp, Robert Roode snuck up from behind and rolled him up to become the second champion. He managed to avoid the other Raw superstars until he ran across R-Truth, who appeared to help him escape for good by letting him use his rental car, hiding in the trunk while Truth got rid of the rest of the roster. When Roode got out and discovered a referee in the passenger’s seat, Truth attacked him and pinned him to win the championship.
The third hour for tonight’s show had noticeable changes. The red lights were gone, giving the arena a darker look. The graphics were also in black and white.
Last week, the World Title Series began with a mixed bag of matches. Austin Aries vs. EC3 was fantastic, while Grado vs. Rockstar Spud in a WWE cosplay match was among the worst matches on TV this year. Lashley beat Ken Anderson in a very good main event, while Kong beat Rayne to advance in the knockouts bracket. Gail also lost to Brooke in a good match in that same bracket. Tonight, we’ll find out the other 16 competitors that will fill out the field.
A Bound For Glory recap video starts the show off. We see Matt Hardy winning the title by beating Galloway, the injunction, and Matt’s vacating of the title. Dixie and Billy Corgan’s announcement of the World Title Series, alongside the various groups are shown before we see the results of each match from last week. Josh and Pope, who Josh calls “the most entertaining commentator in the business” are against their green screen.
They run down the next fields – Group Tag Team Specialists, Group Future Four. Group X Division, and Group TNA Originals were announced. Robbie E cuts a promo on Robbie G from his car, and in portrait mode. He challenges him to a TNA Impact match. Matt Hardy is set to face Davey, who comes out first. The Wolves’ win over Team GFW is shown from BFG. Matt comes out and we see Matt’s BFG celebration while Josh points out how little that wound up meaning.
Matt Hardy vs. Davey Richards
Matt and Davey have a nice babyface vs. babyface match here. They don’t want to hurt one another, but Davey does land a nice dropkick. During the roundtable, Davey talks about being ready for this while Matt puts over the fellow tag specialists and he plans to win. Apron warfare breaks out as Davey gets some kicks, but gets caught in a Side Effect on the apron. Matt gets a snapmare and a series of legdrops for 2. Matt locks on a sleeper and turns it into a slam for 2. Matt drapes him over the second rope and hits a Nightmare on Helms Street for 2.
Matt walks the middle rope for an elbow, but Davey gets a backstabber. Matt gets low-bridged and Davey hits a suicide dive while Josh talks about BFG trending non-stop for nearly two weeks. Handspring kick hits for 2. Josh talks about Little Pope, the doll, being a big star at BFG. Davey backslides his way out of a Twist of Fate. Side Effect gets 2. Matt goes up and eats a big kick to the chest. Matt avoids the double stomp off the top and hits a Twist of Fate for the win. Hooray! A Beer Money video package! We see some clips of their greatest moments, Storm’s title win, and then Roode winning it from him. Tonight, they will have their final match in TNA.
In the Group X Division roundtable, we get everyone insulting each other. Manik buries Mandrews and calls him Bart Simpson for having a skateboard. Is his gimmick now that he’s a Dynamic Dude? Pope makes two picks while Josh begs for hashtags. Aiden ‘O Shea makes his Impact debut and we see him throw hands while Josh tells pope that Aiden throws hands better than Elijah Burke ever did. Kenny King is out to face him.
Aiden ‘O Shea vs. Kenny King
Aiden throws his shirt at King to get in cheapshots. A pair of jabs to the jaw leads to a hard body shot. Aiden ‘O Shea misses the Boomstick lariat and then just spins around maniacally on one foot to stare at Kenny immediately. Aiden stands on the achilles tendon in a nice bit. In the roundtable, Shera says that he is bigger, stronger, and faster. Steve honks in either agreement or disagreement. Kenny gets a sunset flip for a loose 2 count. Aiden gets a back suplex into a backbreaker. Kenny kicks his way out of a Boomstick and gets a spin kick. Kenny goes for the Royal Flush, but he gets his eyes raked. Kenny gets a kick on the apron and hits a springboard blockbuster for the win. EY rambles backstage about how the World title goes through him in 2015. He’s also God, and he’s getting the World Title again because it’s all he’s ever cared about. EY faces Abyss next.
But first, we see Matt beat Davey in the opener. Davey says he won’t make excuses because Matt’s a legend. He isn’t about excuses, and tonight, Matt was the better man. Matt leads Team Tag Team Specialists with three points. EC3 will have an interview via Skype later tonight. Josh and Pope do a bizarre Tinder-style swipe for the TNA Originals brackets. Roode says that EY has lost his mind and that he’ll be screwed over by his mental problems. EY says that it was hard to decide who was going to lose, and EY says that he’ll answer JB’s “first question” even though we just saw one, and predicted that Roode will be eliminated. Storm says that Abyss will lose because he can’t even walk a straight line. Abyss says that Storm came to him, not the other way around. “YOU PROMISED ME ALL KINDS OF STUFF, AND NONE OF IT HAPPENED!”. EY comes down in his crazy fisherman getup.We see clips of EY attacking Kurt and the doctor, before EY lost to Angle at BFG. Josh and Pope talk about Pope entering Bound For Gold, and it takes more time to do that than his appearance took.
Eric Young vs. Abyss
Abyss shoulders him down a few time. Abyss goes for a chokeslam, but EY bites his hand for an ad break. We come back and EY has Abyss reeling, but Abyss still sends him over the top to the floor. They fight on the floor and Abyss misses a charge into the post. Josh says that unlike Storm, TNA doesn’t have empty promises and is coming to the UK soon. So what about that Halloween Hardcore tour? EY puts Abyss on the apron and boots his head. EY chokes him on the ropes and then dives into a chokeslam, which is countered – but a Samoan drop isn’t. Abyss clubs him down a few times and goes for another chokeslam, but he stomps his foot to escape. Abyss finally gets the chokeslam for 2. Abyss gets Janice (the weapon, not the person) from under the ring. TNA Hall of Famer Earl Hebner grabs it, and EY low blows Abyss and hits a flying elbow for 2. Abyss backdrops him out of a piledriver and hits the Black Hole Slam for the win.
We see the standings for the Originals team – Abyss is in the lead with three points. Josh is joined by EC3 on Skype. EC3 is in a cheap-looking room that is painted black, and it’s like an echo chamber in there too. EC3 says he should be champion and Josh says he was left with just one point last week. EC3 says that Aries didn’t beat him – no one will. EC3 will face Lashley next week and Josh asks if he’s behind the 8 Ball. EC3 says he’s confused by that unless it’s a reference to the Magic 8 Ball, and the series isn’t over until he wins.
We get a recap of Abyss beating EY, so EY is behind and Abyss leads the pack. EY says Abyss, the fans, and the company are all against him. EY says he wins in the end and he is serious and he will win. okay then. Abyss tells Storm and Roode that they’ll meet the same fate EY did. Robbie E is out first while Josh talks about Robbie wanting to be taken seriously. Well, that’s just not happening with this gimmick. Eddie Edwards comes out to face him.
Eddie Edwards vs. Robbie E.
They go into a collar and elbow tie-up and we see Eddie say that Robbie has turned over a new leaf. They exchange rolls on the mat and Robbie looks more impressive here as a wrestler than he has before in TNA. Robbie lands a big back elbow-leading lariat for 2. Eddie Matrixes out of a lariat and gets an inverted atomic drop and a running knee for 2.
Robbie avoids a corner charge that sends Eddie to the floor. Robbie dives to the floor onto Eddie and gets a big “Robbie” chant. Robbie gets a Hart Attack for 2. Robbie gets a big suplex while Matt says that Robbie is the least-likely to move on. Of course, the in-ring action takes up less space than the talking. Eddie flips out of a German and sends Robbie to the apron and then the floor. They double lariat each other on the floor. Nasty chop on the floor sends Robbie into the ring. Robbie gets the Boom Drop for 2. Eddie flips out of a reverse DDT and gets a German and a half crab. Running enzuiguri to the head hurts Robbie, but Robbie lands the reverse DDT for the win. This was a pretty solid little match – Robbie E’s stock rose a bit with it. Well, in theory. Pope calls Robbie’s story a Cinderella story that every wrestling fan can get behind.
We see clips of Roode’s dominant World Title reign. We see him lose it, then regain it before losing it again. He holds the KOTM Title, but wants to be the World Champion too and prove that he’s the greatest wrestler alive. Roode says that tonight, he and Storm put their history behind them – and he’ll beat him tonight and prove that he wants the title more.
Robbie vs. Eddie clips air and Robbie says that yeah, you might think he’s a joke – but he’s a two-time tag champ and a former X Division champion too. Eddie says that Robbie surprised a lot of people and he poked fun at him, but he regrets it now. Josh says that Robbie is now “trending in a positive direction” and we go to the roundtable for Team Future Four. Eli Drake cuts a great promo about how he needs to be in a roundtable with guys holding gold. One guy looks like a peacock and Micah still wants to be his friend. Jessie says that E-li Drake doesn’t matter and Crimson says he’s been to war and he’ll take Eli out. Micah says that the next person who will progress is he and Crimson while calling Eli a son of a bitch. Crimson says Micah will go on alongside him too. Crazzy Steve is out to face Mahabala Shera. Oh my God – this will be a thing.
Crazzy Steve vs. Mahabali Shera
Shera isn’t doing his Shera shake, and he’s in his Khoya gear – so this is definitely exposing the odd taping schedule of this. Josh says that he asked Shera why he has Khoya on his trunks and he says it’s a reminder of what he isn’t. Shera overpowers Steve and plows through him with a shoulderblock. Shera lands a corner lariat while the crowd chants for Crazzy Steve. Josh ponders what kind of interviews Steve will do with Conan ‘O Brien and Jimmy Fallon. Steve runs wild with lariats to the back. Shera swipes him away, but eats forearms and a dropkick. Steve bites the forehead, but eats a Sky High and Shera wins.
We get another recap of Storm being attacked by Roode, and how the Revolution was just his attempt to rekindle what worked with Beer Money. The Revolution broke up due to Storm, and now Storm walks alone in his quest for the World title. Storm vs. Roode is the main event, and up next. Josh ponders what’s going to happen tonight before we see the rankings for Group Champions. EC3 faces Lashley next week and we get a highlight reel of Lashley kicking ass in the ring and the gym. The song used here is pretty darn catchy. Storm comes out first looking great in his slicker jacket while Roode comes out in Terry Taylor’s black and red robe. He’s certainly got his money’s worth out of that investment. Roode doesn’t have the belt on during his intro.
James Storm vs. Robert Roode
Storm starts this by doing the “Beer!” part of Beer Money while Roode just stares there sternly. Josh calls Roode both the purist’s purist and the wrestler’s wrestler. Is he also a whistler’s whistler? Pope points out that Storm is holding up one finger to show that there’s always room for one more in the Revolution, while Josh says that’s silly since there is no Revolution.
Storm lands a knee to the gut and clubs the back. Roode comes back and gets some cornermount punches and a big dropkick. Storm gets a suckerpunch to send Roode back into the ring. They brawl to the floor and Storm is flung into the barricade. Storm distracts the ref while he low blows Roode. Roode takes three bumps for it. Josh says if you can’t keep track of this tournament, don’t worry – you can just check out the TNA site. Storm gets the Nightmare of Helms Street for 2 and plants a chinlock mid-ring.
Christy points out that there are five minutes left in the match. Nothing of real note has happened outside of the awesome low blow selling from Roode. Josh points out that the TNA Originals group has also been World Champions, alongside Group Champions. Spinebuster hits Storm for 2. Roode gets a blockbuster for 2. Storm avoids the Perfectplex and gets a very slow flying spinning headscissors for 2. Storm grabs a chair and Roode kicks him, so Roode grabs it and the ref takes it from him – it distracts the ref and Storm gets 2 off a cowbell shot. Roode avoids the superkick, so Storm goes for the whirlybird, but Roode kicks the gut and wins with a Perfectplex. For roughly eight years, Roode and Storm have been linked to each other and this was the end of it. The company did a fine job making the match feel epic beforehand, but it just didn’t come across as anything more than filler – it wasn’t even an homage to classic spots. It was just a series of moves that led to a finish and didn’t elicit any emotion whatsoever
To see every screen from the show, just click here.
