A change has been made to the lineup for TNA Slammiversary.
TNA has revealed that Jonathan Gresham has been deemed unable to compete on the pay-per-view. He was scheduled to face KUSHIDA on the pre-show. Rich Swann has been announced as Gresham’s replacement in the match.
“.@TheJonGresham is unable to compete tonight. KUSHIDA will now go one-on-one with @RichSwannTNA on Countdown to #TNASlammiversary streaming LIVE & FREE at 7pm ET on TNA+”
TNA also announced on Saturday that the Knockouts title match between Jordynne Grace and Ash by Elegance tonight will be sponsored by the film Detained—the psychological thriller debuts in theaters on August 2.
“Quiver is thrilled to partner with TNA Wrestling to promote our film Detained, starring Abbie Cornish and Laz Alonso,” Quiver Distribution Co-Presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman said in a statement. “Sponsoring the Knockouts World Championship match at Slammiversary is a great way to introduce our film to an energized audience.”
TNA has announced six new matches for Saturday’s Slammiversary and Countdown to Slammiversary, including one featuring WWE NXT talent.
NXT’s Wes Lee will reunite with The Rascalz in the ring on Saturday’s Slammiversary pay-per-view, as Lee, Trey Miguel, and Zachary Wentz face NXT’s No Quarter Catch Crew trio of Charlie Dempsey, Myles Borne, and Tavion Heights. Lee, Wentz, and Miguel also teamed on this week’s WWE NXT episode.
BREAKING: This Saturday at #TNASlammiversary, The Rascalz will join forces once again as they battle the No Quarter Catch Crew in six-man tag team action!
Five more new matches have also been added to the Saturday, July 20 lineup for Slammiversary.
In the sixth title match official for the show, TNA Tag Team Champions Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards of The System will defend their titles against ABC’s Ace Austin & Chris Bey.
Matt Hardy will take on JDC (Dirty Dango) in singles competition as he aims for revenge following the angle on Thursday’s Impact where JDC cost The Hardys a shot at the Tag Team titles.
KUSHIDA vs. Jonathan Gresham, plus a Knockouts four-way featuring Tasha Steelz vs. Faby Apache vs. Gisele Shaw vs. Xia Brookside have also been added to the Countdown to Slammiversary pre-show.
Countdown to #TNASlammiversary LIVE & FREE this Saturday at 7pm ET on TNA+!
Slammiversary’s main card kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, July 20 on pay-per-view, with the Countdown show airing on TNA’s digital media channels beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
The Slammiversary card:
TNA World Champion Moose defends against Joe Hendry, Frankie Kazarian, Nic Nemeth, Josh Alexander & Steve Maclin
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Ash by Elegance
TNA X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali defends against Mike Bailey
TNA Tag Team Champions Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards defend against Ace Austin & Chris Bey
TNA Digital Media Champion AJ Francis defends against PCO
The Rascalz (Wes Lee, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel) vs. No Quarter Catch Crew (Charlie Dempsey, Myles Borne & Tavion Heights)
Mike Santana vs. Jake Something
Matt Hardy vs. Johnny “Dango” Curtis
Countdown to Slammiversary: TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards defend against Jody Threat & Dani Luna
Countdown to Slammiversary: KUSHIDA vs. Jonathan Gresham
Countdown to Slammiversary: Tasha Steelz vs. Faby Apache vs. Gisele Shaw vs. Xia Brookside
According to Jordynne Grace, TNA Wrestling has some surprises in store for this weekend’s Slammiversary pay-per-view.
Slammiversary takes place from the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, this Saturday night. Ahead of the PPV, Grace spoke with Sports Illustrated and hyped that there will be big surprises.
“The surprises are going to be even bigger than people realize,” Grace said. “TNA and NXT do surprises better than any other promotion. I don’t think anyone can argue that. If you’re tired of accidentally reading spoilers, watch Slammiversary. Our goal is to make fans fall back in love with wrestling.”
Grace is defending her TNA Knockouts Championship against Ash By Elegance (the former Dana Brooke) at Slammiversary. Both have appeared for NXT during the WWE-TNA partnership. Joe Hendry, Frankie Kazarian, and The Rascalz have appeared in NXT as well.
NXT’s Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame are among the NXT wrestlers who have competed for TNA during the partnership, losing to Grace in open challenges for the Knockouts title.
Though the working relationship between TNA and NXT is still new, Grace hopes that it leads to a Worlds Collide event down the line.
“I’ve mentioned this before–my big dream is to have a Worlds Collide pay-per-view,” Grace said. “I think that’s going to be a slow build. And the world probably isn’t ready, but when it happens, they’re going to see TNA beat NXT.”
Slammiversary will be headlined by a six-way elimination match with Moose defending his TNA World Championship against Hendry, Kazarian, Josh Alexander, Nic Nemeth, and Steve Maclin.
Joe Hendry has had a busy last couple of weeks, appearing numerous times on WWE NXT while also maintaining his indie appearances and appearing on TNA Impact. He is currently the talk of the town as his WWE NXT debut amassed over 1.2 million views on YouTube in under three weeks and more than 17.9 million views and counting on X — becoming the most liked video for WWE since WrestleMania XL.
This Saturday in Montreal, Hendry will join four other men in challenging for Moose’s TNA Wrestling World title at Slammiversary in a six-way that includes Josh Alexander, Frankie Kazarian, Nic Nemeth and Steve Maclin.
Hendry has never held that title before, but is the longest reigning TNA Digital Media Champion, having held the belt for 266 days back in 2022.
In a recent interview we did, we spoke about the match and what it would mean to him to walk out as champion, explaining why he feels he should win the title because that is what is best for business.
Will @joehendry walk out TNA World Champion at Slammiversary this weekend?
"Sorry to everyone else but I think me winning the TNA World Championship is absolutely what is best for business. It's what the fans want and I think we're an era where the fans are getting what they… pic.twitter.com/OtiOJoS5F3
— Denise 'Hollywood' Salcedo (@_denisesalcedo) July 17, 2024
“Sorry to everyone else, but I think me winning the TNA World Championship is absolutely what is best for business. It’s what the fans want and I think we’re an era where the fans are getting what they want. So I am going to go to Montreal and I will deliver what the fans want to see. I will become TNA World Champion. I really believe something special is happening right now and I think I have what it takes to be the guy in TNA Wrestling. As amazing as our roster is, all the people in this match are unbelievable but I really do feel this is my time and I think that the fans feel that too.”
Mustafa Ali’s next challenger for the X-Division Championship was decided in a number one contender’s match on Thursday’s TNA Impact.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey won a triple threat number one contender’s match on Thursday’s Impact to earn the right to challenge Ali for the X-Division title at Slammiversary set for Saturday, July 20.
Bailey won the three-way that also involved KUSHIDA and Jonathan Gresham by pinning Gresham to earn the title shot.
Five title bouts are now official for Slammiversary, including a Digital Media Championship bout that became official following AJ Francis retaining the gold over Rhino on Impact. Francis will defend against PCO at the July 20 pay-per-view.
The updated TNA Slammiversary card:
TNA Slammiversary, Saturday, July 20 on pay-per-view —
TNA World Champion Moose defends against Joe Hendry, Frankie Kazarian, Nic Nemeth, Josh Alexander & Steve Maclin
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Ash by Elegance
TNA X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali defends against Mike Bailey
TNA Digital Media Champion AJ Francis defends against PCO
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards defend against Jody Threat & Dani Luna
The TNA Knockouts Tag Team titles will be on the line at this month’s Slammiversary.
Announced on Tuesday, current titleholders Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards of The System will put the belts up against former champions Spitfire (Dani Luna & Jody Threat) on the Saturday, July 20th pay-per-view from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Slamovich & Edwards, also known as The Malisha, defeated Spitfire for the titles back at May’s Under Siege and have defended the titles just once, upending The Hex on the Against All Odds pre-show in June. Spitfire also has a win over The Hex, also coming in June.
Musician and wrestling fan Lars Frederiksen of Rancid has been training Spitfire in recent weeks and having them compete in separate 10-minute challenge matches to show they are ready for the rematch.
Here’s the current card:
TNA World Champion Moose defends against Nic Nemeth, Josh Alexander, Steve Maclin, Frankie Kazarian & Joe Hendry
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Ash by Elegance
AJ Francis vs. PCO
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards defend Spitfire (Dani Luna & Jody Threat)
The field is set for the six-way World title match at TNA Slammiversary on July 20.
Joe Hendry and Frankie Kazarian won their Road to Slammiversary qualifying matches on Thursday’s TNA Impact to advance to the World title match at Slammiversary where Moose will defend against five competitors.
Hendry defeated Jake Something in the Impact main event to qualify for Slammiversary, while Kazarian scored a victory over Mike Santana to advance to the World title bout.
Moose will now defend against Hendry, Kazarian, Nic Nemeth, Josh Alexander, and Steve Maclin in the Slammiversary main event.
A new match has also been added to the Saturday, July 20 Slammiversary card.
Current Digital Media Champion AJ Francis will defend his title against PCO at the pay-per-view, with a caveat. Francis has a title defense set for the July 11 Impact episode, and must defeat Rhino on next week’s show for the Digital Media title to be on the line against PCO.
Three matches are official for Slammiversary which airs Saturday, July 20 at 8 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view. The current card:
TNA World Champion Moose defends against Nic Nemeth, Josh Alexander, Steve Maclin, Frankie Kazarian & Joe Hendry
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Ash by Elegance
Four of the six spots in the World title match at Slammiversary are now set following Thursday’s TNA Impact.
Nic Nemeth and Steve Maclin won their qualifying matches on this week’s Impact to secure their places in the six-way for the World title set for Slammiversary on Saturday, July 20.
Nemeth defeated Rich Swann in the Impact main event this week to qualify for Slammiversary, while Maclin defeated Sami Callihan on Impact to qualify.
Maclin and Nemeth join World Champion Moose, and Josh Alexander in the title match at the PPV.
The two remaining qualifying matches are set for the Thursday, July 4 Impact with Frankie Kazarian & Mike Santana vying for one spot, and Joe Hendry & Jake Something battling for the other.
Two title matches for Slammiversary were also added to the show during Thursday’s Impact, with Jordynne Grace vs. Ash by Elegance for the Knockouts World title, and Mustafa Ali vs. Mike Bailey for the X-Division title newly announced for the lineup.
The updated Slammiversary card:
TNA World Champion Moose defends against Nic Nemeth, Steve Maclin, Josh Alexander, TBD, TBD
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Ash by Elegance
TNA X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali defends against Mike Bailey
Two new title matches have been added to TNA Slammiversary set for Saturday, July 20.
Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace will defend her title against Ash by Elegance at Slammiversary. Grace announced on Thursday’s TNA Impact that she had signed a contract for a title match against Ash for Impact, but Ash’s representative George Iceman instead said that Ash was going on vacation and that the bout would take place at the PPV instead.
The X-Division Championship will also be on the line at Slammiversary.
Mustafa Ali will defend the X-Division title against Mike Bailey at Slammiversary in Montreal. Bailey interrupted an Ali promo segment on Thursday’s Impact and Ali laid out the challenge for the PPV, noting that he was tired of being accused of ducking Bailey.
Already set for Slammiversary is a six-way for the TNA World title, with Moose defending against Josh Alexander, Nic Nemeth, Steve Maclin, and two participants to be determined on the July 4 Impact.
The current lineup for TNA Slammiversary on Saturday, July 20 at 8 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view:
TNA World Champion Moose defends against Nic Nemeth, Steve Maclin, Josh Alexander, TBD, TBD
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Ash by Elegance
TNA X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali defends against Mike Bailey
The TNA World Championship will be on the line in a six-way at Slammiversary.
TNA officially announced on Thursday’s Impact that Moose will defend the World title against five other competitors at the Slammiversary pay-per-view set for Saturday, July 20 in Montreal.
A series of qualifying matches for the title bout began on Thursday’s Impact with Josh Alexander defeating Eric Young to secure his spot.
Two more Road to Slammiversary qualifying matches are set for the June 27 Impact, with the final two set for the July 4 Impact episode.
On the episode airing June 27, Nic Nemeth vs. Rich Swann, and Steve Maclin vs. Sami Callihan will square off in Road to Slammiversary qualifiers.
Joe Hendry vs. Jake Something, and Mike Santana vs. Frankie Kazarian will be the Road to Slammiversary qualifying matches on the July 4 show.
The Slammiversary lineup currently:
TNA Slammiversary, Saturday, July 20 —
Six-way for the TNA World Championship: Moose defends vs. Josh Alexander vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
For the third time in company history, TNA Slammiversary is heading north of the U.S. border, but in a brand-new city.
Announced during Saturday’s Rebellion, the 20th Slammiversary in company history will emanate from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the 4100-seat Verdun Auditorium on Saturday, July 20th. TNA will hold a TV taping in the same venue the next day.
Ticket information will be announced soon.
TNA has previously held Slammiversary events in Canada, both in 2018 (Toronto) and in 2023 (Windsor).
Here’s the current announced schedule for TNA through July:
Sunday, April 21st TV taping in Las Vegas, Nevada
Friday, May 3rd Under Siege in Albany, New York (TNA+ streaming special)
Saturday, May 4th TV taping in Albany, New York
Saturday, May 18th TV taping in Newport, Kentucky
Sunday, May 19th TV taping in Newport, Kentucky
Friday, June 14th Against All Odds in Chicago, Illinois (TNA+ streaming special)
Saturday, June 15th TV taping in Chicago, Illinois
Saturday, July 20th Slammiversary in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (PPV)
Sunday, July 21st TV taping in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Months in the making and hyping, the return of DX was the focal point of this week on Raw and the Vengeance PPV on 6/25 in Charlotte.
The show was based around HHH and Shawn Michaels running amok with Vince and Shane McMahon gone due to Michaels making a prank phone call saying Stephanie was about to give birth. We had the whole routine, with minis dressed as the Spirit Squad, cheerleaders wearing bras with DX on it, and far too much male ass. The show was funny as hell. The return was over as hell. The TV was reminiscent of the glory days of the promotion, and as DX, both guys who have been on top forever, suddenly seemed refreshed as characters.
The question is, for how long. In 1997, when Michaels, HHH and Chyna formed DX, with the unique video spliced with live footage ring entrance, I don’t want to overstate it and say they were responsible for the balance of power switching. They weren’t but they were a huge secondary piece of the puzzle behind the Vince McMahon-Steve Austin dynamic. In 1997, Nitro, at least as far as TV rating were concerned, was killing Raw.
TNA enters its third year with the same major questions it has entering year one and year two. What it the business plan to make money?
After two years of major money losses, limited visibility, and lots of very good wrestling matches, the company finds itself back to where it started, trying to run PPV shows without any television. While this is not 100%, it does appear the decision has been made to not buy air time on FSN this summer, and wait for Spike TV to be cleared of its WWE commitments in late September. It’s a risky proposition for a number of reasons, the biggest being, in the television business, if you don’t have a signed deal, you don’t have a deal, although the word we get is people are very confident this deal will come through, but we also heard that about the last deal.
There doesn’t appear to be a backup plan, now that WGN is out of the running. Two things regarding the negotiations with Spike TV that have come out are they are looking at the Velocity time slot, which is what we had figured but was not confirmed, Saturday at 11 p.m., and that Spike wants TNA to pay for the time, something we’re told was not the case with WGN.
For the first time since October 2015, TNA Wrestling returns to world of pay-per-view with Slammiversary, the 12th such event in company history and the sixth held in Orlando, FL. The show is available on most major cable providers, as well as FITE.tv.
We’re looking for your thoughts on the show, so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
For the second straight year, Drew Galloway finds himself in the main event as last year, he was involved in the King of the Mountain title five way. This year, he defends his title against a game challenger in Bobby Lashley who is looking to regain the title. Also on the show, the Hardy brothers do battle in a Full Metal Mayhem match and all of the organization’s titles are on the line.
X-DIVISION CHAMPION TREVOR LEE VS. EDDIE EDWARDS VS. DJ ZEMA ION VS. ANDREW EVERETT
This match was one big move after another — too much for the crowd at some times and getting them back in it for others. The finish saw Edwards win the title pinning Lee with an inside cradle as Lee went for his fisherman buster. Good opener. Gregory Helms was kicked out from ringside at the beginning after coming out with both Lee and Everett. Everett did a springboard twisting dive, took a backdrop onto the ring steps, and also did a super Frankensteiner off the top rope.
– EC 3 interview. He put over that Bennett was the first guy to pin him but that was a catalyst for becoming the best wrestler. Carter tried to get the fans to sing his song and only a few did.
– They showed a clip of Dixie Carter announcing Sting for the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012. They announced that the 2016 inductee would be on TV Tuesday night.
BARON DAX & BASILLE BARACKA (w/AL SNOW) VS. MAHABALI SHERA & GRADO
The match was really bad. The finish saw Dax have Shera over his knee like a backbreaker, and Baracka coming off the middle rope with a Bret Hart forearm. Snow uses a whistle as his gimmick which didn’t work 26 years ago with John Tolos and is only slightly better now. Snow’s gimmick is he wants wrestling to be great again. This match wasn’t a good example of that. Dax & Baracka are the former Marcus Louis & Sylvester Lefort from NXT with Lefort now sporting a shaved head.
– Gail Kim and Maria Kanellis are going back-and-forth in the back as they were supposed to wrestle but Kanellis has a broken hand. Kim said Kanellis is a liar, and said she’s wrestling with a bad knee. Billy Corgan is out as William Corgan. He said he’s got the X-rays and the hand was broken. Corgan, at first, seemed to be playing heel as he was wearing sunglasses. He showed the X-ray and said that the minute Maria is cleared, Gail will get the match. Maria said her hand may never heal and she may never be able. Corgan announced a triple-threat match with Sienna vs. Jade vs. Gail Kim for the Knockouts title and it’s starting…right now.
JADE VS. GAIL KIM VS. SIENNA FOR THE KNOCKOUTS TITLE
Another bad match. Gail had Sienna pinned with Eat Defeat but Allie pulled Kim’s leg. Kim attacked Allie and then went after Maria. Allie threw the belt in to Sienna but Marti Bell jumped in. Bell then turned on Jade and hit her with a cane, leading to Sienna pinning her. They did more than the prior match but the crowd wasn’t much into it and they tried cool moves but most of the stuff didn’t look crisp.
Jeremy Borash interviewed Bobby Lashley. He made Borash announce him as the new world champion.
JAMES STORM VS. BRAXTON SUTTER
Storm did an interview saying he’s been at every Slammiversary. He said 14 years ago a man gave punk kids like he, Abyss and A.J. Styles a chance. Storm said that people said he’d never make it. Fans were chanting Orlando. He said there’s a lot of guys who need an opportunity because 14 years ago, nobody knew James Storm.
This was a short and perfectly professional match that the crowd didn’t care about because they don’t know Sutter (the former Pepper Parks). Sutter survived both a backstabber and codebreaker, but was pinned after a superkick which was the one move that didn’t look good. Storm then drank beer with Sutter after the match. It felt like Storm was going to take him under his wing and then, one will turn on the other.
– Eli Drake interview with Borash. Drake is a really good promo. He called Bram a cross-eyed halfwit, and that Eli Drake is perpetual bad assery.
– They showed a clip of Dixie Carter inducting Kurt Angle into the Hall of Fame. With the exception of Earl Hebner, everyone in their Hall of Fame is gone from the company.
KING OF THE MOUNTAIN CHAMPION ELI DRAKE VS. BRAM
Not much to this at all. They did a few countout teases. The big spot was Drake giving Bram a backdrop on the floor after Bram had taken the mats off previously. Bram used a DDT, which they call the Brighter Side Of Suffering, but Drake rolled out of the ring. Drake got back in, hit a clothesline and got the pin.
– Mike Bennett interview. He said he was the best wrestler on the planet and has the hottest wife in TNA. At least the second one, you can make a good argument for.
ETHAN CARTER III VS. MIKE BENNETT
Carter won with a TKO on a chair and the One Percenter. The crowd was into it at the end, but this was a tough crowd for obvious reasons and also because most are people who don’t watch the TV and don’t know the stories. They both worked hard. Bennett kicked out of the first One Percenter. The second time, Maria threw in a chair, which distracted ref Brian Hebner so he didn’t start the count for several seconds. Bennett used his Miracle In Progress (Michinoku driver on a chair), but the ref was distracted and slow in counting. Carter kicked out of a piledriver. Not a great match, but easily the best since the opener.
– Matt Hardy did his preacher interview.
MATT HARDY VS. JEFF HARDY IN A FULL METAL MAYHEM MATCH
They did a ton of weapons. Both worked real hard. The match story is that the new Matt kept kicking out of everything including a Twist of Fate and senton as well as a Twist of Fate through a table. The finish saw Jeff come off the top rope, jumping over the post, and put Matt through a table, pinning him on the floor as it was falls count anywhere rules. Lots of ladder spots. Jeff opened a ladder that stretched from one side of the rope to the other, and Jeff put Matt through the ladder off the top. Matt powerbombed Jeff through a keyboard set up bridging the apron to the guard rail. The problem was there was little reaction to some of the insane kickouts.
– Decay interview.
TNA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS DECAY (ABYSS & CRAZZY STEVE) VS. BROMANS (ROBBIE E & JESSIE GODDERZ)
Rosemary is in the Decay corner and Raquel in the BroMans corner. Abyss & Steve retained as Abyss gave Jessie a Black Hole Slam and then powerbombed Steve on top of him. All action, good match. Robbie & Jessie are very underrated as a team, particularly with Jessie’s athletic ability. He had Steve in the Boston crab/Adonis crab twice and Steve tapped, but the ref had mist blown in his eyes the first time and missed the tap. The second time, Abyss saved him. The women also got involved for a spot.
– Drew Galloway said he’s worked 16 years to be the world champion in the main event on PPV. He said he’s been defending this title in multiple companies, and said he tapped out Kurt Angle so he sure as hell can beat Bobby Lashley.
TNA WORLD CHAMPION DREW GALLOWAY VS. BOBBY LASHLEY — KNOCKOUT OR SUBMISSION ENDS IT
Real good match. Lashley won the title clean in the middle when Galloway passed out from a head and arm choke. They kept the shenanigans out of this one. Galloway was bleeding afer missing a running flip dive and crashing through a table. Galloway came back and used a tombstone piledriver, but he missed the running kick and Lashley hit a big punch that led to him putting on the choke. Galloway used moves like an Emerald Fusion and a sharpshooter — both on the ring steps.
We’ll talk more about this show tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio.
Since 2005, Slammiversary has celebrated the company’s June debut and it has usually been one of its biggest events of the year. This year, we have a title-heavy show with the King of the Mountain, World Tag Team, and World Titles on the line.
Here’s the lineup:
TNA World Champion Drew Galloway vs Bobby Lashley in a submission or knockout only match
Lashley has cut the best promos of his career since turning heel and he is perfect in his role as an ass-kicking MMA world-beater who feels like he’s the best and just needs Drew’s gold to prove it to the world. Drew has been a fine white meat babyface champion, although his TNA matches haven’t given him as much of a chance to shine as they theoretically should. With this being his first PPV main event as a champion, we should get an outstanding match aided by the knockout or tapout stipulation.
Strangely, they haven’t really focused on that aspect in theh TV build. One would think that having Lashley, the badass MMA fighter, knock people out in squashes to hype him up would be done. Instead, they’ve tried to get over Drew’s crossface as his top finisher for submissions and the Sick Kick as his knockout shot. I guess since Lashley has the MMA credibility, they want to build Drew up as the badass since he’s facing a legit shooter – but it’s a bit odd.
Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy in a Full Metal Mayhem Match
The explosion of the former Hardy Boyz may not be the main event, but its build has certainly been the most interesting for every possible reason. They’ve had issues since Matt turned heel, and when Jeff broke Matt’s brain by swanton bombing him off of a balcony, we got the debut of Broken Matt Hardy – complete with a wacky accent and white streak in his hair. He plays piano, writes poetry, and despises Brother Nero. If you’ve missed their rivalry, you can get caught up on all the best (and worst) of it here.
Decay (Abyss/Crazzy Steve) vs The Bromans (Robbie E/Jesse Godderz) for the TNA Tag team titles
The Bromans and their new trainer Raquel just debuted and earned the number one contendership, so it would make sense to keep that momentum rolling by having them win. Decay hasn’t done a thing with the titles yet anyway, and this kind of match just shines a light on how minimal the tag division is in TNA right now.
The rest of the card:
Maria and Gail Kim have been feuding for months now, with their rivalry coming to a head in Maria’s first PPV match in the company. Her husband Michael Bennett’s issues with EC3 dominated television over the last few weeks and with Bennett being the first person to pin EC3, one would expect an EC3 win here.
Eli Drake cashed in his Feast or Fired briefcase to win the King of the Mountain Title and celebrated with some free champagne. With the title win just happening, it seems too early to take the title off of Eli Drake – but it’s the KOTM Title, so it doesn’t really matter who holds it. Former champion Bram will attempt to wrest the belt away from Drake.
Knockouts Champion Jade doesn’t have a match set for the card. The same goes for X Division Champion Trevor Lee – although they could do another Ultimate X match to further the issues between Lee and Andrew Everett. Any or all of these can probably be expected to be added to the PPV on the go-home show that airs this coming Tuesday.
The build-up for the show has been largely enjoyable even if it wasn’t always for good reasons. As hilarious as the Matt vs. Jeff build has been, Raquel’s acting is even worse. The Matt and Jeff stuff has gotten more eyeballs on the product via Youtube, so that’s a plus. It’s doubtful that it will translate to an increase in buys, but it should be a fun way to spend an evening. It should certainly be far better than their last live PPV, which was done with three days notice and full of last-second matches.
