By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com
Last week, we found out that Jeff Jarrett would be going into the hall of fame tonight. His induction video showcased his career from Memphis through now and put him over slightly more than even his ’02-’06 title runs did in TNA. Magnus faced Bram in a street fight for reasons that were never explained, let alone adequately explained. Bram won this all-weapons match with a schoolboy cradle of course. Eli Drake cut a great promo on Drew Galloway, and we got a horrible and annoying exchange between Taryn and Brooke that was almost saved thanks to Gail coming in and cleaning house. Due to TNA not checking on Hernandez’s legal status with Lucha Underground, we got a re-airing of the Slammiversary main event. The King of the Mountain match aired without any explanation of the rules, so the reverse ladder penalty box title match might’ve been a bit confusing for some. Tigre Uno challenged Donald Trump to come to the Impact Zone tonight, and while I’m not a betting man, I would bet a healthy sum that he doesn’t show up on this pre-taped show from weeks ago.
Eric Young faced Rockstar Spud in a chain match for some reason. Since TNA has all of this extra time to fill due to Hernandez, why can’t they fill that up with storyline explanations? They’ve already got supplemental content like this shot in HD for Youtube, why not put it on the show so things make sense? Speaking of which, Matt was somehow named the number one man in the TNA Top 5 and beat Bobby Roode in a nothing tables match to earn a World Title shot. Don’t let all of the words fool you though – there’s very little exciting actually going on in TNA outside of Gail Kim being a ninja and destroying Taryn’s faction.
The show starts with a recap of the Storm and Mickie issues alongside the rise of Matt Hardy as a World title-level guy and we’ll see Mickie’s final match in TNA, and Jeff Hardy returns too. Austin Aries comes down while Josh says that Aries will probably go into the TNA Hall of Fame one day. Aries says he’s not in a good mood and mocks Bully for not making him a top contender. Bully comes out in jeans, a shirt, and a pleather jacket and praises the fans. Bully says that Aries lost to Kurt, but he will give him a shot at the X Title – which Aries literally laughs off as a title for guys who aren’t main eventers. Josh says that Spud main evented and only got that due to the X Title. No, actually he opened the show while cashing in that title and main evented before ever winning this title against EC3.
Spud puts over Aries as possibly the best TNA World Champion in history, and he’s very upset to hear him bury the X Title. Aries says Spud isn’t a rockstar, and that if he can’t beat Spud, he doesn’t even belong in this ring. Bully talks about how great “the kid” is, despite Spud being 32. Bully makes Spud vs. Aries, and if Aries loses, he’s done. But if he wins, he gets to be called “Rockstar” Austin Aries. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than Austin Starr, probably worse.
We get a quick rundown of next week’s show’s events – it’s being called No Surrender. Kurt Angle talks to Chris Melendez about “that kid” Eric Young is 35, and they’re coming to the ring to call out EY next. Chris Melendez comes down with Kurt Angle for a match with Eric Young, but he calls him out like he wants a match despite Christy announcing this like it’s a match. It is, but first, EY talks to him about piledriving him. He’s also got the chain still, but I can’t see if he still has the Hammer Jammer on.
Eric Young vs. Chris Melendez
Chris shoves EY down while Josh talks about Austin Aries vs. Rockstar Spud for the rights to the name “Rockstar” being made official for next week’s show. EY stomps a mudhole into him while Josh says that sure, EY lives in America now, but he’s really a Canadian who doesn’t respect America. EY drapes him over the apron and drives his elbow into the neck while Pope calls him the Bearded Terror a bunch. EY rakes the eye and gets a piledriver for the win. Josh hypes up Brooke vs. Marti Belle for the title next.
JB meets with Matt to ask about what match type he’ll pick tonight. Matt says “we” have picked the match, but we won’t know tonight. JB asks who “we” is – so is Jeff Hardy’s return supposed to be a surprise or something? The generic knockouts video brings us to Marti’s intro while Josh says he won’t talk during the intro, but does. Instead of showing Brooke bending over, they cut to a shot of Billy Corgan’s tour poster.
Brooke vs. Marti Belle – Knockouts Title Match
Taryn distracts Brooke, resulting in a rabbit lariat for 2. Brooke gets a flying lariat off the second rope and a series of clotheslines. Dollhouse gets involved to attack Brooke, but Gail’s tron hits and the distraction leads to the X-factor/butterface maker/butterface makeover. This wasn’t all that good or noteworthy in any way. Tigre Uno calls out Donald Trump next.
We see more of Tigre in Mexico with his kids and we go to the Impact Zone where Christy says that Donald isn’t here, and so he’s a coward. EC3 says he doesn’t care about Matt Hardy’s stipulation and we go to another break. Former country music sensation J-E-Double F J-A-Double R-E-Double-T meets with former pop music sensation Billy Corgan. EC3 comes down with Tyrus while Josh talks about how he has been victimized for supporting EC3.
EC3 Talks About Matt Hardy
EC3 buries Jeff for having nothing but rednecks as fans, and while he might be afraid of Jeff, he isn’t afraid of Matt. He talks about Jeff falling off of everything in wrestling, but getting hurt on his little moped and calls Matt Khloe to his Kim. Jeff saunters out while Josh tries to get “Humanomoly” over as his new nickname. Jeff and EC3 blather on for a bit while Jeff says he’ll be back wrestling soon. Matt comes out and says it’s not a competition between he and Jeff – they have one another’s backs at all times. Jeff has Matt grab some objects from under the ring. We get a table, chair, and a ladder. After a while, we get a Full Metal Mayhem match announced. Storm and Serena face Magnus and Mickie next.
We get Team 3D’s induction video alongside earlier clips of the Angle and Sting inductions to hype up Jeff Jarrett’s induction later. Magnus says that the the world has been waiting for he and Mickie to team for two years, but tonight, it’ll be a fight. Storm and Serena come out, with Storm in ridiculous orange and green camo gear.
Mickie James and Magnus vs. James Storm and Serena
Magnus and Storm start this with a brawl while Pope talks about Storm vs. Magnus at the PPV being one of the best matches in the history of the Impact Zone. Serena cheapshots Magnus and Storm attacks, but avoids Mickie and chinlocks Magnus for an ad break. We return to see Mickie chase Serena, but Storm backstabs Magnus. He gets another chinlock and a lungblower. Mickie gets the tag and runs wild on Serena, but Storm grabs Mickie and she slaps him. Gutbuster to Mickie from Serena, but Magnus spears Storm. Serena calls for Khoya to come down, and whips Mickie into the steps. Magnus sidesteps Khoya and the stick hits Storm, leading to a Magnus powerbomb. Mickie gets the jumping DDT on Serena for the win. Mickie’s portions of the match were exciting, but the Magnus-Storm stuff didn’t click.
Jeff Jarrett’s hall of fame induction is next. But first, we get Ken Anderson talking to Mike Tenay about his future in wrestling. Ken says that Bram is dark, but he can get dark too. Bram tells Ken to kiss his kids goodbye, because it’s personal. Why is it personal? What is their grudge? Gail Kim faces the Dollhouse next week, which is the only new match added to No Surrender right now. Jeff Jarrett’s hall of fame induction video from last week is aired again.
Jeff Jarrett Hall of Fame Induction
Mike Tenay is in the middle of the ring to introduce Dixie Carter. She talks about Jeff having the industry in his blood and how she met him when they happened to live next door to each other in an apartment complex. Thanks to Jeff, TNA exists and without him, they wouldn’t be here. Jeff thanks everyone who has ever bought a ticket or a piece of merchandise. He thanks everyone who has received a check from TNA, and thanks Bob and Janice Carter for believing in him. He tears up with this and says that he always got to the office first to make the first pot of coffee. He thanks the Ring Ka King crew for sacrificing their time around the holidays.
He thanks anyone who worked in the X division, anyone who was in the tag division, and thanks Team 3D for coming from WWE to TNA. He thanks Nash, Foley, Steiner, and Booker T for coming to TNA. He tells Dixie that they’d have some ups and downs, but without her making the decision to bring him into the Hall of Fame, he wouldn’t be here. He talks about the importance of family and how he and his father had a falling out seven years ago. They were estranged for many years, but six weeks ago, they reconciled. He thanks Jerry and says that Jerry should be here before he is, but he loves him and thanks him. He thanks his daughters and Kurt’s kids for loving and supporting him. He thanks Karen for being his rock over the past many months and their love conquered their obstacles. Mike Tenay is holding back tears, Karen is crying, Jeff is weeping, and the crowd is chanting “thank you, Jeff”. TNA could end right here and it would feel pretty much perfect. The roster greets Jeff on the ramp and we get a rundown of No Surrender.
To see every screenshot taken for the show, just click here.