TNA’s final pay-per-view offering of 2012 was a bit ironic. Titled “Final Resolution,” the show, in fact, had no resolution. In the main event, a 30-minute iron man match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Bobby Roode and AJ Styles reached no resolution after 30 minutes, leaving Roode thankful and Styles (and the fans) wanting more.
Emanating from the Impact Zone in Orlando, Fla., Final Resolution featured a triple main event. In the featured bout of the evening, Roode defended his title against Styles in a 30-minute iron man match.
Styles came into the match with a bad knee after injuring it last Thursday on Impact and Roode used that to his advantage in taking the first fall by using a chop block to take Styles’ knee out and rolling him up to go up 1-0 about 10 minutes into the match.
Roode would continue to work over the knee, using various submission holds before finally making him tap to the Figure Four five minutes later to go up 2-0.
Styles, though, would get back into the match by making Roode tap to the crossface about 2:30 later to cut Roode’s lead in half.
Roode’s shoulder is hurting from the crossface and he would run right into a small package to tie the match at two with 10 minutes left in the match.
Now both men are going right after each other’s injuries. Roode with chopping kicks to the knee and Styles going after the shoulder. He gets up and runs into a Double R spinebuster for two. Styles, though, gets Roode in the corner and uses a DDT and the 450 Splash to up 3-2 with seven minutes left.
Styles on the apron and he flips in for the sunset flip but Roode sits down and holds onto the rope to get the fall, as referee Brian Hebner doesn’t see it, with five minutes left to tie the match at three falls apiece.
We’re tied with under two minutes to go. Styles hits a flip dive over the top and to the floor with one minute left. Both men down for a long time on the outside. Styles throws Roode back in with 30 seconds left. Roode takes one look at Styles and goes out the other side with 15 seconds left. He’s just killing time now. He leaves the ring with four seconds left and the bell rings.
This match is a 3-3 draw.
Still TNA World Heavyweight Champion: Bobby Roode
The next TNA pay-per-view is Genesis on Jan. 8.
After an opening video package, Mike Tenay and Taz welcome us to Final Resolution, an eight-match card from Orlando, Fla.
Match #1 – Rob Van Dam (Battle Creek, Mich.) vs. Christopher Daniels (Los Angeles, Calif.)
RVD comes out with some mat wrestling in the early going. They head out onto the apron and Daniels runs RVD into the ring post. Back in the ring, Daniels works a rear bear hug but RVD makes his way to a vertical base and kicks Daniels right in the grill. Now RVD starts to get going. Spinning kick, clothesline and a standing moonsault net a two count. He hits a monkey flip and then a spinning heel kick. He follows that up with Rolling Thunder for another near fall.
Daniels tries to beg off and it works briefly until RVD hits another spinning heel kick. RVD to the top now and he goes for the Five Star. Daniels moves but RVD sees it in time and lands on his feet. Daniels, though, hits a spear for two. Flying corner forearm for Daniels. He props RVD up on the top turnbuckle. He follows him up but RVD headbutts him off and rises and hits the Five Star. He is slow to cover but still gets the fall without even hooking the leg.
Winner via pinfall: Rob Van Dam
Match Rating: 5/10
Match #2 – TNA World Television Championship – (c) Robbie E (Seaside Heights, NJ) vs. Eric Young (Nashville, Tenn.)
Young gets off to a hot start, hitting a suicide dive to the outside. Robbie T comes over to clothesline Young but he ducks only to run right into an elbow from Robbie E. In the ring, Robbie works a headlock but Young gets back up. He moves when Robbie charges him in the corner and fires up. Big slam connects and he goes to the top and hits a big elbow for two. He goes back to the top but Robbie yanks him off the top rope. He covers but only gets two.
Young drops Robbie and the referee goes to check on Robbie when Robbie T comes in and chokes Young. Only Young pokes him in the eye and sends Robbie E into Robbie T’s groin region. Then Young puts both Robbies on his shoulders but can’t hold them. He dropkicks T out of the ring only to run into a Codebreaker from E and that’s it.
Winner via pinfall and STILL TNA World Television Champion: Robbie E
Match Rating: 5/10
Match #3 – TNA World Tag Team Championship – (c) Matt Morgan (Fairfield, Conn.) & Crimson (Brooklyn, NY) vs. Devon (New York City) & The Pope (Harlem, NY)
Pope actually hits a German suplex on Crimson. He goes for another but Crimson elbows out. Morgan in and he hits a fallaway slam on Pope and goes for the cover but Devon breaks up the pin attempt. Pope with some offense and both he and Morgan and down. Both men tag.
Devon in with a shoulderblock on Crimson. He hits a corner splash and a leaping clothesline. He knows Morgan off the apron and hits a neckbreaker on Crimson. He goes to the top and hits a headbutt but Morgan breaks up the pin and starts pounding Devon. Now it’s 2-on-1. They throw him off the ropes but Devon tries a double clothesline but it’s no sold. He tries again and gets it. Devon with a spinebuster but Crimson barely gets the shoulder up.
Devon calls for Pope to go to the top. He slams Crimson and Pope hits a top-rope elbow but Morgan breaks up the cover and hits Pope over the top. Shortly thereafter, Morgan and Crimson combine for a double choke slam on Devon and that’s it.
Winners via pinfall and STILL TNA World Tag Team Champions: Matt Morgan & Crimson
Match Rating: 4/10
Match #4 – TNA X Division Championship – (c) Austin Aries (Minneapolis, Minn.) vs. Kid Kash (Nashville, Tenn.)
Back and forth start to the match, both men attempting some roll-ups and cradles, and of course, hitting each other pretty hard. Kash throws Aries to the outside and chops him against the post. He takes him to another post and tries ti again but Aries moves.
Aries tries to use the belt but the referee pulls it away. Then they each try to roll each other up with their feet on the ropes. Kash throws Aries to the outside and then hits a slingshot splash. They rolls into the ring briefly but Aries sends Kash out and hits a suicide dive. Then he delivers a neckbreaker onto the middle rope.
Aries with the pendulum elbow, but Kash recovers and slams him hard. Kash to the top but Aries hits the rope and crotches him. Aries goes for a superplex but Kash pokes him in the eye and loads Aries up for a power bomb, but I can’t even tell you what actually happened. I think they tried to reverse it in mid-air. Wow.
Both men up and they start to slug it out in the centre of the ring. Kash goes for the double undercooks but Aries stomps the foot and hits a throw. Aries charges Kash in the corner but he gets the foot up. Aries tries to pull out some brass knuckles but the referee sees it. Then Kash tries to do the same but the referee stops him. Aries grabs the belt and tosses it to Kash, but the referee rips it away, but it provides an opening for Aries, who kicks Kash in the gut and hits the brainbuster.
Winner via pinfall and STILL TNA X Division Champion: Austin Aries
Match Rating: 9/10
Match #5 – TNA Knockouts Championship – (c) Gail Kim (Toronto, Ontario) vs. Mickie James (Richmond, Va.)
Gail drops James right on her face, hard. Gail all over her here. Gail going to work on Mickie’s right leg. But Mickie is able to send Gail to the outside and then back in the ring, fire up with a headscissors takeover and then a series of clotheslines. She hits a face plant and goes to the top but gets cut off. Gail goes for a rana but Mickie holds on and Gail splatters on mat. Mickie hits a Thesz press for two.
Gail goes for Eat Defeat but Mickie hits a leg whip that sends Gail to the outside. Gail decides to take a walk but Mickie catches up and throws her into the ring post. Madison Rayne comes running down and distracts Mickie long enough that she turns around, in the ring, right in Eat Defeat and Gail gets the pin.
Winner via pinfall and STILL TNA Knockouts Champion: Gail Kim
Match Rating: 6/10
Match #6 – Kurt Angle (Pittsburgh, Pa.) vs. James Storm (Leiper’s Fork, Tenn.)
Angle is all over Storm. An assault on his head, as Storm is coming off a concussion. Angle with a rear-headlock. Storm, though, fires up and hits double knees to the front and then a backstabber. But Angle takes it back and hits a belly-to-belly. Angle changes a roll-up into an ankle lock. Storm escapes and floats over in the corner and hits a kick to the back of the head. He calls for the Eye of the Storm but Angle pushes him off and hits the triple Germans. Storm counters the Angle Slam and hits the Eye of the Storm for two.
Storm goes to the top rope but Angle charges up and throws him off the top for two. The straps come down and he lines Storm up for the Angle Slam but Storm hits an arm drag and attempts the Last Call Superkick but Angle catches the leg and applies the ankle lock. Storm pushes his way out and ends up in the corner. Angle charges but Storm moves and Angle goes shoulder-first into the post. Storm drapes him on the middle rope and DDT’s him on the apron.
Both men bacon the ring and Storm again misses the Last Call Superkick and this time Angle counters into the Angle Slam for two. Now Angle goes to the top and misses a moonsault. Storm stands and hits the Last Call Superkick and that’s it.
Winner via pinfall: James Storm
Match Rating: 7/10
Match #7 – Steel Cage Match – Jeff Jarrett (Hendersonville, Tenn.) vs. Jeff Hardy (Cameron, NC)
For this match, Karen Jarrett is handcuffed to Sting.
Jarrett locks in the Figure Four very early in the match. He uses it to gain control and runs Hardy into the cage. Jarrett starts climbing now but Hardy brings him back. Jarrett, though, knocks Hardy off the top rope and to the mat. Both men slugging it out now and it’s Hardy who hits a series of shots to the face. He misses a corner splash but Jarrett misses a punch and eats a Twist of Fate. He takes some time and hits another. He starts scaling the cage and goes for a Swanton Bomb but Jarrett moves. Both men down. Jarrett starts to crawl out the door but Hardy stops him, only to eat a kick to the face.
Jarrett hits the Stroke and calls for the door to be opened. He crawls toward it but Hardy makes the stop. Now they both battle near the door and Hardy, instead of going out the door, uses the bar above it to swing back into the cage with a kick.
Hardy starts going toward the door but Jarrett shoves the referee into Hardy, who hits the cage door and it goes flying into Sting. Karen uses this opportunity to grab the key from Sting’s pocket and unlock herself. She shoves the door into Hardy’s head but he kicks out at the last second on a slow count from the bumped ref. Karen grabs a guitar and tries to pass it through but Sting stops that. Distracted, Hardy spins Jarrett around and hits the Twist of Fate. That’s it.
Winner via pinfall: Jeff Hardy
Match Rating: 6/10
Match #8 – Iron Man Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship – (c) Bobby Roode (Toronto, Ontario) vs. AJ Styles (Gainesville, Ga.)
This match is a 3-3 draw
Match Rating: 7/10
Event Rating: 6.5/10
Matt Bishop can be reached at bishop20@msu.edu. Please include your name and hometown. Click here to follow Matt on Twitter. Should be a good one!.