TNA Impact: Heels hamper Hardy homecoming

Bob Kapur

TNA Impact: Heels hamper Hardy homecoming

Matt and Jeff Hardy returned to their home state of North Carolina on Thursday night’s episode of TNA Impact. And even though they and fellow tag team specialist Ace Austin couldn’t overcome the shady tactics of the trio of Jake Something, Trent Seven, and Hammerstone, that didn’t “delete” the appreciation shown to them from the fans, and even from their opponents at next week’s Turning Point event, The Rascalz and KUSHIDA. That trio came out after the match to save the Hardys from a beatdown from the heels – and to show respect to the legendary team. It was a feel-good moment to end a show that was full of good matches and more building towards Turning Point.

Match 1: Alisha Edwards vs. Masha Slamovich – No DQ match for the Knockouts Championship

Edwards attacked Masha during the ring introductions, but Masha was able to recover quickly and take control. Until she went for a Flying Dive and Alisha surprised her with a garbage can lid to the head. After DDTing Masha onto a steel chair, she looked to charge Masha in the corner with a chair-assisted attack, but Masha dodged it and Alisha hit the chair instead.

Masha brought a garbage can into the ring and set it up, upside-down. She was going to Superplex Alisha right onto the can, but Alisha slipped free and Powerbombed Masha on to the base of the can, which looked like it really sucked for Masha. Ouch!

Alisha smacked her with a Singapore cane, but after a few shots, Masha had enough. She blocked a cane shot, hit Alisha with it, and then hit Alisha with a Package Piledriver for the win.

After the match, Savannah Evans slid in and attacked Masha from behind, ground-and-pounding her, until Jordynne Grace ran in for the save. Grace challenges Masha for the title at Turning Point on November 29th.

This felt a bit rushed but it was fine. The garbage can spot looked pretty gross, but otherwise things were pretty tame.

Winner, and still Knockouts Champion: Masha Slamovich

They announced that The Hardys and Ace Austin will take on The Rascalz and KUSHIDA at Turning Point. Cut to the latter team somewhere in the building. They said they respect the Hardys and will be watching their opponents in their match later tonight.

Match 2: Ash By Elegance (w/ the Stooge and Heather By Elegance) vs. Jody Threat (w/ Dani Luna)

The Stooge cut his typically-obnoxious pre-match promo and introduced Ash as she made her way to the ring.

Ash used some stalling tactics to try to avoid falling into Jody’s clutches, but eventually got caught, and Jody dominated her with some power moves. But Ash avoided a running charge and Jody hit the turnbuckles hard – that, and some interference by Heather from the outside, allowed Ash to take over. Ash then started to punish Threat with some stomps and submission holds, with the occasional assist from Heather behind the referee’s back.

Threat eventually powered up and mounted a comeback. She took Ash up to the top, but a referee distraction by Heather allowed the Stooge to trip up Jody, and she crashed to the mat. Dani took out Heather on the floor, but the damage had been done. Ash hit Rarified Air on Jody from the top to get the win.

This was another short match. Dani looked a bit feckless here, not doing anything to stop Heather and the Stooge from interfering throughout the match. But, this was all about continuing the build towards the Elegances getting a shot at Luna and Threat for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship, and in that context, this was fine.

Winner: Ash By Elegance

Mike Santana and Frankie Kazarian confrontation

Santana came to the ring and grabbed a mic. He said that many people doubted him, but he used the anger from hearing that into fuel to drive him further. He said that his drive will eventually lead him to the throne – namely, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

Cue Frankie Kazarian’s music, and he came to the ring along with his Call Your Shot trophy. He said that he is the only one who will sit on the throne, as he is the King of TNA. Kazarian said that Santana having beaten Moose isn’t enough to impress him. And that he will cash in the trophy whenever he wants and win the title.

They both said that they will be watching the title match at Turning Point where Eddie Edwards will challenge Nic Nemeth for the World Championship, with designs on taking on the winner. Santana said that since they’ll both be at Turning Point, he wants Kaz in the ring, so they can fight out their differences. Kaz didn’t want any part of it, but Santana said he was going to ask Director of Authority Santino Marella to make it official.

Kaz looked upset, but even moreso when Santana welcomed Rhino to the ring to take on Kaz right then and there, as opposed to later on tonight when the match was supposed to happen.

Match 3: Frankie Kazarian vs. Rhino

Rhino started off aggressively, knocking Kaz to the floor and sending the show to a commercial break. When we returned, the action went back and forth, with both men exchanging hard shots. The match spilled to the floor, where Kaz tried to use the trophy as a weapon, but the ref confiscated it. Kaz then tried to use his scarf for bad intentions, but the ref took that away, too. As the ref disposed of it, he missed seeing Kaz kick the ropes into Rhino’s crotchel area as Rhino tried to get climb back into the ring.

Rhino, in pain from that move, was at the mercy of Kaz for a bit, until he fired up and they had a slugfest in the middle of the ring, which Rhino won. Rhino then used his size advantage to batter Kaz with Splashes and Body Blocks. He went for a GORE! GORE! GORE!, but Frankie side-stepped him, rolled Rhino up, and – using his foot on the ropes for leverage – was able to cover Kaz for the 1-2-3.

After the match, Kaz cockily celebrated his tainted win. And paid for it with a GORE! GORE! GORE! that left him flat.

This was a good, by-the-numbers TV match between two veterans who get it. Nothing too crazy, but nothing too crazy was needed.

Winner: Frankie Kazarian

Steve Maclin’s Trippy Trust/Time Dream

A video aired of Steve Maclin drinking at a bar, while a forlorn country song played. Between drinks, they showed quick clips of what appeared to be him having flashbacks to his military days. After a while, Maclin was not at the bar, but Eric Young took a seat there.

Cut to Maclin, walking into his motel room. Where, when he entered, the news on the TV was about war veterans, and he got contemplative. And had more flashbacks in his shower. But to him sitting on the bed, looking at old photos of his wartime days. Which led him to write a letter before he went to bed, though it looked like he was plagued by more nightmares of his military days.

Cut to Maclin sitting at a desk in what appeared to be a police station. A man in a suit came in and sat in the chair across the table, and it was revealed that the man was Detective Eric Young. Young then started to question Maclin about where he was and why he was there. Meanwhile, there were flashes of scenes from Maclin’s wedding, his army days, with them switching locations from the police station to the jail cell where Eric Young was incarcerated back during his VBD days.

Young asked some rapid-fire psychoanalytic questions, as the pace of the image switches got faster and faster. In the end, Maclin said that he had lost time. They talked about trust, and Young said that Maclin should trust the truth. There was more psycho-babble here, as Young talked about trust and time.

Young then started yelling at Maclin to wake up. Cut to Maclin sleeping in his motel bed with someone pounding at the door. Maclin got out of bed and opened the door, and Eric Young was standing there.

This was artsy and bizarre and very-well produced. Curious to see where this is going.

Match 4: Leon Slater and Laredo Kid vs. Moose and JDC

The rest of The System came out with Moose and JDC for their entrance, but then headed to the back.

Kid and Slater did some razzle-dazzle to get the advantage on JDC early on, but some dirty tactics resulted in Kid eating the steel steps and then getting Chokeslammed on the apron by Moose. After some back-and-forth action, Slater and Moose ended up in the ring together, and Slater used his quickness to hit-and-run, nearly pinning Moose after a big Leg Lariat.

More quickness by Slater and Kid ensued, with Slater hitting Moose with a huge Running Somersault Dive that saw Slater leap, go up and over the turnbuckles and land on Moose on the floor. That looked awesome.

With Moose taken out as a factor, Slater then out-maneuvered JDC and rolled him up for the pin.

Immediately after being pinned, JDC sprung up and attacked Slater, putting the boots to him. Moose then joined in on the beating. He Powerbombed Slater and JDC followed that up with the Down and Dirty (Legdrop off the top rope). JDC and Moose posed to celebrate their dastardly deeds, but then Laredo Kid ran in and smashed them both in the back with a chair, and they skedaddled.

This was a fun little match, which really put the spotlight on Slater, who will undoubtedly be next in line to challenge Moose for the X-Division Championship.

Winners: Laredo Kid and Leon Slater

Joe Hendry appears

Joe Hendry came to the entrance ramp. He talks about how thankful he is for the success he’s been having recently, and he thanks the crowd for believing in him. He said that his goal remains to become the TNA World Champion. But, at Turning Point, he’ll be competing in a Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl match. And if he loses, he could be forced to wear a turkey suit. But said he will risk the humiliation, because if he wins that match, it will push him closer to earning another title match. He said that anything is possible – if you believe.

Cut to Nic Nemeth in the back, who said that he believes in Joe Hendry. But he’s more focused on his Turning Point match where he defends the World Champion against Eddie Edwards. Nemeth said that he will likely have to deal with the rest of The System when he faces Eddie. But that he’ll be ready for it. And that Eddie will never be able to take the title. Because not only with Nemeth steal the show at Turning Point, but he’ll also retain the title.

Match 5: Savannah Evans vs. Brittany Jade

Brittany looked scared of Savannah before the match, and she was right to feel that way. Savannah destroyed Jade with various throws and power moves, and put Jade away with a Full Nelson Slam. Squashy, squashy, squash.

This was quick enough that Savannah didn’t even have time to botch anything. So that’s progress.

Winner: Savannah Evans

In the back, Jordynne Grace approached Masha Slamovich, and they talked about facing each other once again at Turning Point. Masha suggested that they leave no doubt in anyone’s mind as to who the winner is, and suggested their match be Two Out Of Three Falls. Grace agreed to the stipulation.

Match 6: Jake Something, Hammerstone, and Trent Seven vs. Ace Austin and the Hardys (Matt and Jeff Hardy)

Austin and Matt were wearing facepaint like Jeff, which was a nifty touch. The crowd chanted “Welcome home!” to the Hardys who hail from North Carolina.

The story here was the quickness and tag team expertise of the babyfaces going up against the power advantage of their opponents. After an opening flurry by the Hardys and Austin – including Austin joining in on the Poetry in Motion fun – they tried for simultaneous Twists of Fate, but all three of the powerhouses blocked and escaped the move and headed to the floor to break the action and slow things down.

Back from a commercial break, and they had slowed things down by isolating Ace Austin in the wrong area of town, as all three men beat him up – in some cases, at the same time, when they could do it out of the referee’s eyeline.

Austin finally broke loose and tagged in Jeff, and the pace picked up, with all six men getting in the ring and throwing down. This time, Austin and the Hardys did hit the Triple Twists of Fate, but Trent Seven kicked out. Later, Hardy did a Flying Dive off the top and wiped out Something and Hammerstone on the floor.

In the ring, Austin and Matt double-teamed Seven and then Jeff hit a Swanton, but Hammerstone and Something pulled Jeff off of Seven and dragged him to the floor. This led to a brawl at ringside, with Austin and Seven left alone in the ring.

Austin went for The Fold, but as he ran in for the move, Seven dropped down and hit him with a well-timed dirty upper-cut to the crotchel area, unseen by the ref who was trying to restore order to the chaos on the floor.

With the shot to the Little Aces, Austin was helpless and Seven picked him up and hit the Burning Hammer for the pin.

This was a good main event. The Hardys are older and slower, of course, but they can still do some big moves, and are more than just a nostalgia act. And they seem to be well-positioned in TNA as the veteran team who can still put on good matches when called upon, and help boost some of the younger guys.

Winners: Hammerstone, Jake Something, and Trent Seven

After the match, Something, Seven, and Hammerstone beat up the Hardys 3-on-2 and were going to destroy them with Powerbombs. But then the Rascalz and KUSHIDA ran in for the save, and chased them away.

The show ended with a handshake between the Hardys/Austin and the Rascalz/KUSHIDA, showing mutual respect in advance of their match at Turning Point.

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