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At the Bren Events Center

Free Preview

Jeremy Borash kicked off the pre-show. He was standing at ringside with former boy band member Joey Fatone. They hyped live crowd and ran through the pay-per-view lineup...

Powell's POV: Was Joey McIntyre unavailable?

A video hyped the Abyss vs. Mick Foley match...

Fatone said he can't wait. He's ready for some tag team action. I'm sure that had a much different meaning back in his boy band glory days...

1. The Motor City Machine Guns defeated Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed in 5:55 to qualify for the Ultimate X match. Mike Tenay and Taz pointed out that the winners of this match will earn a spot in the Ultimate X match for the X Division match later in the show. They announced that the D'Angelo Dinero would not be in the Ultimate X match because he had to leave due to a family emergency.

After some good, fast paced action, The Guns hit a neckbreaker and crossbody combo on Creed. Alex Shelley got the pin, so he and Chris Sabin have qualified for the Ultimate X match...

Powell's POV: Solid free preview match. The audio is lousy. It's fine when they air videos, but the announcers sound rough. Here's hoping they can work out the kinks before the actual pay-per-view begins. They may have cost themselves some buys from fans who were on the fence and don't want to hear lousy audio all night. As for Dinero, he was at the fanfest event on Saturday and this is the first I've heard about him being off the show. Too bad.

A preview video hyped the Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan match... Back at ringside, Borash and Fatone introduced Dixie Carter, who was behind the guardrail. She spoke briefly and hyped the show... A video previewed the main event...

Lauren interviewed Team 3D. They ended the promo by saying: "Tables, ladders, and chairs. Oh, my"... Borash and Fatone gave final hype for the pay-per-view... A final preview video set up the pay-per-view...

The BFG PPV

The pay-per-view opened with a slick video for the pay-per-view... Tenay welcomed viewers to the show. Zakk Wylde was introduced. He shredded on guitar for a moment and then broke into the national anthem while standing at ringside. Fireworks exploded on the stage after his performance...

Powell's POV: The audio issues appear to have been solved. Wylde was awesome. Great call by TNA to have him do the anthem.

1. Amazing Red defeated Suicide, Daniels, Homicide, Chris Sabin, and Alex Shelley in an Ultimate X match to retain the X Division Title in 15:15. Tenay explained the D'Angelo Dinero situation again and said his thoughts and prayers are with him. Taz picked Homicide to win the match. Don West walked onto the stage with Red and then headed backstage.

Great action early with Shelley hitting an awesome suicide dive through Sabin's legs (Sabin held the ropes up) and onto Suicide at ringside. The Guns also hit a great giant swing into a dropkick double team move. Homicide made the first play for the X Title that was hanging on the wires above the ring, but Suicide caught him and pulled him down for a big bump.

Shelley had Daniels on his shoulders and Sabin hit a missile dropkick, which Daniels sold in Doomsday Device-like fashion. Cool spot. The nonstop action continued with Red hitting an awesome huracanrana on Daniels, who was on his knees and took the bump as if he were DDT'd.

The first awkward moment of the match came when Red climbed onto the turnbuckle and appeared to motion for Suicide to come get him. At 10:00, the wrestlers took turns hitting rapid fire finishing moves on one another. Red climbed the corner and was caught by Suicide. They set up the tower of doom spot with Sabin suplexing them both over. Suicide's boot caught Daniels in the head on the way down, which was actually a planned spot. Wow.

Daniels, Suicide, and Red climbed to the top of the steel structure that sits about five feet over where the belt hangs. "Please don't die," chanted the live crowd. Daniels and Suicide fought on top of the structure and then slipped through it. They were fighting on top of the wire until Suicide hit a big move. Daniels landed awkwardly and may have been hurt.

The Guns were on opposite sides of the ring and both climbed the wire and came close to meeting in the middle, but Red slipped through the steel structure and grabbed the belt before they could. They aired a recap video afterward. West came out afterward and clapped on the stage while Red stood with the belt in his hand...

Powell's POV: I thought the winner had to take the belt down and then fall to the mat? I'm pretty sure that's how it was previously. That's my only nitpick. This was so f'n awesome. Great work from everyone involved with some insane bumps and all around fantastic action. Wow. Good luck topping that one tonight. Ultimate X should be a pay-per-view main event going forward. Yes, it's a great opener, but it's so good that it should headline pay-per-views.

Tenay and Taz discussed the match. Taz was legitimately blown away...

Backstage, Lauren interviewed The Beautiful People. Velvet and Madison did most of the talking. Lacey Von Erich chimed in at the end...

Powell's POV: Madison is improving on the mic. It's nice to see her get more mic time. That said, I miss Angelina Love. The act just isn't the same without her.

Backstage, Borash interviewed Taylor Wilde and Sarita. They hyped their match with the Beautiful People...

Tenay and Taz ran through some of the other PPV matches. Taz questioned whether Lashley or Joe's ground game would have been better...

Powell's POV: Both wrestling companies spend too much time running through pay-per-view lineups for shows we've already purchased. In this case, though, they were clearly killing time while the crew tore down the Ultimate X structure.

2. Taylor Wilde and Sarita defeated Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne (w/Lacey Von Erich) to retain the TNA Knockouts Tag Titles in 3:00. The referee was going to send Lacey backstage, but she kissed him. He changed his tune and even grabbed a chair for her to sit on. Earl Hebner came out and was greeted with "You screwed Bret" chants. Lacey teased kissing Earl, but he grabbed her and aggressively kissed her before sending her to the back. There were some boos from the crowd because they didn't want her to leave.

The Beautiful People teamed up for a nice move early, but the tag champs came back strong. Sarita tagged Velvet with a great missile dropkick. Taylor and Sarita hit their finisher on Madison and scored the clean pin. Taylor was woozy after the match...

Powell's POV: Too short. They have to start trusting Madison to carry the match at some point. It appeared Rayne landed on Taylor when she took the suplex as part of the finisher, so that might explain why Taylor was hurting after the match.

A video previewed the TNA Legends Championship match... Backstage, Lauren interviewed Eric Young and Kevin Nash. Young talked about the money he's paying Nash to take out Hernandez. Nash said it's a win-win for the two of them in that he keeps the title, and Young gets out of the match unscathed...

3. Eric Young defeated Kevin Nash and Hernandez in a three-way to win the TNA Legends Championship in 8:55. This got off to an awkward start as Hernandez tried to use his shirt to pull Young over the top rope, but he didn't quite hook him with it and Young had to lean into it for the second try.

Tenay acknowledged that many of the wrestlers were wearing pink armbands. He said it was for breast cancer awareness month. The heels teamed up on Hernandez, but he fought them off repeatedly and even hit a big missile dropkick on Nash at 5:30. Young suffered a cut on the back of his head at some point during the match and there were a couple of blood spots in the ring.

At 7:30, Hernandez hit the big plancha dive onto Young at ringside, which woke up the crowd. He threw Young back inside the ring, but Nash caught Hernandez with the big boot. Young followed up with a top rope elbow drop. Nash grabbed Hernandez for the Jackknife, but Young rammed Hernandez's head into Nash's balls. Young covered Nash and pinned him (even though Nash's shoulder was never really down)...

Powell's POV: Well, they're not giving up on Young. I didn't expect much from this match. It was fairly forgettable, but the the two-on-one aspect helped. There's only so much they can get out of Nash these days, and Hernandez vs. Young isn't very appealing. The idea is that Young is elevated by winning the belt, but I'm not sure how much a belt most people don't care about can do for him. I guess it can't hurt, though.

Backstage, Beer Money and Booker T and Scott Steiner were feuding. The British Invasion entered the picture and said they shouldn't all be fighting amongst themselves. They said Team 3D had fought this style match at a WrestleMania, so they should all be concerned about them....

4. The British Invasion defeated Booker T and Scott Steiner, Beer Money, and Team 3D in a Full Metal Mayhem match to win the TNA Tag Titles in 17:15, (Team 3D captured the IWGP Tag Titles). There was an awkward spot early with Booker hitting a sloppy suplex on Roode. Steiner had his big moment in the match when he hit a series of suplexes and got a big pop. He finished off his flurry with an old school Frankensteiner. Very cool.

At 6:00, Booker was lying on the outside the ring selling an injury. Sharmell ran out to ringside. EMTs put Booker on a stretcher and he sold the injury by moaning. "What happened to him?" Taz asked. Meanwhile, the British Invasion hit the Whassup spot in the ring.

Team 3D fired up and hit a big flurry of offense on Beer Money and the Invasion. Brother Ray headed to ringside and fought with Brutus right in front of Zakk Wylde. Brutus jawed with the guitarist, who responded by throwing his beer at Magnus. Ray held Magnus while Zakk hit him with a chair over the back. Fun spot.

Team 3D put Storm and Roode through tables inside the ring. However, Steiner entered the ring and hit both 3D members with chairshots. Very fun performance for Steiner so far and the announcers put it over in a big way. He set up a ladder and went for one of the tag title belts, but Team 3D recovered and slammed Steiner off the ladder and through a table.

Ray and Devon climbed opposite sides of the ladder and had a shot at both belts. Rhino ran out and hit Ray with a chair. Devon struggled, but eventually pulled down the IWGP Tag Title belts while Rhino was hitting him with the chair. Team 3D win the IWGP Tag Titles. Rhino took them out with the chair shots at least temporarily and headed backstage.

At 16:45, Roode stopped Doug Williams from grabbing the TNA Tag Titles. Rob Terry ran out and pressed Roode and threw him over the top rope and through a table at ringside. Brutus grabbed the TNA Tag Titles. The British Invasion win the TNA Tag Titles.

Powell's POV: I mentioned in my TNA audio preview that there was a good chance they'd use tonight's show to elevate World Elite and that's the way it's played out with Eric Young and The British Invasion winning titles. It's a shame that Beer Money was kind of lost in the chaos and that they didn't have any of their usual spots incorporated into the match. They deserved better. Overall, the match was a wild brawl. Steiner stole the show with his big flurry of offense. I could see him teaming with Rhino to feud with Team 3D if TNA keeps Steiner around.

A video hyped the TNA Knockouts Title match...

5. ODB defeated Awesome Kong and Tara in a Triple Threat match to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in 7:35. Kong attacked both opponents before the bell. She dominated until she missed an attempted splash on both women. ODB and Tara briefly teamed up on Kong, but they ended up fighting one another quickly while Kong sold their attack in the corner. Tara used Tajiri's Tarantula move on ODB at one point.

There was an awkward moment at 4:00 when Tara fought with a blonde woman (a wrestler) in the crowd. Kong and ODB just stood there and watched. The announcers acted like they didn't have a clue either. Back inside the ring, ODB struggled and hit a Samoan Drop on Kong for a good near fall.

Tara, who had disappeared to go after the woman, returned to the match around 6:00. The crowd chanted her name. Kong fought off Tara and hit a second rope splash on ODB for a good near fall. Kong hit the Implant Buster at 6:45, but ODB kicked out. The live crowd didn't seem to grasp that ODB kicked out of Kong's finisher.

Raisha Saeed made her first appearance. She wanted to give Kong a chair, but Kong didn't want it. She slid the chair inside the ring anyway. Kong went for a powerbomb, but ODB slipped out and slammed Kong's face into the chair and pinned her. Kong glared at Saeed, who was apologetic from ringside...

Backstage, Lauren interviewed Matt Morgan, who said tonight is both business and personal. He said Kurt Angle was trying to play him by having him in his corner to avoid facing him. Morgan said he's not "a fee-fi-fo-fum freak" like the other seven-foot wrestlers in the business. He said Kurt is the underdog in their match and deemed himself the future...

Powell's POV: The fee-fi-fo-fum line was great. I didn't care for Morgan saying that Angle is the underdog in the match because he shouldn't be portrayed that way going into this match. That said, Morgan's delivery has improved greatly. He's slowed down and his words pack more punch as a result.

6. Bobby Lashley beat Samoa Joe in 7:20. Lashley's ribs were still taped to sell the Impact angle. A shot aired of former WWE Diva Kristal Lashley (a/k/a Kristal Marshall) sitting at ringside. There were a lot of chants for Joe early. Joe went for a kick on Lashley, but ended up catching referee Earl Hebner.

At 4:30, Joe applied an abdominal stretch and ground his elbow into Lashley's ribs. He powerslammed Lashley a few seconds later and locked in an armbar, but Lashley escaped. The crowd booed Lashley. Joe shoulder blocked Lashley and the crowd cheered loudly.

At 6:40, Lashley hit an impressive T-Bone suplex. He received some boos. Joe came right back with a urinage for a big pop. Lashley took down Joe and applied a submission. "He's out," Hebner said as he called for the bell. The live crowd booed. Kristal clapped for Bobby at ringside...

Powell's POV: It was odd the way they cut from Morgan's promo right to this match. Maybe they were short on time or maybe they didn't want to show Lashley being booed during his entrance by the pro-Joe crowd. The finish didn't work. They never bothered to establish the move Lashley used as a finisher, so the fans didn't buy into it.

Backstage, Borash interviewed Foley, who hyped his match against Abyss... A video recapped the Foley vs. Abyss saga...

7. Abyss defeated Mick Foley in a Monster's Ball match in 11:10. Special referee Dr. Stevie came out in standard referee gear. Abyss came out next and was attacked from behind by Foley with the barbwire baseball bat. Mick climbed the scaffolding on the entrance ramp. Abyss followed him, but Foley hit him with repeated shots until Abyss fell off the scaffolding and through the stage.

Foley grabbed his bat, got a big running start, and jumped off the stage and onto Abyss, who was still lying in the the collapsed portion of the stage. The crowd chanted Foley's name. Foley headed to ringside with Stevie patting him on the back along the way. Suddenly, Abyss in Super Man style. Foley met him on the stage and Abyss knocked him down.

At 5:20, Abyss brought a board that was covered with barbwire and brought it inside the ring. Foley took control and DDT'd Abyss onto the barbwire. Ouch! Stevie taunted Abyss and slapped him. Foley picked up the bat and struck Abyss with it again. Abyss bled from the forehead and had a cut on his left shoulder.

At 8:00, Abyss came back by whipping Foley into another barbwire board that was standing up in the corner. Abyss charged at Foley, missed, and crashed into the board. Foley pushed the board and Abyss over onto the other board, so Abyss was sandwiched between the two. Foley dropped an elbow on the board. There was an audible "This is awesome" chant.

Foley spread tacks in the ring. Abyss took control and was about to slam Foley onto the tacks, but Stevie reminded him that he'd be DQ'd if he used the tacks (apparently Foley can). Daffney ran out and handed Foley a taser, which he used on Abyss. Stevie was bumped, so a second referee ran out. Foley covered Abyss and the ref stopped his count at two because Abyss didn't kick out when he was supposed to.

Daffney took a big bump off the ring apron and through a table that had barbwire on it. Sick! Stevie pulled the second ref out. Abyss slammed Stevie onto the tacks. He hit a move on Foley and then covered him while slamming Stevie's hands down three times to win the match...

Powell's POV: Bad screwup with Abyss not kicking out when he was supposed to. The crowd groaned big time over that one, but they still cheered for the finish. As sick as you'd expect from these two. Taz said he wasn't sure what the hell just happened, but it was kind of cool.

Backstage, Borash interviewed Kurt Angle, who hyped his match against Matt Morgan... A video hyped their match...

Powell's POV: They have been announcing time limits for all the matches tonight. The women's title match had a 20-minute time limit. This one had a 15-minute time limit. I'm all for bringing back time limits, but a pay-per-view semi-main event should have more than a 15-minute time limit. Yes, I realize UFC non-title matches are only 15 minutes long, but 15 minutes in wrestling is prelim material. Here's hoping we're not getting a draw here.

8. Kurt Angle pinned Matt Morgan in 14:45. Tenay and Taz spoke early on about how cocky and confident Morgan is. They agreed that it's acceptable if you can back it up. Taz said Morgan is intelligent and if you don't believe him, just ask Morgan.

Morgan controlled the opening minutes of the match. At 3:30, he picked up Angle from behind and dropped him headfirst onto the top turnbuckle. He followed up with big jump and legdrop over the top rope. "That's why I'm The Blueprint," Morgan said into the camera. He slapped hands with a couple fans at ringside.

At 4:45, Morgan missed with a kick. Angle clipped the back of Morgan's knee and worked him over. A loud "Let's go Angle" chant broke out. There were a few scattered chants for Morgan in response, but the pro-Angle fans won. Angle applied the figure-four in mid-ring. Morgan eventually reached the ropes.

Angle continued his attack on Morgan. He charged at Morgan, who shot up from his knees and clotheslined Angle. Morgan controlled the offense, but continued to sell the knee injury. Cameras cut to a shot of a member of Boys 2 Men watching in the crowd. No, really. TNA is friggin' huge in the boy band community!

The crowd continued to rally behind Angle when he scored a near fall. Morgan came right back with a chokeslam for a good near fall of his own. Angle came back and hit three German suplexes. He went for the Angle Slam, but Morgan avoided it and hit the Carbon Footprint for another good nearfall.

Morgan charged toward Angle, who moved and then hit the Angle Slam. The crowd bought into the nearfall. At 11:00, Angle applied the Ankle Lock. Morgan tried to kick him off, but Angle held on. Morgan kicked him off the second time. Morgan hit his Hellevator finisher, but Angle lifted his shoulder at the last second. Angle did the lazy arm raise more than a lift, so the crowd was skeptical.

A small, "This is awesome," chant broke out. Angle applied the ankle lock again at 12:40. Morgan tried to kick him off, but Angle maintained the hold. Morgan kicked him off the second time. Morgan hit a couple moves and got a nearfall. "What else do I have to do?" Morgan said.

A loud "Morgan sucks" chant broke out. Morgan went up top and Angle popped up, ran over, and suplexed him off the ropes. Angle hit the Angle Slam. He followed up with a Frogsplash off the top rope for another great nearfall. "We're witnessing Matt Morgan grow up," Taz said. "Matt Morgan is evolving into a star in this match."

Angle went to the corner and climbed with his back toward Morgan, who recovered and put Angle on his shoulders. Angle turned it into a victory roll and got the 1-2-3. Morgan showed frustration afterward. Angle went to the corner and offered his hand to Morgan, who eventually accepted. Angle raised Morgan's hand. The crowd applauded Morgan after Angle headed backstage...

Powell's POV: Damn good match. The crowd was tough on Morgan, but he seemed to win them over at the end. It may have been more of a pro-Angle than anti-Morgan crowd despite some of their taunts because they cheered him afterward. Taz was great on commentary here and told the story of the match perfectly. The match was booked in a way that indicates they were anticipating the crowd cheering for Angle. The announcers never mentioned the time limit even though they were only about 15 seconds away. They really have to pay attention to that if they're going to use time limits going forward because it would be a tell if they only acknowledge it in situations where the match is going to a draw.

9. A.J. Styles defeated Sting to retain the TNA Title in 13:15. Sting came out first and received a nice pop. Styles received a nice reaction, but nothing special. Borash handled the in-ring introductions for the main event. Earl Hebner was the referee. Styles's tights featured multiple breast cancer awareness ribbon symbols. Fast paced action with Styles working his ass off early and the crowd responding nicely with "TNA" chants.

At 4:30, Styles took a fall to ringside. Sting held the ropes open for him. Taz hilariously said he would have cracked Styles as he was entering the ring. "Right there, boom,!" Taz said. Funny. At 6:45, Styles jumped off the ring apron toward Sting on the floor, but Sting moved and Styles landed on the guardrail. Sting tried to follow up with a splash, but Styles moved and Sting hit the rail hard.

Styles headed back inside the ring and let Sting follow. The crowd applauded. They had a nice exchange in the ring with Sting hitting a nice backhand shot. Styles caught Sting on the ropes and had him in Tomestone piledriver position, but Sting reversed it and hit the Tombstone. Styles came right back with a springboard elbow off the ropes. He should have sold the Tombstone a little longer.

At 10:30, Styles and Sting jockeyed for position and Sting ended up hitting the Scorpion Death Drop. The fans chanted "This is wrestling." Sting followed up with the splash in the corner and hit a second Scorpion for a near fall. Sting applied the Scorpion Leg Lock at 11:40. Taz noted that Styles appeared to injury his ankle a few minutes earlier. Styles powered out.

Styles and Sting traded punches. Sting beat on his chest and the crowd popped. He hit a clothesline and got another near fall. Late in the match, Styles was on the ring apron and caught Sting, who was inside the ring, with a Pele Kick. "Did he get all of it?" Taz asked. Styles followed up with a springboard splash and scored the clean pin. Sting and Styles shook hands. Tenay questioned if it's the last time.

Sting left the ring and started heading backstage. Styles took the mic and told Sting to get back in the ring. The mic wasn't cooperating. He slammed it down and grabbed a different mic. Styles said Sting has entertained the fans for 20 years and was in his home state. "This ring is your spotlight," Styles said.

Sting walked back to the ring as Styles rolled outside. "This is your time," Styles told him at ringside. The fans chanted, "Please don't go" to Sting. He took the mic and said he was surprised to be there because the moment should be about the new champion. The fans chanted, "One more year."

"I'm not pulling a Brett Favre on you," Sting said. He said he wasn't prepared to give an answer regarding his future. He said it wasn't a kayfabe teaser and he just doesn't know. "I don't know if I'm going to come back," he said. He noted that the way the fans treated him at fanfest and during tonight's show makes him want to stick around forever. Sting's music played. Tenay thanked the fans for being part of a special night...

Powell's POV: A good match with an anticlimactic finish. Taz didn't help by questioning whether Styles caught Sting with the Pele kick, which is too bad because Taz was awesome on this show. He kept the jokes to a minimum, took control of the broadcast, and told some great match stories. The post-match speech was well done even though Sting didn't reveal anything. The live crowd ate it up. Overall, a very good show. No major surprise appearances, just a good night of wrestling. I'll have much more to say in Dot Net Members' audio tonight, and in the TNA Bound For Glory Hitlist on Monday.

Dot Net Members will be listening to my post-show audio recap after the show. You can gain instant access to all Dot Net Audio, including the three-hour-plus interview with former creative team member Dutch Mantel for only $5 per month by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

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