-So this show is essentially a nostalgia show for the X-Division, even though it is still active in TNA. That would be like WWE having a nostalgia show filled with tag team matches.
-Match 1: Kazarian VS Samoa Joe
-Good opener. Crowd was 100% behind Joe. Match was a throwback to when Joe was the hottest thing in wrestling. Kazarian gets to the ropes to break the rear naked choke, and after Joe argues with sensitive Earl Hebner, Kazarian counters another attempt at the choke into a rollup for the pin.
-Christopher Daniels arrives.
-EARLIER TODAY: Suicide, Curry Man (which would actually explain why Daniels is just now showing up), and someone I don't recognize are doing an autograph signing. Eric Young interrupts to ask if any of them want to be his tag partner. Curry Man declines, but Stone Cold Shark Boy steps in to accept.
-Match 2: Open Challenge: Douglas Williams VS Mark Haskins
-Haskins looks like a John Morrison rip-off, when Morrison was still transitioning from Johnny Nitro, complete with jacket, sunglasses, and he even stops to do the same pose. Good technical wrestling for about half the match before they transitioned into more traditional wrestling spots. Haskins messes up before the finish, slipping off the ropes before going back up. He misses a shooting star, and Douglas rolls him up for the pin. They put Haskins over as a British prospect who impressed on a recent tour. I'd like to see more of him, but he needs a new look.
-Austin Aries says he'll win the Fatal 4 Way for a TNA/Impact Wrestling contract because the other three are good, but they're not great like him. Surprised they'd have him back after the issues they had with him "not being reliable" a few years ago.
-Match 3: Generation Me (Max & Jeremy Buck) VS TV Champion Eric Young & Shark Boy
-Least of the three matches so far. They actually explain that the Bucks reunited after their split due to the "threat to the X Division", which A.) makes no sense, as their gimmick is that they don't care about anyone (including each other) but themselves, and B.) this is the third of fourth time someone or a group has tried to end the X division, when all they have to do is let TNA booking take its course. Young & Shark Boy win after a stunner and wheelbarrow neckbreaker on Max.
-Zema Ion delivers his own backstage promo. It's the biggest match of his life, and he's honored to be in the ring with the other three. He knows he's the undercard, and he's there to prove that he deserves to be in TNA. I've seen a little bit of Ion in Pro Wrestling Ohio when I watched a bit of it last year. He's more impressive as the arrogant male model gimmick he was using there.
-Match 4: Ultimate X #1 Contender's Match: Alex Shelley VS Shannon Moore VS Robbie E VS Amazing Red
-Really disappointing, but considering at least two of the four really suck (Moore, Robbie), it's probably the best we could have gotten. A bunch of spots, everyone tries to get the X hanging above the ring, everyone gets knocked off the cables until Shelley is the last man left, and he grabs it to win. Nice to see the most talented man in the match win, which doesn't happen nearly as often as it should.
-Low Ki talks about having to fight to prove that he belongs in TNA, which is sad, considering he's come and gone a few times already.
-It should be noted that everyone keeps switching back-and-forth between calling the company TNA and calling it Impact Wrestling (where "Wrestling Matters"), so no one knows what the hell is going on with the rebranding.
-Match 5: Rob Van Dam VS Jerry Lynn
-Pretty strong match. Started out as pretty much a cut & paste version of their ECW matches, until Lynn said "fuck this" and started wrestling as a heel. Lynn eventually introduced a couple chairs. Lynn busted RVD open by dropping a leg on the back of his head, driving Rob's head into a chair. Wild swing misses, leading to a Van Daminator and Five Star Frog Splash to give RVD the win. Match suffered a bit because I didn't think for a second that RVD would lose.
-Match 6: Winner Gets a TNA/Impact Wrestling Contract: Austin Aries VS Zema Ion VS Low Ki VS Jack Evans
-Evans looks really stupid with his bad haircut and MMA gloves. Great match. I expected Aries/Ki.Evans to be able to work together because of their time in RoH and other indies, but Ion gave a good accounting of himself as well. Aries wins after Low Ki blocks Evans' 630 splash with his knees, only for Aries to give him a stiff kick to the head and a brainbuster for the pin. Aries is a great choice, but I agree with the crowd when they chant "sign them all!".
-Aries takes the contract and proclaims himself "the greatest man who ever lived".
-Match 7: X-Division Championship: Abyss [c] VS Brian Kendrick
-Match was slow, and boring, which is par for the course when Abyss isn't in a garbage match (and sometimes when he is). Earl gets bumped, Kendrick hits the Sliced Bread #2, but Immortal (Brother Ray, Gunner, and Scott Steiner) attacks. Almost the whole X-Division rushes out to fight them off, and Kendrick counters a chokeslam into a rollup for the pin and the title. Kendrick gets the confetti treatment, and this is the only context in which that'll happen for an X-Division title change.
-Match 8: AJ Styles VS Christopher Daniels
-Nothing technically wrong with this match, but I just couldn't get into it. Styles wins with the Spiral Tap, then they shake hands after teasing a Daniels turn.
-All in all, a really good PPV for TNA, which was aided greatly by not having their crappy (f0r the most part) heavyweights stink it up, with the exception of Abyss. Unfortunately, this show will be buried and forgotten by the company.
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