Gail Kim was forced to drop the TNA Knockouts Championship at Sunday’s Impact tapings in Orlando as it was announced that she is injured. According to PWInsider, she suffered a minor back injury.
TNA then held a Six Sides of Steel match to crown a new Knockouts Champion and that match, which should air in early December, saw Rosemary defeat Jade to win the vacant title.
Gail just won the title back on 10/2 at Bound For Glory.
With TNA’s future ownership still in question, the company announced on Sunday that they won’t be holding any more tapings at Universal Studios this year. TNA isn’t entirely done filming for the year though and one location has been announced.
“Broken” Matt Hardy announced at last night’s Impact Wrestling tapings that the December 15th episode will take place entirely from his compound in North Carolina. The episode, tentatively titled Total Nonstop Deletion, will feature The Hardys defending their TNA Tag Team Championships against The Decay, the debut of King Maxxell, and Rosemary defending her TNA Knockouts Championship.
Hardy says he’s looking to outdo his previous efforts The Final Deletion, Delete or Decay, and The Great War with “TND.” “Broken” Matt’s previous segments were largely produced by himself, his brother Jeff, Billy Corgan, and Jeremy Borash.
There has yet to be any other matches or names announced for the special.
Total Nonstop Deletion.
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) October 10, 2016
TNA held the final round of Impact Wrestling tapings on Sunday from Universal Orlando. These matches will air on December 1st and 8th. It’s also been announced the December 15th episode of Impact will take place entirely from Broken Matt’s compound in North CarolinaHardy compound. Here are the results from Sunday’s tapings, courtesy of Reddit user @nerdscripterGWA.
– Going into the final shows, Moose has beaten Aron Rex to win the Grand Championship and the Knockouts title is vacant after Rosemary and Decay took out Gail Kim.
– Cage match for the vacant title: Rosemary defeated Jade in a cage match to capture the vacant TNA Knockouts championship.
– The new DCC faction ( James Storm, Bram & Eddie Kingston) attacked Jeff Hardy. Matt made the save.
– Mahabali Shera & Al Snow beat Basille Baraka & Baron Dax in a double Indian strap match. Baraka & Dax turned on Snow earlier in the week.
– Allie and Maria finally had their big breakup, with Allie slapping Maria. All the heel girls beat down Allie and Maria fired her.
– TNA tag champs The Hardys retained against Bram & Eddie Kingston.
– Billy Corgan announced Allie vs. Laurel Van Ness. If Allie wins, she gets a TNA contract, if she loses, she’s gone.
– Allie beat Laurel Van Ness to remain on the roster.
– Drew Galloway did an interview for an upcoming match with Moose for the Grand Championship. Aron Rex came out and said he gets the first shot because he deserves a rematch.
– Grand Champion Moose retained against Aron Rex.
– Mandrews beat Aiden O’Shea.
– Eddie Edwards vs. Ethan Carter III ended in a no contest. Carter had Edwards in a submission put he had his back on the mat. The ref counted three on EC3 at the same time Edwards tapped.
TNA’s Impact Wrestling tapings continued over the weekend. The following matches will take place on episodes schedule to air on November 10th, 17th and 24th. Thanks to Bonga Blake and Marc Middleton for the live report:
– World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards opens with a promo but Eli Drake interrupts and announces he will be cashing in Bound For Gold tonight
– Moose defeated Mike Bennett. The match was made after Moose interrupted a promo
– Al Snow interrupts an in-ring segment with The Tribunal. They end up beating down Snow until Mahabali Shera makes the save. He also gets beat down and hit with a low blow, the second or third in this segment
– Ethan Carter III defeated Abyss in a #1 contenders tournament match
– Gail Kim comes out for an announcement. She introduces Jade and praises her as the future of women’s wrestling. The Decay interrupts. Kim, Jade and Jeremy Borash all get laid out. Rosemary takes out Kim with a submission and then hits a Coast 2 Coast dropkick on Jade while Crazzy Steve holds her
– Trevor Lee defeated DJ Zema Ion and Rockstar Spud in a #1 contenders tournament match
– Bobby Lashley defeated Robbie E and Grado in a handicap #1 contenders tournament match
– Eddie Edwards defeated Eli Drake to retain the World Heavyweight Title. After the match, The DCC attacks and stands tall. They’re revealed to be James Storm, Eddie Kingston and Bram
– Brandi Rhodes and Madison Rayne defeated Sienna and Laurel Van Ness. Maria Kanellis was at ringside and is feuding with Brandi
– Mahabali Shera defeated Basile Baraka. After the match, Baron Dax attacked until Al Snow made the save
– Eddie Edwards comes to the ring and calls out The DCC. They come out and beat him down until Jeff Hardy makes the save
– Ethan Carter III defeated Trevor Lee, Mike Bennett and Lashley in a Fatal 4 Way to become the new #1 contender
– The DCC defeated Eddie Edwards and Jeff Hardy in a 2-on-3 Handicap Match
– Eli Drake hosts a “Fact of Life” segment and challenges EC3 to put his title shot on the line. He turns the offer down but we get another match made – if EC3 wins, Drake isn’t allowed to speak for the rest of the year. If Drake wins, he gets EC3’s title shot
– Jessie Godderz defeated Baron Dax in a match for Xplosion
– Mandrews, DJZ and Braxton Sutter defeated Rockstar Spud & The Decay and Andrew Everett, Trevor Lee & Marshe Rockett in a three-team Team X Gold elimination match. Sutter and DJZ were the last two standing.
Moose is the new TNA Impact Grand Champion. He just defeated Aron Rex for the title at this afternoon’s TNA Impact tapings in Orlando.
The match should air some time in early December.
Rex just won the title by winning the Grand Championship tournament finals at Bound For Glory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8LbOuryC78
Thursday’s TNA Impact on POP drew 305,000 viewers, down from last week’s 365,000 viewers.
This is the lowest Impact number since moving to Thursday nights and the 6th lowest number since moving to POP TV.
This week’s show featured fallout from Bound For Glory and Lashley losing the World Championship to Eddie Edwards.
Impact did not make the cable top 150 this week. Last week they ranked #124.
The 10/6 edition of TNA’s Impact Wrestling on Pop TV averaged 305,000 viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily. This was the first episode after TNA’s annual Bound For Glory pay-per-view. This is down over 16% from last week’s 365,000 viewers.
Impact didn’t make the Cable Top 150 list for the 18-49 demographic, after placing #124 last week. The Weather Channel had 5 of the top 15 rated shows for the night with their coverage of Hurricane Matthew. TNA was also up against football and baseball.
(Click to enlarge)
WWE is currently doing market research to gauge interest in a multi-tier system for the WWE Network.
The 1st tier would be free, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. It would be limited to 5 hours of viewing a month, the content would include small video clips, access to the full archive of content and the live stream. Live PPV, NXT and other live specials would be blacked out.
The 2nd tier would be $4.99. This plan is exclusive to phones and tablets. It would include the big 4 PPV events (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam and Survivor Series), NXT on demand not live, unlimited viewing of the full archive of content as well as the live stream but will not include a possible new Cruiserweight show.
The 3rd tier would be $9.99. This tier is basically the standard one that is available now with some possible undisclosed upgrades.
The 4th and final tier would be $14.99. It would include all the above as well as content from other promotions not under the WWE umbrella. Dave specifically mentions TNA and ROH, WWE is interested in the full library from both companies but would also like to air live events. He goes on to say there has been rumblings about the interest in Ring Of Honor specifically.
There would also be possibilities of working out deals with several other independent companies such as EVOLVE, or PROGRESS out of the UK.
Additional benefits of this premium tier would be the ability to vote for WWE Hall Of Fame candidates and exclusive opportunities for ticket pre sales and talent meet and greets.
This would be very interesting and could really change the landscape of independent wrestling if WWE started airing this content on their network. It could potentially put more eyes on companies that might not have been able to get that type of exposure otherwise.
Discussion: Let us know your thoughts on this potential tier based system and which one would you sign up for, if any.
On Wednesday night TNA taped two more episodes of Impact Wrestling, scheduled to air on November 3rd and November 10th:
– The Hardys defeat The Tribunal to retain the TNA Tag Team Titles.
– The DCC attacks The Tribunal after the match, then points at The Hardys.
– Braxton Sutter, Mandrews and X Division Champion DJ Zema Ion defeated Rockstar Spud, Abyss and Crazzy Steve.
– A contract signing between Lashley and World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards for next week’s rematch takes place. Lashley admits to underestimating Eddie but says it won’t happen again. Lashley flips the table when Eddie gets under his skin but there’s no physical contact between the two, per the contract.
– Laurel Van Ness defeated Allie.
– Impact Grand Champion Aron Rex retained over Jessie Godderz via 3rd round pinfall. Rex was down 2 rounds but used eye pokes in the third.
– Segment between Eli Drake and Ethan Carter III ends in EC3 issuing a challenge for a Bound For Gold vs. never challenging for the title again match. Drake turns it down, saying he will challenge the winner of Eddie vs. Lashley next week.
– DJZ, Sutter and Mandrews defeated Marshe Rockett, Trevor Lee & Andrew Everett and Spud & The Decay, who were ejected mid-match due to double teaming.
– It’s announced that Lashley injured Cody Rhodes last week and he won’t be here tonight but Brandi Rhodes will be. She comes out and says Lashley put Cody down but he’s not out and this is not the last TNA has seen of Cody. Sienna and Maria Kanellis interrupt. They trade insults with Brandi before a brawl breaks out. Sienna lays out Brandi.
– The Hardys and The DCC have an in-ring segment. They beat The Hardys down, hold the belts up and leave. Jeff Hardy challenges them to come back and now we have a match.
– The Hardys defeated The DCC by DQ when the third masked member got involved. After the match, one of the men attacked Earl Hebner.
– Eddie Edwards retains the World Heavyweight Title over Lashley. Lashley pulled the referee in front of him when Eddie was running, leading to the ref going down. A second referee came out but Lashley punched him when he didn’t get a 3 count. It appeared the first referee calls for the DQ on Lashley as the bell rang but Eddie hit his finisher and pinned Lashley for the win.
Eddie Edwards defeated Bobby Lashley on last night’s Impact on POP to become the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Edwards has previously held the X Division and Tag Team Championships but this is his first World Championship run.
YOUR NEW #WORLDCHAMPION! @TheEddieEdwards! #IMPACTonPop pic.twitter.com/F0ej5KWWJ3
— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) October 7, 2016
After making his TNA debut at Sunday’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view, Cody Rhodes worked Monday and Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling tapings. His matches and segments will air on Impact over the next month, but he’s done with TNA for now and is already overseas for What Culture Pro Wrestling’s big Refuse To Lose event in the UK, where he’ll face Doug Williams.
On Wednesday morning, Cody tweeted the following about his brief stint in TNA:
(1/3) Yesterday was my last day(for now) in The Impact Zone before heading across the pond for @WhatCulturePW
"Finish strong"
In all the..
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) October 5, 2016
(2/3) noise I've been rather silent, now I want to say what a professional atmosphere it has been. Thank you for putting my name on the…
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) October 5, 2016
(3/3) marquee and allowing me to play my music, my way. Thank you @Billy @TNADixie and all the men & women who I shared the locker-room with pic.twitter.com/eufEqX1ZCE
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) October 5, 2016
TNA Impact Wrestling results, taped Tuesday, 10/5 and scheduled to air on 10/20 and 10/27:
– The Hardys retained the TNA Tag Team Titles over The Decay in a Six Sides of Steel match. Chainsaws and machetes were among the weapons used.
– Impact Grand Champion Aron Rex comes out for a Fact of Life segment with Eli Drake. He wants to explain what happened last week and calls out Jessie Godderz. Ethan Carter III also interrupts, leading to a brawl and a tag team match for later.
– Bobby Lashley defeated Moose with a spear.
– Mike Bennett defeated Mahabali Shera.
– In-ring segment with Maria Kanellis, Allie and Laurel Van Ness. Maria runs down Allie until Allie snaps and turns on Maria but gets beat down by Ness. Maria makes a match between the two for next week.
– Eddie Edwards retained the TNA World Heavyweight Title over Cody Rhodes. Maria attacked Brandi Rhodes after the match, leading to the Rhodes vs. the Bennetts next week. Good match and angle here. Edwards will face Lashley next.
– Aron Rex and Eli Drake defeated Jessie Godderz and Ethan Carter III when Rex uses a weapon to win. Very good match.
– The Hardys come to the ring for a promo but are attacked by The Tribunal to set up a #1 contenders match at a later date.
– Segment with Grado trying to be a BroMan with Robbie E. He also wants to be “Broken” for Halloween. Lights go out in the arena and when they come back on, three masked men in all black and white masks are in the ring. They beat Grado and Robbie down while a “DCC” logo is shown on the tron as they are the Death Count Council.
– Cody and Brandi Rhodes defeated Maria and Mike Bennett with a double submission. Said to be the match of the night.
TNA announced at Wednesday’s TV tapings that today’s tapings will begin at 1pm instead of the usual 6:30pm start time, due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Matthew. Friday’s tapings have been canceled and Saturday will now have two tapings, one at 1pm and the other at 7.
NXT also made changes to their schedule this week because of the storm. Friday’s house show in Crystal River has been moved to Saturday, 10/29 and Saturday’s show in Crystal River has been moved to Friday, 10/14.
Due to #HurricaneMatthew, #NXTCrystalRiver on Fri 10/7 has been rescheduled to Sat 10/29. All tix for the 7th will be honored on the 29th.
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) October 5, 2016
Due to #HurricaneMatthew, #NXTFtPierce has been rescheduled to next Fri 10/14. All tix for the 8th will be honored on the 14th.
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) October 5, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4e_MBIWOac
On the latest episode of “The Ross Report,” Jim Ross’s podcast, he dropped the following rumor on the TNA sale situation:
WWE is allegedly very close to buying the TNA library. Not the promotion, the TNA library. Obviously, with WWE Network, the TNA library could be a nice resource, a nice asset. Now, you know, TNA does have some talents I’m sure WWE would like to have down the road, but now I hear that WWE and TNA have had talks about buying the library and that a deal is imminent.
Ross stressed that this was a “rumor” that had “not been verified” from people who are “normally very, very reliable.” Besides his general connections in wrestling, both on the talent and front office side, at one point, Ross was the point man for WWE’s acquisition of video libraries. If anyone outside the company would be well sourced on those acquisitions, it would make sense that it would be Ross.
Of course, it does need to be pointed out that Dixie Carter said during a TNA talent meeting on Monday that while there had been talks with WWE about selling the library, she would not let a sale happen, so to speak. Being that she is still the majority owner, it’s unclear why said conversation would happen if Carter wouldn’t consider making a deal.
Analysis: Of course, we need to take Ross’s caveats into account here. With regards to what Carter said, the only possible explanation that would allow us to take her at face value is if the she talked to WWE but balked when she realized they wouldn’t keep TNA going. Being that reportedly, WWE has been out and then back in at various points, that may not track.
As for the specific rumor that Ross forwarded and how that fits in, it’s not the worst idea if Billy Corgan is looking to start fresh with a new name, image, etc. The back catalog won’t fit into that for the most part, and TNA can’t monetize it well anymore, so maybe selling the library to fund the sale/erase much of the debt.
Update: Reporter Justin LaBar says Billy Corgan will be taking over as the company’s new majority owner and will probably rebrand, finally putting the letters “TNA” to rest.
Just got a text saying #WWE to buy TNA video library & Billy Corgan is going to be new majority owner of TNA that he'll likely rebrand. Wow!
— Justin LaBar (@JustinLaBar) October 5, 2016
Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting the trio of masked men called DCC that made an appearance Tuesday night during a taping of Impact Wrestling are James Storm, Bram and Eddie Kingston.
As previously mentioned Eddie Kingston was also at the WWE Performance Center this past week for a try out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn13PwaRQ6s
Both F4WOnline and PWInsider (NSFW ads) are reporting that the promised TNA talent meeting with Dixie Carter to address the rumors of the insolvency and potential sale of the company ended up taking place at Monday’s Impact tapings, a day later than originally expected. Dave Meltzer’s F4WOnline report classified the meeting as having little new information past Dixie Carter confirming that WWE had expressed interest in buying TNA for the tape library, only to add that she wouldn’t let that happen. She also made sure to say that WWE had not purchased the tape library (as in leaving TNA alive but without its archival content), either.
PWInsider’s report had a bit more information, with these being the key notes:
NXT star Bobby Roode recently spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News about his decision to leave TNA earlier this year after 12 years with the company. The “Glorious” Superstar achieved every possible accomplishment in TNA, holding the TNA World title twice, the tag titles multiple times and even the now-defunct King of the Mountain belt. Despite being a “TNA original” who was around from the very beginning, Roode said it was not a hard decision to leave.
“I don’t really have a negative thing to say about that company. I was treated extremely well there for 12 years and financially I was taken care of.” he said. “Honestly, it was just time for me to go. I never really got into this industry for the money although it’s nice. I’ve been able to make a career and support my family for the last 12 years doing what I love to do. But that was just it. The last two years of that company, I didn’t love it anymore. I started to lose my passion which was concerning to me.”
Roode said TNA became a place where it was just a television product and he got into wrestling to perform in front of crowds all over the world. There was a time where you could do that in TNA. He loved being on the road and learning from guys like Kurt Angle, Bully Ray and Christian. But that was no longer a reality in TNA.
“It got to a point those last two years there in TNA that we literally just went and did television and it wasn’t fun for me anymore. I had 12 great years and I just felt like at my age and at my stage in my career I wanted a different opportunity and that’s all I wanted. My first conversation with WWE was just that. I want opportunity and they’ve given me the opportunity and here I am today.”
Bobby Roode also commented on his Glorious theme music, admitting he was totally and pleasantly surprised how much it’s caught on with fans. “When your entrance song that you’re a part of goes No. 1 on the iTunes soundtrack charts it kind of surreal,” he gushed. “Obviously, the song fits the character, the character fits the song. It all has come together and, in a way, made my job a little easier.”
Head over to SportingNews.ca to check out the full interview.
Eddie Edwards defeated Bobby Lashley at Monday night’s Impact Wrestling tapings to capture the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Click here to read full results of the tapings.
Breaking!
Eddie Edwards just beat Bobby Lashley to become the new #TNA Heavyweight Champion! @EntSlice @InnerN3rd pic.twitter.com/abLfI5t7Xc
— TattooedJuggalo (@TattooedJuggalo) October 4, 2016
TNA held the next round of television tapings on Monday night from Orlando, Florida. These matches will air this week and next week on Pop:
– Eli Drake debuts a new set for Fact of Life and had words with his guest EC3
– Singles champions came out and explained why their division is the most important. Billy Corgan comes out with Aiden O’Shea and announces that titles will be on the line, except for DJZ as a Team X match is next
– Mandrews, DJZ and Braxton Sutter beat Marshe Rockett, Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett
– Cody praised TNA and announced that he has a World Title shot. He and Brandi were interrupted by Mike Bennett and Maria. The segment ends with a brawl as Bennett and Maria retreat. Cody comes back out and wants Bennett next week
– Gail Kim beat Sienna. Maria, Sienna and Laurel beat Gail up after
– Aron Rex retained the Grand Championship over Baron Dax in the second round
– Lashley has to select between Moose, Eddie Edwards and EC3 for his next challenger. He says Eddie will be the easiest and picks him
– Eddie Edwards beats Lashley to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
– DJZ beat Marsha Rockett to retain the X Division Championship
– Cody beat Mike Bennett
– Aron Rex beat Jessie Godderz to retain the Impact Grand Championship. Rex appears to be turning heel
– Eddie Edwards cut a promo on his World Championship win but Lashley beat him down. EC3 and Moose made the save
– Maria is no longer the head of the KO division
– Gail Kim beat Maria in a No DQ match to retain the Knockouts Championship
– Moose beat EC3
– Moose vs. Lashley and Eddie vs. Cody will be taped tomorrow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2G4iHT_4LM
On last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio for F4WOnline subscribers,there was also a passing reference by Dave Meltzer to WWE being “back in the picture” as far as buying the company. As had been stressed in the past, he noted that this would mean that TNA would be shutting down, as WWE would only be interested in the video library. There’s still nothing known about who fronted the money for this week’s TNA shows other than that the funds did not come from Billy Corgan.
Meanwhile, In spite of TNA talent being told that all of the rumors about the status of the company would be addressed at a talent meeting on Sunday before the Bound For Glory pay-per-view, PWInsider is reporting (note: NSFW ads) that such a meeting never took place. There was not even a sign of if the issues at hand will be discussed at any point in the near future. If TNA can still make payroll, though, then the company should have no hiccups for the next three months, as the plan is to try to tape enough shows this week to last them through the end of the year.
Meltzer’s information about how much time the tapings will cover did not go quite as far, saying that they’ll cover through late November or early December. Technically speaking, it’s possible that both could be right, with TNA running year in review shows for the last couple weeks of December as they have in the past, since that wouldn’t require taping original TV through the December 29th episode of Impact.
– The rumored talent meeting at Bound For Glory to address the status of TNA’s ownership never took place. Drew Galloway mentioned “Billy Corgan buying the company” during his on-air promo, the company’s financing was not addressed backstage.
– Tonight makrs the start of a long week of Impact Wrestling TV tapings fro Orlando, Florida. The tapings will run through Saturday and the plan is to produce enough footage to get TNA through the end of 2016.
– Former WWE agent Billy Gunn was backstage at the show, according to PWInsider.com.
– Matt Hardy posted this video of the Hardy Boyz’ entrance from Bound For Glory:
[VIDEO] MeekMahan will ejaculate with joy while viewing this MAJESTIC & MAGICAL #HouseHardy #BoundForGlory entrance. https://t.co/w7qWRVdLHo
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) October 3, 2016
TNA Bound For Glory 2016 aired live on pay-per-view from the Impact Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
– DJ Z (c) vs. Trevor Lee: DJ Z’s X Division Championship is on the line in this one. DJ controls the opening moments of the match, hitting a springboard arm drag off the middle rope. Lee comes back with a big boot that drops DJ Z on the floor. DJ Z comes back with a Frankensteiner off the top in the ring, and a couple flying back elbows. DJ Z hits a suicide dive over the top to the outside, then back in the ring hits a reverse hurricanrana. DJ goes for a DDT but Trevor blocks it and hits a German Suplex for a 2 count. DJ Z comes back with a Canadian Destroyer out of nowhere and a tornado DDT for the win to retain his X Division title.
– Bobby Lashley and EC3 are shown arriving at the Impact Zone.
– Drew Galloway cuts a promo in the back about not being cleared by doctors for tonight’s show.
– Eli Drake def. Tyrus, Robbie E, Jessie Godderz, Baron Dax, Grado, Mahabali Shera, Rockstar Spud, Braxton Sutter, Basile Baraka: The winner of this 10-man gauntlet will receive a title shot for a championship of his choosing. Grado gets eliminated within 10 seconds of entering the ring. The match comes down to Godderz, Tyrus and Drake. The finish comes when Godderz has Tyrus up against the ropes trying to eliminate him, but Eli Drake sneaks up from behind and eliminates them both in a fairly short match. Drake will get a future shot at any championship of his choosing, with the condition that he gives the champion one week notice.
– Jeremy Borash is in the back interviewing Chef Robert Irvine about his wife Gail Kim being inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. Maria and Mike Bennett interrupt, and Irvine tells them it’s going to be a bad night for them.
– Moose def. Mike Bennett: Moose chases Bennett around the ring early on, then Bennett starts going to work on him. Moose hits a dropkick, and Bennett comes back with a suicide dive on Moose on the outside. They brawl around ringside and Bennett tries to hit a splash off the ring steps, but Moose catches him on his shoulders and throws Bennett into the ring post. Bennett comes back with a back body drop that sends Moose crashing into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Bennett continues the offense on Moose and starts working on his left knee. Moose comes back with a vertical suplex that sends Bennett flying into the turnbuckle. Moose hits a series of clotheslines followed up by a pop-up powerbomb and a senton bomb for a near-fall. Moose hits a clothesline for another near-fall. Bennett comes back with a boot to the face and a tornado DDT. Bennett follows up with a piledriver for a two count. They trade blows in the middle of the ring until Moose hits a springboard clothesline off the top. Moose hits a choke powerbomb then a clothesline for the win.
What an entrance by @MooseNation69! #BoundForGlory pic.twitter.com/60jJ4tTNKE
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) October 3, 2016
– Aaron Rex def. Eddie Edwards: This match is to crown the first ever Impact Grand Champion, with three 5-minute rounds. Judges are at ringside to score the bout. Back and forth action between Edwards and Rex in the opening minutes, with lots of mat wrestling until Edwards hits a dropkick that drops Rex. Edwards throws Rex outside and follows up with a suicide dive. Back in the ring Edwards hits a missile dropkick off the top for a two count. Round one ends and it’s announced that the judges scored it in Edwards’ favor. Rex starts round 2 in control and hits a series of knees to Edwards’ face. Rex puts Edwards in the Figure Four, and the lights go out in the arena. Josh Matthews announces that they are having technical issues, and two spotslights turn on from the ceiling to illuminate the ring. After a minute or two, the lights come back on, and Edwards hits a missile dropkick off the top rope. Rex comes back with some big right hands as round 2 comes to a close. Rex is awarded round 2 by the judges, and he starts off the third round with a spear in the corner on Edwards. The offense seems evenly matched for the first half of the third round. Edwards hits a kick to the head of Rex then goes up top the top turnbuckle. Rex throws Edwards down to the mat, then follows up with a flying neckbreaker for a near-fall. Rex goes for a spinning clothesline, but Edwards ducks and hits a running knee to the face. Rex and Edwards exchange blows as the third round ends and the referee has to separate them. Edwards briefly scuffles with the referee before things are finally separated. Jeremy Borash announces that the judges have awarded Aaron Rex the winner via split decision, and we have our first TNA Grand Champion.
The First ever @IMPACTWRESTLING Grand Champion is about to be crowned. #BoundForGlory pic.twitter.com/6YlcWz04IH
— Dave Lagana (@Lagana) October 3, 2016
– Christy Hemme, Awesome Kong, and Dixie Carter come out to say a few words about Gail Kim for her Hall of Fame induction. Dixie introduces Gail Kim, who comes out to give her Hall of Fame induction speech. We see a video highlighting her TNA career, along with some words from Billy Corgan, Madison Rayne, and Al Snow.
#TNAHOF inductee @gailkimITSME backstage with some familiar faces. What a special night it is here at #BoundForGlory. pic.twitter.com/1YKDpCSQ6V
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) October 3, 2016
– Matt & Jeff Hardy def. The Decay: Reby Sky is playing the piano for Matt Hardy’s entrance, and The Decay jump starts things by spraying the mist in her face. The two teams brawl all over the ring and ringside, with Abyss using a staple gun on Jeff Hardy’s face before brawling with Matt to the backstage area. Abyss lays out the referee and continues brawling with Matt, while Jeff and Steve brawl through another section of the backstage area. Matt and Abyss start brawling through the streets of Universal Studios, while Jeff and Steve brawl in the arena with pumpkins and watermelons. Jeff turns into Willow and starts going to work on Steve, while elsewhere in Orlando we see Matt and Abyss brawling in the bed of a moving pickup truck. Willow and Steve brawl back to ringside and Steve hits a cannonball on Willow up against the ring steps. The pickup truck gets back near the arena and Abyss and Matt brawl back into the Impact Zone. Abyss hits a vertical suplex on Matt on the ramp, while back in the ring Willow has transformed back into Jeff Hardy. Abyss throws Matt back into the ring and pulls out some thumbtacks. Before Abyss can lay out the thumbtacks, Matt hits the Twist of Fate and Jeff hits the Swanton Bomb for a near-fall on Abyss. Matt hits a Side Effect on Abyss onto a barbed wire board with thumbtacks on it, then the lays another barbed wire board on top of Abyss. Matt hits a an elbow drop off the middle rope onto the board, sandwiching Abyss in the barbed wire. Matt pins but Rosemary breaks the pin. Reby comes back and powerbombs Rosemary through a table at ringside. Jeff lays out Steve with a steel chair at ringside, then throws a table in the ring. They set up a huge ladder in the ring with Steve on the table, and Matt leads the crowd in a Delete chant. Jeff hits the Swanton off the top of the ladder onto Steve through the table for the win. Matt and Jeff Hardy celebrate in the ring with their new Tag Team Championships as the crowd chants “Delete.”
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/782765418934968320
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/782766328675393536
– Gail Kim def. Maria: Maria tries to say she’s not cleared to wrestle tonight, but her apprentice blows her cover and reveals that she has been cleared. Gail slides out of the ring and she brawls with Maria around ringside to start the match. They go back and forth in the opening moments until Mike Bennett throws a wrist brace to Maria and she hits Gail in the head with it. Gail comes back with a series of clotheslines then puts Maria in the ring post figure four. Back in the ring, Gail hits the Eat Defeat to win the Knockouts Title in a fairly short match.
– After the match, Mike Bennett cuts a promo saying he’s shutting down Bound for Glory and no one can stop him. Cody and Brandi Rhodes come out to interrupt. Maria slaps Brandi and they start fighting, then Cody and Bennett start going at it. Cody hits a springboard kick off the middle rope that sends Bennett to the outside.
– Bobby Lashley def. EC3: During the ring announcements, Lashley spears EC3 when he’s not looking. Lashley grabs Borash and makes him finish the ring announcements. The bell rings and EC3 takes control the match, taking things to the outside and hitting a vertical suplex on the floor. After some more brawling around ringside, Lashley takes things back in the ring and hits a series of clotheslines. EC3 comes back with a dropkick and a t-bone suplex. Carter follows up with some knee strikes and neckbreaker for a two count. Lashley comes back with a spear out of nowhere for a two count of his own. Lashley goes for a triangle choke but Carter reverses into a powerbomb. Carter is slow to recover, and Lashley is able to hit a running powerslam. Lashley grabs his title belt and goes to hit Carter with it, but Carter comes back with a fireman’s carry into a neckbreaker. After exchanging some right hands, Carter comes back with a spear of his own for a two count. Lashley rolls outside, and Carter hits the TK3 on the ring steps. Back in the ring, Carter hits a frogsplash for a two count. Lashley comes back with a spear, then grabs a steel chair and drills Carter in the back with it a few times. Lashley gets Carter in a choke but Carter escapes with a series of elbows to the head. Carter hits a series of German suplexes on the champion, then hits the One Percenter for a two count. Carter takes Lashley up top, but Lashley pushes him off and spears him from the middle rope for the win.
Dixe Carter posted the following on Twitter about tonight’s Bound For Glory PPV.
Some beautiful faces have returned for tonight's LIVE #BoundForGlory PPV & a few new ones are here to debut. Going to be a very special nite
— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) October 2, 2016
According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider sources are very quiet about what the future holds for TNA.
One thing that can be confirmed is former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio has been spotted in Orlando which is the sight of tonight’s Bound For Glory PPV.
No word yet if he will be appearing on the PPV or possibly the TV tapings that follow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ou7suydrcM
This is where everything appears to stand right now for tonight’s TNA Bound For Glory pay-per-view and this week’s subsequent TV tapings:
The New York Post reported that TNA had secured the funding from a third party (not Billy Corgan or WWE, and if it’s Aroluxe, they weren’t named) put up the money to fund this week’s shows, but Corgan and WWE will continue to be the ones negotiating with TNA. “A source familiar with the matter” told them that “No doors were closed,” while WWE had no comment on the situation and Corgan said that “It’s a go, as far as I’ve been told.” These tapings take TNA through December, so they’ve bought themselves quite a bit of time, hopefully enough to make a deal.
In Saturday’s Daily Update at Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline, Dave Meltzer reported that there will be an “internal meeting” before Bound For Glory about the status of the company. Historically, when TNA has had business issues in the past, the company has kept wrestlers in the dark and/or had various excuses for when there were problems, so just how upfront management is in the meeting is something to keep an eye on. That also goes for whoever’s running the meeting, especially since Corgan (who is the president of the company now) has been pretty open and Carter made a point of tweeting that she doesn’t respond to speculation.