12/5 TNA Final Resolution PPV Live Coverage: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Morgan for the TNA Title, Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me in a Full Metal Mayhem match, Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett

By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members will be listening to Jason Powell's audio recap of the TNA Final Resolution pay-per-view later tonight. You can gain access to all the perks of membership, including the ad-free version of the site, for as little as $5.50 per month by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

Live from Orlando, Fla.
The Impact Zone at Universal Studios

Powell's POV: Check the main page for a big story regarding why Jeff Hardy was nearly stripped of the TNA Title and pulled from the show. The main event is on as of last check, but they were strongly considering replacement matches at one point.

The show opened with a Jeff Hardy video package. The screen went black near the end of the video when the narrator introduced the show and they cut to the building. The live crowd could be heard, but there was no shot inside the building. The pay-per-view graphic was shown onscreen for a few seconds and then the feed was finally restored as pyro was going off on the stage. Mike Tenay and Taz introduced the show...

1. Beer Money defeated Ink Inc. in a No. 1 contenders match in 11:30. The crowd was hot for Inc. Ink and Shannon Moore gave them plenty to cheer about once he checked into the match and performed some crowd pleasing offense. Neal overshot James Storm on a dive on the floor and barely touched him.

Meanwhile, Moore performed an Asai moonsault on Robert Roode. Later, Neal went for a spear, but ate a superkick and then took the Beer Money finisher before being pinned. Beer Money are the No. 1 contenders to the tag titles...

Powell's POV: This would appear to be a sign that The Motor City Machine Guns will regain the tag titles to set up a rematch with Beer Money, but I guess you never really know in TNA. Overall, a good opening match, particularly when Moore was working for his team.

The announcers discussed the show at their desk... Backstage, Christy Hemme interviewed Madison Rayne, who said she's not worried about Mickie James. She impersonated Chris Jericho by saying she will "never, ever" get the belt. She even emphasized the "never" and "ever" while doing her impersonation of Jericho...

A video recapped the Mickie James and Tara brawls...

2. Tara defeated Mickie James in a Falls Count Anywhere match in 10:20. Tara drove her motorcycle to the ring but apparently left that stupid helmet backstage. Mickie also left the stupid chaps behind and worked in jeans instead. They fought to the backstage area early on. James backdropped Tara onto the concrete at one point and got a near fall.

Both women fought their way into a backstage men's bathroom. The crowd erupted when they caught a glimpse of a guy taking a leak, and another sitting on the throne. Suddenly, Madison emerged from one of the bathroom stalls and smacked Mickie with the Knockouts Title belt. Tara called for referee Jackson James, who made the three count...

Powell's POV: So either Madison spends a lot of time in the men's room or she must have consulted a psychic to know that both women would end up there. A good brawl, but I've become a little numb to their brawling because we saw so much of it on Impact.

Backstage, Cookie expressed her concern over being placed inside the shark cage while she and Robbie E were being interviewed by Hemme. Cookie cussed at Hemme, who said the interview was over...

3. Robbie E (w/Cookie above the ring) defeated Jay Lethal by DQ to retain the X Division Title in 9:10. Cookie tried to leave the ringside area. However, Shark Boy's music played and he came out and stopped her from leaving. She took a swing at him, but he ducked and hoisted her onto his shoulders. Shark Boy put Cookie inside the shark cage, which was then elevated above the ringside area.

Later, Lethal and Robbie did a spot they sold as if they bumped heads even though their heads never came close to touching. Cookie threw Robbie a chain, but referee Earl Hebner took it from him. Cookie threw a can of hairspray into the ring. Lethal got it and sprayed it at Robbie. Hebner caught it and DQ'd Lethal.

Afterward, Cookie posed in the ring with the X Division Title. Shark Boy came out again and she slapped him. Shark Boy hit the Stunner on Cookie and left her lying...

Powell's POV: Shark Boy is fun in small doses. It's been a while since we saw him, and I assume we'll get Robbie vs. Shark in a comedy feud next. Here's hoping the creative team is getting their overbooked finishes out of the way early on this show.

Backstage, Hemme interviewed Tommy Dreamer, who said tonight is the end of an extreme era. He wished Rob Van Dam and Rhino luck in their first blood match, and blamed Eric Bischoff for the problems between them... A video recapped the RVD and Rhino drama...

4. Rob Van Dam defeated Rhino in a First Blood match in 12:35. Good fast paced action during the first ten minutes of the match. They brought a trash can into the ring. At 10:05, Van Dam stood over the fallen Rhino and wound up to hit him with the can, but Rhino reached up and punched him below the belt.

Rhino followed up with a DDT and then set up for a move on the lid of the can, but Van Dam escaped and caught him with a kick. Van Dam set up Rhino and the can in the corner and hit the Van Terminator. The referee checked Rhino, who was gushing blood, and called for the bell.

Powell's POV: Tenay openly questioned Rhino's status with the company after the match. They're still playing into the fact that Rhino is working on a nightly deal, although Tenay chalked it up to wondering what Eric Bischoff would think about Rhino losing. This was the most entertaining match of the night so far.

Backstage, Christy Hemme interviewed Kazarian, who referred to Douglas Williams as a traitor and predicted that A.J. Styles would beat him in the TNA TV Title match...

5. Douglas Williams defeated A.J. Styles to retain the TNA TV Title in 14:55. Good fast paced action from the start. At 6:00, Styles caught Williams on the top rope (so much for that fear of heights), but Williams punched him a couple of times. Styles still managed to knock him off the top rope.

At 7:15, Styles performed a leapfrog and then a dropkick and got up an played to the crowd. He was cheered. It seemed like he was trying to be heel by gloating, but it was ambiguous enough that it didn't get him heat. However, he followed up by jawing at the crowd while he had Williams in a hold on the mat a few seconds later.

At 8:30, Williams got tangled up in the ropes. Styles kicked Williams's right knee repeatedly. Styles applied the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. The announcers noted it was shades of Ric Flair, but they didn't say why he wasn't at ringside (unless I missed something earlier).

Williams rolled Styles over multiple times to break the figure four and they ended up at ringside. Back inside the ring, Williams hit a nice suplex on Styles for a near fall. Taz noted the similarity between that suplex and the one he used during his in-ring career.

Late in the match, Williams hit Styles with the Styles Clash, rolled him over, and scored the clean pin to win the TNA TV Title. "What a slap in the face," Taz said. "A.J. didn't only lose the TV Title to Douglas Williams, but he loses with his own move." The crowd popped big for the title change...

Powell's POV: RVD vs. Rhino's bid for best match of the night didn't last long. I wonder if the Guns and Generation Me can keep the streak alive? By the way, Styles showed no signs of the broken finger that Dixie Carter mentioned on her Twitter page earlier this week.

Backstage, Hemme caught up with Generation Me, who referred to The Motor City Machine Guns as 30 year-old video game playing dorks. They said it was the end of a blood feud...

Powell's POV: I like the pacing of this show. We're getting quick hitting promos backstage and then going right into the next match. There's just no need for more. Let's face it, the vast majority of people who order TNA pay-per-views are well aware of the storylines. The comments about this being the end of a blood feud strengthen my belief that the Guns retain and go back to feuding with Beer Money, but we'll find out for sure right now.

6. The Motor City Machine Guns defeated Generation Me in a Full Metal Mayhem match to retain the TNA Tag Titles in 16:20. Both TNA Tag Title belts were hanging above the ring, so here's hoping we don't get some clusterf--- with both teams capturing a title belt. Taz pointed out that the belt was high enough in the air that the usual ladder might not be tall enough for these teams.

At 7:50, Chris Sabin made a play for the belts, but the rickety ladder was knocked over by Generation Me despite Alex Shelley's attempts to fight them off. The announcers continued to question whether the ladder was tall enough, so I assume that means we'll get a super ladder at some point.

At 11:00, three ladders were set up in the middle of the ring. The two teams fought on top of the ladders, but no one made a real play for the title belts. Jeremy Buck blasted Sabin with a nice kick, but was quickly cleared from the ring. There was a contrived looking spot with Shelley throwing a chair at Max Buck while he was being held in the air. When Buck caught it, Shelley performed a Codebreaker.

At 12:50, The Guns solved the short ladder problem by bringing a table inside the ring and setting it on top of the three ladders (much more innovative than the super ladder). "That contraption is not good," Taz said on commentary. Tenay mocked Taz for spending 19 minutes discussing the shark tank construction and then called him Bob Vila. Funny.

Sabin and Max stood on top of the table held up by the ladder. They swung the chairs together a few times and then Sabin knocked Buck off the table and through a table below. Sabin, who was bleeding, grabbed the tag belts to win the match for his team...

Powell's POV: Another good match. I prefer the Williams vs. Styles match, but I can understand why some fans would prefer this style more. The table on top of the ladders was creative, but it also deprived the teams from having the near grabs and adding suspense as to which team would win. A good, but not great ladder match.

A video aired to showcase the Pope vs. Abyss match. There was a temporary production glitch during the video...

Powell's POV: It would be great if Jim Mitchell emerged from the casket and we never had to hear another campy Abyss promo, but I'm not holding my breath.

7. Abyss defeated D'Angelo Dinero in a casket match in 11:55. Solid brawling to start the match. Abyss had the first near close of the casket around 6:30 when he knocked Pope into the casket. "That's it," Taz said before Tenay pointed out that he needed to close the casket. Pope prevented him from doing so.

Abyss came close to closing the casket again at 9:00, but Pope put his hands up to block it. The world can only wonder why Abyss didn't put his full body weight over the casket. The live crowd was into it, though, as there was a "Let's Go Pope" chant as the wrestlers fought back inside the ring.

Pope hit the DDE at 10:00 and then pointed to the casket in a way that would make Hulk Hogan proud. Pope rolled Abyss toward the casket and rolled him into it. Pope went to the floor to shut the top, but Abyss punched a hole through the side of the casket and caught Pope low to break it up. Clearly, Mad Dog Vachon didn't construct this casket.

Abyss chokeslammed Pope into the casket and closed the lid to win. Abyss looked at his bloody hand while celebrating the win. They quickly cut backstage after the match...

Powell's POV: A decent, yet forgettable match. I guess we got the casket payoff on Thursday with Kurt Angle emerging from the casket. I still have no idea why these two were booked in a casket match.

Samoa Joe and Jeff Jarrett were standing across from one another in fighting poses while the referee gave them instructions. Joe could have punched Jarrett, who looked down at the ground more often than not. After the ref's instructions, Gunner and Murphy showed up and attacked Joe with a nightstick. Jarrett acted like he wanted them to back off...

A Jeff Hardy video aired. It ended abruptly. Mike Tenay tried to cover, but he was cut off by the Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoa Joe video package...

Powell's POV: This has been a sloppy night for the production team. I have no idea whether the problem when they went on the air was their fault, but this isn't the first video package snafu we've had tonight. I have Jarrett winning the next match in a fluke to set up his feud with Kurt Angle.

8. Jeff Jarrett defeated Samoa Joe in a submission match in 9:10. Jarrett came out first. Joe limped onto the stage to sell his injury. Trainers ran out, but Joe blew them off and headed to the ring. A loud "Joe's gonna kill you" chant broke out when the bell rang. The fans followed up with a "You sold out" chant at Jarrett.

Jarrett kicked Joe's knee early. Rather than stand up, Joe called for Jarrett to join him on the mat. Jarrett complied and was quickly caught in an arm bar, but Jarrett reached the ropes to break the hold. The pay-per-view feed cut out (at least in my house), but was restored just a second or two later.

Jarrett worked over Joe's knee with a hold, but Joe slipped out of it and then kicked Jarrett off when he reapplied the hold. Joe caught Jarrett in a leg bar, but Jarrett reached the ropes at 5:00. Later, Joe applied a submission hold at ringside, but the referee wouldn't allow it. Back inside the ring, Joe applied another submission hold and Jarrett tapped, but Jarrett's leg was under the ropes so it didn't count.

Joe hit the Muscle Buster at 8:05 and then applied the rear naked choke. Gunner and Murphy ran out. Joe fought them off, but Jarrett grabbed him from behind and applied the ankle lock. Joe grabbed the referee's shirt while screaming in pain. The referee called for the bell as the announcers explained that Joe submitted...

Powell's POV: Ugh. Jarrett's MMA gimmick has led to some fun comedy, but it strikes me as a mid-card act. I don't like seeing him beat Joe despite all the excuses, and it's going to be hard to take this gimmick seriously when he feuds with Kurt Angle. I guess the trick will be whether Jarrett can get under the skin of viewers and make them want to pay to see Angle kick his ass.

Backstage, Hemme interviewed Mr. Anderson about the main event and asked whether he would call it down the middle given what's happened between him and Jeff Hardy. Morgan showed up and said he'd beat up Hardy on his own and win the title. Anderson said he'd call it right down the middle "just like an asshole would"...

Mr. Anderson made his entrance to serve as the special referee for the main event. Matt Morgan made his entrance next minus the usual cape/robe, which is an improvement. Jeff Hardy came out wearing his version of the TNA Title belt.

Jeremy Borash handled the in-ring introductions for the main event. Anderson whispered to Borash during the intro. Borash then announced that there would be no countouts or disqualifications. Hardy was booed and taunted with "You suck" chants from the live crowd...

9. Jeff Hardy defeated Matt Morgan in a no countout, no DQ match to retain the TNA Title with Mr. Anderson as special referee in 12:40. Morgan took control early with a couple of signature spots including dropping his leg on Hardy, whose head was lying over the edge of the ring apron. Dueling "Let's go Hardy" and "Let's go Morgan" chants broke out, but the latter was significantly louder.

At 4:00, the production team opted to do a close up Anderson while he was adjusting his earpiece. Morgan hit a twisting slam on Hardy for a near fall. When both men stood up, Hardy hit the Twist of Hate, but Morgan kicked out. The announcers should have put it over as a big moment, but Taz merely said, "That's got to frustrate the champ."

Morgan hit the Carbon Footprint at 5:30 and went for the cover, but Hardy put his leg over the bottom rope. Hardy came back with a second Twist of Hate, but Morgan kicked out again. The announcers again failed to make a big fuss over it. Hardy went up top and went for the Swanton, but Morgan lifted his knees.

At 7:30, Morgan was selling a knee injury when Hardy rolled to ringside and put up both middle fingers. Hardy headed toward the back. Anderson started to count, but then stopped before ten (which he should have since there are no countouts). Anderson went after Hardy and told him to get back in the ring. Hardy pie-faced Anderson, who eventually punched him

Anderson got Hardy back in the ring and Morgan rolled him up for a near fall. Hardy hit a third Twist of Hate and had Morgan pinned, but Anderson did a ridiculously slow count and refused to count to three. The fans cheered and yelled "twoooooo."

Later, Hardy went for the Twist of Hate again, but Morgan pushed him off, causing Hardy to bump Anderson. Morgan hit the Carbon Footprint and had the pin, but Anderson was down at ringside. Eric Bischoff came out with referee Jackson James by the collar. Bischoff rammed Anderson into the ringpost.

James started to count. Bischoff tried to pull James from the ring. James kept counting, but Hardy kicked out at the last moment. Morgan turned his attention to Bischoff, who acted innocent. Morgan told Bischoff to leave. "No problem," Bischoff said before walking up the ramp.

Morgan placed a chair in the ring and then motioned for a chokeslam. Morgan grabbed Hardy by the throat, but Hardy kicked him and hit the Twist of Hate onto the chair. Hardy made the cover and Jackson James made the three count. They showed a shot of a bloody Anderson lying at ringside from the post shot.

Powell's POV: No signs of major issues with Hardy during the match, so I guess he slept it off. The main event was every bit the clusterf--- with the referees that most people expected it to be. It's a poorly kept secret (amongst online readers) that Jackson James is Bischoff's son, so we'll see where they go with that.

Overall, the pay-per-view had its share of good moments. As usual, the best matches occurred when the wrestlers weren't bogged down with overbooked finishes. I'll have a lot more to say about the show and the Hardy situation in Dot Net Members' audio later tonight. You can join us by signing up now via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.