TNA PPV Reports 8/16 TNA Hard Justice PPV Live Coverage: Kurt Angle vs. Sting vs. Matt Morgan for the TNA Title, Mick Foley vs. Kevin Nash for the TNA Legends Title, Homicide vs. Samoa Joe for the X Division Title By Jason Powell Aug 16, 2009 - 10:00 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing Dot Net Members will be listening to Jason Powell's audio recap of the show later tonight. You can gain access to all the perks of membership, including the ad-free version of the site, for only $5 per month by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page. Live from Orlando, Fla. At Universal Studios The show opened with a video that showcased Matt Morgan challenging for the TNA Title... Mike Tenay and Don West introduced the show. Meanwhile, the Spanish audio feed could also be heard... 1. Daniels won a TNA Asylum match in 15:50 to earn an X Division Title match. The wrestlers in the match were Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Amazing Red, Suicide, Jay Lethal, Daniels, Consequences Creed, and D'Angelo Dinero. The audio problem cleared up quickly. Suicide was the final wrestler introduced. A bunch of fog machines went off on the stage and when everything cleared Suicide was standing there. Dinero (a/k/a Elijah Burke) came to the ring. West said Dinero comes from a long line of street preachers in New York. Tenay noted that Lethal and Frankie Kazarian won the two previous Asylum matches. Nice touch to acknowledge the history of the match. Most of the wrestlers wore gloves for the match to save their hands from wear and tear while climbing the cage. Fun action early. The live crowd was especially responsive to the Guns' double team moves. The crowd chanted, "This is awesome," at 6:00. Daniels and Dinero stood on the top rope and traded punches. Dinero ducked a punch and Daniels struck the cage. Dinero followed up by spearing Daniels off the ropes and onto the mat. Nice spot. At 9:00, Suicide came out on the good end of a four-man tower of doom spot. Great, rapid fire, video game like moves at 11:00 with the various wrestlers taking turns hitting moves. A couple minutes later, Red took out the Guns with flashy moves. He made a play for the exit at the top of the cage, but Daniels caught up to him. Daniels flung Red onto all the other wrestlers below while hooking his leg to hang from the top of the cage. Suicide made a run for the door, but Dinero caught him and knocked him down. Dinero had a chance to climb out, but he dropped down to the mat instead and began limping. Moments later, Daniels escaped through the opening at the top of the cage to win the match and earn an X Division Title match at the No Surrender pay-per-view... Powell's POV: Fun opening match with nonstop action. I'm not sure if Dinero was out of place and expected someone else to knock him down or if he was legitimately hurt. Strange moment. It was also odd to debut Dinero without doing more to hype his first match. The vignettes were nice, but he was never advertised for the actual Asylum match. Jeremy Borash interviewed Daniels at ringside. He said the winner of the Homicide vs. Samoa Joe title match would lose to him next month. He said said A.J. Styles was at home and dedicated his win to him... The announcers ran through the pay-per-view lineup... Backstage, Lauren interviewed Matt Morgan, who admitted that he wanted to be in the Main Event Mafia until Kurt Angle used him and never rewarded him. Morgan said he was rewarding himself with the TNA Championship... Powell's POV: Morgan didn't come across like a babyface in this promo. After all, it's hard to get behind a guy who openly admits he wanted to be in the Mafia. "Who wouldn't?" he asked. Is he a tweener? Another damn swerve? I guess we'll find out in the main event. An video recapped Dr. Stevie putting a bounty on Abyss's head... 2. Abyss defeated Jethro Holiday (w/Dr. Stevie) in 8:45. Abyss controlled the early offense, but Stevie slid a baton inside the ring and Holiday used it as a weapon. The announcers quickly noted that weapons are legal. In the end, though, Abyss hit the Blackhole Slam and scored the clean pin. Stevie threw a fit at ringside and then climbed inside the ring. He lectured Holiday and jabbed his head with his index fingers. Holiday finally got pissed and punched out Stevie while Abyss cheered him on at ringside... Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Kurt Angle, who is once again clean shaven. Borash noted that Morgan indicated it would be every man for himself in the main event. Angle said Morgan is young and hopped up with energy, but he'd be thinking differently after they spoke later in the night... Powell's POV: No mention of Angle's arrest during the show, and no inside jabs during this interview. Business as usual so far. 3. Hernandez defeated Rob Terry (w/Brutus Magnus, Doug Williams) in 0:30 for the briefcase that contains a contract for a TNA Title shot. Before the match, Hernandez essentially told Terry he could return the briefcase and walk away. Terry didn't take him up on the offer. All three members of The British Invasion hit the ring. Hernandez cleared Magnus and Williams from the ring and then hit a shoulder block on Terry for the 1-2-3... Powell's POV: Quick and painless. It doesn't exactly make the Invasion look good heading into their tag title match, though. Backstage, Lauren interviewed Beer Money. James Storm said no one derailed Beer Money other than Beer Money. Robert Roode said they are going back to doing what they do best, "Makin' Cash and Gettin' Trashed," which just so happens to be the slogan on the back of their new t-shirts... Powell's POV: You gotta love their new slogan. 4. The British Invasion beat Beer Money to retain the IWGP Tag Titles in 8:45. Eric Young came out wearing a suit and sat in on commentary. Young said they are negotiating with a few wrestlers in TNA about joining the World Elite faction. The match was solid aside from a couple of clunky moments from Brutus. Late in the match, Young slid a title belt inside the ring and spat at Storm. Meanwhile, Magnus hit Roode low, which permitted Williams to score the pin. After the match, Roode and Storm ran off the Invasion, but never got their hands on Young... Backstage, Lauren interviewed ODB and Cody Deaner. Cody said he knew Lauren was wondering what would happen if The Beautiful People tried to rape him. "Sexual harassment is a daily reality for The Deaner," he said. "I can't walk down the street without cougars falling all over me and trying to rip off my shirt. ODB said she'd take the "TNA Knocked Up Title," put lime juice on the belt, and "shine it up on these big monster boobies of mine"... 5. ODB and Cody Deaner) defeated Angelina Love and Velvet Sky (w/Madison Rayne) in 7:25. Somehow this became a tag team match with Deaner joining ODB, and Sky teaming with Love even though it was advertised as a singles match between Love and ODB. Lots of comedy with Deaner forcing kisses on the Beautiful People. "What is this under Memphis rules?" West asked. In the end, Rayne accidentally sprayed Sky in the eyes. Deaner rolled up Sky and smacked her ass three times as the referee counted the pinfall. West said there should be sexual assault charges filed against Deaner. After the match, the ring announcer named ODB the new champion. Deaner stole the belt and said he's the champion since he won. Deaner split and ODB chased after him. Love was pissed at Sky after the match. Sky blamed Rayne. Love eventually turned her attention to Rayne. Love and Sky both scolded Rayne until the referee stood between them. Love left the ring. The fans chanted for Velvet even though it looked like creative was hoping they'd rally behind Rayne... Powell's POV: It's as if TNA creative is hellbent on destroying the value of the TNA Knockouts Title before Awesome Kong and Tara can feud over it. It's either ODB won the belt because Deaner pinned the champion's tag partner or Deaner is the new champion because he pinned the champ's partner. Both options suck. Is Deaner the redneck Santino? Backstage, Taz told Lauren that Samoa Joe is in the zone and is prepared to leave the pay-per-view as the new X Division Champion. Taz did all the talking while Joe stood behind him with a towel on his head... 6. Samoa Joe (w/Taz) defeated Homicide to win the X Division Title in 8:50. Good action early. Joe came up with a small cut on his head. He worked over Homicide's shoulder with a couple of holds on the mat, but Homicide reached the ropes. They went to ringside and Homicide and Taz squared off and teased trading punches. Later, Joe caught Homicide in the Kokina Clutch and won via submission... Powell's POV: Fun while it lasted. This match needed another five minutes at least. It felt like they were just getting started. Backstage, Borash followed along while Angle entered Morgan's locker room. Angle recalled Morgan saying he wanted to be in the Mafia. Morgan said he did, but Angle made him jump through hoops. Angle said there's a contract ready for Morgan if they work together. Angle said it doesn't matter if him or Morgan leave with the title. He said the only that matters is that Sting doesn't win and give "those little pricks" (younger TNA wrestlers) hope. Morgan shook Angle's hand and said he had a deal... A video hyped the Team 3D vs. Booker T and Scott Steiner match... 7. Scott Steiner and Booker T (w/Sharmell) fought Team 3D to a double pin in a falls count anywhere in 13:15, no DQ match for the TNA Tag Titles. Tenay said there were two referees assigned to the match. Steiner and Brother Ray brawled in one part of the building, while Booker and Devon fought in another area. Steiner stood on a railing and tried to jump onto Ray, but he slipped. Steiner landed on his feet and dove onto Ray anyway. A couple minutes later, Steiner stood on the railing again and dove onto Ray down below. The live crowd popped big for the dive. It was cool to see Steiner take the leap at this point in his career. Back inside the ring, Ray called for the tables at 9:00. The crowd went bananas. The two teams fought while trying to put the other through the table for the next minute or two. The fans chanted for "tables." Booker obliged by hitting the Bookend on Ray through the table. Devon came back with a couple of near falls on Steiner. Later, Team 3D hit the 3D finisher on Booker. As Devon was pinning Booker, Steiner rolled up Ray and pinned him. The two referees made simultaneous three counts. They went to a monitor at ringside to review the replay footage. They ruled that Booker and Steiner retained. The announcers said they must have come to that conclusion because Ray's shoulder was down. What?... Powell's POV: This goes against everything Jim Cornette preached in his last run (has it ended?) as the on-air authority. Ring announcer Dave Penzer never explained it, and the announcers didn't have a good explanation either. The fans chanted bullshit. Very lame finish. Still, a strong effort from Steiner, who worked hard and took several big bumps during the match. Backstage, Mick Foley joked that he made extra money selling autographs because of the TNA Legend's Title at Wally's Wiener World. Foley said there was a picture of him carrying a barbwire baseball bat on the pay-per-view poster, but there wasn't one to be found. He told Borash to get to work on that... A video hyped Foley vs. Kevin Nash... 8. Kevin Nash defeated Mick Foley to win the TNA Legends Title at 10:35. They fought to ringside early. Foley struck Nash with a chair a few times. Foley dove off the ring apron and tried to drop an elbow on Nash on the floor, but Nash held up the chair. Foley came up bleeding heavily from the eye. Looks like 25 (or more) big ones for Foley again this month. Nash threw Foley back in the ring and the match continued. Nash continued to work over Foley, who rested on one knee in the corner. Despite blood covering one half of his face, Foley challenged Nash to come get him. Foley pulled out some of his own hair and threw it into the air as they continued to fight. At ringside, Foley slammed Nash's head into the ring steps. Nash bled heavily as well. Later, Foley ran toward Nash, but the ref was sandwiched in between them. Foley went to ringside and pulled a barbwire bat out from underneath the ring. Traci Brooks ran out and distracted Foley. Nash booted Foley into Traci, which fell off the ring apron and appeared to hit her head on the camera. The camera followed Traci and missed the move Nash hit on Foley before pinning him. After the match, Nash picked up the barbwire bat and struck Foley with it. Nash wound up and waited for Foley to stand up. Abyss's music played. Abyss ran out with a barbwire bat of his own and ran off Nash, who flipped him off at ringside. Foley gave the thumbs up sign to Abyss. The announcers said Foley appeared to be pressing on his eyeball to keep something in place... Powell's POV: The blood (whether intentional or not) saved the match by keeping the live crowd interested. Foley's looked unintentional. Nash's appeared to be a blade job, but it was hard to tell given how gnarly he looked afterward. Backstage, Sting told Lauren that Matt Morgan is young and will learn from his mistakes just as he did. Sting said Kurt Angle will walk all over people just to take care of himself. Sting said honor, dignity, and respect will come back in style. "And I do mean style," Sting said... Powell's POV: A.J. Styles tease at the end. A video hyped the three-way main event... 9. Kurt Angle defeated Sting and Matt Morgan in a three-way to retain the TNA Title in 11:20. Not much of a reaction for Morgan when he walked out. Big pop for Sting. Angle received boos, but nothing out of the ordinary. He made zero eye contact with the fans until he climbed inside the ring. Jeremy Borash handled the in-ring introductions. Earl Hebner was the referee. Angle and Morgan worked together to open the match. They whipped Sting into the corner. Morgan hit a shoulder block. Angle went for a shoulder block of his own, but Sting moved and Angle tumbled to ringside. The three men fought at ringside. Morgan was whipped into the guardrail. West pointed out that Morgan was right in front of his wife. Morgan's wife was smiling and patted Morgan on the shoulder. As the match continued, Tenay said A.J. Styles was going to make a major announcement regarding his future in TNA on Thursday's Impact. At 8:40, Morgan and Abyss bickered at ringside. Morgan shoved Angle, wiped his own brow, and flicked it at Angle. They fought at ringside and Morgan hit the Carbon Footprint. Moments later, Morgan had Sting pinned in the ring, but Hebner was with Angle at ringside. Angle was holding his neck and a trainer was tending to him. Morgan called for Hebner, who responded by saying, "Shut up, I'm with him, okay?" Sting hit the Scorpion Death Drop. Hebner ran in and tried to make the count, but Morgan kicked out. Morgan hit the Carbon Footprint on Sting. Henber tried to make the count, but Angle recovered and pulled Hebner from the ring. A small "You screwed Matt" chant broke out. Angle brought a chair inside the ring and tried to hit Sting. However, Sting moved and Angle hit Morgan. Angle covered Morgan and motioned for Hebner, who got back in the ring and made the three count... Powell's POV: A solid main event. I'm sure many people will question the decision to keep the belt on Angle given the allegations. Overall, it was a big improvement over last month. There were still the usual screwy moments we've come to expect from TNA, but the wrestlers stepped up and delivered quality performances. I'll have much more to say about the Angle decision later tonight in Dot Net Members' audio. You can access all Dot Net Audio for only $5 per month by using the link below. HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! BECOME A MEMBER AT OUR CHARTER RATE OF JUST $5 A MONTH - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO SHOWS, MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AD-FREE MAIN LISTING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO) GOT AN IPHONE OR IPOD TOUCH? THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE iPhone APP: (click here!) (or SEARCH "pro wrestling" in iTunes App Store) FOR MORE BREAKING WWE & TNA NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE PWTORCH.COM (click here!) FOR MORE MMA & UFC NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE MMATORCH.COM (click here!) CLICK TO RETURN TO DOT NET MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY TNA PPV Reports Latest Twelve Articles 11/15 TNA Turning Point PPV Coverage: A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels for the TNA Title, Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle, British Invasion vs. Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns for the TNA Tag Titles 10/18 Bound For Glory PPV Live Coverage: A.J. Styles vs. Sting for the TNA Title, Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan, Bobby Lashley vs. Samoa Joe, Ultimate X match for the X Division Title, ODB vs. Awesome Kong vs. Tara for the TNA Knockouts Title 9/20 TNA No Surrender PPV Live Coverage: Kurt Angle vs. Sting vs. A.J. Styles vs. Matt Morgan for the TNA Title, Samoa Joe vs. Daniels for the X Division Championship, D'Angelo Dinero vs. Suicide in a falls count anywhere match 8/16 TNA Hard Justice PPV Live Coverage: Kurt Angle vs. Sting vs. Matt Morgan for the TNA Title, Mick Foley vs. Kevin Nash for the TNA Legends Title, Homicide vs. Samoa Joe for the X Division Title 7/19 TNA Victory Road PPV Live Coverage: Kurt Angle vs. Mick Foley for the TNA Title, Sting vs. Samoa Joe with the mystery adviser revealed, Bobby Lashley to appear, Beer Money vs. Scott Steiner and Booker T for the TNA Tag Titles 6/21 TNA Slammiversary PPV Live Coverage: King of the Mountain for the TNA Title featuring Mick Foley vs. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoa Joe vs. A.J. Styles, Team 3D vs. Beer Money for the TNA Tag Titles