TNA Hardcore Justice PPV Evaluation 8/12
By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch PPV specialist

BEST MATCH – KURT ANGLE VS. AJ STYLES VS. DANIELS VS. SAMOA JOE

With three of these men involved in arguably the best match in TNA history, and the added bonus of the always motivated Kurt Angle having a chance to rekindle some of the magic of his feud with Samoa Joe, this match had very lofty expectations. And, they did not disappoint. Just a stellar outing from all four, featuring a ton of very unique spots. I marvel at how, after so many ladder matches, we can still see something we haven’t seen before, which was a perfectly-executed finish that saw A.J. Styles leap onto the ladder and snatch down the clipboard to win 20 points in the BFG Series. A really good match, and worth seeking out.

WORST MATCH – MISS TESSMACHER VS. MADISON RAYNE

Nothing about this match clicked at all. The spots seemed either contrived or confused in execution, the Earl Hebner angle is already old, and then he essentially didn’t play into the finish as he couldn’t have seen he was making a mistake. I guess. Or, something. Also, if this is such a controversy in the Knockouts division, then why didn’t TNA assign a different referee? I have to stop thinking about this angle.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – AUSTIN ARIES RETAINS

Like a lot of people watching TNA, I assumed that the presumed "blow-off" to the Bobby Roode and James Storm feud would happen at Bound For Glory, and would be for the title. However, unless they are going to go for a short reign for Roode (or have Storm lose again, which would be ridiculous), it looks like TNA is heading towards a grudge match (perhaps with a stipulation attached) in that feud. Which, I’m fine with. It was a nice surprise to see Aries retain the title in the main event. He has been great, although I hope the coming weeks put the focus back on him some more, as he has been somewhat lost in the shuffle with the Aces & Eights angle. The question is, if Aries heads into Bound for Glory with the title, who will he face? My vote is Angle vs. Aries, or A.J. Styles vs. Aries. Either match is potentially a classic.

BIGGEST LETDOWN – ACES & EIGHTS

I can’t say that this angle is doing much for me, and that continued on this show. JB said that security couldn't find them, then they showed up, and then they vanished. How big is the Impact Zone? How can their crack security team miss eight dudes in masks roaming around? Please make a move on this soon, as it’s already just distracting. I say Jeff Jarrett is leading the charge. We’ll see.

BEST QUOTE – BOBBY ROODE

When JB asked Roode is he was afraid of Austin Aries, he replied “Is that a real question?” That’s the perfect amount of heel cockiness.

BEST MOVE – A.J. STYLES

At the end of the ladder match, AJ had to leap onto a ladder, land on one leg so as not to hurt Daniels, who was wrapped in the ladder, grab the 20-point prize, and fall to the mat. And, he did it seamlessly. Impressive stuff.

BEST MATCH FINISH – THE LADDER MATCH

For the reasons above. Seriously, this could have gone so wrong on live television and instead was the move of the night for me.

OTHER THOUGHTS

Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez vs. Kid Kash and Gunner opened the show, and had a fine tag match. The crowd is hot for Chavo right now, and this was probably the right move to fire the fans up. The crowd seemed to lose interest as the night wore on, but that is probably more of a case of Impact Zone burn-out than anything else. A decent start to the show.

RVD vs. Magnus vs. Mr Anderson had their Falls Count Anywhere match next, and again, it was a decent, if not particularly memorable match. The highlight for me was Magnus trying to find the planted fan to take his chair, and being visibly annoyed by it. RVD gets his points, and it was fine for what it was.

Devon and Kaz were up next in an unannounced match, and it was basically a TV match with a little more time tacked on. Devon retained, which was nice in terms of establishing the title, and Kaz wasn’t hurt in losing.

Ah, the tables match. Minutes in and Robbie E. accidentally put Bully Ray through the side of the table, which was then over-ruled because you have to go through the "middle of the table." Huh? Granted, it would have been a downer, but it almost would have been better if they had just called it and then had the men brawl for a bit. I understand why they didn’t, of course, but it still took a lot of heat of the match and Ray took a rough bump on his elbow. He went on to win the 20 points, though, which I think was the right call. Bully Ray is the best heel in the business right now.

Zema Ion and Kenny King had a solid X Title match next, and while I didn’t think it was as good as their television match, it was still a really strong outing. The fresh faces in the X Division has made it feel new again to me.

Again, that Ladder Match was awesome.

And, in the main event there was another very strong match with Bobby Roode and Austin Aries. It was a bit over-booked with the ref bumps and the restarts, but the actual in-ring action was great, as you would expect with these two. It’ll be interesting to see how they get around the "Last Chance" stipulation for a re-match (if they choose to) on Impact. Overall, a really good, pay-per-view quality main event to close the show.

WHAT IT’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

The last two matches were excellent, and will be what this show is remembered for. Nothing except the Knockouts match was bad, just somewhat middle of the road, but, overall, I thought this was another good show in what has now legitimately become a streak of good shows for TNA. If you are a lapsed TNA pay-per-view watcher who felt burned too many times, in my opinion, it’s safe to go back. Thumbs up.

UPDATED 2012 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE EXTREME RULES (2012-04-29)
2 - WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXVIII (2012-04-01)
3 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2012-02-19)
4 - TNA SLAMMIVERSARY (2012-06-10)
5 - TNA DESTINATION X (2012-07-08)
6 - TNA SACRIFICE (2012-05-13)
7 - WWE MONEY IN THE BANK (2012-07-15)
8 – TNA HARDCORE JUSTICE (2012-08-12)
9 - WWE OVER THE LIMIT (2012-05-20)
10 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2012-1-29)
11 - TNA VICTORY ROAD (2012-03-18)
12 - TNA LOCKDOWN (2012-04-15)
13 - WWE NO WAY OUT (2012-06-17)
14 - TNA GENESIS (2012-01-08)
15 – TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS (2012-02-12)

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