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Welcome to the Impact Wrestling Report here on PWInsider.com!
We see a video package with highlights of this past weekend's Bound For Glory event, then we go to the ring where Bobby Lashley comes out to inform us that he is the hero, the blue chipper, and the #1 person here because he is the TNA World Champion. He keeps proving it over and over again, and he just destroys whoever gets thrown out there in front of him. Bottom line, Bobby Lashley is the greatest wrestler on the entire planet. Aron Rex comes out to interrupt, and he congratulates Lashley on retaining the World Title, but he's the first Grand Champion and that makes HIM the man here. Lashley says that title means nothing because he's the man around here, but then the lights go out and Gail Kim comes out with the Knockouts Title that she regained at Bound For Glory. She says that times are changing, and she is proud to be the first female TNA Hall of Famer, and the Knockouts Champion. She tells Lashley that the women are changing the business. The Broken Hardys come out to the ring...well, just Matt does, actually, and Reby is behind him with Maxel DELETING with the fans. The fans chant for Maxel, and he joins his father in the ring with a little replica BROKEN outfit of his own. Matt tells the fellow CHOMPIONS that they speak of change, but HE IS CHANGE. Courtesy of his BROKEN brilliance, TNA now lives in a BROKEN UNIVERSE! After their groundbreaking victory in the Great War, he is always ready to DELETE DELETE DELETE! Okay, here comes DJ Z, who helpfully points out that we have a ring full of champions, and none of them is more unique than the X Division. Tonight is the debut of Team X Gold, but Lashley interrupts and says that he has a fight coming up, so he won't hang out here with a bunch of second rate champions, he'll see those losers later. Wait a minute, here comes Billy Corgan, dressed like the Godfather if he wound up living on the street, with Aiden O'Shea to back him up. He congratulates all the champions, but says that tonight will be memorable since they will all be defending their titles. Lashley says it doesn't matter who it is since he beat everyone on this roster, so he can throw anyone at him and he'll beat him. Corgan says DJ Z is the only one not defending tonight since he helped set up Team X Gold, but he agrees that Lashley is the best champion of all time, so he'll give Lashley a choice of three opponents and he can choose who to wrestle tonight, but he wants Lashley to choose wisely because magic can happen anytime.
DJ Z, Braxton Sutter & Mandrews vs Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett & Marshay Rocket
I didn't catch the third guy's name. DJ Z and Everett start us off, and...well, it's the usual flippy dippy X Division match in six man format, except when Rocket comes in and uses his size and power to toss DJ Z's team around. DJ Z played babyface-in-peril until making a hot tag and then the babyfaces rallied to victory with a Mandrews shooting star press.
Winners: DJ Z, Braxton Sutter & Mandrews
Eli Drake is backstage, he's Bound For Gold, and he'll have the awesomest guest ever after this commercial. DUMMY, YEAH!
Jeremy Borash asks Moose, one of tonight's lucky contestants, about possibly facing Lashley tonight. Moose says that Lashley's afraid to face him since he knows he'll desdtroy him.
Eli Drake is on the Fact of Life set, and he's here to interview someone who had the rocket strapped to his keyster, but turned into a choke artist nonetheless, it's Ethan Carter III! Drake heard a roar like he's never heard, and that's the undeniable kevorka of Eli Drake, something EC3 has been trying to get for so long but can't. EC3 had the shot to be the World Champion, but he didn't quite make it, did he? EC3 starts to answer, but Drake hit the dummy button, so EC3 tries to answer again, and one more dummy button. Drake proceeds to alternate between telling Ec3 that he choked and hitting the dummy button, but EC3 puts his hand over the button and tells Drake "don't." EC3 says he trained for a year to be the World Champion and he lost, and he won't make any excuses, but his passion has been replaced with anger and determination. He's not going to sit here with Eli Drake because he's Bound For Gold, and he should be focused on winning the most important title in the world, and if he hits that button one more time, he will...well, he lists a lot of things too quickly for me to recap, but it was funny. He gets on his knees (like Drake's mother, as EC3 says) and begs him to hit the button so he can kick his ass, and Drake teases that he'll do it, but instead he pushes the button out of the way, stands up, and asks EC3 if he knows what his problem with him is? He was brought in as the third member of the Rising, but he's here in this position and he's Bound For Gold even though he wasn't meant to be. In the meantime, he gets online and reads that he's not in EC3's league, and EC3's been doing a lot with what he's been given, but that's the thing: it's been given to him, and he rode the elevator all the way to the top. He had to fight and claw his way to the top, and it's still not enough because EC3 is still way above him, and he's going to show him that EC3 isn't even in his league because he hasn't had to fight to the top like he has. Drake cuts the show short and walks off.
Maria is backstage with her associates, and asks Allie why she decided to open her mouth on Sunday. Allie says it was always helpful to be honest, but Maria threatens to fire her. Sienna and Leah Von Ass convince her not to fire Allie, and Sienna says she got a job for Allie tonight and she BETTER NOT MESS UP.
Eddie Edwards is at ringside with Mackenzie McWhatever, and Eddie says he stays up at night thinking about how close he came to winning the World Title. He knows Lashley looks at him as the easy option, but he is begging Lashley to pick him and take that chance because he's said it before, and he'll say it again that he can beat Lashley.
We see a recap of Gail Kim's Hall of Fame induction, then we go to the ring for our next match...
Knockouts Title Match: Gail Kim vs Sienna
Madison Rayne is at ringside on commentary as Sienna backjumps Gail and knocks her to the floor, then destroys Gail by ramming her into the ringpost. Sienna continues the assault in the ring, but Gail turns the tide with a neckbreaker...and immediately loses it when Sienna hits an overhead powerbomb faceplant for 2. Gail gets a rollup out of nowhere for the win.
Winner: Gail Kim
Sienna and Laurel Van Ness attack Gail after the ring, then Maria comes in to oversee the beating. She says she wants her rematch and it's a no DQ match, and she tells Allie to slap Gail and then shoves her down when she doesn't. Maria says she'll take Gail's title and end her career, and there's nothing she can do about it. Madison says this isn't what the Knockouts are about, but she doesn't exactly jump up to do anything about it.
Jeremy Bortash is backstage with the third contestant, EC3, and EC3 says he doesn't think he deserves another title shot, but if he's picked, he'll gladly take it and give Lashley the fight he's looking for.
TNA World Tag Team Title/Wolf Creek Cage Match: The BROKEN Hardys vs Decay
This is a weapons match inside Six Sides of Steel, and Matt tells Reby that Rosemary isn't here, and to go to the back to protect King Maxel. Anyway, the Hardys completely destroy Decay and take Abyss out before hammering Crazzzzzzy Steve. Abyss tries to come after Brother Nero with a staplegun, but Nero gets ahold of it and staples Abyss instead. Steve sends Matt into the cage and then gnaws on Brother Nero's head, and Decay maintains control until Nero absolutely destroys Crazzzzzzy Steve with a trash can and Matt hammers him with a kendo stick. Double suplex on Steve, Side Effect on Steve, chokeslam on Matt by Abyss, Twist of Hate by Brother Nero, and Nero goes up the cage, but Rosemary comes out of the crowd, mists Nero in the eyes, and Jeff falls to the mat. Reby comes out and knocks Rosemary off the cage with a giant staff, slams the cage door in Abyss' head, then the Hardys hit a double back suplex on Steve. Reby circles the cage and...the feed freezes up and we go to commercial.
Apparently the finish happened at that point, because Cody and Brandi Rhodes are coming to the ring when we come back from the commercial. He says it's flattering to be referred to as a game changer, but he thinks the game may be changing in general. Gail Kim is inducted into the Hall of Fame, the first Knockout ever, and in the 40-something years his family has been involved in wrestling, there's never been anything like the Great War. The fans start DELETEing at Cody, and that brings us back to Cody. He didn't wait to get kicked out of his former house, he left on his own, and his guiding light (fans start a TNA chant), his list, is right in his pocket, and guess what? Cody takes the list out, but Brandi whispers something in Cody's pocket, and Cody says that his lovely wife Brandi...not just Brandi, it's Brandi RHODES, reminded him that he shouldn't have put Mike Bennett on the list, he should have put the TNA World Title, but TNA has given him a title shot. Any wrestler who says they don't want to be the World Champion is lying through their teeth, and it's an honor and privilege, and the opportunity of a lifetime. Mike Bennett and Maria come out to join the party, and Bennett says this is enough, but the fans chant for Cody anyway. Bennett says he was told he didn't deserve a title shot and had to earn it, and he just gets rolling when Cody suddenly takes his coat off and lays into Bennett. He goes for CrossRhodes, but Bennett escapes by the skin of his teeth and yells at Cody from the aisle.
We come back from commercial, and Cody is standing at the top of the ramp saying he wants his first match to be next week against Mike Bennett.
Maria tries to get into Billy Corgan's office, but Aiden O'Shea stops her because Billy put him there to take care of his business. He says that Corgan saw what Maria did and didn't like it, and the leader of the Knockouts should act better than that. Maria has her match with Gail, but if she loses, she's not the leader of the Knockouts anymore.
Grand Championship Match: Aron Rex vs Baron Dax
Rex controls at first, taking Dax down and controlling him on the mat. Dax turns things around with a neckbreaker for 2, then unloads on Rex in the corner. Dax with a hanging chokeslam for 2, and Rex briefly dumps Dax to the floor, but he comes right back in and takes back over, choking Rex on the second rope and then covering for 2. Dax mounts Rex and pounds away on him as the clock runs down on the first round.
No surprise here, Dax wins the first round on a unanimous decision, and he goes right back after the champion as the second round begins. Rex suddenly gets the Royal Arch out of nowhere, and Dax taps out.
Winner: Aron Rex
Good showing by Dax, and a good first defense for Rex. Borash interviews Rex after the match, and he says he wasn't expecting such a fight out of Baron Dax, but that proves that his title is changing the game. It's an opportunity he seized to show that he's the best, and he's going to prove it every night.
Bobby Lashley comes out to the ring and Jeremy Borash asks him who he's chosen to face tonight. Borash introduces the three contestants: Moose, Eddie Edwards, and Ethan Carter III, and Lashley decides to take a second to decide. EC3 has gotten enough chances at his title, Moose is big, slow and dumb, and then we have Eddie, who he beat several times already. He decides to pick the one that'll be easy, and chooses Eddie Edwards. We'll see how that goes after this commercial break!
TNA World Title Match: Bobby Lashley vs Eddie Edwards
Lashley goes for a spear right out of the gate, Eddie sidesteps and gets a rollup for 2, then Lashley nearly dumps him on his head with a full rotation German suplex. Lashley chokes Eddie on the ropes and hammers him down with elbows and stomps before choking him in the corner with his boot. Lashley with a spear in the corner, then he pops Eddie up for a delayed vertical suplex for 2. Lashley has a big smile on his face as he continues toying with Eddie, including catching Eddie on a flying headscissors attempt and countering to a powerbomb. Lashley is barely sweating as he makes a lax cover for 2, then slaps Eddie around. Eddie tells Lashley to come on, then gets to his feet and slaps Lashley, sidesteps another charge, then puts Lashley on the top rope and hits a leaping enziguiri. Eddie hits a top rope Frankensteiner, then begins the big babyface comeback, drilling Lashley with a pair of superkicks before getting his head ripped off with another hard clothesline. Lashley hits the running powerslam that has put so many men away, but instead of making a cover, opts to set up for the spear instead. Eddie ducks out of the way yet again and sends Lashley to the floor, then takes him out with a dive through the ropes. Eddie howls and hits a second dive, then goes for yet a third and Lashley moves, causing Eddie to throw himself face first into the steel barricade. OUCH. Lashley picks Eddie's limp form up and dumps him into the ring, and sets up for the spear. Lashley waits and waits as Eddie regains his feet, and...Lashley runs right into the Boston Knee Party! Eddie covers Lashley and the referee counts 3, and we have a NEW WORLD CHAMPION!
Winner and New TNA World Champion: Eddie Edwards
We have a new World Champion, and the Lashley Era is over! Great match and great moment to end the show.
Thanks for reading the Impact Wrestling Report here on PWInsider.com! I'll be back on Sunday to discuss Impact and more with Dave Scherer on the Stu & Pid Show!
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