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The show opens with a video looking back at the build up to the final rounds in the World Title Series, then we're off to ringside as Josh Mathews and the Pope are back at ringside! No more broadcast booth.
We go to the ring where Dixie Carter is holding the belt and welcoming everyone to the show. She puts over Pop TV as a place that's made for the fans. The fans in question chant "thank you Dixie" as Dixie tells us how TNA will celebrate us at every turn. She says the TNA World Title is one of the most important in the business, and Ethan Carter III comes out with Tyrus to interrupt her. He says this is a good time for a Carter family reunion, even though he didn't get invited to the family holiday festivities. He says this is a good time for an airing of grievances, the fans chant EC3, and he says his grievances basically boil down to having the title stolen from him. Dixie robbed him at Bound For Glory, and she is the reason he doesn't have the TNA World Title. The World Title Series is not over until he wins, and it'll end tonight when he wins. Dixie tells EC3 to take a look in the mirror at everything he's done and what he's become. All of this is because of him, and Matt Hardy won the title at Bound For Glory, but he used lawyers to get his way.
Matt Hardy comes out mocking EC3 for saying everyone robbed him, and says the only people who got robbed were the fans when he got his lawyers involved. Tonight, he'll be the new TNA World Champion because that's his destiny. He tells EC3 not to blame Dixie, his brother, or anyone else, he wants the heat, and they don't like each other...
Oh wait, Eric Young runs in and attacks Hardy from behind, and then he joins EC3 and Tyrus in a 3-on-1 beatdown on Matt Hardy. Lashley runs out to make the save, takes out Young and EC3 before locking Tyrus in a choke. Hardy is up and goes at it with EC3, then everyone spills out to the floor. Hardy gets EY back inside the ring as EC3 and Tyrus mug Lashley on the floor. Hardy dumps Young out to thefloor, then dives off the top rope and wipes out EC3, Tyrus, and Lashley as we go to commercial.
We're back, and during the commercial break, Eric Young attacked Matt Hardy with a chair. In the meantime, let's go to the ring for our first semifinal match...
World Title Series - Semifinal Match: Ethan Carter III vs Bobby Lashley
Interesting bit of trivia: this is the first match in the tournament where people who had faced each other during group play met again from the round of 16 on. Lashley pummels EC3 to start and quickly drills him with a spear, but EC3 quickly rolls out to the floor to avoid certain defeat. Lashley chases him out to the floor and then back inside, and Lashley continues tossing EC3 around like a rag doll. EC3 bails to the floor to avoid a second spear, then snaps Lashley's neck down on the top rope when he reaches for him. He comes back inside, boots Lashley in the face when he goes for a charge, and dumps Lashley to the floor at Tyrus' feet. Tyrus slams Lashley on the floor, and EC3 smiles confidently before going out to the floor to ram Lashley into the ringpost. He heads back inside and locks Lashley down with a chinlock, Lashley gets free but EC3 quickly connects with a dropkick for 2. EC3 gets a front guillotine choke on Lashley, but Lashley suplexes out and plants EC3 with a big spinebuster for 2. EC3 gets Lashley up with a TKO out of nowhere for 2, but Lashley nails mounts a comeback, tries a spear, gets his ankle tripped by Tyrus, and goes for a spear again and gets his knee dropkicked. He goes for a powerslam, EC3 slips out the back and shoves Lashley into Tyrus, knocking him off the ring apron, and EC3 gets a schoolboy rollup for the win.
Winner: Ethan Carter III
Ethan Carter III is now one win away from regaining the TNA World Title.
Kurt Angle is backstage, and he's...WALKING!
We are going to see a Miracle tonight!
Bobby Roode is arriving at the building, and he has never let a day go by without reminding people what he's accomplished here. He issued an open challenge for a reason, and anybody from any promotion can show up tonight to challenge him for his title. He'll show everyone tonight that it pays to be Roode.
Kurt Angle comes out to the ring, the fans chant "thank you Angle", and he says no, thank you because he's been in the spotlight for the last twenty years. He won an Olympic gold medal and thirteen World Titles, and he couldn't have done it without the fans. It's an honor every time he walks through that curtain, and every time he hears the roar of the crowd, he has to thank the fans for letting him live his dream. It's an exciting time for TNA on their new home at Pop TV, and an important time for him because, as he's said publicly, he's stepping down. The fans chant for one more match, and Angle says he's faced some of the greatest of all time, and it's important to him to have the high caliber matches for his farewell tour, and that's what he's going to do. He's thought about who he wants to wrestle, and there's so much talent behind that curtain like the Wolves and the man he personally picked to face him in next week's main event, the man who will lead TNA Wrestling into the future, Drew Galloway. Drew comes out and says he needs a moment to let this sink in, and he wants to thank Angle for the honor of facing him on the farewell tour. He's always fought for what he believes in, but this is beyond words and he's not going to let this slip away. Jessie Godderz comes out and says that he is the real future of professional wrestling. He's already been a TV star for seven years, and he has the looks the women love. Eli Drake comes out to interrupt as well, and says now that the three of them have bored the audience to death, he sees a guy who is popular with thirteen year old girls and has been living off his Big Brother fame, but when Kurt Angle forgets to mention Eli Drake as the future of wrestling, he realized that he and Jessie can team up to wipe the two of them in the ring out. Eli calls Drew a waste of space, calls him cross eyed, and tells him to take a walk. Angle tells Eli to shut up and sticks up for Drew, and since they're live on Pop TV, why don't they have an impromptu battle right here and now. Eli and Jessie rush the ring and a brawl breaks out, and Angle and Drew fight them off.
Jeremy Borash says that Matt Hardy is still getting checked out by the doctors, but Jeff comes out and says that nobody is stopping his brother tonight, and he'll be right there leading the charge for Matt. The other semifinal match is up next!
Eric Young is in the ring and says that when he swings a chair, he swings for keeps. Matt Hardy isn't going to make it to the ring, and tells the referee to count him out. Instead, Matt's music hits and he staggers out to the ring to start the second semifinal match...
World Title Series - Semifinal Match: Matt Hardy vs Eric Young
Young tries to attack Hardy in the aisle, but Hardy backdrops Young and dumps him into the ring where he keeps up the assault on EY. EY hangs Hardy in the Tree of Woe, lays in some shots, then dumps Hardy to the floor and rams him into the guardrail. EY slams Hardy on the ring steps, then rolls him back into the ring and continues pummeling him with his crazed offense. Hardy fires back on EY and they trade blows until Hardy comes out on top and hits a bulldog for 2. EY blocks a Twist of Fate, but Hardy hits a Side Effect for 2. Both men go spilling out to the floor, and Young piledrives Hardy on the floor. Young rolls back into the ring, and Jeff runs out to check on his brother. Young wipes Jeff out with a baseball slide, then rolls Matt into the ring before going back after Jeff. He yells stuff at him, then goes back into the ring and walks right into a Twist of Fate that gets Matt the 3 count.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Unsurprisingly, the finals of the tournament comes down to Matt Hardy and Ethan Carter III.
We see someone arriving at the building, but can't quite see who it is, so we'll find out in a little bit.
Eric Young is backstage flipping out that he lost, wonders why this keeps happening to him, and says everyone is going to pay.
EC3 and Tyrus confront Jeff Hardy backstage and makes a remark about Matt living in Jeff's shadow. Jeff says that Matt has never lived in his shadow, and Matt's going to beat him tonight to become the World Champion. EC3 walks off and Tyrus has a staredown with Jeff before leaving as well.
Bobby Roode comes out for his title defense, but then Bram comes out and asks if Bobby is surprised to see him. He says that 2016 is going to be his year, and says they should do this right now.
King of the Mountain Title Match: Bobby Roode vs Bram
Roode hammers Bram and clotheslines him over the top rope, then goes out to the floor and rams Bram into the guardrail before rolling him back into the ring. Bram tries to run to the back, but Roode runs after him, lays him out with a clothesline, then dumps Bram back into the ring. Bram goes back to the floor, Roode goes after him and takes him out with another clothesline, then they go back inside and Roode tries a Roode Bomb. Bram gets out, snaps Roode's neck down on the top rope, then they go out to the floor where Bram rams Roode back and forth between the ring apron and the guardrail. Back into the ring where Bram gets 2 off a leg lariat. Roode starts firing back and hits a Roode Bomb for the win.
Winner: Bobby Roode
Eric Young runs in and attacks Roode from behind, goes for a piledriver, but Roode backdrops Young and pummels him until Bram sneak attacks Roode. Young and Bram double team Roode until James Storm comes out of the crowd and cleans house on Bram and Young. The crowd gives Storm a "welcome back" chant, and Storm gets a microphone and says that a few months ago, people kept asking him why he left Impact Wrestling. He didn't like where he was going and who he was portraying, and his granny told him that that ain't him, and he decided that she was right because he's a cowboy from Tennessee, and he just wasn't having fun anymore. He traveled the world and wrestled everywhere to figure out what he was going to do next, he was flipping channels and saw that he won the Biggest Disappointment Award. He takes exception to that because he gave TNA his everything for 13 years, because this company didn't make guys like James Storm, guys like James Storm made this company. And then there's Bobby Roode: they drank a lot of beer together, and they made a lot of money, so he says it's time to get back to having fun. Storm gets a beer and asks if the fans want to have a little fun, then holds a beer out to Roode. Roode takes the beer, says "money", and drinks the beer as the old Beer Money theme plays.
Jeremy Borash is backstage with the Beautiful People, and Angelina Love says that she's obviously not wrestling tonight since she's seven months pregnant. But Velvet and Madison aren't scared, and they're going to take out the pathetic Beautiful People wannabes tonight. Angelina says they get to pick a third partner tonight, and they have someone who hates the Dollhouse almost as much as they do.
James Storm and Bobby Roode are backstage saying that Bram and EY made a big mistake, and this Friday on PPV, Beer Money is back together for the first time in five years. They do Beer...MONEY!
Christy Hemme is in the crowd and says it's time for the Knockouts...
The Dollhouse vs the Beautiful People & Gail Kim
Gail and Jade start us off, then Velvet and Marti tag in, and it's all Gail and the BPs. Madison tags in and drills Marti with a dropkick, then Rebel tags in and Madison goes to town on her too. Rebel gets Madison in a pretty unique surfboard-style stretch, then Jade tags in just as Madison tags out to Gail. Gail cleans house on Jade and hits a tornado DDT for 2, then all the girls come in and hit one move after another until it boils down to Gail and Jade. Jade nearly pins Gail on a couple of spots, but Gail gets an O'Connor roll for the win.
Winners: Gail Kim & The Beautiful People
The Dollhouse attacks Gail and the Beautiful People after the match, but then Awesome Kong comes out, teases that she's going to attack the Dollhouse, thenlays the Beautiful People out before flattening Gail with the Implant Buster. Kong stands tall with the Beautiful People as we go to commercial.
Maria Kanellis comes out to introduce "The Miracle" Mike Bennett. Bennett says that wrestling used to be exciting and fun, and it was even mainstream when he was a kid, but now it's loaded with washed-up guys claiming to be wrestlers. One washed-up guy named Matt Hardy is about to wrestle for the TNA World Title, but that's not the moment that will save wrestling, it'll be when Mike Bennett has the TNA World Title in his hands that the fans will witness their Miracle.
Matt Hardy is backstage with Reby and their baby boy, and Matt says he's going to win the title for all three of them.
Drew Galloway is backstage thanking Kurt Angle for this opportunity, and he's not taking this lightly. This is his chance of a lifetime, and Angle says he isn't either because he is the future of the business. The Wolves come in and say they he appreciates Angle putting them over, but they want the chance to get Angle in the ring as well and challenge Angle and Galloway to face them on PPV this Friday. Jessie Godderz and Eli Drake come in and say they want in, so it'll be a three way match this Friday on PPV.
IT'S MAIN EVENT TIME!
World Title Series - Finals: Ethan Carter III vs Matt Hardy
Matt has Jeff in his corner, and his wife and son in the crowd. Jeff gets a mic before the match and says he believes in Matt enough to walk away, and asks Tyrus if he believes in his boss enough to hit the bricks. Tyrus says "Cool" and walks off. EC3 looks confused by that, but before the main event locks up, we see a look back at the first season of Schitt's Creek.
Okay, back to the match: they trade blows and Matt dumps EC3 out to the floor and rams him into the ringpost and then the steps. Now Hardy launches EC3 over the broadcast table and right into Josh Mathews' lap, then dives over the table himself to unload on EC3. Hardy dumps EC3 into the ring and is ready to go for the Twist of Fate, EC3 reverses to a 1% attempt, Matt shoves him off, but EC3 takes Matt down and hammers him with crossfaces. Hardy returns fire with chops to the chest, EC3 tries a Stinger splash and misses, but catches Matt with a dropkick for 2. EC3 hits a Falcon Arrow suplex for 2, a rolling neckbreaker, then plays to the crowd instead of going for the cover. Matt crawls out to the ring apron, but EC3 goes out to the floor and kicks Matt's head into the ringpost. Matt rolls weakly onto the ring steps and EC3 goes for something, Matt reverses to a Side Effect, but doesn't quite hit it clean and EC3 takes a nasty looking back bump on the corner of the steps. Matt rolls EC3 into the ring and quickly comes off the top with a moonsault for 2, then sets up for the Twist of Fate. EC3 blocks it, Matt hits a Side Effect for 2, Matt hits another, a third, makes a cover, and EC3 is still out at 2. Matt picks EC3 back up, hammers him with forearms and goes for a Twist of Fate, EC3 holds the ropes to block it, hits a TKO, hits another, Matt escapes a third and hits the Twist of Fate, slowly crawls over to make a cover, but EC3 rolls to his belly to avoid getting pinned. Matt picks EC3 up, goes for another Twist of Fate, EC3 slips out and hits an enziguiri, hits the 1%, makes a cover, and Matt kicks out at 2. EC3 can't believe it, but he's on his feete and yells at Matt to stay down. Matt gets up and hits another Twist of Fate, but EC3 again kicks out at 2. Matt pops back up, sits EC3 on the top rope, goes for a super Twist of Fate, but EC3 blocks and hits a super 1% to win the World Title Series
Winner and New TNA World Champion: Ethan Carter III
Wow, just wow. Awesome match to finish the World Title Series, and the man remains undefeated to boot. Matt is on the floor and looks as disappointed as a man possibly can. Reby and the baby go to check on Matt, and he walks off on them. Reby finally catches up to Matt at the top of the ramp, then she looks back at EC3 and actually looks more pissed than Matt. EC3 holds the belt high, and that's a wrap for the Pop TV debut.
Thank you for reading the Impact Wrestling Report here on PWInsider.com! I'll be back on Thursday to discuss Impact and more with Dave Scherer on the Stu & Pid Show!
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