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AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
Styles and Joe danced around the ring feeling each other out early. Joe hit a back bodydrop and sweeps Styles' legs. Joe drilled him with an enziguri in the corner. He chopped Styles' back but Styles sweeped his legs. Joe kicked Styles, sending him flying through the ropes. Joe hit a suicide elbow to Styles, who fell into the crowd. Styles caught Joe. He went to jump off the rail but Joe caught him and sent him flying into the ring apron.
On the apron outside, Joe drilled Styles with a series of punches. Styles acted like he hurt his elbow when he hit the railing. Joe tossed Styles back into the ring. Joe wasn't buying it but the referee did, which gave Styles the chance to thumb Joe in the eye. They ended up on the floor with Joe throwing Styles into the railing hard. Joe set Styles in a chair for an Ole Ole Kick but Styles gets up and catches him with a clothesline.
Styles tossed Joe back into the ring. Joe got to his feet and drilled him with strikes, but it taken down with a beautiful dropkick as he rebounded off the ropes. They had a great exchange with Styles getting the best of it with a spinkick in the end.
Both men meet mid-ring with back and forth strikes. Joe catches Styles with an inverted atomic drop and a suplex. Joe nails the back splash senton but Styles kicks up at two. Joe catches Styles with a great snap powerslam for a near fall. Joe goes for a powerbomb but Styles escapes and hits the Pele Kick.
Styles hits the springboard flying forearm from behind but Joe gets out of the pin at the last second. Styles works over Joe in the corner. Styles did a monnsault into an inverted DDT, but Joe catches him and snapmares him forward. He tossed Styles into the corner but Styles escapes to the outside, then jumps back in and finally hits the inverted DDT.
Styles went for the Styles Clash but Joe escaped. He grabbed Styles and dropped him down but Styles kicked out. Joe charges AJ but Styles evades him and Joe goes to the floor. Joe began grabbing at his knee. He is nearly counted out but rolls back into the ring at the nine count.
Joe kicked off Styles and got to his feet. He tried to charge but crumpled to the mat, grabbing his leg screaming. Styles went for the Spiral Tap, but Joe rolled out of the way, then popped up as he was playing possum the entire time. Great twist. Styles tried to kick him but Joe ducked and locked in the Kokina Clutch. Styles reached for the ropes but Joe dropped him backwards into a suplex and scored the clean pin.
Another good solid match. This wasn't the show stealing type of bout they've had in the past but good stuff. They've probably set the bar so high that a match involving anyone else of this caliber would be seen as great while for these two it was just very good.
TNA champion Christian Cage vs. Kurt Angle vs. Sting
Cage was announced as "The Heavyweight champion of the World." All three faced off center ring at the bell. Angle and Sting both tossed Cage to the floor and got in each other's faces. Cage returned and was tossed out again. Angle misses a shot and Sting unloaded with shots. Angle caught him with an elbow. Sting gets tossed into the rail at ringside.
Cage and Angle go at it. Cage tosses Angle into the ringpost shoulder-first. Sting and Cage went face to face. Cage tried to shake Sting's hand, but Sting slapped him and pressed and slammed him. Sting elbowed Cage. Sting hit the Stinger Splash in the corner, then backed up for another. Sting was grabbed and pulled out of the ring by Angle, who then suplexed Sting on the ramp.
Angle was taken down by Cage, who caught him in a side chinlock. Cage goes outside and clotheslines Sting on the floor, then peppers him with punches. Angle hits a back suplex on Cage for a two count. He goes into a series of German suplexes. Sting goes to suplerplex Cage but Angle suplexes Sting off at the same time. Angle tries to cover both but they kick up. The place chants, "That was awesome."
Cage is picked up and slammed by Angle, who pulls down the strap. He went for the Olympic Slam but Cage evaded and went for the Unprettier.. Angle backed him into the corner, where Sting splashed them both. Sting hits the Scorpion Death Drop on Angle, but Cage broke up the count by pulling the referee out of the ring. Sting looks around and goes for the Scorpion Deathlock, but Angle goes for the Anklelock. Cage tried to interfere but was taken down. Angle locked them both in Anklelocks at the same time. They both rolled forward, sending Angle out of the ring to the floor.
Sting slammed Cage to the mat. Sting looked for the unconscious referee and pulled him back into the ring. That gave Cage a chance to nail him with a lowblow, then went for the Unprettier. Sting rolled him up but Angle grabbed him in an Anklelock. As one referee counted three on Cage, another referee ruled that Sting tapped out. Sting started tapping less than a second after the three count, although for the purposes of the storyline, it will be "the same moment."
They played Angle's music and announced Kurt Angle was the new World champion.
Another solid match with some good fast paced stuff and back and forth work. It probably would have worked even better if it was the only three way on the show. Obviously the finish was meant to cause some controversy leading into TNA unveiling their new championship belts on Impact.
Overall, I'd give this show a thumbs up. It was a throwback to the type of shows the company used to have about a year ago with lots of solid to good wrestling from top to bottom and very little goofy stuff that makes you shake your head. Not a perfect show but this was easily worth the price of the PPV.
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