Ratings:
Christopher Daniels & Kazarian vs. Samoa Joe & Magnus: ***
Gail Kim vs. Brooke Tessmacher (Knockouts Title): **3/4
Devon vs. Robbie E vs. Robbie T (TV Title): *1/2
Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy: **1/4
Crimson vs. Eric Young: *1/4
Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray: ***3/4
Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles: ****1/4
Bobby Roode vs. Rob Van Dam (Ladder; World Title): ****
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Earl Hebner comes to get Roode's title so he can hang it for the ladder match tonight. Needless to say, Roode's pissed and complaining.
Tag title match starts the PPV off. Magnus impressive, catching Daniels on a crossbody and lifting him up for a delayed vertical suplex. Champs dominate early, then Daniels with the heel tactics to seize control. Heels isolate Magnus. Joe gets the hot tag and goes to town. Double-team on Joe leads to STO from Daniels for two. Daniels gets nuked good by Joe in the corner, snapmare into flying elbow only gets two because Kaz pulled Magnus out of the ring. Nice high clothesline-low sweep from Kaz and Daniels gets three. New tag champs. Solid opener.
Knockouts title match next. New ring attire for Tessmacher, Captain America-like colors, with Undertaker-like coat (no hood). As a note, Gail actually got married a few days ago to chef Robert Irvine, congrats to the newlyweds. Brooke tries Gail's own finisher early on for mind games. Crowd is somewhat into it, which is nice to see. Gail in control for much of the match, fairly slow pace. Wow, not often that I see a woman hit a top-rope elbow. Gets only two for BT. BT goes for her finisher, countered. Gail tries Eat Defeat, countered. BT hits Eat Defeat on Gail! GK to the outside. BT had to roll Gail in, and that cost her, only two. Gail uses the rollup with the ropes to cheat and escape with the title. Very good match, was the proper way to end it.
Great promo from Kaz and Daniels gloating about their title win and sticking it to AJ some more.
Triple threat TV title match next, although it'll resemble more of a handicap match. Devon isolates Robbie E early before Robbie T starts getting physical. Basically the Robbies double-team Devon before Devon makes a comeback. Robbie T with a powerslam on Devon, and here goes the ol' heel arguing about who should win the title. Devon physically introduces the Robbies to each other, then Robbie T rolled up for three. Robbie T looks pissed, but they reconcile. Vintage noogie! Robbie E should never hug another guy ever again. Awkward.
Anderson and Hardy starts with ground moves from Jeff. They fight on the outside, Hardy still in control. Anderson attacks Hardy's left arm. Hardy hit a Mic Check on Anderson?! Anderson later hits Twist of Fate on Hardy. What's with the talent doing other wrestler's finishers so much now? Totally destroys the awesomeness of that scenario. Senton by Anderson, but Hardy with the knees up. Swanton by Hardy...only two! Hardy atomic drop, goes for his heels to midsection move with Anderson's legs spread.Anderson blocks and rolls Hardy up for a close three count. On replay, looked like Hardy kicked out before three. Slightly awkward, not sure if that was supposed to be the end. Christy Hemme announced it pretty quick, so it probably was planned that way. Anderson acts surprised. They shake hands and a friendly embrace after the match. Would be a decent explanation to extend the storyline.
Video shown of Abyss resurfacing on Impact. JB has Joseph Park in the crowd. Joseph is not surprised if Abyss appears tonight. He wants Aries to kick Bully's ass.
Crimson again comes out. Open challenge. Brian Hebner to the ring. Bullies Hebner to ring the bell and count. At about eight, here comes Eric Young and ODB. Really?! ODB calls Crimson a douche. EY has some nice moves and chases Hebner. You can tell ODB wants to get involved. Nice suplexes and throws from Crimson. ODB with the liquid courage but Crimson shoves her down. Not on Spike TV, so that's fine. EY's pissed. Again, EY checks on ODB. Opening for Crimson to hit Red Sky for three. Actually better than I thought it would be.
Hit up Bully Ray on MySpace! Aries doesn't back down from the bully. Now it's Bully who wants Aries to calm down. More stalling in the ropes. Bully gets caught in the nuts (by AA kicking the ropes). Bully uses power to get the upper hand. Spit to Aries' face. Aries biting the calf of Calfzilla! Whoa, Aries got kicked when on the top rope, and he flew into the barricade. Ouch. Aries in a bad way now. Back probably hit the guardrail; it's all bruised. Bearhug by Bully. Big Rock Bottom-like move got two for Bully. NICE, lifted Aries up into an Ace Crusher for two. A solo 3-D! Bully with the chain. Joseph Park makes his voice heard and face seen. Bully assaults Park as Aries hits his dive through the ropes. Aries a house of fire now. BRAINBUSTER! One, two, NO! Wow. Bully for a powerbomb, countered! Last Chancery! Bully taps! Best match of the night so far.
Time for Angle and Styles. Angle's put on weight in the last few months. AJ with the mat wrestling! Very good start. Angle quickly shows Styles who's the king of all that. Angle tries to give AJ a chance to take him down with the leg, Angle ducks, and walks right into a kick. Numerous counters out of the Clash and Ankle Lock. Outstanding stuff even on the floor. If there are three things you can expect between these two, it's counters, a consistent flow, and nice crowd reaction. Each guy got great time for a bunch of offensive moves. Huge springboard Superman punch to Angle on the outside! AJ landed pretty hard. Angle still quick well into the match. Amazing conditioning. Styles with the Clash! Only two! Angle Slam a bit later, and that only got two. Angle tries the Clash, blocked. Ankle lock countered. AJ hurricanrana countered. Angle hits the Styles Clash?! Only two!!! Wow. Angle badly misses a moonsault. AJ springboard senton for two. I think he wanted the 450 but wouldn't have been able to flip over to finish it. Kaz and Daniels interfere. Angle doesn't see the interference. Angle Slam...TWO?! Ankle lockwith grapevine, and AJ taps. Excellent match.
Kaz and Daniels attack AJ post-match. Angle doesn't like it and decks Kaz. Respect for AJ and Angle. Awesome.
Facebook poll: fans pick RVD to win there. Duh. Roode with another promo.
Time for the ladder match. RVD out first, then Roode. Roode looks nervous. Main event intros. The usual wrestling to start. Spills to the outside. RVD with his 360 guillotine legdrop on the guardrail. RVD just impales himself headfirst when taking a DDT. To me, the best part of the match was seeing the ladder in the supporting role, instead of just seeing ladder shots every 2 seconds. Slingshot by Roode, and RVD's head gets caught in the ladder. Wow. RVD suplexes Roode on the ladder, then springboard moonsault. Roode wedged in the corner by a ladder. RVD gets a chair. He dropkicks the chair and the ladder into Roode. Ouch. RVD goes for the title, and Roode cuts him off. OW, spinebuster to RVD on the ladder. RVD comeback. Monkey flip on the ladder. Rolling Thunder! RVD's elbow is busted and swollen. RVD misses the five-star and crashes on the ladder. RVD to the outside. Crowd is very much into it. Roode sets up the ladder and slowly climbs. RVDtries to do the Spiderman spot onto the ladder but misses. Roode falls off to play along. RVD leg twists badly in the ladder. Roode gets the other ladder. RVD tries to stop Roode. Roode knocks RVD off and Rob's head hits the chair. Roode climbs and takes the belt down to retain. Another excellent match.
Trainer comes down, but RVD looks pissed. Not sure if he's just mad at himself.
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I really liked the show. Fairly solid from top to bottom. The knockouts match impressed me the most; it showed that Gail is the proper person to carry the division, and she's turned Brooke Tessmacher into a legitimate threat. She made BT look awesome in that match.
OK, I really, REALLY don't like how so many matches here had people stealing finishers. It just cheapens its use. It wasn't necessarily novel coming into this one, but it should really be saved for the huge feuds. Otherwise, great stuff. Slammiversary is June 10. ***3/4
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