TNA IMPACT Wrestling: No Surrender
Location: Bethlehem, PA
Date: September 17, 2014
Commentators: Mike Tenay and Taz
We start the show off with a look back at the first two matches in the tag team title series, then we go to the ring to start the action right off with the Knockouts Battle Royal!
Knockouts Battle Royal
Okay, so your participants are Taryn Terrell, Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky, Angelina Love, Brittany, Rebel, and Havok. Gee, I wonder who’s going over. Havok goozles Madison and carries her around the ring by the neck before dropping her and cleaning house on everyone else. All the girls decide to gang up on her, but she fights her way free singlehandedly and dumps Madison. Taryn Terrell jumps on her back, but Havok hip bumps her to the apron and knocks her to the floor with a forearm shot. Brittany tries her luck next and really gives it a good go, but Havok clotheslines her into next week and tosses her across the ring by the hair before choking her on the bottom rope with her boot.
Brittany tries to eliminate Havok with a flying headscissors, but Havok just pushes her off and knocks her to the floor with another shot. Rebel ducks a charge from Angelina and Angelina eliminates herself, and Velvet gets a courage infusion and charges Havok. Havok swats her like a fly, and then Rebel gives it a good go, but tries a top rope move and Havok just top spins her onto the steps and then the floor. We’re down to Havok and Velvet, and Velvet gives it everything she’s got: forearms, kicks to the knee, clotheslines, but Havok gets her around the neck and goes for the Aid Raid Crash. Velvet slips out and tries a sleeper, Havok hiptosses her over and tries a legdrop. Velvet moves and tries a crossbody, but Havok easily catches Velvet and dumps her to the floor for the win.
Winner: Havok
So Havok just went through the entire Knockouts roster except for Gail Kim, and eliminated everyone in the match herself except for Angelina. She’s getting a great monster build, looking forward to seeing her work Gail.
Bobby Roode is backstage, and he’s…WALKING!
Gunner is backstage telling Sam Shaw that he thinks he needs to go back to a therapist. Shaw doesn’t like that idea, so Gunner changes the subject and says Brittany was asking about him and that he ought to go get himself a piece of that. Shaw says he can’t do that right now because he’s fixated on someone else.
MVP and Kenny King come out to the ring and MVP says that Bobby Roode is going to challenge Bobby Lashley tonight, and that Lashley is going to crush his dreams. MVP turns the conversation to the wounded warrior, Chris Melendez, and asks the crowd to give him a warm welcome. He comes out and shakes hands with King and MVP, and MVP thanks Melendez for everything he’s done for the country, but his military history shows him that he’s a killer, and he can go far if he gets in with the right crowd. King offers Melendez to join up with them and Melendez turns them down, and King asks if he thinks he’s too good to carry Lashley’s bags or if he’s better than King and MVP. King says he’s the star here and wants a referee to get out here so he can take Melendez back to boot camp…get it? BOOT camp? A referee comes out and MVP wishes Melendez good luck to distract him so King can attack him from behind. The match will start after this break.
Kenny King vs. Chris Melendez
King is beating on Melendez as we come back from break, gives him an atomic drop, and flattens him with a clothesline for 2. King gets Melendez in a rear chinlock, then lets him go and catches him with a cartwheel kick and high elevation legdrop for 2. King goes for the Coronation, but Melendez slips out and sunset flips King for the win.
Winner: Chris Melendez
King attacks Melendez after the match and hits the Royal Flush, then gets a mic and asks Melendez who he thinks he is. He’s no star, because king is a star, and he wants to know how he can defend the country when he can’t even defend himself. He says he’s going to expose Melendez and shove that prosthetic leg up his ass. King tries to tear the leg off, but Ken Anderson runs out and chases King off. King mocks Melendez with a salute from the floor as Anderson checks on Melendez.
We see a video package hyping tonight’s title match between Roode and Lashley.
Ken Anderson checks in on Melendez backstage and makes sure he’s all good.
TNA X Division title match: TNA X Division champion Samoa Joe vs Homicide
They feel each other out to start, then go nose to nose and exchange words before the exchange turns into forearms and punches. Joe with the snapmare/chop to the back/kick to the chest/kneedrop combo for 1. Homicide fights his way out of a bearhug and ducks a charge from Joe, using Joe’s own momentum to send him out to the floor. Homicide hits the rolling dive through the ropes and nails Joe, then rolls him back inside and hits a neckbreaker for 2. Homicide with a top rope knee to the back of Joe’s head for 2, but Joe catches Homicide out of nowhere with a sleeper suplex for 2. Joe snaps him over with a powerslam for 2, then puts Homicide on the top rope for a Muscle Buster. Homicide goes to the eyes and hits a tornado DDT for 2. Homicide goes for a series of lariats and then hits an Ace Crusher for 2, then calls for the Cop Killa. Joe breaks that and Homicide goes for another Ace Crusher, but Joe steps into it and drops down with Homicide, catching him in the Kokina Clutch in midair, and forcing Homicide to tap.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Great match and awesome finish! Never seen that before. Joe goes to shake Homicide’s hand, but James Storm and Sanada (dressed like Honky Tonk Man with face paint) run in and lay both men out. A shrouded Manik comes down to ringside and removes the shroud to reveal…a mask. I thought he didn’t need those anymore? Manik comes off the top rope with a frogsplash to Homicide and then looks menacing with Storm and Sanada.
Jeremy Borash is backstage with the Wolves and points out that tonight is a must win situation for them. Eddie says they came into the series with something to prove, and their legacy is literally hanging in the balance tonight. The Wolves say that their destiny is to belong amongst the greats, and they’ll fight the fight of their lives tonight, scale the ladder to take what is theirs, because the hunt…never dies. Good promo.
Eric Young comes into Bobby Roode’s locker room to give him a pep talk, but Roode tells him to be quiet, so Young whispers instead. Roode says this year has been crazy: he almost became part owner of TNA, Young became World Champion, and Young says that after he wins the title tonight, things are going to get really crazy for him.
TNA tag team title series match 3 – ladder match: TNA tag team champions The Wolves vs. Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. Team 3D
All heck breaks loose as soon as everyone’s in the ring, and the Wolves clear all four opponents out and take them out with dives. Davey tries to climb and Matt Hardy shoves him off, so Davey nails him with a leaping enziguiri and holds Devon off so Eddie can try climbing. Bubba pulls him down, so he gets a leaping enziguiri from Eddie. The Wolves pick the ladder up and rake it back and forth across the ring to nail each of the four opponents in succession. Jeff tries to break that up by hitting the Whisper In The Wind on the ladder to try and bring it down on the Wolves, but he ends up coming down right on top of the ladder in a sick looking bump.
The Wolves are nice enough to sell it anyway so the Hardyz and then Bubba can each get ahold of the ladder and work the other teams over with it, and the crowd chants “we want tables” as 3D hits WHAZZUP off the ladder onto Davey’s ding ding. Matt breaks up the 3D by taking Bubba and Devon out with a ladder, then he and Jeff dump Team 3D to the floor and Matt tries to climb. Eddie climbs up with Matt as Jeff goes out to the floor and they fight it out on top of the ladder and tip it over and come down on the top rope as we go to commercial.
We’re back as Bubba powerbombs Jeff onto a ladder and knocks Matt flying while he’s at it. Bubba tries to climb, but the Wolves double powerbomb him off the ladder and start to climb. Matt Hardy and Devon go up with them on side by side ladders, Devon and Davey fall off, and Matt gives Eddie a Twist of Fate off the ladder. Jeff and Bubba go up a ladder and Bubba superplexes him off of it, with Jeff’s feet hitting the belts on the way over and making them swing back and forth in a wide arc. Good thing Jeff didn’t get his feet caught there.
Team 3D hits the Doomsday Device on Davey, Matt comes in and nails Bubba and Devon with a ladder, the Hardyz hit stereo Twists of Fate on Team 3D, and Matt moonsaults Bubba as Jeff Swantons Devon. The Hardyz set the two ladders up again and both of them climb, but the Wolves pull them down and the two teams go at it. The Hardyz get the better of that and Jeff gives Davey Poetry In Motion against a ladder in the corner, then slam him onto a ladder so Jeff can give him a top rope splash onto the ladder. The Hardyz go out to the floor and get wiped out with a double shot from a table, then they set Matt up on a table at ringside and go back in to go after the Wolves. The Wolves destroy them with a couple of chairs, including a chair-assisted double stomp to Devon’s back. Davey comes off the top rope and double stomps Matt through that table he was laying on, and Eddie sets the ladder up and starts to climb.
Jeff sets up another ladder next to him and they climb up side by side and nail each other the whole way up. Jeff gets his hand on the belt, but Davey drags Jeff’s ladder away and tips it over, with Jeff landing awkwardly on top of it on the way down. Bubba tries to come in and stop Eddie, but Davey runs interference long enough for Eddie to grab the belts and pick up the extremely hard fought win.
Winners: The Wolves
This was just unbelievable, easily the best match in the series so far and made the Wolves look like a million bucks for being able to beat the other two teams in a match like this. Really looking forward to the last match in the series after this one.
Bram vs. Gunner
These two just fight it out, trading shots in the ring, tumbling over the ropes together, fighting on the floor, and then coming back into the ring to fight it out in there. Gunner ducks a clothesline and suplexes Bram for 2, then comes off the second rope with a shoulderblock. Gunner seemed to tweak his knee on the way down, and Bram takes advantage of it by dragging Gunner onto the ring steps and repeatedly ramming his knee onto them. Sam Shaw comes down to ringside looking concerned as Bram continues to work Gunner’s knee over. Gunner rolls Bram up for 2 and then ditches Bram out to the floor, then takes him out with a series of clotheslines when he comes back in. Gunner goes for a powerbomb, but his knee goes out and Bram lands on top of him. Shaw has seen enough and tries to come in and nail Bram, but Bram moves out of the way and Shaw nails Gunner. The referee decides not to call a DQ even though he was staring right at him, but Bram takes the initiative and dumps Shaw out to the floor before rolling Gunner up with a handful of tights for the win.
Winner: Bram
Gunner goes off on Shaw after the match and walks out on him as a shocked and hurt looking Shaw stares after him from the ring.
Bobby Lashley and Bobby Roode are backstage, and they’re…WALKING! They face off for the World Title after this commercial!
Gail Kim is backstage and says she has no problem with Havok wanting her title, but she doesn’t like how Havok decided to get her title shot by hurting people. She’s never had issues fighting anyone, and wants Havok to bring it.
It’s main event time!
TNA world title match: TNA world heavyweight champion Bobby Lashley vs. Bobby Roode
The bell rings and they go face-to-face, exchanging words before ever laying a hand on each other. Roode tries going to Lashley’s arm, but Lashley shoots him off and bowls him over with a shoulderblock. Lashley picks things up as he fires off a series of hard forearms and nails him with a clothesline. Roode is already in bad shape as Lashley picks him up, and he sends Lashley out to the floor by dodging a charge, but Lashley lands on his feet and comes right back in. Roode dodges another charge and clotheslines Lashley to the floor where he confers with MVP and King before slowly making his way back in. King gets on the apron to distract Roode so Lashley can come in and blindside Roode from behind. Roode gets his boot up as Lashley charges him in the corner and goes to the second rope, but MVP blatantly grabs Roode’s leg and pulls him down right in front of the referee. The referee finally has enough and ejects MVP and King as we go to commercial.
We’re back and Roode is in control, rocking Lashley with a corner clothesline and going for a fisherman’s suplex. Roode back gives out, and Lashley is able to recover enough to counter a tornado DDT. Lashley goes for a spear, but Roode catches Lashley coming in and gets him in the crippler crossface. King grabs Roode’s ankle and pulls him off of Lashley, but Eric Young comes running out and fights King off. Lashley gets Roode up and goes for the running powerslam, but Roode slips out again and gets Lashley back in the crossface right in the middle of the ring. Lashley uses his power to slip out, gets to his feet, and flattens Roode with a Samoan drop. Lashley measures Roode and hits the spear, but Roode kicks out at 2! Lashley looks shocked at that one, so he goes to ringside and grabs his belt and brings it in the ring. Roode ducks a belt shot, gets Lashley up, and hits the Roode Bomb…for 2. Roode and Lashley are on their knees and exchanging punches, they get to their feet and trade more punches, and Roode hits a spinebuster for another very close 2. Roode tries a leapfrog but Lashley catches him in midair and hits the running powerslam, but Roode again kicks out at 2. Roode fights out of a torture rack and goes for the Roode Bomb, Lashley holds onto the ropes for his life, so Roode gives him the Roode Bomb over the ropes and to the floor and Lashley goes SPLAT. That was a nasty, nasty bump. Roode brings the champion back into the ring and slowly makes his way to the top rope, but Lashley is up and slams Roode to the mat. Lashley measures Roode for another spear, Roode leapfrogs him and comes down bad on his knee, but still goes for the Roode Bomb. Unfortunately, his knee gives out and Lashley is able to hit him with another spear to retain.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
And THAT is how you book a challenger to lose without hurting him. This watch was off the charts, Roode survived everything Lashley threw at him that had taken out every previous challenger and kept coming and only lost because of a freak injury. And I have to give Lashley props as well, he gave Roode a ton of offense and made him look like the toughest guy in the world for staying alive through everything Lashley gave him. And by the way, Lashley took a MAN-SIZED bump to the floor with that Roode Bomb, and anybody who turns their nose up at him because they think he’s just another WWE castoff looking for an easy paycheck is 100% wrong because Lashley is working his ass off in TNA and shows what WWE has been missing out on.
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