Report by WrestleZone.com reader Jubin Joseph
The show started around 7:30 PM. First, Jeremy Borash came out and just talked about how great it was to be in Fort Wayne, IN and to expect a great show tonight. Also, backstage passes were being given out on multiple occasions throughout the show. Borash first introduces Earl Hebner and there are a lot of "You Screwed Bret" chants. Hebner rips off his referee’s shirt and unveils his new "Damn Right I Did" t-shirt.
The first match of the evening was Homicide vs. Jay Lethal. Jay Lethal comes out to Ric Flair’s music and does the whole Ric Flair gimmick for about 3 minutes. This was a decent match and Jay Lethal won this match via his belly to back suplex lift transitioning into a neckbreaker finisher.
The second match was the Beautiful People (Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne) vs. Sarita and Taylor Wilde for the TNA Knockout Tag Team titles. The match started out with some taunting and some playful gestures between the two tag teams. The Beautiful People dominate Taylor Wilde in the beginning but then Sarita comes in and cleans house. But at the end, the Beautiful People came out on top with the win.
The third match was Orlando Jordan vs. "The Freak" Rob Terry for the Global Championship. Orlando Jordan was in control most of the match working on Terry’s knee. Rob Terry won the match after a jumping spin kick and a chokeslam.
Jeremy Borash then talks about how tonight was a historical night in TNA history and how on this date 8 years ago, TNA started. He introduces the founder of TNA, Jeff Jarrett. Jeff Jarrett comes out and tells us how much he loves Indiana and how TNA will be back in Fort Wayne. He thanks Dixie Carter and thanks the Fort Wayne crowd for attending.
The fourth match was Eric Young (coming out to The Band entrance music) and Matt Morgan vs. Mr. Anderson and Kurt Angle. Mr. Anderson and Kurt Angle got one of the bigger pops of the night. The match started with Matt Morgan talking trash to the crowd. Matt Morgan and Eric Young are dominating Mr. Anderson the whole match. Anderson tags in Kurt Angle and Angle completely cleans house. Angle puts Eric Young in the ankle lock and Eric Young taps out.
After the match, we have a 20 minute intermission. During the 20 minutes, fans with backstage passes went to the back to meet the TNA stars. Sarita and Taylor Wilde were by the merchandise table by the entrance greeting fans.
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After intermission, we have our fifth match of the evening: Shannon Moore vs. Douglas Williams for the X Division Championship. Shannon Moore first comes out to a huge pop from the crowd. Then, Douglas Williams’ entrance music plays but he doesn’t come out. Jeremy Borash then announces that Douglas Williams refuses to come out because the fans are not respecting him. Chants of "You Suck" start and Douglas Williams finally comes out. He poses for the crowd and the match gets started. There are a lot of "You Suck" and "USA" chants throughout the match. Shannon Moore is dominating most of the match and then Douglas Williams hits the Chaos Theory and gets the pinfall. After the match, Shannon Moore gets a loud ovation from the crowd.
The sixth and final match of the evening is Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles. AJ Styles first gets introduced but does not come out. He says he will not come out until the fans show him respect. AJ finally comes out and poses to the crowd. Then comes out Jeff Hardy to the loudest pop of the evening. Hardy goes down the aisle greeting the fans and high five-ing them. AJ Styles gets out of the ring and goes up the ramp refusing to fight Jeff Hardy and goes to the back. Jeremy Borash then announces that TNA has decided that if AJ Styles does not enter the ring within the 10 count, not only will he get disqualified but he will get suspended as well. AJ Styles peeks out of the entrance curtain and starts walking slowly. When the referee is at the 7 count, AJ runs to the ring and slides in and right back out. Then AJ asks for a microphone and starts asking the fans why they would cheer for a guy like Jeff Hardy. AJ starts saying that he has been in the company from day one and that he should get all the cheers. AJ talks for a good 2 minutes and then the match finally starts. AJ is going in and out of the ring for the first two minutes of the match. Not many high-flying moves (which was kind of disappointing) but the match was decent overall. Jeff Hardy finally wins with a Swanton Bomb off the top.
After the match, Jeremy Borash announces that fans can get their family pictures taken with Jeff Hardy in the ring for $20 and also announced that Mr. Anderson and Earl Hebner were sitting outside at tables signing autographs. The line for taking a picture with Jeff Hardy was very long. Mr. Anderson had a good number of people in line for his autographing signing. Earl Hebner was selling and autographing his "Damn Right I Did" t-shirt for $10. Hebner didn’t have many fans going to him so I felt bad and bought a t-shirt from him. He signed my t-shirt and shook my hand thanking me for attending the show.
This was the first live wrestling show I’ve ever attended and it was a decent house show overall. The matches could have been better, but it was still pretty exciting.
The biggest pops of the night go to Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson and Shannon Moore.
The biggest boos of the night were for AJ Styles, Douglas Williams, Earl Hebner and The Beautiful People.
Hope these results help and please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!
