The Undercard
Rhino and EC3 defeated Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer
Impact Wrestling Reaction starts off with this match. Bully Ray hits a neck breaker onto Carter and in comes Dreamer. Rhino gets the tag and aggressively hits punches and kicks into the corner. Ray and Dreamer hit punches into the corner on their respected opponents.
EC3 trips up Dreamer on the ropes and begins to stomp away. Ray chases Rockstar Spud around the ring. After Bully Ray hits a flurry of offensive moves, Rhino is able to drop both men to the ground. Him and Ray go to the outside and Dreamer hits a suplex. Spud gets tossed into the ring. This allows EC3 to roll up Dreamer for the win.
This was a little slower because of the age in the ring, but it does not mean it was a bad match. I worry that TNA will try too much to invest their time and effort into feuds we have seen 20 years ago. I love seeing Bully Ray continue to be so much better than other guys from ECW. Nonetheless, the nostalgia act played pretty well to start off the night.
X-Division Gauntlet Battle Royal
Austin Aries runs the gauntlet and the opponents include Manik, The Wolves, DJ Z, Sanada, Crazzy Steve and Tigre Uno. All of the guys get in the ring and the 6 sides really work for each guy. Tigre Uno is eliminated thanks to Steve. Davey Richards hits a unique standing dropkick to eliminate Steve. The Wolves use their incredible offense to eliminate another and Sanada eliminates both Wolves. It gets down to Sanada and Austin Aries. It comes down to these guys and it is one fall, one submission. Aries knocks Sanada to the outside and then runs into him with a Suicide Dive. Sanada punches Aries and hits a club to the head. Bridging pin fall attempt gives Sanada a close two count. Aries reverses Sanada and hits Brainbuster for the win.
Excellent offense and a really fun match to watch. There were some lapses in the match that slowed down the pace, including Crazzy Steve trying to be funny. You saw so much athleticism and intensity from Aries, one of the top guys in the company. He has that title to choose Option C. After that, the title will be used to try and help elevate others. I would love to see DJ Z with the title again, but I can see one of the Wolves or even Sanada getting the title back in the near future. Aries being X-Division champion is best for business.
