Alex: What a moment it was to see Austin Aries celebrating with the TNA World Heavyweight Championship! Aries and Roode put on a great match with a great finish. I was expecting some kind of screwjob so that the title could stay on Roode until the end of the Bound For Glory Series, but I was wrong. Hopefully they give Aries a nice run for the next few months because I'm still banking on Storm winning the Series and facing Roode for the title at Bound For Glory.
Violet: Much to my surprise and excitement, Austin Aries won! Usually I’m bored by every Roode match, but Aries really brought out the best in him. I expect these two focus on each other until at least the next PPV, but it will be interesting to see what happens with after this feud ends.
AJ Styles defeated Christopher Daniels in a Last Man Standing Match
Alex: I knew these guys would put on a good match, but after seeing them wrestle so many times over the past few years, I can't say I was looking forward to this one. I was pleasantly surprised by the match they had, though. Both guys worked their asses off and they didn't do the typical "knock opponent down, have ref count even though he's clearly going to get up". The Styles Clash off the ramp and through the table was insane. Unfortunately, this match won't end the atrocious Claire storyline.
Violet: This match was full of surprises for me. It was way more brutal than I expected, we didn’t see or hear from/about Claire, and Styles won. This was the match I was looking least forward to, but it kept me interested the entire time.
Zema Ion defeated Sonjay Dutt, Kenny King, and Mason Andrews in an Ultimate X Match to become the new X Division Champion
Alex: I'm so happy to see Zema Ion get the X Division Championship. He has a great look, a great character, and he can go in the ring and on the mic. He's definitely the right pick to represent the X Division. I'm looking forward to seeing him feud with either Kenny King or Sonjay Dutt. As long as they give these guys time every week, then the X Division is going to be awesome.
Violet: While I wish Ion had won clean, TNA definitely chose the right man to be X Division champion. In typical form, Ion was great in the ring and on the mic. His interaction with Sorenson was well executed, and it made me excited about their eventual feud. Ion wasn’t the only star here, because Andrews, Dutt, and King all put on a great show.
Somao Joe defeated Kurt Angle in a Bound For Glory Series Match
Alex: The only thing that surprised me in this match was the finish. I knew Joe and Angle would put on a hell of a show, but I truly thought Angle would come away with the win. I like the chokeout finish as Angle didn't actually have to tap, and it makes Joe look like a badass for choking out Kurt Angle.
Violet: I’m happy with the conclusion to this match, and it ended in a way that left both men looking strong. I like seeing Joe at the head of the pack in the Bound for Glory series. That’s not to say that I see Joe winning the whole thing (that’ll be Storm), but he does deserve the push and the attention. He’s one of the best big guys around.
Mason Andrews defeated Lars Only, Dakota Darsow, and Jigsaw in a Four Way Match
Alex: This match was pretty sloppy and not really what I was expecting. All four guys did a pretty good job, there just seemed to be a lot of "ok, who's spot is up now?" moments where all four guys were selling and looking for a cue as to what to do next. There were still some good spots, and it was nice to see all of these guys get some pay-per-view time.
Violet: This outing was much slower than most X Division matches are. I was glad that these four guys got a chance to showcase their work in front of a bigger audience than they typically perform in front of, but it proved to be a sloppy and underwhelming start to the PPV. I would have been fine with any of the four men progressing to the next stage of the tournament, and I think Mason Andrews can be proud of the work he did here.
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