TNA Hardcore Justice Coverage: Testify, Devon is Gone, ‘Old’ Styles Returns

August 28, 2013 Patrick Hickey Jr. Professional Wrestling 0

Devon is gone and Brooke Tessmacher is in. This was a different kind of change for The Aces and Eights, but it does make the group younger moving forward. Although it probably has more to do with TNA cutting costs, it may give guys the likes of Mike Knox, Garret Bischoff and Wes Brisco more room to grow.

Hardcore Justice was a free pay-per-view, but aside from the average matches, there was plenty of intrigue.

The drama involving Austin Aries also allows for the former World Heavyweight Champion to regain his top-tier status in the company moving forward. That is something to get excited about.

Away from the drama of the Bound for Glory series and main angle, Hardcore Justice was decent, but it failed to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. TNA has yet to learn that good matches aren’t enough. They need a more “killer, no filler” approach to their product. Too often do they kill their momentum during a show with a sloppy segment or two after something cool.

Once TNA learns they can’t waste a second of their show, fans will enjoy it much more.

Matches:

TNA Tag Team Champions Gunner and James Storm vs. Frank Kazarian and Robert Roode: This impromptu matchup started the show and was mediocre at best. After Storm nailed the Last Call on Kazarian, Roode hit Storm with the Low Blow and won with a Rollup.

Sonjay Dutt vs. X-Division Champion Manik: A high-energy encounter that proved the X-Division is better during one-on-one matches. Thankfully an announcement confirming that notion was made during the match. After some counters and offense, Manik won with his Overhook Gutbuster finisher.

Street Fight for 20 Points in Bound for Glory Series: Jay Bradley vs. Hernandez vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Joseph Park w/Eric Young: Hernandez and Park worked together in this very tame street fight. Bradley looked ready to win after a few big kicks and some chair action on Daniels, but interference from Roode and Kazarian stopped Bradley and Hernandez in their tracks. Interference from Austin Aries took Daniels out of the match however and after Bradley busted Park open, Park won with the Blackhole Slam.

Gail Kim vs. ODB: This was the best singles match of the night. Kim’s heel tactics and ODB’s power made for a more than polished encounter. Kim got the win with a crucifix.

Loser of Fall is Gone From TNA: Aces and Eights vs. Main Event Mafia: The match started with a bang as AJ Styles rejected his loner status and joined the Main Event Mafia. The match itself was a fun back and forth ten-man tag with several near-falls. Mike Knox nearly was eliminated after a Scorpion Death Drop/Lock, but Devon broke up the fall. After Devon hit a few moves, Styles got the tag in and beat the Tag Team legend with the Styles Clash.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14320 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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