TNA Live Event Results From Raleigh, NC (9/22): Storm & Hardy Team Up, More

Thanks to WrestlingINC.com reader Chris for sending in these results from last night's TNA live event in Raleigh, NC:

Pre-Show
There was a meet and greet from 5:30-6:30 with Gail Kim and some others in attendance. They were pitching really hard for people to buy a Jeff Hardy action figure for $30 to get the meet and greet with him. Outside the gate they were having people fill out surveys including questions such as favorite wrestlers, TV channels and Knockouts. I found it odd Velvet Sky was still listed, kind of implying she is still some how affiliated with the company. They also had Direct Auto Insurance agents offering out ballots for one lucky person to win $200 in tna merchandise.

Once gates opened, a whole lot of nothing was going on for an hour other than the meet and greet for the fans that either bought the Jeff Hardy figure or had $50 or higher tickets. There was an Austin Aries look-a-like in attendance that was a local, he was easily an Aries doppelganger... just slightly less muscular.

The show starts with the introduction of So Cal Val, who was the ring announcer for the evening.

Gunner (w/ Kid Kash) vs Mr. Anderson

Gunner was met with a decent amount of cheers coming down the entrance way. He looks far larger in person than on TV. Mr. Anderson came out to a mixed reaction surprisingly, the crowd came off as very mixed when it came to him. Anderson did his normal summoning of the mic from the rooftop, which was ineffective considering it was an outdoor event. Eventually Val gives Anderson a mic and he hypes the crowd up calling them his assholes and referring to Kash and Gunner as douchebags. The match starts with Gunner attacking Anderson from behind while still on the mic.

Gunner was in control in the beginning until Kash gets caught interfering from the ref and was thrown out of the area. There was some decent back and forth in the match but Anderson ultimately got the win after two mic checks on Gunner. It appeared Gunner botched the first one so Anderson gave him a second for good measure.

After the match, Anderson got on mic again and said he has been doing the same echoing of his name monicker for the last 12 years and he has grown tired of it. He took the mic down to the front row and let a young boy do the "Mister Anderson... Anderson!" schtick into the mic, which got the crowd really on his side. Anderson's music hit and he left.

Gail Kim vs Mickie James

Gail Kim comes out to a decent pop followed by Mickie James, who got one of the bigger pops of the night. Before the match can start, Gail Kim accuses referee Earl Hebner of not being able to call a Knockouts match fairly and gets him replaced with referee Brain Stiffler. Once Stiffler is in the ring, Gail flirts with him before the start of the match.

The match was solid with a good pace, including some spots on the outside of the ring. Gail worked Mickie's knee for most of the match to set up for the octopus lock. The crowd was over for Mickie the majority of the match. Notable moments were a close count with a top rope Lou Thesz press by Mickie, Gail nearly pulling off eat defeat and a reversal off Mickie's spike DDT. Gail got the victory with a quick roll up and grabbing the ropes.
After the match, the crowd booed Gail for cheating and Gail convinced the ref she was going to kiss him. The ref held his eyes closed waiting for Gail to kiss him and she ran off to the back.

Crimson vs Samoa Joe

Crimson didn't get much of a reaction but the crowd was excited the see Joe.

Joe was in control the majority of the match but Crimson did get in some decent offense here and there. Joe played to the crowd a lot and often came off comical and cocky instead of being completely serious like on TV. My favorite moment of the match was when a guy in the crowd wearing a Hulk-A-Mania shirt kept heckling Joe so Joe stopped in the middle of the match, stared directly at the guy and acted like he was going to put his hand up to his ear like Hogan does only to flip the guy off. Joe won the match with a muscle buster.

Robbie E and Robbie T vs Eric Young and ODB

The Robbies music hit and they walk passed the curtain and as soon as they do, their music gets cut off. "Man in the Box" plays, replacing the Robbies theme confusing them and everyone else in attendance. After about ten seconds of "Man in the Box" playing, the correct song comes back on and they make their way to the ring. Eric Young and ODB make their way out to the ring only to be met with a dance off challenge from the Robbies.
The Robbies fist pump to their music, which was more entertaining than I expected it to be. Afterward, ODB says to play her and Eric Young's wedding song prompting the playing of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix A Lot. Everyone in attendance was cheering and laughing at the duo as they even went as far as getting the ref involved.

The match starts with Robbie E jumping Eric from behind, and Young was on defense for the most part. Young stayed in the majority of the match while the Robbies tagged back and forth regularly. ODB and Young got the win after ODB was tagged in and kicked Robbie T in the crotch behind the ref's back.

After the match ODB and Young celebrated by once again dance to "Baby Got Back."

Earl Hebner stays in the ring and it is announced that in celebration of Earl refereeing over 100,000 matches, TNA would be doing a deal where they sell the "Damn right I did it" Earl Hebner shirts for $10 and Earl would be there to autograph them. This promotion went on for about 20-25 minutes while stage hands checked out the ring to make sure it was still functioning correctly.

Magnus vs. Rob Van Dam

Magnus received little crowd reaction, but the crowd popped and many sang along to RVD's entrance music

Crowd was into this match despite its often slow pacing and little ring psychology. Had some okay back and forth with RVD hitting his signature moves and the five star for the win.

After the match RVD played to the crowd and made his way to the back and So Cal Val announced the winner of the $200 merchandise drawing.

James Storm and Jeff Hardy vs. Bobby Roode and Austin Aries

Bobby Roode made his way to the ring with by far the most heat of the night. Lots of boos and trash talking from the crowd. James Storm makes his way out with a beer in hand receiving the second largest pop of the night.

Roode and Storm have to choose their tag partners out of an envelope by order of Hulk Hogan as announced by So Cal Val. Roode choose Aries and Storm chooses Hardy. Aries is well received by the crowd, but Hardy by far got the biggest pop of the night likely due to being from Carolina and the several kids in attendance.

Throughout the match Roode avoids fighting Storm as much as humanly possible. Whenever Aries squared off against Storm or Hardy, they would start off with a hand shake out of respect. It was easily the match of the night with Storm and Hardy winning after Aries gets fed up with Roode back peddling and running away the whole match. Roode was hit with a super kick, Brain buster from Aries and a swanton from Hardy to finish the match.

After the match, Aries gets on the mic and hands the ring over to Hardy to celebrate with his creatures of the night to close out the show.

Other notable moments that happened were a "CM Punk" chant when Aries got on the mic proclaiming to be the best in the world. "Yes" and "No" chants happened during a few of the matches. At some point during the night, four people were offered the chance to meet RVD by simply spinning a wheel.

Overall it was a really good show and everyone that I saw upon leaving looked completely satisfied with how the show went.

Chris contributed to this article.