TNA Impact Wrestling Destination X Results: Aries Vs. Lashley, X-Division Qualifiers, More
Welcome to WrestlingINC.com's live coverage and results for TNA Impact Wrestling. Tonight's Destination X event was taped in New York City, where it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalk at the same time. Google that.
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On this date in wrestling history in 2000, Shane Douglas defeated Billy Kidman in a "Viagra on a Pole Match" on WCW Nitro. Really. Kind of a surprise that Buff Bagwell wasn't booked in that match, eh? Anyway, no shenanigans like that on tonight's Impact Wrestling but this episode is the "free" Destination X show and it promises to be a whopper of a wingding so let's see if Dixie and Company can pull off a big win for the team.
The show opens with a package that's heavy on Austin Aries and the Hardys. We're reminded that Aries will face Lashley for the title later tonight. Dixie opens the show surrounded by her coterie of ne'er-do-wells. Dixie rants that she's not going to give fans old, broken-down has-beens, ostensibly referring to some of the ECW originals on the roster (despite the fact that Rhino is standing behind her which just seems awkward). She then puts EC3 over in a big way and hands the mic over to her nephew who does a stellar job of promoting everyone on Team Dixie, one by one. EC3 says they're going to rebuild "The House the Carters Built" which is met by an unenthusiastic response. He challenges Bully, Devon and Dreamer in a tag match and we have a look at some of the other matches on tonight's card. Time for tag action. The teams come out to the ring and we have our first break.
Tag Team Championship Match: The Hardys vs. The American Wolves
The bell rings and the crowd seems evenly split with their "Let's go Hardys!"/"Let's go Wolves!" chants. Decent back-and-forth action and some quick tags fill the first few minutes. The Hardys work over Richards with some double-teaming and it seems unfortunate that Taz and Tenay are spending more time putting over storylines than calling a pretty respectable match. Jeff tries to smash Richards in a corner by Davey hits Jeff with some offense. Eddie gets a tag in and escapes a double-team by the Hardys with a double hurricanrana. The crowd approves. The Wolves follow up with a double suicide dive and they end up back in the ring with Jeff for a decent spell of double-teaming. Eddie gets a near fall on Jeff. The crowd responds with "This is awesome!" chants which is maybe over-selling it to the home audience. Matt comes back in to tip the scales back in the Hardy's favor. The brothers dump the Wolves and Jeff bounds out after them to lay the Wolves out again. Eventually, Matt and Edwards — the legal guys — are back in the ring. Matt gets a near fall and it's broken up by Davey. Shortly thereafter, each Hardy brother gets a Wolf in a submission hold but there's no tapping to be had. After a break, the Wolves regain control and they're all over Matt. Another near fall finds the Wolves getting frustrated. Eddie takes out Jeff outside of the ring leaving Matt in the ring with Davey, who is now the legal man for the Wolves. Matt and Davey trade moves and near falls and Matt teases a big move off the ropes but it's broken up by Davey. The Wolves then get together for a monster of an airborne back-stabber off the ropes. Matt's shoulders are down and the ref makes the count.
Result: The Wolves defeat the Hardy's by pinfall to retain the titles.
Post-match, the Wolves show deference and sportsmanship by each going down on one knee and offering a handshake. The Hardys accept.
Promo package from Low Ki rolls and we have commercial sign.
X-Division Qualifier: Manik vs. DJ Z vs. Low Ki
Fresh from the break, we're staring down the barrel of an X-Division qualifier match, pitting Low Ki versus DJ Z versus Manik. Low Ki seems to be the crowd favorite here and he quickly chases DJ Z out so he can square off wqith Manik. It's a brief throwdown, though, as DJ Z slips back in and injects himself back into the action, looking pretty impressive in the process. Mani kens up on the outside so that Z and Ki can trade blows but soon enough they're all back in. It's a fast and furious contest and no man has a clear advantage for a decent stretch, although Manik seems to be winning over some of the fans as things move along. There's an especially interesting spit in which Manik gets Z in a submission hold and then pins Low Ki for a near fall. Z tries to mount an aerial attack but Low Ki boots him on to the floor and mixes it up with Manik once more, ultimately dropping Manink and landing the pin.
Result: Low Ki advances after pinning Manik.
After TNA pays the bills, we get a recap of Sanada turing on Muta and Cowboy James Storm is in the ring to tell y'all a thing or three about rasslin'. Storms says that he is Sanada's new mentor and the live crowd tries their darndest to ruin his promo with a bunch of "WHAT?!" chants. Storm calls Sanada out and the young Japanaese star makes the walk of shame to the six-sided ring. No promo from Sanada, though, as Bryan Cage is introduced and we have 2/3 of the competitors for the next X-Division qualifier. The Menagerie theme plays and it seems that Crazzy Steve is the final piece of the puzzle.
X-Division Qualifier: Crazzy Steve vs. Bryan Cage vs. Sanada
Page looks super-impressive as he knocks down Sanada and Steve quickly. Crazzy Steve wants a test of strength with Cage but he turns it into a headlock which doesn't last long. Cage picks up both of his opponents and tosses them backwards in an impressive show of strength. All three guys stay in the fight to some degree for the next several minutes and it starts to look like this one is Cage's match to lose. Suprisingly, though, Cage misses a move on Steve off the ropes and as he's incapacitated, Sanada gets the pin on Crazzy Steve and advances.
Result: Sanada pins Crazzy Steve to advance.
EC3's promo is re-racked and Team Bully heads out to accept. And now for these important messages?
Back from the blipverts, Roode meets with A-Double back statge and tells him to get busy. Then Team Bully is on the march, ready to give their official answer to EC3's challenge. Devon is a beast on the mic and he says they're ready to finish the war. Dreamer tells the crowd that they ECW Originals would literally die for the fans, which is the very definition of hyperbole but that's beside the point. Basically, he's just ready to fight. EC3 steps out and says that he'll lead Team Dixie into battle, but not until next week but Bully says he's ready to start "a mother-trucking riot." Bully says the match next week will be an 8-man hardcore extreme weapons match. He also promises Dixie will finally go through a table. Promo over.
Backstage, Samoa Joe and Angle are caught engaging in some ho-humming and hot sighing and Angle teases something big. Let's do that commercial thing again.
We're also treated to a cryptic promo. Looks like somebody new/old is coming to the roster in the near future...
Back on the show, EC3 fires up the troops backstage and we get a short recap of last week's Taryn Terrell/Gail Kim match. The Beautiful People complain that Angelina has been blocked from getting a Knockouts title shot by Kurt Angle.
Samoa Joe hits the ring and ends up front and center with a towel in one hand and a mic in the other. Joe says he's going to be a key player in the effort to reinvigorate the X-Division. His competitors for this final qualifier are Tigre Uno and Homicide.
X-Division Qualifier: Samoa Joe vs. Tigre Uno vs. Homicide
Tigre Uno goes out of the ring quickly and Joe and Homicide take a few shots and Homicide ends up laying out Joe on the outside. He's all pumped up as we have commercial sign.
Following some coming attractions, Joe and Homicide are in the ring and they genuinely appear to be having a good time. Tigre Uno is nowhere to be found. Let's hope he's all right, wherever he is. Joe and Homicide slog it out and Joe teases a power move but Uno beams back in and breaks it up. Uno tries for a pin on the Notorious 1-8-7 and Joe proceeds to pummel him like a bag of flour. After some back and forth, Tigre gets a two-count on Joe and Homicide breaks it up. Homicide teases the Gringo Killer on Uno but Joe won't let it happen. Joe puts Homicide down and the crowd is largely supporting the big Samoan. Homicide stops Joe from executing a match off the turnbuckle and Uno tries to capitalize but he can't make it happen. Joe catches Homicide with a Samoan drop and gets the pinfall. It's over.
Result: Samoa Joe advances in the X-Division chase after pinning Homicide.
We get a recap of the mounting feud between Abyss and Bram and then Abyss cuts a promo inviting Bram to the Monster's Ball next week. Another package promoting the main event and it's break time.
Mike Tenay welcomes us back and proclaims that it's main event time. Christy Hemme affirms this fact and Aries is introduced as the competitor. Then Bobby Lashley lumbers out with the gold. It's go time.
TNA World Championship Match: Austin Aries vs. Bobby Lashley
Lashley's height advantage is noteworthy but Aries steps right up and begins the smack-talking in earnest. Lashley tosses him aside but A-Double is back up and he's all business. Aries avoids meeting Bobby's strength head-on, attacking with speed and skill. Interestingly, he gets Lashley on the ropes and it looks pretty darn convincing. It's a decidedly pro-Aries, crowd, too. Lashley slides out and Aries takes to the air but Bobby catches him and hits a belly-to-belly on the floor. Looks like a good time for some movie previews.
A few minutes later, champ and challenger are back in the ring. Lashley is giving it to Aries but A-Double isn't ready to quit. Bobby shows some of the power that has helped him look so good against heavyweights like Umaga in years past. To his credit, Aries is great at taking a beating, too. Lashley kicks AA around the ring area and puts him back in the ring. He applies some kind of abdominal squeeze to Aries who is laying on his side and Aries is able to stand and fight against it for a hot second but Lashley keeps up the pressure. Austin finally gets out of it with a bunch of elbows until Lashley reapplies a variation of the hold and the crowd responds with a chorus of boos. Aries breaks the hold by boxing Lashley's ears repeatedly and he looks like he's mounting a comeback until Lashley catches him with a gorilla press. They brawl some more and Aries lands some impressive offense, eventually tossing Lashley outside. This time, Aries connects from off the top, follows it up with a forearm and gets Lashley back in. AA maintains control, landing a stellar missile dropkick but he can't wrap this one up as Lashley powers back with a running power slam. Aries roars back again and locks in a submission move but Bobby won't tap. Lashley still manages to chuck Aries around almost without effort. Lashley misses a spear and Aries goes on the offensive again, landing a brain buster but Lashley kicks out. Up top again, Aries looks to put this one away. Lashley rolls out and AA goes for a suicide dive but hits the railing instead and collapses like a house of cards. Both men make it back in and as Aries is clearly on Dream Street, Bobby Lashley levels him with a spear and the three-count follows.
Result: Bobby Lashley defeats Austin Aries via pinfall to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Title.
We get the promo package for next week and TNA plays spoiler to themselves saying Dixie will eat particle board in just seven days. #ITHAPPENS Fade this one to black.
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