TNA house show results
April 18, 2014
Concord, N.C.
Report by Jim H., PWTorch correspondent

I'd put attendance at 600-800. Attendance might have been a little better than the last time they were in Concord in March 2013, which ran opposite UNC playing in the NCAA basketball tournament. I didn't find it to be a very hot crowd.

The "Fist Pumping Pre-Show Party" they've been advertising consists of Rockstar Spud yelling incoherently into a megaphone while D.J. Z plays music from a booth to the side of the stage and wrestlers come out to various points on the arena floor to sign autographs. Gunner, Magnus, EC3, the Wolves, and the Bro-Mans were all signing at this point. People who purchased the VIP package got to go backstage for a meet and greet and photo-op with the lovely Madison Rayne.

At the start of the show, Jeremy Borash came out and did the usual bit where loud fans would get backstage passes. DJ Z interrupted him. DJ Z was only interested in letting ladies backstage and did not see any suitably hot ladies here in the cesspool of Concord, so no one should be allowed backstage. Mr. Anderson came down and purported to find some hot ladies in the audience (I wasn't so sure). Anderson, of course, believed that everyone should be able to go backstage all night long. And so a stipulation was proposed and accepted. If D.J. Z won, no one could go backstage. If Anderson won, people would be allowed backstage.

(1) Mr. Anderson beat D.J. Zema. After some stalling, Anderson put on D.J. Z's headphones, and music magically started playing. D.J. Z attacked Anderson while he was dancing. D.J. Z then put on the headphones and the music magically began playing again. He started dancing, but Anderson attacked him and hit the Mic Check for the pin, thereby preserving backstage access for one and all.

(2) KO champion Madison Rayne beat Gail Kim to retain the Knockouts Championship. Gail cut a promo congratulating Madison on becoming a mom, but telling her she should just go away to be a mom and forfeit the Knockouts championship. Madison grabbed the mic and defended the honor of moms everywhere. She then took the action to Gail. After a good five-minute match, Madison won with a spear.

Next was a street fight. Gunner was introduced as being from North Carolina and a former Marine. He had everyone stand up. They had handed out some small American flags. He thanked the veterans. He told us to get "wild and crazy" and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. We all joined Gunner in reciting the Pledge in as wild and crazy a fashion as is possible. Gunner then said he had brought a trash can full of weapons and we were going to have a Concord Street Fight. James Storm came out and they threw a bunch of weapons in the ring. Storm threw a trash can out of the ring and hit a security guard.

(3) Gunner beat James Storm in a Concord Street Fight. Early on, Gunner hit Storm with a half full cup of soda that ended up all over a number of people in the first couple rows. One lady in particular did not seem too happy about this. JB got a member of the ring crew to bring some paper towels to those fans who got the soda bath. The action continued. Some crazy old guy in the first row stood up and took off his shirt for reasons known only to him. They went back and forth some more. Storm got distracted by the crazy guy in the first row (who had put his shirt back on) and Gunner hit him over the head with a "Wet Floor" sign. Storm went for the Last Call, but Gunner blocked it and threw Storm head-first into the corner where he had previously placed a chair between the second and third turnbuckles. Gunner then hit his finisher for the pin.

(4) Samoa Joe beat Magnus 2-1 in a two-out-of-three falls match. Magnus attacked Joe with a steel chair before Joe could even get in the ring. He then rolled Joe into the ring and ordered the referee to ring the bell. Since this is TNA, the referee complied and Magnus covered Joe for the pin. They then had to observe a ten-second rest period between falls. Magnus tried for another cover, but Joe kicked out. Magnus tried at least five more times, but Joe kept kicking out. Magnus argued with the ref about the count. Magnus shoved the ref. The ref shoved Magnus back. Joe had snuck up behind Magnus and rolled him up for the pin. They then had a regular match for the third fall. Magnus hit the elbow off the top rope, but Joe kicked out. Joe won the decisive third fall by submission with the rear naked choke.

[Intermission. People who paid for the VIP package or who had received backstage passes got to go backstage to meet Bobby Roode, Gail Kim, Bully Ray, James Storm, Samoa Joe, and Mr. Anderson. Coming back from intermission, JB told the crowd something about the Charlotte area being overdue for a PPV, but I couldn't make out the rest of what he was saying.]

(5) The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) beat TNA tag champs Bro-Mans (Robbie E. & Jessie) via DQ; Bro-Mans retained the TNA Tag Titles. Lots of stalling early. The Bro-Mans decided to take a walk. Robbie E. got on the mic and asked if the crowd wanted them to leave. Everyone said yes. Robbie E. responded that if that is what we want, then the Bro-Mans are staying. Most of the match was pure comedy. But, as jaded as I am about wrestling "comedy," I have to admit that this stuff was actually pretty funny. The Wolves finally got serious and began taking it to the Bro-Mans. It looked like Davey had Jesse pinned, but the ref called for the bell and DQ'ed the Bro Mans. I couldn't really tell what happened from my vantage point, but it seemed like D.J. Z interfered in some fashion. After the match, the Wolves dragged D.J. Z back into the ring, but the Bro-Mans pulled him out before anything happened to him.

The main event was next. Rockstar Spud introduced EC3 and sang some sort of song (that sounded like Peter Frampton) to celebrate the EC3/Roode partnership. Bully Ray's music interrupted. He mocked the heels and introduced Willow. He also asked us what kind of match we wanted to see. While I voted for a Coal Miner's Glove Match, everyone else voted for a Tables Match and apparently that was enough to make the match a Tables Match.

(6) Bully Ray & Willow/Jeff Hardy beat Bobby Roode & ECIII (w/Rockstar Spud) in a Tables match. Roode avoided Bully in the early going. Whenever EC3 tried to tag Roode in, Roode retreated to the ramp and did jumping jacks and push-ups to "get ready for the match." Finally, things picked up. Willow and Bully hit the Wazzup on EC3 and then Bully told Willow to get the tables. But the action broke down and Bully and Roode fought outside while EC3 and Willow went at it in the ring. Willow hit two Twists of Fate on EC3 and set him up on the table for a Swanton, but Spud came into the ring and prevented this. Willow threw Spud outside. Roode came in and attacked Willow and went for the Roode Bomb through the table, but Bully made the save. Willow then hit the Twist of Fate on Roode and Bully powerbombed Roode through the table for the win.

Afterwards, Bully and Willow celebrated in the ring. They brought a kid into the ring and autographed a piece of the table for him. Then Bully left and Willow stayed in the ring to take pictures with fans. Overall, I thought this was a fun show. The wrestlers had a lot of energy and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Biggest Pops:

- Bully Ray
- Willow
- Gunner

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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