SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
TNA Impact Wrestling Report
December 29, 2016
Aired on Pop TV
By Mike McMahon, PWTorch Contributor (@MikeMcMahonPW)
— Impact opens with a video of the Hardy family around the holidays. Matt Hardy sings his Twelve Days of Deletion song, which is a take on the Twelve Days of Christmas, of course. Matt said he had a premonition and later tonight, he and Reby would learn if their new baby is a boy or girl. Matt said before they find that out, he must close the book on 2016 with Brother Nero.
– Clips of ECIII vs. Matt Hardy in the finals of the World Title Series for the TNA World Hvt. Title is shown (Jan. 5).
(McMahon’s Analysis: I’ll admit, it was strange seeing Matt Hardy before he was broken. What’s the correct term for that? Fixed Matt Hardy? Unbroken? This was also before he was “iconic” in the early portion of 2016 before becoming broken.
It makes sense for TNA to highlight Matt Hardy for most of this episode. He has been the epicenter of the company for more than one year, going back to Bound For Glory in 2015. Besides, the show is revolving around the Hardy Christmas segments).
— Back at the Hardy house, Senor Benjamin beats Vanguard 1 in a game of chess. Matt said 2016 was a wondrous year. Reby and Maxel are excited to learn the gender of their new child. Matt said that Jeff’s wondrous present is in the Dome of Deletion, and he wants everyone to meet him over there.
Matt and Senor Benjamin are shown walking to the Dome of Deletion. Vanguard 1 crashes. Matt picks it up and asks if Vanguard 1 has been indulging in Senor Benjamin’s drink. Senor Benjamin denies it, despite Matt saying the drone smelled of alcohol. Matt walked away as Senor Benjamin yelled at Vanguard 1 to “get it together.”
— Clips of ECIII vs. Matt Hardy in a last man standing match for the TNA World Hvt. Title is shown (Jan. 19).
— Matt and Senor Benjamin approach Jeff’s house. They knock on the door but there is no answer. Matt tells Vanguard 1 to sweep the property and seek out Brother Nero. Vanguard 1 locates Jeff in his Willow costume. Matt gets to a shack and tells Willow he needs Brother Nero, but Itchweeed comes to the window. Matt said he needs Brother Nero, and Itchweeed said he would summon him.
— Clips of Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy in an I Quit match are shown (April 19).
— Clips of Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy in a Full Metal Mayhem match from Slammiversary are shown.
– Clips of Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy in the Final Deletion are shown (July 5).
— Inside the Dome of Deletion, Matt and Jeff walk in. Matt walks Jeff up to the broken table, where they signed the contract for their Slammiversary match. Jeff said they needed to put the past in the past. Matt said he had a premonition that if he put Jeff through that table, it would set off a chain of events. According to Matt, the Seven Deities told him this would happen. Matt said he took everything from Jeff. Matt said Jeff is still his obsolete mule. Matt said that Jeff grew back stronger after being deleted, and Jeff seemed to agree. Jeff said that he will do whatever Matt wants him to do tonight. Matt said he was giving Jeff a cross, and told him to carry the broken table on his back to Matt’s desired location.
— It’s not night, and Jeff is following Matt with the table in the woods. Matt tells Jeff to roll the obsolete table top into a pit of garbage. Matt said he has grown Brother Nero into a warrior, btu every day he knows Jeff struggles with being broken. Matt said Jeff is a man with many identities. Matt said he has decided that Jeff has repaid his debt in full and has fulfilled his odyssey. Matt said Jeff helped him win the tag titles, but more importantly, Jeff helped him save the land of deletion. Matt said he is giving back to Jeff his personality and his intellectual property. Matt said if Jeff wants to be the charismatic enigma, he has his blessing.
Matt grabbed Vanguard 1 and told the Seven Deities to restore Brother Nero. … Matt said that as Brother Nero’s deleter, he releases him. Matt told the Seven Deities that the table must be rendered obsolete. Matt then lit the table on fire. Matt and Jeff yell, “delete!” and “obsolete!” at the table as it burns.
(McMahon’s Analysis: Honestly, that was a sweet little segment. It felt like the feel-good ending to a movie when Matt told Jeff that he has repaid his debt.)
— Clips of Delete or Decay are shown (Sept. 8).
— Clips of The Great War (Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. Decay) from Bound For Glory are shown.
— Back at the Hardy Compound, Matt tells Jeff that in a short amount of time, the Seven Deities will reveal the gender of his latest offspring. Jeff said it doesn’t matter. If he has a girl, he’ll have a king and a queen, and if he has a boy, he’ll have a reincarnation of the Hardy brothers. Matt said, “May the Seven Deities be with us all.”
— Clips of Tag Team Apocolypto are shown (Dec. 15).
— Back in Cameron, Matt said he has a stupendous premonition. Matt said the Seven Deities will reveal the child’s gender on the volcano in a matter of seconds. He tells Jeff to record it, because he doesn’t know how it will be revealed.
Just then, blue smoke erupts from the volcano. Matt and Reby celebrate. Matt said the next generation of the Hardys are here. Jeff hugs Matt and Reby. Matt said another king is coming to the throne. Matt said they must now strap Impact to their back and carry it to the top of pro wrestling. Matt told Vanguard 1 he can be the baby’s godfather.
Matt said that he and Jeff carved the path, and now there are two more Hardys who will carry that legacy forward.
Final Thoughts: This was much more than just a generic clip show. It was fun to re-live all of the crazy Broken Matt stuff from this year, and the segments actually had some storyline value, with Matt releasing Brother Nero from his debt and the gender of the Hardy’s baby being revealed. Most look-back episodes are generic and boring, but this was actually fun given the crazy story Broken Matt has been this year.
Nice tidy collection of Broken Matt highlights. 🙂