By: Dave LeClair
A Heist of Epic Proportions
Battle of the Belts picked up immediately after Collision ended, with Starks snatching the trophy from Liger and running to the back, presumably because he knew he cheated. Punk is then shown interacting with fans, looking extremely dejected from the defeat.
Orange Cassidy vs. Lance Archer
The Orange Cassidy gauntlet of ridiculous title defenses continues with the champ taking on Lance Archer. Archer destroyed the ringside security during the match, which led to a fun spot where Orange piled the guards on top of Archer. This didn’t hold Archer down, as he quickly monstered his way out of the pile and took control of Orange Cassidy, leading to a PiP break. During the break, a “Jake the Snake” chant echoed through the arena, making the legend happy. Jake got involved in the match, but Orange thwarted his efforts. After some chicanery, Orange slid into the ring just in time to get Archer counted out.
The Acclaimed
The Acclaimed came out and did their bit. The rap wasn’t anything special, but it made me chuckle. Daddy Ass cut a promo wherein he said he would scissor everyone in the crowd, which the crowd loved. Bowens said they would get a rematch for the Trios titles on Collision next week. They all scissored (including Tony Schiavone), and everyone was happy.
Taya Valkyrie vs. Toni Storm
Both competitors made their entrances, with Storm being accompanied by Ruby Soho. The two had a back-and-forth match, with both getting plenty of offense before a picture-in-picture commercial break. When they came back, Valkyrie hit a huge hip attack that seemed like it could be the finish, but Storm kicked out.
The feed cut out here, so I’m unsure what happened for the next few minutes. It came back after the match ended. When the feed came back, they never told us who won, but I have to assume Storm retained the title (they told us what happened later in the show).
Trophy Presentation
Everything returned in time to see Tony Schiavone introduce the tournament winners, Dr. Martha Hart and Tony Khan. Hart spoke and thanked everyone, including the Owen Hart Foundation. She mentioned that tournament ended in Owen’s hometown.
She told both winners to carry the belts and chalices with pride because, from now on, they’ll represent the kingdom of Owen Hart. Both Nightingale and Starks picked up their belts and posed with Dr. Hart.
Luchasaurus Defends Against Shawn Spears
Say what you will about Spears, but his entrance is cool, making him feel like a star. Spears was rocking some all-white contacts, further enhancing his look. Christian came out to his song next, carrying the TNT Championship before the music was cut off in favor of the Luchasaurus theme.
Scorpio Sky was shown in the back watching the match, implying he might be next in line for the title. At the start of the match, they revealed that a storm caused an outage and that Toni Storm retained the title.
Luchasaurus dominated the early part of the match before a PiP commercial. During the break, Christan booted Spears in the gut, giving the dinosaur an even larger advantage.
When they came back from the break, Spears had the advantage. He was quickly distracted by Christain Cage, allowing the prehistoric pugilist to put Shawn Spears through a table with a chokeslam. He dragged Spears back into the ring as Christan commanded Luchasaurus to finish him. Spears counted a chokeslam with a pin. After Luchasaurus kicked out, he landed a chokeslam, but Spears survived. Christian set up a chair, but it backfired, and Luchasaurus was slammed into it. Despite this, Luchasaurus hit a massive lariat to the back of Spears’ head for the finish.
After the match, Luchasaurus held Cage on his shoulder while Cage raised the title above his head. They then showed a quick highlight of the end of the Storm match before cutting to Scorpio Sky in the back one last time.
