The Fight Network

This week's show kicks off with a video package recapping the events from last week, namely Abyss raining on EV2.0's parade and Raven turning on Tommy Dreamer. Tonight's episode of Impact bears the title There's No Place Like Home.

After the opening theme song and video, we go straight into an announcement of tonight's main event, which will be a tag team match with Abyss and Raven taking on Rob Van Dam and Dreamer. Taz also mentions that he saw some familiar faces backstage, so expect some surprise appearances tonight.

Tommy Dreamer heads out to the ring and immediately calls out Raven, who he says has some explaining to do. Raven comes out to the top of the entrance ramp, and Dreamer demands to know why Raven attacked him last week, knowing just how much Hardcore Justice means to him and to everyone else. Dreamer says that he and Raven are friends, he thought their former issues were behind them. Dreamer says that his own kids call Raven their Uncle Scotty (a name the audience immediately picks up on and begins to chant).

Raven responds that he and Dreamer have known each other for thirty years, but Raven will never forgive Dreamer for taking his girl (referring to Beulah McGillicutty). Raven says that Dreamer stole Beulah and married her, and that Dreamer's kids should have been his. Raven says that he's been waiting and biding his time for years, laughing at Dreamer's stupid jokes and listening to his insipid stories, knowing that eventually Dreamer would commit his heart and soul to something. Raven says that thing is Hardcore Justice, and now Raven can take the thing that means so much to Dreamer and shatter it into a million pieces. Raven says that Dreamer's kids shouldn't be calling him Uncle Scotty, they should be calling him daddy. Dreamer's heard enough and starts to head up the ramp towards Raven, who carries on, saying that at Hardcore Justice he's going to cripple Dreamer, then he's going to find Beulah and give her some Hardcore Justice of her own, then she'll be the one calling Raven her daddy.

Dreamer walks up to Raven and slugs him in the face with a right hand, then starts punching him on the ground. Abyss quickly comes out and attacks Dreamer from behind with some clubbing punches of his own. Abyss sets Dreamer up for a Chokeslam off the stage, but RVD comes out with a chair to make the save. He nails Abyss with a few chair shots to the back and stomach, fighting him off the stage towards the production area, and eventually backstage and out of sight. Back on the stage, Raven nails Dreamer with a DDT onto the steel and poses, but Mick Foley walks out behind him with a barbed wire bat in hand. Foley takes Raven out with a bat shot to the stomach, then picks up a microphone and announces that at Hardcore Justice we'll see the final showdown between Raven and Dreamer, and there will be a winner, because Foley is going to be the guest referee. Foley gives Raven one more taste of barbed wire to the forehead before walking to the back, leaving Raven twitching in pain.

Tonight! Beer Money will face off against the Motor City Machine Guns in match four of their Best of Five Series, and this time they'll be competing in an Ultimate X Match. Also, Ric Flair will take on Jay Lethal in a return match from Victory Road, and the powers that be have ruled that if any member of Fortune interferes in the match, Flair will be suspended for ninety days.

The Beautiful People's music starts to play, and Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich head out to the ring to defend their Knockouts Tag Team Titles, as we head to break.

[commercial break]

The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich) vs. Taylor Wilde and Hamada (TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship Match)

Hamada is greeted with a well deserved welcome back chant. Von Erich and Wilde start the match, and Lacey immediately makes the rookie mistake of turning her back on her opponent, allowing Wilde to catch her with a Schoolboy for a one count. Sky quickly gets involved from the apron by pulling Wilde down to the mat by her hair. Wilde takes a second to threaten Sky, which lets Von Erich hit her with a kick to the gut. Lacey goes for a Spinning Crescent Kick, but Wilde ducks under and takes Von Erich down with a nice Leg Sweep. Wilde comes off the ropes, but Von Erich scoops her up and hits a dodgy Fall Away Slam. Wilde makes a tag to Hamada, who comes in with some back chops and headbutts. Sky tries to take another cheap shot from the apron, but Hamada guillotines her across the top rope.

Lacey catches Hamada with some kind of wonky Jumping Spinning Knee Strike and covers her for two. Von Erich tags in Sky, and pins Hamada's arms behind her back so Sky can get a few free kicks in. Sky hits Hamada with a Snapmare and a kick to the back for another two. She tags Lacey back in and together the ram Hamada back-first into the turnbuckle a few times. Sky hits Hamada with a Clothesline before exiting the ring, allowing Von Erich to cover her for another two. For reasons that make sense only to her, Lacey does a pointless back flip then goes for a standing elbow drop, but Hamada rolls out of the way. Von Erich misses with a second elbow drop attempt, then takes forever to get up, as Hamada stands in place waiting for Lacey to hit her with a shot to the back... time stood still for that one.

Hamada comes back with another headbutt and tags in Wilde, who hits a Bridging German Suplex that Lacey completely messes up. The referee begins to count the pin attempt, despite Lacey lying on her side, with one shoulder off the mat- seriously, I haven't seen a knockout get exposed this badly since the time Awesome Kong fell out of her top during a Battle Royale. Sky breaks up the pin cover at two, Hamada comes in and drags Sky back to her corner, where she puts the boots to her. The Beautiful People both recover and whip the faces towards one another, but they counter by linking arms and doing a little do-si-do, the momentum allowing Hamada to nail Sky with a Yakuza Kick while Wilde takes down Von Erich with a Clothesline.

As the babyfaces go back to work on the champs, Madison Rayne comes out to watch the action from the stage, while her biker bodyguard is shown to have arrived at ringside on her motorcycle. Wilde and Hamada are distracted by the new arrivals, which allows the B.P.s to jump them from behind. Lacey and Wilde brawl to the outside, as in the ring Hamada and Sky run at each other and simultaneously grab handfuls of hair, resulting in both of them being slammed down to the mat. Sky fights Hamada into the corner and goes to slap her, but accidentally connects with referee Slick Johnson instead. Hamada and Sky fight to the outside and Wilde and Von Erich re-enter the ring, with the latter in control. Rayne's biker friend passes a chair to Lacey from ringside, but Wilde sends the chair into Von Erich's face with a Running Dropkick. She covers Von Erich, and despite the fact that the referee ends up laying on top of the chair, he ignores its presence and counts the pinfall- we have new champions, and thank god, they're actually talented!

Winners- Hamada and Taylor Wilde (Wilde over Lacey Von Erich by pinfall) to become the new TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions.

Rayne, Sky and biker girl are all visibly shocked at the loss. Taz points out how ridiculous it is that the referee ignored the chair in the ring, but then suggests that maybe he was still blinded or dazed by Velvet's slap. If you believe that, I have a bridge in Red Hook to sell you.

[commercial break]

Rob Terry vs. AJ Styles (with Kazarian) (TNA Television Championship Match)

As Terry makes his way down to the ring, we see a clip of how he squashed Kaz in their match last week. Referee Earl Hebnur allows Kazarian to join Styles in the ring before the match, but then abruptly orders him to return to the back. Styles and Kaz protest, but Terry takes things into his own hands, sending both of them reeling over the top rope to the outside with a Double Clothesline. Terry Press Slams Styles back into the ring and chases Kaz all the way up the ramp. As Terry turns back toward the ring Styles goes for some kind of Springboard manoeuvre, but Terry shoves him off the ropes down to the canvas. Styles recovers and comes off the ropes towards Terry, but the Freak levels him with a Standing Clothesline. Terry lifts Styles up with a Double-Hand Choke, then forces him into the corner and delivers a pair of hard shoulder thrusts to the midsection. Terry stands up with Styles still draped over one shoulder and walks around the ring a bit, before sending him to the mat with a Back Body Drop.

Terry charges at Styles in the corner and Styles tries to catch him coming in with a pair of boots, but Terry catches him by the ankles and swings Styles' legs back down, then nails him with a hard back elbow strike. Terry grabs Styles by the throat and starts choking him, forcing over the top rope and nearly out of the ring, before pulling Styles back in and throwing him halfway across the ring. Styles tries to come back with some back chops and punches, which Terry no-sells, before finally getting the upper hand with a thumb to the eye. Terry recovers fast, throwing Styles forcefully into the corner and grabbing him in a rear waistlock. Styles blocks whatever throw Terry had in mind by grabbing Hebnur, then kicks backward to deliver a low blow to Terry out of Hebnur's line of sight. With Terry stunned, Styles quickly capitalizes with the Pele kick, followed by a Springboard 450 Splash to pick up the win.

Winner- AJ Styles by pinfall to retain the TNA Television Championship.

Kazarian returns to the ring to celebrate with Styles after the match, but when they see Terry close to recovering, they beat a hasty retreat. All considered, that was probably Terry's best match to date, as they did a great job hiding his weaknesses and emphasizing the things he actually does well.

From there, we go to a video package wherein Kurt Angle discusses his decision to rise through the Rankings System to earn a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship the hard way. Angle says that he wants to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's the greatest wrestler on the planet by doing something no one else has ever done. He says that this isn't about ego, but about him being forty one years old, and testing himself to prove that he's still the best. Angle says that he won't lose because he's not ready to retire, because wrestling is his life and his livelihood. He says no man will stop him in his quest to climb back to the top, not Mister Anderson, Styles, Jeff Hardy or even Abyss.

In another video package allegedly shot earlier today, Jay Lethal discusses his rivalry with Ric Flair. He says he can't believe he beat Flair at Victory Road, with Flair's own finishing move no less. Lethal says that he was recently on a promotional tour in India with Angle, and Angle told him he needed to do something to prove to the world that he's not a little boy anymore, but a real man. Lethal says as he's about to go into tonight's Street Fight with Flair he's sure it's a set up of some kind, but he's taking Angle's advice- Lethal's going to leave the boy he once was at home tonight, and in the Street Fight he's going to bring the man.

[commercial break]

We return with a video hyping next week's "pay-per-view quality" Impact, which has been dubbed The Whole F'n Show.

Backstage, trainers are in the middle of trying to separate Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky, as they try their hardest to claw one another's eyes out. Lacey Von Erich tries to get in the middle to calm things down, but Sky inadvertently shoves her into an equipment case. Sky screams that Rayne cost her the Knockout Tag Team Titles, and says that she hates Rayne, and she can kiss her ass. Sky suddenly realizes what she did to Von Erich and rushes to her side, apologizing and telling someone to call an ambulance (which is a bit of an overreaction, really).

Back in the heart of the Impact Zone, Beer Money and the Motor City Machineguns make their way to the ring for their Ultimate X match. A clip airs of the finish of last week's cage match between the two teams, which saw James Storm accidentally break a beer bottle over Robert Roode's head. The two teams meet in the ring, but before the match gets underway, Roode has something to say. Roode saus that it's no secret that Beer Money and the Guns don't like each other, but the fact is they've redefined tag team wrestling and taken things to a whole new level over the last several weeks. Roode acknowledges that the Guns are a great team, but says that he and Storm have had one goal since day one, and that's to be the best team in the world. He says the only way to be the best is to be the TNA World Tag Team Champions, and therefore they're not just going to beat the Guns in their own match tonight, he and Storm are also going to become four time tag team champions.

Chris Sabin responds that he and Alex Shelley already are the TNA World Tag Team Champions, and those belts prove that they already are the best (which the crowd echoes with  a "best in the world" chant). Sabin says they chose an Ultimate X Match tonight for a reason, because Ultimate X is the Guns' world, it's what they do. He says the only way Beer Money are going to get the Tag Team Championship is if they pry the belts from the Guns' cold, dead fingers. With that said, Roode says that it's time to stop talking and do it. The two teams continue to stare each other down as we go to break.

[commercial break]

Beer Money Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) vs. The Motor City Machineguns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) (Ultimate X Match, match four in a Best of Five Series)

For this match, the usual Ultimate X cables are set up about ten feet over the ring, with steel girders crossing the ring about four feet above that. As the bell rings, the Guns both quickly try to climb the ropes, but Beer Money catch them from behind. Roode and Storm both miss Clotheslines in the corners, and the Guns both come back with a pair of Clotheslines of their own. Roode and Storm are both thrown to the outside, and the Guns follow them out with tandem Springboard Cross Body Presses. The Guns head back into the ring and Sabin goes for the hanging X, with Shelley running interference. Shelley manages to keep Roode from entering the ring, but Storm gets in behind him and pulls Sabin back down. Storm whips Sabin into the ropes, but Sabin ducks a Clothesline and uses Shelley's back as a step to deliver a Running Elevated Dropkick that takes Roode off the apron and down to the floor.

The Guns hit Storm with a combination Drop Toe Hold/Bulldog, and Shelley catches Roode coming back in with a Drop Toe Hold onto Storm. With Beer Money still stacked up, Shelley slaps on a brilliant submission hold that sees him put Storm in an Arm-Trap Crossface, while sandwiching Roode between them and holding him in a Leg Bar. Sabin goes for the X again, but Roode elbows his way out of Shelley's hold, and he and Storm pull Sabin back down to the mat again. Beer Money hit Sabin with a Double Choke Spinebuster into the corner, as Shelley tries to go for the X behind their backs. Beer Money catch him in time, and Roode pulls Shelley down into an Inverted Atomic Drop. He and Storm follow up with a great combination Catapult/DDT. They briefly argue over who should climb up to go after the X, with Storm using the excuse that he's been drinking.

Roode slowly climbs up to the top rope as Shelley lures Storm into the corner, then holds him in place for a Running Back Elbow Strike from Sabin. The Guns manage to crotch Roode on the turnbuckle, then deliver a combination Leaping Enzuigiri/Reverse STO that sends Sabin face-first into the middle turnbuckle below Roode. Shelley pulls Roode down into the Tree of Woe in front of Storm, and Sabin nails Roode with a Hesitation Dropkick that drives his head back into Storm's crotch. The kick also reopens the cut on Roode's head from last week's match, and he starts to bleed through the large bandage on his forehead. With Roode still in the Tree of Woe, Shelley climbs up and stands on his groin, a la Petey Williams. Sabin pulls Roode down into a Waistlock as Shelley makes another play for the X, but Roode reverses the hold and shoves Sabin into a boot from Storm.

Roode hits Sabin with a Backdrop Suplex, then helps Storm pull Shelley down to their level again. Beer Money go for the DWI, but Shelley kicks Storm off and delivers some standing knee strikes to Roode's face. Shelley attempts the Shiranui , but Roode throws him off, and Storm catches Shelley with a brutal Backstabber. Roode and Storm hit Shelley with a Double Suplex, followed by the Beer! Money! cheer, which the crowd pops for. Sabin heads up to the top rope, but Roode catches him with a hard right hand that sends him down to the floor. Storm and Roode double team Shelley with Clotheslines in the corner, then Storm sets him up for a Frankensteiner as Roode goes after the X. Shelley reverses Storm's move into an Inverted Atomic Drop off the top rope, then pulls Roode back down. He hits Roode with a Spinning Back Kick to the midsection, followed by an insane Elevated DDT that spikes Roode right on the top of his head.

Shelley heads to the top rope, Storm charges at him, and Shelley leaps over Storm to deliver a Diving Double Stomp to Roode. Shelley heads up top again, Storm meets him  halfway, but Shelley rakes Storm's eyes and goes for the X. Storm recovers fast and yanks Shelley back down, then delivers the unnamed move he hit last week, which is essentially a Kryptonite Crunch spun into a Cutter. Sabin reappears and goes after the X, but as Storm climbs to the top rope to meet him, Sabin reverses direction and hits Storm with a beautiful Super Frankensteiner. Sabin makes it back to his feet, but turns around and walks into a "Double R" Spinebuster from Roode (thanks to Mike Tenay for that one). Roode goes for the X again, but this time he stands on Storm's shoulders, as Storm tries to walk him over to the middle of the ring.

The Guns cut Storm off with stereo roundhouse kicks to his chest and back, then pull Roode down on top of his partner. The crowd is chanting "this is awesome," which I agree with whole heartedly. Shelley follows Storm out to the apron and hits him with another Spinning Back Kick to the gut, followed by an amazing Standing Shiranui onto the apron. In the ring, Roode climbs to the very top of the steel  structure, using the girders overhead to walk the hanging cables like a tightrope. Sabin goes hand-over-hand across the cable from the other side of the ring, meeting Roode in the very middle. Sabin manages to kick Roode's legs out from under him, causing Roode to crotch himself on the cable. Roode falls to the ring as Sabin unhooks the X, pulling it down to win the match and even up the series two to two. Another incredible match, this entire series has been a must-see.

Winners- The Motor City Machineguns.

Backstage, Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan and Miss Tessmacher are seen heading towards the ring, to make a few announcements about next week's Whole F'n Show.

[commercial break]

We come back with a music video hyping Hardcore Justice, set to the Tech N9ne song "Riot Maker". The video offers comments from almost everyone involved in the EV2.0 angle, including Tommy Dreamer, Dixie Carter, Rhino, Mick Foley, Al Snow, Stevie Richards and Rob Van Dam. In their own words, they all put over just how much this one last show means to them, and how it's their opportunity to go out in style, while saying thank you to the fans that supported them all these years.

Back live(ish), Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Ms. Tessmacher make their way out to the ring. The fans go crazy for Hogan, who spends some time posing for them, something Bischoff says never gets old. Bischoff proceeds to announce the card for the Whole F'n Show next week; first of all, he says that Abyss may have gotten his way last week by forcing Bischoff to book him in a "Stairway to Janice Match" (awful) against RVD for the TNA World Heavyweight Title, but Hogan has a surprise for him, because in that match Bischoff will be the special guest referee. I smell a screw job. Also next week will be the finals of the Best of Five series with the Motor City Machineguns defending their TNA World Tag Team Championship against Beer Money; AJ Styles will face off against Kurt Angle (presumably in a non-title match; Madison Rayne will defend the TNA Women's Knockout Championship against Angelina Love; Jeff Hardy has issued an open challenge to anyone in the wrestling world; and finally, Mister Anderson will face Matt Morgan and D'Angelo Dinero in three-way match.

Bischoff's announcements are cut off by the arrival of Kevin Nash, who enters the ring with a pissed off look on his face. Nash says that he finally gets to meet with Bischoff and Hogan face to face, but when he was listening to Bischoff's crap backstage, once again he didn't hear his own name mentioned. Hogan tells Nash to open his eyes and see that it's time for guys like them and Jeff Jarrett to step aside, because their time is over. Hogan says that it's guys like Jay Lethal, Styles, the Guns and Beer Money who will take professional wrestling into the next decade.

Hogan says it's up to guys like him and Nash to pass the torch, to keep helping out but with no more conning for pay cheques, no more minimum effort for maximum money, because the time for backstage politics and games is over. Nash points out the ludicrousness of Hogan talking to him about backstage politics. Bischoff butts in, saying that Nash's entire career has been about politics, cliques (or Kliqs) and manipulation. Nash responds by asking Bischoff if he's ever noticed how sometimes you meet someone you just shouldn't mess with, then adds that Nash is that guy.

Nash grabs Bischoff and throws him into the corner, then goes after Hogan, but the Hulkster quickly takes control with a series of right hands. Nash gets the upper hand by kicking Hogan in the jewels, then starts to hammer at him in the corner with knee strikes and back elbows. Nash brings a chair into the ring and threatens to Jackknife Powerbomb Hogan onto the steel (as if either of them were even capable of that at this point). Bischoff tries to save Hogan, but Nash just shoves him down. Nash goes to hit Hogan with the chair, but Jeff Jarrett runs out to make a more effective save.

Jarrett goes after Nash with a flurry of punches, but then OH FUCK ALL THE WAY OFF. Sting comes out through the crowd, with red face paint on, and proceeds to attack Jarrett with his bat. Sting hands the bat over to Nash, who uses it on Jarrett as Sting nails Hogan with the chair. So there you go- months of built up, leading up to the because-no one-demanded-it return of the nWo Wolfpack...because you know, that run with The Band a few months ago went so fucking well. And oh, it gets better- since Bischoff was barely touched in all of this, I'd bet dollars to Timbits that he turns out to be on Nash and Sting's side, and that they're Abyss' "They". Fan-fucking-tastic.

[commercial break]

When we come back, Christy Hemme approaches Sting and Kevin Nash backstage and asks them about their alliance, but they both walk off without saying a word.

Orlando Jordan vs. D'Angelo Dinero

OJ comes out sucking on a lollypop, which he rubs on his nipple before handing it off to a disgusted So Cal Val. That was stupid and pointless, but almost worth it to hear Tazz and his Brooklyn accent say the word "areoler". At the bell, OJ starts sucking on his finger then tries to touch Dinero with it, but the Pope shoves him down on his ass. They tie up and OJ gets a Rear Waistlock Takedown, but the Pope reverses into a Rear Waistlock of his own. OJ backs the Pope into the corner, but instead of trying to break the hold he starts grinding up against Dinero, who again shoves him away in disgust. The trade punches with OJ getting the better of the exchange.

OJ stomps at Dinero then hits him with a few knee drops and some punches from the mount. Eric Young suddenly runs out and starts miming that he's swimming in the fake money that rained down during Dinero's entrance. Young starts shoving the fake bills down his pants and into his mouth, and throwing some to the fans in the front row. OJ gets distracted by Young's odd behaviour and yells at him to get the hell out of there, but this allows Dinero to come back with a Clothesline, an Inverted Atomic Drop and a Back Body Drop. Finally, the Pope delivers the DDE and a Sit-Out Rear Mat Slam off the second rope for the fast win.

Winner- D'Angelo Dinero by pinfall.

Dinero starts to celebrate after the match, but Matt Morgan comes out through the crowd and attacks him with a kick from behind, followed by a Clothesline. Mister Anderson runs out with a chair in hand to make the save, chasing Morgan out of the ring. Dinero is less than grateful, and he and Anderson start to argue. Anderson throws the chair out of the ring, but all of a sudden the dick security guards from last week, Murphy and Gunner come out to get in Anderson's face. Dinero just walks to the back, as Murphy and Gunner continue to argue with Anderson for no apparent reason.

Backstage, Christy Hemme has found a more talkative interviewee, namely Ric Flair. Flair reminds Hemme of his recent boast that any woman who's lucky enough to feel his caress ends up crazed for life, and tells her that she's about to be categorized herself. Flair says that he's ready for his Street Fight, he's taken off his Hall of Fame ring and his Rolex watch, though he's still wearing an expensive silk suit, fancy shoes and an alligator belt. Flair says that he's a wresting God God GOD, the greatest of all time, and tonight Jay Lethal is going to die. Whoo!

[commercial break]

Jay Lethal vs. Ric Flair (Street Fight)

Before the match, we see a clip of Lethal forcing Flair to tap out at Victory Road. Flair plays dirty from the get go with a thumb to the eye. He quickly tears open Lethal's tank top and delivers some Knife-Edge Chops, followed by a pair of low blows. Flair heads to the outside to grab some weapons which he tosses into the ring, but Lethal rolls out as well and crawls under the ring. Flair climbs back in, unaware of where Lethal went, which allows Lethal to crawl back out behind him. Lethal nails Flair with a Springboard Missile Dropkick, then tears off Flair's jacket and shirt and delivers some chops of his own. Lethal hits Flair with a Back Body Drop and a hard Singapore Cane shot that looked to be right to the forehead- I hope that was actually a shot to the shoulder and it was just an ambiguous camera angle, because an unprotected shot to the head that hard would be utterly unconscionable.

Either way, Flair blades off the shot, and as blood starts to flow down his face Lethal punishes him with more chops in the corner. Lethal hits Flair with the corner Ten Punch, and though the Nature Boy comes out swinging, he ends up doing the Flair Flop to the canvas. The camera suddenly cuts away to show that Douglas Williams has come down to watch the match from ringside. In the ring, Lethal hits Flair with a baking sheet and rips open the back of Flair's pants, revealing his multicolour briefs underneath. Lethal pulls off Flair's belt and uses it to whip the Nature Boy, before stripping his pants completely off, leaving Flair wearing nothing but his briefs, one sock and one shoe. Flair comes back with a kick to the midsection and the two men trade chops. Flair tries to hit Lethal with a trash can, but Lethal blocks it and pulls the can away, using it to hit Flair instead, leading to another Flair Flop. Flair catches Lethal with a thumb to the eye, but he's absolutely covered in blood by this point; the camera gets a great shot of Williams watching stoically from ringside, with a few flecks of Flair's blood splashed on his face.

Flair heads up top but Lethal cuts him off with another shot from the baking sheet. Lethal hits Flair with a top rope Superplex and goes for the pin, but he's pulled out of the ring by Williams at two. Williams takes a swing at Lethal, but Lethal ducks and clocks the X Division Champion with a haymaker of his own. Lethal heads back into the ring and up to the top rope, catching Flair with a Diving Sunset Flip. Lethal ends up pulling Flair's briefs down in the back, and as Flair spins around trying to escape, the entire audience is exposed to the sight of his sixty one year old ass (us television viewers are spared by the miracle of pixilation). As referee Earl Hebnur tries to pull Flair's briefs back up, Williams nails Lethal with the X Division title belt. Flair limps over and covers Lethal; though Lethal manages to get his foot on the bottom rope, Williams shoves it off before the referee can see it, and Flair gets the three count.

Winner- Ric Flair by pinfall.

Backstage, Abyss and Raven are seen heading towards the ring, with Janice and a Singapore cane in hand.

[commercial break]

When we return, Christy Hemme is with Rob Van Dam. Hemme brings up the matches RVD has scheduled for tonight, for Sunday and for next Thursday, and RVD quips that the way she puts it, he doesn't want to be in his own boots right now. RVD says that he's taking things one night at a time, starting with tonight when he tags with his long-time friend Tommy Dreamer. He says that he's looking forward to things with Abyss coming to a head next week, but tonight all he's focusing on is his tag team match. RVD says that he's excited to show the fans what they want to see tonight, and after that he's going to focus on Hardcore Justice. Suddenly, Jerry Lynn(!) walks over, to RVD and Hemme's obvious surprise. Lynn says that he's already focused on the main event of Hardcore Justice, because he and RVD are going to tear it up one more time. Bitchin'!

Abyss and Raven vs. Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer

As RVD and Dreamer make their way down to the ring, Abyss and Raven run back up the ramp to meet them, and all four men start to brawl. Abyss throws Dreamer into the ring, but Dreamer catches him coming through the ropes with a knee lift. RVD sprints down the ramp and vaults over the ropes onto Abyss, and lays in some quick right hands. Dreamer Suplexes RVD onto Abyss, but Raven enters the ring now, catching Dreamer with a Chop Block. We end up with Abyss and Dreamer as the legal men as the match officially starts. Abyss hammers away at Dreamer in the corner with clubbing punches, then nails him with a Body Avalanche. He tags in Raven, who comes in with a hand towel which he blows his nose on, then rubs in Dreamer's face. Dreamer comes back with some punches, but Raven cuts him odd with a knee lift, and claws at Dreamer's face. Raven tosses Dreamer out of the ring so Abyss can get in a few cheap punches before throwing him back in, which gets Raven a two count.

Raven tags Abyss back in, who no-sells some punches from Dreamer and hits him with a big knee to the gut and a Scoop Slam for two. Abyss misses a charge in the corner, Raven makes a blind tag and Dreamer manages to tag in RVD. RVD hits Raven with a pair of Clotheslines and a Superkick, then takes out Abyss on the apron with a Baseball Slide to the legs. RVD goes back after Raven with a Zohan kick and Rolling Thunder, but Abyss breaks up the subsequent cover. Dreamer comes in as well and Abyss tries to hit him and RVD with a double Chokeslam, but the babyfaces kick him off and knock Abyss over the top rope with a Double Clothesline. With Abyss momentarily neutralized, Dreamer nails Raven with a DDT and RVD finishes him off with the Five Star Frog Splash.

Winners- Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam (RVD over Raven by pinfall).

Dreamer and RVD start to celebrate, but Abyss immediately attacks them both from behind. Abyss nails RVD with a Chokeslam and tries to do the same to Dreamer, but Stevie Richards runs out to try to make the save. Abyss blocks the Stevie Kick and takes Richards out with a Clothesline, but Rhino is out next. Rhino lays into Abyss with some hard punches and sets him up for the Gore, but Abyss catches him coming in with a Big Boot. Team 3D runs out and hit Abyss with a Double Shoulder Block, then stalk him for the 3D. Raven comes back in with a chair and makes the save by nailing both of Team 3D with chair shots. The lights suddenly go out, and when they come back on there's a new face in the ring- the Sandman! The Sandman uses his ever-present Singapore cane to beat the bejesus out of Raven and Abyss, chasing them out of the ring. As the other members of EV2.0 recover, Mick Foley comes down to the ring, followed by Pat Kenney, Al Snow and Jerry Lynn, who bring out a cooler full of beer to celebrate.

The show ends with one last video hyping Hardcore Justice, and a video recap of the card for The Whole F'n Show... looks like it's going to be an interesting week for TNA fans.