Attendance: 4,067 (58%)
Lance Bravado started off the show, by pushing his brother Harlem down to the ring in a wheelchair. Lance pushed the wheelchair into a corner, and patted Harlem's heavily banaged knee, causing his brother to grimmace in pain. Inside the ring, Lance said that he was mortified to see the destruction done to his brother's knee by Eddie Edwards last week. Lance said that Edwards possibly ended Harlem's career, and Edwards had the guts to stand by and watch Harlem get carted to the back. Lance said that Edwards should be ashamed of himself, because calling Edwards to the ring to "teach him a lesson".
Eddie Edwards wasted no time coming down to the ring, and said that Lance had no idea what he was talking about. Edwards said that he felt bad about the injury Harlem suffered, and that if it were either of them in his spot, they would've finished the match, too. Out of nowhere, Lance smacked Edwards across the face and took him down to the canvas! A referee ran down to the ring and attempted to break up the brawl, until REX BUTLER made his way onto the stage and demanded that that the match begin.
Lance Bravado defeated Eddie Edwards by countout in 0:17:09.
Rating: ** 3/4
With the two men already battling with each other, the referee quickly called for the bell, officially starting the match. Lance had a lot to prove, essentially fighting this battle for his injured brother. But Edwards - one-half of the current HWL Tag Team Champions - is not known for backing down from a fight. During the match, Kyle Johnson and John Ayres said that Edwards did what any other wrestler would have done in that situation: they would have honed in on the injury and used it to their advantage. Johnson said that there was no way for Edwards to know how serious the injury was until the match was over. As Johnson and Ayres continued to speculate, the match spilled outside the ring, where Harlem Bravado quickly found himself in danger. Edwards reversed Lance into the ringsteps, and stared at Harlem, before walking towards the wheelchair. Harlem recoiled as much as he could, while Edwards said that it wasn't his fault. The distraction gave Lance a chance to recover, connecting with a dropkick that sent Edwards crashing into the wheelchair, making it lean against the guardrail. Quickly, Lance set Harlem up before re-entering the ring, and complaining to the referee that it wasn't safe for his brother to be out there. John Ayres commented that it looked like Harlem had something in his hand, and when Edwards started to get to his feet, Harlem rocked him with a stiff right hand before sliding a pair of brass knuckles off his hand! Back in the ring, Lance backed away from the referee, allowing him to count Edwards out.
After the match, with the crowd voicing this displeasure, Lance slid out of the ring and pushed his brother up the ramp. On the stage, both men celebrated as the referee tended to Edwards outside the ring.
Kenny King defeated Mr. Anderson by disqualification in 0:12:40.
Rating: *
Both of these men came up short in their respective matches two weeks ago, and they came in looking to correct things tonight. Anderson - who was known for his shortcomings inside the ring during his latter days in the HWL - came out very strong tonight, giving the All-Night Express member a beating he surely won't forget. Anderson held control for a better part of the match, but the tide turned when he attempted a somersault slam, but King got his knees up to reverse the move. King quickly hit a DDT but only got a two-count. King argued with the referee about the speed of his count, and this allowed Anderson to roll him up, but King was able to kick out *just* before the three-count. Anderson shot to his feet and started arguing with the referee, before hitting him with a right hand. The referee fell to the canvas as Anderson turned his attention to King, attacking him on the canvas! Moments later, the referee got up and disqualified Anderson.
After the match, RHETT TITUS ran down to the ring, and fought Anderson off. Titus stood over his fallen partner, begging Anderson to get back into the ring. Anderson walked away as Johnson and Ayres wondered if Anderson was starting to show a different side.
Christopher Daniels pinned Hulk Hogan with the Best Moonsault Ever in 0:20:29.
Rating: ** 3/4
Daniels was coming into the match, hoping to overcome his loss to The Big Show last week, and he held the offense from the onset. But, facing "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan, no amount of offense can guarantee a victory. Hogan came back, after hitting a thumb to Daniels' eye, with the referee's back turned, and began to take over the match from there. Using every trick that he's learned over the decades in the business, Hogan kept on Daniels, and attempted The Big Leg Drop, only to have Daniels roll out of the way at the last second! Daniels started to slowly make a comeback, but both men started trading blows as time started to run out of the match. When the bell sounded, the referee let the match continue, giving Daniels just enough time to hit a spinning leg kick. Daniels jumped onto the turnbuckle and connected with the B.M.E for the 1-2-3.
LETHAL AND BRYAN ISSUE CHALLENGE
Before the night's main event, JAY LETHAL and DANIEL BRYAN come out to the ring, as Johnson and Ayres review the events that took place last week. In the ring, Bryan said that he questioned the motives of Beer Money last week, when they walked away - or better yet - were dragged away from their title defense against he and Lethal. Bryan said that, as Champions, Roode and Storm should know better than to claim to be the best, and then not come out and prove it. Bryan called them "hillbilly cowards", and challenged them to a rematch for the December 6th event. Bryan said that if it made Roode and Storm more likely to accept the challenge, that he and Lethal would even allow Beer Money to pick the kind of match it was. Bryan dropped the microphone, as he and Lethal awaited their opponents…
Jay Lethal & Daniel Bryan defeated Alberto Del Rio & David Otunga when D. Bryan defeated Del Rio by disqualification in 0:26:00.6
Rating:
[Roberto Rodriguez interfered against Daniel Bryan.]
Lethal and Bryan wanted to make a strong statement tonight, after issuing their challenge to the Tag Team Champions before the match, but Alberto Del Rio and David Otunga were not going to let them get an easy victory. This match went well over the time limit, but for the second straight match of the night, the referee allowed the match to continue. Del Rio and Otunga tried to find ways to put away Lethal and Bryan, even using Roberto Rodriguez as a distraction. As Jay Lethal and David Otunga were brawling outside the ring, Daniel Bryan was setting up to put Del Rio in the Lebell Lock, when Rodriguez reached in and tripped Bryan. The referee quickly called for the bell, as Bryan turned around and pointed at Roberto. From behind, Del Rio attacked Bryan, and things quickly got out of hand for the official.
As the refere tried to break up the fight between Del Rio and Byran, DAVID HART SMITH ran down to the ring and took out both Jay Lethal and David Otunga with a double clothesline to the concrete! Smith then made his way to the announce table, where he flipped it over, throwing monitors and chairs all over the ringside area. Smith continued his destruction, demanding that he be given a match next week. Moments later, Commissioner Rex Butler came out to the stage, and told Smith that if the destruction didn't stop, he'd be suspended on the spot. Butler said that there are rules that everyone has to follow - his rules - and that David Hart Smith was not above any of them. Butler said that he does have a match scheduled for Smith next week… and that his opponent would be Daniel Bryan! Butler walked off stage as Bryan and Smith stared at each other from across the ring.
Card rating: ***
