Hard Justice Preview & Predictions

Hard Justice comes to us live this Sunday from the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey.  TNA has been promoting this as their hardcore pay-per-view as four of the seven matches feature a hardcore type gimmick.  On top of the seven matches scheduled, there will be a musical performance from hip hop artists F.I.L.T.H.E.E., Grandmaster Caz and Ice-T.  Here is the complete rundown of the card.

- Samoa Joe vs. Booker T (Six Sides of Steel Weapons Match for the TNA World Championship)
- AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle (Last Man Standing Match)
- The LAX vs. Beer Money, Inc. (TNA Tag Team Championship)
- Christian Cage & Rhino vs. Team 3D (Jersey Street Fight)
- Petey Williams vs. Consequences Creed (X Division Title)
- Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt (Black Tie Brawl n’ Chain Match)
- Taylor Wilde/Gail Kim/ODB vs. The Beautiful People & Awesome Kong

Samoa Joe vs. Booker T (Six Sides of Steel Weapons Match for the TNA World Championship)
Samoa Joe wasn’t satisfied how his last match against Booker T ended at Victory Road.  Booker left with the World title after Joe was clobbered by Sting and Booker’s wife, Sharmell, made the three count.  Of course, Joe is still the champion, but he wanted to beat Booker in the middle of the ring and challenged him to cage match.  Booker accepted the challenge but also wanted weapons added to the mix.

Aside from Booker, Samoa Joe has also been on the lookout for Sting ever since he attacked him from behind at Victory Road.  Samoa Joe has been seeing signs of him, such as his signature black bat and a crow up in the rafters, but Sting himself wasn’t actually seen until the closing moments of Impact this past Thursday, as he was staring down at Joe from the rafters.

Much like last month, I don’t really see Booker T walking out of this match as the World Champion.  Samoa Joe will beat him within the confines of the weapons-filled steel cage and get his title back as he promised.  As far as Sting goes, I have read that he is opposed to turning heel, which isn’t a big surprise considering his demeanor and as he is in the late stages of his career.  My guess is that his heel turn is a swerve and he turns against Booker when it is all said and done, so all of the little Stingers can rejoice that their hero is still on their side.

Starman’s Prediction: Samoa Joe to retain the World Championship and take his belt back.

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle (Last Man Standing Match)
Kurt Angle still has his targets set on AJ Styles over the acquisitions of Styles sleeping with Angle’s wife, Karen.  These two have been on opposite sides of the ring over the past two pay-per-views, with each getting a pin fall victory over the other.  The third match between these two will be in the form of a Last Man Standing match, probably the one gimmick match on this pay-per-view that makes sense and that I am looking forward to.

This could very well be the match of the night for Hard Justice as these are two of the very best in the ring.  Seeing as this is the rubber match between the two, I think that AJ Styles should pick up the win here to help elevate him by defeating a top guy.  However, with Frank Trigg in Angle’s corner, I feel that he will be a deciding factor in this one, thus allowing Angle to steal the win.

Starman’s Prediction: Kurt Angle to win.

The LAX vs. Beer Money, Inc. (TNA Tag Team Championship)
After losing the Fan’s Revenge Strap Match for the tag titles at Victory Road, Beer Money, with an assist from Team 3D, defeated the team of Christian Cage & Rhino to once again become the #1 contenders for the tag team straps.   Team 3D then helped soften up Beer Money’s opposition this past Thursday as they sent Homicide crashing through a glass table on Impact.

Prior to Thursday, I already had the LAX pegged to once again walk away with the gold in this match.  After seeing the glass table bit, my mind has changed and my mind is now telling me that Beer Money will be the ones leaving New Jersey with the gold.  Plus, when was the last time the fans actually saw a legit title change at a TNA pay-per-view?  No counting the LAX winning the tag team title in a tournament at Sacrifice in May, it was Samoa Joe’s victory over Kurt Angle at Lockdown in April.

Starman’s Prediction: Beer Money, Inc. to win the TNA Tag Team Championship.

Christian Cage & Rhino vs. Team 3D (Jersey Street Fight)
Not only has Team 3D given Rhino a concussion and driven Christian Cage through a glass table, but they also cost the team a chance to face the LAX for the TNA Tag Team Championships when they interfered in their #1 contenders match against Beer Money, Inc.  After the interference, an irate Cage challenged Team 3D to a Jersey Street Fight to see who finally ends who, which was a challenge that Team 3D readily accepted.

If TNA is trying to gain hardcore wrestling fans of by billing Hard Justice as the most hardcore pay-per-view of the year, this match shouldn’t disappoint them.  Team 3D and Rhino both have a history of hardcore wrestling and Cage is no slouch in that department either.  Seeing as Team 3D has been a thorn in the side of Cage & Rhino, I feel that it is time for them to come out on top for once.  Plus, if the rumors I have read about Team 3D being on the way out are true, this one should be a no-brainer.

Starman’s Prediction: Christian Cage & Rhino to come out on top.

Petey Williams vs. Consequences Creed (X Division Title)
A couple of weeks on Impact, Consequences Creed pulled out an upset victory over Petey Williams in a non-title match.  Later, Jim Cornette announced that the two would face each other again at Hard Justice where the X Division title will be on the line.  For once, there isn’t a gimmick or stipulation tied to this match and we will be treated to a plain old wrestling match between two great young stars for the X Division title.

These two had a great television match on Impact full of counters, reversals and near falls.  I don’t expect their second meeting to be anything less than spectacular as they will give the Last Man Standing match a run for its money as a match of the night.  I don’t think Creed will have enough to pull out a second upset over Williams, though, and will come up short in his attempt to capture singles gold in TNA.

Starman’s Prediction: Petey Williams to retain the X Division title.

Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt (Black Tie Brawl n’ Chain Match)
After interrupting the wedding ceremony between Jay Lethal and SoCal Val, Sonjay Dutt and Lethal met in a one-on-one grudge match at Victory Road.  Dutt, who has professed his love for Val, won that contest with a roll up pin fall while using the ropes for leverage.  These two former friends will meet again in a Black Tie Brawl n’ Chain match.

I really have no idea what a Black Tie Brawl n’ Chain match will all entail and I’m guessing that whatever it is will take away from the actual match and make this one to quickly forget.  I’m still waiting for the time to come where SoCal Val finally turns on Jay Lethal and wouldn’t be surprised that it happens shortly after he picks up a victory over Dutt to even the score.

Starman’s Prediction: Jay Lethal to win the match.

Taylor Wilde/Gail Kim/ODB vs. the Beautiful People & Awesome Kong
All of these women have some sort of history with each other.  Awesome Kong has some unfinished business with Taylor Wilde after losing the Knockout Championship to her.  The Beautiful People gave Wilde the brown bag treatment recently after she defeated Velvet Sky in the ring three times in a row.  Gail Kim and Angelina Love have been at each other for over a month now and ODB has a history with Awesome Kong.  The six have joined sides to face each other in a six-woman Knockout tag team match.

This match could go either way in my opinion.  Wilde, Kim and ODB have been on a roll as of late while there has been nothing but disappointment for the team on the other side.  Seeing as there is no title involved, this will probably be an opportunity for Kong to extract some revenge on Wilde as the team of beauty and the beast pick up the win.

Starman’s Prediction: The Beautiful People & Awesome Kong to win the match.

With my preview and predictions in the books, I want to say that I personally do not like the fact that Hard Justice is being billed as a themed pay-per-view.  I believe that one themed pay-per-view per year, that being Lockdown, is sufficient enough.  Not only that, but why exactly is this the most hardcore show of the year?  Is it because of the street fight, a brawl n’ chain match and the weapons-filled cage match?  How is that different from say Destination X, which featured an Elevation X match, a fish market street fight and a strap match?  Isn’t that just as “hardcore” as Hard Justice is?  To me, it just seems like a bunch of gimmick matches that takes away from what really matters – the actual match itself.

Aside from the Last Man Standing match, which I feel fits in regards to the Angle/Styles feud, the rest of the matches could have done without their stipulations.  I could have also handled a cage match between Samoa Joe and Booker T, but does it really need to have weapons inside of it?  Wouldn’t a cage have been enough on its own?

I’ll end my rant there.

Without the gimmicks, the Hard Justice card wouldn’t have been that bad.  As is usually the case, some of the matches didn’t get nearly enough attention over the past few weeks, if any at all, but there are some solid feuds and solid matches going into the event to make up for the few that are lacking.  What’s even more surprising is that there are two title matches that are being contested a gimmick-free environment.  I will at least give them some credit for doing that.

This event is probably geared more towards hardcore TNA fans than hardcore wrestling fans.  I don’t think that TNA will win over any hardcore wrestling fans with this pay-per-view as the Jersey Street Fight may be the only match that may appeal to their liking.  With that said, Hard Justice would have faired better without all of the match stipulations, but there could potentially be some great matches in there once you get passed the hardcore aspect of it.

As always, Gerweck.net will be providing live coverage of Hard Justice starting at 8:00 EST.