TNA One Night Only - Tag Team Tournament Review

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Generation Me def. Petey Williams and Sonjay Dutt in a Wild Card Play-in Match

It was quite the coincidence that TNA used the old Hardy Boyz entrance music for the Generation Me video package, as comparisons are often made between the two tandems. Unlike Generation Me, Williams and Dutt aren't an established tag team, but rather two X-Division guys who were randomly thrown together. That being said, they have nice chemistry together and worked a nice match with Generation Me. It was cool to see Generation Me back in TNA (albeit for one night only, no pun intended) for the first time in two and a half years, as they bring a lot to tag team wrestling. They won the crowd over throughout the match and I was glad to see them advance to the tournament's quarterfinals.


Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco def. Hot Shots in a Wild Card Play-in Match

Just when you think the Aces and Eights are gone for good, they are back at One Night Only. Oh, great. For those unaware, this show was taped back in March 2013, so I understand why they were here, but is it really necessary to feature the Aces and Eights on every single One Night Only event? Brisco and Bischoff are terrible in the ring, but at least the Hot Shots brought them to a fine match. I hadn't seen the Hot Shots work prior to this match, so it is a shame that they didn't advance, but a mediocre team in Bischoff and Brisco did. TNA loves to shove the Aces and Eights down our throats, don't they?

---

Bobby Roode and Austin Aries def. Douglas Williams and Rob Terry in a Quarterfinals Match

It has been a while since we last saw Roode and Aries team on TNA TV, so I forgot just how fun the two are together as a tandem. I have also always been a huge fan of the British Invasion, so it was cool to see Williams and Terry reunite (even if they were missing Magnus). The match featured more entertaining antics from the heels than it did actual wrestling, but I enjoyed it for what it was. You had to know Aries and Roode were going over here considering they are both former world champs and Terry and Williams haven't been on TV TV in the longest time.


Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez def. Bad Influence in a Quarterfinals Match

These two teams have worked with each other plenty of times in the past, so this match was more of the same. Similar to the previous match, there were some humorous antics early on from Bad Influence before having a decent match with Hernandez and Chavo. I hate to see Chavo and Hernandez advance, only because Bad Influence are a much better tag team than they are. Hernandez and Chavo are a stereotypical pairing and the fans couldn't care less about them, while Bad Influence continue to be one of the most entertaining acts in all of wrestling today.


Samoa Joe and Magnus def. Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco in a Quarterfinals Match

As previously stated, Bischoff and Brisco are god awful in the ring, but at least Magnus and Joe carried them to a good match. Magnus and Joe were one of my favorite tag teams in 2012, so it was a joy to see them pair up again. They have such natural chemistry together, so I am happy to see them advance over the Aces and Eights. Bonus points go to Joe for selling his leg injury throughout the bout, so at least a simple yet effective story was told.


Team 3D def. Generation Me in a Quarterfinals Match

This was by far the best match on this show up to this point. Needless to say, Team 3D are one of the greatest tag teams in the history of pro wrestling, so Generation Me had a tough task of going up against them. Despite that, they put up one hell of a fight and there were several points in the matchup down the stretch that I thought they were going to win. The final few minutes were exciting and I only wish it could have gone on a bit longer. Generation Me lost nothing in defeat (especially since they already competed earlier in the evening) and Bully Ray's post-match promo was gold.


Bobby Roode and Austin Aries def. Samoa Joe and Magnus in a Semifinals Match

Given how all four of these competitors are great workers, I expected a better match out of them. Perhaps it was just me, but I simply couldn't get into the action. There was a lot of good wrestling, don't get me wrong, but it was somewhat a letdown for this viewer. I was also disappointed to see Aries and Roode advance, as I thought Joe and Magnus should have been the ones going to the finals.


Team 3D def. Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez in a Semifinals Match

It was a solid matchup, but definitely a step down from Team 3D's previous match against Generation Me. Chavo and Hernandez are good in the ring and all, but their terrible gimmick makes it so difficult to get behind them as a team. The live crowd appeared to feel the same way, as they remained silent when they initially entered and didn't rally behind them during the bout. The finish seemed rather random, but I was glad to see Team 3D advance.


Team 3D def. Bobby Roode and Austin Aries in the Finals

I was initially skeptical of how this match would play out considering both teams are heel, but it actually ended up exceeding expectations. The pre-match promos from Bully Ray and Aries were entertaining and established Aries and Roode as the fan favorites, despite the fact they worked as heels in their prior two matches. I confused as to whether this was a no disqualification match or not with both teams using foreign objects during the bout, as that was never made clear, but it made the match more interesting. I have no argument with Team 3D going over, as they definitely were the best tag team that took part in the tournament. It was funny seeing the crowd rush for the exit as soon as the match concluded, as I assume this show was the last one in long night of tapings.


Overall Show

I had high hopes for this show going into it after seeing the teams that would be participating in the tournament, but it definitely wasn't anything special. Most if not all of the matches were well wrestled, but the dead live crowd made it difficult to get engaged in the action. If anything, you should go out of your way to watch the main event as well as the excellent match between Team 3D and Generation Me. Aside from that, unless you are a huge fan of tag team wrestling, then it is safe to say that this event is worth skipping.