TNA One Night Only - World Cup 2014 Review

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Eddie Edwards (Team Young) def. James Storm (Team Roode)

Edwards has potential as a singles star, but he's been branded as a tag team guy since joining TNA and thus this felt like a mismatch. Storm is awesome on his own, but it wasn't an interesting matchup because Edwards isn't exciting without Davey Richards in his corner. They had a decent match, but never found a rythm before ending prematurely. It was a nice win for Edwards, but it didn't pack the punch it should have considering Storm is a former world champion.


Gail Kim (Team EC3) def. Madison Rayne (Team Angle)

These two have history and work well together, so I was glad to see them paired up. They worked another very good match here, but it was strange to see Kim work as a heel since she's been a face on TV for months (a common issue of taping these events years in advance). That aside, I enjoyed the match even if it wasn't much different than any of their past encounters.

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The BroMans (Team EC3) def. Mr. Anderson and Sanada (Team Angle)

I hate The BroMans with a passion, so that probably played a part in my disdain for this match. As big of an Anderson fan that I am, his comedy wasn't funny and the Sanada dance was both stereotypical and stupid. This comes at a time when he's trying to get over as a force to be reckoned with on TV. It was the most personality he showed as a babyface, sure, but it was terrible timing considering he's a heel at the moment. The match was hardly memorable and an example of sports entertainment at its worst.


Team Eric Young (Team Young) def. Team Bobby Roode (Team Roode)

This would have been a great match if Roode wasn't a babyface at the moment. Only days before watching this, I saw Roode and Young hugging it out on Impact Wrestling. And now I'm supposed to believe they're enemies? I know this was taped months ago, but it took me out of the moment and prevented me from getting invested in it. It also doesn't help that they've had a million matches this year and this was more of the same, even though it was very well wrestled.


Kurt Angle (Team Angle) def. Magnus (Team EC3)

I question the logic to put the two biggest matches on the show (Captain vs. Captain) back-to-back. The bait-and-switch tactic with EC3 backing out was weak, but in a way, it makes total sense. Dixie Carter, who had power at the time, could've taken him out and it kept their feud alive. Magnus was a perfect replacement because he and Angle have great chemistry and the two had the best match on the show up to this point. Magnus, I think, is often tainted by his awful world championship reign earlier this year that he isn't taken seriously by some, but I hope this match changed people's perception of him as a competitor.


Angelina Love (Team Roode) def. Angelina Love (Team Young)

You think TNA would've met their quota for stupid sports entertainment in the first tag match of the night. Apparently not. Their failed attempt at comedy went over like a fart in church and was not entertaining in the slightest. It was a step back for women's wrestling, especially after the good match between Rayne and Kim earlier in the evening. The biggest shame of all is that ODB and Love are both decent enough wrestlers that they could have a passable bout, but all the asinine humor completely overshadowed anything they did in the ring.


Ethan Carter III (Team EC3) def. Davey Richards (Team Angle)

I expected this to be as tame as the opener once since Richards hasn't worked as a singles star much since the start of the year, but that wasn't the case at all. He and EC3 had a very fun match that easily exceeded expectations. Could Richards have the brighter future in singles competition when The Wolves eventually split? I was glad that EC3 scored a clean victory for once and Richards looked strong in defeat.


Bully Ray and Gunner (Team Young) def. Kenny King and Sam Shaw (Team Roode)

Similar to Roode vs. Young, this match suffered from storyline consistency. Gunner and Shaw are currently allies on TV, yet they were opponents here. It's nitpicking, I know, but it makes a major difference when it comes to my enjoyment of the match. It was a mediocre match anyway but that aspect of it killed it for me, personally. Ray and Gunner made for an interesting combo, but I'm so over the Shaw character that I have no desire to see him wrestling. It ran its course months ago and now it's just overstaying its welcome.


Team Young def. Team EC3 in an Elimination Match to Win the 2014 World Cup

The action wasn't atrocious, but it was far from enjoyable. The elimiantions felt rushed and all the nonsense involving the Knockouts set the women's movement back about one hundred years. Everything else that occurred from that point forward was forgettable. The final few minutes were well done with Young overcoming the odds against Magnus and EC3, so I'll give them that, but that was the sole saving grace of this contest.


Overall Show

The One Night Only events are usually inconsequential, but this was definitely the worst one I've seen in some time. The World Cup brand name was pointless since the teams were separated by countries or nations this time around. Most of the matches were meaningless and the commentary, as always, was extremely obnoxious. If they treat these shows like they don't matter, why bother doing them at all? Needless to say, don't waste your time or money watching this show.