The 2014 Hardcore Justice (also known as ''Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice'') was a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
event produced by
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promo ...
(TNA). It took place on August 5, 2014, at the
Grand Ballroom
The Manhattan Center is a building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street, it houses Manhattan Center Studios, the location of two recording studios; its Grand Ballroom; and the Hammerstein Ballro ...
in
Midtown Manhattan,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. It was the tenth event under the
Hardcore Justice
Hardcore Justice, originally known as Hard Justice, is an annual professional wrestling Impact Plus event produced by Impact Wrestling. It was originally introduced as a pay-per-view (PPV) event held by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 20 ...
chronology and aired as a special edition of TNA's weekly broadcast of ''
Impact Wrestling'' on August 20, 2014.
Five
professional wrestling matches
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
were contested at the event. The main event was a
Six Sides of Steel match to determine the #1 contender for the
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result o ...
contested between
Bobby Roode,
Eric Young,
Gunner,
Austin Aries
Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to the Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion. He is best known for his ...
,
Magnus
Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
and
James Storm. Roode and Young simultaneously won the match to earn the title shot. On the
undercard
In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
,
Gail Kim
Gail Kim-Irvine (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she serves as a producer. In Impact Wrestling she was the inaugural and record setting seven-time Knockou ...
successfully defended the
Knockouts Championship against
Angelina Love
Lauren Williams (born September 13, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler She is best known for her time in TNA/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Angelina Love. She is currently signed with National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
Between ROH ...
in a
Last Knockout Standing match,
Mr. Anderson defeated
Samuel Shaw in an
"I Quit" match,
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AE ...
successfully defended the
X Division Championship against
Low Ki
Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestli ...
and
Bram
Bram may refer to:
People
* Bram (given name)
* Bram (surname)
* Bram (wrestler) (born 1986), ring name of professional wrestler Thomas Raymond Latimer
* Bram Tchaikovsky (born 1950), stage name of British musician Peter Bramall
* Bram Stoker Iris ...
defeated
Abyss
Abyss may refer to:
* Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld
Film and television
* ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film starring Asta Nielsen
* ''The Abyss'' (1988 film) (''L'Œuvre au noir''), a French- ...
in a
Stairway to Janice match.
Storylines
Mr. Anderson had been feuding with
Samuel Shaw earlier in the year as the two traded wins in a
steel cage match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
at
Lockdown
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
, a Straitjacket match on the April 3 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' and a Committed match at
Sacrifice. Shaw would then be sent into a psychiatric facility for intervention and was released from the facility on the June 26 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' under the supervision of Gunner, who helped Shaw throughout the duration.
The following week, on ''Impact Wrestling'', Shaw apologized to Anderson and
Christy Hemme
Christina Lee Hemme ( ; born October 28, 1980) is an American former professional wrestler, singer and model. She is best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling) as a ring announcer and one of the o ...
for his recent behavior.
On the August 7 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Gunner, Shaw and Anderson competed in a six-man tag team match against
The BroMans
The BroMans were an American professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), which consist of Jessie Godderz, Robbie E, and DJZ. They are two-time TNA World Tag Team Champions.
History
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
...
(
Robbie E
Robert Strauss (born October 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and manager. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand as a manager under the ring name Mr. Stone. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop A ...
,
Jessie Godderz
Jessie Godderz (born April 23, 1986), also known as Mr. PEC-Tacular, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He currently competes for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he is a former one-time OVW National Heavyweight Champion, one-time ...
and
DJ Z
Michael Paris (born October 5, 1986) is a American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Smackdown brand, under the ring name Joaquin Wilde. He is a member of Legado Del Fantasma.
Paris began his career in 2004, ...
), which the former trio lost and Anderson blamed Shaw for the loss.
On the August 14 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Shaw attacked Anderson during Anderson's match with Gunner,
which led to an
"I Quit" match between Anderson and Shaw at Hardcore Justice.
Magnus defeated
Willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
in a match at
Slammiversary XII
Slammiversary XII was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion. It took place on June 15, 2014 at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas and was the 12th anniversary ce ...
.
On the June 19 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Willow and
Abyss
Abyss may refer to:
* Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld
Film and television
* ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film starring Asta Nielsen
* ''The Abyss'' (1988 film) (''L'Œuvre au noir''), a French- ...
attacked
Bram
Bram may refer to:
People
* Bram (given name)
* Bram (surname)
* Bram (wrestler) (born 1986), ring name of professional wrestler Thomas Raymond Latimer
* Bram Tchaikovsky (born 1950), stage name of British musician Peter Bramall
* Bram Stoker Iris ...
and Magnus backstage after Bram and Magnus lost their
World Tag Team Championship
The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions.
Nomenclature
The name of the promo ...
match against
The Wolves. The following week, on ''Impact Wrestling'', Bram and Magnus defeated Abyss and Willow in a
Monster's Ball match
A Monster's Ball match is a professional wrestling, hardcore match staged by Impact Wrestling. Originally, the key premise of the match was that all contenders were sequestered alone in a locked room without light, food, or water for 24 hours befo ...
.
Abyss then disappeared from TNA for over a month until he returned to TNA on the July 24 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' by attacking Bram and Magnus after Bram and Magnus attacked Mr. Anderson and Gunner. On the August 7 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Bram defeated Abyss in a Monster's Ball match by using Janice.
On the August 14 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Abyss demanded that Bram return Janice to him and then Abyss challenged Bram to a
Stairway to Janice match at Hardcore Justice, which was later made official.
At Slammiversary XII,
Angelina Love
Lauren Williams (born September 13, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler She is best known for her time in TNA/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Angelina Love. She is currently signed with National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
Between ROH ...
defeated
Gail Kim
Gail Kim-Irvine (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she serves as a producer. In Impact Wrestling she was the inaugural and record setting seven-time Knockou ...
to retain the
Knockouts Championship.
On the July 3 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Kim defeated Love in a rematch to win the title.
Kim successfully defended the title against Love,
Madison Rayne
Ashley Nichole Lomberger (née Simmons; born February 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling under the ring name Madison Rayne, where she is also the coach of the women's division. She is best known ...
and
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
in a
four-way match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
on the following week's episode of ''Impact Wrestling''. On the July 24 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Love attacked Kim and
Taryn Terrell
Taryn Nicole Dryden (née Terrell; born December 28, 1985) is an American model, actress, stuntwoman, ring announcer, and a retired professional wrestler.
She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), under her real ...
during Kim's Knockouts Championship title defense against Terrell. On the August 14 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Kim successfully defended the title against Terrell, Love and Sky in a four-way match.
It was later announced that Kim would defend the title against Love in a
Last Knockout Standing match at Hardcore Justice.
At
Destination X,
Lashley successfully defended the
World Heavyweight Championship against
Austin Aries
Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to the Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion. He is best known for his ...
.
On the August 7 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Lashley,
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
and
Kenny King Kenneth, Ken or Kenny King may refer to: Ken King
* Ken King (born 1971), American politician and businessman
* Ken King (ice hockey) (1952–2020), Canadian sports executive
Kenneth King
* Kenneth George King or Jonathan King (born 1944), Englis ...
cut a promo about Lashley being the dominant champion who had beaten everyone until
Bobby Roode challenged him to a match to put the title on the line claiming that Lashley had never beaten Roode. Lashley, MVP and King attacked Roode until Aries and
Eric Young made the save.
On the August 14 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Lashley, MVP and King defeated Roode, Young and Aries in a six-man tag team match.
It was later announced that Young, Roode, Aries,
Magnus
Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
,
Gunner and
James Storm would compete in a
Six Sides of Steel match at Hardcore Justice to determine the #1 contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
At Destination X,
Low Ki
Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestli ...
,
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AE ...
and
Sanada Sanada is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Asami Sanada (born 1977), Japanese voice actress
*, Japanese shogi player
* Juzo Sanada (1923–1994), Japanese baseball player
* Hiroki Sanada (born 1984), Japanese basebal ...
won their respective three-way matches to qualify for a three-way match for the vacant
X Division Championship on the August 7 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', which Joe won.
On the August 14 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Ki defeated
Crazzy Steve
Steven Scott (born March 4, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler, currently signed with Impact Wrestling, under the ring name Crazzy Steve, where he is a former Impact World Tag Team Champion. He also wrestles on the independent circuit fo ...
,
Tigre Uno
Tigre Uno (born April 4, 1981) is a Mexican professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a one-time X Division Champion. Outside of the United States he is best known for his work in Luch ...
,
Manik,
Homicide and DJZ in a six-way elimination match to become the #1 contender for the X Division Championship at Hardcore Justice.
Event
Preliminary matches
The event kicked off with a
Stairway to Janice match between
Abyss
Abyss may refer to:
* Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld
Film and television
* ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film starring Asta Nielsen
* ''The Abyss'' (1988 film) (''L'Œuvre au noir''), a French- ...
and
Bram
Bram may refer to:
People
* Bram (given name)
* Bram (surname)
* Bram (wrestler) (born 1986), ring name of professional wrestler Thomas Raymond Latimer
* Bram Tchaikovsky (born 1950), stage name of British musician Peter Bramall
* Bram Stoker Iris ...
. Bram initially retrieved Janice by climbing the ladder but Abyss delivered a ''
Black Hole Slam'' to Bram onto the thumbtacks. Abyss got Janice but then Bram hit a
low blow to Abyss and hit him with Janice for the win.
Ethan Carter III,
Rhino
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
and
Rockstar Spud
James Michael Curtin (born 30 January 1983) is an English former professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE as a writer on Raw. During his time as an on screen performer in the company, he worked under the ring name Drake Maverick. ...
cut a promo where EC3 addressed his
aunt
An aunt is a woman who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Aunts who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. Known alternate terms include auntie or aunty. Children in other cultures and families may re ...
Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series ''Family Law'' (1999–2002). She was nomin ...
being put through a table by
Bully Ray a few weeks ago and held Rhino responsible for that which led to a confrontation between the two and then EC3 turned on Rhino by attacking him.
Next,
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AE ...
defended the
X Division Championship against
Low Ki
Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestli ...
. Joe tried to hit a
muscle buster
Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...
on Ki twice but Ki countered but then Joe managed to nail a muscle buster to Ki on his third attempt to retain the title.
Later,
Mr. Anderson took on
Samuel Shaw in an
"I Quit" match. They began brawling backstage while Anderson was being interviewed by
Jeremy Borash
Jeremy Borash (born July 19, 1974), is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator, announcer, ring announcer, booker, interviewer, and producer who is currently signed to WWE. He is known for his work in Impact Wrestling as ...
regarding his match against Shaw. After a back and forth match throughout the ringside area, Anderson forced Shaw to quit by crashing Shaw shoulder first into a ring post and applying an
armbar
An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that Anatomical terms of motion#General motion, hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow, elbow joint or glenohumeral joint, shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the ...
on Shaw. Anderson refused to release the hold until
Gunner forced Anderson to break the hold.
The penultimate match of the event was a
Last Knockout Standing match, in which
Gail Kim
Gail Kim-Irvine (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she serves as a producer. In Impact Wrestling she was the inaugural and record setting seven-time Knockou ...
defended the
Knockouts Championship against
Angelina Love
Lauren Williams (born September 13, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler She is best known for her time in TNA/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Angelina Love. She is currently signed with National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
Between ROH ...
. Sky interfered in the match on Love's behalf throughout the match until Kim grabbed Sky and tossed her into Love and then Kim knocked out Love by hitting a
Samoan drop
Samoan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean
** Something of, from, or related to Samoa, a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands
** Something of, from, ...
from the
top rope
Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a style in climbing in which the climber is securely attached to a rope which then passes up, through an anchor system at the top of the climb, and down to a belayer at the foot of the climb. The belayer takes ...
and Love was unable to get up before the referee's ten count, resulting in Kim retaining the Knockouts Championship.
Main event match
The main event match was a
Six Sides of Steel match between
Bobby Roode,
Eric Young,
Gunner,
Austin Aries
Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to the Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion. He is best known for his ...
,
Magnus
Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
and
James Storm to determine the #1 contender for the
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result o ...
. Roode and Young simultaneously escaped the cage and were declared the winners of the match.
Reception
This edition of Hardcore Justice marked the first episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' to air on Wednesday night. Due to moving from Thursday to Wednesday on one week notice, many fans were unaware of the change, the episode scored a 0.65 rating and was viewed by 852,000 viewers, making it the lowest rated and viewed ''Impact Wrestling'' episode since April 2010.
Aftermath
The controversial win of Bobby Roode and Eric Young led to the
Director of Wrestling Operations Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former collegiate wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Total Nonstop Action ...
making a match between Roode and Young to determine the #1 contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the September 3 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', which Roode won,
thus setting up a title match between Roode and Lashley at
No Surrender No Surrender may refer to:
Politics
* "No Surrender!", a British Unionist slogan originating from Siege of Derry now used in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England
*No Surrender (to the IRA), a political chant since used by England football fans
...
.
On the August 27 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Rhino competed against Ethan Carter III in a match, which EC3 lost via disqualification after Rockstar Spud attacked EC3.
On the September 10 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', EC3 defeated Rhino in a
New York City Street Fight to end the feud.
Results
References
{{TNAPPV, Hardcore Justice
Hardcore Justice
2014 in professional wrestling
Professional wrestling in New York City
August 2014 sports events in the United States
2014 in New York City
2014 American television episodes
2010s American television specials
Events in New York City