Hard Justice (2008)
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| Hard Justice (2008) | |
|---|---|
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| Promotion | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling |
| Date | August 10, 2008 |
| City | Trenton, New Jersey |
| Venue | Sovereign Bank Arena |
| Tagline(s) | TNA's most hardcore pay-per-view of the year |
Hard Justice (2008) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and took place on August 10, 2008 at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey. It was the fourth annual Hard Justice event. Seven professional wrestling matches, performances with pre-determined outcomes between wrestlers with fictional personalities that are portrayed as real, were featured on the event's card. The buildup to the matches and the scenarios that took place before, during, and after the event were planned by TNA's script writers.
The event featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The first was a Six Sides of Steel Weapons match, a sixteen foot high steel cage with six sides filled with different types of weapons, for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship between Samoa Joe (Joe Seanoa) and Booker T (Booker Huffman). The champion, Joe won by pinfall after crashing a guitar over Booker T's head. The other main event was a Last Man Standing match, where a wrestler that fails to stand up on two feet before a count of ten loses the contest, between A.J. Styles (Allen Lloyd Jones) and Kurt Angle. Two featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard, both being Tag Team matches. The first was between Team 3D (Brother Ray [Mark LoMonaco] and Brother Devon [Devon Hughes]), and Christian Cage (Jason Reso) and Rhino (Terry Gerin) in a New Jersey Street Fight. The second being for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, where The Latin American X-Change (Homicide [Nelson Erazo] and Hernandez [Shawn Hernandez]) defended the titles against Beer Money, Inc (Robert Roode and James Storm [James Allan Black]).
Background
The main feud, a predetermined rivalry, heading into Hard Justice was between Samoa Joe (Joe Seanoa) and Booker T (Booker Huffman), with the two fighting over the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. At Victory Road, Joe defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Booker T, in Booker T's hometown of Houston, Texas. The match went to a staged no-contest, a decision which means that there is no winner or loser in the contest; this meant Joe retained the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, Joe began a staged attack on security, referees, and Booker T, which caused Sting (Steve Borden), as part of the storyline, to enter the arena and to try and calm Joe down. Instead Joe gave Sting the middle finger and turned his back to continue his attack on Booker T, who was kayfabe bleeding from the forehead and laying on his back in the middle of the ring. This was followed by Sting hitting Joe in the back and the gut with a baseball bat, and then allowing Booker T to cover Joe. Booker T's wife (Sharmell [Sharmell Sullivan]) counted the pinfall, because referee Rudy Charles (Daniel Engler) had earlier in the match began a scripted unconscious role. Booker T and Sharmell then left the arena with the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 17 edition of TNA Impact!, Management Director Jim Cornette (James Cornette), a on-screen Authority figure that that is portrayed as a match maker and rules enforcer, demanded that Booker T give the TNA World Heavyweight Championship back to the rightful champion, Joe. After Booker T and Cornette had a staged argument, Cornette announced that at Hard Justice, Joe and Booker T would have another one on one encounter to determine the true champion. Afterwards, Joe entered the arena and declined Cornette's offer for Booker T to give him his belt back, because he didn't feel that he deserved it, in storyline, since he was pinned by Booker T at Victory Road. Joe stated to Booker T to keep the belt until Hard Justice when he takes it back, though Joe was still recognized as the official champion. On the following Impact!, that aired on July 24, Joe challenged Booker T to contest their championship match at Hard Justice insides Six Sides of Steel, a sixteen foot high steel structure with six sides. Followed by Booker T entering the Impact! Zone, the arena which TNA tapes Impact! in, and making a challenge of his own, to add a extra stipulation to the match. For storyline purposes, Booker T wanted to add weapons to the match, like tables, ladders, and chairs. Joe accepted his terms, while Booker T agreed to Joe's.
The predominate, secondary main match, feud heading into Hard Justice is between Kurt Angle and A.J. Styles (Allen Lloyd Jones). Their feud began before Slammiversary, when Angle and Styles entered a scripted physical attack during a episode of Impact!. The attack was later revealed to have been motivated by Angle believing that Styles and his wife, Karen Angle, were romantically involved, in storyline. Angle and Styles later fought at Slammiversary, and in a 6-man Tag Team match with Team 3D (Brother Ray [Mark LoMonaco] and Brother Devon [Devon Hughes]), Christian Cage (Jason Reso) and Rhino (Terry Gerin) at Victory Road. On the July 31 edition of Impact!, while Styles was standing in the middle of a darkened ring, Angle entered and waited for the lights to come back on. When the darkness was lifted, Angle grabbed Styles and performed three Olympic Slams in succession. Later Styles issued a challenge to Angle for Hard Justice, and it was later announced that the match would be a Last Man Standing match.
One of two featured matches on the undercard is a scripted Tag Team match between two teams: Team 3D and Christian Cage and Rhino. Their long ongoing feud began in May at Sacrifice, when Cage and Rhino fought Team 3D in The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament. During the match, Ray hit Rhino over the head with a kendo stick, which allowed Devon to cover him for the three count. Their feud continued with Cage and Rhino helping to protect The Latin American X-Change's (Homicide [Nelson Erazo] and Hernandez [Shawn Hernandez]) (LAX) manager, Hector Guerrero (Hector Manuel Guerrero Llanes), from attacks by Team 3D. Whom Team 3D were feuding with at the time over the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Leading up to Victory Road, staged attacks took place between Team 3D and Cage and Rhino. In one instance, Team 3D powerbombed Cage through a glass table on a episode of Impact!. After Victory Road, on the July 31 edition of Impact!, in a match pitting Cage and Rhino against Beer Money, Inc (James Storm [James Allan Black] and Robert Roode), Team 3D interfered and performed the Dudley Death Drop (3D) on Rhino, which allowed Roode to cover him for the pinfall. After the match, Cage challenged Team 3D to a New Jersey Street Fight at Hard Justice. Followed by Team 3D accepting the challenge, later the match was made official between the two teams to take place at Hard Justice.
The other featured match on the undercard is the encounter between the teams of LAX and Beer Money, Inc for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. At Victory Road, LAX successfully defended the World Tag Team Championship against Beer Money in a "Fan's Revenge" Lumberjack Strap match, a match where chosen fans in attendance are placed around the ring and given a strap to whip whoever falls outside the ring. On the July 17 edition of Impact!, Beer Money began a staged assault on a planted fan, a person that is internally placed in the audience to take part in staged segments that are meant to gain negative reactions from the fans, in what they called "Beer Money" Revenge. The attacks continued each week on Impact!, going as far as to assault LAX's manager. On the July 24 edition of Impact! after a strap match with The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin [Joshua Harter] Alex Shelley [Patrick Martin]) (MCMG), another scripted assault took place with Beer Money whipping MCMG with straps until LAX came to MCMG's defence. On the July 31 edition of Impact!, Beer Money defeated Cage and Rhino in a number one contendership match to the World Tag Team Championship, because of their victory gained a chance to fight LAX at Hard Justice.
Results
| # | Matches | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petey Williams (c) (managed by Rhaka Khan) defeated Consequences Creed | Standard match for the TNA X Division Championship |
| 2 | Gail Kim, Taylor Wilde and O.D.B. defeated Awesome Kong (managed by Raisha Saeed) and The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky and Angelina Love) | Six-Woman tag team match |
| 3 | Beer Money Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) (managed by Jacqueline) defeated The Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) (managed by Hector Guerrero and Salinas) (c) | Tag team match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship |
| 4 | Jay Lethal defeated Sonjay Dutt | Black Tie Brawl and Chain Match |
| 5 | Christian Cage and Rhino defeated Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) | New Jersey Street Fight |
| 6 | A.J. Styles defeated Kurt Angle | Last Man Standing match |
| 7 | Samoa Joe (c) defeated Booker T (managed by Sharmell) | Six Sides of Steel Weapons match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship |