TNA Hard Justice (2009)
From Iwe
| Hard Justice (2009) | ||
 Promotional poster featuring Mick Foley | ||
| Theme song(s) | "Burn It Down" by F.I.L.T.H.E.E | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling | |
| Date | August 16, 2009 | |
| Attendance | 1,100 | |
| Venue | TNA Impact! Zone | |
| City | Orlando, Florida | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| Victory Road (2009) | Hard Justice (2009) | No Surrender (2009) |
| Hard Justice chronology | ||
| Hard Justice (2008) | Hard Justice (2009) | Hardcore Justice (2010) |
Hard Justice (2009) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion, which took place on August 16, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. Nine professional wrestling matches were featured on the event’s card.
The main event saw Matt Borske defending his TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Sting and Brandon Martin in a 3 – way match. Kevin Nash defeated Mick Foley to win the TNA Legends Championship. Other matches featured on the card included a |Falls Count Anywhere match and a singles match. In the first, The Main Event Mafia (Booker T & Scott Hunter) defeated Team 3D (Brother Harlan & Brother Scott) to retain the Tag Team championships. The second was for the TNA X Division Championship, in which Samoa Simpson defeated Homicide to win the championship.
The event featured the debut of D’Angelo Dinero in TNA, who had previously worked for the IWE. The event was released on DVD on October 20, 2009 by TNA Home Video.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Hard Justice featured nine professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or heroes in the scripted events that built tension and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.
The main feud heading into Hard Justice was between Matt Borske, Sting, and Brandon Martin over the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On TNA's primary television program TNA Impact! in the weeks leading to the event, Martin competed against K.J. Styles for a spot in the main event at Hard Justice. Martin won their contest and injured Styles in the process. Borske tried to trade Martin a spot in The Main Event Mafia in exchange for Martin making sure that Borske kept his title at the event. Sting had been attacked by Borske and The Main Event Mafia on Impact!, and his presence distracted Kevin Nash and Borske long enough for Mick Foley to win the TNA Legends Championship from Nash with the help of Bobby Ashley.
Another feud was between Mick Foley and Kevin Nash over the TNA Legends Championship. Foley had won the title from Nash in a tag team match with special stipulations that also involved Angle and Bobby Lashley. Foley and Nash then argued about whether wrestling was about the wrestling or the money, which heated up their emotions leading into the event.
A feud on the mid-card revolved around Rob Truax stealing Hernandez's Feast or Fired Briefcase which holds a title shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Their match at Hard Justice would be with the briefcase on the line. The final major feud heading into the event was between Abyss, Dr. Stevie, and Jethro Holliday. Dr. Stevie had offered $50,000 to anyone who could beat Abyss, and Holliday took up the offer and attacked Abyss with a steel chair while he was giving an interview on Impact!.
[edit] Reception
411mania.com writer Arnold Furious rated the event 4 out of 10 stars, which was lower than the 2008 event’s rating of 7.6 out of 10 stars. The main event for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship was rated a 1.5 out of 5 stars, while the Tag Team Match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship was rated a 2.5 out of 5 stars. Phil Alley, a journalist for United Kingdom newspaper, The Sun felt that overall, "the PPV did nothing to move storylines along or push any characters". He also stated that the TNA Legends title brawl was a “real blood bath” and that the Falls count anywhere match was "an arena-wide brawling that both teams excel at".
