Hardcore Justice 2012: Aries-Roode and the BFG Series Give the Card Real Weight

Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez faced Gunner and Kid Kash in the opening tag match of Hardcore Justice 2012, with the experienced Guerrero taking most of the early punishment. Gunner and Kash sent Hernandez outside and kept Guerrero away from a tag with quick exchanges, corner strikes and a series of two-counts. Guerrero finally broke their rhythm with a headscissors and reached Hernandez, whose size changed the pace. Hernandez launched his opponents around the ring with hip tosses and shoulder blocks, then dove over the top rope to knock Gunner down outside.

With the nonlegal opponent away from the finish, Hernandez returned through the ropes and drove Kid Kash into the canvas. Guerrero followed with a frog splash and pinned Kash for the win, keeping the outcome clearly tied to a coordinated team finish rather than a countout or an unrecorded participant. The B- (7.2) values the final tag comeback and Guerrero arrival on TNA pay-per-view, although the match had no title stake. Gunner and Kash were the losing legal team; Hernandez assisted the deciding move without being the wrestler credited with the pin.

Rob Van Dam, Magnus and Mr. Anderson contested a Falls Count Anywhere Bound for Glory Series match that had originally been advertised with D’Angelo Dinero as a fourth participant. Dinero did not compete after Aces & Eights attacked him backstage before his entrance, so the actual in-ring contest had three wrestlers. Magnus and Anderson repeatedly tried to neutralize Van Dam near the barricades and stage, where the stipulation allowed a legal pin without returning to the ring. Anderson earned an early ringside near fall and Magnus attacked Van Dam knee before applying a Texas Cloverleaf on the entrance ramp.

Van Dam avoided elimination, leapt from the ramp onto Anderson over the barricade and eventually kicked a steel chair into Magnus face on the stage. He covered Magnus on the stage for the victory and gained the Bound for Glory Series points. The B (7.6) reflects a varied venue-wide brawl with a direct finish, while the missing advertised wrestler reduces the four-way billing to an actual three-person result. Dinero is not an official participant to add retrospectively.

Devon defended the Television Championship against Kazarian, who was already one-half of the tag champions. Kazarian stalled and tried to leave the ring to blunt Devon power advantage, then gained control by choking him against the ropes and interrupting his comeback. Devon answered with a diving headbutt, corner attacks and a neckbreaker that nearly finished the challenger. Kazarian slipped into a tight rollup for another close count, showing that the shorter title match could still be decided by a sudden reversal rather than a long sequence of holds.

Kazarian tried to set up Fade to Black, but Devon blocked it and caught him with a big slam for the final pin. Devon retained the Television Championship; Kazarian did not lose his tag-team half of the different title because that championship was not on the line. The C+ (6.8) is a fair grade for a compact, mostly straightforward defense with a recognized counter to the challenger intended finisher. The route identity needs to keep the match as singles title defense rather than the larger bound-for-glory tournament bouts occurring elsewhere on the show.

Miss Tessmacher defended the Knockouts Championship against Madison Rayne, with referee Earl Hebner part of a preexisting angle that raised questions about how impartial the count would be. Tessmacher took early control through a rollup and later a top-rope elbow, but Rayne interrupted her momentum with a bridge suplex and eye rake. Their back-and-forth exchanges repeatedly put the challenger near a fall, while Tessmacher sought to preserve the title she had won at Slammiversary earlier in the summer. The relatively short bout made the officiating issue especially important to the result.

Tessmacher argued with Hebner after a near fall and turned toward him; Rayne caught her from behind in a rollup, braced herself against the ropes for extra leverage and received the three count. Rayne became the new Knockouts Champion, with Tessmacher protesting the decision afterward. The C (6.2) recognizes a clear title change but limited competitive development before another controversy-assisted finish. This was the opposite of their Slammiversary result, and it is not accurate to call it a clean retention by Tessmacher.

Bully Ray, James Storm, Jeff Hardy and Robbie E met in a Bound for Glory Series tables match, where putting an opponent through a table produced the points rather than earning a pin. Ray dominated stretches of the fight and repeatedly positioned tables, while Storm and Hardy traded attacks that prevented him from setting a clear target. Robbie E tried to insert himself with strikes but often became the person the others had to pull away. Aces & Eights appeared and distracted the wrestlers, forcing the match to absorb a faction angle just as the tables became central to the finish.

Storm hit a Last Call superkick as Hardy regained control, but the interruption gave Ray time to return. He threw Storm to the floor and drove Hardy through the table to win the match and the series points. Robbie E was not the person put through the final table, and there was no legitimate three-count. The B+ (8.3) values the escalating four-way action and the consequences for the Bound for Glory leaderboard, with a deduction for the external distraction that decided who could complete the finish.

Zema Ion defended the X Division Championship against Kenny King in a fast-paced singles meeting with repeated pin attempts and high-risk counters. King found success with a twisting dive to the outside and a springboard blockbuster inside, while Ion answered with a neckbreaker and sudden offense from the turnbuckles. King locked in a single-leg Boston crab after surviving a knee-assisted facebuster, but Ion escaped and continued trying to push the match toward quick reversals rather than sustained mat wrestling. Several near falls kept the belt genuinely at risk despite a compact runtime.

King tried to rush Ion in the corner during the final exchange, but Ion turned the attack into a pinning counter and kept the referee down for three. The reported finish was awkwardly executed, but the official result is a cleanly recorded Ion pinfall retention rather than King taking the championship. The B+ (8.0) credits the ambitious pace, dives and near falls, while acknowledging that the closing exchange lacked the precision expected after so much earlier offense.

A.J. Styles faced Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels in a Bound for Glory Series ladder match worth twenty points. All four tried to pull opponents away from the ladder while simultaneously controlling the space underneath the suspended prize. Joe drove Daniels into a ladder after a corner charge and Angle answered Joe with a belly-to-belly suplex when he tried to climb. Styles used kicks and fast aerial attacks to keep Daniels from isolating him, but the number of competitors produced repeated interruptions rather than any uninterrupted route to the top.

Angle caught Daniels in an ankle lock at one point, but tapping would not have ended this ladder stipulation; the official objective was to climb and claim the envelope suspended overhead. Styles eventually cleared his path, ascended and retrieved the envelope to win the twenty points. The A- (8.8) rewards sustained difficult ladder positioning and strong participant interplay, not a phantom submission victory. The result belongs to Styles alone rather than the other wrestlers he had teamed with on previous shows.

Austin Aries defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Bobby Roode in a rematch where the loser had no automatic further opportunity at the belt. Roode stalled early and tried to disrupt Aries submission rhythm before the champion answered with dropkicks and attempts at a Brainbuster. Roode countered a 450 splash with his knees and speared the first referee accidentally when Aries moved. A second referee then entered, and a further collision left both officials compromised during a chaotic closing series of near falls and counters.

Both men later had their shoulders counted down in the same small package, prompting contradictory counts and an initial dispute rather than a final accepted draw. Senior referee Earl Hebner directed the match to restart. Roode tried to strike Aries with the title belt as the champion dived toward him, but Aries survived the ensuing cover and caught Roode in a rollup for the official three count. Aries retained in the restarted finish. The A (9.1) rewards sustained championship drama and the unusual officiating resolution while distinguishing the temporary double-fall argument from the recorded victor.