The 2014 Hardcore Justice (also known as ''Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice'') was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

event produced by

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...

(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 Ballroo ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It was the tenth event under the

Hardcore Justice Hardcore Justice, originally known as Hard Justice, was 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 ...

chronology and aired as a special edition of TNA's weekly broadcast of ''

Impact Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busine ...

'' on August 20, 2014. Five

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

were contested at the event. The main event was a

Six Sides of Steel match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "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 storyline. ...

to determine the #1 contender for the

TNA World Heavyweight Championship The TNA World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won ...

contested between

Bobby Roode Robert Francis Roode Jr. (born May 11, 1976) is a Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (professional wrestling), producer and was formerly an in-ring performer. Roode is known ...

, 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. He is known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, where he is a t ...

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 James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He currently competes on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He sta ...

. 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. She is best known for her tenures in TNA Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In TNA, she was the inaugural and record setting seven-tim ...

successfully defended the Knockouts Championship against

Angelina Love Lauren Williams (born September 13, 1981) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in TNA/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Angelina Love. She is signed with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Between ...

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), better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Opps, and is one-third of the AEW Worl ...

successfully defended the

X Division Championship The TNA X Division Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It debuted on June 19, 2002, at the taping of TNA's second then- weekly pay-per-view (PPV) event. The curr ...

against

Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major ...

and

Bram Bram may refer to: People * Bram (given name) * Bram (surname) * Thom Latimer (born 1986), English professional wrestler better known as his former ring name ″Bram″ * Bram Tchaikovsky (born 1950), stage name of British musician Peter Bramall * ...

defeated

Abyss Abyss may refer to: Religion * Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld * Abyss (Thelema), a spiritual principle within the system of Thelema Film and television * ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film s ...

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 "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

Lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

, a Straitjacket match on the April 3 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' and a Committed match at

Sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

. 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 wrestling executive and retired professional wrestler, ring announcer, backstage interviewer, singer and model (person), model. She was previously signed to Total Nonstop Action Wre ...

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, Robert Stone (wrestler), Robbie E, and Joaquin Wilde, DJZ. They are two-time TNA World Tag Team Champions. His ...

(

Robbie E Robert Strauss (born October 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and Manager (professional wrestling), manager. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (wrestling), producer, the on-screen assistant to the NXT general manager Ava (w ...

Jessie Godderz Jessie Godderz (born April 23, 1986), also known as Mr. PEC-Tacular, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He competes for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he is a two-time OVW National Heavyweight Champion, one-time OVW Television ...

and

DJ Z Michael Paris (born October 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, under the ring name Joaquin Wilde. He is a member of the Latino World Order. He was a former founding member of ...

), 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, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

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 cel ...

. On the June 19 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Willow and

attacked

and Magnus backstage after Bram and Magnus lost their

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

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 type that originated in and is primarily staged by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA - known as Impact Wrestling from 2017–2023). The key premise of the match is that all cont ...

. 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 (A Nail Board that was commonly used by Abyss). 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,

defeated

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 signed to All Elite Wrestling under the ring name Madison Rayne, where she is also a coach for the women's division. She is best known for her t ...

and

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

in a

four-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "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 storyline. ...

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 retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenures in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), under her real nam ...

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 Destination X was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of TNA pay-per-view events, event held by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion TNA Wrestling. The event primarily revolved around the X-Division, the 2005 ...

, Lashley successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against

. On the August 7 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Lashley,

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

and Kenny King cut a promo about Lashley being the dominant champion who had beaten everyone until

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,

, Gunner and

would compete in a

at Hardcore Justice to determine the #1 contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. At Destination X,

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 baseb ...

won their respective three-way matches to qualify for a three-way match for the vacant

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 under the ring name Crazzy Steve. He is best known for his tenures in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a former TNA Digital Media Champion and a former TNA World ...

Tigre Uno Tigre Uno (born April 4, 1981) is a Mexican professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is also best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a one-time TNA X Division Championship, X Division Champion. Outside of ...

, Manik,

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

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

and

. 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 Michael Hutter (born March 18, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Ethan Carter III (or simply EC3). He is signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is a f ...

Rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

and

Rockstar Spud James Michael Curtin (born 30 January 1983) is an English former professional wrestler. He is 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. He has also ...

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. Alternate terms include auntie or aunty. Aunt, auntie, and aunty also may be titles bestowed b ...

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 (American TV series), Family La ...

being put through a table by

Bully Ray Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971), known by his ring name Bubba Ray Dudley (also spelled Buh-Buh Ray Dudley), is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for being one-half of the Dudley B ...

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,

defended the

against

. Joe tried to hit a muscle buster 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, working for WWE as Vice President of Content and Development. He is known for his ...

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 hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

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

defended the Knockouts Championship against

. 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 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 ...

from the

top rope Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a form of rock climbing where the climber is securely attached to a climbing rope that runs through a fixed anchor at the top of the climbing route, and back down to the belayer (or "second") at the base of t ...

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

between

, Eric Young, Gunner,

and

to determine the #1 contender for the

. 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 and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

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. 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 shows 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