With TNA looking to revitalize its pay-per-view strategy and create a better product for its fans, the company set in motion a new initiative for 2013.
As part of that initiative, TNA will release previously-taped "One Night Only" events, including the Tag Team Tournament recorded on March 18 (h/t TNA).
The pay-per-view's air date has yet to be announced, though the results of the tournament are now readily available.
The format of the tag team tournament includes four rounds and nine big showdowns, none of which were bigger than the finals matchup between reunited Team 3D and the championship tag-team combo of Bobby Roode and Austin Aries.
Indy team Generation Me got some love from TNA with a win over veterans Sinjay Dutt and Petey Williams. While it's nice to see the duo get some recognition and a win, matching up with reunited Team 3D in the second round wasn't exactly the ideal situation. The Dudleys are back and TNA wants everyone to know it.
Bobby Roode and Austin Aries are one of the best tag-team duos in TNA, and they probably deserved better than to fall victim to Team 3D's comeback in the finals. Beating Rob Terry and Doug Williams was a logical conclusion and it set up a semifinals match that should be one of the better face-offs to watch when the pay-per-view airs.
The Aces & Eights push is not going anywhere. Brisco and Biscoff may be on the rise in TNA, but they aren't getting any love from me. The best part of the duo winning this match is the beatdown it sets up in the second round against Samoa Joe and Magnus.
There's really no reason Bad Influence should have been knocked out in the first round by Hernandez and Chavo Guerrero. Maybe TNA is attempting to keep the two relevant after getting knocked off by Roode and Aries in the title match recently, but Daniels and Kazarian should have taken this one down.
Of all the matches in this tournament, this was the least appealing to watch. Samoa Joe deserves some love, though, and it was nice to see the former tag-team champs take down Brisco and Bischoff short of the semifinals. At the very least, Roode and Aries should put on a solid show against Samoa Joe and Magnus in the next round.
It's unfortunate Young Bucks didn't pull out a win over Team 3D, but it's hard to fault TNA for fueling the Dudley's rise back to the top. Bully Ray has his new hardware in tow, so giving him and Devon a shot to take down the current tag team champions in the finals is the logical next step.
By this point in the tournament, it's pretty clear how the finals will shake out. The semifinals feature the current tag team champions, Team 3D, on its rise back to the top and two relatively unappealing tag team combos that would offer very little to a final-round showdown.
Roode and Aries have the belts for a reason, and Samoa Joe and Magnus never really had much of a chance to derail them before the finals.
It's actually better that Team 3D won this match. Like them or not, a finals matchup with Hernandez and Guerrero would have been unbearable. Consider this result the lesser of two evils.
There's a lot that can be said of this match. Bully Ray's recent transition and reunion with Devon is undoubtedly what TNA wanted to focus on in this pay-per-view event.
The current champs should have won, but building up Team 3D was obviously a major selling point here. Fortunately for Roode and Aries, the tag team belts weren't on the line. Don't be surprised if TNA lines up a rematch between the two tag teams in the near future, though.
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