The 10 Best TNA/IMPACT Matches Of The 2010s By Hakeem Fullerton

Intro: What a decade it has been for this company, from having it's fair of successes only to be countered by an endless number of terrible PR, scandals and controversies that would have put other companies out of business, TNA now known as Impact Wrestling has survived all of that negativity and looks to be in a far better shape as they head into a new decade with a positive morale, an ever growing roster and a new regime who seem to know what their doing (most of the time).

Still, even during the company's dark period there was one thing that remain the same and that's the impressive in ring action; it didn't matter who was in charge at the time as the matches that being shown on both TV and PPV where spectacular and have gone down as not only some the greatest matches in the companies near 20 year existence but also some of the best matches in all of modern professional wrestling.

This wasn't an easy list to do but after doing a lot research, re-watching back a lot of matches and careful consideration I'm here with what I believe are the ten best TNA/ Impact Wrestling matches that occurred from 2010-2019

Honorable Mentions
Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin For The Impact World Title (Slammiversary 2019)
Bully Ray vs. Abyss In A Monster's Ball Match (Genesis 2012)
Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles For The TNA World Title (Genesis 2010)
James Storm vs. Bobby Roode For The TNA World Title (IMPACT, Nov 3rd 2011)
AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray In A Last Man Standing Match (Slammiversary 2011)
EC3 vs. Bobby Lashley For The TNA World Title (Bound For Glory 2016)
Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett In A Steel Cage Match (Lockdown 2011)
Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy: The Final Deletion (July 7th 2016)
MCMG vs. Generation Me/Max and Jeremy Buck (Jan 14th 2010)
Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy For The TNA World Title (Lockdown 2013)
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (Destination X 2011)
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels In A Last Man Standing Match (Destination X 2012)
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe (Destination X 2012)
Eddie Edwards vs. Lashley For The TNA World Title (IMPACT, Oct 6, 2016)
Eddie Edwards vs. Lashley In A Steel Cage Match For The TNA X Division and World Title (IMPACT, July 21st, 2016)
The Wolves vs. Team 3D vs. The Hardy Boys In A Full Metal Mayhem Match For The TNA Tag Team Titles (IMPACT, Oct 9th 2014)
Fortune vs. Immortal In A Lethal Lockdown Match (Lockdown 2011)
Kurt Angle and AJ Styles vs. The Bad Influence For The TNA Tag Team Titles (Slammiversary 2012)
Bobby Lashley vs. Drew Galloway For The TNA World Title (Slammiversary 2016)
AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode In A 30 Minute Ironman Match For The TNA World Title (Final Resolution 2011)
Austin Aries vs. Jeff Hardy In A Ladder Match For The TNA World Title (Turning Point 2012)
Tessa Blanchard vs. Gail Kim (Rebellion 2019)
James Storm vs. Bobby Roode In A Street Fight (Bound For Glory 2012)
Taryn Terrell vs. Gail Kim In A Ladder Match (IMPACT, July 11th 2013)
Bobby Roode vs. Kurt Angle (Bound For Glory 2013)
The Lucha Bros vs. LAX For The Impact Tag Titles (Feb 8th 2019)
Daga vs. TJP (Dec 17th 2019)

10. Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell In A Last Knockouts Standing Match (Slammiversary 2013)

It really says something about the rest of the matches on this list when the first ever last woman standing match in a major U.S. wrestling promotion only ranks number ten. However, this shouldn't take away from how good this match really was.

In the lead up to this match Gail Kim, the OG of the knockouts division was in a feud with female referee and former WWE superstar Taryn Terrell following Gail's lost to Brooke Tessmacher for the Knockouts Championship at Slammiversary 2012.

Eventually Gail's taunting and abuse on Taryn reached it's boiling when the blonde haired referee attacked Gail Kim in a fit of rage leading to her termination as a referee but she would soon be hired as an active wrestler on the roster.

Going into this match Gail Kim was still in her prime and the undisputed queen of the division meanwhile Taryn, despite a pleasant response from the crowd was still seen by some as Tiffany, the genetic smiling general manager of WWE's ECW brand looking to cashing in on Impact's success by doing very little.

The action in the beginning of the match was pretty standard at first and the fans in attendance felt the same way as well as their reactions were subdue to the match, But then things got interesting...After Gail Kim attempts a running shoulder tackle into Taryn in the corner only for the later to move out of the way and hit the steel chair she set up previously, the fans began to leap out of their seats as they all began to wonder what just happened.

From this point afterwards the fans were glued to this match as the excitement became prevalent in the Agganis Arena at Boston University.

The action then takes place outside of the ring as highlights ranging from Taryn applying the figure four leg lock on the ring post onto Gail to Terrell's nasty bump after an attempt at a suicide dive to Gail sweeping Taryn's leg leading to another nasty fall.

The final closing moments in this match occurs when the former ECW general manager reverses a piledriver by Gail and delivers a flying diamond cutter off the ramp way to the shock and awe of the commentators and the fans both at home and in attendance with chants of "THIS IS AWESOME" ringing throughout.

As special guest referee ODB reaches for the count of ten, Taryn manages to get back up on her feet and in the process defeat her nemesis to the applauses of a very entertained Boston crowd.

To give you an idea of how great this match was, reports surfaced that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was trying to outdo and replicate the magic that was the Last Knockouts Standing Match by booking AJ Lee and Kaitlyn in a similar fashion...and considering that nobody remembers AJ Lee's feud with Kaitlyn but people today still mention how great Taryn vs. Gail at Slammiversary was, it make you wonder if Vince's attempt to copy the success of the competition really worked (It didn't).

9. Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode For The TNA World Championship (Destination X 2012)

The longest reigning world champion in company history versus the self proclaimed "Greatest Man That Ever Lived".

Just that little tidbit alone could of sold you on the idea to watch this match but when you consider everything leading to this match plus the ramifications it's had on Impact Wrestling to the match itself you could see why this match from Destination X 2012 makes the list.

For those who don't know...Bobby Roode was and still is the longest reigning World Heavyweight champion in TNA/Impact History with a total of 256 days. His opponent Austin Aries was no slouch either as he relinquish his X division title after an impressive 301 days as champion.

So how did Aries get to this point? Well Austin Aries' road from king of the X Division to his shot at the world championship is an interesting tale.

On a 2012 episode of Impact, general manager Hulk Hogan gave Austin Aries two options that could affect his career moving forward. Option A: to relinquish his X Division title for a shot at the World title or Option B: Keep the X Division Title and continue to work as a cruiserweight wrestler.

However Aries being Aries decided that those two options weren't good so instead he created a three choice known as "Option C" in which the wrestler who is the X division champion at the time will be able to cash in the X division belt for a shot at the world title belt and that this option would be offered to those individuals every year when Destination X comes about.

The Hulkster agreed to this and in the process 'Option C' became an official rule in Impact that has been used by names like Rockstar Spud, Chris Sabin, Brian Cage and more over the years.

The match was set as the main event of that year's Destination X pay per view and the energy in the Impact Zone was something else as chants like "Let's Go Aries, Bobby Sucks" and "Next World Champ" rang throughout.

Roode, who had the strength, weight and size advantage over Aries attempted to slow the pace of his opponent with moves like sidestepping Aries during a suicide dive attempt, hitting a number of spears and Irish whips into the corner whilst using power and submission moves. Austin's mindset in this match was to use his speed in order to outmaneuver and infuriate Roode into making mistakes that he could capitalize on.

At one point in the match Bobby Roode screams out: "Come on Aries, give up", "Your not even in my league".

Both men would deliver repeated blows to the face, knife edge chops, a corner dropkick turned into a powerslam by Roode, a running spear turned into the last chancery submission only for that be reversed minutes later into a cross face submission and Roode hitting a low blow behind the referee's back but it still wasn't enough to win the match.

By this point, Bobby Roode begins to lose it and takes on the ref only for referee Brian Hebner to shove Roode right into place for a corner dropkick; a belt shot by Roode led to a very close three count until Aries managed to kicked out at the last possible second which left the crowd erupting into cheers as Roode begins to wonder: what the hell do I got to do to beat this guy.

However, Aries would capitalize with a swift kick to the head of Roode before dropping him on his head with the brainbuster..1..2..3 and just like that, Austin Aries becomes the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion; the crowd goes bananas as their jumping and cheering for joy with confetti raining for the sky as Aries becomes the new world champion for the very first time in his career.

The event concluded with Commentator Mike Tenay telling everyone that when the history books are written, Destination X 2012 will always be remember as the night Austin Aries became world heavyweight champion.

8. Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard (Slammiversary 2019)

Sami Callihan and Tessa Blanchard: one is a vile, sadistic and disgusting SOB, who will break every rule and convention known to wrestling purist across the globe if it means changing the wrestling world for better or worse.

The other is an intense but determined third generation star, genetically bred for professional wrestling and has dominated every obstacle in her path to reach to the top. And at Slammiversary 2019 these two battled in the very first ever intergender match to main event a major PPV for a major U.S. wrestling promotion.

After adding the idea of intergender wrestling to their weekly programming, Impact began instrumenting some of their talent into the idea.

After rescuing Scarlett Boudreaux and Fallah Bahh from a beat down at the hands of the Crist Brothers and a match with Glenn Gilbertti that was more farcical than wrestling, Impact's new IT girl Tessa Blanchard who wrestled in intergender matches on the indies was transitioning from fighting with the knockouts to fighting with the guys.

One of those guys just so happened to be Sami Callihan, the self proclaimed 'Draw' of Impact Wrestling. In the weeks that followed, fans witness these two exchanged words via promos as well as few physical altercations both in and outside ring. When it came time for the match it's self nobody (not even Tessa or Sami) knew that this match would be the final match to close out the show...that's how progressive and ahead of the curve this company is.

As soon as the bell rang, these two started to trade blows with Tessa relentlessly hitting Sami with forearm shots throughout the match.

Sami would retaliate outside of the ring by whipping Blanchard into guard rail, hitting her with a death valley driver and a powerbomb onto the ring apron.

Highlights ranged from Blanchard hitting a diamond cutter from out of nowhere onto the entrance ramp, an intense stare down which saw Sami dare Tessa to hit him completed with Callihan giving her the middle finger, both hitting each other with baseball bats, Tessa spiting on Callihan before hitting him in the balls and calling him a motherf####r, a package tombstone piledriver by Callihan and even the referee gets hit by the both of them at some point in the match.

The match ends with Sami hitting Tessa with a piledriver before scoring the 3 count to win the match; afterwards in a rare moment of respect, Sami gives Tessa her baseball bat before heading to the backstage area and leaving the crowd to cheer for Tessa in middle of the ring after a spectacular performance.

If you ever needed to watch a match to help sell you on the idea of intergender wrestling, it has to be this one; while the feud would continue throughout the rest of the year including matches at Unbreakable and their up-and coming bout for the world title at Hard To Kill, this match was not only a progressive message made by the company but also a damn good match for both Tessa Blanchard and Sami Callihan.

7. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy (No Surrender 2010)

2010 was the year that the Hogan/Bischoff regime began, and despite what many may have you believe, this year was an impressive one for the company as the eyes of the wrestling world were on TNA at this point and the in-ring action was for the most part was second to none and this match between the Olympic Gold Medalist and the Charismatic Enigma certainly proved that.

Following a brutal attack at the hands of 'the Monster' Abyss on Rob Van Dam, the world title was vacated and as a result a tournament was made to see who would become the new world champion.

The semifinals took place at the No Surrender PPV and the first of these semifinals saw Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy, two men who have experienced some of their biggest highs and lows in within the company square off in a match with a 20 minute time limit and the stipulation is that if Kurt Angle loses than he'll retire from pro wrestling.

The match sees Jeff Hardy not only using his speed and quickness against Kurt Angle but also a level of viciousness that many hadn't expected to see from the charismatic enigma, Kurt meanwhile used his collegiate training and submission expertise to keep Hardy down long enough to apply the ankle lock.

The match is a test of determination and endurance as both Angle and Hardy use almost every move in their arsenal and even some moves from Kurt that you've would of never expected like a powerbomb that nearly folded Hardy in half and a frog splash from the top rope.

Kurt's willingness to keep wrestling and desire to become world champion again was motivation enough but the sheer obsession Kurt had in making Jeff Hardy tap out was something else.

Hardy was no slouch either in this match as the charismatic enigma hit an endless number of Swanton bombs and a twist of fate both in and outside of the ring.

Both men continue to beat down each other as the time continues to wine down as Kurt puts on an ankle lock on Jeff Hardy only for Hardy to refuse submitting as the time runs out. Hoping to have a conclusion to this match, TNA management added five more minutes and the action continued.

Both men proceed to exchange shots including a dueling clothesline maneuver that takes both Hardy and Angle down. Kurt struggles but manages to drape his arm on the prone body of Jeff Hardy, unfortunately for Angle he only gets a two count and a few seconds later, the time runs out again.

Once again, management issues another five minutes to this match as both men head to the outside of the ring; Jeff sends Kurt headfirst into the steel steps which ends up busting Kurt open.

Hardy and Angle manage to get back in the ring with Hardy applying the Boston Crab submission, but with only less than a minute to spare Angle floats over and applies the ankle lock once again on Jeff Hardy and grapevines his leg.

The fans like the commentators are watching the clock as the time wines down all while Kurt is screaming for Hardy to tap out but Jeff refuses to give in and just like that the time expires yet again.

Eric Bischoff comes out to inform everyone that they can't give Kurt or Jeff anyone more time for this match resulting in it ending in a draw thus allowing Kurt to keep his career in wrestling alive.

The fans are asking for more time but sadly they aren't getting it as the main event/second semi final match between The Pope D'Angelo Dinero and Mr. Anderson is next, however this match involving Kurt and Jeff would get resolved when the two of them and winner of the other semi final match, Mr. Anderson would battle in a triple threat match for the world title in the main event at that years Bound For Glory.

6. James Storm vs. Bobby Roode In A Steel Cage Match For The TNA World Championship (Lockdown 2012)

2012 is seen by a lot of impact fans as the last great year the company would have until 6 years later under the Callis/ D'Amore regime.

One of the reasons for this year being so great would have to be the feud between former tag team partners turn bitter rivals James Storm and Bobby Roode.

November 3rd 2011, the day that saw the greatest heel turn in company history when Bobby Roode betrayed his friend and tag team partner, James Storm to become the world heavyweight champion and kick off what was at that time the longest world title reign in TNA/ Impact History.

The bitterness and animosity between these two was stewing following Roode's betrayal and as a result the two former friends battled in the main event at Lockdown 2012 inside a steel cage.

The history between Roode and Storm was already establish by the time Lockdown came around and the fans in Nashville Tennessee were in anticipation to see who would come out of this as world champion.

Before the match could officially start both men started to brawl outside of the cage throwing each other viciously into the guard rail and using the cage as a weapon which resulted in Storm getting busted open before Roode spat beer into Storms open wound.

By the time Storm and Roode entered the ring the action was fever pitched and it didn't stop as both continued to rain punches on each other.

This match was a perfect combination no nonsense brawling mix with technical wrestling and the near falls throughout were heart stopping to say the least.

The finish saw Storm hitting Roode with two 'Last Call' superkicks the second was the one that saw Bobby Roode Escape with the world title after Storm out of desperation kicked Roode so hard that he got sent outside of the cage.

The realization of defeat and disappointment on Storms face told the story as the show ends with legendary commentator Mike Tenay saying "James Storm did everything tonight but win the world title".

5. Tara vs. Mickie James In A Steel Cage Match (IMPACT, Dec 9th 2010)

The one entry on this list that may come as a surprise to many, but trust and believe when I say that this 2010 cage match on the December 9th edition of IMPACT is not only one the best matches in both Tara and Mickie James' careers but one of the best women's match of this generation.

For those who don't know the backstory, Mickie James and Tara (then known as Victoria) were both in the WWE but Tara would be gone having her last match on Smackdown on January the 16th 2009 before signing with Impact (then known as TNA) in the summer of 2009. Mickie would also be gone from the WWE before returning to Impact at Bound For Glory 2010.

(By the way Mickie James started her career in TNA/Impact before heading to the WWE in the early 2000's)

The narrative that was being told was that 'allegedly' Mickie James might have been responsible for Tara's released from the WWE.

Both ladies would go after each other in backstage promos and physical altercations on an almost weekly basis and while Tara and Mickie would face against each other at 2010's Turning Point and Final Resolution pay per views it was this match on December 9th 2010 that can be seen as some of their best work.

Much like the Roode/Storm match I previously mentioned both Mickie and Tara started brawling before the match could officially start and when they got into the ring the action was unrivaled as both ladies continued to throw punches before a top rope hurricanrana attempt by Mickie gets reversed into a powerbomb like maneuver in mid air by Tara.

The insane action resumed as both women proceeded to throw each other into the unforgiving steel cage multiple times followed up by a nasty fall suffered by Tara before Mickie climbed to the very top of the cage and hit the biggest Lou Thesz Press in the history of professional Wrestling in order the get the 3 count and the win.

If your not convinced then watch this match right now on YouTube or the Impact Plus app...trust me you'll be happy that you did.

4. Rockstar Spud vs. EC3 In A Hair vs. Hair Match (IMPACT, March 13th 2015)

It may be hard for fans who only know these two men from their current work in the WWE but there was a time when Ethan Carter the Third aka EC3 was treated like a main eventer and Drake Maverick...Oh no wait I'm sorry Rockstar Spud was used for more than just comedy.

After Bully Ray finally managed to put TNA president Dixie Carter through a table, her nephew EC3 began attacking those who he found responsible for this act including friends.

Rockstar Spud was an ally of EC3 at the time and tried to make amends with Ethan after failing to save Dixie from the table shot but Ethan wasn't having it.

Ethan then went on to go and say that he and Spud were never friends and that Spud is an employee to the Carters and nothing more. In the weeks that follow Ethan would continue to berate and humiliate Spud until the latter slapped the former world champion across the face thus turning babyface.

More insults and brawls between the two ultimately led to a Hair vs. Hair match in Spud's home country of England.

Being the underdog in this match Spud had to get physical in order to stand a chance against Ethan and sure enough he did as Spud began raining punches onto Ethan both in and outside of the ring, as well as hitting his signature moves like the Shining Wizard and the Dudley Dog maneuver.

Spud would push Ethan to his limit as Spud would hit a running missile dropkick onto EC3 in a barber chair and a flying senton from the top rope.

Ethan would use his big bulky arm brace throughout the match even making Spud bleed at one point and using it again on Spud before going for the cover: one...two..thr... and kick out by Spud sent everyone including EC3 into complete and utter disbelief over the amount of heart Spud was showing.

The crowd were cheering for the entirety of this match as it was violent and emotional in equal measure. In the final moments of this match, a weaken and bloodied Rockstar Spud crawl towards his former friend and Ethan who looks reluctant at this point to continue the match grabs Spud and hits his 1 percenter finishing move on Spud before going for the cover once more: one...two...three.

Afterwards, Ethan congratulates Spud for a hard fought match before raising his hand to a thunderous crowd looking as if EC3 would turn babyface until...SWERVE! EC3 attacked Spud from behind, smiling as only as smug arrogant rich boy could.

EC3 proceed to shave Spud's head while laughing at the same time leaving his former ally in the ring as a cleanly shaved but bloody mess.

2015 may not be one the best years in the company's history but this match is something you must go out and watch.

3. Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson In A Steel Cage Match (Lockdown 2010)

Once again Kurt Angle appears on this list with another instant classic of a match from the year 2010 but this time against former WWE United States Champion and Wisconsin native, Mr. Ken Anderson...Anderson!

A month after debuting at the Genesis PPV and defeating 'The Monster' Abyss, Mr. Anderson competed in an eight card stud tournament at Against All Odds, which saw Anderson defeated Abyss once again but also defeat Kurt Angle in a separate match.

It's during that match with Angle that sparked their entire feud as Anderson would use a set of dog tags that were given to Kurt by a former U.S. soldier as a weapon before winning the match.

Anderson would leave an exclamation point afterwards by placing the dog tags on Kurt's body before spitting on him and the tags.

Over the coming weeks Anderson and Angle would exchange words and brawl on TV leading to a match at Destination X where Kurt defeated Anderson via submission. With both men scoring a victory on one another on PPV in the last 2 months, the conclusion to this feud would take place at Lockdown inside a steel cage where the only way to win is by escaping the cage.

Not only that but after defeating Kurt in a match on Impact in order to take possession of the key for the steel cage door, Anderson was feeling cocky going into this match.

The first half of this match saw Anderson repeatedly attempt to escape the cage only to be thwarted by Kurt at every turn, however Anderson would retaliate by sending Kurt's face into the steel cage numerous times, leading to Angle getting busted open.

Angle would capitalize on Anderson's slow ascent to the top rope by hitting a running belly-to-back suplex from the top (vintage Kurt Angle); Anderson would then use his wrist tape as a weapon and wrap it around Kurt's neck turning his face as red as the blood that was trickling down his head, both men then staggered to get to their feet and exchange punches with Kurt getting the better of Anderson and nailing the Wisconsin native with seven...yes...seven German Suplexes.

In one of the many iconic moments in this match, Kurt Angle looks like his about to escape the cage, only to lock the door back up and give Mr. Anderson the middle finger before throwing away the key, thus leaving Anderson to presumably think at that moment: "F### Me, I'm Trapped".

Kurt hits another German Suplex on Anderson but this time off the ropes which gets the fans to start chanting "TNA" and "THIS IS AWESOME" throughout the rest of match. Kurt attempts to create iconic moment #2 as he heads to the very top of the steel cage and hits a moonsault from off the top which looked like it might of done more damage to Kurt than Anderson.

Kurt attempts to escape by grabbing the key to unlock the door only for TNA's newest accusation and resident asshole to give Kurt two middle fingers daring Angle to come back and finish him off but he lures Angle into a low blow and Mic Check combo.

In the final moments of the match, Anderson attempts to escape the cage on two different occasions and Angle prevents that from happening with the last attempt seeing Kurt ironically choke out Anderson with his dog tags before spitting on the lifeless body of Anderson and kicking him square in the baby maker.

Angle casually walks out the cage as the bell rings declaring the battered, bloody Olympic Gold Medalist the winner of this match...The fact that Wrestling News Observer, Dave Meltzer never gave this match a five star rating only demonstrates the bias that TNA/Impact gets from the so call Wrestling Journalists who are supposedly required to rate the best wrestling matches around the world.

2. Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon Jr. (Slammiversary 2018)

Like Kurt Angle, Sami Callihan appears once again on this list but this time wrestling a superstar of the same gender.

Slammiversary 2018 is the pay per view that brought Impact Wrestling back to the publics attention...but for all the right reasons. The show breathed new life into a company which many believed would end up meeting it's demise like so many other promotions before it.

Thankfully Slammiversary 2018 reminded the public of the great in ring action that the company was known for...and at the forefront of this action is this match between The Draw and The Man Who Has Cero Miedo or Zero Fear in a mask vs. hair match.

The action was fast paced and hard hitting from beginning to end with scenes like Sami grabbing a drink from a fan and bashing said drink over Penta's head, a suicide dive attempt thwarted by a steel chair shot by Callihan, a series of kicks by both men and then comes the biggest taking point of the entire match...the road spikes, Yup you heard me...road spikes.

Sami began ripping into Pentagon Jr's mask and then began to shove one of the road spikes into the partially exposed face and head of Pentagon.

Pentagon would get his revenge soon afterwards as he would not only hit Sami in the head with the road spikes but he would go one step further by hammering one of the spikes into Callihan's head using both a baseball bat and another road spike...and before you ask: Yes, were still taking about a match that happened on an Impact Wrestling PPV in 2018 and not a match that took place on the original ECW or CZW.

If you can believe it, the match continued ...as both Sami and Pentagon continued to wage war on one another as they would brutalize each other with steel chairs shots and so many piledrivers that it would even make the Undertaker think that it's too excessive.

In the end, Pentagon picked up the victory in this match and began shaving the head of Sami Callihan...this match and like the event itself is one of greatest of this decade, however as amazing as this match was there is surprisingly one more match that can top this one and that would be...

1. Beer Money Inc. vs. MCMG:2 Out Of 3 Falls Match For The TNA World Tag Team Championship (The Whole F'n Show, August 12th 2010)

What can I say 2010 was a year that produced classic match after classic match for the company.

After mentioning two classic bouts with Kurt Angle and a five star worthy cage match between Tara and Mickie James, we now come to what is quite possible the greatest tag team match of the decade involving two of the best tag teams that were created under the TNA/Impact Wrestling banner.

At the sacrifice pay per view, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin defeated Team 3D (Bubba Ray and Devon) and Beer Money Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode) in a triple threat #1 contenders match for the tag team titles, unfortunately due to getting into some legal troubles, the tag champs of Scott Hall and Sean Waltman were stripped of the belts before being released from the company.

With the belts vacated, the Guns would battle Beer Money at Victory Road 2010 for the gold where the former managed to pick up the win and became tag champions once again. Not too long after this, the Motor City Machine Guns and Beer Money would face off in a 'Best of 5 Series' where the Guns would win an ultimate X match and a steel cage match; Not to be outdone, Beer Money would win a ladder match and a street fight tying up both teams with two victories each.

On the August 12th 2010 addition of Impact titled "The Whole F'n Show", the two teams would face off in the finals of the best of five series in a two of out three falls match.

The action starts off with a very fast pace as the guns begin to takeover with a series of tag team combinations before Beer Money responds back with their own offense leading to the first fall after eight solid minutes of action in match where Beer Money hit their finishing move the "D.W.I." (Drinking While Investing).

While celebrating their victory over the first fall, Chris Sabin nails both Storm and Roode with a double missile dropkick and goes to tag in his partner, Alex Shelley before hitting their tag team finisher which is a neckbreaker/ diving cross body combo which sees the Motor City Machine Guns getting the second fall in the match just mere minutes after the first one.

With the third and final fall left to be determined, both teams are using everything in their playbook in order to score the victory including Bobby Roode leaping off the ropes to take out the guns, a double foot stomp on James Storm in the corner by Alex Shelley, a top rope tornado DDT by Sabin that spikes Roode on his head but only leads to a two count.

The guns would hit a double team neckbreaker on their opponents but again it only leads to a two count to the absolute shock of Shelley and Sabin as well as the fans in attendance. Beer Money would recuperate by hitting Chris Sabin with a catapult maneuver into a DDT and then countering a slice bread no. 2 attempt by Alex Shelley.

The action continues with another attempt at the D.W.I finisher by Beer Money, but this time it gets countered by the guns before some miscommunication on Beer Money's part leads to the guns hitting a double enzuigiri kick to the back of Storm's head before going for their finishing maneuver not once but twice on the cowboy James Storm; the referee hits the mat for the 1..2..3! And as a result Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley not only win the final fall and the match but the retain the tag team titles as well.

The crowd reactions throughout this match was fever pitched, the tags were quick, the action was second to none and the teams operated like two well oiled machines from beginning to end.

For these reasons and maybe more is why I say Beer Money Inc. vs. The Motor City Machine Guns in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the TNA Tag Team Titles is best match under the TNA/ Impact banner for the 2010's, if you haven't seen this match or the rest of their Best of Five Series I highly recommend you do it, you wouldn't be disappoint as it's a text book example of storytelling, great action and why tag team wrestling, if done right can be a thing of beauty.

So what was your favorite match TNA/ Impact Wrestling Match of the 2010's? If you enjoyed my article/ blog, please leave your comments below and follow me on Blogger, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and I hope to continue this type of success into the new decade.

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