Throughout the month of June, we will be celebrating 20 years of TNA/Impact Wrestling with our #Impact20 series of reviews, columns and podcasts. One particular series will look at a handpicked selection of the best TNA/Impact Wrestling Matches of All-Time. 

TNA World Tag Team Title Match
The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) (c) def. The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) 

IMPACT Wrestling #525 – Destination X 2014
Taped: June 26, 2014
Aired: July 31, 2014
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York 

One thing people remember about the TNA tag division in 2014 is the three-way series between the Wolves, Team 3D and Hardys that culminated in a lively Full Metal Mayhem match in September. The match was a neat callback to the Tables, Ladders & Chairs spectacles at the turn of the century that had pretty much cemented the Hardys and Dudley’s spot within the upper echelons of wrestling.

Full Metal Mayhem was the crowning moment in putting The Wolves over strongly as the leaders of the next generation of tag teams. As much as I enjoyed those matches, the earlier match at Destination X in June between the Wolves and the Hardys is the one that has always stuck with me.

Part of the acclaimed Manhattan Center shows that would define TNA’s summer, the balconies and high vaulted ceilings gave a theatrical framing to a match that set the old guard against the Wolves at the door. There’s no need for any melodrama, any backstage interviews, or convuluted storylines. Just two of the best teams in the world throwing everything at each other in front of a crowd who rise to their feet for a standing ovation by the time the bell rings to signal the pinfall. It’s only ten minutes, a length that might seem short for those who are accustomed to classic matches being lengthy epics. And yet watch this match and try to find fault. There’s no wasted energy here, just two teams throwing everything they have at each other, including a rare Hardy Boyz’’ submission spot, to try and gain the upper hand. It doesn’t get better than this when it comes to pure action.

Post-match, the Hardyz kneel before the Wolves in respect and appreciation, a true passing of the torch if there ever was one. Since coming into TNA in 2013, the Wolves were given one of the strongest tag team pushes in the company’s history, and throughout the unstable years ahead, would be something of a bedrock for the company. No matter where they were on the card, there was no such thing as a bad Wolves match. Their breakup angle was well-received too, and to date, Eddie Edwards vs Davey Richards is the second most-watched match on Impact’s YouTube channel, with over a hundred million views. That’s over 1% of the entire population on Earth. Some people have claimed that this is because of the thumbnail showing a naked-from-the-waist-up Davey Richards embracing a sultry Angelina Love. Let’s hope that most of the horny clickers stayed to watch a great match.

While Destination X 2014 could have easily been a Hardyz swansong, it was in fact the launching pad for possibly the last great run of their tag careers. Despite being clearly positioned as the elder statesmen of tag team wrestling here, there was nothing about their ring performance that indicated any slowing down.

And that’s the story of this match, in a nutshell: two great teams throwing everything they can at each other. Whipping along at pace, this is ten minutes of action and deserves a place in the TNA Canon of great tag matches.