Red Bracket
#1 The Steiner Brothers VS #9 The Miz & John Morrison - I learned an unfortunate lesson about The Steiners in this round. A large portion of my younger readers aren't very familiar with Scott Steiner's work when he was a member of the team. All they know is the WCW-era singles wrestler and the guy we've seen in TNA in recent years. That's a shame. Back in the day, Scott Steiner was one of the best wrestlers on the planet. I say that with no exaggeration, no hyperbole, and no humor. His body hadn't swelled up yet, and he could "go" with the best of them. It's almost like I had totally different people voting in this round, though. If you remember what I said in my results for the first round, I had person after person praising the worker that Steiner used to be, and now, it seems like nobody remembers that Steiner, and it definitely cost his team a lot of votes here in the second round. Make up your minds, people! Anyway, by the score of 89-62, The Steiners move on.

#5 Harlem Heat VS #4 The Minnesota Wrecking Crew - Another matchup featuring different eras and different styles. Well, not necessarily in-ring styles, but style in every other sense. The result of this one disappoints me a bit, but in no way am I surprised that it took place. Technically, it's an upset, but as you can see by the seeding, it's not exactly a big upset. Yes, folks, Harlem Heat take this matchup by the final score of 88-63, which is a little bit bigger margin of victory than I was expecting.

#11 Shawn Michaels & Diesel VS #3 The New Age Outlaws - A lot of people were wondering if Shawn Michaels being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year would affect this tournament at all. The thinking is that people will have extra fond memories of anything HBK with the video packages we've seen recently, and perhaps that his teams would receive more votes than they "deserve" because of it. I'll put it to you folks like this.. it sure didn't happen in this particular matchup. From the beginning, Michaels and Diesel were dominated. The "Road Dogg", Jesse James.. The "Bad Ass", Billy Gunn.. The New Age Outlaws take this one by the final score of 105-46.

#7 The Acolytes/A.P.A. VS #2 The Rock-N-Roll Express - What a close matchup. In fact, about an hour ago, there was only two votes between these teams. That's what you call going down to the wire. Quite the battle of styles in this one, with the high-flying Rock-N-Roll Express meeting the smashmouth brawling style of The Acolytes. In the end, though, the younger team picked up the victory, and it's another case of me being surprised when I probably shouldn't be, I suppose. By the final score of 79-72, Faarooq and Bradshaw advance.

Blue Bracket
#1 The Road Warriors/Legion Of Doom VS #8 The Rockers - Remember earlier when I was discussing the possibility of anything HBK-related potentially receiving more votes than perhaps it deserves? Well, while it didn't lead to a victory for his team here, I think that did come into play against a team that most have been calling the top overall seed and the likely winner of the entire tournament. The Rockers were a good team, don't get me wrong. I just didn't think they stood a chance against The Road Warriors. They put up a pretty good fight here for a while, but eventually, the power of the Warriors was too much for them to overcome. By the final score of 93-58, the Legion Of Doom wins.

#12 The Briscoe Brothers VS #4 The Outsiders - My goodness, some of you were mad that a Ring Of Honor team won their first round matchup last week. I received several pieces of feedback saying that RoH teams shouldn't have been allowed in the tournament to begin with. Well, apparently they did belong, seeing as one team won, and the other team nearly won. Well, if it will make you angry folks feel a little better, the "Cinderella" run ended here in the second round. It ended in a quick fashion, as well, in the second-biggest blowout of the round. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were just too much here, winning by the score of 109-42.

#6 The Von Erichs VS #3 The Funks - Texas would be awfully proud of this matchup, with two of the state's most famous wrestling families going head-to-head here. It was as close as you'd expect it to be, too, which made my job of vote-watching pretty fun. Lots of people posted memories of them growing up and watching these teams, or at least hearing stories from their older family members. Good stuff with good reminiscing here. Another back-and-forth here, but in the end, the team with more living members pulled off the victory. The Funks win by the score of 82-69.

#7 Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch VS #2 Edge & Christian - Wow. The Blue Bracket featured the second-biggest blowout of the second round, but it also featured the first-biggest blowout of the second round, and this was it. Dusty Rhodes is one of my all-time favorites, and Dick Murdoch is one of the best all-time badasses in wrestling, but they didn't stand a chance here, and I think most everyone knew it. It was close for an hour or two, but that's really about it. The final score was 116-35 with the brothers/best friends, Edge and Christian, winning it.

Orange Bracket
#1 The Fabulous Freebirds VS #9 Beer Money Inc. - Another surprise here, but not for the result, just for the margin of victory. There were several times during the week where it looked as though we'd get a big upset here, and that a #1 seed would be knocked off, but in the end, The Freebirds had just enough to pull it out. Beer Money put up one helluva fight, though. They had people leaving me feedback, saying they hated TNA but couldn't deny that the team was really fun to watch. That's respect. By the score of 85-66, The Freebirds move on.

#5 The Mega Powers VS #4 Jack & Gerry Brisco - This was one of the closest matchups of the second round, folks. I still had a large amount of people tell me that Hogan and Savage shouldn't have even made the tournament because they weren't a "true" tag team, but their performance in the tournament to this point has validated my decision to include them in a people's vote contest. Like I said this was a really close one, but throughout the entire week, it was The Mega Powers that held on by a slim margin, winning by the final score of 80-71.

#11 Los Guerreros VS #3 The Hardy Boyz - Many people said that this was the toughest matchup of the entire round to vote on. That speaks to the love people have for Eddie Guerrero, as well as the whatever-you-want-to-call-the-feelings people have for Matt and Jeff Hardy these days. They said it was a tough matchup, and the numbers show it. Both teams took turns in the lead, and this one went right down to the wire. In the end, though, people just couldn't look beyond helping to make Tables, Ladders and Chairs famous pieces of hardware for a pro wrestling match. By the final score of 80-71, The Hardyz advance to the next round.

#10 The Hollywood Blondes VS #2 The British Bulldogs - This is another one that people said they were having a difficult time picking, but unlike the previous matchup, the numbers don't necessarily show it. This was a blowout that would have been an even bigger blow out had the losing team not seen a late surge in votes that helped close the margin by approximately a dozen votes. In the end, though, there was no upset here. Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid get the win here, by the score of 99-52.

Yellow Bracket
#1 The Dudley Boyz VS #8 Degeneration X - The Dudleyz are on quite the magical ride in this tournament. They're a #1 seed that came extremely (see what I did there?) close to losing in the first round, and then they came into the second round with a matchup against one of the more beloved tag teams of the last few years, where the HBK love and respect might have come into play. However, like the first round, the higher-seed found a way to pull out a close victory, and they get to live on for another round. By the final score of 81-70, The Dudleyz advance.

#12 Money Inc. VS #4 Demolition - By seeding alone, you're looking at the single biggest upset of the entire tournament so far, folks. Not only that, but for most of the week, this one wasn't even all that close. I don't think I got a mention of this in the first round, but in this round, I had several people tell me they weren't voting for Demolition because Demolition were nothing but "Road Warriors ripoffs". That apparently cost them here. By the final score of 86-65, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster advance.

#11 Sting & Lex Luger VS #3 The Hart Foundation - Another big blowout that doesn't appear to be an even bigger blowout because of a late surge in votes for the losing team. People are really coming around to the fact that The Hart Foundation were a fantastic mix of size and speed, power and technical wrestling. They could step into the ring with anyone and make it work. Sting and Luger, on the other hand, were just very popular, although, perhaps not popular enough, apparently. By the final score of 94-57, The Hart Foundation moves on.

#7 The Rock-N-Sock Connection VS #2 The Midnight Express - The single closest margin of victory of the round, and one of the closest margins of victory in Hustle Madness history. This one literally came down to the last half-dozen votes I tallied. Incredible to watch. In the end, though, we got an upset, and a #2 seed is now history. Not much else to say, really. The Rock and Mankind squeeze out a victory by the final score of 77-74.

Red Bracket
#1 The Steiner Brothers VS #5 Harlem Heat
#3 The New Age Outlaws VS #7 The Acolytes/A.P.A.

Blue Bracket
#1 The Road Warriors/Legion Of Doom VS #4 The Outsiders
#3 The Funks VS #2 Edge & Christian

Orange Bracket
#1 The Fabulous Freebirds VS #5 The Mega Powers
#3 The Hardy Boyz VS #2 The British Bulldogs

Yellow Bracket
#1 The Dudley Boyz VS #12 Money Inc.
#3 The Hart Foundation VS #7 The Rock-N-Sock Connection

Once again, you folks have one week to get your votes in. I'll be right back here next Sunday to deliver the results of the Sweet Sixteen, and to give you the matchups for the Elite Eight. Things are getting good, ladies and gentlemen.

Hustle
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Source: lordsofpain.net