TNA One Night Only – X-Travaganza: Minus A Big White Elephant

X-Travaganza
Date: April 5, 2013
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

This is the first in a series of shows TNA is putting on called One Night Only. Since they’ve drastically cut back on the number of PPVs they air a year, these shows are supposed to fill in the gaps. They’re completely non-storyline based and will all have a theme, such as this one which is all about the X-Division. This was taped back in January I believe. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look back at the history of the X-Division, which is a good flashback for modern fans because the current stuff is so far removed from the old days. A lot of the focus here is on Joe and Aries, which I believe is the main event tonight.

Ultimate X is back tonight. Cool.

Yeah Aries vs. Joe tonight.

Tonight we’re going to be looking at the Top Ten X-Division Moments. If Unbreakable isn’t #1, this list is a joke. AJ winning the first X Title is #10. Good match that.

Matt Bentley vs. Alex Silva vs. Lince Dorado vs. Sam Shaw vs. Puma vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Christian York

This is an X-Scape match, which means it’s pin/submission under elimination rules until we’re down to two, then the first person to get out of the cage wins. Bentley (then Michael Shane) winning the first Ultimate X match is moment #9. Shawn, York and Silva are Gut Check guys (actually Silva and Shaw were OVW Tag Team Champions as the Gutcheckers until about a week ago). The rest used to be in the X-Division but most of them aren’t much to talk about. Thankfully you have to tag here so things aren’t completely insane.

Dorado (who I don’t think has ever wrestled in TNA actually) and Silva start things off. Lince flips over Silva in the corner and armdrags Silva down before climbing another corner for a nice rana. Off to York to face Dorado but Lince is quickly replaced by Puma. York escapes a rana attempt but Puma does an Ultimo Dragon headstand in the corner before coming out with a headscissors for no cover.

Rave and Silva take over on York with some double stomping before only Jimmy stays in. Everything breaks down with everyone inside and Dorado and York pounding away on Rave in the corner. Dorado hits a tornado DDT on Christian for two as things settle down. York comes back with knee lifts and a neckbreaker to take Lince down. Off to Shawn vs. Silva with Sam hitting some dropkicks to take over. Bentley comes in again and suplexes Shaw down before hitting his cousin’s (Shawn Michaels. Seriously) top rope elbow for two.

York comes back in, only to be rolled up by Dorado for two. A springboard dropkick has York in trouble but he doesn’t feel like selling apparently. Instead of like, falling down, York pops back up and hits his swinging neckbreaker to eliminate Dorado. Puma comes in to face York and apparently Taz really likes saying his name. A middle rope dropkick puts York down and it’s off to Shaw. An Orton backbreaker and neckbreaker quickly take out Puma and we’re down to five.

Silva comes in to pound on Shaw and hits what I think was a running kick to the chest for two. Off to Bentley as Tenay picks everyone to win. Who does he think he is? Bobby Heenan? Shaw comes back in and hits the same two move combination for two but Bentley comes in and breaks up the cover to steal the pin on Silva. Uh….ok? Rave comes in to stomp Shaw (I keep writing Shawn for his name) in the corner. Shaw rams himself into the cage and gets caught in a kind of snap reverse Angle Slam for a pin by Rave.

We’re down to York, Bentley and Rave now in case you’ve had issues keeping track. Rave and Bentley start double teaming York and for once it actually works. They both get in a steady stream of shots on York until he gets a boot up onto Matt’s jaw. The rolling neckbreaker takes out Bentley and we’re down to Rave vs. York. Rave immediately takes York down and goes to escape but Christian is right there to break it up.

They fight on the top rope with both guys being rammed head first into the cage. Rave sends York back down to the mat but he climbs too slow again. Taz continues an unfunny running joke that Rave is Todd Keneley as York sits on top of the cage and pounds away. Rave pulls him down again and they fight on the top one more time before York hits a swinging neckbreaker off the top. That and a kick to send Rave back down is enough for the win for York.

Rating: C+. This was fine. The X-Division was built around a bunch of crazy matches like this one and while it never hit a high level like some of them did, it was still fun enough for what it was supposed to be. The talent level was lacking a bit here but for the guys and match style we had, this worked out pretty well. York winning is the right idea, given that he’s the only active guy in the match.

Moment #8 is Ultimate X from Victory Road 2008. I believe this was the World X Cup, which is an international competition which was cool in nature but it never quite worked. Kaz diving off the tower to legdrop Daivari was pretty awesome though.

Rashad Cameron and Anthony Nese are ready for Kid Kash and Douglas Williams. It’s old school vs. new school apparently, despite Cameron being around for like two matches. Rashad is very proud to be from Philly. He’s a bit famous as Sabian in indy companies like CZW.

Rashad Cameron/Anthony Nese vs. Kid Kash/Douglas Williams

Williams and Cameron start things off with Doug looking older than usual. Doug takes him down by the leg and puts on a kind of reverse Boston Crab where Kash can kick Cameron in the face. Cameron and Williams run the ropes a bit until Rashad dropkicks Doug down. Off to Kash as this could be a trainwreck in a hurry. Thankfully Nese comes in quickly and things speed WAY up as they trade controlling holds on the mat. We get some sweet chain wrestling until Kash takes over with knees and chops.

Nese comes out of the corner with a spinning cross body for two and a clothesline to send Kash to the floor. Anthony loads up a dive, only to be taken down by Williams. Doug heads to the floor with Kash and there’s a big dive by Cameron, followed by an even better one by Nese. Back in and Nese jumps into a forearm from Kash as Taz is talking about investment banking and area codes.

Williams knocks Cameron off the apron as the old guys take over on Nese. Kash comes in for some solid stomping before it’s back to Williams. The old guys do some old school double teaming on Cameron who has no idea how to deal with it. Kash and Earl Hebner get into it a bit in the corner before Kash hits a hard chop on Cameron. Back to Williams for a kick to the back and a nice snap suplex for no cover.

Kash comes in to work on the knee in a vain attempt to add some psychology here. Some hard kicks by Kash to the chest keep Cameron down as Taz starts talking about Aces and 8’s. Well we made it through forty minutes so it was bound to happen soon. Kash breaks up a quick comeback with a forearm but his moonsault hits knees. Hot (I think?) tag brings in Nese as things speed up again.

Back to Williams who misses a clothesline and gets kicked down by Nese. A nice pumphandle powerbomb gets two for Anthony as everything breaks down. Nese hits a running knee to Williams’ head for two as Rashad dives on Kash on the floor. A quick rollup gets two for Anthony but he gets caught in the Rolling Chaos Theory for the pin by Williams.

Rating: C-. This didn’t work for me. I’m not a fan of most of the guys in this match and the ending was just kind of there. That’s one of the major problems with this show: there aren’t going to be any in depth stories and barely any stories at all. That’s fine if the matches are really good, but this was only decent at best.

Moment #7 is Joe winning his first X Title by beating AJ at Turning Point 2005.

Samoa Joe says he’ll do anything to win tonight. He says he’ll choke Aries out.

Here’s Robbie E to say he invented the X-Division. He’s the best X wrestler and champion of all time and claims to have wrestled in Antarctica. Therefore, he’ll let us applaud him because we’re so lucky. Cue Chavo Guerrero to mention his family name in an attempt to get people to care about him. The match is made, and Joseph Park is referee because his brother Abyss was X Champion at one point.

Robbie E. vs. Chavo Guerrero

Robbie says he hates Park but insists on Park checking Chavo for weapons. E has to be checked as well so Park pats Robbie’s hair in a funny bit. They go into the corner to start with Chavo getting on Robbie’s nerves for being too aggressive. Robbie hits a quick backdrop to the floor but misses a dive to give Chavo control. Back in and the slingshot hilo gets two, despite Park barely being able to move.

They trade some kicks to the ribs with Robbie taking over via a middle rope elbow for two. Off to a chinlock but Chavo quickly fights up and dropkicks Robbie down. A spinwheel kick puts E down again but Robbie misses a crossbody and lands on Park. Joseph slams him down and it’s Three Amigos and Frog Splash to end Robbie.

Rating: D. This wasn’t much at all and Park added next to nothing to it. Robbie isn’t much to see other than a comedy character and Chavo isn’t much better. Yeah, Chavo is Eddie’s nephew and that’s about all he’s got as far as a character goes. I’m just not a fan of these guys and the match was pretty dull stuff.

We get a highlight reel of the craziest moves in X-Division history. If you consider a top rope cross body to be crazy I guess.

Kenny King (not even holding the X Title here) is ready for Ultimate X.

Moment #6 (I’m assuming these are being counted down. They aren’t being given individual numbers) is Ultimate X. Not a specific one or anything. Just Ultimate X in general.

Zema Ion vs. Mason Andres vs. Rubix vs. Kenny King

In case you couldn’t tell, this is Ultimate X. Tenay says this is “just the 29^th time we’ve unleashed Ultimate X.” Yep, just 29 in ten years. By comparison, there have been 14 TLC matches in 13 years. The idea here is there are two ropes crossing way above the ring, forming an X. At their intersection there’s a big red X and whoever pulls that down wins. You have to use the ropes above the ring to pull yourself to the X to pull it down as the ropes are about seven feet above the top ropes of the ring.

Everything breaks down to start with Ion being sent to the floor. Rubix and Andrews go at it with Rubix taking him to the mat with an armdrag. King takes Rubix down with a sidekick but Ion is back in to take Kenny down as well. Andrews and Ion head down to the floor with King hitting a spinning springboard legdrop on Rubix back inside. Everyone is on the floor now as Taz keeps up his stupid jokes by calling Rubix Rubic like the cube.

Andrews and Ion are back inside with Mason going up, only to be pulled back down by Zema. Rubix comes back in with a sweet dropkick to Ion, sending him out to the floor. Rubix drops a slingshot legdrop on Andrews but Mason comes right back and pounds away on Ion in the corner. Ion slams Rubix down off the top as the match slows down a lot. King goes after Rubix’s mask in the corner but Andrews suplexes him off the top to save Rubix’s identity (which would be Jigsaw from Chikara).

Andrews stops Rubix from going for the X as Taz keeps the stupid running joke going. King dives out onto Rubix so Andrews dives down onto King to take both guys down. Ion hits a BIG corkscrew dive off the top onto Andrews and King to a rather weak reaction from the crowd. Rubix climbs up the structure in the corner to dive onto all three guys before heading back inside to go after the X.

It’s Kenny making the save though by pulling Rubix down into the Royal Flush to send Rubix to the floor. Ion crotches King in the corner but Kenny sends Zema to the floor to break up a superplex. Andrews manages to pull King down but Ion stops him from climbing across. Rubix comes back in and hits a dropkick on Ion and a tornado DDT on Andrews at the same time. Everyone is in a corner now and it’s Andrews going up, only to be pulled down into a German suplex by Rubix.

Rubix goes to the corner, only to be shoved down by Ion. Rubix and King team up to stop Ion with Rubix sending Ion into the structure in the corner. A dropkick takes King down but Andrews drives a knee into Rubix’s head. Ion and Andrews go across the ropes and meet in the middle above the ring with Andrews pulling Ion down in a Downward Spiral. In an anti-climactic ending, Rubix goes up and pulls down the X….but apparently he has to touch the mat. King catches him on the way down and steals the X to win.

Rating: B-. This was fun but the highspots were kind of lacking. It’s definitely entertaining, but again this doesn’t really mean anything and it was pretty clear that King or Ion was going to get the win. King stealing it was a nice touch but this was lacking the huge death defying nature of most of the Ultimate X matches.

Moment #5 is Brian Kendrick beating Abyss for the X Title at Destination X 2011, which was indeed an awesome moment.

Bad Influence says they’re national treasures and inspirations to children nationwide.

Sonjay Dutt and Petey Williams say that Petey was exercising when he was in his mother’s womb.

Moment #4 is the entire AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels rivalry.

Bad Influence vs. Petey Williams/Sonjay Dutt

Williams and Daniels get things going with Petey being sent in the corner but coming out with a headscissors and a smack to the face of Kazarian. Off to Dutt for a double elbow for a two count and some shoulders into Daniels’ ribs in the corner. Kaz comes in and ducks a kick, only to be caught by a standing moonsault for two. A dropkick gets the same for Dutt and it’s back to Petey.

Williams hooks a Sharpshooter on Kaz while Dutt hooks an Octopus Hold on Daniels. Petey hits some slick combo moves on both guys by hitting both guys at once before shrugging off a double leg drag. Kaz finally comes back and drapes Williams over the top rope to send him to the floor and take over. Off to Daniels for his slingshot elbow drop followed by the slingshot legdrop from Kaz for two. Daniels hooks a test of strength on Petey and climbs the rope to drive a knee into his chest for two.

We hit the nerve hold by Daniels for a bit before Petey is driven into the corner to break up a comeback. Kaz comes in for a front facelock as things slow down a bit as you would expect them to at some point. Petey finally fights up and gets to the corner for the hot tag to Sonjay. Dutt hits a cool bulldog into the middle buckle and a springboard legdrop onto the back of Daniels’ head for two.

Sonjay misses a springboard clothesline to Daniels and gets caught by a tornado DDT for Kazarian as Taz rips into Earl Hebner for being old. Dutt escapes Fade to Black but gets caught in a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo for two. Williams comes back in for his headscissors into a Russian legsweep for two on Daniels but Kaz breaks up the Canadian Destroyer.

Dutt hits a standing Sliced Bread on Kaz for two more but Daniels makes the save. Petey sends Daniels to the floor and hits a sweet slingshot rana to take him down. Dutt kicks Kaz in the head and loads up the moonsault double stomp, only to have Daniels break things up. Fade to Black puts Dutt down and the BME is good for the pin for Daniels.

Rating: B. Good fast paced formula based tag match here and that’s really hard to screw up when you have talented guys like these people. Dutt continues to look awesome since his comeback to the company but unfortunately TNA feels the need to focus on bland guys like Zema Ion for reasons I can’t fathom.

Williams hits the Destroyer on Kaz post match for old times sake. Petey wound up getting a job out of this performance.

We recap Jerry Lynn vs. RVD, or at least as much of it as we can without the ECW footage. I know this is blasphemy, but I’ve never really cared for their matches.

Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn

This is part of Lynn’s retirement tour and is No DQ because that’s what these matches always are. Feeling out process to start with Van Dam getting a quick rollup for two until we get a standoff. Lynn is in a sleeveless shirt here, likely due to reasons of fat or injury. A clothesline puts Van Dam down but RVD comes back with his stepover kick to send Jerry to the floor. Van Dam follows him out, only to be sent into the barricade. Jerry slides back in but charges into a spin kick from Van Dam.

Rob brings in a chair but gets caught by a clothesline as he rolls towards Jerry in the corner. They head to the floor again with Van Dam draping him over the barricade for the legdrop to the back. Now Van Dam sets up a table in the corner but Jerry hits a springboard legdrop to the back of RVD’s head to take over. Van Dam escapes a DDT but gets caught by a neckbreaker for two. A clothesline from Lynn puts both guys on the floor where Rob sets up another table.

Lynn is sent back inside but Van Dam can’t suplex him through the table on the floor. A sunset bomb is blocked and Rob hits a legdrop onto Lynn on the apron. Back in again and Jerry hits a jawbreaker to stagger both guys but Rob gets the chair from earlier. His monkey flip out of the corner is countered into a release powerbomb onto the chair for two. The cradle piledriver is countered into a rollup for two for Van Dam and but he takes too long picking up a chair and gets speared through the table in the corner for two.

Van Dam’s northern lights suplex onto a chair gets two on Lynn and there’s a springboard kick to the face to put Lynn down again. The Five Star hits chair only and Jerry rolls him up for two. Van Dam tries to leg sweep Jerry but gets legdropped into the chair in a nice counter. Lynn gets two more off a bad TKO onto a chair and both guys are down again. Lynn takes the chair up top but a Van Daminator sends him very softly through the table on the floor. That gets two back inside and a good looking Five Star is enough for the pin for RVD, again with very little reaction from the crowd.

Rating: C+. This was a lightning fast match with some amazing counters and speed moves…..fourteen years ago. Now it’s two guys who are nowhere near as fast as they used to be and doing a lot of the same spots which were awesome back in the day but now are the same ones we’ve seen time and time again. The match isn’t horrible but it was clearly about five steps slower than their older matches.

Lynn and Van Dam hug and the locker room comes out to wish Jerry goodbye.

Moment #3 is Aries winning the X Title.

Aries says that Joe may be the best X-Division guy ever, but Aries is the greatest man that ever lived.

Jerry Lynn says he didn’t expect to have another match in TNA after Bound For Glory so this was a nice surprise. Van Dam and Jerry talk about their history together for a bit in a nice moment.

Moment #2 is Aries cashing in his X Title for a world title match which he won in a big surprise.

Moment #1 is of course the Unbreakable triple threat. It’s the best match the company has ever produced. Was there ever any doubt about this being #1? I have no idea why there would have been. We get comments from all three people who speak of it nearly in awe.

Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe

Main event time so we get big match intros. Feeling out process to start as neither guy seems enthusiastic to get going. Joe escapes a headlock and shoulders Aries to the floor. Back in and Joe cranks on the arm, only to have Aries nip up into a headlock. We actually hear about Joe’s 21 month ROH undefeated streak in ROH until Aries dethroned him. Now there’s something I wouldn’t have bet on getting a mention between all of Taz’s bad jokes.

Joe sends Aries into the corner for a hard running kick to the face for the first real advantage of the match. Some chops take Aries down for the knee drop for two and it’s time for some right hands in the corner. There’s the Facewash but Aries bails to the floor before the running boot to the face can connect. Aries is kicked into the barricade and chopped so hard that he falls into the crowd.

Austin is whipped into the steps as Joe keeps control before throwing Aries back inside. The fat guy takes too long getting back inside though and Aries takes out the knee to take over. After cranking on the knee in the corner, a DDT on the knee is good for two. We hit the leg lock as this match continues to not be at the pace you would expect from these two. Aries fires off kicks to the body and the leg but Joe just gets mad. A leg dive keeps Joe down though and it’s back to the same leg lock.

The leg is wrapped around the leg for a dropkick to the knee and there’s a dragon screw leg whip to keep Joe down. Aries puts on a Figure Four for awhile until Joe turns it….halfway over so Aries has to grab a rope to escape. Aries is sent to the floor and Joe hobbles through the ropes in an attempt at a dive, only to have Austin slide back in for his suicide dive to regain control.

After a victory lap around the ring, Aries goes up top for a good looking missile dropkick, but Joe pops up and runs over Aries with a clothesline to put both guys down. The Samoan pounds away and hits the backsplash followed by a powerslam for two. A powerbomb sets up the STF for Joe but Aries bites the hand to escape. There’s the rear naked choke by Joe but he doesn’t have it on great. The referee checks Aries’ arm but it drops into the ropes for the break. Nice touch.

Back up and Aries hits a running forearm and dropkick in the corner but Joe easily blocks the brainbuster. Aries comes back with a kind of crucifix slam for two but Joe is too fat for a brainbuster. Instead he busts out the 450 but has to land on his feet when Joe moves. A Rock Bottom out of the corner sets up the Muscle Buster for Joe but Aries rolls through for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: B. Solid stuff for the most part here but it certainly wasn’t anything great. Joe was his usual self here, but unfortunately it’s the version from the past five years or so and not the one who dominated the X-Division for so many years. Aries was his usual awesome self, but he’s the same Aries he’s been since he got here, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your taste.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a simple one: if you like the X-Division, you’ll like this and if you don’t like the X-Division, you won’t care for this. The lack of stories is both a blessing and a curse here. It’s nice to not have the same Aces and 8’s stuff dominating the program, but having none of these matches mean anything brings the show down a lot.

Then there’s the big white elephant absent from the room: AJ Styles not being here. The guy is the greatest X-Division star ever and was the back that the division was built on. I know that he’s not active in storyline, but you could have said that he’s doing this for the love of the division or something like that. You can’t have an X-Division tribute show like this without having the best ever out there and it caused the show to be lacking a big something.

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