NWA Weekly PPV #10
Date: August 21, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

Every time I do two of these in a row, I come in thinking I should get back to this series more often but then I change my mind completely before I start the second one. That’s certainly the case here, as last week’s show was terrible. It was a string of gimmick matches which set up another string of them this week, though thankfully this week’s string involves AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Thank goodness Ed Ferrara is gone from commentary.

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn

Falls Count Anywhere and the first of a three match series tonight. It’s a brawl to start with Lynn taking him outside, where Styles manages a whip into the steps. Styles strikes away before getting crotched on the barricade to cut him off rather quickly. They fight into the crowd with Styles evening things up a bit, including a running flip dive off the balcony. Styles rams him into the barricade but gets suplexed back to ringside for two.

Back in and they trade flips until Lynn gets in a Stunner. A powerbomb is countered into a faceplant for two, with Lynn getting his foot on the ropes. I’m not sure why that breaks the count in a falls count ANYWHERE match but we’ll move on. A neckbreaker gives Styles two but Lynn is back up with a hurricanrana to the floor. They slug it out on the stage where Lynn drops him with a discus lariat. Something like a bulldog off the stage gets two and it’s back to the stage where Lynn hits a cradle piledriver for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: B-. These two work well together and it makes sense for the two of them to be put together this many times on one show. At the same time, they didn’t stay out there too long to burn the fans out. If nothing else, having Styles getting a rub from Lynn, who is as smooth of an in-ring veteran as TNA has, is a great idea.

Chris Harris (smoking) wants James Storm to drop the cowboy thing for one night because they have a big fight. Brian Lee and Ron Harris come in to mock them, with Storm making western movie references. Storm seems to think he got them. Uh, right.

James Storm/Chris Harris vs. Ron Harris/Brian Lee

Storm and Lee start things off with Storm not being able to do much with the power game. A running forearm works a bit better and Ron is knocked outside as well. It’s off to Chris vs. Ron and it’s quickly time for the villains to have a conference on the floor. Back in and Ron hits some running corner clotheslines as everything breaks down. Chris is back with a headscissors while Storm beats up Lee on the floor.

Back in and Ron hits a swinging side slam for two and Lee grabs the chinlock. With that broken up, it’s back to Ron for a big boot. Chris fights out of trouble and makes the tag to Storm as everything breaks down. For some reason Lee gets in a fight with a fan in the front row, though there is nothing to suggest who it might be. Chris’ top rope shot to the back of the head snaps Ron’s throat across the top and Storm gets a rollup for the quick pin at 9:00.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t anything good to see, but what matters is Storm/Harris getting to work together and continue to grow as a team. They’re a good example of wrestlers who had nothing going on and it turned out they were a successful pairing. Thankfully TNA seems to be running with it as they now have a homegrown team who is turning into something.

Post match Ron and Lee jumps Storm and Chris to leave them laying.

Jimmy Yang vs. Sonny Siaki

2/3 falls and Jorge Estrada is here with Yang, who jumps Siaki as all three do their entrance together. They get inside for a spinwheel kick to Siaki, followed by a choke over the ropes. Siaki takes part of his top down (making it FAR easier to tell them apart), followed by a suplex cutter. Yang is right back with a neckbreaker though and Yang Time is good for the first fall at 3:30.

Another choke over the ropes is quickly broken up and Yang crashes to the floor. Siaki is back up with a suplex and they go back inside for the two count, setting up the chinlock. That doesn’t last long so Siaki grabs a pumphandle suplex for two instead. Yang fights up and hits a middle rope kick to the face, only for Siaki to grab a fisherman’s neckbreaker to tie it up at 8:27.

Siaki’s shoulder breaker gets two but Yang pulls him into a half crab. That’s broken up as well so Yang grabs a leglock. Siaki escapes that as well and is fine enough to hit a superplex. Yang is up first with a spinning kick to the chest but Siaki knocks him back down. They both go up to the same corner, where Yang manages a super swinging neckbreaker. Yang is back up with a rollup but Siaki reverses into one of his own and grabs the rope for the final pin at 14:09.

Rating: B-. I have no idea why this was 2/3 falls other than to stretch the match out a bit longer. Siaki definitely feels like the strongest of the three in the ring, though that ending of the third fall didn’t exactly work. Hopefully this gets Siaki out of the team though, as the trio isn’t getting anywhere at the moment.

Post match Jeff Jarrett storms out to say he wants to know what surprise Bob Armstrong has for him. Cue Brian Lawler to jump Jarrett and the brawl is on. Security breaks it up so Goldilocks goes into the ring to ask Lawler about his issues with Jarrett. Lawler is about to answer…and he gets jumped too. I’m really not sure if Lawler having issues with Jarrett is all that interesting.

Brian Lawler vs. Slash

The brawl is on with Lawler in trouble and they’re quickly on the floor. The mats get pulled back but Lawler reverses a suplex to take Slash down. Back in and Lawler flips the fans off as we hear about various problems in the New Church. They go outside again with Lawler hitting a bulldog on the ramp but stopping to yell at a fan. That’s enough for Slash to hit a top rope superplex for two, only for Lawler to come back with a DDT. Lawler stops to dance and gets kicked low but he’s fine enough to knock Slash off the top. The Tennessee Jam finishes for Lawler at 5:57.

Rating: C. It shouldn’t be surprising that things were fine enough here as these two had a long history in Memphis. At the same time, Lawler is only so interesting as this angry good guy, though it is likely a case of him being available rather than anything else. If nothing else, it’s nice to have Lawler stop talking about his dad, as that was killing him.

In the back, Jeff Jarrett argues with Bob Armstrong and leaves. We’re not finding out the surprise they advertised last week are we?

X-Division Title: Low Ki vs. Jose Maximo vs. Joel Maximo vs. Amazing Red

Ki is defending under elimination rules. All three challengers start hammering on Ki, who blasts them with kicks to the head. We settle down to Ki chopping Red but it’s too early for the Ki Crusher. Joel comes in for a tornado DDT to Ki and it’s quickly off to Jose. Ki is fine enough to kick both Maximos into the corner but Red comes in to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and an Alabama Slam/neckbreaker combination drops Ki.

Red’s top rope hurricanrana sends Joel into Jose and Ki tosses Red onto both Maximos. Ki’s big twisting dive off the top takes all three of them down again, giving them a quick breather on the floor. Back in and Ki is knocked outside again, leaving Joel to hit a lifting sitout Pedigree to pin Jose at 9:07.

Back in and Ki kicks away at Joel but Red knocks Joel down and hits a twisting top rope splash for the elimination at 10:10. So it’s Red vs. Ki for the title, with Ki countering Code Red into something like an Alabama Slam into the corner. A super Ki Crusher is countered but the second attempt plants Red hard to retain the title at 12:08.

Rating: B-. Good enough, but this was similar to last week’s match against the Flying Elvises as there was no reason to believe that two of the three were going to have a chance. That leaves you a long time before we get to the one on one match and then it only lasts about two minutes. The match itself was a bunch of spots and Ki striking, which is a good way to bring Ki up even higher.

Ron Killings compares himself to Abraham Lincoln for freeing the Black sports entertainers. He has a dream too, and it involves kicking the dust off of Monty Brown.

NWA World Title: Ron Killings vs. Monty Brown

Brown is challenging and shoves him into the corner, allowing for some dancing. Three straight running shoulders give Brown two but Killings sends him crashing out to the floor. The big flip dive takes Brown down and Killings stomps away. They fight onto the announcers’ table, where Killings escapes the Alpha Bomb. West: “WHAT HAVE WE JUST SEEN???” Uh, two guys punching each other and one of them escaping a powerbomb before getting off the table?

Brown sends him flying and then takes it back inside for two. A Downward Spiral sets up Killings’ top rope legdrop for two and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up so Killings hits a leg lariat for two more. Brown is back up with a powerslam into a splash for two of his own. Killings ax kicks him down for two so Brown tries the Alpha Bomb, which is reversed into something like a sunset bomb to retain the title at 10:13.

Rating: D+. To say Brown was green here would be a huge understatement and there was only so much that could be done in a situation like this. It helps that Killings is able to hang in there and do some of his stuff, but he needed someone better than Brown to make this work. Brown has all kinds of charisma but that isn’t enough to carry him through a ten minute match with this kind of importance.

Post match Jeff Jarrett is IMMEDIATELY in the ring to go after Killings but Brian Lawler comes in. Lawler grabs a chair but hits Killings by mistake, which he realizes is a big mistake.

Jerry Lynn is ready to finish AJ Styles for good but here is Styles to jump him from behind. Since the second match is No DQ, we’ll just start it in the back.

Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles

No DQ and Lynn is up 1-0. They strike it out and go inside with Lynn hitting a Stunner over the ropes. A table is set up but Styles cuts him off, with the table being turned over. Styles’ springboard dive hits the upside down table (ouch) but he’s right back up with a legdrop onto a chair onto Lynn. A catapult sends Styles face first into the chair in the corner though and Lynn hits the slingshot Fameasser in the ropes.

Lynn’s tornado DDT to the table on the floor is broken up and a double clothesline leaves both of them down. Lynn tries a sunset flip but Styles grabs the chair and cracks him in the head for the save (that was nice). Back up and Lynn hits a top rope hanging DDT onto a chair…and pulls Styles up at two (uh oh). Styles knocks him off the top but gets crotched, setting up a super hurricanrana through the ringside table (with Styles landing head first for a scary crash). Back in and Styles is fine enough to reverse another tornado DDT attempt into the Styles Clash onto the chair for the pin at 10:37.

Rating: C+. Another good enough match between the two of them and again they didn’t overstay their welcome. That’s something you need to do if you’re going to see them fighting over and over, especially if Styles was all but guaranteed to win and tie the series up. It was a bit too similar to their first match, though nothing bad whatsoever.

With the series tied, we’re having a ten minute Iron Man match for the final fall and it starts right now.

Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles

Ten minute Iron Man match and the winner gets an X-Division Title shot (ignore the clock on screen starting before the bell). Styles gets smart and pins the down Lynn at 11 seconds.

Styles – 1
Lynn – 0

Styles pins him again at 19 seconds.

Styles – 2
Lynn – 0

Lynn kicks out of a third cover and reverses a suplex into a neckbreaker for two. Styles grabs a sleeper to slow him down as we’re already two minutes in. Lynn fights up so Styles pulls him down by the hair and puts on the chinlock. Back up and Styles’ hurricanrana is countered into a faceplant to give Lynn a fall at 3:49.

Styles – 2
Lynn – 1

Lynn follows Styles’ plan by covering for an immediate two but Styles scores with a backdrop. We have five minutes left as Lynn comes back with the springboard Fameasser for two. Lynn goes up but gets caught in a Razor’s Edge Dominator (that was cool) and a delayed cover gives Styles another fall at 6:32 (even if the referee was a bit confused).

Styles – 3
Lynn – 1

Styles hammers away as Low Ki comes to watch, complete with a ladder. We have two minutes left as Lynn hits a tombstone for the pin at 8:13.

Styles – 3
Lynn – 2

Lynn can’t hit the cradle piledriver but can hit a Styles Clash to tie it up at 8:58.

Styles – 3
Lynn – 3

They trade very fast rollups but neither can get the pin as time expires at 10:00.

Rating: B-. This one saw the two of them getting the chance to show off their athleticism a bit more and Styles getting two falls at the start was very smart. I’m not wild on seeing the whole thing end in a draw, but otherwise, how else would we get to a triple threat title match? It didn’t get too insane, but Ki coming out with the ladder more or less guaranteed where this was going.

Post match Ki comes in and raises both of their arms, only to kick them down. Ki says the division is about the champion so next week it’s time to prove that he is the greatest in a ladder match.

Don West does his big hype package. Sweet goodness he is awesome at this stuff.

Referee Scott Armstrong asks his dad (Bob Armstrong, behind a door so we can’t see him) to not come after Jeff Jarrett. Bob says he has to and he has padding.

Jarrett is in the ring so here is Bob, in his Bullet mask and gear, with Jarrett beating him up. Jarrett calls him an old man and hammers away but Bullet fights back and clears Jarrett out. Hold on though as the real Bob Armstrong pops up on the stage with a chair. The Bullet unmasks as…well he doesn’t as we’ll see who that is next week.

Overall Rating: C+. This was actually a very interesting show because it was WAY toned down compared to everything else that they had been doing. That’s because the company was not doing well financially and they were doing things on a budget. Therefore, a bunch of people are gone and you have things like Styles and Lynn working three matches on a single show.

At the same time, my goodness this was SO much easier to watch without some of the terrible stuff. It was a much straighter show and while it might not work full time, it wasn’t the Dupps or Jive Talkin or all the other dumb ideas that get so much time. Granted it did have a bunch of Jeff Jarrett, but you know that’s coming every single week around here.

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NWA Weekly PPV #9
Date: August 14, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West, Ed Ferrara

I really need to do these more often. Things have been a total mess around here, which is kind of the trademark of the promotion in its early run. Ron Killings has won the World Title and Don Harris is at war with the New Church because…I have absolutely no idea. Jeff Jarrett is still the star of the whole place while the X-Division guys continue to steal the show week in and week out. Let’s get to it.

Opening recap, looking at last week’s World Title change.

Opening sequence.

Here is new World Champion Ron Killings for a chat. Killings says this is his house, which he dubs the TNA Asylum. He has had to work harder because of the color of his skin. A senior WWF official told him that he couldn’t make the same mistakes as a white man. That’s too far, so from this day forward, he is a legend. Now he’s the World Champion, but here is Jeff Jarrett (teaming with Killings tonight) to say he can’t believe some of this nonsense.

Jarrett claims reverse racism because he has never gotten the same shot. Killings says come get your shot but cue Bill Behrens (with a ridiculous cowboy hat) and security to cut it off. Behrens makes a bunch of sheriff jokes and says Jarrett and Killings fan fight…but it won’t be sanctioned for the World Title. Cue Brian Lawler to go after Jarrett until security breaks it up. Lawler shouts about knowing it was Jarrett. Well of course it was. It’s always Jarrett.

Kid Kash/Shark Boy/Slim J vs. Amazing Red/Spanish Announce Team

Kash and Joel start fast and trade wrist control before exchanging armdrags for a standoff in a quick sequence. Kash flips him off and hits a running shoulder before backdropping him out to the floor. A slingshot hurricanrana takes Joel down again and we hit the parade of dives. J, Red and Kash all one up each other with flip dives and we settle down to Kash suplexing J onto Joel. Back up and everything breaks down, with the SAT’s tying up Boy and J in a Liontamer/camel clutch at the same time.

Red adds a springboard missile dropkick but gets kicked in the face by J. Kash comes back in to drop an elbow on Red and then hits a kind of super powerslam. It’s back to J, who misses a twisting top rope splash. Everything breaks down (shocking I know) and Kash runs the corner for a super hurricanrana. Boy’s Diamond Dust gets two on Red with Jose making the save. The Money Maker (Jay Driller) plants Red with Joel’s top rope legdrop breaking it up. The double super Spanish Fly hits J and Red’s very twisty splash finishes him off at 10:39.

Rating: B. This falls right into the classic formula of “take a bunch of people and let them fly all over the place to pop the crowd”. That’s all this was supposed to be and it was entertaining stuff. Red’s stuff continues to be insane and that was the case here, with Kash’s great looking hurricanranas not being too far behind.

The Dupps have an idea for their own version of Cribs, which is about their house…which is an outhouse. My goodness this is so dumb.

Here is Bruce to say he is more woman than anyone in this arena. All of the married men in this arena, including Mike Tenay, are fantasizing about him. The challenge is on, and he’ll throw in $5000 to any woman who can beat him. A woman from the crowd signs a quick contract and we’re ready to go.

Miss TNA: Bruce vs. ???

Bruce is defending and gets speared down to start, followed by a legdrop. A toss over the top sets up a slam on the floor, followed by another back inside. Then Bruce grabs a small package for the fast pin at 1:50. The woman shrugs it off with an “oh well”, because that’s what you should do here.

Jeff Jarrett wants the World Title and beats up Bill Behrens in the backroom. Then he runs into Low Ki for a staredown, followed by Tito and Bo Dupp bumping into each other. Thankfully for us, this means a match.

Don Harris vs. Malice

Last Man Standing and this is missing from WatchTNA because…well I’m guessing the SS on Harris’ shirt. Malice jumps him to start and gets taken down for his efforts. Harris chairs him in the head but Malice throws powder in Harris’ eyes. More powder blinds Harris again and Malice gets in a chair shot as Harris is busted open. Malice whips him into the barricade a few times and they go up to the stage, with Harris being tossed out to the floor.

That’s a bit too much selling for Harris though, as he comes back with a chain for some choking and a clothesline. It’s time for a table and Harris kicks a chair into Malice’s face. Malice gets in a powerbomb but pulls Harris up for a chokeslam. That’s countered into a DDT but Malice is back up with a belly to back superplex through the table. Naturally only Harris gets up for the win at 7:08.

Rating: D. If you have a Last Man Standing match, maybe A, have it go longer than ten minutes and B, don’t have the SECURITY GUARD beat the former #1 contender to the World Title. The fact that Malice hit the finishing move here and then lost anyway should tell you everything wrong with this match, but there was so much else wrong with the thing that it’s not even covering the biggest issue. Horrible stuff here as Don Harris continues to be far too big of a star.

Post match respect is shown, and if you have the respect of DON HARRIS, you’re going places.

Dupp Cup: Teo vs. Bo Dupp

The first to ten points wins and if you think I’m keeping score, I have no idea what to tell you. Teo starts fast and sends him into a chair, followed by ripping off the pants and hitting him with a stick horse. It doesn’t count for points though because Bo likes it and yes, someone was paid to come up with this nonsense.

Stan Dupp offers a distraction and Bo gets in a big boot as Don West is actually trying to keep track of the points (doing commentary with a solo mic at ringside, reportedly because Mike Tenay didn’t want to be part of this). Stan goes to the ticket window where the woman in charge beats on him with a broom. Bo takes Teo to the outhouse but Puppet is inside with a kendo stick. That’s enough for Bo to be send face first into the hole to give Teo the win at 4:25.

Rating: F-. I…what do you want me to say here? This was every bit as stupid as you could have imagined and then it just kept getting worse. I’m sure the people backstage were roaring with laughter over it, but if your commentator, and one of the most prominent, well respected people you have, is washing your hands so you can do an outhouse joke, it’s way past time to think about what you’re doing.

We recap Monty Brown vs. Elix Skipper, with Skipper turning on him (after they won a match) and Brown wanting revenge.

Monty Brown vs. Elix Skipper

Detroit Street Fight. Before the match, Skipper calls out Brown for the fight and then gets jumped from behind because Skipper is kind of dumb. Brown hammers away to start and chokes him over the ropes with a shirt. Skipper gets in a chain shot to the ribs and chokes away, which is shrugged off without much effort.

Back in and some trashcan/lid shots slow Brown down, with Skipper adding in a Matrix to send Brown crashing. A slingshot dive onto the can onto Brown gets two on the floor but Brown is back up with the Alphalution (kind of a reverse F5). The Alpha Bomb onto a trashcan (onto a stop sign because reasons) finishes Skipper at 5:45.

Rating: C. I can go with pushing Brown as a star as he has more charisma than should be allowed, but this was another violent gimmick match crammed into way too short of a time limit. As is the case so often around here, this stuff needs time to breathe and that isn’t what we’re getting with just about anything. Brown is going to be a force though, as even TNA shouldn’t be able to screw him up.

The Flying Elvises are all ready to challenge for the X-Division Title. They’re fired up because it’s 25 years since Elvis died and Sonny Siaki is going to win the title in his honor. As in his own honor, because he hates Elvis. Hence being in a stable called the FLYING ELVISES. Other than that, I’m trying to figure out why Goldilocks is in her third different outfit in an hour.

X-Division Title: Low Ki vs. Sonny Siaki vs. Jimmy Yang vs. Jorge Estrada

Ki is defending and this is elimination rules. Siaki and Ki start things off as we’re actually tagging here. Ki fights him into the corner early on but gets powerbombed out. Estrada comes in and grabs a Regal Roll but the Lionsault is countered. Some kicks rock Estrada for two, with Siaki having to break up a dragon sleeper.

The Elvises aren’t happy with each other so Yang comes in with a middle rope spinwheel kick. Yang chokes him over the ropes but Ki is quickly out of a sleeper. Estrada comes back in and takes out Yang, including a springboard flip dive on the floor. Back in and Yang hits a dropkick into a Boston crab, which he bends back really fast and Estrada taps immediately for the elimination at 6:41.

Ki comes in so Yang hits him with a missile dropkick for two. Yang Time is loaded up but Siaki crotches him down, setting up the Ki Crusher at 7:56 to get us down to one on one. Siaki comes in with a pop up cutter for two but Ki is back with a springboard kick to the face. Siaki manages a shot to the face, only to get sent into Yang as he’s still on the apron. Ki rolls him up to retain at 9:22.

Rating: B-. They only had so much time here as you had three eliminated to cover in the span of less than ten minutes. At the same time, the Elvises are having issues and that’s likely going to lead to something going south sooner or later. As for Ki, it’s a good move to have him beat all three members of the team to retain, as that’s going to make anyone look strong.

Earlier today, Goldilocks (outfit #4) got in a car with Jerry Lynn, who made a short drive to another building and beat up AJ Styles, knocking him into a bathtub and demanding respect.

Disco Inferno is back with Jive Talking and brings out actor Dean Baldwin (read as Shark Boy without a mask) to talk about his upcoming movie. This leads Disco to asking about Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger’s bedroom habits. Cue Brian Lawler who rants about Jeff Jarrett doing…something. Baldwin: “Who are you? What are your credentials?” Lawler takes Baldwin out and we still don’t know what Jarrett did. Security throws Lawler out.

Goldilocks (outfit #5) watches the Dupps freak out. Stan is leaving and Goldilocks isn’t sure what Bo should do. Bo: “Thank you for caring.”

Tag Team Titles: Jeff Jarrett/Ron Killings vs. AJ Styles/Jerry Lynn

Styles and Lynn are defending but Styles isn’t here to start. That means Lynn gets beaten down but here is Styles to even things up. House is cleaned and Styles hits Jarrett with the drop down dropkick for an early two. A Lionsault to the floor connects for Styles but he gets dropped onto the barricade. That leaves Lynn to monkey flip Killings inside and a middle rope bulldog gets two.

We settle down to Jarrett stomping away on Lynn and Killings comes in for a wheelbarrow faceplant. The ax kick gets two on Lynn, who is right back with the Figure Four to Jarrett, who turns it over in literally less than two seconds. Since this is TNA, commentary insults Lynn for being dumb for trying a Figure Four on Jeff Jarrett.

Killings puts Lynn on top but gets taken down with a tornado DDT for a needed breather. That’s enough for the tag off to Styles so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and Styles flips over Jarrett but the referee gets decked. Lynn’s reverse DDT drops Jarrett and Cradle Piledrives Killings but Jarrett is up for the save. Jarrett gives Lynn the Stroke and Styles his the Spiral Tap on Killings for a double pin at 12:24.

Rating: C+. Oh there it is. That’s the big ending that Russo loves as not only do we have the two teams who don’t get along, but now they have a screwy finish to hold up the titles. Odds are we’ll either get a rematch, a ladder match or a tournament of some kind because it gets the titles off of Lynn and Styles without having them lose. It’s not a bad match, but dang it feels like a lame way to end the title reign.

Post match Bob Armstrong comes out to say the titles are held up. Next week, it’s Killings for Monty Brown for the World Title and Lynn vs. Styles for a future X-Division Title shot match. Lynn wants falls count anywhere. Styles wants anything goes. Armstrong says sure, and it’s going to be 2/3 falls, with the third fall being a ten minute iron man match. As for Jarrett, he gets a special opponent next week.

Don West does the big push for next week’s show.

Brian Lawler attacks Jeff Jarrett in the back and shouts about wanting to kill him. Geez what did he do? Make him watch Jeff Jarrett matches?

Overall Rating: D. As usual, the matches where it’s played a lot straighter are far easier to watch. Case in point, we had something as simple as a six man tag as the opener and it was by far the best thing on the show. After that, it was man vs. woman, a Last Man Standing match, the Dupp Cup nonsense, a street fight and then a four way before a screwy tag match to wrap up the show. That’s WAY too much going on at once (including ANYTHING involving the Dupps) and some of it is absolutely horrible. There are fun parts to the show but as usual, they’re all so bogged down and it’s killing the positives. As per Russo.

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NWA TNA Weekly PPV #6
Date: July 24, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Ed Ferrara, Don West

I would say things are picking up around here but that isn’t exactly accurate. There are some things going on but a good may of them aren’t good. With a focus on the weird Puppet stuff, whatever the Dupps are doing and Jeff Jarrett as a focal point, the show isn’t exactly thrilling content. Hopefully it improves here though so let’s get to it.

Here is last week’s show if you need a recap.

We open with Jeff Jarrett smashing a bunch of people with chairs (as he did to end last week’s show). He says the NWA World Title is his and he wants Ken Shamrock out here right now. Shamrock is in the back and yells at Bob Armstrong, saying he’s going to the ring. After heading towards the ring, Shamrock locks a door and has a rather muscular man stand guard. Bill Behrens comes to the ring instead and suspends Jarrett, who chairs him in the head. Now Shamrock gets in for the brawl but some wrestlers come out to break it up, allowing Jarrett to chair Shamrock in the head.

Commentary previews the show.

Amazing Red vs. Low Ki

Red snaps off some armdrags to start and then kicks Ki outside. Back in and a middle rope clothesline drops Ki but he’s right back with a hard kick for two of his own. A butterfly suplex into a double underhook crank has Red in trouble but he fights right back out. Red goes up top, where Ki pulls him into a hanging dragon sleeper for some rather painful cranking.

They trade kicks to the head until Red’s hat flies off, which has him so annoyed that he hits a quick standing shooting star press for two. The Code Red gets two more but Ki strikes away, only to get dropped with a spinwheel kick. Red’s corkscrew moonsault misses though and the Ki Krusher 99 finishes for Ki at 7:29.

Rating: B. This is how you make someone into a bigger deal as Red was in there hanging with someone who almost won the X-Division Title last week. The perk of a promotion still being this new is that people can still make an impact in a hurry. That’s what Red did here and it was a heck of a match as the show kicks off fast.

Jeff Jarrett tries to get back stage but is blocked by the rather muscular man.

Hot Shots vs. Chris Harris/James Storm

Earlier today, Harris told Storm that the cowboy stuff was stupid and he better not fire those cap guns. The fight starts on the floor and we settle down to Storm headscissoring Stevens. Harris comes in with a spear and a belly to belly, but O’Reilly sends him outside. A drop onto the barricade has Harris in trouble for a change though and a dropkick gives O’Reilly two back inside.

Stevens hits a handspring elbow for two of his own, only for O’Reilly to miss (meaning hits, but only because Harris didn’t roll away face enough) a moonsault. It’s back to Harris as everything breaks down, with Storm hitting a reverse tornado DDT. Harris’ northern lights suplex is enough for the pin at 5:19.

Rating: C. This was the latest win for Harris and Storm, who are rising up the ranks rather quickly. Well as many ranks as you can have so soon in a company’s history. You can tell there is a chemistry there and that is something that can take them a rather long way. The match was nothing of note though, as the Hot Shots just didn’t have much going on.

Post match the Hot Shots jump them from behind for the beatdown.

Ken Shamrock wants Jeff Jarrett.

Apolo vs. Brian Lawler

Thankfully Lawler doesn’t get to talk before he slams Apolo go start. Apolo is back up with a slam of his own and Lawler is not pleased. A Sky High gives Apollo two so Lawler goes back to the Memphis playbook with a foreign object. Some choking on the ropes keeps Apolo in trouble and a middle rope dropkick makes it worse. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Apolo is back up with a running shoulder. The legdrop gives Apolo two but the TKO is countered into a reverse DDT. Lawler, with his mouth bleeding, stops to dance…and is promptly rolled up for the pin at 7:06.

Rating: C. Again, Lawler just isn’t much in the ring and that hasn’t changed no matter what he’s been doing. That kind of style works in a place like the old Memphis territory and there is nothing wrong with it, but it’s not working here. Throw in the fact that he was just Grandmaster Sexay about a year ago and still acts the same way and it’s not exactly clicking. At least he wasn’t ranting about Jerry Lawler for once, as that isn’t working in the slightest.

Post match Lawler beats up Don West because that’s what a villain should do. There is still no security but Lawler lets him go anyway.

Here is K-Krush and we get a montage of him hanging…well actually just Norman Smiley and Scott Hall. Back in the arena, Krush talks about how he doesn’t want to go by this name because THEY gave it to him. He is being held down by THEY in the back before talking about Allen Iverson (he’s wearing an Iverson jersey) and says that like Iverson, he’s the TRUTH.

After talking about Mike Tyson and OJ Simpson, Money Brown (to what would become Abyss’ music) interrupts to brag about his own football career. Krush can blame everyone he wants, but maybe he’s just not all that. The challenge is issued but Truth (seems to be his official name) isn’t interested. The brawl is on and Brown easily clears him out.

We recap the issues between AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn. They hate each other but work well together, which is why they’re still Tag Team Champions. A lot of brawling has ensued.

We get a sitdown interview between Styles and Lynn from earlier today and, after the video doesn’t work the first time, they talk about how they still don’t get along. Tonight, they have to get together to retain the Tag Team Titles.

Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles/Jerry Lynn vs. Flying Elvises

The Elvises are challenging and Sonny Siaki is on commentary. Lynn and Estrada trade arm control to start until until Lynn elbows him in the face and grabs a running headscissors. Styles adds a running knee to the face and a legdrop gets two. An elbow to the jaw gives Styles two more but Estrada gets in a slam, allowing the rather necessary tag off to Yang.

Lynn comes back in to knock Yang into the corner, setting up a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. What looks like a top rope cutter from Styles…just kind of crashes down and Yang sends him outside for a heck of a clothesline. Back in and a Koji Clutch keeps Styles in trouble, setting up Estrada’s knee to the ribs for two. The banged up ribs are dropped over the top rope for two and a Lionsault connects for the same.

Another rather slow motion knee drop into a slingshot hilo gets two next two, followed by the logical abdominal stretch. Styles tries to fight back but Lynn gets knocked off the apron so the beating can continue. A kick to the face gets Styles out of trouble though and it’s back to Lynn to clean house. Lynn dives onto Estrada but Styles accidentally takes Lynn out with a dive of his own. Lynn is VERY busted open but he’s fine enough to come back with the slingshot Fameasser over the ropes. That’s enough to pin Estrada, even as Styles is on top for the Spiral Tap, and retain at 15:24.

Rating: B. Well hokey smoke, a wrestling match broke out on this show. It really shouldn’t be any surprise that Styles and Lynn work this well together as they’re incredibly talented but at the same time the Elvises are right there with him to make their side work. This was a rather good match and one of the better things the promotion has produced so far.

And now, Glenn Gilbertti has a talk show. After referencing Joey Maggs, Gilbertti talks about how much success he has had, all while commentary WILL NOT SHUT UP about how Gilbertti isn’t a star, continuing to completely undermine the entire joke. Anyway, Gilbertti is help AJ Styles be more athletic, show Ken Shamrock how to be charismatic, and Tennessee how to be smart. Next week, it’s the debut of Jive Talkin. Just in case we didn’t have enough comedy acts.

Ken Shamrock and the muscular guy….are cut off by a camera cut.

Simon Diamond/Johnny Swinger vs. Monty Brown/Elix Skipper

Skipper kicks away at Diamond to start and it’s off to brown for a Flip, Flop And Fly of all things. Swinger gets a clothesline from the apron to take over on Skipper and some rolling suplexes into a gordbuster gets two. Skipper gets in a shot to the face though and it’s Brown coming in to clean house. Diamond drops Brown from behind but a quick Alpha Bomb gives Brown the pin at 5:34.

Rating: C. Yeah I think they know what they have here with Brown, as he’s such a ball of charisma and an athletic freak on top of that. You don’t get someone like that very often and TNA would be smart to push him even harder. Other than that, Diamond and Swinger are good choices to put out there as designated victims as they work well together.

Post match The Truth comes in to jump Brown and choke him out.

The Dupps don’t have a match tonight but intentionally bump into Goldilocks, which is supposed to set up a match. Instead Bo goes after the muscular guy and a match is made.

Bo Dupp vs. Ian Harrison

Stan Dupp is on commentary as the rather big Harrison powers Bo into the corner. A suplex gives Bo a breather but Harrison easily slams him down. Some forearms just annoy Harrison, who comes back with a powerslam for the pin….despite the referee looking confused, at 2:59. Or was it a DQ when Stan ran in? Not that it matters as the Dupps are done for the night and that’s a good thing.

Post match the Dupps go after Harrison, who clears them out with ease. Harrison was every generic monster power wrestler you can imagine. Great physique, but nothing that is going to seem interesting.

With Harrison in the ring, Ken Shamrock and Jeff Jarrett can finally brawl. It’s broken up just as fast.

We get a pretty long recap of Sabu beating Malice in a ladder match to become the new #1 contender.

NWA World Title: Ken Shamrock vs. Sabu

Shamrock is defending and hits him in the face to start. Commentary explains that to even this out, it is Ladder vs. Submission, which means Shamrock has to win by submission and Sabu has to win by climbing a ladder to get the belt (because of course they have to make this more complicated). Sabu grabs a kneebar, suggesting that he can win by submission as well, only for Shamrock to fight out and kick him in the head.

Shamrock is back with a kneebar of his own as we’re told that Ricky Steamboat will be in charge next week. Sabu’s armbar is reversed into a kneebar, with Sabu getting to the ropes. Sabu gets knocked outside where he grabs a ladder, which is kicked into his face. They fight up to the stage for a few seconds before Shamrock is sent through the barricade.

Shamrock is laid onto a table but Sabu takes too long setting up a dive, meaning he only hits table. Now Shamrock gets to go up (as Ladder vs. Submission is already getting confusing) and grabs the belt…but the lights go out. Cue Malice to chokeslam Shamrock off the ladder and grab the belt, which makes the bell ring at 9:31.

Rating: D. They had some hard hitting stuff in there, but when commentary can’t explain the rules, it might be proof that they don’t nee to be there. The idea of ladder vs. submission only makes so much sense in the first place, as there was no reason to change it from being anything other than a regular match. And then the ending is someone pulling the title down because…I have no idea what is going on in this whole thing.

Overall Rating: C+. Things might be inching in the right direction here as there was enough focus on the better, more interesting things. At the same time, there are still enough bad things (submission vs. ladder, the Dupps, Gilbertti’s talk show, anything with Lawler and more) to hold it down. I’m certainly not optimistic, but things could be a lot worse.

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NWA TNA Weekly PPV #5
Date: July 17, 2002
Location: Nashville Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Ed Ferrara, Don West

We’re back for another batch of these things and the promotion is not in good shape. Save for the X-Division, the shows are just not very good and there isn’t much of a way around it. Ken Shamrock isn’t an interesting World Champion and Brian Christopher is still getting a lot of attention for whatever reason. Then there’s Jeff Jarrett, and I mean a lot of Jeff Jarrett, on top of everything else. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Jeff Jarrett going all nuts and attacking Ken Shamrock with a chair last week.

Shamrock doesn’t have any comment but he’s ready to show how mad he is.

Opening sequence.

Scott Hall and Jeff Jarrett, the latter of whom is ready to be in a ladder match for the #1 contendership to the World Title, brawl in the back and fight outside. The fight is broken up and executive Bill Behrens says Jarrett has forfeited his spot in the match.

Here is Malice (Jarrett’s scheduled opponent) with Father James Mitchell, so it’s open challenge time for the #1 contenders ladder match. The lights go out and….let’s get this over with as fast as we can.

Malice vs. Sabu

Ladder match for the #1 contenders match and Sabu starts fast with a tornado DDT. Malice isn’t having that and chokes him down before grabbing a chair. A backbreaker plants Sabu again and Malice sends him face first into a chair in the corner. It’s time to get the ladder, which Sabu dropkicks into Malice’s face. The triple jump dive to the floor drops Malice again before bridging the ladder between the apron and the barricade.

That takes way too long though and Malice drops him onto the ladder, followed by a World’s Strongest Slam onto it as well. Naturally Sabu is right back up with a springboard leg lariat into the ladder into Malice for another knockdown. It’s way too early to get the contract though as Malice powerbombs him down, followed by a nasty overhead belly to belly into the ladder.

Malice goes up but Sabu dropkicks the ladder out and chairs him in the head. Sabu kind of bulldogs the ladder down onto Malice, who is right back with a spinebuster. Malice’s climb up the ladder is cut off with a shove through a table, allowing Sabu to pull down the contract and win at 13:29.

Rating: C+. This could have been worse, as Sabu could still move and fits in far better with this kind of carnage than a regular match. If nothing else it adds a bit of a spark, as Sabu is a big enough name to be slotted into the World Title scene, even if it is for the short term. Besides, Malice’s time in the title scene has already been wrapped up so it is time to see someone new get a shot.

Post match the Disciples of the New Church come in to beat on Sabu and a super chokeslam puts him through a table.

Jeff Jarrett and Scott Hall are still being held apart and Jarrett is ejected.

Here’s AJ Styles for an unscheduled chat. Styles calls out Jerry Lynn, who storms to the ring and says Styles must want to know why Lynn jumped him last week. Lynn says he’s been wrestling for fourteen years and done more in this business than Styles has done in his lifetime.

Styles hasn’t done anything or even had to sleep in his car eating peanut butter sandwiches. Lynn gave him a chance when they teamed up and he isn’t going to stand for the disrespect. Styles lays him out and hits the Styles Clash. This was fine and to the point, but commentary responding to EVERYTHING either of them said took away a lot of the impact.

We look back at Jasmin St. Clair stripping for Jeremy Borash and Ed Ferrara making sure it happened in a funny bit.

Francine jumps St. Clair in the back and throws her in the shower.

K-Krush vs. Norman Smiley

Before the match, Krush brags about star power (he even SMELLS like a star). Why did the NWA put him in the ring with a NASCAR driver? They were afraid he was going to become something they couldn’t control and then they would have to sell his t-shirts. He’s been treated as a second class citizen despite being better than everyone. It’s because he’s a Black man, and he’s the truth.

With that out of the way, Krush knocks Smiley down into the corner but Smiley is back with the swinging slam. The Big Wiggle into a faceplant plants Krush again but he hits a spinning forearm to cut that off. Back up and a Russian legsweep gets Smiley out of trouble but Krush plants him with a sitout gordbuster for the win at 3:25.

Rating: C-. This really didn’t work, mainly because they went from a rather serious promo from Krush into something totally goofy, which is all Smiley did at this point. Smiley did have some status, but you probably shouldn’t be having the Big Wiggle after someone went on a rant about how he was being held back because of his face. Krush should have squashed him, but maybe don’t let Smiley get in that much goofy stuff.

Post match Krush takes off his belt and whips Smiley before hanging him over the top. Smiley’s wife comes out for the save and gets choked as well. This isn’t going to go well and it wasn’t exactly comfortable stuff anyway.

Puppet is in a trashcan and all annoyed about his match with Meatball. It’s implied that he is, uh, doing something rather personal with his hand.

The Dupps are all weird and make inappropriate comments about Goldilocks.

Flying Elvises vs. Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper

Estrada is sent outside to start and Skipper hits a quick dive. Back in and Siaki takes over on Skipper before it’s back to Estrada for a butterfly suplex. Siaki joins commentary for a second to brag about how awesome he is before stomping away back inside. Estrada comes in with a double springboard moonsault but Skipper gets over for the tag to Daniels.

A Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Estrada but Siaki’s cheap shot from the floor lets Estrada get in a quick knockdown. Skipper comes back in as everything breaks down, with Estrada hitting a springboard moonsault. Daniels hits a much less springboardy but far better moonsault for two of his own. Siaki and Daniels fight to the floor, meaning there’s no count off Skipper’s Play Of The Day. Instead Siaki comes back in for a rolling cutter to finish Skipper at 9:50.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced tag match with the Elvises stealing the win over the rather talented Daniels/Skipper team. The tag division is still coming together and it is kind of hard to make that work. Putting teams together work though and this is the kind of match you have to use to make that work.

Post match the Dupps run in to take out the Elvises.

Scott Hall jumps K-Krush and leaves him laying without much trouble.

Meatball vs. Puppet

Hardcore match and Puppet jumps him to start, setting up a ram into a trashcan. Meatball knocks him to the floor though and it’s an ax handle from the apron. The fight heads up towards the entrance, where Meatball pulls some food from a shopping cart to mess Puppet up a bit. A dropkick sends a chair into Meatball’s face and a DDT gives Puppet two. Puppet hits a middle rope Fameasser onto a chair and a Vader Bomb onto a chair onto Meatball is good for the pin at 6:16.

Rating: D-. Oh come on. This was stupid, it wasn’t funny, the whole thing went on too long and this whole deal feels like such a waste of time. I’m sure someone gets a kick out of this but it’s just not working, with the gag of Puppet being a hardcore wrestler having lost the charm which barely existed in the first place. Just find something else to fill in the time.

Here is a damaged Jasmin St. Clair to call out Francine.

Francine vs. Jasmin St. Clair

It’s a brawl to start, they both lose clothes, Blue Meanie comes in to DDT Francine for the DQ at 1:25. This was all about the clothes and nothing more.

Meanie carries St. Clair off and Francine is taken out on a stretcher.

We look at some of Low Ki’s and AJ Styles’ signature moves.

X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Low Ki

Ki is challenging and they wrestle to the mat to start. Back up and they chop it out to a standoff until Ki takes him down. Ki strikes away as fans look at someone holding a sign, with security seemingly going after him. Styles gets in a slam and a flipping splash but Ki knees him to the apron.

Ki misses an Asai moonsault but he’s able to kick Styles in the face to cut off a dive. They slug it out on the apron until Ki gets a dragon sleeper in the ropes. Styles uses said ropes to escape and grabs a brainbuster for two. The Spiral Tap misses but Styles reverses a fireman’s carry into a Death Valley Driver for a needed breather. It’s Ki going up but he dives into the Styles Clash to retain Styles’ title at 10:36.

Rating: B-. These two work well together and that shouldn’t be a surprise given how well they have done in previous matches. It wasn’t exactly an epic showdown or a classic match, but they were working hard and it didn’t feel like two old rejects from WCW. Styles continues to be the breakout star around here and that is likely to continue if he’s going to keep doing this well.

Post match Jerry Lynn spears Styles down and gives him he piledriver. A ladder is brought in and Lynn suplexes him into it for the nasty crash.

Scott Hall vs. Brian Lawler

Before the match, Lawler rants about how stupid people have to be to be Jerry Lawler fans. The challenge is issued again and Brian throws in some Jim Ross insults for a bonus. Hall sneaks up behind him and after even more ranting from Brian, Hall finally punches him down to get going. Some right hands send Brian outside and even more knock him off th announcers’ table.

The beating goes around ringside until Brian gets in a shot of his own to take over. Back in and Brian hammers away as there are an awful lot of empty seats on camera. A suplex gives Brian two and, after insulting the fans some more, he goes up but gets slammed off the top. Hall’s belly to back superplex connects and, after taking out K-Krush, the Outsider’s Edge finishes Brian at 8:43.

Rating: C-. At the end of the day, these matches just aren’t very good. They’re a bunch of punching, a few other moves, and then the finish. It doesn’t help when Brian is doing basic heel stuff straight out of the Memphis playbook, but that is only going to do so much to get him around the fact that he’s Brian Lawler and won’t shut up about his dad. Hall didn’t do much more than his signature stuff, which is only so good at this point.

Post match Brian and Krush beat Hall down and hang him over the ropes.  Hall goes out on a stretcher but Jeff Jarrett runs in with a chair and wrecks Hall and pretty much everyone not named Lawler or Krush.

Overall Rating: C. There is some passable stuff on here but the bad is dragging it all the way down. Other than that, the good stuff, which is mainly centered around the less goofy people, is watchable enough. In other words, as has been the case, there is a decent show here if you get rid of the terrible parts. The problem is there is quite a bit of terrible and a lot of it is getting the focus. Fix that and this goes up in value, but it isn’t looking likely anytime soon. Ultimately, the biggest issue is that I have no idea what the biggest story is supposed to be around here and I don’t think the company does either.

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #4
Date: July 10, 2002
Location: Nashville Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Ed Ferrara, Don West

The promotion is still getting started and still in search of a top story. We have Brian Christopher turning on Scott Hall so Jeff Jarrett could b a bigger villain, Ken Shamrock doing whatever he has going on and AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn being partners who can’t stand each other. That makes for a bit of a mixed bag around here, but odds are we’ll be seeing a bunch of dumb ideas to go with those. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We recap how AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn won the Tag Team Titles in their first match as a team (minus Low Ki that is).

Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles/Jerry Lynn vs. Disciples Of The New Church

The Disciples (Slash/Tempest, with James Mitchell) are challenging. Slash shoulders Lynn down to start but a powerslam is escaped. Lynn runs the corner for a bulldog and Styles comes in for a running flipping splash to the back. Tempest (better known as Crowbar) comes in and gets his arm cranked, followed by a kick to the face for a bonus. Back up and Tempest runs him over, only to be sent outside. That doesn’t last long as Tempest is back in to take over, including an anklescissors out of the corner.

Styles gets backdropped to the apron but comes back in with a springboard missile dropkick, allowing the tag back to Lynn. Everything breaks down and the Disciples pull a diving Styles out of the air. Lynn makes a quick save and Styles adds a Lionsault for two on Tempest. Back up and Tempest’s Death Valley Driver gets two on Styles so Slash can come back in for some rams into the buckle.

What would become James Storm’s Eye of the Storm sends Styles flying but he’s fine enough to catapult Slash into the corner. Lynn comes back in to start the comeback, including a sitout bulldog for two on Tempest. Another Death Valley Driver is broken up and Lynn hits the cradle piledriver, only for Slash to kick him in the face. Styles tags himself back in and (kind of) hits the Spiral Tap to retain at 10:37.

Rating: C+. This was a way to show that the champions who don’t quite get along can get along well enough to retain the titles, even if they were still having issues. It’s still probably the top story in the promotion at the moment, or at least the most interesting, though I’m not sure how much ground that is covering. The New Church is already looking like a bunch of losers and odds are that is going to continue without much to make it better.

Post match a bunch of pyro goes off, which seems like quite the celebration for a title defense. Lynn isn’t pleased with Styles’ celebration and walks out.

Commentary shows us the end of last week’s show, with Brian Christopher turning on Scott Hall, leading to a big Jeff Jarrett beatdown. Hall calls in and swears vengeance, with the audio from the replay drowning out his interview, because this promotion doesn’t know what it’s doing.

Here is Christopher to say it’s time for his to transition from a child to a man. For his entire life, he has been known as Jerry Lawler’s son and now, screw Jerry. His dad was a terrible father and last week, Christopher took Hall out. He tells Jerry to go to h*** and goes on a rant about how Jerry was never there so now it’s time to be his own man. From now on, it’s all about Brian LAWLER. So Jerry shows up soon for a fight right? Otherwise, that would be a pretty big waste of a promo.

Brian Lawler vs. Norman Smiley

Lawler jumps him to start but Smiley gets in a shot of his own and stops to dance. The Big Wiggle ensues so Lawler plants him down to cut that off. A running shoulder in the corner has Smiley in more trouble but he avoids another one, with Lawler going shoulder first into the post. Smiley hammers away in the corner, only for Lawler to get in a low blow. The Hip Hop Drop (he does at least take off the goggles) finishes Smiley at 4:48.

Rating: C. It’s a heel turn, but unfortunately it’s a heel turn for Brian Lawler. You’re just only going to get so much out of that and I’m thinking we’ve already seen the peak of the whole thing. The Jerry promo was just weird and the match itself was just ok.

Post match Lawler calls out Scott Hall, who is next on his list.

Jeff Jarrett is told that he doesn’t have a World Title shot. He shoves Bill Behrens (How many authority figures does this show need?) and gets suspended before storming off. As this goes on, we can hear James Mitchell yelling at the New Church but the door is shut before we see anything.

K-Krush vs. Hermie Sadler

Before the match, Krush threatens the fans for liking NASCAR too much. They yell at each other to start before Krush hammers away, only to be sent outside. Sadler gets in a few shots and then rains down some right hands inside for two but Krush is back with the ax kick for an arrogant near fall of his own. A suplex gives Krush two more and a powerslam gets the same (with one finger). The Figure Four goes on but Sadler turns it over for the break, because he knows how to do that. Krush dives into a sitout powerbomb but Krush rolls him up with feet on the ropes for the pin at 5:06.

Rating: D+. What is there to say about this? It’s been one of the worst parts of the company for the first four weeks and it was bad again here. Sadler isn’t a wrestler and isn’t interesting but he’s the closest thing to a celebrity that they have who can get in the ring. The match was pretty bad even by celebrity standards and the Krush just cheated to beat him. Nothing to this one and hopefully it’s over.

Then Krush hits Sadler after the match and the decision is reversed. Victory?

Takao Omori, the #1 contender to the World Title, pays Alicia off.

Hot Shots vs. Briscoes

That would be Cassidy O’Reilly/Chase Stevens vs. those Briscoes, the latter of whom don’t get entrances. Jay headscissors Stevens down to start and it’s off to Mark, who gets spinebustered down. Mark comes back in with a springboard missile dropkick to the back but gets backdropped hard to the floor. The Hot Shots hit stereo dives….and cue Malice of the New Church to jump Stevens for the DQ at 2:10. This was rather fast paced but just a bunch of moves until the quick ending.

Post match Malice wrecks everyone as James Mitchell and the New Church approve. Mitchell says they aren’t leaving until Ken Shamrock’s blood is on Malice’s hands. There is no Shamrock, so Mitchell has the Disciples beat up the timekeeper. Now Shamrock runs in but gets beaten down, with Takao Omori running in for the save before their title match later.

The Dupps are rather disgusting but are ready to beat up the Flying Elvises. If the shoe fits, it’s probably the right size.

We’re ready for a tag match but adult film star Jasmin St. Clair interrupts instead. She knows what the letters TNA really stand for so who wants to see the real thing tonight? A chair is thrown in and ring announcer Jeremy Borash (described as her “little sex toy”) is sat down for a dance (with his eyes bugging out in a hilarious visual. Bill Behrens comes in with a towel and Ed Ferrara runs in to spear him down (ok points for a funny bit). St. Clair is taken out with the towel anyway to end an unintentionally funny but stupid segment.

Flying Elvises vs. Dupps

Fluff is here with the Dupps. It’s a brawl to start and Siaki is put down with a spinebuster as Mortimer Plumtree comes out, because something has to happen in every single match. Estrada gets sent into the corner as Plumtree says the Johnsons needed discipline after last week. Stan’s Alabama Slam out of the corner doesn’t even get one due to a foot on the rope but Siaki fakes a tag and takes over on Bo. The split legged moonsault gives Siaki two but Bo plants him back down. Stan comes in as everything breaks down, with Estrada hitting a springboard spinning Swanton for the pin on Stan at 5:03.

Rating: C. I’m not sure if you could have Vince Russo’s fingerprints on a match more than this one. Not only do you have a lowest common denominator gimmick like the Dupps, but you have another goofy thing in the Elvises, plus someone walking out without having much to do with the match, which is not exactly great in the first place. It’s a case of too much going on and the stuff that is going on not being very good anyway. Much like a lot of this show.

Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles are brawling throughout the back, with Lynn sending him into the barricade and hitting a cradle piledriver onto an anvil case.

NWA World Title: Takao Omori vs. Ken Shamrock

Shamrock is defending and fires off some knees to the ribs to start. A figure four headscissors has Omori in more trouble as Harley Race is watching at ringside. That’s broken up and the bigger Omori fights out of the corner and hits a running spinwheel kick. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Omori whips him into the corner, where the spinwheel kick misses.

Shamrock chokes on the rope but Omori grabs a running neckbreaker (though he seemed to come in from the wrong direction for a weird visual). Omori shrugs off some kicks to the bad leg (as injured by the missed kick) and hits a clothesline for two. A kneebar has Omori in more trouble so he makes the rope, meaning the ankle lock goes on…and here is Jeff Jarrett to chair Shamrock for the DQ at 7:53.

Rating: C. Of course that’s how it ends. This was another good example of what’s going wrong with a lot of this show: who is Omori, why should I care about him, and is this going to lead anywhere for him? Omori was named (not shown) last week and suddenly gets a World Title shot based on his reputation in Japan. You could have had him do a squash match or something last week to show us even a glimpse, but instead he’s debuted and loses his focus in less than eight minutes. That doesn’t make me want to see more, but rather wondering why I’m supposed to be interested.

Post match Jarrett beats up both of them, plus security.

Jerry Lynn won’t talk about what he did to AJ Styles. James Mitchell and the Disciples of the New Church come in, looking for Jeff Jarrett and the sin he just committed. Did he try the ring? As in where Jarrett just was? Anyway, we cut over to Bill Behrens, having been bound and gagged with FU written on his stomach, just like Jim Miller last week.

Low Ki vs. Elix Skipper vs. Kid Romeo vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Tony Mamaluke

This is an elimination match to establish the X-Division rankings (the first wrestler eliminated is #6, the next is #5 and so on) and thank goodness there are tags. Romeo and Daniels start things off with Romeo working on the arm before switching to a headlock. A dropkick puts Daniels down again so it’s off to Skipper to kick him in the face. Mamaluke comes in to help double team Skipper down as commentary goes over some WCW history.

Skipper gets his leg dropkicked out to cut him off again but he hands it off to Lynn for a monkey flip. Ki comes in and kicks Mamaluke’s head off for two (that should have been an elimination) but Mamaluke is back with a suplex. It’s back to Romeo to chop away at Daniels until Lynn comes back in and sunset flips Romeo for two. A middle rope tornado DDT gives Lynn two more but Daniels monkey flips Lynn outside.

The Arabian moonsault drops Lynn again, setting up a big dive from Romeo. Ki and Skipper hit stereo flip dives of their own and everyone is down. Back in and Lynn hits his slingshot Fameasser over the ropes to Daniels, only to get crotched on top. Actually that’s it for Lynn, who is eliminated via….countout at about 10:15? That’s quite the stretch after EVERYONE WAS ON THE FLOOR JUST A FEW SECONDS AGO.

Anyway, Mamaluke gordbusters Daniels and grabs a Koji Clutch but Skipper comes back in with a running clothesline. The Play Of The Day gets rid of Mamaluke at 11:29 and we’re down to four. Ki comes in and stomps away on Skipper before sending him hard out to the floor. Back in and a Ki Crusher into the corner knocks Skipper silly for two, as these kickouts on Ki are a bit ridiculous. Skipper is back up with a backbreaker and a missile dropkick but it’s back to Daniels to slug away. Matt Hardy’s Ricochet drops Daniels and the Last Rites (something like Cross Rhodes) gets rid of Skipper at 14:54.

Romeo faceplants Daniels for two and dropkicks Ki off the apron, leaving Ki holding his arm. Daniels takes Romeo up top, only to get pulled into a super Air Raid Crash (that looked good) for the…not pin as Daniels’ foot was on the rope. Ki comes back in with the dragon sleeper to make Romeo tap at 17:03 and now we’re down to Ki vs. Daniels.

They trade chops in the corner until Daniels grabs a Downward Spiral for the double knockdown. The Best Moonsault Ever gives Daniels a delayed near fall and they trade cradles for two each. The dragon sleeper has Daniels in trouble again but he flips out in time. Daniels grabs an Iconoclasm (Fall From Grace) out of the corner for two more but a quick Ki Crusher gives Ki the win at 21:41.

Rating: B. Shockingly enough, this was the most entertaining match of the night, which probably comes from it getting more time and allowing the people involved to do their thing for a good while. I like the idea of having rankings in the division, but that isn’t going to matter if they don’t stick. It would not shock me at all to see Ki getting a shot and then Lynn jumping into a title match because of personal reasons, making most of the concept pointless, but at least they had a very fast paced match on the way there.

Post match the Flying Elvises run in to clean house because they wanted in the match (fair point). Tony Mamaluke and Kid Romeo run in for the save.

Commentary previews next week’s show….and here is Jeff Jarrett, who was suspended earlier tonight and it means nothing. He wants the World Title shot next week and yells at fans until going after some Tennessee Titans, who jump the barricade for the brawl. Cue the Disciples of the New Church, with Malice brawling with Jarrett into the crowd to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Believe it or not, the X-Division is carrying this show, but at the end of the day, there is only so much that you can get out of them when the rest of the show is pretty horrible. As has been the case, it doesn’t feel like there is much in the way of focus around here and the show feels all over the place as a result. There are stories going on, but they’re not exactly things that I want to keep watching. The Lawler stuff feels like it could get stupid in a hurry and Jarrett whining about wanting a title shot has already lost its appeal. There’s good stuff in there, but there is a lot of bad to sit through to find it.

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #1
Date: June 19, 2002
Location: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West, Ed Ferrara

I’ve tried to do this series more than once and it has never quite worked but I might as well try it again. I’ve done the first 18 before but since it’s been so many years and I can’t even remember what happened, we’ll just start from the beginning. This is of course the new Jerry Jarrett promotion that was designed to fill in the gap left by WCW and it went…well yeah. Let’s get to it.

Commentary gets their entrances and we get an intro to the company, as well as the rules for tonight’s Gauntlet For The Gold (basically a Royal Rumble with a singles match at the end) for the World Title.

We open with an in-ring legends ceremony, with some big names included:

Harley Race
Dory Funk Jr.
Jackie Fargo
Bob Armstrong
Corsica Joe
Bill Behrens
Ricky Steamboat

Steamboat has the World Title and talks about how important the belt is to him and everyone else in the ring. Tonight you will see the Gauntlet For The Gold for the title and Steamboat will be the guest referee when it gets down to two. Cue Jeff Jarrett to interrupt and he hates the whole idea. Fargo doesn’t want to hear it and puts Jarrett in the Gauntlet at #1. Cue Ken Shamrock to say he doesn’t like this either, but Jarrett isn’t beating him up. Cue Scott Hall through the crowd (fresh off being thrown out of WWE) to say quit crying about the match because that’s how it’s going to go.

Puppet the Psycho Dwarf thinks his match should start the show because he’s the real star.

AJ Styles/Low Ki/Jerry Lynn vs. Flying Elvises

The Elvises would be Sonny Siaki/Jorge Estrada/Jimmy Yang and they jump the other three to start. Lynn is right up for a dive onto Siaki as Styles powerslams Yang. Lynn comes in with a backbreaker for two on Yang as this is all action to start. Back up and Yang sends Lynn into the corner for the step up moonsault kick too the chest. It’s off to Siaki, who gets sent into the corner so Ki can come in to strike away. An over the shoulder backbreaker plants Ki before a Samoan drop into a moonsault gets two.

A neckbreaker out of the corner into a running shooting star press gets two on Ki but he’s back with a heck of a kick to the head. It’s back to Styles for the springboard moonsault into the reverse DDT for two as everything breaks down. Lynn Cradle Piledrives Estrada but walks into a fisherman’s neckbreaker from Siaki. Ki kicks Styles by mistake though and Yang Time (twisting moonsault) is good for the pin on Styles at 6:27.

Rating: B-. And that’s how TNA starts. They weren’t kidding with the “total nonstop action” part as they had all six people going nuts out there and cramming in as much stuff as they could in about six and a half minutes. That isn’t much time to work with but Styles looked like a star and Lynn looked like the established veteran while Ki was the hard striker. Throw in a kind of awesome gimmick like the Flying Elvises and how can you go wrong?

Teo vs. Hollywood

It’s a midget match and Teo, the World’s Smallest Extreme Athlete, jumps him to start and hammers away in the corner. Tenay talks about how Rey Mysterio was asked to be a midget wrestler when he started. Ferrara: “And what happened?” Tenay: “Obviously he didn’t.” Thanks for that Mike. They trade rollups for two each until Hollywood knocks him down and hits a top rope splash for two. Teo comes back with a Russian legsweep into a top rope twisting Swanton for the pin at 2:49. Short and pretty much what you would expect here.

Apparently Teo stands for Totally (Totally E) Outstanding.  That’s….eh it’s kind of clever.

Ferrara gets in the ring and announces next week’s lingerie battle royal, with Ferrara and West bringing out various women who will be included, such as Francine, Shannon (Daphne), Alexis Laree (Mickie James), Elektra (from ECW) and more. Francine says none of these women can compare to her but Elektra doesn’t want to hear about extreme. The brawl is on and clothes are ripped off.  This was what you would think it would be.

Mortimer Plumtree, a rather nerdy manager who carries a paddle, brags about the force of his rather obedient tag team: the Johnsons.

Johnsons vs. Psicosis/James Storm

That’s quite a team to face off against the guys in flesh colored outfits meant to resemble a certain body part. Storm is a cowboy of course but looks more like a flasher in a cowboy hat. He does at least have some cap guns to make it more authentic. Richard sends Psicosis hard into the corner to start and snaps off a suplex for two. The Johnsons are sent into each other though and Storm dropkicks Rod down.

Cue Alicia (Ryan Shamrock) to watch, with commentary being glad for the camera to pan out and show the rest of her. Psicosis comes back in for a basement dropkick but the Johnsons plant him with a double flapjack. A t-bone suplex drops Psicosis again as commentary makes rather lame jokes. Psicosis faceplants his way out of a powerbomb attempt but the Johnsons snap off stereo suplexes. Everything breaks down and a sloppy TKO finishes Storm at 4:54.

Rating: C-. For a match that was all about making various awful jokes over one idea as many times as possible, this was surprisingly dull. Psicosis and Storm are as thrown together as you can find and while the Johnsons were a decent power team, they couldn’t be more one joke if they tried. It’s designed to make the writers laugh and if they have to go for a joke on the first show, so it be I guess.

Post match Alicia talks to the referee, who pays her.

The Dupps (Stan, better known as Trevor Murdoch, and Bo) go to have beers with their cousin Fluff but they aren’t allowed to wrestle.

Here are NASCAR drivers Hermie Sadler and Sterling Marlin for a chat. Marlin is the current season points leader and is ready to go race in California this week. Cue K-Krush (R-Truth) who is sick of hearing about race car drivers. He’s a real athlete instead of someone who drives around in a circle.

Sadler mocks Krush’s look and says this place is full of NASCAR fans. Krush isn’t interested but Brian Lawler (Grandmaster Sexay) runs in for the save. The drivers get to beat Krush up and Lawler issues the challenge for next week. Seems to be on. Commentary going back and forth between Brian Christopher and Brian Lawler isn’t a good sign.

Jeff Jarrett is choking Jackie Fargo.

Christian York/Joey Matthews vs. Dupps

The Dupps, with Fluff (the cousin AND girlfriend), are as stereotypical of a hillbilly team as you could get. York gets dropped to start but Matthews comes in with a double springboard dropkick. Bo strikes away on Matthews and hits a standing splash for two. Back up and Matthews clotheslines his way to freedom, allowing York to come in and clean house. Everything breaks down and York hits a tornado DDT but Fluff breaks up something off the top, allowing Stan to get the pin at 3:42.

Rating: C. York and Matthews are a good team for a pair of young, athletic stars but there is only so much you can get when you have a one note comedy act. The Dupps are about as dumb of a team as you can get, save for the team that we saw in the previous match. One team showed potential while the other was awful, so guess which team won.

Here’s the video for Toby Keith’s How Do You Like Me Now. He’s no Hardcore Holly.

Here is Keith to sing Courtesy Of The Red White And Blue live and, after quite a lengthy performance, Jeff Jarrett interrupts. Jarrett: “How do you like ME now?” Keith is held back.

NWA World Title: Gauntlet For The Gold

The title is vacant coming in (as Dan Severn was stripped of the title due to not defending it here), there are twenty entrants with ninety second intervals and it’s a battle royal until the final two entrants. Jeff Jarrett is in at #1 and Buff Bagwell is in at #2 to slug away and hit the running neckbreaker. The Blockbuster connects but a charging Bagwell is sent out with a backdrop. Lash Leroux is in at #3 And they both head outside (not eliminated) to slug it out.

Back in and the Stroke connects, with Leroux being easily tossed. Norman Smiley is in at #4 as the remaining time is skipped if there is only one person in the ring. Good for fans, totally unfair to the lone wrestler. Jarrett blocks the Big Wiggle and tosses Smiley without much trouble. Apollo (a rather big and muscular wrestler from Puerto Rico) is in at #5 and manages to send Jarrett to the apron for some stomping but can’t get him out. K-Krush is in at #6 and saves Jarrett from a gorilla press, setting up an ax kick to Apollo. Slash, with James Mitchell, is in at #7 as Apollo fights up.

Jarrett saves Slash for no logical reason and the villains hammer on Apollo again. Del Rios is in at #8 as the ring is starting to fill up. The rather large Justice (soon to be known as Abyss) is in at #9 and hits the yet to be named Black Hole Slam on Del Rios. Slash adds a reverse DDT to Del Rios and it’s Konnan in at #10 to pick up the pace.

That gives us a grouping of Jarrett, Apollo, K-Krush, Slash, Del Rios, Justice and Konnan, which is quite the collection. Here is Joel Gertner to limerick Bruce (better known as Kwee Wee in WCW) at #11. The entrance takes so long that almost nothing can happen before Rick Steiner is in at #12. Slash is eliminated and Justice follows him as Rick clears some of the ring. Malice (formerly known as The Wall in WCW and Slash’s partner in the Disciples Of The New Church) is in at #13 and throws out Bruce, K-Krush, Del Rios and Konnan before low bridging Steiner out. Apollo skins the cat to stay alive and it’s Scott Hall in at #14.

A superkick drops Malice and Hall hits the Razor’s Edge to plant Jarrett. Toby Keith is in at #15 (oh dear) and suplexes Jarrett (who can’t hide that he’s doing the work) before tossing him out. Keith walks out, seemingly eliminating himself, leaving us with Hall, Apollo and Malice. Chris Harris is in at #16 to pick up the pace but the Vampire Warrior (Gangrel) follows him and seems to be in as well. Devon Storm (formerly known as Crowbar) is in at #17 (I think?) and gets to hit some people but no one is tossed.

Steve Corino is in at #18 and seems rather happy to be here. Mitchell gets in a cheap shot to cut Corino off as Ken Shamrock is in at #19. Some rather hard striking abounds until Malice catches him with a chokeslam. Harris is sent to the apron but comes back in to hammer on the Warrior. Brian Christopher is in at #20, giving us a final grouping of Hall, Apollo, Malice, Harris, Warrior, Storm, Corino, Shamrock and Christopher.

Harris, Storm and the Warrior are out in a hurry and Christopher knocks Corino out as well. Shamrock kicks Christopher down and throws him out before Malice does the same to Apollo. Hall is tossed as well and it’s Shamrock vs. Malice for the title, with Ricky Steamboat as referee.

Malice puts him down rather quickly and gets two off a side slam. Shamrock’s sunset flip is blocked but the chokeslam is countered into a cross armbreaker. Malice grabs the rope so Shamrock grabs the ankle lock, with Malice going to the rope again. For some reason Shamrock just pulls him back and doesn’t let go, so another rope has to be grabbed for the real break. Shamrock even yells at Steamboat (no one yells at Ricky Steamboat) before countering a chokeslam into a belly to belly suplex for the pin and the title at 37:37.

Rating: C+. There were definitely names involved here and it made the match feel more prestigious. A match like this is about setting the standard for the main event scene going forward and Shamrock is a good choice to start things off. Malice felt like a monster but there is only so much you can get out of that monsterness when Shamrock beats him in a few minutes. For now though, this is the right call and you know that Jarrett is going to have something to complain about.

Commentary talks about the night but here is Jeff Jarrett to yell at Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race and Bob Armstrong over how a World Title shouldn’t be decided in a battle royal. Jarrett drops Funk and Armstrong so here are Jackie Fargo and Toby Keith to yell. Fargo says he’ll get Scott Hall to fight Jarrett next week. Hall runs in and brawls with Jarrett to end the show. They’re the biggest stars in the company but it’s not a great idea to put them out there just after crowning a new World Champion.

Overall Rating: C-. Oh this was a rough start, with only a few bright spots. The main event was good enough and the opener worked, but the obsession with the country/southern stuff and the dumb “comedy” tag teams were just bad. It’s not a show I’d want to keep watching, but in theory they were going for the idea of having no alternatives to WWE. Call it a case of anything being better than nothing, but egads they have a lot of work to do.

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TNA Weekly PPV #18
Date: October 23, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Don West, Mike Taney

The big match tonight is Lynn vs. Siaki in the showdown of a well built feud. Unfortunately it probably won’t get as much coverage as Jarrett/Lawler/Killings/Sadler because that’s the major story around here anymore. Not that it’s interesting or anything, but they’re the big stories and that’s what we’re getting. The good news though is things are starting to pick up a little big and is now up to boring instead of horrible. Let’s get to it.

There are graphics for the matches coming up later tonight. I don’t remember those on earlier shows.

Amazing Red vs. Kid Kash vs. Joel Maximo vs. Jose Maximo vs. Elix Skipper

Elimination rules and the winner gets an X Title shot next week. Skipper quickly dropkicks Jose out to the floor before Red dropkicks Skipper and Kash out to the floor. Red loads up a big dive but gets clotheslined down by Joel, who hits a big dive of his own. That’s fine with Red as he hits a dive onto all four of them to fire up the crowd in a hurry. Kash goes in and hits a dive of his own, with the wrestlers nice enough to look at him all the way down.

Joel has Kash in a Gory Special so Red gets in front of Joel like he’s in a Liontamer. Jose wraps Red’s neck up in some kind of a leg hold but Skipper puts Jose in a camel clutch for a five way submission. That’s…..really freaking stupid looking actually. Skipper finally lets go and dropkicks the whole pile down. Joel botches a headscissors on Skipper but gets two off a German suplex. Jose hits a bad looking hurricanrana on Kash before jumping into a dropkick to the chest. Kash tries a running hurricanrana to the top to the floor but mostly just lands on the back of his head. The botches are strong with this one.

Kid redeems himself a bit with a tornado DDT off the table to Joel as Red and Jose go into a somewhat insane countering sequence, culminating with Jose getting two off a sitout powerbomb. Skipper counters Jose’s tornado DDT before walking the top rope into a hurricanrana for an even closer two. Kash comes in off the top with a clothesline to Elix for another near fall but gets caught in a spinning powerbomb. Red breaks up the cover for no apparent reason before kicking Skipper in the face for no cover.

Kash runs the top rope on Red and hits a kind of top rope gorilla press of all things for no cover. Kid follows up by throwing Joel off the top for two but Jose breaks up the pin. Were the wrestlers not told this was elimination? Skipper hits a quick Play of the Day to eliminate Jose and thankfully keeping me from having to tell which Maximo was which. Skipper dives on Joel but gets kicked into an over the shoulder piledriver (Maximo Explosion) for the elimination. Kash takes Joel down with a top rope hurricanrana and hits the Money Maker for a pin.

We’re down to Red vs. Kash with Red hitting a spin kick to the face for two. West makes things confusing again by referring to Red as the kid. Kash comes back with something like a Whisper in the Wind for two followed by a pinfall reversal sequence for a series of near falls. The Bankroll (fisherman’s buster) gets two on Amazing and a BIG springboard cross body gets the same. Red fights out of a superplex attempt and hits Infrared (a very spinning flip dive) for the pin and the title shot.

Rating: C+. This was what you want for an opening match, especially with cruiserweights: let them fly around the ring like crazy for about twelve minutes and let the crowd get fired up. No the wrestling wasn’t much more than flips and dives and botches, but this wasn’t supposed to be Flair vs. Race.

Brian Christopher is looking for his girlfriend April because this story just won’t end.

Package on the Hotshots attacking Harris and Storm last week after AMW successfully defended the Tag Team Titles.

Tag Team Titles: Chris Harris/James Storm vs. Hotshots

Be AMW already. The Hotshots are Cassidy O’Reilly and Chase Stevens. The champs waste no time and start the brawl fast, easily sending the Hotshots to the floor. Harris sends Cassidy into the barricade as the announcers can’t remember if his last name has an O’ or not. Storm counters a Stevens dive into a powerbomb on the floor before planting him with a snap suplex. The timekeeper is thrown to the floor and there’s blood coming from someone.

The match finally settles down with Storm throwing Stevens around and Harris coming in with a running bulldog. Stevens accidentally knocks O’Reilly to the floor where he’s able to trip up Harris to take over. Storm is knocked off the apron so Cassidy can put Harris in a half crab. O’Reilly is no Lance Storm so the hold doesn’t do much good and it’s back to Chase for some stomping.

Chris nails the spear out of nowhere though, allowing for the hot tag to Storm. Everything breaks down with the champions taking over until Storm is sent outside. The Catatonic is broken up by a superkick for two and Storm grabs Stevens for a strange looking move called the 8 Second Ride (think White Noise but Storm spins him around very fast into a downward spiral) for the pin to retain.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but I don’t care for that finishing move from Storm. It’s more complicated than it needs to be for that payoff. The Hot Shots are a team that popped up in TNA for years to come but never meant anything at all. To be fair though, they had a pretty low ceiling with a generic name like the Hot Shots.

We recap Lynn vs. Siaki which is disrespect vs. experience.

Jerry says his knee is banged up but wrestlers don’t have an off season. Siaki isn’t going to use him to get a rub because this is what Jerry Lynn does. Brian Lawler gets in front of the camera, still looking for his girlfriend.

Jerry Lynn vs. Sonny Siaki

The fight starts on the floor as you would expect it to do. Jerry knocks him into the crowd but bangs up his knee on a dive over the barricade. Lynn limps around ringside before they get in the ring for the opening bell. Siaki wisely goes right for the knee and drops in some elbows but Jerry fights up again. Lynn hits his legdrop with Siaki’s neck over the ropes but it just injures the knee even worse.

Sonny is a smart villain and wraps the knee around the post a few times to take over even more. A clothesline to the back of Lynn’s head sets up a modified Indian deathlock followed by a very modified leglock while pulling on Lynn’s arms. When Jerry makes the ropes, Siaki just drives the bad knee into the mat. A figure four is broken by with Siaki being sent into the post shoulder first, allowing Lynn to grab a rollup for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: C. This was all about the story instead of the action but there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m sure we’ll get a rematch but there’s a good story here to carry it to the next stage. Old vs. new is an idea that is going to work most of the time, except for when Bischoff ran it every month or so.

Siaki puts Lynn in a half crab for awhile post match. Lynn is helped to the back by referees.

Video on Ron Killings vs. Curt Hennig from last week where Mr. Wrestling 3 interfered to help Killings win. They have a rematch tonight.

Here are BG James and Curt Hennig with something to say. Instead of talking about Killings, Hennig talks about Jeff Jarrett being a Curt Hennig wannabe. He beat Jarrett from one end of this building back when Jarrett was a rookie. Curt brings up the West Texas Rednecks and says the guitar was a ripoff from the band. That’s a bit of a stretch I’d think but it’s close. Curt wants a piece of Jarrett next week no matter what happens this week since he’s the guy that took down Brock Lesnar at 35,000 feet (a reference to the Plane Ride From Hell, a real incident that got Hennig fired from WWE).

Jarrett is seen in the back with Brian Lawler but Lawler says he can’t go out there with Jeff because he’s waiting on his April. BG James insults Lawler and says he wants a piece of him man to man anytime. We also get the Get It Got It Good catchphrase which really isn’t catching on.

Mike tells us about an auction on TNA’s website to benefit the families of the victims of the DC sniper.

Here’s an unexpected Scott Hall with something to say. He’s been trying to be a good boy since he got here and he’s tired of it. Now he’s going to do whatever he wants and that means he wants Jeff Jarrett now instead of waiting for later. Jeff comes to the ring and the match is on now.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Hall

It’s Hall in control early on but they get into a chase on the floor with Jarrett getting in a cheap shot as they come back in. Hall comes back with the fall away slam and Jeff tries to leave. They fight around the set and into the dark with Jarrett hitting him with a trashcan. Scott one ups him with a chair to the back and they head to ringside again. The Edge is countered with a backdrop over the top rope and Hall is in trouble again.

Jarrett loads up the steps but does nothing with them, instead sending Hall back into the ring. Jeff hammers away in the corner and hits the running crotch attack on the ropes. A swinging neckbreaker gets two on Scott and we hit the sleeper. Hall finally fights up with a belly to back suplex to put both guys down. Back up and Jarrett clotheslines the referee down, allowing Jarrett to blast Scott in the head with a chair.

Hennig runs in for the save but there go the lights. They couldn’t even pay the bills back then? Truth pops up on screen and says he’ll be in Curt’s business like a rectal thermometer. The lights come back on and Brian Lawler jumps Hennig. This brings out BG James to chase Lawler off as Hennig hits Jarrett low. The Edge is enough for Hall to pin Jarrett.

Rating: D+. The brawling wasn’t bad but man alive this multi-man main event scene is driving me crazy. It’s just not all that interesting as Lawler’s issues with his girlfriend are ridiculously dull and the whole thing is just a big fight that goes on and on. We need to get to a story soon and hopefully over the title.

We see a few seconds of Lawler vs. James last week.

BG James vs. Brian Lawler

Of course it’s a brawl to start with Lawler getting the better of it. Almost as I type that, Lawler misses a charge and falls out to the floor. The brawl heads to the ramp and Lawler is crotched on the barricade. BG pulls on his leg and Lawler of course freaks out because he’s uncomfortable with any male doing anything to his crotch. They head to the announce table and Lawler looks around for April, allowing BG to hit him a few times with a chair. West: “We have got to move this table somewhere else next week.”

Lawler whips him into the steps to take over before stealing a chair out of the crowd. That goes badly though as BG takes it away and hits Lawler in the head. Brian looks…..confused by the head shot and they head back inside for the shaky punches. Lawler comes back with right hand of his own but Syxx-Pac is on the apron kissing Lawler’s girlfriend. He falls off the top and crotches himself, allowing BG to get the easy pin.

Rating: D. Now please let the story be over. This thing has been going on FAR too long now and the interest just isn’t there. I have no idea why I’m supposed to care about Lawler’s issues with his girlfriend but the story gets about five segments every week. It’s just not interesting but TNA keeps going with it over and over again.

The announcers talk about what we just saw.

We look at AJ Styles almost winning the X-Division Title last week with the help of his new manager Mortimer Plumtree but the match ended in a disqualification. They also have a rematch tonight.

X-Division Title: Syxx-Pac vs. AJ Styles

AJ is challenging. Before the match Pac gets the mic and says he thinks this should be No DQ so we don’t have the same ending as last week. He also warns Plumtree against interfering. Feeling out process to start with Styles being sent to the outside. A big flip dive takes the challenger down and a spinwheel kick back inside does the same. There’s a surfboard to AJ before he’s sent to the floor again and into the barricade.

Pac throws the steps at Styles but only hits more steps, allowing AJ to send him into the post. Back inside and the Spiral Tap connects for two. I don’t remember anyone kicking out of that before. AJ cranks on both of the champion’s arms followed by the moonsault into a reverse DDT for two. Pac comes back with the spinwheel kicks and a sitout powerbomb for two. A lot of smaller guys use that move for some reason.

The Bronco Buster connects but Pac spends too much time posing and gets powerbombed out of the corner for two. Pac grabs the X-Factor but Plumtree pulls the referee out of the ring. Styles hits Plumtree by mistake but is able to grab Pac in a German suplex for two. Pac gets to the ropes to escape the Clash but Brian Lawler (erg) comes out and blasts Pac in the head with I think a bottle, allowing Styles to hit the Clash for the pin and the title.

Rating: C. Not a bad match here but man alive I am sick of Brian Lawler. He’s all over this show and stopped being interesting after about eighteen seconds on television. AJ being champion again makes sense as he’s far more important to the company’s future than Syxx-Pac and a win over Pac is a good thing for his status.

Pac raises Styles’ hand post match because it was No DQ so it wasn’t really cheating. Lawler hits Pac in the back of the head with the belt.

Jorge Estrada vs. Ace Steel

Steel takes him down to the mat and rides Estrada for a bit. Plumtree isn’t out here with Ace this week due to celebrating with AJ. Jorge counters a leapfrog into a powerslam for two before getting two off a suplex. This time it’s Steel countering a headscissors out of the corner into a side slam followed by a middle rope seated dropkick in a nice move.

Estrada tries to bail to the floor but gets caught by a suicide dive. Ace shoves Jorge’s chick Priscilla down, causing Estrada to come back with a running DDT on the floor. Back in and Ace gets two off a superplex. Neither guy can hit their finisher so Steel gets a pair of near falls off a pair of northern lights suplexes. Priscilla grabs Ace’s foot, giving Estrada a quick rollup for the pin.

Rating: C. This was fine but it’s nothing we haven’t seen done better multiple times before. Steel isn’t much to see but there are far worse talents on the roster. The match came off as filler, but at least there’s something to it with Plumtree switching over to Styles instead of being in Steel’s corner.

Post match Steel goes after Estrada, drawing in Priscilla for the save. This goes badly as Ace slams her down. Plumtree comes out as well but gets in a fight with Priscilla instead.

Here’s Syxx-Pac with something to say. He talks about being out here several times tonight so he’ll make this quick. There are a few reasons he lost the X Title tonight but the biggest of them all is that AJ Styles is a world class wrestler and he won the match. On top of that though, he was worried about messing with Brian Lawler in a rib and it cost him. The truth is that April is hot but he wants to fix things with Lawler right now, winner gets April.

Here’s a stressed out Lawler who says he doesn’t want April anymore because she’s damaged goods. April comes out and says she loves Brian and that Pac forced her to kiss him. Brian whines like a 13 year old girl and the fight is on until security comes out to ruin all the Brian Lawler fun.

Don West hypes up next week’s show.

NWA World Title: Ron Killings vs. Curt Hennig

Curt is challenging and takes it to Truth to start before it heads outside. Killings sends him into the barricade and loads up the side kick, only to crotch himself on the steel. Curt chops away but gets choked with a camera cable. We get a pelvic thrust at the crowd from the champion followed by a middle rope legdrop from Truth for two. The ax kick connects but Truth doesn’t cover, instead hitting a middle rope fist to the head. Still no cover as the champion takes him into the corner for some eye raking.

A wheelbarrow slam is good for two on Hennig but Curt comes back with some more chops. Curt puts on an ankle lock of all things when the chops get old. Truth is quickly in the ropes so Curt kicks him low and backdrops Truth down for no cover. Mr. Wrestling 3 tries to interfere but gets taken down by a knee lift from Hennig. Curt goes for the mask but Truth hits Hennig in the back of the head with brass knuckles to retain the title.

Rating: D+. This was way better than last week as it was at least a match. It still wasn’t all that great or anything though as Hennig just didn’t have all that much in the ring at this point. Truth didn’t do much to help his cause either as he was mainly all talk and a bunch of kicks. He needed the right kind of opponent and an old southern guy like Hennig wasn’t it.

Overall Rating: D. This wasn’t their worst show by far but the stupid main event storylines are still dragging this show into the ground with Brian Lawler being the top culprit. The story with he and April is just horrible as I have no reason to care about either of them. If those stories with Jarrett and Hennig and Lawler etc are going to dominate the company, then the title needs to be involved as well. There’s stuff here, but it needs a few more edits before it gets good.

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TNA Weekly PPV #17
Date: October 16, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay

Back to this after a much needed five months away. This company just isn’t interesting at this point but they somehow survived through all this. Syxx Pac is X-Division Champion and gets to defend tonight against AJ Styles in what has the potential to be a solid match. Let’s get to it.

We open with a much needed recap. Jorge Estrada issued a challenge to Sonny Siaki and they square off tonight.

We’re also getting a showdown between Hermie Sadler/BG James vs. Jeff Jarrett/Bruce.

Chris and Rick Michaels get a World Tag Team Titles match tonight after beating one of the Harris Brothers/Sonny Siaki last week.

Jorge Rivera says the Flying Elvises are all shook up but there’s no reason for interviewer Goldilocks to sweat on her blue suede shoes over it. He brings in his new Priscilla and says there’s going to be talent search for the new Elvis. Brian Christopher interrupts and demands to know where his girlfriend April is. Goldilocks doesn’t know and Brian storms off. Jorge says he’s looking for the swivel in the new Elvis.

David Young vs. Brian Lawler

April comes out before the match and Brian is annoyed at her for making him wait. He demands April sit in a chair at ringside before flipping off the fans. Lawler hammers away in the corner but stops to dance. I guess that’s supposed to show his anger? Back up and Young takes over with a hiptoss and a clothesline to put Lawler on the floor. They get back inside and Young charges into a superkick so Lawler can thrust his crotch at the crowd.

In an old Memphis tactic, Lawler gets the referee looking at the crowd and hits David low. Young comes back by loading Brian up for an Alabama Slam but instead spins around and drops him face first on the mat. A DDT gets two for David but he misses a moonsault. Brian misses his top rope legdrop as well so David climbs the ropes again, only to have April wave at him, allowing Brian to hit a middle rope Russian legsweep for the pin.

Rating: D+. Lawler just isn’t working for me in this company. He’s great in Memphis but that’s a very different world than almost anywhere else in wrestling. At the end of the day there’s just no interest in this stupid April storyline and it isn’t getting any better at all. Young never did much for me either.

We recap Sonny Siaki and AJ Styles attacking an injured Jerry Lynn a few weeks and costing him a match against Ron Killings. The beating continued in the back until Jerry was locked in a case. Jerry wanted revenge the next week but was sent through a barricade, forcing him to vacate the X-Division Title.

Here’s Jerry Lynn with something to say. He takes responsibility for his knee injury last week, but next week he won’t take any responsibility for what he does to Sonny Siaki. He’s heard all this stuff before and Siaki is everything that’s wrong with wrestling today. Sonny hasn’t earned any respect at all and doesn’t want to, so next week Jerry will beat the respect into him.

This brings out Siaki who says Jerry is right because he doesn’t respect anyone. He won’t be a jobber like Lynn for the next fifteen years though. Siaki comes to the ring and puts Lynn in a leg lock until some jobbers come out and pull him off. Jerry gets up and goes after Siaki in the corner. The wrestlers and security combined can’t hold him back. Siaki won’t be held back either as the brawl continues. NWA officials come out for the real break up.

Earlier today Tenay talked to Sean Waltman about Waltman being X-Division before there was an X-Division. Waltman is flattered and says the X-Division is about excitement and proving who is the best pound for pound wrestler in the world. Tenay asks if Waltman can have the same impact here that he had in the WWF and WCW. Waltman wants to know if he means the positive or negative impact. He’s a wrestler and has been for fifteen years and that’s why he’s here. Waltman doesn’t have any problems with AJ Styles but he’s ready for the match tonight.

Sonny Siaki vs. Jorge Estrada

Jorge charges to the ring and the fight is on fast. A kick to the ribs hunches Siaki over, allowing Jorge to hit a spinning springboard Fameasser for two. Sonny throws him into the corner but gets caught with a springboard moonsault for another near fall. A suplex puts Estrada on the floor and a pumphandle slam keeps him down.

Back in and Siaki falls down trying a slam but it hurts Jorge for some reason. A double clothesline puts both guys down but it’s Estrada up first with a rolling fireman’s carry and Lionsault for two. Back up and Siaki nails a clothesline for two but Sonny rolls to the floor for a breather. Estrada goes to the top but dives onto the barricade by mistake. Siaki nails the Siakalypse (reverse Cross Rhodes) for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not a terrible match here and it was actually built up over the last few weeks to set things in motion. In other words, there was an actual story and I cared about the match as a result. Siaki and Estrada aren’t the most interesting guys in the world but they’re good for high flying and that’s all they needed to do here.

Jerry Lynn comes out and goes after Siaki until officials run out to break up the big brawl.

Derek Wylde vs. Ace Steel

Steel has Mortimer Plumtree in his corner and is most famous for training CM Punk and Colt Cabana. He has some freaky looking eyes on the way to the ring. Wylde takes him down by the arm to start before rolling out of a wristlock and sending Ace into the ropes. Derek gets his legs under Ace’s arms and pulls him out to the floor before taking him down with a hurricanrana. Back in and Ace rams him into the corner before hitting a nice running dropkick. A superplex drops Wylde and sets up a HORRIBLE looking Widow’s Peak (the Twist of Kane, whatever that means) to give Ace the pin.

Rating: D+. This one didn’t do much for me. Steel is a guy I’ve never been able to get into and Wylde was your generic indy guy who does high flying stuff. This felt like more filler stuff but at least Plumtree wanting to take over the company with his army of guys is a story. It’s not much but it’s better than nothing at least.

Bruce/Jeff Jarrett vs. Hermie Sadler/BG James

Let’s get this over with. Sadler is a NASCAR driver and this is about whether he’s a real athlete or not. Before the match, BG calls Bruce a shemale and a homo but is still the face here. Jarrett says Hermie should be in the Last and the Furious after his recent performance. After those lame or offensive jokes, Jarrett and BG get things going.

A forearm puts Jarrett down and it’s off to Bruce for the usual gestures and “comedy” spots you would expect from Bruce’s gimmick. Sadler comes in as well and is easily taken down with a drop toehold. A bad looking headlock has Bruce in trouble and it’s back to BG who loads up a low blow but thinks there’s nothing there to hurt.

Bruce likes the pumphandle slam too much so BG lets him go. BG is in trouble due to some forearms to the face and knee drops to the chest before it’s back to Jarrett who gets punched in the face. The shaky knee drop gets no reaction and everything breaks down. BG and Jarrett fight up the ramp and Hermie gets two off a backdrop. Brian Lawler lays James out with a trashcan as Sadler counters a sunset flip into the pin on Bruce.

Rating: D-. Looking back, characters like Bruce come off as much more offensive than anything else. The joke isn’t funny and hasn’t been funny for years. Sadler didn’t add anything to this other than some very low level celebrity status, but the match was terrible either way.

Jarrett lays out Bruce with the Stroke post match.

Norman Smiley vs. Ron Harris

The announcers talk about how long it’s been since we’ve seen Norman, which is true as he hasn’t had a match in eleven weeks. Yeah that’s not a very long time overall, but it’s over three fourths of the time TNA has been around. Harris shoves him down to start and shoves him again to break up a cravate. Back up and some clotheslines drop Harris for a few seconds but a slam wears Norman out. Ron doesn’t take kindly to a Big Wiggle attempt and kicks Smiley in the face. Some whips across the ring and a big side slam get two for Harris but a half nelson slam is good for the pin.

Rating: D. Just a squash but at the end of the day there’s nothing interesting about Ron Harris. We know it’s setting up a reunion or showdown with his brother, but neither of those options are going to mean anything. They don’t have characters or anything other than they used to be an uninteresting tag team, but we’re supposed to care?

Ron goes after Norman again post match but Smiley fights back. Don Harris makes the save but stops Ron from attacking Smiley anymore.

Tag Team Titles: Chris Harris/James Storm vs. Rick Michaels/Chris Michaels

For the save of clarity, only Chris Michaels will be referred to as Chris. Harris and Storm are defending and undefeated. Storm runs over Rick with a shoulder to start before sending him out to the floor. Rick goes outside as well before Harris backdrops Storm onto both of them. Harris dives over the ropes to take both Michaels out in a nice dive of his own.

Back in and the challengers take over with some double teaming to Storm with kicks and whips into the corner. A nice dropkick gets two for Rick but Storm escapes over to the corner for the hot tag to Harris. Everything breaks down again with Harris getting two off a cross body.

Harris hits a Cactus Clothesline to send Chris out to the floor, meaning Storm’s reverse tornado DDT gets no count. Chris gets back in and nails Storm for two but Harris knocks Chris to the floor. Storm is sent off the top and into the barricade, allowing the challengers to hit a neckbreaker/top rope elbow combination for two on Harris. Storm takes out Rick, allowing Harris to hit a quick Catatonic on Chris to retain the titles.

Rating: C-. This was probably match of the night so far but that’s not really saying much. The LONG segment at the end with all four guys fighting took away from the good stuff earlier on. It would have worked had there been another five minutes in the middle there but it felt rushed otherwise. Also having two guys named Michaels but emphasizing they weren’t related got annoying. Just say they’re cousins or something and the team will feel more natural.

The Hot Shots attack the champions post match to set up some new challengers. Rick and Chris help with the beatdown as this goes on too long.

X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Syxx-Pac

AJ debuts Mortimer Plumtree as his new manager to continue Plumtree’s attempt to try to take over the division. Syxx-Pac is defending and I could have sworn the announcers said this was to be a ladder match or a three way with Low Ki also involved. Feeling out process to start and they trade armdrags to no one’s advantage. Styles grabs a headlock and throws the first right hand as things speed up a bit.

Syxx sends him into the corner and kicks Styles down but AJ bails to avoid the Bronco Buster. Back in and Styles nails a kick to the ribs and crotches Pac against the post to really take over. Plumtree gets in some choking of his own behind the referee’s back, setting up an AJ chinlock. Back up and they chop it out before the champion is sent through the ropes to the floor. Styles follows him out with a HUGE flip dive and the fans aren’t sure if they should cheer or not.

Back in and we hit another chinlock until AJ gets two off a Fameasser. Spiral Tap (called a twisting move by Tenay) misses and Pac nails some big spinwheel kicks to the face. Pac goes up but gets dropkicked out of the air for two. Styles tries his own Bronco Buster but gets kicked to the floor in a nice counter.

A BIG dive takes AJ down as well and they head back inside with both guys in trouble. AJ’s discus lariat takes the referee down by mistake so there’s no one to count a pin off the X-Factor. Plumtree comes in for a distraction as a second referee comes in. Pac hammers away in the corner and shoves away the second referee for the DQ.

Rating: B-. Lame ending to a good match. Plumtree wasn’t much of a manager but it was a surprise for AJ. That being said, it would have been better to have AJ win the title here if you’re going to have him debut a manager. This was the kind of match the show needed after a VERY bad first seventy five minutes.

Don West hypes up next week’s show as only he can.

Earlier today Tenay sat down with Curt Hennig for an introduction. Seriously, they think the fans need an introduction to Curt Hennig? Curt says he’s been successful everywhere so he can get one here too.

NWA World Title: Ron Killings vs. Curt Hennig

Before the match Killings, the champion of course, asks when TNA officials are going to stop hiding behind their titles. He doesn’t like all these people making decisions and trying to downplay minority wrestlers like himself. Tonight, Hennig’s blood is on their hands instead of his. He cranks up the evil by saying everyone’s mama is overrated. Hennig comes out and rants about respect before getting in for the opening bell.

Feeling out process to start with both guys shoving each other into the corner. Hennig takes him down into a front facelock before they head outside. Killings backdrops him onto the announce table and sends him over the barricade for some right hands. Back in with Truth in control as Mortimer Plumtree, Ron Harris and AJ Styles watch from the stage. Truth gets in a shot to the eye and kicks Hennig’s knee out for two. Hennig comes back with a slam but the referee gets knocked down in the process.

Mr. Wrestling 3 sneaks in again and hammers away on Hennig, drawing in some other wrestlers to get rid of him. Security and officials come out for the big pull apart as the bell hasn’t rung yet. Everyone gets out and the match actually continues…..until Truth throws the referee down again. He also nails Jeremy Borash and Bullet Bob Armstrong before grabbing a chair. Armstrong says either get back in there and wrestle or get counted out and be stripped of the belt. Jarrett sneaks in with a low blow to Hennig, giving Truth the pin.

Rating: D. What was the point in having the match continue if they’re just going to have it go on like that? I’m assuming it sets up Hennig vs. Jarrett, but they could have set that up a bunch of other ways. Truth going nuts is fine, but have him against someone more interesting than Bob Armstrong.

Overall Rating: D. Somehow this was an improvement over last week’s mess. Things picked up a bit near the end but the rest of the show was just such a mess. I like the X-Division stuff they’re doing but the main event scene is awful right now. The Jarrett/James/Sadler nonsense is bad enough but then we have Truth ranting about how stupid the corporate structure is.

The problem with that: I totally agree with him (save for the racist stuff). I have no interest in hearing about this tradition and such with guys like Bullet Bob Armstrong from never meant anything on a national stage. All that being said, this was a slight improvement over last week and they’ve got some stuff going with potential for the future. This show was much more boring than bad, and that’s at least a step in the right direction.

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TNA Weekly PPV #13
Date: September 25, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay

So after last week’s near disaster we’re back to Tennessee for more of TNA’s early nonsense. This week our main event is Jarrett vs. BG James to keep up the feud that no one is really interested in but it’s Jarrett’s company so there’s not much else you can do. Other than that we’ve got Lynn vs. Killings again, although this time for the X Title. Let’s get to it.

We open in the back with Siaki and Lynn brawling due to Sonny costing Lynn the world title last week.

Tenay and West run down the card.

Sonny Siaki vs. Jerry Lynn

Siaki is a more generic heel now and isn’t dressed like Elvis anymore. Red takes him out before Siaki can eve get to the ring with a senton followed by a shooting star off the apron. They head inside where Siaki comes back with a flapjack and neckbreaker for two, only to have Red snap off a pair of kicks. The Amazing one shrugs off some shoulders in the corner to hit a reverse tornado DDT for two more.

Red charges into a backdrop to send him to the floor though, allowing Siaki to drop him onto various metal things. Somewhat geeky manager Mortimer Plumtree is watching from the ramp. Back in and Siaki gets a few near falls off a belly to belly suplex before putting on a quick bearhug. Red fights out and seems to leave a leapfrog a bit short. Oh wait he landed on Siaki’s back on purpose to turn it into a sunset bomb for two. Red hits a kind of STO off the middle rope but misses some kind of a dive off the top, allowing Siaki to hit a kind of neckbreaker for the pin.

Rating: C+. Good opener here with power vs. speed which almost never fails. Red was a flip machine which is fine, as Siaki played the heel role well at this point. I don’t remember Red being around much before this so seeing him was a nice surprise for the fans. He would be a big cult favorite for a long time.

Post match Jorge Estrada pops up on the stage and says before tonight is over, he’s getting Siaki’s Elvis gear. I’ve heard of worse reasons for a feud.

In the back, Ron Killings is beating up Amazing Red, shouting that he’s getting rid of the X-Division because it devalues the world title.

We recap America’s Most Wanted (Harris and Storm) winning the tag belts last week.

Tag Titles: James Storm/Chris Harris vs. Brian Lee/Ron Harris

This is a tables match and Harris/Storm aren’t known as AMW yet. For the sake of simplicity, only Ron Harris will be referred to as Harris here. The challengers jump them to start and only one person has to go through the table for the win. It’s Lee pounding on Chris to start but Chris comes back with a backdrop and clothesline to put both guys on the floor. Chris dives on Lee but gets caught, only to have Storm dive as well to take everyone down.

Another brawl breaks out as the tables haven’t been a factor yet. Harris pounds Chris down before it’s back to Lee for more slow pounding. Harris slides in a table and sets it up in the corner but Storm makes the save. After Storm is sent out, Harris powerslams Chris down instead of sending him through a table because Harris isn’t that bright. He does the same thing with a suplex and it’s off to Lee for some of the worst elbow drops you’ll ever see. He basically pulls his elbow up before hitting Chris’ chest.

Lee misses a top rope knee drop and Chris makes the tag off to Storm. Everything breaks down and Harris is knocked to the floor. Lee is sent to the apron but manages to clothesline both champions down. AMW fights up and knocks Lee off the apron through a table which I don’t remember being set up to retain.

Rating: D-. Not only did the match suck, but did we really need a gimmick to protect RON FREAKING HARRIS and Brian Lee? TNA is trying to push AMW as a big deal but they can’t even get a clean pin over these two lunkheads? Last week there was the mess with the ropes and now they have to have a tables match? Is Ron Harris’ spot THAT important? The match sucked too as the tables were barely a factor.

Post match Harris beats up the champions and puts Storm through a table. Security comes out to break it up until Don Harris, Ron’s twin brother, comes out for a staredown. The champions are a complete afterthought here, and we get the last thing we need here: ANOTHER guy named Harris.

In the parking lot, Bruce gets into a fight with a handicapped woman named Sara the Ticket Lady. Can we please end this character already?

Here’s Ron Killings to complain about how bad of a town “Trashville” is. Truth complains about rats and says the fans wouldn’t like them in their bed. That’s either a stupid line or a REALLY clever insider lingo joke but we’ll go with the former. He’s also not happy with the prejudice going on around here because he hasn’t seen Ricky Steamboat since he won the title. Truth doesn’t like not having merchandise or a private dressing room and as he’s starting to complain about the X-Division, here’s BG James.

James talks about a posse in his pants and their time back in the WWF where James stood up for Truth with the boys in the back. They go back and forth with stupid lines and the brawl is on with BG taking over. BG says that just unlike Demi Moore and Tom Cruise, he can handle the Truth. Next.

Brian Lawler and his girlfriend April argue about nothing in particular. At least I think they do as you can hear JB hyping up the card to the live crowd in the background. I mean he’s drowning out the interview.

AJ Styles vs. Low Ki

This is 2/3 falls and the winner gets a shot at the X Title. Feeling out process to start as AJ cranks on the arm before they head to the mat for a headlock by Styles. Back up and Low Ki escapes the wristlock and chops away, only to be taken down by an atomic drop. Low Ki sends him to the floor and hits a running flip attack off the apron to take over again. Back in and a hard kick to AJ’s back gets two and it’s back to the chops to the neck.

AJ crotches him on the top rope and hits a backbreaker/gutbuster combo to take over again. A nice dropkick in the corner gets two for Styles but Low Ki comes back with some chops. Off to a chinlock with AJ’s knee in Low Ki’s back for a few seconds before a double clothesline puts both guys down. Back up again and Low Ki hits what we would call the Disaster Kick for two before putting on the seated Dragon Sleeper for the submission and the first fall.

The second fall begins with Low Ki being sent throat first into the middle rope and clotheslined down for two. A delayed suplex puts Ki down and AJ pounds away. Styles hits a standing enziguri to put Low on the floor, but as he heads out, Low Ki kicks Styles in the head. AJ slams him down onto the ramp to break another Dragon Sleeper before we head back inside. A sunset bomb is countered by Low Ki but AJ keeps rolling into a sunset flip for the pin and the second fall.

AJ poses so Low Ki kicks him square in the jaw to send him to the floor. Once they’re both on the floor, AJ takes out Low’s knee before firing off kicks to the knee back inside. They both go up to the middle rope and after the Styles Clash is broken up, AJ comes off with a shin breaker to Low Ki. Off to a modified spinning toe hold but Low Ki rolls through it for two. Low Ki rolls through a powerbomb into a rana for two but can’t hook the Dragon Sleeper again. After a somewhat botched rollup attempt, AJ hits the Clash for the pin and the title shot next week.

Rating: C+. Not bad here but the lack of selling got annoying after awhile. I’m still not a fan of Low Ki at all as the kicking drives me crazy, but at least he threw in some ranas here to keep things fresher. AJ getting back into the X Title picture was a solid idea as he and Lynn had the best matches in the company so far. Not bad at all here.

Jarrett says he’ll eliminate Hall, Waltman and BG to get the title that he wants.

Elix Skipper/Brian Lawler vs. Scott Hall/Syxx-Pac

Skipper slips while trying to moonsault into the ring. Lawler makes sure to cover up his girlfriend’s body during the entrance. Pac and Skipper start things off with Elix getting a crotch chop for his efforts. Hall gives Elix one of the same, sending Skipper into such a rage that he misses a spin kick. A second attempt connects with Pac’s jaw and it’s off to Hall vs. Lawler. Hall throws the toothpick at Lawler, sending him out to the floor in a fit. Back in, more stalling, more yelling at the girlfriend.

Off to Skipper again before Lawler has any contact at all. At least he earned his paycheck tonight. Anyway Elix gets pounded down and chokeslammed for two before bailing to the floor. Some double teaming by the heels allows them to crotch Hall on the post and it’s off to Lawler for some biting and punching. A suplex puts Hall down and it’s off to Skipper for a top rope ax handle.

Hall puts Skipper down with a belly to back suplex but let’s look at Lawler yelling at Don West for talking to April. Off to Syxx who cleans house. An X-Factor gets two on Skipper with Lawler making the save. Everything breaks down and Pac misses the Bronco Buster on Skipper. Lawler and Hall fight as Elix goes up top, only to dive into the X-Factor for the pin.

Rating: D. These matches with the big stars are getting to be insufferable. They’re sloppy, by the book and really dull all the way throughout. I have no idea why Elix Skipper was involved in the match here but at least he was someone young and different from the regular “stars”. Nothing to see here at all.

Post match Jarrett runs out to beat down Hall and Pac.

AJ implies that he wants a ladder match for the title.

Bruce comes out and calls himself the only woman in TNA. Sara the Ticket Lady comes out and yells and that’s about it.

Kid Kash vs. Jorge Estrada

Feeling out process to start with Estrada taking over with an armdrag. Mortimer Plumtree is watching again as Jorge headscissors Kash down and clotheslines him to the floor. Jorge leaves a suicide dive WAY short and lands on his head in a SICK crash. Back in and Kash takes over with a double springboard backsplash for two back inside. Estrada thankfully doesn’t have a broken neck and comes back with a hiptoss and a standing shooting star for two.

Jorge goes up but Kash shoves the referee into the ropes to crotch him down. A top rope rana brings Estrada down but Kash charges into an elbow in the corner. Kash pokes him in the eye and hits a DDT for two, only to have his rana countered into a powerbomb for two for Jorge. Estrada busts out the TCB (Taking Care of Business), a big flippy dive for the pin.

Rating: C. Just a battle of the flips here which is about what you would expect from a show like this. Estrada isn’t bad and Kash is Kash so the match was entertaining but the lack of selling continues. This is another match which was here to give us the post match stuff because we need our Elvis developments.

Estrada demands his suit back and we see Siaki burning it in a barrel.

We recap Siaki costing Lynn the world title last week.

X-Division Title: Ron Killings vs. Jerry Lynn

This is a lumberjack match and all of the lumberjacks are X-Division guys. Killings tries to bail to the floor early but Low Ki sends him back inside. Back in and Lynn pounds away with a bunch of right hands before bulldogging Truth down for two. Truth bails to the floor again for the same result, only this time he manages a top rope shoulder to take over. Now it’s Jerry getting thrown to the floor for a stomping by Kash. AJ, the only X guy not at ringside, is on the stage with a ladder.

Back in and the challenger gets two off a backbreaker and the same from a powerslam. That works so well that Truth hits another one before putting on a front facelock with his feet on the ropes. Lynn comes back with a reverse DDT and a powerbomb for two more but Truth stops him cold with a low blow. Low Ki is annoyed and yells at Killings, so Jerry rams them together and hits a TKO to retain the title.

Rating: C-. So let me make sure I’ve got this straight. Truth is feuding with the X-Division, so his first match in the feud is against the champion. He loses there, so now he goes down the division to fight lower level talent, all while being the World Champion? Does this sound as stupid to anyone else but me? The match wasn’t great but it was better than last week’s mess.

West hypes up the show for next week.

BG James vs. Jeff Jarrett

Main event time. BG says he’s Jeff’s second mountain and he can’t be negotiated. BG shoulders him down to start and pounds away with right hands. The shaky knee gets two but Jeff comes back with an enziguri to take over. Roadie fires off the juke and jive as we hear about them being together in the WWF back in 95. Out to the floor for some chair shots from James to knock Jeff into the crowd.

Jarrett gets in some chair shots of his own to take over and we go back to ringside. Jeff slams him into the announce table and pounds on the back and face with the chair some more. Back inside we go for the running crotch again in 619 position and a sleeper by Jeff. James fights up after two arm drops and puts on a sleeper of his own, only to be suplexed down by Jarrett.

Both guys are down now which is likely a good thing given the ample gut that Road Dogg has on him at the moment. Back up and James takes over with right hands but the referee takes a shot to the head. Jeff wedges a chair between the ropes but goes face first into it instead, giving James two. Elix Skipper and Brian Lawler come out to help Jarrett but Jeff nails Lawler by mistake, giving BG two more. The referee gets rid of the cronies so Jeff can hit James with a chair for a near fall. BG hits the anal rape pumphandle for two, only to have Skipper and Lawler run in for a DQ.

Rating: D. Could this have been any more overbooked? At the end of the day this BG James/Jarrett/Lawler stuff is completely uninteresting and I’m still not sure why they’re even fighting. The match was your standard Attitude Era brawl and the match was nothing of note. The X Title match really should have gone on last here.

Post match Hall and Syxx-Pac come out for the big brawl but Truth evens the odds and Jarrett and company stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. These shows are all suffering from the same problems: the overbooking of the main event and the lack of anyone caring about people like Lawler and BG James. Now I will give them this: they’re logically setting up feuds and stories with what looks like a six man tag set up for next week. The X Title stuff is WAY better than anything else but it’s not enough to get you through a two hour show.

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TNA Weekly PPV #15
Date: October 2, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay

We’re back here after a long absence on my part for two more of these things. The main stories tonight are AJ getting an X Division Title shot and what looks to be a tag match between Sean Waltman/BG James/Scott Hall vs. Brian Lawler/Jeff Jarrett/Elix Skipper. The company still isn’t all that interesting but maybe things will pick up soon. Let’s get to it.

After Tenay runs down the card to start, here are BG James and Syxx-Pac to open things up. BG is here tonight to take care of business but he wants to talk some smack first. They’ve done that before though, but it’s a new day here in TNA. Gay jokes abound and BG wants to fight Jarrett and Elix Skipper right now. James rhymes a lot and says that if Ron Killings is the future of wrestling, the future is grim. Killings may be the future, but BG and Syxx are the past and present.

Waltman says Low Ki isn’t ready for a match against Killings tonight because it should go to one of them. Both BG and Syxx want Killings, more commonly known as the Suntan Superman. BG says they’re white Kryptonite and says the theme from Cops, asking what Killings is going to do when they come for him. Here’s Killings (world champion) to say he thinks the two of them are crazy. Truth says they want the title and the fans chant overrated. Killings makes racial references to set Pac off, who wants a fight right now.

This brings out Jeff Jarrett who wants to know where Scott Hall is for the six man tag tonight. BG says Hall isn’t here but Jarrett has no business complaining about anyone. Jeff says we’ll make the six man a handicap match, allowing Skipper and Lawler to come in through the crowd for the beatdown. The good guys clear the ring and stand tall in just a few seconds though.

Tenay talks about new cable providers carrying TNA.

The announcers run down the card for a few moments.

Amazing Red vs. Shark Boy

The fans are behind Sharky as we get a technical sequence to start. Elix Skipper jumps in on commentary, ranting about being taken out of the main event. The main event is now BG/Syxx-Pac vs. Jarrett/Lawler. Shark Boy works on the leg for a bit and gets two off a neckbreaker. Mortimer Plumtree, generic corporate manager, is watching from the stage. A one knee Codebreaker puts Red down and a missile dropkick is good for two. In a surprising power display, Shark Boy gorilla presses Red out to the floor.

Shark Boy dives onto him to keep the crowd fired up as Skipper keeps ranting about giving someone a beatdown. Red can’t quite avoid a second dive but a third one sends Sharky into the announce table to give Red control. Back in and Red hits a BIG flip dive, nearly missing Shark Boy at the same time.

Both guys head back inside with Shark Boy hitting a middle rope Jackhammer of all things for two. Red comes right back with a middle rope neckbreaker for two of his own. A nice Dead Sea Drop (Diamond Dust) gets a delayed two on Red but a second attempt is countered into a reverse DDT. Red goes up for a quick twisting moonsault and a standing shooting star for the pin.

Rating: C. Take two guys and let them fly around for awhile. Red may fly higher, but he was definitely the sloppier of the two. Shark Boy is much better in the ring than he was given credit for as he’s mainly known as a gimmick guy. The fans were into it though and that’s the point of an opener.

Post match Skipper comes in and lays Red out. Security is beaten up too.

Video on Ron Killings vs. Jerry Lynn from last week, setting up Killings’ war with the X-Division.

Low Ki wants a piece of Syxx-Pac, even though he has a world title match tonight. He’s ready for Killings and is taking the title tonight. Heaven help us if he does.

We’re supposed to have a #1 contenders match for the tag titles but here’s Ron Killings to interrupt. He wants to know what Low Ki is smoking and thinks there’s a conspiracy. Truth demands the match right now so here’s the challenger.

NWA World Title: Low Ki vs. Ron Killings

Killings throws him around to start but Low Ki takes out the leg to send Truth to the floor. Low Ki follows him out but gets sent into the barricade over and over. Ki comes back with a kick and climbs onto the barricade, only to be kicked in the jaw, sending him into the crowd. They fight up to the stage with Low Ki sending Truth into the cages by the entrance. Truth whips him into the side of the ramp and crushes Low Ki with an anvil case to take over.

We head back into the ring with Truth getting a pair of two counts and stomping Low Ki down into the corner. An ax kick puts Low Ki down for two as Plumtree is watching again. Truth cranks on the arms but but Low Ki comes back with something like a Pele kick. The comeback doesn’t work though as Truth pounds him down in the corner again. Another kick to the face puts Truth down again for two as the fans are entirely behind the bald guy.

Low Ki fires off more kicks but walks into something like a Downward Spiral before it’s back to a double armbar. This hasn’t been all that interesting so far. A powerslam puts Low Ki down for two but Truth misses a 450 to give Low Ki an opening. Low Ki hits a spinning springboard kick to the face but can’t make a cover. A running forearm gets two on Truth and it’s off to a Dragon Sleeper on the ropes but it only lasts a few seconds.

Back up and Truth takes it to the corner for a kneeling Muscle Buster, good for two. Low Ki blocks a Stunner and hooks the Dragon Sleeper again, only to have Truth fight out a few seconds later. Truth goes up but gets caught by an enziguri, crotching him on the top. Low Ki goes up for a superplex but gets caught in a sitout front superplex to retain the title.

Rating: C. This picked up a good bit at the end but I couldn’t get into it for the most part. Truth is just kind of there at the moment as champion and the war against the X-Division isn’t doing much for me. Low Ki isn’t a guy I care for most of the time and the title never felt like it was in jeopardy here.

Post match a guy dressed all in white comes in and beats down Truth.

Tenay hypes NWA house shows.

Spanish Announce Team vs. Flying Elvises

The SAT’s are Joel and Jose Maximo and the Elvises are Jimmy Yang and Jorge Estrada. The winners of this get a tag title shot in a week. Joel takes Estrada down and hits a dropkick to the side of the head for two. Estrada comes back with something resembling a Stunner for two and it’s off to Yang. Both Maximos come in and get caught by spinwheel kicks to keep the Elvises in control. Joel gets in a shot to the face and makes the tag off to Jose who gets two off a suplex.

Back to Estrada who takes over on Jose as Plumtree is watching yet again. The Maximos hit a double dropkick for two on the now legal Yang as this match is falling apart. Joel and Jose hit a bad looking sequence with a dropkick each into a sitout powerbomb by Jose for two. Yang comes back with a great looking moonsault press for two as Sonny Siaki is watching from the ramp as well.

Yang enziguris Jose down and it’s hot tag to Estrada who suplexes Joel down and gets two off a Lionsault. Jorge misses a guillotine legdrop and everything breaks down. Yang clotheslines Jose into a sunset flip for two and here’s Siaki on the apron for a tag. Jorge goes to tag him but Siaki drops to the floor, allowing the Maximos to hit a Doomsday DDT for the pin and the title shot.

Rating: D. This was a huge mess and not a good sign for either team. It was a bad looking spotfest with no flow to it whatsoever, but that’s no excuse for the match to be bad. Red and Shark Boy had the same kind of match to open the show but it was light years better than this mess.

Jerry Lynn jumps Siaki in the back for costing him the world title shot. AJ Styles comes in to help Siaki in a double team. They throw Lynn into an anvil case and AJ dances on top of it. It’s as disturbing as it sounds.

Sonny Siaki vs. David Young

Young is most famous for losing something like 100 straight matches. Siaki scores with right hands but gets slammed down and backdropped for his troubles. Sonny bails to the floor for a bit, only to have his face slammed into the apron. Young, a decent sized guy, hits an Asai Moonsault followed by a hurricanrana back inside for two. Siaki comes back with something resembling a slam into a Diamond Cutter for two to take over as the match slows down.

Young is tied up in the Tree of Woe for a running shoulder to the ribs for two as Siaki is in control. David grabs a quick northern lights suplex for two but Sonny takes him right back down with a standing flip legdrop for two of his own. Sonny suplexes him into the corner for two but Young comes back with a spinebuster, apparently his finisher, for no cover. Instead David goes up and misses a moonsault, allowing Siaki to hit the Money Clip (reverse Cross Rhodes) for the pin.

Rating: D+. Nothing special here as Siaki is much better on the mic instead of in the ring. The problem is without the Elvis bit, Siaki is really just a generic heel with nothing all that special in the ring. Young was a guy with a look and some nice high spots but he doesn’t have that it factor that makes you want to watch him. Nothing match but it wasn’t bad.

We get a far too dramatic video on last week’s tag title tables match.

Ron Harris and his new partner Ashley Hudson, an Aussie that I’ve never heard of before, say they’ll win the titles. Ron tells his brother Don to remember their pact.

Tag Titles: America’s Most Wanted vs. Ron Harris/Ashley Hudson

Oh jeez Storm has guns now. Hudson starts with Storm in a slap off followed by a chase scene around the ring. Back in and Storm slaps Hudson in the back of the head before it’s off to Chris Harris for some double teaming. We get Harris vs. Harris, only to have Storm hit a missile dropkick on Ron followed by a high cross body from Chris for two. Chris spears the legal Hudson down before bringing Storm back in to pound away in the corner.

Hudson finally comes back with a clothesline to bring in Ron for some corner stomping. Some running clotheslines have Storm in trouble before it’s back to Hudson for some choking. Back to Ron for a big boot and a side slam but Storm avoids a charge in the corner. Hot tag brings in Chris as everything breaks down. The Catatonic (spin out Rock Bottom) gets two on Hudson but Ron accidentally kicks Hudson down, giving Storm the pin.

Rating: D. This was long and dull. I don’t know what the appeal of Ron Harris and whatever partner of the week he has is, but just get us to the Harris Brothers reunion so no one can care about it and we can move on. AMW is good but they’re the only decent team in the tag division and it’s really showing.

Post match Ron beats Hudson and Chris Harris down. Don Harris comes out to break up the fight and stares his brother down before punching him in the face to stop Ron.

Jerry Lynn is banged up.

X-Division Title: Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles

Jerry is defending and this is a ladder match. AJ goes right for the bad neck with forearms and a snap across the top rope to take over. Jerry comes back with a dropkick but is easily taken down by a neckbreaker. It’s ladder time with AJ laying Jerry on top of the steel for a slingshot hilo. The ladder is catapulted into Jerry’s face but AJ wants a chair instead of the title. Jerry dropkicks him off the apron before baseball sliding the ladder into AJ’s face for good measure.

Lynn’s climb for the belt is quickly stopped so he shoves the ladder straight into AJ’s head to put him down. The ladder is set up in the corner but AJ counters a whip to send Jerry into the steel. Jerry blocks a tornado DDT off the ladder but AJ slams him down and climbs the ladder, only to get taken down by a sunset bomb. A clothesline puts AJ down as the Plumtree stuff continues. AJ comes back with a Death Valley Driver into the ladder and a springboard legdrop to crush the bad neck even more.

Styles goes up but Jerry easily pulls him back down as Sonny Siaki comes back down to ringside. The distraction lets AJ break up a climb attempt and both guys are down again. AJ dropkicks Jerry down off the ladder and the fans are getting into this again. Styles bridges the ladder between the ring and the barricade but Lynn escapes a slam and suplexes AJ onto the ladder.

Back inside again and Jerry goes up, only to have AJ shove the ladder over, sending Jerry into the referee. They fight over a chair until Jerry sweeps AJ’s leg out and hits a Fameasser onto the chair. AJ is busted open and Lynn pounds at the cut with a violence you don’t often see from him. Jerry still can’t get the title down though as AJ tries a powerbomb, only to have the champion counter into a hurricanrana.

Both guys slowly climb up and they slug it out on top with Lynn hitting something like a suplex to take both guys down. Jerry goes up again but this time he catches a diving AJ with a midair clothesline. Lynn climbs the corner but has to dive onto Siaki instead of staying on Styles. AJ hits a huge springboard dive to take Jerry out, landing almost entirely on Lynn’s neck. AJ goes up and pulls down the title to win.

Rating: B. Another good match between these guys but they need to move on to someone else. They’re on the verge of losing their heat as the people are going to start getting bored. At the end of the day, you can only have good matches like this for so long before the quality starts to slip. Still though, good stuff and it opens a new feud with Siaki for Jerry.

Post match Lynn goes for Siaki but AJ and Sonny beat him down. The rest of the X-Division makes the save. Bob Armstrong comes out to say that Jerry gets the title back because of the interference. There’s going to be another ladder match with AJ getting yet another shot. That’s totally bogus as there are no DQ’s in ladder matches, meaning AJ broke no rules.

Don West hypes up next week’s show. Chris Rock will be here next week filming parts of Head of State.

Jeff Jarrett/Brian Lawler vs. Syxx-Pac/BG James

Before the match BG does Scott Hall’s hey yo to a modest reaction at best. BG rambles about payback and Pac says he’s going to take Lawler’s woman but if Lawler wins, he can watch Pac and the girlfriend. After that nonsense, it’s time for the main event that almost no one cares about. Naturally it’s a huge brawl before anyone gets in the ring with people being rammed into various objects.

We finally start with Pac vs. Jarrett in the ring and there’s even a referee now. Jarrett takes over with a nice dropkick but Pac comes back with a spinwheel kick to the jaw. Jeff gets up a boot in the corner and it’s off to Lawler. The fans chant Jerry’s Kid which applies to either Jarrett or Lawler. Pac clotheslines Lawler down and brings in BG for some finger bending (seriously) and right hands. A Jarrett distraction allows Lawler to superkick BG down, followed by some fish hooking of BG’s jaws.

There’s a bulldog for two on James and Lawler demands that April watch. Brian pounds in right hands to BG’s head but a second bulldog attempt results in Lawler being crotched in the corner. Hot tag brings in Pac to clean house, including a sitout powerbomb for two on Jarrett. Both heels get Bronco Busters but the X-Factor to Lawler is badly botched. Cue Elix Skipper to lay Pac out, giving Lawler two.

Jeff hooks a sleeper on Pac but it’s only good for two arm drops. Pac hooks a sleeper of his own but gets sent into the ropes for the break. A double clothesline takes the heels down and it’s back to BG. House is cleaned and everything breaks down with BG pinning Lawler with the pumphandle slam.

Rating: D+. This was the usual from these guys: nothing special and the fans don’t care about them for the most part. I’m not even sure why most of these guys are fighting in the first place. I believe Jarrett disrespected BG’s dad and that’s about it. No one cares about Lawler and the reactions confirm that theory. It’s not a horrible match but it didn’t help the story at all.

Post match Skipper comes in for the 3-2 beatdown but Amazing Red and the SATs come out for the save. It’s a huge brawl with Killings coming out as well to help the heels to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Well I’ve seen worse, but that’s not something you want to hear about a company that’s not even four months old yet. There’s a lot of WCW in this company: the stuff in the middle and the bottom of the card is good but the main event stuff doesn’t do much for anyone. Still though, this went by relatively quickly and they’re setting up stuff for the future which is a good sign. Not a bad show here.

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