NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #27
Date: January 8, 2003
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

They actually made it to another year. That’s hard to fathom after some of the insanity that has taken place around here, including last….well year now. In that case, that was because the Road Warriors of all people debuted, but that wasn’t how things wrapped up. No no, we’re also getting a David Flair Era around here, because of course we are. Let’s get to it.

Naturally the opening video is about Vince Russo, who most people hate, but he has his own set of followers. And yes, we have a stable war people. And and, to the shock of no one, the main star on the other side is Jeff Jarrett. There’s something about the Road Warriors and David Flair too, but the real story is that Russo got to use an ax to destroy the set. Because that’s what a real man would do.

Opening sequence.

Mike Tenay is in the ring to start, along with Jerry Lynn, Ron Killings and America’s Most Wanted. Apparently the NWA takes Vince Russo’s actions very seriously so we have the past, present and future here. The past includes longtime promoter Eddie Marlin (and Jeff Jarrett’s grandfather) Sara Lee and Corsica Joe. The future is in the form of Chris Santel and Chris Vaughn, who have worked their way up from the independents to being “staff” here (shockingly, neither ever did anything in wrestling).

Finally you have the present in the ring, including…well Tenay actually. Tenay talks about how Russo was around Tenay and Bobby Heenan, saying he could make anyone a wrestler. He wants the fans to write in and help win the war against Russo. Unless I’m forgetting it, have we ever gotten a reason WHY Russo is here? Or is he just showing up? Couldn’t like, the company do something to stop him?

Anyway here are Russo and company through the crowd, with Russo saying he has friends in high places, which is why he gets to come around every week. Russo insults Tenay and says he’s here to save this business because it is at an all time low (always a great thing to say about the promotion you’re in). He blames people like Tenay for screwing things up and says the ratings were at an all time high when he was on top.

Russo yells at the four wrestlers in the ring, including saying that “African American rappers are a dime a dozen pal and half of them suck anyway” and making what sounds like a gay joke about Chris Harris. He complains about the new people and legends at ringside but Lee gets in the ring to flip him off. The brawl is on, with Jeff Jarrett and the Road Warriors running in for the save. Sports Entertainment Xtreme retreats to their dressing room, which is absolutely a thing and there is absolutely a reason the TNA guys don’t go in there. I’m not sure what that reason is but oh well.

David Young/Tony Mamaluke vs. EZ Money/Kid Kash

Young and Mamaluke jump them from behind to start and that gets them absolutely nowhere. Kash gives Young the always good looking slingshot hurricanrana and it’s a double backdrop to Mamaluke. The old Rockers’ double leg flip doesn’t quite work so it’s a double gutbuster to put Mamaluke down again instead. A spinwheel kick gives Money two and a running Blockbuster gets the same.

It’s back to Kash for an assisted tornado DDT but Young comes back in for a nice spear. A Whisper In The Wind gives Kash a quick two but Mamaluke drops him with a clothesline. That means a bearhug from Young, who absolutely does not look like your traditional bearhugger. Mamaluke comes in for one of his own and that’s just sad looking. Kash easily powers over to Money for the tag and house is cleaned, leaving Kash and Mamaluke to…both miss missile dropkicks at the same time.

Money superkicks Young and hits a frog splash for two as Mamaluke makes the save. Mamaluke sends Money outside, only for Money to try a slingshot lariat. That’s countered into…well I think it was a spinebuster but it’s more like an awkward slam. Young picks him up and hits a regular spinebuster for the pin at 7:43.

Rating: C+. There wasn’t much to this but it felt like a way to have a bunch of people doing stuff to warm up the crowd. Well reheat the crowd after they had everything going on at the beginning to grind them down. Unfortunately this felt like it was just filler, as tends to be the case with the opening matches in recent weeks. Not bad at all, but just kind of there.

Post match Christopher Daniels, Low Ki and Elix Skipper run in for the big beatdown. Skipper praises the three of them as the best part of SEX but here is Jeff Jarrett to run in and clear the ring. Jarrett wants to face all of them one on one and tells them to get Vince Russo out here.

Bob Armstrong wants the locker room to stand up for the war against Russo. Jerry Lynn and Ron Killings are both in. Armstrong gets a phone call and tells someone that he needs them here now.

X-Division Title: Sonny Siaki vs. Jason Cross

Siaki, with Desire, is defending. They go with the grappling to start and trade some early rollups. The near falls lead us to a standoff and Cross offers a handshake, earning him a right hand into the corner. Cross leg lariats him out to the apron and then out to the floor, where a corkscrew dive connects. Desire offers a distraction though and gets kicked down, allowing Siaki to drop him throat first on the top rope.

An overhead belly to belly sends Cross crashing into the corner but he comes back with a spinning kick to the face. That’s enough for Siaki to crash outside again, where a big dive connects. Siaki is right back up with a swing into the steps and they head back inside. Cross swings into a DDT to put Siaki down but he’s right back up with a pumphandle sitout piledriver for two, as Cross grabs the rope. The referee gets bumped (of course) and Cross is back up with Crossfire. Desire crotches him against the post though and Siaki gets a small package to retain at 8:13.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the opener, in that they were doing some entertaining stuff and the Crossfire looked good, but of course they had to do something screwy. Cross is a pretty generic high flier so he’s fine as a choice to build up as a one off title challenger. Siaki was quite a good heel when he was getting all cocky and obsessed with himself, but why do that when you can have him be obsessed with being on Russo’s team?

Post match Bob Armstrong comes out to say not so fast but Vince Russo comes in to say the people are here to see SEX. Cross is in no condition to restart the match, as the SEX beats him down. Russo mocks Bob by pointing out that his son Brian works would rather be with Russo than his father (because we’re redoing the Ric/David Flair thing) but here are Ron Killings and Jerry Lynn. Ring the bell.

Ron Killings/Jerry Lynn vs. BG James/Don Harris

Killings hits a big dive onto Harris to start, leaving the other two to crash out to the floor. A chair shot leaves both of them down as Harris and Killings go into the crowd. Harris’ chair doesn’t do much to Killings as Lynn comes back with a spinning crossbody to James. The slightly busted open James is taken down again with a middle rope Stratusfaction.

Harris is back to pull Lynn down from the apron and we’re back into a regular match. It’s off to Harris with a big boot and a double back elbow puts Lynn down again. Lynn manages to reverse a double suplex into a double DDT, allowing the tag off to Killings. House is quickly cleaned, with Killings trying a 450, but landing knees first on James’ ribs. Cue….freaking Mike Sanders of all people to jump Killings for the DQ at 6:30.

Rating: C. A good chunk of this match was spent in the brawl before we got into things, because why wrestle when you can not wrestle? Especially in a thrown together tag match like this one. The ending is hardly a surprise, as Sanders might have been only about two years removed from being in WCW…but it’s MIKE SANDERS. He wasn’t that interesting in the first place but here he is as we get anyone who was around in any fashion before.

Post match the big beatdown is on as Vince Russo looks on approvingly from the crowd.

Mike Tenay sat down with Percy Pringle, who talked about his history in wrestling and how he worked through the territories and managed a bunch of talented stars. Tenay asks if Pringle prefers professional wrestling or sports entertainment and he won’t really give an answer. As for managing someone here…yeah he’s not answering that either.

Tag Team Titles: America’s Most Wanted vs. Disciples Of The New Church

The Disciples, with James Mitchell and Belladonna, are defending. AMW jumps them to start fast and, naturally, the brawl heads outside. They’re all sent into various things, with the ring mat being peeled back and Harris being suplexed onto the concrete. Slash chokes him with a camera cable and hammers away before actually bothering to get back inside. A spinning Razor’s Edge toss gets two on Storm and it’s off to Lee for a big boot.

Harris’ throat is snapped across the top rope and a comeback bid is cut off with a DDT. A double clothesline gets two on Storm and we hit the chinlock. Storm fights up and hits an enziguri, which sends Lee into the referee. There’s no one to see the tag so the beating continues, with Storm managing to double DDT his way out of a double suplex (he must have been watching the previous match).

Harris gets the tag and cleans house, even with Slash accidentally throwing powder into Lee’s face. A spear gives Harris two and he grabs a Sharpshooter, with Mitchell coming in with a cheap shot to break it up. Storm cleans house but gets spinebustered for a quick two. Harris reverses Lee’s Tombstone into one of his own so Slash wedges a chair in the corner. Storm is catapulted into said chair for two but Harris is back up for the Death Sentence onto the chair to get the titles back at 14:17.

Rating: C+. Another wild match here, which kind of takes away the impact that this one had. AMW getting the titles back is a fine way to go as they’re clearly the top team in the promotion. The Disciples were fine as monsters to build up and then beat right back, as having them do this in a wild brawl is a good way to go. Just stop having all of the matches be like this or it doesn’t quite work as well.

Bob Armstrong is too busy to talk.

Curt Hennig vs. David Flair

This is an ax handle on a pole match, because of course it is. Hennig mocks Flair before the match and says he knows Flair doesn’t have what it takes. Flair charges at him and gets beaten up but manages to catch Hennig going for the handle. A Hennig necksnap drops Hennig and Flair stomps away. Flair’s attempt to get the handle is countered with an electric chair and Hennig shoves down one of the staff members and gets the handle to win at 2:38.

Post match Hennig beats up Flair, who comes back with something in a sack to knock Hennig silly. Hennig gets up and chases Flair off.

Goldilocks tries to interview Flair, who walks right past her. Desire comes out of the locker room and takes issue with Goldilocks talking to her boys. There’s a new woman in town (notice the camera panning to Desire’s chest) and she jumps Goldilocks to start the brawl. Cue Athena (I think) to brawl with Desire, which is broken up.

Commentary does their big preview of next week but Mike Sanders runs in to scream at Tenay about his disrespect of Vince Russo.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Christopher Daniels

Non-title and the first of three matches for Jarrett. Daniels is catapulted to the floor to start but comes back in with a leg lariat. Jarrett gets choked in the corner but tries a quick Figure Four, which is reversed in record time. That’s broken up with a rope break so Daniels goes with an enziguri for two instead. Some rams into the buckle wake Jarrett up and he slugs away before getting a boot up in the corner. The Stroke finishes Daniels at 4:38.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time here and that made for kind of a rushed match. At the same time, it’s nice to have Daniels getting some ring time against a bigger name. Daniels hasn’t gotten much of a chance to showcase himself thus far and it’s a good sign to see him facing the World Champion, even in a losing effort.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Elix Skipper

Still non-title and Skipper jumps him from behind to start fast. Skipper takes it outside for a toss over the barricade, where Jarrett hits him in the head with a chair. Back in and Skipper grabs a sleeper for a good while until Jarrett fights up. The comeback is on but Daniels gets up on the apron, only to clothesline Skipper by mistake. Jarrett clears Daniels out and pins Skipper at 6:10 (10:59 total).

Rating: C. They had a bit more time but a good chunk of the match was spent brawling in the crowd and on a sleeper. Skipper was someone who could do some insanely athletic things in the ring but he wasn’t really getting the chance to showcase that here. At least he lost to an error though, so it certainly could have been worse.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Low Ki

Last match and last non-title. Ki screams into Jarrett’s face to start and gives him some facewashes. A triangle choke gives Ki two and he grabs the chinlock. Jarrett fights out and sends him outside for a toss over the announcers’ table. Ki fights back and slingshots into a dragon sleeper back inside to put Jarrett in trouble again.

Jarrett gets in the ropes for the break but Ki kicks the leg to to block the Figure Four. Daniels and Skipper come back out and get knocked to the floor so Ki fires off even more kicks. For some reason Daniels gets on the apron again, allowing Jarrett to hit Ki low and hit the Stroke but Skipper comes in for the DQ at 7:51 (18:58 total).

Rating: C+. Is it just me or did Daniels look like the biggest loser in this whole thing? He got pinned clean in the first match, he caused Skipper to get pinned and his mistake almost had Low Ki lose as well. That’s not the greatest presentation of one person and hopefully he gets to redeem himself. Ki looked like a killer here, but that only matters so much when Jarrett keeps popping up like a monster. You know, as usual.

Post match the big beatdown is on until the Road Warriors make the save. AJ Styles runs in to beat up the Warriors and SEX joins in for the beating. Styles leaves on his own though and seems to be more anti-Jarrett than pro-Russo. Jarrett is put on a table but Dusty Rhodes runs in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. The wrestling was ok for the most part with nothing that really stood out. What did stand out was how Russo is instantly the most important person on the show, along with Jarrett as a distant second. You have Russo as this big tough guy and everyone hates him but no one can touch him because he’s so awesome and manly. The show isn’t fun, mainly because everything is flying around for no particular reason other than making Russo look good. There’s an idea of getting heat, but you also run into the chances of ruining the show, which is pretty much what they’ve done with Russo.

Results
David Young/Tony Mamaluke b. EZ Money/Kid Kash – Spinebuster to Money
Sonny Siaki b. Jason Cross – Small package
Ron Killings/Jerry Lynn b. BG James/Don Harris via DQ when Mike Sanders interfered
America’s Most Wanted b. Disciples Of The New Church – Death Sentence to Slash
Curt Hennig b. David Flair – Hennig pulled down the ax handle
Jeff Jarrett b. Christopher Daniels – Stroke
Jeff Jarrett b. Elix Skipper – Flying clothesline
Jeff Jarrett b. Low Ki via DQ when Elix Skipper interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #26
Date: December 18, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

Believe it or not, the big story is about Jeff Jarrett and Vince Russo, who may or may not be on the same page. That’s in addition to Russo having his Sports Entertainment Xtreme stable, which may or may not have AJ Styles on his side. That could make for an interesting story but, you know, Jarrett and Russo. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We look at Jeff Jarrett going to Europe and Japan to defend the NWA World Title. Believe it or not, this makes him look like a hero.

Here is a ticked off Curt Hennig storming in from the parking lot and coming into the arena. He is here to deal with Vince Russo and since he isn’t Roddy Piper, he’ll be tying Russo in knots or punching him in the face. Cue Russo (with Don Harris) and the chase is on, only for Low Ki, Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper to run in and jump Hennig. Apparently they’re part of Sports Entertainment Xtreme, so here is BG James to brag on commentary, followed by Russo yelling at Tenay.

Bob Armstrong stops AJ Styles in the back and asks why Styles is with Russo. Styles says he’s proven his greatness in the ring, including last week (when he lost clean) and now it’s time to be the heavyweight champion.

Gauntlet Match

Ten entrants with ninety second intervals and pin/submission for eliminations. Jason Cross is in at #1 and Amazing Red is in at #2…and we cut to the back where Jeff Jarrett jumps AJ Styles. They trade leapfrogs to start and go to a standoff, with Cross missing a running flipping legdrop. Red sends him outside for a jumping kick off the apron as Tony Mamaluke is in at #3. The same seated Brock Lock that made Cross give up last week doesn’t work this week so Mamaluke switches to a jawbreaker.

Jimmy Rave is in at #4 and goes after Mamaluke as the other two brawl on the floor. Mamaluke and Rave go up top and it’s Shark Boy in at #5 to powerbomb the two of them down. Everyone pairs off and thankfully we go split screen as Kid Kash is in at #6. Red charges into a boot to the face as AJ Styles and Boy slingshot dives onto Kash on the floor. Ace Steel is in at #7 and hits a springboard dropkick to Rave. Almost everyone is back inside as Rave rolls up Mamaluke for the first elimination at 8:40.

Rave’s spinning crossface to Boy is broken up so Boy grabs the Dead Sea Drop (Diamond Dust) to pin Rave at 9:21. Kash gets a quick pin on Shark Boy for another elimination at 9:35 for back to back…uh wrestler ejections. Jose Maximo is in at #8 and dives onto Kash, who cuts him off with a powerbomb. Joel Maximo is in at #9 and goes to the floor, where Steel gives him a suplex. Steel and Cross go inside as David Young is in at #10 to complete the field.

Young grabs a sitout powerbomb, followed by a double belly to back suplex tot he Maximos. Steel is sent into the corner, followed by a big flip dive from Young to take out a pile. Steel, Cross, Red and Kash all hit dives of their own, followed by Kash grabbing a rope walk hurricanrana to Young. The running tornado DDT plants Young again for two, leaving almost everyone else to brawl on the floor. A Doomsday DDT plants Young and Red’s Infrared is good for the elimination at 17:36.

Steel catches Jose up top with a super tornado DDT and the pin at 18:13. Joel Rolls Steel up for the elimination 18:36. A hurricanrana gets rid of Joel and we’re down to Kash, Cross and Red. Cross gets double teamed down, leaving Red to kick Kash in the head for two. Kash catches Red on top for a super gorilla press but Cross cuts Kash off. Red goes up for a diving cutter to pin Kash at 21:39. Cross brainbusters Red and hits the shooting star legdrop for the final pin at 22:11.

Rating: C+. It was fun and there were some good spots, but they were flying through the eliminations at the end and that wasn’t the best way to go. No one really had a chance to stand out, with the one on one portion barely breaking thirty seconds. I had a nice enough time, but they just needed a better structure.

Commentary runs down the card.

Here is Sports Entertainment Xtreme for a chat. Vince Russo talks about how people laugh at these fans for being so stupid looking. He introduces the fans to the three newest members of the team. Low Ki wasn’t being booked because he wouldn’t agree to a 52 week schedule. Christopher Daniels wasn’t here because a plane ticket from California was too much. And Elix Skipper wanted more money, which Russo promises him, along with various physical accompaniment. As for BG James, he needs to stop worrying about his dad and take care of him.

Russo is tired of Jeff Jarrett and wants an answer right now. Cue Jarrett to say it is time for Russo to shut up and listen. Russo is still a magazine writer who has no respect for anyone in this business. Jarrett was the first wrestler that Vince McMahon told him to interview. He has protected Russo time after time from people like Shawn Michaels and Bill Goldberg in the WWF and WCW. They have been successful together under the name of sports entertainment (oh good grief). And yes, Russo came up with the idea for the Good Housekeeping match with Chyna.

Then a few weeks ago, Russo crossed the line by spitting in Jerry Jarrett’s face. If not for wrestling, Russo would be selling TVs in New York. Russo says Jarrett has lost his respect and the boys laugh at him, so whose side is he on. Jarrett makes it clear that he has never been with Russo and never will be (….that’s not what he said just a few minutes ago but whatever). The brawl is on and Jarrett grabs a chair but the numbers game gets to him. Security breaks it up and Russo leaves through the crowd.

Disciples Of The New Church vs. America’s Most Wanted vs. Harris Twins

Non-title and for the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to all three of the Harris’s by their first names. Storm Whispers In The Wind onto Slash to start, followed by a Russian legsweep for two. Chris comes in and gets booted down by Lee for one before a snap suplex gets two. A crossbody gets Chris out of trouble and Storm’s high version gets two.

Everything breaks down, as you probably knew was coming, and the brawl heads outside, as you probably also expected. Lee gets sent into the barricade and it’s AMW and the Twins brawling back inside. The H Bomb drops Chris but here is I believe Belladonna with a low blow…and never mind as the ROAD WARRIORS of all people run in to lay out the Twins. Hawk’s top rope splash lets Storm get the pin on Ron at 7:36.

Rating: C. Well, if the Twins are going to sell for anyone, you might as well make it the most dominant tag team ever. It was certainly a big reaction to have them show up, and if it gets the Twins away from the title picture, I’d certainly call it an upgrade. This was another “we’re not really wrestling for the most part” match and that’s happening too often around here lately. But, you know, Russo.

The Road Warriors say they still have it.

Bob Armstrong gives the X-Division a pep talk about going after Sports Entertainment Xtreme.

Video on the triple threat match for the X-Division Title, with champion Sonny Siaki ready to prove his greatness again.

X-Division Title: Sonny Siaki vs. Jerry Lynn vs. EZ Money

Siaki is defending and Lynn is in because he did well last week. The champ gets punched down to start and Money’s neckbreaker gets two. Siaki superkicks Money into a sunset flip to give Lynn two but Money fights up and takes over on both of them. Lynn uses Siaki as a launchpad for a tornado DDT to Money, followed by a flip dive to both of them on the floor. Back in and Money gives Siaki a Buckshot Lariat and a 3D drops him for two. Cue the woman from last week to open her jacket to Lynn, followed by a slap (she’s sending mixed messages). Lynn gets sent outside and Siaki’s swinging neckbreaker retains the title at 7:46.

Rating: C+. This was a good way to help get Siaki over as the champion, as he is still brand new in the title picture. Having the still unnamed woman with him should help as it’s a classic formula that works every time. Lynn being in there made this feel more important, but Siaki is going to have to beat him again at some point or his reign is only going to go so far.

Post match the woman hugs Vince Russo, who says he has had his eye on Siaki since the beginning. The woman (still no name) is a gift to him for every desire he has (because that’s all women are for in Russo’s world). Lynn comes back in to jump Siaki but the woman kicks him low and the villains leave.

BG James vs. Ron Killings

Street fight, which might be an improvement. James jumps the rapping Killings from behind to start fast and they brawl up to the stage. Killings’ ax kick gets two, as apparently this is falls count anywhere. They go over near the cage dancers (who are still a thing for some reason), with James getting in a trashcan shot. A powerbomb puts Killings through a table for two and James hits him with whatever he can find. Naturally Killings comes back with a shovel to the head but here are Christopher Daniels, Low Ki and Elix Skipper to take Killings out for the pin at 4:37.

Rating: D+. It was just a messy brawl which was barely a match, with the interference making it worse. That being said, it’s better to have James doing a brawl than a match, even with all of the screwiness. Then again I’m not sure I’m supposed to know the story in the first place, because the promotion probably didn’t either.

Post match here is Bob Armstrong, who has three men to face Russo’s three men.

Low Ki/Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper vs. SATs/Amazing Red

Sure, send three people out there for their second match tonight. That’s the ticket. The villains clear the ring to start until Ki is left alone with Joel. Ki misses a charge and gets knocked out to the floor, leaving Daniels to come in. Red chases him out and it’s Ki coming back in to get caught in the corner for the running clotheslines. A doomsday dropkick sets up something like a wheelbarrow cutter for…nothing, as there’s too much time for that to be the pin.

It’s back to Daniels, who gets knocked down for two and Red kicks him in the face for two more. A backdrop sends Daniels outside and apparently we’re in Mexico as Skipper immediately comes in. The SATs tie up Skipper and Ki in a camel clutch/Boston crab combination, with Red adding in a running dropkick. Daniels comes back in for a clothesline to take over, with Skipper sending Red into the corner.

Another clothesline and a standing moonsault drop Red for two and Skipper grabs the chinlock. Red manages to counter the Ki Krusher into the corner and the Code Red puts Ki down again. Both Maximos come in (of course) off the tag and everything breaks down again. Skipper’s brainbuster gets two and he sends Jose outside for a slingshot dive. Red comes back in but misses the Code Red, only to avoid Ki’s phoenix splash but then miss Infrared.

Don West gets onto the announcers’ table to cheer for Red, whose hurricanrana gets two on Daniels. Ki comes in but kicks Daniels down by mistake, leaving Red to grab a springboard spinning Downward Spiral for two. Skipper’s gutwrench powerbomb gives Ki two on Red and everyone goes into the same corner. That results in everyone crashing down, leaving Ki to hit the super Ki Crusher to pin Red at 21:07.

Rating: B+. As usual, the X-Division guys do what they can to save the show with an awesome match. They beat each other up for over twenty minutes with pretty much nonstop action (hey that’s catchy) throughout. The villains winning is of course the correct call as they have to build some momentum now that they’re on the new team. Really good match here and it brought the show up a lot.

Post match Russo and company get in the ring to answer the greatest question in wrestling: why are there tables under the ring? BG James says it’s because he put them there, so some tables are set up. Curt Hennig tries to make the save but David Flair of all people comes in to take him out. Jeff Jarrett makes the save with a chair but AJ Styles saves Flair from the Figure Four. Skipper and Ki put Jarrett through a table and Russo destroys the set with an ax (because he’s manly like that) to end the show. And yes, while I know there were reasons, the show ended with David Flair as the big surprise rather than the ROAD WARRIORS.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling is good, but my goodness the huge overarching story is dragging everything else down. The Russo stuff is just people talking about old stuff and loyalty and bringing in random people for shock value. You have the awesome main event and a few other decent things, but having the Harris Twins and BG James in the ring so often is bringing it right back down. That’s in addition to Jeff Jarrett being one of the least interesting top stars you can find, yet here he is in the big featured spot. Oh but Russo got to use an ax so it’s cool. Not as bad as the previous show, but that’s not much of an improvement.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #23
Date: November 27, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

And we’re in the Vince Russo Era. Yeah I’m as thrilled about it as you are, but there’s no particular way around it. Last week, Mr. Wrestling III helped Jeff Jarrett finally win the NWA World Title before revealing himself as Russo. I’m sure this won’t be a total disaster no matter what. Let’s get to it.

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

Goldilocks sings God Bless America in honor of Thanksgiving.

Opening sequence.

Divine Storm vs. Briscoe Brothers

Trinity is here with Divine Storm. Jay gets taken down by Storm to start and can’t quite get anywhere off a waistlock. Mark and Divine come in for an exchange of armdrags until Mark hits a dropkick. A northern lights suplex gets two and it’s back to Jay as Mark is sent outside. Everything breaks down and the Briscoes hit stereo running flip dives and Jay takes Storm back inside for a gordbuster.

Mark is back with a springboard missile dropkick but walks into something like a Blue Thunder Bomb. That’s shrugged off and Storm gets double teamed in the corner, with Storm having to make a save. Mark is sent outside and take down with an Asai moonsault, leaving Jay to grab a sitout brainbuster. Storm is back in with a half nelson driver to finish Jay at 6:07.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a long match but this was a good choice to get two teams out there and fire up the crowd a bit. If nothing else, the company needs some challengers to come after the Tag Team Titles so building up Divine Storm for a quick shot isn’t a bad idea. The Briscoes were VERY young here but they had a look and the talent to make up for some of the age issues.

A rather sweaty Mike Tenay cuts a promo on how much he can’t stand Vince Russo and what Russo is all about.

We run down the card.

We look back at last week’s World Title change, with Mr. Wrestling III helping Jeff Jarrett take the title from Ron Killings before revealing himself as Vince Russo.

Here is Jarrett for a chat…in theory at least as Russo comes out before Jarrett does. Russo tells Mike Tenay to leave if he hates him so much and go pout with Sean Waltman. The reality is wrestling needs Russo to save it (oh here we go) and he’s here to talk about Jarrett. They met when Jarrett was doing a gimmick where he was spelling his name, but Jarrett was one of the few genuine people in wrestling.

Then one night, Jarrett walked out on the company and left Russo to take the heat while Jarrett jumped on the NWO bandwagon. Then when the WWF took over, Jarrett came back to the WWF and Russo left, while Jarrett lost to a WOMAN named Chyna. Jarrett had to get out of there and needed Russo’s help (uh, right). Eventually Russo got out of wrestling and Jarrett asked him to join this new company, with Russo giving the name (and it was supposed to stand for….well what everyone thinks TNA stands for).

The reality is Jarrett was led around by the nose by some old man he won’t name while Russo got to sit at home. Now though, he thinks that both the WWE and this place suck and he’s here to save the day once again. Jarrett has one chance to join Russo because the change is coming next week. Russo will be here tonight to help Jarrett win again and he wants Jarrett’s answer tonight. Oh boy this show just got a lot worse and I’m sure in Russo’s mind that’s a huge plus or something, because he thinks people being sick of him in five minutes is great.

Mortimer Plumtree complains about other managers not offering enough to bring in AJ Styles.

We recap Goldilocks and April leaving together last week, with Brian Lawler being all upset. Again.

America’s Most Wanted vs. Hot Shots

Stevens offers an early distraction so Storm can be sent into the corner. The double teaming puts him down, with O’Reilly getting in some choking on the mat. That’s broken up in a hurry and it’s off to Harris for the hard knockdown. A low bridge sends Harris outside though and the Hot Shots get to take over in the corner. The old Rockers double flip over into a double right hand to knock Storm off the apron.

Stevens’ Lionsault hits raised knees though and Storm comes in off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Storm hits the reverse tornado DDT. Harris hits the swinging Rock Bottom on O’Reilly and here are James Mitchell and Bella Donna to watch. The Death Sentence connects for AMW but they go after Mitchell and Donna for the countout at 5:19.

Rating: C+. I’m still not seeing much of the appeal of the Hot Shots, though the division desperately needs some new blood. AMW is turning into a heck of a team and starting to establish themselves as the aces of the division. They’ll need to face someone else besides the Disciples, so why not see what the Hot Shots can do?

Post match AMW loads up the Death Sentence on Donna but the Disciples Of The New Church run in for the save. Security breaks it up.

Dory Funk Jr. (who apparently wrestled in a dark match) says he will be watching Jeff Jarrett’s match as he has a vested interest.

Tag Team Titles: BG James/Curt Hennig vs. Disciples Of The New Church

The Disciples are defending and do a full entrance despite being in the arena about a minute and a half ago. James Mitchell (along with Bella Donna) is here with the Disciples and says he has an interest…..IN EVIL! Hennig atomic drops Slash into the corner to start and it’s quickly off to James.

That means the champs get to choke on the ropes but James is right back with a clothesline to the floor. The shaky knee gets two on Lee and it’s off to Hennig to work on the knee. Most of a Figure Four has Lee in trouble and it’s back to James to stay on the leg. What looks like a low blow gives Lee a needed breather though and it’s back to Slash.

The cobra clutch has James in more trouble but he fights up, only to get caught in a sleeper. That’s broken up and it’s back to Hennig to clean house, including the HennigPlex to Slash. That’s broken up by Lee as everything breaks down. And never mind as AMW runs in to jump the Disciples for the DQ at 10:35.

Rating: D+. Sweet goodness James is hard to watch. He doesn’t do much anything other than punch and feels like he’s just there for the sake of star power. The problem is he has almost nothing to back it up in the ring and this was another good example. The match was nothing worth seeing, with Hennig not being able to do much out there with this assorted cast of characters.

Post match AMW and the Disciples brawl to the back while Hennig and James aren’t pleased.

Don West and Mike Tenay are happy about the company’s official website launching and some charity stuff. Nothing wrong with that.

EZ Money vs. Alex Winters

They go with the grappling to start and Money can’t get anywhere with the arm. Instead he hits a Buckshot Lariat and avoids a slingshot dive, setting up a rocking horse of all things. Back up and Winters tries to jump over Money in the corner but seems to get kicked low. The Crash Landing finishes for Money at 3:19.

Rating: C-. I liked Money when he was Jason Jett at the end of WCW but that wasn’t coming through here. Instead this was a dull, slow match with Money doing a lame squash. Nothing to see here and I wouldn’t be surprised if Money was…well given how this promotion works, he’ll probably get a push instead of leaving as a result.

Bruce insists that his name is Alan Funk and he and April are just friends. Maybe she can be Miss TNA from now on. If that stupid Bruce stuff is done, I’m much happier with this show.

Sonny Siaki vs. Crimson Dragon

Siaki starts in on the arm before they run the ropes for a crisscross. Dragon’s springboard armdrag doesn’t do much and they stare at each other a bit. Dragon sends him to the corner for a kick to the head, followed by a diving clothesline on the floor. Back in and Siaki just throws him over the top for a nasty crash. They get inside again with Siaki hitting a slingshot atomic drop but Dragon kicks him in the face for two more. Dragon gets crotched on top though, allowing Siaki to hit a big overhead belly to belly superplex. The swinging neckbreaker finishes the Dragon at 5:14.

Rating: C. That’s really not a good choice for back to back matches as while this was slightly better, it was just a tiny step above Money’s squash. Siaki has been a borderline main eventer for awhile but here he is winning a nothing squash. I could go for him being in a higher spot than this, but that might just be for the sake of avoiding another dull match.

Post match Siaki says he wants better competition.

April is distraught over Brian Lawler freaking out over her being in the shower with Bruce last week. Everyone knows Bruce is gay but Goldilocks says no one is buying this. April thinks Goldilocks is jealous and Goldilocks walks off, saying she doesn’t have time for this.

Here is Brian Lawler, looking downright mopey, to talk about how he has given his heart to a woman he thought loved him. Then it turns out that she’s doing whatever with Sean Waltman, she’s in the shower with Bruce and now apparently she’s having an affair with Goldilocks. He hasn’t been able to sleep and he has migraines so as of right now, he’s quitting wrestling. Thank goodness, as Lawler is regularly one of the worst things on this show.

Commentary talks about what happened and we cut to Lawler, who is leaving with Priscilla and grabbing her in a rather personal place.

Video on AJ Styles.

Video on Jerry Lynn.

X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn

Styles, with Mortimer Plumtree, is challenging and yes, they’re actually doing this match again. Lynn isn’t happy with the early trash talk and slugs him down, followed by a basement dropkick to the back for an early two. Styles is tossed over the top for the big crash to the floor, followed by the baseball slide.

That’s shrugged off and Styles peels back the mats for a DDT onto the exposed concrete. Back in and Lynn is busted open so Styles hammers at the cut, with Plumtree even getting in a shot of his own. Lynn is able to crotch him on top though and a kick to the face sends Styles outside again. Plumtree’s distraction doesn’t work as the charging Styles hits barricade and it’s a jumping back elbow to give Lynn two.

Styles is able to send him outside though, with Lynn getting in a foreign object shot. Back in and a reverse tornado DDT gives Styles two but Lynn is back with a running Liger Bomb for the same. Styles’ belly to back faceplant gets two more and they go up, with Lynn managing a super gordbuster. With nothing else working, Plumtree tries a foreign object but Lynn takes it away and knocks Styles silly to retain at 12:36.

Rating: B. While it’s a match that can never go wrong, it’s also a match I don’t need to see again for a good while. The nice thing here is they did something a bit different by having Lynn go after Plumtree and using the weapon to even things up somewhat. Easily the best match on the show thus far, but they really need to find someone else to go after this title.

BG James and Curt Hennig are willing to put up $5000….on golf?

Don West hypes up next week’s show.

Earlier today, Dory Funk Jr. sat down with Mike Tenay and talked about his NWA World Title reign and various opponents. He also hyped up the World Title match tonight and hopes people will be talking about it twenty years from now. Not likely, but a nice sentiment.

NWA World Title: Ron Killings vs. Jeff Jarrett

Killings is challenging and raps himself to the ring. We get the Big Match Intros before Jarrett gets rolled up for a fast two. Jarrett gets his boots up to cut off a charge in the corner and a middle rope sunset flip gets two. They trade rollups for two each and it’s an early standoff. That doesn’t work for Killings, who hits him in the mouth, so Jarrett takes him down by the leg.

The Figure Four is quickly broken up and Jarrett is sent outside, with Killings hitting a quick dive. A frog splash gives Killings two and we hit the sleeper to put Jarrett down for a bit. Back up and Jarrett’s dropkick is countered into a sitout powerbomb. Killings goes up and gets superplexed back down, followed by an enziguri which doesn’t look to come anywhere near connecting.

Jarrett kicks him low and of course denies it before loading up a chair in the corner. Killings sends him into said chair for two, only to miss one heck of a moonsault. With nothing else working, Jarrett pulls off a turnbuckle pad before sending Killings…outside and over the barricade (helpfully labeled the HEEL SECTION). They brawl around the arena and climb a lighting structure, which they fall off for the crash through a table. That’s enough for the double countout at 11:08.

Well hang on as here is Bob Armstrong to say there will be a winner so we keep going. They get inside and slug it out, with Jarrett being hot shotted onto the exposed buckle. Jarrett gets up again and the referee is bumped (of course) so cue Russo. The guitar is handed in but Jarrett smashes it on the post instead. Three straight Strokes retain the title at 14:18.

Rating: C. And yeah there it is. As usual, this is more about Russo than anyone else and it drags everything down. Russo being out there with Jarrett, either together or on opposing sides, feels like flashbacks to the dying days of WCW and that’s not a good thing. The match was decent enough as you had two talented wrestlers in there, but then it all goes to Russo again, which is likely going to be the start of a recurring trend.

Post match Russo says Jarrett has one chance to be with him or against him. Jarrett goes back inside and yells at Russo to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. You can see things going in a bad direction from here and that’s not an encouraging sign. Aside from the usually good Styles vs. Lynn match and maybe AMW vs. the Hot Shots, this was a show built around people who aren’t interesting and who are likely going to get a lot more screen time. Having to watch Russo, Lawler and to a lesser extent Jarrett get this much focus isn’t a good sign. It doesn’t help that a lot of the rest of the show felt like mostly meaningless filler. Not a good show, and unfortunately it’s probably indicative of where we’re heading.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #22
Date: November 20, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

It’s a big time main event this week as Jeff Jarrett FINALLY gets his NWA World Title shot, which he’s wanted since he was a boy. Or maybe it just feels like that’s how long he’s been talking about the stupid thing. Other than that, the new Tag Team Champions re defending their titles, which should be dominance. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card.

Earlier today we got a sitdown interview with World Champion Ron Killings. He’s not thinking about Mr. Wrestling III and talks about being focused on the World Title because that is his passion. Tonight it’s about who is going to pay the ultimate price.

EZ Money/Sonny Siaki vs. Divine Storm

Storm is Chris Divine/Quiet Storm with Trinity. It’s a brawl to start with Money hitting a top rope clothesline to the floor, taking out Siaki and Storm in the process. Trinity moonsaults out onto Siaki and Storm and we settle down to Divine rolling Siaki up for two. Siaki suplexes him down for two before Money and Siaki plant Storm with a double slam.

A Spin Cycle sends Storm outside, where Siaki is right there with a kind of suplex. Trinity takes Siaki down with a hurricanrana but Money is right there to drop her with a clothesline. Back in and Storm cutters Money off the middle rope, allowing Divine to get the tag. That’s fine with Siaki, who gives him the fisherman’s neckbreaker for the fast pin at 5:50.

Rating: C+. This is following the standard classic idea of having a fast paced match to start the show. It works every time and it worked again here, with Money and Siaki doing well enough as a team. It’s not like they have anything going on, but there are far worse ideas for a show opening match.

Here are James Mitchell and Belladonna for a chat. Mitchell knows the wrestling world is watching the World Title match and now he wants the World Title too. Whoever wins tonight will face the New Church. Likely in the form of this man.

Malice vs. Kory Williams

Malice jumps him to start and they go outside with Williams being sent into the barricade. Back in and Malice…kind of hits a top rope shoulder, followed by a chokeslam for the pin at 1:57.

Spanish Announce Team vs. Harris Twins

For a future Tag Team Title shot.  The SATs start fast and jump the Twins during their entrances as we hear about some of the Twins’ previous gimmicks. Jose misses a dive though and the Twins take over, as they are so known to do. Ron spinebusters Jose but Joel is back in to take Ron down. The moonsault/guillotine legdrop combination gets two but Don is in to clean house. The big dive over the top takes the SATs out and the H Bomb finishes for Ron at 6:08.

Rating: D. You knew the Twins were going to get the title shot as soon as they were announced as being in the field as that’s just what they do. The team is presented as the most important, dominant thing in the division no matter who they’re facing and they squashed a perfectly fine team here. What luck that now we get to see them again.

April insists that she was NOT in the shower with Bruce last week. Cue Bruce, who insists that he’s gay so it wasn’t him. Lenny comes in to say Bruce is a fake gay guy so give him the Miss TNA crown. Cue Brian Lawler to jump Bruce, ending one of the dumbest segments I’ve ever seen.

BG James vs. Lenny

James says this won’t be a gay bashing, but just him beating Lenny up. Lenny shoulders him down to start but gets caught with a clothesline. The dancing punches are broken up and Lenny hits a standing moonsault from the top. Cue Bruce to beat Lenny up but Brian Lawler runs in to take Bruce out. James drops a knee on Lenny for the pin at 2:57, because none of that was a DQ. Well of course it wasn’t.

Post match Goldilocks comes out, kisses April on the cheek, and they leave while holding hands as Lawler is rather upset.

AJ Styles vs. Crimson Dragon vs. Jorge Estrada

For a future X-Division Title shot, Mortimer Plumtree is here with Styles and Priscilla is here with Estrada. They trade armdrags and hiptosses to start and a series of standing switches. Dragon superkicks Styles but Estrada powerbombs Dragon out of the corner. Back up and Dragon suplexes Styles into a Stunner before piledriving Estrada for two.

Styles is back with a brainbuster for two on Dragon with Estrada making the save. Dragon gets knocked into the corner so Styles kicks Estrada down for two. Dragon is able to kick Styles out of the air but Estrada takes Dragon outside for a whip into the barricade. Styles is whipped in for two as well but Dragon is back in with a double guillotine legdrop for two each.

Estrada rolls Dragon up and suplexes Styles for a double near fall, only to get crotched on top. Styles breaks up a near fall on Estrada but Dragon crotches him on top for a change. This time though the super hurricanrana is countered into a Styles Clash onto Estrada to give Styles the pin on Dragon at 11:02.

Rating: B-. Much like the opener, this worked just fine as Estrada and Styles were more than good enough to carry their part of the match. On the other hand you have Dragon (former ECW star Chris Hamrick underneath a mask) doing well enough as a warm body. Sometimes you need someone there to take the fall and that’s about the only reason to put him in there, which worked well enough.

America’s Most Wanted wants to beat up James Mitchell and get the Tag Team Titles back. James Storm also says “sorry about your d*** luck.”

Video on the Disciples Of The New Church winning the Tag Team Titles last week.

Tag Team Titles: Disciples Of The New Church vs. America’s Most Wanted

The Disciples are defending and it’s a big brawl on the floor to start again. AMW double teams Slash on the barricade and Lee is suplexed into the ring. Lee drops Harris to take over and it’s off to Slash for the right hands in the corner. We settle down to the champs taking turns beating up Harris, with Lee’s big boot connecting for two.

Harris finally fights out and gets in a middle rope clothesline, allowing the tag off to Storm. A reverse tornado DDT gives Storm two as everything breaks down again. Something close to a Tower Of Doom out of the corner leaves everyone down but Storm is up with a chair. A shot to Lee’s ribs sets up a spear from Harris for a rather close two so Lee grabs the spike. That’s taken away though and Storm uses it on Lee for the DQ at 10:46.

Rating: C. Yes after all of that brawling, there was actually a DQ. Not in the other matches around here, but in this one, because it’s what the script called for here. We’re probably setting up for a big violent blowoff match between these teams and I’ve heard worse ideas, as it’s an actual feud with stakes.

Post match Storm beats up Belladonna and Harris lays out a referee. Well we better get a violent rematch now. Security runs in to save James Mitchell so he can escape.

Video on the Amazing Red.

We get a sitdown interview with Red, who looks to be about 16 years old and is rather nervous. He wants to be the champion and will give it all he has. The idea here is that he’s quiet on the mic but loud in the ring and…I guess that makes sense.

Jerry Lynn is excited to face Amazing Red because he sees a lot of himself in him.

X-Division Title: Amazing Red vs. Jerry Lynn

Lynn is defending. They start slowly with both of them getting a quick take down to no avail. Lynn monkey flips him but Red sticks the landing on a hiptoss. A German suplex doesn’t work for Lynn either and Red snaps off a hurricanrana. Lynn finally catches him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a surfboard works on Red’s back.

Back up and Red sends him to the floor but the flip dive off the apron is caught, allowing Lynn to ram Red’s ribs into the apron. Lynn ties up an arm and a leg for some cranking but Red gets up for a tornado DDT. That’s enough to send Lynn outside and the running flip dive takes him down again.

A 619 connects on Lynn and Red catches him with a kick to the head. Lynn manages a powerbomb out of the corner and then flips him over into another powerbomb for two more. Red is back up with something like a middle rope swinging Downward Spiral for two of his own and some frustration is setting in. A hurricanrana out of the corner gives Red another near fall but Lynn catches him on top with a super cradle piledriver to retain at 10:03.

Rating: B. Believe it or not, the X-Division guys continue to carry the show, with this being a nice story of the veteran Lynn being a bit overwhelmed by the young star. Red more than held his own out there and it was more a matter of him getting caught than getting beaten. That’s a good way to go (it worked two and a half years later for Shawn Michaels and Shelton Benjamin) and this was one of the better things I’ve seen from TNA in a minute.

Don West hypes up next week’s show.

Video on Ron Killings, who has been kind of forgotten in the last few weeks.

Video on Jeff Jarrett, who wants to be an all time great NWA World Champion.

NWA World Title: Ron Killings vs. Jeff Jarrett

Killings is defending. They go with the basics to start, with Killings grabbing a headlock and then a shoulder block, followed by some dancing. A dropkick puts Jarrett down and he’s not sure what to think here. The spinning forearm sends Jarrett outside and he yells at referee Scott Armstrong before making a fired up comeback. Some right hands and a dropkick have Killings in trouble but he hammers away and hits a Downward Spiral.

Killings powerslams him and hits the ax kick for two, followed by a Figure Four. Jarrett eventually manages to turn it over and everything is broken. They knock each other down before Jarrett is up with a powerbomb for two. The referee takes a thumb to the eye so Killings grabs a chair, which Jarrett uses for two more. Killings hits a sitout gordbuster for two but gets knocked off the top for a crash.

The Stroke gives Jarrett two so they head outside, where Killings gets in a posting. They fight into the crowd where Jarrett hits him with a chair, which Killings shrugs off. A splash off a balcony puts Jarrett through a table and he’s busted open. They go back to the ring, where the referee is of course bumped. The slugout leaves both of them down and Mr. Wrestling III comes in to guitar….Killings to give Jarrett the pin and the title at 17:38.

Rating: C+. The match was ok enough and felt like a big match, but egads why am I supposed to care about Jarrett winning the title? It’s treated like this huge important moment and…it’s still just Jarrett as World Champion, which wasn’t interesting in WCW and isn’t interesting here. Throw in the match being about as cookie cutter of a main event style match as you can get and there was a limited appeal here.

Post match Mr. Wrestling III is….Vince Russo. Well of course it is. Jarrett is shocked to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it’s that this show felt a bit bigger, but it was one of the easiest episodes of TNA thus far. There was less in the way of time being wasted and general dumb stuff, though those problems were still there. What matters the most here is having some nice action though and it helped make the show that much better. Not a great show, but it was enough to get by for a week, which is an upgrade around here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #21
Date: November 13, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

We’re getting closer to the end of the #1 contenders tournament and it’s starting to feel like Jeff Jarrett might actually reach his destiny. In theory that’s a good thing as it means he might shut up, but that’s never been in the cards for him. Other than that, Jerry Lynn is once again the X-Division Champion, which is not a bad thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Goldilocks sings the National Anthem in honor of Veterans Day.

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card.

Here are Mortimer Plumtree and AJ Styles for a chat. Styles knows that the fans want to see Jerry Lynn defending the X-Division Title match against Kid Kash, but there is some fine print in the contract (oh yeah it’s a Russo show). Styles is guaranteed a rematch so the title match is off. Cue Lynn, who says Kash has earned a title shot so he’s already gotten the title match turned into a triple threat. So he was just assuming Styles was going to be whiny and rewarded him anyway?

EZ Money vs. Tony Mamaluke

They go with the basic wrestling to start until Money misses a charge over the top to the floor. The big suicide dive takes him out again but another dive is dropkicked out of the air. Back in and Money hits what would become known as a Buckshot Lariat as the fans certainly approve. Mamaluke grabs a quick choke to send Money to the ropes, followed by a guillotine legdrop for two. Money is right back up with a Jason Jett Crash Landing for the pin at 4:51. Makes sense, as Money is in fact Jason Jett.

Rating: B-. This was a nice fast paced opener with two guys who are trying to become a thing around here. Money feels like someone who could be something if he had a bit of a better name, though it’s going to be a bit difficult to crack through the rest of the talent. For now though, good stuff here, even without much time.

Sonny Siaki vs. Chris Vaughn

Siaki jumps him to start and hits a quick belly to belly into the corner. Some shoulders in the corner have Vaughn in trouble and Siaki ties him in the Tree Of Woe. A Samoan drop sets up three straight rolling neckbreakers to finish Vaughn at 2:07.

Earlier today, Brian Lawler was annoyed at April for taking a shower. He didn’t seem to notice Bruce being there too.

Here is James Mitchell to talk about the difference between wrestling and sports entertainment. Of course none of that matters because the New Church is all about evil. He introduces the newest member of the team in Belladonna, plus the returning Malice.

Malice vs. Kaos

Malice jumps him to start and beats him up with quite the ease. Kaos is sent outside and then thrown back inside, with Malice choking away. An overhead belly to belly and big boot set up the chokeslam as Kaos is pretty much done. A top rope knee gives Malice the pin at 2:57.

Brian Lawler vs. Jorge Estrada

April and Priscilla are here too. Lawler dances a bit and stops for a kiss from April, followed by a backdrop to the floor. Back in and Estrada knocks him back, setting up a top rope leg lariat. Lawler tries a shot with April’s purse but Estrada takes it away and wraps it around Lawler’s neck. The springboard Fameasser staggers Lawler and Estrada goes after April, who gets slapped by Priscilla. The distraction lets Lawler get a rollup with tights for the pin at 3:24.

Rating: D. This was another quick match and nothing to see, as Lawler and his stuff with April continues to be absolutely nothing. I’m not sure what the point in having this stuff continue but I’m assuming the idea is that Lawler is a name with star power. That’s all well and good, but maybe come up with something actually interesting.

Jeff Jarrett is ready to do whatever it takes to get the World Title shot. He’s ready to beat BG James and win the tournament, as apparently he’s getting a bye to the finals.

Jimmy Yang vs. Amazing Red

For a future X-Division Title shot. Red backs him into the corner to start before they go to the mat to fight over arm control. With that not working, they get back up for a test of strength, only for Red to spin around him (a lot) into a headscissors. Yang is sent outside and a sliding headscissors takes him into the announcers’ table.

Back in and Yang shoulders away in the corner, setting up an STF. That’s broken up so Red dropkicks a springboard out of the air and the pace picks up. A spinning kick to the face drops Yang and a tornado DDT plants him again. The super Code Red gives Red two and something like a Whisper In The Wind gives Red the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. Red is rapidly rising up the ranks and you can see the talent on full display every time he’s in the ring. That is something that can always be useful in any company, but especially in one that is still getting started. Red is standing out and giving him a title shot is a good idea.

BG James is ready to face Jeff Jarrett for the World Title match next week. Jarrett comes in and says it’s the two of them next week. They have a history together and he wants to wish James good luck, man to man. Then Jarrett jumps him.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Lenny/Bruce vs. Spanish Announce Team

Yes we’re having a three team tournament for a title shot. Joel and Lenny start things off with Lenny doing his rather enthusiastic running of the ropes. Joel trips him down and the other two get in a fight on the floor. That’s enough for Joel to knock Lenny onto the two of them in a big crash.

Back in and a double elbow and gutbuster get two on Joel but Jose is back in for a moonsault/guillotine legdrop combination for two on Bruce. Lenny is back in with a super hurricanrana for two but Joel hits a missile dropkick. Jose comes back in to clean house and we get the, ahem, comedy landing between Lenny and Bruce. Lenny low bridges Bruce to the floor (intentions unclear) and a super Spanish Fly gives Jose the pin at 7:21.

Rating: C. See, this is a bit more like it. The Bruce/Miss TNA stuff is horrible, but it’s even more annoying when you consider that Bruce is not bad at all in the ring. He’s capable of having a fine match and that was what we saw here, as this was perfectly acceptable. Just stop with the low brow unfunny stuff and things would get so much better.

Bob Armstrong says Don Harris is fired as the head of security…but he can wrestle. BECAUSE WE NEED THE HARRIS TWINS.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Harris Twins vs. Hot Shots

The Twins jump them to start fast and it’s Ron beating up Stevens in the corner without much trouble. Commentary points out how hard it is to tell the Twins apart, ignoring that they’re in different style gear. O’Reilly comes in to fight back but gets knocked back without much trouble. Everything breaks down and the H Bomb finishes Stevens at 3:57.

Rating: D. Yep, the Harris Brothers are still a thing and they are still the most dominant team in the company. I have no idea what the point is in having them around at such a high level but they don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. The match was basically a squash and that made for another long, dull viewing.

That’s not good enough so the Twins beat the Hot Shots up after the match.

Here is a ticked off BG James, who isn’t surprised that Jeff Jarrett attacked him again. James wants Jarrett out here right now but Jarrett says they’ll fight next week. James says something censored and says Jarrett gets it from his parents and…let’s do this now I guess.

NWA World Title #1 Contenders Tournament Final: BG James vs. Jeff Jarrett

They brawl on the floor to start and go into the crowd, with James hitting him in the head with a trashcan. The fight heads into the balcony and walk around the arena, with James sending him into a table. Jarrett is back with a chair to the head to send James through another table, which is nearly enough for a countout as they both get inside for the first time. Jarrett hammers away again and hits a Stroke onto a chair for the pin at 7:19. They were in the ring together for about thirty seconds.

Rating: D-. What was that? Other than a way to get Jarrett his, ahem, long awaited title shot, what was the point of this? It was a brawl that took place in the crowd before a tacked on finishing move in the ring. Then again, none of that matters because the whole point of the thing is to get Jarrett into the title picture, which I guess now qualifies as interesting and important.

Tag Team Titles: Disciples Of The New Church vs. America’s Most Wanted

AMW is defending and run in through the crowd to start the brawl after last week’s beating. The fight heads to the floor and Slash is already busted open as Slash suplexes him on the stage. Back at ringside and a belt shot to the head busts Storm open, leaving Slash to give him the Eye of the Storm.

A spinning cutter gives Storm two of his own but Belladonna and James Mitchell offer distractions as everything breaks down. The distraction lets Slash hit Storm in the face with the belt for two but the referee gets bumped (like it matters). The Trash Compactor compacts Slash but Belladonna jumps on Storm’s back. That’s enough for Lee to hit Storm with the spike for the pin and the titles at 9:07.

Rating: C+. The lack of a DQ over the violence is just something you learn to live with around here. What matters the most is that it feels like we’re actually getting a story here. You can only get so far with AMW beating everyone in short order so they need some actual problems. That’s what they’re getting here and the Disciples are instantly a big deal. Nice job all around.

We look back at Kid Kash becoming the #1 contender to the X-Division Title last week. Then Jerry Lynn beat AJ Styles to win the same title.

X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Kid Kash vs. Jerry Lynn

Lynn is defending and Styles has Mortimer Plumtree in his corner. Styles gets dropkicked to the floor to start and then a double drop toehold does it again. Lynn and Kash trade armdrags for a standoff but Styles knocks Lynn outside. Plumtree offers a distraction so Styles can hit Lynn low but Kash gives Styles a twisting hurricanrana. Kash chops Lynn into the corner and hits a moonsault press for two.

Styles’ neckbreaker gets the same on Lynn, who gets back up to fire off forearms to Kash. Lynn is sent to the floor so Kash takes him down with a big dive, with Styles following with a springboard shooting star. Back in and Styles gets two but Kash clotheslines the other two down for a triple breather. A brainbuster drops Lynn, with Styles stealing the near fall. Lynn breaks up the Styles Clash with a clothesline before Kash backdrops Styles onto Plumtree. The cradle piledriver to Kash retains the title at 10:51.

Rating: B-. You could all but guarantee this was going to be good and that shouldn’t be a surprise. As usual, you have the group of wrestlers who dominate the division, but now we’re seeing some fresh blood enter the mix. Kash probably isn’t the next bit thing, but it’s nice to see another name added in here, just for the sake of some flavor if nothing else.

Bob Armstrong gives Don West next week’s card for the big over the top hype.

Jeff Jarrett talks about Ron Killings turning some heads as champion but for Jarrett, the title match is everything. This is what Jarrett has wanted to do since he was a boy so he’ll do whatever it takes to win the title, which is the absolute truth.

Overall Rating: C-. There were good parts here but you could also see some of the darker sides of the booking coming out this week. Stuff like Lawler and the Harris twins getting so much time is hard to watch, but that was at least somewhat mitigated by some fresh talent getting a change. There are still a lot of good things about the show, but they desperately need to refocus in some areas. If that happens, the talent will be enough to carry the rest, but I’m not sure I can see that taking place.

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ECW on TNN
Date: October 6, 2000
Location: Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 4,600
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

We’ve finally arrived here and this show can’t wrap up fast enough. Raw is on the same channel, the show is turning into a bunch of previously aired matches and the stories aren’t interesting. ECW is mostly done at this point and to no one’s surprise, they wouldn’t last another six months. Anarchy Rulz saw Jerry Lynn get the World Title and little more so let’s get to it.

We open with the end of Sunday’s main event, which saw New Jack coming out to beat up heel referee Danny Daniels because that’s still going. Lynn won with a cradle Tombstone. Limp Bizkit playing over this (in the same video that ended Sunday’s show) doesn’t help.

We’ll see Cyrus vs. Joel Gertner from Sunday in full tonight.

Hotline ad. WCW might have been sold.

November To Remember ad.

Nova vs. Bilvis Wesley

Wesley has Tom Marquez and the Prodigette with him. It’s not a good sign when the ring still has the pay per view logo right in the middle. They trade headlocks to start until Nova sends him outside for a double baseball slide. Back in and Prodigette trips Nova so Wesley and Marquez can get in some shots behind the referee. Bilvis’ superplex is broken up and Nova hits a good Swanton for a two count. An even better looking enziguri gets the same, followed by Novacaine (Downward Spiral) with Prodigette pulling the referee out. Back up and Kryptonite Crunch ends Wesley.

Rating: D+. Yeah whatever. Here’s the thing: these are guys (well Nova at least) who should have been fighting for a title but since the TV Title is basically a co-World Title, they’re stuck running around with nothing to do. That’s the case for WAY too many people on the roster as ECW really didn’t need to have a lot of them around. Like for instance, what did Marquez and Prodigette ever add?

So at Anarchy Rulz, Gertner was supposed to fight Cyrus. However, Cyrus said Gertner had to beat EZ Money to get the scheduled match. Matchmaker Spike Dudley came out and said Kid Kash would fight Money in Gertner’s place. Now of course this isn’t important enough to explain on the TV show but here’s the match from Sunday (copied from the pay per view review because I’ve put WAY too much time into this show already).

Kid Kash vs. EZ Money

If Kash wins, Joel gets to fight Cyrus. Money jumps Kash before the bell but Kash comes back with some fast armdrags to send Money out to the floor. Hamrick and Dinero get nailed as well but the distraction lets Money sneak in from behind. Money picks up Kash for a suplex but lets him fall backwards and crash down to the mat for two. A charge goes badly for Money as he falls onto his partners, setting up huge springboard flip dive from Kash to take out everyone.

Back in and Money flips over the top rope into a clothesline for two and we hit the chinlock. Joel is screaming for Kash to get up with more emotion than he ever showed as the Dudleys’ manager. Money spends a bit too much time swiveling his hips and gets rolled up for two. A running tornado DDT gets the same for Kash but Money comes back with a spinning suplex neckbreaker (Electric Dreams, named after Elektra) for no cover.

Kash nails something like a Whisper in the Wind for two before they trade pinfall attempts for two each. There’s the Money Maker but Elektra distracts the referee, allowing Dinero to take Kash down. A double suplex has Kash in trouble and Hamrick adds a top rope legdrop for two. Money gets crotched on top but still manages to try a super bomb, only to have Kash reverse into a weak hurricanrana for the pin.

Rating: D+. The spots weren’t bad but if you’ve seen one Kid Kash match you’ve seen the all. As usual it was obvious that Kash was going to win here as Joel vs. Cyrus was almost guaranteed. If nothing else, Hot Commodity (Dinero/Hamrick/Money) could be a decent midcard heel stable and is far better than the Dangerous Alliance.

Post match Hot Commodity beats on Kash until Spike tries to make a save. They go after his leg and put him in a Figure Four but Sandman makes the real save. Elektra tries to seduce him but Sandman pours beer on her chest and shoves Gertner’s face onto the beer.

Joel Gertner vs. Cyrus

Joel jumps him to start before taking off his shirt to reveal Kamala (old Ugandan savage) chest paint. Cyrus trips him up and chops in the corner but Sandman spits beer in his face, allowing Gertner to get a rollup for the fluke pin. This was harmless fun.

Kash, Sandman, Gertner and Spike drink beer.

Rhino is the man Rob Van Dam never beat.

The FBI isn’t sure what to think of the Unholy Alliance but it doesn’t matter because they can beat the Alliance. Mamaluke was doing an Adam Sandler impression for no apparent reason.

The Alliance wants their titles back.

New Jack says he took himself out and wants Francine as his next trick. Oh and Rhino will wear a dress. This goes on WAY too long and the fact that I understood him makes it even worse.

Corino says it’s a man’s world and he wants another shot at the title.

Dawn Marie doesn’t have much to say.

Jerry Lynn is ready to defend the title every time he wrestles but here’s Justin to say he respects the new champ. Francine hits Jerry low and a beatdown takes us out.

Overall Rating: D+. Is there really a point in rating a six minute match and almost nothing else new? That’s it for ECW on TNN and really, the show probably should have ended six months ago. This was nothing to see and it felt like a last gasp from a promotion that knew it was dying and really didn’t care.

So that’s ECW on TNN and the show is hardly worth remembering. It kept ECW around for probably another year or so but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. ECW was WAY past its peak at this point and this entire series is far from what ECW was all about. The problems here are fairly clear but the lack of star power star power really hurt things. When everything is about hitting people with chairs and there’s almost no one to care about, no one is going to watch your show. TNN didn’t do the show any favors but ECW was hardly worth saving by the end.

At the end of the day, it’s just not a good show. So much of it was about ripping on TNN for not supporting them enough and while it’s true that the WWF was coming in no matter what, the show was often more about airing Heyman’s issues and not about the wrestling company. The Network angle wasn’t interesting for the most part and it was hardly worth following because very little ever happened. Overall though, it’s just nothing worth seeing because there’s better ECW out there. Watch some stuff from 1995 and forget that this show exists.

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Anarchy Rulz 2000
Date: October 1, 2000
Location: Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 4,600
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

The card does seem to be a major improvement in some of ECW’s problem areas. While there’s nothing that is going to save the company in one night, this is a good step for them as Van Dam is finally doing something important again and maybe Lynn can get the major win that has eluded him for so long. Let’s get to it.

Joey and Joel are in the ring to open things up and Joel gets through his rhyme (sans swearing for once, this time about being with women of all races and thankfully not having 27 children) before throwing us to the opening video. More from them later.

Joey Matthews/Christian York vs. Roadkill/Danny Doring

Matthews (more famous as Joey Mercury) and York (didn’t do much after this other than showing up in TNA for an uneventful run thirteen years later) are young guys who could be described as pretty boys. Matthews and Doring get things going with Doring pulling on the hair to take over. The audio is a bit off here for some reason as Joel sounds like he’s a foot away from his microphone. Doring sends Joey face first into the mat before bringing in Roadkill to a very positive reaction. Off to York who gets taken down by a running shoulder but he comes back with some armdrags.

York counters a slingshot into the corner into a bouncing legdrop, only to have Roadkill pop up and slam both guys down. Matthews and York stay on the monster but Doring gets a hot tag and helps Roadkill with a Hart Attack to Joey. Doring is sent over the top rope and comes down on his arm, followed by double suicide dives from the young guys. Back inside and a double powerbomb drops Doring, but Matthews and York turn around into the springboard clothesline from Roadkill.

Danny nails a top rope elbow but York breaks it up with a top rope legdrop. A middle rope backsplash gets two for York but Doring escapes a headlock and hits the double arm DDT. There’s the hot tag to Roadkill who cleans house and splashes both guys in the corner before the Buggy Bang (wheelbarrow slam from Roadkill/top rope Fameasser combination) for the pin on York.

Rating: C. Nice match here as the tag team division continues to heat up, and for once there’s actually something for them to go after. Roadkill would be another guy that seems ready to push on his own, especially since most of the main eventers are regular sized guys. Being able to fly like he does is only a plus.

Roadkill and Doring help up Matthews and York in a nice display of sportsmanship. Simon and Swinger come in and clean house with chairs before leaving Doring laying. That sounds like a decent feud but they need to have something to fight over.

Joel Gertner has challenged Cyrus to a match tonight. His training method is eating Lucky Charms, though he’s been trained by an unnamed wrestler.

Cyrus comes out to the ring and says he’s ready for Gertner tonight. Everyone at TNN Center says that he’s got pop (the TNN slogan at the time) and he’s going to take Gertner apart. Joey sends Gertner to the ring. “You can do it! You can do it!” Gertner is out of earshot. Joey: “He’s a dead man.” Remember that Cyrus was a wrestler and actually knows what he’s doing. Gertner gets in the ring but Cyrus says Joel has to win another match to get it.

Joel Gertner vs. EZ Money

Money is part of the Hot Commodity stable, which went nowhere. It’s comprised of Money (a cruiserweight who would be in WCW in a few months), Chris Hamrick (a southern wrestler), Julio Dinero (he bounced around wrestling companies for a few years and is probably the most successful of the team) and Elektra. Before the match though, Commissioner Little Spike Dudley comes out and says Gertner has a replacement.

Kid Kash vs. EZ Money

If Kash wins, Joel gets to fight Cyrus. Money jumps Kash before the bell but Kash comes back with some fast armdrags to send Money out to the floor. Hamrick and Dinero get nailed as well but the distraction lets Money sneak in from behind. Money picks up Kash for a suplex but lets him fall backwards and crash down to the mat for two. A charge goes badly for Money as he falls onto his partners, setting up huge springboard flip dive from Kash to take out everyone.

Back in and Money flips over the top rope into a clothesline for two and we hit the chinlock. Joel is screaming for Kash to get up with more emotion than he ever showed as the Dudleys’ manager. Money spends a bit too much time swiveling his hips and gets rolled up for two. A running tornado DDT gets the same for Kash but Money comes back with a spinning suplex neckbreaker (Electric Dreams, named after Elektra) for no cover.

Kash nails something like a Whisper in the Wind for two before they trade pinfall attempts for two each. There’s the Money Maker but Elektra distracts the referee, allowing Dinero to take Kash down. A double suplex has Kash in trouble and Hamrick adds a top rope legdrop for two. Money gets crotched on top but still manages to try a super bomb, only to have Kash reverse into a weak hurricanrana for the pin.

Rating: D+. The spots weren’t bad but if you’ve seen one Kid Kash match you’ve seen the all. As usual it was obvious that Kash was going to win here as Joel vs. Cyrus was almost guaranteed. If nothing else, Hot Commodity could be a decent midcard heel stable and is far better than the Dangerous Alliance.

Post match Hot Commodity beats on Kash until Spike tries to make a save. They go after his leg and put him in a Figure Four but Sandman makes the real save. Elektra tries to seduce him but Sandman pours beer on her chest and shoves Gertner’s face onto the beer.

Joel Gertner vs. Cyrus

Joel jumps him to start before taking off his shirt to reveal Kamala (old Ugandan savage) chest paint. Cyrus trips him up and chops in the corner but Sandman spits beer in his face, allowing Gertner to get a rollup for the fluke pin. This was harmless fun.

Kash, Sandman, Gertner and Spike drink beer.

Da Baldies vs. Balls Mahoney/Chilly Willy

Willy is just a muscular guy who showed up near the end of the promotion and wrestled on pay per view a few times. There’s not much else to say about him other than he wore a hat and danced a lot. It’s a brawl to start with Da Baldies get laid out and nailed with double neckbreakers. Balls stabs DeVito in the head with a fork as Angel and Willy fight on the floor. DeVito is busted open as you would expect and a backdrop puts him into the crowd.

Balls bites at the cut and whips him through another barricade right under the announcers’ area. DeVito flips off the announcers for no apparent reason before moonsaulting off I believe a wall. Angel and Willy show up next to them with Chilly getting powerbombed on some chairs. DeVito takes Balls back to the ring for a dropkick but makes the mistake of going after his head.

Mahoney comes back with a series of punches and a superkick to the shoulder. A huge chair shot knocks DeVito senseless but Angel comes back in with the staple gun to the eye. Chilly comes back in and Da Baldies hit three straight chair shots to both of their opponents’ heads for the pin. Mahoney only sells the staple after the match is over.

Rating: D. This was your usual garbage brawl with no wrestling and an overly violent ending. Mahoney not being phased by the staple was the usual nonsense you would expect by something like this, but it doesn’t make up for how ridiculous it was, or how bad this match really was.

Lou E. Dangerously lays out Gertner with his phone. Joey goes after him and we cut to interviews.

Justin Credible says he’ll take out Jerry Lynn just like he’s done to everyone else.

Jerry Lynn says he’s tired of being a starmaker so tonight, in his hometown, he’s making himself World Champion.

Cyrus replaces Joel on commentary.

C.W. Anderson vs. Steve Corino

Winner gets a World Title shot at some point in the future, even though they’re both on pay per view losing streaks. Corino has turned face and now has Dawn Marie with him. They trade shoulders to start but Corino can’t get a neckbreaker. Instead they trade armdrags and duck punches to get us to a standoff. They chop it out with Corino getting the better of it, only to get taken down by a superkick.

Chairs are brought in and Corino gets in a quick shot to the head to take over. C.W. is busted open and a kick to the face makes things worse. We hear about a recent match where Corino almost beat Justin for the World Title which is one of the few reasons why Corino is in this spot despite his win/loss record. Anderson nails Corino with the chair to take over and bust Steve open. Anderson wedges a chair in the corner and sends Corino arm first into the steel to give him a target.

Corino tries to fight back with one arm but a hammerlock belly to back suplex gets two. Anderson stomps onto the chair onto the arm and kicks Corino in the face as the blood starts to flow. It’s nowhere near as bad as it was before but it’s coming. Steve fights back with right hands but the Old School Expulsion is countered into a suplex.

Anderson’s sleeper is broken when Corino crotches him on the chair. A Bionic Elbow and low blow have Corino in control but Simon and Swinger come out for a distraction. C.W.’s big left hand gets two and Steve’s superkick gets the same. The spinebuster is countered into the Old School Expulsion on the chair to make Corino #1 contender.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t bad but I have no idea why I should buy Corino as a #1 contender because he’s beaten a midcard guy. Corino is good in the ring and more interesting as a face than a heel, but it’s too soon for him to be in the World Title picture. It’s a good enough match, but either Simon and Swinger are messing with everyone or they’ve forgotten that they already have a feud.

The Sinister Minister is with the Unholy Alliance and their book on witchcraft sets itself on fire.

Rhino says he wants this match with Van Dam because he wants to prove how great he is. God won’t be able to recognize Van Dam after Rhino beats his face so bad.

Tag Team Titles: FBI vs. Unholy Alliance

The FBI (Mamaluke and Guido) are defending. They’re now all Italians, turning them from the comedy act they used to be into a fully serious group and defeating the purpose of putting them together in the face place. Both members of the Alliance (Tajiri and Mikey Whipwreck) are in white masks with red paint around the eyes. Mikey one ups Tajiri though with a hat from Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Mamaluke’s weight is given in liquid ounces.

It’s a brawl to start of course with the challengers taking over. Some hard kicks to the head have the Italians in big trouble and stereo dropkicks below the belt have the Italians reeling. Things settle down to Guido vs. Tajiri as Mikey posts Big Sal on the floor. Mamaluke gets put in the Tree of Woe for the running baseball slide from Tajiri. Sinister Minister adds some fire between Mamaluke’s legs and Guido gets kicked in the chest a lot.

Mikey hammers away on Tony but Mamaluke hits him low to take over. The Italians hit a double powerbomb out of the corner for two on Whipwreck. Guido’s middle rope Fameasser (Sicilian Slice) gets two on Mikey but he catches Tony in a wheelbarrow facebuster. Tajiri comes in and cleans house with kicks to the head, only to get caught in a German suplex from Mamaluke. Guido breaks up Mikey’s rollup with a legdrop but gets the green mist to the face.

The Whippersnapper gets two as Big Sal pulls the referee to the floor. The Minister tries to go after Sal and gets crushed against the barricade. Guido sends Mikey outside and Sal throws in a belt, only to have Tajiri take it away and pelt it at Sal. An Asai Moonsault puts Sal down again but Guido nails Mikey with a title belt, setting up a kind of double powerbomb for the pin to retain.

Rating: C+. The match was so much better because it actually meant something. Just having the title back is a great feeling and now all those other matches could build up to another title match. I have no idea why Heyman waited so long to bring the belts back but it came at a good time with the tag division being deeper than it has been in years.

TV Title: Rhino vs. Rob Van Dam

Rhino, the champion, jumps Van Dam during the introductions and they quickly go outside. Both guys are whipped into the barricade but Rhino knocks him into the fans. They brawl around the arena with Rhino in full control and sending Rob through another barricade. Back to ringside and Rob nails a quick kick to the head followed by a Van Daminator with Alfonso’s help. Rob dives over the top rope to take Rhino down again.

Back in and Van Dam skateboards the chair into Rhino’s face but a springboard is knocked out of the air with a middle rope clothesline for two. The Gore in the corner puts Rob down but Rhino stops to set up a table on the floor. A second table is thrown into the ring and set up in the corner but Rhino puts on a chinlock. Back up and Rob nails a spinning kick to the face but comes up with a bloody nose. A Van Daminator misses and Rhino pelts the chair at Van Dam’s head to make things even worse.

Rob comes up with a fireman’s carry slam into a middle rope moonsault (so much for the selling) followed by the Five Star for two. A telling sign: the fans didn’t move because they know a main event match isn’t ending that early. The Gore puts Rob down and the piledriver through the table wakes the fans up a bit. Back in and Rob nails a quick Van Daminator and loads up the Van Terminator but Justin Credible runs out for a distraction. Rob tries the Terminator anyway but Rhino pulls Alfonso in the way. A Gore through the table and a piledriver onto the chair retains Rhino’s title.

Rating: C-. This was nowhere near what it should have been for a few reasons. First and foremost, the match was a big spotfest with only a little wrestling in between. It also doesn’t help that the ending was one of the last things the fans wanted to see. Now that being said, it makes Rhino look like even more of a monster than before and in theory sets up Rob vs. Justin for the title, which should be a walkover for Van Dam. This is ECW though and by late 2000 Rob still hasn’t been World Champion, so I don’t have the highest hopes.

Rob checks on Alfonso after the match and realizes how bad he might be hurt.

We look at a lot of replays and Joey claims a fast count. That may be the case, but ECW referees always counted their pins faster than the average referee.

The announcers hype up the main event to kill more time.

ECW World Title: Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible

Justin is defending and comes out in a Bret Favre Green Bay Packers jersey (big rival to the Minnesota Vikings) for the easy heat. Francine has taped up ribs. Lynn is the hometown boy and gets the reaction to go with it. They start slow and head to the mat where an armdrag frustrates Justin out to the floor for an argument with a fan. Back in and they trade chops with Lynn getting the better of it. Neither guy can hit their finisher so Jerry settles for a middle rope bulldog and a headlock.

Justin is sent to the floor again for Lynn’s big dive off the top but he might have hurt his elbow. Back in and a swinging Boss Man Slam from the champion puts both guys down again. We get a chair brought in for the drop toehold onto its back to give Justin two. A sitout powerbomb out of the corner onto the chair gets the same and the fight heads up the aisle. Justin hammers away by the barricade and it’s back inside the ring.

Lynn grabs a DDT to plant Justin on the chair for a delayed two. Credible comes back with a front facelock as the fans get on his nerves. He stops and grabs a mic to talk trash about Lynn and Minneapolis, causing the fans to throw in a bunch of beer cups. Back to the front facelock after that minute and a half were wasted. They trade near falls for two each until Justin hits that running release DDT to take over.

Lynn kicks the chair into Justin’s face to get a breather but gets sent to the apron, only to come back with a jumping leg to the back of Justin’s head, driving the champion throat first across the middle rope. A guillotine legdrop gets two for Lynn and it’s table time. Justin gets laid on the table but Francine offers a distraction to allow Justin to slam Lynn through the table. A sunset bomb out of the corner gets two for Credible but he walks into the cradle piledriver for another near fall.

That’s Incredible gives Justin two and the fans are right back into this. Credible superkicks the referee down by mistake but Lynn rolls him up. The same referee that Joey said gave a fast count on Van Dam comes in and counts two but stops and waves his finger at Lynn. A belt shot to the head gets a fast two on Lynn and the crooked referee nails Lynn in the head. That’s Incredible gets two more as New Jack comes out for the save. The crooked referee and Lynn counters That’s Incredible into a cradle tombstone for the pin and the title.

Rating: C-. The match was ok but it has a lot of issues. Above all else, this would have meant a lot more if it came about a year and a half ago. ECW completely missed the boat on Lynn when he was on fire and now it’s a nice but mostly meaningless moment. Second, beating Justin Credible makes me wonder what took so long to get there. The guy just did not belong in the main event and everyone seemed to know it. The match itself was just ok with way more overbooking than needed, especially with the story they were trying to tell. At least Lynn will have some good matches as champion though.

The locker room empties out for Lynn to give a speech but the microphone doesn’t work. Instead everyone just stands around to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. The show wasn’t the worst I’ve seen in the series but it’s certainly not a good entry either. The problem here is there’s nothing interesting going on until the ending. Almost everything here feels like it was just thrown together, which is likely true due to the impending cancellation of the show. Lynn getting the title is a good idea, but the fans still see Van Dam as the top guy, and there’s no reason he’s not at worst a former World Champion at this point. You can see that things are dying and it’s not likely to get much better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete 2014 Raw and Smackdown Reviews Part I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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ECW on TNN
Date: September 15, 2000
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Joel Gertner, Joey Styles

I’m hoping we can wrap up the final four episodes of this show in peace instead of the wild chaos that was last week’s show. We’re getting closer to Anarchy Rulz and this week we set up the main event as Steve Corino challenges Justin Credible for the ECW World Title. That could mean anything around here so let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of last week’s TV Title change.

Opening sequence.

Unholy Alliance vs. Julio Dinero/EZ Money

So Fantastico is now Dinero and his team has Chris Hamrick in the corner. The Alliance would be Mikey Whipwreck/Tajiri. Mikey hurricanranas Dinero to start and the former champs start snapping off kicks to take over early on. Tajiri and Money trade standing moonsaults for two each before Tajiri just kicks Money square in the jaw. The heel trio’s (because of course they’re a heel trio) chick Elektra distracts Tajiri long enough for a low blow to take over.

It’s off to Dinero for a Samoan drop into a neckbreaker…..which is called the Jalapeno Popper. Again I say, of course it is. Mikey kicks Dinero in the head for a save and it’s Whipwreck cleaning house. Everything breaks down and Dinero gets abused in a Tree of Woe, because that spot isn’t used all the time around here. Chris Hamrick’s interference goes badly and a double brainbuster ends Dinero.

Rating: C-. Two things here. First of all, ECW goes WAY overboard naming its moves. There were probably ten moves in this match with a name, many of which were just basic moves that didn’t require one. It gets distracting, but that’s the case with a lot of things Joey does on commentary.

The second thing is how ECW’s booking screws them over. This was a mostly straight match with winners and losers. Unfortunately I spent most of the match waiting on the interference and insanity but since it never came, the match felt incomplete. That’s absolutely not on the wrestlers and the match was fine but ECW booking continues to cause problems for itself, especially when you have a regular match.

Joel Gertner makes tires/condom jokes for his weekly rhyme.

We look at the FBI winning the Tag Team Titles last week.

The Sinister Minister and the Unholy Alliance swear vengeance. Minister: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Your souls for the ECW Tag Team Titles.” Tajiri: “This promo is OVER!”

ECW World Title: Justin Credible vs. Steve Corino

Justin is defending but we’re not ready yet as Francine has a contract saying Jack Victory can’t be at ringside. Corino says his boy is gone before insulting Francine (whose reaction is great as always) and saying they’ve fallen into his trap. See, they’ll never be able to out heel them because his new manager is Dawn Marie.

They slug it out to start as Joey explains Corino going from a comedy guy to a World Title contender in a few months. You’re not helping yourself here chum. Corino knocks him into the crowd but gets low blowed back inside because Justin doesn’t know how to do much else. It’s already chair time with Corino going face first for two. Justin puts up a table as a platform between the ring and the barricade, only to have the girls get into it as Joel makes really stupid jokes.

Back in and Corino makes a comeback until Francine grabs his boot. The referee gets bumped (I still don’t get that spot in ECW) so here’s Loud E. Dangerously with the cell phone over the head. Cue Billy Corgan with a guitar to Lou’s head (Joel: “Corgan just smashed that pumpkin!”) and the superkick gets no count on Justin. That means it’s time for another table (for when one isn’t enough) with Corino grabbing a northern lights suplex through the wood for two.

We get the catfight for a bit before a bunch of cane shots have Steve in trouble. Of course that means blood as a big cane shot gets two. Old School Expulsion gets two as we fill in Justin’s Bingo card with “kick out of a finisher”. Corino throws in a bunch of chairs but Francine cuts him off. You would think Dawn might DO SOMETHING HERE but she just lets Francine get tombstoned. That’s Incredible on a chair retains Justin’s title.

Rating: C. The concept of making Corino look like a player worked here but giving Justin this much time isn’t the best idea. I do like the idea of a new face in the main event scene though but at some point he needs to actually win something over someone who isn’t Dusty Rhodes. Not bad or anything, assuming you can handle this much Justin Credible in a row.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s very, very clear that they were stretching stuff out (an ECW match getting nearly twenty minutes does not happen) to get an extra episode of TV out of this taping cycle. This was really just boring and waiting around until we have a pay per view main event set up. I mean, more wrestling is definitely good around here, but is there even a top story now that the Network is gone?

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ECW on TNN
Date: August 11, 2000
Location: Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, West Virginia
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

We’re getting close to wrapping this show up and it’s back to the country after a week down in Houston. The big story coming out of last week is an actual match being announced for the Tag Team Title tournament with Sandman/Chilly Willy vs. Rhino/Justin Credible. Of course no date has been announced for that match but I doubt ECW knows either. Let’s get to it.

Lou E. Dangerously is in the ring to insult the West Virginia fans, who pelt the ring with garbage as a result. This is a ripoff of Paul Heyman’s old Danger Zone segment. After a quick jump to the announcers for an intro, Lou brings out Steve Corino and Scotty Anton. Lou rants about the Tag Team Title tournament before Corino says he doesn’t give a CENSORED what the Network feels.

They helped win the Network its titles and have been protecting the Network since day one. Cue Justin, who Steve says would be nothing without the two of them. Corino and Credible both claim credit for Justin’s title reign lasting before Steve goes nuclear by saying Justin has a lame catchphrase. Rhino comes out and Gores Anton, leaving Corino to get double teamed. Security breaks it up. So is the Network done now? I’d be ok with that.

Opening sequence.

Corino and Anton are leaving when Lou comes up and asks what Cyrus will think. Steve doesn’t care and they leave with Jack Victory.

Justin Credible and Kid Kash get in an argument, setting up a title match for later tonight.

Roadkill/Danny Doring vs. Tom Marquez/Bilvis Wesley

Marquez stupidly thinks he can slam Roadkill to start, which pretty much sums up the whole match. A Vader Bomb elbow sets up a Hart Attack as Joey and Joel make Elvis jokes. We get a quick chase around the ring until Marquez catches Doring with a spinwheel kick. Wesley puts on a Muta Lock of all things and Doring stays in trouble thanks to some double teaming.

Doring finally hits a Stroke (the G Spot Sweet because we’re in ECW) and the hot tag brings in Roadkill. You really can hear a pop when Roadkill comes in and that needs to be noticed. I know he’s not your typical ECW guy but the fans dig him and that’s important. Everything breaks down and the Buggy Bang (wheelbarrow slam/guillotine legdrop) ends Marquez.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of thing you don’t get enough of around here: a basic tag match with the bigger team going over but only after taking a beating. It’s nothing great or anything but it was wrestling instead of brawling and that really needs to happen more often. Roadkill and Doring are a good act and hopefully they go somewhere in the tournament.

Sinister Minister tries to teach Tajiri about temptation with a good looking woman. She winds up getting mist in the face and you can figure out the joke yourself. You could see her face before the mist but as soon as it hits, her face is a mosaic. Ok then.

Joey is aghast.

CW Anderson gives Simon and Swinger a pep talk.

We see CW Anderson laying out Jazz and insulting women’s wrestling. Tommy Dreamer made the save.

Tajiri vs. EZ Money

They hit the mat for some very fast covers (minus near falls) and it’s a standoff for some applause. When did this become a wrestling show? Money’s friend Chris Hamrick breaks up the Tarantula and a standing moonsault gets two on Tajiri. Another distraction lets Money’s other friend Julio Fantastico (Matt Tastic’s American cousin?) sneak in for a double wheelbarrow suplex. It’s time for a chair but Tajiri reverses a powerbomb into a tornado DDT. The Buzzsaw Kick is enough to put Money away.

Rating: C. Another simple wrestling match here with the bigger name overcoming the heel stable (there are WAY too many of those running around). It’s weird seeing Money lose so often when he was on a big winning streak in the dying days of WCW. He wasn’t anything great but there was something there.

The trio goes after Tajiri but he beats up all three losers without much effort. Cue the FBI (See what I mean about the heel stables?) for the real beatdown but Mikey Whipwreck comes out with a flaming 2×4 for the save.

ECW World Title: Justin Credible vs. Kid Kash

Kash is challenging and I’ll set his over/under on hurricanranas at five. It’s a pose off to start as Gertner makes sex jokes about Francine. They fight over a hammerlock until Kash gets in a clothesline to put the champ outside. A springboard dive (now that’s more like it Kash) takes Justin down again and another dive, which we can’t see, knocks Justin into the crowd.

Back in and Justin scores with a superkick but that’s enough wrestling so let’s have a chair. Kash is sent face first into said chair and it’s time for Justin to talk some trash on the mic. For the life of me I still don’t get the appeal of this guy. The champ crotches himself on the post as the announcers try to figure out how they can like Corino now that he turned on the Network.

Francine’s interference fails as she hits Justin with a metal sheet by mistake and Kash gets in his first hurricanrana. Francine tries to interfere again (giving us the required g-string shot)….and here’s Rhino to Gore Kash for the DQ/no contest since DQ’s aren’t a thing around here most of the time.

Rating: D+. Justin isn’t interesting and I’m running out of ways to say that. He’s a catchphrase, a Tombstone and weapon shots. Oh and an occasional superkick. I have no idea why he had the title as long as he did (sixth longest reign with the original title) and I have no idea what Heyman saw in him but he’s been stale for a long time.

Rob Van Dam (Kash’s partner in the tournament) makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I…..liked this? Somehow I think I did and it’s for a few very simple reasons. This show was focused on wrestling with only the main event featuring weapons actually being used. On top of that there’s the big story of the Tag Team Title tournament coming up to really tie the show together. It’s almost like this was a well put together show and that’s a good thing.

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ECW on TNN
Date: June 16, 2000
Location: Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Joel Gertner, Joey Styles

We’re a month away from Heat Wave and a few matches have already been announced. That being said, it would be nice if we actually had something other than “ECW vs. Network brawl to end the show.” It doesn’t have to be anything great but they need to mix things up a little bit as things are really getting repetitive around here. Let’s get to it.

Sandman has been attacked and put in an ambulance.

Opening sequence.

Joey and Joel are cut off by Cyrus before Joel can get to his punchline about food. Cyrus wants to talk to Gertner but it takes a bit to get past the ECW/GERTNER chants. The problem is Gertner’s looks are killing the ratings so it’s time to get rid of him. Joel is tired of dealing with Cyrus using him to get over so it’s time to fight. Cyrus says there used to be a kid in his school that reminds him of Joel. Cyrus: “Do you know what I used to do to him?” Joel: “You used to suck his *#&$!” That earns Joel a slap to the face so he goes on a rant about how no one is here to see Cyrus so get to the point already.

The threat of being fired makes Joel apologize, but he means sorry that he has to take a blood test because Cyrus spat in his eye. Joel is ready to fight but Rhino runs in and Gores him. The usual suspects come in for the big brawl. We get the Van Dam vs. Anton showdown and you can hear people canceling their pay per view buys from here. This ate up the first fifteen minutes of the show after closing last week’s show. Well done.

Justin Credible gets in an argument with Rhino but Cyrus breaks things up.

Cyrus tells the medics that Gertner has an object lodged in his anus.

EZ Money vs. Kid Kash

Joined in progress as they speed things up early on. A headscissors from Kash gives us a stalemate but Money’s (who has bills hanging from his trunks) partner Chris Hamrick offers a distraction. Kash sends Money outside for a big flip dive and we take a break. Back (Joey: “On the Deliverance Channel.”) with Money hitting a modified piledriver, allowing Hamrick to add a guillotine legdrop. Kash’s moonsault press is countered into something like a reverse Razor’s Edge. A pinfall reversal sequence goes nowhere (likely because the pinfalls were reversed) and Kash hits a quick Moneymaker for the pin.

Rating: C. More cruiserweight style stuff here with Kash exchanging hurricanranas for actual wrestling or high flying skills. A win in a glorified handicap match makes Kash look good and that’s the best thing they can do when they’re trying to build up a new star. Not a good match or anything but it accomplished a goal, which is all it needed to do.

Kash gets beaten down until New Jack makes the save and does his usual insane stuff. He even hits Hamrick with an NES and uses a staple gun on Money for some blood. This goes on for a long time as we’re over halfway through the show. I get that the fans love New Jack and everything, but we’re half an hour in and we’ve seen an announcer get beaten down, a brawl we’ve seen over and over and an average match followed by a New Jack beatdown. If that’s the best they can do, maybe the show should be canceled.

Sinister Minister and his congregation (including Mikey Whipwreck, Balls Mahoney and a bunch of plants) rail against censorship. The Prodigette plays Monica Lewinsky underneath the podium and everyone starts laughing.

Credible and Rhino argue again with the same conclusion.

The Network wishes Jerry Lynn luck but he brushes them off. Joey, being an announcer, thinks this means a lot more than it seems. To be fair he’s probably right.

ECW World Title: Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible

Justin is defending. They chop it out to start with Justin getting the better of it but being sent outside for a whip into the barricade. The fight heads into the crowd and thankfully there’s a camera to see them fighting in an open space. I can’t stand it when the brawl is really just their heads moving through the crowd. Lynn wins a slugout over the bloody champion and drives his knuckles into the cut.

They get back in with Francine passing in a chair for a delayed dropkick in the corner. A jumping knee to the head (he did used to be part of the Kliq) and we hit the chinlock. The fans want tables because New Jack and these two brawling in the crowd isn’t enough violence. Jerry fights up and they chop it out with Lynn getting the better of it this time and sending Justin outside for a big dive. A super hurricanrana through a table satiates the fans’ blood lust for a bit. The possibly ruined knees can be forgiven of course.

That’s only good for two on the champ though so Lynn sets up another table in the corner. Francine throws in a chair but the DDT only gets two. The fans yell about wanting the table but have to settle for Jazz throwing Francine inside. Jazz’s X-Factor gets two on Justin and here’s the Network to make this even messier. That’s Incredible gets two on Jerry as the Network takes Francine to the back.

The referee gets bumped (LIKE IT MATTERS) so there’s no count off the cradle piledriver. Rhino comes in and Gores Lynn through the table though it’s not clear who it was meant for. Either way it’s enough for…..I think a pin as the video is sent into the corner while an Arena Football on TNN ad covers up most of the screen. Seriously.

Rating: D+. I know it’s the ECW style but these way over the top matches full of interference and weapons are getting ridiculous. Even worse though, we STILL haven’t advanced anything as it’s still not clear if Lynn is Network or not. I’ve seen worse matches but they should be able to go more than a minute straight without some kind of shenanigans.

Overall Rating: D. For DO SOMETHING ALREADY! Heat Wave is getting closer and ECW clearly has no idea hot to actually build to a pay per view. I’m barely even sure what matches are taking place on the show as ECW has done almost nothing to promote it so far. Instead it’s all about fighting TNN and Heyman airing his grievances on TV every single week. The show wasn’t the worst but my patience is wearing thin with this promotion.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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