NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #16
Date: October 9, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay

Believe it or not, last week’s show ended with Jeff Jarrett and company beating down a bunch of good guys. That was the big focal point, along with Jerry Lynn having the X-Division Title returned to him for nothing resembling a logical reason. Therefore, this week will see another ladder match for the belt. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Don West hypes up the show.

We look at the man in the white hoodie attacking Ron Killings last week.

Here is Killings for a chat rather than the scheduled match. Killings thinks someone is sending a hired man out to get him and that doesn’t work for him. Don West of all people calls Killings out for attacking people from behind, but Killings doesn’t want to hear from “the baseball card man”. Cue BG James and Syxx Pac, with James saying we don’t live in a perfect world…and here is Curt Hennig. He was hired to do a job and he doesn’t like the Truth. Cue Jeff Jarrett and Brian Lawler to jump them from behind and a six man seems likely.

Curt Hennig/BG James/Syxx Pac vs. Jeff Jarrett/Ron Killings/Brian Lawler

We pause for Lawler to find a seat for his girlfriend as Hennig and Jarrett start things off. They finally make contact about two minutes in with Hennig hitting a running shoulder. Jarrett gets caught in the wrong corner and is knocked around, allowing Hennig to hand it off to Pac. Lawler comes in to punch him down but Killings misses a Vader Bomb legdrop. It’s off to James, who gets ax kicked down and Lawler grabs a neckbreaker.

James clotheslines his way out of trouble though and it’s back to Pac for a high crossbody. That’s cut off as well though and it’s Lawler hitting a headbutt between the legs. A suplex into a gordbuster gets two on Pac and it’s Lawler grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up as most chinlocks are, allowing Hennig to come in and clean house.

Killings takes him down without much trouble though and Lawler hits the Hip Hop Drop, with Pac making the save. The X Factor hits Killings but Lawler pulls the referee out. Cue the man in the white hoodie (which says Mr. Wrestling III) to powerbomb Killings, allowing Hennig to grab the Hennigplex for the pin at 14:23.

Rating: C+. Hennig is a nice addition to the roster as he feels like a legend who can still go in the ring. At the same time, he’s only going to be able to do so much when the main event scene is already getting clogged up. That’s in addition to whomever Mr. Wrestling III is going to be, and that could go in so many terrible directions.

We cut to the back where Jarrett seems to have attacked James. Just in case the focus wasn’t on Jarrett for a bit.

We look back at last week’s ladder match, which seems to have ended in a DQ and resulted in a reversed decision and another ladder match this week. But who says this company is too complicated?

Here is X-Division Champion Jerry Lynn for a chat. He’s not happy with Sonny Siaki and wants to face him next week. Cue Siaki to take credit for the house and wants to fight right now. Lynn is ready to go and the brawl is on, with Siaki shoving him off the stage and into the barricade, with Lynn hurting his leg. Commentary isn’t sure what this means for the title match but it doesn’t look good as Lynn is taken out on a stretcher.

Earlier today, Syxx Pac went into the locker room to apologize to Low Ki but AJ Styles interrupted. Styles thinks he should be Pac’s favorite wrestler and then leaves.

Tag Team Titles: SAT’s vs. Chris Harris/James Storm

Harris and Storm are defending. We get a quick handshake to start before Storm and Joel chop it out. Storm blocks an O’Connor roll and goes after the arm, sending Joel over to the ropes. Joel pulls him into a weird leglock which doesn’t last long so Jose comes in with a missile dropkick. Harris comes in to shove Jose off the top onto Joel but Storm gets crotched back inside.

Something like a running Dominator gives Jose two, followed by a moonsault/hanging neckbreaker combination for the same. Back up and Storm grabs something like a spinning Air Raid Crash and it’s back to Harris. A spinning powerslam gets two on Jose, who hits a quick tornado DDT.

Joel comes in to clean house until a superkick cuts him off. Everything breaks down and Jose hits a guillotine legdrop for two on Harris. A quick spinning Rock Bottom gives Harris two with Joel pulling him out. Back in and the double Spanish Fly is broken up and a double flipping faceplant finishes for Storm at 10:28.

Rating: B. Now this is more like it for the champs, as they got to show what they can do against some better opponents. Maybe it’s just not having to deal with Ron Harris for a week, but this was a breath of fresh air for Harris and Storm. They’re a good team and get to showcase that more and more every time they’re out there. Well maybe not when Ron Harris is there too but I’ll take what I can get here.

Here is Chris Rock (yes that one) to say this is a great wrestling company. And that’s it (he was here filming a movie), as he was on camera for about a minute and a half, including his entrance.

Ace Steel vs. Kid Kash vs. Low Ki vs. Tony Mamaluke

15 minute Iron Man match for the #1 contendership to the X-Division Title. Steel and Ki pair off to start but quickly switch off for some early near falls. A string of armdrags gives us a standoff until Kash hits a springboard missile dropkick for the first big shot. The sweatered manager, apparently named Mortimer Plumtree (I like it) is on commentary as Kash snaps off a hurricanrana. Plumtree talks about wanting to find a talented star as it’s time for the string of dives to the floor. Back in and Ki and Kash try stereo springboards and collide in the air, allowing Steel and Mamaluke to get stereo pins.

Steel – 1
Mamaluke – 1
Kash – 0
Ki – 0

Ki kicks Kash in the head but Kash is back up to cut off Steel’s cover. Steel chokes Ki (the crowd favorite) in the corner, leaving Kash to hit a brainbuster to pin Mamaluke.

Steel – 1
Mamaluke – 1
Kash – 1
Ki – 0

Ki and Steel trade escapes until a weird armbar makes Steel tap to tie everything up.

Steel – 1
Mamaluke – 1
Kash – 1
Ki – 1

Kash slams Mamaluke off the announcers’ table to the floor as we have less than six minutes left. Back inside and Ki seems to hut his leg on a leapfrog so Steel is right on it, as he should be. Kash and Mamaluke are back in for a bunch of rollups and near falls as we have four minutes to go. Ki gets tied in the ropes to stay on his bad leg, leaving Kash to…pull his underwear up and grab a Liontamer on Mamaluke.

Steel breaks that up and suplexes Mamaluke as we’re down to two minutes. Ki and Kash chop it out on the floor but come back in, where Steel gives Ki a running dropkick in the corner. Ki chokes Steel in the ropes but Steel reverses into a rollup, with Plumtree grabbing Ki’s leg for the winning pin. Ignore the bell ringing at one and the referee counting two and three because they mistimed the finish.

Steel – 2
Mamaluke – 1
Kash – 1
Ki – 1

Rating: B-. The action was there and that’s a good thing, but this was about establishing Plumtree as a heel manager, which is a positive change. At some point you need to establish some fresh stars and that’s what we saw here, with Steel possibly becoming a new player in the X-Division. That’s a good idea and I’m curious to see where these two go, which is a nice feeling.

Commentary is aghast but it counts anyway. Or maybe they’re mad at Plumtree, who celebrates with Steel.

Hermie Sadler is happy to be driving the NWA-TNA car this weekend but here is Bruce to interrupt (oh my goodness fire this guy already). Bruce wants to know why Sadler is always here, because he must not be a great driver. Cue Jeff Jarrett to ask why they didn’t get a real NASCAR star to drive the car? Sadler doesn’t know why people keep getting on him around here, but he’s ready to fight Bruce. The brawl is on, with Jarrett coming in to beat him down. BG James runs in for the save. I know they’re going for the celebrity thing here but my goodness Sadler feels so low rent every time he’s out there.

Chris Michaels/Rick Michaels vs. Ron Harris/Sonny Siaki

For the #1 contendership to the Tag Team Titles as we continue what is likely a path towards the Harris Brothers reuniting, because we’re that lucky. Harris and Siaki jump them to start fast with Chris being sent hard into the corner. A neckbreaker gives Siaki two but Chris is back up with a dropkick. Rick comes in to start on Ron’s arm but Ron is fine enough to throw Chris outside.

Siaki’s superkick gets two, only for Chris to come back with a neckbreaker. Rick gets to clean some house, at least until Siaki pulls him outside for a belly to belly suplex. Back in and Harris hits some running corner clotheslines but Rick drops Siaki. Chris comes in and everything breaks down but Harris big boots Siaki by mistake, giving Chris the pin at 7:23.

Rating: D. OH MY GOODNESS they did it again. This was, yet again, a match designed to have Ron Harris look like the most amazing thing in the world as it was him, not the Tag Team Champions, who beat Siaki. I have absolutely no idea what TNA sees in the Harris Twins but it would be nice for that to go away very quickly.

Post match Harris yells at Siaki, who fights back, with security, including Don Harris, making the save. Sweet goodness just let them be a team already.

Jerry Lynn is officially out of the X-Division Title match but Ace Steel will take his place in the match against AJ Styles. Cue Low Ki to say he should get the title shot but Mortimer Plumtree and Steel interrupt. Plumtree insults Ki (we even get a Yul Brenner reference) and suggests he beat up Tammy Sytch. Ki goes on a rant about Plumtree, who will always be an outsider looking in. Cue Bob Armstrong to make Ki vs. Steel for the title match tonight, right now. So what was the point of the Iron Man match???

Low Ki vs. Ace Steel

Steel goes after Ki’s bad leg and sends him to the apron, where Plumtree gets in a cheap shot. Cue Armstrong to call the DQ at 1:31.

Steel is ticked but Armstrong says he’s tired of this X-Division giving him headaches. There’s going to be a champion tonight so EVERY X-DIVISION WRESTLER can be in the ladder match. Oh sweet goodness.

X-Division Title: Ace Steel vs. AJ Styles vs. Joel Maximo vs. Jose Maximo vs. Kid Kash vs. Tony Mamaluke

Ladder match for the vacant title. The Maximos grab ladders to start and crush Mamaluke, leaving Styles to hit a springboard shooting star onto the pile. Back in and Styles takes out the Maximos but gets speared by Mamaluke. Kash dives onto Jose and Steel ties Styles in the Tree Of Woe in the ladder. That’s broken up so Kash rides the ladder down onto Styles. Jose gets crushed between two ladders in the corner, with Joel being powerbombed onto them for a big crash.

Kash’s dive off the ladder is broken up and he crashes down in a heap, though he’s fine enough to get up, knock Mamaluke down, and then hit his dive off the ladder. You know, rather than grabbing the belt that was right in front of him. Styles suplexes Steele and we get another ladder brought in, just in case one wasn’t enough. People go up and get knocked back down, with Jose grabbing his knee. Kash hits a big dive onto Joel, leaving Jose to climb with Styles.

The ladder goes down and lands on Jose’s knee but it’s set right back up (the ladder, not the knee). Kash dropkicks the ladder out to make Steel crash and it’s time for the big string of huge moves off the ladders. Mamaluke DDTs Styles down and Jose is sent into the crowd. A referee gets in for no apparent reason as Styles comes in to clear the ring. And never mind as here is Syxx Pac to come in and win the title at 15:47 (he was in the ring for all of ten seconds).

Rating: B-. The action was fine, but the ending was a great illustration of one of the biggest issues with the promotion. You have all of the X-Division guys (or at least the ones who could be bothered to be here, with Elix Skipper and Amazing Red not here for no apparent reason) doing the work and taking all of the bumps, but then the ex-WWE guy, as in the star, outsmarts all of them and runs in to win the title. Most of the time in this company, former WWE and WCW stars are treated like royalty while the new stars are just kind of there. Fix that already, or it’s going to get old(er) in a hurry.

Overall Rating: C. If Vince Russo wasn’t writing this show, I’ll go buy a hat so I can eat it. This show was all over the place with one nonsensical move after another. You have stuff that doesn’t make sense, WAY too much of a focus on BG James and the freaking Harris Twins and people like Brian Lawler and Jeff Jarrett. There are talented people here, but the show is so all over the place that it’s hard to get anything out of the good parts.

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

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #14
Date: September 25, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

Things are in quite the transitional period around here and that makes for an interesting time. If nothing else, it makes for a necessary time, as the show has gone from total insanity to something more coherent, but that doesn’t make it interesting. Last week’s show ended with something of a Kliq reunion and that is not something that has me interested. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We go to the back where Jerry Lynn is attacking Sonny Siaki, who cost him the World Title last week. The brawl keeps going until security breaks it up.

Commentary previews the show.

Sonny Siaki vs. Amazing Red

This doesn’t seem fair. Red jumps him on the floor to start and they get inside, with Siaki being sent into the corner for a running dropkick. Siaki fires off some running shoulders in the corner and a big backdrop sends Red to the floor. Red gets dropped onto the barricade for some near falls back inside but the bad rips are slowing Siaki down. A bearhug keeps Red in trouble and a superkick makes things even worse. Siaki chokes a bit but Red is back with the Code Red for two. A spinning kick to the head drops Siaki again but he’s right back with a spinning neckbreaker for the win at 7:25.

Rating: C+. Well so much for Red. Not only did he come in with an advantage, but he jumped Siaki to start, only to lose anyway. Siaki is getting more and more featured time and there are worse ideas, but it isn’t going to matter all that much unless he breaks into the holy trinity of the X-Division. Those guys are the ones who matter and everyone else is just kind of there beneath them. Either change that or nothing Siaki does really matters.

Post match Jorge Estrada comes out to say the rest of the Flying Elivses are giving up on Siaki.

We go to the back, where Ron Killings is attacking Amazing Red.

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

Storm and Chris are defending in a tables match and this is a rematch from last week when they won the belts. Lee hammers on Chris to start as I wonder why there are tags. The villains are sent to the floor for a pair of dives from the champs but Lee takes over back inside. Ron loads up a table in the corner but gets cut off, leaving Lee to choke Chris instead.

With Storm on the floor, Ron loads up a powerslam…and completely ignores the table and plants Chris in the middle of the ring instead. Chris fights out and brings in Storm to clean house and after sending Ron to the floor, knock Lee through the table at ringside to retain the titles at 6:39.

Rating: D+. This is where TNA, and other promotions for that matter, look bad and I still don’t get it. There are some people who need to be protected and others who can take a loss without any issues. Ron Harris and Brian Lee have next to no value around here and having one of them take a finish for a clean pin is not going to hurt them. If you want Storm and Chris to be a big deal, let them look like a big deal rather than having to knock Lee through a table to win.

Post match Ron wrecks the champs again, but security breaks it up…including Don Harris, who gets in a shoving match with his brother. So yes, the newly crowned Tag Team Champions, and by far the best team in the company, is laid out for the sake of THE BATTLING HARRIS BROTHERS.

Earlier today, Bruce arrived and got in an argument with an elderly woman.

Here is Ron Killings for a chat. He talks about growing up in poverty with five people in one bed but now people who grew up with security are talking about how he should live. There is real prejudice around here because Ricky Steamboat is gone now that Killings won the title. Where is Killings’ merchandise? Or his private dressing room? Killings calls out Jerry Lynn but gets BG James, because they were partners in the WWF (which commentary points out).

James says that he protected Killings in the WWF and now it’s time to slap some sense into his head. After getting annoyed at the WHAT chants, Killings says this is a new reality and James is his b****. The brawl is on and Killings bails, with James saying he isn’t Tom Cruise or Jack Nicholson because he can handle the truth. It’s more stuff from the WWF, but at least it’s something that was only a few years ago at this point.

You can see AJ Styles at a county fair in West Virginia! And that’s the kind of thing that makes this place feel low level.

Brian Lawler insists that everything is fine with April (his girlfriend) and their business is their business. April doesn’t want her talking for him so he yells at her and gets the camera cut off. This really isn’t as interesting as TNA thinks it is.

AJ Styles vs. Low Ki

2/3 falls for the #1 contendership to the X-Division Title. Styles works on the arm to start and then grinds away on a headlock. Ki kicks his way out of a wristlock and drops a hard elbow for two, only to get caught in an atomic drop of all things. Back up and Ki sends him to the floor for the big running flip dive from the apron but Styles gets in a crotching on top back inside. Styles strikes away and grabs a quickly broken chinlock and kicks him down, setting up the Dragon Clutch for the first fall at 6:35.

Styles is right back up with a discus lariat and a delayed suplex into a knee drop. A jumping enziguri knocks Ki to the floor, where Styles drops him hard onto the ramp. Back in and Ki strikes away but Styles sunset flips him out of the corner for the pin to tie it up at 10:57. Styles kicks him out to the floor and gets smart by going after the legs.

Back in and a super shinbreaker sets up something like a spinning toehold to keep Ki down. The Ki Crusher attempt is countered and the leg gives out again so Styles rolls him up for two with feet on the ropes. With the cheating not working, Styles hits the Styles Clash for the pin at 14:43.

Rating: B-. This felt rushed even though they had some time. The good sign here though is that these two (along with Jerry Lynn) are guys you can throw out there in any combination for a good result. That’s what you had here, even if the 2/3 falls deal wasn’t really necessary for the match.

Jeff Jarrett isn’t happy with the suggestion that he’s getting further from the World Title. Tonight though, he has options.

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

April is here with Skipper and Lawler. Pac and Skipper trade missed kicks to start until Skipper throws him down. Lawler dances on the apron (as he does) and it’s off to Hall. We pause for Lawler to order April to stay in a chair on the floor, allowing Hall to come back on Skipper. A chokeslam gives Hall two but the villains get together to crotch him on the post a few times.

Lawler and Skipper take turns beating on Hall, who finally clotheslines his way out of trouble. Naturally, Lawler is on the floor checking on April, even as Pac comes back in to clean house. The fall away slam sets up a missed Bronco Buster but Skipper dives into the X Factor for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: D+. And again, it’s a problem of focusing on one idea and not realizing that it isn’t very interesting. Why in the world should I care about Lawler and April? There is nothing to April save for her being with Lawler, who isn’t interesting in the first place. That was the entire focus of the match and it’s not like Hall is able to do much to keep up the interest between the bells.

Post match Jeff Jarrett is in with a Stroke each to Hall and Pac. Don Harris makes the save.

AJ Styles hits on Goldilocks and wants to face Jerry Lynn for the X-Division Title in, say it with me, a ladder match.

Jorge Estrada vs. Kid Kash

They fight over wrist control to start but Kash messes with Estrada’s hair. That leads to a standoff as a rather nerdy man is shown watching from the stage. Estrada fights back and hits a clothesline to the floor, setting up a dive which is almost left low. Kash is right back up to chop away and a double jump flip dive drops Estrada for two. Estrada hiptosses him into a running shooting star press for two but a pumphandle faceplant drops Estrada again. They chop it out until Kash hits a DDT for two. Back up and Estrada drops him for a Lionsault into a Swanton for the pin at 6:06.

Rating: C+. You had two guys who can do flips and dives doing flips and dives until one of them won. That’s the kind of filler match that is entertaining but doesn’t feel overly important. At least Estrada has something going on with Sonny Siaki, though it’s still a bit difficult to make him seem important or serious when he’s in an Elvis suit.

Post match Estrada calls out Sonny Siaki, who comes out to apologize for the issues with the rest of the team. He’s willing to turn in his Flying Elvis uniform…and we see a video of him burning it earlier today.

We recap the X-Division getting behind Jerry Lynn trying to win the World Title last week, only for Siaki to cost him.

X-Division Title: Jerry Lynn vs. Ron Killings

Only Lynn is defending in a lumberjack match. Killings tries to bail to the floor to start but is quickly tossed back inside. Lynn hammers away in the corner and a middle rope bulldog gets two. Back up and Killings hits a middle rope shoulder into a wheelbarrow faceplant for two of his own. Lynn is tossed outside where the lumberjacks check on him, which earns Amazing Red a shot to the face from Killings.

Back in and a kneeling MuscleBuster gives Killings two more and we hit the chinlock. A powerslam plants Lynn as AJ Styles has set up a ladder on stage. Lynn gets a boot up in the corner but charges into a powerslam. The front facelock, with feet on the ropes, keeps Lynn in trouble but he fights out and grabs a reverse DDT. Back up and they slug it out until Killings sneaks in a low blow. The cutter is blocked though and Low Ki gets in a cheap shot, setting up Lynn’s TKO to retain at 9:07.

Rating: B-. Again, no surprise that this worked, as Lynn is one of the few people around here who can wrestle with anyone and Killings is certainly fine enough. Lynn getting a win should set up a rubber match between the two of them, or Ki getting a World Title shot of his own. This was another example of the X-Division being treated seriously and that is very refreshing to see.

Don West hypes up next week’s show, with the ladder match confirmed.

Jeff Jarrett vs. BG James

Naturally James runs his mouth before the match and promises a beating before getting in his catchphrase. James punches him down and dances before a right hand sets up the shaky knee drop. Jarrett comes back with an enziguri but James’ dancing punches send him outside. Some chair shots to the back knock Jarrett into the crowd, where he takes over. They go back to ringside where Jarrett gets in some chair shots of his own, setting up the running crotch attack to the back inside.

Jarrett grabs a sleeper but James fights up into one of his own, meaning it’s the required belly to back suplex counter. James hits a big boot and rains down some right hands in the corner. Jarrett is sent into a chair in the corner but here are Elix Skipper and Brian Lawler. The latter offers a distraction but Jarrett runs into him by mistake. James goes after both of them, allowing Jarrett to get in a chair shot to the head for two. Another comeback is on but this time Lawler and Skipper run in for the DQ at 9:08.

Rating: D. I know I’m getting repetitive with these criticisms, but it’s the same thing again: the least interesting people are getting these spots because they’re stars with names. That might make sense on paper, but it’s also making for some awful television. James was busted open last week and his dad has been attacked, so he’s out there doing his funny dancing stuff to pop the crowd. It’s almost tolerable if he’s having a good match, but this was just more slow paced stuff that wasn’t any good in the first place.

Post match the brawl is on, with Syxx Pac and Scott Hall running in for the save. Ron Killings runs in with belt shots and the villains stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It really is amazing to see how much this show feels divided in two. You have the X-Division having fun, fast paced and athletic matches where they all feel like they’re trying to break out and become stars. Those parts are often good, but the rest of the show feels like “here are a bunch of former WWF names, you’ll probably remember them, ignore that their stuff is terrible.” It’s a problem that has plagued many a promotion and it’s doing so again here. Having those people around is ok enough, but just cut down on their focus really fast.

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

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #13
Date: September 18, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

We’re in kind of a weird place here as the company has been gone for a bit, with only the Best Of The X-Division airing two weeks ago. Things have needed to change somewhat due to financial problems and that could be quite the shakeup around here. Jerry Lynn is the X-Division Champion but tonight is about crowning new Tag Team Champions. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Goldilocks talks about tonight’s Gauntlet For The Gold for the Tag Team Titles and here is Scott Hall, who will be teaming with Syxx Pac.

Commentary hypes up the show.

Earlier today, Jeff Jarrett tells Brian Lawler that he can trust him and implies that Lawler’s girlfriend is cheating on him.

Here is Jarrett, who wants Bob Armstrong out here right now. Jarrett immediately goes to the back but gets jumped by the Bullet. The fight comes back to the ring and it is indeed Brian James (Road Dogg) underneath the mask. James talks about walking out on the WWF with Jarrett but then he went back to become part of a team called DX. He’s so mad that he’s going to….win the Tag Team Titles tonight. His mama called him BG so his name is BG James, and the G stands for “Get it, got it, good”. So his name is BGIGIG James? Doesn’t make for a great t-shirt.

Sonny Siaki is back with the Flying Elvises and compares himself to Shawn Michaels, who needed to be a teammate before he became a singles star. Oh and he wants Jerry Lynn to win the World Title.

Kid Kash vs. AJ Styles

Before the match, Styles promises to come for the X-Division Title because he isn’t done with Jerry Lynn. They fight over wrist control to start and Styles ducks the spinwheel kick. A legsweep takes Kash down but he sends Styles out to the apron and out to the floor. The flip dive connects but Styles is back up with a moonsault out to the floor. Back in and a springboard dropkick connects with Kash, followed by a TKO onto the top rope.

A diving spinning Downward Spiral takes Kash down again but he’s back up with a German suplex for two back inside. Styles gets in a dropkick to the ribs and a hurricanrana brings Kash down again. Kash gets knocked into 619 position and a dropkick to the back gives Styles two. Back up and a springboard missile dropkick is kicked out of the air, allowing Kash to score with some clotheslines. Kash takes him up top but Styles fights out and hits a super Styles Clash for the win at 9:57.

Rating: B-. As usual, Styles is capable of doing just about anything and Kash is someone who can fly around well enough. The finish looked rather good and I want to see more of Styles every time he’s in there. He has been one of if not the best things about this promotion so far and it has been great to see him getting some time in there rather than being stuck in a four minute match.

Buff Bagwell is here for a second chance. BG James comes in and asks Bagwell to be his partner tonight. Sure.

And now, Dustin Diamond, better known as Screech from Saved By The Bell. He talks about being in Celebrity Boxing and wants to fight tonight. Don West volunteers Tiny the Timekeeper (later known as Big Fat Oily Guy).

The Hot Shots aren’t happy that they have to qualify for Gauntlet For The Gold. Disco Inferno comes in but Goldilocks does not have time for him.

Dustin Diamond vs. Tiny The Timekeeper

Tiny has no idea what he’s doing and gets knocked out in about 40 seconds.

Ace Steel/CM Punk vs. Derek Wylde/Jimmy Rave vs. Hot Shots

The team who takes the fall is out of Gauntlet For The Gold. Punk takes O’Reilly down to start and grabs a waistlock but gets knocked into the corner to cut him off. That doesn’t last long as Steel comes in with a brainbuster but Stevens cuts him off with a sitout powerbomb. Rave comes in and gets Michinoku Drivered into an Arabian Moonsault for two.

The handspring elbow sets up a double basement dropkick into an assisted moonsault for two. O’Reilly hits a gordbuster for two but a Lionsault hits raised knees. Punk comes in to clean house, including the running dive to hit Stevens on the floor. More dives connect, leaving Steel to hit a Gory Stretch neckbreaker to finish O’Reilly at 7:35.

Rating: C+. This match is noteworthy for one reason whatsoever and that’s something that wouldn’t matter for a long time. Punk was just a young kid at this point trying to make a name for himself and that is where a place like TNA could be useful. It was a nothing match, but they got to do their dives and flips and that’s better than nothing.

Chris Harris and James Storm are ready to win the Tag Team Titles because they are the best team around here.

Here are Scott Hall and Syxx Pac, with Hall talking about their history together. Pac talks about how they’re here out of their love for wrestling. They’ll likely get fired from here too so let’s make it work while it lasts. Brian Lee and Ron Harris run in and are quickly laid out.

Brian Lawler is paranoid about his girlfriend.

Here is Hermie Sadler for a chat. He respects these people and announces that NWA-TNA will be sponsoring his car in an upcoming race. At least it was short.

Miss TNA: Bruce vs. ???

Bruce is defending and Hermie Sadler is on commentary. We get the open challenge and a fan (indy wrestler Christi Ricci) answers. The fast beating ensues, with Bruce hitting a powerbomb to retain at 1:10. This stuff is still so freaking dumb.

Post match Sadler comes in to clear Bruce out.

Jerry Lynn is happy with being the X-Division Champion but he wants to beat Ron Killings, who is the best today. Killings comes in and says oh yes he is the best.

Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet For The Gold

The titles are vacant coming in. This is a Royal Rumble with one minute intervals and wrestlers entering one at a time. When we’re down to two, the partners come back and we have a regular tag match for the titles. Brian Lawler is in at #1 and James Storm is in at #2, with Lawler using the ropes for a low blow to start fast. Storm fights up but gets suplexed down. Joel Maximo is in at #3 and he teals up with Storm to go after Lawler.

Derek Wylde is in at #4 and Lawler tosses him almost immediately. Lawler kicks Joel out and tosses Storm as well to clear the ring, meaning it’s time to dance. Buff Bagwell is in at #5 and hits the running neckbreaker before hammering away in the corner. Kobain is in at #6 and fires off some clotheslines, but Lawler drops both of them. Ace Steel is in at #7 and gets in the offense you would expect. Jorge Estrada is in at #8 and doesn’t get to do much, as Brian Lee is in at #9.

Syxx Pac is in at #10 to pick the pace way up, including a bunch of kicks and an X Factor on Estrada. Kobain is out and CM Punk (partner of Ace Steel) is in at #11….as Steel is eliminated. Lawler cuts Pac off with a powerslam and Jimmy Rave (partner of Derek Wylde) is in at #12. Raven and Estrada double team Punk in the corner but Punk bulldogs his way to freedom. Ron Harris (partner of Brian Lee) is in at #13 and helps Lee get rid of Estrada, Rave, Punk and Bagwell in a row.

Lawler is out and BG James (partner of Buff Bagwell) is in at #14. James slugs away on Harris until Jose Maximo (partner of Joel Maximo) is in at #15…and Harris tosses him out in three seconds (Jose’s feet never touched the mat). A double spinebuster plants Pac, who is right back up with a double clothesline. Cue Lawler to offer a distraction though, allowing Pac to get tossed out.

Slash (partner of Kobain) is in at #16 and James gets triple teamed. Sonny Siaki (partner of Jorge Estrada) is in at #17 and goes after Slash as James can’t quite fight back. Disco Inferno (partner of Brian Lawler) is in at #18 and gets thrown into the corner as Scott Hall (partner of Syxx Pac) is in at #19.

Hall slugs away at Harris and dumps him out before clotheslining Slash out as well. Chris Harris (partner of James Storm) is in at #20 to complete the field and Siaki misses a charge to eliminate himself. Inferno stops to dance and gets punched out by Hall and James, who then slug it out. Lee tosses both of them at once though, leaving he and Harris as the winners at 23:12.

Rating: C-. It was a mostly dull Royal Rumble with two winners, one of whom represents a lame, thrown together monster tag team. I can’t believe I’m saying this but if you want to use one of the Harris Brothers, put the two of them together and let them do what they’ve done for years. That being said, the only thing that mattered here was Chris Harris and Storm advancing and that went fine.

And that leads us into:

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

For the vacant titles and Harris jumps Storm on the stage. Cue Jeff Jarrett to brawl with BG James to the back as Chris gets double teamed by the monsters. Ron kicks Storm through the apron but Storm gets in anyway, only to be double teamed right back down. Naturally a table is set up….but it takes so long that Chris gets a rollup to pin Lee for the titles at 4:54.

Rating: D. What was that? The whole point of this was to crown new champions and they give the young, talented team a quick rollup win while one of the stupid monsters picks up a table? If you want the new champs to look good, then let them look good. This felt like a way to protect Ron and Lee and….why?

BG James is rather busted open in the back.

NWA World Title: Ron Killings vs. Jerry Lynn

Only Killings is defending and he starts fast by knocking Lynn down. Lynn is back up with some right hands and a slingshot elbow connects in the corner. Back up and Killings sends him to the floor, where Lynn is dropped onto the announcers’ table. Lynn is busted open as they get back inside, where Killings grabs a belly to back suplex for two. A spinning sunset flip out of the corner gives Lynn two of his own but Killings side kicks him in the face.

They head outside again where Lynn sends him into the barricade, only for Killings to go after the bloody cut again. Back in and Killings grabs a surfboard of all things, followed by a big boot for two. Lynn’s spinning sunset flip gets another near fall (and a nice hope spot) as AJ Styles comes out to watch. Cue the Maximos and the rest of the X-Division to cheer Lynn on and the comeback begins. Lynn goes up but the referee stops to yell at Styles, leaving Sonny Siaki to shove Lynn off the top. A running cutter retains the title at 12:27.

Rating: B-. This right here shows that TNA is already ahead of WCW in one major area: can you imagine the Cruiserweight Champion getting involved with the World title picture? There was a wide gap between the two title pictures before and now they’re doing a better job of spreading them out. That’s a great sign and gives me some hope for the X-Division, assuming they actually keep it up.

Don West hypes up next week’s show.

Ron Killings and Jeff Jarrett pop back up, double teaming BG James back to the ring. Scott Hall and Syxx Pac run in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Well, they certainly focused on the Tag Team Titles, but the execution of the two matches involving them was so weak that it brought the rest of the show down. I’m also really not happy with so much of the focus being on the “names” again as Hall, Pac, Bagwell and James got A LOT of the attention here. That’s a bad sign after seeing the X-Division get so much attention but maybe it’s just a one off. Not a good show, but for different reasons than before.

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #11
Date: August 28, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

Things took a big turn last week and it actually gives me some hope for the company. The problem right now is that the promotion is having financial issues so a lot of things, including people, have been cut down. That made for a far more interesting and entertaining match last week so maybe things can be a bit better. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Earlier today, Brian Lawler was asked what Jeff Jarrett did to him. Again though, before he can answer, Jarrett runs in and beats him down.

Kid Kash vs. Amazing Red

They fight over wrist and arm control to start with neither getting very far. Kash sticks the landing on a monkey flip so they trade legsweeps and we get a staredown. Red’s headlock doesn’t last long so they trade armdrags and it’s another standoff. Kash flips him off and gets sent to the apron for some elbows to send him outside. Back up and Kash gets in a shot of his own, setting up a springboard clothesline for two.

Red charges into an elbow in the corner and a middle rope clothesline gets two more. Kash hammers away but Red is back up with a middle rope Downward Spiral for a near fall of his own. They go up top and Kash throws him down for two, followed by a slingshot legdrop in the ropes for the same. Kash runs the rope and hits a springboard spinning high crossbody, followed by something like a kneeling MuscleBuster for the pin at 9:28.

Rating: B-. This is something that the X-Division needs, as you can only have Styles/Ki/Lynn as the focal points for so long. At some point you need some fresh blood in there and these two could certainly fit the bill. They had an exciting enough match and that’s good to see, especially as a way to open the show.

Post match Red offers him a handshake but Kash hits a clothesline instead. The SAT’s run in for the save.

Sonny Siaki, on his own, has to be asked to turn around and face the camera and isn’t worried about facing Monty Brown. Sure Brown was in the Super Bowl, but Siaki is bigger than the Super Bowl.

Sonny Siaki vs. Monty Brown

Before the match, Brown grabs the mic and promises to take out Jeff Jarrett for costing him the World Title last week. Siaki backs him into the corner to start and fires off some shoulders to the ribs. That earns him a trip to the floor but Brown misses a charge into the barricade. Back in and Brown gives him a side slam before stomping away for two. A running splash in the corner hits Siaki and a butterfly suplex into a vertical suplex gets two more.

We hit the chinlock on Siaki but he fights up, only to get clotheslined right back down. A running DDT drops Brown though and we get a double breather. Siaki’s clothesline gets two but Brown drops him again. An overhead belly to belly sends Siaki flying and a powerbomb swung into a Rock Bottom plants him again. Cue Jeff Jarrett though, with the distraction allowing Siaki to hit Brown low for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: C. Brown is in a weird place as he’s a monster with charisma, but he’s nowhere near ready for this level in the ring. The problem with that is if you keep beating him, he loses the status that he has. It would be nice to let him smash through some people to rack up some wins and then bring him along, but why do that when you can just have him lose?

Post match Brown hammers on Jarrett and here is Brian Lawler to go after Jarrett as well. Security breaks it up and Lawler is cut off again. Darn the luck.

Commentary hypes up the X-Division ladder match.

Slash, with new partner Kobain (better known as Flash Flanagan in OVW), is ready to win a spot in a Gauntlet For The Gold for the Tag Team Titles. Kobain says what is likely supposed to sound like Nirvana lyrics.

Backseat Boyz vs. James Storm/Chris Harris vs. Hot Shots vs. Disciples Of The New Church

Elimination rules and the winners are in the Gauntlet For The Gold for the vacant Tag Team Titles. Chase Stevens (partners in the Hot Shots with Cassidy O’Reilly) starts with Trent Acid (of the Backseat Boyz, along with Johnny Kashmere) with Acid flipping over him. Stevens hands it off to Kashmere, with the Boyz having to fight because they can’t be eliminated.

Then they point at each and clean house, including the Dream Sequence (later made famous by the Motor City Machine Guns) to Stevens. Some moonsaults to the floor drop most everyone else and Stevens shooting stars onto everyone else. Back in and Slash tags herself in for a neckbreaker to get rid of Kashmere at 4:13.

Kobain comes in for something like a Demolition Decapitator to Stevens. O’Reilly comes back in and kicks Harris down, setting up a double basement dropkick for two. Harris fights up and hits a heck of a clothesline on Cassidy, with Kobain coming in. That doesn’t last long as Storm tags himself in and hits a reverse tornado DDT to get rid of the Hot Shots at 7:55.

Slash chokes away at Storm in the corner, followed by what would become Storm’s Eye Of The Storm. Kobain comes in and sends Storm outside for the big dive and Slash adds a running knee back inside. Cue Don Harris and Brian Lee for commentary as Harris comes back in to clean house, with Kobain accidentally elbowing Slash. Storm superkicks both of them as everything breaks down, only for Slash to come back with a cutter out of the corner. Another neckbreaker is countered and a slam swung into a Rock Bottom finishes for Harris at 12:54.

Rating: C. This was one of those matches where they didn’t quite have time to build anything up and it hut things. At the same time, you have some teams who aren’t overly familiar around here, with the Kobain deal feeling more stupid than anything else. The good thing is Harris and Storm are being built up as the best team around here and it would not surprise me at all to see them get the titles.

Post match Harris and Lee run in for the beatdown with the other teams all running in as well. Harris and Lee clear the ring, because of course they do.

Jeff Jarrett runs into Bob Armstrong, who tells Jarrett he’ll get what he deserves. Jarrett says he deserves all the titles and promises to deal with Armstrong’s surprise.

Miss TNA: Bruce vs. April Hunter

We get a bunch of BEEPs, which are likely due to crowd chants. Hunter fires off chops and snaps off a headscissors but Bruce pulls her down by the hair. A slam and delayed vertical suplex give Bruce two and he sends Hunter face first into the buckle a few times. Bruce flips out of a belly to back suplex and pulls her down by the hair, setting up a powerbomb for the pin at 3:01.

Rating: D. What even is the point of this anymore? In theory they’re setting someone up to beat Bruce in a big moment, but is it even going to matter when it happens? There comes a point where it’s been run into the ground and it isn’t like it had far to go in the first place. Another bad match here, even with Hunter being better than some of the people who have been in there.

Post match Bruce goes to take off Hunter’s top but Slyck Wagner Brown (Hunter’s boyfriend) makes the save.

The Flying Elvises aren’t all shook up without Sonny Siaki but he better not come back because he’s lonesome tonight. Siaki comes in to say he’s fine without them.

Spanish Announce Team vs. Flying Elvises

Jose wrestles Estrada down to start and they trade some not very near falls. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Elvises clear the ring, setting up stereo Asai moonsaults. Back in and Estrada plants Joel for two before handing it off to Yang for a dropkick into the corner. Estrada’s slingshot legdrop gets two more but he misses a charge, allowing the tag back to Jose.

Estrada crotches him on top and grabs a neckbreaker for two, followed by a suplex into a neckbreaker. Yang grabs a front facelock as commentary previews upcoming shows, including next week’s Best Of The X-Division (which may or may not have been a way to avoid having to pay for another show). That doesn’t last long and Estrada comes in to miss another charge, allowing Joel to come in as well.

Everything breaks down and Estrada hits a DDT into a springboard corkscrew hilo. Jose grabs a dragon suplex and Joel adds a missile dropkick but Yang is back with a running spinwheel kick in the corner. Cue Sonny Siaki to shove the SAT’s off the top though, allowing Yang to….miss Yang Time. Instead he hits a quick superplex for the pin on Jose at 14:23.

Rating: B-. Much like the opener, this felt like a way to help establish some more names in the division. In this case, we’ve seen both of them before but it was fun to have them out there going crazy for a bit. It’s not like this is some great match, but I had a good time with it while it lasted. If nothing else, either of these teams could come after the Tag Team Titles when they’re brought back.

Here is Goldilocks to introduce Brian Lawler for the big Jeff Jarrett explanation. First though, Lawler calls her a piece of trash who shows too much skin and wants her out. With Goldilocks gone, Lawler calls out Jarrett to meet him face to face. Before he can talk though, cue Ron Killings, who is made at Lawler for hitting him with a chair last week.

Lawler begs forgiveness and Killings leaves, with Lawler saying this is personal with Jarrett. Then Lawler spots his girlfriend in the audience and accuses a photographer of hitting on her. Lawler escorts said girlfriend to the back as we’re STILL not getting an explanation. I can’t imagine it’s anywhere near that interesting and that is getting more and more obvious every time they tease this story.

We recap Jeff Jarrett being attacked by the Bullet last week, who was NOT Brad Armstrong.

Jeff Jarrett vs. The Bullet

Jarrett jumps him fast and sends things outside, with Bullet being whipped over the barricade. The beatdown is on with Jarrett blasting him with some chair shots. They go back inside where Bullet fights back and starts using quite a few familiar moves (as in similar to Brian Armstrong, Bob’s son and better known as the Road Dogg). Jarrett whips out some handcuffs and attaches Bullet to the ropes. It’s time for a chair so Bob Armstrong comes out, earning himself a chair to the head. The match is thrown out at 3:45.

Rating: C-. And yet, it’s somehow more interesting than anything involving Brian Lawler. That brings up the problem though: Jarrett is involved in quite a bit on this show and it’s not the most interesting stuff. At some point you need to give him something that gets people to care and we haven’t seen it yet. Brian Lawler and the Armstrongs isn’t the way to make that happen either.

Post match Bob gets destroyed and busted open with another chair shot. Security cuts Jarrett off and no unmasking ensues.

Don West hypes up the main event.

We recap Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles going to a draw in their three match series last week. This set up a three way ladder match, with Low Ki defending the X-Division Title.

X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Low Ki

Ki is defending in a ladder match. Ki and Lynn chop it out to start with Styles quickly taking Lynn’s place. Lynn is back up but misses his slingshot Fameasser, allowing Ki to springboard kick Styles down. Back in and Lynn takes over on both of them, including a fairly illogical surfboard to Ki. A suplex drops Styles and you can see Lynn have to stop himself from covering.

Ki breaks up a Liontamer to Styles (Why?) and drops both of them in a hurry. Styles knocks Ki into the corner and they’re all down for an early breather. It’s Styles up first and he heads to the floor, where a ladder is bridged between the barricade and the apron. Ki and Styles climb onto said ladder but Lynn is right there for a double faceplant.

Lynn baseball slides a ladder into Styles’ ribs but Ki cuts off his climb. Styles unloads on Ki until he gets dropped by Lynn. A double hiptoss sends Ki into a ladder leaning against the rope, followed by a suplex sending Lynn into the same ladder. Ki is back up with a hurricanrana to send Styles into the ladder and they need a breather. Styles loads up the ladder and tries a climb but Ki pulls him down for some kicks to the chest.

Ki pulls Styles off the ladder again and then sends the ladder over, with Lynn crashing down in a heap. Back up and Lynn hammers on Styles, followed by a sitout powerbomb on Ki. Two more ladders are brought in and Styles climbs after Ki, who puts him in a dragon sleeper. Lynn breaks that up (Why?) and shoves Styles down, followed by a cradle piledriver off the ladder to plant Ki. That’s enough for Lynn to pull the title down for the win at 20:05.

Rating: B+. This was more of a match where they went after each other rather than the ladder and that makes things so much more interesting. Sometimes it’s nice to see them mix it up a bit and in this case, it was great to focus on people this talented. Lynn gets the title and can defend it against a bunch of people, including these two, and I can certainly go for more of that at the moment.

And we’re off the air before Tenay can even finish his sentence.

Overall Rating: B-. Again, these shows are SO MUCH BETTER because they don’t have all of the frills and stupid stuff bringing it down. Instead, they’re focusing on the in-ring action and it’s that much better as a result. There are still problems though, including WAY too much Jarrett and anything on Bruce. Other than that though, it’s a mile ahead of everything they were doing in the first ten weeks or so and I’ll definitely take that.

Results
Kid Kash b. Amazing Red – Kneeling neckbreaker
Sonny Siaki b. Monty Brown – Rollup
James Storm/Chris Harris b. Backseat Boyz, Hot Shots and Disciples Of The New Church last eliminating the Disciples Of The New Church
Bruce b. April Hunter – Powerbomb
Flying Elvises b. Spanish Announce Team – Superplex to Jose
Jeff Jarrett vs. The Bullet went to a no contest
Jerry Lynn b. AJ Styles and Low Ki – Lynn pulled down the title

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Miss TNA: Bruce vs. ???

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

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

Don Harris vs. Malice

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

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

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

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

Dupp Cup: Teo vs. Bo Dupp

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

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

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

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

Monty Brown vs. Elix Skipper

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dark Matches
Commentators: Tazz, Joey Styles

So this is exactly what it is described as from the WWE Vault: a 35 minute collection of dark matches from over the years. To the best of my knowledge, there is no commentary or anything other than the action itself, which means I’m going to be VERY limited in what I can do with some of this stuff. Still though, it’s exactly the kind of fun content that you do not get elsewhere so let’s get to it.

Note that most of the dates and locations are from what I can find elsewhere and putting some pieces together so they might not be entirely perfect.

From Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 7, 2003 before Monday Night Raw.

Pierre Carl Oulette vs. El Tornado

Oulette powers him down to start and hits an early backdrop with Tornado (who was still wrestling in 2024 but pretty much never left Canada) bailing to the floor. A neck snap across the top rope staggers Oulette but he comes out of the corner with a heck of a clothesline.

The big running flip dive to the floor misses (OUCH) and Tornado takes him back inside for a quickly broken chinlock. Oulette hits a chokeslam and sitout pumphandle slam but a bulldog out of the corner is broken up. Tornado rolls him up for two but gets caught on top, with Oulette hitting a t-bone superplex (you don’t see that very often). The Cannonball (Swanton) finishes Tornado at 4:46.

Rating: C+. This was likely either a tryout match for Oulette or just an appeal to the local fans and I’ve seen far worse. Oulette is a guy with some size who can do some crazy stuff in the ring and he had it on display here. Good stuff with Tornado being serviceable enough, but this was pretty much all about Oulette, as it should have been.

From New York City, New York, August 7, 2000 before Monday Night Raw.

Mean Street Posse vs. Low Ki/Vince Goodnight

Goodnight is an east coast guy who mostly retired in 2001 but keeps coming back every six or seven years for a few matches. The Posse jumps them to start and get sent outside, where Low Ki is right there for a huge twisting flip dive. Back in and Goodnight gets whipped into Ki to knock him off the apron, where Gas gives him a World’s Strongest Slam on the floor.

Back in and Rodney hammers away in the corner, followed by Gas hitting a spinning slam to drop him again. A Hennig necksnap keeps Ki in trouble and the Posse gets to stomp away. Gas chokes in the corner as Ki gets beaten up even more. Ki finally avoids a charge and hits a superkick, allowing the tag off to Goodnight. Everything breaks down and Ki just unloads with about twelve straight kicks to Rodney’s face. Gas hits the Gas Mask (a reverse full nelson sitout powerbomb, actually not a bad move) to pin Goodnight at 4:45 (while Rodney hits a pretty random Blockbuster on Ki).

Rating: D+. To call this a total mess would be an understatement, as you had Ki with his martial arts and flipping style being about ten years ahead of its time and Goodnight just being a guy with long hair. At the same time though, the Posse was just not good enough to be at this level and it was showing more and more every time they were in the ring. It was fun to have them as Shane McMahon’s bodyguards and lackeys, but having them try to do actual matches was just bad. Ki stood out the most of course, but that shouldn’t be anything close to a surprise.

From New York City, New York, August 1, 2006 before ECW On Sci Fi

FBI vs. Paul London/Brian Kendrick

London and Kendrick’s Smackdown Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. This is from the Hammerstein Ballroom and for some reason Joey Styles and Tazz are doing commentary (I wonder if this was meant to be a DVD extra or something). Guido (whose trunks say Nunzio), who is very taped up, shakes hands with Kendrick to start things off before getting armdragged down a few times.

They go to the mat to no avail and that’s a standoff. Mamaluke comes in and London stomps on his arm, with Kendrick adding an elbow to said arm. London and Kendrick take turns on the arm as we settle down to a pretty basic style. Guido comes back in and gets dropped by a springboard high crossbody, followed by double dropkicks. We get what seems to be some miscommunication as everything breaks down and London slugs it out with Mamaluke on the floor.

Guido chinlocks Kendrick back inside, which seems like a way to get things back under control (as you’re supposed to do). Mamaluke grabs a short armscissors on Kendrick before Guido knees him in the head for two. Kendrick finally rolls away from a charge and hands it back to London to pick up the pace. The dropsault hits Guido and Mamaluke has to make the save.

Mamaluke seems to screw something up by kicking Kendrick in the face, setting up a flip dive from the apron. London’s big running flip dive COMPLETELY misses and he lands hard on the floor (Kendrick DIVES on him to make sure he’s ok) and we’re clipped to London being back inside and Kendrick hitting Sliced Bread #2, setting up a step up shooting star press to give London the pin on Guido at 9:56 shown.

Rating: C. This was a weird match with the commentary pausing at random moments and a bit less of an over the top style from Styles. That being said, it wasn’t a bad match as you had two teams who can work a pretty fast paced style. That crash landing from London was terrible and there were some other botched, but it was a match that got some time and could have been better with a few less mistakes.

From Memphis, Tennessee, September 18, 2001 before Monday Night Raw.

Kid Kash vs. Justin Credible

It’s rare to see two names against each other, even in an ECW reunion. Feeling out process to start until Kash snaps off a headscissors to send Credible outside. A twisting dive takes Credible down again and it’s weird to be stuck on the hard cam shot rather than going down to see them on the floor. Back in and Credible hits his running spinning DDT, allowing him to do his signature thing of yelling at the crowd.

Credible stomps and chokes away before grabbing the chinlock as fans are filing in and trying to find their seats. That’s broken up and Kash knocks him down before being kicked into the corner, only to come down head first with a low blow (Sting approves). Kash is back up with his own spinning DDT for two, followed by a rather crazy spinning hurricanrana from the top. Credible sidesteps a moonsault though and hits a superkick (not bad either) for the pin at 5:55.

Rating: C. I’ve never gotten the appeal of Credible and that was on full display here. There is nothing about him that makes him stand out and having him yell at the crowd over and over isn’t the best way to go. Kash was doing his usual flippy stuff and it worked well enough, but getting over Credible is a heck of a task to pull off.

From Richmond, Virginia, April 28, 1998 before Monday Night Raw.

Steve Williams vs. Scorpio

This could be interesting. Williams shoves him down without much trouble to start (shocking I know) and then wrestles him down, with Scorpio bailing over to the ropes. Back up and Williams slowly hammers away but does stop to block a hiptoss attempt. Scorpio gets caught in a gorilla press (and looks terrified) and sent outside as this is domination so far. Back in and Scorpio gets in a few shots but Williams calmly punches him out of the air in a so simple it’s awesome counter.

The seated crossarm choke goes on for a good while but Scorpio finally gets out and chops away. A knee lift sends Williams into the corner and he misses a charge, allowing Scorpio to get a belly to back suplex. Scorpio hits a top rope forearm to the head for two and a running spinning kick gets the same. A handspring clothesline in the corner drops Williams but he’s back up to pull a moonsault out of the air. Williams’ powerslam gets two but Scorpio flips onto him for two of his own. Williams hits a spinebuster and some three point shoulders, followed by a belly to back suplex for the pin at 9:17.

Rating: C-. This was ok but it went on far too long. Eventually Williams looked like he was running out of things to do. It didn’t help that Scorpio was mostly beaten up for such a long stretch as it turned into waiting for the match to end already. Nothing much to see here, which is a shame as the talent involved could have made it good.

Overall Rating: C. Maybe it was due to having fun with the squash match collection, but this was pretty disappointing. Not only was there nothing overly notable, but none of the matches were anything worth seeing. There are some good dark matches out there, but this was just a bunch of random stuff and it was only so interesting. I’m not sure what they were going for here but it didn’t quite hit.

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Smackdown
Date: September 15, 2006
Location: DCU Arena, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re on the way to getting ready for No Mercy and the big story coming out of last week was Finlay attacking Batista to cost him the World Title. The post match beatdown would suggest a hoss fight between Finlay and Batista, which could make for one heck of a brawl. I’m not sure what else to expect from this one so let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Finlay, with the Leprechaun (under a sheet), to get things going. Finlay reminds us that he loves to fight and we see a clip of the end of last week’s show with Batista being left bloodied. Back in the arena, Finlay talks about taking Batista’s manhood…but here’s Bobby Lashley to interrupt. What Finlay did last week was an act of cowardice and the luck of the Irish has just run out. Cue Teddy Long to make the main event with the winner facing King Booker at No Mercy for the title. The brawl is nearly on with the Leprechaun attacking Finlay by mistake. Finlay throws him to the floor.

Post break, William Regal fires up Finlay before the main event.

Gregory Helms vs. Matt Hardy

Non-title and Matt comes in through the crowd to jump Helms from behind. The Side Effect sends Helms out to the floor but he’s right back in with an elbow to the face. Matt is bleeding from the nose as a result and Helms grabs a half crab. That’s enough to make Matt crawl over to the rope so the chinlock goes on. Matt suplexes his way to freedom and hits the middle rope legdrop for two. The referee gets bumped off the kickout though and Helms hits Hardy low for the DQ.

Rating: C-. I’m glad to see the champ actually win a match but I’m not sure where this is going to go. I don’t need to see Hardy feuding with the Cruiserweight Champion when he isn’t a cruiserweight, but who else is supposed to feud with Helms for the title at this point? The match was fine, though I’m not sure where Helms is going next.

Rey Mysterio and his rather young son Dominik are here. Dean Malenko says hi.

Jimmy Wang Yang is tired of the “Orientals” straight off the boat not being able to pronounce things. He’s a real redneck from Georgia though.

The Miz vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Scotty knocks him down to start but Miz is back up with a running shoulder. Miz flips out of a hiptoss and snaps off a good armdrag. The stomping ensues in the corner and a neckbreaker lets Miz choke. JBL freaks out over Cole comparing him to Miz, especially when Cole lists off Miz’s reality shows as accomplishments. JBL: “SO WAS HULK HOGAN’S SON NICK!” Scotty fights up with a flying forearm and the Worm is loaded up but Miz bails to the apron before Scotty…..whatever it is that he does. Miz snaps his neck across the top and hits a swinging neckbreaker (the Mizard of Oz) for the pin.

Rating: D+. I know it’s not that big of a deal but Miz got in a few moves here and looked a bit more polished than usual. Miz has a very long way to go but there is a charisma to him that makes me want to keep watching him. If nothing else, hearing JBL lose his mind over everything Miz does is worth a laugh.

Remember John Cena being in the Marine? He’s still in it.

Brian Kendrick vs. Kid Kash vs. Idol Stevens

Paul London, Ashley, KC James, Michelle McCool and Jamie Noble are all at ringside. Kash and Stevens slug it out to start but commentary ignores the match to talk about King Booker being invited to ECW next week. Kash and Stevens start double teaming Kendrick but get in the required fight over the cover. Kendrick fights up and dropkicks them both down but Kash’s release suplex cuts him off. Stevens is sent outside though and it’s a tornado DDT to give Kendrick the pin on Kash.

Rating: C. It was a short match but the time was spent on nothing but action, which is all you can hope for in a match like this. Kendrick and London continue looking good and it’s nice to have a few teams challenging them for a change. I’m not sure I can imagine them losing the titles, but it’s nice to have something going on instead of having the champions floating around.

William Regal is talking to King Booker and Queen Sharmell. Finlay comes in and Booker wants to talk about the #1 contenders match. The Court cannot be shaken up but Finlay is fighting tonight.

Rey Mysterio leaves Dominik in the locker room to watch his match. Oh Rey, you glorious moron.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mr. Kennedy

Non-title. During Rey’s entrance, Chavo and Vickie Guerrero go into the locker room to watch the match with Dominik. Kennedy takes him to the mat and grabs a chinlock as Cole goes into a rant about the Guerreros. Rey’s springboard crossbody is broken up and Kennedy slams him down, setting up a reverse chinlock. Back up and a hard whip into the corner gives Kennedy two more, followed by a spinebuster to cut Rey off again.

Kennedy keeps mixing things up (thank you) with a seated abdominal stretch. Mysterio gets up again and this time it’s the wheelbarrow bulld….actually a DDT for a change, followed by a kick to the head for two. Back up and Kennedy catapults him chest first into the buckle (which Cole sees as head first into the post, despite the foot and a half between the two). Rey is right back with the 619 to send Kennedy outside and a springboard corkscrew dive takes Kennedy down again.

We take a break and come back with Kennedy stomping away in the corner. Rey’s back is sent hard into the corner with his back bending around the post for a nasty landing. The standing abdominal stretch goes on this time as JBL explodes about dealing with problems while in the ring and yells at Cole for defending Mysterio. Those rants are still great. Kennedy puts Rey down but misses the Kenton Bomb, allowing Mysterio to get two off a springboard seated senton. Cue the Guerreros with Dominik for a distraction though and Kennedy grabs the rollup pin.

Rating: C+. This was kind of a weird one as they were building to a good match but it was pretty clear that something was going to happen with the Guerreros and Dominik. That’s what should have happened but I was into the match and the ending is a bit annoying. Still though, good stuff here as they continue the idea of Rey being distracted and don’t have a champion lose.

We get a special message pair for by MVP’s worldwide fan base.

MVP talks about how he is not scared to sign a contract with Smackdown. Teddy Long needs to bring the check and sign him up.

Vito vs. William Regal

Regal is so angry at Vito’s actions last week that he dropped the lawsuit to set up this match. Vito grabs a headlock so Regal rolls him up, meaning it’s time for the blurry censoring. JBL loses it again over what he is having to watch as Regal forearms Vito down without much effort. JBL: “WHY CAN HE NOT KEEP HIS DRESS DOWN??? HE’S LIKE HALF OF OUR DIVAS!” Vito makes the comeback and pulls the dress up, only to get taken down into a hammerlock. Back up and Vito sends him outside so Regal tries a sunset flip, only to have Vito sit down on it (with the dress going over Regal’s face) for the pin.

Rating: D. Regal and JBL made this a lot easier to sit through and I guess it’s an upgrade over having Vito beat up jobbers in the same way over and over again. At least he’s sticking with the lower level stuff and it’s not like this is taking up any serious time week to week. It’s not funny, but it could be a heck of a lot worse.

Regal’s stunned face makes up for a lot of this.

Raw Rebound.

King Booker isn’t happy with Teddy Long, who isn’t overly worried. Booker promises to beat everyone but here’s Vito to interrupt. That doesn’t please Booker, so Vito says try him. Teddy makes the match for next week so Vito raises the dress. So much for everything I said a few minutes ago.

Sylvester Terkay vs. Todd Smith

Smith grabs a headlock to start and gets shoved down for his efforts. Terkay knees him in the ribs as we hear about how awesome Terkay is at everything. A belly to back suplex puts Smith down for some forearms to the face (JBL on Terkay and Elijah Burke: “We have not seen an interracial team as good as this since the APA.”) and an armbar makes Smith tap. Smith would do a bit better when he bulked up, grew a heck of a beard and changed his name to Ivar.

Fit Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

The winner gets King Booker, on commentary with Queen Sharmell (and William Regal off headset), for the title at No Mercy. They take their time to start with Lashley backing him into the corner. A shoulder puts Finlay down and the cover sends him bailing out to the floor. Back in and Finlay sends him outside for a change but gets run over again.

We take a break and come back with Finlay working on the leg, which he damaged during the break. The leg is sent into the post and we hit the half crab as Cole accuses Booker of sweating Crisco. For some reason this is deemed racist so we’ll cut back to Lashley kicking Finlay in the face to start the comeback. A clothesline to the back of the head gives Lashley two and a torture rack goes on.

Lashley drops down into a backbreaker for two so Regal throws in a chair for a distraction. Finlay grabs the Shillelagh but can’t swing it, as Lashley gorilla presses him instead. Regal offers another distraction so the Leprechaun throws Finlay the Shillelagh again but this time the referee sees him hit Lashley for the DQ.

Rating: C. These two know each other rather well and they had a nice match here, as Finlay stays strong and Lashley gets to move on to something bigger and more important. What we got here did its job well enough and could set up some issues with Booker and Finlay going forward, even if it’s a little early to consider breaking up the Court so far.

Post match the beatdown is on but here’s Batista (from his car in the parking lot, with his music playing) with a pipe to go after Finlay. Lashley spears Booker to the floor (Booker: “I’M GONNA BUST YO A**!”) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s more of the same from Smackdown as there are enough things going on around here to make me like the show but at the same time, a lot of the stuff just makes me want to move to anything else. The show was far from terrible, but at the same time, the lower card still has some major holes. Fix those things up and this is probably the best show going at the moment, assuming it isn’t already.

Smackdown
Date: July 21, 2006
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the go home show for the Great American Bash and that means it is time to put the finishing touches on everything. The show is looking pretty good on paper and if they do everything else well tonight, we could be in for a nice pay per view. That’s in theory of course, as you never know around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Teddy Long is in the ring to open things up and gets straight to the point: Mark Henry is injured and has undergone knee surgery. Therefore he is of course out the #1 contenders match at the Great American Bash, so we have a replacement. Before Long can make the announcement, here’s Mr. Kennedy to interrupt. Long won’t let him have the mic but Kennedy has his own and challenges Batista for the pay per view. Cue Batista to tell Teddy to book the match (Teddy nods) because he needs someone to take out his six months of anger on. Kennedy offers a handshake but pulls it again and leaves. Quick and easy here.

Brian Kendrick vs. Kid Kash

They run the ropes to start with neither being able to hit anything until Kendrick armdrags him into an armbar. Kash gets smart by going after the knee and a running clothesline gets two. It’s back to the leg with even more kicks, followed by something like a reverse figure four to send Kendrick bailing to the ropes.

A snapmare sends Kendrick’s legs into the ropes to stay on the legs but Kendrick is back up with right hands and a clothesline. Jamie Noble offers a distraction but gets knocked down by mistake, allowing Kendrick to grab a rollup for two. The referee goes to yell at Paul London, allowing Noble to come in to help set up the Dead Level for the pin.

Rating: C. The leg work was a wise way to go and it made sense to have the champ lose here, but at the same time there is only so much to be gotten out of the singles matches for the Tag Team Champions. I’m not exactly buying the idea of the Pit Bulls winning the titles on Sunday, but at least they’re trying something to set it up.

Chavo Guerrero is in Teddy Long’s office when King Booker and Queen Sharmell come in. They don’t like being disrespected by Rey Mysterio and demand satisfaction in the form of a match tonight. Chavo doesn’t think much of this and tells Teddy to ignore them, but he’ll take it under advisement. That’s too much for Chavo, who storms off.

Post break, Rey accepts the match with Booker for tonight. Chavo doesn’t like this.

Michelle McCool/Kristal vs. Jillian Hall/Ashley

Jillian slams Kristal down to start and hits a cartwheel elbow as JBL goes into a rant about Jillian not taking the easy path to wealth. Michelle comes in and beats on Ashley as a lot of screaming ensues. It’s back to Kristal for a rollup but Jillian makes the save, ripping Kristal’s top off in the process. Ashley rolls her up for the fast pin as the point was obvious again here.

Great American Bash press conference video.

Here are Great Khali and Daivari to say that Undertaker will be destroyed in the Punjabi Prison. It won’t be for the first time either, as we see a clip of Khali mauling Undertaker at Judgment Day.

After looking at a clip of Finlay stealing the US Title from him last week, Bobby Lashley says he is ready to fight tonight.

US Title: Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is challenging and they go straight to the brawling. Finlay gets powered down early on and claims an early elbow injury. Naturally he’s goldbricking and forearms Lashley down for two, causing the referee to chastise him a bit. One heck of an uppercut sends Lashley into the corner and a very hard clothesline puts him down. Finlay hammers away in the corner and a jumping seated senton sets up the chinlock.

Lashley fights up and they head outside with Finlay being sent head first into the apron. That earns Lashley a knee first whip into the steps though and it’s time to crank on the leg back inside (JBL: “It’s the Achilles Heel of a gigantic monster.”). Finlay cannonballs down onto the knee, ala Ric Flair, which Cole calls unorthodox for some reason. Lashley fights up again but here’s William Regal for a distraction.

The distraction lets Finlay pull out the Leprechaun, with Finlay tossing him at Lashley for some actual unique offense. The leglock goes on again but Lashley fights up with the variety of suplexes. That’s enough for the referee to check on Finlay, allowing Regal to get in some cheap shots. Regal throws Finlay a chair, which is kicked into his face, setting up the spear. Not that it matters though as Regal comes in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was about taking a couple of heavy hitters and letting them beat the heck out of each other for about fifteen minutes. It’s a good preview for Sunday’s triple threat title match also involving Regal, and I’m glad they didn’t do a surprise title change to give Lashley another two day reign. Finlay can get a lot out of being the champion and retaining here was the smart move.

Post match the beatdown is on with the Leprechaun getting in a shillelagh shot to keep Lashley down.

Here’s Miz to recap the Diva Search so far, all two weeks of the thing. Tonight’s contest is a Diva Dance Off so they all dance for thirty seconds. Some of them are a bit more skilled than others (Maryse just kind of walks around) and Milena wins. This was exactly as you would have expected.

Matt Hardy, Funaki and Tatanka are in the back when Sylvan comes in to pitch a Quebec vacation.

Super Crazy vs. Psicosis

Gregory Helms is on commentary as he will be defending the title at the Bash against an opponent to be determined. Psicosis takes over with an armdrag to start and stomps away but Crazy sends him into the corner for some stomping of his own. A reverse Boston crab has Crazy in trouble and Psicosis makes it even worse by turning it into a Rocking Horse. We go to a more conventional camel clutch but Crazy slips out and dropkicks him to the floor. Crazy hits a middle rope moonsault but walks into a spinwheel kick for two back inside. Not that it matters as Crazy grabs a crucifix for the fast pin.

Rating: C. Much like the Lashley vs. Finlay match, this was all about taking two people who are good at a certain style and allowing them to do their thing for a bit. I’m not sure how big of a surprise that Crazy winning was, but at least they got a few minutes to do their thing. Crazy vs. Helms at the Bash feels like a pre-show match, but it’s nice to see the title defended every now and then.

Post match Crazy and Helms shout at each other a lot.

Vito went shopping. Again.

Great American Bash rundown.

Rey Mysterio vs. King Booker

Non-title with Sharmell handling Booker’s entrance. Joined in progress with Booker taking him to the mat with a knuckle lock but Rey fights up and kicks at the leg (popular move tonight). A flying headscissors looks to set up the 619 but Rey knocks him outside instead, setting up the running seated senton off the apron.

Back in and Booker chops away, followed by an elbow to the face for two. A pair of clotheslines into a superkick gives Booker two and the armbar goes on. That doesn’t last long so Booker grabs a slingshot suplex for two more. The chinlock doesn’t stay on long either, meaning this time it’s a World’s Strongest Slam for another near fall on Rey.

Back up and Rey grabs the sitout bulldog and thanks to the referee checking on Sharmell, Rey baseball slides Booker for a low blow. Sharmell offers a distraction though and it’s a Book End for two as Rey puts his foot on the floor. Cue Chavo to trip Booker though and it’s the 619 into Dropping The Dime to put Booker away.

Rating: C. Kind of a boring match but you can tell that these are both people who can have a fine match almost in their sleep. I’m not wild on having the pay per view main event two days before the show, but it’s not like it is the focal point in the first place. Mysterio’s days are numbered and it seems obvious, especially with Guerrero running around on the floor like he was here. Fine main event, but still a weird way to go.

Overall Rating: C-. This show suffered from the same kind of problem that so many other go home shows face: the show is built up as well as it’s going to be, leaving this show as little more than a two hour filler episode. There was nothing of note added here, other than replacing the injured Henry, so while it was a perfectly watchable show, it was also a perfectly skippable show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: May 12, 2006
Location: ipayoneCenter, San Diego, California
Attendance: 11,700
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re on the way to Judgment Day and that means it’s going to be a bad night for Rey Mysterio. Last week he got destroyed by Mark Henry and tonight it’s probably going to be the Great Khali. But hey, at least he can beat JBL at the pay per view and that makes up for everything, right? Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at Rey Mysterio becoming the underdog World Champion and getting destroyed by Mark Henry last week. Tonight it gets even worse with Great Khali.

Here’s John Bradshaw Layfield, who set up Mysterio’s battles with the giants, to get things going. He talks about how Rey is “a tough little Mexican fighter” and worries that Rey is going to take his innertube back to Mexico. The fans stop to chant for Eddie, who JBL agrees was great, but JBL was greater. Then he took the US Title from Chris Benoit and at Judgment Day he’s going to be the first ever double champion.

After that, he’ll offer Rey’s family a job. Dominik can shine his boots, Rey’s wife can do his dishes in a short little Latino dress, but Rey can sell drugs, get into prostitution or work a donkey show in Tijuana. Rey finally comes out to clear the ring in a hurry. JBL can say these things with some conviction, but dang the times have changed.

Super Crazy vs. Nunzio vs. Kid Kash

The winner gets Gregory Helms, on commentary, for the Cruiserweight Title at the pay per view. It’s a brawl to start with Crazy being sent outside and Nunzio being backdropped out after him. Everyone gets back in for an exchange of rollups for two each until Kash’s clothesline gets two on Nunzio. Kash kicks Nunzio off the top and hits his moonsault for two more with Crazy making the save. Crazy covers both of them for a near fall each and Nunzio makes his own save. Nunzio loads Crazy up in a Doomsday Device but Crazy victory rolls him for the pin as Kash misses the high crossbody.

Rating: C. It was fine enough action but there was no hiding how unimportant everything they were doing was here. The Cruiserweight Title hasn’t meant anything in years and you can see how far it is falling almost every week. Points for trying to do something and having an action packed match, but this was the popcorn/nacho portion of the show.

The returning Kurt Angle storms into Teddy Long’s office to demand a match with Mark Henry. Long says no because Angle isn’t cleared so Angle grabs him by the jacket. The match is on for the pay per view.

Gymini vs. Mike Wellington/Joey Ryan

The Gymini are Jesse and Jake, while Ryan (yes that Ryan) has belt loops on his trunks. Jake powers Wellington to the apron to start and hits a clothesline back inside. Ryan comes in and gets kicked in the head, followed by a double shoulder for a bonus. Some elbows to the back of the head set up a chinlock, with Jesse pulling the hair. Wellington gets slammed onto Ryan and a double toss into the air for a big crash finishes Ryan without much effort.

Rating: D+. There is something rather cathartic about seeing Joey Ryan getting beaten up. Total destruction here of course as WWE has almost always known how to push two big monsters like this. I’m not sure how far they can go from here, but they can do this match well enough, especially given how short it was.

Various wrestlers like the See No Evil premiere, with Kurt Angle having to hide behind Viscera.

We look at Finlay beating Chris Benoit to make the semifinals of the King of the Ring.

Here are Booker T. and Sharmell for a chat. Booker is upset that Kurt Angle was thrown out of the tournament because he was looking forward to the match. He doesn’t want a forfeit so Angle can come out and face him right now (Angle was escorted from the building after talking to Long). Booker even gives him a ten count, with a pause for one last beg at nine, before declaring himself the winner. The celebration is on, complete with spinning Sharmell around and a Spinarooni.

King of the Ring Semifinals: Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

They fight over a lockup to start with Lashley eventually powering him into the corner. Lashley takes him down with an explosive single leg but Finlay is back up with a clothesline. The chinlock goes on for a good while before Lashley is back up with a big boot. A gorilla press gutbuster has Finlay in trouble and a running clothesline in the corner rocks him again.

Some forearms gets Finlay out of trouble though and he chokes with the ring skirt. The chinlock goes on again and a pull of the trunks takes Lashley down again. Cue Booker and Sharmell, with the former sitting on the throne to see Lashley get his knees up to stop a splash. Lashley gets caught in the ring skirt for another beating though and we take a break.

Back with Finlay working on an arm, with an elbow into the shoulder for a bonus. A running shoulder gives Finlay two but Lashley gets fired up and snap off the overhead belly to belly. The running powerslam connects but Finlay blocks the spear with a boot. Finlay throws in the chair and grabs the Shillelagh, the latter of which is taken away. The referee is dumb enough to get rid of it, allowing Finlay to get in a chair shot. Lashley shrugs it off and hits the spear for the pin.

Rating: C+. The chinlocks took something out of this but they made Lashley look like a monster and that’s the important part. Lashley is showing some different offense out there most weeks and that’s an encouraging sign for someone who could do three moves and get by on his look alone. Finlay continues to be a nice gem and they worked well together.

Post match Lashley tells Booker to get out of his chair before he gets thrown out.

Here are MNM for a chat. Johnny Nitro says they’re the hot team and the sexiest champions of the century. They don’t like Paul London and Brian Kendrick getting in their way, which is why they got three straight Snapshots last week. After we see a clip from last week, Melina talks about how those punks are just trying to get a rub from the champs. Cue Jillian Hall, who talks about beating up Melina at the makeup table. Melina says Jillian looked better with the growth on her face. The fight is almost on but here are London and Kendrick to pants the champs. Hall rips off Melina’s skirt too and the good guys run.

Mark Henry vs. Paul Burchill

We get the debut of Henry’s signature song. Henry clotheslines him down and hits a kick in the ribs as this is feeling squashish. Burchill is tossed outside in a heap (with one hand) and Henry throws him back inside for a bonus. There’s the running splash in the corner and a second one against the post has Burchill pretty much done. Back in and Henry hits two more splashes, grabs the mic to say Kurt Angle is getting the same thing. The World’s Strongest Slam is good for the pin.

Rating: D. This was little more than a way to keep Henry warm before his match with Angle. It was nothing we hadn’t seen before but there was only so much you can get out of this version of Henry. Also, so much for Burchill, but how long was a Pirates of the Caribbean tribute character going to last?

Tatanka is still becoming a Lakota warrior.

Big Vito says he and Nunzio are going out tonight. Nunzio needs to go get a shower but Orlando Jordan cuts him off, saying that he saw someone who looked a lot like Vito in drag in a club in London. Nunzio doesn’t buy it.

Judgment Day rundown.

Rey Mysterio vs. Great Khali

Non-title, JBL is on commentary, and Cole keeps mentioning that Mysterio’s friends and family are here because it’s his hometown. Before Khali comes out, Rey dives onto JBL but here is Khali (with Daivari) to cut things off. Mysterio gets in Khali’s…uh, chest, and the EDDIE chants start up again. Khali throws him outside in a hurry and JBL turns up the trash talk to an eleven. Rey gets knocked off the apron again and a springboard dropkick hurts Mysterio more than Khali. Mysterio is thrown outside for a third time with JBL getting in a cheap shot. Back in and the double arm chokeslam finishes Rey in short order.

Rating: F. What do you even say here? This came off as more of Vince and WWE being annoyed at the fans for wanting something and punishing them for it after giving them what they asked for. They do this with so many of their titles and then wonder why it isn’t as important or why the fans are walking away. It made Mysterio, who could potentially draw some money, look like nothing and Khali isn’t likely to get a title shot anytime soon, but at least they advanced Mysterio vs. JBL, which I’m sure people will be flocking to pay for. I remember thinking this was stupid in 2006 and it is even worse now, which doesn’t surprise me.

Post match JBL gets in Rey’s face to talk about how he let everyone down. JBL has another opponent for next week. Tick tock. JBL shoves him to the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Well that happened. This was not WWE’s finest hour as they don’t seem to have a clue about what they want to do here so the solution is to squash the World Champion on back to back weeks. It was a rough sit as this show doesn’t exactly have star power and they are going out of their way to damage the star power that they do have. Bad show here, and WWE isn’t helping itself.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: March 31, 2006
Location: Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for Wrestlemania and that’s probably the best thing that can happen to Smackdown at the moment. The blue matches are already set and have been for a good while. That has left us with some rather weak shows on the way to Chicago but tonight is the last stop. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Randy Orton causing issues before Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle.

Here is Mysterio to open things up. He wastes no time this week and calls out Orton right now but here’s Angle instead. Angle wants Orton tonight so he can beat him here and then do it again at Wrestlemania. No one beats him, including Rey on Sunday. Cue Orton to call both of them ladies, sending Rey and Angle into an argument over who gets to face Orton tonight. Orton suggests a handicap match and then changes his mind because he isn’t wrestling tonight. He’ll see you in Chicago but here’s Teddy Long to interrupt.

Teddy likes the idea of a handicap match but Orton says Teddy is giving Rey another favor like he did when he put Rey in the main event of Wrestlemania. Angle seems to agree so Rey thinks Angle doesn’t respect him. Orton cuts them off and suggests Rey vs. Angle tonight so Rey can prove himself. They’re both down and Teddy makes the match. As for now, security is going to escort Orton out.

A ranting Orton left during the break.

Chris Benoit vs. Road Warrior Animal

Non-title. Before the match, Animal rants about how he is a legend but doesn’t have a spot at Wrestlemania. Benoit gets shoved around to start but Benoit takes him to the floor without much trouble. Back in and Benoit rolls the German suplexes so Animal tries the brass knuckles. Benoit doesn’t mind and snaps on the Crossface for the easy tap.

Benoit goes to the back where an applauding JBL and Jillian Hall are waiting for him. JBL talks about taking the World Title from another technical wrestler in Eddie Guerrero so he knows he can do it to Benoit as well. Benoit is glad JBL’s hand is healed because he’ll need it to tap out.

This Week In Wrestling History: Wrestlemania II with the battle royal, where William Perry and Big John Studd eliminated each other.

Perry is going into the Hall of Fame this year.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Daniel Cross

JBL has Daniel Cross with him and Cross is having his fifth career match. His fifth career loss comes after less than a minute and a pair of Clotheslines From JBL.

Hall of Fame rundown.

Miz is still coming, but first he needs to invade Titan Towers.

Booker T. vs. Paul Burchill

Sharmell is here too and they both look scared of the Boogeyman. Booker knocks him around to start but Burchill hits a quick crossbody….and it’s Boogeyman time. Sharmell freaks out and tries to leave but they’re scared of Boogeyman’s smoke. There is no Boogeyman so Booker checks underneath the ring, with Boogeyman coming out the other side and kidnapping Sharmell. Booker gets counted out somewhere in there as the angle disguised as a match wraps up.

Post break, Booker can’t find Sharmell. Just follow the screaming.

Bobby Lashley/Tatanka/Matt Hardy vs. MNM/Finlay

Hardy and Mercury start things off and it’s quickly off to Lashley to beat up MNM (again). A Finlay distraction cuts Lashley off but he shrugs them off all over again. Tatanka comes in for a dropkick to Nitro and a legdrop gets two. Finlay comes in and hammers on Tatanka so it’s off to Mercury, who gets punched in the face. Good grief MNM are presented as such helpless losers. Tatanka suplexes both champs down and hands it off to Matt to clean house. Everything breaks down and Lashley gets to clean house, leaving Matt to hit the Twist of Fate to finish Mercury.

Rating: D+. Sweet goodness MNM can’t buy some good luck at this point. Was anyone looking for a rehash of Hardy/Tatanka vs. MNM? Matt getting a win is fine, but was there no one else for him to beat? Nothing to see here, but at least Lashley got to clean some house. Just stop making it the champs’ house.

Here’s Mark Henry in a suit for a funeral for Undertaker. With a choir singing over the speakers, Henry goes over the victims of the Streak, giving us a rather rare Giant Gonzalez reference. The future is in Henry though brothers and sisters, amen. He is the man who took out Batista and he will end the Streak. This didn’t need the funeral theme but lining up the names was a nice idea.

Mexicools vs. Jamie Noble/Kid Kash

Jamie goes nuclear by messing with the lawnmower on the way to the ring, meaning the fight is on in a hurry. Kash takes Psicosis into the corner to start and Noble comes in to run him down with an elbow to the face. Super Crazy gets knocked off the apron so Noble can choke away behind the referee’s back. The camel clutch goes on with Noble pulling at the face before Psicosis dropkicks him out of the air. The hot tag brings in Crazy and house is cleaned with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Kash. Noble hits a neckbreaker and Kash goes up top but Crazy super Spanish Flys him down for the pin.

Rating: C. This was one of those matches you usually only see right before a major pay per view, with the cruiserweights getting to go in there and getting to do their stuff for a few minutes. The good thing is that these people are talented enough to make it work because they can do this kind of stuff in their sleep. Perfectly fine match and a completely acceptable use of TV time.

Booker looks for Sharmell by following a trail of worms.

Post break, Booker follows Sharmell’s screams (and the worms) and finds….Sharmell on a box and screaming a lot because she’s scared of the worms. Boogeyman is far down the hall and laughs a lot. Please get to the end of this already.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio

Non-title. Angle drives him into the corner to start and then takes him down by the arm. The headlock on the mat keeps Rey in trouble but he gets in a drop toehold into the ropes. Angle gets away from the 619 attempt though and things reset. A headscissors into the corner and another one to the floor have Angle in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Angle sending him hard into the corner to band up the ribs and we hit the waistlock. The bodyscissors goes on but Rey fights up, only to get snapped over in an overhead belly to belly for two. The reverse chinlock with a knee in Rey’s back goes on but Rey fights up again and hits a sitout bulldog. A basement dropkick gets two and a springboard seated senton gets the same. Rey misses a charge into the corner though and it’s a release German suplex to send him flying. There go the straps but the ankle lock is countered into a 619, which is countered into an ankle lock for the tap.

Rating: B. You have to give the fans some kind of an important match on the show and putting two of the best ever out there is a good way to go. They had a fair amount of rest holds and stuff where they could lay around here and that’s not a bad thing. The good side here is the fact that Angle and Mysterio are still very great, even when they’re not at full gear. Nice main event and easily the best thing on the show.

Post match here’s Orton for the RKO to Rey as Angle looks on. Orton says Angle is getting the same thing on Sunday so Angle charges back in. The RKO is countered into an Angle Slam and the ankle lock to make Orton tap to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show is always a weird one as you can only get so much out of a Smackdown where they are trying to get to Wrestlemania safely. The main event is good as you would expect, but the rest is a bunch of quick appearances from people who are going to be at Wrestlemania. It isn’t much to see, but that is hardly a surprise this time around.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6