ECW on TNN Date: July 28, 2000
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner
Last week was a fairly stand alone show so hopefully things pick up this week. We’re months away from the next pay per view and that means it’s up to TV to carry things for a good while. After the last few months, I really don’t have a ton of confidence in ECW’s ability to do that but maybe I’ll be surprised. Let’s get to it.
TV Title: Rhino vs. Chilly Willy
Rhino is defending and this is joined in progress with Willy sending him into a chair for a near fall. The Gore and a piledriver put Willy away quick.
Post match Sandman saves Willy from going through a table and spears Rhino through it instead. Is there a reason this feud seems to be continuing?
Opening sequence.
Joey and Joel do their intro from the booth as Billy Corgan (yes that Billy Corgan) is in the ring with an original song about ECW. Cue Lou E. Dangerously with the Network to cut him off before Billy can start though. Various Smashing Pumpkins insults result in Lou taking a guitar to the head. Network runs in, Dreamer and Lynn make the save. Dreamer issues a challenges for a falls count anywhere tag later tonight.
Tajiri vs. Psicosis
Actually hang on as the FBI jumps Tajiri so we have a replacement.
Little Guido vs. Psicosis
Guido sunsets in for two at the bell but a big dive takes the Italians down. Back in and Psicosis is sent shoulder first into the post with Guido ramming it into the post over and over. Guido punches him down for two and hits a middle rope seated dropkick (that’s a new one) for two. Sal gets in a running splash against the barricade to set up a Sicilian crab, only to have Tajiri come in with a kick to the head. The guillotine legdrop puts Guido away.
Rating: C. These cruiserweight matches are fine but it would be nice if they went somewhere. It’s almost like they should be fighting for the TV Title instead of having both singles titles stuck in the main event scene. The match was fun and all and the ending sets up something else, but it would have been nice to have this go somewhere instead of being a one off match/nothing feud.
Rhino yells about various good guys.
We look at Kid Kash beating EZ Money on Hardcore TV.
Dawn Marie takes Joel’s place and mugs for the camera a lot.
We look at Carl Ouellet (Remember him?) putting Francine through a table and getting beaten up by Justin Credible as a result.
Rob Van Dam thinks the Van Terminator is pretty awesome. He’s pretty cool in general actually.
Blue Boy and Jasmine St. Clair were on Hardcore TV with Blue E. Dangerously by their side. Jazz came out and powerbombed Jasmine out of her dress.
Steve Corino/Scotty Anton vs. Jerry Lynn/Tommy Dreamer
Falls count anywhere. It’s a brawl to start with Anton getting Dreamer in an early Clapper with Jerry making a save. Lynn dives onto Corino and Victory and the four people actually in the match head into the crowd. Corino is bleeding badly (well duh) and here’s Dreamer with a ladder. Dreamer takes Anton back inside but gets sent face first into the top of the ladder for his efforts.
The ladder is bridged between two chairs and Lynn crashes his way through it to put the Network in control. The good guys snap after being forced to do the Clap but the referee gets bumped. Dreamer and Lynn use each others’ finishers and a second referee comes out to count two with Jack Victory decking the second referee. Cue Billy Corgan to lay out Jack and count the pin.
Rating: C. Standard overly violent ECW main event here with the celebrity cameo near the end for a bit of a twist. Anton is still the worst main event guy in a long time, which is covering a lot of ground in a company with Justin Credible around. It would be nice if these matches meant something instead of just more mindless brawling but that’s not going to happen.
Overall Rating: C-. I’m getting very bored by this promotion and it’s no surprise that they’re in a lot of trouble at the moment. There’s just no creativity in what they’re doing and it’s the same stuff over and over again with the same brawling week to week.This week ECW won and odds are next week the Network wins and so on and so forth because that’s how ECW works.
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ECW on TNN Date: June 16, 2000
Location: Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Joel Gertner, Joey Styles
We’re a month away from Heat Wave and a few matches have already been announced. That being said, it would be nice if we actually had something other than “ECW vs. Network brawl to end the show.” It doesn’t have to be anything great but they need to mix things up a little bit as things are really getting repetitive around here. Let’s get to it.
Sandman has been attacked and put in an ambulance.
Opening sequence.
Joey and Joel are cut off by Cyrus before Joel can get to his punchline about food. Cyrus wants to talk to Gertner but it takes a bit to get past the ECW/GERTNER chants. The problem is Gertner’s looks are killing the ratings so it’s time to get rid of him. Joel is tired of dealing with Cyrus using him to get over so it’s time to fight. Cyrus says there used to be a kid in his school that reminds him of Joel. Cyrus: “Do you know what I used to do to him?” Joel: “You used to suck his *#&$!” That earns Joel a slap to the face so he goes on a rant about how no one is here to see Cyrus so get to the point already.
The threat of being fired makes Joel apologize, but he means sorry that he has to take a blood test because Cyrus spat in his eye. Joel is ready to fight but Rhino runs in and Gores him. The usual suspects come in for the big brawl. We get the Van Dam vs. Anton showdown and you can hear people canceling their pay per view buys from here. This ate up the first fifteen minutes of the show after closing last week’s show. Well done.
Justin Credible gets in an argument with Rhino but Cyrus breaks things up.
Cyrus tells the medics that Gertner has an object lodged in his anus.
EZ Money vs. Kid Kash
Joined in progress as they speed things up early on. A headscissors from Kash gives us a stalemate but Money’s (who has bills hanging from his trunks) partner Chris Hamrick offers a distraction. Kash sends Money outside for a big flip dive and we take a break. Back (Joey: “On the Deliverance Channel.”) with Money hitting a modified piledriver, allowing Hamrick to add a guillotine legdrop. Kash’s moonsault press is countered into something like a reverse Razor’s Edge. A pinfall reversal sequence goes nowhere (likely because the pinfalls were reversed) and Kash hits a quick Moneymaker for the pin.
Rating: C. More cruiserweight style stuff here with Kash exchanging hurricanranas for actual wrestling or high flying skills. A win in a glorified handicap match makes Kash look good and that’s the best thing they can do when they’re trying to build up a new star. Not a good match or anything but it accomplished a goal, which is all it needed to do.
Kash gets beaten down until New Jack makes the save and does his usual insane stuff. He even hits Hamrick with an NES and uses a staple gun on Money for some blood. This goes on for a long time as we’re over halfway through the show. I get that the fans love New Jack and everything, but we’re half an hour in and we’ve seen an announcer get beaten down, a brawl we’ve seen over and over and an average match followed by a New Jack beatdown. If that’s the best they can do, maybe the show should be canceled.
Sinister Minister and his congregation (including Mikey Whipwreck, Balls Mahoney and a bunch of plants) rail against censorship. The Prodigette plays Monica Lewinsky underneath the podium and everyone starts laughing.
Credible and Rhino argue again with the same conclusion.
The Network wishes Jerry Lynn luck but he brushes them off. Joey, being an announcer, thinks this means a lot more than it seems. To be fair he’s probably right.
ECW World Title: Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible
Justin is defending. They chop it out to start with Justin getting the better of it but being sent outside for a whip into the barricade. The fight heads into the crowd and thankfully there’s a camera to see them fighting in an open space. I can’t stand it when the brawl is really just their heads moving through the crowd. Lynn wins a slugout over the bloody champion and drives his knuckles into the cut.
They get back in with Francine passing in a chair for a delayed dropkick in the corner. A jumping knee to the head (he did used to be part of the Kliq) and we hit the chinlock. The fans want tables because New Jack and these two brawling in the crowd isn’t enough violence. Jerry fights up and they chop it out with Lynn getting the better of it this time and sending Justin outside for a big dive. A super hurricanrana through a table satiates the fans’ blood lust for a bit. The possibly ruined knees can be forgiven of course.
That’s only good for two on the champ though so Lynn sets up another table in the corner. Francine throws in a chair but the DDT only gets two. The fans yell about wanting the table but have to settle for Jazz throwing Francine inside. Jazz’s X-Factor gets two on Justin and here’s the Network to make this even messier. That’s Incredible gets two on Jerry as the Network takes Francine to the back.
The referee gets bumped (LIKE IT MATTERS) so there’s no count off the cradle piledriver. Rhino comes in and Gores Lynn through the table though it’s not clear who it was meant for. Either way it’s enough for…..I think a pin as the video is sent into the corner while an Arena Football on TNN ad covers up most of the screen. Seriously.
Rating: D+. I know it’s the ECW style but these way over the top matches full of interference and weapons are getting ridiculous. Even worse though, we STILL haven’t advanced anything as it’s still not clear if Lynn is Network or not. I’ve seen worse matches but they should be able to go more than a minute straight without some kind of shenanigans.
Overall Rating: D. For DO SOMETHING ALREADY! Heat Wave is getting closer and ECW clearly has no idea hot to actually build to a pay per view. I’m barely even sure what matches are taking place on the show as ECW has done almost nothing to promote it so far. Instead it’s all about fighting TNN and Heyman airing his grievances on TV every single week. The show wasn’t the worst but my patience is wearing thin with this promotion.
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ECW on TNN Date: June 2, 2000
Location: Seagate Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Joel Gertner, Joey Styles
Things are still moving at a slow pace as we have Tommy Dreamer and Raven in their weird alliance against Justin Credible and Sandman wanting revenge on Rhino over attacking his wife. That’s in addition to ECW vs. the Network in the top (I think?) feud. That sounds like enough to have them overflowing with content but somehow it’s a very slow process. Let’s get to it.
Joey and Joel are in the ring to start and Raven is sitting in the corner. After some TNN insults, Joel doesn’t have a dirty rhyme tonight. Joey tells him to make something up, likely because the fans sounded like they were about to riot. He makes one up on the spot that ends with saying how tight the women in Toledo are. You can fill in the details yourself.
Off to Raven, who is sick of Justin Credible stealing everything from him. The other day Justin called him and quoted Keep on Rocking in the Free World, which was enough to make Raven realize Justin could never be him. Cue Justin and Francine, both of whom Raven calls a rather mean name.
The fight is on with Raven getting the better of it until a Francine distraction lets Justin swing the Singapore cane. Tommy Dreamer makes a better save attempt this week as Justin bails, leaving Scotty Anton to sneak in and beat on Raven. The referee of all people yells at Cyrus, only to get beaten down by Anton. Scotty puts the referee in a Sharpshooter and it’s time for THE CLAP!
Opening sequence.
Guido is working out when Tony Mamaluke (from ECW’s Mamalukes’ mini stable) makes his debut. That makes Guido mad because Tony is a fake Italian so he has an idea.
Kid Kash vs. Grimes
The much smaller Kash starts with a headscissors but gets run over by a standing splash. Grimes goes with the power by loading up a reverse Razor’s Edge but flipping forward into something like a sitout powerslam. Cool move actually. Back up and Kash tries to climb onto Grimes’ shoulders for a faceplant but it’s more like a slap to the back of his head.
Another headscissors has Grimes in trouble and Kash knocks him outside for a big running springboard flip dive. Back in and Kash dives into a cutter, followed by a Vader Bomb into a low blow. Kash’s hurricanrana is countered into a flapjack, only to have him grab a rolling victory roll for the pin on Grimes and a big upset.
Rating: D+. Kash is a bunch of spots and little more as he rarely did anything aside from headscissors and hurricanranas. The victory roll ending made sense as it’s not like he can hit a piledriver on someone the size of Grimes. If nothing else it was nice to see Grimes doing something other than fighting New Jack again and again.
We get the same somber Sandman vs. Rhino video from last week.
Johnny Swinger is posing in front of a fan. Swinger: “See? My biggest fan is blowing me.” The Musketeer comes in and tries to fight the fan due to reasons of bad comedy. Prodigy and the Prodigette get doused in Swinger’s oil.
Tony Mamaluke vs. Mikey Whipwreck
Tony tries to take him to the mat early on but gets launched into the air for a faceplant. Guido offers a distraction so Tony can take it outside, only to try a moonsault and LAND ON THE BACK OF HIS NECK ON THE BARRICADE. That’s one of the scariest bumps I’ve ever seen but Mikey takes him back inside for a spinning Pedigree for the fast pin.
Mikey gives an attacking Guido the Whippersnapper post match. Big Sal comes in before fire can be used but gets powder in his eyes. The blind Sal lays out Marinara with a side slam and gorilla press toss into the crowd.
Post break Sinister Minister calls Big Sal a glutton for punishment. Every time he comes near Mikey, Sal is set on fire. If there’s one thing Minister won’t accept, it’s stupidity. Therefore, the next time Sal comes near him, Sal will learn the meaning of spontaneous combustion. Mikey says no way so Minister calls him a liar and lights his pants on fire. Minister laughs as Mikey cries about it burning his flesh.
We get a big rant from Paul Heyman about how TNN is killing them because they don’t want ECW around. Then they’re going to bring in the WWF and give Vince McMahon $100 million. Heyman says this is a shoot as he goes on about how much he hates this network for everything they’ve done wrong. He begs TNN to throw them off the air and tells them to spend that money on attorneys because the war has just begun. Last week Gertner said a lot of the same things on commentary.This was muted on the live broadcast but the Network has the full thing.
Dawn Marie video.
Joel suggests that the TNN executives smuggle young farm animals across state lines for sexual gratification. Heyman, off screen: “ARE YOU READY TO THROW US OFF THE AIR PIG F*$&%*#?” Again, this was muted live as you might expect.
TV Title: Rhino vs. Sandman
Rhino is defending and has Steve Corino in his corner. During Sandman’s three minute entrance, Gertner suggests that Sandman wants to beat Rhino for making Sandman’s wife all whiny because she’s been in the hospital so much lately. Cue Dusty Rhodes to cancel Corino out by bullroping himself to Steve. Rhino pounds Sandman down fast but gets knocked to the floor to start the brawl.
Sandman throws in a table and loads it up in the corner before taking Rhino down with a hurricanrana. A piledriver onto the folded table gets no cover as Sandman has to take care of Corino (freed with some help from Jack Victory). Everyone comes in and I’m going to assume the match was thrown out somewhere in there. Not enough to rate but what were you expecting?
Tajiri runs out for the save and gets beaten down by an invading Scotty Anton. Van Dam comes in for the real save as Jerry Lynn watches to end the show.
Overall Rating: D. Interesting story/brawl, midcard match, midcard match, pants on fire, big wild brawl to end the show. Like I said earlier, it’s taking WAY too long to get anywhere with their big stories and it’s getting annoying trying. The real war with Heyman vs. the network is more interesting but at the same time it’s really hard to care when the wrestling is so all over the place and the stories move so slowly. It’s still entertaining enough but they need to do something before they’re thrown off the air.
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Super Crazy got his start all the way back in 1988 when he was fourteen. He would actually get a spot on Raw on November 3, 1997 as Super Loco.
Light Heavyweight Title Tournament First Round: Super Loco vs. Aguila
Aguila (Essa Rios) fires off some kicks in the corner and a springboard armdrag to start but walks into a spinwheel kick to the face. A moonsault into another armdrag puts Loco down and another flippy armdrag drops Loco. Super gets caught up in the ropes and winds up going face first into the barricade. Aguila nails a huge flip dive to the floor but gets caught with a springboard spinwheel kick to the face.
Loco botches another springboard so he clotheslines Aguila off the top rope instead. He can’t quite get Aguila up in a surfboard and has to settle for a choke instead. A backdrop puts Aguila on the floor and a cartwheel into a dive drops him again. Back in and Loco totally misses a corkscrew dive, allowing Aguila to dropkick him to the floor, followed by a big moonsault press. Aguila hits a spinning top rope splash for the pin to advance.
Rating: C+. The high spots were great and this stuff didn’t happen in WWF at this point. However, the botches really brought this down and Loco looked totally off his game here. Aguila did some great high spots but they were very flippy in nature instead of making a lot of contact.
We’ll pick things up in ECW with the feud that made Crazy’s career. From Guilty As Charged 1999.
Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Super Crazy
Both guys are new to the company. These two fought roughly 90,000 times and this is one of the first. Super Crazy is a high flying luchador and Tajiri is a hard striking wrestler from Japan. He’s clean shaven here but would eventually grow a beard and become one of ECW’s better workers. This is the kind of a match that ECW needed to fill out their pay per view cards and have exciting, non-hardcore matches. Feeling out process to start and Crazy won’t throw a closed fist. We get a very fast paced sequence with both guys taking the other to the mat for arm trap cradles for two each.
A tornado DDT drops Tajiri but he comes back with some very hard kicks to the head to take over. Back up and they trade chops to the chest before Tajiri kicks the knee out. Off to a leg bar on Crazy but he gets to the ropes and bails to the floor. That’s fine with Tajiri who nails a HUGE Asai moonsault. They fight to the apron and Tajiri hooks the Tarantula (a Boston crab over the ropes) but as always it doesn’t last long.
Crazy comes back with a springboard missile dropkick to send Tajiri to the floor followed by a HUGE flip dive to keep Crazy in control. A moonsault off the barricade crushes Tajiri before sending him back inside for a surfboard. Crazy keeps the hold on and bends Tajiri back into a dragon sleeper with the legs still bent back for a PAINFUL looking hold. Back up and Tajiri dropkicks the knee out and hits a huge dive to the floor (with Crazy nice enough to stand there with his arms open so Tajiri could hit him).
Tajiri slowly gets up first and kicks Crazy in the head. Back inside and a spinwheel kick to the face gets two for Tajiri but he comes back with a majistral cradle for two but Tajiri comes back with one of his own for the same. Crazy flips out of a German suplex attempt and hits a moonsault press for two. Tajiri heads outside again and another dive takes him down. Back in and a missile dropkick puts Tajiri down but he rolls through a tornado DDT.
Tajiri gets caught in a reverse tornado DDT but is able to counter a powerbomb into a DDT of his own. Tajiri blocks a moonsault by raising his boots before nailing a sunset bomb for two. Back up and Crazy hits a sitout powerbomb for another two so Tajiri does the same to him. As Crazy is kicking out though, Tajiri keeps his legs around Crazy’s arms and rolls him around the ring. They slug it out until Tajiri hooks a dragon suplex (full nelson suplex) for the pin.
Rating: B+. Yes it was a spot fest, but here’s the difference between this and the other spot fests that I’ve complained about so far: this was all them. There wasn’t a table and chair being brought in every five minutes and there weren’t a bunch of spots that had almost no effect at all. It was two guys doing whatever they could think of with just their bodies and the ring (plus the occasional barricade) to beat each other. Also it was only about twelve minutes instead of double that, meaning it didn’t overstay its welcome. This was very entertaining stuff and the best match ECW has had in awhile.
Again at Living Dangerously 1999.
Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri
Tajiri is now from Tokyo. Joey bills this as the final match in the feud with the winner of this match winning the whole thing. Tajiri grabs an armbar before cartwheeling into a monkey flip but Crazy lands on his feet. A standing hurricanrana gets two for Tajiri before they trade fast armdrags and forward flips to another standoff. The fans give them a standing ovation as things start up again.
Tajiri nails his handspring elbow but gets chopped down. Crazy gets launched over the top onto the ramp before Tajiri hits an even bigger flip dive over the top to take Crazy down. An Asai moonsault plants Crazy again but Super comes back with another moonsault onto the ramp. Tajiri counters something Crazy was setting up on the ramp with a hurricanrana but Crazy clotheslines both of them back into the ring. Back in and Crazy hits his triple moonsaults (one from each rope) for two.
A hard kick to the rips drops Tajiri again and a springboard Lionsault gets two more. Yet another moonsault is countered by some knees to the ribs and Tajiri kicks his head off. A baseball slide to the face with Crazy in the Tree of Woe gets two more and a dropkick to the head gets two on Crazy. Back up and Crazy slips off the ropes when trying a springboard. Tajiri gets another near fall off a German suplex but Crazy kicks him low and nails a sitout powerbomb for two.
Another attempt at a powerbomb is countered by what appeared to be a hurricanrana from Tajiri but they just fall down instead. It didn’t look like a botch but it didn’t work right. Back up and Tajiri tries a hurricanrana but Crazy rolls through for the pin out of nowhere. I believe that was supposed to be the finish before they messed up so they just redid it.
Rating: B-. Good fast paced opener here but it’s a far cry from what they did last time. The ending doesn’t do much good for this one either as it felt like we were seeing a second take which really brought things down. The problem here was they had to live up to what they had done before and it just wasn’t happening tonight. Still though, solid opener.
Here’s the match that ECW did over and over again because they were awesome.
Little Guido vs. Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri
This would become a staple of ECW shows for a long time. Tajiri doesn’t have anyone in his corner here. The fans are mostly behind Crazy, who now has Mexican flag inspired attire. Feeling out process to start until Crazy hits a top rope cross body on Guido for two. Tajiri kicks both of them down and goes after Crazy’s knee to take over. Guido gets sent to the ramp, allowing Tajiri to hook a headscissors on Crazy. Super comes back with a springboard missile dropkick but Guido comes in with a springboard cross body for of his own.
Guido and Tajiri make a short lived deal to work on Crazy but Tajiri quickly turns on Guido with a dropkick to the face. More kicks to the legs send Guido to the floor and Crazy puts him in the front row. Crazy dives over the barricade to take him down but Tajiri takes both of them down with a huge Asai moonsault. Sal is in the ring and crushes the non-Italians. Guido nails a middle rope Fameasser to Tajiri and covers Crazy for two.
Tajiri grabs a German suplex for two of his own on Guido before they both head to the floor again. Guido gets dropped ribs first onto the barricade and Tajiri takes him back into the crowd. This time it’s Crazy hitting a huge top rope Asai moonsault over the barricade to take both guys down again. Sal misses a charge and flies through a table to take him out for awhile. Back in and Tajiri puts Crazy in the Tarantula, leaving Crazy wide open for a hard dropkick to the face from Guido.
Crazy pops right back up and puts Tajiri in a surfboard with a dragon sleeper added in. He switches it up to a camel clutch and Guido adds on a Sicilian crab at the same time. Somehow Tajiri doesn’t give up so the hold is broken. Guido hits a quick Tomikaze for two on Crazy but Tajiri puts Guido in the Tree of Woe. A hard baseball slide to the face followed by a top rope moonsault from Crazy is enough to eliminate Guido.
It’s down to Tajiri vs. Crazy as soon as the referee is able to roll the unconscious Guido to the floor. Crazy kicks him down and nails a springboard moonsault for two before hammering away in the corner. The fans are nice enough to count to ten in Spanish as he fires in the right hands.
Tajiri comes right back with the handspring elbow, only to have Crazy nail a quick sitout powerbomb. The fans chant Super Loco but Tajiri counters another powerbomb into a spinning DDT. Crazy is back up first though and nails a reverse tornado DDT for no cover. Instead he loads up the three moonsaults but Tajiri gets his knees up to block the second one. A hard kick to Crazy’s head sets up a brainbuster for the pin.
Rating: B-. This was your usual spotfest but well done. There’s nothing wrong with sending three good high fliers out there to fire up the crowd for awhile. It’s not a great match or anything and the first Crazy vs. Tajiri match was more entertaining, but this was a very fun match and a much better choice than a lot of the nonsense ECW puts on pay per view at times. I wouldn’t mind if Tajiri and Crazy got some higher profile matches after this. Guido is a comedy character and shouldn’t be elevated.
We’ll change things up a bit on ECW on TNN, November 19, 1999.
Jerry Lynn vs. Super Crazy
Nice to them them following up on last week’s angle. The Baldies are waiting for New Jack at the subway. The other Baldies are in a loser leaves ECW match tonight against Rotten and Mahoney. Back to the actual match at hand as Jerry starts fast and sends Crazy to the floor. A big dive takes Crazy out and they head back inside. Crazy tries a moonsault out of the corner ala Daniel Bryan but he doesn’t quite clear Lynn. A backbreaker gets two on Lynn who still has bad ribs.
A powerbomb gets the same but the American hits a German on the Mexican for two. Lynn hits a tornado DDT out of the corner for two and Crazy is in trouble. Jerry goes up but gets shoved off the top and down through a table, which gets two back in the ring. Triple moonsaults get two as Lynn’s ribs are in big trouble. Piledriver gets two as does a brainbuster. Corino runs in with Tajiri and the referee takes some Mist. Tajiri hits a brainbuster on Crazy to put both guys down. Lynn rolls over and gets the pin on Crazy.
Rating: C+. For some reason I liked this. It was fast paced and while the ending was kind of out of nowhere, it fits with the story from last week which is a big improvement over a lot of the stuff you get on here. These guys worked well together but then again I like Lynn a lot which has a lot to do with it.
Let’s combine the matches at Guilty As Charged 2000.
Jerry Lynn/Little Guido vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri/Super Crazy
Lynn isn’t really a surprise as Joey mentioned him as potentially being in league with Tajiri before the match. This would be another match where Lynn is wasted for various reasons, including the match having no point because the idea was to have Crazy vs. Tajiri and now they’re partners for no apparent reason. Lynn’s ribs have finally healed.
It’s Crazy vs. Lynn to get things going and they trade some wristlocks until Lynn takes him down with a flying snapmare. They flip around a bit until Lynn hits a cross body, only to have them trade armdrags to a standoff. After a handshake they trade even more flips and it’s off to Tajiri vs. Guido. Tajiri wants Guido and gets slapped in the face for his efforts, sending him down to the mat. Guido’s powerbomb is countered and Tajiri slaps him in the face, followed by the handspring elbow to take over.
A hard kick to Guido’s face is followed by an even harder chop to his chest but he grabs Tajiri’s arm with the Fujiwara armbar. Guido lets go and it’s back to Lynn who stays on Tajiri’s arm before they screw up a spot in the corner. Tajiri gets in a shot to the head and puts on the Tarantula but Guido makes the save. Crazy comes in and gets two off a German suplex to Guido.
Everyone is sent to the floor and we unleash the dives before Guido throws Crazy into the crowd. Back inside and Lynn gets caught in the Tree of Woe for a baseball slide from Tajiri. Crazy has climbed into the balcony for a big dive onto Guido. Somehow Guido is back on the apron first as Tajiri hammers away on Lynn. A sunset flip out of the corner gets two for Jerry and they trade hurricanranas. Lynn gets two off a German suplex but Tajiri does the exact same thing.
Crazy and Guido come in without tags and Crazy’s team hammers away in the corner, only to get powerbombed down for two each. Guido and Lynn both hit tornado DDTs but Tajiri rolls to the floor. Crazy powerbombs Guido down and hits a springboard moonsault for two. Tajiri sprays green mist in Lynn’s eyes and Crazy DDTs him for two. Crazy and Tajiri hit a double powerbomb for two more on Jerry but Guido breaks up a cover. Guido then lays out Lynn for no apparent reason and Tajiri kicks Crazy for a more apparent reason. Tajiri hits the brainbuster on Lynn for a three count.
Rating: D+. So what was the point of this again? The idea was Tajiri was working with Lynn all along, but it turned out to be a way for Tajiri to beat up Lynn? Corino and company certainly are lucky that Heyman selected Lynn as the partner. Jerry’s fall through the roster continues and it’s rather sad to see.
Rob Van Dam had to vacate the TV Title due to a broken ankle in early 2000 so a tournament was held. Super Crazy made the semi-finals at Living Dangerously 2000.
TV Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Little Guido vs. Super Crazy
The winner faces Rhino for the title. Guido takes him down to start and hits a running dropkick to the head for two. Crazy heads outside and sends Guido and Sal into the crowd. A HUGE Asai moonsault takes down both Italians but Crazy and Guido are quickly back inside. Crazy hits a sunset bomb out of the corner and they’re quickly back outside again. Guido puts on the Fujiwara armbar outside before bringing a chair inside.
Crazy kicks it out of his hands and nails Guido in the head with the chair a few times. There are the ten punches in the corner to the busted open Guido and the invading Sal gets the same. Guido kicks Crazy in the face and Sal takes his belt off to whip Crazy’s back. Sal heads to the floor as Crazy hits a running DDT for two but Guido comes back with a Fameasser.
We get a table thrown in but Guido misses an elbow off of Sal’s shoulders and crashes through the table. Crazy hurricanranas Sal to the floor and grabs a sitout powerbomb to drive Guido onto the broken table. A Lionsault gets a very close two that Joey saw as three, followed by a brainbuster for the pin to advance.
Rating: D+. This was the shortened version of their usual match but with Sal and weapons involved. Unfortunately the match also brought up the usual problems of a tournament: there was no way Guido was going to face Rhino for the title in a heel vs. heel match. The weapons really didn’t need to exist here and brought down what could have been a more entertaining match.
And the finals from later that night.
TV Title: Rhino vs. Super Crazy
The title is vacant coming in and Cyrus, Corino and Victory are at ringside. Crazy hits a springboard dropkick and sends Rhino to the floor for a big flip dive. Back in and Rhino rams him into the buckle over and over but Crazy drops him out to the floor. The fans want Sandman as Crazy dives over the top again to put Rhino down. The monster sends him into the crowd and sets up a table on the floor.
Back in and Rhino launches him over the top and through the table for two back inside. A big powerbomb gets the same and we’ve got another table in the ring. Rhino Gores the table by mistake and Crazy has his opening. Crazy gets two off a high cross body but gets run over by a clothesline. Another powerbomb is countered into a DDT and Crazy hits two moonsaults in a row but Rhino pulls the referee in the way of the third.
Tajiri comes in with the green mist to blind Crazy and a double kick to the head puts him down again. Jack Victory hands in another table as Tajiri kicks Crazy in the head, followed by a Gore in the corner from Rhino. Cue Rob Van Dam with one good leg on the back of his friend Scotty Anton (Scotty Riggs from WCW). Scotty goes after Tajiri as Rob breaks his crutch over Rhino’s back and puts him through the table. Crazy hits a top rope moonsault for the pin and the title.
Rating: D+. It was another mess with the weapons and interference being the focus of the entire thing. I’ll give them points for going with someone new as a champion though as Crazy has more than earned a promotion like this. Rhino is clearly the next monster star but it was nice to see someone else get their chance.
One more ECW PPV match at Guilty As Charged 2001.
FBI vs. Unholy Alliance vs. Super Crazy/Kid Kash
Winner gets a Tag Team Title match at some point in the future. The difference here is there are three people in the ring at the same time though it’s still elimination rules. Kash, Mamaluke and Mikey get things going. Mikey slaps hands and laughs a lot before letting the other guys fight. Kash goes to the apron for a springboard but slips and mostly falls off the ropes. He makes up for it with a quick suplex to Whipwreck for two and it’s a three way standoff.
A triple tag brings in Guido vs. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy as ECW somehow manages to get this matchup on another pay per view. Tajiri cleans house with kicks to the head but has to roll out of Guido’s Fujiwara’s armbar. Everything breaks down and the Alliance cleans house with kicks to the head. Super Crazy puts Guido in a surfboard with a choke, Mikey puts Mamaluke in a choke on the mat and Tajiri puts Kash in the Tarantula at the same time for a cool visual.
Crazy lets go to save his partner but the Italians prevent him from diving on the Alliance. Kid helps send the Italians to the floor for a huge Asai Moonsault from Crazy, followed by an even bigger flip dive from Kash. Back inside and Kash hurricanranas Mikey before Crazy misses a dive over the top rope and hits the barricade. Big Sal comes in and splashes Kash, allowing Mamaluke to score the elimination.
On the floor, Tajiri drops Guido ribs first on the barricade as Mikey and Mamaluke head into the crowd. Back in and the Alliance double teams Tony with Mikey pulling Mamaluke’s head back for a big kick from Tajiri. Guido gets thrown off the top but Sal helps out his friends to take over. Mamaluke hits a reverse tornado DDT on Mikey and Guido adds the middle rope Fameasser for two.
Guido spits at Tajiri and the FBI cranks on both of Mikey’s legs. Back up and Mikey hits a Whippersnapper out of nowhere to drop Tony and there’s the hot tag to Tajiri. Guido can’t hit the Kiss of Death and gets caught in an inverted Gory Special. The Italians are both dropped face first onto chairs in the corner for two. Mikey’s Whippersnapper is countered and he gets caught in a double Fujiwara armbar, only to have Tajiri make a save. A double tiger suplex gives the Alliance the pin and the title shot.
Rating: C. Nice match here but it really didn’t need to be a three way. Tajiri and Whipwreck are the best team out there and the fans cared about them, which pretty much makes them by far the best choice for the title shot. It’s not a classic or anything but it did exactly what it was supposed to do.
Crazy would appear at the first ROH show and challenge for the IWA Intercontinental Title from Puerto Rico. From the Era of Honor Begins on February 23, 2002.
IWA Intercontinental Title: Super Crazy vs. Eddie Guerrero
Eddie is freshly off being fired from WWF and the title is vacant coming in. It’s so strange to see them in what looks like a high school gym. Crazy offers a handshake but gets slapped in the face for his efforts. A quick snapmare puts Crazy down and he does the spinning eye rake with the boot. They hit the mat with Eddie holding a headlock until Crazy suplexes him down to escape.
Guerrero wins a slugout and gets two off his own suplex. We hit the chinlock for a few moments before Eddie gets caught in an armdrag. Crazy goes up and dives down with another armdrag before hammering away in the corner. They head outside with Eddie hammering away and planting him with a brainbuster.
The slingshot hilo gets two back inside and Eddie stomps away. Crazy rolls out of a sunset flip and dropkicks Eddie in the back of the head for two. A missile dropkick gets the same but Eddie comes back with a top rope hurricanrana for a near fall of his own. Back up and a spinwheel kick drops Eddie but he plants Crazy with a powerbomb. Three Amigos set up the frog splash but Crazy rolls away and grabs a small package for the pin and the title.
Rating: C+. Solid back and forth match here with both guys hitting most of their big spots. This was a weird time for wrestling as companies like ROH and TNA weren’t factors so this was a big drop for Eddie. It was nice to see him put the younger guy over though and that’s matters here.
Time for the TNA appearance. From Weekly PPV #34 on March 5, 2003.
Super Crazy vs. Jerry Lynn
Crazy has Konnan in his corner. Lynn armdrags him into the ropes to start but Crazy armdrags him right back and flips into a crucifix for two. They trade some flips in the corner followed by armdrags for the standoff and applause. Crazy nails a quick clothesline but his powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana to the floor. Lynn dropkicks him off the apron and grabs another hurricanrana off the apron for good measure.
Back in and Crazy kicks him in the head but charges into an elbow to the jaw. Lynn sends him into the buckle before they head outside for a chase. Crazy gets in first and nails his spinwheel kick to knock Jerry back outside. A spinning springboard moonsault drops Lynn again and Konnan is very pleased.
They go inside again for a springboard Lionsault for two but Lynn comes back with a TKO for the same. Konnan distracts Jerry to break up the cradle piledriver, allowing Crazy to plant him for two. A running tornado DDT and Batista Bomb get the same for Crazy. He loads up a top rope hurricanrana but Jerry rolls through for the pin.
Rating: C+. Another decent match here with Crazy flying around but in this case he was just there to make Lynn look good. Konnan wasn’t bad in the manager roll as the fans know him well enough to care and he has the charisma to do whatever he needs. Good match here as Crazy was his usual high flying self.
It was off to WWE now, starting at One Night Stand with an old standard.
Tajiri vs. Super Crazy vs. Little Guido
This is under elimination rules. The whole FBI comes out here, as in 5-6 guys with maybe 2 Italians in there. The innuendo joke gets old fast. These were matches that happened a lot back in the day and they were always International Three Way Dances, as in one guy is from each country. Crazy was a guy that I never was sure if I liked him or not. Foley throws out a little known fact that he and Smothers won tag titles in Japan.
This was ECW’s answer to the luchadores that were stolen by WCW. Joey is in his element here with a bunch of move names as Foley says he can’t keep up with Joey so he’s mostly on his own here. SICK dropkick to a seated Guido from Crazy. These guys are moving like insanity out there (can’t say Crazy is moving like crazy out there).
They hit the crowd and Crazy goes to the balcony and hits an AMAZING moonsault into the crowd before going back into the ring and taking the Tarantula. That moonsault really was amazing and Joey chanting DIOS MIO was hilarious. We haven’t had an American wrestler in a match yet.
There’s the FBI in there and since they have the combined IQ of yogurt, Mikey Whipwreck, Tajiri’s tag partner, comes in and hits the Whippersnapper (second rope Stunner which yes he used before Austin) so Tajiri gets the easy pin to get us down to the Japanese Buzzsaw vs. the Crazy Mexican wrestler. After some more Mikey shenanigans, a top rope moonsault ends this for Crazy.
Rating: C+. Other than the dive this was a total mess. It wasn’t terrible at all but compared to the stuff WCW would pull out, this really wasn’t that great. The dive was indeed awesome though and definitely makes the match. At the end of the day though, you have to have this match at an ECW show.
Crazy got a job out of this performance and would appear at Great American Bash 2005.
Mexicools vs. BWO
Oh where do I begin. Ok so the Mexicools are Juvy, Psicosis and Super Crazy as really stereotypocal Mexicans (ride lawnmowers, carry rakes etc). The BWO is here because at One Night Stand, JBL legitimately beat up Blue Meanie. WWE gave Meanie a job for like two months so he didn’t sue them. This is their only match of note. The BWO comes out on big wheels for absolutely no apparent reason. American Chopper joke maybe?
Juvy vs. Nova starts us off. Things break down and the BWO takes over. Psicosis finally hits a corkscrew plancha to take over on Nova. Back to Juvy as Nova gets beaten down. He Hulks Up (NWO parody remember…..in 2005) and Cole messes up the BWO’s names. Hot tag brings in Richards who cleans house. Side slam gets two on Psicosis. Everything breaks down and Crazy hits a moonsault onto Richards followed by a guillotine legdrop by Psicosis for the pin.
Rating: F. This was on PPV. Once you get that through your heads, you’ll get why this was a failure.
A bit better match from Armageddon 2005.
MNM vs. Mexicools
MNM is John Morrison (Nitro here) and Joey Mercury. The Mexicools are Super Crazy and Psicosis. See, they’re Mexicans and they ride lawnmowers. That’s their gimmick. Mercury vs. Psicosis to start us off. Off to Nitro who doesn’t do any better so it’s off to Mercury again. Ok make that Nitro. Yeah it’s Nitro. Not that I can’t tell them apart mind you. They’re just tagging in and out that much.
Psicosis misses a charge but gets a punch to Mercury’s stomach off the top. Spinwheel kick sends Mercury to the floor and here come the dives. Crazy uses the referee as a launching pad to dive onto MNM in a nice spot. Psicosis loads up the guillotine legdrop but Melina crotches him to shift momentum. Psicosis gets a sunset flip but a blind tag breaks up anything he’s about to get going.
Clothesline gets two for Mercury. Psicosis gets a nice headlock takeover/headscissors to take both guys down. No tag though as Mercury brings Nitro back in. Nitro takes Crazy out which is a smart move because when Psicosis breaks free for a tag attempt there’s no one to tag. Nitro grabs a Cravate and Psicosis still can’t make a tag. Mercury almost jumps into a boot in the stupidest spot ever but he catches himself which is a sigh of relief from me.
Psicosis gets an enziguri and it’s hot tag to Crazy. He sends MNM into each other and fires off some dropkicks for everyone. Tornado DDT gets two on Mercury. Nitro and Psicosis go to the floor and Crazy hits the moonsault after kicking Melina to the floor. Nitro makes a last second save. Crazy gets up and walks into the Snapshot (3D position but Mercury holds him there and Nitro hits a DDT) for the pin.
Rating: B. I know that’s probably high but I really liked this. The Mexicools were flying all over the place at times but it was never to the point where it was just high spots and nothing of actual significance. MNM was good too and Melina in that tiny skirt of hers helped too. Really fun tag match and I’d like to see them get a long match (this was about 9 minutes).
Back to the ECW reunions (kind of) at One Night Stand 2006.
FBI vs. Tajiri/Super Crazy
Guido and Mamaluke here with a guy named Big Guido. The fans all chant welcome back to all four guys, even though some of them were here last year. Mamaluke isn’t tiny like he was back in the day of ECW. Tajiri breaks up a key lock by Mamaluke to tick off the Italians. Joey and Taz make fun of the whole Mexicool idea as the fans chant Nacho Libre. Technical stuff of course to start as that’s what you should expect from these guys.
Short arm scissors goes on and Crazy lifts Mamaluke up ala British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels. Taz says it’s like Backlund who is more famous for it I guess. Off to Tajiri (big pop) and Guido with the fans chanting for ECW in general. Guido grabs a very quick Fujiwara armbar but Tajiri gets a rope. That came out of nowhere. Guido really was good when he got going out there.
Tajiri gets something like an inbred cousin of the Tequila Sunrise which doesn’t last long. Tree of Woe for Guido and everything breaks down quickly. Double Tree of Woe and almost stereo baseball slides into the Italians. Crazy tries for the triple moonsaults but totally misses the bottom rope one and Mamaluke saves Guido from the others. Asai moonsault takes out the Italians though and everyone is down.
Big Guido finally gets into this and beats up Crazy like there’s nothing there. Crazy vs. Mamaluke now and Tony (Mamaluke’s first name if I missed that) throws on some fast submissions which get him nowhere. Guido kicks Crazy in the face and Tajiri is like GIMMICK INFRINGEMENT and kicks the Italians in half.
One man flapjack by Crazy sets up the tag to Tajiri and the kicks are on again. Octopus goes on Mamaluke as this has been about 1.1 sided. Handspring elbow takes out the Italians and a big kick to Guido gets two as it all breaks down again. Double Tarantula to the Italians as this is shifting to 1.05 sided. The good guys (I guess) try to take out Big Guido with kicks and that actually works. Some giant. Crazy gets taken down so Tajiri beats up the Italians for a bit until they catch him in a double Fisherman’s Buster to end it.
Rating: C. Really not sure if I agree with that ending as Tajiri was WAY more popular than anyone else in there. The Italians were a team that was funny when they had the joke right but then towards the end they blew it by making them just a regular tag team. Really not sure I get the ending there but not a bad match at all.
Here’s a one off match from Raw on January 22, 2007.
Super Crazy vs. Chris Masters
This is due to Crazy saving someone from an attack last week. Masters hammers him down to start but Crazy comes back with a cross body for two. He escapes a quick Masterlock attempt but gets caught in a wheelbarrow suplex. We hit the chinlock before a big slam gets two for Masters. Super comes back with a clothesline and the spinwheel kick followed by the standing moonsault for two. Chris avoids a charge in the corner and puts on the Masterlock, only to have Crazy fall back on him for the fast pin.
Rating: C. This wasn’t bad as power vs. speed continues to be an idea that you just cannot screw up. Crazy can move with the best of them and Masters is a more than adequate power guy. These two actually had a small feud with neither guy getting the better of it, but at least the match wasn’t bad.
Crazy wouldn’t do much more in WWE so we’ll jump ahead for one more match. He would wrestle in Japan for a few years after this and still is to this day. Here’s Crazy in Pro Wrestling Noah on March 8, 2014.
Xtra Large vs. Jonah Rock vs. Super Crazy
Crazy has a belt here which I believe is a Tag Team Title. Rock sends him out to the floor but Crazy trips up Large and hits a high cross body for two on Rock. Jonah runs both guys over and splashes them in the corner for two on each. Rock puts Large in a camel clutch but Crazy dropkicks him in the head for the save. Large nails a missile dropkick on Rock but gets armdragged to the floor. A dropkick puts Rock outside and Large hits a shooting star off the top to take both guys down. Rock is sent into the crowd but Large misses a corkscrew plancha, allowing Crazy to hit a Michinoku Driver for the pin.
Rating: C-. This was a decent three way and Rock wasn’t half bad out there. Xtra Large (the smallest guy in the match actually) was your standard flippy guy but he could make them look good. Rock has a decent look and could be something with some more polishing. Crazy was the most well rounded here and seemed to be a heel here, which isn’t something you often see.
Super Crazy is a guy that has found his skillset and ran with it. He can fly very well but has more stuff to him than that. It’s a style that is always going to work and it’s done quite well for a near thirty year career now. I liked Crazy more than I remembered which is always a nice surprise.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Kid Kash got his start as David Jericho and we’ll pick things up in IPW in North Carolina on January 23, 1996.
David Jericho vs. Steve Skyfire
Jericho is doing a Ricky Morton thing. Oh wait that actually is Ricky Morton in his corner. The heel commentator says this is going to be boring because the fans like both guys. Jericho grabs an early headlock before Skyfire falls out of the ring on what appeared to be an armdrag attempt. Back up and Jericho is holding his shoulder but goes after Steve’s leg to take over. A legdrop gets two for David and he nails some loud chops. Skyfire snaps off his own loud chops and plants him with a powerbomb.
The announcers talk about IPW having very lenient DQ rules and no countouts. So it’s an ECW ripoff? Skyfire puts on a surfboard followed by a backbreaker and a middle rope forearm for two. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Jericho is sent into the buckle. After a little slip, Steve hits a middle rope moonsault for two. Jericho comes back with a Frankenjericho for the pin.
Rating: C-. This was just a basic cruiserweight style match and nothing all that special. To be fair though this is just an indy company down in North Carolina so they need ring time to get better at what they do. Skyfire was nothing special but the commentator was kind of funny so there was something here.
We’ll jump ahead a bit to early 2000 as Kash was becoming a bigger deal in ECW. From Living Dangerously 2000.
Mike Awesome vs. Kid Kash
Kash hammers away to start but Awesome launches him with a release belly to belly suplex. They head outside with Kash taking some hard clotheslines, only to backdrop Awesome into the crowd. Kid runs back inside back hits a huge dive to take both guys out. Kash lays out Jones with a sitout Pedigree but walks into a slingshot shoulder from Awesome. A nice hurricanrana out of the corner has Mike in trouble but he takes Kid’s head off with a clothesline. The Awesome Bomb plants Kash and a super Awesome Bomb through a table gives Mike the pin.
Rating: D+. Nothing to see here though the high sports were good. This match didn’t need to happen for the most part and felt more like filler than anything else. Awesome is already wrestling later, so why do we need to see this happen here? Kash would become a bigger deal in the upcoming months.
From a few months later at Hardcore Heaven 2000.
C.W. Anderson vs. Kid Kash
Kash quickly sends Anderson to the floor and hits a big dive to take him down before the bell. Anderson nails a big left hand right after we get going but walks into a dropkick to put him on the floor. Kash dives off the apron to take Wiles down with a hurricanrana. Back in and Kash tries a hurricarana but gets caught in a sitout powerbomb. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen one of those. C.W. hammers away in the corner and knocks Kash to the floor, only to have Wiles drop Kid across the barricade.
Back in and Kash climbs the corner for a cross body and two, only to walk into a big clothesline. A reverse suplex gets two for Anderson and a powerslam gets the same. Kash avoids a charge in the corner but has to deal with Wiles. Lou E. misses a phone shot and hits Billy, only to have C.W. nail Kash with a superkick for another two. Anderson goes up but gets caught in a bad looking hurricanrana for the pin.
Rating: C-. This was a decent enough power vs. speed match but the interference got annoying fast. Wiles and Dangerously become more and more useless every time they appear but Anderson seems to have something special to him. He could use someone to talk for him but Lou isn’t quite up to that level either.
We’ll stay in the same year and look at a tag match at Heat Wave 2000.
Simon Diamond/Swinger/C.W. Anderon vs. Roadkill/Danny Doring/Kid Kash
Diamond has dropped most of his entourage and is part of a tag team with Swinger (a muscular guy with long hair and that’s about the extent of things that differentiates him from others). Anderson is on his own now as well and recently broke Kash’s four month undefeated streak. The other four guys are decent teams but the Tag Team Titles remain vacant.
Simon and Kash get things going with a technical sequence and the fans already declare it boring. Kash nails a hard chop in the corner before they kick each other away to give us a standoff. Anderson comes in but is quickly taken down and nailed with a middle rope elbow drop. Doring and Roadkill crush Swinger and Diamond in the corner before clearing the ring. Kash nails a slingshot hurricanrana over the top to the floor to take Anderson down.
Back in and Kash hits a springboard clothesline to Anderson before another hurricanrana sends Simon back to the floor. The numbers finally catch up to Kash and Swinger takes over. Anderson comes in but charges into an elbow in the corner, followed by a moonsault press to put him down. It’s off to Doring vs. Swinger with Danny cleaning house with jawbreakers.
Simon comes back with a cobra clutch legsweep to drop Doring before Diamond plants him for two. Anderson blasts him in the jaw with the left hand but Doring slams him face first into the mat. The fans are going NUTS for Roadkill here and they get exactly what they want. Roadkill comes in and cleans house, sending all three villains to the floor for a big dive from Doring.
Kash hits an even bigger one but Roadkill tops them all by taking out all five guys. Back in and Roadkill gets crotched on the top, allowing Simon and Swinger to double team Doring with a backbreaker/reverse DDT combination. The Anderson spinebuster plants Kash for two but Roadkill breaks it up with a legdrop to the back of the head. Kash breaks up the Problem Solver (double team elevated DDT) to Doring, who nails the double arm DDT on Diamond. The Money Maker (double underhook piledriver) gives Kash the pin over Swinger.
Rating: B-. Nice six man tag here but the booking is a little confusing. If Simon and Swinger is supposed to be the new big team, why would you have them lose here? It’s a shame that the tag team division is starting to pick up some steam, just as there are no belts for anyone to win.
Kash was a big enough deal that he would get a TV Title shot on ECW on TNN, September 8, 2000.
TV Title: Kid Kash vs. Rhino
This is the result of a HUGE brawl (as in like 30 people) that opened the show until Kash ran out for the match. The ring finally clears out so the match can start, only to have Sandman’s music hit. Rhino is stomping Kash down in the corner until Sandman FINALLY gets to the ring to cane Rhino over and over.
Not that it matters as a Gore puts him down a few seconds later. The roster is still at ringside so Kash hits a dive and puts down about 20 people at once. Back in and Kash hits a double springboard hurricanrana for almost no effect, setting up a Gore from Rhino. Cue RVD for a Van Daminator as we finally get a referee. There’s a Van Terminator and a Five Star as Kash adds a guillotine legdrop for the pin and the title. I’m not rating this insanity as it wasn’t a match in any sense of the word.
The title reign only lasted two weeks so we’ll go with more ECW at Massacre on 34th Street.
Unholy Alliance vs. Super Crazy/???
Crazy is bringing in a mystery partner after Mikey lured him into a beatdown recently. The Alliance beats Crazy down before Crazy’s partner comes out. Kid Kash shows up about thirty seconds later and we’re ready to go. Kash rolls up Mikey for two to start before taking him over with a hurricanrana. They stop to look at each other before slowly tagging in their partners. Tajiri hits a dropkick but Crazy nips up, only to hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker with Tajiri nipping up.
The fans are entirely behind Tajiri here as they fight over a test of strength and trade monkey flips. It’s Tajiri taking over with a hurricanrana before they trade armdrags for another standoff. Tajiri kicks at the legs and puts on a Sharpshooter with Crazy’s throat across the ropes so Mikey can drop a leg across the back of Crazy’s head. They do the chair crush around Crazy’s head for the dropkicks.
Kash finally tries to help and is tied in a Tree of Woe. Crazy is tied up as well but both members of the Alliance crotch themselves on baseball slide attempts. Kash and Crazy hit huge dives to the floor before Kash hits something like a Whisper in the Wind to put both Alliance members down. Tajiri and Crazy brawl on the floor until Tajiri comes back inside for a double rolling flip to put Kash down. The Alliance hit stereo kicks to Kash’s face before putting two chairs in the middle of the ring. Thankfully Kash is able to fight out of a slam through the chairs but he can’t avoid a Whippersnapper through the chairs and Kid is in trouble.
Another Whippersnapper puts Kash through the table and Crazy hits the triple moonsaults on Tajiri for no cover. Tajiri and Crazy head to the floor but Tajiri pops back up onto the ropes, only to be slammed face first onto the mat. A chair to the head gets Tajiri out of a sunset flip and he puts Crazy in the Tarantula. Kash finally comes back in but gets kicked to the floor as Mikey loads up another table.
Tajiri takes his sweet time setting it up in the ring so Mikey sets up his own on the floor. Kash gets up and hurricanranas Whipwreck through the table in a huge crash. Back in and Tajiri kicks Crazy down before covering him with a pile of chairs and a table. Tajiri climbs the ropes and a top rope double stomp through the table onto the chairs onto Crazy is enough for the pin.
Rating: B-. Good stuff here but again it doesn’t really mean much of anything. The Alliance winning a match is a good thing, but this needed to be about five minutes shorter. Kash disappeared for WAY too long during the match and it basically made this Tajiri vs. Crazy. That’s not a bad thing but it’s something we’ve seen several times before.
After ECW went under, Kash was one of many wrestlers that went to the XWF. Here he is in a battle royal for their Cruiserweight Title on November 13, 2001.
Cruiserweight Title: Battle Royal
Psychosis, Billy Fives, AJ Styles, Juventud Guerrera, Tongan Prince, Quick Kick, Kid Kash, Christopher Daniels
No one gets an entrance and you can be eliminated by pinfall, submission or over the top. Tongan Prince is Prince Iaukea and Quick Kick is Low Ki (they might as well have just called him that all the time. It makes more sense). Daniels has short blonde hair here. It’s a big brawl to start with everyone going after everyone and Tony having no idea who half of these guys are. Styles dumps Billy Fives as Josh Matthews (yes THAT Josh Matthews) is sitting in the crowd. Psychosis is dumped and AJ is LAUNCHED over the top onto Psychosis and Fives.
Low Ki hits some loud kicks to Kash’s head as Daniels kicks Iaukea down in the corner. They trade off with Kash and Low Ki going up top, only to miss stereo dives and collide (kind of) in midair. Daniels and Iaukea try to get in cheap shots but clothesline each other down. Low Ki misses a charge and eliminates himself before Kash (Krash according to Tony) hurricanranas Iaukea out. Kash’s tornado DDT mostly doesn’t connect but it staggers Daniels enough that Kash can hit a springboard kick to eliminate him for the title.
Rating: D. If you ever want an example of a spot fest, this is where you would look. Nothing more to say than that.
Off to TNA at Weekly PPV #11 on August 28, 2002.
Amazing Red vs. Kid Kash
This is back when Kash could still be called Kid and it didn’t sound stupid. Feeling out process to start with neither guy being able to get an advantage going. Kash shoves him and gets slapped in the face as a result. Red takes him to the mat via a drop toehold and things speed up. They go into a sequence that belongs in a gymnastics class rather than a wrestling ring, finally coming back to wrestling with some armdrags.
Kash flips Red off so Red pounds and kicks away at him before sending Kash to the floor. There’s a BIG flip dive to take Kid out and they brawl a bit. Kash sends him into the barricade to take over and we head back inside where a flying clothesline takes Red down for two. Red gets put in something like a Liontamer which doesn’t go anywhere, so they head to the corner where Kash eats a boot. Well not literally but you get the idea.
Red goes up for I think a rana but has to come down because Kash is WAY out of position. A standing rana and a spinwheel kick get two instead and Kash is placed on the top rope. This goes badly for the placer (Red) as Kash comes back with a clothesline off the middle rope for two. A powerbomb attempt by Kash is countered into a sunset bomb and Red kicks him down again for two.
Red gets slammed off the top for two for Kash, followed by Red firing off kicks to the chest in the corner. A charge misses and Red crotches himself, allowing Kash to hit a slingshot legdrop for two more. Kash cross bodies him for two before running into an elbow to slow him down. Red goes up but Kash shoves the referee into the ropes (not a DQ for some reason) and hits a kind of MuscleBuster for the pin.
Rating: C-. I’m really not a fan of spotfests and I’m REALLY not a fan of matches where guys don’t sell almost anything. On top of that, they were missing a lot of spots in this or badly mistiming them. The crowd reacted to most of it, but the match just wasn’t that good and certainly wasn’t anything memorable. That’s most cruiserweight style matches though.
Kash would stay in the X-Division Title hunt through the end of the year and get a shot at Weekly PPV #27 on January 15, 2003.
X-Division Title: Sonny Siaki vs. Kid Kash
Kash has Trinity with him to counter Siaki’s chick named Desire. It’s a tag brawl to start until Kash and Trinity dropkick both villains to the floor. Some bad looking armdrags put Siaki on the floor but Kash’s dive only hits barricade. Kash comes back with a whip of his own into the barricade and gets two off a guillotine legdrop. Siaki nails a wicked pumphandle slam into a piledriver for two of his own but there’s no selling in the X-Division. Kash pops back up and hits a double springboard hurricanrana but Desire breaks up a cover. Desire trips Kash up again and gets caught in a wicked neckbreaker to keep the title on Siaki.
Rating: C-. The dives weren’t bad and I’ve always liked Siaki so the match wasn’t all that bad. You couple that with the very good looking Trinity and this was far more entertaining than I was expecting. I’m getting a chuckle out of people casually standing up after the double springboard hurricanrana as it’s just a flippy move that shouldn’t be sold.
We’ll move ahead to Weekly PPV #107 on August 18, 2004 for one of Kash’s biggest feuds in TNA.
AJ Styles vs. Kid Kash
From August 18, 2004 and this is a street fight. Kash smacks AJ in the face to start but gets thrown to the floor, setting up a big flip dive from Styles. AJ sends him into the barricade and kicks at the ribs before heading inside so Kash can beg for mercy. The breather lets Kash score with a jawbreaker and the fight heads back to the floor. Some chair shots put AJ down and Kid talks trash.
AJ slides under the guardrail and launches himself at Kash before throwing him into the crowd. A chair shot to the back sets up a backbreaker on the bleachers but Kash comes back with something resembling a DDT to get a breather. They head over to an opening next to the bleachers where a table just happens to be waiting. Kash goes into the scaffolding but AJ follows him as the camera has troubles keeping up.
They slug each other back and forth in front of a group of fans before Kash tries to throw AJ over the scaffolding. AJ hangs on but Kash follows him down before both guys fall about eight feet through the table onto the concrete. After some laying around they get back up for a trashcan shot to AJ’s back.
AJ headbutts Kash through the crowd and throws him into a wall. Back to the ring now where Kash escapes the Styles Clash and gets two off a standing hurricanrana. AJ comes back with a wheelbarrow suplex for two but his neckbreaker is countered into a suplex to give Kash his own near fall. Kash’s goon Dallas shows up to interfere but accidentally sends Kash into a rollup for the pin.
Rating: B-. This felt like a better version of an ECW brawl but it doesn’t make the match great. Kash is a guy that has never done anything for me other than the time he threatened to stab various people. The idea was to show physicality in the X-Division which worked, but it kind of takes away the aspect that made the division special.
We’re into PPV now with Against All Odds 2005.
Tag Titles: America’s Most Wanted vs. Kid Kash/Lance Hoyt
Storm and Kash start things off. They trade hammerlocks to start and fast twos and we get a standoff. Off to Hoyt and Harris who immediately start brawling. Everything breaks down and AMW picks up Kash and throws him at Hoyt. That doesn’t work so in a funny bit they pick up Hoyt and throw him at Kash to send him to the floor. Cute spot. Back in Hoyt slams Kash onto Storm for two.
Hoyt comes in and hits a huge chokebomb for two on Storm. James is playing Ricky Morton here if that wasn’t clear. Off to Kash who launches a frog splash but it eats knees. Both he and Storm try cross bodies and they’re down. Harris comes in and destroys Hoyt. It’s so strange to see Harris in great shape. Kash hits a sweet rana after running the corner. Storm is back up and hits the Eye of the Storm on Kash. He tries a reverse tornado DDT out of the corner on Hoyt but Lance counters.
In a move I’ve never seen before, Hoyt hits a side slam off the top for two. That looked awesome actually. That’s a great lesson: when all else fails, make the move from the top and it looks better. Storm takes Hoyt down and Harris hits a top rope elbow for two. Kash brings in a title belt but as the referee takes it out, Kash hits Harris with the other belt for two. Now Kash brings in handcuffs but Harris cuffs him up. Death Sentence to Hoyt keeps the titles on AMW.
Rating: C+. This started slow but got better at the end. When you take guys like Hoyt and Kash and get an entertaining match out of them, that’s a sign of a good team. Then again AMW is probably the best team ever in TNA, and yes I’m including them over Beer Money. This was better than I expected.
It was off to WWE after this, including this debut match on Heat, June 13, 2005.
Tajiri vs. Kid Kash
Kash grabs a headlock to start but gets spun around on the math in a freaky looking rollup. The Kid jumps over him in the corner and gets two off a slam. We hit a bow and arrow hold on Tajiri followed by an abdominal stretch, only to have Tajiri fight out with some elbows to the head. Kash comes back with a moonsault press for two and a suplex slam gets the same. Tajiri kicks him out of the air and fires off some chops followed by a big kick to the back. There’s the handspring elbow for two and Kash charges into the Tarantula. The Buzzsaw Kick misses but Kash misses a frog splash, setting up the Buzzsaw to give Tajiri the pin.
Rating: C-. Tajiri is another guy that I like a lot so the match was fun to sit through. Those kicks were freaking awesome every single time and the sounds they made were even better. Kash would get to stick around in WWE for awhile but he wouldn’t do all that much. Tajiri’s best days are behind him at this point but those kicks still work well enough.
Kash would get a Cruiserweight Title shot at Armageddon 2005.
Cruiserweight Title: Juventud vs. Kid Kash
Just Juventud now and he’s champion coming in here. Yes, they’re really just going on like nothing happened at all. Another pointless Cruiserweight match here with no real story. By no real one I mean Kash probably pinned him recently or something like that. All Juvy to start and he gets a standing rana for two. Fujiwara armbar goes on for a bit so Kash hits the floor. Juvy hits a plancha to keep up his advantage.
Kash manages to ram his shoulder into the post a few times to take over. Hammerlock slam gets two. Kash hammers away for a bit but misses a charge into the corner. Juvy can’t capitalize though and Kash keeps the advantage. Shoulderbreaker gets two. A springboard moonsault by Kash eats knees and here comes Juvy.
The champ chops away and uses really basic offense. Sunset flip doesn’t work for Kash and Juvy kicks him in the face for two. Loud END THIS MATCH chant starts up. You can tell that’s not a good sign. They go up to the top rope and Juvy hits a super rana but might have hurt his knee. Kash wants time out but gets caught by an enziguri for two. They trade some escapes and Juvy hits the Juvy Driver for two. 450 misses though and the Dead Level (brainbuster) gives Kash the title.
Rating: C-. The match wasn’t exactly bad, but dude no one cared at all. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a crowd beg for a match to end like that. This is what you get when you have no story to speak of and use guys that are just there instead of having characters or stories or anything like that. Just not interesting at all, but it was fine from a technical standpoint.
After losing the title at the Royal Rumble, Kash had another chance at the belt at No Way Out 2006.
Cruiserweight Title: Gregory Helms vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Funaki vs. Kid Kash vs. Nunzio vs. Paul London vs. Psicosis vs. Scotty Hotty vs. Super Crazy
Yeah it’s a 9 way match. Helms is champion and ran his mouth so this is his punishment. The intros take nearly five minutes. Thankfully some guys come out together. No tagging here and it’s one fall to a finish. Who wants to bet that Helms escapes with the title? He won it last month so yeah I’m thinking he’s keeping it. Helms hides on the floor while the other eight guys pound on each other.
The Mexicools hits stereo planchas to take out London and Kendrick. Helms finally gets in and they all jump him as he more or less said he was better than all of them. Obviously I can’t go through every spot and type it up here as it’s a huge mess the whole way through. There are WAY too many people in there and it’s just wasting time until we get to the ending sequence.
Helms and Kash go at it for a bit which gets us nowhere. Helms is sent to the floor as this continues to be six or seven guys lay down while two or three do stuff. Kash gets a sweet rana to take down Psicosis on the floor. Londrick takes out Nunzio and Funaki and then do it again off the top to those same two plus Scotty. Helms misses the Shining Wizard and Crazy gets a big spin kick for two.
London hits Helms with a senton back splash that crushes Helms’ face. London gets kicked in the face by Scotty who then has to do the Worm on Helms. The long wait allows Psicosis to break it up. That should teach Scotty but it won’t of course because he’s a stupid man. Dead Level (brainbuster, but looks like a suplex here) from Kash hits Psicosis but Crazy hits a moonsault out of nowhere. Helms steals the pin to retain. Wow how shocked I am at that.
Rating: C-. Total meh match here. These multi-man matches are supposed to be insane and all that jazz and for the most part they are, but dude, NINE PEOPLE? There’s no way to follow is and it’s the living definition of a match with no flow because you can’t have any. It was ok, but WAY too many people out there which brought it down a lot.
Kash would hook up with Jamie Knoble in a tag team, earning a Smackdown Tag Team Title shot at Great American Bash 2006.
Smackdown Tag Titles: Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs. Pit Bulls
The Bulls are Jamie Noble and Kid Kash. They were a team that was around when I really wasn’t watching Smackdown so this is a new thing for me. London and Kash start us off with Kash taking it to the mat. For some reason we’re talking about the Rock N Roll Express now. Kash keeps running him over so London speeds things up to take over. Off to Kendrick and they use a modified rocket launcher for two.
Kendrick works on the arm and we hear about the Crockett family starting up the Bash in the 80s. Off to Noble who apparently likes having men on the ground. I love wrestling but the gay jokes are really hard to avoid at times. Back to London who keeps Noble’s arm in trouble. This has been one sided so far and Londrick sends them to the floor. You know that means stereo dives.
FINALLY Noble gets in a shot to take over and gets a pair of two counts. Back to Kash who slams Kendrick into the mat by his hair. Kendrick dodges a charge and brings in London. Things speed way up and we talk about Ivan Putski. They go to the apron and London tries to skin the cat, but Noble gets in a shot to the back. I guess this is the official face in peril part.
London may have hurt his back on the way down onto the apron. Noble hooks on a chinlock for a few seconds and there’s a leg lariat for two. The Pit Bulls do some good old fashioned heel tag team work to keep Kendrick out. More double teaming follows but London fights out of the corner. He kicks Noble into Kash but Kash makes the save to break up the tag. Cole says London was minutes away from making the tag. Well at least he was close.
London backflips out of a suplex and falls into Kendrick for the tag. Springboard missile dropkick takes out Kash and things speed WAY up. He hits leg lariats to everyone but Noble makes the save on the cover. Noble tries something like a double underhook piledriver on Kendrick but London saves again. There’s a huge dive to the floor by Kendrick to take out Noble. Kash can’t get the brainbuster to London so Kendrick dives off the top with a sunset flip for the pin.
Rating: B-. This match right here has already had more energy in it than the entirety of the previous two shows in this series. Londrick would spend the next 9 months or so as champions which is still the longest tag title reign in the WWE/F in about fifteen years. Very fun tag match with all kinds of old school heel tag work to make things very fun and get the crowd into it.
Kash would leave soon after this and hit the indies. We’ll pick things up at Hardcore Justice 2010, the ECW reunion show put on by TNA.
FBI vs. Kid Kash/Simon Diamond/Swinger
It’s Tony, Tracy and Guido. Yeah because Kash was SO important to ECW. Sal is somehow even fatter if that’s possible. Smothers looks AWFUL. It’s Tony Luke now instead of Mamaluke. Guido looks about the same. The lights are all dark and there’s this weird blue tint to it. Guido and Kash start us off. They point out that they can’t say certain names or letters. WOW.
Simon is HUGE and even Tazz suggests different attire. He stops halfway through the match and cuts a promo to which he gets a LOUD Shut the F Up chant. He challenges them to a dance off. It’s somehow worse than it sounds. The non-FBI team breaks it up but Sal crushes them. Kash does a big dive to do something. Keep in mind we’re 20 minutes into this.
We get to a normal match now and it’s not bad. Seriously, we would have had to pay 45 dollars for this. Mamaluke is getting destroyed here and Diamond does something close to Three Amigos. Guido hits the Kiss of Death (Killswitch) to end it.
Rating: D. Once this got going it wasn’t bad but ten minutes of crap to get to the good stuff isn’t how this is supposed to go. This didn’t work at all for me though as three of these guys meant next to nothing at all in the original ECW. This was watchable I guess but the lighting and the other stuff just isn’t doing it so far.
Jesse Sorensen vs. Kid Kash
This is #2 vs. #3 (X-Division rankings) respectively but I doubt those numbers are going to mean much for awhile. Kash looks old and Sorensen is a face, carrying a football with him because he’s from Texas. Well I guess a weak gimmick is better than no gimmick. Kash dominates early, hitting a suplex into a release slam.
Moneymaker is blocked and Sorensen starts his comeback with a HHH leaping knee and a pretty sweet dropkick for two. Something resembling the McGillicutter gets two and Jesse goes up. Top rope cross body gets a very close two and I’m liking this Sorensen a bit. And never mind as Kash reverses a rollup and uses the tights for the pin at 3:01.
Rating: C. I liked Sorensen a lot more than I thought I would. The guy can jump pretty well and was trying to play to the crowd a bit also. The football thing doesn’t mean much but it needs time to develop obviously. Kash I don’t see the appeal to as he just looks old. He’s not bad or anything but he’s about as the same as you can be after many years.
Another X-Division Title shot, from Genesis 2012.
X-Division Title: Zema Ion vs. Kid Kash vs. Austin Aries vs. Jesse Sorensen
I didn’t know this but it’s elimination rules. The fans seem to like Jesse the most. Aries chills on the floor to start and Sorensen cleans house. A northern lights gets two on Ion and Aries comes in. This is one of those matches where there’s no point in trying to keep track of everything that’s going on. Kash and Aries are sent to the floor and after Ion is put up top it’s the Tower of Doom! That hasn’t been used in awhile.
Aries goes up top but Ion shoves him down to the floor onto Kash. Ion hits a big corkscrew plancha to the floor to take the two of them out. Sorensen of course follows in the customary series of dives. Still gets a great reaction from the crowd too. Jesse gets two on Aries back inside. Ion gets sent into the corner so Kash tries a superplex, but Aries is whipped into the corner to send Kash crashing. Ion stands up and hits the 450 on Kash to put him out first.
Aries busts out the 450 on Sorensen for just two. The fans are WAY behind Jesse here. Top rope cross body gets two on Aries. A suplex into a cutter kind of move gets the same as Ion breaks up the pin because he’s an idiot. Ion goes after Jesse but walks into a small package for the second elimination to get us down to one on one. Aries rolls up Sorensen but Ion has the referee.
Brainbuster is countered into the Game Changer (Test Drive into a DDT) but Ion’s distraction keeps it at just two. Aries breaks up something off the top but runs into a boot in the corner. Ion is ducked out of sight on the floor. Sorensen goes up but Ion crotches him, letting Aries dropkick him and a middle rope brainbuster keeps the title on Aries 10:59.
Rating: C+. I was really liking this until the ending. Sorensen has been built up for awhile now and the fans are clearly behind him, but they need to pull the trigger on him if they’re going to. Restocking the division is a good idea, but if all the guys keep losing it’s not really going to do them any good. The match was fun though and a high flying match to open the show is a tried and true idea.
How about another title shot, from Impact on November 15, 2012.
X-Division Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Kid Kash
Van Dam is defending of course. Kash jumps him as he comes into the ring and they start fast. This would have been way better in ECW but it’s over eleven years since that company closed and Kash is still a Kid somehow. They ram into each other a few times before Kash ranas RVD to the floor. Tenay says Kash is also an MMA fighter which would be hilarious to see. Kash dives onto the floor onto Van Dam which doesn’t look bad.
Back in and Kash hits a clothesline out of the corner but misses a moonsault. Rob kicks him down and hits Rolling thunder for two as Tenay talks about Rob being a three time world champion, talking about the ECW Title, the WWE Title and the TNA world title. You know, because that ECW Title was the same as the WWE Title and all that jazz. Monkey Flip sets up the Five Star to retain at 4:08.
Rating: D+. Nothing to see here other than a quick title defense for Van Dam. To say this division is worthless at the moment is an understatement as other than Van Dam, Kash and Ryan I guess, is there anyone else around? Ion I guess, but dang that’s not much as far as depth goes. Just a match here really.
Kash would hit the One Night Only circuit, starting at X-Travaganza.
Rashad Cameron/Anthony Nese vs. Kid Kash/Douglas Williams
Williams and Cameron start things off with Doug looking older than usual. Doug takes him down by the leg and puts on a kind of reverse Boston Crab where Kash can kick Cameron in the face. Cameron and Williams run the ropes a bit until Rashad dropkicks Doug down. Off to Kash as this could be a trainwreck in a hurry. Thankfully Nese comes in quickly and things speed WAY up as they trade controlling holds on the mat. We get some sweet chain wrestling until Kash takes over with knees and chops.
Nese comes out of the corner with a spinning cross body for two and a clothesline to send Kash to the floor. Anthony loads up a dive, only to be taken down by Williams. Doug heads to the floor with Kash and there’s a big dive by Cameron, followed by an even better one by Nese. Back in and Nese jumps into a forearm from Kash as Taz is talking about investment banking and area codes.
Williams knocks Cameron off the apron as the old guys take over on Nese. Kash comes in for some solid stomping before it’s back to Williams. The old guys do some old school double teaming on Cameron who has no idea how to deal with it. Kash and Earl Hebner get into it a bit in the corner before Kash hits a hard chop on Cameron. Back to Williams for a kick to the back and a nice snap suplex for no cover.
Kash comes in to work on the knee in a vain attempt to add some psychology here. Some hard kicks by Kash to the chest keep Cameron down as Taz starts talking about Aces and 8’s. Well we made it through forty minutes so it was bound to happen soon. Kash breaks up a quick comeback with a forearm but his moonsault hits knees. Hot (I think?) tag brings in Nese as things speed up again.
Back to Williams who misses a clothesline and gets kicked down by Nese. A nice pumphandle powerbomb gets two for Anthony as everything breaks down. Nese hits a running knee to Williams’ head for two as Rashad dives on Kash on the floor. A quick rollup gets two for Anthony but he gets caught in the Rolling Chaos Theory for the pin by Williams.
Rating: C-. This didn’t work for me. I’m not a fan of most of the guys in this match and the ending was just kind of there. That’s one of the major problems with this show: there aren’t going to be any in depth stories and barely any stories at all. That’s fine if the matches are really good, but this was only decent at best.
Again at Joker’s Wild I.
Jesse Godderz/Mr. Anderson vs. Douglas Williams/Kid Kash
No Tara unfortunately. Anderson comes out like normal to his own music and without the biker gear. Kash and Anderson start things off but Jesse tags in before anything can happen. A quick shoulder sends Godderz into the corner and it’s off to Anderson who might not suck as much. Anderson hits a quick dropkick to put Kash down and it’s back to Jesse for some arm work. He asks for a tag and Anderson isn’t sure if he wants back in or not. The announcers would rather talk about Aces and 8’s rankings and British terminology instead of calling the match.
Williams comes in and gets caught by a hiptoss and backdrop from Anderson. Jesse is jumping up and down to get in the match so it’s off to the rookie for some arm work. He cranks it once and already wants Anderson back in. Since Anderson is getting annoyed he takes more time, allowing Williams to suplex Godderz down. Off to Kash for a release belly to back of his own as the announcers continue to talk about stupid things like the “Pre-Tazz Era” of TNA.
Williams puts a cravate on Jesse for a bit, only to be taken down by a nice leg trip. Godderz still can’t make a tag though as Williams comes in with a clothesline to put him back down for two. Off to Kash again who helps out Williams with a double backdrop as Jesse continues to be picked apart. Back to Williams for a few slams as this gets more and more boring every few seconds. Kash kicks Jesse low and rakes his back a few times as we talk about roulette to keep up the announcers’ trend.
Off to a chinlock by Williams as we talk about gumption, moxie and tomatoes. I know I’m talking about the announcers a lot but it’s by far the most interesting thing in the match so far. Tazz actually says that Aces and 8’s don’t do losses. Jesse sends Kash into the corner but gets kicked in the face and caught with a moonsault out of the corner for two. Godderz is stomped around even more as Tazz talks about getting a furry sidecar on Bully’s bike. The commentary must have been recorded later as Bully wasn’t revealed as part of Aces and 8’s when this was taped.
A clothesline out of the corner takes Williams down and it’s FINALLY off to Anderson to clean house. Anderson hits his rolling fireman’s carry on Williams and loads it up on Kash, only to have Jesse pull Kash down to load up his own finishing move. Anderson kicks Kash down and Mic Checks Godderz before rolling up Kash for the pin.
Rating: D+. Remember what I said about the wrestling being the main thing to go off on this show? In this case it was hindered by Jesse, who is WAY too green to be in there as long as he was. There was a story being told here, but the match was so dull throughout that it didn’t make much of a difference. Anderson looked like a star though.
Kash was a guy that was good for flips and not much more. That being said, he’s been around for a long time (and somehow is still a Kid) and can still work a decent enough match. He was better at flying all over the place and doing BIG flips in ECW than anything else and sometimes that’s all you need a guy to do. The fan reactions validated his existence if nothing else.
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XWF Episode 3: Going Out With A Yawn
XWF Episode 3 Date: November 14, 2001
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jerry Lawler
It’s the final episode after what feels like months. The fact that I’ve less than two hours of this promotion over about five days should tell you everything you need to know about them. There were some very moderate improvements last time but given how low they started that isn’t saying much. The only thing of note is a promised Hulk Hogan match tonight. Let’s get to it.
Knobbs does his usual welcome to the show, saying that Jimmy Hart is out scouting for new talent. So each of the discs are made at different times?
Intro with a quick recap of last week.
Gene brings out Rena Mero with her security guards, two of whom appear to be Tugboat and Barbarian. She won’t directly address Roddy Piper’s actions and writes them off as growing pains for the XWF. Mero says she’s happy with everything that’s happening around here and is off to ask Piper what the main event is here tonight. Gene goes with her for some reason.
Jim Duggan chants XWF.
The South Philly Posse (Public Enemy) talk to the woman they annoyed last week. Apparently it’s Jasmine St. Clair, their new manager.
Drezden vs. Marty Jannetty
Drezden looks like the Wall (from WCW) crossed with Neo from the Matrix crossed with an S&M enthusiast. He runs Marty over as this has squash written all over it. A slam puts Marty down again but he avoids an elbow, only to dive into a bearhug. Drezden easily lifts Marty up for a nice powerbomb and the pin.
Greg Valetine still wants a match but Piper doesn’t care. To be fair Piper can’t hear because of Valentine so can you blame him?
Horace Hogan vs. Josh Matthews
Josh is thrown around like the rookie that he is and Horace drops an elbow to the back. They head to the floor with Josh being rammed into various objects while getting in no offense at all. Back in and Josh’s sunset flip is countered into a chokebomb for two as Horace pulls him up. As you would expect, Josh grabs a small package for the fast count pin.
Jimmy Hart promises to take us to Hail and back.
Shane Twins vs. South Philly Posse
Mike pounds on Rocco in the corner to start before throwing him onto Grunge. Off to Todd for a double shoulder block on Rocco for two. A powerslam gets the same but Grunge gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over. He works over Mike’s leg for some psychology before waddling over for a few kicks to the face. Rocco comes off the middle rope with a headbutt to the knee as the fans are drowning out the commentary again.
Another headbutt has the knee in trouble and it’s back to Grunge for a knee to the knee. A double back elbow drops Mike and it’s back to the knee. Choking ensues as this match is actually getting some time. Rocco nearly breaks his own shoulder on a missed Lionsault and it’s a double tag to bring in Todd and Grunge. Everything breaks down and the Nasty Boys come out but Mike rolls up Grunge for the pin before they can interfere.
Rating: D+. The match was the junk you would expect, but I’ll give the XWF points for pushing the Shane Twins like they have. They’ve been put over all three of the established teams in a row and came out looking like they could mean something soon. That’s a good sign, but it’s not like any of those three teams meant anything at this point.
The Wall, looking WAY different than he did in WCW, says people are going to run into him.
Gene brings out Jimmy Snuka and his son as you can see the coconut references from here. Why they come out to an instrumental version of Marilyn Manson’s The Beautiful People is beyond me. Jimmy puts over the fans when Roddy Piper comes out to call them both coconut heads and sing about a lovely bunch of coconuts.
Gene tries to get Piper to come fight Snuka but Piper makes fun of Gene’s hair instead. More coconut references ensue but Piper says Rena Mero won’t let him fight. She comes out and says go ahead because she’s a big Snuka fan. Piper claims an arm injury and makes Buff Bagwell/Vampiro vs. Ian Harrison/Curt Hennig.
Knobbs recaps the first half of the show, calling Josh Matthews the winner of the first match because it’s too hard to remember the Drezden squash from 20 minutes ago. He confirms that the bodyguards were Tugboat, Barbarian and 4×4 who you likely won’t remember from 1999 WCW.
Cruiserweight Title: Kid Kash vs. AJ Styles
Jobber entrance for the challenger AJ. Styles works on a hammerlock to start as the announcers talk about Piper taunting Snuka. Kash is taken down to the mat and we get some decent technical stuff. Back up and AJ blocks an O’Connor Roll by grabbing the ropes. Well at least he was supposed to as Kash was already rolling backwards before AJ was touching them but the idea was there.
They trade armdrags, hiptosses and legsweeps to get us to a standoff. Styles and Kash go nose to nose before Kash gets the crowd on his side. AJ misses a spinning kick to the face but gets two off a superkick. A dropkick mostly misses and the fans loudly boo Styles’ efforts. We hit a chinlock on the champion but Kash quickly fights up and gets two off a middle rope clothesline. Kash runs up the corner for a spinning cross body before the double underhook piledriver is enough to retain the title.
Rating: C-. Bad botches aside, there just wasn’t much here. This is as token of a cruiserweight division as you can get, though based on how green AJ looked out there it isn’t hard to see why. Styles needed more seasoning and a short term All-Star company like this is the place to get it.
The XWF Girls give Rena ideas. Literally it’s just her saying they gave her good ideas and throwing the cameraman out.
Jimmy Snuka Jr. vs. Vapor
Vapor wrestled for a brief stretch in the WWE as Sakoda and Snuka Jr. was Deuce of Deuce and Domino. Snuka domiantes to start and sends Vapor into the corner for some kicks to the chest. A forward belly to back suplex puts Vapor down to the floor but he comes back with kicks to the leg. They trade chops in the corner before Vapor gets in a gutbuster for two.
We get a bad looking botch as Jimmy was supposed to get a boot up in the corner but Vapor just had to collide with him instead. Vapor’s manager Sonny Onoo’s interference doesn’t work and Jimmy gets two off a neckbreaker. Jimmy Sr. and Sonny get in and the heels are whipped into each other. Stereo Superfly Splashes crush the Japanese contingent and Jr. pins Vapor.
Rating: D+. Vapor had a good look but nothing more than that. It’s pretty clear to see why Snuka Jr. never went anywhere, even though he got better as Deuce Shade in OVW. Jimmy Sr. coming in at the end was a nice moment but it made the ending about him rather than his son, which defeats the purpose of Sr. being down there.
Curt Hennig/Ian Harrison vs. Vampiro/Buff Bagwell
Hennig and Vampiro get things going but it’s quickly off to Harrison before any contact is made. Harrison easily wins a slugout and choke bombs Vampiro down for no cover. Back to Hennig for more right hands as the fans don’t seem to understand the he’s on the heel team. Bagwell and Vampiro double elbow Hennig down before Buff sends him out to the floor.
Heenan nearly runs into Harrison and looks terrified, even though he’s managing Harrison tonight. Back in and it’s off to Vampiro who comes in to a BIG cheer. Hennig takes him down with a knee lift before bringing Harrison back in for a hard clothesline. A gorilla press (most of one at least) sends Vampiro to the floor but Bagwell clotheslines Ian to the outside as well. Everything breaks down and Hennig gets a quick small package on Buff for the pin.
Rating: D. Again no time to go anywhere and the match means nothing. I think Bagwell is supposed to be a top face here but we still haven’t heard anything from him other than “I’m Buff Bagwell and I’m here.” The ending came out of nowhere and really hurt whatever they had going, which to be fair wasn’t much at all.
Vampiro and Buff are about to come to blows when the locker room comes out to break it up to end the show.
Knobbs talks about how the show was starting to take shape before mentioning Rocco Rock, the Wall, Hennig and Hawk all having died since this was taped. That’s quite a way to go out.
Since that would be a horrible way to end this horrible set, here’s a bonus match from the DVD, featuring the only Hulk Hogan match for the promotion. This is also on the Hulk Hogan Ultimate Anthology DVD.
Hulk Hogan vs. Curt Hennig
Hogan shoves him away to start and poses before running Hennig over with a shoulder. Back in and Hennig goes down to a test of strength but Curt comes back with some loud chops. Hogan won’t be sent into the buckle but rams Curt’s head ten times on three buckles plus the mat for good measure. Hogan does his punches in the corner as this is a total squash so far. Curt finally gets in a kick when Hogan lowers his head and the PerfectPlex gets two. I think you know the drill from here. Legdrop ends Curt.
Rating: D. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and would have been a dark match at a major TV taping. Hogan looked fine but there’s only so much you can do in a five minute match. Both guys would be in the WWF by February so it’s not like this was ever going to mean anything.
Post match Hogan poses for awhile before Gene comes in and asks about Hogan’s future plans. Hogan says needs to get in better shape to hang with these young guys around here. As for being in the ring, he has bills to pay and thinks being XWF Champion doesn’t sound bad.
Overall Rating: D. It’s still horrible but things were starting to come to form by the last episode. Like I’ve said every time, there’s no way this promotion was going to last long term. The bare minimum stories, below average action and a near complete lack of promos from wrestlers (I don’t really count people saying they’re here to be a promo) really bring this place down.
If we hadn’t seen most of these guys doing nothing on Nitro for the last few years, MAYBE this could have worked, but the way they were going about it was destined to fail the entire time. This could have worked as a summer tour or something like that, but nothing long term. It’s not the worst promotion I’ve ever seen by a long stretch, but there’s absolutely nothing here that would hold my interest. In a word, this whole thing was dull, and that’s not the kind of promotion that is going to last long term.
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TNA – The Best of the Asylum Years: When Jeff Jarrett Wouldn’t Go Away And AJ Styles Ruled The World
TNA: Best of the Asylum Years Location: TNA Asylum, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West, Ed Ferrara
This is actually my first DVD review. TNA has put out a lot of DVDs on their Youtube page for kind of a preview weekend deal and this was voted as the one I should review. If the videos stay up I might do a few more of these. It’s a simple concept: the Asylum is the name of TNA’s old home arena in Nashville and this is a compilation of great matches from the venue. Let’s get to it.
Total run time:…..FIVE AND A HALF HOURS??? Now I remember why I don’t do DVDs.
Expect this to be kind of quick in some places as there isn’t much recapping you can do for a documentary. I haven’t seen a ton of the old TNA stuff though so expect some details to be missing.
We open with a basic history of the company and go into a discussion of the first PPV. Jeff Jarrett talks about how big a market Nashville has been for wrestling over the years. Dixie talking about it gets on my nerves as she feels like someone who won a fan contest to get on the DVD.
Thankfully the matches are interspersed throughout the DVD instead of being all at the end.
NWA World Title: Ken Shamrock vs. Sabu
From July 24, 2002 with Shamrock defending. There’s a ladder at ringside and Tenay quickly tells us this is grab the title or submission. That’s different to say the least. Ferrara goes on a rant about how this should be Jarrett or Malice getting the shot while Shamrock cranks on the leg. Sabu rolls him up and grabs a leg lock of his own but Shamrock is just fine on the mat. Apparently security has bailed over something that happened earlier in the night.
Ken works on a cross armbreaker but lets go for a rope break. A quick snap mare puts Sabu down and we hit the chinlock. The fans don’t seem pleased with this and Sabu going for a cross armbreaker of his own doesn’t help. Ken grabs a leg bar but Sabu gets out again as we hear Ricky Steamboat will be in charge next week. A leg lariat sets up the slingshot legdrop from Sabu and it’s back to the armbreaker. Now the fans want a ladder but get Shamrock charging into Sabu in the corner.
Sabu gets bored with the wrestling stuff and goes for the ladder but the champion baseball slides it into Sabu instead. They head up the ramp with Shamrock throwing Sabu into the dancers’ cage. Sabu is busted open so he sends Shamrock into the barricade at ringside. A table is set up in the aisle but Shamrock avoids a triple jump flip dive. Sabu’s back is all sliced up and the blood is literally flowing. The ladder is sent inside but the lights go out as Shamrock grabs the belt. The lights come back on and Malice is on the ladder and pounding on a Ken. A chokeslam sends Shamrock down and Malice pulls down the title for the no contest.
Rating: D. To clarify, the first match on this set has a screwy ending. Just throwing that out there. Anyway, the match was nothing interesting though some of the big spots weren’t bad. The problem though is how much of a ladder match can you get with less than ten minutes to work with? It didn’t help that the announcers talked about how Malice was going to do something throughout the match.
On to the X-Division with the typical X-Division stars saying the usual X-Division talking points. Jeff Hardy’s face paint looks ridiculous.
X-Division Title: Jerry Lynn vs. Low Ki vs. AJ Styles
From August 28, 2002. This is a ladder match with Ki defending. They circle each other for a bit until Styles drops down and grabs a ladder. Both other guys slide to the floor as well with Styles hitting Jerry with the ladder, only to have Low Ki kick the ladder back into AJ. They head back inside where Low Ki kicks Lynn off the apron. A handspring kick takes Styles down as well as Jerry comes back in.
Lynn hits a sweet spinning tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to take the champ down before pounding on Styles in the corner. Low Ki gets put in a surfboard but Styles breaks it up and stomps on Low Ki a bit. Jerry suplexes AJ down and puts him in a Liontamer, only to have Low Ki fire off kicks to break it up. Lynn won’t let it go and shouts to kick him harder. Low Ki is fine with that and kicks Lynn hard enough to break up the hold.
A running kick in the corner takes Styles down again before loading him into the Ki Crusher. Instead of dropping him though, Low Ki rams him into Jerry in the corner to put both guys down. The champ goes to get the ladder but Jerry baseball slides it back into Low Ki to take over again. Styles heads to the floor as well to kick the champ in the head before dropping Lynn face first onto the apron.
With the ladder bridged between the ring and the barricade, all three guys stand on top of it and slug it out before a big headbutt sends all three guys to the ground. Lynn is up first and sends a ladder into the ring which is dropkicked into AJ’s ribs and chest on the mat. Low Ki is up again and starts setting up the ladder, only to have AJ deck him from behind. The ladder is leaning against the ropes as AJ GOES OFF on the champ, only to walk into a punch from Jerry.
Lynn and Styles launch Low Ki into the ladder in a double hiptoss and it’s one on one. AJ does a Daniel Bryan backflip off the ladder and tries a tornado DDT, only to have Lynn counter and hit a northern lights suplex to send AJ back first into the ladder. Ki is back in and kicks Jerry down but realizes he can’t pin him. A charge in the corner is caught by Lynn but he ranas Jerry into the ladder to put all three guys down again.
It’s AJ back up first to ram the champ with the ladder before he tries to climb, only to get kicked by Low Ki. AJ is hung in a Tree of Woe in the ladder where Low Ki fires off kicks to the chest. Now Low Ki climbs but Jerry makes the save and suplexes him down off the ladder to put everyone down again. AJ gets up and hits the moonsault DDT on Low Ki to pop the crowd again. Jerry pounds on Styles and catches a jumping champion in a running Liger Bomb to take over yet again.
There’s a second ladder in the ring now as Styles brings in another one. Low Ki slides out and brings in a third as this could get very messy in a hurry. The challengers stop fighting long enough to make a save of Low Ki as Styles and Low Ki fight on top. Low Ki hooks a Dragon Sleeper on top of the ladder (grab the title you dolt) but here’s Lynn again and all three are on a ladder.
In a pretty awesome move, Low Ki has his ladder shoved down but he gets his foot on the top rope and shoves himself and the ladder back to an upright position. AJ gets shoved to the floor and it’s Lynn vs. Low Ki. Jerry is like DIE YOU KICKING SPOT MONKEY and cradle piledrives him off the ladder. Lynn climbs up and wins the title to end the show.
Rating: B+. Solid, solid match here with all three guys beating the tar out of each other. It’s not on the level of one of the TLC matches, but for what we had here, this was one of the better ladder matches you’ll see in awhile. I’d have preferred just Lynn and AJ because I’m not a fan of Low Ki at all, but the shove back off the rope was good enough for me to overlook him. Solid stuff.
Next up: the world title, with Tenay talking about how this is a wrestling company instead of an entertainment company. Abyss in full gear, is a strange sight to see in a sitdown interview. The gist here is that things got big in a hurry and a lot of that was due to Raven vs. Jarrett.
NWA World Title: Jeff Jarrett vs. Raven
From April 30, 2003 with Jarrett defending. Raven has Julio Dinero with him but unfortunately not the more famous lackey: CM Punk. He also has his chick Alexis Laree, more famous as Mickie James. This is billed as the showdown with Raven wanting to claim his destiny. Feeling out process to start with Raven slamming the champion down and celebrating. A drop toehold ticks Jeff off even more so he erupts with right hands and a dropkick to send Raven out to the floor.
Raven is sent into the barricade but some interference from the Gathering (Raven’s stable) lets him take over again. Jeff knocks Raven down and dives on the Gathering as he foreshadows his lucha libre skills. Another drop toehold puts Jarrett into the steps as Raven has been busted open on something. Dinero has set up a table for Raven who lays a bloody Jarrett on the wood. Jeff gets inside before Raven can dive on him though and the fight continues.
Dinero slides in a chair for the third drop toehold from Raven for two. A knee to the ribs puts Jarrett down again and Raven kicks him in the head like the villain that he is. There’s a sleeper as the fans are behind Jarrett. Jeff comes back with a jawbreaker and a Diamond Cutter of all things to put both guys down. Some right hands block the Raven Effect and a nice dropkick gets two for the champ.
Dinero gets a dropkick as well and Jarrett slams Alexis. Another Raven Effect attempt is countered with an enziguri for two and a catapult into the corner gets the same. The Stroke hits from out of nowhere for another near fall but no real pop from the crowd. A sloppy Raven Effect gets the same but Jeff comes back with a Cactus Clothesline to send both outside. Raven is laid out on the table and Jeff drops a middle rope elbow to drive him through it.
Back inside and Jarrett lays Raven out with a DDT but Dinero makes the save. The referee FINALLY ejects the Gathering but Raven shoves Jarrett into the referee, knocking him into the barricade. Both guys kick each other low as the Disciples of the New Church come out to brawl with the Gathering. Raven calls out Extreme Revolution (your usual ECW guys) to destroy and handcuff Jarrett.
Saturn and Credible hit a Conchairto with superkicks on Jarrett but the lights go out. Back on and here’s Sabu to take out Raven and the rest of the ECW guys. Everyone else leaves and Jarrett ducks a chair shot, sending the chair into the ropes and back onto Raven’s head for two. Bill Behrens (boss) comes out to uncuff Jarrett but Raven grabs the Even Flow for two. Not that it matters as Jarrett pops up and hits the Stroke for the pin.
Rating: B-. I was really digging this until everything fell apart at the end. There had to be some insanity in there but based on this and this alone, giving Raven the title wouldn’t have been the worst idea. There’s chemistry here and a natural dichotomy between these two which makes for a good match like this one.
Next up: people saying TNA was going to die. I’ll give them credit for this: people have been saying that for over 11 years now and TNA keeps hanging in there.
Triple X vs. AJ Styles/D’Lo Brown
From May 7, 2003. Triple X is Elix Skipper/Low Ki and the winners go on to a #1 contenders match later tonight. Brown and Low Ki trade strikes to start until Brown grabs a slam and drops some elbows. A blind tag brings in AJ for a springboard missile dropkick and a knee drop for two. Low Ki has to kick someone before he explodes so he takes over with a cartwheel kick.
Off to Skipper but AJ nips up into a hurricanrana for two. Brown comes in and slams AJ onto Skipper’s chest but Low Ki comes back in for some chops. Skipper is back in almost immediately and gets suplexed down. A flapjack gives Brown even more of a breather and he dives into a tag to Styles. The good guys chop Elix down but he pulls Brown to the floor and sends him into the barricade.
Back inside and Low Ki kicks AJ in the head to stagger him again before Skipper comes in again for some forearms. Styles counters the Play of the Day and makes another hot tag to Brown. Everything breaks down and D’Lo hits a double shaky head legdrop. A Cactus Clothesline sends Brown and Skipper to the floor but Brown slides back in to catch a cartwheeling Low Ki in the Sky High for the pin.
Rating: D+. Nice finish to a boring match. I’m not sure why this match was on the set as there were some much more interesting tag matches. There’s a good chance this was based on the name power instead of the match itself, which is understandable given how long it would take to watch every match.
AJ Styles was awesome in case you didn’t know that. He used the X-Division to get to the main event and had chemistry with everyone. That’s true actually.
NWA World Title: AJ Styles vs. Raven vs. Jeff Jarrett
From June 11, 2003 and Jarrett is defending. After some big match intros we’re ready to go and it’s one fall to a finish. Styles is quickly thrown to the floor but he runs back in to deck a talking Jarrett. Raven gets kicked down by AJ but Jarrett hits a picture perfect dropkick to take AJ down as well. Jarrett and Raven brawl to the floor and AJ hits a big flip dive to take them both out. AJ whips Raven into the barricade so hard that it’s knocked off the hinges, only to have Raven charge back over the steps with a clothesline to Jarrett.
Back in and AJ pounds on Jarrett in the corner but gets caught in a running powerbomb for two. Raven ducks Jeff’s enziguri and there’s an STF on the champion until AJ makes the save. Styles hits the moonsault into a DDT for two on Jarrett but Raven makes the save. Neither Jarrett or Raven can hit their finishers so here’s AJ with a chair to crack Raven’s head, busting him open in the process.
AJ and Jarrett form a quick alliance to double team Raven but Jarrett doesn’t care for AJ going for a cover after a springboard hurricanrana. The roles reverse when Jarrett slams Raven’s head into the mat as AJ makes the save. Now we get a combination reverse chinlock and half crab on Raven until AJ lets go and goes up for a guillotine legdrop. Raven sends Jarrett forward though and the champ is knocked out.
It’s Raven’s turn to take over now with a superkick to Jeff and a series of clotheslines to AJ. A chair is brought in but Raven gets caught in the drop toehold. AJ is knocked to the floor and Raven counters the Stroke into the Raven Effect for two due to Shane Douglas pulling Raven to the floor. They fight to the back, leaving AJ to blast Jarrett with the belt. Instead of covering though Styles goes up top for a Low Down (frog splash) for two.
AJ pounds away in the corner but gets caught in an Alabama Slam for two. Styles comes back with a powerbomb but can’t hook a Figure Four. Instead he sunsets flips Jeff into a Styles Clash but Jarrett rolls away and slams AJ into the referee in the corner. AJ breaks up a superplex attempt but his springboard 450 hits knees in a painful looking landing. Cue Vince Russo with a guitar to crack over Jarrett’s head, setting up the Styles Clash for the pin and the title.
Rating: C. This was much more of a collection of spots than a good match. It’s also a match that would have been better if I knew all of the backstory behind it. That’s a problem with most of this DVD: the matches have no context at all, meaning it’s hard to care about anything going on out there. It’s even worse when this isn’t a very well known time in the company’s history, meaning people aren’t as likely to know this stuff off the top of their heads.
Next up: tag teams, with various midcarders talking about how important teams are in wrestling. I do like Storm’s philosophy on winning: “I win so I can go home and sit in a big comfortable chair and drink a lot of beer.”
Tag Titles: Triple X vs. America’s Most Wanted
From June 25, 2003 and inside a cage. This isn’t the famous cage match these teams had but I’ve seen this one before and it’s awesome as well. The champions XXX are comprised of Elix Skipper and Christopher Daniels while the challengers are James Storm/Chris Harris. This is the fifth match but XXX has won via outside interference every single time. This is also TNA’s first ever cage match.
It’s a brawl to start but the referee makes them tag to get on my nerves. Harris bulldogs Daniels down before AMW picks up Skipper and launches him into Daniels. This is pin or submission only, meaning escape doesn’t count. Daniels and Harris are the official starters and the fans chant for the Fallen Angel. Skipper gets in a cheap shot from the apron before throwing him face first into the cage for two. Harris is already busted open.
The champions take turns stomping on Harris’ forehead until Daniels gets two off a springboard moonsault press by Skipper. Harris gets a lucky shot off a running clothesline but Daniels kicks his head off for two. Back to Skipper who sends Harris into the cage again but Harris comes off the ropes with another clothesline. There’s the hot tag to Storm who cleans house, sending Skipper chest first into the cage with a reverse suplex. A powerslam gets two on Daniels but he kicks Storm’s knee out to slow him down.
We get a Kill the Cowboy chant, which is hopefully a remnant from the early days of the company rather than the fans not liking Storm’s current work. The champions hit a suplex/cross body combo on the bloody Storm but Skipper’s ribs are injured from being sent into the cage. Back up and the two of them rams heads, setting up a double tag to Harris and Daniels. Harris takes over with the raw power by ramming Daniels head first into the cage over and over. Skipper’s ribs get reacquainted with the steel as well as Daniels is busted open too.
Harris loads up the Catatonic (spinning Rock Bottom) but Daniels counters into the Angel’s Wings (lifting sitout Pedigree) for a very close two. Everything breaks down and Daniels blocks a reverse tornado DDT by taking Storm onto the top rope for an STO to the mat. Skipper belly to bellys Harris down before sending him into the cage again. Elix goes up top for no apparent reason but gets powerbombed down in a HUGE crash to give Harris a near fall.
Daniels hits Last Rites (Cross Rhodes) on Storm for an even closer two as Harris makes yet another save. Harris and Daniels go up top but Daniels backs away across the rope, allowing Harris to hit a diving spear for an even closer near fall. Skipper takes Harris down with the Play of the Day before going for a very big climb. Elix dives off the top with a high cross body but reinjures his ribs in the process. STORYTELLING BABY!
A delayed cover gets two so Skipper goes up again, only to be knocked down a bit and then out to the floor. Storm superkicks Daniels down and the Death Sentence (spinebuster/legdrop) mostly misses Daniels for two. Skipper tries to climb back in but gets knocked back to the floor. Harris goes up to the very top of the cage for a HUGE Death Sentence to crush Daniels for the pin and the titles.
Rating: A. There’s your price of admission right there. This was all about taking two teams and having them beat the tar out of each other for twenty minutes. On top of that we have the story of Skipper’s ribs in a good piece of psychology, a rarity in matches like these. The amazing thing is these four would top this effort in another cage match at Turning Point the following year. Great match.
Now we talk about people coming into TNA because they thought it was the next big thing. The problem is they’re mainly talking about retired guys like Rick Steiner and the Road Warriors, who do add name recognition but are there for quick paychecks instead of doing anything long term.
Raven vs. Shane Douglas
From September 17, 2003 and this is hair vs. hair. Shane is part of the New Church and has James Mitchell in his corner. The stalling begins early with Douglas arguing with a fan and Raven saying just bring it. No contact in the first minute but Raven cranks it up with rights and lefts to the jaw. Raven sends Shane to the floor but refuses to give chase as he knows what’s waiting for him if he charges back inside.
Shane runs to the floor on his own this time but gets whipped into the barricade and drilled in the forehead. They head into the crowd with Shane staggering away from Raven after being rammed into various hard objects. Raven drops a leg on a chair onto Shane’s face and hits him in the head with a garbage can. Thankfully the camera work here is really solid and there’s nothing blocking the view. That used to drive me crazy in ECW.
Back in and Raven puts on a Cobra Clutch to keep Shane in trouble but Douglas bails to the floor to avoid the Raven Effect. Shane comes back in and sends Raven to the floor again with a drop toehold. The brawl continues at ringside with Shane stumbling face first into the steps, busting him open. Shane sends him into the announcers’ table and the steps to come back though to give us matching cuts on the forehead.
They head inside again for a Hennig necksnap on Raven followed by an abdominal stretch. Raven counters the hold twice in a row before putting on one of his own, only to be hiptossed out to the floor. Back in and Shane looks to be vomiting in a disturbing visual. Raven kicks him in the face and grabs a chair but Shane comes back with a chain (signature weapon) shot to the head. It’s only good for two though and Raven comes back with a drop toehold into the chair for the same result.
A superkick drops Shane again but New Church member Slash pulls the referee to the floor. Raven takes out Slash but has a bulldog countered, resulting in a ref bump. Here’s New Church member Sinn (Kizarny/Sinn Bowdee) to help with the beatdown but the Gathering (Julio Dinero and CM Punk) come out to take the New Church to the back. Shane takes too much time loading up a table and gets caught by the Raven Effect for two. This DVD has made that move look so lame.
Raven goes up top but gets shoved through the table for another near fall. Another table is brought in and Raven hits the Effect through said table but the lights go out. It doesn’t help that Shane clearly kicked out before the arena went dark, but they come back on to reveal a mystery man who has been around for months. He pulls off a mask to reveal Vampiro who lays out Raven to give Shane the pin, costing Raven his hair.
Rating: C+. Overbooking aside, it’s amazing how much easier it is to sit through a Shane Douglas match when I don’t have to listen to him talk. Raven really did have a career rebirth in TNA and was having some awesome matches in this run. I’m not sure what the New Church deal was (I know it was a stable and all that jazz) but the blowff (I guess?) was good here.
Post match Raven is forced to have his hair shaved and then look into a mirror. Don West is furious and throws down his headset.
On to Sting who you knew was coming. Everyone was in awe of him showing up because Sting was the one big name free agent they ever got. That would be the case for the next several years.
AJ Styles/Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett/Lex Luger
From November 17, 2003. Luger alone could make this a trainwreck. Sting comes out first here which is a strange choice to say the least. It doesn’t help that JB calls Styles (accompanied by Jimmy Hart of all people) Sting’s opponent. Jeff is world champion because he’s Jeff Jarrett and this is TNA. Luger is heavily muscled but clearly not in the best of shape. Before the match, Jarrett’s manager Don Callis (Cyrus/The Jackyl) says that AJ doesn’t belong in the same ring as Luger and Jarrett. Sting of course disagrees and we’re ready to go.
Jarrett starts with Sting and is quickly shoved down and headlocked. A Stinger Splash misses but Sting puts on the brakes and clotheslines Jarrett down. Off to AJ for the drop down into a dropkick and a knee to the chest for two. The good guys both try Scorpions on the heels but Luger and Jarrett bail to the floor.
It’s off to Luger for his first match in America since WCW went under. AJ is easily shoved down and a gorilla press shows off Luger’s power. We hit the bearhug for a few moments before Lex drops him to tag Jarrett back in. A spinebuster puts Styles down again and it’s back to Luger. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Jeff who counters a hurricanrana attempt. AJ is stuck on Jeff’s shoulders but gets him into the corner for the tag to Sting, only to have Luger distract the referee so the tag doesn’t count.
Jeff’s Figure Four is blocked but AGAIN the referee misses the hot tag. Luger sends AJ to the floor so Sting comes in sans tag to clean house. A Death Drop gets two on Jarrett but Luger breaks up the pin. Sting escapes the Torture Rack attempt as AJ comes back in with a springboard cross body on Luger for two. In a HORRIBLE looking ending, Sting comes in with the ball bat and hits Luger twice in the ribs and chest. Luger, ever the great performer, TOTALLY NO SELLS THEM until Sting hits him in the jaw, knocking Luger into a rollup by AJ for the pin. Luger pops up after the pin and looks shocked instead of, you know, dead.
Rating: D. The ending drags this down even more than I expected it to. Luger was trying but it was the same act that was getting tired eight years before this match. I’m not sure how much you can blame Sting as he hit Luger with a freaking BASEBALL BAT but Luger wouldn’t sell the shots. That just looked ridiculous and nearly more comical than anything else.
We talk about Jarrett’s struggles as champion, meaning he’s fighting everyone in the company at once. This transitions into Dusty vs. Jarrett for control of the company which transitions into a discussion of how TNA has grown over the years.
Dusty Rhodes vs. Jeff Jarrett
From November 26, 2003 and this is for control of the Asylum, which I assume means control of the company. It’s also billed as Fans’ Revenge, meaning there are “fans” at ringside with leather straps to act as lumberjacks. Jeff is world champion but of course this is non-title. The fans come out to Hulk Hogan’s WCW theme music (American Made) which made my head snap back to the monitor.
Jarrett offers to beat up all the fans and save Dusty for last. Tenay dedicates this match to recently deceased NWA World Champion Dick Hutton, which is a name you probably won’t hear more than five times ever in modern wrestling. Dusty scores with a quick Bionic Elbow and Jeff instinctively rolls to the floor, only to run back inside to escape the straps. Now Jeff runs from another elbow attempt and takes his chances on the floor.
More strap shots send him back inside to face the Dream as the fans (the real ones, not the indy workers at ringside) are getting into this. That same sequence happens a few more times as Rhodes just stands in the corner. Jeff finally realizes he’s fighting Dusty Rhodes and punches him down with ease but Dusty starts shaking. The Flip Flop and Fly sets up the Bionic Elbow to send Jeff out for more strapping.
Dusty takes one of the straps for some shots of his own but the referee gets bumped. Jeff gets the strap and beats on Dusty but Jimmy Hart and Don Callis (managers) come in to fight. This draws out Director of Authority Erik Watts to chokeslam Jarrett…and that’s that. The DVD just goes to another history package, meaning I guess it was a no contest?
Rating: D+. This falls under the category of you know what you’re getting. Dusty was fifty eight years old and hadn’t been an active wrestler in over ten years. The match was about the lumberjacks getting in some shots on Jarrett and giving the fans something amusing to see. Dusty would stick around as an authority figure four years.
On to disc 2.
We hit 2004 and talk about how TNA is more than just another indy company and is really getting a reputation. Again, that’s true. Dixie talks about getting in big names like Sting and Scott Hall coming in, even though Hall was there when the company started. Abyss was thrilled with having Terry Funk and Sting as his co-workers after growing up watching them.
Julio Dinero/CM Punk vs. Raven/Terry Funk
From February 18, 2004. Punk and Dinero are still the Gathering even though they’re not under Raven’s control anymore. Apparently this is Raven’s big return from an unknown amount of time gone. Dinero blasts Funk in the back with a chair before the bell as things starts in a brawl. Raven puts on a right side up Tarantula on Punk before Dinero comes in to save his heel partner. It’s SO strange to see Punk with shoulder length dirty blonde hair and yellow shorts.
Everyone heads outside where Funk is busted open. Punk takes Terry back inside to talk a lot of trash but Terry comes back with a Stunner of all things to send CM to the floor. Dinero comes in but gets decked as well. There’s the spinning toe hold and a small package for two on Julio as Punk makes the save. Dinero’s top rope backsplash hits Terry’s eternally damaged knees and Funk crawls over to the corner….but gets punched by CM Punk because the blood has blinded him.
The tag brings in Raven a few seconds later and Bird Boy cleans house. We get the rag (don’t ask) on Punk’s face and a bulldog/clothesline combo takes the Gathering down. Another Funk Stunner puts Dinero down and we get the TUMBLEWEED (abdominal stretch into a rolling rollup) for two. Raven comes back in and hits a quick DDT for the pin on Dinero.
Rating: D. This was about having Funk in there and that’s about it. The Stunners were out of nowhere but almost ignored by the announcers. I’ll give Terry this much: he isn’t just out there throwing punches and nothing more. It’s also strange to see Punk as a glorified indy guy instead of one of the biggest stars in the world.
Post match James Mitchell brings in a taser to take out Raven but Funk takes the shot instead.
We talk about Abyss vs. AJ Styles who feuded multiple times over the years. Abyss gets the spotlight here for a change.
Abyss vs. AJ Styles
From March 17, 2004 and this is a ladder match for the #1 contendership. The brawl is on immediately and AJ hits the Pele (called a bicycle kick here) to stagger the monster. AJ tries to hit the ropes but Abyss hits a HARD clothesline to take his head off. A chop that would make Big Show cringe puts AJ down and Abyss goes to get the ladder. Abyss shoves AJ down with the ladder from the floor but AJ just rams into Abyss to knock him back to the floor. Styles goes up the ladder but hops down and moves the ladder closer to the ropes. It takes too long to set up though and Abyss shoves the ladder down.
Both guys are back inside now and Abyss whips Styles hard into the ladder. The monster climbs up VERY slowly so AJ makes an easy save before bulldogging him onto the ladder. A springboard dropkick sends Abyss to the floor and Styles follows out with a dive. Now it’s AJ going up but Abyss blasts him in the back with a chair before wedging it between the ropes in the corner. Shock Treatment puts AJ down again and Abyss pulls out another ladder. This one stays outside though as he bridges it between the ring and the barricade.
AJ blocks a chokeslam by biting Abyss’ fingers but the monster throws him head first into the chair in the corner to knock Styles loopy. Abyss throws in some more chairs but AJ counters a powerbomb into the Styles Clash (really a pancake due to the legs not being wrapped around Abyss’ arms but close enough) in a very surprising power display. AJ goes up the ladder for a 450 splash, drawing a well earned THIS IS AWESOME chant.
They both climb again but AJ slows Abyss down with some kicks to the head. AJ can’t reach the contract so he busts out a sunset powerbomb to put Abyss through two chairs set up in the corner. Cue Raven to distract AJ for no explained reason, allowing Abyss to shove the ladder over, sending Styles FACE FIRST into the bridged ladder. Abyss easily gets the contract. Apparently Raven was trying to get Russo’s attention or something.
Rating: B+. They had my favorite match ever in TNA so it’s no surprise that I liked this too. It’s the David vs. Goliath formula which is going to work almost every time, especially when you have two people that can work at a high level. The ending felt abrupt but the big spots almost all worked here. Really good stuff, as expected.
We finally go back to the X-Division and talk about all the guys that came in to fill out the division. The expert on this subject:….Abyss? Oh never mind as he’s talking about all kinds of new guys coming in and not just X-Division people. The new guy in focus here: Monty Brown.
Sabu vs. Monty Brown
From April 14, 2004 and this is under hardcore rules. For you old guys, Brown is basically an intelligent Ahmed Johnson but about 10 years older. Sabu tries to jump Brown but gets sent into the corner with ease and pummeled like he stole something. Brown sends him into the ropes but gets caught in a springboard tornado DDT for two. A quick arm tie neckbreaker gives Brown control again but Sabu comes right back with a springboard middle rope huricanrana for another near fall.
It’s already chair time with Sabu pelting it at Brown’s head and staying there in a great visual. A stiff right hand sets up an overhead double underhook suplex from Monty but he takes too long going to the middle rope. Brown comes back again with hard right hands to the face and ribs. He wasn’t all that well rounded at this point if you didn’t notice. The Pounce (basically a hard shoulder block/spear) sends Sabu flying through the ropes and out to the floor.
That’s fine with him as he’s able to pull out a table, only to have Brown punch him in the face yet again. Sabu rams him face first into the table and hits a springboard dive to take Monty down. Another chair is pelted at Brown’s head for two (remember falls count anywhere) but he easily whips Sabu into the crowd. Brown hits a series of backbreakers across his knee before throwing Sabu into a pile of chairs.
A third chair is pelted at Monty’s head and Sabu drags a table out from behind the stands. They head into the locker room but Sabu comes flying back out. Abyss walks through the door before powerbombing Sabu through the table. Brown comes out of the locker room and squares off with Abyss but some dark haired chick comes out to calm Abyss down and take him away. A quick Pounds ends Sabu.
Rating: D+. This was just there to get a hardcore match on the set. Brown was a guy that seemed to have a ton of potential and would have been great as an over the top Scott Steiner style character. He never got pushed to the top though and I can see why that never happened. Sabu was his usual self here.
Back to Jeff Jarrett who talks about feuding with a ton of people and thinks the work came out well. I can’t say I disagree, but Jarrett did have the title more than he should have.
NWA World Title: AJ Styles vs. Jeff Jarrett
From April 21, 2004. Jarrett is defending inside a cage and AJ is a surprise opponent, even though the DVD graphic shows that it’s AJ. Jarrett thinks it’s going to be Raven but Director of Authority Vince Russo runs through other challengers for about five minutes before announcing Styles, sending West and Tenay into their usual frenzy. Pin/submission only here. Feeling out process to start with AJ outworking Jeff on the mat to frustrate the champion. A shoulder block gets AJ nowhere so he chops the skin off Jeff’s chest.
They trade armdrags and chops until Jeff jacks AJ’s jaw to take over. Styles avoids being rammed into the cage and drops down into a loud dropkick. The running knee drop gets two but Jeff comes back with some nice right hands. AJ nips up into a hurricanrana and gets two off a powerslam. They’re only in second or so gear at this point.
Styles gets two off a delayed vertical suplex but Jeff comes back by ramming AJ into the steel twice in a row. Rolling belly to back suplexes get another near fall for the champion and he stops an AJ comeback by avoiding a missile dropkick. It’s time to go after the leg but AJ counters the Figure Four into a small package for two. Instead it’s a Sharpshooter from the champ but AJ is quickly in the ropes. Jeff doesn’t let go of the hold and AJ counters into a Sharpshooter of his own, but Earl Hebner is nowhere in sight so we keep going.
The moonsault out of the corner into the reverse DDT gets two for AJ but the referee gets his eye poked. Powder in AJ’s eyes sets up a backslide for two but AJ comes back with blind kicks. The referee checks on AJ’s eyes but Jeff pulls out a chain and lays out Styles for two. Why Jeff has to hide these things in a cage is beyond me but the match has been good so I won’t complain. Jarrett has his Styles Clash countered and the real version gets two.
AJ goes up to the top of the cage but Jeff sends the referee into the wall to knock AJ down a bit. A flying shot into the cage knocks AJ to the floor (pin/submission only remember) but the referees get him back in. Jeff uses the opening to get a guitar but Vince Russo comes out for a distraction. AJ kicks the guitar to pieces and rolls Jarrett up for the pin and the title.
Rating: B. This continues the old theory of talented guys can have good matches no matter what rules they’re fighting under. To go back to what Jarrett was talking about, this is the kind of thing that you need veterans for in fledgling companies. Seeing AJ vs. a bunch of other guys fans have never heard of means nothing, but seeing AJ beat former WCW World Champion Jeff Jarrett for the title makes the fans think something of AJ.
Raven is livid.
On to some unique stuff from TNA: the six sided ring (unique for America at least). The theory seems to be that the number of sides doesn’t matter as long as the action is good. I can go with that idea.
X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Frankie Kazarian
From June 9, 2004 with Kaz defending. This is one of the first matches in the six sided ring which debuted six days earlier on the first episode of a show called Impact. It’s strange to see Kaz in Antonio Banderas form nowadays. Feeling out process to start with AJ taking the champion down into a front facelock. Kaz counters into an armbar as the fans tell him that he still sucks. An armdrag gets AJ free and they stare each other down again. Styles grabs the arm for a wristlock but Kaz gets in a shot to the jaw to escape.
Another armdrag sends Kaz out to the floor but he comes back with a wristlock of his own. AJ starts firing off some kicks to the thigh before peppering Kaz with forearms. Kaz sends him into the ropes but AJ drops down to set up the dropkick but the champion wisely heads outside. Back in and Kaz has to escape a Styles Clash attempt so now AJ hits the dropkick and a knee drop for two. Kaz gets sent out to the floor again and the frustration sets in for the champion.
Things start to pick up with AJ throwing Kaz back inside but getting caught by a slingshot DDT onto the apron. Back inside and Kaz suplexes Styles down and pounds away with right hands to the head. AJ tries a sunset flip but Kaz rolls through into a nice spinning neckbreaker for two. An ax handle to the back has AJ in trouble but he comes back with a running forearm in the corner but only hits turnbuckle on the second attempt. Kaz scores with a slingshot dropkick in the corner to knock the wind out of AJ after the miss knocked the senses out of him.
We hit a chinlock for a bit before going outside again with AJ being sent ribs first into the apron. Back in and Kaz snaps AJ’s throat over the top rope but misses his slingshot splash. This has been very good back and forth stuff so far which doesn’t leave me much to talk about. Both guys go to the corner and AJ superplexes Kaz down to the floor for a sick sounding thud.
Both guys are slow to get up and back inside but it’s Styles getting all fired up for forearms to the head. Kaz loads up a spinning downward spiral but AJ spins out and nails him with the Pele. The Styles Clash is countered with a kick to the head into a rollup for two and a kind of jumping superkick gets a very close two. Kaz puts him on the top rope but has to escape a middle rope Styles Clash. Instead it’s Kaz with the downward spiral (his finisher) for another near fall.
Kaz loads up a Clash (popular idea against AJ) but AJ gets free and takes the champion down with a discus lariat. Styles goes up again but another jumping superkick puts him down. AJ shoves him down and TOTALLY misses the Spiral Tap but covers anyway. Since there was literally no contact Kaz kicks out at two but the referee counts the pin anyway. The announcers are as confused as I was but we have a new champion.
Rating: B+. This was REALLY good stuff until the ending screwed things up. I mean there were literally nine inches of mat between AJ and Kaz on that Spiral Tap attempt but the pin counted anyway. Still though, I can easily accept nineteen minutes of awesome in exchange for thirty seconds of horrible.
We talk about the roster strength going into the TV deal on Fox Sport Net. The focus here is Jeff Hardy.
Jeff Hardy vs. Monty Brown
From July 28, 2004 for the #1 contendership, I believe for the first Victory Road PPV. Feeling out process to start with Brown easily shoving Hardy across the ring. Jeff comes back with a few standing switches and a leg trip to send Brown to the floor. Hardy does some Hogan-esque poses to tick Brown off. Back inside and Hardy hits the legdrop between the legs followed by the seated dropkick for two.
Brown is tired of this selling thing and starts choking and stomping on Jeff to take over. Three straight belly to back suplexes put Hardy down and the awesome selling begins by Jeff. Brown cranks on the arm a bit after working on the ribs for the last three minutes. Off to an STF which is a little bit better but Hardy makes it to the rope. Back up and Hardy has to hurricanrana out of a powerbomb before getting two off a clothesline.
Hardy runs the ropes but gets caught in a the Alpha Bomb (body slam position but Brown swings him up into a powerbomb) for two. Brown calls for the Pounce but Hardy counters into the most telegraphed Twist of Fate I can ever remember. He loads up the Swanton but Jeff Jarrett pulls Brown away. Monty doesn’t want it that way though and yells at Jarrett. Back inside and Monty misses the Pounce, allowing Hardy to get a rollup for the pin and the title shot.
Rating: C-. Not bad here but the lack of psychology on Brown’s part got on my nerves. The ending a showdown in the future but I don’t think it was for Victory Road. Why Hardy never won the title at this point was beyond me but that’s another story for later. Brown continues to have a great look but nothing to back it up with for the most part.
AJ talks about how the X-Division wrestlers will do stupid stuff to give the fans their money’s worth. Sabin and Shelley think about the same way.
AJ Styles vs. Kid Kash
From August 18, 2004 and this is a street fight. Kash smacks AJ in the face to start but gets thrown to the floor, setting up a big flip dive from Styles. AJ sends him into the barricade and kicks at the ribs before heading inside so Kash can beg for mercy. The breather lets Kash score with a jawbreaker and the fight heads back to the floor. Some chair shots put AJ down and Kid talks trash.
AJ slides under the guardrail and launches himself at Kash before throwing him into the crowd. A chair shot to the back sets up a backbreaker on the bleachers but Kash comes back with something resembling a DDT to get a breather. They head over to an opening next to the bleachers where a table just happens to be waiting. Kash goes into the scaffolding but AJ follows him as the camera has troubles keeping up.
They slug each other back and forth in front of a group of fans before Kash tries to throw AJ over the scaffolding. AJ hangs on but Kash follows him down before both guys fall about eight feet through the table onto the concrete. After some laying around they get back up for a trashcan shot to AJ’s back.
AJ headbutts Kash through the crowd and throws him into a wall. Back to the ring now where Kash escapes the Styles Clash and gets two off a standing hurricanrana. AJ comes back with a wheelbarrow suplex for two but his neckbreaker is countered into a suplex to give Kash his own near fall. Kash’s goon Dallas shows up to interfere but accidentally sends Kash into a rollup for the pin.
Rating: B-. This felt like a better version of an ECW brawl but it doesn’t make the match great. Kash is a guy that has never done anything for me other than the time he threatened to stab various people. The idea was to show physicality in the X-Division which worked, but it kind of takes away the aspect that made the division special.
We finally talk about the move to Orlando as the Asylum Era comes to an end. Mr. Anderson pops up above five hours into this thing to talk about hearing horror stories from when WCW taped at Universal Studios.
NWA World Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett
From September 18, 2004 with Jarrett defending. Hardy jumps Jarrett before the big match intros but referees hold them back so JB can do his thing. JB introduces championship committee member Larry Zbyszko but apparently Jarrett is a Sammartino fan as he goes after Hardy again. Hardy is introduced and runs Jarrett out of the ring again but JB WILL NOT BE DENIED. He gets the entrances done as security is holding a busted Jarrett down on the floor.
Security lets them go and the bell rings. It’s a brawl to start until Hardy armdrags Jarrett down. Monty Brown is watching from the stage. The champion goes after the knee but Hardy kicks him into the buckle to escape. Jarrett crotches him on top but his Stroke is countered into a middle rope bulldog for two. Jarrett bails to the floor so Hardy drops a top rope ax handle to the back of the head.
The champ gets backdropped into the crowd and Hardy follows him out with a Whisper in the Wind. Jarrett is able to get in a chair shot to take over as Abyss is also watching from the stage. Hardy blocks being thrown off the balcony because it would, you know, kill him so Jarrett hits him with a chair and takes him back to ringside instead. The referee went down somewhere in there so the Jeffs are all alone in the ring. Hardy hits the Swanton for two as the referee was late getting back in.
Now the Figure Four goes on and Hardy is in big trouble. Raven is watching as well as Hardy turns the hold over. Hardy comes back with a leg lock (Sharpshooter without his legs intertwining with Jarrett’s) but the champion makes the ropes and bails to the floor. Dusty Rhodes beats up Jarrett due to reasons not mentioned, drawing out Director of Authority Vince Russo. Hardy hits a bad looking downward spiral but misses the Swanton. One guitar shot later and Jarrett keeps the belt.
Rating: C. This was another garbage brawl that belonged in 2000 WWF more than here. The ending was the same stuff we sat through with Jarrett for years with Dusty and Russo taking up more screen time. The match was nothing great but these two never did have the best chemistry together.
One last thank you to the Asylum fans wraps us up.
Overall Rating: B. For a five and a half hour DVD, this was actually really solid stuff. There are some very good matches on here with the cage and ladder matches standing out above the rest. That being said, there’s at least an hour that could have been cut out of here without anything being missed. You could pretty easily drop the D’Lo/AJ vs. XXX match, the Dusty vs. Jarrett match and Raven vs. Shane and tighten this up a lot.
Overall this is more accurately titled “Remember When Jeff Jarrett Wouldn’t Go Away And AJ Styles Ruled The World”, which isn’t a bad thing as those were some good times for the top of the company. That being said, the lack of Ron Killings is pretty bizarre as he held the title for about four months combined. Other than that and a low level of Jerry Lynn, they covered the top of the card around this time quite well.
This set is available for $20 on TNAwrestling.com and is worth the cost if you’re a fan of what TNA used to be. I’ve even seen it on sale for five bucks, meaning you’re getting wrestling at a buck an hour and you can’t top that. Good set to start this off with but the idea of going nine hours is rather terrifying.
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