Impact Wrestling
Date: July 31, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

It’s Destination X, meaning for one night a year, the X Division actually matters. In this case we have another Option C, as Austin Aries has cashed in his X-Division Title for a World Title shot. Also, we have the reunited Hardy Boys challenging the Wolves for the World Tag Team Titles which should be awesome. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video of Aries in an empty arena and talking about how he’s willing to give it all up for one chance tonight.

The opening video talks about the two title matches.

Here are Dixie and company to get things going. Dixie brags about changing the rules on everyone and giving them the real EC Dub (not ECW of course). She’s given them a star in Ethan and he’ll lead TNA into the future. Ethan talks about how the two men who debuted last week are the real ECW men. First up is the man formerly known as Big Z, but now he’ll go by his real name of Rycklon. The other guy is just known as Gene Snitsky.

This brings Ethan to Team 3D and Dreamer. The fans want tables but Ethan says this is going to become the house that the Carters built. A challenge is issued for one final challenge to end this war once and for all. Also, Dixie is NEVER going to be put through a table, no matter what.

Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Wolves

Wolves are defending. Eddie and Matt crank arm work to start as the fans are split. The champions take over but Matt sends Richards into the corner to take over. Off to Jeff as the Hardys start working over Davey’s arm. A double suplex gets two and it’s back to a wristlock from Matt. Richards finally gets in a shot to the head and makes a tag off to Edwards to clean house.

A double hurricanrana puts both Hardys on the floor, setting up a double suicide dive to keep the champions in control. Back in and Eddie enziguris Jeff into a German suplex from Davey for two. Matt saves his brother from a double suplex before the Wolves are thrown outside. Poetry In Motion over the top puts everyone down before a regular one hits Eddie in the corner.

The Side Effect sets up the Swanton but Richards sends Jeff outside before a cover. Matt gets two off a moonsault to Edwards before both Hardys put on Ice Picks (double underhook guillotine chokes). Davey breaks Jeff’s hold and makes the save before sending him crashing to the floor.

The kick to Matt’s chest sets up the double double stomp for two on Matt. Back up and a Twist of Fate gets two on Davey and a backslide gets the same for Richards. Jeff is still down, allowing the Wolves to hit their powerbomb/top robe Backstabber for the pin on Matt at 10:08.

Rating: B. This was good but not great. The tagging part went away a few minutes into the match but that’s probably the best thing all around. I didn’t know who was going to win here and that’s a very good thing considering how this could have gone. The Hardys still looked good and Matt hasn’t looked like this in years.

Video on Low Ki, an X-Division pioneer.

Low Ki and Joe stare at each other in the back.

X-Division Title Qualifying Match: DJZ vs. Manik vs. Low Ki

It’s the usual series of triple threats to set up another triple threat for the vacant title. DJZ heads outside to start, allowing Manik and Low Ki to dive around a lot. Back in and DJZ dropkicks both guys down before sending Manik outside. Low Ki counters a tornado DDT and sends DJZ into the corner, only to have Manik come back in to break it up.

Low Ki gets sent to the floor and Manik puts a Black Widow on DJZ. He changes it over to an Indian Deathlock but Ki kicks him down to crank on DJZ’s leg even worse. Ki gets knocked off the top and DZJ gets two off a rollup to Manik. DJZ gets kicked off the top and out to the floor and the Ki Crusher ends Manik at 5:10.

Rating: C. The match was fine but I really have a problem getting into these qualifying matches. They’re so similar every single year with people being brought back, wrestling maybe a match or two after it’s over, and then usually leaving again. That really isn’t all that interesting and gets tiresome quick. Still though, not a bad match.

We look back at Sanada turning on Great Muta and joining forces with James Storm last week.

Here’s Storm with something to say. What we saw last week was a student rising up instead of being held down by his mentor. Now Storm is Sanada’s new mentor and will see that he gets everything done.

X-Division Title Qualifying Match: Sanada vs. Brian Cage vs. Crazzy Steve

The muscular Cage (he once appeared on Gut Check) cleans house to start and gets two off a backbreaker to Sanada. Steve gets in Cage’s face and offers a test of strength before stomping on Cage’s foot. That’s fine with Cage as he picks up Sanada in a Samoan drop and Sanada in a slam at the same time. Both guys get thrown down before Cage can’t hit a delayed vertical superplex on Steve. The Crazzy one hits a sunset bomb for two but Sanada makes the save. Sanada gets hammered down in the corner but Cage misses a Lionsault, allowing Sanada to hit a tiger suplex on Steve for the pin at 3:55.

Rating: D+. Cage looked really impressive but there was no question who was going to win here. Sanada is a guy that we have a reason to care about which puts him far ahead of a lot of the international talent brought in for something like this. There isn’t much to say here though, as is the case most of the time on this special.

Team 3D and Dreamer accept.

Bobby Roode gives Aries a pep talk.

Here are Team 3D and Tommy Dreamer with something to say. D-Von talks about being gone for awhile but now he’s back with his best friend Dreamer and his Brother Ray. They know how to finish a war and that’s what they’re going to do. Dreamer says he’s been in wars against and with these men along with others that will die for all of us. Being hardcore is a work ethic and he would go to war with anyone in TNA because that’s what this business is all about.

This brings out Dixie’s cronies with Ethan saying this is war, but the war is next week. Ray isn’t pleased and asks if Ethan knows who he is and where they are. Ray may not know how to do a lot of things, but he knows how to start a riot in New York City. If Ethan gets to name the time, Ray gets to make it a weapons match.

Angle and Joe shake hands in the back and Angle is pleased.

Team Dixie is ready for next week.

The Beautiful People don’t think much of Terryn and Gail Kim.

Someone whose name begins with an H is coming.

X-Division Qualifying Match: Samoa Joe vs. Tigre Uno vs. Homicide

Before the match, Joe talks about how awesome he is and how he’ll bring the focus back to the X-Division. Tigre is quickly thrown down but Homicide sends Joe out to the floor for a big running flip dive as we take a break. Back with Tigre dropkicking both guys down but he gets double teamed with a High/Low.

Joe and Homicide have their big showdown with Joe taking over and hammering away. Some knees to Homicide’s head have him in trouble but Tigre comes back and takes over with kicks of his own. Homicide takes Tigre down with a tornado DDT but Uno is in the corner. Joe takes over again but Homicide breaks up the MuscleBuster. That only lasts for a few seconds though as Joe busts up Homicide’s muscles to advance at 9:50.

Rating: C+. It’s the best of the three matches but that really doesn’t cover a lot of ground. Joe advancing is the logical move and I really hope Homicide isn’t going to be around full time. I’ve never cared for him and he doesn’t seem to do much other than wrestle a strong style which doesn’t do anything for me.

Video on Abyss vs. Bram. Abyss sings My Girl and brings out Janice.

Video on Aries cashing in the X Title last week.

We recap the X-Division stuff.

TNA World Title: Austin Aries vs. Bobby Lashley

Bobby is defending and it’s a staredown to start. Aries goes to the leg to start but it’s a very slow opening. More kicks have Lashley in trouble and Austin wraps his leg around the ropes for even more kicks. A dropkick to the back sends Lashley to the floor but his dive is caught in midair for a belly to belly suplex as we take a break. Back with Lashley taking over and putting on a reverse bearhug.

Aries fights up but gets caught in a regular bearhug. Austin escapes again but gets caught in a nice gorilla press drop. The Dominator is countered with a discus forearm and a series of regular forearms in the corner. Lashley is sent to the floor and Aries hits the top rope ax handle, setting up a missile dropkick back inside. The corner dropkick is caught in the Dominator though (sweet counter) but the spear is countered into the Last Chancery.

Lashley fights out and lifts Aries for a suplex but just throws Aries forward. Another spear attempt misses and there’s the discus forearm to send Lashley back into the corner. The running drokick sets up the brainbuster but Lashley is up at two. Lashley rolls away to avoid the 450 but Aries misses the suicide dive. Back in and the spear retains Lashley’s title at 16:28.

Rating: B-. Good match here as Lashley piles up another hero. This is basic wrestling booking as we’re waiting on the hero to rise up and take the title back to the good side. Lashley is little more than a dragon, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good story. Nice match here too with Aries playing the hero really well.

The final video shows Dixie being lifted up for a powerbomb next week with a Twitter hashtag of ITHAPPENS.

Overall Rating: B-. I didn’t hate the show but this really didn’t feel special. The opener was entertaining and the main event was good as well, but there was nothing on here that I’m going to think about soon after this show. I really don’t know what’s coming for Bound For Glory but we should be getting to its build in the next few weeks.

I can’t imagine this is going to help the X-Division either as it looks to be exactly what happened before: the division will mean something for a few weeks and then go away because it doesn’t mean anything until next year’s Destination X. At least it was entertaining while it lasted this year. Good but definitely not great show here.

Results
Wolves b. Hardys – Powerbomb/Backstabber combination to Matt
Low Ki b. DJZ and Manik – Ki Crusher to Manik
Sanada b. Brian Cage and Crazzy Steve – Tiger suplex to Steve
Samoa Joe b. Tigre Uno and Homicide – MuscleBuster to Homicide
Bobby Lashley b. Austin Aries – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Wrestle Kingdom 7
Date: January 4, 2013
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 29,000

Yes I’m doing my puro for the year now to get it over with. This is the biggest show of the year for NJPW, which I’ve heard nothing but good things about for the last year or two. The main event here is IWGP World Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi defending against Kazuchika Okada, which I’ve been told is the mother of all awesome feuds. Given my experience with puro, I have a feeling I’ll find it overrated. Let’s get to it.

Before I get into this, keep in mind that I’ve seen maybe five NJPW shows in my life and I don’t follow it. I likely won’t know any stories save for what quick searches give me and I’ll probably get some names wrong. Please bear with me.

Captain New Japan/Tama Tonga/Wataru Inoue vs. Jado/Tomohiro Ishii/Yoshi-Hashi

Dark match and I’ve only heard of Inoue, Jado and Tonga, who is Meng’s son and one half of the CMLL (Mexico) tag team champions here. The second team is part of Chaos, a big heel stable which doesn’t seem to be evil all the time. They also have a huge roster and this is just part of the team. I believe we’re starting with Jado chopping Inoue into the corner and even doing his own WOO’s. Those really are universal. Inoue comes back with some shoulders to the ribs and puts Jado in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick to the face.

The other heels come in to jump Inoue and it’s off to Hashi for some kicks to Wataru’s chest. Off to Ishii who no sells forearms to the head and kicks Inoue in the ribs. A suplex gets two on Wataru before Jado and Hashi double team Inoue in the corner. Inoue comes back with even more forearms and tags in Tonga who comes in with a cross body to Hashi and Jado.

Everything breaks down with Tonga hitting Jimmy Snuka’s reverse leapfrog into a chop to the chest. It makes sense as Tonga has the long hair and leopard print trunks just like Snuka. It looks like we’ve got a tribute character here. A dropkick puts Jado and Ishii down but Jado comes back with a terrible looking rolling neckbreaker (Cross Rhodes if Tonga was facting up).

The heels all hit running clotheslines in the corner followed by a neckbreaker from Hashi for two. Everything breaks down again and Captain New Japan cleans house, leaving Jado alone 3-1. Tonga hits a double arm DDT with a body scissors (Drew McInty’re Future Shock) for the pin.

Rating: D+. Ok to be fair it’s a dark match but this was just six guys doing moves to each other for about six minutes. Captain New Japan never came in legally and was really more of a distraction for his superhero costume on the apron. Nothing to see here for the most part but this felt like it was supposed to be more fun than serious.

We go to a wide shot of the arena to fill in some time.

Bushi/Kushida/Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger/Tiger Mask IV/Hiromu Takahashi

Also a dark match. I know Liger and Tiger Mask and the rest are all new, though Bushi is in a mask. Liger’s team appears to be faces here but I think everyone here is a crowd favorite. Takahashi starts with I think Kushida, who rides Takahashi in a wrestling sequence and cranks on the arm. Takahashi grabs Kushida’s arm before they head back to the mat for more technical stuff and a standoff.

Off to Bushi vs. Liger with Jushin being sent into the corner and headscissored out to the floor. Bushi teases a dive but rolls to the mat instead before ripping off his mask to reveal another one underneath. A fan gets a souvenir so it’s pretty safe to say everyone here is a face. Tiger Mask comes in to face Taguchi, whose trunks say Funky Weapon. Tiger gets armdragged down a few times but comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a tag off to Liger.

A release Liger Bomb sets up the Surfboard (signature move) before it’s back to Takahashi. Some forearms get two on Taguchi and the tag brings in Tiger for a spin kick to the chest and a Boston crab. I’m sorry for all the play by play here but I have no idea if there’s a story here, nor who most of these people are so there isn’t much else I can talk about. Liger comes back in but gets caught by a DDT, allowing Taguchi to bring Bushi back in.

Bushi gets triple teamed and a Tiger Bomb lays him out. Takahashi gets two off a fisherman’s suplex as everything breaks down. Kushida takes over on Takahashi with a springboard chop and a standing moonsault to give Bushi another near fall. Taguchi and Kushida hit stereo dives to take out Liger and Tiger Mask, allowing Bushi to hit a 450 on Takahashi for the pin.

Rating: C. I liked it better than the first match but it still wasn’t all that great. I’d assume either Liger or Tiger Mask is the biggest star here but the match was focused on everyone else out there. Maybe this was a passing of the torch moment or something, but you would think that would be on the main show instead of in a dark match.

Everyone shakes hands post match.

Back to the wide shot as the PPV should be beginning next. This one lasts a bit longer, though to be fair this wasn’t on the PPV broadcast so I can’t complain. A countdown clock says we’re under five minutes before showtime. We go to some guys in tuxedos and a short young woman in a dress who is very excited about something. I’m pretty sure this is just saying it’s almost time to get started and a final push.

The countdown ends and we go to an opening video which runs down the card and thankfully shows a graphic for every match with names attached. That’s REALLY helpful for first time viewers and a good way to get some basic information. They also hype the matches but I have no idea what’s being said. This video eats up nearly ten minutes, meaning we’ve gone nearly twenty minutes since the ending of the second dark match.

We go right to the first match.

Akebono/Manabu Nakanishi/MVP/Strong Man vs. Bob Sapp/Takashi Iizuka/Toru Yano/Yujiro Takahashi

The second team is again part of Chaos. Sapp gets his own entrance and has a pretty swank white feather robe. Before the match, Takahashi cuts what sounds like a maniacal heel promo. Manabu makes an announcer do the entrance as the good guys come down the aisle but Chaos charges up the ramp for a brawl. The fight heads to the ring with Strong Man slamming two Chaos members down to set up Ballin from MVP.

Sapp comes in and runs both guys into the corner, only to bring in former Sumo wrestler Akebono (he was at Wrestlemania 21 against Big Show) for the showdown. They collide a few times until Sapp is knocked into the corner for splashes from all four of his opponents. The good guys all start stomping their feet to fire up Manabu who racks Sapp in a nice power display. Yano makes the save with a chair to the back and Iizuka gets in one of his own.

After a quick trip to the floor it’s off to Takahashi for a chop off and a rake to Manabu’s eyes. Yano and Iizuka both wrap chairs around Manabu’s neck and pull for a bit before Iizuka stays in for some right hands. Manabu comes back with a clothesline but the other three members of Chaos break up the tag attempt. Everything breaks down and Chaos is sent into the same corner for splashes from all four good guys (popular move). Manabu racks Iizuka for the submission.

Rating: C. This seemed like a big deal and the ending was fine. Manabu racking people seemed to be a big deal so I’m assuming he’s a popular guy. This was treated as an important win so I’m guessing the winners are at odds with Chaos. I still don’t get the love people have for MVP. The guy is fine but I don’t see the star power people insist is there.

The announcer comes in to celebrate with the winners and clothesline Iizuka to the floor. I’ guessing they’re feuding and this was the announcer’s vengeance?

Never Openweight Title: Masato Tanaka vs. Shelton Benjamin

The Never (it’s an acronym and usually capitalized which annoys me as always) Title is part of an offshoot of NJPW for newcomers and outsiders with Tanaka defending. You might remember him from his wars with Mike Awesome back in ECW. I’m sure you know Shelton. Tanaka comes to the ring with a kendo stick which I guess is a signature prop. Feeling out process to start until Shelton speeds things up with a northern lights suplex for two. A release German suplex sends Tanaka bailing to the floor and things slow down.

Shelton will have none of this standing around and hits a BIG flip dive over the top to take out Tanaka and some other guy who was standing next to him. Back in and Tanaka comes back with a forearm in the corner to drop Benjamin and we hit the chinlock. Shelton fights up and they fight over a suplex with Tanaka getting the better of it. They chop it out and whip each other across the ring until Tanaka hits a SCREAMING CLOTHESLINE to take over. Shelton avoids a diving clothesline and comes back with the Dragon Whip to drop the champion.

A Stinger Splash keeps Tanaka in trouble and a bad looking Blockbuster gets two on the champion. Paydirt (Little Jimmy) is blocked by Tanaka but Shelton kicks his head off for two as the announcers talk about ECW. The same guy that Shelton dove on earlier trips Shelton up and blasts him in the head with a kendo stick (Checkov’s Gun works in Japan too) to give Tanaka a two count. Benjamin comes back with an ankle lock but has to take out the interfering guy with a belly to belly superplex. Tanaka uses the distraction to hit a sliding elbow to the head of a seated Shelton to retain the title. That’s a pretty weak finisher.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much to see as it didn’t have time to go anywhere, making it feel like a TV match rather than a PPV title defense. I’ve always been a Shelton fan and it’s nice to see that he’s still in great shape. Tanaka seems to be a heel here which makes sense when you have him facing a guy that can fly like Shelton.

We recap the tag title match. The Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr., aka David Hart Smith and Lance Archer) are the heel champions. Swords and Guns (Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson) beat them in the World Tag League finals and now want a title shot. Simple yet effective.

Tag Titles: Killer Elite Squad vs. Swords and Guns

Anderson is a guy I’ve heard a lot about but only seen a few of his matches. His nickname is Machine Gun and Goto is carrying a sword. One of the champions comes in through a different entrance on a motorcycle, showing off a BIG section of empty seats. The Squad is part of a big heel stable called Suzuki’s Army and has Taka Michinoku with them. It’s a brawl to start with the much bigger Squad cleaning house. Anderson is down on the floor and holding his ribs, leaving Goto to chop in vain at the huge Archer.

Lance hits Old School on Goto and knocks Anderson off the apron again, likely setting up a big hot tag later. A double shoulder puts Goto down and sets up a splash/legdrop combo (imagine Warrior and Hogan using that back in 1990. The world would have ended) for two. Goto finally gets in some offense with a suplex to Smith, allowing for the hot tag off to Anderson. Karl speeds things WAY up and avoids a kick in the corner before kicking Smith in the face twice in a row.

Smith avoids a running backsplash and hooks a tiger suplex for two. Back to Archer for a wicked chokeslam for two but Anderson breaks up a second Old School attempt. Lance blocks a superplex but Anderson busts out a SWEET middle rope TKO for two. The hot tag brings in Goto to clean house and a reverse 3D (belly to back into a neckbreaker) drops Smith. Goto gets two off a German suplex but Archer makes the save. The champions load up a double team move but Smith is kicked away.

Archer is still able to lay Anderson out with a full nelson slam for two as the Squad takes over again. Lance lifts Karl up for a reverse Razor’s Edge but flips him forward into a big slam for no cover. Goto comes back in and lifts Archer up for a suplex. Instead of dropping him back though he flips Lance forward for what was supposed to be something like a sitout Rock Bottom the landing gets botched with Archer just falling to the side.

Smith comes back in with a sitout powerbomb but Anderson sneaks up on him with a Diamond Cutter to put everyone down. Goto fights out of another sitout powerbomb attempt but gets caught in the attempted double team from earlier: a full nelson slam/sitout powerbomb combo but Anderson breaks up the pin again. The same move lays Karl out and a second one for Goto is enough for the pin to retain the belts.

Rating: C+. Definitely the best match of the night so far with Goto being the only guy that didn’t impress me all that much. Smith is a good example of a guy with talent who was limited by the WWE system. There’s only so much you can do when you’re in the ring with Tyson Kidd every night and get stuck as a generic power guy. Archer is a guy who I liked when he was Dallas in TNA and he looked good as a monster here as well. Nice and fun match.

The girl in the dress from earlier poses with Suzuki’s Army but doesn’t seem thrilled to do so.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata

I remember watching Nagata in WCW and being bored out of my mind. I’ve heard that he’s WAY better in Japan and hopefully those stories are true. Suzuki is a big time heel but gets his entrance played here in a cool spectacle. The fans sing along with a long part, making it a weird choice for a heel entrance. Nagata has an unidentified second with him. They go at it before the bell and fight over a lockup with both guys firing off forearms to the jaw. A hard kick to Nagata’s back is no sold and they trade more no sold forearms. It’s going to be one of those matches isn’t it?

Nagata doesn’t go down from a boot to the face so he knocks Suzuki to the apron with a big boot of his own. Yuji goes after the arm, snapping it over the top rope and sending Minoru out to the floor. Nagata stops to yell at someone we can’t see and gets sent into and over the barricade. Some guy, presumably part of Suzuki’s Army, goes after Yuji with a chair, allowing Minoru to attack Yuji’s second. A chair shot to Nagata’s back lays him out again and Minoru chokes with the edge of the chair for good measure.

Back in and Suzuki headbutts Nagata down to a big reaction from the announcers and it’s off to a leg bar. Nagata finally makes the rope so here’s a front facelock to keep the slow pace rolling. Yuji shoves him off and kicks him in the face again before snapping off some kicks to the chest. A Rock Bottom is countered into another front facelock but Nagata suplexes his way to freedom. There’s a bad looking Crossface on Minoru but he counters into an ankle lock. Well channeling Angle vs. Benoit is better than what we’ve been seeing so far.

Suzuki kicks him in the face again so Nagata does the Undertaker sit up twice in a row. Back up and Minoru scores with a running dropkick before firing off a bunch of slaps. They’re actually enough to put Nagata down a few times and there’s a sleeper from Suzuki. He keeps the hold on for a few arm drops before letting it go and loading up his cradle piledriver finisher which is countered with a backdrop.

Nagata goes back to the arm by snapping it over his shoulder but has to break up an armbar by kicking the other Army guy from the apron. They slap it out again for a good thirty seconds until Yuji finally kicks him in the arm to take over again. More slapping, more arm kicking. Nagata cranks on the armbar again with his eyes rolling back into his head (apparently a trademark) and we cut to a crowd shot. The referee asks Minoru if he wants to tap out while looking at his face instead of his hand. Suzuki finally gets his feet in the ropes but walks into a Saito suplex for the pin.

Rating: C. Maybe it’s because I’m not a puro fan, maybe it’s because I’m used to WWE style, maybe it’s because I’m old, but I do not get the appeal of this style. Why is watching two guys stand in the middle of the ring slapping each other for 40 seconds supposed to interest me? This wasn’t horrible but Nagata still does nothing for me at all. I’m pretty sure this was supposed to be a big showdown and a rubber match for these two at the Tokyo Dome but it didn’t work for me.

Junior Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Low Ki

This is the Cruiserweight/X-Division Title. Devitt is an Irish wrestler and defending. These three are the only men to hold the title since June of 2010 with Devitt holding it far longer than either of the other two. He’s held it the second most combined days in the title’s history, but is still about three years behind Liger’s total. Low Ki, a member of Chaos, comes to the ring in a suit with two handguns, looking like Agent 47 from the Hitman video game series. Apparently he’s going to be wrestling in the suit.

Kota is taken out as soon as the bell rings and I have a feeling this is going to be one of those matches I can barely keep up with and can do little more than play by play. Low Ki and Devitt run the ropes as fast as I’ve ever seen with Ki running the champ over. Kota comes back with a running shot to Ki before backflipping over Devitt and ducking a kick from Ki, giving us a standoff. Kota hits a pair of kicks to Ki’s chest, sending him to the floor and giving us a showdown. Devitt and Ibushi shake hands and we’re ready to go.

Kota drops to the mat as they run the ropes but Devitt hits a dropkick to his ribs, knocking Ibushi to the floor. Ki comes back in to jump the champion but Kota follows him in and sends Ki back outside, setting up a springboard moonsault to take him down. Back in and Kota fires off kicks to the chest for two on Devitt before hooking a chinlock. A back elbow gets two on Devitt but the Prince goes to the apron for an enziguri, only to be pulled to the floor by Ki.

Back in and Low chokes away on Kota for two before they slug it out. Ki uses kicks (shocking) for two but Devitt is back in. Low Ki kicks him in the chest for two and slaps on an abdominal stretch. The champ’s sunset flip is blocked but Kota comes back with a springboard missile dropkick to send Low Ki to the outside again. Devitt follows up by sending Ibushi to the floor before taking both of them out with a nice flip dive. All three guys are back in now and Devitt hits running clotheslines and dropkicks on both challengers. A top rope Boom Drop gets two on Ibushi as the crowd is WAY into this.

Devitt hits a spinning enziguri on Low Ki but Ki jumps out of a reverse suplex attempt. Prince kicks Kota in the head but Ki hits a rolling Liger Kick to send Devitt to the floor. Kota and Low Ki trade what look to be suplex attempts until Kota dropkicks him out to the floor again. Ibushi hits a HUGE springboard corkscrew moonsault to take everyone down and pop the crowd something fierce.

The challengers slug it out on the ramp with Kota kicking Ki in the head. Back inside and Ibushi tries a top rope moonsault but has to land on his feet, only to immediately hit a standing moonsault for two on Devitt. The pin was somewhat botched as Devitt didn’t kick out fast enough and the referee had to slow down on the count. A half nelson suplex gets the same on Prince and Kota follows up with a sitout Last Ride for two more with Ki making the save.

Low Ki escapes a snap German suplex and stomps Ibushi’s chest for another near fall before finally taking off the suit jacket. The Ki Krusher (modified Muscle Buster) gets another two count with Devitt making the save. He was late again though and the referee had to pretend to dive out of the way as Prince came off the top. Devitt loads up what looked to be a top rope hurricanrana but gets crotched into the Tree of Woe.

Before Ki can stomp on his face, Kota springboards up to the top for a hurricanrana on Ki for a VERY close two. Ibushi misses a Phoenix Splash and rolls into a top rope double stomp to the back from Devitt, but Ki hits a hard running dropkick to send Prince into the corner for two. Ki loads up a top rope Ki Crusher on Devitt but gets kicked to the floor. Kota goes up for something as well but gets DDTed from the top by Devitt to retain the title in a sweet looking finish.

Rating: B. Take three guys, have them fly all over the place for fifteen minutes, listen to the crowd going nuts. It’s nothing but a collection of spots and near falls but it wasn’t supposed to be anything more than that. Low Ki was slightly more interesting than usual and Ibushi was fine as the high spot guy. Devitt’s timing seemed a bit off but the match was still very entertaining and the most fun all night.

Oh and one more awesome thing about Devitt: his theme song is You’re The Best Around from The Karate Kid. How can you not love the guy for that alone?

We get a 20 minute intermission with a lot of talking, crowd shots and interviews/video packages that I can’t understand. There isn’t much to talk about in this so entertaining yourselves in the least violent way possible.

Ten-Koji vs. Keiji Mutoh/Shinjiro Otani

Ten-Koji is the team of Hiryoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima, one of the most successful tag teams in Japanese history. Otani is a big shot in a Japanese promotion called Zero-1 and is here for one night only, filling in for an injured Daichi Hashimoto. Mutoh is the non-gimmicked AJPW President Great Muta, making this a pretty stacked tag match. I’m assuming it was supposed to be one of those dream matches with Hashimoto, who is at ringside, getting a big rub from the legends. If his name sounds familiar, you’re probably thinking of his father: Shinya Hashimoto.

We get the big match intros and we’re ready to go. Kojima and Mutoh go to the mat to start for a wrestling sequence with Mutoh getting an early advantage. Both guys tag to a big reaction and it’s time for the chop off. Well at least they’re not slapping. Tenzan takes over with a clothesline before Kojima joins him in the ring to get in some forearms of his own. Satoshi goes back to the apron so Tenzan can have his chops no sold. Otani is intentionally walking into the chops and doesn’t mind the pain so Tenzan goes down into the neck.

Mutoh comes back in and immediately takes over with an STF to Tenzan. Kojima makes a save and it’s back to Otani for even more chopping. Thankfully for his team it’s quickly back to Muta for a dragon screw leg whip and a Figure Four. Kojima whips Otani into the barricade and slides back in to break up the hold, allowing Tenzan to score with a spinwheel kick. Satoshi comes in for the taps to the chest called rapid fire chops followed by a middle rope elbow for two.

A discus forearm puts Mutoh down again but he comes back with a dropkick and a tag brings in Otani. Shinjiro gives Kojima a facewash in the corner to a BIG reaction and sweeps Kojima’s legs out to put him down. Everything breaks down and it’s Otani with a Koquina Clutch on Kojima and Mutoh with a Figure Four on Tenzan. The referee breaks the holds up and Kojima grabs a Diamond Cutter on Otani.

Tenzan comes back in with chops and clotheslines to Otani, followed up by going to the top and driving Otani down with a knee to the back. Kojima comes in for a sitout spinebuster to set up a Swan Dive from Tenzan for no cover. Otani comes back again with chops and everything breaks down one more time. Mutoh kicks Tenzan in the chest a few times with Otani adding a missile dropkick. The Shining Wizard from Mutoh sets up a helicopter bomb (love that move) from Otani but Kojima comes back in with a lariat to Mutoh. Ten-Koji hits a quick 3D to Otani, setting up a moonsault from Tenzan for the pin.

Rating: C+. This was good enough for the most part with a good ending to bring it up a lot. At the end of the day though there’s no story no matter what language you speak, as Otani and Mutoh work for different companies and are just legends teaming up to fight a top team. That doesn’t do it for me most of the time though the match certainly wasn’t bad.

Hashimoto almost gets into it with Ten-Koji post match but the old guys hold him back.

Video recapping Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata. I have no idea what’s going on here but it looks like a grudge match. From what I can find, this started as a tag team feud and

Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Apparently Shibata, the heel here, used to be an MMA fighter and has only been back in wrestling for a few months. Makabe models himself after Bruiser Brody so this should be interesting. The fight is on as soon as Makabe gets in the ring as they trade forearms but Shibata takes him down MMA style. They’re quickly on the floor and firing off more forearms before sending each other into the barricade. Both guys agree to head back inside to keep up the forearm fest until Shibata takes over with kicks in the corner.

Makabe is dropped by some hard forearms and a seated dropkick, forcing the referee to check on him. A hard kick to Makabe’s back puts him down again and Shibata kicks him in the face. Katsuyori keeps up the striking but Makabe says bring it. They trade Saito Suplexes before Shibata kicks him in the face to take over again. A sleeper has Makabe in trouble but he still won’t quit. Shibata lets go but Makabe catches an incoming kick to the chest and clotheslines Shibata down.

They head outside again with Katsuyori being sent into the post. Makabe steals a table and blasts Shibata in the head with it before setting it up at the end of the ramp. A powerbomb puts Shibata through the table in a huge crash, leaving him looking like a corpse. Back in and Makabe takes too long setting up a clothesline and gets caught in another sleeper. He easily slams Shibata down though and drops a top rope knee (Brody finisher) for the pin.

Rating: C+. They kept this short and energetic and that’s the right idea for a match like this. I liked the story of a polished MMA fighter against a wild brawler with Makabe never quitting. He looked good as the crazy man and fits the role quite well. Shibata is decent enough but didn’t look like anything I’ll remember in a few days.

Video recapping Kazushi Sakuraba (Shibata’s partner and also freshly back in the company) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Title. If you’re an MMA guy you might recognize Kazushi as the Gracie Killer for his success against the Gracie Family. He’s portrayed as an MMA guy here with a lot of still shots from his fights. Nakamura is the champion and looks like a much more charismatic guy.

Intercontinental Title: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is defending. Japanese legend Stan Hansen comes out for a quick cameo before we get started. Sakuraba comes out in a mask with a few guys behind him. Nakamura is a heel here due to being in Chaos but they shake hands before the match to make things a little vague. I can’t quite describe Nakamura’s gimmick but I’ve seen it called an “art-school weirdo with real world MMA credibility.” Works for me I guess.

They start tentatively and feel their way into a collar and elbow before the champion grabs the arm. Ropes are quickly grabbed though and we get a clean break. A leg dive doesn’t work for Nakumura and it’s another clean break. They head to the mat again for more MMA/amateur stuff as the challenger controls until Nakamura rolls to the floor. Back inside and they trade some kicks as we’re still barely out of first gear. A slap to Sakuraba’s face changes all that though as he goes nuts with strikes and a leg trip to take Nakamura down.

Sakuraba grabs a quick choke but gets sent into the corner and hit with some HARD knees. Nakamura misses a charge and gets caught in the choke again before Sakuraba fires off more strikes and a German suplex. A running kick to the champion’s head knocks him silly and the referee checks to see what planet he’s on. There’s a triangle choke from the challenger but Nakamura escapes and hits a knee to the back of the head.

A second attempt is countered and Nakamura gets caught in a cross armbreaker. That goes nowhere so Sakuraba just punches him in the face before going back to the arm. More face shots look to set up another armbare but Nakumara makes the rope. The champion comes back with a Death Valley Driver but gets caught in a kimura in the middle of the ring. For some reason he lets go though and Nakamura hits two straight knees to the face for the pin to retain.

Rating: B. This was a VERY entertaining match though I have no idea where the match of the year talk is coming from. The biggest problem for the match is it barely breaks 11 minutes and a lot of that is spent in the feeling out period. After about five minutes they turn it up several notches but I need more than six minutes of great action to call it a masterpiece. The other thing this does is show the problem with all the MMA stuff. Yeah it’s cool once in awhile, but when half the matches are doing it, you have what crippled ECW. Well one of the things at least.

They shake hands and hug post match. Nakamura says something which I believe is praising Sakuraba for the match.

After a slideshow of every IWGP World Champion, we go into a package on Tanahashi vs. Okada. These two have been feuding for the better part of a year at this point and are the only two to have held the title since 2010, save for the first four days of 2011. Tanahashi is basically the John Cena of New Japan, having won the title multiple times and held it virtually longer than anyone (he has the most reigns and is a single day behind Great Muta for total days as champion). Okada challenged him at the end of last year’s show and won the title about a month later. Tanahashi won it back four months later so we’ve got a rubber match.

IWGP World Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

Tanahashi is defending. This is a feud that I’ve heard so much praise for that I’m genuinely curious to see how good they can be. I’ve seen some Tanahashi stuff before but wasn’t blown away. I did however like the little of Okada that I’ve seen so far. Some band called Breakerz performs a pretty catchy rock song. Okada, with Gedo, lowers down on a platform above the stage which kind of fits his Rainmaker nickname (also the name of his big lariat finisher). Money raining down from the ceiling fits the name a little better. Tanahashi comes down from the same platform but he plays an air guitar to one up Okada.

After some big match intros we’re ready to go. They’ve nailed the big fight feel for this one and the fans are way into it. Feeling out process to start with Okada giving a clean break against the ropes before doing his Rainmaker pose. Tanahashi shoves him up against the ropes and mocks the pose in a cute bit. A shoulder block puts the champion down and gives him a look of frustration. Tanahashi counters a headlock into a top wristlock and a headlock of his own in a basic but well done sequence. They’re doing the slow build quite well.

Okada grabs a wristlock but Tanahashi takes him to the mat to pull on the leg. The counter wrestling continues with Okada escaping into a hammerlock. That’s countered into a headlock by the champion but Okada sends him into the corner. Tanahashi comes out with a middle rope cross body but gets crotched on the top and DDTed down to give us our first real advantage.

They head outside with Okada shoving Tanahashi’s head through the barricade and bending his neck against the steel. Back in and a running knee to the head gets two for Okada before he hooks a freaky looking submission. Okada pulls on Tanahashi’s arm and puts his own arm over Tanahashi’s neck like a clothesline without following through. That’s a new one on me but I’m not sure how painful it would have been.

Tanahashi gets a mudhole stomped into him in the corner and sent over the top but he skins the cat to surprise Okada. That’s fine with the challenger though as he takes Tanahashi down with a nice flapjack before checking his hair. Off to a cravate with a crucifix on Okada (whose shoulders are on the mat for part of it) but Tanahashi rolls enough to get into the ropes. Okada misses a backsplash though and gets caught with a running forearm to put both guys down.

It’s Tanahashi up first with forearms in the corner and a chop block to take Okada down. They slug it out some more until Tanahashi catches a kick and sends Okada to the floor with a dragon screw leg whip. The champion hits a HUGE high cross body to put both guys down on the floor again and fire the crowd up a bit more. Back in and Tanahashi can’t get the Texas Cloverleaf so he kicks Okada in the knee even more. Okada comes back with a dragon screw of his own but Tanahashi grabs the Okada’s knee. The challenger blocks it with a cravate and takes over again.

Okada, bad knee and all, goes up for an elbow but only hits Tanahashi’s knees as momentum changes for about the fifth time. Tanahashi gets crotched again but fights out of what looked like a fallaway slam off the top. Instead Okada dropkicks him down to the floor before taking Tanahashi up the ramp. He can’t hit a tombstone and walks into a running sleeper drop to put both guys down again.

Back in the ring and Tanahashi gets caught in a Samoan drop but completely no sells it, popping up to hit a Hail Sabin. Okada gets his knees up to block a frog splash but it aggravates the injury again. He comes back with something resembling Sheamus’ White Noise but he drops Tanahashi’s back onto his knee for two. An AA into a suplex gets the same result and it’s Rainmaker time. Tanahashi counters into a German suplex followed by a dragon suplex (frog splash, Texas Cloverleaf, German suplex, dragon suplex. He’s a one man Radicalz) for two.

Another running sleeper drop puts Okada down and the frog splash connects for a VERY near fall. Tanahashi hits another leg whip (with Okada never leaving the mat) before putting on the Cloverleaf one more time. Okada FINALLY makes the rope and Tanahashi is exhausted. Back up and Okada hits Tanahashi in the hands with a gorgeous dropkick but can’t cover. They use each other to pull themselves up and Tanahashi has to duck a quick Rainmaker attempt.

Okada comes back with a dropkick to the back and a tombstone but doesn’t cover. Instead the Rainmaker is countered into another one arm sleeper drop. Tanahashi counters another tombstone attempt and dropkicks the bad knee. A tombstone puts Okada down and a high cross body sets up another frog splash to retain Tanahashi’s title.

Rating: A-. It was indeed very good but I wasn’t blown away. The big thing that was missing here was a feeling that Tanahashi was in real danger. Okada hit that White Noise move but other than that it was a bunch of missed Rainmaker attempts. I never felt that the title was in jeopardy and that took a lot away from the match. To be fair though I’ve heard this called their worst match so you could say it lived up to expectations.

Tanahashi is given flowers and a trophy before giving I’d assume an acceptance speech. He even treats us to an air guitar performance.

The commentators talk for about eight minutes to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was indeed an entertaining show, but it’s not as good as some people have made it out to be (best show of all time? Seriously?). It put me in mind of Wrestlemania 19: some very good stuff, but it’s a LONG show (over five hours counting dark matches and intermission, about four hours of regular PPV) that gets tiring after awhile. Yes there are three very good matches, but at the same time there are six that are average or just a step above. There weren’t any terrible matches on the show but a lot of them did nothing for me with the Nagata match in particular.

The other thing missing was the big moment. Nothing on here felt like a biggest show of the year event and nothing seems to have changed, including any titles. Tanahashi vs. Okada is a good match but there’s a lack of a spark when the champion pins the challenger clean. It’s definitely a great show but it’s not the be all and end all of wrestling that it was hyped up to be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Also my Christmas sale on ebooks is ending soon so take advantage of it while you can:

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

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

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

Tenay and West run down the card.

Sonny Siaki vs. Jerry Lynn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AJ Styles vs. Low Ki

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kid Kash vs. Jorge Estrada

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

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

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

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

We recap Siaki costing Lynn the world title last week.

X-Division Title: Ron Killings vs. Jerry Lynn

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

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

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

West hypes up the show for next week.

BG James vs. Jeff Jarrett

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

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

Things are starting to pick up around here and we have a new story with the guy in white attacking Killings. If my memory is correct, that will start a story that lasts for months to come. Other than that tonight we have Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles for the X Title in a ladder match for the second time in two weeks. Also if we’re lucky, we might get more Brian Lawler! Oh and Chris Rock is here for some reason. Let’s get to it.

West and Tenay hype up the show.

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

It’s supposed to be time for the opening match but here’s Ron Killings instead. Truth does some basic “your sports teams suck” stuff so the fans tell him he’s overrated. He says the man in white is the mystery partner in a six man tag later tonight and that’s not cool with the champ. Don West of all people cuts him off, saying that Truth isn’t telling the truth. It was ok when Killings came in last week to jump BG and Syxx-Pac but it’s not cool when someone jumps Killings?

We get a clip from the end of last week’s show and Killings says West just screwed up. Compared to him, West is just a pebble on the beach so Truth wants Syxx-Pac, James or the man in white. Cue James and Syxx-Pac with the former talking about drinking Coronas and how we don’t live in a perfect world.

Curt Hennig walks out, apparently the mystery partner for later tonight. Hennig says he doesn’t like the Truth and Pac says they’re going to do to Truth what his mama should have done years ago. The three come to the ring and here are Jarrett and Lawler for the big brawl. Our heroes clean house and the heels retreat. BG wants the match right now so here’s a referee.

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

BG and Jarrett get things going but Curt gets the tag before there’s any contact. Mike is immediately running through Curt’s career resume which is one of his trademarks anymore. No contact until about a minute in when Curt hits a single right hand to knock Jeff into the corner. Hennig runs Jeff over and chops Jarrett’s partners down for fun. Back in and Jeff fires off right hands of his own followed by a Hennig neck snap to Hennig, earning him a right hand for gimmick infringement.

Jeff is sent to the floor again as Lawler is freaking out. Back in and it’s Lawler vs. Syxx-Pac with Brian missing a cross body but coming back with a powerslam. Off to the world champion who gets punched in the face by BG but nips back up, only to walk into the big right hand to put Truth back down. Back up and Truth does the splits to avoid a clothesline and hits the ax kick for two. Jarrett comes back in but misses his running crotch attack on the ropes, only to have Truth come back in to keep control.

Lawler gets the tag and drops BG with a neckbreaker for two and it’s back to Jarrett again. Jeff walks into a clothesline and it’s hot tag to Syxx-Pac. Kicks abound but the Bronco Buster hits a boot between the legs as Pac plays some Ricky Morton. Truth powerslams him down and it’s back to Jarrett with a suplex for two. Really basic stuff at the moment and it’s not exactly thrilling. Back to Lawler for a chinlock but Pac fights up with something resembling a Sky High.

The real hot tag (minus the heat) brings in Hennig and house is cleaned. BG chases Jarrett up the ramp with a chair as Lawler hits Hennig low to put him down. A guillotine legdrop gets two as Pac makes the save and gets two of his own on Truth with the X-Factor. Lawler takes out the referee and here’s the man in white, now with Mr. Wrestling III written on the back of his jacket to powerbomb Truth down. The PerfectPlex is enough to pin Truth.

Rating: D+. It wasn’t the worst match in the world and it definitely picked up near the end, but this was a bad sign for the main event picture. At the end of the day, these guys aren’t moving well at all and the matches range from passable at best to boring and sluggish at worst. This wasn’t horrible but at nearly fifteen minutes it went on WAY too long.

BG James is out cold in the back with a pipe next to him.

We look back at the X-Division Title match last week with Jerry Lynn getting “cheated” out of the title, only to have it handed back to him in a decision that screwed over the heel.

Here’s X Champion Jerry Lynn with something to say. He challenges Sonny Siaki, the man that cost him the title last week, to a match on the next show. Cue Sonny who says let’s do it right now. Jerry charges up the ramp but gets thrown off the stage, getting his leg caught in the barricade. Tenay talks about Jerry’s history of knee injuries and we hear Lynn say “not again.” We do the stretcher job as this eats up a few minutes.

Syxx-Pac apologizes to Low Ki over insulting him last week. Low Ki is about to respond but AJ Styles comes in to say that he’s beaten Low Ki four times so he should be Syxx-Pac’s favorite wrestler. AJ leaves and Low Ki and Syxx-Pac agree that Styles is a jerk.

Tag Titles: Spanish Announce Team vs. America’s Most Wanted

Storm starts with Jose and they flip around a bit until James hooks a cross armbreaker of all things. Jose comes back with a dropkick to the knee and something resembling an inverted figure four, only to have Storm grab a nearby rope. Storm comes back with a hurricanrana but Joel comes in with a missile dropkick, only to be speared down by Harris. Jose goes up but gets shoved down onto Joel onto the floor. Harris follows up the shove with a BIG plancha to take both Maximos (the SAT if that wasn’t clear) out.

Back in and AMW double teams Jose, only to have Joel crotch Storm to break up something off the top. A moonsault/neckbreaker combo (think the Motor City Machine Guns’ Skull and Bones but with a moonsault) gets two on Storm but James comes back with a freaky spin into a Downward Spiral for two. Off to Harris for a big tilt-a-whirl powerslam, good for two on Jose. Things settle down a bit and Jose gets two of his own off a tornado DDT.

Joel powerslams Harris and everything breaks down with a moonsault getting two on Storm. James comes back with a big old superkick for a delayed two but a Maximos double team takes the Cowboy down. A guillotine legdrop gets two for Joel but he dives into the Catatonic, only to have Jose break up the pin. The SAT loads up the Spanish Fly but Storm makes the save, setting up an overly complicated double powerbomb into a whip Rock Bottom for the pin to retain the belts.

Rating: B-. This got a bit too sloppy at the end but I’ll take whatever I can get for tag team wrestling int his company at the moment. As has been the case for weeks now, AMW is the only good team around and they’re just looking for some decent opponents. The Maximos aren’t great but they’re better than anyone else AMW has gotten to face so far as champions.

Here’s Chris Rock for the first big celebrity appearance for the company. He says TNA is the best wrestling in the world and invites anyone to come prove it’s not fake….and that’s it. Literally he was in the ring for 30 seconds.

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

This is a 15 minute iron man match for no reason whatsoever. Steel is most famous for training CM Punk and Colt Cabana and comes out to what would become Abyss’ music. During the entrances, we see a sign saying Totally Nuke Al-Qaeda for what has to be the tenth time tonight, but it’s been in various different places. It’s either a group of fans or a plant by the company for whatever reason. Mortimer Plumtree comes out to do commentary.

We start with the usual multi-man spots where it’s so clear they’re working together that it takes away almost all of the illusion from the match. Low Ki pounds on Kash in the corner as the other two fight in the middle of the ring. The pairings trade off as armdrags abound, setting up a standoff. Mamaluke dropkicks down Low Ki and Steel followed by a double abdominal stretch, only to have Kash springboard in to break it up.

Kash snaps off some hurricanranas before nearly breaking Steel’s neck on a third. Low Ki and Steel head to the floor where Kash hits a huge dive to take both guys out. Naturally Mamaluke dives onto the three of them, putting everyone down on the floor. In a stupid looking move, Kash and Low Ki get up on opposite sides of the apron and springboard at each other for a double clothesline. Steel and Mamaluke come in with legdrops for a double pin, giving them a fall each.

The fans are behind Low Ki as Ace pounds him in the corner as the match slows way down. We have under eight minutes to go as Kash hits a fisherman’s buster on Mamaluke for a pin, leaving Low Ki as the only person with no pins. Mamaluke and Kash head to the floor as Low Ki’s springboard is almost caught in a fireman’s carry, only to roll down into an armbar for a submission for Low Ki, giving us a fourway http://buysoma.net tie. I guess we’re supposed to assume Mike meant pins and submissions when he said you could only win by pin.

Kash slams Mamaluke off the announce table, bouncing him off his head. Low Ki hurts his ankle on a springboard so Steel spins his leg around to work on the leg even more. Five minutes left now as Tony and Kash fight on the floor. Low Ki gets a rollup for two on Steel with 4:20 to go. A Kash powerbomb gets two on Tony with four minutes even left. Everyone knocks everyone else down for the next minute. Steel breaks up a Kash Boston crab and we have two minutes left.

Everyone is moving slowly now so this isn’t exactly thrilling. Kash and Ki chop it out on the floor but head back in with 1:00 left. Steel hits a running corner dropkick on Ki with 30 seconds to go. Mamaluke hooks a Russian legsweep off the apron and into the barricade to take out Kash. We’ve got 15 seconds left as Ki hooks his leg choke on the ropes followed by the spinning springboard enziguri, but Steel falls into the ropes. Ki pulls him back into the ring with two seconds left. Ki grabs a rollup but Plumtree trips him up to give Steel a pin, even though the bell ring before the referee was even on the mat.

Rating: D. Matches like these are the kind of indy nonsense that gets on people’s nerves. I have zero idea what the point was in making this an iron man match other than it sounded good on paper. Surviving a fifteen minute match doesn’t prove you’re tough as anyone should be able to last that long. There was no flow, no story, and a botched ending on top of that. Terribly booked match, but I’m sure I just don’t get REAL wrestling, right?

Here’s NASCAR driver Hermie Sadler because there’s a TNA car in the minor league race. He tries to get us to care about a race but here’s Miss TNA Bruce to interrupt. Bruce makes jokes about Hermie driving a car and demands that he pick a career already. This brings out Jeff Jarrett to insult Sadler and demand a bigger name to drive the TNA car. Sadler makes fun of Jeff for not having any titles but says he respects Ron Killings. He asks if Bruce is a man or a woman and a brawl is on, drawing in Jarrett and BG James for the save. Horribly stupid segment and no one cares about Sadler.

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

GET DIFFERENT LAST NAMES ALREADY! This is a #1 contender match between two teams that haven’t teamed together in the company before. Harris and Siaki jump the Michaels to start and take it to the floor. We start with Rick vs. Siaki as Tenay tries to get us to care about Rick’s accomplishments in the indys. Off to Chris vs. Ron with Harris pounding away in the corner. We’re definitely in squash territory here. Chris gets in some armdrags to bring in Rick, only to be thrown down by Ron.

Back to Siaki as this slow destruction continues. Rick comes back with a quick neckbreaker before it’s back to Chris, only to have Harris send him into the barricade. Siaki pounds on Chris a bit more inside but Rick gets the ice cold tag to clean a bit of the house. Sonny hits something resembling a Samoan drop on Chris but Harris breaks up the pin. He tells Siaki to hold Michaels up, only to kick Sonny in the face by mistake, giving Chris the fluke pin.

Rating: F. We just sat through seven and a half minutes for a screwy ending with one team we’ve never seen before beating another team we’ve never seen before. West tries to call this the biggest upset ever in TNA, but it makes the winners 1-0 and the losers 0-1. How is that an upset? On top of that, we’re now in week three of an angle for RON HARRIS. Was there NO ONE ELSE on the roster that could have done this story???

Post match Ron and Sonny slug it out until Don Harris makes the save and beats up Sonny. Just get to the Harris Brother reunion so no one can care again.

Bill Behrens comes out to say that Jerry Lynn can’t wrestle, so the title is vacated. However, due to legal requirements, there will be a title match so it’s Ace Steel vs. AJ Styles for the title in a ladder match instead. Jerry will get a title match with rules of his choosing upon returning. Low Ki comes out to cry foul on the Plumtree interference.

Plumtree and Steel come out to insult Ki and dear goodness I do not care. Plumtree mentions Low Ki trying to beat up Tammy Sytch, which is a reference to a recent indy show that maybe .3% of the audience will have heard of. Ki calls Plumtree a nerd and here’s southern hick Bob Armstrong because there aren’t enough freaking people in this segment. Armstrong makes Ace and Ki for the spot in the title match.

Low Ki vs. Ace Steel

Steel goes right for Ki’s knee like anyone would as this looks more like a UFC fight than a wrestling match. Note that I didn’t say a good UFC fight but a UFC fight nonetheless. Plumtree gets in a chair shot to the bad leg behind the referee’s back to send him to the floor. Armstrong and Behrens say the match is over and Ki wins by DQ.

Armstrong says the X-Division has been a mess since the beginning (not really but thanks for burying the most popular thing you have) so anyone in the X-Division can come out here and be in the ladder match for the title. Well why in the world not.

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

The Maximos pull out ladders as AJ suplexes Mamaluke. Everyone goes to the floor for a big springboard shooting star from Styles. Back in and AJ hits the moonsault into the inverted DDT on Joel before taking Jose down as well. There’s a brainbuster to Kash before AJ sends Steel into the barricade. The ladders are finally brought into the ring but Jose dropkicks Mamaluke off the ladder for the save.

Everyone is hit with or sent into a ladder until it’s down to Steel hanging AJ in a tree of woe on a ladder for a baseball slide. Kash rides a ladder down onto AJ as the Maximos are back inside. There’s no flow or anything to this so expect a bunch of random spots for the rest of the match. Joel gets crushed between two ladders in the corner and Styles gets suplexed down by Mamaluke. Kash superplexes Steel down and goes up the ladder, only to be shoved down with ease.

After more brawling, Kash knocks Tony off the ladder but tries a moonsault onto Steel and Jose instead of grabbing the title. Well he never all that bright. AJ rams his shoulder into the ladder to knock it to the floor but completely misses the Maximos he was aiming at. Tony is holding his arm and is likely injured. Styles and Kash both set up ladders and go up, only to be joined by the Maximos.

The Spanish Fly is blocked by Kash so he “hits” a “tornado DDT” on Jose, meaning he grabbed him and kind of fell backwards, driving the top of Jose’s head into the mat. Mamaluke goes up and the ladders collapse before Kash can powerbomb him down. AJ goes up and gets shoved right into the referee who wasn’t needed anyway. Kash dives off the top onto Joel for no apparent reason as Jose and Styles fight on the ladder. AJ rides the ladder down onto Jose who was crushed under both AJ and the ladder.

Kash dropkicks the ladder to take out Mamaluke and Steel, putting everybody down. Joel goes up with Kash and hits a C4 off the ladder followed by a sunset bomb from Styles to Ace, leaving Tony on top. Tony can’t quite hit a tornado DDT on Styles as this mess needs to end. Steel and Joel are fighting on the floor and AJ tosses Mamaluke out to join him. Styles superplexes Kash down and goes up, but here’s freaking Syxx-Pac to suplex him down, climb up and take the title.

Rating: C-. It doesn’t matter. That’s the title of this entire show: it doesn’t matter. These six guys were all working hard, but the match was such a mess and WAY too dangerous to make it work. On top of that, it doesn’t matter though because Syxx-Pac gets to come in and win the title in 30 seconds. That’s what WWE would do with Hornswoggle and it was just as stupid. Horrible way to end things here.

Next week, you guessed it: LADDER MATCH!

Overall Rating: D-. Again, IT DOESN’T MATTER. That iron man match? Didn’t matter. The six guys killing themselves for fifteen minutes? Didn’t matter. The Michaels guys winning? Didn’t matter, as the focus is still on Ron Harris. This was like the brainchild of one of those fans on the internet that drives you crazy and has no idea how wrestling actually works. We had meaningless gimmicks added to matches, stories being ignored for the sake of throwing everyone into one match, and a big SWERVE at the end because why not. This was awful with very little to remember at all. Horrid show.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

TNA Weekly PPV #8
Date: August 7, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West, Ed Ferrara

We’re back to Nashville and this is a BIG show. Around this time the original financial backer of the company bailed out, so the company is either in a big state of flux right now or is about to be. On the in ring side though, we have two title matches tonight and one of them will see the final appearance of a champion for nearly two years. Let’s get to it.

The Dupps and Apolo are waiting outside Steamboat’s office. I think Steamboat is boss around here anymore.

Spanish Announce Team vs. Flying Elvises

I’m serious. That’s their name. It’s Amazing Red, Joel Maximo and Jose Maximo. The Elvises are Jimmy Yang, Sonny Siaki and Jorge Estrada. It’s a big brawl to start Tenay says that the SAT (the name they’ll become known by) are named because of the announce table always broken at a WWE event. Thanks for that one Mike. I NEVER would have gotten that without you.

Red and Siaki are left in the ring and we’re told that Jose Maximo is the one with elbow pads. Got it. Back to four guys in the ring again with Siaki throwing Red in the air and catching him in a Samoan Drop. All three Elvises are at least on the apron now. Jose Maximo is in the ring now and takes a triple sitout powerbomb before being sent outside again. Red comes in again and we still haven’t had a one on one match.

Siaki LAUNCHES Red onto the Maximos but Siaki won’t let his partners pose. Ok so it’s Joel vs. Sonny to start but Sonny doesn’t want to let either of his partners in. Yang and Estrada go to do commentary, basically making it 3-1. Joel in the ring now but it’s quickly off to Red with a standing shooting star press. Jorge starts to sing on commentary. The Maximos double team Sonny and put him in a wicked double team combo submission with Joel hooking a surfboard and Jose hooking a dragon sleeper. If that’s not enough, Red hits a double stomp while Siaki is up in the surfboard. FREAKING OW MAN!

Off to Red vs. Siaki now with Sonny hitting a pumphandle suplex for two. Yang gets back on the apron but Sonny STILL won’t tag. Yang gets back on commentary as a triple team takes Sonny down so Jose can kick him in the head for two. Siaki gets a right hand in to Red but the Maximos come in for a double C4 off the top.

Red hits a corkscrew moonsault and the other Elvises come in. Everything breaks down and the Code Red (sunset flip bomb) gets two for Red. The Maximos set for some double team spot but Yang slips off Jose. Estrada counters another double C4 into a double DDT off the top. Yang and Estrada go up at the same time for a stereo top rope legdrop and splash combo, only to have Siaki steal the pin on Red.

Rating: B-. Good choice for an opener here with a bunch of high flying spots and furthering of the split between the Elvises. Siaki is a solid heel and it’s kind of a shame that his push stopped. This is the right kind of opener though and the crowd was fired up by the big spots. It worked in WCW and it works everywhere else.

The announcers talk about the title matches tonight.

Earlier today, Apolo went on a rant about how he’s been screwed out of a world title shot. That’s true, as he was passed over because of Truth’s rant about racism or whatever. Steamboat has lost his respect for passing him over. Tonight, Apolo wants an answer from Steamboat.

Apolo goes to see Steamboat but Steamboat blows him off. The Dupps try to talk to Steamboat but we cut to AJ vs. Lynn in another brawl in the back. Security finally breaks it up.

Here’s Steamboat who is kind of a jerk lately. The Dupps follow him out and Steamboat says he doesn’t have time with it, so go do whatever it is you want to do.

NWA World Title: Ken Shamrock vs. Ron Killings

Steamboat jumps in on commentary. Shamrock (defending) grabs a leglock almost immediately but Truth fights up. Ken almost falls over trying a kick to the face and then puts on an armbar. Ricky talks about why he gave Truth the match. He talks about how he was IC Champion but didn’t get a title shot at Hogan. In this case, the real story would be better: he didn’t get a title shot at Hogan, but then he went to the NWA and they gave him the opportunity. Instead they took a shot at the WWF but that’s more important right?

Truth snapmares him down and puts on a chinlock. That doesn’t last long so Truth hits a spinning forearm for two. Shamrock messes up a sunset flip as Steamboat talks about going sixty minutes a lot of the time. Truth pounds away in the corner but gets caught in a powerbomb to counter. Ken comes back with a powerslam but he’s looking haggard already.

Another kick takes Truth down and Shamrock is all fired up. He tries the standing rana but it looks like he’s going in slow motion. There’s the ankle lock but Truth gets to a rope quickly. The New Church is watching from the stage as we head to the outside. Monty Brown is on the stage too. Truth suplexes him on the floor and they head back in with Shamrock taking over almost immediately.

The champ pounds away and hooks a cross armbreaker. Truth slaps Shamrock’s knee which looks a lot like tapping out. Shamrock lets the hold go for no apparent reason and is getting ticked off. Truth gets thrown to the floor and here’s the interference. We’ve got Apolo attacking Truth, the New Church attacking Shamrock, and Don Harris and Monty Brown attacking the New Church. Apolo fires a superkick but misses Truth and COMPLETELY misses Shamrock, but Ken sells it anyway. That was embarrassing. Steamboat throws Shamrock back in and a Diamond Cutter gives Truth the title.

Rating: D. Changing the title here was a good idea as Shamrock looked horrible. In a less than ten minute match he botched at least four moves. That’s not acceptable for a world champion, especially in a company that is brand new like this. Steamboat didn’t really add anything here but it was a good idea to have Truth win the title, as he’s involved with the main storylines. Shamrock wouldn’t have another match with the company until 2004.

Steamboat comes out again and wants to talk to Apolo. Apolo comes out and Steamboat says Apolo can’t be a maniac anymore. Why not? It got Truth a title shot. Apparently it gets Apolo a title shot as well….and here’s Jarrett. Jarrett complains about being discriminated against because he’s white. Steamboat says he can’t believe what he’s hearing and says this stops here tonight. Tonight it’s Jarrett vs. Apolo and the winner gets Truth. So basically in NWA TNA, you get title matches by whining. That’s how Truth got his, and that’s how these two are getting their chances at a shot. Oh and Steamboat is referee.

Here’s Disco Inferno for Jive Talking but his set is way cheaper looking, with a cardboard sign with Jive Talken (that’s how it’s spelled) written on it. Here are the Dupps and they announce the first Dupp Cup Invitational. Apparently this is going to be the new hardcore division. You have to get ten points to win a match in the division. It’s 2.5 points for putting someone through a table a 5 points if it’s on fire.

If you put your opponent’s head in a toilet, it’s 2.5 points. It goes downhill from here with stupid jokes about using farm animals. Apparently if you spank an opponent with a hobby horse you get 2.5 points, but if they like it, you lose 2.5 points. This keeps going for awhile and the redneck crowd likes it for reasons that are likely due to inbreeding. The Dupps would be gone after next week and the company was instantly better.

Stan takes his shirt off and reveals a shirt with a picture of Goldilocks in a bikini taped to it. Disco asks who is going to be in the match tonight so here’s Paulina from Tough Enough. The Dupps offer 64 cents to anyone that wants to fight for the Dupp Cup. Apparently you also get a night with their hot cousin Fluff Dupp…..and Ed Ferrara accepts.

Dupp Cup: Ed Ferrara vs. The Dupps

Ferrara hits JB for two and a half points, spanks Don West for three and a half more (first to ten wins and yes those rules were established before the match) but the Dupps jump him to take over. Stan hits Ferrara with a chair for a point and Stan does the same to make it 6-2. A boot and a drink to Ferrara’s head make it 6-4 and another chair shot makes it 6-5. We meet J, who was mentioned in the rules, which is a sex blow-up doll which makes it 7.5 to 6 in favor of the Dupps.

Sarah the Ticket Lady (also mentioned) beats up Bo with a broom which means no points to anyone. Paulina hits Stan with a chalk board and Ed spears Bo down. Three chair shots somehow make it 8 to 7.5 in favor of Ed. Ed spanks Bo with “Horsey Poo” but Bo likes it so Ed loses 2.5 points, making it 5.5 to 7.5 in favor of the Dupps. Here’s a table and Bo chokeslams Ed through it for the win. If you think I’m rating this you’re dumber than the Dupps.

By the way, this segment got over 16 minutes, or as long as the main event tonight will get.

Monty Brown talks about his background in an interview with Mike Tenay, where he lists off his accomplishments and transitioning from football to wrestling. He’s very calm here and comes off like a well read and intelligent guy as opposed to the wild and loud guy he would be more famous as. Brown talks about the politics he faced in the NFL and talks about how he overcame them. As for Truth, he doesn’t like the whining….and here’s Elix Skipper (I think) to hit him with what looks like yellow paint. It covers Monty with one shot. Skipper yells about Monty not knowing what it’s like to be from the streets.

Malice vs. Don Harris

First blood here as we have a match with a security guard. Malice takes over to start and rams Harris into the barricade a few times. Mitchell, Malice’s manager, jumps in on commentary. Harris kicks a chair into Malice’s face and whips him HARD into the barricade. They head into the crowd and Harris cracks him in the head with a chair. Another chair shot to the head looks to open Malice up but it’s not quite there yet.

Malice still has his vest on. He rams Harris into a wall and they’re still out in the crowd. They head to the stage and Mitchell talks about setting the stage for things to come by putting blood on the opponents’ faces. Malice gets thrown off the stage and lands face first on the barricade.

Slash jumps Harris from behind and has some kind of a sharp object. Harris gets it from him and stabs Slash in the head with it but Malice comes back and we head to ringside again. Mitchell gets taken down and has blood all over him now from that box he carries. The guys head inside for the first time of the whole match and a Boss Man Slam puts Malice down but Malice jabs him with something around the eye for the blood and the win.

Rating: D. Even for a first blood match, this wasn’t anything of note. It’s like six minutes long and it wasn’t anything interesting. We know who Harris is but I have no idea why this match was happening. Also the ending comes out nowhere and I’m not really sure what Malice did to open Harris up. This would continue in a few weeks if not next week.

Sonny Siaki annoys Goldilocks when Bruce pops up and steals her mic. He gets in Taylor Vaughn’s face and offers her a rematch in an evening gown match. Low Ki and AJ pop up and are brawling as well.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Apolo

Steamboat is guest referee and the winner gets a shot at the Truth. Feeling out process to start but Steamboat blocks a right hand from Jeff. Jeff pounds on Apolo, Apolo pounds on Jeff, not much is going on here. Jeff gets sent to the floor via a clothesline and Steamboat actually enforces the get off the top before five rule. Back in and Apolo hits a Sky High powerbomb for two.

A Booker T sunset flip out of the corner gets two for Apolo and Jarrett gets guillotined on the top rope to send him to the floor. Jeff sends Apolo into the barricade and we head back inside with Jarrett in full control. Apolo is busted open and misses a splash in the corner. Jarrett enziguris him down for two and the fans think it was a slow count. Apolo misses a shoulder block and Jeff goes after the knee.

Figure Four goes on and Apolo is in a lot of trouble. The fans are completely behind Jarrett and chant MAKE HIM TAP. The hold is turned over but Jeff is quickly in the ropes. Jeff misses a charge and crotches himself on the ropes. They slug it out with Apolo’s leg looking fine. A DDT puts Jeff down but Apolo can’t follow up. Apolo comes back with some clotheslines and a superkick but Jeff gets his foot on the ropes. Apolo hits a German suplex but Jeff raises his shoulder, and with some hesitation, Steamboat counts the three on Apolo.

Rating: C. Not a terrible match here but at the same time it’s about what you would have expected. I always like Apolo for the most part but this was pretty much the height of his time in the company and would be his last match until 2004. The rise of Jarrett continues as I think we all knew was coming when we heard he was starting a wrestling company. Before people get on me, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The guy is a great heel and it was his company, so who could he trust on top more?

Steamboat explains what just happened to Apolo so Apolo gets on him because of unfairness or something like that. Apolo leaves and Steamboat says Jarrett is getting the Truth….just not for the title. It’s going to be Jarrett/Truth vs. Lynn/Styles for the tag titles next week.

Miss TNA: Bruce vs. Taylor Vaughn

It’s an evening gown match, meaning strip the other person down to their underwear to win. Bruce is a man and Miss TNA coming in. Bruce dominates, hitting a suplex and a backbreaker before taking Taylor’s dress off to retain. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS?

Bruce strips as well and we’ve got a thong.

Don West gives his sales pitch for next week. He really is good at this stuff. We get a merchandise pitch too.

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

Styles and Lynn are tag champions and Styles is X Champion. I’ll only refer to Styles as a champion in this though for the sake of clarity. Lynn and Low Ki take out Styles to start and immediately brawl with each other. Low Ki fires off kicks at Lynn but Jerry catches one of them and AJ kicks Ki in the head. Lynn hooks Styles in an inverted Gory Special but gets dropkicked down by Low Ki.

A Muta style elbow gets two on the champ for Low Ki but Styles does his awesome nip up into a rana to take over. There’s a torture rack to Low Ki but AJ keeps going with it and hits a kind of reverse AA into a facebuster. Lynn pops up and takes AJ down but Styles comes right back with a McGillicutter to take Jerry down. A rana from AJ is countered into a kind of powerbomb facebuster for two by Jerry.

Low Ki is sent to the apron but he slingshots in to roll up Jerry as Jerry German suplexes AJ which gets a double two count. Cool spot. Lynn and Low Ki chop it out as AJ is down. AJ tries a suplex on Low Ki but gets caught in a Dragon Sleeper. Lynn tries for a save but gets caught in the same hold. Jerry suplexes Low Ki down but AJ saves. AJ goes up but Jerry DDTs him off the top for two.

Styles and Low Ki slug it out but Low Ki kicks him in the face to take over. AJ hits his moonsault into the reverse DDT for two and then loads up a superplex on Low Ki but Jerry turns it into a Tower of Doom for two. All three guys get an awesome looking rollup for two, followed by AJ and Lynn trading very close two counts again. Low Ki rolls up Lynn, but Jerry kicks out, sending Low Ki into the Styles Clash position. Jerry breaks it up for some reason but the setup looked good.

Aj goes to the corner but Low Ki puts him in the Tree of Woe and in the Dragon Sleeper at the same time. Lynn’s tornado DDT to Low Ki is countered into a dragon sleeper on the ropes but AJ kicks him in the head and covers Lynn for two. A neckbreaker gets two on Lynn but Low Ki tries the Ki Crusher on AJ. Styles counters that but Low Ki hooks the Styles Clash on Styles. Jerry hits a Ki Crusher on Low Ki and you know what’s coming next. The cradle piledriver gets two on Lynn and the fans are digging this a lot.

Low Ki accidentally kicks the referee and is thrown to the floor by both opponents. Jerry and AJ collide to put both guys down and AJ falls to the floor in pain. Scratch that as he brings in a chair which he caves in Lynn’s head with a chair. AJ goes up but as he climbs, Low Ki covers Lynn. In a pretty questionable ending, the referee gets to two, AJ hits Spiral Tap on Low Ki, Low Ki comes up off Jerry, goes back down on Jerry, and the referee counts one more time (as in the referee slaps the mat only once more) for the three count and Low Ki is champion.

Rating: B. Bad ending aside, this was a fun match which showed off what TNA was good at: high flying matches with guys going so fast it’s almost impossible to keep up with what’s going on. I missed a few spots because I couldn’t type fast enough to keep up with them. Low Ki was by far the most popular guy in the match so going with him as champion was the right move. AJ and Lynn would keep feuding for awhile longer.

Since the signature division just had a great match, let’s cut to Jarrett to close the show. He and Truth yell at each other before we cut back to AJ and Lynn fighting. Jarrett and Truth stare at each other on the ramp to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. The main event helps this a lot, but MAN FREAKING ALIVE this was a long sit. There were some dumb things on here, mainly the Dupps, which went on for over 1/8th of the WHOLE FREAKING SHOW. It’s low brow humor which I don’t find funny at all and it went nowhere. This show was terrible, but it’s a big transitioning point for TNA with two new champions and the departure of a lot of guys who brought them this far. Really weak show overall for this week though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $5 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books as low as $4 at:

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

After last week’s show focusing mostly on Styles vs. Lynn, here’s another show with a lot of time spent on Styles vs. Lynn. In this case there’s also Low Ki involved in a triple threat ladder match with them for the X title though so at least they’re mixing it up a bit. Other than that we get the continuing adventures of Jarrett vs. the Armstrongs because TNA thinks that’s interesting for some idiotic reason. Let’s get to it.

Brian Lawler is in the parking lot about to reveal why he hates Jarrett when Jeff jumps him from behind. A big brawl ensues until referees break it up.

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.

Sonny Siaki praises himself a lot.

Monty Brown vs. Sonny Siaki

Brown says he’ll take out Jarrett, despite Jarrett not doing anything to him that I can remember. Brown chops Siaki down and stomps on him a bit, as that is about the extent of his offensive abilities so far. We head to the floor but Brown misses a charge and goes face first into the barricade. Again the idea of selling doesn’t seem to exist as Brown shrugs it off and beats on Siaki some more as we head back inside.

A sideslam puts Siaki down for two and Brown keeps up the stomping. He really doesn’t wrestle like most faces do and it’s not exactly working for him here. Monty hits a splash in the corner and a pair of suplexes (butterfly and regular) get two each. More chops and punches follow before it’s off to a chinlock. It’s strange seeing a face in control for this long. After the hold is broken, Brown ducks his head like a schmuck and gets DDT’d for his efforts.

Siaki pops up and clotheslines Monty down again but Brown is like “screw this selling nonsense” and hits a fisherman’s suplex to put both guys right back down. Brown hits another butterfly suplex as it’s clear he’s running out of moves. Brown loads up the Alphabomb but here’s Jarrett for a distraction. Siaki hits Brown low and rolls him up for the cheap win.

Rating: D. Monty Brown is not very good and that’s all there is to it. At this point he’s incredibly green and can’t work a five minute match, let alone a ten minute one where he’s on offense for the majority of the time. Siaki was the heel and got beaten down for almost the entire time, which is a very strange dynamic for a match. This didn’t work at all for the most part.

Armstrong and the Bullet pop up as Brown and Lawler beat up Jarrett. What’s Brown’s issue with Jarrett again? Oh yeah no one knows. That’s right.

Slash is in the back and introduces his brother Kobain, who is OVW legend Flash. Nothing of note here.

Backseat Boyz vs. Slash/Kobain vs. Hotshots vs. James Storm/Chris Harris

Elimination rules to fill more time and the winners get to be the final team in a gauntlet match for the titles next week. The Hotshots are Cassidy O’Reilly and Chase Stevens and the Boyz are Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid. O’Reilly chops Kashmere a bit to start but walks into a spinebuster. Cassidy slaps Johnny a bit and it’s off to Acid to face his partner. We get a kind of recital as they know each other so well, culminating in a high five and hug. Well that makes sense I guess.

Slash gets dropkicked off the apron by the Boyz as everything breaks down. Acid “hits” a Mafia Kick on Cassidy which the camera shows missing by a good bit. Eh it’s basically indy level stuff here anyway so it’s not surprising. The Boyz beat up Stevens for a bit before we get a BIG double moonsault from Acid and O’Reilly to take out everyone else. Kashmere and Stevens hit dives of their own until it settles down for Stevens vs. Acid who are somehow legal. In the melee, Stevens tags in Slash and a neckbreaker takes out Acid, eliminating the Boys.

It’s Slash vs. Stevens now with Stevens being knocked to the mat immediately. Off to Kobain for some double teaming but Harris tags himself in. Not sure why he did that but who am I to doubt Braden Walker. O’Reilly comes in sans tag for a double dropkick for two on Harris but Storm makes the save. O’Reilly and Harris trade chops with no one winning, so Cassidy hits Harris low. They’re REALLY lax about DQ’s in this company.

O’Reilly’s Lionsault hits Harris’ knees and there’s a tag off to Kobain. Before the new guy can do anything though, Storm tags himself in and goes up, only to get crotched by Cassidy. A top rope rana is countered and Storm hits a reverse tornado DDT to pin O’Reilly and get us down to two teams. We start with Slash vs. Storm with Slash hammering away and hitting the move Storm would name the Eye of the Storm for two.

Off to Kobain who sends Storm to the floor for a BIG flip dive to take out both guys. Brian Lee and Ron Harris come out to complain about not being in the match. Why are these guys still getting TV time? Since the camera was on them, we don’t see how Storm took Slash down, but who cares because Harris comes in and cleans house.

Everything breaks down and Kobain drills his own partner with an elbow. Storm superkicks Slash down for two for Harris as Kobain tries a tornado DDT, only to get superkicked down as well. Slash counters the reverse tornado DDT from Storm and hits a neckbreaker for two. Ron Harris and Lee head to the ring as Chris Harris hits the Catatonic on Slash for the pin and victory.

Rating: C. This one took a long time to get going but once we got down to the final two teams, it was a lot better. That being said, the stuff before then wasn’t so good for the most part with the Boyz and the Hotshots really just being warm bodies to fill in some spots. Either way, this finally gets AMW closer to the tag titles, which they’ve been deserving for weeks now.

Post match Lee and Ron Harris clear the ring and beat everyone down.

Jarrett wants a title shot and says he’ll beat up the surprise and then Armstrong as well.

Miss TNA: Bruce vs. April Hunter

Bruce is a guy and defending and Hunter is a fitness model. The fans tell Bruce that he’s a homosexual and he thinks all the men want him. If April wins, she wins five grand as well. April starts chopping away and hits a head scissors to send Bruce flying. Hunter gets thrown down by the hair and Bruce takes over. April comes back a bit and things speed up but Bruce hits her in the back to stop the momentum cold. A powerbomb ends Hunter pretty easily.

Rating: D. This wasn’t horrible but it’s still a waste of time and very stupid. Hunter couldn’t be around again for about four months and thankfully the Miss TNA thing would be over soon. It comes off like they’re trying to push the envelope for the sake of pushing the envelope, but it’s much more stupid than interesting or shocking.

Post match Bruce tries to take April’s top off but April’s boyfriend Sylk Wagner Brown makes the save.

Sonny Siaki takes a jab at Hulk Hogan for no apparent reason as Estrada and Yang kind of stare at him.

Flying Elvises vs. S.A.T.

That’s Estrada/Yang vs. the Maximos if you couldn’t tell. It’s Estrada and Joel to start things off and just like the opening match, the opening sequence looks like something they’ve rehearsed for house before the match. Joel takes over with a headlock and a rana but a dropkick is casually avoided by Estrada. A powerslam puts Joel down for two and everything breaks down. The Maximos are sent to the floor and the Elvises live up to their name by flying over the top to take them both out.

Back in and it’s Estrada on I think Jose with a Lionsault getting two on the Maximo. Yang comes in for a leg lariat and a bunch of punches which seem out of place in this match. Off to Estrada who is immediately kicked in both the front and back of the head. A dropkick puts Jorge down and it’s off to Jose. The Maximos, who might be the heels in this but it’s really not clear, double team Estrada a bit and Jose hits a low dropkick to take him down.

Estrada comes back and puts Jose on top for a neckbreaker (remember what I was saying about no selling?) and it’s back to Yang for that figure four necklock of his. That goes nowhere so Yang grabs Jose’s head and puts on a front facelock. Back to Jorge with a slingshot hilo and a clothesline for two each. Estrada goes up again but Jose pops up and kicks him down almost immediately. They slug it out with Estrada hitting a neckbreaker to put both guys down.

It’s a hot tag to Joel who beats up Yang like he owes him money. The Maximos try to double team Estrada but Yang hits a double dropkick to take the brothers down. While Yang beats up Joel, Jose sneaks up from behind and slams Jimmy down, setting up a guillotine legdrop for two. Estrada DDT’s Joel down and hits a springboard backsplash for two.

Joel comes back with a pair of suplexes for four on Estrada followed by a missile dropkick for two by Jose. Yang finally comes back in and makes the save with a leg lariat. He goes up but gets crotches as the SAT loads up the Spanish Fly (double C4 off the top) but Siaki comes out and breaks it up. Yang hits Yangtime on Joel who doesn’t even stay down for a cover so Yang hits a neckbreaker kind of thing for the pin.

Rating: C+. This is another one of those matches that was fun but not exactly good. The Maximos were your standard luchador tag team who did their high spots and not much more. The Elvises story continues to change a bit but it’s only somewhat interesting. Not much to see here and going fifteen minutes was a bad idea for a match like this one.

Here’s Goldilocks to find out what Lawler hates Jarrett for. Lawler comes out and talks about how worthless Goldilocks is and throws her out of his ring. Does Lawler know if he’s a face or a heel? I’m really not sure at this point. Lawler gives Jarrett a five count to get to the ring but at the count of five, here’s Truth to interrupt him again. Lawler backs off from Truth because of the chair shot last week and beats up the photographer taking pictures of Lawler’s girlfriend. Lawler and the girlfriend leave up the ramp. What in the world was the point to this?

Jeff Jarrett vs. The Bullet

The Bullet is a masked guy who gets jumped by Jeff almost immediately and we head to the floor. Jarrett pounds away on Bullet with chairs and sends him into the crowd for a second before going back into the ring. Back in and Bullet escapes an Irish whip and takes Jeff down. There’s a Road Dogg (Armstrong’s real life son) shaky knee drop followed by an atomic drop. A pumphandle slam (another Dogg move) is escaped and Jeff hits him low to take over. Jarrett pulls out a pair of cuffs to tie Bullet to the ropes for a DQ. I’m not even going to bother rating this as it was barely even a match.

Post match Jarrett says he’s going for the mask but Bob Armstrong comes in to jump Jarrett. Keep in mind that Bob is about 62 years old. Jeff hits Bob with the chair and goes for the Bullet, only to have security stop him from taking the mask off. Is there a point to this story at all and I’m just missing it?

Next week is an X-Division Special which should be fun.

We get some highlights of the 2/3 falls series from last week.

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

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.

Overall Rating: C. The main event is very good but other than that, there’s not much going on at the moment. The big angle wouldn’t begin for a few months, so at this point we’re stuck with just Jarrett and Armstrong, which is getting NO reaction from the fans at all because no one cares about Bob Armstrong. Even in his heyday he was a territory guy at best, and Tennessee wasn’t part of that territory. Therefore, let’s make sure he and Jarrett are the focus of the show, right? Not a terrible show but they’re kind of treading water at this point.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

TNA Weekly PPV #8
Date: August 7, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West, Ed Ferrara

We’re back to Nashville and this is a BIG show. Around this time the original financial backer of the company bailed out, so the company is either in a big state of flux right now or is about to be. On the in ring side though, we have two title matches tonight and one of them will see the final appearance of a champion for nearly two years. Let’s get to it.

The Dupps and Apolo are waiting outside Steamboat’s office. I think Steamboat is boss around here anymore.

Spanish Announce Team vs. Flying Elvises

I’m serious. That’s their name. It’s Amazing Red, Joel Maximo and Jose Maximo. The Elvises are Jimmy Yang, Sonny Siaki and Jorge Estrada. It’s a big brawl to start Tenay says that the SAT (the name they’ll become known by) are named because of the announce table always broken at a WWE event. Thanks for that one Mike. I NEVER would have gotten that without you.

Red and Siaki are left in the ring and we’re told that Jose Maximo is the one with elbow pads. Got it. Back to four guys in the ring again with Siaki throwing Red in the air and catching him in a Samoan Drop. All three Elvises are at least on the apron now. Jose Maximo is in the ring now and takes a triple sitout powerbomb before being sent outside again. Red comes in again and we still haven’t had a one on one match.

Siaki LAUNCHES Red onto the Maximos but Siaki won’t let his partners pose. Ok so it’s Joel vs. Sonny to start but Sonny doesn’t want to let either of his partners in. Yang and Estrada go to do commentary, basically making it 3-1. Joel in the ring now but it’s quickly off to Red with a standing shooting star press. Jorge starts to sing on commentary. The Maximos double team Sonny and put him in a wicked double team combo submission with Joel hooking a surfboard and Jose hooking a dragon sleeper. If that’s not enough, Red hits a double stomp while Siaki is up in the surfboard. FREAKING OW MAN!

Off to Red vs. Siaki now with Sonny hitting a pumphandle suplex for two. Yang gets back on the apron but Sonny STILL won’t tag. Yang gets back on commentary as a triple team takes Sonny down so Jose can kick him in the head for two. Siaki gets a right hand in to Red but the Maximos come in for a double C4 off the top.

Red hits a corkscrew moonsault and the other Elvises come in. Everything breaks down and the Code Red (sunset flip bomb) gets two for Red. The Maximos set for some double team spot but Yang slips off Jose. Estrada counters another double C4 into a double DDT off the top. Yang and Estrada go up at the same time for a stereo top rope legdrop and splash combo, only to have Siaki steal the pin on Red.

Rating: B-. Good choice for an opener here with a bunch of high flying spots and furthering of the split between the Elvises. Siaki is a solid heel and it’s kind of a shame that his push stopped. This is the right kind of opener though and the crowd was fired up by the big spots. It worked in WCW and it works everywhere else.

The announcers talk about the title matches tonight.

Earlier today, Apolo went on a rant about how he’s been screwed out of a world title shot. That’s true, as he was passed over because of Truth’s rant about racism or whatever. Steamboat has lost his respect for passing him over. Tonight, Apolo wants an answer from Steamboat.

Apolo goes to see Steamboat but Steamboat blows him off. The Dupps try to talk to Steamboat but we cut to AJ vs. Lynn in another brawl in the back. Security finally breaks it up.

Here’s Steamboat who is kind of a jerk lately. The Dupps follow him out and Steamboat says he doesn’t have time with it, so go do whatever it is you want to do.

NWA World Title: Ken Shamrock vs. Ron Killings

Steamboat jumps in on commentary. Shamrock (defending) grabs a leglock almost immediately but Truth fights up. Ken almost falls over trying a kick to the face and then puts on an armbar. Ricky talks about why he gave Truth the match. He talks about how he was IC Champion but didn’t get a title shot at Hogan. In this case, the real story would be better: he didn’t get a title shot at Hogan, but then he went to the NWA and they gave him the opportunity. Instead they took a shot at the WWF but that’s more important right?

Truth snapmares him down and puts on a chinlock. That doesn’t last long so Truth hits a spinning forearm for two. Shamrock messes up a sunset flip as Steamboat talks about going sixty minutes a lot of the time. Truth pounds away in the corner but gets caught in a powerbomb to counter. Ken comes back with a powerslam but he’s looking haggard already.

Another kick takes Truth down and Shamrock is all fired up. He tries the standing rana but it looks like he’s going in slow motion. There’s the ankle lock but Truth gets to a rope quickly. The New Church is watching from the stage as we head to the outside. Monty Brown is on the stage too. Truth suplexes him on the floor and they head back in with Shamrock taking over almost immediately.

The champ pounds away and hooks a cross armbreaker. Truth slaps Shamrock’s knee which looks a lot like tapping out. Shamrock lets the hold go for no apparent reason and is getting ticked off. Truth gets thrown to the floor and here’s the interference. We’ve got Apolo attacking Truth, the New Church attacking Shamrock, and Don Harris and Monty Brown attacking the New Church. Apolo fires a superkick but misses Truth and COMPLETELY misses Shamrock, but Ken sells it anyway. That was embarrassing. Steamboat throws Shamrock back in and a Diamond Cutter gives Truth the title.

Rating: D. Changing the title here was a good idea as Shamrock looked horrible. In a less than ten minute match he botched at least four moves. That’s not acceptable for a world champion, especially in a company that is brand new like this. Steamboat didn’t really add anything here but it was a good idea to have Truth win the title, as he’s involved with the main storylines. Shamrock wouldn’t have another match with the company until 2004.

Steamboat comes out again and wants to talk to Apolo. Apolo comes out and Steamboat says Apolo can’t be a maniac anymore. Why not? It got Truth a title shot. Apparently it gets Apolo a title shot as well….and here’s Jarrett. Jarrett complains about being discriminated against because he’s white. Steamboat says he can’t believe what he’s hearing and says this stops here tonight. Tonight it’s Jarrett vs. Apolo and the winner gets Truth. So basically in NWA TNA, you get title matches by whining. That’s how Truth got his, and that’s how these two are getting their chances at a shot. Oh and Steamboat is referee.

Here’s Disco Inferno for Jive Talking but his set is way cheaper looking, with a cardboard sign with Jive Talken (that’s how it’s spelled) written on it. Here are the Dupps and they announce the first Dupp Cup Invitational. Apparently this is going to be the new hardcore division. You have to get ten points to win a match in the division. It’s 2.5 points for putting someone through a table a 5 points if it’s on fire.

If you put your opponent’s head in a toilet, it’s 2.5 points. It goes downhill from here with stupid jokes about using farm animals. Apparently if you spank an opponent with a hobby horse you get 2.5 points, but if they like it, you lose 2.5 points. This keeps going for awhile and the redneck crowd likes it for reasons that are likely due to inbreeding. The Dupps would be gone after next week and the company was instantly better.

Stan takes his shirt off and reveals a shirt with a picture of Goldilocks in a bikini taped to it. Disco asks who is going to be in the match tonight so here’s Paulina from Tough Enough. The Dupps offer 64 cents to anyone that wants to fight for the Dupp Cup. Apparently you also get a night with their hot cousin Fluff Dupp…..and Ed Ferrara accepts.

Dupp Cup: Ed Ferrara vs. The Dupps

Ferrara hits JB for two and a half points, spanks Don West for three and a half more (first to ten wins and yes those rules were established before the match) but the Dupps jump him to take over. Stan hits Ferrara with a chair for a point and Stan does the same to make it 6-2. A boot and a drink to Ferrara’s head make it 6-4 and another chair shot makes it 6-5. We meet J, who was mentioned in the rules, which is a sex blow-up doll which makes it 7.5 to 6 in favor of the Dupps.

Sarah the Ticket Lady (also mentioned) beats up Bo with a broom which means no points to anyone. Paulina hits Stan with a chalk board and Ed spears Bo down. Three chair shots somehow make it 8 to 7.5 in favor of Ed. Ed spanks Bo with “Horsey Poo” but Bo likes it so Ed loses 2.5 points, making it 5.5 to 7.5 in favor of the Dupps. Here’s a table and Bo chokeslams Ed through it for the win. If you think I’m rating this you’re dumber than the Dupps.

By the way, this segment got over 16 minutes, or as long as the main event tonight will get.

Monty Brown talks about his background in an interview with Mike Tenay, where he lists off his accomplishments and transitioning from football to wrestling. He’s very calm here and comes off like a well read and intelligent guy as opposed to the wild and loud guy he would be more famous as. Brown talks about the politics he faced in the NFL and talks about how he overcame them. As for Truth, he doesn’t like the whining….and here’s Elix Skipper (I think) to hit him with what looks like yellow paint. It covers Monty with one shot. Skipper yells about Monty not knowing what it’s like to be from the streets.

Malice vs. Don Harris

First blood here as we have a match with a security guard. Malice takes over to start and rams Harris into the barricade a few times. Mitchell, Malice’s manager, jumps in on commentary. Harris kicks a chair into Malice’s face and whips him HARD into the barricade. They head into the crowd and Harris cracks him in the head with a chair. Another chair shot to the head looks to open Malice up but it’s not quite there yet.

Malice still has his vest on. He rams Harris into a wall and they’re still out in the crowd. They head to the stage and Mitchell talks about setting the stage for things to come by putting blood on the opponents’ faces. Malice gets thrown off the stage and lands face first on the barricade.

Slash jumps Harris from behind and has some kind of a sharp object. Harris gets it from him and stabs Slash in the head with it but Malice comes back and we head to ringside again. Mitchell gets taken down and has blood all over him now from that box he carries. The guys head inside for the first time of the whole match and a Boss Man Slam puts Malice down but Malice jabs him with something around the eye for the blood and the win.

Rating: D. Even for a first blood match, this wasn’t anything of note. It’s like six minutes long and it wasn’t anything interesting. We know who Harris is but I have no idea why this match was happening. Also the ending comes out nowhere and I’m not really sure what Malice did to open Harris up. This would continue in a few weeks if not next week.

Sonny Siaki annoys Goldilocks when Bruce pops up and steals her mic. He gets in Taylor Vaughn’s face and offers her a rematch in an evening gown match. Low Ki and AJ pop up and are brawling as well.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Apolo

Steamboat is guest referee and the winner gets a shot at the Truth. Feeling out process to start but Steamboat blocks a right hand from Jeff. Jeff pounds on Apolo, Apolo pounds on Jeff, not much is going on here. Jeff gets sent to the floor via a clothesline and Steamboat actually enforces the get off the top before five rule. Back in and Apolo hits a Sky High powerbomb for two.

A Booker T sunset flip out of the corner gets two for Apolo and Jarrett gets guillotined on the top rope to send him to the floor. Jeff sends Apolo into the barricade and we head back inside with Jarrett in full control. Apolo is busted open and misses a splash in the corner. Jarrett enziguris him down for two and the fans think it was a slow count. Apolo misses a shoulder block and Jeff goes after the knee.

Figure Four goes on and Apolo is in a lot of trouble. The fans are completely behind Jarrett and chant MAKE HIM TAP. The hold is turned over but Jeff is quickly in the ropes. Jeff misses a charge and crotches himself on the ropes. They slug it out with Apolo’s leg looking fine. A DDT puts Jeff down but Apolo can’t follow up. Apolo comes back with some clotheslines and a superkick but Jeff gets his foot on the ropes. Apolo hits a German suplex but Jeff raises his shoulder, and with some hesitation, Steamboat counts the three on Apolo.

Rating: C. Not a terrible match here but at the same time it’s about what you would have expected. I always like Apolo for the most part but this was pretty much the height of his time in the company and would be his last match until 2004. The rise of Jarrett continues as I think we all knew was coming when we heard he was starting a wrestling company. Before people get on me, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The guy is a great heel and it was his company, so who could he trust on top more?

Steamboat explains what just happened to Apolo so Apolo gets on him because of unfairness or something like that. Apolo leaves and Steamboat says Jarrett is getting the Truth….just not for the title. It’s going to be Jarrett/Truth vs. Lynn/Styles for the tag titles next week.

Miss TNA: Bruce vs. Taylor Vaughn

It’s an evening gown match, meaning strip the other person down to their underwear to win. Bruce is a man and Miss TNA coming in. Bruce dominates, hitting a suplex and a backbreaker before taking Taylor’s dress off to retain. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS?

Bruce strips as well and we’ve got a thong.

Don West gives his sales pitch for next week. He really is good at this stuff. We get a merchandise pitch too.

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

Styles and Lynn are tag champions and Styles is X Champion. I’ll only refer to Styles as a champion in this though for the sake of clarity. Lynn and Low Ki take out Styles to start and immediately brawl with each other. Low Ki fires off kicks at Lynn but Jerry catches one of them and AJ kicks Ki in the head. Lynn hooks Styles in an inverted Gory Special but gets dropkicked down by Low Ki.

A Muta style elbow gets two on the champ for Low Ki but Styles does his awesome nip up into a rana to take over. There’s a torture rack to Low Ki but AJ keeps going with it and hits a kind of reverse AA into a facebuster. Lynn pops up and takes AJ down but Styles comes right back with a McGillicutter to take Jerry down. A rana from AJ is countered into a kind of powerbomb facebuster for two by Jerry.

Low Ki is sent to the apron but he slingshots in to roll up Jerry as Jerry German suplexes AJ which gets a double two count. Cool spot. Lynn and Low Ki chop it out as AJ is down. AJ tries a suplex on Low Ki but gets caught in a Dragon Sleeper. Lynn tries for a save but gets caught in the same hold. Jerry suplexes Low Ki down but AJ saves. AJ goes up but Jerry DDTs him off the top for two.

Styles and Low Ki slug it out but Low Ki kicks him in the face to take over. AJ hits his moonsault into the reverse DDT for two and then loads up a superplex on Low Ki but Jerry turns it into a Tower of Doom for two. All three guys get an awesome looking rollup for two, followed by AJ and Lynn trading very close two counts again. Low Ki rolls up Lynn, but Jerry kicks out, sending Low Ki into the Styles Clash position. Jerry breaks it up for some reason but the setup looked good.

Aj goes to the corner but Low Ki puts him in the Tree of Woe and in the Dragon Sleeper at the same time. Lynn’s tornado DDT to Low Ki is countered into a dragon sleeper on the ropes but AJ kicks him in the head and covers Lynn for two. A neckbreaker gets two on Lynn but Low Ki tries the Ki Crusher on AJ. Styles counters that but Low Ki hooks the Styles Clash on Styles. Jerry hits a Ki Crusher on Low Ki and you know what’s coming next. The cradle piledriver gets two on Lynn and the fans are digging this a lot.

Low Ki accidentally kicks the referee and is thrown to the floor by both opponents. Jerry and AJ collide to put both guys down and AJ falls to the floor in pain. Scratch that as he brings in a chair which he caves in Lynn’s head with a chair. AJ goes up but as he climbs, Low Ki covers Lynn. In a pretty questionable ending, the referee gets to two, AJ hits Spiral Tap on Low Ki, Low Ki comes up off Jerry, goes back down on Jerry, and the referee counts one more time (as in the referee slaps the mat only once more) for the three count and Low Ki is champion.

Rating: B. Bad ending aside, this was a fun match which showed off what TNA was good at: high flying matches with guys going so fast it’s almost impossible to keep up with what’s going on. I missed a few spots because I couldn’t type fast enough to keep up with them. Low Ki was by far the most popular guy in the match so going with him as champion was the right move. AJ and Lynn would keep feuding for awhile longer.

Since the signature division just had a great match, let’s cut to Jarrett to close the show. He and Truth yell at each other before we cut back to AJ and Lynn fighting. Jarrett and Truth stare at each other on the ramp to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. The main event helps this a lot, but MAN FREAKING ALIVE this was a long sit. There were some dumb things on here, mainly the Dupps, which went on for over 1/8th of the WHOLE FREAKING SHOW. It’s low brow humor which I don’t find funny at all and it went nowhere. This show was terrible, but it’s a big transitioning point for TNA with two new champions and the departure of a lot of guys who brought them this far. Really weak show overall for this week though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

TNA Weekly PPV #7
Date: July 31, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Ed Ferrara, Don West

Back with another week here after last week’s just decent show. For anyone unclear on this, for the next few weeks of this series I’ll be grading them a lot easier overall due to how new this promotion still was at the time. You can’t expect perfection right out of the blocks, even though some TNA fans are still saying they need more time ten years after opening. Anyway, there’s nothing major announced, but of course Jarrett has been suspended for sixty days and there’s NO WAY he’s here tonight, or in the main event or anything like that. Let’s get to it.

X-Division Title: Elix Skipper vs. AJ Styles

AJ is defending here of course. Skipper jumps the champ as he comes in as Jerry Lynn sits in on commentary. A spinwheel kick takes Skipper down as does a discus lariat. They trade standing switches and Styles chops away in the corner. A running dropkick and clothesline in the corner put Skipper down for two and then two more. Neither guy can hit a German suplex so Elix settles for a dragon suplex to take over.

Skipper pounds away in the corner but charges into a superkick to the face. AJ strikes away but a belly to back suplex takes him down. This is a different style from AJ and I’m not sure how well I like it. He’s leaning heel here and I’m not sure Skipper is a face so it doesn’t balance out that well. Styles tries a kick to the ribs but gets shoved back to the mat as Skipper keeps control.

Out to the floor with AJ being rammed back first into the apron. Skipper hooks a butterfly suplex, floats over onto AJ and pulls back on the arms in a kind of reverse Cattle Mutilation. Styles’ rana is blocked into a powerbomb from Skipper as Elix has dominated almost all of this match. Skipper keeps up the different kind of offense by hooking a sunset flip but shifts to the side and cranks on AJ’s head in a neck hold.

AJ counters a northern lights suplex into a seated guillotine followed by the moonsault into the reverse DDT. A guillotine legdrop misses for AJ but he hurricanranas Skipper to the floor as things slow down a bit. That doesn’t last long as AJ misses an Asai Moonsault as Skipper slides in immediately and hits a big corkscrew plancha. Back in AJ counters the Play of the Day into the Styles Clash which is countered into a sunset flip. Elix goes to the rope but gets knocked off, letting AJ hit Spiral Tap to retain.

Rating: C+. This was like a lawn mower that you keep pulling the cord on and you get the engine started a little bit but then it dies down again. These two kept trying to get something going but it never got to the point they were supposed to get to. AJ doesn’t quite work that well as a striker but once he ditched that and started flipping and jumping all over the place, it worked much better. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen very often and the match was only pretty good.

Tenay and company say that boss Ricky Steamboat isn’t here tonight. Nice job on the bait and switch people. However, Steamboat has ordered Malice to return the belt he stole last week and wouldn’t you know it, Jarrett isn’t suspended anymore and he’s facing Hall in the main event tonight.

As Skipper is leaving, Monty Brown pops up and beats the tar out of him, hitting the Alpha Bomb and leaving him laying.

Here’s Jarrett to the ring immediately after that with a body bag. He says that since Shamrock, Behrens and Steamboat were all gone, he’s going to amuse himself. Jarrett pulls a midget wrestler out of the bag and beats the tar out of him before issuing an open challenge. It’s answered by that annoying midget Puppet who, I kid you know, PULLS A GUN ON JARRETT. Then, because he’s pretty freaking stupid, he turns around and gets blasted with a chair shot from Jarrett.

Now Steamboat pops up on the stage which makes me wonder why they said he wasn’t here when he’s here three minutes later. Anyway, Steamboat says Jarrett is done tonight, but Jarrett wants to fight Steamboat. Jeff suggests that if he wins he gets a title shot but if he loses, he’ll take the suspension. Steamboat seems cool with it but as he’s comign to the ring, Scott Hall sneaks in and jumps Jarrett. He pulls out a stretcher from under the ring and we’ve got a gimmick main event.

Sonny Siaki says he doesn’t need backup and that he’s better than his partners Estrada and Yang. He also accuses Goldilocks of checking him out. This guy is growing on me.

Slash vs. Sonny Siaki

Slash immediately pounds Siaki down into the corner and pounds away. James Mitchell has a box which is called the Ark of the New Church which contains the blood of the Audad, whatever that is. Slash tries a sunset bomb to the floor but Siaki counters into a rana to take over. Slash is sent into the barricade and backdropped on the floor and we head back inside.

Siaki takes too long to attack and gets caught in an Eye of the Hurricane for two. Keeping up with that theme, the move we would call the Eye of the Storm gets two and a bicycle kick “hits” for two. Mitchell gets off commentary as Slash puts on a cobra clutch. As Siaki starts to fight back, Slash leg sweeps him down for two. Sikai starts a comeback but misses a top rope backsplash. Slash puts a bag over Siaki’s face, hits a neckbreaker, takes the bag off, and gets the pin.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but it wasn’t great either. I like Siaki but this heel vs. heel thing didn’t work all that well. Also, they’ve been building him up for weeks now and then they just stop doing it for the sake of giving Slash a win. This is what jobbers are for, and I assure you there are people that would love to be able to do jobs on PPV.

Post match Mitchell puts the blood of Audad on Siaki’s face until Don Harris (bald guy, in a bunch of biker teams with his twin brother) runs in for the save. Malice comes out and has a staredown with Harris.

Steamboat says he’s in charge and anyone that has issues with it can get over it. Oh and don’t compare him to Bill Behrens. He leaves and one of the Rainbow Express follows him.

Here’s Truth to talk to one of the cage dancers. He talks to her about how she’s in a cage like an animal against her own free will. Truth calls this a freak show and says the company is exploiting her. He makes fun of the idea of her being a performer and calls her a ho. She slaps Truth so he gets his belt, only to have Monty Brown jump him and knock Truth into the audience. Truth finds a 2×4 from somewhere and cracks it over Brown’s back.

As Brown is helped to the back, here’s Ricky Steamboat. He calls Truth Ron and says that Truth has his attention. Truth comes out and slaps the mic away from the Dragon. Steamboat grabs Truth’s mic and says that if this is about race, he’s here to listen to Truth talk. Truth says Steamboat means the same thing to the fans as he (Truth) does. Let’s talk about Steamboat’s WWF career, starting with Savage vs. Steamboat.

After that great match, why didn’t Steamboat get a WWF Title shot? It’s because the Intercontinental Title was just for second class citizens. Truth says that now he’s getting the same treatment, Steamboat AGREES and gives Truth a title shot next week. This would make a lot more sense if Steamboat hadn’t won the EXACT SAME TITLE Truth is getting a shot at just under two years after the Savage match.

Malice vs. Apolo

Apparently Apolo was supposed to be the #1 contender to Shamrock, which is news to me. Both guys pound away on each other in the corner with Apolo taking over. A powerslam sends Malice to the floor and there’s a big dive to take out Malice on the floor. Malice posts him as the announcers are talking about Truth’s title shot next week. Both guys are sent into the barricade and Apolo is busted open.

Back in and Malice puts on a Claw hold followed by a slam. He kicks on the cut on the head as Ferrara talks about liking Malice’s blood lust. Apolo grabs a quick rollup for two but gets forearmed in the face to take him back down. A DDT out of nowhere puts Malice down and a superkick gets the pin on Malice.

Rating: C+. Decent brawl here as Malice continues to fall further and further down the ladder. Apolo is a guy I liked back in the day and it’s a shame that he was gone like a week later. This was a short but hard hitting brawl and that was a pretty sweet superkick for the pin. When all else fails, kick the guy in the face.

Malice chokeslams the referee and as he sets to chokeslam Apolo, Don Harris runs out for the save again until Slash comes out and does the hooded neckbreaker on Harris. Mitchell tells Harris that he chose the wrong path and he gets the blood put on his face as well.

Don West gets in the ring to interview Miss TNA, Taylor Vaughn, who gets NO reaction. She isn’t even that good looking. Bruce comes out (no pun intended) and asks for a title match. Vaughn gets on her knees instead (remember that Bruce is gay) but hits him low to start the match.

Miss TNA: Bruce vs. Taylor Vaughn

Vaughn slams him, he clotheslines her, Bruce misses a legdrop but hits a tilt-a-whirl powerslam for the pin and the crowd. This was nothing and NO ONE cared.

Low Ki will do his talking in the ring.

Low Ki vs. Jerry Lynn

AJ is on commentary and talks about how the tag champions will work together. Jerry takes it to the mat to start and cranks on a headscissors until Low Ki kicks him in the head. Ki takes him to the mat instead and tries an armbar but Lynn sits out to escape. AJ won’t answer why he walked out on Lynn last week as Ki takes Lynn down with a leg lock. Jerry counters into an arm hold as we get some chain wrestling.

Lynn finally says screw this and hits an enziguri to take over. Low Ki tries some more kicks but gets caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to take him down again. The idea of selling continues to not be something Low Ki favors as he shrugs it off and chops/kicks Lynn down some more. Low Ki stays on the back and hooks a modified Tarantula with kind of a rear naked choke instead of a Boston Crab.

Lynn comes back with an elbow and a knee drop for two. There’s a Gory Special from Jerry as AJ praises his partner. It’s amazing how much better AJ sounds now than he did here. Cradle Piledriver is countered into an armbar and Low Ki starts firing off his strikes. A jackknife cover gets two and it’s time for a strike off. A big springboard spin kick from Low Ki puts Jerry down for no cover.

Ki tries his cartwheel kick in the corner but gets caught in a helicopter bomb for two. A small package for Low Ki sets up the Dragon Sleeper but Jerry escapes into a tornado DDT for another very close two. The cradle piledriver is countered into a kick to the face and AJ gets off commentary. He gets on the apron and tries a kick to the head, but it hits Lynn, possibly by mistake. That’s a DQ…..or make that a no contest.

Rating: B-. How in the world is that a no contest? Lynn got kicked in the head and Low Ki never got touched. How is that an equal ending for both guys and not a DQ win for Jerry? Anyway, the match started a bit slow before it finally cranked up at the end. The crowd was rightfully losing it on those near falls and it made things a lot better.

AJ yells at Lynn post match but Low Ki kicks Styles in the head.

Don Harris wants a first blood match with Malice next week.

It’s time for Jive Talking with Glenn Gilbertti. The sign says Disco’s Jive Talking so maybe he can use the old name. He implies he’s replacing Oprah and talks about how there isn’t enough T&A on this show. Disco promises to bring out someone who will expose her breasts and brings out Goldilocks. Goldi is a musician so we talk about that for awhile with her saying she’s been called a female Kid Rock.

This goes on and isn’t really funny or interesting which I think is the point. Disco tells her to take her top off and another argument ensues. He implies her only talent involves kneepads so she knees him in the balls. Cue some big chick from the first season of Tough Enough to choke Goldilocks out. This went on way too long and wasn’t even funny at all.

The announcers hype the show for next week and West shouts a lot.

Scott Hall vs. Jeff Jarrett

Stretcher match. Hall jumps Jarrett on the stage and the beating is on fast. Jeff gets slammed into the steps and onto the announce table. They head into the ring and Hall hits the fallaway slam to send him right back to the floor. They head into the back and Jerry Lynn gets shoved. Hall gets hit with a stool from the previous segment and Jarrett tries to run away.

The fight goes into the crowd and Hall hits a big chair shot. We finally get into the ring and Hall brings in the stretcher (it’s the cloth kind with poles in it) but Jarrett hits a baseball slide to his ribs. Jeff hits Hall in the back with the stretcher and whips him into the stretcher in the corner a few times. Hall does the same thing right back to Jarrett and crotches him onto the poles.

A few shots to Jarrett’s back with the stretcher are followed by Snake Eyes onto it and Jeff is in trouble. There’s the Razor’s Edge but Truth comes out and pulls the referee to the floor. An ax kick puts Hall down but it only gets two. Monty Brown goes after Truth and they fight into the crowd. Now Jerry Lynn runs in to splash Jarrett in retaliation for earlier. AJ pops in and blasts Lynn before going up for Spiral Tap.

Now Don Harris comes out to crotch him but Malice and Slash take out Harris. Hall and Jarrett (remember them?) collide in the ring and they’re both down. Hall gets up and pounds Jarrett down but a stretcher shot hits the referee. Jarrett gets a chair but has to swing at Steamboat. The shot misses the Dragon and it hits the rope before bouncing back into Jarrett’s face. Hall gets the chair but Steamboat blocks it, allowing Jarrett to Stroke him onto the chair for the pin.

Rating: D+. Not only was the match WAY overbooked, but what the heck was the point of the stretcher? Hall got placed on it post match, but is that supposed to mean something? This didn’t do anything at all as Hall was just not interesting as he didn’t really have a character or anything like that. He’s just kind of there and that’s not very interesting.

Overall Rating: C-. This didn’t work that well for me. It feels like a long stretch of segments that happen to be happening on the same show rather than a single show if that makes sense. Everything seems like it’s thrown together and Hall and Shamrock, the two top faces, are just kind of floating around aimlessly. That’ll change next week which is a good thing, but it didn’t do much to help this show.

 Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

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

It’s another TNA show here and we’re continuing some interesting stuff from last week in the form of the Disciples coming after Jarrett. On top of that, we have Hall vs. Lawler tonight in the main event. Uh…did I mention we have the Disciples coming after Jarrett? We also have an adult star in a match as well as midgets. Can’t you tell how overjoyed I am? Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Jarrett’s path of rage over the first four episodes.

During the week, Shamrock snapped on Goldilocks and offers to beat her up. That’s pretty out of character for him.

We cut to the back where Hall and Jarrett are fighting. Security finally breaks it up and we’re told that Jarrett (wasn’t he suspended last week?) is out of his #1 contenders ladder match with Malice.

Here are the Disciples and Mitchell with the latter having a mic in the ring. He issues an open challenge to face Malice in the ladder match for the title shot. The lights go out and we have an opponent.

Malice vs. Sabu

Sabu goes right for him and gets in some good shots before running into an elbow from Malice to take him down. This is a ladder match remember. A chair is thrown in to Malice but Sabu channels his inner Raven and drop toeholds him onto it. There are two pelts of the chair to Malice’s head (love that move) but Air Sabu is caught in the corner into a backbreaker. The chair is wedged between the top and middle rope by another of the Disciples and there goes Sabu’s head into it.

Malice gets thrown to the floor and gets a ladder and because he’s not that bright, holds it in front of his face so Sabu can hit a baseball slide into the ladder into Malice’s head. Air Sabu over the top takes Malice out but Sabu has to fight off Tempest before going after Malice again. Sabu sets up a table because he’s, you know, Sabu, but Malice hits him before he can use it.

Sabu gets dropped face first onto the ladder which busts him open. The ladder is set up in the corner and Malice splashes Sabu against it before hitting a World’s Strongest Slam on both Sabu and the ladder at the same time. Sabu rams Malice with the ladder as he won’t stay down at all. To be fair, that’s Sabu’s trait so it’s not as big of a deal. A climb doesn’t work for Sabu and Malice hits a release belly to belly on Sabu onto the ladder. Malice still can’t get to the contract because as always in ladder matches, people only stay down for about 20 seconds at a time.

Malice misses a charge into the ladder in the corner and Air Sabu hits this time, driving Malice into the ladder again. Sabu goes up but the ladder gets kicked out from underneath him. A chair to the face slows Malice down but Sabu walks into a spinebuster to take him down again. Malice goes up and there’s the big shove off to put him through that table at ringside. That’s good enough to let Sabu get the contract and the title show.

Rating: B. Considering this was Sabu vs. The Wall, this was a miracle. They went with the spotfest formula here and it worked well in this case. Sabu hit most of his spots and some of the bumps looked good. I was digging the Sabu vs. the army of Disciples here and the match was a great surprise.

The Disciples destroy Sabu post match and Malice chokeslams him through a table.

Here’s AJ with something to say. He calls out his partner Jerry Lynn and they yell at each other a bit. Lynn talks about how many years he’s been wrestling (Tenay: “THAT’S A SHOOT!” Well yeah I guess but that’s not exactly a shocking statement) and asks how long AJ has been wrestling and what he’s accomplished. Lynn doesn’t like AJ stealing all the glory. Jerry goes to leave but gets kicked in the head (in an interesting note, that’s exactly what happened on Raw last night) and AJ hits the Styles Clash.

We recap St. Claire’s striptease from last week before going to Jasmine in the bathroom. Francine runs in and jumps her, leaving her laying as a result.

Here’s K-Krush for a chat. Krush says everyone needs to look at him because he looks like a star, he sounds like a star and he even smells like a star. So why isn’t he the biggest star in this business? Why did WWE let him go? It’s because he was going to become the hottest star in the company but they didn’t want something they were afraid of. Now he’s going to go to the top of the mountain. The fans seem to like what they’re hearing here a lot. He says he’s the Truth.

K-Krush vs. Norman Smiley

Krush jumps him before the bell but Smiley comes back with some Tough Enough level offense and some dancing. A slam puts Krush down and it’s the BIG WIGGLE! Basically it’s simulated anal sex but much more humorous. Krush avoids a clothesline and kicks Norman’s head off to take over. When all else fails, hit him in the face. Krush pounds away but Smiley grabs a belly to back suplex to put him down. That gets him nowhere though as Krush hits him in the ribs again and a sitout gordbuster gets the pin.

Rating: D+. This was an interesting time for Krush as he would get very popular all of a sudden before being turned face by the crowd reactions alone. This would all happen in the span of like three weeks no matter what he did to get on the nerves of the fans. The match was nothing but an extended squash.

Post match Krush whips Smiley with a belt and hangs him. Smiley’s wife waddles out and gets choked as well.

Puppet the midget is in a trash can and doesn’t want to talk. Somehow this takes 90 seconds. We pan over to the Dupps who are playing with fire. This would be the dumb parts of the show I’ve been telling you about.

Flying Elvises vs. Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper

It’s a brawl to start and a member of each team is sent to the floor. The two in the ring both head to the floor very quickly with Skipper hitting a big flip dive to the floor. Siaki and Skipper get us going to start and scratch the Siaki half as it’s off to Estrada. Skipper is in trouble so Siaki drops to the floor and jumps in on commentary. He brags a bit before taking his shirt off and taking a tag.

It’s been all Elvises so far and an old A-Train over the shoulder backbreaker gets two. Back to Estrada as Siaki gets on commentary again. Estrada puts Skipper in a Razor’s Edge position and sits out into a kind of powerbomb for two. Skipper gets in a dropkick and it’s off to Daniels. Daniels and Skipper are the good guys here but they’re not really thrilling the crowd so far.

Things speed up and Daniels fires off clotheslines and dropkicks all around before Estrada suplexes him down to shift the momentum again. With Daniels on all fours, Skipper runs in, springboards off him, onto Estrada’s shoulders and then onto Siaki for a rana. A Blue Thunder Bomb gets two for Daniels on Estrada as this has picked up VERY quickly. Estrada comes back with a middle rope legdrop for two and it’s back to Siaki.

An enziguri puts Jorge (Estrada) down and it’s a double tag to bring in Skipper and Siaki. A belly to belly puts Estrada down and a floatover double underhook suplex gets two. Estrada comes back with an X Factor for two as this is slowing down a bit again. Daniels comes back in for the BME for two on Estrada and a missile dropkick from Skipper gets two on Siaki. The Play of the Day puts Estrada down but Siaki comes in and hits a rolling suplex into a neckbreaker for the pin on Skipper.

Rating: C. The match was entertaining enough for a spot fest, but it ran a bit longer than it needed to. On top of that, at the end of the day your X Division heels are called the Flying Elvises. They’re in the white Elvis suits but other than that, there’s nothing Elvis related about them. The name is too distracting for it to be such a small part of the gimmick and it’s making them more of a joke than a threat.

The Dupps come out and hit Estrada with some boards post match. Siaki bails and lets Estrada get destroyed.

K-Krush says nothing before Hall jumps him and beats him down.

Puppet vs. Meatball

Meatball was on Hogan’s Micro Championships Wrestling. This is a hardcore match and Meatball brings a bag of Doritos with him. Oh this is going to be painful. Puppet blasts him with a trashcan to start but he pulls up at a two count. A modified Van Daminator puts Meatball down and we head to the floor. Meatball picks him up and takes him to a shopping cart….and it’s full of food. I’ll sum up the next fer minutes: pie, eggs, pineapple, sugar, watermelon. Another Van Daminator (without the chair actually hitting Meatball) puts him down and this needs to end now. Puppet wins with a Vader Bomb onto a chair.

Rating: N/A. I review wrestling, not stupid freak show comedy. Thankfully this was the last week of this nonsense.

Another midget simulates sex with one of the cage dancers.

Jasmine St. Claire vs. Francine

Oh geez it just keeps going. It’s a catfight, clothes are ripped off, Francine wins by DQ in like 80 seconds when Blue Meanie comes in and DDTs Francine. I don’t think either girl appeared for the company again.

Francine is taken out on a stretcher.

Low Ki has nothing to say.

We get some highlights of Low Ki and AJ’s finishers.

X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Low Ki

Ki won this shot last week in the elimination match. They take it to the mat very quickly and Low Ki fires off some chops. That gets him nowhere so it turns into a kick fest. Low Ki takes him down by the leg and it’s off to a front facelock. A fan with a sign is being taken out so the match slows down a lot so the fans don’t miss anything. AJ avoids a kick and dropkicks Low Ki down a few times.

Low Ki kicks AJ in the head and out to the apron. You may notice multiple variations of the word “kick” a lot in this match. I’m not saying Low Ki can’t do much other than kick…..actually yeah I am. It’s like 75% of his offense and it gets pretty repetitive. Low Ki gets sent to the floor but Styles misses an Asai Moonsault. Styles gets on the apron and Low Ki hits a standing enziguri to kick him back into the ring. They both head to the apron and strike it out before Low Ki hooks the Dragon Clutch (a version of the Dragon Sleeper) on the apron.

Back in the ring AJ elbows him down for two. Powerslam gets two for the champion as does a brainbuster. AJ goes up and after blocking a superplex, he fires off the Spiral Tap but Low Ki moves and gets two. The Ki Crusher 99 (modified fisherman’s buster) is countered into a DDT but Styles can’t cover. Low Ki sends him into the corner and after a cartwheel, he stops, jumps in the air and kicks AJ in the head. Low Ki goes up and tries some flip into a rana but gets (mostly) caught in the Clash to keep the belt on Styles.

Rating: C+. I do not like Low Ki or Senshi or Kaval or whatever Japanese sounding name he has this week. We get it: you can throw a freaking kick, NOW DO SOMETHING ELSE. It’s that same nonsense that made me sick of ROH and Davey Richards and it drives me crazy when Low Ki does it here. Throw a freaking suplex or something already.

As Styles leaves, Lynn pops up and blasts him. Back to the ring a ladder is set up and Styles gets thrown into it via a suplex (paying attention Low Ki?). He throws Styles around a bit more and leaves him laying with a Cradle Piledriver. They defend the titles next week.

Sabu has asked for the world title match next week to be a ladder match. Shamrock said ok but the NWA has decided it’s ladder or submission. Sure why not.

Brian Lawler vs. Scott Hall

Before the match Lawler cuts his usual Memphis heel promo which doesn’t do anything for fans outside of Memphis. He runs down Jerry Lawler, talking about the number of marriages Jerry has had. There was a ticket left for Jerry tonight but apparently he’s at a high school trying to lure underage girls to him. Oh give me a break. Hall finally cuts him off….or at least his music does. Lawler talks about Hall a bit but Hall is behind him as you would expect. Hall stands behind him for almost two minutes before Lawler notices.

Hall finally decks him and Lawler goes to the floor. This has all taken nearly ten minutes before we finally get Lawler thrown onto the announce table. We head up the ramp with Lawler getting punched down again and again. Lawler finally gets in a right hand and they head into the ring. After some punches in the corner, a suplex gets two for Lawler. This guy is AWFUL as a heel in the ring.

They head to the floor for Lawler to run his mouth to the crowd before heading back in for a slugout. A superkick puts Hall down and it’s goggles time. Like any heel worth anything though, Lawler takes too long going up and gets slammed down. There’s the fallaway slam and a belly to back superplex but K-Krush runs in to break up the Edge. That’s not a DQ for some reason and the Edge gets the pin on Lawler.

Rating: D. Brian Lawler is a very boring wrestler as a heel. He’s a master of the Memphis style but sweet goodness it does not work on a national stage. This was a nine minute match with about three minutes worth of offense. The main event stuff on this show is driving me insane but it should crank up in a few weeks.

Krush and Lawler beat down Hall and choke him with the belt from earlier. Hall is taken out on a stretcher but Jarrett sneaks in as a paramedic and beats up Hall with a chair to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The show was about setting up for the future and that’s fine. There are still some major problems, but thankfully the midgets and the girls would be gone after this week. The other big problem is the main event feud with Hall as the top face of the company. Hall in that role is ok for the most part but Lawler just isn’t doing it for me at all. The problem is mainly that with Shamrock as the world champion having random matches, there’s really no reason for Hall to be fighting these three guys. Without spoiling too much, that’ll change soon. Decent show this week as the problems are starting to be solved.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews