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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Miss TNA: Bruce vs. ???

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

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

Don Harris vs. Malice

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

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

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

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

Dupp Cup: Teo vs. Bo Dupp

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

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

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

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

Monty Brown vs. Elix Skipper

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Teo vs. Hollywood

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

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

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

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

Johnsons vs. Psicosis/James Storm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeff Jarrett is choking Jackie Fargo.

Christian York/Joey Matthews vs. Dupps

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

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

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

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

NWA World Title: Gauntlet For The Gold

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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