NWA-TNA PPV #1 (19/06/2002)

Impact kindly put this up on their YouTube channel for free, and it's a really interesting watch with the benefit of 16 years of hindsight. The majority of the in-ring stuff is decent, but there's a lot of time given to some right old shit - needless concert by a terrible country singer, long preview for the Miss TNA match the following week, in ring interview with two racing drivers - just unappealing stuff. There's enough good in ring stuff that I'd probably have bought the second show if I'd had access at the time, but only just.

AJ Styles, Low Ki & Jerry Lynn vs The Flying Elvises (Jimmy Yang, Jorge Estrada & Sonny Siaki)

Fun little spot fest to kick off the promotion, which also sets up the following week, where Styles, Ki and Lynn are all in the mix to win the first ever X Division title. The Elvises attack to start, but get sent out to the floor, where Lynn and Ki follow them with a pair of nice dives. Thought Estrada looked great here, made the most of his ring time with a nice springboard moonsault and a really nice running shooting star. He also lets Ki basically kick his head off. Everyone gets a few nice spots as it all breaks down, and in the melee Low Ki accidentally kicks AJ in the head with a cartwheel kick, allowing Yang to nail Yang Time for the shock win. Decent enough opener.

Teo vs Hollywood

I went into this with low expectations, as US midget matches are rarely good, and they instantly blow a tilt-a-whirl headscissors in the first move of the match. Hollywood hits a decent top rope splash for a two count, but this is sloppy stuff. Teo hits an ugly twisting swanton to win.

The Johnsons vs Psychosis & James Storm

This is pretty infamous, because of the Johnson’s terrible gimmick. Make no bones about it, the idea of wrestling penises is dreadful and nothing about the execution makes it any better, but the match itself is fine for the sub 5 minutes it runs. Of course, putting the identical Shane Twins into masks is a total waste of their main appeal, but they looks good here. Lovely butterfly suplexes by both and a big flapjack on Psychosis. Storm is totally out to impress here, hitting a nice missile dropkick and even popping a rana from nowhere near the end. Psychosis, who is the most natural talent in the match, has the least impact here, but does get a nice facebuster reversal from being powerbombed. The Johnson’s win with a shitty TKO after manager Mortimer Plumtree interferes.

Christian York & Joey Matthews vs The Dupps (Bo Dupp & Stan Dupp)

The Dupps are joined by valet Fluff Dupp. This is again extremely short, but what there was came over fine. Bo Dupp in particular seemed really good. He hits some stiff slaps on Matthews, hits a big boot and gets huge height on a splash. York nails a nice full weight senton for two, but after a clumsy tornado DDT, he gets crotched by Fluff and rolled up by Bo for the loss. This was too short, but like the previous match you got the vibe that a terrible gimmick is holding back a decent heel team.

Gauntlet for the Gold

This is a twenty man royal rumble, with the last two entrants ending up in a singles match for the NWA title. Credit to TNA, they tried to build up the younger, cheaper talent here, letting them shine. Malice makes the final two, eliminating half the field in the process. Apollo gets the iron man run in the match, whilst Justice (the baby Abyss) and Chris Harris both get good runs. Jeff Jarrett start the match, seeing off Buff Bagwell, Lash LeRoux and Norman Smiley right away. However, his elimination eventually comes at the hands of dreadful country singer Toby Keith, who makes an unwelcome cameo. Other notable entrants include Del Rios (the former Phantasio) who comes in dressed as an egregious Scott Steiner rip off, and both Konnan and Rick Steiner who both get huge pops. We eventually get down to a final pairing of Ken Shamrock and Malice, leaving us with…

Ken Shamrock vs Malice

Ricky Steamboat is the guest ref for this. Malice dominates early, looking pretty good in the process, before Shamrock reverses a chokeslam into an armbar in a nice counter. Malice makes the ropes, before Shamrock locks in the anklelock. Shamrock is pretty heelish here, dragging Malice back to the middle of the ring when he’s made the ropes, then not letting go after he makes the ropes again, forcing Steamboat to get to a count of 7 before breaking. Malice tries another chokeslam, but Shamrock reverses to a belly-to-belly suplex for the win. The whole deal was pretty fun, and the final two match-up was fine.

WWF Monday Night Raw 15/08/1994

Owen Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid

Bret vs Kid from a few weeks earlier is the best Raw match we’ve seen so far in 1994, but this isn’t too far off. Owen is so smug at the start of this match, utterly slappable face. He charges Kid from the get go, but runs into a leg lariat, then misses a corner charge at full speed. Kid gets a good chunk of control on a man who is the current #1 contender to the world title, as Owen is unable to shake him off from a headlock, before Kid sends him out of the ring with a dropkick. Kid continues by baseball sliding Owen into Jim Neidhart at ringside, then hits a huge top rope cannonball to the floor. Owen takes over by suplexing Kid from the apron to the floor in a huge bump, Kid’s ankles clipping the railings on the way down. Owen zones in on Kid’s back at this point, hitting two slams into the ringpost, then hitting some lovely looking offence to the spine. Vicious kneedrop, lovely second rope elbow and a ridiculously high elevation backdrop. However, he misses a top rope kneedrop, really crashing down, and Kid takes full advantage. He kicks Owen’s leg away, ties it in the ropes, then locks in a half crab after ducking an enzuigiri. This lures in Neidhart for the save and the unlikely 1-2-3 Kid DQ win. Not sure how this ending makes sense with the upcoming PPV match, as the steel cage meant Neidhart interference was impossible and the next world title contender really should be winning these matches, but the match itself was really good.

Duke “The Dumpster” Droese vs Nick Barberi

Short squash joined in progress with a big Droese slam. Barberi gets a little shine as he hits Dumpster with a few milky elbows, but Droese levels him with a beautiful clothesline. Leaping elbow, which is actually Droese’s least impressive move in this match, gets the three.

Kwang vs Tony Roy

Barely goes two minutes, Kwang clubs Roy down, standing leg lariat then hits a spinning kick for the three. Pointless, though the finishing kick does look good.

Mabel vs Raymond Roy

Not the best Mabel squash, doesn’t really show off his speed or agility. Big necksnap did look good, but we only get a few slams before Roy gets smooshed by a corner splash and a second rope elbow for the win. Some of his best offence, like his full weight belly-to-belly suplex, was sadly missing.

Jeff Jarrett vs Scott Taylor

Another ludicrously short squash, though Jarrett still find time to let Taylor get a few nearfalls. Jarrett’s main character trait is his cockiness, so it makes sense that he’d underestimate his opponent. Taylor misses a crossbody though, and Jarrett zones in on his leg straight away. Figure four gets the quick win. Post match, Mabel comes out to set up their Summerslam match, and Jarrett takes full advantage of the refs stopping Mabel getting in the ring, with big overblown chicken gestures and lying on his back to show the big man how unconcerned he is. Glorious.

WWF Monday Night Raw 04/07/1994

Jeff Jarrett vs Tatanka

So-so match with really baffling booking. They start off at quite a quick tempo, with Tatanka hitting a nice powerslam, before settling into a series of chinlocks and headlocks. I didn’t actually mind these too much at first, as they both use them effectively. Jarrett is really fun at shit-talking with Tatanka in a chinlock, and I liked Tatanka holding onto his own headlock, managing to keep his grip every time Jarrett tried to fire him into the ropes. The odd booking comes as Tatanka takes a huge bump over the top rope and ends up getting counted out. Jarrett, the heel, demands the ref restarts the match as he wants to pin Tatanka for the win. You could claim this serves to highlight Jarrett’s ego, but it’s not consistent with the cheap-shotting, win-stealing JJ we’ve seen on previous episodes. If he wasn’t insult Macho Man whilst doing it, it would come across as a face action. Very odd. Even stupider is that, after Tatanka fires up, Jarrett quits the match and heads to the back. Doink comes out, driving him back to the ring, and Tatanka rolls him up for the loss. So the crafty heel looks like an idiot and the valiant face only won after losing the bout and having some help from outside. Terrible booking.

Jim Neidhart vs Gary Scott

Decent enough squash, as Neidhart seemed fired up to be back in the WWF. Nothing fancy, but everything looked good, and he seemed to put a little oomph behind everything. Owen Hart is great on the outside, constantly berating Scott. Neidhart hits a nasty looking stungun and a big powerslam to win.

Duke Droese vs Iron Mike Sharpe

Yeah, I almost certainly enjoyed this far more than I should, but both guys have a goofy charisma that makes this work. Sharpe stooges about amusingly in the early stages, trying and failing to slam Droese and acting all fearful when Droese has him in a prone position on the canvas. Sharpe actually gets a small run of control, but Droese blocks a piledriver and hits the big elbow to win.

“The Undertaker” vs Mike Bell

This is the Ted DiBiase-managed Brian Lee version of the Undertaker. When I was 12, I knew this wasn’t the real Taker, as I was certain he’d stay with Paul Bearer, but I remember being really impressed at how much this guy was like the real thing. Fast forward 23 years, and the illusion isn’t quite so convincing. Crucially, it’s really noticeable how much the camera crew are desperate not to show any of his face. He’s also noticeably not as tall as the Undertaker. He has a nice droptoehold, really forceful, and his version of Old School looks good, but his flying clothesline is not a patch on the real Taker. Tombstone gets the win.

WWF Raw 30/05/1994

Crush vs Tatanka

This is the final qualifier for the 94 King of the Ring. It’s interesting that Tatanka, who is a pretty big lad, is dwarfed by Crush and has to work the bout from underneath. Loved some of Crush’s early heeling, especially him holding Tatanka in a headlock, turning his back to the ref and jamming a thumb into Tatanka’s throat. Tatanka is accompanied by Chief Jay Strongbow, but he does more harm than good in his attempts to counteract Mr Fuji. Indeed, it’s due to going outside to protect Strongbow from Fuji that Tatanka is hit by a surprise Crush superkick, giving Crush control. Crush’s control is fine, and I liked the Tatanka comeback, wearing Crush down with chops until he’s felled like a mighty oak. Strongbow and Fuji get into it on the outside, and Crush and Tatanka get drawn out, leading to a double count out. Terrific work Strongbow.

1-2-3 Kid vs George South

Fun squash match, with Kid looking really good. Absolutely loved his quick kick combos, especially the spot where South celebrates ducking a roundhouse, only to turn round to a brisk flurry of kicks. La Majistral cradle gets the win for Kid.

Smoking Gunns vs Austin Steel & Reno Riggins

Really comprehensive squash. Riggins is a fun jobber, stooges about a bit, and he eats a nice neckbreaker from Billy. Steele is more lumpy, like a Poundland knock-off of Buddy Rose, and he takes a bigger beating. Really great top rope bulldog from Billy, nasty kneedrop to the skull from Bart and a nice looking Sidewinder to finish the job.

Jeff Jarrett vs Chris Hamrick

Would loved to have seen this circa 1999-2000. Jarrett is a lot of fun here, preening around and pointing to his head after every move. Just a glorious, arrogant jerk. His offence is on point here, hitting a beautiful dropkick to the face at one point. I’m not normally the kind to notice dropkicks, but this one was terrific. Jarrett’s stun-gun and slingshot suplex both are nice looking moves that I wish he’d kept doing. Hamrick, as you’d expect, takes a nutty bump in the corner, missing a running knee and flying over the top rope. This gives JJ a focus point and he locks on the figure four for the win.

WWF Raw 25/4/1994

Jeff Jarrett vs Razor Ramon

Non title match here, with Razor still holding the gold. Jarrett goes for some smart controls early, sliding to the floor and suckering Ramon out to be attacked. Jarrett shows a few nice bits, including a neat diving fist drop. Annoying ad break clip returns with Ramon hitting a sunset flip, and I liked that Jarrett tried to block it, only for Razor to physically hook the arms with his legs to pull him over, instead of Jarrett toppling for no reason. Ramon makes a comeback, which draws out Shawn Michaels. Razor beats him up handily, but Diesel comes out to draw the DQ. Was pretty good until the non-ending.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Tony Devito

Bigelow remains a pretty dull squash worker, with lots of dead time between his moves. Just nothing compelling despite his execution being fine. An enzuigiri and a headbutt get the win

Heavenly Bodies vs John Paul & Jason Headings

Paul feels like a guy higher on the jobber tier, so he doesn't get totally punked out, looking semi-competitive until he's hit with a double superkick by the Bodies. Del Ray hits a lovely sitout powerbomb on him before Headings comes in. Headings' first act is to grab Pritchard, rush into the corner with him to allow a Del Ray "blind tag", then go to the centre of the ring for an Irish whip. Just looked very amateur, and the Bodies should have known better. They make up for it by blitzing Headings with some fun double-teams: Pritchard back suplexes Del Ray onto Headings, they nail him with a combo powerbomb/neckbreaker and finish the job by Pritchard holding Headings in place for a Del Ray moonsault press.  

1-2-3 Kid vs Duane Gill

Kid squashes are always fun, as they actually feel like competitive bouts. Here, Gill gets to throw Kid from the ring and knock him back down as he tries to climb back in. I like that Kid retorts by using a springboard clothesline to get in, using offense as an opening. Nice leg lariat gets the win.

Owen Hart vs Rich Myers

Really vicious Owen showcase here, with some nice punches and stiff headbutts thrown. Also, loved the bulldog, where it looked like he really was trying to drive Myers’ face into the mat. Nice stuff, ended with a sharpshooter. Owen is up there with Jarrett and Kid as the best of these 94 Raw squash workers.

WWF Raw 18/04/1994

Bret Hart vs Kwang

Non-title opener to kick things off. Really good little match, especially considering the respective card position of the two. Loved Bret avoiding a corner charge at the last split second, timed to perfection. Bret takes a big spill to the floor to give Kwang control, really heavy landing. Kwang is decent on offence, working in his killer running corner kick and though he slows things with a nerve hold, he at least has the decency to work the shoulders over with some big blows first. Kwang cuts off Bret’s comeback’s nicely with some throat chops that look vicious. Bret sidesteps a back bodydrop attempt, hits a side Russian legsweep and locks in the Sharpshooter for the win.

Jeff Jarrett vs PJ Walker

Love watching these Jarrett squashes. He’s totally in control of his character and knows how to play it into these matches. He’s so cocky, swaggering about after cheapshotting walking, posing after hitting basic moves. Love him doing a little pose before missing an elbow, then getting up angrily to stomp Walker due to his embarrassment. Slingshot suplex is followed by a spike DDT for the win.

The Steiner Brothers vs Mike Khoury & Barry Hardy

Aggressive side of the Steiners shows here, not just because they decimate their opponents, but the manner in which they do it. Big crossfaces thrown by Rick, Scott beating up guys as they try to climb into the ring, just a nastier side shown. Obviously, on top of that, there’s some big bombs thrown. Big Dragon suplex and a top rope Samoan drop by Scott, massive clothesline and a top rope belly-to-belly by Rick. Scott finishes it with a Steiner Screwdriver. Lovely stuff.

Earthquake vs Mike Bell

Bit of comedy to start, as Bell is too short for a test-of-strength, so climbs to the second rope…only for Quake to just throw him off. From there, Quake blasts him with two dropkicks, a slick belly-to-belly suplex, a legdrop and the big splash for the easy win.

IRS vs Major Yates

IRS isn’t a fun squash wrestler. Bit of token leg work to kick things off, followed by some plodding offence. IRS locks in a chinlock, before going back to the injured leg and locking in an STF for the win. Might have been better if he’d focussed his offensive run to concentrate on Yates’ leg, this was pretty dull. 

WWF Raw 03/04/1994

Earthquake vs Adam Bomb

This is a WrestleMania X rematch, though this one goes a little longer. Quake controls with ease to start, no-selling shoulderblocks and ducking a Bomb clothesline in order to hit his own. Bomb takes over with a nice flying clothesline. There’s an underlying story of Bomb being over-presumptuous during the bout, missing an elbow because Quake isn’t hurt enough then not getting the pin off a top rope clothesline by conferring with Harvey Wippleman before pinning. This builds to the ending, where he rushes into a boot from a corner charge, before eating a massive belly-to-belly suplex, a legdrop and the seated splash for the Quake win.

Razor Ramon vs Austin Steele

Basic squash, with Razor casually going through his moveset. Ramon acts quite heeling, slapping Steele about and contemptuously kicking him in the head. Steele lands viciously on the Razor’s Edge and that gets the win.

IRS, Rick Martel, Jeff Jarrett & the Headshrinkers vs 1-2-3 Kid, Sparky Plugg, Tatanka & the Smoking Gunns

This is the delayed match from Wrestlemania, but it’s still curious to see the Headshrinkers on the heel team directly after showing a video of their face turn. They lay the match out to give everyone a brief chance to shine, and it’s interesting to see how people use it. The opening segment between Billy Gunn and Samu is really good, ending with Gunn taking a big 360 bump off a clothesline. The terrible flying headscissors Billy hits on Jarrett is less impressive. Plugg uses his chance to shine to hold an armbar on Martel, which isn’t very interesting, but 1-2-3 Kid decides to hit as many moves as possible in his 2 minutes, looking crisp throughout. It all breaks down and, in the hubbub, Kid misses a corner charge and gets rolled up by IRS for the clean win. This was pretty fun.

Yokozuna vs Scott Powers

Really quick squash here. Yoko’s back suplex is really nice looking, gets really snap on it. Legdrop and Banzai Drop get the swift win.

PCW/GFW Global Conflict 2016

This is a co-promoted Preston City Wrestling/Global Force Wrestling show, though only 3 Global Force guys wrestle on the show. Still, it's quite a fun line-up and a pretty decent show all in all...

Lionheart vs Kenny Williams

Williams is quite a gangly looking guy, and his offence doesn’t look like it could cause too much damage. I enjoyed Lionheart’s control here, as he’s prepared to use his size advantage to outman Williams. Loved him putting Williams on the top rope only to punch him in the face. Williams further disappoints me by taking a superkick flush in the face, only to hit a rebound lariat. Still, Lionheart looked good, with the end seeing him superkick Williams in the head on the top rope then absolutely plant him with a Rock Bottom for 3.

Joe Hendry vs Dave Rayne

There’s more time spent here on angle than match, but it served to get a debuting Hendry over, so it served a purpose. Hendry’s schtick sees him singing a lot (including coming out to his own version of “In The Air Tonight”, with lyrics referencing his own name) and promising to sing in lieu of his match with an injured Joey Hayes. This prompts Rayne out to face him, but first lead the crowd through a singalong of “Sweet Caroline”. Being a true heel, Hendry attacks Rayne from behind before he even gets to the chorus. This was brief, but Hendry was pretty solid. Loved his fallaway slam before he hits a dominator for the win.

Sonjay Dutt vs Bubblegum

This is for Dutt’s GFW Next Gen title, which is a huge belt. Some really nice matwork to start, with Bubblegum maybe a little ahead on points. The pace picks up, and Dutt nails a massive baseball slide dropkick. Dutt’s octopus stretch looks nasty. Bubblegum is good at fighting from underneath, but he doesn’t get a whole load of offence here, mainly limited to hitting some swank kicks on his comebacks. They botch a backslide, but that aside everything looked good here. Dutt picks up the win following a tornado DDT and a top rope splash, before attacking Gum after the bell to cement himself as heel. Maybe a little too one sided, but this was fun.

Johnny Moss vs Chris Dickinson

Two big muscle-bound lads here. Their similar looks (bald heads, black trunks, ripped torsos) see the crowd yell Mitchell brothers references, which must have baffled Dickinson. Enjoyed the opening matwork and roll ups, as both guys strength made it look like they could power the other one down for a win and hold them there. Moss looks great here, nasty elbow drop and a lovely capture suplex. Dickinson for his part has some great footwork, with his standing kicks to the torso thudding like logs into Moss. They trade rolling German suplexes at one point, which is the kind of thing I normally hate, but it works here, as both guys show the effects of being worn down, getting up slower and slower each time. The end sees Dickinson maybe getting up a bit too quickly from a tombstone (though Moss takes his time getting to the top rope)and hitting a top rope falcon arrow to win. Really good big man match.

Jeff Jarrett vs Noam Dar

The commentary points out that Jarrett is 48 to Dar’s 22, so it’s probably no surprise that Jarrett brings out a whole heap of schtick. Loads of stalling at the start with Karen Jarrett getting into arguments with fans. Jarrett hits a pair of armdrags, both followed by a strut, so predictably Dar follows with one of his own after his first piece of offence. Jarrett actually keeps up with Dar pretty well – normally in matches like this the younger wrestler has to noticeably hold back to not show up the veteran, but Jarrett still moves well. Plus, he’s also wise enough to fall back on a load of cheap moves, poking the eyes and choking behind the ref’s back to maintain control. Dar’s comeback offence is a little flurry of quick, crisp offence that looks nice, before they pay off the continued Karen interference by having her accidentally slap Jarrett instead of Dar. Dar locks in the Champagne Superkneebar, but more Karen distraction allows Sonjay Dutt to sneak in and nail Dar with his oversized belt for the Jarrett win. A masterclass in cheap heat and stalling by Jarrett.

Team Single vs Jack Baron & Jack Garvin

Team Single are supposed to be fighting the Hooligans, but an injury to Roy Knight means that they instead offer an open challenge, answered by two rookies from the PCW academy. There’s a big size difference, and I’ve seen plenty of matches where the big veterans just guzzle up the rookies, but Team Single give a surprising amount to the two Jacks. Baron and Garvin seem green but have the fundamentals down. They logically focus on T-Bone’s arm and use their speed to try and avoid Rampage, but Brown catches Baron in midair on a Poetry in Motion attempt, dropping him on Garvin. Despite a decent period of control on Baron, Team Single still let the rookies back in, as Baron hits a nice tilt-a-whirl DDT to tag out. It’s played up that Team Single have underestimed the rookies, but it still lets Baron and Garvin look good. The end sees T-Bone German suplex Baron into the corner, crotching a climbing Garvin on top. Brown hits a superplex on Baron, with T-Bone following with a top rope splash for three.

Sha Samuels vs Dave Mastiff

For Samuels’ PCW title. Love the start with Samuels getting into Mastiff’s face, and getting grabbed with two overhead suplexes. They fight in the crowd, including some stiff headbutts from Mastiff. The camera does lose them a bit as they brawl in the audience, before Samuels suddenly reappears, thrown through a load of chairs from the back of the room. Samuels takes control by ramming Mastiff into the ringpost 3 times, before locking on a sleeper in the ring. He makes the mistake of jawing with the crowd though, which lets Mastiff break free and hit two big German suplexes. He looks set to hit the cannonball, before 3 masked men come out, causing a distraction for Samuels to hit the match-winning low blow. This was good, but felt too short and we missed a chunk of the crowd fighting due to the camera losing them, but what we did see was fun.

WWF Raw 20/03/1994

The Bushwhackers vs the Quebecers

Oh, this was very much a poor match. This is non-title, the Quebecers still the champions following Wrestlemania X, and for a lot of the match you feel like they’ll put the Bushwhackers over, as they control the majority of the bout. There’s one bit where the tag champs have to stand around like idiots for 30 seconds as the Bushwhackers dance around the ring, then attack them. It feels like the heel/face divide is all wrong, with Jacques having to power out of a chinlock in order to make a “hot tag” to Pierre. Except that Pierre then also gets dominated. The Bushwhackers are an aged comedy tag team and they totally blitz the tag champs. FINALLY, when we get back from the break the Quebecers have control. We get a few nice Quebecer double teams, where Jacques uses Pierre as a weapon, and the champs work over Luke. The hot tag gets made and Pierre has to be saved by Jacques in order to keep from being pinned by a battering ram. It takes a Johnny Polo distraction and a knee to the back from Pierre to give the Quebecers the win. Ridiculous.

Tatanka vs Chris Hamrick

Pretty fun squash. When I saw Hamrick was the jobber, I wondered to myself if he’d take the Hamrick Bump, and I wasn’t disappointed. It comes in the first few minutes, and Vince near loses his mind over it. It even gets a mid-match replay. That aside, Tatanka’s offence looks really good here, more in line with grouchy stiff Tatanka from 2006. Big clotheslines, nasty stiff chops and a bit of added emphasis on all his moves. The End of the Trail gives Tatanka the win.

Diesel vs Ken Lucia

JIP after we watch Diesel’s entrance. Basic, nothing squash with Diesel slowly beating up Lucia. Powerbomb gets 3.

                                         

Jeff Jarrett vs Koko B Ware

Nice to see Koko still appearing in 94. Unlike the Bushwhackers earlier, Koko can still go and this is a good little bout. Jarrett’s character work is terrific, so cocky at the start just by virtue of hip-tossing Ware twice. Then, as soon as Koko takes over, Jarrett stooges about, dizzily putting over his offence. Koko misses a corner splash, and an angry Jarrett is all over him, viciously wearing him down. What’s great is how Jarrett slowly regains his arrogance as the bout continues. Ware gets a brief flurry of offence, but ducks his head to allow Jarrett to nail a DDT for the win. 

WWF Raw 07/03/1994

The Smoking Gunns vs Owen Hart & Crush

All four guys cut quite a quick tempo to start, including Bart Gunn hitting a moonsault crossbody on Crush, which looked good. The Gunns do a few bits here that I really liked, with Billy trying to take Crush over with a crucifix and, when Crush proved to be too strong, transitioning to a sunset flip instead. Loved Owen tagging in, but his ego causing him to rush into a hiptoss right away. Owen takes over with a leg lariat on Billy, but we miss almost the entire heat section due to commercial break. We actually come back right on the hot tag. Terrific. The end sees Crush clip Bart’s leg as he has Owen up for a powerbomb, and Owen locks on the Sharpshooter for the win. What we saw was fine, but they really missed the heart of the match.

Virgil vs Jeff Jarrett

Man, whoever laid out this match deserved firing. Virgil takes 80% of this match, which is ridiculous considering which of the two was getting a push, and it’s not even compelling domination. It’s mostly Virgil working a wristlock on Jarrett with nothing to pop the crowd. The only entertaining thing about Virgil’s domination is Jarrett’s stooging: yelling “I got him” before Virgil reverses a hammerlock, and having this hilarious look of total shock as he goes over on a sunset flip. JJ breaks the wristlock and things speed up a bit….for 30 seconds before Jarrett DDT’s Virgil for the win. A match that helped no-one.

Doink vs “Iron” Mike Sharpe

In many respects, the comically loud Sharpe is the perfect foil for the hijinks of Doink. Sadly, there is very little of note to this squash, as a missed corner charge by Sharpe leads to the Whoopie Cushion for the Doink win. Missed opportunity.

IRS vs Matt Thomas

An IRS squash is not the exciting main event that would have kept me tuned in in 1994. Thomas looks in good shape, but isn’t much cop in the ring, as IRS holds his hand through an armwringer reversal before Thomas almost botches a roll-up. Not that IRS’ offence is much better. He works a dull abdominal stretch section that goes on too long, before pointlessly working over Thomas’ leg for about 30 seconds. I say pointlessly, as the very next move after releasing the leglock is the matchwinning clothesline. Not a good episode of Raw.

WWF Raw 24/01/1994

Lex Luger vs Austin Steele

Really dull squash, where Luger doesn’t do much to warm up the crowd. For example, why is buffed-up super-face Luger holding a side headlock on the mat on lumpy jobber Steele 2 minutes in? Steele gets in some basic looking offence before Luger finishes with a superplex.

Jeff Jarrett vs John Paul

Jarrett is proving himself to be a great squash worker on these old Raws. Loved his big dropkick here, and a nice heavy clothesline on Paul. Jarrett lets Paul get in a few flash pins throughout, but I love the fact that Jarrett will cheat even when in total control. What a heel. Dug seeing Jarrett bring out a slingshot suplex. The match ends with a fun little sequence of counters, and Jarrett wins with a roll-up and a handful of tights on a jobber squash. Great dickish work by Jarrett

 

Men On A Mission vs the Headshrinkers

This had been advertised prior to the Rumble as the Harts vs the Headshrinkers, so this is a real step down. Mo is really positioned as the weak link of the team, so you can see Vince plotting a Mabel push already. Mo even makes the mistake twice of trying to slam a Headshrinkers head, which doesn’t work. I liked a fun spot where, unbeknownst to Fatu, Mabel had tagged in and Samu refused to accept his tag. Fatu takes control on Mo with a pair of superkicks, so you can see where the Usos get their main offensive move from. A kick to the back makes Mo the face in peril, and the heat section is a little bland. Mo gets a few hope spots including a terrible small package. Mabel finally gets the hot tag, and I like that they paid off the “Headshrinkers no-sell head shots” story by having Mabel do a noggin-knocker with Afa and a Shrinker, with the payoff being that both heads were so strong that both felt pain. Things turn into a bit of a mess towards the end, before the Shrinkers finish Mo with the top rope splash. Not much to recommend here. 

Adam Bomb vs Tommy Angel

Interestingly, both Vince and JR talk up the bland looking Angel as a decent talent pre-match. Curiously, the commentators spend a lot of the match slamming manager Harvey Whippleman, stating that Bomb is wasting time and Harvey should order him to put Angel away. It’s odd, as Bomb is in complete control, bar a little flurry by Angel at the start. A flying clothesline and the Atom Smasher finish it.

Doink vs Joey Stallings

This is an odd state of affairs, as the recently sacked Matt Borne had been playing Doink as a talented mat wrestler and working all kinds of fun holds on guys. However, the replacement Doink (and I’m not sure which one it is here) is not as talented as Borne so, after an admittedly great overhead belly-to-belly, Doink hits some perfunctory armwork to try and maintain character. Problem is, he’s not as fluid or vicious as Borne was. Stallings gets to hit a nice side slam, before Doink folds him up with a side suplex (again, pretty good), and the Whoopee Cushion gets 3. 

Shawn Michaels vs Tyrone Knox

As good as Jeff Jarrett has looked on these old Raws, Michaels is proving to be a dull squash wrestler. He stooges too much for the stocky Knox here, then slowly works him over when he is on offence. This includes a chinlock that goes on for too long. Knox is allowed to no-sell a turnbuckle shot, but a superkick and piledriver win it for Michaels.

WWF Survivor Series 1998

So, with the upcoming Survivor Series featuring the finals of a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion, I thought it'd be timely to review the 1998 instalment which worked along the same concept. It's a curious case of the show as a whole being better than the matches that it consists of. Individually, they're pretty average bouts, but the overall story told in that one night makes the show quite fun.

 

Mankind vs Duane Gill

Pretty infamous match. Bit harsh of Mankind to jump Gill before he even gets in the ring, as if the result wouldn’t be obvious anyway. Quick double-arm DDT gets the win.

Jeff Jarrett vs Al Snow

Dug Al Snow’s flip off the ring stairs onto Jarrett right at the start. From there, we have a quick three-minute match, with Jarrett looking great. Lovely crisp looking punches, and Jarrett’s performance makes up for the fact that Snow looks a bit off, maybe a step or so behind. Snow wins with a Head shot.

Big Boss Man vs Steve Austin

Another quick match, this one being more angle than match. Austin is on fire early, laying into Boss Man, before a low blow turns the tide. It also slows the match right down, with Boss Man’s offence making a three-minute match drag. Austin makes a comeback only for Boss Man to assault him with his nightstick for the DQ.

Steve Regal vs X-Pac

The beloved “Real Man’s Man” era of Regal. The quicker X-Pac dominates, until he misses a corner charge, and Regal grounds him to take over. Love the nasty kneedrop to the head, and Regal catapaulting X-Pac halfway across the ring. Aside from that, a lot of this is just killing time until the end – it’s logical, but not particularly exciting. They fight outside, and both guys get counted out. Odd that the longest match so far gets a fuck finish, though we’ve not had a clean win yet.

Ken Shamrock vs Goldust

This starts off really well. Clearly, neither guy is afraid to lay in the shots here, with Goldust especially laying in some lovely punches when making his comeback. Another abrupt ending, sadly, as the ref prevents Goldust hitting Shattered Dreams, allowing Shamrock to hit a sloppy rana, the belly-to-belly and the ankle lock for the win. You can tell there’s a better match just dying to get out.

The Rock vs Big Boss Man

Makes Gill/Mankind look like an epic. Roll up, 1-2-3

Undertaker vs Kane

Pretty half-arsed effort by both guys. Some basic plodding brawling outside the ring kicks things off. I did appreciate the idea of Taker working over Kane’s leg early on, even trying a figure four, but they soon brushed over this idea and continued to brawl. I liked Kane blocking a Taker chokeslam and hitting one of his own before the inevitable dumb ending. Paul Bearer distracts Kane from the apron, and he walks into a tombstone for the Taker win. Bland.

Mankind vs Al Snow

Head has Mr Socko tied around it, with backstage footage revealing it was Vince who put it there. Just like the last match, we kick off with some outside brawling, as Snow hits chairshots that don’t get him DQd. Foley flapjacks him onto a chair in a fun spot.  Back inside, Vince’s plan is revealed, as the sight of Sock on Head drives Foley berserk, though Snow is still able to hit a powerbomb for two. Foley SPIKES Snow with a double-arm DDT and puts on the Socko claw to win.

The Rock vs Ken Shamrock

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Shamrock has had the two best matches of the night so far, his intensity seemingly wont let him half-arse a match. They go at it with real urgency from the start, with no resthold in sight – until the Big Boss Man comes out again, with his presence almost urging Shamrock to lock on a chinlock. Shamrock atones for the shitty rana from earlier by catching Rock midring with a beauty. I loved the Rock taking advantage of Boss Man distracting the ref by giving a lowblow to the heel Shamrock. Rock Bottom attempt is reversed to a belly-to-belly, and Boss Man tries to throw Shamrock his nightstick. Of course, the Rock intercepts it and waffles Shamrock with it. Really fun match, highlight of the show so far. At the time, it never occurred to me that Shamrock was in the ascension at the point Boss Man threw the nightstick….

Sable vs Jacqueline

There’s a great bit of Lawler commentary at the start, where he refers to Sable getting jumped from behind on Heat earlier, calling her an idiot, only for her to get jumped from behind here. Lawler loves it. Really basic match, with Marc Mero and Jacqueline bumping around to put Sable over. Sable Bomb is enough to win the women’s title

Mankind vs Steve Austin

Obviously this isn’t given enough time to reach the levels of some of their greater matches, but this is still pretty fun. Loved Austin disrobing Foley during the match, including taking his shoes off to use as a weapon. They predictably brawl outside the ring, before going inside for a long Foley chinlock. This is ended by Foley hitting a double arm DDT on a chair for two. We head into overbooking central, but it’s actually all pretty entertaining. Austin hits the stunner, but Vince pulls out the ref and decks him. A second stunner sees Shane McMahon come out (during the storyline where Vince had demoted him to referee), only to flip Austin the finger and not count. A Gerry Brisco chairshot gives Mankind the win. Despite the long chinlock in the middle, this was still fun and the run-ins were done to perfection. Arguably Russo’s finest hour

The Rock vs The Undertaker

By now the “wrestlers are outside brawling within the first two minutes” trope is getting overplayed. It’s like the company had run out of ways for matches to start. Taker takes a big bump to the floor, so he’s putting in a bit more effort than with the Kane match. They brawl in the crowd, as X-Pac and Regal are probably sat backstage complaining that they were counted out in their match. Boss Man comes out yet again, and again the Rock uses his appearance to hit his opponent in the bollocks. Kane comes out and chokeslams Rock to screw Taker over, putting Rock in the final via DQ. This was passable.

The New Age Outlaws vs the Headbangers vs D-Lo Brown & Mark Henry

This was an almighty mess, and likely only made the card to provide some breathing time for the Rock before the final. There was no real structure on display here, and a continued lack of logic, with guys trying to make pins, despite having another opponent stood right next to them ready to break it up. The referee also made some horrifically business-exposing counts on pinfalls, seemingly refusing to count until he was sure someone was in place to break it up. There were some good moments though: I dug Mosh’s springboard crossbody to the outside, and I enjoyed the double-teaming by the Headbangers. Also worth noting that Mark Henry was already pretty decent by this point, selling his leg pretty well and looking like a brick wall. Billy Gunn picks up the win eventually with a piledriver on Mosh.

The Rock vs Mankind

You could really tell both guys were beginning to run on empty, both physically and mentally. I did appreciate the cautious start, with both guys slowing the pace and not rushing into anything. However, they didn’t really seem sure how to fill the time here, with the early parts split between dull brawling outside the ring and Mankind chinlocks inside the ring. Luckily, Foley takes a few choice bumps to increase the excitement of the match in the second half. He lets the Rock hit the stairs into him, ending up trapped beneath them on the floor. He hits a nice elbow from the apron to the floor and, most impressively, goes crashing through the Spanish announce table with a missed elbow spot. The tempo increases inside the ring with a few nearfalls, before the finish of Rock locking in a Sharpshooter, and Vince calling for the bell in the first (and best) Montreal screwjob reference. Started poorly, but got somewhat decent by the end.

WWF Monday Night Raw 03/01/1994

As well as my ongoing WCW 1992 project, I decided to use the Network to watch all the Raw's from 1994. This was the start of my second big moment as a wrestling fan, as my parents bought Sky, allowing me to watch WWF programming weekly. I've not seen this stuff since it first aired, so it should be interesting to revisit

Yokozuna vs Dan Dubeil

Before this match started, I was pretty sure I remembered Dan Dubeil’s name for some reason. This is a really fun squash, with Yoko just ragdolling Dubeil. There’s a lovely snap to a slam and a great looking belly-to-belly suplex. Then the reason I remembered Dubeil’s name….Yoko hits the Banzai Drop and lets his legs out, just squashing poor Dubeil. Brutal end to a great squash.

 

The Smoking Gunns vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Bastion Booger

Though both members of the heel team are big guys, Bammer is noticeably more agile and mobile than Booger. With Bigelow in the ring, the Gunns are able to use their speed advantage to take control, with Bigelow able to bump and make them look good. With Booger in, he’s so cumbersome that the Gunns end up bumping around for him more, to make his offence look more impactful. Bart Gunn even takes a 360 bump off a Booger clothesline. I liked the spot where Bart tried to take Booger down with a sunset flip and Billy came in to hit Booger with a bulldog, which would make sense as Bastion would be trying to lean forward to avoid Bart taking him down. The heels work a rather dull heat section on Bart, before the hot tag sees the Gunns run wild on Bigelow. Outside, Luna Vachon rubs Booger’s hump to revive him, and he takes this as a sign of her affection for him. This leads to a rather horrid ending as Booger essentially molests Luna, and Bammer rolls out to attack him, leading to the Gunns countout win 

Jeff Jarrett vs John Chrystal

Decent squash, and one where Jarrett was clearly already in command of his character. Loved him ducking out of the ring at the very start, and cheapshotting an opponent he’s superior to over the referee’s shoulder. Jarrett is pretty cocky during the match, and this keeps leading to Chrystal getting shock roll-ups on him, which in turn leads to Jarrett cranking up the aggression before the cycle repeats. JJ gets the win with a spiking DDT 

Shawn Michaels vs Brian Walsh

Curiously, Michaels gives Walsh loads here, even letting him get the better of Michaels on the mat. Walsh gets two from a slingshot, before Michaels cuts him off. Right away, Michaels throws Walsh out to Diesel twice in succession, as if wanting to cut off the threat in it’s prime. Michaels works a rather dull chinlock before Walsh gets another roll-up for 2. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music and a piledriver to win the weakest squash of the show.

Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain (Disks 3 & 4)

It's taken me months to work through them, but here's the second half of the Jeff Jarrett King of the Mountain set. The set ends with a few bonus matches from the early days of Jarrett's career, which is a nice touch.

Jeff Jarrett vs Monty Brown
They give this a really nice build-up for a TV match. Love the way the opening moments shows Brown countering each Jarrett attempt to out-wrestle him with sheer power. Brown has injured ribs though, so JJ takes advantage of an opening to ram Brown's ribs into the guard rail on the outside. Back inside, Jarrett continues to focus his attack on these ribs. It also gives Jarrett a way to logically stop Brown's comeback attempts, jamming his shoulder into the ribs as Monty runs the ropes. Brown fires back with a nice butterfly suplex. A swank running powerslam gets two, before Brown hits a big powerbomb for two. Brown no-sells a guitar shot to a HUGE pop and a Stroke only gets two. Brown nails the Pounce on JJ, but has to battle off some Scott Hall interference (with another Pounce) which allows JJ to nail two chair shots for the win. Really good TV match, where they protected Brown and, if anything, made him look more invincible.

Jeff Jarrett vs Kevin Nash
Jarrett is banned from using the guitar here, otherwise he loses his title. Jarrett launches himself around the ring early on, bumping big for Nash and feeding himself to big shots. Jarrett wisely goes to Nash's legs to try and chop him down to size, but this doesn't last too long before Nash is beating him on the outside. They end up brawling around the Impact Zone, including Nash throwing JJ into the catering table. Nash looks pretty driven here, which is nice to see. Jarrett turns the tide and grabs a CELLO to attack Nash with. Absolute genius. JJ goes right for the knee here, as there seems to be no DQ with Jarrett closing the cello case around Nash's leg. I like the logic of JJ going to the legs, firstly to take away the height advantage of Nash, but also as Jarrett uses a figure-four as a finisher, which he locks on. Nash comes back with a few power moves, but Jarrett can regain control with one blow to the injured leg. The ref gets bumped before Nash powerbombs Jarrett onto the cello (nice touch) before Billy Gunn runs in a nails Nash with a chairshot for two. Sean Waltman comes out to destroy Jarrett with a bronco buster and the X-Factor, but this only gets two. BG James stops Gunn from hitting Nash with the title belt, but this again only gets two. Stroke gets two. As overbooked as this is, the false finishes are very effective. A low blow and another Stroke gets the win for Jarrett. Kevin Nash was motivated here, and the result was maybe his best match in years.

Jeff Jarrett vs Rhino
Crowd is hot for Rhino here. Jarrett tries to work over the arm of Rhino early, but Rhino powers out of an armbar, then hits a suprising plancha outside the ring. We gets some brawling in the crowd, which is Rhino's domain, so he dominates. Lovely overhead shot on the ramp as Rhino batters JJ with punches. This is a nice change from some of the other Jarrett matches, as Rhino is a machine he can't outfight, so he's going to have to find another way to take over. He does this by luring Rhino to a high scaffold before hitting him with a chair to send him crashing off through a table. However, he keeps trying to fight Rhino outside the ring, and Rhino is soon able to re-establish control, goring JJ through a table down the entrance ramp. Team Canada comes out to beat Rhino up, hurliing him down the entry tunnel to try and give Jarrett the countout victory. Spinebuster gets a very close two. Token ref bump as Rudy Charles gets gored leads to more Team Canada interference. JJ guitarshot only gets two. The appearance of Jackie Gayda of all people leads to Rhino hitting a gore for two. Finally, the final run in comes from Scott D'Amore, who nails Rhino with a hockey stick. This leads to JJ hitting a Stroke from the second rope onto some chairs for the win. Started brilliantly, but more overbooking lead to this becoming painfully predictable again.

Jeff Jarrett, Abyss & America's Most Wanted vs Rhino, Ron Killings & Team 3D
Shockingly, this starts with a huge brawl all over the Impact zone. Things are kept just the right side of chaotic. We finally get into the ring, with Jarrett's heel team taking over following an Abyss chokeslam on Ray. This advantage doesn't last long, as Ray and Rhino soon batter both AMW members. Gail Kim prevents a gore on Rhino, leading to Tenay rather ungallantly yelling for Rhino to "GET HER!!". Thankfully, Abyss stops Rhino piledriving her with a big boot to take control. Strange to think people thought Chris Harris would be the breakout star of AMW, as even here James Storm looks far more comfortable and polished in the ring. The heel team keep control on Rhino, albeit not in a particularly interesting manner, before miscommunication between AMW member leads t the hot tag to Killings. Killings has the most energy and explosive offence on the team, so he's a good choice for the role. Chaos ensues, with finishers, interference from Gail Kim and Jackie Gayda, Harris getting handcuffed to a turnbuckle and ref bumps, before Jarrett hits the Stroke on Truth to end a match that lagged in the middle, but was terrific by the end.

Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner & America's Most Wanted vs Sting, AJ Styles, Ron Killings & Rhino
I always found the TNA Lethal Lockdown matches to be a bit of a mess, so it'll be interesting to see how this goes. At least the heels won the coin toss here, which they didn't always do, stupidly. Styles and Chris Harris start, and Harris looks a lot better than he did in the singles match vs Jarrett on the earlier discs. He looks more confident and more fluid as a worker. AJ splashing Harris into the cage repeatedly is pretty fun. Ref Earl Hebner decides to count a pinfall after a Styles Clash, so Harris is forced to kick out. Storm is out next, and AJ dropkicks the cage door, missing Storm, but wiping out Gail Kim. Rhino evens the numbers up and he comes in firing on all cylinders. He's the perfect choice for two minutes of fired up offence to pop the crowd before the next heel comes out. Jarrett is next, and he gets met by Styles and Rhino outside the cage, which is smart of them as it cuts off the numbers game. However, once in the cage, it's 3-on-2 and the heels dominate. Killings is next out and we get a crazy tower of doom spot with AJ taking the highest bump from the cage top. Steiner is out last to pick up the remains in his TNA debut. It's suplexes all round for the face team. It strikes me that TNA were much smarter in their choice of debut match for Steiner than the WWE were - the last entrant in a multi-man match versus working a 20 minute main event style match. Sting enters last as the cage roof gets lowered down. Love Sting stacking up all four heels in the corner for a pair of Stinger Splashes. I like the touch that the weapons don't become available until all the men are in the match as it adds something new to the match at that point. Styles and Storm end up on top of the roof, where Styles hits a splash from the lighting rig to put Storm through a table. Great spot. In the ring, we get a string of finishers, before Harris nails Sting with some handcuffs and locks on a Scorpion Deathlock. His cockiness backfires, as Sting counters his own finisher and locks in his own for the tapout. Ok, that was a whole heap of fun.

Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner vs Sting & Samoa Joe
This is from the period where Joe was the most over guy in TNA, and on the verge of a face turn. Sting dominates both heels to start, looking energised and nailing a double top-rope clothesline. The air of anticipation when Joe tags in to face Steiner is palpable. Their section together is pretty great, with Joe taking Steiner's offence, but looking more angered than hurt. Jarrett gets a bit cocky after nailing a few moves on Joe, but he gets planted when attempting to charge into the corner. Sting tags in and looks so energetic, really motivated and in great shape, but gets caught by the heels double-teaming. The heat segment on Sting is pretty brief, but the Joe hot-tag is awesome, as Jarrett and Steiner both make Joe look unstoppable. A JJ lowblow allows him to hit the Stroke on Joe for two, but a top rope version is blocked by Joe, and the musclebuster gets the win. A bit brief, but a fun tag match, with the heel team putting Joe over as a killer.

Jeff Jarrett vs Christian Cage vs Sting vs Abyss vs Ron Killings
Another King of the Mountain match, with Cage the defending champion. We get some early dives, with Christian, Truth and Sting(!) all leaping to the outside. Sting takes out Jarrett with a Stinger Splash, then lets Truth pin him with a missile dropkick. They're working a story of Sting only being focused on stopping Jarrett winning. Cage soon pins Abyss with a roll up. Released from the penalty box, Jarrett goes after Cage with real abandon outside the ring, before teaming with Abyss to set up a stack of tables outside the ring. Hmm. He then takes advantage of an opening to hit the Stroke on Truth onto the guard railings to get himself a pin. With Truth in the penalty box, Sting/Abyss and Cage/Jarrett pair off to fight in the crowd. Truth gets released and, with everyone in the crowd, has to blatantly waste time when faced with an obvious opportunity to win the match. Earl Hebner gets bumped, before Abyss tires of working for Jarrett and hits a Black Hole Slam on him to send JJ back to the penalty box. However, as he cimbs the ladder, Sting pushes him off it onto the stack of tables outside the ring. Sting locks a Scorpion Deathlock on Cage, but releases it when he realises Jarrett is making an attempt to climb the ladder. Sting gives the belt to Cage, in order to stop JJ winning the match, but Larry Zybysco gives Cage a low blow. Sting hurls Larry out and nails the Scorpion Deathdrop on JJ, but with no ref to count he has to use Earl Hebner's limp hand to give himself the three count. Sting and Cage fight on top of the ladder over who gets to win the title, before Earl Hebner, of all people, turns heel and pushes the ladder over to give Jarrett the win (in a hailstorm of garbage). At the end, Jim Cornette appears to take the belt off Jarrett, which is a bit of a cliffhanger for a DVD that wont get resolved. Better than the first KotM match on the set, as the big spots were set up better and there was a better overall story.

Jeff Jarrett vs Samoa Joe
This is a "fans revenge" match, with 18 fans at ringside with straps to whip the competitors. Brilliantly, JJ comes to the ring with several layers of clothes on as protection. Joe pretty much obliterates JJ to start, but Jarrett just avoids falling to the floor for a whipping. They wisely build up to the whip spots as Jarrett keeps managing to avoid landing outside, before eventually he hits and takes a whipping. JJ throws Joe out, and hilariously no-one hits Joe. Jarrett manages to get himself a strap, which he uses to wear out Joe, which is a nice way to give him the momentum without making Joe look weak. Joe manages to fire back and takes Jarrett's tops off before sending him to the floor. You get a really great sound of leather repeatedly hitting JJ's skin. Joe ties Jarrett to the top rope, and the fans swarm in to take free shots on Jarrett. JJ goes for the guitar, but Joe ducks and locks in a Kokina Clutch. Jarrett only just makes the ropes. Ref bump leads to a Stroke onto the guitar for just 2. Top rope Stroke is blocked, and Joe nails a musclebuster for the win. Fun match.

Jeff Jarrett vs Sting
Sting has put his career on the line here, so no surprises for guessing who wins. Kurt Angle is ringside as special enforcer. Jarrett is one step ahead of Sting in the early going, which they play up on commentary as ring-rust on Sting's part. However, JJ spitting in Sting's face backfires, as it only causes Sting to get angry and wail away on him. They brawl outside the ring, though both guys act like idiots at points by ignoring their opponent to get into a face-to-face with Angle. Action back in the ring is fine, though marred by a little sloppiness by Sting. We look to be heading to a double countout after a mid-ring collision, but Angle gives Rudy Charles the Angleslam on 9, and takes over as ref to ensure a winner. Both guys are suddenly perfectly healthy after this happens, and Sting gets 2 on the Scorpion Deathdrop. Jarrett then gets 2 on the Stroke. Sting tries to splash Jarrett, but gets only knees, primarily because his torso lands nowhere near Jarrett's body. Jarrett gets an anklelock on Sting, possibly proving his MMA credentials years before he bragged about them. JJ nails Sting with a guitar, only for Sting to no-sell and lock on a Scorpion Deathlock for the win. Felt a bit too short and sloppy for a PPV main event.

Jeff Jarrett, Sting, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe & Rhyno vs Christian Cage, Tomko, AJ Styles, Scott Steiner & Abyss
Jarrett has turned face in time for his return to enter this Lethal Lockdown match. Whoever gets the pin earns a title shot against Cage. We start with Styles and Angle. They showed the JJ return angle where he interfered in a match to give his team the entry advantage, but they explain on commentary that this had been reversed by Jim Cornette, so the heels have the edge. Styles dominates after Angle runs headfirst into the cage, but manages to pop off an Angleslam just in time for the entry of Abyss. AJ wisely lets Abyss work Angle over. Rhyno comes in to even the numbers up, and looks pretty good with bursts of power offence. Tomko is next in and he helps to bloody up Rhino. The two minute intervals don't really give enough time to build up any sense of peril for the faces, shown by Joe coming in next and just killing everyone. Joe looks terrific on offence here. Angle gives Tomko 5 German suplexes just because. Steiner takes over when he gets in, and it's getting a little predictable that we get two minutes of uninterrupted offence from each new guy, who then turns straight to defence when a new wrestler comes in. Steiner hits a top-rope Frankensteiner on Rhino, which is an awesome display. Sting comes in, two minutes of reasonable looking offence from him. They do hit a mental looking tower of doom spot, which is pretty great. Christian comes in, but he gets dominated by Sting. Even Don West picks up on Cage being the first person not to clean house. Jarrett is the last man in, with his guitar collapsing on his way to the ring. The lid comes down, and Jarrett throws weapons to his team-mates. Nice touch to show that he can be trusted after his turn. Styles and Angle climb to the roof of the cage, which doesn't bode well. There's some pretty fun brawling spots at this point, with Rhino managing to gore Tomko through the cage door being a highlight. Tacks end upin the ring, and Cage gets chokeslammed into them. At this point, Angle punches AJ off the roof of the bloody cage, landing onto men at ringside. Mental spot. Abyss fills a guitar with tacks (of course he does) but the cruel hand of irony means that Jarrett gets hold of it and nails him with it. JJ completes his face turn by beseeching Sting to cover Abyss for the win to get the title shot. Started slow, but it got spectacular by the end.

Jeff Jarrett vs Kurt Angle
This is Jarrett's first match back after taking time off due to the death of his wife. Mick Foley is the ringside enforcer. Jarrett has been of for two years at this point, so the crux of the story is seeing how Jarrett can fare after so much time off. He works over Angle on the outside, but he launches into a strut back inside the ring and gets his head taken off with a clothesline. They seem to be building this up as a match of survival for Jarrett, as Angle tries to ground Jarrett with JJ getting a few hope spots due to Angle's over-enthusiasm. An Angle corner charge meets only the steel post, but Angle comes back with a slick belly-to-belly suplex. Jarrett has to use his experience to keep in there with Angle, and a little trip leads to a figure-four for Jarrett. Angle gets his own submission locked on with the Anklelock, cruelly pulling JJ away just as he gets to the ropes. I like the use of JJ's selling here, with Angle pouncing to Angleslam him whilst Jarrett is pulling himself up to his feet. Only gets a two, and the leg injury from the figure four means he takes too long getting to the top for moonsault, which he misses. A ref bump leads to the Stroke, which only gets two with Mick Foley counting. Foley tries to stop Angle using a chair, but gets levelled with it instead, and Angle also nails JJ with it. Foley ain't too happy with that, so he gives Angle the mandible claw. Jarrett nails Angle with a guitar and Foley counts three for the feelgood win. Loved this.

Buddy Landell & Bill Dundee vs David Johnson & Jim Jamison
This is Jarrett's first TV appearance, as he's the referee for the contest. This is pretty much pure squash, with the heels even throwing Johnson into his corner to let him make a tag. Landell is particularly vicious pumelling Jamison in the corner. Dundee slams Jamison on the concrete floor just because he can. Landell picks up the win with an elbow. Landell beats up Jarrett after the match, and Jerry Jarrett gets taken out trying for the save. Jeff gets a few fired-up blows in, before another wrestler makes the save.

Jeff Jarrett vs Tony Falk
This is Jeff's debut in-ring. Falk levels the smaller JJ to start, and throws Jarrett through the ropes. This is his big mistake, as JJ comes in with a sunset flip to win. Afterwards, Landell and Dundee come back and beat the tar out of Jarrett. Jos Le Duc makes the save for Jeff.

Jeff Jarrett vs Hector Guerrero
Jarrett's hair has grown out a bit here. JJ wears Hector out with a headlock, causing him to flop to the mat. Jarrett maintains control, albeit not in a particularly exciting way. Plenty of armdrags. Hector takes over with a punch to the eye, and retains control with some cheap shots to Jarrett. Nice double-underhook suplex gets two for Hector. German suplex gets two. JJ looks good with his comeback, being a bit more fired up than his earlier offensive spell. Jarrett levels Guerrero with a 5lb bag of flower to give Guerrero the DQ win. Got pretty good by the end.

Jeff Jarrett vs Jerry Lawler
This is for the CWA title, held by Lawler. JJ shows great fire, recovering from a hiptoss to level Lawler with a clothesline. Jarrett locks a headscissors on Lawler and brilliantly stops an escape attempt by ramming Lawler's head into the mat. Great height on a Thesz press gets two for Jarrett. They hit mutual dropkicks, before a crossbody by Jarrett takes out both Lawler and the ref. This lets Dundee nail Jarrett with a loaded fist to give Jarrett the win.

Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs Gary Young & Cactus Jack
Jarrett and Dundee are now teaming up, might not have hurt to give a little pointer as to why they're now friends. Jarrett is noticably improving with each appearance, and looks great taking care of Young. A lithe Jack takes an insane bump on a missed corner charge, flying out to the floor. The heels take over on Jarrett after a Cactus knee to the back, but the heat section doesn't last long, with the tag to Dundee made moments later. It all breaks down and manager Downtown Bruno nails Dundee as he pins Young to give the faces the win. Pretty good fun.

Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain (Disks 1 & 2)

Lovefilm have sent me more random wrestling, this time in the form of the TNA Jeff Jarrett collection, the 4 disk "King of the Mountain" set. As the disks come through one-by-one, I thought it best to split the review over two posts, for fear of having one huge dull post of Jeff Jarrett matches. Hopefully it'll be far more palatable in two parts.

Gauntlet For The Gold
For some reason, we have to endure some country singer called Toby Keith singing some terrible flag-waving anthem before Jarrett interrupts him, making him a face in my eyes. Buff Bagwell is first out to challenge Jarrett, and he really obviously makes sure Jarrett lands on the apron on an elimination attempt. JJ soon throws him out before Lash LeRoux comes out. Jarrett beats the Hell out of him inside and out the ring, and hurls him out too. Norman Smiley fares little better. We clip to Scott Hall's entrance, and he nails Jarrett with the Razor's Edge. The country singer comes back and suplexes Jarrett and eliminates him from the gauntlet. Not really JJ's finest moment.

Jeff Jarrett vs Scott Hall
This is a stretcher match. They brawl on the outside to start. Back in the ring, Hall hits the SOS slam, before JJ escapes to the outside. This leads to more backstage brawling, including JJ knocking Jerry Lynn over in the changing rooms. It's been all Hall so far. They brawl all around the arena, but not in that "dragging your opponent round" way that I hate, but it feels like JJ just trying to escape. Hall seems preoccupied with the stretcher, which costs him as Jarrett baseball slides it into his gut. JJ uses it as a weapon to take over. The section with the two brawling with the stretcher is pretty fun, with Jarrett bumping big for Hall. Hall gets the Edge, but Ron Killings pulls the ref out and hits a scissors kick on Hall, which only gets two. Jerry Lynn now runs in and splashes JJ, paying off the backstage shove earlier. All Hell breaks loose, as AJ Styles, the Harris Brothers, the Disciples of the New Church and Monty Brown all end up fighting outside the ring until we're just left with Hall and JJ. The overbooking continues as Hall accidentally downs referee Scott Armstrong with the stretcher, JJ goes for a chair, which Ricky Steamboat prevents him using. Hall goes for the same chair, and again Steamboat tries to stop him using it, but this distraction allows JJ to hit the Stroke, which lands Hall headfirst onto the chair. Really fun at first, but my word the overbooking made this a mess at the end.

Jeff Jarrett vs Ron "The Truth" Killings
Jarrett is now face, and taking on Killings for the NWA title. Love the big-match build up they give the match with Jeremy Borash's introductions. Truth tries to provoke JJ early on, but the second he takes his eye off Jarrett, he gets planted and the veteran takes over on him. A low blow gives Truth control. Killings is loads of fun as a heel, throwing in little things like arrogantly thrusting his crotch with Jarrett on his shoulder before powerslamming him. His shit-eating grin is also fantastic. It's interesting to see the structure here, as the heel is in total control, even ducking an enzuigiri to lock on a figure-four, which is Jarrett's own move. Love West and Tenay putting over the reversal, highlighting that JJ would know best how to reverse his move. The ref takes a stray blow to the eye, and while Jarrett tends to him, Truth throws a chair into the ring. JJ is wiser than him though, so grabs the chair first and levels Truth with it for a close two. Great sequence. They trade nearfalls, with JJ getting his foot on the rope for a facefirst suplex and Truth kicking out of a Stroke. In frustration, they start brawling outside, and Jarrett gets a pretty good face of blood. Nice highspot as Truth splashes JJ through a table from the balcony. Truth just lets himself fall like a sack of spuds, which looks like it hurts more. In the ring, a ref bump is followed by both guys clashing heads and all three are down. Mr Wrestling III comes in and levels Truth with a guitar to give JJ the NWA title. Mr Wrestling unmasks, leading to possibly the greatest line of Tenay's career: "Oh shit, it's Vince Russo!"

Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Elix Skipper & Vince Russo vs The Road Warriors, Dusty Rhodes & Jeff Jarrett
Second great Tenay line of the disk as he expresses fury at Borash announcing Russo as a former WCW champion. Fun mix of teams here. Predictably, the heels end up pinballing for the face team, and predictably, it's plenty of fun. After Jarrett, Animal is probably in the best shape for the face team, so he spends a bit of time in the ring. He hits a great sitout powerbomb on Low Ki. Hawk looks less good, falling over hitting a big boot and getting minimal air on a dropkick. Jarrett ends up as face-in-peril, largely because he's the only one who can bump much. Triple X work a fun heat section on Jarrett, with false tags and distractions to ensure that the Warriors and Dusty don't get in the ring. Eventually, JJ gets the hot tag to Dusty, who cleans house with bionic elbows. He tries to lure Russo into the ring, but as he does, Mr Wrestling IV enters and nails Rhodes with a chain. This allows Skipper to pin Dusty, before Mr Wrestling unmasks as Nikita Koloff. Wisely worked, with the healthy guys carrying the action. Not great, but fun

Jeff Jarrett vs AJ Styles
Love the start of this match, with both being pretty equal on the mat, so JJ levels Styles with a clothesline, showing the experience advantage. Styles manages to use his speed advantage to level JJ with a quick dropkick, but isn't able to retain the advantage, and Jarrett sends Styles from the ring after his own mid-ring dropkick. This is followed by a Jarrett pescado. Styles finally has control after whipping Jarrett into the ring barriers. As before, Styles gets too cocky, playing to the crowd and this allows Jarrett back into the match with a huge sitout powerbomb. Larry Z appears at ringside and begins to help Styles, grabbing JJ's leg on a top rope suplex attempt which allows Styles to hit a huge sunset flip powerbomb for two. Z nails Jarrett with brass knucks, which also gets two, but I love how Jarrett barely manages to lift his shoulder rather than a normal kickout. Z gets kicked out of ringside, but we then get a ref bump, meaning the Stroke only gets two for Jarrett. Another bump allows the Harris Brothers to hit an H-Bomb on Jarrett, but they get driven off by the unlikely pairing of Dusty Rhodes and Vader. By the time the ref returns, Styles only gets two. Styles Clash only gets two. Now fucking Sonny Siaki enters, hitting two Siakilypses's on Jarrett, but Styles attacks HIM and sends him from the ring. This distraction allows Jarrett to recover and hit a second-rope Stroke to win. Another potentially fun match that went to Hell at the end through overbooking.

Jeff Jarrett vs Raven
I'm going to cheat here, and just reuse the blurb I wrote for this match back in January

This was the bigest match in TNA history at the time. Raven goes for a pin from a shoulderblock right away, which is the kind of thing I love: just trying an unexpected lucky pin to win the title. Raven initially outwrestles Jarrett, so JJ sends him from the ring with a flurry of punches, a nice reversal of their wrestling styles. Jarrett wins the brawl outside the ring, so Alexis Laree distracts the ref to allow Julio Deniro the chance to interfere. This backfires, as he nails Raven with a chair by accident. Jarrett hits a pescado to eliminate Alexis and Julio, but this gives Raven time to recover and hit one on Jarrett. They fight in the ring as both men are busted open, and Raven manages to retain control, using a sleeper to try and take advantage of JJ's bloodloss. Jarrett manages to break and hit a desperation cutter and both get up in time for a flurry of moves in the ring. Raven nails JJ with a flash superkick for two. Raven manages to kick out of the Stroke at 2. Jarrett does the same following the Evenflow. They roll to the floor, where Jarrett is able to nail an elbow through a table. Back in the ring, we get a ref bump as both men low-blow each other. Suddenly all Hell breaks loose, as the New Church start fighting the Harris Brother outside the ring, and a squadron of ECW guys (Sandman, New Jack, Credible, Saturn) enter the ring to destroy JJ, handcuffing him and superkicking two chairs into his head with a conchairto. The lights go out, leading to Sabu being in the ring, nailing Raven with a chair and taking out all the ECW guys with a plancha. Raven manages to knock himself out by hitting the chair on the top rope when Jarrett moves, leading to a hopeful two count for JJ. Raven undoes the handcuffs and hits the Evenflow for two, but Jarrett reverses another to hit the Stroke for the win. Overbooked, but incredibly fun. It built up nicely to a chaotic conclusion, and Jarrett looked great as the face overcoming the odds.

Jeff Jarrett & Sting vs AJ Styles & Sean Waltman
This was Sting's first TNA match. Things break down early, and Sting nearly gets Styles in the Deathlock in the first few minutes. Waltman wrestles the whole match in a shellsuit and gets put in a figure-four early on by Jarrett. Love the fact he sells the Hell out of this as he works the apron. Jarrett is briefly face-in-peril before the hot tag to Sting, and the crowd goes nuts for him. A pair of Stinger Splashes down the heels, before Waltman is able to nail Sting with a bat during the Deathlock on Styles. I love the fact that Styles cockily tries his own Deathlock, which Sting is able to break after a while. As is becoming a running theme, more mental overbooking takes place, with a ref bump followed by Vince Russo nailing Jarrett with a bat, Raven and Shane Douglas interfering and eventually Jarrett hitting a second rope Stroke on Styles to win. This was decent enough.

Jeff Jarrett vs AJ Styles
Stupid as it sounds, Styles has restyled his hair which makes him look far more impressive than in the first Jarrett match. Things are heated to start, as AJ clotheslines JJ into the crowd, then dives out with an immense tope into the crowd. In the ring, however, Jarrett starts to take over, cutting off a few Styles attacks, which gets played as his experience edge on commentary. I also love TNA having various wrestlers in the crowd or on the ramp to put over how important the match is, as they scout the world title match. There is a growing feeling of one-upmanship, as neither guy is able to get a sustained advantage. Instead, their familiarity with each other means they're more aware of what to expect from their opponent. JJ has to use a ringside distraction to nail AJ with a chairshot, which only gets two. AJ also kicks out of a Stroke onto the chair (in full view of the ref now), but a belt shot gets the job done. Another good match between these two, but still short of the blockbuster you feel they could have.

Jeff Jarrett vs Jim Duggan
Duggan is defending Hulk Hogan's honour following the Jarrett/Hogan New Japan angle. I feel this may be a real test of how good JJ is. Jarrett goes on the assault from the blindside to start, but soon Duggan takes over with clotheslines and pounds him outside. Good to see him fired up. He even nails JJ with a chokeslam in the ring. The 3-point stance downs JJ again, but Don Callis (rightly) stops Duggan using his 2x4. The distraction lets Jarrett use his guitar to pick up the win. Jarrett gave Duggan loads here, and this was the best Hacksaw had looked in years. Rick Steiner attacks JJ from behind, which somehow leads to another match...

Jeff Jarrett vs Rick Steiner
They brawl pretty ferociously in the crowd, with JJ nailing some killer chair shots, before they get into the ring. Steiner nails a few big suplexes, but JJ drags the ref into the path of a top rope bulldog before nailing a guitar shot for the DQ. Not much of a match, but pretty fun.

Jeff Jarrett vs Chris Harris
They really go for an epic build to this match, even highlighting Harris' family at ringside. Crowd is hot for a Harris title win. Jarrett plays up his experience edge, and I love him slipping out of a third armdrag and yelling "he ain't ready" at the crowd. JJ goes outside and yells "he ain't ready" at everyone at ringside, and back in Harris seems to be proving him right. His offense looks a little hesitant, like he's trying to remember what to do midmove. He has a hot run on the offensive, but it feels like it's more due to JJ bumping for him. JJ takes control after Harris crashes and burns on an attempted rail dive. Jarrett locks on the figure-four, which helps rally the crowd behind Harris. Harris comes back with more low-impact offence, though a dive from the top rope to the outside over the guardrail looks great. Decent top-rope elbow by Harris gets two. Harris bizarrely spears the ref (played by the commentators as being disorientated, but it just looked odd). Some hijinks occur involving chairs, before a Catatonic only gets two. James Storm interjects to superkick JJ, but Raven pulls the ref out, giving Jarrett time to hit a guitarshot for the win. Harris was green, but willing, and Jarrett put together a match where both guys looked good.

Jeff Jarrett vs Chris Harris vs AJ Styles vs Raven vs Ron Killings
This is the first King of the Mountain match. Quick run through of rules - to win, you must climb a ladder and hang the title belt on a hook. However, you must qualify to do this by pinning someone. The pinned wrestler spends 2 minutes locked in a cage. There is carnage to start with guys brawling all over the shot, before AJ dives over the penalty box onto three of the wrestlers. Love Jarrett coming over to try and pin them all in order to be eligible to hang the belt. Also, I like the fact we aren't getting "Survivor Series" pinfalls, where guys are pinned on clotheslines and the like. Indeed, AJ gets the first pin on JJ after a Styles Clash and a few choice exchanges. Harris gets the next pin with a spear on Raven. Truth pins Harris following a scissors kick (complete with Harris telegraphing it for ages by dropping the belt and being hilariously unable to pick it up again). I do like the way that Raven and Jarrett spend their time in the cage together plotting, so when both are released, they dominate AJ and Truth. I also love Raven waiting outside the cage so he can assault Harris as soon as he's released. Harris gets pinned by Raven after again telegraphing hanging up the belt for ages before getting a facefull of powder and an Evenflow. JJ hits the Stroke on Truth off the apron onto the steel railing for the final pinfall, so now all are eligible.

AJ pins Jarrett with a roll-up, so he has to go into the cage again, which I'd not even considered, and adds a nice element to the match.Styles then takes the nuttiest bump of the match, getting pushed off the ladder onto the cage. Raven and Harris soon fall through tables, so you know the end is night. Indeed, Truth climbs the ladder, only for a released Jarrett to hit him with a guitar and hang the title to win. In a hilarious twist, the hook has fallen down, so Jarrett has to fix the hook before winning the match. Really enjoyable match, with the ridiculous stipulations actually helping the quality.

Gauntlet For The Gold Match
Hernandez (representling Jarrett's short-lived Elite Guard faction) and Ron Killings are the first two entrants. Little happens until fellow Elite Guard member Onyx enters to help overwhelm Truth. There is only a minute between entrants, so there is barely enough time for anything of consequence to happen before Jarrett comes in. For some reason, the three men don't eliminate Killings before Konnan comes in, despite them having Killings in real trouble. There is a nice legdrop by Truth to both Onyx and Hernandez before Chad Collyer is entrant #6. BG James enters and there have been no eliminations yet. Ken Shamrock enters just as Konnan is thrown out and looks great attacking the Elite Guard. He's added a lot of needed energy here. He also destroys James and Truth. Everyone realises how deadly Shamrock is and team up to eliminate him. Shamrock's mental fit at this is magnificent. In the melee, Onyx and Collyer get hurled out, before James and Hernandez get rid of each other. The resulting Truth/Jarrett match is pretty short and with the members of the Elite Guard and 3LK outside the ring, you're just waiting for the interference. The predictable melee ensues and Shamrock returns to swerve us all by leveling Truth with a guitar to gift Jarrett the win. Rather dull, bar the Shamrock section, not sure why this is included.

Jeff Jarrett vs Jeff Hardy
This was the ladder match main event of Victory Road 2004, the first 3hr TNA PPV. Man, no subtle build here, as Jarrett is getting hurled into ladders less than a minute in. I dig Hardy using the ladder as a vice to crush the ribs of Jarrett. Hardy, despite having taken no offence, does the slow, "I'm in pain" climb of the ladder three minutes in. Jarrett goes on the offensive, and I appreciate the fact that both guys so far have only used offence that hurts their opponents and not done any moves that will cause themselves pain as well. Wrestling smart. Indeed, the first move of this ilk is Hardy dropkicking Jarrett, who is climbing for the belt, to stop him grabbing the title. Of course, Hardy follows this with a Swanton onto JJ on a ladder, but he IS an idiot daredevil, so it's ok. Scott Hall comes in to give him the Edge off the ladder, but JJ is too injured to capitalize. Hardy see-saws the ladder into Jarrett's face in a killer looking spot. Hardy brings out an enormous ladder and decides to climb it from the floor, which ends with both men falling from the ladder to the ramp. No reason given for either men to be climbing up out there mind. Back in, they botch a sunset flip powerbomb off the ladder and hit a slightly better one from the apron to the floor. More Scott Hall interference leads to a rubbish Hall bump off a Twist of Fate. Jarrett is climbing for the title, when Kevin Nash comes out, apparently on Hardy's side. However, it was all another twist, as he hand's guitars to Hall and JJ, and all three nail Hardy (who is now on the ladder) with guitar shots to gift Jarrett the win. The twist would probably have worked better if Jarrett wasn't about to win before Nash arrived. There were a few decent moments buried deep in some terrible spots.

The History of TNA: Year One

So, TNA released a DVD a few years back detailing the history of the first year of the company existance. The documentary part is ok, but not especially interesting. What is fun, however, is a collection of the best matches from that first year, which make up the bulk of the extras. These are what I will be concentrating on in this entry,,,

AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn vs Low Ki vs Psychosis
This is a double elimination match to crown the first X Division champion. Essentially, two guys start, one gets pinned and is replaced by the next guy. When a wrestler is pinned twice, he's out. This goes long, so expect a few paragraphs.

We kick off with AJ and Psychosis. These two seem to match up nicely, but this is only a short match designed to position AJ as the underdog in the tournament. AJ survives a guillotine legdrop and nails the Styles Clash to pin Psychosis for three, but now must face Low Ki having taken some punishment.

A fresh Ki wears down AJ with some kicks and blocks Styles' attempts to outwrestle him with a kick to the head. Ki elevates AJ over the turnbuckle, with Styles hitting his head on the ringpost, then slickly rolls through to lock in a Dragon sleeper, with AJ only just making the ropes. AJ avoids a top rope move and nails a German suplex and a wheelbarrow facebuster to pin Low Ki

Jerry Lynn comes in and is able to dominate Styles quite easily. Within 20 seconds he hits the Cradle piledriver and AJ is done.

Psychosis wisely comes back and nails Lynn from behind with a dropkick. Psy sends Lynn to the floor and hits a swank tope con hilo on Lynn. However, Lynn hits a dropkick on Psychosis as he dives from the top rope and a Cradle piledriver ends Psychosis' night with two eliminations.

Lynn is now weaker for a recovered Low Ki, and Ki works over him ferociously. Lynn is forced to rely on hope spots like a pin reversal from a top rope rana. Lynn gets fired up and matches Ki's striking to send him down with an enzuigiri. Lynn tries for the Cradle, but Ki reverses into a swank standing armbar. Lynn has to lift Ki and power out to break it. I dig Ed Ferrera on commentary highlighting that Lynn's experience allows him to reverse holds easier, just before Lynn reverses a Ki Krusher into a DDT. A Cradle piledriver pins Ki to eliminate him.

We now are left with AJ on one elimination and Lynn with no defeats, but worn out by the last two matches. AJ goes for quick pins and the Styles Clash on Lynn, but Lynn is able to survive the onslaught. Lynn then nails a tornado DDT for a close two. I like that they don't just give AJ the quick pin to even them up, but that AJ has to really battle before even getting to a break even point. AJ does get the clash to pin Lynn, sending it to the final fall.

Ricky Steamboat comes in to officiate, with both men exhausted on the mat. They trade pinfalls in an attempt to win the title, before a double clothesline puts them both down again. Love Don West and Ferrera putting over how great both guys are, that and the crowd reaction makes this feel like a really big time match. Lynn gets a really close nearfall with a facebuster. Both guys are selling the exhaustion so well that every move feels like a realistic match ender. Brainbuster gets two for Lynn. Lynn gets another two from a top rope superplex, but a second attempt sees him get knocked from the top rope and AJ nails the Spiral Tap to win. Fantastic match, the tournament layout made both AJ and Lynn look great, Styles coming back with the win from being in the losing position, whilst Lynn wrestled the vast majority of the match without a break, beating two top guys on the way. The first truly great match in TNA history.

Jerry Lynn vs AJ Styles vs Low Ki
This is a triple threat ladder match for Ki's X Division title. Styles has the right idea early on, grabbing a ladder while the other two fight, but Lynn and Ki cut him off. Ki's kicking gives him an early advantage as he cuts the other two down to size. You'd think this match would be all insane stunts, but they build to the ladder spots, with the opening minutes be all based in the ring with no ladders after Styles' initial attempt. Instead they appear to be trying to incapacitate their opponents before attempting to climb. Love Low Ki hoisting AJ onto his shoulders to charge at Lynn in the corner, with AJ as a battering ram, thus taking out both opponents. This allows Ki to go for a ladder but AJ stops him, and suddenly all three are battling outside. Lynn knocks the other two out on a ladder, and becomes the first to manage to get a ladder into the ring. There is a great bit where Styles just unloads on Ki with a barrage of punches and knees, as if to tell him that AJ is more dangerous to him than the ladder will be. Minutes later, Lynn and AJ knock Ki out on a ladder, so that may not be true. Insane spot, as Ki reverses a Lynn running powerbomb into a hurricanrana onto a ladder. AJ gets stuck upside down, hanging feetfirst from the ladder after Ki blocks his attempts to climb, and Ki choses to kick away at AJ, rather than going for the title, which makes him look foolish. By the time he does climb up, Lynn has recovered and slams him from the ladder. I like the way that, as Lynn is the largest competitor, he uses a few more strength moves, catching Ki in midair and planting him with a powerbomb. Three ladders get set up and Ki makes ANOTHER mistake, locking a Dragon Sleeper on a downed AJ on top of the ladders rather than grabbing the belt. We end up with all three guys climbing separate ladders. Lynn tries to topple the other two, and manages to send AJ's flying, sending AJ to the floor, but Ki manages to bounce his ladder off the top rope and reset his ladder. Lynn instead responds by hitting a piledriver from the ladder to the mat in an insane spot. This leaves Lynn free to grab the title, with the match being tremendous, a really well-built ladder match.

America's Most Wanted vs The New Church
The New Church are represented by Slash and Brian Lee here. The match breaks down into a brawl early, with the New Church getting the advantage outside the ring. Slash decimates James Storm, suplexing him onto concrete and choking him with cables. The Church bring Storm back into the ring, and I like how they try to stop Harris even getting back on the apron. I like Brian Lee wearing Storm out with repeated running elbows, as AMW haven't gotten into the match in the first 5-10 minutes. Storm finally gets the hot tag after an enzuigiri on Slash, but Slash falls into the referee, preventing him from seeing the tag. The crowd is terrible here, as they made no noise for the false tag at all. As Harris remonstrates with the ref, Lee nails Storm with a title belt. Storm manages to nail both New Church members with a double DDT, which means they can't stop him making the tag to Harris. Harris' onslaught is the first period of real offence for AMW. Slash has a handful of powder, but, in classic pro-wrestling fashion, it ends up in Lee's face before Harris spears him for a close two count. Storm locks up Slash in a sharpshooter, but Belladonna distracts the ref. This means that Slash tapping out is missed, and that James Mitchell can run in and level Storm with a spike, which only gets a two count. Lee reverses a Storm flying headscissors into a tombstone in a lovely fluid motion, before trying the same with Harris, who just about reverses the tombstone to one of his own for two. The crowd is finally coming to life. AWM finally pick up the win with the Death Sentance on Slash onto a chair. The overbooking really helped it at the end, with all the nearfalls being convincing, and AMW looked great in battling from behind.

Jeff Jarrett vs Raven
This was the bigest match in TNA history at the time. Raven goes for a pin from a shoulderblock right away, which is the kind of thing I love: just trying an unexpected lucky pin to win the title. Raven initially outwrestles Jarrett, so JJ sends him from the ring with a flurry of punches, a nice reversal of their wrestling styles. Jarrett wins the brawl outside the ring, so Alexis Laree distracts the ref to allow Julio Deniro the chance to interfere. This backfires, as he nails Raven with a chair by accident. Jarrett hits a pescado to eliminate Alexis and Julio, but this gives Raven time to recover and hit one on Jarrett. They fight in the ring as both men are busted open, and Raven manages to retain control, using a sleeper to try and take advantage of JJ's bloodloss. Jarrett manages to break and hit a desperation cutter and both get up in time for a flurry of moves in the ring. Raven nails JJ with a flash superkick for two. Raven manages to kick out of the Stroke at 2. Jarrett does the same following the Evenflow. They roll to the floor, where Jarrett is able to nail an elbow through a table. Back in the ring, we get a ref bump as both men low-blow each other. Suddenly all Hell breaks loose, as the New Church start fighting the Harris Brother outside the ring, and a squadron of ECW guys (Sandman, New Jack, Credible, Saturn) enter the ring to destroy JJ, handcuffing him and superkicking two chairs into his head with a conchairto. The lights go out, leading to Sabu being in the ring, nailing Raven with a chair and taking out all the ECW guys with a plancha. Raven manages to knock himself out by hitting the chair on the top rope when Jarrett moves, leading to a hopeful two count for JJ. Raven undoes the handcuffs and hits the Evenflow for two, but Jarrett reverses another to hit the Stroke for the win. Overbooked, but incredibly fun. It built up nicely to a chaotic conclusion, and Jarrett looked great as the face overcoming the odds.