NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #10

August 21, 2002

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Don West. Ed Ferrara is no longer with the company. I vaguely recall around this time that he left to pursue a job as an editor somewhere but TNA made a lot of budget cuts due to the lack of a financial backer and he was part of those cuts. During the show, you will notice worse production values and the absence of certain wrestlers and performers.

 Falls Count Anywhere

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn

AJ tries a baseball slide but Lynn catches him and drops him on the guardrail. Lynn roughs up AJ and clotheslines him into the crowd. AJ comes back with a neckdrop and then a forearm for two. They trade chops around the ring for a bit. AJ charges but Lynn boots him and then crotches him on the guardrail. Lynn smashes his face off of a chair, getting two. They brawl into the crowd but the lighting makes it tough to see what is going on. They are now in the bleachers as AJ tosses Lynn through the railing and follows that with a senton, which gets two. AJ drags Lynn back towards the ring and throws him over the rail. Lynn fights back then pushes AJ off as he was trying a flying attack. Lyn suplexes him back onto the floor, getting two. They go back into the ring and Lynn counters the Phenomenon with a jawbreaker. He signals for the cradle piledriver but AJ counters with a facebuster and both men are down. AJ crawls over and gets two. Lynn counters a slingshot suplex with a neckbreaker, getting two. AJ gets a rana and both men fall to the floor. Styles gets two. They trade chops until Styles gets an enziguiri. They go up the ramp and Styles gets a slam and eggs on the crowd. He then walks into a spear from Lynn and then Lynn takes Styles off the stage with a bulldog into a platform. They go back onto the ramp and Lynn blocks the Styles Clash and gets a backdrop and follows that with the cradle piledriver for the win (9:54) **3/4

Thoughts: Decent match but due to the poor production values, you really couldn’t see much of anything when they brawled in the stands. The lighting was almost non-existent. These two aren’t brawlers but they worked around that well. Also, with two more matches coming up in the show, they weren’t going to put all their effort into the first match.

Goldylocks is with James Storm and Chris Harris. She talks about their match tonight against Ron Harris and Brian Lee. Harris cuts off Storm and asks him to stop is cowboy gimmick. Harris blames his gimmick as the reason they have not been wrestling recently. Ron and Lee walk in and make fun of Storm, who comes back with some more cowboy jargon. He then gets upset when they call him buckaroo, stating that only cowboys can use that word. Ron and Lee advise Chris to find another tag partner as Storm points out how they were “rude buckeroos.”  A segment devoted to another tag-team that doesn’t get along.

 

Ron Harris & Brian Lee vs. “Cowboy” James Storm & “Wildcat” Chris Harris

Tenay mentions that we could find out about the suspended NWA-TNA tag titles as soon as next week. Storm and Lee start things off. Lee is a lot lighter than usual here. Lee shoves Storm down a few times then beats on him in the corner. Storm dodges a charge and fires away. He blocks a hiptoss and hits a few flying forearms. Ron comes in and Wildcat knocks him out of the ring. Back inside the ring, both partners tag out. Wildcat gets a few arm drags and Ron rolls out of the ring. He goes back in and beats on Wildcat in the corner. He hits a bunch of clotheslines until Wildcat dodges one and then beats on both of his opponents. Ron charges and gets backdropped to the floor. Lee joins his partner as Storm hits them with a plancha, assisted by the Wildcat. Back in, Wildcat takes down Ron with headscissors but Lee hits him with a Tombstone Piledriver, getting two. Wildcat gets double-teamed for a while as Storm complains to the ref. Sideslam by Ron gets two. Tag to Lee and he grabs a chinlock after a few punches. Wildcat comes back with a Thesz Press but Lee gets a low blow then tosses him to the floor and throws some punches. Ron tags and gets a boot before tagging out. Lee with a one-handed cover, gets two. Wildcat comes back with a bulldog and makes the tag. Storm unloads on Ron and Lee. All four men are in the ring brawling as Storm and Wildcat clothesline Lee to the floor. An obviously planted fan taps Lee on the shoulders and he gets dragged over the rail and beaten up by Lee. Ron is distracted as Wildcat comes off top and drapes his throat on the ropes and Storm rolls him up for the win (8:56) *3/4. After the match, Ron gets Lee and they ambush Wildcat and Storm, hitting them with the H-Bomb. Borash is checking on the fan.

Thoughts: Harris & Storm really looked good here. They made the match better than it was. Lee and Harris aren’t good workers, Harris is terrible, but the future AMW carried things. The crowd was behind Storm and Harris too, which is always a good sign.   

Tenay and West run down the rest of the card, specifically the “surprise” for Jarrett and the Heavyweight Title bout.

Two-out-of-Three Falls

Sonny Siaki vs. Jimmy Yang w/Jose Estrada

On the ramp, Yang ducks a clothesline and gets a spinning heel kick that did not connect at all. Yang tosses Siaki against the guardrail and dances on the dancer’s platform. He beats on Siaki and grabs a fan’s “Yang Time” sign and puts it in his face. In the ring, a dropkick by Yang gets two. He gets some turnbuckle smashes then an elbow smash off of a charge. Hanging figure-four necklock by Yang then a springboard missile dropkick gets two. Yang goes for a chinlock as Tenay mentions how Yang will be wrestling on the same Japan card as Bill Goldberg. I guess that is a big accomplishment. Yang drops his head and Siaki lands a punch. He gets a cutter out of the scoop slam position for two. Yang turns a backslide into a neckbreaker and goes up top and hits the Yang Time for the first fall (3:22). Yang goes back to the hanging figure-four necklock but Siaki flips him over. He then tosses him over the guardrail then suplexes him back over. Siaki rolls Yang back in the ring and gets two. Spinning neckbreaker gets two. He gets a chinlock then breaks and the two trade chops. Siaki sldies underneath Yang and holds the arm before hitting a really sloppy pumphandle suplex, which gets two. Siaki beats on Yang in the corner then gets a legdrop for two. Surfboard by Siaki as the crowd chants “Yang Time.” He is able to counter with a backslide, getting two, but Siaki takes him down with a lariat. Siaki eats boot off of a charge and Yang comes back with a top-rope spinning heel kick, which gets two. Siaki blocks a suplex attempt and gets the Money Clip neckbreaker to capture the second fall (8:20). Shoulderbreaker by Siaki gets two. Yang rolls through and gets a single-leg crab but Siaki gets to the ropes. Yang works the leg but Siaki breaks and puts Yang up top for a superplex but Yang pops right up to his feet and gets a shining wizard. Yang counters a hiptoss with a corkscrew spin then gets a short-armed clothesline. Another clothesline gets two. Yang with a mule kick then a moonsault kick in the corner. Mounted punches by Yang but Siaki counters a rana with an alley-oop into the turnbuckle. Yang manages to crotch Siaki on the top turnbuckle then hits a super swinging neckbreaker but doesn’t go for the pin. They trade punches until Yang gets a small package for two. Estrada is on the apron yelling at the ref about his counting as Siaki counters a Yang rollup by holding on to the ropes and gets the three count (14:01) **1/4.

Thoughts: This match wasn’t that good due to a conflict of styles and lack of chemistry. Siaki used more power moves and Yang actually was pretty bad at selling around this time. The crowd didn’t seem to care much about this other than some occasional pops for Yang.

Immediately after the match, Jeff Jarrett runs out and demands the music be stopped immediately. He calls out Bob Armstrong and says he doesn’t care about the surprise as no one will stop him. Brian Lawler then runs out and attacks Jarrett as security breaks it up. A loud “Jerry’s Kid” chant breaks out. Lawler goes into the ring as Goldylocks comes out and asks him about his problem with Jarrett. Lawler orders Goldylocks to leave the ring and is about to tell everyone what Jarrett did but Slash comes out from underneath the ring and attacks him.   

Brian Lawler vs. Slash

According to Tenay, this was a scheduled match. Slash tosses Lawler on the ropes then dropkicks him to the floor. Slash chokes him out with the camera wires as Tenay states how James Mitchell was upset with Malice last week for bumping fists with Don Harris. Slash pulls up the floor mats but Lawler counters the piledriver attempt with a backdrop. In the ring, Lawler flips off the crowd with both hands then clotheslines Slash to the floor. They go up the ramp and Lawler grabs a sideheadlock and delivers a few punches before hitting a bulldog. Lawler rolls him back in the ring and attempts to grab a chair from a female fan then spits at her. Slash knocks Lawler off top and gets a superplex for two. Helicopter slam gets two. Lawler floats over and gets a DDT but panders to the crowd and dances instead of going for the pin. Enziguiri by Lawler and more pausing. They trade low-blows and Slash puts Lawler on top. He gets knocked off and Lawler gets the Tennessee Jam for the win (5:53) *.  Immediately after, camera cuts backstage as Bob Armstrong and Jarrett yell at each other.

Thoughts: A nothing match. Lawler is supposed to be fuming and upset yet he reverted back to his dancing and constant pandering to the crowd. It doesn’t fit the character he is trying to use at all. Slash is fairly useless as well but its funny to hear West constantly state how he is the scariest man in TNA.

NWA-TNA X Division Title Elimination Match

Low Ki (Champion) vs. Jose Maximo vs. Joel Maximo vs. Amazing Red

Ki gets mobbed by the SAT’s but manages to kick them all down. He absolutely kills Jose with a kick to the back of the head. Red springboards in but has to land on his feet before dropkicking Ki. Joel and Red are in the ring. Joel with a basement dropkick for two. Tag to Ki who chops Red. Elbow smash gets two. Bionic elbow drop gets two. Red escapes from the muscle buster position and gets a step-up enziguiri for two. Jose tags but Ki chops him in the corner. Tornado DDT by Jose gets two. Joel tags and they double-team Ki. Joel with a clothesline for two. Springboard rana by Ki then rolling Koppu Kicks to both Joel and Jos, beforee getting the Tidal Crush to both men in the corner. Red tags and gets a standing shooting star press for two on Joel. Tag to Ki but he is caught in the torture rack position by Joel. Jose off top with a stomp and Red follows but manages to get a rana on Jose. Red goes on Jose’s shoulder’s but gets knocked off with a springboard kick from Low Ki. SAT’s with the Maximo Impact to Ki. Red with a tornado DDT to Joel and a spin kick to Jose. He dropkicks Jose to the apron in a completely mistimed spot. Red takes him off the apron with a rana, knocking him onto Joel. Ki kicks Red as he tried to re-enter the ring. He picks up Red for the Ki Crusher but instead runs across the ring and tosses him onto Jose & Joel. That looked cool. Ki follows with a twisting moonsault as the crowd yells TNA. In the ring, Ki and Joel are going at it until Joel knocks him off the apron. Jose grabs Red and gets a facebuster out of the cross-armed powerbomb position, which gets two. Joel then hits the Maximo Overdrive (double underhook facebuster) on Jose for the pin (9:06). Ki grabs Joel by the hair and kicks him in the face repeatedly while dragging him around. No wonder people hated working with him. Red then gets a springboard STO on Joel before getting the Infra-Red for the pin (10:02). Ki dodges a kick by Red and fights back with palm thrusts. Red tries for the sunset bomb but Ki counters by slingshotting him hard into the turnbuckle, getting two. Ki goes for the Ki Crusher from the top rope but Red escapes. He kicks Ki and climbs up top but Ki fights back and ends up hitting the Ki  Crusher off the top for the pin (12:01) **3/4.

Thoughts: They tried hard but there was a lot of botched stuff here. The match was a “spotfest” but it had its moments and the last few minutes with Ki and Red was pretty damn good. I really don’t know how much these elimination matches help make the X-Division Title seem more prestigious.

Backstage, Goldylocks is with Ron Killings. He says that Monty Brown should be out here right now kissing his “black ass.” He says that while Abe Lincoln freed the slaves, 150 years later he freed the “African-American sports entertainers.” I did not make that up. He finishes by telling Brown that he will have to kill him if he wants the belt. TNA seems set on making the title reign of Killings seem important and even though he really isn’t that good in the ring, he is a way better choice than Shamrock.

The camera cuts to April Hunter, who Tenay says is a “noted fitness model” as she sits in the crowd with a black male (Her boyfriend and wrestler Slyk Wagner Brown). Says she accepted the challenge from Bruce for next week.

NWA-TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Monty Brown vs. Ron “The Truth” Killings (Champion)

They start by getting into each others faces. Brown wins the lockup and shoves Killings. He mocks his dancing then slaps him down. They trade punches for a bit as Brown wins that battle. Corner splash by Brown is followed by punches. Shoulderblocks by Brown gets two. Killings lands on the apron following an Irish whip then pulls down the ropes on a charging Brown. Killings flies out with a plancha. He whips Brown into the steps. and delivers some stomps. Killings drags him in front of the announcers table. On top of the table, Killings slips out of an Alphabomb attempt and takes him off with a clubbing forearm. They trade punches on the floor until Brown catches him with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Brown the rolls him in and gets two. He chops him against the ropes but Killings gets an STO. He goes up top and gets a legdrop for two. Killings goes for a chinlock as the announcers go on about who is in line for the belt. Brown gets a sunsetflip for two. He gets an elbow smash but gets caught with a leg lariat. Killings tells the crowd that he is the “hottest thing since grits” before going for the pin. Both men are tired as Brown blocks a suplex and hits one of his own. Brown knocks him down with punches. He gets a running powerslam then a splash for two. After some reversals, Killings gets the axe kick for two. After a struggle, Brown goes for the Alphabom but Killings escapes. He tries it again but Killings counters into a rollup, which was the result of a botched sunsetflip, for the pin (10:06) *1/2. After the match, Jarrett runs in with a chair and lays out the ref, Scott Armstrong. He goes for Killings but gets kicked. Lawler comes in and they double-team Jarrett as Brown is just standing around. Lawler goes for a chairshot but Jarrett pushes Killings in the way.

Thoughts: The match itself wasn’t very good as Brown is green and Killings isn’t good enough to carry lesser workers. Also, this was another segment that was interrupted by the Lawler/Jarrett feud, which no one seems to care about. The fans do not buy Lawler as a face, nevermind a top threat.

Goldylocks is backstage with Lynn. She asks about his feud with Styles but AJ ambushes him shortly thereafter, leading into their second match.

 No Disqualification Match

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn

Bell rings as AJ is beating on Lynn. They dodge each others moves until AJ kicks Lynn and rolls him in the ring. Lynn lands on the apron after a backdrop and hits AJ with a neckbreaker. Lynn drags the table form underneath the ring but is attacked by AJ. A “we want tables” chant breaks out. Lynn tries a sunsetflip powerbomb on AJ but its blocked. Lynn turns the table over then ducks a splash by AJ. Lynn places the table near the apron and brings a chair into the ring. AJ sweeps the leg then legdrops the chair on Lynn’s face. AJ wedges the chair in the corner. AJ counters a powerbomb with a sunsetflip for two. Lynn catapults AJ face first into the chair, getting two. AJ sends Lynn into the corner then lands on the apron after a backdrop. He tries a shoulderthrust but Lynn counters with a legdrop. Lynn tries to send AJ through the table with a tornado DDT but he blocks that and clotheslines him back into the ring. He barely connects on a slingshot corkscrew splash as a “you fucked up” chant breaks out. Both men then clothesline each other and land on the chair. AJ grabs the chair as Lynn gets a sunsetflip and breaks it up with a chairshot. He goes for the pin and gets two. AJ measures him for a chairshot but Lynn ducks and dropkicks it onto AJ’s face, getting two. Lynn places AJ up top and gets a DDT but it doesn’t hit the chair. He places him up top again as a “tables” chant breaks out. Styles fights back and knocks Lynn down but gets crotched afterwards. Lynn climbs up the rope from the apron and puts AJ through the table with a rana as the announcers yell how AJ is unconscious. Back in the ring, Lynn gets two. Lynn grabs a chair and they fight up top. AJ tries a sunset bomb but Lynn blocks that. However, AJ then turns it into the Styles Clash onto the chair for the win and the second fall (11:33) ***1/2.

Thoughts: Really good match and the best of the night. Not much more to say other than that.

Ten Minute Ironman Match

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn

As noted by Tenay, this match starts immediately after the second fall. AJ covers and gets the pin (0:11). Another pin by AJ (0:19). He tries again but Lynn kicks out. Lynn floats over on a suplex attempt and gets a neckbreaker for two. AJ counters a sleeper into one of his own as the crowd chants for Lynn. He escapes but AJ takes him down with a hairpull. AJ grabs a chinlock until Lynn fights out. AJ tries a rana but Lynn counters into a facebuster for the pin (3:47). He tries another pin but AJ kicks out at two. Lynn with a corner clothesline but AJ blocks a piledriver with a backdrop. AJ beats on Lynn in the corner but misses a charge. Legdrop by Lynn gets two. He goes up top but AJ cuts him off. AJ gets him into the Razor’s Edge position then drops him face first for the pin (6:28). AJ is up three falls to one. He stomps Lynn then takes him down with a spinning heel kick for two. Low Ki is shown on the entrance with a ladder as the two minute warning hits. Lynn gets a tombstone piledriver for the pin (8:03). Lynn cant get the cradle piledriver but hits AJ with the Styles Clash for the pin (8:47). It’s now tied at three falls each. AJ gets a backslide for two. They have a pinfall reversal sequence and time expires with the match tied at three each (10:00) **1/4. Low Ki comes in and raises the arms of’ both men before kicking them down. He goes up the ramp and says that the X Division is not about Lynn or Styles, but it’s about the belt. He then says that they will have a triple ladder match next week.

Thoughts: Dull match and an idiotic ending to a poor feud. This feud has flip-flopped several times and they have a 2-out-of-3 falls blow off match end with a tie. What a payoff. It does set up for a really nice three-way ladder match for the next show but this whole feud was not done well at all.

West sells next week’s show like he did for Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards.

Referee Scott Armstrong is outside is dad’s door pleading with him to not fight Jarrett.

Jarrett comes to the ring and demands his surprise be revealed. A man comes out dressed as “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, who is obviously not a sixty year old man. They are trying to convince everyone that this really is Armstrong. Jarrett beats on him but Bullet gets the upper hand and Jarrett retreats and in doing so, runs into the real Bob Armstrong. Tenay and West scream about who was under the mask as the show goes off the air.

Final Thoughts: Probably the best all-around show TNA has produced at this point. The absence of the Dupps and Jive Talkin’ made it a lot more tolerable. Even though the Jarrett/Lawler feud is going nowhere, the show focused on wrestling. Storm & Harris are starting to gel as a team and get over with the crowd and the push for Killings is working well, despite his limitations in the ring. However, TNA had major financial concerns at this point. Wrestlers like Apolo and Malice along with manager James Mitchell have been dropped without explanation. The production values are also worse than ever, as the lighting seemed non-existent at points. TNA taped next week’s show right after this one and didn’t return for a live show until September 18^th.