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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #43

May 7, 2003

Your hosts are Don West and Mike Tenay

A video recap of last week’s show including Chris Sabin becoming the number one contender to the X Division Title, The alliance formed between Konnan and Ron Killings, the unknown woman (Tracy Brooks) who attacked Lollipop, Erik Watts giving Dusty the NWA Title Belt, Kid Kash suspending Trinity, Amazing Red winning the X Division Title with the help of the mysterious luchadore, and the World Heavyweight Championship Match between Raven and Jeff Jarrett, including a returning Sabu.  This lasted several minutes.

Tenay and West are in the ring, running down the show. They say that a number one contender to Jarrett’s title will be determined in an “Anarchy in the Asylum” match which is like their “Gauntlet for the Gold” in which people can be eliminated not only by getting tossed over the top rope and over the floor but by pinfall, anywhere in the building. Eleven slots are filled and four more slots will be filled tonight during the following matches:

AJ Styles & D’Lo Brown vs. Low Ki & Elix Skipper with the winning team advancing
New Jack vs. Sandman vs. Sabu in a Hardcore match
Chris Harris vs. James Storm


Elix Skipper & Low Ki vs. AJ Styles & D’Lo Brown

Skipper is absolutely ripped here. Ki and D’Lo start off the match. D’Lo hits a shoulderblcok but runs into a kick. The crowd is hot as D’Lo hammers away. He gets a slam and drops an elbow as Tenay mentions that Ki just finished a tour of Japan. Tag to AJ and he hits Ki with a springboard missile dropkick. Knee drop gets two. Ki hits a charging AJ with a rolling Koppu Kick then tags Skipper. He gets a slam but AJ kips up and takes him down with a rana. Neckbreaker gets two then he tags D’Lo, who drops AJ onto Skipper after a tilt-a-whirl. In a terrible spot, the ref falls down and Ki hits D’Lo with a springboard kick to the head. I realize that Ki was supposed to toss him down to distract D’Lo but the ref just sat there on his hands and knees like an idiot waiting for the move to happen. I swear, Rudy Charles was one of the worst referee’s off all-time. HE fucked up a majority of the spots he was supposed to perform. XXX beats on D’Lo for a bit until he hits Skipper with a suplex and a flapjack. Both men are down as D’Lo makes the tag to AJ. He runs wild on XXX. He tags D’Lo and Skipper tosses him outside. AJ suplexes Ki into the leg but Skipper trips him up and Ki attacks. They kick AJ in the corner and Skipper tries for the Play of the Day but AJ counters that into a sitout powerbomb. D’Lo comes in and destroys XXX. AJ is in the ring now as D’Lo hits a double leg drop on both guys. He take himself and Skipper to the floor with a clothesline. In the ring, Ki hits AJ with another Koppu Kick. He tries the cartwheel kick but D’Lo runs in and catches him and he and AJ hit a Sky High/Neckbreaker combo for the win and the chance to enter the gauntlet (9:02) **3/4.

Thoughts: Good opening match. AJ and D’Lo make for a pretty decent team. It was nice to see Ki return to TNA. His lack of height was very noticeable when he was in there with D’Lo. Both AJ and D’Lo are advancing into the gauntlet.


Goldylocks is with Glen Gilbertti in the SEX locker room. He rallies the troops and says that tonight, there is an “I” in team and that he has a chance to bring the gold back to SEX. He talks up his guys and calls Mike Sanders a giant killer before saying that he will “beat the shit” out of Jeff Jarrett.


Tenay and West talk for a bit until the camera cuts out back where we see Gilbertti attacking Jarrett in the locker room. Jarrett is wearing a knee brace and is on crutches, selling the effects from last week’s match. The brawl spills outside as several jobbers/security guys look on and do nothing. Gilberrti finally stops.


Hardcore Match
New Jack vs. Sandman vs. Sabu

Before the match, New Jack cuts a promo about how he Sandman, Raven, and Sabu used to run around drunk and pilled up in ECW and how Paul Heyman (who he called a cocksucker) bounced checks and never paid them for their action figures. He also refers to someone as a “faggot.” Jack was pretty fucked on the mic. After the five minutes it took for the promo and Sandman’s entrance, the match finally starts. Jack and Sabu fight in the ring as Sandman is drinking in the crowd. Sabu carves up Jack’s head as Sandman takes a cigarette break. We get a split screen shot of the parking lot where Gilbertti is again attacking Jarrett’s knee. Sabu bounces a trashcan off the head of Sandman, who was in the tree of woe position. Jack is busted open and he uses a fork on Sabu. Sandman slides a chair in the ring as Sabu throws a chair at New Jack. Outside the ring, Saub places Jack on the table and goes for the double springboard but Sandman hits him with the kendo stick in midair. Jarrett is shown being carried into an ambulance as all three guys are brawling in the crowd. Jack goes on a scissor lift as Sabu is on a table. He elevates himself as high as it goes, above the guardrail in the balcony. He leaps but Sabu rolls away and Jack crashes awkwardly through the table and Sabu covers for the win and a shot in the Gauntlet (6:11) ¼*.

Thoughts: This sucked. It felt like it lasted forever and the brawling was crap. The spot where New Jack almost killed himself was entertaining though. It took forever for this match to start and no one cared about New Jack’s promo as ECW was gone and Paul Heyman doesn’t even work for TNA.


Backstage, the mysterious girl is yelling at Bill Behrens for a shot in the Gauntlet. Beherens says that he is not impressed with her school girl outfit as it does nothing for him. Coming from Behrens, that is not surprising at all. The girl threatens him with a sexual discrimination lawsuit. Goldylocks comes as says that it gets old being “The chick holding the stick” as the girl then attempts to seduce Behrens, who now is happy with her appearance. He then asks Goldy to act more like her.


Video package on the tension between America’s Most Wanted.

Goldylocks is with AMW. She asks them about their match tonight. Storm asks Harris about which side he is on as Harris says he will prove to everyone that he is on his side but for tonight, they are putting everything aside for the shot of the title but that he will always be his friend. They shake hands before leaving.


Chris Harris vs. James Storm

The crowd is cold, because they killed these two guys by having them tease a spilt that no one wanted to see. They keep countering each other’s moves until Harris backdrops Storm to the floor. Tenay gets word from the back that Desire vs. Trinity vs. Tracy, who is the mystery girl. In the ring, Storm hits Harris with an enziguiri. Harris crotches him on the top turnbuckle then takes him down with a superplex. Harris goes up top and drops an elbow, getting two. They escape from each other’s finishers and counter some more moves before Storm connects on a superkick, getting two. Storm tries the Swinging Noose but Harris reverses into a cutter, getting two. He hits a DDT but misses on a top rope elbow drop. Storm gets the Eight Second Ride but Harris kicks out and Storm throws a tantrum. Harris ducks a kick and stops short on a catapult attempt. He tries a crossbody but Harris spears him in mid-air. They slug it out for a bit then Storm counters a sunset flip and hooks the legs, getting the win (7:35) **. After the match, Harris refuses a hand shake and walks away. He then comes back and pulls Storm off the turnbuckle and then shakes his hand and they hug it out.

Thoughts: The match was fine but TNA has almost killed these two guys with their idiotic booking. No one wants them to split up and the crowd did not want to see this match. The end shows that they look to be on the same page and the crowd responded well to that so hopefully they keep them together.


Goldylocks is backstage with Erik Watts. He is cutting a comedy promo, crying about how Jarrett stood him up. His phone then rings as he says that “Eric from when he was in WCW” is interested in the commissioner position. He holds Goldy’s hands and asks for a moment of silence for the recently injured Jarrett. A horrible segment.


Tracy vs. Desire w/Sonny Siaki vs. Trinity

Before the match, Kid Kash’s music hits and he tells Trinity that she can get her ass kicked and dragged to the back in handcuffs or her getting down on her knees and apologizing to him and all his fans. Trinity talks and chooses the first option then Kash knocks her down and beats the shit out of her before cuffing her to him. He is tossing her around as the females are shocked and security tries to break this up. In the ring, Desire knocks Tracy out of the ring with an enziguiri. She tries to go through the ropes and kick Tracy but she was out of position and Desire got stuck in the ropes, causing the fans to start a “you fucked up.” Siaki is on commentary and says that David Young is not a part of SEX but rather his personal assistant. Desire chops Tracy in the corner but eats boot on a charge. Tracy hits a clothesline then hits a spear. She goes up top and hits a Thesz press but Siaki distracts the ref and Tracy yells at Young. Desire sneaks in from behind and holds up Tracy for Young but she moves and Young hits Desire and Tracy covers for the win (2:00) -*. After the match, Young carries Desire out as Siaki couldn’t care less.

Thoughts: The crowd did not react to Kash beating the living shit out of Trinity. They just appeared to be displeased with the continuation of this angle. The match itself was really bad too.


The Interrogators segment is next, this time with the Harris Brothers. They refer to AMW as pussies and Lynn & Red as little pussies. They also make reference to the Aryan Brotherhood, stating that they run the pen and the streets. They also chose Clay Aiken over Ruben Studdard because he is white. I guess they are setting them up for a feud against a minority team.


Video package on the feud between Jerry Lynn & Amazing Red against XXX


Goldylocks is with Amazing Red and Jerry Lynn, who says that the new Jerry Lynn will not put up with getting screwed out of titles and wants a rematch against Red for the X Title. This was Lynn showing his aggressive side I guess. He was a lot more aggressive the first few weeks of the company when he was beating the shit out of AJ.


Tag-Team Title Match
Christopher Daniels vs. Jerry Lynn & Amazing Red (Champions)

Red and Daniels start things out but Daniels wants Lynn. They take turns beating on each other in the corner. Daniels hits an inverted atomic drop then runs into a clothesline. Lynn hits a clothesline and a dropkick before headbutting Daniels in the crotch. Tag to Red and he hits a top rope spinkick on Daniels, who was on Lynn’s shoulders. Skipper and Low Ki hand a chair to Daniels then distract the ref. Daniels attacks the knees of Red then puts him a single leg crab. Lynn breaks that up but Daniels hits Red with a Dragon Screw. Daniels misses the BME, allowing Red to hit the Code Red as both men are down. Hot tag to Lynn and he goes wild. DDT gets two. TKO by Lynn but Ki distracts Lynn. Daniels shoves Lynn into the ref but Red hits him with an STO. He goes up top but Ki shoves him to the floor. Skipper is in the ring with a chair but Lynn dropkicks him to the floor. Lynn takes out XXX with a chair and the ref rings the bell for the DQ, and XXX is awarded the belts as Tenay reminds us that the rule put in effect eight months ago by Bob Armstrong says titles can switch hands via DQ (6:20) *1/2.

Thoughts: Good god, they have the faces with a 2 on 1 advantage against a heel and they lose the tag-belts on a screw job finish. The rule is fine but they never mention it on TV and all of a sudden Tenay is explaining this as the ref places the belts on Daniels, who was lying on the mat. The fans did not seem to understand that rule was still in effect. I’m guessing this will lead to an eventual feud between Lynn and Red.


Anarchy in the Asylum

The rules are that a wrestler will enter every ninety seconds and the last two will then face off in a singles match. #1 is Brian Lawler, who hasn’t been seen in a month. #2 is D’Lo Brown. They go back and forth until Sonny Siaki is announced as #3, wearing black trunks and elbow pads, just like the Rock. He and Lawler double-team D’Lo until he hits a double clothesline. The action is virtually non existent as James Storm enters at #4. He actually shows some energy and pounds on Siaki until David Young runs in and hits Storm with a spinebuster. Chris Harris runs out and beats on Young then accidentally hits Storm, allowing Siaki to dump him over the top rope for our first elimination. Kid Kash enters the ring at #5. They triple team D’Lo, with Lawler elbowing his crotch. They try to pin D’Lo but fail and they fight each other as Rick Steiner enters at #6. He hasn’t been back since the Gauntlet on the debut show. He beats the fuck out of everyone then eliminates Siaki by clotheslining him to the floor. Steiner no sells everything then pulls Lawler back in the ring for some reason. This match is dragging and in dire need of some decent wrestlers. Mike Awesome enters at #7 and brings a table. Steiner beats on him in the corner until Kash helps him out. Lawler gets kicked in the nuts by D’Lo as Justin Credible enters at #8. He whacks Kash with a kendo stick then gets choked out by D’Lo. Steiner is destroying Kash as Awesome and Credible are fighting on the floor. #9 is Ron Killings, who immediately runs in and breaks up a pin attempt before Steiner boots him in the face. Credible and Awesome are in the crowd brawling as Steiner suplexes Killings on his head. #10 is Tracy and she signals for the belt but Lollipop attacks her from behind and they have a catfight on the ramp, which Kash breaks up by tossing Lollipop off and rolling Tracy in the ring. The men surround her then Steiner rams Kash in the corner. Kash eliminates Tracy with the moneymaker then the luchador runs in and tosses Kash over the top rope, eliminating him. Its evident that this luchador is a female wearing shoulder pads. #11 is Saturn and he chokes out Steiner. This match is dragging badly as there is no one at all resembling a star in the ring. Glenn Gilbertti enters at #12, flanked by the Harris Brothers, who run in and eliminate Steiner and Killings. They then double-team Lawler as Konnan is #13. He runs at Gilbertti and looks good for about a minute before wearing himself out. There is too much going on, inside and outside the ring. The Harris Brothers attempt to put Konnan through a table but it does not break so they do it again. Gilberrti covers for the win as Buff Bagwell makes his return as #14. His offense looks as terrible as ever. The Harris Brothers toss Killings out the door and into the parking lot. Buff eliminates Lawler but then gets eliminated by Gilbertti. AJ Styles is #15 then Mike Sanders runs out and eliminates Awesome by super-kicking him off the apron, causing him to crash through a table. Sabu is the final contestant at #16. He eliminates Credible then beats on Gilbertti in the corner. D’Lo holds up Saturn for AJ but he escapes and gets eliminated inadvertinely by a springboard missile dropkick. The final four are now AJ, Gilbertti, Sabu, and Saturn. Sabu takes Saturn to the floor with a rana and crashes out as well, then goes immediately into the ring, but they say that since Sabu initiated the move, he is not eliminated. The crowd knows that Sabu fucked up on that as is turning into an embarrassment. All three men are brawling on the floor. Sabu uses the spike on Gilbertti and he bleeds like crazy. He tries the double springboard from the ring into the crowd and crashes and burns badly. Holy shit that has to hurt but at least he is not eliminated, you know, because he initiated the move. In the ring, Gilbertti counters a powerbomb and backdrops AJ to the floor, as Sabu and Gilbertti are the last two left (28:10) DUD.

Thoughts: What a horrible match. AJ was the only one worthy of winning and he was eliminated. Sabu fucked up badly and the rules were moronic as initiating a move that has you end up going over the top rope and onto the floor does not get you eliminated but getting tossed by someone who is not part of the match will.


Number One Contender’s Match
Glen Gilbertti vs. Sabu

Sabu uses the spike and opens up Gilbertti some more. He tries a springboard leg lariat but Gilbertti pulls the ref to him. Sabu uses a chair shot then Raven runs in and hits Sabu with the Raven Effect on the chair. Gilbertti covers and wins the match (1:38) DUD. After the match, SEX comes out and lifts up a bloody and dazed Gilbertti as Tenay mentions that Raven is not under contract.

Thoughts: The whole segment was a waste of time. First off, no one at all is buying Gilbertti as a credible threat to the title. Second, having Raven run out to cost Sabu the match made sense, since Sabu interfered with his match last week, but Tenayt mentioned how he was not under contract. At the time, I remember that Raven’s contract expired the night of his title match but I do not know if that was true or part of a work.


Final Thoughts: This show quickly went to shit. The theme of trying to make Gilbertti into a viable main-eventer was just a waste of time. Instead of having Raven win last week and having Jarrett chase him for the belt, which makes the most sense, they instead killed Raven as a challenger and moved Jarrett in a feud with Glen Gilbertti.  The “Anarchy in the Asylum” match was awful too, with all of the screw-ups making TNA look even more bush-league than before. The tag-title switch was anti-climatic and they are doing the best they can to kill their most successful tag-team. TNA is really circling the drain right now, with a lack of main event talent.

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