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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #47

June 4, 2003

Your hosts are Don West and Mike Tenay

The show starts with a video package on Glen Gilbertti and the events that led him to become the number one contender to Jeff Jarrett’s Heavyweight Championship. Then it switches focus to Vince Russo and shows him interfering in Gilbertti’s match against Raven last week before showing various clips of Russo in TNA.

 
Jarrett arrives to the building and is approached by three security guys, wearing red shirts. The tallest guy introduces himself as Kevin Northcutt. He tells Jarrett about the NWA Board of Directors being pissed at his actions from last week and Jarrett blows them off, stating that he will take care of his own problems.

Gilbertti is in the SEX locker room, conducting a prayer circle. He thanks the lord for making SEX the greatest stable, bringing back Vince Russo, and giving him the strength to kick Jarrett’s hillbilly ass so he can make professional wrestling a better place for everyone. The circle breaks and Mike Sanders asks Gilbertti if he has been talking to Russo, because he hasn’t, and Gilbertti says that he has been talking to him every day. They made it seem like Gilbertti is full of shit and that Russo came back for his own reason, not to be with SEX.


Kid Romeo & Damien Dothart & Johnny Swinger vs. CM Punk & Matt Stryker & Frankie Kazarian

Stryker and Romeo start things off. Stryker is not the same guy who is currently in the WWE but a trainee of Les Thatcher who spent time in his HWA territory. They have a nice sequence that ends with Stryker getting a nearfall off a leg lariat. Kazarian tags ands works the arm. Romeo hits a bulldog and tags Swinger as West tells a story of Kazarian approaching Tenay six years ago at an autograph session in San Diego on how to enter this business. Kazarian hits a dropkick and a pair off armdrags before tagging Punk. He hits a few moves but Swinger catches him with a spinning side slam. They trade sleepers as Tenay mentions the passing of Freddie Blassie. Dothart tags and he and Punk engage in a fast-paced but sloppy sequence. Punk messes up a monkeyflip spot in which he was supposed to land on his feet then Damien tags Swinger. Punk briefly works the arm then tags Stryker. He hits a Thesz Press and knocks Romeo off the apron after a cheapshot. He and Swinger reverse holds until Swinger catches him with a sitout spinebuster. He hits an atomic drop and Romeo slingshots in with a clothesline as there is a lot of miscommunication going on here. Stryker hits an overhead suplex but Dothart tags and the heels neutralize Stryker in the corner. Northern Lights suplex gets two. Stryker gets a few rollups but Dothart takes him down and the heels continue their assault. Stryker leapfrogs over Swinger and tags Kazarian, who runs wild on Swinger until he is stopped by a jawbreaker. Dothart comes in but Kazarian hits them with a reverse neckbreaker and a DDT at the same time. Kazarian nearly kills himself with a tope on Swinger. Punk backdrops Dothart to the floor and takes everyone out with a sorry looking springboard plancha. Romeo dives out then Stryker takes them all out with a quebrada. Back in the ring, everyone take turns hitting their finishers until Kazarian hits Dothart with the Wave of the Future (Downward Spiral) for the win (11:11) **1/2.

Thoughts: An energetic but sloppy match. Kazarian really stood out the most and made a good impression in his debut. The announcers hinted towards a possible feud between Kazarian and Sabin, because they both go by the “Future” moniker. Stryker looked solid in his debut as well. Romeo continues to impress in the ring. Punk had a bad night, messing up a few times. Swinger was miscast in this match and did nothing of note. Dothart was not ready to wrestle on TV and looked lost out there. He was trained by Dusty Rhodes so that is probably the only reason he got in this match.



Goldylocks is with Raven. He feels insulted that he is not the number one contender. He calls Jarrett the David Hasselhoff of pro wrestling. He states that they were both on two hit shows and are delusional in that they believe they are the sole reason for their show’s success. I assume he means Nitro and RAW. He threatens Russo if he touches him again. Not the best work from Raven.


Backstage, James Storm approaches Chris Harris, who looks a bit down. Storm says he will respect is decision on which partner he chooses. Harris then wonders if all good things come to an end. It is quite obvious how this will end.


They show another video package on the Hard Ten Tournament


Hard Ten Tournament Match
Sonny Siaki vs. Vampire Warrior

Sanders has joined the announcers table. Before the match, Siaki cut a promo about the ladies getting wet when he takes his shirt off and declaring himself a badass. He calls Sandman a pussy, which beings him but he is stopped by security. Warrior spits his drink at Siaki then hits him with a frying pan. He goes up quickly 4-0 until Siaki sends Warrior through the table after whacking him off the apron with a kendo stick as Siaki is up 6-4. They trade shots then Warrior goes for a pin, like an idiot, after a DDT. Sikai is up 7-5 then gets the win after putting Warrior through a table with a neckbreaker (3:51) ¼*. After the match, Sandman whacks Siaki off the head with his Singapore Cane.

Thoughts: This tournament has been a giant flop. At least this was short. I have no idea what they are trying to accomplish by making Siaki a hardcore wrestler.


Mike Tenay has a sit down interview with Raven. He puts over his feud with Dreamer and Sandman among the top feuds in wrestling history. He talks about WCW paying him a lot of money to sit in the front row and drink beer with his buddies. He mentions how he quit WCW after Bischoff told him he could leave if he was unhappy. He says that the WWE shit all over him then talks about TNA, dissing Jarrett some more.


We are back in the SEX locker room where Don Harris refuses to partner up with Ron Killings, stating that he doesn’t work with “There kind.” Elix Skipper takes offense to this but both Don and Ron let him know that they like him but not Killings, because he cries about racism instead of taking responsibility of his own actions.


David Young w/Desire & Tracy vs. Ron Killings

Killings starts by dancing then locks up with Young. Killings gets a quick rollup then a powerslam. He hits a scoop slam then a top rope legdrop. Tracy then comes off the top with the Pie in the Sky (Thesz Press) and Young takes control of the match. Snap suplex gets two as this match is at a snails pace right now. Young tags Tracy, who gets in a few kicks before teasing Killings by lifting up her skirt. She tags Young and then jumps off the apron when Young tries to tag her. This match continues to drag as Killings is really looking awful. Axe kick gets two. Leg lariat gets two. Tracy comes off the top but Killings catches her with a sitout powerbomb. Nurse Veronica, the nurse from last week who now has a name, runs in an checks on Tracy. Desire is on the apron distracting the ref as Killings has Young pinned. Killings approaches Desire but Nurse Veronica hits him with a low blow, allowing Young to hit the spinebuster for the win (6:53) -*. After the match, Tracy jumps on Young but Desire pulls her off and they have another catfight. They are both wearing short skirts and thongs, easily making this the best part of this segment.

Thoughts: Awful match. This whole thing was wrestled in slow motion and was way overbooked. Nurse Veronica was also known on the independents as Simply Luscious. She was trained by Shawn Michaels. They are continuing the feud between Tracy and Desire. Speaking of Desire, she was with Young but not Siaki tonight.


Goldylocks is with Jarrett. She asks him about his title defense and TNA officials. He says that he is focused on Gilbertti and closes by stating how he is not going to let Gilbertti disgrace the TNA title. Erik Watts comes in and Goldy is pissed that he locked her in the closet in order to conduct the backstage interviews. Goldy then walks away.


A video package on XXX. Not bad but the graphics really make this look as low budget as possible.


Chris Harris is in the ring with James Storm and Chris Sabin, flanked by XXX. He is about to make his decision on which partner to use. He tells Storm that they should end it on PPV and that when they were put together, everyone thought it was a joke but they became the best and heads over to Sabin. However, he states that America’s Most Wanted as only just begun and he hugs and makes up with Storm. Sabin attacks but Storm fights back and they hit him with the Hart Attack. Sabin bails with XXX, who are pissed.


America’s Most Wanted vs. BG James & Konnan

Daniels is on commentary, saying that Harris made a terrible mistake and will pay. AMW dumps their opponents to the floor. Storm flies out with a somersault plancha and Harris hits a pescado. In the ring, Konnan attacks Harris from behind and BG takes control. He hits his trademark stuff as Daniels notes how they will face the winner of the tournament at the anniversary show in two weeks. Konnan tags and he and Harris collide. Hot tag to Storm, who cleans house. He then hits Konnan with possibly the worst hurricarana I have ever seen. The match breaks down, and it’s not very exciting at all. Storm gets a nearfall on James with a superkick then they brawl outside. Storm and Daniels argue and the ref goes outside, allowing the Harris Brothers to run in and hit Konnan with an H Bomb. Chris Harris then crawls on top of Konnan for the win (5:28) ½*.

Thoughts: BG and Konnan were just going to the motions here. The crowd is cold to AMW, mainly due to the horrible booking they have received for the past few months. The problem was that no one wanted to see them break up and they weren’t buying the constant teases.


A video recap on the Trinity and Kid Kash feud.


Goldylocks is in the ring and welcomes Kid Kash, who is dragging Trinity by the hand. He rips the mic away from Goldylocks and calls her a stick with a pair of tits. He then blames Trinity for  him losing the X Division Title and continues to berate her as the crowd starts a mild “Asshole” chant.  He orders Trinity to get on her knees and kiss his ass. She refuses then Kash grabs her hair. She fights back as Goldy pushes him back and says that she is sick of his shit. Kash then laughs and cracks some lame lesbian jokes before smacking Goldy across the face after she makes a small dick joke. Erik Watts then runs out and powerbombs Kash. They brawl outside and Kash hits him with the Smashmouth. He goes into the ring and corners the girls but Watts hits a chokeslam and a corner powerbomb. Watts then leaves with the girls as the crowd applauds. Does this mean Watts is a face now?


Gilbertti is on the cell phone with someone, presumably Russo, asking them to come here now. Sanders doubts he is talking to Vince as Glen says that tonight, the joke will be on everyone else after he walks out as the champion. No matter how hard they try, people are not buying Gilbertti as a credible challenger.


Backstage, AJ Styles and D’Lo Brown are talking about business. Goldy talks to them with Watts lurking in the background. AJ promises that they will tear the house down as D’Lo dares the roster to follow their match.


Number One Contender Match
AJ Styles vs. D’Lo Brown

They shake hands before the match. Both men duck each other’s attacks then trade chops. AJ counters a catatonic with a rollup then hits the Phenomenon. D’Lo clotheslines AJ after blocking the Styles Clash then hits a Quebrada for two. AJ ducks a clothesline and takes D’Lo to the floor with a springboard dropkick. AJ flies out but D’Lo catches him and backdrops him on the ramp. He climbs up top and hits the frog splash in a crazy spot. Raven and the Gathering come ringside as D’Lo rolls AJ back into the ring. AJ hits the Pele kick and both men are down. D’Lo catches AJ with a stunner in midair and that gets two. D’Lo gets crotched on top but D’Lo takes him down with the Sky High. The ref counts as Julio pulls the ref to the floor, allowing Raven to clothesline D’Lo. AJ then gets two off a springboard 450 splash. The ref is distracted an AJ hits the Styles Clash on a chair for the win (9:07) **1/2. After the match, Raven takes out AJ with a chair.

Thoughts: Decent match with some nice spots but in no way was it a show-stealing match. Both guys tried hard but as an actual match, it was lacking as it was a more of a collection of moves.


Tenay and West run down next week’s show, including the debut of TNA Talk. Announced matches are:

David Young & Tracy & America’s Most Wanted, with the winner facing XXX for the titles at the Anniversary show
Sandman vs. ???? in a Hard Ten Tournament Semi-Final
AJ Styles vs. Raven vs. winner of the Gilbertti/Jarrett match for the NWA-TNA Championship


We see both Gilbertti and Jarrett warming up for their match


World Heavyweight Championship Match
Glen Gilbertti vs. Jeff Jarrett (Champion)

Jarrett has a new intro video. They fight over a lockup at first. They do another sequence that ends with Gilbertti getting a hiptoss. He hits a few armdrags then they spill to the floor and start brawling. Jarrett uses the chair on the back of Gilbertti before whipping him into the guardrail. He roughs him up some more until Sanders comes out and superkicks Jarrett in a blown spot. The camera shows the Harris Brothers in the back of the arena watching the match then Gilbertti catapults Jarrett into the post. In the ring, Gilbertti attacks the leg of Jarrett. He puts him in an ankle lock but Jarrett eventually reaches the ropes. XXX is shown watching in the aisle and AMW are on the ramp. Jarrett trips up Gilbertti and puts on the figure-four but Gilbertti reverses the hold. Jarrett manages to grab the ropes. Jarrett hits a DDT and an enziguiri for nearfalls. Crossbody block gets two as the whole roster is now watching the match. Gilbertti catches him with a stunner but Jarrett kicks out. Gilbertti stomps Jarrett’s leg, which was between a chair. The ref is yelling at Gilbertti then Jarrett stuns him on the chair for two. Gilbertti hits Jarrett with the Stroke but that only gets two. Jarrett powerbombs Gilbertti but gets elbowed on a charge. Jarrett goes for a reverse rollup but Gilbertti is shoved into the ref. Both men are down as Vince Russo comes out with his bat and whacks Gilbertti on the back and Jarrett covers for the win (13:42) **1/2. Russo is shown walking away as the show goes off the air.

Thoughts: Not bad and probably the best you could have hoped for in this match. Gilbertti’s offense is not main event material. He sucks at brawling. There was a lot of smoke and mirrors in this match but it was for the best. Now that Russo has cost Raven and Gilbertti, a member of SEX, a match, it is unclear where his allegiance lies.


Final Thoughts:  The Russo deal is a bit intriguing but the rest of the show had nothing going for it. The Hard Ten tournament has been a waste, as has the Asylum Allegiance tag tourney. Bringing in more X Division guys has been beneficial but that was really the only positive sign for the company going forward. They are wasting too much time with people like Erik Watts and need to create some new stars.

Comments

  1. It still blows my mind that a company that would push fucking DISCO INFERNO into a Main Event role would still be in business, ten years later.

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  2. In their defense, Disco showed a lot of potential as the serious mouthpiece for SEX. Still, he would have been better off as a manager instead of getting pushed to the top.

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  3. The main problem with Gilbertti was his in-ring work. His brawlin really sucked but like you said, he was doing quite well on the mic during this run

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