Sorry for the delay.
July 9, 2003
The show
starts with the returning Scott Hudson interviewing Jeff Jarrett on his way to
the arena. He asks him why he went against doctor’s orders and showed up
tonight. Jarrett said that if they wanted to play games, then batter up.
Tag-Team Title Match
Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger
w/Glen Gilbertti vs. America’s Most Wanted (Champions)
The story
here is that Gilbertti is on a mission to get the belts from AMW. In reality,
Gilbertti’s back was a mess and he couldn’t wrestle. Gilbertti joins the
announcers table and makes fun of AMW for being cowboys. Harris fights off both
men but gets Diamond catches him with a super kick. They double-team Harris and
keep him in their corner for a long time. Diamond gets two off a pair of snap
suplexes. Harris fights off a double team and makes the tag but the referee did
not see the tag and orders Storm back on the apron. Swinger eats boot on a
charge and Harris clotheslines Diamond before making the tag. Storm runs wild
on both men. He takes out Swinger with a pescado. Harris gets two off a
crossbody block. Storm hits both men with DDT and tags Harris. They hit Swinger
with the Hart Attack but the ref orders Storm out of the ring. The match breaks
down then Storm with Diamond with a frankensteiner, getting two. They set up
Swinger for the Death Sentence but Gilbertti shoves Harris off the top rope
then hits Storm with a chair. Storm gets hit with a double Downward Spiral but
Storm is able to kick out. They set up Storm for the Hart Attack but Harris
spears Swinger as he was running the ropes and gets the pin (8:53) ***.
Thoughts: Good
match. With Daniels in Japan and Skipper looking like he is getting repackaged
as a singles wrestler, AMW needs a team to work with. I thought both teams
worked great together.
Up next is a
video package on Christopher Daniels. He is using the “Fallen Angel” gimmick
and the video is shot in black-and-white, with a red border. It closes with a
graphic reading “Say your prayers.” Good video package and it helped Daniels
stand out.
Joe Legend
is in the ring, wearing a New York Yankee’s jersey and holding a bat. He is
using an New York accent in an attempt to mimic Russo. The crowd starts a bunch
of anti-Russo chants as Legend introduces Jeff Jarrett. It is really Vince
Russo, wearing the outfit that Jarrett wore in his first WWF stint. He sounds
like Foghorn Leghorn as he makes a bunch of awful jokes and puts over the fact
that he made Jarrett a star. The crowd starts a loud “you suck” chant as this
goes on for way too long. He then asks to kiss his ass but the real Jarrett
comes out, in his gear, and takes out both men. Russo bails as Legend catches
Jarrett and hits a backbreaker. He then attacks the injured ribs of Jarrett,
which are all taped up. Jarrett takes the advantage as Legend missed a charge
and they brawl in the crowd. They go up the stairs and Jarrett pushes Legend
off the balcony, with the fall not shown. He goes down but Legend miraculously
regains control and ends up busting Jarrett wide open. They are now in the ring
as Jarrett is wearing a crimson mask, dripping blood from his forehead onto the
mat. Jarrett fights back and backdrops Legend through a chair then hits the
Stroke. He ties Legend to the ropes, getting revenge on what happened last
week, and grabs the bat. Russo runs in but Jarrett beats him with the bat and
puts him in the figure four but Legend is able to break through the tape and
whack Jarrett with a guitar. He hits Jarrett with the Stone Cutter and hits
Jarrett with a bat, as Russo holds him. Russo then grabs the mic and yells at
him as security clears the ring. Jerry Jarrett runs out and cares for his son.
This went on for far too long and the crowd didn’t care at all.
Scott Hudson
is with Chris Sabin. He is asked about Frankie Kazarian having the same
nickname as him. Sabin says that Frankie is on a losing streak and that losers
do not get shots at the title and after he wins the 6 man match tonight and
fifteen more after that, he might get a chance at his style. Kazarian beat him
two weeks ago in a non-title match.
A video
package on Elix Skipper airs.
Six Man Elimination Match to Become
the Number One Contender to the X Division Title
Kid Romeo vs. Matt Sydal vs. Altar
Boy Luke vs. Delirious vs. Matt Stryker vs. Frankie Kazarian
Skipper is
on commentary but leaves shortly as the announcers start to talk about the
match and not about him. Delirious and Stryker start things off with some
matwork. They do not work well together. Delirious bails and runs around the
ring, only to re-enter and get taken down with an armdrag. Kazarian tags and
cradles Delirious, getting two. He tags Luke and he and Delirious go at for a
bit. Delirious tags Sydal before hitting a missile dropkick. Sydal gets two on
Luke with a springboard crossbody. Romeo tags himself in a flattens Sydal with
a clothesline. Sydal is able to hit a shooting star press on Romeo while
standing on his back but Romeo takes control with an alley-oop. He tags
Kazarian, who gets two off a slingshot legdrop. Sydal escapes and tags Stryker,
who attacks the ribs. They set up for a car crash spot, capped off with Sydal
hitting a moonsault off the top rope. Back in the ring, Sydal dropkicks Stryker
for two. Stryker slingshots Sydal onto Romeo, who catches him and hits the
Emerald Frosien for the pin (6:17). Luke comes in and gets two off the Holy
driver. Halo gets two. Romeo tags Kazarian, who kills Luke with an Ocean
Cyclone Suplex. His head might have hit the apron on that and he heads to the
back, without being pinned so he either got legit messed up or just blew the
spot. Delirious goes up top but Kazarian puts him on his shoulders and pins him
with the Ocean Cyclone Suplex (7:57). Stryker and Romeo go at it, with Stryker
getting a few near falls. They head up top but Romeo grabs him and hits a
middle rope Emerald Frosien for the pin (9:17). Romeo celebrates but Kazarian
hits a missile dropkick and a back elbow smash. He escapes an Emerald Frosien
attempt and hits the Wave of the Future for the win (9:52) *3/4.
Thoughts: There
were a few nice moves but a lot of this was messy. For those who are unaware,
Matt Sydal went on to become Evan Bourne and Altar Boy Luke is better known as
Luke Hawx. Romeo stood out the most but it was clear that Kazarian would win.
Negro Casas and Shocker, who were advertised to be on this show, were supposed
to be in this match but pulled out at the last second.
After the
match, Sabin comes out and gives him his title shot, right now.
X Division Title Match
Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Sabin
(Champion)
Sabin tosses
Kazarian to the floor then roughs him up. Back in the ring, Kazarian hits a
release overhead suplex then fights back with forearm smashes. He tries for a
pescado but ands on Sabin’s knee. In the ring, Kazarian blocks a sunset flip
and gets two but Sabin goes for the ribs. They go up top but Sabin shoves him
off. They engage in some reversas until Sabin powerbombs Kazarian into the
corner the hits the Future Shock for the win (3:05) *.
Thoughts: They
are setting up a feud between these two, which isn’t bad seeing as they both
work very well together. However, neither guy is that over with the crowd.
Scott Hudson
is out back giving us an update on Jarrett, who is being tended to by medics.
Russo and Legend run in and attack Jarrett. D’Lo Brown then runs in for the
save.
Lollipop
calls out Tracy and Nurse Veronica, who is the only one to come out. They brawl
on the ramp but it gets broken up quickly by security. The crowd starts a “let
them fight” chant.
Mike Tenay
sits down with James Mitchell. He talks about Raven being a complainer and
tells us about the injury he received in ECW after his torch gun exploded,
causing major medical issues and the loss of his wife, cars, house and even
dogs. He said he didn’t turn to drugs
and is stronger than ever and even stronger than Raven will ever be. Mitchell
was great here.
Julio is in
the ring. He calls out Shane Douglas, for sending his friend, CM Punk, to the
hospital. He promises to kick his ass.
Julio Dinero w/Alexis vs. Shane
Douglas
Dinero
attacks Douglas to start, choking him out with his towel. Douglas catches him
with a sleeper but Julio escapes easily. Douglas is already blown up at this
point. Dinero gets two off a full nelson slam then hits him with a tope. Alexis
slaps around Douglas as Julio turns over the ring steps. Douglas fights back
and drops Dinero on the steps with a TKO. In the ring, Douglas gets two off a
powerslam. Julio fights back and hits a super kick. Douglas hits an inverted
atomic drop but Alexis jumps off the top and hits a tornado DDT, which gets two
for Julio. Douglas ends up ramming Julio into Alexis and hits the
belly-to-belly suplex for the win (5:53) DUD. After the match, Mitchell comes
out and they hold up Dinero but Alexis makes the save. Douglas grabs Alexis and
Mitchell hits her with a fireball. It looked much better than last week’s
attempt on Punk. Alexis flops around on the mat as Julio tends to her.
Thoughts: This
match was bad and it was all the fault of Douglas, who was woefully out of
shape. Raven is still selling the effects of the fireball from last week so
this was how they continued the feud.
Don Harris vs. Shark Boy
The story is
that the Harris Brothers are still pissed at Shark Boy for eluding them last
week. Harris beats on Shark Boy in the corner. He continues his assault until
Shark Boy uses his speed and lands a pair of dropkicks. Rollup gets two. Ron
pulls Shark Boy to the floor and rams him into the railing. He rolls him back in
the ring as Don hits a pair of corner clotheslines. He goes for the mask but
Shark Boy rolls out, with the crowd solidly behind him. Don overpowers him and
goes for the mask again but Shark Boy fights him off. He hits a jawbreaker then
a neckbreaker before using mounted punches. He bites Harris on the forehead and
heads up top. He knocks Ron off the apron but Don hits the chokeslam for the
win (5:23) ¾*. Ron comes in and they hit the H Bomb and pull off his mask, only
to reveal another mask. They assault him so more but he manages to escape, with
the Harris Brothers pissed off.
Thoughts:
The crowd was dead but this was enjoyable for what is was. Mike Sanders was not
here as he was no gone from the promotion, which was not something I would call
a loss.
Konnan, BG
James, and Ron Killings, now called “3 Live Kru,” perform TNA Weekday Update,
which is a spoof of SNL’s Weekend Update, complete with a Don Pardo wannabe
announcer. Konnan lets us know the rumors that Kobe had an affair with Juventud
Guerrera in a hotel room is not true, because he is dating Kid Romeo. Then, the
line of the night, BG deadpans that at the Vengeance PPV, Stephanie McMahon vs.
Sable will take place, with BG saying it doesn’t get any funnier than that.
Scott Hudson
is backstage with D’Lo Brown. D’Lo tries to be like the Rock, even ripping off
his “It doesn’t matter” line before AJ interrupts and they get separated.
Kid Kash w/Abyss vs. Jerry Lynn
Abyss
carries Kash to the ring on his shoulders. They take it to the mat to start. On
commentary, Tenay says that Russo used his power to get rid of Goldylocks,
because she was condescending on interviews. Lynn works a side headlock for a
bit but Kash takes the advantage with an eye poke. Lynn catches him with a
tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Lynn chases Kash outside of the ring, rolling
away from Abyss. In the ring, Lynn gets rollup but Kash kicks him off and Abyss
catches Lynn with a backbreaker before putting him back in the ring. Kash puts
Lynn in the iron claw but Lynn fights back. He hits a swinging neckbreaker and
a facebuster. Ynn eats boot off a charge but is able to duck a flying attack,
which hits the ref. Lynn hits the TKO but Abyss runs in and breaks up the pin.
Lynn hits him with a tornado DDT then snaps off a top rope rana. The ref tends
to Abyss as Lynn has Kash up for the cradle piledriver but Justin Credible runs
in and whacks Lynn off the head with a kendo stick and Kash cradles him for the
win (7:04) *1/2.
Thoughts: Nothing
match, as Kash hasn’t been very good lately. The Lynn and Credible feud
continues This was supposed to be a tag but Erik Watts had a staph infection.
A video
hyping up Sonny Siaki airs. He mentions a bunch of his nicknames
Tenay is in
the ring for the Hard Ten Trophy presentation. He welcomes out the Sandman, who
stumbles out with a twelve pack. He pours beer into the cup as the crowd chants
for him to chug. He asks if anyone else wants some hen pours it into the mouths
off a few fans as a “we want beer” chant breaks out. All of a sudden, a short
and extremely fat man in a suit runs out and attacks Sandman. Don Callis
follows him and introduces us to his man, Edward Chastain (also known as “Iceberg”
in the indies at this time), and proclaims that hardcore wrestling is over and
tells Sandman to go back to the gutter where he belongs. He pulls out rubber
gloves and places the trophy into the trash can. Not bad and Callis was very
good on the mic.
Part two off
the Sting interview airs. They do some name association stuff, with him saying
Flair is his favorite opponent and Dusty is charismatic. Its pretty dull and he
doesn’t say anything informative. He is asked on the thoughts of the impact
that the internet has had on wrestling. He states he does not pay attention and
trashes those who constantly shit on everything. They plug part three for next
week.
Trinity is
with Scott Hudson. She says that AJ doesn’t want to talk and she does not know
any explanation as to why she has aligned with Russo. She says that she is not
appreciated by TNA and does not need the crowd’s approval. She says her hands
do not have to get dirty anymore and cuts a terrible promo on D’Lo. The Trinity
heel turn was just an awful idea, especially the way in which it happened.
For next
week:
Shark Boy
& New Jack vs. Harris Brothers
Joe Legend
vs. Jeff Jarrett, if he is able to wrestle
Heavyweight Title Match
D’Lo Brown vs. AJ Styles (Champion)
Before the
match, brings out his equalize, which ends up being Russo, still dressed as
Jarrett, being wheeled on in a locked cage. AJ runs out and tries to let him
out but D’Lo stops him. In the ring, they perform a bunch of counters. D’Lo
shoves him down the hits a back suplex. Outside, D’Lo spears AJ into the
guardrail. He whips AJ, who slides under the guardrail. D’Lo hits him with a
clothesline and rolls him back into the ring. D’Lo gets a few nearfalls as
Russo is shown screaming from the cage, which doesn’t look strong enough to
contain a small child. AJ sends D’Lo the floor and then, in an incredible spot,
AJ runs and moonsaults over the top rope and onto D’Lo. That got a
well-deserved replay as Tenay says that was the Fosbury Flop, which was named after
the Olympic high jumper. In the ring, D’Lo knocks down then punches away. He
hits a backdrop and a spinebuster. Legdrop gets two. Trinity runs out and hits
D’Lo with a twisting moonsault. AJ covers but only gets two. D’Lo dodges an
enziguiri but it ends up hitting the ref. D’Lo hits AJ with the Sky High but
Siaki runs out and hits him with a chain then gets the Siakialypse. AJ climbs
up top and hits D’Lo with his frog splash for the win (7:20) **1/4. After the
match, AJ tosses D’Lo to the floor and Russo is now out of the cage, allowing
them to lock D’Lo inside. Russo hits the cage with a bat several times then
they tip the cage over. Russo jumps on top and starts screaming at D’Lo as the
show goes off the air.
Thoughts:
The match was short but decent. The cage that held Russo was very flimsy and
anyone could have broken out of that. One kick looked like it would send the
door flying. D’Lo tried but no one takes him seriously as a top threat.
Final Thoughts: Weak show. The opening match, along
with some of the video packages, were easily the best part of the show. There
is just too much dead weight on the roster, especially with the heavyweight
division, and it’s tough to get excited for the Harris Brothers and random X
Division guys. TNA is struggling badly at this point.
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