NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #59

August 27, 2003

Your hosts are Don West and Mike Tenay

The show opens with a video package about tonight’s matches that came off well

 

Shane Douglas & Slash & Sinn w/James Mitchell vs. Three Live Kru

Konnan pumps up the crowd before the match as Mitchell joins the announcers table but there is an audio problem and we cannot hear him. Konnan hits Slash with an inverted DDT then tags Killings. 3LK cleans house, using triple-team moves, until Slash boots BG in the face. The heels get heat on BG as Mitchell’s microphone is now working. Mitchell then notes how Alexis is not there this week (she left the company after signing with the WWE) then proclaims that Raven will lose his hair. Slash gets a few near-falls then tags Douglas, who puts on an abdominal stretch. BG breaks that up with a hiptoss then hits a clothesline and both men are down. Hot-tag to Killings and beats on Douglas. The match breaks down shortly after that and Mitchell goes in the ring and goes after Killings but Julio and CM Punk come out and the ref rings the bell, ruling the match as a no-contest (7:07) *3/4.

Thoughts: Not much of a match but the crowd loves 3LK and this really got the crowd going

 

Terry Taylor, filling in for Scott Hudson who was on assignment, is in the parking lot with Trinity and Sonny Siaki as they direct the hearse. Taylor then informs Siaki that is match is starting right now and he runs into the ring. Taylor is really bad as a backstage interviewer.

 

Sonny Siaki vs. D’Lo Brown

Siaki meets D’Lo on the ramp but ends up getting destroyed. D’Lo rolls him into the ring and gets two off a slingshot senton. Siaki gets backdropped to the floor and D’Lo tries to go between the ropes but Siaki catches him and powerbombs him on the floor. Siaki rolls him back in and hits a sloppy split-legged moonsault for two. Both men are now down after D’Lo catches Siaki with a cutter. They get up and have a slugfest that is won by D’Lo. He hits the Sky High but Trinity distracts the ref and Siaki hits the Siakalypse but that only gets two. D’Lo hits a catatonic but Trinity hits him with a DDT and that allows Siaki to it the Siakalypse now for the win (4:55) *1/4. After the match, Siaki and Trinity beat on D’Lo all the way to the parking lot until Jeff Jarrett makes the save and throws Siaki into the hearse. You could hear some boos from the crowd towards Jarrett.

Thoughts: Not much of a match as this feud is ice cold. Siaki is overpushed and the love for D’Lo has pretty much gone away. Also, the fans are turning on Jarrett a bit as they are presumably sick of him being booked like Stone Cold Steve Austin.

 

Don Callis comes out and interrupts Tenay. He is angry that the NWA allowed Jerry Lynn to get a shot at the X Division Title tonight.

 

A video recap of last week’s Ultimate X match is shown. I thought they did a great job with this and got over the concept.

 

Michael Shane is backstage with Terry Taylor. He is now completely ripping of HBK and uses his catchphrases, while mentioning that he is his cousin.

 

X Division Title Match

Jerry Lynn vs. Michael Shane (Champion)

Callis is with the announcers. Lynn works a side headlock for a while. They trade hammerlocks then Lynn stomps on Shane after he acted cocky. Lynn beats on Shane in the corner then points at Callis. Lynn hits a pair of armdrags and goes to work on the arm. They slug it out for a bit until Shane snaps Lynn’s head off the ropes. Shane takes him down with a baseball slide as Callis talks up Shane. Lynn pulls Shane off the ropes but gets whipped into the guardrail. Shane sends Lynn into the steps with a drop toehold then rolls him back inside. Shane plays to the crowd and that allows Lynn to take control. He takes Shane off the apron with a springboard dropkick then roughs him up outside. They have a reversal sequence in the ring that ends with Shane getting a hotshot. They trade hairpulls before Lynn gets tossed to the floor. In the ring, Shane punches away but Lynn sends him into the corner with a drop toehold. Shane comes back with a flying forearm and a scoop slam. He heads up top then jumps off and sets up for the Sweet Chin Music but Lynn blocks that and takes him down with a boot to the face. Lynn slaps him down and yells at Callis. Shane gets two off a small package after a low blow. Lynn counters a piledriver attempt and beats him with mounted punches. Callis flips out and heads to the locker room as Lynn continues the assault. He hits a powerbomb and then the TKO but doesn’t cover. Lynn now tries the cradle piledriver but Red-Shirt Security comes out and distracts him, allowing Shane to hit a super kick for the win (12:22) ***.

Thoughts: Good match. Not your typical X Division match as there were few highspots and it wasn’t wrestled at a rushed pace. Shane will never get over as a HBK ripoff though and the Callis/Lynn eud is not doing Lynn any favors.

 

Mike Tenay is with Raven. He asks him about Mitchell and Douglas and their obsession with cutting his hair. Raven says that his destiny is to become the World Champion and brings up how Tommy Rich became the youngest NWA champ 20 years ago but got involved in a blood-feud with Buzz Sawyer and never made it back to the title. Raven brings up his feuds with Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman and that he came to NWA-TNA because he knew that he could become champion and that Mitchell, Douglas, and the mystery man want to keep him from the prize. AJ Styles and Vince Russo interrupt and taunt Raven, who retaliates. AJ and Russo retreat.

 

A video package on Abyss airs. It highlights his performance in the gauntlet. They did an excellent job building him up as a monster last week.

 

Abyss vs. Sandman

Sandman spits beer in the face of Abyss and uses the kendo sitck. Abyss then takes him down and fires away. He pulls up Sandman’s shirt and chops him hard on the chest before tossing him to the floor. Sandman fights back but Abyss catches him after a pescado attempt and rams him into the post. They brawl outside and Sandman jumps off a chair and elbows Abyss before setting up a table. They end up in the ring and Sandman gets two off a senton. Kid Kash runs in and pushes the ref into Sandman. He then yells at Abyss and slaps him a few times. Kash takes him outside with a rana and Abyss bounced off the table then gets rolled back inside and shortly after that, Abyss hits him with the Black Hole Slam for the win (3:31) ¾*.

Thoughts: Abyss looked decent here and got a win over Sandman, who at least has name value.

 

Taylor interviews Kash and acts like a badass. Abyss comes through and stops Taylor from going after Kash after being slapped. They are now going with the idea that Kash is in control of Abyss. Taylor is intolerable in this role.

 

Tag-Team Title Match

Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger vs. America’s Most Wanted

Gilbertti is absent as Tenay notes he is training for his bullrope match against Dusty, which is coming up next. Both teams brawl outside the ring for a few minutes until the bell rings, which makes no sense at all. They continue to brawl outside for another minute or so until they bring it into the ring. Diamond & Swinger use quick tags to neutralize Storm and this lasts for a few minutes. The fans are chanting for Storm as he gets destroyed. He fights back and eventually makes the tag to Harris. He runs wild until Swinger attacks him from behind. Harris regains control and heads up top for a crossbody block that gets two. Storm is still down in the corner as his partner fights both men. Storm comes back with a super kick on Diamond that gets two. Swinger hits Harris with a low blow and that allows Diamond to get a small package but that only gets two. Storm is placed on top and Diamond goes for a superplex and this leads to an awesome stacked superplex/powerbomb spot involving all four men. Gilbertti then comes out and distracts the ref as Swinger slides the belt to Diamond. Harris ends up kicking the belt into his face but Gilbertti pulls the ref out of the ring at two. The ref takes the belt to the table and Gilbertti hits Harris with the chair then he gets hit with the Problem Solver (DDT/Flapjack combo) and Diamond gets the win as he have new Tag-Team Champions (9:08) ***. Funny moment after the match as Borash fucks up and announces the winner as “America’s Most Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger.” Dusty comes out and the heels bail. He grabs the mic and calls this a bunch of “unadulterated bullshit” and orders Gilbertti to get back into the ring so he can kick his ass.

Thoughts: Good match and it made sense for AMW to lose the belts. Now, they can chase Diamond & Swinger to regain them. These teams have awesome chemistry.

 

Bullrope Match

Dusty Rhodes vs. Glen Gilbertti

A loud chant for Dusty breaks out. Gilbertti backtracks but Dusty takes him down with a bionic elbow. He punches away then chokes him out. Gilbertti goes outside but Dusty pulls him back and he comes back inside. Gilbertti is busted up as Dusty grinds the cowbell into his head. Gilbertti goes low and imitates Dusty’s offense but ends up walking into an elbow. Dusty grabs his personal bellrope but Christopher Daniels attacks him from behind and Gilbertti covers for the win (4:55) *. After the match, Daniels goes back in the ring and assaults Dusty. Chris Harris runs out for the save and takes out both men until Diamond and Gilbertti come out. Jarrett then runs out and takes out the heels with a guitar.

Thoughts: Not as bad as you would think. Gilbertti sold well for Dusty and it was a fine segment.

 

Tenay is with Mad Mikey. He asks him why he was mad and asks if he had a traumatic childhood. He talks about his wrestling background and how he was trained by Mae Young. He tells Tenay that even though his hand might be his girlfriend, he will have gold around his waist soon. He closes by throwing a tantrum. This is starting to get old.

 

Taylor is with 3 Live Kru. He asks if they are high and they confirm. The tag champs and Gilbertti interrupt and Jarrett takes out Gilbertti with a guitar. Great.  

 

A video airs hyping an upcoming appearance of Roddy Piper. Apparently, he is pissed.

 

Tenay plugs the show next week, which will feature the “Super X” Tournament, featuring Teddy Hart, Jonny Storm, Juventud Guerrera, Nosawa, Jerry Lynn, Frankie Kazarian, Michael Shane, and Chris Sabin.

 

A hype video for Raven airs.

 

World Heavyweight Title Match

Raven vs. AJ Styles w/Vince Russo

Both guys start by trading off stuff. Raven grabs a few near-falls then goes for the Raven Effect but AJ escapes. Raven boots AJ through the ropes and he tosses him back into the ring. Suplex gets two. Raven tosses AJ over the top rope then slams his head off the steel steps. He whacks AJ with a trashcan, busting him open, then takes him into the guardrail with several side Russian legsweeps. Russo complains to the ref as both guys to back into the ring. AJ hits the Phenomenon in sloppy fashion then we see CM Punk and Julio carry Russo backstage. They slug it out until AJ takes Raven down with an enziguiri. AJ takes control of the match. AJ hits a springboard rana then starts kicking Raven in the back. He puts Raven in a deathlock/chinlock combo but he is able to crawl to the ropes. AJ grabs a chair and steals Raven’s drop toehold spot. AJ gets frustrated as he cannot put Raven then has the chair bounced off his head. Raven fires away and gets a few nearfalls as the crowd awakes. AJ leaps off the chair and springs off the top rope but Raven hits him in the face with the chair. Raven gets two off that then hits the Styles Clash but Sinn disrupts the count. Raven kicks out of a DDT then dodges a dropkick that sends Sinn off the apron. He goes for the Raven Effect but AJ rams him into the corner and into the referee. Slash comes out with powder but Raven kicks it into his face and Slash ends up accidentally hitting AJ with a helicopter slam. Raven clotheslines him to the floor and covers but only gets two. Raven goes for a superplex but Douglas shoves him off the top rope but he is able to powerbomb AJ as he leaps from the top rope and that gets two. Raven fights off everyone until Douglas hits a low blow and AJ hits the Styles Clash for the win (15:02) ***3/4. After the match, James Mitchell is shown laughing on the ramp. Chris Harris, accompanied by D’Lo Brown, runs down and grabs the mic and says he is sick of everything. Storm is selling his injury from the previous match. He is also not going to let them screw Raven out of the championship and orders the ref to restart the match or to reverse the decision. Diamond & Swinger run out as does Daniels and they bet on Raven until Jarrett runs out and the ring clears. Watts comes off too and says that next week, they will have a Wargames match that will also involve weapons. He will also be the special referee. Dusty comes out and promotes the match as a bloody mess. The show closes with everyone brawling in the ring.

Thoughts: A really good match. Some of the spots were really clunky but it had great heat. The end result will be the main event for the next show, which was taped after this show.

 

Final Thoughts: TNA is continuing to put on good shows. They actually seem to have a direction and have an intriguing show next week featuring X Division talent. Next week’s show has some incredible matches too.