by The Dames

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NWA:TNA Week 17

It’s been a weird few days since I last BROUGHT THE CONTENT~! on Sunday Night, covering the WWE No Mercy PPV. After the abomination that was Raw, fan interest in WWE is decreasing at an exponential rate and I can’t say that I blame them.

Coming off of the heels of a PPV that contained not only the Match of the Year, but an inspired performance out of the Undertaker, Raw delivered the most offensive, disgusting angle many wrestling fans have ever seen. Vince McMahon has said for years that WWE would never and has never done murder, rape and other offensive topics in their storylines. In one fell swoop, he did them all. Now, while JHawk covered it all in detail in his Raw Report, I couldn’t help but give my two cents in this matter.

I’m sure that I’m simply reiterating the thoughts and feelings of most wrestling fans, but it needs to be said. Necrophilia does not and never will have a place in professional wrestling. The Kane/HHH/Katie Vick angle was horrendous to begin with and was taken to a level where absolutely no one wanted it to go, except for maybe the McMahon’s. Offending not only loyal longtime WWF/E fans, but practically the entire locker room, it seems that WWE is finally catching the heat for an angle that if proposed by any member of the writing staff, they should have been fired for.

The person who I feel is catching the most undeserved amount of heat for this situation is Raw head Brian Gewirtz. Based on all of the reports that have been coming in from various wrestling websites, it seems the only people pleased with the angle is Vince and Stephanie McMahon, who undoubtedly hold more say over the product that Gewirtz does. It’s even been reported that WWE producer Kevin Dunn, a man who is involved in practically every aspect of WWE production and is certainly an invaluable member of WWE, thought up the angle. So while the McMahon’s and Dunn get away with murder, Gewirtz gets all of the heat for being the figurehead writer of Raw, despite having to accommodate the wishes of his superiors. Playing conspiracy theory in my mind, I’d go as far as to say that Stephanie has pretty much allowed Paul Heyman to make Smackdown his own because it makes her as GM look good while she allows HHH to make Raw his personal playground. If you were writing Raw, had a depleted roster, three higher ups with sick, perverted minds and a star wrestler who is in their pocket, speaking up for yourself is career suicide.

On that note, there are just a few quick things before we start the recap.

Last week on NWA:TNA, during the Rick/Chris Michaels vs. Storm and Harris match, I said this:
“Rick Michaels keeps mouthing something about being 5 time tag champ for some reason on the way down the ramp”. Reader Thomas Green pointed out to me that Rick Michaels was already a 4-time NWA tag team champion with TNA wrestler David Young.

SmartMarkForum member Corey Lazarus corrected me as well as I confused the Ministry of Darkness with the Disciples of the New Church. Eh, two demonic stables...I got confused. You happy? Thanks, Corey, I appreciate it.

Also, WWE Survivor Series tickets go on sale this Saturday at Madison Square Garden. As of the current moment, no one I know is interested in going, so buy me tickets and I’ll go with ya!

Oh, lets start the damn PPV already.

Same place, same announcers.

GRAPHICS~! show the matches for tonight! Scott Hall, The Truth and Curt Hennig don’t have any cool motion graphics.....they just show some slow footage.

5 Way Elimination match to determine the Number 1 Contender for the X-Division title: Red vs. Kid Kash vs. Jose Maximo vs. Joel Maximo vs. Elix Skipper.

Match Background: We haven’t seen some of these guys in at least two weeks. Last time we saw Elix Skipper, he was making Red feel his wrath in Week 14. The SAT’s (The Maximo’s) lost in their first shot at the NWA tag team titles against Storm and Harris in Week 15. Kid Kash lost in the 4-way elimination IronMan match from Week 15 as well. Kash and the SAT’s also participated in the Anything Goes Ladder Match at the end of Week 15 to crown a new X Division champ that saw Syxx-Pac get the title.

The Match: According to Tenay, this match is under Lucha Libre rules. The match starts with Elix and Jose Maximo pairing off while the other three battle in the corner. Skipper places Jose on the top rope and dropkicks him out of the ring. Joel alley oops Red over his head, allowing him to dropkick Skipper and Kash out of the ring. Joel baseball slides them both as his brother Jose clotheslines Red, who was about to go for a highspot. Then, Jose Maximo hits a spot that I HATE, nailing a suicide dive to the outside onto Kash, Skipper and his own brother. Why do I hate that spot? It’s pretty simple...the guys are just standing there, so it looks set up AND you end up hitting your own teammates! With those four men on the outside, Red hits a somersault Tope Con Hilo onto all four men. Kash then goes into the ring and does the same. See, that doesn’t bother me as much because as far as Kash is concerned, he’s not friends with anyone while the SAT’s (Red, Jose and Joel) are a 3 man team, regardless of the elimination stips. Kash and Jose are in the ring now and Jose puts Kid Kash in a Gory Special as Red comes into the ring. Joel takes Red and places him on Jose’s arms, going behind his brother and yanking on Red in a camel clutch! Basically both Red and Kash are being stretched by the SAT’s in a weird pretzel. Skipper comes into the ring and puts a camel clutch on Joel to make it one BIG pretzel. Skipper lets go and ends up dropkicking everyone down! Joel botches a flying head scissors (of course) and follows that up with a nice German suplex with bridge for a two count. Joel gets a decent head scissors off on Kid Kash, but Kash retaliates with a dropkick sending Joel out of the ring! Kash then runs up the turnbuckle and dives onto Joel on the outside, hitting a hurancanrana! Kash then hits a tornado DDT onto Joel coming off of the announce table! Meanwhile, in the ring, Red and Jose do they can to PISS ME OFF by not working as a team, like they should. Think about it...if you’re a three man team, you take out Kash and Skipper first and THEN go at it amongst yourselves! Jose and Red counter each others manuevers until Red comes off the top, but Jose gets him with a midair Rydien Bomb for a two count broken up by Skipper! West asks Tenay to explain the Lucha rules again and I actually admire West’s desire to learn. Basically if one team member gets thrown to the floor, any member of that respective team (or any competitor in an elimination match) can come in to replace him without a tag, leading to a Tornado style tag team match. Jose gets a ‘rana on Skipper for two. Jose perches himself on the top rope, in the middle of the ring between the turnbuckles, but Elix kicks him in the head to keep him there. Skipper then WALKS THE ROPE to reach him and ‘ranas him for a CLOSE two count! Kash flies back in, literally, hitting a top rope clothesline on Skipper for two. Prime Time hits a gutwrench suplex on Kash before tossing him with a double underhook overhead belly to belly! Red breaks up the cover and hits a roundhouse on Skipper, sending him to the outside. Red goes to the top for an offensive move on Kash, but Kash pops up and runs to the top, ala Kurt Angle, executing his patent SUPER BODYSLAM~! off the top! Kash goes for it again to Joel Maximo, who’s on the top rope, but Kash is clotheslined off! Joel goes for the cover but JOSE MAXIMO saves Kash. They start brawling in the corner PISSING ME OFF some more. Jose gets a Tornado DDT on Joel, but Skipper breaks it up. Skipper and Jose start brawling in the ring....but Skipper unleashes his Play of the Day PERFECTLY on the skinnier Maximo to score the pin! Jose is eliminated! See, that’s why I said to work together! As we see a replay of the Play of the Day, Elix NAILS a Corkscrew Plancha onto Joel and Kash on the outside! Skipper is a HOUSE EN FUEGO~! getting Joel with a head scissors coming back INTO the ring! As Elix bounces off the ropes, Red comes out of NOWHERE with a 619 to Elix’s BACK in a new variation, leading into the Maximo Explosion (Sitdown Kyrptonite Krunch) by Joel for the pin! TEAMWORK BABY! Kash gets a ‘rana on Joel, followed by the Money Maker (Double Underhook Sitdown Vertical Piledriver) that looked like it KILLED Joel for the pin! Damn, it really looked like Joel’s neck could have been broken with that move. This leaves Red and Kash in the ring....and they immediately botch something, I don’t know what it was even supposed to be. Kash bodyslams Red and hits a legdrop for two. Red comes back with a ‘rana and roundhouse to the head. Red comes off the top with a move I can only describe a Tornado suplex for a cover, but Kash’s foot was on the rope. Kash hits a springboard corkscrew somersault on Red for a two count. Red goes for his Code Red, but it looks like Kash didn’t realize it and just went with a sunset flip attempt. They go for a contrived sequence of nearfalls with no man getting the duke. Kash hits The Bank Roll (Fisherman’s Buster ONTO HIS OWN KNEE) for TWO! Seriously, that move looks even better than the Money Maker and should be protected. Kash argues with the ref some and then gets a springboard cross body with a frogsplash motion for extra velocity...this gets TWO! Kash goes to belly to back Red off the top, but Red elbows him off and hits the InfraRed off the top for the pin!

My Opinion: Could have been higher, but a lot of the moves were very contrived and some were just plain ol’ sloppy. Also the brother vs. brother aspect hurt the psychology of the match. Kash’s finishers are AWESOME but Red kicking out of them (except for the Money Maker, which he didn’t get on Red) really hurt the credibility of those moves. So, Red gets the title shot next week. **1/4.

YES! My dancing girl is BACK! As I look at her fine, fine self, Tenay talks about the auction being held at NWATNA.com where proceeds to reward of the DC sniper. Looks like they’ve caught his ass too.....GOOD, give him DEATH! Better than that...leave him in a desert field while 20 military trained sharpshooters have target practice with his ass.

In the back, Goldy is trying to interview Brian Lawler, but he’s too busy looking outside the arena doors. TNA really has audio problems when it comes to segments like these as the audio is silent to start the interview for the second week in a row. Lawler is agitated, but then politely asks Goldy to end the interview. On a pretty funny note....Lawler was wearing an old WWF NY jersey, with the logo taken out.

Recap of the Tag Title Situation from last week.

James Storm and Chris Harris vs. The Hot Shots for the NWA World Tag Team Titles:

Match Background: Tenay FINALLY answered my question about Storm and Harris. They didn’t win the tag titles in Week 3 (which I didn’t see) the first time because the Hotshots left them laying in the back, stopping them from competing. ALL this time I was wondering how they were “undefeated” if they didn’t win the tag titles the first time. Also, last week, after retaining their tag titles against Rick and Chris Michaels, The Hotshots came in, administering a beating on the tag team champs.

The Match: The Hotshots actually have some decent music. They are Chase Stevens, who looks like a shorter, thinner Shane Douglas and Cassidy O’Reilly, who looks somewhat like a thinner, younger Johnny Ace. Basically they look like the Dynamic Dudes 2k2, but they’re heels. Storm and Harris charge the ring, not even bothering to do their pre-match antics or take off their garb before attacking The Hotshots. It would be pretty damn funny if Storm shot his fake guns at them just to scare the hell out of em. As Stevens and Harris battle on the outside, Storm gets some separation from O’Reilly, clotheslining him off the top, allowing him to take off his jacket, title and six shooters. Storm goes back to the outside and starts whipping O’Reilly in the back with a leather belt. Storm whips O’Reilly into the guard rail where he takes a pretty nice bump off of it. O’Reilly tries to come off of the guard rail with a ‘rana......but it LOOKS like he messed up and Storm just powerbombs him on the outside. Now THAT is turning a negative into a positive. Storm suplexes O’Reilly on the floor and his back MUST be screamin! Harris is UNLEASHING HATRED~! on Stevens, who is channeling Douglas with his selling! Back in the ring finally, Storm and Harris are still in control of the Dudes. Stevens goes through this WHOLE elaborate Irish whip sequence JUST so that O’Reilly could trip up Harris. The Hotshots pull Harris down by the hair in a spot that looked like Harris was uncooperative for a moment. They then doubleteam him with a roll through move that looked WAY too choreographed. Stevens puts on a Single leg crab, but it looks like Stevens can’t hold onto the leg. Geez guy, the move’s not THAT hard to pull off! Harris gets a clothesline and goes for the tag, but is cut off by O’Reilly. Harris ends up getting a decent spear on him before making the HOT tag to Storm! STORM IS A HOUSE EN FUEGO~! as he takes on both men! Storm drop toe holds Stevens, who ends up falling head first into the crotch of O’Reilly in a spot that didn’t look too good. Storm is finally disposed as Stevens throws him over the top. West actually sounds like Yukon Cornelius while he says “Harris and Storm have NEVER been beaten!” Kudos to anyone who knows who Yukon is. Harris says, “OK.....YOU’RE DEAD” by picking Stevens up for the Catatonic, but as he turns to complete the move, O’Reilly gets a NICE superkick on Harris! Stevens is on top for the pin.....ONE.....TWO........NO! As Stevens and Storm brawl in the ring, Harris clotheslines O’Reilly down off the top rope to the floor! Storm gets Stevens and hooks him in a spinning tilt a whirl face plant called the Eight Second Ride for the pin! Cool move!

My Opinion: Harris and Storm are really developing into a good team. Some nice false finishes, but once again, some things were just too contrived. For the most part, it was a squash by Storm and Harris, but it was solid. **

A recap of the Lynn-Siaki recap is shown. Pretty well done, except they quote the line “Sonny Siaki starts at the top.....Sonny Siaki Finishes at the top” FOUR TIMES in the short promo. Can you say overkill?

Goldy interviews Lynn about tonights match. Pretty mediocre interview.....but after Lynn leaves, Lawler gets all up in the camera like Heather in Blair Witch asking anyone if they’ve seen his girl, April. Why can’t HE get lost in the woods?

Jerry Lynn vs. Sonny Siaki:

Match Background: This all started in Week 12, when Sonny Siaki cost Jerry Lynn the NWA title against The Truth when he was X Division champ. They’ve had some backstage altercations, which ended up as 2 on 1 attacks on Lynn because of AJ Styles. Siaki tried to cost Lynn the X title against Styles in Week 14, but the interference backfired as the decision was reversed. In Week 15, a brawl between Siaki and Lynn led to a knee injury which forced the NWA committee to vacate the X Division title. Last week, Lynn issued a challenge to Siaki to settle this matter once and for all before getting into two pullapart brawls. The blowoff....is tonight!

The Match: Siaki has the SECOND best theme in NWA:TNA....then Lynn limps out to the WORST music in NWA:TNA. Lynn immediately pulls Siaki out of the ring and begins brawling with him, limping the whole time, like a DAMN good seller! Siaki goes for a double leg takedown, but Lynn leg presses him off up and over the guard rail! Lynn dives over the top onto Siaki in the crowd! Lynn throws Siaki in the ring finally and goes for a bodyslam, but his leg gives out as Siaki falls on top of him for a cover. Siaki starts working on that leg, with repeated elbowdrops. Some MORE work to the knee....GO SONNY! Siaki with a single leg crab and I LOVE IT. Lynn gets to the ropes to break the hold and Siaki does. Sonny on the apron now, goes for a shoulder block to the midsection, but Jerry counters with a legdrop to the head! YES....LYNN IS SELLING THE LEG! Siaki recovers and wraps Lynn’s leg around the ring post a few times. The psychology in this match is TIGHT. Siaki gets a shin breaker on Lynn, but the second attempt is turned into a sunset flip for two. Lynn goes for a crucifix on Siaki and gets two. As Lynn misses a lariat on Siaki, Sonny clips the leg! Siaki looks to put on a submission hold...but he can’t get on it right. Finally he does....and its the OWEN LOCK~! The Indian Deathlock style maneuver that Owen Hart used at Wrestlemania X against Bret! Siaki gets a two count off of it as Lynn’s shoulders are down....but he’s finally able to break the hold. Siaki clips Lynn again and works the leg again! Deathlock plus a double armbar on Lynn by Siaki! I LOVE THIS! Siaki drives Lynn’s knee into the mat a few more times as Lynn is selling like a mofo! Spinning Toe Hold by Siaki is reversed as Lynn throws him towards the turnbuckles chest first with his good leg! Lynn with a roll up for the win! After the match, Siaki gets up and goes RIGHT BACK ON THE LEG like a GOOD heel before refs are able to get him off! Lynn charges Siaki and Sonny bails as Lynn collapses in the ring!

My Opinion: The match ended too abruptly as Lynn didn’t get much offense in at all. Siaki brought his A game tonight. I honestly wanted this one to go longer, looked to be a *** affair, at least. A little psychology can go a LONG way, let me tell ya. Siaki ended up looking good in defeat. Doesn’t look like this issue is over....**3/4

As my cutie shakes that thang, Tenay states that next week Bullet Bob Armstrong will make an announcement regarding the title matches that occurred last week. Knowing his track record in TNA, someone’s getting stripped.

Recap of the Truth-Hennig match from last week.

Hennig and BG James come to the ring to do a promo. “Perfect” chant by the crowd. Hennig grabs THE STICK~! and talks about how wrestlers have always tried to be like him. He even says “remember that one mark, Diamond Dallas Page, who tried to steal my gimmick? Remember him?” I wonder what that’s all about. He claims that Jeff Jarrett has been a Curt Hennig wannabe for years. He brings up The West Texas Rednecks and Rap is Crap! He claims that after Rap is Crap went Gold, Jarrett picked up a guitar and tried to be a country singer. I think Hennig’s got his timetable seriously wrong as Jarrett’s gimmick started in ’95, YEARS before Rap is Crap. Hennig asks for a close up.....and HOLY FATNESS....the weight gain is VERY apparant. “I’m the guy who took Brock Lesnar at 35,000 feet!” Wow...he brought up the plane ride! He challenges Jarrett for next week, putting over the incident that got him fired from WWE again. Decent interview. Jarrett’s music starts up, but no one shows up. Goldy is backstage with Lawler and Jarrett and it seems as if JJ is pressuring Lawler to come to the ring with him, but Lawler refuses because he’s still looking for April.

BG starts cutting a promo on Lawler, responding to the trashcan shot from last week. He doesn’t say anything of substance.

Hall comes to the ring....unscheduled. GREAT sign in the crowd “Hey Hall, I know a good sitter!” The fans start a “Hey Yo” chant before he finally obliges them with it. He says he’s trying to be a good boy....and then COMPLETELY flubs a line, but doesn’t really let it phase him. He wants Jarrett now, so he’ll get him now.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Hall:

Match Background: In the beginning of Week 15, when Jeff Jarrett informed the crowd that Scott Hall wasn’t showing up tonight, he made some comments about Hall’s personal demons. This prompted tonight’s match up, although this isn’t the first time they’ve wrestled. In the Gauntlet for the Gold in Week One, Hall eliminated Jarrett with the help of country singer Toby Keith. They wrestled each other in Week 2 with Hall getting the win there and again in a Stretcher Match in Week 7 with Jarrett evening up the score. And of course, Jeff Jarrett and Scott Hall traded the IC title (RIP) a few times in WWE becoming the first three and four time IC champs in the fed’s history at the time, a record that was broken by Jeff Jarrett and one he still holds.

The Match: Bunch of right hands by Hall to start. After a slow chase around the ring, JJ lays the boots into Hall as he gets in the ring. West actually brings up a good point saying that if Hennig wins the title tonight, next weeks match with JJ will be for the title. Hall gets his Contractually Obligated Fallaway Slam and then they start brawling in the crowd with trashcans and chairs. Back in the ring now, Hall goes for the Razor’s Edge, but JJ backdrops him over the top rope to the floor. Tenay says thats because JJ is familiar with Hall.....but Hall should know by now not to try the damn move near the ropes! JJ posts Hall and then nails him in the midsection with a chair. Hall just looks bored in the ring...he’s not even trying to sell. JJ with a face plant....choke against the ropes...and then goes for THE STRUT~! but opts not to. Hall with a brief comeback, but JJ gets a swinging neckbreaker to take over again. JJ gets a sleeper on Hall....and Hall starts doing his Frankenstein impression that he uses to mock the Big Show to sell that he needs to go to the ropes. Wow, a close up of his midsection shows just how many pounds he’s packed on. JJ goes for a hiptoss, but its blocked by Hall who then counters with a chokeslam! Both guys go down, but JJ gets up first and goes for a cover for two. JJ accidentally clotheslines the ref and bails to the outside where he gets a steel chair. He hits Hall on the top of the head (lightly), but the ref is out. Hennig in.....and Jarrett BUMPS OFF A PUNCH~!.....He does it again! The lights go completely out! The Truth starts cutting a promo from the back, shown on the ‘Tron at the ramp. When the lights come back on, Brian Lawler attacks Hennig from behind before BG comes out to save. Lawler runs away (like a girl) and JJ goes for the Stroke on Hennig, but its blocked with two low blows! Hall goes for the Razor’s Edge....drops him, but goes for it again and gets it for the pin!

My Opinion: The match was pretty much all Jarrett. Hall looks VERY unmotivated out there. The overbooking didn’t help either. Hall has pretty much lost all of his value. When the lights went out, I was expecting someone NEW to come out. *3/4.

Recap of Lawler attacking BG James last week.

BG James vs. Brian Lawler:

Match Background: These two have been on opposite teams for the past few weeks. After interfering on Jeff Jarrett’s behalf last week, nailing BG in the head with a trashcan, this match was signed.

The Match: Lawler is out first, spitting his gum at people, ripping up signs and being a dick in general. Hey, he ripped up that awesome Hall sign! Lawler starts brawling with BG when he gets in the ring. Lawler dives at BG, but he steps out of way, causing Lawler to fall over the top in the most cartoonish way possible. BG crotches Lawler on the guardrail.....which he oversells even MORE cartoonishly. He knocks BG down, grabs the mic and asks the audience if anyone’s seen April. Sign in the crowd: “April is my Ho”. He nails BG with the mic and goes for a piledriver on the outside, but BG backdrops him.....and Lawler falls RIGHT ON HIS HEAD! Looks like he’s ok. Chairshot and Lawler oversells it. Lawler sends BG into the steel steps and goes for a steel chair in the audience. The same crazy woman from Week 9 and 10 who refuses to give Lawler her chair starts fighting with him again. Eventually, he gets someone else’s chair and taunts her for it. She’s wearing a Rock T-shirt. This distraction allows BG to get the chair and nail him with it. Back in the ring, BG gets some right hands and goes for the Pumphandle slam (sans the Hump), but is reversed. Lawler comes back with a superkick! He goes to the top for the Hip Hop Drop when April and Syxx-Pac go to the top of the ramp and start kissing. This causes Lawler to crotch HIMSELF on the top rope, allowing BG to get the win. BG then holds Lawler by the legs as he watches ‘Pac and April kissing....and Lawler starts “crying” as overdramatic as you can get, going as far as trying to get comfort by the refs.


My Opinion: TOO much silliness in the match. Think Lawler will interfere in the X title match? Lawler is the worst actor....ever. ¼*

Some highlights from last week’s X title match is shown.

AJ Styles (w/ Mortimer Plumtree) vs. Syxx-Pac for the X title in a no DQ match:

Match Background: Two weeks ago, when Syxx-Pac was talking to Low-Ki backstage, AJ Styles confronted ‘Pac, telling him that he (AJ) should be his favorite wrestler in TNA because he can do things that ‘Pac wasn’t able to do in his prime. That sparked ‘Pac to cause AJ the X title in the Anything Goes X Division Ladder match that night and winning the title for himself. Last week, they met in the ring in a match that was ended by DQ after ‘Pac shoved a ref. This is the rematch.

The Match: Ya know, it’s pretty funny to see the dancing girls try to dance to all of the lame theme music. Sign in the crowd “Necrophilia turns Syxx-Pac on”. Well, you know it turns on other members of the Kliq. ‘Pac gets on THE STICK~! and thinks that a DQ in an X-title match is garbage...so he wants it to be DQ...but no interference or Plumtree is going to get his ass whipped. Plumtree’s reaction is priceless! He’s with the commentators and Tenay asks him “who invited you out here?” “I INVITED MYSELF! I OWN THE RIGHT TO SIT HERE!” Styles and ‘Pac go for a test of strength....but AJ crotch chops him instead....and he’s so proud of himself, its HI-larious! Plumtree: “You can’t have a decent match with that man!” I can’t stop laughing! Go behind by AJ leads to ‘Pac leading AJ out of the ring. ‘Pac with a somersault Tope immediately! Back in the ring, ‘Pac with a spinning heel kick and Styles is selling like a damn CHAMP. ‘Pac with a Surfboard on Styles. The first time I ever saw a Surfboard was on WWF Superstars when he was the 1-2-3 Kid, by the way. ‘Pac’s shoulders were down on the Surfboard, having to break the hold or lose. In the corner now.....LOUD ASS CHOP by ‘Pac! Styles headscissors ‘Pac out as Plumtree talks about all of the reasons ‘Pac was fired from every organization to begin with. Baseball slide is caught by ‘Pac who drops AJ on the guardrail, throat first. ‘Pac tries to throw the steel steps at Styles but misses. Styles crotches ‘Pac on the post, as it always happens. Back in the ring.....SPIRAL TAP BY STYLES~!! ONE.....TWO......NO! WTF!!! It looked like the ref (Scott Armstrong) slowed his count too. Plumtree: “What, do we need a remedial arithmatic class for the Armstrongs?” AJ with a Surfboard stretch, reversed by ‘Pac. AJ drop toe holds Syxx-Pac to get out and puts the hold right back on. He escapes and goes for a clothesline, misses and AJ gets his quebrada into reverse DDT combo for a two! AJ misses a dropkick and ‘Pac comes back with two spinning wheel kicks and then counters a ‘rana attempt into a sit out powerbomb for two! Bronco Buster by ‘Pac...but he gets too cocky as he celebrates on the turnbuckle and is powerbombed down. ‘Pac reversed a pin attempt into the X-Factor for the ONE.....TWO.....Plumtree pulled the ref out! ‘Pac pulls Plumtree onto the apron as AJ tries to attack from behind, running into Plumtree! Northern Lights suplex by ‘Pac for two! ‘Pac comes off the top....but AJ catches him with a go-behind and hits a German suplex for a VERY close two count! Styles with a cross body off the top, but ‘Pac rolls through for a two count! ‘Pac with a powerbomb attempt with is countered by a Styles Clash attempt! AJ can’t quite hook it on.....’Pac goes to the ropes....but Brian Lawler hits him with a beer can in the head....AJ gets the Styles Clash for the win and the X title!! Plumtree is ecstatic!! ‘Pac actually raises the hand of Styles in an act of sportsmanship. Styles is an AWESOME heel.....as his hand is raised, he sneaks the X title over to Brian Lawler who brains ‘Pac with it and returns it to the champ.

My Opinion: Much better match than last week. Lawler’s interference was predictable. No more bitching from me about the X division, especially since ‘Pac did put on some good matches with Styles. Well, unless Ace Steel gets the title. Oh man, Mortimer Plumtree is such an entertaining character. ***.

Ace Steel vs. Jorge Estrada:

Match Background: None.

The Match: Lets see how many spots Ace can blow tonight! Ace doesn’t come out with Plumtree as he’s too busy celebrating with Styles. Hell, I’d stick with Styles over Steel ANYDAY. Priscilla’s outfit is skintight....and she’s a little chunky. Both men ride each other on the mat (oh, not like that you pervs) and exchange hammerlocks. Irish whip sequence ends in Ace hiptossing Estrada into the ropes....and it didn’t look good. Estrada catches Steel in a leapfrog and drops him to the mat for two. West actually distinguishes Steel’s “power” style as compared to everyone else’s style in the division. Vertical suplex by the Elvis impersonator gets two. Steel turns a head scissors attempt into a side slam....and it DID look good. See, I can give him props! Steel dropkicks a sitting Estrada off the second rope and then sends him to the outside. Suicide Dive by Steel....and he didn’t blow it! Priscilla goes to check on her man, but Steel throws her down. Estrada goes for the back bodydrop into DDT that Matt Hardy would do on the outside but does it quite sloppily. Arabian Press by Estrada misses. Steel hits a splash from the outside in and it looked pretty good, I’ve got to admit. Steel’s selling is pretty bad though...he doesn’t really show pain, he just makes noise and pauses. Superplex by Steel gets two. Estrada gets a few lariats to comeback. Steel goes for the Twist of Kane AND sets it up correctly this time, but Estrada counters it with a Trip to Graceland attempt, but THAT is reversed into a Northern Lights suplex by Steel for two! A second one gets two as he holds onto the Estrada. Priscilla grabs hold of Steel’s leg as he’s whipped to the ropes and trips him. Estrada comes from behind with a roll up for the win! Mortimer Plumtree comes running out of NOWHERE and Steel ambushes Estrada after the match. Priscilla tries to take out Plumtree but he shoves her down and doesn’t get to do much before security arrives. Intergender tag match next week!

My Opinion: The match was sloppy, yet the best match that Steel has had yet, so go figure. Plumtree rules. That is all. *1/4.

Turns out that this bid on NWATNA is for TNA related prizes, such as a day at the announce booth at a broadcast, ring announcing or a dinner with a certain wrestler. Sounds pretty cool if ya ask me. Too bad I’m broke.

Syxx-Pac comes to the ring and grabs...THE STICK~! He gives props to AJ Styles for winning the title because it was No DQ and it was something he asked for. Wow, he actually put him over. He then turns his attention to April, who he calls “a nice piece of ass”. He calls Lawler out to fight over her....but when Lawler comes out, he’s too sad to accept his challenge. I actually like that, except for the overacting....Since she doesn’t love him, it doesn’t matter if he wins or not.

April then comes out and bad acting ensues. She tells Lawler that she loves HIM and that ‘Pac forced her to do it, despite going along with it. This ENRAGES Lawler who comes RUNNING down the ramp and takes down ‘Pac. ‘Pac: “Why you no good lying bitch!” Lawler: “I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!!” and they have a pullapart.

I actually liked this angle....because its somewhat realistic. NECROPHILIA is NOT REALISTIC!

West pimps next week’s matches and has just two heart attacks this week.

Ron “The Truth” Killings vs. Curt Hennig for the NWA World Title:

Match Background: Two weeks ago, Curt Hennig was the mystery partner for a 6-man tag that involved The Truth. He defeated him with the Hennig-Plex, earning a title shot. Last week, in the main event, they met for the NWA title but the match was marred in controversy. Tons of interference led to The Truth believing that the match was over, when in fact, the ref had ordered it to continue. This infuriated Killings who began attacking everyone, including ring announcer Jeremy Borash and NWA committee member, Bullet Bob Armstrong. He demanded that Truth wrestle or be stripped. While this happened, Jarrett interfered by low blowing Hennig and Truth got a quick win. This is the rematch.

The Match: The Truth comes in and starts rapping a few lines....more of an extended version of what he serenaded the crowd with last week after retaining. Hennig runs into the ring and they start quickly, with Hennig getting two atomic drops and then some chops in. Rolling neck snap on Truth and he bails to the outside. Some more brawling on the outside with The Truth taking over by the announce booth. Killings goes for a Booker T-like side kick and ends up crotching himself on the guard rail. OW!!!! Truth starts choking Hennig with a camera cable....like a GOOD heel! PELVIC THRUST to the crowd! HEEL IT UP TRUTH! The brawling is pretty damn boring though. Back in the ring finally, Truth gets a 2nd rope legdrop on Hennig...but its not nearly as effective as the YODELING 2nd rope legdrop! He hits a scissors kick on Hennig and then a FIST DROP~! off the 2nd rope! Hennig’s comebacks are VERY uninspired, unemotional. Even his chops lack that flair that it used to have, pun intended. Truth with a forearm smash...and a COCKY PIN~!!! Hennig gets an anklelock on Truth (!) but Killings gets a rope break. Hennig is boring me to sleep here. He puts his Killing’s head between his legs for a piledriver....but just twists his hips in an effort to work the neck. Truth with some chops on the ropes....Hennig is all “NO POBO” and hits one back. Truth with some more....Hennig is then all “NO MOFO’IN POBO!” and low blows him! Hennig with a back bodydrop and then posts Killings. The masked man that has been attacking Truth for weeks now, Mr. Wrestling III, get on the apron and Hennig tosses him into the ring. What is Hennig’s beef? He knee lifts him, posts him and goes to unmask him, but Truth hits him in the back with a FOREIGN OBJECT~! for the pin!

My Opinion: Better than last week, but then again, anything would have been. Still seems like Hennig is unmotivated and is just phoning it in now that he’s getting national exposure again. As for Mr. Wrestling III, it could be anyone when he’s finally unmasked, just like the “Masked Bullet” so there’s no point in trying to guess who it is right now. ¾*

End of PPV. Disciples of New Church promo airs again....Evil Returns next week...and so do I!

Overall: One of the best shows in quite some time, but that isn’t really saying much. Now that AJ has the X title back, we’ll probably see the X Division matches that we were accustomed to. Everyone pretty much worked hard tonight except for Hall, Hennig, BG and Brian Lawler. As long as they could keep up that pace and have the veterans do more than just phone it in, they’ll be fine for now.

‘Til next week,

The Dames, Damian Gonzalez.

Any questions, comments, move descriptions, hate mail, fan mail, Survivor Series tickets, marriage proposals, job offers or anything else....send all e-mail to [email protected]

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