NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #14

October 2, 2002

Your announcers are Don West and Mike Tenay

 BG James and Syxx Pac come to the ring. Crowd is chanting for them as James states how they came to take care of business and that they are wily veterans. He tells Jarrett and Lawler to bring Skipper then proceeds to make some Gilligan’s Island references. How timely. He then tells Killings that if he is the future of wrestling, then the future sure his grim and states how he is the past and the present. Syxx Pac gets the mic and says NWA is sending Low-Ki against Killings to do the job that they should be doing. He gives Ki a backhanded compliment by saying how he isn’t ready for the belt now but will be one day. James now has the mic and makes references to the theme song from “Cops” as Killings comes out. Crowd loudly chants “overrated” at Killings as he calls James and Syxx Pac yesterday’s news. Syxx gets angry and says it’s not 1967 and he isn’t Dolemite and calls Killings “boy” before Jarrett comes out. I’ve never been happier to see Jarrett. He wants to know where the third member of “Team Derelict” is tonight. James defends Hall from Jarrett’s accusations of Hall dealing with “personal demons” as Tenay tries to act surprised that Hall is absent tonight. Jarrett says tonight it will be a handicapped match as Lawler and Skipper attack James and Syxx from behind but get tossed quickly. What an awful, long-winded segment. The promo work from James and Syxx Pac was terrible with loads of dated and lame references. By the end, the crowd, which was hot at the beginning, really died down.

Tenay runs down the card, with Low Ki vs. Ron Killings for the World Title. Also, he says they will try to get Scott Hall on the phone.

Amazing Red vs. Shark Boy

Tenay states that Shark Boy is a “Cult Favorite.” Crowd starts a chant for him as the two trade stuff on the mat. Elix Skipper joins the booth and is upset that he has been taken out of the main event as Tenay breaks the news that it will be Lawler & Jarrett vs. Syxx Pac & BG James. Skipper hints at racism by TNA management. His voice is the exact opposite of intimidating. Back to the match, Shark Boy gets a neckbreaker for two as Mortimer Plumtree is shown yet again on the ramp taking notes. Red dumps Shark Boy and pulls up on a diving attack as Shark Boy ran back in the ring. Codebreaker-type move by Shark Boy then he gets a missile dropkick for two. Shark Boy presses Red and throws him out of the ring as Skipper is still whining on commentary. Pescado by Shark Boy then he suplexes Red on the floor. Shark Boy goes back in the ring and gets a flipping senton that barely connetcted. He accidentally hits the announcers table and Red runs out of the ring and hits a somersault plancha. Back in the ring, Shark Boy gets a Superplex for two. Red leaps from the top and gets a neckbreaker for two. Shark Boy then gets the Dead Sea Drop for two as Skipper promises that someone will feel his wrath tonight. Mounted punches in the corner by Shark Boy. He tries the DSD again but Red blocks that and gets an inverted DDT. He goes up top and hits a corkscrew moonsault then the Red Star Press for the win (6:52) *3/4. After the match, Skipper runs in and beats on Red. He then beats up a few security guards until Don Harris runs in and breaks it up.

Thoughts: These two didn’t work particularly well with each other. A lot of the focus of this match was on Skipper, who is really not good at talking. It seemed that they were setting him up for a future match with Red, which is a more suitable position on the card than the main event. 

Video Recap of last week’s match between Jerry Lynn and Ron Killings. They went back to color and ditched the black-and-white format for this package.

Goldylocks is with Low Ki. He first calls out Syxx Pac then says how Killings is jealous of the X Division and promises that he will win the belt. This is easily the best promo I’ve heard from Low Ki.  

Ron Killings comes out as we were supposed to have a tag match. More “overrated” chants by the crowd as he calls out Low Ki and says he gave him the title shot because he feels sorry for him. Says he will have to kill him to beat him and orders him to the ring as the match will apparently start now.

NWA-TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match

Ron Killings (Champion) vs. Low Ki

Killings boots Low Ki as he enters the ring. He beats him against the ropes until Ki makes the comeback. Ki with stiff kicks to the chest and the head, causing Killings to roll outside. He sends Ki into the guardrail then yells at the crowd. Killings beats on Ki until he makes a comeback. Ki attempts to leap from the guardrail but Killings sends him into the third row with a leg lariat. That looked sweet. They brawl into the crowd and end up just outside the ramp. Killings sends him into the corner then proceeds to ram the equipment case into him, hitting his shoulder. He rolls Ki back inside and pins him, getting two. He tries another pinfall but the ref catches his feet on the ropes. Axe kick by Killings as Plumtree is back on the ramp taking notes. Ki kicks out of a surfboard but Killings uses a death lock/half-nelson combo as the crowd is chanting for Low Ki. Ki fights back but Killings knocks him down. Ki ducks an attack and nails Killings with a Rolling Koppu Kick as both men are down. Ki covers and gets two. He sells the shoulder but kicks the crap out of Killings. STO by Killings and he uses a double underhook on Ki who is lying on the mat. Ki kicks out of  a few pin attempts then is hit with a running powerslam, which gets two. Killings misses a 450 from the top rope and Ki fights back. Springboard kick by Ki gets two. Forearm smash gets two. Ki is selling his arm and ribs. Killings catches his crossbody attempt but Ki’s momentum takes him near the ropes and he manages to get Killings in the Hanging Dragon. Ki signals for the Ki Crusher but Killings shoves him in the corner. He puts Ki up top and hits a Muscle Buster for two. He goes for the Truth of Consequences but Ki blocks that and applies the Dragon Clutch. Truth fights out and gets a flying forearm. He goes up top but Ki nails him with an enziguri. They both fight on the top rope but Killings hits Ki in the ribs and gets the Truth Conviction (Sitout Gordbuster) for the win (12:58) ***1/4. After the match, Killings asks for his music to be cut as someone wearing a white sweatshirt, sweatpants, and mask runs in and attacks Killings. He beats on him then ducks out and runs into the crowd.

Thoughts: Good match. Killings works a lot better with Low Ki than he did with Jerry Lynn. Ki got in a decent amount of offense too. As far as the guy doing the run-in, it was brief and the guy was not easily identifiable. It is a bit intriguing I guess.  

Spanish Announce Team vs. Flying Elvises

Tenay notes how Siaki leaving the Elvises is addition by subtraction. Estrada and Jose start things out. Jose gets a terrible looking hurricarana then a dropkick. Basement dropkick gets two. Estrada gets some sort of springboard move that looked botched for two. Yang tags and gets a lariat. Spinkick to Joel and some Elvis posing. A dropkick that basically missed gets two. Jose gets a rana on Yang and tags out. Joel with a belly-to-belly then a corner splash. Back suplex gets two. Yang comes back with a neckbreaker and tags Estrada. Neckbreaker gets two. Tope con hilo gets two. Yang tags in and gets a moonsault kick. Joel dodges an attack and the Maximos mess up a sandwich dropkick. These guys are not on the same page at all. Another ugly double team move as Jose came up way short on the baseball slide. Joel runs into an elbow and Yang gets a moonsault block for two. Neckbreaker by Yang and both men are down. Sonny Siaki is on the ramp as Yang gets an enziguiri. Joel gets a DDT and both men are down yet again. Both men tag as Estrada cleans house. Rolling Fireman’s Carry into the springboard moonsault gets two. TCB gets two. He goes up top but misses a legdrop. Joel knocks Yang out of the ring as Jose beats on Estrada. Estrada tries a sunsetflip and Yang springboards off the ropes with a clothesline, that gets two. Jose gets a German Suplex for two. Off camera, Joel tosses Yang over the guardrail. Siaki is now on the apron asking for a tag. Estrada looks puzzled and goes for the tag but Siaki pulls away. Joel puts Estrada on his shoulders as Jose jumps off the top rope with a DDT for the win in a move called the Maximo Explosion (8:48) *1/2.

Thoughts: Very disappointing match. Lots of missed spots and these guys didn’t work well with each other at all. Jose Maximo in particular looked terrible. This give the SAT’s a shot at the titles next week and continues the feud between Siaki and the Elvises, which really isn’t a bad feud.

Goldylocks is with Siaki but he gets jumped by Jerry Lynn. AJ breaks it up and holds Lynn, allowing Siaki to beat him up. Styles yells stop it the entire time and tells Siaki to break it up. He shoves Lynn into an equipment case as AJ shuts it and sits on top, telling Siaki that he was lucky Bob Armstrong wasn’t around to see that. AJ was trying to be funny and show some personality and he did okay.

Sonny Siaki vs. David Young

Young is back from a tour of Japan. He is without Bobcat and they are trying to sell him as being focused as a result. Siaki lands a few shots but Young comes back with an armdrag. Hiptoss then a backdrop as Siaki ducks out. He sidesteps a baseball slide but Young blocks a quebrada attempt and hits one of his own. He rolls Siaki back in and gets two. Young dodges a backdrop and gets a rana for two. He drops his head and Siaki gets an uppercut. Neckbreaker gets two. He covers again and gets two. Young is put into the tree of Woe and Siaki charges at him twice. He covers and Young reaches the ropes. Young fights back and gets two off of a Northern Lights Suplex but gets taken down with a clothesline. Flipping legdrop gets two. They trade chops then Siaki sends him into a corner with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Young breaks a hold and gets a spinebuster but doesn’t go for the pin. He misses a moonsault off the top rope and Siaki finishes with the Money Clip for the win (6:11) *3/4.

Thoughts: Match was fine for what it was but Young is nothing more than a jobber. He isn’t a bad worker but no one bought him as a threat.

Video package of last week’s Tag-Title match. The ominous tones made this seem ridiculous. It was a crappy seven minute long match, not a back-and-forth epic encounter.

Goldylocks is out back with Ron Harris and an unnamed man (Ashley Hudson) with a mustache holding a boomerang and Australian flag. He tells James Storm and Chris Harris that he has a bounty out on them and questions is brother for stepping in last week, breaking their pact. Goldylocks questions him and he calls her a bitch and heads to the ring.

NWA-TNA Tag-Team Championship Match

“Wildcat” Chris Harris & James Storm (Champions) vs. Ron Harris & Ashley Hudson

Crowd chants “USA” at Hudson. West states that Lee is not here because Ron blamed him for losing last week, citing a lack of focus. Storm and Hudson start out. Hudson slaps Storm then bails. Hudson runs around and hits Storm when he enters the ring. Storm fights back then gets a flying headscissors. Wildcat tags and they use some nice double-team moves on Hudson. He hits Ron Harris but Hudson hits him from behind. Ron tags and Wildcat gets a few armdrags. Storm comes off top with a missile dropkick and Harris gets a crossbody for two. Ron regains control and tags Hudson. He lands a few shots but gets hit with an inverted atomic drop and a spear. Storm tags and beats on Hudson. He goes up top but Ron shakes the rope and Hudson gets a Superplex as a result. Ron tags and stomps on Storm. He hits a bunch of clotheslines in the corner. The heels use a lot of quick tags until Hudson misses a splash off the second rope. He misses an elbow drop and both men tag out. Wildcat beats on both men. Catatonic on Hudson but Ron breaks up the pin. Hudson holds up Wildcat for Ron but he ducks and Hudson gets nailed with the big boot and Wildcat gets the pin as Ron is upset (7:03) ¾*. After the match, Hudson is upset and Ron hugs it out with him but then attacks from behind. He tosses Borash off of his chair and hits Wildcat with the chair. He takes out several security guards until his brother Don comes out. They stand off and Don knocks him down. Security holds back Wildcat and Storm as Ron leaves the ring.

Thoughts: Since winning the belts, Storm & Harris have won all of their matches by luck. Ron Harris really sucks and the angle of him trying to win the tag belts and the feud between his brother is way too much. TNA needs to not focus on him anymore. No one cares about the Harris Brothers.

Goldylocks is backstage with Jerry Lynn. She asks for an update as he is holding the back of his neck. Estrada asks Goldy to leave as he and Yang console him.

NWA-TNA X-Division Championship Ladder Match

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn (Champion)

AJ hits Lynn immediately and works on the neck. Lynn fights back but is hit with a neckbreaker. AJ brings the ladder into the ring and lays Lynn on top. He gets a tope con hilo and taunts the crowd. He grabs a chair but Lynn kicks him off the apron. In a cool spot, Lynn dropkicks the ladder into the chair that AJ was holding. Lynn sets up the ladder but AJ stops him. Lynn then shoves the ladder on AJ and sets it up in the corner. AJ sends Lynn into the ladder. After a struggle, AJ gets a slam then climbs the ladder but takes too long and Lynn springboards off and powerbombs him. Mortimer Plumtree is back again scouting the X division as Lynn gets a discus clothesline. Lynn sets up the ladder between the top and middle rope but AJ catches him and dumps him on the ladder. As Lynn is laying across, AJ hits a springboard moonsault as a “Holy shit” chant breaks out. AJ climbs up the ladder and reaches for the belt but Lynn yanks him off with noe hand. That was a sick bump by AJ. Sonny Siaki is now watching from the ramp. Lynn charges at AJ with the ladder. Lynn attempts to climb the ladder but AJ hits him with a missile dropkick. Styles collapses the ladder and lays it across the guardrail and ring apron. Lynn lands on the apron following a backdrop and then suplexes AJ right on the ladder. Ouch. Lynn brings the ladder back into the ring and sets it up. AJ runs in and pushes the ladder but the referee got hit in the process and he is knocked out. Lynn blocks a chairshot and legdrops AJ onto the chair, busting open AJ. Lynn with mounted punches and he opens up the cut. West compares Lynn to Michael Jordan and Muhammed Ali for some reason as AJ tries to powerbomb Lynn off of the ladder. Lynn manages to counter it into a hurricarana then goes back to the ladder. He climbs but so does AJ and he gets a back suplex. Both men are climbing the opposite sides of the ladder and trade punches. Lynn then hits a swinging neckbreaker and both men are down. AJ climbs the turnbuckle while Lynn climbs the ladder and they both jump at each other but Lynn connects with a clothesline. Siaki interferes with Lynn but gets kicked down and Lynn hits him with a dive. AJ flies onto Lynn with a springboard somersault plancha. AJ then rolls back into the ring and grabs the belt for the win (17:27) ***3/4. Lynn then spears Siaki on the ramp but AJ hits him from behind. Siaki and AJ double-team Lynn and bring him into the ring. The Elvises, Spanish Announce Team, Shark Boy and Amazing Red clear the ring of the heels. Bob Armstrong then comes out and tells AJ that he might think that he can pull the wool over peoples eyes but says that he demands a rematch, another ladder match, for the belt but that Styles will be a contender as the belt goes back to Lynn. Styles and Siaki are pissed.

Thoughts: The match was really good with some cool spots but can’t these two have a match were there is a clear-cut winner? They even had a 2-out-of-3 falls match a few shows ago that ended in a draw. Really, these guys need to move on to feuds with other people.

West sells next week’s show including:

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn in a ladder match

Chris Rock will appear and is filming a movie

Low Ki vs. Tony Mamaluke vs. Kid Kash vs. Ace Steel

Chris Harris & James Storm vs. Spanish Announce Team

“Legends” like Syxx Pac, Scott Hall, and Jeff Jarrett

Before the next match, James honors Scott Hall by saying “Hey, Yo” and then tells Jarrett and Lawler that paybacks are a bitch and he will make Jarrett is bitch. Syxx Pac says that he will keep banging April behind her back as long as he treats her like a bitch and if they win, he will let him watch. Good lord, who writes this shit.

Brian Lawler w/April & Jeff Jarrett vs. BG James & Syxx Pac

Lawler charges up the ramp at Syxx but gets knocked down. They brawl around the ring and James and Lawler are in the stands. The faces beats the heels with chairs on opposite sides of the arena. They are back at ringside and brawl some more. In the ring, Jarrett dropkicks Syxx. Spinkick by Syxx that made zero contact. Boot by Jarrett and tag to Lawler. Syxx floats over and gets a back suplex. Clothesline and tag to James. James bites the fingers and knocks down Lawler. He goes after Jarrett but Lawler comes back with a superkick. The camera shows April as Lawler bites the nose of James. The heels use quick tags and Lawler tells April to watch. James blocks a bulldog and both men are down. Both men tag and Syxx runs wild. He powerbombs Jarrett but Lawler breaks up the pin. All four men are now in the ring. Bronco Buster to Jarrett. X Factor on Lawler but the ref is preoccupied and doesn’t see the cover. Elix Skipper runs in and hits his own X Factor on Syxx. Lawler covers but only gets two. Skipper is up on the ring apron as Lawler and Jarrett beat on Syxx. James takes Skipper off as Jarrett has Syxx in the sleeper. He just beats the three count then escapes but is crotched on the ropes. Syxx with a double clothesline and tags James. Syxx dumps Jarrett and James hits Lawler with the pumphandle slam for the win (9:38) *1/2. After the match, Skipper and Jarrett jump the winners. Amazing Red runs in but Skipper beats him. The SAT’s run out and get the Spanish Fly on Skipper. More brawling outside of the ring. Jarrett brings chair and lays out James, Syxx, and the SAT’s. Killings runs out and hits Syxx with his belt. Skipper, Killings, Jarrett, and Lawler are left standing.

Thoughts: Not much of a main event at all. Also, the trend of run-in brawls for every main event is getting very tiresome. All of the post-match brawling means nothing when it happens all of the time. James can barely even wrestle at this point. He is bloated and can barely move. The crowd was fairly quiet throughout the match.

Final Thoughts: The show had two good matches and besides the promo work from James & Syxx Pac, there was nothing embarrassing on the show. The problem is that too much of the focus is on the WWE/WCW rejects. Hell, even the crowd is quiet for them. They cheer the most for Jerry Lynn, Harris & Storm, and Low Ki. You’d think that TNA would take note of that but they continue to showcase the veterans. No one wants to see Brian Lawler in the main event. No one wants the tag-division to revolve around Ron Harris. On the plus side, they are building logical feuds, even if they are not exciting, which is very much an improvement over the crap like the Dupps and Jive Talkin’ segments from a few months ago. Still, this show comes across as a third-rate WWE imitation.