NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #45

May 21, 2003

 

Your hosts are Don West and Mike Tenay

 

The show starts with a video package on last week’s show. The main focus was on how they tried to make Glen Gilbertti into a main event star.

 

Graphics show all of the factions in TNA and Tenay reads as a scroll runs down the screen. It says that since there has been too much anarchy between the factions, there will be two separate tournaments. No explanation of how this will stop the "anarchy" or what these tournaments are were given.

 

Raven is shown sitting on top of a production truck. He mentions how the “bullshit” chants erupted when he lost against Jarrett. He runs down everyone for a minute then gets attacked. The beatdown isn’t shown but it was supposed to be Jarrett as we hear his voice stating that he is here tonight.
 

 

A highlight of XXX helping Chris Sabin win the X Division title from last week is shown.

 

 

Elimination Match
Jason Cross vs. CM Punk vs. Kid Romeo vs. Paul London

Romeo hasn’t been in TNA since the days of the Dupps and Ed Ferrara. Punk hasn’t been on since the tag-team gauntlet from September. All four men are trying to draw cheers then argue about who will start out. Romeo starts doing pelvic thrusts and he gets beaten down for that. Some choreographed stuff happens next, some of which looks good. Romeo hits a slingshot clothesline on Cross. London hits him with a crossbody block off the top for two. Romeo taunts the crowd on the top rope then manages to counter a splash mountain with a rana. Romeo gets two off a bulldog. Punk trips up Romeo and sends him into the guardrail. Punk lands on his feet after a German suplex from London and springs off his back, hitting Cross with a knee. London escapes a moneky flip and heads up top bu Punks hoves him off and he crashes hard off the guardrail. Romeo and Punk trade chops until Punk hits a backbreaker. Cross hits Punk with an enziguiri, getting two. Punk comes back with the Devil’s Lock DDT for two. Punk blocks a tornado DDT attempt and Cross hits a neckbreaker off the top for the pin (5:28). The crowd boos as Romeo clotheslines Cross then puts him in the Gory Special. London kills Cross with a superkick and Romeo drops him, getting two. London gets clotheslined to the floor and Romeo takes him out with a plancha. Cross then hit both men with a beautiful twisting dive. In the ring, Cross hits Romeo with a slingshot rana for two but eats a spinning wheel kick. London crotches Romeo on the top rope but Cross dropkicks him to the floor. Cross and Romeo battle on the top rope and Romeo hits him with the Kiss Goodnight (Kryptonite Krunch) for the pin (8:35). Romeo crotches London on the top rope by shoving the referee and takes him down with a rana, getting two. London gets a small package then connects with an enziguiri, getting two. London’s eye is swollen as Romeo has him up in the Torture Rack then hits a neckbreaker, getting two as he pulled himself off. Romeo misses a splash off the top then London hits the Waffle Face (Chicken-Wing into a faebuster) then the London Calling for the win (11:39) ***.

 

Thoughts: Good opening match. Even though Punk was young, him getting pinned by Cross was ridiculous. The crowd crapped on that. Romeo looked the best out of everyone here. London did some good moves too. Cross was alright I suppose but no one is buying him as a threat. Good way to open the show.

 

 

Tenay says that Raven will be the “promoter of violence” in the Clockwork Orange House of Fun match between Sonny Siaki and Sandman.

 

West then explains the two tournaments. The first is the Asylum Alliance, which is a tag tournament. They have picked seven teams made up of those from different factions and the eighth team will be the winner between the America’s Most Wanted vs. AJ Styles & D’Lo Brown. The second tournament is the Hard Ten Tournament, which is a hardcore match tournament that is based on a scoring system that will be explained later on today. No brackets were shown. Also, they let us know that camera’s had been installed all throughout the arena, giving us dozens of backstage segments throughout the show.  

 

 

Goldylocks is with Sonny Siaki in the SEX locker room. He says that he is in charge tonight and tries to order around everyone and they all blow him off, except his bitch, David Young. They play up how David Young has a crush on Desire. The segment was a waste.

 

 

Raven is running down the Gathering. He threatens to pour cleaning solution down Alexis’s throat then warns that they will not betray him again.

 

 

Christopher Daniels & Elix Skipper vs. Slash w/James Mitchell & Justin Credible & Amazing Red

This is 3 vs. 2 because the NWA is standing up to XXX, according to Tenay, because Low Ki was hurt this past week in England. Skipper and Red start out with a nice sequence. Red hits a few kicks as the crowd is loudly chanting his name. Slash and Daniels are now in the ring as Slash goes nuts. Daniels gets caught with a float-over and Slash hits the Eye of the Hurricane. Credible tags and gets one off a back elbow smash. Credible works on Skipper and clotheslines him to the floor. He follows him out with a pescado then Daniels accidentally takes out his partner with a tope and that starts off a car-crash sequence that ends with a running flip dive from Red. In the ring, Slash hits Daniels with the helicopter slam but Skipper breaks up the pin. During an Irish whip sequence, Skipper pulls down the rope on Slash and hits him with a chair as Daniels distracts the ref. Skipper tags and gets two off a sideslam. XXX double-teams Slash then Daniels grabs a chinlock. XXX uses quick tags to neutralize Slash until he hits a bicycle kick. Tag to Red, who hits a splash for two. He tries a Code Red but Daniels clotheslines him down. He tags in and roughs up Red as Tenay says that Ki will be out for several weeks with a dislocated shoulder. Skipper hits a few suplexes then tags Daniels, who hits a pair of backbreakers as the crowd is loudly chanting for Red. They do some nice double team stuff but Red keeps on kicking out. He dropkicks both men then finally tags out. Credible runs wild as a faint “ECW” chant breaks out. He eats boot on a charge but comes back with a kick on Skipper. Daniels grabs a belt and hits Credible but Slash breaks up the pin. Up top, Slash gets crotched and knocked to the floor. XXX has Red alone in the ring. They hit the Rockerplex but Red kicks out. They toss him over the ropes but his teammates catch him and roll him on the apron. He hits a springboard swinging STO on Skipper and Daniels gets dragged to the floor, allowing Red to score the pin (12:11) ***. After the match, Raven attacks Red and grabs the mic, telling Jarrett that he will take out whoever he wants until he gets what he wants.

 

Thoughts: As dumb as it is for the faces to have the advantage, this match turned out to be good. Credible struggled but everyone else looked fine. Red is probably the most over face in the company. He does a great job at selling too.

 

 

We are shown a taped segment that features Goldylocks in a cellphone store, returning her phone because it does not work. It is supposed to be a comedy segment, in the mold of Punk’d but it was horrible in every single way and went on for far too long. It ended with Goldylocks smashing her phone. I have no idea what purpose this was supposed to serve.

 

 

Goldylocks is with Mike Sanders. He says that he has beat giants like Andre, Undertaker, and Sid since 1998. She brings up the Hard Ten tournament and he turns it into a penis joke. He then mentions that he has a match with Brian Lee and is sure that he can beat the “Underfaker.”

 

 

The Hard Ten scoring system is shown:

 

1 Point = Every blow with a strategically placed weapon, which are placed in the hands of the fans at ringside.

 

5 Points =  When your opponent goes through a table.

 

Also, you must win by at least two points.

 

 

Hard Ten Tournament Match

Mike Sanders vs. Brian Lee w/James Mitchell

Calling Lee a giant right now is laughable as he weighs less than Sanders. They lockup and Sanders avoids a weapon shot. Lee brings more weapons in the ring then connects on a trashcan lid shot. He hits him with a board and a cookie sheet. Lee grabs some more sheets and a chair and tosses them inside. Sanders ducks out and a fan refuses to give him a weapon. Lee hits him with a lid then wedges it into the corner. Sanders floats over and snds Lee into it with a rana. He hits him with a lid, busting open Lee. He ties it up 4-4  then clotheslines Lee to the floor. He takes the lead with another shot and places him on the table. He tries an elbow drop but Lee hits him with a lid. In the ring, Lee goes up 7-5 then slides the table into the ring. He struggles and threatens the ref with a chair. He goes up 8-5 and places Sanders on the table. He hoes up top but Sanders rolls off and Lee crashes through, losing the match 10-8 (5:50) DUD.

 

Thoughts: Awful match. Awesome has been a huge bust in TNA. He is way out of shape. Sanders tried but this was a lost cause and the psychology of the point system was lost with these two.

 

 

Raven is in the SEX locker room with Sonny Siaki, who refers to the ECW as drug addicts and asks where is allegiance lies.

 

 

Goldylocks is backstage with New Jack and Shark Boy. They are playing Candyland and Jack is treating. These two are tagging up in the tournament.

 

 

Goldylocks is now with Ron Killings. He is upset about teaming with Don Harris then gets jumped by both Harris Brothers. New Jack then throws a few punches at Killings, his opponent.

 

 

Ron Killings & Don Harris vs. New Jack & Shark Boy

Killings is getting beat up on the ramp. In the ring, he fights back but Shark Boy hits a dropkick. Harris has not come out yet as Jack is working on Killings. He hits a belly-to-belly and tags Shark Boy, who gets two off a missile dropkick. He hits a neckbreaker but gets crotched up top and Killings hits a super fallaway slam. Jack is yelling at Shark Boy then the Harris Brothers run in and destroy Shark Boy. They hit New Jack with an H bomb and try the same on Killings but he escapes and clears the ring. Shark Boy comes off the top but Killings catches him with a powerslam for the win (3:11) ¼*.

 

Thoughts: A meaningless match that prolongs the feud between Killings and the Harris Brothers.

 

 

Raven and Sandman are backstage. He yells at Raven, who states that he was playing Siaki and would never back SEX. Sandman gives him a beer then whacks him with the Singapore cane.

 

 

Goldylocks is with Kid Kash and Trinity, who are teaming together. He runs her down and talks about Trinity having a contract with him, not TNA. He says that after he takes care of David Young and Tracy, he will take care of him. He drags her away and Erik Watts comes in and does his deal, pretending that Eric Bischoff is coming to TNA. He and Goldy play up that they are sleeping with each other.

 

 

David Young w/Desire & Tracy vs. Kid Kash & Trinity

Tenay plugs Jarrett’s match against Sting on the upcoming WWA pay per view. Kash and Young start out and have a nice back and forth sequence. Kash gets two off a rollup then hits a few armdrags. The crowd hates Kash then he teases a tag to Trinity before walking into a clothesline. Slam gets two. Kash comes back with a double springboard rana and a DDT. Tracy tags and she slaps Kash. He backs her into a corner but Kash tags out and grabs her hair. Trinity hits a clothesline and a springboard armdrag. Young tags in and he chops Trinity. He then folds her in half with a spear but that only gets two. Trinity snaps off a rana and Kash tags himself in by yanking Trinity by the hair. He chops Tracy hard and the crowd is all over him. Kash hits a slingshot suplex and goes for another but the arena goes dark and the mystery lucahdor appears on the screen, stating that they will be revealed next week. After that happens, Tracy hits Kash  with a chair and Young gets the spinebuster for the win (7:47) *1/2.

 

Thoughts: Not that bad. Kash is over as a heel and looks like we will finally get some closure with the luchador angle.

 

 

Goldylocks is with AJ Styles and D’Lo Brown, who slams the WWE for censoring him then talks about Jarrett, who says that it is odd that he and AJ, two of the top contenders for his belt, have to team up and face another team in a qualifying match. AJ says screw it and they head to the ring.

 

 

Raven is in the ring, demanding that Jarrett come out and face him. He then grabs Borash and hits him with the Raven Effect DDT. David Webber, the former Mortimer Plumtree, comes out and his the interim ring announcer.

 

 

America’s Most Wanted vs. AJ Styles & D’Lo Brown

Only in this company would they take their two best teams and put them through a qualifying match. AJ and Storm start off with a nice, fast-paced sequence. Both men tag out as Harris and D’Lo lockup. Harris hits a clothesline but D’Lo blocks a suplex and hits a stunner. He tags AJ and hiptosses him onto Harris, getting two. Storm makes a blind tag but AJ takes out both men. AJ gets caught with a superkick coming off the top rope and Harris tags. D’Lo runs in and interferes but that allows AMW to gain the advantage. They neutralize AJ with quick tags and double team moves. Double clothesline by AMW then they take D’Lo off the apron. AJ counters a catatonic with a crucifix then connects with a spinning heel kick as both men are down. AJ tags D’Lo and he runs wild. Storm breaks up a pin attempt and hits the Swinging Noose for a two count. AJ hits Storm with a sitout powerbomb for two. He tries the Phenomenon on Harris but gets speared in mid-air. That spot looked really bad. The match breaks down as Storm accidentally hits Harris with an enziguiri. XXX and David Young run into the ring and try to get a double interference. D’Lo gets stun-gunned, right in front of the ref, and Storm rolls him up for the win (9:07) **1/4.

 

Thoughts: Not that great. These guys didn’t work too well together. I have no idea why XXX was trying to get this to end in a double DQ.

 

 

A sitdown interview with Glen Gilbertti. He says that NWA is dead and SEX is where wrestling needs to go. He denies that he is a political player and if he controlled the company, would call the show “SEX presents TNA.” He says that Raven never got a fair shot in WCW or WWE and mentions his 143 IQ. When he mentions Vince Russo, he says that the vision of wrestling should not be carried by a 43 year old father of three. He puts over Jarrett as a great wrestler without a superstar look. Seems like Gilbertti was trying to make Russo a face for when he returns.

 

 

Tenay and West mention that “TNA Talk” will start in the coming weeks. Don West mentions that the one year anniversary of TNA will take place June 18^th.

 

 

Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match featuring Raven as the Minister of Violence

Sonny Siaki vs. Sandman

Sandman takes forever with his entrance. Siaki nails him from behind then bets him down with Raven watching from the corner. They brawl outside the ring with Sandman grinding Siaki’s face against a fence. Sandman tosses several chairs into the ring and punches Siaki, who is bleeding. This is really slow-paced and the crowd is dying. Siaki whacks Sandman in the nuts then places him in a tree of woe and continues to work on his testicles. Siaki whacks him with a lid but Sandman fights back with some pathetic looking chairshots. He puts Siaki in the tree of woe and dropkicks a trashcan into his face as Raven continue to sit in the corner. Siaki hits Sandman with a kendo stick and covers but Raven doesn’t even budge. Siaki is pissed and Sandman rolls him up and Raven still wont move. Both men trade stuff as the crowd is silent. Sandman attempts to make a table out of a steel cage door and chairs but it falls apart when Siaki is placed on top. He misses a senton off the top and Siaki hits a few chairshots. He grabs a chain but Sandman whacks him with trashcan then hits a side Russian legsweep. Raven counts but pulls off Sandman and hits him with a DDT. He does the same to Siaki then leaves the ring and goes into the parking lot yelling for Jarrett as the match ends in a no contest (9:35) -*. Out of nowhere, Amazing Red hits him with a hurricarana and fires away. He drags him back into the arena and they go in the ring. He hits a tornado DDT as the crowd goes nuts. He heads up top but Julio shoves him off. He hits Raven with the 718 then the Code Red on Julio. Alexis comes in but Red sends her into Julio’s crotch with a drop toehold. He goes off top as Raven is on a table and hits a senton but the table did not break and he does it again.

 

Thoughts: A tired, hardcore match that was wrestled in slow motion. Sandman is way too fucked up to wrestle here. There was no point to this match either.

 

 

Final Thoughts: The first two matches were good but this show was awful. The company is circling the drain at this point and these two torunaments were nothing but a giant clusterfuck. Gibertti is not close to being a credible main eventer and these factions are largely dead weight, with the exception of a few wrestlers. At least they got the Amazing Red over.