My 2008 TNA Match of the Year: Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle (Bound for Glory)

One man, fueled by two years of pain, two years of agony, two years of tears, Jeff Jarrett is able to defeat Kurt Angle. And I’ve got to send this shout out to Nashville, Tennessee: Jocelyn, Jaclyn, Jaryn, this one was dedicated to you.

- Mike Tenay

This was Jarrett’s first match in 17 months. To call it emotional would be an understatement. Mick Foley is the special enforcer.

The buildup to this match was intense to say the least. Angle had become very personal in the weeks leading up to the match. Jarrett’s counter attack was clear. How do you get personal with Kurt Angle? You beat him at his own game. Mat wrestling. But, while Jarrett had the right idea, he was totally overmatched in the beginning of the match. Angle dominates on the ground and paint brushes Jarrett’s head to let him know that he’s in a different world now. He’s not wrestling Raven, or AJ or Sting…he’s wrestling a machine. The “paint brushing” might as well have been Angle brushing what rust Jarrett had off, because at this point Jarrett takes control on the mat. He’s able to hang with everything Kurt throws at him until Jarrett takes Angle over the top. Jarrett even vaults himself over the top rope. You can tell he’s feeling it. He starts to string together his patented offense and even gets in a classic “Jarrett Strut” in, but he forgot one thing…he’s in the ring with Kurt Angle.

Angle hits a huge clothesline and takes back control. Kurt dominates Jeff with a sleeper, the very move that Jeff is known for using so effectively. Jeff starts to wear down. He hasn’t been in the ring in well over a year and he’s going up against the best in the world. Perhaps this is too soon. Perhaps he should have gone up against a lower caliber of opponent. Perhaps…but he’s not falling…not tonight.

Jarrett uses the one advantage he has over Kurt, his veteran instincts. Kurt gets too aggressive and runs into the post. Jarrett capitalizes with a DDT. Jeff gets desperate and hits a move I’ve never seen him use, the Blue Thunder Bomb. It’s not enough to put Angle away though as Angle recovers with some patented Angle offense, The belly to belly suplex. Angle’s had more than enough of Jarrett so he goes for his Angle Slam, but Jarrett has it scouted. They battle on the top rope and Jarrett gets his biggest move of the match with a Superplex. He knows he doesn’t have much time so he locks in the Figure Four. Angle sells it like it’s the end, but just manages to reach the ropes. Ankle lock out of no where and Jarrett’s in trouble. He thinks about tapping but he just can’t…not tonight. Not after 17 months of Hell. He barely manages to escape, but by that time he’s too worn down emotionally and psychically to recover. Angle Slam and it’s all but over. At least on any other night…but not tonight. Angle is more than frustrated so he gets desperate. Very desperate. He goes up for a Moonsault and gets nothing on the way down. It’s anyone’s match now.

Jarrett sits up and starts talking to himself. He knows that this is his last chance. The ref gets knocked out but Jarrett doesn’t hesitate. He can’t against Kurt Angle. Stroke from JJ but there’s no ref. At that moment, outside enforcer Mick Foley slides into the ring to make the pin attempt but only gets 2. Angle knows he was nearly beat, so he gets even more desperate and hits a low blow behind Foley’s back. It’s time to end this. He grabs a chair but Foley won’t have that. Angle has lost it and annihilates Foley with the chair. He’ll do anything to win and destroy whatever lies in his path to do it. Chair shot on Jarrrett. He’s done. He has nothing left to give. Perhaps Jeff deserves it. After all, he’s made a living doing what ever it takes to win. Maybe tonight was never his night to begin with…

But it was. Mick Foley has stopped the pinfall from taking place. As Foley gains vengeance on Angle, Jarrett knows that it’s now or never. One final bullet in the chamber. He grabs the guitar that has been by his side for years, and with all his might he destroys Angle with it. Even the best in the world can’t rise from that.

Redemption…

TNA Lockdown 2009 Review

X-Division Title Xcape Match: Suicide © vs. Kiyoshi vs. Jay Lethal vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Consequences Creed
Pretty much what was to be expected. Spotty and it was fine for being that. Nice finish as well that got a dead crowd out of their seats for one of the few times in the night. Anyone know who Suicide was in this match? Kaz I'd assume?

**3/4

TNA Knockouts Queen of the Cage Match: ODB vs. Madison Rayne vs. Daffney vs. Sojo Bolt
I pretty much have no interest in any of these people so I really didn’t care for this match. Just kind of there to fill time and ODB winning was a forgone conclusion.

*

IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title Match: The Motor City Machine Guns © vs. No Limit vs. LAX
Hernandez kills X Division guys in a cage. What more could you ask for? Fuck it, give the big man the title too while we’re at it. Went on a little too long for what they were going for but it was still super enjoyable. If they don't take my advice for Hernadez as the next champ, please give us a MCMG/LAX match on PPV. Dream match from me.

***1/4

Doomsday Chamber of Blood Match: Abyss vs. Matt Morgan
I was expecting something pretty bad here. It wasn’t great by any means, but it was a tad better than what I thought it would be. I’m still apathetic towards Abyss and his garbage matches though.

**

TNA Knockouts Title Match: Awesome Kong © vs. Angelina Love vs. Taylor Wilde
The right girl won so now Kong can take a well deserved break. I’m looking forward to Love’s title run as I think she is perfect for what the Knockouts division needs. I’m sure her and Wilde will be feuding over the title for the next few months and that works for me as well. Finish was really bad but Love got knocked out and they had to rush it like that. Match wasn’t what the KO division used to be known for, but I don’t think we’ll be seeing anything like Kong/Gail Kim ever again in TNA. Still the best KO match I've seen in a while.

**1/2

Winner Takes All – TNA World Tag Team Titles vs. IWGP Tag Team Titles Philadelphia Street Fight: Beer Money © vs. Team 3D ©
It seems I liked this a lot more than most people, but everything worked beautifully towards the feud and I for one can appreciate that. I’m not a fan of typical TNA crowd brawls, but having one in this match made tons of sense because the whole match had been built around the fact that Philly fans are violent creatures and being in that environment would be the test for Beer Money. I can say that for the first time since the MCMG match at Turning Point 2007 (I think that was the show.), I was never bored during a Team 3D match. They we’re really entertaining here. Beer Money continues to be one of the best tag teams on Earth. They play their role to perfection here. Not a fan of 3D winning, but it was probably the only outcome considering Beer Money probably wasn’t going to be a staple in the NJPW tag division anytime soon. I really hope they don’t break up BM like it seems the rumors have been saying for months. MOTN no doubt and not a drop of disspointment from me.

***3/4

Lethal Lockdown: Team Jarrett (Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett and Christopher Daniels) vs. Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Scott Steiner, Booker T and Kevin Nash)
I’m glad Angle started the match for the MEM. I thought AJ should have started for Team Jarrett, but that’s a minor gripe. AJ and Daniels were really good here. I hope they resume being a tag team soon, as they showed that they still have it. Steiner suprised the shit out of me here. He fit nicely as the thrid entrant for the MEM. Props to Nash for even being out there. Overall, the match was kind of slow. Nothing of event really happened and then AJ nearly dies to wake the crowd up. Then they just kind of went into finisher mode before Jarrett used the guitar to maybe the quitest pop there’s ever been. Still pretty good, but for the length it went it could have been better. Worst LL match I’ve ever seen probably, but I enjoyed it. Probably won't ever see it again, but not every match can be like that. I'm curious to see where this feud goes from here.

***

Lashley debuts to one of the loudest pops of the night. That makes me sad.

TNA World Title Match: Sting © vs. Mick Foley
I hate to be that guy, but I new this would disappoint. Really slow and really plodding with nothing in particular going on. They used the bat nicely, but the crowd was too dead to care. Mediocre best describes this I’d say. Foley as TNA champ at least interest me more than Sting as champion, which was none at all. I have no clue who he faces at Sacrifice other than Jarrett, but I can’t see him holding on to the title to be in King of the Mountain at Slammiversary.

**

Overall, disappointing to many, but my expectations weren’t incredibly high to begin with. I really hope the excellent build for PPVs continues with Sacrifice next month, but I’m skeptic on that since TNA usually only caters a lot of effort to the big 4.

TNA Destination X 2009 Review

Knockouts tag - *3/4
Enjoyable for what it was. Love needs the title ASAP. Only went 5 minutes but it was fine. Why is Daffney still in the Palin gimmick? Jesus TNA that shit jumped the shark months ago.

Magnus vs. Eric Young - *1/2
Never thought I'd say Eric Young totally carried a match, but here you go. This new guy is so green it's not even funny. Can't believe they gave this PPV time.

Bashir stuff. No thank you. Fast forward.

Abyss vs. Morgan (10,000 Tacks match) - *1/2
Not a fan of these matches. Abyss has singlehandedly killed them for me on the mainstream. Morgan has tons of potential, but he needs a feud with someone of Angle's caliber, not Abyss'. The in ring stuff meant nothing, as I knew that Abyss would get thrown off the stage since he put it up there about 2 minutes in. I take that back, because the can you top this stuff with pooring more tacks and then glass onto the pile was cool. Not a lot else.

ODB. This looked like Michale Cole commentary sounds. Fast forward.

Kong vs. Sojo (Knockouts Title) - 1/2*
Nothing really stood out so I'm just going with a rating here.

Joe vs. Steiner - 1/4*
Here's the thing about TNA, when they do something right, they do something wrong. Totally 2 steps forward and 3 steps back on their part. Joe kills Steiner? Fuck yes. Joe kills Steiner on PPV? No. Joe disfigures Steiner with knife later? Jesus, WTF TNA? I'll give em credit, this was entertaining, but do it on iMPACT and do us all a favor, K? Joe's pants fail, btw.

Booker vs. AJ Styles(Legends Title) - **1/2
This went by quick. 2nd Best Booker T match in TNA imo behind his 1st Joe match, but that's not saying much. I'm with Cal, I've never been a fan of Booker's. They tried ans I'll give em that.

3D vs. Beer Money (Tag Titles) - ***
Beer Money continues to leave their imprint on every match they're apart of. Fans can't help but love them. That's why the ending made sense to me. Their supposed to be heels and TNA reminded us of that. Sometimes you need a no finish and this was one of those times. Cage match next month is fine on my end.

Lethal vs. Creed vs, Sabin vs. Suicide vs. Sheley (X Division Title; Ulitmate X) - ***1/4
Spotfest, but we've seen it before. I enjoyed it but I'm not gonna whore out TEH STARZ~! for it.

Angle vs. Sting (TNA World Title) - **3/4
Sting continues to look lost out there. Saved by the epicness of Angle. A lot of hoopla but it was to be expected. I wasn't a fan of their 1st match and this wasn't as good as that one. Still solid, but if Angle can't hit *** with you, then somethings wrong.

Bleh PPV. 1st half was pretty atrocious with nothing above ** and those stupid segments. The 2nd half was pretty good, but I don't think it saves this from being mediocre at best. Hopefully they blow us away with Lockdown, but with 3 of the last 4 PPVs being below average, I'm not 100% sure they'll do it. I'm rooting for them though.

TNA Against All Odds 2009 Review

Shelley vs. Young (X-Division Title)- ***
Steiner vs. Williams - **1/4
Magnus vs. Sabin - *
Booker vs. Sewell (Legends Title) - 3/4*
Kong vs. ODB (Knockouts Title) - *
Abyss vs. Morgan - **1/4
Beer Money vs. Lethal Consequences (Tag Titles) - ***
Sting vs. Angle vs. Brother Ray vs. Brother D-von (TNA World Title) - **

Pretty bad show. If you have that match as the main event, you need a strong undercard. This show did not have that whatsoever. The middle of the show was December to Dismember bad. A couple of good matches save it from all time stink, but it's still probably the most difficult TNA show to sit through for me since Hard Justice 07. Next month's show looks a little more promising, but I'm growing tired of the MeM/FL feud. Ugh, just so dissapointed in TNA. More fuel for the hater fire, and TNA deserves it for this.

TNA Genesis 2009 Review

Rave/Dutt/Kiyoshi vs. LAX/Young - **3/4
Fun opener. Always entertaining to see Hernandez kill jobbers. A nice way to build him up for his eventual title shot.

Shelley vs. Sabin - ****
Best X-Division match in about 3 years imo. Just great stuff. I like how they were countering every little move because they knew each other so well. I'm not big on the finish though.

Sewell vs. Bashir - *1/4
Ugh. I was hoping that this wasn't where this feud was gonna go. Match wasn't awful but I couldn't care less about either guy.

Lethal/Creed vs. Beer Money vs. Abyss/Morgan - **1/2
More fun from Beer Money as they are starting to leave their stamp on every match their in. Lethal looked pretty good here too. I guess we'll see him and Creed get their rematch at AAO while Abyss and Morgan have a 1 on 1 match.

Kahn/Saeed/Bolt vs. ODB/Whilde/Roxxi - 1/2*
Definition of filler. Not a thing stood out so I'll just move on instead of trying to force interest in it.

Angle vs. Jarrett - ****1/4
This was NOT filler. Just a hair behind their BFG match in October for me, although it is sooooo close. None the less this is a true evolution of the 1st match. They certainly did not start out with chain wrestling here. Pure blood feud and a perfect sequel for these guys. I can't wait for the 3rd match. I loved how Angle countered the things that Jarrett got in the 1st match (the superplex, the enzuiguri). Note to Kurt Angle: You're gonna die in the ring. Please calm the fuck down. There's no reason for you to be falling on your neck on the concrete from the stage. Thank you. Finish was kinda meh but I guess it worked setting up Angle as a machine. MORE PLEASE.

Sting vs. Rhino - *1/2
At least the parking lot beating gave them a story to work off of. That said, it was too simple of a match for me to enjoy that much. Just a throwaway defense against a paper challenger for Sting. Hopefully he drops the title soon.

Foley/Styles/Devon vs. Booker/Steiner/Kip - **
Match was doomed form the get go with Cute Kip in there. They turned it into a fun brawl towards the end so I'll reward them for that. Foley looked awkward but that's to be expected. I'd bet Angle could still get ***3/4 out of him.

Overall a fun little show with 2 great matches. The final 2 matches were disappointing but I didn't have high hopes anyway.

TNA Final Resolution 2008 (2) Review

Feast or Fired - ***
Suprising at a glance, but when you think about it, this match had a lot of great talent in it (MCMG, Dutt, Lethal, LAX, even Curryman and Rave to a very small extent). Perfect spotfest opener for the show. Can't wait for Daniels to return.

ODB/Roxxi/Wilde vs Love/Sky/Sharmell - *1/2
Perfectly acceptable for what the match was. Sharmell stayed on the ring apron while the BP did their heel routine. Total filler but not bad.

Young vs Bashir - **1/4
Simple enough match and I'm glad to see the title off Bashir. This ref angle is damn stupid though. I hope it doesn't lead to a Bashir vs. Angry Ref match next month. I hate seeing X-Division matches only getting in the **'s, but I've sadly almost given up on seeing all time classic title matches anymore.

Hemme vs Kong - *1/4
I was expected DUD territory so this blew me away. I haven't seen much of Hemme since she left the E but she's gottne much better. One of the best crossbody blocks to the outside I've seen in a while. I'm suprised they booked Kong so weak, though. She probably should have kicked out of the FFG and gone on to win, but I guess this sets up a rematch next month.

Beer Money vs Abyss/Morgan - **
Not bad but totally forgetable. A little too much stalling in the beginning hurt the overall flow of the match for me. Storm is a great heel though, I'll say that.

Angle vs Rhino - ***
Felt like a good iMPACT main event. The result of the match was never in doubt but Angle is on fire this year and if you give him anyone solid in the ring and give him time he can hit *** almost 100%. Jarrett/Angle II should own and I'm counting the days until that one. I guess after Jarrett, we'll see Angle/Foley at AAO or DX. Curious to see how that pans out.

Main Event Mafia vs Front Line - ***1/4
Another good iMPACT main event with a much hotter crowd than the last match. Totally there for storyline progression which is fine, but I don't think that sells PPVs. Joe should never be face in peril imo. I mean, he did a nice job but I think AJ would have taken a better beating, while Joe could have been the hot tag and started destroying bitches. I also want to note that Sting looked very awkward at taking bumps towards the end of this match. Not sure if he's been doing this lately but it was sad to watch. I was in to the end sequence when out of no where, Scorpian Death Drop, 1-2-3. Weird that Joe took the pinfall with Tean 3D on his team.

I said after the last PPV that TNA was on a roll and the haters should probably accept it...well, the roll has come to a stop. Wasn't God awful or anything but definitely not up to par with their last 2 shows. 2nd worse show of the year ahead of Sacrifice. That's 2 December PPVs in a row that haven't been strong, althhough last year's was much worse.

BTW, Suicide's zip line should be called the Suicide Hotline.

TNA Turning Point 2008 Review

X Division Rankings match - ***1/4
Good opener. Glad to see them give Tanahashi some time to shine. I'm suprised at who won this, but I guess he has been getting pushed seriously as of late.

Wilde/Roxxi vs. Kong/Saeed - **1/4
Solid stuff here. Nothing to write home about, though.

Rhyno vs. Bashir - *
Pretty bad. I'm sure ICP and "Hey Yo" *drunked slur* coming out didn't help matters, as both guys seemed distracted. Felt like an iMPACT match that told no real story.

Beer Money vs. MCMG (TNA Tag Titles) - ****
This on the other hand rocked my world. I'm a sucker for a great tag formula and this was definately that. Even Hall and ICP were marking out, but that may been because Hall spotted the beer guy on the other side of the arena. I could almost go 1/4* higher but I felt they went off the path from the story they were telling earlier in the match and I thought towards the end it went into slight overkill. Still the best mainstream tag match of the year for me. MCMG own and are probably the best team in the country if not the world. MOTN, btw.

Booker T vs. Christian (TNA Legends Title) - **1/4
Also felt like an iMPACT match. Not a lot stuck out but it wasn't horrible or anything. Obviously could have been better but these 2 have never had great chemistry dating all the way back to their 2003 matches over the IC title in the WWE.

Angle vs. Abyss (Falls Count Anywhere) - ****
If I take away one thing from this PPV, it's this...Kurt Angle...is out of his mind...like, legitimatly... Best Abyss match I've seen since the AJ Styles matches in 05, but that's no suprise considering Kurt has been God this year.

Joe vs. Nash - ***1/2
Now this suprised me immensely. I've heard a lot of people say that Joe looked weak in this but I really have no clue what they're talking about. He got rammed into the exposed turnbuckle multiple times, got hit with a chair in the face, bled, and kicked out of 2 powerbombs before losing to a low blow and Nash with his feet on the ropes. Some people were mad that Nash went over, but let's face it, Nash needed to go over. All of the MEM did. That's face faction/heel faction booking 101. The heels need to establish that they are a force to be reckond with, possibly have some of the faces turn on the others to align themselves with the heels down the road, and in the end the faces go over (Lethal Lockdown probably). The match itself was great, btw. Probably the best Nash match in a decade off the top of my head.

Sting vs. Styles (TNA Title) - ***
While this was good, I felt it could have been better. I never really believed that AJ had a chance. It felt like a filler title match, which it was, but it was still good for what they were going for.

Overall a great show. At least the 2nd best TNA PPV this year behind BFG. All the haters need to open their eyes, TNA is on a roll and there's no end in sight.

TNA Bound for Glory IV Review

Lethal vs. Dutt vs. Sabin vs. Shelley vs. Curry Man vs. Super Eric vs. Shark Boy vs. Williams vs. Rave vs. Devine (Steel Asylum) - ***1/4

Rhyno/Khan/ODB vs. Kip/Love/Sky (Bimbo Brawl) - *

Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Consequences Creed (X Division Title) - **

Taylor Wilde vs. Roxxi vs. Awesome Kong (Knockouts Title) - **1/4

Beer Money vs. LAX vs. Abyss/Morgan vs. Team 3D (Monster’s Ball match for the Tag Titles) - ***1/2

AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage vs. Booker T - ***1/4

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett - ****1/4

Samoa Joe vs. Sting (TNA World Title) - ***1/2

TNA No Surrender 2008 Review

Curry Man/Shark Boy/Super Eric vs. Rock & Rave Infection/Hemme - **1/2

ODB vs. Awesome Kong (No DQ) - **1/2

3D vs. Morgan/Abyss - **1/4

Petey Williams vs. Consequences Creed vs. Shariff Bashir (X Division Title)- ***1/4

Angelina Love vs. Taylor Wilde (Knockouts Title) - *1/2

LAX vs. Beer Money INC. (TNA Tag Titles) - **

Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt (Ladder of Love) - ***1/2

AJ Styles vs. Frank Trigg (MMA Match) - N/R

Samoa Joe vs. CHristian Cage vs. Kurt Angle (TNA World Title) - ***1/4

Best of Samoa Joe: Unstoppable Review

vs. Sonjay Dutt (Slammiversary 2005) - **1/2
vs. Delirious (iMPACT 6/24/05) - 1/2*
vs. Chris Sabin (No Surrender 2005) - ****1/4
vs. AJ Styles (Sacrifice 2005; Super X Cup Finals) - ****1/2
vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (Unbreakable 2005 TNA X-Division Title) - *****
vs. Jushin Liger (Bound for Glory 2005) - ***
w/Daniels/Shelley/Strong vs. Sabin/Dutt/Aries/Bentley (Genesis 2005; Elimination X) - ****
vs. Amazing Red (iMPACT 12/8/05) - 3/4*
vs. AJ Styles (Turning Point; XDivision Title) - ****3/4
vs. Jay Lethal (iMPACT 12/17/05) - *
vs. Christoper Daniels (Final Resolution 2006; X-Division Title) - ****

Awesome compilation featuring 6 matches at **** or higher. Also featured rare iMPACT matches and while they were squashes, they were fun. The Unbreakable match is still ***** to me. Everything looked so good here as all 3 workers were on their game. Truly the definition of the X-Division (much like Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc was the defining match of the WCW Cruiserweight division) The AJ matches blew away anything I ever saw the two do against each other in ROH. The Turning Point match is the 3rd best match in the company's history imo behind only the Unbreakable match and the Turning Point Cage match featuring Triple X and AMW from a year prior. Joe was booked like a God throughout this DVD. Really makes me miss him this way but I guess not everything can stay the same.

A must buy for anyone who even like Joe.

TNA Best of the Bloodiest Brawls Volume 1 Review

Abyss vs. Raven vs. Monty Brown (Victory Road 2004; Monster's Ball) - ***

Triple X vs. America's Most Wanted (Turning Point 2004; Six Sides of Steel; Losing Team Disbands) - ****3/4

Jeff Hardy vs. Abyss (Destination X; Full Metal Mayhem) - **3/4

AJ Styles vs. Abyss (Lockdown 2005; Six Sides of Steel; TNA World Title #1 Contendership) - ****1/4

Raven vs. Sean Waltman (Hard Justice 2005; House of Fun) - **3/4

Raven/Sabu vs. Jarrett/Rhino (Sacrifice 2005) - ***1/4

Jeff Hardy vs. Rhino vs. Abyss vs. Sabu (Bound for Glory 2005; Monster's Ball) - ****

Jarrett/America's Most Wanted vs. Rhino/Team 3D (Genesis 2005; Anything Goes) - ****

Sabu vs. Abyss (Turning Point 2005; Barbed Wire Massacre) - **1/2

The Cage match with XXX vs. AMW was incredible (as I had heard) When I saw it getting ***** from a lot of people I didn't know if it could live up to the hype. Needless to say it did. It is currently the greatest tag match I've ever seen in any promotion. If a couple more things went right I would have given it *****, like the awkward tower of doom spot, or when Daniels was on the top and Harris just ran and speared his legs (felt botched) , or Skipper taking a long time before he walked the cage (although the result more than made up for the time it took for everyone to get into postion).

Truly awesome and the 2nd best TNA match ever behind Unbreakable.

Hard Justice 2008 Review

• TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Petey Williams defeated Consequences Creed @ 12:10 via pin to retain the X-Division Title
***

• Taylor Wilde, ODB and Gail Kim defeated The Beautiful People and Awesome Kong @ 12:30 via pin
**1/2

• TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: BEER MONEY defeated LAX @ 14:35 via pin to become the NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS
**3/4

• BLACK TIE BRAWL AND CHAIN MATCH: Jay Lethal defeated Sonjay Dutt @ 13:00 via pin
*1/4

• NEW JERSEY STREET FIGHT: Rhino and Cage defeated Team 3D @ 15:05 via pin
***1/4

• LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: AJ Styles defeated Kurt Angle @ 25:10
****1/4

• TNA WORLD TITLE SIX SIDES OF STEEL W/WEAPONS: Samoa Joe defeated Booker T @ 13:00 via pin to retain the TNA World Title **3/4

TNA Victory Road 2008 LIVE Review

I'm going to review this a little differently since I was there live.

Camera side of the arena had virtually no one. I kept waiting for it to get a little more full but it never happened. My friend (who had never really seen TNA) kind of started getting on me about the small arena not filling up. Pretty much all weekend he was ragging on TNA (but not in a mean spirited way). Keep this in mind for later…

Before the show they announce the Spanish announcers (Hector gets a nice pop) and the regular play by play guys. JB is out next and he plays around with the crowd for a bit. He brings out ODB and she signs autographs and what have you. JB does his thing about loud fans getting to go backstage. During this a cute girl in front of me got on her chair and started getting loud. When JB went to our section to see who was rowdy she flashed him (I assume it was just bra). JB said nothing…thus confirming his homosexuality…

JB then brought out a special guest…Kevin Nash! I got to say…Nash looked wasted. He kind of staggers down to the ring in sandals with a beer as my friend and I are about to ROFL. JB ask him who’s winning the main event. Nash says Joe isn’t talking to him, but Booker told him he’s bringing the gold home (nice pop for that). Nash then starts to walk away, then goes back to JB, points at Tenay and West and says, “There’s the American announce table…” and walks away. Say hi to Hall in rehab for me Kev!

Star Spangled Banner is next. Willie Nelson’s daughter was the performer and OH MY GOD SHE WAS MIND NUMBINGLY AWFUL! She had this atrociously nasal voice that will keep me awake at night. This isn’t just one person’s opinion either. People were looking around thinking this was a “Jillian Hall” joke or something. When they realized it wasn’t they stared at each other in shock. Someone actually screamed, “You suck!” at her. Another man behind us said the same thing. I can’t describe how bad she was.

Show begins and my friend turns to me and says, “This place is too small for opening fireworks.” Seconds later, the opening pyro shakes us to our very souls. LOL at
BG James hosting the opening or whatever the Hell he was doing. My friend is an attitude era mark so he got a good laugh.

Team TNA (Curryman/Sabin/Shelley) vs. Team Japan (Milano Collection AT/Yoshino/Puma) vs. Team International (Williams/Koslov/Dux) vs. Team Mexico (Ultimo Guerrero/Bucanero/Averno) in a 12 Man Elimination Tag Match
We knew that the opening match would be the 12 man match because the flags were on the turnbuckles (We’re college graduates…YAY!). Needless to say this match blew my fucking mind. I’m glad to see that it wasn’t just the mark in me thinking this was awesome. Fastest 25 minutes I’ve ever been apart of. TNA gave them the time to shine and they came through. Curryman is over like Rover in Houston. This felt a lot like the main events of ROH Supercard of Honor shows. Total spotfest and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My TNA MOTY so far, although Team TNA winning guarantees another winner in UX.
Rating: ****1/4

Gail Kim vs. Angelina Love
This was OK for 6 minutes. Nice turnbuckle Figure 4 from Gail where she remains horizontal throughout. Velvet Sky is smokin’ and Hurricane is a lucky bastard. A tad disappointing overall as Gail wins with a neckbreaker.
Rating: *1/2
Sonjay Dutt vs. Jay Lethal
This was exactly what I thought it would be for 9 minutes. There was an annoying asshole behind me who kept saying that Lethal wasn’t Macho man. When he screamed, “SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!” I’ll admit I chuckled, but seriously…stop trying to get yourself over and shut the fuck up. Dutt is a pretty good heel btw. I liked the Low-Ki-jump-in-the-ring-and-land-next-to-him-then-kick-him spot. I thought Val was turning on Lethal when she kept distracting him from winning. I guess they’ll save that for the next match or whatever. Dutt wins with a rollup.
Rating: **1/2

LAX vs. Beer Money Inc. for the TNA Tag Team Titles
I liked the pre-match promo from BM INC. When Strom said he couldn’t wait to get out of Houston I applauded (I hear ya James…I hear ya…). When their music hit they got a pretty good ovation (at least from my section…I wasn’t paying attention to the others). Standard tag match here. I feel they could do a lot better if they played some house shows together and got a little more chemistry, but it’s understandable that this is what we got. I kind of wanted to see Hernandez do his dive, but then I realized the fans were out there and that might not be the best idea. Like I said though, solid stuff as LAX retain with the Doomsday Gringo Killa.
Rating: **1/4

Taylor Wilde vs. Awesome Kong for the TNA Knockouts Title.
My friend doesn’t get the appeal in Kong. When the crowd started chanting for her, he asked why they would want her on TV over a hot chick. Worst match of the night here. Nothing offensively bad, but not great or anything. I promise this is the last time I bitch about a fan right here, but there was this kid behind me who kept chanting “You’re gonna go in a Houston ambulance (to the tune of, “You’re gonna get your Fucking head kicked in”) for quite a while, then when Wilde was walking to the back and Saeed attacked her, his dad said, “Just like 9/11, no one saw it coming. (because the character is of Middle Eastern decent) and then the kid said the 9/11 thing again. Stupid douche bag rednecks. Anyway, rant over. Wilde wins with a rollup. Didn’t expect to see Abyss coming down. Man did the crowd want Abyss vs. Kong.
Rating: *1/4

Kaz vs. Naruki Doi vs. Volador Jr. vs. Daivari in an Ultimate X match.
I had fun with this. I’m glad Doi was in it instead of Milano. Started off a little slow, but It eventually got underway. I’ll just skip to one of the best spots I’ve seen in TNA in a long time. I don’t even need to mention which spot but yes the Kaz legdrop. Holy shit indeed. At first I thought he was going to do the Low Ki double stomp, but then I thought that’d be too dangerous so I then assumed he would do the Daniels leap of faith to get the X. Let’s call it somewhere in the middle. That literally had me jumping out of my seat. I don’t even think the crowd was that pissed when Volador won initially due to the shock of the last spot, although they weren’t too happy during the trophy presentation.
Rating: ***1/4

Styles/Christian/Rhyno vs. Angle/Team 3D in a Full Metal Mayhem match.
Yeah like there was anyway FCA or Tables match was winning. They didn’t show us the voting results live but we all figured it out when they wheeled out tables and ladders during the X Cup trophy presentation / match hype video package. I was a little upset I didn’t get to see Kurt rise from the ground in his entrance. When Brother Ray came to the ring, he took a beer from a fan, drank some, and then threw it onto the crowd. That’s just awesome. The match itself was spot happy but in a good fun way. I loved AJ’s leaping ladder spot. When the entrances were taking place my friend pointed out that the Ultimate X pillars were still there. We thought nothing of it until Christian scaled one and jumped off. Towards the end it seemed Rhino and Christian had disappeared. I kept waiting to see them again, but never did. I figured Angle would get his win back over AJ here and he did with the Angle Slam off the ladder through the table. Not as good as the opening match but not far behind.
Rating: ****

Samoa Joe vs. Booker T
I’m glad this got the in ring introduction because it helped make the match feel grand. The crowd was about 90-10 in favor of Booker. I’m a little surprised at that because at Vengeance last year Booker got barely a reaction, but here he’s treated as a God. I was one of the few who was cheering Joe. My friend went with Booker about halfway into the match to let me fend for myself. I’m not a vocal guy at shows but I was cheering Joe on hard here. Whenever Joe looked in our direction I always made sure to applaud him. I don’t think this would have been nearly as good without the crowd, which bumped it up from average to pretty good. Plus, Joe killin bitches is always fun. The ending really confused me live. I thought the match was still going on until I heard Booker’s music at the end. I totally forgot Sting was gonna be there, but when he showed up even some Joe marks turned on the champ and went with Sting. I’ll really have to see how this came across on TV and how it’ll play out over the next few weeks. When Booker’s music hit at the end and the crowd started chanting “bullshit,” I decided to get out of there. This was officially a No Contest.
Rating: ***1/4

Final Thoughts:
Definitely a fun show to be apart of, even though most people say Vengeance sucked last year and I went there and had fun too. Even my friend who had never really seen TNA said it was great, and he doesn’t really like wrestling anymore. We talked about the show quite a bit on the ride home and it may the drive seem shorter as a result. When the matches were good, they were really good, but a lot of the undercard is mediocre. Find a way to see the opener and FMM match as quick as possible.

TNA Slammiversary 2008 Review

Petey Williams (w/Scott Steiner and Rhaka Khan) defeated Kaz to retain the TNA X Division Championship[5] (15:18)
Williams pinned Kaz after a Canadian Destroyer.
After the match, Abyss returned and attacked Steiner, Williams and Khan, delivering a Black Hole Slam to each of them.
***3/4

Gail Kim, O.D.B., and Roxxi defeated The Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky) and Moose[5] (10:15)
O.D.B. pinned Moose after a running powerslam.
**1/2

The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez) (w/Salinas and Hector Guerrero) defeated Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship[5] (15:44)
Homicide pinned Ray with a roll-up.
**1/4

Awesome Kong (w/Raisha Saeed) defeated Serena Deeb in a $25,000 Fan Challenge[5] (2:26)
Kong pinned Deeb after an Implant Buster.
¼*

Awesome Kong (w/Raisha Saeed) defeated Josie in a $25,000 Fan Challenge.[5] (1:53)
Kong pinned Josie after an Awesome Bomb
½*

A.J. Styles defeated Kurt Angle (w/Tomko)[5] (22:50)
Styles pinned Angle after a Styles Clash
After the match Angle hit Styles with a steel chair.
***3/4

Samoa Joe defeated Robert Roode, Booker T, Rhino, and Christian Cage (w/Kevin Nash as the Special Ringside Enforcer) in a King of the Mountain match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship[5] (19:51)
Booker qualified by pinning Rhino after a Book End.
Roode qualified by pinning Cage after a chair shot.
Rhino qualified by pinning Roode with a roll-up.
Cage qualified by pinning Booker after a frog splash.
Joe qualified by pinning Roode after a Muscle Buster.
Joe hung the belt to win.
***1/2

TNA Sacrifice 2008 Review

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal: Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) defeated Sting and James Storm (8:21)
Devon pinned Storm after Sting tossed Storm off the top turnbuckle through a table.
*3/4

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal: Rhino and Christian Cage defeated Booker T and Robert Roode (6:50)
Rhino pinned Roode after a Gore.
*1/2

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal: The Latin American Exchange (Homicide and Hernandez) (w/Salinas and Hector Guerrero) defeated Kip James and Matt Morgan (4:06)
Hernandez pinned James after Morgan accidentally hit a bicycle kick on James.
*

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal: A.J. Styles and Super Eric defeated B.G. James and Awesome Kong (w/Raisha Saeed) (5:32)
Styles pinned James with a Small Package.
*3/4

Kaz defeated Jimmy Rave, Johnny Devine, Shark Boy, Curry Man, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, and Consequences Creed in a TerrorDome match (10:41)
Kaz won by climbing out of the cage.
Kaz became the number one contender to the TNA X Division Championship and took Kurt Angle's place in the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match.
***1/4

Deuces Wild Semifinal: Team 3D defeated Christian Cage and Rhino (9:55)
Ray pinned Rhino after hitting him with a kendo stick.
**

Deuces Wild Semifinal: The Latin American Exchange defeated A.J. Styles and Super Eric (7:31)
Homicide pinned Styles after Hector Guerrero aided in reversing a pin, switching from Styles pinning Homicide to Homicide pinning Styles.
**1/2

Gail Kim defeated Roxxi Laveaux, Angelina Love, O.D.B., Jacqueline, Rhaka Khan, Christy Hemme, Traci Brooks, Velvet Sky and Salinas in a TNA Knockout Makeover Battle Royal (9:35)
Kim won by climbing the ladder and grabbing the contract to a win a future TNA Women's World Championship match.
As a result of the pre-match stipulation, Laveaux had her head shaved. If Kim had lost, then the runner up (Angelina Love) would have had her head shaved, as Kim won immunity by winning a Shears on a Pole match on an edition of Impact!.
**1/2

Deuces Wild Final: Latin American Exchange defeated Team 3D to win the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship (8:50)
Homicide pinned Devon after a frog splash.
**3/4

Samoa Joe defeated Scott Steiner and Kaz in a Triple Threat Match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship (15:33)
Joe pinned Steiner after a Muscle Buster.
Kurt Angle was originally scheduled to be in the match, but was replaced by Kaz after suffering a legit injury in Korea.
Kaz was added to this match as a result of Jim Cornette announcing prior to the TerrorDome match that the winner would take Angle's place.
***1/2

TNA Lockdown 2008 Review

Jay Lethal defeated Curry Man, Sonjay Dutt, Johnny Devine, Shark Boy and Consequences Creed in a Xscape match to retain the TNA X Division Championship (10:40)
Devine pinned Dutt with a roll-up.
Creed pinned Shark Boy after a Creed-DT.
Curry Man pinned Creed after a Spice Rack.
Devine pinned Curry Man after a Devine Intervention.
Lethal escaped the cage to win.
***

Roxxi Laveaux defeated Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Salinas, Rhaka Khan, Traci Brooks, Christy Hemme and Jacqueline in a Queen of Cage Match (5:30)
Roxxi pinned Love after a Voodoo Drop.
As a prize, Roxxi received TNA Women's Title shot.
*1/2

B.G. James defeated Kip James (6:50)
B.G. pinned Kip with a roll-up.
*

Super Eric and Kaz defeated Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley), Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez), Scott Steiner and Petey Williams, Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave) and Black Reign and Rellik in a Cuffed in the Cage Match (10:45)
Super Eric cuffed Black Reign last to win.
**1/4

Gail Kim and O.D.B. defeated Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed (8:30)
O.D.B. pinned Saeed after a Splash from the top rope while holding onto the cage.
**1/4

Booker T and Sharmell defeated Robert Roode and Payton Banks in a Mixed Tag Team match (7:45)
Sharmell pinned Banks with a roll-up.
*1/2

Team Cage (Christian Cage, Kevin Nash, Rhino, Sting, and Matt Morgan) defeated Team Tomko (Tomko, A.J. Styles, Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon), and James Storm) in a Lethal Lockdown match (26:44)
Rhino pinned Storm after a Gore.
***3/4

Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Joe pinned Angle after a Muscle Buster. (17:45)
The stipulation for this match was if Samoa Joe lost, he would have to retire from professional wrestling.
****

TNA Destination X 2008 Review

The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez) (w/Salinas) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) and The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave) (w/Christy Hemme) in a Triple Threat Match (10:25)
Hernandez pinned Rave after a Border Toss to become the #1 contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
***1/4

Jay Lethal defeated Petey Williams (w/Rhaka Khan) to retain the TNA X Division Championship (11:45)
Lethal pinned Williams with a small package.
During the match So Cal Val interfered on Lethal's behalf and Scott Steiner interfered on Williams' behalf.
***1/4

Kaz and Eric Young defeated Black Reign and Rellik (10:28)
Young pinned Reign after a Death Valley Driver to both Rellik and Reign, delivered to both at the same time.
*3/4

Awesome Kong (w/Raisha Saeed) defeated Gail Kim and O.D.B. in a Triple Threat match to retain the TNA Women's World Championship (11:35)
Kong pinned ODB after a Awesome Bomb after Saeed tripped ODB.
***1/2

Curry Man and Shark Boy defeated Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) in a Fish Market Street Fight (13:31)
Shark Boy pinned Devon after Ray (accidentally) and Curry Man hit the 3D on Devon.
The stipulation was that if Ray and Devon didn't each weigh in at under 275 pounds, they would be fired from TNA. Both Ray and Devon made weight, and as such do not have to weigh in under 275 ever again.
**

Robert Roode (w/Payton Banks) defeated Booker T (w/Traci Brooks) in a Stand By Your Man Strap Match (7:55)
Roode pinned Booker after hitting Booker with a pair of handcuffs.
As a result of Roode winning, Banks got to lash Brooks with a strap.
*3/4

Rhino defeated James Storm (w/Jacqueline) in an Elevation X match (13:21)
Rhino kicked Storm off the structure through a table to win.
*

Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, and Christian Cage defeated The Angle Alliance (Kurt Angle, A.J. Styles and Tomko) (12:33)
Joe forced Tomko to submit to the Coquina Clutch.
***

TNA Against All Odds 2008 Review

A.J. Styles and Tomko defeated B.G. James and Bob Armstrong to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship (7:50)
Styles pinned James after a Tornado-Plex.
*

Traci Brooks defeated Payton Banks (5:15)
Brooks pinned Banks with a Schoolgirl.
*1/2

Scott Steiner defeated Petey Williams (9:30)
Steiner pinned Williams after an Elevated powerbomb to win the World Heavyweight and X Division Feast or Fired cases.
During the match, a mystery woman came out and distracted Williams.
**1/2

Eric Young defeated James Storm (w/Jackie Moore) to retain the Beer Drinking Championship (8:10)
Young pinned Storm after Rhino interfered and Gored Storm.
**3/4

Awesome Kong defeated O.D.B. to retain the TNA Women's World Championship (6:55)
Kong pinned O.D.B. after an Awesome Bomb.
During the match, Raisha Saeed came out and distracted O.D.B.
**1/2

Abyss defeated Judas Mesias (w/Father James Mitchell) in a Barbed Wire Massacre (15:00)
Abyss pinned Mesias after a Black Hole Slam onto a barbed wire board.
This match was taped at the iMPACT! Zone due to restrictions by the South Carolina Athletic Commission.
**1/2

Booker T fought Robert Roode (w/Payton Banks) to a double count-out (9:17)
Both men were counted-out when they fought to the backstage.
**1/4

Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) defeated Johnny Devine and Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) in a Street Fight (13:18)
Lethal pinned Devine after a Flying Elbow Drop through a table to win the TNA X Division Championship.
As a result of winning, Lethal reclaimed the X Division Championship and Team 3D cannot compete in TNA unless they both weigh in at under 275 pounds.
***1/4

Kurt Angle (w/Karen Angle) defeated Christian Cage (w/Samoa Joe as Special Enforcer) to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship (20:40)
Angle pinned Cage after Tomko interfered and performed a Torture rack neckbreaker on Cage.
During the match, A.J. Styles distracted Joe by trying to get in the ring Joe to chased him backstage.
****

TNA Final Resolution 2008 Review

The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez) defeated The Rock N' Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave) (w/Christy Hemme) (6:50)
Hernandez pinned Rave after a Border Toss from the middle rope.
After the match, Shelly Martinez gave Hoyt a low blow.
**1/2

Kaz defeated Black Reign (7:30)
Kaz pinned Reign after a Wave of the Future.
*3/4

Gail Kim defeated Awesome Kong in a No Disqualification match to retain the TNA Women's World Championship (12:50)
Kim pinned Kong with a school girl.
***3/4

Judas Mesias (w/Father James Mitchell) defeated Abyss (11:09)
Mesias pinned Abyss after a Straight to Hell onto a barbed-wire chair.
*3/4

Booker T and Sharmell defeated Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks in a Mixed Tag Team match (11:06)
Sharmell pinned Brooks with a school girl after knocking Brooks into Roode.
**

Johnny Devine and Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) defeated Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) in a Ultimate X match (12:15)
Devon grabbed the X Division belt after climbing a ladder to win.
**1/2

A.J. Styles and Tomko defeated Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship (11:56)
Styles and Tomko pinned Joe after a Tornado-Plex.
***

James Storm defeated Eric Young to win a Two of out Three Falls Drinking Championship Series
Storm won the first fall, a drinking and trivia contest, after Young missed a question.
Young won the second fall, a contest to see who could hold their urine in the longest, after Storm peed in his pants.
Storm won the third fall, who could drink the longest without passing out, when Young passed out.

Kurt Angle (w/Karen Angle) defeated Christian Cage to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship (18:44)
Angle pinned Cage after a springboard elbow smash from A.J. Styles and an Olympic Slam.
****

TNA VS. NJPW 04/01/08

Styles/Cage/Williams vs. Milano Collection AT/Minoru/Devitt --- ***
Wataru Inoue vs. Christopher Daniels (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title) --- **3/4
Abyss vs. Manabu Nakanishi --- *3/4
Tanaka/Takaiwa/Yoshie/Takemura vs. Iizuka/Kanemoto/Tiger Mask/Taguchi --- **1/2
Makabe/Yano vs. Team 3D --- **
Jado/Gedo/TARU/Kondo/YASSHI vs. Fujinami/Choshu/Chono/Liger/AKIRA --- **
Hirooki Gotoh vs. Great Muta --- **1/4
Bernard/Tomko vs. Steiner Brothers (IWGP Tag Team Titles) --- *1/4
Kurt Angle vs. Yuji Nagata --- ***1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (IWGP Heavyweight Title) --- ****1/4