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TNA house show report
October 23, 2009
Chicago, Ill.
Report by Richard Karels, Torch subscriber

I'll be generous and guess attendance at 750, which is just a bit more than what ROH averages for their Chicago shows. I did not see any promotion or hear any word-of-mouth buzz for this show. The Odeum was actually the fourth venue for this show that had been announced. You may recognize The Odeum as the site of many ECW shows, including for the Anarchy Rulz '99 pay-per-view.

Jeremy Borash in our host/ring announcer and we get start a couple of minutes early. I'm sure that is a first for a wrestling show.

(1) Alex Shelley beat Shark Boy. The crowd was into Shelley, so Shark Boy played heel. Good action.

(2) Rhino beat Kip James with a gore. Rhino did some mic work before the match to get the crowd to treat him as a heel. It was lame, but in the way that it should be for a heel, not trying to be "cool." That, or he came across like he was really high. He actually brought up things he said that aired on Impact the prior night, and the crowd had no idea what he was talking about. As for the match, you didn't miss anything.

(3) ODB beat Alissa Flash to retain the TNA Knockouts Title. ODB came to the ring with some local personality, but no one I recognized, not could I make out his name. A bit clunky in spots, but still good. A good example of what sets the TNA Knockouts from the WWE Divas.

(4) Matt Morgan beat Scott Steiner with the Carbon Footprint. Steiner did mic work running down the local sports teams. Lots of stalling to begin, with Steiner almost hopping the guardrail to go after fans. Morgan did hop the guardrail and sat with his fans in the bleachers. They had a passable match. Steiner works hard, but is clearly on borrowed time. Steiner walked to the back with the middle-finger salute for the crowd.

[Intermission]

(5) Lethal Consequences (Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed) beat Sheik Abdul Bashir & Kiyoshi. The only match of the night to elicit the "this is awesome" chants. It was a good match and all, but it wasn't that good. Lethal Consequences brought a soldier into the ring after to dance.

(6) TNA World Hvt. champion A.J. Styles beat Samoa Joe to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Title with a Pele kick. This match was good, but short.

After the match, they did the usual routine with A.J. taking photos with fans in the ring for $20 and some of the others coming out to sign autographs at ringside.

The entire show lasted two hours. I'm certainly glad it wasn't as long as some of the marathon ROH shows, but it could have lasted another 30 or 60 minutes and not have worn out its welcome. There was plenty of good action. The only shirts I could make out in the crowd were for Beer Money, Samoa Joe (ROH ones at that), and, shockingly, Sheik Abdul Bashir. Not a lot of action at the merch table.

Cheap plug: Hit me up at www.myspace.com/wrestlinghullabaloo

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