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2/5 TNA in Wichita, Ks.: Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe vs. Abyss, Ref Hebner and Shark Boy work an angle
Feb 6, 2010 - 10:53:40 AM
TNA house show report
February 5, 2010
Wichita, Kansas at Hartman Arena
Report by Mike Id, Torch reader
My son and I arrived at Hartman Arena when the doors opened. Don West was working the merchandise table and Team 3D had a signing session. 3D were very personable and fun to talk with, they gladly posed for pictures with my son. This was TNA's third visit to Wichita but the first time in the Hartman Arena, a huge step-up for them from the much smaller Cotillion, but nowhere near sold out. The four-sided ring was there despite the chairs being setup for the six-sided ring. There were four sections that got great views of the ring posts all night.
An authority figure started the show. I didn't recognize him or catch his name. He warmed up the crowd a little than introduced Jeremy Borash. JB did his usual sell to the crowd about the loudest getting backstage passes, thankfully no empty promises this year about hosting a future PPV as he did the two previous times.
(1) Chris Sabin beat "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal. The crowd was split between both wrestlers with Sabin working heelish but still doing face pops for the crowd. Lots of dueling chants for the opener and crowd was into the match. The match had a number of great spots in it. Sabin nailed a springboard dive to the outside at mid-match. Back and forth action throughout the match, Sabin ended up getting the final pin fall in nine minutes.
Prior to the second match, Referee Earl Hebner was announced to the ring. He walked the aisle styling and profiling, Flair style with a ring girl on each arm. Earl received a tremendous heel response with a number of "You screwed Kurt" chants. There was a heel section of the crowd with a loud "To hell with Bret, you screwed Kurt" chant that was pretty entertaining. JB and the Authority Figure proceeded to inform Hebner that he is suspended; the Authority Figure made a reference to Shark Boy eating him and then had security escort him unwillingly to the back. The crowd ate this up.
Shark Boy then came out and did some mic work in full Stone Cold mode inciting the crowd into "What?" responses. He ended up feuding with the Authority Figure and gave him a very ugly looking stunner and that was the "Fishing Line, cause Shark Boy said so!" They teased an injury to the Authority Figure and brought a stretcher to the ring, it went unused though as the guy walked to the back wearing a neck brace.
(2) Knockouts champion Tara beat ODB to retain the Knockouts Title. As in the previous match, crowd was split between both wrestlers and neither working as a true heel. Pretty much standard match with a number of near falls before Tara hit the Widows Peak for the three count. Post match saw Tara trying to put the spider on ODB but she bolted before she could complete the task.
(3) Samoa Joe beat Abyss via submission. This was easily the weakest match of the night. Basic match filled with punches and kicks. Very slow-paced, but the crowd was into the match despite my disappointment. Fans cheered Joe with a loud "Joe's Gonna Kill You" chant which annoyed Abyss and turned him on the crowd. He still managed to get in a couple of his face spots and execute a chokeslam. The finish came at the ten-minute mark with Joe forcing a tap out with the rear naked choke.
(4) TNA Tag Team Champions "Super Mex" Hernandez & Matt Morgan beat Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon). This was a very good match, Morgan started out strong, getting in a series of clotheslines and his alternating elbows in the corner. Team 3D cheated to gain control and held the advantage most of the match. "We Want Tables" chants was constant throughout the match. Heel fans started a dueling "Ain't Gonna Happen" chant that seemed to amuse Hernandez on the ring apron. After about a seven-minute stretch, Hernandez got the hot tag and cleared the ring. 3D fought back and Devon nailed a "Wassup" dive from the top rope. The finish came at 14:00 when Hernandez connected with a top rope dive for the pin. Post-match saw a heel type stare down from 3D, but they ended with a respect handshake and Brother Ray raising Morgan and Hernandez's hands.
During intermission, Tara worked the autograph table. She posed for pictures and chatted with fans. Don West continued to work the merchandise and sold like crazy. The backstage pass winners were chosen and escorted backstage.
(5) Desmond Wolfe beat "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero. Wolfe was the first true heel of the night sans Hebner and fans loudly booed. Wolfe controlled the early portion of the match and worked the crowd with verbal taunts and hand gestures. Great match with a number of near falls, Wolfe teased the Tower of London several time throughout the match. The Pope was clearly over with the Wichita crowd and had several "Pope is Pimp'n" chants to his approval. The match lasted about twelve minutes with the finisher coming out of nowhere - Wolfe scored the pinfall via a roll-up with his feet on ropes. Post match saw Pope attaching Wolfe, who then escaped to the back. Pope posed with the referee eventually tripping him and leaving him face first in the ring.
For the main event, JB had the referee go to the top of the arena and choose a fan to sit at ringside with him. They picked a boy named Jacob and JB had the crowd start a "Jacob" chant for him, which was pretty loud and seemed to embarrass him a little. Mr. Anderson came out first to a loud chorus of boos. He teased a high five to Jacob before entering the ring. When the house mic failed to drop down on cue (which prompted a "Wichita Sucks!" chant from the heel fans), JB came from behind and placed his microphone in Anderson's hand, which was pretty comical. Anderson did his normal spiel and worked the crowd hard. Jeff Jarrett was introduced to a very vocal response and a number of "TNA" chants.
(6) Jeff Jarrett beat Mr. Anderson in the main event. The match started with a great deal of stalling, which worked up the crowd. Anderson tried to win over the crowd by attempting a turnbuckle pose. This prompted Jarrett to do the same, which brought the crowd to their loudest point of the evening. Back and forth match most of the time with both hitting their signature moves. Jarrett got in his signature strut with Anderson spoofing later in the match. The action spilled outside the ring with Jarrett gaining control and nailing Anderson on the security rail a couple times. A ref bump occurred at 14:00, which gave Anderson the advantage. He went for the pin and Earl Hebner came to the ring to issue the three count. Slick Johnson interrupted the count by pulling Earl from the ring. He then had security drag him to the back for the second time of the evening. Jarrett low-blowed Anderson during the referee debacle and delivered the Stroke for the victory. Great match with the fans enjoying the Hebner finish.
Afterward, Jarrett addressed the crowd thanking them for their support. He then told the crowd that since they can't take everyone backstage, they would bring the backstage to the fans. Double J attempted to leave the ring, but JB brought him back and announced that he would be posing for pictures mid-ring for $20. Sharkboy, Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal, Hernandez, Matt Morgan, ODB, and Abyss came ringside and signed autographs and posed for pictures. All were very gracious with the crowd and all signed my son's program. I was able to chat with ODB for a couple minutes while she was signing autographs. I was very impressed with how personable she was and eager to please the fans.
The Pope signed autographs at the table by the merchandise booth. He was very talkative and interacted well with the fans, posing for numerous pictures while we were waiting. On a side note, Pope has one of the coolest signatures for autographs that I have ever seen.
Don West worked his butt off the entire show and was still selling at the end by the Pope. The line was backed up the length of the arena and I swear West pulled sells from 60 percent of the line. I was happy he paused from selling to chat with me and sign my son's program.
Overall, the show was fantastic and easily the best show of their three trips to the Air Capital. The matches were all great (sans Abyss-Joe, which was still decent) with the main event stealing the show. I hope TNA comes back for a fourth time and recommend TNA house shows to any wrestling fan.
Biggest Pops: Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe, The Pope
Most Heat: Mr. Anderson, Desmond Wolfe, Earl Hebner
•New for September 2010 - the Torch Today "Daily News at a Glance"... If you've got 25 seconds, we've boiled the news of the day down to 250 words. Check it out every day at 5 p.m. ET or bookmark the listing. Appointment reading for the wrestling fan who doesn't want to miss anything, but doesn't have much time.
