TNA house show results
July 24, 2010
LaPorte, Ind.
Report by Ken Kettler, PWTorch reader

I just got back from the TNA house show at the LaPorte County Fair in LaPorte, Ind. This was my sixth TNA show and, like the other five, I had a great time. TNA did their best to reach out to their fans with pre-show autograph signings, Don West's brown bag specials ($20 for four DVDs and a brand new RVD t-shirt), and Jeremy Borash's backstage passes. This is all normal TNA fare, and always seems to set them apart from other companies.

The most noteworthy part of the event, however, wasn't anything TNA could control, as the event was outdoors, set up on the rodeo and tractor field at the fairgrounds, and only the ring had any sort of protective covering over it. Our area has been hit by severe thunderstorms the last few days, and sure enough, right at the start of the event, it started raining, which soon became a total downpour. Most of the crowd got completely soaked within the first half-hour of the show. The audience stayed put and cheered through it, creating one of those live wrestling memories you never forget. Borash mentioned that they had one of the backstage workers film the crowd toughing it out in the rain to cheer on TNA, which he said might end up on TV in the near future.

Match results:

(1) Rob Terry beat Global champion A.J. Styles in a non-title match. A.J. could get an entertaining match out of a waffle iron, and he helped Rob shine here. Terry won with a big slam, then tried to grab the Global Title, but Styles quickly stole it back, screaming that it was non-title. Big heat for Styles here.

(2) Knockouts champion Madison Rayne beat Taylor Wilde to retain the Knockouts Title. The rain really started to come down before this match, which soaked both ladies upon their entrances, much to the delight of the crowd. Madison taunted the crowd for being wet while she was under the tent, then tried to get the match stopped at one point because she got hit with more rain at ringside. Earl Hebner got involved, planting a kiss on Rayne at one point, but Madison ended up winning after a kick to the head.

(3) Mr. Anderson beat Desmond Wolfe. Anderson did mic work pre-match and was insanely over with the crowd. Good back-and-forth match that ended with Anderson countering the Tower of London, then Wolfe looking for a running uppercut, but running into the Mic Check for the Anderson win.

(4) Kevin Nash beat Jeff Jarrett. From reading reports from the night before, it seemed Nash was definitely slowed by an apparent shoulder injury. To cover, Jarrett played the heel here, and got into an physical altercation with Earl Hebner, leading to Nash trying to break the two up. Eventually, Nash called for Jarrett and Hebner to have a match themselves, after which the timekeeper comically rang the bell. Another ref ran down (I believe it was Slick Johnson) to ref the new match, but Jarrett began shoving him as well. Before long, Earl and Slick were hip-tossing Jarrett around the ring before Nash ended it with a big boot. Total comedy match, but it was entertaining for what it was. Jeff seemingly turned back face and thanked the fans for their support afterward.

(5) Ink, Inc. (Shannon Moore & Jesse Neal) beat Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode & James Storm). This match was a blast, thanks to Storm and Roode's heel mic work pre-match and an extremely hot crowd throughout. Ink, Inc. won with a Jesse Neal spear after a failed DWI attempt by Beer Money. On a cool side note, a group of us were able to interact with Jesse Neal during the match. We decided to cheer loudly for Beer Money and Jesse acknowledged us throughout the match, smiling cockily in our direction whenever Shannon got the upper hand and mocking our booking at the end of the match. He seemed to get a kick out of it, as did we.

(6) Jeff Hardy beat Abyss in a Monster's Ball match. Hardy was ridiculously over with the crowd, although Abyss seems to have more support since he dropped the Hogan clone gimmick. Hardy took some sick shots with garbage can lids, which echoed throughout the fairground. There were plenty of fun garbage brawl-type moves from both men. The finish came when Abyss was powerbombed onto his thumbtacks, then he took a Swanton Bomb. Afterward, Abyss threatened Jeff with a chair, but eventually walked away. Hardy stuck around at ringside for a long time to take pictures with fans.

There was supposed to be a post-event autograph party and backstage access for those who purchased a $50 all-access pass, as well as a separate Kevin Nash autograph signing at the entrance, but both had to be canceled due to the rain. Refunds were given to those who paid for the pass. Despite the inclement weather, it was a really fun live show, made even more memorable by the fans sticking it out in the torrential rain.

Biggest Pops:
(1) (tie) Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson
(3) Beer Money (pre-match)

Biggest Heat:
(1) Beer Money (during the match)
(2) A.J. Styles
(3) Madison Rayne

Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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