By Wade Keller, Torch editor

TNA FINAL RESOLUTION PPV
JANUARY 16, 2005
LIVE FROM ORLANDO, FLA. AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

PREGAME SHOW ON PPV CHANNEL

-Shane Douglas and Jeremy Borash introduced the pregame show.

-Mike Tenay and Don West talked at ringside about the live pre-game show and the upcoming PPV.

1 -- THE NATURALS (Chase Stevens & Andy Douglas) vs. JOHNNY B. BADD & SONNY SIAKI

Tenay and West talked over 90 percent of the match previewing the PPV matches, focusing on the NWA World Title situation and the Ultimate X match. At 3:00 Siaki hot-tagged Badd who worked over both heels with kneelifts. In the end, Siaki saved Badd from a flying chain-wrapped fist and ended up getting pinned as a result.

WINNERS: The Naturals at 4:58.

STAR RATING: *

-Promos and vignettes aired hyping the PPV.

-Scott Hudson interviewed Scott D'Amore with Team Canada.

2 -- CHRIS CANDIDO vs. CASSIDY REILLY

What's with the flames coming out of the backside of Cassidy's trunks? More talk from Tenay and West about the PPV matches. It's a tough call to give away too much on these pregame shows or waste an exciting match, but I'm not sure these two matches did a lot to create excitement about TNA's style of wrestling. The wrestling was fundamentally sound, but just sort of there. Candido got the win with a top rope headbutt to the chest.

WINNER: Candido at 5:04.

STAR RATING: *

-Borash and Douglas gave a final plug for the PPV. Borash called Turning Point last month the greatest PPV in years.

PPV REPORT

-The key matches on the PPV were previewed with a voiceover preview package including a clip of Rick Steamboat raising A.J. Styles's arm in victory when he won the X Title on the first TNA PPV.

-Tenay and West officially introduced the program as pyro shot off. Tenay said this PPV will feature innovation, intrigue, and intensity.

-Douglas interviewed Jeff Jarrett backstage in his locker room. Same stuff he's been saying for weeks about Monty Brown being a Double-A ball player. He said he earned the right to be King of the Mountain and NWA Champion. He said Dusty Rhodes's plan is going to backfire. "This is Planet Jarrett, this is my world, and I will remain NWA World Hvt. Champion," he concluded.

1 -- MICHAEL SHANE & KAZARIAN & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS vs. B.G. JAMES & RON "THE TRUTH" KILLINGS & KONNAN

3LK did their signature pre-match mic work. Konnan began against Daniels. Fans chanted "Fallen Angel" at Daniels. Konnan did his signature opening chain wrestling routine. Shane tagged in against Konnan and 3LK triple-teamed him ending with a Killings legdrop off the top rope onto Shane's crotch. At 5:30 Daniels made a hot-tag, but Killings ended up cleaning house and taking Shane down with a scissors kick for a near fall. Daniels made the save. Daniels took James down with an enzuigiri. Shane and Konnan collided with simultaneous clotheslines. Everyone was down in the ring at this point as the ref counted everyone down. Everyone rose before the ten count and a six-way brawl broke out. James clotheslined Daniels over the top rope to the floor. Konnan then gave Shane an inverted DDT for a near fall at 7:30. Killings was going to the top rope, but Kazarian yanked him to ringside. Daniels then flipped off the top rope, but Killings moved and he hit Shane by mistake. Back in the ring, Konnan and James held Shane in the air as Killings nailed him with a front wheel kick for the win.

WINNERS: 3 Live Kru at 8:15.

STAR RATING: *3/4 -- Solid opener.

-They went backstage to Johnny Fairplay, Traci, and Trinity meeting in the back of Dusty Rhodes's pick-up truck. Tenay said one of them would end up voted off of TNA Island.

2 -- PRIMETIME vs. SONJAY DUTT

Tenay said these two wrestlers are at a crossroads in their careers. A minute in, Sonjay got a rise out of the crowd with a multi-revolution head scissors takeover that took Primetime to the floor. Primetime leaped onto the top rope and springboarded into a dropkick, knocking Sonjay to the floor. The storyline early was that Primetime suffered shoulder damage early, and that hampered his ability to sustain momentum. They went into a series of counters of each others offense in rapid-fire fashion including Sonjay countering the Play of the Day. The crowd was really into the match, even with both men on the mat trying to regain their strength. Sonjay scored a near fall after a DDT at 9:30. Sonjay flipped off the top rope, but Primetime moved and then hot-shot Sonjay over the top rope. He followed with a POD for the win.

WINNER: Primetime at 10:01.

STAR RATING: **1/2 -- Good match. They told a good, believable and exciting story and had the crowd the whole way.

-They went to Kevin Nash and Dallas Page backstage. Nash said, "At this point in my career, I want to work smarter, not harder." He proposed to Page that they work together to take out Monty Brown. Page said he's always stood by himself. Nash said, "We take him out, take a two or three minute break, get our juices back, and have a match - a couple of gentlemen for the World Title." Page asked, "So I'm supposed to trust you." Nash said he wouldn't put a hand on Page until Brown was gone. He said, "Then it's on." Page said: "Trust Kevin Nash. Whata concept." A good segment at setting up a potential storyline for the match.

-A video package aired hyping Dustin Rhodes vs. Kid Kash. Dustin is just weird.

3 -- DUSTIN RHODES vs. KID KASH

During Dustin's ring entrance, Tenay said Dustin was so impressed with Turning Point last month that he committed to TNA the next day. Tenay said he has one goal - to win the NWA World Title. Dustin clotheslined Kash in the opening seconds and sent him to tumbling to the floor. Kash grabbed at his left knee at 1:30 after landing hard on it. The ref checked on him to see if he could continue. When Dustin moved in to check on Kash, Kash lunged forward and gave him a low blow. West said he couldn't believe he bought into it. Kash then gave a slidekick to Dustin's ankle. The then looked at the crowd and pointed to his head. Kash began working over Dustin's leg, but then Dustin surprised him with a backslide at 4:00. Kash then quickly regained control, including a stomp between the legs. Dustin surprised Kash with a small package. At 5:45 Kash frog-splashed Dustin's knee and then applied a figure-four. At 7:30 Dustin tried to regain control with a sleeper, but Kash escaped and applied his own. Dustin collapsed. A limping Dustin took Kash down with some punches and two clotheslines at 9:00. The crowd wasn't as into Dustin's comebacks as the quality of the action called for and deserved. Rhodes soon collapsed under his own weight, long-term selling convincingly. Kash went for a bodyblock, but Dustin rolled through for a near fall. Good spot. Kash scored a very near fall after an enzuigiri at 10:15. Kash and the ref got into a shoving match as Kash grew frustrated with the lack of a third mat slap during his pin attempts. Dustin surprised a distracted Kash with a surprise bulldog for the pin.

WINNER: Dustin at 10:08.

STAR RATING: **3/4 -- Really smartly executed, well-executed match where the size difference was worked perfectly and believably into the match.

-Backstage Fairplay said, "Those two bimbos can't outfit Johnny Fairplay." He put on Dusty's hat and mocked Dusty. Inside, he noticed a clue inside the mat conveniently labelled in large print: "Clue." He put the hat on as the segment ended before looking at the clue.

-A video aired previewing the three-way match.

-A video recap aired of the Erik Watts-Raven-Dallas Page storyline.

4 -- RAVEN vs. ERIK WATTS

Raven stomped away at Watts at the start of the match. Watts actually wore a wrestling outfit rather than street clothes. Raven knocked Watts to the floor in the opening segments. Watts grabbed at his shoulder. Raven slammed Watts into the ringside barrier. Watts kept grabbed at his shoulder and arm in pain. Raven rolled into the ring to break the count, then rolled back to ringside where he continued to beat on Watts. Watts continued to favor the shoulder back in the ring, but then surprised Raven with a dropkick. He tried to forearm Raven with his right arm, but winced immediately. He threw Raven back into the ring. At 5:00 he gave Raven a chokeslam. When he tried to hit Watts with a chair, the ref yanked it away from him. Raven then gave Watts a low-blow. The referee, who yanked the chair out of Watts's hands a minute earlier, let Raven set a chair in mid-ring for several seconds as Raven went for a drop toe hold. Watts reversed it and yanked Raven's head into the chair. One of the positives about Don West is he notices things like that because he really does get wrapped up in the action and notices inconsistencies and rather than being carny and covering it up, he usually draws attention to it. In this case, he said, "Well, at least the referee is letting both men us it now." Watts gave Raven a thrust kick to the face, then punched away at Raven's face with his injured arm at 7:45. Watts powerbombed Raven into the top turnbuckle and scored a two count. Raven took Watts to the mat and applied an anklelock. Watts crawled toward the bottom rope, but instead flipped out of it. Raven superkicked Watts in the face and scored a two count. Watts took an awkward (really fake-looking) bump on a running Raven clothesline. Raven applied an STF for a submission attempt, but Raven escaped and applied an anklelock. Watts chokeslammed Raven, but couldn't get much behind it due to the injured shoulder. A second attempt worked and he scored the pin. After the match Raven grabbed the house mic and apologized to Watts and asked for forgiveness. Seconds later, he nailed Watts with a trash can, knocking him off the rampway to the floor. "The master of mindgames strikes again," said Tenay.

WINNER: Watts at 10:21.

STAR RATING: ** -- Okay match overall, but not particularly graceful.

-Tenay talked about having incredible ratings on FSN on their new timeslot on FSN.

5 -- SCOTT HALL vs. JEFF HARDY

Roddy Piper walked out first. Tenay called him a true icon and said he has been added to the championship committee and is enforcer referee for the match. Tenay talked about what a huge acquisition Jeff Hardy was last summer for TNA. Piper thoroughly checked Hall for weapons and found a stick or pen in his boot. West joked that Hall has never been searched for weapons before. Piper found a fork hidden elsewhere, then yanked a chain hidden in the collar of his Elvis outfit. Tenay praised Dusty for making Piper. Hall then frisked Piper. Hall found handcuffs. Okay, now this is just getting strange. I was expecting a ball-gag next. Tenay pointed out that Hardy's first WWE opponent was Hall. Hall hit his fallaway slam early. Hardy flew at Hall from all directions early, but Hall soon took over. When Hall snuck on some brass knuckles that he had stashed in the corner top turnbuckle, Piper caught him with them and poked him in the eyes. Hardy then hit the Twist of Fate (or "the twist" as Tenay called it) and a Swanton Bomb for the clean pin. Afterward, Hardy grabbed the house mic and said, "I'm going to start kicking some as around this place and I'm going to start with you, King of the Mountain. You!" The crowd seemed shocked to hear him speak. When Hardy stomped on Hall, Piper pushed him away and said, "You got a shot at the title. Get out while you can." Piper raised his arm and said he's the "next World's Heavyweight Champion." Abyss then attacked Hardy and gave him the dropdown torture rack. "What in the hell is he doing here!" screamed Tenay. Abyss followed up with a black hole slam.

WINNER: Hardy at 5:54.

STAR RATING: 3/4*

-Tracy approached a backstage worker. She admired his muscles and told him she needed insider info on Dusty's office. Trinity told Tracy to go see Dusty. When she left, Trinity tried hitting on the worker. He rebuffed her and she said he didn't have a clue.

6 -- MONTY BROWN vs. DALLAS PAGE vs. KEVIN NASH

West said winning quickly is key for the three wrestlers so they're fresh against Jeff Jarrett. Tenay said Brown may have made it to the Super Bowl, but his dream was always to be NWA World Hvt. Champion. He said pictures of Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes were on his wall as a kid, not NFL players. He also said when Brown played in the Super Bowl in Atlanta, he went to Main Event Fitness to try to meet some pro wrestlers. Brown began against Page as Nash stood in the corner and watched. Page went for an early Diamond Cutter. At 2:40 Nash mocked Brown and then locked up with him. Brown punched away at Nash early. Nash fell onto his butt, but then yanked Brown head-first into a turnbuckle. Page watched as Nash elbowed and punched Brown. Nash hit a sideslam for the first two count of the match at 3:45. Page watched as Nash put Brown into a side headlock. By 5:00 Page and Nash double-teamed Brown. At 5:45 Page backdropped Nash over the top rope to eliminate him. That was a lame elimination. Awkward in execution and even unsatisfying if well executed. Since when does a three-way match end in over-the-top rope fashion? Nash wasn't happy. Page hit a Diamond Cutter in the ring, but Nash yanked him out of the ring and threw him into t he ringpost. Page draped his arm over a still stunned Brown for a near fall. Brown small packaged Page for a near fall. They went back and forth with near falls for a couple minutes. The crowd chanted for "Pounce." Page looked personally offended and hurt. While the hype on TV centered around selling a Nash vs. Jarrett match, the commentary in this match put over Monty Brown for having a lifelong dream of winning the title. They went back to that theme over and over, at the expense of creating any emotion for Page's quest. Brown avoided a Diamond Cutter and hit the Pounce for the win. When Page got up, he and Brown shook hands.

WINNER: Brown at 9:41.

STAR RATING: *3/4 -- Okay at times, but ugly at others. Nash avoided any big embarrassments, but didn't contribute much other than what's left of his stature and star power.

-A video recap aired of the America's Most Wanted vs. Team Canada feud.

7 -- BOBBY ROODE & ERIC YOUNG (w/Scott D'Amore) vs. AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (James Storm & Chris Harris)

AMW attacked Team Canada on the rampway, tired of their pre-match stalling. After a full two minutes of brawling at ringside, they finally brought the battle to the ring. AMW dominated the early minutes. They actually threw Young over the top rope onto Roode at ringside. D'Amore tried to regroup his team. At 5:30 Roode hit a spinning neckbreaker on Storm to start the first sustained offense for the heels. Roode went to a chinlock at 7:00. Storm hit an enzuigiri at 9:30 to make a comeback. He knocked Young off the ring apron; Young took a great Flair-like face-first bump to the floor. Team Canada quickly regained control. Young hit a top rope elbowdrop for a near fall. After a chinlock by Young, Storm hit a sunset flip to score a desperation two count. Roode went back to a chinlock. Storm finally hot-tagged Harris into the ring at 12:45. Harris fended off a double-team attempt by the heels. He gave Young a delayed vertical suplex. Four-way action followed. Young interrupted a Death Sentence set up. A strange spot followed where it wasn't clear what was being attempted or who was hurt, but Harris ended up tucking at the last second and landed safely after flipping off the top rope and almost hitting Roode. D'Amore yanked the referee out of the ring during a subsequent Storm pin attempt. Harris and Storm caught D'Amore at ringside. D'Amore begged off. Storm handcuffed D'Amore to the ringpost. AMW gave Young the Hart Attack clothesline for a near fall at 16:00. Johnny Devine came out and distracted AMW. In the ring, Storm gave Young an airplane spin, but Devine broke a hockey stick across Storm's back. That got a two count. Devine swung the stick at Harris, but Harris ducked. AMW nearly finished off Roode with a neckbreaker/powerbomb combo. Very close and convincing near fall at 18:00. "How much closer can you get," said Tenay. Harris then gave Young a Catatonic, but Roode distracted the ref. Harris tried to get the chair away from Devine, but then Roode knocked Harris into the chair with a clothesline from behind. Young crawled onto Harris for a two count. When Young reached out to Devine at ringside from behind. Devine thought it was a member of AMW and he hit him with a chair. Storm then schoolboyed him for the three count.

WINNERS: America's Most Wanted at 19:09 to capture the NWA Tag Team Titles.

STAR RATING: ****1/4 -- Really good tag team match. They ought to put a match like that on FSN one week as the centerpiece of the entire show to get a buzz going among fans looking for that kind of great tag action.

-Johnny Fairplay was celebrating that he found a clue outside the arena. Tracy and Trinity attacked him. Then they fought with each other over the clue. They ran up to Dusty in his pick-up truck. Dusty said they survived. He said he wanted them to each find a teammate who has never wrestled for TNA before. The winner becomes his personal secretary in TNA. Fairplay was shown crawling on the pavement. I'm a bit speechless.

8 -- PETEY WILLIAMS vs. A.J. STYLE vs. CHRIS SABIN -- Ultimate X match with X Title on the line.

For some reason X Champ Williams wasn't introduced first or last, but between Sabin and Styles. When Tenay calls Styles "Mr. TNA 2004," it just accents what a bad name they are stuck with for their promotion. Williams and Styles worked together early to wear down Petey, sending him to ringside. Styles and Sabin then squared off. Sabin went to the top rope, but Styles yanked him back down at 2:15. Styles then springboarded off the top rope and reached for the X Title belt, but came up quite short. As Petey and Sabin fought at ringside. Styles flipped onto them at ringside. At 4:00 Sabin was the first to hang from the cables and work his way toward the belt in the middle. D'Amore yanked him down. Tenay said Dusty had to do something about D'Amore. The ref ordered him to the back. The crowd chanted "Na na na na, good bye" at him. Williams protested to no avail. Back in the ring Williams and Sabin went into a rapid-fire sequence. Styles recovered at ringside and eventually made his way toward the belt while hanging from the cable. Williams intervened and gave Styles a snap back suplex. At 10:00 Williams walked his hands toward the belt, but ended up dropping down and headscissoring Sabin off of Styles's shoulders in a good stunt spot. After all wrestlers took a minute to recover, Styles and Williams each crawled on the cable toward the belt. Sabin yanked Styles to the mat. That left Sabin up there alone hanging upside down, stuck. Styles springboarded at Williams and punched him, knocking him to the mat. At 12:00 Sabin climbed up onto the cable again. When Styles went to the top rope, Sabin gave him a huracanrana taking him hard to the mat. Another hot spot. They did a three-way spot that turned into a double inverted DDT off of a Styles springboard backflip. Styles walked with his hands toward the belt. Sabin dropkicked him and Styles flipped onto his back in another hot spot. At 14:00 Williams clotheslined Sabin over the top rope to the floor. Styles was slow to get up from the previous bump. Williams and Styles climbed opposite sides of the same scaffolding post. Styles hung from his arm awkwardly. Styles broke free and sold a right arm injury. Sabin in the ring gave Williams the Cradle Shock finisher. Sabin then made his way to the belt, but Styles intervened at the last second. Styles went for a Styles Clash, but Sabin countered into an armbar submission. Styles, UFC-style, lifted and slammed Sabin to the mat powerbomb style, then hit a Styles Clash at 16:30. The fans chanted "This is awesome." Styles managed to climb up to the cable and reach for the belt. Because of his injured arm, he came up short and fell to the mat. Williams then surprised Styles with his Canadian Destroyer finisher at 17:30. Williams then gave Sabin a spike DDT. He played to the crowd and signalled for another move, but then decided to just climb up for the belt. Sabin yanked him down and gave him a running edge into the corner turnbuckles. With Styles still knocked out, Sabin and Williams each worked their way to the belt. Sabin got to it first. Then Williams. They struggled to unsnap it. They each had a hand on it. Styles springboarded off the top rope and knocked it out of their hands for the win.

WINNER: A.J. Styles at 20:01 to capture the X Title.

STAR RATING: ****3/4 -- Spectacular spotfest that included smart selling and internal logic with a satisfying finish.

-As Jarrett made his way toward the entrance, he took some digs at Nash, telling him that was his one chance at a title match. Nash had to held back by security.

9 -- JEFF JARRETT vs. MONTY BROWN -- NWA World Hvt. Title match

They listed Jarrett at 6-1 and Brown at 6-2. I guess there's a four-inch error in their measuring tape. After long ring introductions by Jeremy Borash that gave the match an epic feel, Jarrett and Brown locked up collar and elbow to start. Jarrett armdragged Brown and then did the strut. The crowd booed. Jarrett hit Brown with a dropkick, then did another strut. Jarrett lounged on the top rope in the corner, then flexed his arm and posed like Lex Luger. Brown just looked on with a gameface, unphased. Brown missed badly with a punch at 3:15. Brown followed up with a powerslam for the first two count of the match. At 4:30 they fought at ringside. Brown tried to drive Jarrett into the ringpost, but Jarrett escaped and he knocked Brown into the ringpost. He then threw him into the crowd where they entered a time machine and travelled to 1998. Jarrett blasted Brown with a couple chairshots, then threw Brown back into the ringside area. Jarrett threw Brown into the announcing table area and then dropped a chair across his back. The crowd chanted, "We want tables." Jarrett then grabbed his NWA Title belt, but the ref yanked it away from him. At 7:00 they returned to the ring where Jarrett clamped on a sleeper. Brown escaped at 8:30 and applied his own sleeper. Jarrett quickly escaped and went for a figure-four. Brown small packaged Jarrett as a counter for a near fall. They collided mid-ring at 9:00. Brown powerbombed Jarrett for a near fall at 10:30. Brown hit his Circle of Life for a near fall. Jarrett set up a Stroke, but Brown escaped and shoved Jarrett into the ref who went down clutching his knee. Jarrett grabbed his guitar and bashed it over Brown's head at 11:45. Jarrett made the cover, but Brown kicked out at two. Jarrett followed up by grabbing a chair. Brown lifted Jarrett. Jarrett swung the chair down at Brown. Brown fell backward and Jarrett took a long fall onto his back. Jarrett, though, made the cocky cover and Brown lifted his shoulder. Jarrett grabbed his title belt and nailed Brown with it. He made another really weak looking cover and Brown powered out. Brown began a superman comeback by no selling and then playing to the crowd. He punched away at Jarrett. He went for the Pounce, but hit the ref when Jarrett ducked. Jarrett then grabbed another guitar from ringside hidden in the stairs. Brown blocked the chairshot and chokeslammed Jarrett. Brown then KO'd Jarrett with the guitar. Jarrett bumped to the mat. Brown made the cover. The fans counted along. Another ref ran out and counted a near fall at 15:15. At least they didn't do the Dusty Finish. Brown charged at Jarrett for another Pounce, but Jarrett caught him with a guitar shot. He followed up with threw Strokes with a low kick between the second and third and scored the pin.

WINNER: Jarrett at 16:17 to retain the NWA World Hvt. Title.

STAR RATING: *** -- Not particularly graceful, but a solid main event that allowed Brown to save face without completely making the fans feel ripped off or deflated by Jarrett retaining. At 16 minutes, it felt as if it reached the length necessary to be a worthy PPV main event.

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