TNA No Surrender PPV
September 14, 2008
Oshawa, Ont.
Report by Malcolm Audette, PWTorch.com reader

I was at the No Surrender taping in Oshawa this Sunday. Haven't seen a HOLT report on the site, so figured I'd pass along a few notes about the show.

The "MMA" match got one of the worst receptions I have ever heard a match get. I didn't see the broadcast so I don't know exactly what viewers missed, but after the first round, while the "fighters" were being worked on in their corners, the crowd grew even more impatient and pissed off. A lot of fans took the opportunity to grab a break, and I overheard one disappointed kid saying he couldn't believe he was walking out on a Styles match.

During the second round, the crowd was at its loudest, save for perhaps Christian's entrance, chanting "This is bullshit" and "Fire Russo." A lot of ringside fans were being so profane that I wondered if they would bleep it, or cut the sound. Maybe the "technical issues" were somehow related to the reactions of the crowd, but who knows? Ironic if it was, since you apparently got less "viewer-friendly" content instead.

Anyway, Styles hit a flurry out of nowhere a minute in, and Trigg dropped. We initially figured Styles knocked him out and won, but it was announced as a no-contest. The crowd was even more loudly pissed at the finish than the match, with a very loud "Bullshit!" chant, followed by a huge pop for A.J. Styles when he caned Trigg.

Earl Hebner got a lot of the expected reaction in Canada, both during matches, and video packages. At one point, someone said something that got to him, and he angrily approached the fan, yelling something I couldn't understand, and being "restrained" by Jeremy Borash.

There were a lot of people expecting Mick Foley, either just in a promo, or as Booker T's replacement. Many were disappointed that he didn't show up.

I'm not sure how it came off on TV, but Jeff Jarrett got a very good reaction from the crowd, contrary to what you said in your Virtual Time report. Perhaps it was because he stood at the entrance for a while, while Samoa Joe was in the anklelock, and this may not have been shown on TV, causing viewers to think the crowd was cheering Joe out of the anklelock, when they were actually popping for Jarrett. He didn't get much of a reaction after hitting the ring, and nailing the guitar shot, since we knew that it was over, and Christian wasn't winning. Kinda deflated the mood. Joe was booed noticeably more than Angle throughout the night.

There was no dark match, just Borash hyping the crowd. Four upper-level audience members were upgraded to ringside seats, and a masked man in the crowd was told he could go backstage after the show, and throughout the night, the loudest people in each section would be given passes as well, according to Borash. Dixie Carter gave a little speech about how great Canada is, yadda yadda.

After the show, Christian came back into the ring, thanked the fans, praised his hometown peeps, and apologized for not coming out with the belt. He then assured us that TNA would be back sooner than later, to a nice round of applause and chants.

A good experience altogether, and the crowd was decent towards even the poorer matches, save the MMA debacle.

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