TNA Impact Review
September 24, 2004
Taped September 21, 2004 in Orlando, FL at Universal Studios
Aired on Fox Sports Net
Report by James Caldwell, Torch Team Contributor

- We kicked off the show with a clip of Dusty Rhodes saying he will do anything he can to get Jeff Hardy a re-match for the TNA Title. Our voice over man said it could be Hardy, Monty Brown, or someone from the outside...

- The same video package highlighting the main players in TNA that aired at the end of last week's show aired to begin this week. Nice lighting and special effects.

- Larry Zbyszko entered the Impact Zone where AMW and Triple X were already ringside wanting to sort out the Tag Title situation. Zbyszko pulled Chris Harris and Prime Time aside and said the Tag Title Match will be Chris Harris & Prime Time vs. James Storm & Christopher Daniels.

(1) Petey Williams (w/ Coach Scott D'Amore & Team Canada) defeated Jerrelle Clark at 7:07 in a Non Title X Division Match. The match began with Clark knocking Petey to the outside with a drop kick. Petey huddled up with Team Canada to go over some strategy. Is there no count out in TNA? Petey was huddled up on the outside for a good twenty seconds. Petey stepped back into the ring and took a kick to the face. Clark went for a springboard back flip splash, but missed. D'Amore tripped Clark giving Petey a chance to score a seated front flapjack. Petey pounded on Clark with right hands as we went to commercial.

Back from commercial, Petey had Clark in a reverse chin lock. Clark fought to his feet, then took a suplex from Petey. Petey scored a side belly to back suplex then slapped on a stretch hold, driving a knee in the back. Petey missed a clothesline then took a clothesline from Clark. Clark went for a waist lock, but Petey threw him to the outside. Clark hopped up and scored a top rope drop kick. Clark with a side take over suplex. Clark fought Team Canada off the apron then went for a tilt o whirl slam, but Petey reversed it and scored a suplex. Petey called for the Canadian Destroyer then connected with the flip pile driver for the pin and the win.

Match View: Jerrelle Clark may have a contract, but his ring work doesn't warrant one. He didn't make Petey Williams' offense look believable at all. Especially on the second rest hold about six minutes into the match, it didn't appear that Clark was actually in pain. It just looked like he was sitting there. Petey didn't help either. Instead of wrenching in the hold, he just appeared to be thinking about something else rather than how to inflict more pain on his opponent. Too much "amateur hour" wrestling.

- Following Petey Williams' victory, a video clip highlighting A.J. Styles' accomplishments in TNA aired.

(2) Ron Killings & Konnan defeated Mike Hannigan & Marcus Dillon at 2:36. The job squad's generic music was cut off about three seconds into their entrance in favor of 3 Live Kru's. Konnan took the mic and asked, "Where my dogs at?" *Silence*. Thanks Konan. This isn't WCW circa 1999.

To the match where Konnan dominated Hannigan. Konnan & Ron Killings scored a double team leg drop to the crotch ala the Dudleys. Killings tagged in and scored a powerslam on Hannigan. Killings did a dance then covered Hannigan and scored a two count. A "TNA" chant came up from the Orlando faithful. Dillon tagged in and took right hands to the face. Dillon ducked a clothesline from Killings then took a clothesline from Konnan. Killings with the "Lie Detector" a/k/a a very poor version of Triple H's Pedigree. Killings made the cover for the pin and the win.

Match View: This match had nothing going for aside from giving 3 Live Kru some face time. I hope Killings doesn't stick to this "Lie Detector" finisher that's a blatant rip off of the Pedigree. He barely executed it and certainly didn't look like a devastating finishing move. The choice to showcase talent in a "squash fest" format just doesn't work. Especially when they can't sell or hold their own in a match.

- A video clip of Jeff Hardy's accomplishments in TNA aired. Needless to say, it lasted about 10 seconds.

- A video clip of TNA Champion Jeff Jarrett's accomplishments in TNA aired. Needless to say, it lasted about 1:00.

- Jeff Jarrett entered the Impact Zone with the TNA Title over his shoulder and a guitar in hand. The ringside fans chanted "Hardy" in Jarrett's face. We even saw two kids dressed up in Jeff Hardy gear including the fishnet arm covering. Jarrett entered the ring and took the mic. Jarrett addressed Vince Russo, who Mike Tenay indicated wasn't here tonight. Jarrett demanded to know who the #1 Contender for the TNA Title. Instead of Vince Russo coming out, Alpha Male Monty Brown entered the ring. TNA security separated the two stars as Brown took the mic. Brown told Jarrett, "The Alpha Male is your next opponent." Brown told Jarrett not to worry about Raven, Jeff Hardy, or Abyss. Brown told Jarrett, "You're One..." before he could say "...Pounce Away from Losing the Title," Jarrett interrupted and told Brown that he's a Double A ball player that couldn't make it in the NFL. Jarrett indicated that this is his terrain then slapped Brown. Brown took exception to the slap by attacking Jarrett, creating an all out brawl. Security couldn't control the Champ and the Challenger. Dusty Rhodes entered the Impact Zone and raised his arms in confusion. Security finally separated Brown & Jarrett as the fans chanted "Monty."

- After a commercial, we came back to find Zbyszko in Dusty Rhodes's face. Larry told Rhodes that he's not going to let the American Dream hijack the show. Rhodes said the reason why he's here is to make things right with the TNA Title. Rhodes said the Championship Committee has things all messed up, so it needs to be fixed. Zbyszko spazzed out and told Rhodes that he's going to bring someone here next week from the Championship Committee to talk some sense into Rhodes. Rhodes assumed it was Terry Funk and chased Zbyszko up the entrance ramp.

(3) Abyss defeated Frankie Capone at 0:53. This Capone guy couldn't even enter the ring on August 27 vs. Jeff Jarrett. This week, he was allowed to enter the ring with his really lame top hat and all. Capone attacked Abyss before the bell rang. Abyss no-sold Capone's offense then delivered a clothesline and a huge splash in the corner. Abyss picked up Capone and scored the Torture Rack Slam. Abyss scared the referee to the corner then delivered the Black Hole Slam off the ropes. Abyss made the academic cover for the pin and the win.

Match View: Punch. Slam. Slam. Simple formula for Abyss. Too bad he's not facing quality opponents. I guess TNA has placed Abyss in that "Under One Minute Squash" role that was reserved for Monty Brown for a good three months. I hope they actually do something with Abyss to where he can actually wrestle meaningful matches. For being such an agile big man, he can definitely contribute to the product. Someone in the front office just needs to come up with a legitimate role for the big man... and please, no Goldylocks.

- Our voice over man let us know that the TNA Tag Titles will be on the line in the main event.

- We saw a video package from Chris Harris & Prime Time winning the Tag Titles from the Naturals at the last Wednesday PPV. Boy, the Naturals have dropped off considerably since dropping the belts.

(4) Christopher Daniels & James Storm defeated Chris Harris & Prime Time at 10:13 to win the TNA Tag Team Titles. AMW came out together. Triple X came out together. The two natural tag teams stood side by side not wanting to go to their real corners. This 30 Minute Time Limit Title Match began with Prime Time attacking James Storm. Prime Time scored a clothesline then tossed Storm over the top rope. Storm skinned the cat and re-entered the ring. Storm with a spinning head scissors take over then a running clothesline on Prime Time. Harris received a tag. Storm decided to tag in Christopher Daniels. Daniels and Harris locked up with Harris driving Daniels to the corner. Harris with a shoulder block then a sit down power bomb off the ropes. Harris with a clothesline. Harris took a spinning heel kick off the ropes. Harris with a standing kick. Daniels tagged in Storm for a double team move. Storm refused to cooperate with Daniels. Prime Time tagged in while Storm stalled. Prime Time and Storm battled which resulted in Prime Time scoring a back elbow. We needed a commercial break, so off we went.

After the commercial, we came back to find Prime Time driving a knee into Storm with a submission hold locked on in the middle of the ring. Storm powered to his feet then Prime Time grabbed a hand full of hair and slammed Storm to the mat. Prime Time with a reverse DDT grip and an attempted flip over slam which Storm countered into a Reverse DDT overhead slam of his own. Storm reached his corner and tagged in Daniels. Harris took a tag from Prime Time. Harris with a back body drop on Daniels. Harris with a flying shoulder block then a cover for a two count. Harris with a full nelson slam followed by a cover, but only for a two count. Daniels slid out of a shoulder breaker then shoved Harris into the corner. Out of the corner, Daniels scored a sit down flapjack slam. Storm tagged in then shoved Harris into Prime Time, creating a tag. Storm back body dropped Prime Time. Prime Time hopped up and scored a clothesline. Storm and Prime Time ducked a series of moves then Storm scored a kick to the head. Real nice spot that drew an appropriate crowd applause. Harris and Storm accidentally bumped each other. Harris & Storm stared at each other than all four men became involved in the match. Daniels with right hands on Harris in the corner. Harris shook off Daniels then scored the Catatonic slam. Prime Time entered the ring and was clotheslined by Harris. So much for partners sticking together. Daniels grabbed Harris and scored a plant slam. Daniels hopped to the top rope and scored the "World's Best Moonsault" on Harris then made the cover, but only scored a two count. Prime Time stomped on Storm in the corner. Daniels knocked Harris off the apron, sending him face first into the guardrail. Daniels picked up the chair that Harris brought into the ring and confronted Prime Time. Prime Time thought Daniels was going to use the chair on him. Prime Time & Daniels argued over the chair. Daniels went to the corner to throw the chair out of the match. Prime Time turned around and took a side kick from Storm. Storm covered Prime Time and scored a pin for the win to win the TNA Tag Titles.

After the match, Daniels checked on Prime Time. The referee handed one of the Tag belts to Storm who sort of looked at Daniels like, "Isn't this funny?" Daniels checked on Prime Time. Prime Time got back to his feet then asked Daniels what happened. Daniels continued to check on Prime Time, then took the other tag belt from the referee. Daniels and Storm's arms were raised. Daniels was shocked and stared at Storm as the new tag champs tried to understand the situation. Prime Time confronted Daniels as Daniels tried to explain himself. Chris Harris laid on the outside checking his head as mass confusion regarding the Tag Titles reigned in the ring.

Match View: This match gave me hope in TNA. Far and away, the best match on TNA Impact in its three months of existence. I was afraid they were going to go ahead and give away the natural tag teams battling each other, but thankfully booked to save that for what I'm assuming is a Tag Title Match at Victory Road. Solid match. All four guys held their own in the ring and delivered in a big way. Great storytelling and finally, Tenay & Don West added some good commentary to a match, building up the confusion and overall craziness of seeing natural tag teams battling each other. Excellent showcase of talent, skill, and storytelling.

- To close the show, a package highlighting the history of TNA aired. Following that, a promo for TNA Victory Road on November 7 aired. Nice series of videos close to the show, even though they've aired before.

Closing Thought: Today's show had a good feel to it. If TNA will feature more matches like the tag team main event, I would say they have a bright future ahead of them. The squash matches to begin the show didn't add anything at all. I would rather see more "outside the ring" events to advance characters and storylines rather than seeing Abyss vs. "jobber of the week" type matches. Despite the really meaningless first 45 minutes of the show, I will remember this edition of Impact for the solid main event that easily topped anything that's occurred in three months of Impact prior to today's show. I also liked the specific storyline developments that occurred on this week's show. I said this months ago, but it still holds true: I prefer seeing four matches and two or three storyline segments over six matches and no storylines. Hopefully, TNA will grasp hold of the concept and build on today's show. Of course, there were two noticeable absences in Jeff Hardy & A.J. Styles. I suppose TNA's thinking is that a video package, no matter how rehashed, will satisfy the requirement of showing the two top babyfaces in TNA. Sorry, that just doesn't work.

As always, feel free to send me feedback at revenge_nwo@yahoo.com. Tell me what you thought about the Tag Title Main Event. Any and all comments are welcome. Be sure to check out supplementary coverage of TNA at http://www.thewrestlepress.com. I will see everyone back in the Impact Zone for next week's show.

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