TNA PPV Flashback - Turning Point 2007
By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

Cover Story - Torch Newsletter #1001

Scott Hall let down TNA, his fans, and most of all his friend and partner, Kevin Nash. It may turn out to have been his final opportunity to reunite the Outsiders in a meaningful setting. Rather than give fans a special final memory, he wrote perhaps a more fitting, but no less disappointing, final chapter. He no-showed a PPV main event.

Sunday at the TNA Turning Point PPV, Hall, Nash, and Samoa Joe were scheduled to team together in a six-man main event against Kurt Angle, A.J. Styles, and Tomko. Hall's final contact with anyone in TNA was Sunday morning. There was a sense based on that final communication that he might not be committed to making it to the show. The betting line was pride, not drugs or booze, as the reason. Hall may not have felt he could live up to his previous reputation and image, something highlighted in the just-released Shawn Michaels DVD that showed him at his best physically and athletically.

All afternoon, TNA management held out hope he would show up eventually. He was, after all, a few hours late to the previous TV taping; he showed up at 5 p.m. rather than 1 or 2 p.m. like most veterans are asked to do. By 7 o'clock, TNA management made the call to do the show without him, even if he showed up during the event. Hall eventually sent word he had "food poisoning" and couldn't be there. There was a greater sense backstage of being letdown rather than angry. Everybody knew the risk that came along with counting on the unpredictable, troubled Hall for a PPV main event. That concern may have even tempered the push given to the Outsider reunion on TV in the three shows leading up to the PPV.

Management was understandably concerned that the fans would feel let down. What was already a below-par show had a chance to be saved by a special reunion of one of the top acts of the Monday Night War era. The Outsiders, to a lot of today's fans, are the reason they became fans in the first place. Joe was instructed to break the news to the fans and give a "heartfelt" speech when he got to the ring. He was told to talk about how Hall disappointed everyone for no-showing, but to try to turn it into a transition point where he would speak on behalf of TNA by saying that from here on out, they were going to bank on the guys who were reliable, who were hungry, who believed in what TNA stood for.

His speech didn't go exactly as planned. In fact, it made a disappointing evening a lot worse. Joe not only expressed the noted points about Hall letting TNA down, but he then took shots at Kevin Nash. He referred to Nash as a "pensioner" living off the past and holding young guys back. After the promo went so much longer than planned and went places nobody wanted it to go, TNA president Dixie Carter actually stepped out and signalled for Joe to stop talking.

Joe looked down at her, live on PPV (Carter was off-camera and not acknowledged by the announcers), shrugged, asked if he was going too long, and dared her to fire him. He was wrapped up in the moment and got carried away. It would turn out nobody was looking at this as his "Austin 3:16" moment, though. The crowd seemed a bit put off. Nash stood behind Joe and looked angry and disappointed, but never made a move to interrupt or otherwise react.

If Joe had gained momentum at all with anyone, it came to a screeching halt when he announced that the replacement for Hall was Eric Young. That took the wind out of the sails of Joe's whole speech, since nobody sees Young as representing the hungry, underutlized young athletes who are the future of the business. On the contrary, Young is a mid-card comedy act who is loved and coddled by the creative powers of the company. He's not "Joe's type of guy," either. It just felt wrong, compounding the awkward situation Joe had ad-libbed himself into.

The match went as planned (five minutes shorter than expected due to time constraints caused by Joe's longer-than-expected speech), with some teasing of dissension between Joe and Nash before Joe stood up for Nash, saving him from an Angle anklelock.

Backstage, though, things boiled over. Nash had kept his cool and remained professional throughout the match. As soon as the match was over, he immediately returned to the back. He didn't stay to celebrate with Joe and Young. When Joe got to the back, Nash confronted him. After some verbal exchanges and shoving, if not a pie-face by Nash, Joe walked away, not wanting to escalate the situation and, perhaps, beginning to realize he took things too far earlier.

Behind closed doors, various people in power made it clear to Joe that what he did wasn't being applauded by anyone. The next day, before an all-talent meeting headed by Dixie Carter, Joe asked to speak first. He gave an emotional apology to everyone in which he said he asked for forgiveness, but accepted that not everyone would grant it to him. He seemed sincere, not just paying lip service to what he might have considered overly sensitive egos. It seemed, in this case, there was unanimity that Joe didn't handle things the right way - and realized it.

He may have been frustrated that a big moment for him was ruined when Hall couldn't bother to show up. He may have taken it out on Nash, whom he mistook for Hall's guardian. He may have simply misunderstood the directions he was given. Or he may have miscalculated the moment, seeing it as his 3:16 moment to break out and establish himself as the "spokesman" for 2007 wrestling and its fans. In any case, for a variety of reasons, it backfired on him.

At the all-talent meeting, Carter addressed all of the wrestlers regarding the constant undercurrent of discontent and complaining. She explained that everybody had worked too hard and sacrificed too much to get to where they were to be dragged down by negativity. The meeting, ironically, had been planned long ahead of Joe's controversial speech. Dixie had instructed Terry Taylor to bring all of the wrestlers' contracts to the arena so they could serve as a visual for her speech. Taylor had the box of contracts with him Sunday before the PPV, and that's not part of his usual baggage.

Only one wrestler took her up on the offer - Senshi (a/k/a Low Ki). He's had a history of issues with promoters and bookers, including blow ups with ROH's Gabe Sapolsky. He wasn't getting paid particularly well, and how he was being utilized was arguably hurting his image in Japan and on the indy scene, where he earned a lot more money. So he opted out. He left on good terms, finishing the next evening at the TV taping.

After Dixie and other members of management left the room, the wrestlers stuck around and had a talent-only meeting. Kurt Angle and Booker T stepped up as veteran leaders and gave a very positive pep talk about staying positive and turning TNA into an even more special place to work. Their words resonated with the wrestlers, who have seen Angle and Booker both act professionally and selflessly. TNA management called the bluff of discontent wrestlers regarding having better options and feeling locked into bad deals. They have less leverage when complaining because they had their chance to walk away, no strings attached.

Later, in a ten-man tag team match taped for this week's TV show, Joe and Nash teamed together. Before the match, Nash put his arm around Joe's neck in a friendly, chummy way, signalling that they had apparently worked out whatever differences they had.

Hall will not be welcome back by TNA anytime soon, and probably not ever. He showed he cannot be relied on. He'd be the first to admit anyone who did was taking a big gamble.

***

Turning Point PPV Report
December 2, 2007
Report by Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

-Jeremy Borash and Crystal Lothan hosted the pregame show, consisting of video packages.

-The PPV opened with a slick video package with imagery of various wrestlers bleeding with a graphic that talked about "bloody Sunday" and "violence unleashed" and such other vague phrases. Good choice of music.

-Mike Tenay introduced the show by hyping the 10,000 tacks match first, then Gail Kim's title defense, and the Feast of Fire match. Pryo shot off as Don West hyped the Booker T tag match and the six-man main event.

1 -- TEAM 3D & JOHNNY DEVINE vs. ALEX SHELLEY & CHRIS SABIN & "BLACK MACHISMO" JAY LETHAL

Tenay and West talked at length about how Shelley, Sabin, and Lethal have not been intimidated by Team 3D's size and bullying tactics. Good pace early on. The faces cleared the ring at 5:00 and then al three dove over the top rope onto all three heels at ringside. 3D came back a minute later and slide a table into the ring. They actually slid it so hard, it rammed Lethal standing ringside all the way across the ring. The Guns slidekicked the table into 3D, knocking them to the floor a minute later. The Gunns then beat on Devine in the ring with some nice double-teaming sequences. Team 3D blindsided the Guns and took over quickly, including a double-team side slam/legdrop combo. At 9:00 Sabin tackled his own partner to save him from a whip by 3D into a table propped in the corner. Brother Ray was then knocked into the table by a sidestepping Lethal. Devine tackled Lethal and threw a barrage of punches. The Guns recovered at ringside, then hit Devine with a table after he slid to ringside after them. The Guns set up a table at ringside as the crowd chanted "Motor City." The set up a powerbomb on Devine off the apron, but Devon made the save first. Devon set Shelley on a table leaning against the railing at ringside. Shelley moved and a diving Devine landed through the table. Devon caught a diving Sabin with a table to the skull at ringside. At 12:00 Lethal and Shelley set up a table mid-ring. They went for a double suplex, but Ray moved the table just in time. Team 3D set a table up mid-ring, but Shelley DDT'd Devon to avoid being crashed into it. The ref went down. Lethal set up a table as Sabin dove over the ropes onto Ray at ringside. Devine went after Lethal with a kendo stick, but Lethal ducked and hit Devine instead. He then set Devine on a table, went to the top rope, and hit a flying elbow through the table. That should have been the win, but the ref was down. Team 3D came in and hit the faces with the X Division belt, then draped Devine over Lethal on the broken table. The ref signalled for the bell and awarded the match to the heels.

WINNERS: Team 3D & Devine in 15:00.

STAR RATING: **3/4 -- Good action in the opening. The finish was fine as long as it doesn't resemble any other finishes on this show. One ref bump per show is plenty within this style of booking.

-Cyrstal interviewed Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe backstage. No sign of Scott Hall. Nash said, "He'll be here. Don't worry about it. We pace ourselves." Nash talked about flirting with Karen Angle. Joe grabbed the mic and said everything critics say about he and Nash is true. He said when they're serious about going to war and get serious and his partner shows up, come find him in his locker room. Nash called him a super serious Samoan and said he and Hall would be ready when it counted.

2 -- ODB & ROXXI LAVEAUX vs. ANGELINA LOVE & VELVET SKY

Tenay asked West what ODB stood for. He said "One Dirty Bitch." He said she's wild and crazy. She drank from a flask on her way to the ring and slapped her ass and grabbed her crotch as her cleavage poured out of her top. The camera zoomed in as Sky rubbed her crotch against the middle rope as she entered the ring. TNA needs to realize that as the camera zooms in on that, there are parents who are going to draw the line there and not want their kids to watch that. It's a strange line to draw in some ways given so much else that TNA and pro wrestling in general stands for, but that's especially sexually overt, especially with the camera zooming in. Throw in the flask drinking, crotch grabbing, cleavage pouring, ass slapping ODB, and the promotion gets very kid-unfriendly quickly in a category altogether different than the usual violence. They did a comedy spot where Sky gave ODB a wedgy. ODB protested by doing the same to the ref for what was supposed to be knee-slapping comedy fun. ODB hung Sky upside down and than stomped on her crotch repeatedly. Next came Roxxi ramming Sky's face into ODB's crotch repeatedly. It's just uncomfortable to watch the women do this stuff. I imagine it's not titillating for the majority of fans, but sleazy and desperate-looking. It's just too much by ten. In the end, Love kicked Roxxi as Sky held her, leading to the clean pin.

WINNERS: Sky & Love in 5:00.

STAR RATING: 1/2* -- Sleaze factor: Overload.

-Jeremy Borash caught up with Kurt Angle backstage. Angle said he was about to talk to Christian Cage. He was worked up. Borash told him to calm down. Borash said he's been deep breathing with his wife lately. He said, "We have a thing." Angle didn't know what to make of it, but told him to stay away from his wife. Angle barbed in and told Christian he wants to talk. He asked to be heard out. Angle said they don't have to like each other, just co-exist. He proposed that he be the leader of the group. Christian said all but the last part sounds interesting. Angle said every group needs a leader. He said he looks at himself as the George Bush of TNA. Christian said he's nobody lackey. He told him to stick his offer up his ass along with A.J. Styles and Tomko. Angle said he'd regret it, then he left. Robert Roode told Christian he stood up for himself well. Christian told Roode to listen to him and everything would be fine. Christian walked away. Roode said, "Asshole." Ms. Brooks, sitting on a couch behind him, said, "Takes one to know one." Roode told her to get out of his face before he does something he's going to regret.

-A video package aired on the Eric Young-James Storm beer drinking contest.

3 -- JAMES STORM (w/Miss Jackie) vs. ERIC YOUNG

Jackie didn't let Storm have a beer before the match, but dangled it as incentive for him to win the match. When Young dominated early, West and Young speculated that Storm may have been at a disadvantage without his liquid courage loosening him up. At 2:00 Storm took over at ringside, working over Young's shoulder around the ringpost. The methodical, monotonous beatdown on Young's shoulder continued for several minutes. Young made a comeback and hit a top rope elbow at 9:00 for a two count. Young favored his injured shoulder and was slow to make the cover. They went back and forth for another couple minutes until Jackie stood on the ring apron with a beer in hand. She spit beer at Young, but Young ducked and it got in Storm's eyes instead. Storm, though, seemed awakened by it. He grabbed the beer, swigged it, and then signalled he was going to use it as a weapon. Ref Rudy Charles stopped him and then Young rolled him up for the pin.

WINNER: Young in 12:00.

STAR RATING: 1/2* -- Way, way too long. Not good, and even if it had been, it would have probably overstayed its welcome at that length.

-Tenay and West were shown at ringside talking about how Hall had yet to show up at the building, and how that upset Joe.

-Crystal interviewed LAX backstage. Homicide complained about TNA management not giving them a title shot. He said they're going to take what they want. Crystal said a member of LAX hitting Christy Hemme will have to lead to some sort of consequence. Hernandez said to bring it.

4 -- FEAST OR FIRE

Contestants: Senshi, Elix Skipper, Christopher Daniels, Sonjay Dutt, Shark Boy, Lance Hoyt, Jimmy Rave, Petey Williams, "Wildcat" Chris Harris, B.G. James, Kip James, Hernandez, Homicide, Scott Steiner. Tenay said Jim Cornette just informed them that the way win the briefcase is to have possession of it and bring it to the floor with both feet planted. Shouldn't the rules be established weeks ago? Four briefcases were positioned on poles in four of the six corners of the ring. West said you have to go with the odds and grab a briefcase since there's a 75 percent chance of a title shot. Tenay said the content of the cases will be revealed on Thursday at Impact. So for the few people who actually ordered this to see someone get fired, they are told after they buy the event the have to wait until Thursday to watch for free with everyone else? Classy borderline bait and switch by TNA. Petey grabbed the first briefcase. West said he had nothing to lose. Well, except his job! Officials helped B.G. James to his feet at ringside where he appeared to have a knee injury. Meanwhile, Kip grabbed one of them. That's exciting news for TNA fans, but Kip instead threw it to B.G. at ringside. He caught it, celebrated, and then said, "Oh sh--!" He realized he may have cost himself his job by catching it. That sequence exposed the ridiculousness of this match. As if a wrestler would enter a match and not have thought through whether he wanted to take that chance or not and "get caught up in the moment." Senshi grabbed the third briefcase and leaped to the floor. If Senshi ends up with the tag title shot, Petey with the X Title shot, and James with the pink slip, it'll really be a case of stretching the suspension of disbelief. Homicide set up a Cop Killa, but Christy broke it up. The LAX mystery member hit Christy from behind. Tenay said that was an example of the man on woman violence that Hoyt and Christy have been complaining about. Harris and Shark Boy cleared the ring. Harris encouraged Shark Boy to get the briefcase, but when he climbed to the top rope, Harris dropped him. Steiner threw Rave into the announce table, then kicked Homicide and Skipper. Daniels jumped Steiner, raked his eyes, and threw him aside. Hoyt jumped into the brawl. Harris set up a Catatonic on Shark Boy. Shark avoided it and gave him the Shark Bite. Dutt jumped into the ring and battled Hernandez, who sent him sailing over the top rope with a Cracker Jack onto everyone else at ringside. Kip went for the final briefcase, but Hernandez stopped him. Kip got the better of the exchange and climbed toward the briefcase. Steiner stopped him and gave him a belly-to-belly. Daniels hit a top rope dropkick on Steiner, then went for the final case. He grabbed it and kicked away Hernandez, but Hernandez fought back and set up a Border Toss. Daniels escaped, grabbed the case, and KO'd Hernandez with it. Kip gave Daniels his finisher on the case. Steiner suplexed Kip out of the ring. Steiner grabbed the case and jumped to ringside.

WINNERS/LOSER: Steiners, Williams, Senshi, B.G. James in 12:00.

STAR RATING: *1/4 -- They did the best they could with a silly concept. Decent action for this type of by definition chaotic clustermess.

-GaIl Kim said in a pre-match interview that Kong would have to kill her to get the Knockout Title. Someone in TNA needs to ban the word "kill" from promos.

5 -- AWESOME KONG vs. GAIL KIM - TNA Knockout Title

Kim gained early advantage with a spirited attack at ringside and then inside the ring. The bell didn't ring until the women got into the ring. Good to see TNA adopt that rule that WWE has had for a while. West said Kim is a great athlete and does things men only dream of. Kong took control for two minutes, but then missed a corner charge. Kong came right back and applied a camel clutch with a wad of Kim's hair for leverage. Kong continued to dominate for several minutes with a variety of non-stop offense. At 5:00 Kim made a comeback with an armbar while hanging from the ropes followed by a hammerlock. Kong knocked Kim hard to the mat seconds later off of a charge attempt. Kim went for a powerbomb. Kong blocked it and went for a spinning backfist. Kim ducked and nailed Kong with a dropkick, then a second rope dropkick. Kong staggered. Kim then hit her with a top rope dropkick to knock her down. The crowd got into it, popping for Kong's first bump of the match. Kim overshot unintentionally with a senton off the top rope, but they pretended it landed and Kim went for the cover. Kong kicked out. Kong got up and ducked a clothesline, then hit a spinning backfist. Kong shoved her boot into Kim's throat. The ref counted. Kong shoved the ref. Then she finally broke at the urging of the ref. The ref scolded her, so she shoved him to the mat. The ref, Andrew Thomas, called for the bell. Kong gave him a sitout powerbomb. That should have consequences, but knowing how TNA books, it probably won't be mentioned again.

WINNER: Kim via DQ in 9:00.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- That finish is okay for this stage of the feud and the size mismatch and desire to keep the belt on Kim while saving the indestructible image of Kong.

-Velvet Sky attempted to stop a post-match attack by Kong. Kong easily discarded her. Angelina Love came out with a chair. Kong ducked the swing, then punched the chair into Love's face. The crowd chanted for ODB. Kong powerbombed Kim onto a chair. Several security men ran into the ring. Kong brushed them off and left the ring.

-Backstage Angle told A.J. Styles "it didn't work." Styles freaked out and said he couldn't function without Christian. Angle asked if he was fruity. Karen said he saw Joe talking with Hall and Nash earlier, and there was definitely friction. She said she thinks she can turn Joe against his partners. Tomko stood up and said she may be on to something because Hall and Nash have screwed over everybody in the business. Angle said he'd give it a try. Styles said that sounded crazy. Angle told Styles to let the captain do his job. So, did Hall arrive and no one said anything until now, or was that pretaped earlier before the Hall no-show situation surfaced.

-Crystal interviewed Black Reign backstage. Reign "re-introduced" his darkest nightmare, Rellik. He called his rat a fox. Crystal said she thought it was a rat. He said the only rat he sees is her. Someone writing this stuff has issues with women. That's just not something Black Reign's character would care enough to say. Reign told Abyss to bring his tacks and he take a handful, chew them up, and spit them into his face. He then told Raven that he likes spiders and snakes. Why is he talking about Raven? He then licked the rat, Misty. Tenay then said that in Rhino's absence, Raven was taking his place. A clip aired of Rellik kicking Rhino in the head. West said that gave him a stinger and he's out injured.

6 -- RELLIK & BLACK REIGN vs. ABYSS & RAVEN -- 10,000 Tacks Match

Raven dove from the ring to ringside early. Raven paired off with Rellik and brawled into the crowd, as Reign and Abyss did the same elsewhere. They had the tacks glued to a table at ringside. At 5:00 Abyss and Reign returned to the ring. Abyss had Reign's Darkness Falls Weapon and rubbed it against Reign's face. Reign bled. Rellik had a handful of tacks and rubbed then in Race's face and shoved them into his mouth. A bloodied Abyss made a comeback at 10:00. Raven and Abyss both used kendo sticks against the heels. Raven bled from the mouth. Raven, though, knocked Reign of the ring apron through the table of tacks. Raven then shoved the back of Rellik's head into another table of tacks propped on the other side of the ring. Rellik recovered and grabbed a bag of tacks hanging in the corner. Abyss recovered and tried to slam him onto the tacks. Rellik sprayed him in the face with mist. Abyss appeared blinded, but he reversed Rellik into the tacks all over the mat. The camera zoomed in and showed them stuck into his skin. A bloody Abyss scored the three count. Tenay called it a "bloody, violent, brutal, physical, sick spectacle." It was presented as a compliment.

WINNER: Abyss & Raven in 15:00.

STAR RATING: * -- Tough to score such a pure garbage match. It was grotesque in certain ways, but no more than usual. I'd love to see a clip of this match shown at Congressional Hearings, including the thumb tacks being shoved into a mouth and stuck into the skin on a back.

-Angle approached Joe backstage. Joe told him he must be crazy to be in the wrong locker room. Angle said he knows he hates him, but he knows they're on the same wavelength. Angle said Hall and Nash can't go anymore, so they're going to ride him and then kick him to the curb. He said that's what they do. Angle said they don't deserve it and he can't let it happen. Joe seemed to listen.

-Tenay and West were shown at ringside. Tenay said they're waiting for the ring to be cleaned up.

-A video package aired on the Christian & Roode vs. Booker T & Kaz match. Then Crystal interviewed Booker T and Sharmell backstage. Booker said he's familiar with Christian, but predicted he'd finish off Roode with his finisher after he slips on a banana peel. Strange prediction.

7 -- BOOKER T (w/Sharmell) & KAZ vs. CHRISTIAN CAGE & ROBERT ROODE (w/Miss Brooks)

Tenay noted that Kaz and Booker T are teaming for the first time. Christian opened against Kaz. Kaz hit some hard chops early. After a few arrogant Christian slaps, Kaz threw a series of kicks, a legdrop, and a two count. Booker tagged in at 2:00. They showed the "psycho female fan" who is Robert Roode's "number one fan." Cage tagged in at 3:00. Roode and Christian got in a sustained beating on Kaz. Booker got a hot-tag at 10:00. Booker scored a near fall on Christian with a spinebuster. Roode distracted Booker on the top rope. Christian went for a superplex. Booker shoved Christian to the mat, then hit a Missile Dropkick. At 12:00 Booker signalled for the Spinarooni, but Roode interfered. Booker sidekicked him to the mat. Christian poked Booker's eyes. Booker fired back with a sunset flip near fall out of the corner. West went bananas, but the crowd didn't buy it as a potential finish. Kaz came out of nowhere with a flying dropkick to both Christian and Roode. Booker hit both Christian and Roode with a leg lariat. Then he executed his Spinarooni. As he set up a scissors kick on Christian, Roode tripped him. Roode yelled at Brooks at ringside; Kaz intervened. Roode swung a chair at Booker, but Booker ducked and the chair KO'd Christian. Kaz dropkicked Roode out of the ring. Booker hit Christian with his axe kick for the pin.

WINNERS: Booker & Kaz in 15:00.

STAR RATING: **1/2 -- Basic stuff. Nothing memorable, but not bad.

-After the match, Roode helped Christian to his feet. Christian was just limp and dead weight as Roode propped him up in the corner. Christian came to and slapped Roode. Roode shoved back. A.J. Styles slid into the ring and tried to talk them into claiming down. Christian left. Styles followed behind.

-Backstage, Joe yelled at Nash, saying he wasn't surprised his partner didn't show up. He yelled the whole time and asked if this was a set-up from the beginning. Nash yelled back and said he's more worried about his health than this fight. A red-faced Nash stood up and said he'd be out there and if he wanted to be his partner, show up. Joe said he'd be there, but he wouldn't be alone.

8 -- KURT ANGLE & TOMKO & A.J. STYLES vs. KEVIN NASH & SAMOA JOE & ???

The heels came to the ring first, then Nash, then Joe. Joe took a while to come out as his music played. Tenay and West wondered if it was a mind game or if he was looking for a partner. Joe said backstage he was told to come out there because the fans trust him. He said Hall no-showed the event tonight. He said he'd love to tell them that he would be walking to the ring later tonight, but the truth is he "punked out on me and on every single fan in this building tonight." Joe said he considered going two-on-three and making the best of it, but then he realized he just got a live mic on PPV, so he wanted to get something off his back. He said there are TNA die-hards who bust their asses for the fans every week and there are superstars who think they come and do whatever they want, however they feel like it. He said there are superstars who screw the hard-working guys of TNA and the fans, too. He looked at Nash, who stood in the corner and listened with body language that said he wasn't into it. Joe said TNA is the wrestlers who show up and bust their butts for the fans. "Scott Hall, chico, kiss my ass, you punked out and you're a punk," said Joe. He looked over at Nash. Then he looked out of the ring and asked someone if they were mad. He said, "Go ahead and fire me, I don't care." Joe said they were going to try call someone to be his partner. He said he didn't want someone from the outside because they've got everybody they needed already in the back. He said when he asked if anyone wanted to team with him, all of the X guys stood up. Joe said there was one wrestler, bloody and battered, who will show up even when old and broken down. He then called for Eric Young. Huh?

West said Nash is going to take those things personally because he's been in the business a long, long time. He said on the other hand, you can understand Joe's frustration. He said they will have to channel their energy together. Joe started the match, got early control, and then tagged in Young while shooting Nash a nasty look. West said Young is going to work extra hard not to let Joe down. Tenay said this was a chance for Young to prove he belongs in the main event slot. Young tagged in Nash against Angle. Angle quickly tagged out to Tomko. Tomko took early control. Nash came back with a boot to the face when Tomko charged it, but it appeared to miss by quite a bit. Nash then did his corner beatdown routine. Styles tagged in, but got sideslammed by Nash. Young tagged back in. At 7:00 Young tagged in Nash. Nash gave Angle a big boot, but then Tomko and Styles double-teamed him. Nash gave them both a double clothesline. Nash then collapsed to one knee, as if his knee gave out. Young dove onto both Styles and Tomko. Joe flew through the ropes onto the heels. Nash picked up Angle, but Angle slipped out and applied an anklelock. Joe entered the ring to make the save, but then stopped and walked away. Then he turned and kicked Angle after all. He returned to his corner. Nash grabbed at his ankle, then tagged Joe. Joe went after Tomko with a flurry of offense. The crowd was actually a bit deflated, not really popping. Joe powerslammed Tomko. Angle broke it up. Nash entered the ring and gave Angle a jackknife. Styles then hit Nash with a flying forearm. Nash knocked Styles off the ring apron, but Tomko then clotheslined Nash. Joe gave Tomko an enzuigiri to the face. Young then entered and whipped Joe into Tomko. Joe then quickly gave Tomko the Musclebuster for the win. Nash immediately left the ring and returned to the back.

WINNERS: Joe & Nash & Young in 10:00.

STAR RATING: *1/2 -- Eh. Not the worst match ever, but it wasn't even close to feeling like a PPV main event.

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

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE FLASHBACK: Kane character debuts 18 yrs. ago today in first-ever Hell in a Cell match - Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

HIAC FLASHBACK: Kane beats Undertaker in HIAC match 5 yrs. ago today, plus Randy Orton vs. Sheamus for WWE Title

ROH FLASHBACK: The aftermath of Joe vs. Kobashi 10 years ago today