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KELLER'S NWA-TNA PPV REPORT
AUGUST 20, 2003
LIVE FROM NASHVILLE, TENN.
-A videopackage narrated by Jeremy Borash aired on the Gauntlet match later to determine the no. 1 contender for A.J. Styles's title. In the match are: Raven, Konnan, Sandman, Shane Douglas, Kid Kash, The Truth, Abyss, B.G. James, Fallen Angel, Sonny Siaki, Legend, D-Lo Brown, and (of course, saving the best for last) Jeff Jarrett.
-They went live to the ring where Raven and Douglas were brawling in the ring and C.M. Punk and Julio Deniro brawled with Sinn and Slash backstage. Mike Tenay and Don West were screaming about this being an unscheduled brawl. Raven cut a promo in the ring, but then the lights went out and when they came back on, he was hanged from the neck by a rope as James Mitchell and Douglas gloated. Douglas has scissors in his hand. Punk made the quick save.
-Tenay and West previewed the line-up for the show.
-Scott Hudson interviewed Jerry Lynn backstage. Hudson said he was told his situation would be addressed this week. Lynn said he doesn't know why it's taking so long because he's not a prima donna in the business. He said he has a 9 year old daughter he has to feed and being suspended costs him money. Cyrus walked into the scene, told Hudson to scram, and then ran down Lynn's recent violations. He told Lynn that he is going to fine him "only" $5,000. Lynn went after Cyrus, so the red shirted security grabbed Lynn and threw him out of the arena. Cyrus concluded, "With your personal finance situation, no personal checks!"
-A video featured on the Ultimate X match and the rivalries in the X Division.
1 -- CHRIS SABIN (c) vs. MICHAEL SHANE vs. FRANKIE KAZARIAN - Ultimate X Match.
Rafters posts are attached to each of the ringposts, and then a cables are crossed from corner to corner, crossing mid-way above the ring where the belt was hung forming an "X." The winner has to climb to the cable and then moved across the rope to center ring to get the belt. Jeremy Borash did formal ring introductions while the wrestlers were standing in center ring. Sabin had the good Ken Shamrock pre-UFC match sneer going on. Tenay reminded viewers that Sabin is just 21 years old with two years of experience. Kazarian and Shane brawled at ringside to start. Sabin then went after Shane by ramming him into the ring barrier, then entered the ring took Kazarian down with an enzuigiri. Sabin went for the quick win by climbing the rafter post and beginning his climb across the above cable, but Shane stopped him. A minute later Shane made his way across the cable but rather than go for the belt he huracanrana'd Sabin off of Kazarian's shoulders. Shane and Kazarian each climbed to the cable and made their way toward the belt. Sabin dropkicked both of them down from the cables just as they reached the belt. Sabin introduced a chair and sent Shane face-first into it in the corner. Kazarian kicked the chair into Sabin's face. Sabin gave Kazarian a wind-up slam into the chair. Shane meanwhile was bleeding at ringside. Sabin went after him at ringside with punches. Sabin made his way toward the belt by walking his way across the cable with his hands, but he was stopped with a chairshot. The belt came down in the process. All three men were down and hurt at 6:00. The ref Andrew Thomas ruled that the belt would be placed back up in center ring. A ladder was brought into the ring and black shirted security re-hung the belt. I'm assuming this part of the match wasn't planned. All three wrestlers began brawling again. Kazarian and Shane went after the belt. Shane knocked Kazarian to the mat. Sabin then went after shane. Shane wrapped his legs around Sabin's neck. Sabin turned it into a powerbomb of Shane off the cables to the mat. Crazy spots. Sabin then made his way toward the belt. Kazarian tried to stop him, but slipped off the ropes. He climbed back up and tackled him. The belt fell again to the mat. The bell rang again. The problem is that the belt is wrapped around both ropes, and when somebody is tackled off the ropes, the rope being pulled separates with force from the other rope, causing the snaps to come undone on the belt. This time they wrapped the belt around just one of the cables and snapped every snap secure. The solution in the future is to padlock the two ropes together at the crossing point so the stress isn't on the belt when one rope is yanked. Shane got knocked off the top rope to the floor. Kazarian and Sabin met in mid-ring on the cables, but both knocked each other to the mat. The belt stayed in place this time. Kazarian knocked Shane off the rope, but then Shane made a rapid crawl to belt and yanked it down and won the match. Shane was a bloody mess and left a puddle of blood in the ring. It is the beginning of Shane's first-ever X Title reign.
WINNER: Michael Shane at 13:30.
STAR RATING: ****1/4 -- Extra credit for it being a truly new twist on gimmick matches. Great bumps, but also some good spots inside the ring that didn't involve the apparatus. The finish was cool, too. The blood added to the visual spectacular. All three worked hard and seemed genuinely determined to win. No moping around or stalling.
-They showed footage of a casket being taken out of a Hearse. Hudson interviewed Sonny Siaki who said the occasion was the burial of the career of D-Lo Brown.
2 -- AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (Chris Harris & James Storm) vs. SIMON DIAMOND & JOHNNY SWINGER (w/Glenn Gilberti)
They brawled intensely at the start. At 3:00 Gilberti interfered by giving Chris Harris a neckbreaker. Simon scored a two count. Simon continued to beat on Harris in the ring while Swinger beat on James Storm at ringside. Simon was about to sideslam Harris when Storm sidekicked him on the side of the head. Storm showed great fire as AMW took over control for the first time since the opening minute. At 6:45 Simon mistakenly nailed Swinger in the head with a chair leading to a believable near fall by Storm. Harris speared Diamond off the ring apron to the floor. Cool move. AMW had the Death Sentence set up when Gilberti interfered. Swinger then nailed Storm with the tag belt and scored the pin. Tenay said, "They've finally beat them." Afterward the heels added insult to victory by rubbing AMW's faces into the mat.
WINNERS: Diamond & Swinger at 8:45.
STAR RATING: **1/2 -- Good brawl.
-Hudson interviewed The Gathering (Julio Deniro & C.M. Punk) backstage. Julio challenged Sinn & Slash to a match later. Douglas, Slash, and Sinn attacked The Gathering. They brawled for a minute.
-Sonny Siaki entered the ring and announced he was present to announce the passing of a sore looser. "He was loved by many trailer park trash rednecks, including those here at the Asylum," said Siaki. "He loved his cheeseburgers, he loved his cotton candy, but the one thing he loved and wanted most was to be NWA-TNA Heavyweight Champion of the World." Trinity was dressed in black and looked solemn as Siaki spoke. Siaki said D-Lo had so many unsuccessful title shots he broke the record as the biggest loser ever in pro wrestling. When Siaki bent over the casket to pray, D-Lo popped out (he's alive!) and attacked Siaki. Trinity jumped on D-Lo back's back. He flipped her to the floor and rammed her head into the casket. He then threw her into the casket with force. Siaki tried to stop him, but D-Lo threw him in on top of Trinity. D-Lo stood over the casket and played to the crowd.
-Tenay and West discussed the happenings so far.
-Hudson interviewed Legend (top candidate for a career-improving hair match loss) who gave another '80s generic interview that Jimmy Hart would have produced in the '80s. Christopher Daniels then talked about Jeff Jarrett and the Gospel According to the Fallen Angel.
3 -- C.M. PUNK & JULIO DENIRO vs. SLASH & SINN (w/James Mitchell)
Tenay said Raven was being tended to by medics backstage. Punk and Deniro took early control on the heels. Punk scored an early two count on Slash. The heels took control quickly after that. Deniro hung Punk upside down over the middle of the top rope and then Slash slidekicked him from behind. Punk took a nasty bump to the floor. At 3:00 Punk fought back and went for a tag on Deniro. The ref didn't see the tag and disallowed it. Punk managed a hot-tag to Deniro at 4:00. Deniro cleaned house on both heels. Slash threw powder in Punk's eyes and then Sinn powerbombed him off the top rope to the floor. Deniro fought back with a double clothesline on both Slash and Sinn. He then tagged in Punk who gave Sinn a top rope Near Death Experience double-team move for a near fall. Slash made the save. Mitchell leaned into the ring and held up a spike. Alexis kicked the middle rope into Mitchell's crotch, then came off the top rope with a DDT on Slash. Deniro then gave Slash a full nelson slam. Douglas then entered the ring and hit Deniro with the chain while the ref was tending to Mitchell. The ref then turned around and counted to three. Douglas headbutted and belly-to-belly suplexed Alexis after the match. Douglas pulled out the scissors and cut off a lock of Alexis's hair. Mitchell and Douglas laughed maniacally over their deed.
WINNERS: Slash & Sinn at 6:50 when Slash pinned Deniro.
STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Good tag match.
-Mike Tenay asked Erik Watts in a sitdown setting why he was chosen by the NWA as the Director of Authority. He said the NWA had been looking for someone who wouldn't be susceptible to the politics that old-timers usually bring to the table. Watts, stumbling over his words, explained what NWA-TNA means. He said (I think) TNA owns 51 percent of the NWA. He compared it to AOL-Time Warner and said it is confusing. Watts said Don Callis was brought in by the NWA to check up on TNA (I think). Watts must be doing a gimmick where he's half in the bag because that's what it seemed like he was trying to portray as he unsuccessfully tried to stay on topic and fidgeted in his chair. Watts said when he was wrestling for TNA, he became Mr. Xplosion as the people in charge held him down and kept him on the syndicated show. Watts concluded by saying there isn't enough room in NWA-TNA for both himself and Vince Russo. That segment needed to be redone after Watts got a good nights sleep. At least they did make an effort to explain why Watts was given the job of Director of Authority.
-They went to a pretaped segment of A.J. Styles and Vince Russo laying outside in lawn chairs. Russo scratched his crotch in full view of the camera as Styles talked. Two good things about this interview: (a) Russo was lying down, thus not towering over Styles and (b) Styles was doing the talking, not Russo. Styles then showed off a new flip into the pool. Russo applauded and said, "Now that's my boy."
4 -- CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & LEGEND vs. JEFF JARRETT & ERIK WATTS
Jarrett and Daniels battled inside the ring as Watts and Legend brawled at ringside. Jarrett hit Daniels with a nice dropkick. Jarrett sold for the heels for several minutes, then hot-tagged Watts at 6:00. The ref didn't see the tag and disallowed it. Watts entered anyway (you know, Directors of Authority have great respect for referee rulings) and cleaned house on the heels. As he was about to chokeslam Daniels, Legend attacked him from behind. Watts powerbombed Legend into the corner and gave him a double middle finger, then chokeslammed Daniels. The ref counted, even though there was no legal tag. West, who doesn't miss a thing, pointed out that Watts wasn't legal, but the ref decided to allow it anyway. Watts hit a cool dropkick off the ropes. Four-way action continued with Jarrett giving Daniels a spinebuster. Daniels fought back and flattened Daniels and then went for a springboard moonsault, but Jarrett moved. Jarrett then set up Daniels for a Stroke, but Legend interjected himself. Four-way action broke out again. Jarrett rolled up Legend and yanked on his tights to score the pin.
WINNERS: Jarrett & Watts at 8:20.
STAR RATING: **
-Afterward the heels attacked the faces with a chair. Daniels slapped a fallen Jeff Jarrett in the head and trash talked. Legend went for another chairshot, but black shirted security stopped him. Red shirted security then entered the ring and also pried the heels off of the faces. The four security members squared off two on two in a brawl. Jerry Lynn ran out, out of control, and red shirted security dragged him to the back. The bell kept ringing frantically as Legend and Daniels attacked Watts. Two guys dressed as Freddie and Jason from the horror movie came out and attacked Watts and Jarrett. Watts ended up handcuffed to the security railing. "Jason" gave Jarrett the Styles Clash in the ring. They unmasked as Styles and Russo. "What a swerve that was!" exclaimed Tenay. Russo then trash talked Watts as Styles, Daniels, and Legend set up a table. They gave Jarrett a three-way powerbomb through a table, although the two main people driving Jarrett through the table actually landed on the table first. In any way, the beating continued as Watts remained handcuffed. Jarrett was dragged to the back by the heels as Russo yelled "No Gauntlet." They threw Jarrett into the Hearse and drove off.
-Bagpipe music aired and the screen said, "He's Coming." That can mean only one person - Roddy Piper.
-A promo aired with Dusty Rhodes who said he plans to teach Glenn Gilberti about old school in their scheduled match next week in a bullrope match.
-West plugged next week's show: Dusty vs. Gilberti and the winner of the Gauntlet match against Styles for the NWA World Hvt. Title.
5 -- GAUNTLET MATCH for the NWA World Heavyweight Title.
Ron "The Truth" Killings vs. Kid Kash began the match, which started at 8:30 central. Kash hit a cool huracanrana off the top rope. After 90 seconds, Daniels came out to join the match (Royal Rumble style). West pointed out that Daniels got the bad draw because he just went through a match and then had to enter this match early. The fourth out was B.G. James. Sonny Siaki came out fifth. D-Lo Brown came out sixth and went after Siaki at first. Mad Mikey stomped out and put on a headset to do color. He said, Chris Candido-style, that he is very mad because he should be in the Gauntlet match. Siaki was the first eliminated at 8:25 as Mikey threw a tantrum at ringside. D-Lo eliminated Siaki with a kick sending Siaki over the top rope. The seventh out was Abyss. Abyss threw Killings over the top rope. Killings's head hit the apron as he bumped. Abyss threw James over the top rope next, the third eliminated. Sandman came out next. Abyss eliminated Kid Kash next. Mad Mikey entered the ring and went after Abyss with a slap. Abyss threw him over the top rope, even though he was never in the match to begin with. Tenay pointed out how surprised he was that Abyss eliminated his cohort Kash. Sandman opened a beer and stared down Abyss. He spit beer in Abyss's face and then nailed him with his kendo stick. Abyss gave him a wind up slam. Legend entered the match next. Konnan came out at 14:00 and cleaned house briefly. Sandman was eliminated at 15:10. Next out was Shane Douglas, the eleventh entrant and likely the last due to the injury to Raven and due to Jarrett being hauled away in a Hearst. Konnan eliminated Legend at 16:00. That left Abyss, D-Lo, Douglas, Daniels, and Konnan. Raven came out, after all, with his head taped, but blood still dried all over his face. He came out at 17:00. Douglas looked on in shock. Raven eliminated Abyss at 17:45. Daniels eliminated Konnan with a kick. That left Raven, Daniels, D-Lo, and Douglas, all realistic contenders to face Jarrett next week. Daniels hit D-Lo with the Angel's Wings and then clotheslined D-Lo over the top rope to eliminate D-Lo. Daniels was eliminated next by Raven, leaving Douglas vs. Raven in a singles match that could end via pinfall or submission. Raven clotheslined Douglas over the top rope and went with him to the floor. West pointed out it could end via pin or submission only at this point. Douglas nailed Raven with a chair from ringside, then made the cover in center-ring. Tenay sounded as if he thought it was over without giving away that it wasn't by actually declaring it over (because one of the main rules for announcers is to never say it's over before the third count if it actually is over because in theory that ruins the drama). Raven came back with a drop toe hold sending Douglas face-first into a chair. West pointed out that Douglas might win and thus would be going after the belt he trashed years ago. Tenay agreed with the irony. Raven, though, DDT'd Douglas and scored the pin.
WINNER: Raven at 22:25.
STAR RATING: ***1/2 -- Good Royal Rumble style match with a dramatic ending that had a good background story with Raven making a heroic comeback after being hanged earlier in the show.
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