TNA SACRIFICE PPV
MAY 15, 2011
ORLANDO, FLA.

(Follow me on Twitter... @keller_wade)

-Christy Hemme doing ring announcing, replacing Jeremy Borash.

1 - INK INC. vs. MEXICAN AMERICA (w/Sarita)

Lots of interference from Sarita. In the end, Ink Inc. had their finisher set-up, but Sarita jumped into the ring. Shannon Moore was going to hit or shove her, but Jesse Neal told him not to. Mike Tenay played up that Moore is a hot-head and Neal is a nice young man early in the match, saying it's a perfect contrast. In this case, it wasn't, because it gave Hernandez the opening to blindside Neal with his finisher. An Asai Moonsault by Moore was the biggest spot of the match. Went nearly ten minutes and it was just okay.

-They went to Mike Tenay and Taz, talking about this being a very important event because it's "the first of the Impact Wrestling era." But behind Tenay was a logo that said "TNA Wrestling Sacrifice" with no reference to "Impact Wrestling."

-Karen and Jeff Jarrett interrupted. Jarrett helped Karen walk onto the stage. She had a boot on her leg and crutches. Taz said he heard that she posted on Twitter that she hurt her ankle. Tenay sounded skeptical.

-Jarrett's explanation was hilarious. He said she is a wonderful and adorable wife and mother, but sometimes there is danger in those duties. "Friday morning, as Karen was making the rounds, she was handing out orders to the hired help - certainly in a very respectful manner." The crowd chanted "bullsh--." Jarrett said there is a PPV audience at home that doesn't need to hear their "filthy language." He said The Queen slipped and fell on one of Cody's action-figures. He said it was a Jeff Jarrett action figure, because that is his favorite one. He said doctors performed an MRI and X-Ray and determined she has a grade three sprain and her ankle is broken in two places. He said that's not his diagnosis, that's the doctors. He said they're as disappointed as they are. He thanked the fans for understanding.

-Mick Foley's music interrupted just as Jarrett and Karen were about to leave the ring. Foley said he saw the X-Ray, and you can tell the gender, size, and race of who is being X-Rayed. He said: "Karen, I can think of a lot of different adjectives to describe you, but a six-foot-six African-American male is not one of them." He said he believes she'll be magically okay match time. Foley told Jarrett "wrestling matches take place inside wrestling rings because wrestling matters." Karen said she didn't bring anything to wear. Also very funny. She didn't even deny it was a faked X-Ray claim. Foley said he had a wrestling outfit all ready for her. Entertaining, well-executed segment, with the babyface leader showing up the heel and establishing how scared of Chyna that Karen really is.

-Borash assigned to backstage interviews tonight. He interviewed Brian Kendrick. I didn't really understand much of anything he said, and I really tried, but that was the point. Even Taz asked, "What the hell did he just say?" Kendrick said he wants to put the X Division back on the proper path.

2 -- BRIAN KENDRICK vs. ROBBIE E. (w/Cookie)

Kendrick sat in mid-ring with a hood over his head rocking and medicating. Robbie yanked his hood off and then showboated. Kendrick got up and knocked him out of the ring, then dove on him. The crowd cheered Kendrick a little, but I'm not sure they have a clue how to take him yet. Kendrick had his robe on for the first several minutes of the match. After hitting a top rope dropkick, he yanked his robe off and put it over Robbie. Taz said, "A hockey fight breaking out here." Robbie made a comeback and set up a neckbreaker. Kendrick escaped and hit him with a single leg dropkick for the win in 6:00. Kendrick bled from his lower lip. He offered a handshake afterward. Robbie was freaked out by the handshake attempt and yelled, "What is wrong with you?" Cookie said he's a freak and a weirdo.

-Borash interviewed Tara backstage. She said Madison Rayne did get her job back, but she's been treating her "like crap," so she's torn when it comes to breaking away from her. When Borash asked who she wants to win, Rayne barged in and said she doesn't care what she wants. She said it's all about her and what she wants. She reminded her that she got her job back. She said she doesn't need her at ringside tonight. She warned her not to cost her her match tonight, then shoved her way past her.

3 -- MICKIE JAMES vs. TARA - Knockouts Title Match

Tara came out to ringside anyway. Mickie yelled at her. The ref was counting her out, so she had to turn away from Tara and address Mickie. Mickie hit Rayne at ringside. Mickie turned to Tara for some words, and Rayne knocked Mickie into the ringside steps. And then the match continued inside the ring... Rayne was about to use a loaded glove when Tara leaped onto the ring apron and yanked it out of her hands. Mickie then went for a DDT, but Rayne countered with a roll up and a yank on her shorts for a believable near fall... Rayne avoided a Mickie attempt at a Thesz Press, and Mickie landed on the ref instead... Mickie set up a DDT. Tara entered with a loaded glove. Mickie dropped the DDT attempt. Tara threatened to hit Mickie, then when Rayne got her face, she turned to hit Tara. Rayne told her to do the right thing. Tara looked at Mickie said pretended she was about to hit her, but then quick turned and KO'd Rayne. Tara woke up the ref and the ref counted to three... Felt more like an ongoing angle than a match, but it fit the booking of the storyline well enough.

-Borash interviewed Fortune backstage, including Kaz hyping his match against Max Buck ("...if that is your real name," said Kaz, adding, "You couldn't be a star if you were thrown by a ninja.") Styles then said Tommy Dreamer hanging out with Brother Ray is "like A.J. Styles hanging out with Ric Flair; that's never a good thing." Roode then said Beer Money Inc. is the greatest tag team on the planet today and American's Most Wanted is long gone. He vowed to walk out with James Storm as tag champs tonight. Storm said "Kitty Cat" Chris Harris should have never come back. "I'm not here to tell jokes, I'm not here to sell DVDs. I'm here to drink my beer and whoop you're ass, so tonight, sorry about your damn luck." James Storm might be TNA's breakout difference-making star in waiting. There's some Dusty, some Stone Cold, some Michael Hayes in him. Yet he's also his own person. He doesn't fit a mold that feels like it's a copycat of the Attitude Era, despite the Stone Cold traits...

4 -- KAZ vs. MAX BUCK -- X Division Title Match

Late in the match Kaz hit a flying sunset flip at ringside. He scored a near fall inside the ring. The crowd broke out into a "This is Wrestling!" chant. Buck surprised Kaz with a school boy for a near fall. Kaz came back with a Shining Wizard for the win... It built a little slowly, but it had the best stretches of action of the night easily. Still not a three-star match at just 11 minutes, but close to it...

-Borash interviewed Abyss backstage. Abyss said he lives his life by the motto: "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger." He said: "Hell, I even had my teeth kicked in by RVD and I kept going. And Borash, those teeth were delicious. He he he ha ha ha!" He vowed to end Crimson's undefeated streak tonight.

5 - CRIMSON vs. ABYSS

Tenay and Taz played up Crimson's undefeated streak... Crimson knocked Abyss over the top rope a minute in and then played to the crowd. Abyss went into a methodical beatdown of Crimson. Crimson came back with some kneelifts for a two count... Abyss eventually pulled Janice (the board with hundreds of nails sticking out of it) out from under the ring and swung it toward the ref, who bailed out. The ref didn't DQ him for that? Abyss ordered Crimson to stand. He swung. Crimson ducked and then speared Abyss. The ref returned to the ring and counted two. The ref slid Janice out of the ring. Crimson charged at Abyss, but Abyss met his chest with the bottom of his boot. Abyss scored several near falls, but grew frustrated Crimson then gave Abyss his Red Sky powerbomb for the win... Another solid performance from Crimson, who shows just enough promise in terms of his ring work and ring presence to continue pushing and seeing how he progresses...

6 -- BEER MONEY vs. MATT HARDY & CHRIS HARRIS -- TNA Tag Team Titles Match

Tenay said Beer Money, he thinks, has surpassed what America's Most Wanted did in "this company's" early years... Storm opened against Harris, but after circling mid-ring, Harris tagged out to Hardy... Eventually Harris sprayed beer in the eyes of Storm to gain the advantage... In the body of the match the heel duo took turns beating down Roode. Harris spit at Storm, right before Storm got the hot-tag. The crowd didn't pop as you'd expect with all of that build up, but they did seem to like Storm taking it to Harris. Storm could have played to the crowd a little more once he got the hot-tag. A few Greg Gagne or Dusty Rhodes hot-tags could show him how it's done... When Harris threw Storm over the top rope, Storm pulled a Steamboat and skinned the cat back into the ring. Then he DDT'd him off the second rope for a two count. Hardy broke up the in. Roode threw Hardy out of the ring right away, then beat on him on the floor. Meanwhile, Storm inverted DDT'd Harris off the top rope for a near fall. Roode entered the ring and they set up their finisher. Hardy surprised Roode with a Side Effect. Storm countered a Twist of Hate, though, and knocked Hardy out of the ring. Harris picked up Storm, but Storm avoided the Catatonic. Storm countered and sidewalk slammed him. Roode then gave Harris a spinebuster, then turned to a double suplex of Hardy. That led to the "Beer! Money!" routine as they set up their finishing sequence on Harris. As they set up a DWI, Storm suggested instead he got to the top rope. Storm gave Harris the Death Sentence Legdrop for the win, a move America's Most Wanted made famous. That was good for the pin... Harris didn't phone it in, but he wasn't in great shape, either. Watchable average tag match that wasn't overly cute and just delivered a Sstraight up feel-good win for the babyface team to retain the titles...

-Borash interviewed Bully Ray backstage. Ray got in Borash's face and said he strikes fear in people and intimidates them and imposes his will on people. He said Borash looks like the kind of guy who listens to Lady Gaga, whereas he drinks whisky, listens to rock 'n' roll, and chases women. He said he's taken craps bigger than A.J. Styles. He shoved Borash out of the picture and then turned to the camera and said Styles is lucky he didn't end his career. He said he is going to try to take out Styles any chance he gets. He said after that, he's going to take out his friends in Fortune and then go to his redneck house and take his redneck wife out. "I'm taking her back to Hell's Kitchen and taking her out the way I want to."

7 -- A.J. STYLES vs. TOMMY DREAMER

At 4:00 they brawled to ringside, then into the crowd... Back at the ring at 7:00, Dreamer used a trash can. Styles bled from the forehead. Styles made a comeback and brought a table into the ring. A few fans chanted, "We Want Fire!" Styles threw Dreamer through the turnbuckles into the ringpost, then leaped off the ladder with a flying forearm. Then Styles drove Dreamer through the edge of the table and scored a two count. The crowd chanted, "This is awesome!" They're very kind. Dreamer countered with a DDT next for a two count, but Styles's legs were in the ropes. At 12:00 Styles set up a powerbomb through the table, but Ray entered the ring and hit Styles from behind with a chain-wrapped fist. He then fled as Christopher Daniels charged into the ring. Dreamer then gave Styles a piledriver onto the table. Styles's head popped out from between Dreamer's legs, so it didn't look to have much impact in a traditional sense, which is probably a good thing in reality, but bad visually. Dreamer scored the pin. This was again just barely okay. Nothing terribly wrong with it, and about what you'd expect from Dreamer at age 40 trying to keep up with Styles. Even with Ray's interference, it's tough to rationalize TNA having Dreamer score a pin on Styles at this stage...

8 -- KURT ANGLE & CHYNA vs. JEFF JARRETT & KAREN ANGLE

Chyna wore a red, white, and blue bodysuit. I know "Wonder Woman" wasn't picked up by NBC< but she looks ready for the staring role... After some early action between Jarrett and Angle, Chyna tagged in. Jarrett bailed out to ringside, apparently indicating he'd rather face an Olympic Gold Medalist than Chyna. Tenay and Taz noted that it's man vs. man, woman vs. woman. The ref ordered Karen into the ring. No sign of ankle problems... Karen pouted and stalled at ringside. The ref began to count her out... Sneaky Jeff hit Angle from behind and then told the ref to get Chyna out of the ring. Somehow this made sense to Tenay, who explained that Jarrett was the legal man in the ring. By virtue of Chyna tagged in, wasn't Jarrett required to tag in Karen? Well, anyway, within a minute Angle had Jarrett in the anklelock. When Karen jumped into the ring, Angle lifted her for an Angle Slam. Jarrett clipped Angle from behind. Jarrett hit Angle with a dropkick... A few minutes later, with both Angle and Jarrett down, the crowd chanted, "We Want Chyna!" Angle gave Jarrett three unreleased German suplexes. Jarrett made a Tommy Dreamer comeback from those suplexes and managed to completely recover, escape an Angle slam, and take Angle down with an armdrag and an enzuigiri. I guess three German suplexes don't really hurt. Jarrett immediately set up a Stroke, but Angle blocked it and rolled through with an anklelock. Jarrett countered and ate an Angle Slam... Angle took Jarrett to his corner and tried to force him to tag Karen, but Karen dropped to the floor. Jarrett mule kicked Angle. Angle tagged Chyna in. Chyna lifted Jarrett for a bodyslam and almost fell backward. Didn't we learn from "Tough Enough" that anyone can bodyslam ayone easily, even with a big weight difference? Anyway, Chyna then gave Jarrett a vertical suplex. Chyna pointed at Karen at ringside. Karen backed away. Chyna pursued her at ringside. Karen pouted and tried to avoid the steel-faced Chyna. Karen entered the ring and backed right into Kurt. Chyna then entered the ring and splashed Karen in the corner. Karen dropped to the mat. Chyna played to the crowd. The crowd ate it up. Chyna then picked up Karen by her hair and gave her a faceplant, which Tenay called a "DDT style move." What about that was "DDT-style"? Anyway, Chyna then put Karen in an anklelock. Jarrett climbed into the ring, but Angle put him in an anklelock. Karen tapped. Winners: Angle & Chyna in 10:00... This was okay for what it set out to accomplish. Chyna did just enough to not be a ripoff without doing so much she looked awful or made big mistakes (although that body slam was ugly)...

9 -- STING vs. ROB VAN DAM -- TNA World Hvt. Championship Match

Mr. Anderson joined Tenay and Taz on commentary... Match begins 22 minutes before the top of the hour... Anderson said this is a toss-up and he doesn't care who wins. He said he's an equal-opportunity ass-kicker... Sting worked over RVD's leg at ringside and in the crowd after an apparent RVD leg injury. Sting whipped RVD into the wall. RVD reversed him. Then came the obligatory Sting stand-up brawl in the crowd. RVD sent Sting tumbling town the steps after a kick. Tenay said the ref gave Sting and RVD "lee-way" on the countout rule. He was thankful he did that. Why even have the rule if the ref can indiscriminately ignore it?... Back in the ring at 8:00 both were slow to get up, but RVD stood first... RVD went for a Five-Star, but Sting avoided it and schoolboyed RVD for a near fall. Sting then gave RVD a botched Scorpion Death Drop. RVD called for him to repeat it, but we weren't supposed to see that. Sting did it again and scored the clean pin... Winner: Sting. Not awful, but not even close to the main event that TNA needs to be producing at this point. If it's not in Sting, then he should be a special attraction two or three spots down the card, and let someone who can really ignite the crowd with world class buzz-worthy performances take over the World Title slot...

-Afterward Anderson approached Sting in the ring. They had a staredown as the show ended.

REPLAY RECOMMENDATION: No. Just not worth 35-45 dollars. Very much a skippable show. Not historical significant. Nothing even at three stars. Not a candidate for worst show of the year, but maybe among the least relevant and most forgettable.

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