By David Miller, Torch Team Contributor

NWA-TNA LXXXI
Live From The TNA Asylum
Nashville, Tennessee
February 4, 2004

Okay, now that the dueling G.M. bit is over, maybe we can get back to some serious business. TNA really needs to start stringing together some strong shows as they look toward April�s Bound For Glory PPV. Let�s hope tonight is the first night of that string of really good shows. Let�s take a look and find out.

Scott Hudson opened the broadcast by asking people to stop stealing their PPVs. Stop being so cheap and buy the damned thing, ya thief!

A recap of last week�s event was shown.

TNA�s bad theme song played, but this week with the accompanying video being completely highlights of Jeff Jarrett in action. Mike Tenay welcomed us to the show as the camera panned the Asylum. The whole TNA roster was surrounding the ring and standing on the ramp. �Under New Management� was the theme for tonight, as Jeff Jarrett (accompanied by Don Callis and Jonny Fairplay) was introduced by Jeremy Borash. Jarrett started this �company meeting� by saying he was now in charge. He then introduced the man who helped get him there, Tom T. Stenenbaum. Jarrett�s lawyer came to the ring and announced that the NWA board would be disbanded at 9 p.m. and Bill Behrens would resign. Stenenbaum then told the TNA roster that Jarrett and Callis basically own them and if they don�t do as they�re told, they�ll be in breach of contract. Jarrett went nuts with this breach of contract thing. He threatened Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger, El Leon, Sonny Siaki, and Jerry Lynn with breach of contract if they didn�t live up to his expectations. He asked if anyone had a problem with it and Chris Harris grabbed a microphone. He screamed at Jarrett that everyone in the back was tired of him turning TNA into the Jeff Jarrett show. Jarrett called Harris a mid-card tag team wrestler. Harris said �This mid-card tag team gave you some of the best matches of last year!� Harris told Jarrett that he knew who his mystery opponent was tonight and there was nothing he could do about it. The words finally escalated and the ring filled up, with the faces clearing the ring of the heels. Great opening segment.

Scott Hudson was in the back with Armando Quintero and Antonio Pena. Pena claimed his AAA team would be victorious in next week�s Americas X Cup and he already had a place in his office set aside for the trophy.

In the parking lot, David Young told Glenn Gilberti that he didn�t like clowns. Gilberti asked him what he meant. Young said that one minute they have balloons and say �C�mere, c�mere�, then the next minute they have sharp teeth. Gilberti asked him �Are you afraid of clowns? Did the movie �It� give you nightmares or something?� Young denied being scared, but it was obvious he was. Funny stuff from Gilberti and Young, as usual.

An Insane Clown Posse video package aired.

(1) Insane Clown Posse (Violent J & Shaggy 2 Dope) beat Glenn Gilberti & David Young at 6:45. Young refused to tag in for the longest time and every time ICP looked at him, he cowered in fear. He finally got in and had to fight them and landed a spinebuster on Shaggy, which he practically no-sold. J hit a moonsault on Young and Shaggy followed it up with a top-rope legdrop for the pin. Although ICP hit a sweet double dropkick early in the match, the rest of their offense was really sloppy looking. Not the best opener.

Scott Hudson was in the back with Team TNA. Jerry Lynn said he�d never heard of losing a match resulting in a breach of contract, which Jarrett threatened him with earlier. They vowed victory against Team AAA.

A video package was shown of the problems between Kid Kash and Sonny Siaki.

(2) Sonny Siaki pinned Kid Kash at 5:23. Jarrett told Siaki if he didn�t win he would be in breach of his contract. Early in the match, Kash hit the loudest chop I�ve ever heard in my life. It sounded like it should have tore the flesh from Siaki�s chest. Siaki countered with an overhead release suplex that sent Kash crashing to the mat headfirst. Ouch. They started brawling outside the ring and Kash took Jeremy Borash�s chair from him. Borash grabbed it away and Kash shoved J.B. to the floor. He then turned and slapped Tiny the timekeeper. Ticket taker Sarah Lee sneaked up behind Kash and whacked him with a broom. He took it away from her and jumped into the ring. Borash got up on the apron and Kash took a swing at him, but missed. The distraction allowed Siaki to surprise him with a quick rollup for the pin. Don �Butt-head� Callis came out and told Borash, Tiny, and Sarah that their contracts don�t state that they�re allowed to interfere in matches, so he fired all three of them. He told Siaki that he would eventually breach his contract, then he�d fire him. Siaki and Kash went at it again and Trinity came out to assist in beating down Siaki. Kash then placed a sticker on Siaki�s chest that read �Under New Management�. He went to hug Trinity, but she blew him off again. Siaki brought his A-game for this short match. It was exciting and the crowd was into it.

Scott Hudson was in the back with America�s Most Wanted. Hudson asked Harris who Jarrett�s mystery opponent was. Jarrett interrupted, also wanting to know who it was. Security separated them before a fight broke out.

A video package of Abyss manhandling opponents was shown.

(3) Abyss defeated El Leon by disqualification at 7:51. Tim Welch came out to take over announcing duties for Jeremy Borash. Rick Michaels took over for Tiny as timekeeper. Jarrett stipulated that if El Leon lost, he�d have to unmask. Typical big man match that wasn�t half bad. Some hard hitting and impressive power moves. Abyss hit the black hole slam but refused to pin him, instead opting to attempt to take off Leon�s mask. A.J. Styles ran in, prompting the DQ. As Abyss retreated, A.J. took a mic and demanded a title match. Callis came out and said he�d get his title match, but it would be a tag title match against the Redshirts...with Abyss as his partner. El Leon never did unmask.

Scott Hudson was in the back with Sandman and Terry Funk. Funk cut a good promo saying his whole family was crazy, his dog was crazy, and his horse was constipated half the time. He said he needed more insanity in his life and they were going to beat up these two �half-assed� wrestlers.

(4) The Gathering (Julio Dinero & C.M. Punk) w/Father James Mitchell beat Sandman & Terry Funk at 5:10. Funk took it to The Gathering for a short while, getting in more offense than Mahoney and Whipwreck in recent weeks. The legend even pulled off his moonsault (even though he missed). Same as last week, Sandman�s partner was incapacitated on the outside while The Gathering finished Sandman off in the ring. I still wish they would have let this match play out a few minutes longer, but at least Funk wasn�t made out to look like a complete chump as were his predecessors.

Mike Tenay conducted a sitdown interview with Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger. He asked which one of them signed the loyalty oath to Jeff Jarrett. Diamond called Gilberti a liar. Swinger said they had been a team since before TNA and that Diamond was his best friend and was best man at his wedding. He said they wouldn�t do anything to hurt the other. Jonny Fairplay interrupted and said he smelled a liar. Diamond got up and roughed Fairplay up a bit as Swinger and Tenay looked on. Good little segment that gave us insight into Diamond & Swinger�s relationship. That�s how you build characters and make us care about them.

Scott Hudson interviewed A.J. Styles, who said Jarrett and Callis� plan just may backfire on them.

(5) A.J. Styles & Abyss defeated The Redshirts (Kevin Northcutt & Legend) at 11:15 to become the new NWA tag team champions. El Leon came out immediately and fought with Abyss all the way out of the building, leaving A.J. to take on the redshirts without any chicanery from Abyss. The redshirts predictably beat the hell out of Styles throughout the match, but couldn�t put him away. The announcers did a great job of touting Styles as the gutsy underdog who just won�t quit. Northcutt hit his nifty new pumphandle slam variation that he calls the Northcutt driver, but still couldn�t put A.J. away. Chris Harris ran out and pulled the top rope down as Legend hit the ropes, sending him crashing to the floor. This brief distraction allowed Styles to roll up Northcutt for the surprise win. Fantastic handicap match with a lot of suspense.

News clips of Brian Urlacher�s TNA appearance were shown.

Very good graphics were shown of the TNA and AAA teams involved in the upcoming Americas X Cup.

Scott Hudson was in the back with the ICP. They said they were out to prove something to Jeff Jarrett. They challenged any guys Jarrett could dig up to a Juggalo street fight.

Erik Watts walked through the crowd and to the ring. He cut a promo on Jarrett, saying he may have stepped down as Director of Authority, but he�s still here as a wrestler. He reminded Jarrett of the beatdown he gave him when he first came to TNA. He called Jeff out and sat down in a chair in the middle of the ring. Goldylocks came out as Watts remained seated. She insulted his manhood, saying she faked it and would have been better off pleasing herself. She said everything was always about him and he never did anything for her, never thanked her for her support. After she was done ranting and raving, Watts forced a kiss on her then picked her up for a chokeslam. Jarrett and the redshirts ran in before he could slam her. They beat on Watts for a minute until Dustin Rhodes ran in to make the save and start the title match.

(6) Jeff Jarrett pinned Dustin Rhodes at 7:06 to retain the NWA heavyweight championship. Rhodes and Jarrett brawled through the crowd and in the balcony before returning to the ring. The redshirts came back out, but Rhodes fought them off until AMW came out to neutralize them. Abyss came out, but Rhodes thumped on him too. In the meantime, A.J. Styles ran out and delivered a frog splash to Jarrett. The referee got knocked down and The Naturals ran to the ring. They threw powder in Rhodes� face and clobbered him with a chair. Jarrett covered him as the ref came to and made the three count. As Jarrett was celebrating, Tenay told him not to get too cocky, because as their last ruling, the NWA Board of Directors had appointed a new Director of Authority. Chaos ensued as the show went off the air. Even though Rhodes lost the match, he still looked strong. Good brawl and an excellent, if not somewhat expected, surprise.

Random Thoughts: Goldylocks did well for her first lengthy promo time..........Punk and Dinero sold well for the aging Funk..........If I�m not mistaken, Tom T. Stenenbaum is former Memphis manager Brother Ernest Angel, as I guessed a couple of weeks ago..........There was a short, uncomfortable pause by Chris Harris during his opening promo, as if he either forgot what he was going to say or Jarrett missed his cue.

Final Analysis: Very good showing by TNA this week. They should be comfortably distanced from Guttman�s Tool of the Week this time around. Solid opening with good undercard matches and the show progressed without any slow spots. Even though the main event was a typical TNA train wreck, the debut of Dustin Rhodes was a nice surprise. I would definitely recommend the replay.

Feedback is encouraged at dmiller705@aol.com or the Torch VIP Forum.

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