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TNA: Styles pins Luger in lame finish
By
DONNIE ABREU -- SLAM! Wrestling
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  Raven's tribute to Crash Holly on last night's TNA broadcast. |
I realize that I\'ve been MIA for a while now and if I was gone much
longer I would have been the subject of a well written \"Where Are They
Now?\" piece by Greg Oliver. Wanting to avoid that read, I decided to
return from my honeymoon and return to the world of NWA-TNA. I\'ve been
out of the loop for the last few weeks so if anything sounds a little
disjointed, you\'ll understand why.
Tag Team Gauntlet for the Gold
Five teams were represented (Ekmo & Siaki, America\'s Most Wanted, 3 Live
Krew, The Gathering and the team of Glen Gilberti and David Young) with
the stipulation being that the team or individual that recorded the
final pinfall would receive a title shot for his team against Simon
Diamond and Johnny Swinger. Individuals entered the ring every couple
minutes and eliminations were recorded when a man was thrown over the
top. Unlike the old school Survivor Series matches that featured tag
teams, one partner being eliminated did not mean the whole team was
gone. Both men had to be taken out.
Ekmo Fatu (formerly Jamal of 3 Count) was wearing a T-shirt that read
\"In Memory Of Michael Lockwood\".
At the the end of the match, Ekmo actually hit a bonzai drop from the
middle of the ropes on both Ron Killings and James Storm. When he tried
it a second time he was dumped over the top.
The finish came when James Storm was distracted by David Young while
Gilberti slid in the ring and knocked the Cowboy out with a chair shot.
Killings followed with a sit out brain buster for the win. Lame match.
Winners: Ron Killings and the 3 Live Krew
Backstage Don Callis was interviewed by Scott Hudson and showed some
sort of \"mind control\" over the 6\'6\" monster, Abyss.
The NWA Heavyweight champion Jeff Jarrett walked down to the ring to cut
a typical heel promo. He threw Tenay out of the ring talking down to him
like a child who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Jarrett
then asked Don West to earn his pay check and hold the mic for the
champion. Jarrett was asking where Hulk Hogan was and when he would be
showing up in TNA. JJ then talked about this week\'s match where he would
team up with TNA newbie Lex Luger against Sting and AJ Styles.
Raven (who has \"CRASH\" written across his stomach) interrupted and said
that he is still here to fulfill his destiny. He got rid of the New
Church, set free the Gathering, and now wants the NWA title. Jarrett
said that Raven, like Styles was not able to compete on his level. Raven
was then jumped by the red shirt security team who he was scheduled to
face this week. The redshirts and JJ busted Raven open and left him laying.
Low Ki VS. Christopher Daniels
This is a qualifying match in the series of matches where the winner
will receive a crack at Michael Shane\'s X-Division title. Daniels was
wearing his old Triple X trunks and on several occasions flashed the old
Triple X hand signal to Ki but was answered with stiff kicks.
Toronto\'s own Tracy (the first member of Shane Douglas\' new \'Franchise\'
faction) was scouting and taking notes while talking to someone on a
cell phone.
This match was beautiful to watch. These two have such in-ring chemistry
and history that just shines through. Great blend of aggressive
onslaughts and sweet high spots. Daniels won it with a beautiful roll up.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
After the match, Daniels and Ki shook hands but then the mystery man
\"X\", (who is actually Pierre Carl Ouellette under a hood) showed up and
destroyed Daniels with his Package Piledriver, an absolutely sick move!
Chad Collyer VS. Sonjay Dutt
The winner of this match will move into the three way dance next week
against X and Daniels with the winner getting an X-Division title shot.
Collyer, a student and clone of Dean Malenko, tried to work the very
acrobatic Dutt into the matt. This was a classic ground versus air show.
Collyer went for the Texas Cloverleaf, but Dutt managed to grab a rope.
After being dominated for the entire match, Dutt pulled out a small
package to pull out the W.
Winner: Sonjay Dutt
Predictably Dutt was jumped by X following his match.
Abyss (with Don Callis) VS. Don Harris (with Chris Vaughn)
Ughhh, as decent as Abyss is \"for a big man\", you can imagine how this
match went. I would have been much happier with an extra 10 minutes of
Daniels and Ki. Do you remember the old days when being over 6\'4\" didn\'t
mean you HAD to have a chokeslam in your repetoire? I miss those days,
and I\'m sick of the bloody chokeslam. Following several teased
chokeslams by both men, Abyss hit the black hole slam.
Winner: Abyss
After the match Chris Vaughn was dropped by Abyss with a sit out
backbreaker. AJ Styles (seeking revenge from last week) went after Abyss
and snapped off a springboard hurricanrana / clothesline combination
that sent the big man to the floor.
The Red Shirt Security VS. Raven and a mystery partner
Raven grabbed the mic to introduce his partner. The Gathering stood
behind hoping that one of them would be invited to join their leader.
Raven said he wanted to team with the only man to ever beat him half to
death and live to tell about it. Enter, Sandman.
Raven was worked over before making the hot tag to the Sandman. Hak
cleaned house with cane shots (I don\'t remember this being called a
No-DQ match) while the ref looked on with confusion. Sandman seemed set
to win when he was nailed from behind by Legend who had a chain in hand.
Winners: Red Shirts
Post match nonsense with the red shirts, Legend, Raven, The Gathering,
Eric Watts and whoever else felt like jumping in. Watts then announced a
Six-Man Clockwork Orange House Of Fun match for next week pitting
Sandman, Raven and himself against the red shirts and Legend.
Sting and AJ Styles VS. Jeff Jarrett and Lex Luger
Everyone wanted a chance to talk smack before the match. Luger said that
\"AC Styles\" didn\'t belong in the ring with The Package or the Champ.
Then Sting started screaming with \"AJ STYLES IN THE HOUSE\". Oh geeeez.
I feel bad for Styles in the ring with Slow, Slower and Slowest. Poor
guy. This match was all show with very little go. It had a the stench of
WCW Thunder all over it.
The match ended when Luger put Styles up in the rack, but took a
baseball bat shot from the Stinger. AJ rolled up Luger and got the win.
Wow, could we make the companies top babyfaces look ANY weaker?
Horrible finish.
Overall, this was a slow show that was somewhat difficult to watch in
sports. The mainstream appeal of guys like Hogan, Luger and Sting may
be legit and may in fact help TNA, but it should be tempered and thrown
into the mid card or co-main events. Making crap like this the feature
of the night really leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Till next week............
Donnie Abreu has been a wrestling journalist for eight years and is the
co-founder of IceCold Media (www.icecoldmedia.com).
Visit IceCold Media for all your custom media design needs. Mention that
you read Donnie\'s column on SLAM! and receive a 20% discount! Looking to
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