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'The Truth' is not set free on Impact!
Killings wins the battle, but loses war with Jarrett
By
STEVEN JOHNSON - SLAM! Wrestling
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It's hard to imagine that Monday morning quarterbacks
have anything on pro wrestling buffs. Wrestling fans
dissect and analyze each segment of shows like Total
Nonstop Wrestling Impact! They're seldom at a loss to
express their pleasures and displeasures with the
implied belief that they could book the programme
better, if only given the chance.
That having been said, it's hard to find fault with
the direction of Impact! after three weeks. The weekly
TNA show on Fox Sports Net has settled into a
reasonably comfortable niche, striking an admirable
balance between fast-paced matches and promotional
blurbs for TNA's weekly pay-per-view events.
For example, on the June 18 show, taped June 17 at
Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. some 43 minutes
elapsed before announcers Mike Tenay and Don West were
visible on camera, a restraint that other wrestling
companies would do well to mirror.
By presenting the strengths of TNA -- in-ring action --
to viewers first, and then concluding with a set-up
for the PPV (next Wednesday is the second anniversary
show, the company has found a nice formula that even
the most finicky wrestling critic would be hard
pressed to pan.
Match one: 6-man X Division match between Hector
Garza, Chris Sabin, Michael Shane, PrimeTime (aka Elix
Skipper), Kazarian, and Miyamoto
To their credit, Tenay and West took a long time
introducing each wrestler and providing some
background information on them, even though that
process took almost as long as the match. As with many
X Division matches, the bout was a usually interesting
blur of flying heads scissors, missile dropkicks, and
other high spots. The process for tagging in and out
was never explained fully though, and 3-on-3 teams
never developed.
Sabin delivered a nice springboard into a missile
dropkick for a count of two on Shane. PrimeTime
entered the ring to walk on the ropes -- unsteadily, it
seemed -- to go after Shane, who had the presence of
mind to shake the ropes and crotch PrimeTime. The two
traded snap huracanranas before Shane tagged Miyamoto.
The Japanese star was in briefly before all six men
joined in the contest. In the confusion, Miyamoto blew
red mist -- cherry, perhaps -- at PrimeTime. After Shane
weakened Miyamoto for a two-count, Garza hit a
twisting plancha off the top rope for the pin in 5:16.
Winner: Hector Garza
Match two: The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase
Stevens) vs. Sabu and Sonjay Dutt
Before the match, America's Most Wanted attacked The
Naturals in relation for making off with their ring
attire at last Wednesday's PPV. Tenay noted that this
represented Sabu's maiden appearance on Impact! But
fans did not get to see him for several minutes as
Dutt worked most of the early part of the match.
Stevens caught Dutt with a flying hammerlock, but Dutt
worked himself out of trouble and hit huracanranas on
both Naturals. Dutt stayed in the ring, and was laid
out by a Stevens' lariat. West made a nice call here,
saying that Dutt should have tagged Sabu after the
huracanranas, but he was too inexperienced to
recognize that fact.
When Sabu entered, he got a reverse springboard for a
two-count on Stevens, then locked the blonde in a
camel clutch. Given the fact that Raven is supposed to
provide a 'tribute' to The Sheik, Sabu's uncle, at
next week's PPV, the role of the Camel Clutch in The
Sheik's arsenal probably merited attention.
Dutt threw a chair into the ring, but Sabu used it for
springboards and not shots. He tagged to Dutt, who
missed a Hindu press from the top rope, and was pinned
in 4:54 with the double team Natural Disaster move.
Sabu then used the chair to clear the ring.
Winners: The Naturals
Match three: Abyss vs D-Ray 3000
A squash match involving Abyss, called "the monster
Abyss" by Tenay and West, has become a weekly fixture.
This week, his victim was D-Ray 3000. "Instead of
D-Ray 3000, it should be D-Ray 3000-to-1 because those
are the odds of his beating the monster Abyss," West
said. The match lasted 1:23 after Abyss caught D-Ray
in his side slam, called the blackhole slam. D-Ray
futile attempts at dropkicks and offense were, well,
unusually futile.
Match four: X Division champion A.J. Styles vs. Mr.
Aguila
This was a non-title match. The two very quick
grapplers traded wristlocks and flips before Styles
delivered what Tenay subliminally termed an
"impact-ful dropkick." Styles held Aguila in a
vertical suplex for about 10 seconds, before dropping
him and getting a count of two. Kid Kash and Dallas
were show watching the match from the top of the ramp.
Coming out of a commercial break, both were on the mat
following a double collision that was shown on replay.
Styles put Aguila into a cliffhanger -- a razor's edge
into a DDT -- for a two-count, but Aguila kicked out.
When Aguila went for a backdrop off the ropes, Styles
countered with a Styles clash for the victory in 7:39
of an entertaining if occasionally telegraphed match.
The pin was the cue for Dallas and Kash to beat on
Styles, softening him for the Styles-Kash match at
next week's PPV. D-Lo Brown made the save in street
clothes, and declared he would challenge the winner of
the Jeff Jarrett-Ron Killings world title match on the
PPV.
Winner: A.J. Styles
At this point, Tenay and West outlined the anniversary
show, presenting a video package that showed the
reasons for the upcoming Trinity-Desire stretcher
match; the first ladies' stretcher match, as it was
billed. Jerry Lynn's efforts on behalf of Team NWA to
deal with the rascally Scott D'Amore, the manager of
team Canada, also earned a brief mention.
Match five: Ron 'The Truth' Killings vs Eric Young
In a throwback to WCW, Dusty Rhodes came out to add
color commentary. D'Amore whacked Killings with a
hockey stick, prompting the aforementioned Lynn to
spring out from the crowd and chase him to the back.
Coming after the PPV preview, that made booking sense
and also got D'Amore out of Killings' (braided) hair.
Although Killings is dubbed as the top contender to
Jarrett's crown, Young dominated 'The Truth' for the
first three minutes of the match, getting two-counts
with a headbutt and again with a side backbreaker.
Killings caught Young off the ropes with a suplex,
prompting an amused Rhodes to remark: "I used to do
some of that stuff in the old days; now the ol' bionic
elbow just kind of carries me through."
Young missed a right cross, and Killings hit him with
a leg lariat before nailing the Canadian with the "lie
detector" -- a Booker T-style scissors kick -- for the
win. As soon as Killings claimed the win, the lights
went dark until a spotlight focused on a tuxedo-clad
Jarrett approaching the ring. Jarrett went to the
announcers' table and clocked Rhodes with a guitar,
before using the remnants on the instrument on
Killings.
Winner: Ron Killings
Director of Authority Vince Russo then suddenly
appeared in the ring -- his entrance must have been
off-camera -- and reminded Jarrett that he would lose
the title on the disqualification if he employs a
guitar as a weapon against Killings on the PPV.
Actually, Killings might have better off if Russo had
stayed out of view. Jarrett apparently took Russo's
warning to mean there was no reason to wait until
Wednesday, and he again battered Killings with some
cat gut and plywood. Killings tumbled into the crowd --
mostly on his won, it seemed -- after another assault
by Jarrett. A battered and unimpressive-looking
Killings was prone on the floor as Tenay reminded us
he'll face Jarrett on Wednesday.
Steven Johnson is a writer and editor in Virginia. He can be reached at blakeslee_74@yahoo.com.
