TNA Slammiversary
TNA Slammiversary
It’s been five years since Total Non-stop Action debuted in Nashville, and in those five years there has been a lot of growth and loss with this company. At the beginning, TNA was viewed as a joke, partly due to the name and partly due to the ownership. Now with a television contract and monthly PPV’s, TNA is almost set to be in the black. Slammiversary is their flagship PPV, and it did not disappoint. With an assortment of great matches, Slammiversary also had one of the rare moments to bring out the true emotions of one of its stars and members of the viewing audience.
Slammiversary opened with video highlights from the first five years, with the best part being the chairshot Jeff Jarrett delivered to Hulk Hogan in Japan. Hogan never worked a minute in TNA, but that shot brought TNA some much needed publicity.
LAX vs. Rhino and Senshi with Hector Guerrero
LAX is probably the best tag team in wrestling at the moment, and that’s not counting that tag team wrestling is on a decline in both major companies. Homicide and Hernandez work well together, and they are both strong and agile in the ring. With Konnan outside the ring as the voice of LAX, they have the right look to be around for a while. Senshi replaced Chris Harris in this match, and it probably was the right decision. Senshi is once again a rising star in the company and needs to be used with more than just the X Division. With the brute force of Rhino and the lightning fast movement of Senshi, LAX had a difficult time in the ring. At one point, Hernandez showed incredible strength as he threw Senshi across the ring the long way. Ultimately, Rhino got the gore and the win.
Jay Lethal vs. Chris Sabin
Awesome match. Lethal is really coming into his own with his Black Machismo gimmick, and Sabin always delivers a great match. I’m not sure I like the new Guru persona that Sonjay Dutt has been given, but I’ll give it time. Lethal and Sabin had a high flying match with plenty of opportunities for both men to win, but Lethal hit the flying elbow and got the three.
Frank Wycheck & Jerry Lynn vs. James Storm & Ron Killings
This was not the best match, but it still was better than most of the last ECW pay per view matches. Wycheck was out of his element for most of the match, although he did deliver a decent dropkick and a few bodyslams. Killings needs to get back in the title hunt, which is not going to happen with Angle, Sting, Samoa Joe, and Christian Cage being at the top of the company. Wycheck hit a piledriver for the win.
Bob Backlund vs. Alex Shelley
For a guy who hasn’t wrestled in ten years, Backlund looked good in the ring. He was in much better shape than Ric Flair, and he wrestled a better match than Flair could. Sabin interefered in the match but wasn’t any threat. The match had a strange finish, as Backlund won and Sabin attacked him. Jerry Lynn came in to make the save only to get a boot from Kevin Nash. Jay Lethal came in to make the save and was upset about Nash taking out Lynn. Could be the start of something in X Division land…
Damaja and Basham vs. Voodoo Kin Mafia
Okay, why are the VKM getting cheered for being sexist pigs? On a more serious note, why are they being cheered when they suck? VKM got the win and chased Christy Hemme up the ramp where she was captured by Lance Hoyt, who brought her back to the ring for her punishment. Just as VKM were about to punish Hemme, Hoyt put both men down and celebrated with Basham, Damaja, and Hemme. It’s not going to be the Four Horsemen, but Hemme is beginning to put together a little stable to do her bidding.
Eric Young vs. Robert Roode
Not a great match, and considering the combatants I’m a little surprised. Roode won the match with a chairshot, only to have James Cornette restart the match due to “unfairness” (when’s the last time that happened?). Young cradled Roode for the win. The highlight of the match had to be Young pulling down the pants of Ms. Brooks at ringside…and when that’s the highlight, you know it wasn’t the best match in the world.
Team 3D vs. Rick Steiner and a mystery partner
Why is Road Warrior Animal almost always the mystery partner? Doesn’t matter, as any match with 3D is going to suck large. And this one did. Aside from the monster pop Animal got coming to the ring, there wasn’t much to the match. I'm still trying to figure out why Team 3D was cheering for Animal....odd.
Sting vs. Christopher Daniels
A good back and forth match, with the good old WCW style Sting entrance from the ceiling. Sting went for the Scorpion Deathlock early in the match only for Daniels to use his speed and agility to escape the hold. Sting finally hit the Deathdrop following Daniels’ attempt to use the Last Rites to gain the win.
Abyss vs. Tomko
No disqualification matches are either really good or really terrible. This one worked because there were two equal sized opponents fighting it out for the entire match (not like Cena vs. Khali…ugh). Thumbtacks, broken glass, and a scaffold were used during the match, which had a decent highspot with Tomko being launched from the scaffold on to a bunch of cardboard boxes. Abyss then jumped from the scaffold onto Tomko. The match returned to the ring where Abyss hit the Blackhole Slam on Tomko on a pile of broken glass for the win.
King of the Mountain match
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christian Cage vs. AJ Styles vs. mystery opponent
This match followed an emotional interview featuring Jeff Jarrett, who recently lost his wife to breast cancer. Jarrett was chosen to be the mystery opponent, but Chris Harris was named as his replacement, and Harris started out strong, looking like he was going to win the match. There were a number of incredible moves, including AJ Styles being put through the announce table from the top of the penalty box. As Christian Cage was climbing the ladder to hang the belt and win the title, Harris leapt from the top rope and knocked him from the ladder, allowing Kurt Angle to win the TNA Heavyweight title. After the match, he slammed Samoa Joe, who had entered the ring to shake hands.
Overall, the PPV was decent. A lot of good matches to outweigh the bad ones. The audio was not the greatest, as microphones tended to die at the worst moments. The camera work was good, but they were not on the match at times when something was happening (a pin attempt during the Roode-Young fight was missed when they focused on the crowd). The announcing was great, especially when you consider I never once heard the word “puppies!” during a match. West and Tenay focused on what mattered instead of focusing on cleavage, which is a nice change from the usual antics.
Victory Road is the next PPV...
It’s been five years since Total Non-stop Action debuted in Nashville, and in those five years there has been a lot of growth and loss with this company. At the beginning, TNA was viewed as a joke, partly due to the name and partly due to the ownership. Now with a television contract and monthly PPV’s, TNA is almost set to be in the black. Slammiversary is their flagship PPV, and it did not disappoint. With an assortment of great matches, Slammiversary also had one of the rare moments to bring out the true emotions of one of its stars and members of the viewing audience.
Slammiversary opened with video highlights from the first five years, with the best part being the chairshot Jeff Jarrett delivered to Hulk Hogan in Japan. Hogan never worked a minute in TNA, but that shot brought TNA some much needed publicity.
LAX vs. Rhino and Senshi with Hector Guerrero
LAX is probably the best tag team in wrestling at the moment, and that’s not counting that tag team wrestling is on a decline in both major companies. Homicide and Hernandez work well together, and they are both strong and agile in the ring. With Konnan outside the ring as the voice of LAX, they have the right look to be around for a while. Senshi replaced Chris Harris in this match, and it probably was the right decision. Senshi is once again a rising star in the company and needs to be used with more than just the X Division. With the brute force of Rhino and the lightning fast movement of Senshi, LAX had a difficult time in the ring. At one point, Hernandez showed incredible strength as he threw Senshi across the ring the long way. Ultimately, Rhino got the gore and the win.
Jay Lethal vs. Chris Sabin
Awesome match. Lethal is really coming into his own with his Black Machismo gimmick, and Sabin always delivers a great match. I’m not sure I like the new Guru persona that Sonjay Dutt has been given, but I’ll give it time. Lethal and Sabin had a high flying match with plenty of opportunities for both men to win, but Lethal hit the flying elbow and got the three.
Frank Wycheck & Jerry Lynn vs. James Storm & Ron Killings
This was not the best match, but it still was better than most of the last ECW pay per view matches. Wycheck was out of his element for most of the match, although he did deliver a decent dropkick and a few bodyslams. Killings needs to get back in the title hunt, which is not going to happen with Angle, Sting, Samoa Joe, and Christian Cage being at the top of the company. Wycheck hit a piledriver for the win.
Bob Backlund vs. Alex Shelley
For a guy who hasn’t wrestled in ten years, Backlund looked good in the ring. He was in much better shape than Ric Flair, and he wrestled a better match than Flair could. Sabin interefered in the match but wasn’t any threat. The match had a strange finish, as Backlund won and Sabin attacked him. Jerry Lynn came in to make the save only to get a boot from Kevin Nash. Jay Lethal came in to make the save and was upset about Nash taking out Lynn. Could be the start of something in X Division land…
Damaja and Basham vs. Voodoo Kin Mafia
Okay, why are the VKM getting cheered for being sexist pigs? On a more serious note, why are they being cheered when they suck? VKM got the win and chased Christy Hemme up the ramp where she was captured by Lance Hoyt, who brought her back to the ring for her punishment. Just as VKM were about to punish Hemme, Hoyt put both men down and celebrated with Basham, Damaja, and Hemme. It’s not going to be the Four Horsemen, but Hemme is beginning to put together a little stable to do her bidding.
Eric Young vs. Robert Roode
Not a great match, and considering the combatants I’m a little surprised. Roode won the match with a chairshot, only to have James Cornette restart the match due to “unfairness” (when’s the last time that happened?). Young cradled Roode for the win. The highlight of the match had to be Young pulling down the pants of Ms. Brooks at ringside…and when that’s the highlight, you know it wasn’t the best match in the world.
Team 3D vs. Rick Steiner and a mystery partner
Why is Road Warrior Animal almost always the mystery partner? Doesn’t matter, as any match with 3D is going to suck large. And this one did. Aside from the monster pop Animal got coming to the ring, there wasn’t much to the match. I'm still trying to figure out why Team 3D was cheering for Animal....odd.
Sting vs. Christopher Daniels
A good back and forth match, with the good old WCW style Sting entrance from the ceiling. Sting went for the Scorpion Deathlock early in the match only for Daniels to use his speed and agility to escape the hold. Sting finally hit the Deathdrop following Daniels’ attempt to use the Last Rites to gain the win.
Abyss vs. Tomko
No disqualification matches are either really good or really terrible. This one worked because there were two equal sized opponents fighting it out for the entire match (not like Cena vs. Khali…ugh). Thumbtacks, broken glass, and a scaffold were used during the match, which had a decent highspot with Tomko being launched from the scaffold on to a bunch of cardboard boxes. Abyss then jumped from the scaffold onto Tomko. The match returned to the ring where Abyss hit the Blackhole Slam on Tomko on a pile of broken glass for the win.
King of the Mountain match
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christian Cage vs. AJ Styles vs. mystery opponent
This match followed an emotional interview featuring Jeff Jarrett, who recently lost his wife to breast cancer. Jarrett was chosen to be the mystery opponent, but Chris Harris was named as his replacement, and Harris started out strong, looking like he was going to win the match. There were a number of incredible moves, including AJ Styles being put through the announce table from the top of the penalty box. As Christian Cage was climbing the ladder to hang the belt and win the title, Harris leapt from the top rope and knocked him from the ladder, allowing Kurt Angle to win the TNA Heavyweight title. After the match, he slammed Samoa Joe, who had entered the ring to shake hands.
Overall, the PPV was decent. A lot of good matches to outweigh the bad ones. The audio was not the greatest, as microphones tended to die at the worst moments. The camera work was good, but they were not on the match at times when something was happening (a pin attempt during the Roode-Young fight was missed when they focused on the crowd). The announcing was great, especially when you consider I never once heard the word “puppies!” during a match. West and Tenay focused on what mattered instead of focusing on cleavage, which is a nice change from the usual antics.
Victory Road is the next PPV...
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