James: Last time on the Power Hour, “they” arrived in TNA. To the shock of everyone Jeff Hardy turned his back on the fans and made a deal with the devil to become TNA World Champion, for the first time in his career. The devil in question? Well, more like devils, because Jeff Hardy is in a supergroup that aims to take over control of TNA. Hogan, Bischoff, Flair, Fortune, Jarrett, Abyss & Hardy, this is Immortal. Coming off the formation of this group, a lot is changing and changing fast in the Impact Zone.
Seán: This change in character led to a vicious streak in Jeff Hardy in which he would deal out damage to one, Mr. Anderson, opening a gash on the back of his head and a concussion would was received, ruling him out of his scheduled TNA Heavyweight Championship match at Turning Point but a new challenger would approach…
James: Out of the ashes, a new champion of the people would emerge from an unexpected place, looking to avenge Anderson and stand up for what’s right before it’s too late. All that, and more! We’ve got 3 titles up for grabs, we’ve got someone’s job on the line, we’ve got the last match in Team 3D’s career!! It’s the first PPV of the Immortal Era, this is Turning Point 2010!!
———————————————————
HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
JT: Hellooooo everyone and welcome back to the Power Hour!! Last time up we saw Jeff Hardy’s heel turn and all the shenanigans of BFG 2010. Now only 4 weeks after 10.10.10, TNA are back with another PPV, this one being “Turning Point”. Seán, buddy, do you mind hitting us with a refresher of how we felt about BFG? What was your vibe coming away from that one, and how are you feeling about Turning Point?
S: Well, James. I think the general viewpoint that we had on BFG 2010 was that we certainly found it to be an easy watch with some great matches, some interesting topics and most definitely a lot to talk about. Would I be right in stating that?
JT: Sounds right to me. For as maligned as this period has become in the decade since, BFG was really not a bad time. Now, was there a hint of irony and “so bad it’s good” in there? Yeah but an easy watch is an easy watch, regardless of reasoning. Once again, I think we’ll have plenty to discuss in this episode, but folks if you have seen the card for this show, you might understand why spoilers, this was not as easy a watch for me this time around. What was your impression from looking at the card for Turning Point? Anything stick out as immediate “Oh Yes” or “Oh No” matches on the card?
S: I think the obvious “Oh yes” matches for me were The Guns against Team 3D and Tara vs Mickie James to be honest. I don’t really know if there were any matches I was outright dreading but there were one or two matches I wasn’t particularly bothered or interested in viewing.
JT: Well I’m sure we’ll get to that stuff as it comes up. But enough about us, what about how the fans felt at the time? Seán, have you got us any facts and figures for Turning Point?
S: Turning Point 2010! Coming to us from the Impact Zone in Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and the 7th November 2010. With an attendance of 1,100, 13’000 PPV buys, down 26,000 from last month since the formation of Immortal, brother. On the BFG review, I said that Hardcore Justice did 11,000, in fact it did 20,000 buys. Theme song is, I guess it’s called Turning Point and it’s by Dale Oliver?? Anyways, Commentators tonight are Taz and Mike Tenay. It’s the first PPV of the Hogan, Flair and Bischoff regime, the first title defense of *monotone* The Antichrist of Professional Wrestling, Jeff Hardy.
JT: So I’ll hit on a few things. First, 13,000 buys ain’t bad. Pretty much on the money for a TNA B PPV. It’s a drop from BFG but that’s also their biggest show of the year, when they get their most one off buyers. Additionally, that theme was wack. I don’t know what you think about that, but I think it’s wack. Compared to an at least memorable Smashing Pumpkins song the month before, the theme here is totally unremarkable. Like I’m telling you, when I try to think of the theme for this show, BFG’s theme just comes up instead. But hey, it’s a B PPV, they can’t exactly get Billy Corgan every show can they?
S: Yeah exactly, it’s a theme song fitting to a B PPV. When we talk about TNA’s marquee shows and B PPV’s, what would you consider to be TNA’s “Big Four”?
JT: That’s an interesting question, I’ve never really considered that. I’d probably say something along the lines of Slammiversary, Genesis, Bound For Glory and then I’m split on whether Destination X or Lockdown is bigger, probably Destination X. What say you?
S: Well Slammiversary and Bound for Glory are the two obvious candidates for me, as far as the other two go. I’d probably go for Destination X and Lockdown considering one is the X Division show and the other is all cage matches but Genesis is within a shout of being in that big four too.
JT: I think Genesis is something TNA wants to be in its Big Four but Lockdown & Destination X are what people associate with TNA more. I mean look at some of the main events from Genesis over the years! You’ve got Christian Cage’s Debut in 2005, Angle vs Joe in 2006, Booker T’s debut in 2007, Angle vs AJ Styles for the TNA Title in 2010, in a Last Chance Match for Kurt, Bobby Roode vs Jeff Hardy in 2012, and even Eddie Edwards vs Lashley in an Iron Man Match in 2018. But still, the first show’s to come to mind for me and TNA were BFG, Destination X & Lockdown. Plus, Genesis ain’t around anymore. So try as they might, it’s hard to get a PPV without a gimmick to really stick as a big show.
S: Yeah and luckily enough TNA managed to do it. The crowd tonight in the Impact zone, to put it lightly, up and down for me.
JT: Living in the days of the Rona, I’ve come to appreciate just how much crowd investment makes me enjoy things. Not just for wrestling but for other sports too!! I’ve found it a lot harder to get into wrestling shows currently airing just because the lack of crowd noise and/or lack of authentic fan reaction. Needless to say, the crowd here tonight definitely effected my enjoyment of more than a few matches. But again, we’ll get to that. And hell, maybe we’ll get to that soon! Seán, anything else you feel like we should add before we jump into the thick of things?
S: Not particularly, my dude. I feel like now is the time to dive right into this show and get down to bidniss in the words of Top Cat.
———————————————————
Shorely you can’t be serious
JT: Alright, right into it! Our opening contest of the night is one of our 3 Title matches. Vintage TNA, we’re opening up with an X Division Championship match!! New Jersey, EXPLODES!!! It’s Jay Lethal defending his X Division Championship against….Robbie E. Just straight into the shenanigans!
S: It’s Elizabeth, New Jersey vs The Jersey Shore. You just know that there was gonna be heel tactics when this one was opening, didn’t ya? 😂
JT: Hmmm, established and popular but not overwhelming strong face against a recently debuted heel, who has a heel manager with him? Yeah, from the offset things weren’t looking great for Black Machismo. If y’all remember, at BFG, after Jay Lethal defended his title against Doug Williams, he went to celebrate in the crowd, only to get blindsided and put down by Robbie. And boy, Robbie & his main squeeze Cookie, they’ve already had a lot going on in just the last few weeks haven’t they?
S: They sure did. They only went and had a run in with J Woww, didn’t they?
JT: That’s right!! TNA went after some mainstream attention baby!! I mean, why have Jersey Shore parody/ripoff characters if not to have them interact with the actual Shore-goers themselves!! Seán, do you have the sacred and enlightened knowledge to let everyone know how J Woww on Impact went?
S: Why of course I do! Robbie E and Cookie came out on the Impact following Bound for Glory and put the Jersey Shore cast on blast, including Snooki, The Situation and J Woww, who they called a skank and J Cow. Bit mean not gonna lie. This prompted The Beautiful People to come out with J Woww herself. They throw comments at one another, Cookie slaps J Woww, Jenni takes her down and is very careful with her, I mean she beat seven shades of dung into her. Robbie got a low blow too and end scene.
JT: Wow what a moment! So uhh….the actual Jersey Shore cast never shows up again right? Like, that’s it for J Woww on Impact, right?
S: Oh yeah this was a one shot deal but that’s not all for Jersey Shore cast members in TNA, there have been more!!!
JT: Ahhh okay. See, the feeling I got with Jersey Shore on Impact was that only a week into the run of Robbie E & Cookie, they kinda fired their biggest shot already. Am I wrong? Like, I know wrestling fans aren’t going to be super pumped over seeing Jersey Shore involved in wrestling, but it’s mainstream attention. Wouldn’t you think that they’d y’know, give it some time to build up? Wait for people to want to see the confrontation rather than have it happen as soon as possible? Or am I being too harsh? I feel like I might be. Certainly they didn’t just saw J Woww on standby. You think they rushed it or did they get their attention during the only chance they had to get it?
S: Absolutely, I do think they completely fired their biggest shot a week into the gimmick being debuted, I feel they could have possibly held out and waited until The Shore built some heat on themselves because to be fair, they could have brought in J Woww anytime really but then again, it may have been a case where they felt that this was their only chance to get her in.
JT: There were all sorts of things out of whack in the build to our title match tonight. Not only did they have that mainstream moment immediately, but this match here is actually a REMATCH FROM IMPACT!! So after the J Woww incident, Robbie would defeat Amazing Red in his debut match, before calling out Lethal for his X Division Title. But he wasn’t just going to get a Title match, no sir, he had to earn it. So how did he earn it? You’d think maybe fighting Red again, or beating Lethal in a standard TV tag Match, maybe even knocking off Douglass Williams, the man who Lethal won the title from? Nope, he fought and defeated Lethal, one on one, in a Street Fight, two weeks before the PPV!! The fuck?!?
S: That is perhaps the most 2010 TNA thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Like why? 😂
JT: Nothing about that decision makes any sense. First off, having their first match against each other be a Street Fight lends the perception that Robbie & Jay hate each other. To spoil this match some, it doesn’t come across that way. Moreover, it makes this title match just a regular one on one, it feels smaller by comparison. Additionally, pretty much any sort of story build suggests who raises the stakes as the story goes on. So Robbie beats Jay on Impact, say with help from Cookie, and then he raises the stakes to a Street Fight for the PPV. It lends to the story that Cookie is bound to interfere too, but they don’t do this. It’s just mind boggling. It feels like they had to tack on that stipulation to go “I promise it’ll be interesting, please don’t change the channel!”.
S: Yeah that’s what it screams for me, a ploy for trying to keep some eyes on the product, ya know? What you said there is what they should’ve done, it’s such ass backwards booking.
JT: To top things off, Robbie is an interesting fella to have in the X Division and to kick off a show. Like I think we can have a chat about this, considering he’s not the first or last time something like this has happened. Robbie, to be generous, is not a workrate guy. Compare him to Red or Williams or Lethal, he cannot wrestle that sort of fast pace, high impact, high action style. This of course, is not great when the X Division revolves around that sort of thing. On the other hand, there’s something to be said about being different. I mean when you’re a less flashy wrestler in the division full of flashy guys, as a heel you can honestly get heat out of that. Think of Enzo Amore in WWE’s Cruiserweight Division. As much as his matches were not stellar, he brought character to 205 Live and brought eyes to the show. He was just detestable as a this phony tough guy, cheating his way past all these superior wrestlers. I think it’s just an interesting concept because like there are clear goods and bads here. Is the dip in match quality worth it for the potential heat and character investment and development?
S: Yes and no, on one hand the X Division with a character like Robbie E would add some variety to the division but on the other hand, the X Division has always been about the quality in matches so it’s a toss up of a risk to be taking.
JT: Well at least coming out, the risk seems to be paying off to an extent? I mean, Robbie was thoroughly, thoroughly booed coming out to his porno grade techno music. Were you surprised to see Robbie & Cookie have heat, because I was always under the impression that they were just never over.
S: Yeah I was somewhat surprised to see them get heat but I remember that heat wearing off as soon as people stopped giving a shit and attention to Jersey Shore.
JT: That seems pretty luckily, considering that Jersey Shore was a uniquely 2010 thing that did not have much staying power. How long will it last? Hopefully we’ll get to see the progression or in this case, regression of fan interest in Robbie E. Now I think it’s about time that we start our breakdown of the opening contest.
S: It’s time to break it down aga- ahhhhhh, the guy who used that theme is a giant piece of shit too, isn’t he? 😂
JT: Ohhhh Wrestling, you’re never short on shitty people are you? Alright, to the match! Right off the bat they lock up, and they seem pretty even but Lethal releases due to suspicion towards Cookie. He just knows that she’s itching to get involved and cost him the Title. Taz though he thinks Lethal is being too cynical, too judgemental to Cookie. “That girl is pure as the white’s, the whitest snow….you know the expression” articulate as always. Lethal with a punch and chops, followed by a float over and arm drags as the crowd gets behind Lethal. Taz with more insight, but actually helpful insight this time as he explains that “GTW” on Robbie’s tights stand for “Gym, Tan, Wrestle”. I’m actually thankful to have Taz explain that, because fuck me, no part of my brain has compartmentalized 2010 Jersey Guido slang. Seán, you like the big fist right on Robbie’s ass? Do you like the gear and look of the Robert Stone Brand a decade ago?
S: I think the look he has is fantastic for the character and even his promo attires are just brilliant with the guido shirts, the flared jeans, white sneakers, gelled hair, bedazzled sunglasses and diamond earrings. It’s a cool look. The gear works for him but the fist on the ass, it’s funny, almost like when Matt Striker had his face on his ass.
JT: Yeah as much as I shit on him in his debut last episode, just by virtue of Jersey Shore being such a brief passing fad of 2010, a wrestling guido is a good idea for a gimmick, like genuinely. Everything about the culture makes it perfect for wrestling. They’re all about being in shape, so that explains why they’re in wrestling shape, unlike say a Taxman or a Plumber or a Clown. Moreover, it’s got that fraternity feel, meaning you can easily pair a bunch of them up together in order to protect someone or pad out your roster across multiple divisions. Additionally, to non-guidos, they all look like a bunch of dicks. Robbie here looks like a total dink, which makes him someone the fans and faces can chastise for laughs. But the thing is, Guidos think Guidos are cool. They thought their look was cool. So they could be silly and you could make fun of them for heat, but they wouldn’t lose their luster because they could always respond with “You just don’t get it!”. Honestly I’m surprised how much I like the idea of this gimmick compared to when I was reminded he existed last show.
S: Yeah I mean I remember this gimmick just being grating on me but with what I’ve rewatched of it so far, I actually low key kind of like it.
JT: Same, I’m surprised how favorable this gimmick is, at least on paper. Alright, back to the match! Robbie hits a forearm against the ropes, tries to follow up and gets dumped over the top to the floor. Lethal hits the ropes, goes for a Baseball Slide, Robbie moves out of the way but Lethal lands on his feet and hits a huge chop across the chest to knock him down. Lethal beats him up on the floor and tosses him back in for a Springboard Dropkick to “Let’s go Lethal” chants. It’s just Classic Lethal as he hits the Hip Toss, Cartwheel, Low Dropkick! Lethal goes for the Lethal Combination, but Robbie holds the ropes off the STO, allowing him to hit a Hot Shot onto the ropes to take control. Robbie has heat as the crowd chants “Robbie sucks” while working him over. Lethal starts to come back though, only for Robbie to use his power to take back control with a hard Irish whip that sends Jay sternum first into the turnbuckles. Robbie nails a spear to the corner, chokes him with the boots and takes a second to fist pump. Note to all of you who haven’t seen this match, there’s lots of fist pumping. And in retrospect, it’s funny to see him heeling it up with fist pumping, but Zack Ryder would be one of the most over faces by this time next year doing the same thing.
S: Yeah it’s almost like the precursor to Zack, isn’t it? I think it’s a real effective heel taunt, we should have a fist bump counter for every Robbie E match.
JT: Oh for sure. I think I planned on it for this episode but I lost count. He does it A LOT.
S: Like Cero Miedo levels of A LOT?
JT: I wouldn’t say it’s as bad as Pentagon’s Cero Miedo nowadays, but he does technically fist pump more. It’s like 3 fist pumps per taunt, but Pentagón is just over the top.
S: Yeah it’s so excessive. Don’t mind the Jersey fist pump. What do ya make of Taz going ‘OH!’ to every fist pump?
JT: It’s certainly something. Feels pretty on brand for his wacky commentary career.
S: Him and Joey Numbers definitely be getting up to those fist pumping antics on a night, the mad pair of lunatics.
JT: Joey Numbers honestly feels like a bit of a Jersey Shore. Do you think him and Tazz are actually on Robbie’s inner circle, plotting to destroy TNA and it’s fans from the inside?
S: Oh you know for a fact that’s what they’re up to, I know the antics of Taz and Joey Numbers, they’re in collusion with these Jersey douchers.
JT: We shouldn’t have been surprised when he revealed he was in Aces & Eights honestly. That damn trickster god Taz.
S: I always knew he was up to something, the sneaky little fecker.
JT: Back to the match now?
S: Let’s finish this one, feels like we’ve been at it for a day. *wink*
JT: Robbie with an Abdominal Stretch to grind him down, Lethal starts to feel the people’s energy, but is cut off by a Back Elbow. Robbie slows Jay down again with another rest hold, but Lethal finally starts to fire back with punches, chops, flying firearms, a pair of clotheslines, handspring back elbow!! Lethal gets a Sunset Flip, but Cookie has the ref distracted so Lethal goes over to deal with her, only for Robbie to try a cheap shot but gets sent over the top, and Lethal hits a Suicide Dive to a TNA chant!! He’s turned the match in his favor! He is just hammering on him with punches & chops on the floor, relentlessly attacking him. He gives a war cry, Cookie goes on the apron and looks to spray him with her hair spray, but Lethal grabs it and takes it out of her hand, throwing it away, but Robbie manages to get it. He swings at Lethal, but he ducks and gets the Lethal Combination. Jay points to the corner, goes up top, Earl Hebner sees the hair spray bottle and goes to get rid of it, allowing Cookie to grab Lethal, delaying him so that Robbie can run into the ropes and hang him up. From there Robbie grabs him and pulls him to the center, turns him around and fist bumps as he hits a Neckbreaker!! Cover: 1——2——3!! Robbie with some really goofy faces, but when you’re champ, you celebrate however you want!! The face of the X Division is Robbie E!! We’ve got a new champion crowned, what are your takeaways from this opening contest?
S: Hmmmm, it was a little better than expected, you can see that TNA are taking a backseat for overall match quality and taking a gamble on this character driven wrestler in Robbie E, the match was grand, I thought the two had fairly good chemistry although, state of your fucking finisher, Robbie. He had a sweet looking running Diamond Cutter last month, where the hell was that in this match? Please switch from your silly Rude Awakening.
JT: Yeah, Robbie, you’re not Rick Rude. Change things up. But I agree, this was fairly good. I like that there’s this clear idea that Lethal’s experience and skill allows him to have control of the match, but interference turns the tides and Robbie’s power advantage allows him to keep control. That said, let’s not give it too much credit. By the end it felt more like a good TV Match rather than a kickass PPV Opening Match. Certainly not like last month’s opener. The interference was a bit excessive at times but as a new heel trying to build heat, that’s fine I guess. At least he had good heat from the crowd that was pretty sustained all match. Not a bad idea but I don’t know if the X Division Title is necessarily the right one for Robbie or that this match was the right one to start the show.
S: Yeah agreed, I think the title which probably would’ve suited him more to go after would’ve been the Legends/Global/Television/King of the Mountain Title but sure look, he’s built good heat with this performance here so a moderate thumbs up from me.
JT: I’ll give this a hesitant thumb up, but with caveat that just managing the same thing next time around might not be enough. For the first time around, it was fine enough, but he’s got big shoes to fill.
S: Absolutely, big shoes to fill indeed, shall we move on?
JT: Yes, lets.
———————————————————
They can’t get their hands off each other 😳
JT: Up next we’ve got a little interview with Micke James before she takes on Tara!!
S: Mickie James! Her first match in TNA, fresh out of WWE after being there for over five years it seems and now she’s in TNA.
JT: In her interview with Christy Hemme, Mickie said things were just business but now it’s personal. Tara might not like her, but she will learn to respect her. So what does this mean? Seán, mind explaining how things got personal between Hardcore Country & The Spider Queen?
S: So the last time we were with the Knockouts division, The Beautiful People were feuding with Tara and Madison Rayne. Angelina was the champion in a fatal four way match and Tara picked up the win with Mickie James as the referee. Madison and Tara argued, prompting Rayne to shove Mickie, leading to Mickie laying her out with a swift punch. The following episode of Impact, Rayne defeated Tara for the Knockouts Title. The week after, Mickie won her debut match on Impact against Sarita, post-match Tara attacked Mickie and that brings us to tonight!
JT: To top this all off, Mickie already had problems with Madison & Tara, but the fact that they swapped the belt so easily rubbed her the wrong way. She’s a competitor, she came to TNA to fight the best, while Tara & Madison removed competition completely with their title swap. So Mickie, she’s got a vendetta tonight!
S: I must say, I was very excited to see this match was on the card, two of the best women’s wrestlers from the 2000’s going at it in an environment where women’s wrestling is treated much better than it is across in WWE at this time.
JT: Yeah, last show didn’t really give us as indicative a look at the Knockouts division as this match did. Last month was a bit more of a clusterfuck than usual, and although TNA’s booking wasn’t always killer, they did a much better job making the women look better. Case and point, these two are treated with pretty much the same level of dignity and respect as the rest of the roster, and the fact that a non title women’s match is getting PPV time is something very different from WWE. Hell, how often does that happen nowadays?
S: You rarely get them at all, man. I mean we had our fair share of them during the Angle vs Lesnar arc with Dawn vs Torrie and Steph vs Sable but in TNA and modern WWE? It’s unusual to have a non-title women’s match on your PPV card.
JT: Very true. These two don’t mess around with their opportunity either, so shall we just get straight into this one on one contest?
S: Absolutely! I’m dead excited to break this match down.
JT: Mickie comes out looking all business, slapping Tara right across the face before the bell even rings. Like she said, this is personal. As they’re attacking each other, Taz says that their history together dates back to before TNA, wink wink nudge nudge. Meanwhile, Mickie with a backdrop then a Dropkick to the face, knocking Tara to the floor. Mickie tries to go after her, but Tara gets a Neckbreaker across the top of the ropes and takes to the offensive, as there’s dueling let’s go Tara/lets go Mickie chants. Tara goes for the Widow’s Peak, but Mickie rolls through into a single leg crab!! She cannot tap out Tara though as she gets the ropes. They’re brawling, just grabbing their hair and refusing to let go, until Tara throws her across the ring, they’re just abandoning technique in favor of just beating each other up. Tara with a Suplex, then she rolls through and gets a Guillotine Choke. This time, Mickie gets the ropes. She ends up getting a Headscissor that sends Tara to the floor, then James follows up with a Body Press off the apron to the floor. Mickie rolls her in, then hits a Missile Dropkick off the top!! She goes for the Mick Kick, Tara pulls her out into a split, followed by a boot to the face!! Great athleticism by Mickie!! Ain’t she fine? So fine, she might blow your mind?
S: She’s so brilliant, isn’t she? My word, Mickie is so smooth and fluid in ring, as well as Tara who’s just an experienced veteran of the game at this stage. You’ve heard the term liquid football, but this right here is liquid wrestling.
JT: Yeah if I must say so myself, these two gals don’t get enough credit. They were around too late to get the praise and love the likes of Lita & Trish got, and they joined in TNA after the super acclaimed Gail Kim/Awesome Kong matches. Mickie & Tara were the sparks of hope for women’s wrestling during worse years in WWE, and here in TNA as proof that they still care (to a degree anyway) about the Knockouts.
S: Agreed, these two are excellent and were the shining lights when women’s wrestling was being neglected in North America in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s. You would always get a good showcase if one of these girls were involved.
JT: So as the match rolls on, Mickie manages to avoid a Snap Suplex and goes for the Mickie DDT but Tara hangs her up on top rope, and then as Tara straddles her, they both end up falling off the top to the floor!! Total lack of regard, they’re just going after each other. They’re right back to grabbing each other’s hair as they brawl on the floor and the ref’s count gets higher and higher. They brawl up the ramp and out into the crowd, with the ref following after them to try and stop it. After all, this match has championship implications for Mickie. He tries to get between them, Mickie shoves him back, he calls for the bell to boos, but Mickie & Tara don’t seem to mind as they keep fighting and the fans chant “Let them fight”. And fight they do! Tara uses a broom across the back of Mickie, snapping it, but Mickie throws a trash can right at her. The crowd chants TNA as they continue to keep fighting, even security goons can’t break them up. Mickie gets free and demands Tara get back in the ring and fight her, and Tara obliges and runs back down after her. They take out the security goons and brawl in the ring. Horny old fecker Mike Tenay gets excited as Mickie rips Tara’s shirt, and even more security goons come in and break them up. But that’s still not enough to stop the brawl as again as Mickie breaks through and gets one more shot in before we cut away. And even then, they’re not finished with each other, as later on in the show, after a backstage interview with The Pope, Mickie & Tara emerge, still fighting! Pope has some guys with him (more on that later) and they go to break it up but Pope’s guys let Mickie go because she’s Hardcore Country, she’s chill with him. But of course, as they leave, Mickie is attacked from behind by Madison Rayne with the Knockouts belt. Tara & Mickie fight to their exhaustion against each other, but Madison stands tall in the end.
S: This was just a really fun part of the show, wasn’t it? You get a really solid, heated match with sadly a screwy finish but they just correct the wrong and knock it out of the park with the post match brawling, holy shit. These two just had the crowd in the palms of their hands. The crowd were absolutely mental for this. Great job, great stuff! Gives us a reason to have another match between Tara and Mickie whilst also prolonging the inevitable match between Madison and Mickie. This crowd was fairly up and down on this show but here, they’re at a fever pitch.
JT: Yeah the crowd was great in this. Arguably, the best they were all night. Now, truth be told, I didn’t totally get into the action of this one. Not the extent you did anyway. But I put that on the fact it ended rather abruptly. This only went 10 minutes, and it definitely could have doubled that. That said, I’m not angry about the finish or the brawling. Like you said, they had the crowd totally engaged the whole time and having it end like it did meant they could have a more conclusive match later down the line. It’s a bit of booking for TV rather than PPV, but it’s also built for PPV, if that makes sense? Like it sucks they’re ending a PPV match like this to build to a TV rematch, but it’s also still serving as build to Mickie vs Madison, which souls most likely have on PPV. All in all, I can’t complain. Tara & Mickie were treated like proper stars, on the level of the biggest men. I mean when was the last time we’ve seen two women fight each other so intensely? This is how it should be.
S: Before this, I’d say the most intense fighting between two women would’ve been Gail and Kong. After this, Gail and Taryn in 2013 and since then, Sasha and Charlotte, I guess.
JT: Point is, props to TNA for treating two of their biggest women stars like they would the men. As a whole, a really enjoyable match and segment.
S: Absolutely, shall we move on?
JT: Let’s keep going.
———————————————————
One Last Shot
JT: Up next is the final match of Team 3D’s career, and it’s for the TNA Tag Team Championship!! It’s Brother Ray & Brother Devon against the Motor City Machine Guns!!
S: So how did this match come about? On the Impact before BFG, Team 3D returned, stating they had a major announcement to make at Bound for Glory. At the PPV, The Guns would defeat GenMe and later on, Brother Ray and Brother Devon would announce that they would be retiring but would request one more title shot at Sabin and Shelley. On the November 7th episode of Impact, MCMG accepted the challenge and that brings us to tonight. Would Team 3D go out on top? Or would they go out losing to the best tag team in the world?
JT: This is a story that has aged in a really funny way, especially since our last episode. I mean we joked about how Bubba is still wrestling, but it’s now even more interesting as in 2020, The Motor City Machine Guns are TNA Tag Champions again. And funny enough, now they’re getting the treatment that Team 3D got here as “the Greatest Tag Team in Impact History”.
S: Yeah it’s a bit coincidental, isn’t it? Me thinks that Don Callis is a Power Hour fan.
JT: Clearly he is. And we should take this time to express our fondness for his work in the Truth Commission. You’ll always be The Jackyl to us big man.
S: Keep fighting whatever the fight that The Truth Commission fought for.
JT: But back on track, there’s really not a whole lot to say about this match is there? It’s just a huge tag match between the biggest team in TNA history and the best team in company history. When we were looking at what to do for the Power Hour, this match was one thing that specifically drove us towards this arc.
S: Absolutely, we all know that this match was huge at the time of which it happened and in retrospect, is still a milestone match to this day.
JT: It really is a (heh) Turning Point in TNA History. This is the end for Team 3D and they’re really trying to strap the rocket to the Guns, perhaps symbolic of trying to move on from the Jarrett/Sting/3D days to the next era.
S: Yeah this seems like it’s a step towards solidifying the next generation in TNA, at least in the tag division.
JT: There’s really only so much buildup we can do for this, because it all comes down to the actual match. Shall we get to it?
S: Belt ahead
JT: Loud pop for Team 3D as they come out with explosive Pyro. And shit I know I just said we would get right into the match, but this is literally the last chance we have to talk about it, so thoughts of Team 3D’s Theme Song?
S: It’s clearly a copyright free version of their Powerman 5000 song, there’s no denying that. Is it a good song by any means? Eh, it’s just a rip off to be honest, it’s fine but I always chuckle whilst listening to it.
JT: Yeah it’s very TNA in a way. You can hear the same sort of phrases like “watch out“ and “bomb drop” and so on, but it’s clearly not as good as the original thing. That said, they still did their best and lasted when by all reasons it shouldn’t have.
S: Yeah this theme should never have lasted a good five years and again for their wee reunion in 2014 but considering it lasted all that time, gotta respect it.
JT: Yeah say what you will about Team 3D’s body of work in TNA, crowd brawling and all that, but they left WWE and stuck with TNA. I’m sure they could’ve gone right back to WWE after showing how big a deal they are, but they stuck with TNA.
S: I think what kept Bubba and D-Von in TNA for all this time was probably because of how well TNA treated tag wrestling and how neglected the tag scene was during Team 3D’s absence from WWE.
JT: Well after 24 Tag Titles run, 3 in TNA, why not go for number 25? Let’s get into the match.
S: Bake it away, toy.
JT: Devon starting things off with Shelley, and there are 3D chants right as the match begins. Both teams are popular, but 3D are just the sentimental favorites in their final match. Handshake between the two before they begin, and they chain wrestling early on. Taz doesn’t understand why the Guns put their titles on the line, he’d rather be a champion than a fighting champion, but it shows the Guns are valiant champions. Devon with a big shoulder tackle and a flying back elbow early on, but Shelley moves out of the way of a splash, followed by a kick to the back of the head and things start to pick up. He goes for a clothesline, Devon ducks, Shelley ducks his wild punches, he goes for an Enziguri but Devon moves and he comes up clutching his midsection. Shelley with a bit of a cheap shot as he hits a Low Dropkick on Bubba. He tags for Skull & Bones, Devon moves and clotheslines both of them. Bubba tags in, they shoot Sabin across for 3D but he grabs the ropes and slides out, and MCMG haven’t been this apprehensive before. Man, I feel the greatest part of Dudley’s career is the 3D. Just such a perfect and beautiful tag finisher, and I just love how protected it is. Like, they’ve established that the Guns are fighters, but Sabin ran like hell to stay away from the 3D.
S: I love how much they’re selling us the idea of how 3D can be hit at any stage in the match and that once it’s hit, that’s gonna be the end of the match. Great stuff here.
JT: Sabin gets back in the ring, nails two big punches to Bubba, and a big crossbody for 2, but he’s cut off by a big boot. Bubba tags in Devon, who hits a Legdrop along with Bubba’s Sidewalk Slam, and Shelley makes the save. Shelley then goes on and makes a blind tag, drop toe hold, Sabin with a Jumping Elbow Drop, Shelley hooks the head as Sabin hits the running Dropkick to the face. Shelley up top, misses a double stomp, Bubba takes half down and goes after the leg. Bubba goes for a big Splash, but Shelley moves and tags Sabin, beginning classic fast paced action from the Guns: Flying Forearm from Sabin, Poetry in Motion Forearm from Shelley, he drops down for Poetry in Motion by Sabin, then Shelley with a forearm to Devon, then Poetry in Motion Dropkick by Sabin!! Suicide Dive by Shelley to Devon, Sabin goes for a Plancha but Bubba moves, only for Sabin to move out of the way so that Bubba rams himself into the ring post! Crowd wants Tables, as Bubba is busted open. MCMG begin to work over Bubba, stomping, punching and kicking him. This is more violent than normal for the Guns, just showing that they are taking this match as seriously as possible. Bubba manages to make space and goes up top, but Sabin cuts him off. Chris goes for a Super Rana but Bubba catches him and drives him into the mat with a Bubba Bomb off the top!! Bubba drapes the arm over him, 1——2—-Kickout!! Bubba is inches away from the outstretched hand of Devon, when suddenly Shelley tags in, and knocks Devon off the apron to boos! Again, the Guns know they need that extra level to get this win. Shelley kicks Bubba, Bubba chops him back hard, they start to trade them back and forth. Bubba catches a kick, Shelley turns it into an Enziguri, he goes for a Springboard Crossbody but Bubba with a Bubba Cutter out of mid air!! Devon gets the tag and Sabin gets the tag, Devon with a bunch of strikes, Flying Shoulder Block, Sidewalk Slam, only a 2. The match is turning in the favor of Team 3D. He sends him into the corner, Sabin hits a kick, but then charges into a Powerslam! 1—2—Kickout!! Devon gets a Neckbreaker, this time Shelley breaks the count up. Shelley actually pokes Devon in the eye, they get another Poetry in Motion forearm in the corner, they try another and Devon catches Sabin and throws him down across the back of Shelley!! He follows up with a Big Clothesline then a Diving Headbutt!! 1—-2—Shelley breaks it up again!! Both guns go after Devon, Bubba gets a blind tag coming in and nails both Guns with a Clothesline to the back of their heads. This is a big chance, and they lift Sabin up to hit their classic Neckbreaker/Back Suplex Combo!! 3D-B!! 1——2——Kickout!! Shelley gets hit with Whazzup, and honestly given it’s their last match, I’m fine with the nostalgia shit. Devon goes and gets the tables and the crowd is rocking. They set it up in the corner, and they’re eyeing up Sabin. They grab him and throw him across, HE RUNS UP AND FLIPS OFF IT! He dodges out of the way of Bubba, who charges and crunches through the table! Double Superkick to Devon!! 1—2—-Kickout!! Still it’s 2 on 1!! They get Devon set up, Skull & Bones connects!!! 1—-2—-KICKOUT!! What a fucking sequence of events!!
S: This was easily the best spot of the match, holy shit! To my knowledge, I don’t remember this run up and backflip off the table reversal spot being before or since this match took place. Once again, Sabin and Shelley showing how fucking awesome they are. That must be up there with one of the greatest counters of all time, it’s absolutely spectacular.
JT: The crowd is firmly behind Team 3D, even now!! MCMG go for an assisted Sliced Bread, Devon throws Shelley over, kicks Sabin away, and backs Shelley up to the corner, Sabin goes for a boot in the corner, Devon moves and he hits Shelley!! Sabin is all alone, 3D!!! 3D CONNECTS!!! 1——-2—-3!! Wait, Sabin kicks out!! Dudleys protecting their finish their whole career means it’s super shocking when Sabin actually kicks out of 3D, it was such a forgone conclusion that it would end the match!!
S: If I recall, I believe this is the first time anyone has ever kicked out of 3D, correct me if I’m wrong. This is either the first or second time that this has happened.
JT: Yeah I feel like it may have happened to someone in ECW, but this was the only time I’ve actually seen this happens. That HUGELY puts over MCMGs.
S: Yeah it really does, I actually just checked there, the only other guy to kick out of 3D is Masato Tanaka, apparently.
JT: Damn, former ECW Champion Masato Tanaka huh? That really places Sabin on the World Title level. And with hindsight, it’s nice that he became one too!! I don’t know his feud with Bully Ray during the Aces & Eights days, but I’d sure hope they brought this up then.
S: I’m sure they did, boy that last year of Sabin on his own in TNA was quite the whirlwind but that’s a story for another day, right? Let’s finish this one off, me compadre.
JT: Absolutely. So after Sabin kicks out of 3D, Team 3D are shocked and don’t really know what to do. So naturally, they just try for 3D again. But this time Sabin DDTs Devon, and dodges a Bubba Elbow Drop. From there, Shelley nails a Superkick on Bubba, they set him up, Skull & Bones again!! Devon is struggling to get up and is right there, but he can’t break it up, 1——2——3!!! MCMG retains!! After the match, Sabin & Shelley try to help Brother Ray back up, he’s pretty knocked out, but Devon raises their hands. Brother Ray is finally up and they celebrate together. No shenanigans, no nothing, Team 3D says goodbye after a great match. They couldn’t match the speed and high spots of GenMe vs MCMG but this was still solid, and a very different type of excellent match.
S: Absolutely, this one was just a match which had the crowd massively up for it and the added story of the biggest vs the best team in TNA’s history. The raised question of will Team 3D ride off into the sunset with them being 25 time champs or will they go down to the younger, more athletic, extremely popular team of The Guns who’ve grafted for years to get to the mountaintop of tag wrestling. The beginning of this was a story well told, they put over both tag finishers strong with an opposing team member scurrying away to avoid being hit by it because that’s what will end the match.
It’s great that TNA put over that Skull and Bones is as crucial of a finisher as 3D. That was a nice touch. The match was excellent as you said, the table reversal by Sabin is still insanely impressive and pulled off ten years later, I’m glad that spot isn’t used all that often. The finish with Devon being so drained that he can’t break up the pin really adds to the fact that they’re old gunslingers and they just didn’t have enough in the tank to beat the new team on top and a suitable passing of the torch took place here. Great stuff.
JT: Yeah overall, it does it’s job perfectly. It’s a great swan song for the most accomplished tag team of all time, and it really established that the Guns are the real deal. They are now what the Dudleys had been their whole career. Big old double thumbs up from me!!
S: Absolutely, the perfect swan song for one of the best tag teams of all time. Nothing but good things to say about this one.
———————————————————
Look at the break of the wrist (the wrist)
JT: Alright we saw the end of ECW’s greatest tag team last match, as Team 3D rode off into the sunset, and now we get a little more flavor of Philadelphia. Dissension, smellness!! Cracks in the brotherhood of extreme, as Rob Van Dam takes on Tom Van Dream!!
S: EV2 EXPLODES! HERE AT TURNING POINT 2010! CUE THE SEXY JAZZ MUSIC, DALE!
JT: It’s only been a few months since they debuted and they’re already falling apart. And if you’ll believe Paul E (you probably shouldn’t) EV2.0 is breaking down for the same reason ECW did!! It’s all the fault of that damn ATM Eric!!
S: I was gonna guess that they weren’t getting paid and their contracts were signed on napkins, hup!
JT: Well the storyline goes, Eric Bischoff has gotten into RVD’s head, telling him that there’s a mole in EV2.0, an informant for Immortal. And since RVD just had best friend Jeff Hardy turn on him at BFG, he’s paranoid now. Meanwhile, Dreamer is pissed with Rob that he’d dare question his “brothers”. Tommy is trying to prove a point that he should trust them and not Bischoff, he’s gonna give Rob some tough love.
S: And that brings us to tonight. We’re music connoisseurs if I may say so, the cultured folk, if you will. We talked about the musical brilliance which was Kushinator’s RVD theme, what do you make of TNA’s ripoff of Alice in Chains’ “Man in the Box”?
JT: I guess it’s better than WWE’s Not “Man in the Box”? But again, still WCW level Legally Distinct Version.
S: Jimmy Hart definitely was helping our pal, Dale out in the studio with this one. This has his fingerprints all over it. The poetic lyric of, ‘DREEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAMERRRRRR’, a music producer’s wet dream, if you ask me.
JT: True artistry tbh. I mean how else would we know who was coming out? Don’t you know there’s DOZEN of other wrestlers who come out to Man in the Box and Man in the Box ripoffs!!
S: Not only do we get that mastapeece, we also get ‘ROB VAN DAM! THE WHOLE F’N SHOW!’
JT: Oh man, just so much good stuff. Shall we see if the action is as good as the music?
S: Let’s find out.
JT: They start the match with some quick roll ups and quick kickouts but quickly get nose to nose, and then they start to trade blows. They both avoid each other’s signature moves, but Tommy blasts RVD with a clothesline that knocks him to the floor. Shoulder to the stomach by Rob from the apron, but he tries again and Dreamer knees him in the face, but RVD pulls him to the floor, only for Dreamer to push him off and jumps off the apron with a clothesline. Brawling on the floor with RVD putting Tommy across the barricade, before hitting the Spinning Leg Drop off the apron. RVD throws a chair in the ring, he puts it down on top of Dreamer on the apron, going for a slingshot leg drop but Dreamer moved and Rob hit the chair. Dreamer works over the leg, then hangs Van Dam in the tree of woe, but Rob pulls himself up, and Dreamer opts to hit him with a Hanging Neckbreaker instead. Tommy goes under the ring and gets a ladder, Rob goes for a Baseball Slide but gets the ladder to the face. Dreamer brings him and the ladder back in, grabbing Rob and nailing a Bulldog on the ladder! He stacks Rob on the ladder, goes for an Elbow off the top but Van Dam moves. Rob goes for a Rolling Thunder and this time Tommy moves and Rob hits the ladder Tommy hits a Spinebuster, then follows up with a Frog Splash of his own! 1—2—Kickout! Tommy goes for the Dreamer DDT, Rob hits the Northern Lights Suplex, and trouble arises. It becomes extremely clear that off the Frog Splash, Tommy has clearly hurt his wrist, we even get a nasty close up of his bone. And from there, the action clearly slows down.
S: This is where it slows to an absolute crawl, doesn’t it? Jaysus, these two are clearly older and it shows but man, they looked absolutely bollocksed in the latter stages.
JT: Yeah as if they didn’t have enough trouble and limitations, they have to work around injury. RVD tries to cover but Dreamer kicks out, he’s not going to quit even if he’s hurt. Rob slams him down on a chair, Split Leg Moonsault, Dreamer moves! Tommy sets the ladder in the corner, Rob hits into it, but then throws it back into Dreamer’s face. Rob goes up top, misses the Five Star Frog Splash! Tommy grabs him and hits a Piledriver, with RVD’s always hilarious springy sell, 1—2—Kickout! Tommy puts him up top, but a ladder between the ropes under him, balancing on the ladder, trying for a Suplex, but RVD fights back and Tommy crotches himself, and Rob hits a Flying Spin Kick. Rob grabs the chair and hits a Van Daminator as Tommy is hung up in the corner. He goes for the Five Star, again Tommy moves out of the way. Robs sends him into the ladder, goes to pick him up, Tommy goes behind and tries to DDT him on the chair but Rob trips him down onto the chair, then goes up and hits the Five Star, 1—-2—3!!Afterwards, Rob apologizes for doubting his EV2.0 brothers and they make up all is good in the world of EV2.0, at least for now. Your thoughts on this match as a whole? How does it compare to last month’s Hardcore du jour?
S: In the words of old Stone Cold, it was what it was. It served it’s purpose in reconciling the friction between Van Dam and his EV2.0 brethren. As far as the match goes, it was very meh for me, this was one of those matches where the crowd was not up for at all, they were fairly spent after the last two matches but even then, this 2010 Impact Zone crowd clearly doesn’t have the energy which the 2004-2007 Impact Zone crowd would have for PPV’s. The wrist injury which Dreamer suffered mid match slowed the match wayyyy down and they were kinda struggling but they powered on with RVD winning with the most tired Five Star I’ve ever seen. Big dirty meh.
JT: Yeah I agree. I don’t think this was very good. Everything across the board was limited, especially after Dreamer’s injury. One thing that really got to me is that towards the back end to the match, Dreamer could only ever take control after RVD went for something and missed. It’s just not clever. It felt like Rob would do a bunch of moves, then go up top and miss and things would turn around. Just over and over again. Like you said the crowd was just not here for this, and that just makes a bad match worse. A lively crowd could’ve helped pull this one up but they just couldn’t muster the energy. I cannot totally blame them because accidents happen and they cannot control that, but I can’t deny that it definitely made the match worse. Not my type of match.
S: Yeah same here, just wasn’t all that good. I need a recharge.
JT: Me too, so let’s go to The Recharge!
———————————————————
The Recharge
JT: Welcome to The Recharge, where Seán and I are talking about trivia, fun facts and any other little wrestling things that come to mind, just to break things up a bit. Seán, how you doing today?
S: I’m doing pretty well thanks, life is fairly quiet at the moment, just got accepted into college though so that’s a good thing to write home about. How about yourself, James?
JT: I’ve been good! I’ve been enjoying the Netflix Documentary “The Last Dance” as well as some Major League Baseball, which I’ve missed dearly over the last few months. And while you’re preparing for your first semester, I’m actually preparing for my last year at college, and all the needs that entails given the current climate of the world today. It’s a bit of trouble but I’m excited to go back.
S: Yeah it is a bit of trouble for me as well, there’s no official word yet but the rumour is that we’re apparently going to be doing one week on campus per semester and the rest are online lectures from home. Who knows at this time? I’m excited to start as well. How’s the baseball going?
JT: Well for everyone who doesn’t know, for better or for worse, I am a New York Mets fan. I’m sure most people know this, just because of how infamous they are. My team has unfortunately spent a lot of their time being not great, and then unlucky when they’re actually good. It’s great to have the season back, but it’s already been a roller coaster of good play, bad play and everything in between. Anything non-wrestling catch your eye as of late?
S: Pretty much everything aside from what we’re watching has been non-wrestling. The only fix I want from current wrestling at the moment are podcasts which cover the week to week stuff which I’m not interested in watching at the moment. I’ve been binging It’s Always Sunny, currently on the most recent season which is Season 14, I watched After Life Season 2 last night. Football is back (sOcCeR) and my team Liverpool (impending boos) just won the Premier League for the first time. *JR voice* Finally. So yeah, football has been consuming the last month or so for me, even without the fans, I think the quality is to a good to great standard.
JT: Well congrats on the win I suppose! I try to watch the Premier League casually but it can be difficult just because, well…I’m American? Like there’s just a disconnect for me. I don’t really know the schedule, I don’t tend to know when things are on, I can find discussion about the league but again I have to go out of my way to find it. But from what I’ve seen anyway, I feel like soccer (fOoTbAlL) has handled the no/depleted crowds better than other sports. It’s still weird for baseball & basketball here, and as we’ve mentioned before, wrestling has definitely had a rough time with the state of things.
S: Oh for sure, it’s very difficult to watch some wrestling with no crowds in my opinion. I find it’s a sport which needs crowds or even some form of crowd noise but unlike other sports right now where spliced in crowd noise sounds good, in WWE, we will always hear the dreaded ‘Seagull Pop’.
JT: Yeah it’s tough. Because on one hand, we know how it was just weird to watch wrestling with no crowd. But now that WWE, AEW & NJPW have brought back fans to an extent, it’s still not right? Like it’s difficult because I feel wrestling really needs that genuine, authentic crowd atmosphere. Try as they might, things still feel inauthentic, like a studio audience with “Cheer” and “Boo” signs flashing at them during the match. I understand the precautions and why we can’t have crowds, and I think we need to be as safe as possible, but I didn’t know what we had until it was gone, and I’m missing the genuine fan reactions we used to get every week.
S: Yeah it’s a real killer for us fans, it’s why watching these shows with genuine fans is a real relief, even if this crowd has been up and down tonight.
JT: Very true. At least we know that the fans actually feel that way, and aren’t some plants told to cheer this and boo that. So, since we’re back into wrestling, I say it’s time to hit you with my trivia for the episode! I wouldn’t say this is a particularly difficult one, but it’s important to know for this episode. Are you up for the challenge?
S: I am most certainly up for the challenge, lay the question on the table.
JT: Alright, so quickly to go over the unofficial official rules: you get 3 guesses and 1 hint if need be. So, tonight’s main event involves one Blueprint, Matt Morgan himself, fighting for the TNA World Title. Now, Matt really seems to be well known for his TNA run rather than anywhere else. However, his first appearance in wrestling wasn’t in TNA. Where was his first appearance in wrestling? And keep in mind, this question isn’t as easy as I’m making it sound.
S: I think I may know this one, was Mr. Mayor, Matt Morgan’s first appearance on Tough Enough Season 2 by any chance?
JT: Well, I suppose this one is for the reader’s education more than yours, because you were right on the money!! Matt Morgan was first seen in wrestling on Season 2 of WWE’s hit reality show Tough Enough, where he’d actually have to leave due to injury. It’s kinda funny how in tough enough history, it seems like the guys who get hurt during the show actually care for wrestling more than most others. I mean Morgan got hurt but kept pursuing wrestling, and the same happened on the 2010 revival where another Matt got hurt and was eliminated by injury. That Matt? None other than Matt Cross, indy wrestler extraordinaire and former Son of Havoc on Lucha Underground.
S: Ahhh of course, wasn’t Matt Cross like the only guy who had any wrestling experience on that show that season too?
JT: You know, that sounds about right. But funny enough, he wasn’t the only member of the Lucha Underground roster on that show! After digging through the wiki, it turns out that both his ex-girlfriend & trios tag title winning partner Ivelisse and eventual LU Champion Marty “The Moth” Martinez were on tough enough that year!
S: That’s the magic of Tough Enough, years later it’s an Easter Egg type show which contains a variation of wrestling’s future products.
JT: Yeah lots of little funny facts for people in the know. Always fun to see guys and gals following their dreams, even after being set back in the Tough Enough process. So, I suppose it’s my turn to answer the questions?
S: It sure is and to keep the topic going, my question also includes Mayor Morgan himself. So, during when Matt Morgan was split off from Carlito on SmackDown, he was given the infamous speech impediment gimmick (number two on Vince’s list of funny things), he would squash many jobbers but not really move up the card. One of those said obscure jobbers was someone on this very show. Can you name who that was?
JT: Okay, I’ve got a good feeling about this one. For some reason I get the feeling that that man was….Chris Sabin?
S: It was not Chris Sabin, your next guess please?
JT: Hmmm. Okay I feel like I read something to the contrary but I’m going to guess anyway, was it Frankie Kazarian?
S: It wasn’t the K A Z either. Would you like a clue before your last guess?
JT: I would, I’m getting nowhere.
S: The man in question is another X-Division guy.
JT: Alright my final guess is the man, the Macho Man, Jay Lethal.
S: Three strikes, James. I’m afraid that youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu’reeeeeeee outta heeeeere. The man on this card who Mr. Mayor obliterated was in fact a young Rob Eckos, known to us as Robbie E.
JT: Awwww jeez. I should’ve figured it was him, considering how he’s strangely been a focal point of this series so far. And before we move back on, what’s the deal with the Mr Mayor thing?
S: Alright so for those who don’t know, Matt Morgan in the year of 2020 is currently MAYOR of Longwood, Florida, hence why we call him Mr. Mayor.
JT: Ain’t it funny that in 2020, we have not one, but two former wrestler proper tall wrestlers who not only ran for mayor but won? Of course, I’m referring to the Devil’s Favorite Libertarian and Mayor of Knox’s County Tennessee, Glen “Kane” Jacobs. Wrestling seems to be strangely popular in politics? Maybe it’s a good thing Hogan never properly ran for President.
S: *shivers at the thought of Hogan running for president*
JT: Yeah that sounds truly dystopian. Let’s get that out of our heads. Let’s get back to reality, where he only ran TNA into the ground instead of the whole world!
S: Snap back to reality.
———————————————————
EV86
JT: Welcome back to the world of tomorrow!!! I mean yesterday. This event did take place in 2010 after all. And what a 2010 time it is!! We’ve got someone’s job on the line!! It’s 10 Man Tag Action!! Fortune (AJ Styles, Douglass Williams, Kazarian, Robert Roode & James Storm) faces off with EV2.0 (Raven, Rhino, Stevie Richards, Sabu & Brian Kendrick)!!
S: But first, we have a backstage interview, don’t we, James?
JT: Of course! If we’re gonna see Fortune on the show, we’ve gotta get a promo from them. Backstage we see the whole gang, Ric Flair included, ready for their match up next against the Extremists, and they’re ready for it. Ric Flair starts off saying thank god that last match is over, who gives a crap about them? Of course, he’s gotta get a shot in at EV2.0 while he can, including those not in this match tonight. He says the show starts now and he’s going to get to fire a member of EV2.0. Next to speak is Doug, he’s been cranky lately but now he knows it’s all about the good of the team. What’s this, friction within Fortune too? Well, it makes sense, given the wolves just turned on one of their own in Matt Morgan. Doug expressed sympathy for Morgan, and hostility towards Kaz, as the two had been rivals in the X Division. He replaced Kaz in a tag on Impact but got his pin stolen by partner AJ Styles! Then on Impact, Flair demanded they settle their differences, leading to Kazarian beating Doug, after some accidentally outside distracting by James Storm. But Flair, respected as he is, managed to get Doug & Kaz to shake hands and make up. So, all is fine in Fortune. They’re a united front, they share the general sentiment that they’re going to kick EV2.0 out and end their reunion tour now.
S: Also to add to the friction between Doug and Fortune, he’s the only man not wearing red gear tonight.
JT: He’s gotta have the Williams family crest, which fits with how he’s feeling like being in Fortune isn’t allowing him to stand out individually!
S: Wrestling needs more family crests. Could you imagine a Holly or Dudley family crest?
JT: A Holly Family Crest sounds incredible oh my god!! We also need a Mysterio Family Crest now that young Dominik seems to be stepping closer and closer to full time action.
S: Let us know what wrestling family crests you all would like to see!
JT: So after the interview, we get a promo package, showing how EV2.0 have been dysfunctional lately, and how they’re concerned for their jobs. Fortune comes in arrogant and confident while EV2.0 have been backed into a corner. And honestly? This feels like a downgrade from the month before. I know they put Lethal Lockdown on BFG because it’s their biggest show, but still it feels weak to go back to regular tag matches after a Lethal Lockdown.
S: It’s really arse backwards, isn’t it? We’ve had it already with Robbie E and Jay Lethal and how they had a street fight before a regular singles title match and now here with Lethal Lockdown last month and just a regular ten man tag but with the added stip. Just bizarre.
JT: Yeah not to get too into my overall thoughts for the show, but when you have a weaker B Show, you could really use a big gimmick match with some heat behind it. And no, I’m not counting RVD having a No DQ match with Tommy, that’s basically just a get out of jail free card because they’re past their primes and need something to bolster their match.
S: Oof! James T shoots hard on Tommy Dreamer and RVD!
JT: I should let them be for now. We already had our chance to give out about them. Speaking of which, did you hear Fortune’s ring introduction tonight?
S: I did indeed, the fucking audio goes missing on the video feed for half of it.
JT: Beautiful stuff. Before we jump into this match, Seán we’ve made allusions to jobs being on the line, would you mind explaining the stipulation for this 5 on 5?
S: Alright so here’s how it is, it’s your standard ten man tag. However, whoever gets pinned on either team, they will get the sack and booted from TNA.
JT: Fortune is buddy buddy with management, so honestly, they’re not scared. Let’s see if that pays off. Want to begin the match breakdown?
S: Let’s do it.
JT: All 5 are starting down, Kaz slaps Kendrick and the brawling starts!! Storm with Rhino, Stevie with Roode, Williams with Sabu, AJ with Raven and Kendrick with Kaz in the ring until Kendrick knocks him off the apron. Brian sets for a dive, Kendrick gets a chop block from Doug, and that’s it for Thee!! That’s right, TNA Trainers come out and take him to the back. So uhhh, what’s up with him? What happened?
S: So from what I gathered, as far as I’m aware, this was just an angle to write Kendrick off for whatever reason and he’s not back on PPV until Lockdown 2011 but hopefully down the line we’ll see him in some capacity, eh?
JT: That’s fucking weird! But I hope we do get at least once chance to properly see the Wizard of Odd in action. So back in the ring, Stevie throws Doug out, turns and gets a Spinebuster from Roode, 1—2—Kickout!! It’s on and he nearly lost his job, and just like that Roode with an Atomic Drop, then a Dropkick as Storm hits Richards with a Russian Leg Sweep. Leg Lariat from Kaz on Richards, 1-2-Kickout. Taz says that “Fortune is the younger, more stealth like team here”, huh? Doug tags in, hits a Suplex on Stevie before tagging out to AJ. AJ with a kick across the back, tags in Kaz, hitting a combination Sidewalk Slam/Leg Drop combo. Richards just getting worked over by all of Fortune, it took less than 2 minutes for Fortune to take total control. Kaz goes for the Stevie Kick with big theatrics, but Stevie blocks and hits the Wave of the Future on him in return, allowing him to tag out of the match. Rhino tags in and knocks down Storm with a few shots including a Gore in the corner and a Belly to Belly. He knocks Roode down, back body drop to Doug, double clothesline to Kaz & AJ, then he ducks a clothesline by Storm and hits another Belly to Belly!! Rhino is already rolling, he’s got the Gore lined ho, but Roode trips him up and AJ with the Phenomenal Forearm!! 1–2—Kickout!! Now Rhino is getting worked over, mostly by James Storm, harking back to their old rivalry years ago. Storm goes for an Inverted Tornado DDT, but Rhino reverses into a TKO, allowing him to tag out to Sabu. Sabu comes in with clotheslines to Styles, then knocks all of Fortune off the apron. Raven feeds him a chair, Sabu uses it to springboard to the top and takes them all out on the floor!! Seán, 2 Sabu matches and honestly, he’s been clean thus far!! No bad botches!! Very un-Sabu I must say.
S: Honestly man, I’ve been so pleasantly surprised with how mobile and honestly, just how smooth Sabu has been from what we’ve seen of him, he’s been literally flawless.
JT: At 45 years old, good shit Sabu!! AJ tries to go off the top onto Sabu, but Raven cuts him off.Sabu tries to take AJ off the top, but AJ knocks him off and goes for the Springboard 450, but Sabu moves and he rolls to his feet, getting up in time to get hit with a Springboard DDT!! Another clean hit by Sabu!! He covers, 1–2—Williams breaks it up. Doug hits a European Uppercut off the top, but then catches a Stevie Kick!! Stevie turns around and is hit with a Belly to Back Piledriver from Kaz! He turns around and Raven hits the Evenflow DDT!! Raven gets attacked and hit with a Double Suplex by Beer Money!! Storm & Roode pump each other up, “BEER….MONEY!!” But they don’t realize Rhino is up, and he kills Roode with a huge Gore!! Storm managed to side step it, so he hits Rhino with the Last Call!! Sabu throws the Chair right to the face of Storm, and it’s back to AJ & Sabu. Before we move on, I just want to say that I LOVE this sort of sequence, and oh my god, THAT GORE!!
S: That may be one of the greatest Gores I’ve ever seen, I fucking flipped out when he mauled him with that one, I think I watched it back at least five times.
JT: This goes to show that technique and sell really helps make it, Roode made it look excellent and Rhino ran straight forward, shoulder first. 10/10 stuff. With just AJ & Sabu left, the younger guy tries to go up top, but Sabu manages to crotch him on top. From there, he goes for a Super Hurricanrana, but AJ catches him!! From there he hangs on as he jumps down to the mat, holding Sabu in place to hit the Styles Clash!!! 1—-2—-3!!! After all we just said about him, Sabu is gone!! Fired, no more!! Ric Flair comes out, talks up Fortune, then fires Sabu while trash talking Sabu’s uncle The Sheik. But not to be too sad, RVD & Dreamer come out to put him over on his way out for being a respected veteran and an inspiration to many. What did you think of Sabu’s final hooray?
S: I thought considering the performance he put in and the way he put AJ over with that lovely finish on top of Dreamer and RVD celebrating him in the post match promo. I thought it was a nice way for him to go out, he was usually in and out of TNA for a good few years but he’d always put in a good shift and he did again tonight. I thought the match was fairly good not gonna lie, I think the injury angle with Kendrick hurt it at the beginning, could’ve done with his blistering pace to get the match up and running but as it went on, the more I enjoyed it. THAT GORE and the finish made it fairly enjoyable for me. Also, I pissed myself laughing at Flair having a dig at The Sheik.
JT: Flair playing dirty and getting a shot in a Sheik was pretty funny. Like he did it because it would be his last chance to do so with Sabu’s departure. As a whole with the match, I’ve gotta disagree with you partner. I thought this was a pretty plain match. It felt like 3/4s of the match was spent with Rhino or Stevie getting worked over by Fortune. Raven didn’t get tagged in even once, he got one move the whole time. Kendrick also played no part at all in this one, but you rightfully pointed it out. I felt I spent the whole match waiting for the pace to pick up, then it did for the final 2 minutes and then it was over. It was nice when it got going but it took too long to get there imo. I started losing interest after Rhino’s hot tag got quickly extinguished really. My excitement picked back up at the end, but I hadn’t really been all that excited for most of the time. To give it some credit though, it put Fortune over as a unit. They worked well, they never seemed to miscommunicate and they held the ring for most of the match before giving Sabu the boot. They should be riding high from here in, or so you’d think.
S: Well thank god we actually disagree on a match for once. EV2.0? I’m sure there’s some more dissension with them next month but we’ll see. Shall we get one step closer to the edge with our next match?
JT: Yeah you can’t be pit against each other for your jobs and still be totally okay afterwards. I mean even later in the show, Stevie Richards challenges AJ to a match on Impact! Who knows how that would shake things up! But for now, we’ve had our fill of EV2.0, let’s move on.
———————————————————
Congregation Separation
So next, we’ve got ourselves “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero vs “The Monster” Abyss!! And it’s not just a regular match, no it’s a Lumberjack Match, and boy is it a special type of Lumberjack match!
S: It’s a Lumberjack match where all the lumberjacks are members of Pope’s Congregation!
JT: Pope explains that it’s a mighty thing to go into a hostile situation, and be surrounded by your family and your blood. He explains that tonight even his biological brother is with him. Pope calls Abyss a piss stain on the carpet of the foundation of TNA and that it’s better to be pissed off then pissed on, and tonight Pope is pissed. Damn fine promo if I do say myself! He didn’t say a whole lot but he said it all with conviction and believability.
S: That’s always been a strong suit for Pope, his promo delivery is just second to none, he’s got such a good voice for wrestling and would honesty probably make for a good actor too if I may say so.
JT: Honestly, I could see that. Though him as a commentator does hurt that slightly. But that’s neither here nor there. So at BFG, we saw “them” arrive, and it was exactly like The Band knew. They knew something was up, and the fans didn’t want to believe them. Yet, it seems like the bitterness of the situation got to Nash & Sting. You’d think they’d be ready to take on the men who have been conspiring for months, but instead they simply said “I told you so” and left TNA high and dry. Even though Pope was with them though, he didn’t see things that way. He knew to look out for himself, but he also knows that when someone can’t protect themselves, someone has to stand up for them. Pope is willing to fight even if he’s fighting all on his own, which made him a target of Immortal and their monster, Abyss. Aside from hitting him with the Blackhole Slam a few times, Pope’s ribs are the big injury target for Abyss. The biggest assault by Abyss came when he put Pope in a casket and used Janice on the casket. As a result, Pope has had to tape his ribs. But he’s still fighting, because on top of all this,
Abyss in the weeks leading up to this show beat up a bunch of fans, members of Pope’s Congregation, and said he plans to eliminate Pope and extinguish his congregation. Abyss is just a nasty man isn’t he?
S: He’s nothing short of an absolute booger man, a dirty rotter, if you will. Channeling his inner Heidenreich by assaulting the TNA Universe.
JT: It gives us a good excuse to have Pope come out surrounded by his guys. It’s a great visual isn’t it? Pope looks like a real charismatic leader.
S: Yeah it really is, they should’ve gone all out with this from the beginning when he debuted in TNA in 2009, would’ve added so much more to what was already a great character.
JT: So Pope has got all his guys in his corner, shall we see if they prove to be the deciding factor? Can they will Pope to defeat The Monster?
S: I don’t know but me thinks that the odds are in his favour.
JT: Abyss is focused on Pope’s congregation, allowing Dinero to get in and get the first shot on Abyss. Abyss grabs Pope around the throat, but Pope breaks free and nails a number of punches and kicks, before Dropkicking him to the floor. Abyss immediately rushes to get back in rather than face the 6 lumberjacks, and Pope sends him into the corner, and Pope hits a big splash, then follows up with another. He tries for one more but Abyss throws him up over the top rope, only for the Congregation to catch him and put him back in nice and easily. Pope comes back in for a Sunset Flip, Abyss blocks and goes for a big sit but Pope moves. Pope goes up top and nails a flying clothesline, 1—2—Kickout!! Pope clotheslines Abyss and over, the Congregation throws him back in. Pope is really rolling early on and the crowd are getting behind him, but Abyss cuts him off with a Big Boot. He starts to work over Pope with chokes and by tearing away the tape around Pope’s ribs. He pounds Pope with some body shots, Pope hits a Headbutt that rocks Abyss but also damages Pope and he cannot capitalize as Abyss continues beating him down. Big Body Splash in the corner, the Congregation tries to work the crowd up and get them behind Pope. Abyss with a Bear Hug, but Pope hits an Elbow to the head, boxes the ears, runs but gets caught in the bear hug again. Abyss is really just working him over, squeezing the life out of him. He now wants to finish him as Abyss sends him across for the Blackhole Slam, but Pope reverses and gets a Float Over DDT!! Both men up, Pope starts hammering on Abyss with punches, forearms, a big clothesline, an Inverted Atomic Drop and a Shoulder Tackle!! Pope starts to really lay into Abyss as he gets body blows, a jab to the face, a kick to the knee, dropping Abyss down to a kneel, as he then opens up with rights and lefts to the face of the Monster. Abyss falls to the mat, and Pope continues to lay into him. He’s got Abyss down in the corner, he runs, pushes off and drops the Elbow!! 1—2—Kickout!! Pope tries time to send him across, Abyss counters, then avoids the float over, grabbing and lifting Pope up as he hits the Shock Treatment!! Abyss covers, 1—2—Kickout!! I feel like the Shock Treatment is a great job, and though I feel Abyss isn’t the best wrestler, he’s got some great signature moves doesn’t he?
S: Yeah Abyss has got some sick signature spots for real, like the power moves he does are class. His chokeslam is good but the Shock Treatment and the Black Hole Slam are just two lovely looking moves.
JT: Abyss signals for a Chokeslam, Pope slips free, nailing a shot to the face that sends Abyss to the floor. The congregation goes after him, Abyss pushes them off, Pope with a Crossbody off the top to the floor!! Pope grabs him and rolls him back in, Abyss on the mat, Pope off the top with a Diving Headbutt!! 1—2—Kickout!! Abyss is getting hammered by punches and backhands from Pope, draping him across the middle rope for Pope to hit a Body Guillotine. As Pope goes to the outside and high fives his congregation, Eric Bischoff comes out and stands on the ramp, giving the money symbol with his hands. Pope starts to advance towards him, when all of a when his brother attacks from behind!! Just like that, the whole congregation beats down Pope. It’s 6 on 1!! His brother rolls him in, Pope gets up, Blackhole Slam!! 1—-2—-3!!! They all celebrate with Bischoff and Abyss even comes over to fist bump them all, which is pretty funny. To top it all off, Pope’s Congregation to throw their Pope glasses back in the ring. Pope has lost, and now not only has he lost his band, he’s lost his Congregation too. Hard times for D’Angelo. What did you think of the match and what did you think of this angle?
S: I think the angle was fine but as far as the match went? Another big dirty meh for me, I generally can’t really buy into the interest of Lumberjack Matches anyways so this was a tough job to sell me on anyways. The fact it was so in the favour of Pope just screams that there was definitely gonna be a swerve of some sort and what do you know? There was. What’d you think?
JT: I thought this was pretty uninteresting honestly. You had a lot of slow action, whether Abyss or Pope was on offense honestly. The crowd were also never really behind it either, they were pretty quiet for the most part. Also like you said, Pope was in control pretty often, which made it seem like something was coming, and is also pretty belittling for Abyss. I mean, he’s a murderous monster!! Why should he be afraid of a bunch of goons, especially goons who aren’t even wrestlers? If he was a face he would’ve demolished all of them. But since he’s the heel, he’s gotta be afraid of them, until they reveal the big plan? It’s just odd. Like later on in the night they have a segment where ATM Eric tells the world that they turned on Pope to join the “Brotherhood of the Immortal” (which totally sounds like a faction you’d find in Fallout BTW) because Eric just paid them double. It just feels like a swerve for the sake of it. You didn’t really know his congregation before this and you don’t know them after this. I get it’s trying to get sympathy for Pope, but it doesn’t really hurt because we never had a connection to them. They were just in and out in a show. Not great stuff here.
S: They were in and out like Grandpa Simpson at the Burlesque Club.
JT: Anyway, so Eric tied an onion to his belt, as was the style at the time.
S: And the year is 20dickidy10.
———————————————————
What’s in a name?
JT: Alright alright, we all know the Simpsons, time to move on. Up next, we’ve got a J-E Double F J-A-Double R-E-Double T Jeff Jarrett against J-O-E Samoa Joe in our semi-main event.
S: The two best friends from Bound for Glory, friends no more!
JT: As we saw last time, Jarrett abandoned Joe in their Handicap Match against The Band at BFG, all because The Band were right! There was a conspiracy and Jarrett was in on it, so Joe got the short end from both sides of the war. Jarrett says he didn’t sell out, he always does what’s right for him and he joined Hulk, Eric, Abyss & Hardy because he adds something to the mix as the Founder of TNA. Joe says he’s never carried a friend in TNA his whole run here, and he’s only here to be the best. He says Jarrett is afraid of giving him an opportunity because he knows that with one opportunity, he can become world champion.Jeff Hardy is in the package and says Jarrett created TNA, and says that he deserves to take whatever he wants. In the build for this, Jarrett threw Joe off the stage but Joe got revenge in a way that’s surprisingly typical of him: he went to Casa Del Jarrett and pet his pets because he’s hunting Jarrett. This got Jarrett all paranoid of Joe, and while trying to protect himself, but again Joe got the upper hand as he busted through the stage to attack Jarrett, almost giving him the Muscle Buster before Security stepped in and Double J escaped. Jarrett says Joe wears his heart on his sleeve, and that he’s like a little kid who always cools down and then gets a spanking, so he’s going to whip his butt here. Honestly for a match that doesn’t intrigue me a whole lot on paper, they put a lot into this build!!
S: Absolutely! This match has a hell of a lot of layers to it, a lot of recurring stories which surround it. I’ll admit too, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to see this one on the card at first but the great promo package changed my mind on it.
JT: Now before the match begins, we got a bit of a promo from Jeff Jarrett. Seán would you mind running down his words to the people?
S: What’d he say again? Help me out here James
JT: It’s okay buddy, I don’t blame you. It’s a pretty generic promo about ending things tonight, and that he bought in and that he and Hogan & Flair & Bischoff are taking control of TNA. He says he’s tired of the You Sold out crap, and he’s going to go back to Bischoff & Hogan to shut the show down. Basically it’s a last ditch effort to try and duck Joe, but before he can get to the back, Joe meets him up top. It’s not much really, but if you ask me, it doesn’t hurt. It’s the last little bit of seasoning right as the food is coming out of the oven.
S: I love how he’s pulling a Raw GM Willie Regal card and threatening to turn the lights off. Great stuff there, Jeffrey.
JT: Unfortunately for Double J, Joe doesn’t get time to cut the cord, as Joe chases him back down the ramp. The crowd chants Joe is gonna kill you as they wrestle to an even standstill at the start. Early on both guys seem evenly matched as they keep dodging and countering each other, until Joe hits a Leg Lariat, then punches, then a whip, body attack and jumping Enziguri in the corner. Joe with Facewashes in the corner, Jarrett gets up and hits a right hand and rakes his eyes over the top rope, classic old school stuff. Jarrett hits the ropes, Joe cuts him off with a back elbow. Joe with some rights puts Jarrett down, only for Jarrett to come back with shoulder thrusts to the mid section. Jarret tries a right hand, Joe fires back with a chop and Jarrett is clearly over matched, as Joe repeatedly chops him over and over, welting up his chest. Jarrett sold the hell out of those chops, and I’ve gotta say, I really think Jeff is just a great seller. It’s gotta be them old school Memphis fundamentals doesn’t it? It just makes the beatdowns he takes so good.
S: It’s exactly what it is, Double J has always had the key fundamentals of a wrestler down to an absolute tee, he throws amazing punches, he knows how to work a crowd, he has his delivery on the mic perfected, his signature moves are over and he can sell like an absolute boss.
JT: I’m glad you can at least appreciate him like I can. It’s hard to say he’s underrated after he booked himself on top for so long, but he is definitely better than a lot of people give him credit for being.
S: Oh he deserves so much more credit than what he gets, he does the small things so well that you’re in denial if you don’t think he’s good.
JT: So back to the match, Joe goes for a Powerbomb, but Jarrett escapes, takes him down and gets an Ankle Lock, a clear shot at Kurt Angle. Joe gets free but Jarrett hangs Joe on the middle rope and just throws his whole weight across him, then hits the ropes, slides under the ropes on the other side and hits a right hand. While on the floor, Jarrett grabs a chair but the ref takes it away. Jarrett hits a punch off the middle rope, tries another one, but Joe catches him and hits a few good shots. He hits the ropes, Jarrett hits a Dropkick, Joe immediately gets up and hits a clothesline! The tides seem to be turning as Joe hits an Inverted Atomic Drop, Big Boot, and a Senton: 1—2—Kickout! Joe picks him up on his shoulders, Jarrett slips free and hits The Stroke!! 1—-2—-Kickout!! Was it not a finisher by this point anymore? Like it got less than 0 reaction from the crowd and commentary.
S: It was still a finisher at this point, like he’s always had The Stroke as his finisher in TNA, the fact it’s treated like a complete throwaway move here really caught me off guard. Another point I’ve wanted to make is the commentary tonight, I do genuinely like Taz but he’s not on his best form, they both seem tired, if Don West were at that booth, he’d be bringing the energy right up to 11, bringing the absolute best out of Tenay which we all know he’s capable of doing. Taz and Tenay? It lasted for fucking ages but they never really had the chemistry that DW and Tenay did.
JT: Oh definitely not. Taz especially felt off his game here. Like I was going to wait until later to bring this up, but since we’re talking about commentary, I’ll mention this now. One really odd thing Taz did during this match was explain how things between Kurt Angle & Jeff Jarrett were immensely personal, in fact he said it was even more personal than Joe vs Jarrett. I understand building up the big eventual Jarrett vs Angle match, but why say that right now? All it does is lower this match down a peg!!
S: Agreed, it takes focus off the feud between Joe and Jarrett and put the light on a feud which hasn’t even kicked off yet. Instead they should make reference to the fact that Jarrett using the Ankle Lock is strange without mentioning Kurt, it’s that simple. Show, don’t tell.
JT: Yeah commentary’s lack of focus on this just shows that this match was really not put together for the sake of Joe but clearly for the sake of Jarrett and his future storyline. They did a good job building it up, but instead of cranking the heat up to max, they let it sit there and cool off.
S: It’s just melting now…
JT: So after a rather wet fart of a Stroke, Jarrett has to look for other ways to get the win. He hit the ropes, but Joe quickly got up and caught him with an Exploder Suplex, then dragged Jarrett over to the top. Jarrett manages to fight off a Superplex by dropping Joe across the top rope, before bringing him to Bret’s rope! He sets him up and hits a Stroke off the middle rope!! 1—-2—-Kickout again!! Seriously, Skull Crushing Finale level of weakness to the Stroke. I know Joe is booked strong but like, your finish off the most dangerous rope isn’t enough? For shams Double J, for shame. So again he has to think of another way to win, so he goes and gets the chair from before, and the ref cuts him off again, only for Joe to fly in with a Suicide Dive that takes out Jeff and the ref!! Joe brings him in, sets him up top for the Muscle Buster, and in comes Gunner & Murphy, the new regime’s Security goons. Joe fights them off and gives a Muscle Buster to Gunner!! Imagine being told 10 years later that this goon was going to be a stable leader in WWE, and they weren’t a total comedy joke group!
S: There he is now, General Boomer himself, this was before we knew how much of a bigot he really is, he kept himself to himself here. Murphy though, no not that one on Raw who’s our Buddy. Murphy Murphy Murphy, oh Murphy, one of my obscure wrestlers if I recall. Do you know what Murphy’s legitimate name is, James?
JT: I don’t know, but I’m assuming his actual name is tied to some older wrestling legend who he disappointed immensely and TNA said “Hey, we’ll take you, beggars can’t be choosers”.
S: Oh he’s a legend alright. Murphy of Double J Security, his real name is…….
MICHAEL COLE!
JT: 😂 god I love how small the wrestling world is!! It’s just like how Sabu’s real name was Terry Brunk, and spent years fighting Terry Funk. Wrestling is so silly even when it’s not trying to be!!
S: And Steve Austin and Steve Williams share the exact same shoot name.
JT: Two wrestlers named Steve Williams? I can buy that, it’s a pretty normal name. The fact that they both managed to wrestle in the same period and even the same company at the same time, is really wacky.
S: The fact they never did that feud still gets me down. Battle of the Steve Williamses
JT: At least we got matches over a real life divorce!!
S: Spoilers: the matches happen after Victory Road.
JT: Yeah it does….we should get back on track. I’ll finish this match. So while Joe kills Murphy & Gunner, they drop their night sticks, and in comes Jeff Jarrett from the shadows to take advantage. Jeff wacks Joe across their leg with the stick, then he hits him with it in the on the neck, then he starts to choke with it!! Big Bossman would be proud as has the life choked out of him. The ref starts to get back up again, so Jarrett ditches the stick and locks in the Coquina Clutch, and Murphy throws the ref back in. He drops Joe’s hand 3 times and just like that, Jarrett gets the win over Samoa Joe by submission!!
S: An exhibition from The Gold Miner! Showing Joe how to perfect that Double J Double M A! What’d you think of this one?
JT: Much like Pope/Abyss and RVD/Dreamer, this one felt like it could’ve been more effective with a more engaged crowd. They were pretty quiet for most the match, and really didn’t respond to any nearfalls. Speaking of which, it feels like Joe never even got a close nearfall on Jeff, Double J was just always getting the biggest moves in and had control the whole time. The ref bump is no surprise, considering it’s Jeff Jarrett in TNA, but it lacked a Guitar shot like all his other matches used to have. I would’ve killed for a Guitar exploding over Joe’s head honestly, the guitar spots are always funny at least. I didn’t really get much out of this unfortunately. Just never really clicked imo. Doesn’t help that I’m a big Joe fan and they essentially teased that he could be a guy to rise up and take on Immortal, but instead they used him to feed Jarrett and get him to look strong for his feud with Angle way down the road.
S: Yeah honestly, I feel the same about this as you did, just never really clicked with me, it was better than Abyss vs Pope and RVD vs Dreamer but that isn’t saying much. Like you said at the end about Joe, this is always the case with Joe in TNA after Bound for Glory in 2008, they just wouldn’t use him in that main event status again, don’t get me wrong, I love seeing him mix it up in the X-Division and any other title scene because he’s that versatile but he stuck around for another seven years after he lost the Heavyweight Championship to Sting and never hit those heights again. Shame really.
JT: Yeah all around this wasn’t bad but there was just nothing about it that stood out really. It just felt like going through the motions for two good wrestlers, which means things aren’t going to go badly but if they’re not really trying it’s never gonna get better than passable.
S: Not bad. Not exactly great. Slap bang in the middle with nothing that really wowed me. Is it now time for our main event?
JT: That it is.
———————————————————
Main Event May(or)day
S: Main Event time!! It’s ‘Mr. Mayor’ Matt Morgan vs ‘The Antichrist’ Jeff Hardy for the TNA Heavyweight Championship! That rotter, Jeff Hardy. He’s only gotten sick, twisted and demented, hasn’t he?
JT: He has!! If Jeff was a little brooding and a little nonsensical before, boy we might as well call him Spinal Tap, because he’s turned that shit up to 11!! We’ve now got into the first time he’s turned heel since 2003, and the first actually lasting turn since damn near 1998 in the days of the New Brood!! But even then, he wasn’t the main event guy he is now. This is far and away the biggest character shift he had for nearly a decade.
S: Of course this is only the second best heel turn Jeff has had, second only to his three week heel stint post Royal Rumble 2003 where he was ‘conflicted’.
JT: Ah of course, but he never had a gang and a World Title like he does now! And he’s never done anything as heinous as what he’d been doing since 10.10.10 now has he?
S: Oh he’s been nothing short of an absolute knacker as of late, he split open the head of Ken Skellington and concussed the poor man, tonight was supposed to be his shot! The Assholes were in floods of tears, myself and James included, but not all hope was lost. JAMES! We have a new hope, don’t we?
JT: Damn right we do! In a real “Oh shit he’s actually hurt we gotta do something!” move, Matt Morgan started to push back against the ruthless tactics of the new regime. The week after Kenneth got concussed, Eric Bischoff still had beef with him, and planned to make him face Jeff Jarrett in a Chain Match. Morgan talked to Ric Flair about it, asking Ric if Eric Bischoff was serious in making Anderson wrestle while concussed. Ric responses just told him that Eric was and that whatever Hogan & Bischoff lay down, they’re gonna follow. When bell time came around, Ken didn’t make it to the ring but Morgan came down and beat up Jarrett instead. This of course, l led to Fortune coming out and beating him down, busting him open and choking him out with the chain. And just like that, he’s out of Immortal and out of Fortune. Morgan wasn’t phased though, he quipped that they should’ve killed him while they had the chance. The next week on Impact, Bischoff came out to offer Anderson a chance to face Jeff Hardy, all he has to do is pin him. Of course, Morgan comes out again and boots Bischoff in the face, signing the contract himself for the match himself! It’s all a bit odd though isn’t it? Like I get they literally had a “break glass in case of an emergency” moment, but it’s still fairly ridiculous isn’t it?
S: It’s ludicrous alright but that’s what happens when you have no other faces that could be booked in that position, sure all the other top faces are already engulfed in feuds with members of Immortal and Fortune so why not go with Matt Morgan, I guess?
JT: Yeah I’m sure they planned to have Morgan break away eventually, but it’s rather funny for him to suddenly develop a conscience towards a guy he never really interacted with before.
S: He’s always shown signs of his friendship for Ken Skellington though, James, let’s be honest here.
JT: Oh yeah, like they both have bleach blonde hair!!
S: And they were both on SmackDown in 2005! I mean Morgan was released before Kenneth debuted but still, they were both there, at different stages but come on you know!
JT: Well know the point is, they’re here at the same time right now. Jeff Hardy says Morgan has signed away his life, so I say it’s time we find out. Shall I run down the Tale of the Tape for this one?
S: The floor is yours, my friend.
JT: Alright, Point 1: “Hardy’s deal with the devil pays dividends” aka the new regime ensures Jeff won his first ever TNA Title, and more than likely, they’ll be willing to do anything to make sure he (and by extension they) keep the gold. Point 2: “Concussion costs Anderson Championship chance”, Anderson is hurt and he lost his title shot because of Jeff’s chair shot, so now Jeff & Morgan both have to prepare for a title shot on short notice. Finally, point 3: “Morgan steps up in bid for first World Title”, his moral backbone cost him his spot in Immortal & Fortune, but he gained a chance for the TNA Title. While he’s been an imposing force in TNA for a few years now, this is the biggest match of his career. Can his power and drive be enough to over take Brother Nero’s edge in both attitude and experience? We’ll find out.
S: Matt Morgan’s theme song, are you a fan of this ditty?
JT: It’s a tough nut to crack. On one hand I really like the guitar chords, they’re strong and they’re memorable. But there’s something about the singer’s voice and the lyrics and how they’re paced out that just doesn’t fit right to me. Something about it is grating, I just don’t like the vocals. On the other hand, it’s hard for me to straight up say I don’t like it, because again, there are parts of it that I do. I don’t know there’s just some, strange thing that irks me that stops me from saying I like it, but I cannot commit to saying it’s shit. What about you?
S: I mean the instrumentation is fine, the guitar chords for the intro would get ya pumped up but the vocalist with his big laugh before he sings the verse does grate on me to be honest. The vocals just feel like they’re meant to be for a different song because they seem to be going much quicker than the instrumentation.
JT: Maybe that’s it. Point is, it’s not all it could be. What did you think of Morgan’s big helix robe?
S: It’s very Narcissus, isn’t it? Big fan, love me a good robe in wrestling.
JT: Yeah, I’m a sucker for the big “throw of the robe and have a big blast of pyro”. It’s silly and very wrestling, but I love it for that reason.
S: I think it also conveys how simply monstrous Matt Morgan is as well because when he throws off the robe, you realise how beastly Mr. Mayor is.
JT: Yeah say what you will about him but he’s huge and imposing as all hell.
S: I’ve always been a bit of a fan of The Blueprint not gonna lie.
JT: I think I like him more in idea than execution. He looks good, he’s got a good entrance, the Carbon Footprint & Hellevator are sweet moves, but I’m not a fan of his. But I’m sure we’ll come to why as we run through this match. I’ve got nothing else to say, want to finish off this show with our TNA Title match?
S: Let’s take this one home!
JT: The crowd seems to be on Morgan’s side, though you can hear chants for Hardy and they start with a lock up and Morgan shoves Jeff back and out of the ring, showing his strength. Jeff gets back in the ring, grabs a waistlock, and Morgan drills him with an elbow to the face, forcing Jeff to break again. Now it’s Morgan’s turn as he Morgan charges, but Hardy cuts him off with a boot and strikes, only to hit the ropes and gets taken down by a shoulder block from the Blueprint. Morgan goes after him in the corner, Jeff pokes the eye and goes after the leg with kicks, but Morgan grabs him around the throat and throws him out to the floor. Jeff walks around the outside, spits back at Morgan, and the Blueprint runs out after him. Jeff baits him back in the ring and tries to hit an Elbow on him coming back in, but Morgan moves out of the way and begins lightning up Jeff with elbows and throwing him out to the floor. Morgan goes for a Leg Drop, Hardy moves and hits a Dropkick and starts going after the leg. Jeff locks in a Single Leg Crab, Morgan reaches and manages to get the ropes. Jeff throws his whole body weight down on the knee, and taunts him with his Jeff Hardy dance. Jeff with a rest hold, you can hear Hardy chants as Morgan tries to get the crowd behind him and fights out of the hold. So did you notice this? The crowd being almost if not more into Jeff than Matt?
S: I did notice this and perhaps this is has always been the problem with a heel Jeff Hardy for me, he’s just so fucking popular that people will just wanna cheer him regardless.
JT: It doesn’t help that he’s already a looker and now he gets to dive 100% into the bad boy look. Stupid sexy Jeff Hardy.
S: *ladies swoon*
JT: Back to the match, as Jeff tries to pull Morgan up but Matt reverses and he sends Jeff across and hits a back elbow, then a clothesline, then he tears Jeff’s shirt off. He waits for Jeff to get up before unloading with a Discus Clothesline!! Cover, 1—2—Kickout!! Morgan looks to send him across, Hardy with a kick to the gut and a jumping DDT, then a leg drop, then he tries to go off Bret’s rope but he gets goozled and gets a Chokeslam!! 1—2—Kickout!! Morgan pulls Jeff up but Hardy grabs the ref and pulls him in, obscuring his view and allowing him to hit a low blow on Morgan!! He follows up by pulling him in and hitting him with the Twist of Hate!! 1——2——Morgan kicks out!! Now Jeff is frustrated as he goes after him with punches, then hits the ropes only to come back into a Carbon Footprint!! He covers, 1——2——3!!! Wait, was it a three? Hold on, he stopped at 2 as Morgan drops the leg, maybe going for a cradle around the arms, but then he started a count again but Morhan stopped because he thought that was 3. They’re trying to say the ref was out of position but I mean, not really? Seán is there any logical explanation for this shit?
S: The question I’ll ask before my explanation is this, did you notice who the referee was at all?
JT: OH GOD I SHOULD’VE KNOWN IT WAS A SCREWJOB ANGLE!! Who the fuck was it this time? Was it Nick Patrick again? Or lemme guess, it was Wes Briscoe?
S: It was none of those three, the man in question was Jackson James, the undercover ref of Immortal who is Garrett Bischoff!
JT: It was none of those three, the man in question was Jackson James, the undercover ref of Immortal who is Garrett Bischoff!
S: Well technically it’s not a screwjob because at this stage, Jackson James is just your normal run of the mill referee, in kayfabe no one but Bischoff and maybe a few Immortal members know that he’s Bisch’s kid, he’s virtually unknown and he’s a rookie ref so my excuse for this would be that it’s a rookie mistake but it’s also planting the seeds for him being in Immortal’s pocket but people don’t know that.
JT: You know what? Honestly, I’ll take that. Having him be hidden as a ref for months before finally being forced to reveal their secret is better than just going “Haha he’s in our pocket the whole time” immediately. Brushing it off like a mistake works, although I feel they should’ve been a little less discreet here. Like make it super obvious that he fucked up the call, instead it looked like a botch. Like I get what they’re going for but they can do something with the same effect that’s more obvious.
S: Yeah they should’ve called him out for it being a shady call whilst also keeping his referee’s innocence surrounding him.
JT: Anyway with all that happening, Mr Mayor has been forced to find another way to win his first world title. So he pulls Jeff back up, AND GETS THE TWIST OF HATE!!! 1—-2——Kickout again!! Jeff cannot keep The DNA of TNA down!! Morgan struggles to pull himself up, Jeff goes for a splash on him in the corner, but Morgan dodges out of the way and starts to get Headbutts and Elbows on the Champ. He just clobbers Pro Wrestling’s Antichrist, then he puts him on the top rope, but Hardy with an elbow, followed by Whisper in the Wind!! He stalks Morgan, and hits a 3rd Twist of Hate!! 1———2——-3!! He got it, Jeff Hardy retains, and the crowd seems pretty happy about it. I’m not going to be kind to this one, so do you have any nice things to say about this before I go for the jugular?
S: NONE AT ALL! Tear into it!
JT: This was a bad match honestly, just a real snoozer. As a heel, Jeff was just not all that over in his role. He got a crowd reaction, which is more than you can say for the 3 matches before it, but it wasn’t the right kind of reaction. There was at least 40% of the crowd behind Jeff and chanting for him, if not more. It’s made worse by the fact the crowd didn’t rally around Morgan. Like it’s one thing if Jeff was getting cheered but people were cheering back for Morgan, but it just wasn’t happening. Maybe at first, but not by the end. By the end you had scattered Hardy chants, with the rest of the crowd sitting on their hands. On top of that, they worked the leg but it never really paid off, it never played a purpose in the story other than to give Jeff some way to put Morgan down briefly. Again, the ref bit could’ve been done so much better. Make it obvious it’s part of the story and not like a fuck up, like a No Way 2001 Earl Hebner botch. Like if they want to have the aligned ref, fine. But that doesn’t mean you have to do what they did. Hell, they have Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Ric Flair, and all of Fortune available to do a run in and like “distract” the ref or pull him out of the ring or even put Jeff’s foot on the rope. In the end it looked like a fuck up, which only added to Jeff winning the match prettt cleanly. I mean he had the low blow before, but Morgan kicked out of that, so he essentially countered him, hit a signature then his finisher and won. If you’re a heel, you gotta commit, especially when you’re establishing that he’s a cheating POS with the higher ups behind him, and especially not when he’s facing a monster like Morgan. Ref needs heat, you gotta make it clear he’s a cheating heel POS, and you gotta make sure that you can keep Morgan looking somewhat strong in defeat, but they didn’t really do either of those things to top off the match being fairly boring.
S: Yeah considering he won with the aid of Hogan and Bischoff giving him the heads up to wail on Angle and Kenneth with the crutches. That’s a great way to establish a new POS top heel with the higher ups backing him. Here? He just straight up beats Matt Morgan with the Twist of Fa- sorry, Twist of HATE. Edgy. The match just wasn’t good like, a real fucking snoozer, didn’t help that Jeff was stalling outside the ring for a good few minutes too. Didn’t do anything for me, honestly.
JT: Yeah really it didn’t do its job, really in any way. It didn’t cap off the PPV in exciting fashion, it didn’t help establish Jeff as a top heel other than a single low blow and celebrating with heels after his win, and it didn’t help make Morgan look like a main eventer. I mean honestly until I learned what the plan with “James Jackson” was, I thought Morgan was just stupid and like fucked up his own cover. No bueno, no bueno.
S: Psst James, it’s Jackson James, not James Jackson.
JT: Look, the only wrestlers with two Js I respect are Jeff Jarrett and Jason Jordan.
S: Who are you to disrespect Jackson James, dude?
JT: I’m Eric Bischoff apparently, considering how it took this long for him to even get a bit part in wrestling.
———————————————————
The Wrap Up
S: With that said, final thoughts on the show? Your MOTN (match of the night) and MVP?
JT: My final thoughts aren’t overwhelmingly positive. I feel like a lot of this show really made much of an impact (no pun intended). What I mean by that is really outside of two exceptions, most of the “good” matches weren’t overwhelmingly good and were more so “good” on the basis of not being total shit and not boring me to death. Those matches are the X Division Match & Joe/Jarrett. Once we hit the second half (aka Dreamer/RVD) it was pretty much clunkers. What made it worse is that I’m sure I would’ve liked the second half more if the crowd was into it, but there weren’t. They pretty much died as soon as the Tag Title match was over. And that by the way, is one of the two exceptions. That match and Tara/Mickie are the two in contention for MOTN. Still, I think it’s a pretty easy pick for me. Once again, I think the match of the night was for the tag titles, with Team 3D vs The Motor City Machine Guns. I think it was by far the best match, which isn’t so much against Tara/Mickie as it was just that MCMG are amazing and Team 3D really brought their all. Speaking of which, I’m going with Team 3D for my MVPs. Though Sabin & Shelley we’re in command when it came for the coolest spots and moves, I felt like this crowd wouldn’t have bought into the match if it was just moves. Brother Ray & Brother Devon worked their asses off to play up all their little character quirks and personality traits that they had spent the past decade plus establishing. They sold well and did such a great job getting over the feeling that this was their swan song and they put everything in to win. Whether it was Bubba looking totally lost after 3D was kicked out of or it was Devon struggling with every last bit of energy left to break up the pin, they were on their A Game as much as they could be considering all the wear and tear they had been through over the years. Like I said, MCMG helps carry the load as far as action goes, but Team 3D carried the personality & character of the best match tonight. What say you? Who are you MVP & MOTN? Do the Guns win against? What about the show as a whole? Was it a slog for you, because unfortunately it was for me.
S: Yeah I’m not gonna pretend and act like this show wasn’t a complete and utter slog because fucking hell, it totally was. A real come down from last month’s show which left me with a lot of positive things to say but this show left me with very few pros and unfortunately, mostly cons.
The positives were Lethal vs Robbie E. Tara vs Mickie, the match and the post match after. The Guns vs Team 3D, fucking excellent stuff. Pope’s promo and entrance. The meh was Jarrett vs Joe and EV2.0 vs Fortune. The negatives would be the rest of the matches for me, the crowd, Tenay and Taz on commentary, I really thought they were off their game on this show.
Match of the night would definitely be Team 3D vs MCMG, shoutout to Mickie vs Tara too but the Tag Title match takes it for me. The Guns as usual were on tippy top form and Team 3D brought their all and went out with a bang here. My MVP, I think I’m gonna perhaps surprise you here and say Mickie James. She really was super over with the crowd on this show and the same with me, I thought she came out of this show looking like an absolute star and she looked great in the ring too so that’s who my MVP award goes to.
JT: Luckily for us, the people we have been impressed by will be sticking around. I mean, the Guns are still tag champs, Mickie has unfinished business with Tara & Madison, and at the very least Robbie E will still be existing to talk about. And I must say, from looking at the card for the next show, I think they’ll do a better job utilizing their talent for the next card, be that giving certain individuals more of a chance to shine, cutting out weaker wrestlers and giving much needed boosts to other parts of the show. Seán, let the people know what’s coming up next time?
S: Next month on The JT and Seány Mc Power Hour, it’s the end of 2010 for TNA which means it’s time for our final resolution with TNA Final Resolution 2010! Featuring friction in Fortune with AJ Styles defending his TNA TV Championship against Doug Williams! The Motor City Machine Guns vs Generation Me, Full Metal Mayhem! Tara vs Mickie James, Falls Count Anywhere! More dissension in EV2.0! Jeff Hardy vs Matt Morgan again?! Ah fucking hell…
JT: Well we’ll only be able to judge once we actually see it. And I we’ll see you all again next time! In the meantime, Seán & I, we’ll keep rolling down the line…..
S: Cue the big train!!!
The JT & Seány Mc Power Hour 