It’s been a long, but rewarding road for TNA. From its humble beginnings in a Tennessee arena, to the grandeur and allure of the Impact Zone, from its weekly PPV to its weekly TV show on Spike TV, from Ken Shamrock and Jeff Jarrett, to AJ Styles and Christian Cage, TNA has always been there for its fans, giving them a true alternative. TNA celebrated its fourth anniversary in grand style, packing the card with solid matches and of course a crazy main event.
The main event, as it has been for the last two anniversary shows, was the King of the Mountain match. “Captain Charisma” Christian Cage, Ron “The Truth” Killings, Jeff Jarrett, Sting and “The Monster” Abyss entered the Impact Zone, planning on making history and walking out of Orlando, FL, champion. After running down the tale of the tape, the five men entered the ring and total mayhem ensued.
In the early going, Cage and Sting showed teamwork, double teaming Abyss on the outside, while Killings worked over Jarrett in the ring. The fair play didn’t last long, as Killings turned his back on Cage, slapping the champ and working him over. Once Abyss made it into the ring, he was once again double teamed, this time by Sting and Killings. With Abyss, Sting and Cage out of the way, Killings ascended the ropes and caught Jarrett with a Missle Dropkick, pinning the former “King of the Mountain,” and sending Jarrett to the penalty box.
PENALTY BOX (In): Jeff Jarrett
ELIGIBLE TO HANG BELT: Ron Killings
Killings went to grab the ladder and hang the belt, but wound up eating the metal courtesy of Christian Cage. Abyss re-entered the ring and was rolled up out of nowhere by Cage, sending him to the penalty box.
PENALTY BOX (In): Abyss
ELIGIBLE TO HANG BELT: Ron Killings and Christian Cage
As Abyss went into the box, Jarrett came out. Jarrett immediately went after Cage, ramming him into the guardrails. Sting and Killings mixed it up a little bit, with Sting getting the better of the exchange. Once Abyss was let out of the box, he began helping Jarrett stack four tables on the outside of the ring. Sting broke up the party, fighting with Abyss into the crowd. Jarrett got ahold of Killings on the ring apron, hitting him with The Stroke off the apron into the guardrail for the one-two-three.
PENALTY BOX (In): Ron Killings
ELIGIBLE TO HANG BELT: Ron Killings, Christian Cage and Jeff Jarrett
Once Killings was in the box, Jarrett, Cage, Sting and Abyss began brawling all throughout the Impact Zone. The brawl strayed far away from the ring, allowing Ron Killings the opportunity to get in the ring with a ladder and begin climbing to hang the belt. The four men caught wind of the situation and returned to the ring, with Abyss knocking the ladder over on Killings. Sting and Cage teamed up once again to take out the duo of Jarrett and Abyss. Killings again tried to climb the ladder, but just as he did before, Abyss knocked the ladder over on him. In a fit of rage, Abyss cleaned ring, throwing the ladder and knocking out referee Earl Hebner, as well as Cage. Abyss then turned around and caught Jarrett with the Black Hole Slam. Referee, Mark “Slick” Johnson ran down to the ring and made the count, sending Jarrett to the penalty box and enraging Larry Zybysko who was at ringside holding the belt and watching the box.
PENALTY BOX (In): Jeff Jarrett
ELIGIBLE TO HANG THE BELT: Ron Killings, Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett and Abyss
Abyss went right for the ladder, but was shoved off and sent through the four tables on the outside by Sting. Sting then hit the Stinger Splash and locked in the Scorpion Deathlock on Cage, trying to force a submission. Once Jarrett got out of the cage, he grabbed his guitar and went to use it, but Cage stopped that from happening. Sting knocked Jarrett down, tossed the title to Cage and placed Jarrett in the Scorpion Deathlock. Cage attempted to climb the ladder, but was low blowed by Larry Zybysko. Zybysko was knocked to the floor for his troubles as Sting hit Jarrett with the Scorpion Deathdrop for a pinfall.
PENALTY BOX (In): Jeff Jarrett
ELIGIBLE TO HANG BELT: Ron Killings, Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Abyss and Sting
The match continued. Eventually, Sting and Cage had the belt and were fighting up the ladder. Both men argued over who should hang the belt. As they bickered, Earl Hebner pushed the ladder, knocking both combatants off and allowing Jarrett to climb the ladder and hang the title. Fans littered the ring with garbage, throwing bottles, cups, plates, whatever they could, pegging Jarrett and cluttering up the ring. Zybysko and Hebner bailed to the back as Jarrett ran up the ramp. As he celebrated, referee Rudy Charles stole the belt and handed it to the new face of TNA, Jim Cornette, who held the belt and yelled at Jarrett. Jarrett begged and pleaded, but Cornette wouldn’t have it, keeping the belt in his possession and promising to make a ruling about it on Impact.
PRE-SHOW MATCHES:
Match One – The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens) vs. “Showtime” Eric Young and A-1
This was a decent opener. A-1 doesn’t really have much of an identity other than being the biggest guy in Team Canada. They need to figure something out for him. The Naturals put forth a strong effort, but it wasn’t strong enough, as Young and A-1 were able to sneak away with a victory.
Winners Via Pinfall – “Showtime” Eric Young and A-1
Post Match – “The Franchise” Shane Douglas came out and completely berated The Naturals. He informed them that he was going to put them through the toughest training they have ever faced, and promised them that they would once again be at the top.
Match Rating – 5/10
TNA SLAMMIVERSARY MATCHES
The show began with a nice promo video highlighting the history of TNA and the King of the Mountain match later on in the show. This launched us right into the opening match…
Match One – “Bingo Hall Brawl” – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) vs. The James Gang (Kip and BG James)
Team 3D had called out the James Gang on the pre-show, but got no response. This match was more or less the annihilation of The James Gang, as neither Kip nor BG could muster any sort of offensive for a good portion of the match. The fight made its way through the crowd and even over to the Spanish announcers table, where both teams were beat up by LAX. Kip took out a section of guardrail and wound up getting hip tossed onto it. A couple of kendo stick and trash can shots later, and Kip was busted open. Battered and beaten, Team 3D tossed BG from the ring, set up a table and drove Kip through it with the 3D finisher for the win.
Winners Via Pinfall – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)
Post Match – Brother Ray got on the mic and said that was how hardcore is supposed to be done.
Match Rating – 6/10
Mike Tenay and Don West ran down the PPV, before sending us to Jeremy Borash in the back.
Borash was standing by with Jeff Jarrett, who cut an excellent promo, comparing himself to some of the greats when it came to clutch performance. Larry Zybysko barged into the interview area and told Jarrett that the new face of TNA was exactly who he thought it was. Jarrett calmed Zybysko down and told him that he would take care of things as usual.
A video package that recapped the Rhino/Bobby Roode and Scott D’Amore feud led us into…
Match Two – Handicap Match – “The War Machine” Rhino vs. “The Canadian Enforcer” Bobby Roode and Coach Scott D’Amore
D’Amore played the coward early on, but once Rhino was down, he went to work. Rhino was able to counter most of the attempts made by Roode and D’Amore, however, when the numbers game came into play, Rhino was virtually defenseless. The end came when D’Amore missed a huge moonsault, landing stomach first on the canvas. He attempted to crack Rhino with a hockey stick, but got a spinebuster for his troubles. Roode came in with a Northern Lariat attempt, but was sent to the floor, giving Rhino the opportunity to hit the Gore! Gore! Gore!
Winner Via Pinfall – “The War Machine” Rhino
Match Rating – 6/10
In the back, Jeremy Borash interviewed Samoa Joe, who flat out told Scott Steiner that he was going to pin his shoulders to the mat.
Match Three – X Division Rankings Match – Senshi vs. Shark Boy vs. “The Canadian Destroyer” Petey Williams vs. Alex Shelley vs. Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt
Shark Boy and Petey Williams kicked things off with some back and forth action. Re-igniting their feud from ROH, Jay Lethal and Senshi got things going early on in the match, lighting one another up with some vicious chops. Alex Shelley caught the tag from Senshi and was taken down by Lethal. (By the way, Lethal’s new robe is awesome.) Through a series of tags, Dutt and Shark Boy made it into the ring. Shark Boy missed an elbow drop attempt and got hit with a moonsault from Dutt for the three count.
Elimination One via Pinfall – Shark Boy
Shelley hit the ring and wore out Dutt who made the tag to Lethal. After getting tossed around a bit, Lethal countered Shelley’s offense and hit a release German Suplex for the pin of Shelley.
Elimination Two via Pinfall – Alex Shelley
Senshi, Williams and Lethal wound up fighting on the outside, as Dutt came off the top with a moonsault, taking them all out. The fight made its way back into the ring with Williams hitting the Canadian Destroyer.
Elimination Three via Pinfall – Jay Lethal
Senshi got back into the ring and duked it out with Dutt and Williams. Senshi and Williams were the legal men in the match when Senshi hit the Double Stomp from the top rope on Williams, covering him for a three count.
Elimination Four via Pinfall – “The Canadian Destroyer” Petey Williams
Dutt tried to mount some offense, but to no avail. Senshi hit a double stomp in the center of the ring for a two count, before setting Dutt up in a tree of woe and hitting another double stomp from the top rope.
Elimination Five via Pinfall – Sonjay Dutt
Winner via Pinfall and NEW Number One Contender to the TNA X Division Championship – Senshi
Match Rating – 7/10
In the back, Jeremy Borash spoke with Kevin Nash and Alex Shelley who showed great confidence going into their encounter with Chris Sabin.
A video package recapped the feud between Chris Sabin and Kevin Nash and led into…
Match Four – Kevin Nash w/ Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin
Sabin used his quickness while Nash used sheer power. This run has been great for Nash, he has really improved since the last time he was in TNA. He’s been extremely entertaining with Alex Shelley. Both men attempted to hit their finishers, but neither one could. Shelley got involved several times throughout the match, leading to a Jacknife Powerbomb and a win for Kevin Nash.
Winner Via Pinfall – Kevin Nash
Match Rating – 6/10
In the back, Jeremy Borash interviewed America’s Most Wanted and Gail Kim, who said they weren’t worried about AJ Styles’ and Christopher Daniels’ equalizer, claiming that they were going to retain their titles after beating the X Division duo once again.
A video package highlighting the feud between AMW/AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels was shown, leading into…
| WHAT YOU THINK |
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What announced match are you most looking forward to at TNA Slammiversary?
Samoa Joe vs Scott Steiner 38% King of the Mountain 33% Nash vs Sabin 13% AMW vs Styles & Daniels 10% James Gang vs Team 3D 4% Rhino vs Roode & D’Amore 2% |
Match Five – NWA World Tag Team Championship Match – America’s Most Wanted (“Wildcat” Chris Harris and “The Tennessee Cowboy” James Storm) w/ Gail Kim vs. “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles and “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels
This was another solid match for these two teams. All of their TNA matches thus far have been excellent. Really good chemistry. Styles and Daniels played games with the champs early on, knocking them into some questionable positions. AMW fought back and attempted to cheat their way to victory on several occasions. Gail Kim tried to get involved, but was stopped by Border City Wrestling wrestler Jamie D, who made her TNA debut, carrying Gail to the back. Harris and Storm nearly had the match won, until Styles ducked a beer bottle shot that caught Harris. Storm was sent to the floor, as Styles hit a Frog Splash on Harris, followed by a BME from Daniels for the win.
Winners via Pinfall and NEW NWA World Tag Team Champions – “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles and “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels
Post Match – Styles and Daniels celebrated with the fans in the Impact Zone.
Match Rating – 8/10
Jeremy Borash caught up with Sting in the back, who said that he would hang the title if he had the opportunity. Sting messed up and called it the first ever King of the Mountain match. That was a little embarrassing.
They highlighted the four-year anniversary of TNA with a video package.
Mike Tenay was in the ring to introduce the new face of TNA Management, Jim Cornette. Cornette did a whole speech about how he was going to turn around TNA and do things for the better of the company. Great promo from Cornette, he really will fit well in the TNA mold.
Jeremy Borash interviewed “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner, who ranted and raved about all the names he beat and how Samoa Joe was going to be just another name on his list. Steiner’s promos on Joe have been absolutely hilarious.
A video package highlighting the Samoa Joe/Scott Steiner feud led us into…
Match Six – “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe vs. “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner
This was a very good match for Scott Steiner. He has stepped up his game a lot. Both men landed some heavy blows. Joe got smacked with a chop to the face, while Steiner ate some boot leather. Steiner was able to lock in the Steiner Recliner, but somehow Joe was able to muscle out of it. Steiner charged at Joe, but was met with a stun gun, followed by a powerslam, extending the undefeated streak of Samoa Joe.
Winner via Pinfall – “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe
Match Rating – 6/10
TNA returns to PPV with Victory Road on July 17.
Backstage, Christian Cage had a few words for Jeremy Borash about the King of the Mountain match. He said that Sting showed his true colors, saying that he would indeed hang the belt if the opportunity arose. Cage once again promised that he would walk out champion.
A video package that hyped the King of the Mountain match led us into…
Match Seven – NWA World Heavyweight Championship King of the Mountain Match – “Captain Charisma” Christian Cage (C) vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. “The Monster” Abyss w/ Father James Mitchell vs. Ron “The Truth” Killings vs. Sting
Winner via Hanging the Belt and NEW NWA World Heavyweight Champion – Jeff Jarrett
Match Rating – 8/10
Overall Event Rating – 6.5/10
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- TNA Best of Samoa Joe DVD
Chris Sokol is from Long Island, NY and wants to know why Don West didn’t wear his famous matching shirt/tie combination for Slammiversary.