Ultimate X steals No Surrender

TNA’s No Surrender pay per view offering was a mixed bag. Already there seems to be some Vince Russo influence with storylines involving wrestlers being slipped laxatives before wrestling, but matches like the X Division and tag team title bouts on the pay per view makes it easier to overlook those.

TNA seems to be in a middle-ground as their pay per views end up being worth seeing but no show as of late has been top to bottom spectacular. Still they have had some good stories involved with feuds like Rhino vs. Christian, LAX vs. Styles & Daniels and The Naturals struggle which makes you invest more into the matches. No Surrender had its good points but when there were stupid things, wow were they stupid.

For the first time, the tag team championship was defended in an Ultimate X match. Champions LAX (Homicide and Hernandez) had their first Ultimate X match against the more experienced former champions A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels, but it didn’t show. The two teams spent a good portion of the match trying to soften each other up before going to the cables. Homicide tried to get an advantage by bringing a ladder into the ring to retrieve the belt, but Styles pulled him down and whipped him to the ropes, sending the ladder crashing into his face. The challengers then crotched Hernandez on the ladder.

The first huge spot off of the cables saw Homicide wrapped around the X and Styles hanging from it delivering knee strikes to try and knock him down. Homicide grabbed Styles’ head and took him crashing down to the mat with an ace crusher. Things moved back to the ring with a number of high-impact moves, including a Daniels hitting Hernandez with a Uranage, Styles hitting a frog splah, Daniels hitting the Best Moonsault Ever and Styles hitting the spinaltap. Konnan on the outside set up a table for his team but it backfired as after several back and forth teases Styles hit the Styles Clash on Homicide off the apron through the table. Konnan hit Styles on the outside with the slapjack and then tried to hit Daniels with a kendo stick while he was scaling the scaffolding. Daniels stood on the top of the scaffold and dove to the centre of the cables, snagging the belts to regain the titles.

Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe had the unenviable task of trying to follow the Ultimate X match. The Non-title bout was a “Fans revenge” match which had 18 “fans” at ringside with leather straps to whip Jarrett when he exited the ring. The NWA champion Jarrett came prepared as he wore several layers of clothes but it did not take long for Jarrett to lose the layers. Joe dominated early in the match but Jarrett took control when he stole a strap from a fan and started beating Joe with it. Joe kicked out of a flying bodypress and took control with a flurry of punches and a back senton. Jarrett retreated and was whipped by fans outside. Jarrett took control again in the ring and tried to tie Joe to the ropes with a strap but Joe used it to tie Jarrett and allow fans to run into the ring and take shots. Jarrett slipped out of the ring and grabbed his guitar but was locked in the choke, reaching the ropes. Jarrett hit the stroke on the guitar and only got a two count. Jarrett tried to repeat the stroke from the top but Joe hit a enziguri and the musclebuster to score the clean pin. He then took the NWA title and headed up the ramp.

Jim Cornette then hit the ring to announce TNA going primetime and announce Kurt Angle joining the company to close the show.

The next TNA pay per view is Bound For Glory on October 22nd from Detroit.

TNA No Surrender 2006 Results

Match 1: Eric Young vs. A-l

Eric Young has so much charisma, he is going to be a huge star. A fun opening match that pitted A-l’s power against his former Team Canada stablemate’s speed. Young used the fans rallying behind him with a “Don’t fire Eric” chant to reverse a tombstone into a wheelbarrow and hit a neckbreaker for the win. Not a great match but Young is entertaining to watch.

Winner: Eric Young in 7:00
Rating: 4/10

Backstage Jeremy Borash interviewed Jim Cornette in his office. Cornette reiterated that the announcement would change the face of wrestling.

Match 2: Petey Williams vs. Jay Lethal

The cross-promotion with Jackass 2 continued. I hope they got a good payday from this, as while Lethal, Sonjay and Sabin are good in the role it’s pointless and pretty dumb. Lethal was nowhere to be found at entrance, and the cameras showed the Jackass trio playing video games until Jerry Lynn showed up and yelled at them. Williams was drinking a bottle of water, which was laced with laxatives. He began showing more and more discomfort and couldn’t follow up on moves as the crowd chanted “Hold it in.” Williams couldn’t hit the Canadian Destroyer due to his discomfort and was rolled up for the three count. He promptly fled the ring immediately after. This could have been a great match but was a joke.

Winner: Jay Lethal in 8:00.
Rating: 1 out of 10

Match 3: No Disqualification Match – Raven vs. Abyss vs. Brother Runt.

TNA is relying to heavily on gimmick matches, as is evident by the three that were on this show. The match was a brawl over the place with lots of carnage. Raven tossed Runt down the tunnel to the back and set Abyss up on a table. Runt appeared out of nowhere and jumped off the ledge above the entrance with a double-stomp but slipped on the leather of Abyss’ vest. Raven hung Runt from a scaffold with a chain before sending him crashing through two tables. Raven went for the pin back in the ring but James Mitchell put Runt’s foot on the rope. Raven tried for a bulldog but Runt shoved him off into a black hole slam to give Abyss the win.

Winner: Abyss at 12:00.
Rating: 7 out of 10

Match 4: Last Chance Tag Team Battle Royal featuring America’s Most Wanted, The Naturals, The Paparazzi, Frankie Kazarian and Matt Bentley, Ron Killings and Lance Hoyt, The Diamonds in the Rough, Shark Boy and Norman Smiley and The James Gang.

The rules of the match stated that when a wrestler was eliminated he stayed at ringside until his partner was too. The final two men would be joined by his partners in a regular tag match with the winners getting a title shot. Johnny Devine took a sick bump when he climbed the turnbuckles and was dropkicked from behind by Ron Killings, sending him head first into the rigging for the Ultimate X match. Chase Stevens went for a springboard move and James Storm shoved him into the crowd, taking out two people in the front row. The battle royal came down to Kip James, Chris Harris and Andy Douglas. James eliminated Harris but the referee didn’t see it, and Harris returned and tossed him out. Chase Stevens was still to hurt from crashing into the crowd to do much, when he made it to the apron he kept being knocked off. Stevens finally made it into the ring and managed to roll up Storm for the victory. Shane Douglas came out to congratulate his charges on their win.

Winners: The Naturals at 15:00.
Rating: 6/10

Match 5: X-Division Championship – Senshi (Champion) vs. Chris Sabin (Challenger)

This match restored my faith in the X Division after Kevin Nash buried it … at least until the ending. An absolutely phenomenal back and forth match until Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal came out with a blow-up doll and slid it into the ring. Senshi almost did a top rope double-stomp onto it until he realized it wasn’t Sabin and was attacked by the challenger, who put the doll on top of him. The crowd chanted “This is stupid” as Senshi came back and nailed Sabin with a kick through the doll (and thus deflating it) for the win.

Winner: … and still X Division champion … Senshi at 17:00.
Rating: 9/10 (I am not going to hold the stupid finish against the great match)

Match 6: Rhino vs. Christian Cage.

The match was preceded by an awesome video package showing Christian and Rhino together in their early careers. A good match but not the fantastic contest that the build deserved or that I would expect from two guys who have known each other as long as these two have. Both men went for their finishers early and brawled into the crowd after Rhino backdropped Cage to the floor. They announced Rhino was wrestling with a concussion, which played into the match as Christian targeted Rhino’s head. Rhino accidentally clotheslined the referee. Christian tried a one-man conchairto but Rhino moved and went to do one of his own. The referee grabbed the chair allowing Christian to hit a low blow and hit the Unprettier on the second chair for the win.

Winner: Christian Cage at 16:00
Rating: 7/10

Match 7: Ultimate X match for the Tag Team Championship – The Latin American Exchange of Homicide and Hernandez (Champions) vs. A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels (Challengers)

Winners: … and new Tag Team Champions … A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels in 15:00
Rating: 10/10

Match 8: Fans Revenge Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoa Joe

Winner: Samoa Joe in 11:00
Rating: 7/10

Overall Event Rating: 8/10

Jason Clevett is from Calgary, Alberta, home of his favorite bar Bottoms Up Sports Pub (bottomsupsportspub.com).