Going into Sacrifice, Samoa Joe was slated to defend his TNA Heavyweight Championship against Kurt Angle and Scott Steiner. However, while overseas, Kurt Angle injured his neck and was forced out of his contender’s slot by doctor’s orders. A series of events during the course of the PPV would set up the title scene for a unique, yet entertaining main event to cap off an overall “interesting” PPV.
Upon hearing the news of Kurt Angle’s injury, TNA Management hit the books to figure out the best way to handle the situation. Rather than simply changing the match to a singles encounter, Jim Cornette made an appearance before the Terror Dome match and said that the winner of the Terror Dome would not only become the number one contender to the TNA X Division Champion, but would also fill Kurt Angle’s spot in the main event.
After a hard-fought battle, Kaz emerged victorious and was on the road to gold. The main event stage was reset, this time pitting the champion, Samoa Joe, against Scott Steiner and Kaz. All three competitors entered the ring and were focused on walking out with the TNA Heavyweight Championship.
Samoa Joe came out of the gates swinging, taking down Steiner and Kaz with hard kicks and knees. Kaz and Steiner were eventually able to fire back at Joe and take him down, leading to an exchange of their own. Steiner was able to execute a nice Samoan Drop on Kaz, however, Joe was able to make the save before Kaz’s shoulders could be pinned to the mat.
All three stars went back and forth from there, trading shots left and right. Rhaka Kahn even got involved, distracting the referee and allowing Steiner to use his lead pipe. After a series of near falls and reversals, Steiner was able to toss Kaz out of the ring and to the floor. Joe was then able to slide back in and hit an enseguri, followed by his patented Muscle Buster for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Joe celebrated as Steiner and Kaz clutched their bodies from the grueling contest. A solid match, with good wrestling to round out a decent PPV.
TNA Sacrifice 2008 PPV Report
The PPV started with Kurt Angle arriving at the arena. Angle said that he suffered a neck injury in Korea earlier in the week and doctors have advised him not to compete. He said he’s done it in the past, but he wasn’t going to risk it on Sacrifice.
Scott Steiner was then shown arriving twenty minutes later, with Petey Williams, Rhaka Kahn, Rick Steiner and Kevin Nash in tow. Jeremy Borash was shocked to see Nash with Steiner and was unsure of what exactly was going on.
Moments before the PPV went on the air, Samoa Joe was shown arriving and was also greeted by Jeremy Borash. Borash told him about Angle not being able to compete and Joe was upset, because he wanted to be the one to put Angle out of commission. Borash then told Joe about Kevin Nash arriving with Scott Steiner, which led to Joe walking off.
Match One – Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Final Match – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) vs. James Storm and Sting w/ Jackie Moore
This was a good opening match. Sting and James Storm showed absolutely no tag team skills, letting one another get beaten down and reluctantly tagging in and out. The match eventually broke down, with Team 3D breaking out a table as Storm told them to finish Sting. 3D realized what Storm was doing and laid off Sting, who put Storm through the table and walked away, allowing 3D to get the win.
Winners Via Pinfall at 8:50 min – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)
Match Rating – 7/10
Backstage, Frank Trigg talked about Kurt Angle’s injury and the match between Samoa Joe and Scott Steiner. Trigg was concerned for Angle and mentioned how that type of injury could be reoccurring.
Match Two – Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Final Match – Rhino and Christian Cage vs. Booker T and Robert Roode
Robert Roode and Booker T were also reluctant to team up and argued a bit. Roode and Booker tagged themselves in and out at their leisure, with Christian Cage and Rhino bringing the fight hard. In the end, Rhino got the hot tag and cleaned house, hitting the Gore and getting the win for his team.
Winners Via Pinfall at 7:05 min – Rhino and Christian Cage
Match Rating – 7/10
After the match, Booker T shook hands with Christian Cage and Rhino and then proceeded to lay both of them out with a steel chair.
Jeremy Borash was shown in the back with Scott Steiner. Kevin Nash showed up and said that Samoa Joe was his meal ticket, but said if Steiner won the belt, he would be in line for a title shot.
Match Three – Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Final – Matt Morgan and Kip James vs. LAX (Homicide and Hernandez) w/ Salinas and Hector Guerrero
This match was okay. Another match that saw one team self destruct on each other. As Kip James went for the Fameasser on Hernandez, Matt Morgan connected with a Big Boot, leading to Hernandez pinning James for the win.
Winners Via Pinfall at 4:20 min- LAX (Homicide and Hernandez)
Match Rating – 6/10
Backstage, Jeremy Borash caught up with AJ Styles who talked about not knowing how to deal with Awesome Kong. Kurt Angle came in and argued with Styles about Karen Angle and about how he didn’t check on him while he was hurt. Styles argued back and told Kurt to take care of his neck.
Match Four – Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Final – AJ Styles and Super Eric vs. BG James and The Awesome Kong w/ Riesha Saeed
The Awesome Kong can definitely hang in there with the likes of AJ Styles and Super Eric and provide a good match. Kong grabbed Styles by the balls and even did the Sumo Drop to get the better of Styles, however, Styles was able to battle out of both situations. After an attempted top rope splash failed, James picked up Styles and was lured into a small package for the pin.
Winners Via Pinfall at 5:45 min – AJ Styles and Super Eric
Match Rating – 6.5/10
Mike Tenay and Don West then hyped a big announcement from Jim Cornette concerning the Main Event. They then proceeded to run down the rest of the card and pitch it to Lauren in the back.
Lauren was shown with Rick Steiner, who said that he came to TNA Sacrifice for moral support only.
A package was then shown to highlight the Terror Dome.
Prior to the Terror Dome match getting underway, Jim Cornette announced that the winner of the match would be the number one contender to the TNA X Division championship and would also take Kurt Angle’s spot in the main event.
Match Five – Terror Dome TNA X Division/TNA Heavyweight Championship Number One Contender’s Match – Curry Man vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Shark Boy vs. Johnny Devine vs. Kaz vs. Consequences Creed vs. Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin vs. Jay Lethal
This match came off really good and was highly entertaining. Very unique concept that truly delivered. Some innovative stuff that included a hurricanrana Tower of Doom. The match saw most of the stars hit their finishers off the top rope or with the help of the cage. Kaz was able to take out the other stars long enough to scale the structure and escape through the top.
Winner Via Escaping The Terror Dome at 10:45 min and NEW TNA X Division/TNA Heavyweight Championship Number One Contender – Kaz
Match Rating – 8/10
After the match, Kaz celebrated on top of the Terror Dome as replays were shown.
Jeremy Borash was then shown with Samoa Joe, who said that Kaz deserved the spot. Borash then brought up Kevin Nash being with Scott Steiner again and Joe flipped. He screamed at Borash and said that he would take out anyone that crossed his path.
Mike Tenay and Don West then weighed in on the Kevin Nash situation.
Match Six – Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament Semi-Final Match – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) vs. Rhino and Christian Cage
This was a good match that turned into an all out brawl, with Johnny Devine running down and passing Brother Ray a kendo stick. Rhino was able to hit a Gore on Brother Devon, but as Devine distracted the referee, Brother Ray cracked Rhino with the kendo stick, laying him out and allowing Devon to make the pin.
Winners Via Pinfall at 10:00 min – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)
Match Rating – 7/10
After the match, Christian Cage checked on Rhino as Team 3D and Johnny Devine celebrated with the TNA Tag Team Championship belts.
Jeremy Borash was shown with Kevin Nash once again, who said that he simply rode with Scott Steiner. Borash told him about Samoa Joe choking him and threatening to take out anyone who crossed his path and Nash said he wanted to test him.
Match Seven – Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament Semi-Final Match – AJ Styles and Super Eric vs. LAX (Homicide and Hernandez) w/ Salinas and Hector Guerrero
Decent back and forth match. Hernandez and Super Eric went at it and eventually wound up brawling to the floor. From there, AJ Styles rolled up Homicide, as Salinas distracted the referee and Hector Guerrero ran in and pushed the small package over. When the referee turned around, it was Styles’ shoulders that were kind of on the mat as he counted the three, giving LAX the victory.
Winners Via Pinfall at 7:40 min – LAX (Homicide and Hernandez)
Match Rating – 6.5/10
After the match, LAX celebrated as AJ Styles and Super Eric looked on.
Backstage, Lauren caught up with Samoa Joe’s family who said that Joe would walk away still TNA Heavyweight Champion.
Match Eight – Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal/Ladder Match to determine the Number One Contender to the TNA Knockouts Championship – Traci Brooks vs. Rhaka Kahn vs. Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky vs. Roxxi Laveaux vs. Christy Hemme vs. Jackie Moore vs. Gail Kim vs. Salinas vs. ODB
The battle royal was just a brawl with Roxxi Laveaux eliminating Angelina Love last to make it a one-on-one Ladder match between her and Gail Kim. Love was forced to stay at ringside, since Kim had won immunity from getting her head shaved, had she lost the match, it would be Love that got her head shaved. The ladder match between Kim and Laveaux saw Laveaux get busted open. The two went back and forth, but it was the interference of Love and Velvet Sky that led to the downfall of Laveaux, as Kim was able to climb and retrieve the contract.
Winner Via Grabbing The Contract and NEW Number One Contender To The TNA Knockouts Championship – Gail Kim
Match Rating – 6/10
After the match, Gail Kim, Roxxi Laveaux, Velvet Sky and Angelina Love got into a huge brawl that was broken up by the referees. Laveaux was then forced into the chair and had her head shaved bald to very loud chants of “Fire Russo!” The Knockouts all stood by and watched as Love and Sky laughed hysterically and stole some of Laveaux’s locks.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash and Kevin Nash approached Samoa Joe who told Nash that he knew not to trust him. He told Nash that he didn’t need him and to stay away from ringside.
Match Nine – Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament Final Match for the TNA Tag Team Championships – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) vs. LAX (Homicide and Hernandez) w/ Salinas and Hector Guerrero
Another solid match between these two teams. The match began with Team 3D harassing Hector Guerrero, only for Homicide to take them out with a Tope Con Hilo. From there the match went on with a table being brought into play and Johnny Devine tried to get involved, only for Guerrero to jump in and cane Devine. He then followed up by hitting a double stomp on Devine through the table. LAX was able to regain momentum of the match, as Hernandez hit a Border Toss on Brother Devon, followed up by a Homicide Frog Splash for the win.
Winners Via Pinfall at 11:30 min and NEW TNA Tag Team Champions – LAX (Homicide and Hernandez)
Match Rating – 7.5/10
After the match, LAX celebrated with the TNA Tag Team Championships.
Eric Young then talked about seeing Elvis at the next PPV.
Frank Trigg came out and joined Mike Tenay and Don West for commentary.
Samoa Joe came out with his dance tribe as Jeremy Borash did the special ring introductions.
Match Ten – Triple Threat TNA Heavyweight Championship Match – Samoa Joe (C) vs. Scott Steiner w/ Petey Williams and Rhaka Kahn vs. Kaz
Winner Via Pinfall at 14:30 min and STILL TNA Heavyweight Champion – Samoa Joe
Match Rating – 7.5/10
Overall Event Rating – 7/10
Chris Sokol is from Long Island, NY and would like to wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.
