My World w/ Jeff Jarrett - Slammiversary 2008 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Let’s get into what we’re talking about today - Slammiversary 2008. Took place over 10 years ago. There’s a lot going in TNA as we come off Sacrifice which we covered last month in the archives so be sure to check that out…

There’s a lot going in TNA at the time and a lot of it is being discussed in the media. As TNA continues to expand you’re doing everything you can to push the wrestlers as stars which include media appearances. In one of them Samoa Joe - the current TNA champion - discusses things with the Poughkeepsie Journal regarding Vince Russo. “I think he gets honestly, in my opinion, an unfair bum rap,” Joe said of Russo. “I think some of the segments that the fans have problems with, maybe Vince was not even necessarily involved with. There’s been a few times that’s happened… He’s kind of like the human shield and I think it’s pretty unfortunate. I can guarantee about 70 percent of the stuff that fans think is Vince Russo, he really had nothing to do with.”

Do you think Russo was the guy who fans pointed to as any bad segment would happen it would be his fault?

Is that a fair criticism of Russo at the time?

Also Kevin Nash sits down with the Daily Star in the UK and he had this to say, “I think the thing is they had a plan and they didn’t want to grow too fast,” he said. Nash continued, “They set modest goals along the way. Now they’re in a position where they are going to make a profit, which is huge.”

Was this the first time TNA was turning a profit or had TNA already turned one and it was starting to grow at this point in 2008?

The King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary is the focal point of TV as Samoa Joe is the TNA Champion and would be putting the title up in the match. Why did you make King of the Mountain the Slammiversary main attraction? What was it about the match?

The story begins with Joe walking to the ring on the first Impact after Sacrifice as the roster is on the stage & aisle to declare he had an opportunity of a lifetime to offer them. He’s picking 4 wrestlers and TNA authority figure Jim Cornette is picking 4 wrestlers. But Booker T is upset that 6 months into his run in the company and he still hasn’t gotten a title shot or match. The story between Booker & Joe is about to get started - what could Booker bring to Joe in terms of elevating him?

Also at the same time there’s a story running with Joe & Kevin Nash being on uneasy terms with each other. The goal is to get as many established players to feed to Joe as possible - am I right?

Jim Cornette would select 4 wrestlers for the tournament that have never gotten a title shot - James Storm, Matt Morgan, Robert Roode & Tomko while Joe would select - with Kevin Nash’s help mind you - AJ Styles, Booker, Christian Cage & Rhino. Roode would defeat Morgan and Booker defeated Styles on one week of Impact while Rhino defeated Storm and Cage defeated Tomko to earn their spots in the match. This is a unique way to determine who goes into King of the Mountain isn’t it Jeff?

It seems Nash feels double crossed when Joe announces Booker instead of Nash for the last spot he chose though. Did you see money in a Kevin Nash - Samoa Joe program because their on air chemistry was really good shockingly enough…

Did you ever think you needed to expand the match to 6 people instead of 5? Or do you think 5 just worked?

Mind you - the two men who were in the main event the month before against Joe, Scott Steiner & Kaz - were nowhere near the main event picture for this show. Why was that do you know?

With Matt Morgan on the active roster, Nash offers his services to Cornette to be his bodyguard in exchange of being the ringside enforcer for the King of the Mountain match. Cornette has certainly said a lot about Nash before this, and after this. Was there any heat between these two?

During this time there’s a sitdown interview between Mike Tenay & Sting airing, which gave the implication of a Sting retirement was coming sooner than later. How good was Mike Tenay in doing these segments and getting over what needed to get over?

Do you know how much of this was scripted if any?

Tenay takes him really throughout his career, starting with Rick bassman, touching on Jim Hellwig and their run in the beginning and how it was Jerry Jarrett who was the only one who responded. Was it a dance every contract renewal if Sting was going to return and re-sign?

Sting described the Ultimate Warrior as the first Rock - referring to Dwayne Johnson. Do you agree with that?

On the second part of the interview that aired, Tenay brings up the fact that you haven’t been on TV for almost a year at this point and asks Sting if you two have been talking. Sting brings up the fact that you’re missed in the company and that he would never wish upon anyone what you’ve been going through with the loss of your wife and having to raise three daughters now and how much you have on your shoulders. He also brought up how he remembered you being the blonde-haired kid running around the Jarrett house and being goo-goo eyed when Sting & Warrior showed up all jacked up.

Jeff - we’ve touched on it a lot but this is one of the first time’s in the year since Jill’s death that this is being brought up on TV and it’s by Sting. Were you planning on coming back to work with Sting? Why was this a point of focus?

Did you look at Sting & Warrior goo-goo eyed when they would come around?

Any interest in being that muscular?

You do some media around this time for the first time in a long time with Between the Ropes and you mention that you were training to return to the ring and you were just getting back into the gym. “ Obviously I've had some things that have distracted me over the last year and a half that put my priorities in other places, but I'm getting the itch again."

Were you just starting to feel better mentally to be able to handle being back in the ring again?

“Jarrett also talked about how both his personal

and professional life have been going over the last year. He described the loss of his wife and high school sweetheart as causing "Immeasurable pain." On a brighter note he said that he couldn't ask for more from his professional life without being greedy. Jarrett highlighted TNA's television ratings, soon to be released video game, and international development as highpoints and said that TNA is "really hitting on all cylinders."

Was this the high point for the company and happiest you had been in the business in a long time?

“Jarrett was asked to respond to the criticisms of TNA's frequent use of gimmick matches. Jarrett responded, "It's fun to be an armchair quarterback, it's fun to look back and criticize, and that's what makes wrestling fans so passionate... At the end of the day we strive to put out the very best professional wrestling product. Sometimes the criticisms come from people without them knowing the full hand we've been dealt. That's okay with me, as long as you're talking about us, good or bad. It's when you quit talking about a product that you have issues."

You still believe in that assessment don’t you?

“Jarrett was then asked to address what he thought would improve TNA's pay-per-view numbers and he highlighted three specific things that he feel are required for strong pay per view numbers. (1) An established brand, (2) marketing power, and (3) something Jarrett described as "a publicity stunt or something that catches the mainstream appeal."

Following up on that question Jarrett talked about TNA's need for a "breakout star." Jarrett explained that past breakout stars "weren't necessarily great wrestlers or even great talkers, but they have that 'it factor'. They were at the right place at the right time and it catches on. You never know what the future holds once you have that mega star." Jarrett then talked about the man many people see as TNA's potential mega star, Samoa Joe. "He is a phenomenal talent and he has the 'it factor.' His success is yet to be determined. You can't judge a guy over a three month period...You've got to get behind someone and go with them, stick with them and find out what happens."

How far do you think TNA was at that point in all 3 aspects?

Was this the closest to WWE that you remember TNA being?

With all the mentions of the Ultimate Warrior on TNA TV by Sting there was some online buzz created regarding the possibility of Warrior coming into TNA. You hinted in the interview “it would be unique if something were to happen" between the two of them. Were there ever any plans to bring the Warrior in or any discussions?

The final sitdown with Sting discusses Ric Flair and their series of matches. The ability to embrace the history of the business and not shy away from what happened is a stark contrast to Vince McMahon’s philosophy of ignore what didn’t happen on their TV…were you a proponent of that embrace?

Another big storyline at the time was the Sonjay Dutt, Black Machismo & So Cal Val story. After Kaz, Sonjay & Lethal won a 6-man match over Rock ‘n’ Rave Infection & Johnny Devine, Lethal proposes to Val who says yes while Dutt looks on in jealousy. For an undercard feud all of them played their role well - you put a lot of faith in the talent to pull this off did you not?

What were the differences between Lethal & Sonjay and say the Machine Guns…Lethal & Sonjay wanted to play ball and the Machine Guns didn’t?

Did you see that Alex Shelley won the Impact Title and Chris Sabin won the X Division Title on the same night…pretty surreal 15 years later these guys are two of the top guys in Impact now?

After a win by Sonjay & Lethal over the Rock ‘n’ Rave Explosion…again…

From the Torch

Afterwards, Lethal called out Dutt on something that had been bothering him. While everyone thought Lethal was going to question Dutt on trying to sneak around behind his back with Val, Lethal simply asked him to be the best man at his wedding. Relieved, Dutt accepted the honor. Ace Young then provided his surprise to Lethal and Val: his new music video featuring them.

The music video was a mix of steamy love scenes between Lethal and Val and highlight-reel footage of Lethal doing spots in the ring. Although Ace Young showed more charisma in his brief appearance on Impact than many other wrestlers show in an entire month, there was a certain level of surreal bizarreness, even for TNA Impact.”

For those that don’t know…Ace Young was a 7th place person on American Idol in 2006. This isn’t exactly the mainstream appeal some might’ve thought it was? Jeff - chat me up. How did Ace Young become a part of this and how did it come to be?

The story about Dutt & Lethal being built up though continues to be great. On the go-home Impact we would see the bachelor party to build to the actual wedding at the pay-per-view. This takes up 3 segments on the show which is a lot of TV time to devote to it. It would feature Lethal calling out for “Lanny” which was Randy Savage’s brother Lany Poffo, BG James toasting to Lethal but now he needs to learn to keep his mouth shut and take orders since he’s getting married. Were you there for the filming of these segments or did you leave it up to Russo or Borash?

Another segment would feature Dutt announcing that Koko B. Ware would be a grossman, George “the Animal” Steele would be there and also Kamala. Why bring these legends back for this wedding?

From the Torch

“Tenay introduced another clip of the bachelor party. Ace Young stood on the stage with Black Machismo. He had everyone turn to see cake being rolled into the room by Borash. Out of the giant cake popped Christy Hemme. Christy, Rave, and Hoyt then tried to begin performing, but ODB walked in, grabbing her crotch and slapping her ass. She rolled in a big gift box. out of it came a gigantic snake. Dutt held it. It was real. Dutt then said Jake the Snake would be at the wedding, too. They did a convincing job making it seem like a drunken bachelor party, and it had a purpose to it - to announce the Macho Man-era WWF stars who'd be at the wedding on Sunday.”

Sonjay did not like the snake did he?

Is this just added expense that doesn’t add anything to the product or is it just getting these guys a payday?

Throughout the month there are vignettes airing of Abyss in a straight jacket promoting his return. Do you think Abyss needed a reset - or a fresh paint of coat as our friend Bruce would say?

There’s a lot going on with the women of TNA at the time as well. The knockouts were a big part of the TNA product and really they were featured sometimes double or triple the time the women were in WWE. The faith you had in them to carry big chunks of the show were evident…who was the biggest proponent of some of the women?

Awesome Kong would begin a gimmick of offering $25,000 - through Raisha Saeed - to fans to come in and face her. Is this based off the Andy Kauffman gimmick?

A fan accepts and gets killed which leads to a funny segment the week after where Jim Cornette asks Borash why he allowed this to happen and Borash’s response was, “It was the highest rated segment of the show.” And people wonder why fans want to discuss ratings all these years later!

Eventually this leads to a line of women being in the front row volunteering to take on Awesome Kong and Borash puts over Amber O’Neal, Becky Bayless & Daffney - all somewhat recognizable women but treated as real pro wrestlers who were ready to step up for the challenge. Borash shoves a release in front of Daffeny’s face, she signs in, heads into the ring and is killed in 3 minutes. This is a great bit of storytelling is it not?

The other story involving the women are the Beautiful People and ODB. The Beautiful People are coming off shaving Roxxi’s head so they’re quite full of themselves.

On Impact - and this is directly from the Torch…

“Lauren interviewed ODB who said her boobs are “100 percent vodka, baby.” She promised to stick her flask between Angelina Love’s cheeks.

(2) Angelina Love (w/Velvet Sky) beat ODB in 2:00. West said, “I’m just daydreaming about boobies filled with vodka.” ODB poured booze into her mouth from her flask, then blew it into Love’s face. In the end, Sky KO’d ODB with her own flask. Sky was about to shave ODB, but Roxxi made the save. She was about to cut Love’s hair, but ref Rudy Charles stopped it. Roxxi gave the ref a Voo Doo Drop.”

This…this is quite the scenario and commentary…chat me up Jeff!

From the Observer

“Mickie Knuckles was brought in as a bodyguard type for The Beautiful People. There was talk of bringing in Jazz to team with them as their bodyguard type, but they must have not been able to get in touch with her In time for the recent tapings or she wasn't interested. Vince Russo wanted another pretty girl to join the Beautiful People, but I guess Jeff Jarrett didn't go with that idea. There was some feeling that a third one may not be as good as the two they have as far as getting over, and it would water down the act.”

Mickie Knuckles at the time was gaining steam in IWA Mid South - how did you come to know her to bring her in?

Were there talks with Jazz?

Did Russo pitch a 3rd beautiful woman for this - but how smart was pairing Mickie with them.

She would eventually be named…Moose Knuckle. Chat me up bro…

They would begin putting brown bags over women’s heads to say they would look better with that then their faces. This is one of the best heel gimmicks - I’d say - in TNA’s history - what say you?

From the Torch

“-Lauren interviewed The Beautiful People backstage. Lauren said they don't pay her enough to deal with them. Velvet Sky asked her where her paper bag was and called her leatherface. She had her hold up their collector's edition trading card "right in front of your crater-filled face." She said: "I have pimples on my backside more appealing than the marks that come here every week and fantasize about being with us.." Love said they put Sky in a street fight with "One Dirty Butch." She said Sky won't even break a sweat because "Beautiful People don't sweat." They're hilarious and one of the more convincing acts in pro wrestling. She said they are beautiful, but they fight ugly. Sky said everyone can look, but nobody can touch."

2 -- VELVET SKY (w/Angelina Love) vs. ODB

ODB brought a spit cup to the ring instead of her signature flask. She patted her boobs and her butt after entering the ring. ODB threw her spit cup contents at Sky. When Love stood on the ring apron, ODB dropkicked Sky into her. Then she hit a powerslam for the win. Afterward, Love surprised ODB from behind with a face plant. Then she trash talked her. Roxxi ran out to make the save. Gail Kim then charged in to add a couple clotheslines. A new woman charged to the ring, a Rosie O'Donnell look-alike. She T-Bone suplexed Roxxi and DDT'd kim. Love pulled out a paper bag and put over the head of kim. It had a "prettier face" drawn on it.

WINNER: ODB in 5:00.

STAR RATING: *”

The Rosie O’Donnell look-alike is Mickie Knuckles - but man this is all old school Memphis heat is it not?

Something that is interesting in this build is that every week Eric Young is on the hunt for Elvis and to bring him to Slammiversary. He goes to Graceland, leaves tickets for Elivs, but can’t find him. Jeff I bring this up because the show - is at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi. For those of you who don’t know - it’s a 15 minute drive from Graceland to what is now known the Landers Center. But did you think it was confusing that it was being pushed that the show was in Memphis when it wasn’t really in Memphis?

The formation of the group “The Bad Guys” takes place in this build with Kurt Angle, Booker T & Team 3D coming together. The Bad Guys - really using the sledgehammer of plot there aren’t you?

LAX are programmed with Team 3D during this time with Hector Guerrero getting involved - hadn’t we seen this too much at this point?

This is around the time that Booker began using that British accent - what did you think of his change?

The rumor has always been he was doing this to show off his acting chops - is that how you took it?

The transformation of Petey Williams into a smaller Big Poppa Pump takes place with some great vignettes. The X division, between this and the story with Lethal & Dutt, you can see how important it is to flesh out these characters am I right?

The package of Petey, Scott & Rhaka Khan - quite the combo. Did you see the Rhaka Khan lawsuit got dismissed last week?

On the go-home Impact for the pay-per-view - there’s a King of the Mountain match between Curry Man, Jimmy Rave, Chris Sabin, Johnny Devine & Kaz. The winner of the match gets a shot at TNA Champion on Impact next week…Jeff…what are we doing? Why are we giving away this match - that’s going to be full of high spots 3 days before the pay-per-view which is going to be a whole lot less athletic to crown a #1 contender?

Kaz got the win by the way after a spotfest stunt match…and right after…from the Torch:

“-Borash interviewed Scott Steiner, Petey Williams, and Rhaka Khan. Steiner asked Borash who Kaz has ever beaten. Borash said he won the Terror Dome match at Sacrifice last month. Steiner called it a circus act. He said he and Petey are 100 percent wrestlers. Petey was about to talk, but Borash said they were out of time. Petey yanked the mic from him and began saying, "As long as the camera's in my face and I've got the mic, the people have no choice but to..." They cut to a commercial. That was pretty funny. Steiner is always a riot on promos, and Petey's coming into his own with this pairing.”

This is some good stuff is it not Jeff?

The biggest storyline running is between Kurt, Karen & AJ Styles.

Frank Trigg is a small part of this in the beginning with Kurt but wasn’t seen afterwards. What did you think of Trigg during his time in TNA and why did it end?

Were you worried about Kurt’s neck coming off his injury and this is why it was so heavily non-physical based?

Kurt tries to get Karen back and how miserable her life must be without him and how she needs to get her priorities straight as his are, “the TNA title first, his gold medal second, the kids third and her fourth.” That’s a great line is it not?

Karen returns the next week and Kurt introduces her with what looked like a stripper audition video in the background. “West said Angle is excited because she will mow the lawn and clean the house. Angle told Karen they can put their problems in the past and move forward. Karen wasn’t impressed.

Karen was distraught. Angle said he knows she watches Dr. Phil and gets all caught up in the drama. He said he’s who he is and always will be. She said that’s why it will never work. She said she came here hoping to make things work, her voice cracking terribly.Angle begged her not to say the D-word. He promised to change for her. Karen said he is not capable of changing.

Angle asked if she’s seeing A.J. She said he’s been there for her and he understands her. She cried. Angle got on his knees and begged her to give him a second chance. The crowd chanted, “We Want A.J.” He begged her. She thought about it, then left the ring without saying another word. The crowd applauded. Angle shouted, “Do it for the kid! I can’t live without you. I’ll do anything, Karen.” She kept walking.”

This is some really good shit - but to your knowledge - was this art imitating life at this point in time?

It’s announced that AJ Styles would have an announcement the next week but Kurt attacks him before he can say anything and it’s a heel beatdown to establish the Bad Guys group. This builds to a video conference the next week between Kurt - who’s in Hollywood for a movie - and Karen who’s in Pittsburgh. Kurt talks about how he gave Karen everything she could want and she didn’t appreciate him - but Karen responds with that all she wanted was time with him. This hits really close to home now in retrospect doesn’t it?

From the Torch

“She said Kurt loves himself and his career more than his wife and children.

Angle said, "Explain to me why that is so wrong." Karen said there is nothing left to explain. Kurt said she should have never cheated on him with Styles. Tenay asked if he had any proof of that. Kurt told Tenay to shut up and said he probably slept with Karen, too. Karen thanked Tenay for pointing out that Kurt has no proof. She said nothing ever happened. He told her to shut up and raised his voice. He said all she had to do was come clean and everything would have been fine. He said she crossed the line and went too far. He vowed to break every bone in Styles's body until the truth comes out.”

AJ is hot backstage after this and promises he will take Angle down at Slammiversary and that Angle will not give up. This is the babyface AJ Styles the crowd wanted, am I right?

Throughout this build the TNA Impact ratings stay between a .9 and a 1. Is it frustrating to not see the movement - or is it good to know you’re keeping your base watching?

What say you to the people who say if the rating isn’t going up you’re doing something wrong - even if it stays flat?

Well Jeff we’re at the show. It draws 20,000 buys which is down from the previous year of 25,000 and the month before of Sacrifice which had 25,000 as well. How frustrating is it to be producing really good TV and still end up flat?

The show draws only 2,000 - which isn’t that terrible when you look back at the FedEx Forum the year before when Hulk Hogan & Big Show only drew 2200 paid. Is that what you were expecting?

From the Observer

Sting wasn’t at the show, nor was he ever advertised to be there. The original plans were

that the TV video packages would lead to him making a major interview on the show.

The packages ended with him teasing that retirement may be around the corner with the references to Ric Flair and Brett Favre. With nothing concrete decided, there was nothing to hype that he would reveal, and with no match, they had no reason for him to be on the show.

Was that the original plan?

“1. Petey Williams retained the X title beating Kaz in 15:19.

Scott Steiner and Rhaka Khan were at ringside. Williams had a face-guard on to protect his broken orbital bone. Kaz had a left arm injury and early it looked like this would slow down the match. Crowd was quiet early, but once they got going, they had a strong opener. They had the dueling chants and the “This is awesome” chant. Lots of near falls, including Kaz using Takao Omori’s backward piledriver move.

They aren’t allowed man-on-woman violence, but for some reason, it’s okay with Khan who Kaz hit with his flying front kick when she interfered. Kaz ended up being hit with the lead pipe and bled heavily, but kicked out of the pin. Finish saw Kaz use a flying kick to Steiner, but that gave Williams the chance to take advantage with a Canadian Destroyer for the pin. Post-match saw Steiner beat on Kaz, saying that Kaz didn’t deserve a title shot he was getting the next day. Abyss came out with a new outfit, dressed like a guy in a mental ward (his gimmick was that he’s been institutionalized). The name “Park” was on the back. Abyss gave Steiner, Williams and Khan all black hole slams and then carried Kaz to the back. To me, the new costuming of Abyss is a real negative as he comes across like the most low-rent indie monster man costume gimmick.

Observer ***1/2

Torch ***¾”

Jeff - what did you think of all this?

“2. Gail Kim & ODB & Roxxi beat Angelina Love & Velvet Sky & Moose in 10:14.

Moose had debuted on TV as Mickie Knuckles, but TNA probably wanted her to either sign rights over of that name, or creative just came up with the name. Mike Tenay said she didn’t want to be known as Mickie Knuckles and then her ring outfit had “Mickie” on the back. They mostly worked over Kim’s left knee before she hot tagged ODB, who pinned Moose after a powerslam. Solid match, but not at the level of most TNA women’s matches that get time.

Observer **1/2

Torch *¾”

The segments were all good - and then the bell rang right Jeff?

“3. LAX retained the tag titles beating Team 3-D in 15:00.

They actually made a joke out of Bubba’s weight, saying he was recently 275 pounds because they did that gimmick where he weighed in a few times at 275. Don West was sarcastic saying he hadn’t seen 275 since high school, basically burying their own bad storyline. Standard good match. They worked on Homicide for several minutes. Finally Hernandez did the hot tag.

They built to Salinas doing the Wazzup on Bubba. Finish saw Homicide use the frog splash on Bubba, but Devon pulled ref Andrew Thomas out of the ring. Homicide went for a tope on Devon, who moved and he splatted on the floor. Bubba gave Hernandez a low blow and they set up the 3-D on him. But Homicide snuck back in the ring and schoolboyed Bubba for the pin.

Observer **3/4

Torch **”

This…is not the start of the show you’re looking for is it?

“4. Awesome Kong’s challenge for the “fans” was next.

First was Serena Deeb of Corinth, MS, a town outside of Memphis. Serena Deeb is actually a Shimmer wrestler who has worked OVW for a long time. She had a certain “girl next door” charisma in OVW as she and ODB were usually the two most over women in the promotion, more than all the “beautiful people” WWE had stationed there.

The other was Josie Robinson “from Memphis,” who is actually a regular with Harley Race’s World League Wrestling. Deeb was billed as an MMA fighter and then proceeded to work nothing like an MMA fighter. She took her beating like a pro, including a giant swing into the guard rail, before being finished off with the implant buster in 2:26. Robinson got the jump on Kong and people got into it. Kong took her glove off and nailed Robinson with a backfist, and pinned her in 1:42 with a power bomb.”

This just didn’t work either did it?

“Then Eric Young came out with an Elvis impersonator who looked absolutely nothing like Elvis. It was Nigel Sherrod, who is a Georgia indie guy. After all that time spent on TV building up Elvis being there and this is what they got? I mean, this was major Wrestlecrap bad. Kong power bombed him as well.”

What in the world is going on Jeff? Are you sitting backstage and going - what are we doing?

“It went from bad to worse with the wedding. First we had the groomsmen come out. Ace Young came out to very little reaction except a few scattered boos. At least those people knew him. Kamala came out to no reaction at all. Jake Roberts came out. He got a huge reaction. He’s very heavy, looking 300 pounds plus and moved slowly and looked twice the size of everyone out there. I can’t figure out what happened to Kamala because he looked six inches shorter than I remember him.

Koko Ware came out with the latest Frankie. He got a small reaction. George Steele came out and got no reaction. He started staring at Val, because 20 plus years ago he did a gimmick where he had the hots for Elizabeth, who Val was supposed to be. Then Sonjay Dutt came out. Can you believe they could have at least had their women all dressed up as bridesmaids and didn’t do it? No bridesmaids at all?”

That’s a great point from Meltzer…how did that get missed?

“ Lethal came out dressed like Randy Savage did in the 1991 wedding with Elizabeth. Fans so didn’t buy this. When the preacher asked to speak now or forever hold your piece, the fans started screaming. Sonjay Dutt then tried to stop the wedding, saying he loved Val and she should marry him. She started crying.

Dutt attacked Lethal with a part of the set-up of the ceremony. Dutt laid out Ace Young, and then brawled with Kamala and Ware until Jake pulled out a snake and Kamala got spooked. Steele then climbed into the ring and ate a turnbuckle. In Memphis, it was the local wrestling and local stars who are their nostalgia, not the WWF from the 80s. I figured that would be a problem. The real problem was this was just bad in every way. I don’t think people want wrestling to be a spoof of wrestling. Well, these people didn’t.”

This wasn’t good was it Jeff? How did this miss so bad?

Meltzer would say this would kill the crowd for a lot of the AJ Styles beating Kurt Angle match and it took a while for them to get going…are AJ & Kurt pissed watching this backstage knowing it’s an uphill battle?

“Styles did his running flip dive and Angle didn’t catch him at all. Instead Styles landed on the back of Angle’s head. I don’t know how much was selling and how much was real, but I thought Angle was a

goner. But he got back in. At another point Styles reversed a superplex and dropped Angle forward off the top, and Angle landed badly. He looked like he killed himself again. But he came back with two German suplexes.Styles did the Pele kick but Angle got his foot on the ropes. Styles tried the Styles clash but Angle reversed it into an ankle lock. Styles escaped. Karen Angle came out with a chair and they teased her giving the chair to Kurt and double-crossing Styles. But as Kurt grabbed the chair, she wouldn’t let go. Even in his condition, that was a stretch thinking Kurt couldn’t win a tug of war for a chair with Karen. Styles jumped into a sunset flip on Angle, and then turned it into the Styles clash for the pin. The crowd was flat for the first half of the match. I think it was a combination of the wedding segment being so bad and Angle just looked out of it so didn’t connect with the crowd. But they had the crowd strong at the end.

Observer ***3/4

Torch ***½

The condition of Kurt Angle was also scary. Angle’s arms looked tiny. He had a look that scared me, because he was going to have a good match no matter what, but he had a vacant tunnel vision look in his eyes that a lot of fans could even sense. At one point, when A.J. Styles did a dive over the top and landed with his leg right on Kurt’s neck and then Kurt’s head hit the concrete, I was afraid of a serious injury. He worked the next day, but he needs more time off. The worst part, is in the last two months, when mired in the repetitive and currently planned never-ending feud with his wife, nobody has lost more steam than Angle. It’s a major long-term program and perhaps the payoff will be worth it, but thus far it’s presenting him in a way that means no money.”

Jeff - what can you tell us about this match, Kurt’s condition, and everything involved?

“6. Samoa Joe retained the TNA title in the King of the Mountain match in 19:49 over Booker T, Christian, Rhino and Robert Roode.

The rules are that if you score a pin, then you are eligible to take the belt and climb a ladder and hang it, kind of like a reverse ladder match. The guy who is pinned is then put in the penalty box for two minutes. It’s become a TNA specialty but TNA has failed to get any of its gimmick matches over to where they are like Hell in a Cell or the Elimination Chamber. Ultimate X is at least over in that all the TNA fans know the rules, but it’s not like it adds anything extra. The finish saw Booker grab the belt and hit Nash, Rhino, Joe, Roode and Christian. He was climbing when Nash came in and power bombed Booker off the ladder. This was the spot to give Booker the valid complaint that he had the match won if it wasn’t for Nash. Roode then climbed but Joe gave him a jumping kick, and then a muscle buster to pin him, and finally make him eligible. Joe then got the belt and climbed the ladder to win. Good match. Only problem is the TV King of the Mountain match that aired a few days earlier was actually better.

Observer & Torch both ***½”

Did this match help anyone do you think?

From the Observer

“The good news is that TNA’s booking has done a good job of building a confrontation that is leading to a world title match. I don’t know if it’s bad news, but that match is Samoa Joe vs. Kevin Nash. When it will take place is unknown, but the company’s major show of the year is Bound for Glory.

It’ll be the company’s Chicago debut on 10/12 at the Sears Center. They have been wanting to do a PPV in Chicago for a year. That’s a long time to hold off because the match is almost as ready as it’ll ever be. The next PPV is 7/13 in Houston, which is Victory Road, with Joe vs. Booker T for the title in a match where I’d expect Booker to be wildly cheered because of his being local and will probably be the top draw on the show. The show also includes the World X Cup finals, which at last word was going to be two different multiple-person gimmick matches”

You’re looking long term for the short term win wasn’t great was it?

The show is voted a critical success by the Observer readers - with 61% voting thumbs up?

Sadly…there’s a tragedy after the show Jeff. From the Observer

“One man was killed and another injured seriously as they were breaking down after the show.

Kevin Sinex, a crew member brought in from Orlando was working on breaking down a metal backdrop and taking down the lights about 25 to 30 feet off the ground when the scaffolding collapsed and he was killed. A second worker from the Memphis area, Paul Martin, lost his thumb in the accident.

“He was standing on some kind of beam, taking down the lights, when the beam collapsed,” said DeSoto County Coroner Jeff Pounders to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

The accident took place at about 11:20 p.m., some 25 minutes or so after the PPV ended. Almost everyone had left. There were maybe five wrestlers left and they heard a large crash. When going to the scene, it looked terrible, with a lot of blood everywhere and people attempting to revive Sinex, 45, through both CPR and shocking, but it appeared there was no way he could be saved. He was rushed to the hospital where they couldn’t revive him.

Dixie Carter had already left for the U.K. to do advance work on this week’s tour so made no statement but it left the crew extremely depressed going into television the next two days.”

Jeff - what a horrible tragedy. What can you tell us about what you remember about it, the crew member who died tragically, and how you were effected by this?

How shaken up were you and the office?

Do you remember anyone in particular not being able to deal with it?