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

Let’s go back 15 years to another time for another company as the growth of the company continues and we’ll discuss that, some growing pains, and the company’s first pay-per-view in the Northeast!

We left off our journey 15 years ago by talking about Sting hitting Samoa Joe with a bat in his title defense against Booker T in Houston at Victory Road just two weeks ago…

The show - Hard Justice itself - was the first pay-per-view for TNA in the northeast - coming from Trenton, New Jersey and the Sovereign Bank Arena. Why do you think it took so long to break into pay-per-view in the Northeast? Is it cost related, WWE related…chat me up.

The story of what Sting is doing is really the focus of the company, and everything around it. It would also involve Booker T, TNA Champion Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash as well. Booker left with the title belt it self at Victory Road and declared himself the new champion on Impact the next week before Cornette interrupted and demanded the title back and scheduled a rematch for Hard Justice. Do you think you needed to run Samoa Joe vs. Booker back again?

Joe is in a suit for one of the first times I can remember for this promo - do you think it was important for him to change his look at this time?

Regarding Sting - in his Impact recap - Wade Keller would write this:

“They went to Mike Tenay and Don West at ringside. West asked why Sting did what he did at Victory Road. Why is this so hard to figure out? Sting wanted Joe to stop acting like a punk–ass baby with a temper he can’t control, and he felt Joe disrespecting him when he pretended to listen to him only to turn back to the ring and attacked Booker some more. So Sting hit Joe with the baseball bat after the match was already called off, stopping Joe who was so hot–headed he didn’t even know what he was doing anymore. Sting acted rational and stopped someone who was acting against his better interests and potentially doing serious harm to his opponent after the match. That’s not controversy. Sorry, TNA bookers, but as a viewer, there’s nothing intriguing about what Sting did. What he did made sense. Joe is the guy everyone should be worried about, because his actions—not Sting—were totally out of the context of how a sane, admirable champion would act.”

When it’s put that way - do you see how Sting might’ve had a hard time getting over as a heel? Or were we not there yet in the story?

There’s a segment where Beer Money & Jackie attacked people in the production truck. This never really does anything to help anybody get over does it - because how does the show continue if everyone in the production truck is knocked out? Is this a bro moment?

We’d also see Team 3D and Kurt Angle step out of a limo with Angle dressed as Sting. Was Team 3D ever considered for the Main Event Mafia?

How’s this for a TV segment:

“Jim Cornette was surrounded by a room full of yelling Knockouts. He yelled at the top of his lungs that he wanted everyone quiet. He then announced a ten–woman gauntlet match. As they continued to chatter, he said he hopes none of them are married because their husbands ought to commit suicide. (That was just way too heavy a statement. More evidence in continuing pattern that the writers and others in TNA have serious issues with women, and it’s not an appealing program to watch unless you also completely hate all women because people on all sides talk as if it’s a given women are all the same.) Cornette said the winner of the gauntlet match tonight will face Taylor next week for the title. He shoed them away disrespectfully. “Women, women,” uttered Cornette.”

Man this didn’t age well did it? Velvet Sky would win the gauntlet by the way. What did you think of her at this time?

AJ Styles, Christian & Rhino interrupt a segment with Team 3D and Angle where Angle is promoting Sting being with them and finally turning on the fans. It would lead to another rematch from Victory Road - this time in a six man tables match. Your two biggest matches from the last pay-per-view will be the two biggest matches for this pay-per-view. Is that a tough sell?

The Dutt - Lethal - So Cal Val story continues as Dutt continues to make Jay look like an inept fool and for Val to question the relationship. Did this go on for too long in your mind?

Beer Money has a heavy segment where they whip fans in the front row and even Hector Guerrero to build to LAX running out for the save. You got a lot of strong heels…but not a lot of strong babyfaces. Was TNA a heel terrority in your mind?

This edition of Impact would end with Booker T defeating Consequences Creed in a stretcher match before Samoa Joe would save and shove Booker into the ambulance…and it would draw a 1.05 rating with an average audience of 1.5 million viewers. You have to be happy with the amount of eyes on the product at this point don’t you?

The next week on Impact - the reaction to Joe is less than stellar when he challenges Booker T to face him in a six sides of steel match. Was there a fear that the booking of Joe was turning him more into a heel?

Karen’s Angle first segments features Kaz and his on and off again time in TNA - his very short run in WWE - before returning back to TNA. Why did this segment with Karen come to be and what do you think of her in this role?

Beer Money defeat the Motor City Machine Guns in a strap match which leads to Shelley & Sabin getting hit with the straps a lot. Were you still in punishment mode with MCMG at this point for not bleeding - or were you over it by now and this is just furthering the story with LAX?

There’s a segment where Taylor Wilde beats Velvet Sky 3 times in a row…did you feel that the Beautiful People gimmick was getting over big time at this point?

Daivari would be rechristened as Sheik Abdul Bashir. What did you think of this change in his gimmick?

There’s a 6-man on this Impact where AJ Styles & Christian & Rhino lose to Team 3D & Kurt Angle…which is a rematch of their match on the pay-per-view…and this time it’s a tables match…in prep for their 6 man at the pay-per-view. Is this all too much of them working with each other to make it mean something?

Frank Trigg interferes and hits AJ Styles with a kendo stick in this match as well. What did you think of Trigg and his progress coming along and did you see more of Trigg being in the ring?

There’s a contract signing that takes place between Booker & Joe where the lights go out and Joe is laid out with Sting’s bat on his chest…and the show is a success. The rating grows again to a 1.11. What do you think was clicking for TV audiences for TNA at this time?

There’s some controversy that we touched on in our last episode that is explained further in the Observer.

“A large part of the reason Bob Ryder is replacing Bill Behrens in booking talent to outside promotions is because TNA is trying to get everyone working out of the Nashville office, which has recently expanded. Behrens is based in Atlanta and is unwilling to move. Rich Baker, the company’s live event promoter, is based in Stamford (he worked for years under Ed Cohen in WWF) but we’re told he’s good enough at his job and they don’t have

anyone in Nashville who can replace him, so that he most likely won’t be forced into making the decision to move or leave.”

Jeff - chat me up about Ryder replacing Behrens, the shift in locations…and who Rich Baker is and what he did for the company.

With the video game coming out through Midway - not all is great right now…

From the Observer

“TNA has no financial stake in the development of their videogame for Midway. Interesting also is that there is no blood in the game, except some blood drops in the ring. Things don’t look good for Midway as the Los Angeles development house that was producing the TNA game has been shut down, with a majority of the employees, including everyone working on the TNA game, being given a chance to stay with the company but move to the San Diego office. The public reason given was the move makes it easier for the TNA team to work with the San Diego office. This is said to not affect the release date of the game, scheduled for late this year. Midway is counting for big numbers from the game, which many question. Their belief is not only they would get the TNA television audience, but people from the pro wrestling genre who are looking for something new as opposed to the WWE product. That’s where they may be overshooting, because for years people look at the big dog (WWE, UFC) and think that if we just can get 10% of their fans to cross over, we’ll be healthy, but in the real world, that doesn’t happen.”

How worried were you about the issues with Midway and what was your deal with them?

What would’ve been a success for the video game in your mind?

“Savio Vega has been talked with about being an agent with Scott D’Amore leaving. The company agents are Jim Cornette, Glenn Gilbertti and Pat Kenney, with Kenney handling most of the house shows. Savio Vega is being talked about as a replacement for D’Amore. Vega would be tight with Dutch Mantel in particular because of all the years Mantel worked and booked in Puerto Rico. People rave about Cornette but the problem is he’s only there for mostly TVs and stuff in Orlando as he won’t go on the road. Also, when there are PPVs in a different city than Orlando, which is most of the time now, he won’t go to the PPVs because he refuses to fly.”

Why Savio at this point? Were you starting to pressure Jim to start traveling?

The go-home Impacts are taped…and man there’s a lot of news to get into…but let’s talk about TV first…

The story is the contract that Joe signed was for Six Sides of Steel with weapons against Booker. DID WE REALLY NEED WEAPONS IN THE CAGE?

The 6-man that was supposed to happen is changed now to Team 3D taking on Rhino & Christian for a New Jersey Street Fight. Any idea why it was moved from the 6-man to everyone working separately?

Machismo, Shark Boy & Curry Man defeat Johnny Devine, Jimmy Rave & Lance Rock…now known as Lance Hoyt and afterwards Machismo proposes to So Cal Val again…but he notices that the ring is gone from her hand and that it was stolen by Dutt while he was in the hospital. Everyone in this story played their roles great didn’t they?

There’s a video package of Booker & Joe along with Sting…and Wade Keller is negative on the story.

“–Tenay and West talked about how Joe seems convinced Sting has turned on him. They’ve written Joe to look like a total idiot in this storyline, not to mention a hothead with the temperament of a four year old and the deductive skills of a simpleton.”

Do you think that’s a fair assessment of Joe in this story?

Booker & Joe brawl in a cage while Nash holds the door shut. Sharmell tries to break in and Nash carries her to the back - while a baseball bat drops and Joe is distracted and Booker uses the bat to take advantage. Was Joe happy with his creative at this point do you remember?

Kurt and AJ come back together again about how AJ is still sleeping with Karen. What is your relationship like at this point with Karen?

From the Torch recap of this Impact:

“–In part two of “Karen’s Angle” interview with Kaz, he talked about returning to TNA after a hiatus. He talked about earning a title shot against Angle by beating Christian in a ladder match. He said he’s made the best of his opportunities in TNA. Karen asked about him losing the Ultimate X match. He said he feels guilt for letting down his company. Karen said it was a team, not just him. She asked him about his future. He said it’s better to burn out than fade away. He said before this interview he met with TNA management and said that as of this interview he is no longer on the TNA roster. He said he made the choice to walk away. He held back tears and said he has to see what’s out there for him. He thanked the wrestlers and fans, but said he has to focus on himself now. Karen said she’s sorry he made that decision and maybe over time he’ll reconsider because there will be “a lot of saddened fans.” She got up and hugged him.

–Tenay said cameras kept rolling after Kaz left the set. Tomko walked in and began throwing around the table on the set. He said her husband sent him in to make her life a living hell. Karen shouted for someone to help her.”

This whole story seems almost full circle all these years later with Kaz back in Impact. But the Tomko beat up…leads to Matt Morgan squashing Sal Rinuaro and Tomko coming out and getting killed by Matt Morgan too. From the Observer:

“Tomko quit the promotion at the 7/29 tapings. Things started to go bad for him when he had all that momentum for a babyface turn, and then to swerve the audience, they turned him back heel and he’s been pretty much dead ever since. He hurt himself in the eyes of the company a few months back when he missed a fan fest the day before a PPV to take a date with the Inoki Genome Federation in Japan, even though he was told by management not to go. He was suspended for 30 days and his push was cut way back from there. Because he lives at a high standard, money is of major concern he was always visibly disappointed if he wasn’t booked on a TV. He felt he could be used better and came in and quit. He’s booked for the 8/15 IGF show at Sumo Hall. WWE has been interested in him ever since he started getting over in TNA. He left WWE on good terms, telling them he would rather go to Japan and up his game and come back in a few years than stay in WWE and flounder and not get as much ring time to improve. Not sure of non-compete terms but it wouldn’t surprise me for him to end up in WWE.”

Jeff - chat me up about Tomko. Was he a miss? How did we get to this point?

This episode draws a 1.1 rating but 1.6 million viewers - and it’s a six month high for the show…

But the main event segment features Gail Kim & Taylor Wilde taking on the Beautiful People.

From the Torch

Kim dropkicked Taylor over in the midst of a sunset flip attempt leading to a roll–up victory for Taylor on Love.

WINNERS: Wilde & Kim in 9:00.

–Afterward, Kim and Wilde successfully fended off a post–match attack from the Beautiful People. That led to Awesome Kong coming out. Tenay said that is the surprise the Beautiful People promised. Kong double–clotheslined both Taylor and Kim, then Kong gave Awesome Bombs to both Taylor and Kim. ODB walked to the ring sipping on a bottle in a brown paper bag. She entered the ring and stared down Kong. Roxxi followed with a chair in hand. Kong backed out of the ring. They showed Traci standing on the ramp with a smile on her face.

–They went to Joe in the rafters. He was in a rage, yelling, “Sting! Sting!” The camera turned and showed a black crow in the rafter area.

Do you credit the rating to the knockouts being in the main event spot?

It is also reported that Tomko wasn’t the only person to walk out of the tapings:

“Nash walked out on the tapings as well. He has a creative control deal where he has to

approve of whatever they book for him in his contract. He was booked on the 7/29 show

(airing 8/7) for a weapons gauntlet (Royal Rumble) match as well as an interview. He was already mad at TNA because at the 7/13 Victory Road show, he had scheduled a vacation until 7/15 figuring he wasn’t booked on the PPV in Houston. Then he got called that he had to be on the PPV, so he had to cut his vacation short two days, and when he got there, his only segment was that deal where he told Joe he had his back and Joe told him that not under any circumstances. Anyway, he saw the script of the show, first got mad that it was a weapons match because he doesn’t like being in weapons matches. A constant complaint within the company is there are too many weapons matches, and even more so now because what is the point of doing a weapons gauntlet match on free TV when you are selling a PPV that includes a weapons cage match, a weapons street fight, a last man standing match and a chain match. Then he saw he was being eliminated third, was going to be eliminated during a commercial break, and figured that since he at least at this point is supposed to main event the September PPV against Joe, that none of that made any sense. There were stories that he was also mad at how he was going to be eliminated, but the impression I had is that the script he saw only mentioned B.G. James, Lance Rock and Nash as the first three guys out, all during the first commercial break of the match. He said he wasn’t doing it and went home. While that would have been it for 90% of the people on the roster, obviously he knew he’d get away with it. And even people who aren’t enamored with Nash were not criticizing him for this one. It appears this idea stemmed from that story from a few weeks back about Vince McMahon being mad at how Michael Cole went to a break would make people think a match can’t end during a break since they never do. Russo saw that as one of those things that never happens in wrestling, so he wanted to do it. But instead of having one guy eliminated, if one is good, then three must be better.”

Jeff - chat me up about the issues with Nash and do you think he was in the right here?

What were the differences between Tomko & Nash’s situations?

Did you talk to Kevin about this? Would this had blown up a lot of plans?

It seems like everyone is telling Dave & Wade the issues in the company…

“Some in management were of the belief part of the reason the talent was so mad at creative is because they did a three-day house show run before the two days of TV, so this was five straight nights on the road so people were grumpier than usual, although Nash was not on the road for that tour (Tomko was). There was more grumbling across the board about creative this past week than any time in a long time. Some of it came out publicly, some was behind the scenes and some was just an unspoken lack of confidence. Besides the stuff with Tomko and Kevin Nash that blew up, there were the complaints about too many stipulation matches and weapons matches for no reason, and too many super hero segments with the Prince Justice league. However, the belief is no change is going to be made, both because the company isn’t in dire straits financially and because there is nobody on the outside that Dixie Carter would know to make the change to. One of the biggest complaints is that Samoa Joe as world champion is supposed to be the company’s top babyface but he’s being booked as a whining complainer. The joke is that if it was another company like WCW, you’d think they were booking him to fail to prove a point, but here, nobody thinks that because they just believe Russo doesn’t know how to book a main event babyface. But there is concern that Joe isn’t as over as a face the past month or so the way they want him to be, but then again, after watching A.J. Styles cut the promo on Sting on TV, neither was he.”

This is always going to happen in times isn’t it?

With all that’s going on backstage…in the office things are expanding…

“As part of the office expansion, they have a nearly completed 20,000-square foot TV studio in Nashville, which will include in-house DVD production, stand-up sets, a place to house the tape library and merchandise. The new set-up should be ready in September and October and they’ll do a lot of pre-tapes during the week in the studio. They’ve added new office space in the building they lease as well. The company is doing very well financially to the point they are now paying Panda Energy back on the tens of millions they put into the company the first few years before it started breaking even.”

How did this come to be?

Was this the first time Panda was making its money back like Meltzer says here?

“Mike Weber was hired as Vice President of Marketing. Weber worked for WWF and WCW in the 90s in marketing and communications and has a lot of experience working with the cable companies. He was WCW’s PPV guy at one point. After WCW folded, he went to work on the Monster Trucks tour.”

Mike Weber - your friend & mine. Where is the money for him to come in and how did this come to be?

The go-home Impact features the hard sell for the pay-per-view and Mike Tenay would hype it as the most violent, hardcore pay-per-view of the year and the TV show was based around that…do you agree with that line of thinking?

Sonjay takes on Curry Man on this show…and well I’ll let the Torch recap spell it out for you…

“Val walked out and yelled at Dutt about wanting her ring. It distracted Dutt briefly, but he came back with a quick win using his feet on the ropes for leverage. Dutt gave Curry a low blow afterward.

WINNER: Dutt in 2:00.

–Val asked Dutt for her ring. Dutt denied any wrongdoing. As he walked to the back, Shark Boy cut him off and knocked him back into the ring. Super Eric joined in and press–slammed Dutt in a “feat of superhero strength.” In a televised wrestling first, one wrestler (Super Eric) reached down the front of the tights of another (Dutt). He pulled out (drum roll...) the missing ring. West said apparently he used his super vision to see the ring. Or he wasn’t expecting to find a ring. Val was heartbroken. She cried and had a tantrum. Dutt said when she visited him at the hospital, the ring fell into his hospital bed. He said he picked it up and had it ever since, under his pillow every night before he went to bed. He said perhaps subconsciously he felt she dropped it on purpose as a signal that she was going to leave Jay. He said it was wishful thinking on his part. She screeched, “Why did you not give it back to me?” Dutt said she knows how he feels about her. He said he’s absolutely thrilled she got it back. Val accepted a hug from Dutt. Dutt mouthed, “Wow!” as if to say, “I can’t believe this dummy believed that load of crap.”

This…this is something Jeff isn’t it?

After the main event featured Awesome Kong the week before - segment #4 features Kong…

“5 –– AWESOME KONG vs. SALINAS

WINNER: Kong in 0:20.

–After the match, the Beautiful People mocked Salinas in the ring, then said she knows ODB, Kim, and Taylor are watching in the back. Angelina Sky called for Kong to continue the beating on Salinas. She gave her an Implant Buster. Sky then brought a chair into the ring. Kong set up an Awesome Bomb, but Kim ran out to make the save. Taylor and ODB followed behind her. They cleared the ring of the heels. West said the brawl is a preview of what fans can see at Hard Justice. Kong, though, came back by meeting Taylor flying off the top rope with a hard clothesline. As she set up an Awesome Bomb, Abyss’s music played. He came to the rescue again. Kong stepped back and stared down Abyss as he walked to the ring. They went to face to face in the ring. Ryesha Saeed stepped between them and talked Kong out of the ring. Then she slapped Abyss. Abyss took a few deep breaths as Saeed made the odd choice to remain in the ring. Abyss reached down and picked up a chair. Saeed continued to inexplicably just stand there shaking. When he lifted the chair, she finally bailed out. West covered for the odd decision of Saeed to just stand there by saying she must’ve been in shock for a minute there, but then snapped out of it. When a security officer entered the ring, Abyss gave him a Black Hole Slam. Tenay said once again the Monster came to the rescue.”

Did this help Abyss at all? Was this just trying to fit him on to the show?

In the go-home segment…why Kevin Nash walked out…

“6 –– KURT ANGLE & TOMKO & KIP JAMES & BOOKER T vs. A.J. STYLES & SAMOA JOE & MATT MORGAN & B.G. JAMES—Weapons Gauntlet Match

Jeremy Borash stood mid–ring and explained the ridiculously long list of rules and stips for this match. The first two in the ring were Angle and Styles. Styles went after Angle as soon as the bell rang. Angle turned the tide with a trash can shot. At 2:00 Morgan and Tomko entered the match. Morgan swung at Tomko with a chair, but Tomko blocked it with a board. Tomko retreated. Morgan chased him all the way to the back. Angle catapulted Styles into a chair propped in the corner.

B.G. James and Kip James came out next. Angle cut himself when his skull ran into the ladder. The blood flowed out of his head big–time, creating quite a puddle in the ring. It was nasty. Medics checked on him right away, but he was fine to continue. Joe and Booker came out next as Styles hit Angle with Pele Kick. Joe brought his Chinese Yo–Yo weapon with him. Booker brought Sting’s black baseball bat.”

I mean…there’s a lot going on here. Angle is eliminated first…then AJ…eventually Booker gets thrown out by Joe and it comes down to Tomko and Joe before Joe gets the win with a muscle buster. This was how we were getting rid of Tomko right?

“–After the match, Joe said at Hard Justice “the champ

comes for his belt.” He said after he’s done with Booker, Sting is next. Sting’s music then played. West wondered if he’d finally show up. The lights went out. How does Sting do that??? The spotlights flickered in strobe–fashion, then Joe saw an image of Sting in the rafters. Joe pointed up at him with his Chinese Yo–Yo.”

IT’S A CHINESE YO-YO! WHAT ARE WE DOING JEFF?

The go-home Impact gets a 1 rating but it drew the highest 18-49 male rating since it expanded to two hours. These are all positive moves and growth for the company is it not?

Now before we get to the pay-per-view the Observer would say this:

“Regarding what happens with Sting, the decision hasn’t been made. Usually TNA plans things well in advance, but in this case, Russo wants to turn Sting heel because it’s the double swerve. He has everyone like the announcers and Styles and Joe going so strong that Sting is going heel that he thinks the fans will then believe, for sure, he’s not turning, so he can swerve them by turning him. Russo discussed this with Sting in Houston at the PPV, and Sting wasn’t on board when it was over. If Russo can convince him to go heel, he will. If not, he won’t. The fact Russo turned him heel once before in WCW, and it was such a flop that nobody booed him and three weeks later he was back as a face without even a turn back doesn’t matter. Worse, the TNA TV crowd consists of 70% people who are tourists from out of town who don’t regularly watch the TV show, so getting them to

boo Sting won’t be easy, and among the other 30% who are the regulars, there is also the chance they’ll just reject the turn because Sting not being a regular, his being there is seen as special.”

Where did you stand on this? Was it Russo’s?

We’re at the show in New Jersey - and the show draws…35,000 buys. It’s 10,000 more buys than last month and 10,000 more than last year…is that considered a success?

From the Observer

It was the usual TNA fare on 8/10 for the Hard Justice PPV, with a good action show that ended flat due to a number of reasons including the most elementary of booking errors.

“Going into the show, it looked on paper like there were too many weapons matches, particularly coming off a television show which pushed a needless weapons match. And guess what? After too many gimmicks underneath, when main eventers Samoa Joe and Booker T had their title match and it was built on weapons shots, nobody cared.

But I could never call it a bad show, since it was loaded with good matches, including a Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles falls count anywhere match that was one of the best PPV matches of the year.

The show drew 3,500 fans to the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ, another figure that has to be considered disappointing. TNA now has a policy that they will no longer paper PPV events, feeling it’s not good long-term business. That would make sense if they were running cities six times a year, because if you give away a ton of tickets in a market, you have a hell of a time selling them in the future. For cities they come to once or less per year, it doesn’t matter. At the same time, TNA giving away tickets isn’t going to get that many extra people there as a niche product like that would be lucky to get 50% of the freebies to come. And if they aren’t showing majestic full lit up arena shots on television, it doesn’t matter if the seats aren’t full anywhere but on camera.”

Was the draw disappointing in your mind? Was it too much gimmick and weapons matches looking back?

“The show opened with rappers Grandmaster Caz and F.I.L.T.H.E.E. rapping while Mel E.

Mel was running around with his shirt off flexing. Ice-T no-showed. He had worked the

night before on a pro wrestling show believe it or not, for ICP and with weather problems, his original flight was out. Luckily Kevin Nash was on the same show and got out of town in time. First they got word Ice-T was landing at 7:30 p.m. and were going to move the rappers away from the opening segment, but then they found out he wouldn’t arrive until much later so the show went on without him. I don’t know that anyone missed him. While this served no purpose, putting it on before the opener didn’t hurt the show at all.”

Were you disappointed Ice-T couldn’t make it because he worked for ICP the night before?

Do you think they added anything to the show?

1. Petey Williams pinned Consequences Creed in 12:30 to keep the X title. Very good opener. Rhaka Khan interfered with a high kick right in front of the ref. Williams did his plancha into a huracanrana spot that he does in almost every match. Crowd was cheering for Williams. Good match, but they got carried away doing flips and it was feeling redundant. They went to near falls and the crowd was very into it. Creed used his Cree-DT and a legdrop off the top for near falls. Khan tried to interfere again, but Creed got her up and used the fireman’s carry into a diamond cutter (TKO). Back to allowing violence by men on tall African-American women who can’t work. Finish saw Sheik Abdul Bashir (Shawn Daivari) hit Creed in the back with a chair and Williams got the pin with the Canadian Destroyer. The plan is for a three-man feud over the X title.

Observer ***1/4

Torch ***”

Are you happy with Petey and the X division at this point in time?

“2. Taylor Wilde & Gail Kim & ODB beat Angelina Love & Velvet Sky & Awesome Kong in 11:27. Traci Brooks was the ref. Velvet Sky tried to spray disinfectant where ODB was. ODB got the spray can and then sprayed herself in the crotch. Match was fine until Kong and Kim got in and they are just great working together. Wilde pinned Love with a front rolling cradle.

Observer ***

Torch **¼”

I mean…they draw such a high rating and here we are the second match on the card. Is that a disappointment to the women do you think?

“3. Robert Roode & James Storm (Beer Money, Inc.) Beat Homicide & Hernandez to win the TNA tag titles in 14:15.

At one point the idea was for Homicide to have a patch over his eye in selling going through the glass table on Impact, but instead, he decided to just have a bandage around the eye. Highlight was Roode & Storm outside the ring and Hernandez border tossed Homicide over the top rope way out of the ring onto both guys. That takes one hell of a lot of trust, plus Roode & Storm were pretty far away so Hernandez had to really throw Homicide out there. Jacqueline hit Hernandez with a low blow outside the ring. Salinas went after Jacqueline and Hector Guerrero was trying to pull them a part. While this was going on, Storm hit Homicide with a beer bottle. It was a mess up as he hit the left side of the head when the injury that was supposed to cause the downfall was on the right side. Storm pinned Homicide to win the belts.

Observer ***1/2

Torch **”

This is about to be the run of Beer Money so this looks good now as a title starting off point - but the match just didn’t connect did it?

“4. Jay Lethal pinned Sonjay Dutt in 11:14 in a black tie brawl and chain match. This was one of those ridiculous matches with stips nobody knew ahead of time. I guess they were announced on TV, but it’s not like anyone in the arena or at home had a clue until the match started. They were dressed in tuxedos with black ties and had a chain match, where you could win by tearing off the clothes of the opponent. The problem was, the whole idea of a chain match is to wrap your fist with the chain, hit your opponent and have them bleed. But the company didn’t want any blood on the undercard to save it for the main event. They’d have done better not having any stips and weapons on the undercard and save that for the main event. They did a lot of comedy spots with the chain. Match ended with a Lethal combination followed by an elbow off the top. Crowd crapped on the match even though the guys worked hard, particularly when they were tearing each others’ clothes. Lots of “Fire Russo” chants because the stip ruined the match.

Observer **1/4

Torch *¼”

Is this just a terrible spot for these guys to be in?

“Booker T did a promo and he said that Joe was a backyard trailer park independent level worker, using that term. Yep, about the company’s world champion.”

I mean what are we doing here Jeff?

“5. Christian Cage & Rhino beat Team 3-D in a New Jersey street fight in 15:22.

Tons of weapons shots. There was even an “ECW” chant in there as well as lots of “TNA” chants. It was an interesting crowd. They were very into the match, but it wasn’t the match as much as popping for the hard loud sounding weapons shots to the head using tables, ladders, chairs, steps and signs. But when there would be a near fall, the crowd wouldn’t be into that. You could tell they wanted a stunt show and winning or losing wasn’t much

cared about. They kept chanting for tables, since they could see three of them brought from under the ring long before they came into play. Finish saw Christian do a frog splash off the top of an 8-foot-ladder on Bubba. As Bubba got up, Rhino gored him into a table. The table didn’t break fully, although it cracked. Because of the table not fully breaking, it was a flat finish. Johnny Devine came out after the match and hit Christian and Rhino with kendo sticks. This brought out Abyss, who laid out Devine with a black hole slam.

Torch *1/2 (Observer rating missing)”

Was it the crowd that hurt this or was it something else in your mind? Is it tough to follow all the gimmicks in the beginning or the Dutt - Jay match?

“6. A.J. Styles beat Kurt Angle in a last man standing match at 24:50.

This was like an old- school Texas death match. The first fall ended at 17:37 when Angle went for the Styles clash, but Styles reversed out of it and got the ankle lock. Angle tapped out, with the explanation being because of the multiple falls, it makes sense to tap out easier because you don’t want to take punishment that would keep you from losing the match. Angle used a low blow and four German suplexes, but Styles got up. Angle won the second fall in 21:33 with a German superplex. Angle won the third fall with an Angle slam in 22:05. Angle tried an Angle slam on Styles, but Styles kicked out. They were brawling outside the ring and Angle did a flip dive off the entrance ramp onto Styles. But back in the ring, Styles won the fourth fall, making it 2-2, when Styles used the Styles clash. Finish saw both men standing on the top rope, but and Styles brought Angle back in with a DDT from the top rope to the floor at 24:21. Angle then couldn’t answer the bell to start the sixth fall and Styles was ruled the winner. Angle was put on a stretcher, but Styles knocked him off the stretcher and gave him a suplex on the ramp. Then the lights went out and it was Sting giving Styles a scorpion death drop (reverse DDT). It should be noted that Styles claimed he and Sting had talked and everything was water under the bridge. Nash started yelling at Sting for attacking Styles.

Observer ****1/4

Torch ****”

The swerve of Sting coming out and doing this - it’s just such a great match. Why couldn’t it had a straight ending and not Sting coming out?

“7. Samoa Joe beat Booker T in 12:44 to keep the World title in a cage match with the cage filled with weapons.

Numbing weapons shots. Garbage cans, lids, chair shots. Joe bled after a chair shot. Booker choked Joe with an ax handle. Joe used a diamond cutter off the top rope. Crowd was flat from following the prior matches plus using the weapons killed building anything in the match. Again, they popped for noise of shots to the head, but not really for the match itself. Booker used an ax kick, but then the lights went out. When they came back on, suddenly Joe had a guitar and clocked Booker with it to take the title. The place didn’t pop, partially because it’s been a long time since Jarrett was on TV and a lot of people never made the connection. Booker woke up and sold the guitar like he was freaking out.

Observer **1/2

Torch **3/4

Both the positives and negatives were predictable on the show. Booker was cheered more than Joe, given the job the company has done unintentionally undermining Joe’s title run as a babyface. Because the Christian & Rhino vs. Team 3-D match went a little long, and Angle vs. Styles went several minutes long, Joe vs. Booker was a rushed match where the finish came with no build. The guitar is to signify the return of Jeff Jarrett, although live, nobody got that. On television, this was an angle that was sold like the angle of all angles, although it was one of those, “Is that what we think it is? Is he back?” without mentioning who “he” was. I think if there are any new TNA fans from the last year plus, they wouldn’t have known, but any long-term TNA fans wouldn’t have to be told it was Jarrett.”

Do you think you were off TV too long for this to work? Was Joe & Booker screwed by the Angle & AJ match for running too long?

What do you think of the show looking back? Did you have the feeling how hot the product was about to get?