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Turning Point 2008
Date: November 9, 2008
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 1,100
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay
This is in the beginning of the Main Event Mafia which had officially formed about two and a half weeks earlier. Its Stings first major title event against the head of the TNA Frontline: AJ. Other than that the biggest match is probably Nash vs. Joe which was a feud based off Joe being the protégé of Nash and then Nash of course turning on him and costing him the world title. This is also the last PPV appearance for Christian but thats fairly minor. Lets get to this lackluster looking show.
The opening segment is about the war between TNA and the Mafia with people asking why are the old guys getting so much money while the young guys do all of the work. It makes sense so I cant complain here.
The Mafia get out of the limo and all ignore JB other than the newest member: Scott Steiner, who talks about respect.
No pyro here which is odd.
Scratch that. They were just waiting for some reason. Wests voice has an echo which is kind of annoying.
X-Division Rankings Match
Consequences Creed, Sonjay Dutt, Petey Williams, Jimmy Rave, Volador, Eric Young, Doug Williams, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Homicide, Jay Lethal.
This is to determine the rankings. Its pinfall or submission rather than over the top. Creed has been here a few months and is a TNA original now. Sure why not. So all ten guys are in at once and its pin or submission. Yeah this isnt going to be a mess at all. Lethal is a big deal for some reason here. So if youre our first youre #10, second is 9 etc. OH! Ok so only two in the ring at a time but its lucha libre rules so if someone goes to the floor then another can come in. Well thats better so at least it wont be completely insane.
Im not even going to bother trying to keep up with who is in there so dont expect it. Dutt vs. Lethal at the moment which was a big feud a few months before this. Williams is a relative newcomer here and is fairly chubby. I mean Doug for that, which is irritating as hes in with Petey. Young is supposed to be a serious character here. Having ten guys out there is just way too much at once as its just spot after spot but that doesnt mean its not fun.
Volador and Lethal do a long sequence that doesnt actually do anything but at least it looked good. Dutt takes a top rope rana from Volador to be put out and made #10. I never got the appeal of Jimmy Rave. I cant remember a good match the guy had. Volador is pretty good though. Naturally this is his last match with the company. Rave takes him out with this weird neckbreaker thing.
Doug Williams comes in and beats up Rave, ending him with Chaos Theory in like a minute. As you can probably tell, this isnt really proving anything as its just a big mess. Homicide hits a big dive on two guys but bounces off the rail and slams into a wall. Hes taken out of the match since hes more or less out cold. There are six left and Ill let you guys figure out who those are.
Young hits a swanton bomb on Doug for two. Wow he looks weird doing that move. Everybody beats up Tanahashi and we get Petey vs. Creed. They do a lot of counters but Petey hits a running Canadian Destroyer to get rid of Creed. Wouldnt the afro block a lot of that? A Frog Splash gets rid of Petey like 30 seconds later. It was Tanahashi if you care for some reason.
So we have a Japanese guy, a British guy, an American and a Canadian. Not bad. The American (Lethal) gets rid of Tanahashi with a small package as this has lost anything close to structure of any kind. Young hits a neckbreaker on Williams to get us down to Young vs. Lethal. And out of nowhere a Northern Lights Suplex gets Young the win. Hes #1 contender now. The TNA guys come out and say that the Mafia needs to pay attention.
Rating: D. This was just a big mess. Its not horrible, but the problem comes down to the fact that with so many people in there at once and after the first pin there being maybe 90 seconds between falls, everything just became a big train wreck with everything doing their thing and no one being able to keep up with it.
We run down the card which we clearly wouldnt know before ordering the show right?
Foley and Jarrett are in the back with Lauren. Both are authority figures at this point which was overkill but who cares?
We recap the Knockouts tag match, which as they say is Kong vs. everyone else. At least theyre calling it what it is.
Awesome Kong/Raesha Saed vs. Taylor Wilde/Roxxi
Kong is the Knockouts Champion here. Saed is more commonly known as Cheerleader Melissa on the indy circuit. Its a simple formula here as the faces cant let Kong get in because they know shell kill them. Thats a formula Ive been noticing more often lately and it works pretty well. They throw that out the window though as double teaming puts Kong down pretty easily. Rhaka Khan is at ringside too and her cheating turns things to the heels.
Kong gets a camel clutch on Roxxi who looks mildly annoyed. That was some of the worst selling I can remember in a long time. The fans chant for Roxxi. Naturally shes been released twice since this match so take that for whatever its worth. Wilde comes in and beats up Kong which is something she did on a regular basis. I never got that. Roxxi and Kong go to the floor and a German suplex on Saed beats the heels.
Rating: C-. Not bad here but this was back in the day when the division was still solid. There was an actual story going through the division at the time which was better than nothing. Kong was messed up by now though as her loss kind of crippled her credibility.
JB goes into the Mafias dressing room to try to talk to them again but Jarrett comes in instead. Angle calls Jarrett a has been and a pussy. Nash says its ok and for Jarrett to think about it from their perspective. Nash says the Mafia is the future. Ok then.
Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Rhyno
Bashir is the X Champion here but this isnt a title match for no apparent reason. A guy from the army does Rhynos intro. He won awards for wounds etc. Theres something not right about having an actual soldier introduce a guy called the War Machine but whatever. Bashir is the evil foreigner here so take a guess as to who the crowd is for.
Bashir takes the turnbuckle off because hes EVIL. The Insane Clown Posse is in the front row. Just dont let them talk. This was some kind of stupid invasion thing that their wrestling company was doing and it bombed completely.
Bashir goes after the clowns and no one cares. This is a very boring match. The Sheik is dominating but I just do not care. What is the appeal of Daivari? Ive never gotten that at all. There seems to be something wrong with the ring mic as there is almost no sound coming out of it.
Rhyno hits a decent belly to belly as he comes out. The fans want a Gore. Shane Sewell, the referee, gets involved here which had been an issue lately. It allows Rhyno to get the Gore for the pin. At least it wasnt that long.
Rating: D+. Just a bunch of nothing here. They were feuding but we werent told why or anything. This wasnt the worst match Ive ever seen but I just didnt care at all. Its not horrible but whatever. Bashir just isnt an interesting character period.
Foley is giving a pep talk to the Frontline but the Guns complain about him being a nobody. This was their heel turn I guess. Theres a near fight and what a coincidence: its time for the Guns match.
Tag Titles: Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns
One of the taglines things is will the Guns finally get the titles. Oh thats rich. Neither team has their current music so things are just ridiculously bland. Again they mention the Guns possibly winning the titles. Wow thats funny. So despite acting like heels in the back, they of course act like faces here. Could the psychology have been more messed up in TNA around this time?
The challengers of course are all over the place and getting a ton of damage in on Storm. Shelley reminds me of Miz a bit looks wise. ALL Guns here as Shelley hits a Lionsault for two. The champions take over as I think were going to be in for a long while here. Storm puts on his hat which of course makes him fail.
I love the missing the tag thing which is as basic as possible of a tag cheating tactic but it works every time and is perfectly legal. Shelley hits a combination Downward Spiral/DDT to get enough time for the hot tag to Sabin. The crowd is uncommonly quiet here. Damn the Guns are fun to watch.
Storm has been gone for a LONG time. Its a double team clinic from the Guns here and theyre completely dominating. Storm comes back in and botches what is now Madison Raynes move. The big Tower of Doom spot does nothing special at all as they kind of just fall backwards.
ASCS Rush to Roode but heres Jackie of course because we have to have the annoying bitch in there once at least. Storm spits Beer in Sabins eyes so that DWI can keep the belts for Beer Money. Yes the Guns lose again. Film at 11.
Rating: B-. Not bad here. This was another one of those matches where they let them do their thing and it worked for the most part, but at times the Guns offense gets so ridiculous that its a waste of time and takes away the point of it. Not bad, but nothing classic.
Booker is in his locker room and Sharmell says he has no comment. Hes more or less King Booker here and is annoying as ever.
We recap Booker vs. Christian. In short, its title vs. Christian goes into the Mafia. Booker just invented the title and its now evolved into the Global Title which is never defended.
Legends Title: Christian Cage vs. Booker T
These two work pretty well together so this should be fine. Its a very basic start which at times is the best thing you can do. Booker hits a nice superkick. We hear about a bunch of cities want to host TNA show and Genesis will be in Charlotte. I love hyperbole in wrestling.
The lack of mat noise is just weird to hear. Booker hits a top rope suplex and theres no noise at all. Its just off putting for lack of a better term. Both guys do each others stuff as we almost get a Canadian Spinarooni. This isnt particularly great but its going steady.
Christian gets a Texas Cloverleaf that Tenay, the Professor, calls a Sharpshooter. A Rock Bottom gets two for the Canadian. The Axe Kick misses and Booker rolls Christian up and uses the tights for the win. Christian would have to join the Mafia but he would get a huge beatdown instead and leave the company.
Rating: C-. This match felt incomplete. It wasnt great but at the end it just felt like there was supposed to be more. These two are both dependable and they put on a decent match out there. Nothing wrong with it, but it needed a few more minutes.
Abyss, neurotic as ever, says hell beat Angle. Morgan is his partner here.
And now we talk about Angle vs. Jarrett which isnt happening here. Jarrett beat Angle in his first match in like two years and Angle wants a rematch. This somehow started the Mafia. Abyss is more or less the barrier between Angle and Jarrett so the outcome of this really shouldnt be in doubt.
Kurt Angle vs. Abyss
This is Falls Count Anywhere. I kind of dig Angles music. Angle needs to stay away from the red and white stripe singlet. It just doesnt work for him. Abyss is in the prison suit thing and looks even stupider. Its all monster to start as you would expect.
Were in the crowd now and all Abyss can do is throw punches it seems. Angle gets a chair out of the front row. Great to see that someone got up and left in one of the biggest matches on the card. Angle does the running front flip off the stage onto Abyss that you see on a ton of TNA highlight reels.
It doesnt really matter as Abyss is dominating maybe 8 seconds later. West says Angle kicked Abyss in the nuts. That sounded odd. They go through a wall and are under the stage. Always good to see Angle do new stuff. The cameras lose them so we completely stop for a bit as they come through the other side of the wall.
Were back in the ring now as this has been your standard hardcore match so far. Angle Slam gets two of course. Why does everyone put the chair between the ropes like that? Angle gets chokeslammed for two. Angle actually hits the moonsault. Its just finisher to finisher now.
Speaking of which theres the ankle lock for just a second and it goes into the Black Hole Slam. I hate this part of matches most of the time. We head to the Spanish announce table and Angle goes up the scaffolding behind it. And there goes Abyss down through the table for the pin
Rating: B-. Not bad and it was intense, but this was really just your run of the mill hardcore match. Angle looked solid here but there was very limited drama. That forward flip though was great looking. The in ring stuff kind of sucked though and Abyss is just so limited its not even funny. Fun match though.
Joe talks about beating Nash.
We show Joe getting screwed by Nash to give the title to Sting in the weakest shock turn in a long time. This is of course more Mafia vs. Frontline.
Kevin Nash vs. Samoa Joe
Joe is big here but not incredibly fat which is a nice change of pace. Its a slugfest to start which is what you would expect I think. The tall guy (I cant really say big here as it would be confusing) is in trouble. West says some people think Joe is the best in the world. Find those people so I can smack them with a fish.
This is more of a brawl than a match but thats what a grudge match is supposed to be about. Nash goes to a toolbox as he harkens back to his Hell in a Cell days. That goes nowhere of course for no apparent reason. Joes shoulder goes into the post so Nash goes for his back. Sure why not.
The fat man makes a comeback and this is FAR more fast paced than you would expect it to be. A chair shot from Nash gets two. Jackknife gets two and Nash is STUNNED. A shot to the exposed buckle and Joe is busted open. ANOTHER Jackknife gets two. Joe gets an armbar out of nowhere and Nash is almost in trouble.
The referee goes down somewhere in there and Nash hits a low blow. That and the feet on the ropes get the pin. I kind of get that but at the same time I kind of dont.
Rating: B. Thats likely high but I really liked this. Nash has had something close to a career revival in TNA as hes just clicked in there the whole time. Joe losing here wasnt horrible as the Mafia was brand new and needed some wins. Also he kicked out of two powerbombs. Thats rare enough so I can live with this. Solid match too.
Sting is asked why hes in the Mafia now. Wow hes always getting asked why. No answer really other than king of talking about respect which is as clichéd as possible but whatever.
We recap Sting vs. AJ which more or less is about AJ not respecting Sting and the old guys, which is just idiotic but whatever.
TNA World Title: AJ Styles vs. Sting
This likely should have been the match that ended the war but I guess I get the idea as AJ matured and then came after Sting later on. We get a video on AJ. Damn think theyre killing time yet? Still the original music for AJ here which is definitely worse than the current one. Wait no it isnt. The intro of the current one is better but the rest isnt. Now Sting gets his own video. Can we get on with this?
Its a long feeling out period to start as AJ works Stings arm. Theyre doing a slow build here which is one of my favorites. Sting gets an abdominal stretch and hits Aj in the ribs while the hold is on. West says he applies the fist to AJs ribs. Nice wording.
He hooks a bearhug. Now thats not something you see everyday. Scorpion is blocked and Sting hits the Death Drop. Styles Clash is blocked and its mostly Sting here. AJ comes back at the drop of a hat which is apparently invisible and hits Spiral Tap. The Mafia comes down for the distraction and Sting gets a rollup for the pin. Not liking that ending at all.
Rating: B-. Not bad here but nothing great. The ending just didnt do it for me as Sting needed to go over clean here. The rollup is fine but he needed to just get a pin. AJ being all distraught was great and the ending is fine, but the match just missed by a bit for me. Not bad at all though.
Overall Rating: C. This didnt suck like I expected it to. Its not a great show or even a very good show, but this certainly wasnt awful. There isnt anything worth going out of your way to see, but overall this isnt bad. It did a great job of setting up the Mafia which is what they should have done since it was only about two weeks old at this point. The matches are passable and the show works fairly well overall. Not exactly recommended, but theres nothing youll regret watching.
Date: November 9, 2008
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 1,100
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay
This is in the beginning of the Main Event Mafia which had officially formed about two and a half weeks earlier. Its Stings first major title event against the head of the TNA Frontline: AJ. Other than that the biggest match is probably Nash vs. Joe which was a feud based off Joe being the protégé of Nash and then Nash of course turning on him and costing him the world title. This is also the last PPV appearance for Christian but thats fairly minor. Lets get to this lackluster looking show.
The opening segment is about the war between TNA and the Mafia with people asking why are the old guys getting so much money while the young guys do all of the work. It makes sense so I cant complain here.
The Mafia get out of the limo and all ignore JB other than the newest member: Scott Steiner, who talks about respect.
No pyro here which is odd.
Scratch that. They were just waiting for some reason. Wests voice has an echo which is kind of annoying.
X-Division Rankings Match
Consequences Creed, Sonjay Dutt, Petey Williams, Jimmy Rave, Volador, Eric Young, Doug Williams, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Homicide, Jay Lethal.
This is to determine the rankings. Its pinfall or submission rather than over the top. Creed has been here a few months and is a TNA original now. Sure why not. So all ten guys are in at once and its pin or submission. Yeah this isnt going to be a mess at all. Lethal is a big deal for some reason here. So if youre our first youre #10, second is 9 etc. OH! Ok so only two in the ring at a time but its lucha libre rules so if someone goes to the floor then another can come in. Well thats better so at least it wont be completely insane.
Im not even going to bother trying to keep up with who is in there so dont expect it. Dutt vs. Lethal at the moment which was a big feud a few months before this. Williams is a relative newcomer here and is fairly chubby. I mean Doug for that, which is irritating as hes in with Petey. Young is supposed to be a serious character here. Having ten guys out there is just way too much at once as its just spot after spot but that doesnt mean its not fun.
Volador and Lethal do a long sequence that doesnt actually do anything but at least it looked good. Dutt takes a top rope rana from Volador to be put out and made #10. I never got the appeal of Jimmy Rave. I cant remember a good match the guy had. Volador is pretty good though. Naturally this is his last match with the company. Rave takes him out with this weird neckbreaker thing.
Doug Williams comes in and beats up Rave, ending him with Chaos Theory in like a minute. As you can probably tell, this isnt really proving anything as its just a big mess. Homicide hits a big dive on two guys but bounces off the rail and slams into a wall. Hes taken out of the match since hes more or less out cold. There are six left and Ill let you guys figure out who those are.
Young hits a swanton bomb on Doug for two. Wow he looks weird doing that move. Everybody beats up Tanahashi and we get Petey vs. Creed. They do a lot of counters but Petey hits a running Canadian Destroyer to get rid of Creed. Wouldnt the afro block a lot of that? A Frog Splash gets rid of Petey like 30 seconds later. It was Tanahashi if you care for some reason.
So we have a Japanese guy, a British guy, an American and a Canadian. Not bad. The American (Lethal) gets rid of Tanahashi with a small package as this has lost anything close to structure of any kind. Young hits a neckbreaker on Williams to get us down to Young vs. Lethal. And out of nowhere a Northern Lights Suplex gets Young the win. Hes #1 contender now. The TNA guys come out and say that the Mafia needs to pay attention.
Rating: D. This was just a big mess. Its not horrible, but the problem comes down to the fact that with so many people in there at once and after the first pin there being maybe 90 seconds between falls, everything just became a big train wreck with everything doing their thing and no one being able to keep up with it.
We run down the card which we clearly wouldnt know before ordering the show right?
Foley and Jarrett are in the back with Lauren. Both are authority figures at this point which was overkill but who cares?
We recap the Knockouts tag match, which as they say is Kong vs. everyone else. At least theyre calling it what it is.
Awesome Kong/Raesha Saed vs. Taylor Wilde/Roxxi
Kong is the Knockouts Champion here. Saed is more commonly known as Cheerleader Melissa on the indy circuit. Its a simple formula here as the faces cant let Kong get in because they know shell kill them. Thats a formula Ive been noticing more often lately and it works pretty well. They throw that out the window though as double teaming puts Kong down pretty easily. Rhaka Khan is at ringside too and her cheating turns things to the heels.
Kong gets a camel clutch on Roxxi who looks mildly annoyed. That was some of the worst selling I can remember in a long time. The fans chant for Roxxi. Naturally shes been released twice since this match so take that for whatever its worth. Wilde comes in and beats up Kong which is something she did on a regular basis. I never got that. Roxxi and Kong go to the floor and a German suplex on Saed beats the heels.
Rating: C-. Not bad here but this was back in the day when the division was still solid. There was an actual story going through the division at the time which was better than nothing. Kong was messed up by now though as her loss kind of crippled her credibility.
JB goes into the Mafias dressing room to try to talk to them again but Jarrett comes in instead. Angle calls Jarrett a has been and a pussy. Nash says its ok and for Jarrett to think about it from their perspective. Nash says the Mafia is the future. Ok then.
Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Rhyno
Bashir is the X Champion here but this isnt a title match for no apparent reason. A guy from the army does Rhynos intro. He won awards for wounds etc. Theres something not right about having an actual soldier introduce a guy called the War Machine but whatever. Bashir is the evil foreigner here so take a guess as to who the crowd is for.
Bashir takes the turnbuckle off because hes EVIL. The Insane Clown Posse is in the front row. Just dont let them talk. This was some kind of stupid invasion thing that their wrestling company was doing and it bombed completely.
Bashir goes after the clowns and no one cares. This is a very boring match. The Sheik is dominating but I just do not care. What is the appeal of Daivari? Ive never gotten that at all. There seems to be something wrong with the ring mic as there is almost no sound coming out of it.
Rhyno hits a decent belly to belly as he comes out. The fans want a Gore. Shane Sewell, the referee, gets involved here which had been an issue lately. It allows Rhyno to get the Gore for the pin. At least it wasnt that long.
Rating: D+. Just a bunch of nothing here. They were feuding but we werent told why or anything. This wasnt the worst match Ive ever seen but I just didnt care at all. Its not horrible but whatever. Bashir just isnt an interesting character period.
Foley is giving a pep talk to the Frontline but the Guns complain about him being a nobody. This was their heel turn I guess. Theres a near fight and what a coincidence: its time for the Guns match.
Tag Titles: Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns
One of the taglines things is will the Guns finally get the titles. Oh thats rich. Neither team has their current music so things are just ridiculously bland. Again they mention the Guns possibly winning the titles. Wow thats funny. So despite acting like heels in the back, they of course act like faces here. Could the psychology have been more messed up in TNA around this time?
The challengers of course are all over the place and getting a ton of damage in on Storm. Shelley reminds me of Miz a bit looks wise. ALL Guns here as Shelley hits a Lionsault for two. The champions take over as I think were going to be in for a long while here. Storm puts on his hat which of course makes him fail.
I love the missing the tag thing which is as basic as possible of a tag cheating tactic but it works every time and is perfectly legal. Shelley hits a combination Downward Spiral/DDT to get enough time for the hot tag to Sabin. The crowd is uncommonly quiet here. Damn the Guns are fun to watch.
Storm has been gone for a LONG time. Its a double team clinic from the Guns here and theyre completely dominating. Storm comes back in and botches what is now Madison Raynes move. The big Tower of Doom spot does nothing special at all as they kind of just fall backwards.
ASCS Rush to Roode but heres Jackie of course because we have to have the annoying bitch in there once at least. Storm spits Beer in Sabins eyes so that DWI can keep the belts for Beer Money. Yes the Guns lose again. Film at 11.
Rating: B-. Not bad here. This was another one of those matches where they let them do their thing and it worked for the most part, but at times the Guns offense gets so ridiculous that its a waste of time and takes away the point of it. Not bad, but nothing classic.
Booker is in his locker room and Sharmell says he has no comment. Hes more or less King Booker here and is annoying as ever.
We recap Booker vs. Christian. In short, its title vs. Christian goes into the Mafia. Booker just invented the title and its now evolved into the Global Title which is never defended.
Legends Title: Christian Cage vs. Booker T
These two work pretty well together so this should be fine. Its a very basic start which at times is the best thing you can do. Booker hits a nice superkick. We hear about a bunch of cities want to host TNA show and Genesis will be in Charlotte. I love hyperbole in wrestling.
The lack of mat noise is just weird to hear. Booker hits a top rope suplex and theres no noise at all. Its just off putting for lack of a better term. Both guys do each others stuff as we almost get a Canadian Spinarooni. This isnt particularly great but its going steady.
Christian gets a Texas Cloverleaf that Tenay, the Professor, calls a Sharpshooter. A Rock Bottom gets two for the Canadian. The Axe Kick misses and Booker rolls Christian up and uses the tights for the win. Christian would have to join the Mafia but he would get a huge beatdown instead and leave the company.
Rating: C-. This match felt incomplete. It wasnt great but at the end it just felt like there was supposed to be more. These two are both dependable and they put on a decent match out there. Nothing wrong with it, but it needed a few more minutes.
Abyss, neurotic as ever, says hell beat Angle. Morgan is his partner here.
And now we talk about Angle vs. Jarrett which isnt happening here. Jarrett beat Angle in his first match in like two years and Angle wants a rematch. This somehow started the Mafia. Abyss is more or less the barrier between Angle and Jarrett so the outcome of this really shouldnt be in doubt.
Kurt Angle vs. Abyss
This is Falls Count Anywhere. I kind of dig Angles music. Angle needs to stay away from the red and white stripe singlet. It just doesnt work for him. Abyss is in the prison suit thing and looks even stupider. Its all monster to start as you would expect.
Were in the crowd now and all Abyss can do is throw punches it seems. Angle gets a chair out of the front row. Great to see that someone got up and left in one of the biggest matches on the card. Angle does the running front flip off the stage onto Abyss that you see on a ton of TNA highlight reels.
It doesnt really matter as Abyss is dominating maybe 8 seconds later. West says Angle kicked Abyss in the nuts. That sounded odd. They go through a wall and are under the stage. Always good to see Angle do new stuff. The cameras lose them so we completely stop for a bit as they come through the other side of the wall.
Were back in the ring now as this has been your standard hardcore match so far. Angle Slam gets two of course. Why does everyone put the chair between the ropes like that? Angle gets chokeslammed for two. Angle actually hits the moonsault. Its just finisher to finisher now.
Speaking of which theres the ankle lock for just a second and it goes into the Black Hole Slam. I hate this part of matches most of the time. We head to the Spanish announce table and Angle goes up the scaffolding behind it. And there goes Abyss down through the table for the pin
Rating: B-. Not bad and it was intense, but this was really just your run of the mill hardcore match. Angle looked solid here but there was very limited drama. That forward flip though was great looking. The in ring stuff kind of sucked though and Abyss is just so limited its not even funny. Fun match though.
Joe talks about beating Nash.
We show Joe getting screwed by Nash to give the title to Sting in the weakest shock turn in a long time. This is of course more Mafia vs. Frontline.
Kevin Nash vs. Samoa Joe
Joe is big here but not incredibly fat which is a nice change of pace. Its a slugfest to start which is what you would expect I think. The tall guy (I cant really say big here as it would be confusing) is in trouble. West says some people think Joe is the best in the world. Find those people so I can smack them with a fish.
This is more of a brawl than a match but thats what a grudge match is supposed to be about. Nash goes to a toolbox as he harkens back to his Hell in a Cell days. That goes nowhere of course for no apparent reason. Joes shoulder goes into the post so Nash goes for his back. Sure why not.
The fat man makes a comeback and this is FAR more fast paced than you would expect it to be. A chair shot from Nash gets two. Jackknife gets two and Nash is STUNNED. A shot to the exposed buckle and Joe is busted open. ANOTHER Jackknife gets two. Joe gets an armbar out of nowhere and Nash is almost in trouble.
The referee goes down somewhere in there and Nash hits a low blow. That and the feet on the ropes get the pin. I kind of get that but at the same time I kind of dont.
Rating: B. Thats likely high but I really liked this. Nash has had something close to a career revival in TNA as hes just clicked in there the whole time. Joe losing here wasnt horrible as the Mafia was brand new and needed some wins. Also he kicked out of two powerbombs. Thats rare enough so I can live with this. Solid match too.
Sting is asked why hes in the Mafia now. Wow hes always getting asked why. No answer really other than king of talking about respect which is as clichéd as possible but whatever.
We recap Sting vs. AJ which more or less is about AJ not respecting Sting and the old guys, which is just idiotic but whatever.
TNA World Title: AJ Styles vs. Sting
This likely should have been the match that ended the war but I guess I get the idea as AJ matured and then came after Sting later on. We get a video on AJ. Damn think theyre killing time yet? Still the original music for AJ here which is definitely worse than the current one. Wait no it isnt. The intro of the current one is better but the rest isnt. Now Sting gets his own video. Can we get on with this?
Its a long feeling out period to start as AJ works Stings arm. Theyre doing a slow build here which is one of my favorites. Sting gets an abdominal stretch and hits Aj in the ribs while the hold is on. West says he applies the fist to AJs ribs. Nice wording.
He hooks a bearhug. Now thats not something you see everyday. Scorpion is blocked and Sting hits the Death Drop. Styles Clash is blocked and its mostly Sting here. AJ comes back at the drop of a hat which is apparently invisible and hits Spiral Tap. The Mafia comes down for the distraction and Sting gets a rollup for the pin. Not liking that ending at all.
Rating: B-. Not bad here but nothing great. The ending just didnt do it for me as Sting needed to go over clean here. The rollup is fine but he needed to just get a pin. AJ being all distraught was great and the ending is fine, but the match just missed by a bit for me. Not bad at all though.
Overall Rating: C. This didnt suck like I expected it to. Its not a great show or even a very good show, but this certainly wasnt awful. There isnt anything worth going out of your way to see, but overall this isnt bad. It did a great job of setting up the Mafia which is what they should have done since it was only about two weeks old at this point. The matches are passable and the show works fairly well overall. Not exactly recommended, but theres nothing youll regret watching.