TURNING POINT

December 5, 2004

So this is TNA. “The New Face of Professional Wrestling.” Who’d have thought that the new face of wrestling was made up of a handful of indy guys and a bunch of WWE castoffs and rejects?

Team Canada . . . regain the NWA Tag Team Titles without really doing anything.

Petey Williams . . . claims he’s not a one move wonder, despite evidence to the contrary.

Jeff Jarrett . . . is one of the better workers in his match, which speaks volumes about the talent level involved.

BG JAMES/RON KILLINGS © vs. ERIC YOUNG/BOBBY ROODE (NWA World Tag Team Titles)

It’s a bit better than the tag title match from the month before (mainly because Killings is better than Konnan) but it’s got a lot of the same problems. There’s a distinct lack of story and flow to what they do, and everyone but Killings shows a big over reliance on punching. There’s times that it works okay, such as James’ trademark ‘juke and jive’ spot, but more often than not they’re just punching for lack of anything else to do. Killings adds some nice work in his simultaneous break dancing and dodging, a nice missile dropkick to Young, and his counter to Young and Roode’s attempt to steal the 3LK’s Wassup leg drop. The Canadians also use a nice double back breaker, and Young’s crowd playing is a nice touch. But the Canadians are bumbling idiots more often than not, walking right into offense from their opponents, and running into each other, hardly looking like serious title contenders. And the only catalyst for the title change being Johnny Devine running in and knocking out James with the hockey stick, certainly doesn’t do anything to change that perception.

HECTOR GARZA/SONNY SIAKI/SONJAY DUTT vs. MICHAEL SHANE/FRANKIE KAZARIAN/KID KASH

If nothing else, this is an improvement over the previous match. There’s a lot to enjoy about this match. The opening matwork between Kash and Dutt is surprisingly clean, for two guys who are more known for taking things to the air, rather than staying on the ground. All six of them bring some nice spots, and that they’re all fairly clean looking is a bonus. Especially the assisted rana by Dutt from Siaki and the assisted tope by Dutt from Siaki, both could have looked worlds worse (and they have when done by others).

The best parts of the match are when the heels are working over Dutt’s arm, all three of them are quite nasty in taking it apart, and Dutt’s selling, particularly on Kazarian’s slamming it down, and Kash’s hammerlock slam is nice. The false tags the heels use to switch behind the ref’s back were also a nice touch. It’d have been nice if Dutt could have done something other than punching when he made his comeback and the hot tag, but given his size, there’s not much he could have done that probably would have looked very good. The big tope by Dutt was a good way to take out Kash and Shane so that Garza could finish Kazarian with the Tornillo. The move looked excellent, but it’d have been nice if Garza finishing him off had come on the heels of something other than Traci’s miscue.

MONTY BROWN vs. ABYSS (Serengeti Survival Match)

The rules are the same as that of a table match, with thumbtacks being substituted for a table, and pins and submissions can also end the match. What’s most noticeable about the match is the amount of downtime that’s present. After either of them does something, they’re left to either stand around or play to the crowd. It shows exactly how much Raven, and his ability to always have something going on, was helpful to the Monsters Ball the month before. The one nice story element is Brown’s rib injury, Abyss’ character and the stipulation of the match doesn’t really allow for much actual wrestling, and in that sense, Abyss surprises with some of his attacks on Brown’s rib area. The Earthquake drop with the chair on Brown’s ribs was especially nice, and Brown’s reversal of Abyss’ second attempt could have been seen coming a mile away, but Abyss put it over nicely. The powerslam on the chair by Brown was a bit ill advised. It might have worked okay if the idea was that Brown was overselling his ribs to give Abyss some false sense of security, but right after he did the slam, he went right back to selling his ribs. Abyss’ failure to cover after the Black Hole Slam was also a frustrating moment. If he had the wherewithal to give a charging-for-the-pounce Brown with his finisher, then he shouldn’t be too tired to try to pin him. The way they bring the thumbtacks into play is just (thumb)tacked on so that the crowd can get a sick bump, instead of having it make sense. And sure, Abyss’ tack bump is sick, but what was the point of Brown ripping off Abyss’ shirt, when Abyss took the brunt of the bump on the back of his neck and head?

GLEN GILBERTI/JOHNNY SWINGER vs. JOHNNY B. BADD/PAT KENNEY

It’s weird to see Badd and Jacqueline (the special referee) both involved the match and not hear their history together brought up. The bulk of the match is little more than punching and kicking, it works well when Kenney and Swinger are trading blows, but it gets tiresome after a bit. Kenney’s Curt Hennig-style sell job from one of Swinger’s punches was nice, but that’s the only punch spot that meant anything. The NYC taking out Kenney’s back is nice in theory, but the match is far too rushed to allow them to make the most of it. There’s a nice moment when Kenney’s back doesn’t allow him to pull off a vertical suplex, but that’s about it. The match is more about Jacqueline’s feud with the NYC, rather than anything to do with Badd or Kenney. Just look at all the times that Gilberti pushes her out of his way to continue inflicting punishment, and Badd only hit the TKO and finished off Gilberti after Jacqueline gave him an assist.

RAVEN vs. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE

Ugh. I’m not quite sure which is more sad. How bad this makes Raven look, or how badly this exposes DDP. Page’s offense is almost entirely based upon punching, kicking, stomping, and attempting the Diamond Cutter. The only other wrestling moves that Page uses are his spinning lariat, and a roll-up counter. Beyond that, the only other things we see out of Page are spots where he’s assisted by the guardrail and the post. And lucky for everyone, Page winds up carrying the bulk of the match with his offense. Raven doesn’t bring a lot of actual wrestling either, only his two signature spots (Raven Effect and drop toehold on the chair), and a bulldog. But he makes up for it a bit by doing a good job putting over the beating Page lays on him, and using some nice counters for the Diamond Cutter. Raven could probably also have done without his first pin attempt, which was after doing nothing offensively and only holding the ropes to block the Diamond Cutter, but he at least put his feet on the ropes.

Both the Diamond Cutter and Raven Effect are used and each only garners a two count, usually a sign that something more will be needed, but Page just blocks the Raven Effect and does another Diamond Cutter for the win. As if the match itself didn’t quite make Raven look bad enough, Page gets to win *after* Erik Watts runs in and takes out Raven’s henchmen before he (shockingly) pulls a swerve and attacks Page. Wonderful logic there.

PETEY WILLIAMS © vs. CHRIS SABIN (X-Division Title)

While this is an easy pick for match of the night so far, it’s due more to the field it’s up against, rather than any merits it has as a match. There’s no reason why this shouldn’t be the best match so far either. It’s the first match that’s given adequate time to develop, they’re very familiar with each other, and they’ve got a ready-made story with Sabin’s ability to counter the Canadian Destroyer. Instead the match is a truckload of spots, some of which are cool looking, but ultimately mean very little to the match as a whole. Sabin’s powerbomb onto the guardrail should have been a match breaker, but it didn’t lead to an extended control segment on Petey’s back, and Petey’s back never bothered him at all during the match. It was just a wasted spot that was good for a crowd pop. And the fans forgot all about it about ten seconds later, when Sabin did the big lariat off the guardrail.

Being so familiar with each other (one of the “X Factors” of the match) fortunately means their spots and sequences look clean more often than not. Sabin’s Destroyer counter, and smooth transition to the Cradle Shock looks great, and Petey’s various escapes to the Cradle Shock look good too. The only thing that looks outright bad is Petey’s sharpshooter. The roll through of the Cradle Shock itself was fine, but the actual application of the hold is beyond awful. But ultimately that’s all they’ve got, just a good number of spots that mostly look good. They try to move away from the spotfest when Petey gets an extended control segment after they get back into the ring, and nothing he does gets any real heat other than his singing of the National Anthem while standing on Sabin’s groin.

It also doesn’t help matters that they go with the cheapest finish possible. The idea is supposed to be that Petey isn’t just a one move wonder, although he negates that notion himself with the amount of times he attempts the move only to be countered. Had Petey blocked Sabin’s counter, or prevented it, it’d have leant some credence to the idea that Petey at least has a few tricks up his sleeve, a la the various ways DDP could hit the Diamond Cutter. Or Petey could have done something else to beat Sabin, and actually come out looking good. Instead it’s just another case of run-in and foreign object (brass knucks in this case), which accomplishes nothing.

JEFF HARDY/AJ STYLES/RANDY SAVAGE vs. JEFF JARRETT/SCOTT HALL/KEVIN NASH

When Jeff Jarrett is one of the better workers of the match, you know it’s not a very good match. Aside from the booking of the finish (Savage over Jarrett) just about everything else done here either has no business being done, or doesn’t come nearly as well as it should. Take Hall and Nash for starters, they’re both entertaining at times, but limited in what they can do in the ring. And the first five minutes or so is Styles completely owning all three of the heels, with Hall and Nash’s inability to bump being fully on display. When the heels get a chance to have control, they mostly work over AJ’s ribs. Styles’ hasn’t ever been a strong seller, so the Kings of Wrestling needed to really step up their work and make sure to get the point across, but Jarrett is the only one who actually does it. Hall and Nash just run through their usual spots, and while some of that does hurt AJ’s ribs, there’s no extra effort put into those spots. The match is also noticeably devoid of intensity, with the exception of Styles and Jarrett’s exchanges. Hall and Nash cost Hardy the NWA Title at the last PPV, so he, more than anyone, should really be fired up, but he’s not at all.

Then there are all the silly spots and sequences that make little to no sense. Everyone knew the ref bump was coming, it happens when Nash pulls out the ref as he’s in mid-count. It’s too bad the ref was counting a pin which contained neither legal wrestler in the match. Then there’s Hall’s guitar shot to Hardy while he’s on the top rope. At least that one sort of has a good idea behind it. Hall whacks Hardy to prevent him from hitting the Swanton bomb on Jarrett, but Hardy falls and lands on him anyway. It could have led to a hot near fall, if the ref hadn’t already been knocked out. And of course there’s the Macho Man’s arrival! The legal man in the ring has long since ceased to matter, but Savage hops on the apron for a tag! Don’t forget the Macho Man’s killer offense. He punches Jarrett, and then puts on a sleeper hold. He counters a sunset flip with another punch and then covers for the win. He doesn’t use his finisher, and there’s no sort of cheating that backfires on the heels. Savage just hits a punch and gets the win, which speaks volumes either about Savage’s physical ability at this point, or about the qualifications of whoever did the booking.

CHRISTOPHER DANIELS/ELIX SKIPPER vs. JAMES STORM/CHRIS HARRIS (Steel Cage Match)

What a mess, if nothing else, this ends the show on a better note than the last show was ended on. The spots are insane, the blood flows like wine, and the crowd heat is damn near molten. As a spectacle, it’s the exact note that TNA needed to end this PPV on. As an actual wrestling match however, it’s got plenty of flaws to it. This may not have the laundry list of good workers that War Games ‘92 had, but even these four should be capable of something better than this. Or at least put on a match that tried to maintain some semblance of consistency and logic.

Look no further than the refereeing to see some logic issues. A cage match has long since established a concept of being anything goes, no holds barred, and all the other cliches, so why is the referee forcing tagging in and out and bothering with a legal man. Skipper and Storm actually stand in a corner (there isn’t an apron) to start the match, and at one point when Storm tries to give Harris a hand, the referee forces him back. Of course the match breaks down later on and the referee doesn’t bother keeping track, but why was he bothering to begin with? And if he’s trying to enforce rules, where was he while Harris was handcuffed and Storm was getting the tar beaten out of him? He was sitting two feet away twiddling his thumbs, just as he was while Storm was crawling over to retrieve the key to free Harris. Either enforce the rules or stay out of the way, not both.

A cage match also implies deep running hate. And a quick look at their last match on PPV, and the video package shows that such hate exists. So where is all the hate and intensity in the actual match? The only time it comes is when Harris is handcuffed to the cage, and XXX beat the stuffing out of Storm. Once Harris is free, the match turns into an exhibition of spots and finisher kick outs. When they’re just brawling its okay, it’s not very exciting but it’s not anything over contrived and it tries to get the hate across. The brawling doesn’t last long though. First it’s the rolling out of finishers. The Angel’s Wings, Death Sentence (by Daniels and Skipper), and suplex/body press combo, all rolled out and meaning nothing. Then come the big spots, Skipper gets powerbombed off the cage and kicks out, Skipper does the tightrope rana off the top of the cage, coming within and inch of falling off, and Daniels comes off the cage with an elbow. Harris seems to think that a vertical suplex feetfirst into the cage is a good offensive weapon. And the Tower of Doom spot makes its debut here, and means nothing because all four get to their feet and keep the fight going.

Thankfully, they manage to have a fun finish with a bit of meaning behind it. Daniels gets handcuffed to the corner. A nice bit of revenge for what happened to Harris. Skipper and Harris have a cute reversal sequence of the POD and Catatonic, and then Skipper gets KO’d by Storm’s superkick, and AMW use XXX’s powerbomb/neckbreaker combo to finish off Skipper for the win, avenging XXX stealing the Death Sentence and winning the match all in one shot. It kills the ending to the previous PPV six ways from Sunday (not that it takes a lot to hit that mark), but they’ve still just got a dull beginning, a spot-crazy middle portion, and a fun little finishing stretch. It’s better than their last ending, but it’s far from excellent.

Conclusion: A couple of fun offerings from the X Division, and a crazy main event are the only things worth taking a look at, and it’s nothing that hasn’t been done better at some other point.