The Death of the WWE

[ROZAY]

To start off - this is simply put a fantastic diary thus far. Unlike most WWE diaries that try to go out of the normal instead of just regular writing and booking and add something to it, you have really captured the magic here thus far. The Death of the WWE is a brilliant, novel concept that I can see you clearly have fun writing, and I find a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction in reading.

Anyway, onto the real feedback:

- For starters, you've already left readers with something to desire in the first post. You certainly had me wondering "Well, how the hell did things get this way?". That's good, because you will have a lot of your readers checking back in after every post to see what has happened and what will happen next (which has become evident in a lot of your feedback thus far). I love the fact that this is really written more as a story then an actual diary (I'm more a fan of diaries with an actual story behind it, rather then just shows). The results of your shows have a unique feeling about them, as you really can imagine everything happening and you really highlight everything that needs to be known. That is a vital part in keeping readers interested in the story. I also love the fact that every post has you wanting more, what with your cliff-hanging, open-ended, never-ending possibilities, twists, turns and plots.

- The cast post was also a good start, as you immediately told us who is who to the story, and what has happened or will happen with them. Good job.

- I'm glad to see Sean O'Haire as James Mitchell's new monster. He fits the role perfectly, especially with the protective mask on him. Plus, I'm playing a TNA game in EWR where I brought him in to play the role as well.

- I'm also digging the book-like excerpts that you throw in the shows to put the out-of-character things into persective. Really, really good job and unique concept.

- I have to say that I was truly shocked that Carlito jumped ship. His dissatisfaction in the company totally slipped under the radar, and made for quite the surprise. I was really expecting Randy Orton or Mr. Kennedy to appear here, but I'm glad you went with someone that, while isn't the biggest of names, is easy to slip into the role of a new TNA prospect. Another job well done.

- You have really captured the "war" feeling to this. I remember watching the original Monday Night Wars and thinking that anything could happen at anytime on any show. I'm glad that you've brought that type of feeling to wrestling back to life, and it's one of the many things that makes this diary stand out.

In closing, this is really a tremendous, must-see diary. Easily one of my favorite diaries on the board right now, and as another fellow poster said, a top pick for overally diary of the year here in the Dome if you do continue this. I'll definetly be reading and following and keeping up on this. ****1/2 diary. (Y)

[Guest Put You On The Game]

TNA Hard Justice

World X Cup Preview - Team USA vs. Team Japan

Jushin Liger, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Milano Collection AT, and Minoru vs. Austin Starr, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Christopher Daniels

I sense Christopher Daniels bailing out of a tag in the closing stages of the match here.

Nicho El Millionaro & Joey Matthews vs. Sonjay Dutt & Jay Lethal

The new guys have to get the win on their PPV debut because that's the law of the land.

Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe vs. LAX

Like Nicho & Joey, Dragon has to get the win on his TNA PPV debut because he's a new guy and that's the law of the land.

Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles

Kurt is more likely to receive the next title shot, so a win here would make sense, just expect some botched interference from Madam Dumas

Team 3D © vs. The Steiner Brothers for the TNA World Tag Titles

I'd like to see the Steiners' "legacy" get furthered here.

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino vs. Christian Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

Colon vs Angle at No Surrender? that would be one hell of match.

WWE Summerslam

Chavo Guerrero © vs. Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Title

Chavo's contract is up soon and Spanky is the weakest of the three.

Chris Benoit (3) vs. King Booker (3) in the Best of Seven decider

Just to bury Benoit a little bit more.

Cade & Murdoch © vs. Val Venis & Viscera for the WWE Tag Titles

The WWE's tag team division doesn't make sense, so a win for V Squared would make it even less sense.

Santino Marella © vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Intercontinental Title

This would be an excuse to hold Orton back (oh imagine the feuds he could have with Super Crazy over this belt, lol)

Edge vs. Matt Hardy

This will drift Edge further away from a major title.

MVP © vs. Jimmy Wang Yang for the United States Title

MVP is showing too much promise for creative's liking, so why not put the belt on a fucking cowboy instead (no not a plumber, Jimmy Wang Yang)

Bobby Lashley © vs. Mr. McMahon for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

I bet they'd like to shit on ECW's legacy again, would they....

The Great Khali © vs. John Cena for the WWE Title

Their motto is "bigger is better", but little do they realise another motto should be used (you know which one it is)

Brock Lesnar © vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Title

Vinny Mac would keep the belt on the former NFL star here, just to piss the fans and the locker room off.

[Evafreak]

TNA Hard Justice

World X Cup Preview - Team USA vs. Team Japan

Jushin Liger, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Milano Collection AT, and Minoru vs. Austin Starr, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Christopher Daniels

As already stated theres no way Daniels isn't going to cost his team the match unless you just deliberately go with the opposite of what we all say

Nicho El Millionaro & Joey Matthews vs. Sonjay Dutt & Jay Lethal

Nash intereference here to give his team the win and kep the feud rolling along

Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe vs. LAX

A good showing from Danielson and Joe but I think LAX will steal it with a cheap win

Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles

AJ to get the rub in next months enivitable rematch methinks

Team 3D © vs. The Steiner Brothers for the TNA World Tag Titles

Not sure who wins here but I say interefence by Tomko and Bernard gives one of the win

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino vs. Christian Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

I'd prefer either Christian or Rhyno but theres no way Carlos is gonna drop the title anytime soon it will leave Rhino looking pretty weak most likely though if he still can't beat him.

WWE Summerslam

Chavo Guerrero © vs. Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Title

Just cause Chavo always seems to win the cruiserweight title matches

Chris Benoit (3) vs. King Booker (3) in the Best of Seven decider

Just to try and suprise people and enivitably piss off Benoit that much more

Cade & Murdoch © vs. Val Venis & Viscera for the WWE Tag Titles

Cant think of any other reason except common sense here and banish Team V back to Heat

Santino Marella © vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Intercontinental Title

Ah I dunno on one hand the title is wasted on this guy on the other Randys still in the doghouse

Edge vs. Matt Hardy

Hardy upset finish methinks

MVP © vs. Jimmy Wang Yang for the United States Title

Love Yang but theres no chance in hell hes gonna win the US title

Bobby Lashley © vs. Mr. McMahon for the ECW World Heavyweight Title

Botched interference from Shitsky gives ole mr charisma the win

The Great Khali © vs. John Cena for the WWE Title

I wonder if Nash will notice any similarities anyway the lumbering tool wins again

Brock Lesnar © vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Title

Brock with maybe a possible injury for Batista if he doesnt know how to bump right

Edited May 29, 2007 by Evafreak

[Cole]

Some feedback on what I've recently read.

- I like the build to the title feud in TNA with Colon, Rhino, Cage and Angle. Many possibilities and months of feuds can come from this.

- I don't like reading back-to-back-to-back Impacts in one post, but I'll deal with it I guess.

- The ongoings in WWE are very interesting (Flair, Edge) Flair flipping out is totally realistic and I really enjoyed reading that part. As for Edge, Hopefully he can make it over to TNA pretty soon.

- I'm really enjoying Carlito's run as champion, it's been booked solidly thus far.

- Hulk Hogan? Interesting.

I'm really, really loving everything you're doing and I'm really glad I spent the time to catch up on what I've missed out on lately in this diary. Keep it up and for the mean time...

Predictions

Hard Justice

World X Cup Preview - Team USA vs. Team Japan

Jushin Liger, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Milano Collection AT, and Minoru vs. Austin Starr, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Christopher Daniels - Could really go either way, I dunno. Just a feeling I have.

Nicho El Millionaro & Joey Matthews vs. Sonjay Dutt & Jay Lethal - Have Nash's guys prove their really not washed up, probably including interference from Nash though.

Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe vs. LAX - I can see Joe and Danielson winning, LAX getting the heat back with attacks etc, winning the next match by cheating and that gives us a rubber match. Could see LAX winning though.

Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles - Another one I could see going either way, I don't really think you're going to put Styles into the title picture right now so Angle winning here makes most sense.

Team 3D © vs. The Steiner Brothers for the TNA World Tag Titles - Just a hunch, I don't really care either way. MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS~! need to be champs though.

Carlos Colon © vs. Rhino vs. Christian Cage for the TNA World Heavyweight Title - Have him win another match like a chickenshit heel, why not?

WWE Summerslam

Chavo Guerrero © vs. Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Title - The other two are on their way out, no?

Chris Benoit (3) vs. King Booker (3) in the Best of Seven decider - Who cares?

Cade & Murdoch © vs. Val Venis & Viscera for the WWE Tag Titles - Ugh.

Santino Marella © vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Intercontinental Title - Just don't see Marella winning this one, though really I could see it being another bad Marella loss but him keeping the title.

Edge vs. Matt Hardy - PUNISHMENT~!

MVP © vs. Jimmy Wang Yang for the United States Title - I don't really see MVP losing, what the fuck do I know though?

Bobby Lashley © vs. Mr. McMahon for the ECW World Heavyweight Title - I could see McMahon getting it again, ego and all.

The Great Khali © vs. John Cena for the WWE Title - Everything else is shitty, why not this too?

Brock Lesnar © vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Title - Keep him on top, fitting.

[Chris the Human]

The Shot Heard Around the World - Part One

In all wars, both historically and in professional wrestling, there are those 'shots' that, while perhaps minor at the time, create a chain reaction of events that inevitably change the world. Who could have predicted that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, for example, would bring about World War I? Or that Vince McMahon's decision to 'screw' Bret Hart at Survivor Series in 1997 would lead to the resurrection of the WWF from near death and their eventual rise to being the dominant power in the industry?

My point is that there are occurences that, in hindsight, seem like strokes of genius. But when the decisions were being made in the metaphorical trenches, they were perhaps made out of desperation that only looks inspired looking back from the lofty heights of today.

Suffice it to say, TNA's Hard Justice was not planned as some revolutionary event that would rocket them into the mainstream, but it inevitably became just that. While the event drew a 0.79 buyrate that matched the previous month's despite going unapposed and could perhaps be considered a disappointment, it was the debut of one superstar that would rock the world of professional wrestling and change the face of the war. Ultimately it would force the WWE's hand and bring about even more shocking changes in the face of professional wrestling.

But before that could all unfold, the WWE offered up SummerSlam, traditionally one of their marquee events at which feuds would end in preparation for the lead in to Survivor Series. The pay-per-view was also important because it immediately precluded the upcoming draft that would see talent shifted between rosters in an effort to freshen up the product. Although the lines between brands had been blurred considerably since the decision was made earlier in the year to do away with brand specific pay-per-views, the WWE still offered three very different types of programming in between Raw, Smackdown, and ECW. Raw was the entertainment, Smackdown was the wrestling, and ECW was... well, nobody was quite sure what it was supposed to be.

SummerSlam opened promisingly enough, the WWE giving their Cruiserweight Title a rare chance to be displayed on pay-per-view. Since introducing the division and doing away with the Light-Heavyweight Title, the company had never placed a great deal of emphasis on the title or the workers competing for it. Of the past holders who went on to become main eventers, only Rey Mysterio stands out (and it could be argued that his push was almost purely the result of Eddie Guerrero's untimely death). Matt Hardy, although he would go on to be a main eventer, had, at this point, not amounted to much more than a midcard fixture.

The clash featured Chavo Guerrero defending the title against Paul London and Brian Kendrick, both of whom you'll remember had been part of a very successful tag team earlier in the year. With Vince McMahon having placed a ban upon many of the high flying maneuvres that cruiserweights generally relied upon to 'get over', it's understandable that this match wasn't as exciting as it perhaps could have been. Both London and Kendrick were tremendous talents but both had failed to really impress in the WWE after moves such as London Calling had been banned. Vince McMahon asserts to this day that it was a safety measure, but Paul London has a very different recollection of things.

"He said it was about safety," London claimed, "But we all knew what it really was. Vince (McMahon) hated it when people got over without his permission. If you were getting popular and he didn't plan it, you'd be removed from television or hobbled some otherway. What he did to Burchill was an example of that, and stopping us cruiserweights from doing the moves that made us famous was another. Ultimately, it came back to bite him in the ass".

The match, which was won by Chavo Guerrero, ended with the champion rolling up Kendrick after London had near kicked his head off with a superkick.

(75/72/78)

The announcement was then made that Vince McMahon would not be able to work his match against Lashley that night, citing a (kayfabe) injury picked up during an attack from Lashley on the previous week's episode of ECW on Sci-Fi. McMahon then volunteered Snitsky as the man to step in to fill his place, giving fan's a dream match they'd rather forget.

(92)

In the final to their seemingly annual Best of Seven series, King Booker completed his 'miraculous' comeback after being 3-0 down to win the rubber match and earn... well, we're not sure. There wasn't a title on the line, nor was contendership up for grabs. In fact, fans had been asked to sustain their interest in the feud for seven singles matches (and a handful of tag matches) based solely on the fact at Booker thought he was better than Benoit. Such a thing might well have been the basis for a good feud had fans not seen the exact same feud (albeit with the US Title on the line) only one year before (King Booker also won the previous feud, which ended in January 2006). Booker's wins had all come through underhanded means, and this was no difference, Qheen Sharmell low blowing Benoit and allowing Booker to catch him with the Scissor Kick for the win.

(79/83/73)

The most exciting development out of the feud, and I know that it's pretty exciting, was the debut of former AAA champion, Latin Lover. Lover, who had retired from AAA in January 2007 after being told he would need major surgery - but after a hastier than expected recovery, made the jump to the WWE where Vince envisaged him as a future Eddie Guerrero. Lover made his debut by taking Benoit down with La Patada del Cabrito (a superkick) to set up a feud brought about by (get this) Latin Lover's (kayfabe) belief that he was possessed by the spirit of Eddie Guerrero and wanted to motivate Benoit into doing better for himself. Never mind the fact that Lover was in no way, shape, or form as good a worker as Guerrero and barely spoke English. Apparently the dead revert to Spanish.

The night's first real stinker followed Lover's debut, as Cade & Murdoch defended their tag titles against Val Venis & Viscera, who had been being pushed as a pair of ladies men with a kind of odd couple relationship. Sean 'Val Venis' Morley had been tremendous as the straight lace guy who was always thwarting Viscera's crazy schemes (such as the pair going to a swinger's party together to meet freaky ladies), whilst Viscera did an admirable job of being a lecherous fat guy - essentially the same role he'd been playing for some time now. Although the WWE did ignore the fact that Venis' character had been that of an adult film star for the better part of a decade in making him the straight guy - it was an entertaining storyline that culiminated in an absolutely atrocious, plodding match at SummerSlam. The champions went over, which killed a lot of Venis & Viscera's momentum, but did cement the pair as one of the better heel tag teams of the modern era. The pair really had tremendous in ring chemistry and produced plenty of their own memorable moments whether it was sledging the crowd, sledging their opponents, or simply being dicks.

(50/49/52)

Santino Marella's push against all odds continued in his clash with Randy Orton. Orton, still in trouble with WWE management for his attitude problems, had to do the job clean to Marella. It was a slap in the face of a talented guy like Orton to even be competing for what was a midcard title, and doubly so to be beaten with a schoolboy from the plucky champion. Marella's run in the WWE had been hobbled right from the start, and even now he was being portrayed as a guy who was just plain lucky to still be champion. His occasional matches against guys further up the card ended in losses (albeit in non title affairs) while his title defences almost always came against perennial jobbers (such as Eugene or Dan Rodimer) or in 'upset' wins over guys like Orton.

(72/76/64)

Edge's punishment for his objection to Ric Flair's treatment at the previous month's PPV continued with a clean loss to Matt Hardy. The two had a conflicted history at best, as described earlier in the book, and despite Hardy and Dumas having overcome their differences - Hardy and Copeland (Edge) maintained a frosty relationship at best. Copeland, upon hearing he'd be re-entering a feud with Hardy, had actually asked for a release from his WWE contract - but McMahon had refused it, rightly assuming that he would immediately be swooped upon by TNA where he had friends such as Christian Cage and real life lover, Amy Dumas.

"In truth," Copeland spoke in an interview later in his career, "Amy had been trying to sell me on TNA for some time. But at the time I requested my release, they were still a long way off being a viable option for me. Call me shallow, but I still wasn't sure I wanted to start working for a company that was, until a few months prior, a huge money loser".

Predictably, Hardy got the win over his long-time rival, a Twist of Fate onto a chair sealing the win for one half of the World Tag Team champions (who hadn't made a PPV defence in quite some time, despite the presence of half a dozen teams on Raw against whom they could have competed).

(70/74/64)

A somewhat nonsensical title defence from MVP against cruiserweight, Jimmy Wang Yang was next. Yang, who was a Japanese high flier playing a redneck American, had been a fan favourite at the time in his limited appearances on Smackdown - and the push came about after Stephanie McMahon had seen Robert Redford's Western epic, The Rangler earlier in the year. Yang had nothing in common with Redford aside from his cowboy hat, but the fans didn't mind seeing the talented worker, and the match itself was a vast improvement on the three that had precluded it. MVP's booking as a cocky but talented competitor continued in the match, a rare clean win for a heel.

(65/61/70)

The first of three World Title defences would see Lashley defending against the inexplicably pushed, Snitsky. I've said plenty about this foot fetishist and acne riddled waste of oxygen before, so suffice it to say, this match had every reason to be atrocious and, amazingly, wasn't. Two big guys can put in a good match, of course, but these two were not generally those big guys. Snitsky, who was still undefeated since making his return to action on ECW, provided a challenge for the equally unbeatable ECW champion in a match that managed to surpass all previous expectations of it. Lashley wasn't enough to end Snitsky's winning streak, but he managed to hold onto the belt, laying Snitsky out with a chair shot to end the match by DQ and retain his gold. A decidedly heelish move, but one he'd used earlier in the year in a title defence against Mr. Kennedy.

(67/63/71)

The Great Khali's feud with John Cena reached new lows in the next match on the card. In a match described as PWI as 'the worst match since Hogan vs. Piper in a steel cage', the two turned in something that actually saw people leaving the arena a match early. Khali, for all of his intimidating size one thing was painfully clear about The Great Khali - he would never be a decent in ring worker. Other big men such as Big Show, Kane, and even Mark Henry may have been able to have a rare good match - but Khali was not one of these men. To compound things, fans had to see the plucky babyface squashed with a chokebomb before being choked out with a bear hug. That's right, the unstoppable monster could now hug you into submission. Be afraid, be very afraid.

(66/76/43)

Following the match, Cena announced he was 'quitting' the WWE. Lesson #1 about babyfaces - cowards don't make good babyfaces. Had this been a move for a heel turn, maybe it would have made sense, but in truth it was just an excuse to write Cena out while he began filming for his new movie - The Marine II: Into Iraq.

The Marine II: Into Iraq

At the date of this writing, The Marine II is still #3 on the All Time Worst list behind only Crossover and Marlon Wayans' opus - Hitler 2010. After the fact the first one wasn't a huge success, it was perhaps a surprise that Vince McMahon green-lighted a second, but this is the man who created the XFL we're talking about...

Anyway, Cena's second feature film was an unmitigated farce, and centred around Cena's character from the original film single handedly ending the deadlock in Iraq in a film so inane that Ebert accused it of 'increasing incidences of brain damage across the United States'. The film's atrocious writing not only meant it tanked at the box office, but it was so poorly received that Cena returned to the company with his credibility irreperably damaged and would never reach the heights he had as one of the company's most marketable names.

Edited May 31, 2007 by Misanthrope

[Chris the Human]

The Shot Heard Around the World - Part Two

It may seem hard to imagine TNA managing to top the debut of Latin Lover and the return of Paul Heyman.

Ok, I can't even continue to write those lies. Realistically, TNA could have debuted Warrior Warrior and had him wrestle a strap match with Savio Vega and it would have been a bigger and better received surprise than Latin Lover trying to channel the dead at SummerSlam. But all good surprises come at the conclusion of a pay-per-view, and so to would it be at TNA Hard Justice.

The night opened as the self appointed representatives of the United States strutted out to the ring. Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Austin Starr came out before their partner, Christopher Daniels, who had so far not proven to be much of an ally after allowing his Team USA teamates to be beaten down by Team Japan on the last episode of Impact before Hard Justice. Daniels arrival was in keeping with his recent darker persona, emerging in his Sting mask and apparently talking to himself as he made his way down to the ring.

Team Japan were greeted as babyfaces as Jushin Liger, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Milano Collection AT, and Minoru raced out to the ring to get things underway. Given the calibre of worker involved, the end product as perhaps a little disappointing, but that's not to say it wasn't a good match. Team Japan went down a man early when Milano Collection AT was pinned following Cradle Shock from Sabin, but the numbers were evened soon after when a Buzzsaw Kick from Tajiri near took his head off before Liger put him out of the match with a Liger Bomb. Alex Shelley, ever the opportunist, pounced quickly to gain control of things against Minoru - and was able to eliminate the two time World X Cup participant with the 2K1 bomb.

Team USA again had a one man advantage, and they'd yet to play their trump card in the form of Daniels - who had so far seemed content to start listlessly off into the crowd and up at the rafters. Shelley looked to have things well in hand with Tajiri when he tagged out to Sabin - but the former X-Division champion ate a face full of Green Mist after missing a clothesline - and Tajiri finished him off with a buzzsaw kick to again even the ledger. Shelley gestured for Daniels to enter and for a moment he teased not doing so - before reluctantly ducking into the ring and proceeding to beat Tajiri senseless before finishing him off with the Angels Wings in dominant fashion. Team Japan's captain, Jushin Liger, stepped into the ring with the numbers against him and found himself equally hard pressed to match the switched on and intense Daniels. Avoiding the brainbuster, Daniels hit his second Angels Wings of the match to lay out the Team Japan leader - but didn't make the cover. Shelley screamed instructions from the apron as Daniels stopped and gestured for a microphone.

"Sting," he began, "Our business isn't finished. There are still things I would learn, and there are still things I would teach. This match matters not to me. What matters to me is finishing the masterpiece that we started".

There was no answer, but Daniels seemed unsurprised.

"I thought you'd be like this, Sting. That's why I've come up with an incentive for you. I have something that matters to you, Sting. Something very close to you. If you want it back, you'll come out here and you'll accept my challenge".

Rather than revealing what the incentive was, Daniels tossed the microphone aside in time to kick Liger in the gut and put him right back down with a death valley driver. Grinning sadistically, he went to the top rope as if to hit the BME, but paused to point at the big screen. The face of a young girl, presumably Sting's real life daughter, Gracie, appeared. Daniels nodded, ran a finger across his throat, and soared for the BME.

The cover was made but the Stinger was out! The fans went crazy as Sting hit the ring. Daniels broke off from making the pin on two and stood to grin at his long term rival and mentor. He offered his hand to Sting, and Sting responded by burying his baseball bat in Daniels' midsection and taking him down with a Scorpion Death Drop before dragging him out of the ring and through the crowd.

Shelley, clearly frustrated, entered the ring and began arguing with the official as Jushin Liger finally got to his feet and waited for Shelley to turn. The crowd built to a roar as Shelley did, realised his predicament, and walked right into the brainbuster. The 1-2-3 got Team Japan an unexpected win, but it was the feud between Daniels and Sting that took pride of place.

(68/65/72)

While Liger and his Team Japan team-mates celebrated in the ring, the commentary crew threw back to the backstage area where Daniels and Sting were still battling as security attempted to break them up.

"Where is she, you son of a bitch?" Sting demanded as he ran Daniels head first into a roller door, drawing blood. Daniels smiled insanely, never speaking or bothering to defend himself.

"Where is she? I'll kill you!"

Daniels didn't respond, and the cameras cut back to Mike Tenay and Don West at ringside where they apologised for the graphic scenes people had had to witness. Never mind that they were no more 'graphic' than your average match (and this from a company that promoted the first Barb Wire match on PPV).

(91)

After a video package to highlight the relationship between Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, and Kevin Nash - from Nash's mentoring to his recent introduction of Nicho El Millionaro and Joey Matthews as his proteges.

The night's matches continued to improve in quality, as the tag match between Dutt & Lethal against Nash's new recruits produced a tag match that would outshine the Steiners vs. 3-D 'dream match' from later in the show. With all four workers accomplished in the ring, there was plenty of quick counters and high spots to keep the X-Division fans happy despite the lack of a title defence on the card. The chemistry between Lethal and El Millionaro was a highlight of the match, and the ending would see Nash debut the third member of his 'next generation' when Pete 'Billy Kidman' Gruner caught Dutt with a guillotine from the outside and allowing El Millionaro to hit his guillotine leg drop for the 1-2-3. El Millionaro had pinned the X-Division champion, and as Nash and his three allies backed up the ramp, Nash gestured to El Millionaro's waist to indicate he would be going after the gold.

(73/67/79)

An interview with Carlos 'The Jackal' Colon followed the match, with Leticia foolishly asking the champion what his thoughts were going into the title defence against Christian Cage and Rhino.

"My thoughts?" he asked with growing anger, "What the hell kind of question is that? My thoughts are that it's bullshit. This company has been trying to screw me since day one and they'll continue to do it until I'm no longer champion or I deal with each and every one of them. Jim Cornette, you think you can take the title off Carlos the Jackal? You're going to find out what happens to people who interfere in my business. And after I beat Cage and Rhino tonight, I'm going to take out anyone who so much as looks at my title"

He whipped out his garotte (which isn't a metaphor) to emphasize the point, grabbed Leticia by the back of the neck, and pulled her in for a kiss. She struggled but he didn't break it until he was good and ready, shoving her away and licking his lips.

"You taste sweet," he taunted, "Maybe I'll see you after my match?"

(80%)

The clash between LAX and the pairing of Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson was understandably hyped as a clinic - three of the four workers involved had history in Ring of Honour together and had produced some memorable matches between them. The clash would steal the show from a workrate perspective, with the focus understandably on the budding rivalry between LAX's Homicide and Samoa Joe. Danielson's role in the match was mostly to put Homicide's offence over - being controlled in large portions of the match before the hot tag to Samoa Joe, who would clean house. Hernandez contributed little aside from running interference for his team-mate.

If I were to describe every top quality match TNA were producing at the time in detail, this book would triple in length. Suffice it to say, as one of the early clashes in the feud that would make both men, it was LAX who got the proverbial points here - Homicide able to hit the Gringo Killa and lock in his cross-leg STF on Danielson after Joe had been temporarily taken out of commission by a whip into the steps from Hernandez. Danielson had no choice but to tape out after weathering the hold for some two minutes - Joe arriving a second too late to make the save. LAX got the win, but Joe wasn't letting that stop him - hoisting Homicide to his shoulders and hitting the Muscle Buster before locking in the Coquina Clutch. Homicide tapped out meaninglessly and Hernandez and Konnan hit the ring to save their stable-mate.

(84/79/89)

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle was another tremendous clash from a workrate standpoint, the two men improving upon their first meeting on an episode of Impact (some time before we picked up the story) with a half hour epic that saw a number of near falls as Styles frustrated the Olympic gold medalist with his refusal to be beaten. Of course, Amy Dumas at ringside also helped things along well on several occasions - forcing the referee to eject her from ringside after she'd been caught trying to trip Angle up while he was on the top rope. The distraction paid off when Styles caught Angle in the chest with a dropkick, but the pin wasn't made, and Dumas would have to watch on from the locker room as her charge took on Angle.

With his manager and chief motivator absent, Styles looked to lose a little direction, and showed a little too much exuberance when he went to the top rope to attempt Spiral Tap. He flew and crashed, and Angle was quick to grasp a flailing ankle and lock in his Angle Lock for the submission victory and first blood in their budding rivalry.

(88/89/86)

The 'dream match' between Team 3D and The Steiner Brothers was probably a few years too late to be what it once could have been. Certainly both teams involved had tremendous histories in the business and could have sold a show themselves had they clashed in their respective primes. But while Team 3D had been prominent in their time in the WWE and Scott Steiner had enjoyed a brief main event run there since WCW folding - Rick Steiner had virtually been relegated to a comedy character in recent years, and none of the workers involved were getting any younger.

Even the atmosphere for the match wasn't as TNA would have hoped, a mixture of Team 3D's rather lacklustre run in the company and the poor build to the feud that had featured a handful of other teams weaving in and out of the title scene. That's not to say it was a stinker (in fact, it surpassed the show's opener in terms of quality), it's just to say that it was perhaps not what it could or should have been. The Steiners claimed the TNA Title for the first time in their careers to further build upon their legacy after Brother Devon was forced to tap out to the Steiner Recliner just moments after Team 3D had put Rick Steiner through a table with 3D. Steiner had arrived in time to toss Brother Ray over the top rope and hit his exploder suplex on Devon and apply his finisher. The fans loved it despite the Steiners being portrayed largely as heels, and the TNA Tag Titles added another prestigious name to their history.

(74/73/76)

The night's main event would see Carlos Colon attempting a title defence against Christian Cage and Rhino. While Rhino was involved in a fairly personal feud with Colon, Christian's inclusion had come about as a result of winning a match against Rhino earlier in the month and persistent whining on his part. The match itself was only outshone by LAX vs. Joe & Danielson - and the crowd roared for it to make it feel like a real main event, something TNA main events had often been accused of missing. While Rhino was the only babyface in the match, there was scattered support for Cage as he fought to reclaim his title. The clash itself was a good but not particularly memorable one, perhaps overshadowed by the events that would immediately follow its conclusion. Colon and Rhino contributed most of the ring time, with Cage smartly spending a good deal of time outside the ring waiting to pounce like the opportunist he was at the time.

When Cage did get involved, it was to attack Colon from behind just seconds after the champion had been able to send Rhino to the outside following a rack-up and a kick to the chest to send him flying to the floor below. An Unprettier caught the champion napping, and Cage wasted valuable time turning to talk trash to the crowd. While he had his back turned, Rhino had re-entered the ring and Colon was to his feet - staggering uselessly between Cage and Rhino. Inevitably, Rhino charged for the Gore, Colon stepped nimbly to the side, and Cage ate the Gore and fell out through the middle rope. Rhino wasn't quick enough to react and learned to never turn his back on Colon - a Career Killer sans garotte enough to put him down for Colon to cover for the 1-2-3.

(87/88/88)

Colon didn't get an opportunity to celebrate, though, as a furious Rhino clubbed him across the back and smashed him to the mat with a Rhino Driver before the two managed to brawl out of the ring and out through the crowd. This left a frustrated Christian Cage to return to the ring and lament his poor luck, grabbing a microphone and going on an emotional (but largely nonsensical) tirade against anybody and everybody.

He'd rambled a good two minutes when the lights went out, plunging the arena into darkness. The big screen flashed up a count-down timer, counting back

5

4

3

2

1

All That Remains hit and the fans roared like they'd never roared before as a familiar silouhette was seen at the head of the ramp. Standing with his back to the audience and his arms outstretched to form a 'T' was Chris Jericho.

"I'm sorry," he began, "But I was backstage and I couldn't help but hear your laudry list of gripes. I thought I'd come out here and suggest that maybe you... SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The roar redoubled as Cage's mouth worked uselessly in an attempt to come up with a retort.

"Waaa, waaa, waaa. Is that all you do around here, jerkie? 'Nobody loves me. Boo hoo' If you got screwed half as much as you claimed to, I'd swear you were the daughter of a certain someone we both used to work for"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Cage eventually managed.

"Well, y'see, Anglican Cage. Can I call you that?"

"My name is..."

"Listen, Anglican, I've got an announcement to make. Can it wait?"

Cage's mouth worked some more, and Jericho just kept right on talking.

"I'm out here to make an announcement, y'see. It's a doozy. I'm out here to announce that TNA is...."

The crowd finished it... "Jericho"

"Close," he corrected them, "But no cigar. It's that and it's much, much more. TNA is..."

"Jericho!" they roared

"Primetime!" Jericho shouted back.

Hysterics from the fans. Hysterics from the guys out back who hadn't been told. It's said that Jeff Jarrett, backstage for the show, broke down and cried at the news. TNA had been his life since its inception, and while he wasn't active on the roster, he had just recieved the first piece of good news he'd had in some time.

(94)

OVERALL: 84%

BEST SEGMENT: Jericho debuts

WORST SEGMENT: World X Cup Preview Match

MOTN: LAX vs. Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson

BUYRATE: 0.79

ATTENDANCE: 9063

"It was the best feeling of my professional career," Christian Cage revealed in a frank interview with TNAWrestling.com some years later, "You spend your whole career dreaming of being a part of something big like that. Main eventing Wrestlemania or winning the TNA title. But you don't ever really dare to dream that you'll be a part of a moment so important to so many people. That night changed so many lives. Not just those who were currently on the active roster, but those about to be brought in or those who had played some small part in getting the company to where it was. Guys like Ken Shamrock and Hector Garza who had moved on, but who had still done their part".

"It was an honour," said Chris Jericho on the subject, "An absolute honour to be picked to be the man to deliver that announcement. It'd pushed for Sting, as had a few others, but Steve (Borden) pointed out that it made no sense for him to be returning to make that announcement after he'd last been seen brutally beating down Christopher Daniels. Jarrett was suggested, but he vetoed that. He said he'd had enough moments in the sun. He suggested I do it because it'd have the biggest impact. I guess, in hindsight, it did".

It did indeed. The night delivered a huge double success for TNA. Not only had they signed Chris Jericho out from underneath the noses of WWE management (who had been sniffing around for several months), but they had also earned a prime time slot on Spike TV. While it wasn't as bold a move as going head to head with the WWE, it was a huge step towards competing with them. The strain of trying to book a top level company with only an hour's television time a month had meant workers such as Robert Roode, Chris Harris, and Alex Shelley had all been relegated to virtual cameos. Two hours a week would greatly increase the company's ability to do business.

As Hard Justice went off air and the fans were left to digest the prospect of Chris Jericho in TNA and an extra hour of TNA a week, the announcers rattled off the matches that would make up the primetime premier of TNA Impact.

Samoa Joe vs. Homicide

The Steiner Brothers vs. Voodoo Kin Mafia for the TNA World Tag Titles

Psicosis vs. Sonjay Dutt for the X-Division Title

Kurt Angle vs. Senshi

Christian Cage and his partner against Chris Jericho and his partner

These would be the matches that marked TNA's coming of age as a promotion, and the surprises weren't done yet. With Panda Energy's pockets loosened by two consecutive months of profit, the company was in a position to bid for more top line talent to join Jericho in addition to midcarders to flesh out their undercard. In the months to come the war would really begin. There would be jumps, there would be talent poaching, there would be a return to the 'bad old days' and, sadly, there would even be deaths.

But this was what it had all been for. This was what TNA management had been fighting tooth and nail to achieve. They would have their war soon, and the WWE - they would begin to remember what 'fear' was for the first time in a long time.

Edited May 31, 2007 by Misanthrope

[chazmers]

This just got alot bigger. TNA With Primetime congrats but what a way of bringing in Chris Jericho to announce the news as well as debut. Keep up the good work mate, i loved the debut of Billy Kidman in Nash's new Generation of Superstars definately going to be a good stable.

This has got to be one of the best diarys at the moment in the Dome and hope it continues for a while. Congrats!

[tenaciousg]

Summerslam sucked and Hard Justice was great.

Also, I marked out huge for Jericho.

[Kapalua2483]

I am enjoying this diary greatly in the fashion it's written. I'm not one for long drawn out matches, with step by step moves because you can figure those out.

Jericho's debut in TNA was terrific and the announcement of Primetime was also good. It's very cool to read this while I go back in time in a seperate diary. It seems almost like two tales. one moving into the future and one into the past. Yours is absolutely epic though and I am always waiting for the next update.

Also Carlos "The Jackal" Colon. Love him and his gimmick. Terrific persona and heel to the max which I like.

[stephenbutler]

Holy fucking shit!!! That's all i can say. This is the best diary I have read. I can actually imagine this happening IRL

The Jericho debut was greatness. Compared to the shit WWE is pulling out it's ass TNA is owning. I can see this turning in to something extremely legendary. Good work

[Guest Put You On The Game]

Yes! Get in there!

I was hoping for Benoit or Flair, but Chris Jericho will do very nicely.

As for two hours, Impact will probably have more quality in this diary which will build rapidly.

[TheArsenal]

Jericho is a very believeable choice both for the debuting worker and the announcer that TNA has a Primetime TV show.

In terms of the debuting worker, I don't think such a high profile worker would make the jump yet, but picking up such a high profile free agent isn't beyond the realm of possibility. It also signals that TNA is is going in the right direction, and fast. Getting such an established worker would turn wrestling fans who don't know anything about TNA into TNA watchers. I think that using a TNA worker to announce the TV deal would also be quite strange. Making the choice over which worker should step forward above the others could go wrong in so many ways, bu the debuting worker, particularly one with the charisma of Jericho, adds to the huge impact (no pun intended) of the night.

Superbly written.

[Cole]

- Summerslam didn't really seem like that horrible of a show but it definitely wasn't anything to talk about it either. Weird seeing Heyman back, and an interesting pick up in Latin Lover. Totally killing any chance of him getting over with the gimmick though...realistic.

- Daniels the kidnapper, eh? While it may be totally stupid and Russo esque I have too say I kinda liked it. Totally fits the character and the storyline is awesome.

- Kidman coming in is good too, I always liked his work. I love Nash in general and now he's building quite the stable. I like what you're doing with that, a lot.

- Jericho is a huge signing, as is primetime with two hours. Awesome...just awesome. I don't even know what else to say about it That was a great segment.

Just great work man, keep it up. This is really like reading a real book, just amazing.

[Chris the Human]

Primetime!

If one looks at the very first episode of WCW's Nitro, the show that went achingly close to putting the WWE out of business, they'll notice one very obvious thing about the show: the debut of Lex Luger, who had been appearing on WWE programming right up until the appearance. This debut, this 'poaching', was a move that set the tone for what would become the ugliest war in professional wrestling history.

Until, that is, the war between TNA and the WWE that was brewing as the staff and workers of TNA prepared for their first ever foray into full time prime time television. Whilst the company had been given a handful of 'primetime specials' by Spike TV before, these had been one off extravaganzas, and never really took off as the company or the network would have hoped. This time, however, Spike TV were prepared to take a collosal gamble on the company after their recent buyrate successes and the signings of high profile talents such as Chris Jericho and Carlos Colon.

"We set out to do two things with the prime time debut," Dixie Carter said of the debut of TNA in primetime, "One was to shock the audience at home and show them something they hadn't seen before. We'd been in negotiations with a number of off contract or disgruntled WWE workers at the time, and about three hours before the show was to be taped, we got the one we were after. The other? That was to showcase what it was that made TNA a unique promotion. We wanted to showcase the X Division and the up and comers and the unique style we were promoting. In hindsight, I think we did that".

TNA's debut on Thursday night primetime would draw an impressive rating of 5.46 and would rate as, even years down the track, one of the finest episodes of Impact the company had ever put together. From the introduction by Chris Jericho to the midcard classics to the collosal main event - TNA put down a top to bottom card that even they would struggle to match further down the track. The first episode of Impact on primetime stood up and said 'Hey, look at me' in the perfect way, and one man in particular can take credit for that.

"Look, I had a great respect for what they were doing," he confessed in his second best-selling novel, "And I had a great respect for what Vince was doing. I wanted to create some kind of middle ground to the wrestling product TNA were offering and the entertainment product that the WWE were offering. I didn't have a great deal of say in the booking of that first show, but I played my part. It really was a long time coming, but I still consider being a part of killing the WWE my greatest achievement".

The man? Former WCW head booker, Eric Bischoff. While the man's ego would go down as one of the chief causes for WCW's death, it was his role in the rise of TNA that would cement his place as one of the greatest wrestling promoters and bookers in professional wrestling history. Whether it was the NWO revolutionising the industry for WCW or the Coterie in TNA - he based his success around a number of things:

- Big names

- Shock tactics

- Top quality undercard

- Good vs. evil

- Winning at all costs

Bischoff had become infamous during the original Monday Night Wars for his variety of underhanded tactics. He encouraged WWE workers to break their contracts, gave away the results to pre taped WWE events live on air, and swooped on anyone the WWE had coming off contract with the sole purpose of preventing the WWE from using them.

"The man was a bastard," Shane McMahon would later reveal in his own retelling of the events, "A dirty, low down dog. After what my father had done for him after the WCW's death, he never once showed one single speck of gratitude. He took what my father gave him and he spat it back in our face as soon as he had the chance. As far as I'm concerned, Eric Bischoff isn't even a human being".

The man himself has never once apologised for his actions during either of the Monday Night Wars.

"It's business," he claims, "and there's no room for friendships or gratitude. He (Vince) had his company and I had mine. My job was to see that it came out on the top and I think, if you look around, you'll see that I got the job done. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe. Does that make me good at my job? You're damn straight it does".

But Bischoff's time was still a short while off, and the initial primetime episode of Impact was almost solely the doing of Jim Cornette, Vince Russo, Scott D'Amore, and Scott 'Raven' Levy. So, without further ado, let's see a little piece of history, shall we?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

8pm Thursday, August 30th, 2007. Die hard fans had marked the time and date down in their calendars. Casual fans had heard the hype or read the articles and were flicking over to Spike TV to see what all of the fuss was about. Was Chris Jericho back in wrestling for good? Who was this Carlos Colon they'd all been hearing about? And what the hell was an 'X Division'?

The night opened with the fanfare shows such as Raw and Nitro had established themselves on, pyrotechnics and hard rock music as Mike Tenay and Don West welcomed the audiences at home to TNA Impact. It was to be your two hour adrenaline rush and it was the new face of professional wrestling. A ravenous Miami crowd (many members of the famed Impact Zone were given free admission) of 4,415 were on hand as the lights went out and the countdown began.

5

4

3

2

1

BLAM!

Chris Jericho, the self proclaimed Ayatollah of Rock 'n Rolla stood in the pose he had made famous as the Jericho chants mixed with the 'TNA' chants. He let the crowd chant for a good two minutes before lifting the microphone to his mouth, eying the crowd, and speaking.

"Welcome to... TNA...is...."

"Jericho"

"Primetime!"

More cheers. Another round of TNA chants. For the fans who had been frequenting the Impact Zone since TNA had first begun to put on events, this was a dream come true. TNA was primetime, and Chris Jericho was at the head of the ramp letting everybody know about it. They had been there when Jerry Lynn, AJ Styles, and Low-Ki had taken on the Flying Elvises on that first, fateful night and they were here now to witness a card that featured such names as Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, and Sting. It was TNA's coming of age, and it was magical.

Chris Jericho's welcome couldn't progress any further, however, as Christian Cage's music hits and the 'Instant Classic' made his first TNA primetime appearance.

"Well, well, if it isn't Muslim Cage. How can I help you?"

Cage blasted Jericho, accusing him of only being here to resurrect his failed musical career. He accused Jericho of riding on TNA's success to make a name for himself - the success that guys like Christian Cage had fought tooth and nail to achieve. In short, Chris Jericho was a vulture and Christian Cage wouldn't stand for it. He wanted to be the first man to step into the ring with Chris Jericho and kick his ass.

"You done?"

"I..."

"You're done. Before you so rudely interrupted, I was about to say that I wasn't here to take anything for free. If I want something, I'll take it. And tonight, Buddhist Cage, I want to kick... your... ass. In fact, I had another surprise for the crowd here, but I think now maybe it can wait. How about you find somebody dumb enough to want to team with you and bring them down to the ring later tonight, and I'll find someone to team with me and we'll see who kicks who's ass?"

Jericho's music hits and the 'saviour of TNA' (as he was being dubbed on message boards) left a dumbstruck, annoyed Christian Cage in the ring to contemplate what he'd gotten himself into.

(90)

The first match of the night, and a match that was fully deserving of being the mainstream audience's first taste of TNA's product, would see Samoa Joe take on rival, Homicide in a brutal Street Fight. While it could be debated that the company could have made far more money by putting the match on PPV, the company obviously saw this as an ideal opportunity to not only showcase their superior product, but to also let two 'home grown' talents have the honour of going down in history. And yes, I understand that neither Joe or Homicide were home grown in the strictest sense of the word, but seriously, Ring of Honour doesn't count.

The match itself is the stuff of wrestling lore. It won PWI's Match of the Year with an astonishing 73% of the vote. Dave Meltzer, notoriously harsh in his rating of American matches, gave the match the coveted ***** rating, making it TNA's second five star match (the other being Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels at Unbreakable in 2005) and only the fifth American match to reach the rating since 1997. If you've not seen the match, seriously, get out and buy it. Heck, download it, I don't care. No wrestling fan worth his or her salt has not seen this match.

The epic undercard clash, which took up the first half hour of the episode was not only a classic, but it was proof positive that American wrestling fans had room in their hearts and on their television screens for good, pure wrestling. Oh, sure, there were chairshots and Herandez ran a little interference before being run off by Bryan Danielson, but for twenty five of the thirty minutes, it was just two brilliant workers beating the shit out of one another. You liked stiff kicks and brawling? It was there. You liked technical working and chain wrestling? It was there. If you were someone who loved a match that told a story, you got it with Homicide relentlessly targetting Joe's leg to the point that he was actually unable to walk out of the ring for a full ten minutes after the match.

"Hell yeah it hurt," Joe would later joke, "I'm a terrible actor. You think I was faking? I can tell you now that Nelson 'Homicide' Erazo wasn't on my Christmas card list for a while there".

Fittingly, it was TNA's nigh on unbeatable monster and fast rising babyface that got the victory - eventually forcing Homicide to tap out to the Kokina Clutch to record an exhausting, marathon victory over the man with whom his feud was going to put TNA on the map.

(94/87/100)

Following up the classic encounter was none other than Sting, a veteran of the original Monday Night War who has the rare distinction of being a worker to be one of the few workers who fought in both Monday Night Wars without having ever worked for the WWE. Sting, in the makeup and outfit that made him famous, addressed the audience from the darkness of some backstage alcove. The promo itself was predictable enough, as Sting called out Christopher Daniels demanding the location of where his little girl was being held. Tenay and West explained to those watching at home that the rivalry between the legendary Sting and the deranged Daniels was reaching boiling point. Sting himself sold the mad rage of a father scared for his child's life as only the Stinger could, and right there the feud was well and truly made. His emotional, passionate, rage filled promo turned Christopher Daniels into something close to public enemy #1 in the company. He was being booed without having even made an appearance.

(87)

It was a dose of nostalgia that fans were treated to next, as two of the most successful tag teams from the modern era paired off for a match. It would be the Steiner Brothers defending their newly won TNA Tag Titles against the Voodoo Kin Mafia, who had risen to prominence as the New Age Outlaws during Monday Night War I. There was probably a time when this match could have sold out an arena and produced a classic, but like Team 3D vs. The Steiners, this clash was probably ten years too late. It was an enjoyable midcard clash, and certainly gave the belts some legitimacy to see them showcased between two experienced tag teams. The Steiners, predictably, picked up the win - Scott Steiner pinning BG James after an Exploder Suplex.

(77/78/75)

There were no victory celebrations, however, as the whistle of bombs dropping kicked in and Team 3D made their first primetime appearance to the hard rock strains of Powerman 5000's 'Bombshell'. The decision to use the music rather than TNA's stock version would be a costly one, but one that Bischoff and Carter would later describe as 'worth it'. Casual fans marked out as the legendary team appeared at the top of the ramp and demanded a rematch for their TNA Tag Titles. The Steiners, through the always entertaining Scott, responded that they'd be glad to put the titles on the line at No Surrender to prove once and for all that they were the greatest, not just in TNA, but of all time.

(68)

The hits kept on coming as the show returned from commercial with Kurt Angle backstage with Jeremy Borash (and thankfully, that inane twat's days of laming up television screens were numbered). Angle cut another of his now legendary intense, unscripted promos on AJ Styles - making reference to his time as a 'no name spot monkey' in WCW's dying days before talking about his recent alignment with a 'whore who has screwed more wrestlers than Vince McMahon'. The 'no mention of the WWE policy' that would become standard practice as the war intensified had not been instituted at this point, obviously. And, fittingly, he finished off with 'It's real, it's damn real'.

(100)

Out in the ring next was Kevin Nash, the former WCW and WWE Heavyweight Champion accompanied to the ring by Nicho El Millionaro, Joey Matthews, and Pete Gruner. In a short interview that showcased the emerging stable's perfect heelishness, Nash introduced the group as Next Generation X (eerily similar to ROH's Generation Next) and discussed how, starting in El Millionaro's match against Dutt, they would revolutionise the X-Division. The three stable mates of El Millionaro would remain at ringside for the match, Nash joining the commentary team to add some nuggets of 'wisdom' to the match.

(87)

The X-Division's first appearance on prime time saw Sonjay Dutt defending his title against Nicho El Millionaro, who casual fans recognised as Psicosis, who had been a member of the WWE's short lived Mexicools stable not so long ago. The clash itself probably wasn't the greatest advertisment for the X-Division in terms of match quality (although it was far from a bad match), but it did the job of showcasing Nash's new stable and the current 'faces' of the X-Division. Many at the time considered the division was far too bland since the departure of the likes of Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, and the decision was made to put the belt on the more marketable El Millionaro in the match - Joey Matthews and Pete Gruner interfering to cost Dutt his title and give it to their stable mate. Jay Lethal made his appearance to attempt to ward off the wolves, but was beaten to the ground instead. Nicho El Millionaro would hold the title as it embarked on a crucial period in its history.

(76/69/83)

What might be described as a throwaway match between Kurt Angle and Senshi (who would remain as somewhat of a 'lost' character until the formation of the Coterie) prologued the main event that had people talking. The clash itself was a tremendous first up encounter from two talented workers, with Senshi's stiff offence and unique style melding well with Angle's no nonsense technical prowess. The clash was just another of several great matches on the card, and Angle went over clean with an Angle Slam for the 1-2-3 before AJ Styles chimed in to club him across the back and attempt a Styles Clash. This ended with Styles locked in the Angle Lock, though, and the former X-Division and TNA Champion was forced to tap out. The fans loved seeing their hero go over, but Dumas got involved by leaping onto his back. While Angle tried to take her down, Styles cracked him across the head with a chair before the pair made a break for it.

(86/82/90)

Fans returned from the commercial break to see Christian Cage out in the ring already, the cocky star saying that he'd searched high and low for somebody good enough to step into the ring with the Instant Classic to put Chris Jericho back into his place. And though he didn't like the guy he'd picked, he couldn't think of anyone more suitable than TNA Champion, Carlos 'The Jackal' Colon. The champion made his first (and some would say belated) TNA primetime appearance to join Cage in the ring. The pair eyed one another off warily as Chris Jericho's music hit and the first ever WWE dual champion made his second appearance of the evening.

"I'm impressed, Mormon Cage," he conceded, "You've really brought out the big guns there. But, you know, I think I might have topped you. You see, this is TNA Impact on prime time, and it deserves a big finish. So I wracked my brain trying to think what these Jerichoholics would want to see. And you know who I chose to pair with me?"

And the screen flashed the letters

R V D

Rob Van Dam, who had been out of his WWE contract since June's One Night Stand PPV (which I've not included here as it was, to put it bluntly, a fucking train wreck) made his TNA debut to complete a double of shock debuts in a week for TNA. The WWE, whose Monday Night Raw had seen Val Venis turn heel on Viscera and whose Friday Night Smackdown would see Brock Lesnar squash Finlay and Little Bastard, had been shown up in their first week of real 'competition' with TNA as Mr. Monday Night and the Whole Fucking Show, Rob Van Dam made his way down to the ring with Chris Jericho at his side.

(95)

The main event perhaps should have been the most memorable match on the card, and in many ways, it was. Whilst it wasn't the workrate feast that Joe vs. Homicide had been, the crowd certainly lapped it up. Whether they were cheering for RVD and Jericho or mercilessly booing two of the finest heels in the business, the clash had the kind of atmosphere that you'd be more likely to expect from a pay-per-view main event (in fact, at the end of the month, Rob Van Dam and Jericho would team up against Christian Cage & Tomko in No Surrender's co main event).

What made the match so revolutionary wasn't that it was four huge names in one TNA ring. It was that these four guys epitomised what it took to be a TNA Champion. None of them were big guys. None of them were roided up mountains of muscle. But all four of them were brilliant in ring workers with charisma to burn. Rob Van Dam, who had been absolutely wasted during the entirity of his six year WWE career, was long considered one of the best wrestlers to never hold a major title (he was eventually given a token reign by WWE management before his personal habits saw him in the doghouse) and looked to have a new lease on life as he turned back the clock with a near show-stealing performance in the match. And then there was Jericho's long related in ring return. It was a far cry from his loss to John Cena on an episode of Raw in 2005 (which had seen him crying and begging Eric Bischoff for his job in the aftermath) as the Jericho of old busted out the Lionsault and the Walls of Jericho and his trademark bulldog. And there was the Frog Splash and Rolling Thunder. The heels didn't need to look strong, because this match was every bit a symbol of TNA's own rise to the top. The babyfaces carried the day.

(I should comment for a moment on the irony of TNA's first prime time main event being contested by four guys all previously associated with the WWE, three of whom had been WWE talent in the past eighteen months).

That's not to say Cage or Colon was buried. Both had their periods of control, and Colon was made out to be the bastard that he was as he choked out RVD while Cage distracted the referee or absolutely buried his boot in Jericho's midsection to prevent him from hitting the Lionsault on Cage. But like all good stories, this one had a happy ending, and Rob Van Dam's debut was marked with a 1-2-3 victory over Carlos Colon after Rhino interfered to put an end to Colon's cheating. At the time, Colon and Cage had produced a chair and were about to perform the 'Con-Chair-To' (Cage and his kayfabe brother, Edge, had performed the move as part of their legendary tag team) on Jericho. The ref was down and Rhino Gored the shit out of Colon, allowing RVD to hit the five star frog splash. The pinfall was counted. 1-2-3. RVD and Jericho, the new 'saviours of TNA' had won and TNA's first primetime episode of Impact went out with a huge bang.

(89/90/90)

OVERALL: 86%

BEST SEGMENT: Angle Promo

WORST SEGMENT: Team 3D’s challenge to The Steiner Brothers

MOTN: Samoa Joe vs. Homicide

RATING: 5.46

ATTENDANCE: 4415

A high standard had been set, fans would talk about the show for weeks to come, and it was up to TNA and their latest recruit, Eric Bischoff, to make sure it was matched.

Edited June 3, 2007 by Misanthrope

[Donaldoholic]

...................................WOW....I erm didn't expect that one.....

Rob Van Dam! WOW

This story reeks of so much awsomeness it's unreal.... I'm pretty much speechless at the minute....WOW

Just keep up this fantastic work please

[xdavex]

I was expecting RVD, and I like how Jericho won't say Christian Cage, he uses some other religion, and what is the Coteire?

[Guest Put You On The Game]

The RVD move was expected, but Eric Bischoff on the creative team? Not a popular one, but a good one never the less.

I also laughed at the "fucking train wreck" reference to One Night Stand just to cover up the fact that you can only have one PPV a month on EWR or TEW (whichever you are using, I can't remember which one exactly though).

[Dynamite]

I was pretty much waiting for RVD to come (as I am for Sabu) but I forgot all about him when reading the show. I hope that things go wrong for TNA soon just to make their struggle to the top harder as at the moment it seems like they can't make a mistake if they tried.

[GCCWolverine]

Remember, Dynamite - TNA is just getting a full time, two-hour primetime slot now. They're on a roll with the stealings of Colon, Jericho, RVD - obviously, they're gonna run into struggles when they have to be, in the game, at war with WWE.

[Guest olla666]

I'm guessing Coteire is some sort of stable down the track.