NWA:TNA 2002

probablyoliver · February 21, 2006

Former World Champion to start a "wrestling revolution".
May 22nd 2002

Former WCW World Champion and WWF Intercontinental Chmampion, Jeff Jarrett held a press conference today to announce the start of a new NWA based promotion; "Total Non-Stop Action".

Jarrett, who was accompanied by his Father, Jerry Jarrett, plus wrestling legend Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and MMA Superstar, Ken Shamrock, spoke for more then 30 minutes on how winning the WCW World Championship "changed his life", and made him want to become the "best wrestler in the known world".

"There was never really a place for me in the WWF" said Jarrett, who was visibly upset at not being hired by Vince McMahon after WCW's "unruly demise". Jarrett continued, by saying that he didn't hate McMahon, but he wanted to "beat him at his own game", and with the NWA commisioning him, along with names such as Shamrock and Steamboat, he just may be able to do it.

NWA: Total Non-Stop Action will debut in Huntsville, Alabama at the Von Braun Center, and Jeff Jarrett will be there to "spearhead the wrestling revolution".

Ricky Steamboat, who stayed quiet during Jarrett's speech, added that he was "extremely proud and looking forward to being there when TNA debuts" and that he was looking forward to seeing a new era for the NWA, saying "it was once a place for the stars of yesterday, now it'll be be the proving ground for the stars of tomorrow."

Shamrock, who stayed quiet during the entire press conference, was bombarded with questions in the short Q&A session that followed. With everyone wanting the inside scoop on what Shamrock's role would be in TNA, what would happen to his UFC career and whether the rumours of him turning down a WWE contract were true or not, he had to break his silence. Shamrock said he'd be in TNA to "fight, and be the best", and that no matter what happened he'd still be "UFC's golden boy". Shamrock said that he would "never sign with WWE, afterall" he said "I'd rather be at the top of a wrestling revolution then the bottom of a company that's going nowhere."

Following the Q&A, Jerry Jarrett confirmed rumours that current NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Dan Severn, had been stripped of the title, due to his inability to show at the debut NWA:TNA show, which would be shown live on PPV. Instead, a new champion would be crowned in a brand new, never before seen match-up, involving some of wrestlings greatest stars.

NWA:TNA will debut live on PPV for only $6.99 on Wednesday, June 5th at the Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama. For ticket information log on to ticketmaster.com.

Card announced for NWA:TNA's debut.
May 29th 2002

With just one week until NWA:TNA makes its much anticipated debut, people have been on the edges of their seats waiting for conformation on who will be there, and as per usual, grapplefanatics.com gets the inside scoop first.

We already know that the men who will "spearhead the wrestling revolution" are Ken Shamrock, Jeff Jarrett and Ricky Steamboat, but in what roles will they play at NWA:TNA's debut? You asked for it, we got it, and so in a Grapple Fanatics exclusice we give to you the very first card for the very first NWA:TNA PPV.

NWA World Heavyweight Title
Gauntlet for the Gold
A 20 Man Over-The-Top Battle Royale, with the last two men participating in a one-on-one match, with the winner being crowned the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion
Including: Jeff Jarrett, Ken Shamrock, Scott Hall, Marcus Bagwell, Rick Steiner, Malice, Konnan, Brian Christopher, K-Krush, Steve Corino and more.

The Road Warriors Return to PPV
The Shane Twins vs. The Road-Warriors

Winners recieve a spot in the Gauntlet for the Gold
The Flying Elvis', Jorge Estrada, Sonny Siaki and Jimmy Yang vs. Low-Ki, AJ Styles and Rey Misterio Jr..

Winner recieves a spot in the Gauntlet for the Gold
Curt Hennig vs. James Storm
Chris Daniels vs. Psicosis vs. Elix Skipper

With something for everyone, including wrestling legends, future prospects and some of today's top wrestling superstars, it looks set to be a great debut for NWA:TNA, and you can rest assured that grapplefanatics.com will have all the news leading up to the event.

WWE Summer Clear-Out
June 4th 2002

As we all know, around this time of year, the WWE cut down their rosters, turning the over-crowded midcard into a slightly less over-crowded midcard; and this year is no different, as WWE have released a list of wrestlers who will no longer be appearing on RAW or SmackDown!, amongst the names released are Johnny Stamboli, Jazz, Justin Credible, Spike Dudley and the Big Bossman. However, they won't be the only wrestlers no longer appearing for 'the E', as development and training promotion; Ohio Valley Wrestling has also released a number of superstars including Shelton Benjamin, David Flair, Charlie Haas, The Prototype and one of WWE's past major prospects; Mark Henry. It's rumoured that Henry is fuming with his release, due to the fact he signed a ten year deal with the WWF in 1996, and it is believed he could go to great measures in order to sue Vince McMahon and the WWE.

But don't expect to catch any of these former and future superstars anytime soon, as WWE's 90 Day No-Compete Clause is in full practice with these releases. However, always an exception to the rule; all-rounder Doug Basham and brawler Damien will be able to compete ASAP out of the WWE due to the fact they were never on a written contract to begin with.

Edited February 26, 2006 by Luke Warm Ollie Beak

probablyoliver · February 24, 2006

NWA alongside Budweiser presents; "Total Non-Stop Action"

#001: Gauntlet for the Gold

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They said it'd never last, that it'd be dead before the end of the year. Wrestling fans gave it 18 months, wrestling critics gave it a year and those in the business didn't even give it that. TNA was a little fish in one hell of a pond, and whereas the lower league indy's weren't trying to change the world, instead opting to put on card after card of solid wrestling action, TNA was different, very different. Jeff Jarrett and friends didn't want to be remembered as 'just another indy' and from day one TNA management made one thing clear; they were here to be the biggest and the best in the wrestling industry.

This is where the problem lay; all the big stars were with WWE, all the money, the publicity, the names and even more importantly; the fans were with WWE, and it'd take more then just a few great cards from the Alabama based PPV company to bring the wrestling behemoth to its knees, it'd need a miracle.

Four years later and TNA was starting to become a threat, wrestlers who once called WWE their loving home were jumping ship to the self proclaimed "#1 Alternative", and TNA was fighting WWE, metaphorical guns a-blazing, taking them down one viewer at a time.

TNA may not have started with its best foot forward, but what it did start with was a bang...

-

*BANG!*

[Weekend carnival grade pyro's shoot around the Von Braun centre, and the audience faces light up for the debut of NWA:TNA. The production on PPV is certainly nothing to write home about, and it's nowhere near the level of anything WWE has ever done, but what it does show is a promising start to a hopefully promising promotion, which promised to showcase the future of pro wrestling, and not the past. Somewhat of a disappointment then, seeing as the show seems split between wrestlers who have been praised for great work-rate in the last few years, and wrestlers who were so over the hill they almost needed crutches getting down to the ring, the major problem was that instead of using these over-the-hill Granddads to help improve the younger talent and make them look good, TNA was using them in main event roles. Because of this, what started out as a great night, giving us some great wrestling moments ended with one of the most over-the-hill workers of the last twenty years.]

[The night started with wrestling, and some very promising wrestling at that. I doubt anybody would have guessed the impact that AJ Styles would have had on TNA after it's four years on PPV (whether that be weekly or monthly) when he first appeared out of the curtain as the first wrestler to appear on TNA PPV. He was small, scrawny, and all in all, quite unimpressive looking, there was little to no reaction for him from the Alabama crowd, and he looked as though he couldn't light a match, let alone the hearts of thousands of wrestling fans. Out from the curtain next was a being that resembled chimp more then man, but with a more impressive physique and look then Styles; Low-Ki, a man who had already proved himself in Tri-State promotion, Ring of Honor. Without as much as a shared glance between the two wrestlers, they began to walk down the ramp as their third and final partner hopped out from the curtain; Rey Misterio, sans mask. Misterio got by far the best reaction, seeing as he was a face already recognised by pretty much anyone who got their rocks off wrestling in the late 90's early 00's, seeing as he was a WCW mainstay for the train-wreck days of the train-wreck company. But who are the opponents for Misterio and his lesser-known friends? In what could be the strangest gimmick since Gene Okerlund danced with a turkey, out from the back came three young men all dressed as the late and great Elvis Presley, in matching white suits, big wigs and thick glasses. The most convincing of the three "King's" (see: the white one), with microphone in hand made their plight known. Apparently, everywhere the three Elvis' went, they were laughed out of the building, seeing as nobody believed that three men who wanted to act, look and be like the King of rock and roll would be good wrestlers, and they never got their chance to shine. This had of course turned them evil, and they wanted to rid the world of everyone who believed anyone was better then Elvis. Basically, the three Elvis', Jorge Estrada, Sonny Siaki and Jimmy Yang were walking wrestlecrap, and apparently AJ Styles, Rey Misterio and Low-Ki don't like Elvis Presley.]

[The first match could have been great. With talent like Misterio, Ki and Yang in the ring, as well as the three relatively unknown wrestlers, Styles, Estrada and Siaki, it could have been the match of the night. However, it all looked way too rehearsed, and from start to finish, the match looked predictable, Misterio had to linger on the top rope, looking like an idiot as Estrada and Yang arranged themselves in a position worth gunning for, and Siaki botched what could have been a picture perfect Topé Suicidá when he went to far and hardly touched Low-Ki, making everyone involved look slightly retarded. However, the match did showcase AJ Styles, who with no hype or introduction had the crowd buzzing by the end of the match with his great mix of fast paced high flying action and technical wonderment. His moves were crisp, and he worked hard to make Estrada look like a legit tough guy, whilst simultaneously making him look like a young Shawn Michaels. However, the finish came when Rey Mysterio hit a picture perfect springboard Hurracanrana on Jimmy Yang to get the three count. Styles, Ki and Misterio get into the Gauntlet for the Gold, and the Flyin' Elvis' have upped their status from wrestlecrap to wrestlecrap-who-can-wrestle.]

[Following the match, a man who looked worlds apart from what he once was, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat made his way to the ring, with nothing but a black case in hand, the trouble was, the camera seemed more interested in the case then the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and for Steamboat's whole entrance, we saw but one or two glimpses of him in his entire form. It was second nature to Steamboat to climb into the ring, and the way he did so made him look as though he was about to kick ass one last time. It was no surprise that the man who now stood in the ring was once one of the greatest wrestlers alive. Inside of Steamboat's extremely interesting black case was the NWA World Heavyweight Title itself, in the last few years it had been made out to look like just another title, Ric Flair and Shane Douglas had purposely made it out to look like crap in the past, and more recently, Dan Severn had metaphorically shat on the title's legacy from a high height by refusing to show up at this very NWA governed event. Steamboat started to run down a list of some of the greatest wrestlers who had held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and was "extremely happy" to have some of them here tonight. However, Steamboat could no longer continue his little spoken montage of NWA Champions due to the arrival of former WCW World Champion Jeff Jarrett, and a man who was sure to be a focal point of TNA, what with his Daddy running day-to-day business. Jarrett apparently knew he was going to win the title tonight, as he was the only man with any talent in the whole Gauntlet for the Gold, and Steamboat should quit messing around and just hand Jarrett the title there and then. Just when it looked like Steamboat would knock Jarrett to his back with the title itself, out from the curtain entered Ken Shamrock. The self-proclaimed "Most dangerous man in the world" told Jarrett that he had nothing to back up what he was saying, and counting title runs in bogus sports entertainment companies like WCW or WWF didn't count, adding "if you're good enough to win the title; prove it.". Unsurprisingly, Jarrett didn't listen to the words of Shamrock, instead he told him that the NWA Title was for wrestlers, not failed fighters. This angered Shamrock enough to throw a punch, and just as the two were about to erupt in a mass brawl, Steamboat stepped in and stopped them. Apparently, Steamboat was tonight's authority figure, and told both Jarrett and Shamrock that he didn't like either man's attitude, and that because of their actions there, they'd be entering the Gauntlet for the Gold at numbers one and two respectively. Steamboat left the ring first as Jarrett and Shamrock stared each other down.]

[Following the short confrontation, action went back to the ring with what was essentially, a squash match. Out of the curtain came Curt Hennig, recently released from the WWE following the plane trip from hell, yet released from the 90 day no compete clause due to a conflicting clause in his contract (shut up, I wanted Hennig dammit), came down to the ring with a surprisingly good reaction. He looked worse than a few months earlier when he was in the WWE, and was merely a shadow on his former self, but the fans still gave him his due and a few chants of "Mr. Per. Fect." broke out around the Von Braun center. James Storm was out of the curtain before Hennig had finished getting in the ring and was receiving next to no admiration from the crowd. However, the boy looked good, and looked as though he could make a splash in TNA in some way, shape or form. He had a good, cocky heel look to him, and he had a strange kind of "whatever..." charm and charisma about him, giving him the perfect look for a superstar heel. However, he had no option but to play the face to Hennig's heelish attitude throughout the match.]

[Hennig was quick on the offensive in a short and uneventful match as he hit a baseball slide before Storm even got into the ring. What followed was three and a half minutes of beatings from Hennig, as he hit Storm with any offensive he could think up, rendering Storm's defence useless. Storm was able to build a small bit of momentum, hitting his perfect opponent with two shoulder blocks, knocking him onto his back and following up with an attempted superkick, which was ducked and countered with a perfect dropkick, sending him into the turnbuckle, as Storm rebounded back, Perfect ran into the ropes and hit a brutal clothesline, before pulling Storm up and hitting the Perfect Plex, a Fisherman's hook Suplex with bridge for the three count; and with a great deal of ease, Hennig makes it to the main event.]

[A short video followed, hyping up the main event. However, with most, if not all media that showed the glory days of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship being owned by Vince McMahon and co. in the WWE, all the video could show was clips from the press conference earlier in the week and some generic moving images of some of the 'superstars' appearing in tonight's Gauntlet for the Gold; Jeff Jarrett and Ken Shamrock both featured heavily, maybe a hint to the winner of tonight’s main event.]

[by the time the video stopped rolling and action was back to the ring, the three men scheduled to face off in the 3-way match were already in the ring. Psicosis (sans mask), Elix Skipper and Christopher Daniels. Much like the opening match, with Rey Misterio being the only name on his team, this was similar, Psicosis had been seen before all around the world, whilst Daniels & Skipper were only just breaking out in the US. Despite this, they both looked impressive, and good enough to go with a lucha machine like Psicosis. The match started off to a great start with Daniels & Skipper double teaming the ring veteran, but Psicosis coming back with a Springboard Seated Dropkick to both men. The three put on a match that could have been the match of the night, if only for a huge botch when it came to Daniels delivering a moonasult around ten minutes into the match to Skipper. The moonasult itself was picture perfect, but Daniels landed about a foot away from Skipper, thus only grazing him with a terrible looking headbutt, and a move that put Daniels in a lot of danger. Psicosis, acting out of professionalism quickly hit Skipper with a hurrcanrana and got the three-count, putting him through the Gauntlet for the Gold.]

[What followed put the fans into a full on frenzy, as for the first time in years, the Road Warriors appeared on a major American PPV to give their thoughts and feelings on tonight’s happenings. One thing Animal and Hawk were not was in shape, the two had got a serious case of beer-gut in their semi-retirement, and they were both visibly getting very old. However, the promo was vintage Road-Warriors, and the every man, woman and child in attendance was hanging on to Hawk's every word as he described exactly what was going to happen to the Shane Twins. Every syllable had its meaning and every growl that came from either man just sounded so maniacal, so destructive, and so hungry for blood. Oooooh, what a rush.]

[From a great promo came a surprisingly good match as the Road Warriors made their way to the ring to a huge crowd reaction, the entire audience were on their feet for the Road Warriors as they entered the ring, the crowd were so hot for the former LOD in fact, that the Shane Twins got boo'ed, simply for the fact that they weren't Animal or Hawk. The Shane Twins looked none to impressive, they weren't out of shape, but they weren't in shape either, and although they had an impressive big man build, and faces ugly enough to frighten, there was something missing that made them look out of place and insignificant. Whether it was the fact they were facing one of the worlds greatest teams in their first match on PPV, or something else, it was nigh on impossible to accept them as a serious threat.]

[The Road Warriors dominated the entire match, and although it was no technical wonderment between the two teams, the Road Warriors psychology and pure charisma carried their opponents to a good match. It was pretty much a showcase of Animal and Hawk's amazing ability to pick up wither opponent and slam them, time and time again, but it worked and the Road Warriors, although aging and out of shape, looked just as menacing and dominant as they had years before. However, the Shane Twins got some offence in too, and with a huge double military press on Hawk, they finally looked threatening. The twins, whose first names were never revealed always took Animal to his limits, hitting him with a double hip toss followed by a double suplex. However, the ball was out of their court a lot quicker then they had maybe hoped for when Animal and Hawk retaliated with dual clotheslines, followed by a toss to the outside to one of the twins and a doomsday device to the other, allowing Hawk to get the three count.]

[Following the Road Warriors surprisingly promising return to PPV, a very secretive angle aired. Ricky Steamboat was seen backstage walking down a hallway, still with the case containing the NWA World Heavyweight Title in hand, but this time in a loud beach shirt and white pants instead of his previous casual suit. As Steamboat reached a door he looked around to check the coast was clear, before pushing the door open and walking inside. As the door closed, the sign on the door became plain to see, an American flag with the words "American Dream" engraved on it in gold. His name wasn't mentioned, and he sure as hell didn't show up on screen, but the crowd now knew that Dusty Rhodes was in the building.]

[Twenty men. One prize. The Gauntlet for the Gold was up next. The rules were that two men would start in the ring, the two men we know will be Jeff Jarrett and Ken Shamrock. After a minute, another wrestler will enter, and so on and so forth. Wrestlers will be eliminated by being thrown over the top rope, with the final two wrestlers fighting in one-on-one rules until we have a winner. That winner will be crowned NWA World Heavyweight Champion. First out was Jeff Jarrett, the only man in the entire show to get a pyro with his entrance. Jarrett received a slightly disappointing reaction as the crowd pretty much sat on their hands for his entrance. As he entered the ring, Ken Shamrock came out of the curtain to a great reaction from the fans. Shamrock entered the ring and the two men squared each other off in the ring as the bell rang.]

[The Gauntlet for the Gold was a pretty average affair, there were some great moments and some slightly less great moments, and throughout the match, the fans were either extremely excited or extremely not. There were times when the only sound to come out of the audience was chants of "Boring", and other such chants which had no place in a debut event, and although there were also times were every single man, woman and child were on the edge of the seat, you couldn't help but feel a little disappointed afterwards. The first elimination came in the form of the former Disquo Inferno, aka Glenn Gilberti, when he was tossed over and out the ring by Ken Shamrock, and it really set the tone for the whole rumble. Instead of struggling to get opponents out, or using the lost art of psychology to make an elimination look great, it seemed that most eliminations came from surprise, not suspense. The first few eliminations were nothing to write home about; Glenn Gilberti, Marcus Bagwell and El Gran Apollo, three men who didn't have a hope in hell were eliminated first, and until Ken Shamrock was thrown out by Jarrett in the seventh elimination, most of the wrestlers to go came in as no-hopers anyway. The foundations for NWA's first junior feud were laid when AJ Styles dropkicked his earlier team-mate, Rey Misterio by dropkicking him off the springboard as elimination #5. Styles just shrugged it off as Misterio looked pissed, and for the first time in the Gauntlet for the Gold; the fans cared. In probably the biggest shock of the night, hard-hitter Low-Ki was able to eliminate Jeff Jarrett, not as a surprise, but as a well calculated attack on the former WCW Champion. Ki went full-throttle with kicks and jabs to Jarrett, before hitting him with an Enziguiri sending him over the rope and onto the apron, one dropkick later and Jarrett was the ninth man out, and because of it, Ki became the instant fan-favourite in the match. But Ki wasn't able to leave the biggest mark in the Gauntlet, as the man to gain the most from the Gauntlet for the Gold was easily Malice, the former Wall from WCW. One of the most solid no-nonsense brawlers in North America, Malice came in and dominated the better part of the second half of the Gauntlet, eliminating in total; five men, a quarter of the men entered for the match. Malice came in and instantly dumped Curt Hennig from the ring. Malice then set his sights on the light heavyweights in the ring, eliminating Low-Ki, Brian Christopher, AJ Styles and Chris Harris in little time. But Malice wasn't able to dominate for long, as the Gauntlet's so called "surprise" entrant, Dusty Rhodes dumped him out of the ring as elimination #14. After twenty four minutes of total, non-stop action, it was down to four men. Entrants #14, Steve Corino, #16 Dusty Rhodes, #19 Jerry Lynn and #20 Psicosis.]

[All four men had engraved their names in wrestling history, and all for different reasons; whether it was revolutionizing wrestling in the 70's, revolutionizing hardcore in the 90's or revolutionizing lucha in the 00's, they all had a significant chance of winning. The four men seemed to pair up, Lynn and Psicosis fighting on one side of the ring and Dusty and Corino fighting in the opposite corner. It seemed that Psicosis was in full control of Lynn until he went for a hurracanrana, and Lynn reversed it into a Cradle Piledriver. From there, Psicosis was easy to eliminate, and all Lynn had to do was throw him over the top rope, however, his cockiness got the better of him, and he stood on the second turnbuckle to celebrate, making him a perfect target for a running dropkick from Corino, sending him tumbling over the top rope too, leaving the Gauntlet down to two men; Corino and Rhodes, and it was now one-on-one rules. Rhodes, obviously tired, tried to take control, and went for a Bionic Elbow on Corino, but Corino ducked and hit a particularly painful looking Old School Expulsion, allowing him to pick up a quick and easy pin, giving us our new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.]

[Following the match, Corino celebrated as Malice entered the ring to congratulate Corino, the two had formed somewhat of an alliance once or twice during the Gauntlet itself, and with the two now in the ring together celebrating it seemed as though the two would continue to be allies. Ricky Steamboat came down to the ring, once more with black suitcase in hand. He opened it and handed Corino the title, allowing him to lift it in the air before resting it on his shoulder. Corino, sans microphone, told the fans he wouldn't let the title slip out of his hands again, and that with Malice as his personal guard, nobody would be able to come even close to getting the title from him. Corino continued a pretty basic promo, now with a microphone, the promo wasn't a patch on anything Corino could have done, but it did separate him from the pack as a heel rather than a face. A pretty basic end to a pretty basic show.]

Short Results:

AJ Styles, Low-Ki and Rey Misterio def. The Flyin' Elvis' (Misterio pinned Estrada)

Curt Hennig def. James Storm

Psicosis def. Chris Daniels & Elix Skipper

Roadwarriors def. Shane Twins

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Gauntlet for the Gold statistics:

Order of Entry

1. Jeff Jarrett

2. Ken Shamrock

3. Curt Hennig

4. Disco Inferno

5. El Gran Apollo

6. Marcus Bagwell

7. Rick Steiner

8. Scott Hall

9. Low-Ki

10. AJ Styles

11. Rey Misterio

12. Malice

13. Brian Christopher

14. Steve Corino

15. Chris Harris

16. Dusty Rhodes

17. Konnan

18. K-Krush

19. Jerry Lynn

20. Psicosis

Order of Elimination

1. Disco Inferno ---> Ken Shamrock

2. Marcus Bagwell ---> Ken Shamrock

3. El Gran Apollo ---> Jeff Jarrett

4. Scott Hall ---> Curt Hennig

5. Rey Misterio ---> AJ Styles

6. Rick Steiner ---> Curt Hennig

7. Ken Shamrock ---> Jeff Jarrett

8. Curt Hennig ---> Malice

9. Jeff Jarrett ---> Low-Ki

10. Low-Ki ---> Malice

11. Brian Christopher ---> Malice

12. AJ Styles ---> Malice

13. Chris Harris ---> Malice

14. Malice ---> Dusty Rhodes

15. K-Krush ---> Dusty Rhodes

16. Konnan ---> Dusty Rhodes

17. Psicosis ---> Jerry Lynn

18. Jerry Lynn ---> Steve Corino

19. Dusty Rhodes ---> Steve Corino

W. Steve Corino

No. of Eliminations

1. Malice [5]

2. Dusty Rhodes [3]

3. Steve Corino [2]

--. Jeff Jarrett [2]

--. Curt Hennig [2]

--. Ken Shamrock [2]

7. Jerry Lynn [1]

--. Low-Ki [1]

--. AJ Styles [1]

-

I dunno how I feel about the layout of the show and how I've written it, I'm not quite sure how I've described it. I'm not begging for feedback, but I'd quite like to know how you, the people, feel about the way I've written the show, and whether you reckon a different approach would work better or whether you think this style of show is good.

Tarheels. · February 24, 2006

I like the way you wrote up the show, but I don't like the layout. Maybe make a headline for the matches to show that its a match and do something for the promo's as well. I like the way this is going though, and it better be good 'cause I've been waiting for it since you threw it in your sig and teased us with it.

probablyoliver · February 25, 2006

NWA:TNA #002 Preview.
GrappleFanatics.net
June 7th 2002

Just two days ago, Alabama based PPV company, NWA:TNA debuted with a less then spectacular event at the Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama. However, a lot of promise was shown when former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and IWC favourite, Steve Corino regained the NWA Championship in a 20 man "Gauntlet for the Gold" Battle Royal. This Wednesday TNA returns to the Von Braun Center, and GrappleFanatics.net has the exclusive preview.

Destination X-Division

For years, wrestlers around the world, from the UK to Australia, from the Orient to the States, men and women alike have fought to become the best professional wrestler in the world. Now, for the first time ever, an entire division dedicated to the hardest hitting, highest flying wrestlers in the world. NWA:TNA presents the X Division, where only the best will survive.

This Wednesday, live on PPV, nine wrestlers will face off in three three-way-wars, the winners of each going on to face off in a final match to crown the first NWA-X Champion next week. No names have yet been released for the mini-tournament, but it will definitely be one to watch, as we promise that these nine men will bring the best wrestling action to the new alternative: TNA.

Also this week, a special celebration ceremony for Steve Corino, whom last week out lasted nineteen other men, including Ken Shamrock, Dusty Rhodes, Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lynn to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and this week he's requested a special crowning ceremony, which will see him with the belt around his waist for the first time, live on Pay Per View.

The Road-Warriors will also be back in action this week, as they promise to show once more why they're the greatest tag team ever. Last week they dominated the Shane Twins in a great big man match, and this week they'll be back, facing off against two more hopefuls, looking to score a win over the most iconic tag team in wrestling history.

All this and more, Wednesday, June 12th, live on Pay Per View.

Confirmed Card
The Birth of the X-Division
The Road Warriors in action
Celebration Ceremony for Steve Corino

There's no doubt that the X-Division could become the saving grace of TNA, and with extremely talented wrestling including AJ Styles, Jerry Lynn, Psicosis and Jimmy Yang, it's sure to be a great evening of wrestling.

Backstage Animosity
Wrestling-Heat.com
June 8th 2002

It's believed that this past Wednesday on TNA's debut to PPV, there was a great deal of trouble backstage involving Jeff Jarrett and Steve Corino. It's been reported that Jeff Jarrett was scheduled to win the NWA World Championship in the Gauntlet for the Gold, by surviving the entire match, from being the first entrant to winning the match and the title, but plans were changed by Jerry Jarrett and TNA Management at the last minute when Jarrett got a less than promising reaction when he appeared in an angle with Ken Shamrock and Ricky Steamboat.

One wrestler described the feelings backstage as "tense", saying that "Jarrett was extremely pissed off, and from the moment the plans were changed, he didn't talk to anybody backstage", there were also reports saying that Jarrett left the arena after he was eliminated by Low-Ki, long before the end of the match. There's a general feeling backstage that Jarrett believes that TNA should be all about him, and that even though he's started a feud with Ken Shamrock, he feels he should have the strap, and that his feud with Shamrock is meaningless without it.

Corino, who is recognised to be one of the most professional men in the business, is said to be not bothered by Jarrett's tantrum on Wednesday night, and wants to live up to his promise of being the best NWA World Heavyweight Champion in history.

Both Jarrett and Corino will be appearing in TNA's second PPV this Wednesday, whether they'll share the ring or not is unknown.

Further WWE Cuts
GrappleFanatics.net
June 10th 2002

WWE have cut a further seven wrestlers from their contracts in the last 24 hours, amongst them are two of WWE's biggest prospects; Randy Orton and Sean O'Haire. Both of them have been praised by management in recent months, and in Orton's case especially, he's believed to be a future main eventer for WWE. However, it has been reported that Orton's backstage attitude has been less than spectacular in recent weeks, and he is said to be arrogant to those around him.

Other names include ECW alumni's Mike Awesome, Tommy Dreamer and Steven Richards, Tough Enough winner Nidia Guenard and former Hardcore champion, Steve Blackman.

EWRFan · February 28, 2006

I really enjoy your format Ollie and dont worry, I will make sure not to copy that! I hope you keep this running

probablyoliver · March 7, 2006

Sorry for the delay on this show. Been pretty busy, next show will hopefully be up by the weekend. Enjoy.

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It wasn't a spectacular start, and it certainly wasn't a ground breaking start, but at least it was a start. NWA:TNA was in business, if it wanted to be the best it had to learn to utilize its talent, because one thing was clear from their debut show, an aura of ego surrounded some of its stars, and some of its stars were surrounded with old age. However, with TNA's second show, given the sub title "Destination X-Division", it seemed management were ready to accept from the start that the company should be built on the tomorrows stars, and not yesterdays legends.

Nine men would battle it out, and the winner would be crowned as the first X-Division Champion, a championship which many believed would be shadowed by the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but the reality was much different, soon the X-Division would become TNA's prime focus, something which was seen as a good thing live on PPV, but backstage, as the established stars had to fight for their spot in the midcard, let alone the main event, became restless, and pretty soon, TNA's backstage resembled that of WCW, the younger stars versus the older stars, but that was still to come.

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[No pyro show this week, instead we start out with a familiar growl over the PA; "OOOOOOOOOH, WHAT A RUSH", and it looks as though our first match of the night will be the Road Warriors, taking on and destroying whoever steps in their path, hoping to even have a slight chance at beating the two biggest, baddest assholes in the entire wrestling industry. But this weeks' opponents were clever, and they knew if they wanted a chance to beat the Road Warriors, they'd have to sneak in and attack them straight up, and that's exactly what they did, as Animal and Hawk were about to slide into the ring, they were jumped by their opponents tonight; the former Crowbar; Devon Storm and David Young. The two young wrestlers took control, throwing both Road Warriors into opposite railings, before posing for the fans. Similarly to the Shane twins last week, the only reason they got a reaction is because they weren't the Road Warriors. Young and Storm rolled their more experienced opponents into the ring, before climbing in after them, and the referee had no choice but to start the match.]

Match One

The Road Warriors vs. Devon Storm & David Young

[Once again, a surprisingly good match that was carried entirely by the veterans, not saying that Young or Storm didn't do a good job, they sold every punch, kick and slam, and they really helped to make the Road Warriors look as dominant as they did ten years previous, and it worked both ways, as Road Warrior Animal actually sold a Double Superplex from the young'uns and made it look like it really hurt. However, Storm and Young couldn't get the full advantage that they needed, as they both succumbed to Powerslam's from Hawk. Animal and Hawk set up for a Doomsday Device on Young, but Storm came out of nowhere and knocked Animal down with a running kick to the legs, allowing Young to throw Hawk from the top rope. When it looked like it was all over for the Road Warriors, Animal came back with a Big Boot to either man, and finished off with a Powerslam to Storm, allowing him to pick up the 1-2-3.]

Winners: The Road Warriors @ 6.22

[Following the opening contest, we got a short video of AJ Styles and Ken Shamrock spreading the TNA word in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where they are both currently working. The video showed clips from one of New Japan's shows, where Shamrock and AJ were both in the ring wearing TNA colours, from there they were attacked by two of New Japan's key players, Jushin Thunder Liger and Yuji Nagata. The video clip finished with Ken Shamrock saying he'd love to see Nagata and Liger try and attack him and AJ back home in TNA, hinting at a prominent arrival perhaps? Who knows?]

[As the video came to an end, we headed back to ringside, where the ring was decorated with skimpily dressed women, a red carpet and a reef, obviously the backdrop for Steve Corino's celebration ceremony. It was a celebration that went one of two ways with the crowd, they either loved it because Corino was champ, instead of Jarrett or Rhodes, two men who the crowd thought should be nowhere near the title, or they hated it as they should, because Steve Corino was, after all, a heel. However, it didn't really matter if they liked it or not, as the entire angle was dominated by Dusty Rhodes, and if you were turning in for the first time, you'd have thought it was Rhodes that was the champ, and not Corino. However, the angle did establish one thing about Corino; he had friends, and plenty of them... Corino came out to the ring, and began to cut a promo, saying how he was the only choice for the title, as he was the only one who could "get a response" from the crowd; obviously a slight low-blow to Jeff Jarrett; maybe not the best of ideas with his status in the company. Corino said he'd be NWA Champion long after "TNA bit the dust", because Corino agreed with the critics, "TNA didn't have a hope in hell." Dusty Rhodes, eagerly awaiting his cue made this his chance to interject himself and come down to ringside. The veteran ring warrior told Corino that he helped build the NWA, and he wouldn't allow Corino to badmouth the longest running wrestling company in the world because he didn't have faith. Rhodes had an almost biblical tone in his words as he told Corino that with God as his witness, and the thousands of fans watching, he'd take Corino's title from his hands and send him a-packing. Corino replied with a simple, yet effective laugh, and spat in the face of Dusty Rhodes! A bad move for anyone hoping to escape the ring without being winded by 300lbs of American Dream sitting on them. Dusty threw Corino to the ropes and went for a Bionic Elbow, but Corino was pulled out of the ring by three ECW alumni; Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger and CW Anderson. Although Corino got out with his face in tact and his title still around his waist, his new group looked weak, running away from a 50 year old with serious weight problems. Corino, at the top of the ramp told Dusty he'd pinned him last week, and he'd be happy to do it again next week as the angle come to a close.]

Match Two

Chris Daniels vs. Elix Skipper vs. Psicosis

[A rematch from the debut show saw three big prospects share the ring once more, in the first of tonight’s three 'X-Division' matches, only this time, instead of getting a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the winner received a shot at the NWA X-Division Championship, a title which promised to "push the limits with no limits". And with wrestling as well as this from wrestlers as good as this, it certainly seemed to be living to its expectation. It's said that when a rematch from a great match happens inside the squared circle, it never reaches the first outing, and this was no different, as the match started off slow and sloppy, with a botched hurracanrana from Elix Skipper which saw the future prospect land on his head before his desired target, Chris Daniels. This meant that Skipper spent the first half of the match on the outside, trying to recuperate as best he could. However, Psicosis and Daniels were able to get some great chain wrestling going on, and were able to use their small statues to weave themselves in and out of each other, and end up in some very impressive holds and manoeuvres. Daniels was able to get the first advantage with a neckbreaker that saw him make a full rotation of Psicosis before snapping down on his neck, and continuing the assault with a standing moonasult. After kicking out and reversing a leg lock, STF and neck lock, Psicosis was able to get to his feet and hit a huge Running DDT on Daniels, before going up to and hitting a beautiful summersault leg drop. However, the quality of the match dipped as Elix Skipper got back in the ring and broke the pin with a dropkick, before sloppily going up top and getting a second possible concussion, this time with a diving clothesline that went very, very wrong. A match that could have been so much better ended rushed in the same fashion as last week, as Daniels, obviously not wanting either of his opponents injured pulled Psicosis to his feet and hit a sit-out pedigree to get the pinfall with his feet on the ropes.]

Winner: Christopher Daniels @ 7.40

Match Three

Low-Ki vs. Amazing Red vs. Trent Acid

[What was essentially a way of getting Low-Ki over, by having him go straight through two relative unknowns ended in a great match from three men who showed potential to not only go to the top of the X-Division, but also the NWA World Heavyweight Championship contention, as they pulled out all the stops to make a match where by the time the bell rang to signal the end, the crowd remembered all three men’s names. Ki and Acid started the ball rolling, with a short exchange of chops and stiff kicks, before Red broke them up with a Springboard dropkick that knocked both men down. Red tried desperately to pin both men, but couldn't get a one count, let alone a three. Ki was able to hit Acid with a snap suplex, before knocking him down with a stiff stomp to the back of his knees, before going for a buzzsaw kick, but Red intervened and leapfrogged Acid, landing on Ki's shoulders, before hitting a hurracanrana and pin combo, which was quickly broke up by Acid. Ki started to go crazy with spinning kicks, snap suplexes and a curb stomp to his two adversaries, and it was at this point where Red & Acid thought it best to work together against Ki. As Ki tried to attack Red, Acid hit a running Yakuza Kick to Ki, sending him to the corner, where Red helped set up for Acid to hit a Superplex, before Red got to the top rope and hit a twisting sky-scraper press for a two count before Acid broke it up. Acid & Red argued, and Red broke the friendship with a pimp-slap to Acid, but was knocked senseless with a Tiger Driver to Red. As Acid got back to his feet, Ki spun him round and pulled him up for a Muscle Buster, before dropping him in front of him, powerbomb style for the easy three count.

Winner: Low-Ki @ 8.22

[Following the surprisingly good match, we went to Jeff Jarrett, who stood backstage alone with a mike in hand. Jarrett, who had a lot to talk about started on the X-Division, saying that although the action was good, there was no money in it, and that instead of worrying about the "flippy-floppy, so called futures of wrestling", TNA should worry about Jarrett, and how he was robbed of a good place in the Gauntlet for the Gold, just because Ken Shamrock couldn't "keep his damn mouth shut." Jarrett was also pissed off about the result of the Gauntlet, saying that Corino had "no respect" and the only reason he won was because he had "powerful friends". Jarrett even went as far as calling Corino a "cancer" and a "Haitch wannabe". However, Jarrett also had no time to be worrying about Corino, as he wanted to focus more on Ken Shamrock, a fighter, and not a wrestler, a man who "couldn't win his own sport, so he wants to win somebody else's". That somebody else was of course Jarrett, as once again, Jarrett made it clear how he thought TNA should revolve around the men who "make the money". Shamrock also didn't care about TNA, according to Jarrett, as it was more important for him to fight in Japan then it was to wrestle in America. Jarrett told Shamrock he'd be waiting as his plane touched down, and when it did, he'd bring the wrestling to Shamrock, as he didn't want him to step foot in TNA ever again. A pretty dull promo from Jarrett, which seemed to go all over the place. However, the mix between work and shoot was great, as nobody really knew if Jarrett actually wanted Corino, Shamrock and the X-Division around or not.]

Match Four

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Rey Misterio vs. Jerry Lynn

[A match made in wrestling heaven for ECW fans as three of the greatest wrestlers from ECW's glory days laced up their boots for a match that could very well be NWA:TNA's first memorable match. Lynn was out first to a great crowd response, followed by Misterio, a man who got a great reaction from the fans. Third and finally was 2 Cold Scorpio, who looked just as fighting fit and ready to go as he did ten years previous. The three immediately went into a three-way lock up, and Misterio proved why he was the best high flying wrestler in the world, as he run up Jerry Lynn and flipped round, gaining the advantage in the wrist lock. Misterio went to do the same again, but the two older wrestlers pulled Misterio towards them, hitting a nice double clothesline. The three exchanged the advantage in the match, and for the first ten minutes the match was completely even, without any of the three superstars being able to get more than a one count on the others. Scorpio was the first to go to the top rope, with a diving elbow drop to Lynn, but it was Misterio's top rope antics that really got the crowd making noise; the action spilled to the outside with Lynn and Scorpio brawling at the railings, as Misterio sneaked to the top rope and dived off with two full rotations before crashing down on both men, wiping out all signs of competition. It was Scorpio who got up first, followed by Misterio, and the two began to fight on the other side of ringside. The two exchanged blows as Jerry Lynn got to his feet and climbed onto the ring apron, with a short running burst, Lynn launched himself off and took out both men with a diving cross body, which once again had the crowd roaring with approval. Lynn through Misterio back into the ring, and was able to set him up for a Cradle Piledriver, but Scorpio halted Lynn in his tracks, before climbing to the top rope and signalling that Misterio was about to die. With Lynn continuing to hold the Cradle Piledriver position, Scorpio dived off the top rope, adding an extra crunch to the piledriver. But when Lynn went to make the pin, Scorpio dragged him off and went to pin Misterio himself. Lynn returned the favour, and the two men began to argue. Scorpio hit Lynn and launched a short flurry of attacks, before Irish whipping Lynn and hitting him with a running cross body. Scorpio got a two count, and the two veterans continued to argue and try and get the better of each other. Meanwhile, Misterio was able to recuperate just as Scorpio hit a spinning heel kick, before climbing up top and 'dropping the bomb' on Lynn with a moonasult leg drop, however, as Scorpio got to his feet, Misterio found his and jumped to the springboard before flying towards Scorpio with a Diving Dragonrana pin for the three count.

Winner: Rey Misterio @ 21.04

[Following the match we caught sight of Dusty Rhodes walking out of the arena, in the hour that had passed since his first angle, he had probably only made it this far, what with him being in the shape he was in. Nevertheless, as he walked to his car he was approached by Ricky Steamboat, who asked him whether he accepted Corino's challenge to a match next week. Steamboat warned Rhodes that Corino was "up to something", and that his group seemed only likely to expand, and going into a match with him might not be the best idea. This didn't seem to phase the ring legend, who quickly agreed to the match, saying that Corino was getting "funkay like a munkay", and he needed a man of Dusty's status to shut his mouth. After all, nobody cracks whip with the American dream, right? Steamboat seemed satisfied as he left and made his way back to the arena, but Dusty had not been alone a minute before Malice and a smaller man, latter to be revealed as Slash attacked, accompanied by the Sinister Minister, James Mitchell. Malice threw Dusty atop a car, as Slash climbed onto the car and cracked a steel chain whip on Dusty's neck. Dusty was helpless as Malice lifted him up and planted him onto the concrete with a spinebuster to finish off Dusty. The Minister laughed manically as his henchmen left the scene of the crime, and the transmission ended.]

Edited March 9, 2006 by Luke Warm Ollie Beak

YI · March 8, 2006

Brief recaps aren't normally what I go for, but you do them perfectly Ollie. This is quite hard to explain, but you don't go over the top with what's happenings in the ring (Like some brief recaps, which turn into a compressed play by play, which I don't like at all, as they're neither here nor there) yet you still give the readers enough information to get the feel of a match. The first two events have flowed perfectly, and your reasoning for the lack of build up of Steve Corino was good. Your shows have a very, "We're really an indie fed, but don't tell anybody" feel that NWATNA had.

So yeah. I'm digging the style other than in a few cases. The Gauntlet For a Gold seemed a little hard to follow. It didn't flow all that well. However this can also be covered up by claiming the match itself was a kind of clusterfuck. The whole 'changing time' thing, I'm not too fussed on either. The looking back at TNA's history is alright, but make up your mind. Is it the future (When reviewing shows) or the present (News articles). If I were thicker, it would be confusing...it's just slightly annoying at the minute (As I've already told you).

Basicly you've got early TNA to a tee. Not exactly sure what to do with the talent at their disposal. So just seem to go for the obvious options all of the time. This is where another niggle with the skipping time things comes. Whilst it may be seen as laying the groundwork for the future of TNA (the backstage trouble), I don't want to know that already, I don't want to know the X-Division becomes huge. That's like knowing who the killer is...you know who it is, so you don't watch the events unfold correctly. It ruins some of the aura of watching the X-Division growing, knowing that it does, to epic proportions. On the same lines, knowing that 12 men would be in the 'tournament', not 9...you've just ruined a potentiall big surprise right off the bat. However it could be useful for giving the reader more of an insight into the characters. Something that is sometimes difficult to do in recaps.

Anyways, I've seemed to have concentrated mostly on the little niggles that I have. Most of those revolve around the style you're doing the results, which I doubt will change. However I will learn to live with them. Your writing is brilliance (You get the right feel for the different styles; eg. the matches, the informative articles and the 'scandalous' articles) and your booking is realistic (besides Ki eliminating Jarrett...which should NOT have happened). Another little thing...written out promo's would be better. I'm just not a fan of recapped promo's.

probablyoliver · March 9, 2006

Hall suspended
www.nwatna.com
June 17th 2002

Scott Hall, who was part of TNA's debut PPV, and whom was involved in the Gauntlet for the Gold has been suspended by TNA management, due to an incident involving alcohol took place at an airport in Rahway, New Jersey. Hall was wrestling a reunion show against Scott Steiner in the evening time, before the incident. Hall has checked into a rehab centre in Atlanta, Georgia, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Trouble in Paradise.
GrappleFanatics.net
June 18th 2002

There have been several conflicting reports around the web talking about TNA's backstage situation, and the NWA World Heavyweight Title situation. Since Steve Corino won the title at the first weekly TNA PPV, many have reported that the backstage area has been somewhat torn in two, between Jeff Jarrett and Steve Corino. It was originally planned that Jarrett would walk away with the title, but due to a bad reaction during an angle with Ken Shamrock and Ricky Steamboat, the decision was changed last minute to internet favourite, Steve Corino. Jarrett reportedly left the arena long before the end of the night, and was not heard of from the TNA roster until the next Wednesday. Jarrett, who wasn't booked in any angles or matches due to his AWOL status asked for five minutes of mike time to get things off his chest. A short mix of work and shoot, that saw Jarrett look down on Corino and the X-Division as well as his current on screen enemy, Ken Shamrock, reportedly angered the booking committee, which consists of Mike Tenay, Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat, with input from Jerry Jarrett.

The mood backstage at the second PPV was said to be very strange, with no real interaction between crew and wrestlers alike, and was unlike the atmosphere backstage at the first PPV, which was seen as upbeat and ready to make a splash on the wrestling world. One wrestler backstage was reported as saying it was very similar to how WCW was in its dying days, with the locker room divided into two "tribes". Jarrett was said to have been hanging around with his father, Jerry Jarrett, as well as the Road Warriors, and a man who is said to have taken the role of Jarrett's protégé, Low-Ki. The other 'clique', which had Corino as a 'leader' consisted of Dusty Rhodes, Rey Misterio, Jerry Lynn and a few of the younger guys, notably El Gran Apolo and Chris Harris, as well his on-screen friends, Simon Diamond, CW Anderson and Johnny Swinger. Wrestlers who have been 'on the fence' as it were have described being backstage in TNA as a very eerie place, a place where although morale for the show ahead is high, nobody really knows what’s going to happen, or if something is going to go off.

However, there is not only animosity between Corino and Jarrett, but there are reports saying that backstage are not very happy with AJ Styles or Ken Shamrock, who were working in Japan for NJPW last week, and so had to miss the PPV. Management are reportedly very high on AJ Styles, and it was planned for him to win the X-Division tournament and become the first champion, but was removed from the tournament due to his choice to work Japan. Shamrock, on the other hand, was given permission to work Japan, but was called in on Monday, just 48 hours before the TNA PPV to work an angle with Jeff Jarrett and Ricky Steamboat. With such little notice, Shamrock refused to drop and already booked match against Scott Norton and return to America, instead working the NJPW show. Shamrock's current storyline with Jarrett was planned as the main storyline, but after managements choice not to have the storyline revolve around the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, it's been rumoured that both Jarrett and Shamrock have lost a lot of interest in the storyline.

The divide backstage is not the only problem Jeff Jarrett has with TNA Management right now, and since management announced that Scott Hall was suspended for 6 months after an incident in a New York airport on Sunday night, Jarrett is said to have been at breaking point with those in charge. Although Hall's actions following an Indy show in Rahway, New Jersey were completely unforgivable, Jarrett feels that Hall's suspension was too much, and he should have been used with a much bigger role in the company, as he could have easily been one of the main players. Jarrett has also gone on record as saying that he feels that the X-Division wrestlers do not deserve their place on the TNA roster, as they have no character, and can not and will not become major players in TNA.

It's believed that it'll only be a matter of time before Jarrett wins the NWA World Heavyweight Title, due to his status in the company, as well as the light creative control he has been given, and although he hasn't got the power to overrule the booking committee, he does have the ability to be a part of the creative team, which could allow him to become champion if he got the majority vote, and with a rumoured friendship between him and Mike Tenay, as well as his family ties with Jerry Jarrett, it's possible he could become champion sooner rather than later. However, the current plans are for Jarrett to be kept out of the title picture, so that he can get the crowd reaction he needs to become a key player in TNA.

NWA:TNA #003
Destination Reached.
www.nwatna.com
June 18th 2002

We learned two lessons last week in NWA:TNA; 1) Steve Corino has a lot of friends, and 2) Dusty Rhodes has a lot of enemies. In a move that would have been seen as stupid for anyone to make bar the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes attacked Corino during his celebration ceremony, making a mockery out of the disrespectful champion. However, three ECW alumni; Simon Diamond, CW Anderson and Johnny Swinger came to save Corino from a Bionic Elbow, and the champion was able to get out in one piece. This lead to a challenge from Corino to Dusty, for a match this week for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. One on One.

However, the match was in jeopardy even before the end of the night as Dusty was attacked on his way to his car by a man who was there to lift Corino's hand when he won the title; Malice, and two other men, the Sinister Minister, James Mitchell and Slash. The threesome attacked Dusty with steel chains before Malice hit a devastating spinebuster on Dusty to the hard concrete floor. Dusty was taken to hospital, and his current situation or condition is unknown. Will Dusty be in TNA this week? Will he go ahead as scheduled against Corino? And if yes, will he be able to take the title away from Steve Corino?

Also this week will see the final of the X-Division tournament, as Chris Daniels, Low-Ki and Rey Misterio will fight one-on-one-on-one, with the winner becoming the first ever NWA X-Division Champion. All three men have proven themselves to be the future of professional wrestling, and their ability inside the squared circle is unlike anything ever seen before. But only one man can be crowned the X-Division Champion of the world, will it be the technical wizardry of Chris Daniels, the hard hitting style of Low-Ki or the high flying spectacle that is Rey Misterio?

The Road-Warriors will again be in action, as they once again set out to prove that they are still the biggest and best tag team in the world with another open challenge. Can their opponents use the element of surprise to their advantage and beat the unbeatable? Or will the mighty Road-Warriors once again take control and destroy their opponents again?

Confirmed Matches:
Dusty Rhodes vs. Steve Corino
Rey Misterio vs. Low-Ki vs. Chris Daniels
Road-Warriors vs. ?

probablyoliver · March 12, 2006

NWA:TNA #003

Destination Reached

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Wrestling fans gave it 18 months, wrestling critics gave it a year and those in the business didn't even give it that; and it looked like they were right. Just two weeks in and Total Non-Stop Action was already close to breaking point. The locker room was divided in a non-televised war against Jeff Jarrett and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino. The atmosphere backstage was described as "WCW-like" and nobody really knew anything. However, the morale was high; why? TNA had its selling point, and the people watching at home loved it. The X-Division; the exciting, adrenaline rush of wrestling that was action-packed to the very end. The no-limits division that really had people hooked.

The third TNA show would be remembered for two things. 1) The first X-Division Champion being crowned in spectacular fashion, 2) Steve Corino and Jeff Jarrett, the two men at the bottom of TNA's turbulent troubles, sharing a ring; and by the end of the night, a mix of work, shoot and everything in-between had left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, however, this taste didn't drive them away, it just kept them hungry for more.

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Dark Matches

Marcus Bagwell vs. El Gran Apollo

Trent Acid vs. 2 Cold Scorpio

[Two pre-show dark matches this week as the crowd were treated to two matches at both ends of the wrestling spectrum. First up, an abysmal match, as Marcus Bagwell flexed his muscles to the ring to take on the Puerto Rican Powerhouse, El Gran Apollo. Thankfully a short match that saw some extremely clumsy spots, for example, Apollo went to hit a suplex on Bagwell, and Bagwell just slipped too far backwards and ended up landing on his feet, everyone looked very confused, but Bagwell adding to the confusing by selling it! Bagwell was able to put the audience out of their misery by hitting a swinging neckbreaker to get the three count after the longest four minutes in wrestling history, for a man who management are high on, Apollo has a very long way to go. However, a wrestling apology followed, as Trent Acid showed himself to be a possible main eventer in a phenomenal match with ECW and WWF alumni, 2 Cold Scorpio. The two wrestled for ten minutes in a non-stop, action packed match that proved that Scorpio, although ageing and Acid, although young could wrestle just as well as the current crop of great wrestlers. Acid hit an extremely stiff Yakuza Kick, and it looked like he would win the match, but Scorpio was able to get his foot on the ropes and deny Acid the victory. The ending came when Scorpio hit a spinning heel kick on Acid before going up top and hitting his trademark 450 Splash for the three count.]

Winner: Marcus Bagwell @ 3.52

Winner: 2 Cold Scorpio @ 10.07

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[The opening of this weeks show saw Team As of yet Unnamed, led by NWA World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino standing in a darkened room, with a small light above so we could see all faces. In one corner, Simon Diamond sat, next to him, the rather cocky Johnny Swinger. On the other side of the room stood the monstrous CW Anderson and a fourth, a woman, who the more knowledgeable viewers at home would recognise as Corino's wife, "Simply Luscious" Veronica Corino. Corino hinted throughout the promo that it was he who was responsible for the attack on Dusty Rhodes last week, but it wasn't until the "Sinister Minister" James Mitchell made his way into the picture that what people already knew was confirmed. Mitchell told Corino that Dusty wouldn't be here this week, because rumour had it that he'd never wrestle again. As much as this pleased the men and woman behind Corino, the leader wasn't best pleased. Corino wanted confirmation that Dusty would never wrestle again, and although rumour was all "well and dandy", the top dog of TNA didn't want Mitchell to rest until Dusty was "six feet under". To this Mitchell replied that he wasn't a religious man, not until last week when he came in with his "New Church", a church that would "stop at nothing to fulfil the requests of those who breathed evil". Mitchell wanted to know if Corino would "sell his soul to the underworld", because only then could "the devil himself order his disciples to carry out the most illicit of crimes". Corino said that he needed done what he needed done, and if it meant selling his soul, he was all up for it. This pleased Mitchell, and after the most maniacal of laughter, he left. Corino seemed happy, and celebrated by saying that if rumour was true, Dusty was in no shape to wrestle. "However", he continued, "I'll be more than happy to destroy any wrestler who wants a shot at me tonight." Corino laughed a laugh that was nowhere near the standard set by Mitchell, and the segment was over.]

Match One

CW Anderson, Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger vs. Christian York, Joey Matthews & The Amazing Red

[There were a lot of 'ECW' and 'Screw McMahon' chants for the opening contest, as five of the six men in the six man tag were denied the chance of shining in the WWE after the ECW buy-out. However, Vince's loss was TNA's gain, as a surprisingly good squash match showcased one of the best brawlers in North America. No entrance for York, Matthews and Red who were already in the ring, but Steve Corino's as of yet unnamed stable made their way to the ring accompanied by the lovely "Simply Luscious" Veronica Corino. Anderson, Diamond & Swinger all looked pretty impressive, and although they weren't your average same tights - same look - same moveset tag team, they did prove to have great chemistry as a cocky threesome.]

[Although it was even sided with three a piece, the 6-Man Tag was pretty much a handicap squash match, as Diamond & Swinger didn't even get involved, opting instead to allow CW Anderson to kick seven shades of shit out of the ECW alumni and their Mexican friend. CW dominated with clotheslines and an extremely stiff Powerslam on Red, before tossing him to the lions, allowing Diamond & Swinger to pick apart the pieces. York & Matthews tried to launch a double attack, but CW brought them both to their backs with a double clothesline. CW hit a few palm strikes on York, before lifting him up and going for a DVD, but Matthews was able to hit a dropkick to CW's knees, bringing him down. The match continued like this for a couple of minutes, with CW trying to attack one of York or Matthews, but the other one being able to reverse the situation. But the game of cat and mouse was over as York rebounded off the ropes and Swinger, still on the outside dragged him out of the ring and threw him to the guard railings. This allowed CW to hit a spinebuster of Matthews and get the easy three count.]

Winners: CW Anderson, Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger @ 6.19

[Following the match we got Ricky Steamboat backstage, standing next to TNA broadcaster, Dave Prazak. Ready to be interviewed, Steamboat smiled and nodded to Prazak, reminding him of his cue. Prazak asked Steamboat what the situation was with Dusty Rhodes. But before he could answer, the NWA legend was quite rudely interrupted by the Flyin' Elvis', Sonny Siaki, Jorge Estrada and Jimmy Yang. The Korean native stayed quiet whilst Siaki and Estrada bitched and moaned about not being entered into the X-Division tournament last week. Both Estrada and Siaki told Steamboat he was a "crook" and a "bastard" for not allowing the three greatest Elvis Impersonating wrestlers into a tournament that showcased the wrestling style that they had mastered. Steamboat halted them there, obviously pissed off about the way he was being spoke to. After shutting up the two angry Elvis', Steamboat focussed on Yang. After asking his name, Yang responded slowly but surely, obviously practising his English with every word; "My. Name. Is. Yang.". Steamboat told Yang that he liked that he wasn't bitching and moaning like the other two were, and so next week, Jimmy Yang would be the first man to get a X-Division Title shot, and because of the way they spoke to Steamboat, the other two would have to do something that they sure as hell didn't want to do; face the Road-Warriors next! With two matches booked, Steamboat looked happy enough and made his way off screen, and Prazak's question remained unanswered.]

Match Two

The Road-Warriors vs. The Flyin' Elvis'

[if anybody told you that the Elvis' would have been the ones to stop the Road-Warriors streak, just three weeks into it, you would have laughed at them; and you would have been right, as Jorge Estrada and Sonny Siaki didn't have a single hope in hell against two men who had one Tag Championships around the world. Or did they? First out was the Road-Warriors, still strangely over and still horrendously out of ring shape. It was strange to think that the crowd; who showed a lot of hostility to Jeff Jarrett, a man who although not great, wasn't at all bad, could get so behind two men who should have retired twice by now. But still, the crowd were hot for the former Legion of Doom, and that was that. Next out, dressed head-to-toe in dazzling white, were the Elvis', Jorge Estrada and Sonny Siaki. They took a while getting in the ring to confront the monsters in the ring, but after a lot of hesitation, they climbed in and the bell rung.]

[imagine that the Flyin' Elvis' are TNA, and the Road-Warriors are backstage politics, because that's what this match resembled. In record time, the backstage politics divided TNA and ripped it apart, only it was with clotheslines and suplexes, instead of bitching and whining. Hawk and Animal made light work of the Elvis', and they were already close to submission less than a minute into the match. However, instead of putting them out of their misery, the Road-Warriors continued, and with big boots and body slams, they really dominated. It was all over at the three minute mark, as Sonny Siaki was set up for the Doomsday Device, and as Hawk came crashing down, our earlier question was answered. No, the Flyin' Elvis' didn't have a hope in hell. All Animal had to do was hook the leg, and the Road-Warriors picked up the W.]

Winners: The Road-Warriors @ 3.10

[Finally we'd get an answer on the Dusty situation, as we cut to Ricky Steamboat once more, this time walking down one of TNA's supposedly many hallways. Steamboat was stopped by the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes on his way, and the former NWA Champion was a sorry sight. Bruising around his eye, hand on his back, a brace on his neck and a large plaster on his forehead, he looked a little worse for wear. Dusty begged Steamboat to let him wrestle tonight, as he needed to get revenge on Corino for passively putting him in his current state. Dusty wanted to get his hands on Corino, who was obviously too scared to "go man-o-a-man-o with a living legend", so he had to pay others to do his dirty work. However, Steamboat disagreed with Dusty's pleas, and told him that he was in no fit state to wrestle tonight, but instead Steamboat had got a great replacement to fight Corino. Steamboat promised Dusty that as soon as he was fighting fit again, he could fight Corino in "any match he wanted", but right now, he wasn't in ring condition. Steamboat apologised and told Dusty to go home and get some rest, because he'd enjoy seeing Corino's match much better in a comfy chair.]

Match Three

X-Division Championship - Elimination Match

Chris Daniels vs. Low-Ki vs. Rey Misterio

[it was good to finally have a TNA show were there was an element of mystery. Instead of having matches where you knew exactly what would happen and when it would happen, you had matches you didn't really know who'd come out on top; and this match was exactly that. All three men had a chance, and the crowd was split three ways as to who would win. First out was Rey Misterio, who got the pop of the night, easily, he clapped hands with the fans, high five'd the kids and hugged his wife who was standing in the front row. All in all, he looked like the nicest guy in the world. Next out was Chris Daniels, who was everything Rey Misterio wasn't. He ignored the fans, he was extremely focused, he wasn't playing the heel, but he sure as hell wasn't playing a face. He climbed into the ring and stayed completely focused, his eyes were fixated on Misterio, who continued to interact with the fans. Finally, out came Low-Ki, who was just as focused as Chris Daniels. He walked to the ring, climbed in and watched referee Scott Armstrong as he lifted the brand new X-Division title over his head. But just as the bell was about to ring to signal the start of the match, we got a surprise visitor; AJ Styles, back from Japan made his way out of the curtain and down to ringside, much to the confusion of the three men in the ring. As Rey Misterio leant over the ropes to question Styles' presence, he was blindsided by both Ki and Daniels, who were ready to start things off.]

[A great wrestling match, that just went to show how great all three men were in a wrestling ring, each of them played not only to their own strengths, but the strengths of the other two wrestlers in the ring, and it really made for an all round enjoyable match. With AJ at ringside, the match had some added zing to it, and although AJ never actually threw a punch to anyone in the match, it was his presence that made it interesting. Nobody knew where he stood, and every time the match spilled out to ringside, everyone was on their seats waiting for him to get involved. When Misterio was launched to the outside by both Daniels and Ki four minutes into the match, he went crashing into AJ, which many saw as AJ's gateway into attacking Misterio. However, the Georgia native kept his cool and just threw Rey back into the ring to allow the match to continue. There wasn't a dull point in the match, and every time somebody went to the top rope, the crowd got even hotter. One spot that really got the crowd riled up came when Daniels was placed on the top rope and Ki went for a Supercanrana, however, Rey had a different idea, as he hit a huge standing dropkick that saw him get some serious air on Ki, before going to the top rope himself and using Daniels as a springboard to launch himself 10ft in the air before crashing down on Ki with a moonasult. He couldn't get the three count as Daniels hit a diving splash of the top rope onto the two men. The three continued with their amazing display of ability for more than ten minutes, and neither man could get the advantage for long enough to get a pin count or submission. However, at the fifteen minute mark, Ki was able to hit a Ki Krusher '99 on Rey Misterio, but it was Daniels who got the advantage as he threw Ki over the top rope and turned Misterio into a human pretzel with a seated Abdominal Stretch, after more than 30 seconds of holding on, Rey had no choice but to tap, and it was down to just Low-Ki and Chris Daniels. The veteran being eliminated first was somewhat surprising, considering he was the one who many believed would be able to carry the entire division throughout the start, but the match didn't dip in quality without him, in fact, Daniels and Ki really put their balls to the walls to put on a wrestling clinic. For the first three minutes, the match revolved around Ki trying (and ultimately failing) to get an advantage on Daniels, but Daniels' technical smarts kept him on top. However, it all spiralled out of control for Daniels when he went to hit a top rope Moonasult, and Ki just rolled out of the way, as Daniels went to get to his feet, Ki hit him with an extremely stiff kick to the head, and after that, all he needed to do was hook the leg, and the X-Division championship was his.]

[After the match, Low-Ki celebrated, and was even congratulated by both Rey Misterio and Chris Daniels, AJ Styles, on the other hand, just stayed outside the ring, as he continued his role as an observer for the match. It was clear that AJ wanted the title, but it didn't seem his place to make cheap shots at the champion in order to climb the ladder. However, it was the place for the Flyin' Elvis' to make cheap shots at the champion, as Jimmy Yang, the man named #1 contender by Ricky Steamboat attacked Ki inside the ring. A 3-on-1 situation was too much for Yang and he quickly called for help, and he got it, as Jorge Estrada and Sonny Siaki, the other two Elvis' made their way to the ring to help out their friend. The Elvis' got the upper-hand on the warn out superstars, and pretty soon Ki, Rey and Daniels were on the mat. It would have been a massacre if not for AJ Styles, who finally broke his silence and knocked down all three Elvis' one by one. As the Elvis' gave up and left the ring, AJ helped up Low-Ki, before telling him that after Yang, it's AJ's turn to get a shot.]

Winner: Low-Ki @ 17.54

Main Event

Non-Title Match

NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Steve Corino vs. ???

[steve Corino was a very cocky man, but when he came down to the ring, accompanied by CW Anderson, Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger, as well as his wife, Veronica Corino, it just added to his cockiness. However, Corino received two blows to his arrogance, when first, the four that accompanied were sent backstage, when they started to beat up a (planted) fan at ringside, who told Corino that Dusty would get his revenge. The malicious attack forced referee Mike Johnson to expel Corino's team from ringside, and without them, Corino looked significantly weaker. However, Corino's second blow came much worse than he had hoped, when his opponent was named as the Most Dangerous Man in the World, Ken Shamrock! Corino's comments earlier, that he didn't fear any 'wrestler' in the world came back to haunt him, as he had but moments to prepare to fight a fighter. Shamrock got a pretty good reaction from the crowd, but not what anybody had hoped. Even though he had been on the first show, it was thought that Shamrock would be able to carry TNA to be the best that they could be, but with reactions like that, it seemed as though TNA management were fighting a losing battle.]

[The match wasn't spectacular, and anybody looking for a match that they could watch and then think "God damn, it's a shame that's over" would have been extremely disappointed, because right from the offset, both men seemed at a loss of how to fight one another. After the initial circling of each other, Ken Shamrock made his attack with some kicks to Corino's side and legs, but Corino caught Shamrock and hit a dragon screw into a cradle pin for a quick one count. This seemed to be the formula for the entire match, as Shamrock used an MMA style, which was often reversed and rebutted by Corino as he hit various wrestling moves. Neither man could get the advantage until Shamrock hit an arm drag followed by an extremely stiff kick to Corino's back, which was heard throughout the arena. The two continued their less than spectacular display of fighting-slash-wrestling, that saw each man get the advantage, then lose the advantage, then regain it for several minutes. However, things started to speed up when Corino went to his a Pumphandle Bomb, which was reversed into an armbar from Shamrock, who rolled backward and locked in his patented Ankle Lock. Shamrock wasn't able to hold onto the hold for long though as Corino was able to roll himself round and push Shamrock to the ropes, and as he did so - WHAM! - guitar shot to the head of Shamrock as Jeff Jarrett had made his way to ringside with his infamous guitar. Seeing this, Mark Johnson quickly called for the bell, and the match was ruled a no contest.]

[Jarrett climbed into the ring and started to lay the proverbial smackdown on Shamrock with kicks and stomps whilst the fighter was down. This didn't fly to well with Corino, as he spun Jarrett round and started to argue. The crowd, laced with members of the IWC were hot at the thought of a Corino/Jarrett brawl, with the recent events off camera, and their wishes came true, as Jarrett shoved Corino, resulting in a full on brawl on the mat between the two wrestlers. Security had to come down to ringside to pull the two apart in the end, and the photographers in the building were treated to a beautiful visual, With Corino in one corner, held back by several members of security, and Jarrett in the other corner, also held back by security; Ken Shamrock was able to stand in between the two with the NWA World Heavyweight Title in hand. A brilliant visual to mark the end of the third NWA:TNA pay-per-view.]

Edited March 13, 2006 by Ollie Beak

probablyoliver · March 13, 2006

Working the Room.
GrappleFanatics.net
June 21st 2002

They say that you learn something new every day, and this past Wednesday, everyone learned something about NWA:TNA; they weren't afraid to screw with the minds of those watching. Anybody interested in the backstage aspect of wrestling; what, why, when, where, how it all goes down will know that just two weeks into scheduled programming, TNA was already having 'troubles' backstage. Jeff Jarrett wasn't happy with the decision made by TNA management to give Steve Corino the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and his bitching and moaning had resulted in a roster sized split down the middle. Jarrett didn't want to work with Corino, and Corino was more than happy to keep creative control away from him and his title, and nobody but nobody would have thought they'd be sharing a ring anytime soon, let alone on the next show.

Dusty Rhodes was 'injured'; attacked by Corino's henchmen to add fuel to their fiery feud. Steve Corino was left without an opponent, a man with enough named status to wrestle him one-on-one. This left two possibilities; Jeff Jarrett and Ken Shamrock. Jarrett wasn't going to face Corino, so it was up to the self-proclaimed World's Most Dangerous Man to go one on one with the NWA Champion. By no means a technical masterpiece, the two wrestled for around twelve minutes before Jeff Jarrett interjected himself in the match and smashed his infamous guitar over Ken Shamrock's head. The match was a No Contest and Corino escaped with his title. However, it was after the match that it all broke down, and Corino and Jarrett ended up brawling before being pulled apart by security.

But was it meant to happen? Both men were playing heels, and had it been a work, surely they would have worked together to beat down Shamrock? All signs pointed to a shoot, and many wrestlers backstage had no idea that the supposed angle was scheduled to happen. Maybe it was an angle that went very wrong, maybe the two top dogs couldn't keep their cool, and what started as a vicious assault on Shamrock ended in a brawl that was never planned.

Whatever it was, it had everyone on the edges of their seats, and it could be the catalyst needed to make Jeff Jarrett the superstar that management wants him to be, after all, the crowd were reacting to Jarrett and Corino's recent altercation, and a repeat of that could be nothing but great news for both TNA and Jeff Jarrett. That is, if he's happy with it...

NWA:TNA #004
A champion, a wrestler and a fighter.
www.nwatna.com
June 23rd 2002

Last week could be described as a landmark event for TNA. Not only was the first ever X-Division Champion, Low-Ki crowned, but the entire main event scene was shook up after a violent encounter between NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Steve Corino and Jeff Jarrett, a man who feels as though he's been wronged by the system for his bad placement in the Gauntlet for the Gold. Jarrett insists that if he was given a chance like Corino was, he'd be champion. But it was Jarrett's mouth that got him into trouble once again, and for the first time, he'll have to back what he says up in a match against the World's Most Dangerous Man, Ken Shamrock. Not only that, but both men's common enemy, NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Steve Corino will be at ringside as the special guest enforcer. Can Corino control the match, or will it end in anarchy just like last week?

One third of the Flyin' Elvis', Jimmy Yang was given the opportunity of a lifetime last week, when Ricky Steamboat, impressed by his quiet ways gave him the first shot at TNA's X-Division Title, held by Low-Ki. The possibility of Yang's loud mouthed friends getting involved may give Yang the advantage, but interference or not, Low-Ki is sure to fight to the very end; and to add fuel to the fire, will AJ Styles get involved once more? Last week, AJ Styles played the role of the observer in the X-Division tournament finals, will he play a similar role this week, or will he take sides, and if he does take sides, where does his alliance lie?

The Road-Warriors have proved that they still have it, with an unbeaten reign since TNA's inception. This week, they continue their open invitational tag team challenge, as another team hope to beat the most iconographic team in wrestling history. Will they be able to topple the reign of Animal and Hawk, or will the terrible twosome prove once again that they're the biggest, baddest, bastard team in wrestling history?

In this weeks opening contest, Chris Daniels and Trent Acid will wrestle one-on-one in an X-Division showcase. Both men have put on great matches in recent weeks, and putting them in a ring together will be sure to set the world alight. A win for either man could also see them climb the X-Division title ladder, and this could very well be the match that skyrockets them into TNA stardom.

Confirmed Matches:
Jeff Jarrett vs. Ken Shamrock - Special Guest Enforcer: Steve Corino =O=
X-Division Championship - Low-Ki =X= [v1] vs. Jimmy Yang
The Road-Warriors Open Challenge
Christopher Daniels vs. Trent Acid

YI · March 13, 2006

Again some great shit here Ollie. Your writing is top notch, though I don't see "Hot Commodity" on the card. :shifty:

Whilst I'm not totally surprised that you didn't put the belt on Misterio (Going for an 'up and comer' instead) I'm surprised you had him eliminated first. It makes his elimination seem anti-climatic. Personally I think Low-Ki getting the ebst of Misterio to win the title, would help elevate him further.

The 6-man tag helped put CW Anderson over as an arse kicking machine (Sucks about wat's going to happen with the group though. ....however I think you'll figure something out, if not, blame it on TNA's suckiness :shifty: ), so it served a purpose. The LOD undefeated streak is pretty much going nowhere at the minute. But then again, that's realistic. Yang getting a title shot by a "technicality' of not speaking fluent English I liked.

The Corino-Group/New Church alliance is interesting. I think as time goes on it will become more apparent that both parties are using each other. It'll be interesting to see how things unfold. It's a definate mis-match couple, and I love it. And the main event scene is brilliant. The no contest was a good way to go. I pray for a full on psycho Jarrett character. The somewhere between kayfabe and reality of Jarrett's character is brilliant, potentially playing up on recent backstage events. The ending image was briliant as well.

Keep it up. And use my storyline suggestions. You know my Zbyzsko idea will be gold. :shifty:

Edited March 13, 2006 by YI

probablyoliver · April 12, 2006

A months wait for a second rate show? Sorry kids. Show 5 is being worked on now, so hopefully it'll be up by the weekend. Once again, sorry for the wait, but enjoy, and leave feedback, because it motivates me. Lots.

-

Not even a month into scheduled programming and TNA had hit big time. Every wrestling message board, newsletter and website was alight with arguments and debates of whether or not the Jeff Jarrett - Steve Corino fight at the end of the third show was a work or a shoot. Meltzer reported one thing, PWI reported another, and it seemed as though every single wrestling fan in the world had a different opinion. But there were only three men who knew the truth; Ken Shamrock, and of course; Jarrett & Corino. It was reported that not even the booking team knew what was going to happen, and it was Jarrett who took matters into his own hands and went down to ringside. But to TNA, it didn't matter what it was, because whatever it was, it got the fans talking; and all TNA needed to do now was capitalise and milk every drop out of the angle-slash-shoot-slash-whatever.

The question is did they?

-

Dark Match

2 Cold Scorpio & Jerry Lynn vs. Malice & Slash

[A match that could have easily been promoted to the full show was this weeks dark match, as Malice & Slash, the two men under the tutelage of James Mitchell and two of Steve Corino's henchmen wrestled the two men who narrowly missed a place in the X-Division Final and two of ECW's biggest names; 2 Cold Scorpio & Jerry Lynn. An extremely entertaining match that got the crowd really ready and roaring to go for the PPV. Malice used his brute strength to over-power the two smaller opponents whilst Slash's sadistic nature really put a dark edge on the match. The match quickly spilled out to ringside, and it turned hardcore with a steel chair shot from Slash to Lynn and Malice throwing Scorpio first into the steel steps, and then into the crowd. As Malice & Scorpio fought amongst the fans, Slash & Lynn fought inside the ring, some beautiful chain wrestling ended with Slash hitting a Swinging Neckbreaker followed by an elbow drop for the easy three count.]

Winners: Malice & Slash @ 7.32

Match One

Chris Daniels vs. Trent Acid

[An X-Division showcase match to start off as two of the top X-Division prospects fought one-on-one in the opening match for the fourth TNA show. Daniels was out first to a nice pop, he ignored the fans and simply walked to the ring in his usual cocky strut, but Daniels cockiness was outshined as Trent Acid entered the arena in a huge white trench coat and black Hollywood-style sunglasses. Acid wouldn't have looked out of place in a glossy magazine as he made his way to the ring to face off with the X-Division Championship Finalist, and a man who had made Rey Misterio tap out. In the ring, Trent removed his coat and threw his sunglasses at Daniels, solidifying his arrogance. However, Daniels didn't take too kindly to this and jumped Acid, thus starting the match.]

[both men came into the match as no named indy stars, wrestlers who only a niche audience knew the names of, however, they exited the ring and the arena as cult icons, two men who were ready, willing and able to put their bodies on the line to impress the fans, as that's exactly what they did in a match that had MOTN written all over it from the get-go. The match started with a lock-up and a series of Ricky Steamboat-esque Arm Drags from Daniels, giving him what seemed like an early advantage, but it was Acid who capitalized, with a head-scissors and Boston Crab. The two men continued to chain wrestle, with neither man able to get an advantage for more than a few seconds until Daniels hit a Snap Spinebuster, followed by a Springboard Clothesline, allowing him to get an early two-count. Acid rolled out of the ring to catch a breather, but Daniels had other ideas as he rebounded off the ropes and hit a huge Topé Suicidá on Trent, taking the wind out of both competitors. After a short recovery time, both men climbed into the ring where Acid got the advantage with a series of chops and an extremely stiff Yakuza Kick, nearly taking the head off of Daniels. Trent went to pin, but Daniels; playing the possum, was able to get an Inside Cradle on Acid for another near fall. Daniels continued by twisting Trent like a pretzel, putting him in one submission after the next until Acid got to the ropes, forcing Daniels to break the hold, but Daniels continued the advantage by going up top and hitting a beautiful Moonsault, but was once again unable to get a three-count. Daniels continued his assault, but received a low-blow from Acid, who rolled Daniels up with a handful of tights, but Daniels was just able to kick out. Trent went for another Yakuza Kick, but Daniels ducked and nailed his version of the Roll of the Dice, which allowed him to get a three-count, and to win the match.]

Winner: Chris Daniels @ 8.42

Match Two

The Road-Warriors vs. K-Krush & Disco

[As per usual, the Road-Warriors made their way to the ring first, and as per usual, they were still very, very over with the fans in attendance. They were still pretty out of shape, but the fact they were working every week with TNA was paying off, and you could easily see them shedding the pounds and getting back into tip-top condition. Following the entrance of the Road-Warriors came their opponents, Glenn Gilberti, under the alias of 'Disco' and K-Krush, two men who had one thing in common; the lost art of dancing. The two made their way to the ring in a rather unforgettable fashion, as they shook their tail feathers and made themselves look like something out of West Side Story. As they climbed in the ring, it was clear that their new-skool antics pissed off the old-school Warriors, who immediately launched a calculated attack.]

[The match was, unlike the entrance of Krush & Disco; forgettable. Only three minutes in length, it had squash written all over it as both members of the TAFKA Legion of Doom decimated their opponents with Powerslams and clotheslines, before setting Disco up for a Doomsday Device. This would lead to Krush and Disco's only offence in the match, as Disco pulled himself down from Animal's shoulders, and rolling him up for a Victory Roll, whilst Krush hit a dropkick on Hawk, as he made his way off from the turnbuckle. However, the offence didn't last long as Animal kicked out at one, threw Disco over the top rope and hit a Powerslam on Krush, getting the pinfall. No tags were made on either side, nobody knew who the legal man was, but one thing was certain; the match was over.]

Winners: The Road-Warriors @ 3.01

[A Dusty Rhodes promo followed, as the American Dream stood backstage with TNA broadcaster; Dave Prazak. The interview stunk of filler, as the man Dusty was originally feuding with; Steve Corino was now wrapped up in over business, it just seemed like he had nothing to say about anyone. Dusty pretty much summed up the extent of his injuries, saying he was pretty much cleared to wrestle, and that he wanted a run at the top just one more time. Dusty felt he had been made a fool, and that starting next week, he was ready to be the one who would make a fool of others, especially the men who had injured him; Malice and Slash. It was strange that a team that many tipped to be a team who could and would go far in TNA were going to enter a nothing feud against a man who should have given up years ago. But on the flip-side, going against a man with the name value of Dusty could do nothing but good for Jim Mitchell's New Church. It didn't sound good on paper, but it was something quite a few people were optimistic about, as it could turn into something pretty decent.]

Match Three

X-Division Championship

Low-Ki =X= [v1] vs. Jimmy Yang

[it was easy to tell the crowd were looking forward to this one with the pop that Low-Ki got as he entered ringside, however, this didn't alter the way in which he made his way to the ring; slowly and silently, like a ninja. With the X-Division Title draped over his shoulder, he looked even more badass than before. He climbed into the ring and crouched in the corner, he slapped himself a few times to get the adrenaline going as his awaited his challenger. However, the wait wasn't long, as accompanied by his two Elvis Fanatic friends, Jorge Estrada and Sonny Siaki; out came Jimmy Yang. As Yang made his way to the ring he made his intentions known as wiped his abdomen to signal where the X-Division Title would go. As he climbed into the ring, Ki got to his feet, and with a sign of honour he outstretched his hand, but Yang wasn't having any of it as he immediately launched an attack on Ki with kicks to the mid-section and elbow to the chest.]

[Even though the action inside the ring was fast, furious and an all round great wrestling match, the constant interference ruined it. It seemed that every time Ki got a small advantage, Estrada or Siaki would distract the ref, allowing for the third member of the Flyin' Elvis' to attack Ki, and although it got the trio of Elvis' over as heels, it made the match a hell of a lot weaker than it could have been. However, saying that, there were some great spots in the match, including Yang going for his patented 'Yang Time' mid-way through the match, but Ki getting his knees up in a move that really took the wind out of the challenger. It all looked like it was over when Estrada and Yang hit a Double Suplex, but the ref, tired of being called over by the third Elvis' caught sight of this and expelled Estrada and Siaki from ringside, allowing the action inside the ring to take precedence. Yang made a vital mistake and complained to the ref about his team mates, and as he turned around he got a mouthful of a very big boot from the champion. Ki stalked Yang, and as he got to his feet, Ki spun him round and lifted him up for a Ki Krusher '99, but Yang rolled out of it, spring-boarded and hit a beautiful, picture-perfect Moonsault Cross Body for a very close two count. Ki rolled out of the ring to catch a breather, but Yang was hot on his tail with another springboard attack as he launched himself out of the ring with an Asai Moonsault, sending Ki into the barricade, which in turn sent the crowd into a frenzy of "Holy Shit!" chants.]

[The match turned into a brawl outside the ring, with both men getting a significant amount of offence in, but it all went down hill for Yang as he went to the apron for a dive; Ki jumped up onto the apron and hit a huge running dropkick on his opponent, sending him into the barricade, Ki then proceeded to dive off the apron with a huge diving Elbow into the crowd, which could have decapitated Yang. Ki rolled Yang into the ring and climbed onto the apron, as a very groggy Yang got to his feet, Ki spring-boarded and hit an extremely stiff diving clothesline, for the two count. Frustrated, Ki covered again for another two, and again for a one. Ki then pulled Yang up and hit an easy Ki Krusher on him for the three count, thus putting an end to the match.]

[but the action wasn't over as the second the bell rang, out came the Flyin' Elvis' for an encore presentation. As Estrada and Siaki ran into the ring, a warn down Low-Ki tried to fight them off, and for a few seconds it was working as he knocked both men down with short clotheslines, but as Yang slowly recovered, the handicap was too much, and Ki was beaten down to the ground with a Double DDT from Estrada and Siaki and a Yang Time from Yang. The three men continued to beat down Ki, before Estrada and Yang left the ring. Siaki centred Ki up in the ring against the turnbuckle, and the two Elvis' Impersonators on the outside each grabbed one leg of the champion and pulled him groin first into the metal post. Ki sat immense pain, but it wasn't over as Siaki dropkicked him in the back, sending him once again into the steel turnbuckle. Yang, Estrada and Siaki posed in the ring for a moment before AJ Styles dived over the barricade and chased away the Elvis' with a steel chair. Styles helped the fallen Ki to his feet and the two stared down the Elvis' as they exited the arena.]

Winner: Low-Ki =X= @ 10.10

Main Event

Special Guest Enforcer: Steve Corino =O=

Jeff Jarrett vs. Ken Shamrock

[First out, accompanied by CW Anderson and his buxom wench; "Simply Luscious" Veronica Stevens-Corino, was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and Special Guest Enforcer, Steve Corino. Corino with the title around his waist was cocky as ever. On his way to the ring, Corino got into a small altercation with a fan; who yelled at him before receiving a verbal beat down by the champion. Corino stood at ringside with his two allies as a small pyro exploded on the ramp and emerging from the curtain entered Ken Shamrock. As Shamrock climbed into the ring, the sounds of booing and hissing could be heard coming from the NWA Champion. Shamrock applauded Corino's maturity and waited patiently for his opponent; Jeff Jarrett who made his way onto the stage with a shower of sparks to welcome him. Jarrett walked cockily to the ring and as soon as he slid underneath the bottom rope; the bell rang and the match began.]

[What could have been a mismatch in similar fashion to last weeks Corino/Shamrock bout turned into a nice long, drawn out match, which saw both men fight till they could not fight anymore, and the match was made even better with the ringside presence of Steve Corino, who proved himself as a natural heel, chanting 'boring' whenever either man hit a trademark move, booing and hissing the man with the advantage and every now and then trying to tempt either wrestler with a weapon with which to attack the other. However, great heels don't always make great enforcers, as Corino really didn't play his assigned part, and didn't really keep it a fair, clean fight. Shamrock was quick on the offensive to start things of, as he locked up with Jarrett, got the advantage and hit a nice Hip toss followed by an armbar, proving his technical skill. But no matter how much Shamrock twisted Jarrett like a pretzel, he would not tap; it seemed no matter wherever Jarrett was, he was never too far from the ropes, and it allowed him to force Shamrock to break whatever hold he had. Soon, Jarrett got his first advantage with a headlock and Vertical Suplex for a two count, before going to the second rope and hitting a Diving Double Axe Handle on the former UFC fighter's back, knocking him to his knees and allowing Jarrett to hit a running knee to the face; a classic heel move. Jarrett tried to lock in a Figure Four, but Shamrock kicked his legs forcing the hold to be broken before it even began. Shamrock went for a German Suplex, but Jarrett was able to reverse the hold, Jarrett went for a stroke, but Corino popped up onto the apron and raked the eyes of both men simultaneously. Corino acted innocent as the ref questioned him, allowing CW Anderson to sneak in the ring and hit Spinebusters on both men. A Double KO ten count began, but the ref could only get to four before Shamrock was on his feet. Shamrock stalked Jarrett, and hit a Belly to Belly Suplex as soon as his opponent was on his feet. Shamrock went for an ankle lock to finish off Jarrett, but Double J was able to tie himself up in the ropes. Jarrett got up on the apron, but no sooner was he up, he was knocked down again by a stiff elbow from Shamrock, forcing him out onto the floor. CW distracted the ref on the opposite side as Corino attacked Jarrett outside the ring. Shamrock saw this and pushed CW Anderson to the floor, before exiting the ring and literally throwing Corino off of Jarrett. Shamrock said he wanted a fair fight, and that's exactly what he'd get, before throwing Jarrett back in the ring and climbing in after him.]

[The two continued to exchange the advantage until Jarrett was able to hit the Stroke and cover for what would have been an easy three count, if it wasn't for Corino, who dragged the ref out of the ring and simply shrugged at Jarrett, suggesting he didn't know what happened. Jarrett got into a shoving match with Corino, before CW regained his senses and come to protect the NWA World Champion. Jarrett climbed back into the ring and the match continued with Shamrock getting the advantage and locking in an ankle lock, albeit without a ref in the ring. Jarrett was tapping, but with no ref to call for the bell, the match continued. The ref finally regained consciousness, but by this time, Shamrock had released the hold and instead looked for other ways of beating Jarrett. Shamrock went to lift Jarrett up, but got a crutchful of low blow, as Jarrett's underhand tactics got him the advantage once more. Jarrett hit a stroke, and once again, he should have won, but this time CW Anderson climbed into the ring, distracting the ref, as Corino climbed into the ring and hit Jarrett with his own guitar, knocking him senseless. Corino covered Jarrett with Shamrock's arm, and the ref had no idea of what had happened and was forced to count the three, and the match was over.]

[As Ken Shamrock's hand was raised in victory by Steve Corino, the crowd were in shock. Had Corino and Shamrock just aligned themselves? Had Corino turned face? Had Shamrock turned heel? And what role was Jeff Jarrett playing? It was awe inspiring; and in a moment similar to the sign off of last week's TNA PPV, there was a lot of confusion, only one thing was different; this was almost certainly a work. However, that certainly didn't subtract from the atmosphere in the arena, but as everyone got ready to fold up their seats and be on their way home, the atmosphere got even more heated. Corino, still holding Shamrock's arm, turned to face the former Ultimate Fighter; and with a look of pure hatred in his eyes; lifted his NWA World Title off his shoulder and nailed Shamrock right between the eyes... and the crowd went wild! Corino started laying into Corino with stomps and elbow drops, as Jeff Jarrett, still with shards of guitar in his mouth and hair slowly got to his feet. Corino went to attack Jarrett, but knew better as from the corner of the screen; out from the crowd came two men Corino certainly didn't want to mess with; the Road-Warriors. Corino quickly exited the ring and as he, CW Anderson and Simply Luscious went to exit the arena, Jarrett got himself a microphone. Jarrett told Corino exactly what he thought; that Corino was a no-good loser who got lucky, and he was degrading the NWA Title in front of four men who fought so hard to become good enough to challenge for it. Corino tried to defend himself, but it was no good as Jarrett issued a challenge; the four men in the ring versus Corino, Anderson, Simon Diamond and Johnny Swinger - four on four in a classic survivor style match. Shamrock, who was now on his feet, took this time to confront Corino. The two stared each other down before Jarrett outstretched a hand to the man he had just fought. For a moment, tension reigned, and it would be with this visual that the fourth weekly TNA PPV would end. The date was set, the challenge was laid out, and as TNA went off the air, every men, woman and child in the arena was already pumped for next weeks PPV.]

Winner: Ken Shamrock @ 19.23

Edited April 12, 2006 by Ollie Beak

Dingle · April 13, 2006

Saw the Jarrett screwjob miles off, but didn't expect him to turn on Shamrock as well. Ah well, looks good and a survivor style match should be quite the match to do.

Some nice squashing down the card with Road Warriors going over, which they need if they're in the survivor match. One last thing; Low Ki keeping the title slightly annoys me, but the writing of him is great so I don't have any issues with that.

Don't go all swerve happy, and I look forward to next weeks show.

YI · April 13, 2006

DISCO INFERNO!!!!!! Get some TEW data pronto, so he can appear more. Nothing really stood out all that much. Most of the card seemed going through the required motions. Building up the New Church as a strong team, the beginning of the rise of Acid/Daniels, the X Division title match did nothing for me at all and the Road Warriors match was just like all other Road Warriors matche thus far, nice. The main event was goods tuff. Though Steve Corino doesn't hiss. Seriously. It's not pantomime. I don't understand why Jouzy didn't expect him to turn on Shamrock. Last week Shamrock threw himself heavily into the title hunt by raising Corino's title above his head. Signalling he wants the belt. Corino would naturally be pissed that someone else raised his belt above their head. Thus him taking out Shamrock following the match was to be expected, in retalliation IMO. However his beef with Shamrock (Did I just say beef? In a context not abou the red meat? Gay) is not as big as with Jarrett. He'd much rather screw Jarrett out of the win than Shamrock...I had a feeling it may have ended in another no contest, with Corino taking them both out. But this way works too. It's nice, realistic. Good stuff. Not your best show by any stretch of the imagination, but still competent stuff.

probablyoliver · April 13, 2006

NWA:TNA #005 Preview
This Means War
www.nwatna.com
June 30th 2002

Eight men. One story; and this Wednesday in Huntsville, Alabama, these eight men will collide in TNA's biggest match to date; an eight man tag team survival match. But who will come out the Sole Survivor? The actions leading to this match have been intense, and the tension in the arena on Wednesday night will be out of this world. Will Steve Corino and his motley crew of team mates be able to take control and destroy the already rocky alliance of Jeff Jarrett and Ken Shamrock, or will the unbeaten Road-Warriors be able to show that they truly are the be all and end all of all tag team wrestling? There's only one way to find out, and that's to tune in this Wednesday night.

However, the tag team war will have stiff competition for the Match of the Night as the X-Division will go all out to prove it truly is the landmark of TNA in two great X-Division Showcase matches. In the first, four men; all of whom want in on the title hunt will do battle in a four corner match; one pin, one win. Rey Misterio, Psicosis, Trent Acid and Chris Daniels. Four amazing wrestlers with one common goal; the NWA X Division Championship. Whoever wins this match will not only get one rung higher on the path to success, but they'll also get the pride of beating three of the best wrestlers in the world today.

Also; the Flyin' Elvis' will do battle against two of the best X-Division stars; AJ Styles and X-Division Champion; Low Ki. Last week, the Flyin' Elvis' destroyed Low-Ki in the ring, as he was just able to escape with his title against Jimmy Yang, and it was AJ Styles who made the (albeit late) save. This week Low Ki will look for revenge; AJ Styles will look for glory; and the Flyin' Elvis' will look for their first win in TNA.

Confirmed Matches:
Steve Corino =O=, CW Anderson, Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger vs. Jeff Jarrett, Ken Shamrock & The Road-Warriors
Low-Ki & AJ Styles vs. Sonny Siaki & Jorge Estrada
X-Division Showcase: Chris Daniels vs. Trent Acid vs. Psicosis vs. Rey Misterio

Crash PPV
WrestleCircle.com
July 3nd 2002

It seems TNA head booker; Dusty Rhodes is generating major backstage heat due to his crash booking style for TNA PPV's, and with just hours to go until the fifth TNA PPV is shown live, Rhodes has found himself between a rock and a hard place. It seems there is major heat between Rhodes and Ken Shamrock, after Shamrock stated he would be unavailable for any bookings throughout July due to touring commitments with New Japan Pro Wrestling, however, this did not stop Rhodes having an eight man tag match announced last week live on air involving Ken Shamrock teaming with Jeff Jarrett and the Road-Warriors. Dusty's has stated that he wants Shamrock to portray a 'loose cannon' character in TNA, and an unannounced no show would give him that persona. However, Shamrock is happy with his standard 'tough man' gimmick, and does not want to go along the same route as Rhodes. Shamrock will not be back with TNA until September, however; many within the company are doubtful he will ever return.

But it's not only Shamrock who is causing problems within the Main Event, as TNA has cancelled all bookings with both Simon Diamond and Johnny Swinger, due to Diamond missing last weeks PPV in order to have a WWE try out in California. Swinger is also out of the company due to no-showing last weeks PPV, even though he warned management beforehand that he may not be able to attend the show due to a flight problem from Canada, after he wrestled for Border City Wrestling the night before. Diamond and Swinger were scheduled for the eight man survival match alongside Steve Corino and CW Anderson. As of this moment, it is not sure what will happen at tonight's PPV. It's possible the match will become a 3-on-2 handicap match, with the Road-Warriors and Jeff Jarrett taking on Steve Corino and CW Anderson in elimination rules, but this could change at any moment.

TNA have also cut all ties with Elix Skipper, Curt Hennig, the Shane Twins and Marcus Bagwell. The Shane Twins and Bagwell were reportedly cut from the roster as simple cost-cutting measures, due to the losses TNA have suffered in the last month, however there are different stories circulating the internet as to why TAFKA Mr. Perfect and Elix Skipper were released. Skipper; who worked the first two TNA shows was reportedly shown the door to his dangerous style of wrestling, which saw him botch moves in both his bookings, and threaten the health of his opponents; Psicosis and Chris Daniels. In an interview with TalkSport radio last week, Daniels suggested that there was heat between him Skipper, and Skipper's release may have something to do with that; with TNA putting a lot of emphasis on Daniels in previous weeks, releasing Skipper may have been to keep Daniels happy. Hennig was reportedly released due to legal issues with WWE and Vince McMahon. Hennig broke the 90 Day No Compete Clause when he appeared on the first TNA PPV, and higher ups in both WWE and TNA have suggested that Vince sent a memo to Jerry Jarrett; threatening legal action if Hennig was not dropped from future dates immediately.

It's been reported this week that the fight that happened between Jeff Jarrett and Steve Corino, two weeks ago at the end of the Ken Shamrock versus Steve Corino match was in fact a work, pitched by Dusty Rhodes, who has been acting as head booker for the last three TNA shows. Dusty pitched that the two, who had major heat on them backstage due to managements decision to give Corino the NWA Championship instead of Jarrett, should begin to feud with each other, in order to gain interest in the TNA product. After sit down talks between the two throughout the week, they both agreed to go ahead with the angle, which has generated major interest amongst internet sites in the last two weeks. With Shamrock temporarily out of the company, and Dusty Rhodes still not at 100% physical condition, it's expected that Corino and Jarrett will feud throughout July, whilst new main event prospects are built up.

Mike Tenay and Jeff Jarrett are pushing for a Samoan team to be brought into TNA. Mike Tenay, who's seen as TNA's Go-To guy for anything has been working as a scout this week, and is said to have seen great potential in three Samoan workers; the Island Boys, Ekmo & Kimo, as well as Jimmy Snuka's son; Jimmy "Solo" Snuka Jr. Jarrett, who is also high on the idea wants a heel stable in TNA the Midcard, and thinks a Samoan team could easily get over with the TNA crowd in an old school 'badass' gimmick. However, TNA head booker; Dusty Rhodes is not so high on the idea, and with the American Dream having the final say, it's not sure whether or not the stable will or will not go ahead.

Scott Hall, who was suspended from TNA last week after a drinking incident is reportedly on his way North to the WWE; again. Hall was released from the WWE a few months ago after the "plane ride from hell", but WWE management are reportedly interested in bringing back the Razor Ramon gimmick. Although no deal has yet been signed, many believe it's only a matter of days before Hall is confirmed as back with WWE.

Edited April 13, 2006 by Ollie Beak

therockbox · April 14, 2006

I love the way you're playing this feud between Corino and Jarrett, letting their 'real life' feelings for each other spill over into TNA. Hopefully you won't overdo the "is a work, or is it a shoot?" part, but so far it's been really well done.

Hopefully you'll start building up the X-Division stars as well. With the Main Event looking a bit thin the X-Division could really be important for you, there are plenty of guys there with good ability as well as charisma that could be a big part of your company.

Storylines aside, I like the style in which you're doing your results. Easy on the eyes and easy to read, only telling us what we need to know.

Now hurry up with 5.

Kwanzabot · April 14, 2006

The whole Jarrett/Corino situation has got me interested, as well as the continued push under Chris Daniels.

It's well written is this diary, and I know as me speak English good.

I'd give it a 8.5/10, just because of the whole Real Life storyline base, and how you supplement it with news stories, obviously planned out by you. If it wasn't for that, I'd give this diary a 7->8/10, but you have me hooked to this diary.

TGC · April 16, 2006

Four shows strong, which seems to be a record for you, so I will review and grade each individual show. Lucky you, no?

Show One

-Very nice way to open the show, getting three talented wrestlers like AJ, Ki, and Misterio into the G4G Main Event. I was slightly taken aback to see you continue the Flying Elvises gimick and stable, and by slightly taken aback I mean equal parts amused and horrified of course. Still a good opener.

-I mark for Hennig. I hope I don't ever see America's Most Wanted. That's all.

-Psicosis, Elix Skipper and Christopher Daniels was prolly a damn fine match, but I doubt it even compared to the six man tag that opened the show. That said a dream match for me would feature these three and Styles, Ki, and Misterio. Talk about some lucha cruiser high flying spotty mcspotterson goodness.

-Road Warriors vs Shane Twins on PPV? Someone tell TNA that a two hour weekly show I have to pay for should not feature two squashes out of four matches. And don't tell me it wasn't a squash, cuz we all know it was.

-Dusty fucking Rhodes? BWAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Unless this a swerve by the heel American Nightmare Dustin Rhodes, cuz that's cool. Otherwise BWAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

-Logic says that it won't be Shamrock and JJ in the end of the G4G match, and yet from a selling point it would make the most sense. As they are easily your two most bankable stars one of them should be the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA era. But I somehow doubt either will be.

After twenty four minutes of total, non-stop action, it was down to four men. Entrants #14, Steve Corino, #16 Dusty Rhodes, #19 Jerry Lynn and #20 Psicosis.

Not the most star studded final four now is it? Can you say Corino and Rhodes (BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA) in the final part of the match?

-So it ends with Corina basically squashing Rhodes, huh? Meh.

All in all it's basically what I expected in terms of the debut show. Not good, not bad, just sorta mild and there. So Show One gets a grade of C.

Show Two

Winners: The Road Warriors @ 6.22

No shit? Really? Never saw that one coming. Storm and Young? Yikes. Well, there's one squash on the show so far this week.

-Oh, and your sig, which I hadn't even paid attention to, gives away that Ki wins the X Title. Dick.

-Liger in The X Division = TGC with an erection.

-So Corino has Malice, Diamond and Swinger, and CW Anderson on his side? Now that's a coalition of pain if you ask me. Dusty BWAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Rhodes is gonna be a getting a clubbering.

-Go go Daniels you magnificent bastard. Good match, but short, far too short.

-Red is a midget, I hate Acid, and Ki is a golden god. Wowe, if you had Bryan Danielson you could recreat the Round Robin Feud from RoH, huh?

-Scorpio, Misterio, and Lynn go three times as long as the other two? Twice as long as the other two combined almost? Odd moves my friend, odd moves. Still, with that said it was a really good match. I dug it massively.

-And we end the show with Rhodes BWAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA getting his ass kicked huh? Workd for me.

Overall I think it was SLIGHTLY better than the first show. Not quite a full grade better, but better. Overall grade for week two is B-. We're getting better every week.

Non Show Things Part One

-I like the news and rumors going on in this thing as well between shows and the like. They add a lot to the diary and the shows.

-Real life feuds and heat are things that can add so much to an on screen feud. Corino and his faction vs. JJ and his faction should most definitely be considered as the top level feud post Corino and Rhodes BWAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. The on screen promos could be gold as they throw shit at each other verbally.

So the offscreen stuff is by far the highlight of this diary thus far, giving it a solid grade of A at this juncture. Which means THUS FAR the diary is a B overall grade diary.

Show Three

-Dark matches, huh? Do I CARE? Nope. Moving on.

-Bland opening if you ask me. Oh sure the No Name Stable get together and act evil, but when the object of their evilness is Dusty BWAAAAHAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Rhodes, I simply do not really care.

-Speaking of not caring, lookie here sir, a fucking squash match. Yay? Nay.

-Yang could be good against Ki, but Siakia and Estrada vs. The Road Warriors? Two matches down and two squashes. Is this 2002 or 1992? However that said the description of TNA vs. BAckstage Politics insidew the match was fucking gold. You may get a B just for that half a paragraph.

-Fuck Corino and his mystery opponent (bet it's Shamrock) the X Division Title was the Main Event. And Fuck TNA and YOU for not booking it as such. An A- Match and the MOTD (Match Of The Diary) thus far!!!!

-Eh, it was an okay match with a great ending, but it wasn't MOTD now was it? Here we go with Jarrett and Corino maybe? Screw Shammy stuck in the middle, I want full on Corino and JJ.

And we get a final overall show grade of B+. I dug it ONLY because the final two matches made up for the SHITTY SQUASHES!

Show Four

-Lynn is the biggest former ECW name you have on your roster. USE HIM BETTER DAMMIT!

-Still, it was a fun, albeit short, match, but it should have been ON the actual show. Bad move, sir, bad move.

-I like Daniels, but his match bored me. Fuck Acid.

-More Road Warriors nonsense I see, huh? And way to waste K-Krush/Kwiq/Kool-Ade Man. I hate you.

-So Dusty's stock lowered so far he goes from a Main Event feud to a feud with The New Church? Well, at least it won't stink up the Main Event anymore. Good call.

-By the way, the future plan you mentioned to me, now that I have fully read thios thing, is a HORRID idea for now. I LOVE where this Main Event is going, and to go to the other idea would seriously piss me off.

-Okay back to show four, and a good match, even if the winner was NEVER in doubt. Ki and Aj is where the X-Division money is at, and don't forget it.

-So now we get a Main Event that I actually care about? Gotta love that. As for the Main Even itself, it saved a very bad show from a very low grade. This show was belkow mediocre, it was weak, boring, and really quite lame, until the ME. I enjoyed that a lot. I enjoyed the end a lot. I enjoyed the JJ face turn a lot. I might even enjoy next week's SurSerStyle ME.

One match however good, cannot save a lousy show. If not for the ME it would have been a D-, but thankfully the ME made it a grade of C-. Sorry, but I really disliked it THAT much.

Non Show Things Part Two

-Nothing new to add other than that this really is the saving grace of this diary. Without this the Corino/JJ storyline on-screen wouldn't mean shit. Nice job.

Overall on this part two I give you a grade of A+.

So what do we get overall? Overall I give the diary a grade of B. Plenty to work on, trust me, but it's better overall than I really expected it would be.

TGC

Michael · April 18, 2006

Quick fire stuff here. Nothing fancy, just some thoughts.

-Firstly the matches are way too long for my liking.

-Can we get some bold or italics here just to break stuff up a little bit?

-Misterio seems a little bit big for TNA to use reguarly seeing as when they started, Shamrock was the biggest star they had. One of the best things about this time was that there were so many rookies ready to shine in the X Division and it seems like a bit of a waste to use just name guys. Hopefully you'll eventually use them to put over the young 'uns though.

-The Corino/Jarrett thing is original, but doesn't really ring my bells. Not your fault, just not my kinda thing and the whole development of it in like a month seems a bit rushed.

-The Road Warriors squashing is good. They really shouldn't be doing much else.

-Shame to see Malice go so early in the GFTG. He looked like a real star in TNA when it started and I thought he had future Champ written all over him.

-Corino as Champ was a brave choice although I think you would have to really put him over a lot more than say Shamrock or Jarrett as minus ECW fans, he isn't known at all.

-Amazing Red was absolutely amazing during 2002 in TNA and had some truly classic matches. I hope you give him a chance at becomign a star.

-Misterio in the main event of the second show is better as it makes his hefty payment seem more worthwhile.

-Malice and another favourite of mine, Slash, destroying Dusty is awesome. I hope this isn't a vehicle for putting Dusty over though.

-I think Marcus Bagwell and El Gran Apollo are two guys you should really push. They both have the look and Bagwell has the charisma as well as the name. Bagwell in a dark match again seems very unlikely....TNA's dark matches at this time were complete unknown indy guys getting try-outs. Bagwell is surely one of the best known guys you've got.

-I like Corino's little group. CW Anderson in particular.

-Shame to see York and Matthews getting used as jobber boys, hopefully you'll give them a decent push though. I always thought that they were very underrated and reminded me of a younger Hardy Boyz team.

-Dave Prazak as the backstage guy? I suppose it could work but I prefer Goldylocks.

-Good, you used Misterio to help put over Low Ki. I thought you were going to give the belt to Misterio so well done there and a nice unpredictable finish is always good.

-I don't really care for the Elvis' unless you make them a serious ass kicking faction and not just glorified jobbers.

-Yuck, one of the things TNA rarely had was No Contest's, especially in the main event as this was on Pay Per View, people were paying to watch this and wouldn't be pleased for the main event to not have a proper finish. Interference yes, but there must be a winner really, ESPECIALLY for the main event matches. It would have worked better if you had done the match earlier on in the card and not ended the show with it.

-Sorry but Scorpio and Lynn in the dark match just wouldn't happen. Glad to see Slash and Malice pick up the duke though.

-Yay, Disco is in the house. Sadly he's squashed, but I'm glad you're not having the Warriors wrestle for longer than a few minutes.

-Decent "what's going on ending?" with Corino was the guest enforcer. That's some of the unpredictability which you need to continue. Remember, people are paying to watch these shows and I think you could do more cliffhanger type stuff like this to make peope think "what's going to happen on next week's show?!?!?!"

Overall this is pretty neat. My main gripe is with the dark matches - the Jarrett's were taking a HUGE financial gamble with starting TNA and to have such costly stars in the dark matches is completely unrealistic. Put no-name indy talent in the dark matches instead.

Edited April 18, 2006 by Michael

probablyoliver · April 20, 2006

So I've actually wrote a couple of promos for this. They're not very good, I'm not a great promo writer, but I thought it'd improve the shows from the angle recaps I was doing before. Not too sure if I'll continue with the promos or not, this was just a tester. If they got a positive response then I'll continue to do them, but there are no promises yet. As usual, feedback is welcomed and encouraged.

-

Once again, TNA had been the talk of the wrestling town, due to the uncertainty and possibilities of the fifth weekly TNA PPV. The main event had been set, and subsequently knocked down, and with only five of the eight competitor’s available, people were anxious to find out exactly what would happen. People were also anxious to see if Jeff Jarrett and Steve Corino could co-exist whilst competing in the same match at the same time for the first time. Although they had agreed to the angle, tensions were still high, and anything could have happened come show-time. The audience was split; half of them wanted to see an eight man survivor match, a match that could become one of the highlights of professional wrestling in 2002. The other half of the audience wanted to see a car crash, a main event ruined, and the future of TNA thrown into uncertainty once more.

But what did they get?

-

[TNA's fifth weekly PPV started out backstage, where a man who had been a staple of the last five weeks worth of action was standing in waiting to make his mark on the wrestling world. Not with his actions inside the ring, but with his words outside of it; Chris Daniels.]

Daniels: "So it's week five in this sordid little state of affairs we call Total Non-Stop Action, and once again, Christopher Daniels; the pinnacle of professional wrestling is thrown into another nowhere match, against three men I have already defeated. Against three men I have already taken to the limits and come out with my hand raised in victory. Yet I have to face them once more? I have to prove once again that I am the better professional wrestler? Another "break out" match for Chris Daniels, another victory guaranteed; and for what? Do I get a shot at the X-Division title? No! No, instead, three curtain jerkers dressed as Elvis Presley get shots; men who haven't even won a match here in TNA. They get their chances, they get their numbers called out, not Chris Daniels... And AJ Styles, a man who doesn't even come to work, he gets his chances too, he's in the title hunt, that goose chase for the title that I want, the title I hunger for; the title I crave. That eight pounds of gold that should be around my waist, because I'm the one that puts my body on the line against future 'superstars', whilst perennial jobbers get title opportunities... Where's the justice in that?"

[Daniels stays silent for a moment, he wipes his hand against his stubble and goatee before facing the camera once more. He looks calmer, his rant is over, now he just wants to put his point across. He opens his mouth, but stays silent; then a grin comes onto his face. He nods his head and begins to speak; slowly, as if he wants everyone to listen intently and take in every bit of information that comes from his lips.]

Daniels: "After I win tonight, after I defeat these three men again, I'm making a beeline for the X-Division Title; and I make it my mission; my goal; my destiny to win the NWA X-Division Title and wear it around my waist until the day that I die. I'll defeat whoever you put in front of me; whether it be Rey Misterio, Trent Acid, AJ Styles, Low-Ki, Jimmy Yang, Jerry Lynn, anyone. I don't care what city they hail from, I don't care what continent they call home, In fact, I couldn't even care if they came from another god-damn planet, because no matter who they are or where they come from, they do not match up to the skill and sass of that of the Pinnacle of Professional Wrestling; Christopher Daniels. I will become the X-Division champion, just you wait and see."

[With that Chris Daniels walks out of shot, and out of view. He has made his mission statement, all that needs to be seen now is if he can live up to his promise.]

Match One

Chris Daniels vs. Psicosis vs. Rey Misterio vs. Trent Acid

[You could tell the crowd were really enjoying the X-Division, and with four of the premier stars fighting at once, they were certainly pumped for the opening match. First out, in full Hollywood attire, complete with furry coat and black sunglasses; Trent Acid. The crowd were really warming to Acid, and he got a nice heel reaction on his way to the ring; nothing phenomenal, but it was big enough to know that the fans liked to dislike him. As Acid climbed into the ring, the second competitor, Psicosis came out from the back, and sprinted to the ring, he didn't get as big a reaction as Acid, but the fans knew who he was, and there were a few major 'Cosis fans in the audience. Next out the back was Chris Daniels, who got a great reaction from the fans, with a lot of Daniels fans in the audience. He did his usual 'silent but deadly' walk to the ring, all the while ignoring both the crowd and the two men in the ring. As he climbed in, out came Rey Misterio, who got a great reaction, considering he hadn't appeared for a few weeks. Misterio ran to the ring, and as the four men stared each other down, Chris Daniels and Misterio left the ring, allowing Psicosis and Acid to start things off.]

[The match in itself was brilliant, all four men were over with the fans, every high spot and top rope manoeuvre got great reactions, and all in all, it was one of the finest spot fests seen in a long time. Acid got himself over as a heel, using his size nine's to kick seven shades of shit out of his opponents with heartless Yakuza kicks. Daniels got his new persona of 'in it to win it' over by making a quick cover after what seemed like every move every time he was in the ring, and the lucha upbringings of Misterio and Psicosis made them look like high flying gods with Planchas, Hurracanranas and Topé's on their opponents. It was fast paced action, and exactly what the fans in attendance needed to get them pumped for the upcoming night of wrestling action. Acid took the early advantage, with a quick sweep and standing Moonsault on Psicosis, before going for a Lionsault, but landing on his feet, and almost decapitating Psicosis with a diving big boot, but it seemed no matter what he hit, it wasn't enough and Psicosis kicked out. Trent eventually got frustrated and tagged out to Rey Misterio, turning the match from fast-paced, to lightning-quick with one of the best showings of chain wrestling in a long time. Misterio countered every move thrown at him, and Psicosis reversed every counter. Neither of them could get a single move in, and you could see this aggravated Chris Daniels, who didn't want to be out-done, so as soon as Rey Misterio rebounded off the ropes, he slapped his back and made the blind tag, a move that Daniels regretted as soon as he got in the ring, as a fired up and adrenaline filled Psicosis hit multiple arm drags on Daniels, before rebounding off the ropes and hitting a beautiful flip senton on Daniels.]

[Psicosis made a cover but couldn't get the three, and so it started again, Psicosis hit two more arm drags and went for another flip senton, but Daniels rolled out of the way, and Psicosis crashed down on the mat in pain, allowing Daniels to rebound from the ropes himself and hit a flipping neckbreaker, bringing Psicosis' head between his legs and into the mat. Daniels went for a cover, but only got a two, and instead locked in an armbar, using the ropes for extra pain. But it was no good as the referee saw his cheating ways and kicked his arms off the ropes, allowing Psicosis to get an Oklahoma Roll on Daniels for a two-count. Psicosis got to his feet and quickly tagged out to Misterio, who immediately went up top and hit a Diving Leg Drop for a two-count. Misterio went to pounce on Daniels, but Daniels hit an eye rake on Misterio, allowing some time to scatter to the other side of the ring and tag in Acid. The match continued with spot after spot after spot. After he was in the ring, Acid was reluctant to tag out, and so Acid had to fight all three men in turn, however, having to fight the fresh man every time didn't phase him, and he ended up getting the advantage on all three men, with some sick stiff dropkicks and a very nice powerbomb to Misterio, that got him within a nano-second of getting a three count. The ending of the match came when it was Chris Daniels and Psicosis in the ring. After a short burst of chain wrestling, Psicosis hit a Hurracanrana and taunted at Acid on the outside. Acid came in and almost ripped Psicosis' head off with a Yakuza Kick, knocking him clean out. Misterio took this time to jump in and hit a clothesline on Acid sending them both out of the ring. With Psicosis on the floor, Daniels was able to climb to the top rope and hit a picture perfect Moonsault on Psicosis, giving him the pinfall victory.]

Winner: Chris Daniels @ 12.34

Match Two

Alexis Laree vs. Simply Luscious

[An unannounced women’s match featuring two women who weren't recognised as good workers. Yeah, it wasn't going to be good. First came Simply Luscious, who skipped to the ring, she climbed into the ring and hopped and skipped some more, which didn't do much for her character, seeing as she should have been playing the heel. Her opponent, Alexis Laree came out to pretty much zero crowd response, she did the exact same as Luscious and skipped her way to the ring, and the match, whom nobody cared about, was ready to start.]

[Although it was only four minutes in length, the match between Alexis Laree and Simply Luscious seemed to go on forever, and the crowd treated were in no way interested at all. It plodded on, with the usual women’s spots, a short catfight, some poor chain wrestling and as the two realised nobody cared, they really scraped the barrel and tried to get the men in the audience interested with a spanking contest. However, the men still didn't care, and everybody just wanted it to be over. Thankfully, after a very poor second rope hurracanrana, it was, as Alexis Laree hooked both legs and got the pinfall; and as the fans continued not to care you could almost hear the minds of TNA management saying 'never do this again'.]

Winner: Alexis Laree @ 4.13

[Following the match that showed all young women how not to wrestle; we went backstage with NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Steve Corino and Ricky Steamboat, the acting commissioner of NWA:TNA. You could see that Corino was stressed. He stood at Steamboat's desk with both hands pressed firmly against the beautiful pine wood, the NWA Title between his hands. Steamboat sat in a large black leather chair, in front of him a bar with his name on and a lot of papers, after all, everyone knows that on screen commissioners have a lot of paper work to deal with.]

Corino: "I just can't do it Steamboat. Johnny Swinger isn't here, Simon Diamond isn't here, and I am not going into that match with just CW Anderson and a bag full of hope."

Steamboat: "So you forfeit the match?"

Corino: "No, I don't forfeit the match, all I ask is that you give me more time, you're the man with the power here, do the old switch and bait; go out there, tell these people that... I don't know... the match could be next week... that way I can get the team in place, and I can give you the match you want so much."

Steamboat: "I can't do that Steve, we promised the fans a Survivor match, and that's what they'll get."

Corino: "Dammit Ricky, I am the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and if you want me to do a Madusa to this company then you go ahead with that match. I'm the champ, I have the power, and I can appear on RAW next week and I can dump this title in the trash. I've got the offers Ricky, I get offers from all around the world every day. So if you want that to happen just say the word. And if you don't, you get me out of this four-on-two match right now!"

Steamboat: "Ugh, Corino, it's three-on-two; Ken Shamrock isn't here..."

Corino: "Ha! I knew that rat bastard could not be trusted, that's why I made my move first Ricky, you saw me do it, you saw me smash my title right between those beady little eyes last week, you saw me, you all saw me do it. That's why I'm the Ichiban of TNA, that's why I've got the title. I wasn't going to let him screw me over first, Rick. Its things like this that goes to show that I have the wit, intelligence and superior strategies to be a champion. You know what, Rick. No Shamrock... No problem... I'll fight, and I'll fight to win.

[Corino laughs and picks up his title, he walks out towards the door and steps out, he's handed a note, but the camera can not see who hands him the note or what it says. Corino scans the note and nods, before walking out of shot.]

Match Three

Low-Ki & AJ Styles =X= vs. Sonny Siaki & Jorge Estrada

[if anybody had said a month ago that three men dressed as Elvis Presley would get over in a wrestling related environment, you'd have told them where to go, but these three little fella's, one American, one Korean and one Samoan, were really getting themselves a heel reputation. All they needed was a mouth-piece, and they could have become as legendary as the King himself. Sonny Siaki and Jorge Estrada, accompanied by Jimmy Yang were out first, dressed in white as usual. Walking down to the ring, they taunted the fans and were generally nasty, evil heels. But it seemed that their bark was worse than their bite as they all flinched and looked worried when Low Ki's music hit, and the X-Division Champion made his way out from the back and down to ringside, however, Ki wasn't stupid, and he didn't enter the ring until his partner was with him. However, a minute wait and no music started, nobody entered the arena, and everything was just silent. Even the crowd chanting "AJ Styles" didn't get the X-Division Superstar out from the back, and after another minute, a pissed off Ki got in the ring alone, and the handicap began.]

[The second Ki got in the ring he was ambushed with stomps from all three members of the Flyin' Elvis', and within thirty seconds of the bell ringing, Ki was already beaten and broken down by his opponents. Referee, Scott Armstrong finally got some order and forced Jimmy Yang to leave the ring and Jorge Estrada to exit onto the apron, and it was this that allowed Ki to get to his feet, but it was easy to see he was still feeling the effects of the beatdown, and as he stepped around groggily he tried to hit a Dropkick, but fell on his face, allowing Sonny Siaki to get some more stomps in, before holding his boot in the face of Ki and taunting the fans. However, Siaki's cockiness doesn't pay off, and Ki is able to bring Siaki down with a leg lock, before rolling it into an STF, Siaki looks like he'll tap right at the start of the match, so it's up to Jorge Estrada to get in the ring and try for an Elbow Drop on Ki, but the champion sees it and rolls off of Siaki, causing Estrada to hit his own partner. Estrada checks on Siaki, allowing Ki to hit a running dropkick to Estrada, sending him out of the ring. Ki got some offence on Siaki, with some stiff kicks to the side and back, as well as a Spinning DDT from the second rope, but Ki's downward spiral began from here, as Yang distracted the ref, allowing Siaki to hit a Mule Kick to Ki's groin, putting him on the floor. Siaki paraded around the ring for a while before pushing himself up onto the second rope and hitting a splash on the X-Division Champion. Siaki tagged in Estrada, who hit a seated dropkick on Ki, sending him into the steel of the turnbuckle. Estrada continued with the world of hurt by continually pushing his feet down into Ki, before tagging in Siaki. The two continued with the torture of Ki and quick tag combo until Ki finally got some momentum with a Seated Jawbreaker, followed by a stiff kick to the ribs of Sonny Siaki. Estrada tried to attack Ki, but Ki knocked him off the apron with a boot to the ribs, before roaring for the crowds’ approval. But Ki's advantage didn't last long, as Jimmy Yang delivered an eye rake to Ki on the apron, allowing Siaki to his the blinded Ki with a Suplex, followed by a standing Double Stomp. Siaki tagged in Estrada, who hit Ki with another Suplex, followed by his trademark 'Greetings from Graceland', one last tag to Siaki, who hit a flying elbow drop from the top rope, and it was all over for Ki - 1-2-3.]

Winner: The Flyin' Elvis' @ 6.40

[As Low Ki stood in the ring, obviously pissed off at both losing the match and having to fight under handicap rules, the face of AJ Styles appeared on the small Titontron system that TNA had on its stage. Low-Ki, seeing red as he saw the face of AJ looked angry, he didn't see the man who many thought to be the future of TNA, and he saw the face of a man who should have been here. AJ spoke, and he sounded genuinely apologetic, but the X-Division Champion was having none of it. He couldn't care what AJ had to say.]

Styles: "Low Ki, I want to apologise; I'm sorry I can't be there, and I'm sorry you have to face those no goods alone, but I wanted to explain my situation, and hopefully you won't be too angry at me, or my situation. I'm in Japan, and I'm training to be the best wrestler I can. I'll be back in America as soon as I can, and I'll come straight back to being your ally and companion, and if you haven't already done it yourself, I'll help you to take out the Flyin' Elvis'. Once again, I'm so sorry man, I just couldn't be there."

[Low Ki isn't happy, he looks up at the face of Styles and mouths something to the screen, he doesn't care about AJ's situation, and it's easy to see that the one thing Ki wants to do is fight AJ for the dishonour he showed tonight. As the screen goes blank, Ki rolls out of the ring, still holding his head from the title shot he received at the hands of Jimmy Yang.]

Main Event

Survivor

Steve Corino =O= & CW Anderson vs. Jeff Jarrett & The Road-Warriors

[slowly but surely, the crowd had been built up to this, the biggest main event in TNA's short history, and now that it was finally here, the crowd couldn't wait for the action to begin. First out from the curtain entered the Road-Warriors, to elicit crowd response. They had no right to be as over as they were, but the crowd, for some unknown reason, couldn't get enough of the two broken down, out of shape, tag team legends. However, the reaction for Jeff Jarrett who was out next was a lot less desirable. Still confused by his disposition, the crowd weren't sure whether to boo or cheer him, which resulted in a lot of fans just making no noise at all, and compared to the noise for the Road-Warriors, it looked abysmal. The heels were out next, as NWA World Heavyweight Champion; Steve Corino and his mighty charge, CW Anderson made their way out of the curtain. CW was able to build a great 'bodyguard' style character on his way to the ring as whenever a fan tried to pat Corino on the back, they had to deal with CW, who would shoot them down with an almighty glare. Corino and Anderson stopped at ringside and eyed up their opponents before finally sliding into the ring and allowing the match to start.]

[The first part of the match served one purpose; get Jeff Jarrett over as a face, and as CW Anderson beat down on Jarrett, the crowd continued to not give a damn. In fact, beating on Jarrett seemed to make the crowd like CW Anderson more and more, and with the heel getting a face reaction, something needed to happen, and fast. Jarrett was able to hit a leg trip on Anderson, before flipping over and locking in a headlock, which put him on the right side of the ring to tag in Road Warrior Animal, and the crowds opinion of CW Anderson instantly changed. Animal's excitement far outweighed any other man, woman or child in the arena and within seconds, Corino and Anderson were on their backs time and time again with clotheslines and a small Powerslam. It was strange that these two men; Animal and Hawk who had dominated any and every opponent they faced in TNA were staying over with just two moves; Clotheslines and Powerslams, but they were, and so there was no need to change the way in which they thought. Animal continued his offence on Corino with a couple of elbow drops, before picking him up and lifting him up for a Gorilla Press, however, it was too early in the match to his such a manoeuvre, and Corino was able to drop off of Animal's shoulders, hit a Reverse DDT and tag in CW Anderson. CW immediately made his mark on Animal with a vicious kick to the ribs that was heard across the arena, but Animal no sold and rose to his feet, and the two behemoths, one past, one future, stared each other down. CW made the first move with some right jabs, before going for his patented spinebuster, but Animal reversed the momentum and lifted CW up into a Bearhug. CW was able to push his way out of the grasp of Animal, but the momentum stayed with the wily veteran as he hit a nasty clothesline to knock CW down to the floor once more. Animal tagged in Hawk, and the exact same two minutes of wrestling happened again, but this time, as Anderson went for his spinebuster and Hawk reversed the momentum, in came Corino, who hit Hawk with a diving shoulder tackle, that didn't do much damage at all. Hawk threw Corino out of the ring and tagged in Animal, who immediately went to the top rope as Hawk lifted CW onto his shoulders, and the Doomsday Device was imminent. Animal launched himself off, taking CW with him, and was able to pick up the first pinfall of the match, and thus stacking the odds firmly against Corino, 3-on-1.]

Eliminated: CW Anderson @ 6.32

[With CW Anderson eliminated, Steve Corino was in dire trouble, and what followed was one of the most entertaining moments of the match, with Corino fleeing from all three of his opponents as they tried to attack him outside of the ring, and once the inevitable finally happened, and Road-Warrior Hawk got his hands on the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Steve Corino proved once again why he was a great heel; taking a leaf out of Ric Flair's book, Corino dropped to his knees and begged for mercy from the six-foot-three monster and as everyone expected it to be low-blow time for Hawk, Corino fooled everyone and instead scattered under the ring, only to emerge at the other side in front of Animal. Animal grabbed Corino by the throat, and pushed him towards the ring apron, allowing Jeff Jarrett inside the ring to get a Baseball Slide on Corino, sending him face first into the steel barricade. Corino's three opponents continued a beat-down until the sides were finally evened, and out from the back ran The New Church, Malice and Slash! The two sadistic heels 'layeth the smackdown' on the Road-Warriors and Jeff Jarrett, taking turns in throwing them both into steel steps, the announcer's table, the steel barricade and whatever else they could find in order to reverse the advantage once more. If that wasn't enough, the manager of the New Church, James Mitchell handed Slash a steel chain, which was firmly wrapped around the wrist of Slash, as he climbed onto the ring apron, before launching himself off and right into the forehead of Road-Warrior Animal, sending him onto the floor with a small trickle of blood emerging from his forehead. Jeff Jarrett, on the other side of the ring slowly got to his feet, but was met with the same Sadism that Slash showed, this time with a Lariat from the steel chain, which send Jarrett over the barricade and into the crowd. Meanwhile, in the ring, Steve Corino was able to hit a Michinoku Driver on Hawk, putting him right onto his head, before tagging in Malice, who was now apparently part of the match. Malice climbed into the ring, clambered onto the second rope and hit a great Leg Drop for a guy his size, right onto the neck of Hawk. Malice, not yet happy with the damage done then took the time to grab Hawk by the throat, lift him up and hit a Chokeslam to pick up the three count.]

Eliminated: Road-Warrior Hawk @ 12.57

[Hawk was eliminated, and the impossible had been achieved; the Road-Warriors had been pinned, and pinned with a degree of fairness. It wasn't a complete blow to their unbeaten streak, what with the stipulations of the match, but it was a blow nonetheless, and as Malice, Slash and Steve Corino celebrated in the ring, in came a bloodied Road-Warrior Animal, beaten down, but still fired up. Animal tried to take out all three men one-by-one, but it proved obsolete, and although he was able to get an advantage for a few seconds, he was ultimately defeated by the three men in the ring. Animal could get no more groggy, he had been decimated with a steel chain, thrown into barricades, steel steps and tables, and was now being beaten down by the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and one of the biggest tag team prospects in TNA, and now, with nothing more to be done to injure Animal, it was time to insult his legacy. Malice showed his brute strength, and hoisted Animal up onto his shoulders, and the doomsday device was once again imminent. Malice paraded around the ring, the tag team specialist on his shoulders, until Slash climbed to the top rope, the steel chain still wrapped around his wrist. Slash made the dive, taking out Animal with the chain, and turning him from a groggy sack of blood to nothing but a vegetable, and just as Malice had pinned Hawk, Slash was able to pin Animal - 1...2...3.]

Eliminated: Road-Warrior Animal @ 14.05

[The tables had been turned, and what was once 3-on-1 against Corino was now 3-on-1 against Jeff Jarrett, and this pleased the three men in the ring no end; and as Jeff Jarrett finally got to his feet from his steel Lariat, and looked up into the ring at the three men standing in the ring, the three men who had just beaten both members of the Road-Warriors in less than two minutes, Jarrett looked worried. Jarrett climbed onto the apron and ordered referee Mark Johnson to get some, well, order restored in the ring. Corino stood by his boys, and told them to exit to the apron, and he'd take on Jarrett alone, and after an initial burst of confusion at Corino's words, they obeyed and exited onto the apron; and so the people would finally see it live; Jeff Jarrett versus Steve Corino, their first proper altercation - ever. The two men circled each other for a minute before Corino finally made a move and lifted his arm for a lock-up. Jarrett was extremely careful, and very slowly lifted his hand. But before the two had even locked up, something happened. The lights went out, just for a second, and as they came back, standing on the ramp - Dusty Rhodes. Corino couldn't believe his eyes, the New Church couldn't believe their eyes, but Jeff Jarrett smiled, and as Dusty made his way to the ring and climbed upon the apron, Jeff Jarrett tagged out, and the American Dream was in the ring for the first time since June. Four weeks has passed, and Dusty wanted payback for the beating he received at the hands of Malice and Slash, a beating which was ordered by Steve Corino. Corino's cool, calm attitude was gone, and all he wanted was an end to the match. He charged Dusty but was met with nothing but clothesline. In game Slash, and his fate was the same. Malice's turn, and once again it was no different. Dusty had taken down all three of his opponents with short clotheslines, and they weren't happy. Steve Corino tried to attack again, but was once more taken down, this time with a Flapjack from Dusty. However, the American Dream couldn't stay on top for too long, and an ambush from both Malice and Slash meant he wasn't laughing any longer. Malice and Slash made their mark on Dusty with clubbing blows, Dusty got to his feet, but Slash held him back as Malice rebounded off the ropes and went for a nasty Big Boot, but the American Dream was able to duck out of the way, meaning the boot was caught by Malice's own partner, this was the cue for Jarrett to run into the ring and take out Malice with a weak spear, allowing Dusty to pull Slash up to his feet and hit a roaring elbow to pick up the pinfall, and eliminate Slash.]

Eliminated: Slash @ 19.29

[For the first time since the New Church first entered, the sides were even; Jeff Jarrett and Dusty Rhodes versus Malice and Steve Corino, and this worried the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, not only was Dusty still fresh, but Jarrett had not spent too much time in the ring, and overall, both Jarrett and Dusty were fighting fit, whilst Malice and Corino weren't as able. They were weaker, and they knew it. Corino climbed into the ring and once again circled Jarrett, and just before the two were about to finally go at it, Corino's uneasy attitude took over, and Corino tagged out to Malice. Jarrett and Malice went straight at it, with Malice getting some great offence in, and really cementing himself as the monster of TNA. He showed no mercy to Jarrett, and Jarrett sold the offence well, and just for a minute or two, Jarrett was a human bump machine as he thrown from one side of the ring to the other by the immense build of Malice. With clubbing blows and huge choke-tosses, Malice showed his brute strength, but it couldn't last forever, and a Dropkick from Jarrett put Malice onto the floor. Jarrett crawled to tag in Rhodes, but Malice, angry from the offence Jarrett he had received wouldn't allow it, and dropped the elbow on Jarrett. Malice tried to pull Jarrett up, but got himself a fistful of low blow, which really did put an end to his offence. Jarrett was just about able to crawl over and tag in Dusty Rhodes, and once more, Dusty opened a can of whoop-ass on Malice. Malice tried to block every punch, but Dusty's experience proved too much, and he was able to knock Malice down with another short clothesline. Steve Corino quickly ran in to attack Dusty, but was fought off by Jeff Jarrett, who countered Corino just in time. Jarrett set up for the Stroke on Corino, just as Dusty Rhodes set up for the Bionic Elbow on Malice. However, Corino and Malice were just able to counter. Malice ducked under the elbow of Dusty just as Corino reversed the Stroke into his own version of the Russian Legsweep, but once more it was reversed, and Jarrett was able to get back to his original state and hit Steve Corino with the Stroke, at the exact same time as Malice finally tasted Elbow. Jarrett and Dusty looked at each other and synchronised, and both locked in their respective Figure Four Leg Locks on their opponents, and Corino and Malice had no choice but to tap, and the night finally ended with a double elimination.]

Eliminated: Malice and Steve Corino @ 24.42

Survivors: Dusty Rhodes and Jeff Jarrett @ 24.42

Edited April 20, 2006 by Ollie Beak

NWA:TNA 2002

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