Ronnie’s Reviews: TNA Sacrifice 2005

TNA Sacrifice

I considered reviewing the pre-show, but nothing of note really happens so I thought I’d stick to the main card.

And we’re gonna kick things off with the Diamonds in the Rough

Match 1 : The Diamonds in the Rough (Simon Diamond, David Young and Elix Skipper vs Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt and Shark Boy – Six Man Tag Team match

Before things get started, Simon Diamond grabs the mic. He talks about how Elix Skipper has been a lost soul since separating from Triple X. Diamond says he’ll make him the star that he really is. Kind of off topic, but I’ve never understood why Shark Boy has always been contracted to TNA for so long. His gimmick isn’t anything great and he’s nothing special in the ring.

Shark Boy and David Young are gonna kick things off. Headlock takeover countered by Young, and again. Young slaps Shark Boy, resulting in a punch to the face to Young. Chops in the corner by Shark Boy, ducks a clothesline and then hits a neck breaker. Young throws Shark Boy off of him in the corner and takes him down with a clothesline. Misses a leg drop and then Shark Boy bites his ass. Young with a huge right hand, and now stomping him. Shark Boy looks for a DDT, but Skipper flips into the ring and hit’s a clothesline. That looked sloppy. Diamond now in and hits two vertical suplexes on Shark Boy before dropping him onto the ropes. Now Skipper’s in, not allowing Shark Boy to get up. Shark Boy counters with a knee and here comes Sonjay. Springboard crossbody but only a two on the pin. Head scissors countered by Skipper into a backbreaker followed by a double underhook suplex. Young now gets the tag but Sonjay fights back. Sitout reverse sidewalk slam by Young. Sonjay avoids Young in the corner and springs in with a hurricanrana. Sabin and Diamond now in. Diamond throws him into the air but Sabin hit’s a hurricanrana. Spin kick to the gut but he gets elevated over the top. Sabin springs back in with a dropkick but Skipper and Young break up the pin. Sonjay springs in but they catch him. Shark Boy hit’s a dropkick off the top though, taking both of them down. Enzuigiri by Sonjay on Young. Diamond breaks up the pin and throws him into Skippers boot. Sonjay on the top rope now as Skipper walks the top and hit’s a hurricanrana. Young follows up with a huge spinebuster on Dutt, practically killing him. Shark Boy now in and hiptosses Young to the outside. Shark Boy with a slingshot over the top onto Young. Sabin back in and catches Skipper for a cradle shock, but he counters out. Hurricanrana into a float over by Sabin but Skipper counters. He does it again and that’s enough for the pin.

Winners : Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt and Shark Boy (**-Not much to say about this match other than it served it’s purpose as an opener. Lots of highflying action from the faces and Skipper, while Young and Diamond brought the power moves)

Tenay and West talk about how TNA has moved to Spike TV. They replay the announcement made during the pre show. Jeff Jarrett and Rhino interrupted though, with Jarrett asking Zybysko if he gets his title shot. Zybysko says yes. He clarifies though, saying if Jarrett beats Raven, he gets the shot, but if Raven beats him, he has to wait an entire year.

Shane Douglas in the back with Jimmy Hart and NWA Tag Team Champions The Naturals. Jimmy says there’s no plan for their match as anything can happen when The Naturals and AMW step into the ring. It’s all about an end to Team Canada’s reign of terror. Jarrett comes in and says The Naturals could be headed to the unemployment line soon. He says they need to hold onto their belts. Chase questions Jarrett, and Jarrett tells him to think about it. He says TNA management has it out for them and that he and Jimmy need to stick together. Jimmy says he’s paranoid and that they only need to worry about Team Canada.

Match 2 : Alex Shelley vs Shocker
These two put on a pretty good match at Slammiversary with Shocker coming out on top. Shelley won a rematch on Impact, so now we’re set for the rubber match.

Tie up to start things off, rear waist lock countered and both men at a stand off. Hammerlock by Shelley followed by a takedown. Modified leg lock by Shelley but Shocker counters into a pin. Both men at a stand still again. Takedown by Shocker and now a stretch muffler on his leg, turning it into a single leg crab. Shelley gets to the rope though. Arm drag by Shocker and locks in an armbar. Shelley gets up but Shocker hits multiple hip tosses before dropping a knee on the arm. Shelley counters now, looking for a sharpshooter but Shocker counters. Shelley drops a knee into Shockers leg on the ground, following up with a DDT on the leg. He wraps the leg in the corner and dropkicks it. Shocker ducks Shelley, sending him over the top. Shocker flips over the top but lands on his feet, and Shelley follows up with an enzuigiri. That flip was pretty cool. Both men trade maneuvers on the outside before Shocker hits tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Shelley. Huge chop to follow up before throwing him into the ring. Shelley stuns him on the top rope. He charges but Shocker dropkicks the knee, sending him to the outside. Springboard crossbody (ala Christian) onto Shelley. Shocker just hitting him with rights and lefts in the corner. Irish whip into the other, followed by a clothesline/bulldog combination. Twisting indian deathlock by Shocker. Shelley barely gets to the ropes. Shelley hit’s a knee in the corner before hitting a huge tornado DDT, but only gets two on the pin. Forearms now but he runs into a submission by Shocker, and I have no idea how to call it. Shelley gets to the ropes, and hits another modified indian deathlock. German suplex by Shocker. He looks for another but Shelley counters out. He grabs the leg and hit’s a flipping dragon screw. Small package by Shocker but only two. Shocker hit’s a slingshot elbow drop. Sunset flip by Shocker countered into a dropkick by Shelley but Shocker’s right back up and hit’s a dropkick of his own. Shocker looks for an oklahoma roll but Shelley counters and puts his feet on the ropes for the pin and that’s all folks.

Winner : Alex Shelley (**½-I’m a sucker for wrestling matches where the wrestlers, you know, wrestle, and this was one of them. They pulled off a ton of innovative moves, half of which I barely had any idea how to call. I kind of wish that the leg work played into the finish, but what they gave us here was good enough)

Shane Douglas in the back with James Mitchell and Abyss. Douglas asks if Abyss woke up a monster in Lance Hoyt. Mitchell says that all big men are pretenders the throne, and that none of them can compare to Abyss. He says Abyss ran through a sizable bump in the road named Lance Hoyt. They said Hoyt wasn’t their target, but he won’t leave it alone. Tonight, Abyss is going to do things that are so unspeakably cruel that even Saddam Hussein would even find excessive. The fans cheers will lead him to his doom. There’s only room for one giant in TNA, and it’s the monster Abyss. Say what you will, but Mitchell’s an animal on the mic.

Match 3 : Abyss vs Lance Hoyt
Hoyt surprisingly getting some boo’s during his entrance. Hoyt charges to the ring and takes it to Abyss. Hoyt leaps over Abyss in the corner and now starts hitting him with the rights. Abyss hit’s a shoulder block, but Hoyt kips up and clotheslines The Monster over the top. Hoyt with a plancha over the top. Mitchell distracts Hoyt, but Hoyt ducks a clothesline. Abyss reverses an irish whip, sending Hoyt into the guardrail. Back in the ring now as Abyss splashes Hoyt in the corner. Hoyt throws Abyss into the corner and hits multiple chops. Hoyt avoids a charge in the corner, but misses a boot. Abyss looks for a chokeslam but Hoyt fights out only to run into a clothesline. Abyss to the middle rope now and hit’s a splash. Pin but only two. The crowd chanting for Hoyt and it’s driving Abyss crazy. Abyss throws Hoyt into the corner to follow up. And he does it again on the other side of the ring. He looks to do it for a third time, but Hoyt hit’s a springboard clothesline instead. Huge shoulder block by Hoyt to follow up. Abyss to the middle rope but gets caught off the dive and hit with a chokeslam. Hoyt now to the top and hit’s a huge moonsault. Pin but only two. Hoyt charges Abyss but gets hit with a Black Hole Slam. Pin. 1…2…2.999! Abyss now has a chair but Hoyt boots it in his face. Pin but Abyss barely kicks out in time. Hoyt thinking Van Terminator now as he puts the chair in front of a prone Abyss in the corner. And the springboard Van Terminator connects. Pin. 1…2…2.8235252! The crowd is going nuts now. Hoyt reverses a back body drop, runs off into the ropes but gets hit with a Black Hole Slam for the win.

Winner : Abyss (**½-Surprisingly we got a pretty good match here. It wasn’t anything crazy, but it was better than I expected. They mainly just stuck to hitting their signature moves and kicking out of each others finishers. The match flowed nicely and these two had some pretty good chemistry)

Match 4 : 3 Live Kru (Konnan and Ron Killings: vs Kip James and Monty Brown – Special Guest Referee BG James
The story behind this is that the referees felt unsafe refereeing this match. Since Zybysko blamed BG James as the instigator, he was going to be the ref. And BG looks like a huge goofball wearing the referee shirt.

As the 3LK make their way to the ring, they get cut off by Brown and Kip. Brown clotheslines Konnan in the corner. Kip misses a clothesline and Truth takes down James. Konnan clotheslines Kip over the top. Truth with a huge spin kick on Brown. Big drop toe hold onto Kip followed by a dropkick by Konnan. Top rope leg drop to the groin of Kip by The Truth. Konnan and Truth take it to Kip and Brown on the outside. Back on the inside now as Kip hit’s a huge inverted slam on Truth. Slam by Brown to Killings. Now mocking BG before stomping The Truth. Double teaming now to The Truth before Kip gets the tag. Kip hit’s a huge boot on Killings. Brown back in and hit’s a suplex on The Truth. West tries to convince us that BG’s count is slow because he‘s biased. Brown now locks in a chin lock but Truth fights out, only to run into a knee. Truth ducks two clotheslines and both Truth and Monty collide into each other. Tag to Konnan and Kip. Konnan on fire now, hitting a rolling lariat. Monty in but gets hit with a sitout face buster. He takes off his shoe and throws it at Kip and then BG by accident. Fame Asser missed by Kip and gets hit with a Face Jam. Monty looks to take out Truth with an axe handle off the apron, but misses and hit’s the guardrail. BG doesn’t allow Konnan to use the chair. Kip tries to hit Konnan with it but BG prevents him. Kip pushes BG, so BG hits him with a huge right, allowing Konnan to hit Kip with the chair for the win.

Winners : 3 Live Kru (*¾-Decent at best as nothing much really happened here. Also, you’d think BG would get taken out at least once, so the storyline leading into the match would actually mean something. This rivalry went on for way too long and this was only one of the hundreds of stepping stones for it)

Feel good moment after the match as the 3LK all celebrate the victory, but I for one couldn’t care less.

TNA hypes Bound For Glory, saying that it’s their Superbowl. Jeff Hardy has been told by TNA management that if he doesn’t show up, he’ll be fired. And here comes Daniels, leading us to…

Match 5 : X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels vs Austin Aries – Non Title Bout
Austin Aries was voted by the people to be the challenger tonight over Roderick Strong, Matt Sydal and Jay Lethal. I personally would have gone with Sydal, but that’s just me. Daniels grabs the mic and says that replacements are going to be made. At first he thought it was paranoia, saying that he couldn’t be replaced. But then TNA is bringing in someone from the outside, Austin Aries. Austin may be Mr. Ring of Honor, but this is TNA. Tonight may be his shot on an international PPV, but it’s just a tune up match for Mr. TNA. Aries comes down to the ring looking super serial. He grabs the belt out of Daniels hand and yells at him, saying something like it’s his.

Daniels starts things off with right hands and forearms. Aries with a side headlock followed with a hiptoss. Front headlock by Aries and Daniels can’t counter out. He finally charges Aries into the corner. Aries with a springboard back elbow, but only gets two on the pin. Aries locks in the front headlock again. I like that, go with what works. Daniels counters out with a front headlock of his own. Aries with a handstand into a dropkick. Heat Seeking Missile on the outside by Aries, and the crowd is going crazy. Aries puts Daniels back in and hit’s a corkscrew plancha onto the inside. Daniels catches Aries and drops him on his knee. Daniels hits Aries with multiple slams before going for the cover. Snapmare by the champ, followed with knees to the back, and then a rear chin lock. Aries fights back and hit’s a sunset flip. Daniels hit’s a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Aries kicks out a two, frustrating Daniels. He now starts hitting him with rights. Slingshot split legged moonsault by the champ, but only gets a two on the pin. Daniels with a slap to the face. Aries counters a suplex and slaps him in the face. Drop toe hold by Aries, and now they’re trading blows. Huge clothesline by Aries. Swinging Pendulum Elbow by Aries. Aries slingshots into the ring with an elbow to Daniels in the corner and follows up with a huge dropkick to the face. Sidewalk slam but only gets a two. Aries is dominating right now. Jawbreaker by Daniels and follows with a reverse STO. BME misses and Aries hits him with a HUGE kick to the face. 450 off the top connects but Daniels barely gets his hand on the ropes. Aries trying to drag Daniels to the center but Daniels holds the ropes. STO by Daniels. Daniels thinks he’s won, but get’s rolled up. Daniels kicks out, and now gets hit with a backslide. Aries looking for the Brainbuster but Daniels counters with the Angel’s Wings for the win.

Winner : Christopher Daniels (***¼-What did you expect? Two ROH veterans facing off on a televised PPV, where one of them needed to make a great first impression. These two put on a great match, and Aries looked great here. My only gripe here is that it could have used another five minutes, but that’s not to take away from the match as these two are awesome)

Shane Douglas with AMW in the back. AMW says if they have to team with The Natural’s to take out Team Canada, they will. After that, they’ll take back their titles. Storm says he’s pissed off, but Jarrett interrupts him. Jarrett says that TNA is headed to Spike and that there’ll be major changes in TNA. Jarrett says they’re on the to be fired list. He says they’re all going to be fired. Storm says he doesn’t trust anybody, including him. Jarrett says they’re not only talking the big names, but also the big tag team names. Harris asks for proof, and Jarrett assures him that there will be changes.

Match 6 : Jerry Lynn vs Sean Waltman
This is the first time these two have faced off in over a decade, according to Tenay, and is also Lynn’s return match to the ring after a one year absence due to a severe shoulder injury. Lynn gets a “special” introduction to the ring by JB. Tenay treats this as a huge deal, and for TNA, it probably is.

Lynn and Waltman shake hands before entering into a tie up. Rear waist lock by Waltman countered into one by Lynn, and another counter. Takedown by Waltman, but he’s reversed by Lynn. Both guys back to their feet, and we’re back to the tie up. Lynn on the arm now and snaps him down, Kip up by Waltman and now he’s in control. Lynn flips over and hits an arm drag off the float over. Waltman looks for a tie up, but Lynn gives him some crotch chops instead. I don’t really get it, but whatever. Grecko Roman knuckle lock results in Waltman taking Lynn down, but Lynn gets back up. Again with the knuckle locks but Lynn now runs to the top and hits an arm drag. Big spin kick by Waltman though stops his momentum. Chops in the corner by Waltman. Lynn hit’s a counter into a head scissors, sending Waltman to the outside. Lynn hit’s a huge crossbody block off the top. Waltman counters Lynn by picking him up and ramming him shoulder first into the ring post. Baseball slide by Waltman, not allowing him to get into the ring. Lynn back in, and Waltman drops a knee. He’s now focusing on the arm of Lynn. Lynn comes back and now both guys are trading chops. Lynn tries to irish whip but his arm hurts too much. Roll up with the legs but Lynn kicks out. Shark Boy’s now at the top of the ramp, looking on our of respect for Lynn. Leg drop by Waltman followed by a chin lock. Sabin’s now out too. Lynn fights back with multiple forearms but gets hit with a tombstone into a shoulder breaker. Kicks in the corner now by Waltman. Sonjay’s now out too. Lynn avoids the Bronco Buster and now makes a comeback. Ducks a clothesline and hit’s a head scissors. Lynn charges but gets tossed to the outside, landing on his shoulder. Flip over the top by Waltman takes Lynn out. Waltman looks to suplex Lynn into the ring, but Lynn instead hit’s a sick suplex to the outside. That was crazy. Lynn now to the top and hit’s a huge front dropkick. Forearms by Lynn and he hit’s a huge backbody drop. Clothesline followed with a Lou Thesz press. Waltman looks for a hurricanrana but Lynn counters into a sitout powerbomb. Waltman is able to kick out at two. Cradle Piledriver coming up, but Waltman hit’s a low blow followed with a X-Factor. Why the ref allowed that is beyond me. Pin but Lynn gets his foot on the ropes. Top rope Waltman and he hit’s a crossbody, but Lynn rolls through but only gets two. Running tornado DDT by Lynn. Cover. 1…2…2.898521! Tombstone countered by Waltman and he hits one of his own and goes for the pin. 1…2…2..35122! Waltman is furious, throwing his headband into the crowd out of frustration. Waltman picks up Lynn, but Lynn hit’s a rollup for the win.

Winner : Jerry Lynn (***-Good match between these two veterans. Lynn’s arm was the subject of Waltman’s attack, but Lynn was able to overcome the odds. There were some things I didn’t like about this though. First off, the arm didn’t play into the finish, which it easily could have. Secondly, this one was about respect, so why did Waltman feel the need to hit a low blow midway through. Still, these two put on a good showing)

They shake hands after the match, and Tenay says this is what competition is all about. They hug and we get an emotional moment, BUT NO! Waltman hit’s a Lynn with an shoulder breaker. He’s now got a chair, and none of the X-Division guys are anywhere to be seen for some reason. He hits Lynn’s arm against the guardrail with a chair, and here come the X-Division guys now as Waltman leaves.

Douglas in the back now with Team Canada. EY seems paranoid, asking what they’re going to do. Petey slaps him in the face, and tells him to pull it together. He gets the hockey stick and says that it’s a message. Roode says it symbolizes comeback, the comeback that Team Canada has made in TNA. He says they’re not scared and that The Naturals/AMW can’t even do an interview together. They say they won’t stop until they get back their belts. Petey says Team Canada is on the same page and that their opponents are not. They then walk away while singing “Oh Canada”.

Match 7 : Team Canada (Petey Williams, Robert Roode, Eric Young and A1) vs America’s Most Wanted and NWA Tag Team Champions The Naturals (w/ Jimmy Hart)
Say what you will about TNA, but they’ve almost always have had a strong tag team division. The story behind this is that The Naturals and AMW hate Team Canada more than they hate each other, and they’re both willing to do whatever it takes to take them out, even if that means teaming together. Douglas and Young gonna kick things off. Young slides into the ring but runs into a knee of Douglas. Douglas avoids A1’s knee and hit’s an arm drag onto Young. Tag to Steven’s, followed by a bulldog onto the knee of Stevens. Petey off the top but gets a punch to the gut. Tag to Storm now and he hit’s a shoulder block on Williams. Eye of the Storm connects early on, but Roode comes in and goes after the knee of Storm. Roode gets the tag now and he’s working on the leg. A1 now gets the tag and double teaming commences. A1 now working on the leg as Petey gets the tag. Storm starts to fight back but gets dropkicked on the knee. Rear waist lock but Petey fights out, only to run into a huge lariat. Harris gets the tag and is taking out all of Team Canada. Huge lariat to Roode, followed with a delayed vertical suplex to EY. Cover and a kickout at two. Stevens and Harris hit’s a double backdrop to Young, followed by a clothesline by Stevens. Steven’s tries the float over in the corner but EY hit’s a low blow, unbeknownst to the ref. Roode now in and he begins to work down Chase. Stevens fights out of a chin lock, only to run into a clothesline. Petey now in as Roode taunts the crowd. Petey works down Chase and tags in Young. Stevens starts to fight back, but Young rakes the eyes. Young and the top but gets hit with a springboard enzuigiri that sends him to the outside. Young sells it like a champ, and Team Canada brings him back into the ring. Douglas now in, and hit’s a huge neck breaker. Full nelson slam into a backbreaker for Petey. Flying knee to A1. Tag made and the Natural Disaster connects to Young. Northern Lariat to Douglas by Roode. Huge DDT our of a powerbomb position to Stevens. Catatonic to Petey. Roode looks for a Northern Lariat but Storm hits him with a Superkick. Kickout at two by Roode. Everyone on the outside as Harris hits them with a huge crossbody off the top. Roode and Chase on the inside now. Chase looks for a moonsault but Roode split’s the legs. Harris hits Roode with a powerbomb as Roode hits Chase with a release german suplex off the top. That looked sick. Harris gets pulled to the outside by A1. Petey looks to hits Storm with the hockey stick, but he ducks. Petey now hip tossed to the outside. Chase accidentally knocks Storm off the apron, allowing Roode to roll him up for the win.

Winners : Team Canada (***¼-Another solid match here. I really can’t complain about anything as it was just non stop action from the get go. TNA’s tag team division has always been strong, so throwing three of the best teams into one match creates for a great combination)

The Naturals and AMW begin to brawl after the match, but security breaks them up.

Douglas tries to get a word from Samoa Joe, but Joe just ignores him. Douglas demands respect, saying he’s earned it. Joe says he gave him respect, that he didn’t bitch slap him. This just reminds me about how much I miss the old Joe.

Match 8 : Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles – Finals of the X-Cup Tournament
Joe was new to TNA at this time, and also undefeated, destroying practically everyone in the X-Divsion. AJ was the heart and soul of the X-Division, so it was only a matter of time until these two faced off, and what a bigger way to do it than in the finals of a tournament. X-Division Champion Daniels is on commentary, with the winner of this match having to face him at the next PPV, Unbreakable. Both guys get “Super Special In Ring Introductions”, giving this one a big match feel. JB says AJ’s a two time triple crown winner, when really it’s three, but whatever.

AJ looks to take down Joe, but can’t. Again he tries, but Joe goes for a kick, which AJ barely avoids. Both guys trade kicks to the leg. AJ ducks a kick and hit’s a leg sweep. Nice sequence there. AJ with a huge slam to Joe and hit’s that vintage knee drop. Cover but only one. Snapmare by AJ and kicks Joe in the back. AJ looks for the discuss but Joe hits him before he can. Joe with a huge boot to AJ’s midsection that sends him flying to the outside. Suicide dive by Joe, sending AJ flying back into the table. AJ fights back, jumping on the guardrail and hitting a flying forearm. Back in the ring now, and the crowd is already chanting this is awesome. AJ hits Joe with a suplex but only gets two on the pin. Muta Lock by AJ. Joe fights out, and AJ locks in a side headlock. Joe throws AJ off and hit’s a shoulder block. AJ with a kip up/head scissors combination. AJ jumps over and does a backflip as Joe stops for the dropkick. AJ tries to clothesline Joe over the top but can’t. AJ charges Joe but gets hit with a modified urinagi. Joe with a knee in the corner, and now with those boots to the face. Face wash connects. AJ fights back, but gets hit with a leg sweep. Pin but a kickout at two. Snapmare by Joe, chop to the back, kick to the front and then hit’s a knee drop. Pin but again only gets two. Rear chin lock by Joe now. AJ fights out but runs into a huge shoulder block. AJ looks for the kip-up/head scissors combo again, but Joe fights it off an hit’s a powerbomb. Kickout at two, but Joe turns it into a modified boston crab. AJ tries to get to the ropes, but Joe turns it into an STF. Now the crossface, but AJ gets his foot on the ropes. Joe looks for a clothesline but AJ ducks and hit’s a huge dropkick. Springboard into an inverted DDT by Styles, but Joe kicks out at two. Top rope Styles but Joe meets him up there. AJ fights Joe off, and hit’s a springboard swanton. AJ jumps over a kick and hit’s a Pele. AJ with a jackknife cover, but changes it up into a Styles Clash attempt. Joe fights out, and hit’s a rolling sunset flip. AJ kicks out at two and misses a kick by a mile because he’s so dizzy. Joe with a huge clothesline, but Styles barely kicks out at two. Joe with light kicks to the face, just trying to get AJ up. AJ fights back with huge forearms and right hands. Open hand palm thrusts by Joe, but AJ ducks one and hit’s a huge enzuigiri. The crowd is going crazy now. Joe comes back now and looks for a Muscle Buster. AJ fights out and dropkicks Joe in the back. TORTURE RACK INTO A SLAM BY STYLES!!! That was intense. Joe’s leg hit the ref on the way down though by accident. Daniels gets into the ring and hits AJ with an STO. Daniels goes to hit Joe but Joe sees him. AJ clotheslines Daniels out of the ring, but Joe hit’s a huge palm thrust, followed with a Muscle Buster. Coquina Clutch locked in. Styles tries to fight out, but he has to tap.

Winner : Samoa Joe (****¼-Awesome match between these two. Out of all the matches they‘ve had, this is probably my second favorite. This match would also go on to lead to quite possibly the biggest match in TNA history, so everything here = win)

Tenay says they witnessed a piece of wrestling history, as Joe defeated one of TNA’s, if not TNA’s, top star. They tell us we can’t miss Unbreakable for Joe and Daniels.

Raven in the back now, talking about how Jarrett won’t beat him. The consequences are serious and that Jarrett is scared without the belt. He says that he and Sabu are a human cancer. Quote the Raven, nevermore.

Match 9 : Jeff Jarrett and Rhino vs Sabu and NWA Heavyweight Champion Raven
The stipulation is that if Jarrett wins, he gets a title shot. But if he loses, he won’t receive another one for one year. The story behind this is that Rhino and Jarrett were too much for Raven, and that he didn’t have any friends. Cassidy Riley tried to help, but he was not match for either man. Raven says that if one is scarred bad enough, one no longer feels pain. If one doesn’t have any friends, an enemy will do. He looked to Sabu for help, and Sabu agreed.

Raven lays the belt down on the ground. Jarrett pushes him and then slaps him. Right hand by Raven. Rhino now in and takes Raven to the outside. Russian leg sweep by Raven to Rhino into the guardrail, and he hits it again. And for a third time. Sabu now in. He reverses a back drop attempt and dropkicks the knee. Rhino fights back now and shoulder blocks Sabu. Spinkick by Sabu, followed with the camel clutch. Jarrett breaks it up, but Raven hits Jarrett with some kicks in the corner. Raven throws Jarrett over the announce table as Sabu and Rhino battle up the ramp. Raven’s got a pizza cutter and he slices Jarretts head. Suplex by Sabu to Rhino on the ramp. Jarrett’s now bleeding as Raven hits him with a trash can lid, and then the trash can itself. Back in the ring as Sabu throws the chair at Rhino. He sets it up and jumps off the chair into a hurricanrana. Top rope hurricanrana by Sabu to follow. Pin but only two. Triple Jump Moonsault attempt, but Rhino grabs the leg causing Sabu to fall into the chair. Jarrett hits Sabu with the chair, allowing Rhino to roll Sabu up but only two. Huge chair shot to Sabu, but he kicks out of the pin at two. Tag to Jarrett and Jarrett puts him at the top. Superplex connects, and Sabu’s clutching his leg. Rhino gets the tag and covers, but only two. Rhino puts Sabu at the top but Sabu fights him off. Flip dive off the top by Sabu, taking Rhino out. Rhino grabs Sabu’s leg, but gets countered with an enzuigiri. Tag to Raven who hit’s a discuss clothesline on Rhino, and then Jarrett. Big clothesline to Rhino, and knee lifts to both Jarrett and Rhino. Clothesline to Jarrett in the corner. Bulldog to Jarrett and clotheslines Rhino down on the way. Raven Effect DDT to Rhino, but Jarrett pulls the ref to the outside. Sabu throws Jarrett into the ring, but Jarrett low blows Raven. Jarrett’s got the guitar now, but Cassidy Riley takes it from him. Stroke connects to Raven though. Pin but a kickout at two. Rhino now in and starts hitting Raven from behind. Biting the head now is Rhino. Raven’s now bleeding and Rhino’s not letting up with the rights. Cover but only two. Tag to Jarrett and he locks in the figure four. Raven turns him over though, so Jarrett breaks it. Jarrett sets up the chair, but Raven avoids the drop toe hold and throws the chair into Jarrett’s head. Tag to Sabu who throws the chair at Rhino, and then Jarrett. Poetry in Motion with chair, taking out both guys. Triple Jump Legdrop by Sabu to Rhino. Pin. 1…2…2.643864! Sabu sets up another chair and spring off the top and hit’s a crossbody block to Rhino on the outside. Jarrett drop toe holds Raven on the chair back in the ring. Raven counters an irish whip into the Raven Effect DDT, but Rhino breaks up the pin. GORE! Sabu breaks up the pin now. Rhino avoids Sabu in the corner. Sabu avoids a Gore and hit’s the ref. Sabu hits Rhino with the chair, and then hit’s a chair assisted leg drop off the top onto Rhino. Pin but there’s no ref. Rhino is on a chair on the outside. Weird segment but Abyss now comes out and throws Sabu through the table. Jeff Hardy’s out now and hits Abyss with a chair before clothes lining him out of the ring. Twist of Fate to Jarrett, followed by the Swanton Bomb. Raven covers Jarrett but Rhino breaks up the pin. Rhino brings a table into the ring and sets it up in the corner. Raven low blows him. Raven counters the stroke and looks for the Raven Effect, but Rhino Gores him through the table and pins him for the win.

Winners : Rhino and Jeff Jarrett (***¼-When 3 of the 4 guys in the match are known specifically for their hardcore background and you just have them go balls out with weapons, you know you’re in for something good. This was no exception, as these guys just went balls out with the weapons. Jarrett didn’t look out of place here at all either. The interference wasn’t needed, but it wasn’t necessarily the worst thing that could happen. Solid way to close the show)

Rhino has just pinned the champ, and Jarrett can’t believe it. And that’s how we’re gonna fade off.

The 411: The first half of this show is nothing great, as everything seems to just be decent. It isn’t until the second half, starting with Daniels/Aries, that this show starts to get good. Besides Styles/Joe and maybe the main event, nothing on this show is really worth going out of your way to see. But the second half of this show is a solid way to kill two hours.
Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]