The Wrestling Bazaar: NWA/TNA Weekly PPV #3

Back to a live show this week in a new building after poor tickets sales in Huntsville. This is also the last show before the Jarrett’s hired Vince Russo.

July 3, 2002- Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee

Pyro kicks the show off complete with a brand new crowd that seems more lively than the last.

At ringside, Mike Tenay, Ed Ferrara and Don West (who has ditched the Hawaiian shirt and gone with a loud red zoot suit) run down tonight’s card and introduce NWA President Jim Miller, whose graphic incorrectly refers to him as “Jim Wilson.” He presents Tenay with a trophy welcoming TNA to the NWA family and announces that next week, Japanese wrestler Takao Omori will take on the NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

Match One: Tag Team Tournament Match- James Storm/Chris Harris vs. The Johnsons
Harris and Johnson #1 begin with a lock-up. Harris ends up in the corner and gets hits with a double-underhook suplex that gets one. Back in the corner, Harris dodges a splash and comes back with an armdrag. He ducks a clothesline and connects with a Thesz Press. Tag in to Storm who blocks a hiptoss and takes Johnson down with a head scissors take over. Johnson regroups and hits a nice swinging neckbreaker. Tag into Johnson #2 as they connect with a double mat slam. Johnson slugs away in the corner and hits a press slam. Tag in to Johnson #1. Storm escapes a vertical suplex attempt but ends up getting caught with an armdrag. Tag in to Johnson #2 and they hit a double shoulderblock that gets two. Johnson pounds in the corner and tags back in Johnson #1. They continue the double team attack with a back body drop. After a body slam, Johnson heads to the middle rope but gets caught with two boots on the way down. Storm mounts a comeback with a superkick and makes the hot tag to Harris who attacks both Johnsons. They eventually overpower him two-on-one but Storm evens up the odds by clotheslining one of them out of the ring. In the ring, Harris hits with a spear but gets caught in midair after attempting a crossbody off the middle rope. Storm climbs to the top and dropkicks Harris’ back, making him land on the Johnson for the pin.
Winner: James Storm/Chris Harris in 5:00
Rating: *3/4 (And that was the end of The Johnsons’ illustrious run. It’s a shame, the gimmick was lame but the wrestlers had some nice offense. The bigger story here was the continued evolution of the soon-to-be AMW.)

Post-match, Mortimer Plumtree berates The Johnsons on the loss. One Johnson chokeslams Plumtree and they leave.

In the ring, JB introduces Scott Hall. Hey yo. Before he can say anything else, Jarrett’s music hits. Hey yo my ass. Nobody wants to see or hear Hall, so he should take his ass exactly where it came from…bitch! Hall thinks Jarrett can’t back up his talk. Don’t sing it, bring it. As Jarrett makes his way to the ring, NWA President Jim Miller stops him. He will fight Hall when management tells him to fight Hall. Jarrett retreats as K-Krush appears behind Hall and attacks. Hall takes advantage and clotheslines him out of the ring.

In the back, James Storm and Chris Harris are laid out and bloodied.

Before our next match, Monty Brown grabs a mic on his way to the ring and says he wants Ken Shamrock.

Match Two: Anthony Ingram vs Monty Brown
Interesting note: Brown comes out to Abyss’ current theme music with lyrics. And he has corn rows. At the start Brown ducks a clothesline and connects with strikes. He slugs away in the corner and hits a nice T-bone suplex. He connects with some clubs to the back but gets Irished whipped into the corner. Ingram charges but Brown catches him and delivers a running powerslam. An Alphabomb ends it.
Winner: Monty Brown in 2:00
Rating: ½* (Not meant to be a competitive, quality match. Nice debut for Brown.)

In the back, Goldilocks looks for Jim Miller. Before long, she is interrupted by Puppet the Psycho Dwarf who runs down a list of midgets he wants to beat up. He wants to see a midget bleed.

Before our next match, Goldilocks is with Buff Bagwell and Apolo. Bagwell hogs the mic and barely lets Apolo get a word in. They will win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.

Match Three: Tag Team Tournament- The Rainbow Express vs. Buff Bagwell/Apolo
The Express is still with Joel Gertner. Bruce and Bagwell start. Bruce hugs Lenny much to the delight of Don West. Lock-up and Bagwell gets a shoulderblock and hiptoss. Bruce gets some punches in the corner but Bagwell comes back with a back elbow and middle rope splash. Alisha comes down to ringside again. Bruce regroups and tags in Lenny with a kiss to the hand. Bagwell meets him with an eye-poke. Camera focuses on Ed Ferrara and Alisha in some kind of money exchange. Back in the ring, Apolo knocks down Lenny and Bruce with a double clothesline. A hiptoss on Lenny gets Apolo two. A sitout powerbomb gets him two more. Lenny tries to comeback with chops but Apolo no sells them and hits a sitout bodyslam. Gertner grabs Apolo’s leg which allows Bruce to choke him on the top rope and Lenny to connect with a tornado DDT. Cover gets two. Lenny gets some shoulderblocks in the corner and tags in Bruce who stomps away. Tag back in to Lenny and they hit two leapfrog stun guns. Lenny tries to pin Apolo seductively but Apolo has nothing of hit. He finally gets in a pin for two. Lenny ducks a clothesline but gets caught with a full-nelson slam. Both men make the tag. Bagwell unloads on both hitting a bodyslam, neckbreaker and back body drop. He tries to crossbody block Lenny out of the ring but fails so they both just roll out. In the ring, Apolo connects with a nice superkick on Bruce. After an Apolo TKO, Lenny re-enters and attacks Apolo from behind, sending him out of the ring. Bagwell hits a Blockbuster on Bruce but gets nailed with a superkick by Lenny to end it.
Winners: The Rainbow Express in 6:00
Rating: ** (Basic stuff. The story here was Bagwell not knowing when to stop pandering to the crowd and finish the match. A subtle story turned blatantly obvious by West continually shouting, “Finish the match!”)

Post-match, Bagwell looks dejected. Ferrara gives him a mic. Don’t call him Buff anymore, it’s Marcus. Buff got him injuries that no one cared about. Now, Buff got him a loss against two gay guys. Marcus is going home. He hands Ferrara his trademark top hat and leaves.

In the ring, JB introduces NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ken Shamrock. Tonight, he has a match against Malice and next week, he faces Omori. Then, he will be happy to send Monty Brown home with his head shoved up his ass…

The lights go out and Jim Mitchell appears in the crowd. Shamrock should not concern himself with Brown and Omori. He does, however, need to fear Malice. When the lights come back on, Malice stands over a fallen Shamrock on the ramp. Trainers come out and put a brace on Shamrock’s neck.

In the back, Goldilocks is with Jerry Lynn and Bill Behrens. Lynn thinks he can find a partner to replace Storm and Harris in the Tag Team Tournament. Behrens is too busy to deal with that right now.

Match Four: Midget Match- Puppet vs. Todd Stone
Puppet greets Stone with kendo stick shots at the start. Puppet follows up with a trashcan shot and a flying clothesline. After another trashcan shot, he bodyslams Stone on it. Puppet continues the attack with kendo stick shots to Stone whose upper half was jammed inside the can. A TKO onto the trashcan ends it.
Winner: Puppet in 2:00
Rating: ¼* (I’d like to see Puppet vs. Max Mini. Okay maybe not, but it would probably be better than this.)

Post-match, Puppet attacks ref Mark Johnson, JB and Don West with the kendo stick.

In the back, Goldilocks is with Ken Shamrock who is being looked at by trainers. They cannot say whether Shamrock will be able to wrestle tonight.

Tenay sends it to a video package highlighting last week’s Lingerie Battle Royal.

Match Five: Francine vs. “Miss TNA” Taylor Vaughn
Ferrara claims Francine is crazy for him. Before the match officially gets under way, Francine attacks Vaughn with a belt. The ref takes it away from her but Vaughn gets a hold of it and returns the favor. Ref calls for the bell.
Winner: Francine via Disqualification
Rating: N/A (Never heard an opening bell, so I don’t know how it gets a decision. I feel robbed!)

Post-match, Ferrara raises Francine’s hand. Francine grabs Ferrara’s hand and places it on her chest as an excuse to attack him with the belt again.

On the ramp, JB interviews Hermie Sadler. Sadler is with his pit crew. It has been a pleasure for him to be a part of NWA/TNA. Before much else is said, K-Krush comes out. Sadler doesn’t learn- Krush doesn’t want to hear anything about NASCAR driving. You want some of Krush? This prompts Sadler to spear Krush. Security holds them back. Krush challenges Sadler to a match next week, and he accepts.

Match Six: NWA World Heavyweight Championship- Ken Shamrock © vs. Malice
I want to point out how cool the New Church’s theme music is. I wonder why no current TNA wrestler has had it passed down to them. Malice meets Shamrock with stomps and chokes him on the top rope. Outside, Malice rams Shamrock into the barricade and continues to choke him with his boot. Back inside, Malice resorts to more stomps. After a bodyslam, Shamrock sells a neck injury. Malice chokes him against the middle rope and lifts him with a chinlock from the middle turnbuckle. A leg drop across the neck gets him two. Shamrock locks in an armbar out of nowhere but Malice kicks him off quickly. Malice goes back to the middle rope choke and tosses him out of the ring. Outside, Malice rams Shamrock into the announce table and applies a quick dragon sleeper. Back inside, Malice clubs the back of the neck and pressures it with his foot. Shamrock gets a hold of the foot and turns it into an anklelock but Malice fights it off. Malice hits two back drop suplexes and once again chokes him out on the top rope. Shamrock blocks a vertical suplex attempt and turns it into a snap suplex. He follows up with a belly-to-belly for the sudden win.
Winner: Ken Shamrock in 6:00 to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Rating: *1/2 (Shamrock had a total of four offensive moves in that match: an armbar, an anklelock, a snap suplex and a belly-to-belly suplex. Keep in mind, the two submission holds were in place for a total of about ten seconds, if that. Super Cena? More like Super Shamrock.)

Match Seven: X-Division Championship- AJ Styles © vs. David Young
David Young is with Bobcat. Young attacks with clubs at the start. Styles ducks a clothesline and gets in a chop and dropkick. Styles misses with a jab and Young puts him in position for a full-nelson slam but Styles counters with a deep armdrag. Styles hits another armdrag but gets taken down by a shoulderblock. Styles springs to life with a rana off the mat that sends Young to the outside. He totally misses with a somersault plancha, but they sell it anyway. Back inside, Styles covers for two. Young blocks a vertical suplex but Styles is able to connect with some forearms. Young sends Styles onto the apron and knocks him to the outside after an attempt at a springboard. Young connects with a beautiful springboard moonsault to the outside. Back in, Young covers for two. Styles comes back with some rights and lands on his feet after a German suplex. Young ducks a clothesline and gets a go-behind. Styles with a standing switch. Young gets one of his own and hits a nice suplex into the turnbuckles. Cover gets two. Styles gets a crucifix pin coming off the ropes for two. A Styles roll up gets him two more. Young ends the pin sequence with an enzuigiri for two. A snapmare sets Young up for a figure-four head scissors. He transitions into a chinlock but Styles fights it off. Young puts a stop to it with a nice powerslam for two. Brainbuster gets Young two more. Back to the chinlock. Bobcat is talking on her cellphone on the outside. Styles elbows out and hits a superkick for two. Styles ducks a clotheslines and hits his inverted DDT springing off the ropes for two. Styles gets a back body drop and some kicks. A chop drops Young. Back up, Young attempts another full-nelson slam but turns it into a spinebuster as Styles tries to escape. Cover gets two. Young perches Styles on the top rope. He goes for a rana but Styles blocks it and hits a Styles Clash off the top for the win.
Winner: AJ Styles in 9:00 to retain the X-Division Championship
Rating: **3/4 (Good match. Young was able to bring some structure to the match, focusing his attack on the neck of Styles. I do think they busted out the top rope Styles Clash a little too early though. Also, this was the first time West was tolerable on commentary.)

In the back, Goldilocks is with the Rainbow Express and Joel Gertner. He feels that the Rainbow Express should get the belts right now as every other team on the card has either lost or been taken out.

Match Eight: NWA World Tag Team Championship- The Rainbow Express vs. AJ Styles/Jerry Lynn
In a continuation of the night’s apparent theme, the Express attack Lynn and Styles as they enter the ring. Lynn is able to take Lenny out with a dropkick while Bruce works over Styles in the corner. Bruce charges at Lynn and gets back body dropped onto Lenny on the outside. Lynn follows up with a plancha onto both. Styles continues with a corkscrew. Back inside, Lynn and Lenny trade go-behinds and Lynn gets an advantage off a headscissors take down. Lenny charges but gets dropped onto the middle turnbuckle where Lynn puts the boots to him. Bruce enters but Lynn drop toe holds him onto Lenny’s crotch. He smashes Bruce’s face into it a few times before going to the top. Gertner distracts him and allows Lenny to bring him back down. Tag in to Bruce and he stomps away. Cover gets two. In the corner, Bruce sends a charging Lynn onto the apron. Lynn comes back with a leg drop through the middle rope. Cover gets two. Styles tags in and hits a nice spinning back kick off the ropes for one. Styles sells the damage he took in the previous match and tags in Lynn. In the corner, Lynn slugs away, but ends up getting Irish whipped into the opposite corner. Bruce charges and runs into two Lynn boots. He climbs to the middle rope and hits a bulldog for two. Lynn ducks a clothesline but gets low-blowed on a go-behind. Lenny tags in who gets hit with a jawbreaker and rolled up for two. Lenny telegraphs a dropkick off the ropes and applies a Lion Tamer. Styles enters and breaks it up with a clothesline. Bruce enters with no tag and takes over. A bodyslam gets him two. Frustrated, he stomps away and tags in Lenny who connects with a nice delayed vertical suplex. A seductive cover gets him two. Lenny knocks Styles off the apron and tags in Bruce. Lynn is able to get a float over and turn it into a roll-up for two. Back up, Bruce ducks a clothesline and gets a go-behind. Standing switch by Lynn, but he ends up on the receiving end of a springboard sunset flip that gets two. Lynn greets Bruce with some forearms but falls to a sitout facebuster for two. Bruce finally slows things down with a chinlock. He transitions it into a figure-four headscissors. Lynn escapes but misses an elbow drop. Lynn blocks a powerbomb and calls for a cradle piledriver. Bruce blocks it but Lynn is able to roll him up for two. Back up, Lynn hits an inverted DDT and both men are down. They make hot tags and Lenny runs into some Styles clotheslines and a headscissors take over for two. Back up, Lenny ducks a clothesline but is nailed with a super kick and a discus clothesline for two. Lenny regroups with a forward Russian legsweep that gets two. Lynn comes in and hits a cradle piledriver which sets Styles up to hit a Spiral Tap for the win.
Winner: AJ Styles/Jerry Lynn in 12:00 to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship
Rating: ***1/4 (Really entertaining match with very few slow spots. Smartly, Lynn carried the large majority of the match as Styles had just competed in one minutes earlier. Now, Styles holds two of the three championships in TNA.)

In the back, NWA President Jim Miller is tied up with the letters “F U” painted on his gut.

We get highlights of Krush vs. Christopher and Jarrett vs. Hall from last week.

Match Nine: K-Krush/Jeff Jarrett vs. Brian Christopher/Scott Hall
Hall and Christopher jump start the match before the bell. Christopher takes Krush out as Hall works over Jarrett on the outside and through the crowd. They make their way to the TNA dancer’s cage. Christopher and Krush make it back to the ring where Christopher hits a back body drop. He climbs to the top but misses with the Hip Hop Drop. Krush sends him outside but is met by some Hall rights and a chokeslam. Jarrett comes in and attacks Hall from behind. He runs into a Hall jab but makes him miss a charge with a float over. Jarrett takes over with rights in the corner. Hall comes back with a clothesline and tags in Christopher who hits with mounted punches in the corner. He dances and misses a splash as Jarrett moves out of the way. Hall tags in and knocks Krush off the apron. Jarrett sends Hall running into Christopher on the opposite side of the ring but gets elbowed on the way back. Krush tags in and hits a missile dropkick. A twisting elbow gets him two. Jarrett tags in and connects with rights. He hits a nice neckbreaker off the ropes for two. Krush back in and he slaps the taste out of Hall’s mouth. He hits a running kick for two. Jarrett tags in and hits a crossbody off the top rope but Hall rolls through and gets a two count. Back up, Hall runs into a clothesline for two. They trade blows and Jarrett applies a sleeper. Hall shoves him off and gets in a sleeper of his own. Jarrett escapes with a jawbreaker and follows up with a back drop suplex. Weird spot where Jarrett goes to tag Krush but the ref won’t allow it as Krush wasn’t in the right position. Christopher walks over and grabs Krush by the hair, leaving Hall with no one to tag in. Krush enters and hits an axe kick on Hall. He slows things down with a camel clutch. Hall stands up and hits an electric chair. Jarrett tags in and cuts Hall off from a tag-in attempt. Hall ducks a double clothesline attempt by Krush and Jarrett and connects with dual clotheslines. Hall is finally about to make the hot tag but Christopher turns on him with a slap to the face. Hall can’t believe it but hits an atomic drop on Jarrett who runs into the ref. Hall takes Krush and Jarrett on by himself then knocks Christopher off the apron. Hall sets Krush up for a Razor’s Edge and hits it. Jarrett attacks from behind but Hall gets him in position for a Razor’s Edge as well. Christopher breaks it up with a kick to the gut and allows Jarrett to hit the Stroke. Christopher goes up top and hits the Hip Hop Drop. Jarrett covers for the win.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett/K-Krush in 12:00
Rating: **3/4 (I liked this a lot more than I expected to. Even though Christopher was extremely irritating, I do not see the point of turning him here. They were very low on heavyweight babyfaces.)

Post-match, Jarrett gets on the mic and says Hall isn’t worth a shit. Ohhh, cursing is so bad-ass. He beat him in 1995, 1997 and ran him out of WCW. Now, he will run him out of the NWA. He breaks the NWA trophy over Hall’s back. Trainers put him on a stretcher but Jarrett continues with an elbow drop off the apron. Jarrett was screwed out of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the first TNA show. He will be damned if he lets that happen again. Jarrett isn’t done, as he attacks Hall with the stretcher on the rampway.

At ringside, Tenay hypes for next week:
– NWA World Heavyweight Championship- Ken Shamrock© vs. Omori
– An X-Division 6-Man Rankings Match
– The return of the Flying Elvises

The 411: Last week’s show had one excellent match proceeded by very average to bad stuff. This show had a few good matches, but nothing excellent, mixed in with some bad stuff. In other words, I will call both shows even. While he may receive a lot of crap from people, Jarrett really entertained me here as a cut throat heel. Styles continued to be portrayed as a star, winning two championships in two weeks. Overall, I’d say TNA had some good things going by week three.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]