TNA Slammiversary ’05 DVD Review

TNA – Slammiversary 2005: Three Year Anniversary Spectacular – Impact Zone – Orlando, Florida – June 19, 2005

Review by Jacob Ziegler

Introduction

First off, just so everyone knows, I am selling some of my masters I no longer need, so if anyone is interested in some stuff, shoot me an e-mail. I may even make some personalized stuff if you’re really nice to me.

I’m reviewing some shows out of order, but I’m trying to do them in the order that TNA released them, so bear with me here.

Pre Show

We start off with a video package for tonight’s event, the very first Slammiversary. I’m told that Shark Boy came up with the name.

Jeremy Borash and Shane Douglas welcome us to the show. They promise that this will be the biggest show in TNA history. They hype a few of the matches for tonight, and note that The Naturals have a new manager of sorts. Also, Samoa Joe makes his TNA debut tonight, facing Sonjay Dutt. The show will kick off with a six-way X-Division match.

We get a hype package detailing many events of the last several weeks involving most of the roster. Wow, the Raven versus Larry Zbyszko feud has been going on for a while. Dusty Rhodes is so out of touch. Raven is definitely the focus of this video.

Mike Tenay and Don West join us from ringside to hype tonight’s show. We’re going to go to the ring for a major announcement from Championship Committee member Larry Zbyszko. There are some idiots in the crowd dressed up like Jeff Hardy. He says that Dusty can’t do his job right, so the crowd chants “Dusty Sucks.” I take no issue with that. Man, you’d think there was real heat between Larry and Dusty. Larry takes great delight in saying that Dusty no longer has a future in TNA. Larry asks for a moment of silent laughter for the demise of Dusty. Larry Z rules. This brings out Jeff Jarrett and his guitar. He talks about all the guys he’s run out of town, including Dusty. The crowd is chanting “boring.” See Jeff, it’d be good heat if they chanted “asshole,” not “boring.” Raven, who we thought had quit, is on his way to the ring as Larry calls for security. Jarrett tells him to hold on. Raven wants to know how Sean Waltman gets a spot in the main event and not him. Since Raven beat him clean on the last pay-per-view, I think he has a legitimate complaint. He accuses Larry of being in cahoots with Jarrett. Raven demands to be put in the match, so the crowd chants “put him in.” Jarrett annoyingly calls Raven “Scott.” A big brawl breaks out so security comes in to try and separate Jarrett and Raven. Jarrett rolls to the outside of the ring and grabs one of the Jeff Hardy looking kids and beats the hell out of him. Well, at least that guy was planted and not there dressed like Hardy on his own accord. Officials Don Harris, Terry Taylor, and even Jerry Jarrett come out to remove Jarrett from the arena.

We go back to Borash and Douglas, with Borash all twitterpated over what just happened. Their solution is to have the pre show match now.

PRE SHOW MATCH: Apolo & Sonny Siaki vs. Simon Diamond & Trytan

Apolo and Sonny Siaki are introduced first, and next out is the returning Simon Diamond. He says that he spent his time at home studying and recruiting. He introduces his new insurance policy, Trytan. Diamond and Siaki were a tag team at one point in TNA. They do some stuff as Tenay and West hype tonight’s card. Michael Shane’s name is still blanked out. Siaki gets the hot tag and dominates Diamond. All four men in the ring and Diamond takes out Apolo. Trytan hits Siaki with the T-3 (F-5) to get the pin on Siaki at 3:50. That never had time to do much, and I’m afraid of what might have happened had it gotten more time.
Rating: *

Tenay starts freaking out about some chaos in the back, but this chaos he speaks of is a subdued Jerry Jarrett talking to the police. Jarrett is being arrested as Larry tells Raven that he can replace Jarrett in tonight’s main event. I guess he’s reinstated.

The countdown meter read about 3:57, but the DVD contains no more footage of the pre show. Anybody know why that might be?

SLAMMIVERSARY

We open with a video package detailing some of the great moments in TNA history. This leads to a package showing more current TNA stuff. Mike and Don welcome the paying audience to the show, and they talk about the Jeff Jarrett situation right away. Raven has replaced him in the main event.

MATCH #1: Six Way X Division Match – Shark Boy vs. Zach Gowen vs. Jerrelle Clark vs. Amazing Red vs. “Primetime” Elix Skipper vs. Delirious

Gowen does a backwards somersault down the aisle for some reason. Delirious is one of my favorite wrestlers right now. Delirious and Red are both coming back after long absences. Shark Boy was in the midst of his feud with Miramax over the film “Shark Boy and Lava Girl.” Red looks rusty. Skipper is sloppy. Clark comes in and hits Red with a nice rana. Gowen tags himself in and goes for a leg drop off the top rope but Clark moves. Shark Boy comes in and hits Gowen with a dropkick and a neckbreaker. Gowen hits a reverse DDT on Shark Boy but Skipper tags in and he and Shark Boy tumble to the outside. Clark hits a beautiful springboard moonsault to the outside and land son his feet. Gowen goes for the Asai but Delirious breaks it up. Red then cuts off Delirious and goes to the top and hits a corkscrew plancha on Clark, Skipper, and Shark Boy. Gowen goes back to the rope but Delirious knocks him down. Delirious goes to the top but gets knocked down by Red and Clark. This leads to one of those lame Tower of Doom spots. Gowen hits a moonsault on Clark but Shark Boy breaks it up. The crowd was hot for that. Shark Boy knocks Gowen out and Primetime nails him but Red breaks it up and then Clark hits a modified Jay Driller on him but Delirious breaks that up. I think I got most of that. Delirious hits the Panic Attack on Clark but falls victim to the Dead Sea Drop to give Shark Boy the win at 6:27. Shark Boy is largely a joke, and giving him any wins will never lead to anything. The match was the usual six-way fare, much like the ROH Six Man Mayhem matches.
Rating: **¼

Abyss is in the back preparing for the King of the Mountain match. Even though he won a #1 Contender’s Gauntlet match at the last PPV, he has to compete in this ridiculous five-man King of the Mountain match.

Shane Douglas is backstage with Shocker, who looks ridiculous. He says he’s the best Mexican Luchadore out there. Alex Shelley, also making his return, comes out and says that Shocker may be a good Luchadore, but Shelley can wrestle in every style possible. Shocker cuts an angry Spanish promo on him.

MATCH #2: Shocker vs. Alex Shelley

They mat wrestle to start, with Shelley taking advantage of that mismatch. Tenay mentions that Impact will now be shown exclusively on tnawrestling.com. It actually takes a few minutes for Tenay to bring up the McDonald’s commercial that Shocker was in. They do more mat wrestling and this time Shocker rolls up Shelly for a near fall. Shelley begs off, even kissing Shocker’s foot, but big surprise – he was faking it! He misses a big dive to the floor, and Shocker hits a dropkick off the apron. Back in the ring and Shocker goes for a moonsault but Shelley gets the knees up. They do some more wrestling and Shelley gets a near fall with a Golden Gate Swing. Shocker eventually gets a rollup out of nowhere to get the three-count at 10:41. That had some good mat wrestling and stuff in there, but it was a bit dull and I’ve never cared much for Shocker.
Rating: ***

Greatest Moments in TNA History – Number Five

“AJ Styles wins the NWA World Championship for the First Time, June 2003.” I reviewed that match on an older TNA DVD, and I gave it ***¾, so I think it’s pretty good. Also given what a big role AJ has in TNA, I think this is a worthy inclusion on the list.

3 Live Kru

Shane Douglas is backstage with the 3Live Kru. Konnan wants to know where BG James’s loyalty lies. He professes loyalty to the Kru, no matter what’s happened in the past. The number of times BG says “trust me” makes me think that the Kru may not be able to do that.

This segues to a video package for the next match, a singles bout between Kip James and Ron Killings. They’re still bleeping the name “The Outlaw,” so he hasn’t technically become Kip James yet. I can’t believe how much time this feud has gotten.

MATCH #3: Ron “The Truth” Killings vs. Kip James

They do their usual boring stuff to start off. These guys are both so limited in the ring it’s kind of sad to watch them go through these motions. Tenay and West keep calling Truth the glue of his trio, which would make him the 3Live Glu! That’s how bored I am with this match. Truth does a shitty rollup where James’s shoulders aren’t even down and the referee counts three to end this lousy match at 7:35. James attacks after the match and gives Truth the One and Only. He goes to the outside and grabs a steel chair, but BG James finally comes out to save Truth. He threatens Kip with the chair but they’re both distracted by the “New Age Outlaws” chant. Kip turns his back to BG and offers to be hit with the chair, but BG won’t do it so Konnan comes out and attacks Kip.
Rating: *¼

Greatest Moments in TNA History – Number Four

“Raven debuts in TNA Wrestling – January 2003.” This is when Raven was at his peak in TNA. This is when he should have won the title.

Team Canada

Shane Douglas is with all of Team Canada. Bobby Roode will face Lance Hoyt tonight. He tells him to be prepared to be Canadianized. That’s super lame. Petey Williams says that he and Eric Young will capture the NWA World Tag Team Titles tonight. D’Amore compares himself to Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini.

This leads to a video package highlighting the strengths of Team Canada. Johnny Devine is in this video package, I wonder where he’s been lately. Team Canada earned this title shot by beating America’s Most Wanted on Impact a few weeks ago.

MATCH #4: NWA World Tag Team Title Match – The Naturals vs. Team Canada

Team Canada is represented by Petey Williams & Eric Young here. Young has won the tag team titles twice with Bobby Roode, but Petey has never won them. The Naturals won the titles on Impact back on April 29, and this is their second defense. The Naturals control the early goings of the match, but Team Canada does have Scott D’Amore and A1 at ringside. A1 shows that he is not shy about interfering, beating up Chase Stevens on the floor. This allows the heels to isolate on Stevens and go to work on the back. Young has terrible bacne. Al’s isn’t much better. Stevens eventually makes the hot tag to Douglas. He cleans house until Petey comes back and locks on the sharpshooter. Stevens tries to powerbomb Petey, but Petey counters it to a DDT. Douglas comes back and hits Petey with a German suplex. Young is knocked out of the ring by Douglas. The Naturals hit a modified Doomsday Device for a near fall. That looks almost messed up somehow. Young hits the Natural Disaster, which Tenay calls just the disaster. He really, really needs to stop doing that to everyone’s finishers. Petey goes for the Canadian Destroyer on Douglas, but he reverses it only to get hit with A1’s hockey stick. But Jimmy Hart comes out of nowhere and loans the Naturals his megaphone, which they use to get the win and retain the titles at 15:13. That was a good surprise new manager for the Naturals, since Hart has a history of managing good tag teams; he’s not just some random BS guy.
Rating: ***¼

Greatest Moments in TNA History – Number Three

“Lockdown – April 2005 – Wrestling’s first all steel cage match pay per view.” I would think that a whole show would constitute more than one moment, but whatever.

Main Event Hype

Shane Douglas is with Sean Waltman, who somehow secured a spot in tonight’s match for the NWA World Title. He says that he’s a lone wolf tonight and he will win the title.

MATCH #5: The TNA debut of Samoa Joe vs. “The Original Playa From The Himalaya” Sonjay Dutt

Tenay puts Joe over huge, mentioning that he is the current ROH Pure Champion, and the fact that he’s only lost one 1-on-1 match in the last three years. Joe busts out the STJoe early on and the crowd pops. I wonder how many in the audience are familiar with Joe. Judging by the reaction he’s getting I’d say quite a few. Joe uses the face wash. Big senton gets two. Sonjay fights back using his quickness and hits a dive outside the ring. He’s got bacne pretty bad. He hits a nice springboard dropkick but it only gets two. Sonjay hits an ugly 450 for two. He goes for the Phoenix but Joe moves out of the way and he hits a powerslam for two. He’s getting too much offense here. No worries though, as Joe hits the Muscle Buster and locks on the choke to get the win at 6:24. That wasn’t much of a match, but it was a good debut for Joe. My only complaint is that Sonjay got too much offense in, and it wasn’t even that much. But come on, this is Samoa Joe we’re talking about here.
Rating: **½

Tenay and West hype BOUND FOR GLORY, the October pay-per-view event, which seems to be their version of WrestleMania. They switch gears and hype the main event for tonight, the King of the Mountain match. We thus head backstage to hear from Raven, who says that he won’t be stopped tonight, and he will finally win the NWA World Title.

MATCH #6: Lance Hoyt vs. Team Canada’s Bobby Roode

I wonder why the crowd is so into Lance Hoyt. Listening to Tenay and West hype him as something special just always comes off as comical to me. I mean, the guy has a tattoo on the small of his back. Is he a chick? Hoyt dominates the early going until D’Amore interferes and Roode takes over on offense. They do some stuff but it all just feels perfunctory. Tenay is openly cheering for Hoyt now, and it’s just sickening. Hoyt hits the chokeslam, giving Roode a wicked wedgie in the process. Hoyt goes up for the moonsault but D’Amore grabs his leg and Roode hits a powerbomb off the ropes for two. Roode brings in the hockey stick but referee Rudy Charles takes it away. Hoyt hits a variation of the STO and signals for the Big Boot but D’Amore grabs his leg again and Roode hits the Northern Lariat to get the win at 7:23. The right guy won, but he looked like such a pussy in doing it and the commentators are so biased that it’s hard to listen to. If Roode is ever going to get a serious push he has to be able to beat guys like Lance Hoyt clean. Roode beats up Hoyt after the match as D’Amore cheers him on. D’Amore takes his shirt off and goes for the moonsault but misses, and Hoyt hits the big boot on Roode and goes after D’Amore. He hits the moonsault on him and D’Amore does the stretcher job.
Rating: *¾

Greatest Moments in TNA History – Number Two

“Jeff Hardy debuts in TNA Wrestling – June 2004.” Um, given how he never did shit besides have bad matches, I can’t see why people would have voted for this at all.

Main Event Hype

Shane Douglas is with NWA World Champion AJ Styles, who has barely gotten to be on TV with his title. He says tonight is his biggest challenge.

MATCH #7: America’s Most Wanted vs. The 3Live Kru

The 3Live Kru are being represented by BG James & Konnan in this case. The video package shows that both teams are going through turmoil right now. I have no idea why they would use the song “You Are My Sunshine” here. The crowd’s not sure who to cheer in this babyface versus babyface scenario. Plus Konnan’s in the ring, so they’re bored. They just do back and forth stuff, nothing too exciting. The Outlaw comes out and Konnan goes right after him. This allows AMW to hit the Hart Attack on BG to win the match at 6:56. It felt a lot longer.
Rating: *½

Greatest Moments in TNA History – Number One

“Prime Time Walks the Cage, Turning Point 2004.” That was the most insane spot in TNA, so I’ll agree with this at #1.

MATCH #8: X Division Championship Match – “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels vs. Chris Sabin vs. Matt Bentley

Tenay is allowed to say Michael Shane, even though they have it edited out of their other DVDs, and the DVD box says Matt Bentley. This appears to be more a feud between Chris Sabin and Matt Bentley with the champion Christopher Daniels only loosely involved. He has been the champion since March 13, and this is his third defense. Both Sabin and Bentley are two-time TNA X-Division Champions. I reviewed this match on the Christopher Daniels DVD, but that was all clipped up so this is fresh material. They all manage to stay in the ring for the beginning portions of the match, so all three take turns giving each other shots. Outside the ring Daniels hits a nice Asai moonsault. Daniels proposes that he and Bentley should team up to eliminate Sabin. Bentley breaks up that union pretty quickly. Bentley and Sabin take Daniels out and fight amongst each other. Traci finally interferes by tripping Sabin, and Trinity returns suit. The chicks get in the ring and have a catfight. Bentley grabs Trinity and throws her to Daniels, who sets her up for the Angel’s Wings while Sabin has Bentley up for the Cradle Shock. Sabin allows Trinity to take the move so he can eliminate Bentley at 10:56. That’s a cool elimination, and if I were Sabin I would have sacrificed horse face too. Daniels dominates the early goings of what is now a one-on-one match. Daniels hits the Best Moonsault Ever but Sabin kicks out at two. Sabin comes back with a tornado DDT but Daniels retakes control once again and hits the Angel’s Wings pretty much out of nowhere to get the win at 17:06. That was going along really well, but the finish was a bit abrupt. I’d like to see Daniels and Sabin go one-on-one for the full time and just cut out Bentley altogether.
Rating: ***½

Main Event Hype

Tenay sends it back to Shane Douglas, who is with Monty Brown. The dubbing here is terrible. Monty is just ridiculously charismatic. Tonight would be a good time to put the title on him I think.

MATCH #9: King of the Mountain Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Title – “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs. Raven vs. Abyss vs. “The Alpha Male” Monty Brown vs. Sean Waltman

The video package for this match reveals the ridiculous rules for this match. I mean, hanging the title up to win? Having a penalty box? Tenay goes over the bullet points for this, which highlights how Raven replaced Jarrett in the match. Raven delays his entrance for a long time for some reason. Borash interviews Waltman as the “wild card spot” for some odd reason. Abyss is getting the shaft here, because he rightfully earned a shot at the title at the PPV last month, and none of the other three challengers did. We start off with everyone attacking everyone and Monty hits a Pounce on Raven to score the pin, which means Raven has to be in the penalty box for two minutes, and Monty is now eligible to hang the title up. That is so fucking stupid. AJ tries to springboard into the ring on Monty, but Abyss knocks him down. Monty pins Waltman, so now he has to go into the box. Monty is just dominating here. Raven pins AJ outside the ring, so now he may hang the belt, but AJ and Waltman are going to be in the box together. Abyss pins Monty with the Black Hole Slam. So now Monty, Raven, and Abyss may hang the title. AJ puts Abyss through a table outside the ring with the Spiral Tap and pins him, so AJ may now hang the title. AJ and Waltman are working together. AJ goes up to hang the belt but he drops it, and Waltman walks up the ladder and hands it to him, but then nails AJ with the X-Factor off the top of the ladder to get the pin. Now all five men are eligible to hang the title. If AJ is stupid enough to trust someone in a match like this, for the title, he deserves to get turned on. Raven and Waltman trade shots with the staple gun. Waltman staples both Raven and Abyss in the nuts. AJ comes out of the box and he and Waltman are on top of the ladder fighting it out until Abyss tips the ladder and both men crash to the floor. Abyss has the title now and he goes up to hang it but Monty Pounces him off the ladder into a table. Raven hits the DDT on Monty and he goes up but Abyss is chasing him. Raven kicks him in the face and hangs the title, giving Raven the win at 14:20. While I think the rules are stupid, all the guys busted ass for this one, and there were some cool spots and some good setup for future feuds (AJ/Waltman, Raven/Abyss). Raven should have won the title back in 2003, but better late then never I guess. Also, even with the stupid rules, the guys in the match weren’t messing them up, so that helps a lot. Despite my misgivings about certain parts of it, I really liked this match.
Rating: ***¾

The 411: While there were no blow-away matches, there was plenty of solid stuff to keep me entertained for three hours. Raven winning the title is a step in a different direction for TNA, and it was nice to seem give it to someone other than Jarrett or Styles. King of the Mountain may have stupid rules, but at least it’s unique.
Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]