The Wrestling Bazaar: NWA/TNA Weekly PPV #4

In his book, The Story of the Development of the NWATNA: A New Concept in Pay-Per-View Programming, Jerry Jarrett calculates that the company needed a total of about 55,000 buys per show to break even. He had been under the impression that the first three shows had done 175,000 buys combined- not a bad figure. However, hours before PPV #4 went live, he was informed by an InDemand representative that he had been misguided and the first three shows had actually only done 50,000 buys combined.

July 10, 2002- Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee

Opening video and Mike Tenay runs down the card as pyro goes off.

Match One: NWA World Tag Team Championship- AJ Styles/Jerry Lynn vs. Slash/Tempest
Tempest is better known as Crowbar from WCW. Lynn ducks a Slash charge to start but Slash takes over with rights. He hits a shoulderblock off the ropes but misses an elbow drop. Back up, Slash counters an inverted DDT and attempts a running powerslam. Lynn pushes him off and connects with a tornado bulldog for two. Slash blocks a rana but Lynn is still able to come down with a facebuster for two. Styles tags in and they hit a combination drop toe hold/splash for two. Slash with a quick right and he tags in Tempest. Styles with a go-behind but Tempest gets a back elbow. A takedown sets up a front facelock on the mat. Styles gets out of it with a top wrist lock but Tempest comes back with a bodyslam. From the mat, Styles hits a rana and follows up with an armdrag and some kicks. Cover gets two. They trade wrist locks with Tempest getting the better of it after a mat slam. He connects with some jabs and locks in a side headlock. Styles powers out and sends him to the outside with a drop toe hold. Tempest is able to snap Styles’ neck off the top rope and hit a springboard splash for two. They trade chops but Styles ends up on the receiving end of a back elbow in the corner. Tempest hits a nice rana off the middle rope and continues with a clothesline. He follows up with chops but gets reversed on a powerbomb attempt. Styles comes back with chops but gets sent to the apron where he hits a springboard dropkick. Slash enters but gets sent to the corner. Styles monkey flips him off as Lynn comes in and splashes Tempest. They throw Tempest into Slash and bring him down with a double clothesline. They continue by tripping Slash onto Tempest and doubling clotheslining him to the outside. Both members of the New Church are now outside. Styles tries for a plancha but they catch him. Lynn is able to knock them all down with a somersault plancha. Lynn hits a leg drop on Tempest slung over the middle rope. Styles hits a springboard moonsault on Tempest for two. Slash distracts Styles and allows Tempest to hit with a death valley driver for two. A jumping back elbow by Tempest leads to a Slash tag-in. They ram Styles’ head into the top turnbuckle and hit a double sitout chokeslam for two. Slash hits a whirly bird but misses a dropkick. Styles catapults him into Tempest and hits with a discus clothesline. Both make the hot tag and Lynn back body drops Tempest. He follows up with clotheslines on both. He continues with a tornado DDT on Slash but gets drilled with a superkick by Tempest. Lynn recovers and hits a bulldog for two. He calls for a cradle piledriver but gets low blowed by Tempest. He perches Lynn on the top rope but his rana attempt is blocked. Lynn hits a crossbody for two. Tempest tries for another death valley driver but Lynn escapes and connects with a cradle piledriver. Slash comes in and kicks Lynn in the face. Lynn no-sells it and back body drops him out of the ring. Styles tags himself in and hits a Spiral Tap for the win.
Winner: AJ Styles/Jerry Lynn in 10:34 to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship
Rating: *** (I did not like the pairing of Tempest and Slash. There was no cohesion as Tempest controlled the large majority of the match, only tagging Slash in once. Nevertheless, good action throughout.)

Post-match, AJ Styles celebrates as Jerry Lynn looks pissed for having the pin stolen from him. Interesting.

At ringside, Tenay sends it to a package on last week’s main event tag match and Jarrett’s subsequent beat down on Scott Hall.

Scott Hall does a promo via phone call promising to come after Jeff Jarrett and Brian Christopher.

Before our next match, Brian Christopher gets on the mic. There comes a time when you make a transition from child to adult. Christopher has been labeled a child all his life- Jerry Lawler’s son. Tonight, he says bullshit to all the people who say he is only in the wrestling business because of his father. Screw Jerry Lawler. The King was never a father to him. He was never there for him. From now on, no longer is he “Jerry’s kid.” From now on, it is all about Brian Lawler.

Match Two: Brian Lawler vs. Norman Smiley
Lawler attacks at the bell. He slugs away in the corner and slams Smiley down running off the ropes. He hits a hangman’s noose neckbreaker and plays to the crowd. Smiley comes back with two dropkicks, a shoulderblock and a windup bodyslam. After a little dance, he hits an inverted atomic drop and a regular atomic drop. Big wiggle! Lawler ends it with a DDT. Crowd chants “Jerry’s Kid!” Lawler spears Smiley in the corner and continues playing to the crowd. He takes off his bandana and chokes Smiley with it. Another spear in the corner connects but a third one misses and Smiley comes back with rights and a headbutt. A back elbow and clothesline gets him two. In the corner. Smiley gets in some mounted punches before going down to a low blow. Lawler goes up top, puts on his goggles and comes down with the Hip Hop Drop for the win.
Winner: Brian Lawler in 4:45
Rating: *1/4 (Smiley got in way too much offense for what they were going for and Lawler pandered to the crowd a little too excessively. I really do not like him.)

Post-match, Brian Lawler tells Scott Hall he is next.

In the back, Goldilocks is with Bill Behrens and Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett wants a title shot tonight but Behrens hears nothing of it. Behrens knows what Jarrett did to Jim Miller last week and suspends him.

Before out next match, K-Krush gets on the mic. He wants to kick the ass of all the NASCAR fans in the audience.

Match Three: K-Krush vs. Hermie Sadler
This was probably TNA’s biggest hyped match up to this point, receiving a good amount of air time on the three previous shows. Sadler comes out with his pit crew. Sadler pushes Krush and they trade slaps. Krush goes low with a kick but misses one on the ropes. Sadler charges and knocks Krush out of the ring. He jumps off the apron and continues the attack on the floor. Krush comes back with some rights and chokes him against the ring post. Sadler ducks a strike and clubs away. Back in, Sadler gets in come mounted punches. Cover gets two. Krush comes back with a boot to the midsection and an axe kick. He covers him with one finger for two. A regular cover gets two. Another cover gets two more. A vertical suplex gets Krush two. A running powerslam sets up another one finger cover for two. He applies a figure four but Sadler is able to turn it around. Krush gets to the ropes. Back up, Sadler ducks a clothesline and hits a nice sitout powerbomb for two. Sadler blocks a dropkick attempt and clubs the back. Krush rolls him up out of nowhere with his feet on the ropes for the win.
Winner: K-Krush in 5:08…hold on.
The ref reverses the decision after Krush got in a cheap shot once the match was over.
Winner: Hermie Sadler in 5:08
Rating: * (So one of your top heels has to cheat to win a match against a NASCAR driver? Then the decision is reversed to give the NASCAR driver a win? It was pretty ridiculous seeing a man the size of Sadler kicking out of some high-impact moves and delivering a powerbomb.)

In the back, Takao Omori warms up for his title match later tonight. Alisha shows up again and Omori digs into his suitcase and pays her.

Match Four: Mark Briscoe/Jay Briscoe vs. The Hot Shots
The Hot Shots are Cassidy O’Reilly and Chase Stevens (of The Naturals fame). I’m sure you have heard of Mark and Jay Briscoe. Lock-up to start and Mark gets a wristlock on O’Reilly. He rolls out of it and gets a wristlock of his own. Mark slams him down and hits an armdrag. O’Reilly hits an armdrag and both makes tags. Stevens ducks a clothesline and hits with rights. Jay leapfrogs Stevens and hits a shoulderblock. He follows with a forearm smash but Stevens connects with a nice spinebuster. Mark tags in and hits a springboard dropkick. He gets sent over the top then Stevens and O’Reilly send Jay over to meet him. They hit stereo planchas. Back in, the Hot Shots slug away in the corner as Malice and the rest of the New Church interrupt things.
Winner: No Contest in 2:09
Rating: *1/2 (They sure fit a lot of action into two minutes. Way too short to mean anything.)

Post-match, Malice annihilates both teams and James Mitchell gets on the mic. Vengeance is his. They are not leaving this ring until Ken Shamrock’s blood is on Malice’s hands. Mitchell promises to destroy innocent victims if he doesn’t come out. They are about to attack the timekeeper as Shamrock comes out. Malice attempts a chokeslam but Omori makes the save.

In the back, Goldilocks is with the Dupps. Stan talks about coon dogs. Bo spits out some clichés and talks about poop. Moving on…

Jasmin St. Claire comes out. Wow, could they have picked out someone any sluttier? West and Ferrara drool over themselves. She has been watching this show and waiting to see some ass. We all know what the letters T&A stand for. Does anyone want to see some real T&A tonight? She has it and she will flaunt it. Oh good Lord, Jeremy Borash gets a lap dance. Bill Behrens tries to cover her up but Ferrara spears him!

Match Five: The Dupps vs. Jorge Estrada/Sonny Siaki
The Elvises jumpstart the match at the bell. Estrada ends up getting sent over the top and Siaki falls to a Stan spinebuster quickly though. Bo follows with a splash that sends Siaki rolling to the outside. Mortimer Plumtree comes to ringside. Back in, Bo powers Estrada down after a lock-up. Estrada gets in a side headlock but Bo knocks him down with a shoulderblock and then a clothesline. Estrada leaps to the top rope in one jump and misses a moonsault but connects with a superkick that sends Bo to the corner. Bo regroups and shoulderblocks Estrada into the opposite corner. Stan tags in and they hit a combination inverted atomic drop/shoulderblock. High leg drop gets him two. Stan catches a float over attempt and brings Estrada down with an Alabama Slam. Cover gets two. Bo tags in and hits a nice powerslam for two. Siaki enters with no tag and hits a neckbreaker for two. Wait, so who are the heels here? In the corner, Siaki chops away. Bo no-sells it and gets in chops of his own. He sends Siaki to the apron but Siaki comes back with a split legged moonsault. Bo comes back with a powerful spinebuster. Stan tags in and unloads on both Elvises. Estrada sends Bo flying over the top and hits a plancha. Meanwhile, Stan hits a Dupp Drop on Siaki. Siaki comes back with an overhead suplex. Estrada follows with a springboard somersault called the Perfect 10 for the win.
Winner: Jorge Estrada/Sonny Siaki in 5:00
Rating: *3/4 (Very similar to pretty much every other tag team match from the past four weeks. The most newsworthy item is that Plumtree, who was on commentary, apparently has his eyes set on Jerry Lynn.)

In the back, Jerry Lynn attacks AJ Styles and hits with a cradle piledriver on some boxes. Take that, you glory hog!

We get our very first TNA Tale of the Tape for the Shamrock/Omori match.

Match Six: NWA World Heavyweight Championship- Ken Shamrock© vs. Takao Omori
No storyline to speak of and they never really mentioned what Omori did to deserve this title shot. Lock-up and Shamrock attacks with kicks. A DDT gets him two. Harley Race is at ringside. Shamrock strikes the top of Omori’s head and locks in a figure four headscissors. Shamrock continues with strikes. In the corner, he lays in some more punches. Omori blocks one and hits a European uppercut. He follows up with a spinning back kick and some strikes in the corner. A dropkick sets him up for a chinlock. Shamrock tries to knee his way out but Omori comes back with punches to the head. Omori tries to Irish whip him but Shamrock doesn’t seem too willing. Omori hits with another back kick in the corner and misses a second one. Shamrock takes advantage and goes after the knee. He chokes him on the top rope and continues with the jabs from earlier. Omori hits an awkward looking neckbreaker for two. After a full-nelson slam, Omori goes to the top and misses a knee drop. He sells a hurt knee and Shamrock goes after it. Not for long though, as Omori hits an Axe Bomber out of the corner for two. Shamrock goes back to the strikes and hits a dropkick. He applies a legbar but Omori reaches the ropes. Back up, Omori hits a back elbow and tries for a powerbomb but Shamrock takes out the knee. Omori comes back with uppercuts and tries for another full-nelson slam but Shamrock counters into an armbar. He transitions it into an anklelock as Jeff Jarrett runs in with a chair and attacks both men.
Winner: No Contest in 8:00
Rating: ** (The rating might be a bit generous with all the awkward sequences but I appreciate the effort. They really weren’t portraying the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in an important light at this point though.)

Post-match, Jarrett takes out Harley Race and security with the chair.

In the back, Goldilocks is with Jerry Lynn. She wants some answers for what he did to AJ Styles earlier. You want some? Open up and say “Ahh.” He leaves but James Mitchell and the New Church come in. If she happens to see Jeff Jarrett, please tell him he wants to speak to him. They leave and Goldilocks hears something. He enters a boiler room and finds Bill Behrens tied up and with the letters “F U” written across his gut. Wow, what a convoluted segment: Jerry Lynn>New Church>naked Bill Behrens all in about one minute.

Match Seven: X Division Rankings Match- Low-Ki vs. Elix Skipper vs. Kid Romeo vs. Tony Mamaluke vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Jerry Lynn
Elimination rules and they have to tag in. Daniels and Romeo start. Romeo goes low and wrenches the arm. He hits some shoulderblocks but Daniels flips out and applies a hammerlock. Romeo counters with one of his own and transitions into a side headlock. He hits a shoulderblock off the ropes but Daniels blocks a hiptoss. Romeo flips out of it and ducks a clothesline. Daniels hits an armdrag but falls to a dropkick. He ducks a spinning back kick and we have a standoff. Skipper tags in for Romeo and gets a go-behind. Daniels ducks a springboard moonsault but is met with a spinning kick. Cover gets two. Daniels comes back with a clothesline and some stomps. Mamaluke tags in for Daniels and hits some forearms. Daniels snaps Skipper’s neck off the mat before he leaves. Cover gets two. Mamaluke hits a jawbreaker and a bridging suplex for two more. Skipper goes for a back body drop but Mamaluke wheel barrels his way out and goes for an armbar. Skipper resists and misses a clothesline. Mamaluke rolls him up for two. He hits a low dropkick but goes down to a shoulderblock. Lynn tags in for Skipper and drops Mamaluke with a punch. He ducks a clothesline and monkey flips Mamaluke but he lands on his feet. Mamaluke comes back with an armdrag but Lynn hits a backbreaker. He follows up with tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Ki tags in for Lynn and attacks with a series of kicks. Cover gets two. Mamaluke trips Ki up and hits an exploder suplex for two. He follows up with a double arm DDT and applies a reverse full-nelson on the way down. Daniels tags in for Mamaluke who puts the boots to Ki and hits a sidewalk slam for two. Ki hits a rolling kick out of nowhere. Romeo tags in for Daniels. He slugs away on Daniels but is hit with a running kick. Lynn tags in for Daniels who goes for a Gory Special and an airplane spin. Romeo rolls out and stretches Lynn across his back. Lynn fights it off and rolls him up for two. In the corner, Romeo runs into a boot and falls to a tornado DDT for two. Daniels tags in for Lynn who misses a diving headbutt. Lynn tags in for Romeo and ends up being headscissored to the outside. Daniels misses a baseball slide but grabs Lynn’s head and rams it into the apron. He connects with a springboard moonsault. Romeo goes up top and comes down on both. Mamaluke follows with a somersault splash. Skipper and Ki finish the series with dual somersault planchas. Back in, Lynn and Daniels counter each other running the ropes but Lynn ends up on the apron. He telegraphs a shoulderblock and hits a leg drop through the middle rope. Lynn climbs to the top but Mamaluke knocks him to the outside. Back in the ring, Mamaluke hits two facebusters and a side Russian legsweep which he transitions into a neck/shoulder stretch. Lynn is counted out at the 11:00 mark.

Daniels hits with a jawbreaker. Skipper tags in for Daniels and hits a nice lariat on Mamaluke. Skipper hits a Play of the Day to eliminate Mamaluke at the 12:00 mark.

Ki comes in and headbutts Skipper. He sends Skipper running who weirdly falls through the middle ropes. Ki follows and sends him back in. He attacks with a chop and counters a Play of the Day. He gets Skipper up into a Muscle Buster and rams his shoulder into the turnbuckle. Cover gets two. Ki continues with kicks but Skipper Matrix’s his way out of a springboard kick and catches him with a belly-to-belly. He heads to the top and hits a missile dropkick. Daniels tags in for Ki but is hit with a double under-hook suplex for two. An inverted suplex by Skipper gets him two more. Daniels drives him down to the mat and attempts a German suplex but Skipper gets a go-behind. Daniels elbows out and lifts him up for a death valley driver but instead hits with Last Rites to eliminate Skipper at the 15:00 mark.

Romeo comes in with clubs. A facebuster gets him two. He ducks a clothesline and hits a bulldog for two more. Romeo dropkicks Ki off the apron and climbs to the top. Daniels crotches him and climbs up with him. Romeo blocks him and comes off the top rope with an over the shoulder back-to-belly piledriver that gets two when Daniels’ foot was on the ropes. Ki tags in for Daniels and hits with a springboard kick then a Tidal Crush. Ki makes Romeo tap to the dragon clutch at the 17:00 mark.

The final two are Ki and Daniels. Ki goes for a cover that gets two. Another cover gets two. Ki gets in some chops but that only wakes up Daniels who responds with chops of his own. Ki counters and gets some more before falling to a reverse STO. Back up, Daniels hits a regular STO and tries for a BME but Ki stops him. On the top rope, Ki goes for a dragon sleeper but Daniels fights him off and they both come down. Daniels connects with the BME but only gets two. They trade a quick series of near falls. Daniels calls for Angels Wings but Ki blocks it. He sinks in a dragon clutch but Daniels reverses with a snapmare. Daniels perches Ki up top and hits with an open hand thrust. He comes down with the Fall From Grace for two. Daniels goes for Last Rites but Ki reverses into a fisherman’s sitout buster for the win.
Winner: Low-Ki in 22:00
Rating: ***3/4 (Another great X-Division main event. I didn’t like it as much as the Four Corner Double Elimination match though, mostly because the two extra guys here made it too disorganized at certain points. It was also a little too Mamaluke-heavy for my liking. However, whenever Lynn, Ki or Daniels were in there, it was gold.)

Post-match, the Flying Elvises run down and attack all six guys but eventually get out-numbered.

At ringside, Tenay runs down for next week:
– X-Division Championship- AJ Styles© vs. Low-Ki
– Scott Hall vs. Brian Lawler
– Puppet vs. Meatball

Jeff Jarrett comes down to the announce table with a mic in hand. He wants his title shot. He bad-mouths the Tennessee Titans at ringside which leads to the now-famous scene with the Titans attacking Jarrett. Jarrett fights back with a chair as the New Church runs down and attacks Jarrett to close the show.

The 411: A good opening match and a great main event with a whole lot of garbage in-between. At this point, TNA was so heel-heavy that they were having a heel faction (New Church) attack their main heel (Jeff Jarrett). And yet, they can’t find a heel challenger for Ken Shamrock, so they bring in Omori. Is a heatless match really worth bringing in international talent? The Scott Hall/Brian Lawler feud really isn’t anything to look forward to but the Jerry Lynn/AJ Styles storyline took an interesting turn, setting up next week’s show rather nicely.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]