Dark Pegasus Video Review: TNA Final Resolution 2005

Final Resolution 2005 — 01.25.05

From Orlando, Fla.

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Don West.

Jeff Jarrett opens the show, running down all three of his potential opponents.

Opening Match: 3LK vs. Christopher Daniels, Matt Bentley & Frankie Kazarian.
See, here’s a missed opportunity. Daniels was coming off a star-making MOTYC at the last PPV, and the first thing they do is have him jerk the curtain. Not only that, but the announcers spend most of their time talking about how Konnan has been “rejuvenated.” 3LK dominates early because the ref wants to follow rules and stuff, and won’t let the heels make any kind of tag they want. BG gets suckered by Daniels and plays face-in-peril. Killings eventually gets the hot tag and hits the axe kick on Bentley. Daniels makes the save, though. Everyone comes in and hits their finishers. Bentley falls victim to a Konnan reverse DDT for two. Daniels hits BG with the Flatliner, but he opts to doubleteam Killings instead. Of course, it backfires and he takes out Kazarian. Back inside, 3LK set up and hit a tripleteam side kick at 8:20. *3/4

In the back, Trinity and Tracy fight over Dusty Rhodes while a possibly stoned Johnny Fairplay looks on. Tonight, it’s a Scavenger Hunt! Finder of the clue gets to be Dusty Rhodes’ personal secretary.

Elix Skipper vs. Sonjay Dutt.
Anyone remember when Skipper used to be “Skip Over” back in WCW? He’s come a long way. Dutt hits a triple revolution headscissors that sends Skipper to the floor. Dutt gets thrown into the crowd but comes back in with a somersault plancha off the turnbuckle. Dutt goes after Skipper’s arm for a spell. He goes up, but Skipper dropkicks him to the floor. Skipper crotches him on the railing and hits a back kick. Back in, Skipper kicks him in the back. He misses a second attempt but hits a third. A Sonjay quebrada hits the knees. They fight on top, and Sonjay hits a sunset flip powerbomb. A tilt-o-whirl DDT by Sonjay leads to a nearfall. Sonjay goes up but misses the Hindu Press. Skipper hauls him up and finishes with a swinging uranage at 10:12. **

Backstage, Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page talk about old times, and Kevin proposes that they take out Monty Brown first. Page wonders whether he can trust Nash or not. Hmm. I wonder.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Kid Kash.
Kash is “disrespectful,” so Dustin doesn’t like him much. Kash attacks from behind, but Rhodes turns the tables almost immediately. Kash appears to injure his knee, fooling no one but Tenay, West and Rhodes. Of course, Kash takes the opening to lull Rhodes in and give him a low blow. Kash goes after Rhodes’ leg at every opportunity. He even FROGSPLASHES the leg and locks in the figure-four. Tenay actually puts over Kash’s strategy, lending some actual weight to the match. Dustin elbows out of a sleeper and nails a lariat, but he tries an atomic drop and reinjures his knee. Kash goes up and comes off with a twisting crossbody. Rhodes catches him and rolls through to a pin attempt. ONE, TWO, THRE-No? Ref says no, but it was close. Kash gets two off an enzuigiri and gets in an argument with the referee. That gives Rhodes the chance to recover and hit a bulldog for the win at 10:51. Hey, not bad. I didn’t expect a lot, but Kash managed to keep things interesting with the legwork, and Dustin did a good job of selling until the end. ***

Johnny Fairplay goofs around in Dusty Rhodes’ office and finds the clue.

Recap of Raven driving a wedge between Diamond Dallas Page and Erik Watts. It doesn’t work out that well, though, because Watts comes to his senses and stops listening to Raven. As with many WWE angles, the video package made this look much better than it actually was.

Erik Watts vs. Raven.
Raven trips Watts to the outside to start and Russian Leg Sweeps him into the ring barrier. Back in, Raven busts out the Facewash. Watts comes back with a missile mulekick. Man, he was messed up on drugs to come up with that one. Raven tries to leave, but Watts chases him down and returns the favor with a Russian Leg Sweep into the barrier. Watts crotches him and gives him a lariat. Back in for a chokeslam. He doesn’t go for the pin, though, because it’s Watts, and he’s an idiot. The ref yanks a chair away from Watts, allowing Raven to go low. Raven smashes Watts’ head into the chair, but Watts counters the drop toehold and slams Raven’s head to the chair. Watts gets two off the turnbuckle powerbomb, but Raven takes him down into an Anklelock. Watts rolls through but takes a superkick. Raven is like Angle vs. Michaels all wrapped up in one wrestler. Watts goes to the STF, but Raven reverses to another Anklelock. Watts shoves him into the corner and botches a chokeslam. They repeat the spot, and Watts picks up the win at 10:20. Sloppy and way too long for what they had to offer. After the match, Raven apologizes for screwing with Watts and his family. Then, when Watts turns his back, Raven smashes him with a garbage can and knocks him off the platform. **

Scott Hall vs. Jeff Hardy.
Roddy Piper is your special guest referee and finds several objects hidden on Hall during the prematch frisk. Scott Hall cost Jeff Hardy the NWA Title. Hall stops the match to frisk Piper and finds handcuffs. Okay. Tenay actually notes that Jeff’s first match in the WWF was against Scott Hall. Hardy opens with the Whisper in the Wind, but Hall blocks a Side Effect and tosses him away with a Fallaway Slam. Hall complains (legitimately) about the count and gets rolled up for two. A small package gets two more. Back in, Hall elbows out of another Side Effect. Hall tosses Hardy into Piper and sneaks a pair of brass knuckles out of the turnbuckle pad. Piper stops him and pokes him in the eyes leading to the Twist of Fate and Swanton for the win at 5:51. This was mostly comedy filler. After the match, Abyss returns to TNA after a rumored jump to the WWE and jumps Jeff from behind, hitting him with the Argentine Buster. He puts Hardy out with the Black Hole Slam before being led out by security. *1/4

In the back, Tracy Brooks tries to bribe a stagehand to find the clues. Trinity sends her away and tries the same fruitless tack.

#1 Contender’s Match, 3-Way Dance: Monty Brown vs. Kevin Nash vs. Diamond Dallas Page.
You can be eliminated by pin, submission or over-the-top. That usually means that no one wanted to do an actual job. Nash just sits back and watches the other two go at it. Page goes for the Diamond Cutter, but Monty overpowers him and shoves him to the floor. Nash tries to overpower Monty next, but he finds that’s easier said than done. Nash waits for Page and Brown to go at it in the corner and charges Page from behind. Page sees him coming and backdrops him to the floor for the elimination at 5:55.

Well that sucked. Page hits the Diamond Cutter on Monty, but Nash pulls him off the cover. Monty misses a charge and gets rolled up for two. A clothesline gets two more. Monty reverses a corner whip and hits a clothesline. A powerslam gets two for Brown. Page goes for the Diamond Cutter again, but Brown reverses to the Pounce at 9:40. This match was completely unnecessary and didn’t accomplish anything in the storyline because Nash was eliminated and Monty had a relatively easy time in there so it’s not like he’ll be at a disadvantage against Jarrett. *

NWA World Tag Titles: Team Canada (w/Scott D’Amore) vs. America’s Most Wanted.
AMW attacks during TC’s strategy session. Young takes a tilt-o-whirl headscissors on the ramp. Finally, they take it to the ring where Harris just launches Young over the top rope. Young has a big knot on his head from something (probably the headscissors). AMW tosses Roode into Young. Roode bails, so AMW tosses Young out onto him. Now that’s some good Southern-style tag opening right there. Storm gets caught in the heel corner once they get back in. Young gets knocked to the floor again with an enzuigiri. Storm crawls to the tag, but Roode just cuts it off. Storm gets a sunset flip on Young for two, but Young cuts off a comeback with a clothesline. Storm hits a reverse giri and avoids a corner charge. HOT TAG TO HARRIS! Harris cleans house and hits the Full Nelson Slam on Roode. A delayed vertical suplex gets two, but Roode makes the save. Storm gets two on Roode with a powerslam. Young breaks up the Death Sentence, but it turns into a trainwreck sequence as Storm powerbombing Young and sending Harris through the air into Roode. Storm hits Young with a superkick, but D’Amore pulls the ref out. AMW tracks him down and handcuffs D’Amore to the post. The HART ATTACK–gets two? Johnny Devine hops up on the apron, distracting AMW long enough for Roode to hit Harris with a clothesline. Devine waits for Storm to hit a helicopter slam on Young and then CRACKS him with a hockey stick. Young is on top! No! Not this way! Oh, wrong promotion. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Devine misses a second swing and takes a spinebuster. AMW hits Roode with a Neckbreaker/Powerbomb combo! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Everyone is freaking out because they thought that was it. CATATONIC ON YOUNG! Roode has the referee, though. Devine tosses in a chair, but Harris gets there first. Roode clotheslines Harris’ head into the chair! ONE, TWO, THR-foot on the ropes. Young tries to get help from Devine, but Devine SMACKS him with the no-look chairshot! Oops. Harris schoolboys Young! ONE, TWO, THREE! New champs at 19:09. This was like every great Midnights vs. Rock ‘n’ Rolls rolled into one match. ****1/4

Outside, Johnny Fairplay taunts Tracy and Trinity until they beat the crap out of him. It would have been better if he didn’t sound like he was laughing the whole time. They tear the clue in half and race to Dusty who says they now have to assemble a tag team. The woman with the winning team will get the job.

Ultimate X: Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin vs. AJ Styles.
For some reason, AJ gets to enter last despite Petey being the champion. If that were Triple H, you’d never hear the end of it. Sabin wins a clothesline battle and chases Petey around the ring. Back in, AJ and Sabin take turns passing Petey around like their sweet, sweet strawberry bitch. He takes a powder while AJ and Sabin go at each other. AJ tries to springboard to the cable but misses. Petey pulls Sabin to the outside, so AJ somersault planchas onto both of them. AJ and Sabin climb to the top rope, and Sabin dropkicks him into the metal supports. Sabin scales the cables, but D’Amore grabs his feet. The ref gets as sick of him as everyone else and sends D’Amore to the back. AJ and Sabin are still down, so Petey rams AJ into the support and gives Sabin a backdrop suplex. Sabin chops him, but Williams drops an elbow on his leg and locks in the Sharpshooter. AJ tries to get the belt, but Petey drags him down and gives him a German Suplex. He goes for the cover, which makes significantly less sense than the Sharpshooter. Petey ties AJ in the tree-of-woe and tries to use his crotch as a stepping stone to the title. Petey stops to knock Sabin down and runs right into the Pelé. Sabin and AJ chickenfight as Williams crawls along the cable into an insane rana on Sabin. AJ and Williams race to the title, and Williams scissors his legs around it. Unfortunately, that leaves him stuck. Sabin pulls AJ down, so AJ springboards into an elbow and decks Petey, knocking him off the cables. Sabin goes up and ranas Styles from the cables. Crowd chants, “This is Awesome!” Williams goes for the Canadian Destroyer, but Sabin counters to Cradle Shock. Williams then counters that to an Inverted DDT, but AJ races in and hits his Quebrada DDT, knocking them both out. AJ goes up, but Sabin recovers and missile dropkicks him into the infamous spot that’s been shown over and over again on TNA TV. That’s kind of like their version of the Mankind Hell in a Cell spot. AJ and Petey climb the supports, and Williams yanks AJ’s arm through the bars in the metal support. AJ falls off, apparently with an injured arm. Sabin hits Williams with the Cradle Shock, but AJ has started to stir. Sabin gets a foot from the title, but AJ pulls him down. AJ goes for the Clash, but Sabin counters to a cross armlock. Styles hoists him up and drops him with the ONE-ARMED STYLES CLASH! AJ crawls along the cable, but his arm prevents him from reaching the title. Instead, he falls to the mat, and Petey CRUSHES him with the CANADIAN DESTROYER! Petey makes the mistake of being indecisive, so Sabin catches him going up and gives him a Splash Mountain into the turnbuckle. Sabin gets to the belt, but Williams catches up with him. They yank at it in a tug-of-war, so AJ springboards off the top rope and knocks it out of their grasp. It’s lying right there next to him, so AJ picks it up for the win at 19:54. Incredibly fun match that would have went into my top ten of 2005 if I had seen the match in full before I made the list. ****1/2

Backstage, Jarrett and Nash nearly have a pull-apart, which probably means Nash will interfere on Jarrett’s behalf.

NWA World Title: Jeff Jarrett vs. Monty Brown.
This had a number of things working against it, not the least of which is following two spectacular matches. Jarrett catches Monty with a dropkick early and mocks Monty. Monty blocks a hiptoss and tosses Jarrett across the ring. Jarrett rakes the eyes but runs right into a powerslam for two. Jarrett sends him to the floor and tries a slingshot plancha, but Monty catches him (sort of). They head out into the crowd where Jarrett hits Monty with a chair several times. He tries a belt shot when they get back to ringside, but the ref stops that. Yeah, that’s going to far. Back in, Jarrett locks in a sleeper. Monty elbows out and reverses. Jarrett counters to a kneebreaker and a spinning toe hold, but Monty reverses to a small package. They collide mid-ring for a double KO. Monty catches Jarrett with an Alphabomb! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! The Circle of Life (one-armed neckbreaker) gets two. The ref gets bumped, allowing Jeff to bring in the guitar. Guitar shot! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Monty hauls him up for the Electric Chair drop, but Jarrett hits him in the face with a chair. Monty hits the drop anyway. Jarrett winds up on top for two. A beltshot gets two more, but Monty kicks out! HE’S MALING UP! Jarrett ducks the Pounce, and Monty accidentally takes out the referee. Jarrett brings in another guitar. Monty blocks, though, and hits a chokeslam. Monty hits Jarrett with the guitar! Oh, but there’s no ref. Here’s a new ref! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Monty tosses Jarrett aside in a sloppy spot, so Jarrett hits him with the guitar remnants. Jarrett hits a trio of Strokes for the puzzling retention at 16:20. And the air just goes out of the arena. I’ve heard this compared to Starrcade ’97, with TNA making a huge, promotion-crushing decision that set them back several months. I wouldn’t go that far. It’s more akin to Luger/Flair from Starrcade ’88 where people were pissed off about the screwjob, but the NWA was still able to regroup when Steamboat came into the promotion a month later. Hey, guess who booked both shows? TNA found themselves in the same situation where AMW and the X-Division took center stage until they came out of their booking stupor and got rid of Rhodes. Anyway, this was an overbooked mess that saw one of TNA’s potential stars get Lugered for no good reason. What could have been a big coming out party that boosted buyrates and rating with a new star was instead an ego stroke, no pun intended. **1/4

The 411: Main event shenanigans aside, this PPV still packs the best one-two punch in recent memory. Most of the matches at least hit the average level and, with the exception of the main event, all the right people went over in the right places. I could have done without the Johnny Fairplay stuff, but it was kept short enough not to overwhelm the real show. Solid thumbs up.
Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]