The Wrestling Bazaar: NWA/TNA Weekly PPV #12

8/29/02- “When I walked into the office this morning, Jeff was smiling for the first time in many weeks. Jeff related to me a call that he had just had with Dixie. Dixie was in Texas talking with her father about our project and her dad was very interested.”- Jerry Jarrett

September 18, 2002- The Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee

Goldilocks is in the back and she welcomes us. Tonight, we will have a Gauntlet for the Gold Tag Team match to crown new NWA World Tag Team Champions. Among others, Scott Hall is a participant with his partner, the debuting Sean “Syxx-Pac” Waltman.

At ringside, Mike Tenay is with “the excitable” Don West, and they hype tonight’s card, including Ron Killings vs. Jerry Lynn for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Earlier today, Brian Lawler was waiting for Jeff Jarrett to arrive at the Asylum. Jarrett approaches the building and says he never touched Lawler’s girlfriend.

Back to the ring, where Jeff Jarrett grabs a mic. The past three weeks have seemed like an eternity. Bullet Bob, no more games. Bring your henchmen to the ring, or he will go back there and beat the depends off your tired old ass. Jarrett doesn’t wait, he heads backstage and gets his hands on Bob Armstrong. The Masked Bullet quickly diverts his attention and they brawl their way back to the ring. The Bullet grabs a mic and gives us a familiar line- Oh, you didn’t know!? He unmasks and it is Brian “Road Dogg” James. It’s been a long time, and he is blown up. Seven years ago, a man called Roadie walked out of the World Wrestling Federation with a man he thought was his friend, Jarrett. Little did he know, it would be career suicide. Instead, he kept going and joined a little faction known as DX. He has had a change of heart, but nothing has changed for him when it comes to Jarrett. He has never forgiven him, and now he is going to jump on his daddy? When you jump on one, you jump on the whole James Gang. So, he is going to find himself a partner and do what he does best- become a tag team champion. From now on, he will be known as BG James, and the G stands for “Get it, Got it, Good.”

Back to ringside where Tenay and West discuss everything that has just happened. Yes, 11 minutes in, and we already need a highlight video.

In the back, Goldilocks is with Sonny Siaki and Jorge Estrada. Siaki has done some soul searching. He realized that it isn’t all about him- it’s about the Flying Elvises. Tonight, they will capture the NWA World Tag Team Championship. He will also be cheering on his X-Division brother, Jerry Lynn.

Match One: Kid Kash vs. AJ Styles
Both guys are heels with flashy offense coming in to this match. Of the two, Kash clearly has had an easier time getting over as the douche than Styles. He has played that role really well, managing to separate himself from every other X-Division guy there. In spite of that, he is the one working face here. They start off with some mat reversals and a standoff, but Kash quickly gets the crowd behind him with a rana off the apron. They respond well to all his offense. Recognizing that, Styles tones down his usual move-set and sticks to trying to ground Kash. This helps to make the heel/face distinction even more noticeable- the crowd is almost 100% behind Kash at this point. It’s pretty interesting how that worked out actually. That’s not to say Styles is without his shining moments here and there- he works in his springboard inverted DDT and even a tilt-a-whirl DDT off the apron. This newfound goodbye vibe does cost Kash though, as he spends a little too much time playing to the crowd before a rana off the top rope. Styles blocks it and comes off with a middle rope Styles Clash to end it.
Winner: AJ Styles in 10:00
Rating: **3/4 (I’d say this match is a pretty good example of two heels going out there and letting the crowd decide their roles. A good win for Styles coming off a loss in the Triple Ladder match.)

In the back, Goldilocks is with Buff…err Marcus Bagwell. He is here for a second chance. Maybe even a third, fourth or fifth chance, but he is here to show he belongs. BG James steps in and he understands what Bagwell is going through. They agree to be partners tonight.

On the entrance stage, JB introduces Dustin “Screech” Diamond, who comes out wearing a “NWA Staff” shirt. He watches TNA on PPV at home and likes the vibe backstage. Recently, he kicked the crap out of Horse Shack on some celebrity boxing show. JB wonders when we will see him in a wrestling ring. Diamond wouldn’t mind wrestling JB- he is a pipsqueak. JB denies, but suggests Don West. West also denies, and suggests Tiny the Time Keeper, a large guy with big glasses. In one minute, they have made Screech look more intimidating than practically half their X-Division guys. Anyway, the match is on.

Back to the back! Goldilocks is with Chase Stevens and Cassidy O’ Reilly, the Hot Shots. They gave their spot up in the Gauntlet for the Gold because they want to give younger guys a chance. Goldilocks informs them that they are in a 3-way match for entry into the gauntlet because they are the 10th ranked team- not because they wanted to help anyone. The Shots walk away but Disco Inferno steps in. He is looking for Brian Lawler.

Match Two: Boxing Match- Dustin Diamond vs. Tiny the Time Keeper
Three, one-minute rounds. Don West rings the bell to start the match- hey, maybe that’s his calling, time keeper. Great form and just the right amount of force behind those bell rings. Actually, it was the highlight of this whole segment. Diamond punches Tiny in the gut and face to end it in Round One.
Winner: Dustin Diamond in 00:30
Rating: N/A (Too short to be complete garbage. On the dim side, Screech joins the NASCAR guys and Toby Keith as some of TNA’s first “celebrity” guests.)

Lollipop!

Match Three: Jimmy Rave/Wylde vs. Ace Steel/CM Punk vs. Hot Shots
Rave and Wylde come out to Sonjay Dutt’s future theme song. This match is for a spot in the Gauntlet for the Gold, and the humble beginning of Punk’s humble TNA run. Looking back, I guess you could say TNA pulled a “Stunning” Steve Austin with that one. Punk was trained by Steel so they are a natural team here. It’s funny, Punk is probably the least physically intimidating guy in there, but easily stands out the most with a natural charisma. As expected, this breaks down pretty quickly with almost everyone trading dives to the outside. In the ring, Steel cuts Stevens off with a springboard clothesline and hits a combination Gory Special/Neckbreaker for the win.
Winner: Ace Steele/CM Punk in 7:00
Rating: *3/4 (Apparently, both Steel/Punk and Rave/Wylde will enter the Gauntlet and only the Shots are out.)

In the back, Goldilocks is with Chris Harris and James Storm. They finally get their shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship. Tonight is their night, and Harris doesn’t care about Storm’s stupid cowboy gimmick.

In the ring, JB welcomes Scott Hall and Syxx Pac to the ring. Syxx looks jacked- noticeably jacked. Wait for it…wait for it…Hey yo! Hall first met Syxx in 1993. It’s been a long time, and they’ve been through a lot together. If Hall is in the ring with Syxx, he’d work for free. These guys are mad over at the Asylum. Syxx says all the bad shit we have heard about them is true. Another truth is that they love professional wrestling. That is why they are in TNA- they don’t need sports entertainment. Brian Lee and Ron Harris come up from behind and attack, but are quickly put away with an X-Factor and Razor’s Edge.

Goldilocks sure is busy tonight. In the back, she is with Brian Lawler. He is looking for his girlfriend, April. He has no time for comedy. This is a life or death situation.

In the ring, JB welcomes back Hermie Sadler, who walks over to the announce booth for an interview with Mike Tenay. He is proud to say that TNA will sponsor a one of his cars for an upcoming race. He will stick around for some commentary.

Before out next match, Bruce gets on the mic. He has another open challenge to any woman in attendance. The crowd chants “Athena,” a ring girl who gained quite a bit of popularity in the Asylum. Some blonde chick ends up accepting.

Match Four: Bruce vs. Some Blonde Chick
Bruce attacks her right as she enters the ring. It’s over after a powerbomb.
Winner: Bruce in 1:00
Rating: N/A (Okay then.)

Post-match, Hermie Sadler makes the save for the blonde. He hits Bruce with an inverted atomic drop and kicks him out of the ring.

In the back, Goldilocks s with Jerry Lynn. He is here for opportunity, something he didn’t get very much of in other companies. Being the X-Division champion is an honor, but becoming NWA World Heavyweight
Champion is everyone’s dream. Ron Killings steps in. He accidently refers to Lynn as Jarrett. Lynn is going to have to commit a homicide to take the title off of him.

Match Five: Tag Team Gauntlet for the Gold
Battle Royal rules in this one. 10 teams with individual members coming out at 60 second intervals. The last two individuals remaining will be re-joined by their partners for a straight tag team match to crown new NWA World Tag Team Champions. #1 Brian Lawler and #2 James Storm start things off. Storm is almost eliminated, but regroups and hits a missile dropkick off the top rope. #3 Joel Maximo is in to a pretty nice “SAT” chant. He joins Storm to double team Lawler. #4 Derek Wylde comes in with a springboard dropkick on Maximo but is immediately sent over the top by Lawler. Maximo joins him after a superkick by Lawler. Storm climbs the ropes for a tilt-a-whirl DDT on Lawler, but is dumped over, leaving Lawler alone to dance. #5 Marcus “Buff” Bagwell flips off Lawler and drops him with some clotheslines and a swinging neckbreaker.

#6 Kobain comes in and targets Bagwell. He teams with Lawler momentarily but starts attacking him as well. #7 Ace Steel goes right for Kobain as Lawler tries to eliminate Bagwell. #8 Jorge Estrada is met with strikes from Steel. Lawler directs traffic for a bit but is eventually attacked by Bagwell. #9 Brian Lee works over Steel and Lawler, almost eliminating Lawler. #10 Syxx Pac comes in energized, unloading on everyone with kicks and eliminating Kobain. Bronco Buster to Lawler gets a good pop. No X-Pac heat in Nashville.

#11 CM Punk joins the match just as his partner Steel is tossed over by Syxx. Lawler is the first to tame Syxx with a powerslam. #12 Jimmy Rave takes Punk out with a tornado DDT. He teams with Estrada to slug away on Punk, called Ace Steel by Tenay. Bagwell just sort of hangs out in the corner with Lawler. #13 Ron Harris is in and he joins Lee to give us our first full team in the gauntlet. They work together to eliminate Estrada before Harris eliminates Punk by himself. Lee tosses Rave soon after with a press slam and teams with Harris to eliminate Bagwell. Just before #14 BG James heads to the ring, Syxx tosses Lawler over the top. Good performance by Lawler. James takes on both Harris and Lee singlehandedly. He has some success at first but is overpowered by Harris. #15 Jose Maximo heads straight to the top but is caught by Harris on a crossbody attempt and dumped to the outside. Syxx no-sells a double chokeslam by Harris and Lee and hits them with a double clothesline. Lawler distracts Syxx from the outside, allowing Harris and Lee to eliminate him.

#16 Slash teams with Harris and Lee to beat down James. #17 Sonny Siaki tries to even up the odds by hitting Slash with a neckbreaker while James takes on Harris and Lee. #18 Disco Inferno stalls on the apron for a bit before focusing on Siaki. He tries to work with Harris, but that doesn’t last as Harris attacks him. #19 Scott Hall comes out to a good reaction and hits Lee with rights. Harris comes to his partner’s rescue but is dumped over by Hall. #20 Chris Harris comes in just as Hall eliminates Slash. C. Harris unloads on Lee as Inferno side steps Siaki, eliminating him. Hall works with James on Lawler and ends up eliminating him. We are down to the final four: James, Hall, Lee and Harris. As Hall and James lock-up, Lee clotheslines them both out of the ring to end it.
Winner: Chris Harris and Brian Lee in 23:00
Rating: **3/4 (That was surprisingly entertaining. They had a few good stories going on in there with Bagwell trying to reclaim any glory from his past and Lawler heeling it up to stay in as long as possible. Harris and Lee were made to look dominant and worked well together.)

The ref calls for James Storm and Ron Harris to join their partners and our NWA World Tag Team Championship match is underway.

Match Six: NWA World Tag Team Championship- Chris Harris/James Storm vs. Ron Harris/Brian Lee
Harris meets Storm on the entrance stage and takes him out with a chokeslam. Meanwhile, Jeff Jarrett comes to ringside and attacks BG James. With Storm taken out of the picture, Harris and Lee use the teamwork that helped them in the gauntlet to their favor and dominate C. Harris. C. Harris is able to get in a few spurts of offense but is easily taken care of. Harris makes sure to keep Storm at bay. Things change when Storm finally does make it back in, unloading on both with energy. Harris and Lee put a stop to it with an H-Bomb eventually. Harris heads to the outside and places Storm on a table. Inside, Lee tries for a powerbomb on C. Harris but is rolled up out of nowhere to end it.
Winner: Chris Harris/James Storm in 5:00 to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship
Rating: * (Not much to it. You could make the argument that C. Harris and Storm heeled their way to the titles on this first reign. They barely did anything in the gauntlet and escaped with a fluke win in the title match while Harris and Lee dominated both.)

At ringside, Mike Tenay and Don West put Chris Harris and James Storm over.

In the back, TNA referee Scott Armstrong and TNA official Bob Armstrong put a towel to BG James’ bloodied head.

Match Seven: NWA World Heavyweight Championship- Ron Killings© vs. Jerry Lynn
It’s champion vs. champion here as Lynn won the X-Division championship in the Triple Ladder match. The crowd at the Asylum really began to warm up to Killings in a very Randy Otron-ish type of way. He started out as a badass heel, speaking with great authority and rebelling against the big shots. By the time this show rolled around, the people were strongly behind him. Speaking of the audience, a lot of them on the camera side are gone by now, leaving many unflattering empty seats. Seems these shows can’t hold their attention for the full two hours- guess some things never change. We get one of the most undeserving bladejobs I have ever seen about two minutes in: Killings drops Lynn onto the announce table and he comes up red. This is supposed to give Lynn some sympathy and set up a strong comeback, but the crowd is so fully behind Killings that it doesn’t quite work. There is one spot in this match that really speaks to Lynn’s experience- Killings comes at him with a big boot, but it barely grazes him. Instead of selling it, he stays standing and takes another one full-on. I hate it when guys panic on missed spots and just sell anyway. Towards the end, Styles, Kash and a few other X-Division guys come down to ringside to support Lynn. This actually helps to get the crowd behind Lynn during a late comeback. This match is much better when Lynn is controlling the offense. Styles manages to screw Lynn, placing Killings’ foot on the bottom rope on a cover. Siaki follows, crotching Lynn on the ropes. Killings takes advantage and hits the Consequence for the win.
Winner: Ron Killings in 12:00
Rating: ** (Not great. These two didn’t have the chemistry you’d expect and the crowd didn’t help matters, cheering for the heel.)

At ringside, Don West is back with his hard sell for next week’s show which will include:
-Jeff Jarrett vs. BG James
-Syxx Pac vs. Brian Lawler

BG James interrupts the hard sell but is beat down by Ron Killings and Jeff Jarrett before he can say much. Syxx Pac and Scott Hall come out to even the odds. James hits a pumphandle slam on Jarrett to end the show.

The 411: After two weeks off and the dodging of a major financial bullet with Dixie Carter and Panda Energy coming on board, this show definitely had a sense of urgency. Nothing was fantastic, but a few things were surprising- namely, the Gauntlet for the Gold. One glaring negative for the product up to this point is the piss poor job they have done in establishing the heels and the faces. The crowd doesn’t know who to cheer for and who to boo half the time. Aside from Jeff Jarrett, and maybe AJ Styles, there aren’t any solidly over heels. On another note, I look forward to the show that Goldilocks is relieved of her backstage duties. She tries to upstage the talent and is just all-around terrible.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]