Hall’s TNA Sacrifice 2007 Review

Sacrifice 2007
Date: May 13, 2007
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 900
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

We might as well mix things up a bit and take a look at some older TNA shows. This is one of the forgotten shows from a long while ago, but there is quite the card here, including Chris Harris vs. James Storm in a Texas Death Match. The main event sees Kurt Angle vs. Sting vs. Christian Cage for the inaugural World Title, which is a bit of a complicated mess. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about how wrestlers are mortals and they are willing to sacrifice everything to win.

X-Division Title: Sonjay Dutt vs. Jay Lethal vs. Chris Sabin

Sabin is defending and Lethal is freshly Black Machismo. We get creative to start as Sabin lays down to see what Dutt and Lethal, who are friends, will do. Dutt goes for the cover but Lethal breaks it up and it’s time for an early argument. That doesn’t last long and it’s time for some armdrags to put Sabin down. Lethal sends Sabin over the top and crashing out into the barricade, leaving Dutt and Lethal to trade some flips and misses.

Dutt gets the camel clutch but Sabin breaks it up with a dropkick. A spinning headscissors takes Sabin down but he kicks Dutt down and gives Lethal a tornado DDT. With Dutt knocked down on the floor again, Lethal punches away at Sabin until Dutt pulls Sabin outside. Lethal dives out onto Sabin and Dutt moonsaults onto both of them. Back in and Dutt missile dropkicks Lethal by mistake as we look at…the new TNA mascot, Stomper.

With that out of the way, everyone is knocked down for a breather until Sabin is up to deck Lethal. Dutt’s springboard seated senton gets two, followed by Sabin’s rollup for the same. With Dutt down, Sabin punches away at Lethal, who is right back with a suplex for two. The Lethal Combination drops Sabin so Dutt comes off the top to take Lethal down. Dutt gets two each but Sabin sends them into each other and rolls Dutt up (possibly with tights) to retain at 13:04.

Rating: B. Take three fast guys, let them run around the ring and do their stuff for awhile. It’s one of those things that is always going to work and it did well again here. Sabin was awesome at his thing and would continue to be for years to come, with Lethal and Dutt still figuring out their comedy stuff.

Post match Sabin leaves so Dutt and Lethal get in a fight. Kevin Nash, their mentor, comes in to break it up but Dutt kicks him in the leg and runs off.

Robert Roode, with Traci Brooks, is ready to turn into a superstar at Jeff Jarrett’s expense.

Back in the arena, Kevin Nash swears to take care of Kevin Nash on Impact.

We run down the rest of the card.

Earlier today, BG James and Kip James (the New Age Outlaws) got jumped by Damaja and Basham (the Basham Brothers) at a fan meet and greet.

We recap Robert Roode vs. Jeff Jarrett. Sting beat Jarrett to win the World Title so Jarrett left for a good while. Then he came back, revealing himself as Eric Young’s special friend, who was helping him against Roode. This didn’t sit well with Roode and the fight was on.

Robert Roode vs. Jeff Jarrett

Traci Brooks is here with Roode, who jumps Jarrett during his entrance to start fast. Jarrett gets dropped throat first across the barricade but backdrops his way out of a piledriver attempt. Roode is sent into the announcers’ table and they go inside, with Jarrett strutting and hitting a running crotch attack on the ropes. They’re already back on the floor with Jarrett being rammed into various things.

Roode takes him back inside for some choking, followed by a hard clothesline for two. Jarrett gets a boot up to cut off a middle rope dive into a raised boot but the sleeper is broken up. The Figure Four has Jarrett in more trouble but he’s quickly in the ropes. Roode’s strut brings Jarrett back up and he slugs away, including what looked like a low blow. The real Figure Four has Roode in trouble but Brooks offers a distraction for the save.

Roode tries to send him into an exposed buckle (which was exposed somewhere in there) but settles for a crotching against the post instead. A chair is brought in so the referee pulls it away, causing it to hit Roode in the face. The Stroke connects…but Brooks pulls the referee out for the ejection. Roode finds a foreign object for two but the referee takes the guitar from him. The Figure Four is loaded up, with Roode kicking him into the exposed buckle. The Roodeplex finishes Jarrett off at 11:25.

Rating: C+. The action was good but there was way too much stuff going on here. You had the buckle, the guitar, the chair and the foreign object, plus Brooks interfering. Brooks and Roode were a good pairing and they worked well here. Jarrett was in a weird place here as he needed to find something new to do, but he was doing good work in the ring.

Post match Roode yells at Jarrett and loads up the guitar, only to get put in the Figure Four. Brooks grabs the guitar but Eric Young runs in to put her in a Figure Four as well.

World Champion Christian Cage is in the back with Scott Steiner and AJ Styles (a bit of a clueless putz at the moment). Cage is already celebrating but Steiner is worried because his partner, Tomko, isn’t here yet. Styles isn’t scared of Samoa Joe and his towel, but Cage promises to retain tonight.

Christopher Daniels vs. Rhino

Daniels is evil and wearing a Sting mask while carrying a bat. Commentary says they don’t get it either, which shows you where things are in this company. Daniels grabs a headlock to start but Rhino drops him with a quick clothesline. Rhino sends him to the apron and comes back with a belly to belly as they go outside. Another suplex drops Daniels again but he’s able to dropkick him into the barricade.

Back in and Daniels comes back to go after the arm but Rhino powers his way out of trouble. A spinebuster gives Rhino two, only for Daniels to pull him into a Koji Clutch. That’s broken up and Rhino hits…I think a Death Valley Driver though it might have been a TKO, for two. The Gore cuts Daniels off and but he grabs the rope. He also grabs the bat to smash Rhino in the head for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much more than a TV level match, but it’s the second straight match to end with a foreign object (close enough with the turnbuckle) for the finish. It might have even been three in a row if Sabin used the trunks in the opener. As usual, this company is a bit overbooked and it takes away from the action. Granted that action is only so good when commentary is telling you that they don’t know what’s going on with one of the stars either.

Post match Rhino swears vengeance and chases him to the back. Then Rhino throws Daniels back down the ramp and holds up a bloody chair (matching Daniels’ bloody head). Security breaks up a Rhino Driver from the middle rope through two open chairs. That’s three matches in a row with some kind of post match stuff.

We recap Damaja and Basham against BG James and Kip James. The James guys have been rather horrible to Christy Hemme with a variety of inappropriate suggestions (use your imagination). She’s brought in a bunch of teams to go after them and this is the latest. For some reason, the James guys are presented as the good guys here despite looking horrible in how they treated Hemme.

BG James is in the hospital so Kip is ready to go on his own.

Kip James vs. Basham/Damaja

James fights on his own to start and drops Basham but gets clotheslined out to the floor. Back in and the double teaming has James in trouble but he fights out again, because he’s Kip James and better than a team (while being a jerk to Hemme). That’s broken up and a chokebomb into a top rope headbutt finishes James at 4:28.

Rating: D+. This is another good example of what was wrong with TNA at this point, as BG and Kip were horrible to Hemme but kept winning (which they would do over Damaja and Basham at Slammiversary). Case in point, Kip looked like a monster here and hung in there for a bit. How in the world is Hemme the villain in this whole thing? Terrible story, not much of a match either, which felt like it should have been on TV, if anywhere at all.

Post match James fights up but gets beaten down again, with Lance Archer making the save.

We recap James Storm vs. Chris Harris. They were one of the best teams ever in TNA but have since split. They had an atrocious blindfold match last month so now it’s time for a Death Match.

Harris says the team could have ended on good terms but Storm broke a bottle over his eye instead. Tonight, it’s about pain.

James Storm vs. Chris Harris

Jackie Moore is with Storm and this is a Texas Death match, meaning falls count anywhere but after the fall, the person has a ten count to get to their feet, making it basically Last Man Standing but a fall has to occur before the count. The brawl starts on the floor and they crash into the crowd as this is a fight (hence them both wearing jeans rather than gear). Harris tries to toss him out of the arena (as there is a fence) but settles for Storm crashing down the steps.

Storm is whipped into a wall and it’s time for the beer bottle, which is how the team split in the first place. Harris drinks a bit and then dives off the top and over the barricade to crossbody Storm for the pin, but Storm beats the count. Back in and Storm throws a chair at Harris’ head to cut him off on top. Storm is favoring his arm but is able to set up a table. Harris fights up and catapults him face first into the bottom of the table and they’re both busted open. The Eye of the Storm gives Storm a pin but Harris barely beats the count.

It’s time for another table but Storm has to cut him off and hit a hanging DDT. Some trashcans are brought, which takes too long as Harris spears him through the ropes and through the table at ringside. There is a SCARY pool of blood underneath Storm’s head as both of their faces are covered.

A superkick gives Storm two and they smash each other with trashcan lids. Harris’ swinging Rock Bottom onto a trashcan gets two so Jackie goes after Harris. Cue Gail Kim to cut her off so the guys both grab bottles, with Harris knocking him silly for the pin and ten count at 17:17.

Rating: A-. This was a bloody, violent war between two people with a history and it made for an outstanding fight. These guys beat the living daylights out of each other, with that pool of blood on the floor being quite the visual. It’s one of the best matches TNA has ever had and it’s the reason I wanted to look at this show again. It more than holds up and is worth a look if you want to see a brutal fight.

Sting is trying to talk some sense into Christopher Daniels but Daniels says he’s doing this just as Sting told him. With Daniels gone, Sting warns Kurt Angle and Christian Cage that it’s showtime folks.

We look back at the Texas Death match.

Tiger Mask vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Alex Shelley vs. Senshi

You might know Senshi better as Low Ki while Alex Shelley is better known as Alex Shelley. Lynn and Senshi start things off with Senshi grabbing a front facelock and then a headscissors. Lynn gets an inverted Gory Special and spins around before working on an armbar. Senshi is back up and brings Shelley in, with Lynn taking over on his arm as well. Mask comes in to fight over wrist control with Senshi but Lynn tags himself in to try Mask for a change.

That doesn’t last long as Shelley comes in and gets kicked down, with a butterfly superplex giving Mask two. Lynn’s slingshot Fameasser in the ropes hits Senshi and a TKO gets two on Mask. Shelley misses a spinwheel kick to Lynn, who goes up but gets kicked in the face by Senshi. The Ki Crusher is countered though and Mask is sent outside, leaving Lynn to get a super sunset flip to pin Shelley at 10:46.

Rating: B-. This was a similar vein to the opener though the tagging did at least make it feel different enough. Lynn is someone who is going to look good in the ring no matter what he’s doing and that was the case again here. Shelley was still getting his stuff together and Senshi was his usual self. Mask was making his debut here and it was good enough, though you can only get so much attention in this kind of a match.

Post match (of course) Shelley goes after Lynn with Chris Sabin running in to help Shelley. Bob Backlund (it was a thing) runs in for the save.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. Tomko and Scott Steiner are teaming together because Steiner was in a great team, LAX are trying to get their titles back and Team 3D…well they’re the champions so it’s hard to have a title match without them.

Tomko is tired of Steiner but they’ll win the titles.

Tag Team Titles: Team 3D vs. LAX vs. Scott Steiner/Tomko

Team 3D is defending. Steiner and Homicide start things off and believe it or not, Steiner poses a lot. A tilt-a-whirl slam plants Homicide but it’s off to Ray for a German suplex to Steiner. Homicide comes back in to help double team Ray, who brings D-Von in to fight back. Hernandez comes in with the big slingshot shoulder but charges into D-Von’s boot in the corner.

D-Von gets caught with a catapult into a backbreaker from Hernandez with Homicide adding a backsplash. Tomko and Steiner come back in for a double back elbow to drop D-Von, with Hernandez adding a top rope splash. Everything breaks down and Homicide gets caught in What’s Up. Hernandez isn’t about to let Team 3D get the tables, leaving Homicide to reverse a Doomsday Device into a victory roll for two on Steiner. Back up and Tomko boots Steiner by mistake and walks into 3D to retain at 12:40.

Rating: B-. This was your usual match which started off normal but then wound up in a huge brawl. That’s what worked well here, but it felt like it would have been better with Steiner and Tomko dropped. They were a team who didn’t get along but got the title shot anyway. Drop them out and let LAX have the big showdown for the titles instead. There are enough multi-man matches on this show already anyway.

Post match (good grief) Tomko and Steiner get in a brawl with Rick Steiner making the save.

Kurt Angle thinks Sting is a clown and a cartoon character and he’s about to take Sting out. Angle looked really bad here and he would only get worse.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles. They’ve fought A LOT over the years you see.

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles

Joe shoves him around to start and hits a backdrop but Styles pulls the leg out to cut things off. It doesn’t seem to matter as Joe sends him outside for a suicide dive, followed by a drop onto the barricade. Back in and Styles goes to the eyes but can’t get a suplex, instead bailing outside. Joe’s charge is cut off with a shot to the face and he misses a running boot back inside. Styles gets a quick two so Joe is back up with some snap jabs into a backsplash for two of his own.

A shot to the face staggers Joe so Styles can hit a Phenomenal Forearm to the back of the head for two. The Styles Clash is broken up though and Joe plants him with a Death Valley Driver. Back up and Joe gets sent outside, where he comes up holding his knee. Styles throws him back in and tries the Spiral Tap, only to have Joe roll away and the knee seems fine (with Joe pointing at his head). A Koquina Clutch suplex (that’s a new one) finishes Styles at 12:36.

Rating: B. This is a weird match for the two of them, as Styles was a rather stupid version of himself at this point and it didn’t really work. At the same time though, Joe being a smart monster brawler (because he’s somehow good enough to do all of that at once) can carry just about anything. Just let Styles be the version of himself that became a major star and stop trying to screw it up.

We recap Christian Cage defending the World Title against Kurt Angle and Sting. They both won a #1 contender triple threat match so Cage has been playing them against each other.

TNA World Title: Sting vs. Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage

Cage is defending, though officially he isn’t the NWA World Champion (despite having the belt and being listed as such). Earlier in the day, the NWA stripped he and Team 3D of their titles as the agreement with the NWA ended, as Cage wouldn’t defend against wrestlers from elsewhere (because the NWA thought that stuff still mattered and didn’t realize that TNA was ALL THEY HAD) so this is basically for the inaugural TNA World Title, which would be officially introduced in a few days.

Anyway, Cage lets the other two fight but then gets thrown over the top to put leave it one on one. Sting sends Angle outside as well, leaving him to go after Cage instead. Angle gets sent into the post and Cage tries to get an alliance with Sting, which actually doesn’t work. Sting drops Cage and goes after Angle, who Angle Slams him on the ramp. Back in and Cage grabs a chinlock on Angle before snapping off a suplex.

Angle gets up and rolls the German suplexes for two with Sting diving back in for the save. Sting tries a superplex on Cage but gets caught in a Tower Of Doom. Angle crotches Cage on top and gets sent head first into him for another low blow. The Scorpion Death Drop takes Angle down but Cage pulls the referee at two. Angle ankle locks both of them at the same time but gets sent outside.

Sting gives Cage a Rock Bottom of all things and gets the referee back inside. Cage tries the Killswitch but gets reversed into a rollup. Angle is back in with an ankle lock to Sting (who is still rolling Cage up) and another referee comes in for the pin/tap out double fall at 10:44. And then Angle is declared the champion (and then he would have the title stripped from him to set up King Of The Mountain at Slammiversary….which Angle won anyway).

Rating: C. This was a match that was supposed to be a pay per view main event and didn’t even reach eleven minutes. At the same time, it was was a dumb ending and a way to set up the new World Title. The match was nothing great either, with the standard two in, one out format until the finish, which was another double fall, just like how we got into this title match in the first place. That’s hardly clever booking, but neither is a lot around this time.

And we’re off the air fast.

 

Results
Chris Sabin b. Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal – Rollup to Dutt
Robert Roode b. Jeff Jarrett – Roodeplex
Christopher Daniels b. Rhino – Baseball bat to the head
Basham/Damaja b. Kip James – Top rope headbutt
Chris Harris b. James Storm – Storm couldn’t answer the ten count
Jerry Lynn b. Senshi, Alex Shelley and Tiger Mask – Super sunset flip to Shelley
Team 3D b. Scott Steiner/Tomko b. LAX – 3D to Tomko
Samoa Joe b. AJ Styles – Koquina Clutch suplex
Kurt Angle b. Christian Cage and Sting – Ankle lock

 

 

Head over to my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com with thousands of reviews from around the world and throughout wrestling history.v

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

I liked enough of this, but dang you could see a lot of the repetitive nature on the show. Between having something happen after almost every match (which keeps things from feeling wrapped up, that many multiple person matches, and the same finish to the main event that got us there in the first place, it felt like a few ideas being used multiple times. Throw in Kip James insulting Hemme and being treated as some kind of awesome star anyway and there were some rough spots here. That being said, the Texas Death match was excellent and stuff like the opener, Joe vs. Styles and maybe the four way were good enough to make this a watchable show. In other words, as has been the case for pretty much all of TNA’s history: the wrestling and work from the wrestlers is able to overcome just enough of the not great booking to make the show watchable