Hall’s TNA Turning Point 2004 Review

Turning Point 2004
Date: December 5, 2004
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 700
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay

This is the second regular pay per view from TNA and that means we should be in for some interesting entries here. The big appeal is the return of Randy Savage of all people, who is back in a six man tag main event. The other main event is a tag match inside of a cage with a spot you might have seen before. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the six man tag, with Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles and Randy Savage being ready to face the Kings Of Wrestling, who are Jeff Jarrett and the Outsiders. As Elvis impersonators. In a car. 2004 was weird.

A limo arrives and it’s…a Vince McMahon and HHH impersonator, both seen from behind. Abyss, with balloons, comes up to scare them off. OH GEEZ IT’S THIS SHOW!

Tag Team Titles: 3 Live Kru vs. Team Canada

The Kru (BG James/Ron Killings in this case) is defending against Robert Roode/Eric Young, with Scott D’Amore. James drives Young into the corner to start so Young mocks the dancing punches, earning himself a big shot to the head. A What’s Up has Young in more trouble and it’s off to Killings vs. Roode. Killings takes over in a hurry with a rather nice hiptoss for two before it’s back to James for the dancing right hand.

Young offers a distraction though and Killings gets crotched on top. The evil Canadians take over but Young spends too much time teasing O Canada and gets dropkicked down. James is back in to clean house with more of those right hands, which he certainly seems to like. Young gets crotched on top and Killings knocks him down with an ax kick. The pumphandle slam is loaded up but Johnny Devine (fellow evil Canadian) comes in with the Canadian flat to knock James out and give Roode the pin at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This was a good way to start the show as you don’t really even need some big backstory for “popular team defends against evil team”. This was really basic stuff and it went well enough as they didn’t try to do anything too complicated. Team Canada as the champions is something they could do over and over as they were an idea that worked every time. As usual, Young as the clueless putz is the best use of him and it was working here. Early Roode is such a different star than what he would become but he was at least around in spots like this.

Boss Dusty Rhodes hypes up the show and promises to show us COOKIEGATE!

We recap Kid Kash mocking Jimmy Snuka for getting all of the attention while Kash really deserved it. Kash’s friends helped beat Snuka down (yes a coconut was involved) but some other X-Division guys came in for a save, meaning it’s six man time.

Kid Kash/Michael Shane/Kazarian vs. Sonny Siaki/Hector Garza/Sonjay Dutt

Traci Brooks is here with Kazarian and company. Dutt and Kash slug it out to start and trade leg sweeps for some quick near falls each. Dutt scores with some kicks and a headscissors, setting up, well, another dropkick so Garza can come in. Shane punches him in the head (Why make it more complicated?) but Garza fights back without much trouble. Siaki comes in and tosses Dutt at Kazarian for a heck of a hurricanrana.

Brooks offers a distraction though and it’s Dutt in trouble for a change. A backbreaker/springboard legdrop combination gets two and the villains alternate with the beating on Dutt. Kazarian works on the arm for a bit so Dutt runs the corner for a springboard hurricanrana. Garza comes in for his always great moonsault as everything breaks down. Dutt is launched up for a big flip dive to the floor and Brooks accidentally dives onto Kazarian. Garza’s corkscrew moonsault is good for the pin on Kazarian at 11:02.

Rating: B-. The heat segment on Dutt brought the match down as it went on longer than it should have but everything flying all over the place was fun. I’m not sure how much this needed Jimmy Snuka to set it up as it was a pretty standing X-Division match. If nothing else, it made me wonder how good Siaki could have been if not for his health issues.

Believe it or not, Randy Savage is very fired up for the main event.

Petey Williams, with Scott D’Amore, is ready for Chris Sabin. Dang Williams looks young here, which he was, at 23.

We recap Abyss vs. Monty Brown. Abyss cost him a World Title match so tonight it’s Serengeti Survival for some revenge.

Abyss vs. Monty Brown

Serengeti Survival, meaning you win by pin, submission or…putting the other one into tacks? Like they do on the Serengeti! Oh and Brown has bad ribs coming in. Brown wants to start the fight on the floor and of course you don’t have to ask Abyss twice to do that. Abyss is sent into various things but Brown’s bad ribs are sent into the apron. The table is set up and Abyss grabs his trusty bag of tacks but has to boot Brown in the face.

Some chair shots to the ribs put Brown down again and Abyss hits an earthquake onto the chair onto Brown for two. It worked so well that Abyss tries it again, only for Brown to lift the chair up for a crotching. A huge chair shot to the head puts Abyss down and Brown powerslams him onto the chair (the ribs seem fine). The Pounce is countered into the Black Hole Slam to give Abyss two and he wedges the chair into the corner.

Naturally he gets sent into it head first, allowing Brown to Pounce him to the floor. Back in and Brown gets two but another Pounce misses and Brown crashes through the table. Now the tacks are poured out but Brown actually rips Abyss’ vest off (which is rather rare actually). They fight over a slam into the tacks with Brown being rammed into the corner, only to come out with an Alabama Slam to send Abyss into the tacks for the win at 12:01.

Rating: C. What a weird choice for a way to win, as pinning Abyss right after the Alabama Slam would have been fine. They didn’t go too crazy with the hardcore stuff here, though Brown’s ribs went from horrible to good halfway through the match. I do like Brown from around this time and it was nice to see him getting a big win, though just let him pin Abyss instead of slamming him.

The fake Vince McMahon and HHH find a video tape and smash it but it’s the Best Of D-Ray 3000.

Commentary chats while the tacks are cleaned up.

Pat Kenney/Johnny B. Badd vs. New York Connection

Kenney is the former Simon Diamond, the Connection is Glenn Gilbertti/Johnny Swinger (Kenney’s former partner) and Jacqueline is guest referee. Kenney and Swinger argue and brawl to start with Kenney getting the better of things. A poke to the eye allows Badd to come in (geez he looks smaller than he did in his day) for a headscissors. Kenney is back in to hammer on Gilbertti but he gets low bridged to the floor.

A posting has Kenney’s back in trouble so the villains start working it over. Gilbertti, ever the moron, hits Swinger by mistake and Kenney fights over for the tag to Badd. House is quickly cleaned but the TKO is broken up. Jacqueline is shoved away and Gilbertti hits a Last Dance (or one of his fourteen names for it) on Kenney, only for Jacqueline to slam Gilbertti. This is treated as a big deal and Badd grabs the TKO for the pin on Gilbertti at 8:00.

Rating: C-. This was something that felt like it belonged on a random Impact, especially with the big spot being Jacqueline slamming Gilbertti. I have no idea why that was supposed to be an important or surprising moment, as we’ve long since known what she can do, including to Gilbertti. The match came off as total filler and that’s not a good sign, though it makes sense so early in their pay per view run. Badd would be gone from TNA in about a month and basically done with wrestling.

Randy Savage might have been kidnapped. Uh oh.

We recap Raven vs. Diamond Dallas Page. They’re arguing over who made whom and they want revenge. This translates to “we feuded in WCW so we’re doing it again here”. And something about Erik Watts, who is here for reasons I don’t want to understand.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Raven

Erik Watts is on commentary. Page jumps Raven to start and they’re off fast. They slug it out until Page hits his discus lariat as Watts talks about training with both of them. Page takes him outside for a Russian legsweep into the barricade before sending him into the crowd. A kendo stick shot connects as this is apparently Raven’s Rules (commentary sounds just as surprised).

The Diamond Cutter is blocked with a grab of the ropes and Raven hits him in the head with a helmet (because Raven does in fact have a helmet). A chair is brought in for the drop toehold but Page is back up with another discus clothesline. Raven’s corner clothesline and bulldog get two, as does Page’s spinning belly to belly.

Raven knocks him down again but walks into a Diamond Cutter out of nowhere for two. Cue people in druid style robes as Raven hits the DDT for two of his own. Watts gets in to beat up the druids (revealing that one is wearing some khaki shorts underneath) and then turn on Page. That just earns him a Diamond Cutter, with another one to Raven giving Page the pin at 12:06.

Rating: C+. This was something of the legends match on the show, with Page still looking good and Raven being…well you know what you’re getting with Raven at this point. The Watts stuff felt like a huge forced in nothing and I’m still not sure what he has to do with the story. Page winning is fine, as the Diamond Cutter still gets a huge reaction every time.

Fake Vince yells at Fake HHH when a woman brings in cookies. Vince knocks them out of her hands and HHH tries to get them off the floor, much to Vince’s annoyance.

We recap Chris Sabin challenging Petey Williams for the X-Division Title. Sabin won an Ultimate X match and has proven that he can beat Sabin so here we go.

X-Division Title: Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin

Williams, with Coach D’Amore, is defending. They trade wristlocks to start and Sabin sends him outside, where D’Amore yells a lot. Back in and Sabin kicks him in the head and wins a strike off, setting up a springboard dropkick to send Williams outside again. Williams is right back up with a slingshot hurricanrana but another attempt is countered into a powerbomb to the barricade.

They get back inside where Williams Codebreakers him over the ropes before tying him in the Tree Of Woe. D’Amore chokes away like the pest that he was and Williams grabs a cross arm choke. Some rolling suplexes give Williams two and D’Amore gets in another cheap shot. Williams goes up but Sabin runs the corner to superplex him back down.

A Liger Bomb gives Sabin two and he nails a flip dive to the floor. Back in and Williams snaps off a Russian legsweep into the Sharpshooter. That’s reversed as well and Sabin goes up top, where he rolls over into a piledriver to plant Williams for two. The Cradle Shock is loaded up but D’Amore breaks it up, allowing Williams to bring out a foreign object to knock Sabin cold to retain at 18:14.

Rating: B. This was more like it with both guys getting a chance to show what they could do, even with a pretty flat finish. What mattered the most here was having the X-Division featured as it’s still one of the big high points of the promotion. Williams was working well as the pesky champion who could hold his own while Sabin was the hungry challenger. Good stuff from both here.

Team Canada has a very big celebration, with D’Amore looking like he won the lottery.

A small person in a suit goes into Fake Vince’s locker room and beats him up. I’m curious how much time and attention were put into these segments compared to the wrestling on the show.

Kings Of Wrestling vs. AJ Styles/Jeff Hardy/Randy Savage

And there’s no Savage so this is a handicap match to start. Then again 2004 Hall is hardly a big threat so it’s not the worst disadvantage. Styles and Jarrett start things off and they stall for about a minute and a half before going to the mat. Neither can get very far so Styles snaps off the dropkick and it’s already off to Hall. Styles gets slapped around a few times before striking back to knock Hall into the corner.

Nash comes in for some karate because, again, Elvis theme. The elbows to the head have Styles in trouble but he fights back and brings in Hardy for the double missile dropkick. The slingshot dropkick hits Nash in the corner but he’s back up with a big boot. Jarrett comes in to choke and Hall’s chokeslam gets two. Hall’s abdominal stretch gets the expected assist from the apron but Hardy gets out and hits the mule kick.

It’s back to Styles for the moonsault into the reverse DDT for two on Jarrett. Nash breaks up a springboard though and Hall gets two off a fall away slam. The framed elbows (with karate poses) give Nash two of his own but Styles rolls Jarrett up for some near falls. It’s back to Nash for the bearhug, which doesn’t last long as Jarrett comes in again. Styles and Jarrett collide with crossbodies and it’s back to Hardy to clean house.

The Phenomenal Forearm and Twisting Stunner get a double two with Nash pulling the referee out. Hall guitars Hardy off the top and onto Jarrett but here is Savage for the big tag. Savage fires off the snap jabs and the Kings get caught in a triple sleeper, with Jarrett quickly escaping. Jarrett tries a sunset flip but Savage punches him in the face and sits down for the pin at 17:58.

Rating: C. This was a few different things in one, with Styles and Hardy doing their best to have a good match by playing the underdogs coming from behind. The problem is the Kings were the old guys insisting on playing the hits and making the newcomers look weak. Only Savage could come in for the save and he barely did anything. Shockingly enough, he would be gone from TNA for good after this and never wrestled again (originally he pitched an idea of winning the World Title and then dropping it back to Jarrett but that never went anywhere). Styles and Hardy were trying, but the Outsiders had their reputation for a reason.

AND WHY WERE THEY ELVIS IMPERSONATORS???

Vince is taken away in an ambulance and HHH is left standing around.

Final Resolution is coming in January.

Dusty Rhodes orders Cookiegate to be played. This means seeing some TNA wrestlers (Abyss has balloons and Traci Brooks has cookies) coming up to some WWE stars who were there to shoot a commercial. Some blurred WWE stars (Eddie Guerrero and an unnmasked Rey Mysterio) showed up to see their friends and were perfectly fine with the whole thing, with Mysterio even posing for a picture.

Then someone from WWE told them not to be involved and the WWE stars left. In other words, it was friends being friendly with their friends and only WWE cared (yeah I’m as shocked as you are). TNA airing it was fine and kind of funny, but the HHH and Vince skits were just stupid.

We recap Triple X vs. AMW. They’ve been fighting for a long time and AMW beat them in a (four sided) cage match. Now it’s time for a (six sided) rematch and the losers must disband.

Triple X vs. America’s Most Wanted

In a cage and the losers are done as a team. Daniels and Harris start things off but it’s quickly off to Skipper to kick Harris down. Thankfully they realize this is a cage match and everything breaks down in a hurry, with Daniels being sent into the cage. Storm gets taken into the corner though and a double slam brings him back out. Daniels goes after the head and grabs a chinlock but Storm is able to catapult Skipper into the cage.

It’s back to Harris but it’s way too early for the Death Sentence. Everything breaks down and Skipper moves a bloody towel (AMW’s blood) to reveal some handcuffs, with Harris being cuffed to the cage. Storm is busted open and sent face first into the cage as Daniels mocks Harris with the key to the cuffs. An over the shoulder backbreaker/top rope forearm combination gets two on Storm but Daniels clotheslines Skipper by mistake.

Storm gets in a spear to Daniels and finds the key, which frees Harris. House is quickly cleaned and the also bleeding Daniels is bounced off the cage. Skipper suplexes Harris for two so Storm cages him as well. There is blood all over the mat as Storm is sent into the cage. Triple X hits a Death Sentence for two but Harris powerbombs Skipper off the cage. Angel’s Wings gives Daniels two so he and Harris go up.

Skipper goes up in another corner and, in what still might be the all time TNA highlight, WALKS THE CAGE to hurricanrana Harris down. Thankfully he didn’t fall and the fans absolutely and rightfully lose it, even as Daniels drops an elbow from the top of the cage to crush Harris again. Everyone goes up and it’s a four man Tower Of Doom to leave everyone down again. Harris and Skipper crash into the cage so Daniels and Storm go up on the top rope. Daniels gets handcuffed to the cage and it’s a superkick to Skipper. The Triple X powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Skipper at 21:10.

Rating: A. This was one of those times in wrestling where it felt like the people involved were going to war. That made the whole thing that much better and I had a great time watching it again. The interesting thing is it was a great match without the big cage walk, which put it entirely over the top. That’s still a moment that is absolutely incredible and made TNA stand out, even if Skipper never really did much else in the company. Outstanding match and AMW is unfortunately not well enough remembered as an all time great TNA team.

 

Results
Team Canada b. 3 Live Kru – Flag shot to James
Sonny Siaki/Hector Garza/Sonjay Dutt b. Kid Kash/Michael Shane/Kazarian – Corkscrew moonsault to Kazarian
Monty Brown b. Abyss – Alabama Slam onto thumbtacks
Pat Kenney/Johnny B. Badd b. New York Connection – TKO to Gilbertti
Diamond Dallas Page b. Raven – Diamond Cutter
Petey Williams b. Chris Sabin – Foreign object shot
AJ Styles/Jeff Hardy/Randy Savage b. Kings Of Wrestling – Rollup to Jarrett
America’s Most Wanted b. Triple X – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Skipper

 

 

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7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

This show was probably more bad than good, but the opener, the X-Division Title match and the instant classic main event picked it up a lot. There are some VERY weak points and it’s clear that they’re still filling in time on the show, but dang that main event and a few other things bailed them out. The big spot got attention and made TNA feel like it was a different kind of wrestling promotion, which was nice to see. They had something with parts of this, but as usual, it was all about the follow up which only kind of came together. Either way, not a bad show with some great parts balanced out by the weaknesses.