Ring Crew Reviews: TNA Turning Point 2009

• Scheduled Card
1. TNA X-Division Championship: Homicide vs. Amazing Red (c).
2. TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship and TNA Knockouts Championship: Beautiful People vs. Sarita and Taylor Wilde (c) and ODB (c).
3. Three Way for TNA World Tag Team Championship: Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. The British Invasion (c).
4. Six Sides of Steel: Tara vs. Awesome Kong.
5. Six Man Tag Match: Rhyno & Team 3D vs. Pope D’Angelo Dinero, Hernandez, and Matt Morgan.
6. Falls Count Anywhere, No Disqualification Match: Scott Steiner vs. Bobby Lashley.
7. Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle.
8. Triple Threat for the TNA World Championship: Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles (c).

• The video package is all about how it’s “time for a change” to “realize their potential.” We get a lot of footage of Hogan and Dixie from the initial press conference. Then lots of talk from Joe and Daniels about taking out Styles for the belt. Angle doesn’t like being disrespected by Nigel (Desmond Wolfe) who attacked him in his debut.

• TNA X-Division Championship: Homicide vs. Amazing Red (c). Don West is a heel and Red’s manager. I’m pretty sure that Homicide is wearing a Venture Bros. t-shirt. Homicide talks down to him to start so Red kicks him. Homicide takes him down with a shoulderblock and taunts. Red comes back with an armdrag and a leg lariat. Homicide bails and bowls over West while trying to get out of dodge. Red follows out with a nice springboard rana. Back in, Red with a crossbody for 2. He tries a monkey flip but Homicide flips out. Red comes back with a headscissors but Homicide takes him down with the LARIATO! If this were ROH, it’d be over right now in a 2 minute squash. Instead of cover, Cide throws the bandana at him and continues to talk smack. He tries a back suplex but Red flips out and chops him down with kicks and then hits a basement clothesline for 2. Red heads up top but Cide rolls under and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for 2. West: “FIGHT THROUGH THE PAIN! IT’S JUST PAIN! FIGHT THROUGH IT!” Cide goes to the choke and hits a back elbow and then back to another BLATANTCHOKE! Cide with an inverted atomic drop and a neckbreaker for 2. As the crowd gets behind Red, Taz calls them the “12th man” which is a football euphemism and doesn’t make sense here. Then when Homicide flips off the ref, Taz throws out a Gangs of New York reference. Cide goes to an STF armbar. Cide releases the hold and declares himself the winner and tells the timekeeper the give him the belt. The ref has other ideas and Cide threatens to waffle him and then relents. Homicide bites the ear and gives him an uppercut as West CONTINUES to shout cliches ad nauseum. He has to be micked up because you can hear everything he’s saying. Homicide with more BLATANTCHOKERY. He preps a superplex but Red headbutts him off and jumps into an armdrag. He runs at Cide and hits some convoluted tornado DDT variant. Cover gets 2. Cide alley oops him back to the top turnbuckle and Red hits a tornado Flatliner for 2. Homicide avoids and gets a Dragon Screw LW and hits a JuvyDriver for 2. They botch the Copkilla but Red escapes anyway as they …. slowly …. counter to a catapult into the turnbuckle for Homicide. Cide wants the DiamondCutter but Red shoves him away and hits the SSSP for 2. Red tries a moonsault but Cide sorta catches him in the cutter which is awesome but doesn’t quite register on the crowd. Cover gets only 2 again. Taz: “WHATAMATCH!” Tenay: “THIS IS WHAT THE X-DIVISION IS ALL ABOUT! THE RISK TAKERS, THE HIGH FLIERS, THE AMAZING REDS, THE AMAZING OFFENSE!” Cide tries a Frankensteiner off the top but Red shoves him off and hits the Code Red to retain at 10:09. This was energetic with Red hitting some impressive looking moves and Cide twisting his mustache as the B-movie villain. Nothing special but entertaining enough. **3/4

• TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship and TNA Knockouts Championship: Beautiful People vs. Sarita and Taylor Wilde (c) and ODB (c). If any of the champs get pinned, they lose their belts. BP are Madison, Velvet and Lacey VE. Velvet and Taylor to start. Velvet chokes and smacks to start. Taylor trips her up and tags in Sarita for the banana split. ODB in for the low blow headbutt for 2. Velvet tags in Madison for a promiscuous pose. ODB cuts her off and tags back in Sarita. Sarita with a few rolls up for 2. Sarita takes her down with a back elbow and then flips Taylor over with a suplex to combo into a pin for 2. Taylor with a springboard armdrag but Lacey cuts her off with the shitty Hoganline and she poses. Madison with a swinging neckbreaker for 2. The BP with a double Russian leg sweep for 2. Velvet teases letting her make a tag and then boots her in the back and hits a basement dropkick for 2. Lacey back in and chokes away. The crowd shouts her out of the ring so she tags Velvet back in who goes to the Octopus Stretch and then rolls her up. Taylor rolls through and gives her the DR FG. ODB in to clear the ring with clotheslines and tit grabs. Velvet tries a crossbody but ODB hits a snab ab suplex. The match breaks down but the BP clear the ring and isolate ODB. ODB fights them off and hits Madison with a fireman’s carry RKO for the 3 at 5:58. Energetic, direct and to the point and inoffensive. **1/4

• Meanwhile, Desmond Nigel McGuinness Wolfe is in the back. JB says he made a huge “impact” in his short time in TNA. Nigel says it all began with a handshake which is strange because he’s a gentleman. He says that Kurt Angle will never forget him and that the wolf/Wolfe will devour all the rest. He says Kurt wants more and because he’s an accommodating, gracious fellow and will give Kurt exactly what he wants. He says that while he knows everything about Kurt’s storied career, Kurt knows nothing about him. Tonight, the wolf will howl, WANKER! Good stuff.

• Three Way for TNA World Tag Team Championship: Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. The British Invasion (c). This was set up by Brutus and Doug winning the belts in Full Metal Mayhem and then using loopholes to avoid defending the belts before Beer Money finally shut that down. Storm takes down Brutus to start as the crowd chants for MCMG. Storm with some clotheslines and brings in Roode. Brutus tags in Shelley to the crowd’s delight. Roode steamrolls him with a shoulderblock but runs into a drop toe hold. They go through some SLICK counters until Roode gets a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for 2. They chop it out and Roode wins that one. Shelly trips him up and brings him to the floor for a DR FG from Sabin. Sabin tags in with a lackluster slingshot senton for 2. Roode takes him down with a burrito but Doug breaks up the pin. Roode shitcans him for his trouble. Doug slides back in and he’s legal now apparently as he gets school boyed for 2. Sabin with up and over and a cartwheel for no particular reason before hitting another DR FG. He tags in Shelley for a double team spinebuster and a banana split. Then they hit the double DR FG on Magnus and dump him. Shelley goes to the anchor hold and a leg drop for 2. More double teaming from the MCMG but Magnus trips up Sabin and now Doug swarms. The Brits hit some old straitjacket neckbreaker for 2. Sabin comes back with an enzuigiri. Storm in and has clotheslines for Magnus. Storm with a jawbreaker/uranage combo. Roode in and they hit a double suplex and do the BM taunt. Storm hooks Doug in the Tree of Woe and then whips Magnus into the corner. MCMG tag in and do one of those cool but contrived homoerotic spots on the Brits. The Guns and BM stack the Brits up in the corner and kick their ass. The Guns with a neckbreaker crossbody combo but Doug breaks up the cover. Sabin springboards off Shelley with the Air Guns and dropkicks Doug off the apron. Sabin tries a plancha but whiffs and eats mat. Shelley tries the Sliced Bread 2 but the Brits take him out with a German suplex/superkick combo. Beer Money whips them together and hits a double backdrop. They catapult Magnus into a DDT and then hit a double half nelson slam for 2. Magnus breaks it up and eats an enzuigiri from Storm. But WAIT! ERIC YOUNG HAS COME OUT! He takes out Storm. Hebner tries to eject him but that allows some double teaming from the Brits. Storm backs EY down and into Kevin Nash who has come back out to reneg on his offer of the Legends Title to EY. Storm tries to take advantage but Nash RE-turns heels and waffles Storm with the belt. Yes, a 10 second teased face turn. The Brits hit a Hart Attack variation to retain at 10:21. This was a lot of fun and not as chaotic as you might expect. It was the right balance of face cooperation on the snide heels and oft-attributed “innovative” double team moves until the booking kicked in. ***

• Post-match, Taz wonders why Nash decided to “go into business for himself.”

• Meanwhile, we go back to the previous Impact where Raven shot a fireball at Mick Foley and joined Stevie Richards’s stable. That sentence alone is surreal enough.

• JB is in the back with Nash. In case you’ve lost count, this is where Nash’s hair is part Kris Kristofferson and part Storm from X-Men. JB: “Point blank, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” Nash: “What about that language? You kiss your mother with that mouth?” JB: “No I don’t.” Nash: “Well, I’d kiss your mother with THIS mouth. HAHA. She says I’m wonderful.” ANYWAY, JB presses him for the scoop and here is Nash’s justification in full: “Well, anybody that knows me knows that I do everything for a reason. This is between me and Hulk. Hulk knows why I did this and on Thursday night, if Hulk calls me – WHICH we’re going to speak soon – and explains to me, ‘Go ahead, Nash. Tell ’em what’s going on.’ Then, of course, because Hulk tells me to, I’ll relay the message. Hulk knows. Hulk’s in on this. Hulk. I just want to say, ‘What’s up, Hulk?! We did it buddy. HULK!’” Another, TNA staple of using the PPV to sell the TV show, but on top of that, it’s almost incomprehensible. On that following Thursday, Nash ended up joining EY’s stable all while teasing the return of The Band or n.W.o or whatever you want to call it.

• Six Sides of Steel: Tara vs. Awesome Kong. Kong drives her into the turnbuckle. Tara tries to smack her down and that goes nowhere. She tries a shoulderblock and that also goes nowhere. Tara with a slow baseball slide and Kong tries to squash her but no go. Tara tries to send her into the cage but no go. Kong with a spinning back first but Tara ducks and Kong eats cage. Tara boots the fist into the cage a couple times. Kong no sells and gets her in an Electric Chair. Kong now tries to escape but Tara crotches her on the top turnbuckle. Kong no sells that and hits a missile dropkick and covers for 2. Kong throws her into the cage a couple times. Kong then hits her with the Ho Train into the stage. Kong goes to the BLATANTCHOKE and hairtosses her across the ring. Kong with a headbutt and does some HORRIFIC botched suplex into the cage and then just fucking drops Tara almost on her head. That was crazy as hell in a reckless way. Like a true professional, Kong repeats the spot so Tara can reverse to a DDT. Tara now smashes her into the cage a few times and hits a superkick but Kong still won’t go down. Tara with a dropkick to the ribs and a standing moonsault for 2. They “brawl” to the top rope but end up crotching each other. They slug it out now while crotched on the top rope. Kong boots her down. Tara preps a neckbreaker but Kong shakes her off. Tara says FUCK IT and gets her in a RUNNING POWERBOMB! YEAH! Cover gets 1, 2, 2.99! Tara now climbs all the way up to the top but rather than try to escape, she hits a splash off the top to win it at 7:55. Quick enough and told a story even if it was messy in the early going. Only worth checking out for the powerbomb though. *3/4

• Post-match, Tara stakes her claim for the knockouts championship.

• Then we get another video about Hulk Hogan. Taz says Hogan will pole vault them to the next level.

• Six Man Tag Match: Rhyno & Team 3D vs. Pope D’Angelo Dinero, Hernandez, and Matt Morgan. Taz calls Hernandez a bad apple and then says Morgan is “loaded with swagger.” But then he backs others by ECW alum status. Well, that’s not fair. Elijah Burke was also in ECW. Devon pounds down Hernandez to start. They collide in an AWFUL double shoulderblock spot and Devon bumps. Pope sensing a trainwreck tags himself in. Pope with a few kicks and a flying shoulderblock for 2. Bubba in and he rips some cash in half and blows it at Pope and then spits at him. Pope shoots for a double leg and goes for some GnP. Bubba takes a breather to regroup. Bubba back in and has to go to the gut to win a test of strength with Pope. WHAT? He outweighs Pope by like 100 lbs. Bubba wants the Bionic Elbow but Pope avoids and then comes back with his own gyrating elbow and a Bossman attack for 1. Bubba comes back with a BubbaBomb and steals Pope’s taunt to jeers. Rhyno in and given the ECW-slant of Taz’s commentary, I’m driven to remember the last time I was really a fan of Rhyno’s work was when he threw his old ECW belt (or just some stand-in) in the trash and set it on fire to stick it to Vince for trying to recreate ECW. Seen here

• Pope with a back elbow and tags in Morgan. Crowd is big into Morgan. Morgan shakes off Rhyno’s stuff and takes him down with a shoulderblock and now he wants the Bossman attack. Taz: “Morgan’s got some swagger, right? SWAGGGGGGEEEERRRRRRRR!” Taz must be huffing paint fumes. Rhyno goes for a Batista kick but Morgan avoids and chops him into the corner. Morgan now whiffs on a Ho Train. Rhyno with a Gore into the turnbuckle. WHO’S THE MAN!? The crowd lets him hear it as he eats a Discus Clothesline from Morgan. He covers but the Dudleyz break it up. They call for the 3D. Pope shoves Hernandez out of the ring for some reason. The Dudleyz instead hit the combo neckbreaker on Pope and posture around. Devon pounds down Pope in the corner and brings back in Rhyno. Rhyno with another WHO’S THE MAN?! To mostly indifference. Rhyno then spits AT THE CROWD! I’m sure I’ve seen that before but I can’t remember if I have. It’s pretty flagrant for a major fed to spit on its own fans. Bubba tries a bearhug. Pope escapes but runs into a backdrop. Devon in with a headbutt for 2 and goes to a chinlock. Pope escapes and gets a roll up for 2 before Devon cuts him off. Rhyno in and the crowd now boos on cue because ya know, he SPIT ON THEM. Rhyno shitcans Pope so Bubba can work him off with a big elbow drop off the apron. Bubba: “THAT’S WHAT YOU GET, PIMP. I’M A BIGGER PIMP… PIMP!” Well, he’s certainly enthusiastic. Back in, Bubba smacks him and goes for the senton but comes up dry. Pope flips off the heels and tags in Morgan who hits a series of clotheslines. Morgan hits his series of elbows in the corner and a Ho Train and a side slam for 2. Taz: “That’s not a basic side slam; that’s a side slam from a GIANT. A LONG DROP!” Morgan tags in Hernandez who has clotheslines for everyone too and a spinebuster for Bubba and Rhyno. He covers for 2. They all bail and Hernandez flies out with the no hands gringo plancha. Back in, he hits a splash off the top on Rhyno. Cover gets 1, 2, 2.9. Bubba slams him down and cues Devon for the low blow headbutt but Pope breaks it up. Morgan hits the ChokeSlam on Bubba but Rhyno shitcans him from behind. Morgan’s leg buckles on the fall. Pope powerbombs Rhyno off the top but he’s not the legal man. Hernandez covers for 2. Bubba trips up Pope and crotches him on the ringpost. Hernandez preps the Border Toss but Devon waffles him with the chair. Rhyno finishes him off with the Gore at 14:25. Last few minutes were good stuff with the mildly extended RnR formula with double hot tags to Morgan and Hernandez and that along with some asshole antics WITH GUSTO from Rhyno and Bubba make this worth it. ***

• Meanwhile and more importantly, SCOTT STEINER IS HERE! And he’s in the back to cut a promo. YES! He’s got a lead pipe and allegedly he’s been stalking Bobby Lashley’s wife violently. Steiner: “Violent? [Throws pipe] WHO’S BEING VIOLENT? I’m trying to be Bobby Lashley’s friend and tell him his wife’s in love with another man. And all he does is want to beat me up. It’s not my fault he can’t control his woman. He can’t excite her! He can’t satisfy her! SEE—er–when she took her wed—-wedding vows and she said, ‘For better or for worse,’ she didn’t realize for worse could be that bad. She found out Bobby Lashley’s muscles are all show and NO GO! BUT THEN SHE LOOKS AT THE BIG BAD BOOTY DADDY AND LOOKS AT MY RESUME AND MY CON– QUON– CONQUESTS OF 20,000 WOMEN WHEN I BROKE WILT CHAMBERLAIN’S RECORD, SHE KNOWS THE BIG BAD BOOTY DADDY CAN GO! She looks at the fire in my eyes and she sees the “eeetensity.” She sees my veins busting out and DARE I SAY she wants me to… BUST HER OUT! … FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE?! NO DQ?! IMMA TAKE BOBBY LASHLEY HOME AND PIN HIM 1, 2, 3 IN HIS OWN “FUNNN–RONT” YARD! And then I’m going to take his wife and cover her too. Only difference is: one’s going to be a winner and one’s going to be a loser! Kristal Lashley is going to be a BIG winner.” Glorious.

• Falls Count Anywhere, No Disqualification Match: Scott Steiner vs. Bobby Lashley. Lashley is called “The Boss” and his music is sounds of a revved up motorcycle. They brawl in the entranceway and Lashley wins that one and sends him into the guardrail. Lashley gives Steiner the worst chairshot this side of Hogan, Flair or Lance Storm. In the ring, Lashley sends him into the turnbuckle and pounds him down. The camera gives a close up of Steiner expecting another shot so he looks up at Lashley. Lashley instead poses for the crowd and THEN Steiner falls to the mat to sell. That’s funny as hell and TNA is almost always guilty of flubs like that way more than WWE in the AV dept. Lashley with a Ho Train, Spear into the turnbuckle and a vertical suplex for 2. Lashley with a spinebuster and poses for the crowd. Lashley with a very… slow… T-Bone suplex for 2. He shitcans Steiner who hits his face on the apron on the way down. Steiner comes back with a couple of BLATANTLOWBLOWS! Steiner gets a running start and gives him the field goal to the stones for the third time. Steiner covers for 2. Steiner sends him into the guardrail and gives him a chairshot across the back for 2. Steiner with his spinning belly to belly for 2. Steiner folds him up with an overhead belly to belly and another for 2. Steiner puts him up top as the crowd senses the Frankensteiner. Steiner goes for it and holy shit, it’s FUGLY. Steiner never puts Lashley’s legs outside of the ropes, Lashley slides down to the second turnbuckle and sandbags him, Steiner lands on his hand and THEN Lashley flips over on his own. That was not good at all. Crowd pops anyway as Steiner covers for 2. Steiner bodyslams him and his blown up. Steiner heads up and Lashley tries to press slam him and barely gets him up for the Snake Eyes on the top rope. Lashley rolls to the floor and sends Steiner into the announce table. Lashley Hulks up and gives him another shitty chairshot. They brawl to the back where the camera takes a while to pick them up. Lashley waffles him with a trashcan and throws him into a makeshift guardrail. Lashley suplexes him into a couple of tables that barely buckle and cover for 2. Lashley waffles him with a 2×4 and preps a Spear but Steiner moves and Lashley goes through some plywood. Steiner now chokes him with an extension cord and covers for 2. Steiner is completely out of breath and stumbles back toward the ring in search of more oxygen. Back into the arena itself, Steiner kicks Lashley away and then tears loses a steal pipe and waffles Lashley for the underwhelming victory for the forces of kidnapping and attempted rape at 11:28. If there were any illusions that Lashley was this master craftsmen whose skills were desperately needed back in pro wrestling, this (along with his other few PPV matches for TNA even before this) killed that idea, especially with him taking the clean loss. In fairness to both, they are capable of having good matches under the right circumstances but having two muscled (see: roided) up guys with small gastanks brawling halfway through the building isn’t the best laid plan. After the mildly hype start, Steiner took over with some low blows and the match ground to a slow pace the rest of the way. *3/4

• JB is in the back with Kurt Angle. Kurt says Nigel is operating under “prison rules” by trying to take down the biggest, baddest guy in the yard. “Listen up, SUNSHINE, I don’t need to know you to beat you.” Kurt says he’s here to beat him because he won’t make his name by taking down Kurt Angle. It’s real, damn real.

• Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle. This was set up by Desmond jumping Angle on his first night with the company as soon as Angle was turning face by congratulating the young up and comers on gaining his respect. Angle drives him into the corner to start but gives a clean break. Kurt grabs a wristlock but DW gives KURT ANGLE A WRESTLING LESSON by countering under and rolling over for his own top wristlock! That draws a “This is Wrestling!” chant already. Angle sends him off but gets taken down by a shoulderblock. Angle sends him off again and this time gets a couple armdrags and now he’s got the top wristlock. DW AGAIN counters Kurt to the chickenwing and then to another top wristlock. Tremendous respect that Angle’s giving Nigel in his first PPV match by letting him be the most proficient technician at the start. DW now bridges into a cover for 2 as the crowd perks up for Angle. Kurt goes for the arm but DW drives him into the corner and now HE AGAIN switches to the chickenwing and then kicks Angle’s arm. Nigel with a forearm in the corner and then targets the arm with another forearm. Nigel gives him the double throat thrust and tries a charge in the corner but Angle gets the boot up. Angle with a vertical suplex for 2. Angle with a ribbreaker for 2 and works the cover a few times. Angle with the Euro uppercut and tries a charge but DW avoids and Kurt eats post WITH THE BAD ARM! YEAH! DW with an STO and poses. DW with the knucklelock suplex. He sends Kurt off who tries a sunset flip but DW shakes it off by torquing the arm! DW chicken wings the arm with his leg to toy with Kurt Angle. I want to say that every time because this is KURT ANGLE that’s getting his ass handed to him in matwrestling. Nigel now steals a page from Danielson’s book by pulling back on the off arm for the Rings of Saturn variation. DW now bridges back on it. Angle rolls through and goes for the ankle but DW kicks him away.

• DW sells the leg nicely even off one move but he takes the advantage back with the turnaround Euro uppercut out of the corner. He tries another but runs into a belly to belly suplex from Kurt. Kurt’s too out of it to take advantage. Kurt takes him down with some clothesline and sells the off arm the entire time. DW sends him off but Kurt gets the burrito for 2. DW goes for a LARIATO but Angle ducks and goes to the Rolling Germans despite the bad arm. Kurt hits SIX STRAIGHT and drops the straps. He’s still sorta favoring the bad arm. He goes for the AngleSlam but DW armdrags out and DESTROYS him with the LARIATO! Cover gets 1, 2,–2.9! DW puts him up for the Tower of London but Angle slides out and hits the AngleSlam! That’s all she wrote as he covers for the 1, 2, 3—2.999! DW KICKS OUT! Angle tries a suplex but DW with the BRUTAL armwringer TD. DW goes to the London Dungeon but Angle tosses him over and switches to the AnkleLock. DW rolls through and GRAPEVINES THE ARM! Angle rolls back through and to another Anklelock. DW reaches for the ropes! Angle pulls him back to the middle! DW lunges for the ropes again and just barely makes it. Angle tries to pick him up but DW counters to the DDT. Tenay: “And you’re DAMN RIGHT IT’S AWESOME!” DW puts him up top and hits the Tower of London. Cover gets 1, 2,–2.99 again! DW preps a LARIATO but Angle cuts him off with a LARIATO of his own. Angle goes for the moonsault but DW avoids and goes back to the LONDON DUNGEON! Angle makes the ropes! DW wants another Tower of London. Angle fights him off so he switches to a superplex. Angle blocks that too and headbutts him off. Angle hits a Frog Splash for 2. Angle preps a Rikishi Driver. DW reverses to his own attempt but Angle rolls under and goes for the Anklelock. DW rolls over abut Angle stays on the leg! Anklelock! DW escapes so Angle goes to the armbar/triangle choke and DW taps out at 16:26. I LOVE the beginning with DW outwrestling Angle and the arm psychology. I REALLY REALLY like everything else even if it’s a pretty standard Angle match at that point when the German suplexes and finisher counters take over. The difference from the norm is that Nigel can more than hold his own and the beginning of the match set that up perfectly. Also, Nigel has submissions of his own that nicely fold into Angle’s broomstick formula. Finally, Angle wins with something other than an anklelock which is a nice conclusion, even if he hadn’t worked the arm the whole match. ****1/2

• Meanwhile, JB is with Samoa Joe. JB says that Joe has been turning Daniels and AJ against each other. Joe says no way; he told them the truth and that their “friendship” is a farce. Joe says all this alliance stuff is shit because NO ONE has sent them both to the hospital more than him and NO ONE has beaten both more than him and tonight he’s going to do it again.

• Triple Threat for the TNA World Championship: Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles (c). This was set up by AJ getting attacked from behind a few times and Joe pleading ignorance and saying it was Daniels to sew the seeds of mistrust. For whatever reason, they are simply referring to CD as “Daniels.”

• CD sneaks AJ with a shot to start to show he’s leaning heel. CD ducks a clothesline from Joe but eats a few shots from AJ. AJ with a few shoulderblocks on Joe and a burrito and takes down CD again. Joe sends him into the opposite turnbuckle for a Runaway Samoan Semi and an enzuigiri. Joe knocks down AJ for his DRFG, back chop, knee drop combo but CD breaks it up with a leg lariat. AJ with an O’Connor roll for 2 on CD. They trade headlocks before AJ goes for his crisscross Bluechipper dropkick but Daniels cuts that off. He taunts but then runs into the dropkick anyway. AJ now works the headlock on CD. Joe tries to get on the apron but AJ springboards off him with a kick and transitions back into the headlock TO. So far, so good. CD sends off AJ but Joe trips him off. CD with an STO on AJ and then Joe with a hotshot on CD and pummels him in the corner. Joe sends off CD and DEMOLISHES him with the BASAIKU KNEE! Cover gets only 2 though because this isn’t Japan. Joe clips the knee and rolls CD into an AnkleLock but AJ breaks it up. AJ preps a suplex but Joe blocks. AJ tries again and hits it this time and knocks down CD again. AJ with the Muta Lock on Joe but CD breaks it up and dropkicks Joe to the floor. CD clips the knee and drops a knee on AJ’s head and hits a half Sling Blade for 2. CD now clips Joe’s knee and then slams AJ on to him. CD then locks int a Boston Crab on AJ and puts him on Joe’s back and grabs a Camel Clutch on Joe. Awesome. Joe breaks it up by biting CD’s finger. CD tries a charge but Joe gives him the throat slam and then hits a pair of facewashes on both. He tries the same combo from earlier on CD but AJ tries to break it up, so Joe does it anyway and boots AJ out of the ring in the process. Joe tries the burrito suicide dive but AJ cuts him off with a kick to the head from the apron. Daniels now wants to fly but AJ cuts him off with a vertical suplex. AJ tries one but Joe trips him up on the apron then FINALLY CD flies out with the suicide dive. Good stuff all through there. CD tries a split leg moonsault on the apron but AJ grabs his legs. Joe then puts CD in the Kokina Clutch! AJ breaks that up with the FOSBURY FLOP!

• Back in, cover gets 2. AJ with the spinning headscissors as the fans get a “Screw Hulk Hogan” chant going. AJ springboards off an interfering CD with a burrito on Joe. AJ with a slingshot huracanrana on CD! Cover gets 1, 2, 2.99! CD stacks them up in the corner and lays the leather to both with chops. He preps a monkey flip but Joe CATCHES AJ WITH THE JACKKNIFE AND TAKES OUT CD IN THE PROCESS! Joe with a WILD BOMB! Cover for 1, 2, 2.9! Joe transitions into the Samoan Crab and then switches to the STF. AJ crawls away so Joe switches to the Nagata Lock before AJ finally gets the ropes. Joe with a powerslam on AJ for 2. CD tries fighting back but Joe chops him down. CD with a dragon sleeper on Joe and than throat slams AJ on top of him. CD tries covering both but only gets 2 each time. CD with a high knee in the corner and a DVD on AJ for 2. AJ suplexes CD over and hits a neckbreaker for the double KO spot. Joe in to smack the shit out of AJ and hit an enzuigiri. He tries the same on CD but he ducks and gives Joe an enzuigiri of his own. AJ recovers to give CD the Pele. Triple KO spot. AJ with the slingshot senton on Joe and then takes down him and CD with clotheslines. AJ gets to the apron and backdrops CD to the floor. He slingshots in with a flying burrito on Joe. He gets a rana for 2. AJ with the moonsault into the DDT out of the corner. He tries it AGAIN on CD but he counters to the Last Rites. CD covers for 1, 2, only 2! Joe tries to smack him down but CD folds him up with the BEAST GERMAN SUPLEX! He covers for 2. Joe crotches him to come back and hits the MUSCLE BUSTER! Cover is broken up by AJ! Joe sunset flips AJ as they roll all over the ring with the countered roll up spot that I REALLY dislike before Joe covers for 2. AJ with a roundhouse on 2. AJ wants the Styles Clash but CD breaks it up with an enzuigiri. CD tries Last Rites but AJ counters to his own attempt. CD counters that so AJ wants the Angel’s Wings. They trade roll up variations in a MUCH BETTER section than the one with Joe that ends with CD trying the Styles Clash but Joe breaks it up with the superkick. AJ lands in a cover but Joe breaks that up with the DR FG. Phew! I’m out of breath just watching that. Joe takes them down but they take him down in response with the combo STO. AJ and CD agree to finally show some respect but that it’s still every man for himself. They battle to the top rope and both tease suplexes before Joe with the CHOP HOMICIDA takes AJ down to the floor! CD with an STO on Joe and hits the BME. AJ recovers and hits the 450 and lands on both! He covers Joe to retain at 21:50.

• Everything here is so crisp, fluid, and flawless in a way that hardly anyone ever can match. I love the cutoffs and counters of signature moves and there’s nary a moment of downtime in the whole 20+ minutes. So, is it the greatest match ever? No, not to me. In fact, in certain ways I prefer Angle-Wolfe from immediately prior. Why? Well, for starters, this match feels like they went out there and tried to have the greatest match ever. It was like they watched the first 3-way and decided to try and one up it in a way that reminds me just a tad of Eddie/Rey from WW3 97 after their Havoc 97 classic. The amazing thing is that the match succeeds and succeeds magnificently, but because of it’s predetermined “has to be a classic” lead-in, the match lacks an organic feel. It feels so choreographed and SO laid out, that they probably called 90% of the whole thing in the back just to make sure they hit all the necessary spots they had planned. Angle/Wolfe on the other hand doesn’t feel like they went out there trying to make history or fit in every possible permutation of classic spots they could think of; instead, they just went out there and told their story and an awesome match emerged. Both incredible, but in different ways. ****3/4

The 411: Two ****1/2+ matches, a few others around ***-ish, a Nash promo, and a Scott Steiner promo. Easy recommendation.
Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]