Ronnie’s Reviews: TNA Slammiversary 2008

TNA Slammiversary 2008

-Video package kicks things off, showing various spots of Memphis and a lot of Elvis.

-Tenay welcomes us in, running down the happenings of tonight very briefly. West hypes up the KOTM match as the pyro goes off.

Match 1 : Kaz vs Petey Williams© (w/ Scott Steiner and Rhaka Khan) – X-Division Championship

Tie up to start things off. Petey gets the rear waist lock and grabs the arm. Kaz flips over and wrenches Williams’. Williams counters, and Kaz counters. Williams goes for a roll through but Kaz rolls him up for a quick roll up. Arm drag by Kaz, and he follows up with a crossbody but only gets two. Crucifix by Williams, then Kaz hits one of his own. Wave of the Future coming up, but Petey cartwheels out. Canadian Destroyer coming up, but Kaz counters. Clothesline in the corner by Kaz, and he follows up with the running basement dropkick. Petey rolls to the outside and Steiner pumps him up. Hiptoss by Kaz, and he hits him with the kicks. Spin kick follows, and then a springboard leg drop. Pin but only two. On the outside now as Kaz hits Petey with a forearm. He then throws Petey back in the ring. Khan distracts Kaz, allowing Petey to jump off the apron and hit Kaz with a tornado DDT. Back in the ring as Petey whips Kaz into the corner hard. Spin kick to the gut, sitout jawbreaker and then the running spin kick by Williams. He’s now choking Kaz while doing push ups. Pin but only two. Kaz gets a roll up, but only two. Another roll up but Petey sends Kaz to the outside. Slingshot hurricanrana by Petey. Back in the ring as Petey hit’s a backbreaker follows up with a swinging neck breaker. Pin but again only two. Petey drops a knee into Kaz’s injured arm. Kaz starts to fight back, but Petey rakes the eyes. Petey thinking suplex, and he hits it. He then scissors the arm with his leg and locks in a chin lock. Kaz fights out but it’s not enough. Kaz flips over a backdrop attempt and hit’s a bicycle kick. Both guys are down now as the ref starts the count. Kaz ducks a right and hit’s a forearm. Running forearm smash by Kaz. Kaz with a weird sort of backdrop into a front slam. Pin but only two. Kaz avoids Petey in the corner and hit’s the slingshot DDT. Pin but a close two. Petey rolls onto the apron. Kaz slingshots him in and hits an cutter on the way down. Pin but again only two. Kaz grabs Petey by the legs, but Petey springs up and drop toe holds Kaz into the ropes. He then follows up with a dropkick to the back. Head scissors into a russian leg sweep by Petey. He signals for the Destroyer. Kaz grabs the leg, Petey ducks a spin kick and hit’s a knee to the face. Cradle DDT by Petey, but Kaz kicked out of the pin at two. Petey goes to the top, and Kaz hits him with a kick. He signals for the Flux Capacitor. He goes for it, but Petey fights out. Petey thinking Destroyer off the ropes, but Kaz fights out and again goes for the Flux Capacitor. Petey fights out and drops Kaz’s arm on the top rope. Petey goes for another head scissors but Kaz counters into a backslide, but Petey counters that into a Destroyer attempt, but Kaz again counters that into the reverse belly to back piledriver. Pin but only two. Rhaka Khan gets into the ring. Kaz hits her with a huge jumping kick. Kaz then fights Steiner off the apron. Petey’s got the pipe and he nails Kaz with it. Petey rolls Kaz over for the cover. 1…2…2.98346!!! Kaz is gushing blood right now. Petey tosses off the faceguard and goes for the Destroyer. Kaz fights out into a roll up, but Petey counters that into the Sharpshooter. The blood is now pouring down Kaz’s face. He fights out, but Petey goes for a roll up, Kaz counters it though into the Wave of the Future. Pin. 1…2…2.96543!!! Kaz goes to the top, but Steiner distracts him. He hits him with a dropkick to the head. Petey goes for a sunset flip, but Petey rolls through and hits him with the Canadian Destroyer. Forget about it.

Winner : Petey Williams (***½ – Great opener here. These guys got about 17 minutes to do their thing, and they made the most out of it. When this match was announced, I was pretty damn excited to see it, and it definitely met my expectations)

Post match see’s Steiner, Petey and Khan beating up Kaz. Steiner throws the ref out of the ring. Steiner grabs the mic and says Kaz is at the wrong place at the wrong time. Steiner wants to know where his title rematch is and why he isn’t on the card tonight. He tells Kaz he’s going to screw him. Kaz has a title shot on Thursday, well, Steiner’s going to make sure he’s not going to show up. And that brings out Abyss. Face off between Abyss and Steiner. Steiner throws Petey at Abyss but Petey gets planted with the Black Hole Slam. Steiner attacks Abyss from behind but eventually eats a Black Hole Slam too. He points at Khan. He grabs her by the throat. He lets her go and plants her with a Black Hole Slam. Abyss picks up Kaz and carries him to the back.

-Tenay runs down the card for tonight. Eric Young shows up and says the King is on his way. Elvis Presley. Eric says he looks great and thanks the crowd for believing in him. He has a seat in the front row reserved for him.

-We get a video package now of Kevin Nash : Special Guest enforcer. JB is in the back with Kevin Nash. He asks about Joe and Nash’s relationship. Nash said it’s about business. It’s not about who the best is, it’s about who has the most money. He and Joe are friends, but he looks at Joe as an investment. He’s got a lot invested in Joe. If Joe loses tonight, Nash loses. But if Joe wins, Nash cashes out.

Match 2 : The Beautiful People and Moose vs Gail Kim, ODB and Roxxi

TBP bail out, leaving Moose alone with Kim, ODB and Roxxi. They all trade shots on Moose. Takedown by Kim, and Moose bails out. TBP try to leave, but Gail and ODB attack them on the ramp. In the ring now as Roxxi and Moose are going at it. Roxxi hits Moose with a boot in the corner. Forearms by Roxxi and she follows up with a discuss. Roxxi gets distracted and runs into a flapjack by Moose. Tag to Velvet and she starts choking Roxxi. Tag to Angelina as she hits Roxxi with a basement dropkick. Tag to Moose as she kicks Roxx in the gut. Knees to the gut by Moose follows with a knee to the face. Modified TKO by Moose, Roxxi looked like she landed badly on that. Tag to Velvet and she locks in the Octopus while she bites at Roxxi’s hand. Sunset flip but Roxxi rolls through and hits Velvet with a huge boot to the head. Tag to Gail and she hits Velvet with the clotheslines. Gail avoids Velvet in the corner and takes out Angelina. She goes to the top and hits Velvet with a crossbody. Pin but only two. Angelina trips her and throws her leg onto the apron. Velvet locks in a modified leg lock, but Gail pushes her off. Velvet goes back after the leg through, dropping an elbow onto it. Small package by Gail, but Velvet kicks out. Tag to Angelina and she rips off the knee pad, exposing the injured leg. She puts the leg on the rope and jumps on it. She then wraps it around the ropes and starts yanking on it. Single leg crab by Angelina. Gail finally gets to the ropes. Tag to Moose and she’s now attacking the leg. Muta lock by Moose but ODB runs in and breaks it up. Moose goes back after the leg and locks in the stretch muffler. Gail fights to the ropes. Knees by Gail and she hit’s the hurricanrana. Forearms by Gail now but Moose ducks an enzuigiri. She kicks Moose off her and tags in ODB. She starts taking everyone down with clotheslines. Fallaway slam to Angelina. Elbow in the corner to Moose. She ddrinks from the flask and spits in Moose’s face. Lou Thesz press off the ropes, and TBP break up the pin. Massive brawl in the ring now. ODB blocks a kick from Moose and hit’s the running powerslam. Pin and that’s all.

Winner : ODB, Gail Kim and Roxxi (** – This was your average women’s match. It wasn‘t anything necessarily bad, but it wasn‘t anything special either)

-We get a video package of Rhino.

-Lauren’s in the back with Rhino. He says the past year has been very difficult for Rhino. He took a good long look at himself and realized he still had issues. He’s forgiven and let go. Tonight’s not only a match. KOTM match, he can prove he can sit on top of the mountain. When he wins, it’s a second chance. The second chance starts tonight.

Match 3 : Team 3D vs The Latin American Xchange© (w/ Salinas and Hector Guerrero) – TNA World Tag Team Championship

Devon and Hernandez are gonna start things off. Devon with a right hand off the tie up and he’s not letting up. The crowd’s already chanting for tables. Hernandez ducks a clothesline and hit’s a big shoulder block. Tag to Homicide as they both attack Devon in the corner. Another shoulder block by Hernandez to Devon. Devon rakes the eyes of Homicide and tags in Ray. Ray misses a right and Homicide hits an armdrag. Ray hit’s a snapmare and a flipping neck breaker. Ray then hit’s a scoop slam. Homicide avoids an elbow drop and hits another armdrag. He locks in the armbar, but Ray gets to the ropes. Ray rakes the eyes. Homicide counters an irish whip and goes for a monkey flip, but Ray holds on and puts Homicide on the top. He then slaps Homicide, but eats a missile dropkick. Hernandez slingshots into the ring, taking out Devon. Double dropkick to Team 3D by Hernandez. Hernandez flies over the top, taking out both guys. Homicide then hit’s the topetolido on 3D to follow. Spinning back elbow by Homicide to Ray. Homicide goes to the top but Devon pushes him to the outside. Ray kicks Salinas to the side and attacks Hector. He then goes on the attack on Homicide. Back in the ring now as Devon starts choking Homicide in the ropes. Spinning back elbow by Devon. Right hands by Devon in the corner. Ray starts choking Homicide behind the refs back. Tag to Ray and he locks in a chin lock. Homicide fights out but runs into a sidewalk slam. Tag to Devon as he hits Homicide with a slam. He goes to the second ropes. He goes for the diving headbutt but Homicide got out of the way. Tag to Hernandez but the ref didn’t see it. Ray and Devon double team Homicide in the corner. Devon puts Homicide on the top and goes for a superplex. Homicide starts biting Devon and hit’s a jawbreaker off the middle rope. Tag to Hernandez and he hits Ray with the forearms. Backdrop to Ray, and then one for Devon. Huge clothesline to Ray. He lifts up Devon for the delayed vertical suplex. Splash in the corner to Ray, and he hits him with a hiptoss. Tag to Homicide as he goes to the top and hits Ray with a crossbody. Pin but Devon breaks it up. Scoop slam by Ray to Devon. Here we go. WAZUPP! But Homicide pushes Devon off the top. Slam by Hernandez to Ray. Salinas goes to the top, but Johnny Devine runs into the ring. Hector pulls him out of the ring and nails him with the kendo stick. Salina’s hit’s the WAZUP!! on Ray. Devon hits Hernandez from behind. Clothesline in the corner to Homicide. Devon thinking superplex again, but Hernandez attacks him from behind and puts him on his shoulders. 5150 connects. Hernandez plants Ray with a huge spinebuster, and Homicide hit’s the frog splash. Pin but Devon pulls the ref out of the ring. Homicide goes for the suicide dive, but Devon avoids it. Ray hits Hernandez with a low blow. 3D coming up. Homicide rolls up Ray behind Devon’s back and it’s over.

Winners : The Latin American Xchange (**½ – Alright match here. They’ve had better, and they’ve had worse. This one sort of lands in the middle)

-Video package of Robert Roode follows. JB’s in the back with Roode. Roode says one of the hardest things about being in this business is proving that he’s not a rookie and that he’s a main eventer. Sometime’s he looks around the locker room and see’s guys that have talked about it, but hasn’t proved it. He admits he’s done a lot of talking, but tonight he’s going to prove it. He’s going to prove he’s for real and that he’s a main eventer.

Match 4 : TNA Knockouts Champion Awesome Kong (w/ Raisha Saeed) vs Serena

This is part of the Awesome Kong open challenge. Whoever could beat her would get $25,000. JB asks if there’s anyone in the crowd over the age of 18 who would like to fight Awesome Kong. He calls down one chick, who turns out to be Serena. She says she has training in Mixed Martial Arts and is ready for the challenge. He calls another down, who’s name is Josie Robinson (Sojourner Bolt) and she says she’s ready. Kong chooses to face Serena. Serena signs the contracts and enters the ring. Serena goes for a takedown, but Kong just throws her off. Sleeper hold by Serena, but Kong just throws her off. On the outside now as Kong just tosses Serena into the guardrail. That was vicious. She then throws Serena into the rail and is now choking her. Into the steel steps goes Serena. Kong pushes Josie to the ground. Back in the ring now as Kong just kicks Serena to the mat. Implant Buster connects. Forget about it.

Winner : Awesome Kong (DUD)

Josie starts talking smack to Kong. Kong gets in her face and they start pushing each other. JB asks if she wants to fight her. Josie signs the contract and then slaps Kong.

Match 5 : Awesome Kong vs Josie

She then starts beating Kong on the steps. Kong shoves her off right into the guardrail. Kong then grabs her and throws her into the guardrail. Josie ducks a punch and Kong’s fist lands into the ringpost. Josie with the rights and then like an idiot lets up to run into the ring. Kong gets in and Josie hits her with a kick. Kong grabs her by the leg and hits her with the backfist. Kong’s pissed. Clothesline in the corner by Kong. AWESOME BOMB!

Winner : Awesome Kong (DUD)

Eric Young comes out and says that this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. They said he couldn’t find him, but he did it. The real king of rock n’ roll, Elvis Presley. And, well, here he comes. Ugh, this is terrible. Elvis says it’s been a long time but The King is finally back in Memphis. He then makes his way to the ring. He asks Kong how she enjoys visiting his house in Graceland. Kong gives him the boot and AWESOME BOMB! Kong then walks off ending this terribleness.

-Video package of Christian Cage follows. Lauren’s in the back with Christian. She says there really isn’t much more for Christian to prove and asks what his motivation is. God what a stupid question. Christian says over the last month, he’s taken a step back from the title. At the end of the day, he loves being the champ. There are four other guys in the match that are more than qualified, but he’s the most qualified. For the last two years he’s been in TNA, there’s no one with a better win/loss record nor no one who’s been in as many main events as him. Tonight, he becomes champ for the third time.

-Video package of the Lethal/Val stuff. You know what, there’s a whole wedding segment in here that I could recap, but I think it would just be best if I saved 15 minutes of my time and 2 minutes of yours by not recapping it at all. I really don’t see a point. All you need to know is that Sonjay turns on Jay and then Lethal and the legends attack him.

Match 6 : Kurt Angle (w/ Tomko) vs AJ Styles

Backstory – Angle had accused his wife Karen of cheating on him with AJ. Karen had said they were just friends, but Kurt wasn’t buying into it. After a beat down from Team 3D, Kurt ran down to the ring looking like he was going to make the save for AJ. He instead wailed AJ in the head with the chair, cementing the face turn of AJ Styles along with the rivalry that would lead to some of the best matches in TNA history.

Tie up to start, and Angle pushes AJ into the corner. Angle breaks the hold. Takedown by Angle, and they start to mat wrestle. AJ gets to the ropes, and Angle slaps AJ in the back of the head. Another tie up, and Angle locks in the headlock. Angle takes Styles to the mat. Styles gets back up and throws Angle off, but runs into a shoulder block. AJ ducks under and hits an arm drag, and another, and this time a modified arm drag. Angle bails out to ringside. Angle takes his time before getting back in. Kick to the gut by Angle, and he follows up with the european uppercuts. AJ jumps over, ducks under and hit’s the dropkick. Styles then throws Angle into the corner and unleashes hell on him. Tomko distracts AJ, and Angle rakes the eyes. Angle with the stomps in the corner. AJ avoids Angle in the corner, and hit’s the flying forearm. Pin but only two. AJ runs right into a back elbow by Kurt, and he falls to the outside. Tomko approaches AJ, but the ref stops him and sends him outta her. Angle slams AJ into the guardrail while all this is happening. Angle starts arguing with the ref. He gets up on the apron but AJ knocks him off and immediately follows up with the flip dive. Angle immediately grabbed the back of his neck off that one. Back in the ring as AJ goes for the pin, but barely gets two. Sidewalk slam into a backbreaker by AJ. Pin but only two. Slam by AJ and he follows up with that vintage knee drop. Pin but again only two. Punches by Angle now. AJ reverses an irish whip but gets kicked into the chest. Angle picks Styles up and launches him over his head. He does it again. Pin but only two. Sleeper hold by Angle is locked in. Angle lets it go and slams AJ’s face into the mat. He then mounts AJ and starts hitting him with the rights. Angle locks the sleeper back in now. AJ’s bleeding from the nose. AJ fights out with the elbows but runs right into a belly to belly suplex. Suplex by Angle follows. Pin but only two. Angle proceeds to lock in a chin lock. AJ fights out but runs into a knee to the gut. Backbreaker by Angle. Pin but only two. Angle with the european uppercuts in the corner. He’s now toying with AJ. He then sets up Styles on the second rope. He’s thinking superplex. AJ counters with a reverse suplex off the top. Both guys are down now as the ref starts the count. Both guys trade shots now. Angle runs right into a spin kick to the face. Clotheslines by Styles. He hit’s a boot in the corner and hits that pump handle into a gutbuster. He goes for the cover but only gets two. AJ with a suplex into a neckbreaker. Another cover but again only gets two. Angle hit’s a knee to the gut. German suplex by Angle, and he’s going for the trifecta. Another one connects. Here comes the third, but AJ fights it off. Flipping german suplex by Styles. Angle ducks a discuss clothesline and hit’s a flipping german suplex on Styles. Pin but only two. Angle lifts AJ up but gets hit with a jumping enzuigiri. AJ goes for a splash in the corner, but Angle catches him and launches him overhead into the corner. Pin but only two. Angle’s now waiting for Styles to get up. Angle Slam coming up, but AJ counters into a huge DDT. 1…2…2.9435! AJ wants the Styles Clash, but Angle counters into a backdrop, but AJ rolls through, but Angle rolls through that and locks in the Ankle Lock. AJ rolls through, sending Angle into the turnbuckle. Back elbow by AJ in the corner, and he hit’s the springboard inverted DDT. Cover but again only two. AJ goes up to the top now. Angle springs to life and hit’s the Angle Slam off the top. 1…2…2.975234! Angle pulls the straps down and locks in the Ankle Lock. AJ counters with a roll up, but only gets two. AJ ducks a clothesline and PELE!!! Pin but Angle gets the ropes. AJ wants the Styles Clash. Here it comes. Angle counters into the Ankle Lock. AJ tries to fight to the ropes but can’t. AJ counters out with the kicks to the face. Angle accidentally took the ref out. AJ does the kip up/hurricanrana move, sending Angle to the outside. Karen Angle’s now coming out with a steel chair. She’s yelling at Kurt, signaling him the chair. Angle grabs it but Karen doesn’t let go. AJ rolls up Angle and hit’s the Styles Clash! 1…2…3!!!

Winner : AJ Styles (**** – When Angle first came to TNA, a list of dream matches were in the fans minds. Just imagining Angle taking on Sting, Abyss or Christian in main event matches was something we’ve all been dying to see. If Samoa Joe vs Angle wasn’t at the top of the list of dream matches though, then it most likely was this one. Angle vs Styles was a match the people had been dying to see for a while, and when this match was announced, it made this PPV a must buy for TNA fans. This is easily one of my favorite rivalries in TNA history, and for three simple reasons.
1)It got AJ out of being a comedy character and into a more serious role
2)Angle put over AJ big time
3)We got some fucking awesome matches out of it
This rivalry is very similar to the one that Angle had with Edge back in 2002, as Edge was coming off the heels of being a comedy character and was looking to become a serious singles competitor. Angle put Edge over big time, and he did the same here with Styles. The only difference here is that this one had a lot more drama in the rivalry and Angle didn’t have to look like a complete moron in the process. This rivalry, in a mere three months, turned AJ from a joke that he didn’t deserve to be into the face of TNA that the fans had been dying for. This match was great and only a prelude for the matches that we would continue to receive from these two guys)

Post match sees AJ and Karen celebrate. Angle grabs the chair and hits AJ in the back with it. Karen slaps him in the face. Kurt grabs her and threatens to hit her. She bails out. Angle starts blasting AJ with the rights. Tomko runs back out and takes out the security. Angle locks in the Ankle Lock back in. He grapevines the leg as AJ starts yelling out in pain. Angle finally lets go. He gets on top of AJ and spits in his face.

-Video package of Samoa Joe follows.

-Lauren’s in the back with Joe. Joe said he’s here to make a difference. He says that now, the opportunist is rewarded. The fans are sick and tired of the norm. Tonight, he faces some of the most dangerous individuals in TNA. He’s not the fastest or the strongest, but no one has fought harder for the belt. Not only will he walk out champ, but he’ll be the man to lead the new era. He is Samoa Joe, he is the TNA World Champion, and he is pro wrestling.

Match 7 : Rhino vs Robert Roode vs Christian Cage vs Booker T vs Samoa Joe© – King of the Mountain match – TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Backstory – No man has retained the belt in KOTM, and Joe was looking to become the first. Christian and Rhino had been teaming as of late, but their partnership was in question. Roode was looking to prove he belonged in the main event, while Booker T was on a quest to claim what he thought was rightfully his. Joe and Nash’s partnership was in question too as Nash was announced as the special enforcer. 4 guys were picked by Samoa Joe to qualify, while 4 guys from Jim Cornette were picked. Each of the guys they picked faced off in qualifying matches. Rhino qualified over Storm, Roode qualified over Morgan, Christian qualified over Tomko and Booker qualified over Styles.

Nice feeling out process to start as all five guys stand around the ring, not sure who to go after first. Christian goes after Roode and all hell breaks loose. Christian and Roode go to the outside while Booker works down Joe. Chops by Joe to Booker while Rhino throws Roode into the ladder. Joe and Booker now exchange chops on the outside. Rhino and Christian hit Roode with a double hip toss on the inside of the ring. Joe with chops to Booker on the ramp. Christian throws Rhino into Roode. Double suplex to Roode. Christian goes to the top, but Booker throws him to the outside. Christian caught his leg on the apron on the way down. Booker counters an irish whip by Rhino and hit’s a kick. Pin but Rhino kicks out. Short arm clothesline by Booker to Rhino. Another pin but Rhino kicks out. Booker now mounts Rhino and hits him with the rights. Booker thinking Axe Kick, but Rhino avoids it. Booker counters a Gore with a knee. Rhino ducks a kick and takes Booker to the outside with a clothesline. Staredown by Joe and Rhino. Joe with a reverse atomic drop and then the sick kick. He follows up with the senton. Pin but Roode breaks it up. Roode goes for a crossbody off the top, but Joe just nonchalant moves out of the way. Chop to the back, kick to the chest and the knee follows. Pin but Roode kicks out. Christian is now working down Joe. Roode wants the Pay Off, but Christian counters into the impaler. Palm thrusts by Joe to Christian. He then hit’s the back elbow in the corner, and then the spinning enzuigiri. Christian jumps over Joe but runs into a powerslam. Pin but only two. Booker runs in but Joe hits him with a powerslam. Elbow in the corner by Christian, and he hit’s the spinning back elbow off the second rope. Cover but Joe kicks out. Christian now mounts Joe in the corner and hits him with the rights. Joe ducks through the legs and hit’s a kick. Christians tied to the tree of woe, and Joe hits him with the face wash. Christian goes to the outside, and Joe wants the suicide dive. Booker trips Joe and slams him into the penalty box. Booker with the shots on the outside to Joe. He then slams Joe in to the announce table. Back on the inside as Booker hits Rhino with the Book End. Pin and Bookers qualified.

Qualified : Booker T over Rhino

Booker grabs the belt from Nash. He grabs the ladder, but Joe holds onto it from the outside, not letting him bring it in. Booker and Joe fight for the ladder on the outside. Christian hit’s the baseball slide, taking them both out. Roode dives off the ropes and hits Christian with that flipping neck breaker. Pin but only two. Chops in the corner by Roode. Christian trips Roode and catapults him to the outside. Rhino comes back in and he and Christian go at it. Rhino counters an Unprettier attempt, but Christian floats over a back suplex. Rhino hit’s the belly to belly. Joe trips Rhino and crotches him on the ring post. Christian charges but gets hit with the urinagi by Joe. Joe goes flying over the top, taking out Roode, Booker and Rhino. Christian goes to the top of the penalty box. He hits all four guys with a crossbody block off the top. Christian now grabs a table out from under the ring. He sets it up on the outside. Christian now grabs a ladder and hits Joe with it before throwing it in the ring. He now brings a chair into the ring. He grabs the ladder but Roode hits him with the chair. Pin and that’s all.

Qualified : Robert Roode over Christian

Roode now sets up the ladder and grabs the belt. Rhino rolls him up and Roode just found out first hand how karma’s a bitch.

Qualified : Rhino over Robert Roode

Roode starts yelling at the ref. Nash grabs him by the leg and pulls him to the outside. He hits him with a right and throws him into the box. Rhino starts to climb the ladder with the belt. Booker pushes the ladder over, and Rhino’s neck snaps off the top rope. Joe and Booker do battle on the inside now. Coquina Clutch locked in, but Booker fights out fast wit the elbows. Booker misses an Axe Kick and locks the Coquina Clutch back in. Christian and Roode do battle inside the penalty box. Christian finally gets out and goes to the top of the cage. Frog Splash off the top, taking out Joe and Booker. He pins Booker and that’s all.

Qualified : Christian Cage over Booker T

Christian grabs the belt and starts to climb the ladder. Roode comes in and takes Christian off the ladder. He now starts to climb but Joe hits him with a modified german suplex off of it. Christian starts to climb again but Joe meets him up there and hits him with the cutter. GORE TO JOE!!! Crowd starts to chant “This is Awesome”. All four guys are down. Booker T is now out of the box, but he’s too worn out. Booker grabs the belt and hits Nash with it. Now Rhino. Now Joe. Now Roode. And then Christian. Booker T looks up. He starts to climb. Nash gets in the ring now. He hits Booker. Jackknife Powerbomb by Nash takes Booker off the ladder. Joe sets up Christain in the corner. Christian fights out of a Muscle Buster, landing on the apron. Joe avoids a Gore by Rhino and instead Rhino nails Christian. Christian goes flying off the apron and goes through a table, ribs first, set up on the outside. Roode with a Northern Lariat to Joe. Rhino with an elbow in the corner. He goes to the second rope but Joe knocks him to the outside. Roode and Rhino fight over the belt. Roode starts to climb the ladder. Joe ducks a shot with the belt and hits him with a kick. MUSCLE BUSTER!!! Forget about it.

Qualified : Samoa Joe over Robert Roode

Joe climbs to the top. He hangs it!

Winner : Samoa Joe (***¾ – This KOTM match is very different from the others, as in it was lacking in the amount of hardcore spots we usually see. Instead, they went out there and put on a smartly wrestled match, and it worked. It wasn’t the greatest thing ever, but it was kind of nice to see for a change. There were some hardcore spots, like the occasional shots with the ladder or Rhino Goring Christian off the apron through the table, but other than that, they just went out there and had a smartly wrestled match. Even though you knew he wasn’t going to win, Roode still looked like he belonged, which was nice. Rhino, the man who only seems to get pushed into the main event if Christian‘s by his side, naturally looked good here too. Christian is always a great fit for this match. Booker T and Joe both looked good here too. Joe going over here was obvious, but still the right move as having him lost the title so early would have been a mistake. Actually, no, I take that back. It actually might have been better to get the belt off Joe and onto Booker so Joe doesn’t get buried as badly as he did and Booker gets a world title reign. It probably would’ve made the ending of Victory Road go better by having a DQ finish instead of, well, nothing. They then could have had Joe go over a Hard Justice. This way the KOTM match would continue to look like a huge threat to the champion. Alright, I’m getting off topic. Overall, this was very different from what we expect from KOTM matches, but this was still a good match nonetheless.

Nash nods on with approval as Joe celebrates. Tenay and West recap the match. Nash and Joe shake hands. Joe starts to walk off as we fade out.

Extras:

There are a lot of Extras here. One is PPV Setup, then there’s a Ace Young interview you can’t afford to miss, a fantastic interview from Jake “the Snake” Roberts, Pre-Wedding interviews that are utterly hilarious, a random Dixie Carter interview, and post match interview from the KOTM match. (If you didn’t notice, I was using sarcasm throughout the first half of those)

Easter Egg – If you go to the Bonus menu and go to PPV Setup, hit the up button on your remote and then enter to unlock the almighty Easter Egg.
-Dust For Life’s “Release The Flood” is used as this is a music video of the PPV.
__________________________________________

Bad:
-Everything involving Kong (I’m a fan of Kong’s, but everything involving her at the PPV was utter bullshit)
-Lethal/So Cal Val wedding (Do I need to explain why)

Average:
-The Beautiful People and Moose vs Gail Kim, ODB and Roxxi (This wasn’t bad, just nothing good)
-LAX vs Team 3D (Again, these two have had better, but this wasn’t bad, just alright)

Good:
-Kaz/Williams (Great X-Division match to kick off the show)
-Styles/Angle (MOTY candidate between these two easily makes this show worth buying by itself)
-KOTM match (Good main event to close things off)

The 411: Basically, this was a three match PPV. If you’re going to get this PPV for any other reason that Kaz/Petey, Styles/Angle, or the KOTM match, then you’ll either be disappointed, have low expectations, or you’re really dumb. Watching this PPV live, I loved this. Good wrestling is all I ask for on PPV, and we definitely got that. Try to out of your way to get this one. Skip through the bad and just watch the good (and average if you want), because it’s definitely worth it.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]