Ronnie’s Reviews: TNA Slammiversary 2009

Pretty cool video package kicks things off, using Goldy Lock’s “Take It Out On You” as the theme song. We’re welcomed in by Tenay and the pyro soon follows.

Match 1 : Jay Lethal vs New Japan Jr. Tag Team Champion Alex Shelley vs Consequences Creed vs New Japan Jr. Tag Team Champion Chris Sabin vs Suicide© – King of the Mountain match – X-Division Championship

Background : So basically, there was no one in the X-Division throughout 2009 other than Suicide. The only wrestlers even remotely close to being in X-Division title contention would be the Machine Guns and Lethal Consequences. Since the tag team scene was becoming harder to break into, TNA decided to cut their loses and just throw these two teams in the X-Division. So for about 5 months, we got multiple battles between these five guys, and with Daniels being thrown in for a brief period. This was the culmination of this rivalry though, as Homicide would soon enter into title contention and Joe would soon be returning.

So yeah, for some reason, TNA decided that one KOTM match wasn’t enough, so they decided to have another. Look, I’m a fan of the KOTM match, but two in one night is overkill. I miss the days where this match took place once a year, or hell, even took place at all.

The special guest belt holder is Curtis Granderson of the Detroit Tiger’s. He’s out to hold the belt, but he’s going to be joining commentary also.

All four guys go straight after Suicide to start things off. Creed with a clothesline in the corner and Jay hit’s the dropkick. Springboard bulldog by Creed connects. Reverse atomic drop by Shelley, dropkick to the knee by Sabin, Shelley floats over and Sabin hit’s the dropkick to the face. Creed brings a ladder into the ring as Suicide fights back. Clotheslines by the gun but Suicide ducks one and this a springboard back elbow to both of the Guns. Lethal sets the ladder up in the corner. Suicide slides under it and takes all four guys out with it. Suicide Solution onto the ladder takes Lethal out. 1…2…3.

Qualified : Suicide over Jay Lethal

Granderson now leaves the commentary table. Creed now takes Suicide out as Lethal goes to the box. Double suplex by the guns to Suicide. Running legdrops by all 3 guys to Suicide. The Guns set the ladder up on the ropes. Creed then cataupls Suicide into a reverse STO position by Shelley. Sabin hit’s the enzuigiri and Shelley drops Suicide face first into the ladder. Creed goes to splash Suicide in the ladder, but Suicide throws the ladder at him instead. Shelley misses Suicide in the corner. Sabin then hits Shelley by accident Suicide hits Sabin with that swinging reverse neck breaker. Suicide Solution to Shelley takes him out. Forget about it. Shelley now goes to the box. Lethal’s out now and goes straight after Suicide. Axe handle off the top by Lethal connects. Pin but only two. Jumping clothesline by Lethal. Pin but again only two. Suicide flips over a backdrop attempt and throws Lethal into the corner face first. Sabin takes a steel chair and throws it at Suicide’s face. Lethal now brings the chair in. He signals to Sabin and sets the chair up. Sabin its in it. Lethal goes for the Lethal Combination on the chair. Just as he’s about to hit it, Sabin springs up out of the chair, making sure he doesn’t get hit. Sabin covers but Lethal breaks it up. All three guys pile on top of Suicide for the pin. Apparently Lethal’s the one that qualified.

Qualified : Jay Lethal over Suicide

Shelley gets out of the box and all four guys celebrate in the ring. Lethal calls for the belt. The Guns then take them out. Series of maneuvers se the Guns get clothesline in the corner. Letha set up in the corner as the Guns hit him with double kicks. Motor City Machine Guns Sandwich to Creed. Shelley with a urinagi/backbreker combo and Shelley drops a knee off the top to the head. He then rolls through and hits Lethal with a backcracker. Creed low bridges Sabin over the ropes. Shelley goes for the Sliced Bread on Lethal, but Creed catches him in a fireman’s carry position and plants him with a TKO. 1…2…3.

Qualified : Consequences Creed over Alex Shelley

Lethal sets the ladder up in the corner now. Sidewalk slam backbreaker by Lethal and Creed hit’s the russian leg sweep. Camel Clutch by Creed and Lethal hit’s the hesitation dropkick. Pin but only two. Suicide fights back but Sabin takes him out. Suicide counters a Cradle Shock attempt and hits Sabin with a monkey flip onto the ladder. Lethal gets throws to the outside but brings Suicide out with him. Flip dive by Creed takes Suicide out. Lethal sets up a chair but Suicide throws his head into it. Sabin to the top of the penalty box and hits Suicide and Creed with a huge crossbody. Shelley sets the ladder up and starts to climb, but he hasn’t qualified yet. Sabin asks him what he’s doing. Sabin lays down and allows Shelley to pin him.

Qualified : Alex Shelley over Chris Sabin

Shelley starts to climb now. Suicide hit’s a springboard dropkick on the ladder though. Lethal and Creed are now back in and take out Suicide. Lethal sets the ladder up on the top rope. Creed then whips Suicide face first into it. Sabin goes onto the top of it, but Shelley meets him up there. Creed goes for a suplex, but Suicide counters. Lethal’s on top of the ladder now. Creed dropkicks Shelley by accident, taking him off the apron. Suicide now front suplexes Creed onto the ladder, which then launches Lethal across the ring. Awesome. Here comes Sabin. He clothesline Suicide over the top. Sprinboard tornado DDT to Lethal. Forget about it.

Qualified : Chris Sabin over Jay Lethal

Creed hits Sabin with a pump handle throw. Shelley runs in and hit’s the WA4 on Creed. Suicide with a slingshot DDT to Shelley. Sabin hits Suicide with the Cradle Shock. Sabin’s all alone now. He sets the ladder up and grabs the belt. Suicide grabs him by the leg though. Sabin throws Suicide into the corner. Sabin ties Suicide to the tree of woe. Here we go. Hesitation Dropkick connects. Sabin starts to climb again, but Lethal’s out just in time. Backsuplex off the ladder by Jay. Shelley kills him with a Frog Splash though. Superkick to Suicide by Shelley. Shelley now sets the ladder up on the outside, so it’s connecting from the guardrail to the ring. Superkick/enzuigiri combo to Shelley by Creed. Slam to Suicide as Lethal goes to the top. Sabin split’s the legs of Lethal though. Creed tries to backdrop Sabin onto the ladder, but Sabin lands on his feet. Suicide dropkicks Creed, who in turn falls back into Sabin, who then falls back first onto the ladder. Sabin meets Shelley on the top, but Shelley fights him off. Flying thrust kick by Shelley takes Suicide out. Baseball slide by Shelley knocks Suicide onto the set up chair. Shelley then hits him with a plancha over the top. Awesome. Lethal hits Sabin, who’s still on the ladder, with an elbow. Shelley and Creed are on the apron now. Shelley with a superkick. He wants the Slice Bread. He hits it! That looked brutal. Shelley and Suicide do battle on the outside. Shelley goes for a Slice Bread, using the penalty box to run up, but Suicide pushes him off and then dropkicks him over the guardrail. Suicide now sets the ladder up to the crowd’s dismay. He starts to climb, but Lethal pushes the ladder over. Suicide lands on the top rope and then runs up the penalty box. Lethal throws the ladder at Suicide, but Suicide catches it. OK, this next spot it kind of hard to describe. Lethal goes up to the second rope, but Suicide puts the ladder on top of his back. Creed runs up the penalty box. Shelley sets a ladder up in the middle of the ring. Suicide lays Creed on top of the ladder as Shelley starts to climb. Suicide walks across the ladder and hits Shelley with an awesome diving cutter. Suicide starts to climb now. He hangs it!

Winner : Suicide (***½ – Great opener. Some of the spots looked more contrived than others, but this was still a fun match. The reason I hated the idea of having this match take place at this PPV is that for one, it takes away from the main event, and that the winner was obvious. Suicide had to win this match, and the fact he was going to retain the belt in this match again takes away from it. Still, good match here.)

-Tenay and West now run down the card.

-We’re in the back with Shane Douglas. Lauren informs us that Team 3D were in Japan the night before and have a really long flight back. Douglas now comes out. He says every place he’s been, he’s set the standard. He’s been the guy who’s carried the gold place to place. Now Daniels is going to come out and think he can beat a guy like him. He didn’t come to Slammiversary to watch himself get beat. He feels sorry for no man. There will be no free passes. Daniels is going to find out that the Franchise is a legend of this sport.

Match 2 : Shane Douglas vs Daniels

Why is it than whenever a company sees two wrestlers return at the same time, they always seem to feud with each other? Shane gets on the mic before this one gets started. He asks if this is how a second rate sports city treats a legend from Pittsburg? OK.

Douglas and Daniels get in each others faces. Daniels pushes Douglas. Douglas with the clubbing blows. Daniels ducks a clothesline and dropkicks the knee. Right hands by Daniels and he locks in a headlock. Douglas counters and walks on Daniel’s back. Drop toe hold by Daniels and he walks on Douglas’ back. Dropkick in the corner by Daniels and he’s now stomping Douglas. Headlock again locked in by Daniels. Douglas pushes Daniels’ out but gets hit with a shoulder block. Douglas goes to duck under Daniels but gets locked back in another headlock. Douglas counters into a backdrop attempt, but Daniels flips over and hit’s a dropkick followed by a spin kick. Daniels goes for a kick, but Douglas stops short and goes to the outside. Daniels fakes out Douglas and then hit’s a split leg moonsault on the outside. He now starts shoving Douglas’ head onto the apron. Douglas shoves Daniels into the ring steps. Hammerlock by Douglas, and he throws Daniels’ shoulder first into the ring steps again. Back in the ring as Douglas starts clubbing the arm. Armbar by Douglas. Daniels fights back but runs into a clothesline. Modified full nelson by Douglas, but he then turns it into a fujiyama armbar. Daniels gets his foot on the ropes. Douglas now stomping the head, but Daniels shoves him off. Enzuigiri by Daniels drills Douglas. Both guys are down now. Clothesline by Daniels. Northern lights suplex connects, but only gets two on the pin. Daniels wants the BME, but Douglas grabs the leg and then kicks Daniels in the head. Both guys trade rights now. Daniels gets the upper hand. Douglas counters a right and locks in a bear hug. Daniels counters out and drills Douglas with an STO. Best. Moonsault. EVAR!!! It’s over.

Winner : Daniels (** – Meh, this match was better than I expected it to be, but that’s not saying much. This was an alright match, nothing offensive, but nothing great either)

-JB’s in the back with Mick Foley. Mick says he’s not much of a numbers man. He says his odds are 40%, because after the bash he threw Jeff, do you really think he’d turn on him. If Jeff knows what’s good for him, he needs to stay champion for a long time. He’s got the world title in his hands. When it’s over, it’s time for him to concentrate on his next title defense, at Bound For Glory, 2010. JB says he’s got a gift for Foley and that he needs to open. Foley walks off with the belt and the box.

Match 3 : Tara vs Angelina Love© (w/ Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne) – TNA Knockouts Championship

Both competitors get face to face. Angelina shoves Tara away. Tie up to start, and Angelina locks in a headlock. Tara pushes her off but gets hit with a shoulder block. Rear waist lock by Angelina, she then trips Tara down and slaps the back of her head. Right hands by Tara. She grabs her by the hair and drapes her over her back. She lets go and then does it again. Tara then tosses Angelina across the ring. Pin but Angelina kicks out quickly and rolls to the outside. Tara with a dropkick to the outside. Tara throws Angelina back in the ring. She goes on the apron but Velvet and Madison pull her down. Back in the ring as Angelina goes for a roll up but it’s not enough. Snapmare by Angelina followed with a dropkick. Pin but only two. Angelina mounts Tara and hits her with the rights. Tara gets a sunset flip, but only two. Kick to the gut by Angelina, and she follows up with a knee lift, and then a spin kick. 1…2..Th…No. Tara gets thrown to the outside, and TBP beat her down. They then throw her into the ring steps. Pin but only two. Angelina starts to throw a temper tantrum. Tara starts to fight back with the rights. Big clothesline follows, and another. Scoop slam by Tara. She lifts her up in the torture rack, and then drops her down into the sidewalk slam. Tara rolls to the outside and takes out Velvet. And now Madison. She goes back in the ring but gets drilled with a bicycle kick. Velvet sprayed her in the eyes with the hair spray. Angelina with the Lights Out, and it’s over.

Winner : Angelina Love (** – Same as the last match, it wasn’t that bad. These two are capable of better, but what they gave us here was alright)

Lauren’s in the back with Dr. Stevie, Raven and Daffney. Stevie says Lauren has some issues and needs to put them to rest, after he’s done with Abyss. Stevie’s not the bad guy. He spent hours trying to put together the jigsaw puzzle known as Chris Parks, but he realized it couldn’t be put together. Tonight, Stevie will have a two for one therapy special. Raven says he like Lauren. She reeks of sadness, and that turns him on. He and Abyss are statistical anomalies. Tonight will be a glorious night of redemption, as nothing has changed between Abyss and Raven. They are headed down a downwards spiral that has no where to go besides hell. They’re going to have that back though, even if it kills them. Quote the Raven, nevermore.

Match 4 : Daffney and Raven (w/ Dr. Stevie) vs Taylor Wilde and Abyss – Mixed Tag Team Monster’s Ball match

Big brawl to kick things off. Raven and Daffney get whipped into each other. Raven then gets thrown into Daffney in the corner. Abyss launches Taylor up into the air as she comes crashing down on Daffney and Raven. Abyss goes for the splash in the corner, but Raven gets out of the way, allowing Daffney to get planted. Raven goes to hit Abyss with a trash can, but Abyss punches it instead. Fireman’s carry slam by Taylor. She runs off the ropes but gets tripped by Stevie. Abyss lifts Daffney up above his head and throws her onto Raven and Stevie. Taylor now goes to the top and takes out all three. Abyss and Raven do battle in the crowd now. Raven rams Abyss into the guardrail. Daffney jumps on Abyss’s back, but Taylor smashes her with a cooking sheet and trash can lid. Raven hits Abyss with a trash can lid as they do battle through the crowd. Abyss counters an irish whip and sends Raven into a steel wall. Raven comes back and hits Abyss with a piece of the guardrail. He starts choking Abyss with it. He now sets a table up. Abyss fights back now with the rights and throws Raven back into the steel wall. Taylor starts kicking Daffney on the ground. Taylor now sets Daffney up on the table and climbs up to the stage. She gets on top on one of the speakers. SPLASH THROUGH THE TABLE!! Abyss and Raven make their way back to the ring now. Raven grabs a kendo stick but Abyss hits him before he can use it. Abyss grabs a bag of tacks. He brings them into the ring and Raven looks scared. Stevie runs in and plants Abyss with the chair. Raven now set the chair up in the middle of the ring. Vintage drop toe hold by Raven to Abyss onto the chair. Stevie starts throwing weapons into the ring. Raven hits Abyss with multiple shots with the kendo stick. Pin but only two. Raven’s now choking Abyss with the kendo stick but Taylor hits him with a trash can lid. Daffney though kills her with a cooking sheet. Raven hits Abyss with the trash can, but Abyss boots the can into his face. Abyss has got the kendo stick and absolutely kills Raven in the back of the head with it. Abyss wants the chokeslam. He goes to hit him with it on the trash can, but Raven accidentally kicked it out of the way on the way up. Abyss goes for the pin but the ref is distracted. Abyss goes after Stevie but raven hits him from behind with the trash can. Abyss ducks a shot and Stevie accidentally gets taken out. Assisted splash off the top from Taylor to Raven. Pin but Stevie grabs the ref. Abyss sets the tacks up in the middle of the ring. Daffney attacks Abyss from behind, but to no avail. She begs Abyss not to attack her. Daffney runs right into Taylor. SPINEBUSTER ONTO THE TACKS!!! Pin but Stevie brakes it up. Abyss goozles Stevie. Raven cracks Abyss in the back with the chair. Raven Effect DDT onto a chair. 1…2…2.932482! Raven goes for the Raven Effect onto the tacks, but Abyss counters with a Black Hole Slam onto the tacks instead. Forget about it.

Winners : Abyss and Taylor Wilde (*** – Really fun match here as these four just went balls out. Going into this, Taylor definitely seemed like the odd man, or woman, out, but she more than held her own and looked like she definitely belonged. Daffney took one hell of a beating in this match, causing the respect I had for her to increase substantially. Overall, really good match between these four)

-JB’s in the back with Jeff Jarrett. Jeff says he has no desire to be World Champion, but if he doesn’t get the title back, there’s no telling what will happen. Mick Foley is a walking, talking time bomb. Jarrett says he’s sick of the head games, and after he wins the TNA title, then he’s going to decide what to do with it.

Match 5 : Matt Morgan vs Sting

Backstory : Matt Morgan wanted a spot in the Main Event Mafia. Sting put up his position in the mafia. If Morgan could beat him, then he would get his spot.

Feeling out process to start, and both guys go for a tie up. Morgan just tosses Sting right out of the ring. He then throws him face first into the guardrail. He picks Sting up by the legs and swings him into the guardrail. Morgan goes back into the ring, but Sting crotches him with the ropes. He then hangs him on the top rope and kicks him to the outside. Sting now kicks the leg of Morgan. Back on the inside now as Sting can’t take Morgan down. Sting runs off the ropes but gets taken down with a discuss clothesline. Tenay informs us that Team 3D has just arrived from their flight. Morgan with the elbows in the corner. Slam by Morgan, and he follows up with a leg drop. Pin but only two. Splash in the corner by Morgan, and he follows up with a sidewalk slam. Pin but again only two. Morgan now chokes Sting on the top rope and then charges him with that body guillotine attack. Morgan’s now choking Sting again in the ropes, and he leg drops his head on the bottom rope. Pin but only two. Morgan now locks in a sleeper. Sting starts to fight back, but Morgan grabs him by the hair and slams him down. Pin but only two. Sleeper again locked in by Morgan. Sting fights back. Both guys trade shots now, and Sting goes after the leg. Sting avoids Morgan in the corner and hit’s a missile dropkick off the top. Stinger Splash connects. Sting goes for another attack but Morgan kills him with a boot. 1..2..2.94563! Morgan wants the Hellavator. Sting tries to land on his feet but falls down. Morgan covers but Sting kicks out. You could tell he was supposed to hit the Death Drop. Sting hit’s a low blow, but for some reason the ref doesn’t care. Scorpion Death Drop connects. 1…2..Th..NO! Morgan catches a kick by Sting but Sting hits him with an enzuigiri. Scorpion Death Lock locked in. Morgan immediately powers out. Sting avoids Morgan in the corner and hit’s a Scorpion Death Drop off the second rope. That’s all folks.

Winner : Sting (**½ – Besides that obvious botch, this was a pretty decent match. It wasn’t anything crazy, but it was definitely an acceptable performance between these two. Sting brought his work rate up to try to make this memorable, but it just wasn’t. With that being said, this match is about as good as you would expect from these two)

-We cut almost immediately after the match to Lauren who’s in the back with AJ and Joe. AJ says that this match is about strategy, having a plan and sticking to it. Joe and he have been talking about the match and what it takes to win. He doesn’t care whether it’s Joe or himself, he’s going to make sure the title comes back to the originals. They’re taking back what is rightfully theirs. Joe says the wait is over for Angle. He’s bringing the Nation of Violence. The Mafia members are falling one by one. It ends where it began, with Angle. Joe is hunting, and tonight, we will become the most powerful force in the history of professional wrestling. I wonder if he said that on purpose as a foreshadowing of the outcome of the main event.

Match 6 : Beer Money vs New Japan Tag Team Champions Team 3D© – TNA World Tag Team Championship

Backstory – Team 3D beat Beer Money to win the belts at Lockdown. Beer Money won a tag team tournament to earn a title shot. There was a mutual respect between the two teams, but when the British Invasion were beating 3D down, Beer Money was no where to be found. Beer Money said they didn’t owe Team 3D anything. The night before this night, 3D had a match in Tokyo and had only just gotten to the arena moments ago from their flight back (kayfabe of course).

Devon and Storm to start things off. Torm with a jab. Storm ducks two shots and locks in a headlock. Devon pushes him off, Storm ducks a clothesline and hits another jab. Head scissors by Storm. Devon springs back up and hits a clothesline. Slam and running headbutt. Pin but only two. Storm pokes the eyes and tags in Roode. Reverse atomic drop by Roode and Storm hit’s the russian leg sweep. Roode follows up with the running knee drop. Brother Ray gets the tag now. Tie up, and Ray pushes Roode into the corner. Roode kicks Ray and hit’s the right. Jab by Ray, and they start to trade shots. Roode runs right into a boot. Ray shoves Roode. Roode ducks a clothesline and hit’s a flying forearm. Another tie up and Ray pushes Roode into the corner. Chops by Ray. Roode with chops of his own. Huge german suplex by Ray practically kills Roode. Roode fights back. Roode goes for a sunset flip, but Ray just hits him with the piston like rights. Tag to Devon as they hit the sidewalk slam/leg drop combination. Roode fights back and tags in Storm. They go for a double suplex, but Ray pushes Devon back to his feet. Double clothesline by Devon takes both guys out. Devon with a boot in the corner to Storm, but Roode trips the legs and crotches him on the ring post. Storm mounts Devon and hits him with the rights. Clothesline by Storm follows. Tag to Roode and he starts choking Devon. Sleeper locked in by Roode. Devon fights back but runs into a back elbow. Cover but only two. Tag to Storm. Storm whips Devon off into the ropes and they both take each other down with clotheslines. Ray and Roode get the tags. Clotheslines by Ray, and he hits Roode with a backdrop. Roode counters a backdrop but gets planted with the Bubba Bomb. Storm breaks up the pin. Double shoulder block to Roode by 3D. 3D’s coming up. Storm hits Ray with an enzuigiri as Devon hits Roode with a flapjack. He sends Storm to the outside. Ray slams Roode down. Here we go. WAZZUPP!!! Diving headbutt connects. DEVON!! Devon grabs a table and sets it up on the outside. Storm takes Devon out. Ray grabs Storm but Roode attacks him from behind. Spinebuster by Roode connects. Pin but only two. Tag to Storm now. Double suplex connects. You know what time it is. BEER! MONEY! The British Invasion are now making their way down the ramp. Magnus and Williams join commentary. Facebuster by Storm and he hits Ray with a running neck breaker. Tag to Roode now. Ray counters a backdrop. Rock Bottom to Roode. Ray tags in Devon. Devon’s now taking it to both guys. Backdrop to Roode. Back elbow for Storm. Front slam to Roode. Pin but only two. Devon avoids Roode in the corner and then kill him with a clothesline. Storm runs right into a powerslam, and Devon hits Roode with a spinebuster. Ray fights Storm out of the ring. Ray lifts Roode up and they hit him with the reverse 3D. Storm goes to the top and takes out Ray and Devon with a crossbody. Boot in the corner by Devon to Storm, and he takes down Roode with a clothesline. Ray lifts Roode up on his shoulders. Roode slides out and shoves Ray into Devon, crotching him on the top. Backcracker to Ray by Storm. Hurricanrana off the top by Storm to Devon. Splash to Devon by Roode to follow. 1…2…2.95234! Beer Money lifts Devon onto the top. They want a double superplex, but Ray knocks Storm to the outside and lifts Roode onto his shoulders. Doomsday Device connects. 1…2…Th..NO! Devon goes for a slam on Roode, but Roode slides out. Storm goes to spit the beer into Devon’s face, but he ducks and he hits Roode by accident. Devon then takes Storm off the apron. 3D TO ROODE!! Rob Terry gets on the apron to distract the ref. Ray takes him off the apron. Brother Ray to the top. He takes out Magnus and Terry with a crossbody. Williams gets on the apron, but Devon shoves him off and Williams goes flying through the table. Superkick to Devon by Storm. DWI CONNECTS! Forget about it.

Winners : Beer Money (***¼ – Great match between these two teams, and the rivalry between 3D and the Brits continues while the belts jump over to Beer Money in preparation for their feud against the MEM. My only gripe here is that TNA really went out of their way to protect Team 3D, and I’m not really sure why. They had the Brits interfere, which was fine, but they also had to play up the fact that they had jet lag from a 20 hour flight and weren’t 100% ready. Why? 3D is one of the most over tag teams in the business and a loss to Beer Money doesn’t hurt their credibility at all. Putting that aside though, this was really good stuff here)

-JB’s in the back with Kurt Angle. Angle says it isn’t about Kevin, Booker or Scotty, it’s about him and Joe. Tonight is about him and Samoa Joe. Tonight, Kurt Angle becomes the next world champion. The Main Event Mafia will resume their position on the throne. At the end of the night, we will be celebrating. Yep, definite foreshadowing.

Match 7 : TNA Legends Champion AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Jeff Jarrett vs Kurt Angle vs Mick Foley© – King of the Mountain match – TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Backstory : Mick Foley’s reign of terror as TNA World Champion had only just begun in his eyes. He said that if he retain the belt in this match, he would only have to defend it once a year. Jarrett was looking to take the power away from Mick Foley, and if it meant having to win the KOTM match for a third time, so be it. AJ Styles was looking for respect, and it was now or never to claim it. Samoa Joe was looking to take out the MEM, as he had already taken out Nash, Booker and Steiner. The only man left on his warpath was Kurt Angle, and this was his opportunity to capitalize. Kurt Angle on the other hand was looking to reclaim the power in TNA and to once again have the Main Event Mafia rule. The King of the Mountain match has been kind to many of the competitors competing in this one. Kurt Angle became the very first TNA World Champion in this match, Samoa Joe was the first man to retain the belt in this match, and Jeff Jarrett is the only man to be undefeated in this match while holding two victories. It hasn’t been so kind to AJ Styles though, who is 0-3 in this match, while being the man to lose the belt in 05. Mick Foley has never competed in this match before, so how he would adapt to this environment was still unknown. Qualification matches saw Jeff Jarrett defeat Eric Young, AJ Styles defeated Daniels, Samoa Joe defeat Kevin Nash in a Cage match, and Kurt Angle defeat Sting.

Angle makes his way out wearing a Pittsburg Penguins jersey.

Immediately after Foley’s introduced, Joe has a Detroit Redwings Jersey on and he goes straight after Angle. He’s not letting up and the crowd‘s going nuts. The match hasn’t started yet, but Joe doesn’t care. The refs send Joe to the penalty box and announce that Angle’s qualified.

Qualified : Kurt Angle over Samoa Joe

Jarrett pulls the jersey off Angle. Styles and Jarrett trade shots on Angle now. Angle counters a Jarrett backdrop. He runs at AJ but AJ jumps over, ducks under and hits that dropkick. Jarrett hits that guillotine press in the ropes. Enzuigiri by Jarrett. AJ covers but only gets two. Jarrett covers but only gets two. Double suplex to Angle. Double back elbow to Kurt. Foley’s now getting in the ring. Foley goes to slam Jarrett, but Foley falls back and Jarrett covers. Foleys in the ropes. Angle goes to suplex AJ, but AJ lands on the apron. Angle drapes his head on the top rope, causing him to fall to the outside. Foley was arguing with the ref that he counted three, and goes to the penalty box.

Qualified : Jeff Jarrett over Mick Foley

Joe’s taking it to Angle now. Clothesline to Jarrett, and then one for Angle. Joe throws Angle to the outside. Back elbow by Joe, and he hits that spinning enzuigiri. AJ puts a headlock on Joe. Joe pushes him off. AJ ducks a clothesline and hits Angle with a baseball slide. Jarrett goes back to Joe now as he throws him into the turnbuckle. Reverse atomic drop by Joe, kick and the senton. Cover by Joe but Jarrett kicks out. Foley’s yelling at Don West that this is his plan. Angle blindsides Joe. Joe clotheslines him over the top. Foley’s back in and he hits Joe with the rights. Elbow by Joe, and the discuss elbow connects, and another. Coquina Clutch to Foley. Foley’s passing out. On the outside Angle whips Jarrett over the barricade and into the crowd. Foley’s apparently passed out.

Qualified : Samoa Joe over Mick Foley

Angle brings a ladder into the ring, but Joe hits him with an elbow. Joe takes the ladder and hits Angle in the face with it. And then a shot for Jarrett. He drops the ladder on Angle. Foley throws Jarrett into the corner and hits him with the jabs. Joe suplexes Angle onto the ladder. Jarrett sets the ladder up in the corner. Joe whips Jarrett into it back first. Foley’s passed out in the penalty box. Joe’s got the belt as he sets up the ladder. Joe starts to climb and Foley’s out of the box. Joe goes to hang the belt, but Foley knocks the ladder over, and Joe fell back first onto it. Foley sets the ladder up in the corner. AJ takes it to Foley now. Foley throws AJ to the outside. Foley whips Joe into the ladder. Foley charges Joe but gets hiptossed into the ladder. Jarrett now sets the ladder up in the middle of the ring. It’s broken though, so he picks it up and throws it at Angle, who was on the outside. Jarrett grabs another ladder and now sets it up. He starts to climb, but Angle hits him with a low blow. Angle clotheslines Foley and then stomps him out of the ring. AJ takes it to Angle now. AJ sets the ladder up in the corner. Angle fights AJ off and goes for a german, but AJ flips over. AJ goes for a tornado DDT off the ladder, but Angle holds on and then belly to belly suplexes AJ into it. Jarrett looks to crash Angle with the guitar, but Angle saw it coming. Jarrett goes for a pedigree, but Angle counters into a backdrop, but Jarrett goes for the sunset flip, but Angle locks in the Ankle Lock. Jarrett kicks out and then takes Angle out with the guitar. Jarrett now sets the ladder up. He starts to climb, but Foley does to. Foley tells Jarrett to give him the belt, and they start to trade rights. Sprinboard dropkick by AJ, taking out the ladder. The ladder fell onto AJ though. Joe’s now in and goes after Jarrett while AJ takes it to Foley. Headbutt by Foley, and he then climbs to the top of the penalty box. Joe sets a ladder leaning sideways in the corner. AJ goes to the top of the box. Foley looks to suplex AJ off of it, but AJ fights out. AJ now looks to suplex Foley, but Foley sends AJ flying back into the ring. Joe locks Jarrett in the Coquina Clutch, but Jarrett counters out with a jawbreaker. Stroke to Joe onto the ladder set up in the corner. Olympic Slam to Jarrett. Pin but only two. Foley with a huge elbow drop off the top of the penalty box to Angle. 1…2…3!

Qualified : Mick Foley over Kurt Angle

Foley grabs the sock. He instead sets the ladder up in the middle of the ring. AJ grabs the Legends Championship belt and hits Foley in the back with it. Huge enzuigiri by AJ takes Foley off the ladder. Styles and Joe trade shots on Foley. Pele to Foley, and he rolls to the outside. Joe throws AJ over the top, and AJ comes crashing down onto Foley. Apparently AJ pinned Joe, but the cameras didn’t catch it.

Qualified : AJ Styles over Mick Foley

Jarrett takes out Joe with the ladder. Angle’s now out of the box, but he can barely move. Jarrett starts to climb the ladder, but AJ starts to climb too. AJ grabs the belt from Jarrett. Angle goes after Jarrett, but Jarrett kicks him off. Jarrett dropped the belt by accident. He then dives at Angle and plants him with a DDT. Styles comes back down the ladder and crawls towards the belt. He finally gets it, but Joe goes after him. They start to trade shots. Joe runs off the ropes but gets hit with a huge dropkick from Styles. Foley’s now out of the box. Foley goes straight after AJ. He takes AJ out with the belt. Joe charges Foley and hits him with a dropkick, knocking the belt into his face. Jarrett and Foley do battle on the outside now. Foley’s choking Jarrett as Joe climbs the ladder. AJ grabs him by the boot, but Joe tries to kick him off. AJ finally brings Joe down, and he crashes. The belt falls onto AJ’s neck, and AJ starts climbing. Joe takes AJ down. Styles whips Joe, and Joe goes through the ropes and takes out Jarrett and Foley with the suicide dive. Angle Slam coming up on AJ, but AJ counters into a sunset flip, but turns that into the Styles Clash. AJ looks around and doesn’t see anyone. He starts to climb, but Joe grabs him and powerbombs him down. Joe picks him up and kills him with a clothesline. Joe starts to climb and Angle does to. Joe hands the belt to Angle, and Angle hangs it for the win.

Winner : Kurt Angle (***¼ – This was a weird King of the Mountain match. There was a lot of nothing happening at once, but when stuff was happening, it was pretty damn exciting. Still, this is my least favorite of the KOTM matches. That doesn’t mean it was bad, it just means that the others were really good while this one was just good. BTW, I have no idea what was up with Foley in this match. He was coming into this match with a game plan that he was confident would work, and it just failed miserably. Common sense would tell you that it would be smart to qualify before spending a lot of time in the penalty box, not the other way around. Just throwing it out there)

The Main Event Mafia are on the stage, celebrating Angle’s win. Angle stands tall on top of the ladder as we fade out.

Extras
Fan Interaction – I didn’t watch this, but I’m assuming it’s nothing different that what we’ve seen from this extra on other DVD’s.

Post Match Interviews – Interviews with Abyss, Daffney (who was having thumbtacks pulled out of here back and head while laughing) and Dr. Stevie, Andrew Thomas (yes, the referee Andrew Thomas), Don West, Mike Tenay, Samoa Joe, Sharmell, Booker T, Jeff Jarrett and Mick Foley. The whole thing takes up about 6 minutes.

Grits Music Video – Music video featuring AJ Styles newest theme performed by Grits.

___________________________________________________________________________
Good:
X-Division KOTM (Obvious choice for the opener, and it was a great way to get the crowd into the show)
Monster’s Ball (Surprisingly really good match here as they just went balls out)
3D vs Beer Money (These two teams have really good chemistry, and they put on a really good match here)
World Title KOTM (Good main event, although the Joe heel turn was really stupid. Still, this was a good match)

Average:
Shane Douglas vs Daniels (Better than I expected, but it wasn’t anything special)
Love vs Tara (Alright match here as these two are capable of better, but this wasn’t bad)
Sting vs Morgan (Better than I expected as Sting amped up the work rate while Morgan was there for the ride. Even though, it still wasn’t anything great.

Bad:
None

The 411: When I was getting ready to recap this PPV, I thought I was going to bash the hell out of it. It’s no secret that 2009 was a shitty year for TNA, or for their PPV’s at least. This one though wasn’t that bad though. There actually wasn’t anything bad about this show, as it all ranged from average to good. Also, every Slammiversary event has always seemed rushed, but with this one only having 7 matches, it had a nice flow to it. The only bad was the Samoa Joe turn in the main event. It was something that didn’t really make sense and that would serve no purpose for TNA, it seems like it was only used to try to give us a shocking moment. Besides that, this is probably one of the best PPV’s TNA had put on throughout 2009 (though that’s really not saying much) and is probably worth going out of your way to go get it.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]