TNA – The 50 Greatest Moments DVD Review

TNA 50 GREATEST MOMENTS

Introduction

We open up with a pretty cool video recap highlighting some of the things I’m sure we’ll be seeing in greater detail later on. Mike Tenay and Don West are hosting this one. The face Tenay makes when West is talking about his favorite moments is super stupid looking.

#50: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper Humiliates Chris Rose

This is from the November 11, 2004 episode of “The Best Damn Wrestling Event Ever Period.” Rose wore a “wrestling is fake” t-shirt, so Piper “embarrassed” him and Rose pretty much no-sold it. That was stupid, as was Shane Douglas talking about it.

#49: Chris Rock Comes To the Asylum

This was back in 2002, when they were still in Nashville. This was a pretty good celebrity appearance. Jeremy Borash loved it! They used footage for the movie “Head of State,” which I never saw.

#48: The Debut of Diamond Dallas Page

This was on the November 12, 2004 episode of Impact. DDP interfered in a match between Raven and Monty Brown. DDP did nothing for TNA and was basically a waste of both time and money. Raven talks about it and makes some lame jokes.

#47: Jeff Jarrett Brawls with the Tennessee Titans

On July 22, 2002, some of the Titans players were in the audience. Of course, Jarrett is able to fight them off sort of. Jarrett talks about this one.

#46: Jim Cornette Joins TNA Wrestling

This happened on the June 18, 2006 Slammiversary pay-per-view. Cornette went on to make decisions that made no sense while cutting long-winded promos.

#45: The Gore from Hell

On the January 28, 2006 episode of Impact, Rhino and Abyss had a match that went to the floor. Rhino Gored Abyss through one of the security walls. James Mitchell talks about it, and so does Rhino.

#44: The Return of Senshi

This was from the April 23, 2006 Lockdown pay-per-view. Christopher Daniels was supposed to face Jushin Liger, but he couldn’t make it. Thus was the (re)debut of Senshi, formerly known as Low Ki. This was a pretty good match.

#43: The Road Warriors Come To TNA

This was back on December 18, 2002. They came to the rescue of America’s Most Wanted, who were getting beaten up by the Harris Brothers. Jeremy Borash gets all gay for the LOD. I can’t believe Animal worked in WWE from 2005-2006. Chris Harris talks about it too, and the camera work is starting to make me sick. Why the FUCK does it keep moving around?

#42: Jushin “Thunder” Liger Faces Samoa Joe

This was at the October 23, 2005 Bound For Glory pay-per-view. It was cool to have Liger in TNA, but the match was barely over seven minutes and thus nothing special. Joe talks about the respect he has for Liger.

#41: The Team 3D Funeral

This was on Impact on October of 2005. This was a hilarious segment, due mostly to the involvement of Team Canada. AMW talks about this one, and the camera work is KILLING me. Whenever AMW talks it’s clear that Harris is the good one and Storm is the hanger-on.

#40: Toby Keith Eliminates Jeff Jarrett

This was on the first show, way back on June 19, 2002. Toby Keith first played his then hit single “The Angry American,” and then later entered the Gauntlet for the Gold and eliminated Jeff Jarrett with the help of Scott Hall. He was able to pull off a nice suplex. Jeremy Borash calls this one of his favorite moments in TNA, ever.

#39: Team NWA Wins the World X Cup

This is from May of 2004, and culminated in an Ultimate X match between Chris Sabin (USA), Petey Williams (Canada), and Hector Garza (Mexico). Incidentally, this is the only Ultimate X match that I haven’t seen. Sabin and Christopher Daniels talk about the competition.

#38: The Fire

This was at the August 13, 2006 Hard Justice pay-per-view. An actual fire started on the top of the building. The fans were evacuated and then brought back in.

#37: James Mitchell Scalps Raven

This would be from September 17, 2003. Shane Douglas beat Raven in a hair versus hair match (he also puked in the ring). It’s an awful match, and made no better by the fact that Vampiro interfered. Raven’s head gets all bloody and gross. Tenay of course oversells it. Douglas, Raven, and Mitchell all talk about the event.

#36: Rhino Debuts at No Surrender

This was July 17, 2005. Raven retained the title against Abyss in a dog collar match, and afterward Jeff Jarrett comes down and brings Rhino with him (a “surprise” that everyone knew about, basically).

#35: The Debut of Team 3D

This is October 1, 2005, and the debut of TNA on Spike TV. Jarrett is gloating about being World Champion again. The 3Live Kru interrupts him. Team Canada comes out to give the heels the advantage. Team 3D’s music then hits and they come out to a pretty good pop, but they both look extremely out of shape. Jarrett avoids taking the 3D, but then Kevin Nash comes out (making his return to TNA) to build up to a match with Jarrett that would never actually happen.

#34: Samoa Joe Wins the X Division Championship

This match is from Turning Point on December 11, 2005. He faced champion AJ Styles in a ****½ match. Joe talks about the match and the X-Division as a whole, as does Styles. This was very nearly the MOTY.

#33: Abyss Attacks Christian Cage at His Home

This would have been on the April 8, 2006 episode of Impact. Abyss, James Mitchell, and Alex Shelley (to be the camera man of course) went to Cage’s house so that Abyss could attack him and try to drown him in his own pool. Mitchell talks about it, and he and Raven cut the exact same kind of promos and I’m getting tired of them. Alex Shelley makes his first appearance on the DVD and cracks me right up by saying “It was pretty brutal. I mean honestly, my only role in that was being an inurnment bystander who happened to be filming it for his own enjoyment. If that’s wrong, then shoot me ya know?” Elix Skipper also talks about how involving family outside the ring is something you just don’t know. Christopher Daniels agrees. They show Abyss trying to drown Cage, but Mitchell stops him because “you can’t win the belt from a dead man.” I don’t know about that, it might be good enough to win the belt by forfeit or something.

#32: The First TNA Steel Cage Match

This was on June 25, 2003, and featured America’s Most Wanted challenging Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper for the NWA World Tag Team Titles. It’s a ****¼ match by my rating, and probably the TNA MOTY for 2003. Daniels and Skipper are both pretty proud of the match. Elix Skipper is coming off as pretty likable on this DVD. AMW talks about it too, and we get some clips of the match.

#31: Ken Shamrock Wins the First TNA Era World Title

This would be from June 19, 2002. It was Shamrock and Malice, of all people, as the final two, with Ricky Steamboat as the special referee. The match blew and Shamrock held the belt for about a month before losing it to Ron Killings.

#30: Cookiegate

This was one of the worst segments ever in TNA, as it made them look bush league and childish. Douglas mocking WWE’s production while looking at their camera work makes me laugh. Douglas and Traci talking about it only make the segment even worse. I can’t describe how much I hate stuff like this. Douglas tries putting it over like it was the most daring thing ever.

#29: The Truth Wins the NWA World Heavyweight Title

Ron Killings was pretty unproven when he beat Ken Shamrock for the NWA World Title back on 8.7.02. I kinda liked his heel character back then. Either way it was better than that “we been waitin’ for ya … and we gonna knock your blocks off” crap he rapped about earlier this year. Killings himself comments on the match.

#28: Controversy in Canada

This was at a BCW event in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on 9.15.06. Jarrett got America’s Most Wanted to turn heel in order to help him regain the NWA World Title from Raven. I wish that they would have included the whole match as a bonus feature or something; it’s always nice to have full matches. Jarrett and Raven comment on it.

#27: Jeff Hardy’s Insane Swanton at Bound for Glory 2005

This is a Jeff Hardy bump from the TNA PPV on 10.23.05. He hit the Insane Swanton on Abyss in a four-way match that also included Sabu and Raven. Chris Sabin says he would never do anything like that. Elix Skipper was impressed as well.

#26: Brian Urlacher Takes Out the Trash

This is from the 1.28.04 weekly PPV. Don Callis and Jonny Fairplay called Urlacher out, and he got rid of them, as well as Legend and Kevin Northcutt. Jeremy Borash and Alex Shelley talk about how great Urlacher is.

#25: Victory Road 2004

This was TNA’s first three-hour pay-per-view event, held on 11.7.04. The best main event they could come up with was Jeff Jarrett versus Jeff Hardy in a ladder match for the NWA World Title, with special appearances by Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

#24: A Freak Unleashed in TNA Wrestling

This refers to the debut of Scott Steiner at the 3.12.06 Destination X pay-per-view. He came out to beat up Sting when 15 other guys couldn’t get the job done. Jarrett comments on bringing Steiner in from the outside.

#23: Lockdown – Wrestling’s First All-Steel Cage Event

This was on 4.23.05, and is remembered more for having Chris Candido’s last match. Oddly enough, match-wise it turned out to be a pretty good show, with an awesome AJ Styles versus Abyss match on top. James Mitchell talks about the show, followed by Christopher Daniels,

#22: Basebrawl!

This took place at an Impact show in 2005, as Bobby Heenan helped honor Chicago White Sock AJ Pierzynski. Also on hand are Dale Torborg, Mike Tenay, AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, and Sonjay Dutt. The Diamonds in the Rough came out to break it up, and a brawl breaks out.

#21: Rhino Wins the World Title at Bound for Glory 2005

Rhino was a World beater on this night, winning a four-way Monster’s Ball match, a 10-man gauntlet match, and then pinning Jarrett for the title. He would lose it back to Jarrett 10 days later. Funny thing is that he only got this chance because Kevin Nash got “injured” AGAIN. Jarrett no-selling the Gore is pretty irritating.

#20: Raven Debuts and Steals the NWA World Title

This was from 1.22.03, when Jarrett had successfully defended his title against Christopher Daniels. Raven ran out and grabbed the belt (even though there were like 50 babyfaces in the ring). This is when Raven should have won the title, rather than 2005. James Mitchell comments. Jeremy Borash says McMahon fears Raven. The camera work on Raven is fucking ridiculous. I just want to shake the camera man and slap him in the mouth.

#19: Nash, Hall, and Savage Arrive in TNA

I thought the Victory Road entry would have covered this. This is silly to have this high, because none of them made any kind of Impact in TNA (though Nash is still sort of around) and they were all too injured to be worth anything in the ring. Savage was particularly embarrassing.

#18: The First Six Sides of Steel Cage Match

This was between America’s Most Wanted and The Naturals for the NWA World Tag Team Titles on 7.21.04. I have never seen the match in full. AMW comments on it and we get some clips of the match. The Naturals then get their chance to talk about it.

#17: Jeff Jarrett Becomes “The King of the Mountain”

This is from Jarrett winning the first King of the Mountain match on 6.2.04. I’ve never seen this match in full either. Someone let me know if you have tons of old TNA Weekly PPVs that you could copy or want to unload. Jarrett talks about it briefly.

#16: Raven Fulfills His Destiny

This is from the second King of the Mountain match, on 6.19.05, where Raven won the NWA World Title two years after it would have been really awesome.

#15: The Debut of the Ultimate X

On 8.20.03, Michael Shane (as he was known at the time), Chris Sabin, and Frankie Kazarian entered the first Ultimate X match. It was a really cool match that surprisingly holds up really well. TNA has definitely overdone this gimmick in the last few years. Matt Bentley (as he is now known) comments on it, and then Elix Skipper does as well.

#14: Alex Shelley Film Sting

On Impact in February of 2006, Jeff Jarrett sent Alex Shelley to California to candidly record Sting in his daily life. Shelley’s commentary over the video footage is pretty damn funny. Sadly I’m not at all into Sting in TNA. Shelley has fun looking back at it too.

#13: AJ Styles Crowned as First X Division Champion

Styles beat Jerry Lynn in the finals of a double-elimination round robin tournament that went about a half an hour on TNA’s second show on 6.26.02. Styles was a good choice for first champion, and the match is pretty good too. He enjoys reminiscing about it.

#12: The Debut of Jeff Hardy

They made a big deal out of this and he flopped hard, never really winning any big matches and often not showing up for shows. He made his debut on 6.23.04 against AJ Styles as a mystery opponent, and was officially signed on 7.00.04. Jeremy Borash seems to have a bit of a crush on Hardy.

#11: TNA’s First Pay Per View

This took place on 6.19.02, in Huntsville, Alabama of all places. Ken Shamrock won the newly vacated NWA World Title, and Ricky Steamboat was the guest referee.

#10: Candido Leads the Naturals to the Tag Team Titles

This match was on the 4.29.05 edition of Impact, and is actually very good. The sad part about it is that it was taped the day before Candido died, so the TV airing of this occurred after the death. The Naturals feel that this is their best match ever, and it’s pretty close. A few other members of the roster share their thoughts on Candido.

#9: Christian Cage Becomes NWA World Heavyweight Champion

This happened on 2.12.06. It should have been a clean slam dunk victory by Cage but it was overbooked to the point of absurdity to protect Jeff Jarrett for some reason. Christian talks about it with shitty camera movements. He promises to win the title again.

#8: Barbed Wire Massacre

This match is from the 12.11.05 Turning Point pay-per-view. It’s a pretty good barbed wire match, but for a better one see Ring of Honor’s “War of the Wire II” with BJ Whitmer vs. Necro Butcher. James Mitchell talks about how even he was grossed out by this match.

#7: Styles Ends Jarrett’s World Title Reign

This is kind of funny, because every time Styles has won the NWA World Title it has been from Jarrett so this has happened three times. This is the one from Hard Justice on 5.15.05.

#6: AMW vs. Triple X – Six Sides of Steel

This chronicles the main event of the Turning Point pay-per-view on 12.5.04, the final match between America’s Most Wanted and Triple X, represented by Christopher Daniels & Elix Skipper. This is an awesome match and features the best spot in the history of TNA. Daniels talking about it while keeping Kayfabe is pretty admirable.

#5: Christian Cage Arrives in TNA

This happened at Genesis on 11.13.05. This was a pretty big deal from TNA, because Christian was the first guy to literally choose TNA over WWE for less money. I think they’ve blown it with him pretty hardcore, but hopefully now that he’s champion again they can get it back on track. Mike Tenay finds a way to be the most irritating man alive during this segment.

#4: The Unbreakable Three Way

This refers to the three-way match for the X-Division Title at Unbreakable on 9.11.05. I rated it **** ¾ and say that it’s probably the best match in TNA history. It’s between Champion Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles, and Samoa Joe. Who was still undefeated at the time. All three get a chance to talk about this match, and how important it was to be in the main event spot.

#3: Jeff Jarrett Attacks Hulk Hogan

This was pretty cool, because it’s the only appearance that Hogan would make for the company, despite being rumored to be on his way in on more than one occasion. The attack occurred at a press conference in Japan while Hogan was working for IWGP (I think?). This was supposed to build to Jarrett vs. Hogan at the first three-hour pay-per-view, but it obviously didn’t happen.

#2: Sting Returns to Wrestling

Sting made his long-awaited return to TNA on a.1.15.06. He and Christian Cage teamed to beat Jeff Jarrett & Monty Brown in a really fun match.

#1: Impact Debut on Spike TV

October 1, 2005 was the day that TNA Impact debuted on Spike TV. This was the first time they had been on TV since May 27 earlier that year (though had broadcast Impact over the Internet), so this was definitely a huge moment for them.

Tenay and West wrap it up briefly and that’ll do it.

The 411: This is a nice sampling of some of the most famous stuff that has happened in TNA, though it doesn’t have a single complete match. I’m big into getting matches, so I found that tad on the annoying side. However, as a “50 Greatest Moments” disc it does its job. The camera work is absolutely horrifyingly nauseating, but the clips are great and some of the interviews are pretty fun (namely Shelley). This would be a good introduction to the history of TNA as a whole.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]