Wrestling’s 4R’s PPV Edition 6.10.08: TNA SLAMMIVERSARY 2008

How the 4R’s of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. I will take the 4 main shows (5 if I go RetRo) of the week: TNA Impact, WWE Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi and WWE Smackdown. If we have a PPV, that show will get a special PPV edition of the R’s all to its own. I then group my feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles, Diva searches and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~! This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a “mark” column, nor a “smark” column, my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. There are also occasions where I will bring out a 5th or even a 6th R to the column, so beware of those~! I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether very positive or negative.

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~TNA SLAMMIVERSARY 2008~

The Matches:

X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Petey Williams defeated Kaz @ 15:25 via pin ***¾

ODB, Kim and Roxxi defeated Love, Sky and Moose @ 10:13 via pin **

TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: LAX defeated Team 3D @ 15:00 via pin **¼

AWESOME KONG’S $25,000 OPEN CHALLENGE: Awesome Kong defeated Serena Deeb @ 2:30 via pin *

AWESOME KONG’S $25,000 OPEN CHALLENGE: Awesome Kong defeated Josie @ 2:25 via pin *

AJ Styles defeated Kurt Angle @ 22:45 via pin ***½

TNA TITLE KING OF THE MOUNTAIN MATCH: Samoa Joe defeated Roode, Rhino, Cage and Booker @ 19:52 via pin ***¼

THE RIGHT:

X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: The opener is a very important match on a PPV, a point that I always discuss here. In many ways this was a perfect match to open the show, and I understand why they did. I figure the company figured that Angle vs. AJ and the KOTM match would be great and end up delivering to the point that they would overcome this match. Unfortunately with Angle being hurt and the KOTM not being quite as great as it has been in past years (but not bad) this match ended up stealing the show. With less matches on the card and this actually being a one on one match, these guys actually got the time they needed to not only put on a good match with no rushing, but to actually show what they can do. This was 15-minutes of great actions, cool spots, some new ones (Sling shot into the cutter that Kaz did) and as far as their work and the match they put on I have no complaints there. An excellent job by both men as Kaz continues to shine and Petey worked hard and did very well coming off of the orbital bone injury. In the end this was a really good opener that let both guys shine. Unfortunately it wasn’t built well on TV well, which is a real shame. On one hand I hated the shenanigans, because it took away a bit, but it did make sense as it played off of last month’s show as well as made Kaz look like a great resilient face. Also with Kaz being a part of the World X Cup, Petey needs to retain the title here to keep the title active and not lost in the tournament.

ABYSS IS BACK…: Abyss is back and I suppose that is a good thing. He made his return after the opener, when Steiner and Petey were beating down Kaz. He stormed the ring sporting new asylum issued wrestling gear and a new mask and took out Steiner, Petey and Khan with black hole slams. He looked strong in his return and I would assume that he and Steiner will face at the next PPV, as it was the plan for this show until Steiner got injured. Abyss should win there and from there I am not sure where he goes. They teased he would “come home” on the show, they delivered the return and in the end, I have no real issues with it.

AWESOME KONG’S $25,000 OPEN CHALLENGE: Some felt that this was too much like filler for the PPV, but I again liked the continuation of the Kong Challenge. As mentioned, as they do this they are allowing the other ladies to solidify their characters and create secondary feuds. They are obviously heading towards debuting a new lady, who will likely be a good addition to the division, and I am all for that. At Slammiversary TNA brought in SHIMMER regulars Serena Deeb and Josie, and they did a fine job. In the end, Kong continues to kill and I enjoy it. The segment came off well, as they are slowly giving people hope and some excitement, until Kong ruins the party. These ladies, even in the short time excited the crowd (especially Josie, announced from Memphis) and I feel that the segment was an easy right. Since they didn’t pay it off here, I figure it comes in the next few weeks on TV, leading to a PPV match while the other 6-ladies featured on the show face off again in some form of stipulation match. They also tied in the Elvis shit to this, kept it to about a minute and Kong KILLED him. It was short, still dumb, but Kong killing the guy was great.

AJ Styles defeated Kurt Angle: I will admit that the match was hard to enjoy due to Angle noticeably hurting. I was more afraid for him that about the match quality. Either the man was selling very well, he was hurting badly or it is a bit of both. But overall this was a good match. AJ and Kurt worked very hard out there, and while this was no classic, they did a good job of putting on a wrestling match. That’s the thing that TNA should do more often because they have the talent to do so. Good lay out, good wrestling, some stiff shots, AJ returning to his baby face form and the early ejection of Tomko all worked. Would I have loved a completely clean finish here? Hell yes. But I have to admit that Karen screwing Kurt does play into the angle, as much as I dislike it. This was good stuff, and I hope as Angle get healthy we get even better from them because they certainly have the ability. The major gripe I have is that they said this was about hurting the other guy and called it a grudge match, yet they started with lock ups and mat work. Come on now. This was a good match though, as it was about showcasing two wrestlers having a wrestling match and I have no issue with that concept. They worked hard, they eventually got the crowd but I felt lie it was headed towards a higher gear, but never quite got there. That could have been due to Angle’s health, which if that is the case, I have no problem staying in a lower gear to protect him and wouldn’t punish the match for it. But if that is the case, I again say that maybe some time on the shelf would have been for the best. I have seen much lower ratings for the match and much higher, I fall in the middle.

TNA TITLE KING OF THE MOUNTAIN MATCH: The stuff before the match was great as they showed a brief video for each man, showing how they got into the match and then each guy got a bit f promo time. Very much like Lockdown, they made the world title match the focus of the show by doing this, and that is a good thing. All five guys worked hard in the match and they had a good layout I thought. The crowd was dead though, which did them no favors. They did a good job of teasing everyone becoming eligible, minus Joe, and that the curse of the King of the Mountain Match could get him as well. Cage really stood out, taking on the daredevil role for the match with some fun bumps. Overall I thought it was a fun match, but a notch below other KOTM matches that I have enjoyed more. They had the time though and that is a good thing, as I was afraid they may be too rushed and not get the nearly 20-minutes that they got. The end was a bit off putting, as Nash basically screws Booker and Joe gets the win, in anti-climatic fashion. I also felt that this made Joe look a bit weak, especially after his promo. This is pretty much every thing you come to expect from the KOTM match. Even though there weren’t some of the usual suspects in there for the so called big spots, Cage fit the bill and really did every thing he could to make for some fun, and possibly memorable spots. I wasn’t sure how good the match would be but I will admit I was pleasantly surprised as they laid every thing out rather well, minus the finish, which came off a bit anti-climatic. Again I fall in the middle with my rating, as I have seen anywhere from *** – ***¾ for the match. In the end I felt Angle vs. AJ and the X-Title matches were both better, but in the end, three good matches for the PPV.

PURGATORY:

ODB, Kim and Roxxi defeated Love, Sky and Moose: The ladies were on display again here on PPV as Gail, ODB and Roxxi were out for revenge against the Beautiful People and their new muscle MOOSE. That’s right, they changed Mickie knuckles name. I figure that she signed and wanted to keep here name, fine, but MOOSE is a horrible name. Also her ring gear said MICKIE on it and shit, come on now, you have to do better than that. With that aside, the ladies worked hard as always and put on a fine match. Nothing special, a very basic tag actually, but not bad at all. I have a problem with MOOSE losing in her first match. I know it protects Love and Sky, but it is very questionable. Also I question ODB getting the pin. Gail is over big and doesn’t need it. ODB won on Impact, it was time to give Roxxi a little taste of revenge here since the good girls were going to win, but she didn’t get it. Overall ok stuff, but some issues held it back. They can do better match wise as well, they have shown that.

TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: In the roundtable I said, “If 3D is motivated the match should be good.” I won’t say that 3D were being lazy out there, but the overall pacing of the match was very slow and lacked heat for the majority of the match. Well, there was hat, but it was face pops for 3D since they are “the name” to the casual fan. They would eventually get into LAX as the match went on and they did their thing, but it just never got going. The thing is that they ad plenty of time, 15-minutes actually, but they seemed to rush into 2nd gear and tease going to third but pulled back. It was like someone wrote a story, and the introduction and build was 999 pages, and the ending and climax was 1 page. They also did the same run in spot with Devine and Hector, minus the table in this match. It wasn’t bad, but it felt like a TV main event and I had the feeling of been here and done that when it was over.

THE WRONG:

NADDA:

THE RIDICULOUS:

THE WEDDING: This may have been the worst wrestling wedding I have ever seen. Forget the fact that it is a rehash of Macho and Liz, and forget that we knew what was basically coming here. Those aren’t the problems. The problem is this. They did do the Dutt turn finally, which is good. He beats on Jay, and then, THEN instead of Dutt coming off looking strong he gets beat down by Koko B Ware and Kamala. KOKO B WARE AND KAMALA! Sonjay Dutt looked like an absolute joke out there and tome it kills the heel turn. Add to that the fact that the legends had NO heat, unfortunately, and the fact that this skit killed all of the momentum the show had and this was just horrible. This was a dark mark on another wise enjoyable show.

Closing Thoughts:
I have to say that for the most part this was a rather enjoyable show. Three matches delivered well, the bullshit was kept to a minimum and while I have some issues with the booking, they aren’t nearly as bad as usual. Also, TNA steered away from gimmick madness for once, calmed down on the amount of matches that they usually do and delivered some good wrestling. Sure I would have liked to have guys like the MCMG’s and James Storm on the show, but I will take simplicity over throwing everyone on the show. They actually gave the performers a chance to succeed instead of handcuffing them, a pleasant surprise. Overall I will go with a 7.7 out of 10 and a mild recommendation to check it out, it was a pretty fun PPV. Hopefully they look at some aspects of this show and Lockdown to see the things that really worked and continue on that path, because when they want to TNA can be great on PPV. Also, if you have a suggestion for the MVP award, I will listen to all suggestions. No one stuck out to me this time around.

2008 PPV Rankings:
–WWE WRESTLEMANIA {8.7}
–ROH RISING ABOVE {8.6}
–ROH UNDENIABLE {8.5}
–TNA LOCKDOWN {8.2}
–WWE NO WAY OUT {8.1}
–ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS {8.0}
–WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {8.0}
–TNA SLAMMIVERSARY {7.7}
–TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS {7.5}
–TNA DESTINATION X {7.25}
–WWE BACKLASH {7.0}
–WWE ONE NIGHT STAND IV {6.8}
–TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {6.75}
–WWE JUDGMENT DAY {6.0}
–TNA SACRIFICE {6.0}

2008 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
–(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) CAREER THREATENING MATCH: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels *****

–(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WORLD TITLE MATCH: Edge © vs. The Undertaker ****½
–(ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Tyler Black ****½
–(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Austin Aries ****½
–(TNA LOCKDOWN) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Samoa Joe ****½

–(ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS) Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries ****¼
–(ROH UNDENIABLE) GRUDGE MATCH: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong ****¼
–(WWE NO WAY OUT) RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER ****¼

–(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
–(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
–(WWE ROYAL RUMBLE) The Royal Rumble Match ****

–(TNA SLAMMIVERSARY) TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Petey Williams © vs. Kaz ***¾
–(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA NO-DQ WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH: Gail Kim ©vs. Awesome Kong ***¾
–(TNA LOCKDOWN) LETHAL LOCKDOWN: Team Cage vs. Team Tomko ***¾
–(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) HARDCORE STREET FIGHT: Team 3D and Brother Devine vs. Black Machismo and the Motor City Machineguns ***¾
–(ROH UNDENIABLE) ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
–(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH – 2 of 3 Falls: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
–(WWE NO WAY OUT) SMACKDOWN ELIMINATION CHAMBER ***¾
–(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WWE TITLE MATCH: Randy Orton © vs. John Cena vs. HHH ***¾
–(WWE BACKLASH) WORLD TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker © vs. Edge ***¾
–(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH: Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin ***¾
–(WWE JUDGMENT DAY) HBK vs. Chris Jericho ***¾

2008 PPV MVP AWARDS:
This is a little added deal I started last year, as I feel that there are some other things that should be mentioned from the PPV’s. Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.

–ROH RISING ABOVE: Nigel vs. Aries (Stealing the Show)
–TNA FINAL RESOLUTION: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong (Making us Care about Women’s Wrestling on the National Stage)
–ROH UNDENIABLE: Strong vs. Aries (The Grudge is Settled)
–WWE ROYAL RUMBLE: John Cena Shocks the World (No One Saw it Coming)
–TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS: Black Machismo Saves the X-Division (He is a Superman)
–WWE NO WAY OUT: Taker Eliminates the Competition (Elimination Chamber MVP)
–TNA DESTINATION X: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong © vs. ODB (Stepping up Again)
–WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXIV: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Thank You Flair)
–TNA LOCKDOWN: Angle vs. Joe (Great Build, Great Delivery)
–TNA SACRIFICE: Roxxi gets a Haircut (And makes the ultimate Sacrifice…)
–ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS: Tyler Black (Becoming a Star at 21)