wrestling / Columns
Wrestling’s 4R’s PPV Edition: TNA No Surrender (2007)
TNA NO SURRENDER PODCAST~!
After a bit of a delay we are back to discuss the TNA No Surrender PPV, a hell of a little show with good wrestling, new champions; but still some of the bad of TNA. We then move onto one of our most popular segments, DEAR CHRISTI, where Christi muses more on Women’s Wrestling. We’ll also talk with Christi about her first full MMA experience, and finally, what you have all been waiting for, an update on THE SHIRT~!
If that doesn’t work, copy and paste the following link into your browser and you’ll be fine: http://www.sendspace.com/file/0cxdst
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, I cannot speak for Geoff, but 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.
The Matches:
TNA TAG TEAM TITLE BOUT: TEAM PACMAN defeated Kurt Angle and Sting to become NEW Tag Team Champions @ 5:30 via pin ¾*
Rhino defeated James Storm @ 13:20 via pin ***
Robert Roode defeated Kazarian @ 13:50 via pin ***
TNA X-DIVISION TITLE BOUT: Black Machismo defeated Kurt Angle to become the NEW TNA X-Division Champion @ 12:30 via pin ***½
NO DQ MATCH: Chris Harris defeated Black Reign @ 5:30 via pin ½*
#1 Contender’s Tag Team Gauntlet Match: AJ Styles and Tomko defeated the Motor City Machine Guns (The final two teams) @ 25:50 via pin **½
Christian Cage defeated Samoa Joe @ 15:15 via DQ ***½
TNA WORLD TITLE BOUT: Kurt Angle defeated Abyss @ 19:30 via submission ***¼
The Right:
Rhino vs. Storm – In a rematch from last month we had Rhino vs. Storm yet again. In the pre-match promo, Rhino said that he wanted to thank Storm for making him realize that he was human, and then he used his real name Terry Gerin. SHOOT! IT’S A SHOOT! They came out and had a good brawl segment in the crowd and then turned to the ring. Now while Rhino wanted revenge, he beat n Storm relentlessly and kept it in the confines of the rules. Later on I will bitch about Harris vs. Reign because it was a no DQ match, and failed at that. They again had another really good match, lots of back and forth and the crowd was totally into it. They worked towards the end, and like bookends went back to the brawling/hardcore aspect. We had chairs and tables, and a good time was had by all. Rhino eventually got the GORE through a table and got the vindication he had been looking for with the win. After the match, he got the mini-keg and sprayed beer down Storm’s pants; I’m not sure what that accomplished, but what I am sure of is that he GORED the shit out of Miss Jackie, who tried to mess with him again. What ever happened to that “no violence on women” thing in TNA? Anyway, this was good stuff.
Roode vs. Kazarian – Roode vs. Kazarian was a feud that actually got a lot of TV time heading into the PPV. I think that is a great thing, and TNA obviously sees a lot in both men. They got a LOT of time as compared to the way PPV matches have been lately, going nearly 14-minutes here. Both men had plenty of time to shine, and the overall story played out, which was the fact that Brooks was not happy being with Roode because of his abuse. The pivotal point came when Roode tried to use a chain, and Kazarian kicked it to the floor. It was then that Brooks picked it up, and had a long meditation over it. She finally would drop it and kick it under the ring. Roode would come to look for it, she acted like she never saw the chain, which pissed Roode off and allowed Kazarian to hit a sweet plancha onto him. They then kicked up a notch and had a hot closing to the match, including Kazarian doing a tribute to Dr. Death with the Backdrop Piledriver, which the camera almost missed, but more on that later. Kazarian would eventually miss a HUGE top tope leg drop, which would allow Roode to get the pin off of the Pay Off. This was a damn hot match, it had a good story and it had a CLEAN finish! VIVA!
Angle vs. Machismo – Angle’s second title defense was against Black Machismo for the X-Title. This was a classic “established veteran vs. plucky young guy” match and it totally worked. Angle was in control of most of the bout, while allowing Machismo the hope spots at the right time. As the bout went on, you could see the frustration of Angle growing as he thought he should have put Machismo away numerous times. Machismo would eventually run wild, get the Lethal Combo and Elbow Drop for the VERY near fall, which was great. Angle would eventually get all business and drop the straps, and get the ankle lock, but young Machismo was able to get the roll up and SHOCKING win! And thankfully TNA succeeded where they have failed before and made this important! Sonjay, Petey, Sharky, Dutt and others came out to celebrate while Tenay and West put this over as, “The biggest upset in TNA history,” which it really is. Whether they can follow up on this or not is another question, but for one night they did everything right here, and I loved it.
Cage vs. Joe – I thought that the build to Joe vs. Cage was a good one, especially with the beat down of the dance tribe on Impact. Joe and Cages’ pre match promos were also both Joe. Cage trying to say it was all Joe’s fault, while Joe was out for vengeance. I dug it. As predicted these two had a really good match. Joe ran wild early and was just beating Cage down with a variety of great moves. Cage eventually would get the advantage after a low blow, and started to work Joe over until he missed a frog splash. They had some more good exchanges, Cage busted out a top rope reverse DDT. But that wasn’t enough, and Joe would get the choke on Cage and was set to take the win. Cage would get the ropes and Joe refused the break. The ref grabbed Joe’s hair to pull him off, Joe Samoan Dropped him and put the hold back on Cage. Security came out and got beat down, finally another ref and Joe was DQ’d for not following the rules! The end I am actually ok with. When this feud began I pretty much knew Joe wouldn’t be getting the title shot at BFG, and that they were going a new direction with perhaps an overhaul of Joe as a character. This was not a DQ for the sake of a DQ, this was done to make Joe into a bad ass that doesn’t care about the authority figures. He destroyed refs, security, stood toe to toe with Morgan and told Cornette to fuck off. I am really interested to see where this goes, probably Morgan’s facing Joe at the instruction of Cornette.
Angle vs. Abyss – And we finally get to the final match of the Angle Triathlon. This was the TNA Heavyweight Title match, and the opponent was Abyss. Tenay and West smartly played up that Angle could be tired, especially after going close to 13-minutes with Machismo and losing. I liked that they did that. This match was much different than the Machismo match because it was a classis 1980’s match, with the heel dominating at a slow and methodical pace, but it was a damn good match and laid out very well. They did some comedy at the beginning, the best part was Angle trying to run from Abyss, Abyss grabbing the straps of the singlet and Angle running in place like a cartoon, that was great. Angle’s work of the knees and ankle of Abyss was nothing short of great, and the big man sold very well; making it even more effective. Late in the match Angle hit a swank moonsault, very far away, which was great. Abyss would eventually get the black hole slam for a very near fall. Angle would continue the work of the leg, remove Abyss’s boot, brutalize the ankle and then get the ankle lock and grapevine, to which Abyss tapped, more on that later on. This was great because the main event had a CLEAN finish and no “TNA Main Event Style” brawling, a totally refreshing concept! Big thumbs up to both guys, but especially Angle who stepped up his game and showed why he was considered the best in the world.
Purgatory:
#1 Contender’s Tag Team Gauntlet Match – I am a big fan of gauntlet matches, and usually TNA gauntlet matches are fun. This was no exception. They wisely started off with AJ and Daniels, perfect anchors to the match because they could work against each other as well as together, and they did in deed do both. Homicide and Sabin would be the next two men, and this was greatness. This was your basic match, structure wise, as all the right people hit all the right spots and the crowd reacted in kind. At the end it came down to AJ Styles, who was the first man in and Alex Shelley. So we had Tomko and Sabin return so that we could do the tag match to crown the #1 contenders. They had a fun time, The MCMG’s ran wild for a bit and it was greatness. AJ would get the roll up with the tights and the win. He and Tomko celebrated, and they both looked so happy. AJ the little yippidy dog and Tomko the bulldog. Tremendous. In the end while this was fine, it went on a little long and the finishing segment between the MCMG’s and AJ and Tomko could have been longer. Also there were too many mismatched tag teams in here. One or two could be fine, but Sharky and EY, Dutt and Petey, and then Hoyt and Rave; to which we got no explanation as to why they were tagging. Not even a “Hemme fired Basham and Damaja and wanted to get Hoyt a new partner.” Also, Lance Hoyt, if you cannot play well with others then you need to go home. Hoyt about killed Elix Skipper last night with a very dangerous and sloppy chokeslam from the ring to the floor. Elix landed on his head, and could have been seriously injured. Elix can hurt himself on his own just fine, he doesn’t need Hoyt’s help. Anyway, back to what I said, it felt like it went a little long, but overall was good stuff.
The wRong:
The Tag Team Title Bout – It has been no secret that I have not been a fan of the whole PACMAN thing. I thought it was stupid and was made even worse when he couldn’t wrestle. So of course they toss him into a tag team title match. The build was actually decent, with him and Killings giving out “autographs” to Sting and Angle. Unfortunately this was everything I expected, and not in a good way. Sting and Angle would have drama, thanks to Karen, Pacman didn’t wrestle and he and Killings argued, because in Russo Land tag team partners can NEVER get along. Angle turned on Sting and Pacman Jones pinned Sting. Read that again, Pacman Jones pinned Sting. Yeah. So they’re the tag team champions and are hoping for a good audience on Atlanta for Bound for Glory, since he is from there. I am hoping they bring in Michael Vick as well so that they can reach that “thug demographic” they are apparently looking for. This is just blah, I don’t care, and more importantly…
The Ridiculous:
TNA Production – Dear TNA management and David Sahadi, we need to talk. Once again the production of the show really took away from the overall show, which was a good damn show. First of all we started with a bang in match #1. The whole point of bringing in Pacman Jones was to get “Sports Center Moments.” Fine, you do that. But couldn’t you get “Sports Center Moments” a little better if you actually CAUGHT the pin on camera! Oh yes, we started off with a bang as Angle laid out Sting and they MISSED Pacman getting the pin. Tremendous work here Mr. Sahadi, just tremendous.
And then you almost ruined the Roode vs. Kazarian match with you lack of skill. Yes I am going to be on this tangent again. And it just is NOT me. Regular reader Manu emailed me with this: If anyone ever disagrees with you about TNA’s production/directorial staff, just point to the Kaz/Roode match. for the love of Tracy, I like her too, but sheesh! there’s a match going on in the ring! don’t pan to her when a good move is about to come up! and who the f’ looked at that camera pointed at nothing and said “You’re on!” right before he spun around???? wtf??? Now while Brooks is an important factor in the storyline, you do not have to cut to her every 10-seconds. Did you learn to direct from a tweaking crack addict with ADD? Seriously now, less is more, calm it down.
Finally I have to mention the main event. Things were going well I thought after the Roode vs. Kazarian match, but then in the main event while you were shooting around you MISSED ABYSS TAPPING! YOU MISSED THE FINISH OF THE MATCH! How the hell do you do this in a predetermined sport?
Worst…NO DQ MATCH…EVER! – And now we move onto Chris Harris vs. Black Reign. First of all this was a NO DQ match, stemming from the last PPV. All right, keep that in mind. Harris started off with a dive from the top rope to the floor, which was cool and got things started the right way. They brawled a bit on the floor, and then they went to the ring and had a GRAPPLING BOUT. Chris Harris was so angry and embarrassed from last month that he decided to grapple his revenge out of Black Reign. That’s the way I solve matters after being bloodied in front of a small PPV audience. Black Reign got the hand staff of doom, but had it taken away and Chris Harris won the NO DQ GRAPPLING BOUT with a small package! “He’s Hardcore! He’s Hardcore! He’s Hardcore!” After the match Harris decided the grappling was not enough and then went for the real revenge. He got handcuffs, levels Black Reign and busted him open. He then handcuffed him to the post, and grabbed a chair. But since Chris Harris is stupid he got kicked in the gut, Reign had a KEY BECAUSE HE IS SMART, unlocked himself and then waffled Harris with a chair shot. WAIT, there’s more! In his pre-match promo Reign introduced us to his RAT! Yes, he had a rat and brought this ferocious beats to the ring in a cage. While Harris was down, he UNLEASHED THE RAT and lovingly placed it on Harris. OH THE MENTAL TRAUMA! “TNA! TNA! TNA!” Knowing Russ we’ll have a rat on a pole match at Bound for Glory. This sucked a cock.
So that’s how we debut Judas Mesias? – All right, seriously, this is how they debut Judas Mesias? Seriously now, I mean really TNA? Wow. Now granted, it does play into the whole deal of him attacking Abyss from under the ring in what seemed like months ago and the fact that Mitchell said Abyss was going to hell, but I mean, come on! This shit was dead in 1997, so it sure as hell is dead in 2007. I will say that this shit still works for the Undertaker, and that’s because he’s the Undertaker! This came off hokey and very lackluster. He cuts through the ring, smoke pours out and he pulls Abyss under the ring to chants of “Fire Russo.” Tremendous. Could we just not do a simple beat down? Abyss was just through a grueling match, could barely stand and was prone for an attack. Instead of going what was simple, TNA had to go total SPORTZ ENTERTAINMENT and it was bad. This was just a sad way to end a rather good PPV.
Closing Thoughts:
TNA rebounded nicely from the Hard Justice abortion to provide a very solid PPV. The wrestling was much better, and the main event had a CLEAN finish and no “TNA Main Event Style” brawling, a totally refreshing concept! They did a lot of good things, and now it is up to them to follow it up. Overall I will go with a 7.3 out of 10 and felt I got my money’s worth tonight. They now have to follow up and get consistent again, because we all know that with the way TNA has been, we could have another “Hard Justice” experience next month, but let’s hope not. Thankfully after two bad PPV’s in a row (HJ and WWE SS) the tide has turned, and I hope WWE delivers at Unforgiven to get everyone back on track.
2007 PPV Rankings:
–WWE Backlash 8.5
–ROH Respect is Earned 8.25
–WWE WM XXIII 8.0
–WWE Royal Rumble 8.0
–TNA Slammiversary 7.5
–TNA Victory Road 7.4
–TNA No Surrender 7.3
–TNA Sacrifice 7.25
–TNA Final Resolution 7.0
–TNA Lockdown 7.0
–WWE One Night Stand III 6.5
–WWE New Year’s Revolution (RAW) 6.0
–WWE Great American Bash 6.0
–TNA Against All Odds 6.0
–TNA Destination X 5.5
–WWE Judgment Day 5.5
–WWE Vengeance 5.0
–WWE No Way Out (SD) 4.0
–WWE Summerslam 4.0
–TNA Hard Justice 4.0
2007 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
– (WWE Royal Rumble) Last Man Standing WWE Title MATCH: Cena vs. Umaga ****¼
– (WWE Backlash) Last Man Standing World Title MATCH: Batista vs. The Undertaker ****¼
– (WWE Backlash) WWE Title MATCH: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge ****¼
– (TNA Sacrifice) Texas Death Match: Chris Harris vs. James Storm ****¼
–(ROH Respect is Earned) Mark and Jay Briscoe vs. Matt Sydal and Claudio Castagnoli ****¼
– (WWE Royal Rumble) The Royal Rumble Match ****
– (WWE WM XXIII) WWE TITLE MATCH: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels ****
– (WWE ONS III) LADDER MATCH: The Hardy’s vs. TWGTT ****
– (TNA Slammiversary) King of the Mountain Match: Angle vs. Harris vs. Cage vs. Joe vs. AJ ****
– (TNA Destination X) NWA Title Match: Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe ****
– (TNA Lockdown) Lethal Lockdown (Team Cage vs. Team Angle) ****
– (WWE WM XXIII) Money in the Bank III ***¾
– (TNA Final Resolution) 30-Minute Iron man Match: Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe ***¾
– (TNA Victory Road) Match of Champions: Joe and Angle vs. Team 3D ***¾
– (TNA Victory Road) Ultimate X ***¾
–(ROH Respect is Earned) Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima vs. KENTA and Nigel McGuinness ***¾
– (WWE Summerslam) WWE TITLE MATCH: John Cena vs. Randy Orton ***¾
2007 PPV MVP AWARDS:
This is a little added deal here, 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.
–Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker: A Rumble to Remember – WWE Royal Rumble
–JBL: Solo Commentating – WWE No Way Out
–AJ Styles and Rhino: Elevation X – TNA Destination X
–Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker: “They still got it!” – WWE WrestleMania XXIII
–AJ Styles: Almost Dies for his Craft – TNA Lockdown
–The Main Events: “We can step up.” – WWE Backlash
–Harris and Storm: Redemption – TNA Sacrifice
–Matt, Jeff, Shelton and Charlie: “Taking a Risk.” – WWE ONS III
–Jeff Jarrett: “Thank you Jill” – TNA Slammiversary
–Christopher Daniels: The Ultimate X reunites XXX – TNA Victory Road
–Ring of Honor Makes Major PPV Impact – ROH Respect is Earned
–Kurt Angle: The Angle Triathlon – TNA No Surrender
Thanks for joining me for this special edition of the 4R’s, and don’t forget to check out the regular edition complete with all of the other shows from the week!
For more interesting information on wrestling, check out Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly Online and Mike Campbell over at SPLASH MOUNTAIN!
