NWA-TNA PPV # 49: First Anniversay Show

[Kiffy Lube]

NWA-TNA PPV #49
First Anniversary Show, June 18th 2003.

Decided to review this since I watched it last night. Been rewatching all the NWA-TNA PPVs in order on my own time over the last few months, eh maybe longer but I've got this far. I may review more in this thread if I feel like it. Let's get this started, ah ight.
______

Show opens with a historic video package. There was a bunch of random X-Division spots showed and some were total botches so I don't know who editted this shit yet it did get it's point across, whatever that is. We got this sloppy division of inexperienced wrestlers killin' themselves for your entertainment. Yay?

So who decides to show up after this? It's a white limo, oh my god it's gotta be STING. Oh yeah, I should mention Sting returns on this for his first match in 2 years on U.S. soil as Mike Tenay puts it. We'll go with that. So here IS! Naw, it's just "Mr. Afterthought" Shane Douglas.

Get back to the arena and they got a whole new set, I guess. It really was just a slight upgrade if anything. Eh, don't care. Put on some good matches...

TNA v.s S.E.X.: Frankie Kazarian, D'Lo & Sandman v.s Sonny Siaki, Don Harris & David Young.

Kazarian was hand selected by D'Lo and Sandman to fight the evil S.E.X. members because he was impressive in some other random 6-man tag fiasco. Like you'd expect with something thrown together this was all over the place. I think they wanted to open their show with the "Non-Stop Action" aspect of the show with this while furtherin' a feud. I didn't mind this considerin' all that nonsense. Sandman kept his ass out of the match drinkin' with his stupid fans in the crowd while his team got the job done in the ring.

Frankie did most of the work for his team anyways and takin' the bigger bumps. D'Lo keeps showin' how average he is on these shows. And why the fuck is Don Harris in this? Couldn't have selected another S.E.X. member? Lame kids. David Young did his thing but the transitions and the stagnant flow were too overwhelming to overcome. Even without Sandman the good guys win only to be dismantled after the bell.
*1/2

Chaos continues with some brawlin' from the separate factions. Nothin' special but it dies down when Jarrett and Sting hit the ring and take everyone out and David Young takes a guitar shot for good measure. Some build for the main event, I suppose which is Sting/Jarrett v.s A.J. Styles and some Vince Russo mystery dude. I didn't have to tell you, I could have just made ya wait.

Konnan jobbin' on the Spanish announce team. Nice gig, K-dawg. We get some more flashback moments, you know what? I'm gonna stop bringin' these up because you all know what a clip video looks like for fucks sake. I ain't explainin' that shit anymore.

Vince Russo promo time, ready, set... go!!!!!! So Russo runs his mouth for awhile about being a great Father, great wrestling personality and in general he just has great taste. He tells everyone that A.J. Styles is better than Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Sting. He invites out his new NWA Champion, who he helped the week prior defeat Jeff Jarrett for the classy belt. A.J. gets a microphone then... Ugh, why? He praises Vince Russo for being a God, pretty much. Just wasn't necessary for this kid to be talkin', just be ready to FIGHT. Let Russo do the other bit.

Oh shit, it's D'Lo Brown he's got some choice words for Vince. Some rambling happens how they were BFFs in WWE and now Vince is a different person. D'Lo does more complainin' about his spot like he's CM Punk or something, fuck man. Raven hits the ring attackin' Styles at one point, Shane Douglas follows. What a title scene we got brewin' here, right? This doesn't go on too long as Red Shirt Security pull folks apart and save more carnage for later. GRRRRRRRRRRR

Somethings happen backstage here, Goldylocks interviews Tracy Brooks and someone else. Something about sexism or something. I wasn't payin' attention, things were bouncin' outta their shirts. After this we get CM Punk, actually. He's lookin' for Raven and finds the Gathering(Julio Dinero & Alexis Laree), instead. He suggests he should run the group and says "Quote CM Punk, Nevermore." Oh cool.

Kid Kash is screamin' at a caged-in area for Abyss to help again this week. After doin' so for way too long, Abyss throws a pan or something at the cage wall scarin' Kash to think he's agreed to help him. Very promisin'.

X-Division Title Match: Paul London v.s Chris Sabin(c).

Now that Paul London is back from Japan, he gets to cash in his #1 contendership status on the current champion. This was your typical X-Division match, fast pace and hella excitin'. My favorite thing about this match had to be Chris Sabin's rib work and London's selling of it as the match progressed. It sure as hell was a battle for the belt.

So the match is goin' along fine, great back and forth action. A little sloppy here and there but that is to be expected, the effort and talent ended up trumpin' that fact anyways. However as it kept intensifyin', CMPunk comes now and sits in the corner mockin' Raven. He's tryin' to get Raven's attention some more when he hits London with a DDT lettn' Sabin get advantage to finish him off. Seriously? Hate dumbass run-ins especially when it's to continue something that has nuthin' to do with the current match. This was also a title match so thanks TNA for overshadowin' the funnest division on your show on your First Anniversary event. Lame as fuck too since this was easily over *** without that garbage.

**1/2

Time for New Jack and Shark Boy... I hate New Jack but this combination is ridiculous fun. Jack is spoutin' off about his Hard 10 semi-final match against Mike Sanders when Sharky appears. Jack tells him he ain't got time for games tonight. Shark Boy shows him big, green hulk gloves...

Then

New Jack gets a little more focused and says "I don't know any holds.' He says a bit more but that's all that needs be said.

Hard 10 Semi-Final: Mike Sanders v.s New Jack.

If you don't know the rules to these type of matches... You gotta get 10 points. You get 1 point for a weapon shot and 5 points when if you put someone through a table. That's pretty much it. The gimmick doesn't bother me too much, it has it's own place in history. Don't see any reason for it to return.

This was a terrible match anyways. It just wasn't interestin' at all, it was just random weapon shots and basic, hardcore spots AND then even got dumber and worse. Shark Boy is in the crowd with the Hulk hands cheerin' on his psychotic friend. He ends up gettin' into the ring and convincin' Jack to use one of the Hulk hands... Yeah. He knocks Sanders off the apron through a table at his point and wins the match 10-7. If you want play-by-play of garbage, hardcore matches I'm not that dude

DUD

Remember Trinity... She's the future greatest woman in this business. Don't forget.

Who?

Justin Credible v.s Jerry Lynn.

Rebirth of an ECW feud, ah TNA still can't quit this formula to this day. How creative.

This was alright while it lasted and it really only lasted two minutes. A few back and forth moves to show some competitiveness and Credible wins with the use of the ropes. The referee does his best to look confused when Lynn says that Credible cheated and after some, short heavy thinkin' the ref decides Justin won already. Eh, looked dumb.

*

Alright, B.G. James fillin' in for Mike Tenay interviews Konnan and Ron Killings in a prerecorded interview. This was just B.G. James runnin' down a list of accomplishments of each wrestler and then askin' an individual racist question tryin' to get a reaction. All that happens is Konnan makes Killings calm down because it's just a JOKE. Yep, that's what happened.

Kenzo Suzuki v.s Perry Saturn.

Yeah, that Kenzo Suzuki who had a lackluster SmackDown! run. And we also have a fucked up Perry Saturn. I swear he was on something with the way he throwin' Kenzo around without any regard. I know that's normally his style but here he overshoots a springboard move and I don't even understand where he intended to land. This was abysmal to say very little. Kenzo's inexperience was pretty clear here and his offense was incredibly dull but at least it looked safer. Really useless match with a double DQ finish.

1/4*

Backstage and we are with the Champ and Goldylocks. Opens with an easy swallowin' joke from A.J. on Goldy. I agreed with him. Then we watch and listen about how Vince Russo is gonna select his partner later because he trusts him. Styles lookin' like a real idiot just so he can hold gold. What a clown. Brings back up the swallowin' joke and leaves. I want this guy to represent my company.

Tag Team Title Match: America's Most Wanted v.s Triple X(Christopher Daniels & Elix Skipper).

Low Ki joins his team this week in a sling. This was a decent match here as the tag division gets to nice showcase. Still we got interference but it's Low Ki and you know rules don't apply to him. Both teams showin' off their skills and cohesiveness in this. Triple X has yet to lose and this was announced as AMW's 4th match against them in any form. Undefeated and hopin' to retain gold.

This match escalated quickly and the flow was a little off because of that but the intention was to continue this rivalry. Back and forth with their signature moves to get the crowd poppin' and to care about something. Some nearfalls and close calls and you got yourself a nice midcard tag match. It looked like AMW were on the verge of winnin' when they got screwed by the involvement of the numbers game. Still enjoyed this while it lasted.

**1/2

This match was mostly to set up a cage match the followin' week where Low Ki wouldn't be able to get involved, And no it's not their "classic" cage match with the stupidest move I've ever seen in my life attempted by Skipper.

Now, let's listen up. Jerry Jarrett is goin' to cut a promo on the company. This was fuckin' lame. It was just a bunch of nuthin'. He repeats himself several times near the end sayin' that Russo is obsessed with Jeff Jarrett. Remove the peanut butter from the roof your mouth or speak the FUCK up. I swear he looked at the ground and not at Mike Tenay most of this too. Jesus, some people are OFF screen people for a reason.

Erik Watts... now. Do I really have to write about this? He says some stuff, Kid Kash makes his way out. Kash likes to beat up women and he's a good guy, ya see? He beats all his women, remember that. At this point Goldylocks is shown behind the caged-in area with Abyss and Watts takes off to his beautiful darlin'. Kid runs in from behind and attacks Erik now and Abyss is apparently gonna cut Goldylocks hair. Is this really what I saw? That can't be right. But don't forget Kid Kash beats on his women.

Main event time, Russo and Styles head for the ring. They are out first to announce their legendary tag team partner that will blow STING and Jarrett away. It's....................................................................................... Sean Waltman "Syxx-Pac"(that is exactly how he was announced). A true enemy of Russo's joinin' forces. OH MY GOD! Sean is also not even wearin' ring gear, he's just in a sweat suit. Time for a light work out, I guess.

A.J. Styles & Sean Waltman v.s Jeff Jarrett & Sting.

It's actually nice to see Sting in a TNA ring and not look like a fat, undeservin' slob. We also get the "The Legendary" Sean Waltman "Syxx-Pac," what else could you ask for?

The action in this match was really not that bad at all especially with Styles and Jarrett but I bet you could have determined that yourself. Sting doesn't do a lot until late. Waltman does his typical schtick yet still looked uninspired at times which is a pain in the ass. Relyin' way too much on his karate spin kicks that he is oh, so proud of.

Styles was the MAN even way back at this time. He may have been much more sloppy and inexperienced but this show belonged to him. Sting was only visitin' the house that Styles built. Well Waltman not being a much factor got taken out after some terrible transition, I thought. Sting came in and cleaned house and looked invincible. At least it's better than him not doin' it at the age he is now and not lookin' credible whilst. Jarrett & Sting in the main event proved their point though and Styles was pinned by Jarrett reinforcin' the fact that he deserves a rematch down the line. This didn't really get to another level, it just accomplished what it needed.

**1/2

I know I'm lookin' for the next Jarrett/Styles match after this, I don't know about much else but you know you're gonna get a few laughs at this poorly put together shows either way. Gonna watch episode 50 tonight, probably.








​

 

[Deezy]

You hate New Jack.....

and Trinity was some Lita rip off with a big Ashley Simpson nose.

 

[Crippler]

looks like a mess

 

[Keith]

You poor bastard! You know in a weeks time you maybe found by the police passed out with sweat and old TNA shit covering your body. While your at it I will be commenting on theses reviews too.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

I think I'll do a review like this in this thread for every "bigger" weekly PPV. This really didn't feel like it should have been an Anniversary Show.