Last Wrestling Match Watched 2.0

[Hoss]

damn yall be watching some serious

Well I won't deny that. Speaking of...

Miss TNA
9-Woman Lingerie Battle Royal
NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #2 (6/26/2002)

Can I just say first of all how happy I am that major wrestling companies no longer treat their female roster like this. The rules are nine women enter the match in pajamas, you get eliminated when your pajamas a ripped off, it's everyone for themselves, last woman in clothes wins and gets a TNA contract. Francine is built up as the favorite. The match also notably features Elektra, Mickie James and Daffney. After being eliminated, Francine begins to have an emotional meltdown outside the ring. Perverted commentator Ed Ferrara heads over to comfort her/cop a feel. It's then implied she's about to give him some sloppy toppy but instead she beats the shit out of him with his own belt. Taylor Vaughn wins the match ultimately, but no one gives a single solitary fuck and she gets jumped by Francine after the match using Ed's belt.

Final Rating - 1/2 out of 5 stars

This was less of a match and more of a drawn out segment. The only purpose this served on the whole show was to keep some of the creeps in the audience from going home since this PPV was taped immediately after their last one and you can tell a decent number of fans have already hit the trail.

 

[Keith]

Sloppy match. These two just didn't click. Barbarian was never the worker in WCW that he was in WWF. *1/2

 

[Hoss]

IWGP Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. "Primetime" Elix Skipper
TNA Xplosion (1/28/2008)

In this allegedly "rare match" uploaded to GWN, IWGP Champ Shinsuke Nakamura takes on TNA vet Elix Skipper. The crowd has no idea Shinsuke will one day be one of the brightest stars of the biggest promotion in the world. Nor does TNA I guess. It really makes you think about all the potential stars TNA could have had if they spent more time evaluating and progressing young talent instead of hiring every recently fired WWE star they could manage. There's no betting Shinsuke would have left New Japan for TNA but that's beside the point. The always impressive Elix Skipper who coulda done more in his career came through as a good match up for Shinsuke. He delivered some stiff blows to Shinsuke and sold his opponent's moves well. Unfortunately the match really only goes for about 3 minutes with Nakamura getting the dub.

Final Rating - 2 out of 5 stars

There's nothing wrong with the match, it's just not very long. While Elix was a good opponent, why use Shinsuke in this capacity? He's the IWGP World Champion for New Japan who is about to face (and defeat) Kurt Angle for the IGF version of the IWGP Championship in a unification match, but Kurt's main eventing Impact and all you got for Shinsuke is a 3 minute match against a jobber on Xplosion? So many missed opportunities for TNA..

 

[Smart Marx]

Well I won't deny that. Speaking of...

Miss TNA
9-Woman Lingerie Battle Royal
NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #2 (6/26/2002)

Can I just say first of all how happy I am that major wrestling companies no longer treat their female roster like this. The rules are nine women enter the match in pajamas, you get eliminated when your pajamas a ripped off, it's everyone for themselves, last woman in clothes wins and gets a TNA contract. Francine is built up as the favorite. The match also notably features Elektra, Mickie James and Daffney. After being eliminated, Francine begins to have an emotional meltdown outside the ring. Perverted commentator Ed Ferrara heads over to comfort her/cop a feel. It's then implied she's about to give him some sloppy toppy but instead she beats the shit out of him with his own belt. Taylor Vaughn wins the match ultimately, but no one gives a single solitary fuck and she gets jumped by Francine after the match using Ed's belt.

Final Rating - 1/2 out of 5 stars

This was less of a match and more of a drawn out segment. The only purpose this served on the whole show was to keep some of the creeps in the audience from going home since this PPV was taped immediately after their last one and you can tell a decent number of fans have already hit the trail.

I'm glad you're reviewing 2002 NWA-TNA as I planned to start watching myself. I got through the first few episodes.

Some of it was good, but not nearly as good as I remember. I hope it picks up. I loved this when I was in high school.

IWGP Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. "Primetime" Elix Skipper
TNA Xplosion (1/28/2008)

In this allegedly "rare match" uploaded to GWN, IWGP Champ Shinsuke Nakamura takes on TNA vet Elix Skipper. The crowd has no idea Shinsuke will one day be one of the brightest stars of the biggest promotion in the world. Nor does TNA I guess. It really makes you think about all the potential stars TNA could have had if they spent more time evaluating and progressing young talent instead of hiring every recently fired WWE star they could manage. There's no betting Shinsuke would have left New Japan for TNA but that's beside the point. The always impressive Elix Skipper who coulda done more in his career came through as a good match up for Shinsuke. He delivered some stiff blows to Shinsuke and sold his opponent's moves well. Unfortunately the match really only goes for about 3 minutes with Nakamura getting the dub.

Final Rating - 2 out of 5 stars

There's nothing wrong with the match, it's just not very long. While Elix was a good opponent, why use Shinsuke in this capacity? He's the IWGP World Champion for New Japan who is about to face (and defeat) Kurt Angle for the IGF version of the IWGP Championship in a unification match, but Kurt's main eventing Impact and all you got for Shinsuke is a 3 minute match against a jobber on Xplosion? So many missed opportunities for TNA..

Good looking out. I need to check out some earlier Nakamura stuff and I'm actually a fan of Primetime.

 

[Hoss]

I'm glad you're reviewing 2002 NWA-TNA as I planned to start watching myself. I got through the first few episodes.

Some of it was good, but not nearly as good as I remember. I hope it picks up. I loved this when I was in high school.

Man I can't lie the first, idk, 10 or so editions were tough for me to get through. AJ was about the only saving grace before they start getting the storylines really rolling. The first few set a particularly bad tone. I mean who let The Johnsons be a thing? Hey we'll name these guys after dicks. We'll dress em up like dicks. WE'LL MAKE THEM HUMAN DICKS. Then there's Ryan Shamrock's little prostitute angle. The Rainbow Express was poorly rebooted, as heels naturally because it's wrestling and it's the south and nothing gets you more heat than alternative lifestyles. I do love Gertner's rhyming promos honestly, but he has a major sexual assaulter element to him. None of the females are worth shit. Most of the main event scene isn't worth shit. But nonetheless the nostalgia keeps me coming back, and the brief moments of solid wrestling are enough for me.

 

[Smart Marx]

Man I can't lie the first, idk, 10 or so editions were tough for me to get through. AJ was about the only saving grace before they start getting the storylines really rolling. The first few set a particularly bad tone. I mean who let The Johnsons be a thing? Hey we'll name these guys after dicks. We'll dress em up like dicks. WE'LL MAKE THEM HUMAN DICKS. Then there's Ryan Shamrock's little prostitute angle. The Rainbow Express was poorly rebooted, as heels naturally because it's wrestling and it's the south and nothing gets you more heat than alternative lifestyles. I do love Gertner's rhyming promos honestly, but he has a major sexual assaulter element to him. None of the females are worth shit. Most of the main event scene isn't worth shit. But nonetheless the nostalgia keeps me coming back, and the brief moments of solid wrestling are enough for me.

To be honest I was disappointed Gertner didn't last longer with them. I thought the transition from an ECW whore to managing a gay duo was hilarious. The guy had a natural gift for th gab not replicated by many.

 

[Hoss]

To be honest I was disappointed Gertner didn't last longer with them. I thought the transition from an ECW whore to managing a gay duo was hilarious. The guy had a natural gift for th gab not replicated by many.

Likewise. He could have done great things as somebody's mouthpiece given the right stuff to work with. Honestly he nearly reminds me of Paul Heyman. Obviously not on that same level, but he's got a good delivery, speaks with a purpose and keeps you guessing.

 

[Hoss]

NWA Tag Team Championship
AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett and Ron Killings
NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #9 (8/14/2002)

Styles and Lynn have been largely responsible for most of the best TNA matches in history up to this point in time. They battled for the X Division title, then would later become the first tag champions in TNA history despite a lingering resentment. Meanwhile Ron Killings has just dethroned Ken Shamrock to become the NWA World Champion. He comes out at the top of this show to cut what I thought was a pretty inspiring promo, but because he also shared some honest stories about times his race has held him back in the wrestling industry and in the WWE specifically, he gets a good bit of heel heat. Jarrett who is in hot pursuit of the title but also an ally of Killings' comes out and says The Truth only got the title shot because he's black. This of course makes him the good guy in this scenario. You gotta love the TNA Asylum. Nevertheless they've been booked to compete for the tag titles tonight so it's a battle of uneasy alliances.

Now before the match even starts we're shown footage of Jerry Lynn literally jumping his tag partner AJ Styles at some kind of gas station or something. So when Lynn enters he gets a 2 on 1 beatdown from Killings and Jarrett for a while before AJ shows up to even the odds. The beginning is nothing but brawling, inside the ring and out. Both teams have trouble working with each other, and it even seems Lynn attempts to clothesline AJ at one point but Styles ducks and Lynn connects with Jarrett instead. Eventually order is restored and the match really gets going, with a lot of good exchanges between all four guys. Everybody gets their moments and they mix in a good bit of exciting tag offense, especially from Lynn and Styles, that would go on to define TNA's tag division in the years ahead. Towards the end things take a chaotic turn once again when AJ accidentally spears the ref, after which Ed Ferrara remarks: "Did he get him in the nuts? I think he's holding himself there"... So ultimately Jarrett hits The Stroke on Lynn and pins him while Styles simultaneously hits the Spiral Tap on Killings and pins him. Another ref rushes down just as referee Scott Armstrong is recovering, and the two refs count the two separate falls for the two separate teams. Bob Armstrong and Bill Behrens show up to announce they're holding up the tag titles until they can figure out a way to settle this. Also Ron Killings will face Monty Brown for the NWA World Title next week, and Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles will face off in a 2 out of 3 falls match that will be falls count anywhere, no DQ, and a 10-minute Iron Man match for the third fall and no I am not making that up.

Final Rating - 2 1/2 out of 5 stars

I mean the match was mostly solid, no real complaints about the action aspect of it. It wasn't super exciting or anything but they got the job done and tried to mix in some nifty spots. However, what a dusty finish, and why hold up the tag belts? Also it's pretty short sighted to have Killings pinned a week after he wins the World Title. I really like Killings as champion, they haven't done him any favors with the booking of his reign thus far though. On the other hand I am pretty excited to see Lynn vs. Styles next week because of this despite the outrageous stipulation.

 

[Hoss]

NWA Tag Team Championship
AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett and Ron Killings
NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #9 (8/14/2002)

Styles and Lynn have been largely responsible for most of the best TNA matches in history up to this point in time. They battled for the X Division title, then would later become the first tag champions in TNA history despite a lingering resentment. Meanwhile Ron Killings has just dethroned Ken Shamrock to become the NWA World Champion. He comes out at the top of this show to cut what I thought was a pretty inspiring promo, but because he also shared some honest stories about times his race has held him back in the wrestling industry and in the WWE specifically, he gets a good bit of heel heat. Jarrett who is in hot pursuit of the title but also an ally of Killings' comes out and says The Truth only got the title shot because he's black. This of course makes him the good guy in this scenario. You gotta love the TNA Asylum. Nevertheless they've been booked to compete for the tag titles tonight so it's a battle of uneasy alliances.

Now before the match even starts we're shown footage of Jerry Lynn literally jumping his tag partner AJ Styles at some kind of gas station or something. So when Lynn enters he gets a 2 on 1 beatdown from Killings and Jarrett for a while before AJ shows up to even the odds. The beginning is nothing but brawling, inside the ring and out. Both teams have trouble working with each other, and it even seems Lynn attempts to clothesline AJ at one point but Styles ducks and Lynn connects with Jarrett instead. Eventually order is restored and the match really gets going, with a lot of good exchanges between all four guys. Everybody gets their moments and they mix in a good bit of exciting tag offense, especially from Lynn and Styles, that would go on to define TNA's tag division in the years ahead. Towards the end things take a chaotic turn once again when AJ accidentally spears the ref, after which Ed Ferrara remarks: "Did he get him in the nuts? I think he's holding himself there"... So ultimately Jarrett hits The Stroke on Lynn and pins him while Styles simultaneously hits the Spiral Tap on Killings and pins him. Another ref rushes down just as referee Scott Armstrong is recovering, and the two refs count the two separate falls for the two separate teams. Bob Armstrong and Bill Behrens show up to announce they're holding up the tag titles until they can figure out a way to settle this. Also Ron Killings will face Monty Brown for the NWA World Title next week, and Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles will face off in a 2 out of 3 falls match that will be falls count anywhere, no DQ, and a 10-minute Iron Man match for the third fall and no I am not making that up.

Final Rating - 2 1/2 out of 5 stars

I mean the match was mostly solid, no real complaints about the action aspect of it. It wasn't super exciting or anything but they got the job done and tried to mix in some nifty spots. However, what a dusty finish, and why hold up the tag belts? Also it's pretty short sighted to have Killings pinned a week after he wins the World Title. I really like Killings as champion, they haven't done him any favors with the booking of his reign thus far though. On the other hand I am pretty excited to see Lynn vs. Styles next week because of this despite the outrageous stipulation.

 

[Hoss]

NWA-TNA X Division Championship
Triple Threat Ladder Match
Low-Ki (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn
NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #11 (8/28/2002)


After a damn good best of three match between Styles and Lynn last week ended in a draw, Low-Ki came out and kicked Styles and Lynn’s asses and said he'd face them both next week in a triple threat ladder match for his strap. The Lynn/Styles feud is the highlight of TNA’s existence so far, and they've put on two of the company’s best matches so far. Throw the always awesome Low-Ki in the mix, sprinkle in a few ladders and make it a title match and you've got TNA’s new best match in company history.

This match was destined to be great, and it was. They didn't even need ladders to make this match amazing but given all three guys’ knack for high spots, why the hell not? The beginning is fast paced and action packed, they let the guys wrestle for a good minute before the ladders even get introduced. Once they hit the floor things start to get interesting and everyone is taking stiff blows from the ladder. One of the nicest spots was Low-Ki and AJ headbutting the shit out of each other while standing on a ladder bridged between the ring and barricade before Lynn slams both guys face first on the aluminum. Low-Ki then gets a double hip toss onto a leaning ladder. Everyone is landing really mean strikes, the crowd is loving it. Lynn gives AJ a release belly-to-belly into the leaning ladder. Low-Ki counters a running powerbomb from Lynn into a hurricanrana into the same ladder. But not before attempting to pin his opponent in a ladder match. Whoops. Next, AJ ascends the ladder but is knocked into a tree of woe position. Ki lights him up with some savage kicks to the chest and head, and the Phenomenal One looks like a corpse when he's done. They take turns getting thrown off the top of the ladder for a while. Then Ki gets AJ in a fucking dragon sleeper across two ladders, until Lynn busts up the party. They all three end up in top of ladders with Jerry in the middle. He pushes Ki’s ladder over but he is able to land on the top rope and jump back on his ladder unscathed. AJ then attempts to replicate Ki’s counter but crashes and burns. Then in a complete holy shit moment, Jerry Lynn delivers the cradle piledriver to Low-Ki off the ladder. Now that's ballsy. Lynn climbs the ladder and snatches the X-Division Championship as the PPV ends.

Final Rating - 4 out of 5 stars

Yep, this is the best match in TNA’s history at this point and for my money it's one of the best matches in TNA’s entire history. The crowd is chanting “TNA! TNA! TNA!” “HOLY SHIT” and “JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!” the whole time. Everyone is going hard as fuck. It's obvious the X-Division is already TNA’s best feature. Low-Ki never got the push he deserved, he was constantly one of the best between the ropes and already looks like a damn Mortal Kombat character. Jerry Lynn winning was also amazing. He deserved it, and he had been looking strong all the way leading up to this. Pretty much a top notch ladder match that I definitely recommend.

 

[Smart Marx]

NWA-TNA X Division Championship
Triple Threat Ladder Match
Low-Ki (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn
NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #11 (8/28/2002)


After a damn good best of three match between Styles and Lynn last week ended in a draw, Low-Ki came out and kicked Styles and Lynn’s asses and said he'd face them both next week in a triple threat ladder match for his strap. The Lynn/Styles feud is the highlight of TNA’s existence so far, and they've put on two of the company’s best matches so far. Throw the always awesome Low-Ki in the mix, sprinkle in a few ladders and make it a title match and you've got TNA’s new best match in company history.

This match was destined to be great, and it was. They didn't even need ladders to make this match amazing but given all three guys’ knack for high spots, why the hell not? The beginning is fast paced and action packed, they let the guys wrestle for a good minute before the ladders even get introduced. Once they hit the floor things start to get interesting and everyone is taking stiff blows from the ladder. One of the nicest spots was Low-Ki and AJ headbutting the shit out of each other while standing on a ladder bridged between the ring and barricade before Lynn slams both guys face first on the aluminum. Low-Ki then gets a double hip toss onto a leaning ladder. Everyone is landing really mean strikes, the crowd is loving it. Lynn gives AJ a release belly-to-belly into the leaning ladder. Low-Ki counters a running powerbomb from Lynn into a hurricanrana into the same ladder. But not before attempting to pin his opponent in a ladder match. Whoops. Next, AJ ascends the ladder but is knocked into a tree of woe position. Ki lights him up with some savage kicks to the chest and head, and the Phenomenal One looks like a corpse when he's done. They take turns getting thrown off the top of the ladder for a while. Then Ki gets AJ in a fucking dragon sleeper across two ladders, until Lynn busts up the party. They all three end up in top of ladders with Jerry in the middle. He pushes Ki’s ladder over but he is able to land on the top rope and jump back on his ladder unscathed. AJ then attempts to replicate Ki’s counter but crashes and burns. Then in a complete holy shit moment, Jerry Lynn delivers the cradle piledriver to Low-Ki off the ladder. Now that's ballsy. Lynn climbs the ladder and snatches the X-Division Championship as the PPV ends.

Final Rating - 4 out of 5 stars

Yep, this is the best match in TNA’s history at this point and for my money it's one of the best matches in TNA’s entire history. The crowd is chanting “TNA! TNA! TNA!” “HOLY SHIT” and “JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!” the whole time. Everyone is going hard as fuck. It's obvious the X-Division is already TNA’s best feature. Low-Ki never got the push he deserved, he was constantly one of the best between the ropes and already looks like a damn Mortal Kombat character. Jerry Lynn winning was also amazing. He deserved it, and he had been looking strong all the way leading up to this. Pretty much a top notch ladder match that I definitely recommend.

AJ and Jerry just had insane chemistry. I need to get back on my watch to see if I get a 4/5 as well.

Sounds like they had some nuts ladder spots. A ladder match is useless if they just recycle the usual stuff.

 

[Hoss]

Street Fight
James Storm vs. Bobby Roode
TNA Bound For Glory 2012 (10/24/2012)

Storm and Roode are two guys who make awesome partners and awesome opponents. They just go together so naturally. Inside the ring they are hard hitters who can string together nice counters and back and forth sequences when needed. Tonight a year long rivalry that saw Roode brutalize Storm and deny him a taste of TNA World Title gold culminates in a street fight on TNA's biggest stage in a no holds barred match with special enforcer King Mo.

The intensity picks up pretty much right away as the fight spills to the floor in the opening minute. The guys get slammed into the rails and onto folding chairs for warm up. Storm gets catapulted into the ring post and begins to pour blood about 3 or 4 minutes into the match. The two guys punish each other with a steel chair, kendo stick and trash can. The Cowboy then drives Roode down face first into the allegedly steel ramp which is level with the ring apron in one of the more brutal spots. Storm uses a fan's crutch to jam Roode up. The former Beer Money members then tee off on each other with trash can lid shots while still fighting on the ramp. The It Factor Bobby Roode regains his leverage hitting a Double R spinebuster on the ramp which was also pretty painful looking.

The fight continues to spill all around the outside, Storm stops to take a drink of a fan's cold beverage, and gives himself a beer bath despite having an open wound on his face. Eventually the two end up by the announce table which looks like it's metal with a glass surface. They get up on top and battle which ends in Roode spearing Storm off that announce table through the wooden Spanish announce table. The match goes back in the ring and after failing to get the pinfall, Roode gets in the ref's face causing King Mo to step in. While arguing with Mo, Roode gets distracted and ends up getting superkicked turning the tide back in Storm's favor. Later on Roode gets a bag of tacks and scatters them in the ring. He ends up being tossed off the middle rope onto them however, after which The Cowboy performs a top rope elbow drop on Roode and the pile of tacks. That's still not enough to end the match. Cowboy charges Roode and ends up being sent head first into a chair wedged in the corner. Roode brings out a six pack planning to smash a bottle over Storm's head but gets a low blow. Storm turns the table and smashes a bottle over Roode's head then superkicks him, once again onto the tacks for the three count.

Final Rating - 3.75 out of 5 stars

This is an underrated blood bath in my opinion. There are a lot of really fun and memorable spots and both guys end up going through a lot of painful shit. Storm loses a bucket of blood and after winning displays some really compelling raw emotion. I think it was easy to believe that there was animosity between these guys, and they left it all in the ring for a surefire show stealer.

 

[Keith]

Macho's WCW in-ring debut and he was clearly the star of the match. The heels did a great job too and Sting's selling was effective. I love the heat between Flair and Macho during the match Depressing that three of the four are now gone. ***

 

[Crippler]

wait so are you watching every match on these TNA shows and just posting reviews of the best match on the card or just watching the 1 match?

 

[Hoss]

wait so are you watching every match on these TNA shows and just posting reviews of the best match on the card or just watching the 1 match?

This is directed to me, right? I've mostly been watching the full shows, I'll just review whichever match I feel like. It's usually just whichever match I thought was most fun or stood out for whatever reason, not necessarily the best matches though.