Total Nonstop Action Wrestling: Ground Zero

[CakeWalker]

Ground Zero: Entry 23
Lockdown (2006)​

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The match that would open the Lockdown pay per view would be the Singles Contest between Bubba Ray and Chris Benoit - which would turn into a situation that no one had really been expecting. During a spot that had seen both men fall the ropes, the pair seems incensed with each other and the match would end up being thrown with the referee calling a Double Count. The pair though wouldn't stop fighting between each other with both Bubba Ray and Benoit resorting to using a set of chairs against each other with the brawl coming to an end with a security team being sent out from the back to separate the two men.​

Chris Benoit & Bubba Ray
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The second match would be another interesting although much cleaner contest that would see Travis Tomko claim victory over Edge, before Super X-League winner Katsushi Takemura would defeat Sabu in a truly high volume and overly energetic X-Division match. ​

Katushi Takemura - Super X-League 2005 Winner
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After the contest Takemura would speak in very broken English to the fans in attendance and make it clear that he was planning to use his anytime X-Division Championship contract some time very soon and whoever out of Syxx-Pac and Tazz Wolf won tonight - was going to have to watch over their should from this point onwards.​

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The contest for the NWA World Tag Team Championships was another highly entertaining match, but like all matches taking place within the "Six Sides of Steel" the extra dimension of violence that the structure provided would really elevate the violence that would take place. However, it looked as if Wicked Waters were going to reclaim the title as Frightmare had broken off his leash and scaled the cage and entered the match. Although this move wasn't legal it certainly wasn't within the expectations of the match, however the extra number gave the challengers a clear numbers advantage. Just as the match looked all but over. All the lights in the arena would shutoff - as music playing over the titantron that had previously not been hearing on TNA programming would blast out around the Impact Zone...​

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...as everyone's attention would turn to the entrance ramp as Raven - a man who had been believed to have retired since 2003. But as he lives and breaths he was standing on top of the entrance ramp and with a barbed wire wrapped baseball bat he would point it down towards the ring, whilst the two teams would struggle to fight in the darkness with the fans not really to make out quite what was going on. Raven though would just be visibly smiling as the lights would come on as both Frightmare and Sharkboy would have somehow find themselves handcuffed to steel cage. With Frankie Kazarian and Nova just laughing their heads off, as none other Stevie Richards would be standing directly in front of Hallowicked and proceed to take his head almost clean off his shoulders with a Stevie Kick! ​

Stevie Richards
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Frankie Kazarian would drop on top of Hallowicked to make the cover as Zero-1 would retain the tittles as everyone would be left confused as hell as not only why Raven and Richards had seemingly got involved - but what they were doing on TNA programming. ​

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The importance of the NWA Women's Championship gaining prestige and being considered a top prize in women's wrestling was paramount to the division's future success. And with four women involved in the first match of its kind - TNA fans would finally see a match capable of matching their male equivalents as Amy Dumas, Gail Kim, Jaqueline and Trinity would all impress in a high intensity contest with everyone looking strong, but ultimately with Dumas retaining the strap.​

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The next contest would be the much sought out First Blood grudge match between Samoa Joe and Justin McCully with both men going all out to beat the holy high hell out of each other and for large portions it looked as though Joe was almost certainly going to win the match as he would make McCully tap out a number of times with his superior submission game but of course the match would only come to an end by way of blood being spilled. McCully was visibly struggling to stand on his two feet, and Samoa Joe seemed to be circling Justin like a predator stalking their prey. Joe though would be totally caught out, as in a last desperate play McCully who was lying on his back would kick upwards and end up connecting straight on Joe's nose with blood spurting out everywhere and the referee left with no option but to bring an end to the contest. As Justin McCully would pick up his first win of his TNA career in what was without a shadow of a doubt a shock win.​

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James Storm - the reigning Intercontinental Champion
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James Storm would continue his reign as the NWA Intercontinental Championship with a fairly convincing victory over Rhino it what would be his first successful title defence as the champion, his challenger Rhino wouldn't be left looking weak from the loss but simply put Storm just seemed to be in the best form since starting his tenure with the company's inception with the commentary team seemingly dropping hints that perhaps James Storm would be better focusing 100% of his attention on being a singles wrestler.​

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The Xscape Match for the X-Division Champion was being built as a match that would hopefully become an annual tradition. All six men knew they would have to survive each other, until there was just two of them before one man would have to escape the six sides of steel to claim the victory and the title belt in the process. The first man to be eliminated from the contest would be reigning champion Syxx-Pac - who would find himself attacked from all sides in a 5-on-1 situation and it was clear that Syxx had never stood any chance of retaining the belt. (First Elimination - Syxx-Pac). No matter what happened from this point on a new champions was being crowned, but the herd would be thinned (Second Elimination - Petey Williams & Third Elimination - Rey Mysterio) with only three men left in the running with all knowing that they would need to conserve some of their energy in order to scale the cage. Rocky Romero and Christopher Daniels would form some sort of alliance, and although Tazz Wolf would do this best to fight off his two opponents he would be unable to hold out as whilst he was being held in a Crossarm Breaker by Romero, Daniels would crash down on top of the pair with the Best Moonsault Ever that looked as if it might have seriously injured Wolf's arm because as soon as Romero locked in the submission move a gain, Tazz Wolf would tape out within a number of seconds (Fourth Elimination - Tazz Wolf).Both Daniels and Romero would physically exhausted with the match having last twell over twenty minutes, but Daniels would somehow seem transition out of being held upside down and instead nail Romero with the Angel Wing's that looked as if they had taken Romero out for the count, giving Daniels just the amount of time he needed to clamber up the cage to escape and become the NWA TNA X-Division Champion for the first time of his career.

Christopher Daniels - 26th NWA TNA X-Division Champion

Whilst Christopher Daniels was celebrating his historic title victory in the middle of the ring, the former champion Syxx-Pac who had been eliminated within the first minute of the match creeped back into the win and snuck up behind Daniels only to connect with a low blow from behind causing Daniels to drop the title belt only for Syxx to spin Daniels around on his axis and connect with the Syxx-Factor which result in Daniels head being busted wide open. Syxx-Pac looked like a man possessed though as he would stamp down repeatedly on Daniels before singing in the Buzzkiller but would maintain the submission move way past Daniels tapping out to the point that Daniels looks as if he had completely passed out by the time that Syxx released his grip on Daniels. Syxx would then grab a microphone and just say two words 'I Quit' before making his way towards the back.

Lethal Lockdown for Jeff Jarrett was his chance to get redemption and rewrite history after having lost the unique match at last year's pay per view. For the James Gang this was a great way to get another victory over Jarrett and his goons, whilst at the same time the fifth member of the team AJ Styles had a perfect opportunity to scout the man he would be facing at Slammiversary for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The match would be a rough and ready contest with Planet Jarrett holding the advantage in the match, as they would draw odd numbers and thus always have a one man advantage going into the match before James Gang fifth and final entrant Kip James would enter the fray. The match would come to a conclusion with a mass of bodies on the floor, but also an ultimate betrayal as just when it looked as if the match was coming to an end after AJ Styles had nailed Chris Harris with the Styles Clash! Just as AJ was going for the cover though, out of nowhere Colt Cabana would run forward and slam AJ styles over the back of the head with a kendo stick.

Colt Cabana - The James Gang Traitor

With a one man advantage, the James Gang found themselves in a tough situation. More shockingly though, as the number games starting playing against the James Gang it seemed clear that Planet Jarrett were intent on doing as much damage as possible to AJ Styles with Styles being nailed with Jackknife Powerbomb by Nash, only for Batista to then pummel Styles off the top of the turnbuckle with the Demon Bomb! Whilst this was going on, Paul London had been hung upside down on the turnbuckle and had taken multiple shots to the face via a steel chair by Chris Harris and at the same time Scott Steiner would hit BG James with multiple Steiner Flatliners hitting him with finisher after finisher at it seemed clear that Scott was just doing everything in his power to punish BG James. Kip James had been on his back for a while would finally stand up on his feet only for everyone to look on in shock as he would look as if he was helping BG only to nail him with the Fameasser before offering the fallen James to Jeff Jarrett who would cover his adversary for the victory.

Kip James - the second James Gang Traitor

Lockdown would come to the close with the Six Sides of Steel being lifted over the arena as the ring would be cleared of the James Gang, as Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Chris Harris, Batista and Scott Steiner would celebrate the victory in the ring and would be joined by the two turncoats of Kip James and Colt Cabana. Not long after the traitors entered the ring James Storm would make his way down to the ring with two t-shirts that he would hand to Kip and Colt which the pair would pull on revealing themselves as the two newest members of Planet Jarrett as the pay per view would draw to a conclusion.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Ground Zero: Entry 24
TNA Impact 191 (4th May 2006)

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NWA World Heavyweight Championship Picture:​

Following the ending of the show at Lethal Lockdown, in which there were not one but two betrayals with Colt Cabana and Kip James having defected from the James Gang to join Planet Jarrett it was very clear that a power shift had very much taken place in TNA. The following episode of Impact would begin with Jeff Jarrett standing in the middle of the ring being joined by the full complement of the mega-faction. Jeff would make it very clear that at Lockdown, he had proven that not only was he the most talented wrestler in the world, but he was also the smartest. And that in the coming weeks, he was going to make an example of BG James at Hard Justice. Jeff would make it clear that he would be willing to offer BG a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, on the stipulation that if James lost then he would have to leave TNA forever.​

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Sting - TNA Commissioner ​

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TNA Commissioner Sting would make his way out from the back and be joined by BG James, not long after the challenge had been made. Sting would make it clear that BG’s career would be collateral on one condition, and that was that if any member of the Planet Jarrett got involved in the match at Hard Justice then not only would the match end via disqualification but that the championship belt would change hands. This stipulation would leave Jarrett furious, with it now being clear that he wasn’t going to be able to bend the rules in order to guarantee he retained the championship.​

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NWA TNA X-Division Championship Picture:​

Christopher Daniels had found himself in possession of the X-Division Championship after what had been one of the best matches of the night at Lockdown. Daniels would make it clear that as this was his first championship belt whilst working for TNA, he honestly felt that the match at the PPV had been a career defining moment for him but that he wanted the man who he defended the title against to be someone that he had a lot of respect for and someone he was privileged to be able to call a friend, with Daniels invited AJ Styles out from the back. AJ would make it clear that he would be honoured to be Christopher’s first challenger, but would make it clear that he would not be going easy on his friend and that he had every intention of leaving Hard Justice as a three time X-Division Champion. ​

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Katsushi Takemura - the Super-X League Winner & X-Division #1 contender​

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Katsushi Takemura would however, interrupt the proceedings and make it clear that as the Super-X League winner he was the man that was most deserving of challenging for the title next and it would make it clear that he was incredibly surprised that it had been Daniels who had left with the gold. Takemura, would confirm that he would be cashing in his anytime shot for the belt at Hard Justice and that Styles would in fact have to get behind him in the queue. It was clear that Daniels was disappointed that this dream match between his best friend wasn’t going to happen - but with it being completely Takamura’s right to cash in his title shot there was simply nothing to argue about. AJ would make his intentions clear, that no matter what happened between Daniels and Takemura the fans would be treated to a match between himself and Daniels and if it was going to happen at Hard Justice, then it was simply going to have to take place at Slammiversary. ​

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Syxx - the recently departed two time World Champion and former X-Division Champion​

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With Syxx having quit TNA after Lockdown, and it would emerge that it hadn’t been scripted and that in fact Waltman had simply walked out on what was a fairly open contract but nonetheless had exited the company after beating down Daniels (which Dirt Sheets were suggesting would have led to a long-term rivalry between both men). The fallout had created a sudden shift in the division with a spot very much having opened up for the rest of the roster. A spot that everyone wanted to fill. Two men that would make it clear that they deserved recognition were Rey Mysterio and Tazz Wolf, who would both win matches over Paul London and Petey Williams respectively during the event. Although neither man mentioned the other it was clear that both men were much being considered as two men that the rest of the division could really look up to.​

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NWA World Tag Team Championship Picture:​

Following Zero-1 have retained the titles, albeit this had happened with the interference of both Stevie Richards and Raven. Frankie Kazarian would make it clear in a backstage segment with Nova, that although they had taken advantage of the situation they had no involvement with Raven or Richards and wanted to make it clear to Wicked Waters that they wanted to offer them another shot at the title belts on the night’s episode of Impact. ​

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Later on in the night Zero-1 would face Wicked Waters, although it would be Frightmare who would team up with Shark Boy as it was announced that Hallowicked had suffered a concussion from the kick he had received from Stevie Richards at Lockdown and would be unable to compete. The match would be of a good standard, but ultimately Kazarian and Nova would prove their champion quality to retain the belts. As Zero-1 were celebrating the victory though, the lights in the area would go out. When they were turned on again, Kazarian and Nova would be wiped out with Raven standing over both men and smiling like a maniac. Only for the lights to turn off again, and Raven to have disappeared leaving the champions knocked out in the ring.​

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America’s Most Wanted Storyline:​

Following his successful title defence of the NWA Intercontinental Championship, James Storm would feature in a segment from the Planet Jarrett locker-room. Storm would make it clear that keeping hold of the title going forward would be his number one priority. Storm would make it clear that himself and Chris Harris had made the tag team division relevant for the last couple of years, but that as of today he would no longer be Harris’ tag-team partner. He would make it clear though, that both men would continue to be members of Planet Jarrett though and their friendship would be something that would never be broken. Storm would make it clear that he had his eyes on the likes of Travis Tomko, Chris Benoit, Bubba Ray to name just a few and that he expected a challenger to emerge over the next few weeks.​

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Kip James - Chris Harris' new partner in America's Most Wanted​

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Chris Harris would step forward though and make it clear that America’s Most Wanted was more than just two men, but it was a whole movement and would introduce Kip James as his new tag-team partner. Harris would make it clear that himself and James very much had their eyes on the tag team gold and would be doing everything in their power to move up the rankings. AMW (Version 2.0) would compete together that night and claim a fair comprehensive victory over Nu Found Glory (Ace Steel & Brain Lawer) with both men showing natural chemistry as a pairing.​

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Benoit vs. Bubba Ray Storyline:​

No one understood the reasoning why the contest between Chris Benoit and Bubba Ray, and after Bubba Ray would claim a singles victory over William Regal he would find his post-match celebration being interrupted by Benoit who would emerge from the back and stand on the entrance ramp. Benoit would make it clear that Bubba Ray had shown absolutely no respect not only for the company and the fans but most importantly himself when he had decided to turn their fight into an all out brawl. Benoit would make the point that it was clear that Bubba realised that he would never match up to him in the ring as a singles wrestler and so had resorted to breaking the rules to force a no contest. Bubba would be left looking annoyed, but before he was able to offer any sort of rebuttal Benoit would simply walk backstage turning his back on Bubba Ray.​

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NWA Women’s Championship Picture:​

Amy Dumas being the inaugural NWA Women’s Champion in the TNA era, had resulted in making quite a few headlines with the wrestler formerly known as Lita getting a lot of national media attention for the company. Amy would be very open and appear on a number of different television shows in order to help raise the profile of the company. Amy would feature in a promo backstage during the show, where she would make it clear that it was her responsibility to make sure that the division thrived. She would then make the point by being one of the first women willing to make the jump to TNA, she was hopeful that in the coming months that others would be brave and make the jump.​

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Amy Dumas - inaugural NWA Women's Champion​

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There would be one match in the women’s division that evening, in which Allysin Kay would claim a pinfall victory over Madison Rose with the young female rookie really impressing the fans but at the same time showing a lot of potential to improve and become one of the greats in the industry. ​

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The Justin McCully Storyline:​

Justin McCully’s victory had been one that had been totally unexpected, with the assumption always having been that Justin would try his best and put on a good show but that ultimately Joe would leave with the win. With McCully having broken Joe’s nose and the match ending because of the injury, it would later be announced that Joe would be out for a number of weeks. McCully would make it clear that he was going to be staying around for a while, and that he was going to be collecting scalps and that next week he very much had his eyes focused on Austin Aries.​

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1. Rey Mysterio def. Paul London​
2. Tazz Wolf def. Petey Williams​
3. NWA World Tag Team Championships: Zero-1 (Frankie Kazarian & Nova) def. Wicked Waters (Shark Boy & Frightmare)​
4. AMW (Chris Harris & Kip james) def. Nu Found Glory (Ace Steele * Brain Lawler)​
5. Bubba Ray def William Regal ​
6. Allysin Kay def Madison Rose​