Written by: Bob Colling
National Wrestling Alliance/Total Non-Stop Action Weekly PPV #39
Date: 4/2/2003
From: Nashville, TN
Matches:
1.)Brian Lawler defeated Chris Harris
2.)Trinity defeated Alexis Laree
3.)The Sandman, Perry Saturn & New Jack defeated Harris Brothers & NWA-TNA World Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels
4.)David Young defeated Sonny Siaki
5.)Ron Killings defeated Elix Skipper
6.)NWA-TNA X-Division Champion Kid Kash defeated Jerry Lynn to retain the title
7.)NWA-TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett defeated D’Lo Brown to retain the title
Angle Developments/Notes:
1. Glen Gilbertti is in the ring and calls out D’Lo Brown. Brown gets a championship shot against Jeff Jarrett tonight. If Brown manages to win tonight then the belt will belong to the SEX camp. Gilbertti knows it’s tough for Brown to trust anyone in TNA. Glenn says that Jarrett is paranoid but a great wrestler. Glenn mentions how Jarrett hit Brown with a steel chair from behind. Glen says Jeff isn’t a good guy. The only reason he is a good guy is because he is wrestling in his hometown. He thinks Jeff’s knows that D’Lo could beat him for the championship. Glenn says SEX is here to fight for Brown and they back down from nobody. AJ Styles runs down to the ring and brawls with Glen. AJ takes Glen to the floor and sends him into the guard railing a couple of times. Styles tosses Gilbertti into the crowd and Styles decides to leap off the steps but is met with a chair shot in midair! Gilbertti hammers away on Styles and tosses AJ into the guard railing. Raven is sitting in the corner of the ring while Glenn and AJ continue to fight. Security finally runs down to the ring to break up the fight. Raven grabs a chair and begins to talk to Glen. D’Lo runs down and confronts Raven. The rest of SEX come down and break them apart from going after each other.
2. Mike Tenay sat down with Konnan and Jerry Lynn earlier in the day. Konnan demanded to be included in the sit down interview that Tenay had with Jerry Lynn. Konnan wants Lucha to get credit for the X-Division. Lynn is sporting a ECW Cyberslam shirt. Lynn talks about watching tapes from Mexico to get better. Konnan is mad that Lucha wasn’t getting credit. Jerry says he would wrestle any luchadore. Konnan respects Lynn for saying what he has said today. Konnan promises Lynn that he won’t attack Lynn again. Is this some kind of babyface turn for Konnan now?
3. Goldylocks interviews Raven in the Raven’s Nest. Raven knows it’s his destiny to be NWA World Heavyweight Champion. The burden would crush most men, but not him. Raven has a destiny and he is going to be NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He doesn’t give a damn who the champion is. He will be champion and he demands respect from the fans. If he had his choice, he would never step foot in the building again.
4. A video of Dusty Rhodes talking about Brian Lawler, David Flair and Erik Watts not respecting history. Rhodes says the NWA World Championship means a lot to him. Dusty is determined to get the NWA World Championship back.
5. Lawler is being promoted as the Next Generation of wrestling, while Harris isn’t. That’s interesting booking by NWA-TNA. Harris gets the better of Lawler early on with a leaping clothesline and Lawler bails to the floor where David Flair is to support him. Lawler misses a crossbody and Harris comes off the top rope to hit one of his own for a near fall. Flair gets a cheap shot on Chris to allow Lawler to get the control of the contest and hit a neckbreaker. Harris nails Lawler in the midsection as Brian came off the middle rope. Harris stops Lawler with a snap powerslam! Harris continues his momentum with a backdrop and plants Brian with a DDT! David Flair distracts the referee on the apron and Lawler nearly hits Flair. Harris nearly wins with a spear but Flair broke up the count. Lawler misses Harris and nails David with the belt and is nearly pinned by Harris with a roll up! They battle over the belt until Harris his the Catatonic on the championship. Flair distracts the referee yet again and Harris knocks Flair off the apron. Lawler has the belt and nails Harris with it to get the cheap win. (*1/4. Well, the match was lame in the sense of all the interference by Flair. I’m baffled that Lawler would go over a guy like Harris, who should be a young cornerstone for the company.) After the match, Flair attacks Harris and Lawler hits the top rope leg drop. Dusty Rhodes comes down to the ring and cleans house to make the save. He puts virtually no effort in delivering his elbow strikes but they bump for him anyway. Rhodes raises up the NWA World Championship but Lawler steals the belt from behind. Dusty cuts a promo about tradition and goes on to rant about his career. Dusty calls Lawler and Flair daddy boys. Lawler calls Dusty an old fat man. Lawler says he is the present and future of pro wrestling while Dusty is old news. Dusty wants a bunkhouse or bull rope match. Lawler will give Dusty a shot at the replica belt but under his own stipulation. Lawler challenges Dusty next week to a ladder match for the belt! Brian would pay thousands of dollars to see Dusty wrestle in a ladder match. Dusty is thinking about the stipulation and accepts the match.
6. Backstage, Goldylocks talks to Saturn and Sandman. They aren’t revealing who their partner will be tonight. Saturn says another one of their brothers is here. Father James Mitchell offers any of his guys. Sandman tells Mitchell they have it figured out. Mitchell seems to threaten Saturn about taking things into their own hands.
7. Trinity hits a head scissors on Laree early on. Laree runs away but slides into the ring and gets the advantage by kicking Trinity in the stomach. Alexis nearly wins after a dropkick. Trinity is sent to the floor after missing a running attack. Laree drops Trinity with a kick to the side of her head for a near fall. Trinity fights back with a clothesline and dropkick. Trinity hits a spin kick and heads to the top rope where Laree cuts her off. Trinity shoves Alexis off the middle rope and misses a moonsault! Raven comes out and sits in the corner again. Kid Kash comes out as well as the women continue to wrestle. Trinity wins after a standing shooting star press. (*1/2. Not too bad as Trinity looked pretty good here. Laree isn’t at the level that she would be later by any means.) After the match, Raven plants Trinity with a DDT and Kash does nothing. Raven takes Laree backstage with him.
8. Backstage, Goldylocks talks with NWA-TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Jarrett wants her to name some names who say that Jarrett has been acting differently. Goldylocks says some of the boys have been saying that. Jarrett is offended that Goldylocks is using wrestling lingo. Jarrett loses his temper and grabs Goldylocks by the throat and goes into a room leaving her upset.
9. The mystery partner for Saturn and Sandman is New Jack who appears behind the heels after the lights go out. Jack takes them out with a trash can lid. Saturn and Daniels start the match with Saturn dropping Daniels with a clothesline and hammering away on him. Saturn hits a release German suplex. Saturn follows up with a back suplex out of the corner but is sent into the corner where the Harris Brothers hammer away on Saturn. Daniels connects with a spinning heel kick and a leg sweep STO. Daniels almost wins with the BME! Saturn plants Daniels with a sit out spine buster and drops Daniels with a few shots. All six men end up brawling in and out of the ring. Saturn nearly wins after a springboard dropkick on Don but runs into a big boot. Don drives Saturn down to the mat with a chokeslam. New Jack is fighting with Ron and puts him on two tables. Jack is going to dive off the balcony. Jack goes up but is shoved off by Brian Lee and he crashes through the tables! Lee attacks Ron as well! Saturn almost pins Don with a northern lights suplex but Daniels breaks up the cover by grabbing the referee. Saturn fights off Slash who had a chair and pins Don with a Death Valley Driver. After the match, Mike Barton runs in and attacks Saturn. He was known as Bart Gunn in the WWF. Barton powerbombs Saturn. Barton is wearing a SEX t-shirt and hits Saturn with a Death Valley Driver. (*. Well, the match wasn’t good at all. It was just an apparent angle advancement for hopefully bigger things. The debut of Mike Barton got zero heat and I don’t think he needs to be wrestling for TNA at all. He doesn’t bring name power or anything to the program.)
10. Backstage, Goldylocks asks NWA-TNA X-Division Champion Kid Kash why he didn’t help Trinity. Kash says that he told Trinity to stay out of the ring and remain in the corner. Kash thinks she has been trying to steal her spotlight.
11. Desire is being handcuffed to the bottom rope for the next match between Young and Siaki. Young starts with a hurricanrana on the floor and tosses Sonny into the guard railing. David sends Siaki into the ring post and delivers a spear on the floor! Young hits a spinning head scissors as well for a near fall. Siaki tosses Young into the corner with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Siaki hits a split legged moonsault from the top for a two count. Siaki misses a standing flipping leg drop but manages to drive Young face first down to the canvas. Young drives Siaki down to the mat with a powerbomb out of the corner! Siaki plants Young with a spinebuster for a near win! David hits a swinging neckbreaker but only gets a two count. Young misses a moonsault off the top but manages to roll Siaki up moments later for the win! (**. I was really impressed by David Young. He was really at the top of his game for this match and delivered all his moves. If he was given a shot more often and in longer matches, he would be a great talent for TNA.) After the match, Athena comes out and handcuffs Siaki to the ropes. Young gets the key for Desire’s handcuffs. Desire slaps Young and they unlock her from the bottom rope. Siaki can’t do anything. Young plants Desire with a spine buster! That’s not really a babyface thing to do.
12. Skipper attacks Killings before the bell and hammers away on Ron. Killings fights back with a snap powerslam for a near fall. Killings drives Skipper chest first into the canvas out of a wheelbarrow position. Ron backdrops Skipper over the top to the floor. Ron takes Skipper out with a top rope dive on the floor. Skipper crotches Killings on the top rope and continues to work on Killings. Elix locks in a half Boston Crab but can’t get a submission. Skipper axe kicks Killings as Ron was hovering over the apron. Killings sends Skipper into the guard railing and misses a leaping sidekick crotching himself on the railing. Skipper drops Ron with a standing spin kick. Skipper hits a missile dropkick back in the ring for a near fall. Killings goes for a vertical suplex but switches into a stunner! Skipper comes off the ropes and Ron hits a backdrop. Ron gets a near fall after a vertical suplex. Ron connects with the scissors kick as Christopher Daniels is now at ringside. Killings knocks Daniels off the apron. Skipper gets a two count with a belly to belly suplex! Ron hits a middle rope sit out front suplex for the win. (**1/2. I thought these two worked well with each other and put together a decent match. The crowd wasn’t into it, but I enjoyed it.) After the match, Daniels attacks Killings until Nelson Knight comes in and attacks both men to make the save for his buddy.
13. A video of Erik Watts hanging out with Brian Urlacher is shown. Watts is taunting Jarrett by hanging out with various celebrities. Watts is trying to set up a championship match with Jeff Jarrett. John Daly acts like he actually watches TNA by saying Watts has been kicking Jeff’s ass on television.
14. Lynn and Kash start off with some mat wrestling but neither man gets long lasting offense and have a standoff. Lynn hits a springboard crossbody and Kash soon backs off into a corner as the challenger had a fast pace going. Kash attempts a double under-hook but Lynn gets out of it and Lynn locks in a Gory Special until Kash gets out of the hold. Lynn misses a leg drop from the apron and Kash hits a head scissors off the apron sending Lynn into the guard railing! Kash hits a swinging neckbreaker and drops Lynn neck first across his knee for a two count. Lynn fights back with a tilt a whirl backbreaker but Kash drops Jerry throat first across the top rope. Jerry runs into a big boot and Kash nearly wins with a moonsault! Kash drops Lynn throat first across the top but Lynn dropkicks the champ in midair after a springboard! Lynn hits a middle rope leg drop but Kash pops his shoulder up at two. Lynn reverses a hurricanrana with a sit down powerbomb! Kash drives Lynn face first to the canvas and goes for a double under-hook but Lynn blocks it again. Lynn plants Kash with a reverse DDT but can’t get a three count! Lynn went for the TKO but Kash accidentally knocked the referee out. A masked man runs in to planet Lynn with a tornado DDT and Kash steals the match. (***. A fine match between two veterans of the business. The finish was lame as Konnan had promised it wouldn’t happen. I suppose they were looking for a way to protect Lynn who is very popular with the Nashville crowd.)
15. Brown attacks Jarrett backstage to get a quick start to the match. Brown is hammering away on Jeff in the crowd and rams the champ into the guard railing Jarrett whacks D’Lo over the head with a steel chair but Brown comes back with one of his own. They trade right hands until Glen Gilbertti runs out and holds Jarrett to let Brown to get a few extra shots in. Brown sends Jeff face first into the ring steps as well. Brown mounts Jarrett and delivers a few right hands. Brown plants Jeff with a spine buster and gets a near fall. Brown tosses Jarrett to the floor and comes off the apron with an axe handle shot. Brown grabs a chair but misses a chair shot and hits the ring post. Jarrett fights back with right hands and sends D’Lo into the guard railing too. Gilbertti prevents Jarrett from hitting Brown with a chair and Brown plants Jarrett with a DDT on the floor! D’Lo Brown locks in a sleeper hold but Jarrett doesn’t pass out. Jeff hits a vertical suplex and both men are down in the ring. Jarrett backdrops Brown and hits a standing dropkick. Brown hits the Stroke on the champ but only manages to get a two count! Jarrett hits the Sky High but Brown kicks out! Jeff knocks the referee down on accident and Gilbertti enters to hit a running ace crusher. Brown goes for the cover but can’t get a three count. Jeff misses a top rope crossbody and hits the referee. Gilbertti tries to hit the Last Dance but is sent to the floor. Mike Sanders hits Jarrett with the championship and Brown goes for the cover but Jarrett kicks out again. They collide in the middle of the ring after a double clothesline. Raven enters the ring and sits down in the same corner he has sat down in every time. Sanders accidentally superkicks Brown and Jarrett gets the win after the Stroke. (**. The amount of interference in this match was ridiculous. It got to the point where I was just shaking my head. Plus, the referee bumps were so clearly going to happen that it made it worse. Why can’t they just book the championship matches cleanly without any bullshit? This isn’t WCW.) After the match, Raven and Jarrett clear the ring and it looks like they are going to go at it. Alexis Laree gets in the ring and jumps Jarrett. Jarrett spins around with a chair and hits her with a hard chair shot to end the show.
Final Thoughts:
TNA is struggling at this point to hold my interest. The Next Generation faction just needs to die and stop being pushed. If they are seriously going to try and make a Watts/Jarrett feud interesting, then that would be the dumbest possible thing they could do. I like the Raven stuff as he is really at the top of his game after being under appreciated in WWE. TNA is still looking to find what works for them and who will work for them. The debuts in recent weeks proves that. I’m going to give this weeks show a thumbs down. I wasn’t entertained by the majority of the show.
Thanks for reading.