Written by: Bob Colling
National Wrestling Alliance/Total Non-Stop Action Weekly PPV #48
Date: 6/11/2003
From: Nashville, TN
Outside, Raven’s Flock is outside the arena where Raven and Julio Dinero cuts a promo about how he is going to be D’Lo Brown tonight. D’Lo Brown ends up coming into the scene and attacking Dinero leading to the first match of the night.
Opening Contest: Julio Dinero vs. D’Lo Brown: They brawl towards the ring where Brown gets the early advantage knocking Dinero off his feet with an elbow. Brown hits a nice top rope hurricanrana! Alexis Laree gets caught on a top rope attempt but Dinero saves her by kicking D’Lo to the floor. Dinero dropkicks Brown off the apron into the railing. Brown regains control as they come back into the ring but Laree holds D’Lo on the apron to allow a swinging neck breaker from Dinero. Dinero dives off the top rope to take Brown out on the floor. Dinero wraps a chair around D’Lo’s throat and sends him into the ring post! Dinero leg drops D’Lo across the middle rope but only manages a two count. Dinero hits a nice fisherman suplex driver for a near fall. Dinero delivers an inverted DDT across his knee and chokes D’Lo across the middle rope. Dinero hits a tornado diamond cutter out of the corner but Brown kicks out at two. Brown drops Dinero across the top turnbuckle to stop the offense. Brown drops Julio a few times with strikes and connects with a stunner and a spinning heel kick for a near fall. Alexis Laree hits a top rope tornado DDT! Dinero for the cover but Brown kicks out at two again. Brown with the Sky High and gets the victory. (***. A good opener to the show as Dinero held his own very well and provided exciting offense. Brown needed a good match and win to get him back on track and that was achieved here.)
Mike Tenay conducts an interview with Glen Gilbertti in the ring. Gilbertti doesn’t know why Vince Russo hit him with a baseball bat and wants Tenay to explain it to him, but Tenay doesn’t know either. Gilbertti says that for the last few years he has been going around praising Russo for his ideas when they weren’t. Glen thinks that Russo is jealous that he brought SEX to the next level. That brings out Vince Russo who whacks Glen with a bat and yells “Fuck You Glen.” The Harris Brothers come out to pull Russo to the back.
Backstage, NWA-TNA X-Division Champion Chris Sabin reveals that Shark Boy will be getting a title shot tonight.
Backstage, Shark Boy and New Jack continue their oddball pairing as they are playing Twister.
Second Contest: NWA-TNA X-Division Champion Chris Sabin vs. Shark Boy: Shark Boy gets a near fall early on after a hip toss but Sabin gets some strikes in to gain control. Boy takes Sabin down with a side Russian leg sweep and clotheslines Sabin to the floor. Boy hits a springboard mule kick to Sabin on the outside. Sabin sends Boy into the railing and is backdropped over to the floor. Sabin hits a German suplex on the floor and Boy nearly hit his head dangerously on the ring steps. Sabin misses a top rope big splash. Boy plants Sabin with a wheelbarrow bulldog but only gets a near fall. Boy drops Sabin across his knee face first. Boy heads to the top to hit a missile dropkick but Sabin kicks out at two. Sabin drops Boy across his knee face first but only manages a near fall. Boy comes back with a neck breaker but Sabin kicks out at two. Sabin catches Boy on a hurricanrana attempt and delivers a swinging back breaker. Boy hits the Dead Sea Drop and goes for the cover but Sabin gets his boot on the bottom rope. Sabin kicks Boy on the top and hits the Cradle Shock. (**. A decent match but the story of Boy being an underdog didn’t seem to connect with the fans and the action didn’t suggest that Boy was that far off from winning. They should have played Sabin’s cockiness up a little bit more.) After the match, Sabin wants to unmask Shark Boy but New Jack comes out to make the save. Mike Sanders comes out and attacks New Jack!
Backstage, Ron Killings and Konnan say they are going to beat the shit out of the Harris Brothers.
Third Contest: Harris Brothers vs. Konnan & Ron Killings: The entire match is Killing stetting dominated by the Harris Brothers for nearly seven minutes and Konnan getting frustrated because the referee doesn’t see a tag. Late in the match, BG James comes out and whacks Don Harris with a steel chair and Killings gets the win.
Mike Tenay sat down with NWA-TNA World Champion Jeff Jarrett for an interview earlier in the day. Jarrett says that AJ Styles doesn’t know how good he could be in this business. He hypes up the triple threat with Styles and Raven as the biggest test he has faced thus far as champion. Jarrett believes the match was made as a punishment for his recent actions as champion. He assures Tenay that he is not partnered up with Vince Russo in any way.
Backstage, Erik Watts is attacked by a leather masked man prior to the handicap match. Watts is sent head first into doorway.
Fourth Contest: Kid Kash vs. Trinity, Goldylocks & Erik Watts in a handicap match: Kash has his way with the ladies until a low blow from Goldylocks and Trinity starts to get some offense in and a near fall after a spin kick. Trinity kicks Kash on the top but Kash counters a superplex only for Trinity to counter a power bomb with a sick hurricanrana! The leather masked man enters and hits a swinging side slam on Trinity to allow Kash to get the win. (*. That would be the debut of Abyss in TNA. Trinity is incredibly talented and should be used more effectively.)
Backstage, Devon Storm believes he knows how to beat Sandman in the hard ten tournament. Apparently, Storm considered Sandman’s BAC, kilograms and temperature.
Backstage, Bill Behrens tells D’Lo Brown that he needs to leave the arena because he doesn’t want any interference in the main event.
Fifth Contest: Devon Storm vs. Sandman in a Hard Ten Tournament Match: As you’d imagine this match is full of weapon shots as that’s how you get points. Sonny Siaki came out with a shopping cart full of weapons to add more violence to the match. A ladder gets involved and soon Storm hits a northern lights suplex with a chair across Sandman’s back. Siaki attacks Sandman while Storm set up a ladder. Sandman sends Siaki into the railing and Storm is sent into Siaki. Sandman places Storm across a table laid across the apron and railing. Sandman leaps off the ladder to hit a swanton bomb off the top through the table to win the match. (*1/4. Better than the other Hard Ten matches, but it’s just your typical hardcore stuff.) After the match, Siaki hits Sandman with a kendo stick and spits beer on him.
Mike Tenay and Don West interviewed Justin Credible and Jerry Lynn earlier in the day. Lynn and Credible put each other over along with their finishing moves. They both put over ECW as the best time of their careers. Credible credits Paul Heyman for getting him going after the Aldo Montoya disaster in the WWE. Lynn takes a jab at Credible for being Heyman’s “butt buddy” while in ECW. Credible didn’t like that and that led to a brawl between the two.
Backstage, Tracy tells Scott Hudson that she made sure Erik Watts wouldn’t please a woman anymore. She asks Hudson if he knew how to, but he declined to answer.
Sixth Contest: America’s Most Wanted vs. David Young & Tracy in the Asylum Alliance Finals: Late in the match, Harris decides against the Death Sentence and takes SEX members out with a top rope cross body on the floor. Tracy low blows Storm and Young nearly got the pin. Harris manages to spear Young on a springboard attempt and AMW gets the win. Thus, AMW are the number one contenders to the NWA-TNA World Tag Team Championships.
Backstage, AJ Styles talked about his journey to the title match and dedicated the match to his friend, D’Lo Brown.
Main Event: NWA-TNA World Champion Jeff Jarrett vs. AJ Styles vs. Raven: Styles gets double teamed briefly and sent to the floor by Jarrett. Raven mistimes stepping aside for Styles to strike Jarrett, so that looked a little odd. Jarrett dropkicks Styles but AJ delivers a jaw breaker and Raven jabs AJ before sending Styles over the top to the floor with a clothesline. Jarrett begins to exchange blows with Raven. Styles pulls Raven to the floor and all three men brawl on the floor. Styles takes Jeff and Raven out with a somersault dive over the top to the floor. Raven is sent hard into the railing and Styles springboards off the ring steps but lands on the railing. Raven leaps off the steps to clothesline Jarrett on the floor. Raven catapults Styles into the corner where AJ punches Jarrett several times until Jarrett hits a power bomb for a near fall. Raven locks in a modified STF on Jarrett after avoiding a kick but Styles makes a save. Styles plants Jarrett with a springboard reverse DDT for a two count. Raven decks Styles with a clothesline for a two count yet again. Jarrett tries for the Stroke but Raven counters and attempts a DDT but Styles whacks Raven over the head with a steel chair! Of course, Raven is busted wide open. Jarrett and Styles hit a double suplex on Raven. Raven is getting double teamed now for a brief moment.
Styles hits a nice springboard hurricanrana on Raven for a two count. Styles and Jarrett prevent the other from getting a three count. Styles comes off the top and leg drops Jarrett after Raven trips Jarrett. Raven fights back dropping Jarrett and Styles with strikes. Raven clotheslines Styles and knee lifts Jarrett. Raven drop toe holds Jarrett face first onto a steel chair. The same happens AJ but can’t get a three count thanks to Jeff breaking up the cover. Raven jabs Jarrett a few times but counters the Stroke with a DDT but here comes Shane Douglas to yank Raven out and they brawl into the crowd! Shane Douglas is in TNA!
That leaves us with Styles and Jarrett as Douglas sent Raven through a table and they go outside. Styles nails Jarrett with the championship and heads to the top to hit a frog splash but Jarrett pops his shoulder up at two! Styles pummels Jarrett in the corner with right hands. Styles runs into a back elbow and Jarrett connects with a double leg slam for a near fall. Styles gets a two count following a quick power bomb. Styles attempts a figure four but Jarrett kicks AJ to the apron. Styles attempts the Styles Clash but Jarrett counters and we get a referee bump before a double leg slam. Seemed like the referee was out of position for that so Jarrett had to find him in the second corner. Styles shoves Jarrett off the top and AJ goes to the apron attempting a springboard 450 but Jarrett gets his knees up to block it! Vince Russo comes out with a guitar and whacks Jarrett over the head with it! Styles hits the Styles Clash and the referee counts three! We have a new champion! (**1/2. Well, that could have been a lot better. There were a few timing issues and Raven being taken out of the match kind of hurt interest, honestly. Plus, Russo is the focal point of the title change instead of a clean win for Styles.) After the match, Russo celebrates with Styles, which would mark a heel turn but the fans seem to be cheering AJ at this point.
Jeff Jarrett gets on the microphone and says that Styles isn’t leaving until he gets an answer. Jarrett wants an answer. He wants a rematch next week for the title since it’s the anniversary show. Styles comes back to the ring and asks Jarrett who he thinks he is talking to. Styles says he has thirty days to defend the title to Jarrett. Jeff says he hadn’t backed down from anyone and now Styles backed down on his first night. Jarrett says that a man is going to be here next week. Jarrett has a deal for Styles to wrestle a tag match. Jarrett’s partner is a guy who knows how to use a bat and that man just so happens to be… Sting!
The announcement didn’t exactly result in a huge reaction nor did Russo and Styles show any fear which diminished the announcement.
Final Thoughts:
A good show with a few solid matches once you get through some of the uninteresting parts. I just don’t like that Styles didn’t win clean and needed Russo’s involvement. Should have been a career making victory, but it was overbooked. Next week is the one year anniversary show with the debut of Sting in TNA, which should be great to see for TNA during the early stages of its existence.
Thanks for reading.