Credit to: pwwew.net
COUNTDOWN SHOW
– Jeremy Borash welcomed us to the show. He said it would be one of the more historic nights in TNA Wrestling. Borash said they are calling Joe-Angle the dream match of the decade. I’d like to know who “they” is.
– Christy Hemme was looking for some perspective on who would win Joe-Angle. A bearded man said Joe because he’s the new face of wrestling. A kid, presumably a WWE fan who found out there was some wrestling at the theme park and convinced his mom to take him to the show, said Angle because he’s his favorite wrestler. LAX then walked up to Christy and antagonized the fans. Christy led chants of U-S-A. At the announce table, Mike Tenay and Don West talked about rumors going around that LAX is threatening to burn the flag again.
– Eric Young interrupted the pre-show and led random fans to the ring. Tenay called him the TNA cheerleader. I’ve never seen so many uncoordinated people assembled in one building. Young said he was going to reveal his big secret, but Robert Roode’s music interrupted. Roode and Ms. Brooks walked out for the open challenge. Roode on the pre-show again. Amazing. Roode walked over to Young and asked him if he was up for the open challenge. Brooks took off Roode’s ring jacket to get him ready for the match. Roode said Young’s paranoid. He said Young would be fired if he doesn’t wrestle him. Roode then smacked Young in the head with the microphone and threw him into the ring to start a match.
(1) Eric Young beat Robert Roode (w/Ms. Brooks) in 5:00. Roode choked Young with his t-shirt. He then gave Young a backdrop and choked him with his boot in the corner. Young made a cover with a surprise roll up for a nearfall. Roode then caught Young with a spinebuster for a nearfall. After shoving Roode off the corner ropes to the floor, Young hit a top rope elbow. Brooks then stood on the apron to distract Young with her assets, as Don West was ready to point out. That allowed Roode to roll up Young and score the pin with his feet on the ropes. The fans then told the referee that Roode used his feet on the ropes, and the referee listened to the fans and reversed the decision without consulting the video tape to find indisputable video evidence to overturn the call on the field. Roode was forced to return to the ring. Young then rolled up Roode and used his feet on the ropes to win. Boy, those TNA referees have really sharp eyes. Roode screamed at Brooks for screwing up. Young celebrated in the stands with the fans.
– They aired a video package on TNA giving away too much of Joe-Angle before their PPV match.
– Christy was in Samoa Joe’s locker room. LAX then interrupted Christy’s report. Konnan said the question is whether they are going to burn the American flag tonight. Homicide took the mic and cut a promo about Konnan. Oh my, Homicide on the mic! Konnan then called out James Storm. They messed around with Christy while Homicide continued to narrate the scene. Homicide put a flag on Christy’s head and left. Christy, flustered, sent it back to Tenay and West. They expressed indignation over LAX’s action.
– Christian Cage interrupted the broadcast and said it’s a complete load of crap that he has to wrestle A.J. Styles tonight. He said he’s the true #1 Contender for the NWA Title. Styles then jumped Christian from behind and attacked him. He dragged him into the ring and landed right hand blows. Security then jumped in the ring and separated the two men. Hooray for a pullapart brawl! Christian had an evil look in his eyes as he was held back.
– They aired a video package on Sting and him ridding TNA of the cancer that is Jeff Jarrett. They shifted to a package on Abyss.
– Borash was backstage with Abyss and James Mitchell. Mitchell questioned whether living a virtuous life would help him against his monster, Abyss. He said Abyss would beat on him until Sting questions his faith and asks his Creator why he has forsaken him. Mitchell said Abyss would win the NWA Title tonight.
– Don West stood next to the fans and ran down the PPV card. West is so out of control that he’s not very convincing as a PPV salesman. West said Angle just arrived in the building. They cut to the parking lot area where Angle walked out of a vehicle after being escorted by two men. He was wearing jeans, had no luggage, and had his shirt wide open.
– They aired a final video package hyping the matches.
LIVE PPV REVIEW
– They opened with a video package splicing TNA action shots with footage of man landing on the moon for the first time. (Or walking around a soundstage.)
1 — JOHNNY DEVINE & KAZARIAN & MATT BENTLEY vs. VOODO KIN MAFIA (KIP & B.G. JAMES)
Raven’s misfits walking out banging sticks around the ring. VKM walked out and Tenay beat around the bush about what they were declaring war on. B.G. knocked down the heels early on before Bentley hit a sidekick to the face. Devine then bit into B.G.’s forehead. B.G. covered up to block right hand blows. Bentley made a cover and B.G. barely rolled his shoulder to break up the count. He then caught Bentley with a forearm blow off the ropes. B.G. tried to do an HBK kip up, but he feigned a back injury. Tenay talked about some War that he was involved in the past. He was talking about the Monday Night Wars, but, of course, he didn’t get specific. Kip then set up for the Pedigree on Bentley and hit the move. He warmed up the band, but decided to toss Bentley to the outside. He then flipped Kazarian to the outside. Kip hit the Cobra Clutch Slam on Devine for the easy win. After the match, B.G. used the real names for Hunter, HBK, and McMahon. He said last week was the verbal war, but this week, the ground war begins. Tenay said he knows where he’s going to be on Thursday night. He’s going to be glued to his TV screen watching Impact. Shouldn’t he be in Orlando doing the broadcast? I don’t recall TNA coming out on TV and acknowledging that Impact is a taped show.
WINNERS: James Gang at 3:39.
– After the match, Tenay and West talked about the rest of the card. Bentley and Kazarian then dragged Devine back to the ring. Devine’s head was covered. Raven’s music hit. He walked out in a white suite and a black headdress/mask covering his mouth and exposing the top half of his face. They placed Devine on his knees. Raven then Caned him across the back. The camera focused on the cuts on Devine’s back. The fans chanted for one more time. Raven walked away. If TNA has to cut short any of the big matches because they’re running short on time, this will be pointed to as a complete waste of time. Raven’s oufits look more ridiculous every time he walks out.
– Shane Douglas was backstage with The Naturals. Douglas said Team 3D took off for Japan where the fans don’t know any better than to cheer them. Douglas said they would love to beat Team 3D, so they would take on the substitutes, Lethal and Dutt. Wow, what a great endorsement of the X Division. They’re a bunch of substitutes. It’s so sad to see how far the X Division has fallen.
2 — THE NATURALS (CHASE STEVENS & ANDY DOUGLAS w/Shane Douglas) vs. SONJAY DUTT & JAY LETHAL (w/Jerry Lynn)
Chase went for a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor early on, but Lethal blocked it and shoved him to the outside. Dutt and Lethal then hit a double flip splash onto The Naturals on the outside. Dutt and Lethal worked on Stevens with successive rapid-fire kicks. Douglas tried to offer some tips to his team. Stevens blocked a corner move with a kick between the legs right in front o the referee. A low blow is apparently a legal maneuver now. Stevens then choked Lethal across the middle rope and Lethal began gagging. Stevens made a cover for a nearfall at 6:00. Lethal blocked a top rope move with a double fist blow to the gut. Dutt took the hot tag, and knocked down Stevens with right hand blows. He hit a neckbreaker on Stevens for a nearfall. Dutt then flew over Stevens and splashed Douglas with a springboard dive. Dutt hit a springboard moonsault on Stevens for a nearfall at 7:40. Dutt went up top and Shane Douglas tried to distract him. Dutt knocked him off the apron to the floor, but the distraction allowed Stevens to take control. Stevens hit a powerbomb on Dutt as Douglas came off the top with a dropkick. Stevens made the cover for the win. Shane Douglas checked on himself after the match.
WINNERS: The Naturals at 8:20. Basic TNA tag match with the substitutes on the defensive for the majority of the match.
– LAX spoke with Jeremy Borash. Konnan said they were going to burn the flag after taking out AMW because they are American citizens and have First Amendment rights. Konnan said Petey Williams is a coward for siding with a country that supports big business and profit for the military. Borash said Cornette was in the building. “Screw Jim Cornette!” Konnan screamed. LAX walked off. At the broadcast position, Tenay said Petey is a hero. He said he hopes Cornette does something about LAX’s actions.
– They aired a video package on Chris Sabin’s transformation. Backstage, Borash interviewed Christopher Daniels. He wanted to know what winning the X Division Title has meant for his relationship with Styles. Daniels smirked and said Styles has his own issues, but they’re friends. He said his goal is to win the X Division Title at any cost. He addressed Sabin. He said A.J. and himself built the X Division. Yes, the X Division Title match is the third match on the card.
3 — CHRISTOPHER DANIELS vs. CHRIS SABIN — X Division Title match
After a lock up, Sabin slapped Daniels across the face. Sabin ran to a corner and mocked Daniels for complaining about the slap. He then asked for a crowd response and drew boos. Heel Sabin = greatness. Sabin caught Daniels with a thumb to the eye and laughed. He then took successive hip toss takeovers. Sabin slipped out of the ring and collected himself. Daniels floated over Sabin in the ring, then he stood on Sabin’s head and mocked him. Daniels followed with a springboard splash to Sabin’s back. Daniels took Sabin to the corner and Sabin did some weird, over-exaggerated flop to the middle of the ring after Daniels lightly bounced his head off the corner turnbuckle. Sabin came back with a double foot dropkick to the face that cleared Daniels to the outside. Sabin teased a big splash, but he simply stepped through the ropes and landed a double axehandle blow. Sabin dropped Daniels across the guardrail. Back in the ring, Sabin worked on Daniels and avoided Daniels’s comeback moves with smart counters. Sabin hit a basement dropkick in the corner at 8:30. He then grabbed a chair from the outside and tossed it into the ring. He told Don West to shut his mouth. A.J. Styles then walked to the ring and grabbed the chair. Sabin screamed at Styles for taking the chair. He then went for another basement dropkick, but Daniels did a stomach crunch to avoid the move. He then flew off the top rope with a splash onto Sabin, who had slid to the outside. “It’s like he flew, man,” West said. Excellent. Daniels went on the offensive. Sabin blocked Daniels’s BME attempt with a Tornado DDT for a nearfall at 11:00. Sabin blocked a huracanrana attempt off the ropes with a sit down powerbomb for another nearfall. He then went for a top rope move, but Daniels caught him on his shoulders and executed a DVD. He followed with the BME for a nearfall at 12:20. Daniels tried to execute Angel’s Wings, but Sabin blocked and dropped Daniels with a Dragon screw leg whip. He then hit a charging Yakuza kick in the corner. Daniels blocked Cradle Shock with a crucifix pin roll up for a close nearfall. Sabin then went for a power move, but Daniels dropped him on his back and scored a roll up pin for the win. A fast count by the referee. Sabin then grabbed a chair after the match and tried to use it on Daniels, but Lynn walked into the ring and stole the chair. Sabin and Lynn had a staredown. Lynn threw down his employee badge as if to say he’s not Office right now. Sabin then extended a hand to Daniels. Daniels shook his hand and turned to his side. Sabin then caught Daniels and dropped him with the Cradle Shock. Sabin scampered out of the ring as Lynn turned back around to check on Daniels. Sabin smirked as he left.
WINNER: Daniels at 13:26 to retain the X Division Title. Very good undercard match. Sabin’s heel turn was the best thing for his career in TNA.
– Nash was backstage with Shelley and Starr on an Eye Spy pre-tape video. Nash said he doesn’t have a good feeling with Shelley. Nash just wanted 90 percent from Shelley. Starr said Shelley hasn’t even paid him the $100 yet. Shelley said the check’s in the mail and Starr just needs to check his box. They played a game of Name That Wrestler. Nash then asked for group unity. Nash used his right hand since his left hand was in a cast. Nash said win one for Bo, as in Bo Schembechler.
4 — AUSTIN STARR & ALEX SHELLEY (w/Kevin Nash) vs. RON KILLINGS & LANCE HOYT
Nash, on commnentary, said he saw potential in Chris Sabin. Tenay wanted to know if he was looking to grab Sabin and put him on their bandwagon. Tenay then asked about Nash’s cast. Nash said he was in Japan defending the X Division Title at the Budokan and he fell on the floor executing a 725 Black Hurricane twist. He then said it was during the Tet Offensive. West just sat there. Nash said he is utterly disgusted with the X Division. He said he’s calling a mandatory meeting this Thursday for all X Division wrestlers. He said he was going to get this thing back on track. Starr and Killings had a brief dance-off. Starr told Killings to dance, then he waited for Killings to turn around and he kicked him square in the gut. The fans popped for the heels making a funny. Hoyt tagged in and flapjacked Starr, which drew minimal cheers. Hoyt then decked Shelley, who was on the apron. Hoyt went up top for a moonsault, but Shelley crotched him. Starr then landed a basement dropkick to the knees. Killings wanted a piece of the action, so he shoved referee Earl Hebner aside and landed a blow on Starr. Shelley then stood on Hoyt’s crotch. The heels worked on Hoyt in their corner. Nash said he taught that technique to the Andersons. Starr hit a corkscrew splash onto Hoyt’s left knee from the apron. Nice move. Shelley went up top, but Hoyt met him in the face with a boot to the face. Killings took the hot tag and danced around some right hand blows. Shelley then accidentally knocked over Starr. Killings grabbed Shelley and executed a suplex into a Stunner for a nearfall. Hoyt split open Shelley’s legs and Killings came off the top with a legdrop to the crotch. Killings went for a delayed leg kick, but crotched himself. Starr kicked Hoyt in the knee, then Starr dove through Hoyt’s leg with a suicide dive onto Killings on the outside. Shelley went up top and frogsplashed the left knee. Shelley then told Starr to get something. Starr brought over the camera, not sure what he was asking for. Hoyt used the confusion to roll up Shelley for the win. After the match, Nash screamed at both men, wanting to know what just happened. Nash told them to head to the locker room.
WINNERS: Hoyt & Killings at 11:07. Over-booked match and the crowd wasn’t into it.
– Borash interviewed Christian backstage. He said he’s undefeated in TNA. Christian said Styles jumped him on the pre-show and he can’t fault him for trying to get a one up on him. Christian paused and stared at Borash. He wanted to know if Borash rolled his eyes at him. Borash didn’t respond. Christian told him never to roll his eyes at him. He went back to addressing Styles. Christian name dropped Jeff Jarrett and said you don’t see him around TNA anymore. Christian said he’s the biggest name in TNA. He whispered that he was going to add Styles to the list of people he’s beaten in TNA.
5 — A.J. STYLES vs. CHRISTIAN CAGE
The crowd had a dueling chant before the match. Christian took Styles to the mat and worked on him on his belly. He then slapped Styles across the face and Styles answered with a slap. Styles followed with open hand slaps to the chest. Christian went for the Unprettier at 4:00, but Styles dumped him onto his back. Christian then slipped to the outside when Styles tried to execute the Clash. Christian tried to grab a chair, but referee Slick Johnson grabbed it from him. Styles caught Christian from behind and knocked him to the ground. Styles hit a splash on the outside. Christian followed by throwing Styles into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Christian raked Styles’s mouth as he applied a mat hold. Styles came back with a quick double leg head scissors from the mat. Christian came back with a clothesline and Styles tried to flip inside-out, but he landed on the back of his neck. Christian grinded Styles into the mat at 10:00. He then caught Christian off the ropes with a back breaker. Styles went up top and missed with a frog splash. He then crotched Christian up top and scored with a top rope huracanrana. Styles followed with a nice dropsault for a nearfall. He hit the inverted back flip DDT from the apron for another close nearfall. Christian came back with a spear at 13:45 for a nearfall. Christian set up for the Unprettier, but Styles blocked. Christian blocked the Clash, but he took the Pele soccer kick to the head for another nearfall. Christian blocked a flying sentaun splash with a throw down powerbomb for two nearfalls. Christian then brought a chair into the ring. Slick told Christian not to use it. Christopher Daniels then ran to the ring and tried to grab the chair. However, the tug of war backfired and Christian dropped Styles to the mat and hooked his legs for the win.
After the match, Styles got in Daniels’s face. Referees and X Division wrestlers tried to separate Styles and Daniels. Rhino then told them to leave the ring to settle the differences between Styles and Daniels. He said what he saw on the TV monitor made him sick. Rhino said he’s not going to let Styles and Daniels separate like what happened with himself and Christian. Styles grabbed the mic instead of Daniels’s hand for a shake. “Thanks, Dr. Phil,” he screamed at Rhino. “If I need a psychiatrist, I’ll give you a call!” He shoved the mic into Rhino’s gut and left.
WINNER: Christian at 15:50. Just a bunch of spots with no one selling. The nearfalls at the end were fine and the finish helped advance the story, but it was a mish-mash of moves getting to the finish.
– Borash was with AMW and Gail Kim. Chris Harris said vowing to burn the American flag is one thing and doing it is another thing. Harris then narrated the story of their feud with LAX. He said they haven’t always had the greatest attitude in the world, but they’ve never turned on the U.S. Storm made some racial insensitive remarks, then said LAX needs to fix his garage. Yeah, let’s cheer the racist.
6 — LAX (HERNANDEZ & HOMICIDE w/Konnan) vs. AMERICA’S MOST WANTED (CHRIS HARRIS & JAMES STORM w/Gail Kim) — NWA Tag Title match
Konnan took the mic before the match. He said he hopes TNA and Cornette understand that they can’t prevent LAX from burning the U.S. flag because it would be infringing on their rights. AMW then jumped them from behind to jump start the match. They brawled on the outside. Storm took Homicide into the ring. AMW then tossed Homicide over the top rope onto Hernandez. Konnan distracted Harris, which allowed Hernandez to run him over with a clothesline. Homicide then worked on Harris with hard slaps to the chest. Harris came back with a spinebuster at 4:00. Hernandez tagged in and tried to give Storm the Border Toss, but Harris pulled Storm down. Harris then ran over Hernandez with a hard shoulder tackle. Harris executed a brainbuster suplex for a nearfall. Homicide then caught Harris wit a float over DDT. AMW tried to set up the Death Sentence, but Hernandez caught Storm with a belly-to-belly suplex from the top. Homicide hit a top rope splash on Storm for a nearfall when Harris broke up the pin. Harris went for the Catatonic, but Homicide countered into a Cop Killer attempt. Harris pulled Storm down, though, then AMW hit a double team clothesline. Storm landed successive kicks to the head on LAX. Harris then came off the top with a clothesline on Hernandez. AMW executed the Death Sentence on Hernandez. Konnan then distracted the referee as Storm had the three count on Hernandez. That allowed Homicide to run into the ring with a blow torch and smash it over Storm’s head. Hernandez then rolled on top of Storm for the win.
After the match, LAX grabbed Gail Kim and tormented her. Homicide set up Gail for the Cop Killer, but Petey Williams ran into the ring and cleared LAX. Jim Cornette stormed to the ring with a goofy mad face. Cornette said LAX is guilty of egregious conduct and bad taste in pro wrestling. He said he doesn’t care if the flag burning is a publicity stunt, but management didn’t like it. He said, more importantly, the fans didn’t like it. Cornette said the veterans who have put their lives on the line to defend America didn’t like it. The fans booed Cornette. He stripped LAX of the NWA Tag Titles. Cornette said LAX has until Thursday to hand over the belts. The fans chanted, “bulls—” at the decision. Cornette then said if they don’t hand over the belts, their contracts would be terminated on the spot. Tenay, like a big dork, screamed at the camera about Cornette being right on the money. West said it was too much for TNA management to take.
WINNERS: LAX at 9:20 to retain the NWA Tag Titles. Standard tag match with a bunch of spots thrown together. The fans turning on Cornette’s decision was going to happen because of how strong Cornette came out against LAX. The tag belt situation will play out until the beginning of 2007.
– James Mitchell repeated his promo from the pre-show with Abyss standing over his shoulder.
7 — STING vs. ABYSS (w/James Mitchell) — NWA Title match
Sting walked out and jumped Abyss to start the match. The match moved to the ringside area, then into the crowd. They went into a standing brawl. Sting threw Abyss into the base of the bleachers. He then went for a Stinger Splash near the guardrail, but Abyss moved. Abyss then slammed a chair over Sting’s back right in front of the referee. Is this a No DQ match? Abyss then went to the stage area and retrieved a table and barbed wire bed. Abyss created a double stack of barbed wire. He then took Sting up the entrance ramp. Abyss teased a powerbomb spot onto the barbed wire, but the referee told him not to do it. Mitchell instructed Abyss not to do it. Abyss and Sting then brawled down the entrance ramp to the ringside area and into the ring. Abyss applied a vice hold on the mat. Sting’s chest looks disfigured in High-Def. Sting made a comeback, but Abyss cut him off in the corner. He took Sting up top, but Sting shoved him to the mat. Sting then crashed onto Abyss with a splash. Abyss cut off Sting with a big boot as he set up for a splash. Mitchell then handed the title belt to Abyss. Sting ducked a belt shot, then dropped Abyss on his back. He set up for the Scorpion Deathlock. Mitchell screamed at Abyss to grab the bottom rope and he did. Sting tried to use the belt, but Abyss ducked the belt shot and hit the Black Hole Slam for a nearfall at 8:15. Sting accidentally smashed the referee in the face with a back elbow smash and we have a ref bump. Mitchell then grabbed the thumbtacks for Abyss. The fans cheered the heel for introducing weapons into the match. Sting then knocked the tacks away with a baseball bat. He had a pin following a reverse DDT, but Mitchell pulled the referee out of the ring. Sting grabbed the bag of tacks and spilled them on the mat. He tried to clothesline Abyss, but Abyss caught him and chokeslammed him into the tacks. The fans exploded and jumped up and down for the big spot despite the babyface being punished. Sting remained motionless as Abyss made a cover for a nearfall. Sting kicked out and jumped to his feet and pounded his chest. Sting dropped Abyss face-first into the tacks with a drop toe hold. He then applied the Scorpion deathlock. Abyss tapped out, but Mitchell had the referee distracted. Sting then put Mitchell in the Scorpion as blood flowed from Sting’s back. Sting then took Abyss to the outside and hung him upside down by rope. He took forever to hook the cable to a hook so he didn’t drop Abyss on his head. The crowd sat in silence as Tenay and West tried to keep the chatter up. Sting finally hooked the rope and grabbed a chair. He playfully hit Abyss with a chair. It was like he was tapping a piñata to see if he could get a few pieced of candy. Sting finally unhooked Abyss and dragged him up the entrance ramp. Sting set up for a powerbomb from the stage to the barbed wire, but the referee told him not to do it. He then shoved the referee to the floor. The referee called for the bell from his backside. Sting then shoved Abyss off the stage through the barbed wire. Abyss thrived in pain, but no one cared because the crowd died minutes earlier. Sting walked down the entrance ramp with a stunned look on his face. No one knew what was going on. The referee then told Dave Penzer Sting was DQ’ed and Abyss was the new world champion. Tenay said the rule in TNA is that a person can be DQ’ed and lose the title. Sting stared straight ahead with a shocked look on his face. Mitchell cackled with laughter.
WINNER: Abyss via DQ at 15:10 to capture the NWA Title. This was the stupidest ending to a wrestling match I’ve seen since WCW PPVs in the late ’90s. Abyss should have been DQ’ed at least five times. Sting should have been DQ’ed three times before he was finally DQ’ed. TNA never ever never ever mentions the “DQ can lead to a title change” situation and all of a sudden, they pull this out of the hat after three years of PPV title matches where the participants should have been DQ’ed. Jeff Jarrett should have lost the title a dozen times when he was champion if TNA reinforced this rule. Just lazy booking.
– They aired a video package on Joe-Angle. No promos? No interviews? Just a repeat video package?
8 — KURT ANGLE vs. SAMOA JOE
Borash did the formal ring introductions. Hebner is the referee. Joe was booed when he was introduced. Angle was cheered with some scattered boos. The fans, trying to be cool, chanted “This is awesome” in the first 20 seconds during a lock up. Joe caught Angle with a knee to the face, then he stomped and kicked away at Angle. Joe took Angle to the outside and threw him very hard neck-first into the guardrail. Yes, they booked a spot for Angle to take a hard whip neck-first into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Joe made a cover for a nearfall. Joe knocked Angle to the outside and Angle came up shaking his wrists trying to get some feeling back in his arms. Joe then flew through the ropes with a suicide dive on Angle. Joe ran Angle around the ring and threw him into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Joe got into it with Hebner. Angle took forever to get back in the ring as Joe reset the ten count twice. Angle emerged from ringside with blood flowing from his forehead. Joe took advantage by digging his fingernails into Angle’s cut to draw more blood. Angle tried to fight back with right hands, but Joe caught him with a powerslam a 6:00. Angle came back with European uppercuts, but Joe caught him with a back breaker for a nearfall. They fought to the corner and exchanged hard slaps to the face. Angle then caught Joe with a front face rolling DDT for a nearfall. Blood covered Angle’s head and neck. Joe landed hard right hand blows, but missed a corner clothesline. Angle then scored two German Suplexes. He tried to execute a third, but Joe landed on his stomach. Angle went for the Olympic Slam, but Joe countered into an arm drag. He took Angle to the corner and landed a kick to the head. Joe set up for the Muscle Buster and scored. He made a cover for a close nearfall at 9:45. Joe applied a rear naked choke, but Angle rolled out. He then hit the Olympic Slam and made the cover for a nearfall. Angle dropped the straps and applied the Anklelock. Joe countered into a rear naked choke after kicking Angle in the leg. Angle countered into another Anklelock. Joe escaped the hold by flinging Angle into the corner. Angle then caught him with the Olympic Slam again. Angle put the straps back up and screamed. He then ripped the straps down and applied the Anklelock again. This time, he grapevined the leg. Joe reached for the ropes, but he tapped out.
WINNER: Angle at 13:35. Surprisingly short, but amazing back and forth at the end of the match. Joe showed great intensity early on, taking it to Angle. It was almost too believable considering Angle’s health history. The wrestlers fed off the crowd to keep the match hot throughout.
– After the match, Joe wanted a mic. He screamed at Angle as the fans chanted, “You tapped out.” Joe agreed with the chant and said he recognizes that Angle was the better man one night. Joe apparently cussed, as Tenay apologized for Joe’s words. We didn’t hear anything, though. Joe asked for a handshake, but Angle pulled his hand away. He then left and shook hands with fans ringside. Joe stared down Angle with anger written on his face. He quieted the crowd and said they have to do this the hard way. The fans chanted for Joe as he slipped out of the ring. Joe limped up the entrance ramp.
– After Joe left, Tenay and West recapped Joe-Angle. It’s nice to see them recap the PPV after the main event. “We are wrestling,” Tenay said as he signed off.