Written by: Bob Colling
National Wrestling Alliance/Total-NonStop Action Weekly PPV #63
Date: 10/1/2003
From: Nashville, TN
Outside the arena, NWA-TNA World Champion AJ Styles and Vince Russo arrive to the arena with Russo telling Styles that they are going to break bread with Jeff Jarrett.
Opening Contest: America’s Most Wanted vs. Kid Kash & Abyss: Storm and Abyss kick off the match with Storm showing off his speed to avoid Abyss early on. Abyss misses a strike in the corner and Storm hammers away on Abyss briefly. Kash tags in to try his luck since Abyss didn’t accomplish much. Kash takes Storm down with a drop toe hold but gets tripped by Storm after walking on his back. Storm takes Kash over with a hip toss and an arm drag. Storm drops Kash throat first across the top and hits a flying cross body off the top for a two count. Storm hits a side Russian leg sweep after Harris hit an atomic drop. Storm takes Kash down with a swinging neck breaker for a near fall. Kash slaps Storm and tags in Abyss. Harris is tagged in as well to battle the monster. Abyss tosses Harris into a corner and taunts him. Abyss works over Harris with chops and chokes him in the corner. Abyss misses a splash in the corner and Harris delivers a flurry of strikes. AMW work over Abyss controlling his arm and Kash decides to slap his partner to wake him up. Abyss teases turning on Kash but goes after Harris hitting a press slam to drop Harris chest first to the canvas. Abyss assists Kash in hitting a standing moonsault and delivers a leg drop for a two count. Kash backs Harris against the ropes and delivers an overhand chop. Kash messes up a springboard head scissors and Harris doesn’t quite catapult Kash into the corner, but still has control.
Storm and Abyss get tagged in with Storm knocking Abyss around with a flurry of strikes. Harris crotches Abyss on the top rope and is met with a right hand from Kash. Kash hits a moonsault off of Abyss shoulders! Storm takes Abyss over with a top rope hurricanrana! Harris spears Kash after Abyss sidestepped him and Storm nails Abyss with a super kick. A double spear by AMW on Abyss! Kash has a chair and smashes Storm in the face with it. Harris clotheslines himself and Kash to the floor allowing Abyss to hit the Black Hole Slam on Storm to get the win. (**1/2. There were a few botches here, but the action was okay and the fans got hooked on the action. A good win for the team of Abyss and Kash, too.) After the match, Terry Taylor comes out to tell the referee what happened. Taylor ends up attacking Kash and Abyss. Kash stops Taylor with a chop block and attacks Taylor. AMW makes the save with steel chairs to send the heels out of the ring.
Backstage, NWA-TNA X-Division Champion Michael Shane proclaims that from now on Shawn Michaels will be known as the cousin of Michael Shane.
There is an in-ring segment between Jeremy Borash and Antonio Perez, the promoter of AAA in Mexico. There is now a working agreement between TNA and AAA.
Second Contest: NWA-TNA X-Division Champion Michael Shane vs. Jerry Lynn: Shane goes on the attack before the bell but Lynn quickly hits an atomic drop and clothesline. Lynn dropkicks Shane shoulder first into the ring post and they go to the floor. Shane gets control back in the ring with strikes and rams Lynn into the corner face first. Lynn gets a rollup out of the corner but Shane kicks out at two and pokes Lynn in the eyes. Lynn takes Shane over with a monkey flip. Lynn misses a leg drop across the middle rope and is backdropped to the apron but Shane dropkicks an upside down Lynn to the floor. Chris Sabin makes his way down to ringside with the Super X trophy. Shane drives Lynn down to the canvas with a flapjack. Lynn nearly pins Shane with a rollup but Shane quickly comes back with a clothesline as Sabin watches the action at ringside. Lynn takes Shane over with a backdrop and a swinging neck breaker. Lynn plants Shane with a tornado DDT for a two count. Shane ducks a clothesline and nails Lynn with a leaping forearm shot. Lynn spears Shane and hammers away on Shane with right hands. Lynn goes for a reverse piledriver but Shane gets out only to run into a big boot. Lynn plants Shane with the TKO but Shane powers out at two. Lynn goes for the cradle piledriver but Shane counters with a slam for a near fall. Shane attempts a tornado DDT but settles for a big boot as Lynn countered. Lynn crotches Shane across the top rope and hits a springboard dropkick to knock Shane off the ropes to the floor.
Lynn comes off the apron to hit a head scissors on the floor! Lynn tosses Shane shoulder first into the ring steps. Lynn staggers into Sabin and shoves Sabin on the floor. Lynn drives Shane down with a back breaker and heads to the top rope. Sabin crotches Lynn on the top while the referee was distracted. Shane nails Lynn with a super kick and that’s good enough for the win. (**. There wasn’t much going on here that was entertaining and felt like more of an angle advancement involving Sabin. Don’t get me wrong the action was okay, but I wasn’t invested all that much into it.)
Backstage, D’Lo Brown tells Shark Boy and Mad Mikey that he would gladly interfere in their match against Ekmo and Sonny Siaki. Don Callis enters the scene and says that D’Lo will not be going into business for himself and when he is done with his match, he can just leave.
Third Contest: D’Lo Brown vs. Christopher Daniels: A slow start to the match with Brown chopping Daniels while controlling his arm. Daniels takes Brown to the canvas and soon attempts a couple of shoulder blocks, which aren’t successful. They trade arm drags and they have a standoff. Brown drops Daniels with a back elbow and a spinning heel kick for a two count. Brown works over Daniels with basic strikes. Daniels is sent over the top to the floor. Brown baseball slides Daniels into the guard railing and delivers a scoop slam on the floor. The followers of Daniels distract Brown and that allows Daniels to take Brown out with a cross body on the floor. Brown sends Daniels into the railing and drops Daniels throat first across the railing. Brown misses a dive off the top and hits the railing face first. Daniels rams Brown back first into the apron. Daniels delivers a jaw breaker and follows up with a spear. Brown stops Daniels with a back elbow and attempts a moonsault but Daniels gets his knees up. Daniels hits a springboard moonsault but Brown kicks out at two. Daniels locks in an abdominal stretch and punches Brown on the ribs. Brown gets out of the hold and nearly pins Daniels with a rollup. Brown drops Daniels with an ace crusher after lifting Daniels into the air. Brown drops Daniels with clotheslines and a backdrop. Brown drives Daniels down with a spine buster but Daniels powers out at two on the cover. Brown gets distracted again by the followers and takes all three men out with a slingshot cross body. Brown drops Daniels throat first across the top rope and heads to the top rope. Brown gets distracted by the Red Shirt Security and that allows Daniels to hit the Last Rites for the victory. (*1/2. There wasn’t much exciting action going on here, but the victory for Daniels is much needed even if it wasn’t exactly clean. I was getting nervous that Daniels was going to lose to a guy who has no sense of direction.)
Backstage, Don Callis declines to pay for the medical expenses for the security team since Erik Watts was the guy to make the match.
Mike Tenay has a sit down interview with Roddy Piper about how WWE and TNA have both closed the doors on Piper. Piper says that he is wrestling and can’t become something else. Tenay asks if there is anything else for Piper to say and at that point there is technical difficulties.
Fourth Contest: Sonny Siaki & Ekmo vs. Shark Boy & Mad Mikey: Boy and Mikey bring Siaki into the ring with a double suplex and keep Ekmo on the apron hitting a double swinging leg sweep. Mikey holds Siaki to allow Boy to hit a missile dropkick. Ekmo drops Boy with a big slam and Mikey was tossed from the ring. Boy drops Sonny face first across his knee. Siaki hits a side slam on Boy but only gets a two count. Siaki connects with a swinging neck breaker on Boy for a near fall. Boy bites Ekmo’s butt and pays for that by having Ekmo run his butt into Boy’s head in the corner. Siaki hits a splash off the middle rope on Boy for a two count. Boy plants Siaki with a neck breaker. Mikey gets the tag and hammers away on Ekmo. Mikey plants Siaki with a bulldog and Ekmo accidentally elbow drops Siaki. Boy and Mikey hammer away on their opponents in opposite corners. Ekmo catches Boy in midair and holds Boy in the air to allow Siaki to hit an ace crusher. Ekmo comes off the top to hit a big splash for the win. (**. It’s a mostly a squash for Ekmo and Siaki, though Boy and Mikey did well in trying to come across like legit underdogs. I dig this team of Siaki and Ekmo, too. Ekmo is a believable monster and Siaki being the leader is good. Though, Kash and Abyss kind of have the same thing going on.) After the match, D’Lo Brown runs down and attacks both Siaki and Ekmo. Brown nails Ekmo with a clothesline. Trinity enters and low blows Brown, but that doesn’t work very well as Brown hits a sit out spine buster. Brown gets handcuffed by the Red Shirt Security. Brown is escorted through the crowd and is sent outside. Chris Vaughn gets thrown out as well.
Mike Tenay had another sit down interview with NWA-TNA World Tag Team Champions Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger, Glenn Gilbertti and David Young. Swinger says that Tenay doesn’t care about his emergency appendectomy he had but he will be back in action next week. Daivd Young confirms that he is the newest member of the group. Well, Gilbertti says that Young was just a one week replacement and needs to take care of the Sandman tonight to earn his spot.
Backstage, Dusty Rhodes and Jeff Jarrett cut a promo on NWA-TNA World Champion saying they are going to take care of business and Jarrett is going to win the NWA-TNA World Championship.
Fifth Contest: David Young vs. The Sandman: Young attacks Sandman on the floor during his entrance. Young sends Sandman into the ring and hits a top rope flying clothesline for a two count. Young scoop slams Sandman and taunts the fans. Young attempts a moonsault but Sandman gets his knees up. Sandman hits a running cannonball in the corner. Sandman drops Young across the top rope gut first and connects with a leg drop off the top! Sandman chops Young on the floor and keeps control of the bout. Sandman leaps off a chair onto Young against the railing. Young delivers a few kicks to Sandman in the ring to get momentum in his favor. Young tosses Sandman into the corner with a suplex for a near fall. Sandman hits a top rope hurricanrana and hits a top rope senton splash for the win. (*. It was just a brawl and it’s what you’d expect from Sandman, really.) After the match, Glen Gilbertti attacks Sandman with a steel chair. They enter the ring to talk to David Young and Gilbertti embraces Young. That is until Simon Diamond whacks Young across the back with a steel chair. 3LK run into the ring and attack the heels to make the save.
Backstage, Vince Russo is yelling at Jeff Jarrett telling him to forget the past and take the things into the future. Jarrett tells Russo that he is going to wrap his guitar over Russo’s head tonight.
Father James Mitchell comes out and thanks Shane Douglas for making sure that Raen is officially done and for giving him the chance to scalp him. Mitchell is moving on from Douglas but would help him out in the future and that along with Vampiro they will move onto phase two.
Sixth Contest: Sinn, Slash & Vampiro vs. Konnan, Ron Killings & BG James: Killings and Slash kick off the match with Slash missing an elbow drop after a hip toss. Killings runs into a big boot and is dropped by a right hand. Sinn enters and Killings hits a scissors kick rather quickly. Konnan tags in and Killings hits a dropkick to the back of Sinn. Konnan has a modified hammerlock on but switches to a Boston Crab and tries to get a submission, which he doesn’t. Konnan takes Sinn down with a neck breaker but Sinn is stopped in his corner and Vampiro tags himself in. Konnan decks Vampiro with a rolling thunder clothesline. BG enters the match and hammers away on Vampiro. Vampiro misses a kick but a running big boot drops BG. Vampiro knocks Killings and Konnan off the apron. Sinn drives BG down with a back breaker and Slash hits a slingshot leg drop from the apron. Sinn dropkicks BG but only gets a two count. BG stops Slash with a pump handle slam and both men are down. Vampiro and Killings are tagged in with Vampiro stopping Killings with a strike but Killings dropkicks Sinn and Slash. Killings drops Vampiro with a leaping kick as BG held Vampiro in the air. Killings hits another leaping spin kick on Vampiro. Killings hits a front suplex but Father James Mitchell gets on the apron. Vampiro is tossed a cane from Mitchell and clotheslines Killings with it that causes the disqualification. (*1/2. Again, nothing all that great and it’s really another angle advancement between Raven and the group of Douglas and Mitchell.) After the match, Raven runs to the ring and attacks Vampiro and James Mitchell. Raven takes his chain off and wraps it around the neck of Mitchell. Shane Douglas runs into the ring and tries to save Mitchell but Raven takes Douglas out. Raven sends Douglas to the floor with a discus clothesline. Raven says that he will eliminate James Mitchell men one at a time until it is just Raven and Mitchell left.
Main Event: NWA-TNA World Champion AJ Styles & Vince Russo vs. Jeff Jarrett & Dusty Rhodes: Rhodes and Styles kick off the main event with Rhodes causing Styles to bail to the floor. Styles kicks Rhodes on the leg a few times but is tossed down. Rhodes drops Styles with an elbow shot and tags in Jarrett. Jarrett hits an axe handle from the middle rope to control Styles. Styles attempts a dropkick but Jarrett holds onto the ropes causing Styles to drop to the canvas. Jarrett continues with a swinging neck breaker but Russo distracts Jarrett to allow Styles to get control following a dropkick. Styles takes Jarrett over with a snap suplex for a near fall. Jarrett punches Styles on the apron and scares Russo off the apron. Styles drops Jarrett with a springboard dropkick. Styles misses a springboard moonsault and Jarrett hits a release German suplex. Jarrett tags in Rhodes who hits a delayed vertical suplex on Styles. Rhodes with a few jabs and an elbow strike. Russo enters with a bat but again bails to the floor. Styles stops Rhodes with a chop block and whacks the leg with a baseball bat. Styles splashes down across the leg to keep Dusty on the canvas. Russo enters and whips Rhodes with a belt.
Dusty briefly gets his hands on Russo causing Russo to tag out to Styles. Styles misses a splash against the ropes and hits the middle rope. Jarrett backdrops Styles and has Russo on the apron. Trinity attempts a hurricanrana but instead gets met with a power bomb by Jarrett. Jarrett kicks Styles down to the mat and goes for the figure four. Russo enters but gets stopped by Jarrett who locks in the figure four on the writer. Styles has a baseball bat but is stopped by Jarrett. Jarrett whacks Russo on the knee with the baseball and hits Styles in the midsection. Jarrett has Styles on the middle rope hitting the Stroke! Rhodes enters, illegally, and drops an elbow on Styles leading to the pin. (**. This lacked any real heated emotion and kind of makes Styles look like a fool. Russo didn’t get anything done to him, which was probably a major point of the match. A rather disappointing main event, I’d say.)
AJ Styles is flipping out because nobody embarrasses him like that. Styles proceeds to challenge Dusty Rhodes to a one on one match. Styles slaps Russo for suggesting that he not do that. Rhodes wants it to be a title match which AJ accepts. Jarrett is pissed about this and has a confrontation with Rhodes for getting a title shot before him to close the program.
Final Thoughts:
A lot of subpar action this week and the feud between Dusty Rhodes and AJ Styles doesn’t interest me in the slightest at this point. The main event scene is quite stale and the reign of Styles has been a major disappointment thus far.
Thanks for reading.