Written by: Bob Colling
National Wrestling Alliance/Total Non-Stop Action presents Weekly PPV #95
Date: 5/19/2004
From: Nashville, TN
Opening Contest: Bobby Roode vs. Jerry Lynn: D’Amore distracted Lynn, but Roode wasn’t able to take advantage. Lynn head scissors Roode to the apron and springboard dropkicks Roode to the floor. Lynn runs off the apron to hit a somersault dive. Lynn rams Roode face first onto the apron. Roode misses an elbow drop, but stops Lynn on the top rope. Roode hooks Lynn for a suplex, but Lynn holds on and counters. Lynn plants Roode with a middle rope bulldog for a two count. Lynn connects with a spinning back elbow and slides to the floor to trip Roode. Lynn leg drops Roode over the middle rope on the apron causing both men to fall to the outside. Lynn chases D’Amore into the ring and Roode decks Lynn with a clothesline. Roode hammers away on Lynn to maintain control. Roode beats on Lynn with strikes and stomps in the corner. Lynn elbows free from Roode, but Roode drops Lynn gut first over the top rope and knocks Lynn off onto the railing chest first. D”Amore rolls Lynn back into the ring and Roode gets a two count. Roode gets another near fall following a neckbreaker. Lynn tries to fight back, but Roode stops Lynn with a strike to the back. Lynn gets a two count with a rollup out of the corner. Lynn boots Roode in the corner and tries for a tornado DDT, but Roode drops Lynn over the top rope throat first.
Roode chokes Lynn and distracts the referee to allow D’Amore to get a cheap shot in. Roode controls Lynn on the mat with a chin lock. Lynn is yanked down by Roode and Roode delivers a knee drop for another near fall. Roode slams Lynn before heading to the middle rope and misses an elbow drop. Lynn hammers away on Roode and delivers a clothesline. Lynn connects with a springboard clothesline and a springboard hurricanrana for a near fall. D’Amore pulled the referee out of the ring and slides the flag into the ring. Lynn ducks a strike and hits a side Russian leg sweep with the flag for a near fall. Roode knee lifts Lynn and tries for a powerbomb, but Lynn counters managing to hit the cradle piledriver for the win. (**. A decent start to the show, but a rather predictable match. I’m a bit surprised that Roode would lose cleanly here, but it makes sense for the story they are telling.)
Second Contest: Jerry Lynn vs. Scott D’Amore: D’Amore is confident since Lynn is hurting and delivers a kick to the ribs. D’Amore taunts Lynn while delivering several strikes. D’Amore decks Lynn with a clothesline. D’Amore leg drops Lynn followed by a standing fist drop. D”Amore tosses Lynn overhead with a suplex and taunts the crowd. D’Amore grabs the flag and uses the flag to taunt Lynn. Lynn fires back with strikes, but D’Amore eye rakes Lynn. Lynn ducks a clothesline and head scissors D’Amore. Lynn dropkicks D’Amore in the corner and delivers a headbutt to the groin. Lynn tries for the cradle piledriver, but Roode attacks and sends the referee to the floor. Lynn stomps on Roode when the rest of Team Canada comes out to attack Lynn causing a disqualification. Team NWA eventually come down to make the save and run the heels from the ring. (*1/4. D’Amore was fine in there, but the match was just a few minutes of filler to advance the team feud.)
Backstage, Scott Hudson talks with Vince Russo. The Deadly Draw is basically a gauntlet match with every five minutes another wrestler gets involved. Russo announces that if Sabu, Kash, Dallas, or 3LK get involved they will be fired. Russo promises to not have AJ Styles protection.
Third Contest: David Young vs. D-Ray 3000: D-Ray almost wins with a rollup as soon as the bell sounds. Young quickly gets control with strikes and runs into a boot. Ray hits a crossbody off the middle rope for a two count. Young plants Ray with a powerslam for a two count. Young continues with a clothesline as the crowd chants that Young is a loser. Young hits a running powerbomb out of the corner for a near fall. Young is getting frustrated and keeps his composure. Ray nearly wins with an inside cradle. Young backdrops Ray and continues to be taunted by the fans. Ray comes off the ropes with a flying forearm for a two count. Ray dropkicks Young for a near fall. Ray gets another two count with a spinning elbow strike. Ray hits a neckbreaker, but Young gets his boot on the bottom rope. Young plants Ray with a spinebuster. In the crowd, Pat Kenney is beating up the NYC with a strap. This is distracting Young. Ray gets a rollup on Young and wins the match. (1/2*. The dramatic pin attempts were a little overboard. I don’t think a lot of people cared about this match and I tend to agree with that.) After the match, Kenney continues to beat on the NYC and avoided a dropkick by Trinity off the top rope. Kenney spanks Trinity with the strap. Kenney is double teamed by NYC while Young remains in the corner. Kenney is triple teamed and gets Irish Spring soap shoved into his mouth. Young did absolutely nothing the entire time.
Backstage, Scott Hudson is with Team Canada for an interview. Scott D’Amore says that Jerry Lynn asked for what happened to him this week. D’Amore says that Lynn is a bad leader because his ego got the best of him. D”Amore puts over Roode for softening Lynn and the rest of the team beat Lynn down. D’Amore thinks that Team NWA lost the war.
Fourth Contest: Ryuji Hijkata, Mitsu Hirai Jr. & Nosawa vs. Abismo Negro, Mr. Aguila & Heavy Metal: Metal and Hirai start off the match with Metal gaining brief control with a head scissors on the mat. Aguila and Nosawa tag into the match with Nosawa stomping on Aguila’s face. Aguila powerslams Nosawa for a two count. Aguila spin kicks Nosawa. Hijakata and Negro tag in leading to a standoff. Metal and Hirai return to the match with Metal getting the crowd into the match. Metal hits a handspring back elbow followed by a tilt a whirl backbreaker. Nosawa and Hijkata triple team Nosawa with a powerbomb. Aguila tags in and decks Nosawa to the floor. Aguila is double teamed with a drop toe hold/kick to the face. Negro dropkicks Hijkata from the top rope. Nosawa nails Negro with a running boot to the face. Negro stops Nosawa with a tilt a whirl backbreaker. Hijkata tags in and kicks Negro to maintain control of the contest. Hijkata drives Negro down to the mat for a near fall. Metal tags in and slams Hijkata before locking in a headlock. Hirai is kicked by Metal, but comes back with a sit down powerbomb for a two count as Aguila breaks the cover. Aguila clotheslines Hirai in the corner, but misses a twisting moonsault. Nosawa misses a frog splash. Metal misses a moonsault. Nosawa collides with Hirai on accident. Metal hits a flip dive to the floor onto both men. Hijkata nails Negro with a kick to the head. Hijkata kicks Aguila in the corner and crotches Aguila on the top rope. Negro comes over and powerbombs Hijakta. Aguila hits a 450 splash leading to the win. (**. It’s kind of crazy to think that Triple A is more over as babyfaces than Team NWA is with the crowd. The action here was fine, but there’s no substance to it.)
Goldylocks and Abyss have walked to ringside. Goldy has a microphone, but is cutoff by Mike Tenay. Goldy is looking for Erik Watts. Tenay knows that Goldy is always looking for a lawsuit. Goldy has money and thus has power. Don West looks like he is baffled by Goldy. Goldy asks if West is calling her crazy. Goldy insults West for wearing the same version of a shirt for two years. Goldy denies calling Watts 200 times. Watts comes over with a baseball bat and begins to brawl with Abyss at ringside. Watts sends Abyss into the guard railing. Watts gets in the ring to confront Goldy, who has the bat. Goldy tries to leave, but Watt stops her. Abyss knocks Watts down with a chair shot to the back. Abyss wedges a chair in the corner and splashes Watts in the opposite corner. Watts kicks Abyss and sends Abyss into the chair face first! Watts nails Abyss in the ribs with the bat. Watts stomps on Goldy’s hand causing Goldy to go backstage crying.
Fifth Contest: Amazing Red vs. Sonjay Dutt in the final match of a three match series: Red misses a few strikes and sends Dutt to the floor. Red takes Dutt out with a somersault dive to the floor. Dutt nails Red with a swinging leg strike on the apron to gain control on the floor. Dutt locks in an abdominal stretch in the ring, but Red doesn’t give in. Dutt hits a springboard moonsault for a two count and Red rolls to the floor. Dutt fakes a dive to the floor and hits a springboard dive to the floor. Dutt tries for a cover, but Red kicks out. Dutt takes Red over with a snap suplex. Red arm drags Dutt out of a Code Red position. They begin to trade kicks to the leg and they collide at the same time. They try for running clotheslines and both men turn inside out. They begin to trade strikes with Dutt getting the advantage. Dutt elbows Red to the mat followed by a clothesline. Red tries for a Code Red, but falls on his head and Dutt delivers a running boot for a near fall. Red nails Dutt with a kick to the head. Red nails Dutt with a running clothesline for a two count. Red sits Dutt on the top turnbuckle and tries for a hurricanrana, but Dutt blocks it and hits a middle rope powerbomb for a two count. Dutt tries for a suplex, but Red sends Dutt into the corner. Red is stopped on the top rope again by Dutt. Red hits a middle rope Code Red for a near fall. Red heads to the top rope misses a swanton. Dutt leg sweeps Red and hits a standing shooting star press for a two count. Dutt slams Red and goes to the top rope missing the Hindu Press, but rolled through. Red slams Dutt followed by a standing shooting star press of his own for a near fall. Dutt sits Red on the top rope delivering an uppercut. Red fights Dutt off and hits a swinging Flatliner managing to get a clean win. (**1/2. A fine match, but the constant close calls on the pins hurt the flow of the match. It was just move, cover, move, cover and that format tends to slow the match down quite a bit. I would have rather seen Dutt win as Red has gotten these kinds of pushes a bunch of times. So, this just feels repetitive booking.) After the match, Kazarian gets in the ring and has a confrontation with Red. Red dropkicks Kazarian over the top to the floor and poses with the belt.
Backstage, Scott Hudson is with James Storm and Dusty Rhodes. Storm says that Kid Kash shouldn’t mess with him when he’s in a mood. Rhodes chimes in and says that luck for Kash and Dallas has run out of time. Rhodes says a mud hole is getting ready to be stomped tonight. Dusty thinks it is time for a good ass kicking. Dusty says it is time for the butt whooping to begin.
Sixth Contest: NWA Tag Team Champions Kid Kash & Dallas vs. Dusty Rhodes & James Storm in a non-title bunkhouse match: Kash and Storm kickoff the match as there are going to be normal tag rules, apparently. Kash wants Dusty and gets his wish. Kash backs Rhodes into a corner and delivers a strike before backing off. Kash taunts the crowd and Rhodes drops Kash with an elbow strike to send Kash bailing to the floor. Storm tags in as Rhodes has a headlock on Dallas and delivers a strike off the middle rope. Dallas shoulder blocks Storm and neither man budge. Storm knocks Dallas to the mat following several kicks. Rhodes returns to the match and delivers an elbow strike to Dallas arm. Kash tags in and is met with a hip toss by Storm. Kash backs off into the corner and asks for a timeout. Storm doesn’t stop, but lands poorly on a leapfrog allowing Kash to dropkick Storm on the knee. Dallas hits a slingshot knee drop from the apron. Storm is double teamed while Rhodes is stopped by the referee. Dallas loosens Storm’s boot and they continue to beat on Storm’s leg. Kash locks in a figure four in the middle of the ring, but Storm doesn’t give in. Kash focuses on Storm’s leg and tries to take Storm’s boot off. Storm delivers a slam, but Kash goes back to boot. Storm tries to tag in Rhodes, but the referee didn’t see the tag.
Storm’s boot has been removed and Dallas continues to work over the leg. Kash works over Storm with right hands in the corner, but Storm fights out of the corner. Kash eye rakes Storm to gain control and sends Storm to the floor. Kash springboards to the floor, but is caught by Dallas. Storm kicks Kash, but Dallas enters the ring only for Storm to hit a wheelbarrow bulldog. Rhodes gets the tag and jabs Kash several times followed by an elbow strike, but the referee didn’t see the tag yet again. Dallas tries to use a trash can, but Storm blocks it and hits both men with the trash can. Storm plants Dallas with a swinging reverse DDT out of the corner. Kash uses a pipe on Storm, but Rhodes elbows Kash onto the announcers table. Rhodes takes his boot off and tosses it to Storm. Storm waits in the corner for Dallas to get up. Storm puts Rhodes boot on and superkicks Dallas for the win. (1/2*. I mean, that was hardly a bunkhouse match. I hate using traditional tag rules for this king of match. Tag champs losing cleanly is never a good thing to a makeshift tag team, but I guess it’s more important for Dusty to win.)
Backstage, Scott Hudson is with Monty Brown. Brown acts like an old school broadcaster saying they are at the bottom of the food chain before standing up and saying he’s the top of the food chain. Brown says of course he’ll be watching the main event. Brown asks if Hudson is trying to be aggressive with him, but Hudson promises that he’s not. Brown will be watching the match because it’s happening on his hunting grounds. Brown promises that one of those men will have to eventually wrestle him. Brown is the predator and someone will be the prey, which will happen soon.
Christopher Daniels leads Team NWA to cut a promo and puts over the World X-Cup. Four countries look to settle the score next week. Daniels puts over Mexico, Japan and Canada. Daniels says it doesn’t matter to them what style the wrestling is because they invented X-Division style and perfected it. They are going to take back the X-Cup.
Backstage, Scott Hudson is with Konnan and BG James. Konnan knows that Vince Russo was behind BG getting attacked by Monty Brown and Konnan getting attacked. BG says that Russo isn’t above the law. BG promises they will not stand by and watch their buddy get screwed over. Tonight may be the night they get even on Russo.
Jeremy Borash explains the rules to the Deadly Draw main event. Two men will start off and if there is not a winner after five minutes, the next man enters. If there’s a pin within the five minutes then the match resets. I’m assuming that all four men have to be in the match a final fall will occur. We could have several title changes in the match, according to the rules. It’s basically a gauntlet match.
Main Event: NWA World Champion AJ Styles vs. Chris Harris vs. Ron Killings vs. Raven in a Deadly Draw: Harris starts off with a spear and gets a two count on Styles. Harris clotheslines Styles to maintain control of the contest. Harris sends Styles flipping upside down into the corner. Harris drives Styles down to the mat with a backbreaker. Styles gets out of a suplex attempt, but Harris manages to hit a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Harris continues with a backbreaker to maintain control. Harris kicks Styles several times in the corner. Styles kicks Harris in the corner a few times. Styles nails Harris with a Pele kick and both men are down. Styles pummels Harris with right hands on the mat. Styles slams Harris and delivers a knee drop coming off the ropes. Styles kicks Harris a few times against the ropes. Styles chops Harris in the corner a few times followed by right hands. Styles dropkicks a seated Harris in the corner. Styles manages to get a two count. Harris fights back with punches. Harris plants Styles with the Catatonic, but the five minutes ran out.
Raven slides into the ring and clotheslines Harris followed by right hands. So, now it’s a triple threat match. Raven decks Harris several times to maintain control of the contest. Raven knocks Styles off the apron to the floor. Raven decks Harris to the mat with a forearm strike. Harris works over Raven with strikes in the corner. Raven hits a knee lift a running clothesline out of the corner. Raven knocks Styles off the apron again. Raven waits for Harris to get up and tries for a DDT, but Styles grabs Raven. Raven sends Styles into the corner and decks Harris with a clothesline after Styles ducked. Styles puts a sleeper on Raven in the middle of the ring. Raven locks in a sleeper on Styles. Harris puts a sleeper on Raven for the obvious double sleeper hold spot. Styles breaks free with a jawbreaker and all three men are down. Styles clotheslines Raven in the corner for a two count as Harris breaks the cover. Styles spikes Harris with a brainbuster and Raven tries to steal the pin but only gets a two count. Raven savant kicks Harris and Styles nails Raven with a discus clothesline. All three men are down as the final men enters the match.
Killings slides into the ring and cleans house with strikes on all three men. Killings forearms Harris, but Raven decks Killings in the corner. Killings ducks a clothesline and heel kicks Raven to the floor. Raven pulls Killings to the floor to prevent a scissors kick to Styles. Styles hits a shooting star press to the floor onto all three men. Killings returns to the ring and works over Styles with strikes. Styles elbows Killings, but misses a spin kick. Styles nails Killings with a kick to the head for a near fall. Styles slams Killings and goes to the top, but Raven distracts Styles. Killings gets up and plants Styles with a muscle buster. Killings tries for a cover, but Harris makes the save. Harris avoids a dropkick by Killings and locks in the Sharpshooter. Raven punches Harris a few times. Styles puts a spinning toe hold on Raven. Harris still has the Sharpshooter on Killings. Raven kicks Styles into Harris to break both holds.
Styles is shoved off the top by Harris and hits the railing hard back first. Raven saves Killings from the Catatonic and savant kicks Harris to the floor. Killings knocks Raven to the floor, as well. Styles and Killings trade strikes in the corner. Killings sits Styles on the top turnbuckle. Killings tries for a hurricanrana, but Styles rolls through and hits the Styles Clash! Raven breaks the cover! Styles and Raven trade strikes. Styles signals for the Styles Clash on Raven, but Jeff Jarrett comes out and distracts Styles. Jarrett smashes Styles over the head with the guitar. Raven plants Styles with the DDT, but Harris pulls Raven out of the ring! Harris climbs to the top rope hitting an elbow drop, but Killings pulls the referee out. Raven and Harris go to the floor when Raven clotheslines Harris. Killings nails Styles with a top rope axe kick and pins Styles in the middle of the ring to win the title. (**1/4. I didn’t like the stipulation as it should have just been a four way elimination match. I think everyone would have liked all four men wrestling each other from the very beginning. Killings is the least likely guy to win the title so this feels like a Russo swerve to shock fans. It’s likely just a matter of time before Jarrett regains the title from Killings and it will likely happen before Impact starts on Fox Sports Net.)
Vince Russo comes down to the ring and is talking with the referees. One referee is mentioning that the guitar was used. Russo declares that the decision stands and Killings is the new champion.
Final Thoughts:
An average week for TNA this time around as there was several decent matches, but nothing standing out. I’m not big on Killings winning the championship as he may be the least interesting out of the four. I would have put the title on Raven if they wanted to do a title switch already. It will be interesting to see the direction they go in when Impact debuts in two weeks.
Thanks for reading.