Total Non-Stop Action presents Xplosion
Date: 6/7/2003
From: Nashville, TN
Jeremy Borash and Mike Tenay host the show promoting the title match between NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett, Raven and AJ Styles.
MATCH #1: JERRY LYNN VS. DYLAN CAGE
FINISH: Lynn finishes Cage off with the cradle piledriver.
Bob’s Take: Cage had a little bit of offense hitting a couple of suplexs and a clothesline, but it didn’t come across as all that powerful and damaging. There was a good near fall after a Kryptonite Krunch by Lynn. I’m a huge fan of Lynn and I thought Lynn looked great here despite Cage not coming across all that good with his offense.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #2: NWA-TNA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS TRIPLE X (DANIELS & SKIPPER) VS. KAPPA TAPPA KEGGA (KURT DANIELS & ANDY JAXX)
FINISH: Daniels pins Kurt following the Last Rites.
Bob’s Take: Kappa Tappa Kegga is certainly a frat name, but they didn’t appear to be a frat gimmick of anything of that nature. To their credit they look to be in good shape and look more like wrestlers than some enhancement talent that end up on this show. Triple X come across as stars at this point and that is a sign that enhancement matches truly work with perception of talent. Kegga hit a nice superkick/German suplex combo on Skipper at one point. They also hit a running powerslam/top rope headbutt combo on Skipper. This actually turned into a far more competitive outing than I thought it was going to be and it’s not a bad match.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #3: JULIO DINERO VS. ABYSS
NOTE: This is the debut for Abyss (in this character) in TNA. Tenay mentions that he’s been working in Puerto Rico.
FINISH: Dinero pins Abyss following a spinning superkick.
Bob’s Take: This is a bit bizarre to see a guy like Dinero getting an enhancement match against a man the size of Abyss. Tenay even mentions that Abyss is a bit bigger than Dinero. Abyss is nice Samoan Drop at one point in the match and a chokeslam. Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam, but there’s distraction by Alexis Laree. They are protecting Abyss on Xplosion, so they must see value in him. This is a rare instance on Xplosion where the enhancement guy is clearly more of a star than the TNA wrestler going over. If there was ever a time to do a crazy ‘upset’ on this show, it would have been right here. Regardless, I enjoyed it.
Match Rating: **
MAIN EVENT: NWA-TNA X-DIVISION CHAMPION CHRIS SABIN VS. N8 MATTSON
FINISH: Sabin pins Mattson following the Future Shock (muscle buster).
Bob’s Take: Mattson and Sabin are familiar with each other working in the Michigan area several times. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Sabin gave a lot to Mattson to let him shine throughout the match. Mattson hit a sit out front suplex off the top rope, and the crowd popped for that, too. Tenay noted that Mattson is a trainer for Sabin so this is a teacher vs. student type of match. Sabin hit a running buckle bomb into the corner. This was a great showcase/enhancement match where Mattson looked great and Sabin prevails in a competitive match. I’m going to consider this the best Xplosion match to this point.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Final Thoughts:
This is a great episode of Xplosion with the tag champs and X-Division champion competing in competitive match. We also get Abyss making his debut and looking like he should be getting a push over probably half the roster. A fantastic episode of Xplosion.
Thanks for reading.