Total Non-Stop Action presents Xplosion
Date: 6/21/2003
From: Nashville, TN
Jeremy Borash and Mike Tenay host the show talking about the 1-year anniversary show last week, which featured Sting. This week on PPV they will be having their first ever steel cage match between the team of AMW and the NWA Tag Team Champions Triple X.
MATCH #1 3 LIVE KRU (KONNAN, RON KILLINGS & BG JAMES) VS. SAL RINAURO, MATT & TOMMY VANDAL
FINISH: Killings wins the match following a sit out front suplex.
Bob’s Take: It’s an interesting shift for Killings and Konnan to go from two guys being mad about being held back due to racism to now being fun babyfaces with BG James. 3LK completely dominate the match and they all hit their classic moves. It is obvious that 3LK has potential to get over big with the Nashville crowd.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #2: JULIO DINERO VS. STEVE MADISON
NOTE: Madison had mostly worked or IPW and NWA Florida out of the Florida area.
FINISH: Dinero picks up the win following a full nelson swinging slam.
Bob’s Take: Madison jumped off the middle rope, but Dinero caught him with a cutter, and the crowd seemed to be impressed by that spot. Madison gets some offense on Dinero and manages a couple of near falls. I’d consider this one of the better showings for Dinero in TNA to this point. He had some unique offense and he held my interest.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #3: SHARK BOY VS. DELIRIOUS
FINISH: Shark Boy hits the Dead Sea Drop to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Two cult favorites going at it only in TNA. Delirious wouldn’t really reach that cult following level for a couple of years, but Shark Boy has developed a following at this point. I think the TNA crowd is still a bit confused by the Delirious character and don’t know how to react to him. Delirious hit a nice big splash off the top at one point. It’s a fairly quick match, but it was fine for what it was.
Match Rating: *1/2
MAIN EVENT: TRINITY VS. MALIA HOSAKA
NOTE: From 1996 through 1998, Hosaka competed for WCW wrestling thirteen matches for the promotion. Her appearance here on Xplosion feels a bit random, but this is why I love Xplosion.
FINISH: Trinity wins following a top rope moonsault.
Bob’s Take: TNA continues to not have much of a women’s division, but bringing in Malia Hosaka for a one-off appearance is a cool thing to see. Trinity is a talented worker, and getting some competition to showcase her skills is exactly what TNA needs to be doing. Hosaka nailed Trinity with a spin kick out of the corner that got a noticeable reaction from the crowd. I enjoyed Hosaka and Trinity looked like she can hold her own against that level of competition. Enjoyable bout.
Match Rating: **1/4
Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed the talent that was showcased on the show this week. I think the enhancement matches overall were entertaining. Xplosion continues to be an easy watch and I love surprises in the form of Malia Hosaka appearing on the show.
Thanks for reading.