NWA-TNA Xplosion
Date: 8/3/2003
From: Nashville, TN
Last Wednesday, Erik Watts was announced as the new DOA of TNA. I’m wondering if Watts ability to get over on Xplosion led to this announcement as an authority figure.
Jeremy Borash and Mike Tenay host the show. They promote a cage match between NWA World Champion AJ Styles and D’Lo Brown next week on PPV.
A vignette promoting Mad Mikey is shown Mad Mikey is formerly Crash Holly in WWE. Mikey’s character is someone who gets mad at anything and everything.
MATCH #1: MAD MIKEY VS. DELIRIOUS
FINISH: Mikey wins following a lifting double arm DDT.
Bob’s Take: I was kind of hoping for more of a fast pace, high flying encounter, but that was not the case here. Mikey isn’t working a Cruiserweight style, but I like his character work. There wasn’t any shine for Delirious in this match. The crowd was mostly dead for the action, too.
Match Rating: *1/4
MATCH #2: FRANKIE KAZARIAN VS. SETH DELAY
FINISH: Kazarian wins following the Wave of the Future.
Bob’s Take: Delay manages to get a pop with a nice hurricanrana out of the corner at one point, but his offense is otherwise basic. Delay is the NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Champion. Kazarian got the crowd to be a little move lively compared to the first bout. Delay tries for a moonsault double stomp, but Kazarian avoided it leading to the finish. Delay looks to be a guy who could have potential as a competitive enhancement guy for the X-Division guys on a regular basis.
Match Rating: **
A video package promoting 3LK is shown. It is a comedy sequence of Ron Killings getting drunk and BG James blowing up a bathroom.
A video package promoting Christopher Daniels is shown. Daniels is going to bring his gospel to TNA. All we can do is say our prayers.
MAIN EVENT: ABYSS VS. MANNY LEDUC
FINISH: Abyss wins following the Black Hole Slam.
Bob’s Take: LeDuc is a bigger sized opponent for Abyss and looks like the kind of wrestler you’d see on a 1980’s WWF live event. It’s a one-sided match as expected. Abyss is one of the better TNA originals to be found during this era.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Final Thoughts:
This is a bit of a dull episode as the crowd was kind of dead for the action. Kazarian/Delay was the best match of the night, but a forgettable bout. Probably a skippable episode.
Thanks for reading.