TNA – Ultimate Matches
In honour of TNA Wrestling’s relaunch on a new network at the start of 2015, I thought I’d review an old TNA DVD that I’ve had sitting on my shelf for absolutely ages. I seem to remember this DVD getting some really strong reviews around the time of release so fingers crossed that it’s an easy watch. It is a 2-disc set featuring some of the best TNA signature gimmick matches. We’ve got Ultimate X, Monster’s Ball, Six Sides Of Steel, Full Metal Mayhem and King Of The Mountain all on tap, although as there’s no match listing on the packaging I’m not exactly sure which matches they picked. I believe these all come from the 2004-2008 time period so that means commentary will come from Mike Tenay and Don West throughout.
Previous King Of The Mountain participants discuss the KOTM match. Everyone agrees the rules are complicated, but it always ends up being pretty exciting.
Christian Cage vs Jeff Jarrett vs Ron Killings vs Abyss vs Sting – NWA Heavyweight Title King Of The Mountain Match
Slammiversary 2006 – Christian enters as the defending champion knowing that nobody has ever successfully defended the title in a King Of The Mountain match. He and Sting are also entering this environment for the first time. Since the rules are so complex this may well count against them. Jarrett won the first ever KOTM, whilst both Killings and Abyss have competed in one previously. As mentioned above, the rules for this type of match are rather convoluted and complicated. In essence it’s a ‘reverse ladder match’ – whereby you can only win by hanging the belt above the ring. However, you can only attempt to hang the belt after you’ve pinned or submitted someone else in the match. The loser of that fall has to spend two minutes in a penalty box (a literal holding cell set-up in the aisle) before they can return to the match.
Abyss gets the fight started by dragging Sting out of the ring for a brawl. Killings is basically the only guy who can move at any great speed in the match, and demonstrates it by working his usual schtick to floor Jarrett. He then drops Cage with a superkick as well, but only after Christian had showed him his best ‘Carlton dance’. The champ recovers to hit a top rope suicide dive aimed at Double J. Somersault plancha by Truth! Sting then climbs up onto the penalty box to dive onto everyone. Sting then literally stands there whilst someone else does some work…but pays for his idleness when Ron pins Jarrett, making him the first man eligible to hang the belt. Killings tosses the Icon through the door of the holding cell for good measure…before turning into a LADDER TO THE FACE from Christian! The champ then pins Abyss to earn his eligibility. Jarrett cowers in the holding cell as Abyss is escorted to it, but thankfully is released after a couple of seconds meaning the Monster can’t kick his ass at close proximity. Upon his release Jeff makes his way across the ring and spends minutes roughing Christian up with a ladder. Abyss, meanwhile, leaves the cell and builds a four table stack outside the ring. STROKE OFF THE APRON TO THE BARRICADES from Jarrett to Killings! That earns him a pinfall, sending R-Truth to the penalty box. Everyone else brawls off into the crowd – with fans literally handing Sting chairs so he can brain Abyss. Killings is released from his cell, and since he’s eligible whilst everyone else is miles away amongs the fans he sets up a ladder and prepares to hang the belt. Abyss makes it back just in time to shove him off though. Jarrett and Abyss try to work together, wielding a ladder in tandem to batter multiple competitors. Christian finally dropkicks the ladder into their face…then gets some revenge for earlier by tying Jeff up in it. Amusingly he then tries to SURF Jarrett, trapped in the ladder all the way to hanging the belt. Truth makes another dart for the ceiling, but this time gets shoved TO THE FLOOR! Abyss then throws the ladder straight at Earl Hebner for no reason! BLACK HOLE SLAM on Jarrett! Abyss pins him, meaning Sting is the only one not eligible to win now. STING SHOVES HIM OFF THE LADDER THROUGH FOUR TABLES! Stinger Splash on Cage, followed by the Scorpion Deathlock! Jarrett escapes his penalty box early to assault Sting with the NWA Title belt…only for Christian to stop him using his guitar. Scorpion Death Drop on Jarrett! Sting hands the belt to Cage and tells him to climb (apparently his only goal in this match was to stop Jeff winning)…only for Larry Zyszko (who was at ringside as an NWA official) to hop into the ring and prevent Christian from hanging it. Stroke countered to the Scorpion Death Drop. Sting literally PUPPETS an unconscious Hebner into counting three…then gets into a fight with Christian at the top of the ladder over who gets to hang the belt. EARL F*CKING HEBNER SHOVES THEM BOTH OFF! ‘What the f*ck’ – Orlando. Jarrett has everyone on his side it seems, and climbs up to hang the belt and win the match at 22:20. Fans pelt him with garbage as he goes which is a cool visual…
Rating - *** - I have no idea what was going on with that booking, so I won’t comment on it too much other than to say that ending the match with two swerve screw jobs seemed a tad excessive – particularly since the Hebner one came off as hilarious and rather undermined everything else. Given the age and physical limitations of a lot of the guys involved (seriously, other than Killings nobody can move above walking pace) I thought this would be a bit of a mess. They actually surprised me by producing a perfectly watchable encounter. It was exciting at points and largely entertaining throughout. Sting not caring about the title and only wanting to stop Jarrett was certainly unique too. I’d have liked to have seen slightly less of Sting and Jarrett, and slightly more of Killings and Abyss…but that probably sums TNA’s entire existence up in that they spent too long focusing on older, washed up guys from bigger companies rather than promoting their own talent.
Chris Harris vs AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Christian Cage vs Kurt Angle – TNA World Title King Of The Mountain Match
Slammiversary 2007 – In 2007 TNA’s agreement with NWA came to a rather acrimonious end, leading to the NWA stripping TNA’s champions of the belts on the day of a pay-per-view (Christian as Heavyweight Champion and the Dudleyz as Tag Champions). TNA created their own championships as a result. Due to a controversial finish to the preceding ppv Jim Cornette (TNA’s commissioner figure at the time) declared the newly minted TNA World Title vacant – and promptly booked all the top contenders into King Of The Mountain to crown the first TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Kurt Angle enters this on the back of a lengthy feud with Joe, and with a chip on his shoulder because he thought he’d already beaten former NWA Champion Christian to earn the belt. Joe and AJ obviously have plenty of history together in the X-Division, whilst Harris is a popular inclusion given that he has been in TNA since the weekly ppv days. Angle and Joe are newbies to the KOTM format, Harris and Christian are each in their second one, whilst this AJ’s third. I actually reviewed this as part of the ‘Kurt Angle: Champion’ set so the play-by-play below comes from that DVD.
Joe goes right after Angle which is unsurprising considering their history. Cage and Styles have formed an alliance coming into this match, and they immediately start double teaming Harris. AJ tries to lie down and let Christian pin him so Cage can go for the belt…but Kurt breaks the fall. Styles levels Wildcat with his awesome dropkick…but Cage refuses to return the favour and lie down for him. Thus ends the Cage/AJ alliance. Joe hilariously stand pulling faces next to AJ, before tugging him off the apron as he goes for a springboard. Chop/kick/knee drop sequence on Christian…but Wildcat throws Joe out of the ring. Catatonic blocked, but Harris blocks Christian’s Unprettier attempt into a full nelson slam. Catatonic on Styles…for 3. Styles is put in the penalty box whilst Harris is now eligible to hang the belt. Joe THROWS the ladder over the top rope at Harris and Cage. Kurt blocks the facewash and hits Joe with ROLLING GERMANS! Christian come in…ANKLELOCK/CHOKE COMBO ON HIM BY JOE AND ANGLE! Styles’ sin bin period expires and he flies in to save Cage…meaning I guess their alliance is on again. Cage has positioned the ladder between the apron and the guardrail, but ends up crotched in the rings by Harris. Styles hits the Pele into a springboard elbow smash on Joe. Kurt COUNTERS THE STYLES CLASH INTO THE ANKLE LOCK! That was an unreal counter, but AJ manages to kick his way free. HARRIS BACK BODY DROPS HIM INTO A SPLASH ON CAGE ON THE LADDER! Harris tries to hang the belt…OLYMPIC SLAM OFF THE LADDER!
Kurt pins Harris, meaning he’s now eligible to go for the gold too. No chance to climb though as Samoa Joe takes him out with a powerslam. ST-Joe on Christian…AIR RAID CRASH on Styles! SPINNING MUSCLEBUSTER! Kurt breaks the fall to prevent Joe being eligible to win. CHOKE ON KURT! But we get the same ref bump we saw between the two at Turning Point. Angle taps, but with no ref it doesn’t count. Christian takes out Joe with a ladder, then sneaks in to pin Angle and make himself eligible instead. Joe climbs the ladder after Christian…SAMOAN CUTTER OFF THE LADDER! Harris is out of the penalty box, and he looks to take advantage of the melee to hang the belt himself. He uses the belt to knock Joe away. AJ WITH A SPRINGBOARD DROPKICK INTO THE LADDER TO KNOCK WILDCAT DOWN! Now Style climbs to the roof of the penalty cage. JOE GOES AFTER HIM! Are you f*cking kidding me? CHOKE ON THE PENALTY CAGE! AJ low blows out of that…JOE THROWS HIM OFF THE CAGE AND THROUGH THE COMMENTARY TABLE! Harris and Cage are up there now…with Harris hurling Christian al the way into the ring. Wildcat wears the ladder as a weapon Terry Funk style to clear the ring and prepare another run at hanging the belt. Christian shoves him off, then throws the ladder at him. It’s Cage’s chance to climb now, but just as he’s on the verge Kurt grabs him with the ANKLELOCK! Christian blasts Angle with the belt. HARRIS SPRINGBOARDS INTO SPEAR ON CAGE! ANGLE HANGS THE BELT! He becomes TNA World Champion for the first time at 19:24
Rating - ****1/2 - I find the KOTM rules almost intolerably annoying, but even I find it impossible to deny that all five guys worked f*cking hard to get them over here. There were so many insane moments and exciting exchanges littered throughout this match that it’s impossible not to enjoy it. Samoa Joe was awesome in his work with Angle and AJ, Styles himself produced some stunning moments of athleticism, Harris busted his ass to make sure he wasn’t out of place and the way Christian (as the veteran of this type of car crash match) held everything together was a joy to watch.
Samoa Joe vs Rhino vs Robert Roode vs Christian Cage vs Booker T – TNA World Title King Of The Mountain Match
Slammiversary 2008 – Joe enters this one as the champion, but apparently has more issues than just his opponents to deal with since Kevin Nash is at ringside as the guest enforcer. Nash had adopted an apparent mentor role to Joe, but everyone was unsure whether he could be trusted so it seems. Cage, Booker and Rhino are no strangers to high pressure, championship environments such as this so will enter without trepidation or fear. This was during the period when Roode was working that annoying faux-JBL, stock market money gimmick (hence ‘Robert’ rather than ‘Bobby’).
Christian and Rhino, allies across two promotions in the past, join forces to work Roode over as Booker and Joe brawl to the floor. Book rather violently shoves Cage off the top rope, but misses Rhino with the Ghetto Blaster and gets clobbered to the floor himself. Roode’s ‘Pay Off’ is blocked by Christian as all four guys take turns in the ring splurging offence. Captain Charisma is still in danger too, having to fight off Joe’s Musclebuster before clocking him with a diving uppercut for 2. Book End on Rhino…earning Booker the first successful pinfall. He snatches the belt from Nash but is unable to get the ladder out of the clutches of the Samoan. Christian and Rhino’s alliance comes to a respectful conclusion as they go at it mid-ring…only for Joe to crotch Rhino against the ringpost as he sets up for the Gore. Joe is wrestling an awesome match thus far, continually thwarting people when they look set to dominate the contest. RUNNING CORKSCREW PESCADO BY JOE! SUICIDE DIVE OFF THE PENALTY BOX BY CHRISTIAN! Cage struggles to recover from that, and is pinned by Roode after getting a ladder whacked into his face with a chair. Rhino then pins Bobby before he even gets a chance to hang the belt. Kevin Nash forcibly DRAGS Roode into the penalty cell. Ghetto Blaster COUNTERED to the Choke by Joe! Christian and Roode are having an awesome brawl inside the penalty box at the same time! Christian is released from the box then climbs it again. FROG SPLASH OFF THE PENALTY BOX! It breaks Joe’s Choke, allowing Cage to pin Booker and earn his eligibility! Bobby Roode is released now, but can’t hang the belt because he eats a GERMAN SUPLEX OFF THE LADDER from the champ! SAMOAN CUTTER OFF THE LADDER FOR CAGE! GOOOOOOOOOOOOORE ON JOE! Amusingly Booker is so beaten up he actually wants to stay in the penalty box rather than come out. When he finally does he grabs the title belt and starts laying out everyone – including Nash! The furious Big Sexy marches into the ring and gives Book a JACK-KNIFE POWERBOMB OFF THE LADDER! GORE OFF THE APRON THROUGH A TABLE from Rhino to Christian! MUSCLEBUSTER ON ROODE! Joe pins him to earn his eligibility, then climbs straight up the ladder to hang the belt and retain at 19:51
Rating - *** - This one really exceeded my expectations as well. When three of the participants are past-their-prime former WWE guys you wonder how much they have left in the tank. However, all five of these guys helped contribute to a really fun spotfest. The biggest credit I can give them is that you actually forgot the silly rules for the most part, and just enjoyed them dropping offensive bombs on each other for twenty minutes. Joe was particularly impressive here, as was (much to my surprise) Booker T.
Members of the X-Division discuss their memories of Ultimate X – the match which is arguably TNA’s greatest contribution to the wrestling business. Jay Lethal talking about it, entirely in character as ‘Black Machismo’ cracks me up.
Petey Williams vs Chris Sabin vs AJ Styles – TNA X-Division Title Ultimate X Match
Final Resolution 2005 – This was only the sixth ever Ultimate X match and is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the stipulation. Williams comes in as defending champion at centrepiece of Team Canada. Styles is obviously the veteran of the X-Division and is looking to get his belt back in his second Ultimate X appearance. Once again, I’ve reviewed this one before (as part of the ‘Best Of The X-Division Volume 1’ DVD), so I’ll pull play-by-play from that.
Mike Tenay points out that Sabin is undefeated in Ultimate X Matches. Petey rakes the eyes of both opponents to give himself the advantage, then tries to run away from them. Eventually he’s cornered, allowing both the babyfaces to team up on him. LEAPFROG DROPKICK sends Williams to the floor. Sabin is the first to look at climbing the ropes, but is quickly pulled down by AJ. Sabin and Petey fight on the floor…and Styles hits the SOMERSAULT PLANCHA to take both men out. AJ and Sabin start to climb the scaffold…with Sabin hitting a TOP ROPE dropkick to take AJ out of the running. He start to clamber towards the belt…only for Scott D’Amore to grab his legs and cut him off. Petey’s coach is then ejected from ringside. The irate champion channels his anger into rolling suplexes on Sabin, then locks in the Sharpshooter. BUT AJ SCALES THE ROPES! Williams hauls him from the cables and drops him with a German suplex. Styles responds with a jumping enzi kick. Once again it’s Styles and Sabin trying to climb to the belt. AJ gets Sabin on his shoulders…AND PETEY CROSSES THE CABLES INTO A FLYING HEADSCISSORS! Amazing spot which sends the crowd wild. Willams and Styles now race across the X from opposing sides in a race to the belt. MID AIR KICKS BY AJ! Petey is hanging upside own as Sabin drags AJ off the cables! He tries to go for the belt! AJ GOES FOR A SPRINGBOARD FOREARM…BUT PETEY EVADES IT! BUT CAN’T HOLD ON ANYMORE! SABIN SWINGS OFF THE CABLES INTO A SUPER HURRICANRANA ON AJ! Williams is back…and he and Sabin battle to hit their finishers, only to be simultaneously taken out by Styles and the quebrada inverted DDT. Styles goes for the belt again…MISSILE DROPKICK FROM SABIN TO STOP HIM! AJ’s mid-air flip to sell that is all kinds of awesome. Petey SNAPS AJ’s arm in one of the corner scaffolds. CRADLE SHOCK by Sabin! With both men down it looks like Sabin’s match. AJ tries to pull him into a Styles Clash…COUNTERED TO A TRIANGLE CHOKE! POWERBOMB BY AJ! ONE ARMED STYLES CLASH! But how does Styles climb to the belt with a bad arm? He gets closer…BUT CAN’T HOLD ON! CANADIAN DESTROYER FROM PETEY! He tries to climb the ropes, but Sabin grabs him for SPLASH MOUNTAIN BUCKLE BOMB! It’s Sabin and Petey HANGING UPSIDE DOWN fighting for the belt! THEY PULL THE BELT LOOSE! AJ SPRINGBOARDS ACROSS AND SNATCHES IT OFF THEM! AJ wins at 19:56!
Rating - ****1/2 - This match is almost ten years old at this point and remains an absolutely stunning watch. As I said during my Best Of The X-Division review: ‘What stands out about this one isn’t just the unbelievable spots, but it’s the incredible logic and storytelling they work those spots into’. The story-telling is as breathtaking as the bumping, which is an extremely rare thing in this type of match. I can’t praise this one highly enough. It deserves its spot as one of TNA’s iconic matches and is one you really should go out of your way to see if you haven’t already.
AJ Styles vs Elix Skipper vs Christopher Daniels vs Ron Killings – TNA X-Division Title Ultimate X Challenge Match
Destination X 2005 – The rules are totally different to your normal Ultimate X Match here. We start out with a standard tag match, with the loser of the fall eliminated. We then go to a triple threat, where again the loser is eliminated. Finally the last two standing compete in Ultimate X for the belt. As usual, it’s a classic TNA overly-convoluted stipulation but thankfully all four are entertaining enough to make this work anyway. Interestingly, Daniels and Skipper are former team-mates, and only stopped tagging after losing a ‘Loser Must Disband’ Cage Match against America’s Most Wanted the previous year (we’ll see that later in the compilation). They are even on opposite teams during the opening tag match, but will they join forces to ensure it is the pair of them in the final two? Styles and Daniels had a feud going back years at this point too. I’ve reviewed this one before too, so again I’m copying and pasting play-by-play from elsewhere.
Truth strikes first with a missile dropkick on Elix. But Skipper bridges out of a pin attempt and hits a butterfly suplex, followed by his own missile dropkick. Styles tags in and wants Daniels…who refuses to tag Killings. AJ and Truth BOTCH the traditional AJ dropkick sequence…so AJ hits it anyway, then gets clobbered from behind by Fallen Angel. With Styles down, Daniels willingly tags in…and whips AJ towards his ‘partner’ Skipper, who knees Styles in the back and applauds his former ally. Flatliner into a Crossface by Daniels, as AJ has to contemplate the reality that he’s almost in a 3-on-1 predicament here. Daniels gets 2 with the Arabian Press. Blue Thunder is blocked into a standing enzi kick to the back of the head, leaving both men down. Truth in…and he teams up with AJ to go after Skipper. He backflips into a scissor kick to the guts…then a top rope axe kick! Daniels saves the fall for his former XXX stable-mate. STYLES TAKES DANIELS OUT WITH THE RUNNING SOMERSAULT DIVE! AIR RAID CRASH from Elix to Killings. The Truth is eliminated at 08:09. Meaning now Triple X are free to team up to ensure their path to Ultimate X. Styles and Elix take turns kicking each other, then hit simultaneous clotheslines. Daniels climbs across the cables…ARABIAN PRESS OFF THE ULTIMATE X ONTO BOTH OF THEM! Amazing spot there, but one which seems to provoke the annoyance of Elix Skipper. Daniels drops him with an urinage suplex. Belly to belly by Skipper, then a SPINNING Kick Of Death. Styles springboards back in with a forearm in Primetime. All three battle on a turnbuckle. Elix hangs on the cables…INTO A REVERSE SUPER RANA ON AJ! The former XXX members fight it out…and don’t see AJ climbing the cables. They turn as he looks for a somersault press, so AJ CATCHES HIMSELF then spins into an SSP at them instead. Incredible body control from Styles. Skipper saves Daniels from the Styles Clash…blocks the quebrada inverted DDT and hits the Air Raid Crash again. This time Styles rolls away…and Daniels sneaks in to roll up Elix and eliminate him at 17:19. With AJ down, Daniels seems to have a free run at the belt…only for AJ to jerk him down. Pele Kick scores and both men are down. They get to their feet and both decide to go for the belt. Styles kicks Daniels down…so Fallen Angel just dives at him and mauls the champion down too. Styles hangs off the cables to boot Daniels in the face…so Daniels jumps off the ropes into a FLYING STO! To the turnbuckles again…it’s a chase to the belt, ending with Daniels falling and dragging AJ down after him. Chase for the belt again…both men fall again. Chase for the belt AGAIN! Both men fall down…AGAIN! One more time AJ goes for the belt…and this time he gets it. But the ref is down and doesn’t see it. ANGELS WINGS! Daniels steals the belt and is wrongly declared the victor at 25:27.
Rating - *** - There were some terrific moments in that match, with the triple threat portion between Daniels, Elix and AJ particularly standing out. However, the beginning and end of this one dragged it down. The mish-mash multiple falls structure didn’t help at all, Ron Killings didn’t look like he wanted to be there and largely phoned it in, whilst the Ultimate X concept really struggled with just two men. The repetitive chase/fail…chase/fail…chase/fail sequences just didn’t work. They looked ugly, sloppy…and basically like Daniels and AJ were killing time. The finish was a giant let down too. Great to see Daniels win the belt for the first time, but it’s a shame he didn’t get a genuine rub with a cleaner victory than that.
LAX vs AJ Styles/Christopher Daniels – NWA Tag Title Ultimate X Match
No Surrender 2006 – After feuding for so long, in 2006 Styles and Daniels formed a team based on mutual respect. They now look to take the NWA Tag Titles from the dastardly Latin American XChange (LAX). Homicide and Hernandez hold the belts and are a dangerous team, but they’ve never competed in an Ultimate X before so have formidable opponents in the veterans AJ and Daniels.
Big brawl to start, with the challengers smartly tossing Homicide out and trying to join forces on Hernandez. Cop Killa blocked by Styles, but he then gets catapulted into a belly to belly suplex from big Hernandez. Homicide, who has an injured shoulder as usual, makes an ill-advised dash for the belt. He gets dragged off the hanging ropes then given an ARMBAR DDT! That immediately injures him, but doesn’t stop him swinging AJ like a pendulum from the X structure into the top turnbuckle. TOPE CON HILO INTO THE CROWD! RUNNING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR BY AJ! Homicide’s shoulder is a mess now. Daniels blocks Hernandez’s suicide dive to put him in the Koji Clutch. Homicide rescues his partner…who then throws Styles through the air with a massive release powerbomb. Cide gets a ladder (makes sense since he has a bad shoulder), but gets it shoved into his face before he can climb for the hanging belt. CRACKERJACK SUPERPLEX from Hernandez to Daniels! That leaves the Fallen Angel out cold on the floor, allowing LAX to work his partner over at a 2-on-1 advantage. With his partner unable to traverse the ropes, it means the bigger Hernandez has to climb for the belt though – putting him in an extremely unfamiliar position. Styles profits as he hangs there – drilling him with the springboard elbow smash to the back. Homicide tries to climb next, using his legs to climb so it doesn’t hurt his shoulder. Styles climbs after him kicking him along the way. ACE CRUSHER OFF THE ULTIMATE X BY HOMICIDE! DOOMSDAY BULLDOG on Daniels! Ten minutes in and Homicide is doing a f*cking amazing job selling that shoulder, presumably because it was in part a legitimate injury. Hernandez tries to climb for the belt…only for Styles to grab his legs and haul him into a FLYING SPLASH on his own partner! Pele Kick next, followed by the Phenom DDT on Cide. DOUBLE suplex neckbreaker from the challengers to Hernandez, but they just can’t create enough of an advantage to go for the belt. Homicide misses a frog splash and eats TOTAL ELIMINATION! FROG SPLASH/BME COMBO! SPIRAL TAP BY AJ! STYLES CLASH OFF THE APRON, THROUGH A TABLE ON HOMICIDE! Konnan interferes, swinging a kendo stick to stop Daniels going for the belt. Daniels climbs up the scaffold to avoid the kendo stick…THEN JUMPS FROM THE CORNER ALL THE WAY TO THE F*CKING BELT! DANIELS WINS! It’s over, and we have new Tag Champions at 15:30
Rating - **** - According to Wikipedia this was voted TNA’s MOTY for 2006, and it’s easy to see why. Plenty of awesome and innovative spots, plus a thrilling story as you wondered whether Homicide would be able to overcome his shoulder injury in order to retain the belts. In the end the experience of AJ and Daniels in this environment won out over the brawling and strength of their opponents. Ultimately I couldn’t go higher on my rating because of the persistent interference from Konnan, and I also felt it was a little one-sided. LAX were seriously over at this point, and I felt they deserved a more – you never felt like they were in a position to win, and the match ended with basically a five minute beatdown of them.
Ultimate X Gauntlet Match
Victory Road 2007 – This is another twist on the traditional Ultimate X format. Despite being called a ‘Gauntlet’ it’s actually more like a mash-up of Ultimate X and the Royal Rumble. Two men started in the ring, to be joined by another eight X-Division stars at one minute intervals. Elimination occurs by being thrown over the top rope, and once all ten have entered a winner is crowd by climbing across the X structure (now a scaffold rather than steel cables) to the wooden ‘X’ hanging above the ring.
Chris Daniels and Jay Lethal are the first two entrants, with the Fallen Angel jumping his opponent from behind to get the match started. #3 is Puma (TJ Perkins under a hood) and he gets a shockingly big pop. TJP looks like a backyarder in a mask because of his t-shirt tan lines though. The entrants are coming so fast there’s almost no real action between them. #4 is Homicide…f*ck me this crowd is awesome, as they go nuts for him too. He drops Black Machismo with the Ace Crusher right before number 5 arrives. It’s Sonjay Dutt, working his ‘Guru’ gimmick, and he soon drops the Notorious 187 with a quebrada. #6 is Petey Williams, dropping Daniels with a slingshot cutter. CANADIAN DESTROYER ON PUMA! He’s eliminated at 05:09, with Homicide then tossing Petey out right after him! Shark Boy is #7, joined by Elix Skipper at #8. I think this was Elix’s big comeback to TNA after almost a year away. He instantly eliminates Sharkie and Sonjay to show he means business. Frankie Kazarian is #9, and the field is completed with the tenth entrant – Senshi (Low Ki). It means wrestlers can now go for the Red X…which Kaz immediately tries. Senshi stops him with the Bite Of The Dragon against the scaffold! Ki starts climbing across to the X but is pulled down by Homicide. Daniels is next to try, but suffers a similar fate at the hands of Kazarian. Lethal, Kaz, Daniels and Senshi ALL CLIMB FOR THE X! They meet in the middle and all trade shots whilst dangling in mid-air. Daniels goes after the Red X again, this time tucking his legs up against the truss to stop people grabbing him. Lethal gives him a few knees in the head…AND LEAVES DANIELS HANGING UPSIDE DOWN! SPRINGBOARD FLIPPING CUTTER BY FRANKIE! Senshi misses the Tidal Krush, and as he hangs from the top rope another three guys all pile in for a TOWER OF DOOM! Skipper and Kazarian benefit by being let alone…and they climb all the way to the top of the X scaffold. BRAWL AT THE TOP OF THE IMPACT ZONE! They realise they can’t actually reach the X from this angle though! Together they drop down to hang next to it…and BOTH collapse to the canvas! Lethal counters Angel’s Wings into the Lethal Combo…before eating Sudden Death from Skipper. Wave Of The Future by Frankie! FLUX CAPACITOR ON HOMICIDE! He barely has time to celebrate before his future-Bad Influence tag partner, Daniels, rams his skull into the scaffold. Lethal and Daniels, the first two into the match, have a race to the X. Skipper pulls Jay down, then double teams him with Senshi as Daniels grabs the X for the win at 18:48. Triple X have reformed!
Rating - *** - The X-Division Royal Rumble was pretty hard to sit through and a complete waste of eight minutes, but once it became an Ultimate X Match this became really good in a hurry. There was just so much talent in the ring at the end, and watching them unload the tanks in this totally unique environment was a lot of fun. In truth I felt the metal scaffold Ultimate X (rather than the cables) hindered them rather than helped them for the most part (it made all the climbing exchanges FAR slower)…but it did lead to the awesome Skipper/Kaz brawl quite literally in the rafters.
Triple X vs LAX – Ultimate X Match
Bound For Glory 2007 – This is a #1 contendership match for the TNA Tag Titles, and opens the show at TNA’s biggest show of the year. In the last match we saw Senshi, Skipper and Daniels reform the Triple X faction (having initially been a group during the weekly ppv era) – and tonight they look to take a step closer to tag gold represented by Ki and Elix. Homicide and Hernandez were babyfaces by this point, so enjoy the majority of the crowd support.
Back to the steel cable X structure for this one. Showing no interest in wrestling their formidable opponents, Triple X try to climb up the scaffolds right away. Hernandez steamrolls Skipper with the slingshot tackle followed by the capture belly to belly. Senshi then f*cking MURDERS him with a flying strike from the outside. Low Ki is fired up for this, and doesn’t hold anything back even on his old friend Homicide. Hernandez doesn’t look pleased at all the stiffness and is seriously violent in the way he tosses Shi across the ring. Argentine backbreaker on Elix next! Homicide STILL has a bad shoulder, but shows his knowledge from previous Ultimate X matches by using his legs to climb. Hanging Dragon from Ki to Hernandez, but he simply isn’t big or strong enough to maintain the hold and gets bashed TO THE FLOOR with a shoulder block. TOPE CON HILO from Cide! Meanwhile Hernandez wraps a Mexican flag around Elix’s neck and gives him a nasty ass biel into the turnbuckles. He goes for the Red X…only to be stopped with a missile dropkick by Skipper. Ki makes his move next, but is dragged down into a LIGERBOMB! SUICIDE DIVE OFF THE SCAFFOLD BY ELIX! One-armed Homicide is the only man left standing, but of course he can’t climb very well because of his shoulder. Skipper goes after him…SO HOMICIDE GIVES HIM A NECKBREAKER OFF THE X! Homicide and Senshi battle on the top rope next…WARRIOR’S WRATH BY KI! He barely has time to get back to his feet from that before eating the Crackerjack suplex from Hernandez. Play Of The Day blocked into a BORDER TOSS TO THE FLOOR! Hernandez wins at 11:55
Rating - **** - In my opinion this is a really underrated Ultimate X match. It had a really different dynamic to some of them, which are all about flips and spills and wild innovations. Whilst this one still had elements of that type of match, at it’s core it was a straight up fight. You had Senshi stiffing the sh*t out of his opponents, Homicide being a heartless bastard, Hernandez tossing the smaller men around like children. It really felt like the competitors were more brutal and dangerous than the X structure itself for once. I also loved the references to Homicide’s previous experiences in Ultimate X, as he didn’t once try to climb the steel cables in the ‘normal’ fashion because of his shoulder injury. Low Ki quit TNA not long after this, and since Daniels was off TV as well it left Elix at a loose end. He floated around for a few more months before disappearing as well making this match pretty much the last hoorah for the Triple X stable.
SIDENOTE – It SHOULD be time for Disc 2 now, but in a classic piece of TNA ineptitude they haven’t included the second DVD in the freaking packaging. I purchased this sealed and brand new from a TNA event for the record. Thankfully most of these matches are pretty old and freely available – so I can still continue with the review, although I won’t have any of the goofy interview segments.
Triple X vs America’s Most Wanted – Steel Cage Match
Turning Point 2004 – Obviously since TNA has the six-sided ring, Steel Cage Matches instantly become more of a spectacle simply because of the unique cage structure required. This was the culmination of a lengthy feud between the Triple X faction (represented by Daniels and Skipper) and AMW – the premier team in TNA during their formative years. The losing team is forced to disband (which, in terms of this DVD, makes the result rather obvious since we’ve already seen multiple matches referring to the split and eventual reunion of the XXX group).
Did Triple X always use this porno DVD menu music for their entrance theme? Apparently we’re going to work this like a standard tag match inside the cage for a while, with Daniels and Storm starting as the legal men. Harris tags and instantly floors Elix with a full nelson slam, handing AMW the early advantage. They drill Daniels face-first into the cage too, busting him open within two minutes of the match starting. Quickly the canvas becomes covered in the Fallen Angel’s blood, so it’s admirable that he defies the blood loss to assist Primetime with an assault on Chris Harris. Daniels SPITS HIS BLOOD IN STORM’S FACE! That was gross, and he pays for it as the Cowboy rams his face into the cage again as he tries to run away. Daniels saves Skipper from the Death Sentence, allowing Primtime to flapjack Harris into the cage. He then uses Chris’ own handcuffs to cuff him to the turnbuckles! Unable to defend himself, Harris has his face grinded against the cage, before XXX turn their backs on him to use the numbers advantage on his partner. Daniels STABS STORM IN THE HEAD with the handcuff key! That busts him open too so it’s only Elix who isn’t bleeding at this point. SPEAR on Daniels, and fans legit beg Storm to grab the key from him to free his tag partner. He defies the beating he’s received and gets the key to Harris…kickstarting a violent AMW comeback. INVERTED SUPLEX INTO THE CAGE from Harris to Skipper! ROLLING SUPLEXES INTO THE CAGE BY STORM! Harris is f*cking caked in blood though, and walks into a belly to belly suplex from Skipper! DEATH SENTENCE ON HARRIS! Triple X rip off AMW’s own finisher but still can’t get the job done. Skipper tries to go to the top of the cage, only to be caught with an AWESOME BOMB BY STORM! ANGEL’S WINGS! STILL 2! This is carnage! Daniels heads upstairs now, perhaps thinking about a BME, but gets chased up the cage by Chris Harris. Elix Skipper climbs up as well! SKIPPER TIGHTROPE WALKS ACROSS THE TOP OF THE CAGE INTO THE BIGGEST FRANKENSTEINER OF ALL TIME! HOLY SH*T! That’s the spot TNA have replayed for more than a decade! Daniels is still upstairs. MACHO ELBOW OFF THE CAGE! Insanely, he then tries to go back up there but this time gets caught by Storm. Harris and Skipper pile in as well…FOUR MAN TOWER OF DOOM! DANIELS GOES FROM THE TOP OF THE CAGE TO THE MAT! None of the four guys can walk properly now. Elix and Harris are the first two up, countering each other’s finishers then braining each other into the steel again. Getting revenge for earlier, Harris smiles as he handcuffs Daniels in the corner! LAST CALL ON ELIX! POWER-PLEX! AMW WIN! They defeat Skipper using XXX’s own finisher at 21:08.
Rating - ****1/2 - Deservedly considered one of the best matches in TNA’s history, and also one of the finest Steel Cage Matches ever. Bloody, violent, exciting and highlighted by one of the most amazing and iconic high spots you’ll ever see with Skipper’s cage walk. Personally I’m not the biggest Cage Match fan, and I HATE it when tag team cage matches try to enforce tag rules – so the fact that this one overcame two of my pet peeves to reach a rating like this should tell you all you need to know about how good it is. You could feel the hatred between them in everything they did, and even knowing the result I was on the edge of my seat by the end.
AJ Styles vs Abyss – Steel Cage Match
Lockdown 2005 – The #1 contendership to the NWA Heavyweight Championship is on the line in this one. Styles is desperate to get to the top of the mountain again, but seems hopelessly outmatched by being trapped inside the Six Sides Of Steel with a monster like Abyss.
SOMERSAULT PLANCHA THROUGH THE DOOR BY AJ! He then slides UNDER the guardrail before springboarding off it into a FLYING HEADSCISSORS TO THE FLOOR! Abyss tries to throw him into the rails again…and this time Styles spring off them INTO THE CROWD! He lands on a wall (seriously) five rows back…THEN DIVES OVER THE FANS INTO AN ELBOW SMASH! Styles is freaking incredible! He takes another wild bump on the concrete by diving at Abyss again, this time crashing and burning into the front row. The Monster takes the fight into the bleachers of the Impact Zone, grabbing him by the throat to hurl him into the back wall of the arena. The bell still hasn’t rung by the way, and Styles is now paying the price for trying to get a jump start on his massive opponent. He has the cage door SLAMMED INTO HIS FACE! The bump AJ took on the floor there was absolutely disgusting. He is bleeding as a result of that much to Abyss’ delight. He starts filling the cage with weapons – then finally enters it. I still haven’t heard a bell, but I’ve started by timer from the moment Abyss entered the ring. He wraps his chain around a top turnbuckle pad…then LEAPFROGS STYLES INTO IT! AJ doesn’t get any time to recover either, because the masked man drags him back up to lawn dart him into the cage. DDT ONTO THE CHAIN by Styles! He desperately tries to mount a comeback, but is swatted away as he tries to spring off the top rope with the Phenom DDT. GERMAN SUPLEX BY AJ! He’s far too weak to execute the Styles Clash though. BLACK HOLE SLAM! Somehow Styles kicks out at 2, although it now looks a formality for Abyss at this point. He covers the canvas in thumbtacks, intending to Black Hole Slam him into them. Styles blocks it…MODIFIED STYLES CLASH INTO THE TACKS! FOR 2! AJ scales the cage…so Abyss THROWS THE REF AT IT! AJ loses his balance and clings to the top for dear life as the Monster advances up towards him brandishing the chain. ABYSS HANGS STYLES OFF THE CAGE WITH THE CHAIN! How sick is that? AJ literally BITES and claws to free himself. SUNSET FLIP BOMB OFF THE CAGE INTO THE TACKS! AJ WINS! It’s all over at 11:34 (plus six or seven minutes brawling beforehand!)
Rating - **** - A fantastic cat and mouse spectacle. In his day Abyss was a remarkable big man worker and this has to stand as one of his finest performances. He was the base for some truly remarkable high spots from AJ, he took a couple of nasty bumps into tacks – and he made compulsive viewing as the dominant monster through the middle portion too. It was tense right to the very conclusion, as you wondered whether Styles could survive what was, at times, an savage beating. With talent this good you really do wonder how TNA managed to screw themselves up quite so much.
Christian Cage vs Abyss – NWA Heavyweight Title Steel Cage Match
Lockdown 2006 – Christian defends the belt here, in the midst of a bitter and personal war between he and the Abyss/James Mitchell duo. Much like AJ at Lockdown 2005, you wonder exactly how Christian will be able to overcome the size differential at close proximity within the Six Sides Of Steel.
I really like Christian’s TNA theme. We don’t get to hear much of it though because Abyss tries to attack him during his entrance. Cage misses a Stinger Splash off the ring steps and collides nastily with the guardrails before the fight spills out into the Impact Zone. It’s almost a scene-for-scene replay of Abyss/AJ from Lockdown 2005 as they brawl to the very back of the arena, then towards one of the walls. Then they re-run the cage door sequence too. Seriously, it’s like watching the same match. The match officially begins when the Monster brings Cage into the ring and hits him with a Ho Train, then press slams him into the steel for 2. The desperate champion goes for a hopeless Unprettier which is easily dusted off for Abyss to crunch his face into the cage again. RUN LIKE AN IDIOT BODY PRESS INTO THE CAGE! That’s not enough apparently, because Abyss scoops him up again and REPEATEDLY powerbombs him into the steel mesh. Christian is defiant and ducks under another assault which this time connects with the referee – who eats canvas hard. TOP ROPE FLYING DDT by Christian! James Mitchell tosses the NWA Title belt and his cane to Abyss, but it’s too late as the masked man walks into the Unprettier for 2. Christian starts to climb…FROG SPLASH OFF THE TOP OF THE CAGE! Still Abyss kicks out! Unprettier attempted again, but this time Abyss counters him into Shock Treatment. He then empties a bag of tacks into the middle of the ring! Cage snaps Mitchell’s cane across his challenger’s torso then hops up to the top of the damn cage again. ABYSS CHOKESLAMS THE REF INTO THE CAGE! It causes the champ to lose his footing and dangle from the top! TOP ROPE SUNSET FLIP BOMB INTO THE TACKS! Abyss is covered in tacks, but still manages to kick out! He staggers to his feet, and ducks Christian trying to hammer him with the title belt to drop him with the Black Hole Slam. James Mitchell hands his charge another bag of thumbtacks…UNPRETTIER IN THE TACKS BY CHRISTIAN! He retains at 14:08
Rating - *** - It was a bit cheeky basically repeating the entire pre-match sequence from the Abyss/AJ match (albeit without any of the awesome stuff Styles did in 2005). But once they got into the cage it got a lot better. I expected Christian to coast through with minimal effort, but he worked damn hard which really helped. He bumped around like a maniac, sold a wicked beating from Abyss before (just like in 2005) Abyss’ fascination with thumbtacks came back to haunt him.
Christian curtails his victory celebrations to go after James Mitchell. Unsurprisingly that isn’t a fantastic decision…and he gets his lights punched out by Abyss with a chain wrapped round his fist. The Monster then uses the chain to hang him from the cage. More from this feud later…
Abyss vs Jeff Hardy – Full Metal Mayhem Match
Against All Odds 2005 – Back to 2005 again for TNA’s version of the TLC Match. Once again it’s Abyss that features (he basically seems to be employed by TNA solely to work their hardcore gimmick matches), and this time he takes on one of the pioneers of the TLC Match in Jeff Hardy. The winner becomes #1 contender to the NWA Heavyweight Championship. There are two envelopes hung above the ring – one contains the #1 contendership contract, but the other is empty.
It takes less than a minute for Hardy to bring chairs into play, opening one up as a platform and using it for a POETRY IN MOTION TO THE FLOOR! He tries another chair-assisted Poetry In Motion inside the ring…but this time sees it countered with a mid-air chair shot by Abyss. The Monster starts building a stack of tables on the floor, but takes his eyes off Jeff who is crawling into the ring with a ladder. Hardy saves his skin with Whisper In The Wind…then runs ACROSS a ladder (as Abyss holds it) for a chair-enforced dropkick. He sets up a ladder seesaw…then LEG DROPS THE F*CKING LADDER to catapult it into Abyss’ head. BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR BY ABYSS! Jeff is so injured after that he barely has any strength left to even swing a chair in his opponent’s direction. He does manage to execute a Twist Of Fate on the entrance ramp though, just in front of a table ominously positioned in front of the big screen. JEFF STARTS CLIMBING THE SET! SWANTON BOMB OFF THE BIG SCREEN THROUGH A TABLE! That neutralises Abyss, allowing Hardy to return to the ring and fill it with ladders. There’s actually a good reason for Jeff hauling one of those mega-ladders into play as well, since it’s big enough that he can use it to reach both envelopes. Hardy grabs the first envelope but finds it to be empty…so he moves to the second. Abyss drags him down and literally HURLS him through the table stack on the floor! Abyss grabs the contract and wins the match at 15:40.
Rating - **** - A rather generous 4*, but large portions were really rather good. None of it was particularly innovative but they moved things along at a real pace, kept the sloppiness to a minimum and most of the big set piece spots were really awesome. The big table bump at the end was a bit weird and possibly not as intense as they had planned...although to defend it, it really put over how powerful Abyss is and therefore exactly how much of an underdog Jeff was by entering this environment with him.
Christian Cage vs Abyss – NWA Heavyweight Title Full Metal Mayhem Match
Sacrifice 2006 – We saw these two at war over the NWA Title earlier in the compilation. Christian survived nearly being drowned in his own pool and emerged victorious from the Six Sides Of Steel, but simply couldn’t shake off the dogged pursuit of The Monster. Can Abyss avenge the loss from Lockdown? Can Cage use all his experience as a pioneer of the TLC Match to finally put Abyss away?
Cage goes right for the Unprettier, and when Abyss fights out of that he hits the ropes for a SPEAR! The champion is looking to finish it early apparently, but can’t get it done and gets himself sandwiched against the turnbuckles with Abyss’ running with a stick up his ass body avalanche. Abyss makes a move for a ladder…only to get it seesawed into his face. The Monster gets a measure of revenge by throwing the same ladder back into Christian’s face moments later. Cage is pissed…and PUNTS him in the nuts then bashes his face into a steel chair. He makes a move for the belt, and also shows his experience in this environment by landing on his FEET when Abyss tries to shove him off the ladder. BELLY TO BELLY INTO THE LADDER by Abyss! The champion is left in serious pain but rather than go after the belt Abyss opts to set up a few tables at ringside…as well as one inside the ring. He takes so long with them that Cage is able to recover and drop the ladder on top of him. Christian goes for the frog splash…AND EATS LADDER! To the floor they go, Abyss wildly brandishing his chain…only for Christian to grab it and get some payback for Lockdown by hanging him from the ring with it! ABYSS USES THE CHAIN TO THROW CAGE THROUGH TWO TABLES! There was a random chair on top of one of the tables as well, which Christian looks REALLY pissed off about. Abyss makes his move for the belt – finding his way blocked by Christian climbing up the other side. The ladder eventually collapses causing them both to wipe out against the top rope. James Mitchell climbs into the ring and orders Abyss to cover the canvas of the ring with tacks. Christian isn’t waiting to see what they have planned…UNPRETTIER ON THE LADDER! ROCK BOTTOM IN THE TACKS FOR FATHER JAMES! SOLO CON-CHAIR-TO against a table! Abyss is out cold, and Cage has the belt in his grasp…but he turns round. FROG SPLASH OFF THE LADDER TO PUT ABYSS THROUGH A TABLE! Now Cage retains the title at 16:10
Rating - **** - I really liked this one. It wasn’t a particularly fast-paced match and was far from Christian’s finest hour in the TLC environment, but from minute one this felt like a genuine grudge match. It felt like more of a brawl within the confines of a Ladder Match – which definitely played to their strengths since neither one is a particularly skilled high flier. The last few minutes, with Christian getting his final revenge on Abyss and Mitchell were molten hot.
Rhino vs Abyss vs Sabu vs Jeff Hardy – Monster’s Ball Match
Bound For Glory 2005 – The Monster’s Ball is one of the more sadistic creations I’ve ever heard of in pro wrestling. At it’s core it’s nothing but a falls count anywhere hardcore match, but the original premise was also that the competitors (traditionally four of them) are shut in isolation for 24 hours before the match without light, water or food – thus making them super aggressive (and hungry) when they compete.
Hardy hops and skips through his usual entrance, barely selling the ‘isolation’ aspect of the gimmick at all. The Ultimate X structure is also set up interestingly. Sabu starts quickest by clocking Jeff with a chair then FLYING at Rhino with a somersault plancha. POETRY IN MOTION TO THE FLOOR BY HARDY! Sabu and Rhino are in the crowd…and Sabu is bleeding heavily from a cut over his eye. Jeff and Abyss head out there too, with Hardy flying off a balcony into a double axehandle smash. TRIPLE JUMP SPRINGBOARD SUICIDE DIVE TO THE FLOOR BY SABU! Shock Treatment from Abyss to Jeff gets 2. Sabu collapses to his knees, allowing Jeff to opportunistically take advantage and bounce off him into the traditional Poetry In Motion. ARABIAN FACEBUSTER on Jeff! Rhino, himself bleeding from the face, steamrolls through everyone with some sickening Singapore cane shots. Abyss counters the Gore with a CHOKESLAM ON A CHAIR! Hardy has scooted to the outside and pulled a ladder from under the ring…which Abyss promptly snatches from him and starts ramming into his ribcage. Their fight spills up the aisle and then underneath the entrance stage…with Hardy repeatedly swinging a chair into the Monster’s face. TRIPLE JUMP ARABIAN FACEBUSTER THROUGH A F*CKING TABLE FROM SABU TO RHINO! And Jeff Hardy is climbing a ladder ONTO THE F*CKING SET! SWANTON BOMB OFF THE SET THROUGH ABYSS AND TWO TABLES ON THE DAMN FLOOR! THAT IS INSANE! That effectively rules those two out of the match surely? Inside the ring Rhino breaks out of the Arabian Clutch and smashes poor Sabu about with the kendo stick again. It’s nothing old Sabu hasn’t experienced before though, and he simply brains the Man Beast with a chair then hits him with the TRIPLE JUMP MOONSAULT…for 2! TOP ROPE ARABIAN FACEBUSTER! Abyss and Hardy are somehow crawling back into the fight – bringing tables with them. I swear Sabu is smiling. He probably isn’t seconds later when Abyss catches him going for Air Sabu and TOSSES HIM THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! GOOOOOOOORE THROUGH A TABLE FROM RHINO TO ABYSS! SECOND ROPE RHINO DRIVER ON JEFF! Rhino wins a freaking psychotic match at 11:46
Rating - **** - How is it possible that I’ve never seen this match before? That was an amazing display of hardcore stunt show theatrics – including one of the most insane high spots I’ve ever seen in Jeff’s dive off the set. Everyone had their part to play here – Abyss was the big monster that Jeff used as a base to work most of his stuff on, Rhino lived up to his ‘War Machine’ moniker and was absolutely brutal in all his brawling spots…and what more needs to be said about Sabu? Years and years past his prime he still does this to his body – and being honest this was the best I’ve seen him work in a LONG time. Aside from one slightly scruffy Arabian Facebuster he hit everything as clean as a whistle – and was hero worshipped by fans in the Impact Zone. Together they created a stunning twelve minutes of non-stop violence that pretty much had me marking out from start to finish. Maybe I’m over-rating this a tad, but I loved it.
Abyss vs Brother Runt vs Raven vs Samoa Joe – Monster’s Ball Match
Bound For Glory 2006 – More Monster’s Ball action now, with the sadistic genius Raven, the diminutive lunatic Brother Runt (Spike Dudley) and, rather oddly, the Samoan Submission Machine Samoa Joe joining Abyss for the violence. Since this is now the SIXTH successive match on this DVD set featuring Abyss I’m slightly burned out on his sh*t so I’m hoping the other three carry the brunt of the offence. Interestingly, Jake Roberts is the special guest referee – and Abyss is scared of his snake.
All three of his opponents make a beeline for Joe, who at this point was still undefeated in TNA. Once he’s been dumped the ECW-alum of Raven and Spike start teaming up on Abyss. Runt actually sets up the chair for the Raven drop toehold! Joe tries to make his way back into the match, only to get chokeslammed by The Monster before he can inflict any real damage. PRESS SLAM INTO THE CROWD ON RUNT! Then the FANS chuck Spike into the side of the ring! CORKSCREW PESCADO NAILED BY JOE! He and Raven brawl up the ramp…before Raven whacks the Samoan off the ramp through a table on the floor. Spike is climbing up the set with Abyss meanwhile! CHOKESLAM OFF A SCAFFOLD ONTO THE STAGE from Abyss to Brother Runt! The idiotic TNA editors then cut to a shot of Jake Roberts standing around…and miss Abyss hitting a DIVING ELBOW OFF THE SCAFFOLD! On the other side of the entrance ramp Raven drives the hapless Joe through another table then heads back to the ring…right into an Earthquake Splash by Abyss for 2. Joe hits the ring to pepper the masked man with strikes then drop him with a powerslam on a chair. Jake’s counting is TERRIBLE by the way. James Mitchell passes the back of tacks to Abyss…but Jake ‘The Snake’ doesn’t seem to want him to use them. Maybe, after all these years, he’s actually concerned about the welfare of his snake? Raven and Jake then get into a pointless little argument as well! Thumbtacks are poured all over the ring…but Abyss barely has chance to get up before Joe SENTON SPLASHES HIM FACE-FIRST INTO THEM! CHOKE! Raven tries to break it with chairs…but Joe NO SELLS! Jake Roberts comes back for revenge on Raven…and hits him with the DDT! MUSCLE BUSTER ON RAVEN! Joe wins and remains undefeated at 11:08
Rating - *** - Not a patch on the 2005 Bound For Glory Monster’s Ball, but as a vehicle to make Samoa Joe look as tough as possible this was decent. He took plenty of punishment, which makes sense considering he’s in a hardcore match with three hardcore veterans, but in the end survived going through multiple tables, took whatever everyone else threw at him…and wound up winning without using a single weapon (other than the fortunate placement of Abyss’ tacks). Raven was starting to look seriously old by this point, and the less said about Jake Roberts’ rather shambolic appearance the better. Still, there was plenty to like about this.
Christian Cage vs Frankie Kazarian – Ladder Match
Genesis 2007 – After all the bizarre stipulations and utter mayhem the rest of this compilation has contained it seems rather strange to end it with a straight-up Ladder Match. This one is the final of the 2007 Fight For The Right Tournament, with the winner receiving a shot at the TNA World Title. It’s also actually technically a rematch of the final after their first match was thrown out due to interference on Impact.
No idea why TNA felt like Frankie’s name was so complicated it needed to be shortened to ‘Kaz’. Cage marches to the centre of the ring to make the point that the Ladder Match is his gimmick and that his opponent is out of his depth. Kazarian steps up to meet him with a spinning heel kick then goes straight after a ladder. That’s an error, Christian isn’t anywhere near beaten down enough – and he exits the ring after him to assault Kaz on the floor. SPRINGBOARD PLANCHA THROUGH A LADDER ON THE FLOOR by Kazarian! That makes a mess of Cage’s face, bloodying it in at least two places. A ladder is bridged between the guardrail and the apron next, allowing Christian to boot Frankie down onto it. TOP ROPE FROG SPLASH ON THE BRIDGED LADDER! Covered in blood, Cage may just have inflicted the decisive blow in this match. Kazarian seems on the brink of defeat but somehow whips Cage FACE-FIRST into a ladder! CHRISTIAN THROWS IT BACK AT HIM! He is enraged at Frankie’s refusal to stay down in ‘his’ match, and now catapults him face-first into a ladder. Frankie grabs another ladder and swings it at his opponent so hard he actually falls out of the ring. He makes a move for the contract…but again his inexperience in Ladder Matches is played up as he doesn’t position the ladder properly. Christian climbs up after him for the REVERSE DDT OFF THE LADDER! Incredibly Kazarian isn’t dead and grabs Cage for a monkey flip into a ladder. REBOUND LEG DROP ONTO THE LADDER! And then he picks the hardware up to SUPLEX it into Captain Charisma’s face! Frankie climbs a ladder in the corner of the ring…AND MISSES A FLYING LEG DROP INTO ANOTHER LADDER! That looked absolutely brutal! Christian makes it worse by smashing a ladder right into the small of his back too! Cage goes for the contract…SPRINGBOARD MISSILE DROPKICK BY KAZ! The contract actually falls off at this point, but Mike Tenay confirms it’s the clipboard that needs to be collected. AJ Styles and Tomko are at ringside supporting Christian, who doesn’t seem too happy about it. FRANKIE SHOVES CAGE OFF A LADDER AT THEM! And amazingly he springs on the ladder – back to the middle of the ring to grab the contract at 15:14
Rating - **** - What a fantastic Ladder Match this was. Granted it got a little silly at the end with the contract falling off the clipboard, and the unwanted interference of AJ and Tomko…but what they did before that was really special. I loved the story they told, with Christian as the veteran trying to intimidate Frankie who simply doesn’t have the same experience. Watching Kaz make rookie errors (in kayfabe) yet continually innovate and show real tenacity in refusing to lay down or give up was really entertaining. Both guys took some incredible bumps too. Christian has never been the biggest of bumpers in the Ladder Match environment, but that frog splash on the bridged ladder looked absolutely brutal. I think TNA fans voted this in their Top 5 Matches Of 2007…with good reason
Tape Rating - **** - Getting compilation DVD’s from TNA normally turns out to be quite an enjoyable experience. They’ve always had a great roster, and had the ability to crank out great matches. It’s just their booking and general creative direction that has been a chore to sit through. Granted this DVD will leave you somewhat sick of watching Abyss and Christian Cage hit the same spots in every match, or give you a headache listening to Tenay and West shout at the ‘guys in the truck’ for one reason or another…but on the whole it was a really strong set of matches. Nothing is bad, you get to see some unique things that don’t happen anywhere else other than TNA, and you see some really iconic matches for the promotion. If gimmick matches and crazy displays of offensive insanity are you’re your thing then this is an easy recommend. 90% of these matches are on TNA’s Youtube channel if you want to go check them out for free...
Top 5 Matches
5) LAX vs AJ Styles/Christopher Daniels (**** - No Surrender 2006)
4) Rhino vs Sabu vs Abyss vs Jeff Hardy (**** - Bound For Glory 2005)
3) Kurt Angle vs Christian vs Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles vs Chris Harris (****1/2 - Slammiversary 2007)
2) America’s Most Wanted vs Triple X (****1/2 - Turning Point 2004)
1) Petey Williams vs AJ Styles vs Chris Sabin (****1/2 - Final Resolution 2005)