C.R. sent this report in:
TNA House Show Results
3/14- Wheeling, WV
I’d say there was about 600 to 700 people there. It’s a good showing for a small venue.
Before I begin, I have to give credit where credit is due. Don West does an OUTSTANDING job in his new role. He was outside of the arena handing out programs, shaking hands with fans, walking up and down flights of steps to get programs to people. He also did a great job shilling the latest merchandise and promoting the autographs. I almost died laughing at some of the stuff he said when he promoted Earl Hebner’s new shirt (yes, folks. Earl has a shirt now): “His wife left him. He’s home broke. He doesn’t have money for the hotel tonight. Etc.”
Now, onto the show:
1)X-Division Title: Amazing Red vs. Doug Williams vs. Kaz.
Winner: Doug Williams
Note: I was impressed with some of the dives and triple threat maneuvers they were pulling off at the show. I thought they would phone in on that stuff, but they didn’t. Good opener.
2) Dr. Stevie vs. Rhyno
Winner: Rhyno
Note: It was a basic wrestling match between the two. Stevie got a bWo chant when he first walked out. Some things will never change, thankfully.
3. TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship
BP vs. Sarita/Taylor
Winners: BP
Note: A lot of butt-spanking going on in this match. I thought the botox was going to come leaking out of their faces at some point.
4. TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Abyss vs. A.J. Styles
Winner: Abyss (DQ)
Note: Abyss came out to the new American Made remix. A.J. came out with his original jacket hood attire. The match was great. My friends and I had to teach the rest of the building that when someone does a chop (like A.J. did 12 times in the match), you are supposed to say “WOOOOO!” A.J. knocked down the ref and hit Abyss with the TNA title causing the disqualification. Abyss hulked up after, the fingerpoint of doom, and the Blackhole Slam followed up.
Intermission: Autographs from The Beautiful People/ Backstage Passes Honored
5. TNA Leg… I mean GLOBAL Championship: Rob Terry vs. Brutus Magnus.
Winner: BIG BALCO Rob Terry
Note: Magnus got on the mic and did the typical British heel work (Americans have no respect, singing God Save The Queen). Terry came out to Click, Click Boom by Saliva. Why? Beats me. The match itself sucked. My section kept making references on how the match should have been brought to us by BALCO, making needle gestures to our arms everytime Terry looked at us, and the best quote from me: “Batista wants his gimmick back.” Quick 1 minute match.
6. Desmond Wolfe vs. The Pope
Winner: The Pope
Note: Good match with a lot of technical wrestling exhibition by Wolfe. Rollup by Pope won the match. Got a huge ovation when he started pointing to the crowd to get their attention (think DX Survivor Series 2006).
MAIN EVENT: Beer Money vs. Jeff Jarrett/Kurt Angle
Winners: Jarrett and Angle
Note: All four people got a good ovation coming in… Angle was greeted like a hometown hero from my perspective. Comedic stuff dominated the match at the beginning: Earl Hebner got into a fight with James Storm; Jeff Jarrett tore Beer Money’s shirts up, wiped his and Earl’s rear ends with em, and threw them back at Beer Money who acted like the shirt was a hot potato. Storm and Roode played the role of the Ambiguously Gay Duo for ten minutes: Storm was exposed and Roode ran for the curtain and peaked his head through to see if it was ok to come out. Storm and Roode also did a Tree of Woe skit where one was tied up and the other was put in a suggestive position on top fo the other. When the man hanging upside down came loose, it set up a compromising position best suited for Will and Grace. Match was great once it actually started. Olympic Slam and Stroke nailed at same time for win.
After the Show: Angle took the mic and thanked all of us for coming and supporting TNA. He also said how great it was to be back in the Tri-State area. At the end, Angle’s very young son and daughter came to the ring with Angle mentioning that his son will be a future Olympic Gold Medalist. He stayed in the ring to do photos and stuff.
In summary, this was the best experience I’ve had at a wrestling show period, and I’ve been to 2 WWE PPVs, a TV taping, and a house show. I definitely recommend seeing TNA LIVE. I felt like I got my full money’s worth from the experience.