My World with Jeff Jarrett - Bound for Glory 2007 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

This week on My World we are kicking off a special month of October talking all things TNA. 

Let’s get into it Jeff! The biggest show of the year - the Wrestlemania for TNA - from 15 years ago…and oh man is there a lot to discuss…

The build to Sting & Kurt Angle in the main event is on starting on September 13th and it’s all built around Karen in the beginning. Was this the emergence of her character?

Coming right out of No Surrender with Jay Lethal scoring the biggest win of his career by pinning Kurt Angle…he loses to Christopher Daniels on TV to setup a title match at BFG. Jeff - does this just kill all of Jay’s momentum?

Samoa Joe vs. Christian’s build towards BFG starts with Christian, Tomko & Styles cutting a promo on Matt Morgan for failing to save Christian from Joe’s attack at No Surrender. Morgan and Joe clear the ring of the heels and Morgan announces he’ll be the enforcer at the pay-per-view. It seems silly to look at this now but it almost comes across like AJ is a bit player. Was it tough to get him going in 07 with all this new talent coming in?

Jim Cornette then announces a secret opponent for Christian as Junior Fatu…or Rikishi as he’s known. You’ve already got a ton of talent not being utilized…did Rikishi really add anything at this point?

From the Observer: “Junior Fatu hasn't signed a deal. They've been trying to get him in Full-time, but he thus far only committed to the tapings last week. He wanted to use the "Kishi" name he's been using overseas and on indies, but TNA didn't want to risk WWE firing a nasty letter to them.”

How worried are you about copyright infringement at this time?

The main event was a submission cage match between Kurt Angle and Abyss and if Abyss loses he would have to leave TNA. Abyss gets an ankle lock on Kurt when Mesias comes from under the ring and chokes Abyss with barbed wire then hits him in the head with a chair before he gives him a DDT on a chair and uses broken glass to cut him up. Was there any thought on repackaging Chris Park or was the plan to have him be the monster Abyss against the monster Mesias?

The match ended in a no-contest by the way. Because how else would it end right?

It is noticeable that Mesias doesn’t have Father James Mitchell with him and well…from the Torch: “James Mitchell didn’t appear on camera. He was at the tapings, but was rushed to the hospital after having an allergic reaction to catering food. He was sweating heavily and had a rapid heart beat and feared he was having a heart attack. He was released after an overnight stay in the hospital. Mesias had to make his first two TV appearances without Mitchell’s presence. The announcers didn’t draw attention to it or try to explain it... “

What do you remember of all this? Was it an issue to not have Mitchell be a part of this?

From the Observer: “There is talk about using Kevin Nash as a wrestler. Ultimately it's Jarrett's call. Dutch Mantel is against it, feeling he's burned the company on too many jobs in the past. Russo, with his usual not caring about any history, is the one pushing for it because Nash was a star in the late 90s.”

Is this where the battle lines were drawn? Did you think Big Kev still had something in him?

Next week on Impact - September 20th - Mesias destroys Eric Young and Shark Boy before backing down from Rhino. Did you need to cool him off that soon?

Ron Killings beats AJ Styles when Pacman spray paints AJ in the face and Killings hits an axe kick. Was Pacman easy to work with when it came to this type of stuff?

Sting takes out a restraining order on Karen…so she wouldn’t get involved. Power move!

Christian beat Rik…I mean Junior Fatu…when AJ interferes and helps before they both get a stinkface for their troubles. Tomko comes in for a beat down before Joe makes the save. Samoa Joe & Rikishi as a tag team would’ve been interesting…

At the September 27th show Team 3D defeated Shark Boy & Sonjay, the Motor City Machine Guns defeat Jimmy Rave & Lance Hoyt before they’re attacked by Team 3D and finally Sting & Mesias brawl in the main event segment. Kurt attacks Sting before Rhino runs in to go after Mesias which leads to Abyss returning. So much going on Jeff.

From the Observer: “Several TNA wrestlers including Homicide, Hernandez, Son jay Dutt, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley have talked of leaving. Management has asked all of them to stay until the two hour shows start, saying they'll get more television time at that point. A few of them were interested in working Japan. It's also questionable how long Ron Killings will be staying. He's only committed through the Pacman Jones angle, which ends at Bound for Glory when Jones' contract expires.

Jeff Jarrett is going to make another play with the Tennessee Titans to allow Jones to wrestle and actually do something at Bound for Glory. If Jones is allowed to wrestle, believe it or not, there is at least a decent shot they would extend his deal. If he's not allowed to wrestle, I don't see an extension to the deal that ends at the Atlanta show.

The TV commercials for Bound for Glory are built around Pacman Jones, who at this point is booked for a tag title match and still by court order not allowed to make any physical contact. They call him "The most talked about man in professional wrestling today," and push him as the biggest star on the show. I guess when the commercials were first made, there was a lot of talk from the first media storm, but it's down to nothing now. In fact, the only reason people aren't furious and calling that TNA ripped them off on the last PPV with Jones, billed in a match, and not having any physical contact in the match is because nobody bought the show or cared about him in the first place.”

Were you getting hit with this daily about talent wanting to leave? Between LAX, Sonjay, MCMG and now Ron Killings who you’ve invested in with a major celebrity with him…that has to be frustrating does it not?

How much are you negotiating with the Titans? Was Pacman up for anything? Do you agree with Meltzer’s assessment there regarding Pacman?

With all the talent issues - there’s this from the Observer: “Dawn Marie, who is trying to get back into shape after having a kid and being almost 37, is also talking with TNA. There may be personal issues there with ex-boyfriend Pat Kenney as an agent, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Dixie Carter and Dawn Marie have been friends ever since WWE fired Dawn Marie while she was pregnant and at the time the talk was that if she wanted to return, she would have a job in TNA.”

What do you remember of this? WWE firing Dawn while pregnant somehow leads her & Dixie to be friends? Is this something that Dixie brings to you? Was it ever seriously considered?

Jeff - we are now officially past the final 1 hour episode of TNA on Spike before the move to two hours. How much of a relief is that for you? How much of a drastic change is that for you in the creative process?

The last 1 hour TNA does not do well in the ratings. “TNA Impact on 9/27 did a 0.91 rating and 1.2 million viewers, a substantial (15%) drop from what had been their regular viewership level. The show did a 0.56 in Males 18-34 and 0.78 in Males 35-49.”

This is not a good sign before the big move. I’m sure there might’ve been stuff on TV that hurt but still - is this concerning?

Before we get to the 2 hour Impacts - the Torch has a ton of stuff I want to ask you about:

“TNA will have a two–night tour of Mexico in December. Sting will be on the weekend shows in Monterrey on December 14 and 15. TNA also has upcoming international tour dates on November 15 and 17 Tel Aviv, Israel”

Are these sold shows? In relation with AAA for the Mexico tour? Was Sting paid extra or part of the deal for these?

Where did the Israel shows come from?

Also from the Torch: “TNA announced a new college program called TNA U. They are looking for college students who are “die–hard TNA Wrestling fans” and want to work for TNA to help the company grow. What sounds like an internship is open to any college student with the incentive to receive “special perks while gaining experience in the sports entertainment field.”

Look at you trying for cheap labor Jeff!

From the Observer:

“TNA taped its first set of two-hour shows for both 10/4 and 10/11 and 9/24 and 9/25 respectively. If there was big news, it was that there were no big surprises. Instead of the two tapings being three and ten days ahead as they had been doing, they are working on a cycle of taping ten and 16 days ahead. In 2008, they will go to three and nine, but they are going every other Monday and Tuesday until the holiday season, and during December the plan seems to be to have a three-week taping break, and coming back in 2008 with taping closer to the date. There are still hopes of a big signing of one of the obvious candidates, and while there is no indication this will happen, they can always do a last minute cut-in video that they film in secret closer to the debut date like they did when signing Kurt Angle. There is also likely a lot of backstage stuff that wasn't taped in front of the people.

They did six matches in two hours and it was paced like the TNA one-hour show, but twice as long and really was no different. It appeared lots of time was left over for interviews and the talking-to-wrestling quotient is said to not be any different. They book the two hours similar to Raw, with the idea of the second biggest segment hitting the 10 p.m. quarter and then putting the main event on at 10:30 p.m. or so. ”

The big rumor at the time was TNA was making a play for Chris Jericho. Did you get close to that ever happening?

Was the thought process to continue to produce the way you were just in longer segments?

Was that the idea to base it around how Raw was putting its TV together?

Were you hoping to have someone sign to make a big splash regarding the two hour move?

Here’s an issue that comes along with taping a lot of TV and having your talent work elsewhere. Mesias suffers a knee injury during a ladder match in Mexico and he’s out for some time. How deflating is it when you find out and how do you find out?

Dixie does a media conference call to highlight the two hour move and there are some highlights.

—Regarding TNA's drug policy: "We have an active drug policy in place that prohibits use of all illegal drugs... That of course includes steroids." She said they review it regularly and consider it "a legal and moral responsibility."

Was this accurate at the time in 07?

—Regarding competing on Monday nights with Raw: "That would be an ultimate goal, obviously." She said they wanted to go Mondays, but Spike TV wanted Thursday nights to brand it. She said all of the timeslot changes for them would be a death knell for many shows, but they've succeeded.

Was it the ultimate goal?

—Regarding any free agents being talked with at this time: "There are several guys out there on the market who could do exciting things with TNA," she said. Regarding tomorrow night's show, what struck her is that the two hour this week features all of the guys who brought them to the dance. She said its a testament to those who helped them get to this point.

Does Rikishi count?

—Regarding criticism of the creative process and what she in particular would like to see changed: She said she wants to see longer matches and the ability to develop more characters. She said there are so many talented guys on the roster who deserve time. She said it was rushed in the past, but if you slowed things down, they couldn't feature enough matches and storylines. "This two hour format will allow us to spread our wings and do what we do best."

Regarding criticism, she said she looks at the number of people watching TNA today versus two years ago— 800,000 growing to 1.5 million over two years. "That is a gigantic success story for any television show in any market."

This is hard to disagree with right?

—Regarding the status of the X Division now being featured more: "When we started TNA, we had that two hour PPV format and we had the time to really get in there and allow the X Division stars to do what they do best. They did so well, some have moved beyond the X Division... We're growing new stars right now. This format will allow us to get back to what that division does the best."

She cited the Kurt Angle vs. Jay Lethal match, and said it's one of the best matches they've seen in a long time. "It was beautifully done and tells us a little bit about where we're going with the X Division."

Keep this in mind Jeff…

On the first two hour show Rhino beats Black Reign when Raven’s interference backfires, they beat down Rhino when Abyss comes in for the save, then Havok and Jim Mitchell come out (likely taking the spot of the injured Mesias) and then Sting makes the final save. Sting is involved in this while at the same time Kurt Angle is stalking his son in California. What’s up with that?

Team 3D beats up the whole X division - well mainly Sonjay Dutt, Shark Boy and oh the champion Jay Lethal, before calling out Ron Killings & Pacman Jones. Man that whole 2 hours to give the X division a push is working out well huh?

You begin the push for the women with the launch of the Knockouts title with Gail Kim beating Jackie Moore with Roxxi & Christy Hemme at ringside. Somehow that leads to VKM, Lance Hoyt, Jimmy Rave, James Storm all having to break the women up after a brawl. Looking back the Knockouts division wasn’t what it will come to be but you had some workers in there didn’t you?

Killings & Jones beat Team 3-D via DQ to keep the tag titles and I’ll let the Observer take it away:

“For a long time, the idea was for Jones to do his first television match on the first two-hour show. Of course by this point, nobody cares, but the idea stayed intact. Jeff Jarrett was making an attempt to go through the Tennessee Titans again this past week to get them to agree to let Jones do more. Jones was in the ring but never touched so Jarrett didn't get far. VKM interfered for the DQ and they attacked Killings. Pacman grabbed a chair and ran VKM to the back. This allowed 3-D to beat up Killings until the Steiners returned to make the save.”

How much time were you spent working on Pacman and his situation? Did you really think you were going to make a deal?

When you fail to do it - it’s time to move on from Pacman at this point at Bound for Glory right?

You got a lot of old school guys involved in this. Bubba, D-Von, Billy, Dogg … they were all professional about Pacman and knowing their role right?

Also from the Observer: “In almost comedy, they did another gauntlet (Rumble) match. It was a ten man match with people entering every minute. It was the same type of get everyone on television match where nobody can get over. The only angle was furthering the Kaz/Ms. Brooks/Robert Roode scenario. The last two were Young and Storm, and it turned into a singles match with Young scoring the pin.”

What say you? Does anyone have a chance of getting over with this type of match?

“TV main event was Samoa Joe & Junior Fatu & Homicide & Hernandez over Christopher Daniels & Senshi & Christian Cage & A.J. Styles. Match was 15:00 long and excellent live. It will be hurt on television because of the commercial breaks, but that's a reality in doing a long match on Spike. Hernandez did a big dive over the top. Joe pinned Senshi clean with a muscle buster.”

When you look back at the first 2 hour TV show for TNA…and I told you this was the main event. Would you have believed me?

So after the show there’s some news of note from the Observer:

“Behind-the-scenes the conflict between Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett, basically for Dixie Carter's ear, affections, or whatever you call it, grew significantly over the past week. There was a big company party thrown by Spike TV on 9/24, after the first two-hour taping, with everyone drinking champagne and celebrating. Pacman Jones had 500 $1 bills and was making it rain money, which nobody said anything about because who needs to be in the line of fire, but it showed that any idea he's learned anything or changed is out the window.

The main thing was behind-the scenes. Jarrett's allies, most notably B.G. James, were talking to various wrestlers pretty much wanting them to choose sides. A few people have mentioned feeling there is a pressure to pick sides, and in doing so, you have a 50% chance of screwing yourself. A few people have their loyalties to Jarrett, like B.G. James, Jeremy Borash, Abyss, Dutch Mantel and others. The rest want to pick the side they think wins at the end. It is described as the Angle family and Russo against Jarrett and Dutch Mantel, both when it comes to booking, but also long-term power. Kurt has made no bones over the fact he wants to be running the company with Dixie, which puts him in direct conflict with Jarrett, who is a minority owner and has steered the ship from day one. The end result here is hard to predict, because there is no way Kurt is going to be either removed from the company for any reason, nor removed from the top, which is normally the goal in a conflict like this.

There are also conflicts between the sides and different opinions over who to push. Angle himself wants to go with younger talent, and Jarrett has always had the mentality that experience and knowledge in working and not flying moves is what counts, and the veterans are the ones with that experience. Plus, he thinks that people who have had years of national television have the star power, because the young guys don't move the ratings. But the flip side is that people who aren't pushed never move the ratings so it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. But they have pushed Joe, maybe not as smart as they should have and he's never been given the run as the top guy, but he is a top guy, and Joe is fresh, a good talker, great worker and really never proved to be a ratings mover. Of course, neither have Sting or Angle after their first few appearances. Jarrett has been behind Junior Fatu and Team 3-D, because they've had the years of TV, being in the first two-hour show main events.

However, Jarrett sees the X Division guys as undercard filler, but Russo was the mentality of all the run-in finishes, even though Angle, his ally, likes cleaner finishes.”

Jeff - this is the first it’s been reported and the first we’ve gotten to discuss it. What say you?

Well just 4 days later… from the Observer: “Kurt Angle was arrested at his residence on Sept. 28, according to police in Pennsylvania. A woman driving by a local bar reported to police that an SUV was driving erratically while leaving the bar. Police traced the license plate number to Angle and went to his residence to administer a sobriety test. Police say they smelled liquor on Angle's breath and he had anti—inflammatory pills in his mouth as they questioned him. He was then taken to a local hospital where he refused a blood test. The refusal led to an automatic one—year suspension of Angle's license. According to the local CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, Angle will be required to attend a court hearing on "charges of driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance" and careless driving.”

When you’re told this after all the power play stuff…how good does this make you look?

Were you worried about your world champion being arrested?

How much of this is a PR nightmare in your mind considering we’re just months from the Chris Benoit double murder…this isn’t the best look right before the biggest pay-per-view of the year am I right?

Any thoughts on taking the title off of him before the pay-per-view?

“TNA Impact's first two hour show on 10/4 did a 1.06 rating and 1 .5 million viewers, so Impact outdrew Ultimate Fighter. The show did a 0.83 in Males 18-34 and 0.77 in Males 35-49, as well as a 1 .05 in male teenagers. That's the big difference between TNA & UFC, as UFC does not pull numbers from teenagers, but does double the numbers in 18-34.”

How much of a success is this for the company? To outdraw Ultimate Fighter…it’s a success right?

The second show is taped the next day for 10/11 and it drew 400 people and Meltzer would speculate that doing straight nights from the same location was going to make it tough to draw. Was that sort of a reality check for you?

The show features Jay Lethal beating Havok with Daniels watching at ringside and they have a stare down.

Kurt & Karen are fighting in the ring when a Sting dummy is dropped from the ceiling and freaks out Kurt. Was too much focus on the Kurt & Karen story and not enough on Sting?

Kaz comes out to save Traci Brooks from Robert Roode treating her like shit…talk about booking for the long term with Kaz & Traci huh?

Pacman & Ron Killings defend their titles again this time over Senshi & Elix. Getting everything you can out of Pacman huh?

Pacman does a move though in this match - he throws a football at Senshi’s groin. Low Ki must’ve loved that.

The ref stops him from dropping an elbow because he’s not a legal man and so he throws some $1 bills in the air and Killings gets the pinfall win.

Did anybody - and I’m just asking - think the making it rain thing was in bad taste considering his legal troubles at the time?

Amazing Kong pinned Gail Kim. From the Observer: “They tried to put Kong over as a monster. As noted before, the idea of the TNA women's division is to build around Kim as the top star. Kong pinning her before Kim most likely ends up as champion is a way to create Kong as an instant challenger.”

These 2 will be the pillars of the Knockouts division for years to come. Can you explain to our listeners how these two came to be that way for TNA?

I love this shit Jeff. From the Observer:

“Christian & Styles came out. Before they came out, Jeremy Borash primed the crowd by telling them if they boo Christian loudly enough some fans will get to go backstage and meet the wrestlers. It's a talk show segment called "The Peep Show," with the ring all made up like a Samoan party. Joe came out and they argued. Christian said they should have a toast as Styles poured them two glasses of margaritas. Joe threw his in Christian's face and they brawled and destroyed the set. Matt Morgan carried Styles to the back. Then, can you believe the creativity, Christian hit Joe with a coconut. The coconut forgot to break.”

First off - who’s idea was it to have Borash do that because that would become a TNA staple.

The Peep Show! How good was Christian with this?

“Raven & Reign beat Rhino & Abyss in a no DQ match. Tables, garbage cans and thumb tacks were all used in a TV match that was to build up a Monster's Ball match on PPV with these four (Reign replacing the injured Mesias). Why have a Monster's Ball match on TV when you are using all the weapons in the TV match? Abyss took a DDT on thumb tacks and they were caught all around his eye. Abyss is making himself a joke and it's too bad because the guy has talent. Reign pinned Rhino.”

Say what you want about Meltzer’s opinion - and I’m sure the Mesias injury makes everything difficult and all the plans changed - it does seem counter productive does it not?

“ Main was Angle & 3-D (3-D are the only heels the crowd genuinely doesn't like) over LAX & Fatu with Morgan as the ringside enforcer. Why are they building a PPV match with Morgan as enforcer when they are doing the same stip on TV three days earlier? They did all the Latino nation guys coming out and Morgan getting rid of them. Angle pinned Homicide with the Angle slam. The Latino nation came out to help LAX to the back, but one of the Latino nation guys was Sting in disguise and he laid out Angle and put him in the scorpion deathlock. It took him two tries because he forgot how to put on the hold the first time. I mean, he's probably only done it 2,000 times or so in his career.”

Once again it’s hard to disagree with the assessment - but is it the way to build to the show in your mind?

Good thing the show is taped since Sting messed that up right?

Well coming out of that show this is reported in the Observer: “Sting is telling everyone that he's retiring at the end of this year. Some in the company believe he's saying that thinking he can get a raise from Dixie Carter, who is strong on keeping him even though even at the end of last year Jarrett wasn't high on signing him for another year because they had Angle and because whatever drawing power Sting did have seemed to have dissipated. Plus, Sting doesn't work house shows or the international dates. Carter was said to be very upset when Sting was saying he was only going to fulfill this contract and that's it.”

Here we are 15 years later and Sting is still wrestling for AEW. How important was Sting and for Dixie?

“Dixie Carter wanted to bring back A.J. Pierzynski after the season to do a storyline, but was told that the Chicago media had made it clear they had no interest in covering Pierzynski in TNA stories. If he actually wrestled a match, they'd probably garner some interest, but the White Sox won't let that happen.”

Is this just Dixie trying to drum up press - she is a PR person obviously…

Finally going into Bound for Glory - last news bit from the Observer:

“The showdown or power play could go down as soon as this weekend. Many of TNA's top stars were talking this week about taking a united front to Dixie Carter to insist Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantel being removed from booking. Now, you know how united fronts are in wrestling. If they are successful, the power in the company would be Angle and Vince Russo, and I don't know that's an improvement.”

Did this ever happen? Was there ever a confrontation? Did you ever think it would come to this? Are you aware this is reported at the time?

Last year’s Bound for Glory with Kurt Angle’s debut for your NWA title match vs. Sting’s career drew 55,000 buys. This year - the show draws 40,000. It still doubles what No Surrender did but - is that a disappointment?

Here we are for the show Jeff:

From the Observer: “Billed as TNA's biggest show of the year, the Bound for Glory PPV featuring the first PPV singles match of Kurt Angle vs. Sting, held 10/14 in suburban Atlanta at the Gwinnett Center, was a great show, and a sobering reality check.

Watching on PPV, it was one good-to-great match after another with incredible crowd heat. There was less of the overbooking that has plagued TNA in the past. Granted, two Battle Royal type matches on the same show is overkill, and the Kurt and Karen Angle pretending to be on the verge of divorce, only for it to be a swerve leading to screwing the babyface in the main event was a tired repeat, saved only because Kevin Nash did a great job in his recurring role as the broken down former star.

But the worst thing on the show was the reality of the crowd. TNA supporters can bask in the glory that, as one regular Atlanta area fan after another noted the 4,000 fans in the building were making considerably more noise than triple that number of people for a WWE Raw show had made in the past in the same market. But 4,000 people is not a good number when they spent the past week heavily papering the city. They also did a gimmick where Pacman Jones had legitimately purchased 1,500 tickets to give to schools for prizes for the best students, Jones has been given the impression that commissioner Roger Goodell wants him to do something for the community before getting reinstated. There's some question whether buying tickets for kids for a wrestling show that can't sell them fits that category but that's for him to decide.”

Were you expecting more Jeff?

“Even with two hours of prime time and in its biggest event of the year, with its two biggest mainstream names on top, TNA has a surprisingly small fan base willing to attend a live event. And keep in mind several hundred of those fans came from around the country. Those that do may love the product, but there aren't enough of them. Bound for Glory, the premiere event of the year, it looks like the PPV numbers are going to be a major disappointment and nowhere near the level they were doing a year ago, even with a better time slot and more viewers. That number becomes even more disappointing because Sting and the Steiner Brothers, who were the top stars during the early years of WCW when it was based in the city, were the headliners.

It's probably been six to seven years since Sting worked in Atlanta, a city he headlined regularly for about 13 years, often as the main event babyface and the world champion. He didn't always draw on top in WCW, but there should have been some type of a nostalgia draw here that didn't happen. That's with tons of media work. In the chicken or the egg, the fact was, the crowd was super hot from the start of the show. Perhaps they spurred the wrestlers on, or the reason they stayed hot throughout was because most of the matches were good. They should have been pleasantly surprised by those who came, but anything under 4,500 paid for the biggest show of the year and Angle vs. Sting shows TNA is really weaker than we figured, or the sometimes numbingly bad overbooking has negated any name value drawing those two once had.”

Was the hope of booking Atlanta and pushing the likes of Sting & Steiners to help restart a market like that?

A. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley beat Joey Matthews & Johnny Swinger in a dark match. Matthews & Swinger wore matching outfits and both now have short hair. This was their tryout match. With his new look and a different name, it didn't appear a lot of fans knew Matthews was the former Joey Mercury.

What did you think of Matthews & Swinger?

“1. Homicide & Hernandez beat Elix Skipper & Senshi in 11:55 of an Ultimate X match with the winning team being in line for a tag title shot. Great opener, with a lot of the focus being on Hernandez, who got overdoing power moves to Senshi. Excellent heat. The cables seemed lower than before, so the match was a little safer. There were fewer crazy bumps than in previous Ultimate X matches.

The move of the match was Skipper coming off the top of the stand that the wrestlers climbed to start maneuvering on the cables with a crossbody onto Hernandez. With Homicide and Skipper both hanging from the cables, Homicide gave Skipper a neckbreaker and both took the bump onto the mat. With Homicide hanging in the corner, Senshi gave him the double foot stomp. Hernandez did a running dive over the top onto Senshi and Homicide, and then he won the match maneuvering the cables and taking down the "X."

Observer ***¾

Torch ***

What a match to get the show started Jeff. You had to want Hernandez to be groomed to be elevated right?

“2. Eric Young won the reverse Battle Royal in 11:46. The rules were that they started with 16 men on the floor. The first eight who went over the top rope to get in the ring, would go into a Battle Royal. That would go until two men were left. They'd have a singles match under regular rules. The original idea was the winner would get a title shot. But on the day of the show, they added another layer of slips, that the final eight would be seeded into a tournament on Impact and that would determine the title shot. Who could keep all that straight? Rather than their own talent, both with being the final entrant with the bells and whistles and when he was in, being the focal point, they portrayed Junior Fatu as the biggest star. When you

don't have the guts to build a future, ultimately, you are left without much of a future.

The guys who didn't make it in were B.G. & Kip James, Son jay Dutt, Shark Boy (wrestling while wearing a neck brace), Chris Harris, Petey Williams and Jimmy Rave. There may have been one more that I missed. The eight guys who made it in and eventual pairings for TV were Young vs. James Storm, Fatu vs. Robert Roode, Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley and Frankie Kazarian vs. Lance Hoyt. Only notable stuff is Kazarian used a Flex capacitor (Spanish fly) on Roode into the ring so both made the final eight. When Hoyt got in, the whole place started booing and it wasn't heel heat, but the "go away" heat.

There were seven men in and one spot left when Chris Harris and Storm raced in but Storm got in first. Young then threw out Storm immediately. Everyone then ganged up and threw out Fatu. Sabin & Shelley then worked as a team doing fast double-team moves that ended up the highlight of the match. Kazarian eliminated Shelley. Roode and Kazarian were both on the apron after going over the top. Roode gave Kazarian a rock bottom and Kaz fell off the apron to the floor to be eliminated. Roode pushed Hoyt off the top rope to the floor so he was out, leaving Roode, Sabin and Young as the final three. Sabin then got knocked off the top rope leaving Roode vs. Young, the former tag partners. Roode went for his fisherman suplex but Young turned it into an inside cradle for the pin.

Observer **¼

Torch ½*

What a mess Jeff and I’m shocked Meltzer gave it **¼ and Wade gave it ½*. What’s the basis of this idea and the last minute changing nature?

Here we go Jeff. Here’s some real heat from the Observer: “The show also featured some bait-and-switch and a repeat of perhaps the most tasteless angle of the year. It had been advertised as Pacman Jones & Ron Killings defending the tag titles against A.J. Styles & Tomko. However, they announced that Jones wasn't going to wrestle because of issues with the Titans. Being that Jones has wrestled, if that's the term for being in the corner and never making contact, on several occasions now, why would he suddenly be pulled? Now, as with all the Jones matches, if signing him actually would have sold ticket one or increased TV ratings one iota, it would be pretty bad bait-and-switch. They took out ads on Raw with Jones wrestling being the focal point, and in the TV ads for this show, it was Jones, not Sting or Angle, who was pushed as the big star.

The only reason nobody cared is because even with all the advertising, nobody bought the show to see him. Killings ended up teaming with newcomer Rasheed Lucius "Consequences" Creed, who dressed up like Apollo Creed from the early Rocky movies. I guess they were the team defending the tag titles. The original booking idea was for Jones to turn on Killings and set something up for November, but Jones may be finished with the company since his original deal expired with this show. Creed is a wrestler from NWA Anarchy who uses the name Austin Creed and does the same gimmick, and while green in spots, he was acrobatic and looked good. Originally, 2 Cold Scorpio was going to be used in that role, but a deal wasn't put together in time. Jones was at ringside.

Even though Jones is from Atlanta, he was booed out of the place and Styles & Tomko became defacto the biggest babyfaces on the show except Sting. For the finish, Jones threw money in the ring to distract Styles. Killings then rolled-up Styles. However, ref Earl Hebner wasn't counting because he was too busy picking up the bills and pocketing them.

Tomko & Styles did the double-team spinning slam move that Tomko & Giant Bernard use in New Japan and that La Resistance used in WWE, on Killings for the pin. A really good match until the tasteless finish.

Observer ***¼

Torch **

Jones was apparently uncooperative about doing media locally for the show, which got people upset, since he was earning so much per shot. Jones argued he wasn't getting paid for media, but Jeff Jarrett's argument is his contract calls for him to do media to promote his appearances. Jones, unlike Sting, did go to the fan fest and when Jarrett talked with him about media, Jones just told him he's ready to go back to his old job that pays ten times more than this one (NFL).”

So ends the Pacman experience. Were you really trying to keep him for one more month? What did you think of all this and also criticism of the angle?

“4. Jay Lethal retained the X Division title beating Christopher Daniels in 10:55.

Lots of near falls. Lethal did a springboard move but Daniels caught him on his shoulder and planted him with a Death Valley driver and followed with a moonsault for a near fall. Lethal came back with a Dragon suplex with Daniels flipping over. Lethal missed the elbow off the top and Daniels used a top spread for a near fall. Fans were chanting "This is awesome" at this point. The finish saw both men on the top rope and Lethal brought Daniels off and gave him a backbreaker, followed by the downward spiral for the Lethal combination and the pin. Real Strong match and super hot crowd.

Observer ***½

Torch ***¼ “

This is really what the X division is and was all about was it not Jeff?

“5. Rick & Scott Steiner beat Team 3-D in a best-of-three tables match in 12:34. This wasn't a good match, but the crowd was so hot for the Steiners that they made it come across well on television. They brawled in the crowd for several minutes with the Steiners dominating. However, 3-D gave Rick the 3-D through a table to win the first fall, so to speak. In the second table fall, Scott used a Frankensteiner off the top rope on Ray. Ray almost overshot the table, but got enough of it to break to even things up. The move tore the house down. Rick sold the 3-D through the table for most of this period. Ray gave Scott a low blow and began whipping him with a studded belt. He then put Scott on the table and the table broke. Wonderful.

Everyone just ignored it and Mike Tenay explained how you have to be put through the table. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley came out, since they are going to work a program with 3-D. Devon went to hit Scott with a chair shot, but Scott ducked, so Ray got hit and knocked out of the ring. Scott put Devon on his shoulders and Rick came off the top with a sky high bulldog through a table for the win.

Observer *¾

Torch * ½”

Is this a disappointment or was it exactly what you thought it would be? The Frankensteiner got such a huge pop.

“6. Gail Kim won a gauntlet style Rumble match to crown the first TNA Knockouts champion in 12:08. Yeah, this wasn't the best of ideas, introducing so many women in one match so all the new ones blended in. ODB in particular showed a lot of charisma,actually more than any of the women on the TNA roster, but few noticed. Amazing Kong, who they called Awesome Kong was highlighted as the powerhouse. She also had her top fly up when she was thrown over the top and with no sports bra underneath, the first boob shot on a PPV in a long time. Of the newcomers, as mentioned ODB was the most impressive and they should sign her and get her in the mix. Kong is already getting a push.

In an interview with the new women, Kong came out and all the other women ran away like she was Michael Myers in a horror movie.

They did an injury angle like Kong had broken Hemme's back. Kim was next in. Kim, ODB and Williams all threw out Kong together. Madison was in. ODB and Kim got rid of Williams. Kim threw out Madison. Roxxi Lavaugh came in. Kim got rid of ODB so final two were Lavaugh and Kim. Kim used a satellite maneuver on Lavaugh but she made the ropes. Kim missed a missile dropkick, but Kim came back and used the something akin to an emerald frosien or a kryptonite krunch for the pin. This match had the least heat of anything on the show, but it was a decent match. They've got the potential to have a far more interesting women's division than WWE.

Observer **

Torch *¼ “

The makings of the division were there but this is tough to introduce so many different people at once is it not?

“7. Samoa Joe beat Christian Cage in 15:45 to end Cage's unbeaten streak in TNA. Matt Morgan was the ref. Super heat from the start.

Joe used a powerslam for a near fall. Tomko came out and started brawling with Matt Morgan at ringside. Don West said it was 7-0 vs. 6-10. That's some major exaggerations there. Styles came out as well. However, Morgan chased Tomko and Styles to the back. Cage used a low blow and the unprettier for a near fall. Joe came back with an enzuigiri, a muscle buster and the choke and Cage tapped in the middle. Great match.

Observer ****

Torch ***¾”

Perfect way to get Joe back on track and he ends a winning streak just like he had his ended. Really good story here Jeff.

“8. Abyss won a four-way Monster's Ball match over Raven, Rhino and Black Reign in 9:05. Your basic weapons match. The heat was way down from the prior match and the repeated weapons shots didn't get over, but they did enough to get the crowd back. We had the shopping cart and garage can lid shots that make noise but nobody cares about. They were all brawling near the entrance way. Rhino missed a gore and ended up goring through a wall and steam came out.

Raven was bloody. Abyss was put on a table and laid there forever while Raven and Black Reign argued on who was going to jump off the balcony. Raven ended up doing an elbow drop off the balcony onto Abyss on a table on the floor. Back in the ring, Black Reign used the shattered dreams on Raven. Rhino hit Reign with a gore, but Raven hit both Rhino and Abyss with kendo stick shots. Raven dropped thumb tacks on the mat. Jim Mitchell came out with another bag of broken glass. Raven went to DDT Abyss onto the thumb tacks and broken glass, but Abyss blocked it and instead gave Raven a black hole slam onto the thumb tacks and glass for the pin.

Observer **½

Torch *½”

Right guy wins. Not sure what else to say here. Was it just too much sometimes with these?

“9. Sting beat Kurt Angle in 18:26 to win the TNA title. Angle used three German suplexes for a near fall. Sting came back with the scorpion deathlock.

Karen Angle came out and violated her restraining order. The ref booted her from the ring. With no ref, Kevin Nash, who spent the entire show acting like he was fed up and wasn't going to help Kurt, and was buddies with Sting, turned on Sting. Unpredictability at times is good. When you always don't make sense, it teaches people not to care. Nash gave Sting a clothesline and Angle covered, but no ref. Sting made a comeback and went for a splash off the top, but Angle got his knees up. Angle went to the top and did a 450 double kneedrop. That didn't look pretty at all. Angle put on the ankle lock, but Sting kicked Angle off and he crashed into Nash. Sting used the Scorpion death drop on Angle, but no ref to count.

Finally Andrew Thomas came in to count, but Nash pulled him out of the ring and decked him. It turned into every Raw main event of 2000. Sting was bumping Nash and Angle around, and Angle got the baseball bat. Angle went to hit Sting and Sting was supposed to block it. He missed blocking it as the bat went right through Sting's open hands, and caught him in the head. It actually made the match better, because Sting bled hard way from taking the shot and the crowd got off on him no selling a baseball bat shot to the head when he made his comeback. Sting then got the bat and hit Angle three times with it, and nailed Nash, then got the pin with the Scorpion death drop.

Observer ***¾

Torch ***¼

Even if it played well live (and to a degree it did), for people at home, I don't want to say it killed the match, but it did turn an excellent match into just a very good one. It was the swerve swerve, which is all the heels run-in so you know the face is getting screwed, but the face overcomes it and wins. This came on the heels of a show long swerve where Karen Angle and Kevin Nash were teasing they were sick of Kurt, but in the end, it was another swerve as they were all in a plot, although it didn't pay off. They haven't figured out when people figure out that your angles are swerves, then all of your angles lose meaning. When your angles lose meaning, that's why your percentage of TV viewers buying a PPV or going to a house show is so tiny. TNA of all people should have seen how this concept has played out, but it's like they are trapped in a direction and can't make a change, because they only know swerve instead of storytelling. But the wrestlers deserve a lot of credit for that main event—Angle, for working a great match and carrying Sting, and Sting, for at the age of nearly 49, more than holding up his end.”

Too many swerves? Could these guys just go out and have a great match without the finish?

What say you Jeff? What did you think of the show Jeff? Thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs in the middle?

Over at AdFreeShows.com - we have the final version of the production sheet up and there’s just a few things I want to go over.

Jeff - how do you decide who agents what? For example - Pat Kenney was the agent for the X division tag match, X division title match and the monsters ball match. Scott D’Amore for the Fight for the Right, Women’s gauntlet and the Steiners/Team 3D match. Jim Cornette produced the tag title match, Joe vs. Christian, and the main event. What are the things that go into assigning them?

Vince Russo also produced all of the pretapes. Does he then get involved with telling the agents what the promos are going to be so it makes sense? Because the thought of Russo producing a backstage and then having to be with Jim Cornette for the main event for example tickles me…