TNA

[JoshiQ]

Abyss loses the match, but keeps his heat. He needs some of that since being demolished by 3D and Rhyno several times.

Skipper sure is paying for his no-show.

Fun to see someone like Rayne debut.

Ouch. Christian must have quit. And reading your last post, looks like he did. That's terrible. The beating was pretty severe, so it at least gives Angle back a bunch of his heat that he'd lost by losing consistently to Joe.

You're going to follow the real life timeline of guys like Christian leaving for the WWE and Jeff Hardy coming in?

[cardsflyinhigh]

I'm following real life timelines of availability. The Christian situation, I'm looking at it as, he resigned with WWE about the beginning of 2009, so I have until then to resign him.

Jeff Hardy, I haven't reached that point and haven't made a decision if Im going to bring him in, but if I do, it'll be around the time he came back to TNA that I try to sign him. But I won't go after a guy if in real life he was contracted to WWE. But if they happen to momentarily released somebody then resign him ::cough::Bryan Danielson::cough:: I might go after said person during that window.

There might be some rookies I try to sign before they signed their real life WWE developmental deals. I'm using wikipedia pages as my source. When they say someone signed, if I don't have them, they're off limits to me.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (May 1, 2008)

Kurt Angle came to the ring with a giant cardboard cutout of one of the promotional posters for Sacrifice that had Samoa Joe’s and Christian Cage’s pictures on it.

Angle announces that due to an unforeseen and unfortunate turn of events, Christian Cage will not be at Sacrifice. In fact, he may never even be back in TNA. He then takes a marker and drew a big X over Christian’s face.

Angle though says no to worry. He will gladly step in and fill Christian’s spot and fight Samoa Joe for the world title. Angle then takes out a giant sticker of his own smiling face, and places it on the board over where Christian’s picture was.

Jim Cornette then comes out to the ring and tells Angle to hold on just a minute. He doesn’t give a damn who Angle is or how many medals he’s won, he won’t get handed anything around here. If he wants a title match, he has to earn it. Tonight, Kurt Angle will be in a No. 1 contenders match.

Angle said great, but asked who his opponent was going to be. Cornette paused, then replied ... A.J. Styles. Angle looked shocked at the announcement.

Eric Young pinned James Storm after a Death Valley Driver in 0:08:44.
Rating: ** 3/4

Eric Young scored a victory over James Storm, but after the match, Storm’s new partner Robert Roode ran in and blindsided Young. The two double teamed Young until Kaz ran down to clear the ring.

Backstage with Jim Cornette and Matt Morgan

Matt Morgan came into Jim Cornette’s office. Cornette said that if Morgan wants to get in the ring and be a full-time wrestler, he can no longer be his management assistant.

Morgan said he understood, but it was time for him to head down this path. He thanked Cornette for the opportunity and told Cornette it won’t be long before he’s booking Morgan in title matches.

The two peacefully shook hands.

Angelina Love defeated Gail Kim by countout in 0:06:52.
Rating: 1/2*

Angelina Love wanted to show Awesome Kong she has a mean streak in her too. She came to the ring without her BFF Velvet Sky who was still recovering after facing Kong last week.

Love took out her frustrations on Gail Kim, slamming Kim against the guardrails and steel steps outside to the point where Kim couldn’t recover and Love scored a countout victory.

Shark Boy and Curry Man defeated The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens) when Curry Man pinned C. Stevens with the Spicy Drop in 0:09:03.
Rating: ***

The Machine Guns got a little bit of payback on The Naturals, by costing them their match with Curry Man and Shark Boy.

Douglas was distracting the ref while Stevens tried to sneak a chair in the ring. As he was ready to unload on Curry Man, Chris Sabin ran down and pulled the chair from his hands. With Stevens distracted, Curry Man hit the Spicy Drop and got the pin.

Backstage with Gail Kim

Kim was getting looked over by TNA trainers and had an ice pack on her head. Madison Rayne, the rookie who was introduced to Kim last week, came over and asked if she was okay.

Rayne said she knew she was only a rookie, but if Gail ever needed help against the Beautiful People, she was available to watch her back.

Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) defeated
Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) when Homicide defeated Devon by disqualification in 0:10:20.
Rating: **
(Latin American X-Change retained the TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)
[Rhino interfered against Homicide.]

Team 3D met LAX for the tag titles, but Rhino got involved causing a DQ. After the bell, it was a 3 on 2 beatdown, before Abyss ran in and cleaned house.

It was later announced for Sacrifice a 6-man tag, 3D and Rhino VS. LAX and Abyss.

Backstage with the Angle Alliance

Kurt Angle was walking backstage with Tomko, Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner when they came across A.J. Styles. Angle told the other three to go get ready for their match as he wanted a private conversation with AJ.

Styles stuck around and heard him out. Angle tried to smooth things over with AJ after the problems the two have been having in recent weeks. Angle said this is the perfect time to wash it all under the bridge. If AJ wanted to redeem himself, this is his chance. Angle told AJ to lay down for him so he can get his title shot at Samoa Joe.

Angle then patted AJ on the back and left.

Scott Steiner, Tomko and Kevin Nash defeated Matt Morgan, Sting and Booker T when Tomko pinned Booker with the Yakuza Kick in 0:16:39.
Rating: * 1/4

The fight between these six started off all over the place, before settling down into a tradition tag match. Then again turned crazy. The referee couldn’t keep any form of control.

The two giants, Kevin Nash and Matt Morgan paired off with each other and spent most of the match brawling with each other. In the end, with the referee trying to keep order of everyone brawling on the floor, Steiner hit Booker with a lead pipe that caused him to stumble into a kick from Tomko.

AJ Styles pinned Kurt Angle with the Styles Clash in 0:19:13.
Rating: **** 1/4

We have a new No. 1 contender set to face Samoa Joe at Sacrifice. And it is NOT Kurt Angle. It’s AJ. Styles!

Angle took a mic at the beginning of the match and told AJ it was redemption time. He said just lay down and get this over with. Instead AJ nailed Angle with a forearm and the match was on.

The two put on a spectacular match, which you would expect no less with what was at stake. Angle had AJ in the ankle lock, but somehow, the phenomenal one pulled his leg free and hit a Pele Kick.

Angle went to the top rope for a moonsault, but AJ got to his feet and got out of the way. Angle managed to land on his feet, but AJ caught him with a kick in the guy, then hit the Styles Clash and got the pin.

AJ celebrated going to the back while Angle sat in the ring shocked.

[rey619]

OK, I'm up to date now, and I must say I overall enjoy this take on TNA.

Pros:

* The feuds and storylines are quite simple to follow. Most is basic booking with predictable twists. Predictable twists (predictable to other bookers at least), are good.
* Your writing is concise and easy to read, the cards are never too long.
* The unexpected twists you sometimes do make (like Christian's Pick Your Poison choice which I loved) is more often than not really good.
* You're pushing a woman's division you even tried pushing Traci Brooks as a viable contender!

Cons:

* There's a lot of multi-men matches, four-way tag matches, 9-man tag matches etc., which probably is, as Ryan said earlier, spectacular to watch, but hard to follow in a written fed. It's difficult to convey personalities with large groups of wrestlers, and it's even worse in a written fantasy fed. It would be easier with a smaller roster and less chaos matches

* Match times. I know this is a nit-pick for me, and not many care too much about them, but I would take a little more care with the match times. As an example, you write Kong as really dominant, but she still needs 12 minutes to defeat Velvet Sky in a non-title match as a warm-up to the title match. It should have been max. 3-4 minutes.

* The no-show of Skipper didn't make it any easier, but the X-division has been a little mess too, I think. What was the point of the Ultimate X-match if Lethal, who won it, didn't get any advantage out of winning it? Did it go from a title match to a special showcase match?

I hope you don't think I am being too harsh, I enjoy reading it and just wanted to give some honest thoughts. Also, I think you're being too strict with yourself if you're gonna respect both whoever quits in your TNM circuit AND adhere to real life comings and goings. Better to stick with TNM, I think, and let the real world and YOUR fantasy world go their separate ways from now on.

I'll keep reading!

[cardsflyinhigh]

Thanks for the feedback Rey. Yeah I get what your saying about the X Division. But I things are settling down there and moving forward should lead to some great matches and feuds.

Totally agree with you about the Knockouts. I think around this real life time frame it was one of the things that helped make TNA a nice alternative. Its been my goal to have Knockout storylines go past whats happening with the title scene.

[JoshiQ]

Fun twist to put Styles in the number one contender's match with Angle. Definitely hoping Styles goes over. I'm a little tired of Joe/Angle.

Looks like we might be headed into a tag team match with Young/Kaz against Roode/Storm. Maybe the debut of the name Beer Money?

Morgan leaving his role as management assistant is a positive move for his wrestling career. I think he can become a big star if used correctly.

Oooh...don't know if I'd be accepting help from Rayne against the Beautiful People, Kim.

Don't think Styles will be laying down for Angle anytime soon.

That's a big win for Tomko over Booker T even if it did come via cheating.

Yes! Was hoping Styles would go over. And now he has a ton of momentum going into the match with Joe. I could definitely see him taking the title over Angle at this point.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (May 8, 2008)

Jay Lethal, Shark Boy and Curry Man defeated
Consequences Creed, Petey Williams and Sonjay Dutt when Lethal pinned P. Williams with the Flying Elbowdrop in 0:13:30.
Rating: *** 1/2

The show opened with an exciting 6-man X Division match. All 6 gave the crowd reasons to chant “This is Awesome.” In the end, Jay Lethal grabbed some momentum going into Sacrifice as he scored a pinfall on the man he will challenge for the X Division title, Petey Williams.

Interview with the Angle Alliance

Kurt Angle, Tomko, Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash were all being interviewed by Jeremy Borash. They were talking about Tomko and Steiner wanting to take care of Sting and Booker T at Sacrifice and Nash talking about wanting Matt Morgan 1-on-1, saying there’s only room for one giant in TNA and it’s going to be him.

Borash mentioned tonight’s main event was going to be Tomko against A.J. Styles. Angle then asked Tomko to “knock some sense into A.J.” Angle was holding out hope Styles would either back out of the world title match, or be knocked out.

Rhino pinned Hernandez with the Gore in 0:08:52.
Rating: **

In a preview of the 6-man match at Sacrifice, Hernandez met Rhino. Rhino scored his team some momentum getting with win, thanks to a 3D assist. Brother Devon tried to get involved, but Hernandez caught him. He set up Devon for the Border Toss, but as he was lifting him up, Rhino hit the Gore and got the pin.

Interview with A.J. Styles

Jeremy Borash asks A.J. about getting a shot at Samoa Joe at Sacrifice, and turning his back on Kurt Angle to get it. A.J. said he never turned his back on Angle. He said Angle went off the deep end and that’s not what he’s about. A.J. went on to say that it got to the point where the man he thought he was looking up to, turned out to be nothing more than a desperate old man, frightened of a new generation of stars taking his place.

Samoa Joe then walked into the interview interrupting him. Joe started by saying he doesn’t like A.J., but he always respected him as an opponent. He’s looking forward to a clean match for wrestling’s top prize on Sunday.

Joe then addressed A.J.’s match tonight against Tomko, knowing Angle will be hanging around. Joe said if A.J. needs someone to watch his back, he’ll be there.

The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens), Robert Roode and James Storm defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin), Kaz and Eric Young when R. Roode pinned Kaz with the Payoff in 0:14:35.
Rating: *** 1/2

A few days before Sacrifice, TNA management decided to take the two tag team matches on the card, and throw everybody into an 8-man tag match. With so much animosity on each side, the match stayed relatively civil for a while.

Then all heck broke lose.

The heel quadrant of the Naturals, Roode and Storm all combined to work on Eric Young, till he was able to make the hot tag to Kaz. Then bodies began running and flying all over the place.

Kaz thought he had the match won after hitting a Flux Capacitor on one of the Naturals, but he didn’t see Robert Roode behind him. Roode hit the Payoff and got the pin.

Awesome Kong defeated Traci Brooks by disqualification in 0:03:35.
Rating: *
[Angelina interfered against Awesome Kong.]

Things never really got going in this match before Angelina Love ran in to try to soften up Kong for their title match at Sacrifice. After an initial hit on Kong to cause the DQ, Love tossed aside Brooks and went back after Kong, but her plan backfired and Kong was able to fight her off. Love ducked under a Kong backfist and slid back out of the ring and headed back to the locker room.

AJ Styles defeated Tomko by disqualification in 0:14:25.
Rating: *** 1/2

As promised, Kurt Angle made an appearance running in and smacking A.J. with a steel chair.

The Olympic gold medalist and Tomko continued to work over A.J. till Samoa Joe ran in for the save. Joe and Styles cleared the ring of Angle and Tomko, then the champion and his challenger shook hands in a show of respect only a few days before they meet for the title.

Final Card for Sacrifice

World Heavyweight Title
Samoa Joe (c) vs. A.J. Styles

X Division Title
Petey Williams (c) vs. Jay Lethal

Knockouts Title
Awesome Kong (c) vs. Angelina Love

LAX & Abyss vs. Team 3D & Rhino

Scott Steiner & Tomko vs. Sting & Booker T

Matt Morgan vs. Kevin Nash

The Naturals vs. The Motor City Machine Guns

James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Kaz & Eric Young

[JoshiQ]

Glad that Lethal is getting the shot at the X Title.

Styles reasoning for turning on Angle makes perfect sense. Especially since he tried to stop the attack by Angle on Christian. Angle has lost it, and AJ isn't willing to go along for the ride. Good stuff here.

You don't get a lot of matches about mutual respect anymore. It will be fun to see if they can keep up that attitude during their match.

[snabbit888]

5/1/08:

Good little promo from Angle to explain Christian being gone, and we have a great main event for Impact.

Eric Young is awesome, but ugh... no more Kaz/Storm!

Morgan going full-time is good. He's a bit meh now in real life, but he's legit as a possible monster at this time.

Love tries to have a meanstreak, but I just don't think she stands much of a chance against Kong.

I wish I cared more about the Naturals, because I really like the Machineguns. Hopefully Shelley/Sabin come out on top.

Rayne getting aligned with Gail = a good thing.

I'm guessing in the 6-man at the PPV, Abyss goes into some tacks?

Oh, Angle, not a chance AJ lays down for you.

Sting and his friends come out on the losing side of things in this feud a lot. They really need to build some momentum back.

Angle landed on his feet on the moonsault? Don't think I've ever seen him do that. Styles winning is great. It'll be a little fresher, and gives Angle some more to do besides lose to Joe.

5/8/08:

Fun opener in the X Division that served its purpose of just being a fun opener.

Tomko/Styles should be interesting, being the former tag champs.

Hernandez, you have to focus a little more than that.

I hope this goes through as a Styles full face turn. Styles was just never a compelling heel to me. His offense and personality is far better suited to being the baby.

Eight man tag matches are so hard to write. There's so much going on. Right result for this one I think.

Running for the hills was about the smartest thing you could ever do, Angelina. Won't be able to run at Sacrifice though!

That should be the full face turn for Styles. Either way, as long as Angle doesn't get too involved, the title match should be fantastic.

PREDICTIONS!

Not time for Joe to lose yet. He wins a great match.

X Title has been all over the place recently, so Petey wins to give it a little stability.

Kong crushes Love to keep her streak alive.

Team 3D/Rhino win. Abyss needlessly goes into some tacks because that's what he does.

Sting & Booker get a much needed win.

Morgan will have a good run, but not yet. Nash wins.

MCMG win (I hope).

Storm/Roode win.

[cardsflyinhigh]

SACRIFICE (May 11, 2008)

No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) and Abyss defeated Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) and Rhino when Hernandez pinned Devon With the Border toss in 0:14:58.
Rating: ***

No better way to start off the PPV than with weapons, blood and 6-men beating the crap out of each other. The match started with all 6 men brawling through all corners of the arena. Things finally settled into the ring, but albeit briefly.

With multiple tables set up in the ring, Team 3D hit 3D on Homocide through a table, but before they could pin him, Abyss nailed them with a double clothesline, then Blackhole Slammed Brother Ray through a table. Rhino then came back in and hit a Gore on Abyss knocking him out of the ring, but Hernandez clotheslined him out of the ring then hit the Border Toss on Devon to get the win.

The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) defeated The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens) when C. Sabin pinned A. Douglas after the Cradle Shock in 0:10:38.
Rating: ***

The Naturals looked like they might keep the upperhand on the Machine Guns, but the Guns were able to overcome their rivals. After a crazy sequence where all four men were flying everywhere, the referee tried to restore order and get Alex Shelley out of the ring, Douglas hit Sabin with a low blow then went for a DDT, but Sabin reversed it and was able to hit the Cradle Shock to get the win.

Matt Morgan pinned Kevin Nash after the Carbon Footprint in 0:09:14.
Rating: 1/2*

In a battle of the giants, Matt Morgan went a long way towards proving himself as a force to be reckoned with in TNA by scoring a clean win over Kevin Nash.

It was a typical big guy match, power vs. power, but the youth and agility of Morgan proved to be the difference, As Nash tried to run into the corner for a clothesline, Morgan caught him with the Carbon Footprint.

Awesome Kong pinned Angelina Love with the Awesome Bomb in 0:06:54.
Rating: ** 1/4
(Awesome Kong retained the TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE.)

Awesome Kong is still the knockouts champ thanks to an assist from, of all people, former rival Gail Kim. It wasn't as much Kim helping Kong as it was her preventing Velvet Sky to cheat and help Angelina Love steal the title.

James Storm and Robert Roode defeated Kaz and Eric Young when J. Storm pinned E. Young after The Last Call in 0:11:39.
Rating: **

Kaz had recruited Eric Young to be his partner in a final confrontation with James Storm and Robert Roode, but Storm and Roode, who had been teaming together for a few months now, got the best of the first-time partners.

Kaz knocked Roode to the floor, then flew off the top hitting a splash. In the ring though, Storm caught Young with a Last Call kick to get the win.

Petey Williams pinned Jay Lethal with the Canadian Destroyer in 0:15:20.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Petey Williams retained the TNA X DIVISION TITLE.)

The X Division match for most of it was a classic clean match between two great athletes. That is until, Petey Williams turned.

Black Machismo hit the Lethal Combination on Williams and then climbed to the top for the flying elbow, but Williams managed to roll out of the ring. Lethal stayed on top as the ref went to check on Williams. Lethal jumped off the top to come down on Williams, but Petey pulled the referee in the way.

With the ref knocked down, Lethal was checking to make sure he was okay. Meanwhile, Williams went grabbed the title belt. He came back over and knocked out Lethal with it. He then rolled Lethal back into the ring, then woke the ref up.

The ref crawled back into the ring as Williams hit the Canadian Destroyer and got the pin.

Scott Steiner and Tomko defeated Booker T and Sting when Tomko pinned Sting with the Yakuza Kick in 0:13:23.
Rating: ** 3/4

If it was simply a normal tag match, Sting and Booker T probably would’ve had the edge, but when Kevin Nash came to ringside to give an assist to his friends Steiner and Tomko.

Booker T took out Scott Steiner on the floor, in the ring though, Sting locked in the Scorpion Death Lock on Tomko. Nash jumped on the apron and Sting broke the hold to go hit Nash. Tomko though recovered and caught Sting with a kick knocking him out.

Samoa Joe pinned AJ Styles after a Muscle Buster in 0:24:21.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Samoa Joe retained the TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

Samoa Joe got everything A.J. Styles had, but at the end of the day, Joe remained the champ.

Each man unleashed their full arsenal of moves at the other, but neither put the other away. Each also was able to counter many of the other’s signature moves.

Joe locked A.J. in the coquina clutch, but A.J kept on his feet, sprung off the ropes flipping over Joe’s head and hitting a reverse DDT. A.J. tried to do his springboard forearm, but Joe leapt up and caught him with a kick to the head.

Finally, A.J. hit a Pele and thought he had Joe down. He went to climb the ropes, but Joe recovered, knocked him off his feet, then hit the Muscle Buster for the win.

After the match was over, it was a good show of respect with the two shaking hands and Styles raising Joe's hand.

But, as Joe walked back up the ramp, he turned to thank the cheering crowd once more and got blindsided by Kurt Angle. Angle had a lead pipe and took out Joe's knee and ankle with it. A.J. tried to help Joe, but Angle knocked him out as well. The show ended with Angle standing over both Joe and AJ.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (May 15, 2008)

TNA management representative Jim Cornette came to the ring to open the show. He first gave an update on Samoa Joe after the attack from Kurt Angle at the end of Sacrifice. He said Joe’s going to be out a few weeks but will be alright in time to defend his title in a King of the Mountain Match next month at Slammiversary.

With that being said, qualification matches to determine the four challengers will begin tonight. Two will take place this week, with two more next week. Tonight, Booker T will face Scott Steiner, and the main event will be Kurt Angle against A.J. Styles

Booker T pinned Scott Steiner with the Book End in 0:08:55.
Rating: ** 1/4

Booker T advanced to the King of the Mountain match, making quick work of old rival Scott Steiner.

Petey Williams pinned Curry Man after a rana in 0:06:08.
Rating: ***
(Petey Williams retained the TNA X DIVISION TITLE.)

Petey Williams began displaying a more aggressive side while successfully defending his X Division title against Curry Man. After getting the pin, Williams wasn’t done, hitting Curry Man with the Canadian Destroyer for good measure.

Backstage interview with Robert Roode and James Storm

Jeremy Borash was interviewing Roode and Storm fresh off their victory at Sacrifice. They each mentioned that something special was starting here. Together they have everything they need to become the best tag team in the world. Storm has Beer and Roode has money. Might as well call them Beer Money. And it won't be long, until you're calling them champions.

Gail Kim pinned Velvet Sky with the Arm Trap Neckbreaker in 0:11:42.
Rating: ** 1/2

The Beautiful People are blaming Gail Kim for Angelina Love not winning the Knockouts title. Velvet Sky wasn’t able to get any revenge in a match, but postmatch, Love entered the ring blindsiding Kim. Love and Sky stomped away at Kim until rookie Knockout Madison Rayne ran down and chased away Love and Sky. Kim shook Rayne’s hand thanking her for her help after.

Backstage with Jim Cornette

Jim Cornette was sitting in his office looking busy, when there was a knock at the door. Eric Young walked in, wanting to talk to Cornette.

Cornette said he was too busy to deal with anything right now. Young though said that was why he was there. Ever since Matt Morgan left his position as Cornette’s assistant to wrestle full time, there was a job opening and Young wanted to fill it.

Cornette wasn’t sure if he could take Young seriously enough but he was going to give him a shot. He said with what he just saw, the Knockouts need someone to keep some kinda control, so he was going to put Young in charge of the Knockout Division.

Young jumped for joy and told Cornette he wouldn’t let him down.

Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) defeated Black Reign and Rellik when Hernandez defeated Black Reign by countout in 0:11:17.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Latin American X-Change retained the TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

LAX showed no ill-effects from their 6-man match at Sacrifice by successfully retaining their titles against Black Reign and Rellik.

After the match though, Team 3D came out and challenged the champs to put the gold up against them at Slammiversary. The champs enthusiastically accepted the offer.

Kurt Angle made AJ Styles submit to the Ankle Lock in 0:21:01.
Rating: **** 1/2

As would be expected from two top athletes, Angle and Styles put on another classic. This time though, Angle got the edge, thanks to a chair shot to Styles’ leg while both were on the floor and the ref wasn’t in position to see it.

Angle then took advantage of the injury to A.J.’s leg and eventually locked in the Ankle Lock, forcing him to tap.

[snabbit888]

Sacrifice:

Good brawl to start off the show. I just wish I gave a shit about any of these guys in this feud.

I'm glad the MCMG won. Just can't get behind the Naturals at this point.

Not a pretty match, but that's a huge win for Matt Morgan. Figured he'd be having more of a journey before he started getting meaningful wins.

Awesome Kong is a beast.

REALLY hoping this is the last of Kaz having dealings with Roode & Storm. Beer Money should be ready to take the next step in the tag team division.

Didn't see Petey turning, but glad he kept the X Title. It needs to be on one guy for a little while. Plus, we could get a sweet feud with Lethal out of this.

Man, Sting is really good at getting beat in TNA now. Haha. Nash interference doesn't help his cause, but Sting REALLY needs to get a win.

Very happy you held off the Angle involvement until after the match. Joe and Angle is an awesome match and glad it didn't need any other shenanigans. Great way to end the show.

5/15:

An announcement that Joe is out is needed to start the show, though it makes me wonder why there wasn't also a punishment involved in the lead pipe attack.

Booker T gets a nice clean win over Steiner.

Oh Petey, you heel!

And there we go. Beer Money is official. Now commence to them being awesome.

Yes, Beautiful People, it was Gail Kim's fault Kong retained. And Rayne is now in play, which is good for the team.

Haha. Young in charge of the Knockouts division should be money.

There we go. Hopefully we just get a normal tag title match between two great teams in LAX and Team 3D.

Absolutely fantastic main event. I do have one issue though that's going to bug me for a little bit. Angle being in the match is going to be fine. It'll be a sweet match. I just feel that after viciously attacking the champ with a lead pipe, he shouldn't be rewarded with a chance to win the World Title.

[JoshiQ]

Sacrifice:

Abyss needed this win, even if it was in a six man tag, after he'd been destroyed by Rhino and Team 3D numerous times.

That's a big win for Morgan. Probably the biggest of his career.

Hopefully this now leads to the Beer Money name, and Kazarian moving onto bigger and better things.

Didn't see Williams turning. I hope Lethal can rebound from this as I always felt he was underutilized.

That's another big pinfall for a guy, Tomko this time. Looks like the Nash/Sting feud will continue.

I like that you went for the clean wrestling match between Joe and Styles. Joe was the right choice to retain. The postmatch leads to me hoping that we're headed for a Styles/Angle feud more than Angle going after the title again.

[JoshiQ]

I would have been fine with either Booker T or Steiner moving on.

Looks like the heel version of Williams is going to be tougher to beat.

Ha! Beer Money is here to stay.

Good way to give Young something to do. He'd been lost in the shuffle a bit.

I don't mind Angle being in the King of the Mountain match, I just don't want him to win it since I'm a little bit tired of Joe/Angle.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (May 22, 2008)

Kurt Angle comes to the ring to begin the show, holding a lead pipe in one hand and a chair in the other. Angle opens up by saying he has a confession to make. He confesses that TNA is simply better when Kurt Angle is the World Heavyweight champion. (Yes, he did refer to himself in the third-person). And since that is the case. He feels it’s his duty do whatever it takes to get back into that position, for the good of the company.

That is why he used the pipe in his right hand to take out the current champion Samoa Joe, and the chair in the left hand to take out that punk A.J. Styles, and in the process, putting him into the King of the Mountain Match, where he can and will regain the World Title.

The next thing the Impact Zone heard was “Can You Dig It? SUCKA!!” as Booker T made his way to the ring. Booker wanted to remind Angle that he wasn’t the only one who qualified for the match last week. Booker pointed out that he came to TNA seven months ago to win the TNA World Title, and at Slammiversary he was going to accomplish that goal.

Angle had only one thing to say to Booker, and that was if Booker got in his way, he’d live to regret it. Angle the walked out of the ring without further incident.

8-Man Battle Royal:
Jay Lethal won an 8-man Royal Rumble:
x J. Devine and S. Dutt started out.
x Curry Man entered at 0:02:00
x Shark Boy entered at 0:04:00
x Jimmy Rave entered at 0:06:00
x Curry Man defeated J. Rave after a flying dropkick in 0:06:38
x Jay Lethal entered at 0:08:00
x Elix Skipper entered at 0:10:00
x Curry Man defeated J. Devine after the Spicy Drop in 0:11:51
x Consequences Creed entered at 0:12:00
x Lethal defeated Prime Time after a Russian legsweep in 0:12:25
x Curry Man defeated S. Dutt after the Spicy Drop in 0:13:56
x Shark Boy defeated Curry Man after the Chummer in 0:14:03
x Shark Boy defeated Creed after the Diamond Dust in 0:15:45
x Lethal defeated Shark Boy after the Flying Elbowdrop in 0:17:34
Rating: ****

During the match, Petey Williams joined Mike Tenay and Don West on commentary, as the winner would get a shot at his X Division title at Slammiversary. When Williams was asked about what he did to Jay Lethal at Sacrifice, Williams said it was nothing personal. He gave a deserving athlete a shot at his belt, and he didn’t get the job done. Williams said he did what he had to do to win the match and was sure Lethal woulda done the same if he had the opportunity.

Lethal though won another shot, outlast 7 other X Division stars to win the battle royal. After though, Williams snuck in from behind and clotheslined Lethal. He then hit the Canadian Destroyer then held his title belt over Lethal saying he was the champion and he’d never get his hands on this.

BACKSTAGE WITH GAIL KIM AND MADISON RAYNE

Gail Kim was talking to her young protégé Madison Rayne in the back when Eric Young walked up to them wearing a tuxedo shirt and blue jeans. Kim said nice shirt and Young replied thanking her, saying he needed to dress up now that he was management and in charge of the knockouts division.

He said his first order of business was to book them against the Beautiful People in a tag match tonight. Kim and Rayne were excited for the match and thanked Young.

Matt Morgan pinned Lance Hoyt with the Hellevator in 0:04:19.
Rating: * 1/2

Matt Morgan continues to look like an unstoppable force. He took on 6-foot-11 Lance Hoyt and not only beat him, he was able to hit is Hellevator move on the big man.

[KING OF THE MOUNTAIN QUALIFYING MATCH]:
Tomko pinned Sting with the Yakuza Kick in 0:13:30.
Rating: **

Tomko added his name to the entries for the King of the Mountain match by scoring a victory over Sting. Although, Tomko’s ally Kevin Nash came down to provide an assist. Nash pulled the referee out of the ring when Sting had Tomko pinned following a Scorpion Death Drop.

Sting tried to jump over the top rope at Nash, but Nash moved and Sting crashed down to the floor. Nash immediately rolled Sting back into the ring and Tomko hit his Yakuza kick for the win.

Velvet Sky and Angelina Love defeated Gail Kim and Madison Rayne when Love defeated Gail by countout in 0:05:23.
Rating: 3/4*

Madison Rayne revealed her true colors and it turns out she was with the Beautiful People all along.

Kim started the match and fared very well against both Beautiful People. However, she made the tag to Rayne, and instead of fighting against Love, Rayne dropkicked Kim to the floor. Rayne then ran outside and threw Kim into the steel steps, then DDTed her on the floor.

The referee looked confused, but counted Kim out. Rayne then went into the ring, stood alongside Love and Sky and all three raised their hands in victory.

Hernandez pinned Brother Ray with the Border Toss in 0:06:49.
Rating: ** 1/2

In a preview of their tag title match, Hernandez got a win over Brother Ray, but Team 3D may have won the war, with an attack after the match. Devon came down and both doubled teamed Hernandez. Homicide ran down to make the save, but he got stomped down as well. Both Hernandez and Homicide ended up getting 3Ded through tables.

[KING OF THE MOUNTAIN QUALIFYING MATCH]:
Kaz pinned Robert Roode with the Wave of the Future in 0:12:39.
Rating: *** 1/4

Kaz became the last man to qualify for King of the Mountain by scoring a win over his old rival Robert Roode. However, Kurt Angle came back to follow through on his promise to punish anyone that stood in the way of him and the belt by rushing down to attack Kaz.

Only this time, Booker T was right there nearly following Angle down to the ring. Booker prevented Angle from doing any serious damage to Kaz and kicked the Olympic gold medalist out of the ring. Booker and Kaz shook hands and Angle backed up the ramp saying he was going to pay for this.

[JoshiQ]

I am all for a feud involving Angle and Booker T. They should have good chemistry together and put on a nice string of matches. I don't think either man will win the King of the Mountain which should give them some time to continue their feud.

Can't say I'm in love with the idea of Tomko getting in over Sting. Sting has to start winning some matches.

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (May 29, 2008)

Backstage, Gail Kim is hanging around with ODB and Traci Brooks when Christy Hemme and Roxxi Laveaux join the group. They asked the others what they were doing there and it was brought up that Eric Young gave all of them notes saying to meet him there.

Finally joining the group was The Beautiful People, including Madison Rayne who joined up with Angelina Love and Velvet Sky last week after turning on Gail Kim.

This led to a tense moment as they teased Kim a bit. Kim lunged at Rayne but the rest of the Knockouts held each back.

Finally Eric Young made his arrival and he calmed everyone down cause he said he had exciting news. He asked if everyone saw that X Division Battle Royal last week and how great it was. He then announced he was setting up the same thing tonight for all the Knockouts with a title shot going to the winner.

Then there was a bit more excitement amongst the group. Young said great, cause the match was going to start right now.

8-Man Battle Royal:
Traci Brooks won an 8-man Royal Rumble:
x Traci and Love started out.
x Velvet Sky entered at 0:02:00
x Traci defeated Love after a small package in 0:02:44
x Traci defeated Sky after the Diving Facebuster in 0:03:43
x Christy Hemme entered at 0:04:00
x ODB entered at 0:06:00
x Gail Kim entered at 0:08:00
x Traci defeated Christy after a rana in 0:09:23
x Roxxi Laveaux entered at 0:10:00
x Madison Rayne entered at 0:12:00
x Gail defeated M. Rayne after a powerbomb in 0:12:52
x Roxxi defeated ODB after the Voodoo Slam in 0:13:46
x Traci defeated Roxxi after the Diving Facebuster in 0:15:45
x Traci defeated Gail after the Diving Facebuster in 0:18:55
Rating: *** 1/4

Gail Kim got a little bit of revenge on Madison Rayne knocking her out of the battle royal less than a minute after she entered. But the night belonged to Traci Brooks who earned another shot at Awesome Kong's knockouts title by winning the battle royal.

Traci got on the mic after and had words for Kong, saying she'll make good on her second chance. This brought Kong charging to the ring, but Brooks was ready for her. Brooks countered Kong's attack, and clotheslined the champ out of the ring.

The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) defeated
The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens) when C. Sabin defeated C. Stevens by disqualification in 0:12:56.
Rating: ** 3/4
[Robert Roode interfered against Andy Douglas.]
[James Storm interfered against Chris Sabin.]

The newly formed team of Beer Money feel they're already better than any other TNA tag team, and set out to prove their dominance. They attacked both the Machine Guns and the Naturals during their match, leaving all four men laid out.

Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) defeated
Consequences Creed and Shark Boy when BRD pinned Creed with the Brother Bomb in 0:08:30.
Rating: ** 1/4
(Curry Man no-showed.)

LAX came to the top of the stage after the match and made an offer to Team 3D. They said they owed them a beating, and said they didn't want just another match at Slammiversary. They challenged Team 3D to make their tag titles match, a tables match.

3D looked at each other and asked LAX if they were serious. They want to challenge the greatest tag team of all time to their own specialty match? Ray said without a doubt they accept.

Backstage with Sting and Kevin Nash

Sting confronted Kevin Nash in the back about costing him his qualifying match last week. Sting told Nash it's time to settle this thing.

Nash was perfectly calm and told Sting he agreed. There was a lot of history there he said and it’s time to finish things.

What Sting didn’t see was Scott Steiner was sneaking behind for an attack. Steiner clocked Sting with a pipe and Nash then set up Sting by a nearby table and powerbombed him through it.

Matt Morgan pinned Black Reign with the Hellevator in 0:01:29.
Rating: **

Morgan continued his recent winning streak with another impressive win. He wasted little time putting away Black Reign.

Rhino pinned Abyss with the Gore in 0:12:40.
Rating: ** 1/2

Rhino scored a victory over Abyss albeit by less than honest means Rhino pulled out some brass knuckles and clocked Abyss with them while the referee wasn’t looking. He then hit the Gore and got the pin.

Booker T and Kaz defeated Kurt Angle and Tomko when Booker pinned Tomko with the Book End in 0:18:32.
Rating: *** 3/4

The four challengers in the King of the Mountain match met in tag action. Even though Booker and Kaz got the victory, that didn't stop Kurt Angle from attacking after the match.

After Booker pinned Tomko. He stood with Kaz, arms raised in victory when Angle came from behind with a chair hitting Booker in the leg, much in the same way he did with Joe and AJ in recent weeks.

But before Angle could do a lot of damage, running in for the save was the World Heavyweight Champion, Samoa Joe, who hasn't been seen since Angle attacked him at Sacrifice. Joe still seemed to be favoring the leg Angle attacked, but easily dispatched of Tomko who ran out to meet him on the floor. Joe then ran into the ring and chased out Angle. Joe stood in the ring staring down Angle as the show ended.

[snabbit888]

5/22:

Booker vs. Angle could be fun, and it's a fresh matchup here.

Lethal was the clear cut man to win that Rumble. Rematch should be great.

Eric Young is always great.

If Morgan is pinning Nash, he's not losing to Hoyt.

Man, you just hate Sting, don't you? How many more times can he lose before he either snaps or becomes irrelevant?

Oh, Rayne. Sexy, sexy Rayne. A pissed off Gail Kim is in your future.

Table match at ppv?

Kaz getting the main event push. Or at least a cup of coffee with the World Title involved to see how he holds up. No problem with that.

5/29:

Eric Young pilfering the X Title idea is fun. Traci, you're going to get killed by Kong again.

Well that's one way to try to make your name, Beer Money. Just piss off the entire tag team division.

If LAX is challenging Team 3D to a tables match, they have to have some trick up their sleeves. It doesn't make sense otherwise.

Though I imagine Sting finally gets his revenge on Nash at the ppv, man, he just keeps getting killed. It's becoming funny to me.

Morgan keeps piling up wins.

Abyss needs to always lose. It makes me happy.

Joe is back. Good way to build heat going into the PPV.

[rey619]

I agree with Ryan and Josh, Sting has taken quite a lot of falls from Tomko (even though it hasn't been clean). He needs do recover quickly.

I like it that you're including a secondary storyline to the women's division, but you also need a legitimate challenger for Kong, because as of right now, you have none. Which is, of course, the challenge of booking Kong - who is at least 120 lbs bigger than your second heaviest wrestler (ODB).

[cardsflyinhigh]

IMPACT (June 5, 2008)

TNA World Heavyweight champion Samoa Joe storms to the ring to begin the show. He still is showing a little bit of a limp thanks to Kurt Angle’s lead pipe attack at Sacrifice.

He called out Angle saying he wanted him in the ring tonight. No titles on the line, no backup, just a 1-on-1 fight.

Kurt Angle came out saying normally he would refuse such an asinine offer without the title being on the line, but he’s going to take Joe up on his challenge. Being that we are only days away from Slammiversary, and seeing how Joe is still hobbling around a bit, Angle said he welcomed the chance to take out Joe once and for all, which will better his chances of winning King of the Mountain, and once again becoming TNA World Heavyweight Champion!

Johnny Devine and Petey Williams defeated Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed when P. Williams pinned Creed with the Canadian Destroyer in 0:14:52.
Rating: *** 1/4

The night’s first match previewed the X Division title match. The champ Petey Williams and the challenge Jay Lethal each picked partners for a tag match. Petey left with the upper hand, pinning Lethal’s partner Consequences Creed.

Abyss pinned Rhino with the Black Hole Slam in 0:11:00.
Rating: ** 3/4

Abyss and Rhino engaged in another fight in a return match from last week where Rhino won thanks to some brass knuckles. Abyss got his revenge winning the match, but wasn’t satisfied.

After the match, grabbed his steel chain and swung it at Rhino, who was able to luckily slide under the ropes out of the way.

Before Rhino was gone, Abyss grabbed a mic. He told Rhino, it’s time to finish this. At Slammiversary, Abyss asked Rhino to meet him in Full Metal Mayhem. Chains, brass knuckles, chairs, it all goes.

Rhino accepted the match.

Backstage with Gail Kim and ODB

Gail Kim and ODB are walking around backstage talking about the Beautiful People and how someone needs to just kick their asses. ODB called the group of three nothing but Barbie dolls and her and Kim could take them all out themselves.

The duo walked into the women’s bathroom where they shrieked when they saw Eric Young sitting in a desk that looked like one you’d find in a 3rd grade classroom. Above him was a piece of paper towel stuck to the wall with the words “ERIC’S OFFICE” written on it.

They asked him what the heck he was doing in the ladies room, and he explained that as the head of the Knockouts Division, he thought putting his office in there was the best way to really get to know the people he’s working with. Then he asked if there’s anything he can help them with.

ODB then asked him for a tag match with Gail against all 3 Beautiful People. Young said no problem, he’ll make the match for later tonight.

ODB and Kim left glad for the match, but still kinda uneasy seeing Young in the ladies room. As they walked out the door they past Christy Hemme who walked in. All that could be heard was a loud yell.

Beer Money (James Storm and Robert Roode) defeated
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) when J. Storm defeated A. Shelley by disqualification in 0:15:08.
Rating: *** 1/2

The Motor City Machine Guns came to the ring and issued a challenge to James Storm and Robert Roode. They wanted see if they could be just as tough, meeting the Guns face to face, instead of sneaking up from behind.

Storm and Roode came out and accepted the match and proceeded to have a great back and forth match against the Guns. The only shame is we never got to see a winner.

The Naturals, the other team attacked by Storm and Roode last week and rivals of the Guns, came down for a sneak attack of their own on both teams. All 6 men started to brawl until security came to break them up.

Jim Cornette came down in the middle of things and said if they all want to beat each other up, do it at Slammiversary in a triangle match. And, he was going to give a tag title shot to the winners.

Handicap-Match:
ODB and Gail Kim defeated Angelina Love, Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky when ODB pinned M. Rayne after a fallaway slam in 0:10:45.
Rating: ** 1/4

ODB and Gail started off strong, but the numbers game slowly caught up with them as the Beautiful People were able to use their advantage to turn the match in their favor.

But the experienced team was able to counter. Kim made a hot tag to ODB who cleaned house. Love and Sky slipped out to the floor, as Kim recovered to climb to the top rope and splash down on both of them.

ODB was left alone in the ring with the rookie Rayne, and was able to score an easy pin.

Backstage interview with Kaz and Booker T

Kaz and Booker T did a joint interview talking about the upcoming King of the Mountain match. Each pointed out that they’ve worked together and had each other’s back since Booker’s been in TNA. But Sunday, it’s every man for himself.

Each though said they hoped if they couldn’t win the belt, they wanted the other to. The most important thing was to keep the belt from going back to Kurt Angle, and stopping his path of destruction.

Sting defeated Kevin Nash by disqualification in 0:11:05.
Rating: -** 1/4

Sting looked to pick up a victory over Kevin Nash when he had Big Sexy locked in the Scorpion Death Lock. This though brought Scott Steiner in who hit Sting in the back with his lead pipe.

Nash and Steiner were stomping away at Sting but stopped when the music of A.J. Styles to begin to play. Nash and Steiner where shocked to see A.J. return to help Sting.

A.J. hit Nash with a dropkick, then caught Steiner with a Pele. Nash and Steiner retreated back up the ramp.

Sting got a mic and said it was obvious he needed a little backup, so he reached out to A.J., who then took the mic and said he's coming after Kurt Angle, and anyone who associates themselves with Angle. So when Sting asked him for help against Nash and Steiner, he just couldn't pass it up.

In response, Nash threw out a challenge for Sting and Styles to meet him and Steiner at Slammiversary.

Kurt Angle pinned Samoa Joe after The Angle Slam in 0:14:09.
Rating: ***

Joe was clearly not at 100 % as his leg was still giving him problems. Kurt Angle is someone who don’t want to face when you’re at less than your best. Joe was holding his own, but Angle put more pressure on the leg when he locked in the Ankle Lock.

Joe managed to escape but the damage was done. He still got the match turned in his favor, but as he had Angle set up for the Muscle Buster, the leg gave out. Angle then hit the Angle Slam for the pin.

After the match, Tomko ran to the ring to join Angle in beating on Joe, but not too far behind were Booker T and Kaz. The four of them brawled as Joe laid outside the ring nursing his hurt leg as the show ended.

Final card for Slammiversary
TNA World Heavyweight Title
King of the Mountain Match
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Booker T. vs. Kaz vs. Tomko

World Tag Team Titles
Tables Match
LAX (c) vs. Team 3D

X Division Title
Petey Williams (c) vs. Jay Lethal

Knockouts Title
Awesome Kong (c) vs. Traci Brooks

Full Metal Mayhem
Abyss vs. Rhino

Sting & A.J. Styles vs. Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner

Triangle Match
For a World Tag Team title shot
Beer Money vs. The Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Naturals

[JoshiQ]

The match with Abyss and Rhino at Slammiversary is going to be brutal. Just about the only way you could settle this feud though.

Sting and Styles as a team makes sense to go against Nash and Steiner. I think this will be the opportunity Sting was looking for to finally get his revenge on Nash.

I'm a little tired of Angle in the World Title picture, but he needed this win over Joe to be taken seriously again after all of his other losses. The show is looking pretty good!

[snabbit888]

That's probably not a good idea, Joe, with that hobbled knee.

Petey gets the win, but he didn't pin Lethal.

Hopefully Slammiversary is the end of Abyss/Rhino. They've had some decent brawls, but it's time for both to move on to something else.

Best office ever, Eric Young.

Lot of top contender tag team matches recently. Not a big deal. As good a way to crown new challengers as any.

Don't like the Beautiful People losing the handicap match, but it's the right call for Rayne to take the win. She's the rookie and inexperienced one there, so she would be the weak link.

I expect Kaz and Booker to work together somewhat in King of the Mountain.

FINALLY Sting gets a little help. Styles is a good man to have on your side. Now hopefully we see Sting actually pull out a win here.

Joe's bad leg was just too much to overcome. Good win for Angle. He has all the momentum.

PREDICTIONS:

Joe finds a way to retain. His reign is just getting started.

LAX keeps the tag titles.

Petey keeps the X Title.

Kong kills Traci.

Hopefully Rhino wins.

Sting/AJ gets a clean win for once.

Beer Money win the triangle match.

[rey619]

Hah, I love Eric Young as the GM of the Knockout Division. I have thought about bringing him in to TNAW too - he's great for comic relief.

[cardsflyinhigh]

SLAMMIVERSARY VI (June 8, 2008)

[/b]
Triangle Match:
Beer Money, Inc. defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) and The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens) when J. Storm pinned A. Douglas with the Last Call in 0:17:16.
Rating: **** 3/4

Plain and simple, this was a great way to start Slammiversary. Each team was at their best and the match saw a host of great moves from everybody.

The Machine Guns and The Naturals have been going at it for months now, and that seemed to play a factor in the match. Although everyone was beating up everyone, those two teams seemed to have a greater focus on each other, leaving Storm and Roode to fly somewhat under the radar.

Towards the end of the match, Roode suplexed Sabin out on the floor. This led to Chase Stevens flying off the top rode to splash down on both. Next was Alex Shelley with a suicide dive taking out Stevens. Next was Douglas, who came off the far ropes ready to run and leap into the pile, but James Storm caught him with the Last Call, then picked up the pin.

Just like that, they newest team in the match is the one to earn a World Tag title shot.

Awesome Kong pinned Traci Brooks with the Awesome Bomb in 0:10:17.
Rating: **
(Awesome Kong retained the TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE.)

Traci tried to the make the most of another shot at Kong, but the Knockouts Champion was once again simply too much. Traci though may have come as close as anyone has to taking Kong’s title. Traci slipped out of an Awesome Bomb and hit a DDT, but Kong was able to kick out at 2.

Traci began to take more and more chances. She attempted a flying cross body off the top rope, but Kong caught her and delivered a Snake Eyes off the top turnbuckle. Soon after she hit an Awesome Bomb to get the win.

Jay Lethal defeated Petey Williams by countout in 0:17:26.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Petey Williams retained the TNA X DIVISION TITLE.)

If you were judging a match based on points, Jay Lethal would be the new X Division Champion. But the one thing he couldn’t do was pin Petey Williams. After a great back-and-forth match, Lethal got the edge and looked to be on the verge of winning back the belt, but Williams took the low road.

He snuck out of the ring, grabbed his belt tried to run to the back, but Lethal was able to track him down and get him back to the ring in time. But only a few minutes later, Williams did it again but again Lethal came to follow. But this time, Williams grabbed hold of the guardrail and refused to let down. Lethal tried pulling his legs, but Williams maintained his grip long enough to get counted out.

[FULL METAL MAYHEM]: No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Abyss pinned Rhino with the Black Hole Slam in 0:17:26.
Rating: *** 3/4

Both men were bloody, both were beaten, but Abyss had a little more in his tank and got the win and revenge over Rhino.

Rhino bled early when Rhino did a matador impression on a Gore attempt as the War Machine crashed head first into a steal chair. Rhino drew blood from Abyss later on thanks to a barbed wire covered baseball bat.

Abyss had thumbtacks in the ring and tried to chokeslam Rhino onto them, but a kick to the groin turned the tide and Rhino slammed Abyss down on them. Abyss kicked out of a pin attempt somehow and Rhino then went for the Gore again.

Only Abyss caught him and delivered a black hole slam on the tacks and got the pin.

Table No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) defeated
Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) when Hernandez defeated Devon byputting him through a table in 0:16:52.
Rating: *** 1/4
(Latin American X-Change retained the TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)

A lot of weaponry from the last match was still lingering around ringside when LAX met 3D in their tables match. And a great deal of it was used.

Homocide saved Hernandez when Team 3D was ready to hit 3D. As Hernandez was whipped off the ropes, Homocide came diving off the top with a chair and hit Devon right in the head, preventing him from executing 3D.

Brother Ray was laying on the floor outside. Homocide found some left over barbed wire and wrapped it around his body. He then leapt off the ring apron splashing onto Ray.

Meanwhile, in the ring Hernandez dropped Devon through a table with the Border Toss to end the match.

AJ Styles and Sting defeated Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash when Sting defeated S. Steiner with the Scorpion Death Drop in 0:12:17.
Rating: * 1/4

Looks like Sting found the perfect partner to fight against Nash and Steiner. Despite being the smallest man in the match, Styles was also the most explosive. His high flying moves kept Nash and Steiner at bay.

His help allowed Sting to pick up the victory, getting the pin on Steiner.

King of the Mountain Match:
Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle vs. Booker T vs. Tomko vs. Kaz

This match will go down as one of the best King of the Mountain matches ever. The rules are simple. Climb the ladder with the TNA World title belt and hang it on the hook above the ring. But, to be eligible to hang the belt, you first must score a fall over another competitor by pinfall or submission. If you're pinned, or if you submit, you must spend two minutes in the penalty box, a small cage at ringside.

Booker became the first man to become eligible to climb the ladder and hang the belt after pinning Tomko. Soon though everyone would become eligible and nearly everybody would have to go to the penalty box for a 2 minute period.

One of the more interesting times came when Samoa Joe was already in the penalty box after being pinned by Tomko, and while he was in there, his arch rival Kurt Angle had to go in as well after getting pinned by Kaz. So for about a minute, Joe and Angle were both closed into a space the size of a phone booth.

Joe had to go back in by himself this time after Angle took advantage of Joe’s injured leg, the one Angle injured at Sacrifice, making him tap to the Ankle lock. But as soon as Joe came out, he locked Angle’s closest ally in Tomko into the Coquina Clutch to gain eligibility for himself.

Later in the match, Booker T and Kaz were down and seemingly out after each missing high flying moves on the floor aimed for Angle and Tomko respectively. Joe tried to take Angle out of the match. He set up Angle on a table outside and the climbed to the top rope. Tomko though caught him with a right hand as Angle rolled off the table.

Tomko tried to superplex Joe onto the table, but Joe fought him off, and threw Tomko down through the table. Angle though had a chair and smacked Joe with it, sending him flying off the top, crashing down onto the floor. Angle grabbed the belt and headed for the ladder.

Angle was looking like he was on his way to victory, but Kaz was there to spoil his climb, grabbed hold of Angle and powerbombing him off the ladder.

That left Kaz alone to take his shot. Kaz grabbed the belt and proceeded to climb the ladder and it looked like he would do it, but of all people, his closest friend Booker T came off the top with a missile dropkick onto the ladder sending Kaz flying off.

Booker then repositioned the ladder, grabbed the belt, made the climb and hung up the belt to win the match and the title!!

Booker T won a 5-man Match against Tomko, Kaz, Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe: x Booker pinned Tomko after a scissor kick in 0:08:29
x Tomko pinned Joe after a Yakuza kick in 0:11:34
x Kaz pinned Angle after the Wave of the Future in 0:12:20
x Angle made Joe submit to the Ankle Lock at 0:16:34
x Joe made Tomko submit to the Coquina Clutch in 0:18:53
x Booker T climbed the ladder in 0:25:35
Rating: **** 1/4
(Booker T won the TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)

[snabbit888]

Wow... almost got 5 stars from your opener. Good tag match, and good to see Beer Money getting elevated right from the start.

Kong destroys another one. Who is going to step up to the plate and give her a real challenge?

Strange ending to Petey/Lethal. Not a bad one, mind you, but I didn't like that being the ending for a PPV match. Seems to me it would have worked better if that's how a TV match between the two ended, adding a stip for the PPV rematch where titles can change on CO, or no-CO. Still, good match, and more of these two wrestling is a good thing.

So there were tacks, and it wasn't Abyss going into them? Shocking. Sure it would have been a fun brawl to see, but I'm hoping these two stay apart for awhile.

LAX beat Team 3D at their own match... that's impressive.

Sting FINALLY gets a clean pin on someone. Thank GOD. Didn't mind that it was on Steiner and not Nash. I would assume this leads to a final encounter match with Sting/Nash where Sting gets that win.

King of the Mountain is a match I have mixed thoughts about. If you're already a wrestling fan, it's cool, because the rules are interesting. But if you're a casual fan, there's no way that's not just confusing as fuck. Either way, I would have figured Joe would retain, so Booker winning was a big surprise to me. A good surprise, mind you, but a surprise none the less. Should give you some fresh matchups though.