A2Z Analysiz: TNA Fandimonium: Beer Money, Inc.

Reviews, Top Story, Wrestling DVDs

MATCH #1: 3-D Invitational Tag Team Tournament Finals – Beer Money, Inc. vs. The British Invasion, Sacrifice, 5.24.09

Robert Roode & James Storm beat Lethal Consequences and Eric Young & Jethro Holliday to get to the finals, while Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams beat the Latin American Xchange and Suicide & Amazing Red to get here. Williams and Roode start the match with some chain wrestling. I think Doug Williams is my favorite wrestler in TNA. Williams uses wrestling to gain an advantage, and Roode comes back with fast paced and high impact offensive maneuvers. Roode makes the tag to Storm, who hits a Russian legsweep for two. Beer Money continues controlling the British Invasion, even using Storm’s favorite beverage as an offensive weapon. The Brits try to regroup on the floor, but Roode backdrops Storm over the ropes, wiping out the whole team, including big Rob Terry. Williams and Magnus use some shady tactics to take over on Storm. After a few minutes of abuse Storm makes the hot tag to Roode, and he hits Williams with a big spinebuster for two. Rob Terry interferes, and Williams hits a pop-up European Uppercut on Roode for two. The match turns into a pier-six brawl in the ring. Magnus gets dumped to the floor, and Storm hits a hurricanrana off the top rope (!), and Roode follows with a Superfly Splash. Terry pulls the referee to the floor, and gets ejected for it! Williams tries to use the Feast or Fired Case, so of course winds up getting hit in the face with it, and Beer Money wins the tournament, the trophy, the cash, and the title shot at 10:46. I like all four of these guys and they could have gone longer than they did. Still, it was the best match of the show so far.
Rating: ***

MATCH #2: TNA World Tag Team Championship Match – Beer Money, Inc. vs. Abyss & Matt Morgan vs. Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed, Genesis, 1.11.09

Lethal Consequences have been the champions since 1.8.09, and this is their first defense. They successfully cashed in a “Feast or Fired” briefcase to win the titles. Storm and Creed start the match. They do some back and forth for a bit and then make tags to their partners. Lethal stays on offense against Roode, thwarting all of his attacks. Jacqueline tries to interfere but she gets beat up too, sandwiched between her two charges. Abyss comes in and works with Lethal Consequences for a brief time. The Beer Money trio falls into a sexually suggestive position, and Roode enjoys it a little too much. Abyss beats them up a little bit more before they gain the advantage on him with some double-teaming. He tries to make the hot tag to Morgan, but Creed reaches out and steals the tag instead. He’s on fire at first but Beer Money double teams him back down. The match breaks down to a pier-six brawl. Abyss chokeslams Lethal over his knee, but then Creed hits a Missile Dropkick on him. Morgan hits the Carbon Footprint on Creed, but then gets double-teamed by Beer Money. Abyss then accidentally hits Morgan with one of the title belts. Roode goes for the cover but Lethal hits the Top Rope Elbow on him, but Jacqueline is distracting the ref. Storm gets in the ring and superkicks Lethal. He then puts Roode back over Morgan to get the pin at 15:20 to regain the titles. That was fun up to a point, but then the finish took way too long to execute. Morgan laid there forever, and while on one hand I can appreciate someone selling a foreign object shot, the way we’ve been conditioned over the years just makes stuff like that look lame now. But like I said, it was still an enjoyable match.
Rating: ***

MATCH #3: Off the Wagon Challenge for the TNA World Tag Team Title – Team 3D vs. Beer Money, Inc., Destination X, 3.15.09

Beer Money has been the champions since 1.11.09, and this is their sixth defense. Team 3D is putting their careers on the line for this shot at the titles. Devon and Roode start the match; Roode gets an early advantage and gloats about it. Ray tags in and Roode takes advantage of him too, and then tags Storm for much of the same. To say they’re starting the match slowly would be accurate. Ray does some comedy – not like his career is on the line or anything. 3D takes a brief advantage before the champions come back once again. Devon comes back with a double clothesline. He makes the hot tag to Ray, who cleans house on the champions. Roode comes back with a blockbuster on Ray. You know, for careers being on the line this match sure doesn’t feel that important. The referee loses control and people are coming and going. Ray hits the Bubba Bomb on Roode for two. Devon rejoins the ring and they hit a double neckbreaker but Roode kicks out again! Storm brings a chair into the ring and hits Ray with it for the DQ at 9:56. Jim Cornette doesn’t like that though, so he comes out and gives the “these people want to see a winner and a loser” speech. He restarts the match as a no-DQ match. Back in the ring 3D hits the 3D on Storm but Roode pulls the referee out. Roode then grabs Storm and they retreat to the back and get counted out at 1:24 (total match time 11:20). What a stupid finish to a boring match. I hate everything about Team 3D. Why did Jim Cornette restart the match for a DQ but not a countout? They can’t even be consistent within the same match.
Rating: *

MATCH #4: TNA World Tag Team Championship – Beer Money, Inc. vs. Lethal Consequences, Against All Odds, 2.8.09

Beer Money has been the champions since 1.11.09, and this is their first defense. Lethal and Roode start the match, and Lethal gets a quick advantage. The champions try to use their power but the challengers are able to weather the storm and use their athleticism to control the champions. They get in the requisite “gay” spot, which I’m just really tired of. Beer Money is finally able to isolate Lethal on work him over for a bit. Lethal gets a few almost comebacks but mostly the champions wear him down. Finally Lethal makes the hot tag to Creed, who comes in on fire. Creed hits a double rolling clothesline and then goes up top to hit Storm with a cross body block for two. Jacqueline interferes to halt Creed’s momentum, and now Beer Money goes to work on Creed’s injured arm and shoulder. After a few minutes of abuse Creed makes the hot tag to Lethal. Black Machismo goes to the top rope and hits the elbow drop on Roode, but Storm breaks it up. Jacqueline tries to interfere again but it backfires. Lethal hits the Lethal Combination on Roode, but it only gets two. Jacqueline gives Storm a chain, which he uses to punch Lethal in the face, and Roode gets the pin at 15:43. That was solid formula stuff, but the finish seemed a little unnecessary. No one gave Lethal Consequences a chance to begin with.
Rating: **½

MATCH #5: Lethal Lockdown Match – Team 3D & Beer Money, Inc. vs. Scott Steiner, Booker T & The British Invasion, No Surrender, 9.20.09

I’m not sure why they had to bring Lethal Lockdown to a pay-per-view besides Lockdown, but whatever. Doug Williams starts for his team, while James Storm will begin for his squad. The fight starts up in the aisle and I don’t hear an opening bell when they make it into the ring. I’m surprised at how often that happens (no opening bell). They go back and forth for a bit, Storm getting the first advantage with the Swinging Noose. Storm goes for a cover but you can’t actually win until all eight competitors are in the ring. Moments later Storm hits the Eye of the Storm. Williams comes back with a low blow. Brutus Magnus is the next man out, and Storm kicks the steel cage door back in his face. For some reason Magnus completely no-sells it and Tenay and Taz try to cover up for him. Williams whips Magnus into the cage door, and Storm has the decency to sell it. They work Storm over for a few minutes and then Robert Roode joins the fray. Roode is all over the Brits, and that gives Storm the chance to recover. Beer Money hits a catapult DDT, which is pretty cool looking. The next man out is one half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions, Scott Steiner. He gets in the cage and starts throwing Beer Money around. That pretty much goes on until Brother Devon comes out to even the odds. Taz needs to stop giggling every other second. Booker T comes out holding both TNA World Tag Team Title belts. He certainly takes his time getting there, but when he does he goes to work on everybody. Finally Brother Ray comes out and now the ceiling will lower, bringing the weapons into play. That also means a decision can be rendered. But before Ray can make it into the cage Rob Terry flies in from out of nowhere and takes Ray down, and then bashes a steel chair across his back. Terry then forces the carnie in control of the cage to lower it. The Main Event Mafia/World Elite conglomerate pulls some weapons down and they’re working Devon and Beer Money over. Ray recovers and absolutely kills Terry’s head with the chair. He gets in the ring and blasts everyone else with the chair too. Magnus escapes by climbing to the top of the cage, and the bloody Storm joins him. Roode goes to the top of the cage as well, and Beer Money hits him with a double suplex. Meanwhile Team 3D hits Steiner with the 3D. Booker hits Ray with the Book End. Some chick in the crowd is screaming unnecessarily loud. Beer Money gets back in the ring and they hit Williams with the DWI to get the win at around 21:39. That was quite a bit of fun and having that many guys out there generally means there’s always something going on.
Rating: ***¼

MATCH #6: TNA World Tag Team Title Match – Team 3D vs. Beer Money, Inc., Slammiversary, 6.21.09

Team 3D have been the champions since 4.19.09, and this is their first defense. Beer Money earned the title shot by defeating the British Invasion last month at Sacrifice. Storm and Devon start the match as Tenay is more interested in bickering with West than calling the match at first. Beer Money takes the advantage with some strategic double-teaming, so Devon tags Brother Ray. Of course Ray takes the advantage on Roode; I’m feeling like Devon does the majority of the selling in Team 3D matches, I could be wrong. Ray hits a sick release German suplex. Instead of using that opportunity, Roode quickly stops selling the injury and tags Storm. Team 3D uses some illegal double-teaming, so Beer Money responds in kind. Beer Money works Devon over for a few minutes before he makes the hot tag to Ray. Team 3D pitches Storm to the floor and then sets Roode up for the 3D. Storm breaks that up but then gets thrown to the floor again. Team 3D hits the What’s Up and then go to get the tables. This has been going on since what, the late ‘90s? They take too long and Storm stops them. Back in the ring Roode hits Ray with a spinebuster for two. Beer Money hits Ray with a double suplex and look to be firmly in control at this point. Now the British Invasion makes their way down to ringside. Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams join the commentating team. Meanwhile back in the ring Team 3D has once again taken control. The match breaks down and the referee loses control. Doug Williams agrees with me. Team 3D goes for the Doomsday Device on Roode, but he avoids it and Storm hits Ray with a lung blower. Storm hits Devon with the super rana and Roode follows with a Superfly Splash for a two-count. Beer Money sets Devon on the top rope, but Ray breaks it up and this time they hit Roode with the Doomsday Device. Roode kicks out at two! Storm accidentally spits beer in Roode’s eyes, and Team 3D hits the 3D. Rob Terry gets up the apron to distract the referee, so Ray knocks him off the apron and dives off the top rope to wipe out Terry and Magnus. Williams gets up on the apron as well, and Devon knocks him back through a table. Meanwhile Beer Money has recovered and they hit Devon with the DWI to get the win and their third reign as TNA World Tag Team Champions at 16:55. Team 3D, especially Brother Ray, is always talking about giving back to the business and all that, but how about you over the hill washed up WWE rejects put someone over without tons of interference or some other kind of shenanigans for once in your TNA careers? The match was fine until the British Invasion made their way out and the overbooking kicked in.
Rating: **½

MATCH #7: Philadelphia Street Fight for the TNA Tag Team Championship – Team 3D vs. Beer Money, Inc., Lockdown, 4.19.09

Beer Money has been champions since 1.11.09, and this is their seventh defense. Brother Ray calling this the most important tag team match in the history of wrestling is a bit of an overstatement. Team 3D’s IWGP Tag Team Titles are on the line as well. They’ve held the titles since 1.4.09. They start off throwing haymakers right away. Beer Money gets a brief advantage before 3D tosses them both to the floor, and the fight resumes out there. They pair off and we get a split screen to follow the action. They’re fighting all over the arena, and apparently falls count anywhere. Eventually they all fight back towards the ring and Storm slams the cage door in Ray’s face. Ray immediately crawls under the apron so that he can cut himself without anyone knowing. Because just putting your head under the apron and coming up bleeding isn’t conspicuous at all, no. Beer Money sets up the steel steps and a table, and they suplex Devon through it. Then they bring Ray in the ring for some double-teaming. Roode and Ray fight up on the top rope, and Ray hits a Super Bubba Bomb on him. Mike Tenay wins the redundancy award for calling it the “Top Rope Super Bubba Bomb.” Roode kicks out at two. Storm hits a tornado reverse DDT on Ray for two. Devon makes his way back in the ring, and Team 3D hits the double-team neckbreaker that JR always used to call the 3D but it really isn’t for a two-count. They hit a Doomsday Device on Storm for two. Then they hit the What’s Up on Roode. I hate how every Team 3D match progresses in exactly the same way. That means the tables are next. They take forever to bring them in, so Beer Money is able to avoid going through the table. They hit several big moves but can’t put 3D away. Storm misses a somersault senton off the top rope and rolls out of the cage. Roode tells Storm to slam the cage door into Devon’s face, but Devon reverses it and Roode eats the cage. He turns around and takes a 3D through the table and we have new TNA World Tag Team Champions at 14:58. That was the usual Team 3D brawl, but Beer Money especially worked hard and they had a few creative spots.
Rating: **½

MATCH #8: Full Metal Mayhem for IWGP & TNA World Tag Team Championships – The British Invasion vs. Beer Money, Inc. vs. Booker T & Scott Steiner vs. Team 3D, Bound for Glory, 10.18.09

Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams have been the IWGP Tag Team Champions since 7.30.09. Booker T and Scott Steiner have been the TNA Tag Team Champions since 7.19.09, and this is their fourth defense. Both sets of titles are on the line here, in separate falls. The belts are hanging in the same fashion that the X-Division title was hanging in the Ultimate X match, so it seems like more or less the same thing. Everyone attacks Team 3D in the early going, much like they talked about earlier. The Brits make the first attempt at retrieving the titles, but Beer Money stops them. Meanwhile, Team 3D and the Main Event Mafia battle each other outside the ring. Moments later Booker rejoins the ring and performs the Spin-a-Roony like any good heel would, and winds up eating a superkick and the DWI for his troubles. Steiner comes to his partner’s aid and throws everyone around with suplexes. He follows up with a Super Frankensteiner on Williams. Booker has apparently been “injured,” so his well-endowed wife comes out to see how he’s doing. The British Invasion takes over on Steiner and works him over, stealing Team 3D’s signature moves just to be jerks. Booker is carted out on a stretcher, never to be seen in TNA again. Team 3D gets back in the ring with chairs and they start beating up everyone. Brother Ray even lets Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society (seated at ringside after performing the National Anthem at the beginning of the show) hit Magnus with a chair. The match continues on as a brawl, and Steiner valiantly fights on his own. Unfortunately for Steiner, he winds up getting powerbombed off a ladder and through a table. Devon climbs to the top of the ladder and pulls down the IWGP Tag Title belt at around 13:06, despite getting bashed with a chair by the interfering Rhyno. Williams and Magnus take advantage of the situation, working Team 3D over. Magnus climbs up the ladder and Beer Money tries to double suplex him and it sort of works. Their little “Beer Money” thing is really played and at this point irritating. Magnus quickly recovers and tries climbing the ladder again; this time Storm hits him with a sunset bomb off the ladder. Williams clobbers Storm with a steel chair and climbs up the ladder; Roode joins him up there. Roode knocks Williams down, but Big Rob comes out and pitches Roode over the top rope and through a table on the floor. Williams is then able to grab the TNA title belt and the British Invasion is the NEW TNA World Tag Team Champions at 17:14. That was the usual hardcore mess with a couple of cute spots but mostly just chaos.
Rating: **

The Pulse: This is a pretty cool idea for a DVD, but for people who buy all of the pay-per-view DVDs (like I do) there is nothing you won’t already have. I’m not sure why the matches aren’t in chronological order, but the interviews with James Storm and Robert Roode in between the matches are a nice touch, as is the bonus feature of Rough Cuts with Beer Money, Inc. The match quality isn’t amazing, but it’s a good sampling of some of Beer Money, Inc.’s biggest matches.

I grew up and now I write for Inside Pulse. Oh, and one time I saw a blimp!