A2Z Analysiz: TNA Turning Point 2007 (Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle, AJ Styles)

Wrestling DVDs

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Universal Studios – Orlando, Florida – December 2, 2007

Before the show can even begin, the Angle Alliance is sitting in their locker room talking about whether or not to bring Christian Cage into the fold. Kurt Angle says he’s going to go talk to him.

Intro

That segues to the opening video package, which has some pretty creepy stuff in it, and lots of blood. Mike Tenay and Don West are on commentary, and they hype the card, featuring Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, plus a bunch of other guys.

MATCH #1: Tables Match – The Motor City Machineguns & Jay Lethal vs. Team 3D & Johnny Devine

Lethal is the current X-Division Champion, but his opponents have possession of the belt right now. You just have to put one of your opponents through a table to win this match. Brother Ray starts the match on the microphone, trying to recreate his act from the original ECW. Shelley and Devine start the match proper and I expect this one to be pretty fast paced. That’s pretty much how it goes when the good guys are in control, whereas Team 3D and Devine try to slow it down. Ray and Devon first introduce the tables, but they wind up getting one dropkicked back into their faces. In the ring the Guns double team Devine until Ray and Devon come back in. Early in the match they were tagging in and out but that just stops at one point. The Guns use a super contrived table spot to take Devine out. Both teams execute some cool spots with the tables. The referee gets knocked out, and Lethal puts Devine through a table but the ref didn’t see it. Team 3D gets back in the ring and hits everyone with the X-Division Title belt, and puts Devine on top of Lethal on the broken table. The referee comes to and calls the match in favor of Team 3D and Johnny Devine at 14:58. The number one rule of officiating is you can’t call what you can’t see, so I really hate that finish. The match was a ton of fun though.
Rating: ***

MATCH #2: Roxxi Laveaux & ODB vs. Velvet Sky & Angelina Love

Love and Laveaux start the match with some mat wrestling, and not much happens before they make tags to their partners. Sky looks noticeably smaller in the breast region. She gives ODB a wedgie, and then ODB complains to referee Andrew Thomas by giving him one as well. ODB and Laveaux take control, wearing Sky down in their half of the ring. After a couple of minutes Love makes the hot tag, and this match is confusing because I assumed the future Beautiful People were the heels but apparently that is not the case. Love and Sky work together and toss ODB to the floor. Sky then grabs Laveaux for a Side Russian Legsweep and Love adds a boot to the face to get the win at 6:06. They really put a lot of effort into the Knockouts Division in the early days.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #3: Eric Young vs. James Storm

This match is for the prestigious World Drinking Championship. Storm is accompanied by “The Pride of Tennessee” Ms. Jackie Moore. Young currently holds the title and Storm desperately wants it back. Young charges into the ring and the fight is on. Moore tries to interfere but it backfires and Young stays in control. Storm comes back and goes to work on Young’s shoulder. Both guys are showing good fire in the opening minutes. Storm slows the pace of the match down, keeping Young on the mat. He hits the Eye of the Storm and then gloats before covering for a two-count. Young fights back and takes Storm down for the Macho Elbow, but he hurts himself with that and only gets two. Storm goes for the Eight Second Ride but Young counters with a Northern Lights Suplex for a near-fall. Momentum shifts again as Storm hits a lungblower but Young kicks out again! Storm sets up for the Last Call but Young ducks and hits a powerslam for two. Moore tries to spit beer in Young’s face but she accidentally spits it in Storm’s face instead. That’s like giving spinach to Popeye. Storm tries to hit Young with the bottle but the referee stops him and Young gets a quick sunset flip for the win at 12:21. That was a really solid match with good work from two guys on the rise (at the time).
Rating: ***

MATCH #4: Feast or Fired Battle Match – Senshi, Elix Skipper, Christopher Daniels, Sonjay Dutt, Shark Boy, Lance Hoyt, Jimmy Rave, Petey Williams, Chris Harris, BG James, Kip James, Homicide, Hernandez, and Scott Steiner

Four briefcases are hanging from the corners; three of the briefcases contain title shots (one TNA World Title, one TNA X-Division Title, and one TNA World Tag Team Title Shot), and the fourth briefcase contains a pink slip. You have to pull the case down and touch the floor to gain possession of it. Hoyt and Rave are accompanied by Christy Hemme. Kip James has the most feminine tights I’ve ever seen any wrestler wear ever. The action is coming fast and furious both in and out of the ring. The tag teams naturally work together, as wear learn that the contents of the cases will be reviewed on Thursday’s episode of Impact. Williams secures the first briefcase. The brawl continues and Kip James takes a briefcase down and then hurls it to BG on the floor to avoid someone else getting control of it. BG realizes he may have just lost his job as the match continues. This is just a mess. Hernandez hurls Senshi up over his head and Senshi lands on the turnbuckle and is able to grab the third briefcase. More brawling happens and Daniels pulls down the fourth case and uses it as a weapon on Hernandez. Before he can reach the floor though, Steiner grabs the case and rolls to the floor to end the match at 11:53. That was just a mess all over the place.
Rating: *½

MATCH #5: TNA Women’s Championship Match – Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong

Kim has been the champion since 10.14.07 and this is her second defense. Kong knocks Kim off the apron and goes to the floor to start the fight. Kim is more than ready for her though as they fight around ringside. Finally they make it into the ring and the match officially begins. Kim focuses her attack on the arm but Kong cuts her off with a sleeper and swings her down to the mat. Kong simply dominates now, using her size and power advantage. Kim desperately fights back and resumes her attack on the arm but it goes nowhere. She wisely changes her attacks to a more kick-based offense, finally taking Kong off her feet with a missile dropkick! Kim follows up with a senton but it only gets two. Kong gets fired up and hits a hard back fist to the face. She chokes Kim down in the corner and when referee Andrew Thomas tries to break it up she piefaces him for the DQ at 8:40. Kong hits Thomas with a powerbomb and turns back to Kim, and even fights off Velvet Sky and Angelina Love when they try to help out. Kim takes another powerbomb and Kong looks awesomely dominant. Kong had better matches in the Knockout Division than anyone else ever did.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #6: 10,000 Tacks Match – Abyss & Raven vs. Black Reign & Rellik

Rhino was scheduled to be Abyss’s partner, but he got taken out on Impact by Reign and Rellik, so Raven stepped in to take his place. Abyss and Raven take the first advantage and I anticipate this one will be a lot of brawling. As I predicted, that’s exactly what happens. Abyss and Reign battle each other and both get busted open, while Raven and Rellik pair off elsewhere. They pretty much stay in those pairings for a while, doing sick things to each other. Abyss and Raven find some kendo sticks and introduce them into the fray. Moments later Raven hurls Reign from the apron through a tack-infested table at ringside. Raven sets Rellik up on a table and goes for an elbow but misses and crashes through the table himself. That leaves Abyss and Rellik in the ring. Rellik sets up a bunch of tacks and Abyss goes for a Chokeslam but Rellik spits mist in his eyes. Even so, Abyss is able to hit Rellik with the Black Hole Slam onto a pile of tacks to get the pin at 14:43. If you get off on hardcore matches you’ll probably really like this, so it was good for its audience, that audience just isn’t me.
Rating: **

MATCH #7: Tag Team Match – Booker T & Kaz vs. Christian Cage & Robert Roode

Cage and Roode have Ms. Brooks in their corner, while T and Kaz have Sharmell. Kaz and Cage start the match, picking up where they left off from the ladder match back at Genesis. They go back and forth briefly and then make tags. T takes control of the much less experienced Roode while a “psycho fan” (Rain, making weird faces) watches on from the dark corners of the building. Meanwhile Cage and Roode have taken the advantage. T comes back on Cage and makes the tag to Kaz, who knocks both Cage and Roode to the floor and wipes them out with a dive. Back in the ring the heels resume control. Kaz comes back with a series of pinning combinations on Roode but can’t hold him down for a pin. After several minutes Kaz hits Cage with the Wave of the Future but can’t make the tag when Roode pulls T off the apron. Tenay says that the building will explode when T gets the hot tag, but it doesn’t exactly happen that way. T dominates, hitting Cage with a missile dropkick. He signals for the Spin-a-Roonie but Roode cuts it off. The referee loses control and then Kaz and Roode blow a spot. Roode backdrops Kaz to the floor, and then T takes both Cage and Roode out with a big kick. This time T executes the Spin-a-Roonie. The referee gets distracted with Brooks and Kaz on the floor, allowing Roode to bring a chair in. Unfortunately for Roode, it backfires when T ducks and he plasters Cage with the chair. T then hits an Axe Kick to get the win at 15:56. There were some awkward spots but for the most part this was a solid, TV-type tag team match.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #8: Main Event Six Man War – Kurt Angle, Tomko & AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash & Eric Young

Scott Hall was supposed to be with Joe and Nash, but he decided not to show up. That’s shocking. Before Joe introduces his replacement, he cuts an epic promo about the politics in TNA, and how the “Wrestlers” get the short end of the stick. He makes a comment about wrestlers coming in to “pad their pensions,” and glares right at Nash when he says it. He even tells Dixie Carter to go ahead and fire him. He says that all the X-Division guys, all the young guys stood up and volunteered to join him, but he’s chosen “Showtime” Eric Young.

Angle is the current TNA World Champion, while Styles and Tomko are the TNA World Tag Team Champions. Joe and Styles start the match, and Joe dominates before quickly tagging Young. A frustrated Styles tags the World Champion into the match. Young actually keeps the advantage and tags Nash, so Angle scurries over and tags Tomko. The big men face off and Nash wins round one with a big boot to the face. Tomko tags Styles, who charges right into a side slam. Young tags back in and hits Styles with the Wheelbarrow Neckbreaker but it only gets two. Styles fights back with a Pele while Young was on the top rope. He tries a superplex but Young counters it with a gourdbuster. Nash and Angle tag in and the match breaks down to a brawl. Joe, Young, Styles, and Tomko brawl to the floor. Meanwhile Angle locks Nash in the Ankle Lock. Joe gets back in the ring and considers his options, but eventually breaks the hold to save Nash. The match breaks down again and Nash hits Angle with the Jackknife. Styles breaks it up and then gets dumped to the floor. Joe hits Tomko with an enziguiri and Young follows with a Death Valley Driver. Young then whips Joe into Tomko in the corner, and Joe comes out with the Muscle Buster to get the pin at 9:33. Because it was so short they packed a lot of good stuff into a short amount of time. Joe’s promo is more memorable than the match, but the match was still really fun.
Rating: ***¼

BONUS MATCH: Robert Roode, Christian Cage, AJ Styles, Tomko & Kurt Angle vs. Kaz, Eric Young, Booker T, Kevin Nash & Samoa Joe, Impact, 12.6.07

Styles and Kaz start this huge tag team match. They go back and forth a bit and then give way to T and Angle. The crowd is amped up for this one. Young and Cage are the next to go, and Young hangs with him. Remember when they were pushing him? Tomko comes in next and Nash comes to Young’s aid and clotheslines Tomko to the floor. Nash throws Roode to the floor too, and moves for Kaz to hit them with a dive. Big Daddy Cool then teases a dive of his own, but of course that doesn’t happen. I like Nash. We go to commercial break and come back to Cage beating on Young. The Angle Alliance isolates Young and keeps him away from his partners. Finally Joe gets the hot tag and he is on fire. Tomko and Joe trade powerslams, and then clothesline each other. Joe makes the tag to Nash, and he unloads on everyone. The referee loses control, with bodies flying all over the place. Somewhere in all the chaos Nash hits Roode with the Jackknife to get the win for his team at 11:38 (shown). That was a good TV main event tag team match and a solid showcase for the top guys at the time.
Rating: ***

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