NWA-TNA Turning Point
December 5th, 2004
This is my first non-ROH review on IP, and was actually working on it and was finished it but Fothergill-Brown had his review of it posted Does this mean I won’t post mine? No it doesn’t. Now logic says I do Victory Road, but that PPV sucked hard. Here are the ratings though for anyone who cares:
X-Division Gauntlet – ***1/4 (me no happy Shelley didn’t win)
8-Man Tag – á¼*
Midget Match – á½*
Tag Titles – *
Women’s Match – á¼*
Monsters Ball – **1/4
Petey vs. AJ – ***1/4 (WAY too short)
XXX vs. AMW – **
Ladder Match – **
Yeah, so I thought the PPV was BAD, and if it wasn’t for the X Division that show would’ve sucked even worse than it did. Now my style will probably change through this review because I’m not a huge TNA fan. But just keep with me here.
The opening video is good, but I nearly split my sides at two things. One is Savage claiming he wants the younger generation to pass through. Are you kidding me? This is a guy along with Hogan, Nash, Hall and others that held back guys like Benoit, Eddie, Jericho and Malenko in WCW. The other is Jarrett trying to do an evil laugh. You’ve never been able to do it Jeff, much like be a top draw, so never try it.
NWA Tag Titles – 3 Live Kru vs. Team Canada
K-Kwi… er Killings is in for Konnan because Mr. Blow Up is injured. Well Killings is better than Konnan, so I guess it’s a plus. My problem is I have a hard time getting into Team Canada matches, as most of the match I sit there wondering why in the hell they get all the credit they deserve. Sure, they’re good, but much like AMW, I don’t see them anywhere near any of the top teams in the world. They just don’t measure up to The Briscoes, KENTA and Marufuji, SBS, Aerial Express and Havana Pitbulls IMO. With the match though, these guys are lucky TNA fans will get into anything, because anywhere else boring chants would fill the arena. On a side note, Team Canada would fit well in WWE since they work a style that they like. As we continue, the near fall section hits and if I knew what the f*ck either teams’ finishers were, I’d probably buy them. Team Canada in the end takes the match with a hockey stick shot. Not a good tag match and WTF was the point of giving 3LK a one month reign? It just demeans the titles even more, but lets look on the plus side, it was better than the last match they had. *1/4
Sonjay Dutt, Hector Garza and Sonny Siaki vs. Frankie Kazarian, Michael Shane and Kid Kash
I’m always up for some junior tag action, but in all honesty, I’d rather if Siaki and Kash were dropped out of the match, because a straight up tag match would be pretty good. The match starts pretty good, until Garza lands on his head when slipping on the top rope. Sonjay proves in this match why I love him so much, as he does all his cool shit like the Slingshot Dragon Rana and his various flips cleanly and then generates lots of face heat when the heels are working over his shoulder. The heels work over his shoulder pretty well, but then it gets to the point where the segment begins to drag, as Shane has Sonjay down and he begins a comeback and it would be the perfect time for the hot tag, but he is cut off. Sonjay though does another cool move, with a double springboard rana while Kazarian is still twisting the arm. To do stuff like that is amazing enough, but to hit it cleanly is another thing. The match breaks down as they do some cool shit, but the highlight being Siaki helps Sonjay hit a massive 450 to the outside onto Kash and Shane. Back in the ring, Garza uses the Torlio for the win. Some fine junior action, but I’m pretty easy to get into Sonjay Dutt matches. **3/4
Serengeti Survival Match: Monty Brown vs. Abyss
This match is over and above what I expected, although I felt they could’ve used the tacks a lot more in the match to create a lot more drama. They do some pretty good stuff for big men, as it’s different to the normal stuff from big men you see in WWE, but nothing that truly blows you away. One problem is the Black Hole Slam being used too early in the match. It’s best to use it in the final part of the match, not at the start of your near fall sequence. The finish is also a bit of a problem. After doing a nice job of building to the thumb tack spot, Abyss hardly makes contact. All in all, a nice match, but it would’ve been a lot better with 4 mins chopped off and it would’ve accomplished the same thing. **1/4
Johnny B. Badd and Pat Kenney vs. NYC
Do I have to recap this? The answer is no. Would it make me a better reviewer? Yes. DUD
Raven vs. Diamond Dallas Page
This is an example of the booking of a match being able to hide someone’s weaknesses. DDP’s offence pretty much consists of roll ups, lariats and the Diamond Cutter, so the booking here is crucial. The early teases if the Diamond Cutter are a good example of this, as it starts the match off well and also hides the weaknesses DDP has. One problem though is we never know the rules. Is it No DQ? Well we have to assume though as Raven uses the Drop Toehold on the chair and his Viking helmet, but telling the fans this would help. They do a good job of building to the first Diamond Cutter, as Raven throws a few moves and tries a lariat, but DDP reverses. It only gets 2, so it’s only fair to let DDP kick out of the Raven Effect. The next problem on the rules is Watts attacks Page in full view of the ref. DDP although is able to turn the tide and reverse the Raven Effect to the Diamond Cutter (or Stone Cutter if you’re paying attention to Don West). Booking can hide someone’s weaknesses to an extent, but only to an extent. It did a good enough of a job here though. **1/4
X-Division Title: Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin
We get the duelling chants and they really piss me off for a few reasons. One is the fans are only doing it to get themselves over, the fans think they created it, but it was ROH who did it first back in 2003 and the TNA fans are really killing it. Bitching aside though, this is a pretty good match, but there is one problem, and that is Petey’s heat segment. The match starts out very well, with Sabin powerbombing Petey into the rail and Sabin diving from the pit, but once Petey gets on offence it just seems that he runs through the motions. He does some cool stuff like a spinning DDT and the vertical suplex-backdrop suplex, but beyond that there isn’t much else. It picks up once the segment is over, as Sabin hits a climbing belly to belly and a Liger Bomb. It gets taken to the next level as Sabin reverses Petey’s Tree of Woe spot and dives over the rail with a somersault plancha.
A big build up to this was Sabin’s counter to the Destroyer, but the problem with revealing a counter is it gives your opponent time to scout it. It happens here as he counters the Destroyer, but Petey reverses to the Sharpshooter (unfortunately a shitty Rock-style one). Petey shows he’s going to any lengths to keep the title by trying an Avalanche Style Canadian Destroyer, but Sabin fights out and then hits a Spike Powerbomb for 2. One of the bigger problems of the match is the finish, as after they’ve dealt out all this punishment, it ends with a shot with some brass knucks. I find it interesting that Alex Shelley has better chemistry with these two than the do with each other. Or that might be because Shelley is the superior worker. One problem with the match was the length. Cut 3 mins off and it’d probably be ****, but as it is. ***1/2
AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy and Randy Savage vs. Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall
Jeff looks to be covered in a substance known is sperm. So not only did the KOW kidnap Savage, but they did their dirty business on Jeff, for shame. Who’s to say Jeff didn’t enjoy it though.
The focus of this match is Styles, as he tries his hardest to make this match good, but when the other 4 active (5 if you count Savage) wrestlers in the match can’t even reach your level of workrate, it’s a bit hard. They try for an nWo feel here, but it just isn’t there. It is apparent they are going for this with Savage’s kidnapping, but the magic isn’t going to work again. Luckily Hardy only plays the Robert Gibson role if you will, in that he only gets pounded for a little bit before Ricky Morton (Styles) gets a huge ass kicking. Styles take a nice bump off of a springboard, but then there’s not too much to do after that when all the KOW practically use is punches. Styles brings a little fire to the match, as he goes psycho on Jarrett with strikes before the double knock out. The problem here is that they use the Iceberg Tag, in that the crowd can see that you’re going to make the tag. It would’ve been better for Styles to use the whole Ricky Morton thing and flip over someone to make the tag. They don’t really try any near falls, which is not a good thing and the ref is also bumped. Once Savage gets here, they do the triple sleeper spot and Savage pins Jarrett with a cradle that makes Jarrett look like a pussy. Styles tried, but when you look at who’s on the heel team, it would take a miracle worker to get a good match out of them (I’m not even sure Benoit, Eddie or Kawada would take on that job). *
Six Sides of Steel, Losing Team Must Split Up: XXX vs. AMW
One problem about this match, no matter how kick ass, is that it loses its effect on each viewing. I don’t usually mid this when I watch a match from 1995 and this happens, but when I watch it two weeks later, there’s a problem. They do a nice job with the start, but once again the problem is the rules. Yes, it’s a cage match and they’re No DQ, so why is the referee enforcing the tag rules one minute and not the next? Another problem is the announcers sounding like idiots (like they haven’t already done a good enough job of doing that), as West claims the cage to be 20 feet tall, but then by comparison, the wrestlers are 10 feet tall. The other problem nearly ruins a great part of the match, as XXX cuff Harris to the cage and the announcers complain about it. Two things morons, it’s No DQ and AMW bought a set of cuffs to the ring in the first place. They do a nice job of building drama and XXX being cocky, but in the end they get too cocky.
After Storm surviving a powerbomb/elbow combo from XXX, he is able to fight back and get the key. He slowly makes his way to Harris, creating nice drama once again and finally gets to his partner. They bump around nicely, so you can feel the hatred. XXX hit the Death Sentence on Harris but only gets 2. Skipper then tries climbing the cage but gets powerbombed off. The spot then happens that will make this match remembered, as Skipper hits the cage walk rana. Daniels then hits an elbow from the top of the cage for a very heated near fall. Tower of Doom Superplex follows as these guys are pulling out all the stops. Play of the Day is reversed to the Catatonic and Skipper is down. It’s all up to Daniels as he slugs it out with Storm, but then he gets cuffed in the corner. All Daniels can do is watch XXX fall apart before his very eyes, and what worse way to witness this than with AMW using Revelations (Powerplex for the nitpickers, but it was called Revelations back in the days of the Prophecy, so that’s what I calls it). In the end, we’ve witnessed a cage match to remember, but the few faults the match has keep it from being one of the best cage matches of all time much like Tully/Magnum, RNR Express/Andersons or Samoa Joe/Jay Briscoe. And much like Kobashi/Akiyama, it may be a great match, but one of the most overrated for 2004. ****
