DVD Review: TNA Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain

~DISC ONE~

Jeff Jarrett and the First Ever TNA Pay-Per-View

Is it really necessary to show all of the footage of Toby Keith singing from this show? Anyway, Jarrett comes out to shut him up and get the gauntlet match started. He and Buff Bagwell are the first two men in the ring, and Bagwell is quickly eliminated. Lash LeRoux is the third entrant. Jarrett takes the battle to the floor, and then back in the ring hits the Stroke. He tosses LeRoux over in less than 50 seconds. Norman Smiley is the fourth entrant. Jarrett hits another Stroke and eliminates Smiley in just over a minute. They cut ahead and Apolo, Rick Steiner, and Malice are in the ring with Jarrett. Well, not for long, as Malice eliminates Rick. Scott Hall is the next entrant. They do some stuff and now Toby Keith comes out, and I’m still not sure if he counted as an official entrant or not. He hits a suplex on Jarrett, and he and Hall toss him over the top rope. Then they show footage from after the battle royal, where Jarrett complained about the title being decided in a battle royal. Jackie Fargo comes out and sounds like a confused old man, and announces that Jeff Jarrett and Scott Hall will face each other next week! Jarrett and Hall brawl, and I believe that was the end of the first show.

Then they show clips of the July 10 show, where Jarrett interfered in a title match between Ken Shamrock and Takao Omori, and even hits Harley Race with a chair. He then mocks some football players and they beat on him until the Disciples of the New Church come out, and now they beat on Jarrett.

MATCH #1: Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Hall, 7.31.02

The match starts up on the ramp and it’s a big brawl around ringside to start. TNA just looks so much different now than it did in its infancy. I suppose the same could be said about any promotion, but it just struck me as I’m watching this. They finally make it to the ring and Hall stays in control. He hits the Fall Away Slam and Jarrett powders. Hall follows him up the ramp and they fight backstage. Jarrett fights back by dropping a desk on Hall’s back. Hall basically no sells that and it’s more boring brawling. Hey, it’s Matt Stryker with a y! They make it back into the arena and fight through the crowd. Back at ringside Jarrett takes control and beats on Hall with Hall’s own personal stretcher. Hall reverses an Irish whip and sends Jarrett into the stretcher propped up in the corner and Hall is firmly in control. He beats on Jarrett for a bit, and then hits “The Edge,” but The Truth comes out and pulls the referee to the floor. He hits an Axe Kick and puts Jarrett on top, but Hall kicks out at two. Monty Brown comes out to thwart Truth. Jerry Lynn comes out and hits a slingshot splash on Jarrett, but he kicks out at two, and now AJ Styles is out to counteract Lynn. Styles climbs the top rope to apparently do something to Jarrett, but one of the Harris Brothers dumps him to the floor. Slash and Malice come out to beat him up. Back in the ring Jarrett and Hall clunk heads and both are down. Hall recovers and accidentally knocks the referee down with that stupid stretcher thing. Jarrett goes to use a chair, and good thing the referee is down or else he would never allow that kind of cheating. Ricky Steamboat comes out for some reason, and takes the chair away from Hall. While they struggle, Jarrett hits the Stroke right onto the chair and gets the pin at 12:07. That was an awful match with interference that may or not have even made sense at the time, who can remember?
Rating: *¼

MATCH #2: NWA World Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Ron Killings, 11.20.02

Truth has been the champion since 8.7.02, and this is his sixth defense. He was the first, and to this day the only, black NWA Champion. This is Jarrett’s first shot at the NWA Title. The champion knocks the challenger down with a shoulderblock and gloats about it. Truth hits a dropkick and seems to have the mental edge on Jarrett. He hits a flying forearm and Jarrett powders. Jarrett gets back in the ring and Truth taunts him, and that lights a fire under Jarrett. He unloads on the champion and hits a dropkick of his own. He hits the clothesline over the middle rope and does the strut. Jarrett gets a go-behind but Truth throws his leg back and kicks the challenger in the groin. Truth hits a Flatliner. He follows up with a powerslam for two. Jarrett almost makes a comeback, but Truth weathers the storm and hits a big axe kick. The champion appears to be in firm control. He blocks a kick and puts on the figure-four leglock. Jarrett escapes and hits a back suplex, and both men are down. They rise to their feet and Jarrett peppers Truth with right hands. Truth tries a rana (which he never does), so Jarrett catches him and hits a powerbomb for two. Jarrett hits a series of mounted punches in the corner. Apparently the referee got something in his eye so Jarrett stupidly checks on him. Truth brings a chair in the ring but Jarrett uses it before Truth gets a chance. He clocks the champion, but it only gets a two-count. Jarrett tries the Stroke but Truth avoids it and hits a sit out gourdbuster for two. They go outside briefly, and back in the ring Truth tries going to the top rope. Jarrett knocks him down and then hits the Stroke, but Truth kicks out at two! They go back outside and Truth throws Jarrett into the steel post. That bloodies the head, so Truth attacks the open wound. They battle through the crowd and Truth sets Jarrett up on a table. He climbs up into the crowd and jumps, crashing through the table with Jarrett underneath him. They make it back to the ring and exchange punches. Truth accidentally hits the referee with a flying forearm. The two wrestlers collide and both are knocked down. While both men are down, Mr. Wrestling III (who turns out to be Vince Russo) runs out and levels Truth with a guitar. Pieces are scattered everywhere, including right in front of the referee. Even so, he counts the pin and Jarrett wins the match and the title at 17:36. Truth just wasn’t very good at this point (he’s not much better now), so a 17-minute main event match is simply asking too much from him. They tried to cover it up with a lot of brawling in the crowd and the Russo interference, but it didn’t really work.
Rating: **

MATCH #3: Jeff Jarrett, Dusty Rhodes & The Road Warriors vs. Vince Russo, Low Ki, Chris Daniels & Elix Skipper, 1.15.03

The Legion of Doom comes down to Abyss’s music, which just sounds strange. Tenay talks about how they’re “back,” but I’m pretty sure this was the only match they ever worked in TNA. Jarrett and Daniels start the match, and Daniels takes the first advantage. Jarrett counters him with a clothesline and hits a back body drop. Hawk, Animal, and Dusty all get a shot in, and Daniels goes to the corner and tags in Low Ki. Jarrett responds by tagging in Animal. Just guess how that one goes. Skipper comes in illegally and takes Animal down, and then legally tags in to the match. Ki and Skipper try a double suplex, but Animal blocks it and suplexes both of them instead and then tags in Hawk. He throws the little guys around for a while, but when Jarrett gets tagged back in Skipper takes control of him. Russo gets some terrible looking shots in from the floor. Jarrett recovers and does the move he always does before doing the strut. He gets distracted by Russo and Daniels drags Jarrett to the floor and they triple team him. Back in the ring Jarrett continues to take abuse. The Sports Entertainment eXtreme team keeps Jarrett isolated in their corner and makes quick tags in and out. Jarrett finally makes the hot tag to Dream, and he wants a piece of Russo. The Warriors come in the ring as well and the match has broken down to a big brawl. Dream challenges Russo, but from behind Mr. Wrestling hits Dream with a chain, and Russo puts Skipper on top to score the pin at 11:40. This time Mr. Wrestling was Nikita Koloff. I honestly did not remember that happening at all. The match was pretty okay for what basically amounted to a three-on-one handicap match.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #4: NWA World Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. AJ Styles, 2.19.03

Jarrett has been the champion since 11.20.02, and this is his seventh defense. They trade holds back and forth, with Jarrett scoring the first big knockdown with a clothesline. Styles regains control momentarily, and then hits a nice dropkick to the chest. A spinning kick gets two for the challenger. Styles gets a little more offense in before Jarrett comes back and knocks him to the floor. He follows him out with a slingshot cross body block to the floor. He tosses Styles into the guardrail. When he tries it again, Styles reverses it and Jarrett crashes into the guardrail. Back in the ring the challenger goes to work. A suplex gets two for Styles. The challenger stays in control, hitting a lariat. Despite being a heel he’s getting a pretty good reaction from the crowd. Jarrett reverses a whip and kicks Styles in the stomach. Styles recovers and tries a rana, but Jarrett catches him and hits a sitout powerbomb. They rise to their feet and slug it out. Jarrett wins that exchange and hits a pop-up gut buster. The champion goes for a superplex, but Larry Zbyszko comes out to help Styles in plain view of the referee, who somehow can’t see it. Styles hits a sunset bomb for two. Zbyszko once again interferes on behalf of Styles, and the referee sees it this time but does nothing. Styles hits a big kick to the face and slaps away at Jarrett in the corner. He distracts the referee, allowing Zbyszko to hit Jarrett with brass knuckles, but he kicks out at two! JJ Dillon comes out and finally removes Zbyszko. Styles sarcastically goes for the Figure-Four Leglock, but Jarrett surprises him with an inside cradle for two. He then puts on a springboard sleeper hold, which I believe is a first. Jarrett fights out of it and the referee gets bumped. So of course, Jarrett hits the Stroke but a referee has to run all the way out from the back and Styles kicks out at two! The challenger sweeps the legs and puts on a Muta Lock. Jarrett busts out of that with elbows. The backup referee gets bumped, so the Harris Brothers come out and deliver the H-Bomb on Jarrett. Vader and Dusty Rhodes come out to run them off. Back in the ring Styles makes a cover and the second referee recovers and counts the near-fall. Styles goes for the Styles Clash but Jarrett escapes, and Styles reverses that and hits the move. Jarrett kicks out again. Styles tries ac clothesline off the top rope, but Jarrett catches him with a sort of spear. The referee gets distracted by a girl whose name I can’t remember, so that Sonny Siaki can run in and hit the Siakalypse on Jarrett twice. Styles doesn’t want the help, so he delivers the Styles Clash and dumps Siaki to the floor. He goes up to the second rope to yell at Siaki, allowing Jarrett to climb up there and hit a Super Stroke to get the pin at 16:03. The match was going along really well until all of the needless interference, especially by someone like Sonny Siaki. It was still really fun to watch AJ Styles at this time.
Rating: ***

MATCH #5: NWA World Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Raven, 4.30.03

Jarrett has been the champion since 11.20.02, and this is his ninth defense. I would say this was the biggest match ever in TNA up to this point. Raven had so much momentum coming into this. He’s accompanied by Julio Dinero and Alexis Laree. They trade headlocks and Raven scores the first knockdown with a shoulderblock. A series of reversals leads to Raven hitting a hiptoss. Raven is on his game in the early going. Jarrett fires up so Raven powders. The champion doesn’t like that, so he follows the challenger to the floor and throws him into the guardrails. At just over two minutes in we get the first interference, as Alexis distracts the referee and Julio sneaks in and accidentally hits Raven with a chair. Raven kicks out at two, and then Jarrett slingshots over the ropes and wipes out both members of the Gathering. Raven follows Jarrett out with a dive of his own. He’s already busted open. He gives Jarrett a drop toehold into the steps. Over on the other side of the ring Julio and Alexis have a table set up. Raven tries to crash through the table onto Jarrett, but the champ avoids it. Back in the ring Raven stays in control, and Jarrett is bleeding too. Julio gives Raven a chair to use, and he gives Jarrett another drop toehold, this time onto said chair. Jarrett kicks out at two. Raven puts on a chinlock and Jarrett fights out, only to take a knee to the gut. The challenger tenaciously locks on the sleeper. That’s not enough to keep Jarrett down, as he powers up and hits a jawbreaker. He sort of hits an Ace Crusher and both men are down. Back to their feet and Jarrett is on fire. Julio interferes so Jarrett dropkicks him off the apron to the floor. Alexis comes in and gets slammed on her face. Jarrett hits an enziguiri on Raven for two. He catapults Raven into the top turnbuckle and rolls him up for two. Raven comes back with a superkick for two. Jarrett comes back with the Stroke but Raven kicks out! Raven hits the Raven Effect but Jarrett kicks out of that! Jarrett clotheslines Raven and they both go crashing to the floor. The champ sets Raven on the table, and after righting off Julio, he jumps off the second rope with an elbow drop to finally break it. Back in the ring Jarrett hits a DDT, and the Gathering pulls the referee out before the three-count could be made. The referee gets bumped, and they hit simultaneous low blows. Both men are down, and all of a sudden a brawl breaks out on the floor between the Disciples of the New Church and Sports Entertainment eXtreme. Then the Hardcore Revolution (Hak, PJ Walker, New Jack, and Saturn) comes out and beat up Jarrett with weapons and then handcuff him. They deliver a superkick con-chair-toe, but the referee is still down. Raven has a chair now, but before he can use it the lights go out. When they come back on Sabu is (almost) in the ring! He throws the chair a Raven and takes out the Extreme Revolution. Sabu leaves the crowd, likely injuring a fan in the process. Back in the ring Raven beats on a helpless Jarrett. He once again tries to use the chair but he hits the ropes and it bounces back into his own face. Jarrett falls on top for a two-count. NWA Official Bill Behrens brings a key to ringside and Rudy Charles gets to work on unlocking the cuffs. It must have taken too long to do it, because the match is slightly clipped. Raven hits the Raven Effect but Jarrett kicks out at two. He goes for another one but Jarrett reverses it to the Stroke to get the pin at 16:57. That’s another match that was going along really well until a series of run-ins that make no sense now because the storylines never really went anywhere so it hurts the longevity of the match. Raven also should have gone over here, because he was never this hot for the rest of his run in TNA.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #6: Jeff Jarrett & Sting vs. Sean Waltman & AJ Styles, 6.18.03

This is the main event of the first anniversary show. Styles is the NWA World Champion at this point, having just won the title last week. He comes out with Vince Russo, who announces that tonight he’ll be teaming with none other than Sean Waltman. Sting and Jarrett are on fire in the early going. It looks like Waltman just forgot his gear. Jarrett and Waltman go to the floor while Sting and Styles battle in the ring. Sting gets an early Scorpion Deathlock on but Styles reaches the ropes. Vince Russo unfortunately joins the commentary team. They trade spots, and Waltman is controlling Jarrett in the ring while Sting is still beating on the NWA Champion. Jarrett recovers and puts Waltman in the Figure-Four Leglock, and Styles breaks it up. Now the champ takes control, and hits a nice dropkick. Waltman gets tagged in and puts on a sleeper. Jarrett escapes but Waltman knocks him down with a spinning kick for two. The heels continue to wear Jarrett down while the fans chant “We Want Sting!” Jarrett fires up and he and Styles clothesline each other. Styles makes the tag to Waltman, and Jarrett makes the hot tag to Sting. Sting hits a Stinger Splash on both opponents and then locks Styles in the Scorpion Deathlock again. The referee is somehow distracted by Jarrett, and Waltman hits Sting with the bat, allowing Styles to reverse the hold. Sting escapes but can’t make the tag. Waltman gets tagged in, and Sting soon makes the comeback and clotheslines both of his opponents. He follows up with a simultaneous Scorpion Deathdrop and DDT on Styles and Waltman, respectively. He then makes the hot tag to Jarrett. The match soon breaks down to a brawl, with Jarrett working on Styles and Sting working in Waltman. Jarrett hits the Stroke but the referee is down for some reason. Russo sneaks into the ring and hits Styles with a bat. Raven comes out to thwart Russo (I don’t remember the storylines), and then Shane Douglas comes out to attack Raven. Styles tries a flying something off the top rope and Jarrett hits an awkward boot to the gut. He hits the Stroke again but the referee is still out. The ref recovers but not in time, as Styles kicks out. Jarrett hits a Super Stroke on Styles to get the pin at 11:50. That was another fine match (although Waltman looked terrible) saddled with unnecessary interference.
Rating: **½

~DISC TWO~

MATCH #7: NWA World Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. AJ Styles, 10.22.03

Styles has been the champion since 6.11.03, and this is his ninth defense. This is Jarrett’s rematch; I’m not sure why it took over four months, but Styles had some good matches as champion so I’m not complaining. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this match before. The champion controls the early going, until Jarrett knocks him to the floor with an elbow. Jarrett tries a baseball slide but Styles avoids it and clotheslines Jarrett over the guardrail and into the crowd. He drops Jarrett on the barricade and waits for him back in the ring. He gets bored waiting and leaps over the top rope and into the crowd, wiping out Jarrett. The champ drags Jarrett back to the ring and tries a springboard, but Jarrett knocks him down. Jarrett hits a lariat and stomps away on the champion. He hits a back suplex and takes a moment to catch his breath. Abyss is watching the match from somewhere in the rafters. Erik Watts and Don Callis are around too. Raven is watching the match as well. Jarrett tries a powerbomb but Styles rolls through and tries a Styles Clash. It gets blocked and Jarrett hits a face buster. James Storm is watching the match. Styles comes back with an enziguiri and both men are down. They get back to their feet and exchange right hands. Styles hits a sick back suplex for two. He tries that flipping reverse DDT that he used to do, but he doesn’t quite get it so he settles for a German Suplex with a bridge for two. He sets Jarrett on the top rope, but Jarrett counters with a low blow and a (kind of) Super Ace Crusher. Styles kicks out at two. Jarrett then locks on the Figure-Four Leglock. Sonny Siaki tries to interfere but Erik Watts stops him, and then Dusty Rhodes comes out and uses a bull rope to remove Siaki from ringside. Back near the ring the referee is distracted somehow and Jarrett hits Styles with a chair but it only gets a two-count! Styles gets up first and sets up the chair. He places Jarrett’s head in the chair and tries a guillotine legdrop but Jarrett moves. Jarrett then hits a Stroke onto the chair (no disqualifications I guess?) and Styles kicks out. The challenger grabs the belt but Erik Watts has a problem with that. Styles gets a rollup for two and accidentally knocks the referee out of the way, giving Jarrett the chance to use the belt (because the referee would have to disqualify him then, I mean using the chair was one thing, but the belt, come on!) and he pins Styles to regain the title at 12:13. I sense a pattern here, as the match was going along fine, but the silliness with the chair being used in front of the referee and the interference from Dusty Rhodes and Sonny Siaki (how much sense does that make today?) really hurt the match.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #8: Jeff Jarrett vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan, 10.29.03

This was after Jarrett attacked Hulk Hogan in Japan, and then beat up Jimmy Hart in Nashville. Hart brought Duggan out for some kind of revenge. Jarrett attacks Duggan from behind to start the match, but Duggan comes back with a trio of clotheslines. Jarrett powders but Hacksaw follows him right out. He hits Jarrett with a pumpkin and continues throwing him around ringside. Back in the ring Jarrett resumes control. He tries an axe handle off the second rope, but Duggan catches him and chokeslams him. Duggan follows up with mounted punches in the corner. Jarrett goes to the eyes to stop him, as Tenay and West are falling all over themselves talking about how amazing Duggan looks, when he really doesn’t. Duggan hits the Three Point Stance Clothesline, and then goes to his 2×4. Don Calls comes out and takes it from him, which distracts the referee. That gives Jarrett the chance to nail Duggan with his guitar to get the pin at 3:41. I don’t really see why that would be put on a “best of” DVD.
Rating: *

MATCH #9: Jeff Jarrett vs. Rick Steiner, 10.29.03

That’s not all though, as Jimmy Hart now brings out Rick Steiner. Once again, Tenay and West completely oversell the value of the “mystery opponent.” I mean, Jim Duggan and Rick Steiner, really? They don’t list this match on the back of the DVD. They brawl in the crowd for a while, and when they make it back to the ring Steiner is throwing the NWA Champion around. The referee gets bumped, and Jarrett hits Steiner with the guitar for the disqualification at 3:28. I don’t see the point of this one either. Jimmy Hart then announces that next week Jarrett will be facing Sting, so Don West chants his name.
Rating: ½*

I normally don’t comment on the documentary parts of DVDs anymore, but this part deserves a mention. Jarrett tells the story of his second run in WWE, which ended at No Mercy ’99 when his contract was up and all that. He says that he’s a good person and believes in karma, so even though his contract was up he wanted to do the match, and he agreed on a sum with Jim Ross for performing that night. Then, sentences later, he admits that he doubled his asking price after already making an agreement. He tries to justify this by talking about how WWE changed his two-year contract after one year, which I can understand being upset about, but no one who truly believed in karma would do that. Sure, WWE had it coming, but Jeff, karma can only be portioned out by the cosmos.

MATCH #10: NWA World Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Chris Harris, 3.17.04

Jarrett has been the champion since 10.22.03, and this is just his third defense. The champion takes the early advantage, which makes sense given that this is Harris’s first singles title match in TNA. Harris fights up and hits a body slam and two hip tosses, but Jarrett avoids the third one. The champ continues to control the challenger, and is feeling rather cocky about it. He’s bragging to everyone at ringside, so James Storm comes out and throws him back into the ring. That’s rather blatant interference. It does give Harris the advantage and he scores a couple of near falls with various pinning combinations so Jarrett powders. Abyss is watching the match from the audience, as apparently he’s the number one contender. Another referee comes out and herds James Storm to the back. Even so, Jarrett resumes control in the ring and works the challenger over. Harris makes a comeback and hits a series of moves culminating with a clothesline over the top rope. He follows the champion out with a slingshot body press to the floor. He tries jumping off the stairs, but Jarrett moves and Harris crashes into the barricade. Jarrett yells at Harris’s mother, which is always fun. Back in the ring, Jarrett hits a cross body off the top rope but Harris rolls through for a two. Jarrett comes back up with an enziguiri for two. Ron Killings is watching the match in the crowd too. They did that a lot in these days. Jarrett hits a spinebuster for two. He follows up with the sleeper. Harris powers out of it and crotches Jarrett on the top rope. He clotheslines the champion down and hits the Uncle Slam. He goes up to the top rope and tries a guillotine legdrop but Jarrett moves. The champ locks on the Figure-Four as Vince Russo makes his way to ringside. Harris is able to turn it over and Jarrett reverses that and Harris gets the ropes. They get up and trade punches. Jarrett slugs him down but the challenger absorbs them and fights back. Harris hits a flying clothesline and a belly-to-belly suplex for two. They go back to the floor and Harris clotheslines Jarrett over the guardrail and into the crowd. Harris goes to the top rope and jumps all the way out there and wipes Jarrett out. Jeremy Borash finds it necessary to announce that if both men don’t return to the ring by the count of 10, Jarrett will retain the title. Yeah, that’s a standard rule in any match, jackass. Why don’t you announce that if one guy pins the other guy’s shoulders to the mat for three seconds he will be the winner? They both make it back to the ring and Harris hits a delayed vertical suplex. Harris follows up with an elbow drop from the top rope but Jarrett kicks out at two. He tries the Catatonic but Jarrett blocks it and tries the Stroke. Harris blocks that and hits a Spear for two. Jarrett whips Harris into the corner, and Harris pops up and for some reason Spears the referee. Tenay and West try to say that he just didn’t know where he was, but that looked stupid as hell. Both men grab chairs and Harris hits Jarrett. The new referee comes in and counts two, apparently the chairs being in the ring don’t bother him. Then they do, so he removes them, which allows Jarrett to nail Harris with the belt for a near-fall. Harris hits the Catatonic for a close near-fall. He tries the Sharpshooter but Jarrett kicks him off and the referee goes down again. Jarrett hits the Stroke and Rudy Charles recovers but Harris kicks out of that! Referee Charles and Jarrett fight over a chair, and James Storm interferes again, hitting a superkick on the champion. Raven pulls the referee out to break up the pin. Jarrett gets a guitar now and crushes the challenger’s skull with it. That’s enough to finally get the pin at 19:45. I dare this company to run one title match without tons of interference.
Rating: **½

MATCH #11: King of the Mountain Match for the NWA World Title – Jeff Jarrett vs. AJ Styles vs. Raven vs. Ron Killings vs. Chris Harris, 6.2.04

Here’s another match I’ve never seen. Truth has been the champion since 5.19.04, and this is his first defense. This is the first-ever King of the Mountain match, and it’s Jarrett’s official rematch since he lost the title to AJ Styles back in April. It starts off with a big brawl, but since there are five guys it’s a little awkward. As a general rule, I dislike an odd number of people in any kind of wrestling match. Styles gets the first big spot of the match with an awesome springboard off the top rope and over the penalty box to wipe out Harris, Truth, and Raven. Jarrett tries to pick the bones and score a pinfall (which you have to do in order to be eligible to climb the ladder and hang the belt, and falls count anywhere). Jarrett and Styles are fighting up on the ramp, while the other three are in and around the ring. Then they reverse that. Styles scores the first pin on Jarrett with the Styles Clash. So Styles can hang the belt, and Jarrett has to go to the penalty box for two minutes. Harris then scores a pin on Raven with a Spear, so Raven joins Jarrett in the box and Harris can hang the belt. Raven and Jarrett appear to be plotting to work together while they’re in the box. Styles goes up to hang the title but Truth knocks him down and saves his title. Jarrett re-enters the match. Truth then gets a pin on Harris. Harris gets in the box before Raven is let out and he attacks Raven! That’s a cool spot. Raven escapes and rejoins the fray. He and Jarrett do work together, using a ladder as a weapon. Harris is out of the cage and Raven meets him there, slamming him into the penalty box. Raven and Jarrett continue double teaming everyone and they dump Styles off the ladder to the floor. Jarrett brings a chair in the ring and Raven is setting up a table. Their co-existence ends with a punching match, which Raven wins and then delivers the drop toehold onto the chair. Harris and Truth are back in now and they’re all fired up. Killings winds up the last man standing, so he tries to hang the belt. Styles knocks him down and tries to hang the belt himself. Jarrett stops Styles by going for a powerbomb, but Styles counters to a head scissors and they both tumble to the floor. Vince Russo then involves himself by throwing Harris the belt. Harris tries to hang the belt but Raven throws powder that doesn’t hit Harris’s face but somehow still manages to blind him. Raven then hits the Raven Effect and pins Harris to become eligible to hang the belt. He tries to do just that but Truth stops him and knocks him to the floor. Jarrett then grabs Truth on the ring apron and delivers the Stroke right into the guardrail. That scores the pin for Jarrett, and now all men are eligible to hang the title. Russo of course involves himself again by refusing to give Jarrett the title. The distraction allows Styles to roll Jarrett up for the pin. Styles was already eligible to hang the belt, but Jarrett still has to go to the penalty box, so it’s just Styles and Raven in the ring. That’s a good move by Styles. He tries hanging the belt but Harris gets out of the box and pushes the ladder over, and Styles crashes. Raven clotheslines Harris down and tries to hang the belt. Harris follows him up and knocks Raven off the ladder through one of the tables Raven himself had set up. Truth then knocks Harris through the other table. He tries to hang the title, but Jarrett gets out of the box and smashes the guitar over the champion’s head. Jarrett then tries to hang the title but the hook had fallen off so he has to put that up first. He eventually hangs the title to win it for the third time at 20:09. I appreciate them trying a new concept but the rules for this match are just silly. Some of the brawling was fun and they had a few neat spots though.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #12: Gauntlet for the Gold, 7.7.04

Jarrett has been the champion since 6.2.04, and this is his second defense. The first entrant is Hernandez of the Elite Guard, and thank goodness he overcame this lame gimmick and has made something of himself in TNA. Ron “The Truth” Killings is number two. Hernandez attacks Truth right away but the former champion is ready for him. A new entrant will come in every minute. Truth controls the action until Onyx, another member of the Elite Guard, comes out at number three. They double team Truth until he comes back with a simultaneous DVD. The champ Jeff Jarrett is number four, and now it’s a three-on-one disadvantage for Truth. Number five is Konnan, so Truth finally gets a little help. I hear Konnan used to be good in his day in Mexico or whatever, but I have such a hard time believing it. Number six is Collyer. It’s more meandering brawling as BG James comes out at number seven. He goes right after Jarrett. He hits the Pump Handle Slam on Collyer. Konnan puts Collyer in the worst looking Dragon Sleeper of all-time. The final entrant is Ken Shamrock. As he’s being introduced, Onyx and Collyer dump Konnan to the floor. Shamrock goes nuts on everyone, including his supposed teammates in the 3Live Kru. A group of them throw Shamrock over the ropes, and he throws a temper tantrum. I think this was his last appearance in TNA; correct me if I’m wrong. Back in the ring Truth eliminates Onyx and Collyer in quick succession. Jarrett whips Truth into Hernandez and BG and they’re both eliminated. Now we’re down to a match with regular rules between Jarrett and Truth. The challenger is on fire, hitting the gourdbuster and going to the top rope. He puts the miss in missile dropkick and Jarrett locks on the Figure-Four Leglock. Truth turns it over and Jarrett reaches the ropes. Back to their feet they’re exchanging punches. Truth puts Jarrett on the top rope and hits a modified Muscle Buster. Hernandez breaks up the pin in full view of the referee. The ref is distracted now, and Jarrett hits Truth with the belt. This time BG James breaks up the pin. The ref is distracted again, so Collyer hands Jarrett the guitar. Shamrock comes back out and takes the guitar from Jarrett. Of course he hits Truth with it instead, and Jarrett gets the pin at 13:31. The referee doesn’t seem to mind that Shamrock is just hanging out in the ring during the pin. That was a lot of boring brawling punctuated by a pointless heel turn.
Rating: *¾

MATCH #13: Ladder Match for the NWA World Title – Jeff Jarrett vs. Jeff Hardy, Victory Road, 11.7.04

Jarrett has been the champion since 6.2.04, and this is his fourth defense. This was the main event for the first three-hour Sunday night pay-per-view. TNA originally wanted Hulk Hogan to face Jarrett, but it didn’t happen for whatever reason. I’d actually really like to see this match with both guys from today, but Hardy was not at the top of his game during his TNA run. There are two ladders in the ring before the match even starts. Jarrett tries to attack Hardy, but the challenger was ready for him. Both ladders get set up in a corner, and Hardy winds up Irish whipping Jarrett into both of them. Hardy stays in control by using the ladder as a weapon. He sets Jarrett in between the rungs of the ladder and slams them down on his back. He sets the ladder up in a V and puts Jarrett between the rungs again and stands on him, putting pressure on the ribs. Hardy hits a dropkick to the face. He tries to climb up but Jarrett blocks him. Hardy stays in control, hitting an STO. He goes for the super-over-the-ladder legdrop but Jarrett avoids it. Jarrett is in control now, whipping Hardy into the ladders. The champion makes the first attempt to climb the ladder and grab the title, but Hardy knocks him down. Hardy then slams Jarrett on a ladder and hits the Swanton Bomb. He tries to climb up but Scott Hall runs down and delivers The Edge to take Hardy down. Heavy D and TNA Security come over to remove Mr. Hall. He promises he’ll just sit and watch now, so Security takes him at his word. That’s a nice security force. Meanwhile, Hardy sets up the ladder see-saw and legdrops it, smashing Jarrett in the face. Hardy climbs the ladder. Jarrett climbs the opposite side and they slug it out. Hardy grabs Jarrett’s head and slams him off the ladder face-first into the mat. Hall pulls Hardy to the floor and slugs away on him. Jarrett tries climbing the ladder but Hardy makes it back and shoves the ladder over. Hardy goes up now and Jarrett pushes the ladder over, and Hardy actually lands on Hall outside the ring. Jarrett comes outside the ring too but Hardy whips him into Hall. Hardy grabs a chair and uses it as a launching pad to wipe out Jarrett and Hall on the floor. He then sets up a ladder on the floor for some reason, and it tips over with both of them on it. They crash to the floor and the ladder lands on Hall. They both make it back to the ring and climb on two ladders at the same time. Hardy hits a low blow and tries a Sunset Bomb but it doesn’t really work out. He then tries one from the apron to the floor but again it doesn’t really work out. Just stop it, dude. They go back to the ring and Hardy starts the climb. Hall gets back in the ring with a chair but Hardy kicks it back into his face. Hardy hits him with the Twist of Fate and the Swanton Bomb. He tries to climb again and Jarrett hits him with the chair and Hardy crumples to the mat. Jarrett start to climb and Kevin Nash finally makes his way out, with two guitars in hand. He hands one to Hall, and Hardy takes three straight guitar shots, allowing Jarrett to grab the title and retain at 18:33. They kind of had a good thing going in the early parts, but Hardy got sloppy and the interference of Hall and Nash added nothing.
Rating: **¼

~DISC THREE~

MATCH #14: NWA World Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Monty Brown, Impact, 12.3.04

Jarrett has been the champion since 6.2.04, and this is his fifth defense. I might be the biggest Monty Brown fan on the planet. I’m still sad that they never put the belt on him. The challenger overpowers Jarrett in the early going and the crowd is hot for him. This match is from the FSN era, and while that ticker might annoy some people, I thought it at least gave Impact something different about their show. While I admire the ticker, Jarrett takes over and rams Monty into the turnbuckles and hits the mounted punches. Monty comes back with a press slam and whips Jarrett into the buckles. He hits a Stinger Splash (but doesn’t sell his injured ribs), but when he tries another one Jarrett moves and Monty crashes awkwardly to the floor. Jarrett follows him out, and they spend the entire commercial break out there. Back in the ring Jarrett chokes Monty on the second rope and drops three legs on him and then struts. The champion keeps working over the rib area, which is taped up. He ties Monty up in the Tree of Woe and stretches him out. He follows up with a bearhug. Monty withstands the hold and hits a double underhook suplex. He hits a big running powerslam but it only gets two. He jumps off the second rope and winds up with a headbutt to the abdomen for another near-fall. Jarrett goes back to the ribs, but Monty counters and hits the Alpha Bomb for two! I love that move. He hits a fall away slam, but Jarrett knocks out the referee. He grabs the guitar and breaks it on Monty’s head. The Alpha Male says no way! Jarrett then hits the Stroke but Monty kicks out at two! I remember thinking he was taking the title right here. He withstands Jarrett’s punches and unleashes some of his own. Scott Hall comes out to interfere but Monty knocks him off the apron. Monty then hits the Pounce on Jarrett, and then hits one on Hall as well. Jarrett then cracks Monty with two steel chair shots and that’s enough for the pin at 13:03 (10:31 shown). That was really cruising along until the stupid and pointless Scott Hall interference. Why would the referee allow him in the ring to beat on Monty and not disqualify Jarrett?
Rating: **¾

MATCH #15: NWA World Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash, Against All Odds, 2.13.05

Jarrett has been the champion since 6.2.04, and this is his seventh defense. Apparently, if the champion uses his guitar he will lose the title. A hundred bucks says the guitar is involved in the finish. Nash literally did nothing to earn this title shot. Jarrett tries using his speed to outmaneuver the challenger, but Nash is able to thwart him with his superior power. It doesn’t take long for Jarrett to attack the knee, since Nash has had 14 knee surgeries and one of Jarrett’s finishers is the Figure-Four Leglock. Nash comes back and clotheslines Jarrett to the floor. He follows him out and slams him face-first onto the title belt on the announce table. Jarrett is able to kick Nash in the knee coming back in the ring, and the champ regains control. He charges at Nash, who sidesteps him and tosses him to the floor. Nash follows him out and Jarrett tries to escape into the crowd. They fight to the back, and Nash whips Jarrett into the catering table and hits him with a chair. They even fight outside the building. Jarrett has been busted open. Nash goes for a powerbomb, but Jarrett slips out and hits a low blow. Jarrett goes under the ring and brings out a cello. He breaks the handle accidentally but hits Nash with it anyway, and is every match in TNA a no-disqualification match? Back in the ring Jarrett uses the cello case to abuse Nash’s knee. He locks on the Figure-Four Leglock but Nash reaches the ropes. Jarrett pulls Nash back to the center of the ring and continues to wear it down. Nash makes the comeback and hits a big boot and a sidewalk slam for two. He tries Snake Eyes but Jarrett avoids it and clips the knee. Jarrett goes back to the cello with no handle, and Nash hits him in the scrotal region. Nash goes to use the cello but referee Rudy Charles all of a sudden has a problem with it and makes Nash stop. He tries the Jackknife instead, and the ref gets bumped. Nash hits the Jackknife right on the cello, but with no referee to count the match continues. Then from out of nowhere the former Billy Gunn comes out and lays out Nash with a chair. Jarrett covers but Nash kicks out at two! With everyone focused on Billy Gunn, another former D-X member, Sean Waltman, comes out and hits the X-Factor on Jarrett. Nash goes for the cover but Jarrett just kicks out. Billy Gunn is out again, but this time gets stopped by BG James. Nash clotheslines Billy over the top rope, and Jarrett hits Nash with the belt and Nash kicks out at two. The champion hits the Stroke but Nash kicks out again! He goes to the top rope and Nash catches him by the throat and tries for a chokeslam. Jarrett pushes the referee down and hits a low blow. He follows up with the Stroke to get the pin at 19:46. I don’t understand why sometimes the referee would see them cheat but do nothing, but other times they made a point to knock the referee down in order to cheat. How does that help build drama? The match was surprisingly decent given Nash’s condition, but the referee silliness and yet more run-ins drag it down.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #16: NWA World Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Rhino, Turning Point, 12.11.05

Jarrett has been the champion since 11.3.05, and this is his first defense. The champion starts the match by going after the arm, but Rhino overpowers him and goes after the arm himself. Jarrett comes back with a dropkick for just a one-count. He then goes back to the arm and wrist. Rhino comes back with a press slam and hangs the champ off the top rope. He then knocks him down into the guardrail and slingshots himself over the top rope right onto Jarrett. They fight up into the crowd and Rhino tries a suplex from a concrete barrier, but Jarrett blocks it and knocks Rhino down. Rhino reverses an Irish whip and Jarrett gets slammed into the wall. They continue fighting all over the arena, and Jarrett is busted open. Rhino uses a chair and I guess this match is no-disqualification too. They fight towards the back and onto some scaffolding. Jarrett uses a chair and whacks Rhino across the back, and the challenger crashes off the scaffolding through a table below. Within moments Rhino suplexes Jarrett on the ramp and resumes control. Wow, maybe he could have sold a table bump longer than 15 seconds? He grabs a table and stacks it against the entrance ramp. He hits the Gore but the table doesn’t break and they slide down the entrance tunnel. That actually looked kind of cool. Borash announces that both men have a count of 10 to return to the ring. I believe I made my feelings about that known earlier in this review. Petey Williams and Eric Young come out and throw Rhino down the tunnel and try to help Jarrett get back to the ring. Rhino barely makes it back to the ring and he is fired up now. He hits a flying clothesline and has to fight off Petey and Young. He hits a spinebuster but Jarrett kicks out. Rhino goes to the top and Petey crotches him down. No-DQ, I guess. That gives Jarrett the chance to hit a superplex for two. Rhino comes back with a TKO for two. The referee accidentally takes the Gore, and Jarrett goes for the Stroke. Rhino reverses that to a belly-to-belly suplex. Bobby Roode comes out to battle Rhino now, as well as A1. Rhino quickly hits the Gore on A1, but Roode levels him with the Northern Lariat. Rudy Charles barely sells Rhino’s Gore by back to the ring and counting two. Jarrett grabs the guitar and smashes it over Rhino’s head. Rhino kicks out at two. Jackie Gayda comes out, and I don’t think this storyline ever paid off. She slaps Jarrett, and then Rhino hits a Gore, from which Jarrett kicks out. Security comes out to drag Jackie away. Rhino sets up two chairs and goes for the Rhino Driver. Scott D’Amore comes down and whacks him with a hockey stick. Jarrett then hits the Stroke onto the chairs to get the pin at 17:29. I still don’t understand how TNA distinguishes some kinds of interference and foreign objects that are okay to do in front of the ref, and others that you must hide. How many times do I have to say this in this review? The match was doing fine until the interference turned it into a six-on-one match.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #17: Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Chris Harris & James Storm vs. Rhino, Ron Killings, Brother Ray & Brother Devon, Destination X, 3.12.06

The good guys waste no time rushing the ring and everyone picks an opponent and goes to work. They pair off just how you’d expect: Jarrett and Truth, Abyss and Rhino, and Team 3D with America’s Most Wanted. They’re fighting all over the arena. Rhino uses a chair on Abyss, and Jarrett uses one on Jarrett. Rhino and Storm become the first two men to get in the ring. The referee has no chance of controlling this one, as all eight guys are coming in and out of the ring, sometimes even tagging though. Brother Devon gets worked over on the heel side of the ring. He recovers and tags in Ray, who throws AMW around. He tags in Rhino, who does much of the same. He hits a spinebuster on Storm for a two-count. Jarrett and Rhino wind up in the ring while the rest of the teams are brawling on the floor. Rhino hits a press slam and a belly-to-belly suplex. He sets up for the Gore but Gail Kim stands in his way. She begs for mercy and then slaps him in the face. He goes to piledrive her but Abyss breaks it up. Rhino takes abuse from Team Jarrett now. He finally makes the hot tag to Truth, and the match breaks down to a brawl again. Jarrett brings the guitar into the ring but Rhino avoids getting hit with it and nails Jarrett with the Gore. Abyss hits Rhino with the Black Hole Slam, and then Truth clotheslines Abyss over the ropes and goes crashing out with him. Ray hits a series of strikes on Jarrett. Gail interferes once again, and Jackie helps Team 3D and the Truth execute the What’s Up. The crowd wants tables but Abyss disagrees. He grabs Jackie and goes to chokeslam her but Devon breaks it up. Team 3D hits the 3D on Abyss but America’s Most Wanted prevent any covers from happening. They hit the Death Sentence on Devon and then go to work on Truth. They try to handcuff him but he winds up handcuffing Harris instead. He hits Storm with the Axe Kick but Jarrett pulls the referee out. Truth slingshots over the ropes onto Jarrett and then tosses him back in the ring. Jarrett tries the Stroke but Truth blocks it. Harris grabs Truth’s leg from the floor, and Jarrett then hits the Stroke for the pin at 20:10. That was a fun chaotic brawl, and the involvement of the women was done just right.
Rating: ***¼

MATCH #18: Lethal Lockdown – Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, Chris Harris & James Storm vs. Sting, AJ Styles, Ron Killings & Rhino, Lockdown, 4.23.06

Chris Harris will start the match for Team Jarrett. AJ Styles draws number two and they’ll go one-on-one for the first five minutes. Harris takes the first advantage, but when he tries to throw Style’s face into the cage it gets blocked. Styles busts out of a headlock and goes for the dropkick but Harris avoids it. He’s not so lucky the second time though. They go back and forth exchanging moves while Jackie Gayda and Gail Kim look on from ringside. Harris is already busted open, as we get close to another entrant coming in. Harris hits the Catatonic but Styles kicks out at two. Styles then hits the Styles Clash for another two-count. The funny thing is that pins don’t count until all eight men are out there. James Storm is the next entrant. Styles kicks the door into Gail Kim, and she falls down hard. Then for some reason she gets right back up. The intervals are two minutes now. Storm works on a tired out Styles, hitting the Eye of the Storm. Styles is bleeding now too as the tag team champions double team him. Rhino is the fourth entrant. He is a house-a-fire on both Harris and Storm. He hits a Spinebuster on Harris. He goes for the Gore on Storm, but he sidesteps it and Rhino crashes into the cage. AMW takes control now, and they have less than a minute until the third man for their team is coming out. That third teammate is Jeff Jarrett. Rhino leaves the cage and meets Jarrett up the entrance ramp. Looks like Rhino is busted open as well. Styles joins Rhino in beating on Jarrett outside the ring. They toss him into the cage and it’s three-on-two so Team Jarrett quickly gains control. The odds are evened up when Ron Killings joins the match. Truth goes after everyone and does some dancing. Harris grabs him for a suplex but Truth reverses it to a stunner of sorts. Styles goes to the top of the cage, and it seems like he only went up there to set up one of those Tower of Doom spots, because there’s no other real reason for him to have gone up there. Scott Steiner enters the ring now, and it’s his TNA in-ring debut. He starts throwing suplexes left and right and does pushups. Sting finally comes out to even the sides, and now the ceiling will come down. He of course fights off all four men with little difficulty. He stacks all of them up in the corner and hits a Stinger Splash onto the whole team. The roof comes down, complete with a fireworks display. Okay. The good guys get control of the weapons and they deliver a beating. Pinfalls are now in play. Storm climbs through the roof and Styles follows, and now they’re on the roof. Good thing there’s a ladder and a table up there. Gail Kim tries to climb up there, but Styles steps on her fingers and Jackie pulls her pants off. Back in the ring Sting and Jarrett both have guitars, but then Sting switches to a baseball bat. That breaks Jarrett’s guitar, so Sting goes back to his. Steiner this a low blow before Sting can hit Jarrett. Back on the roof, Styles has Storm set up on a table and then sets up the ladder. He climbs up and grabs onto the steel truss holding up the cage and plashes Storm through the table. Back in the ring Jarrett hits the Stroke on Truth on a chair. Rhino hits the Gore on Jarrett. Then Steiner hits a belly-to-belly on Rhino and then locks on the Steiner Recliner. Sting breaks that up with the Scorpion Death Drop. Harris hits Sting with handcuffs. He puts on the Sharpshooter but Sting reverses it to the Scorpion Deathlock and Harris taps out at 23:49. That was another fun chaotic brawl, and that Styles spot on top of the cage was pretty wicked.
Rating: ***

MATCH #19: Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner vs. Sting & Samoa Joe, Sacrifice, 5.14.06

Joe is the X-Division Champion at this point and still undefeated. Sting and Jarrett start the match. Nothing Jarrett’s doing has any impact in the opening minutes. Sting is firmly in control so Jarrett takes a powder. Jarrett gets back in the ring and tags Steiner. He goes to work on Sting, but that doesn’t last too long before Sting comes back and takes both Steiner and Jarrett down. He tags in Samoa Joe. The crowd is pumped to see Joe versus Steiner. Joe piefaces his much more experienced opponent. Steiner backs Joe into the corner and hits some chops. Joe reverses and hits some chops of his own. Steiner catches Joe with a belly-to-belly suplex. Both men are back to their feet and they trade blows once again. Steiner knocks Joe down and hits the elbow drop for two. Joe comes back with a series of strikes, and Jarrett hits him from the apron, allowing Steiner to hit another suplex and dump Joe to the floor. Jarrett throws Joe back in the ring and Steiner gets a two-count. Steiner tags Jarrett in, and he hits a nice dropkick to the face. Jarrett whips Joe into the corner and charges, and Joe hits the STJoe. Joe makes the tag to Sting, and he’s on fire. Steiner and Jarrett are both in the ring and Sting manhandles them both. He puts Jarrett in the Scorpion Deathlock but Steiner breaks it up, so Sting puts it on him instead. This time Jarrett breaks it up. Jarrett hits a DDT and then resumes his spot on the apron. Steiner gets a two-count. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Sting for two and tags in Jarrett. Jarrett locks on a front facelock, and when Sting goes over to make the tag Steiner distracts the referee so it doesn’t count. The two men collide, and Sting’s head falls into Steiner’s balls. Joe and Jarrett tag in and Joe is in control. Jarrett goes to the eyes but Joe fights back with a powerslam. Steiner breaks up the count. Jarrett and Steiner double team Joe, but he clotheslines them both down at the same time. He and Sting work together now. Sting dives on Steiner outside the ring. Inside, Joe hits an Island Driver (I think) for two. Jarrett hits a low blow and the Stroke on Joe. He celebrates about it and that allows Joe to kick out at two. Jarrett tries a Super Stroke but Joe blocks it and hits a kick to the head. He follows up with the Muscle Buster and pins Jarrett at 14:25. I love that this was a straight up tag match with no interference or weapons or anything like that. Joe looked like a major player already at this point.
Rating: ***½

~DISC FOUR~

MATCH #20: King of the Mountain Match for the NWA World Title – Jeff Jarrett vs. Christian Cage vs. Abyss vs. Ron Killings vs. Sting, Slammiversary, 6.18.06

Cage has been the champion since 2.12.06, and this is his fourth defense. Tenay wonders if Christian can “rewrite history” and become the first man to retain the title in the King of the Mountain match. What a stupid thing to say. Christian is rewriting nothing; no matter what happens in tonight’s match it will be happening for the first time, so he’s not rewriting that. And those other two champions in the King of the Mountain match will still have lost the gold, so he’s not rewriting that either. I hate you, Mike Tenay. Abyss kicks off the match by going after Sting. Christian joins them on the floor while Jarrett and Truth battle inside the ring. The champion joins them inside and dances with Truth and thinks he’s made an ally, and then gets kicked in the face for being so stupid. Jarrett comes in and goes after Christian now, and he knocks Jarrett to the floor and follows him out with a dive from the top rope. Sting and Truth work together, double-teaming Abyss in the ring. Truth sees Christian, Jarrett, and Abyss outside the ring and executes a somersault dive onto all three of them. Sting follows him out by jumping off the penalty box and wiping out all four. Jarrett and Sting wind up in the ring with Sting in control. Truth comes in with a Missile Dropkick and Sting lets him get the pin. So Truth is eligible to hang the title and Jarrett has to spend two minutes in the box. Christian uses the ladder to smash Truth in the face but Abyss breaks up the pin attempt. Tenay wonders why Abyss would break that up, but he’s probably thinking that if Christian doesn’t get the pin then he’s not eligible to hang the belt. I hate you, Mike Tenay. Thankfully Don West brings up my point, but I still don’t like Mike Tenay. Unfortunately for Abyss he ends up getting rolled up and pinned by Christian, so now he has to spend two minutes in the box. Jarrett rejoins the fray by going after the champion. They fight outside the ring while Sting and Truth fight inside. Abyss gets out of the box and he starts working with Jarrett to set up a stack of two double-stack tables. Jarrett winds up on the apron with Truth, and he hits the Stroke off the apron into the guardrail, and that’s enough for a pin. They did the same spot in 2004, but the commentators don’t acknowledge it. Now three men are eligible to hang the title. Cage and Jarrett fight into the crowd while Truth goes into the penalty box. Sting and Abyss fight in a different part of the crowd. Truth gets out of the cage while everyone is brawling in the crowd, so he smartly tries to hang the belt. Abyss just makes it back in time to knock him off the ladder. Jarrett and Abyss use the ladder together, so Truth jumps on top of it and gets dumped to the floor, just like AJ Styles did back in 2004. Christian traps Jarrett in the V Ladder and tries to hang the belt, but he’s not even close and Abyss stops him anyway. Everyone’s down so Truth once again tries to hang the belt. Abyss once again knocks him down, and then the referee gets bumped. Jarrett wants to hang the ladder, but Abyss is having second thoughts about their alliance. He hits the Black Hole Slam and referee Slick Johnson makes it to the ring in time to count the three. Larry Zbyszko comes out now and kicks Johnson out of the ring and takes possession of the title. Abyss climbs the ladder for no apparent reason, and then Sting knocks him down into the table stack. Sting and Christian are in the ring now, and Sting completely no-sells the champions offense and puts on the Scorpion Deathlock. Jarrett gets out of the cage early and he hits Sting with the title belt. He grabs a guitar but Christian stops him from using it on Jarrett. Sting then hits the Scorpion Death Drop on Jarrett. He then tells Christian to hang the title, but Larry Zbyszko comes in and hits Christian with a low blow. What? Sting takes him out and then hits another Scorpion Death Drop on Jarrett. He uses Earl Hebner’s unconscious arm to count his own three, really. Sting goes to hang the title but Christian stops him. Hebner gets up and pushes the ladder over, sending Sting and Cage crashing to the floor. What, really? Jarrett hangs the belt to regain the title at 22:21. But then Rudy Charles grabs the belt from Jarrett and hands it over to new Authority Figure du jour Jim Cornette. So we don’t know who the champion is. So they’re using the pay-per-view to sell their TV show. The match was okay enough as a messy brawl, but when the overbooking with Zbyszko and Hebner kicked in it took a nosedive.
Rating: *

MATCH #21: Fans’ Revenge Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoa Joe, No Surrender, 9.24.06

Jarrett’s NWA World Championship is not on the line here. He’s worried about Sting though, so he sends Eric Young to find him. He’s also worried about the fans whipping him with belts, so he has multiple layers of clothing on. Jarrett tries to go on offense early but Joe is having none of it. Joe tries to throw Jarrett to the floor, but he hangs on and rolls back into the ring before he can get whipped. Jarrett starts losing layers, and Joe hits the STJoe. He rolls to the floor and the fans take advantage, so he gets right back in. Jarrett knocks Joe to the floor but the fans of course don’t go after Joe. He goes outside to bring Joe back in and the fans whip him again. He did get a hold of one of the leather straps and he whips Joe with it. Jarrett continues to use the belt as a weapon on Joe. He goes to the top rope and hits a cross body block for two. Since that didn’t work he tries a cross body block from the mat and gets another two. He tries a turn-around cross body from the second rope, but Joe casually avoids it. Joe comes back with the inverted atomic drop, kick to the face, and a senton. He takes off Jarrett’s shirts and unleashes some chops. He backdrops Jarrett to the floor and the fans whip him some more. Back in the ring a fan tosses Joe a belt and he whips Jarrett with it. Jarrett comes back with a dropkick to the face. Joe comes back with the snap powerslam for two. Jarrett gets a rollup for two. He uses his discarded t-shirts to choke Joe. He tries tying Joe to the ropes but Joe won’t let him. Instead Joe ties up Jarrett and invites the fans to come in the ring and take free shots at Jarrett’s back. Referees stop the fans, but Jarrett is able to grab the guitar. Joe puts on the Choke before he can use it though, and Jarrett reaches the ropes. The ref gets distracted and Jarrett hits the Stroke right onto the guitar but Joe kicks out! The funny thing about Jarrett’s finishing move is that it doesn’t sound good as a verb. Like whenever Mike Tenay says “Stroked him” into something it just sounds … not good. Joe comes back and wins a slap exchange but misses a knee in the corner. Jarrett sets him up top and tries the Super Stroke (Tenay wonders “is he gonna try and Stroke him from up there?). Joe avoids it and hits a big kick to the face. He comes out with the Muscle Buster to pin the NWA World Champion at 11:04. The fans’ revenge gimmick worked to a point, but the one negative about it was that it seemed to make Joe somewhat of an afterthought. The match was actually much better than I remembered. Joe walks away with the NWA Title, and Jim Cornette comes out to announce that TNA will start airing on Thursday nights in Prime Time. He also introduces a video package that displays the newest addition to the TNA roster: Kurt Angle. See, Joe’s totally an afterthought.
Rating: ***

MATCH #22: NWA World Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting, Bound for Glory, 10.22.06

Jarrett has been the champion since 6.29.06, and this is his third defense. Sting is putting his career on the line, and Kurt Angle is the special guest enforcer. Tenay wonders if Sting carrying the baseball bat is a tribute to the Detroit Tigers (who were in the World Series around this time, and the show took place in Detroit). Not like Sting has been carrying the bat since like 1997 or anything. I hate you, Mike Tenay. Jarrett takes the early advantage as Sting seems to be slightly off his game. Sting outwardly shows frustration in the early going, as Jarrett has counters for everything Sting tries. Jarrett hits a dropkick and Sting powders. Sting gets back in the ring and makes the people cheer for him. Jarrett spits on him so Sting hits a powerbomb. He follows up with a modified Snake Eyes and then clotheslines Jarrett to the floor. Angle tries toe herd Jarrett back to the ring, and the champion takes exception and they argue. Meanwhile, Sting just hangs out in the ring. He finally comes out and Jarrett just stands there and lets Sting punch him. Sting now throws Jarrett around ringside, into the guardrails and such. Jarrett reverses a whip and now Sting crashes into the guardrail. The champ tries to use a chair but Angle stops him. Sting recovers and they fight up the ramp, where Sting suplexes Jarrett. He tries to use a chair now but Angle stops him as well. Jarrett tries to hit Sting but he moves and Jarrett hits Angle instead. The champion then hits a DDT and drops Sting on the guardrail. They get back in the ring and Jarrett is firmly in control. They blow a simple spot (Sting’s fault) and then both try cross body blocks and they hit each other. The referee almost counts both of them out, but Angle wants to see a winner, so he jumps in the ring and gives referee Charles the Olympic Slam. Both men rise to their feet and Sting is getting the better of a punch exchange. He hits an inverted atomic drop, a couple of clotheslines, and a Stinger Splash to the back. He follows up with the Scorpion Death Drop but Jarrett kicks out at two. Jarrett recovers and hits the Stroke, but Sting kicks out at two. Fans at this point in TNA are already conditioned to not expect one finisher to end a match so they barely pop for them anymore. Sting comes back with a Tombstone Piledriver but that only gets two. He goes up the ropes but Jarrett hits a low blow and goes for the Super Stroke. Sting fights it off and tosses Jarrett to the mat. He tries a big splash (really?) but Jarrett gets the knees up. The champion locks on the Figure-Four Leglock but Sting turns it over. Jarrett is right in the ropes so the hold is broken, and Jarrett locks on an Ankle Lock right in Angle’s face. Sting rolls out of it and sends Jarrett to the floor. He tries to use the baseball bat but Angle takes it from him. Jarrett brings the guitar into the ring and smashes it over Sting’s head. Sting no sells it and locks on the Scorpion Deathlock. Jarrett taps the title away at 15:02. That was a decent match, and the finish was hot, but the body of the match never really felt like it was building up to anything. I like that there was no real interference, and the Angle involvement made sense. Still, Sting is just way past his prime.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #23: Lethal Lockdown – Jeff Jarrett, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Rhino & Sting vs. Christian Cage, AJ Styles, Scott Steiner, Abyss & Tomko, Lockdown, 4.15.07

The first entrant is representing Team Christian Cage, and it’s AJ Styles. Number one for Team Angle is the team captain himself Kurt Angle. These two will battle for five minutes, and then the intervals go down to two minutes. They take it to the mat and Angle gains the first sustained advantage. Apparently Team Angle won the right to have the man advantage, but Jim Cornette reversed that decision. They don’t say why, and I don’t remember. The person who scores the fall in this match will get a title match at next month’s Sacrifice. Angle charges at Styles in the corner, but Styles moves and Angle’s head crashes into the cage. Oh, Don West explains that Cornette reversed the decision because Jarrett used the guitar in the finish of the match, so that makes sense. Styles is wearing Angle down, until Angle hits an Olympic Slam out of nowhere. The next entrant is Abyss, which is smart strategy for Team Cage. Naturally this doesn’t go so well for Angle. They beat on Angle for a while, and Rhino comes out to even the odds. He takes out Styles and Abyss, and gives Angle time to recuperate. Rhino catapults Styles into the cage. Tomko comes out to once again give Team Cage the advantage. AJ Styles is busted open. Rhino is bleeding as well. Team Cage is in control, using their man advantage to keep Rhino and Angle down. Samoa Joe comes out even the odds and shit is on now. He goes after everyone, and I start to wonder how awesome a Joe versus Abyss one-on-one match on pay-per-view would be. Joe takes out everyone and hits Styles with the STJoe. He follows up with the Muscle Buster, but pins don’t count until all 10 men are out. Angle hits the rolling Germans on Tomko. Scott Steiner is next out for Team Cage, and they’ve got the advantage again. He starts throwing suplexes this way and that. He even hits a huge Frankensteiner off the top rope on Rhino and gets a monster pop for it. Sting comes out to once again even the sides. He throws out a series of clotheslines and hits the Scorpion Death Drop on Abyss. He then starts throwing out Stinger Splashes. They do one of those big Tower of Doom spots that don’t make any sense. Sting puts the Scorpion Deathlock on Steiner, which Tenay abbreviates to “The Scorpion.” I just hate him so much. The NWA World Champion Christian Cage comes out and is quickly dominated by Sting. Jeff Jarrett is the tenth and final entrant. The ceiling comes down and the match can now be won. He unloads a series of dropkicks and hits the Stroke on Styles. Everyone seems energized by the ceiling coming down and it’s a big brawl. Team Angle gets to the weapons first and they make good use of them. Styles tries to use a bat on Angle, but he counters it and hits a German Suplex. Styles escapes with a low blow, and then goes back to the ceiling, just like he did the year before. Angle decides to follow him up. Jim Mitchell gives Abyss two bags of thumbtacks. Harley Race wouldn’t tolerate that if he were there. Thankfully, Harley Race IS there, so he punches Mitchell out. Back in the ring, Rhino hits a tremendous Gore on Tomko up against the door, and Tomko goes crashing to the floor. Styles and Angel are battling in dangerous territory. Steiner knocks Rhino to the floor and he follows him out. Joe comes through the ropes with a suicide dive on Tomko. Abyss spreads out the tacks, but Jarrett and Sting chokeslam Cage on them. Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam on Jarrett. Back to the roof, Angle punches Styles right off the roof, and Styles falls on everyone on the floor. I love that spot because the setup wasn’t at all contrived. Now Abyss fills up a guitar with tacks and wants Jarrett to hit Sting with it, for some reason. Instead he smashes it over Abyss’s head. Jarrett gives the pin to Sting at 28:05, since he wants Sting to have the title shot. That was easily the best Lethal Lockdown match to date. The booking was sound, the action was non-stop, and the finish was unique.
Rating: ****

MATCH #24: Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle, Bound for Glory, 10.12.08

Mick Foley is the special guest enforcer. This is Jarrett’s first match since May of 2007, when he dropped a fall to Robert Roode. Angle takes Jarrett down right away and looks confident in doing so. Tenay describes the look on Angle’s face as a “bleep-eatin’-grin.” I hate you, Mike Tenay. Angle grounds Jarrett briefly, but Jarrett counters him and locks on a headlock. That doesn’t last too long, as Angle powers up and runs Jarrett into the corner. Don West calls a European Uppercut a German Uppercut for some reason. Jarrett recovers and sends Angle to the floor, and follows him out with a slingshot dive. He tries diving off the apron, but Angle moves and Jarrett crashes into the guardrail. Back in the ring Angle follows up with some kicks to the ribs. Jarrett comes back with an inverted atomic drop and an enziguiri. He spends too much time strutting and Angle hits a hard clothesline. Angle is in control now, wearing Jarrett down. Jarrett gets a quick rollup for two but Angle clotheslines him down again. He gets up again and hits Angle with a DDT and both men are down. They get to their feet and trade punches. Jarrett wins that battle and hits two lariats and a blue thunder driver for two. Angle recovers and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. They rise and Angle tries the Olympic Slam but Jarrett counters to a DDT for two. He puts Angle up on the top rope and hits a superplex and Angle kicks out at two. Jarrett then locks on the Figure-Four Leglock right in the center of the ring. Angle eventually makes it to the ropes and the hold is broken. He comes back and hits a German Suplex with a bridge for two, and then hits a couple of Rolling Germans. He tries the Angle Slam but Jarrett counters to an armdrag. Jarrett tries a piledriver but Angle winds up rolling through to the Ankle Lock. Wow, Jarrett survives in the hold for a ridiculously long time. He rolls Angle through to break the hold. Angle hits the Angle Slam but Jarrett kicks out. He goes up for the Moonsault but Jarrett rolls out of the way. The referee takes a bump and Jarrett hits the Stroke. Foley comes in to count the fall but Angle kicks out at two. Angle hits a low blow and then goes to the floor and grabs a chair. He wallops Foley in the face with it, and then delivers a shot to Jarrett as well. Angle revives the referee, but Foley pulls the referee out, having made a miraculous recovery from that brutal shot to the face. He applies Mr. Socko to Angle, and Jarrett smashes the guitar over Angle’s head. Foley counts the pin at 20:07. The problem with special enforcers is that they always have to get involved, and that takes away from the two wrestlers in the match. It was going along really well until all the Foley involvement, but Jarrett looked really good for such a long layoff. It wasn’t quite a classic but it was fairly entertaining.
Rating: ***½

BONUS MATCH #1: David Johnson & Jim Jameson vs. Bill Dundee & Buddy Landell, 3.86

This is Jarrett’s first appearance on TV; he’s the referee. Dundee starts the match with Johnson and slaps him around. He tags to Landell and he continues the abuse. Jameson gets tagged in and he gets beat up on too. The match is all Dundee and Landell. They beat the jobbers up some more, and Landell hits the Spinning Elbow Drop on Jameson to get the pin at 3:36. That was an entertaining squash. Landell beats Jarrett up after the match, and Jerry comes out to save his boy. It turns into a big brawl and the crowd is going banana.
Rating: ¾*

BONUS MATCH #2: Jeff Jarrett vs. Tony Falk, 3.12.86

This is Jarrett’s second-ever match. Falk attacks the rookie Jarrett right away. I think Falk had the losing streak going at this time. He’s all offense early on. Some of his offense is extremely funny by the way. He throws Jarrett to the floor and gloats about it. Jarrett slingshots back into the ring with a sunset flip to get the surprise pin at 1:57! The match obviously wasn’t much, but with the beat down by Landell and Dundee after the match it was good TV. Jos LeDuc comes out to make the save.
Rating: ¼*

BONUS MATCH #3: Jeff Jarrett vs. Hector Guerrero, 12.26.87

In a pre-match promo, Hector says that Jarrett puts too much gravy on his biscuits, which I find hilarious. Eddie wasn’t the only Guerrero with personality. The match starts off quick, and Jarrett slows it down with a headlock. Hector slips out and gets a rollup for two. Back to their feet Jarrett hits an armdrag and goes back to the headlock. Jarrett continues to control the match, so Hector takes a powder. Back in the ring Hector gets an Armbar but Jarrett escapes it and hits a back body drop for two. Jarrett goes back to the arm. Hector comes back with a closed fist and runs Jarrett’s head into the turnbuckle. Jarrett tries a sunset flip so Hector counters with another fist. He keeps throwing punches but tells the referee it was an open hand. He hits a backbreaker for two. A double underhook suplex gets another two. He goes for the Big Splash but Jarrett gets the knees up. Hector stays in control, slamming Jarrett’s head into the mat. A German Suplex with a bridge gets another two for Hector. Jarrett finally makes the comeback and hits a couple of right hands and a weird clothesline. He hits a back body drop and a couple of dropkicks. Lance hands Jarrett a bag of flour, and he hits Hector with it to draw the disqualification at 8:55. Hector sells it like a champion. The guy’s a pro. The match was actually really fun until the goofy finish that I don’t understand because I haven’t see this stuff before.
Rating: **

BONUS MATCH #4: CWA Heavyweight Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Jerry Lawler, 2.6.88

CWA stands for Championship Wrestling Association, which is where all of these bonus matches took place. Lawler backs Jarrett into the corner. He biels Jarrett out of the corner and is definitely not sweating the younger Jarrett. He hits another biel out of the corner but Jarrett comes right back at him with a clothesline. Lawler returns the favor with a clothesline of his own. Jarrett comes back and locks on a head scissors. Lawler tries to headstand his way out of it but Jarrett mini-piledrives him and keeps the hold on. The champ once again tries to slip free and this time does, and he puts on the side headlock. Jarrett comes back with a Thesz Press for a two-count, and for some reason Jarrett doesn’t follow up on him. The challenger goes to work on Lawler’s arm now. Lawler escapes and they trade dropkicks. Then they each try one and dropkick each other. Meanwhile, it’s 26 degrees outside according to channel 3 WAVE. Jarrett recovers and goes to the top rope and tries a cross body block. He wipes out Lawler and the referee. Bill Dundee comes out and hits Jarrett with a foreign object. Lawler makes the cover and gets the pin at 7:10. I love old Jerry Lawler matches.
Rating: **¼

BONUS MATCH #5: Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs. Gary Young & Cactus Jack, 9.20.88

Jarrett is teaming with Dundee now. Young and Cactus are managed by Downtown Bruno, better known as Harvey Whippleman. Jarrett and Young start the match, and Jarrett takes the first control. He tags in to Dundee, and Young tags in Cactus. Dundee goes to work on Cactus’s beard. Jarrett tags in and the good guys can seemingly do no wrong here. They hit a double elbow and Dundee stomps away at him. He hits a forearm to the chest for a two-count. He kicks Cactus in the face and snap mares him out of the corner. Jarrett is tagged in and he punches Cactus in the face. He then lets Jack tag in Young. He’s able to get a little bit of offense in but Jarrett avoids him and tags in Dundee. It’s a big brawl now with all four men in the ring. Jarrett goes after the skirt while Dundee tries to pin Young and Bruno jumps into the ring for the DQ at around 5:26. That was pretty much a squash for Jarrett and Dundee.
Rating: *

The Pulse

Honestly, a four-disc set with 12 hours of material is going to seem laborious no matter who the subject is. It also just so happens that Jarrett is an incredibly divisive, so this set may not appeal to everyone. For those it does appeal to, this is a very thorough set of matches and a very candid documentary. My one quibble with match selection is that I would have rather had his match with Rhino from the Impact episode where he won the title back rather than the Turning Point match that I have on at least two other DVDs. But I did get the Monty Brown match, so that outweighs the negatives. One thing I do like about the DVD is that Jarrett was so firmly entrenched in TNA storylines from 2002-2006, that this set also acts as a bit of a document on that time in TNA, which is a nice side effect. Also the bonus matches are a nice addition. So while it won’t convert any new fans, any fan of Jeff Jarrett would have little more to ask for from a DVD set.