~DISC 1~
MATCH #1: NWA World Tag Team Title Electrified Cage Match – Team 3D vs. The Latin American Xchange, Lockdown, 4.15.07
Homicide & Hernandez have been the champions since 10.22.06, and this is their seventh defense. Team 3D have held the World, WWE, ECW, and WCW Tag Team Championships, but never the NWA Tag Team Titles. Conspicuous by his absence is Konnan. The challengers attack the champions right away and it’s a big brawl to start. Brother Ray and Brother Devon control the first several minutes. LAX comes back with some dirty tactics. Both teams are trying to use the electrified cage to their advantage. Devon is the first one busted open, thanks to a chain used by Hernandez. They do some more brawling and the crowd is surprisingly quiet. Funny out of context Don West quote: “You gotta be careful about what you reach around and grab.†Konnan gets wheeled out to ringside, and the guy who wheeled him out there takes out the outside referee, drawing the ire of TNA Spanish Commentator Hector Guerrero. He stops Konnan from doing whatever he was going to do, and opens the cage door himself so that he can give Brother Ray a table. He further interferes, slamming the cage door on Hernandez’s head. That gets a two-count, and LAX is soon in control again. Hernandez Border Tosses Devon into the cage and the lights flicker a little bit. The crowd is NOT impressed. The dreaded “Fire Russo†chant rears its ugly head. Team 3D hits the Doomsday Device on Homicide but he kicks out at two. Hernandez sets Devon up on a table and puts on his gloves so that he can climb to the top of the cage. It took him so long to get up there though that Devon moves off the table and Hernandez crashes through it. Devon throws Homicide into the cage and he gets electrified, and then Team 3D blows their own finish before actually hitting the 3D to get the pin at 15:37. That was just bad. The house lights were off, for reasons I don’t know. The lights would flicker when someone got thrown into the cage, which is the only effect produced. It was just a bad idea from the get-go I think.
Rating: *
MATCH #2: TNA World Tag Team Title Match – Team 3D vs. Rick Steiner & ???, Slammiversary, 6.17.07
Team 3D have been the champions since 4.15.07, and this is their fourth defense. Rick brings out his mystery partner, and it’s Road Warrior Animal! Oh wait, it’s Road Warrior Animal. Devon and Steiner start it off with some light wrestling. Steiner controls most of the early going, but misses a chance to tag in Animal, and Devon tags in Ray. Steiner responds by tagging in Animal, and he and Ray trade shoulderblocks. Ray tries a piledriver but Animal no-sells it of course. Steiner looks lost in there as Team 3D start working heel. They beat on Steiner for a bit until Animal makes the hot tag. The challengers signal for the Doomsday Device but Team 3D will have none of that. They hit the 3D on Steiner and retain the titles at 6:40. It was probably for the best that they kept that one short. These were not the best two matches to start a DVD with.
Rating: ¾*
MATCH #3: Tables Match – Team 3D & Johnny Devine vs. Jay Lethal & The Motor City Machineguns, Turning Point, 12.2.07
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 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 #4: Fans Choose the Stipulations – Team 3D & Kurt Angle vs. Rhino, AJ Styles & Christian Cage, Victory Road, 7.13.08
The fans get to choose between a Tables Match, Falls-Count-Anywhere Match, or a Full Metal Mayhem Match. Not surprisingly, the winner is Full Metal Mayhem. Frank Trigg is joining Don West and Mike Tenay on commentary. Angle attacks Styles in the aisle and it’s a big brawl right away. Styles and Devon are briefly in the ring but they soon tumble back to the floor, to be replaced by Angle and Rhino. Ray and Christian take their turn as well. Rhino and Christian introduce a ladder into the match, and Angle follows with a chair. Christian climbs all the way to the top of the steel truss that was used for Ultimate X, and hits a beautiful cross body block. Rhino starts throwing out Gores, one for everybody. A table gets set up in the ring, and Team 3D hits a Doomsday Device on Rhino, dropping him right through the table. Devon took a rough landing on his ankle on that one. There’s barely been a break in the action throughout the entire match. Christian takes the 3D through a table on the floor. With both Rhino and Christian out, Styles takes quite the beating from all three of his opponents. Styles recovers and hits Angle with the Styles Clash for two. Then Johnny Devine runs out and tries to hit Styles with a kendo stick, but Styles thwarts him. Angle hits an Angle Slam for two. He brings in another table and the referee gets bumped. Styles comes back and sets Angle on the table and climbs a ladder. Trigg leaves the commentary table and hits Styles with a kendo stick. Angle hits an Angle Slam off the ladder through a table to get the pin at 15:57. That was a great hardcore brawl, with non-stop action and cool spots. Trigg interfering seemed unnecessary, and he took away from the match with his commentary too. Good stuff otherwise though.
Rating: ***¾
MATCH #5: Tag Team Gauntlet Match – Team 3D, The Motor City Machineguns, Voodoo Kin Mafia, The Rock ‘n Rave Infection, and The Latin American Xchange, Impact, 1.3.08
This match is like a regular gauntlet match, except at the end they have a tag team match. Lance Hoyt drew #1, and Kip James is #2. Hoyt makes fun of Kip’s cherry-covered pink ring gear, which is still pretty bold for a guy who has a tramp stamp. They do not much for a minute and then Brother Devon comes in at #3. Another minute flies by and Alex Shelley is #4. Homicide comes out a minute later at #5 and quickly eliminates Kip James. Jimmy Rave is #6, and he works with his partner to try and eliminate Homicide. BG James comes out at #7, even though his partner was already eliminated. He dumps Devon over the ropes, which is good timing since Ray is #8. Chris Sabin comes out at #9, while still very little actually happens in the ring. He goes right after Brother Ray, and then eliminates BG James with a dropkick, effectively eliminating VKM from the match. Hernandez of course is the last entrant at #10. He cleans house, because he’s so big and all. Sabin tosses Ray out, so Team 3D is done. We take a commercial break and when we come back we learn that Hoyt and Rave eliminated Homicide and Hernandez, so we’re down to a tag match between The Motor City Machineguns and the Rock ‘n Rave Infection. And in the time it took me to type that, Shelly hits Rave with Sliced Bread #2 to get the pin at 11:03 (shown). That was the usual gauntlet tomfoolery from TNA, and I continue to wonder why they call these matches gauntlets. Johnny Devine comes out to attack the Guns and Team 3D joins him. They set up a table and place Shelley and Sabin’s hands across it, and Ray whacks them with a kendo stick. That’s a pretty good idea since they have an Ultimate X match coming up on pay-per-view three days after this. Luckily Jay Lethal, Shark Boy, and Petey Williams make the save.
Rating: *½
MATCH #6: Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs. Jay Lethal & Sonjay Dutt, Impact, 5.10.07
Sabin is the reigning X-Division Champion at this point, and he and Shelley weren’t calling themselves The Motor City Machineguns. Lethal & Dutt are apparently subbing for Voodoo Kin Mafia, and I think that’s trading up. Shelley and Lethal start it off and it’s fast paced, of course. Lethal hits the double sledge off the top for a two-count. Shelley responds by biting, and Sabin comes in and follows suit. They double-team Lethal and just generally wear him down. The referee eventually loses control. Dutt comes in and cleans house. He hits a quebrada on Shelley for two. Everyone takes a turn coming in and out of the ring. Lethal and Dutt have a disagreement about Lethal hitting his finisher, giving the Shelley a chance to finish off Dutt with the Air Raid Crash at 4:12. What can you expect from a four minute tag match? It was fun while it lasted though.
Rating: **
MATCH #7: The Motor City Machineguns vs. Team 3D, Genesis, 11.11.07
This was during the “Team 3D hates the X-Division†angle. Some blonde interviews the Guns backstage, and I’m not sure who she is. The Guns attack Team 3D in the aisle and we’re on. They take an early advantage and use their double team skills. Team 3D is reeling in the early going, so they take a powder and try to collect themselves. Ray and Devon finally get it together and double team Sabin. However the Guns come back right away and frustrate 3D. They dump Ray to the floor and knock Devon down in the ring. Shelley and Sabin go up separate turnbuckles and look to leap down on Devon, but Ray knocks them both down and Devon superplexes Shelley down to the mat. Team 3D are really in control now, working Shelley over in their half of the ring for several minutes. Shelley fights back with a superkick on Devon and makes the hot tag to Sabin. Ray comes in the ring illegally but Sabin thwarts both Brothers. Sabin hits a springboard clothesline on Devon for two. A tornado DDT gets another two. The Guns use their double team skills to confound the veterans. Ray makes a blind tag and he takes out the Guns with clotheslines. They hit the What’s Up on Shelley and Devon grabs a table. Sabin kicks it right back into his face and then tries a sunset flip on Ray. It gets blocked but Sabin avoids a falling Ray and the Guns hit the High-Low on Devon but Ray pulls the referee out. Shelley tries to slingshot out on Devon but hits nothing but floor. Ray and Sabin are in the ring now, and Ray whips Sabin with a belt. Team 3D hits the Doomsday Device but Sabin kicks out! Frustrated, Team 3D brings a table into the ring. Sabin avoids getting thrown into the table and Devon winds up going through it instead. Shelley recovers and the Guns hit Ray with a series of kicks to the head for the clean pin at 17:37. That was one of the best matches I’ve seen from Team 3D through their tenure in TNA. It actually did a lot to make Shelley and Sabin look good.
Rating: ***½
MATCH #8: The Motor City Machineguns vs. AJ Styles & Tomko, Impact, 12.27.07
Styles & Tomko are the current TNA World Tag Team Champions, but the titles are not on the line here. Styles and Shelley start it off and Shelley gets an early advantage. The Guns double-team Styles and get a near-fall. Tomko comes in the ring sans tag and gorilla press slams Shelley into a fall-away slam as we take a commercial break. We’re back and Eric Young for some reason is out talking to Styles at ringside. Back in the ring Sabin takes advantage of a distracted Styles. The referee has lost all semblance of control here. The Guns once again double-team Styles, with Shelley hitting a Frog Splash for two. Shelley hits a suicide dive to the floor on Tomko. Back in the ring Styles hits the Pele Kick on Sabin and sets up for the Styles Clash. Young gets up on the ring apron to distract Styles once again. Shelley and Sabin wrap Styles up in a pinning combination to get the pin at 4:58 (shown). I believe these two teams would have had a great match if it was about three times as long and had no Eric Young.
Rating: *¾
MATCH #9: The Motor City Machineguns vs. Senshi & Elix Skipper, Impact, 1.10.08
Skipper and Senshi attack the Guns before the bell and they’re off and running. They work over Shelley and keep him isolated from Sabin. Shelley makes a comeback and makes the hot tag to Sabin. The match gets quickly kicked into another gear as people are flying all over the place. They hit the kick combination that they used to beat Team 3D earlier on this DVD to get the win at 3:53. They packed a lot into a short amount of time, but obviously it didn’t get much of a chance to go anywhere.
Rating: **
MATCH #10: The Motor City Machineguns vs. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino, Impact, 6.12.08
For some reason before we get to this match we see promos from Daivari and Raisha Saeed, neither of who have anything to do with this match or tag teams. I don’t expect to do a lot of play-by-play here. Tenay says that this is the first time Doi and Yoshino have been on national American TV, but wasn’t Wrestling Society X before this? I mean, MTV has to be available in as many or more homes than Spike. As predicted, everyone brings all the fast-paced offense in the early going, with the Dragon Gate/Speed Muscle/Team Japan duo controlling most of the opening minutes. Shelley gets beat on for a few minutes before making the hot tag to Sabin. He’s on fire and the match breaks down at this point. This match is just a preview for the 2008 World X Cup, by the way. The action continues fast and furious until the Guns hit a double superkick on Yoshino to get the pin at 6:24. That was a great preview and the reaction the match got would make it seem like a no-brainer to give these two teams another match and really let it all hang out. I guess not as obvious as I thought.
Rating: ***
MATCH #11: The Motor City Machineguns vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Volador, Impact, 10.30.08
This will be my first time seeing Volador (I’m a little behind on TNA). The international duo attacks the Guns before the bell, which seems to happen to them a lot. They immediately isolate Shelley and start working him over. Sheik Abdul Bashir is guest commentating with Tenay and West. He’s feuding with Rhino, so I’m not sure why he’s out there. Shelley makes the hot tag to Sabin and he cleans house on Volador and Tanahashi. The Guns isolate Volador and hit a sequence of double-team moves, followed by Sabin’s Cradle Shock to get the pin at 3:33. That was a fun little sprint.
Rating: *½
~DISC 2~
MATCH #12: TNA World Tag Team Title Match – Beer Money, Inc. vs. The Latin American Xchange, Hard Justice, 8.10.08
LAX have been champions since 5.11.08, and this is their fourth defense. This is also the third time they’ve defended the titles against Beer Money. I miss Salinas. The match starts as a big brawl on the floor until Homicide and Roode finally enter the ring. Homicide and Hernandez control the opening minutes with their unique blend of speed and power. They actually do the spot where Homicide picks Roode up at two from a pin cover, and that makes no sense. If he could beat Roode after like two minutes what’s the point of the rest of the match? Jacqueline distracts the referee and Storm spits beer in Homicide’s eye, and the challengers go to work. Homicide’s previous eye injury is really bothering him now that he’s got beer in it. He takes several minutes of abuse for making the hot tag to Hernandez. He cleans house on the challengers briefly. Storm and Roode make the comeback and Roode hits Hernandez with a blockbuster for two. Hernandez recovers and tags in Homicide, and the match has broken down. Homicide hits a Superfly Splash for two. Beer Money tries to seek comfort on the floor, but Hernandez Border Tosses Homicide over the ropes and onto both challengers! Jacqueline once again involved herself by hitting Hernandez with a low blow. Salinas and Hector Guerrero are on the scene but a bit too late. Meanwhile in the ring Storm cracks Homicide with a beer bottle and Roode gets the pin and Beer Money, Inc. win the TNA World Tag Team Titles at 14:05. That was solid formula tag match and the crowd was into it the whole way.
Rating: ***
MATCH #13: TNA World Tag Team Title Match – Beer Money, Inc. vs. The Latin American Xchange, No Surrender, 9.14.08
Beer Money, Inc. has been the champions since 8.10.08, and this is their first defense. LAX has Hector Guerrero in the corner; Beer Money has Jacqueline. Storm and Homicide start the match, and LAX gains early control. The champions cheat to gain an advantage and go to work on the larger member of LAX, Hernandez. That doesn’t last too long and Hernandez tags Homicide in. Homicide is a flurry of offense, so Beer Money ignores the tagging rules, which causes LAX to follow suit. Hernandez tries to take a dive to the floor but Storm spits beer in his eyes and powerbombs him down to the mat. Homicide and Roode continue to fight on the floor, where Homicide tries to hit Roode with a beer bottle but misses and hurts his hand. Beer Money double team Homicide on the floor and Hernandez comes sailing out to wipe out Storm. Homicide and Roode are back in the ring and Roode goes for the Payoff but Homicide reverses it to an Ace Crusher. He sets up for the Gringo Killer but Jacqueline sneaks into the ring and throws powder in the Homicide’s eyes. That allows Roode to hit the Payoff and Beer Money retains at 8:43. Hector Guerrero really did a crappy job monitoring Jacqueline. The match felt a bit stunted and they didn’t get into the groove like last month.
Rating: **
MATCH #14: Monster’s Ball Match for the TNA World Tag Team Titles – Beer Money, Inc. vs. Team 3D vs. The Latin American Xchange vs. Matt Morgan & Abyss, Bound for Glory, 10.12.08
Beer Money has been the champions since 8.10.08, and this is their second defense. Steve “Mongo†McMichael is the special guest referee, and boy is he looking old. I don’t expect to do much play-by-play for this one either. Everyone attacks Beer Money to start and it’s a big brawl all over the place. Homicide seems to grab most of the spotlight, and he brings out a staple from his old ROH days, the fork, jabbing it into Devon’s head. Ray brings a cheese grater in and works on Abyss with it. Mongo counts extremely slowly for Beer Money. Storm gets tired of Mongo dogging them, so he brings his beer helmet and a football in the ring to challenge him, and Mongo takes both of them out. More brawling ensues, and Johnny Devine shows up to help his Team 3D cohorts. The three of them conspire to slam Abyss off the entrance ramp through a flaming table. Jacqueline interferes and tries to jump on Mongo, and she receives a spanking for her trouble. Hernandez actually hits the Border Toss on Morgan, which is pretty impressive. Team 3D hits the 3D on Hernandez, on a table covered with tacks. However, Beer Money sneaks in the ring and steals the pin to retain the titles at 20:19. That was super fun chaos, but everything involving Mongo hurt what the wrestlers were trying to do.
Rating: ***½
MATCH #15: TNA World Tag Team Title Match – Beer Money, Inc. vs. Lethal Consequences vs. Matt Morgan & Abyss, Genesis, 1.11.09
Lethal Consequences have been the champions since 1.8.09, and this is their first defense. They successfully cashed in a “Feast or Fired†briefcase to win the titles. Storm and Creed start the match. They do some back and forth for a bit and then make tags to their partners. Lethal stays on offense against Roode, thwarting all of his attacks. Jacqueline tries to interfere but she gets beat up too, sandwiched between her two charges. Abyss comes in and works with Lethal Consequences for a brief time. The Beer Money trio falls into a sexually suggestive position, and Roode enjoys it a little too much. Abyss beats them up a little bit more before they gain the advantage on him with some double-teaming. He tries to make the hot tag to Morgan, but Creed reaches out and steals the tag instead. He’s on fire at first but Beer Money double teams him back down. The match breaks down to a pier-six brawl. Abyss chokeslams Lethal over his knee, but then Creed hits a Missile Dropkick on him. Morgan hits the Carbon Footprint on Creed, but then gets double-teamed by Beer Money. Abyss then accidentally hits Morgan with one of the title belts. Roode goes for the cover but Lethal hits the Top Rope Elbow on him, but Jacqueline is distracting the ref. Storm gets in the ring and superkicks Lethal. He then puts Roode back over Morgan to get the pin at 15:20 to regain the titles. That was fun up to a point, but then the finish took way too long to execute. Morgan laid there forever, and while on one hand I can appreciate someone selling a foreign object shot, the way we’ve been conditioned over the years just makes stuff like that look lame now. But like I said, it was still an enjoyable match.
Rating: ***
MATCH #16: Little Italy Street Fight – The Latin American Xchange vs. Team 3D, Against All Odds, 2.11.07
The LAX are the tag team champions at this point, but the titles are not on the line. They attack Team 3D from behind and beat them up with the weird restaurant décor that’s supposed to simulate Little Italy I guess. They fight all over the arena, with strikes and slams and suplexes all over the place. I’m not really sure what the strippers are doing there. Back in the ring LAX works over Devon together. Then Hernandez goes to mix it up with Ray outside of the ring. Homicide finds a pizza cutter and uses it on Devon’s disgusting forehead, causing blood to flow. Ray gets back in the ring and counters the pizza cutter with a cheese grater. Homicide is busted open now and Team 3D is in control. Random members of the Latino Nation come out to support LAX but they get beat up too. Hernandez puts Brother Ray through a table and Homicide follows with an elbow drop off the top rope for two. Devon gets back up and dispatches Hernandez. He hits the Saving Grace on Homicide for a near-fall. Moments later Hernandez is back and he hits the Border Toss on Devon for the pin at 9:27. That was a decent garbage match.
Rating: **¼
MATCH #17: Ghetto Brawl – The Latin American Xchange vs. Team 3D, Destination X, 3.11.07
The LAX are the tag team champions at this point, but the titles are not on the line. TNA is dedicating this Destination X to the late, great Ernie Ladd. I’m sure he’d be thrilled. All four men start brawling in the ring right away amongst bunches of plunder. LAX takes the first control and they beat down both Brothers. Devon gets sent to the floor and Hernandez follows him out with a swan dive. The match all shifts to the floor, where Ray and Devon take control on Homicide and Hernandez, respectively. They fight all throughout the crowd, using various weapons along the way. Back in the ring Devon hits Homicide with a powerslam for two. Hernandez comes in and nails Devon with the Crackerjack for two. Brother Ray hits a superplex on Hernandez but Homicide comes off another rope with a rana on Ray. He follows up with a trash can shot for two. Ray comes back and he and Devon hit the What’s Up. Then they drink beer before getting the table. A cadre of Latino Nation member come out and beat down Team 3D. An old and slow Johnny Rodz comes out and beats up like 10 guys. Homicide and Hernandez recover and now they can all manage to beat down the old man. A bunch of Devon’s brothers from Brooklyn come in now and it’s a big brawl. Doesn’t that make them Ray’s half brothers? Don West says the only thing missing is Pacman Jones. Just wait a few more months Don. The posses get to the back and the match resumes in the ring. Hernandez sets up for the Border Toss but Devon avoids it and Hernandez takes the 3D. Machete pulls the referee to the floor to break up the pin. The gangs make their way back out, and Brother Ray leaps off the top rope and wipes them all out. Alex Shelley is out at ringside now to film the action for Paparazzi Productions. That distraction gives Homicide the chance to hit a low blow on Devon. Shelley comes in and hits Devon with the camera and Frog Splashes Devon through a table. Homicide gets the pin at 14:49. That was slightly better than last month, but I don’t remember if the LAX and Alex Shelley partnership ever went anywhere.
Rating: **½
MATCH #18: Ultimate X Match – The Latin American Xchange vs. Senshi & Elix Skipper, Bound for Glory, 10.14.07
I don’t think there was any kind of feud to this match, just a match for the sake of it. However, at least the winners get a Tag Team Title shot. It’s all action all the time in the early minutes. Hernandez appears to be having fun throwing Senshi around. Skipper pairs off with Homicide and Senshi is fighting Hernandez. The fight spills to the floor and Homicide hits Senshi with the Tope Con Hilo and Don West loves it. Skipper tries to climb up to the X but Hernandez is all “no way son.†Hernandez then climbs to the X and just sits there not grabbing the X for some reason. Obviously he gets knocked down, and then Senshi takes a turn and gets powerbombed for his troubles. Skipper climbs all the way to the top of one of the steel trusses and hits a cross body block on Hernandez. Homicide tries to get the X and Skipper goes out with him, and Homicide brings them both down by hitting a neckbreaker. He tries going back up but this time Senshi stops him. Homicide sets up for a super Gringo Killer but Senshi blocks it and hits the Warrior’s Way instead. Hernandez is up and hits another Crackerjack on Senshi. He tries to dive on Senshi on the floor, but Skipper cuts him off and tries the Play of the Day. That gets blocked and Hernandez tosses Skipper to the floor with the Border Toss. The big man then climbs up and grabs the X for the win at 11:57. That had some cool spots and was entertaining throughout.
Rating: ***½
MATCH #19: TNA World Tag Team Title Match – The Latin American Xchange vs. Beer Money, Inc., Victory Road, 7.13.08
LAX have been the champions since 5.11.08 and this is their third defense. Twelve angry fans are surrounding the ring with straps for this important title match. You know, couldn’t they have found some fans that didn’t look so much like stereotypical wrestling fans? Yay, I get to see Salinas again! Homicide and Roode start it off slugging. Roode gets dumped to the floor early and the fans take their shots. Storm gets the same treatment. In the ring it’s no better for him, as LAX double teams him and generally controls the match. Storm tags out to Roode, and he dumps Homicide to the floor. He tries to follow him out with a baseball slide and Homicide traps him in the ring apron. Roode crawls under the ring and makes it back inside for more punishment from Homicide. The challengers use some less than savory tactics to gain an advantage. They isolate Homicide and work him over for a few minutes before Hernandez gets tagged in. Hernandez hits the Crackerjack on Storm and a back body drop for Roode. Storm gets a backbreaker, and Roode gets caught off the second rope with a sit-out powerbomb for two. The match has broken down to the usual brawl. Homicide nails Storm with a tornado DDT and dumps Roode to the floor. Back in the ring Hernandez puts Roode on his shoulders and Homicide hits an Ace Crusher off the top and LAX retain at 10:09. That was a perfectly solid tag team match.
Rating: **¾
BONUS MATCH #1: Lethal Consequences vs. Sonjay Dutt & Hiroshi Tanahashi, Impact, 11.20.08
Dutt and Lethal start the match, but Tanahashi pretty much starts the match in the ring too. That doesn’t last long, as Creed pulls him to the floor. SoCal Val distracts Lethal and Dutt goes to work on him. Dutt and Tanahashi double-team Lethal briefly, until Lethal comes back with an enziguiri. He makes the tag to Creed, and Dutt is tagged in as well. Creed cleans house on both of them, but Dutt is able to sneak in a jawbreaker. Dutt tries a springboard inverted DDT, but Creed catches him with a TKO for the pin at 2:25. Most Impact X-Division tag matches are short, but this one was really short.
Rating: ½*
BONUS MATCH #2: TNA World Tag Team Title Match – Lethal Consequences vs. Beer Money, Inc., Impact, 1.8.09
Beer Money has been the champions since 8.10.08, and this is their seventh defense. Lethal and Creed are using the Feast or Fired briefcase that Lethal earned. Roode is injured from a previous match, so Storm (in street clothes) is basically wrestling this match alone. The challengers take the early advantage; they’re hungry for gold. Creed does a lot of unnecessary flipping. Storm takes quite a beating, and the challengers get several near falls on him. He almost takes control on the floor but Lethal has other ideas. Roode finally gets involved and helps Storm come back on Creed. We take a commercial break here. Abyss and Matt Morgan are watching the match from the entrance ramp, since they are supposed to take on Beer Money on the pay-per-view. He tags in and gives Storm a much needed rest. Storm is soon back in and working over Creed. Somehow Creed gets over to his corner and tags Lethal. Storm tries to beg off but Lethal won’t hear of it. Lethal gets a couple near-falls. Storm comes back and hits the Eye of the Storm for two. He tries a lung blower but Lethal blocks it and hits the Lethal Combination. He heads to the top rope and Jacqueline distracts the referee. Lethal hits the top tope elbow, but the referee is occupied. Roode tries to use the briefcase as a weapon, but Lethal thwarts him and uses the case on Storm to get the pin and win the tag team titles at 8:05 (shown). That was a good use of the Feast or Fired case, and a surprising upset. Of course, Beer Money would regain the titles three days later on the pay-per-view.
Rating: **½
The Pulse:
Well nothing hit four stars, but there was a ton of stuff in the three-star neighborhood and higher, so this is a very solid DVD. The match list was a good cross-section of stuff from both pay-per-view and Impact, which always makes me happy. The documentary portions between the matches do a great job adding to the DVD, and everything flowed very nicely. I definitely recommend this DVD.
