Universal Studios – Orlando, Florida – January 14, 2007
This disc contains the entire preshow broadcast, hosted by Jeremy Borash with Leticia serving as the backstage interviewer.
PRESHOW MATCH: Lance Hoyt vs. Chase Stevens
AJ Pierzynski and Dale Torborg are watching from the first row as Hoyt physically dominates the former Natural. Stevens comes back and knocks Hoyt to the floor, where he gets distracted by the aforementioned Chicago White Sox. Back in the ring Hoyt slams Stevens chest-first. Hoyt goes for the Big Boot but misses. Moments later Hoyt hits a kind of inverted TKO to get the pin at 2:07. Hoyt then goes to attack Torborg and Pierzynski hits him with a chair. Elsewhere, Shane Douglas comes out and yells at Stevens for continuing to wear the black and gold, and Stevens yells back at him and that also has to be broken up by security. This match only existed to serve those two post-match angles.
Rating: ½*
Intro
Mike Tenay and Don West are on commentary. They waste no time in getting right to the first match.
MATCH #1: Last Man Standing Match – Rhino vs. AJ Styles
Rhino chases Styles before the bell and is on fire in the early going. Styles comes back and cuts Rhino off with The Dropkick. He works Rhino over enough to score the first pin with a Superfly Splash around four minutes in. I prefer Last Man Standing matches without pinfalls first. Rhino gets up before the 10-count and hits an alley-oop powerbomb into the turnbuckle. Both men are down and Styles grabs Rhino by the trunks and hurls him to the floor. Styles follows him out with a flip dive over the top rope. Back in the ring Rhino catches Styles off the ropes with a big spinebuster and scores his first fall of the match. Styles makes it back to his feet and Rhino goes right back on the attack. They fight up on the ropes and Styles hits a Sunset Bomb for two. Rhino comes back and tries to introduce a table but that ends up backfiring, right in the groin. Styles hits the springboard flying forearm for another two-count. Rhino blocks the next springboard attempt and hits a huge powerbomb for two. Styles strikes back with the Pele. He misses a clothesline and Rhino cuts him in half with a Gore. Rhino doesn’t go for a cover though, instead hitting another Gore. That obviously gets a pinfall. Rhino sets up a table as Styles almost makes it back to his feet but instead decides to stay down and take the loss at 14:41. Well that finish kind of makes everyone look like a giant pussy, but as a way to continue the feud I guess it’s not bad.
Rating: **½
Rhino says he’s not satisfied with winning that way, and he promises to take Styles out tonight! He chases Styles up the ramp and hits him with a Rhino Driver. Rhino then sets up a table in the entrance and goes for a Gore but Styles moves out of the way and Rhino crashes through the table. For some reason they play Styles’ music.
MATCH #2: X Division Championship Match – Christopher Daniels vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Chris Sabin
Daniels has been the champion since 11.16.06, and this is his third defense. Lynn and Daniels double-team Sabin in the early going because he’s the heel. Sabin takes a powder to let the other two fight each other. When Sabin gets back in the ring everyone fights everyone with some fast-paced offense. Sabin is the first one to get sent to the outside, and then he recovers and pitches Daniels out. Lynn fights back with an inverted DDT on Sabin for two. Daniels comes back and hits Lynn with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. He puts on the Koji Clutch but Sabin breaks it up and sends Lynn to the floor. Lynn comes back in the ring with a dual missile dropkick on both of his opponents. All three men have expended a lot of energy but the elder Lynn appears to be in the best shape. Daniels hits Sabin with the Best Moonsault Ever but Lynn breaks it up. Lynn hits Sabin with a sitout powerbomb but Daniels breaks that one up, so Lynn hits Daniels with an Air Raid Crash and Sabin breaks that one up. Daniels goes for the Angel’s Wings on Lynn but it gets reversed to the Cradle Piledriver. Sabin sneaks up behind Lynn and schoolboys him to get the pin and win the title for a fourth time at 11:42. They kept a fast pace throughout and Sabin made a really effective heel.
Rating: ***¼
MATCH #3: The Paparazzi Championship Series Finals – Alex Shelley vs. Austin Starr
Kevin Nash joins Tenay and West in the booth for this 10-minute time-limit match. The judges for this match are Samolian Joe, Big Fat Oily Guy, and Mr. Backlund. Starr and Shelley start off with some mat wrestling and appear pretty evenly matched there. Shelley catches Starr with a clothesline, but Starr fights right back with the leaping back elbow off the second rope. I’d say they’re pretty evenly matched on points through the first half of the match. Starr low bridges Shelley, sending him to the floor, and then follows him out with a slingshot twisting body press. Before they can get back in the ring Shelley knocks Starr to the floor and then wipes him out with a suicide dive. Back in the ring Shelley is on a roll but can’t quite put Starr away. Shelley goes for Sliced Bread #2 but Starr fights out of it and hits the IED for two. Shelley avoids the 450 Splash and hits a lungblower and a slingshot DDT for a two-count. Time is running out as both men furiously attempt to put each other away. Starr locks on a Camel Clutch with about 15 seconds to go and Shelley hangs on to the time limit at 10:00 exactly. We go to the judges, and Borash announces that Samolian Joe voted for Starr, Big Fat Oily Guy voted for Shelley, and that Mr. Backlund has the final say. Backlund details his scoring system and comes to the conclusion that it’s a tie. Nash overrules him and orders a five-minute overtime period. Shelley quickly goes for pinning combinations and one of them works, giving him the PCS win at 0:18 (10:18 total). That was fairly entertaining, though it could have felt more heated, and I even enjoyed the stuff with Backlund.
Rating: ***
An angry Starr gets in Nash’s face and lambastes the entire PCS concept. Starr says the only one of these guys he respects is Senshi, and he tries to get Senshi to come away with him. When Senshi refuses, Starr slaps him in the face and the brawl is on. Starr rolls to the floor and gets in the judge’s faces, earning himself a Crossface Chicken Wing from Backlund.
MATCH #4: Petey Williams vs. James Storm
Storm is accompanied by a reluctant Gail Kim. Williams starts off hot, sending Storm to the floor. But when he tries a springboard rana, Storm slams him on the apron. Back in the ring Storm takes control as the crowd chants “Kill the Cowboy.” Williams tries fighting up but Storm continually cuts him off. Finally Williams hits a DDT to take control. Williams hits a cross body block off the top rope and the Canadian Legsweep. He tries to reel Storm in but gets pushed into the corner and hit with an inverted DDT for two. Williams fights back with a Codebreaker for a near-fall. Storm tries the Catatonic, which Williams reverses to the Canadian Destroyer, but Storm counters that to a rollup and he grabs the ropes for extra leverage to get the pin at 6:41. That felt like more of an Impact match.
Rating: **
After the bell Williams tries to plead his case, so Storm handcuffs him to the ropes. Storm goes to hit Williams with the beer bottle but Kim stops him, so Storm turns his attention to her. Kim hits him with a low blow and wants to hit Storm with the bottle, but Jacqueline runs in from out of nowhere to take her out. Storm and Jacqueline hit Kim with the Death Sentence while Williams watches helplessly.
VKM Speaks Out
This was when BG and Kip James were challenging Shawn Michaels and Triple H to a legitimate fight. Yes, they actually spent valuable pay-per-view time on this. BG goes on and on cheerleading for TNA and knocking WWE. How was this supposed to do anything for anyone? Then from out of nowhere Christy Hemme comes running out to talk about how the VKM vs. D-X “feud” going on is focused all on the men and no one has mentioned Chyna. Well to be fair, WWE hasn’t mentioned any of this at all. Hemme goes off about how the business is sexist and women are disposable. She gets all teary and emotional. The crowd turns on this segment in a big way. BG tries to sympathize with her but Kip shows no sympathy, calling her a slut and telling her to go back to the strip club. Hemme gets all angry and slaps Kip. This was a truly bizarre segment that led to a bizarre months-long feud.
MATCH #5: World Tag Team Championship Match – The Latin American Xchange vs. Team 3D
Homicide and Hernandez have been the champions since 10.22.06, and this is their fifth defense. Brother Devon and Hernandez start the match and try to intimidate each other. Ray tags in and more nothing happens. Homicide gets the tag and Ray hits him with a Rock Bottom for two. Devon tags in and the champions are able to take control of him. LAX keeps Devon isolated in their half of the ring and cut him off at every comeback attempt. Finally Devon makes the hot tag and Team 3D cleans house. They hit Homicide with the 3D and throw Hernandez to the floor. Then Brother Runt comes out in a Santa Suit, obviously drunk, and splashes Homicide. Team 3D is disqualified at 10:09. What a dull match with a powerfully stupid finish.
Rating: *¼
MATCH #6: Thirty-Minute Ironman Match – Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe
The winner of this match gets a title shot at Against All Odds. They take it right to the mat and no one can gain an advantage in the opening minutes. They trade strikes, suplexes, and submission holds, and Angle appears to have a slight advantage around the eight-minute mark. Angle keeps Joe down with a reverse chinlock but Joe is able to get his foot on the bottom rope to break the hold. Ten minutes pass and no falls have been recorded yet. Joe finally makes a comeback and knocks Angle to the floor, and then follows him out with a suicide dive. Back in the ring Joe stays in control but still can’t register a fall. Angle comes back with a release German Suplex. They go back and forth and Joe locks in the Choke to get the first fall at 12:54. After the rest period of indeterminate time, Angle goes back on offense and grounds Joe. Angle is able to lock in the Ankle Lock and Joe taps out at 16:02 to even the match at 1-1. The Olympic Gold Medalist keeps Joe on the ground and locks on another Ankle Lock and Joe taps out again at 18:55 to put Angle up 2-1. We’re down to less than 10 minutes to go. Angle hits an Olympic Slam and Joe kicks out at two. The straps come down and the Ankle Lock goes back on but Joe rolls out of it. Joe then hits the Muscle Buster to even the score at 2-2 at 22:20. Angle goes right back to the leg and locks on the Ankle Lock again right in the center of the ring. Joe kicks out of it and Angle goes up top and a series of reversals ends with a Victory Roll by Angle to score a quick pin at 24:42, going up 3-2. With less than five minutes to go the pressure is really on Joe here. Knowing the dire situation he’s in, Joe goes right on the attack as Angle tries to avoid the Samoan Submission Machine. Joe is able to hit the STJoe out of the corner, but Angle goes right back to the ankle. Angle continues trying to avoid Joe, who desperately needs a decision here. Joe hits the Muscle Buster but Angle barely gets his foot on the bottom rope! Time is running out as Joe is trying to lock in the Choke. Joe switches it up and goes to the Ankle Lock with about 25 seconds to go. Angle holds on to win the match at 3-2 at an even 30:00. That was another worthy entry in the series, but at this length it lacked a little bit of the urgency of the previous two matches.
Rating: ****
MATCH #7: World Heavyweight Title Match, Elimination Rules – Abyss vs. Christian Cage vs. Sting
Abyss has been the champion since 11.19.06, and this is his second defense. The winner of this gets Kurt Angle next month at Against All Odds. Cage is accompanied by his insurance policy Tyson Tomko. But before the match can even begin, Jim Cornette comes out and makes Tomko get into the penalty box to prevent him from interfering. The crowd is lukewarm at best as all three men go after each other. I generally think it’s not a great idea to run to three-way matches on one show, but this IS TNA we’re talking about here. Abyss hits Cage with the Shock Treatment but it only gets two. Cage recovers and goes for a Frog Splash but Abyss catches him in a Chokeslam for another two-count. Abyss knocks Sting off the apron and Tomko reaches through the cage to choke Sting out. The referee tries to break that up and while his back is turned Abyss hits Cage with the Black Hole Slam but there’s no count. Abyss tries another Chokeslam but Cage fights out of it. Sting gets back in the ring and hits Abyss with the Scorpion Death Drop to eliminate the champion at 5:37. Cage hits Sting with a missile dropkick for two. One of these two men will be the new NWA World Champion. Cage works Sting over until such time that Sting decides he no longer feels like selling. Sting starts throwing out Stinger Splashes and a superplex. Jim Mitchell makes his way back out for some reason. He unlocks Tomko from his cage and distracts the referee so Tomko can interfere, but Cage still only gets two. Now Cage distracts the referee while Sting takes Tomko out. Abyss makes his way back and he takes the fight to Tomko. He puts Tomko back in the penalty box. Meanwhile Sting hits Cage with the Unprettier but it only gets two. The referee takes a bump and Sting puts Mitchell in the Scorpion Deathlock. Abyss then hits Sting with his chain and Cage hits a Frog Splash to the back for the pin at 13:18. That was horrendously overbooked and the crowd couldn’t be bothered to care. Not that I blame them.
Rating: *¾
