TNA No Surrender PPV Results
September 5, 2010
Orlando, Fla.
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor
-- Tonight's TNA PPV will have the TNA World Title tournament semi-finals
with Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy and The Pope vs. Mr. Anderson setting up
Bound for Glory next match. Also, two titles on the line (TNA Tag Titles and
X Division Title) as part of the eight-match line-up.
The No Surrender PPV started with a shot from 2:48 p.m. when Mr. Anderson
arrived in the parking lot outside of the Impact Zone. They shot this with
the Reaction-style voyeuristic shot. The Pope showed up at 3:03 talking on
the phone. Jeff Hardy showed up at 3:16 sans facepaint contemplating the
title opportunity tonight. Kurt Angle was shown appearing at 3:33 with his
children. He signed an autograph and walked into the building looking
focused. Very nice intro.
After the opening arrival shots, they went to a video package recapping the
journeys for the four respective participants in the tournament matches
tonight. They included various first-person soundbytes that aired on
Reaction this past Thursday talking up the PPV matches. It's too bad TNA
wasted so much TV time on Impact leading to the PPV when they could have
sold a PPV with this quality of focused hype on these four men.
Impact Zone: Mike Tenay and Taz introduced the show and hyped the tournament
matches tonight. Tenay recapped a "personal issue" causing Desmond Wolfe and
Magnus to be pulled from the PPV. Instead, Generation Me gets the tag title
shot against the Motor City Machineguns. GenMe came out first in matching
green outfits looking more serious than usual. The Guns came out second also
looking serious with the tag titles on the line to open the PPV. One of the
best starts to a Sunday night TNA PPV ever, with additional thanks to
keeping that monthly over-the-top video package out of the open.
1 -- TNA tag team champions MOTOR CITY MACHINEGUNS (CHRIS SABIN & ALEX
SHELLEY) vs. GENERATION ME (MAX BUCK & JEREMY BUCK) -- TNA Tag Title match
Nice, clean start to the match with some back-and-forth tag wrestling. After
an exchange, Max and Sabin went chest-to-chest to sell intensity of the
match. Sabin smirked as Max backed off to his corner to tag in Jeremy. Taz
had some talking points to get over about the current generation feeling
entitled and the Bucks "moaning" for weeks about wanting their shot. The
Guns then sped up the match with a rapid-fire combination to take control of
the match. Sabin then slapped on an inverted Boston Crab on Jeremy to try to
force a submission, but Max broke it up. Max then tagged in and traded big
moves with Sabin. Some were off, but some were good. Shelley eventually
tagged in and took control on Max. Sabin tried a springboard move, but
Jeremy cut him off and landed a neckbreaker on the ring apron. Jeremy then
rolled Sabin back into the ring and Max made a cover for a nearfall.
At 8:00, Jeremy and Max began exchanging tags to work on Shelley's neck. The
Bucks hit a double-team dropkick and Max made a cover for a nearfall. Max
then cut off Shelley's comeback with a standing dropkick and Jeremy tagged
in to score a nearfall. Shelley eventually broke free and tagged in Sabin,
who came in hot with quick, flying offense. Sabin then snapped off a
springboard Tornado DDT on Max, but Jeremy broke up a pin attempt. The
action broke down into a series of highspots leading to bodies sprawled out
in and out of the ring. Back in the ring, Sabin and Max started trading
right hand blows. Sabin landed a knee to the gut, then tried another Tornado
DDT, but Max blocked. Jeremy then hit a combination Slice Bread #2. They had
a pin, but Shelley kicked Jeremy into Max to break up a pin.
At 12:00, the Bucks and Guns traded a bunch of superkick attempts with some
landing and some not landing. Guns eventually got the best of the situation
to pop the crowd. They followed by setting up Jeremy for the Skull & Bones
combination top-rope cross-body splash and neckbreaker. Sabin with the cover
for the win.
Post-match: Guns accepted their tag title belts as the Bucks recovered to
their feet. Instead of a post-match handshake, they attacked the Guns and
beat them down in the ring. They knocked Sabin to the floor, then focused an
attack on Shelley's neck, leading to a double spike DDT on the floor. The
ref did the "X" signal to make it seem like it's a shoot injury. The camera
focused on GenMe staring into a zone of no remorse. Refs and EMTs then came
down to check on Shelley, while clearing GenMe away from ringside. They
stayed with the post-match for a while as Sabin sold concern with Shelley,
who sold his neck on the way to the back.
WINNER: Guns at 12:49 to retain the TNA Tag Titles. Good PPV opener. Some of
the spots were a bit over-complicated at times to where it didn't look like
they were having a contest, but the main story from the match was a nice
dose of athleticism on PPV that helps make TNA different from WWE's product.
As for the post-match, you would think it's a write-off for Shelley (and
another title removal situation) or they'll completely forget about it on
Impact. Interesting to see what the follow-up will be. (**3/4)
In-ring: Sabu came out for the only singles title match on the PPV, with
Sabu challenging Doug Williams for the X Division Title. Williams then came
out to defend the title. He sold disdain for having to be in the ring with
this man, Sabu. After a wrist roll and head bob for the hard camera,
Williams handed over the title belt and stared down Sabu.
2 -- X Division champion DOUG WILLIAMS vs. SABU -- X Division Title match
Nice feeling-out process to begin the match with an exchange of mat holds.
As the wrestlers cut a methodical pace, the announcers talked about Ric
Flair assembling additional pieces of Fortune, with Matt Morgan for his
intimidation and Williams for his brain. Sabu then landed a knock-down
clothesline and slapped on a Camel Clutch center-ring. Williams crawled over
to the bottom rope, though, to force a break. The match moved to the floor
and, for some reason, Sabu brought out a table and set it up ringside. Ref
Hebner admonished Sabu, then Williams sent Sabu back into the ring. Back in
the ring, Williams climbed to the second rope and nailed a flying European
Uppercut for a two count.
Williams went on the attack and went back up top, only to be crotched by
Sabu. Sabu attempted a huracanrana (perhaps), but the spot was blown and
Williams kinda fell on his back. Sabu then went back under the ring and
retrieved a chair. Hebner admonished Sabu again, so Sabu threw down the
chair. Sabu then unfolded the chair and used it as a prop for a springboard
moonsault of sorts for a two count. Sabu tried again, but Williams tripped
him and Sabu ate the seat of the chair. Williams then went back on the
attack and did his wrist-roll with the head bob before making a cover for a
two count.
At 7:10, Williams sat down on a submission hold before landing a flying knee
drop for another nearfall. Sabu then blocked a corner attack and apparently
landed a DDT, but it seemed to take the most out of Sabu. Anyways, Sabu made
a cover for a two count. He followed with a back elbow smash for another
nearfall before flying off the chair with a corner leg whip. Sabu tried to
follow with another move off the chair, but Williams dropkicked the chair
into the crotchal region. Williams followed with a gutwrench suplex for a
two count. Sabu then nailed a clothesline and Williams went to the outside
to take a breather. Hebner stepped in front of the chair to tell Sabu no on
a flying move. Hebner eventually moved, Williams eventually walked back to
ringside, and Sabu eventually hit a sort of flip dive.
Sabu tried another flip dive onto the table, but Williams moved and Sabu
crashed through the table. Suddenly, a whistle was heard. Where's Fonzie?
Sabu eventually got up, brushed himself off, and casually rolled back into
the ring like nothing happened. Selling never really has been his strong
suit. The chair eventually came into play again and the ref took his eye off
the ball, setting up Williams to hit Sabu with a belt shot. Williams made
the cover for the win.
WINNER: Williams at 11:14 to retain the X Division Title. Well, that was
unique. The match was going just fine until the introduction of the table
and chair props. Then, Sabu seemed to lose his focus, spots were blown,
no-selling occurred, and the match seemed to derail. I thought this match
easily could have exceeded expectations without the need for props, which
ended up taking away from the flow. Unnecessarily over-booked, which also
helped remind viewers that Sabu isn't the Sabu of yesteryear. (**1/4)
Backstage: Christy Hemme was with Mr. Anderson for another classic
Hemme-Anderson interview. Anderson mocked Pope for not liking or trusting
him. "What am I going to do? Not thaaaat," he said. Anderson said he came
here to win matches and win championships. Wait, no backstage politics or
back-office dealings or looking for a spot or raising the bar? Wow, so
refreshing. Anderson then gave a shout-out to his "congregation" of a-holes
in the Impact Zone.
3 -- MADISON RAYNE (w/Tara) vs. VELVET SKY of the Beautiful People (w/KO
champion Angelina Love)
I'm still curious why they put the lesser-of-the-two in-ring wrestlers from
the Beautiful People in this match. It's not like the KO Title means that
much after the inordinate number of random title switches this year. The
match moved to the floor early on where Velvet took control of the action.
After some confusion with the outside players involved, including Tara
taking a bump to eliminate her as a threat, Velvet picked up the win back in
the ring with a snap DDT. They went to a crowd shot of the audience stunned
into indifference. Too much confusion with this feud for the audience to
invest in the involved characters.
WINNER: Sky at 4:43. (*)
Backstage: Hemme brought in Jeff Hardy, complete with bright blue and white
facepaint. He looked like an ice cream flavor at Baskin & Robbins. Hardy had
a quick word on Kurt Angle, then gave a shout-out to RVD watching at home.
Impact Zone: They quickly went from the Knockouts match to the Hardy
interview to Rhino entering the ring for the Falls Count Anywhere match
against Abyss. No sign of Abyss at first, then he slowly emerged with Janice
in hand. Rhino then charged Abyss on the ramp and the fight was on.
4 -- ABYSS vs. RHINO -- Falls Count Anywhere match
After a minute of ringside brawling, they moved to the backstage area and to
the exterior of the soundstage where the VIPers have their catered pre-PPV
meal. They walked past the security gate to enter the Universal Studios
area. For some reason, the rollercoaster wasn't lit up, which would have
been a nice visual. They returned to the exterior of the soundstage and
Rhino ate the catering table. The brawl continued back into the Impact Zone
and they eventually entered the ring at 4:00. That was short-lived, as they
predictably returned to the outside. Abyss whipped Rhino into a guardrail
next to the entrance ramp and made a cover on the floor for a two count.
Rhino then sent Abyss flying through a gimmicked portion of the stage and
Abyss caused a hole. They did that exact same spot a few years ago on
Impact. It was so memorable since Rhino completely no-sold it the next week.
The men disappeared underneath the stage, leading to a shot of Tenay and Taz
to try to make sense of what just happened. Rhino then came flying through
the other side of the gimmicked stage. Abyss emerged after Rhino and made a
cover for a two count. The brawl continued to ringside and returned to the
ring. Abyss tried to block out the chants for Rhino as he approached the
guardrail. Abyss took apart the guardrail and grabbed one section of it,
which he brought into the ring to prop up in the corner. Rhino then came
back with a clothesline and cookie sheet shot to the head. Three times.
Rhino followed with a belly-to-belly suplex, then set up for the Gore. He
wanted to finish it, but Abyss grabbed him around the throat and
chokeslammed Rhino into a trashcan for a two count.
At 10:00, Abyss returned to the outside and went looking for Janice. Abyss
retrieved his weapon of choice and returned to the ring. Abyss became
preoccupied with ref Slick Johnson, allowing Rhino to stun Abyss with the
Gore center ring. Rhino made a cover, but Abyss kicked out in time. Abyss
then came right back with the Black Hole Slam and made a cover for a two
count. The idea of long-term selling has officially gone out the window in
pro wrestling on the last two wrestling PPVs. Abyss then reset and wanted a
powerbomb into the railing, but Rhino countered into a clothesline. Rhino
wanted the Gore part two, but Abyss side-stepped and Rhino ate the rail.
Abyss then hit the Black Hole Slam part two for the pin and the win.
Post-match: Abyss yelled into the camera to Dixie Carter that "they" are
coming 10.10.10 at Bound for Glory. "Get ready, Dixie, 'cause they're coming
for you," he said in conclusion.
WINNER: Abyss at 12:37. Some real silly points during the match and the
expected no-selling, but this was an above-average TNA PPV brawl with a
decent story to the match. The outcomes to the Fortune vs. EV2.0 matches
have sided with Fortune thus far, which hasn't been brought up by the
announcers yet. Still to come in the series: A.J. vs. Dreamer. (**)
Video package: They re-visited the Kevin Nash and Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett
issue, with Samoa Joe now involved in the proceedings. TNA re-aired the
Reaction video with Joe talking about being ready for war, Kevin Nash saying
he gets Joe siding with the men with the money, and Jarrett talking about
the various politics Nash and Sting are playing. In other words, this has
nothing to do with anything. And now they'll have a wrestling match to
settle, well, nothing.
Impact Zone: The Wolfpack music hit to bring out Kevin Nash and Sting. Tenay
said he has more questions than answers on this. Tenay also gave a "shout
out" to Hulk Hogan recovering from more back issues. Jeff Jarrett came out
alone as the first-half of the opposition. Samoa Joe followed out with an
extra spring in his step as the two sides jockeyed for position. Sting
stretched the pre-match teasing the use of a baseball bat as the announcers
referenced this being a match-up of former Main Event Mafia members.
5 -- KEVIN NASH & STING vs. JEFF JARRETT & SAMOA JOE
The bell sounded with Joe and Sting squaring off. Sting then popped Jarrett
on the apron, setting off a brief four-man brawl to begin things. Things
settled down and Taz posed the question of what kind of politics Jarrett is
referring to. Tenay said they keep talking in circles and there's no
evidence of anything anyone is claiming. Tenay also gave a programming
reminder that there won't be an Impact broadcast on Sept. 9, but they will
back on Sept. 16. Taz said he, along with a lot of the fans, have been
trying to figure out what everyone is talking about. He said pro wrestlers
are paranoid and are afraid of being back-stabbed. Tenay vaguely referred to
"advancements in the organization" since Hogan and Bischoff took over and
Nash and Sting not wanting to relinquish a top spot. In other words, nothing
has anything to do with a wrestling match or a quest for championships or
match victories.
The audience, not buying the story (which Taz noted), popped for Sting (the
supposed heel) delivering a Stinger Splash on Jarrett in the corner. Joe
then tried to tag in, but the tag was disallowed due to the ref not seeing
it. Joe eventually tagged in and delivered offense to Jarrett and Sting. Joe
then went flying through the ropes with a suicide dive on Nash. Back in the
ring, Sting and Jarrett had a rough exchange in the corner. Jarrett
retrieved the baseball bat in the corner and smashed Sting with it twice.
Taz sold confusion over what's going on. Joe then re-entered as the legal
man, apparently unaware of Jeff's actions, and slapped on a rear naked
choke. Sting passed out, giving Joe the team victory.
Post-match: Taz continued to sell confusion over Jarrett using the bat. Joe
and Jeff celebrated the victory, then Jeff took off clapping for Joe on the
way out. Joe retrieved the bat and hoisted it over his shoulder to take off
with Jeff following the victory.
WINNERS: Joe & Jarrett at 6:13. The match action pretty much meant nothing.
The only thing that has potential for mattering was the finish, with Jarrett
using the bat to set up the victory. I have no confidence in TNA making
sense of this storyline from a logic standpoint, but the sooner they get to
the destination, the better. Taz was solid here as the "voice of the man"
pointing out issues with the storyline, but in a way that could help set up
the follow-through, whenever it happens. That still doesn't mean TNA will be
in a position to make money with this feud, as evidenced by this sample of
the audience not buying the story and just cheering their favorites or
favorite spots. (n/a)
Impact Zone: After a video package on A.J. Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer, Styles
came out first for the match. Styles stopped on the stage and pulled the
Team 3D hiding behind an entrance stage pillar to hide. Dreamer came out and
Styles attempted the ambush, but Dreamer ducked and landed a right hand
blow. The fight moved down the ramp and into the ring to officially begin
the match.
6 -- TV champion A.J. STYLES vs. TOMMY DREAMER -- non-title I Quit match
The match moved back to the floor early on and Dreamer tried to force Styles
to quit by wrapping him around the ringpost. Instead, Styles shouted into
the mic, "You suck, Tommy Dreamer." Styles and Dreamer then traded chops to
the chest before returning to the ring. Dreamer tried to force Styles to
quit again, but Styles shouted again, "Screw you, Tommy Dreamer." Styles
retreated to the outside again and Dreamer came running off the apron with a
flying clothesline. Dreamer wanted a suplex on the floor, but Styles
countered with a suplex onto the entrance ramp. Styles tried to follow with
the figure-four leglock, but Dreamer grabbed an entrance ramp stagelight and
popped Styles with it. Dreamer followed with an attempted choke using the
spotlight cable, but Styles elbowed out.
The fight continued to ringside and Dreamer landed a shoulder breaker.
Dreamer then chucked a chair into the ring and slapped on an armbar. Styles
refused to quit before shouting, "You suck, Dreamer. You suck." Dreamer then
placed Styles's shoulder inside the chair and dropped an elbow onto the
chair. Dreamer followed with an armbar before attempting a headlock that
Styles escaped from by rolling to the outside. Dreamer followed Styles to
the floor and yanked Styles's arm into the ring steps. Next was the
guardrail. Styles refused to quit, shouting, "Screw you." Styles then came
back with an atomic drop crotching Dreamer across the guardrail.
Back in the ring, Styles tried to follow up on the attack, with Dreamer
showing resilience. Styles then wrapped Dreamer's legs around the ringpost
and followed with a figure-four. Dreamer didn't quit and Styles released the
hold. Back in the ring, Styles dropped Dreamer knee-first across a chair. He
followed with a figure-four while still selling Dreamer's earlier arm work.
Dreamer then did the classic Dreamer babyface facial reaction as he turned
over the figure-four to reverse the pressure. The hold was broken, then
Dreamer came to his feet, only to eat the seat of the chair.
At 13:00, Styles tried to dropkick Dreamer's face into the chair, but
Dreamer moved and Styles's leg was caught in the air. Dreamer then tried to
force a submission with the leg trap as Taz yelled at the ref to put the mic
to Styles's mouth. Styles broke free, then Dreamer looked down at the fork
Styles introduced earlier in the match. Styles ducked a fork shot, then hit
a Pele kick out of nowhere. Dreamer rolled to the outside and Styles,
apparently fresh, attempted a flying attack, but Dreamer caught him with a
Kendo Stick blow. Dreamer landed another Kendo stick shot back in the ring.
Dreamer, fired up, ripped off his t-shirt. He was apparently going for
comedy with a bright gold and black outfit.
Dreamer slapped on a Crossface using the Kendo Stick, but it snapped in two
over Styles's forehead. Styles then grabbed a second fork and stabbed
Dreamer in the face with it. Styles followed with a dropkick out of the
corner, then raked the fork over Dreamer's eye, trying to force him to quit.
Dreamer, with blood trickling down his face from his forehead, shouted in
agony before finally uttering, "I quit." Styles then dropped the fork and
leaned on the top rope selling exhaustion. It turned into satisfaction with
the victory. Meanwhile, Dreamer continued to sell on the mat.
WINNER: Styles at 16:27 when Dreamer quit. Lots of bag of tricks, but a
pretty darn good gimmick match playing to the strengths of both men, hiding
Dreamer's in-ring weaknesses, and exploiting the back-story to get over the
intensity of the feud between Dreamer and Styles. Fortune walks away 3-0 vs.
EV2 on the night. (***)
Backstage: Christy Hemme brought in Kurt Angle to talk about his TNA Title
tournament match, plus, oh yeah, the career on the line. Angle soaked in
Hemme's commentary before saying, "Losing is not an option." He said Jeff
Hardy is a great wrestler, but he's not Kurt Angle. Angle vowed to win
tonight, then win the TNA World Title at Bound for Glory. He said it's damn
real.
Impact Zone: Time for the first TNA Title tournament semi-final match.
They're interestingly going with Angle vs. Hardy first. After a Tale of the
Tape review, they cut to a shot of Hardy walking backstage before coming to
the ring first. Very quick transition from Dreamer-Styles to the tournament
semi-finals. Not enough time to let things breathe. Kurt Angle then came out
for the semi-main event match.
credit: pwtorch.com
No comments:
Post a Comment