TNA SLAMMIVERSARY 2009
The Palace at Auburn Hills
Detroit, Michigan
June 21, 2009
results thanks to pwtorch.com
Pre-Show Report
-- PPV pre-show opened with Jeremy Borash ringside in full hype mode. Strategic
arena shots to show a relatively packed arena. TNA and The Palace had so many
cheap ticket deals to get people in the building that they should have a pretty
good number of fans there.
-- After a King of the Mountain preview video froze, they cut to Lauren
backstage with Team 3D. Apparently Team 3D's coming to Detroit fresh off a plane
from Japan. Roode and Storm made "light" of their weight, saying they feel sorry
for the plane, not 3D coming in with little sleep and excuses for the PPV tag
title match.
-- After a Team 3D vs. Beer Money preview video froze, they cut to Borash in the
arena talking to fans in the stands to see if they're ready for the pre-show
match.
A -- BRITISH INVASION (DOUG WILLIAMS & BRUTUS MAGNUS w/Rob Terry) vs. ERIC YOUNG
& RHINO
Rob Terry is officially a cartoon character. Dude's arms looks more and more
inflated each week on TV. Eric Young came out looking upset to play up his
Grumpy Gus character. At least he's not facing Bonaduce on the pre-show. Rhino
then came out with some local folks from Detroit ... and the PPV froze again.
PPV unfroze with Young and Rhino exchanging tags to work over BI. Of note, the
top of the arena is dark to cut off the top section of empty seats. Young bailed
on Rhino mid-way through the match and walked to the back. Military man Jesse
Neal then showed up with his crazy haircut and yelled at Young. Neal came to
ringside to be in Rhino's corner as Rhino tried to make the hometown comeback.
Tenay said the first match on the PPV will be the X Division King of the
Mountain match. Neal then inserted himself into the match with the ref
apparently allowing Neal to enter the ring as Young's replacement. West jumped
on the booking, then BI cut off Neal in his over-aggressiveness. They landed a
double-team clothesline on Neal for the pin the win.
WINNERS: British Invasion in around 8:00. Just a basic tag opener to advance
Young's grumpy storyline and Rhino's work-in-progress training of Neal. (*)
-- Lauren and Borash broke down the PPV line-up. Scheduled match order: X
Division KOTM, Daniels vs. Douglas, Abyss & Wilde vs. Daffney & Raven, Sting vs.
Morgan, Love vs. Tara, Team 3D vs. Beer Money, World Title KOTM match.
-- Ringside, Bob from Toronto said he's looking forward to the KOTM match.
Thanks, Bob. Now, watch this Matt Morgan promo sponsored by 1,001 shots of
Stacker 2.
-- Backstage, Lauren was with Steve Borden (Sting) for pre-show thoughts on
facing Matt Morgan. Sting said maybe he's lost his mind putting his leadership
spot on the line against Morgan. He said it's confidence, not over-confidence
like Matt, and he wants to beat some respect into him. Lauren always looks so
annoyed anytime someone raises his or her voice.
-- Borash brought in TNA president Dixie Carter ringside. Dixie said it's been a
great seven years with TNA. She offered out a quick shout-out to fathers in the
building for Father's Day. Borash and Dixie hugged. Borash thanked papa Bob
Carter. Yes, wouldn't be here without Bob's money. Time for the PPV...
Live PPV Report
-- They opened with a black & white video montage celebrating seven years of TNA,
incorporating old "coming home from war" video clips. Transition into a
fast-paced highlight clip of bumps, highspots, suplexes, and chair shots.
In-ring: Detroit Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson came out first before the X
Division Title match to kick off the show. He's the "keeper of the belt." And
the PPV froze again. T-shirt says 6.21.09 with seven stars from the top right
shoulder down to the middle of the shirt. Just staring at a t-shirt here. I
wonder if it's 100 percent cotton. Perhaps machine wash. Looks form-fitting. I'm
running out of things to say about this t-shirt. I've recounted seven stars for
seven years seven times now. There we go. Five minutes later, everyone was
already in the ring. Unfroze just in time for the opening bell.
1 -- X Division champion SUICIDE vs. CONSEQUENCES CREED vs. JAY LETHAL vs. ALEX
SHELLEY vs. CHRIS SABIN -- X Division Title match -- King of the Mountain match
Everyone ganged up on Suicide to start the match...and the PPV froze again.
Goodness gracious. Let's describe this still-shot from left to right. Shelley on
the apron pointing to the stands. Suicide on the ground in the ring. Lethal in
the middle of the ring sporting his red & white Savage trunks. Sabin pointing to
his hand. Creed doing something on the right. Unfroze 45 seconds later with
Lethal holding a ladder. Didn't work out, as Suicide smashed all four opponents
with the ladder. Suddenly, Lethal was pinned. What the heck? Oh yeah, one of
these matches where pins happen that would never happen in any other match
during the year. Lethal's in the penalty box. Suicide then scored a
chest-breaker on Shelley out of the corner to score a pin. Shelley in the
penalty box now. Lethal out in two minutes. Sabin entered with chair in hand to
smash Suicide in the head with a chair toss. Lethal followed with the Lethal
Combination into the chair. Everyone ganged up on Suicide to cover him.
Apparently Lethal, Creed, and Sabin are legal to hang up the title belt since
they scored a pin. Or maybe just one of them, Lethal. Shelley then exited the
penalty box and all four of them danced in the ring. Cue up some flashy spots
with all four men running around the ring for Guns to pop the hometown crowd.
Suicide re-entered the ring after his penalty box time. Meanwhile, Creed pinned
Shelley. Two pins on Shelley. Lethal and Creed then did some stuff. Suicide then
grappled Sabin and monkey-flipped him onto a ladder propped up in the corner.
Suddenly, Sabin came to life and ran up the corner ringpost on top of the
penalty box to splash Creed and Suicide on the floor. And we freeze again. Still
shot has Creed on the left holding Suicide as he's breaking the fall in the
middle with Sabin on the right crashing down onto Suicide. Suicide just taking a
beating in this one. A minute later, unfrozen with Lethal surfboarding a ladder
in the corner. Interesting. Suicide then suplexed Creed across the ladder, which
catapulted Lethal off the ladder into a somersault fall into center ring. Sabin
was apparently pinned while frozen, so he re-entered from the penalty box. Sabin
smashed Lethal with a Tornado DDT to make him eligible to win. All five are
eligible now.
At 15:00, Shelley hit Creed with a running Celtic Cross. Sabin hit Suicide with
the Cradle Shock, then he pointed to the sky. Sabin then gabbed the X Title belt
from Curtis Granderson to climb the ladder to hang above the ring. Suicide cut
him off, though. Sabin came right back with a hesitation basement dropkick to
Suicide's head. Lethal then exited the penalty box to cut off Sabin from
climbing the ladder. Shelley was knocked to the floor, leaving four men in the
ring. Sabin then ate a ladder placed horizontally across the ring apron and
guardrail. Shelley baseball slide kicked Suicide into a chair ringside, then he
hit a splash onto the floor. Lethal followed with a top rope elbow smash onto
Sabin, who was still laying on the ladder.
At 20:00, Shelley superkicked Creed on the ring apron. He then nailed a Sliced
Bread running off the apron with Creed eating the apron. Shelley tried Sliced
Bread on Suicide by running off the penalty box, but Suicide shoved him off into
the guardrail. Suicide grabbed the X Title, then set up the ladder in the ring
to heavy boos. Crowd not feeling Suicide retaining. Suicide started climbing the
ladder, but Lethal tipped the ladder over and Suicide climbed onto the penalty
box. Suddenly, everyone ganged up on the penalty box. Someone's going down. Big
intensity as more stuff was set up. Shelley grabbed the title belt in the
interim, but Suicide climbed across the penalty box and across the ladder to
smash Shelley with a Diamond Cutter. Suicide then grabbed the title belt and
climbed the ladder to place the belt on the hook to win the match and disappoint
the fans.
WINNER: Suicide at 23:30. First-half of the match was rough with the off-spots,
random pins, and the PPV freezing. Second-half was very good with some highspots,
teases for Sabin and Shelley, and a finishing sequence that drew some real
emotion from the crowd. Balances out to a better-than-usual X Division PPV
opener. (***)
Backstage: Lauren gave us a scoop on Team 3D. They're on a plane back from
Japan. Trying to play up them not being here on time or just being so tired they
won't be able to defend against Beer Money. Shane Douglas then interrupted for
his promo time. Douglas said he's been the man and beaten the man. Douglas
re-quoted Ric Flair a second time. He said he's a legend, he set the standard,
and knocks down people trying to make names for themselves off his name like
Daniels. Um...didn't he just try to make a name for himself off Ric Flair's
quotes? In any event, they cut to a video package on the Douglas vs. Daniels
feud from the last few weeks of Impact TV.
In-ring: Shane Douglas came out first. He wants more promo time. Ah, yes.
Douglas, from Pittsburgh, played up the Penguins vs. Red Wings NHL Stanley Cup
Finals to make sure he's a heel for the match. Daniels then came out to face
Douglas.
2 -- DANIELS vs. SHANE DOUGLAS -- TNA roster spot on the line
Douglas attacked Daniels to start things off. Daniels then went low for a
dropkick to the knees to settle into a headlock to ground Douglas. Douglas
needed a breather at 3:00, so he slipped to the floor and talked to Don West,
who appreciated the strategy. Daniels waited for Douglas to turn around and he
nailed a springboard moonsault on the floor. Douglas then reversed a whip into
the ring steps to smash Daniels's elbow into the steps. Douglas went to work on
Daniels's elbow for a while before starting to throw right hand bombs. I don't
think Douglas can extend his elbow, so the punches looked cartoonish. Daniels
then ducked a punch jab and landed the STO. He quickly followed with the Best
Moonsault Ever for the pin and the win.
WINNER: Daniels at 8:20. Okay undercard match. Douglas looked slow, but he tried
to at least work hard. Not the best spot for Daniels to be in, as the match
won't be remembered by the next TV. (*1/4)
Backstage: Borash brought in Mick Foley to talk about the TNA World Title KOTM
match. Foley questioned Borash's math. A math debate broke out before Foley said
Jeff Jarrett knows what's best for TNA: Foley as champ, so Jeff is out of the
equation. Foley began singing "He's got the whole world in His hands" to the
tune of "I've got the World Title in my hands." Foley said he won't defend the
title for another 16 months at Bound for Glory 2010 after he retains tonight.
Borash handed Foley a gift, but Foley walked off without opening it.
In-ring: After a video package aired on Tara rising against the Beautiful
People, she came out first for the Knockouts Title match against Angelina Love.
Beautiful People then came out for Angelina's ring entrance.
3 -- Knockouts champion ANGELINA LOVE (w/Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne) vs. TARA
-- Knockouts Title match
Tara was in control early on and Angelina went to the floor to regroup. Tara
tried to follow, but she was caught in a BP trap to give Angelina control back
in the ring. Angelina then dumped Tara to the floor to allow MadSky to attack
Tara while Angelina distracted ref Rudy. Back in the ring, Tara fought back with
right hand blows before nailing a spinning back slam. She didn't make a pin,
though, and suddenly went into Black Widow turn-the-neck mode. Tara went to the
floor and measured Velvet for some random right hand smashes. Back in the ring,
Angelina gave Tara a superkick. MadSky then sprayed Tara in the face with
hairspray with the ref distracted allowing Angelina to pin Tara and retain the
KO Title.
WINNER: Angelina Love at 7:05. Basic TNA women's match with outside interference
and referee incompetence. Not particularly memorable. Felt like there was more
of an opportunity to have a stand-out women's match, but they put together a
basic undercard match. (*)
Backstage: Lauren was in a dark room with Dr. Stevie Richards and Daffney while
Raven chilled in the background. Richards said they need to put some questions
to rest after they put Abyss's issues to rest. Raven then stalked Lauren and
said she reeks of sadness, which turns him on. Raven said Abyss and he are
brothers in blood and chaos. Addicts. Can you smell blood in the air? Torture.
Misery. Pain. Anguish. Glorious redemption. Raven basically said they're
hopelessly stuck in ECW 1999 doing the same thing over and over with nowhere to
go. Raven got giddy thinking about doing it until it kills them.
Video package: TNA tried to give us a video on the Raven vs. Abyss deal, but the
PPV froze again. We're stuck with a shot of Raven covered in dry blood on the
mat from a match long ago. This is a long freeze. Probably well into the match
by now. I bet someone is bleeding. Or thumbtacks have entered the match.
4 -- RAVEN & DAFFNEY (w/Dr. Stevie) vs. ABYSS & TAYLOR WILDE -- Monster's Ball
match
Hey, look, we're back joined in progress about seven minutes later. We've got
Taylor kicking Daffney on the floor. Abyss and Raven were brawling off to the
side. Either Daffney is bleeding or her make-up is running. Taylor then climbed
on top of a speaker on the entrance stage and landed a splash through a table on
Daffney. Raven was...not bleeding. Abyss was...not bleeding. Shock. Camera
focused on Raven and Abyss as they moved into the ring. Here's Abyss with the
bag of tacks, but Dr. Stevie slipped into the ring for a chair shot to the head
on Abyss. For seeming like a smart dude in interviews, Abyss continues to be
dumb taking chair shots to the head every month. Abyss came up bleeding and
Raven gave Abyss a drop toehold into the chair. Women moved to ringside where
Daffney smashed Taylor's hands with a cookie sheet. That's going to hurt the
Tweet hand. Back in the ring, Abyss made a comeback and smashed Raven with
weapon shots. Abyss chokeslammed Raven, but Dr. Stevie ran interference to
prevent a pin. Raven then accidentally trash can shot Richards and Abyss
launched Taylor off the top with a splash onto Raven. Stevie ran interference on
the ref again.
Abyss then spread out tacks across the ring before Daffney tried to attack
Abyss. He no-sold, then Daffney realized she was trapped between the tacks and
Taylor. Daffney then ran into Taylor, who press-slammed Daffney back-first into
the tacks. Crazy spot that popped the crowd. Daffney freaked, then Taylor tried
to pin Daffney, but Richards broke up the pin. Abyss then wanted to finish off
Richards, but Raven smashed Abyss with a chair shot. Raven followed with a DDT
into the chair and Raven covered Abyss, but he kicked out. Abyss quickly
recovered and gave Raven a Black Hole Slam into the tacks. No one wins with
that. Abyss sold tacks in his forearms, then he covered Raven for the pin and
the win.
WINNERS: Abyss & Daffney in ???. Missed the first however much of the match due
to PPV Freezegate, but a crazy good finish. Not a fan of these bump & junk
matches, but this had some good moments involving Dr. Stevie, who plays his
character so great. Daffney and Taylor stole the show a little bit here from
what I saw. (**1/2)
Backstage: Borash sat down with Jeff Jarrett in his locker room. Jarrett was in
deep thought chilling in a chair. Borash asked Jarrett about taking his company
back tonight. Jarrett said he has no desire to become TNA World champ, but if he
doesn't get that title back, there's no telling what brick wall they're headed
into with a walking, talking time bomb named Mick Foley holding the company
hostage. Jarrett looked into the camera and said after he wins the title, he'll
decide what to do with it.
Video package: Matt Morgan. Stacker 2. Buy it. Now. Sting. Respect. Separate men
from the boys. And freeze with Morgan delivering a boot to someone. Great. Now
we get to stare at Morgan's boot in black & white for who knows how long. (Torch
readers watching the PPV, is the PPV freezing over and over for you or is it
just me with the usual Comcast SNAFU? Drop me a line at pwtorch@gmail.com. Give
me something to read while I wait.)
5 -- STING vs. MATT MORGAN -- Winner gets Main Event Mafia leadership spot
Unfrozen five minutes later with Morgan cornering Sting to work him over. Sting
sporting the red & black of the Wolfpack. Morgan continued to beat down Sting,
who tried to fight back, but Morgan continued to cut him off. Freeze again.
Feels like I'm watching a YouTube clip that just won't load properly or has
buffering issues. Darn buffering. Our still shot is Sting on the mat with Morgan
kneeling over him. Ref Rudy is staring intently at the action. Some dude in a
backwards white baseball cap is turning his back on the Wolfpack and is talking
to another dude in a backwards white cap. Watch the match! And we unfreeze with
Sting slapping on the Scorpion Deathlock, but Morgan broke free. Sting then hit
a Scorpion death drop from the second rope. Sting with the cover for the win.
Tenay recapped for us that Sting pulled out some different offense from the bag
of tricks to beat Morgan.
WINNER: Sting in ???. Hard to judge this one with two freeze jobs in the middle
of the match. (n/a)
Bound for Glory: They confirmed what we reported first yesterday that Bound for
Glory '09 is coming to the Los Angeles, Calif. area in October. Went with a
"Hollywood epic movie" theme for the hype video.
Backstage: Lauren was with A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe to talk about the King of
the Mountain match for the TNA World Title. Styles talked first. "Angle!" Joe
said with a sneer. Joe said one-by-one, the Mafia members have all fallen. First
Kevin, then Steiner, then Booker. Nash said it ends where it began with Kurt
Angle. Joe said "we" will become the most powerful force in the history of pro
wrestling. Styles nodded as Joe walked off.
Video package: They showed a video on the Team 3D vs. Beer Money feud leading to
their tag title match tonight. That is, if Team 3D makes their connecting
flight. Of note, Chris T. checks in: "Hey James, the PPV has not frozen for me
once. I think it is Comcast being s---." Yes siree.
In-ring: Beer Money came to the ring first for the tag title match. Team 3D's
music hit and the tag champs emerged with the TNA and IWGP tag titles in hand.
Would have been cool if they had luggage with them for added effect. Tenay went
nuts for old-school Los Angeles where wrestlers wrestled in Japan, then showed
up in Los Angeles to wrestle right off the plane. West paused and quipped that
Tenay is nuts. Turned into a big debate on whether Tenay is the bigger nerd or
West is the bigger drunk.
6 -- TNA tag team champions TEAM 3D (BROTHER RAY & BROTHER DEVON) vs. BEER
MONEY, INC. (ROBERT ROODE & JAMES STORM) -- TNA Tag Team Title match
Don West referenced the Midnight Express talking up tag team wrestling. Tenay
shot back, "You think you read one book and now you're a wrestling expert?" Jim
Cornette in the house on the headsets? Ray and Roode had a scrapbook of a fight
to start things off with Ray landing a series of open-hand chops that Roode
tried to no-sell by firing himself up. Roode then accepted a big release German
suplex that Roode sold by staying on the mat for a bit. Devon then tagged in to
work on Roode. Storm used ref distraction to crotch Devon from behind, though,
allowing Beer Money to take control. Tenay and West continued to debate who
worked the harder schedule this weekend: Beer Money at a house show in Grand
Rapids or Team 3D in Osaka, Japan. Team 3D wanted a combo on Roode, but Storm
broke it up. Devon dumped Storm to the floor, anyways. 3D wanted the "What's up"
diving headbutt combo and Devon connected. 3D then did the "Get the Tables," but
BMI broke up the spot on the floor. Back in the ring, Roode gave Ray a
spinebuster, but ref Hebner didn't see a pin attempt. Beer Money got some love
from the crowd saluting themselves, then British Invasion slowly walked down to
ringside. Rob Terry seems to be lost. BI then sat down at the announce table to
add color commentary.
At 12:00, Ray made a hot tag to Devon, who cleaned house. Devon clotheslined
Roode for a two count, then he powerslammed Storm for a two count. Ray and Devon
then hit a hanging neckbreaker on Roode for a two count. Match completely broken
down with no application of rules. BI was sure to point this out on commentary.
Action moving in slow motion as 3D set up Roode for a Doomsday Device, but Roode
slipped out and headbutted Ray into Devon's crotch. Storm with a huracanrana on
Devon, then Roode with a top rope frogsplash on Devon for a close two count. All
four men set up a spot in the corner, then Roode found himself in position for a
double-team combo that led to a nearfall. Ref distracted, Storm accidentally
spewed Roode with beer, then 3D hit the 3D on Roode. Rob Terry had the ref
distracted, though. Brutus went nuts for the biceps. Ray then went up top and
kinda fell off the top with a dive onto BI on the floor. Devon then shoved
Williams off the apron through a table in the floor. Back in the ring, Beer
Money hit the Drinking While Investing double-team combo on Devon. Ray tried to
make the save, but Beer Money covered Devon for the pin to capture the tag
titles.
WINNERS: Beer Money at 16:55 to capture the TNA Tag Titles. Hectic match. Had
its moments, but just all over the place with a lack of rules application.
Should have just booked a Texas Tornado style match and not tried to fool around
with any rules since they're apparently too difficult to apply. British
Invasion's involvement gave 3D their "out" in dropping the titles. That was
fine. (**)
Backstage: Borash was with Kurt Angle. Holy goodness. Angle with a beard.
Combined with the baldness, looks like Randy Couture. Maybe Arlovski. Just can't
even listen to the promo with that beard distracting. No wait, it's Charlie
Haas. Gosh, he just looks like so many different people. I like a combo of Haas
& Couture. Angle said "we" will be celebrating by the end of the night.
Video package: Started a video on the King of the Mountain match for the TNA
World Title. PPV froze with A.J. Styles bouncing up and down with the "water
cascading on his hooded head" video feature typical of TNA videos. Only a small
freeze, as they returned with a Tale of the Tape on the TNA World Title match.
Backstage: They showed A.J. Styles walking down the hallway in preparation for
the main event. Please, not another video. Dang it, they sent to another video
package and the PPV froze again. Long freeze. Enough time to read about B. Brian
Blair getting arrested this morning. Story up tonight. Ah, we're back with Kurt
Angle's theme music playing. Where's Angle? No sign of him. Tenay tried covering
as Angle finally emerged sporting a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey. Douglas already
stole his heat on that one. Fan tried to chuck something at him ringside, but
the person missed. Cut to a shot of Mick Foley walking down the hallway with TNA
World Title belt over his shoulder. Dang, another video. Whew, made it through
that one without freezing.
In-ring: Jeremy Borash handled the formal ring intros. Legends champion A.J.
Styles at 215 pounds. Big cheers for Styles. Samoa Joe at 280 pounds. Mixed
reaction leaning cheers for Joe. Jeff Jarrett at 230 pounds. Borash did a quick
recap of Jarrett as the founder. Strong cheers for Jeff. Angle at 240 pounds and
wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey, which Borash pointed out. Freeze with
Angle dancing in his jersey. Missed Foley's weigh-in.
7 -- TNA World Hvt. champion MICK FOLEY vs. Legends champion A.J. STYLES vs.
SAMOA JOE vs. JEFF JARRETT vs. KURT ANGLE -- TNA World Title match -- King of
the Mountain match
PPV returned with Samoa Joe already in the penalty box. That was quick. Foley
was on the apron just waiting, then he kind of threw Jarrett on top of himself
trying to get pinned. Foley then went to the penalty box clapping his hands to
take a breather. Maybe after two minutes he'll go grab some commentary with
Tenay and West. Back in the ring, Joe gave Jarrett an atomic drop into a running
boot into a sentaun. Joe covered Jarrett, but Jeff did his classic "roll the
shoulder" escape of a pin. Two minutes were up and Foley returned to the ring to
take a right hand from Joe. Joe then choked out Foley and the ref made it clear
that Foley was out cold. Joe eligible. Foley to the box. Angle, also eligible,
introduced a ladder, but Joe took it and ripped Angle and Jarrett. Joe then
suplexed Angle back-first across the ladder. Ouch. Joe then whipped Jarrett into
the ladder. Joe retrieved the TNA Title and wanted to climb the ladder, but
Foley escaped the penalty box and cut off Joe, who crashed down hard onto the
ladder as Foley took it out from under him. Not a pretty landing.
Match action reset with Jarrett setting up a ladder to try placing the title
belt on the hook, but the ladder gave out. Jarrett threw the broken ladder onto
Angle on the floor, then he brought a second ladder into the ring. Jarrett
wanted to hook it up, but Angle low-blowed him. Angle then stomped Foley out of
the ring after a clothesline didn't work. Angle and Styles picked up the action
with Angle giving Styles an overhead release suplex into the ladder propped up
in the corner. Jarrett tried a guitar shot, but Angle blocked with a boot to the
gut. Freeze. Return with Angle sent to the penalty box and Foley with Mr. Socko
in play. Foley wanted to hook up the title belt, but Styles cut him off from
behind. Styles and Joe then took turns blasting Foley that eventually knocked
the champ to the floor. Joe then launched Styles over the top rope with a splash
onto Foley. Styles pinned Foley on the floor, which is apparently legal. Styles
now legal and Foley in the box. In the confusion, Jarrett tried to hook the
title belt, but Styles and Angle blocked.
Joe ended up with the title belt in hand. He was close to hanging it up, but
Styles blocked Joe and ripped the belt away. Styles ended up with the title belt
around his neck to begin climbing, but Joe cut him off. Styles then gave Angle
the Styles Clash. He began climbing the ladder with title belt in hand, but Joe
grappled Styles and gave him a powerbomb. Angle and Joe battled, well appeared
to be battling, but Joe handed the title belt over to Angle. They shared a look,
then Angle put the title belt on the hook to win the match and become new TNA
World champ.
Post-match: Joe and Angle embraced on the ladder as the crowd facing the hard
camera quickly started to file out, seeming to be let down. Nash, Steiner,
Booker, and Sharmell of the Mafia then came out on stage to clap for Angle, who
celebrated with title belt in hand. Jarrett was stunned on the outside. Foley
was disappointed. Joe stared into the hard camera from the ring below as Angle
celebrated with title belt in hand to close the show.
WINNER: Angle around 22:00 to capture the TNA World Hvt. Title. Lines up for Joe
vs. Styles perhaps at the next PPV. Interesting twist that will need to be
explained on TV to make sense. Joe and Angle planted seeds for the union earlier
in the PPV with their "we" talk during pre-match promos. Match was just there.
Format isn't conducive to a stellar PPV main event, which is why TNA booked a
swerve to try to make this a memorable moment on the seven-year PPV. (**)
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