Live Online Preshow
When the preshow starts for TNA’s 7th Anniversary PPV, they go straight to Jeremy Borash, who runs down the card. Then they cut to video promos of the matches.
Lauren interviews Beer Money, and asks them if their easier schedule gives them a big advantage tonight, since 3D just came back from defending their IWGP titles in Japan. Beer Money make fun of 3D and say they don’t care what 3D does, they are the best, and they will win.
They cut back to JB at ringside, with cheering fans behind him, and he took us to the preshow match.
Rhino & Eric Young
vs.
The British Invasion
Tenay and West mention that both Young and Rhino have been with TNA since the early days. Eric Young has a bad attitude from the start, refusing a tag from Rhino and leaving the ring. Jesse Neal comes out to try to get Eric to go back, but it’s no use, so Neal goes to ringside to encourage his mentor.
Rhino won’t give up, but he’s fighting a losing battle against three men. Finally, it’s too much for Neal, watching Rhino getting beat down three on one, and the ref nods to Neal that he can tag in. Neal gets pinned by the Brits pretty quickly, much to Rhino’s disappointment.
Borash and Lauren discuss the upcoming matches. They show video promos for the matches in between commentary and interviews.
Lauren interviews Sting, asking him about his latest challenge from a young lion. Sting says he’s confident he’ll win tonight, while Morgan is disrespectful and over confident, so Sting will win.
They go to a video showing clips of the wrestlers in tonight’s King of the Mountain matches, with the voice over discussing the challenges of the match.
JB interviews TNA owner Dixie Carter, who is in the middle of a group of cheering fans. Dixie wishes her father and all other dads a Happy Father’s Day.
They close with a video saluting TNA’s seven years of high impact action.
The PPV opens with a video of highlights from TNA’s seven years, cut in with clips from a WWII victory ticker tape parade, set to Take It Out on You by Goldy Locks. For those who are new to TNA, Goldy Locks was an interviewer in TNA in the early days.
Tenay and Don West talk about tonight’s card as pyro goes off and fans cheer in the background.
TNA X Division Championship Match
King of the Mountain Match
Suicide (C)
vs.
Jay Lethal
vs.
Consequences Creed
vs.
Alex Shelley
vs.
Chris Sabin
To win this match, a wrestler must climb a ladder in the ring and hang the championship belt on a hook hanging over the ring. Before a wrestler can try to hang the belt, he must score a pinfall or submission on one of the other wrestlers. The wrestler who is pinned or submits must go into a penalty cage for two minutes. Jeff Jarrett is the only wrestler in TNA to have won more than one King of the Mountain match, with victories on June 2, 2004, and June 18, 2006. The other past winners were Raven, Kurt Angle, Frankie Kazarian (Suicide), and Samoa Joe.
Curtis Granderson of the Detroit Tigers is announced as the special belt holder for both King of the Mountain matches.
This action fest starts off with all four tag team members ganging up to beat down Suicide. Finally, Suicide gets some revenge by taking out all four at once with the ladder. He quickly pins Jay Lethal to become the first one eligible to hang the belt. As Lethal goes to the penalty cage, the other three go back to beating down Suicide, who again gets help from the ladder.
Suicide quickly pins Shelley, but Lethal is allowed to leave, and he quickly attacks the champ. Suicide takes out Lethal, only to turn and get a steel chair in the face from Sabin. Lethal, Sabin, and Creed all pile on to pin Suicide, but Lethal gets the credit for the pin, being the one on the bottom. They make fun of Suicide in the penalty box. Lethal then goes to hang the belt, but Sabin and Shelley quickly stop him.
Creed pins Shelley to become eligible as Suicide is released from the cage. Lethal and Creed gang up on Suicide, and Sabin soon joins them. Lethal Consequences brawl with Suicide on the floor, and Sabin dives off the top of the cage onto Suicide, Lethal and Creed. Shelley tries to climb the ladder, but the ref stops him, since he’s not eligible. Sabin then lays down and Shelley pins him, so Shelley is eligible. Shelley climbs the ladder with the belt, but Suicide stops him
Shelley and Lethal battle over a ladder lying on one corner of the ring, and Lethal ends up stuck on top of the wobbly ladder until Suicide suplexes Creed onto the other side of the ladder and slingshots Lethal off and into the ring. Sabin rushes in from the cage and pins Lethal after a tornado DDT, so now everyone is eligible.
Sabin starts up the ladder, but is stopped by Suicide. Sabin hangs Suicide in the tree of woe and nails him with a hesitation drop kick. Sabin starts back up, but this time Lethal stops him. Shelley takes down the ladder and props it between the ring and the guard rail, but an enzuiguiri from Creed stops him from doing whatever he intends.
Shelley hits Suicide with a baseball slide, and he lands in a chair on the floor. Shelley follows that with a cross body block over the ropes onto Suicide, who is still on the chair. Sabin has landed across the ladder that Shelley set up, and Lethal drops the elbow on him from the top turnbuckle. Shelley super kicks Creed on the ring apron, then gives him the sliced bread. Suicide comes back, and Shelley tries to give him the sliced bread off the cage, but he misses, and Suicide drop kicks him over the rail into the crowd.
Suicide climbs the ladder, but Lethal tips it over, and Suicide jumps to the top of the cage. They continue to battle atop the cage while Shelley climbs another ladder, but Suicide dives across and takes out Shelley. Suicide then climbs the ladder and hangs the belt to retain the title.
Lauren talks about Team 3D still trying to get to the arena from Japan. Then she interviews Shane Douglas about his chance to return to TNA. Douglas tells her he’s the benchmark in the business, and there’s no way Daniels can beat a legend like him.
Second Chance Match
Christopher Daniels
vs.
Shane Douglas
Daniels issued a challenge to Douglas – if Douglas wins this match, he gets Daniels’ spot in TNA, and Daniels is fired yet again.
The match starts off as a brawl, but Daniels manages to throw in some drop kicks and cinches in a side headlock on the Franchise. As soon as he can, Douglas takes it back to brawling. West tries to sell Douglas as having an experience edge, but considering how long Douglas has been inactive, and how much time he was out with injuries, my guess is that Daniels actually has more in ring experience.
They go to the floor, where Daniels keeps the advantage until he hits his left arm on the steel ring steps. Daniels sells the shoulder injury, and Douglas takes the advantage. Douglas keeps working Daniels’ arm with arm bars and stomping on the shoulder. Daniels comes back with some drop kicks, but he keeps selling the arm injury. Douglas ties for a belly to belly suplex, but Daniels escapes after some vicious head butts, and gets the pin with a BME.
Jeremy Borash interviews Mick Foley, who says he’s going to win tonight, and then he won’t have to defend the title for 16 months, until Bound for Glory 2010.
Knockout Women’s Championship Match
Angelina Love (C) with Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne
vs.
Tara
Tara (formerly Victoria in WWE) looks in the best shape she’s ever been in. In her MySpace blog, she has credited her improved condition to her MMA training and being off the road and able to rest.
Of course Love gets lots of help from Sky and Rayne in this short bout. One of the highlights is when Tara grabs Love by the hair and biels her across the ring with emphasis. It’s a shame that Tara didn’t have a better opponent, because this match ended up being mostly brawling, even though Love isn’t a very convincing brawler. In the end, Tara hits a spinning side slam on Love, but instead of going for the pin, she goes out to take some revenge shots at Sky and Rayne, allowing them to hit her in the face with the hairspray. The Botox Injection gets the win for Love.
Lauren tries to interview Stevie and Raven, but it breaks down into one of Raven’s rambling promos, in which Raven says he and Abyss are hopeless.
Mixed Tag Team Monster’s Ball Match
Abyss & Taylor Wilde
vs.
Daffney & Raven with Dr. Stevie
This is a wild, bloody brawl, with plenty of interference from Stevie, as you’d expect. Abyss actually uses Daffney as a weapon, body pressing her and throwing her onto Stevie and Raven on the floor. Taylor followed by diving onto all three of them from the top turnbuckle.
Besides Daffney, weapons used include trash cans, lids, pie pans, cookie sheets, kendo sticks, chairs, tables, ring rails, crutches, tacks, and more.
The women battle into the crowd, and we don’t see much of them except when Taylor Wilde places Daffney onto a table, then climbs up a stack of speakers and dives off onto Daffney.
Stevie keeps stopping the ref from making a count every time Abyss gets Raven pinned. Abyss teases throwing Daffney into the tacks, but Taylor does it instead. When she goes for the pin, Stevie breaks it up again. Raven hits Abyss with the evenflo DDT onto a chair, but Abyss kicks out. Abyss black hole slams Raven onto the tacks and gets the pin and the win. After the match, Abyss lifts Wilde over his shoulder and carries her to the back.
Jeremy Borash interviews Jeff Jarrett, who says that he doesn’t want the TNA title, as he has more than enough to do, but he has to save TNA and protect it.
Matt Morgan’s Chance to Join the Main Event Mafia
Sting
vs.
Matt Morgan
If Sting loses, Matt Morgan gets his spot in the Main Event Mafia.
This is another brawl, with Morgan using some impressive power moves, such as lifting Sting and slamming him into the ring rail. Morgan gets an early advantage due to his power, but Sting keeps kicking out and battling on.
Sting makes a short comeback with a missile drop kick off the top, but Morgan soon takes back control. Morgan goes for the hellavator, but Sting escapes. Sting hits a Scorpion death drop, but Morgan kicks out. He tries again, with a Scorpion Death Drop off the second rope, and this time he gets the pin.
Lauren asks AJ Styles and Samoa Joe if they will have the advantage by working together. AJ says she’s right – the match is about strategy, and tonight they will put the company back in the hands of the Originals. Joe says he took out the rest of MEM, and tonight he’s coming for Angle.
TNA World Tag Team Championship Match
Team 3D (C)
vs.
Beer Money Inc.
Beer Money use all of their patented double team moves and frequent tags trying to beat 3D, who answer back with their power moves and some double teams of their own.
The battle went back and forth, with no clear advantage to either team. The crowd was hot all night, and continued into this match. When 3D had Beer money down, Ray counted three, and they all yelled, “Get the tables!” When Devon went for the tables, Beer Money made a comeback and the tables weren’t used.
The British Invasion came down to ringside and sat with Tenay and West. No one in the ring pays them any attention, and the brawl goes on. Finally, the Brits get up and get involved in the match, helping Beer Money. Ray gets fed up and dives off the top onto Magnus and Terry on the floor, then puts Doug Williams through a table. That allows Beer Money to double team Devon and get the pin with the Driving While Investing.
Jeremy Borash interviews Kurt Angle, whose beard and head are both unshaven. Angle says he will become the TNA Champion again tonight.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match
King of the Mountain Match
Mick Foley (C)
vs.
AJ Styles
vs.
Jeff Jarrett
vs.
Kurt Angle
vs.
Samoa Joe
Mike Tenay mentions that Jeff Jarrett is undefeated in King of the Mountain matches.
Angle enters wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey, getting instant heat with the Detroit fans. Mark “Slick” Johnson is the referee, and Andrew Thomas is the belt keeper, contrary to what was said earlier about Curtis Granderson being the belt keeper for both KotM matches.
Before the start of the match, Joe puts on a Detroit Redwings jersey and attacks Kurt Angle. The referees put Joe in the cage for the start of the match, and declare Kurt Angle instantly eligible. It hardly seems fair to penalize Foley, AJ, and Jarrett for Joe’s actions.
Angle, AJ and Jarrett start off the match while Foley just relaxes on the ring apron. Jarrett yells at Foley to enter the match. When Foley finally does come in, he lays down so Jeff can pin him, and Mick happily goes to the penalty box where he can relax some more. When Joe gets out of the cage, he attacks Jarrett, while Angle and AJ battle outside the ring. When Foley finally enters the match, he attacks Joe, who puts him in the kokina clutch. Foley passes out, so Joe is now eligible, and Mick goes back to the penalty box.
Foley is released just as Joe starts to climb the ladder, so Foley runs at the ladder and knocks Joe off. Jeff tries to climb the ladder next, but it’s now too wobbly, having been used too many times as a weapon, so he throws it out at Angle and gets a new ladder. Angle goes for a suplex on AJ, but Styles lands on his feet, only to be caught by Kurt and slammed into a ladder.
Jarrett brings in his guitar, but Angle catches him in the ankle lock. Jeff rolls over and slams Angle with the guitar. Jeff climbs the ladder, and Foley climbs up the other side, so they slug it out at the top. AJ springboards off the ropes and knocks both off. Neither Foley nor AJ are eligible yet. Foley and AJ go to the top of the cage. They try to suplex each other off the top, but finally Foley just throws AJ into the ring. Foley elbow drops Angle off the top of the cage, and gets a pin, so now he’s eligible.
Foley tries to climb up, but AJ hits him with the Legends belt and then kicks him off the ladder. Joe throws AJ over the ropes onto Angle on the floor, allowing AJ to get the pin on Foley, so now everyone is eligible. Jeff goes up, and AJ and Angle fight him until he drops the belt and they all fall off. Everyone is exhausted now.
AJ climbs up to hang the belt, but he’s stopped by Joe. Joe goes up the ladder, with Kurt Angle climbing up the other side. When they reach the top, Joe hands the belt to Angle, who hangs it to become the new TNA Heavyweight Champion. Kurt and Joe hug, and the rest of the Mafia, except for Sting, come out onto the ramp to welcome Joe into their ranks. Tenay and West mention that Joe attacked Angle the way he did in the hopes that the refs would give Angle an advantage, as they did.
This was another excellent PPV from TNA. I recommend you get the replay.
TNA’s next PPV is Victory Road on July 19 at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL.
— Karen Belcher
Courtesy of ProWrestlingDigest.com