NWA Total Nonstop Action Review – 07.10.2002

Presented LIVE on Pay-Per-View on July 10th, 2002, from the Nashville Auditorium in Nashville, TN. Last week on Total Nonstop Action, A.J. Styles successfully defended the X-Division Championship against David Young, and just minutes later, came out with Jerry Lynn as replacements for the brutally assaulted James Storm and Chris Harris to defeat the Rainbow Express and win the Tag Team Titles! Also on the show, Buff Bagwell called himself a loser for losing to two guys like Bruce and Lenny and is going home, Brian Christopher turned on Scott Hall because REASONS, and Ken Shamrock successfully defended the NWA World Heavyweight Title against Malice, who we’ve quickly found out only exists to eat losses in high profile situations.

Mike Tenay, Ed Ferrara and Don West are ringside to call the action, unless otherwise noted. Can I survive two more months of Ferrara’s garbage? Only time will tell. We don’t get a long run down at the table, just a quick announcement that we’ll see two Championship matches, as well as a match to determine the #1 contender for the X-Division Title.

NWA Tag Team Championship Match:
Jerry Lynn & A.J. Styles (c) vs. The Disciples of the New Church (w/ James Mitchell):
Nice to see Mitchell’s got representatives for the tag team division that can eat a bunch of losses! The New Church consists of Slash (formerly Wolfie D from PG-13) and Tempest, a.k.a Devon Storm and Crowbar. He appeared on the first show under his Devon Storm name, and now we get the exposition alert to explain why he’s suddenly with James Mitchell and has a new name.

Lynn avoids Slash attempting to get the jump. Slash works like a big man who wasn’t exactly a big person. Lynn avoids an elbow drop and hits a tornado DDT and face-buster for a pair of two counts. Whip and a combo drop toe hold and senton gets another two-count. Tempest in, grabbing a waist-lock and transitions to a front face-lock, but Styles surprises him with a pop up hurricanrana and nails him on the back swing of an enzuigiri attempt. Tempest with the cut off, twisting the arm and driving Styles face-first to the canvas. A comeback attempt is short-lived, with Tempest hanging Styles across the rope and hitting a slingshot splash for two. Tempest continues dictating the pace, cutting off Styles again and sending him to the apron. Styles re-enters with a springboard dropkick, and soon all four men are brawling, with the Champions easily cleaning house.

The New Church catches Styles, so Lynn follows, hitting the pile with a tope con hilo. Guillotine leg drop and springboard moonsault on Tempest for two. Slash picks the ankle of Styles, allowing Tempest to recover and hit a Death Valley Driver for two. Styles is repeatedly rammed into the buckle and planted with a double-team powerbomb for two. Whirly-Bird from Slash (again, working like he’s 4-5 inches taller than he is). Styles hangs back to avoid a dropkick and gets the tag to Lynn. He runs wild with clotheslines, hits Slash with a DDT and wheelbarrow bulldog on Tempest for two. Tempest with a low blow on a Cradle Piledriver attempt. Lynn blocks an avalanche hurricanrana, dropping Tempest face-first and coming off the ropes with a body press. Cradle Piledriver connects, Styles tags himself in, and the Spiral Tap (kinda) connects for three at 10:37. Uh-oh, we’re teasing a problem with A.J. Styles and Jerry Lynn! I swear, Vince Russo’s playbook is like 5 pages long, and most of the pages are crude sketches of boobies. Match was kinda all over the place; not awful, but nothing I’d recommend to check out.

We recap the events from last week involving Scott Hall, Jeff Jarrett, K-Krush, and Brian Christopher. For reasons unknown, Christopher turned his back on Scott Hall, helping Double J secure a tainted victory. I’ve already lost track of all the different teams and relationships that were either introduced with the intention of an immediate split or a split happening out of nowhere. Scott Hall is “live via phone”, which I doubt very much. It’s not about how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get up! He’s going to take them out one by one, with Jarrett being last on the hit list.

Brian Christopher comes out, no longer doing his silly dance routine, but he’s still wearing Too Cool/Grandmaster Sexay gear. He’s tired of being labeled a child and “Jerry Lawler’s son”. Growing up, he’s lived his entire life in his father’s shadow, and some say he’s only in the business because the King got him in. He says “bullshit” and after 14 years in the business, he can finally say “screw Jerry Lawler”. Last week, Brian Christopher kicked ass and rode off into the sunset, never to be heard from again. He recycles the same material for another turn through the lineup. From now on, it’s all about himself, and he’s no longer Jerry’s Kid, he’s Brian Lawler.

Norman Smiley vs. Brian Lawler:
Poor Norman, brought in as cannon fodder for Jerry’s Kid. We saw Smiley briefly in the Gauntlet for the Gold, and the crowd seemed into him, so it’s nice to see him get another payday, but we know this is more a showcase for Lawler, who just did a fancy worked-shoot promo. Seriously, we just had Buff Bagwell do the “I denounce this name” routine, and Brian Lawler does it too (though under different circumstances). Borash introduces Smiley as “Screaming Norman Smiley”, but that gimmick is not brought over from what I can tell.

Lawler gets the jump on Smiley, putting the boots to him in the corner. Whip is reversed, but Lawler counters the back body-drop set and connects with a hangman’s neck breaker. Smiley fires off a pair of dropkicks as we hype BRIAN LAWLER VS SCOTT HALL for next week! Smiley with the wind-up slam and atomic drop. Smiley gives Christopher the Big Wiggle, and that might as well be the signal for them to go home. Christopher immediately drops Smiley with a DDT. Lawler charges into the corner with a shoulder to the midsection. He tries it one too many times and smacks his shoulder on the post. Smiley strings together a series of blows and a running clothesline for two. Lawler goes low in the corner and the Hip-Hop Drop (or whatever it will be called going forward) finishes at 4:47. Eh, standard rush-job match you’d find on Sunday Night Heat. It wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t much to it.

Jeff Jarrett is hot at Bill Berrens, wanting to know why he’s not getting his title match and gets a little too physical, so Berrens says Jarrett is suspended. Jarrett responds politely by gesturing to his crotch and telling Berrens “suspend this.” Meanwhile, we can hear James Mitchell yelling inside one of the locker rooms, but Goldylocks is denied entry.

Hermie Sadler vs. K-Krush:
We’ve got a storyline that is four weeks old now, how has Vince Russo held back from blowing it off for this long?! If you’re reading the TNA recaps for the first time, Sadler is a professional racecar driver competing for NASCAR, and most of the heat for this is Krush race baiting the people of Alabama and Tennessee about what a real professional athlete looks like and that all people like Sadler do is drive around turning left all day. Krush gets more heat before the match and you can tell he’s someone to pay attention to, so long as he sticks around. He’s got that something that most of the people featured in the first few weeks of TNA never had.

We get some smack talk, shoves and slaps. NO COLLAR-ELBOW LOCKUP? Krush throws some rights but misses a jumping heel kick, straddling the top rope. Sadler knocks him to the floor with a running shoulder block and dives off the apron with a forearm. It doesn’t take long for K-Krush to cut him off, but a wild swing meets the post. Back in the ring, Sadler with the mounted corner punches. K-Krush reverses a whip, lands a boot to the midsection, and hits the Axe Kick, arrogantly covering with one finger for a two-count. Krush with a suplex and running slam, but showboating and arrogant covers can’t get the job done. Figure-Four applied in the center of the ring, but Sadler managed to turn it over. Whip and Sadler counters a hurricanrana with a sit-out powerbomb for two! Sadler hangs back on a dropkick and rushes in with rights. K-Krush with the sweep of the legs and stack up cover with feet on the ropes for the three-count at 5:07. This was a shockingly good match, keeping things simple and Sadler clearly putting in the work to not look completely out of his element. K-Krush has quietly been a contender for MVP with just his character work alone, but this proves he can bring it bell-to-bell as well.

Japanese Sensation Takao Omori is warming up when he’s approached by Alicia. He hands her some cash, joining the ranks of Slick Johnson, Jeremy Borash and Ed Ferrara.

The Hot Shots vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe:
I ordered this episode and have zero memory of this match being on the card, and holy random. Mike Tenay talks about open door policy and stuff to explain why we see random people in thrown together matches, which is understandable considering we haven’t developed a consistent roster beyond 10-12 people, and at least it isn’t a return of Cheex or the Johnsons. We actually saw the Hot Shots (Cassidy O’Reilly and Chase Stevens) last week in a blink-and-miss-it backstage spot when Goldylocks was asking around about NWA President Jim Miller. Jay and Mark Briscoe were still fresh-faced youngsters here, and I mean that literally, as Jay is 18 and Mark is only 17.

Mark and O’Reilly have a fairly standard opening sequence as we waste time talking about the OTHER Brisco Brothers, and Tenay outright lies about Mark’s age. Jay and Stevens have a go, with Mark interrupting with a missile dropkick. Stevens dumps Mark over the ropes, sends Jay with him, and they hit synchronized dives, with O’Reilly landing on his face. Party is over, as Malice charges the ring with the rest of the New Church trailing at a distance, and he cleans house of the Briscoes and Hot Shots, giving us a No Contest at 2:10.

Post-match, James Mitchell says they aren’t leaving until the blood of Ken Shamrock is on the hands of Malice. How many times will Malice job to Shamrock before we find something else for them to do? Shamrock can either come out and fight or stay in the back and watch innocent blood be spilled. Mitchell sends Slash and Tempest for TINY THE TIMEKEEPER (he’s not so tiny). They feed him to Malice, but before anything happens, Shamrock runs out. Malice waits forever to hit the Chokeslam, a good sign of someone missing their cue, and here comes Omori to help clear the New Church from the ring. I guess this is meant to tell us that Omori is honorable and wants to win the title in a balanced scenario, but I’m already over Mitchell and his JOB Squad. Someone needs a win in this group, and fast.

Goldylocks is with the Dupps, with Bo having a hard time keeping his hands off Fluff. Tonight, they’ll fight the Flying Elvis’. Stan compares preparing for the Elvis guys like a dog in heat going to town. They switch roles, with Stan pawing at Fluff as Bo says “shit” about six times in 30-seconds. WE’RE ON PAY-PER-VIEW, BRO. SAY WHAT YOU WANT!

We’re expecting the tag team match next, but Jasmin St. Claire appears instead. She’s waited three weeks to see some ass, and we all know what the letters “TNA” stand for. She asks if anyone here wants to see some “real TNA” tonight. It’s an overwhelming approval from the crowd. She has a chair brought in the ring and Jeremy Borash gets the honors of her lap dance, with exaggerated facial expressions. Bill Behrens runs in, but Ed Ferrara hits him with the biggest spear possible, but Behrens no-sells and covers Jasmin up before delivering the goods. Well, this was a waste of 5-minutes, but Ferrara’s spear is worth recognizing, that looked better than most of the trained wrestlers! Also, nice to see Ferrara and Borash continue getting put in these situations. Still waiting on Russo to reply to my messages on X.

The Dupps (w/ Fluff Dupp) vs. The Flying Elvis’:
I guess heel and face alignment doesn’t matter with this company, but if you’re asking me, this is heel vs heel based on common sense. We haven’t seen either group in action since the first week, but the Dupps were scheduled for a match on week 2, but refused to work with the Rainbow Express. The Elvis’ are represented by Sonny Siaki (who seems like he’s already quit on the gimmick) and Jorge Estrada (still very much into the gimmick) with Jimmy Yang away on an International tour.

Siaki and Estrada attack before the bell, but Estrada gets dumped and Stan plants Siaki with a sloppy spine-buster. Tenay reacts to a move from Bo that the camera misses (“Did you see that?!”). The Johnson-less Mortimer Plumtree makes his way to ringside and sits in on commentary, giving mixed signals on the whereabouts and relationship with his Johnsons. Bo with an inverted atomic drop, followed by a shoulder tackle and leg drop from Stan for a two-count. Whip to the corner and Stan counters a head-scissors with an Alabama Slam. Bo with a snap powerslam, but Siaki saves. He makes the illegal switch and hits a snap swinging neck breaker for two. Hard to get into a match where no one is over and there’s confusion over who the crowd should be behind. Stan runs wild with Dusty elbows and a spine-buster, but Sonny cuts him off with an inside-out pump-handle slam and Estrada finishes with a springboard senton at 4:53 (and almost dunks himself on his head in the process). The work was OK-ish, but this was death with silly gimmicks that no one gives a crap about.

BREAKING NEWS: Jerry Lynn and A.J. Styles are brawling backstage! All this over Styles tagging himself in at the end of their match?! Lynn gets the better of things, hitting the Cradle Piledriver on a crate. Lynn calls him a glory hound and throws the belt at him.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Ken Shamrock (c) vs. Takao Omori:
We were notified of this match last week when NWA President Jim Miller made an awkward appearance at the top of the program, later to be kidnapped and physically assaulted. At the age I was in 2002, my only prior knowledge of Omori was his cup of coffee appearance in the 1996 Royal Rumble, so consider this one a hard sell for me. I guess you need to get Shamrock on the show and feed him people without killing your regulars, what few you have with any potential or built-in-reputation with the paying audience.

Lockup and Shamrock with a series of knees. Omori ducks a roundhouse kick, Shamrock ducks a clothesline and hits Omori with a DDT for two. We see Harley Race is watching at ringside because REASONS. Shamrock slaps on a head-scissors, but Omori makes it to the ropes for the break. More body blows from Shamrock. Omori fights out of the corner with forearm uppercuts and bounces off the ropes with a spinning heel kick. Omori with another heel kick in the corner, but he goes for it again and Shamrock easily steps out of the way and takes advantage of the precarious position Omori has put himself.

Omori counters a back body-drop set and hits a sloppy swinging neck breaker for two. Full Nelson Slam from Omori, but he misses the flying knee drop, one of his signature moves as noted earlier by Tenay. Shamrock can’t capitalize, getting sent to the corner and Omori hitting the AXE BOMBER~!! for a near fall. Shamrock fights out of a second Full Nelson Slam, drops Omori with a dropkick and hooks the leg lock, sending Omori to the ropes. Shamrock continues to target the leg. He grabs the arm bar and switches to the Ankle Lock, but out comes Jeff Jarrett, smacking Shamrock with the chair for the disqualification at 7:53. He continues the assault of Shamrock and Omori, then gives Race an unprotected shot to the head! Solid match until the non-finish, but I don’t think we needed Race getting brained by a chair shot to sell Jarrett’s out of control antics.

Goldylocks has quite an adventure in the back, first being disrespected by Jerry Lynn, then James Mitchell wants her to relay to Jeff Jarrett (if she were to come across him) that they need to talk, and finally, Bill Behrens is found tied up with F U painted on his chest. I’m pretty confident this whole mystery attacker of the NWA reps goes nowhere.

X-Division Six-Man Contendership Match:
Low-Ki vs. Elix Skipper vs. Kid Romeo vs. Tony Mamaluke vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Jerry Lynn:
It’s a six-pack challenge where two men are in the ring and can tag to anyone else, and it’s elimination style to determine the rankings that I’m sure will be honored two weeks from this episode, so first man eliminated is designated the #6 contender and so on with the last man standing getting the coveted #1 spot. We’re getting our first looks at Kid Romeo, Elix Skipper, Tony Mamaluke and Christopher Daniels (two of them would become regulars). Of the four, Daniels has the most experience and the best reputation, Romeo and Skipper were developed by the WCW Power Plant, and Mamaluke independently by Dean Malenko around the same time.

Daniels and Romeo start. They trade off on the arm and work in a fine looking international before unloading with a little more heavy fire, ending with both men back in a neutral stance. Skipper replaces Romeo and flashes his athleticism. Christopher cuts him off with a short-arm clothesline, but is backed into the corner and Mamaluke tags himself in. Not quite as smooth as Romeo and Daniels earlier. A little clunky, but they’re trying hard. Lynn in for Skipper, and after a little shine, cuts Mamaluke off with a back breaker. Whip and Lynn with an even more brutal back breaker before tagging out to Low-Ki. He lays into Mamaluke with kicks, with the third taking his head off. Mamaluke recovers, hitting a double-arm DDT and holding on with a front chancery. Daniels with a spinning side slam on Low-Ki for two. Low-Ki stuns Daniels with a rolling heel kick and brings Romeo back in. Daniels knocks him silly with a jumping heel kick and exits. Lynn can’t take advantage, with Romeo trapping Lynn in a Gory Special. Lynn creates separation in the corner and hits a flying DDT for two. Daniels misses a dive from the top rope and Lynn is back in. A body-scissors sends Lynn to the floor, Daniels follows with a springboard moonsault, and soon enough, everyone else gets in on the fun. Back in the ring, Lynn gets straddled across the top rope and tumbles to the floor, where he is COUNTED OUT at 10:15! Who saw THAT coming?!

Mamaluke with a Russian leg sweep into an octopus stretch, but Daniels scrambles for the ropes. Skipper and Mamaluke try to get too cute again, and Skipper hits the stupid overdrive (“he calls it the play of the day!”) to eliminate Mamaluke at 11:32.

Low-Ki with the educated feet and Skipper slips through the ropes and falls out of the ring. Back inside, Low-Ki blocks the Play of the Day and hits a Fisherman Stampede for a near-fall. Skipper with a Matrix bend to avoid a springboard roundhouse and plants Low-Ki with a belly-to-belly suplex. Daniels tags in and gets thrown overhead with a double-underhook, followed by an inverted suplex for two. Daniels catches Skipper in mid-air, flips him around and hits a rolling face-buster (think Cross-Rhodes) to eliminate Elix at 14:57.

Romeo with a front face drop on Daniels for two. Whip to the ropes and Romeo with a wheelbarrow bulldog for two as Don West goes into full HSN shill mode (“I’d pay $100 to see this!”). Daniels straddles Romeo across the top turnbuckle. They fight for control on the top rope and Romeo hits an avalanche Last Kiss (think Sheamus’ White Noise) to eliminate Daniels at 16:28! BUT WAIT! Slick Johnson sees the foot on the ropes and waves it off! Romeo isn’t paying attention, allowing Low-Ki to stun him with a springboard, followed by the Tidal Crush and a Dragon Clutch (Sleeper) gets Romeo to tap out at 17:06.

Low-Ki covers the still knocked silly Daniels, and again the rope bails him out. Low-Ki lights up Daniels’ chest with chops, but that just gets his adrenaline going and they begin trading blows. Daniels with a face-buster, followed by a back-heel sweep. Low-Ki interrupts the triple jump moonsault and both men go crashing to the canvas. Daniels hits the moonsault on the second try, but the slow cover results in a two-count. They trade pinning combinations as the crowd seems distracted by something off camera. Daniels counters the Dragon Clutch and drives Low-Ki into the corner, positioning him across the turnbuckle. Fall From Grace connects and again Low-Ki is up at two. Low-Ki rolls through the Last Rites and the Fisherman Buster finishes at 21:47, making Low-Ki the #1 Contender and next week’s challenger for A.J. Styles! Another fantastic match focused on the X-Division, though not quite as high on it as I was for the Round Robin Scramble from Week 2. Everyone looked good for the most part, but there were some parts that were a little rough. Low-Ki and Daniels really nailed it for the final stretch.

The celebration is short-lived, with Sonny Siaki and Jorge Estrada attacking Low-Ki and Daniels. Siaki says if the NWA won’t let them be involved, they’ll get involved on their own. Elix Skipper comes back in to help out, but the 2-on-1 doesn’t benefit him. Mamaluke and Kid Romeo return, and now it’s time for Siaki and Estrada to powder.

NEXT WEEK: A.J. Styles vs. Low-Ki for the X-Division Championship! Scott Hall vs. Brian Lawler! Puppet takes on Meatball, “the world’s largest midget”! AND MORE!

We can’t end the show under normal, calm circumstances, so Jeff Jarrett returns to tell off Mike Tenay, the New Church and the NWA, then yells at members of the Tennessee Titans, who get a little too into the act and swarm Jarrett. Suddenly, the New Church arrives at ringside and the bedlam continues, with Jarrett and Malice brawling into the crowd as the show comes to a close.

Final Thoughts: We’ll start with the good, and as usual, that includes the featured X-Division Match. To give some positive shine elsewhere, K-Krush vs. Hermie Sadler was way better than it had any right to be (though cagematch fans give it an embarrassingly low rating), Ed Ferrara had one hell of a spear, and Shamrock vs. Omori was a fine match before being spoiled by Double J. The negatives piled up much quicker, with more partners turning on each other, nonsensical motivation and worked-shoots, mystery attacks on the old NWA guys, terrible gimmicks, the nonsense with Jasmin St. Claire and Jeremy Borash, Alicia collecting an easy payday every week, and the Double J show once again ending with a chaotic Jarrett brawl.