I had told myself that I would not order any more TNA pay-per-view events after three horrible shows in a row. I was good last month, but I really wanted to see the US PPV debut of the 4th incarnation of Tiger Mask last night, so I went ahead and spent the $29.95. While Tiger Mask actually disappointed me a little bit, the rest of the show more than made up for it.
The opener was just that - an opening match that had a great pace to it and got people into the show. Post match saw Sonjay Dutt do an all too predictable turn on Lethal and Nash, but that part just came off as silly. Kevin Nash is so much bigger than these guys, it takes away some of their credibility when using him for anything other than a backstage segment. During this match TNA also decided it was a good time to debut Stomper, their new official mascot. I guess Bob Backlund has made a move up the corporate ladder, as he has been the unofficial mascot for months on Impact. I was worried about the show at this point, but my worry would turn to excitement soon enough.
Robert Roode defeated Jeff Jarrett in a very good match that I had reservations about at the start. I have always felt that if you want to make someone a bigger player in your promotion, they need to be featured later on in the show. That way, win, lose or draw they are seen as a bigger deal because they ran closer to the main event. But, Jarrett put Roode over in the match and although it wasn't a clean finish, I think many people walked away thinking that Roode is about to become a bigger player in TNA. Later on, I also was reminded about Jeff's wife, who is very sick right now, and has had a couple of close calls including a collapsed lung and going into cardiac arrest over the last few weeks, that perhaps he did his match and flew back home. Whether you like Jeff the wrestler or not, please take a moment to think of Jeff and his wife, and remember that these are real people with all of the same real issues that we all face, and maybe say a prayer for them.
Christopher Daniels defeated Rhino in the next bout, and i'd really love to get into it more, but it was a typical TNA match. It was good for what it was, but at this point, I still see TNA as a company trying to make Rhino this huge star that he isn't.
Bashma and The Damaja defeated Kip James in a handicap match. Apparently, BG was given a concussion before the show. I think TNA needs to realize that people don't care about The James Gang on any level. In turn, that makes the debuts of people like The Heartbreakers (who appear to have been brought in for a one shot only deal) or Basham and Damaja terrible. No one is into this Christy Hemme-Kip James feud. Including me.
Chris Harris defeated James Storm in a Texas death match - This was my match of the night! In recent years, especially when ECW was running as a full time entity in the late 1990's, these bloody matches had lost so much of their luster because they were being done all the time. There was never any rhyme or reason to them, and while they were fun to watch, they really had no story behind them. This match was done at the right time for the right reasons. I know TNA has messed this feud up a bit, especially with the blindfold match, but they allowed Storm and Harris to bring back credibility and meaning to the feud with this match. Both bled quite a bit, but the real deal about this match was about halfway through. Both guys continued to sell the fact that they were losing a lot of blood (what a concept!), and really made it look like this was a war. The finish saw both Harris and Storm grab beer bottles, but Harris was able to connect first for the win. If you want to see how this type of match is supposed to be done, order the replay. In my opinion, it's that good.
Jerry Lynn defeated Tiger Mask, Alex Shelley and Senshi - Mike Tenay did a fantastic job as Tiger Mask was being introduced to the crowd. A lot of people may not understand the significance of the Tiger Mask character, but Tenay explaing the story, including who the previous Tiger Mask wrestlers were, gave more credibility to the wrestler. A great 4 way match that Lynn eventually won. Lynn, probably twice the age of everyone in the ring, can still go with the best of them, and I hope if RVD decides to join TNA in the fall that they find a way to bring back a program between the two guys, as it will still be off the charts.
Team 3-D defeated LAX and Scott Steiner and Tomko - Team 3-D is getting stale. It's not their fault, but I have really soured on Ray. I think a lot of it has to do with people who choose to make signs comparing him to pork, and him losing it like a 5 year old everyime he sees one. Wow, a great segue as he quote of the night comes from Mr. Don West, and I hope he didn't get beat up for it. During the match, Ray threw Hernandez over the topr rope, and tenay made a comment about how hard it must be to throw a guy who is 300 pounds over the ropes. West came back with something along the lines of it's not that hard when the guy doing the throwing is 360! If Ray goes nuts about fans with those pig signs, he will probably chase West out of Orlando the minute he hears about that comment!
Post match saw Steiner and Tomko turn on each other, and Rick Steiner make the save. In my feedback to the wrestling observer website last night, I wrote this so i'll add it in here: "I know from a talent standpoint, The Steiner Brothers are not where it's at in 2007. Heck, they weren't in 1997, either. But I will still enjoy watching them tag in their first match in TNA as they were one of my favorite teams growing up. I just hope it's not the trainwreck it will probably turn out to be."
The main event was Kurt Angle supposedly winning the NWA World Title defeating Sting and Christian Cage. It was a strange finish that needs to be explained. Sting had Christian rolled up while Angle had an ankle lock on Sting after a ref bump. A second ref came down while the frist ref came to, on opposite sides of the three wrestlers. While one counted the three for Sting, the other saw Sting tap out to Angle at the same time. The reason all of this was done and they quickly faded out without an explanation was because of the current NWA title situation. Some time back, the NWA ended all partnerships with TNA and told TNA to hand over the titles. TNA was given time to make their own championship belts, and what will likely happen is that the disputed finish will make Cornette declare the title vacant and they will have some kind of tournament or match to crown the TNA champion. I do not know if they will make any mention of the NWA. Last night, someone from the NWA put a video on youtube which needs to be seen to be believed:

I posted the following thoughts/questions on a message board I frequent all the time, so I will pose those same thoughts/questions to you now that you have watched this video

#1 - Aren't they breaking kayfabe in the background?

#2 - The NWA Titles haven't been the measuring sticks of anything in years!

#3 - This guy calling out Christian Cage and saying he is wrestling "sports entertainers" is funny. (Well, to me it is!)

#4 - I don't know who put the video together, but can someone tell the guy how to spell? (It's Jerry Jarrett , not Jerrett)

#5 - As he is saying the NWA are the past, present and future of Professional Wrestling, they are showing a match where about 20 people seem to be watching. I am worried about the future if thats it!
But I digress. If you want a recommendation, I would say its worth it to order the replay of Sacrifice this week. This was a show that, if you were a first time buyer, would likely make you purchase another PPV from the company. I always take a wait and see approach with TNA, as they tend to screw things up if they are going in the right direction for too long, but this was a good sign from the company. Thanks for reading!

Mike The Mark