TNA Slammiversary results and comments
Results and thoughts on Sunday night’s TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view:
TNA world champion Rob Van Dam defeated Sting: Despite all the talk about Sting pulling back the veil on this show and revealing what’s really going on in TNA, he did nothing of the sort. Jeff Jarrett did a run-in, as he prevented Sting from using a bat on RVD and then he hit Sting with the bat. That led to RVD hitting the Frog Splash for the win. I sure hope we get to the payoff with Sting soon.
Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy defeated Beer Money: No surprise with this result, as TNA is trying to establish two of the most popular guys in the company as a unit.
Abyss defeated Desmond Wolfe in a Monster’s Ball Match: Chelsea came out with Wolfe but she apparently formed a bond with Abyss during the 30 days she was forced to spend with him. She tossed a pair or brass knuckles to Abyss, who KO’d Wolfe with them for the win. I’m ready for Wolfe to move on to a new program. He deserves better.
Matt Morgan defeated Hernandez by disqualification: Morgan tried to get out of the match by coming out in a neck brace and producing a doctor’s note, but Hernandez wasn’t having it. Morgan got the win when Hernandez was disqualified for tossing the referee. After the match, Hernandez tried to injure Morgan the same way Morgan had injured him (by kicking him in the head while it was pressed against the ring post), but Morgan moved and Hernandez inadvertently nailed the referee.
Jay Lethal defeated A.J. Styles: By most accounts, this was the show-stealer. It was a big victory for Lethal as he continues to make the transition from mid-card comedy wrestler to serious contender. The match also furthered the story line between Styles and Ric Flair, who scolded Styles for losing.
Kurt Angle defeated Kazarian: The story line is that Angle wants to defeat the top 10 contenders in succession – starting with Kazarian at No. 10 – to earn a shot at the TNA world title. That means Angle won’t be losing any of these matches for a while.
X Division champion Douglas Williams defeated Brian Kendrick: The story here was that Williams is a hypocrite since he won the match with the type of move (Tornado DDT) that he has been criticizing the X Division wrestlers for using.
TNA Knockouts champion Madison Rayne defeated Roxxi: There is a lot of controversy about this one. Prior to the match, the stipulation was added that if Roxxi lost, she would have to leave TNA. According to web reports, Roxxi was legitimately upset because she was not informed about the stipulation until she arrived at the Impact Zone for the show. Roxxi – who bled hard-way during the match – lost, so apparently that’s it for her in TNA. Why TNA would bring her back to the company just to let her go again shortly thereafter is a mystery. Losing a good hand such as Roxxi is yet another blow to the Knockouts Division, which is a shell of what it used to be.
Jesse Neal defeated Brother Ray: Before the match began, Brother Ray apologized to Neal for his behavior and seemingly called off the match. Then Ray attacked Neal from behind and the match was back on. Shocking, I know. Neal ended up getting the win after Tommy Dreamer appeared in the crowd and distracted Ray. Dreamer apparently was the “nice surprise” that TNA president Dixie Carter had promised on Twitter. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but I have no idea what anyone sees in Dreamer as an in-ring talent at this stage of his career. Dreamer’s presence on the show has reignited rumors of an ECW faction in TNA since so many former ECW wrestlers are with the company, but I think everyone needs to come to the realization that the ECW ship sailed a long time ago.
Comments
Have the Motor City Machine Guns even appeared on a TNA broadcast since becoming #1 contenders for the tag titles? Where were they on this show?
Posted by: Ken Raining | June 14, 2010 11:40 PM
Did you watch this event or are these assessments based on the reported results?
RESPONSE FROM KE: I did not watch the show. These are my comments on the results.
Posted by: Mr. Sarcasm | June 15, 2010 12:30 AM
Sting quoted a line from The Dark Knight by the Joker before his match: "some men wanna watch the world burn"
Give me a break. I guess he's trying to be like the Joker?
Posted by: MitZi | June 15, 2010 12:39 AM
"Dreamer apparently was the “nice surprise” that TNA president Dixie Carter had promised on Twitter."
__________________________________
Really? I expected the surprise to be an announcement of Impact moving to 3:00AM. No more kiddie time slots for this company, baby!
Posted by: Christopher | June 15, 2010 1:15 AM
I just think it's absurd that a guy blogs about wrestling and is supposed to be taken seriously when he doesn't even watch the pay per views put on by one of the top wrestling companies in the world. Really absurd.
Posted by: Ummmm | June 15, 2010 3:40 AM
This is no way to have an anniversary show. I couldnt be more upset about Dreamer coming to this sinking ship. Angle, Styles, and Lethal were the ones thar made it almost bearable, but thats because Angle and Styles could wrestle the Great Kahli and make it good, and it was about time Lethal made it to main event status. Unfortuantly, this happened with Matt Morgan last year at BFG, and where is he? Not in the world title picture where he should be. Plus, the King of the Mountain match, TNA's best gimmick match, just thrown out the window. Way to go Hulkster. Way. To. Go.
Posted by: Chris 2.0 | June 15, 2010 5:44 AM
Kevin, what do you think the chances are that McMahon will put Smackdown on Thursday nights after moving to Syfy? If i were him i would do it to put TNA in their place.
Posted by: Randy | June 15, 2010 8:47 AM
Tommy dreamer was definitely a big surprise, but do you think Batista is going to be the new biggest surprise for tna soon
RESPONSE FROM KE: No.
Posted by: Navneet | June 15, 2010 11:46 AM
"I just think it's absurd that a guy blogs about wrestling and is supposed to be taken seriously when he doesn't even watch the pay per views put on by one of the top wrestling companies in the world. Really absurd."
Amen.
The NBA Finals are really competitive...or at least that is what I read in the papers...
Posted by: David | June 15, 2010 3:55 PM
Not to blow smoke, but I think it absurd that anyone think it's absurd that Mr. Eck doesn't watch every moment of professional wrestling that is offered every week in order to offer his informed opinion on the subject. Do professional baseball columnists watch every baseball game to analyze and comment on the box score? That, sir, is absurd.
Mr. Eck follows professional wrestling so that I don't have to and I appreciate his sacrifice. Have you seen how terrible pro wrestling is in 2010? It's horrible. As a child, I loved it. I wanted to do it. I can't bear to watch it but sometimes I'm interested to whats going on with those crazy men in tights and this column clues me in.
For example, I now know from this column that TNA sucks. And neither Kevin nor I had to waste 3 hours of our lives to find out.
Thank you internet and thank you Kevin Eck
Posted by: JGavin | June 15, 2010 4:00 PM
Roxxi got screwed royally. TnA comes off looking like clueless idiots about the Knockouts.
Again.
Posted by: Abdullah the vinyl siding salesman | June 15, 2010 5:49 PM
I have to agree with Ummmm about you not watching the wrestling events you discuss. I know that PPV's are expensive, but that's part of your job. Besides, I can't think of a better job than watching wrestling and writing about it for the internet masses.
RESPONSE FROM KE: I can't think of a better job than that either. I wish I had one, but, unfortunately, I don't. My job title is asst. sports editor, not pro wrestling blogger. The first one is a paying gig; the second one isn't.
Posted by: Easy E | June 15, 2010 8:23 PM
I think it's ridiculous that people are giving Kev a hard time when he has actually posted more than the usual amount this week. He posts on every show and in the last week he posted on a few big stories and a great interview. What more do you more want from one person with a blog? Keep up the good work Kev. Though it wouldn't hurt to order a TNA PPV every once in a while, especially if it's a off month for WWE, like this month looks likely to be.
Posted by: J Newbs | June 16, 2010 5:34 AM
We you guys are done, can you give me back the violin. Your hogging it!
Posted by: DK | June 16, 2010 9:17 AM
"I just think it's absurd that a guy blogs about wrestling and is supposed to be taken seriously when he doesn't even watch the pay per views put on by one of the top wrestling companies in the world. Really absurd"
______________
Who would spend money on this PPv?
The only good thing about TNA was the Knockouts, which, as Eck says, is a former shell of itself. I only flip through Impact to see how some of the wrestlers I do like are faring. Other than that I could care less about TNA now. So I don't blame Eck or any wrestling fan for not wasting money on this.
Posted by: Frank King | June 16, 2010 10:58 AM