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Arena Reports
12/29 TNA in Quebec: Awesome Kong & Jackie vs. Kim & Brooks, Christian vs. Angle, Joe vs. Roode Dec 30, 2007 - 12:50:44 PM
TNA house show report
December 29, 2007
Gatineau, Quebec
Report by Peter Machado, PWTorch correspondent
Estimated crowd turnout: 700
(1) Sonjay Dutt vs. "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal vs. Johnny Devine. Dutt and Lethal double team Devine all the way through. Not sure if this was supposed to be a 3-way or a handicap match.. Lethal with the Savage elbow for the pin. Winner: "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal.
(2) Jimmy Rave vs. "Wildcat" Chris Harris. Referee: Earl Hebner. Hebner has heat as usual. "You screwed Bret" chants. Near the end of the match, one of the turnbuckles falls completely off (unintentionally) when Harris threw Rave into the ropes, leaving the top rope on the canvas for the remainder of the match. Harris with the pin shortly after. Winner: Chris Harris.
10-minute break while the crew tightens the turnbuckles.
(3) Awesome Kong & Jackie Moore vs. Gail Kim & Ms. Brooks (accompanied by a local news man). Kim and Ms. Brooks double team Kong, sending her off the apron. While Ms. Brooks and Kong are tied-up with one another, Kim gets the pin on Jackie Moore. I was too focused on Kong to see how Kim finished her. Winners: Gail Kim & Ms. Brooks.
After the match, the local celebrity comes into the ring and raises his arms. Kong comes in and takes him down with a couple of back-hands. She follows with a splash. Referee Rudy Charles pulls him out of the ring before Kong can do any more.
(4) James Storm vs. "Showtime" Eric Young. Young plays to the Canadian crowd with patriotic ring attire. Storm gets heat by wiping his buttocks with the flag midway through. Earl Hebner was stripped of his ref shirt halfway through match by Eric Young. Hebner has a "TNA 100% Canadian made" t-shirt on underneath. Young puts the ref-shirt on and wants to be the ref for Hebner vs. Storm. Hebner goes on to get the best of Storm before Storm and Young hooked up again. Winner: "Showtime" Eric Young.
(5) LAX vs. A.J. Styles & Tomko for the tag team championship. Big pop for A.J. A.J. reverses a small package on Homicide for the pin. Winners: A.J. Styles & Tomko.
(6) Abyss vs. local jobber. A lot of action outside the ring. Abyss with a black hole slam. Winner: Abyss.
(7) Samoa Joe vs. Robert Roode. Huge pop for Joe. Joe with the cobra clutch submission on Roode. Winner: Samoa Joe.
(8) Christian Cage vs. Kurt Angle. Referee Earl Hebner. Nice pop for the Canadian, Christian. Angle with big heat on him. Lots of "you suck"/"Instant Classic" chants. Cage has Angle down for a 5-count with the ref knocked out. "You screwed Cage" chant. Angle starts to get the best of Cage, and teases a sharpshooter, which is blocked by Cage. Later, Angle is able to execute it, but Cage makes it to the ropes. They are really milking the screwjob at this event. A.J. comes to the ring with a chair, but doesn't get a chance to use it. Tomko carries him to the back. Angle hits Cage with the belt for the pin. Winner: Kurt Angle.
NOTES: This was the first TNA event I've attended, and I will definitely attend again any opportunity I have. I was impressed with the efforts and the enthusiasm of the wrestlers, especially given that they were wrestling in front of such a small (but rowdy) crowd. They put on a quality show. The crowd was hot the whole way through. My girlfriend, who is not a TNA/wrestling fan, had a great time. Hebner plays the heal referee well, and seemed to enjoy messing with the crowd between matches. After the show, Kurt Angle allowed fans to have a Polaroid taken with him in the centre of the ring for $20. He was very friendly, and seemed enthusiastic and willing to take his time with the fans. Overall a great show. I highly recommend going to a live TNA event.
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