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TNA house show report
April 4, 2008
Spencer, Iowa
Report by Brian Hoops of Yankton, S.D., PWTorch.com reader

Just got back from the TNA house show in Spencer, Iowa and wanted to share my thoughts. Spencer, Iowa is a town located in Northwest Iowa, population about 20,000. Estimated attendance was 600-700 people. Good mixture of age groups, lots of parents with kids; but also several 20-35 year old males.

Jeremy Borash was introduced to a standing ovation and then he did all of the introductions of the matches. It was a good, entertaining show overall; however Borash's attempts to shill for crowd chants was embarasing. He offered backstage passes to whoever cheered the loudest and encouraged crowd noise after each match. He continually hyped "big surprises and major announcements and came off as sleazy. The crowd was already loud and vocal, I don't think he needed to over emphasize the crowd participation the way he did.

(1) Curry Man defeated Sonjay Dutt in 7:57. Curry Man was over with the crowd, especially the kids. Lots of comedy to start the match. Did a spot where Curry was too hot for Dutt when he would get close to him and needed water, but Curry hit the ref who spilled the water on Dutt. Dutt played face until half-way through the match, then turned heel on Curry. Final minute saw several near falls until Curry hit the spice rack on Dutt for the pin. Decent opener and crowd chanted TNA after the finish.

(2) ODB defeated Gail Kim and Jackie Moore in 5:39. It was advertised ODB vs. Kim; but Moore came out to make it a three way. Match was for the #1 contender for the TNA Knockouts Title. ODB got a huge reaction, but Kim was cheered also. Crowd chanted "you suck" at Moore. Kim was out early by Moore. ODB hit a fall away slam on Moore and followed it with a side Russian leg sweep. Kim threw Moore into the guard rail and Kim and ODB traded several nearfalls. Moore threw ODB outside. ODB came back in and ODB and Kim double teamed Moore, until they fought over who would pin Moore. Kim missed a shoulder tackle on Moore into the post and ODB school-girled Moore for the pin. Kim and ODB teased dissention until ODB shared her flask with Kim and they left together. Good action but way to short.

James Storm came out for his match with Rhino but Borash said he didn't have a doctor's clearance from the Destination X PPV and couldn't wrestle. Didn't he just wrestle on Thursday night Impact the previous evening? Storm went backstage.

(3) B.G. James pinned Kip James in 5:51. Kip looked huge in the ring. BG cut a promo before the match to let the fans know who was the face and who was the heel in the match. Lots of DX references. They brawled outside to start with Kip playing total heel. Kip controlled the entire match until he missed a tackle in the corner and BG rolled him up from behind for the pin. Exact same finish as the previous match.

(4) Rhino defeated James Storm in 6:30. Rhino came out to a strong crowd reaction. He called out Storm and as Storm was reading his doctor's release, Rhino tore it apart and attacked Storm to a huge pop. Storm was decent on the mike as a heel, with lots of insults thrown out at the crowd. Storm took control early using a savate kick and tape to choke out Rhino. Several false comebacks by Rhino, got the crowd behind him. Rhino finally hit a belly to belly suplex and gored Storm and then pinned him. Not a bad match, but not enough time to develop.

Intermission

(5) In a match for the TNA World Tag Team Titles, A.J. Styles & Tomko defeated Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe in 11:10. Crowd was split pretty evenly between the teams during the opening introductions, but a minute into the match a "Princess AJ" chant started and Styles milked it for all it was worth. Styles and Lethal were equal for the first couple of minutes, so Tomko tagged in. They did several "big man-little man" spots and Tomko hit a fall away slam on Lethal. Joe in. Joe and Lethal took control on Tomko until Styles kicked Lethal in the back and then it was Styles and Tomko in control. Lots of Tomko-AJ sucks chants. They built heat on Lethal for several minutes until Joe came in and cleaned the ring. Joe and Tomko outside the ring fighting and Styles hit a Pele kick for a nearfall, but Lethal hit the "Lethal Combo" for a nearfall. It looked like they tried that spot but missed it and went back to it. Lethal climbed the top for the big elbow, but Tomko knocked him off. Tomko and Styles doubled teamed Lethal and Styles pinned Lethal. Tomko attacked Joe in the post match, but Joe made his own save and gave Styles a muscle buster and Lethal dropped the elbow on Styles. A very good match, but it could have been great if it was allowed more time. On the way to the back, a fan went after Joe by the guard rail. Joe got in several shots until security drug the guy away.

Borash promised the fans they would come back.

(6) In the main event, Booker T pinned Robert Roode in 13:09 of a no-DQ match. Booker got a big reaction coming out while Roode got mild heat. Roode stalled early to build heat then Booker took over. Roode took over after throwing Booker outside. Roode's punches and slaps looked good. Roode used a back suplex for a nearfall in the ring. Booker tried for a bookend, but Roode blocked it and hit a drop kick for a near fall. A Harlem sidekick stopped Roode's offense. Booker went for an ax kick but Roode ducked it and hit a spinebuster for a good nearfall. Booker hit a spinarooni and a bookend for another nearfall. Finish came when Booker kicked a chair Roode was holding into Roode's face and then the ax kick and the pinfall. A good main event match.

Fans were able to get into the ring afterward with Booker T for a poloroid and $20. ODB, Gail Kim, Rhino, Curry Man and Jay Lethal came back out to ringside to sign autographs.

Summary: I thought it was a good, entertaining show. The matches could have gone a little longer and built to a more meaningful conclusion; however all six matches had clean pinfall victories, with no DQs, countouts, or run in finishes. I would recommend to see a TNA house show if they come to your area.

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