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NWA-TNA PPV #18
OCTOBER 23, 2002
LIVE FROM NASHVILLE, TENN

-Mike Tenay introduced the show and didn't allow Don West to get a word in until nearly a minute into the first match. Another step up in production values this week as they had Monday Night Football/Smackdown-like graphics during the preview of the main matches.

1 -- ELIX SKIPPER vs. AMAZING RED vs. JOEL MAXIMO vs. JOSE MAXIMO vs. KID KASH -- FiveWay Elimination with the winner earning an X Title match next wee.

Off to a quick start with some cool dives by Joel, Red, and Kash at ringside onto a crowd below. They did a good job cutting to replays of hot moves without taking away from the action still going on live in the ring. Kid Kash needs to lose the jeans in the ring. Losing the gimmick might be a good move, too. At 2:22 they had a five-way submission going. Elix let go and springboarded off the middle rope and knocked over the tree of four wrestlers tangled up in center ring. Don West has an annoying habit of calling a move beautiful while it's still in the first half of being executed. He got caught calling a botched move beautiful prematurely. His timing aside, he could maybe use a thesaurus to expand his vocabulary.At 5:30 Elix gave Kash a very awkward looking suplex that looked like it could have broken one of Kash's arms. Kash gave Joel a nice high bodyslam off the top rope. Kash stood on the top rope while throwing Joel off the top rope. The SAT brothers fought each other. At 7:40 Elix pinned Jose as the first elimination after his Play of the Day finisher.

Elix dove over the top rope onto Kash and Joel Maximo. Jose gave Elix a Maximo Explosion to finish off Elix at 8:45. Kash put Joel away with a gruesome looking Money Maker (powerbomb/piledriver combination) that saw Joel look like he nearly suffered a broken neck. It came down to Red vs. Kash. Red hit Kash with a nice tornado kick to the head. They had a nice series of near falls for a few minutes. Red finished off Kash with the Infrared.

WINNER: Amazing Red at 12:25 with his Infrared finisher.

STAR RATING: ***1/4 - Really good opener. I'm a bit surprised there weren't any serious injuries because they really put on a showcase of high flying moves and high impact moves. Well-paced hot opener, something that does a nice job getting the adrenaline rolling right away.

-Goldy interviewed Brian Lawler backstage. Lawler was paranoid about the whereabouts of his girlfriend.

2 -- CHRIS HARRIS & JAMES STORM vs. THE HOTSHOTS -- NWA Tag Title match.

-Good, intense opening two minutes with good brawling at ringside. West said Storm & Harris wanted to end the match quickly to show how dominant they are. The Hotshots dominated the middle of the match. At 5:00 Harris hot-tagged Storm. West declared it one of the greatest tag matches he's ever seen. Storm took on both Hotshots in the ring and in a nice touch, Harris didn't immediately come back at 100 percent strength to make it a four-way, but instead kept selling in his corner for a minute before joining the action. Storm gave a Hotshot his 8-Second Ride for the win.

WINNER: Storm & Harris at 6:41 to retain the tag titles.

STAR RATING: **1/2 -- Really good six minute tag match. Great intensity from start to finish.

-A video package aired on the Jerry Lynn-Sonny Siaki feud.

-Goldy interviewed Lynn, who said he is not going to be stepping stone for young wrestlers trying to make a name for themselves. At the end, Lawler wandered in wondering if anyone had seen his girlfriend.

3 -- JERRY LYNN vs. SONNY SIAKI.

Tenay reminded viewers that Siaki interfered several weeks ago costing Lynn his chance to win the NWA Hvt. Title. They brawled at ringside and in the crowd for over a minute before entering the ring for the official start of the match. Siaki went after Lynn's injured knee early in the match. Lynn scored a quick near fall at 3:00 with a crucifix. At 4:30 Tenay declared that Lynn's knee may make it impossible to keep up with Siaki tonight. Lynn surprised Siaki with a roll-up at 5:52. Siaki attacked Lynn's leg after the match in a rage after losing.

WINNER: Lynn at 5:52 with a roll-up.

STAR RATING: **1/2 -- A really good six minute match. Great intensity, which has been the case throughout the first 40 minutes of the show. The match told a good story but not at the expense of there being good action.

-Tenay said that Bob Armstrong has reviewed the recent NWA Title matches and will have a major announcement next week. Not sure where that's going. Maybe he's going to announce stricter rules or a two referee rule for title matches.

-A highlight package aired of the Curt Hennig-Ron Killings feud along with Mr. Wrestling III's interference and the subsequent chaos that ended last week's event.

-Curt Hennig in center ring said he's watched wrestlers emulate him for years, but said Jeff Jarrett was the worst of all. He referred to the West Texas Outlaws and their no. 1 hit "Rap is Crap." That was meant to be a shot at Killings, but B.G. James was standing in the ring next to him. He then said he has to train a lot to keep his outstanding body in shape. Is he doing a Buddy Rose gimmick now. Hennig asked for the camera to zoom in on him, then said, "I'm the guy who took down Brock Lesnar at 35,000 feet." I was so rattled by the extreme close-up of Hennig's puffy features, I barely heard what he said. Tenay began to explain what a "famous incident" that was, but Hennig cut him off by continuing to talk.

-They abruptly cut backstage to Brian Lawler and Jeff Jarrett talking. Lawler told Jarrett he couldn't go to the ring with him because he needs to be backstage when April arrives. Jarrett told Lawler, "Screw you."

-Back in the ring, James took the mic from Hennig and badmouthed Lawler, his opponent later in the night.

-As they showed a close-up of a girl dancing in the cage, Tenay plugged their silent auction for the D.C. Sniper fund. He told people to visit their website, but didn't say the URL.

-Scott Hall walked out to the ring. (He showed up!) Hall said he knew he wasn't supposed to be out there yet, but he has trouble following the rules. He said he's been trying to be a good boy since he came to TNA, but he's tired of it. He said he wants Jarrett right now. Hall looks really tired and burned out. He's not the same guy who helped Nitro take over Raw in the ratings.

Jeff Jarrett [artist Grant Gould (c) PWTorch]

4 -- SCOTT HALL vs. JEFF JARRETT

Jarrett stomped away at Hall early, but then took Jarrett over with a fallaway slam at 1:35. Jarrett retreated to the back, but Hall chased him down and began fighting him near the entry stage. Tenay pointed out the consistent intensity of all of the matches so far in the night. At 5:00 Jarrett backdropped Hall over the top rope and then took over offense. At 7:00 Jarrett put Hall in a sleeper (it was only a matter of time with these two before we'd see the sleeper). Hall escaped and chokeslammed Jarrett. At 9:20 Hall ducked a Jarrett clothesline and Jarrett knocked the ref out. Hall went to check on the ref as Jarrett brought a chair into the ring. Jarrett hit Hall over the top of the head with the chair. Hennig then interfered, attacking Hall. The lights went out and Ron Killings came on the big screen and told Hennig he better not be playing around with others and taking him lightly. When the lights came back on, Hall and Jarrett were both knocked out with Hennig standing in center-ring. Lawler interfered. James came out and fought Lawler to the back. Hall then got up and gave Jarrett the Edge (barely able to execute it due to exhaustion) and scored the pin.

WINNER: Hall at 11:36.

STAR RATING: ** -- It's tough watching Hall wrestle now because he just isn't in shape and looks really tired physically. The chaos at the end probably helped hide the limitations of what Hall and Jarrett would have been able to do on their own.

-Tenay plugged the D.C. auction already.

5 -- BRIAN LAWLER vs. B.G. JAMES

-Lawler dropped James crotch first over the security railing, then lifted and dropped him repeatedly. The facial reaction of Lawler was hilarious. Lawler then grabbed the mic and stood on a table and asked the fans if any of them had seen April. James backdropped Lawler and yet another example of a near-death bump, Lawler landed on his head. Lawler was fine, though. James whipped Lawler chest-first into the railing. At 4:00 April showed up on the stage with Syxx-Pac. Syxx started making out with her on the stage. Lawler got a glimpse of it and went nuts. James caught Lawler from behind and scored a three count. Lawler was more worried about his girlfriend than losing. Syxx gloated and smiled. Lawler laid in the ring and cried, then stood up and cried all the way to the back.

WINNER: James at 4:40

STAR RATING: *3/4 -- They put in a good effort, although the match took a backseat at times to Lawler worrying about April's whereabouts.

-A highlight video aired of Syxx vs. Styles from last week.

6 -- SYXX-PAC vs. A.J. STYLES (w/Mortimer Plumtree)

Syxx said before the match fans paid too much to see an X Title end in a DQ, so this would be a no DQ match. He warned Mortimer that he'd kick his ass if he stuck his nose in the match. Someone who saw Styles the first few weeks of TNA this summer and hasn't seen him since would be shocked at how far his persona has advanced. Syxx hit a nice flip dive over the top rope onto Styles at ringside at 1:00. Syxx took Styles down with a spin wheel kick. Morty on color mocked Syxx for not being able to keep a job for long, jumping from WWF to WCW to WWF to NWA. At 4:00 Styles scored a very near fall after Styles hit his twisting Spinal Tap off the top rope. The ref didn't trust Syxx to lift his shoulder as he stopped his third count before Syxx lifted his shoulder, which looked a bit tacky. At 6:20 Syxx caught Styles in mid-air and slammed him to the mat with a powerbomb. He followed with the Bronco Buster. When Syxx celebrated, Styles took him down with a powerbomb. Syxx came back with the X Factor, but Mortimer yanked the ref out of the ring. Syxx grabbed Mortimer by the collar and threatened to punch him, but Styles mistakenly did first. Syxx then took Styles down for a pin, but Styles kicked out before three. Syxx went to the top rope, but Styles sidestepped him and went with a belly-to-back suplex for a near fall. Styles hit a nice top rope crossbody block, but Syxx rolled through and scored another two count. He followed with a powerbomb attempt, but Styles escaped. Lawler then hit Syxx over the head with a can of soda or something. Styles immediately hit the Styles Clash and scored the pin on Syxx. Syxx raised Styles's arm after the match. Lawler then entered the ring and nailed Syxx from behind with the X Title belt. Styles then picked up his belt, kissed it, and left. You wouldn't know until Lawler stands next to Styles that Lawler is noticeably taller and bigger than Styles.

-WINNER: Styles at 9:02 to capture the X Title.

-STAR RATING: ***1/2 -- Really good match. A step up in pacing from last week's match. The finish with Lawler's interference made sense due to the developing story involving April.

7 -- ACE STEEL vs. JORGE ESTRADA (w/Priscilla)

-At 2:00 they fought outside the ring. Steel shoved Priscilla. Estrada gave Steel a DDT on the floor. Back in the ring at 3:15 Steel splashed Estrada. He followed with a top rope superplex. Steel blocked Estrada's finisher and hit a fisherman's suplex for a two count. Priscilla's interference attempt backfired.

WINNER: Estrada at 5:43.

STAR RATING: *3/4 -- Another solid match. They fit a lot into five minutes.

-Syxx-Pac walked out to the ring. He said he believes some fans may have seen too much of him tonight, and that's fine, but he had just one thing to say. Someone from the crowd told him he sucked. He said, "Yeah, fine, whatever," and laughed. He then said that what started as a rib has gotten a bit more serious. He said that he "digs April" because "she's a hell of a piece of ass." He called Lawler out to the ring so the could settle their differences right away. Syxx said if he kicks his ass, he can have April, but if he kicks Lawler's ass, he gets to take her back to his hotel room to rock her world. Lawler walked out. With just 20 minutes left before the end of the show, not much time for two matches. Lawler came out with a look of insanity in his eyes. Syxx asked if he was willing to fight for his woman. Lawler, unable to hold back his tears, began pouting. Lawler said he doesn't want April anymore because "she's used, she's a piece of trash." He said he saw Syxx kiss her and she kissed him back. Syxx said that ain't all she did, they just didn't do everything in front of the camera. April then ran out onto the stage and told Lawler she still loves him. She claimed Syxx forced himself on her. Syxx said he couldn't hear her. Lawler repeated what she said. Syx said, "Well, you no good lying bitch." Lawler then charged the ring and punched away at Syxx. Several refs ran into the ring to pry them apart.

-Don West hyped next week's line-up.

8 -- RON "THE TRUTH" KILLINGS vs. CURT HENNIG for the NWA Title.

Killings did a pre-match rap ripping on the Nashville fans. A fan held up a sign that said, "My momma's not overrated." A "Rap is Crap" sign made its return, too. Hennig charged the ring and threw his towel on Killings, then took him down with some punches. Good intensity again in this one. They fought at ringside where Hennig chopped Killings in the chest. Killings fought back and choked Hennig with a cable from ringside. Back in the ring at 3:00 Killings continued on offense. Hennig came back at 6:00 with an anklelock submission. Killings grabbed the bottom rope. At 7:30 Hennig batted away his gum and then threw Killings head-first into the top corner post. Mr. Wrestling III came out. Hennig took him out with a kneelift then threw him into the top turnbuckle. III's bumps were horrible. Hennig then began to unmask him, but Killings hit Hennig from behind with a foreign object and scored the pin.

WINNER: Killings at 8:33 to retain the title.

STAR RATING: ** -- Not bad. Just an average match. The finish, though, was too similar to what happened in the X Title match and the Steel-Estrada match with outside interference at the end leading to the finish. Two per show, at least an hour apart, is pushing it for overkill, but three in a row within 40 minutes is bad. That aside, Hennig did deliver a main event worthy performance (although barely since he isn't in tip-top shape). He did what he had to to get by without being a total flop. Killings gets better all the time in terms of his ring presence and how he carries himself. TNA does need better main events eventually, but in order to do the full angle with Syxx and Lawler, they had to put his match on earlier, so they had to finish with Killings vs. Hennig.



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