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By Wade Keller, Torch editor

NWA-TNA PPV #32
FEBRUARY 19, 2002
LIVE FROM NASHVILLE, TENN

-The show opened with highlights of Raven's debut, the Raven-Sandman brawl last week, the Vince Russo/A.J. Styles-Jeff Jarrett feud, and J.J. Dillon's return to TV last week. The production and use of background music was again top notch this week.

-Mike Tenay and Don West introduced the show from ringside as they panned the crowd showing off their signs.

-Goldy Locks stood outside the arena and said she had no ida where A.J. Styles was. Then he arrived in a car with Vince Russo. Styles got out of the first and entered the arena, then Russo came out with his signature "smug" facial expression that says, "I bet you can't believe what you just saw!"

-Tenay and West discussed their shock at seeing Styles arrive at the arena with Russo after he had previously declared he wasn't associated with Russo.

1 -- AMERICA'S MOST WANTED vs. DON & RON HARRIS - Tournament Finals.

The winner of the match gets a title shot against Russo's Triple X for the tag team titles. They started at a breathless pace (well, as much as that is possible with the Harrises in the equation). Good intensity and back and forth action that left Tenay breathless. Then it settled into a traditional format with the heels beating on the faces. In the end, Chris Harris surprised Harris with a roll-up out of nowhere for the three count.

WINNER: AMW at 7:02.

STAR RATING: ** -- Solid tag match.

-Tenay congratulated AMW for earning a tag title shot against Triple X. Then Tenay shifted to the big issue of the show, which was Styles arriving at the arena with Russo. Goldy attempted to interview Russo, who yelled, "Shut up!" at her and then slapped around the Harrises for losing. They shoved back. Russo yelled at them, "You had better show me something tonight or I'll kick both your asses." Russo seems like an angry, angry man out there.

-Tenay looked at the camera and sent a message to Styles, saying that for months they had done everything to promote him and build up his talents, and now "you spit in the face of the 52 year tradition of the NWA, Harley Race, Dory Funk Jr., and everyone who has been associated with the National Wrestling Alliance. A.J. Styles, you sicken me."

-Russo entered the ring and told Tenay to step into the ring so he could tell him why Styles arrived at the arena with him. Tenay took off his headset and entered the ring. "Mike, you have a hard time understanding the truth," Russo said. He told Tenay that he sat down with Styles and explained who the real Jeff Jarrett was. Tenay asked if Styles was buying into his explanation. Russo said he is. "Jeff Jarrett doesn't give a sh-- about tradition, Jeff Jarrett only cares about himself." He said Styles now believes in him. "I made Jeff Jarrett just like I made The Rock, Steve Austin, and DX. Just like I made Vince McMahon. You think a 55 year old man had an attitude or even a clue what attitude was. He was an old man until Vince Russo came along. What I do is I make chicken salad out of chickensh--."

Dusty Rhodes then stepped out to the ring. Fans chanted "Russo sucks." Dusty said, "If that's the case, I better step back because I'm an old man and I didn't bring my Viagra with me." Dusty told Russo he can't ruin A.J.'s life like he has so many others. He again made fun of Russo's idea of having a midget "beat off in a trash can." Dusty said that he told his WCW boss Bill Busch when he fired him that he will be back doing people's taxes and he (Dusty) will still be in the wrestling business. He said the same thing applied to Russo. Russo said he brought Nikita Koloff in to help make him look like a jackass. He said there is something deep inside of Dusty that makes him hate him. "Then the lightbulb went off in my head - two words - Dustin Rhodes." Dusty said, "Don't go there."

Russo continued, "I'm going to go there. Remember a guy by the name of The Natural who wore the cowboy hat and the caps and these people, your people, didn't give a sh-- about him. Then along comes Vince Russo and along comes Goldust. My creation. Your son became a bigger star than you ever were, Dusty. But that's still not it, Dusty. I know what's really bothering you. What's bother you is I was the father to your son that you never were. Do you know how many nights we spent in a hotel room with Dustin crying on my shoulder, telling me about his upbringing. I was there for him. Where were you? Dusty, if you want me to apologize to you for being a better daddy to your son..."

Dusty interrupted and said, "That's enough. I don't know what your dad was like. I love my children more than my life." He said maybe Russo's dad didn't take time to give him a whoppin'. Dusty then took off his belt. "Why don't I bend you over, pull your pants down, and give your white ass use for something other than what you've been using it for." Russo said, "You want me one on one, man to man, you've got it, Dusty." The Harrises then entered the ring and attacked Dusty.

Vader then charged the ring to make the save. ("Charging" is generous wording, as he is huge in the belly now.) He helped Dusty clear the ring of the Harrises. Vader put on Dusty's cowboy hat. Dusty challenged the Harrises to a match next week against him and Vader. Russo accepted. Good segment.

-A fan who won the TNA charity auction got to interview Jerry Lynn in place of Goldy. He asked Lynn about Paul London getting the X Title shot instead of him. Lynn said it was okay because he had other business to take care of. He asked what Lynn's battle plan is. Lynn said he was going to do whatever he could to stop SEX from taking over. Goldy giggled and told the fan (who I think was Moby) he did a good job (which he did).

2 -- JERRY LYNN vs. THE SATs

Konnan joined Tenay and West at ringside. He said he is going to produce new lucha surprises every week to take on anyone in TNA who steals the lucha style. Konnan said he has no alliance to anyone other than his fellow Latino wrestlers. Lynn finished off Jose with a cradle piledriver after a double-team move between the Maximo brothers backfired. Konnan entered the ring after the match as Lynn returned to the back.

WINNER: Lynn at 6:37.

STAR RATING: ** -- Good action, but the SATs just don't come across as a money-act right now, especially with their circa 1990 indy outfits.

-Backstage Goldy attempted to interview Raven, but being the control freak he is, he grabbed the mic from her and began ranting about the Sandman saga. "We were a loving happy family until Sandman took his wife and kid back," Raven said with no sense of irony. He said he learned to enjoy the pain in his life. "Walk with me, Sandman," he proposed.

-Russo approached Sonny Siaki and called him his ace in the hole. Mortimer Plumtree arrived and had a brief discussion with Russo which the mics didn't pick up.

-In the ring, Glen Gilberti (a/k/a Disco Inferno) talked about how wrestling gimmicks aren't based on real life. "In the real world, how does a masked guy cash his check" he said. "I like to base my characters on reality. Tonight I'd like to introduce you to my first creation. He is a man near and dear to your hearts, but the reality was swept under the carpet. He was a drug addict and adulterer. He died a fat, obese slob. Tonight I bring to you my first creation - Disgraceland." Out walked a guy doing a fat Elvis interpretation. Mike Sanders joined Tenay and West at ringside. Is anybody's self-perception of their wit as far off from reality as Sanders? Listening to his whining voice was cringe-inducing this week. I mean, I seriously think I'd rather listen to Stephanie McMahon than Sanders right now; he's that bad. He sounded like he had a mouth full of cotton balls and was in a contest to take no pauses between words and be as loud as possible in the process.

4 -- SHARK BOY vs. DISGRACELAND

This is a one-note joke that isn't very funny. So they bring out a fat jobber to imitate fat Elvis. Okay, I get it. Elvis was fat. Disgraceland then ate sandwiches at ringside in the middle of the match. Okay, he wants to be fatter. How is this funny? Apparently it's meant to get under the skin of Estrada that they're mocking Elvis.

WINNER: Disgraceland at 3:08.

STAR RATING: 1/2* -- The wrestling wasn't terrible, but it was difficult to pay attention with Sander's mumbling nonstop throughout. Sanders entered the ring afterward, pointed at Disgraceland, and said, "This is what reality is all about." Jorge Estrada then climbed the top rope and attacked Sanders and Disgraceland from behind. Eventually, though, the heels (including Gilberti) overpowered Estrada. They dragged Estrada into a bathroom and appeared to give him a swirly. By no means as bad as the Dupps Invitational (because it didn't last as long), but I just don't get Gilberti's sense of humor, and this has him written all over it.

-A video feature aired on Jeff Jarrett.

-Goldy interviewed a distressed J.J. Dillon. When doesn't J.J. look distressed, though? Larry Zbyszko asked Dillon what he's heard about what's happened with Styles. Zbyszko said he is the one who got him the title shot in the first place. He said he was going to check on him. Dillon said, "This should be interesting."

5 -- KID KASH (w/Trinity) vs. PAUL LONDON - X Title match.

This is a big test for Kash since he's the centerpiece of the X Division right now as the champion. At least he has no chance of being worse for the division than Sonny Siaki was.

WINNER: Kid Kash at 8:18 to retain the X Title.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- A nice highspot fest.

-They went to the SEX locker room where Siaki, whom Russo put in charge as he left the building to tend to personal business, tried to rally the troops. Gilberti tried to start a "Sonny" chant in support of their new leader.

-Mike Tenay did a sitdown interview with Jonah. He talked about his background playing college football. He detailed his training with Killer Kowalski since Tough Enough ended. He said the Tough Enough training was grueling and he learned a lot about himself. He said he promised on the final show that he would fulfill his goal to become a pro wrestler.

6 -- MIKE SANDERS (w/Gilberti) vs. JONAH

Poor Jonah is stuck in his first nationally televised match against a washout who doesn't even take off his t-shirt during matches. West said many people thought Jonah was the "real Tough Enough winner." Before the match Sanders told Jonah that if he wants to be a superstar, he needs to face the camera, not have his back to it. He helped him turn around. "You are just like all the people sitting at home. You are a loser. You didn't even come in second, you came in third. I'm going to change all that tonight. I'm going to make the exact same offer I made Sonny Siaki." He said things were a lot tougher for him 1998 when you had to work your way to the top. He said they made Sonny Siaki an offer he couldn't refuse. He then offered Jonah access to a woman standing in the ring. "I guarantee this young lady right here can make all your dreams and fantasies come true," Sanders said. Jonah said he's tempted, but he wants to do wrestling on his own. He patted Gilbert and Sanders on the shoulder and thanked them for the offer. The bell rang to start the match. Jonah threw a few armdrags, which has been the "official opening move of matches by rookies" for centuries. Fans chanted "Let's Go Jonah," which prompted West to conclude with great insight that "the crowd is 100 percent behind Jonah." Sanders beat on Jonah for the first several minutes. Jonah snuck in a hope spot at 3:50 with a roll up for a two count, but Sanders took over again. At 4:30 Jonah made a full-fledged comeback, ducking a Sanders lariat and throwing a dropkick. Sanders, though, caught a charging Jonah with an extended boot. Jonah fought back with a powerslam off the ropes for a near fall. "What an upset that would have been!" screamed West, begging the question, "Has Sanders actually ever won a match?" As the woman distracted Jonah, Sanders gave Jonah his finisher from behind for the win.

WINNER: Sanders at 5:30.

STAR RATING: * -- Fine match. Jonah looked smooth.

-Sandman went through Interrogation doing his Andrew Dice Clay persona, although he's more authentic than Clay in real life. Tenay and West threw a series of rapid fire word association questions his way to help establish his character. Nice segment. No big punchline, but it helped people understand who he is and what his attitude is like. Good segment, the result of TNA coming up with their own new concepts. It's not revolutionary,, but it's a fresh format that hasn't been used before in wrestling, so they should stick with it. That, combined with Tenay's sitdown interviews, breaks the monotony of the traditional wrestling interview format.

7 -- SANDMAN & STEVE CORINO vs. RAVEN & LOW KI

They brawled in the crowd to start the match. That goes without say, since Raven and Sandman are involved. As expected, trash can blows and stand up brawling. Raven piledrove Sandman through a table. Back in the ring at 3:40, Raven and Low Ki double-teamed Corino. Corino attempted to reverse Raven into a drop toe hold over a chair in mid-ring, but Raven blocked it and bashed Corino with the chair. Sandman crawled back to the ring, but wasn't much help to Corino yet. Low Ki punched away at Corino, who (believe it not) bled from the forehead. At 6:00 Sandman regained his strength and bashed Raven and Corino with a trash can. He dropped Raven face-first into the trash can. Sandman used his Singapore Cane to give Low Ki a neckbreaker type move from behind for a near fall. Raven then gave Sandman an Evenflow for the pin.

WINNERS: Raven & Low Ki at 8:14.

STAR RATING: **3/4 -- Well-executed wild brawl. Good energy on everyone's part. Low Ki didn't hurt the match, but he didn't seem to fit in. This certainly isn't the best use of his talents, although it's not bad for him to be in matches like this periodically to keep from being pigeonholed as just a lightweight highspot guy.

-A video feature aired on A.J. Styles who reminisced about Ricky Steamboat, special ref for the match, raising his arm in victory when he first won the X Title. He said Steamboat told him, "You're going to be great." Style said, "One thing, I'm already great." Another good video feature that tapped into the emotions and storyline headed into the TV main event. This was one of the better jobs TNA has done building up a TV main event. Without shoving it down our throats, they really got across this match as being something special. Now, the question headed into the match was whether Jeff Jarrett saw it as something special, an opportunity to have his first show-stealing match since TNA began, or if he was going to Memphis Mid-South Coliseum his way through the match with chinlocks and shortcuts.

8 -- JEFF JARRETT vs. A.J. STYLES - NWA World Hvt. Title match.

West slightly overstated the volume of the crowd right after ring introductions, saying he could barely hear Tenay over the noise they were making. The crowd just wasn't very loud at that point, nor should they have been. Tenay described it better "an electricity in the air." They did a Tale of the Tape before the match and listed Jeff Jarrett at 6-1 and A.J. Styles at 5-11. Styles caught Jarrett with a nice dropkick off the ropes with Jarrett sitting on the mat. By 3:00 Jarrett took over at ringside, whipping Styles into the ringside barrier. Styles, though, reversed Jarrett's second attempt at a whip. Tenay and West acknowledged that some of the fans were cheering for Styles. "It's because they recognize his ability," said West. Jarrett stopped Styles's momentum and hit a sitdown powerbomb (not exactly smoothly executed, but it made it seem more "real" because of the struggle to pull it off). "This is absolutely one of the greatest matches I've ever seen," said West at the 7:20 mark of a good match, but nothing close to being that praise-worthy. Larry Zbyszko came out to stop Jarrett from executing a superplex by grabbing his foot, then Styles sunset flipped Jarrett off the ropes for a near fall. As Jarrett attempted to suplex Styles into the ring, Zbyszko grabbed Jarrett's leg, causing Styles to fall on top of Jarrett for another two count. Styles followed with a roundhouse kick to Jarrett's head. Zbyszko KO'd Jarrett with brass knux, then calmly stepped back to ringside. Styles covered Jarrett and scored only a two count. J.J. Dillon walked to ringside to yell at Zbyszko for his interference. The ref ordered Zbyszko to the back. Styles put Jarrett in a sleeper at 10:15. Jarrett's hand dropped twice, but not a third time. He then began his comeback. Most of the crowd was on its feet at this point, although they weren't going nuts, they were into the match as if it were a big deal. Styles flew at Jarrett, but Jarrett ducked and Styles took the ref down with a forearm. A second ref came out to continue the match as Bill Behrens helped the original ref to the back. Styles applied a deathlock/chinlock combo. Jarrett elbowed out at 12:00. Styles, though, remained on offense. Jarrett flipped Styles into the air, which knocked another referee down. The Harris Brothers then entered the ring and dropped Jarrett on his back with a double H-bomb. Vader and Dusty ran out to make the save. A four-way broke out with those four as Jarrett laid flat on his back knocked out in center ring. Styles rolled into the ring and covered Jarrett, but the ref was late getting into the ring, giving Jarrett a chance to kick out. West screamed, "Where is Jeff Jarrett getting this?" Styles then attempted his Styles Clash, but Jarrett escaped. Styles, though, persisted and hit his finisher for another near fall. Styles came off the top rope, but Jarrett caught him with a clothesline. Sonny Siaki entered the ring and gave Jarrett a Siakilypse as Desire distracted the ref. Styles, though, attacked Siaki and gave him a Styles Clash. West said, "Styles want to do this on his own!" Well, not counting Zbyszko's interference with brass knuckles. Jarrett, though, recovered and gave Styles the Stroke off the second rope and scored the win.

WINNER: Jarrett at 16:05 to retain the NWA Title.

STAR RATING: ***3/4 -- Definitely a worthy main event given all the hype leading into it. Good intensity. Good wrestling. Good, energetic (although a bit overstated at times) announcing. Good booking in that it advanced some storylines headed into future weeks.

-They cut away from Jarrett's celebration to Russo in a limo, because after all what Russo has to say is more important than anything going on in the ring. "Right now I'm sitting in the driveway of your house. I'm going to go inside and sit down with Jill. The kids are going to see Uncle Vince. I'll see you in a few." (Russo must've just watched the Shield DVD set for season one.)

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