TNA Wrestling’s tour of Europe came to its conclusion on Saturday night in London’s Wembley Arena and our own Matt Waters was on hand to take in all the sights and sounds, all of which he’s happy to share with all of you. Featured during the show were Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Doug Williams, Beer Money, Matt Morgan, The Pope and more.
– The first thing to note here is that TNA’s shows in the UK are generally speaking a cut above the standard ones they put on stateside, and to be perfectly honest, they’re normally been better than the televised product too. It certainly helps that there are no storylines and they just let their talented roster do what they do best: wrestle. But the biggest contributing factor is that for the past three years the UK have provided record-breaking attendance numbers for TNA so I’m sure they feel a need to reward this fan-base. Last year they did this by putting on the only un-televised Ultimate-X match in the company’s history. For proof of the size of the crowd (8,000+) and a little bit of footage from the first match, check out this clip posted by Matt Hardy.
– I would post some of the pictures I took, but I was sat in a pretty strange spot that seemed fantastic on a seating diagram but in actuality was pretty terrible. One of the main spotlights was pointed in our direction and it meant that if you pointed a camera at the ring you saw nothing but pure white. I’ve got some awesome pictures and videos from years past that I’ll throw together into a montage soon to make up for it.
– Jeremy Borash started the show by hyping Impact, X-Plosion and TNA PPVs finding a new home in the UK on Challenge TV. He then encouraged us all to cheer as the loudest fans would be heading backstage to meet the wrestlers. They do this every year but we didn’t actually notice more than 2 passes get handed out all night. Jeff Jarrett appeared on the screen and said that nobody would be receiving a backstage pass because he didn’t like losing money due to us UK fans (Challenge TV is a free channel available without any kind of cable or satellite subscription.) He said Immortal were running the show tonight and spoke about how he was going to beat local wrestler Johnny Moss tonight. Borash gave out a pass anyway.
Kazarian retained the X-Division Title against Shannon Moore and Chris Sabin.
Shannon Moore won a match in Manchester to become the number one contender but then Sabin was added to the mix for some reason. This was short but sweet with Kaz pinning Shannon with whatever he calls that inverted piledriver. The match flew by and in my opinion could have used an extra couple of minutes. Shannon hit a big moonsault at one point to provide the highlight of the match. Kaz got a really good reaction and there were plenty of Fourtune hand-signs held up in the crowd. The group’s music was bad-ass and crazy as it sounds it made him seem like a big deal given how loud they play all the music at house shows.
– Earl Hebner came out for the next match and removed his referee shirt to reveal a t-shirt saying “Damn Right I Did!” in reference to Bret Hart. I’ve seen him three times before this and every time there was a loud “You Screwed Bret!” chant, but this time it was only a quiet smattering so many people probably didn’t understand why he was wearing the shirt. He whipped out a pair of Bret Hart sunglasses too.
Matt Morgan, Mickie James & Angelina Love defeated D’Angelo Dinero, Madison Rayne and Tara
Two years ago Matt Morgan got booed out of the building, showered in “You Can’t Wrestle!” chants. Fast forward to this event and he was beloved. He’s truly a giant of a man. Not to sound like a sleaze but the Knockouts are incredible. Pope communicated his agreement with that with some shenanigans with his own partners. First he crawled over to their corner and hugged Tara’s waist like a lot of heel tag teams do, but with his hands on her ass. Then, after Madison had used a move Alex Shelley used to call Total Non-Stop Alex/The Skull F*ck, he got in the ring and got on all fours and requested to go next. Standard affair really with Morgan clearing house near the end. Mickie James got up on his shoulders like Rey Mysterio did with Batista and Big Show and diving down onto Pope. Morgan finished things off with the Carbon Footprint.
Jeff Jarrett beat Johnny Moss
Johnny Moss looks like Eric Young on steroids. Don’t worry, I don’t know who he is either. He got a surprisingly strong reaction as the fans generally ignore the home-field advantage and cheer the established names. Jarrett did the corny threatening-to-walk-out thing and took it so far that Jeremy Borash announced that he didn’t think we were good enough to watch him so he was leaving. The ref somehow gained the power to suspend the founder of the company because that was what was threatened if Jarrett didn’t return to the ring. He barely slid in at 10 and then went right back out. He did this twice more with the ref counting faster each time. Moss used some power and then flew off the top for a big splash but missed. Jarrett eventually won after a guitar shot to the head while the ref was down.
Beer Money defeated Magnus & Mark Haskins
In the previous match I mentioned how the fans will cheer the established names more than their own men a lot of the time. This was exhibited here as Beer Money got cheered throughout. I’m pretty sure the two-part chant of their name is the reason for their immense popularity as the crowd ate that up. The Brits barely got in any offense. I was probably one of ten people maximum who knew who Haskins was. He busted out a Shooting Star Press (though it missed) to get the fans on his side, but it was too late. Beer Money hit the double suplex and then the D.W.I. for the win. When it came to the aforementioned chant James Storm got Earl Hebner involved in the drum-roll (so to speak) and turned it into a dance until Roode told him to get on with it.
– Intermission. Borash claimed even more backstage passes would be handed out in the second half but I didn’t see a single one get passed out.
Rob Van Dam beat Matt Hardy
Remember when Matt Hardy was one of the most popular wrestlers in the world? Those days are truly gone. He got resoundingly booed, save for a pocket of young Hardy Boyz fans. Oh, and his hair is back to the old style too. RVD got the biggest reaction I’ve ever heard at a wrestling show. The entire building was chanting along to his theme music to the point even Rob stopped to look around with a smile on his face. The match was OK, better than the one they had on PPV but not as good as some fans reports from earlier stops in the tour. Matt missed a moonsault, RVD didn’t miss a 5-Star Frog Splash.
Ric Flair defeated Douglas Williams
Before the match JB put Williams over as a future legend. Doug got a good reaction, I’d say the crowd was split about 60/40 in favor of Flair, which is better than I thought. Ric’s entrance was pretty special. I’ve never seen the Nature Boy live, and despite the state of him physically and his limited in-ring game these days, there’s something undeniably special about his presence when he walks down to the ring. He took all the time in the world and people lapped it up. The match itself was… meh. They spent a lot of time on the mat and exchanging chops and European uppercuts. Over here we just call them forearm uppercuts, but European uppercut does sound better. Flair bled after an exchange on the outside and while several people cheered this, I couldn’t help thinking there was no need for it at this stage of his career. Doug nailed the Bomb Scare Knee Drop but Flair kicked out. Doug rolled Flair up when he tried a Figure Four but after the second ref bump of the night and a low blow by Flair, Doug tapped to the Figure Four. The fans applauded both men. Flair was a little disgusting to look at up close.
– Before the main event Dixie Carter came out with some dude who had been helping out with the tour all week. She thanked us all as she does every year and again plugged the move to Challenge TV. She gave some shout-outs, including one to her husband who was in attendance. He got booed. Jeremy Borash also taped a short moment for TNA Today showing the fans.
Mr. Anderson retained the TNA World Heavyweight Title against Jeff Hardy
Jeff’s self-performed entrance music is terrible. His art is terrible. I just wanted to point these things out. Borash did Anderson’s ring introduction, but the champ added a second Anderson. The match was mediocre and only really got exciting near the end. After the third ref bump of the evening Jeff hit a Twist of Fate but of course couldn’t get the pin. Earl Hebner came out but Anderson kicked out. Moments later Hebner was taken out as well and that brought out Matt Hardy who decked Anderson with the title belt before leaving. Jeff added a second Twist of Fate but both refs being down gave Anderson the time he needed to kick out. Jeff missed a Swanton Bomb. Anderson nailed the Mic Check and it was all over.
– After the match Anderson provided the most entertaining part of the whole show with a nice little comedy promo. First he cut JB off as he announced the winner, saying “I don’t like the way you do it… just sayin'” and gesturing him away. He asked the crowd if they wanted to hear Borash do it, which of course received a resounding ‘No’. Borash’s face was priceless. Anderson did the usual ring intro but before the second Anderson paused and let out a “wait for it…. wait for it….” before finishing it off. He then talked about how he was a patriot and proud to be American but for one night only was representing the UK, draping our flag around himself and posing for the fans. I left after this to beat the rush but I’m sure the whole roster came out for drinks as is customary at the past shows I’ve been to.
– All in all this seemed lackluster compared to previous years, though perhaps my standards have been set too high because of their past efforts. There just seemed to be a lack of star power. RVD, Anderson, Flair and the Hardyz were all fine, but it was strange to not see Angle, Joe and AJ and on a personal level I hated not getting to see Alex Shelley. He missed last year’s event due to an injury too. The matches were also only so-so. Perhaps my already mentioned unfortunate seating position soured my experience, but I didn’t feel I got my money’s worth. Still, it’s always nice to get out and see live pro wrestling, especially when the crowd is large and lively, and there’s nothing like seeing individuals you normally watch on a television screen in the flesh. I’m not sure if I’ll go next year because I kind of got burned this time, but given how good it’s been in the past and that they only come once a year I’m sure I’ll cave and buy tickets again.