NWA-TNA PPV #39 (April 2, 2003)

Welcomed by Tenay and West, we have D'Lo vs Jarrett for the NWA Title and Kid Kash vs Jerry Lynn for the X Division Title.

Right now though we have to deal with Glen Gilbertti who's already in the ring.  He says tonight is the biggest night of D'Lo's life, so he's here to give D'Lo a pep talk and let him know what he can expect. No D'Lo. Glen says he can understand why, he says D'Lo's not stupid, he's smart enough not to trust anyone. To counter that though, he says Jarrett is an egomaniacal, paranoid great wrestler, but not as great as he thinks he is. He says when Jarrett gets nervous, he acts out, pointing out how he nailed D'Lo in the back with a chair last week, sending him to the hospital for the night. He says D'Lo turned his back for just a second and that's how Jarrett treated him. He says Jarrett isn't a good guy, he's only perceived as one because he's wrestling in his home town where the rednecks buy his bullshit. He says Jarrett is scared because he knows D'Lo is an equal and can take the belt. He makes the comparison that Jarrett is Anakin getting ready to become Darth Vader. He says SEX is here to fight for D'Lo and have his back, because they back down from no one.

Styles comes out to fight with Glen and starts to beat the crap out of him. Glen gets tossed into the crowd and AJ tries to fly into him, only for Glen to nail him with a chair. Glen takes control of the fight back to the ring with vicious rights. Raven's here now to just sit in the corner as AJ takes control back until security finally rush out to break them up, or at least try to. Raven grabs a chair and now here's D'Lo to get in his face. SEX come out to separate them now.

Earlier in the day, Tenay sat down with Lynn and Konnan. It was originally supposed to just be Lynn, but Konnan's here now as per his request, with the understanding that there's no physical altercation between the two. Konnan runs down what he thinks Tenay would have said, how the X Division is an extension of lucha libre. He says he was in Mexico for eight years honing his craft and never saw any American wrestling down there. He brings up the "luchador invasion" in '96/'97 in WCW, and despite things being renamed the Cruiserweight or X Divisions, it's still lucha libre.

Lynn doesn't understand the heat that exists between the two of them, talks about how they go back to the WCW days and have never had problems, and the problem is Konnan isn't listening to a word he says or watching a thing he's doing. He talks about how he and X-Pac used to watch Mexican tapes to get better, how they got a chance to work for Universal Pro in Japan and wrestle some of the top Mexicans at that time, like Los Caras, Los Brazos, The Villanos. Tenay has thought the X Division took the lucha libre style to another level. Konnan's problem is that he had to fly in Mexican wrestlers so they'd get a shot instead of getting the props they deserved.

Tenay brings up the mystery luchador that showed up in their match last week, how Konnan was surprised and Lynn seeming to think he had something to do with it. Konnan says he's found some new respect for Lynn after their discussion and admits to being involved with the mystery luchador, pulling out the costume to prove as such. He gives his word that it won't happen again. That doesn't really solve anything, but OK. Tenay mentions Lynn's title match tonight. He says he's been #1 contender forever and it's about time he gets his shot, puts over Kash, they've wrestled in ECW. Konnan wishes him luck and they shake hands.

Goldy is with Raven in the bleachers to talk about who he may be challenging after tonight's main event. He says fate can be a cruel mistress, he talks about this being his destiny again, says its a heavy burden to bare, a heavy cross, one that would crush most men. He thrives on this. He kind of rambles about a dragon and a saint, then calls the people of Nashville trash and damns them for interrupting him. He says he will be champion and doesn't care if it's Jarrett or Brown, or in front of the people, demanding respect. He calls them filthy slime and will go wherever necessary to take the belt. 

Recap package of the awful Bunkhouse Match between Dusty and David Flair last week.

Brian Lawler (w/ David Flair) vs "Wildcat" Chris Harris

Scoop slam out of the gate by Lawler followed by premature celebrating. Then a quick exchange, Lawler misses an enziguri, then a clothesline and gets hit with one from Harris. A right sends Lawler over the ropes to the floor. David tries to provide a distraction but Lawler is still caught with a drop toe hold. Rake of the eyes before Lawler's sent to the corner and misses a crossbody, Harris up top with a crossbody of his own for two. Harris off the ropes gets tripped up by Flair, then Harris is choked over the middle rope by Lawler, then by David behind the ref's back. Hangman's neckbreaker by Lawler gets two.

Harris face first in the corner, choked by Lawler with his boot who follows up with rights and elbows. Snapmare by Lawler, then to the middle rope caught with a shot to the gut. Harris fighting back with lefts until his eyes are raked, then sends Lawler to the corner, eats a boot to the face, but catches Lawler with a powerslam. Lawler sent off the ropes into a back drop, followed by a DDT, covers but Flair distracts the ref. Lawler nearly drops David but stops short, Harris nails him with a spear and covers, but Flair pulls him off.

David pulled to the apron, Harris goes to hit him while Lawler grabs Flair's belt, nails David by mistake and a rollup by Harris gets two. Tug of war with the belt, Harris gets the better and drops Lawler with a Catatonic, looks like the back of his head hits the title, Harris covers and David has the ref distracted again. Harris finally nails David, and Lawler nails him with the belt behind the ref's back for the win. (7:00) It was... fine.

David gets some kicks in, then delivers a scoop slam to set Harris up for Lawler to hit the Hip Hop Drop. Dusty comes out way too late and way too slow, hits a double clothesline, then some Bionic Elbows. Dusty grabs the belt but turns his back, allowing Lawler to snatch it back up. Dusty gets a mic and talks about tradition and compares Ric Flair to Babe Ruth, saying they'd get their asses kicked if they went and did the same to Babe Ruth. He talks about getting into fights at 19, being left a bloody mess, and told himself he'd earn a shot at the title, instead of walking around with a belt and being a daddy's boy. He vows to take the belt back and bring it back to tradition, says he's going to have to get a posse. 

Lawler says Dusty couldn't get posse if he was the last man on Earth. He calls Dusty an old, fat man, and Dusty mocks him. Lawler knows it hurts Dusty that he's walking around with Flair's NWA Title, the one with so much tradition and nostalgia, but Dusty is old news. He calls himself the present and future, and the one holding the belt, saying possession is 9/10ths of the law. Dusty wants a Bunkhouse Match or a Bullrope Match, but Lawler won't get tricked into it like David was last week and proposes a Ladder Match for the title. Dusty accepts. Oh god, let this feud end.

Goldy is with Perry Saturn and Sandman backstage. Apparently they're in a six-man tag against the Harris Twins and the Fallen Angel, but there's no word on who their partner is. Saturn ignores the question and takes offense to SEX calling themselves extreme, saying you can't join a revolution after a war's been fought. Mitchell pops in and offers up his Disciples as a means of repaying the debt, when Saturn filled in last week. Sandman repeats that they have things covered. Mitchell implies he's going to have to take things into his own hands, but tells them to "bring their shit" whatever that means.

Alexis Laree vs Trinity

A shoving match starts things off a lockup into the corner. Then a quick exchange with Trinity taking control off a tilt-a-whirl headscissor, sending Laree to the floor. Laree goads her to the floor, chasing around the ring and back in, Laree getting in a kick to the ribs. Trinity tries to fight back with kicks only to be driven back to the mat. Hairmare and a kick to the back of Trinity, then again. A third hairmare and a basement dropkick by Laree for two. Suplex and a floatover by Laree gets two. Trinity tries to fight back only to be kicked right back down. 

Trinity finally mounts a comeback, sends Laree off the ropes, who hooks the ropes and throws Trinity out to the floor. Trinity rammed into the guard rail, then thrown into the apron and back in the ring for two. Trinity tries a boot, then catches one of Laree's, who nails an enziguri for two. Trinity counters a back drop with a dropkick, then a clothesline and a spin kick Trinity to the rope only to be cut off. Laree tries a superplex only to be shoved to the mat. Trinity misses the moonsault. Raven for some reason is back out here and sits in the ring down in the corner. Now Kash comes out as Laree hits some chops, Laree sent off the ropes into a back kick and a standing shooting star from Trinity gets the win. (6:42) Very sloppy. Also confusing.

Rsven hits the Evenflow DDT on Trinity and Kash leaves her hanging. Raven drags Laree back to the SEX locker room.

Goldy is backstage with Jarrett and mentions how people think he's a changed man. He wants names. She just says one of the boys. He takes offense to her thinking she's one of them now. She elaborates how last week he was supposed to be at a charity event and then showed up to attack Watts from behind. Jarrett grabs her by the throat and says its not beneath him to kick her ass before leaving. I'm confused, is Jarrett a heel now?

Harris Twins & Christopher Daniels (NWA World Tag Team Champion) vs Perry Saturn, The Sandman & New Jack

New Jack nails everyone with a trash can lid as he appears in the ring after the lights go out. Saturn and Daniels start the match properly, Daniels sent off the ropes into a flying clothesline. Daniels taken to the corner for rights, sent across the ring, tries to float over but gets caught with a German suplex. Daniels sent back to the corner, tries to get a boot up but gets caught with a back suplex. Daniels counters a suplex and shoves Saturn into his corner for the Twins to double team, then shove him into a dropkick. STO by Daniels then the BME for two. Daniels sent off the ropes, avoids a back drop but runs into a sitout spinebuster. Rights by Saturn and a clothesline, then knocks the Twins off the apron. Everyone starts to fight and take it out to ringside.

Saturn and Don return to the ring, Jack and Ron are in the crowd, Daniels and Sandman are at ringside. Atomic drop and a springboard dropkick by Saturn gets two. Saturn off the ropes runs into a big boot. Saturn sent to the corner and nailed with a running clothesline and a chokeslam. New Jack lays Ron onto some conveniently placed tables beside the bleachers, Jack gets into position to dive off, but Brian Lee appears out of nowhere to shove him off through the tables, while Ron moves out of the way. Mitchell cackles. Brian attacks Ron too. 

Don boots Sandman out fo the ring, Daniels dropkicks him through the ropes. Saturn with a Northern Lights suplex and a pin attempt on Don but Daniels pulls the ref out of the ring. Sandman and Daniels fight with the ref on the floor. Slash comes in with a chair only to be booted by Saturn. Death Valley Driver by Saturn gets the win. (5:59) Fun and chaotic, but also hard to follow, the camera changed focus about a hundred different times when everyone started fighting.

Sandman is choking Daniels. All of a sudden Bart Gunn attacks Saturn wearing a SEX shirt and hits him with a German suplex, then a powerbomb, then a Death Valley Driver. What the fuck is this show?

Goldy is with Kid Kash and asks why he didn't help Trinity after all the help she's given him. He takes offense saying he's won and kept the belt all on his own. He says he told her to stay out of the ring, that her place is in the corner. He says she's taken it upon herself to get involved and get over, steal his spotlight, and feels its his responsibility to show everyone where her place really is. 

"The Ace in the Hole" Sonny Siaki vs David Young

Desire handcuffed to the bottom rope in Siaki's corner.

Young leaps off the steps with a hurricanrana to the floor to start the match, then sends Siaki into the guard rail. Siaki ducks a right only to be shoved into the ring post and eat a spear. In the ring now, Young covers for two. Young off the ropes with a tilt-a-whirl headscissor for two. Siaki sent to the corner, gets Young with an elbow and an overhead belly to belly into the corner. Split-legged moonsault by Siaki and delays in going for the cover for two. Vicious chops by Siaki, then Young, Siaki sent off the ropes only to drop down and get Young with an uppercut. Siaki misses a somersault then hits a Flatliner for two.

Siaki mounts in the corner with rights only for Young to counter with a running sitout powerbomb. Siaki nails Young with a spinebuster for a near fall. Young sent off the ropes, avoids a back drop and nails Siaki with his own Siak-olypse but only gets two. Young goes up top and misses the moonsault. Young avoids the Siak-olypse but gets cut off at the knees, then counters a La Magistral cradle with a rollup to get the win. (4:33) Good match.

Siaki goes to attack the ref but Young clips his knee from behind. Athena comes out to cuff Siaki to the ropes like he'd done to Young last week. Young bullies the ref for the key to Desire's cuffs, earning him a slap to the face from Desire, holding her while Athena frees her from the cuffs. Desire tries to get the key from Young only to be nailed with a spinebuster.

Hype video for Truth, plus a recap of him laying out Jarrett last week and aligning with the debuting FKA Viscera.

"Primetime" Elix Skipper (NWA World Tag Team Champion) vs Ron "the Truth" Killings

Truth goes to talk on the mic but he's attacked from behind to start the match. Elix sent off the ropes but catches Truth with a shoulder block. Elix back off the ropes for a quick exchange, Truth getting control with a flying forearm for two. Elix off the ropes again into a powerslam for two. Wheelbarrow facebuster by Truth for two.  Elix counters an Irish whip only to be dumped out to the floor, Truth following with corkscrew crossbody. 

Skipper face first off the steps before taking it back to the ring. Truth goes up top only to be cut off. Elix off the ropes with a forearm to the side of the head, then boots in the corner, then drive shim down with a spinebuster before applying a half-crab, but Truth gets to the ropes. Truth decks Elix in the face only to eat a knee to the gut, then Elix rakes his forearm across Truth's face. Elix pulls Truth to the apron to nail him with an ax kick. Elix sent into the guard rail, then misses a sidekick crotching himself on the guard rail. Elix drops him with a spin kick. Back in the ring, Elix up top now with a missile dropkick for two.

Truth sent off the ropes, avoids a tilt-a-whirl of some kind, nails Elix with a suplex stunner. Both take time to get back up before exchanging rights, Truth taking control of things again. Elix sent off the ropes into a back drop. Elix sent to the corner for a running clothesline and a suplex for two. Elix sent off the ropes, booted and hit with an ax kick for two, as Daniels comes out now. Belly to belly by Elix after a distraction gets two. Truth set on the top rope but counters Elix with a middle rope gordbuster gets the win. (9:03) Slow going there for a bit, probably could have shaved off a couple minutes but a fine match.

Daniels  nails an enziguri on Truth but immediately FKA Viscera, now Nelson Knight, is here to make the save. Sitout spinebuster on Elix, then thrown into Daniels in the corner for Nelson to squash them with a running splash.

Cut to some pre-tapes of Eric Watts with various celebrities doing some charity stuff or something? They all wish Jarrett was there with them. I don't know what the point of any of that was.

Over to commentary, still to come the NWA World and X Division Titles, but for now it's stime for Don West's hard sell for next week.

- Jeff Hammond of NASCAR will be there to commentate on a match

- Hermie Sadler will have some sort of announcement regarding the NASCAR/TNA relationship or something

- Dusty Rhodes and Brian Lawler go at it in a Ladder Match for Ric Flair's NWA Title

- Perry Saturn has challenged Mike Barton, FKA Bart Gunn

- Sandman & New Jack take on the Harris Brothers in an Armed Asylum Match, which he explains will have weapons strategically placed throughout the building (his words)

NWA X Division Championship: Jerry Lynn vs Kid Kash (c)

Pre-Match: Kid Kash notably limping on his way to the ring, West notes he hyperextended his knee during a house show match that past weekend in St. Louis.

Quick exchange of holds and pin attempts to start the match, Lynn taking control of things following a crossbody and a series of arm drags. Kash offers a handshake only to poke the eye and hit a scoop slam, but turns into another exchange of pin attempts. Both exchange moves with Lynn trying some form of Gory move, Kash escapes but gets caught with a clotheslien, retreating to the corner and sending Lynn face first into the middle buckle. Kash sent to the corner, Lynn elevated to the apron, tries his leg drop but Kash avoids it, before going to the apron for a hurricanrana into the guard rail.

Back in the ring, Kash tries to suplex Lynn back in only to be sent off the ropes, avoids a back drop and hits a swinging neckbreaker, followed by a fisherman's buster for two. Kash applies some sort of armlock. Lynn fights out with some stomps before taking Kash to the corner, then sent across the ring, gets the boots up, avoids a powerslam, Kash avoids a rollup but runs into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Kash drops Lynn throat first onto the top rope and hits a splash for two.

Kash chokes Lynn in the corner, then a chop before Lynn reverses things. Kash sent across the ring and comes off the top with a moonsault for two. Lynn sent off the ropes, elevates Kash to the apron who hangs Lynn up on the ropes. Springboard by Kash is caught midair with a dropkick. Kash sent off the ropes now, ducks a clothesline, misses one of his own and Lynn hits a spinebuster. Lynn to the middle rope with a leg drop gets a near fall. Kash sent off the ropes, ducks a clothesline, does a somersault and runs right into a sitout powerbomb for two. Kash avoids a scoop slam and sends Lynn face first into the mat for two.

Kash goes for the Moneymaker, Lynn fights it off but gets caught with a scoop slam for two. Lynn counters another scoop slam with an inverted DDT for two. Lynn hits a TKO but it knocks the ref down in the process, so there's no one to count as he goes for the pin. A different mystery luchador runs in to hit him with a tornado DDT and Kash retains. (11:45) Was a solid match until the kind of flat ending.

Hype package for the main event.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship: D'Lo Brown vs Jeff Jarrett (c)

D'Lo attacks Jarrett backstage but for some reason the bell gets rung anyways. There is a ref here trying to get them to the ring while they fight into the crowd. D'Lo has control of things until Jarrett smacks him with a chair across the back. Jarrett now with rights and a chair to the head, then D'Lo with a chair to the back, eventually fighting towards the SEX locker room. Glen comes out to join in before D'Lo drags Jarrett to ringside, face first off the steps, then finally in the ring. D'Lo mounts with rights as Glen joins ringside now. Jarrett sent off the ropes into a spinebuster for two.

Jarrett face first in the corner, booted down to the mat, then tosses Jarrett back to the floor. D'lo grabs another chair, lays Jarrett against the ring post but Jarrett avoids the shot. Jarrett now sends D'Lo into the guard rail, then face first off the announce table. Jarrett mounts him on the table with rights before grabbing the chair again. Glen makes the save and takes it away, allowing D'Lo to hit a DDT on the floor. Back to the ring, Jarrett sent off the ropes into a sleeper, Jarrett starts to fade. Ref drops the arm twice but Jarrett escapes, comes off the ropes, caught in the sleeper again but counters with a suplex.

Jarrett with some rights now, D'Lo sent off the ropes into a back drop. D'Lo back off the ropes into a dropkick. D'Lo off the ropes again, avoids a scoop slam, then D'Lo hits The Stroke for two. Jarrett counters an Irish whip into the Sky High for two. Jarrett mounts D'Lo in the corner with rights, then Jarrett accidentally decks the ref. Glen runs in and hits a cutter, D'Lo covers, ref is slow to count and only gets two. Jarrett sent to the corner, gets D'Lo with an elbow, goes up top, misses D'Lo and nails the ref with a crossbody.

Glen back in, tries a stunner but gets sent out of the ring. Mike Sanders is out here now and nails Jarrett in the head with the title belt. D'Lo makes the cover again and still it's only two. Jarrett sent off the ropes, ducks a clothewsline and there's a double clothesline for a double down. Raven's here now and again just sits in the corner. Ref is distracted with him, even though the ref's didn't care the last two times, Sanders tries to superkick Jarrett but hits D'Lo instead. Jarrett hits The Stroke to retain. (10:03) This was actually a good match until the usual bullshit that Jarrett's matches have become known for.

Raven gets in his face and security waste no time rushing out to keep them separated. SEX are here to increase the numbers. Jarrett tells them to leave him and Raven alone and security do too for some reason. Now Alexis runs in and gets Jarrett by the hair, there's a chair now for some reason that Jarrett uses to just fucking brain her with an unprotected shot. And that's the end.