TNA Slammiversary '07

1. Rhino and Senshi vs. Latin American Exchange - 6
2. Jay Lethal vs. Chris Sabin - 5
3. Frank Wycheck and Jerry Lynn vs. James Storm and Ron Killings - 4
4. Bob Backlund vs. Alex Shelley - 2
5. Voodoo Kin Mafia vs. Basham and Damaja - 2
6. Eric Young vs.Robert Roode - 5
7. Team 3D vs. Rick Steiner and Road Warrior Animal - 4
8. Sting vs. Christopher Daniels - 6
9. Abyss vs. Tomko - No DQ Match - 5
10. Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage vs. Chris Harris - King of the Mountain Match – 8

I find it hard to compliment TNA after months worth of abuse we, their audience, have endured at the hands of Russo’s latest tenure. But, I’ve got to give it to them… this show was flat-out entertaining. The opening tag match was seemingly thrown together, but it turned out as a great way to start the show. The crowd was really into most of the matches, which helped a lot. Senshi looked really good, per usual, and they did a good job of making Hernandez look like a monster. It kept a good pace, and was really action-packed. Lethal and Sabin followed suit, starting off a bit slower, but building to a pretty respectable showing, too. I don’t really care one way or the other about Lethal’s new gimmick, a blatant rip-off of Randy Savage’s character, but, if you’re going to do it, at least know how to properly execute Savage’s patented flying elbow drop effectively.

Wycheck is a football player, not a wrestler, and it seemed like the other guys built the match around that knowledge, which is how these types of matches should be done. Again, they kept the pace quick, which covered up Wycheck’s ineptitude, while keeping me interested. Backlund and Shelley receive the dishonor of being labeled worst match of the night – if only by proxy, since, it only lasted a couple minutes and nothing really happened whatsoever. The following tag match was also unmemorable; it was kept really short, and I don’t remember much outside of an offensive spurt by Kip James, and Christy Hemme’s cumbersome cleavage.

Rood and Young, while a bit heavy on the theatrics, was pretty solid. Young nearly killed himself on two separate dives to the concrete. The tag match was slightly worthwhile for historical significance, but not for much else. Nobody exerted much effort, and the veterans were pretty much trounced in the end. Sting and Daniels was an interesting idea on paper, and in reality, turned out splendidly. Given more time to develop a better program, and to have longer, fuller matches, these two could have a feud that’d be a real treat to TNA fans. While neither guy’s best stuff, what they did do was efficient, and hopefully a nice glimpse of what’s to come.

Abyss and Tomko had a rather staged hardcore match, built loosely around some uninspired spots. It was mildly entertaining, if for gore alone, but pretty blasé as a whole. Abyss took a pretty gnarly bump in some thumbtacks, but the usage of faux glass, and later, tons of cardboard boxes, weakened its impact. The term I used when watching the main event I feel truly fits my feelings towards it, and that’s “satisfying”. Sadly, it’s rare these days, to be genuinely awed by a main event on a pay-per-view. We’ve been insulted so many times, by horrid finishes and wasted opportunities that it’s really refreshing to see a match like this. All five guys, including Joe who’s appeared neutered lately, worked really hard, and it showed, in a really exciting finale to one of this year’s better American shows.