TNA Slammiversary 2006

As I outlined in my preview thoughts, this was possibly the most important show since TNA debuted on Spike TV and fortunately they managed to take all of their strengths and score a positive result with nearly all their matches. After a week, or is it perhaps a month, of mised oppurtunities by WWE with the relaunch of the ECW brand, TNA managed to reverse the trend of their past few months worth of their pay per views and put on a show with loads more plusses than minuses. However, perhaps more importantly they put on a fun show full of great wrestling, not the ego trip of a 60 year old man who likes to exposed his backside on national TV.

The show started off with an all out brawl between the James Gang and Team 3D. Putting these guys on first was a great way of building on the buzz from the Philapelphia house show as well as giving the middle finger to WWE by using the one duo the new ECW could really have done with. Although the match started slowly, it built well with both teams working hard. Where TNA go with the James Gang next is a mystery as the glow on their star is certainly dimming. However the former Dudleyz really showed that they are still a potent force when given the chance and should be the team which TNA use as the backbone of their tag division. But more of that later.

After this high impact start, TNA brought the crowd down with a long winded Jeff Jarett promo and then followed it up with the only poor match on the card as Rhino took on Bobby Roode and Scott D'Amore in a handicap match that was way too long and far too meanigless for all but the most dedicated Rhino or Roode fan to care about. For the past two shows this was where the show began to sag and never really got it's momentum back. However fortunately this was not the case tonight. On the plus side though, Rhino got the win and hopefully he will return to the main event picture before too long. Roode did his part well, however the Team Canada/Scott D'Amore gimmick has gotten tired and desperately needs a rest from TV.

The state of the X Division at Slammiversary was a matter of hot debate going in as a result of the often ludicrous Kevin Nash vs. Chris Sabin storyline. However they counter balanced this well by putting on a 6 man X Division match that would determine the top 6 contenders to the X title involving exciting young guys like Senshi, Jay Lethal and Alex Shelley. Not content with simply raiding ROH's talent, they also stole their top 5 rankings system for this match, however thanks to the fact that this match was given plenty of time to shine, all but the most ardent ROH fan could find reason to complain about it. All 6 men got enough time to do their moves and get over with the fans and by putting it on just before the Nash vs. Sabin match which had the potential to do so much damage to the X Division, they managed to show off just what the X Division was all about to the point that you almost forgot what a stupid angle the Nash one is.

Speaking of which, the Sabin vs. Nash match itself was a lot better than many of us dreaded, with Sabin getting lots of offence in before Alex Shelley interfered and cost Sabin the win. In wrestling terms this makes sense as Nash is the heel and Sabin needs to chase his win against the bigger name (not to mention it opens the door for a Sabin vs. Shelley feud), however that doesn't stop you from wondering just what the whole point of this feud is at times.

Having said that though, the quality of matches which preceded and followed it meant that the mood could not be brought down by this goofy angle. Following this X Division action came the X Division Dream Team of Chris Daniels and AJ Styles taking on NWA tag champs America's Most Wanted. After a couple of early meetings that were close to good, but not quite, both teams brought their A-game and put on one of the best tag matches in TNA history. This was quite simply an amazing match with tons of high flying action from Styles and Daniels, some great heel tactics from the champs and a really strong story that involved Daniels and Styles bringing in a 'neutraliser' to eliminate the unwanted influence of AMW's valet Gail Kim. Unlike at Sacrifice where this match had the potential to steal the show but fell flat, this match not only stole the show, but did so on a card which had 2 other really strong matches on it. If you watch one TNA match this year, make sure it's this one as this is tag team wrestling at it's very, very best.

Speaking of must-see matches, the bout most people were expecting to steal the show at Slammiversary this year was Samoa Joe vs. Scott Steiner. Just as AJ and Daniels are being moved out of the X Division so a new generation can succeed, so it is that Joe has begun his slow but deliberate progress towards being a top heavyweight star for TNA. After teaming with Sting against Jarrett and Steiner last month, Joe continues his ascendancy and his run of taking on the big guns of TNA. In a lot of ways Joe and Steiner are a very similar pair of characters and as a result the build to this match has been fantastic. TNA has gotten more out of Steiner in a handful of promos than WWE did in 6 months and Joe's promo skills have been greatly underated. This old school feud based on simple hatred and a search for respect suits both men's volatile, monster like nature and although this was not a mat classic, this had a great 'big match' atmosphere with Steiner looking better than he has in years. Although still slow in the ring, Joe covered up his weaknesses with some great selling and in return Steiner took enough of a beating that the win seemed believable without him looking a push over. By the time Joe hit the quick powerslam for the three count, both men had given their all and proved to the fans that they both deserved their resepctive positions on the card.

By this point, not even the convoluted nature of the King of the Mountain match could stop this from being a thumbs up show. However before we got to the main event we were introdced to TNA's new face of management, the one and only Jim Cornette. Although only an on-air character at the moment, Cornette brings an element of credibility to TNA. Not to mention being one hell of a talker. Just as he did to ROH earlier in the year, Cornette makes a great authority figure and will hopefully allow more things to make sense in TNA.

Unfortunately he arrived too late to stop the ridiculous King of the Mountain match from closing out the who. I could go on for hours about what a stupid concept for a match this is. I could go on for pages and pages about what ridiculous booking it was to have Christian put his belt up in a match where he didn't have to be pinned to lose it and that no previous champ has defended his title in, however that is a rant for another day. TNA have made this match important to the fans and it has become something of a signature match for them, whether that is right or wrong. As far as the match itself was concerned, all the men involved worked really hard (as you would expect from the likes of Christian Cage, Ron Killings and Abyss) but the match lacked a clean and decisive finish, which is something TNA have developed something of a habit of relying on as a way to get their fans to watch Impact. However despite this lack of a clean finish, TNA did manage to create a memorable climax to the show, with the fans peppering the ring with garbage as Jeff Jarrett climbed the ladder to his hollow victory. Whatever the merits of Jarret winning is debatable, however, thanks to a strong undercard, this show managed to save itself from being a turkey and has built some interesting angles for the next few weeks of TV.

Verdict: B+
"If TNA can continue to put on shows as good (if not better) than this then they have a chance of putting up a fight against WWECW. With at least 3 matches worth going out of your way to see, this is one of TNA's best shows of 2006. The tag match is worth geting the show for alone! However with strong X Division action and a great hard hitting match between Joe and Steiner this is what a TNA show should be all about - 3 hours of quality wrestling entertainment and not a zombie in sight!"