The history of TNA is always a delight to look into, and its beginnings is no exception. Case in point: this show was put in jeopardy when one of the ropes broke loose during a dark match, and took a while to be repaired. We open with a sweet cheap explosion graphic and all-out pyro in the Civic Centre. How does TNA choose to open this brand new era of wrestling amazingness? Throughout this lengthy segment, a cheap sounding version of Ode To Joy plays on repeat.
Anyway, Steamboat is here, with the vacant NWA World Championship, and does his best to hype it up as the ultimate goal for wrestlers everywhere. The screech of a guitar, and frosted-tips Jeff Jarrett is here. Ken Sideburns, I mean Shamrock is next out.
Slower guitars, and the party can get started now because Scott Hall is here, coming through the crowd. He also agrees that the battle royal idea sucks β hell, people should just change the channel now, right?
In among the top-booked stars all agreeing the main event is stupid, Jarrett is apparently named as the 1 entrant for the gauntlet match. Our first match is next, nearly twenty minutes in. At least TNA are starting with one of their best in Styles, though they are also starting with a stupid comedy faction as his opponent. The Elvises attack from behind, but all quickly get taken out by stereo dropkicks and rana, and then Lynn is leaping off the top rope, and then AJ is landing a sweet hip toss before getting his head taken off by a running knee, and holy God this is fast-paced.
Styles won as I recall. Lo-Ki, having graced us with his presence on this occasion, is in and man all these guys can go, bumping so well and with no wasted motion. Styles with a cool springboard inverted DDT, before a spinning heel kick almost takes his head off again. Estrada gets thrown to the outside so hard he shoves the barricade back a bit. Suddenly everyone is nailing a series of great looking moves, piledrivers, missile drop kicks and splashes, and somewhere in this amazing series future ECW-On-SyFy mainstay Jimmy Yang gets the pin on Styles in just over six minutes.
