NWA:TNA Wrestling Insider
David Lawrence
Issue date: 3/31/03 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
March 31, 2003
Singer Jim Croce once said, "You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind."
He should have added "You don't challenge a guy who let himself into your locker room using a chainsaw as a key," which A.J. Styles did to start off Total Nonstop Action with a bang, proving his devotion to that wonderful instrument of destruction known as the chainsaw when he almost made Glen "The Gift" Gilberti sing a few octaves higher.
The best match of the night was the phenomenal Jerry Lynn versus Konnan match. No partners, no run-ins; just two men fighting. This match was everything that TNA is doing right and the World Wrestling Entertainment is doing wrong. You don't need special effects to entertain the crowd if the action in the ring is sound. Jerry Lynn defeated Konnan. While the match could certainly have lasted longer, it was pretty good wrestling regardless of the duration. Lynn continues to impress me every time I see him.
Sadly, this would be the match of the night as, in some bizarre joke on the bookers of Monday Night Raw, Dusty Rhodes took on David Flair in a Bunkhouse Brawl, similar to a hardcore rules match. Now, if someone offered me the chance to see a Flair/Rhodes match 20 years ago, I would have jumped at the chance. Seeing how Dusty is apparently trying to grow another head under his chin and David Flair can barely master the art of convincing turnbuckle grabs, I think I would have to rethink that offer today. Rhodes mopped the ring with Flair's head, but he was beaten postmatch by Brian Lawler and Eric Watts.
After that came a Sadistic Madness match between Sports Entertainment Xtreme, represented by the tag team champs Elix Skipper and Christopher Daniels along with the Harris Brothers, versus the Disciples of the New Church. The Sandman sided with the Disciples to help even the odds, and he brought in a surprise guest: former WWE and ECW superstar Perry Saturn.
Triple X carried out the real grunt work with the Harris brothers just wasting space. A lot of near falls came when Ron 'The Truth' Killings rushed out and attacked the Harris Twins. It's never a bad thing, but when he brought yet another surprise guest out, that's when things got ugly. And when I say ugly, I mean it, as his guest was none other than former WWE star Viscera, who some of you might remember as Mabel from Men On a Mission.
Saturn pinned the crushed remains of Ron Harris after Viscera nailed him with a Fat Bomb. I think Killings is at his best when he is a tweener, but the TNA booking seems to be flip flopping on what to do with him. Last time he turned on Jeff Jarrett, now he beat up Ron Harris. Not that a beaten-up Ron Harris a bad thing, mind you, but it still couldn't hurt to show some direction.
To see the next show, all you have to do is head on up to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. General admission is $10, and ringside seats are $15.
Singer Jim Croce once said, "You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind."
He should have added "You don't challenge a guy who let himself into your locker room using a chainsaw as a key," which A.J. Styles did to start off Total Nonstop Action with a bang, proving his devotion to that wonderful instrument of destruction known as the chainsaw when he almost made Glen "The Gift" Gilberti sing a few octaves higher.
The best match of the night was the phenomenal Jerry Lynn versus Konnan match. No partners, no run-ins; just two men fighting. This match was everything that TNA is doing right and the World Wrestling Entertainment is doing wrong. You don't need special effects to entertain the crowd if the action in the ring is sound. Jerry Lynn defeated Konnan. While the match could certainly have lasted longer, it was pretty good wrestling regardless of the duration. Lynn continues to impress me every time I see him.
Sadly, this would be the match of the night as, in some bizarre joke on the bookers of Monday Night Raw, Dusty Rhodes took on David Flair in a Bunkhouse Brawl, similar to a hardcore rules match. Now, if someone offered me the chance to see a Flair/Rhodes match 20 years ago, I would have jumped at the chance. Seeing how Dusty is apparently trying to grow another head under his chin and David Flair can barely master the art of convincing turnbuckle grabs, I think I would have to rethink that offer today. Rhodes mopped the ring with Flair's head, but he was beaten postmatch by Brian Lawler and Eric Watts.
After that came a Sadistic Madness match between Sports Entertainment Xtreme, represented by the tag team champs Elix Skipper and Christopher Daniels along with the Harris Brothers, versus the Disciples of the New Church. The Sandman sided with the Disciples to help even the odds, and he brought in a surprise guest: former WWE and ECW superstar Perry Saturn.
Triple X carried out the real grunt work with the Harris brothers just wasting space. A lot of near falls came when Ron 'The Truth' Killings rushed out and attacked the Harris Twins. It's never a bad thing, but when he brought yet another surprise guest out, that's when things got ugly. And when I say ugly, I mean it, as his guest was none other than former WWE star Viscera, who some of you might remember as Mabel from Men On a Mission.
Saturn pinned the crushed remains of Ron Harris after Viscera nailed him with a Fat Bomb. I think Killings is at his best when he is a tweener, but the TNA booking seems to be flip flopping on what to do with him. Last time he turned on Jeff Jarrett, now he beat up Ron Harris. Not that a beaten-up Ron Harris a bad thing, mind you, but it still couldn't hurt to show some direction.
To see the next show, all you have to do is head on up to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. General admission is $10, and ringside seats are $15.
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