TNA Live Review Dublin Jan 24 2011

Irish fans vote for Flair as TNA Invade Dublin




By Phil Allely



It’s been a heck of a year or so for TNA since they last made the long trip to the UK and Ireland. There have been ups and downs, Monday Night Wars won and lost, star signings gained and star leavings missed, Hulk Hogan and Co. joining the fray with that WWE and so much more in that short space of time. It goes to show though that TNA have grabbed fans attention when even the lack of TNA UK TV coverage (which is now sorted via Freeview, well done Dixie) couldn’t stop almost 2000 very vocal and enthusiastic Irish fans from coming out to see the show this week though.

Fair do’s to TNA they did not skimp on the roster in attendance either, from top to bottom the card had it all, cat fights, brawls, high flying action and some superb crowd-baiting fun and games. One highlight was Ric Flair’s chant and dance-athon to the sound of ‘Flair for Taoiseach’ (Irish President), considering the current political situation in Ireland, the overjoyed Flair’s appointment would not shock this journo.



In the ring things kicked off with the as normal high-octane X Division match. Dublin was treated to a three-way bout for Kazraian’s gold, with the champ opposing Chris Sabin and new boy Mark Haskins. Dragon Gate regular Haskins proved himself to be a worthy TNA roster member by not only keeping up with, but dictating the pace at times, in what was a fast and furious flurry of set-pieces, near-falls and stunning action. Sabin and Haskins failed though, Kaz nailed a brutal finisher to retain his strap.



Next up Earl Hebner tried to steal the show with his picture perfect ‘You Screwed Bret’ set-piece and accompanying hilarious tee shirt and crowd-playing combo. The Knockouts tag match he officiated was a fairly decent affair, Hebner playing his role perfectly, not only becoming a deciding factor, but even sneaking a kiss from current Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne along the way. Tara and Rayne fell to Mickie James and Angelina Love with relative ease, after some good in-ring work from all concerned though.



In a Genesis re-match RVD bettered a slightly out of shape Matt Hardy, both worked their boots off though. Hardy missing a moonsault and Van Dam barely hitting a ringside one onto the concrete to audible gasps, the hugely popular RVD recovered quick and had a blast trundling out his trademark moves and unleashing his ‘five star frog splash’ on a prone Hardy for the win. Hardy was left fuming amidst derogatory chants as RVD claimed another win for himself.



The TNA Tag Team Championships were on the line next and the re-formed duo of (UK nationals) Magnus and Douglas Williams were already on dodgy ground before they even tackled champs Beer Money Inc. With Ric Flair at ringside to manage his Fortune buddies the match was a superb mix of comedy, action and set-pieces, the aforementioned dance/chant, Flair’s ring-mastership, Roode and Storm’s abilities and those of Magnus/Williams all made this a match of the night for many (including yours truly). Beer Money kept their belts after a few heelish tactics worked in their favour and they wiped the cocky smiles off their British opponents, to great applause from the Irish fans.



The penultimate match-up saw TNA founder Jeff Jarrett pair up with The Pope to tackle the little and large duo of Matt Morgan and Shannon Moore. The pairings worked well together and had the crowd whipped up into a frenzy too, pulling those long-lost Rock‘n‘Roll Express hot tag moments out of the bag. Jarrett and Pope however couldn’t overcome the combination of speed and strength their opposing team had though, Morgan and Moore taking the win and savouring their moment.



Finally after a hot and exciting night of top class action it all boiled down to TNA Heavyweight Champion Mr Anderson getting his hands of his nemesis Jeff Hardy. Whilst not on a par with the ‘classic’ tag match earlier, the guys worked hard. They threw everything they had into the mix, near-falls, ref bumps, run-ins and some stiff action. Even with the help of his brother Matt, Jeff fell to Anderson’s ‘mic check’ finisher to keep the gold with the (a**hole) leader.



The surprise post-match party (which is something TNA love to do) saw Flair, Beer Money, Mickie James and many others join Anderson and Dixie Carter in sharing a few beers and Dixie promising the crowd that TNA will not only be back on these shores, but on our screens very soon to ( a promise which she fulfilled a few hours later via Sun Sport).



The TNA live experience is one not to be missed and just goes to show that the company want to give their fans as much as they can, no one holds back or goes through the motions, the action never stops and with Jeremy Borash as host things never slow down a beat. Roll on Maximum Impact IV.

TNA Turning Point 2010: Review

Turning Point 2010: Salute to Sabu!

By Phil Allely

With financial strains hitting the global market place and everyone tightening their belts TNA have been on a roll as of late, producing some top notch PPV’s that have gotten the fans attention and their rivals the WWE wondering just who the company or going to sign next or what kind of surprise storyline they will pull out of the bag next in search of those all important ratings.

Turning Point had a few things going against it form the get go. Main event star Mr Anderson was on the injured list, after a mistimed Jeff Hardy chair shot left him concussed and replacement Matt Morgan had had very little time to hype up his World Title shot. Hulk Hogan was still out of action due to his recent back surgery and he was a big part of the main storyline of the Immortals taking over the company from President Dixie Carter.

The event opened decently with newcomer Robbie wrestling the X Division Title from the proud hands of the always impressive Jay Lethal. E’s win coming from some timely interference by Cookie, Lethal’s loss didn’t go down too well with the crowd either.

Former WWE divas Mickie James and Tara met finally one-on-one next, the pair had a lacklustre match at times, which ended in a no contest, but the ensuing brawl (which ran throughout the PPV) certainly proved that both still have it in them to pull of a good bout and perhaps reboot the Knockouts Division.

TNA’s most underrated tag team met their most decorated next, champions The Motor City Machineguns facing the 23 time former gold holders Team 3D in what promised to be 3D’s last match as a unit. In-ring wise the Guns shone as only they can, outperforming their brawling counterparts, but it worked and as the pendulum swung between the teams the thought of 3D raising a 24th set of straps did cross many minds. The near falls, table related spots and Guns’ suicidal moves all whipped things up nicely for the finish, Sabin and Shelly retaining after overcoming their larger foes. All four showing mutual respect after the decision.

EV2 members Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer had set their sights on a match of the night no doubt, but unfortunately an untimely injury to Dreamer halted that slightly, but their fight came pretty close. The pair however didn’t let Dreamer’s (nasty looking) broken wrist slow them down. Both reliving their hardcore arena days by utilising the ring barriers, a ladder and anything else they could to brutalise each other. RVD nailed a lovely five star frog splash to win the bout and in turn cement his friendship with Dreamer and allegiance to EV2.

The EV2/Fortune feud steamrolled on with a member of the losing teams career on the line. The odds quickly became stacked against EV2 as Kendrick was carted off after Douglas Williams nailed him hard. The remaining members gave their all, Sabu especially turning the clock back a few years to put in an above par performance. UK star Williams was also impressive in his role as Fortune’s technical wizard and hard-hitter. Things quickly broke down as the teams began to take each other out and fight around the ring, Style and Sabu ended up facing off and as they traded some high spots the frustrated Sabu (who is legitimately leaving TNA) fell to a well adapted Styles Clash to lose his spot on the roster and the match for his team.

Pope D’Angleo Dinero’s Lumberjack match with Abyss was a well planned affair, rising star Dinero had been a pawn in the monsters recent mind game sand this was his chance to settle things. Having his ‘Congregation’ as the lumberjacks was a plus point too in his favour against his larger and crazier opponent. The Congregation and a certain Immortal front man called Eric Bischoff would ensure The Pope’s dominance was short-lived, Bischoff allegedly paying Pope’s friends and brother to turn on him in favour of cold hard cash. Their attack on Pope and subsequent beat down leading to his loss to Abyss.

Samoa Joe versus Jeff Jarrett was a reasonable scrap, both swapping the advantage as things got serious. A ref bump and interference from Eric Bischoff’s security team saw Jarrett nail Joe with a nightstick and lock on Joe’s ‘rear naked choke’ for an unpopular win.

The main event saw unlikely title contender Matt Morgan face off against the unbelievably ‘over’ Jeff Hardy. The David and goliath style match had some good moments., each man jockeying for space to unleash a power move or crazy set-piece. The referee causing the end as he called a definite three count a two as Hardy kicked him, but not out of the pin. Morgan failed to reclaim his momentum afterwards and fell to a ‘whisper in the wind/twist of hate combo‘.

Hardy celebrated with Fortune as the show went of the air.

Turning Point had some fairly decent moments, but TNA do need to keep their eye on the ball and not get complacent. Even without Hogan, Angle, Sting and others the roster is filled with eager and willing guys who just need the chance to shine on the big stage. TNA have all the components and momentum building to freshen up their product and tackle the big boys, fingers crossed this continues in 2011.

TNA The Pope Interview

The Pope Will Arrive In January 2011!

By Phil Allely

TNA’s Pope D’Angelo Dinero is scheduled to appear on the companies January 2011 UK/Ireland tour, but prior to that he chatted to Phil Allely about some other ‘Pope’ stealing his limelight on these shores, and his World Championship aspirations amongst other things.

The Pope is currently visiting the UK, will you as TNA’s Pope be hoping to make as big a splash across the news as he has?

Of course I will I’ll be a part of the next UK Tour (January 2011 tickets on sale now). I can’t wait, in fact I’ve had so many people emailing me asking was I already in the UK.
They needed educating that only when I make it to the UK next year, will the ‘Pope’ really arrive. Unlike the other pope I preach what I wish to my congregation, there no one holding me back from speaking my mind and saying what I think. The Pope will make an Impact! (pun intended) when I travel with TNA to the UK and Ireland.

TNA’s flagship PPV Bound For Glory is just around the corner will you be on the card?

Last year I had an unfortunate situation that saw me miss BFG, this year I can guarantee that The Pope will be there.

I am currently talking backstage to get myself included in a possible four way at BFG, I may have lost my match against Anderson (at the No Surrender PPV), but the other two guys currently in the three-way (Jeff Hardy, and Kurt Angle) lost too in their semi final match, as there was no winner.
I want the Pope to face them all in a world title match.
However if that doesn’t happen I want to be a part of the show in some way, I don’t care who it’s against.

Coming from the WWE to TNA you were already reasonably well known as a wrestler, does that mean you don’t think of yourself as a TNA Original?

You know what that is a great question, kudos to you for asking, you see the pope arrived in TNA and he is more popular, bigger, better and higher profile than Elijah Burke ever was. So yeah I (The Pope) am a TNA original, I consider myself that and know my congregation do too. I’m a TNA original alright.

You seemed to be on the receiving end of a big push (and possible TNA title run) when an injury halted it, is that the case in your eyes?

I never had a push, that’s an over used word.
I wasn’t like Goldberg, Stone Cold or The Rock being thrown full throttle into things, by beating record numbers of guys, 3:16 spouting or turning heel, like they did to get a push.
I wasn’t pushed (by TNA) I was given an opportunity.
I took my opportunity and ran with it, my push was coming, but I got there first.
The Pope is ‘going to be’ the next TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
Out of the whole TNA roster is there someone you look up to or would relish a match with?

Sting as a dream opponent for me, I think he needs that something in a foe to motivate him (that creates a fire inside himself and spark between them), he is at his best when he is having fun (at this stage of his career you can see he does that) , you see the best of sting when he is enjoying being in the ring.
When I was in the WWE I longed to meet Sting and now I’m in the locker room with him, he has a unique ability to entertain a crowd.
Sting is the reason I watched TNA in the first place, he is an inspiration.
Ric Flair is the same, even when he is talking as ‘crazy Ric’, he is totally entertaining and you have to watch him.

You clearly know your stuff wrestling wise and have your own inspirational heroes working in the same company as yourself, does that affect your working with or locker room meetings with guys like Sing and Flair?

TNA’s locker room is a humbling place, it’s baffling too for me, as some other don’t feel as humble as The Pope does.
I appreciate these legends, I remember coming in off 12 hour shifts to watch these guys on WCW and I always dreamed to work for WCW, (thankfully it went bust and I didn’t though) ,but now I’m in TNA with them and its amazing to remember watching Sting being beaten up by the Horsemen, or watch Flair cut a classic promo and now I’m there centre ring meeting Hogan (Impact recently)and he’s there calling my congregation and using my moves instead of cupping his ear. It’s unbelievable really.

TNA’s tag team division is one of its prized possessions, will the Pope ever grace that area of the company?

No come on the pope wants the limelight for himself (laughs), it would take a really good reason to make him go that way.
Unless of course I get some lovely ladies as my team mates, then all bets are off and I’ll be there.


Watch out UK as TNA’s Pope prepares to preach to his congregation on these shores next January and catch up with his title chase each week on Impact! And the monthly PPVs.

TNA’s Bound For Glory Pay-Per-View is live this Sunday night in the US Oct 10th and will be shown live here in the UK the following Friday, check back