On this day in history in ....

1902 - George Hackenschmidt defeats Tom Cannon for the European Greco-Roman Heavyweight Title in Liverpool, England, ending Cannon's second reign.

1911 - In their second meeting, Frank Gotch defeats Georg Hackenschmidt in two straight falls to retain the World Heavyweight Title before 30,000 at Chicago's Comiskey Park.

1941 - George Wagner (Gorgeous George) defeats Billy McEuin for the Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Title in Eugene, Oregon, ending McEuin's second reign.

1941 - Pat Barrett is born.

1942 - Jerry Jarrett is born in Nashville, Tennessee.

1944 - Bill Ludwig defeats Billy Williams to win the Florida Junior Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida.

1951 - Ray Gunkel defeats Duke Keomuka for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas.

1953 - Kengo Kimura is born.

1958 - Mario Galento to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

1963 - Georgia Championship Wrestling held a 12-man tournament in Columbus, Georgia to determine the first Georgia NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Champion. The results:
First round:
- Joe McCarthy defeated Randy Curtis.
- George Wolfe defeated Red Dugan.
- Honey Boy Hannigan defeated Rocky Stone
- Chris Averoff defeated The Green Hornet.
- Steve Dalton defeated Dick Barkley.
- Marco Polo defeated Ken Fryer.
Quarterfinals:
- Joe McCarthy defeated George Wolfe.
- Chris Averoff defeated Honey Boy Hannigan.
- Marco Polo defeated Steve Dalton to advance to the final.
Semifinal:
- Joe McCarthy defeated Chris Averoff.
Final:
- Joe McCarthy defeated Marco Polo to become the first Georgia NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Champion.

1964 - Dick the Bruiser and Wilbur Snyder defeat Angelo Poffo and Nicoli Volkoff to become the first two-time WWA World Tag Team Champions.

1968 - Bob Kelly defeats Bobby Fields to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, ending Fields' second reign.

1969 - Bob Kelly defeats The Blue Yankee for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to begin Fields' third reign.

1970 - Buddy Colt defeats Nick Bockwinkel for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia, ending Bockwinkel's second reign.

1970 - Bobby and Jerry Christy win their fourth Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta, defeating Bud and Ray Osborne.

1972 - Jerry Brisco defeats Rip Hawk for the NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Title in Greenville, South Carolina. This began Brisco's second reign and ended Hawk's third.

1972 - Bob Brown and John Quinn defeat Steven Little Bear and Dutch Savage for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in New Westminster, British Columbia, to end Steven and Savage's second reign and begin Brown and Quinn's third.

1976 - Dusty Rhodes defeats Ric Flair in Richmond, Virginia to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title. However, the title change was nullified because Rhodes had his feet on the ropes during the pin.

1977 - TNA star Awesome Kong is born.

1978 - David and Kevin Von Erich defeat Bruiser Brody and Gino Hernandez to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Title in Fort Worth, Texas to begin their second reign.

1980 - Giant Baba defeats Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Title in Saga, Japan, ending Race's fourth reign and beginning Baba's third.

1980 - Roddy Piper defeats Buddy Rose to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title, to end Rose's second reign and begin Piper's second reign.

1986 - WWE star Xavier Woods was born.

1987 - The WWF held its third-annual "King of the Ring" event at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The results were:
First round:
- Haku (with Tama) pinned Brutus Beefcake with a roll-up after Tama distracted Beefcake.
- Rick Martel pinned Dan Spivey with a small package.
- King Kong Bundy defeated The One Man Gang by countout.
- Special Delivery Jones pinned Sika with a small package.
- Danny Davis (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Tito Santana by countout.
- The Junkyard Dog pinned Tama with a cradle.
- Jim Brunzell pinned Ron Bass after a dropkick.
- Randy Savage pinned Nikolai Volkoff after a flying elbowdrop.
Quarterfinals:
- Haku and Rick Martel fought to a 15-minute time-limit draw, with neither man advancing.
- King Kong Bundy pinned Special Delivery Jones after an elbowdrop to advance to the final.
- Danny Davis (with Jimmy Hart) defeated The Junkyard Dog by countout.
- Randy Savage pinned Jim Brunzell after a flying elbowdrop.
Semifinal:
- Randy Savage defeated Danny Davis after a flying elbowdrop.
Non-tournament:
- Jake Roberts defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man (with Jimmy Hart) by disqualification, after Honky hit Roberts with Hart's megaphone. Honky retained the title.
Final:
- Randy Savage defeated King Kong Bundy after a flying elbowdrop to win the King of the Ring tournament.

1989 - Cuchillo defeats Yoshihiro Asai (Ultimo Dragon) for the UWA World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.

1989 - Texas Dirt (Dutch Mantel) defeats Black Bart to win the CWA Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning his second reign.

1990 - Danny Collins defeats Richie Brooks for the British Heavy-Middleweight Title in Croydon, England, to begin his second reign.

1991 - Alex Porteau ends Ricky Santana's third WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title reign in Cataño, Puerto Rico.

1992 - Bestia Salvaje defeat El Dandy for the CMLL World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.

1994 - Pierroth, Jr. defeats Vampiro in Monterrey, Mexico to win the Federación Internacional de Lucha Libre Heavyweight Title.

1995 - "WCW Monday Nitro" debuts on TNT, live from the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The show got a 2.9 rating. "WWF Monday Night RAW" did not air on USA due to U.S. Open tennis coverage. The results were:
- The American Males (Mark Bagwell and Scott Riggs) defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater (with Col. Robert Parker).
- Brian Pillman defeated Jushin Liger.
- WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Sting defeated Ric Flair by disqualification to retain the title. During this match, Lex Luger made his surprise return to WCW. He signed with the company after working for the WWF without a contract for several weeks. In fact, Luger had just wrestled for the WWF the night before in Saint John, New Brunswick.
- WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Big Bubba Rogers to retain the title.

1996 - Vance Nevada wins his fourth Canadian Junior Heavyweight Title in Winnipeg, Manitoba, from J.T. Atlas.

1997 - IWA Mid-South held an event in Louisville, Kentucky. The results:
- Reckless Youth defeated The American Kickboxer to win the vacant IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title.
- Mad Man Pondo defeated Ox Harley in a Make a Wish match.
- Blaze defeated Salvatore Sincere.
- The Misfits (Derek Domino and Harley Lewis) defeated IWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions The War Machines (#1 and #2) to win the title.
- Pitbull #2 defeated J.R. Ryder.
- The Tower of Doom defeated Twiggy Ramirez.
- NWA World Women's Champion Sherri Martel defeated Debbie Combs in a Dog Collar match to retain the title.
- The Vampire Warrior defeated Ian Rotten.
- IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion Bull Pain defeated Tracy Smothers to retain the title.

1998 - Adam Pearce defeats Billy Joe Eaton in West Allis, Wisconsin to win the Mid American Wrestling Heayweight Title, ending Eaton's third reign.

1999 - Blade Boudreaux becomes the first two-time NWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title in Brownsville, Tennessee, by defeating Don Bass.

2000 - The Monday Night War celebrated its fifth birthday, and the WWF won the night. "RAW is WAR"'s 4.22 rating (hours of 4.20 and 4.23) beat out "WCW Monday Nitro"'s 3.62 rating (hours of 3.20 and 4.04).

"Nitro" was live from Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. The results:
- WCW World Tag Team Champions Juventud Guerrera and Rey Misterio, Jr. (with Disco Inferno, Konnan and Tygress) defeated The Insane Clown Posse (Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J), when Misterio pinned Violent J, to retain the title.
- Sting defeated The Great Muta and Vampiro in a War Games Qualifying Handicap match, by pinned Sting after the Scorpion Death Drop.
- Booker T pinned Stevie Ray after a Book End in a War Games Qualifying match.
- Kronik (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) defeated Ernest Miller (with Ms. Jones) in a War Games Qualifying Handicap match after the High Times.
- Goldberg pinned Shane Douglas (with Torrie Wilson) after the Jackhammer in a War Games Qualifying match.
- The Natural Born Thrillers (Mark Jindrak, Sean O'Haire, Chuck Palumbo, Reno, Mike Sanders and Shawn Stasiak) defeated Big Vito in a Handicap match, when Sanders got the pin after O'Haire hit a Seanton Bomb.
- WCW World Heavyweight Champion Kevin Nash defeated Brian Adams, Booker T, Goldberg, Heavy D, Ernest Miller, Vince Russo and Scott Steiner in a War Games match to retain the title.

"RAW is WAR" was live from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The results were:
- Kane defeated Chris Benoit by disqualification after Benoit hit Kane with a chair. The match was to decide the #1 contender to the WWF Title at "Unforgiven".
- The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) defeated The A.P.A. (Bradshaw and Faarooq) (with Kaientai (Taka Michinoku and Funaki)) in a Tables match, when Bubba Ray powerbombed Bradshaw backwards through a table as he tried to superplex D-Von through it.
- Eddie Guerrero defeated Kurt Angle and WWF Intercontinental Champion Chyna by disqualification, by pinning Chyna, to win the title. Angle had hit Chyna with the belt and run off, with Guerrero appearing to give chase. He checked on the unconscious Chyna, picking her up off her back and holding her, before leaning back down on top of her for the win. This ended Chyna's third reign.
- Triple H pinned Test (with Albert and Trish Stratus) after the Pedigree.
- WWF Hardcore Champion Steve Blackman pinned The Big Bossman after a superkick to retain the title.
- Road Dogg and Val Venis defeated The Right to Censor (Bull Buchanan and The Goodfather (with Steven Richards)), when Road Dogg pinned Goodfather after a flying forearm.
- Chris Jericho and Jerry Lawler defeated Naked Mideon and Tazz, when Lawler pinned Tazz with a roll-up.
- WWF Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian defeated The Undertaker and WWF Champion The Rock, when Rock was pinned after a Conchairto, to retain the title.

2001 - The WWF held a special live edition of "SmackDown!" on UPN from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, which got a 3.4 rating. The results:
- The Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt (with Lita)) defeated Justin Credible and Raven (with Terri) after Jeff pinned Credible after the Swanton and the Twist of Fate from Matt. Lita gave Terri a Twist of Fate of her own after the match.
- WWF and WCW Tag Team Champion The Undertaker fought Steven Richards to a no-contest, after Taker followed Richards up the aisle and punched him out. We then saw the WWF debut of Kronik, as Brian Adams appeared and kicked over The Undertaker's motorcycle, with Taker attacking Adams for the deed, before Bryan Clark attacking Taker from behind. Both men beat Taker down in the ring before hitting the High Times.
- Test pinned Billy Gunn after a big boot.
- The Big Show defeated WWF European Champion The Hurricane by disqualification when Lance Storm interfered and dropkicked Show when he was about to chokeslam Hurricane. Big Show chokeslammed both men afterwards.
- Booker T (with Shane McMahon), The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) and Rhyno defeated The A.P.A. (Bradshaw and Faarooq), Chris Jericho and WCW Champion The Rock, when Booker pinned Jericho after Rhyno hit the Gore on him while he had Shane McMahon in the Walls of Jericho.
- WWF Hardcore Champion Rob Van Dam pinned WWF Champion Steve Austin with a roll-up after Austin was distracted by Kurt Angle's entrance music and pyro.

2002 - NWA: TNA aired a taped PPV special spotlighting the X-Division. Buck Woodward filed the following PPV report:

NWA: Total Nonstop Action for September 4th was "Special X", an episode devoted to the X-Division.

The program opened with clips of Low Ki, Kid Kash, Ron Killings, Jorge Estrada, Monty Brown, Sonny Siaki, Mike Tenay, and several fans commenting about the X-Division. Then the usual opening video aired.

Jeremy Borash and Goldylocks hosted the special, and introduced the matches.

The Flying Elvises vs. Jerry Lynn, AJ Styles, and Low Ki, the first match in TNA history, from June 19, 2002, was shown. The match was edited, and ended with Jimmy Yang hitting Styles with YangTime for the pin after Low Ki accidentally kicked Styles. Estrada talked about the pressure in being in the first TNA match. Mike Tenay commented on the uniqueness of the Flying Elvises. Yang said he enjoys watching Red, Low Ki and AJ Styles, commenting that he and Styles have been working together for years. Yang & Estrada talked about the X-Division, and Yang compared TNA to WCW, saying he could actually become an impact player here. Sonny Siaki commented that he is the star of the X-Division.

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Psicosis vs. Low Ki, the Double Elimination match for X-Division Title from June 19, 2002 (aired on the 26th) was shown. Ricky Steamboat was the special referee for the match. The match was heavily edited, but all the pinfalls were shown. The final fall saw Styles pin Lynn with Spiral Tap to become the first champion.

They said they would show clips of AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn winning the NWA World Tag Team Title, then showed Lynn asking Bill Behrens for the chance to find a partner and compete in the tournament. No actual clips of the tournament were shown, and a voiceover by Borash led into their first tag title defense, against Slash & Tempest, from July 10, 2002. Styles pinned Tempest after the Spiral Tap to retain the tag titles, after tagging himself into the ring.

The discussion continued to center around Styles and Lynn, and the next match was AJ Styles & Jerry Lynn vs. Flying Elvises from July 24, 2002. This match ended with Lynn pinning Estrada with a slingshot splash while Styles was trying to set for Spiral Tap on Yang, resulting in Styles walking off.

Lynn and Styles backstage brawl from the following week was shown, but there was no voiceover or graphic to say where the brawl was from. Lynn laid out Styles with a piledriver on a road case. A Styles-Lynn in-ring confrontation from the following week was shown, with Lynn cutting a promo on Styles about paying dues and having respect. Styles said he understood, then attacked Lynn and laid him out with the Styles Clash.

They went right into Elix Skipper vs. AJ Styles from July 31, 2002, with no introduction. Styles got the pin with the Spiral Tap. Very little of this match was shown. Lynn and Styles high-fived after this match. They probably should have shown the Mike Tenay interview where Styles and Lynn buried the hatchet.

Clips of Jerry Lynn vs. Low Ki, which was a X-Division #1 contender match, from July 31, 2002 was shown. Styles kicked Lynn from the apron, resulting in Low Ki being disqualified. Styles mouthed off to the downed Lynn, and Low Ki kicked Styles from the ring.

Borash and Goldylocks then talked about the SAT, and how they traveled 16 hours on a bus for their first match in TNA. Clips of Amazing Red vs. Low Ki, which was Amazing Red’s TNA debut, from July 24th was shown. Low Ki won with the Ki Krusher. Clips of The Maximos and Red vs. the Flying Elvises from August 7, 2002, which was the Maximo Brothers debut, was shown next. Sonny Siaki pinned Red after Estrada & Yang hit a double splash/legdrop combo from the top rope on him, in a match where Siaki and the other Elvises weren't getting along.

Mike Tenay talked about the SAT. The Maximos commented on being asked to be on the show. Kid Kash praised them, and Tenay talked about the Spanish Fly. The Maximos then praised Kid Kash, Jerry Lynn and the experienced competition in the company. Sonny Siaki praised Red, and some more clips of his match with Low Ki was shown. Red talked about being influenced by Rey Mysterio and Japanese tapes. The SAT talked about how you only see cruiserweights main eventing in TNA.

The show then focused on Low Ki. Mike Tenay, Jorge Estrada, and The SAT talked about his style, while clips of him in action were shown. Extensive highlights of the AJ Styles vs. Low Ki vs. Jerry Lynn Triple Threat match from August 7, 2002 was shown, which saw the title change hands for the first time as Low Ki pinned Lynn to win the title after a Styles chairshot. Styles came off the top rope with the Spiral Tap onto the two, but since Low Ki was still on top of Lynn, he got the pin.

Goldylocks interviewed Low Ki, who talked about the opportunity he has been given in the NWA:TNA X-Division. He praised the division, and the competitors in it. Low Ki referred to Styles as a "character" and said he takes advantage of situations. He praised Jerry Lynn as being an experienced competitor. Concerning himself, Low Ki said he can only get better. Clips of his first title defense against the Flying Elvises in a four way elimination match from August 14, 2002 was shown. Low Ki won the match by eliminating all three members of the Flying Elvises, finishing with Sonny Siaki after Yang kicked him.

They went right into Low Ki defending the title against the SAT on August 21, 2002 in another four way elimination match. This one ended with Low Ki pinning Red after a second rope Ki Krusher.

Next came the AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn best of three falls match from August 21, 2002. Lynn won the Falls Count Anywhere first fall with a cradle piledriver on the stage. Styles won the second fall, a no DQ match, with a chairshot. The two ended in a tie in the ten minute Ironman third fall, ending the match in a draw. Low Ki laid out both men after the match, then made the challenge for the Triple Threat Ladder match.

Mike Tenay, Ron Killings, and Red talked about AJ Styles, as clips of him in action were shown. AJ talked about how the X-Division was the perfect title for him. Saying it was not a title determined by weight class, but it was a title for people who were extreme. Styles put over Low Ki's kicks, and commended Jerry Lynn's experience. Speaking about himself, Styles said his future is "limitless".

Mike Tenay then talked about the X-Division, saying they steal the shows, and deserve to be in the main events. He feels they can sell tickets as well as the heavyweights. He talked about being impressed with Low Ki, saying as a fan, he is his favorite. Tenay then said his favorite match so far in the X-Division was the Triple Threat Ladder match between Low Ki, AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn, which was taped on August 21, 2002 (aired August 28th). This match was aired next and, like every match on this show, was edited. Lynn won the match, with Low Ki toppling Styles off one ladder to the floor, and Lynn piledriving Low Ki off the middle of a ladder before climbing up to snatch the title belt and the win.

Mike Tenay referred to Jerry Lynn as "the glue that holds the X-Division together". The SAT praised Lynn, and Tenay referred to Lynn as the best wrestler in the division.

Jeremy Borash and Goldylocks hyped the Tag Team Gauntlet for the Gold, which will take place on September 18th.

Goldylocks interviewed Jerry Lynn. Lynn said he was going to take advantage of every minute of TV time he was given with this Division. Lynn said you can't top yourself every time, but you just have to adapt to your opponent and have the best match you can. Lynn said he would like to see an X-Division Invitational every five weeks, to allow some of the best talent on the Independent scene an opportunity. Lynn said his first match with AJ Styles was in Australia, and said he needed an attitude adjustment. He said Low Ki knows his strengths and weaknesses well, and put over his kicking power.

AJ Styles interrupted the interview, shaking Lynn's hand and congratulating him on his title win, but then calling him an "old man" and saying two weeks from now would be a "new beginning". As Styles turned to leave, Low Ki was standing right in his face. Styles cautiously walked around him and away. Low Ki walked up to Lynn, and informed him that Styles was not the only one gunning for him. Jerry Lynn said he welcomed the challenge, and he and Low Ki stood nose to nose to end the show.


2004 - Nuevo Gran Apolo defeats Ray Gonzalez for the IWA World Heavyweight Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. This began Apolo's eighth reign and ended Gonzalez's third.

2004 - PWG held "The Next Show" at the Hollywood-Los Feliz Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles, California. The results were:
- The First Family (Brad Bradley and Babi Slymm (with C. Edward Vander Pyle)) defeated Human Tornado and Supa Badd.
- Chris Bosh defeated Hook Bomberry and Quicksilver in a three-way match.
- Charles Mercury and Top Gun Talwar defeated S.B.S. (Disco Machine and Excalibur).
- The American Dragon defeated The UK Kid.
- The Dangerous Players (Puma, Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero) defeated B-Boy, Christopher Daniels and Bobby Quance.
- Super Dragon defeated Chris Hero.
- Samoa Joe defeated PWG Champion Frankie Kazarian by disqualification. Kazarian retained the title.
- PWG Tag Team Champion Scott Lost defeated PWG Tag Team Champion Joey Ryan in a Ladder match to gain sole possession of the title.

2004 - Steve Madison wins his second NWA Florida Heavyweight Title from Todd Shane in Clearwater, Florida. At the same event, Scoot Andrews defeats Lex Lovett for the vacant NWA Southern Heavyweight Title.

2004 - Jason Cross defeats Onyx in Cornelia, Georgia to win the NWA Wildside Heavyweight Title, to begin his second reign.

2004 - The Psycho defeats Brother Love for the NWA Mississippi Junior Heavyweight Title in Magee, Mississippi, ending and beginning both men's third reign.

2005 - PWG held the second of two events of its first-annual "Battle of Los Angeles" at the Hollywood-Los Feliz Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles, California. The show featured the final three rounds of the 16-man Battle of Los Angeles tournament. The results:
Non-tournament:
- Hook Bomberry, T.J. Perkins (with Ed Powers) and Chris Sabin defeated Disco Machine, Excalibur and Ronin.
Quarterfinals:
- Quicksilver defeated Rocky Romero.
- Chris Bosh defeated James Gibson.
- Bryan Danielson defeated Christopher Daniels.
- A.J. Styles defeated PWG Champion Kevin Steen.
Non-tournament:
- Samoa Joe and NOSAWA defeated Kikutaro and Top Gun Talwar.
Semifinals:
- Chris Bosh defeated Quicksilver.
- A.J. Styles defeated Bryan Danielson.
Non-tournament:
- Jack Evans, PWG Tag Team Champion El Generico, Frankie Kazarian and Super Dragon defeated Scott Lost, Ricky Reyes, Davey Richards and Joey Ryan.
Final:
- Chris Bosh defeated A.J. Styles to win the Battle of Los Angeles.

2007 - Boso Boy Raito defeats Shiori Asahi for the UWA World Middleweight Title in Tokyo, Japan, beginning his second reign. At the same show, Ryota Chikuzen and KAZMA win the Kaientai Dojo STRONGEST-K Tag Team Title from MIYAWAKI and Naoki Tanizaki.

2008 - TNA ran Westbury, Long Island, New York. Mike Johnson filed the following live report:

TNA made their sophomore appearance tonight in Westbury, Long Island at the Capital One Bank Theater. The show opened with Jeremy Borash warming up the crowd.

*Jay Lethal defeated Sonjay Dutt - They started off fast with a back and forth exchange of athletic moves. Dutt hid under the ring to fake out Lethal but it failed as he was hit in the gut coming off the ropes. They did a lot of back and forth athletic moves. The crowd popped for everything easy as it was a family crowd. Lethal scored a two count with a faceplant. Dutt missed coming off the ropes and was nailed with the Lethal Combination. Lethal played to the crowd then went up for the flying elbow. He nailed it for the pin. Crowd pleasing opener, although based on their body language, you never would have guessed these two were feuding for the same girl in a heated rivalry.

*TNA X-Division champ Petey Williams defeated Consequences Creed. Earl Hebner was the referee and had to be held back by Jeremy Borash from leaving the ring when a fan gave him grief about Bret Hart. Williams controlled the match early after some brief Creed offense. This was a little slower paced than the opener with Williams playing to the crowd and posing a la Scott Steiner after hitting offensive maneuvers. He dropped Creed's jaw over his knees. Creed responded with an enziguiri. Creed used that to mount his babyface comeback using a lot of athletic moves. He pressed Williams over his head, then dropped down into a gutbuster for a two count. Williams went for a Sharpshooter and Hebner played off Montreal. Half the crowd yelled for Hebner to ring the bell, which was funny. Creed made it to the ropes. Williams finally nailed the Canadian Destroyer for the pin. Solid back and forth stuff here. Creed has a lot of really innovative moves, so I hope at some point he really gets a chance to showcase himself.

*Awesome Kong defeated Roxxi. Traci Brooks was the special referee. There were people that literally gasped when Kong came out because of her aura as a monster. She also received the biggest heel reaction of the night thus far. Roxxi was accompanied by Brian Powers, a local DJ. Not much of a reaction for Roxxi coming out. Kong played immovable object and when Roxxi bumped off her, then splashed Roxxi. She brought Roxxi around the corners, chopping and choking her. She hit a running splash in the corner. After Kong was in control for several minutes, Roxxi began fighting back with chops and forearms. She took down Kong with a running big boot. Roxxi ducked a spinning backhand. She tried for a suplex, was unable. Kong nailed the Impact Buster for the clean pin. Kong tried to nail Roxxi again, but Brooks tried to stop her. Kong nailed her with an Implant Buster as well. Several officials came to help the babyfaces out.

*TNA Tag Team champions Robert Roode & James Storm (with Jacqueline) vs. Eric Young & Johnny Devine. Johnny Devine came out and said he was booked into an unusual situation by TNA with a Tag Team title match. He said his first choice of a partner, The Iron Sheik wasn't available, so he chose Eric Young since Young hated Bobby Roode more than anyone during the days of Team Canada. The Sheik joke didn't get over live. Even though he's "not" Super Eric, Young came out in his tights. The Beer Money, Inc. ring entrance comes off pretty polished with Roode especially looking like a well traveled veteran heel. You can really sense he's got the right swagger for the role. Storm began ripping on the local sports team and was pretty entertaining in doing so. Young took the mic and said when his mom dropped him off today, he didn't know he was going to be in a tag title match but was happy to have one, hoping he could party like a champ with all the New York fans. The fans chanted "Brokeback Mountain." They did lots of basic tag stuff early with the makeshift challengers catching the champs with armbars and hiptosses. The champs came back with double team moves. Storm missed a charge in the corner on Devine and crotched himself. Young made the hot tag. They did an spot where Young hit an airplane spin into a DVDR on both but when he spun, he nailed Devine. When Young went for the pin, Devine threw him out of the ring and turned on him. He then walked into a Storm superkick and was pinned. Devin started trashing Young on the mic. Young morphed into Super Eric under the ring. The music played and he emerged to lay out Devine.

*Booker T vs. Christian Cage - Cage played to the crowd asking how many peeps he had in the house. They did lots of playing to the crowd. After some back and forth, Cage missed a top rope splash. Booker used a scissor into a sunset flip for a two count. He missed an Axe Kick and hit with a reverse DDT for a two count. Booker named the Bookend but Cage got his shoulder up. Cage finally hit the Unprettier for the pin. The match didn't receive a bigger reaction than anything on the undercard, which surprised me as both have been coming into the area for years for WWE and WCW. Pedestrian stuff here.

TNA went to intermission, which was a little behind schedule according to a building source, so the show was running a little longer than scheduled at this point.

When Borash returned, he said that after speaking to Jim Cornette on the phone, the next match was changed to a Long Island Tables match. The crowd popped for it.

*Team 3D defeated Abyss & Rhino. Brother Ray grew up in the area and 3D are billed from NYC so they got a big pop coming out. Abyss (who needs to lose the white outfit bad and go back to his old look, in my opinion) and Rhino attacked 3D when they posed on the ropes. Devon and Rhino brawled on the floor and out into the crowd to the back of the theater. The crowd chanted for tables. Lots of brawling crowd shots using drinks and popcorn flying into the air. It settled into a traditional match with tags. Devon got worked over for a long time before Rhino missed a charge in the corner. Ray got the hot tag. He splashed both Rhino and Abyss in the corner at once. Devon did the Wazzup Headbutt off the top on Rhino. They nailed Abyss with 3D through the table for the win. Brother Ray gave a speech and said that as of right now, their contracts had expired and they had a big decision to make. He plugged tomorrow's show and said at the Manhattan Center, the future of "Team 3D...or The Dudley Boyz" would be decided. They brought several kids in the ring. One of them was wearing a WWE shirt, which Bubba ribbed him about, then said, "I like Hunter, Batista's a moron and John Cena's cool." 3D gave the kids pieces of table. Bubba thanked everyone again and said they didn't know what was going to happen but thanked them for the support. Devon did the Testify line and they left to a big pop. In terms of connecting with the audience. 3D was the most over act. Based on the mic work, my guess is they'll announce they signed a new TNA deal tomorrow and everything tonight was an attempt to pop the house since the NYC sales are lackluster.

Jeremy Borash said that they were happy to be in Long Island because Long Island's most popular wrestling fan was backstage. He introduced Mick Foley, who made several laps around ringside. Foley said tonight was one of the first times all his children were at the matches together and had the crowd chant the names of his youngest sons. He said he wouldn't be part of TNA if he didn't love the company and hoped to make an Impact. Short and it seemed like he was there just because he was the hometown guy, not because it was a big historic moment. I don't believe it was even filmed, which will probably be the only time a former WWE champ jumps to the competition and it's not documented for future DVD documentary release.

*TNA World champ Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle. They did lots of mat wrestling holds early. Angle threw Joe out of the ring. Joe sold his leg after landing and Angle started working on it. He tossed Joe in the ring and hit a back suplex. Angle began whipping out suplexes, which the crowd liked. It was a more of an old school match with holds and suplexes. Joe came back with a series of rights and an enziguiri. Joe hit a big running boot to the face and back splash. He caught Angle with a snap powerslam for a two count. Joe cut off an Angle charge in the corner and hit a leg lariat off the ropes. Angle came back and locked on the anklelock. They did lots of reversals until Joe locked on the Joe for the choke. OK main event. Obviously, it wasn't coming close to touching their better PPV bouts.

Joe took the mic after the main event and welcomed New York "to TNA." He said they made a mistake tonight trying to pick a few good fans when they have a crowd full of great ones. He brought out the locker room to sign autographs and take pictures for free to close the show. Joe spent a long time after the show posing for photos for $20 a pop inside the ring. When I left, there were 250-300 fans waiting in line.

Overall, it was a house show. There were no blow away matches and I got the impression that the fans that were there fell into two categories - a small segment of hardcore fans that watch everything and a much larger group of families who came because it was wrestling locally. I didn't get this feeling that it was die-hard TNA fans as much as wrestling fans who wanted to watch some matches. Team 3D were the most over act by far on the entire show, even with names you would think on paper to be "bigger" stars, like Angle and Booker. The show almost felt like the house show performances you'd see the day before a PPV where the purpose was to get through the show and try and send the crowd happy, not physically burn yourself out performing in the ring. If you were an ROH fan, this wasn't the show for you, but I didn't think it was a terrible night of wrestling as nothing was really bad and the only match that really dragged was Booker vs. Cage in my opinion.

Live Notes: They did the usual "backstage pass" spiel and glad handling of the crowd to get the fans into the show. It worked well since it was a big family crowd....The crowd looked to be around the 1,200 mark, down from a sellout last time. Ticket prices were $10 higher this time around....Although LAX wasn't booked, there were shirts for the team everywhere, it appears so not using them on this loop was a mistake...They introduced Earl Hebner as the "Most Infamous Referee in Professional Wrestling History."....Before the show started, they had messages from TNA talent playing over the sound system welcoming fans in NY to the event and telling them how long until belltime. A nice idea....Lots of TNA videogame plugs....TNA sold out of the $20 programs....Although he didn't work the show, they sold Sting shirts. Strangely, they were selling Team 3D and Black Machismo shirts, but only if you asked for them as they weren't displayed with the other merchandise at the gimmick table.....Kurt Angle appeared this afternoon at a local Best Buy, drawing under 100 fans according to one person who attended....Kevin Nash was in NYC for interviews this weekend but didn't appear here....In what had to be a first, there were bootleggers selling TNA shirts outside the venue in the parking lot. I was told there were arrests and merchandise was confiscated, but I can't confirm that at this time....Pat "Simon Diamond" Kenney ran the locker room backstage....Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett were not in attendance...