Travicity
10-17-2010, 08:04 PM
Here's the report of TNA Live at the MetroCentre in Rockford, IL.
First, attendance was very low. While the floor was full, I'd say the lower level was 15% full at best, and that's with 1/6th of the seats curtained off. Also, I was disappointed with the final lineup. Nothing against the folks that were here, but the inital promotion was based on six wrestlers
: Rob Van Dam, Jeff Jarrett, Mr. Anderson, Abyss, D’Angelo Dinero, and Samoa Joe. Two of them (RVD, Dinero) didn't appear, two of them (Jarrett, Joe) had an under one minute match, and one (Anderson) was injured, although that was an understandable excuse. That said, the matches that we did get were a lot of fun.
Jeremy Borash came out to warm up the crowd with the spiel about backstage passes. However, someone came from the back to say that a wrestler wasn't going to allow it. That turned out to be Jeff Jarrett. He said that while he made several TV and radio appearances today, saying what a great interactive show it is, he talked to Hogan and Bischoff on the phone, and they said those days are over. This brought out Samoa Joe, and this apparently led to a match.
1. Samoa Joe defeated Jeff Jarrett. Not even 30 seconds long, a few punches and a musclebuster for the win. I didn't hear a bell, although there was a three count. Joe said “they” aren’t here, so nothing is going to stop it. Unless he was part of the pre-show meet and greet, this was Joe's only appearance of the night, so that was disappointing, but the crowd was into everything.
2. Jay Lethal defeated Douglas Williams to retain the X-Division Championship. A fun real opener, with the crowd into it.
3. Angelina Love defeated Madison Rayne. Rayne was not announced as the champion, although she was starting on Friday. The match began with the now traditional ass-shaking entrance competition, which they did a few times, until Rayne hit a cheap shot on Love. Decent match, if not great. Crowd was only mildly into it.
4. Beer Money defeated Orlando Jordon and Eric Young. Orlando's attire puts Zach Ryder's to shame. One of the better comedy matches I've seen. Orlando's character of a modern day Rico, while at the same time being the straight man to EY's routine, can be a lot of fun. Some of the moments include Eric and Robert running the ropes for a full minute until Robert passed out, one of Beer Money's tights being pulled down, and of course Eric going to the other corner to wrestle Jordon. The real kicker was when Eric tore off his pants to reveal Beer Money tights, and got in on the BEER..... MONEY pose and chant. Of course, this lead to their double team move on Eric for the win.
Intermission
5. Rhyno defeated Matt Morgan. An all right match, but nothing notable from what I can recall.
6. Tommy Dreamer defeated Abyss in a Monster’s Ball. OK, I know he has tenure over Dreamer in TNA, but there is something quite wrong when Earl Hebner comes out to Man in a Box, while Tommy Dreamer has to come out to an in-house cover of it. Anyway, the match was decent enough. We primarily saw the use of trash cans and lids. Dreamer went to do his corner drop kick, but after the crowd chanted E! C! W!, he stopped, pointed to his TNA shirt, and did them do it again with the crowd chanting T! N! A! Thumbtacks were brought in and laid out. At the end, Abyss brought out Janice, but before he could use it, Mr. Anderson ran out, threw a chair right at his head (hold your letters, he was holding his hands up), and he fell back onto the tacks. Dreamer then with the Dreamer DDT for the win. Afterward, Anderson announced Dreamer as the winner in his usual style.
To close the show, Anderson got to be in the ring for photos at $20 a group.
Other notes: JB and Douglas Williams held a Tweet-in-Greet outside the venue before the show. It literatly lasted no more than three minutes, as the first couple fans got backstage passes, and the dozen fans that arrived got a group photo with Williams.…Atlas Security were in charge and largely did a good job in getting lines moving...Don West came out before the doors opened to explain that only TNA-licensed merchandise could be signed at the autograph table, and to also sell the “golden ticket”, a program guide. There were 24 backstage passes available for purchase for $50. This included the $20 in ring photo, so that's a pretty nice deal. Two adults, or two adults and a child, were allowed per pass. This was not available in Racine, so I’m thinking it’s allowed based on their available “backstage space.” Here, they had a wide open area on the venue floor, so they had plenty of room for dozens and dozens of fans...Beer Money signed before the show. They also allowed you to get a camera photo with them if you had the new Beer Money shirt. Angelina Love signed at intermission, while Jeff Jarrett signed after the show...Don West had several deals throughout the evening. First was the usual Brown Bag special: 4 random DVDs and a T-Shirt for $20. Later on, he had several Bound For Glory posters
signed over the weekend by several stars including Sting and RVD. They sold for $75 at the event, and will go on the website for $150, but he made a few available for $50. And finally, during his signing, Jeff Jarrett 8x10s were half price for $5...A TNA logo video was shown on the center screens above the floor, something I never see used on a house show for any company. A minor thing, but something that can add a bit to the overall presentation.
Overall, I feel the wrestling was a little light, with there only being five real matches, but they do let you get up close with everyone, so I think it's a great experience for a young kid, family viewpoint.
PWI
First, attendance was very low. While the floor was full, I'd say the lower level was 15% full at best, and that's with 1/6th of the seats curtained off. Also, I was disappointed with the final lineup. Nothing against the folks that were here, but the inital promotion was based on six wrestlers
: Rob Van Dam, Jeff Jarrett, Mr. Anderson, Abyss, D’Angelo Dinero, and Samoa Joe. Two of them (RVD, Dinero) didn't appear, two of them (Jarrett, Joe) had an under one minute match, and one (Anderson) was injured, although that was an understandable excuse. That said, the matches that we did get were a lot of fun.
Jeremy Borash came out to warm up the crowd with the spiel about backstage passes. However, someone came from the back to say that a wrestler wasn't going to allow it. That turned out to be Jeff Jarrett. He said that while he made several TV and radio appearances today, saying what a great interactive show it is, he talked to Hogan and Bischoff on the phone, and they said those days are over. This brought out Samoa Joe, and this apparently led to a match.
1. Samoa Joe defeated Jeff Jarrett. Not even 30 seconds long, a few punches and a musclebuster for the win. I didn't hear a bell, although there was a three count. Joe said “they” aren’t here, so nothing is going to stop it. Unless he was part of the pre-show meet and greet, this was Joe's only appearance of the night, so that was disappointing, but the crowd was into everything.
2. Jay Lethal defeated Douglas Williams to retain the X-Division Championship. A fun real opener, with the crowd into it.
3. Angelina Love defeated Madison Rayne. Rayne was not announced as the champion, although she was starting on Friday. The match began with the now traditional ass-shaking entrance competition, which they did a few times, until Rayne hit a cheap shot on Love. Decent match, if not great. Crowd was only mildly into it.
4. Beer Money defeated Orlando Jordon and Eric Young. Orlando's attire puts Zach Ryder's to shame. One of the better comedy matches I've seen. Orlando's character of a modern day Rico, while at the same time being the straight man to EY's routine, can be a lot of fun. Some of the moments include Eric and Robert running the ropes for a full minute until Robert passed out, one of Beer Money's tights being pulled down, and of course Eric going to the other corner to wrestle Jordon. The real kicker was when Eric tore off his pants to reveal Beer Money tights, and got in on the BEER..... MONEY pose and chant. Of course, this lead to their double team move on Eric for the win.
Intermission
5. Rhyno defeated Matt Morgan. An all right match, but nothing notable from what I can recall.
6. Tommy Dreamer defeated Abyss in a Monster’s Ball. OK, I know he has tenure over Dreamer in TNA, but there is something quite wrong when Earl Hebner comes out to Man in a Box, while Tommy Dreamer has to come out to an in-house cover of it. Anyway, the match was decent enough. We primarily saw the use of trash cans and lids. Dreamer went to do his corner drop kick, but after the crowd chanted E! C! W!, he stopped, pointed to his TNA shirt, and did them do it again with the crowd chanting T! N! A! Thumbtacks were brought in and laid out. At the end, Abyss brought out Janice, but before he could use it, Mr. Anderson ran out, threw a chair right at his head (hold your letters, he was holding his hands up), and he fell back onto the tacks. Dreamer then with the Dreamer DDT for the win. Afterward, Anderson announced Dreamer as the winner in his usual style.
To close the show, Anderson got to be in the ring for photos at $20 a group.
Other notes: JB and Douglas Williams held a Tweet-in-Greet outside the venue before the show. It literatly lasted no more than three minutes, as the first couple fans got backstage passes, and the dozen fans that arrived got a group photo with Williams.…Atlas Security were in charge and largely did a good job in getting lines moving...Don West came out before the doors opened to explain that only TNA-licensed merchandise could be signed at the autograph table, and to also sell the “golden ticket”, a program guide. There were 24 backstage passes available for purchase for $50. This included the $20 in ring photo, so that's a pretty nice deal. Two adults, or two adults and a child, were allowed per pass. This was not available in Racine, so I’m thinking it’s allowed based on their available “backstage space.” Here, they had a wide open area on the venue floor, so they had plenty of room for dozens and dozens of fans...Beer Money signed before the show. They also allowed you to get a camera photo with them if you had the new Beer Money shirt. Angelina Love signed at intermission, while Jeff Jarrett signed after the show...Don West had several deals throughout the evening. First was the usual Brown Bag special: 4 random DVDs and a T-Shirt for $20. Later on, he had several Bound For Glory posters
signed over the weekend by several stars including Sting and RVD. They sold for $75 at the event, and will go on the website for $150, but he made a few available for $50. And finally, during his signing, Jeff Jarrett 8x10s were half price for $5...A TNA logo video was shown on the center screens above the floor, something I never see used on a house show for any company. A minor thing, but something that can add a bit to the overall presentation.
Overall, I feel the wrestling was a little light, with there only being five real matches, but they do let you get up close with everyone, so I think it's a great experience for a young kid, family viewpoint.
PWI