TNA live event
Philadelphia, Pa. at Tower Theater
Report by Dot Net reader Anthony Alston

Going into this show I was wondering how TNA could pull it off as the Tower Theater is concert hall with stage set-up then an arena. Well, TNA put the ring on the stage making this feel like more of play than a pro wrestling show. With that said this was still a solid show that if you attended gave you your money's worth.

1. Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez defeated Robbie E and Robbie T to retain the TNA Tag Titles. This was a pretty solid match that Chavo and Hernandez won in about 12 minutes. Chavo got some interesting heat in this match as several fans in the front questioned his sexual preference. Chavo was a good sport about it and actually played into by smacking Robbie E on the ass at one point as Hernandez held him in a delayed vertical suplex. Chavo even grabbed the mic and returned fire on the fans which everyone ate up.

2. Tara (w/Jessie) defeated Mickie James to retain the TNA Knockouts Title. Tara and Mickie are hot as hell in person. TV does them no justice. Back to the matches: solid match that featured a comedy with Brian Hebner getting a little too touchy feely and getting a smack on the ass from Mickie. The end came when Jessie KO'ed Mickie with the KO title (see what I did there) allowing Tara to pick up the scrapes.

Following the match, Jessie (excuse me Mr. Pectacular) cut a promo tearing into Philly and issued an open challenge which was answered by Bully Ray. Ray got an off the charts reaction from the Philly crowd with a solid round of EC-Dub chants mixed. Ray proceeded to cut the promo of the night which I can't begin to do justice but I will try. He seemed legit touched by the reaction he got. He welcomed Tara and Jessie to "Killadelphia" and make cracks about Jessie having to wake up next to Tara comparing her facial features to Andre the Giant's ass which the crowd popped huge for. Bully acknowledged his storyline suspension and took a poll from the crowd on whether they wanted the match suffice to say we wanted the match.

3. Bully Ray defeated Jessie. Pretty basic comedy match that featured Jessie giving Bully two of the weakest chops you will ever see. The crowd was really into this match which is a testament to Bully Ray. Eventually Ray scored with some chops of his own and it sounded like gunshots going off. Tara attempted to get involved by got a stiff smack on the ass from Ray for her trouble. Match ended on a DQ after Jessie hit a low blow. As Tara and Jessie celebrated, Mickie came back to get a little payback from earlier. She and Bully did the old school wassup on Jessie, who ate some wood (went through a table for those with sick minds lol). In a cool moment Bully gave a piece of the table to a little boy named Nathan and even got the crowd to chant his name. Real classy moment.

Next up was either completely absurd or hilarious take your pick. Our ring announcer for the evening So Cal Val gave a special introduction for Earl Hebner. Apparently he was eye candy for the ladies. Hebner came out to "Man in A Box." He ripped off his ref shirt to reveal his Damn Right I Did It t-shirt and a pair of Hitman shades and did Bret's trademark pose. It was announced that Hebner reffed over 100,000 matches. There was a brief intermisson. It was announced that for you could get the Damn Right
I Did It shirt for $10. Earl and Brian Hebner did a signing at the merch table which many took advantage of.

4. Rob Van Dam defeated Kazarian to retain the X Division Title. The EC-Dub love continued. Karazian came out as the challenger and cut a decent if not
particularly memorable heel promo. RVD was out next and the place exploded. Lots of RVD and ECW chants throughout. Solid match that ended with the 5-Star frog splash.

5. Devon and DOC defeated Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. Devon and DOC came through the crowd. Devon cut a heel promo that featured some classic lines from the ECW days. Out as there opponents were Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle. Both got massive pops. Standard tag match that ended when Angle took a hammer to the head.

There was a brief intermission prior to the main event.

6. Jeff Hardy defeated Bobby Roode and James Storm in a three-way to retain the TNA Title. James Storm was the special guest referee. A solid match with a lot of comedy spots featuring Aries' ass being exposed a few times. Roode and Aries worked together throughout. Roode got mouthy with Storm, who drilled him with a Last Call. Hardy nailed Aries with a Twist of Fate to win. Following the match TNA did their usual house show gimmick where for $20 you could get a picture in the ring wit Hardy. Overall a solid show.       

Notes: The Tower Theater is not a huge building but TNA had a decent turnout. So Cal Val handled the ring announcing and did a solid job with crowd interaction. The crowd was hot all night. The show ran about 2 and 1/2 hours. Well worth it to see a TNA house show when they come to your town. They give you your money's worth.

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