By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
TNA TV special
Taped March 6-7 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Coca-Cola Roxy
Aired March 31, 2020 on AXS TV
A TNA montage aired to open the show… The broadcast team of Dave Penzer and Scott D’Amore checked in from ringside. Penzer said he was sorry to disappoint viewers who were hoping to see Mike (Tenay) and Don (West). D’Amore joked that viewers would likely be disappointed with them no matter who they were expecting…
1. Hernandez vs. Chase Stevens. The company used a regular four-sided ring that had TNA turnbuckle pads. Hernandez went for an early Border Toss, but Stevens avoided it. A graphic noted that the TNA: No Place Like Home event that was scheduled for this weekend has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The broadcast team had some fun when it came to the confusion over the rules of the King of the Mountain match. Hernandez eventually hit his Border Toss finisher and scored the clean pin…
Hernandez defeated Chase Stevens.
Powell’s POV: Stevens has looked solid in his two in-ring appearances. I wonder if the company will use him in the ring more frequently coming out of this.
The broadcast team hyped the (postponed) pay-per-view and then hyped the various matches on this show. They set up a video package on the TNA Knockouts…
Gail Kim was interviewed. She said she didn’t know who would show up for the Knockouts Gauntlet match from her generation. She said she was excited to see the Knockouts mix it up at the pay-per-view…
Barry Scott, the James Earl Jones voiceover guy, hyped upcoming matches… [C]
Footage aired of Don Callis running through the rules of the Ultimate X match for the first time. A brief Ultimate X video aired…
X Division Champion Ace Austin was interviewed by Jacobs, who noted that Austin had been scheduled to defend his title in an Ultimate X match. “This is a TNA interview, right?” Austin asked. He said he didn’t remember Jacobs competing in TNA. Jacobs said it’s somewhere way down on his Wikipedia list. Austin spoke of wrestling in one Ultimate X match in the past and said there’s nothing he won’t do to keep his title. Austin said he knows something about nonstop action and said that’s what the XXX Division is all about…
2. Suicide and Manik vs. Kid Kash and Johnny Swinger. Penzer said the rumor is that two or three wrestlers have played Suicide. D’Amore said he doesn’t believe it. Penzer said he’s had two of them on his podcast and worked in a plug for it heading into a break. [C]
The heel duo isolated Manik, who eventually made a hot tag. Suicide hit both opponents with superkicks. Suicide was running the ropes when Kash tripped him from the floor. The wrestlers all fought in the ring. Manik and Suicide did dual spider hangsin the ropes and ended up diving onto their opponents. Manik performed a cross body block on Kash, then Suicide performed a swanton bomb and scored the pin…
Suicide and Manik beat Kid Kash and Johnny Swinger.
Scott hyped upcoming segments… [C]
Powell’s POV: Manik was TJP, who used the name and gimmick in TNA. I’m not sure who was under the Suicide hood this week. It was nice to see Kash again. He was excellent in his prime and still did a nice job in this match at age 50.
A comedic video with appropriate music played while current Impact talent tried to explain the rules of the King of the Mountain match. Most of the talent had no clue, but Willie Mack did and said he used to watch the show back in the day so he knows his stuff…
Scott Steiner made his entrance for a promo. He said he’s the reason T&A shows up in TNA, then clarified that he meant tits and ass. He said snowflakes are probably upset, but he doesn’t care because he’s not part of the PC culture. Steiner spoke about teaming with Petey Williams in a four-way tag match at the postponed show. Steiner used Steiner Math while talking about their odds of winning.
Joey Ryan came out to the Cancel Culture music. Ryan spoke as he entered the ring. He said he knew Steiner was famous for Steiner Math, so he wanted him to make a calculated decision. Ryan said Steiner should have been cancelled a long time ago just like TNA was.
Ryan offered him a chance to join Cancel Culture. “It’s time to say goodbye to Big Poppa Pump, and say hello to Big Proverb Pump.” Ryan offered Steiner a handshake to seal the deal. Steiner clotheslined Ryan, then threw him out of the ring. Steiner said Ryan and the other snowflakes can kiss his ass…
Scott hyped the main event… [C]
Powell’s POV: Steiner was Steiner and he cussed just enough to warrant the uncensored billing. He had a serious medical issue at these tapings that led to a heart procedure. There was nothing from his appearance that would have raised any red flags. Fortunately, he’s said to be doing better and has already made an independent appearance since that incident.
Raven explained the creation of his Clockwork Orange House of Fun match. He said it’s only funny when someone gets hurt. He said it’s a match designed to hurt, maim, and scar. He said the match is unstable like its competitors who are a little out of their mind for wanting to be in the match. Raven explained the weaponry and said it can be accessible, but there are times when it’s tied too tight. He also spoke about using two sides of the cage…
3. Rhino vs. Madman Fulton. Rhino started to get the better of Fulton and set up for his Gore finisher. Jake Crist and Dave Crist ran in and attacked Rhino for the DQ.
Rhino beat Madman Fulton by DQ.
Tommy Dreamer ran out to make the save and ended up being outnumbered. The lights went out. When the lights turned on, Raven stood in the ring with a kendo stick in hand. Raven cleared the ring and the fans chanted his name. Raven approached Dreamer in the corner, then extended his hand and helped him to his feet. Once Dreamer stood up, Raven hit him with the kendo stick and left the ring.
Raven went to ringside, hopped the barricade, and left the ringside area. The OVE trio worked over Rhino and Dreamer until Suicide and Manik showed up to make the save. Chase Stevens, Kid Kash, and Johnny Swinger came out. Hernandez ran out and joined in on the brawl. Hernandez cleared the ring, then Kid Kash dove from the top rope onto a pile of wrestlers below. Hernandez ran the ropes and performed his over the top rope dive onto the wrestlers at ringside, then returned to the ring to close the show…
Powell’s POV: They got the shitty finish right, but how can you end a TNA tribute show without a ref bump? Anyway, Rhino, Dreamer, and Raven made this feel like more of an ECW reunion than a TNA reunion despite their TNA history. When Impact first announced this special, I assumed it would be a highlight show and not something that would include first-run matches. And perhaps that would have been the better approach, because the company just didn’t have enough meaningful wrestlers from TNA’s past to make this work. It was fun to hear everyone mocking the rules of the King of the Mountain match and some of the older footage was cool, but the in-ring portion felt like an Impact show that happened to have the TNA name on the big screen and on the turnbuckle pads.
Madman Fulton is a bizarre person to put in a match, considering Petey Williams and Chris Saban both work as backstage agents and are far more related to TNA