Full Credit: Rajah and reader Mark Doyle
TNA’s first-ever live show in Dublin, Ireland took place in the National Stadium on Friday the 16th of January 2009. Despite losing out on talent such as Kevin Nash and Knockout Champion Awesome Kong to injuries, the show went down a storm. Opening with JB offering backstage passes to the loudest fans in attendance, the bill went as follows:
X Division Championship
Alex Shelley (C) vs. Eric Young vs. Doug Williams
Very decent opener with the crowd split between Shelley and Young. England’s Doug Williams was very much the heel here, quite a contrast to the reaction he’ll undoubtedly receive in his homeland days later. After getting in a lot of offense on both oppenents, Young was pinned by Shelley who retained his title.
Knockouts Tag Team Match
Taylor Wilde & ODB vs. The Beautiful People
Good match with a fun moment that saw ODB stealing the Beautiful People’s perfume and Angeline Love’s tiara. The Beautiful People got in a lot of offense and wound up stealing the win.
Samoa Joe vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir
Surprising to see Bashir get in as much offense as he did. Not a fantastic match, but it did a good job of keeping the crowd going, with regular chants of “Joe is gonna kill you”. Joe got the win the the Muscle Buster, believe it or not.
Tag Team Titles No. 1 Contendership Falls Count Anywhere
Team 3D vs. Abyss and Matt Morgan
Good match that briefly spilled into the crowd early on. A beach ball brought by an attendee wound up being used as an unlikely “weapon” by both teams. Abyss took a 3D, Brother Ray and Brother Devon go on to challenge for the Tag Team Titles at the second Dublin show.
After the intermission came a segment with Jeff Jarrett and Mick Foley, with Jarrett thanking the fans for making TNA what it is today and Foley being his usual witty self. However, his trademark cheap pops did not work quite as well as he’d hoped, with the Dublin natives booing his mention of County Cork and the Irish Times newspaper.
Tag Team Titles
Beer Money, Inc. (C) vs. Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed
Solid match most notable for two interesting chants that broke out during it: a chant of “Brokeback Mountain” whilst James Storm was wearing his cowboy hat, and a chant of “Dublin Screwjob” when referee Earl Hebner missed Consequences’ tag and stopped Lethal from entering the ring. Beer Money retain after using a title belt as a weapon.
Main Event
AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle
Excellent, fluid bout that was evenly matched thoughout. Regular back-and-forth chants of “Let’s go AJ”, “Let’s go Angle” broke out, along with the evening’s only chant of “This is awesome!” After a failed attempt at an Ankle Lock, Angle countered a Styles Clash and two Spiral Taps before hitting the Olympic Slam for the victory.
After the match, Angle attempted a further beatdown on Styles which was thwarted by Foley and Jarrett. Foley then booked a match for the following night, Angle versus Jarrett with Foley himself as the ringside enforcer. Jarrett once again thanked those in attendance and promised to return soon.
