A report from the TNA house show in Joplin, MO, courtesy Nick Graham and Wrestling Observer:
This was my first time at a TNA show, and even if the TV show reverts to horrible Russo/Jarrett crash TV, it will not be my last. This was about 1/3 the price and 5 times the fun of any WWE show I’ve been to. Walking into the relatively small and packed Joplin Memorial Hall (max capacity 2712) and seeing Don West and Team 3D at the merchandise stand ten feet from the front door was surreal, but gave a good feel for how much more intimate TNA shows feel from the WWE ones I’ve attended at Kemper Arena and the Sprint Center. The building was packed – if it was not sold out it was incredibly close, to the point where the front hallway of the building was pretty much impenetrable during intermission.
JB and the director came out to thank the crowd and let everyone know that the loudest people in the crowd throughout the night would be given backstage passes.
Chris Sabin beat Jay Lethal w/ a flying tornado DDT – GREAT opener that fired up an already hot crowd.
Tara beat ODB with the Widow’s Peak – ODB was actually the babyface with the crowd for most of the match, but that’s not surprising in Southwest Missouri. Shark Boy was the guest ref, and was highly over. This was the first match where I noticed a 10-11 year old fat kid with no shirt on in the front row, jawing with ODB. Written in sharpie across his ample frame – “FUTURE TNA SUPERSTAR”. He was a dead ringer for Horace from The Monster Squad and Chunk from The Goonies, and he would later become the star of the evening.
JB came out to give out some backstage passes, and pretty much had to give one to the fat kid in the front row, though implored him “But before you come backstage….put a shirt on.”
Samoa Joe beat Abyss with the Kokina Clutch in a solid match, though Joe works much better when he can play the bully. Two faces in a monster vs monster match-up lacked chemistry, and it came across pretty flat, though both guys were over, especially Joe.
I *believe* it was at this point JB came out and introduced “the most infamous referee in wrestling history – Earl Hebner.” However, before the introductions could begin, the director came out with some “legal documents” stating that Earl had been suspended indefinitely, with JB mentioning they were signed by Hulk Hogan. Earl was beside himself, and had to be removed and carried by two very large security men. Earl would return during the main event in an attempt to help Mr. Anderson steal a win, but would be thwarted once again.
Matt Morgan & Hernandez beat Team 3D when Bubba took a top rope splash from Hernandez after getting the Carbon Footprint from Morgan in a really good match. After the match, Bubba hyped up the crowd and led them in a TNA chant, pimped an event poster signed by all the guys in the back, and thanked everyone for coming. He and D-Von then noticed the aforementioned topless fat kid in the front row, and told him to come up into the ring. The kid immediately proceeded to do the Hulk Hogan cup the ear routine, which led D-Von to join with him in re-enacting the entire Hulk Hogan post-match routine while Bubba crumpled into the ropes with laughter. The kid got the signed poster on top of his backstage pass. This kid was possibly the greatest thing I have ever seen in 26 years of wrestling fandom. Lord willing this ends up on YouTube soon.
At this point we had a 20 minute intermission, JB directed all backstage pass holders backstage, including the shirtless kid, and the front entrance way to Memorial Hall became an absolutely impenetrable mass of humanity.
The Pope beat Desmond Wolfe with the Elijah Express (running double knees to the back) – good match, Wolfe was a heat magnet, and Pope was super over as he should be. Only downside was Nigel got none of his big spots in – no lariat, no Tower of London.
Jeff Jarrett beat Ken Anderson with the Stroke in a great 15 minute old school wrestling match. Anderson was super over, but was able to turn the crowd against him early. Best part was him coming out for his intro, feigning dismay over the realization that Memorial Hall has no rafters, and thus no means to drop a mic for his intro, and forcing Borash to help him improvise. Jarrett was incredibly over, and they put on a great match. As much of an idiot as Ken Anderson has been in the past, he can be surprisingly great when he wants to be, and he had the crowd eating out of his hand.
Jarrett and JB then announced the boys in the back would be coming out to sign autographs, and that people could bring their friends up for a picture with Jarrett for $20 a group, which many people took them up on.
Even if you hate the TNA TV product, I cannot recommend their live shows highly enough – tons of great crowd interaction, good, lengthy matches, and a LOT of fun.
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