Posted in: House Shows TNA House Show Results from Birmingham, England 1/21/09
By PainLord
Jan 22, 2009 - 6:21:32 PM
Report sent in by Chris Wilson
Crowd is pretty decent, around 6/7'000 (the upper tiers were closed off) and everyone (including me) managed to get photos with Dixie Carter (and the TNA World Tag Team titles) and as always, she was friendly and willing to talk to the fans. This got everyone pumped up and JB (as always) did the announcements for the evening!
Winner: And still TNA X-Division Champion of the World, Alex Shelley.
Match 2: Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Abyss So, onto match two. Bashir played the heel role well (no taunts to the crowd like yesterday!) and then got scared sh**less when Abyss’s music played. Obviously not knowing who he was facing. Great match, portraying him as the small guy, one comedic spot saw Bashir trying (but miserably failing) to scoop slam Abyss! Therefore holding his back afterwards. Then came the heel tactics, head yanked on the ropes, kicks to the knee, three low blows and Abyss had two failed Chokeslam attempts. End result: After Chokeslam failed attempt NO#2, Abyss won with the Black Hole Slam. Pretty ok match, considering the talent they had left (with injuries and all) the card was shaping up to be pretty decent.
Winner: Abyss
Match 3: Taylor Wilde and ODB vs. Angelina Sky and Velvet Love All the knockouts were looking hot and there was one incident where ODB was busy groping the Beautiful People (YEAH, you heard me, GROPING!) Taylor then made the tag and was asked to be groped by her own partner, ODB obliged and Taylor was then jumping. Some good moves pulled, the crowd were chanting “we want puppies” and one or two were chanting “you suck something” in the direction of the Beautiful People!
Winners: Taylor Wilde and ODB
End result: Taylor Wilde got the pin for the win and Velvet then threw a temper tantrum. Angelina got the mic and shrieked that they’ll NEEEEEEEEEEEEEVER appear in Birmingham again! Fans cheered. Nice bodies, shame that her voice is so piercing.
Ray then asked who’d like a piece of the table. A little boy (think his name was Matt) had the piece. Team 3D then celebrated and Matts name was chanted. Nice touch, from the most decorated Tag Team in Wrestling history. (Shame they didn’t bring their newly won IWGP Tag Belts!)
Match 5: "Gladiator Grudge Match" - Brutus Magnus vs. Matt Morgan Last match before the intermission. (Note: Clearly, “Brutus Magnus” is UK Gladiators star, “Oblivion” and Matt Morgan is known as “Beast” from American Gladiators, this would be the closest to the 21st century version of International Gladiators and it’s ironic that TNA would do this at the NIA! Spiritual home of the original UK Gladiators) Morgan cut a promo, stating that he was the most dominant Gladiator of the world. Brutus had the UK crowd behind him and a test of strength saw Morgan dominate (even though Brutus is a strong lad, Morgan owned him easily!) Match went back and forth as Brutus did some shoulder tackles, tried the diving cross body block, but easily caught twice. Various chants applied, like “We want Wolf!” (for the Gladiators theme) “Lets go Big-O” (for Brutus) and “You take steroids” (to Morgan) Carbon Footprint hit, but then Abyss came down (obviously for Morgan) and Morgan and Abyss argued as Morgan tried to use a chair, Brutus then crawled over, got the roll up and pinned Morgan for three!
Winner: Brutus Magnus
Morgan and Abyss then argued and pushed and shoved one another, until Morgan left the ring to boos and Abyss (for the second time this evening) got cheers.
-20 Minute Intermission-
Dixie Carter & Mick Foley Segment Dixie Carter came down to the ring and she was as down to earth as ever. She was thanking the fans for their support of TNA over the past few years. TNA is now seen in over 120 countries Worldwide and the UK is the number one market (outside of USA) for TNA fans. Generally putting the company over. Mick Foley then came to a great ovation and then spoke about the history of Birmingham, talking about human rights movements, riots and a megaphone, before JB pointed out that he was talking about the WRONG Birmingham (but we forgive him!) One of Foleys best moments to date. Also talked trash about Kurt Angle too. They were about to leave the ring before Foley announced that they are holding negotiations to bring a TNA Pay Per View over to the UK THIS YEAR!! (That would be sweet!)
Match 6: Doug Williams vs. Samoa Joe a 20-minute time limit match, however… about 12 minutes of action was seen. These two have met in Ring of Honor in the past, so I KNEW it was going to be a great technical match and I wasn’t wrong for a second. The finish was Joe going for a Muscle-Buster, but Williams reversed, then charged Joe at the turnbuckle (looking for the Chaos Theory) then we thought Williams was going for a bridge pin, but Joe caught him in the Coquina Clutch and Williams tapped out. They shook hands afterwards, keeping the Code of Honor intact.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Match 7: Scott Steiner and Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett and AJ Styles Main Event Mafia vs. Frontline main event.
Really great main event, loads of awesome moves, Jarrett hit the Pedigree on Angle and got a two, unusual, but it was fun! Loads of great reversals, which mainly involved Angle and Jarrett. As JJ went for the Figure-4 (queue the “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” chants) Angle got involved and both men went outside, AJ then hit the Superman (Springboard 450 Splash) on Scott Steiner for the win.
Winners: AJ Styles and Jeff Jarrett
Styles and Jarrett then celebrated before they got the mic, Jarrett then thanked the fans for showing up and making TNA what it is today, Styles then cut a quick speech before saying this… “See you at the next PPV!”
Overall, I enjoyed the show, the “Gladiator Grudge match” was pretty average at times, but it was worth the admission. In closing, I hope and pray TNA bring a pay per view to the UK, it’d be sweet! Especially if it was in Birmingham (travelling would be easier for me then J )
