The Big News: Bobby Lashley won the TNA Championship Series, a one-night tournament to determine who will get a title shot at A.J. Styles. Unlike past Thanksgiving shows which were mostly comedy, this one was wrestling oriented. Usually, that leads to a good show, but Lashley came out looking like a fluke tournament winner when he’s supposed to be a money player. Needless to say, the booking did him no favors, which has been the theme of his TNA run thus far.

The show was built around a one-night, eight-man TNA Championship Series tournament. The deal was whatever division the wrestler belonged in, he would get a title shot if he won the tournament. For instance, since Robert Roode is a tag team wrestler, Beer Money would get a tag team title shot at the British Invasion if Roode won. If a singles wrestler won, they got a TNA Heavyweight title shot at A.J. Styles. Since there was only one tag team wrestler in the entire tournament, that made the stipulation kind of pointless. It was abbreviated the T.C.S. Taz joked later it wasn’t supposed to be confused with the old school Team Championship Series, a gimmick from the dying days of the AWA. No one had to dress up like a turkey this year, since everyone who was in favor of that idea has hit the road by now.

1. Bobby Lashley defeated Abyss in 4:24 in a quarterfinal tournament match. Abyss sold his neck from the angle last week where Dr. Stevie and Abyss choked him. Both men worked as faces, but it was odd seeing Bobby Lashley having to sell as a heel early. Probably the first time that’s been the case since he was Blaster Lashley in OVW. Kristal Lashley was at ringside. Abyss did a long bearhug spot before Lashley broke it and did a drop toe hold into the ropes, leading to Abyss selling his neck. Lashley did an Anderson spinebuster and clotheslined Abyss over the top to the floor. They fought on the floor, where Abyss supposedly caught Kristal with an elbow as he was throwing a punch. Kristal sold her ankle, which distracted Abyss. Lashley hit a spear, then clamped on the dragon sleeper. Abyss waited a while before tapping. Kristal made a miraculous recovery and jumped into the ring to celebrate. *1/2

Mick Foley, now wearing an eyepatch, was listening to Jeremy Borash talk about how Hulk Hogan coming to TNA may be a good thing for the company. Foley wasn’t buying any of it, saying Jimmy Fallon, Larry King, and Howard Stern all knew about it long before he did. Borash even brought up Bubba the Love Sponge. There’s a name I didn’t expect to hear on Impact anytime soon. Foley couldn’t get past what Kevin Nash told him last week about Hogan not coming in alone. Foley left to go talk to Kurt Angle to see what he knew.

2. Desmond Wolfe defeated Suicide in a quarterfinal tournament match in 3:59. Desmond Wolfe got most of the offense since he’s being pushed and Suicide just tried to give notice. Wolfe clamped on a cobra clutch as a rest hold. Suicide made his comeback with a flying reverse elbow and a rolling cannonball. Suicide missed a charge in the corner, but blocked the Tower of London with a dropkick. Suicide later went for a top rope move, but Wolfe crotched him, then hit a sloppy Tower of London for the pin. It was like Suicide was afraid to take the bump. **

3. Kurt Angle defeated Pope D’Amgelo Dinero in a quarterfinal match in 4:28. Pope D’Angelo Dinero opened with several armdrags and a flying shoulder block. Angle responded with a belly-to-belly suplex. Angle hit two German suplexes, but Dinero blocked a third and hit a German of his own, followed by a legsweep clothesline for a two count. Dinero hit a second rope elbow and teased the DDE, but Angle got up and clamped on the ankle lock. Dinero kicked him off, but Angle immediately hit an Olympic slam for the pin. Good, but should have been more competitive. Angle shook hands with Dinero afterwards and the two embraced as total faces. **1/2

Foley, looking like the Jolly Roger, walked into Angle’s locker room wondering where the rest of the Main Event Mafia was. Angle had to correct him and tell him the Mafia was history. Angle told Foley that Hogan was coming in to make the company better, and he was on board with it. Foley got paranoid thinking that Hogan was coming in to take his spot and brought up what Nash said, but Angle thought Nash was full of it. Angle must’ve heard one of Nash’s shoot interviews where he blamed Time Warner for the death of WCW.

4. Robert Roode defeated Homicide in a quarterfinal match in 3:41. Mostly brawling with Homicide doing his new psycho heel routine. Robert Roode blocked a Gringo cutter and hit a spinning backbreaker for a two count. Homicide went for the gringo killer, but Roode blocked it and went for the payoff, but Homicide blocked that, only to walk into a spinebuster for the pin. Can’t think of one reason why Roode should go over aside from the fact that Homicide tried to give notice recently. If Lance Hoyt gained a visionary pinfall in his final appearance in the company on James Storm, and if Jim Neidhardt could pin Black Machismo in his only TNA appearance, since when does the company take contract status into account as to who goes over? *1/4

Postmatch, Homicide threatened a female assistant producer with a chair and started screaming at the fans, then threw the chair in the ring.

Angle did an interview potentially looking forward to facing Wolfe later tonight in the tournament.

5. Tara won a 10-woman battle royal to earn a Knockouts title shot with ODB at Final Resolution in 6:49. ODB was a special referee. The match also featured Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne, Hamada, Sarita, Daffney, Taylor Wilde, Lacey Von Erich, Alissa Flash and Traci Brooks. Not much, and it was clear that most everyone was worried about taking a full-fledged bump to the floor because only a few did. Hamada eliminated Daffney in :17. Alissa Flash pushed Traci Brooks over the top rope, but Brooks remained on the apron.

Flash and Brooks brawled until Sarita and Taylor Wilde knocked Flash over the top and Brooks off the apron at 1:13. Brooks and Flash continued to brawl afterwards. During one of the sandwich segments of a commercial, Tara threw Lacey Von Erich out at 3:32. Why Daffney was eliminated in :17 and Von Erich lasted three minutes is something the world will never know the answer to. Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky threw out Sarita at 5:08. Hamada and Wilde eliminated each other at 5:26, leaving Tara with Rayne and Sky. The heels did the predictable double-teaming of Tara until Rayne was backdropped over by Tara. Rayne caught herself, but Sky collided with her and Rayne fell to the floor at 6:17. Tara wound up reversing a charge and sent Sky over the top to the apron. Sky again caught herself and tried a springboard move, but Tara kicked her to the floor for the win at 6:49. *

Postmatch, ODB refused to shake hands with Tara.

Eric Young did a promo with Nash emphasizing that the newly named TNA Global title would never be defending in America, including at Final Resolution.

Hulk Hogan did a taped package putting over his arrival.

Foley was walking around backstage trying to get in touch with Dixie Carter, but she was away on business. He ran into Scott Steiner, who was trying to talk someone into creating more Main Event Mafia gear. Foley asked Steiner about Hogan. Steiner asked Foley would was the smartest person he knew. Foley said someone who’s name had to be bleeped out. I rewound this three times, and I couldn’t tell who it was, only with Foley saying he created “Ron Simmons’ What gimmick.” I think he meant “Damn” gimmick. Anyway, Steiner said Hogan was ten times smarter than that. When Foley mentioned that Nash told him Hogan wasn’t coming alone, Steiner said Nash doesn’t lie. Apparently, Steiner wasn’t paying close attention in 1999.

Foley found Nash backstage. He said he didn’t have the money to pay off Nash to find out what was going on with Hogan. Nash joked about Virgil and Ed Leslie coming in. He jokes about that now, but watch it unfold exactly that way in three months. TNA will go from a quasi-nostalgia promotion to the real thing in no time. Nash joked that if Brian Knobbs come in, he’s quitting. Nash promised as soon as he found out someone, he would tell Foley. When Foley left, Nash just rolled his eyes and laughed at him with Young.

6. Bobby Lashley defeated Desmond Wolfe by DQ in a semifinal T.C.S. match in 5:07. Wolfe did a good job carrying Lashley until one lame finish. Mat wrestling for the first three minutes with Lashley working on Wolfe’s left arm. Wolfe was bleeding from the mouth before he got the heat. Lashley hit a hard shoulder block in the corner, then hit a gut buster over the shoulder, followed by a full nelson slam for a near fall. Wolfe hit an arm breaker, then went for the Tower of London, but Lashley landed on his feet and hit a dragon sleeper. Wolfe grabbed the ropes and raked Lashley’s face. Wolfe then hit a armbar using the ropes, but didn’t break by the five count, so referee Earl Hebner disqualified him. Talk about a finish that deflated a hot crowd. It killed everything that they had built towards in the first four minutes. *

Lashley, still selling his left arm, was backstage. As Lauren asked him a question, Kristal grabbed the mic and cut a promo for him. Seems to set up Kristal being a heel, except she cut a better promo than her husband.

7. Robert Roode defeated Kurt Angle by countout in 7:37 in a semifinal T.C.S. match. Roode caught a hangman’s neckbeaker and followed with a kneedrop. Roode did a rolling neck snap, but Angle followed by pulling his trunks out of the ring, then ramming him into the ring steps. Angle hit a release belly-to-belly for a two count. Roode blocked an Angle charge into the corner and hit a blockbuster.

After an exchange of right hands, Roode came off the ropes with a flying forearm. Angle briefly caught an ankle lock, but Roode kicked him off into a spinebuster for a near fall. Roode went for the payoff, but Angle reversed it into a German suplex, followed by an attempt at the Olympic slam. Roode reversed out, but Angle eventually hit the Olympic slam, but Roode surprisingly kicked out. Then Wolfe came down to ringside and spit at Angle, so Angle left the ring and started brawling with Wolfe. This led to Angle getting counted out. Good match before another lame finish. **1/2

A.J. Styles came out and asked Sting to call him. Couldn’t he have used his website for that? Then Daniels came out and said Styles’ friendship costs more than it’s worth. He brought up losing his job for 16 months, yet he never heard from Styles in an attempt to get his spot back. Daniels was very good on the stick, saying Styles wanted him to be his best friend so he wouldn’t be his worst enemy. Styles is still limited in his interview skills, and it’s tough following Daniels who’s quite the underrated promo man. Very good segment.

Roode did a promo with James Storm accompanying him on Lashley, saying he respects him but he was fighting to win tonight.

There was the usual Hogan package where it was announced Carter will do an interview next week that “will answer all of the burning questions regarding Hogan.” If there’s one wrestling show this year that warrants a three-hour special, that’s the one.

8. Bobby Lashley defeated Robert Roode in 6:28 to win the T.C.S. Tournament and earn a TNA Heavyweight title shot at Styles at a date to be determined. Lashley tried to get the dragon sleeper on immediately, but Roode made the ropes. Roode continued to work on Lashley’s left arm and threw stiff chops. Roode caught a Fujiwara armbar and Lashley teased tapping out but made the ropes. Lashley ducked a punch and caught a full nelson slam to launch his comeback. He hit a spinebuster (vertical as opposed to Anderson)for a two count. Lashley had the torture rack, but Roode used a divorce court for a two count. Who says all remnants of Jim Cornette are gone? Roode tried another payoff, but Lashley gave him a backdrop. Ultimately, Lashley got the pin after a spear. **1/2

SUMMARY: This company just can’t stand prosperity. It was the most-wrestling centric show since Cornette left. That should lead to a good show, and the semifinals of the tournament looked like some great matches on paper. And for a while in the ring, they were. Too bad the booking had to totally screw it up with some of the lamest finishes seen since, well, the 1999 WCW Tag Team tournament where every partner turned on the other. It wasn’t a bad show, but Lashley didn’t come out of this rehabbed at all. And Kristal just seems to get in the way because you don’t know if she’s a heel or not. The Daniels-Styles segment was good.

Jeff Hamlin
hamlin36@hotmail.com