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  3. TNA Sacrifice Recap (5/11) by Karen Belcher

Scott SteinerThe show opens with a video montage of clips of Angle, Steiner, and Joe talking about how much it means to them to be TNA Heavyweight Champion.

Jeremy Borash meets Kurt Angle’s limo and asks him about the neck injury he received wrestling in Korea. Angle says that his doctor told him he can’t wrestle tonight, and he has no choice but to do what his doctor says; he just can’t afford to risk being crippled.

Lauren meets Scott Steiner’s limo as it arrives, and she asks him to comment on Kurt not wrestling tonight. Steiner says he can’t comment on something he doesn’t know about. He says this is the first he’s hearing about it, but he doesn’t trust Angle. Then Kevin Nash gets out of Steiner’s limo.

Borash asks Joe what he thinks about angle not wrestling, and Joe says he’s sorry Kurt’s injured, but he’s going to win tonight no matter what. Then he asks Joe why Nash arrived with Steiner, and Joe says he didn’t know anything about that.

Announcers Mike Tenay and Don West are at ringside to welcome fans.

Deuces Wild Tag Team Championship Tournament
Participants: Brother Ray & Brother Devon of Team 3D, Homicide & Hernandez of The Latin American Xchange, AJ Styles & Super Eric, Christian Cage & Rhino
Egotistical Eight: Sting, Robert Roode, Matt Morgan, BG James, Booker T, Awesome Kong, James Storm, Kip James

The tournament matches will take place through the PPV, with four established tag teams facing off against four teams chosen by random drawing. All of the first round matches are short, about 10 minutes each, so there’ not a whole lot to describe.

Deuces Wild Tag Team Championship Tournament Match
Sting & “Cowboy” James Storm with Miss Jacquelyn
vs.
Team 3D, Brother Ray & Brother Devon

At the beginning of the match, Storm keeps trying to tell Sting how he should wrestle. Then he gives up and guzzles a six-pack of beer, ignoring the action in the ring. 3D set up a table in the ring, and Storm comes in to yell at Sting incoherently. 3D step aside and let Sting slam Storm through the table. Devon gets the pin and the win for 3D as Sting walks away from the ring.

Lauren interviews Frank Trigg about Angle’s neck injury. Trigg says Angle got dropped on his head, so he has to take time off to avoid making the injury worse. Trigg picks Joe to retain tonight.

Deuces Wild Tag Team Championship Tournament Match
Robert Roode & Booker T
vs.
“The Instant Classic” Christian Cage & “The War Machine” Rhino

Booker and Roode start off shoving each other before they even know who their opponents will be. Christian and Rhino win when Rhino clotheslines Booker off the apron, reverses Roode’s attempted Payoff, and gores Roode for the pin. Booker comes back in and shakes hands with Christian and Rhino. Then he goes out to get a chair, and returns to slam Christian and Rhino with it.

Jeremy Borash is with Scott Steiner as he asks Kevin Nash to consider working with him, because “we’re like two peas in a pond.” Steiner says if he wins the belt, he’ll give Nash a title shot. Nash says he’ll consider it. Steiner gives Petey Williams some workout advice, and you can see that Petey’s left eye is injured (an orbital bone was broken at the iMPACT! tapings), although they try to hide it by showing only the right side of his face as much as possible.

Deuces Wild Tag Team Championship Tournament Match
LAX with Hector Guerrero & Salinas
vs.
Kip James and Matt Morgan

Morgan and James start off working well together, and the power contest between Morgan and Hernandez is impressive. LAX win when Morgan accidentally hits Kip with a big boot meant for Hernandez. Hernandez nails Morgan with a beautiful drop kick that knocks him out of the ring, and then he pins Kip James.

Borash interviews AJ Styles about his match, and AJ says he doesn’t know how he will wrestle a lady (Amazing Kong). Kurt Angle interrupts and demands to know if AJ is seeing his wife Karen. AJ says no, but Kurt doesn’t believe him.

Deuces Wild Tag Team Championship Tournament Match
BG James & Awesome Kong with Raisha Saeed
vs.
AJ Styles & Super Eric

AJ starts out well with Kong, but she comes back and powers him around, being bigger than AJ, and finally hits him with the “crotch claw.” Kong and BG takes turns working over AJ. Finally he tags in Super Eric, who does his usual schtick, then tags in AJ. AJ finally rolls up BG in the small package for the pin.

Mike Tenay informs us that Jim Cornette will make an announcement later about Angle and the main event.

Lauren asks Rick Steiner why he’s there, and he says he’s just supporting his brother. Then he barks at her.

X Division Debut of the TerrorDome Match
“Black Machismo” Jay Lethal
vs.
Curry Man
vs.
Frankie “Kaz” Kazarian
vs.
Alex Shelley
vs.
Jimmy Rave
vs.
Chris Sabin
vs.
Sonjay Dutt
vs.
Johnny Devine
vs.
Shark Boy
vs.
Consequences Creed

This is TNA Wrestling’s newest concept match – the wrestlers battle in a domed cage 30 feet high and made of steel to determine the number-one contender to the X Division Championship held by Petey Williams. The winner is the first man to escape through the opening at the top of the dome. The wrestlers are all wearing gloves to protect their hands from the edges of the square steel bars.

Kaz enters wearing a cool new ring jacket – often the wrestler with the new gear is the one who wins. After everyone is in the ring, Jim Cornette announces that the winner of this match not only becomes the #1 contender for the X Division Championship, he also takes Kurt Angle’s place in tonight’s main event. Senior Referee Rudy Charles is harnessed on top of the cage to call the winner.

This match is very exciting and great fun to watch, but it’s pretty much impossible to call all the action. With 10 men in the dome, it’s bedlam. There are loads of falls and dives off the walls and roof, and of course the obligatory Tower of Doom, set off by Johnny Devine. Kaz uses Creed as a sort of trapeze at one point. Other high spots include a Spice Rack on Jimmy Rave off the top rope and a reverse Flux Capacitor on Curry Man off the top rope. Kaz escapes and wins after pulling Johnny Devine off the roof onto everyone on the ring floor. Kaz celebrates on top of the dome.

Jeremy Borash interviews Samoa Joe, who says he’s still going to keep his belt even with Kaz in the match. Borash asks him about Kevin Nash arriving with Scott Steiner, and Joe flips out.

Deuces Wild Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinals
Christian Cage & Rhino
vs.
Team 3D

Christian and Rhino are still selling the chair shots from Booker T. 3D dominate pretty much throughout the match due to Christian and Rhino being injured. When they finally do make a comeback late in the match, Johnny Devine sneaks out and hands a kendo stick to Brother Ray. Then Devine distracts referee Slick Johnson while Ray whacks Rhino in the head with the kendo stick. Devon pins Rhino for the win.

Jeremy Borash tells Kevin Nash Joe is angry because Nash rode to the PPV with Scott Steiner. Nash asks if this is a Sadie Hawkins dance or something. JB tells Kevin that Joe said Nash better not cross his path tonight, or he’d be sorry, so Nash says for Borash to come with him and they’ll cross Joe’s path.

Deuces Wild Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinals
LAX with Hector Guerrero & Salinas
vs.
AJ Styles & Super Eric

At the beginning, AJ has words with Hector and shoves him. LAX wins when Salinas distracts the ref and Hector Guerrero gets back at AJ by running in behind the ref’s back and turning over AJ’s small package pin of Homicide, so that Homicide pins AJ for the win. Eric’s mouth was bleeding at the end of the match.

Lauren interviews Samoa Joe’s family, who say the whole Samoan nation is behind Joe.

Tenay points out Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins in the crowd.

TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal & Ladder Match
Roxxi LaVeaux
vs.
Salinas
vs.
Christy Hemme
vs.
Jacqueline
vs.
Traci Brooks
vs.
Rhaka Khan
vs.
Velvet Skye
vs.
Angelina Love
vs.
Gail Kim
vs.
ODB

The match will be a battle royal until only two Knockouts are left, at which point it becomes a one-on-one ladder match. The winner gets a shot at the Women’s Championship, but the runner-up gets her head shaved in a “Britney Spears” makeover. Gail Kim won immunity from getting her head shaved in a match on iMPACT!, so if she is the runner up, the second runner up gets her head shaved instead.

Salinas was eliminated first, by Roxxi LaVeaux.

Velvet Sky was eliminated second, by Traci Brooks.

Traci was out third, courtesy of Angelina Love.

Christy Hemme was put out next, by Rhaka Khan.

Rhaka Khan was eliminated by ODB, Jackie, and Angelina Love.

Jackie was ejected by Gail Kim.

ODB was put out by Roxxi.

Angelina Love was eliminated by Roxxi.

It’s now down to Gail Kim and Roxxi LaVeaux in the ladder match. Because of Gail’s immunity, Angelina Love’s head will be shaved if Gail loses. Referee Slick Johnson makes Love stay at ringside, just in case.

The fans are solidly behind Roxxi, chanting ”Let’s go Roxxi!” throughout the match, even when she slams Gail Kim to the mat and puts the boots to her. Then Roxxi goes out for the ladder. To avoid getting her own head shaved, Angelina Love helps Gail whenever she can, starting now when she tries to keep Roxxi from taking the ladder into the ring, but LaVeaux uses the ladder as a weapon to smash Angelina to the floor. Gail kicks Roxxi through the ropes when she tries to bring the ladder in. Then Gail goes for another ladder and brings that one into the ring and sets it up as the fans chant, “Roxxi! Roxxi!”

Gail climbs the ladder. Roxxi pulls her off and goes for a power bomb, but Gail reverses into a head scissors take over instead. They battle on with brutal forearm shots, ladder shots, chops, and more. Kim back flips Roxxi onto the ladder — no men’s ladder match has anything on this one! Love pushes the other ladder into the ring for Gail to use, and she sets it up. Gail climbs, and Roxxi follows her. At some point, Roxxi’s head was busted open hard way, and blood is now visibly running down the left side of her face, neck and chest. They battle at the top, and Gail flips over, power bombing Roxxi to the mat.

Roxxi tries to get up, but Angelina is holding her leg. When Roxxi escapes, love climbs up onto the ring apron, and LaVeaux sends her flying with a forearm to the face. She goes back to brawling with Gail, and plants her with an emphatic spinebuster on the ladder. Roxxi can’t try to climb the ladder, because now Velvet Skye runs in, but Roxxi quickly sends he back out. Roxxi starts to climb, with Kim still out cold.

Kim wins when Love knocks Roxxi off the ladder and helps Gail climb up the ladder to get the contract. Gail goes after Angelina Love to try to put her in the barber chair, but Velvet Skye stops her, and the ref makes Roxxi get her head shaved. As the barber cuts off Roxxi’s hair, the blood all over her head becomes more obvious, and the fans chant, “Fire Russo!” and then “Bullshit!” The face Knockouts gather round, to offer comfort, and Traci holds Roxxi’s hand. Love and Skye mock Roxxi. When Roxxi stands up after it’s over, the fans pop huge for her and chant “Roxxi! Roxxi!”

Borash goes with Kevin as he confronts Joe. Nash explains he was picking Steiner’s brain, and Joe needs to use his brain instead of just brawn all the time. Joe tells warns Nash he never needed him, and tells him not to show up at ringside.

Tenay points out band Saving Abel at ringside.

Deuces Wild Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals
LAX with Hector Guerrero & Salinas
vs.
Team 3D

3D get in Hector’s face, so Homicide hits them with an amazing tope con hilo to start off the match. They brawl around ringside, using chairs, ring steps, and any other weapons they can find. After several minutes, Homicide and Devon finally enter the ring, and the bell is rung to officially start the match. Homicide gets a quick near fall with a flying body press off the second turnbuckle onto Devon. They continue the vicious brawl in the ring, with LAX the clear fan favorites. 3D keep Homicide isolated as they tag in and out to wear him down.

Finally Homicide gets the tag to Hernandez, who cleans house. Then he drop kicks both Ray and Devon out of the ring and flies over the top rope to lay both of them out on the floor. Johnny Devine runs down to ringside with another kendo stick, and he sets up a table at ringside. Hector Guerrero confronts Devine, punches him a few times and gets the stick away from him. He hits Devine with the kendo stick and puts him on the table on the floor, where he punches him again. Then Hector climbs up the the top turnbuckle and leaps off onto Devine, drop kicking him through the table!

Ray and Devon gang up on Hernandez, then 3D Homicide. They go for a pin on Homicide, but Referee Earl Hebner tells them Hernandez is the legal man, so he won’t count. They go back for Hernandez, who takes them both down with a double clothesline. They continue the battle till Hernandez hits Devon with the Border Toss. Homicide hits Devon with the Five Star Frog Splash for the win. Your new TNA Tag Team Champions are LAX!

Eric Young comes out to ringside and tells Tenay and West that since Slammiversary is near Memphis, he is going to find Elvis Presley and have him in his corner.

TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Kurt Angle Frankie “Kaz” Kazarian
vs.
Samoa Joe (C)
vs.
“Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner with Rick Steiner

MMA veteran Frank Trigg joins Tenay and West for color commentary. Kaz went all out in the match, clearly viewing it as his best chance to show that he’s main event worthy. He starts the match with a quick rollup on Steiner for two, and followed with a crucifix takedown on Steiner. All three men had fans cheering for them.

Joe keeps going for submission holds on both men, which are broken up by the third man. They fight to the outside of the ring, where Steiner’s power gives him the advantage in the brawling. He drops Joe on his head and returns to the ring to battle Kaz. When Joe comes back, Steiner launches himself off the ring apron to clothesline him. When Joe finally does return, Scott hits him and then Kaz with belly to belly suplexes. Scott locks Joe in the Steiner Recliner, but Joe finally powers to his feet, and Kaz hits Steiner with a missile drop kick off the top.

With two slow moving men in the match, Kaz does a lot to keep up the pace and add excitement. Steiner manages to hit Joe with a pipe outside the ring, so it’s Kaz and Steiner again, with Scott’s power against Kaz’s speed and agility. Kaz climbs the ropes, but Petey pulls the ropes and Kaz is crotched on the top. Steiner climbs up and Frankensteiners Kaz. He would have gotten the pin except for Joe’s last second interruption.

Joe and Scott brawl more. Joe tries something off the second rope, but it goes wrong (it looks like it was supposed to be a flying head scissors), and Steiner sells it anyway. All three battle for a while, until Kaz drop kicks Joe off the ring apron to the floor, and it goes back to just Steiner and Kaz yet again. The end comes when Kaz gets Steiner onto the top turnbuckle, but Scott pushes him off to the floor. Joe comes back with a kick and then hits Steiner with a muscle buster for the pin to retain.

This was another very good PPV from TNA, and it ran just a few minutes short of three hours. There wasn’t a bad match on the card, and three were very good. It’s well worth buying the replay.

TNA’s next PPV is Slammiversary on June 8 at the DeSoto County Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi, celebrating TNA’s sixth anniversary.

— Karen Belcher
Courtesy of ProWrestlingDigest.com