411 PPV Preview: The Road to TNA Slammiversary 2009

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 06.19.2009

TNA is gearing up for its anniversary show with its annual King of the Mountain Match. Join 411's Shawn S. Lealos as he looks at the matches on the card and the events leading up to the Pay-Per-View.

Welcome to the TNA Pay-Per-View Preview of Slammiversary 2009. My name is Shawn S. Lealos and I am your guide to the world of TNA Pay-Per-Views.

Last month my first preview of TNA Pay-Per-Views, Sacrifice 2009, was kicked off with a bang. With the matches on the regular Pay-Per-View, I went a perfect 0-8 with my predictions. On the flip side, I picked the winner of the dark match! The big news at Sacrifice is that the TNA Originals finally got the upper hand on the Main Even Mafia. A.J. Styles beat Booker T, although it was thanks to the towel being thrown in. Samoa Joe beat the hell out of Kevin Nash to finally win his blood feud with the big man. In other news, Sting pinned Kurt Angle to take control of the Main Event Mafia but Foley's title did not change hands. Chris Daniels and Suicide went to the bell in their match, even though Daniels pinned Suicide before refusing to accept the victory. Angelina Love beat Awesome Kong and Beer Money won their match to be the new number one contenders to the tag team titles.

But now it is time for Slammiversary.

Just to remind you, I'll give you each match's history and the ramifications of the bout. I'll also tell you who I think could and should win.

Before I get started...

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Let's get onto the show.



Slammiversary 2009
June 21, 2009
Detroit, Michigan

Slammiversary is TNA's anniversary Pay-Per-View as the first ever TNA event took place on June 19, 2002. The history of the card dates back one year before it originated where, on June 2, 2004 while TNA was still operating on their weekly Pay-Per-View schedule, they presented a new gimmick match called The King of the Mountain. In that match, Jeff Jarrett defeated Ron Killings, Chris Harris, Raven and AJ Styles to win the World Heavyweight Championship and earn the nickname "The King of the Mountain." The next year, Slammiversary made its debut and every year the King of the Mountain headlined the event. Over the years, Raven, Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle all won the World Championship and last year Samoa Joe became the first champion to ever enter the event and leave with his title.

Random Trivia:

Two times during Slammiversary, a new authority figure was named: Larry Zbyszko (2005) and Jim Cornette (2006).

The following individuals are the only wrestlers to have appeared in every Slammiversary PPV: Alex Shelley, Samoa Joe, Robert Roode, Chris Sabin and AJ Styles.

The World Championship has changed hands at three of the four Slammiversary events.

This year will be Team 3D's third consecutive World Tag Team Championship match at Slammiversary.

This will be A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe and Jeff Jarrett's third King of the Mountain match at a Slammiversary (Styles and Jarrett were also involved in the original Weekly Pay-Per-View as well, making it their fourth time in the match)

This will be the first year the X-Division Championship will also be defended in the King of the Mountian.

THE CARD

• "Showtime" Eric Young and "The War Machine" Rhino vs. The British Invasion


• "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels vs. "The Franchise" Shane Douglas


• "The Icon" Sting vs. "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan


• Monsters Ball Match: Raven and Daffney vs. Taylor Wilde and Abyss


• Knockouts Championship: Angelina Love © vs. Tara


• World Tag Team Championship: Team 3D © vs. Beer Money


• King of the Mountain X-Division Championship: Suicide © vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley vs. "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal vs. Consequences Creed


• King of the Mountain World Championship: Mick Foley © vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles

There will be one preshow match pitting Eric Young and Rhyno against The British Invasion. I have no doubt in my mind The British Invasion will win this match, putting themselves in position for a tag team title match against the winner of Team 3D and Beer Money. I'm also pretty sure Eric Young will continue his heel turn and get gored by Rhino at the end of the match.



Christopher Daniels lost his chance to be X-Division Champion at Sacrifice because he was honest and refused to take the win by nefarious means, an attitude that doesn't really match his history within the industry. However, he was elevated on the first Impact after the Pay-Per-View with a match against his best friend AJ Styles for an opportunity to get into the King of the Mountain match. Styles won the great match and, as Daniels recovered from the tough loss, former ECW Champion Shane Douglas ran in from the crowd and laid out Daniels with a chain. I want to take the time here to point out that the camera work on this angle was atrocious. The cameras followed Douglas from the crowd to the ring when it should have been a surprise run in. It made it completely unbelievable. Oh well, back to the report.

The following week, Douglas teamed up with Suicide to take on Sheik Abdul Bashir and Kiyoshi. The match ended with Lethal Consequences and The Machine Guns taking out Suicide while Douglas ran in and knocked Daniels out with the chain again. Following the interference, a noticeably fat Douglas pulled a chair in the ring and proclaimed it was just business as he is targeting Daniels because he got a second chance while The Franchise never did.

Douglas' first match back in TNA was against AJ Styles, although Style's Legends Championship wasn't on the line. It was during this match that the announcers brought up Douglas battling his demons over the last few years, including his body failing him, his marriage falling apart, and his addiction to painkillers. He has since started teaching at a school, relocated back to Pittsburgh, and began working smaller indie shows. He has apparently kicked the painkiller addiction that drove him out of TNA to begin with.

I find it interesting that Douglas' return could lead to a fantastic storyline if they allow it to continue. Douglas' biggest gimmick back in his ECW heyday was to call out wrestlers like Ric Flair for staying in the game too long and trying to take the spot of younger talent, despite not being what they used to be. In this storyline, Douglas is in the same position Flair was when he was criticizing him and this could lead to some great ironic storytelling, especially if it leads to Douglas realizing he has turned into the man he hated so much. I really hope that is the direction they take this.

AJ Styles won the match with a quick MMA type arm bar that Douglas tapped out to quickly. Douglas attacked after the match and beat on Styles until Daniels ran in for the save. Daniels took the advantage until Douglas hit him with a towel with handcuffs in it. He cuffed Daniels to the ring post and was going to make him watch as he beat up Styles but Samoa Joe made the save.

Backstage with So Cal Val (who I cannot accept as an innocent interviewer anymore after her stint with Sonjay Dutt), Daniels charges in and challenges Douglas to a match and if Shane wins, he gets Daniels' roster spot. This seems kind of repetitive because how many times is Daniels going to put his job on the line after losing the last two Feast or Fired matches? It makes him look stupid. Douglas accepted the terms following Daniels impressive win over Amazing Red on the go-home edition of Impact. Watching Daniels intense style in his match against Red I am getting excited to see his performance against Douglas. I love a determined Christopher Daniels.

My Prediction: Daniels will win this match because he didn't just get brought back to go off and become Suicide again or something. From what it sounds like, this is for Douglas' roster spot and I think if Daniels wins, Douglas won't go away. I hope he doesn't because I want to see the situation I outlined above with Douglas turning into what he always preached against. Daniels wins. (*If Daniels loses, he might return as Suicide and we could see two Suicides running around, a stupid idea to say the least).





This mach seems kind of thrown in there to make sure Sting gets on the Pay-Per-View, but it has been building for awhile. Matt Morgan offered his services a while back to the Main Event Mafia after his feud with Abyss ended. Mick Foley was tired of hearing him "whine" about getting the chance and booked him against Kurt Angle to prove himself. Morgan and Angle fought to a hard fought finish and, although Angle won, he was clearly impressed with the big man.

On the first match after Sacrifice, Sting came out as the new leader of the Main Event Mafia and made some major decisions, firing Angle's security team and banning the women from ringside. The focus was on Samoa Joe who came out and said he was hired to take out everyone but Sting, and Kurt Angle was the last man on his hit list. The next week, Matt Morgan got a match against Jesse Neal, in the former military man's debut, making quick work of the rookie. During an interview later with Sting, Morgan ran in and said he wanted to be a part of the "Million Dollar Mafia." He boasts of beating the "little sailor boy" and wants a contract. Sting defended Neal as someone who defended our country and said Morgan has no respect and until he learns respect he will never be good enough to be a member of the Mafia. Morgan ignored everything Sting said and pretended he was being denied because he is not a former champion.

The next week, Sting and Kurt Angle battled for a spot in the King of the Mountain match. After a long, great match Matt Morgan ran down and distracted the referee after a Scorpion Death Drop and then hit Sting in the back of the head to allow Angle to get the win. Angle, when he realized what just happened, was pissed and refused to allow Morgan to life his arm in victory. Refs had to run down to separate Angle and Morgan.

On the last Impact before the Pay-Per-View, Morgan called out Sting and once again claimed Sting won't let him in because he is not a former champion. Morgan demanded a match against Sting to prove he can beat a former champion. Sting accepted the challenge and added that if Morgan actually beats him, he can have his spot in the Mafia.

My Prediction: They are doing a pretty good job of building Morgan up as a monster but there is no way he beats Sting here. I could see Kurt Angle coming out and turning on Sting, allowing Morgan to eliminate him from the Mafia, but with the big Championship match that doesn't seem like something that would be on Angle's mind at this time. Sting wins here.





Thank God the Governess is dead, long live Daffney. Last month Taylor Wilde beat Daffney at Sacrifice and, while I didn't agree with that result, it led to a continuation of the feud and the return of Raven. I don't care if he is in shape or not, Raven is one of the best talkers to ever compete in this sport. Of course, this all started with Dr. Stevie acting as Abyss' psychiatrist until Lauren interfered and convinced her "boyfriend" to break his ties.

Stevie helped with that break as he attacked Abyss and was Black Hole Slammed into a pile of tacks for his troubles. Since that event, Daffney has been tormenting both Lauren as well as her BFF Taylor Wilde, bringing Abyss to the rescue. With Raven's return, he was able to step back into his long running feud with Abyss and this match should be violent as hell. Abyss will do anything to his body and Raven, in shape or not, is not far behind.

Raven's first chance to show what he's still got left in the tank was displayed in the Clockwork House of Fun match against Jethro Holliday and he picked up the win and doesn't look as fat as he was last time we saw him in TNA. Abyss ran in to save of Holliday after the match. I do have to say, Daffney is as entertaining as she ever was in her WCW heyday.

Abyss cut one last promo where he said he was going to beat up Daffney because she isn't a girl but a wacked out crazy bitch and that when he was finished Dr. Stevie wouldn't need a doctor, he would need a mortician. Awesome promo that at times seemed a little too much like Mankind but still made the point. Following that promo Daffney and Wilde were on opposite sides of the ring in a tag team match. The two didn't do too much against each other until after the match when Daffney did a beat down until Tara made the save.

My Prediction: Abyss should be the man who comes out on top in this match, but I don't think it is time for him to win again. No matter who wins, this feud is far from over. I would guess it is time for the bad guys to finally pick up a win in this feud, so I'm going with Raven and Daffney, hopefully with Daffney picking up the pin on Wilde to make up for Sacrifice.





Count me as surprised when Angelina Love came out of her match with Awesome Kong still holding the title belt. The entire feud, from a storyline point of view, should have ended there with Kong gaining revenge for the wrongdoings of the Beautiful People. She eliminated everyone on her way to Love and then - lost. I guess Kong got her revenge after the match and it ended that feud.

On the first Impact following the Pay-Per-View, Love returned with the full Beautiful People faction to beat Sojo Bolt. Following the match, Love publically fired Cute Kip and sent him packing before saying she had beaten everyone there was to beat and needed new challengers. That is when Victoria made her TNA debut by taking out Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky before accepting the challenge.

The following week on Impact, The Beautiful People attacked Tara (Victoria's new name) backstage but thanks to some miscommunication, Tara was able to once again take out Sky and Rayne and once again challenged Love, who escaped unscathed. The following week, Tara made her in ring debut against Madison Rayne, who she defeated with the Widow's Peak while staring Love in the eyes.

On the final show before the Pay-Per-View, Awesome King returned and teamed with Taylor Wilde to defeat Daffney and Angelina Love when Kong pinned Daffney. The Beautiful People and Daffney beat down Kong and Wilde until Tara made the save. After she cleared the ring, Tara and Kong had a long stare down.

My Prediction: This is a tough one. Part of me wants to think Tara will win the match and move on to either face Awesome Kong or move it into a three-way with Kong and Love. But my base instinct is to think Angelina Love wins this thanks to cheating and we move on to a three-way with Kong getting involved. Either way, next month should involve a match between Love, Kong and Tara for the Knockouts Championship. I'll go with Angelina Love retaining the belt.





I originally thought Beer Money would win the match at Sacrifice and go on to face Team 3D for the belts. I changed that after The British Invasion seemed to have all the momentum going into that card. Well, my first impressions were right and Beer Money, the best tag team in TNA, won the match and gets the shot for the belts. I really believed they were leading to a three way between the teams and, since Sacrifice, The British Invasion have been a complete nuisance to both teams.

On the Impact after Sacrifice, Team 3D presented the trophy and check to Beer Money and the two teams toasted each other and had some beers together, showing mutual respect. The next week Beer Money fought the odd couple team of Chris Sabin and Consequences Creed. The British Invasion made their way to the ring but Team 3D ran down and beat them up while Beer Money picked up the win.

The next week Team 3D had an interview where they complained about the "foreigners" coming in, getting a chance to share the spotlight, and biting the hands that feeds them. Bubba Ray called Beer Money the team of the future but said Team 3D was still the best team in the world. They went on to have a match against the opposite partners from the Beer Money match, with Alex Shelley and Jay Lethal teaming up. Once again, The British Invasion ran in but Beer Money was not there to save Team 3D and, after a briefcase shot by Doug Williams, Alex Shelley pinned Devon.

Because Beer Money did not return the favor, the next week they got into a heated argument with Team 3D before the four were supposed to team against Lethal Consequences and The Machine Guns. The two teams began to brawl and ended up at ringside. While Lethal Consequences went after Beer Money, Suicide came from nowhere, attacked Shelley and that allowed Team 3D to get the win. Team 3D ended up yelling at Beer Money, who in turn blamed Team 3D for all the problems.

My Prediction: This should be another great match between the two best teams in TNA. I believe Team 3D when they say their main concern is proving the tag team division in TNA is the best in the world and to prove that, I believe they are willing to put over Beer Money. This should lead to the inclusion of The British Invasion as the next challenger, regardless of who wins. I'm going with Beer Money.





From all standpoints, this looks like a four on one handicap match, but with the competitors, you know all hell will break loose and this should be the MOTN. It is the first time the X-Division Championship has been decided in a King of the Mountain Match and it is the one match I want to see above all others. I remember back in the early days of TNA, the X-Division Championship was not the lower tier belt, but an equal to the Heavyweight title. While Jeff Jarrett was champion, it was a big deal when X-Division champ AJ Styles got involved in something because the two were champions and stood on equal ground. The X-Division belt has not had that prestige in a few years (the Christopher Daniels/Samoa Joe/AJ Styles feud was the last time it meant much). If this bout tears down the house, and it will, it might go a long way to bring some prestige back to the belt.

Suicide followed his title defense at Sacrifice to Christopher Daniels with a great little match against The Amazing Red and I was curious at where they were going with him since Shane Douglas started his fight with Daniels. The next week, Suicide teamed with Daniels against Miyoshi and Sheik Abdul Bashir only to have both Lethal Consequences and The Machine Guns run in, attack, and fight with Suicide all the way to the back. In a backstage interview they mention how they will all get a shot at Suicide at Slammiversary. Sabin and Creed team up to take on Beer Money but lose thanks to miscommunication between the teams.

The following week, Shelley and Lethal teamed up and actually upset the World Tag Team Champions Team 3D after The British Invasion interfered. It is during the match that we learned the X-Division Championship would be defended in a King of the Mountain format. On the final Impact before Slammiversary, the four men were to team up against Beer Money and Team 3D, but Suicide interfered, costing them the match and allowing Alex Shelley to eat the pin.

The interview between the four men before that match was priceless with Jay Lethal continuing to bash Val in hilarious manner. I loved it when he warned the MCMG not to let her near their best friends or she would sleep with them and Shelley responded by saying he didn't mind if she slept with Sabin.

My Prediction: The time of Suicide is fading fast. Looking at the shaky relationship between the two tag teams, I see one of them winning the belt and the X-Division heating up after that with four very able competitors vying for the belt in the coming months. Let's go with Alex Shelley taking it again.





I don't care what anyone says, I love Mick Foley as World Champion. Is he a great in-ring competitor? No. Is he entertaining as he tries to keep his death grip on the belt? Hell, yeah. Now, people have been crying that the feud with the Main Event Mafia has been booked poorly and the TNA Originals have been booked weak. I call bullshit on that count, as well. If the Main Event Mafia, all former world champions, were to start a feud with the originals, and the young guys came out of the gate beating them right off the bat, that would be horrible booking. The good guys beating the bad guys early means there is absolutely no drama in the feud and it fails. The Mafia took out the two major players (Styles and Joe) and the lower tear guys (Eric Young, Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal) couldn't beat the numbers. That is how you build suspense because of what happens when the stars return. Joe returns unbalanced and starts losing matches by DQ while growing more and more out of control, something that will never work when trying to win the feud. Styles, however, returned focused and determined and beat Booker T for his Legend's belt. Joe finally snapped out of it and became focused as well, taking out Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner and Booker T, proclaiming Kurt Angle was next on his hit list.

See, The Main Event Mafia beat up the young guys and dominated, making them overconfident while both Joe and Styles became more determined. Those two cornerstones of TNA's future then dedicated themselves to overcoming the numbers and at Sacrifice came out victorious over their Mafia opponents. That is how you book a feud and it makes their victories mean more in the long run. You can't book wrestling like a kid with ADHD, which is what it seems the IWC wanted in this case.

At Sacrifice, Mick Foley kept his championship despite not getting the pinfall in the main event. Since that time, he has been in a war of words with Jeff Jarrett, culminating with Jarrett losing it and punching out Earl Hebner at one point. Foley is clearly in Jarrett's head and Eric Young is not making the TNA founder's life any easier. Foley has announced that he is attempting to get the TNA rule book changed to only force him to defend his belt once a year instead of once a month.

Meanwhile, the matches to determine the contenders in King of the Mountain included Samoa Joe beating Kevin Nash in a steel cage, AJ Styles defeating his friend Christopher Daniels in a great match, Jeff Jarrett beating Eric Young, and Kurt Angle defeating Sting with Matt Morgan's help.

Samoa Joe fired the first strikes when he announced he was told to take out Nash, Steiner and Booker and then kill Kurt Angle. Since that time, he has taken out the three men he promised to and only Angle is left on his radar. He beat Nash pretty strong in a steel cage and then fought both Steiner and Booker in first blood matches. He beat Steiner after numerous shots with a steel pipe to a trashcan resting on Steiner's head - destroying the trash can. It was brutal. Then he took the pipe to Booker's gut, causing the infamous internal bleeding, as Booker began choking up blood. Joe has been dominating over the last month.

AJ Styles became slightly involved in the feud between Daniels and Shane Douglas and defeated Douglas by pinfall. Other than that, it was a very quiet month for Styles, which does not bode well for his chances here.

Kurt Angle lost his control of the Mafia to Sting and has been quiet recently. It is unclear at what he is thinking, as when Matt Morgan interfered, Angle seemed angry and went to check on Sting before getting into a shoving match with the big man. I know people wish they could have saw a clean finish but this finish was perfect to set up the continuation of a few things, including Morgan vs. Sting and Angle's relationship with Sting.

The last Impact before Slammiversary included a three way tag team match with all the involved participants and Sting. Samoa Joe pinned Kurt Angle with the muscle buster while protecting AJ Styles who has a slight injury to his leg. Mick Foley and Jeff Jarrett never finished the match and battled up the entry way while Joe picked up the win.

My Prediction: There are two blood feuds involved in this match, Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett vs. Mick Foley. Joe seems more concerned about taking out Angle and is working with a severe injury, so I don't see Joe taking the gold in this match. Mick Foley has threatened to only defend his belt once a year, so his win seems unlikely, although that would be a TNA styled swerve if I ever saw one. Jarrett is all about bringing the world title back to respectability but I don't think it will be in his hands. That leaves AJ Styles and Kurt Angle. I don't know how bad Styles is hurt, but giving him the belt would be the best result of this match. With Sting as the leader of the Mafia, I can see Angle taking the belt here and setting himself up for a match with Samoa Joe down the line. So, its Styles or Angle - I'll take Angle here and Samoa Joe starting his hunt for the belt.