Wrestling’s 4R’s PPV Edition 5.13.08: TNA SACRIFICE 2008

Posted by Larry Csonka on 05.13.2008

Reports of this being the worst PPV of all time are greatly exaggerated. Reports of this being a completely overbooked PPV are accurate however.

How the 4R's of wRestling Work!

Here is a quick explanation of the 4R's. I will take the 4 main shows (5 if I go RetRo) of the week: TNA Impact, WWE Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi and WWE Smackdown. If we have a PPV, that show will get a special PPV edition of the R's all to its own. I then group my feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles, Diva searches and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~! This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a "mark" column, nor a "smark" column, my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. There are also occasions where I will bring out a 5th or even a 6th R to the column, so beware of those~! I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether very positive or negative.

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~TNA SACRIFICE 2008~

The Matches:

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal Match: Team 3D defeated Sting and James Storm @ 8:50 via pin *½

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal Match: Cage and Rhino defeated Robert Roode and Booker T @ 7:05 via pin *½

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal Match: LAX defeated Kip James and Matt Morgan @ 4:20 via pin *

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal Match: AJ Styles and Super Eric defeated BG James and Awesome Kong @ 5:45 via pin *¼

TERROR DOME MATCH: Kaz won @ 10:45 ***

Deuces Wild Semifinal Match: Team 3D defeated Christian Cage and Rhino @ 10:00 via pin **

Deuces Wild Semifinal Match: LAX defeated AJ Styles and Super Eric @ 7:40 via pin **¼

KNOCKOUTS MAKEOVER MATCH: Gail Kim became the #1 contender, defeating Roxxi @ 9:40 **½

Deuces Wild Final Match: LAX defeated Team 3D to become the NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS @ 11:30 via pin ***

TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Samoa Joe defeated Scott Steiner and Kaz @ 14:30 via pin ***

The Right:

TERROR DOME MATCH: The TERROR DOME made its TNA debut at the Sacrifice PPV, and inside were 10-X-Division superstars battling for the #1 contender's spot for the X-Division title. BUT WAIT…there's more! Jim Cornette came out and announced that not only would the winner be the #1 contender for the X-Division title, but he would also get Kurt Angle's place in the main event. This was a cool idea I thought, but to some I now it was anti-climatic due to the only real options for a winner were Black Machismo and Kaz. But when I thought about one of those guys in the main event, I was happy and hoping that this would be the case. The match was exactly what you would expect from these guys. 10-minutes of crazy action, insane spots and big bumps. It was great because up to this point all we had seen were four tediously boring tag bouts. This changed the flow of the show and cheered me up. As mentioned it was great fun, not MITB great or Lethal Lockdown great, but a ton of fun and it was much needed at this state of the card. There were some tremendous spots and in the end YOUNG KAZ took the win as he escaped the TERROR DOME~! The win came off as huge, as he got some celebration time, something that TNA doesn't do all that often. They are slowly changing that and this is a good thing.

Deuces Wild Final Match – 3D vs. LAX: After 6-hours of tournament matches and ballyhoo, we finally got to the finals of the douches wild tag team tournament, and it would be a rematch of a feud from well over a year ago as LAX would battle Team 3D. They brawled to begin and after a lot of burn out, the crowd tried to be alive for this and reacted pretty well. Devine would try to get involved again, but Hector Guerrero made sure he didn't do any damage as he caned Devine, laid him on the table and gave him a DOUBLE STOMP from the top rope. HECTOR FTW~! The match was pretty good, but again could have been better with more time and less matches overall as the crowd was burnt out. As I said, they tried to be into it, but they were spent as this was match #9 on the show. In the end LAX not only goes over Team 3D, the most decorated tag team in wrestling history, but also they went over Team 3D, the team that over a year ago took their gold and started the downfall of TNA. Hector Guerrero truly did help them and the win came off as huge, as they got some celebration time, something that TNA doesn't do all that often. They are slowly changing that and this is a good thing. VIVA LAX, 5150, BLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAT~!

TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: First of all some stuff I need to say before discussing the match. I commend TNA for pulling Angle. I am sure he wanted to go and do the match, but they made the right call. But while they made the right call, it was a little CARNY of them to wait until people bought the show to tell them. A bit of bait and switch as it were. Another compliment is adding Kaz to the match. I feared that they would put Nash into the main event, possibly Jarrett or even Rick Steiner since he was there. But they didn't, they went with the young guy and Nash and Rick Steiner played no part in the match, it was a pleasant surprise and something they need complimented on. Finally there was Frank Trigg. I love that they brought him back for the PPV. He gave a good interview early in the show, discussing Angle's injuries, and that they are close and trained together. Trigg even put over that he was very worried about Angle's heath and career. This was great stuff. And again he was very good on commentary, toning down West and Tenay and getting the most out of his spots. Please hire him full time.

As for the match I thought that they had a fun main event. Not top notch PPV level main event, but it was good. Steiner was motivated, was busting ass in there and in the end he really pulled his own weight. Kaz didn't seem phased by the main event spot as he went out there, did his thing and looked great. Joe was Joe, he retained and looked dominant doing so. The only thing that slowed him down was getting hit with a pipe, and hell, that would slow us all down. Or kill us, either one. They had one or two off spots, but not bad ones, just slight miscommunication. It happens, especially with the last minute change. The finish worked big time, as they didn't go with the predictable ending of pinning Kaz. Joe pinned Steiner, clean, with the muscle buster and it was great. Steiner taking a clean loss is something he has done a good bit in TNA, and unlike others he doesn't seem too bothered by it. Kaz is protected and did so well that they could easily do Kaz vs. Joe on TV sometime to play off of this. They did a good job salvaging the main event, and while it wasn't "great" and didn't save the show, it was good work by all three involved.

Purgatory:

KNOCKOUTS MAKEOVER MATCH: So here we were with the ladies cluster gimmick-palooza match. The battle royal portion got off to a bad start as Salinas was tossed through the ropes as she and Roxxi had communication issues, and the house announcer said she was eliminated, as Tenay and West on commentary were saying she wasn't. Oops. We got through the Battle Royal part, which was basic, not bad, but not great and were down to the ladder portion. Gail Kim and Roxxi were to battle, but since Gail had immunity, Love had to stay at ringside because she could possibly get her head shaved. This was both good and bad, good for continuity, but bad due to so many gimmicks and because Love would be getting involved way to much. Kim and Roxxi worked their asses off and for the time they got, were having a great little ladder match. Roxxi got busted open as she took a few nasty ladder shots as well, she's a fucking trooper. Love would play into the finish and Gail Kim would win the match, the title shot and Roxxi was about to get the shave. The after match was good as they smartly had Kim attack Sky and Love to try and save her face heat because beating Roxxi didn't please the crowd. They then did the haircut, and they scalped her good. This came off well as Roxxi cried, the "good girls" all surrounded her, looking upset and trying to console her as Love and Sky celebrated with the hair trimmings like total bitches.

I will discuss this later on in the column, but they really should have done something to make this a one on one match, since there was already a 10-person match on the card. Also the Immunity deal cause MORE cluster-fuckery. Is that a word? It is now. Kim and Roxxi were having a great little ladder match, but the constant interference by Love and Sky took away from that. It did make sense and all, but when there are so many people and interference in other matches, it means nothing here. I also didn't like that Gail won the immunity, only to win the match. I think they should have scrapped the whole immunity deal as well, too many stipulations! But in closing I will say that ROXXI fucking rules. That chick has been busting her ass, she is over, she took the head shaving like a professional and got busted open big time during the ladder match. I hope that they have some good shit planned for you after this, you deserve it.

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal Match: Cage and Rhino defeated Robert Roode and Booker T @ 7:05 via pin: Cage and Rhino had to battle Booker T and Robert Roode in the tag tournament. Roode and Booker, you're all shocked, I know. They had a very basic and formula match. Roode was a douche bag and tried to work it by himself, Booker would tag himself in, dissention in the ranks, gore from Rhino and that's all. Nothing much to it as it was basically a TV match. Also, go figure, the guys that didn't get along didn't get along. That's what happens when you make three of the teams ones that are feuding. Two would have been fine, but it was overly predictable and just not very good. BUT at least they pulled the trigger on the Booker heel turn, which had been brewing on Impact so that is a good thing I feel. It would have meant more though if it would have played into the finish of the semifinal match, but they had to use a run in and take away the impact of it. I also think it would have worked even better if Booker would have taken the pin to really kick off the turn, instead of Roode taking yet another pin.

Deuces Wild Semifinal Match: Team 3D defeated Christian Cage and Rhino @ 10:00 via pin: The first semifinal match was Cage and Rhino vs. Team 3D. This actually played well since they had the brawl on Impact Thursday, they had some heat going into the bout. This was better than the quarterfinal bouts, but not by much and again came off as a TV match. We don't pay for TV matches, we pay for PPV matches. The problem here is that while the match was better, they didn't need the run in and weapon finish. Cage and Rhino already took chair shots from Booker, they were beat down the entire match as 3D focused on the injuries One of them taking the pin here would have been perfectly fine. But TNA decided to complicate things and do the complicated finish. Simplicity boys, simplicity. The good news is that the real tag team won here, and team 3D making the finals really should have been a given, since they are the 20-time tag team champions. Some good, some bad, a theme of the night.

Deuces Wild Semifinal Match: LAX defeated AJ Styles and Super Eric @ 7:40 via pin: The second semifinal match was LAX facing off with AJ and Super Eric. Again this match was better than the quarterfinal matches, mainly due to all four men being rather motivated and using what little time they had to their advantage. They worked hard, and while we didn't need another run in finish, the Hector deal worked and made sense because that is why LAX asked him to help. The simple reverse roll up is one of those old school heel things I love. LAX was obviously the right choice to win the match, they are a real team and people wanted them to win. I do have to mention that by this time the crowd was burnt out. Partly from seeing the same kind of matches over and over again, partly from seeing the same guys over and over again and partly due to the fact that both teams were getting face reactions. This obviously wasn't bad, but it was just lacking. Again it would have been nice to trim the PPV so that the guys could have had the right time and so that the crowd would have been more into it.

The wRong:

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal Match: Team 3D defeated Sting and James Storm @ 8:50 via pin: This match went about how I expected it to go. Sting and Storm didn't get along, and one of them was going to screw over the other man. Storm basically bailed and chilled on the apron and drank beer while Sting fought for his life. 3D looked to put Sting through a table, but when Storm tried to be an instigator, they backed off, Sting tossed Storm through the table, 3D won and James Storm is still everyone's bitch. What a shame. In the end the match felt like one that we would see multiple times during the evening. Nothing much to it as it was basically a TV match. Also, go figure, the guys that didn't get along didn't get along. That's what happens when you make three of the teams ones that are feuding. Two would have been fine, but it was overly predictable and just not very good. At least the real tag team won.

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal Match: LAX defeated Kip James and Matt Morgan @ 4:20 via pin: Once again this went how I expected it to go. It got no time, Kip and Morgan didn't get along and it cost them in the end. The action we got was poor, as I was actually bored by an LAX match, which is never a good thing. In the end the match felt like one that we would see multiple times during the evening. Nothing much to it as it was basically a TV match. Also, go figure, the guys that didn't get along didn't get along. That's what happens when you make three of the teams ones that are feuding. Two would have been fine, but it was overly predictable and just not very good. At least the real tag team won.

Deuces Wild Quarterfinal Match: AJ Styles and Super Eric defeated BG James and Awesome Kong @ 5:45 via pin: The only egotistical eight team not to be feuding was BG James and Awesome Kong, that was a nice change. For the first few minute is was excited as I thought that we were picking things up and were going to have a good match. But what hurt the bout was the ending. First of all, since they were rushed they rushed the finish, almost out of nowhere. AJ nearly broke his face, and that killed any momentum that they had. They improvised a finish and again, this was another disappointing quarterfinal bout. Repetition time. In the end the match felt like one that we would see multiple times during the evening. Nothing much to it as it was basically a TV match. Also, go figure, the guys that didn't get along didn't get along. That's what happens when you make three of the teams ones that are feuding. Two would have been fine, but it was overly predictable and just not very good.

The Ridiculous:

TOO MUCH SHIT: In the end the one thing that truly hurt this PPV was the fact that it was just overbooked with way too much shit.

DEUCES WILD: I knew that the main thing that would hurt the show would be the tournament. Not even the battle bowl style teams so much as the fact that trying to run SEVEN tournament matches on the PPV was a HORRIBLE IDEA. I stand by my idea of running the opening round stuff on TV, and then running the semifinals and finals on PPV. THREE matches instead of SEVEN. That way those matches and the other matches get more time, they ladies and gentlemen get more time to work and try to make the matches worth it. Sure we have feuds that moved on because of this, but they were already started. Hell, make a 6-man for the show and keep it simple.

LADIES MATCH: I also say that the ladies match was horribly overbooked. I feel that they should have worked the battle royal on IMPACT, eliminating that part from the PPV. Then they could have ran a straight ladder match on the PPV. That part of the match was killer. You remove the cluster, you remove 8-ladies and the focus is on the two competing. You can still do the hair stipulation as well, just eliminate the extra. You do not need to run a 10-woman match when you already have a 10-man match on the same show.

You do NOT have to get everyone on the PPV TNA, more doesn't mean better. Trust me on this. A few changes to the way they got to the PPV, which would have resulted in less matches, less people and more time for things to develop would have made this a really good show I feel. But once again the bad booking of the promotion hurts the great roster. You cannot make Chicken Cordon Blue out of chicken shit.

Closing Thoughts:
This PPV wasn't all bad. The booking of LAX to win the titles was good, pulling Angle was good and working Kaz back into importance was good. At the end of the night Joe and LAX stood tall as the champions, Kaz looked good and there was a feeling of freshness. LAX, Joe, Kaz, Petey and Kong are your TNA champions right now, and that is a cool thing to see. But as for the show, it felt like it was 8-hours long, and the crowd was noticeably burnt out due to seeing the guys so many times, there being so many matches and there being so many people in some of the matches. Overall I will go with a 6.0 out of 10, and there is really nothing you have to see here. Simplicity boys, quantity doesn't mean quality. It is a shame, because there is so much talent there, but the booking keeps them from thriving. Some trimming of things could have resulted in a really good PPV.

2008 PPV Rankings:
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA {8.7}
-ROH RISING ABOVE {8.6}
-ROH UNDENIABLE {8.5}
-TNA LOCKDOWN {8.2}
-WWE NO WAY OUT {8.1}
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {8.0}
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS {7.5}
-TNA DESTINATION X {7.25}
-WWE BACKLASH {7.0}
-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {6.75}
-TNA SACRIFICE {6.0}

2008 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) CAREER THREATENING MATCH: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels *****

-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WORLD TITLE MATCH: Edge © vs. The Undertaker ****½
-(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH World Title Match: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Austin Aries ****½
-(TNA LOCKDOWN) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Samoa Joe ****½

-(ROH UNDENIABLE) GRUDGE MATCH: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong ****¼
-(WWE NO WAY OUT) RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER ****¼

-(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
-(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
-(WWE ROYAL RUMBLE) The Royal Rumble Match ****

-(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA NO-DQ WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH: Gail Kim ©vs. Awesome Kong ***¾
-(TNA LOCKDOWN) LETHAL LOCKDOWN: Team Cage vs. Team Tomko ***¾
-(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) HARDCORE STREET FIGHT: Team 3D and Brother Devine vs. Black Machismo and the Motor City Machineguns ***¾
-(ROH UNDENIABLE) ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
-(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH World Tag Team Title - 2 of 3 Falls Match: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
-(WWE NO WAY OUT) SMACKDOWN ELIMINATION CHAMBER ***¾
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WWE TITLE MATCH: Randy Orton © vs. John Cena vs. HHH ***¾
-(WWE BACKLASH) WORLD TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker © vs. Edge ***¾
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH: Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin ***¾

2008 PPV MVP AWARDS:
This is a little added deal I started last year, as I feel that there are some other things that should be mentioned from the PPV's. Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.

-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong (Making us Care about Women's Wrestling on the National Stage)
-ROH UNDENIABLE: Strong vs. Aries (The Grudge is Settled)
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE: John Cena Shocks the World (No One Saw it Coming)
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS: Black Machismo Saves the X-Division (He is a Superman)
-WWE NO WAY OUT: Taker Eliminates the Competition (Elimination Chamber MVP)
-TNA DESTINATION X: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong © vs. ODB (Stepping up Again)
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXIV: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Thank You Flair)
-TNA LOCKDOWN: Angle vs. Joe (Great Build, Great Delivery)
-TNA SACRIFICE: Roxxi gets a Haircut (And makes the ultimate Sacrifice…)