**Edited on October 1st 2018**
(2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) — Hi everyone, hope all is well. Today we touch on the subject of TNA Wrestling in 2007.
Creative Team:- Jeff Jarrett, Vince Russo, Dutch Mantel
Champions:- Abyss (NWA Champion), LAX (NWA Tag Team Champions) and Christopher Daniels (X-Division Champion)
The former six-time NWA Champion Jeff Jarrett took a step back from the ring at the end of 2006, and didn’t appear again on television for over six months. Upon his return he turned babyface with a promise of not making the product about him. 2007 marked the first year in TNA history Jarrett did not hold a championship. It was also the year the relationship between NWA and TNA came to an end; new championships had to be made to replace the titles the NWA took back.
Final Resolution — “Up Close and Very Personal”
- AJ Styles continued his poor run of form in 2007 with a loss to Rhino in a Last Man Standing.
- Chris Sabin took advantage of the old returning veteran Jerry Lynn (by grabbing the tights) to take the X-Division title from Christopher Daniels in a 3-way dance.
- Alex Shelley defeated Austin Starr (Aries) to win the Paparazzi Championship Finals. “Samolian Joe”, “Big Fat Oily Guy” and Bob Backlund were the judges.
- LAX retained the NWA Tag Team titles in a match with Team 3D.
- Angle and Samoa Joe fought for the third time on PPV in an 30-minute Ironman match. 13 minutes in, Joe forced Angle to tap with the Coquina Clutch. Angle made Joe tap to the Anklelock a few minutes later. Angle made Joe tap again to the Anklelock a few minutes after. 22 minutes in, Joe evened the score with a Muscle Buster. With five minutes remaining, Angle rolled Joe up with a cradle to go up 3-2. Angle defended the lead til the clock ran down and earned a shot at the NWA title.
- Christian Cage defeated Abyss and Sting in a three-way elimination to win the NWA World Championship for a second time.
Against All Odds
A strange PPV which includes one of the worst matches in TNA history. Also historic as it was a rare occasion Kurt Angle challenged for the NWA title.
- LAX remained dominant with a win over Team 3D. Just when will Team 3D catch a break and win those titles?
- Backlund got involved in a feud between Senshi and Austin Starr, taking a slap from Senshi before putting Starr in the crossface chickenwing.
- Christy Hemme faced the “Big Fat Oily Guy” (Big Dick Johnson in WWE) in a Tuxedo match. I’m going to include it below .. but it comes with its own health warning.
- AJ Styles got revenge on Rhino in a chain match.
- Sabin used the ropes once again to pin Jerry Lynn with the X-Division title on the line.
- After months of managing, Gail Kim got another match on PPV in a mixed tag team contest. Jackie Moore (Jacqueline) teamed with James Storm to beat the team of Petey Williams and Gail Kim.
- Sting beat Abyss in another forgettable gimmick contest. This time a Prison Yard match.
- Christian Cage retained the NWA title against Kurt Angle with help from Tyson Tomko, Scott Steiner, a steel pipe, and the Unprettier.
Destination X — “First You Must Die…in Order to Live”
- LAX beat Team 3D again! Them poor Dudleys.
- Storm and Jackie beat Williams and Kim again, this time in a Texas Bullrope match.
- Now managed by Bob Backlund, Senshi defeated Austin Starr in a crossface chickenwing match.
- Sabin defeated Lynn in the X-Division title.
- AJ Styles and Rhino fought in a unique “Elevation X” match. Not even like Ultimate X, both men were forced to climb the structure and fight on the X platform. I’m going to include the match below as fans in attendance couldn’t bear to watch this. The winner is the man who throws his opponent off the structure to the ring below.
- Sting defeated Abyss once again, in a Last Rites match.
- Christian Cage did everything possible to retain the NWA title against Samoa Joe.
Lockdown — “Every War Ends in the Cage”
This was the last PPV to officially use the NWA titles. As always, every match was contested in six sides of steel.
- Chris Sabin retained in a Xscape match against Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Alex Shelley and Shark Boy
- The first ever women’s singles match on TNA PPV? I can’t recall any other time. Gail Kim defeated the veteran Jackie Moore.
- America’s Most Wanted split up earlier in the year, and Lockdown marked the return of Chris Harris after injury. The former tag team partners fought each other in the cage, and Storm came out victorious in the end.
- In one of the stupidest gimmick matches in TNA history, Team 3D fought LAX in an “electrified” six sides of steel cage match for the NWA tag titles. It was so poorly executed the fans chanted “Fire Russo!”. Russo later claimed the gimmick was not his idea, but Dutch Mantel’s. And as always, Dutch denied it was his idea, so I think no one wanted to take responsibility.
- Lethal Lockdown pitted Team Angle (Angle, Sting, Rhino, Samoa Joe and Jeff Jarrett) against Team Cage (Christian, AJ Styles, Tomko, Steiner and Abyss). Team Angle got their revenge on Cage’s team.
Sacrifice — “Give Nothing… but Take All”
Early in the same day Sacrifice was due to air live, the vice president of the NWA stripped Christian Cage and Team 3D of their NWA titles due to Christian refusing to defend the world title in NWA territories. The champions remained in possession of the physical belts, however, they were to defend their “status” as champions at Sacrifice instead. The championships were simply called the “World Tag Team Championships” and the “World Championship” by commentators. On-screen graphics continued to refer to them as NWA titles.
- Jarrett fought Robert Roode in the opening match, and lost.
- After being fired from WWE, the Basham Brothers (now called Basham and Damaja) made their TNA PPV debut with a win over Kip James (Billy Gunn) in a handicap match.
- Chris Harris returned the favour on James Storm in a rare Texas Death match. Watch it below! It’s brutal.
- Tiger Mask (IV) fought at the event, but was unable to win the four-corners match against Senshi, Alex Shelley, and winner Jerry Lynn.
- Team 3D defended their tag team championships against Steiner & Tomko, and LAX. Team 3D were awarded the new TNA Tag Team titles on the TNA Today show.
- Despite not being called the TNA title just yet, the winner of the main event would be crowned the first TNA World Heavyweight Champion. It was between Kurt Angle, Sting, and the defending champion Christian Cage. Kurt Angle cemented his TNA legacy by becoming the first TNA World Champion, and in the process picked up his first World title outside of the WWE. The next day, Angle was stripped due to the controversial double-fall finish at Sacrifice. The title would be defended in a King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary.
- TNA decided they did not want to include Angle’s victory at Sacrifice in the titles history preceding events. In 2015, for no clear reason, TNA decided they wanted to include the Sacrifice title win as part of history, making Angle a six-time TNA World Champion overall.
Slammiversary — “Massacre in Music City!”
An important one as it marked exactly five years since the company was born.
- Jay Lethal picked up his first major title with a victory over X-Division Champ Chris Sabin.
- Bob Backlund wrestled and won a singles match against Alex Shelley.
- Team 3D defended their TNA Tag Team titles against the old veterans of Rick Steiner and Road Warrior Animal. (Animal subbed in for Scott Steiner as he was injured)
- Before the main event, Jeff Jarrett cut a shoot promo about his late wife Jill who died a few weeks earlier from breast cancer.
- In a memorable King of the Mountain match, Kurt Angle solidified his position as the top guy by hanging the title up at the expense of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christian Cage and Chris Harris.
Victory Road
Two days after Slammiversary, Samoa Joe defeated Jay Lethal on an episode of TNA Impact to claim his third X-Division title. Then Jim Cornette had an excellent idea, why not have a champions vs. champions match between the World Champion and the X-Division facing the Tag Team Champions at Victory Road?
- Christopher Daniels became #1 contender to the X-Division title after beating nine other guys in a Ultimate X gauntlet match.
- The Motor City Machine Guns (Sabin/Shelley) made their tag team debut on PPV with a win over Jerry Lynn and Bob Backlund.
- Another mixed tag match saw Eric Young and Gail Kim beat the couple of Robert Roode and Ms. Traci Brooks
- In the main event, Scott Steiner interfered which allowed Samoa Joe to pin Brother Ray and become both the X-Division and Tag Team Champion all on his own.
Hard Justice — “All or Nothing…”
As Samoa Joe held the X-Division and Tag Team titles, Kurt Angle wanted to claim them for himself. At the time, Angle was TNA World Champion and IWGP (IGF version) Heavyweight Champion. The main event was a Winner Takes All contest for all the gold.
- Jay Lethal bounced back from his short X-Division title reign by teaming with Sonjay Dutt. They made a name for themselves by defeating the reformed Triple X (Daniels, Elix Skipper, Senshi) and The Motor City Machine Guns in the opener.
- Raven made a return to TNA PPV with a loss to Kaz.
- Black Reign (the artist formerly known as Goldust) made his debut in a match with Chris Harris, and got himself disqualified.
- Scott Steiner returned from injury to partner with his brother Rick one more time, and got their revenge on Team 3D with a tag team win.
- Andrew “Test” Martin made his TNA PPV debut. He partnered with Abyss and Sting to take on Christian’s Coalition (Christian/Styles/Tomko) in a Doomsday Chamber Of Blood match. A match type created by Abyss, the cage has a roof with barbed wire hanging from it, and the only way you can defeat your opponent is to make them bleed first.
- In a winner takes all contest, Kurt Angle once again defeated his rival Samoa Joe. Angle was now the TNA World Champion, IWGP Heavyweight Champion, TNA X-Division Champion, and the sole TNA Tag Team Champion. This marked the first time any wrestler held all active championships simultaneously.
15 days later, Sting won a fatal four-way against Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Christian Cage to become Kurt Angle’s partner and second TNA Tag Team Champion.
No Surrender — “Where The Nightmare Becomes A Reality”
Kurt Angle pulled triple duty defending his titles on the same night. In the buildup, TNA signed the controversial Adam “Pacman” Jones to the roster and had him “make it rain” (see my disgusting promotional tactics series for more information), as well as Ron Killings choosing to be his partner. I can’t find out how or why, but Ron Killings and Jones managed to get a tag team title shot at No Surrender.
- Angle turned on Sting during the match by giving him an Angle Slam. Killings and Jones took advantage and won the tag team championships.
- Jay Lethal reversed the Anklelock in to a roll-up, surprising Angle and winning the X-Division title for the second time.
- A Ten-team tag team gauntlet match was booked to decide the #1 contenders at Bound For Glory. AJ Styles and Tomko won after AJ rolled Sabin up for the pinfall.
- Angle successfully retained the world title by forcing Abyss to submit to the Anklelock.
Adam Jones’ legal issues meant he was unable to work matches, so TNA added Consequences Creed (aka Xavier Woods) to the group to partner Killings.
Bound For Glory
- LAX opened the show with a win over Elix Skipper and Senshi in Ultimate X.
- AJ Styles and Tyson Tomko started a lengthy run with the tag team titles following a quick win over Ron Killings and Consequences Creed.
- Jay Lethal continued his good run of form with a title defense against Daniels.
- The Steiner Brothers beat Team 3D at their own game in a two out of three falls tables match.
- Up next is what I consider the beginning of the women’s revolution on television. TNA introduced the new Knockouts Championship which would be decided in a Gauntlet For The Gold Match. Participants included: Gail Kim, Awesome Kong, Christy Hemme, Angelina Love, Talia Madison (Velvet Sky), Ms. Brooks, Jackie Moore, Shelly Martinez, ODB, and Roxxi Laveaux. Match included below.
- Abyss survived Monster’s Ball against Raven, Rhino and Black Reign.
- In a heavily hyped and memorable main event, Sting and Kurt Angle fought with all they had for the TNA title. Sting worked his way through interference from Karen Jarrett and Kevin Nash to win the title for the first time.
“A New Breed of Company.. A New Breed of Wrestler.. A New Breed in Wrestling”
- Black Reign lost on PPV after succumbing to Abyss in Shop Of Horrors.
- The Motor City Machine Guns showed their talent by beating Team 3D in the longest match on the card.
- Gail Kim proved she’s the best Knockout with a win in a four way match against Roxxi, Love and ODB.
- In the final round of the 2007 Fight for the Right tournament, Kaz won a ladder match against Christian Cage to become #1 contender to the TNA World title.
- TNA shocked the world when the surprise tag team partner turned out to be former WCW and WWE star Booker T. Critics of the event gave TNA major props, stating was a great end to an already good PPV. The match was also for the TNA World title, so if Sting pinned either Angle or Nash he would become champion, but it also meant Booker T and Kevin Nash could win the match and become champion. In a short main event, Angle found a way to pin Sting and retain his title.
This marked Sting’s last appearance in 2007 as he wanted to take time off to be with his family.
Turning Point — “Silent Night…Bloody Night”
The event will always be remembered for Scott Hall no-showing the event. Samoa Joe cut a scathing shoot promo which landed him in deep water with the company. It was an unscripted moment and was not meant to be part of the show. I’ll include a video of it below.
- Velvet-Love Entertainment made a name for themselves with a win over ODB and Roxxi Laveaux. This was just before the name and gimmick change to “The Beautiful People”.
- The first ever “Feast Or Fired” match (briefcases on poles need to be retrieved to get a title shot, or possibly be fired) saw winners in Scott Steiner, Petey Williams, Senshi and BG James.
- In their first PPV singles match encounter, Awesome Kong got herself disqualified against Gail Kim in a Knockouts title match by refusing to listen to the referee.
- Abyss and Raven paired up to take down the team of Black Reign and the debuting Rellik in a Match of 10,000 tacks.
- The main event was scheduled to be Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall against Kurt Angle, AJ Styles and Tyson Tomko, but due to Hall’s no-show Eric Young was slotted in as a replacement. Joe, Nash and Young were successful in the end.
TNA had early suspicion Hall would no-show the event, so they contacted him and he told them he’d contracted food poisoning. TNA didn’t want any heat for it, so they asked Joe to introduce Eric Young to the crowd before the main event. But it went on five minutes longer than expected, and Dixie Carter was not happy. Nash was visibly upset as Joe said his piece, and it was later reported the two had a backstage argument after the main event.
A conference call was made with Dixie stating if anyone had a problem with what transpired, they had the choice to quit the company. Only Senshi decided to be released from his contract. Samoa Joe apologized for his actions, and TNA turned his promo in to a storyline.
Conclusion
A rollercoaster year. No Jeff Jarrett, but plenty of Christian, Angle and Sting. The feud between Joe and Kurt was everything the company needed, and I don’t even mind they held all the gold. The promotion had everything to be successful and they were still pushing for more with the Knockouts Division. I’m not sure how they did it, but they were able to maintain the booking of the main event scene and several other divisions with a fine balance. There was a bit of everything, and this is why I consider 2007 one of its best years. The Knockouts showed they could be more than eye candy, they could main event shows in competitive wrestling matches.
My only beef with 2007 was the crazy amount of gimmick matches, but at least they were trying new things. I liked the show at the time as I digged Angle as the heel world champion with Sting chasing it. Styles and Tomko were a really solid team which came as a surprise. Booker T coming in told me literally anyone could walk down the ramp and surprise us in the future; I didn’t see it coming as I thought he was loyal to WWE.
I’m going to start a thing where I name two wrestlers (one male, one female) who had a great year. Abyss was amazingly consistent all year, even when he wasn’t in world title matches he was winning Monster’s Ball and every other crazy gimmick match under the sun.
Gail Kim, Jackie Moore, Ms. Brooks and others helped management to see they could make use of a women’s division. And who better to lead the way than Gail Kim? With the help of Dutch Mantel and the other TNA Knockouts, the women became yet another selling point under the TNA banner. And that’s all from me … thank you very much for reading!
