The fans still love the Kru, good call on this match opening the show. BG hits his signature punches and shaky knee drop early. He and the Truth double team David Young. Diamond decides to slap Skipper to fire him up and Tenay compares him to Bobby Knight. The Diamonds in the Rough take control with nice teamwork. Konnan gets the hot tag though after some double teams. He hits an inverted DDT on Skipper after Elix matrixed out of a clothesline. K-Dawg then throws his shoe into Young's gut, setting up the K-Factor and the win. 

They replay the confrontations from the pre-show for those who missed it. 

AUSTIN ARIES V. RODERICK STRONG

The crowd is definitely behind Aries early. There's a "Generation Next" chant as well. Tenay and West let those of us who aren't Ring of Honor viewers know that these guys are both in the Generation Next stable in ROH and that Strong has never defeated Aries. We have the classic indy style feeling out process to start, which is punctuated by Aries doing a headstand to get out of a submission and then dropkicking Strong in the face. Strong reverses the momentum by press slamming Aries into the turnbuckle. Strong works over Aries' back with a variety of backbreakers to set up his Boston Crab finisher. Aries fights up to his feet, only to eat a great dropkick. The crowd is solidly behind Aries as he starts to regain the momentum. He nails Strong with two wicked clotheslines and his pendulum elbow gets a two count. Strong regains control with a nasty fireman's carry into a gutbuster, but only got a two count out of it. Aries finally hits his Brainbuster and then follows up with a 450 Splash to get the win. 

KIP JAMES/MONTY BROWN V. LANCE HOYT/APOLLO

Sonny Siaki accompanies his usual partner Apollo to the ring in a neck brace, which Monty and Kip mock. Hoyt gets the better of Kip in the early going, which just makes Monty more upset with Kip. Monty tags in, but Hoyt stays in control as his fans go wild. They boo when he tags in Apollo, I guess I'm not the only one who isn't an Apollo fan. When Hoyt tags back in, the fans go wild. Kip gets back in the match with a blind tag, and he eventually hits a neckbreaker on Hoyt to take control of the match. Kip and Monty finally start working well together with some double team moves. Monty hits multiple backdrop suplexes, turning the last one into a nice sidewalk slam. After some more abuse of Hoyt, he finally gets the hot tag to Apollo, who goes on a tear. Hoyt gets back in and nails Kip with a big boot, following it up with a huge moonsault. Monty tosses Lance to the outside though and slams him into the turnbuckle. Kip accidentally kicks Monty as a double team attempt backfires, giving Apollo an opportunity. A superkick gets a two count. Apollo gets Kip up in a fireman's carry position, but Monty breaks it up. After tossing Kip out of the way, he Pounces Apollo to get the win. 

As they leave, Kip and Monty keep arguing. Traci is in the back, interviewing Team Canada. Eric Young is freaking out about the upcoming Tag Title match, and Petey has to snap him out of it. He tell A-1 that he needs to step it up. Roode says that his opponent, Jeff Hardy, is a "half baked nut job." I can't really disagree there Bobby. 

PETEY WILLIAMS V. CHRIS SABIN

We learn that the soundman is definitely not Canadian as he accidentally plays Abyss' music when Petey comes out. Poor Petey, he's upset. Tenay explains the change in the card, saying that Shocker was unable to make it to face Sabin due to his bookings with the AAA promotion in Mexico. The match follows the "two men who know each other well" blueprint, as it's chock full of reversals and counters. Outside the ring, Sabin was able to hit a sweet dropkick to Williams, who was seated on the apron. Petey was able to avoid Sabin's follow-up dive, which resulted in Sabin smashing into the guard rail. Williams did his classic "Oh Canada" crotch stomp to a tree of woe-d Sabin. Petey sure did talk a lot of trash in this match tonight, even getting distracted by running his mouth to the crowd. Sabin reversed the momentum after a spin kick, enziguiri, fisherman's suplex combo. Petey followed up with an attempted Candian Destroyer, but Sabin blocked it. Instead, Williams locked in a really mean looking sharpshooter, even going to one knee to cinch it in tighter. Sabin struggled, but eventually reached the ropes. The moves were fast and furious at this point, Sabin came back with one of his classic tornado DDT's, but was only able to get a two count. Petey countered a tilt-a-whirl with the side Canadian leg sweep. Sabin caught Petey on the turnbuckle in a Razor's Edge position and deposited him on the opposite turnbuckle. Sabin tried to finish Petey off with a Cradle Shock, but Petey broke it up with a dastardly fish hook to the eyes. While Sabin was blinded, he nearly Cradle Shocked the ref. Luckily, he realized that Slick Johnson was bald and Petey has flowing locks. Petey tried to take advantage with another Canadian Destroyer, but Sabin countered it into a Cradle Shock for the victory. 

As Sabin celebrated, Matt Bentley showed up and tried to superkick Sabin's head into the Pit. He failed, but still got the point across. The crowd chanted "Welcome Back." He said that some people speculated that he was on his way "up North," but said that TNA was his home. He also laid down a challenge for an Ultimate X match at Bound for Glory. He even superkicked Williams for good measure on his way out. 

ABYSS V. SABU

I really hate the stupid chant the Pit does when Abyss comes out. James Mitchell wants the match to be no-DQ, and are you shocked that everybody is okay with it? The first big move of the match is an overhead belly to belly suplex by Abyss. Sabu rolls to the outside, can't find a chair, but a fan willingly obliges. The fans really do give back in TNA. Sabu uses said chair to hit an Arabian Facebuster, and then sets it up for one of his trademark springboard moves. This one is a clothesline, sending both men over the top rope. Sabu tries to set up a table, but one of the legs is broken. Whatever happened to quality control when it comes to table making? Abyss knocks Sabu out of the way and sets up a table of his own, one that can actually stand up all the way. Once both men were back in the ring, Sabu connects with another springboard move, this time a tornado DDT off the top rope. He goes for another clothesline with Abyss caught up in the ropes, but Abyss tosses Sabu over his head, through the tables at ringside. After dragging him back in the ring, it only got a two count for the Monster. Abyss gets another table, this time bringing it into the ring. However, he took too long, allowing Sabu to blast him with a couple of chair shots and hit a Super Atomic Arabian Facebuster off the top rope. Mitchell saves Abyss by putting his foot on the bottom rope. Sabu is distracted by Mitchell, giving Abyss enough time to collect himself and nail a Shock Treatment on Sabu. The crowd's chants are finally answered as Mitchell instructs Abyss to get the thumbtacks. After they're spread out, both men battle over the spot. Sabu goes for another springboard, but Abyss catches him and turns it into the Black Hole Slam into the tacks. Whatever was left of Sabu's back is now shredded, that was sick. There was no getting up after that, Abyss is your winner. 

Backstage, Shane Douglas interviews the lonely Alex Shelley. His partner, and fellow winner of the Candido Memorial Cup, Sean Waltman is a no-show. Shelley says he's going for his shot at the tag titles, even if he has to do it alone. 

BOBBY ROODE V. JEFF HARDY

Damn, Jeff found his Hot Topic body paint stash. It was a very mixed reaction for Hardy, more so than usual. Roode gets the proceedings started with a nice gutwrench into a backbreaker. Bobby is working really hard to be a heel, yelling at both Hardy and the fans throughout the whole match. He also hit a nice basement dropkick, which was a little unexpected. Jeff seems a little more sloppy than usual, and that's saying something. He is able to hit the Whisper in the Wind without stumbling in a nice spot. Hardy hits a sort of STO and goes to the top for the Swanton, but is stopped by the Canadian Captain Petey Williams. Roode sprints up the turnbuckle for a Kurt Angle-ish overhead suplex. Hardy is able to avoid the dreaded hockey stick, and hits a Twist of Fate on Roode, which sends him to the outside. Hardy dives off the top rope, taking both Canadians out. Petey is up, tries for the Destroyer, but Hardy gets out of it. With his new Canadian passport in hand, Jeff Jarrett runs out, cracks the hockey stick over Hardy's back and rolls him to the ring to be pinned by Roode. 

Franchise is backstage with The Naturals and Jimmy Hart. AMW interrupts, and quite cocky about doing so. Storm was especially bitchy, could this be the beginnings of the heel turn I called for months ago? 

NWA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: THE NATURALS (C) V. AMERICA'S MOST WANTED V. TEAM CANADA (A-1/YOUNG) V. SEAN WALTMAN/ALEX SHELLEY (ELIMINATION RULES)

Poor Shelley, Waltman doesn't show and he has to go it alone. Tenay is ticked about this, and goes off for a long time. As the Naturals enter, they give Chris Candido's traditional yellow towel to his family at ringside. Nice touch. The Naturals and AMW brawl to start it. When things settle down, it's Shelley against the Canadians. He holds his own for a while, but the numbers eventually get to him. He tries to tag in one of The Naturals, but they drop to the floor to avoid it. Chris Candido's brother, Johnny, can't take it anymore and hops the rail to be Shelley's impromptu partner. Shelley is able to hit a sweet double jawbreaker/DDT move on both Canadians and tags in Johnny. However, his inexperience shows as he takes a crotch shot and is pinned. This brings a fired up AMW into the fray. James Storm cleans house, hitting the 8 Second Ride and Eye of the Storm on Young. A-1 is able to reverse the momentum with some classic Canadian shenanigans, beating on Storm on the outside. This leads to the obligatory Tennessee Cowboy beatdown of the night, a feature of every AMW match. After some great teamwork out of Team Canada, Storm is finally able to superkick Young and get a tag to Chris Harris. Harris, the master of the hot tag, is in full effect tonight. A-1 is able to block the Catatonic and goes for a vertical suplex. Harris says, "Not so fast," and hits a delayed vertical suplex of his own. Harris goes for a suplex on Young, but A-1 finds an equalizer, the hockey stick of doom. He cracks it across Harris' ribs and Harris is pinned. The Naturals, who have been avoiding the action, take the early advantage against Young. The Canadians turn the tide with some of their usual tactics. Tactics like, you know, cheating. While the beatdown by the Canadians continues, Jimmy Hart keeps screaming into this megaphone. After every kickout, Young screams like a ten year old girl at a Hilary Duff concert. Andy Douglas gets thrown to the floor, and the Canadian push Jimmy Hart to the ground when he tries to help. Tenay is furious. Douglas is finally able to get the hot tag to Chase Stevens. An Alabama Slam is followed by a cover, but A-1 breaks it up. A-1 follows up with a powerbomb, and everybody's in the ring at this point. Young hits a superplex on Douglas. As he goes to the top rope again to follow up, Hart pushes him off. This leads to the Natural Disaster on A-1 and The Naturals retain their titles. 

Franchise interviews Rhino backstage. The ManBeast had some nice comments about his time at Titan Towers, saying that he's survived "four years of wrestling hell" and doesn't need any "Hollywood bitches" telling him how to show emotion in the ring. He also claims Raven will "cry tears of blood." That can't be good. 

NWA WORLD TITLE: RAVEN (C) V. RHINO

Raven brings the obligatory shopping cart o' plunder to the ring with him. I don't want to know why he brought a plunger. The match kicks off with a Kendo stick duel. Rhino is a little intimidated by Raven's twirling prowess, Raven might have spent some serious time training with a local high school color guard. Raven takes things up a notch though, first with a crutch and then with his trusty pizza cutter. This elicits the "We want pizza," chant from the crowd. Outside the ring, Raven slams Rhino headfirst into a beer keg. Rhino reverses things by swinging the keg at Raven, clocking him several times with it. Rhino is wearing the crimson mask, he showed off quite a manly blade job. Back in the ring, Raven gets Rhino caught in an ankle lock. Seriously, an ankle lock in a Raven's Rules match? Is that even allowed? It should at least be a two point deduction. Rhino gets to the ropes and is so infuriated by the submission hold that he blasts Raven in the back with a chair and in the head with a trash can. This busts Raven wide open. Rhino sets the can up in Raven's lap in the corner and kicks it into his face. He goes for a facewash with the bottom of his boot, but Raven counters with another ankle lock and another two point deduction. Rhino is able to fight up to his feet and blasts Raven with the trash can to break the hold. He then uses Raven's staple gun against him, twice on the top of the head. Rhino climbs to the top, but misses the splash. Cassidy Reilly (aka Stevie Richards 2k5) runs in for no reason. He does manage to distract the ref as Raven hits an Evenflow and Rhino is able to kick out. Raven continues the assault with a powerbomb onto a ladder propped up against a chair. Rhino's back bent the ladder, which made some chiropractor very happy. Rhino reverses things by see-sawing the ladder back into Raven's face. He goes outside to bring the shopping cart into the ring, but ends up getting rammed into the corner with it. Raven avoids a Gore attempt, which leads to Rhino Goring the cart. Again, cue chiropractors clapping. Jeff Jarrett shows up, grabbing the NWA World Title at ringside. Jeff Hardy runs out to grab the belt from Jarrett. Raven is able to nail Jarrett with an Evenflow and saves one more for Rhino to get the win. 

X DIVISION TITLE: CHRISTOPHER DANIELS (C) V. AJ STYLES V. SAMOA JOE

Excellent call by TNA to put this match on last. Jeremy Borash gives us the full main event introductions. Daniels kicks things off by running his mouth, so AJ and Joe both decide to kick the ever loving crap out of Daniels. Once he's down, they play "Who Can Top This?" with vicious kicks to the back. Daniels finally is able to get up and screams, "Stop kicking me!" which leads to another kick from AJ and Joe. Great segment, the crowd was ready to explode. AJ tries to roll up Joe and sneak a quick win, but Joe locks a crazy submission on AJ that Daniels has to break up. Joe nails Daniels with an enziguiri and follows it up by trying to punt AJ out of the Impact Zone. Daniels ends up hitting a cool combination kick/bulldog that takes both men down. These guys are working really well together on these moves. AJ takes control with a hurricanrana to Joe and the Angry Man Flying Forearm to Daniels. Joe blocks AJ's attempt at the forearm and turns it into an overhead release suplex. Joe goes the facewash on AJ, but Daniels blocks it by slamming into Joe, taking the big man out of the ring. The Fallen Angel follows up with a dropkick through the ropes and a split legged moonsault to the outside. AJ tops that by hitting a springboard Shooting Star Press that takes both men out. Back inside, AJ hits his trademark dropsault on Joe. Daniels catches AJ in the corner and monkey flips him. However, AJ lands on Joe and hurricanranas him in another sweet move. Daniels has had enough of the AJ Show and backdrops him to the outside in a sick bump. Daniels attacks Joe, but Joe ends up just slapping the crap out of him. Daniels tries to roll Joe up, but Joe is able to turn it into the Kokina Clutch. AJ climbs to the top and breaks up the submission with the Spiral Tap. Styles goes for pins on both, but only gets two counts. Daniels throws AJ back to the outside. Daniels is able to hit an STO on Joe, but his BME attempt is blocked by AJ. Daniels is now stuck in the Tree of Woe. Joe murders AJ with a running knee, and then kills Daniels with a basement dropkick while he's stuck in the ropes. Joe scores with another running kick to AJ, follows up with a senton splash, but is only able to get a two count. Daniels is back up and stuns Joe, and the crowd, with a Death Valley Driver on Joe. AJ breaks up the pin attempt. Daniels and AJ trade punches on the outside. Joe comes flying over the top rope with a twisting suicide dive that looking more murderous than suicidal. All three men peel themselves off the floor and make it back to the ring. Daniels is able to block an attempt at the Muscle Buster. AJ climbs up for a superplex attempt, but Joe tosses both of them back into the ring. The crowd is officially insane at this point. Joe and AJ trade shots, which ends with Joe hitting a nasty release German suplex. He sets up AJ and hits the Muscle Buster. Daniels tries a sneak attack with the title belt, but Joe catches him with a powerslam. Joe taunts Daniels a bit too long, and gets the title belt kicked into his face. Now, AJ and Daniels are trading blows, with Daniels ending it with a Blue Thunder Bomb. A Rock Bottom by Daniels is followed up with the BME, but Joe breaks up the pin. Joe kicks Daniels some more, but Daniels is able to block it and turn a Dragon Sleeper into the Roll of the Dice. AJ is back into the action with his classic Asai DDT on Daniels, but Daniels is able to kick out of the pin attempt. Daniels ends AJ's little fury with a superplex. It really seems like AJ drew the short straw before this match started, he's getting killed with everything. Joe powerbombs Daniels, follows it up with an STF, but Daniels is able to reach the ropes. Joe rocks AJ with punches, but AJ counters with a Pele kick out of nowhere. Speaking of out of nowhere, AJ scores a Torture Rack on Joe, slams him down, but is only able to get another two count. These guys are exhausted. Daniels catches AJ by surprise and slams Styles onto Joe. AJ is able to rally and hit the Styles Clash on Daniels, but Joe breaks up the pin. Joe throws AJ to the outside, but misses on a charge at Daniels and ends up out of the ring as well. AJ gets back in and is trading shots with Daniels. The Fallen Angel gets the advantage and goes for the Angel's Wings. AJ counters by taking Daniels over and pins him with a bridge for the surprise win. 

The show goes to black with a victorious and bloodied AJ, Joe seething outside the ring, and Daniels in the midst of a mental breakdown in the ring. 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

· I hated recapping the main event. It's almost like telling a friend about a movie that you really want them to see. Make sure you see this match. It was great, and it was everything TNA needs to highlight as they enter the Spike TV era. 

· Extra props to TNA for making the X Division Title match the main event over the NWA World Title match. This isn't a knock on Raven and Rhino, who had a very good match, but their match should not have been the final match on the show. 

· Is this a sign that TNA plans to highlight the X Division more as they head to Spike TV? I like the mix of action TNA has now and would like to see it continue. You have good champions for all three titles, a number of challengers for each one, and a very solid undercard group. I was a little worried about the show becoming crowded with WWE castoffs, hopefully their faith in the X Division will be enough to overcome the desire to bring in supposed big names. 

· The Franchise stole far too many backstage interviews from Traci, what's up with that? 

· What was the deal with Sean Waltman? The guy steps in for Hardy against Raven in an excellent hardcore match a few months ago, has a great match with Jerry Lynn last month, and now no shows the PPV. I hope there's more to it, I've seen conflicting reports, but I just don't know. 

· While I was hoping to see a permanent alliance between Shelley and Waltman, Alex did the best with what he had to work with last night. The "Total Nonstop Alex" line was money. 

· Sign of the night: Bacardi Owns Cola narrowly upsets WWE Ownz My Name. 

· Match of the night: The main event, of course. I'd give Raven v. Rhino and the NWA Tag Team title match honorable mentions. The opener was the loser of the night, but it wasn't bad at all. 

· Strong v. Aries was good. I liked Aries more this month than last month's match with Daniels. Strong was very solid. The "showcase match" idea is a good one. It's an easy way to make the indy marks happy, and a way to see if new talent from the indys will fit in TNA.

· Although I'm not sure if they're ready to pull the trigger on it, Monty Brown should challenge for and win the NWA World Title at Bound for Glory. Next to AJ, he's the best example of someone who has made their name in TNA. I was worried that Jarrett would end up with the belt there, but I'm hoping they go to chapter three of his feud with Jeff Hardy instead. Not that I'm clamoring for that match, but it will keep them both out of the World Title scene for a bit. 

· Bentley wants Ultimate X at Bound for Glory. Who do you throw in there? If it was my call, it'd be Bentley v. Sabin v. Williams v. Aries for a shot to be the number one contender in the X Division. 

Great show this month, the replay is extremely recommended. How can you go wrong with a possible Match of the Year in your main event, good hardcore action with Abyss v. Sabu and Raven v. Rhino, two good X Division matches in Williams v. Sabin and Aries v. Strong, a fun NWA Tag Team title match, and very little suck throughout? TNA will debut on Spike TV on October 1 and the Posse will be back with your Bound For Glory Preview later in the month. See y'all then…