21 Years Ago In TNA #10 - Oh Sh!t! It's A Genuinely Honest-To-Dixie Good Show Ya'll! (August 21st, 2002)

You know what, kids? I was ready to call it quits on this experiment... I mean, there was no reason to go on. I already saw Truth win the NWA Title and as happy as I was to watch it, the stuff that followed was less than stellar. These shows were getting bad. I had no problem jumping off the train at number 10. In fact, I was dreading this show because I'm expecting more of the same and all I needed was that one push off the edge to call this whole thing off.

And then an amazing thing happened as I was watching this show; something that seemed almost impossible given what I had witnessed these past few weeks.

The show was good... not just good, but REALLY good.

In fact, I may go so far to say that I actually LIKED this show.

How 'bout that, huh?

The show opens with a superb falls count anywhere match between A.J. Styles and Jerry Lynn, which ends with Lynn getting the win after hitting Styles with his trademark cradle piledriver. This turns out to be the first in a best-of-3 series taking place tonight, with the final matches closing out the show. (Yes, I said matches because AJ gets his win back and we're jumping ahead.)

The future AMW defeated the team on the other Harris and Brian Lee in a perfectly acceptable tag match. Hell, I'd go so far to say that it was a fun match with four big, mean dudes.

The Flying Elvises explode as Sonny Siaki defeated partner Jimmy Wang in a best-of-3 falls match with Siaki winning 2-1. I kinda forgot how good Sonny Siaki used to be, even if he did have the slightest hint of a Rock imitation to him. Jimmy would eventually migrate over to WWE and...

Oh wait, here comes Jeff Jarrett to to talk to Bob Armstrong about... something... and then Jerry's Kid comes along and beats up Jarrett for a bit before security comes in to ruin the whole thing. Brian Christopher is apparently angry about something, but he doesn't show it in his match against that Slash guy because he's still doing that fucking Too Cool gimmick that got tired ages ago. Brian beats Slash as I suddenly remember that the New Church is still a thing. I'd call this the only sour point, but then there's the World title match.

X-Division champion Low Ki retains his title in another four-way match. Good clean spotty fun... and this is followed by NWA World Champion Ron Killings defeating Monty Brown to retain the title in a less-than-stellar match... then another run in from Jarrett because we can't have enough of those.

We end the show with A.J. Styles defeating Jerry Lynn in a NO DQ match, bringing their series to 1 fall a piece. So let's have a ten-minute "Ironman" match... okay... that ends up being a draw, which brings out Low Ki to challenge both men to a three-way dance for the title. This was fun. Dare I say this trilogy of matches carried the whole fucking show for me... and no, I don't mean RVD.

And then we close the show with Jarrett fighting a masked dude and getting ambushed by one of the Armstrongs.

This write-up doesn't sound overly positive, but honestly, I found this to be a good show. Yes, there were some bad bits to it, but it's not as bad. There are no Dupps, there are no little bastards, no Johnsons, no rainbows, no Disco Inferno, and there sure as shit wasn't an Ed Ferrara to pollute my eardrums because I guess Don West figured out how to sell shit on the mic. (He gets better... trust me. And he shall be missed.)

So yes, I liked this show. Probably more than I should have, but fuck it. I'll take it.