On Wednesday, July 16, 2003, NWA-TNA presented NWA-TNA PPV 54 in the latest of our NWA-TNA/IMPACT Sunday Night RetroViews.
The show starts off with Jeff Jarrett and Joe E. Legend brawling around ringside. TNA security and red shirt security comes out to separate Jarrett & Legend.
D’Lo Brown comes out and says he has a way to make sure that nobody tries to interfere on AJ Styles’ behalf. Brown reveals that if he beats Sonny Siaki, he will get five minutes alone with Vince Russo in the ring.
NWA-TNA PPV 54
Sonny Siaki vs. D’Lo Brown
Brown dives over the top to take Siaki out with a suicide dive on the floor and sends Siaki into the ring, where he hits a slingshot senton, goes for a pinfall, and gets a two count. Brown bodyslam and follows up with a leg drop.
Brown shoves Trinity off the apron but gets crotched anyway, allowing Siaki to get control, hitting a flipping neck breaker, goes for a pinfall gets a two count. Siaki with a clothesline Brown, goes for a pinfall and gets a two count.
Siaki counters a clothesline and hits Brown with an overhead suplex, goes for a pinfall gets a two count. Siaki, with a snap suplex on Brown, goes for a pinfall and gets a two-count. Brown lifts Siaki into the air and plants Siaki with an ace crusher followed by a spinning heel kick goes for a pinfall and gets a two count.
Brown Thez Press Siaki followed by right hands. Brown drives Siaki down to the canvas with a spine buster, goes for a pinfall gets a two count. Trinity goes to the top rope but misses Brown and hits Siaki with a cross body to allow Brown goes for pinfall and gets the 1-2-3!
Winner: D’Lo Brown
They play a video package on the feud between Jerry Lynn and Justin Credible.
NWA-TNA PPV 54
Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible
Last Man Standing Match
Lynn tackles Credible and hammers away on his rival. Lynn crotches Credible on the top rope and follows up with a dropkick. Lynn trips Credible from the floor and leg drops Credible across the middle rope in a spot that was horribly setup.
Credible runs into a big boot on the floor but sends Lynn face-first into the ring steps with a drop-toe hold. Lynn is busted wide open already, and Credible focuses his attack on the open wound.
Credible works over Lynn in the corner with stomps, and a powerbomb goes for a pinfall and gets a two-count. Credible goes to the floor and gets a table from under the ring. Lynn recovers to take Credible out with a somersault dive off the apron.
Lynn catapults Credible into the ring post-face first. Credible is busted wide open. He is really pouring blood instantly after the post-shot. Credible comes back with a spinning DDT but can’t get a three-count on the cover attempt.
Credible works over Lynn in the corner, but Jerry fights back with chops of his own. Lynn stops Justin on the top rope and hits a superplex, goes for a pinfall gets a two count. Credible slams Lynn face-first onto the table on the floor, but Lynn stops Credible on the middle rope.
Lynn hits a top rope hurricanrana sending Credible through the table! Lynn goes for the cover, but Credible kicks out at two. Justin low blows Lynn and drops Lynn with a superkick. Credible sets Lynn up and hits the That’s Incredible to get a three count, and now Lynn has ten-seconds to get to his feet.
Lynn gets to his feet at eight. Lynn chops away on Credible in the corner but is stopped by a low blow. Credible misses a clothesline, and Lynn spikes Credible with the cradle piledriver for a three count.
Credible gets up at the count of nine. Justin counters a tornado DDT attempt and looks for a middle rope stunner. Credible switches for a middle rope tombstone and gets another pin on Lynn! Lynn still gets to his feet at the count of nine but crashes to the mat again.
Credible brings a piece of the table into the ring, but Lynn hits a DDT onto the table. Lynn hits a cradle tombstone piledriver and pins Credible again. Lynn hits the cradle piledriver onto the broken piece of table, and both men are laid out as they are counted out.
The referee begins to count, but both men get up, only for Lynn to shove Credible down.
Winner: Jerry Lynn.
A segment with Ron Killings, BG James, and Konnan interviewing people at the county fair is aired.
Jeff Jarrett and Joe E. Legend return to ringside to continue their brawling, but it is broken up by security.
NWA-TNA PPV 54
NWA X-Division Championship Match
Frankie Kazarian vs. (c) Chris Sabin
Chris Sabin takes Kazarian down to the mat early on and taunts Kazarian briefly. Kazarian returns the favor and taunts the champ as well. Sabin works over Kazarian in the corner with a few strikes, then sends Kazarian back first into the corner.
Kazarian battles back with right hands and hits a standing dropkick. Kazarian gets a two-count following a float over swinging neck breaker. Sabin yanks Kazarian off the apron, and Kazarian goes face-first across the apron.
Sabin springboards off the apron with a somersault dive to the floor. Back in the ring, Sabin tries for a submission with a modified abdominal stretch but isn’t able to get a submission victory. Kazarian rolls up Sabin gets a two-count.
Sabin drives Kazarian down with a gut buster and continues to work over Kazarian’s ribs. Sabin puts Kazarian in a tree of woe and yanks Kazarian down by his hair. Kazarian hits an impressive ace crusher from that position!
Frankie runs over Sabin with several clotheslines. Kazarian drops Sabin face-first into the canvas, but Sabin kicks out at two. Sabin stops Kazarian with a double knee strike to the face but can’t hit a powerbomb.
Kazarian hits an electric chair slam with a pin, but Sabin kicks out at two. Kazarian looks for a top rope Flex Capacitor, but Sabin counters but misses a dropkick, hitting the referee on accident.
Sabin hits a backbreaker but goes to the floor and grabs his championship. Sabin misses a title strike, and Kazarian hits the Wave of the Future Sabin! Kazarian has the cover and pins Sabin to win the title!
Actually, a second referee comes out and tells the referee what happened.
Winner: By Disqualification Chris Sabin
Backstage, Shark Boy gives New Jack a Shark Boy mask, and Jack wears it with the hopes that The Harris Brothers will meet them in the ring again.
NWA-TNA PPV 54
New Jack & Shark Boy vs. Ron & Don Harris.
Winners: Ron & Don Harris
NWA-TNA PPV 54
Elix Skipper vs. Amazing Red
Winner: Elix Skipper
Mike Tenay’s sit-down interview with Sting continues this week. Sting talked about winning the NWA World Championship from Ric Flair and how WCW always felt second fiddle to the WWF. He puts over that creative juices were really flowing during the Monday night wars.
Don Callis comes out and says that he is what is needed to make changes to TNA and help the promotion for the better. Callis believes that the masses of fans don’t want hardcore wrestling and don’t want the Sandman anymore.
NWA-TNA PPV 54
Edward Chastaine vs. Norman Smiley
Smiley is able to get the Big Wiggle on Chastaine, but that offense is short-lived. Chastaine, with a big splash on Norman Smiley, goes for a pinfall and gets the 1-2-3!
Winner: Edward Chastaine
Glen Gilbertti, Simon Diamond, and Johnny Swinger come out and complain that they haven’t gotten a fair chance at the NWA World Tag Team Championships last week against America’s Most Wanted.
They threaten to hurt Jeremy Borash, but AMW runs into the ring to make the save. Diamond and Swinger hit Storm & Harris with steel chairs. Gilbertti demanded a tag team title shot and said they weren’t leaving until they got one.
Raven comes out to make the save and attacks Gilbertti, Diamond, and Swinger to end the segment.
Raven remained in the ring and said he didn’t come out here to complain. Father James Mitchell and Shane Douglas appeared on the stage to teach Raven about real pain again. Raven left the ring and attacked Mitchell & Douglas.
Brian Lee and Slash ran into the ring and attacked Raven to help Douglas. Douglas hits a drop-toe hold to send Raven face-first into the steel chair. Raven told Mitchell to go to hell after being asked if he had enough.
Douglas hit the move a second time, and Mitchell told Raven, “I won’t go to hell, I brought hell to you.”
Backstage, Joe E. Legend says he came to TNA from Canada for the sole purpose of destroying Jeff Jarrett. Legend calls Jarrett a typical low-life American hero. Legend finishes off by saying that legends live forever.
NWA-TNA PPV 54
Jeff Jarrett vs. Joe E. Legend
Jarrett attacks Legend from behind during his entrance and backdrops Legend over the top to the floor. Jarrett has his ribs taped as they brawl on the floor. Jeff sends Legend face-first into the announcers’ table, and Legend is tossed over the guardrail into the crowd.
Jarrett hits Legend over the head with a steel chair a few times. Jarrett knocks the referee down and hits security guys with the steel chair! Jarrett hits Legend over the head with a chair again as they head back towards ringside.
Jarrett goes to the top rope with a steel chair and hits Legend over the head. Vince Russo enters the ring and distracts Jarrett long enough for Legend to hit Jarrett over the back with a baseball bat, goes for a pinfall gets the 1-2-3!
Winner: Joe E. Legend
Backstage, Vince Russo tells us that Jeff Jarrett is out of the title picture and needs to start from the bottom again. Russo is wearing his trademark hockey gear as he heads to battle with D’Lo Brown.
NWA-TNA PPV 54
D’Lo Brown vs. Vince Russo
Brown is in the ring with a small cage that Russo was put in recently. Russo comes out but decides to walk away. A referee tells Russo he needs to go to the ring and that forces Russo to go back towards the ring.
AJ Styles comes in from behind, but Brown turns around and begins to fight Styles, hitting a backdrop and clothesline. Brown sends Styles into the cage and locks Styles inside. Sonny Siaki comes out and attacks Brown to save Russo again.
Siaki tries to handcuff Brown to the top rope, but Brown is able to turn it around and handcuffs Siaki to the top rope. Brown drops Trinity as well! Joe E. Legend comes in and attacks Brown. Brown fights Legend off with right hands.
Brown sends Legend into the cage, and Russo is begging off. Styles breaks free from the cage and kicks Brown to allow the heels to work over Brown. Brown is being triple-teamed as Russo tells Styles to finish Brown.
Styles hits the Styles Clash on Brown pins him, as Trinity counts the 1-2-3! Styles puts an Indian Death Lock on Brown, and Russo wants Brown to submit. Brown is being left laid out on the canvas. They put Brown inside the cage, and Russo continues to taunt Brown.
NWA-TNA PPV 54 goes for the air.
