Source: Pro Wrestling Torch Reader Scott Deaner

The following information appeared on PWTorch.com. This entry reported not only the results of the July 2nd house show in Brooklyn, New York, but also the projected destruction of the previous house show record by 1,500 fans! As I’ve written on this site before (and I’ll definitely write it again), TNA needs that “big show” atmosphere on Thursday night – something that will be very hard to attain in the iMPACT! Zone. Maybe TNA should consider taping a show at a house show like this one – where it is highly attended.

TNA drew approximately 6,000 fans paid (6,500 total) to set a new domestic house show record. Tonight’s show beat the previous high by about 1,500 fans.

Here’s a rundown on tonight’s show at MCU Park in Brookyln. The park was mostly full and the ring was set up above home plate. Jeremy Borash started the show with his usual PR routine.

(1) Amazing Red beat Brian Kendrick, Homicide, and Jay Lethal in a four-way X Division #1 contender match. Red pinned Kendrick. Red and Homicide got nice pops being from Brooklyn. Lethal got a strong reaction, too. Why was he in the opening match if he’s one of the featured players on Impact and working with Ric Flair on the PPV?

(2) Angelina Love beat Knockouts champion Madison Rayne in a non-title match. Before the match, Rayne announced she had already fulfilled her one-title-match-per-month obligation by agreeing to wrestle Love at the next PPV, therefore the match would be non-title. Rayne wore a flesh-colored top that made her appear topless from our vantage point.

JB introduced Jeff Jarrett. Some people in my section chanted “Thank you, Jeff,” and it made me want to change seats. Memo to everyone who thinks Jarrett founded TNA for you – he didn’t.

(3) Kurt Angle beat Desmond Wolfe via submission. Good match, but we’ve seen it before. How can anyone take Wolfe seriously if he tapped to Spanky on TV the night before?

(4) Jeff Hardy beat Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match. Jeff Hardy blocked a suplex from the top rope, sent Abyss into the thumbtacks (yes, thumbtacks at a house show), then hit a splash for the win. Good match, but they didn’t do anything of note with chairs, making the No DQ aspect pointless. The thumbtacks were meaningless too. Jeff, who was mad over, played to the crowd and walked along both sides of the stands to shake hands. He seemed genuinely happy to be there.

[Intermission]

(5) Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon) beat Ink, Inc. (Jesse Neal & Shannon Moore) in a Tables match. Typical Dudleys match with brawling outside the ring, chairs, the whassup spot, etc. They won by putting Jesse Neal through a table. Lots of “We want tables” and “ECW” chants. The crowd was hot for them, with NYC being Dudleyville. Before the match, Bubba gave a pro-NYC wrestling fans speech, which the fans ate up. They also slapped hands after the match and seemed to be happy to be there.

Don West then came out to cut a promo selling merchandise.

(6) TNA World Hvt. champion Rob Van Dam beat A.J. Styles to retain the TNA World Title. RVD won with the frog splash. I never noticed before, but I think RVD’s TNA theme is really bad grammatically. It just says his name, his catch phrases, and his finishing move (five star frog splash). Are there no other lyrics to put these random words in context? Imagine if Undertaker had a theme that said “Undertaker! Rest in Peace! Long Black Coat!” Styles took the mic and noted how RVD’s music
was in fact, horrible. He ripped Jay-Z too (as if everyone is a hip-hop fan).

The match was the best match of the night, but I thought mainly due to A.J. He actually wrestles like it’s real. I like RVD, but he seems to be content to do his signature spots and point at himself. I wouldn’t say he’s phoning it in because he still shows incredible athleticism, but I don’t sense he’s trying to be his best either. During the match, there were chants of “Keith Hernandez” toward a security guard that kind of looked like him. Afterwards, RVD posed with fans for photos in the ring for $20.

Final thoughts: the last live wrestling show I attended was the Royal Rumble 2003, which was a major event, so, of course, this house show didn’t compare. I’m not really a TNA fan and only went because of the ballpark’s proximity to where I live. The show was fine, but I read how TNA’s house shows are awesome compared to their TV shows. While the booking wasn’t terrible, there wasn’t anything spectacular either. It was interesting to see wrestling outdoors in a baseball park. The microphone kept cutting in and out and the sound was awful, which took away from the experience.

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