TNA New Years Knockout Eve
Release Date: 12/31/2009
Run time: 174 minutes (2 hrs, 54 mins)
Location: Impact Zone at Universal Studios; Orlando, FL
What’s Causin’ all
of this?:
This was a televised special on Spike TV (running four hours with commercials) highlighted by an eight woman tourney over the #1 contender's spot to the TNA Knockouts Title. If that's not enough, the top 3 TNA matches of the year were also shown in their entirety...and there was some quality stuff that year. This also marked the last show before Hulk Hogan debuted on TNA's first Impact on Monday nights in 2010. And we all know that turned out just fine...
Trivia note: The Canadian Direct TV listing for this show was "New Years Kockout Eve". Did they know their audience that well?
Trivia note: The Canadian Direct TV listing for this show was "New Years Kockout Eve". Did they know their audience that well?
The Rundown (Contains SPOILERS):
1. Hamada vs. Madison Rayne (4:24)
1. Hamada vs. Madison Rayne (4:24)
2. ODB vs. Traci Brooks (4:14)
3. Roxxi vs. Velvet Sky (2:13)
4. Kurt
Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe - TNA Turning Point 2009 (16:26) ****1/4
5. Awesome Kong vs. Daffney (3:29)
6. Sarita & Taylor Wilde vs.
April Hunter & Lorelei Lee (2:45)
7. A.J. Styles
vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels - TNA Turning Point 2009 (21:50) ****1/2
8. Roxxi
vs. Hamada (7:47) ***
9. Awesome Kong vs. ODB (6:21)
10. Sting vs.
A.J. Styles - TNA Bound for Glory 2009 (13:52) ***1/4
11. Hamada vs. ODB (14:34) ***1/2
Il buono, il brutto, il
cattivo (you pretentious bastard):
The Good:
Usually, the first round is a throwaway. Usually. - First rounds in pro wrestling tournaments are normally foregone conclusions. As we have found out with TNA over the years, NOTHING is a foregone conclusion. However, the right workers went over in the first round of the Knockout tourney and in relatively entertaining fashion. The matches may have been short, competitive squashes but they were all done well. Hamada/Rayne was better than most would have expected and made for the best of the first round contests. And an Awesome Kong squash is a great squash, even if it was Daffney.
HAMADA RULE ~!~ - Ayako Hamada had a few memorable moments in her short TNA tenure and this night was probably tops. Though she wasn't successful in this tournament, she proved to be the workhorse of the event & the most apt at the tourney atmosphere. After decimating Madison Rayne with sharp kicks in the first round, Hamada beat Roxxi in a great match with several good false finishes. The main event final with ODB held up to its standing with both workers throwing everything they had into the 15 minute duration. It's a shame Hamada never really caught on in TNA because she proved to be a star here.
She's like DDP...with a nicer rack - Roxxi portrayed the gutsy underdog to a tee here. After beating Velvet Sky in the first round, she was jumped by Lacey Von Erich & took a beating to the ribs from Lacey's "ugly stick" (and Lacey didn't botch anything!). This led to Roxxi taping up the ribs & facing Hamada in a fine "fighting from underneath" effort where Roxxi came up just short. Her selling of the beating made for a compelling match in what could have been a uneventful tourney.
Great wrestling by any name is still great wrestling - The first of the top three TNA matches featured on the show was Angle/Wolfe (the former, at the time, Nigel McGuiness) and it was close to the classic most expected it to be. Lots of intricate mat wrestling & counter mat wrestling abounded, with Wolfe actually outwrestling Angle for the majority of the match. Probably a purists dream match and its great (along with the other two matches featured) that it's included in full here (albeit with a commercial break or two).
Sequels are a good thing, sometimes - The Styles/Daniels/Joe 3x Threat match had the specter of their match at Unbreakable 2005 hanging over it & whether this one would equal or surpass it. If it didn't pass the first one, it came pretty damn close. Lots of newer, multi-man moves & nice callbacks to the first match, in addition to some pretty crisp action. There may have been some criticism of the three for trying to do too much within the match but you can't deny the effort & the all around action produced here.
This... -
HAMADA RULE ~!~ - Ayako Hamada had a few memorable moments in her short TNA tenure and this night was probably tops. Though she wasn't successful in this tournament, she proved to be the workhorse of the event & the most apt at the tourney atmosphere. After decimating Madison Rayne with sharp kicks in the first round, Hamada beat Roxxi in a great match with several good false finishes. The main event final with ODB held up to its standing with both workers throwing everything they had into the 15 minute duration. It's a shame Hamada never really caught on in TNA because she proved to be a star here.
She's like DDP...with a nicer rack - Roxxi portrayed the gutsy underdog to a tee here. After beating Velvet Sky in the first round, she was jumped by Lacey Von Erich & took a beating to the ribs from Lacey's "ugly stick" (and Lacey didn't botch anything!). This led to Roxxi taping up the ribs & facing Hamada in a fine "fighting from underneath" effort where Roxxi came up just short. Her selling of the beating made for a compelling match in what could have been a uneventful tourney.
Great wrestling by any name is still great wrestling - The first of the top three TNA matches featured on the show was Angle/Wolfe (the former, at the time, Nigel McGuiness) and it was close to the classic most expected it to be. Lots of intricate mat wrestling & counter mat wrestling abounded, with Wolfe actually outwrestling Angle for the majority of the match. Probably a purists dream match and its great (along with the other two matches featured) that it's included in full here (albeit with a commercial break or two).
Sequels are a good thing, sometimes - The Styles/Daniels/Joe 3x Threat match had the specter of their match at Unbreakable 2005 hanging over it & whether this one would equal or surpass it. If it didn't pass the first one, it came pretty damn close. Lots of newer, multi-man moves & nice callbacks to the first match, in addition to some pretty crisp action. There may have been some criticism of the three for trying to do too much within the match but you can't deny the effort & the all around action produced here.
This... -
I'll just let that soak in for a second...
The Bad:
Have you heard about January 4th yet? - So, a quarter of the show's running time is basically an infomercial for Hogan's TNA debut on January 4th, 2010. And we all know that turned out just fine...
What TNA Knockout Tag Titles? - I realize they weren't the principle part of the show but three minutes for a showcase of the TNA Knockouts Tag champions is barely a showcase at all. Lorelei & April looked decent but didn't really have much time to show otherwise. At least the guest commentary with Magnus & Doug Williams was amusing.
Oh, THAT foregone conclusion - Once ODB beat Kong in the semifinals, it became pretty apparent that ODB was going over in the tourney, lest Hamada or Kong do double duty on 1/4 (as they got a Knockouts Tag title shot that night). Kinda took the sails out of the proceedings but at least the main event delivered.
What TNA Knockout Tag Titles? - I realize they weren't the principle part of the show but three minutes for a showcase of the TNA Knockouts Tag champions is barely a showcase at all. Lorelei & April looked decent but didn't really have much time to show otherwise. At least the guest commentary with Magnus & Doug Williams was amusing.
Oh, THAT foregone conclusion - Once ODB beat Kong in the semifinals, it became pretty apparent that ODB was going over in the tourney, lest Hamada or Kong do double duty on 1/4 (as they got a Knockouts Tag title shot that night). Kinda took the sails out of the proceedings but at least the main event delivered.
The Ugly:
Tracy Brooks comes up just an inch too short. BOO! - TNA briefly ran an angle in 2009-10 exploiting Brooks' affliction of Erb's Palsy, which left her right arm slightly shorter than the left. Despite it not being mentioned during Brooks' previous six years with TNA & the handicap not effecting her or it being even noticeable, the company felt it necessary to garner Brooks sympathy as a face. Having being hammered homer during her first round match with ODB just reeked of one of those moments where you'd be embarrassed to admit you're a pro wrestling fan.
TheUgly Meh:
Match of the Year? - Don't get me wrong...Styles/Sting was a pretty good match. I liked the story being told and I felt that Sting showed he still had his main event mettle against a younger, big match performer like A.J. Styles. I just didn't buy it as a MotY. These matches were supposedly voted on by the fans so I suppose they were swayed by the sentimentality surrounding the storyline (Sting wondering if he had it in him against a young upstart & possibly passing the torch to him). However, the match ended anticlimactically & just didn't really hold up in comparison to Angle/Wolfe and the 3x Threat. I think Angle/Jarrett from earlier in the year was better suited for the top 3 but thems be the breaks when your MotY candidate happens in January.
The
Match of the Year? - Don't get me wrong...Styles/Sting was a pretty good match. I liked the story being told and I felt that Sting showed he still had his main event mettle against a younger, big match performer like A.J. Styles. I just didn't buy it as a MotY. These matches were supposedly voted on by the fans so I suppose they were swayed by the sentimentality surrounding the storyline (Sting wondering if he had it in him against a young upstart & possibly passing the torch to him). However, the match ended anticlimactically & just didn't really hold up in comparison to Angle/Wolfe and the 3x Threat. I think Angle/Jarrett from earlier in the year was better suited for the top 3 but thems be the breaks when your MotY candidate happens in January.
Contact your __________
for availability:
Seeing as this is not available on DVD or anything, it's pretty rare in that regard. The top 3 matches are on TNA's Best of 09 DVD but you may want to check with a tape trader or some place like iOffer to find this special.
Is it worth it?:
While this was a great program with two legit **** encounters and two *** matches amongst the tourney, it's a bittersweet one to watch in the sense that this was the end of the last really good era of TNA. After this, TNA became focused on Hogan, his hangers on and less emphasis on in-ring content. There have been good moments over the past two years but the product as a whole has not been as on point as it seemed like during this time period. Women's wrestling in America certainly hasn't been focused on this much since this show so its definitely worth a look for that curio alone.
