By Jared Silberkleit -TNA’s improvement in quality continued to shine through with Turning Point 2009. Thanks to two classic matches to end the show and a very appealing overall card, this PPV ended up being the best from TNA in a very long time. If this company wants to truly grow in popularity, this is the type of show that they should be presenting the fans with more often.

1.    TNA X Division Championship: Amazing Red(c) vs. Homicide

The night kicked off with Homicide challenging Amazing Red for the X Division Championship. This was a great way to kick off the PPV as the match was very back and forth and had a ton of high spots.  Red connected with a hurricanrana and a crossbody early on in the match but Homicide soon took control with a belly to back spulex and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Homicide then worked over Red for a bit before Red gets back into it with a dropkick and a DDT for a near fall. Red counters the Gringo Killer and an ace crusher and hits a standing shooting star press for another near fall. Homicide hits a cutter for a near fall afterward. Eventually this match comes to an end when Homicide goes for a top rope hurricanrana, but Red held on and hit the Code Red for the win. Good X Division match to open up the show and pop the crowd. Match Rating: 6/10

2.    6 Woman Tag Team match for all the Knockouts Championships: TNA Women’s Knockout Champion ODB and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Sarita and Taylor Wilde vs. The Beautiful People

I generally don’t like tag team matches where champions can lose their titles without eating a pin, and this match did little to change my opinion. The fans voiced their dislike for Lacey Von Erich with “You can’t wrestle” chants and a Lacey Von Botch sign. The faces all work over Madison Rayne for a bit before she gets the hot tag to Velvet Sky, who hits a snapmare and a running knee before tagging in Von Erich. After Wilde gets beaten down by The Beautiful People for a while, ODB gets the hot tag and cleans house. Just when it seems that the heels have gotten her under control, ODB connects with a few elbow smashes to fight them off. She then hits a reverse-FU to win the match and the faces retain their titles. This match was fairly sloppy and was not enjoyable. Can we please end the Sarita/Wilde vs. The Beautiful People feud now? Match Rating: 3/10

3.    TNA World Tag Team Championship: The British Invasion(c) vs. Beer Money Inc. vs. The Motor City Machineguns

After a weak Knockouts match, this 3 way for the Tag Titles got the PPV back on track. However, the one gripe I had about this match was that much of the later portion of it was built around Beer Money vs. The British Invasion, and the match had been promoted for weeks as the Guns vs. British Invasion (Beer Money was merely added to the match on the Impact before the PPV). Anyway, this match was good, even though it was a bit shorter than I would have liked it to be.  Roode gets worked over by Sabin and Shelley in the early going, and takes a slingshot senton from Sabin. The Guns then worked over the British Invasion for a bit with double team moves but Sabin falls victim to a double team neckbreaker from the Invasion and the heels are in control. Sabin eventually fights back with an enzuigiri and is tagged by Storm. Storm hits Magnus with a uranage and hits a double suplex with Roode onto Williams. Beer Money and the Guns hit a bunch of double team moves on the Brits but Sabin misses a slingshot move over the top rope and crashes to the floor. Storm hits an enzuigiri to Williams, but Eric Young appears outside the ring with the Global title and attacks Storm. Storm then goes after Young up the entrance ramp, where Kevin Nash appears and takes the Global belt before surprisingly hitting Storm with it. The Brits then capitalize on this and hit a double team move on Roode to retain their titles. Good tag title match but it could have been a bit better. Match Rating: 6/10

4.    Six Sides of Steel: Tara vs. Awesome Kong

Who would have thought that a women’s match clocking in at less than 8 minutes would have been the match of the night thus far when it ended? Kong hits a couple big moves early on including an electric chair drop and a stunning missile dropkick. Kong then splashes Tara against the cage and chokes her against the steel. She also hit a very nice looking front suplex against the side of the cage. Tara fights back into the match with a DDT and slams Kong into several sides of the cage before hitting a standing moonsault for a near fall. The two women fight on the top rope which ends with Tara hitting a nice powerbomb onto Kong for a near fall. Tara then scales the cage and hits an incredible crossbody off the top for the win. This was the best women’s match of the year, no doubt. Match Rating: 6.5/10

5.    Rhino and Team 3D vs. Matt Morgan, Hernandez, and D’Angelo Dinero

This match had been advertised as a street fight, but was fought under standard 6 man tag rules. There is tension early on between Dinero and Matt Morgan, allowing the heels to take control. Dinero soon goes after Ray with a double leg take down and some punches but Ray fights back into it with some elbow strikes and a Bubba Bomb before tagging in Rhino. Rhino fights with Morgan, who hits a big clothesline before everyone enters the ring, leading to Dinero suffering a reverse 3D. Devon later puts on a chin lock and hits a lariat on Dinero before making the tag to Rhino. The heels work over Dinero for a bit before Morgan is tagged back into the match. Morgan hits a ton of punches, a side slam, and a splash for a near fall. Hernandez later does an impressive dive outside the ring to the entire opposing team. The match eventually comes to an end when Hernandez gets hit with a chair by Devon while the ref’s back was turned and Rhino hits a Gore for the win. Why didn’t the young guys go over here? Match Rating: 5.5/10

6.    No Disqualification, Falls Count Anywhere: Scott Steiner vs. Bobby Lashley

Just before the start of the match, it was announced that it would be No DQ and Falls Count Anywhere. I thought that the gimmick would help the match out greatly and make it more entertaining, but instead it just opened the door for horrible camera work and a ton of botches. I seriously think every major spot was botched somewhat. The match starts off with the two brawling in the stands and Lashley goes after Steiner with steel chairs. The two then went back to the ring where they hit various suplexes on each other but overall the match pace slowed down. Steiner hits a Frankensteiner that Lashley almost completely botched and barely made contact with the mat. The two then brawl to the backstage area and the cameras struggle to keep up. We have to wait a bit before getting a camera going backstage. The two start hitting (I use that term lightly) each other with various weapons and Lashley hits a very weak-looking suplex to Steiner through a table. Lashley connects with a super-light shot with a 2×4 before crashing through some plywood while going after Steiner. Steiner chokes out Lashley with a cord before the two go back into the Impact Zone. They fight near a metal scaffolding, which Steiner takes apart. Steiner takes a lead pipe and hits Lashley in the head with it (so lightly that there is barely any impact at all) and Lashley falls down. Steiner pins him for the win. Just a complete mess of a match. Match Rating: 2.5/10

7.    Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe

Thankfully this next match rejuvenated my interest in the PPV. This was definitely the technical match of the year as far as mainstream wrestling goes. This match really had it all and was great from start to finish. It was a bit slow in the beginning with the two simply doing a bunch of submission holds such as hammerlocks, but it quickly got better. Wolfe repeatedly works over the arm of Angle with stomps and a great submission hold.  Angle fights back into it with a flying forearm before hitting six German suplexes in a row. He then goes for the Angle Slam but Wolfe counters with a great arm drag. Wolfe connects with a big lariat but Angle kicks out. He then hits Angle with the Tower of London for another near fall before Angle hits a big lariat of his own. Angle misses a moonsault and Wolfe puts on the London Dungeon. Wolfe goes for a second Tower of London, but Angle counters and Wofle tries for a superplex instead. Angle fights him off and hits a frog splash for a near fall. Both men try for the Tombstone but Angle eventually counters into the Ankle Lock. Wolfe fights out of that hold, but Angle locks in a side triangle choke to force the submission and win the match. Even though Wolfe (aka ROH’s Nigel Mcguinness) didn’t win, Angle put him over big time and the crowd really got into him. This was TNA’s match of the year at its conclusion, but unfortunately it did not hold that title for long. Match Rating: 8.5/10

8.    TNA World Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles(c) vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe

This was a rematch of what many consider to be TNA’s best match of all time back at Unbreakable 2005. While this match wasn’t quite as good as that bout, it came pretty darn close to topping it. This topped Angle/Wolfe as the match of the night and TNA’s match of the year for 2009. Styles opens the match with an assault on both men, but Joe fights back with an enzuigiri and a splash on Styles. Styles and Daniels do some great chain wrestling before Joe reenters the match to go after Styles. Joe hits a high knee to Daniels and puts on a leg hold that is broken up by Styles. Styles hits a suplex to Joe and locks in an inverted Indian death lock which is broken up by Daniels. Daniels hit a ton of moves to Styles before slamming him onto Joe. Daniels puts on a combination Boston Crab/Camel Clutch on both men before Joe fights out of the clutch and hits a urange. More action in the ring ends when Daniels dives outside the ring onto Styles and Joe. Back in the ring, Joe has Daniels in a rear naked choke when Styles does a twisting body press onto both men. Joe powerbombs Styles before working him over with a couple submission holds. Joe gets taken down with an enzuigiri from Daniels and a Pele from Styles. A great spot occurred in the middle when Daniels had Joe in a reverse DDT clutch and Styles came in with a senton on Joe. Styles hits a moonsault into an inverted DDT onto Daniels, but Daniels hits the Last Rites for a near fall that is broken up by Joe. Joe then hits Daniels with a Muscle Buster but Styles breaks up the pin and fights with Joe. Styles and Daniels go for each other’s finishers but are ambushed by Joe. Joe dropkicks Styles to the floor but is caught with an STO and a BME from Daniels. As Daniels goes for the pin, Styles comes out of nowhere with a springboard 450 splash onto both men. Style spins Joe to retain his title in this classic, almost perfect three-way match. Match Rating: 9.5/10

Overall PPV Rating: 8.75/10

My name is Jared Silberkleit. I am from Orange, CT and am a huge fan of pro wrestling. I mostly follow WWE and TNA but I also watch the smaller promotions such as ROH and DGUSA. I have been a lifelong WWE fan and have become a TNA fan over the past few years. Aside from wrestling, I also really love baseball and football and follow many other sports such as hockey and MMA. I have written for www.sportsgrumblings.com roughly a year now as well.

Tagged with: Beautiful People, Botch, Chants, Crusher, Ddt, Gringo, Homicide, Hurricanrana, Jared, Knockout, Lacey Von Erich, Odb, Rayne, Sarita, Shooting Star Press, Tag Team Champions, Tilt A Whirl, Top Rope, Turning Point, Velvet Sky

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