TNA TV Reports TNA Epics TV report: King of the Mountain special with matches from the TNA Slammiversary PPVs from 2004 through 2006, featuring Jeff Jarrett, Sean Waltman, A.J. Styles, Chris Harris, Raven, and Vince Russo Jun 7, 2009 - 01:55 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing TNA Epics TV show report Aired June 5 on Bravo in the UK Report by Dot Net reader Adam Milne, Scotland TNA Epics is still sponsored by The Wrestler. If only there was a film about wrestling released on DVD monthly to get a different sponsor. We kick off with Foley in the "studio" in his black tassled cowboy jacket and own TNA merchandise T-shirt combo, and he welcomes us to a special about the King of the Mountain match which he describes as a "signature" TNA match. He went on to describe it as a Reverse Ladder Match "that tests the man’s intestinal fortitude, something I know a little bit about." While he pointed to himself. 1. Jeff Jarrett defeated AJ Styles, "Wildcat" Chris Harris, Raven, and Ron "The Truth" Killings to win the NWA Title. The holder of the belt was Vince Russo. This match was took place at the TNA Slammiversary 2004 Pay Per View on June 2, 2004, and it was the first King of the Mountain match. Throughout this match a tnawrestling.com watermark was in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Could they not find the original footage somewhere in the archives? The clip starts as Killings has entered and Borash is leaving the ring. Styles jumps off the ladder onto Jarrett and starts pounding away with fists. Killings goes for the Scissors kick on Harris, but when he goes to the ropes Raven reaches in, trips him up, and pulls him to the outside, and Harris proceeds to vault over the top with a cross body to wipe both out. As Tenay and West recapped how this was Jarrett’s rematch and how Russo came up with the match, Styles clears the "Penalty Box" red cage and hit the no handed, over the top rope Topé con Hilo. He just managed to hit it, as if Raven was standing back a few more inches Styles would have hit the ground head and neck first. Jarrett tried to sneak a pin on everyone but only got 2s, and Killings sat up and gave him an "Oh no you didn’t!" wide-eyed look. Back inside, Raven calls for a DDT but Harris jumped from the cage to take him out with a Flying Clothesline, while out on the staging Styles suplexes Jarrett. There then ensues a portion of brawling and action with flipping between cameras following the two different sets of action going on. While the announcers went over the details about getting a pinfall and the penalty box, Jarrett comes off the top rope with a Cross Body but Styles rolls through for a 2 count. Styles counters the Stroke into a snap Side Slam for a 2 count which gets no reaction from the crowd, unless you count the kids randomly yelling. A Small Package by Jarrett for 2 gets the same reaction. AJ tries a go around Crucifix move but it doesn’t quite work out, but eventually he gets a Sunset Flip chained into the Styles Clash to pin Jarrett sending him into the box for two minutes and making Styles eligible to attempt to hang the belt. As Jarrett is put into the box, the announcers freak that Styles is setting up the ladder and he’s now getting the NWA title from Russo but doesn’t get to climb as he has to fight off Killings and Harris, only to get stopped by Raven pushing the ladder hard into his head. Raven poses, and gets Speared by Harris and then pinned. The camera focuses on the box as Jarrett talks to Raven to make a deal as the Epics theme music starts to play which can only mean... The dreaded Epics logo! Back to action much later on as Harris is leaving the penalty box but gets attacked by Raven, who then puts a table into the ring to go along with the 2 already in there. Jarrett and Raven use a ladder to slam into the guts of Killings and Styles. AJ jumped onto the ladder as Raven and Jarrett hold it between them, and eventually he pulls himself onto the top of it for a nice spot where he kicks back into Raven and punches Jarrett in front of him. They respond by dumping him, ladder and all, over the top rope to the floor. Jarrett brings a chair inside and demands Raven do his Drop Toe Hold to the chair onto Killings but Raven is busy setting up a table in the corner. This leads to an argument and then a fist fight which Raven wins with a Discus Clothesline, before giving Jarrett the Drop Toe Hold into the chair. Later, Killings used a spinning Forearm smash that was so fast he hit the ropes after nailing Jarrett with it. Harris tried to hang the belt, but Raven threw powder into the air that was a few inches off target, but the after spray must have caught "Wildcat" as he sold it and was blinded. Raven pulls him off nearly into the table, and hits the Raven Effect for a 3 count. Killings then stops Raven from hanging the belt by catching him in an Electric Chair, then dropping him into the top turnbuckle pad like the Snake Eyes. Jarrett is able to hit a Stroke on Killings from off the ring apron into the guardrail to pin him. Jarrett sets up the ladder, but gets into a tug of war with the belt against Russo, and the announcers comment that Russo didn’t toss him the belt like he did for Harris. AJ capitalizes with a roll up for a 3 count and gets beaten down for his trouble, while Raven sets up another table by the opposite corner. AJ tried to hang the belt but got pushed off by Harris and Killings to get crotched on the top rope right by the cage, and West and Tenay couldn’t decide if the former or latter happened or which was worse. Harris and Raven right on the ladder, and Harris is able to snatch the belt and then knock Raven off backward to go through a table. Then Killings shakes the ladder enough to make Harris fall off and go through the other table. Jarrett out and he scurries around ringside while Killings climbs with belt in hand. Jarrett uses the guitar to knock Killings off and takes the belt to hang it up. Sadly he has to first reattach the red hook for the belt onto the cable that’s swinging around with one hand, but he manages to secure it and then hang the belt just as AJ’s reaching up to him. Jarrett wins it, and gives AJ a few punches to knock him down for the hell of it, and the closing shot is of Russo completely distraught on the ground at ringside. [c] 2. Raven defeated Abyss, Sean Waltman, Monty Brown, and A.J. Styles (c) to win the NWA Title in a King of the Mountain match. The Holder of the belt was Larry Zbyszko. This match took place at the Slammiversary 2005 PPV on June 19, 2005. Dives aplenty at the start as Waltman lands onto Raven from off the penalty box and on the outside AJ snaps off a headscissors onto Abyss from off the ladder. Brown then nails the Pounce on Raven to pin him. Brown tries to bring the ladder into the ring but Waltman landed on him "with the kick". We don’t know what it was as the camera was busy showing us Raven getting put in the box but we do get to see Styles hit the Topé con Hilo onto Abyss. Later Waltman avoids being squashed by an Abyss Splash in the corner but Brown isn’t so lucky, then Waltman hits a jumping Heel Kick to take "The Monster" down. With eleven seconds still on the clock, Raven is out but Borash still did the countdown from ten anyway. West tried to cover up for it by saying "Raven obviously goes by his own rules". Brown catches Waltman off the top into an Alpha Bomb to pin him, and West then nicely explained why he pinned someone again when he’s already eligible. Meanwhile Raven was setting up a table on the outside, and fans new to him just from watching this show will be thinking he’s table obsessed. The cameras focus on Waltman going into the box and in the ring behind we see Styles coming down to take out Abyss and Brown with something, but we do see him nipping up afterwards. Brown hits the Pounce on Styles to send him into the corner, but Raven pulls him out to the floor and pins him to make himself eligible. Abyss goes for Shock Treatment on Brown but Raven throws a trash can into his face from the apron, before using the can to hit both him and Brown in the head a few times. Raven had to pause while doing his send a guy into the corner and then clothesline him when he’s stumbles backward spot as Abyss was down on the mat by the ropes he’d run off. The announces talk about making alliances in the penalty box with Tenay saying "I wonder if Styles and Waltman..." and shock horror we get a close up of them shaking hands just as the Epics theme music plays and then the logo flashes up. Back to action with eleven seconds on the clock for Styles. Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam on Brown to pin him. Styles counts the Raven Effect into the Styles Clash on Raven but only gets 2 as Abyss breaks it up with a boot. West and then Tenay talk about how it’s a good move not to let another person, especially the defending champion, have the chance to hang the belt. Styles nails a jumping Enzuigiri to send "The Monster" out to the floor, where Waltman hits him with a couple of chair shots to lay him out on the table. Styles then hits a fantastic Spiral Tap to put Abyss through it, and Waltman joins the referee in making the three count. This week it’s TNA Epics graphics instead of the original PPV ones to go in and out of full screen replays as we see the Tap again. Styles goes to hang the belt, but drops it. Waltman picks it up and climbs the ladder, handing it back to him and telling him to hook it up, before punching him and hitting the X-Factor off the ladder to the mat and pinning him. Tenay points out that Waltman just cost Styles the chance to retain his title. There’s a "Staple Gun!" chant as Raven brings it in, and uses it on the side of Waltman’s head. West states that Waltman "Just performed a Vasectomy right there in the middle of the ring" when he uses the gun on Raven downstairs, before doing the same to Abyss moments later. Tenay is outraged and wants to know why Waltman is trying to hang the belt, and West explains that he pinned Styles. Quote Tenay: "Oh...". Waltman and Styles duke it out at the top of the ladder, and Abyss pushes it over to send Styles over the top and through a table on the outside, and Waltman tumbles after moments later. Abyss tries to climb the ladder but gets Pounced off it and is sent through a table set in the corner. Raven hits the "Evenflow" as West called it DDT on "The Alpha Male" before climbing the ladder with the belt. Raven kicks Abyss away and then hangs the belt up to win the match and become champion. The clip ends with Raven holding the belt while on the ladder and Tenay starting to state "It all concludes with Raven..." but he’s cut off mid sentence by the Epics logo. No, seriously, they cut him off halfway through speaking. [c] We’re back to the studio and Foley who asks us "What else can possibly happen in this TNA signature match? How about tables, ladders, and turkey legs? That’s right! You heard me!" He finished the intro for the Epics Main Event with "Bring on those turkey legs. Yeah." while giving a thumbs up and a mean looking scowl. 3. Jeff Jarrett defeated Sting, Ron Killings, Abyss (w/James Mitchell), and Christian Cage in a King of the Mountain match for the NWA Title. The holder of the belt was Larry Zbyszko. This match took place at the Slammiversary PPV 2006 (June 18 2006). Sting and Abyss duke it out on the floor, then Cage jumps off the ladder for a devastating Double Axe Handle onto "The Monster", while Killings does his splits dodge then kicks Jarrett. Sting is getting the better of his brawl, while Killings and Cage use a Double Team Hip-toss to take Double J down. Cage then does some dancing to Killings and they slap hands, before "The Truth" makes him eat a Superkick. All this time Abyss and Sting are still brawling on the outside. Cage Clotheslines Jarrett over the top to the floor then vaults over with a cross body to wipe him out. Sting and Killings take their shots on Abyss then attempt a double team Clothesline but Abyss breaks through and grabs them both for Chokeslams. They escape with simultaneous eye rakes, and Sting kicks him low to set up for the Scissors Kick from Killings and Abyss rolls out to the floor. With encouragement from "The Icon" Killings does AJ Styles’ spot from the last two matches with a Topé con Hilo onto Jarrett, Cage, and Abyss. Then Sting climbs up the turnbuckle then onto the top of the penalty box for a Cross Body onto all 4 men. There’s a sneaky edit out of the replay of Sting’s dive as back to action is now at Cage using the ladder a see-saw to hit Killings while there’s a minute thirty on the clock for someone (Jarrett) in the box. Abyss breaks up a pin attempt by Cage, and Tenay is "Not sure why he’s making the save at this point." Maybe he should listen to himself last year when he said that it was a good idea to break up pins? West made almost the same explanation to this from last year to which Tenay replies with "Maybe?" Cage escapes a Military Press attempt to roll up Abyss for a 3 count, and mad about it he gives Cage a Clothesline. Jarrett avoids being stuck in the box with Abyss as his time is up, so he goes right to having fun by throwing Cage into guardrails and then the ladder that’s propped up against the ring. While Sting and Killings trade blows in the ring, Jarrett makes Cage the meat in a ladder sandwich, trapping him between the legs of it and standing on it while holding the rail. He then chokes Cage by pulling him closer to the ends and pressing down on the top legs. The cameras hear Jarrett shouting "Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do Hebner! You back off! Back off!" Abyss is out, and West points out communication between Jarrett and James Mitchell and sure enough "The Monster" and "The King of the Mountain" are working to stack two tables on top of the two already set up on the outside. There’s a pair off in the ring, Killings taking on Jarrett while Sting and Abyss go at it, and they wipe out to the outside when Sting uses a clothesline over the top rope. Killings gets crotched on the top rope, perhaps missing a kick but since the camera was on the men outside we don’t know, and Jarrett manages to take "The Truth" onto the apron. Just like in the first King of the Mountain match Jarrett uses a Stroke off the apron to the guardrail to put Killings down for the three count. [c] Back to action and everyone looked tired, as pointed out by the announcers, and there’s aun upturned ladder in the ring. Tenay reminds us that only Killings, Cage, and Jarrett are eligible to try and hang the belt. Killings tries for the win, but Abyss pushes the ladder so he goes over the top to the floor, and then sends the ladder back which strikes referee Earl Hebner and knocks him out. There’s an arguement as Jarrett wants the belt but Abyss has other ideas. Mitchell makes the Click, Doomsday! Motion and Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam on Jarrett. "Slick" Johnson rushes in and makes the three count, after which Zbyszko orders him out of the ring. Abyss sets up a ladder by the ropes and climbs it with Cage down on the mat with a chair over him, but Sting pushes it over to send Abyss crashing through the stack of tables on the outside. Sting takes punches from Cage and each has no effect, so he fires off some of his own which do hurt, following up with the Stinger Splash and then locking in the Scorpion Death Lock. Jarrett out with 15 still on the clock, and he nails Sting repeatedly with the NWA title belt. Double J is ready with the guitar but it gets snatched from him by Cage, and the distraction leaves him wide open for the Scorpion Death Drop. Sting tells Cage to go and win, but when "Captain Charisma" goes up Zbyszko low blows him before tossing him out, and one punch from "The Icon" sends Zbyszko out through the ropes. Sting counters The Stroke into the Death Drop, and then drags the still out of it Hebner over and grabbing his wrist, he makes the count himself. Sting climbs up with the belt, and gets into a tug of war over it with Cage. Hebner pushes the ladder over to send Cage over the top and Sting into the ropes. Jarrett hangs the belt as fans pelt the ring with trash, and Hebner and Zbyszko head for the hills. Jarrett leaves to celebrate but Rudy Charles snatches the belt from him and gives it to Jim Cornette, and this week’s Epics ends with both of them doing their best outraged theatrics. Overall thoughts: For nostalgia value, you couldn’t go wrong with seeing people like Ron Killings, Chris Harris, and Raven shining. Then you wonder where did it all go so wrong for them? As much as a strange, complicated gimmick match the King of the Mountain match is, somehow in these examples after watching it all made sense, and everyone was very enjoyable despite personally already knowing the outcome of each one. And as for timing, with this year’s Slammiversary approaching fast, TNA got it spot on whether that was intentional. For the program’s presentation I would say this has been the most near perfect yet. I’ve learned to get over the "random" edits where the Epics logo appears then it’s a different part of the match as I assume that’s breaks designed for if Epics gets a time slot in the U.S. In addition having a one-hour time slot with three commercial breaks means that not everything could be included, especially when trying to fit in three matches. It could be argued that dropping back in when someone is now leaving the penalty box when they weren’t in jeopardy before is questionable amongst the other edits that appeared, but keeping some parts in would of course mean taking others out. In the case of this episode, everything fitted well. The one big problem I would mention is that this episode featured the most stars and had plenty of big names. Styles, Abyss, Jarrett are all recognizable to fans following TNA, and fans of the WWE would recognize Killings and Cage, while Raven is also a big name most would know as well, certainly with his recent return to TNA. It would make sense to promote this episode to the audience of Bravo UK and TNA’s UK fan base. But the adverts we have for Epics is generic, never stating what’s on the episode but just promising big matches and moments. Having a little preview pop up on TNA’s MySpace blog isn’t enough for a show with this much potential to draw viewers. Aside from that, this week’s episode was highly enjoyable, and it shows a big upturn in quality and presentation. Also, there was absolutely no editing out of any violence, something which completely spoiled last week’s show. TNA seems to have gotten it right now, but it remains to be seen if it continues to be this way. HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! BECOME A MEMBER AT OUR CHARTER RATE OF JUST $5 A MONTH - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO SHOWS, MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AD-FREE MAIN LISTING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO) GOT AN IPHONE OR IPOD TOUCH? THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE iPhone APP: (click here!) (or SEARCH "pro wrestling" in iTunes App Store) FOR MORE BREAKING WWE & TNA NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE PWTORCH.COM (click here!) FOR MORE MMA & UFC NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE MMATORCH.COM (click here!) 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