TNA house show
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Report by Dot Net readers Chris Andrews

We traveled 90 minutes from the house to LJVM Coliseum Annex in Winston Salem for the TNA House show on Friday Night. TNA runs a deal with their $50 seats (approximately 250-300) on a meet and greet at 5:30 for an hour before the doors open at 6:30 for general admission for a 7:30 Bell time.

We took advantage of it, listened to Don West do his bit, and had most of the wrestlers in attendance come out during the 5:30-6:30 hour at ringside for autographs and pictures... They threw Jeff Hardy to the wolves at 6:30 for a photo signing then started the show at 7:30... They also had a limited amount of backstage passes (30) that were available for 1 person and a guest (or two plus kid) we took advantage of as well.
 
Jeremy Borash riled up the crowd, offering backstage passes to some of the G.A. people for free but Beer Money 'Demanded' that no one else was going backstage. That brought us to the first match.
 
1. Ink, Inc (Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore) over Beer Money (Robert Roode and James Storm). Neal speared Roode after an missed Beer Spit by Storm.
 
2. Douglas Williams over Jay Lethal via Tornado DDT. Lethal was very over with the crowd doing the Ric Flair imitation.
 
Earl Hebner came out for the next match; Slick Johnson had reffed the first two. Hebner shilled his 'Damn Right I Did' T-shirt... (will we ever let the Screwjob die?) Hebner then reffed the next match.
 
3. Madison Rayne over Angelina Love via rollup. One comedy spot had Love whip Rayne cross corner and Hebner was in the way, Rayne stopped short and yelled at Hebner. Rayne turned and Love hit her back into the arms of Hebner. Hebner kissed Rayne to a good pop then did the Flair strut.
 
4. Jeff Jarrett defeated Desmond Wolfe. Jarrett won by countering the Tower of London into the Stroke. Wolfe stalled most of the match, baiting the crowd. Wolfe would have been wasted in WWE.
 
Intermission allowed the backstage pass people to meet with everyone again. RVD's first appearance was backstage. When you stand beside Madison Rayne and Matt Morgan, you get to see just how small she is and how tall he is. D-Lo Brown , the agent for the night, was backstage as was Jonny Fairplay. Why Fairplay was there, I don't know. He was kissing up to Jarrett for some reason. He needs to just go away. Mick Foley was also backstage, sitting for autographs. Angelina Love was out front signing autographs during intermission.
 
5. Jeff Hardy over Matt Morgan via the Twist of Fate. Hardy bumped for Morgan the entire time. Morgan is 'nearly 8 feet tall' and everyone was in awe. Hardy was completely over.
 
6. Rob Van Dam over AJ Styles to retain the TNA Title via the Five Star Frog Splash. Mick Foley was the Special Guest Referee. The crowd was up the whole match. Styles played a perfect heel as RVD circled the ring. Styles demanded that they shut off the crappy music (RVD's theme). They did then, calling us all idiots for doing the double thumb pose, he was going to leave the ring area because we liked RVD's crappy theme.

Foley said that Styles may have a point... but that Foley wasn't sure, so it needed to be played again. The crowd popped and Styles got upset. Styles went towards the back as the music faded. Foley said if Styles wouldn't get back in the ring by ten, he would forfeit the 'World Title Shot' tonight and be suspended until further notice. The Winston Salem crowd counted with Foley and Styles ran back to the ring. He tripped at nine and fell into the ring to a good pop.
 
The match could have gone 30-60 minutes and the crowd would have been on its feet the entire time. Both Styles and RVD worked the match very well.
 
JB shilled at the end that RVD requested that instead of the fans going backstage, the wrestlers would come to them and the fans could get a picture in the ring with RVD and the World Title for $20. Anyone who had a backstage pass received their picture for free. Slick Johnson took the pics and as the fans left the ring, they received their 4x6 and the info to pull the pic off the TNA Website in 48 hours. Other wrestlers came out after the last match and signed autographs at ringside. After an hour of pictures, we were the last to get into the ring and took our pic with RVD.
 
Face Pops-
1. RVD
2. Jeff Hardy
3. Jay Lethal
4. Angelina Love
5. JB
 
Heel Heat-
1. Styles
2. Beer Money
3. Matt Morgan 
4. Desmond Wolfe
5. Douglas Williams
 
Notes: Overall, it was the best show I have been to... period. We've been to WWE and WCW televised shows, pay-per-views, house shows, indy shows, and this first TNA house show. The wrestlers were ten times more accessible and personable than any WWE or indy show. They were very genuine, even with Morgan playing the 'bigger and better than you' heel in and out of the ring. 

The wrestlers were not phoning it in at any time. You could see a sincerity that I haven't seen at a WWE show in four years and at any indy show. Well worth the money spent, even with just half a roster on the card. When you can leave the arena (about 1/2 full of a 4000 capacity) after being their for nearly six hours and with the diverse group we had together (I'm a big fan of wrestling in general, my wife is a huge Hardy, RVD and Styles fan, my daughter likes RVD and Styles and our friend, who hadn't seen a wrestling even in nearly 30 years) can walk out of there and say 'That was a Great Show!', that just say something.
 
When, not if, TNA does a regular tour, with Impact at different arenas, and has the entire roster with them, it will be an amazing experience. If you have a chance to see TNA Live... regardless of where the seats are or how much, you're going to get MORE than your money's worth.

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