TNA in Monroe, La.
Report by Dot Net reader Bradley Robbins

My dad, my brother, and I made the three-hour drive from Meridian, Miss. over to Monroe. This was my fifth live wrestling show and second TNA event. I was one of the first through the door and scored the hidden backstage pass from the merch guy. While at the table, I bought an autographed photo from Earl Hebner and shook his hand. I asked him to sign it "Screwer of Bret," but he refused and angrily said, "I don't wanna hear any of that." This Bret Hart mark was extremely proud.

The arena sat about 5,600 and it was less than half-way filled. About 1,500-2,000 fans I would guess in attendance. The crowd was definitely not a TNA crowd. Many appeared to be casual fans without a lot of knowledge of TNA product. One lady near us said this was her first show since the Rock N Roll Express hit town in the '80s.

The show began with some guy greeting the crowd. Jeremy Borash was at Comic Con so this guy apparently was his fill-in. He said Mick Foley sent JB on a "special assignment" and that there would be no backstage passes or activities. As the crowd booed, "You Didn't Know" blared through the arena. BG James came out and cut a DX style promo and then went through the crowd handing out backstage passes to a few kids. The crowd gave BG no reaction until he gave out the passes.

1. X Division Champ Homicide over Sheik Abdul Bashir in about 7 minutes. Decent action but really would have liked to see more high flying in an X-Division match. Very slow paced. Both men were managed by local radio personalities who were involved at various points. Homicide won with a Diamond Cutter/RKO type move. Really wanted to see the Gringo Killer.

2. Awesome Kong over Taylor Wilde in about 7-8 minutes. Very entertaining Knockout match. Both were extremely impressive in person and have great chemistry together. Kong won with the Power Bomb. After the match, as Taylor was leaving ringside, a fan reached across the railing and pulled Taylor's hair. Police on hand escorted the man out of the building. Taylor walked back to the ring as the man was taken out. She was escorted by a police officer during autograph signings the rest of the night.

3. Rhino over Kip James in about 8 minutes. Kip was by far the most hated of the night. He was really the only star to get any type of major reaction. He worked the crowd brilliantly. He then dominated the match offensively until he was caught with a gore at the end. I would really like to see that heel Kip on television.

4. Beer Money Inc over The British Invasion in about 12 minutes. This was the match of the night. Beer Money received the best face reaction of the night. They won with their finisher. Surprisingly, though, I was only one of three doing the Beer Money chant before they got on the mic and led the whole crowd.

During intermission, I was able to meet Beer Money, Abyss, Homicide, Taylor Wilde, BG, and Kip James. All were very gracious during the short meet and greet.

4. Abyss over Scott Steiner in 8 minutes. Nothing special but not bad. Abyss afterwards appeared to be really wincing in pain.

5. Hernandez over Samoa Joe in 8 minutes. The match was supposed to be AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe. Joe came out and cut a very good heel promo. He was unable to really draw heat. After his promo, everyone was pumped for Styles when Hernandez was announced. The crowd totally died. We weren't given an announcement, apology, or anything from the TNA announcer in charge.

Hernandez won with a splash from the top. After the match, Steiner ran in and they both worked over Hernandez. I really hoped AJ would run in, but Hernandez came back instead and over came the Mafia. Hernandez looked okay, but obviously the crowd was disappointed. Someone in the crowd said that AJ was rumored to have been injured the night before in Shreveport. I totally understand injuries, but no simple announcement or acknowledgement is unprofessional when you have fans who have driven pretty good distances.

Post-show: Hernandez stayed in the ring and took photos with fans for $20. The faces (who I met at intermission) came out and signed autographs around ringside. I give it up to the workers who were coming off Sunday's pay-per-view, the three TV tapings, and Shreveport Thursday night. They were extremely gracious to each fan. TNA cannot be beat in fan interaction. Anyone in attendance last night could have met a wrestler. However, the wrestling portion was a real disappointment.

Maybe they should tweak their travel schedule because the boys looked beat. I had a nice time, but I won't travel for TNA anymore. At least at WWE shows, they let fans know when an advertised superstar will not appear. I was really dissatisfied with that. I hope AJ is okay and returns to form soon.

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