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Sacrifice (2008)
Encyclopedia
Sacrifice was a professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
(TNA), which took place on May 11, 2008 at the TNA Impact! Zone
in Orlando, Florida
. It was the fourth event under the Sacrifice
chronology. Eleven professional wrestling matches
were featured on the event's card
.
The main event was a standard match involving three competitors—titled a 3-Way Dance—fighting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
, in which the champion, Samoa Joe
, defeated Kaz
and Scott Steiner
. Before the PPV began, Kurt Angle
, originally scheduled to participate in the match, was removed after announcing that he had sustained a legitimate neck injury. In one of the prime matches of the undercard, Kaz defeated nine other wrestlers in The TerrorDome to become Angle's replacement, in addition to winning an opportunity to challenge for the TNA X Division Championship
. The finals of The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament to crown the new TNA World Tag Team Champions
were held at Sacrifice
; The Latin American Xchange (Homicide
and Hernandez
) defeated Team 3D
(Brother Ray and Brother Devon) to win the tournament and the championship. A TNA Knockout
s Makeover Battle Royal
was also promoted, in which the winner would become the number one contender to the TNA Women's Knockout Championship
; Gail Kim
won this match.
Notably, the event included the finals of The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament, the debut of The TerrorDome, and Kurt Angle's announcement of his neck injury. When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of number 13 on Billboard's
DVD Sales Chart. The professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer
website rated the entire event a 7 out of 10, the same rating the 2007 event received.
, plots, and storylines
. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains
or heroes
in the scripted events that built up pre-match tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
The main event at Sacrifice featured a standard wrestling match involving three participants—titled a 3-Way Dance—for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship between the then-champion, Samoa Joe
, Kurt Angle
, and Scott Steiner
. TNA began to develop this storyline prior to their April PPV event, Lockdown
(which took place on April 13). Steiner announced on the April 3 episode of TNA's primary television program, Impact!
, that he would be activating a contracted title shot (won at the Turning Point event in December 2007) against the winner of the championship bout at Lockdown between Joe and Angle. Joe defeated Angle at Lockdown to win the World Heavyweight Championship. On the April 17 episode of Impact!, Steiner used his title shot to challenge Joe to a World Heavyweight Championship match at Sacrifice. Afterwards, Angle was scripted to interrupt the segment, and announced that he had a clause in his contract with TNA, which gave Angle a rematch if he lost a TNA title. He said that he was activating that clause for the following week's Impact! (April 24). On the April 24 episode of Impact!, Joe successfully retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Angle after Steiner intervened in the match by hitting Angle in the head with a lead pipe. After the match, authority figure Jim Cornette
replaced the scheduled championship match between Joe and Steiner with a 3-Way Dance that would involve Joe, Steiner, and Angle
The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship
was held at Sacrifice. The plot development behind this tournament had its inception on the April 17 episode of Impact!, when Kaz
and Eric Young
and The Latin American Xchange (LAX) pairing of Homicide
and Hernandez
challenged A.J. Styles and Tomko
to a 3-Way Dance for the World Tag Team Championship; Young and Kaz won the match. The finish later began a dispute between Styles and Tomko and Young and Kaz. Young had left the match mid-way through to return to the backstage area, but reappeared later in the match as another character he portrayed, at the time, known as "Super Eric"—a character similar to superman
—to pin Styles. Following the match, Styles and Tomko proclaimed to Cornette that they were cheated out of the World Tag Team Championship by interference. They were scripted to state they believed that Young and Super Eric were two different individuals. Cornette attempted to get Young to announce that he was Super Eric and vice versa. Young and Super Eric both refused to concede to Cornette's claims, as Young was scripted to believe he was not Super Eric and vice versa. Due to the fact that Young would not admit he was Super Eric, Cornette vacated the World Tag Team Championship.
On the April 24 episode of Impact!, Cornette announced The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament for the vacant championship; commencing that night and concluding at Sacrifice. It involved eight established tag teams pitted against each other to determine the four tag teams competing in the quarterfinals at Sacrifice. The four that moved on would fight eight wrestlers assigned together into four different teams. The eight individuals chosen were called the "Egotistical-eight". They were Sting, James Storm
, Booker T
, Robert Roode, Kip James
, Matt Morgan, B.G. James
, and Awesome Kong
. The eight established tag teams that fought in the qualification matches were Team 3D
(Brother Ray and Brother Devon), Christian Cage
and Rhino
, A.J. Styles and Super Eric (Super Eric replaced Tomko as he was involved in an injury scenario), LAX, The Motor City Machineguns (Chris Sabin
and Alex Shelley
) (MCMG), The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt
and Jimmy Rave
) (RNRI), Rellik
and Black Reign, and Kaz and Eric Young. The first two qualification matches were held on the April 24 episode of Impact! with Team 3D defeating Rellik and Reign in the first and Cage and Rhino defeating MCMG in the second. The following week on Impact! the final two matches were held; LAX defeated Kaz and Young, while Styles and Super Eric defeated RNRI. On the May 8 episode of Impact!, Cornete announced two of the four teams made up of the egotistical-eight. The two announced were Sting and Storm and Kip and Morgan, while the final two teams were chosen at Sacrifice.
TNA debuted a new specialty match at Sacrifice, The TerrorDome, to become the number one contender to the TNA X Division Championship
. The TerrorDome was a 20 foot (6.1 m) high red steel barred cage with a domed roof with victory only being obtained by escaping the structure through a small hole in the center of the ceiling. The plans to host the new match at Sacrifice were revealed on the April 24 episode of Impact!. On the May 1 episode of Impact!, The TerrorDome was officially announced in a small video package. On the May 8 episode of Impact!, the participants were announced: Jay Lethal
, Consequences Creed, Johnny Devine
, Shark Boy
, Curry Man
, Sonjay Dutt
, Kaz, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, and Jimmy Rave.
In the women's division
, a TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal
to become the number one contender to the TNA Women's Knockout Championship
was a featured match at Sacrifice. It was announced on the April 24 episode of Impact! by Cornette. The rules to the match involved two steps. First, there would be a battle royal
, in which the participants eliminated each other by tossing their opponent over the top rope and down to the floor. Second, the final two competitors would have a Ladder match
, in which they fought to climb a ladder to a retrieve a contract giving the winner a future match against the champion, Awesome Kong. The runner-up had her head shaved bald as per another stipulation revealed by Cornette. The match involved Gail Kim
, ODB
, Traci Brooks
, Roxxi Laveaux
, Angelina Love, Jacqueline
, Rhaka Khan
, Christy Hemme
, Velvet Sky
, and Salinas
. On the May 8 episode of Impact!, a match was held to give the winner immunity from having her head shaved bald if she became the runner-up, in which the objective was to retrieve a pair of pruning sheers on a pole at one of the six padded turnbuckle
s; Kim won the match.
event began, there was a pre-taped interview between Jeremy Borash
and Kurt Angle, in which Borash asked Angle what his doctor said about an injury he sustained in Korea. Angle replied that he had three cracked vertebrae in his neck as well as two herniated disks
and that he was not cleared to wrestle that night. Afterwards, Angle was removed from the main event match.
The second quarterfinal match of DWTTT followed between the first team determined at the event, Booker T and Robert Roode, and the team of Christian Cage and Rhino. Cage and Rhino won the match after Rhino executing a running shoulder block to Roode's mid-section to gain the pinfall victory. After the match, Booker T entered the ring, shook hands with Cage and Rhino, and raised their hands to show a sign of respect. He then exited the ring while Cage and Rhino celebrated their victory. Instead of heading to the locker room, Booker T picked up a steel chair that was lying up against the ring and re-entered the ring where he bashed Cage and Rhino over the head with it. Thanks to Booker T's actions, his character changed from a hero to a villain.
The team of Kip James and Matt Morgan fought The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez), who were accompanied by Hector Guerrero
, (LAX) in the third quarterfinal match of DWTTT. Hernandez pinned Kip to gain the victory for LAX in the match after Morgan "accidentally" kicked Kip in the face. This victory advanced LAX to the semi-finals of the tournament.
The fourth match pitted the second determined team at the event, B.G. James and Awesome Kong, against the team of A.J. Styles and Super Eric in the final match of the quarterfinals of DWTTT. Near the end of the match, Super Eric tagged in Styles and went to perform a running dive through the ropes to the outside of the ring on Kong. Styles then tried to execute a rope aided splash onto B.G, who was lying on his back in middle of the ring. Styles, however, failed to execute the move properly which caused him to trip on the top rope, fall to the mat, and land on his face. B.G. stood up to lift Styles up off the ground, which Styles countered by grabbing B.G.'s arm, falling backwards onto his back and side to pin B.G's shoulder's against the mat, while he held B.G's far leg with his legs in a pinfall attempt called a small package.
TNA followed the last quarterfinal match of DWTTT with the debut of The TerrorDome. Prior to the match's beginning, Jim Cornette pronounced that the winner would get the future X Division Championship match as well as take Angle's place in the main event. The match was mainly fast paced with counters and various aerial techniques between the participants. Kaz was the victor in the match after he escaped through the small hole in the center of the ceiling, after he caused Devine to fall from the ceiling onto all the other competitors that were standing in a group.
The semi-finals of DWTTT began with an encounter between Team 3D and Cage and Rhino. Johnny Devine came down to the ring during the match with a kendo stick
and gave it to Ray, while the referee
was not paying attention. In the ring, Rhino performed a running shoulder block to Devon's mid-section. Rhino followed by covering Devon for the three count, however, Devine entered the ring to distract the referee. Ray entered from the other side of the ring and hit Rhino with the kendo stick, which followed with Devon pinning Rhino for the victory.
The seventh match pitted Styles and Super Eric against LAX, who were accompanied by Salinas and Guerrero, in the second semi-final match of DWTTT. Homicide and Styles started the match off with fast paced maneuvers and counters. During the match, Super Eric and Hernandez had a contest to see who was the stronger of the two, which ended in a draw. Towards the end of the match, Styles hooked Homicide up in a small package while Salinas stood on the apron distracting the referee, which allowed Guerrero to come into the ring and reposition Styles and Homicide so the pin fell into LAX's favor. Salinas jumped down off the apron after Guerrero left the ring allowing the referee to count the pinfall, even though Styles' shoulders were visually noticeable to not be laying flat against the mat.
The eighth match was the TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal to become number one contender to the TNA Women's Knockout Championship. It involved Gail Kim, Roxxi Laveaux, Angelina Love, ODB, Jacqueline, Rhaka Khan, Christy Hemme, Traci Brooks, Velvet Sky, and Salinas. The final three participants were Kim, Laveaux, and Love. Love was the last eliminated when Laveaux lifted Love up and threw Love over the top rope when Love ran at her. Step two of the match then began as it became a ladder match between Laveaux and Kim. It was revealed before the match began that if Kim lost, Love would have her head shaved bald instead of Kim, as a result of Kim obtaining immunity prior to the event. Kim was victorious after she retrieved the contract while Laveaux was unconscious. Laveaux was shaved bald following the encounter as per the pre-match stipulation. During the segment, fans in attendance showed their distaste by chanting "Fire Russo", a reference to a member of TNA's creative team—a group of people that writes the storylines and book the matches for the events—named Vince Russo
.
The Finals of DWTTT for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship was next between Team 3D and LAX, who were accompanied by Salinas and Guerrero. Mid-way through the match, Devine came down to the ring and set up a table, however, Guerrero saw what he was doing and went to investigate. Devine then tried to hit Guerrero with the kendo stick he held in his hand, which Guerrero ducked. They fought for a moment until Guerrero placed Devine on top of the table and ascended to the top rope to perform a diving double foot stomp onto Devine through the table. LAX won the tournament and the vacant championship when Homicide pinned Devon after a splash from the top rope.
The main event at Sacrifice was for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a 3-Way Dance between the champion, Samoa Joe, Kaz, and Scott Steiner, who was accompanied by Petey Williams
and Rhaka Khan. Before the match began, mixed martial arts
fighter Frank Trigg
joined Don West
and Mike Tenay
at ringside to provide guest commentary for the match. It was dominated by many aerobatic techniques
and submission maneuvers
throughout. During the match, Williams and Khan interfered on Steiner's behalf by pushing Kaz off the top of a padded turnbuckle and by handing Steiner a lead pipe to hit Joe in the head with when he went for a dive through the ropes. Joe recovered and re-entered the ring, where he lifted Steiner off of a padded turnbuckle, ran and fell to his back, to slam Steiner's back and neck into his shoulder and the mat by using a maneuver dubbed the Muscle Buster to gain the pinfall victory and to retain the championship.
After Sacrifice, Joe went onto TNA's next PPV event, Slammiversary, where he defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against four other opponents in the annual King of the Mountain match
. Qualification matches were held over the weeks till Slammiversary to determine his four opponents. At Slammiversary he defeated Booker T, Christian Cage, Rhino, and Robert Roode to become the first person to retain a championship in the match. Kaz got his X Division Championship match at Slammiversary against Scott Steiner's prodigy, at the time, Petey Williams. Kaz, however, lost the match after interference from Steiner.
The injured Kurt Angle was later cleared to wrestle and began a rivalry
with his former Angle Alliance team member A.J. Styles. The two had a match at Slammiversary, in which Styles came out the victor, with help from Angle's legitimate wife Karen
.
The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez) (LAX) and Team 3D developed a rivalry after Sacrifice which concluded at Slammiversary in a rematch from Sacrifice for the World Tag Team Championship. LAX once again defeated Team 3D.
Gail Kim had her TNA Women's Knockout Championship on the May 15 episode of Impact! against Awesome Kong. Kim was unsuccessful, however, after interference from Angelina Love, which inevitably cost her the match as Kong pinned her shortly afterwards. This later lead to a Six Woman Tag Team match at Slammiversary, with Kim teaming with ODB and Roxxi to face Love, who teamed with Velvet Sky and Moose
. Kim, ODB, and Roxxi were the victors in the match.
's writer Chris Sokol rated the entire event a seven out of ten stars, which was the same rating for the 2007 event. Sokol rated both the finals of The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament and the main event for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 7.5 out of 10. Phil Allely, a journalist for the United Kingdom
newspaper The Sun
, stated the absence of Kurt Angle "actually helped TNA as it added some realism to the night, giving an ultra talented mid-carder a rare chance to shine in the main event." He felt the event was "marred by TNA’s reliance on run-ins and interference."
The event was released on DVD on July 15, 2008 by TNA Home Video
. The DVD reached a peak position of number thirteen on Billboard's DVD Sales Chart for recreational sports during the week of August 9, 2008. During the week of August 16, it fell from position number five to position number eighteen, though it remained on the chart for the second consecutive week, which was its last.
TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal Eliminations
Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament Results
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
(TNA), which took place on May 11, 2008 at the TNA Impact! Zone
TNA iMPACT! Zone
The Impact Wrestling Zone is the professional wrestling nickname for Soundstage 21, a sound stage in Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. It was the fourth event under the Sacrifice
TNA Sacrifice
Sacrifice is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the month of May. The first one was held in August 2005. When event names were shuffled by TNA for 2006, the event was moved to May. Sacrifice has had a tradition of being the final round of...
chronology. Eleven professional wrestling matches
Mock combat
Mock combat involves the execution of combative actions without intent to harm. Participants can engage in such sparring for ritual, training, recreational or performance reasons...
were featured on the event's card
Card (sports)
In sports, a card comprises a listing of the matches taking place in a title-match combat-sport event. Organizers divide overall cards into a main-event match and the undercard, which encompasses the rest of the matches. One can also further subdivide the undercard into midcard and lower card,...
.
The main event was a standard match involving three competitors—titled a 3-Way Dance—fighting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The TNA World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is currently the highest ranked championship in TNA and is primarily defended in TNA's heavyweight division...
, in which the champion, Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, defeated Kaz
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner
Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order...
. Before the PPV began, Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
, originally scheduled to participate in the match, was removed after announcing that he had sustained a legitimate neck injury. In one of the prime matches of the undercard, Kaz defeated nine other wrestlers in The TerrorDome to become Angle's replacement, in addition to winning an opportunity to challenge for the TNA X Division Championship
TNA X Division Championship
The TNA X Division Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily defended in TNA's X Division—a style based on a fast-paced, daredevil type of wrestling...
. The finals of The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament to crown the new TNA World Tag Team Champions
TNA World Tag Team Championship
The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
were held at Sacrifice
TNA Sacrifice
Sacrifice is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the month of May. The first one was held in August 2005. When event names were shuffled by TNA for 2006, the event was moved to May. Sacrifice has had a tradition of being the final round of...
; The Latin American Xchange (Homicide
Nelson Erazo
Nelson Rodriguez Erazo is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name, Homicide...
and Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez"....
) defeated Team 3D
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
(Brother Ray and Brother Devon) to win the tournament and the championship. A TNA Knockout
TNA Knockout
Knockout is a term used by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling to refer to its female talent. The term is applied universally to wrestlers, backstage interviewers, and managers/valets. They are analogous to the Divas of rival WWE.-History:...
s Makeover Battle Royal
Gauntlet for the Gold
The Gauntlet match as defined by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, is a battle royal-style match. When it involves title implications, such as a title on the line or contendership for a title, it is called a Gauntlet for the Gold...
was also promoted, in which the winner would become the number one contender to the TNA Women's Knockout Championship
TNA Women's Knockout Championship
The TNA Women's Knockout Championship, often referred to simply as the Knockouts Championship, is a professional wrestling women's world championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested for in TNA's women's division...
; Gail Kim
Gail Kim
Gail Kim is a Canadian professional wrestler of Korean descent, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is the current TNA Women's Knockout Champion and one half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Madison Rayne...
won this match.
Notably, the event included the finals of The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament, the debut of The TerrorDome, and Kurt Angle's announcement of his neck injury. When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of number 13 on Billboard's
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
DVD Sales Chart. The professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
website rated the entire event a 7 out of 10, the same rating the 2007 event received.
Background
The event featured eleven professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feudsFeud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
, plots, and storylines
Narrative thread
A narrative thread, or plot thread , refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration...
. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
or heroes
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
in the scripted events that built up pre-match tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
, and Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner
Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order...
. TNA began to develop this storyline prior to their April PPV event, Lockdown
Lockdown (2008)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on April 13, 2008 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was the fourth annual event under the Lockdown chronology. Eight professional wrestling matches were featured...
(which took place on April 13). Steiner announced on the April 3 episode of TNA's primary television program, Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
, that he would be activating a contracted title shot (won at the Turning Point event in December 2007) against the winner of the championship bout at Lockdown between Joe and Angle. Joe defeated Angle at Lockdown to win the World Heavyweight Championship. On the April 17 episode of Impact!, Steiner used his title shot to challenge Joe to a World Heavyweight Championship match at Sacrifice. Afterwards, Angle was scripted to interrupt the segment, and announced that he had a clause in his contract with TNA, which gave Angle a rematch if he lost a TNA title. He said that he was activating that clause for the following week's Impact! (April 24). On the April 24 episode of Impact!, Joe successfully retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Angle after Steiner intervened in the match by hitting Angle in the head with a lead pipe. After the match, authority figure Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
replaced the scheduled championship match between Joe and Steiner with a 3-Way Dance that would involve Joe, Steiner, and Angle
The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship
TNA World Tag Team Championship
The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
was held at Sacrifice. The plot development behind this tournament had its inception on the April 17 episode of Impact!, when Kaz
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Eric Young
Eric Young (wrestler)
Jeremy Fritz is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known under his ring name Eric Young. He currently performs for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he has gained popularity using a variety of comic relief gimmicks....
and The Latin American Xchange (LAX) pairing of Homicide
Nelson Erazo
Nelson Rodriguez Erazo is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name, Homicide...
and Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez"....
challenged A.J. Styles and Tomko
A.J. Styles and Tomko
A.J. Styles and Tomko are former tag team partners in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling who were a part of two factions together, Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance....
to a 3-Way Dance for the World Tag Team Championship; Young and Kaz won the match. The finish later began a dispute between Styles and Tomko and Young and Kaz. Young had left the match mid-way through to return to the backstage area, but reappeared later in the match as another character he portrayed, at the time, known as "Super Eric"—a character similar to superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
—to pin Styles. Following the match, Styles and Tomko proclaimed to Cornette that they were cheated out of the World Tag Team Championship by interference. They were scripted to state they believed that Young and Super Eric were two different individuals. Cornette attempted to get Young to announce that he was Super Eric and vice versa. Young and Super Eric both refused to concede to Cornette's claims, as Young was scripted to believe he was not Super Eric and vice versa. Due to the fact that Young would not admit he was Super Eric, Cornette vacated the World Tag Team Championship.
On the April 24 episode of Impact!, Cornette announced The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament for the vacant championship; commencing that night and concluding at Sacrifice. It involved eight established tag teams pitted against each other to determine the four tag teams competing in the quarterfinals at Sacrifice. The four that moved on would fight eight wrestlers assigned together into four different teams. The eight individuals chosen were called the "Egotistical-eight". They were Sting, James Storm
James Storm
James Allen Cox is an American professional wrestler who competes under the ring name "The Cowboy" James Storm. Since 2002, Storm has been employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he, along with A.J...
, Booker T
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
, Robert Roode, Kip James
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...
, Matt Morgan, B.G. James
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
, and Awesome Kong
Kia Stevens
Kia Michelle Stevens , better known by her ring names Amazing Kong, Awesome Kong and Kharma. She is signed with WWE, but has been inactive since May 2011 due to pregnancy...
. The eight established tag teams that fought in the qualification matches were Team 3D
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
(Brother Ray and Brother Devon), Christian Cage
Jason Reso
William Jason Reso is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Christian and Christian Cage...
and Rhino
Terry Gerin
Terrance "Terry" Gerin is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, A.J. Styles and Super Eric (Super Eric replaced Tomko as he was involved in an injury scenario), LAX, The Motor City Machineguns (Chris Sabin
Chris Sabin
Joshua Harter is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Sabin. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he currently teams with Alex Shelley as The Motor City Machine Guns.After being trained by Scott D'Amore, Sabin debuted in 2000 for...
and Alex Shelley
Alex Shelley
Patrick Martin , is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Alex Shelley. He wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he currently teams with Chris Sabin as The Motor City Machine Guns. He previously gained fame on the independent circuit, working most notably for...
) (MCMG), The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling as Lance Archer. He is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Kid Kash while the title was under the TNA banner...
and Jimmy Rave
Jimmy Rave
James Guffey is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jimmy Rave. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
) (RNRI), Rellik
John Hugger
John Hugger is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling as Johnny the Bull, World Wrestling Entertainment as Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli...
and Black Reign, and Kaz and Eric Young. The first two qualification matches were held on the April 24 episode of Impact! with Team 3D defeating Rellik and Reign in the first and Cage and Rhino defeating MCMG in the second. The following week on Impact! the final two matches were held; LAX defeated Kaz and Young, while Styles and Super Eric defeated RNRI. On the May 8 episode of Impact!, Cornete announced two of the four teams made up of the egotistical-eight. The two announced were Sting and Storm and Kip and Morgan, while the final two teams were chosen at Sacrifice.
TNA X Division Championship
The TNA X Division Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily defended in TNA's X Division—a style based on a fast-paced, daredevil type of wrestling...
. The TerrorDome was a 20 foot (6.1 m) high red steel barred cage with a domed roof with victory only being obtained by escaping the structure through a small hole in the center of the ceiling. The plans to host the new match at Sacrifice were revealed on the April 24 episode of Impact!. On the May 1 episode of Impact!, The TerrorDome was officially announced in a small video package. On the May 8 episode of Impact!, the participants were announced: Jay Lethal
Jay Lethal
Jamar "Jay" Shipman better known by his ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Ring of Honor , where he is the ROH World Television Champion...
, Consequences Creed, Johnny Devine
Johnny Devine
John Peter "J.P." Parsonage is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Hot Shot" Johnny Devine...
, Shark Boy
Shark Boy
Dean Mathew Roll is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Shark Boy and his experience in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .-Early career:...
, Curry Man
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...
, Sonjay Dutt
Sonjay Dutt
Retesh Bhalla is an American professional wrestler of Indian Punjabi descent, better known by his ring name, Sonjay Dutt. He is best known working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and is also known for his stints with Combat Zone Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, and other various independent...
, Kaz, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, and Jimmy Rave.
In the women's division
TNA Knockout
Knockout is a term used by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling to refer to its female talent. The term is applied universally to wrestlers, backstage interviewers, and managers/valets. They are analogous to the Divas of rival WWE.-History:...
, a TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal
Gauntlet for the Gold
The Gauntlet match as defined by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, is a battle royal-style match. When it involves title implications, such as a title on the line or contendership for a title, it is called a Gauntlet for the Gold...
to become the number one contender to the TNA Women's Knockout Championship
TNA Women's Knockout Championship
The TNA Women's Knockout Championship, often referred to simply as the Knockouts Championship, is a professional wrestling women's world championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested for in TNA's women's division...
was a featured match at Sacrifice. It was announced on the April 24 episode of Impact! by Cornette. The rules to the match involved two steps. First, there would be a battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
, in which the participants eliminated each other by tossing their opponent over the top rope and down to the floor. Second, the final two competitors would have a Ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
, in which they fought to climb a ladder to a retrieve a contract giving the winner a future match against the champion, Awesome Kong. The runner-up had her head shaved bald as per another stipulation revealed by Cornette. The match involved Gail Kim
Gail Kim
Gail Kim is a Canadian professional wrestler of Korean descent, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is the current TNA Women's Knockout Champion and one half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Madison Rayne...
, ODB
Jessica Kresa
Jessica Kresa is an American professional wrestler and actress better known as ODB , currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she is a former three–time TNA Women's Knockout Champion....
, Traci Brooks
Tracy Brookshaw
Tracy Brookshaw is a Canadian professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet and professional wrestling referee, better known by her ring name Traci Brooks. She is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she has spent most of her career.-Early life:Brookshaw grew up on a...
, Roxxi Laveaux
Nicole Raczynski
Nicole Raczynski is an American professional wrestler, best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Roxxi...
, Angelina Love, Jacqueline
Jacqueline Moore
Jacqueline DeLois Moore is an inactive American professional wrestler, who was most recently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Rhaka Khan
Trenesha Biggers
Trenesha Biggers is a model and professional wrestler who worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Rhaka Khan. She was in the final top 25 in the 2005 WWE Diva Search.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Christy Hemme
Christy Hemme
Christina Lee "Christy" Hemme is an American actress, singer, model, professional wrestling valet and former professional wrestler. Hemme is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as a backstage interviewer and ring announcer.-Early life:Hemme was born in Poway, California, but she...
, Velvet Sky
Velvet Sky
Jamie Szantyr is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Velvet Sky. She is a former TNA Women's Knockout Champion and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion with her former Beautiful People partners Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich...
, and Salinas
Shelly Martinez
Shelly Leonor Martinez is a Mexican American model, actress, professional wrestler and valet. She is known for her work with World Wrestling Entertainment on its ECW brand under the ring name Ariel and for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Salinas as valet to The Latin American...
. On the May 8 episode of Impact!, a match was held to give the winner immunity from having her head shaved bald if she became the runner-up, in which the objective was to retrieve a pair of pruning sheers on a pole at one of the six padded turnbuckle
Turnbuckle
A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eyelets, one screwed into each end of a small metal frame, one with a left-hand thread and the other with a...
s; Kim won the match.
Event
Before the 2008 SacrificeTNA Sacrifice
Sacrifice is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the month of May. The first one was held in August 2005. When event names were shuffled by TNA for 2006, the event was moved to May. Sacrifice has had a tradition of being the final round of...
event began, there was a pre-taped interview between Jeremy Borash
Jeremy Borash
Jeremy Borash , is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator, announcer, ring announcer, booker, interviewer, producer and website designer...
and Kurt Angle, in which Borash asked Angle what his doctor said about an injury he sustained in Korea. Angle replied that he had three cracked vertebrae in his neck as well as two herniated disks
Intervertebral disc
Intervertebral discs lie between adjacent vertebrae in the spine. Each disc forms a cartilaginous joint to allow slight movement of the vertebrae, and acts as a ligament to hold the vertebrae together.-Structure:...
and that he was not cleared to wrestle that night. Afterwards, Angle was removed from the main event match.
Preliminary matches
Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) fought the team of James Storm, who was accompanied by Jacqueline, and Sting in the first match in the quarterfinals of The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament (DWTTT). Near the end of the match, Team 3D introduced a table into the ring and set it up. Sting lifted Storm off of the top rope and slammed him through a table, which allowed Devon to pin Storm to move on in the tournament.The second quarterfinal match of DWTTT followed between the first team determined at the event, Booker T and Robert Roode, and the team of Christian Cage and Rhino. Cage and Rhino won the match after Rhino executing a running shoulder block to Roode's mid-section to gain the pinfall victory. After the match, Booker T entered the ring, shook hands with Cage and Rhino, and raised their hands to show a sign of respect. He then exited the ring while Cage and Rhino celebrated their victory. Instead of heading to the locker room, Booker T picked up a steel chair that was lying up against the ring and re-entered the ring where he bashed Cage and Rhino over the head with it. Thanks to Booker T's actions, his character changed from a hero to a villain.
The team of Kip James and Matt Morgan fought The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez), who were accompanied by Hector Guerrero
Hector Guerrero
Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, better known simply by his paternal name, Héctor Guerrero...
, (LAX) in the third quarterfinal match of DWTTT. Hernandez pinned Kip to gain the victory for LAX in the match after Morgan "accidentally" kicked Kip in the face. This victory advanced LAX to the semi-finals of the tournament.
The fourth match pitted the second determined team at the event, B.G. James and Awesome Kong, against the team of A.J. Styles and Super Eric in the final match of the quarterfinals of DWTTT. Near the end of the match, Super Eric tagged in Styles and went to perform a running dive through the ropes to the outside of the ring on Kong. Styles then tried to execute a rope aided splash onto B.G, who was lying on his back in middle of the ring. Styles, however, failed to execute the move properly which caused him to trip on the top rope, fall to the mat, and land on his face. B.G. stood up to lift Styles up off the ground, which Styles countered by grabbing B.G.'s arm, falling backwards onto his back and side to pin B.G's shoulder's against the mat, while he held B.G's far leg with his legs in a pinfall attempt called a small package.
TNA followed the last quarterfinal match of DWTTT with the debut of The TerrorDome. Prior to the match's beginning, Jim Cornette pronounced that the winner would get the future X Division Championship match as well as take Angle's place in the main event. The match was mainly fast paced with counters and various aerial techniques between the participants. Kaz was the victor in the match after he escaped through the small hole in the center of the ceiling, after he caused Devine to fall from the ceiling onto all the other competitors that were standing in a group.
The semi-finals of DWTTT began with an encounter between Team 3D and Cage and Rhino. Johnny Devine came down to the ring during the match with a kendo stick
Shinai
is a weapon used for practice and competition in kendo representing a Japanese sword. Shinai are also used in other martial arts, but may be styled differently from kendo shinai, and represented with different characters....
and gave it to Ray, while the referee
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
was not paying attention. In the ring, Rhino performed a running shoulder block to Devon's mid-section. Rhino followed by covering Devon for the three count, however, Devine entered the ring to distract the referee. Ray entered from the other side of the ring and hit Rhino with the kendo stick, which followed with Devon pinning Rhino for the victory.
The seventh match pitted Styles and Super Eric against LAX, who were accompanied by Salinas and Guerrero, in the second semi-final match of DWTTT. Homicide and Styles started the match off with fast paced maneuvers and counters. During the match, Super Eric and Hernandez had a contest to see who was the stronger of the two, which ended in a draw. Towards the end of the match, Styles hooked Homicide up in a small package while Salinas stood on the apron distracting the referee, which allowed Guerrero to come into the ring and reposition Styles and Homicide so the pin fell into LAX's favor. Salinas jumped down off the apron after Guerrero left the ring allowing the referee to count the pinfall, even though Styles' shoulders were visually noticeable to not be laying flat against the mat.
Main event matches
Vince Russo
Vincent James "Vince" Russo is an American creative writer and author, well known for his work in the professional wrestling industry. He is notable for his tenure with World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
.
The Finals of DWTTT for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship was next between Team 3D and LAX, who were accompanied by Salinas and Guerrero. Mid-way through the match, Devine came down to the ring and set up a table, however, Guerrero saw what he was doing and went to investigate. Devine then tried to hit Guerrero with the kendo stick he held in his hand, which Guerrero ducked. They fought for a moment until Guerrero placed Devine on top of the table and ascended to the top rope to perform a diving double foot stomp onto Devine through the table. LAX won the tournament and the vacant championship when Homicide pinned Devon after a splash from the top rope.
The main event at Sacrifice was for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a 3-Way Dance between the champion, Samoa Joe, Kaz, and Scott Steiner, who was accompanied by Petey Williams
Petey Williams
Peter "Petey" Williams III is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time X Division Champion and a former captain of Team Canada. Williams Currently Wrestles for Lucha Libre USA...
and Rhaka Khan. Before the match began, mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
fighter Frank Trigg
Frank Trigg
Dewey Franklin Trigg III is an American mixed martial artist, color commentator, pro wrestler and co-host of MMAWeekly radio show and TAGG radio show...
joined Don West
Don West (sportscaster)
Donald "Don" West is an American pitchman, television personality and wrestling broadcaster currently working as an on-screen talent for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and also as a pitchman for WildWestDeals.com, an internet marketing website...
and Mike Tenay
Mike Tenay
Michael William "Mike" Tenay is a professional wrestling play-by-play announcer currently employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Prior to signing with TNA in 2002, he had a notable tenure with World Championship Wrestling from 1994-2001...
at ringside to provide guest commentary for the match. It was dominated by many aerobatic techniques
Professional wrestling aerial techniques
Aerial techniques are maneuvers, using the ring and its posts and ropes as aids, used in professional wrestling to show off the speed and agility of a wrestler. These moves are mainly done by smaller, quicker wrestlers who are unable to do most of the power moves. There is a wide variety of aerial...
and submission maneuvers
Professional wrestling holds
Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring...
throughout. During the match, Williams and Khan interfered on Steiner's behalf by pushing Kaz off the top of a padded turnbuckle and by handing Steiner a lead pipe to hit Joe in the head with when he went for a dive through the ropes. Joe recovered and re-entered the ring, where he lifted Steiner off of a padded turnbuckle, ran and fell to his back, to slam Steiner's back and neck into his shoulder and the mat by using a maneuver dubbed the Muscle Buster to gain the pinfall victory and to retain the championship.
Aftermath
| Other on-screen talent | |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Mike Tenay Mike Tenay Michael William "Mike" Tenay is a professional wrestling play-by-play announcer currently employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Prior to signing with TNA in 2002, he had a notable tenure with World Championship Wrestling from 1994-2001... |
| Don West Don West (sportscaster) Donald "Don" West is an American pitchman, television personality and wrestling broadcaster currently working as an on-screen talent for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and also as a pitchman for WildWestDeals.com, an internet marketing website... |
|
| Frank Trigg Frank Trigg Dewey Franklin Trigg III is an American mixed martial artist, color commentator, pro wrestler and co-host of MMAWeekly radio show and TAGG radio show... |
|
| Hector Guerrero Hector Guerrero Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, better known simply by his paternal name, Héctor Guerrero... |
|
| Willie Urbina | |
| Ring announcer | Jeremy Borash Jeremy Borash Jeremy Borash , is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator, announcer, ring announcer, booker, interviewer, producer and website designer... |
| David Penzer David Penzer David Penzer is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, most recently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling between 1995 and 2001.... |
|
| Referee | Earl Hebner Earl Hebner Earl William Hebner is a professional wrestling referee currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the twin brother of Dave Hebner... |
| Rudy Charles Rudy Charles Daniel Engler is an American professional wrestling referee, better known by his ring name, Rudy Charles, best known for his time as a referee in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he was the promotion's senior referee... |
|
| Mark "Slick" Johnson | |
| Andrew Thomas | |
| Interviewers | Jeremy Borash |
| Lauren Thompson Lauren Brooke (interviewer) Lauren Thompson or Lauren Brooke is a U.S. television personality, print and voiceover model who works for Golf Channel hosting "Top Ten" and "Golf Now" , as well the "College Sports Minute". She is also known for previously working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a backstage interviewer... |
After Sacrifice, Joe went onto TNA's next PPV event, Slammiversary, where he defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against four other opponents in the annual King of the Mountain match
King of the Mountain match
The King of the Mountain match is a professional wrestling match exclusive to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . It consists of five competitors competing for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship or the TNA X Division Championship as of Slammiversary 2009...
. Qualification matches were held over the weeks till Slammiversary to determine his four opponents. At Slammiversary he defeated Booker T, Christian Cage, Rhino, and Robert Roode to become the first person to retain a championship in the match. Kaz got his X Division Championship match at Slammiversary against Scott Steiner's prodigy, at the time, Petey Williams. Kaz, however, lost the match after interference from Steiner.
The injured Kurt Angle was later cleared to wrestle and began a rivalry
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with his former Angle Alliance team member A.J. Styles. The two had a match at Slammiversary, in which Styles came out the victor, with help from Angle's legitimate wife Karen
Karen Angle
Karen Jarrett is an American professional wrestling valet and personality, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
.
The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez) (LAX) and Team 3D developed a rivalry after Sacrifice which concluded at Slammiversary in a rematch from Sacrifice for the World Tag Team Championship. LAX once again defeated Team 3D.
Gail Kim had her TNA Women's Knockout Championship on the May 15 episode of Impact! against Awesome Kong. Kim was unsuccessful, however, after interference from Angelina Love, which inevitably cost her the match as Kong pinned her shortly afterwards. This later lead to a Six Woman Tag Team match at Slammiversary, with Kim teaming with ODB and Roxxi to face Love, who teamed with Velvet Sky and Moose
Mickie Knuckles
Mickie Lee Knuckles is an American professional wrestler who has worked for a number of major independent promotions, including Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, Chikara and Combat Zone Wrestling. She also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the name Moose...
. Kim, ODB, and Roxxi were the victors in the match.
Reception
The Canadian Online ExplorerCanadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
's writer Chris Sokol rated the entire event a seven out of ten stars, which was the same rating for the 2007 event. Sokol rated both the finals of The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament and the main event for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 7.5 out of 10. Phil Allely, a journalist for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
newspaper The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, stated the absence of Kurt Angle "actually helped TNA as it added some realism to the night, giving an ultra talented mid-carder a rare chance to shine in the main event." He felt the event was "marred by TNA’s reliance on run-ins and interference."
The event was released on DVD on July 15, 2008 by TNA Home Video
TNA Home Video
TNA Home Video is a division of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that releases TNA's PPV events & other TNA produced compilations on DVD. TNA Home Video was formed in 2005 to partner with Navarre Corporation to distribute and produce TNA's expanding video library...
. The DVD reached a peak position of number thirteen on Billboard's DVD Sales Chart for recreational sports during the week of August 9, 2008. During the week of August 16, it fell from position number five to position number eighteen, though it remained on the chart for the second consecutive week, which was its last.
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team 3D Dudley Boyz Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals... (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) defeated Sting and James Storm James Storm James Allen Cox is an American professional wrestler who competes under the ring name "The Cowboy" James Storm. Since 2002, Storm has been employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he, along with A.J... (with Jacqueline Jacqueline Moore Jacqueline DeLois Moore is an inactive American professional wrestler, who was most recently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling... ) |
Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament quarterfinal match | 8:45 |
| 2 | Christian Cage Jason Reso William Jason Reso is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Christian and Christian Cage... and Rhino Terry Gerin Terrance "Terry" Gerin is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling... defeated Booker T Booker Huffman Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World... and Robert Roode |
Deuces Wild Tournament quarterfinal match | 7:01 |
| 3 | The Latin American Xchange (Homicide Nelson Erazo Nelson Rodriguez Erazo is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name, Homicide... and Hernandez Shawn Hernandez Shawn Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez".... ) (with Hector Guerrero Hector Guerrero Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, better known simply by his paternal name, Héctor Guerrero... ) defeated Kip James Monty Sopp Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James... and Matt Morgan |
Deuces Wild Tournament quarterfinal match | 4:13 |
| 4 | A.J. Styles A.J. Styles Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling... and Super Eric Eric Young (wrestler) Jeremy Fritz is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known under his ring name Eric Young. He currently performs for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he has gained popularity using a variety of comic relief gimmicks.... defeated B.G. James Brian Gerard James Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg... and Awesome Kong Kia Stevens Kia Michelle Stevens , better known by her ring names Amazing Kong, Awesome Kong and Kharma. She is signed with WWE, but has been inactive since May 2011 due to pregnancy... (with Raisha Saeed) |
Deuces Wild Tournament quarterfinal match | 5:29 |
| 5 | Kaz Frankie Kazarian Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling... defeated Jimmy Rave Jimmy Rave James Guffey is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jimmy Rave. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling... , Johnny Devine Johnny Devine John Peter "J.P." Parsonage is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Hot Shot" Johnny Devine... , Shark Boy Shark Boy Dean Mathew Roll is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Shark Boy and his experience in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .-Early career:... , Curry Man Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also... , Jay Lethal Jay Lethal Jamar "Jay" Shipman better known by his ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Ring of Honor , where he is the ROH World Television Champion... , Sonjay Dutt Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla is an American professional wrestler of Indian Punjabi descent, better known by his ring name, Sonjay Dutt. He is best known working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and is also known for his stints with Combat Zone Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, and other various independent... , Chris Sabin Chris Sabin Joshua Harter is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Sabin. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he currently teams with Alex Shelley as The Motor City Machine Guns.After being trained by Scott D'Amore, Sabin debuted in 2000 for... , Alex Shelley Alex Shelley Patrick Martin , is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Alex Shelley. He wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he currently teams with Chris Sabin as The Motor City Machine Guns. He previously gained fame on the independent circuit, working most notably for... , and Consequences Creed |
TerrorDome Match to become the number one contender for the TNA X Division Championship TNA X Division Championship The TNA X Division Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily defended in TNA's X Division—a style based on a fast-paced, daredevil type of wrestling... and take Kurt Angle's Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion... place in the main event that night. |
10:32 |
| 6 | Team 3D defeated Christian Cage and Rhino | Deuces Wild Tournament semifinal match | 9:52 |
| 7 | The Latin American Xchange (with Salinas Shelly Martinez Shelly Leonor Martinez is a Mexican American model, actress, professional wrestler and valet. She is known for her work with World Wrestling Entertainment on its ECW brand under the ring name Ariel and for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Salinas as valet to The Latin American... and Hector Guerrero) defeated A.J. Styles and Super Eric |
Deuces Wild Tournament semifinal match | 7:30 |
| 8 | Gail Kim Gail Kim Gail Kim is a Canadian professional wrestler of Korean descent, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is the current TNA Women's Knockout Champion and one half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Madison Rayne... and Roxxi Laveaux Nicole Raczynski Nicole Raczynski is an American professional wrestler, best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Roxxi... defeated Angelina Love, O.D.B. Jessica Kresa Jessica Kresa is an American professional wrestler and actress better known as ODB , currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she is a former three–time TNA Women's Knockout Champion.... , Jacqueline, Rhaka Khan Trenesha Biggers Trenesha Biggers is a model and professional wrestler who worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Rhaka Khan. She was in the final top 25 in the 2005 WWE Diva Search.-Professional wrestling career:... , Christy Hemme Christy Hemme Christina Lee "Christy" Hemme is an American actress, singer, model, professional wrestling valet and former professional wrestler. Hemme is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as a backstage interviewer and ring announcer.-Early life:Hemme was born in Poway, California, but she... , Traci Brooks Tracy Brookshaw Tracy Brookshaw is a Canadian professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet and professional wrestling referee, better known by her ring name Traci Brooks. She is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she has spent most of her career.-Early life:Brookshaw grew up on a... , Velvet Sky Velvet Sky Jamie Szantyr is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Velvet Sky. She is a former TNA Women's Knockout Champion and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion with her former Beautiful People partners Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich... , and Salinas |
TNA Knockout TNA Knockout Knockout is a term used by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling to refer to its female talent. The term is applied universally to wrestlers, backstage interviewers, and managers/valets. They are analogous to the Divas of rival WWE.-History:... s Makeover Battle Royal Gauntlet for the Gold The Gauntlet match as defined by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, is a battle royal-style match. When it involves title implications, such as a title on the line or contendership for a title, it is called a Gauntlet for the Gold... |
3:43 |
| 9 | Gail Kim defeated Roxxi Laveaux | Ladder match Ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item... to become number one contender to the TNA Women's Knockout Championship TNA Women's Knockout Championship The TNA Women's Knockout Championship, often referred to simply as the Knockouts Championship, is a professional wrestling women's world championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested for in TNA's women's division... |
4:46 |
| 10 | The Latin American Xchange (with Salinas and Hector Guerrero) defeated Team 3D | Deuces Wild Tournament final for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship TNA World Tag Team Championship The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,... |
8:48 |
| 11 | Samoa Joe Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.... (c) defeated Scott Steiner Scott Steiner Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order... (with Petey Williams Petey Williams Peter "Petey" Williams III is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time X Division Champion and a former captain of Team Canada. Williams Currently Wrestles for Lucha Libre USA... and Rhaka Khan) and Kaz |
3-Way Dance for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship TNA World Heavyweight Championship The TNA World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is currently the highest ranked championship in TNA and is primarily defended in TNA's heavyweight division... |
13:23 |
TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal Eliminations
| Elimination # | Eliminated | Eliminator |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salinas | Laveaux |
| 2 | Velvet Sky | Brooks |
| 3 | Traci Brooks | Love |
| 4 | Christy Hemme | Khan |
| 5 | Rhaka Khan | O.D.B., Jacqueline, Love |
| 6 | Jacqueline | Love |
| 7 | O.D.B. | Laveaux |
| 8 | Angelina Love | Laveaux |
Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament Results
See also
- TNA SacrificeTNA SacrificeSacrifice is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the month of May. The first one was held in August 2005. When event names were shuffled by TNA for 2006, the event was moved to May. Sacrifice has had a tradition of being the final round of...
- List of TNA pay-per-view events
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling tournaments
External links
- Sacrifice at In Demand.comIN DEMANDIn Demand is a provider of pay-per-view and subscription video-on-demand services, jointly owned by Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks...
- TNA Wrestling.com