Thanks to Timothy Fisher for sending in the following report:
My wife & I were at the TNA house show at the John Marshall Field House on the 14th. I’m sure someone has already sent you the results, but here are some quick thoughts from it.
The arena was small, but they had a pretty good turnout. I’m no good at estimating numbers, but I’d say it was at least 90% full.
The crowd was hot from start to finish. TNA did a great job of giving the show a big-time feel.
There was a lot of comedy in the main event. Earl Hebner and James Storm had a mini-match before the real match started, which ended with Storm running from the ring after Hebner & Jarrett double-teamed him. Storm and Roode "accidentally" wound up in suggestive poses with each other several times, and then took exaggerated offense when the crowd laughed at them. Unfortunately, Jarrett also wound up pantsing Storm during the match, showing the crowd a full moon.
The champs who fought all retained their titles. Abyss beat AJ by DQ when Styles brought his belt into play.
I also saw a first at this show: a referee with his own wrestling t-shirt for sale. They went like hotcakes, too. During a match, Hebner took off his ref shirt to reveal a t-shirt printed with the ref stripes, along with "Damn right I did!" on the front, & his name & TNA logo on the back. He wound up selling a ton of the things later in the night, and autographed them for free.
A LOT of the TNA stars and personalities signed autographs. Jeff Jarrett, The Beautiful People, and The Pope all did sessions at a table beside the merchandise booth. Abyss and Rob Terry both signed at ringside. Don West and Earl Hebner both signed stuff as it was being sold. Jeremy Borash signed for about anyone who stopped him while he was walking around, and Kurt Angle even signed a few things while doing paid fan photo-ops in the ring, although security kept trying to stop him.
Kurt Angle & Jeff Jarrett both had their kids with them. Kurt’s kid played in the ring after the show, and Jarrett’s girls sat with him during the autograph signing. It was cool seeing these guys being real people and dads.
Overall, it was the most interactive, fan-friendly wrestling show I’ve ever been to, and one of the most fun.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
