Report sent in by Big Game
(These matches as close to the correct order that I can remember. Some may be a little off.)
I was at the TNA show at the Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, NH Sunday night with my friend Sammy and my fiancee. TNA put on a great show for such an intimate venue. The Casino Ballroom is essentially a bar and it's definitely a venue made for small concerts, so the audio was amazing. 3D mentioned that it was the first ever venue where they had wrestled for all 3 promotions, WWE (?), ECW, and TNA. I can't remember for sure if they actually said WWE or some other promotion. I probably should know that, but I can't imagine WWE ever coming to the Casino Ballroom. If they ever did, it must have been long before Team 3D's WWE days.
The crowd was pretty hot and somewhat smart throughout the night. I would guestimate there were 800 - 1000 people there, but I had never been to the Ballroom before so I could be off on that. I will say that it was a great place to see a show. I would have loved to see an old ECW show there.
Robert Roode (w/ Brooks) and Kaz vs. Eric Young and The Black Machismo
The crowd was incredibly hot for Eric and even more so for Lethal. Lethal performed as advertised and expected. There were a few nice spots from Kaz and Lethal. It's too bad this wasn't two separate matches, but it was a great way to start the card. Young had a great couple of spots when he hulked up on Kaz, gave him the big point (which got a great "YOU" from the crowd), sent him to the ropes for the big boot, and dropped the leg on him. Too bad it didn't work as well for him as it did for Hogan. In the end, Young and Machismo prevailed, though. I was glad to see the double death valley driver on Roode/Brooks (puts Cena to shame!) and then the big elbow from Machismo. Great chant of "She's Got Herpes" during the match, to which Brooks said something to the effect of "Not anymore!" After the match, Roode and Kaz (strange partners) teased some dissention and started squaring off only to hug anyway. (WINNERS: Young and Machismo)
Gail Kim vs. Jackie Moore
Jackie Moore grabbed a Gail Kim sign before the match and ripped it up in the ring. Also, there was an older guy there with a that I noticed before the show. He had a white shirt and red letters that said "Hi Gail I'm Old Joe" on the front and on the back it said "TNA Women's Division Coming in 2007." I'd like to know the story behind that. The match was pretty standard stuff from these two, although Gail skanked it up a bit while entering the ring. Jackie played to the crowd constantly to keep the heat on. There was some outside the ring action, too. (WINNER: Gail Kim)
David vs. Goliath match Brother Runt vs. Lance Hoyt
This match was very standard and filled with some stall moves to stretch it out. Unfortunately that meant that the match got the only "boring" chant of the night. Before that, though, Runt got an "L.S.D." chant at the beginning, to which he held his finger to his lips to say "shhh," which was funny. Highlights included Runt hitting a modified Acid Drop on the railing outside and then later in the ring for the win. Just before intermission, my fiancée saw Runt outside. She said he was wearing a hood, but she noticed his mohawk and he gave her the little Runt wave that he gave Hoyt before the match. (WINNER: Brother Runt)
Three Way Tag Match The Naturals vs. Serotonin vs. LAX
Amazing how over LAX is. They played it up to the crowd, but I hope they never completely turn face. However, in this match, who else were people supposed to cheer for? There was a lot of Homicide needing to make the hot tag which he finally did. Hernandez cleaned house with some very impressive power moves. LAX wins. The match had several loud LAX chants. My only complaint is that with a smaller house-show ring, it might not be the best idea to cram 7 people into the ring. My friend made the good point that it was amazing that many more people rushed the ring for high fives when LAX won than they did for Gail Kim. Hopefully LAX remains together without Konnan and gets pushed even more. (WINNERS: LAX)
Team 3D vs. A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels
It was too bad that Team 3D was so over, but they definitely were. We tried to start some 3D sucks chants with no luck. It's also too bad that Daniels and Styles couldn't have each wrestled someone to put on a better match. Styles and Daniels each put on classic heel promos before the match, both a little out of their current characters. Of course 3D went over and then invited a kid into the ring to hold the belts. They made their little spiel about this being their first venue for all 3 promotions and thanked the crowd for coming out. After this match there was an intermission at which A.J. and Daniels signed autographs at the merchandise counter. They stayed and signed for everyone in line. (WINNERS: 3D)
James Storm (w/ Jackie Moore) vs. Chris Harris (w/ Gail Kim)
Before this match the little girl next to us freaked out for Wildcat. I can't imagine why she loved him so much, but good for her. This match was better than I had hoped. The main reason was the (apparently somewhat standard) interactive portion of the match. Wildcat held Storm's arm for a couple of fan chops on the outside. The first one was from a younger kid and Storm sold it like crazy. The next was from a younger adult guy and it made a HUGE slap. Very impressive. The final one was from some woman, but just before she hit her, he broke free and kind of lurched forth, kind of hitting her in the face with his open hands. She was standing up and acting angry for a while after that. A staff guy walked by and I think told her to sit down eventually. That was another thing that I would have liked to know the story behind. Finally, Wildcat goes over. (WINNER: "Wildcat" Chris Harris)
Rhino vs. Tomko
This match was just what you'd expect. We tried to boo Rhino, also with no success. Later there were plenty of dueling Let's Go Rhino / Let's Go Tomko chants, though. Not too many good spots and a weak GORE (GORE! GORE!) to end it. Somewhere Don West smiled. (WINNER: Rhino)
Main Event -- Christian Cage (w/ Tomko) vs. Kurt Angle
Christian was over as a heel even though we cheered as loud as we could for him. Angle was over as a face big time. The match itself was very good, even had some fighting over the rail and in the audience. There was a great spot with a teased Angle Slam then Unprettier then Ankle Lock. At one point Tomko nailed Angle from behind, after which the ref banished Tomko from ringside. There were a few "Lets' Go Angle / Let's Go Christian chants one everything got going. Eventually Angle nailed the Angle Slam for the win. After the match they brought out the camera to circle the ring -- maybe I'll see my face on Impact or at least on the website. (WINNER: Kurt Angle)
Great show and we really appreciated that the effort that the wrestlers put on for such a small house show. Nobody half-assed anything. I hope that TNA makes it back to the Northeast again sometime soon. TNA at the Casino Ballroom was a great experience, so much so that it definitely makes me think twice about bothering to spend money on a WWE house show if and when they are back in the area.