TNA Turning Point 2006 Review

Hello and welcome to another edition of Seanomaniac Wrestling Reviews, the only wrestling review series on the internet that has lower ratings than Raw & Smackdown Live! The hiatus is over, it is time for some TNA Turning Point 2006! Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe one more time, Angle was victorious in their first meeting but The Samoan Submission Machine is out for blood in this rematch. This will be their final match for quite some time, can Samoa Joe have Kurt Angle looking over his shoulder, watching for the threat of he Samoan Submission Machine? Meanwhile, Abyss defends his TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Sting & Christian in a triple threat match. Sting is acting like a mentor and friend to Abyss, attempting to change the mind of the monster, enslaved to do the bidding of his father James Mitchell while Christian looks to blackmail Abyss with a secret that could ruin the monster’s life. Those are your main two storylines going into this pay per view so without further ado, Let’s get on with this pay per view!

(Elimination Five Way Match) Senshi vs Alex Shelley vs Jay Lethal vs Sonjay Dutt vs Austin Starr

Five of the best of TNA’s X Division in an elimination match, Shelley and Lethal will begin the match. Lock-up, wristlock from Lethal. Shelley goes to the ropes, Lethal kicks the ropes into Shelley’s nether regions. Headlock and abdominal stretch from Shelley, Shelley rakes the face and steps on Lethal’s face. Back into the corner, Starr tags into the match. Lethal nails a leaping calf kick for one, Lethal tags Dutt. Axe handle to the arm, flashing elbow from Dutt. Front chancery, Starr backs Dutt into Shelley’s corner. Foot choke from Shelley, cocky pin from Shelley, no pin. Dutt tags Lethal, right hand to Shelley.

Dutt and Lethal combine for sentons, dropkicks and moonsaults that floor Shelley, Dutt elbows Shelley becoming the legal man. Irish whip to the corner, Dutt looks for an arm drag using the ropes but Starr crotches Dutt. Shelley rakes Dutt across the ropes, scoop slam by Shelley. Senshi tags in off Shelley, elbow from Senshi. Two for Senshi, huge chop. Starr blind tags in off Senshi, clothesline to Dutt. Dropkick to Senshi, Starr was about to dive to the floor before Shelley tags in, the duo are fighting. Lethal nails a suicide dive on Senshi, Starr nails his heatseeking missile. Dutt and Shelley are the legal men, tornado DDT from Dutt for two.

Shelley begs for mercy, eye rake from Shelley. Drop toehold into the middle turnbuckle, dropkick to the face. Springboard DDT is blocked for Shelley, low dropkick and enzugiri from Dutt. Dutt misses his finish, cutter and camel clutch from Dutt. Senshi is distracting the referee, Shelley is pulled into the middle of the ring by Starr, Shelley has to tap, Shelley is the first man out of this match!

Alex Shelley Has Been Eliminated!

Dutt and Lethal are in the ring, Dutt nails a massive spinebuster on Lethal. Lethal recovers to nail a backbreaker and complete shot combination but Senshi blind tags in off Dutt, Senshi knocks the block off Lethal with his John Wu Dropkick for the elimination.

Jay Lethal Has Been Eliminated!

Senshi and Starr take turns torturing Dutt with elbows and slams, Senshi dishes out kicks to Dutt’s chest. Dutt is floored from Senshi, Senshi tags in Starr. Boot to the head from Starr for two, Starr chops Dutt hard in the corner. Dutt dodges a corner splash, springboard dropkick from Dutt. Leaping leg kick to a charging Senshi, Dutt nails a springboard clothesline on Starr. Lionsault on Starr for two, Camel Clutch from Dutt. Senshi saves Starr with a massive kick, Irish whip but Dutt reverses for his cutter on Senshi. Starr avoids Dutt’s staning shooting star press, Starr is rolled up after a failed brainbuster. Backslide pin by Dutt for two, boot to the head from Starr. Brainbuster and 450 Splash from Starr for the elimination.

Sonjay Dutt Has Been Eliminated!

In comes Senshi, springboard enzugiri for two, Ki Crusher is blocked for a crucifix driver, Brainbuster from Starr. Starr wants the 450 Splash, Shelley is distracting Starr, Senshi rolls up Starr after a missed 450 Splash.

Good match from the other members of The X Division, Austin Aries continues to be the biggest star in these matches as Aries as Starr is such a tremendous talent, the fans love Starr. Everyone nails their signature spots and the fans were into the match, nice to see the other X Division guys have storylines/angles going with Shelley and Starr fighting for the affection of Kevin Nash, Lethal continuing to be the underdog of TNA and Dutt shows why he is one of the best wrestlers in TNA.

Senshi Over Austin Starr Via Roll-Up!

(Bikini Contest) Ms. Brooks vs Eric Young

Ms Brooks vs Eric Young in a bikini contest, I am fine with silly angles with Eric Young but a bikini contest? Pushing the limits here guys, how does this get anyone over? Ms. Brooks strips and dances with odd close ups and we all feel a little more pervy at the end of the showcase. Up next, it is Eric Young. Young rips off a t-shirt that shows Young in a bikini. Roode wants to fire Young for cheating, Young continues to change. Young reveals Spongebob underwear, it is still not a bikini though until Young reveals his last attempt to win the contest. A tiny Sponegbob thong is now Young’s bikini, Young sells this like a million bucks. Eric Young wins the contest and Roode flips out and attacks Young. Young ducks a clothesline and shakes his ass before leaving the ring.  Roode is on the microphone, Roode berates Ms. Brooks. Roode wants Young signed to Robert Roode Inc, it will be Ms. Brooks’ job to have Young sign for Robert Roode, Ms. Brooks will be fired if she fails to deliver the goods. Fun and ridiculous segment, an interesting feud for sure between the former Team Canada members.

(TNA X-Division Championship Match) Christopher Daniels © vs Chris Sabin (Special Guest Referee = Jerry Lynn)

Chris Sabin has gone from Jackass pranks to simply a Jackass, something has changed inside of Chris Sabin, this young man has turned his back on everything that made him a favourite of the TNA fans, Sabin disrespected his mentor Jerry Lynn and The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels, it’s time for the two to battle for the championship, can Sabin’s brash new attitude lead him to X-Division gold once more?

Lock-up, Daniels pushes Sabin to the corner. Sabin rakes the ears and grabs a headlock, Sabin smiles at his handywork. Daniels eats a shoulder tackle, more rakes and a side headlock. Arm drag and wrench from Daniels, knee across the head from Daniels. Sabin pushes back Daniels, knees to the ribs. Armdrag again from Daniels, knee to the head once more. Sabin’s face is grinded into the mat repeatedly, Lynn watches on as referee. Leaping calf kick from Daniels, two for Daniels. Headbutt from Daniels, snap suplex and split-legged moonsault for two. Elbows from Daniels, Sabin stomps on the foot of Daniels, drop toehold onto the middle rope. Springboard dropkick from Sabin as Daniels rolls to the floor, Sabin winks to the camera.

Sabin nails a fist drop to Daniels on the ramp, leg drop from Sabin. Elbow to the neck from Sabin, make it two. Snapmare into a dropkick to the neck, two for Sabin. Neck crank from Sabin, Daniels continues to fight back. Sabin misses a clothesline, backslide for two from the champion. Neckbreaker as Sabin regains control, two for Sabin. Sabin steps on Daniels’ neck, choke using the ropes from the challenger. Scoop slam and a leg drop to the neck from Sabin, two for the challenger.

Irish whip, Daniels reverses the whip and scores with the STO, the champion could be back in this match. Right jabs and clothesline from Daniels, back drop and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Daniels for two. Angel’s Wings attempt, Sabin slides to the floor. Daniels backs Sabin into the barricade, slingshot dropkick from Daniels. Daniels nails a Cactus Jack style elbow drop to the floor, both men feel the brunt of that attack. Sabin escapes a back suplex, nailing a dropkick for two. Yakuza boot does not connect for Sabin but the stun-gun does, clothesline and tornado DDT from Sabin for two.

Sabin tries a running bulldog, Blue Thunder Bomb from Daniels. Running high knee, DVD from Daniels for two. Complete shot into a Koji Clutch, Sabin reaches the ropes. Yakuza boot connects from Sabin, Daniels prevents  a springboard. Standing Uranage into A BME for the win.

I  was not a massive fan of this match, there are two main reasons for that: Sabin’s transition into a heel and that finish. Sabin’s heel antics come off as awkward, the winking while still showing the flashy moves, not many instances of outright heelish behaviour, it drags down the match in my eyes. Could have been much more made of Daniels’ neck injury but I just feel Sabin is not a strong enough heel wrestler to carry this type of match. The finish was out of nowhere, one uranage into the BME no struggle no dramatic build-up, it just happened like that, not a fan of flat finishes and we have the ultimate what the fuck moment in Jerry Lynn looking like the next opponent for Daniels, not Sabin, a twist that makes little to no sense, what is this booking?

Winner: Christopher Daniels Over Chris Sabin Via BME!

Jim Cornette & Sport Stars

All the sports stars begin to fight among themselves, one of the stars is the former Kiss Demon so we get Lance Hoyt booting The Demon and making the save, not a fan of American sports so no idea of who these people are so this segment had no effect on me.

AJ Styles vs Rhino

Rhino and Styles do battle, Rhino lost his best friend in Christian Cage, Styles was showing signs of slipping to the dark side, Rhino wanted to help Styles and Rhino has ended up pissing off Styles which leaves us with this match. This match starts backstage, Styles and Rhino begin to brawl. The two begin brawling in the crowd, lazy stuff if you ask me. However, this is a blood feud, being built as such so I will allow these two brawl like they want to murder one another. After several minutes of brawling, Rhino back drops Styles to the ramp.

In the ring, Rhino pummels Styles. Styles pulls Rhino into the middle turnbuckle, hard Irish whip to the opposite turnbuckle from Styles. Styles has targeted the back, surfboard stretch from Styles. Rhino breaks free to eat a massive dropkick, Styles eats an elbow. Rhino climbs to the top rope, Styles shoves Rhino to the floor. Styles misses a baseball slide, attempts a springboard from the guard rail and Rhino catches The Phenomenal One for a massive belly to belly suplex to the floor. Right hands from Rhino, Irish whip to the corner. Styles kicks off Rhino but eats a massive spinebuster.

Two for Rhino, knees from Styles. No Styles Clash, enzuigiri from Rhino. Rhino back drops Styles to the floor, Styles smashes his knee onto the guard rail. Styles writhes around in pain, the referee is checking on Styles. The dreaded X-sign from the referee but could this be a legitimate injury? The trainers check on Styles, Styles tries walking on the leg but Styles collapses in pain. Styles miraculously recovers from the injury and rolls-up Rhino for the win.

So, mostly crowd-brawling and once we finally get to the meat of the match, Styles goes down and fakes an injury before Rhino is caught for the win. A full-Styles heel turn, could it be possible to pull this off? The homegrown TNA hero as a heel? Going to give it time for sure, we will see where we go from here. However, this match was a disappointment for sure, Rhino’s best work in ECW was fighting the likes of Kid Kash, Super Crazy and RVD, lighter opponents who can make Rhino look good when Rhino is using those power moves.

Winner: AJ Styles Over Rhino Via Roll-Up!

(TNA Flag Match) AMW vs LAX

The most hated act in TNA, LAX conquered the team of Styles & Daniels, moving onto AMW, the two teams begin by brawling. Harris and Homicide are in the ring, Hernandez clotheslines Harris to the floor. Hernandez flips Homicide onto Harris, tope con hilo. Hernandez eats a massive superkick on Storm, Gail Kim moonsaults onto Homicide. Storm tries to retrieve the US flag before Konnan saves LAX. Storm is stuck in the tree of woe position, Harris eats splashes and clothesline.

Hernandez hands the chair to Homicide, Harris saves Storm from the chair attack. Harris planchas onto Hernandez, Storm powerslams Homicide. Homicide recovers and throws Storm to the floor, Homicide and Harris battle with a ladder, back drop onto the ladder by Harris. Hernandez throat tosses Harris into the ladder. Storm is caught into an electric chair drop and elbow drop combination from LAX. Harris avoids a Hernandez powerslam, sending Hernandez into the ladder. Homicide nails the three amigos on Storm, Homicide is on the top rope. Gail Kim distracts Homicide, superplex from Harris.

Hernandez stands tall, Hernandez has The Mexican Flag. Hernandez has to hang the flag to win, Storm prevents LAX winning the match with a sunset flip powerbomb off the ladder. Harris grabs the American Flag, Homicide cuts off Harris. Headbutts by Homicide, Super Cutter from Homicide. Gringo Killer is blocked by Harris, missile dropkick from Gail Kim. Gail grabs the ladder and grabs the flag, Konnan is in the ring. Konnan hair drags down Gail, Konnan is attacked by Petey Williams. Hernandez saves Konnan from The Canadian Destroyer, Hernandez suicide dives onto Storm.

 Homicide and Harris both have their flags, Storm has a beer bottle. Both men attempt to hang the flag, Storm climbs the ladder and smashes Harris in the face with the bottle by accident. Storm is thrown to the apron, Hernandez climbs to the top and hangs The Mexican Flag for the win.

Again, I was left feeling flat from this match, this feels like a heated angle, LAX are generating a massive amount of heat from their antics and this could be a great match but the stipulation drags this match down and the match ends before we really get going, we could have had something great here. The best thing to come out of this match is that AMW look like they are breaking up anytime soon and we will see how both men fare when they are no longer tag team partners, wrestling in TNA since the early days of the company.

 Winners: LAX Over AMW Via Hanging The Mexican Flag!

Voodoo Kin Mafia Segment

This is beautiful as we have BG & Kip James imitating Triple H & Shawn Michaels, beautiful only as DX 2006 was just plain awful. BG & Kip are interrupted by The “Spirit” Squad. BG & Kip Chop them down with Crotch Chops. Here comes Big Dick Johnson, I mean Big Oily Guy.  Sweet Chin Music by Oily Guy, BG begins cutting a serious promo. VKM issue a million dollar challenge, this was a lovely waste of time.

(NWA/TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match) Christian Cage W/ Tomko vs Sting vs Abyss © W/ James Mitchell

Abyss is your reigning and defending champion, winning the championship by DQ. Quite ridiculous if you ask me, what makes it more complicated is now Abyss is showing signs of character depth as Christian knows Abyss has done something awful, a secret that should not be revealed while Sting wants Abys to be his friend, the dominating monster now a confused animal and becoming sympathetic. Can Abyss be sympathetic? Of course, but Abyss should be a dominate champion, knocking through opponents until dropping the championship to the next babyface. Winning a championship by DQ is slimy chickenshit heel territory, not monster heel territory.

Abyss and Tomko are in one another’s faces, the two apparently have history. Sting attacks both opponents, Abyss slows down Sting. Rights and lefts, Sting fights out of Abyss’ attacks. Abyss is sent to the floor by Sting, Christian is sent to the floor too. Sting crossbodies onto Abyss & Christian, Christian recovers to send Sting into the steps but Abyss clotheslines down Christian. Irish whip and  a back drop by Abyss, running splash by Abyss. Foot choke by Abyss, Sting is kicked out of the ring. Christian dodges another corner splash, diving tornado DDT for two. Abyss breaks free of Christian’s attacks, Christian goes low with a dropkick.

Christian steps all over Abyss’ throat, Tomko unloads with right hands on the floor. Chops from Christian, Abyss looks for a gorilla press slam. Christian shakes off Abyss, we have a tower of doom spot to pop the crowd as Sting appears from nowhere. Irish whip by Abyss, clothesline from Sting. Stinger Splash for Abyss, Christian looks to gain control. Chops and right hands do not affect Sting, Sting tees off on Christian. Abyss & Christian eat a Stinger Splash, Christian uses an eye rake to stop the scorpion deathlock. Christian still gets crotched on the top rope, Abyss is sent tumbling to the floor. Tomko boots Abyss, Unprettier is stopped by Sting. Scorpion Deathlock, Mitchell distracts Sting and the referee.

Christian has the championship, slingshot from Sting as Christian hits Abyss off the apron. Scorpion Death Drop, 1…2… Tomko pulls out the referee. Clothesline to Sting from Tomko, the duo of Tomko & Christian batter Sting until Abyss makes the save. Abyss clotheslines Tomko to the floor, Christian is pressed to the floor. Abyss is thinking of chokeslam, Mitchell says stop and calls for a chokeslam on the tacks. Abyss looks conflicted? Commentators declare this but why would Abyss not want to crush his opponents? Abyss pours the tacks after the hesitation, it’s time for a chokeslam.

Sting talks to Abyss, saying do not do it. Tomko boots Abyss and plants Abyss into the tacks. Sting is talking to Abyss again, Scorpion Deathlock is applied before Christian nails Sting with a chair. Unprettier on the tacks is the plan, Abyss comes out of nowhere, Black Hole Slam on Sting with Christian being knocked out by a swinging Sting, Abyss pins Sting.

What was that finish? What is with this pay per view and finishes? Abyss is not even happy to be champion and we cut away too fast to even really digest what has happened. It was ok, standard triple threat match but again, it’s your championship match, I thought this would have been a million times better than this. That finish looked sloppy, Christian looked out of position, it was not believable the way Christian was sent flying, it looked so cartoony.

Winner: Abyss Over Everyone Else Via Black Hole Slam!

Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle

Thee rematch, these two went to war at the last pay per view and despite how good the match was, it is believed that the wrong man won on that night. Samoa Joe was undefeated heading into the match, poised to be one of the biggest stars in wrestling and to beat Kurt Angle on Angle’s first night in the company would have been massive, this was not the way things went and it is truly a disappointment because regardless of what happens in this match, you cannot capture lightening in a bottle twice. However, do not think TNA are not going to try and do just that. Does this match need to be great? Absolutely considering what I have sat through on this night!

Lock-up, Joe and Angle trade advantage. Clean break, leg-trip from Angle and a wristlock. Joe overpowers Angle, Angle trips Joe once more, single leg crab from Angle before Joe reaches the ropes. Angle went for a cheap shot off the break, the mind games have begun early. Lock-up, wristlock from Joe. Short-arm clothesline, down goes Angle. Chops and rights from Joe, Tenryu-Style, stomps in the corner and a foot choke. Right and lefts from Joe, Irish whip reversal from Angle. Joe holds onto the ropes, Angle is elevated from the ring to the floor, Angle lands hard on the floor. Joe begins to kick Angle hard, Angle rallies with some bombs himself, massive uppercuts and a plancha to the floor.

Angle and Joe continue trading blows, Angle stomps Joe as he re-enters the ring, uppercuts from Angle. Angle forearms Joe down to the mat, snap suplex with a floatover for two. Angle has a bodyscissors on The Samoan Submission Machine, Joe counters into a Kimura Lock with Angle rolling on top into a Fujiwara armbar. Joe reaches the ropes as we reset, stomps from Angle. Rights from Joe, massive chops, Joe misses a clothesline as Angle ducks the right arm. European Uppercut from Angle, Joe fires up with slaps but Angle nails a belly to belly suplex. Angle mounts Joe with a rear-naked choke, snapmare into another bodyscissors from The Olympic Hero.

Joe fights out of Angle’s clutches, overhead German suplex from Joe. Rights from Joe, clotheslines off the ropes. Irish whip to the corner, Coquina Clutch but Angle headbutts out of the clutch. German suplexes from Angle, a trifecta from Angle. Beautiful sequence of counters, Angle Slam to Coquina Clutch To Ankle Lock to Joe tripping Angle into the middle rope. Enzuigiri, Muscle Buster is countered into The Ankle Lock. Joe shrugs off Angle, Angle Slam for two. Ankle Lock again, Joe trips Angle down into a Coquina Clutch in the middle of the ring.

Angle twists the ankle of Joe, Ankle Lock in the middle of the ring. Joe is desperate, Joe trips Angle into The Coquina Clutch once more, Angle is beginning to fade. Referee is checking the arm, Angle is in serious trouble, Angle rolls through into a third Ankle Lock. Angle grapevines the leg, Joe cannot go anywhere, could this be the end of this war? Joe reaches the ropes, Angle stomps the bejesus out of the ankle, Joe is on the top turnbuckle. What does Angle want? A super belly to belly suplex, Joe headbutts Angle down. Joe on one ankle is caught for the belly to belly suplex, two for Angle as Joe reaches down deep to kick out of the pin attempt.

Angle Slam is countered for an arm drag, Joe elbows Angle into the referee, we have a referee bump. Oh no, not a fan of this. Coquina Clutch from Joe and Angle is tapping out, Joe has had the visual tap-out on Angle. Angle low blows Joe, the hottest babyface in the company is going heel? I would not be surprised by these morons, Angle now has a chair. Angle misses the chair shot and whacks himself in the face, Coquina Clutch and Angle is trapped, Angle taps out evening up the series at one a piece.

This company irritates me to no end sometimes, these two are awesome wrestlers who kill it when it is a one on one straight contest about being the best. This is what this was about, to see who was the better man. Angle is the hottest act, your new babyface and you have him low blow and try to cheat to beat Joe. That’s fine if you could sit here and tell me that this company had the foresight to know they would be doing Joe vs Angle in two years time at Lockdown to decide the better man but that’s a crock of shit. So, you sacrifice a credible Joe win over Angle clean to tell the story of Angle’s inability to beat Joe in a one on one contest despite the fact that Angle did beat Joe just last month clean as a whistle in the middle of the ring. You see how this is an issue? Angle did not survive Joe last time, Angle gutted it out and won fair and square, it was not a veteran’s roll-up, Angle made Joe tap so for Angle to low blow and use a chair in this match comes out of nowhere but then again, Joe should have won the first match between the two, continuing his awesome momentum. The transitions and sequences in this match were awesome but this finish like a lot of finishes on the card just do not sit well with me.

Winner: Samoa Joe Over Kurt Angle Via Coquina Clutch!

That was TNA’s Turning Point 2006, an average TNA pay per view at best. What really hurt his pay per view was the lacklustre and heatless finishes that sucked the life out of what could have been entertaining matches. The show began with a fun X-Division match, Austin Aries is hugely popular while your other X-Division mainstays give good accountings of themselves in a fun match. The pay per view ventures into the dumb and wacky with the bikini contest and the VKM spoofs but I can let those slide as they were not too long. The rest of the card suffers from poor finishes, Sabin vs Daniels took a bizarre twist and Sabin’s awkward heel phase must continue hopefully Sabin finds his feet because it is not clicking with me for now. Styles and Rhino never really got going, I think the two could have a fun match at the least but I do not want to see heel AJ Styles, it has been historically a failure and Styles is too beloved by the fans for this to work. The triple threat did not deliver, sympathetic champion Abyss is not what this doctor ordered, nor did he order a finish that makes everyone look bad in the process. Finally, the main event should have been another straight wrestling match with Joe not underestimating Angle and showing The Samoan Submission Machine to be the same calibre of star as Angle, this was cheapened by heelish Angle antics and a needless referee bump as Joe tapped out Angle twice, rendering the referee bump pointless as the finish had the same outcome and making Angle look weak by tapping twice in the match. Not TNA’s finest work, I would not be re-watching this anytime soon. Thanks for reading and remember: There’s always another night!