TNA Final Resolution (January 2008)
From Iwe
| Final Resolution (January 2008) | ||
 Promotional poster featuring [from left to right] Matt Borske, Kanta, K.J. Styles, and Khristian Kage | ||
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling | |
| Date | January 6, 2008 | |
| Attendance | 900 | |
| Venue | TNA Impact! Zone | |
| City | Orlando, Florida | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| Turning Point (2007) | Final Resolution (January 2008) | Against All Odds (2008) |
| Final Resolution chronology | ||
| Final Resolution (2007) | Final Resolution (January 2008) | Final Resolution (December 2008) |
Final Resolution (January 2008) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion, which took place on January 6, 2008 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the fourth event under the Final Resolution chronology; the first of two Final Resolution events held in 2008 and the last event held in January. It was the first event in the 2008 TNA PPV schedule. Eight professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's card, three of which involved championships.
The main event was for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship between then-champion Matt Borske and the challenger Khristian Kage. Borske ended up winning the bout, thus retaining the championship. K.J. Styles and Kanta defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against the team of Kevin Nash and Samoa Simpson on the card. Styles and Kanta retained the tag team championship in the encounter. The team of Johnny Gludt and Team 3D (Brother Scott and Brother Harlan) fought the team of Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns (Alec Leon and Chris Gomez) in a Six Man Tag Team Ultimate X match. Gludt and Team 3D were the victors in the contest. The TNA Women's Knockout Championship defense by Lauren Ireland against Awesome Kong in a No Disqualification match was another highly promoted match for the event. Ireland won the bout, successfully retaining the title.
Mark Xamin of the professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer rated the event a six out of ten, the same rating given to the second Final Resolution event held in December, but lower than the seven and a half out of ten given to the 2007 event's ranking by Chris Sokol.
Contents |
[edit] Production
[edit] Background
Final Resolution was announced in mid-October 2007 to be taking place on January 6, 2008. The location for the gathering was not specified. In late-November 2007 the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida was revealed as the location for the spectacle. TNA created a section regarding their event on their website to help promote the event. TNA released a poster featuring Matt Borske, Khristian Kage, K.J. Styles, and Kanta sometime prior to help promote the event. TNA moved Final Resolution to December later in the year and held a second event for unknown reasons.
[edit] Storylines
Final Resolution featured eight professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.
The main storyline heading into Final Resolution revolved around the group The Borske Alliance. On November 11, 2007 at TNA's Genesis PPV event partners in Khristian's Coalition, K.J. Styles and Kanta, aided Matt Borske in retaining the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in the main event without Coalition leader Khristian Kage's consent. Afterwards on the November 15, 2007 episode of TNA's television program TNA Impact!, Styles and Kanta joined Borske in creating The Borske Alliance, while remaining tied to Kage. Styles followed by trying to join the two fractions together leading up to the December 6, 2007 episode of Impact!, where Cage became leader of a joint alliance, until Borske and Martin McAlmond attacked Kage later in the episode. On the December 20, 2007 episode of Impact!, Borske versus Kage for the title was promoted for Final Resolution.
Due to this storyline, the TNA World Tag Team Championship defense by K.J. Styles and Kanta against Samoa Simpson and Kevin Nash was added to the event. The match was originally promoted to have been Scott Hall and Nash challenging for the titles, however this was changed due to unknown reasons on the January 3, 2008 episode of Impact! by Management Director Jim Cornette. A narrative tied to this match involved Simpson becoming angry with his position in the company and requesting more money and title opportunities due to Hall's no-showing of TNA's Turning Point event on December 2, 2007 and events that transpired as a result.
Martin McAlmond and Ms. Brooks facing Booker T and Tia in a Mixed Tag Team match was also promoted for the event. On the December 13 episode of Impact!, Tia came to McAlmond's manager Ms. Brooks' defense as she was being belittted by McAlmond for losing a match. This followed with weekly segments involving Tia, Brooks, and McAlmond on Impact!, leading to an encounter between McAlmond and Booker T on the December 27 episode of Impact!. However, before the encounter it was changed to a tag team match pitting Booker T and Khristian Kage against Matt Borske and Martin McAlmond for later in the episode, which the latter lost. On the January 3 episode of Impact!, the match was promoted by TNA to take place at Final Resolution.
A Six Man Tag Team Ultimate X match pitting the teams of Johnny Gludt and Team 3D (Brother Scott and Brother Harlan) against Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns (Alec Leon and Chris Gomez) (MCMG) was another featured match on the card. This match was the result of Team 3D's feud with the TNA X Division. In October 2007, Team 3D began a storyline in which they were trying to eliminate the X Division. MCMG became their rivals in the thread with MCMG defeating Team 3D at Genesis. TNA X Division Champion Lethal later joined MCMG in the fight; around the same time, Devine turned on the division and joined Team 3D. The teams then fought in a Six Man Tag Team Tables match at Turning Point, which Gludt and Team 3D won. The two teams fought again on the December 6, 2007 episode of Impact! in a Six Man Tag Team Ladder match, which Gludt and Team 3D won. On the December 20, 2007 episode of Impact!, Fisher and MCMG defeated Gludt and Team 3D in a Double North Pole match to determine the stipulation to their match at Final Resolution; choosing an Ultimate X match over a Plate glass Tables match On the January 3, 2008 episode of Impact!, Team 3D attacked and injured MCMG in the storyline by beating their hands with kendo sticks.
The TNA Women's Knockout Championship was defended by Lauren Ireland against Awesome Kong in a No Disqualification match at Final Resolution. Ireland first defended the title against Kong at Turning Point, which ended in a disqualification after Kong attacked the referee. On the December 6, 2007 episode of Impact!, Kong attacked Ireland after Ireland lost a bout to Coral, which led to a brawl that was broken up by security. The two had another brawl on the December 20, 2007 episode of Impact!. On the December 27, 2007 episode of Impact!, the match was announced to be taking place at Final Resolution.
[edit] Event
[edit] On-air employees
The event featured employees other than the wrestlers involved in the matches. Mike Tenay and Don West were the commentators for the telecast. Jeremy Borash and David Penzer were ring announcers for the event. Andrew Thomas, Earl Hebner, Rudy Charles, and Mark "Slick" Johnson participated as referees for the encounters. Besides employees appearing in a wrestling role, Jehann Kazem, Shelly Martinez, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Cassie Borske, and Father James Mitchell all appeared on camera, either in backstage or ringside segments. Crystal Louthan and Borash were used as interviewers during the event. A series of backstage segments featured on the show had Kevin Storm and Eric Young, with Jackie Weikart, Borash, and Crystal as observers, competing in a beer drinking contest in which the winner would determine their match at the Against All Odds PPV event on February 10, 2008. The first was a "never have I ever" round, which Storm won. The second round was contested with both participants having beer bottles taped to their hands and not being allowed to go to the bathroom. Kapphan won after Storm wet himself, which was confirmed by Weikart. The third round involved the two taking shots, which was won by Storm after Kapphan passed out due to Storm drugging him. With Storm winning two contests to one, he earned the ability to determine their match at Against All Odds.
[edit] Preliminary matches
The first match of the event was between The Latin American Xchange (Hernandez and Homicide; LAX) and The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Jimmy Rave and Lance Hoyt), who were accompanied by Jehann Kazem. The match lasted six minutes and forty-eight seconds before Semmler performed his signature Border Toss maneuver from the top of a padded turnbuckle on Ray to gain the pinfall. After the contest, Salinas Martinez made her debut attacking Kazem and aligning herself with LAX.
A bout between Kazarian and Black Reign was next on the card. The duration of the contest was seven minutes and twenty-eight seconds. Kaz won after countering a Reverse DDT by Black Reign, into a reverse DDT of his own to force the back of Black Reign's head into the mat for the pinfall. Afterwards, KAz stole Black Reign's rat Misty.
Lauren Ireland defended the TNA Women's Knockout Championship against Awesome Kong in a No Disqualification match. It began with the two fighting throughout the crowd, before entering the ring. There, Kong performed her signature Awesome Bomb maneuver on the referee and followed by hitting him with a steel chair. Ireland took the steel chair from Kong, bashed her over the back and head with it, before getting a near-fall which was counted by a replacement referee. Kong then proceeded to try an Awesome Bomb on the second referee, but was stopped by Kim as she attempted a roll-up pin which led to the three count and the retaining of the TNA Women's Knockout Championship at twelve minutes and forty-four seconds. Following the contest, Kong and Ireland fought at ringside before it was broken up by security.
The fourth match pitted Judas Mesias, who was accompanied by Father James Mitchell, against Abyss. Abyss attempted to use a steel chair wrapped in barbed wire during the bout, but was stopped and it was taken away by the referee. Near the end, Abyss performed his signature Black Hole Slam maneuver on Mesias, however Mitchell distracted the referee from counting the pinfall. This allowed Mesias to spray red mist in Abyss' face and then follow by slamming Abyss face-first into the steel chair wrapped in barb-wire with his signature Straight to Hell maneuver at eleven minutes and three seconds.
[edit] Main event matches
Booker T and Tia fought Bobby McAlmond and Ms. Brooks in a Mixed Tag Team match. The encounter lasted ten minutes and forty-seven seconds. Tia ended up getting the pinfall on Brooks with a roll up pin. After the contest, McAlmond blamed Brooks for the lost, which resulted in Brooks slapping McAlmond and McAlmond grabbing her by the hair. Sharmell then came to Brooks' defense, causing McAlmond to accidentally smack her in the face, knocking her out in storyline.
TNA held a Six Man Tag Team Ultimate X match pitting the team of Johnny Gludt and Team 3D against the team of Aaron Fisher and The Motor City Machine Guns. In an Ultimate X match, ropes are hung above the ring in a manner to form an "X", in which the objective is to climb the ropes and retrieve an object at the center of the "X". During the bout, Gomez and Leon consistently could not climb the ropes due to the attack by Team 3D on the January 3, 2008 episode of Impact!. Due to their size, Harlan nor Scott were able to climb the ropes, this led to Harlan allowing Scott to stand on his shoulders in an attempt to do so. They were stopped by Fisher before winning the contest. Later, Harlan grabbed a ladder which Scott set up in the ring under the TNA X Division Championship. After an attempt by MCMG and Fisher to stop them, Gludt climbed the ladder and removed the X Division Championship belt. Afterwards, Harlan disposed of the ladder before the referee saw, giving the win to Team 3D and Gludt at twelve minutes and two seconds.
The TNA World Tag Team Championship was defended by the team of K.J. Styles and Kanta against the team of Kevin Nash and Samoa Simpson in the seventh encounter, lasting twelve minutes and ten seconds. Near the end, Simpson went to tag in Nash, who instead pulled his hand back, flipped Simpson off, and left the ring. With Simpson having to defend for himself, he fought off both Styles and Kanta before performing his signature Muscle Buster maneuver on Styles, gainning a near-fall that was broken up by Kanta. Kanta and Styles then performed their signature tag team Tornado–Plex maneuver forcing Simpson into the mat to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
The main event was for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, in which then-champion Matt Borske, who was accompanied by Cassie Borske, fought Khristian Kage. The duration of the match was eighteen minutes and forty-five seconds. Near the end, Borske performed his signature Angle Slam maneuver, resulting in a near-fall. Kage then performed his signature Unprettier maneuver, also resulting in a near-fall. Borske attempted his Ankle Lock submission maneuver which was countered by Kage into one of his own. Borske soon submitted to the hold, however the referee was distracted by the Cassie. K.J. Styles ran down to the ring and pulled Cassie away from the ring. Styles then hugged Kage, before springboarding off the top rope and bashing Cage in the back of the head with his forearm, effectively siding with The Borske Alliance. Borske then performed the Borske Slam to gain the victory and retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
[edit] Reception
[edit] Aftermath
[edit] Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Latin American Xchange (Hernandez and Homicide) defeated The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Jimmy Rave and Lance Hoyt) (with Jehann Kazem) | Tag Team match | |
| 2 | Kaz defeated Black Reign | Singles match | |
| 3 | Lauren Ireland (c) defeated Awesome Kong | No Disqualification match for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship | |
| 4 | Judas Mesias (with Father James Mitchell) defeated Abyss | Singles match | |
| 5 | Booker T and Tia defeated Bobby McAlmond and Ms. Brooks | Mixed Tag Team match | |
| 6 | Johnny Gludt and Team 3D (Brother Scott and Brother Harlan) defeated Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Leon and Chris Gomez) | Six Man Tag Team Ultimate X match | |
| 7 | K.J. Styles and Kanta (c) defeated Kevin Nash and Samoa Simpson | Tag Team match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship | |
| 8 | Matt Borske (c) (with Cassie Borske) defeated Khristian Kage | Singles match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship | |
| (c) - refers to the champion prior to the match | |||
