Scars and Stiches opens with a promo featuring the likes of Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe and others offering their thoughts on what it means to them to find themselves losing their own blood during a matches. Nine matches are featured, ( 3 of which have been featured on previous best of releases). Before each match you get a short promo putting over the match, although the wrestlers involved don’t always talk about the specific match (this is left to the voiceover guy who explains the feud surrounding the match in question).

Action begins with Jeff Jarrett vs Rhino from the December 2005 Turning Point PPV. This match didn’t have a hardcore stipulation on it but the intensity of the feud between Rhino and Jarrett at the time caused the match to spill out all over the arena. Needless to say, this caused the blood to flow. Next is the Lethal Lockdown from April of 2006, as Sting’s Warriors took on Jarrett’s Army. This was a cage match, but most of the “blood and brutality” came in the final minutes once the cage ceiling is lowered and the weapons come into play. AJ Styles and James Storm battled at the top of the cage and Styles came flying off of a ladder setup on the roof of the cage, going through both Storm and a table.

Next, Daniels and Styles vs LAX, six sides of steel cage match from Bound For Glory 2006. This match was featured on the best of tag teams DVD, and while I absolutely loved the match, I don’t think it warrants being on a DVD supposedly featuring the “best of the bloodiest brawls”. Other matches include Christian Cage vs Rhino in a Six Sides of Steel Barbed Wire match from Impact in November 2006, the first battle between Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle from Genesis in November of 2006, the Destination X 2007 Last Rites matches between Abyss and Sting, the Falls Count Anywhere battle between Cowboy James Storm and The Wildcat Chris Harris from the Sacrifice 2007 PPV, which was actually included on the Best of 2007 DVD, but was an absolute classic battle and in a way I cant imagine this DVD being put out without this match included.

“Mr Hardcore” in TNA, Abyss, is featured in the two final matches. The first being against Tomko in a No DQ-Must be a winner match from the Slammiversary 2007 PPV. Finally, the DVD finishes with what most would agree is an obvious choice - the Barbed Wire Massacre between Abyss and Judas Macias from Against All Odds PPV.

There has always been pros and cons when it comes to Best of DVD’s, on one hand it’s a way to get some of the best footage in your collection for one low price. On the other hand, those who have most of the footage already have little to no interest in picking up the best of, especially when almost no new footage is included. The interview segments included before each match are at times vague, and don't really add anything ground-breaking to how one would watch the match. The fact that 3 of the 9 matches are on other Best of DVD’s is a negative. One is acceptable, but a third of the disc’s content is too much. There is other candidates that could of replaced the previously released matches. For example Monsters Ball matches from Bound For Glory 06 and 07, or the initial Full Metal Mayhem match from Sacrifice 2006. I could understand the argument that you wouldn’t want to make this a Abyss only DVD as all 3 matches I just mentioned feature Abyss, So why not one of Team 3D’s battles from recent years?

Ultimately the DVD is not an absolute must buy, but it is buyable , specifically if your looking to add some solid hardcore TNA action to your collection with only one purchase.

Lockdown 2009

By Ben Rosenthal

It’s multi-man gimmick match overload time again as Total Non-Stop Action goes on the road to Philadelphia for their latest pay-per-view offering, the 2009 version of Lockdown, with Mick Foley challenging Sting for the gold, and shown on a three day delay here in Britain on Bravo 2. As usual, Mike Tenay and Don West are at ringside handling commentary duties.

The show begins with the first title match of the evening, with the masked man Suicide defending the X Division title against Jay Lethal, Kiyoshi, Consequences Creed and Sheik Abdul Bashir. Let’s go over the rules for this one – with all five men in the ring, eliminations can come via pinfall or submission, but once it gets down to two, normal cage match rules apply. Now that’s out of the way, let’s get back to business. It’s the usual X Division style match, tongs of great spots, and with two teams in this one, some nice team work from Lethal Consequences as well. The Great Muta…..I mean Kiyoshi was the first man to go, pinned by Lethal and Creed after Lethal’s top rope elbow. Creed was next to go, courtesy of Bashir’s WMDDT. Lethal was the next to go. After Suicide took him out with his suicide solution finisher, Bashir pulled the masked man off the pin attempt and pin Lethal himself, leaving the Sheik and the masked man the last two men in the match. And this was when things got a whole letter better. With just two men in the ring it was a lot easier to follow all the action, and we also got a moment that will probably make TNA’s best moments of 2009 list. After Suicide knocked Bashir from the top of the cage and back into the ring, Bashir’s running buddy Kiyoshi came running back to the ring, with security guards following. As the guards restrained the Japanese star, Bashir began to make his way to the cage door. Suicide, meanwhile, dived off the top of the cage and onto the guards below, and with his feet touching the ground first, he was declared the winner. An exciting match in it’s own unique way, but it would be nice to see the X Division title defended in a singles match on pay-per-view once a while.

Then it’s time for the Knockouts with a four-way Queen of the Cage match, featuring Madison Rayne, Sojournor Bolt, former Governor Daffney and ODB, accompanied by Cody Deaner. Well, I guess it wasn’t a one night stand then. No normal cage match rules for this one, with the first pin or submission wins. Once again it’s a solid outing from the women, with the addition of Daffney, sans awful governor gimmick, proving to be a welcome addition to the division. In the end there could only be one winner – ODB. After taking a swig from her flask, ODB spat whatever it was into Bolt’s eyes, and a powerslam later, she got the three count. Good stuff from the Knockouts though, although I wish they’d get rid of Cody Deaner, who has quickly become the second most annoying man in TNA.

The second title match of the evening follows, with the Motor City Machine Guns defending the IWGP Junior Tag-Team titles against former champions No Limit and LAX. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought that the IWGP Junior titles were for wrestlers of a certain weight, I.E. light heavyweights. Well, if this is the case, why is Hernandez in this match? He certainly well over the light heavyweight limit. But anyway, back to the matter at hand. Fought under tornado rules, style wise it’s like the opening X Division title match, with plenty of fast-paced action and crazy bumps, although I couldn’t help but notice that messrs Tenay and West, for the most part, ignored No Limits, the Japanese contingent, in their commentary, instead focusing on the Guns and LAX, a great shame because from what I saw of them they looked to be a very good and very capable team. Hernandez, as always, was impressive with his power moves, especially when he was throwing people into the cage. The end came when Sabin and Shelley took Nito (I think that’s how you spell it) down off the top rope with a powerbomb/sliced bread combination to retain the title. A good match, but I couldn’t help but think that this went on a tad too long.

The gimmickry continues with Matt Morgan and Abyss in a Doomsday Chamber of Blood match. The rules – you can only pin your opponent if they’re bleeding. Time to be completely honest again. This match just didn’t do it for me, probably because this feud is starting to get a little stale. Abyss got busted open early when Morgan kicked a steel cage into his face. Moments later Morgan introduced a bag of broken glass into the equation, which Abyss later used to cut Morgan open after the referee took a hit. We then found out that Abyss’ doctor is in fact Stevie Richards, who stopped Abyss from using a chair, and later a bag of drawing pins by coming into the cage and slapping the monster. This gave Morgan the chance he needed, delivering a low blow from behind, before taking him down with a choke bomb on the pins. A three count later and Morgan had the win, hopefully winning the feud. Who knows, maybe Big Stevie Cool will challenge the monster next!

The third title match follows, with Awesome Kong, accompanied by Raisha Saeed, defending the Knockouts title against Angelina Love, accompanied by Velvet Sky, and Taylor Wilde. Now this is what women’s wrestling is all about. Kong, as always, was awesome (no pun intended), and once again dominated both of her opponents, even attempting a somersault splash from the top rope. As for Love and Wilde, their exchanges were great. We also had the novel sight of Love and Skye tying Kong’s braids to the cage in an attempt to take her out of the match. One scary moment though was when Wilde came off the top rope and Love banged her head on the mat, looking like she was unconscious for a few moments, which would probably explain the finish. After Wilde put Love in a chin lock, she broke off the hold to go after Kong, who was still tied to the cage. Kong kicked her off, and then Love got the immediate pin, winning the title. A very good match, but for obvious reasons the ending was a little disappointing. But then again, that couldn’t really be helped.

Then it’s on to the fourth title match of the evening, with TNA Tag Team Champions Beer Money face IWGP Tag Team Champions Team 3-D in a Philadelphia street fight, with both titles on the line. Basically, they can fight anywhere, and get pins anywhere. It’s basically one big brawl, with the obligatory monthly brawl through the crowd, and a smattering of tables, and it’s pretty damn entertaining. James Storm and Robert Roode once again proved what a great team they’ve become, and Team 3-D, well, we already knew how good they were. In the end, 3-D came out as double champions, after Storm accidentally clobbered Roode with the cage door, the former Dudleys took Roode out with a 3-D through a table. Three seconds later and they added another set of belts to their collection.

We then moved on to TNA’s version of War Games, with Team Angle – Kurt Angle, Scott Steiner, Booker T and Kevin Nash, taking on Team Jarrett – Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles and Chris Daniels. The rules – one man from each team start the match. After five minutes, another man enters, giving one team, in this case Team Angle, a one man advantage. Then, every two minutes, another man enters until all eight men are in the cage. Then the roof and weapons are lowered, and a pin can be made. Angle and Daniels were the first two out, followed by Booker, Styles, Steiner, Joe, Nash and Jarrett. Tons of great action throughout this one, with even Scott Steiner looking good. The fun and games, though, only really started when the roof came down and the weapons came into play. Angle and Styles made their way onto the roof and began to brawl, both men nearly throwing the other off the top, before Styles provided the moment of the night by diving through the roof of the cage onto the Mafia below. Later, Jarrett accidentally clobbered Styles with a steel chair when Booker ducked out of the way. But in the end all of that was forgotten when Jarrett clobbered Booker with his trusty guitar, and Styles got the pin for his team. But that wasn’t it. As soon as the match ended, the lights dimmed, and none other than former ECW Champion Bobby Lashley appeared on the stage, much to the delight of the Mafia. Well, apart from this introduction, a great match, very enjoyable.

Main event time, with Mick Foley challenging Sting for the World title. Quite why Foley, a part-time wrestler, if he’s even that, has got this title shot is beyond me. Oh well, at least this is being contested under normal steel cage match rules. Now, before I continue, I just want to say this – I admire Mick Foley, I really do. He’s a true legend, a hell of a writer, and a great guy. I will always respect him for what he’s done in and out of the wrestling business. But from watching this match it’s obvious that his best days are far, far behind him. I just couldn’t get excited by this match. Foley’s performance was just poor, he’s just a punch and kick kind of wrestler now, and it saddens me to say that. Foley and Sting may have had some classic matches in the past, but this wasn’t one of them. I just couldn’t wait for it to end, after clobbering Sting several times with his trusty old barbed wire baseball bat, Foley beat Sting to the punch, climbed over the top of the steel cage and hit the floor first, winning his first TNA World title. Definitely not the best match I’ve ever seen.

In conclusion – I really have mixed feelings about this year’s Lockdown. In the past few months I thought that TNA were starting to move away from their reliance on multi-man matches on their pay-per-views. Well, they went right back to that with this show. Of the eight matches on this card, there were only two singles matches and one two-on-two tag matches, and only one match fought under normal cage match rules. Don’t get me wrong, there was some great action in the majority of these matches, there really was, but it still saddened me that they’ve apparently gone back to their old way of trying to get as many people as they can on their shows. As the old saying goes, less is more.

TNA Slammiversary Seven DVD Review

By Ben Rosenthal.

Marking TNA’s seven years in the business Slammiversary was a pretty decent effort by the Florida-based company. Considering the hit and miss nature of the TNA product this year that was a very good sign indeed.

The show itself featured not one but two King of the Mountain matches (the confusing belt on a hook match that TNA specialise in). Both of these were well put together and had enough thrills, spills and action to please even the most hardened fan. The ending of the World title one especially was superb, the Samoa Joe heel turn was a shock to many and made the match have a real sense of meaning.

Whilst the X Division title KOTR bout saw as expected some of the best high-flyers and risk-takers in the business battle it out, this was equally good and well paced too.

Yes the card had a few low points, Sting V Matt Morgan had little meaning really, Daniels V Shane Douglas only proved how beat-up and broken down Douglas is these days, the monsters’ ball tag match was ok although nothing special, pitting Abyss & Talyor Wilde against Raven and Daffney, Team 3D and Beer Moneys tag title bout was very decent and the knockouts brawl between Angelina Love and Tara had its moments.

So Slammiversary did exceed expectations this year, the card had more highs than lows, the match quality and in-ring action was above par and things moved along nicely storyline wise also.

TNA don’t often include extras on their discs, but this one does have a few, there is a nifty little slice of behind the scenes footage, a photo gallery and a pre-match battle between The British Invasion and the team of Rhino and Eric Young.

Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain

Review by Ben Rosenthal

The four-disc set tells the story of Jarrett's pro wrestling career, covering his early days in regional territories, the rise and fall of World Championship Wrestling and his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment.  From his attack on country music star Toby Keith at the company's inaugural pay-per-view, to the first match of a blood feud with Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett has had one of the most storied careers in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

An in-depth interview with Jarrett gives viewers a brief history of TNA Wrestling, the struggles of launching a new company along with the blending family life with running a wrestling company.  The documentary aalso touches on the personal side of Jarrett's life.   TNA stars and officials pay tribute to Jarrett's wife Jill, who died of cancer in May 2007, eight years to the day after the death of wrestler Owen Hart, who was a close friend of Jarrett.  A moving interview, one realises the strain the top wrestlers are under, and the juggling act that their lives become.

Jarrett also uses the interview as a way to set the record straight on certain issues, including his departure from WWE (WWF at the time) and the famous "fishing trip" story of how TNA came to be.  While one may expect Jarrett to take the opportunity to bash his competition, he actually has high praise for several members of the WWE roster and staff.  Jarrett is very matter of fact, putting over those he finds worthy and putting down those he finds not.  An example is Jarrett saying Chyna "didn't know her a** from a hole in the ground" when he lost the Intercontinental Title to her in his departure match from WWF.

"King of the Mountain" offers a tremendous collection of nearly 30 matches, including five matches from 1986-1988.   Jarrett's first television appearance, as a referee is there; his second match, against Tony Falk; and bouts with Hector Guerrero, Jerry Lawler, Gary Young, and Cactus Jack.  These classic matches add a nice touch of nostalgia to the collection, but the heart and soul of the DVD comes in the matches from TNA between 2002-2008.

It all starts with a championship gauntlet to crown the NWA World Champion (a match involving Toby Keith) and ends with Jarrett's return match against Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory IV.  But the real glory is contained in between. Matches involving A.J. Styles and Ron "The Truth" Killings top the pack, while countless other matches against the likes of Raven, Rhino, Jeff Hardy, Sting round out a nice selection of well-picked matches.  As someone, possibly Jim Cornette, said in the documentary, Jarrett has the ability to make anyone in the ring with him look good, and this shows through in the selected matches.

TNA has adopted a organizational style for its DVDs that feature the documentary segments broken up by matches and segments.  This system has mixed advantages and disadvantages. It allows for breaks in the interview segments, which can keep the audience entertained for a more extended period. However, it also makes it difficult to quickly find a match if one just wants to watch it or show it to a friend.

One of this DVD's biggest advantages is its mass appeal, possessing the ability to attract hardcore TNA fans, casual wrestling fans yet to really discover the product, and those new to wrestling altogether.  TNA fans will appreciate the collection of great matches featuring current and past TNA superstars and learning the history of the company, if they didn't already know or hadn't seen "The History of TNA: Year One."  For casual fans, this could be the attracting factor to TNA. The DVD provides a snapshot of what the company has to offer, including two of its signature matches, Lethal Lockdown and King of the Mountain.  Fans of the WWE will also see where some of their favorite superstars grew their careers or thrived in a different environment. Ron Killings dominated in TNA before heading back to the WWE and being saddled in the lower midcard as R-Truth.  New fans interested in learning wrestling have the chance to learn about TNA's history and its product. The DVD will introduce them to many of the new (and familiar) faces they would see in TNA.

The DVD provides a great story, quality matches and a sense of personal connection to Jarrett and the struggles he's gone through in his life. Many people know the name Jeff Jarrett, but this is really a chance to meet the man himself.  Anyone who watches this DVD in its entirety will almost assuredly walk away with new-found respect for Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain, founder of TNA and 10-time world champion.