10 Times The Opener Was The Best Match On A TNA PPV
Decades of pro wrestling pay-per-views have proven that, while the main event is typically the biggest match on the card -- the one that promotions have deemed their box office draw -- such marquee bouts aren’t always the BEST match on a show. There are loads of examples of PPVs in history where some undercard bout has stolen the show, the most obvious choice being Savage/Steamboat at WrestleMania III.
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Show openers are just as important to the success of a show, as they set the stage for the rest of the night. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the myriad of pay-per-views put on by TNA (now known as Impact Wrestling) and look at opening bouts that stole the show.
10 AJ Styles, Low-Ki & Jerry Lynn vs. The Flying Elvises (NWA Total Nonstop Action #1, 6/19/2002)
The early years of TNA, dubbed “The Asylum Years”, were a nightmarish mix of segments like Ron "The Truth" Killings (R-Truth) feuding with NASCAR drivers and grown men dressed as genitalia -- all on pay-per-views that ran every week. Despite all the off-putting stuff, there’s some good wrestling on these shows. In the very first TNA match ever, the future face of the company AJ Styles teamed with indie legend Low-Ki and ECW journeyman Jerry Lynn against a group of cruiserweights working a dated gimmick as Elvis impersonators. It’s the perfect encapsulation of just how weird this era was.
9 DJ Z vs. Trevor Lee (Bound For Glory, 10/2/2016)
TNA is in a lot of ways the successor to WCW, with TNA’s X Division an update to the old Cruiserweight Division, complete with the requisite show-stealing matches. For 2016’s Bound for Glory, fans got an unexpected X Division opener with DJ Z (NXT’s Joaquin Wilde) defending the title against Trevor Lee (NXT’s Cameron Grimes). This Bound for Glory wasn’t a bad show by any stretch, but this bout between two underrated performers was a great way to start it off.
8 20-Man Gauntlet Match (Victory Road, 11/7/2004)
On a show where Petey Williams and AJ Styles battled for the X Division Title, it should say something that the best match on the card was the opening bout. This one was a 20-Man Gauntlet Match that had a fun mix of X Division guys, indie talent, luchadores, Japanese stars, and more.
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The match lasted over 26 minutes, but it’s an effortless bout to watch thanks to the frequency of somebody new entering the fray and the exciting, fast-paced action fans hope for from the division, not to mention some crazy spots.
7 Kurt Angle vs. Kazarian (Slammiversary VIII, 6/13/2010)
Not every TNA opener was an X Division bout, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be show-stealers too. Surprisingly, opening the show is one of its biggest stars, Kurt Angle, taking on Kazarian in a strong singles bout with the story of Angle wanting to take on all the top-ranked wrestlers in the company. Frankie Kazarian has always been underrated -- especially once he started teaming with Christopher Daniels -- but this Slammiversary opener has been hailed by many fans as one of Kazarian’s best efforts.
6 Jerry Lynn vs. Super Crazy (NWA Total Nonstop Action #35, 3/5/2003)
TNA has had so many wrestlers come and go in its near-20-year history that it’s easy to forget moments like Super Crazy showing up in the opening of a random weekly pay-per-view to wrestle his old ECW co-worker Jerry Lynn. Super Crazy didn’t stick around and ended up riding a lawnmower in WWE, but he and Lynn put on a nice little spotfest to start off the show that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
5 Sanada, The Great Muta & Yasu vs.Christopher Daniels, Kazarian & Chris Sabin (Lockdown 3/9/2014)
Before he became Ingobernable and started spelling his name in all caps, Sanada wrestled for TNA, where he beat Austin Aries for the X Division Title before actually wrestling on an official TNA show. Lockdown 2014 was his official TNA debut as he teamed with his mentor The Great Muta and Wrestle-1 star Yasufumi Nakanoue against Bad Influence and Chris Sabin. It’s a fun opener that gets the job done as far as making Sanada look strong, and gives fans the Muta green mist spot that they crave.
4 The Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me (Bound For Glory, 10/10/2010)
The story of The Young Bucks in TNA as “Generation Me” is one of a promotion not knowing what to do with a pair of exciting indie wrestlers, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t put on some great matches during their time. One of the best was the 2010 Bound For Glory opener where “Max and Jeremy Buck” took on Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley for the TNA World Tag Team Titles.
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It’s a fast, awesome opener that still holds up, full of exciting spots as fans today might hope. Given that AEW has forged some kind of relationship with Impact Wrestling, where the Motor City Machine Guns have recently returned, there’s a strong possibility this matchup may very well happen again.
3 Sanada vs. Manik vs. Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Crazzy Steve vs. Tigre Uno (Slammiversary XII, 6/15/2014)
The opener to the 2014 iteration of Slammiversary saw Sanada defending his X Division title against basically the entire division in a ladder match. It’s a little short given the number of wrestlers in the match, but it’s a strong contender for best match on a pretty good show. TNA circa 2014 could be incredibly hit and miss as its stars gradually all left the company, but this bout is a bright spot that might make some fans nostalgic for the classic X Division days.
2 America’s Most Wanted vs. Triple X (NWA Total Nonstop Action #51, 6/25/2003)
The first must-see tag team in TNA happened fairly early in the company’s existence when Chris Harris and James Storm formed America’s Most Wanted in 2002. Their most acclaimed matches happened in their feud with Christopher Daniels and the underrated Elix Skipper, known as Triple X, including this tense and exciting steel cage opener at the 51st weekly pay-per-view. This bout pretty much put TNA’s tag division on the map, and the two teams would manage to top it a year and a half later in the main event of Turning Point.
1 Team International vs. Team Japan vs. Team Mexico vs. Team TNA (Victory Road, 7/13/2008)
Easily the best X Division style PPV opener ever, 2008’s Victory Road set the stage with a four-way tag team elimination match in the World X Cup competition. The talent alone in this match is amazing, with TNA mainstays Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Curry Man (Christopher Daniels) along with international stars like Milano Collection A.T., Masato Yoshino, and Ultimo Guerrero. As you might expect, it’s a ridiculously fast-paced bout with lots of great spots that outshines the rest of the card -- including the World X Cup match that happens later on in the show.
