[2007-05-13-TNA-Sacrifice] Chris Harris vs James Storm (Texas Death)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Chris Harris vs James Storm - TNA Sacrifice 2007 Texas Death Match

To me, this epitomizes the power of pro wrestling. Take two guys I dont care about. I am not being mean. I dont have positive or negative feelings about the Wildcat or Cowboy. Great pro wrestling transcends that. You invest when the wrestlers are invested. I have generally enjoyed James Storm during my strong TNA fandom from 2005-2009. My memories of Chris Harris are fainter. This is a hellacious bloodbath stands up there with some of the best Southern brawls of the 80s. Two plot points is all you need to know they were a tag team called America's Most Wanted and James Storm turned heel and blinded Chris Harris in one eye. Bang! Im sold. Lets do this. I thought the early brawling through the crowd was great and heated. Chris Harris as the babyface dominated, he was pissed and his emotion was carrying the day. My two favorite parts of the shine were Storm throwing the drink in the face, but Harris responding with a hard Irish Whip. Then Harris guzzling a beer before doing a top rope splash over the railing onto Storm for the first fall. That was totally unexpected! Harris' nonchalant demeanor worked there. Traditional Death Match rules here as it is a pinfall that precedes the 10 count. I actually prefer this to current Last Man Standing rules. We will get into this later in the match. Wildcat gets hung up in a tree of woe and Storm blasts him with a chair. Harris gigs himself. Wildcat is a really cool nickname for a pro wrestler. Harris tries to valiantly fight back. He catapults Storm into the underside of the table in wicked spot and Storm is busted too. Double juice! Storm has a five alarm bladejob. Storm punts him in the balls as his only recourse to stem the metaphorical bleeding and Harris succumbs to the Eye of the Storm through a table! I thought the table bumps were great in this match. Well setup and use for maximum impact. Believe the hype, match has been absolutely tremendous thus far. Hate-filled, blood, punches, big time spots. Storm is looking to add weapons to meter out more punishment. He wants to hurl Harris over the top rope through a table, but that is blocked and instead Harris goes all Big E and spears Storm off the apron through the table! HOLY SHIT! Wow! Jacqueline (in a Confederate Cowboy Hat I might add) stops the Wildcat from getting a pin. Now this is the part of the match where I think traditional Death Match rules shine. They trade nearfalls. Storm hits a wicked desperation Van Daminator (Harris was about to take his head off with  a chair) and Harris hits the Catatonic on a trash can. Both cases both men kickout at two out of pride. This is saves the audience for another long 8-9 count. Also, the pinfalls give a clear delineation of when a knockdown count should begin. It also saves us from the silly double knockout finish. I had never given much thought to this before, but I think traditional Death Match rules are superior to today's Last Man Standing. Jacqueline tries to save Storm after that Catatonic and thats when Gail Kim comes down and drags her out. If I remember correctly, Gail Kim was AMW's manager in late 2005/early2006 so good callback there. The finish is short and sweet, both men have a beer bottle. It is back to the OK Corral who has the quicker draw. Storm goes to spin Harris around, but BANG! Harris cracks him with the beer bottle for the pinfall and knockout victory. DAMN! Thats how you do a Southern-Fried, Revenge Bloodbath match! I love the efficiency of this match. Every highspot is so meaningful and so sticky. Hate, efficiency and blood you cant beat that! I think I am kinda underrating this right now, but just doesnt feel Top 100, but its damn close. Definitely a contender for best TNA match ever! ****1/2