Below is the final lineup for this Sunday’s TNA Victory Road PPV, along with my own thoughts on Sting vs. Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy and the rest of the card that was finalized last night on Impact Wrestling:
Sting vs. Bobby Roode (c): Non-Title Match, No Holds Barred
CB’s Slant: Sting has really taken to using FACEPAINT OF DOOM as his foreign object of choice, and with the way Impact ended on Thursday I think Roode HAS to win here to get his credibility back. I really hate authority figure vs. reigning champion matches, but since Victory Road is merely a placeholder PPV for LockDown in April, I guess that’s why we’re getting this as the main event. Oh well…
Winner: Roode
Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy
CB’s Slant: Can we stop having storylines where Kurt Angle references his kids? At this point, I feel awful for them being thrown around in angles and now being slandered as Jeff Hardy fans. This is simply a case of a horribly constructed arc to give two “names” something to do, but there is no juice to this contest other than what happens to be flowing through Kurt and Jeff’s veins at the time the bell rings.
Winner: Kurt Angle, as Hardy gets “screwed” again
James Storm vs. Bully Ray
CB’s Slant: My favorite match on the card between two guys who get it. Ray is hilarious lately with the “best calves in wrestling” gimmick, and Storm gives us someone kickass to root for who is more grounded in reality than Ray. Since Storm has a title match at LockDown…
Winner: James Storm
Mr. Anderson and AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels and Kazarian
CB’s Slant: Anderson being thrown into this kinda sucks. I’d have preferred a Triple Threat and *gasp* an actual resolution on a TNA PPV to the whole Daniels-Kaz-Styles mystery angle. Alas…
Winner: Kaz and Daniels with help from Anderson
Samoa Joe and Magnus (c) vs. Matt Morgan and Crimson for the TNA Tag Titles
CB’s Slant: Joe and Magnus are now being booked as faces because the crowd is simply more behind them than Morgan and Crimson. Jeez, ya think? This will be the spot where Morgan takes the pin, Crimson turns on him, and their tag team mercifully breaks up.
Winners: Samoa Joe and Magnus
Austin Aries (c) vs. Zema Ion for the X Division Title
CB’s Slant: Aries keeps the longest ever TNA X Division title reign going easily in this one as Zema Ion is clearly / merely fodder here.
Winner: Aries
Gail Kim (c) vs. Madison Rayne for the TNA Knockouts Title
CB’s Slant: I don’t get why this match needs to happen, ever. Madison just isn’t in Gail’s class, but at the same time, this is exactly the kind of match where TNA will flip the script just for the hell of it, so…
Winner: Madison Rayne in a Marchandise Madness upset, which gives us our only title change of the night.
TNA TV champion Robbie E. with an Open Challenge
CB’s Slant: Insert wrestler here.
Winner: Robbie E.
That’s all from me – CB.
