The Specialists
Victory Road Preview by Wilkenfeld: TNA goes old-school with a pointless, if potentially amusing, card
Jul 13, 2008 - 2:45:17 PM |
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By: Daniel Wilkenfeld, PWTorch Contributor
This card does not look especially great. The main event has one person who can't wrestle so well anymore and one person who the crowd stopped caring about six months ago. The secondary main event has the promise of some good action, but is essentially pointless and, with respect to Kurt Angle, terrifying. The World X Cup stuff should be fun, but even more pointless than the main event. As I pointed out in my Impact Recap, this PPV feels a lot like a TNA Year 2 PPV—lots of sound and fury signifying nothing. Just as I wrote that then, writing this now I'm remembering how much fun those could be at times, so I'm prepared to be pleasantly surprised.
Daniel's YTD = 50/77 = .649
Rachael's YTD = 34/57 = .596
SAMOA JOE vs. BOOKER T.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Where We've Been:
Two months ago, Booker T turned on Sting and then randomly declared that Samoa Joe had been dodging him for months. The following month at Slammiversary, Booker had a flurry of offense, which might have resulted in a win had he not made the mistake of clocking special guest enforcer/Samoa-Joe-ally Kevin Nash. Nash took Booker out, and Joe went on to retain his title. Booker claimed that it was only Nash's involvement that allowed Joe to keep his belt and, much to Joe's chagrin, Nash seemed to agree. He argued that this business was more mental than physical, and that the fact that Booker was already getting to Joe after seventeen minutes of feuding was a sure sign that Joe could not beat him. Nash and Joe have been less than friends since. Sting randomly showed up and said he'd be watching.
Where We're Going:
Anyone who's read any of my stuff knows my take on both Booker T and Joe. Booker is a stellar heel on the mic, but has done nothing to prove that he can still wrestle. That being said, Steiner broke through after a horrible run in WWE, so maybe there's still hope. Joe is the future of the company, but TNA's complete bungling of his stellar anti-establishment promo at Turning Point in December has left his character feeling cold. Something needs to shake-up the main event scene ASAP. I do think Booker T's hometown of Houston might be a good place to pull a heel turn for Joe. In any event, Booker has tons of unfinished business with the Stinger. The only real question is whether it'll be settled in the main event.
Rachael's Pick: Samoa Joe.
Daniel's Pick: Samoa Joe. Booker T-Sting is a fine feud, but given Sting's sporadic schedule it shouldn't be the main event angle heading into Bound for Glory.
AJ STYLES, CHRISTIAN CAGE, & RHINO vs. KURT ANGLE & TEAM 3D
Fans Select (Full Metal Mayhem)
Where We've Been:
Cage & Rhino have been feuding with Team 3D since the Deuces' Wild Tournament at Sacrifice. AJ Styles has been feuding with Kurt Angle since Karen Angle refused to move back in with him (Kurt). There isn't really much connecting the two feuds, except that Team 3D have been somewhat willing to do Angle's dirty work with respect to AJ. Rhino, wanting revenge for Team 3D putting Cage through a glass table, said he wanted a Full Metal Mayhem (TLC) match. He acknowledged that Team 3D would probably want a Tables Match, so the fans will get to vote during the PPV. Also available as a choice is a Falls Count Anywhere Match. I don't know why.
Where We're Going:
First off, despite my desire to screw TNA booking by voting for the Falls Count Anywhere Match, I think I'll give in to my stronger desire to see a killer match by going with the TLC flow. AJ-Kurt isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I've already said that they should divorce that feud from Karen Angle and push it all the way to BFG, but that's just me. The better question is what the future holds for Christian Cage & Rhino. I don't see anything obvious on the horizon there.
Daniel's Pick: Christian Cage, AJ Styles, & Rhino. It's generally a decent idea to back the faces in main event garbage matches with no stakes.
LAX vs. BEER MONEY
Fans' Revenge Lumberjack Match
Where We've Been:
A few weeks ago the team of James Storm and Robert Roode scored an upset win over LAX, only to have it overturned when the ref realized they had used a foreign object. They were less than thrilled by this call, and proceeded to whip the hell out of everyone in the area. LAX demanded a fans' revenge match, where 12 fans are selected to surround the ring and belt anyone who comes out. Beer Money accepted, on condition that LAX's tag titles be placed on the line. They've been at each others' throats since.
Where We're Going:
This feud popped up out of nowhere, and with Team 3D busy in the main event Beer Money seem to be the tag division's top heels for the foreseeable future. Usually I would say that means they should win to keep the feud going, but in this case I think the feud will work better if they can lose off some Guerrero or Salinas shenanigans and complain about it later.
Both Picks: LAX.
TAYLOR vs. AWESOME KONG
Knockouts' Championship Match
Where We've Been:
About a month and a half ago, some random girl started showing up in order to get picked for Awesome Kong's $25,000 challenge. A month ago she got the nod, and took Kong to the limit in a match that required interference from Raesha Saeed to keep her down. She showed up the following week and jumped the barricade, eventually talking Jim Cornette into giving her another shot. She had a match the next week against Raesha Saeed, in which she won the right to face Kong again, for both the $25,000 and the title (I didn't quite get how Cornette could put up Kong's money, but we'll let that go). Anyway, with Roxxi Leveaux running interference on Saeed, Taylor picked up the win with a fluke School Girl roll-up. So we have a new women's champion, and Kong wanting revenge.
Where We're Going:
After a couple early losses to Gail Kim (of which only one was clean), Kong has become a division killer—almost literally. The obvious way to make the division competitive would have been to build up a well-liked face into a credible challenger. Sadly, that would have required foresight, so top-prospect Roxxi Leveaux was fed to the wolves. Short of that, the only ways to get that belt off of Kong would require turning her face and having her get screwed, bringing in a ringer like Lita, or having some random underdog win on a fluke. They went with Plan C. Now that they've done it, it seems the best play would be to have the title work its way through some other women before Kong gets it back. A face turn might be in order for Kong anyway, so that she can chase a bit.
Both Picks: Taylor. Otherwise this doesn't make much sense.
WORLD X CUP SEMIFINALS/FINALS
Where We've Been:
It's the World X Cup. It's not supposed to have a back-story or a purpose. I don't remember what the standings are, but it doesn't really matter cause 7 points will be decided tonight between an elimination tag match and an Ultimate X Match. As a historical side note, the only two teams to ever win this tournament are Team Mexico and Team TNA, and Team Mexico hasn't won in a while.
Where We're Going:
We're not really going anywhere. These are usually stand-alone tournaments. It should be a lot of fun though.
Rachael's Pick: Team Mexico
Daniel's Pick: Team TNA
JAY LETHAL vs. SONJAY DUTT
Where We've Been:
Two years ago, Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt became best friends. One year ago, Lethal's career took off with the seemingly ridiculous Black Machismo gimmick, and Sonjay became understandably annoyed. Rather than express that annoyance in any comprehensible way, he decided to become a guru. Nothing has made a lot of sense since then. Last month Sonjay ruined Lethal's wedding to SoCal Val, claiming she's really in love with him. Lately he's surrounded himself by a bunch of young Guru-ites to function as a human shield.
Where We're Going:
This feud should have been so very, very good. Hopefully it can be soon. I'm not holding my breath though. At least the match should rule.
Rachael's Pick: Jay Lethal, with a side-note asking who the hell has the X Division Championship?
Daniel's Pick: Sonjay Dutt off a "shocking" SoCal Val heel turn.
GAIL KIM vs. ANGELINA LOVE
Where We've Been:
A month or so ago, Angelina Love actually helped Gail Kim win a shot at the Knockouts' Title, but she was motivated not by a desire to help Kim but by a desire to avoid having her head shaved (if you didn't follow that, don't worry). Kim was annoyed by the assist, and attacked Love. Love responded by costing Gail her match against Kong, and injuring Kim's knee in the process. Since then The Beautiful People have gone around making Kim's life generally miserable, regularly putting a brown paper bag over her head.
Where We're Going:
It's hard to know where this is heading with the women's title in such flux. I would think Love would be the ideal first challenger for Taylor, which would seem to demand she get the nod here. Kim can work with Velvet Sky next month, or with a briefly demoted Kong.
Rachael's Pick: Gail Kim. "I like her better."
Daniel's Pick: Angelina Love.
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