TNA PPV Evaluation - Sacrifice
By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch PPV specialist

BEST MATCH – GUNNER VS. JAMES STORM

On a truly strange night of TNA programming, this match seemingly got beamed in fro a different show (and era). The 'I Quit' match was a brutal affair, and both men must have been hurting the next day. Watching this match, I got the sense that it would have been a genuine match of the year candidate if not for an absolutely dreadful crowd. The crowd sat on their hands for most of the match or cheered the heel, which was a real shame as what Storm and Gunner brought was one of the few compelling things on the pay-per-view.

WORST MATCH – MR. ANDERSON VS. SAM SHAW

I don't know where to begin. First of all, I'm not sure that you can legally commit someone to an insane asylum with the reasoning 'they lost a bout at Sacrifice.' Secondly, I'm pretty sure that any adult can just sign themselves back out unless it's court-appointed. Thirdly, Mr. Anderson stopped to do an interview with Borash during the match. This storyline is horrendous, and the crowd doesn't care. This whole thing sucks on so many levels.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – MAIN EVENT PLAYED STRAIGHT

I think Eric Young is a fantastic pro wrestler, and despite the obvious move to put the title on him to coincide with Daniel Bryan-a-mania, I'm happy he's getting a run. If they just have EY go out and have great matches, and win, then no complaints here. This match started slow, but built nicely and was one of the only thing that the Orlando crowd reacted to all night. EY rightfully kept his title, Magnus looked good, and the match was refreshing in that there was no interference, just the champion overcoming his challenger. Imagine that.

BEST MOVE – ELBOW OFF THE TOP

Certainly nothing for the highlight reel, but when Eric Young pinned Magnus clean with an elbow drop, as opposed to setting him on fire, throwing him through the ring, and having Abyss, Sam Shaw, and eight masked men attack, I thought 'Huh. That was good!'

BEST MATCH FINISH – "I QUIT"

In a nice Terry Funk-ish throwback, Gunner grabbed a shard of glass and threatened to gouge Storm's eye with it. Sensibly, Storm decided to continue his career as opposed to being blinded. I'm having fun with it, but it was a believable end to an excellent brawl.

OTHER THOUGHTS

- Jeff Hardy is clearly just doing Willow to make himself and his friends laugh, right? He did a dive holding an umbrella open above him at one point, and the crowd chanted 'Mary Poppins.' This show was something else.

- Bully Ray vs. Bobby Roode. It was an okay match..... and then the end. Oh dear, the end. Dixie Carter interfered to send Bully Ray crashing through the table. Okay. The best part? She was in disguise! Wearing a fake beard! Whaaaa? Why did she need to be in disguise? Why not just run out and interfere? My head hurts.

- Senada vs. Uno was a decent match. The crowd didn't seem to notice that it was happening.

- Rayne vs. Love was again, okay but forgettable. Love pinned Rayne with a handful of...er...panties. Yep.

- MVP wasn't at the show. Lest we forget, he's the 'Director of Wrestling Operations,' responsible for all of the in-ring action. Didn't bother showing up, though.

- The Wolves beat the Bro-Mans to open the night in another okay TV match. The Bro-mans are too goofy to be taken seriously, but at least The Wolves knew to act like winning the titles was a huge deal.

WHAT IT'LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

Honestly, I have no idea. TNA Is a mess right now, with storylines that aren't getting the fans investment, flip-flopping of key characters motives, and a focus on silly angles that aren't doing anything but tick the TV ratings slowly downwards. TNA needs to make a drastic shift. And soon.

INITIAL 2014 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXX (2014-04-06)
2 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2014-02-23)
3 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2014-01-26)
4 - TNA LOCKDOWN (2014-03-09)
5 - TNA SACRIFICE (2014-04-27)

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