Victory Road full of surprises

With high hopes and the need to deliver, TNA moved back to the Impact Zone to host their Victory Road extravaganza. From the beginning it was easy to tell that TNA knew this was a crucial event, as the show started off hot and didn’t give itself a real chance to cool off. With an excellent flow and a series of shockers, TNA certainly delivered and scored a “victory” of their own.

Victory Road began with the 10-man X Division Gauntlet Ultimate X match which saw the re-formation of Triple X, as Elix Skipper and Senshi helped Christopher Daniels capture the Ultimate X and earn a shot at the X Division championship. From there, VKM was able to topple over The Bashams and Lance Hoyt, even scoring a victory over Christy Hemme with the debut of their newest member, Roxxi Laveaux.

James Storm and Rhino provided the first full-fledged brawl of the event, as both stars tore down the Impact Zone, breaking walls and beer bottles in the process. In the end, a beer bottle to the face of “The War Machine” was enough to put him away and leave him prone to a post-match beer bath courtesy of Storm and Jackie Moore.

In what was a solid tag team encounter, The Motor City Machine Guns squared off against Jerry Lynn and Mr. Backlund. Lynn and Backlund stood their ground and weren’t intimidated by Kevin Nash’s new crew, giving the youngsters a run for their money. In the end, it was Shelley and Sabin’s dastardly double teaming that proved to be the difference, giving them the edge over the wiley vets.

The Eric Young/Robert Roode feud rolled along, as Young teamed with TNA Knockout Gail Kim to face off against Roode and his “Cheif Executive Offender” Ms. Brooks. After a series of miscommunications, Ms. Brooks was finished off by Gail Kim and subsequently dismissed by Roode, while Young and Kim looked on in amazement. After Brooks made her way to the back, Young ran back down to the ring and pulled down Roode’s tights to expose his pasty rear-end.

Chris Harris was out next, looking to make an impact as he stepped in the ring against “The Instant Classic” Christian Cage. Harris showed resilence, overcoming several of Cage’s cheap tactics, but interference from Tomko, AJ Styles and the returning, Dustin Rhodes, helped Cage walk away with a win. However, Styles and Tomko would be paid back for their actions, as the unlikely duo of Sting and Abyss bulldozed their way over the Christian Coalition.

Finally, the main event stage was set, as Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe joined forces to put the TNA Heavyweight and X Division titles up for grabs, against the TNA Tag Team Champions, Team 3D. 3D played mind games and hinted at dissention, only to come back stronger and nearly capture some more gold. After some back and forth action, Rick Steiner came out and drew Brother Devon to the back, while Scott Steiner made his return, cracking Brother Ray with a lead pipe. Joe went for the pin, but it was broken up by Angle, who went for the Olympic Slam, only to have his leg swiped by Joe, who made the cover on Ray and picked up the TNA Tag Team championships.

TNA Hard Justice 2007 is set to take place on August 12, 2007.

TNA Victory Road 2007 Results

Match One – Ultimate X Gauntlet Match To Determine The Number One Contender To The TNA X Division Championship – Jay Lethal vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Puma vs. Homicide vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Petey Williams vs. Shark Boy vs. Elix Skipper vs. Kaz vs. Senshi

The X Division is part of TNA’s bread and butter. It’s one of the things that makes TNA different in a positive way. This was a good way to kick off Victory Road and provided some early excitment. It was interesting seeing Homicide by himself, with Konnan gone it should be interesting to see what TNA does with LAX. This one had an unexpected ending, as Elix Skipper and Senshi teamed up to help Christopher Daniels capture the Ultimate X. A post-match celebration showed that the three are back together and Triple X reigns supreme.

Winner Via Grabbing The X – Christopher Daniels

Match Rating – 8/10

In the back, Jeremy Borash caught up with Team 3D who said that Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle were going down. Brother Ray and Brother Devon each agreed that they were going to do what they had to do. Leticia was with Samoa Joe who said that he didn’t trust Angle, but he was going to make sure he walked out victorious. Mike Tenay and Don West did a nice job hyping Victory Road some more, while Leticia found VKM, who promised that a new member would be brought out to help offset Christy Hemme’s interference.

Match Two – Basham and Damaja w/ Lance Hoyt and Christy Hemme vs. VKM (BG and Kip James) w/ Roxxi Laveaux

Roxxi Laveaux was introduced as “The Voodoo Queen.” For those who are interested, Laveaux is actually northeast standout Nikki Roxx. This match wasn’t anything special, after a mess up by Lance Hoyt, VKM took control and marched their way to victory. After the match, VKM laid out Hoyt and allowed Laveaux to hit a Dominator on Hemme.

Winners Via Pinfall – VKM (BG and Kip James)

Match Rating – 6/10

Jeremy Borash was with Kurt Ange in the back who said that he had backup and he was ready to “Shake and Break.”

Match Three – James Storm w/ Jackie Moore vs. Rhino

Moore was ejected before this one got underway. This was pretty much a brawl, which is something Rhino and James Storm have become well known for in TNA. Rudy Charles even ate a clothesline in this one, which allowed Storm to use his beer bottle to perfection, cracking it over the head of Rhino and busting him open. After zoning in for the pin, Moore came back out with a beer keg and a Polaroid camera and took pictures of Storm spraying beer in Rhino’s face. This was a well done bit and something that certainly helped their feud.

Winner Via Pinfall – James Storm

Match Rating – 6.5/10

Leticia was in the back with Jerry Lynn and Mr. Backlund who said that they were going to give Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin a lesson. Backlund went crazy and started ranting as Lynn and Leticia looked on. They did a recap of the feud, leading to…

Match Four – The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) w/ Kevin Nash vs. Mr. Backlund and Jerry Lynn

Shelley and Sabin are excellent together. This was a great encounter, Lynn showed once again that he can still hang in there. With any luck, TNA will continue to recognize the potenial of Shelley and Sabin and put them in the TNA tag title picture, they certainly deserve it. Sabin and Shelley were ultimately able to overcome the big experience differential and pick up the win.

Winners Via Pinfall – The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)

Match Rating – 7/10

Kurt Angle was with Jeremy Borash as they searched around for backup. Angle found Jay Lethal in the bathroom and when Lethal turned down Angle’s request for help, Angle went ballistic and destroyed him. They recapped the Eric Young/Gail Kim/Robert Roode/Ms. Brooks saga, leading to…

Match Five – Eric Young and Gail Kim vs. Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks

Kim and Brooks have improved tremendously. Thankfully TNA is giving them their chance to shine. This was a good match, but the Roode/Young feud seems to have run its course. Young and Kim showed great teamwork and were able to overcome the corporate duo, only for Roode to go berzerk on Brooks and get his pants pulled down by Young. Roode proceeded to flop around as Young and Kim took off and Brooks looked on.

Winners Via Pinfall – Eric Young and Gail Kim

Match Rating – 7/10

Jeremy Borash was with Christian’s Coalition in the back, as Christian Cage talked about how he was going to make Chris Harris a star. Kurt Angle came in and asked for backup, but was denied. Christian and his Coalition left, as Sonjay Dutt came in and asked for a donation. Angle didn’t like Dutt and proceeded to pound away on him, taking back the donation he put in. The Chris Harris/Christian Cage feud was recapped, leading to…

Match Six – Christian Cage vs. Chris Harris

This was a great back and forth encounter. Tons of near falls and close calls. Cage really did help in elevating Chris Harris who has been on a roll. Tomko and Styles attempted to interfere, but it was ultimately Dustin Rhodes who caused Harris to lose, after cracking him in the back of the head with his own handcuffs. Rhodes and Harris should be a pretty good feud if given the proper attention.

Winner Via Pinfall – Christian Cage

Match Rating – 7/10

The Sting/Abyss/AJ Styles/Tomko feud was recapped. In the back, Jeremy Borash was with Sting and Abyss. Sting was happy that Abyss was finally coming around. Abyss chimed in and mentioned that it would be Doomsday for Styles and Tomko.

Match Seven – Abyss and Sting vs. AJ Styles and Tomko

This one was very good. AJ Styles took a beating in this one, getting tossed around all over the Impact Zone by “The Monster.” Sting had Tomko down in the Scorpion Deathlock, but Styles was able to hit Abyss hard enough off the ropes to knock him into Sting and break it up. Tomko eventually fell victim to a Black Hole Slam that gave the unlikely duo the win. Afterwards, James Mitchell came out and said that Sting and Abyss better celebrate while they still could.

Winners Via Pinfall – Abyss and Sting

Match Rating – 7.5/10

The Match of Champions was hyped. Kurt Angle was shown coming from his lockeroom, he made one last attempt to get backup, asking Serotonin, but they too denied him. He then beat them both down and continued out to the Impact Zone for…

Match Eight – Match of Champions – Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe vs. Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)

This was a great main event that lived up to the hype. Team 3D outsmarted Joe and Angle, by teasing dissention and allowing them to fall victim to an offensive onslaught. The Steiners returned in full force, with Scott taking out Ray with a lead pipe. Joe and Angle fought over the pin, with Joe taking out Angle and covering Ray for the win. The Steiners/Team 3D feud should be good, while the Joe/Angle feud continues to to reign supreme.

Winners Via Pinfall – Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle (Samoa Joe defeated Brother Ray to win the NWA Tag Team Championships)

Match Rating – 8/10

Overall Event Rating – 7.5/10

Chris Sokol is from Long Island, NY and would once again like to congratulate Nikki Roxx for making it to TNA.