For TNA in 2009, their PPVs have followed a unique pattern. They get worse with each one. After a solid Genesis and a somewhat weak Against All Odds, TNA follows up with the god-awful Destination X. The final two matches were good but the rest of the card was absolutely terrible. TNA tried to add too much to the show and it resulted in matches being rushed and coming out poor in quality

 

Six-Woman Tag: Tayler Wilde, Roxxi, and The Governor vs. The Beautiful People (Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, and Madison Rayne)

This was a very weak opening match. A common rule of thumb for PPV is that you never start with a women’s match, and if you do, it better be damn good. This match was pretty boring and probably belonged on iMPACT. And can they please end the Governor gimmick? The election occurred back in November and Sarah Palin and John McCain did not win. Anyway, not much happened here and the babyfaces got the win when Tayler Wilde hit a German Suplex and a bridge pin to Madison Rayne. A very poor and uneventful match.

Match Rating: 3/10

Brutus Magnus vs. Eric Young

Boy is Brutus Magnus bad. He is like WWE’s Vladimir Kozlov, only worse, if that is even possible. This was an unannounced match, and I’m not sure why you needed it as there were already 8 matches scheduled on the card. This match was actually surprisingly fast paced, and Eric Young made it somewhat enjoyable. Unfortunately, it only lasted about 4 and a half minutes.  Magnus gets the duke after hitting his finisher off the top turnbuckle. Would have been better if it wasn’t so short.

Match Rating: 4/10

 

In-ring segment

Stupid in-ring segment following the last match. Sheik Abdul Bashir comes out to the ring to complain about being left off PPVs, and says it is because of his ethnicity. Rather than getting angry at the crowd, he breaks down and gets all emotional to the point where he’s nearly in tears. Jim Cornette comes out and says that no one likes Bashir and tells him to leave. Then some guy in a sailor suit comes out and sings God Bless America. This segment pretty much describes this PPV.

 

 

Match of 10,000 Tacks: Matt Morgan vs. Abyss

This match was a big disappointment, as you would have thought that the stipulation would have helped the match quality. The problem was that the match was cut short and these guys got only 8-9 minutes after getting 15-16 at Against All Odds (but then again, that match wasn’t even that good either).  Abyss sets up a spot early on by taking two long sheets of thumbtacks and placing them on a couple tables positioned to the side of the entrance ramp. Morgan gets most of the offense in this one, hitting a Carbon Footprint in the ring. Morgan grabs a bag of tacks off of a pole in the ring, and Abyss grabs a bag of broken glass on a pole as well. Both are spilled out in the ring but not used. The match comes to an end when the two brawl on the entrance ramp, and Morgan hits a Carbon Footprint resulting in Abyss falling off the ramp through the tack sheets/tables. Very poor match with a predictable ending.

Match Rating: 3/10

 

 

In-ring segment

Yet another segment that wasted PPV time. It was the finals of the One Night with ODB thing and it was a completely stupid waste of time. The three finalists are a redneck, a businessman, and Shark Boy. The two tell ODB why they each should win before beginning a dance off.  ODB ends up picking the redneck after 10 minutes of pointlessness as well as pathetic attempts at humor with sex jokes. Why this couldn’t have happened on iMPACT is beyond me.

TNA Knockouts Women’s Championship: Awesome Kong(c) vs. Sojourner Bolt

This was pretty much a squash match with Kong dominating the entire thing. Bolt’s “offense” was a couple attempted roll-ups as well as kicking Raisha Saeed. Kong quickly gets the win with the Awesome Bomb to retain her title, predictably.

Match Rating: 2/10

 

 

Samoa Joe vs. Scott Steiner

I was nearly at the end of my rope with this “match”. What could have been a decent contest was tossed aside when Steiner started punching referees after just a minute and a half. Samoa Joe continues the beat down on Steiner after the bell as the two brawled to the back. Later in the show, Joe emerges backstage with his machete, which is now bloody and Joe has blood on him as well.

Match Rating: DUD (0/10)

 

 

TNA Legends Championship: Booker T(c) vs. AJ Styles

Finally, TNA presents us with a watchable match. Booker and AJ recovered from a couple early botches to put on a pretty decent match, even if it was a bit short for me. I thought it was an entertaining back and forth match, and the finish was very well done. Booker goes for the Axe Kick, but AJ gets out of the way and hits a Pele, followed up with a Styles Clash for the win and the Legends Championship. I don’t really think that AJ needs the belt, but this gives the Frontline some credibility by taking a title that the Main Event Mafia “created”. A good match here, but not great.

Match Rating: 6/10

 

 

Off the Wagon Challenge for the TNA World Tag Team Championship: Beer Money Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) vs. Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)

If you want ridiculous and stupid finishes, look no further than this match. This match was pretty bland throughout most of the early going, with Beer Money getting most of the offense. Team 3D eventually got back into it, and that’s when the match got more exciting. They hit a reverse 3D and go for the pin on Storm, but Roode whacks one of them with a chair, resulting in a disqualification. Cornette then comes out and restarts the match under No Disqualification. Shortly after the bell rings again, Ray and Devon hit the 3D on Roode, but Storm pulls Roode out of the ring and carries him to the back. As they leave, Don West hands them their tag team title belts in an attempt to gain heel heat, which angers Mike Tenay. Team 3D is announced as the winners by countout. But how can you be counted out if there’s no DQ? The ending really hurt this match, although it was nothing too special to begin with.

Match Rating: 4/10

 

 

Ultimate X match for the TNA X Division Championship: Alex Shelley(c) vs. Chris Sabin vs. Consequences Creed vs. Jay Lethal vs. Suicide

I’ll give TNA credit for delivering on Ultimate X. This was easily match of the night and was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. It was an entertaining match but wasn’t as incredible as some of the past Ultimate X matches. We saw the MCMGs and Lethal Consequences working together through most of the match. A cool spot occurred when they attempted a unique tower of doom spot (with a fourth man in the form of Suicide), but Suicide hung on the Ultimate X structure and the other three hit the mat. The MCMGs also had a nice spot where they use one of the steel girders to land a powerbomb/sliced bread combination move. Lethal also leaped from a turnbuckle to deliver a powerbomb to Suicide, who was dangling from one of the cables. The match came to an end when Creed, Lethal, and Sabin dangling from the cables, when Suicide dove onto the center of the structure, knocking everyone down. Suicide then grabbed the belt to become X Division Champion. This was a good match, highly entertaining.

Match Rating: 7/10

 

 

TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Sting(c) vs. Kurt Angle

This was a pretty solid main event but nothing spectacular.  These two put on a pretty good match together, and Angle was even able to hit an Angle Slam for a near fall. It had a very wacky finish with Jarrett and Foley getting involved. Foley was hit and went into the corner, resulting in Jarrett checking on him and missing Angle tapping out to the Scorpion Deathlock. Angle then tried to use a chair but Foley stopped him. Foley went to hit Angle with the chair but missed and hit Sting. I thought we were getting a Foley heel turn after this but no. Jarrett counted the pin but Sting kicked out. Angle then hit Foley with an Angle Slam before receiving a punch from Jarrett and a Scorpion Death Drop from Sting. Sting retains in a good main event. I think that the match could have gone a few minutes longer, because they ended about 10 minutes prior to their 3 hour time slot. Match Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

Overall PPV Rating: 4/10