Kester's TNA Slammiversary X Rundown: A good show featuring stellar work from Kurt Angle and A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels and Kazarian and Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe that was ultimately let down by Bobby Roode vs. Sting

By Ryan Kester

Bobby Roode and Sting

This match was just frustrating. Bobby Roode got another cheap win to close another TNA PPV and he didn't get an ounce of heat for it. Even if he did get any heat, TNA made sure to stamp it out before it could threaten to elevate Roode by having Sting beat him silly after the match.

This match and its terrible, terrible finish, was a black eye on an otherwise great PPV. Roode should mean so much more as a champion than he does because TNA has simply booked him terribly since he first put the belt around his waist.

While I was disappointed with Sting in the main event, I was happy to see TNA give him the Hall of Fame nod. It's a move that makes sense and it came off as TNA's attempt to honor one of their own rather than make a headline or trying to stick it to WWE.

Kurt Angle and A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels and Kazarian

This was a phenomenal match and I was surprised to see Angle and Styles walk away with the belts. Angle and Styles really haven't been given a satisfactory story for why they are teaming yet, and I feel like Daniels and Kazarian need the belts more than Styles and Angle do, but this was an extremely entertaining affair.

I imagine Daniels and Kazarian will recapture the belts sooner rather than later, and I can only hope for another great match with these four men.

James Storm returns

There are few times in wrestling that I am genuinely surprised anymore, but this was one of those times. It's good to see Storm back, and it's even better to see that he's worked off a bit of his gut that prevented him from looking like a main eventer in his last run.

Having Storm go over Crimson was a good move for reestablishing Storm as a dominant babyface, but I wish TNA managed to get more out of the heel version of Crimson's undefeated streak before they pulled the plug.

Bully Ray vs. Joseph Park

While I may not care for the Abyss character, even after all of this time, I really enjoyed this match. Bully Ray looked brutal and dickish and Park managed to give a great performance that distanced him from his previous character.

While all signs point toward the Abyss character returning full time at the conclusion of this tory, I will enjoy the ride until we get there. Park and ray have done a very good job telling the story to this point even if I have no desire to see the eventual conclusion.

Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe

This match is right up against the tag title match for match of the night. Aries and Joe gave viewers an amazing performance last night. It was one of Aries' bets in TNA and the best Samoa Joe match for some time. I had high expectations for this match going in and despite those high expectations, Joe and Aries managed to surpass them completely.

While I am excited to see Aries talk about the main event, I wish we could get the treat of a repeat of this match in the near future.

Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher

Unfortunately, Tessmacher and Kim didn't click as they had in their previous encounters and a few botches at the wrong time killed the flow of this match to the point that it simply didn't live up to the matches around it in the evening.

While I am happy to see the title change, I wish more went into the build for this match for Tessmacher's victory to have felt more important. Still, Kim had grown stale in her role as champion and I am excited to see what Tessmacher does with this opportunity. She still has a lot of improving to do both in the ring and on the mic, but she is miles ahead of where she was just a few short months ago.

Live Crowd

The audience in Arlington last night made this show feel special. They were hot for almost everything they were given, and they managed to make some of the undercard matches that received little to no build feel like events. Make no mistake, the wrestlers gave several great performances last night, but the crowd's enthusiasm was crucial to making the show stand out among recent PPV offerings and they helped make the show entertaining for this viewer.

Overall Show

This was by far the best offering from TNA this year. The wrestlers seemed motivated and the matches, for the most part, were well wrestle. I still left the show with the usual distaste form the booking of the main event, but I'm not going to let that sully what was otherwise a great card.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at @TheRyanKester.