By Ryan Kester

Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode

TNA made a star last night while simultaneously establishing the X-Division championship as the company's number-two title. Out of all the possible booking possibilities TNA could have gone with, this was absolutely the best decision.

Bobby Roode's championship run was marred by a lack of credible victories, so if the plan was to with Roode vs. Storm at Bound For Glory this year, then getting the belt off of Roode was a wise choice. He has plenty of time to recapture the title and have some heat as a credible champion, and TNA established Aries as one of their top guys in the process. There's few times in wrestling that I go past enjoying something to being genuinely impressed with what a company does, and this is one of those times.

Ultimate X

Unfortunately, I cannot claim to have the same level of excitement over the current X-Division. Ion coming out of obscurity to win the belt does little for me, as does his current over-the-top "pretty" character. TNA has a glut of new faces to work with, yet I cannot see Ion's gimmick sustain9ng the division for the next few months.

I imagine Ion won the title last night because they eventually want him to drop the title to a returning Jesse Sorensen. They laid the groundwork for such last night with Sorensen's presence on the show their brief interaction. That may very well prove to be a good feud, but I question if Ion will hold the crowd's attention as they wait for Sorensen to heal.

AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

This match was so much better than I expected going in. Daniels mentioned in an interview backstage about his "I Quit" match with Styles from last year which only served to remind me of some of their awful gimmick encounters and how long creative has used this feud as a holding pattern for both men. However, the Last Man Standing match delivered largely in part because they didn't rely on a series of long crowd-killing counts.

I wish I could express the same enthusiasm for the story that this match is based upon, but I simply cannot. It has grown so convoluted by this point that it is simply ridiculous, and it is relying far too heavily on actors that cannot act.

Overall Show

This was the best TNA show this year and arguably one of TNA's better outings in years. TNA had a moment last night and I can only hope that they do it justice going forward.

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.

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