TNA Victory Road Hitlist: Samoa Joe vs. Booker T, Sting's involvement, X Cup matches, Kurt Angle and Team 3D vs. A.J. Styles and Christian Cage and Rhino

TNA Victory Road Hits

Samoa Joe vs. Booker T: I had a hunch that most viewers would roll their eyes at the finish of the match, and I can understand why given TNA's track record with cheap finsihes. However, I still enjoyed everything that led up to the finish. For the first time in a while, I'm curious to see where they are going with Joe. I enjoyed his meltdown and I'm not rolling my eyes. I like the pissed off loner/tweener Joe and I hope that's where they're going with him. This match was a test for Booker in the sense that he needed to prove he could go out and work a main event match, and he exceeded my expectations.

I see the pros and the cons of the way the finish played out. However, I don't see the finish as Booker winning the title because his wife made the count. If that turns out to be the case, then the TNA creative team should be fired immediately because that's ludicrous. I don't think that will happen, though, simply because the announcers pointed out the absurdity of Booker walking off with the title the moment Sharmell made the three count. Rather, I see this as a non-finish caused by Joe's meltdown with Sharmell and Booker stealing a title that doesn't belong to them. I would have hated this finish had the match sucked and there was no storyline buildup, but I enjoyed the match and I felt that Joe's meltdown was memorable.

Sting's involvement: Speaking of memorable, I loved it when Joe got in Sting's face, flipped him off, and said, "F--- you." That's the moment I'll remember from this show. Sure, some will compare it to Steve Austin, but I don't think that's fair because it's not like "Stone Cold" is the only person in the world who has ever flipped someone off. This was crazed Joe flipping off the ultra-respected icon of TNA. Tremendous.

Kurt Angle and Team 3D vs. A.J. Styles and Christian Cage and Rhino: I stand corrected. This was a rare instance in which a stipulation actually added to a TNA match. In fact, the TNA version of the TLC match was so entertaining that I think they made a mistake in not hyping it in advance. These guys worked hard and this was a fun match. I hated this finish just because it was so telegraphed via Frank Trigg's commentary and the repeated camera shots of him on commentary. By the way, wasn't the point of this match to protect Angle? If so, then what's up with the crazy stipulation? Again, I enjoyed the match, but they should replaced Kurt with Tomko.

World X Cup matches: The tournament itself did nothing for me. It was a meaningless series of matches that built up to the predictable outcome of every team having a chance to win it all in the Ultimate X match. No new stars were created. We may have marveled at the ability of some of the workers, but they didn't get anyone over from a character standpoint. That being said, the wrestlers worked their asses off in both pay-per-view matches, which were the difference in the overall show getting a thumbs up from this critic. Kaz's big move off the top of the scaffolding was right up there with Joe giving Sting the bird for most memorable moment of night. Something tells me Joe flipping off Sting hurt less, though.

TNA Victory Road Misses

LAX vs. Robert Roode and James Storm: Here's an example of a stipulation/gimmick ruining what could have been a good match. Does TNA have some type of endorsement deal with a strap company? It seems like we get some type strap match once every few pay-per-views.

Taylor Wilde vs. Awesome Kong: Good work by both women, but the slow build to Kong losing the title has led to a fast-paced title win and title defense. Great, Taylor has Kong's number. However, Taylor peaked when she pinned Kong and won the title in the same match. This would have been so much better if Taylor had proven she could beat Kong in a non-title match and then rallied the fans behind her as she chased the title.

Frank Trigg on commentary: He added credibility to the MMA-style match that Joe and Angle had back at Lockdown while adding a few subtle heel comments. He called the match as if it was a real sporting event and served as a nice contrast to Mike Tenay and Don West's screaming and yelling. Suddenly, he's an all out heel. He's just another announcer now and frankly there are more qualified talkers who could do a better job if TNA is looking for a heel color commentator.

TNA audio: Enough is enough. TNA must hire someone who knows how to mic a live crowd. The audio is great at the Impact Zone, but it's always an adventure when they leave the studio in Orlando. This was totally unacceptable. I could tell that the live crowd was rowdy and into the action, but I could barely hear them. It looked like a fun atmosphere on television last night. Too bad it sounded like there were 50 people in attendance.