By Jason Powell

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TNA Sacrifice Hits

Bobby Roode vs. Rob Van Dam: This was a hell of a ladder match. It didn't have the big spectacle spots that viewers have come to expect from Money in the Bank, but Roode and Van Dam worked an incredibly physical match and put their bodies through hell. Van Dam was as motivated as I've seen him in years, and Roode is getting better in his lead heel champion role with each outing. It was so nice to finally see a clean finish to the main event. That's the biggest thing Roode has been missing. The flukey wins and cheap match finishes did nothing for him, whereas beating a guy in RVD's slot doesn't hurt anyone and is a step toward giving Roode the credibility he's missing.

Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray: One of the true highlights of the show. Ray is consistently awesome in his bully role, and Aries was awesome as the smaller guy who stood up to him. I'm disappointed that Aries won the match only because it's probably an indication that this feud is over. I'm not excited about the apparent Bully Ray vs. Abyss program. I'm not sure what's next for Aries, but here's hoping TNA official recognize what they have in him and make him a major player. Oh, and the big bump that Aries took on the guardrail? Not worth it.

Christopher Daniels and Kazarian vs. Samoa Joe and Magnus: A good opening match and I'm fine with the title change. I enjoy the Joe and Magnus team, but creative hasn't developed their characters. Meanwhile, Daniels and Kazarian needed the titles heading into an apparent feud with A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle. It's great to see Daniels shining as a character and not just in the ring.

Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles: I'd be tarred and feathered if I didn't give the match a Hit given the work rate. And while I can appreciate the effort from both men, I can't say that I will remember this match three months from now. In fact, I was bored by the first ten minutes. The problem wasn't the work of the wrestlers. Rather, it's that we've seen these two work together a million times and they were given no storyline support. Factor in the way too heavily foreshadowed interference from Daniels and Kazarian and I couldn't shake the feeling that nothing really mattered until they got involved. Sadly, it felt like the effort of Angle and Styles was wasted.

Gail Kim vs. Brooke Tessmacher: A quality Knockouts Title match and I was happy to see them go with Gail cheating to win because it sets up the need for a rematch. I can't say I'm happy to see them go with a three-way title match involving Velvet Sky on Impact simply because I'd like to see them save their next in-ring meeting for Slammiversary, but I guess we'll see where it goes. Tessmacher has really improved in the ring. She's also charismatic and viewers should be able to get behind the idea of her chasing the title. Gail might be the best in-ring performer the company has, but she hasn't shown enough personality since she returned to the company as a heel.

Overall show: This was the best TNA pay-per-view effort of 2012. It won't be looked back on as an overall best show of 2012 candidate when pro wrestling awards season kicks in, but it was a good step forward. The match outcomes felt highly predictable, but I'm not complaining. Predictable isn't necessarily a bad thing after years of illogical swerves just for the sake of swerving. I'll take logical match outcomes and mostly clean finishes in the matches that mattered. This was just a solid pro wrestling show that focussed on the actual wrestlers and the in-ring product. Here's hoping this is the start of a good run for TNA pay-per-views.

TNA Sacrifice Misses

Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson: This was another match that I felt like I'd seen a million times desperately needed more storyline support. It felt downright unnecessary in that I'm not even sure why it happened. The finish was a mess. I assume Earl Hebner counted a pin he wasn't supposed to given the way Anderson kept shooting him dirty looks when he should have been celebrating his win. Meanwhile, Hardy's character seemed more concerned with hugging Anderson than protesting that bad call by the ref. In other words, if this was actually planned, it was poorly executed. Taz was the voice of reason in pointing out the obvious bad call by the referee, whereas Mike Tenay killed whatever credibility he had left with viewers by acting as if the referee may have made the right call.

Crimson vs. Eric Young: This felt like a mid-show intermission. I enjoy Eric Young and ODB in small doses, but this didn't have any buildup and felt like nothing more than a time filler. I definitely could have done without the cheap heat move of Crimson shoving ODB to the ground.

Devon vs. Robbie E and Robbie T: Please let this be the end of the Devon vs. Robbie's feud. It was fine for what it was, but I just don't want to see this anymore.

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