Official "Sacrifice 2011" Discussion Thread *WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS*

[Sempi]

TNA quietly added another X division match: Brian Kendrick vs. Robbie E

This will most likely be the opening match of the card. My prediction Brian gets the win.

[Killswitch]

The announced card for tonight’s TNA Sacrifice pay-per-view event is as follows:

TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Rob Van Dam vs. Sting (c)

Mixed Tag Match:
Kurt Angle and Chyna vs. Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett

TNA World Tag Team Championship Match:
Matt Hardy and Chris Harris vs. Beer Money, Inc. (c)

TNA Women’s Knockout Championship:
Mickie James (c) vs. Madison Rayne

TNA X Division Championship Match:
Kazarian (c) vs. Max Buck

Challenge Match:
AJ Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer

Hernandez and Anarquia vs. Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal

Abyss vs. Crimson

Brian Kendrick vs. Robbie E

Source: ProWrestlingScoops

My picks in bold.

[ViceMan]

New poster made me lol, they really don't put much effort into these things. Anyway i'll be doing what I did for Lockdown, not checking the site and waiting until I see it on Wednesday to try and be surprised at how good it is (when it'll probably be terrible.)

[Killswitch]

The opening match was very bland to me. There was just way to many distractions. Yes, I know Mexican Americans are heels but still they only really need to do one distraction not four. Also surprised that Ink Inc. lost.

[Sidney Evans]

Yeah the ppv sucked and only 2 matches were actually good....once again you fail TNA.

[4 Gold Scorpio]

After the opening video hyping tonight's main event, wew're off to the ring for our first match...

Mexican America vs Ink Inc

Shannon Moore and Anarquia start us off and exchange waistlocks and wristlocks with Shannon getting the advantage. Anarquia gets a knee to the gut and takes Moore down with a shoulderblock, but Moore comes back with a series of armdrags. Anarquia yanks down on the mohawk and goes to work on Moore's arm and tries to power Moore to his back for a three count, but Moore springs to his feet and gets a flying armbar and a dropkick. Rosita gets on the apron to distract Moore and Hernandez nails him from behind with a hard double axhandle, then tags in. Moore leapfrogs Hernandez and dropkicks his knee out, then gets a running legdrop to the back of the head for 2. Jesse Neal tags in and Moore hiptosses him onto Hernandez for 2, then Neal works Hernendez over in the corner and gets a belly to belly suplex. Sarita now gets on the apron and distracts the ref while Anarquia nails Neal from behind to give Mexican America a brief advantage, but Neal manages to tag out to Moore, who hits a flying bodypress for 2. Moore heads to the floor and traps Anarquia in the ring apron and then hits an Asai moonsault onto Hernandez. Moore heads back into the ring and now Sarita flagrantly runs in and yanks Moore down by the mohawk and Anarquia goes right after Moore and puts the boots to him. Hernandez powers Moore up into a Jesse Ventura-style backbreaker and then drops to his knees, jarring Moore's spine and getting him 2. Mexican America hit a double team in the corner and then Hernandez wipes Moore out with a clothesline for 2. Anarquia puts Moore up top, but Moore fights him off and hits a moonsault, then drills Hernandez with an enziguiri and makes the hot tag. Jesse Neal comes in and cleans house, wiping Hernandez out with a flying forearm and then whipping him into Anarquia in the corner, then hit a springboard crossbody out of the corner for 2. Moore clotheslines Anarquia to the floor, and Neal escapes the Border Toss and sets up for the Mooregasm, but Rosita winds up on the apron and Moore and Neal argue about how to handle it, leading to Anarquia dragging Moore to the floor and Hernandez hits his inverted side salto for the win.

Winners: Mexican America

We see a replay of that finish and it looks like Hernandez drops Neal right on his face. That looked real ugly, but a solid opener.

We go to Mike Tenay and Taz, who call this the first PPV of the Impact Wrestling era, and then run down the card, discussing Thursday when Mick Foley was revealed as the Network represeptative and introduced Chyna as Kurt Angle's tag team partner tonight.

This leads us into our next segment, as the Jarretts come out to the ring with Karen on crutches and wearing a heavy brace on her right foot. Jeff says that unfortunately, despite being an all-around great wife and mother, when she was handing out jobs to the hired help, she slipped on one of her sons' action figures, which he thinks was a Jeff Jarrett action figure since it's the kid's favorite. He took Karen to the hospital and it turns out she has a grade 3 sprain and a fractured ankle. He's as disappointed as all the fans are, but this means there will not be a Jeff & Karen Jarrett vs Kurt Angle & Chyna match tonight, and it's the doctor's decision, not either of theirs. The Jarretts start for the back, but Mick Foley comes out to tell the Jarretts that he saw the x-ray and there's no question that there's a fracture in two places, but in some cases you can tell the gender, race, and size of the patient in the x-ray, and something tells Foley that she's not a 6'6” African American male. Foley says they're in a wrestling ring and wrestling matches take place in wrestling rings because wrestling matters. Karen says she didn't bring anything to wear, but Foley says she arranged with the seamstress to prepare an outfit for Karen, so when she steps into this wrestling ring with Chyna, the bad news is that Karen's likely to get her butt kicked all over the Impact Zone, but the good news is she'll look so good when it's being done. He tells her to think on that and have a nice day.

We go backstage to Jeremy Borash, who is with Brian Kendrick and asks for his thoughts on tonight's match with Robbie E. Kendrick cuts a long, rambling promo that would leave Bob Backlund scratching his head, but the point seems to be that the X-Division has been treated like filler by those in charge and he's here to put the division back on the map.

Robbie E vs Brian Kendrick

Kendrick meditates in the middle of the ring as the bell rings and Robbie flips his hood off, but this just pisses off Kendrick, who dropkicks Robbie to the floor and follows him out with a dive. Kendrick, still in his robe, goes up top and hits a flying bodypress, then goes back to meditating in the corner. Robbie gets back to his feet as Kendrick motions him to come and get it, and drop toeholds Robbie into the corner and hits a series of dropkicks and a leg lariat, then sits on the top turnbuckle and meditates again. Robbie charges, so Kendrick gets the boot up and hits another crossbody. Robbie goes to the floor and Kendrick goes after him. Cookie gets in his face, so Kendrick tells her that God has a plan for her and then he nails Robbie and rolls him back into the ring. Kendrick goes up top but Robbie nails him and sends Kendrick tumbling to the floor. Kendrick beats the count, but Robbie immediately pounces and puts the boots to Kendrick, then rams him hard into the corner. Kendrick is bleeding from the mouth as Robbie locks in a three quarter nelson, Kendrick fights his way out but Robbie nails him with a back elbow. Robbie comes off the second rope with a Bret Hart-style elbowsmash for 2, then clotheslines Kendrick to the floor. Robbie goes outside and suplexes Kendrick on the floor, then distracts the ref as Cookie attacks Kendrick. Robbie goes for another suplex but Kendrick slips out the back, whips Robbie into the apron, and scores with a superkick. Kendrick rolls Robbie in andcomes off the top with a missile dropkick, then throws his robe over Robbie's head and unloads with punches. Kendrick charges and gets elevated onto the top turnbuckle, but recovers and hits a leg lariat for the win.

Winner: Brian Kendrick

Great match, and it was nice to see these guys get a good ten minutes to do their thing on PPV. Kendrick extends his hand to Robbie after the match, and Robbie just yells “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, BRO?” and the Shore gets out of the ring and calls Kendrick a freak on their way to the back.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with Tara, and Tara says she's torn because Madison got her back into TNA and her job has been to protect her, but she's been treating Tara like crap. JB asks her who she wants to win this match, but Madison busts in and says it doesn't matter what Tara wants because it's all about what Madison wants. She says Tara's welcome for getting her job back, and tells Tara to stay in the back because she doesn't need her help, then Madison pushes her way past Tara and heads to the ring.

Knockouts Title/Tara's Freedom Match: Mickie James vs Madison Rayne

Tara immediately disobeys Madison's orders and comes to ringside, Madison goes to yell at her and gets caught with a baseball slide by Mickie. Madison responds by giving Mickie a drop toehold into the ring steps, then rolls her back into the ring and covers with her feet on the ropes for 2. Mickie fires back and tries a whip into the corner, Madison blocks and sits Mickie on the top rope and gives her a nasty neckbreaker into the ring for 2. Madison goes back out to the floor to yell at Tara, and Tara looks like she's going to hit Madison, but Madison reminds her that she owns Tara. Madison heads back in the ring but Mickie hits a neckbreaker and both girls are down. Tara starts pounding the mat to get the crowd going, Mickie gets an O'Connor roll for 2, a jackknife rollup for 2, then tries a backslide but Madison accidentally kicks the ref in the face, then kicks Mickie low. Okay. Madison goes to the floor and gets her Michael Jackson glove from under the ring, but Tara grabs her and yanks it off. Mickie tries to catch Madison by surprise, but Madison reverses to a rollup for 2. Mickie comes back with running forearms and a flapjack, then goes up top for a Thesz press, but the referee made sure to stand RIGHT BEHIND Madison so he would get knocked out again when Madison moved. Sure enough, that's exactly what happens, and Mickie goes for the DDT but Tara comes in with the glove on her hand. Both girls yell at Tara to hit the other one, with Madison getting down on her knees to beg for her help, and of course Tara nails Madison and sets Mickie up to get the pin.

Winner: Mickie James

TARA'S FREE! She and Mickie both look ecstatic.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with Fortune, and Kazarian tells Max Buck he wouldn't become a star if he was thrown by a ninja. AJ Styles says he can't figure out what's going on with Tommy Dreamer, but this is a no DQ match and he has no problem wrapping a chair around Dreamer's head. Robert Roode says if Matt Hardy wants to play head games with them...well, the audio cuts in and out, but then comes back as he says that AMW is dead and gone and Beer Money are going to walk out with the tag title once again. James Storm tells Harris that he shouldn't have come back because he's not here to tell jokes and sell DVDs, he's here to drink beer and kick ass, and he's sorry about Harris' damn luck.

X-Division Title: Frankie Kazarian vs Max Buck

They tie up and exchange wristlocks with some flippiness thrown in, Max takes Kazarian down with a shoulerblock and then dodges a monkey flip. Kazarian catches Max with a drop toehold and they do a mat wrestling sequence and fight over a front facelock. Kazarian winds up on top, Max sits out and goes to a wristlock but Kazarian gets another drop toehold and goes back to the front facelock. Max escapes and misses a charge and Kazarian hits a springboard dropkick and then leapfrogs Max and gets a dropping neckbreaker for 2. Max backdrops Kazarian to the apron, knocks him to the floor with a running knee, then nails Kazarian with a sweet running dropkick through the ropes. They head back in and Max puts the mouth on Kazarian, then hits a front jawbreaker and chokes him on the bottom rope. Kazarian tries to fight back but Buck dropkicks him square in the grill and covers for 2. Buck with a snapmare and drops repeated knees to Kazarian's back,then goes to a rear chinlock. Kazarian fights his way out and Buck yanks Kazarian to the mat by the hair and then repeatedly drills him with right hands before yelling at the fans that he'll be the champ tonight. Kazarian picks Max up and rams him into the corner and drills him hard with right hands, Buck kicks him in the face, but Kazarian runs up the ropes and hits a top rope gutwrench suplex and both men are down. Max makes it to his feet first and goes for a right hands, but Kazarian blocks and wipes Buck out with a pair of clotheslines and a leg lariat. Buck reverses a whip and tries a monkey flip, but Kazarian catches Buck and press slams him, then follows up with a springboard legdrop for 2. Kazarian goes for the Fade To Black, Max counters to a sunset flip, Kazarian counters that with a kick to the face and a rolling neckbreaker for 2. Buck blocks the Fade To Black again and powerbombs Kazarian into the corner, then follows up with a twisting Diamond Cutter off the top rope for 2. Buck puts Kazarian on the top rope and hits a hanging DDT, then goes up top and hits a 450 splash for 2. Buck is incredulous that the 450 didn't put Kazarian away and he wastes a bit of time arguing with the referee, then goes back to slapping Kazarian in the head while putting the mouth on him. Kazarian blocks a suplex and dumps Buck on the top rope and hits a running boot to the face to send Buck to the apron, then hits a running sunset flip that sends Buck flying into the aisle and landing with an audible thwack. That looked really ugly. Kazarian rolls Buck back in and covers, but Buck kicks out at 1. Crowd chants “this is wrestling” as Kazarian goes to pick Buck up and Buck small packages him for 2. Buck again escapes the Fade To Black and Kazarian hits the Shining Wizard for the win.

Winner: Frankie Kazarian

Excellent match, easily Max Buck's best match to date in TNA. Great psychology and a great build that really got the crowd into the match. If TNA's new focus is on wrestling, this is exactly the kind of stuff that works, minus the sunset flip to the floor.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with Abyss, who says he's lived his entire life by the motto that whatever doesn't kill him will make him stronger. Crimson thought he could take Abyss out by burying Janice in his spine, but Abyss is a weapon of mass destruction who has been ripped with barbed wire, slicedwith glass, and had his teeth kicked in by RVD, and he's always kept going. Those teeth were delicious, and tonight, he's going to teach Crimson a lesson in pain and humility, and his undefeated streak comes to an end tonight.

Abyss vs Crimson

They start off by trying to take each other out with shoulderblocks, but neither man moves so Abyss just drives Crimson down with right hands. Abyss whips Crimson into the corner but Crimson comes out with a flying shoulderblock and clotheslines Abyss to the floor. Abyss grabs Crimson's ankle and drags him out to the floor and starts unloading with right hands, but Crimson rams Abyss into the rail several times. Crimson tries a charge but Abyss moves and Crimson hits the ringpost, then Abyss rams him into the ring steps. They head back inside and Abyss hits the running splash in the corner, then whips Crimson hard into the opposite corner and locks him in a neck vice. Crimson fights his way out and they wipe each other out with a double clothesline. They go back to exchanging blows in the middle of the ring and Crimson wipes Abyss out with a flying clothesline, then gets a three quarter nelson, rams knees into the head of Abyss, and turns it into a neckbreaker for 2. Crimson misses a charge in the corner and Abyss chokeslams him for 2. Abyss goes out to the floor and pulls Janice out from under the ring, he chases the referee off with it and goes to hit Crimson, but Crimson ducks and spears Abyss for 2. Crimson measures Abyss for another spear but Abyss boots him in the chest and goes for the Shock Treatment, but Crimson escapes and hits a double underhook DDT for 2. Abyss nails Crimson and hits the Vader Bomb for 2, and now Abyss is wondering what it's going to take to put Crimson away. Abyss sets Crimson for another charge in the corner, but Crimson moves and hits a big Sky High for the win.

Winner: Crimson

Very impressive finish! Great match and I think TNA has a star on their hands in Crimson.

TNA World Tag Team Title Match: Beer Money vs Matt Hardy & Chris Harris

Harris looks huge. He and Storm start, but Harris tags out before making contact and Hardy beats Storm down in the corner. Storm comes back with a neckbreaker and then he and Roode lay into Hardy with a series of double teams. Hardy runs Roode into the corner and tags out to Harris, who beats Roode down in the corner, but Roode comes back with a flying clothesline, nails Hardy in the corner, and gets a running neckbreaker on Harris. Harris gets a back elbow on a charge by Roode and tags out, and Roode immediately nails Hardy and then tags Storm in for more double teaming. They do the old wishbone on Hardy, but Hardy suckerpunches Storm and tags Harris back in. Storm breaks free and Harris bails out to the floor, so Storm goes back to beating Hardy up until Harris comes back into the ring, spits Storm's beer in his face, and then rains down right hands on him. He whips Storm to the corner and Hardy follows him in with a running clothesline and then Harris hit a running bulldog, and Hardy covers for 2. Hardy charges the corner and Storm gets the boot up and hits a lungblower, then makes the hot tag to Roode, who comes in and cleans house on Chris Harris. Roode wipes Harris out with a clothesline and comes off the second rope with a Blockbuster. Hardy runs in but gets clotheslined to the floor, then somehow gets Harris over with a Perfectplex for 2. Roode goes to tag Storm but Hardy drags Storm off the apron and Harris hits a full nelson slam for 2. Hardy tags back in and hits a side suplex, then drops a second rope elbow on Roode's back for 2. Hardy with a bearhug and Roode tries to fight out, but Hardy drills him in the face and tags out to Harris, who drops down on Roode's back as Taz talks about how Harris isn't in ring shape because he's not on the road all the time. Hardy tags in and goes back to the bearhug, but Roode fights his way out and then collide head to head and both go down. Roode tries to make the hot tag but Harris tags in and drags him back, he spits at Storm but Roode kicks him off and makes the hot tag and it's down to the former AMW going at it. Storm just brutally beats Harris down, then comes off the ropes with a pair of clotheslines and a Thesz Press and just relentlessly fires right hands down on Harris. Harris tries to toss Storm over the ropes, but Storm skins the cat back in and hits a DDT on Harris for 2. Roode beats Hardy up on the floor as Storm hits a tornado Scorpion Deathdrop on Harris for 2. Beer Money set Harris up for the DWI but Hardy nails Storm and hits the Side Effect on Roode. He goes for the Twist of Hate on Storm but Storm counters to a lungblower. Harris grabs Storm and hits the Catatonic, but Roode then nails Harris with a spinebuster. Beer Money with a double suplex on Hardy that sends him to the floor, then they set Harris up for the DWI. Harris goes for a spear but Storm superkicks him in the face and go for the DWI, but Storm says no, and instead they give Harris the Death Sentence and Storm pins Harris for the win.

Winners: Beer Money

This match was really good in spite of the fact that Harris showed up out of shape, and underscored how good the rest of them are that they were able to hold it together so well even with Harris dragging them down.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with Bully Ray, who says everybody's uncomfortable around him because he strikes fear into people, because he can. Ray says JB looks like the kinda guy who listens to Lady Gaga, but JB asks him what's behind Dreamer's turn. Ray asks why JB cares, because he and Dreamer know why he did what he's doing, and the information is on a need to know basis. What JB does need to know is that Ray could do whatever he wants to JB, and that AJ is everything that's wrong with today's wrestlers. He powerbombed AJ off the stage and he's lucky he didn't end his career, and anytime he gets the opportunity in the future, he'll try and take AJ out, and once he gets done taking him out, he'll take the rest of Fortune out and then he'll take AJ's wife out...only it won't be the way he takes AJ out, if you catch my drift. What a heel!

No DQ: Tommy Dreamer vs AJ Styles

They do some mat wrestling to start and AJ gets an armbar, and Dreamer goes to the ropes but the referee tells him it's no DQ and he can't force a break. AJ lets go and tells Dreamer that he made this match famous and to wrestle. Dreamer beats AJ down and whips him to the ropes, but AJ rolls over his back and unloads with some hard kicks. AJ charges the corner but Dreamer gets the boot up and it nearly goes down AJ's throat he hits it so hard, then Dreamer stomps him down in the corner and hits Snake Eyes for 2. Dreamer with repeated elbowdrops for 2, then gouges at AJ's face. Dreamer backdrops AJ to the apron, but AJ comes right back in and takes Dreamer out with a series of clotheslines that send Dreamer to the floor. AJ hits a dive over the top, then takes a fan's soda and dumps it on Dreamer's head before going back to beating him up. Dreamer nails him and rams him into the steps, but misses a clothesline and AJ picks him up and crotches him on the guardrail. AJ slides under the guardrail into the crowd and hits a springboard forearm off the guardrail that drives Dreamer into the crowd. They fight up the stairs and into the crowd and AJ chops Dreamer so hard he goes over the wall and lands hard on the floor below. AJ goes after him, but Dreamer Tullys AJ into the wall, then tears a TNA Impact sign off the wall, nails AJ in the head with it, and rams him through the railing. Dreamer takes AJ and dumps him back over the guardrail to ringside, and goes under the ring for a trash can full of plunder. He takes his knick knacks into the ring but AJ dropkicks the can into Dreamer's ribs. Now AJ goes under the ring and gets a table, then rams it into Dreamer's head and covers for 2. AJ sets the table up on one leg, then whips Dreamer shoulder first into the ringpost and springboards off the table with a flying forearm to Dreamer, then rams Dreamer face first into the edge of the table and covers for 2. Crowd starts a “this is awesome” chant as AJ picks Dreamer back up and tries to suplex him onto the table, but Dreamer countered to a DDT and made the cover, but AJ got his foot under the bottom rope at 2. So Dreamer can't do a rope break, but AJ can? Dreamer gets a form and tries to gouge AJ in the forehead with it, but AJ fights Dreamer off with some hard chops and a leaping enziguiri, then drills Dreamer in the head with the trash can. AJ sets the table back up on the one leg, but Dreamer punches him in the groin and goes for a Spicolli Driver. AJ escapes and hits the Pelle Kick, but Bully Ray runs in and drills AJ in the back of the head with a chain. Christopher Daniels runs out and chases Ray off as Dreamer recovers and piledrives AJ through the table for the win.

Winner: Tommy Dreamer

Brutal and awesome brawl, and I didn't mind the interference at the end because it made sense in the context of the match.

Jeff & Karen Jarrett vs Kurt Angle & Chyna

Kurt and Jeff start us off and the crowd is solidly behind Angle, who waves at Karen with a big smile on his face. They tie up and Angle comes off the ropes with a shoulderblock and takes Jeff over with a side headlock, then they wrestle for a bit before Kurt tags Chyna in. The rules, as helpfully stated before the match, are “girl on girl and guy on guy” so Jeff is able to save Karen simply by continuing to attack Kurt, thereby forcing Chyna back to the apron. Kurt gets the ankle lock on Jeff, but Karen comes in and goes after Kurt, so Kurt picks her up and goes to tag in Chyna, but Jeff clips his leg and hits a nice dropkick before snapping Kurt's neck across the top rope. Jeff with a flying bodypress for 2, then chokes Kurt on the second rope. He hits the Boss Man Straddle, but goes for it a second time and Angle rips his head off with a hard clothesline. They trade blows in the middle of the ring but Kurt gets a couple of running forearms and tries a charge in the corner, Jeff gets the boot up but Angle immediately catches him with an overhead release suplex for 2. Jeff escapes an Angle Slam attempt, but Angle gets the rolling German suplexes and then the straps come down! Jeff counters another angle Slam attempt into an armdrag and then hits a leaping enziguiri for 2. Jeff's going lucha! Jeff goes for the Stroke but Angle rolls through into the anklelock. Jeff escapes that but Angle finally hits the Angle Slam for 2. Kurt drags Jeff over to his corner and tries to make him tag Karen, but Jeff mule kicks Kurt in the groin, and Kurt tags in Chyna, who slams Jeff and hits a vertical suplex, then points at Karen, who says no way and backs off. Chyna stalks her around ringside and Karen gets in the ring to escape, but runs right into Kurt, who blocks Karen's escape and allows Chyna to come in and nail her with a running clothesline in the corner. Chyna drags Karen back to her feet and hits the Pedigree, then hooks the anklelock. Jeff slides in and blocks Karen from tapping, so Kurt hooks Jeff in an ankle lock and drags him away, and Karen finally taps out.

Winners: Kurt Angle & Chyna

This was the first real stinker on the show, but I think we all had a feeling going in what we were going to get here. It could have been worse, and actually Kurt and Jeff did pretty well when it was just the two of them.

Mike Tenay and Taz analyze the upcoming World Title match, and then Ken Anderson comes out to observe the match since he's challenging the winner. He joins Mike Tenay and Taz at the broadcast booth, and then we're off to the ring for the main event!

TNA World Title Match: Sting vs Rob Van Dam

Crowd seems split for this one as they face off in the middle of the ring. They tie up and Sting takes a side headlock, RVD tries to twist out but Sting holds his ground, so RVD shoves Sting off into the ropes and Sting takes him down with a shoulerblock. Sting comes off the ropes again and RVD tries a monkey flip, but Sting grabs RVD's legs and drops down on RVD's shoulders for 2. RVD now gets a shoulderblock but doesn't budge Sting, so he ducks a clothesline and gets a bodyscissors rollup for 2. Nice move. RVD takes Sting to the corner and fires off some forearms, then rams some shoulderblocks into Sting and does his backflip, but runs into Sting's knee. RVD tries another monkey flip but Sting holds the ropes and RVD crashes hard and then rolls out to the floor. RVD takes a long count to break Sting's momentum, then comes back in and gets a schoolboy rollup for 2, a small package for 2, then just kicks Sting in the face and Sting goes down flat on his back. Sting rolls to the ropes as RVD puts the boots to him and chokes Sting with his boot, then hits a slingshot guillotine legdrop to the floor. RVD rolls back in and cradles Sting for 2, then unloads with straight right hands and kicks in the corner. RVD tries a running leg lariat in the corner, but Sting moves and RVD tumbles over the ropes and to the floor, landing on the back of his head. RVD looks hurt and stumbles to the guardrail, and Sting tries a Stinger Splash but RVD moves and Sting hits the rail. RVD tells the fans to move and he tries a springboard guillotine legdrop off the guardrail, but Sting dodges that and now RVD lands awkwardly on the rail and tumbles into the crowd. Sting follows him and goes right after the leg he's hurt pretty badly by this point and then rams RVD into the wall, but RVD nails him and rams Sting into the wall and both men are down. Sting climbs the stairs up to the same spot where AJ and Dreamer were before and RVD follows him up to take the fight to him. They fight across the crowd with RVD hitting a dropkick like a shotgun blast, but hits hard himself when he hits the floor. They get back up and RVD superkicks Sting, sending him tumbling back down the steps to the floor, then RVD hits a flying bodypress off the stairs and into Sting, who tumbles backward and barely avoids wiping out a few fans. They make their way back over the guardrail and into the ring, and it looks like RVD's leg is still tender as he makes his way to the apron, but he snaps Sting down on the top rope and then goes up top for a flying jump kick. RVD goes for Rolling Thunder but Sting gets the knees up and then gets all fired up, nailing RVD with chops and punches and then running him over with clotheslines. He goes for the Stinger Splash but RVD wipes him out with a spinkick. RVD hits a legdrop and then goes for the Five Star Notebook Splash, but Sting moves and rolls RVD up for 2. Sting hits the Scorpion Deathdrop, then picks him up and hits it again for 3.

Winner: Sting

Solid main event, the brawl through the crowd was good and set the tone for how beat up both men were by the time they got in the ring. I liked how Sting hit two Scorpion Deathdrops just to make sure RVD stayed down. RVD raised Sting's hand after the match in a nice display of sportsmanship, then Ken Anderson leaves the broadcast booth and comes to the ring to go face to face with Sting to close the show.

This show was way better than I expected it to be, a lot of great wrestling with a minimum of screwiness. I really enjoyed this and thought it was the best PPV TNA has done in a long time.

PWI

[t0rment2004]

The Chyna/Angle/Jarretts match was about as good as it possibly could be.

I thought it was fine but it could just be that I was expecting absolute shit.

[Bryan Alvarez]

Pretty bad show, with the only highlight being the Chyna & Angle/Jarretts tag team match. Rest of the show was utter shit.

[TheManRicFlair]

This ppv sucked, Kaz vs Buck and AJ vs Dreamer were best match.

[D.B.]

I thought it was pretty decent considering some of the matchups were never going to deliver great matches

Ink Inc vs Mexican America was ok, barely any buildup to this one made it kinda pointless, good to see MA get the win as it made sense, this Anarquia or whatever he's called seems to be a mix of Homicide and Hector, TNA need to put another guy in that group

Kendrick vs Robbie E, that was not an X match, too often TNA matches are nothing but strikes and this was another one, amusing match at best but it sure as hell wasn't wrestling

Mickie vs Madison, another letdown from these two, I was expecting a solid match after Lockdown but it didn't happen, storylines got in the way of the wrestling, hopefully we get a proper match between the two at some point

Kaz vs Max Buck, probably the best match of the PPV, good back and forth, Max looked strong and with a few small tweaks to his gimmick should be quite the performer for TNA, nasty powerbomb type move to the outside for Max, credit to him for carrying on after that

Abyss vs Crimson was never going to be 5* or anywhere near it, what's happened to Abyss? I can remember him looking good in matches a few years back, his new music is awful and he never hits the Shock Treatment anymore
Crimson was looking fairly good but this match suffered from a poor buildup

BM vs Hardy & Harris, good match, Storm looked like he was trying hard not to laugh during the "Braden Walker" chants
BM are great but Roode seems destined for bigger things, the guy stands out no matter who he's in the ring with, I just hope we get a BM vs Hardys fued before that happens

Dreamer vs AJ was solid for the match type, weak looking shot from Ray at the end

Jarrets vs Angle & Chyna was more entertainment than anything else for the most part but I liked it, Kurt smiling all the time at the start was pretty funny and the crowd really got behind Chyna, far better than it could or should have been

Sting vs RVD started off really well before it moved outside, I understand it was probably to cover the limitations that would have shown up during the match if they'd stayed in the ring but I felt that this should not have been the Main Event
Another botched Scorpion, not sure who was at fault, RVD I'm guessing but TNA can do without things like that especially in World Title matches
Decent match overall
Anderson was awful on commentary, which was a bit of a surprise and his promo was pretty crappy too

I'd have prefered an Anderson/RVD match over Anderson/Sting, there's no way those two guys are going to bring out the best in each other at one of TNA's biggest PPVs

3 good matches and the usual letdowns, I'm fine with that, we've all seen a lot worse

[Bryan Alvarez]

^why is it a surprise that Anderson is awful?

[Markamania]

Anderson is far from awful

[Bryan Alvarez]

Anderson is far from awful

did you even hear his commentary from Sacrifice?