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A 4-team/12-man X-Division Cup match opens between Team Japan (Masato Yoshino, Puma [aka TJ Perkins/TJP], and Milano Collection), Team Mexico (Averno, Rey Bucanero, and Ultimo Guerrero), Team TNA (Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Curry Man [Christopher Daniels]), and Team International (Doug Williams, Tyson Dux, and Alex Koslov). This match was a ton of a fun and borderline "must see." What really stood out about this match was that elimination-style matches often suffer from having to rush through a bunch of pinfalls and submissions that aren't built up properly and end up making certain guys look awfully weak. Here, every elimination made sense and felt like it was earned and credible. 90% of the wrestlers in this match were folks I had not seen much from, but everyone got a chance to shine and look good. The MVPs were Puma, the Guns, Yoshino (he really seems like a guy that could've and should've been a star in the WWE with his incredible speed), and Koslov (another guy that feels like he was just about a decade too early to be a bigger deal in the US), all of whom had some match-stealing moments. For a "spotfest," they did an excellent job making moves count and not going too overboard or cutesy. This felt like a real struggle and competition because of how impactful every suplex and superkick and hurricanrana looked. I'm not surprised this was rated super high by the Observer (or over at Cagematch) because, especially for its time, you just didn't see matches like this on a national stage. However, I do think it slows down a bit towards the back end and doesn't quite reach "Must See" status any moreso than similar multi-mans that we now see regularly on AEW or were being produced in Japan. Still well above-average and a very hot opener for this show. (3.5/5)
Gail Kim vs. Angelina Love followed. This was solid for what it was. At the time, you rarely saw more than one women's match on a wrestling pay-per-view, so it is commendable that TNA saw the value in women's wrestling a good 5-6 years before the WWE saw much value in it. Inoffensive match, but nothing special. Gail Kim busts out the ringpost-assisted Figure Four and Tenay mentions Bret Hart, which seems like a little bit of a "wink wink" joke about Kim and Hart dating (though I'm not sure that was ever really confirmed or if they were dating at the time). (2/5)
Sonjay Dutt vs. Jay Lethal was up next. This rivalry was based on the wedding angle from the previous PPV where Dutt interrupted the proceedings by declaring his love for So Cal Val. I fully expected Val to turn heel here, but to TNA's credit, they didn't go that route (at least on this show). For a match between two ex-best friends over one guy trying to steal the other guy's fiance, this was a pretty tame wrestling match. Sonjay Dutt is too cartoonish, as a heel or a face, for me to take him seriously and this is the sort of storyline that really needs to be treated seriously to not come off as corny. Not very good or interesting and off-key in terms of what a match like this should be. The intensity wasn't there, even if both guys are great athletes who can do a bunch of cool stuff in the ring. (1.5/5)
The TNA Tag Team Championships are on the line in the next match - The LAX defending against Beer Money in a Fans-with-Straps Lumberjack match. Horrid, very cheap, low rent stipulation - not my thing at all even if it is "old school." That being said, I'll give credit to Storm and Roode for taking a whipping from the fans (plants?) that were around the ring and really leaning into the "fun" of the stipulation. This was not a serious championship match and they didn't treat it as such, but it also seemed like the live crowd and the fans involved were having much more fun than I was watching from home 15 years later. Ho-hum stuff. (2/5)
Awesome Kong tried to regain her TNA Knockouts Champion by defeating Taylor Wilde in the next match. Taylor Wilde had shocked the world by getting pulled from the crowd and somehow defeating Kong (winning not only the Knockouts Championship but also a kayfabe $25,000 prize). It is somewhat important to note that TNA was wise enough not to just have a "random fan" defeat Kong, but to always try their best to emphasize that the fans volunteering to face Kong had some sort of athletic background or training (as they'd done with Serena Deeb and Josie Robinson). In this case, Wilde had been actively challenging Kong for several weeks before getting an opportunity, making it clear that she had at least some confidence and reason to believe she could beat the monster. Anyway...this goes under 5 minutes and Wilde gets another fluke win. The company needed to build around more than just Gail Kim and Kong, which is why spotlighting Wilde and Angelina Love made sense, but it does feel like some of the other women on the roster - notably Roxxi and ODB (who may have been injured at this time?) - were a touch more deserving. Kong and her manager/handler beat down on Wilde after the match, which leads to Abyss coming out to stop them (he had done the same thing at the previous pay-per-view when Scott Steiner and Petey Williams were putting the boots to somebody). Forgettable, inconsequential, but also inoffensive. (1.5/5)
Ultimate X is up next - Volador Jr. vs. Kaz vs. Daivari vs. Naruki Doi. A fun 10-minute match that delivered some good action and high spots, especially from the eventual winner, Volador Jr. The final spot was the best of the match as Kaz hit an incredible leg drop from the top of one of the corner climbing structures onto Daivari, who was prone, hanging from the middle of the ropes trying to disconnect the "X" trophy. I haven't seen a ton of Ultimate X matches so its hard to say whether this was a good one, a bad one, or one in the middle. Fun for what it was, but inessential. (3/5)
The massive "posts" from the previous match were kept in the corners - I'm guessing it would've taken too long to take them down - as we got ready for Full Metal Mayhem: Christian Cage, Abyss, and AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle and Team 3D. Wild brawl to start this off with AJ hitting an insane somersault dive early on to take out D-von and Angle. The first weapon strikes happen within the first two minutes as Christian uses a garbage can against Bubba. Team 3D takeover for a little while, but are cut off when Rhyno and Christian bring in a ladder. Angle comes in with a chair to even things up. Angle hits a nasty overhead belly-to-belly on Christian that sends him into a ladder. Christian has to be on the short list of best ever ladder match performances, but AJ is...well...phenomenal here, hitting an insane springboard splash off the ropes and off the ladder onto Bubba. The heels take over, but Christian reverses the momentum with a massive crossbody from the very top of one of the Ultimate X posts. Incredible move there. Rhyno hits a Gore on both the Dudleys and then brings in a table, the crowd going wild for him. Rhyno sets up D-von in the corner and attempts a superplex but Bubb cuts him off and it leads to a Doomsday Device through the table. Maybe not the best-looking spot, but effective nonetheless. Christian makes the save to stop the count and the match continues. After a series of finisher-attempts and counters, Angle applies the Ankle Lock on Christian but the Instant Classic escapes and goes to the top rope to attempt a frogsplash. D-von prevents it, though, and they send Christian through a table with a 3-D on the floor! Back in the ring, AJ goes after Angle but gets brained by a trash can from Bubba. AJ is clearly outnumbered but is able to duck and dodge and cause Angle to clothesline D-von. AJ gets a bit of offense in but is cut off by a NASTY superkick from Bubba, a shocking move that Bubba adds an exclamation point by shouting into the camera something along the lines of "You didn't think I could do that, did ya'?!?" Its a cool and genuinely surprising moment and I wish we'd seen more of that in Team 3D's other matches over the previous few years. Bubba sets up AJ on a table and goes up for a splash, but AJ springs up, connects with a low blow, and brings him down through a table with a facebuster! D'von tries to ram him with a shoulder tackle but AJ dodges and D-Von goes through another table! Styles Clash on Angle! AJ gets a two count and out comes Johnny Devine. AJ nails him with a Pele Kick and then bashes him with a kendo stick! AJ points the stick to Frank Trigg and Angle sneaks behind him, hitting him with an Angle Slam for 2. Angle brings in another table and then uppercuts AJ. He sets up a ladder and then shoves Hebner for no real reason. This injures Hebner's leg, telegraphing that we are going to get some sort of BS finish. AJ ends up with the upperhand and puts Angle on the table. AJ climbs up the ladder, but Frank Trigg bashes him in the head with the stick! Angle then climbs on the ladder too and hits AJ with an Angle Slam off the ladder and through the table to get the win. Man, this match was really, really great...until the insanely dumb finish. Why would you need a ref bump in a No DQ match? If Johnny Devine was able to interfere, why would the ref need to be out for Trigg to? Also, because of how elaborate the finish was, requiring a table to be set-up and a ladder and the unnecessary ref bump and the involvement of Frank Trigg, it did make me wonder why Rhyno and Christian were still "out cold." Had this had even a slightly better finish, I'd consider this to be one of the best TNA matches I've seen in months...but the finish prevents it from reaching "must see" status. (3.5/5)
Backstage, Samoa Joe cut a promo about his title defense tonight but gets interrupted by Kevin Nash, who promises he will stay backstage tonight and not involve himself in the main event.
Main event time - Samoa Joe defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against hometown hero Booker T. This is one of the worst main events I've ever watched and its not even about the wrestling itself, which is fine. The production is abhorrent. Before the match begins, we get a lengthy video package reviewing the key plot points that led to this match - which is great. I like this sort of thing. But then, before each man makes their entrance, we got another condensed version for each participant, an unnecessary move that just eats up even more time. Still, not an egregious decision, but annoying nonetheless. The crowd is absolutely hot for this and firmly behind Booker T, which makes for a cool dynamic as I always like how Joe can work heel at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, we don't get to see the nuisances of Joe's performance or really enjoy the way this match is built because every 15 seconds, the camera crew cuts to Sharmell on the outside. I'm a Sharmell fan, but the amount of cutaways to her is absurd and definitely detracts from the match. When I rate matches, I rate them on what I see on my screen, not necessarily what the live crowd experienced...but it's not like the live crowd seemed particularly happy at the end either as we get a ref bump, Joe going on a rampage, Booker T getting mauled, and then Sting showing up to essentially make the save. The crowd, expecting an actual title match with an actual finish, does not seem to like this booking any more than I did and, honestly, I'm perplexed as to what TNA was trying to accomplish here. Sure, in Houston, Samoa Joe beating down on Booker T was going to elicit a ton of heat and Joe's body language (and flipping the bird at Sting) make it seem pretty cut-and-dry that this was meant to be a heel turn...but Joe wasn't getting booed on previous shows, still came across as a bad ass that I want to root for, and Booker T wasn't remotely as over in Orlando as he was in Houston. To make matters worse, when Booker T "wins" the title (Booker covers Joe as if to prove a point and Sharmell makes the three count) and leaves with the championship belt, it really feels like a heel move. A confusing mess of an ending when just having Joe and Booker T give us a solid 15-minute match with a definitive finish would've been so, so much better. I really try not to rate matches on booking decisions too heavily, especially because, again, Joe and Booker's actual performances were very good (I love Booker's selling towards the end, for example) but between the kick-in-the-nuts non-finish and the inexplicably terrible production that put more focus on Sharmell than what was actually happening in the ring, this was bad stuff that was helped by a crowd that was invested for at least the first 85% of its runtime. (2/5)
Earning a Kwang Score of just 2.38-out-of-5, Victory Road 2008 is not a show worth checking out. The opener and the six-man are fun matches but neither are "must see." The main event is a real disappointment. The middle of the crowd is mostly sub-average with the Ultimate X really only working because of it doesn't overstay its welcome and, by that point, most viewers would likely be craving a "spotfest" to spice things up (as I was).
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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