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Victory Road 2010 begins with a video package about Abyss before we get our opening contest - an Ultimate X Submission match for the X-DIvision Championship between Brian Kendrick and Doug Williams. I was a big fan of Kendrick until semi-recently when I learned about some of his abhorrent views. As a wrestler, though, Kendrick is a smooth worker and he and Williams have undeniable chemistry. After some impressive mat-based submission wrestling, we get our first big bump when Williams hits a super back suplex from the top turnbuckle. Moments later, both men try to climb the rigging to get the belt and Kendrick ends up dropping to the floor. Williams pulls some gloves out of his pants and slaps Kendrick around with them. Unable to get Kendrick back in the ring, Williams is then forced to do some climbing. As Williams makes his way towards the middle, Kendrick climbs as well and ends up on Williams back, both men taking a not-so-great landing into the middle of the ring. Williams locks in a choke and Kendrick is completely out. A good physical match, but maybe didn't live up to the "Ultimate X" gimmick enough as this was really more of a submission match than anything with the big bumps from the rig coming off as "tacked on." (2.5/5)
A video package explains the circumstances that led to this next match - Brother Ray vs. D-Von vs. Jesse Neal. When the match starts, D-Von is shown locked backstage, seemingly prevented from coming into the match by Brother Ray (who wanted to beat down Jesse Neal without D-Von's interference). The crowd is actually into this more than I thought they'd be, chanting "Let's Go Jesse!" as Ray dominates in the ring. After a couple minutes, Tommy Dreamer, Rhyno, Stevie Richards, and Raven show up in the stands to a loud "ECW" chant. The distraction allows Neal to strike with a spear, but he's cut off with a back elbow. Ray grabs a chair and Shannon Moore runs out but this only allows Ray to hit Neal with the chair anyway. D-Von shows up and he and Ray have a staredown before coming to blows. Neal gets up and goes for a spear, but ends up catching D-Von with it. Brother Ray hits the Bubba Bomb on a shocked Neal to get the W. There were enough bells and whistles to make this work and the crowd's enthusiasm helped too. (2.5/5)
Angelina Love challenges for the Knockouts Championship next, taking on Madison Rayne, who was either still in the Beautiful People or was on friendly terms with them at this point (after being kicked out of the group a couple months earlier). Rayne's flesh-colored outfit is...something. Anyway, good physicality in this match and a terrific chair spot that saw Love kick the steel into Rayne's face. At this point, a woman in a full bodysuit and motorcycle helmet rode to ringside and attacked Love on the outside of the ring (and then threw down the ref for good measure). The referee called for the bell, but in a shocking twist, Love was awarded the Knockouts Championship anyway because the interference was believed to be by the Beautiful People (even though it wasn't clear who was under the helmet). What a messy way to get from Point A to Point B. I understand that the goal was to further a storyline, but these two were working a decent match before the shenanigans came into play. Just a terrible "finish" if one can even call it that. (1.5/5)
After a promo for Mr. Anderson, we get a tag match with AJ Styles and Kazarian taking on a mystery tag team revealed to be...TNA Global Champion, "The Freak" Rob Terry and Samoa Joe. As noted on commentary, the story coming into this match was that Styles and Kaz were trying to impress Ric Flair so they could become part of his new stable, Fortune (which I believe was spelled "Fourtune"). Anyway...Joe's the most over guy in the match and gets a huge reaction for everything he does, the crowd erupting into a "Joe's Gonna Kill You" chant when he gets tagged in. There's some real good crowd-pleasing spots in this match - AJ taking an awesome bump to the outside off a Terry hiptoss, Joe hitting a suicide dive to the outside on both heels, AJ hitting a Pele Kick only to run into a nasty uranage in the corner, Rob Terry's ridiculous guerilla press and fallaway slams. As Joe looks to end the match with the Musclebuster, Desmond Wolfe (Nigel McGuinness) shows up and the heels are able to take advantage and get the W in a strong, entertaining match. Maybe too inconsequential to be considered "must see," but this was the clear match of the night up to this point. (3/5)
After a backstage interview with Abyss, Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan go to battle in a steel cage. After a brief flurry of offense from SuperMex, Morgan takes control and starts sending his former tag partner into the steel. The crowd really despises Morgan and he basks in the hate. Morgan wastes a ton of time playing to the crowd, though, which allows Hernandez time to recover. We get a cool spot when Hernandez tries to climb up the buckle and Morgan nails him with a big boot that sends him into the cage wall. Morgan basically has the match won, but as he goes to exit through the door, he turns back around to inflict more damage on Hernandez (who is now trickling blood out of a cut in his forehead). Morgan scrapes Hernandez' head across the cage and then boots him into once more. This has been too one-sided for me and really needed some hope spots sprinkled in to give a reason as to why Morgan wouldn't just take the W and want to actually punish Hernandez. Hernandez basically hulks up out of nowhere, hitting Morgan with a series of big clotheslines and then a big shoulder block. Hernandez attempts a powerbomb but couldn't get Morgan up. Morgan regains control but only temporarily and, again, Hernandez attempts the powerbomb but both men crumble back to the mat. Hernandez climbs to the top of the cage and now he has the opportunity to win the match but instead attempts a splash...only for Morgan to move out of the way! Dang. That had to hurt. Morgan busts out some handcuffs and cuffs Hernandez to the top rope. Morgan taunts him and then goes to the climb the cage, but Hernandez breaks the cuff and dives through the door to get the W but nearly concusses himself. That was a really dumb finish. Why not just have Hernandez land the splash and win that way? There was no need for the cuffs at all. There were moments that were good here, but there were too many glaring flaws to call this good. (1.5/5)
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair is backstage with Christy Hemme to cut a promo before his match against Jay Lethal. At this point, Flair could still cut a dynamite promo, though it would largely be up to Lethal to see if he could get some passable out of him in the ring. This feud was built around Lethal's imitations of Flair and the Nature Boy taking offense. As silly as it may sound, the crowd was very into this from the start, "woo"-ing everything they see in the early minutes. Speaking of the early minutes, Lethal controls the start of this match and Flair takes some good bumps, including a clothesline over the top and a pair of dropkicks. Flair counters with a thumb to the eye to slow the pace before delivering some chops in the corner. Lethal comes back with some chops of his own and we get the Flair Flop. Lethal connects for the superplex and then goes back to the top to see if he can land a moonsault, but Flair rolls out of the way and then gets to work on Lethal's knee. A split 50/50 chant starts up. Flair applies the Figure Four and Lethal looks to be in trouble, especially as 'Naitch starts using the ropes for leverage. Hebner catches Flair, though, and the hold gets broken, giving Lethal the opportunity to attempt a roll-up for 2. Instead of re-applying the hold, Flair continues working on Lethal in the corner with chops. Lethal fights back, though, and the two trde shots until Lethal catches him with a flying forearm and then a handspring back elbow. Flair begs off but Lethal keeps coming at him. Flair sends Lethal to the corner and Jay does the patented corner spot in a clever moment. Lethal comes back in and grabs hold of Flair's tights, revealing the Nature Boy's ass. Flair attempts a sleeper but Lethal escapes in the corner and lands a crossbody and then a Vader Bomb onto Flair's knees. Now its Lethal's turn to work on Flair's knee and apply a Figure Four. Flair taps and we've got a clean win for Jay Lethal. This, obviously, was never going to measure up to Flair's last great match (vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24), but its not necessarily Flair that disappoints here. As good as Lethal is at keeping the match moving, the lack of long-term selling was very noticeable to me and led to a finish that felt rush and unearned. Had Lethal done more to show that Flair's rather good attack on his knees was actually effective, this would've felt more like a real story than just a rush through signature spots. (2.5/5)
Beer Money vs. The Motor City Machine Guns for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championships is next. As anyone who is familiar with these two teams would guess, the action in this match just absolutely rules and only the overbooked, somewhat sloppy last few minutes prevents this from maybe being a Match of the Year candidate or at least worthy of inclusion on an Honorable Mention list. The MCMG are mega-over with the live crowd and were fighting for their first championship win (which added some emotional weight to this match). Beer Money, meanwhile, were great "bases" for the high-flying Guns. This match really reminded of the best stuff that FTR and #DIY years later, just countless brilliant double-team maneuvers. Unfortunately, as noted earlier, the ending sequence is just too flawed for me. First, Storm and Sabin unwisely park themselves in front of the hard camera, clearly waiting for an exchange between Roode and Shelley to finish before they jump into the ring for a double pin false finish. Then, when the match is restarted, it only lasts another 40-60 seconds as the Guns get the clean W anyway. Why even do the double pin? Or, if you are going to do it, why not have both pins just kickout and then move into the actual finish? This match proves you don't need gimmicks or tables or ladders to deliver an excellent, thrilling match and then, for no apparent reason, they get all screwy with the finish to muddy things up. (3.5/5)
Kurt Angle had started his quest to regain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and had promised to go after all 10 of the Top 10 ranked wrestlers. On this night, he went up against "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero. Dinero is the underdog, but Angle comes into this match very focused and respectful of his talents. This one was all about the back-and-forth and the workrate as these two looked to wow the fans with the amount of swift exchanges, counters, and suplexes they could dish out. Unfortunately, to deliver this type of match, both Angle and Dinero have to go from 0 to 100 at times, ignoring long-term selling and miraculously popping up from would-be finishes. Angle, in particular, goes a bit "too big" at times, feigning death before kicking out with maybe too much gusto at 2.9 on multiple occasions. Dinero, on the other hand, exudes confidence late in the match and it works against the potential character growth we could've seen. What could've been turning point for Dinero is just a lost opportunity to make him a relatable underdog who knows he's up against the odds. The finish comes when Angle not only hits his Olympic Slam but applies the Ankle Lock as well and, though the victory was hard fought, the story coming out of this is that Angle is one step closer to achieving his goal. Its kind of a shame because Dinero, even in a loss, could've came out of this with a more interesting trajectory had he and Angle worked this just a tad slower, with more emphasis on selling the fatigue, and, in the case of Dinero, allowing that vulnerability to come out as the match wore on and he realized he was up against an undeniable Wrestling Machine. (3/5)
The main event is next as Rob Van Dam defends the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Abyss, Mr. Anderson, and Jeff Hardy. The crowd is fairly split between RVD, Anderson, and Hardy, who would end up having the worst night of his career about a year after this. Anderson doesn't get much credit as a worker, but I like his psychology here, taking every opportunity he can to get a sneaky pin on anyone he can so that he can secure the championship. Van Dam and Hardy are not in the best shape of their careers here, though they're still more than capable of hitting their signature dives, moonsaults, and splashes. Abyss is basically a non-factor for the first 5-6 minutes, spending almost all of his time on the outside until he comes in for the requisite Tower of Doom spot. Abyss calls for a chokeslam but RVD rallies and hits all sorts of big spin kicks to take everyone out until Kennedy shoves him off the top rope and onto the floor. This causes the crowd to erupt into a "Let's Go Assholes!" chant, but its Hardy and Abyss who are on their feet and doing battle. Hardy hits the Whisper in the Wind on Abyss but Anderson breaks up the pin and the match continues. Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam but, again, Anderson breaks up the pin. Anderson and Hardy go at it in the middle of the ring as their opponents recoup on the outside with Anderson almost hitting the Mic Drop only to get struck with the Twist of Fate after a nice exchange of counters. Hardy goes for the Swanton but now its Abyss who plays spoiler and hits the chokeslam. Abyss goes for the cover but RVD breaks it up with a 5-Star Frog Splash and manages to cover Anderson to win the match and retain his championship. Not a "must see" match or anything, but still fun. I think the audience expected a touch more violence, specifically a big table spot or two considering you've got RVD, Abyss, and Jeff Hardy all in the same match. (3/5)
Earning a Kwang Score of 2.56-out-of-5, Victory Road 2010 is not a great show, but I did enjoy the variety presented and the Tag Team Championship match and main event both delivering what they needed to (though neither is necessarily worth seeking out).
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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