From the Shelf: TNA Destination X 2009

TNA Destination X 2009
3/15/2009
Orlando, FL

Key Points:
-Kurt Angle thinks Sting is turning his back on the Main Event Mafia and wants to take the TNA World Heavyweight Champion in order to keep it in his camp.
-AJ Styles’ stole Booker T’s Legends Championship to send a message to the Main Event Mafia.
-Samoa Joe returned claiming he and his Nation of Violence would destroy the Main Event Mafia.

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Don West.

The Beautiful People (Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, and Madison Rayne) vs. Taylor Wilde, Roxxi, and The Governor
The Governor was a character that mocked Governor Sarah Palin. Gotta love Russo. Governor and Sky start and Sky hits some shoulders to the gut in the corner. Tag to Love and she hits a basement dropkick for 2. Roxxi tags in and she fires away with forearms. Slam by Roxxi and Wilde tags in. Wheelbarrow senton by Roxxi and Wilde gets 2. Tag to Roxxi who leaps off the top and jumps onto the arm of Love. Knee to the back by Rayne and she snaps Roxxi’s neck off the ropes allowing Love to connect with a clothesline. Tag to Rayne who blocks a tilt-a-whirl attempt and hammers away. The Beautiful People triple team Roxxi in the corner and Rayne covers for 2. Tag to Sky and she grabs an Octopus. Roxxi escapes and catches Sky with a basement dropkick to come back. Tag to Wilde but the ref didn’t see it, allowing the Beautiful People to triple team Roxxi again. Sit-out urinage by Roxxi to Love and Wilde officially gets the tag. Wilde cleans house and heads up to the top. Crossbody off the top by Wilde gets 2 as Sky and Love save. Governor and Roxxi dump them to the floor and Governor leaps off Roxxi’s back with a plancha to the floor!!! German suplex by Wilde to Rayne gets 3!!!
Winners- Taylor Wilde, Roxxi, and The Governor ** ( Actually not a bad little opener. Five action packed minutes and the crowd was into it. Can’t ask for more than that. )

Jeff Jarrett promises to call the match down the middle tonight and will make sure the best man wins. Mick Foley also promises to keep order as enforcer and tells Kurt Angle he’ll see him at ringside.

Brutus Magnus vs. ???
Magnus just debuted a month ago and is dressed as a gladiator as he was on the British Gladiator’s TV show. Jesse Neal comes out as guest ring announcer. Eric Young accepts Magnus’ open challenge. Magnus hammers away on Young to start and connects with a back elbow. Arm drag and a dropkick by Young and he follows up with a reverse atomic drop. Flying forearm by Young gets 2 and he goes for a springboard crossbody but Magnus blocks. Powerslam by Magnus gets 2. Magnus stomps away and he chokes away on Young. Nerve hold by Magnus but Young fights out. High knee by Magnus and he hits a legdrop for 2. Powerbomb by Magnus and he goes up. Splash off the top by Magnus misses and Young hits some rights. Backdrop by Young and he hits the DVD for 2. Young goes up but Magnus follows up. He goes for a super belly to belly suplex but Young blocks and hits the flying elbow drop for 2!!! Jackknife roll-up by Magnus gets 2 and Young gets a backslide for 2. Roll-up by Magnus and he puts his feet on the ropes for 2. Young goes up but Magnus crotches him and follows up. Tormentum off the second rope by Magnus gets 3.
Winner- Brutus Magnus ** ( Magnus showed that he was still quite green but Young did a good job keeping the match tonight. Another short but fun sprint. )

Sheik Abdul Bashir comes out and he complains about not being booked on the PPV. He claims prejudice is the reason he’s not getting opportunities and begins to cry. Jim Cornette comes out and flat out tells Bashir he doesn’t like him. Cornette invites James Neal into the ring and they sing God Bless America as Bashir leaves in anger. I have no idea what the point of this way.

Kurt Angle is freaking out backstage on the Main Event Mafia but Steiner and Booker tell Kurt they have their own issues so he’s on his own tonight. Nash tells Kurt that Sting is not working with Jeff Jarrett but blames the rift in the Mafia on Kurt so Kurt has to deal with it. Angle promises to show Sting’s true intentions tonight and he’ll do it on his own.

Video package for Morgan/Abyss airs.

Match of 1000 Tacks- Matt Morgan vs. Abyss
To win you have to put your opponent into thumbtacks. Also, along with boards filled with tacks around ringside, there is a bag of tacks hanging from a pole. Thanks again Russo. Morgan attacks from behind to start and Abyss comes back with chops. Knees by Morgan but Abyss comes back with a clothesline. Abyss misses a corner splash and Morgan clotheslines him to the floor. Abyss crotches Morgan on the post and Abyss starts piling up the tack filled boards on the side of the entrance stage. Morgan sends Abyss into the railings and they head back into the ring. Back elbows in the corner by Morgan and he hits a corner splash. Slam by Morgan and he jumps on Abyss in the ropes. Morgan grabs the tacks hanging from the pole and he pours them on the mat. Morgan tries to ram Abyss’ face in the tacks but Abyss blocks. He goes for the Chokeslam but Morgan elbows out. Clothesline by Abyss and he follows up with a corner clothesline. Ass-ram in the corner by Abyss and he grabs another back of tacks off a pole. Carbon Footprint by Morgan and he grabs a chair. He places the chair in the corner but Abyss goes low and sends Morgan head first into his own chair. Abyss pours out the other bag of tacks and he looks for a powerbomb. Morgan escapes and Abyss catches him with a Black Hole Slam. Abyss grabs a third bag but this one is filled with broken glass!!! Morgan bails to the floor and decides to walk away. Abyss follows and attacks Morgan from behind. Rights by Abyss and he goes for a Chokeslam but Morgan goes low to block. Carbon Footprint knocks Abyss off the stage and hits the boards of tacks!!!!
Winner- Matt Morgan ** ( Match was OK. They did a good job teasing spots involving the tacks. Morgan’s offense was boring as all to watch though and you could have seen the final spot coming a mile away.)

Booker T and Sharmell finds out that his Legend’s Championship is on the line tonight against AJ Styles.

Video package for the One Night with ODB airs. This had to be the most awkward thing in the world for TNA’s voiceover guy to record. Imagine him talking about her curves and bodacious butt. I swear to god he said it in his movie voice.

ODB comes out and Jeremy Borash brings out the three final contestants in the One Night with ODB contest. They are Cody Deaner, Shark Boy, and Mr. Bernie Weber, a mortgage broker. ODB first asks them why they deserve to be with her and they then compete in a dance off. Jeremy Borash is trying his best to save this segment; his commentary for the dance contest is great. Crowd wants Shark Boy to win but ODB picks Deaner. Deaner is ecstatic.

Beer Money complain about getting the respect they deserve like Team 3D is but tonight they cement their legacy as the best tag team in TNA history.

Video package for Awesome Kong/Sojournor Bolt airs.

Knockouts Championship- Awesome Kong © w/Raisha Saeed vs. Sojournor Bolt
Dropkicks by Bolt to start and she botches a springboard crossbody. Kong lays her out with a clothesline and tosses Bolt across the ring. Whip to the corner and Kong goes for the Avalanche but Bolt moves. Urinage by Kong gets 2. Slam by Kong and she goes for a second rope splash but Bolt moves. Inside cradle by Bolt gets 2 and she gets a jackknife roll-up for 2. Saeed grabs the leg of Bolt but Saeed kicks her away and low bridges a charging Kong sending her to the floor. Kong shoves Bolt back into the ring as she goes to the apron but Bolt catches her with elbow drops to the back as Kong enters the ring. Bolt goes for a second rope hurricanrana but Kong catches her with the Awesome Bomb for 3.
Winner and Still Knockout Champion- Awesome Kong * ( Sojournor was way out of Kong’s league here. She was sloppy, blowing spots, and was unconvincing fighting the monster. Kong kept this together enough to make this an effective squash match. )

Video package for Samoa Joe/Scott Steiner airs.

Scott Steiner vs. Samoa Joe
They slug it out to start and Joe boots Steiner down. Joe hammers away on the mat and hits a T-Bone suplex. Steiner is busted open so Joe targets the open cut. Flatliner by Steiner and he rolls to the floor. Joe catches Steiner with some knees to the head as Steiner was coming back in and he nails Steiner in the back with a lead pipe. Joe dumps the ref to the floor and they call the DQ.
Winner by DQ- Scott Steiner DUD ( These two had a great match in 2006 and should have be allowed to have a crazy brawl here. Instead we got a garbage DQ in a one minute match that were people were actually excited to see. Just horrible stuff. )

After the match, Joe lays out Steiner with an elbow suicida and they brawl into the crowd. Joe bites the cut of Steiner and they head to the backstage area.

AJ Styles promises that tonight is the end for Booker T and will win one for the young lions of TNA.

Video package for Booker T/AJ Styles airs.

TNA Legends Championship- Booker T © w/Sharmell vs. AJ Styles
Booker works the arm to start but Styles comes back with a hammerlock. Booker backs Styles to the corner to break and he hits a knee to the gut. Chops by Booker but Styles comes back with chops of his own. Booker connects with some knees to the midsection and he takes Styles down with a clothesline. Dropkick by Styles and Booker bails to the floor. Styles connects with a leaping forearm off the apron onto Booker and he rolls Booker back in for 2. Backbreaker by Styles gets 2. He goes for a suplex but Booker blocks and he hot shots Styles into the ropes. Spinning heel kick by Booker gets 2 and he goes to the key lock. Styles tries to break with a Samoan drop but Booker holds on to the hold. Styles tries to fight out again so Booker knocks him down with a short side kick. Clotheslines by Styles and he sends Booker to the corner. Corner forearm by Styles and he hits a hammerlock back suplex for 2. Booker blocks the Styles Clash attempt and Styles blocks the Bookend attempt. Superkick by Booker gets 2. Styles and Booker each block their suplex attempts and Styles finally catches Booker with a German suplex for 2. Styles hammers away in the corner and he springboards in but Booker catches him with a leg lariat!!! Booker goes for the Scissors Kick but misses and Styles hits the Pele. Styles Clash by Styles gets 3!!!
Winner and NEW TNA Legends Champion- AJ Styles ***1/4 (This was Booker’s best performance since coming to TNA. They worked a solid, fun wrestling match. They didn’t do anything too flashy, they kept it simply and it worked. A good win for AJ to give him some momentum again.)

Samoa Joe is walking around backstage with dirt all over his body. Joe says Steiner was introduced to the Nation of Violence and we see blood on Joe’s Samoan knife. Joe says he will kill every Main Event Mafia member one by one. Yes, Samoa Joe may have murdered Scott Steiner.

Video package for Beer Money/Team 3D airs.

TNA Tag Team Championship/Off The Wagon Challenge- Beer Money Inc. © (Bobby Roode and James Storm) vs. Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)
If a member of Team 3D loses the fall, they have to leave TNA. Devon and Roode start. Felling out process to start and Roode toes with Devon. Tag to Ray and Roode catches him with a drop toe hold. Tag to Storm and he catches Ray with some jabs. Ray wants a test of strength but he toys with Storm and tells him to kiss his ass. Neckbreaker by Ray and he tags Devon. Double flapjack to Storm and they hit a sidewalk slam/legdrop combo to Roode for 2. Slam to Storm and Devon goes up. Roode shoves him off the top and Storm chokes him in the ropes. Double suplex by BEER. MONEY~!!!!! Dropkick by Roode gets 2. Tag to Storm and he hits a kneedrop for 2. Tag to Roode and Devon connects with a clothesline to Beer Money. Tag to Ray and he cleans house. Double corner splash by Ray which causes Beer Money to fall into a mounted position!!!! Urinage by Ray to Roode gets 2. Storm goes for an elbow dorp but Ray moves causing him to hit Roode. Flip, Flop, and Fly by Ray and he finishes with the bionic elbow. Enzuguiri into a Blockbuster by Beer Money gets 2. Roode charges in the corner but eats boot and Ray catches Storm with an elbow. Ray goes to the second rope but Roode stops him, allowing Storm to hit a Frankensteiner off the top onto Ray. Top rope splash by Roode gets 2!!! Ray catches Roode with the Bubba Bomb for 2!!! Back suplex/neckbreaker combo onto Roode gets 2!!! They go for the 3D but Storm nails Ray in the back with a chair for the DQ!!!
Winners by DQ- Team 3D…..BUT WAIT!!!! Jim Cornette comes out and orders the match to be restarted with No DQs!!!! Devon rams Beer Money’s heads together and he rolls Storm into the ring. 3D to Storm gets 2 as Roode pulls the ref out of the ring!!! Roode pulls Storm out of the ring and carries him to the back. Beer Money gets counted out!!!
Winners by Count-Out- Team 3D **1/2 (The match was actually getting hot before another shitty DQ and the restarts which I DESPISE in wrestling. It did a good job of building to the cage match that would happen another later, but I hated that it ended before it could get really good. )

We get interviews from the participants in the Ultimate X match followed up with a video package for the match.

Ultimate X Match for the TNA X-Division Championship- Alex Shelley © vs. Consequences Creed vs. Chris Sabin vs. Jay Lethal vs. Suicide
The Guns attacks Suicide from behind to start and dump him to the floor. They stop Lethal Consequences from climbing and Sabin jumps of Shelley’s back knocking Suicide off the apron with a dropkick. Corner forearms to Lethal and Sabin hits the hesitation dropkick in the corner to Creed. Suicide fights back against the Guns but eats some jabs from Lethal. Hiptoss by Lethal but he misses the basement dropkick. Handspring back elbow by Lethal to Suicide and Shelley catches Lethal with the Codebreaker. Lethal blocks Sliced Bread #2 and he chops away. Corner dropkick by Lethal but Shelley comes back with a corner clothesline. Flatiliner into the corner by Shelley and he goes up but Creed shoves him to the floor. Corner back elbow by Sabin to Creed and he springboards onto the cable. Creed pulls him down and hits an enzuiguiri. Sabin comes back with the hanging Tornado plex. Suicide sweeps the leg of Sabin and hits a flying knee into the corner. Knees to the head by Suicide and he charges at Shelley but eats boot. Shelley goes to the floor and Lethal catches him with an enzuiguiri. Lethal misses the slingshot pescado to the floor and Sabin hits a suicide dive to the floor onto Lethal!!! Suicide goes for the suicide dive but Shelley kicks him in the head to stop him. Baseball slide to the back of Shelley by Creed and he goes up. Suicide stops him and HITS A FIREMAN’S CARRY SENTON OFF THE APRON ONTO EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR!!!! Suicide climbs but Lethal takes him off with a missile dropkick. Creed climbs but the Guns take him down. Springboard bulldog to the Guns by Creed and Suicide climbs. Lethal pulls him down and hits the Lethal Combination. Lethal presses Creed onto the X but Sabin leaps off Shelley’s back and spears Creed off!!!!! The Guns goes up but Lethal crotches Sabin. Shelley goes for a splash off the top but eats knees. Suicide climbs but Creed stops him and follows up. Sabin follows and Lethal takes Sabin and Creed down with the Tower of Doom!!!! Suicide held on so Lethal goes up and POWERBOMBS SUICIDE OFF THE X!!!!! Running boot/enzuiguiri in the corner to Lethal by the Guns and Sabin hits a release German suplex to Creed. Hiptoss into the basement dropkick by Lethal to Suicide and Shelley follows up with a Frog Splash. Back suplex into a facebuster by Lethal to Shelley. Tornado DDT by Sabin to Lethal. Release Pumphandle suplex by Creed to Sabin. Brainbuster by Shelley to Creed and everyone is down!!!! Shelley climbs but Lethal stops him and follows up. Sabin runs up and takes Lethal down with a release German suplex off the top!!!! Made in Detroit by the Guns to Creed!!! Suicide Solution by Suicide to Sabin and he snaps Shelley’s neck off the ropes. Both men climb and Shelley hands Suicide in the tree of woe from the medal trust. Creed goes up and takes Shelley down with a second rope TKO!!! Lethal, Sabin, and Creed all climb the X and fight in the middle. Suicide LEAPS OFF THE TOP OF THE TRUST ONTO THE X KNOCKING EVERYONE OFF!!!! SUICIDE GRABS THE BELTS!!!!!
Winner and NEW TNA X Division Champion- Suicide ****1/4 ( This was awesome. A ton of crazy spots, the action never let up, and there were some great exchanges with the Guns and Consequences Creed trying to help each other’s partners win the belt. Suicide also had an awesome performance and that finished lived up to his name. This ranks high in the list of great Ultimate X matches and probably saved the show.)

Sting says that whatever happens in the match tonight is up to Kurt Angle and he tells him to bring his A game. Sting isn’t concerned about what Jarrett and Foley do in the match.

Video package for Sting/Angle airs.

TNA World Heavyweight Championship- Sting © vs. Kurt Angle
Jeff Jarrett is the guest referee and Mick Foley is the guest ring enforcer. Rights by Angle to start and he stomps away in the corner. Whip to the corner and Angle charges but eats boot. Sting stomps away and connects with a back elbow. Sting clotheslines Angle to the floor and Angle takes a breather. Back in, Angle with some uppercuts and he charges but Sting backdrops Angle to the floor. Sting follows and he sends Angle into the railings at ringside. They fight into the crowd and head back into the ring. Punches in the corner by Sting but Angle rakes the eyes to come back. Back suplex by Angle and he kicks away at the ribs of Sting. Suplex by Angle gets 2 and he goes to a chinlock. Sting fights out so Angle catches him with a release belly to belly suplex for 2. Backbreaker by Angle gets 2 and he goes to the rear chinlock. Sting fights out and they collide mid ring on a crossbody attempt. They slug it out and Sting chokes Angle in the corner. Clotheslines by Sting and he sends Angle to the corner. Stinger Splash by Sting and he hits a suplex for 2. Sting arm drags out of an Angle Slam attempt and he hits a Jackknife Powerbomb for 2. Angle counters the Scorpion Deathdrop and tries the Ankle lock but Sting kicks him away. Release German suplexes by Angle gets 2. Sting escapes another Angle Slam attempt but misses a Stinger Splash. Angle Slam by Angle gets 2. Angle goes up and hits the Moonsault off the top for 2!!! Rolling German Suplexes by Angle but Sting counters into the Scorpion Deathdrop for 2. Angle goes for a clothesline but Sting ducks and he lays out Jarrett. Scorpion Deathlock by Sting and Angle taps but Foley is checking on Jarrett so no one can see it. Sting checks on Jarrett allowing Angle to catch him with the Angle Slam for 2. Angle argues with Foley and he gives him a low blow. Angle grabs a chair and goes to nail Sting but Foley blocks. Foley goes to nail Angle with the chair but misses and hits Sting!!! Angle Slam to Foley and he covers Sting for 2!!! Angle spits on Jarrett so Jarrett nails him and Sting hits the Scorpion Deathdrop for 3!!!
Winner and Still TNA World Heavyweight Champion- Sting *** ( Crowd never really got into the match and they were trying to force an epic match in 13 minutes. The wrestling itself was solid but again TNA was its own worst enemy with the overbooking in the end. With more time this probably could have been really good.)

The 411: The first half of show was embarrassingly bad. Worthless segments and a whole lot of stupidity that TNA was getting known for around this time. However, the second half from Booker/AJ onward was actually a solid wrestling show, and the Ultimate X match is well worth going out of your way to see. It you can bare through the first half this actually isn't a bad show, but overall there was too much crap to give this a solid recommendation.

Final Score:  5.5   [ Not So Good ]