BRM Reviews TNA Victory Road 2012

[Big Red Machine]

TNA Victory Road 2012 (3/18/2012)- Orlando, FL

#1 CONTENDERSHIP MATCH: Bully Ray vs. James Storm- DUD!
I had no problem with this going on first because of the way they set it up, but this was the second most-hyped match on this card… and it goes JUST OVER A MINUTE?

AUSTIN ARIES & ERIC BISCHOFF SEGMENT- eh

TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Austin Aries(c) vs. Zema Ion- 6.25/10
Great opener, but I think that the use of the hairspray was a mistake for a few reasons. First of all, Aries beating Ion while blinded makes Ion look bad. Second, we have a heel vs. heel match here, so having one cheat and the other not cheat is bad, especially when Aries and Ion both have so much heel heat on them. Third, having Aries kick out after being blinded is a waste of a potential future resource. To my knowledge, no one has yet kicked out after the hairspray to the eyes. They should build that up as a finish to Zema Ion matches for a while. Then, when someone finally kicks out afterwards, it will be an awesome nearfall (like they did with James Storm spitting the beer into people’s eyes).

MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS VIDEO PACKAGE- HELL YES! Sabin & Shelley will be back soon!


TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Samoa Joe & Magnus(c) vs. Matt Morgan & Crimson- 5/10
It told its story well.

BOBBY ROODE PROMO & SEGMENT WITH JAMES STORM- okay

ROBBIE E. SEGMENT- bad.
First Robbie says that there is no one in the back who isn’t already signed to a match. So despite knowing about this Open Challenge in advance, TNA only brought enough wrestlers to fill out the other matches on the card?

TNA TV TITLE MATCH: Robbie E.(c) (w/Rob Terry) vs. Devon- 2/10
Short and unexciting. I don’t think anyone really wanted to see Devon win this belt. And the fact that Brooke Hogan got involved scares me.

DIXIE CARTER INTERVIEW- dull. Dixie says “I trust Sting implicitly. He is my man. He has been since day one” Really Dixie? You don’t remember the entire year that Sting was a heel and you thought he was actively working against you? It wasn’t that long ago (March 2010- March 2011). Only in TNA can someone hype up the company’s tenth anniversary, then forget an entire year of the company’s history… in the same promo.

TNA KNOCKOUTS’ TITLE MATCH: Gail Kim(c) vs. Madison Rayne- 4/10

AJ STYLES & MR. ANDERSON vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & KAZARIAN- 7/10

KURT ANGLE PROMO- Great

JEFF HARDY vs. KURT ANGLE- 7.75/10.
An awesome match, but two things really bothered me. First, there was a point in the match where they were outside the ring for a good minute and the ref just stopped counting, and then when Kurt got back in the ring, he started counting from one again. TNA does this a lot and I absolutely HATE it. If you want to give people more time on the floor, do what ROH and CHIKARA do and use a twenty-count instead of ten.
The second thing was that, during the finish, the ref was positioned in such a way that he couldn’t see Kurt grabbing the ropes for illegal leverage (which was good)… but also in such a way that he was FACING AWAY FROM THE PIN (which was inexcusably bad).


NO HOLDS BARRED MATCH: Sting vs. Bobby Roode- 6/10
This was actually a very good match… until the finish. They were telling a great story with Roode working over Sting’s legs and Sting fighting back with bursts of offense… then Sting hits his head on a char while performing a Scorpion Death Drop, allowing Roode to cover him for the win. Never mind the fact that it just totally ignores most of the story that they just spent the last sixteen minutes telling… this might well have been THE WORST possible finish they could have done here. It doesn’t make Roode look good because he won by accident, and it makes Sting look like an idiot. Even worse, weapons of any sort played no part in this match aside from the aforementioned accidental chair bump, making it abundantly clear that this pointless gimmick was added on solely for the purpose of doing this moronic finish.

THE AFTERMATH- Horrendous. After the match, Bobby Roode goes to get another chair. Dixie tells him not to, so he drags her over the barricade and dumps her into the ring. Dixie tries to protect Sting while Bobby yells at her then drags her off. Sting made a brief comeback but Roode put him down with a chair shot, then taped him to the ropes, leaving him helpless while Roode took Dixie and… just yelled at her some more. Roode goes to hit Sting with the chair, but Dixie once again drapes herself over Sting’s body to stop him. Then being a horrible person, Bobby… just starts rubbing Sting’s facepaint off and rubs it on Dixie.

This was way too drawn out and anti-climactic. Bobby Roode is the biggest heel in the company. He has already spit on Dixie (late last year, on Impact) so this time he has to do something more for the angle to progress. Something like HIT ONE OF THEM WITH THE CHAIR! At least spit on them or paintbrush them or something else disrespectful (it won't move the angle forward well, bt at least it would be something). Instead he just stood there for WAY too long. You would think that one of the babyfaces would want to come out and help his bosses (or even a heel, as getting in the champs face generally does lead to title shots), but apparently not. All that talk about everyone loving Dixie seems to be kayfabe BS as well as legit BS. This was just lame.

Overall, a bad PPV from TNA that ended on an utterly awful note.

[badnewzxl]

TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Austin Aries(c) vs. Zema Ion- 6.25/10
Great opener, but I think that the use of the hairspray was a mistake for a few reasons. First of all, Aries beating Ion while blinded makes Ion look bad. Second, we have a heel vs. heel match here, so having one cheat and the other not cheat is bad, especially when Aries and Ion both have so much heel heat on them. Third, having Aries kick out after being blinded is a waste of a potential future resource. To my knowledge, no one has yet kicked out after the hairspray to the eyes. They should build that up as a finish to Zema Ion matches for a while. Then, when someone finally kicks out afterwards, it will be an awesome nearfall (like they did with James Storm spitting the beer into people’s eyes).

I agree with you on all points except this one bc I thought Aries kicking out after the spray was done just to show that Ion had pulled out all his stops (btw, I thought Ion HAS been using the spray over the past few weeks to help him get victories; didn't he use it on Shannon Moore? Plus, I never thought he won any matches with JUST a spray; always thought he followed it up with something). And It seemed as though they were pushing Aries as a tweener a bit; at least trying to make him the crowd favorite for the match. Furthermore, I don't think the fact that one heel cheated and the other didn't hurt anything; cheating is (essentially) about desperation, and Ion was the one desperate for the win, obviously.

I do agree that Aries still being "blinded" does make Ion look weak; I was expecting Aries (being the savvy wrestler he is) would have found a way to get a bottle of water and wash his eyes out OR for him to just be faking the blindness, then attack when Ion's guard was down....

[Big Red Machine]

TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Austin Aries(c) vs. Zema Ion- 6.25/10
Great opener, but I think that the use of the hairspray was a mistake for a few reasons. First of all, Aries beating Ion while blinded makes Ion look bad. Second, we have a heel vs. heel match here, so having one cheat and the other not cheat is bad, especially when Aries and Ion both have so much heel heat on them. Third, having Aries kick out after being blinded is a waste of a potential future resource. To my knowledge, no one has yet kicked out after the hairspray to the eyes. They should build that up as a finish to Zema Ion matches for a while. Then, when someone finally kicks out afterwards, it will be an awesome nearfall (like they did with James Storm spitting the beer into people’s eyes).

I agree with you on all points except this one bc I thought Aries kicking out after the spray was done just to show that Ion had pulled out all his stops (btw, I thought Ion HAS been using the spray over the past few weeks to help him get victories; didn't he use it on Shannon Moore? Plus, I never thought he won any matches with JUST a spray; always thought he followed it up with something). And It seemed as though they were pushing Aries as a tweener a bit; at least trying to make him the crowd favorite for the match. Furthermore, I don't think the fact that one heel cheated and the other didn't hurt anything; cheating is (essentially) about desperation, and Ion was the one desperate for the win, obviously.

I do agree that Aries still being "blinded" does make Ion look weak; I was expecting Aries (being the savvy wrestler he is) would have found a way to get a bottle of water and wash his eyes out OR for him to just be faking the blindness, then attack when Ion's guard was down....

I don't know. I don't think that they should have had Ion at that point of desperation yet. He is too good a character, and having him pull out all of the stops and having Aries beat him anyway makes him look weak.

[cero2k]

This was way too drawn out and anti-climactic. Bobby Roode is the biggest heel in the company. He has already spit on Dixie (late last year, on Impact) so this time he has to do something more for the angle to progress. Something like HIT ONE OF THEM WITH THE CHAIR! At least spit on them or paintbrush them or something else disrespectful (it won't move the angle forward well, bt at least it would be something).

grab dixie's boob!!

[NWK]

TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Austin Aries(c) vs. Zema Ion- 6.25/10
Great opener, but I think that the use of the hairspray was a mistake for a few reasons. First of all, Aries beating Ion while blinded makes Ion look bad. Second, we have a heel vs. heel match here, so having one cheat and the other not cheat is bad, especially when Aries and Ion both have so much heel heat on them. Third, having Aries kick out after being blinded is a waste of a potential future resource. To my knowledge, no one has yet kicked out after the hairspray to the eyes. They should build that up as a finish to Zema Ion matches for a while. Then, when someone finally kicks out afterwards, it will be an awesome nearfall (like they did with James Storm spitting the beer into people’s eyes).

This finish didn't bother me so much. I personally think using this finish routinely is a bad idea. While the idea you laid out is good, the way I looked at all those finishes.was, "What would actually stop a guy from kicking out if he was blinded? He could easily fight through the pain and just kick out on instinct." What bothers me more is that they had an inherently good finish that they could've booked. Have them wrestle a good match, but then start simultaneously trying to cheat, but over both men as good wrestlers and dirty heels. Having Aries (a heel) have a babyface comeback makes Aries look like a babyface which is the last thing TNA wants.

First Robbie says that there is no one in the back who isn’t already signed to a match. So despite knowing about this Open Challenge in advance, TNA only brought enough wrestlers to fill out the other matches on the card?

TNA TV TITLE MATCH: Robbie E.(c) (w/Rob Terry) vs. Devon- 2/10
Short and unexciting. I don’t think anyone really wanted to see Devon win this belt. And the fact that Brooke Hogan got involved scares me.

Again, the fact that Devon won didn't bother me, as I believe he's always been underrated in singles competition. What bothers me is, why would Robbie say that there's no one in the back not already signed to match if there is in fact, someone available for the match. Plus, why was Brooke Hogan there? Hulk wasn't, so she had no reason to be there.

JEFF HARDY vs. KURT ANGLE- 7.75/10.
An awesome match, but two things really bothered me. First, there was a point in the match where they were outside the ring for a good minute and the ref just stopped counting, and then when Kurt got back in the ring, he started counting from one again. TNA does this a lot and I absolutely HATE it. If you want to give people more time on the floor, do what ROH and CHIKARA do and use a twenty-count instead of ten.
The second thing was that, during the finish, the ref was positioned in such a way that he couldn’t see Kurt grabbing the ropes for illegal leverage (which was good)… but also in such a way that he was FACING AWAY FROM THE PIN (which was inexcusably bad).

At King of the Ring '99, The Rock fought the Undertaker for the WWF Title. They spent a bunch of time outside the ring, and the ref didn't count, and just let them have at it. Jim Ross then proceeded to hype how important the match was, and that it would be really disappointing if it ended in a double count out. I'd imagine a similar thing was implied here. This just shows how poor modern announcing is. They need to be able to explain away kayfabe irregularities in a logical way. Of course, the match has to be important enough to justify the ref bending the rules.

[Rabid619]

This just shows how poor modern announcing is. They need to be able to explain away kayfabe irregularities in a logical way. Of course, the match has to be important enough to justify the ref bending the rules.

Taz & Tenay prove time and time again that they're not very good at their jobs yet they somehow keep them.

[Big Red Machine]

At King of the Ring '99, The Rock fought the Undertaker for the WWF Title. They spent a bunch of time outside the ring, and the ref didn't count, and just let them have at it. Jim Ross then proceeded to hype how important the match was, and that it would be really disappointing if it ended in a double count out. I'd imagine a similar thing was implied here. This just shows how poor modern announcing is. They need to be able to explain away kayfabe irregularities in a logical way. Of course, the match has to be important enough to justify the ref bending the rules.

[/quote]
I understand that logic, but I absolutely hate it. Rules are rules. You can't bend them just because you want to. To do so hurts the integrity of the system. This was the sort of thing they would do all of the time in early ROH to avoid DQ's when there clearly should have been one. Go watch Bret vs. Nash from Royal Rumble 1995. Bending the rules like this did a lot of damage to an otherwise phenomenal match.

[badnewzxl]

TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Austin Aries(c) vs. Zema Ion- 6.25/10
Great opener, but I think that the use of the hairspray was a mistake for a few reasons. First of all, Aries beating Ion while blinded makes Ion look bad. Second, we have a heel vs. heel match here, so having one cheat and the other not cheat is bad, especially when Aries and Ion both have so much heel heat on them. Third, having Aries kick out after being blinded is a waste of a potential future resource. To my knowledge, no one has yet kicked out after the hairspray to the eyes. They should build that up as a finish to Zema Ion matches for a while. Then, when someone finally kicks out afterwards, it will be an awesome nearfall (like they did with James Storm spitting the beer into people’s eyes).

This finish didn't bother me so much. I personally think using this finish routinely is a bad idea. While the idea you laid out is good, the way I looked at all those finishes.was, "What would actually stop a guy from kicking out if he was blinded? He could easily fight through the pain and just kick out on instinct." What bothers me more is that they had an inherently good finish that they could've booked. Have them wrestle a good match, but then start simultaneously trying to cheat, but over both men as good wrestlers and dirty heels. Having Aries (a heel) have a babyface comeback makes Aries look like a babyface which is the last thing TNA wants.

First Robbie says that there is no one in the back who isn’t already signed to a match. So despite knowing about this Open Challenge in advance, TNA only brought enough wrestlers to fill out the other matches on the card?

TNA TV TITLE MATCH: Robbie E.(c) (w/Rob Terry) vs. Devon- 2/10
Short and unexciting. I don’t think anyone really wanted to see Devon win this belt. And the fact that Brooke Hogan got involved scares me.

Again, the fact that Devon won didn't bother me, as I believe he's always been underrated in singles competition. What bothers me is, why would Robbie say that there's no one in the back not already signed to match if there is in fact, someone available for the match. Plus, why was Brooke Hogan there? Hulk wasn't, so she had no reason to be there.

JEFF HARDY vs. KURT ANGLE- 7.75/10.
An awesome match, but two things really bothered me. First, there was a point in the match where they were outside the ring for a good minute and the ref just stopped counting, and then when Kurt got back in the ring, he started counting from one again. TNA does this a lot and I absolutely HATE it. If you want to give people more time on the floor, do what ROH and CHIKARA do and use a twenty-count instead of ten.
The second thing was that, during the finish, the ref was positioned in such a way that he couldn’t see Kurt grabbing the ropes for illegal leverage (which was good)… but also in such a way that he was FACING AWAY FROM THE PIN (which was inexcusably bad).

At King of the Ring '99, The Rock fought the Undertaker for the WWF Title. They spent a bunch of time outside the ring, and the ref didn't count, and just let them have at it. Jim Ross then proceeded to hype how important the match was, and that it would be really disappointing if it ended in a double count out. I'd imagine a similar thing was implied here. This just shows how poor modern announcing is. They need to be able to explain away kayfabe irregularities in a logical way. Of course, the match has to be important enough to justify the ref bending the rules.

1) I TOTALLY agree. I like your scenario better; it would have been better if BOTH guys tried to cheat.

2) I think the explanation of the Robbie E thing is one of two: a) Robbie's just a meatheaded idiot who didn't actually CHECK to see if there was anyone backstage who didn't have a match (which would not surprise me) or b) the fact that Devon came out of the crowd suggests that maybe he wasn't "backstage"

3) exactly; more recently than ever before the ref's discretion has been used as a way to bend the rules and get away with it. The easy answer is that the ref thought the Angle v. Hary match was too important to let end in a double countout. The part that proves that TNA needs to get it's shit together is the fact that the ref started counting again, after seemingly giving up, lol. It didn't bother me, but BRM can't let it slide, lol.

[Big Red Machine]

This whole "match X is too important to end in a double count-out/double DQ/non-decisive/cheap finish" never made any sense to me at all. So what if the match ends in a double count-out? You just book a rematch. And if that ends another double count-out, you just book another rematch under Falls Count Anywhere Rules.

I can understand it if it is a case like Tyler vs. Aries from Final Battle 2009, where Aries tried to intentionally get himself DQed with a blatant low blow, and the ref wanted to DQ him but Tyler made a big show of begging the ref to let it go this one time, the made a show of thinking about it, then decided to let it go. But this is much different than that.

[NWK]

Also, I feel like that it should be dependent upon who's actually officiating the match, what happens in the case of a double count out. A veteran referee like Earl Hebner obviously would stick to your "rules are rules" philosophy. On the other hand, a more laid back referee like Slick Johnson would probably bend the rules in lieu of giving the fans what they wanted. That's another thing wrestling is missing, referees with their own individual reffing preferences and what not. The only one who has any real distinguishing factor is Hebner, and that's just because of a non-kayfabe event (the screwjob)

[cero2k]

That's another thing wrestling is missing, referees with their own individual reffing preferences and what not. The only one who has any real distinguishing factor is Hebner, and that's just because of a non-kayfabe event (the screwjob)

i've seen this in many refs over the years, it's fun and interesting for a while, but it does get tiresome. Look at Tirantes in mexico, he's been bending the rules for 20+ yrs, it's annoying now, he eventually had to become a full fledged heel because of it.

[badnewzxl]

That's another thing wrestling is missing, referees with their own individual reffing preferences and what not. The only one who has any real distinguishing factor is Hebner, and that's just because of a non-kayfabe event (the screwjob)

It's not even just that; the Hebners (esp Dave and Earl) are just plain AWFUL when you consider their track record. And didn't they get fired from WWE for illegally selling merchandise? I know they were involved in the Hogan/Andre debacle where Hogan lost the title; obviously the Montreal Screwjob and the Orlando Screwjob. Not to mention that Earl Hebner is just plain AWFUL; I saw him officiate a match last year where Ric Flair was fighting Sting and Flair low blowed Sting RIGHT in front of Hebner and Earl just stared DIRECTLY at them.

Earl Hebner is the worst ref ever, imo

[Rabid619]

It's not even just that; the Hebners (esp Dave and Earl) are just plain AWFUL when you consider their track record. And didn't they get fired from WWE for illegally selling merchandise? I know they were involved in the Hogan/Andre debacle where Hogan lost the title; obviously the Montreal Screwjob and the Orlando Screwjob. Not to mention that Earl Hebner is just plain AWFUL; I saw him officiate a match last year where Ric Flair was fighting Sting and Flair low blowed Sting RIGHT in front of Hebner and Earl just stared DIRECTLY at them.

Earl Hebner is the worst ref ever, imo

I'm just guessing here but i think Hebner was the ref during the last man standing match from a few years ago between Foley & Flair on Impact. Flair got up after a nine count, did his flop where it looks like he's alert then face plants and whoever the ref was just acted like he never got up. I get the feeling it was Hebner...