Thoughts on TNA Destination X 2011
Tonight was the return of the six-sided ring and the featuring of the X Division. I don’t get to excited for wrestling pay-per-views and I don’t talk about how great pay-per-views are anymore but this one was awesome and one to remember. From top to bottom the action was non-stop and all good quality matches.
The opening match of the nigh was Samoa Joe vs. Kazarian and it was a nice way to start because of there bar fight on Impact this past week. It was nice to Joe do some stuff he hasn’t done in a long time but at the end of the day Kazarian got the victory because Joe was too busy arguing with the referee and it cost him.
Douglas Williams’ open challenge was accepted by fellow countrymen Mark Haskins. What a great way to make your PPV debut by working with a guy like Williams. I personally think it’s great to see the British Invasion back together. They were and still are a great faction. Williams was pushed to the limit but ended up beating Haskins. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Haskins join his fellow Brits.
Eric Young needed to find a tag partner to against Generation Me and he ran into CurryMan and Suicide. Neither of them wanted to tag but along came Shark Boy to be EY’s tag team partner. I was really surprised on how this match. It was nice to see EY actually do some great wrestling and it paid off because EY and Shark Boy won the match.
Next up was the Ultimate X match featuring Amazing Red, Alex Shelly, Robbie E and Shannon Moore. This was a typical Ultimate X match but I give Shannon Moore for being a little crazy an innovative for his attempt at trying to win the match. Each man had a shot to win but in the end it was Alex Shelly who grabbed the X and became the number one contender to the X Division Title.
A feud rekindled itself as RVD VS. Jerry Lynn took place. This was one of those epic stories that needed to be told. Lynn really brought the offense tonight and proved to the world he still has it. RVD took a lot of punishment but he was able to hit the 5-Star Frog-splash to win the match against his greatest rival.
In a match where a winner gets a TNA contract it was Austin Aries, Low Ki, Jack Evans, and Zema Ion. All four men had great promo’s and all four men really stole the show on this pay-per-view. All the fans were chanting “sign them all.” I couldn’t agree more. Austin Aries may have won the “contract” but I don’t think you have seen the last of the other three competitors. What a great match, and great showing for everyone involved
Next up was Abyss defending his X Division Title against Brian Kendrick. If you know anything about Abyss, the idea of him being X Division Champion is just dumb. He is not a high flyer, not a lightweight and definitely not what highlights the X Division. I loved how Brian Kendrick kept fighting back and loved how the X Division battled with Immortal at the conclusion of this match. Brian Kendrick took advantage of the brawl and defeated Abyss to become new X Division Champion. All the X Division wrestlers were in the ring celebrating the title win.
The Main Event between AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels was indeed an epic battle between to friends who have been foes, friends and tag team partners. This was a great match that was “Wrestlemania” worthy for all you WWE fans out there. This was pure wrestling at it’s best. Both men left everything in the ring and at the end of the night AJ Styles closed the show with a victory.
In my opinion this was one of the best wrestling PPV’s I’ve seen in a long time. It’s great to see guys like Kendrick, and Moore get featured because they weren’t ever used right in WWE. By the way, WWE you totally dropped the ball on LowKi (Kaval for you non TNA fans). This guy has got some talent and WWE should have never let him go.
All in all I would give the PPV an 8 out of 10. I know it seems like I am riding the TNA bandwagon but I appreciate great wrestling when everyone is allowed to use their full abilities. I am looking to forward to see how the X Division is used from hear and out. Hogan, Bischoff, and Russo better open their eyes and realize this is what makes TNA Impact Wrestling what it is. It was definitely a defining moment for TNA and I would stay tuned if you’re a WRESTLING fan!
