PWTorch.com - CALDWELL'S TNA VICTORY ROAD PPV RESULTS 7/11: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage live on-site from Orlando (original) (raw)

TNA Victory Road PPV Results July 11, 2010 Orlando, Fla. Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

-- Tonight's TNA PPV line-up includes (1) RVD vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson vs. Abyss for the TNA World Title, (2) Ric Flair vs. Jay Lethal, (3) Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez in a steel cage, (4) X Division champion Doug Williams vs. Brian Kendrick, (5) Motor City Machineguns vs. Beer Money for the TNA Tag Titles, (6) Kurt Angle vs. The Pope, (7) Knockouts champion Madison Rayne vs. Angelina Love, (8) Brother Ray vs. Brother Devon vs. Jesse Neal, and (9) A.J. Styles & Kaz vs. a mystery tag team.

-- I'll be covering the PPV live from the Impact Zone in Orlando. I'll be updating the PPV report blog-style with notes on the matches, analysis of the booking, crowd reactions, etc. For a more detailed virtual-time PPV coverage, check out Torch editor Wade Keller's PPV report.

-- Some news from backstage is a former Knockouts champion is scheduled to return tonight in the Knockouts Title match.

***

Pre-show Dark Match: Jeff Jarrett beat Desmond Wolfe in 6:00. Solid back and forth match for VIP ticketholders. Jarrett played a classic babyface overcoming the cocky heel. The match finish was Jarrett countering Tower of London into the Stroke for the pinfall. The match will be a bonus addition on the DVD.

(1) X Title match: Doug Williams vs. Kendrick. Good story to this match with Williams playing his typical strong heel character. Finish was Williams getting a submission via KO after both men dropped off the Ultimate X. They used the gimmick a few times for transition spots and the finish. Williams was lucky not to hurt his knee on the final spot when they both dropped from the structure as Williams came crashing down with all of his weight on the knee. Good opening match overall. (**1/2)

(2) Brother Devon vs. Brother Ray vs. Brother Devon. A lot of moving parts to this one. First, Ray ambushed Neal after locking Devon in their locker room. Then, Dreamer, Richards, Rhino, and Raven got their paydays showing up in the crowd. Devon eventually showed up and Shannon Moore did a run in, but Ray scored a win by the skin of his teeth. Good reinforcement of Ray as a heel overall. It helped that Borash told the crowd before the match that Ray would be the heel here. More of an angle than a match. (*)

(3) KO champ Madison Rayne vs. Angelina Love. They weren't exactly wearing PG audience outfits here. At the end of the match, a woman in a motorcycle outfit came out to KO Angelina. The ref called for the bell and DQ'ed Madison to give Angelina the KO Title. The old TNA rule in play. They didn't identify the woman to the audience but it's supposed to be a returning Tara.

(4) A.J. Styles & Kaz beat Samoa Joe & Rob Terry. Styles's comedy heelings are awesome. Great work from Styles and Samoa Joe was way over. Everything he did was over. It was only natural they teamed him with Terry to give him a rub. Wolfe had a run-in and red incompetence ensued. Styles and Kaz win to join Fortune. Good undercard match despite the over booking. (**1/2)

(5) Hernandez beat Matt Morgan in a cage match. Good cage match. Morgan got over his heel persona as a beast and had his "out" taking the loss after teasing walking out of the cage midway through. Hernandez also tried to bleed during the match, but the blood flow wasn't there. The big spot was Hernandez missing a dive from the top of the cage after making his comeback. The finish was Hernandez breaking out of gimmicked handcuffs and flying through the cage as Morgan was about to climb out. Hernandez hit the stage and Morgan hit the ground, which gave Morgan another "out." Good win for Hernandez while they still protected Morgan in the loss. Not long enough to hit three stars but solid overall. (**1/2)

(6) Ric Flair vs. Jay Lethal. Lethal won in 12 minutes. It's amazing Flair is still able to work at his age. The man isn't human. Good back and forth with Flair slowing things down to set a deliberate pace that worked well. Lethal was over despite Flair getting a babyface reaction because he's Flair. Flair did all the signature spots and Lethal matched him spot for spot to play into the TV storyline. Good match that could have been semi-main event. (***)

(7) Beer Money vs. Machineguns. Awesome, show-stealing match. They did a double finish with both Hebner refs counting pinfalls before re-starting the match with the Guns winning. I was surprised they actually continued the match rather than booking a draw and following up on TV. Overall, Guns and Beer Money perfected this match on the house shows for months and they brought it strong to PPV. The finish set up Beer Money for a re-match after this. After the finish, TNA president Dixie Carter stood up from ringside and applauded the Guns on their title victory. Best match thus far. (****)

(8) Kurt Angle vs. The Pope. It took the crowd a while to get into the match after the tag title match, but Angle and Pope put in a strong performance with 12 minutes. Your standard strong performance by Angle on PPV. (***)

(9) RVD vs. Anderson vs. Abyss vs. Hardy for the TNA Title. RVD retained the title in 12 minutes. Very heavy on false finishes and multiple-man spots. The finish was a bit anti-climatic with RVD simply pinning Anderson after breaking up a pin following a big false finish. After the match, Abyss attacked RVD and suggested the feud isn't over. They closed the PPV with an Abyss and RVD staredown to apparently set up a singles title match next month. We'll see. Overall, the main event was fine but not great for the final slot. (**1/2)

Final thought live: thumbs up PPV. Not great with some of the usual booking issues but some very strong in-ring performances, especially Guns vs. Beer Money. An overall satisfying PPV offering from TNA this month.

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