TNA Wrestling Victory Road 2024 Review
Salutations, TNA fans!
I know, I know. Friday nights are for Smackdown, and last night was a big night for WWE’s blue brand as they premiered on the USA Network after a 5 year stint on Fox. Pro wrestling tribalism says that you would have to choose between watching WWE Smackdown or TNA Victory Road. Pure wrestling fandom says you may watch BOTH- one right after the other- or neither. Your choice. Simple, right?
Anyway, we are sold out at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas. A quick word about this sell-out: it never fails… There will be a report or social media post about TNA selling out a venue, and here comes Joe Random with a lame comment: “yeah- congratulations on selling out that high school gym. I’m sure all 100 people will be satisfied.” Or something to that effect. Listen… we ALL know that WWE is the juggernaut in terms of pro wrestling, and no one is touching their numbers. They’re selling out stadiums all over the world, and touting billions of views across social media platforms. I salute them. But here’s the thing: if a smaller wrestling company has 2,000 tickets available for a show, and they sell all 2,000 tickets- what do you call that? That’s right: a SELL OUT. A sell out is a sell out- be it at 80,000 or 800. It’s insane when people who couldn’t even sell enough chocolate bars in a school fundraiser to win that BMX hop on the Gram to poke fun at TNA only having a fraction of WWE’s average crowd. You look and sound stupid.
Rant over. For now.
It’s the show before the show, and kicking things off is Kushida vs. Leon Slater. I don’t know what’s going on with Kushida. One minute, he’s inserted into every title picture, and having feuds with some of the uppercard stars; the next- he’s in random pre-show exhibitions. I’m not one to cry over the internet that such-and-such “deserves better”, but Kushida has been under contract for a while now, and hasn’t really done anything of note. It’d be nice if we can pick a story for him and stick with it. Speaking of stories, the one for this match is about contrasting Kushida’s technical mat skills with Slater’s high flying. The commentators point out how Slater is trying to bulk up some, while still maintaining his aerial abilities. That’s cool and all, but I hope someone tells the kid that he needs a personality as well. High fliers come a dime a dozen in this sport, and you need to connect with the crowd beyond getting the “holy sh–” chants. After a lot of back-and-forth, Kushida reverses a top rope Spanish Fly by Slater into the armbar (cross arm breaker) for the tap out.
Match thoughts: Nothing negative to say about the match. There was just nothing to write home about. Kushida is spinning his wheels in TNA, and Slater seems to only show up for PPV or live event pre-shows. Nothing on the line, and neither guy really gained anything from a win. The reversal into the armbar was nice though.
Josh Alexander is approached by Gia Miller and cuts an incredible heel promo on Joe Hendry. I honestly thought that Josh was just one of those guys who could put on a 60 minute classic, yet had the personality of a 90 year old substitute teacher. But Josh has really been thriving as a heel. A video package on Nemeth vs. Moose rolls, and then it’s on to match #2 for the kick-off:
Eric Young and Steve Maclin vs. Hammerstone and Jake Something.
If anyone knows the story behind why Jake would choose that for a wrestling name- please send it along. I’d like to hear it. Commentators point out that Something has been on a losing streak, and that confirms my suspicion of a problem that I think all the televised wrestling promotions have (primarily in AEW, but not exclusive to it): no one knows how to properly utilize their big men. The musclebound freaks of the business come out, roar and beat their chests like gorillas, throw a bunch of job guys and “security” around- then get beat clean by a flippy guy that weighs 150 pounds less. I can’t be the only one seeing this. “The big guy is a lunk and he only knows five moves!” Well, the smaller guy knows 60- but they’re all variations of a springboard dive into a Canadian Destroyer that they other guy will kick out of every time. What’s your point?
I’m doing a LOT of ranting in this review, aren’t I? Sorry.
Random question regarding real-life married couple, TNA’s Steve Maclin and AEW’s Deonna Purrazzo: which of the two are currently in a better position as far as their careers are concerned? I’m interested in hearing your take.
Let me just get straight to the Match Thoughts: This was a solid outing from all four guys, with the heels showing off their power, while Maclin had to rely on his craftiness and Young on his experience. Young, the veteran and TNA OG, was the most over guy in the match, and they built perfectly to the hot tag. The ending sequence was well done, as the match could’ve gone either way, but Jake picks up the win for Team Hammer Something with Into the Void on Young. The heels needed this win, and hopefully it’ll lead to bigger and better things.
Main Show Time!
Criminally underrated announce duo Tom Hannifan and “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt welcome us once again to the sold out Boeing Center, the atmosphere electric, and the air filled with loud “TNA” chants. We take the volume up several notches when the music of the Hardys hits the speakers. The brothers from North Carolina “delete” and “jook” their way to ringside, slapping hands with happy fans. I know I talked about how Jeff has lost a few steps and looks pretty beatdown when he moves in the ring (and none of that was meant to be harsh), but I will say that both Hardy brothers look extremely and genuinely happy to be tagging together. Even through all of the facepaint, I detected pure joy on the face of Jeff (and on the face of Matt too). Knowing everything these guys have been through over the years- you love to see them content with life.
The Hardys vs. First Class (AJ Francis and KC Navarro)
We already know what this is gonna be: a showcase for the reunited Hardys to make the fans happy. I’m okay with that. I’m sure the brothers will “do business” and put over some young teams who need the rub. First Class is NOT one of those teams. I’m sorry, but Francis and KC just look weird together. Francis is an intelligent guy (if you listen to him in interviews), is a decent promo and he knows how to get heat. He also has a nice chokeslam. But it’s just difficult for me to take him seriously as a contender for even his own Cheez Its title. He’s athletic for a guy his size, as displayed by the missed Swanton (he got good air, and good rotation). I just think it’s going to take a lot for him to erase the stain of that infamous botched dive and the failure of the Hit Row faction. Fun fact pointed out by commentary: Jeff main evented the first Victory Road against Jeff Jarrett in a ladder match for the world title. What a career!
Match Thoughts: What did I tell you? It was a showcase for the Hardys, giving them another win to bring them into the tag team title discussion and an eventual showdown with- and possible passing-of-the-torch to- ABC. Good tag team match with the heels mocking the babyfaces’ signature moves and paying for it. By the way, I like the shirt that Matt was wearing that reads “Hardys: 1992- infinity” (using the infinity symbol). Very cool. Gonna have to add that to the t-shirt collection at some point.
X-Division Championship Match: Zachary Wentz defends against “Speedball” Mike Bailey
Wentz is doing a great job selling being distracted with all that’s going on in his personal life. Hannifan and Rehwoldt catch up all those who are unaware of the happenings over at NXT: Wes Lee betrays the Rascalz, and he costs his former stablemates a shot at the NXT tag titles. Outside of the visible inner turmoil in Wentz, the champion and challenger are evenly matched. Bailey has incredible crowd-popping offense, though he’s not known for having the sharpest in-ring psychology, so his matches can get really spot-heavy. Wentz balanced this out with his great selling, while giving off vibes of a conflicted man with something to prove. After an intense back-and-forth, a moment that seemed like a tired modern wrestling trope (trading forearms or strikes back-and-forth) that turned out to be both guys trying to bait each other, and a good bit of near-falls, Bailey busts out the seldom-used Flamingo Driver to regain the X-Division title for the third time.
Match Thoughts: It IS possible for a match to have the high-flying, cruiserweight style, and still tell a good story. There was no beef between Bailey and Wentz beyond Wentz having to fight within himself to focus on his opponent and not the drama with Lee, and Bailey wanting back the title that he was never pinned or submitted for. And that more than made up for the fact that there was no pre-existing feud. Some might complain about Wentz’s brief reign- and it’s a justfiable complaint. If they weren’t going to put the title on the line in the Rascalz feud, why bother putting the belt on Zach? I heard Hannifan talking about history being made with the X-Division title being featured on WWE programming for the first time, but that could’ve been accomplished by simply booking Speedball on NXT. Nevertheless, a good X-Division match that didn’t rely on the multi-man car crash that TNA often reverts to.
The System reminds us backstage of their mission: win back all of the gold. We learn that my girl Tasha Steelz will stand in for the injured Alisha Edwards in the Knockouts tag team title match. Love me some Tasha, but y’all are gonna have to wait a little while to hear me gush over her some more, because it’s time for PCO and Rhino vs. Matt Cardona and Steph De Lander.
SIKE!
There’s no match. Just a long, dragging promo from SDL. Steph decides to give the San Antonians some of her autobiography, and the crowd groans. She thanks Matt for everything he’s done for her career, acknowledges her husband PCO, and announces that she needs neck surgery. Some sympathy from the crowd, but she mostly gets the “What” chants treatment. Seriously, if you’re STILL doing the “What” chants at ANY wrestling show in 2024 and beyond- there’s just no hope for you. Thanks a lot, Austin. De Lander tells Matt and PCO that they need to work things out. PCO escorts Steph to the back. Rhino tries to exit peacefully, but gets attacked by Cardona. Because… heel.
Non-match Thoughts: This was brutal. For one, I’m just not buying Cardona’s “mean enslaver” act. The “marriage” between PCO and Steph was cute at first, but the two have as much chemistry as Alicia Fox and Noam Dar. This was a waste of time and very well could’ve happened backstage. And I don’t know about those of you who follow her work on the indies, but on TNA TV, Steph just hasn’t built up enough emotional equity with the fans to garner any sympathy from them. No one is rejoicing over her being injured, but based on the groans and even the light, but audible “nananana, hey hey hey, goodbye” chants- I don’t think anyone is going to miss her. I wish her all the best in her upcoming procedure and in-ring return, and I hope she can connect with the audience a little better next time around.
Time to switch gears now, because the Knockouts Tag Team titles are on the line. Spitfire (Dani Luna and Jody Threat) challenge Masha Slamovich and Tasha Steelz (Steelz filling in for Alisha and her thick Boston accent). I hate that it took her having to be a fill-in, but I’m really happy to see Steelz. I’m not sure what’s going on with her, showing up infrequently, wrestling, disappearing, so on and so forth. Maybe it boils down to contracted appearances or something. But Tasha has a lot of underutilized assets and she can work either as an annoying, junk-talking heel, or a rebellious, ‘attitudy’ babyface that out-annoys the other annoying heels. What Tasha lacks in size, she makes up for in charisma. She just needs a storyline to sink her teeth into.
I forgot to mention that if Spitfire loses, they will have to disband. That would suck for them, seeing as how they spent so much time being coached by Lars Frederiksen and fighting each other in order to get better as a team.
In what’s being billed as a “do or die” match, the story is of Spitfire having to keep their emotions in tact, with the looming fear of not only failing to regain the titles, but also having to go their separate ways hovering over their heads. This will be no easy task, as they stand opposite two experienced and accomplished tag team wrestlers with an opportunisitic Edwards in their corner. Spitfire looks a bit shaken as they attempt to gain any offensive advantage, but the ruthlessness of Masha and the cunning of Tasha are too much for them in the beginning. Despite her absence from television, Tasha really knows how to get under the skin of the crowd. Just watch her. It’s the little things… The finishing sequence sees Luna and Threat firing each other up, countering a Magic Killer attempt by Steelz and Masha (that move sucks, by the way), and hitting the Pressure Drop (looks like they finally came up with a tag team finisher that they can execute without botching) for the pin and win.
Match Thoughts: If nothing else, watch this match just to see what I’m talking about with Tasha Steelz. There are just certain things in wrestling that you can’t teach, such as facial expressions, gestures, insults to the crowd, etc. I said before that it takes more than a bunch of moves to get over in wrestling. The only disappointing thing was seeing a lack of involvement from Alisha (though her annoying voice was heard throughout). She must really be hurt bad. Other than that, good match, and now Masha (and hopefully Tasha as well) can move up the singles ranks.
Post match: Alisha is getting in the face of Masha, blaming her for losing the titles (she was the one who was pinned), calling her a POS, and doing all the things that annoying, whiny little heels do when they forget that they’re speaking to someone who can break them in half. Masha grabs Alisha finger on some “who do you think you talkin’ to?”, but gets dropped by a cutter from Tasha. Tasha wails on Masha, and she and Alisha celebrate to a chorus of boos and “you suck” chants. I like where this is going.
One thing TNA does well on their PPVs and special events is they make the pre-show matches seem like they really matter. They don’t just do a bottom-of-the-screen roll of results- they show highlights from the matches and even allow the winners to cut a promo. Such was the case with Hammerstone and Jake Something, who are pumped from their victory over Maclin and Young, and it looks like we’ll be seeing more of this duo.
But we will have to worry about those two hulks later, because it’s time for the viral sensation Joe Hendry to get revenge against Josh Alexander. Remember, Hendry was close to winning the TNA world title, but his plans were thwarted by a low-blow from Alexander. This seems almost like forever ago, but Joe never forgot, and Josh was happy to remind him. Some angry words and a diss song later, here we are. No titles on the line, but the stakes are just as high as if they were. What is on the line is the right for the victor to call himself the standard of TNA. Jade Chung is able to remain unbiased as she announces her husband Alexander to the ring. Out next is his opponent for the evening, and the crowd goes nuts. While Joe gives a slight smirk to acknowledge the believers, he is uncharacteristically more serious. Joe decided to leave the comedy at home tonight and brought with him his intensity. I dig it. Comedy has its place in wrestling, but you have to show a lot more versatility if you want to move higher up the card. Crowd is absolutely eating out of Joe’s hand right now, though they spare a couple of moments to chant “walking weiner” at Josh Alexander based on a fan’s sign pointed out by Hendry on Impact.
It’s the power of Hendry vs the technical expertise of Alexander. However, Josh doesn’t just want to out-wrestle Joe- he wants to humiliate him. Joe struggles initially to keep his composure as Josh gets under his skin. Alexander’s mat skills are sufficient to keep counter Hendry’s strength, but Alexander’s overconfidence gets the best of him. Every time Hendry tries to draw energy from the crowd, Alexander shuts it down. But neither Joe nor the believers are giving up. We get a ref bump, which surely means that shenanigans will ensue. Hendry puts Alexander in his own ankle lock submission, and Alexander taps. But… no ref! A predictable, yet still effective sequence follows as Josh hits a low-blow, and prematurely celebrates his impending victory. But Hendry came prepared, and revealed an athletic cup with his face on it that absorbed the low-blow. I guess a little bit of the comedy I thought he left at home managed to stowaway in his carry-on bag. Joe hits the Standing Ovation and puts Josh back in the ankle lock for the win by submission.
Match Thoughts: If you’re in the group of the internet that’s asking “what’s so special about Joe Hendry?”- I’ll say this: I can’t defend a man wearing his own face on his junk, but Joe Hendry just possesses those intangibles that you can’t teach (as I said about Tasha Steelz above). There’s nothing flashy about his style, yet he has a way of pulling people into his matches. I think he’d be successful in any era of wrestling. This win over the Walking Weapon and longest reigning TNA champion of all time is undoubtedly the biggest win of Hendry’s career, and it’s only up from here. Hendry fans- stick around.
Tag Team Match (playa) for the World Tag Team Titles: The ABC (Chris Bey and Ace Austin) defend against the System’s Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards
TNA might be the lone company that still employs the contractual championship rematch bit, but they still know how to stretch it out and not simply repeat matches for back-to-back PPVs. Bey is wrestling with tender ribs from the encounter with First Class the night before.
Bey’s jacket always makes me laugh. On the back, it reads “Your girl’s favorite wrestler”. The disrespect! Not a very babyface slogan, but we’ll the “Ultimate Finesser” slide.
Eddie Edwards has one of THEE MOST punchable faces in all of wrestling. I felt like this even going back to his days as a member of the Wolves. He’s got an older-looking face, and I could’ve sworn I noticed some missing teeth. Between his face and his wife’s accent- they are the perfect heel couple.
The heels target Bey’s ribs, and surprisingly, Alisha gets more involved physically during this match than she did her own tag title defense. The heels cheat, and we have new tag team champions!
Match Thoughts: The result was a little surprising, but I suppose it shouldn’t be. The pop for the Hardys’ title win will be much louder when they beat a heel team rather than a fellow face team. The match had everything it should’ve had in a tag team title match, and the quality of it was never in doubt given the tag team pedigree of all four guys. This is the THIRD straight title change on this show.
Now it’s time to turn our attention back to the Knockouts, as Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against (yawn) Wendy Choo. I will continue to enjoy the collaboration between NXT and TNA for all it’s worth. And I’m not nieve to think that just because this partnership is a thing, that TNA stars are now on par with the star power of WWE main roster stars (an argument could be made for Hendry)- hence why TNA is working with WWE’s developmental brand. I also understand the mindset of the WWE brass in giving its young pups some extra reps and exposure in front of audiences outside of the NXT venue. But come on, now… Tatum Paxley? Izzi Dame? Wendy Choo? TNA sends NXT its top stars, while NXT sends over the scrubs. It’s okay to send the scrubs, but they shouldn’t be getting shots at TNA’s titles when they’re nowhere near the title picture on WWE’s C-show. And as I said in my last write-up: Rosemary has NO business playing sidekick to this horror film reject.
Choo comes out to barely a peep from the audience, while Grace comes out to a big pop- and that’s not just because she’s in her home state. The people know her and have a reason to get behind her. So it is with the match itself: Grace on offense- the crowd awakens. Choo on offense- you could hear an ant passing gas. Choo tries to intimidate Grace’s grandmother who is sitting front row, but grandma doesn’t flinch. Choo tries to hit Grace with a pillow (a PILLOW), but grandma snatches it from her. I don’t think I’ve ever thought to myself, “just end this” while watching a Jordynne Grace match. First time for everything. Grace retains.
Match Thoughts: Honestly, it wasn’t a terrible performance, and I can see potential in Wendy as a serious wrestler. The problem here is that it seems like she just watched highlights from every gothic or dark wrestling character EVER and simply mimicked what she saw. The character is super cheesy and not believable, and please don’t come at me with the “but but but but UNDERTAKER” argument (I believe I heard Rehwoldt refer to Wendy as the “slumber taker”. Minus 30 cool points, Matt). You can also miss me with the “go easy on Wendy. She’s a rookie” bit too. Because THAT’S the problem: she’s a rookie, yet she’s getting a chance to shine and have a competitive match against the woman who is the catalyst for the TNA/WWE working relationship. And the post-match attack by Rosemary and Choo tells us we’ll be seeing more of the Rosemary/Choo alliance. Oh joy. If it doesn’t result in Rosemary dumping Choo in a trash heap- this could be a massive waste of time.
We get a tender backstage moment between daddy and daughter as “Miss NXT” Arianna Grace walks into Santino Marella’s office. Santino embraces her and tells her how proud he is of her. Arianna says that she’s trying to be professional. They don’t explicitly reveal that they are father and daughter, so it’s sort of a wink to the hardcore fans that are in-the-know. I’m all for some Santino comedy, but this segment accomplished nothing.
It’s MAIN EVENT time- but before we meet our combatants, “Kings of the Asylum” by Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons plays and out comes Frankie Kazarian to join the commentary table to put himself over and trash-talk the competitors.
TNA World Title Match: “Wanted Man” Nic Nemeth defends against the System’s Moose.
Moose’s growth as a performer and his ascension through the ranks of TNA is something that needs to be studied. Moose said in a recent interview that when he retires from in-ring competition, he wants his name to be synonomous with TNA. Stiff competition with the AJ Styles’ and the Samoa Joes of this world, but a case could definitely be made for the former NFL player.
Nemeth is seeking redemption from his first loss to Moose that happened in controversial fashion (Nemeth had one shoulder up when the ref counted to three). A big fight feel as the man who is highly regarded as one of the mosted talents in WWE faces off against a wrestler that only a small percentage of the world knows, but should be known by many. High impact contest as Moose breaks out some of his big moves early. He may talk like he doesn’t take Nic seriously, but his offense says otherwise. Nemeth’s selling and fighting from underneath are the stuff of legends, and the crowd was firmly behind the artist formerly known as Dolph Ziggler. Moose is no slouch when it comes to getting heat from the crowd, and he revelled in the boos. So much back-and-forth action with Nemeth trying to use his speed, athleticism, and resiliance to match Moose’s explosive power and insane big-man agility.
Moose powerbombs Nic through a table, and the crowd loses it. Let this be a lesson to Tony Khan: when you allow EVERY MATCH on your card to have weapons, table breaks, blood, etc.- you take away from all of those things being special. This was the first and only table spot on the entire card, and I wasn’t even thinking about someone going through a table before it actually happened. Tell your stories and develop your characters, and you can rely much less on death matches and street fights to get the crowd invested.
Johnny “Dango” Curtis (JDC) and Alisha try to run interference, but Mike Santana prevents Moose from achieving the tainted win. Curtis and Santana fight off, but the newly crowned tag champs Edwards and Myers show up to yank the ref out of the ring to stop a 3 count. The ref wants to call for the DQ, but Nemeth begs him not to, because he really wants to see if he can beat Moose. The ref acquiesced, but told old man face and Edgehead they had to leave. The tag champs refused, and out comes John “Bradshaw” Layfield to take both of their heads off with a couple of Clotheslines from Hell! With all the distractions out of the way, Nemeth hits a superkick and a Danger Zone to retain his title. Incredible match.
Closing Thoughts: Victory Road is technically a monthly “special event” and not a traditional PPV, yet with THREE title changes and some top tier quality matches, it felt a little more important that your average Impact taping. What should you check out if you don’t watch anything else from the show? I’d say the main event was the best match of the night, but that certainly doesn’t mean that the rest of the matches aren’t worth checking out. I hope that business continues to pick up with this TNA/NXT collabo, and I’m intrigued by the presence of JBL. Why is he in TNA? What is his relationship with Nic Nemeth? Let’s speculate together in the comments, and I’ll see you at the next stop on the road to Bound For Glory.
Peace.