Destination X 2008: TNA Throws Every Stipulation at the Wall and Still Finds a Good Closing Run

Roxxi Laveaux faced Angelina Love in a women's singles preliminary match at Destination X on March 9, 2008, before the paid event's nine-match main-card sequence began. The independent Online World of Wrestling results list it as a dark match, and the Cagematch event archive likewise separates it from the ranked televised bouts. That placement is important: it was not a Knockouts Championship defense, and neither competitor appeared in the later Awesome Kong three-way title match. Both names were legitimate wrestlers on the night, but a pre-show result alone does not establish an extended rivalry or a major change in championship direction.

Roxxi Laveaux defeated Angelina Love. The surviving published results support that winner and one-on-one participant pairing, but do not independently establish the exact fall mechanism, a finishing move or a bell-to-bell runtime. The archive therefore does not manufacture a pin, submission or minute mark. Her name appears as Roxxi Leveaux in one external listing; the current event ledger's Roxxi Laveaux spelling identifies the same wrestler, not an extra participant. The inherited C- / 5.8 and SKIP reflect the limited surviving match evidence and its non-televised placement; they are retained without pretending that a detailed move transcript has been verified.

LAX opened the Destination X main card in a three-team contest with the Motor City Machine Guns and the Rock 'n' Rave Infection. The prize was a TNA World Tag Team Championship opportunity, so the teams had a defined reason to chase the final fall. Homicide began trading quick counters with Chris Sabin, while Alex Shelley and Sabin used synchronized strikes to break down the other pairings. Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave tried to use size and interference to slow the exchanges, but Hernandez repeatedly reset the pace with suplexes and a dive over the ropes. Each team briefly interrupted the others' pin attempts, a natural complication in the 10:26 contest.

Near the finish, the Rock 'n' Rave Infection couldn't isolate either LAX member long enough to establish control. Hernandez lifted Rave for the Border Toss, and Homicide covered RAVE to secure the deciding fall. It was HOMICIDE, not Hernandez, who made the recorded pin after the Border Toss. The B (7.6) recognizes a lively, crowded opener with a tangible reward and purposeful team combinations. A few multi-team sequences were harder to follow, but the win moved LAX directly toward the tag championship instead of serving as a disposable showcase.

Jay Lethal defended the X Division Championship against Petey Williams only a month after reclaiming the title at Against All Odds. Williams pursued Lethal with quick counters, focused kicks and a Canadian Destroyer threat; Lethal responded with the arm drags and athletic rope work that had made his Black Machismo persona a credible champion. Williams had a major advantage in Scott Steiner and Rhaka Khan at ringside. At one point Steiner shoved Lethal off the top rope, and Williams finally connected with the Canadian Destroyer while the referee was distracted. SoCal Val interrupted the impending three-count rather than allowing the challenger to steal the title.

Khan chased Val up the aisle until Sonjay Dutt intervened to protect her, drawing more attention away from the ring. Williams returned to Lethal, but his follow-up control was brief: Lethal caught him with an inside cradle and pinned WILLIAMS at 11:39. The B (7.9) rewards a championship bout with active counters and credible moments of danger, even though the ringside interruptions complicated what could have been a more direct athletic exchange. Lethal retained despite substantial interference, not by scoring an uncontested finishing-move pin.

Eric Young and Kaz faced the unusual pairing of Black Reign and Rellik in a ten-minute tag match, with Young's fear of the two opponents driving much of the story. Kaz initially tried to wrestle his way through the larger men, but Reign and Rellik isolated him with strikes and corner attacks. Young was meant to be the second partner, yet he fled the arena in fear before his team could settle into a normal rhythm. That left Kaz working from underneath, selling long enough for the contest to become less about a tag victory and more about whether his partner would return.

Young finally came back to the ring under superhero music as Super Eric, a deliberately comic transformation that turned the crowd response around. He attacked both opponents and managed a simultaneous double Death Valley Driver on Reign and Rellik. SUPER ERIC then pinned BLACK REIGN at 10:03, delivering a decisive fall while preserving the novelty character's surprise return. The C (6.4) acknowledges the story payoff and the athletic effort of the closing move, but the sudden costume gimmick made the match less substantial than the evening's championship contests.

Awesome Kong's Knockouts Championship defense against Gail Kim and ODB offered two very different threats to her reign. Kong overpowered both women at the start and threw the challengers into each other, but Kim's speed and ODB's willingness to fight at close range kept creating brief openings. Kim knocked Kong out through the ropes with a top-rope leg attack, and ODB followed with a dive that struck both opponents. Kim and ODB nearly pinned one another before realizing that neither could ignore the champion for long. Kong answered their tandem offense with a violent power attack and multiple near falls.

The challengers briefly set aside their rivalry and landed a double dropkick against Kong, only to disrupt each other's covers seconds later. Kong punished Kim with a powerful slam and an aerial splash, but ODB broke up the cover and fought the champion back toward the corner. ODB survived an Implant Buster and avoided another attempted splash. Raisha Saeed then grabbed ODB's legs from ringside, creating the opening for Kong's Awesome Bomb. KONG PINNED ODB at 11:27, leaving Gail Kim unpinned. The B (7.8) credits the strong three-person transitions while deducting for the title-deciding manager interference.

Team 3D had to pass a weight check before its Fish Market Street Fight against Shark Boy and Curry Man, giving the bizarre stipulation a consequence beyond the comedy props. Both Brother Ray and Devon made the required weight at the start, so the threatened dismissal no longer hung over this particular fight. Shark Boy and Curry Man then used fish, a table covered with seafood and quick double-team counters to challenge the larger brothers. Team 3D repeatedly attempted to overpower the smaller pair; the challengers responded with splashes, weapon shots and deliberately ridiculous fish-market attacks. The crowded 13:13 bout relied on physical comedy more than a traditional tag-team rhythm.

Johnny Devine eventually tried to assist Team 3D by throwing blinding powder, but it accidentally struck Brother Ray instead. Ray, unable to recognize his partner, joined Curry Man in a mistaken 3D attack on Devon. That produced the deciding cover for Curry Man and Shark Boy. Contemporary result registers disagree whether Shark Boy or Curry Man personally covered Devon, so the editorial does not assign a disputed pin identity without a stronger source. The C+ (6.7) credits the coherent comedy payoff and the division's continuing conflict with Team 3D, though the novelty weapons overwhelmed much of the wrestling.

Robert Roode and Booker T continued a bitter rivalry in a strap match with an additional humiliation stipulation involving their respective ringside allies Payton Banks and Traci Brooks. Booker used the strap to drag Roode toward him, then struck with heavy chops and a spinning kick. Roode responded by wrapping the leather around Booker's neck and fist and trying to wear down the stronger veteran at close range. The pace was uneven, with the men repeatedly returning to the strap mechanics rather than sustaining a conventional wrestling exchange. Even so, several near falls kept the outcome from feeling completely predetermined.

As Banks and Brooks fought at ringside, Brooks introduced a pair of handcuffs and tried to pass them into the ring. Roode obtained the metal weapon and struck BOOKER, then pinned him at 7:56. Under the unusual stipulation, Banks was entitled to strike Brooks with the strap; Roode escalated by attacking Brooks himself. Sharmell then returned and lashed Roode, Banks and several officials, creating a post-match eruption far larger than the actual contest. The C (6.2) reflects a recognizable rivalry and meaningful aftermath, but the finish hinged on a foreign object and the subsequent angle overshadowed seven minutes of wrestling.

The second Elevation X match suspended Rhino and James Storm above the ring on two crossing platforms, with the contest decided by making the opponent fall from the structure. Storm had shown fear of heights in the build, and his reluctance to climb made the opening unusually cautious for a specialty match. Jacqueline Moore provided beer for Storm, who tried to use it as both a prop and a distraction before Rhino pursued him upward. The elevated walkway swayed as the wrestlers approached the intersection and attempted to kick one another off. Rhino's experience in high-impact matches helped establish the danger, but the structure prevented a sustained series of recognizable wrestling holds.

Storm tried to recover by moving along the narrow crosspiece and avoiding Rhino's reach. They traded short strikes with the arena floor far below, until Rhino knocked STORM off the suspended framework. Storm fell through the table set inside the ring, ending the Elevation X bout after an event runtime listed as 13:13. This was NOT a pinfall or submission: Rhino won when Storm fell. The B- (7.2) reflects the distinct stunt and effective feud payoff, while the static climbing, visible caution and limited actual wrestling keep it behind the show's best athletic performances.

Destination X closed with the Unlikely Alliance of Christian Cage, Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe against Kurt Angle, A.J. Styles and Tomko. The six-man match came with a consequence from a disputed television cage match: Angle was barred from entering for the first five minutes, leaving Styles and Tomko to withstand the opposing trio. Cage targeted Styles early and survived Tomko's power attacks, while Joe battered the larger Tomko and Nash supplied the crowd-pleasing veteran spots. When Angle finally entered, the match accelerated into a sequence of counters and tags rather than dragging out the handicap premise. The championship itself was not defended, but the result shaped the next month's Joe-Angle direction.

Styles and Cage traded near falls while Nash used his size to break up attempted double-team attacks. Late in the 12:26 main event, Joe recovered control against Tomko, trapped him in the Coquina Clutch and forced TOMKO TO SUBMIT. Joe, not Cage or Nash, earned the decisive fall or hold over Angle's partner. The B (7.5) recognizes a clear, satisfying finish with major stars sharing time and a sensible road to Lockdown. The absence of a world-title defense limited the stakes, but the victory directly established Joe as the next major challenger to Angle's championship.