Destination X 2010: Ultimate X and Angle-Anderson Carry an Uneven Championship Card

Kazarian took on Amazing Red, Brian Kendrick and Christopher Daniels in a 13:38 ladder opener with a future X Division title shot at Lockdown suspended above the ring. The wrestlers repeatedly stopped one another from climbing: Red sent Daniels down with a hurricanrana, Kendrick drove Kazarian off a ladder, and Kazarian powerbombed Daniels into a ladder wedged in the corner. The wide field and multiple ladders make the danger visible from the start, but the action is not random spectacle because everybody is pursuing the same contract.

Late, Daniels caught Red with a slam from the upper rungs and temporarily trapped his opponents in the ladder. Kazarian knocked Kendrick away, managed to suplex Daniels while still tangled in the ladder and finally snatched the suspended contract after Kendrick missed one final chance to reach the contract. The opening result gives the division a new contender rather than simply filling thirteen minutes with falls; it also demonstrates why the subsequent Ultimate X match had a different sort of objective. The B+ (8.4) owes as much to the tight contender premise and specific winning climb as to the impressive risks.

Tara defended the Knockouts Championship against Daffney in a 6:42 match shaped by the challenger unusual offense. Tara knocked Daffney down with a standing moonsault early, but Daffney countered with repeated hair-assisted snapmares, an intricate arm-and-leg submission and a bridging Northern Lights suplex for two. Daffney also drove Tara against the ringside guardrail, giving the champion a more physical opponent than a simple exhibition match. Tara recovered with an enzuigiri and a spinebuster before both returned to trading close counts.

Daffney tried to use the Knockouts title belt while the referee was distracted, but Tara avoided the swing and answered with the Widow’s Peak for the pin. The challenger theft of Tara spider after the match extended their dispute beyond the title defense, a relevant distinction from the actual in-ring result. The brief structure fits a C+ (6.8): the finish follows a specific illegal-weapon attempt and decisive counter, yet the condensed time limits the offensive struggle. Skim for the finish and the odd post-match story beat.

Former British Invasion allies Rob Terry and Magnus had a personal confrontation for Terry Global Championship, but TNA allotted them only 1:23. Magnus promised beforehand that he would humble the bigger man. Terry immediately sent Magnus outside with a clothesline, limiting the challenger chance to build a story. Magnus briefly stole control with an eye poke, punches and European uppercut, then came off the ropes with a crossbody that Terry caught and turned into a slam.

When Magnus slapped his former partner, Terry answered with a spinning kick and a spinebuster for the three count. Terry retained decisively, but a fight that ends almost as soon as it starts cannot establish a credible challenger or worthwhile title contest. The rivalry premise makes the short burst understandable as a display of Terry power; the payoff still supplies little wrestling value for a pay-per-view card. The D (4.5) and skip verdict reflect the length and abruptness, not an attempt to assign poor ratings to either wrestler entire career.

Motor City Machine Guns faced Generation Me in the 12-minute Ultimate X match for a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley understood the suspended-X format better than the Bucks, but Generation Me forced both Guns to break off climbs repeatedly with dives, double-team attacks and an attempted finish on the cables. At one point all four wrestlers converged underneath the X before a series of kicks scattered them. The contenders rule supplied the objective: reach the X, not score a pinfall.

Jeremy Buck tried to oppose Sabin on the cables during the final climb. Sabin kicked Jeremy clear, took down the X and secured the title opportunity for himself and Shelley. That finish rewards match-specific awareness rather than an unrelated sudden pin, matching the experienced Guns against the younger challengers. The breathless exchange of risky sequences sometimes leaves little space for the audience to absorb one stunt before the next, an issue contemporary reviews noticed, but the escalating interruptions and recognizable winning goal make it the event standout. An A- (8.9) and watch recommendation reflect the pairing athletic quality with an identifiable result.

Scott Hall and Sean Waltman faced Kevin Nash and Eric Young with TNA contracts at stake for Hall and Waltman. Young did most of the early work for his team while Hall taunted him and Waltman alternated between strikes and tags. Nash finally appeared ready for the hot tag, but the match abruptly shifted when Waltman sprayed green paint into Young face while the referee failed to respond. Nash entered and betrayed his own partner instead of making the expected save.

Nash delivered a Jackknife powerbomb to Young, Hall followed with the Outsider’s Edge and Waltman made the pin at 7:56, earning the Band TNA contracts. The result advanced a specific Wolfpac reunion story but relied on referee blindness and a turn rather than a sustained tag-team contest. The C (6.3) fits the uneven action and decisive storyline consequence: there is a reason to skim the betrayal and finish, not a strong case to replay the full match for wrestling alone.

X Division champion Doug Williams met Shannon Moore in a 6:18 title defense built on their contrasting approaches. Williams kept Moore grounded with holds, knees, a gut-wrench suplex and a failed Chaos Theory attempt. Moore fought back with a bulldog, leaping leg lariat and dropkick before launching a twisting moonsault and a second dive to Williams outside. The sequence gave the challenger brief momentum, though Williams remained intent on proving that methodical technical wrestling could frustrate an X Division aerial specialist.

Williams ended the match by striking Moore with a concealed foreign object that a contemporary live report described as looking like a brick, then pinned him. He followed the victory by criticizing aerial wrestlers on the microphone and mockingly applying lipstick to Moore face. The decisive object shot protects Williams cheating persona but denies the audience an honest athletic resolution to the contrasting styles. C+ (6.8) is enough for the technical-versus-high-flying exchange and the character work, with a skim recommendation because the finish interrupts the match potential.

Hernandez and Matt Morgan defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Beer Money while already arguing over their own teamwork. Morgan tagged out immediately in a pointed challenge to Hernandez, then later tagged himself back in only to criticize his partner. Robert Roode and James Storm exploited the bickering with double-team offense, including a superplex on Hernandez, but the champions kept breaking each other momentum with their own ego contest. Hernandez dive onto Roode forced Morgan to help his partner back inside while berating him.

As Storm tried to spray beer toward Hernandez, the intended target ducked and Morgan took it in the face instead. Hernandez hit a Border Toss to Roode and pinned him at 11:22, retaining the titles despite the misfire. Morgan immediately attacked Hernandez with a Carbon Footprint and left carrying both championship belts, turning a successful defense into the explicit beginning of a champion-versus-champion feud. The B (7.8) is justified by the dual stakes of a tag-title defense and the betrayal payoff, although the ongoing quarrel sometimes overwhelms the actual Beer Money challenge.

Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson turned their 17:36 singles match into a sustained fight over Angle arm and the Olympic medal Anderson had used to torment him during the rivalry. Anderson targeted Angle shoulder by driving it against the ring post, countered the Angle Slam with the Green Bay Plunge, then landed a Mic Check after a low blow. Angle survived the near fall and returned with German suplexes and a high-risk frog splash, giving the closing stretch more weight than an exchange of finishers alone.

A referee collision allowed Anderson to take the medal chain from ringside as another weapon, but Angle avoided the shot and then bloodied Anderson with the same medal during the heated retaliation. The actual finish was an ankle lock with Angle hooking the leg so Anderson could not escape; Anderson submitted. Contemporary accounts describe the messy escalation plainly, and the finish connects the physical struggle to the grievance that had led into the bout. The A- (8.7) reflects the intensity and earned submission even though the medal attack makes Angle victory morally less straightforward than a clean technical win.

A.J. Styles defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Abyss for almost fifteen minutes, but a broken-ring stunt — not a pinfall — decided what viewers would remember. Abyss overpowered Styles early, Styles regrouped with agile offense and later struck Abyss with the title belt during Ric Flair interference. Flair also blinded the original referee, prompting Hulk Hogan to arrive with replacement official Earl Hebner. Styles connected on a springboard 450 splash, yet Abyss kicked out and powered back with a big boot.

Abyss chokeslammed Styles through the ring canvas, leaving a large hole beneath them. Hebner called for the bell rather than counting a victory, so the world-title bout ended in a no contest. Hogan briefly tried to hand Abyss the belt, but Hebner refused to recognize a title change; more Flair and Hogan confrontation followed around the damaged ring. The physical comeback before the final spot gives the match some momentum, but the unresolved championship outcome and post-match spectacle make the B- (7.4) a cautious recommendation rather than the decisive climax a pay-per-view main event could have provided.