Sacrifice 2009: Strong Stakes Carry an Uneven Card

Amazing Red faced Kiyoshi in a Sacrifice 2009 pre-show singles match, with neither an X Division championship nor a tournament placement at stake. Red began by knocking Kiyoshi to ringside and hitting a twisting corkscrew plancha over the ropes. Kiyoshi slowed the pace with harder strikes and a torture-rack variation, earning several near falls. Red answered with a leg lariat, but Kiyoshi cut him off on the top rope and tried forcing an aerial finish. The shorter undercard slot kept the match focused on the wrestlers' differing speeds rather than a long rivalry or elaborate stipulation.

Kiyoshi climbed for a moonsault but missed when Red moved. Red countered with a second-rope-assisted DDT and followed with a standing shooting-star press. Amazing Red pinned Kiyoshi at the independently archived 7:02. The winner and decisive finish agree across contemporary reports, while no title changed hands. The original C+ / 6.8 score stays intact because the brief opener showed agile counters without adding to the pay-per-view's principal stakes. SKIM for the closing aerial sequence and Kiyoshi's missed moonsault.

The main Sacrifice 2009 card opened with Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed of Lethal Consequences partnering Eric Young against the Motor City Machine Guns, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, and Sheik Abdul Bashir. Six wrestlers were legal participants on two three-man teams, and no junior tag championship was on the line even though Shelley and Sabin entered as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Sabin and Lethal traded rapid counters before Young and Shelley entered, while Creed rotated through their offense with springboards and quick combinations. Young also displayed unusual power by lifting both Machine Guns at once for a double Death Valley Driver.

In the finish, Bashir forced Young out of the ring and tried resisting a sunset flip from Jay Lethal by gripping the ropes. The referee kicked Bashir's hands off the ropes, allowing the roll-up to complete. Jay Lethal pinned Sheik Abdul Bashir for his team at the recorded 13:54. Consequences Creed and Young were winners but did not score the deciding cover; Eric Young appeared unhappy with the referee's intervention after the match. The original B- / 7.4 grades a lively opener while acknowledging the officiating wrinkle. WATCH the changing six-man combinations and disputed pin.

Taylor Wilde faced Daffney in TNA's first women's Monster's Ball match, an abbreviated hardcore contest that took place amid their feud involving Abyss and Dr. Stevie. Daffney and Wilde brought trash cans, a stop sign and a hockey stick into the ring. Wilde placed a trash can over Daffney's head and struck it with the stick, then landed a dropkick. Daffney answered with a kick and attempted to escape the surrounding weapons, but the match's short duration prevented the stipulation from developing into the long brawl its billing suggested. Abyss and Dr. Stevie were outside seconds in the original singles match, not two additional legal competitors.

Wilde caught Daffney and delivered a Death Valley Driver onto a trash can. Taylor Wilde pinned Daffney at the archived 3:33. The more elaborate confrontation took place after the bell: Stevie scattered thumbtacks, ordered Abyss to hurt Wilde, and struck Abyss until the wrestler turned on his own adviser and chokeslammed Stevie onto the tacks. That aftermath belongs to the event's angle, not to the original winner's pin or Monster's Ball scoring. The inherited C- / 5.6 reflects a short bout with a memorable post-match scene. SKIP for match quality unless following the characters.

Suicide defended the TNA X Division Championship against Daniels after a controversial challenge to the masked champion's identity. Daniels countered Suicide's aerial offense with a series of holds and slams, while Suicide survived several near falls. The Motor City Machine Guns then interfered: Chris Sabin distracted the referee and Alex Shelley attacked Suicide. Daniels covered Suicide and was initially announced as the new champion, but an arena replay revealed the illegal involvement. Daniels refused to accept a title won through somebody else's interference and requested that the referee restart the match for five minutes. Suicide agreed, so the preliminary three-count was not the final recognized decision.

The overtime resumed with desperate counters, and Daniels almost finished Suicide with a late offensive sequence. Suicide survived and answered with a near fall of his own, but the allotted five minutes expired without a decisive cover or submission. Suicide retained the X Division Championship in a draw. The important distinction is between the first tainted apparent result and the official outcome after Daniels' sporting decision to restart. The inherited B+ / 8.0 captures the wrestling and the unusually consequential sportsmanship angle; it does not turn the first announced Daniels victory into the historical final result.

Angelina Love defended the TNA Knockouts Championship against Awesome Kong, with Raisha Saeed accompanying the challenger. Kong used her size to dominate the early contest, knocking Love down with heavy strikes and preventing the champion from sustaining offense. Love tried to keep moving, but Kong repeatedly dragged her back and threatened a finishing power move. Saeed's presence became relevant only when Love reached for a spray bottle at ringside. Kong accidentally knocked Saeed from the apron while trying to stop the attempted interference, leaving the champion with a momentary opening. This was still a singles title defense, not a handicap match involving Saeed.

Love sprayed Kong in the eyes and quickly caught the blinded challenger in a roll-up. Angelina Love pinned Awesome Kong to retain the Knockouts Championship at the recorded finish. Kong answered after the bell with repeated Implant Busters, but those attacks were outside the official contest and did not reverse the result. The decisive pin was therefore a tainted escape by the champion rather than a decisive power reversal. The original C / 6.3 reflects a brief title defense dependent on ringside distraction; SKIM the finish and separate Kong's post-match retaliation.

Samoa Joe fought Kevin Nash in a singles match that grew out of their bitter personal split. Joe attacked without delay and focused on Nash's injured body, while Nash used his size to halt the younger wrestler's rush. A bloodied Nash managed hard strikes and near falls despite Joe's aggressive offense. Joe repeatedly pursued a rear-naked choke, but Nash reached the ropes on earlier attempts and the referee required a break. Those interruptions explain why the final submission was different from an ordinary choke applied in mid-ring. Neither wrestler entered as a defending champion on this card.

Joe secured another choke and pulled Nash's arm away from the ropes so that the veteran could not escape by grabbing them again. Samoa Joe forced Kevin Nash to submit to the rear-naked choke, ending the match without a pinfall. Joe then continued attacking after the bell until officials and Scott Steiner became involved; the post-match violence did not convert the official submission into a disqualification. The inherited C+ / 6.7 reflects a direct physical encounter with a clearly established final hold. SKIM the repeated rope-break attempts and the final trapped-arm adjustment.

Beer Money's James Storm and Robert Roode met the British Invasion's Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus in the finals of Team 3D's tag-team tournament. Winning the tournament, not immediately capturing the TNA World Tag Team Championship, was the prize. Rob Terry accompanied the British team and repeatedly attempted to alter the referee's decisions. Beer Money built offense through fast tags and coordinated holds, while Magnus and Williams sought to isolate one opponent and use their ringside numerical advantage. When Terry pulled the referee away from a Beer Money cover, the official ejected him from ringside, leaving the four actual wrestlers to contest the finish.

Williams still had access to the Feast or Fired briefcase and attempted to use it as a weapon. Roode wrestled the case away, and Storm delivered a superkick that drove Williams back into it. Robert Roode pinned Doug Williams to win the tag tournament final for Beer Money. Magnus was a losing legal partner but did not receive the deciding fall. The case involvement and Terry's attempted interference should not be misrepresented as a routine clean pin or a tag-title transfer on this particular night. The inherited B / 7.7 recognizes the lively team exchanges and consequential tournament outcome. WATCH the late sequence.

A.J. Styles defended the TNA Legends Championship against Booker T in an I Quit match, a stipulation under which a three-count pin could not determine the title. Styles attacked aggressively and tried to force Booker to give up through sustained holds. Booker answered with veteran counterwrestling and repeatedly declined to speak the required words. Sharmell supported Booker at ringside while Jenna also took part in the wider feud's interference. The spectators and referee had to judge whether a surrender was actually communicated, making the difference between the wrestler's own words and a ringside towel important to the record.

Styles eventually caught Booker in a punishing flying armbar. Booker refused to say 'I Quit,' but Jenna threw a towel into the ring as he suffered in the hold. The referee ended the bout and A.J. Styles retained the Legends Championship after Jenna threw in the towel. The result was a stoppage caused by a third party rather than an audible submission or pinfall by Booker. The inherited B+ / 8.3 reflects an emotionally convincing final hold and the controversial ringside decision. WATCH the final armbar and distinguish the ruling from Booker's actual refusal.

Ultimate Sacrifice paired Sting, Jeff Jarrett, Kurt Angle and reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion Mick Foley in a four-way where each wrestler risked a different possession. Foley put up his championship, Sting his career, Jarrett his company shares and Angle his leadership of the Main Event Mafia. A wrestler's stake was on the line if he lost the decisive fall, so there was no guarantee that Foley's belt would change hands simply because the match had a winner. All four wrestlers competed legally rather than in tag teams. They exchanged alliances and interruptions as each attempted to ensure somebody else's stake would be lost.

Jarrett ultimately caught Angle and delivered the Stroke from an elevated position onto a steel chair. As Jarrett tried to capitalize, Sting reached Angle first and covered him. Sting pinned Kurt Angle, taking over leadership of the Main Event Mafia under the stipulation. Foley had not been pinned and therefore kept the World Heavyweight Championship; Sting did not retire and Jarrett did not lose his shares. The individual who took the fall, not merely who won a four-way, determined the particular reward. The inherited B+ / 8.2 credits the unusual high-stakes structure while recording the precise outcome. WATCH the final Jarrett-to-Sting reversal.