Sacrifice 2010: Van Dam-Styles Finishes a Card Packed with Consequential Results

The Motor City Machine Guns earned the next TNA World Tag Team Championship opportunity by defeating Beer Money and Team 3D in a 13:13 three-team opener. Alex Shelley began with Robert Roode, and Beer Money’s attempts to isolate the smaller Guns repeatedly gave way to Shelley and Chris Sabin speed and combination offense. Brother Ray made a blind tag as Storm controlled Sabin, bringing Team 3D size into play. Team 3D had chances to finish the contest, including an attempted 3D on Roode, but the other two teams never stayed neutral long enough for the veterans to take control.

James Storm spat beer into Brother Devon’s eyes, disrupting the attempted 3D and leaving Ray open to the Guns neckbreaker-and-splash combination. Sabin covered Ray for the victory. The final counter works because it resolves the confusion created by three teams fighting simultaneously and awards a title shot rather than merely an opening-card trophy. A B+ (8.1) and watch recommendation credit the crisp doubles-team sequences and tangible tag-division consequence, even though the crowded final exchanges can be difficult to follow.

Rob Terry defended the TNA Global Championship against Orlando Jordan in a match built around one vulnerable body part. The champion dominated with heavy throws and clotheslines until Jordan trapped his leg in the ropes, attacked the knee, and continued targeting it against the ring post. Jordan used slow, grounded pressure to interrupt Terry early power offense. His decision to expose his knee and climb the ropes for a larger knee drop finally gave Terry a route back into the match.

Terry moved out of the descending strike and immediately caught Jordan with the Freakbuster for the three count, retaining the title. The dispute did not end with the bell: Jordan attacked Terry on the entrance ramp, then drove the injured knee against the championship belt. That post-match injury attack was a stronger development than most of the title defense itself. The C- (5.8) acknowledges a recognizable knee-work story, but its execution has long stretches of repetitive attacks before a sudden finish. A skim of the closing sequence and the later ambush covers the essential storyline.

Kazarian defended the TNA X Division Championship against Douglas Williams, whose travel problems had forced the promotion to strip him of the title before Kazarian won it. Their 13-minute rematch leaned heavily on chain wrestling, with Williams using headlocks and leverage while Kazarian answered with arm drags, quick rollups and slingshot offense. Williams teased the Chaos Theory rolling German suplex several times but Kazarian kept escaping, including through a counter that nearly produced a pin. The deliberate pace placed the division technical side ahead of the high-flying style both men also knew.

Late in the contest Williams drove Kazarian into a corner with a dangerous-looking buckle powerbomb, then survived Kazarian attempts at a piledriver and other counters. Williams finally caught his opponent for the Chaos Theory and pinned him to regain the championship. The injury risk of the corner sequence takes some shine off a match that otherwise establishes a coherent and earned title change. Its B+ (8.1) reflects purposeful counterwrestling and the explicit reversal of Kazarian short reign, not just the fact that a belt changed hands.

Madison Rayne put her Knockouts Championship against Tara career, giving an otherwise short singles match direct personal consequences. Tara imposed the more powerful offense and escaped several rollups, repeatedly looking for the Widow’s Peak. Rayne kept slipping out of the finishing hold and refused to let the veteran turn the contest into an extended power exchange. Tara connected with a moonsault from the top turnbuckle, yet Rayne kicked out before the count of three.

Tara returned to the ropes looking for a second moonsault, but the champion rolled clear and hit a neckbreaker variation for the pin. Rayne retained the title while Tara had to leave TNA under the stipulation. The emotional farewell after the bell, including appreciative chants and Tara returning for her pet spider, supplied more weight than the abbreviated physical contest. A C (6.3) fits a match whose career-or-title setup had genuine stakes but whose decisive mistake came quickly. Skim the failed second moonsault and the aftermath to understand the title picture.

The Band entered its tag-title defense against Ink Inc. with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall representing a faction that also included Eric Young. Shannon Moore tried to use his speed against Hall size, while Jesse Neal matched Nash strength in the larger exchanges. A missed Nash corner attack gave the challengers an opening; Neal later attempted a spear that instead drove into the referee, leaving the ring open to interference. Young appeared with a kendo stick and tried to help Nash, but the match breakdown created an unexpected second intruder.

Brother Ray reached the ring, seized the weapon and appeared poised to strike Nash. Instead he hit Jesse Neal, reviving tension between the former partners. Young positioned Nash over the incapacitated Neal and revived the referee to count the Band pin. This was an interference-driven defense rather than a showcase of sustained competitive tag wrestling. The C (6.3) grade and skim verdict recognize that the betrayal advancing Neal story is the real purpose of the match, not the champions ability to outwrestle Ink Inc.

Abyss faced Desmond Wolfe in a grudge match shaped by the accusations involving Chelsea and the competing demand over Abyss Hall of Fame ring. Chelsea pleaded before the bell to stop the confrontation, but Wolfe insisted on improving his position in the promotion rankings. Abyss attacked Wolfe on the ramp and overpowered him inside the ring until Chelsea provided a distraction. Wolfe worked the larger man arm and briefly used a more methodical approach, though Abyss recovered enough to hit a chokeslam.

The decisive distraction arrived when Chelsea occupied the referee and passed brass knuckles to Wolfe. Wolfe struck Abyss with them, but the giant survived the ensuing cover and quickly hit the Black Hole Slam for the victory. The finish tied the match directly to the feud deception without implying that the knuckles produced a clean result for Wolfe. Its C+ (6.8) grade values the clear monster comeback and the Chelsea interference connection; it also acknowledges that repeated distractions interrupted a potentially stronger fight. The angle is worth skimming for its specific payoff, not the entire match.

Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson met without a championship but with the two most visible new personalities of TNA spring 2010 trading insults and crowd loyalties. Their 13:57 match drew dueling chants and a series of counterattacks as Hardy fought from the outside back into the ring. Anderson landed his Mic Check for a near fall, forcing Hardy to survive an established finishing move rather than simply take over. Hardy countered with kicks and a facebuster-style suplex as Anderson struggled to hold the advantage.

Hardy climbed to the top turnbuckle and connected with the Swanton Bomb for the victory. Anderson recovered afterward and appeared ready to attack from behind before extending a handshake instead; Hardy declined, leaving their relationship unresolved. That final refusal is an important story beat separate from the clean wrestling result. The B (7.8) reflects credible near-fall tension and a meaningful win between two featured names, even if it lacks the championship consequences of the matches surrounding it. It is worth watching for the Mic Check escape, Swanton finish and uncertain aftermath.

Sting and Jeff Jarrett did not have a conventional twelve-second wrestling match. Before Jarrett could even walk to the ring, Sting attacked him backstage with a baseball bat and continued the beating toward the ringside area. Jarrett was bleeding and unable to protect himself by the time Sting dragged him to the ring. Sting used the steps to further attack Jarrett leg and shoulder. The extensive prebell assault explains how such a brief official bout could be part of an upper-card pay-per-view feud.

Once Jarrett was forced into the ring and the referee signaled the start, Sting hit a Scorpion Death Drop and pinned him immediately. The attack continued after the count and only ended when medical staff and Hulk Hogan arrived; Sting even shoved Jarrett from the stretcher before departing. This was a storyline assault presented with the technical form of a match. A D (4.5) and skip recommendation describe the competitive portion rather than denying that the angle advanced the wider Sting/Hogan/Jarrett conflict. It is useful historical footage but has almost no match replay value.

Rob Van Dam made his second TNA World Heavyweight Championship defense against the former champion A.J. Styles in the longest match of Sacrifice 2010, running 24:47. Styles used his agility and Ric Flair ringside presence to keep Van Dam from developing the rhythm that had won him the belt in April. Van Dam answered with rope-assisted kicks and a moonsault on the entrance ramp while Flair tried to interfere. The referee eventually ejected Flair, but he did not leave the scene completely, continuing to seek a way back into the title match.

Styles scored two-counts with a tornado DDT, a forearm and a powerbomb counter to Rolling Thunder, but he could not convert a Styles Clash. He later missed a 450 splash. When Flair tried to approach again, Jay Lethal intercepted him and tied him up with a Figure Four, leaving Styles without that support. Van Dam escaped a superplex, knocked Styles from the turnbuckle and landed the Five-Star Frog Splash to retain. The A (9.1) credits an extended athletic championship defense with concrete counters and a clean decisive pin, while recognizing that Flair interruption was an avoidable distraction.