Victory Road 2009: Major Title Changes Cannot Rescue an Uneven Night

Tara defended the Knockouts Championship against Angelina Love in the opening match with Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne attending the challenger. Tara controlled the first exchanges, surviving attempts to disrupt her momentum from the apron and connecting with a standing moonsault for two. Love sought cover after cover, but the champion kept escaping. When Sky climbed onto the apron and Rayne tried spraying hairspray into Tara’s eyes, Tara ducked and the spray struck Love instead. Tara rolled up the blinded challenger, but the referee was occupied sending the other Beautiful People members away and failed to count the immediate fall.

Love recovered after Tara missed a top-rope moonsault and rolled Tara into a cover. Tara’s foot reached the bottom rope before three, but referee Slick Johnson counted anyway and awarded Love the Knockouts Championship at around seven minutes. Tara protested, attacked Johnson and then hit Love with the Widow’s Peak after the bell. The C (6.0) grade credits the direct title change and an understandable heel-interference setup while acknowledging that a missed rope break, rather than superior wrestling, decided the match. The finish should not be described as a clean pin or a successful defense by Tara.

Matt Morgan faced Daniels at Victory Road with his considerable reach and strength against Daniels’ aerial offense. Morgan began by throwing Daniels outside and driving him into the guardrail, then interrupted a number of early running attacks with shoulders and heavy slams. Daniels kept returning with a dropkick, dive to the floor and a springboard attack that finally brought the larger man down. His agility made the contest competitive, but it came at a cost when Daniels began favoring his leg after the sequence outside the ring. That injury affected the final minutes, not just a post-match explanation of the result.

Daniels countered several Morgan attempts with rollups, then hit a tornado DDT that came close to winning. He moved toward his Best Moonsault Ever, but the injured leg buckled before he could execute the finish. Morgan seized the opening with the Carbon Footprint running boot and then the Hellevator to pin Daniels. The C+ (6.6) reflects a coherent power-versus-flight match with an earned finishing counter, tempered by an awkward late injury beat and one-sided size advantage. It is best watched for Daniels’ comeback and the specific Hellevator finish.

Abyss wrestled his tormentor Dr. Stevie in a No Disqualification match after Stevie asserted he controlled the larger man’s mind and body. Stevie opened with a baton and attempted to run away whenever Abyss began overpowering him. Abyss caught him at ringside, drove him into the guardrail and the wall of the spectator area and bloodied him against the steel ring steps. Returning to the ring, Abyss punished Stevie with chops and sent his face into a chair lodged between the turnbuckles. He hit Shock Treatment but deliberately stopped the cover before three, prolonging the personal punishment rather than taking the immediate victory.

Daffney attempted to interfere with a taser, drawing out Lauren to stop her and briefly distracting the referee. Stevie used the distraction to strike Abyss below the belt and reached for the weapon. Abyss caught him with Black Hole Slam, then took the taser and shocked Stevie in the chest before making the winning pin. The C (6.0) captures a feud-settlement brawl with a definite one-on-one result and a spectacular weapon spot, but very little competitive exchange once Abyss established control. Lauren and Daffney’s roles need separate identification from the official two-person match sides.

Team 3D defended the IWGP Tag Team Championship against the British Invasion, Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams, with Rob Terry stationed at ringside. Brother Devon exchanged holds with Williams before Magnus tagged in and found himself overpowered by Devon and Brother Ray. The challengers then worked over Ray in their corner with fast tags and attacks on the ropes. Terry shoved Devon from the turnbuckle as he prepared the What’s Up headbutt, allowing the British Invasion to continue their control segment. Ray finally escaped, and Devon returned with a shoulder block, chokeslam and side slam before Magnus interrupted a cover. The action became increasingly congested as both challengers tried to isolate one of the brothers.

Team 3D fought off another illegal intervention when Terry accidentally clotheslined Williams instead of Ray. Devon and Ray immediately hit the **3D ON DOUG WILLIAMS**, who **TOOK THE FALL** in the recorded roughly 10:16 match. The champions retained the IWGP belts, not the separate TNA World Tag Team Championship that Beer Money defended later. Sheik Abdul Bashir and Kiyoshi attacked after the bell but Team 3D recovered and put Bashir through a table; that was a separate post-match incident. The C+ (6.8) captures a straightforward tag defense with predictable numbers-based interference and one decisive tandem finish.

Reality television personality Jenna Morasca met Sharmell in an advertised singles match with Awesome Kong in Jenna's corner and Sojournor Bolt accompanying Sharmell. Both women began with elementary clinches and slaps rather than sustained professional wrestling offense. Sharmell knocked Jenna down, took her back for a camel clutch and nearly won with a basic cover, while Jenna countered with a crossbody that earned two. Bolt tripped Jenna at the ropes and briefly helped Sharmell attack while the official's attention wandered. At ringside Kong chased Bolt away, then ended up with a handful of Jenna's hair. The match's technical limitations were apparent long before the finish, with the two seconds supplying most of the recognizable action.

Sharmell charged toward Jenna but instead knocked Bolt off the ring apron. As Sharmell shouted at Kong to give the hair back, **KONG PUNCHED SHARMELL** from ringside and **JENNA PINNED SHARMELL** with a mounted cover in the recorded 5:49. Kong did not legally enter the match or score the fall. After the bell, Jenna demanded an extravagant victory celebration, repeatedly slapped Kong when she refused and was knocked down by Kong's splash. That retaliation was a **POST-MATCH** attack, not a disqualification reversing Jenna's victory. The inherited F (3.0) reflects the difficult pacing and the lack of convincing wrestling, even though the individual fall and comedic aftermath are clear from detailed 2009 live reports.

A.J. Styles defended the TNA Legends Championship against Kevin Nash at Victory Road after the Main Event Mafia warned its members that losing would bring punishment. Styles immediately attacked Nash's legs to neutralize the larger wrestler's strength, forcing rope breaks and moving in and out of the ring to avoid contact. Nash slowed him with a side slam and big boot, knocking Styles to the floor near the guardrail. Styles countered a Jackknife Powerbomb attempt with punches and a cradle, then used a modified Boston crab and repeated kicks to the knee. His late springboard forearm and Pele kick both produced two-counts, providing credible moments of potential retention.

Nash shoved the referee into Styles' intended springboard path and then caught the champion as he came off the ropes. A heavy **CHOKESLAM** put Styles down, and **NASH PINNED STYLES** in the recorded 14:07 to become Legends Champion. The finish was not a Jackknife Powerbomb or disqualification, and no other Main Event Mafia teammate took part in the official fall. Nash was handed the belt afterward as Styles reacted in disbelief. The C- (5.6) reflects a match with a clear tactical contrast and some effective leg-work by Styles, but the slow pacing and blunt one-move ending reduced the payoff. It was a real title switch in a singles match, not a regular television defense.

Beer Money defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Booker T and Scott Steiner of the Main Event Mafia. Robert Roode and James Storm opened with quick combinations, but the challengers repeatedly isolated Storm through corner tags and heavy suplexes. Steiner used an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, Booker attacked from the apron, and Roode eventually entered with a neckbreaker and spinebuster to change the momentum. Beer Money hit tandem offense and almost retained when Storm sprayed beer into Steiner's face, leaving him vulnerable to their DWI finisher. The beer also reached referee Earl Hebner, which complicated his attempt to register the cover.

Booker pulled Hebner from the ring before the three-count on Steiner. As the official tried to restore order, Booker hit a surprise **AXE KICK ON ROODE**. Steiner immediately made the cover and **STEINER PINNED ROODE**, delivering the TNA World Tag Team Championship to Booker and Steiner in the recorded 12:29. Booker did not personally score the final pin, and the beer spot was not a disqualification or the winning move. The C (6.0) credits the champions' effective tag sequences and a clear championship change, with the referee disruption and misdirection making this a tainted Mafia win. It was distinct from the IWGP tag defense earlier in the show, where Team 3D kept a different set of belts.

Samoa Joe met Sting in a grudge match after aligning with the Main Event Mafia and promising to unveil the advisor who had influenced his decision. Joe attacked early with punches and chops before carrying the fight through the Impact Zone audience. Sting answered by driving Joe toward the balcony wall and later trapped him in a guillotine choke, but Joe reached the ropes to escape. Joe used a suicide dive and powerslam to regain control, while Sting countered with a back suplex, lariat and Stinger Splash. The pair exchanged several near falls and fighting sequences without either bringing a title into the ring. The outcome would establish Joe's allegiance more clearly than any championship consequence.

Sting applied the **SCORPION DEATHLOCK** and Joe appeared in trouble when **TAZ WALKED ONTO THE STAGE**, confirming the mystery advisor's identity. Joe fought free, avoided a final top-rope attempt and caught Sting in a **REAR NAKED CHOKE**. **STING SUBMITTED**, giving Joe the decisive win in the recorded 11:36. Taz did not enter the ring or physically strike Sting to cause the submission. Afterward Joe and Taz acknowledged each other before departing. The B- (7.0) recognizes a vigorous fight through the crowd and a clear submission finish, while the advisor reveal supplied more of the dramatic interest than a lengthy clean technical battle.

Kurt Angle defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Mick Foley at Victory Road with the Main Event Mafia having dominated most of the evening. Angle arrived with a groin problem, and Foley tried to exploit the champion's battered body by forcing exchanges outside the ring and into the steel steps. Back inside, Angle targeted Foley's leg and secured an Ankle Lock, but the challenger rolled through it. Foley answered an Angle moonsault miss with a double-arm DDT for a near fall, then brought out Mr. Socko and attempted the Mandible Claw. Angle shoved Foley into the referee, took advantage of the disruption and attempted an Angle Slam, but the move did not lead to a decisive cover. Foley countered a chair threat with his claw and leapt from the apron with an elbow to Angle on the floor.

Foley carried the champion back inside and attempted another submission, but Angle broke free and returned to the **ANKLE LOCK**. Foley reached the bottom rope once, yet Angle drew him away from it, cinched a leg grapevine and forced **FOLEY TO TAP OUT** at roughly 14:05 to retain the championship. The inherited source record rounds the runtime to 14:06, a negligible timing difference that does not alter the title result. The Main Event Mafia came out to celebrate after the bell rather than physically causing the deciding submission. The C+ (6.5) recognizes credible leg-focused mat exchanges but also a modest world-title main event whose performance could not lift a card containing several uneven matches and heavily one-sided faction booking.