This week for That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It I'll be telling you who I think the winners will be at Victory Road.
It's been a while since I've written a column about TNA and quite honestly it's more or less due to TNA's product being very stale. Now that's just my opinion but even the most die hard has to recognize TNA trying to recycle past storylines and matches. Besides a stale product, TNA really lacks a sense of logic for both their shows and PPVs. An example of this is when Sting returned to TNA AGAIN this past week on Impact. How many times has Sting "returned" to TNA? and more importantly why have him "return." What I mean by that is what is the logic reason, storyline wise for Sting showing up in the Impact Zone? The past few months have really shown how terrible TNA's booking has become and the way Sting is booked is a great example of it. Quite frankly, TNA is booked more like a glorified indy then the second pro wrestling company in the United States. TNA has Sting show up to say he will be at a particular PPV with the only reason being he has name value so they throw him on the show in hopes of getting a few more PPVs. TNA books a "star" on a PPV simply for name value the same way indy companies book a "star" on a show trying to sell more tickets. I'm not trying to bury TNA or Sting here, the reason I'm mentioning this things about TNA's booking is because with the talent roster they have, TNA should be more then capable of producing a product that will help build their company but due to lame storylines, TNA is looked at as more of a joke then a competitive wrestling company. Okay, now that I've written a rant about TNA's booking, let's get to some picks for the PPV.

Gail Kim v.s. Angelina Love is a match that I expect to be very solid and it will show that TNA has a very good women's division. Gail Kim has really made herself a star in TNA and has taken her career to the next level after being released from the WWE. Sometimes you have to wonder why the WWE released such a talented performer but it could be that at the time of Gail's run in the WWE, the company wasn't exactly focused on letting the Women's division get the spotlight. That being said, Gail is one of the few wrestlers that have actually improved their career in TNA after leaving the WWE and she deserves alot of credit for her accomplishments. As for her opponent, Angelina hasn't really shown much in terms of in ring ability but she has a great gimmick that can be used for good storylines and she plays her role of a "diva" very well on Impact. Gail was attack on Impact so I would expect her to get the victory on PPV to even up the score, which would be a way for the feud to continue for atleast a few more weeks.

I was surprised that Taylor has won the Knockout title and I had expected Kong to lose the title to someone TNA had built up for a few months but I guess the point of the storyline was that it's a surprising victory. Taylor, who was under a WWE developmental contract at one point was never really given any real chance to prove she could make it on Raw or Smackdown other then a few dark matches but she showed on Impact that she has some skill. I'm not sure where this storyline could be going but I've narrowed it down to a few possible scenarios. Kong could win the title back on PPV to prove she is still the dominate champion, which could put her over even more as an unstoppable monster or if Taylor retains it could give Kong a chance to move away from the Knockout division considering that she's destroyed nearing all the competition. The third possible scenario is some type of feud between the title but I think the chances of that are slim because if the matches are too competitive or Kong has to sell too many moves, it could tarnish the image of her being unstoppable. This is really tough to pick a winner but I'll pick Taylor to retain the title.

It's going to be a tables match, a falls count anywhere match, or a full metal mayhem match for the six man tag that will feature A.J. Styles, Christain Cage, and Rhino v.s. Kurt Angle and Team 3D. Judging by how much TNA has emphasized the full metal mayhem stipulation, I would expect that will be the type of match for the six man tag. The central feud in this match is Styles v.s. Angle and I'd like to comment on that before discussing who I think will win the six man tag. A Styles/Angle feud five years ago would have been dream matches for both TNA and WWE fans but this is 2008. Forget possible dream matches for a second, let's focus on an aspect of reality. The reality is Kurt Angle is a former shell of himself and if TNA had ANY sense they would let him in the ring. A few weeks ago at the Impact tapings Angle tore his ACL but wrestled the next day with the leg brace he was sporting on Impact. Fact that into his history of a broken neck and you have to ask yourself, why is Kurt Angle still in a wrestling ring? Please don't get me wrong here, I'm from Pittsburgh and I think excluding his TNA run, he is one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time but seeing him continue to wrestle hurt is ridiculous. Angle really is tarnishing his career by continuing to wrestle but it seems like neither TNA or Angle realize that. That aside, for the six man tag at the PPV I would expect Styles, Rhino, and Christain to get the win. The reasoning being, Team 3D hasn't done anything note worthy in a while so there's no real reason to put them over on PPV.

The "Grudge Match" as it's being called will feature Jay Lethal v.s. Sonjay Dutt. The match will probably be fantastic considering that it will involve two of TNA's best young talents but the storyline for the match is ridiculous. This really has Vince Russo's finger prints all over it and could somewhat remind fans of an old episode of Thunder. The whole thing seems rather silly instead of an intense feud and if you seen the segment of Impact that had Sonjay surrounds by a group of people with indian head gear you know what I'm saying here. I'll pick Sonjay to win the match because for some reason I could see a So Cal Val heel turn that will cost Lethal the match.

The World X Cup will feature an Ultimate X match and with talent from around the world it could possibly be the show stealer of the PPV. The only problem with the World X Cup is since it takes place at a TNA show, you know that Team TNA will get the win so that TNA can display their stars as the best in the world, which TNA has every right to do on their shows. It's just that it's become obvious since Team TNA has won every X Cup in the history of the company. There will still be some amazing skills displayed, which is probably the main selling point of the match instead of which team will win.

The tag title match should be good but I don't expect the titles to change hands, atleast not at this point. LAX really defines tag team wrestling and it's good to see there's atleast a few legitimate tag teams left in pro wrestling. As for their opponents, I'm not really a fan of Bobby Rhoode and I think he's been overrated by some but James Storm has really showed his skills so I think the team is a good idea for the tag division in TNA.

The main event is supposed to be the main selling point of the entire PPV but I have to say this is probably the match that I care the least about on the card. I say this because Booker T is main eventing a PPV after his run in TNA has basically fallen flat and Booker is about five years past his prime. It seems like TNA has Booker in the main event because it will sell more tickets in his hometown of Houston where the PPV is being held but TNA seems to have forgotten about the PPV audience. Booker T had a great career that he deserves alot of credit for but if this is the best main event TNA is capable of having then I wouldn't expect them to become a competitive company any time soon. I'll pick Joe to retain the title. That being said, you have to wonder why TNA hasn't had a Joe/AJ match for the title yet? The matches in the past the two had are some of the best in TNA history and it would probably create some buzz around the TNA product.

Until next week
That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling

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