christian cage – Sportscolumn Blog

Kurt Angle thought he was pretty big stuff as he strutted around the IMPACT! Zone sporting a pair of big, shiny belts; especially since one of the belts is the most coveted prize in TNA. But after the Match of Champions, Angle is going to have to swallow a bit of his pride because his archenemy Samoa Joe is now walking around with three title belts around his pudgy waist.

Thanks to a little opportunistic measure that would have made Edge envious, Joe sneakily picked up the pin on Brother Ray of Team 3D after Angle nailed him with the Olympic Slam and, not only retained his X Division championship, but won both of the World Tag Team Titles! Now, after a month of madness, scenarios and possibilities ran wild en route to Victory Road, the only question that remains on the heels of the PPV is who will Joe choose to be his new tag team partner? We’re not too sure who Joe’s going to recruit, but we’re pretty certain we’ll have a much better idea on Thursday evening around 9:30 ET.

But Joe’s got a lot more to think about than just crowing a fellow tag team champ, he’s also going to have to contend with an increasingly unstable Christopher Daniels who won the Ultimate X Gauntlet match. By grabbing the giant “X” dangling over the center of the ring, Daniels became the number one contender for Joe’s X Division crown. As usual, the contest was full of high risk for the wrestlers and high rewards for the fans and while Daniels won the match, it was Kaz who stole the show. As Daniels lay prone, hanging upside down from the suspended ropes, Kaz nailed a Diamond Cutter that sent both men crashing to the mat below. Needless to say, chants of “TNA! TNA!” rang out throughout living rooms across America.

But no PPV would be complete without a show stopping performance from the Instant Classic. While Chris Harris isn’t even close to being in Christian Cage’s class, the two were able to put on an entertaining bout that saw The Wildcat kick out of pin attempt after pin attempt. But in the end, Cage won the match after ~~Goldust~~ Dustin Rhodes interfered by attacking Harris from behind. To some it would be considered a tainted victory, but to Cage it’s just another day at the office.

Complete results from Victory Road

Christopher Daniels won the Ultimate X match to become the new number one contender to the X Championship

The Voodoo Kin Mafia defeated Basham & Damaja

James Storm defeated Rhino

The Motor City Machineguns beat Jerry Lynn and Mr. Backlund

Eric Young & Gail Kim defeated Robert Roode & Ms. Brooks

Christian Cage defeated “Wildcat” Chris Harris after interference from Dustin Rhodes

Sting and Abyss beat Tomko and AJ Styles

Samoa Joe won the Match Of Champions to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship

TNA Impact: one match, one belt, one hour

Kurt Angle is still the champ, but just
barely.

If you are anything like us, you’re getting burnt out on all the Chris Benoit talk surrounding murder, suicide, roids, divorce, retardation and so on. So, what better way to break away from the doom and gloom that is currently surrounding the WWE than to throw yourself into the bright and sunny world of TNA.

Hopefully you’re not a big fan of Shark Boy, Sonjay Dutt or Eric Young because there was simply no time for fringe losers to grab the spotlight on Thursday night as TNA Impact was dominated by a three man match for the TNA World Heavyweight title between Rhyno, Christian Cage and the champ Kurt Angle. In a 60 minute slug fest that saw plenty of close counts and interference from guys like Abyss, Sting, Samoa Joe, Tomko, AJ Styles, and others, it was Kurt Angle who eventually had his hand raised in victory. Thanks to a little beer in Rhyno’s eyes courtesy of a James Storm sudsy spit spritzer, Angle was able to finally obtain the one, two, three. The win teams up Angle with Joe in the Match of Champions at the Victory Road PPV against whoever ends up being the tag team title holders at the time. That will be determined next week when the current tag champs Team 3-D takes on LAX and the combo of Christopher Daniels and Styles.

While we still think that this Match of Champions is a bit of a looney idea, it could end up causing a pretty big ripple throughout the TNA roster as this match opens up a whole worm can full of possibilities. Who will Joe or Angle pick to become the other half of the tag champs should one of them pick up the pin? Would they be willing to set aside their differences and become a super power by selecting the other and sharing four titles between the two of them? Or will one of the tag champs, whoever that might be, win either the X-Division or World Heavyweight Championships? Can any of the three tag teams in the running for the match survive the jealousy of their partner holding a pair of titles without dividing the duo?

These might seem like petty questions, but isn’t it nice to ponder something besides what a sick bastard Benoit is every once in a while?