BY WADE KELLER

Here are my Random Thoughts in Chronological Order on the TNA Victory Road PPV tonight. For full details on the show, check out James Caldwell's report on PWTorch.com's Main Listing.

1 -- TOMMY DREAMER vs. BROTHER RAY

-It's the Tommy Dreamer Specialty, a stand-up brawl through the crowd with various apparatus used as weapons. We got a big stuffed animal and a blow up sex doll used in the match. It's reminding me too much of those WCW Uncensored debacles.

-Ten or so long minutes into the match, with Ray in control, he called for Devon. Devon's sons walked out, one of them in a neck brace. Ray called them to the ring. Devon entered the ring from behind and surprised Ray with a 3D with Dreamer's help, scoring the pin.

-These stand-up weapons brawls as opening match novelties just feels dated, but in the context of TNA it's relatively harmless as the crowd tends to wake up when wrestlers are using this approach. And it's basically the only way to use Dreamer. (*)

PROMO: Velvet Sky differs with Winter's assessment that she's starting to "see the light" regarding her involvement in the Beautiful People.

2 -- ANGELINA LOVE & WINTER vs. SARITA & ROSITA - TNA KNOCKOUTS TAG TITLE MATCH

-Sarita says before the match she's bringing the titles back to Mexico where they belong.

-Short match under five minutes, so at least they're consistent on PPV in that Knockouts matches on TV are also short.

-Terrible timing on the finish to the point of being really embarrassing. Sky was late arriving yanking the Knockout tag title belt away from Rostita as she stood there aiming it at Winter for what felt like eternity without swinging it. Rosita turned around and protested Sky's interference. That gave Winter an opening to roll up Rosita, but Sarita reversed the roll-up. The ref was very late getting back into the ring and he counted three. One of the worst final minutes of a match in I've seen in a long time. Just poorly timed and therefore really contrived looking. Taz said, "A lot of moving parts." That's his way of saying "ugly as a bowling shoe."

-More dissension between Sky and Winter afterward, with Love caught in the middle. Sky insisted to Winter she tried to help her. She did, so why is Winter upset? (1/2*)

SKIT: Jeff Jarrett shows Karen a "great time" on amusement rides at the Universal Studios theme park. Karen is dressed for a royal ball, not an afternoon with the kids, and her face shows her disappointment in the honeymoon. She tries to get Jeff to send the kids back to the hotel room.

INTERVIEW: Matt Morgan tells Christy Hemme he still has his eye on the TNA World Title even though Eric Bischoff has sidetracked him by sending Hernandez after him.

3 -- HERNANDEZ vs. MATT MORGAN - FIRST BLOOG

-The start of the match - with Morgan running into the ring and charging at Hernandez - matches the tone and intensity of the feud. It's nice that they didn't start with a collar and elbow hook-up. Instead we got aggressive offense by Morgan.

-Taz talked about the brutality of the First Blood match rules. He says he "kind of likes it."

-A plant ran into the ring. The ref tackled him and Morgan helped kick him out of the ring. The original ref was down, so Jackson James ran out to replace him. Meanwhile, Morgan stole a chain from Hernandez and KO'd him. The camera zoomed in on Hernandez fumbling with a white towel. It appeared like he was looking for a blade. Instead, though, when he got up and sprayed a blood-like substance all over Morgan's chest. Morgan looked a bit confused, but set up more offense on Hernandez. The ref returned to the ring and saw blood all over Morgan's chest, so he awarded Hernandez the match. As Hernandez celebrated at ringside, it was clear he had wiped blood from a cut on his forehead.

-That's the type of finish that makes the ref look like a dolt since it's always possible to get blood from an opponent on you in the course of a match. The obvious thing to do - and every viewer at home is thinking this - is for the ref to check for an actual cut. He didn't, and he didn't even want to listen to Morgan's explanation. I know the point here is to "create heat" for giving Hernandez a controversial unfair win, but more so it just undercuts any sense that there's intelligent referees. Even Morgan looked dumb for not wiping the blood from his chest sooner.\

-An okay brawl up until a weak over-constructed finish. (*1/2)

INTERVIEW: Max Buck told Christy that his brother has agreed to help him win the X Title because it's his birthday. Jeremy didn't seem totally on board.

INTERVIEW: Kaz told Jeremy Borash his experience in Ultimate X Matches. He said that adds up to, "as Charlie Sheen would say... winning!" Okay, maybe two weeks ago that's slightly clever. Today, really tired and played out. That's a line that Robbie should have said in a Zach Ryder dorky kind of way.

SKIT: Cookie complained to Robbie E. backstage that he wouldn't make time to talk to her about something very important. He ignored her and walked away.

ANNOUNCERS: Taz told Tenay when he watched Ultimate X matches before he came to TNA, he told himself that's a match he never wanted to compete in.

3 -- KAZ vs. JEREMY BUCK vs. MAX BUCK vs. ROBBIE E. - ULTIMATE X MATCH

-First significant "TNA, TNA" chant after Kaz gave Max an RKO/Diamond Cutter after Max dropped from the cable above. T

-The personalities here just don't live up to past Ultimate X matches. Robbie is too much of a gimmicky personality rather than an athletic high flyer. The Bucks are a fun tag act, but not really seen as serious singles X Division wrestlers. Kaz is okay, but not really a centerpiece X Division act in terms of charisma or highspots/athleticism.

-Kaz hit a twisty-turny powerslam on Jeremy off the top rope. That popped the crowd for the novelty factor and impact.

-Jeremy went for the belt, which upset Max on his birthday. They battled over the belt where the cables cross and both k oncked each other down. Kaz walked the cable and used the scaffolding to hold himself upright. He reached down and grabbed the belt out of Robbie E's arms and then dropped to the mat for the win.

-This is one of those gimmicks that doesn't work if it's used to elevate talent when placed on the mid-card. It either has to be the culmination of four excellent X Division wrestlers testing each other in a TNA signature match in one of the two top matches, or else it just feels like a crutch spotfest for wrestlers who aren't at the level that makes it feel important. Enough athletic spots to make it an above-average concept match, but barely. (**3/4)

SKIT: Karen continued to be miserable as Jarrett entertained all of the kids. Jarrett acted oblivious to her being unhappy. He leaned in and kissed her. Karen sarcastically shouted, "This is gonna be great!" after Jarrett promised the kids more thrill rides. This feels too soon to be teasing dissension between Jarrett and Karen. Maybe in six or twelve months after their further established as an act.

INTERVIEW: Beer Money goaded Christy into bending over and then they pretended to screw her from behind. Christy caught on to what they were doing and told them to stop. Then they got serious and talked about defending their tag titles tonight. Robert Roode said Shannon Moore doesn't know anything about respect. James Storm said Moore grew a set of balls because he called them out on national TV. Storm said he'll show them what respect is all about.

4 -- BEER MONEY vs. INK INC. - TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH

-This was the first match that felt like a standard basic wrestling match, but with some good workers hwo don't need crutches or gimmicks to fill ten minutes. It didn't add up to a great match, but it was fine for its position on the card. (**3/4)

-Afterward they unfortunately did another break-up tease. So that makes four instances on the first half of this show of established dueos teasing dissension - Ink Inc., Jeff & Karen, Beautiful People with Winter, and The Bucks.

INTERVIEW: Christy interviewed Matt Hardy and Ric Flair backstage. Flair endorsed Hardy's "Cold Blooded" nickname. Hardy had those two-thirds-closed glassy-eyes but less slurring of his words than usual. Hardy told A.J. Styles that it's nice to be "young and naive," but it doesn't make him successful, famous, or rich. By the way, Matt keeps talking about Styles as if there's this huge age and experience difference, but they could have gone to high school together as they're about four years apart in age.

5 -- A.J. STYLES vs. MATT HARDY (w/Ric Flair)

-I'm curiouis if Matt can step up and have a standout match against Styles, who is one of the easiest people in the business to have a standout match with.

-Slow build the first two minutes, then an explosion of energy by Styles with a dropkick and an attempted slingshot move. Hardy cut him off and went for a suplex, but Styles tossed Hardy to the floor and then went for a dive. Flair yanked on Styles's legs to stop him. Hardy surprised Styles with a hard clothesline. Styles flip-dove onto Hardy at ringside a minute later.

-Later Hardy whipped Styles toward the guard rail at ringside, but Styles slid right under it and came back with a flying forearm to Hardy's chin. "I never seen nothin' like that in my life!" said Taz about Styles sliding under the rail.

-Hardy took over at 6:00. At ringside Flair chopped Styles. Back in the ring Hardy continued his offense.

-Flair gave Styles a "crotch claw" from ringside, which Taz cleverly called a "five on two." Taz said he doesn't want anyone to do that to him - "at least not of the same sex." Uh, I doubt he wants that done by anyone, but thanks for the clarification.

-More back and forth action with Flair giving Hardy the advantage again at 16:00. Hardy hit a moonsault, which unfortunately landed on Styles's legs, but they still did the near fall. Styles avoided a Twist of Hate and then Pele Kicked Hardy off the second rope. Styles then hit Spinal Tap for the win despite Flair trying to yank on the ref's arm.

-Styles wins in 18:00. Hardy kept up nicely and looks significantly more in cardio shape than when he first arrived. (***)

SKIT: Karen yelled at Jarrett for not getting their honeymoon right because "it's missing something." Jarrett said he understands, and said it's missing Kurt Angle. He said on Impact on Thursday, he'll a truce. The kids ran up and caused karen to be drenched in a waterfall. Karen screamed as Jarrett said it's the greatest honeymoon in the world. He kissed her. She almost seemed to break character as if she was having some fun filming the skits.

INTERVIEW: Mr. Anderson told Christy that everyone is getting screwed in the company including Dixie Carter. He said he wanted to rephrase that because it could get misconstrued. "They really put the bone to her... uh... they really put the wood to her." John Cena and Brian Gewirtz are jealous of the witty innuendo that Anderson can get away with.

6 -- MR. ANDERSON vs. ROB VAN DAM - NO. 1 CONTENDER MATCH

-Back and forth match, with RVD setting the pace very early and Anderson taking over with a more methodical approach. Decent pace leading to some ringside action at 12:00, which led to a flat double countout finish after a Mic Check on the ramp. Largely forgettable and plodding. Not awful, but not good. The finish knocks down the star rating, too. (*1/4)

-Taz and Tenay acted totally dumbfounded about what to do now since there's no top contender for the title. The crowd suggested "Restart the Match! Restart the Match!" (Hilarious, other fans audibly shouted, "No!... No!") Or they can just have a Triple Threat match against the winner of the main event.

7 -- STING vs. JEFF HARDY - TNA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

-I still am amazed anyone thought it was a good idea to lead with Sting acknowledging that before he got into pro wrestling he had "no desire" to be a pro wrestler. It just draws attention to the weakest aspect of Sting's career, which is his lack of passion for pro wrestling and the opportunistic way he took the path at other people's urging because he had the look and athleticism, and then he stayed in it once he got tempted with the big guaranteed contracts WCW paid him.

-I am also still amazed they're still using the purple Jeff Hardy version of the TNA Title belt even after Sting won it. The first thing Sting should have done is found out where Eric Young stored the old TNA belt he found in the trash.

-Taz asked, "How many more matches does Sting have in him?"

-Just before the match was about to begin, Eric Bischoff walked out and said, "Slight change of plans." He said The Network got involved in their business on March 3. Bischoff moved in and chatted briefly privately with Hardy. Then he said he is going to be fair and offered a handshake to Sting. Sting didn't accept. Bischoff said after chatting with Hulk Hogan, they decided to even the playing field. Because Hardy didn't have time to prepare for Sting on March 3, they were making this a no-DQ match. Bischoff said Hardy had time to prepare for that, whereas Sting didn't. Sting punched BIschoff and stomped on his hand.

-The match began 36 minutes into the third hour of the PPV, so plenty of time for a full length PPV main event. But Sting moved in and gave Hardy a Scorpion Death Drop seconds into the match and scored a sudden surprising three count. Sting's music played and the crowd was standing in shock. Hardy got up and protested to the ref. Taz called it a shocker. Sting held the belt in the air. Tenay called it a jaw-dropper. Hardy slapped the turnbuckle pad in frustration.

-Tenay and Taz narrated a video recap of the entire PPV, and then they signed off. I was sure there was going to be some sort of follow-up to that, but there wasn't. That was it. Unless there's some sort of weird game going on here, I suspect Sting might have refused to work a match against Hardy. I cannot believe that with 15 minutes to spare, TNA didn't deliver another match, either another opponent for Sting or something... anything. That is among the worst finishes, most customer-based-destroying PPV finishes in history.

-How many people are going to call their cable company and ask for a refund, not get it (because there really is no recourse for this type of thing, unfortunately, as cable companies aren't going to budge due to a booking decision), and then decide not to order TNA PPVs again. This is tremendously damaging to whatever is left of TNA's PPV audience.

-Just playing back the ring entrance, Hardy sauntered to the ring like he was in la-la land. Also, it seemed Bischoff might have delivered news of the finish right there in the ring, as he held the mic away from Hardy and chatted briefly with him, then turned to Sting and offered a handshake, but then held the mic behind his back and talked briefly to Sting so no one else could hear. The whole thing is odd as heck.

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