TNA Destination X 2013 Review

TNA Original unseats World Champ Bully Ray

By Phil Allely

This past week on TNA's flagship show Impact (broadcast last night on Challenge in the UK/Ireland) current X Division champion Chris Sabin gave up his X Division Championship for a shot at Aces and Eight's president Bully Ray in the main event of the X Division themed Impact TV taping.

Sabin has been with TNA for ten years so far and held the X Division gold multiple times, he also formed a formidable team with fellow high-flyer Alex Shelley for many years too.

Recent years have seen Shelley leave TNA and Sabin undergo major surgery on both his knees.

Those surgeries gave many critics the opportunity to write off Sabin as a serious competitor for any title any time soon. However here he was now poised to face off against one of the most sadistic and brutal performers in the world of wrestling and he not only stood up against him, he beat him at his own game too.

In the past Destination X was an X Division only themed PPV, that saw the companies mid-card roster members take to the big stage. This year of course due to the reduction in PPV events TNA opted to take the event down the Impact route instead.

Sabin was subjected to a huge amount of brutal offence from the A&8's head honcho here and you did really feel he was set for failure throughout. But the dogged enthusiasm and energy he offered up made you believe in him.

The match itself saw Ray unleash all manner of hurt on his foe. Chris sported some serious marks on his body form the get go. This was a hard-hitting scrap, we saw A&8's interfere, the Main Event Mafia even things up and for once justice prevailed.

Sabin pulled off the shock win after a number of run-ins and he used the much-used hammer to swerve events his way.

Elsewhere we saw Austin Aries beat Bobby Roode in a Bound For Glory series encounter. We also saw former TNA star Sonjay Dutt best Homicide and Petey Williams for a shot at the now abandoned X title. Taking himself to the same spot was the former Suicide (now Manik), who overcame the duo of Chavo and Kenny King. Next up we saw three younger TNA stars compete for the last X Division title match spot. The UK's own Rockstar Spud was on fine form here, but he did have stiff competition. Spud and Greg Marascuilo worked well with Spud, Marascuilo pulled off the win too.

The Destination X Impact show worked well and having less time than a PPV things progressed faster too. For the most part the matches worked well and the main event finish git many of us by (pleasant surprise).

TNA may be taking a gamble by making a man with such weak knees a World Champ, but this confidence in a company original shows they are one who are more than up for challenging their nay sayers.

I for one look forward to seeing were TNA and Sabin take things now.