TNA has seen more than its share of highs and lows over the years. Yet, when it comes to true and utter lows, it's hard to top Victory Road 2011. A decade ago, TNA put on a match that has come to symbolize everything wrong with the company. What should have been a top-level battle between Sting and Jeff Hardy for the World title turned into a farce that had fans tearing TNA apart online.
Even with Hardy in WWE and Sting in AEW and TNA moving on, this match is still talked about by fans...and not in a good way. Newcomers may not be aware of it, but there was serious concern TNA might not recover from this debacle. They have yet its legacy for all involved remains rough. Here is now the entire mess of Victory Road 2011 took place and why it's so infamous for one of the worst moments in the history of the entire business.
10 Hardy's Return
The ball for this whole thing got rolling in 2010 when TNA went head-to-head with Monday Night RAW. Having left WWE under his typical cloud, Jeff Hardy returned to TNA in a confusing cage match. Despite his weird attitude, Hardy was still over with the crowds and soon one of the company's hottest merchandise sellers.
In other words, he was very popular, which played a significant factor in what was going to happen as he was challenging for the TNA World Title at Bound For Glory.
9 Immortal
Sting had warned Dixie Carter over putting too much trust in Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, but she rebuffed him. As it turned out, Sting was right as. At the 2010 Bound for Glory pay-per-view, Hogan, Bischoff, and Hardy all turned heel to aid Hardy in winning the TNA World Heavyweight Title.
They soon formed the nWo-like Immortal faction, reaching out to Sting and Kevin Nash to join. Both men not only refused but left the company to allow Immortal to run roughshod over things.
8 3.3.11
In early 2011, WWE began airing ads of a mysterious cloaked figure and the tagline "2.24.11." This led to speculation that Sting had finally signed with the company. It turned out to be merely hyping the return of The Undertaker.
TNA, of course, had to completely rip it off by promoting "3.3.11." This led to Sting making his grand return, although there was never any mystery about who this was.
7 Sting Beating Hardy
A typical company might have had Sting's return be unique and then a slow build towards a Hardy match. Not TNA. Instead, right after his return (hyped through the night as a "mystery" to fans), Sting defeated Jeff Hardy in less than five minutes for the TNA World Title.
Yes, no build whatsoever, Sting simply got the title back before a North Carolina audience. While the pop was good, the sudden change was jarring on the Immortal storyline.
6 Immortal Fighting
Hardy would immediately counter that the title change was unfair as he hadn't had time to prepare for Sting. As the "owner" of TNA, Bischoff agreed and announced that Victory Road (taking place just days later) would feature Sting vs Hardy for the title as the main event.
Note that TNA waited just days before the pay-per-view to announce the main event, leaving little time to hype up this attraction.
5 Hardy's Entrance
The entire show wasn't too bad, but the main event was the key. As Hardy's music played, there was a long silence as, for roughly 40 seconds, no one exited. Finally, Hardy came out...or instead stumbled out. It was blatantly obvious to everyone something was seriously wrong.
Hardy was clearly intoxicated, and it was stunning no one realized how bad it was until he showed up. Both Sting and the ref looked embarrassed just being there.
4 Bischoff's Sudden Call
Anyone with eyes could tell there was no way Hardy was in any shape whatsoever to compete even as announcer Jeremy Borash gave the big introductions. This brought out Bischoff, who talked to both men to tell them he was calling an audible. Bischoff cut a heel promo where he made the match no DQ and insulted Sting.
This let Sting laying out Bischoff, but the true reason was to give Hardy a little more time to pull himself together. Bischoff rolled out to allow the debacle to finally take place.
3 The "Match"
Remember, this was the main event of a major PPV event for the TNA World Title. The bell rang, and Hardy looked lackluster as he mimicked throwing his shirt to the crowd. Even the announcers were complaining about his behavior.
Hardy and Sting threw some weak punches before Sting hit a Scorpion Death Drop. He covered Hardy, who was clearly trying to kick out, but Sting held him down. In less than 90 seconds, the match was over with Sting champion.
2 The Fallout
To say that fans didn't take this well would be an understatement. The entire Impact Zone erupted in boos, outraged at the farce they'd witnessed. As fans chanted curses, Sting was shown on camera yelling out, "I agree." Hardy just sat in the ring, looking like he had no clue what had just happened.
The online reaction was worse, with many who'd wasted money on the show demanding refunds. It wasn't only Hardy alone but also how no one could have realized his condition to try and cobble together a replacement main event, something better than a 90-second "match."
1 The Legacy
It took TNA a long time to recover from this. To little shock, the entire bout topped lists of the worst wrestling moments of 2011. Hardy was cut loose with Immortal quickly burying him as a loser. However, in August, Hardy announced his return to TNA, doing videos acknowledging he'd "hit rock bottom" in this mess and apologizing for his actions.
A year later, Hardy was once more TNA World Champion. While some may agree with giving him a second chance, it has to be remembered how Hardy was responsible for arguably the most embarrassing moment in TNA's history.