When the very first pay-per-view event for Impact Wrestling was broadcast in 2004, wrestling fans were not sure what to expect. With the show named Victory Road featuring the best wrestlers that Impact had to offer, the event was a make-or-break affair for the small promotion.

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With the 2022 Victory Road event occurring and many events in the history books, there has been a share of both breathtaking and puzzling moments to occur over the years. While it would be difficult for any promotion to produce a great event one hundred percent of the time, Victory Road may have the most variability of any of them.

12 2011

When things go wrong at a wrestling event, it is difficult to focus on anything but the negative aspects of that show. Unfortunately, Victory Road 2011 has very few redeeming qualities including one of the biggest missteps in Impact Wrestling history.

Apart from the rest of the show being lackluster, the main event between Sting and Jeff Hardy was one of the most unforgettable moments in the company's history, and not for good reasons. The main event of the show lasted less than two minutes due to Jeff Hardy's personal demons preventing him from performing, leading for this event to become infamous among wrestling fans and of Hardy's darkest moments.

11 2009

When a wrestling match is bad, it can sometimes be forgotten by fans and the performers can redeem themselves later in their careers. However, there was a match at Victory Road 2009 that was so bad that wrestling fans are still chuckling to themselves many years later.

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Both Sharmell and Survivor-winner Jenna Morasca are not seasoned performers, which is exactly why a match between the two of them should never have been featured on a pay-per-view event in the first place. This match sent women's wrestling back in the eyes of wrestling fans and is considered one of the worst matches in professional wrestling history.

10 2006

Despite 2006 being one of Impact Wrestling's best years with some of the best wrestlers on their roster, that year's Victory Road had few redeeming qualities. Despite being at their peak, even the best rosters cannot hold up against poor booking.

While wrestlers like Christian Cage and the X-Division wrestlers showed up well, there were several really low spots on the show. With both Raven versus Larry Zbyszko in a hair-versus-hair match and a mixed tag team match featuring Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles all being poorly received, Impact Wrestling would rather fans focus on the bright spots of 2006 instead of this Victory Road dud.

9 2017

After several years of running as a successful promotion, Impact Wrestling lost its way around 2012. With many confusing booking decisions and poor showings, they lost their fan's trust and struggled to regain what they built for many years. By 2017, they were not even running monthly pay-per-views anymore and that year's Victory Road was a television special.

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Also by 2017, most of their star roster members had moved on, and their roster was made up of little star power. Combined with the confusion Global Force Wrestling merger, fans were confused about what the company stood for and their events became very lackluster.

8 2010

Despite being built on the backs of homegrown rising stars, Impact Wrestling has often struggled to stop its reliance on names from other promotions. While it is exciting to see wrestling stars appear on different programming, they do not always turn in the best performances.

While Rob Van Dam was once a great performer, he seemed to be phoning in his Impact Wrestling run as Impact World Heavyweight Champion. He showed little luster like in his previous performances and dragged much of the show down. Despite the X-Division and Knockouts showing up well, the main event scene hurt the show overall.

7 2019

After several years of mismanagement, Impact Wrestling started to find its footing again in 2019. With a new mission statement and featuring many independent wrestling stars instead of names built in other promotions, things seemed to be on the upswing.

With a show built around new stars like The North - Ethan Page and Josh Alexander - Rosemary and Brian Cage, the show felt much fresher. While this Victory Road was still not the best show on Earth, it was a far stride from shows of the past.

6 2007

While Impact Wrestling has never been in direct competition with WWE, there is no denying that its roster has remained one of its strong suits. In 2007, many former WWE talents had made their way to Impact to continue their careers and were still putting on quality matches.

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Despite Kurt Angle winning multiple championships for himself in a single match as a silly stipulation, the Ultimate X Gauntlet and matches featuring Christian Cage and AJ Styles were also strong points of the show.

5 2020

By 2020, the Impact Wrestling roster had shed the stigma of the company's past mistakes and had begun forging a new identity. While much of the roster was not as recognizable as in the past, the quality of the show had improved.

2020 marked the beginning of Josh Alexander's rise to the main event position of the company, and also featured very strong X-Division, Knockouts and World Championship matches. While it did not feature big stars like Sting anymore, Impact's future looked very bright at Victory Road 2020.

4 2012

Two strengths of Impact Wrestling have always been the Knockouts and X-Divisions, which were in full force in 2012. Despite 2012 being the final Victory Road event for five years, the show still fired on all cylinders.

While the appearances of Joker Sting may have been strange, the matches with Austin Aries, Gail Kim, AJ Styles and Kurt Angle were all excellent and showcased what Impact Wrestling is all about - great in-ring action.

3 2021

The 2021 Victory Road event was the beginning of the cross-over between Impact Wrestling and AEW. While the cross-promotion did not live up to the hype overall, it was still a great period for Impact Wrestling inside of the ring.

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With incredible performances in the main event by Christian Cage and Ace Austin, Josh Alexander retaining the X-Division Championship against Chris Sabin and great undercard matches, the event was the beginning of a smooth pace for Impact going forward.

2 2008

For a wrestling event to be considered great, it does not mean that every single match on the card has to blow the roof off the arena. In fact, the 2008 Victory Road event had a very overbooked and cluster-filled main event with Samoa Joe and Booker T, but the rest of the card was top-notch.

From a breathtaking X Cup tag team match, an Ultimate X match, a great Knockouts Championship defence and Full Metal Mayhem, this event was not lacking any star-making performances and should be sought out by any wrestling fan.

1 2004

The peak of Impact Wrestling occurred in the company's early years, and it is fondly remembered by those that have followed the company's history. As the first Victory Road event occurred in 2004, Impact Wrestling was new to the pay-per-view scene but booked this show to near perfection.

With an excellent X-Division gauntlet, AJ Styles challenging for the X-Division Championship and a stellar Ladder Match main event with Jeff Hardy, Impact Wrestling showed that they had all the tools to be a great promotion.