Is the TNA World Championship Becoming a Hot Potato?

I admit it. I was pretty disappointed when I read the spoilers for this past Thursday's episode of Impact where Bobby Roode turned heel on his longtime tag partner James Storm and defeated him for the TNA World Heavyweight Title.

While reading the spoilers, I had the same feelings that many fans did: The turn was too soon. There should have been a slow build. It should have been held off until a pay-per-view and it was too soon for another title change after Storm just won the belt two weeks ago.

Then I watched the match.

Roode's turn and the entire angle and build of that match Thursday was done incredibly well. Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Wrestling called it a "masterpiece."

Concerns about if this was a move by creative in TNA to hot potato the belt and  get a quick ratings spike should be alleviated by how Thursday's match played out and how things are going to go on this week's episode (early warning for spoiler alerts later).

To show how well Thursday worked, we have to begin with the start of the show with Storm coming to the ring. The reaction Storm got from the Macon, Georgia crowd is what you want from the guy you put in a position to be your top babyface.

It's pretty clear Storm is going to be a hit as a babyface—especially at shows in the south. 

Roode then came out and the two had a promo which really got over the fact that, while the two are friends, it was all about the prestige of being world champion. This concept was also put over in promos and video pieces throughout the night.

The world title taking importance over everything else? What a novel concept.

The finish of the match was great. If this had been a matter of Roode simply being jealous of Storm having the title, then it would have needed a slow build up to the eventual turn.

However, it wasn't. Instead, it was booked as if Roode wanted to have a straight-up fair match—but he wanted to be the TNA Heavyweight Champion more.

That's why Roode looked conflicted when looking at the beer bottle before pulling the trigger on using it. The match was played out to where Roode had to be worrying whether or not he could beat Storm straight up.

Now comes the big question: Where to go from here?

The biggest key will be for the announce team of Mike Tenay and Taz to really play up the angle next week. They need to point out that it looked like Roode realized he couldn't beat Storm, and that the temptation of the title was too much for Roode to pass up using the beer bottle that had led to so many Beer Money wins.

Roode has to sell that it was all about the title.

***WARNING SPOILER ALERT FOR THIS WEEK'S UPCOMING IMPACT BEGINS HERE*****

Now, TNA does need to do a slow build on one thing—Storm getting his revenge. That's exactly what they seem to be doing.

This week, Storm is put in an injury angle that puts heat on Roode and delays the rematch between the two until more anticipation is built up.

Instead, it is another Fortune member, AJ Styles, who will get the title shot upcoming at Turning Point. One would think Styles is unlikely to win.

As a matter of fact, Roode should hold the title and not face Storm until Lockdown. That gives ample  time to establish Roode as a tough heel champ and to build a quest towards vengeance for Storm.

This match on Thursday was as well done as it could be.  The moral of the story is not to believe that the spoilers always tell the story.