TNA Wrestling held their Against All Odds pay-per-view last night from the Impact Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. As with any TNA pay-per-view held in Orlando, the event was considered a throwaway despite having every TNA title on the line. Before I get into my normal match-by-match review of the show there are a couple of things I want to put TNA over on.
For one, TNA does an excellent job in building towards their main event throughout their pay-per-views and last night at Against All Odds was no different. They did a series of backstage interviews throughout the night, building the anticipation for the show's finale. Before the actual match, they showed each participant backstage heading to the ring before airing a short video package on them. This is something that TNA is very effective at doing and I think they deserve a lot of credit for it. Despite the criticisms that I have for TNA, they do an excellent job building their featured contest.
The next thing that I want to mention is how pleased I was with the lack of gimmick matches at last night's show. The gimmicks were limited and if the work had been better, Against All Odds could have been a tremendous effort from the company. Notice I said could have been as I felt like aside from three matches, the pay-per-view was a letdown and I would categorize the event overall as so-so at best. Below are my thoughts on last night's pay-per-view on a match-by-match basis in the order in which they occurred.
Against All Odds opened with what ended up being the match of the night. Alex Shelley successfully defended the TNA X Division Championship against Eric Young in a very good, fast paced opening contest the crowd ate up. Both hit a tremendous amount of spots with action that never slowed down. This is exactly what an opening bout should be. Technical mat wrestling and submission holds are OK but must be avoided in an opening contest that is meant to set the tone for the rest of the night. Shelley and Young set the tone even though I wasn't crazy about the finish. The finish was booked to look like Eric Young "lost his focus" only for Shelley to come out of nowhere and roll him up for the win. On one hand it didn't make Young look weak, but on the other hand there was a lot of offense from both to where they could have had a better go-home sequence.
The next match was between two former partners as Scott Steiner squared off against Petey Williams. I will be the first to tell you that I think Steiner has lost a step in the ring but he didn't look too bad last night. Steiner had a botch here and there but Williams did a very effective job selling and hit enough offense to look like he had a credible chance at winning. The spot of the match came when Steiner hit the Steiner Screwdriver which I hadn't seen in years to get the pinfall victory. They teased a Samoa Joe/Scott Steiner feud after the match, playing Joe's music and a pre-taped vignette.
Brutus Magnus' open challenge was answered by Chris Sabin. While Sabin had a spot here and there, Magnus was booked to look superior even though he showed he is still very green. The push of Magnus reminds me of Vladimir Kozlov in WWE. The match was not pay-per-view worthy and would have been better on an episode of Impact. TNA wants to get Magnus over in a big way, but he's going to have to work better than he did last night to impress me.
What has happened to the TNA Knockout division? Awesome Kong defending the Women's Championship against ODB was pretty bad. To Kong's credit she is working injured, but this match should have never happened and was obviously rushed. I was impressed with ODB when she slammed Kong but the way they had to go-home quickly made ODB look like an enhancement talent. This match was a far cry from the Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong matches that put the TNA Knockouts division on the map as the best female wrestling in the world.
Booker T vs. Shane Sewell was a disaster. Perhaps the best thing about the bout was that Sewell didn't wear the goofy pants to go with his horrendous ring attire. The match was booked to make Booker T look cocky and arrogant but as I noted in my coverage last night, Booker has looked completely uninspired as of late. No one bought that Sewell had a chance and everyone turned out to be right. Booker hit the Axe Kick followed by the pinfall to pick up the win. After the match, Booker tried to continue the beat down but AJ Styles came out and made the save. Hopefully AJ can bring out the best in Booker and get some good matches out of him. So far, Booker T to TNA has been a bust, at least it has recently.
Up next was former partners Matt Morgan and Abyss squaring off; again, another stinker of a match as they should have made it an all out hardcore match. The bout was basically booked straight up with relaxed rules as Morgan and Abyss fought through the crowd and when the referee was knocked out, chair shots ensued. Overbooking at its best as no blood was shed and Abyss hit a couple of Black Hole Slams to pick up the victory when Slick Johnson came out to make the count. Morgan could have been limited because of his shoulder problems. After the match, Abyss ripped off Morgan's shirt and tried to drop him on some tacks that he spread out in the ring, but Morgan got away.
Beer Money, Inc. defending the TNA Tag Team Championship against Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed was the second best match of the night. While not as good as some of the PPV tag matches with Roode and Storm tagging together, it was more fun action. Roode and Storm have great in-ring chemistry and they showcased it again last night with a very realistic bout. I love how they incorporate a lot of tags by isolating their opponents in their corner. It makes the match very believable. Creed and Lethal held their own, using a fast paced style to keep the match flowing. Mike Tenay and Don West kept teasing that Lethal was making mistakes, billing the fact that he was inexperienced to the superior Beer Money in tag competition. The finish was dirty as Jacqueline gave James Storm a chain that he wrapped around his hand and hit Lethal in the face as Roode rolled him up for the win. I didn't have a problem with the dirty finish as that is just what good heels do.
The main event that had been building all night was up next. The big question throughout the night was how Sting and Kurt Angle would work together and what would happen if Brother Ray or Brother Devon got the chance to become TNA Champion. The match was so-so, nothing spectacular, but no complaints worth noting. Brother Ray and Brother Devon squared off which drew some "ECW" chants from the crowd, but no one took them seriously as contenders. Sting ended up retaining after hitting the Scorpion Death Drop on Brother Ray, seemingly out of nowhere with Angle on the apron and Devon down in the ring. Angle was beside himself going up the ramp as Mick Foley presented Sting with the TNA Championship in the ring. Don West took a subtle shot at WWE and Vince McMahon as Foley joined him and Mike Tenay on commentary as West asked Foley what it was like not having someone telling him what to say in his headset. Foley didn't respond and I thought it was uncalled for. When TNA tries to take shots at WWE, they come off as minor league.
Against All Odds was not a terrible effort from the company but nothing you need to go out of your way to see. The best match of the night was the X Division Championship opener followed by the Tag Team Championship match then the main event. Other than that the pay-per-view featured a bunch of weak bouts that should have been done on Impact if not done at all. Certainly not worth the $30 price tag and not newsworthy with no titles changing hands.
Richard can be contacted at richard [at] grayinternet.com
Richard Gray is a professional wrestling journalist and frequent contributor to Rajah.com. He has been covering the world of professional wrestling since 1999 and has had the opportunity to cover ground breaking stories such as the demise of ECW, the WCW buyout, the Benoit tragedy, Bobby Lashley leaving WWE, and more. For more on Richard check out his web site, Wrestling News World.
- "Richard Reacts" Archive By WrestlingNewsWorld.com's Richard Gray
