Somewhere in here was a backstage promo from Jeff Hardy. As per usual, uninspiring. The guy is great when he keeps his mouth shut, but sometimes I just forget why I like him when he’s talking…
(6) Kazarian def. AJ Styes. The finish saw Styles hit a moonsault to the outside on a ringside Christopher Daniels, but upon him re-entering the ring he was caught by Kazarian and hit with the “Fade to Black”.
This was a really good match. Fantastic back-and-forth from both men, as expected, but I also loved how the focus remained between AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. This is one of the longest running feuds in TNA history, and no matter when they bring it back it’s ALWAYS phenomenal (pun intended). I was really hoping to get some answers as to what’s going on with Kazarian, but with the quality of the match I’m content just waiting for Impact to find out what happens! And that right there is what they want – the PPV has a big payoff, but still makes you want to tune into their television show to see it continue unravelling. Well done! Is it just me or did Kazarian actually start looking “meaner” in this match? It’s almost like he’s starting to actually side with Daniels, slowly building towards an actually heel turn rather than being a pawn. I’m really intrigued by this angle, and I can’t wait to see where they go with it! Rating: A-
(7) Gunner def. Garrett Bischoff. At the end of the match, Hulk Hogan looked like he was about to throw in the towel for Garrett, but was asked not to. Gunner hit his DDT and picked up the relatively clean victory.
I still think this angle is crap, but at least the realistic option happened and Gunner defeated Garrett. I really can’t stress how ridiculous it would be to have Garrett go over with a clean victory with the way Gunner has been taring through the mid-card roster. So in a way I’m happy with this outcome… My biggest issue? For all the hype and use of guys like Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan, this just didn’t seem to MATTER! No pre-match promo from Hogan, no post-match clearing house…no nothing. They went out there, the biggest name in the history of the industry stood ringside, and they lost. For once in TNA’s history, it seems like they under-booked an angle! Rating: C
(8) Bobby Roode def. Jeff Hardy, James Storm, and Bully Ray to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Roode made an attempt to use his title belt after the referee got knocked out (a second time…), but “Special Enforcer” Sting made the save. Sting went to hit Roode with the belt, but instead took down Jeff Hardy. Sting then made the reluctant three-count and awarded the victory to Bobby Roode.
Interesting… Sting accidentally takes out his friend, Jeff Hardy and is forced to help Bobby Roode retain his championship. Part of me doesn’t want to like how they went about this, because it’s another classic example of over-booking a finish, but part of me wants to applaud them for it. They managed to continue the hate between Sting and Bobby Roode, while also giving Roode another way to retain the title in an unorthodox, completely heel fashion. Honestly, I thought the finish was well done – it’s just that they had to use TWO referee bumps to get there.
The match itself was really solid. I loved how Bully Ray walked out and allowed the faces to gang up on the champion. I loved how when he finally came into the ring he started kicking ass and taking names! I really loved how they teased a Beer Money pop, only to have Roode attack James Storm. It was one of those great heel moments where they get you excited for something, and for no real reason, take it away from you just to watch you cry… Beautiful. It became clear to me during this match how far Bully Ray has come, how good at being a heel Bobby Roode is, how much of a work-horse James Storm is, and…how Jeff Hardy only hit his signature moves. All Hardy-hate aside, Bobby Roode keeps his belt another month and we’ve finally got another fully established main event picture that doesn’t feature Kurt Angle, Sting, or AJ Styles (not that anything is wrong with any of those men…). Rating: B+
On paper, it seems like TNA really fixed a lot of the issues we’ve been throwing at them! Against All Odds features a lot of really good wrestling, the over-produced finishes were kept to a minimum, and virtually everyone picked up a clean (ish) victory. So what killed this PPV? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it was the COMPLETELY dead crowd. They NEVER perked up – not even for a fantastic four-way main event! Compare this to the extremely alive and passionate (not to mention huge) Wembley crowds for the past two weeks, and this event just fell flat. No matter how good a product is, if the fans are dead the entire card, it’s going to come across lousy.
Part of it is the way they booked the card: in 7/8 matches the heel won, and the other 1/8 we’re not really sure about… The first match was incredibly awkward, followed by a champion nobody cares about and a Knockout’s match. Not exactly a momentous way to start a PPV! But after that the rest of the matches were pretty solid, the stories told were entertaining, and the crowd at least comes alive for Hulk Hogan, Jeff Hardy, and AJ Styles… You really do have to blame the Impact Zone for part of this. No matter what they do, no matter how good they make their product, the Impact Zone in Orlando BLOWS! I understand not having the funding to do a full traveling schedule all year long, but at the VERY LEAST they need to be doing their PPVs in small arenas. I promise, you put Against All Odds in Chicago’s Allstate Arena, and it would have been an upper-B-level PPV. As it was in the Impact Zone…not so much.
FINAL RATING: C
