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TNA Against All Odds 2006 Review

Posted in In My Head by Jack at 07:00, Feb 13 2006

This is it. Tonight is the night we learn whether Christian?s decision to leave the comfort and security of the WWE, in exchange for a chance to be on top of a smaller company pays off. Should TNA put the title on him and give him a legitimate run as champ, Christian?s jump to TNA will be regarded as a shrewd move. Should he join the long list of Jeff Jarrett?s high profile defeated opponents, his leaving the WWE will be questioned for a long time to come. Is Christian a genius or a fool? Tonight?s PPV holds the answers.

The show kicks off with TNA showing that it has the ability to throw money around, evidenced by the fact that Christian arrived in a Porsche, and Jarrett in a Hummer. We are then treated to video clip detailing the many opponents that have fallen at the feet of Jeff Jarrett, before being taken into the arena. The usual suspects were in the audience tonight, both ?Towel Guy? and ?Redhead Lady? were in attendance, although the number of ?Hardy Girls? seemes to have dwindled down to one final believer. The pyro was then set off, (it looked pretty, but still sounded like cap guns being fired), and the contestants in the first match hit the ring.

Match 1 ? Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. The Naturals
This contest reminds us that there is a huge difference between two people stuck together to form a tag team, and two people working together as a tag team. Both teams emphasized tag team tactics throughout the match, using the double team as frequently as possible to gain an advantage over their opponents, (this seems to be a bit of a lost art, even among some of the more lauded teams in the business). The match itself was good, though not spectacular. Each side got in some nice moves, and were able to showcase their skills. A nice setup by The Naturals led to them winning with The Natural Disaster. Most TNA PPV?s start off a little stronger than this, but I still found the match enjoyable.

Jeremy Borash serves as our backstage reporter for the night, and we are taken to his interview of Scott D?Amore. Here D?Amore informs us that he as received a video tape, from Alex Shelley, containing damaging footage of Jackie Gayda. He promises to take the tape to the next TV taping, and demanded that Jackie make an appearance there. His rantings are interrupted by Larry Zbyszko who stated that anyone who interferes with the main event tonight will be fired on the spot, and that there will be no exceptions.

Mach 2 ? Alex Shelley vs. Petey Williams vs. Matt Bentley vs. Jay Lethal
Before the start of this match, Bentley?s popularity is made evident by one of the most enthusiastic Bentley Bounce performances I have ever seen. Bentley himself must have been impressed, as he climbed over the guard rail to join in with his fans. Given the presence of Shelley and Williams, I expected this to be a barn burner of a contest, but I was mistaken. Although both Shelley and Williams got in a few slick moves, the format of this match seemed to hinder their artistic flair rather than accentuate it. The match was not bad, but it did have a ?free TV? feel to it. Towards the end of the contest, Jackie Gayda makes an appearance to confront Shelley about the video tape he made of her. Her presence distracted everyone except for Jay Lethal who was able to get the win over an unfocused Petey Williams . There just wasn?t much to see here, it wasn?t bad, but it wasn?t PPV quality either.

We are then taken to Jeremy Borash for an interview with Rhino. Rhino gives his typical, ?I?m gonna break you in half? promo before he to is interrupted by Larry Zbyszko. Again Larry informs us and Rhino that anyone who interferes with the main event will be terminated. A video package detailing the 3 Live Crew fall out and the formation of LAX was then played.

Match 3 ? LAX (Homicide and Machete) vs. The James Gang
In what is becoming a tradition I look forward to, Kip James once again comes to the ring sporting a hair style that would make him the darling of cell block c. Sadly Kip?s hairstyle was the only thing that stood out in this match. Both teams put in a solid, but mechanical performance. The only thing in the match that stood out, was Kip?s ability to compensate for what would have been a blown spot, by using raw power to clean-and-jerk Homicide over his head. The end of the match seemed rushed and came out of nowhere, with B.G. getting the pin with a pump handle slam. Following the LAX loss, Konnan attacked B.G. with his slap jack until he was confronted by B.G.?s father Bob Armstrong, prompting him to bail out of the ring.

Jeremy Borash is up again, this time catching a meeting between referee Mark Johnson and Larry Zbyszko. Johnson, (who?s bad acting is second only to Jackie Gayda?s), lobbies for the job of referee in the main event. Zbyszko will hear none of it and we are taken to the next match.

Match 4 ? Sonjay Dutt & Chris Sabin vs. AMW
This match finds Chris Sabin selling the ankle injury he sustained the night before at a TV taping, and the fact that he is injured is repeatedly driven home by the announce team. This set up a scenario in which Sonjay was going to have to ?carry? the team in order to win. The match was decent, with Dutt doing the majority of the offence for his side. He hit his usual set of moves, with Sabin doing a limited set of his signature moves as well. Sabin?s ankle injury was too much for his team to overcome however, and as a result AMW got the win by hitting Sonjay with the Death Sentence. Though everyone?s performance was adequate, I expect a bit more from a PPV match. The show is in need of some ?wow? factor at this point.

Back to Borash we go, as its time for an interview with Jeff Jarrett. Monty Brown however has other ideas, and breaks up Jarrett?s interview. Monty finally hears the words he?s been waiting for, as Jarrett promises him a title shot after Jarrett defeats Christian Cage. We are then given a video package covering the Rhino/Abyss feud before being taken back to the ring.

Match 5 ? Rhino vs. Abyss
Talk about a reversal of fortune. I though this match was going to win worst of the night, right up until the end. Not because the match was terrible, but because it was such repeat of the countless hardcore matches we have seen in the past. This was your basic plunder match, complete with trash cans, kendo sticks, and back stage brawling. It all seemed rather ho-hum until the finish, where the ?spot of the night? took place. Earlier in the match Abyss set two tables side by side, and then stacked another table on top of each of them for what looked like a ?fall off the ramp onto the tables? spot. We ended up being treated to something much more extreme, as the end of the match found the two fighting in the bleachers of the arena, and Rhino goring Abyss off of the bleachers and down through all four tables. The fall was from a higher elevation that the ramp and allowed Rhino to get the win. I don?t know how much Abyss got paid to take that fall, but it wasn?t enough. The match itself wasn?t that great, but the finish was a ?must see? moment.

Once again we go backstage to Jeremy Borash, and an interview with Samoa Joe. Joe gives a mediocre ?I?m gonna getcha? promo before we are taken back ringside.

Match 6 ? Samoa Joe vs. A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
If your looking for a reason to buy this PPV, you just found it. This match flowed so smoothly, and was executed so well, I don?t think you could ask the participants to do any better. What was particularly engrossing, was how all three seemed to stay in the ring and work a real 3-way match, instead of having one man roll to the outside and working a rotating series of one-on one matches. If I have to find fault with anything here, I do think it went on a little too long, and the finish wasn?t as spectacular as many of the other spots in the match. That having been said, everyone shined in this match, and you can easily see why these guys are regarded as some of the best in the business. In the end, Joe hits the Muscle Buster for the win.

A video package and interview with Team 3D was up next. Bubba did all the talking, and ensured us of AMW?s certain destruction.

Match 7 ? Team 3D vs. Team Canada (Bobby Roode & Eric Young)
What can I saw about this one? Devon bleeds a lot. That?s about all that was memorable in this match. There was nothing that made this contest special in any way. With the exception of Devon making a red pool in the middle of the ring, this was strictly TV content stuck on a PPV. Team 3D gets the win, AMW makes a post match run in, Ron Killings makes the save.

Next, the final video package and interview are run. Christian gives the ?It?s my destiny to win the belt? speech, and a clip showing the build up to the main event was played.

Match 8 ? Jeff Jarrett vs. Christian Cage
Before the start of the match we learn that the referee for this contest will be Earl ?You Screwed Brett? Hebner. West and Tenay immediately start wondering if the fix is in, and they repeat this theme throughout the night. Larry Zbyszko?s promise of ?interfere and your fired? has apparently been forgotten, as Gail Kim got in almost as much ring time as Jarrett did. The match itself was solid, and both men worked well together. There were several ref bumps, and two referees over the course of the match, but in the end Christian was able to pin Jarrett for the three count.

Titles should change hands at PPVs, and tonight Jarrett handed over the companies top prize to Christian Cage. I don?t know if this is the start of a new reign, or just a temporary reprieve, but I?m hoping for new things in the months to come. As for the show itself I?m not sure what to tell you. If you?re a huge Joe, Styles or Daniels fan then watching the three of them go at it might be worth the price of admission, if your not; may I suggest looking into a good bit torrent client.

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