TNA – Against All Odds ’06 DVD Review

Against All Odds Countdown Pre-Show Broadcast

We start off with a brief video package highlighting the X-Division and World Title matches. It’s Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels for the X-Title, and Jeff Jarrett vs. Christian Cage for the World Title.

Jeremy Borash welcomes us to the Preshow, but no Shane Douglas. He runs down a bit of the card, including Team Canada vs. Team 3D, a falls-count-anywhere match between Rhino and Abyss, the aforementioned X-Title three-way, and the World Title match. This leads to a video package for the main event. This makes the title match look like a really big deal, but I can’t help but have visions of Sunday Night Heat circa 1999. I blame that mostly on Jarrett.

PRESHOW MATCH #1: Ron Killings vs. A1

A1 is backed up by everyone in Team Canada, and Killings is backed up by his rap song. Referee Andrew Thomas sends the Canadians to the back before the match can even get underway. Truth goes for a quick rollup but it only gets two. Tenay says it was almost “Déjà vu all over again,” which is pretty redundant. Truth manages to make an armdrag look ugly. He does the splits into a leg lariat, and they manage to blow an Irish Whip spot. Truth follows that with the Axe Kick to mercifully end this thing at 1:43. That was really quite bad.
Rating: DUD

We go down to Tenay and West at ringside so they can hype up the card. I just hate the faces Tenay makes so much. This leads to a video package for Rhino and Abyss in a falls-count-anywhere match. I really don’t like the nickname “The War Machine.” Near as I can tell, this feud started because neither guy had anything else to do. Mitchell and Abyss are backstage to cut a promo. I’m growing tired of Mitchell’s promo style. That Doomsday thing is pretty stupid too. Am I in a bad mood tonight, or has TNA just pissed me off?

PRESHOW MATCH #2: Lance Hoyt, Shark Boy & Cassidy Riley vs. Elix Skipper, David Young & Shannon Moore

I don’t think the number of matches Moore worked in TNA reached double digits before WWE came calling again. Riley and Moore start it off, and Riley is deceptively agile. I still can’t get over how gay it is for Hoyt to have that tattoo on the small of his back. The teamwork on the heel side is less than cohesive, so the babyfaces take advantage. Young takes control with a spinebuster on Shark Boy but then refuses to tag Moore and tags his partner Elix Skipper instead. Skipper hits a butterfly suplex for two and tags back out to Young. Moore finally tags himself in and hits a capture suplex on Sharky but Riley breaks it up. The heel team argues, which allows Sharky to tag Hoyt, who goes to town on all three of the heels. Pumphandle slam on Skipper gets two. Everyone is in now, and Riley gets dumped over the top rope. The Diamonds in the Rough get a double STO on Hoyt, but Moore actually breaks up the pin and dumps them to the outside. He wants the win for himself so he goes for a single leg crab, because that’s always a sure fire match winner. Skipper comes in to break that up, so they fight, which leads to Hoyt hitting the Texas Powerbomb on Skipper to get the win at 5:49. Nothing much happened there except Moore and his teammates fighting, which I’m not particularly interested in.
Rating: *

Now we see a video package for the X-Division Title match tonight. This feud’s been going since August of 2005, with many twists and turns. Daniels and Styles have been in the midst of a lover’s quarrel of sorts lately, none of which matters to Joe, the Champ.

Tenay and West are back to hype the card again, including Team Canada vs. Team 3D, Rhino vs. Abyss, Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels, and Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett.

Borash is backstage with Larry Zbyszko and Dave Hebner. Zbyszko wants to make sure that the main event goes down with no shenanigans. Yeah, I believe that.

Don West is out now for the final hype job, and Orlando really has some ugly people that attend wrestling events and sit in the front row, it’s unreal. We close out the Preshow with a video package to hype the event as a whole.

TNA – Against All Odds – Impact Zone – Orlando, Florida – February 12, 2006

Earlier today, Christian Cage arrived in … a car! Also, Scott D’Amore and Eric Young were standing outside waiting for Jarrett, who arrived in … a bigger car! He also arrived with Gail Kim, so I think he wins. Sadly, he is wearing white pants and talking about the Jackie Gayda tape, which is a storyline that went nowhere. Young is still concerned that Sting is still hanging around. D’Amore is angry with Young for mentioning Sting.

We get a video package for the main event, which is ostensibly the same one that was on the Preshow but with a little bit more footage. Jarrett calling anyone a mid-carder is pretty funny. Tenay and West welcome us briefly and the first match is on.

MATCH #1: Tag Team Match – The Naturals vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong

This is a rematch from Impact eight days prior, where Aries & Strong eliminated The Naturals from getting a tag team title shot. Aries and Strong were in hot water at this point because at a ROH show in Long Island the night before there was bad weather and TNA ordered all their talent to come to Orlando early, and they were the only two not to answer that decree. They both ended up having good matches that night too. They’re also the ROH Tag Team Champions at this point. The former two-time NWA World Tag Team Champions dominate despite the chants from the crowd for Aries. Stevens continues to dominate Aries, hitting a flatliner for two. Douglas is tagged back in and hits a neckbreaker for two but Strong breaks it up. The battle spills to the floor and Stevens hits a Shooting Star Press and his opponents actually catch him. Aries appears to have hurt his leg on that. Stevens and Strong are back in the ring now. Aries and Strong have gotten almost zero offense. Just as I say that Aries and Strong use some chicanery and Aries hits a nice dive to the floor for a two count. Strong comes back in for a near fall on Stevens. Stevens tries to make the tag but keeps getting cut off. He hits a jawbreaker on Strong but Aries is tagged in and cuts him off. Aries goes to the top but Stevens knocks him down and takes a shot at Strong as well. He slams Aries off the top and makes the hot tag to Douglas. He hits a nice top rope rana on Strong, who lands on Aries, for a two count. Aries and Strong come back with some cool stuff but can’t quite get the fall. Strong hits the gutbuster followed by an Aries forearm and a boot to the face for two. Stevens comes back in and dumps Strong out. This gives them the chance to set up for the Natural Disaster, which is blocked, and Aries tries to roll up Stevens using the ropes (which is how they won the first match) but the referee sees it, and the Natural Disaster follows to get the win at 10:29. That was a damn solid tag team match and makes me sad that TNA couldn’t come to terms with Strong so the Aries and Strong team wouldn’t wrestle another match after this one.
Rating: ***

We head down to Tenay and West, who hype up the card again, including Team Canada vs. Team 3D, Rhino vs. Abyss, Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels, and Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett. They show Zbyszko from the Preshow saying that the World Title match should go on with no shenanigans and that the “referee situation” was taken care of.

Borash is backstage with America’s Most Wanted, Gail Kim, and Team Canada. AMW will defend the Tag Team Titles against Chris Sabin & Sonjay Dutt, who beat Petey Williams & A1 and Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in a mini-tournament to gain the shot. D’Amore and Gail Kim talk about the Jackie tape, which I can’t remember the contents of for the life of me. Larry Z busts in and tells them that if there’s any interference in the main event, that person will be fired on the spot. He says he won’t take the fall for anyone.

MATCH #2: X Division Four-Way Match – Alex Shelley vs. Jay Lethal vs. Petey Williams vs. Matt Bentley

Matt Bentley is accompanied by a gigantic set of breasts that may or may not be attached to an actual person, who cares. Bentley is clinging to said breasts like they’re the only thing keeping him over, which they are. Jay Lethal is making his pay-per-view main show debut here, Bentley and Williams are former X-Division Champions, and Shelley already has gold in his hair. The former champions start it off with Bentley in control. Williams starts to gain control but boobs jump up on the ring apron to distract him, allowing Bentley to resume control. Shelley tags himself in but fares no better off the bat. Lethal tags himself in and he and Shelley do some cool mat wrestling. The crowd chants “Lethal Weapon” as Tenay mentions how young everyone is, with Bentley as the elder statesman at 26. Shelley and Williams tag in and out, since they’ve been associates in recent times. Shelley continues to dominate Lethal with submissions and near-falls. Shelley and Williams eventually start to argue with each other, allowing Lethal to tag Bentley in, and he goes to work on Williams. Everyone comes in and hits something on someone else, so the crowd chants “TNA.” They throw that one out pretty liberally. Bentley gets dumped to the floor as Lethal hits a Dragon Suplex on Williams, a move Tenay has apparently never seen. This leaves Lethal and Shelley battling again, and Lethal hits a nice leg lariat. Shelley comes back with a nice slingshot DDT, but Bentley comes back in to battle Shelley. He hits a flatliner and then grabs Williams, who hits his satellite Russian Leg Sweep, one of his three moves. Williams reels Bentley in as Jackie comes down to confront Shelley and she starts to beat him up. In all the confusion, Lethal is able to grab a jackknife pin on Williams to get the victory at 10:30. That had some okay stuff in it but was mostly the usual four-way X-Division stuff.
Rating: **½

Borash is backstage with Rhino, who is a very angry War Machine. He talks about how dangerous his neighborhood growing up was. He grew up on the wrong side of 8 Mile in Detroit, by the way. Larry Z jumps in and spreads the news that no one can interfere in tonight’s main event.

MATCH #3: Challenge Match – The James Gang vs. The Latin American Exchange

We get a video package to hype the insanely long dissolution of the 3Live Kru, which culminated in BG James teaming with Kip James to form the James Gang, Konnan siding with Homicide and Apolo to form the Latin American Exchange (LAX), and Ron Killings just trying to go it alone and not get involved. Apolo has already been traded in for Machete, which seems like trading down to me. Konnan cuts a prematch promo to introduce his cronies. I have no idea who Machete is or where he came from. BG James does his usual crap, and it sounds so stupid to say “soon to be Tag Team Champions of the World” when they’re not even feuding for the titles. Kip tries to say his peace but he gets attacked by the LAX, with Konnan sneaking in a few shots before the bell. James Gang soon comes back and clears the ring. Tenay goes on to claim that BG James is the former Road Dogg’s real name, even though his father’s name is Bob Armstrong. Kip uses his superior size to throw Homicide and Machete around. He hits a scary looking powerbomb on Homicide and tags out to BG. Machete comes in and BG dances and punches to very little reaction. Kip comes in and no-sells Machete, until Homicide comes in and knocks him to the floor. Konnan takes a cheap shot and Machete throws Kip back in the ring. Konnan takes more cheap shots, including biting Kip. Homicide misses a top rope dive on Kip, and tags are made. BG hits the pumphandle slam on Machete to get the win at 5:59. That was formulaic but surprisingly not too bad. I think if LAX could get someone more intimidating than Machete in the group (like they did when they brought in Hernandez) this feud could have gotten going a lot better. Bob Armstrong comes in the ring and Konnan bails, because for some reason he’s afraid of the old man.
Rating: *½

Borash is backstage outside Larry Z’s dressing room, and referee Slick Mark Johnson knocks on the door to talk about how they don’t have a referee for tonight’s main event, but Larry assures him that it’s been taken care of. Johnson says that since he refereed 85 main events in WCW, he should ref tonight’s.

MATCH #4: NWA World Tag Team Champions Match – America’s Most Wanted vs. Chris Sabin & Sonjay Dutt

Sabin and Sonjay come out separately, which I’ve never liked. They beat Petey Williams & A1 and Austin Aries & Roderick Strong to earn this title shot. AMW have been the champions since 10.22.05, and this is just their fourth title defense. Sabin grossly injured his ankle on Impact last night, so that could play a factor. Sabin starts the match but tags out before any real contact is made, so his injury could be pretty severe. Dutt is able to take the advantage on Storm using his agility, and tags Sabin back in for some double teaming that leads to a two-count. Harris grabs Sabin from outside the ring and takes a couple cheap shots on the ankle in a cool cheating spot. Harris tags in and goes right to work on the injured body part. Tenay and West bemoan the fact that AMW is going after the ankle, but its perfectly legal and even good strategy, so they can eat it. They keep calling Sabin a “kid,” which seems designed to keep him in his place while he’s in the ring with the chosen ones AMW. Storm hits a nice lung blower for two and goes back to work on the ankle. Sabin tries to make a comeback but gets cut off. Harris illegally comes in the ring and the referee literally does nothing to try and stop him. Sabin makes the tag anyway and Sonjay is on fire. The challengers use high flying to maintain the advantage and get a near fall. Harris goes for the Catatonic but Sonjay reverses it to a crucifix (in theory) for a near fall. A chair gets introduced and Sabin hits a tornado DDT on Harris right on it, then Dutt hits a standing shooting star press for a near fall. Sabin dumps Storm to the floor and he gets pulled out after him. Back in the ring Dutt receives the Death Sentence and the champs retain at 10:43. That was a good old school style tag match, with Sabin’s legit injury giving the match a good focus for the heel champions and the challengers playing underdog very well. AMW handcuffs Dutt to the turnbuckle after the match and they go for a chair. Gimpy Sabin comes in to break it up.
Rating: ***¼

Borash is backstage with Jeff Jarrett and Gail Kim. Jarrett says he feels no pressure about tonight’s match, and that all the pressure is on Christian. Monty Brown tries to break it up with his furry shirt, and Jarrett is sick of it. He says that when he beats Christian Cage, the Alpha Male will get the first title shot. They shake on it. Monty says that he will win the NWA World Title.

MATCH #5: Falls Count Anywhere Match – Rhino vs. Abyss

Tenay and West call this the rubber match between these two, but Abyss won a singles match back at Final Resolution, and then fought to a no-contest on the January 28 episode of Impact. So this can’t really be a rubber match because Rhino hasn’t beaten Abyss yet. Rhino runs down to the ring and the fight is on. It spills to the floor in short order and they keep brawling. Rhino goes under the ring for weapons, and for some reason finds an old Super X Cup Trophy. A trash can gets involved, and David Eckstein of the St. Louis Cardinals is in attendance. Rhino is busted open by the trash can as Abyss maintains control. It doesn’t last long, as Rhino just won’t stay down. Rhino puts the trophy on Abyss’s nut sack and hits it with a baseball bat, and that might hurt like hell. Outside the ring Abyss suplexes Rhino and sets up four tables, two on top of two. They battle outside the arena. Back inside and Abyss maintains control. He gets the staple gun out and Rhino takes two in the forehead. Rhino fights back with a belly-to-belly suplex and goes for the Gore, but instead takes a chokeslam through a table but is able to kick out. Abyss tries for thumbtacks but Rhino Gores him through a table instead for a two count. The fans start the “this is awesome” chant. Mitchell distracts Rhino and they head back outside. They fight up into the crowd where Abyss knocks out a wall and nails Rhino in the head with it. They’re fighting above the tables Abyss set up, and not surprisingly Rhino Gores him through said tables. He comes down and pins Abyss at 15:25. That was a fun brawl but the finish was way too telegraphed.
Rating: **¾

Borash is in the back with the TNA X-Division Champion Samoa Joe. He cuts an impressively intimidating promo on his two opponents. Joe said it’s never been about their lame code, but about the belt, the belt that he currently holds.

MATCH #6: X Division Championship Match – Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles

Their original three-way back at Unbreakable kinda rocked it, so I’m interested to see how this one stacks up. We get the video package from the Preshow, in which AJ Styles talks in a way that no real person would talk. Like their last match I may have trouble keeping up on play-by-play. Proving my theory true, everyone attacks everyone to start. Styles and Daniels try to work together for a minute but it’s all for naught. Joe is still undefeated in singles competition, since his debut in June of 2005. People keep trying moves but the third man always breaks it up. Joe is able to get most of the offense in, but Styles and Daniels do some flashy stuff to try and take him down. Joe hits an awesome suicide dive onto both men on the floor. They’re able to knock Joe outside the ring and they go for pins, but it’s not long before Joe is back in the ring and kicking ass. Daniels takes a nasty bump on his neck from a combination Joe German Suplex and Styles discuss clothesline. A few moments later Joe tries the Muscle Buster on Daniels but Styles stops it. Daniels hits Joe with a German Suplex, a uranage, and the best moonsault ever for a two count. He idiotically calls for the Angels Wings, so both his opponents know what he’s doing. Styles goes for the Styles Clash but Daniels blocks it. Joe gets a near fall on Daniels with a lariat. Everyone recovers and starts hitting moves on each other again. Daniels hits a nasty DVD on Joe, and both he and Styles go for the pin. Styles hiptosses Daniels outside the ring and climbs the ropes, but Daniels is able to stop him. Joe kicks Daniels off the ring apron and nails Styles with the Muscle Buster to get the win at a surprisingly short 10:06. They really packed a lot of action into a short time, and the right guy goes over, as is usually the case when Joe wins a match in TNA.
Rating: ***¾

MATCH #7: Revenge Match – Team 3D vs. Team Canada

The fans were allowed to vote for who Team 3D would face in this match, based on the fact that Brother Ray and Brother Devon wanted to fight both teams due to them getting screwed out of the World Tag Team Titles back at Final Resolution. Borash is backstage with fat Ray and jacked Devon. Ray cuts the usual jingoistic promo. Of all the stories I’ve ever heard, not one has ever painted that guy in a positive light. I couldn’t be less interested in the former Dudley Boyz. Team Canada is represented by Bobby Roode and Eric Young, who are former two-time NWA World Tag Team Champions themselves. That barking thing D’Amore does needs to stop. Team 3D was somehow voted Tag Team of the Year for 2005, despite wrestling in a mere five matches. They attack Roode and Young from behind to start it off. Roode takes a big suplex on the entrance ramp as the battle continues outside the ring. Young is wearing his Curt Hennig bumping shoes tonight. Back in the ring Team 3D continues to dominate as the crowd chants for tables. Ray is so, so fat. Roode pulls the top rope down so Devon falls toe the floor, and D’Amore throws him into the steel ring steps. Then he rubs his head into the steps and the cut on Devon’s head has been reopened. They rub Devon’s blood on the plaque, which is a neat visual. Roode and Young continue to dominate Devon, who plays a pretty decent face-in-peril. Devon hits Young with a low blow and kicks Roode and makes the hot tag to fat Ray, who goes right to the top rope and hits a cross body on both guys and is generally on fire. D’Amore distracts the referee and Ray gets hit with the hockey stick but is able to kick out. Young tries a moonsault but misses. Roode accidentally clotheslines his partner and Ray throws him outside the ring. The 3D follows and that’s all for Team Canada at 13:12. Basic and formulaic tag match, but thankfully Ray’s involvement was kept to a minimum. AMW runs out and it’s time for a beat down. Ron Killings runs out to save Team 3D and Young ends up going through the table instead.
Rating: **¼

Tenay and West pause to put over the pay-per-view and mention their next PPV, Destination X, on March 12. Tenay puts on his stupid looking serious face to talk about the main event, which is next.

MATCH #8: NWA World Heavyweight Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Christian Cage

Borash is backstage with the challenger Christian Cage, who has long dreamed about this moment. He says he is the biggest threat Jarrett has ever faced, and he will win the title tonight. He cuts a pretty good promo, yelling in the right places rather than just through the whole thing. We see the same video package from the Preshow again, and Christian comes off really well in it. Earl Hebner is the official for this match, and Tenay nearly creams himself talking about Survivor Series ’97. Tenay then mentions that Jarrett has been the World Champion for two and a half of TNA’s four-year existence. I wonder how he’s been able to do that. Then he says Hebner has always been loyal to his employer, I guess until he started selling their merchandise behind their back. Tenay has just had so many poorly chosen words since the entrances started. Gail Kim is in Jarrett’s corner, and Dave Hebner and Larry Zbyszko are also going to be at ringside. Jarrett has been champion since 11.3.05, and this is just his second title defense. The crowd loves seeing Jarrett so much that they chant “please retire.” They move quickly to start, which Cage going for an early Unprettier. A sunset flip off the ropes gets two for Cage. They fight outside the ring and Cage hits an inverted DDT on the apron. He takes a leap from the top rope but Jarrett moves and he hits the guardrail right in front of his hot wife. This allows Jarrett to take control. Hebner asserts himself by not backing down on the Champ. Back in the ring Jarrett goes on offense as I go to sleep. Jarrett distracts Hebner long enough for Gail to interfere and hit a top rope rana. Christian comes back with a powerbomb and his own figure-four leglock. Jarrett comes back and puts on the sharpshooter, because apparently WWE isn’t the only company who wants to beat that fucking Montreal thing into the ground. I was just thinking about how great it would be if no company ever mentioned what happened that day and just kind of left it as some kind of urban myth, how much cooler it would be. It was great for launching the Mr. McMahon character, but these constant references to it are killing the mystique. Tenay and West speculate on Hebner’s intentions as referee. Oh, Gail Kim’s boobs, now I’m back into the match. Christian goes for his own sharpshooter but settles for a headbutt to the groin and both men are down. Both men are up and Christian is building momentum. Tornado DDT gets two. Hebner gets bumped. Jarrett hits a top-rope Stroke and the referee is slow to make the count. Jeez, every Jeff Jarrett title match has to have a spot where he has the other guy pinned, just to show that he can do it. What an ass. Hebner takes another, bigger bump, and Christian hits the Unprettier. Mark Johnson comes in to replace him, but Jarrett kicks out at two. Christian goes for the Stroke and Jarrett hits a low blow, and when Johnson goes to disqualify Jarrett he kicks him in the balls too. Gail throws a chair into the ring, which ends up backfiring on Jarrett, but there’s still no referee. Gail interferes again, allowing Jarrett to hit Christian with the guitar, but still no referee. Hebner rolls over to count and the challenger kicks out at two. Gail tries to interfere one more time, but she eats a powerbomb for her trouble. Jarrett goes for the Unprettier, then the Stroke, but Christian reverses to the Unprettier to get the win and the title at 16:14. After literally promising a clean match, TNA delivered a match with tons of interference from Gail Kim and multiple referee bumps and bullshit references to Montreal. Remember when Larry Z said that anyone who interfered would be fired? So why wasn’t Gail fired? The match started good and had a nice finishing sequence, but this overbooked nonsense has to stop. Jarrett could take a clean fucking loss for a change, and this was the time to do it, and he blew it because he’s a selfish asshole. Rhino and some disgusting people from the audience come to the ring to celebrate.
Rating: **½

BONUS

The bonus feature is a music video set to the band Broken Yoke’s song “Run Forever,” from the album Beneath the Surface, courtesy of Infinity Music Distribution. It’s a nice recap of event with a manic assortment of camera shots that kinda makes my head hurt.

The 411: Well the big selling point of this show was Christian Cage’s quest to become the NWA World Champion, and while he did win the match it was a tainted victory. Much the same way WCW blew Sting’s big shot at beating Hogan, TNA did not take the opportunity to have Christian cleanly pin Jarrett to end his reign of terror and booked a match of shenanigans, despite promising to do the exact opposite. There’s some good stuff sprinkled throughout the midcard, but the main event is so colossally irritating that it leaves a very poor taste in the mouth.

Final Score:  5.5   [ Not So Good ]