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Universal Studios – Orlando, Florida – February 14, 2010
Mike Tenay and Taz, making his Against All Odds debut, are on commentary.
MATCH #1: Eight Card Stud Quarterfinal Match – Desmond Wolfe vs. D’Angelo Dinero
Wolfe beat Sean Morley to qualify, while Dinero got by Orlando Jordan. These two also met on the January 4 Impact, when Dinero got the win, and then Genesis, where Wolfe got the victory, so this is a rubber match. Wolfe is accompanied by Chelsea. They take it down to the mat and Pope grabs the early advantage. Wolfe fights back and snaps the top rope back into the Pope’s eyes, which I love. He tries the Tower of London and can’t hit it, but he’s able to stay in control. Wolfe hits a quick DDT for a two-count. Pope fights back with a flurry of offense, including the Pope Slap and the Coronation. He goes up top for a high cross body block and gets two. Pope goes back up top but Wolfe knocks him down and tries the Tower of London but can’t connect so he hits a superplex instead. Wolfe keeps the pressure on but Pope is able to fight back with a neckbreaker. Pope follows up with the D’Angelo Dinero Express to get the pin at 7:38. That was a solid opener but I think much more highly of Wolfe than I do of Dinero. Still they played to both men’s strengths and I like seeing Wolfe at all.
Rating: **½
MATCH #2: Eight Card Stud Quarterfinal Match – Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez
Morgan qualified with a victory over Suicide, while Hernandez beat Chris Daniels. These two are the current TNA World Tag Team Champions, having defeated the British Invasion back at Genesis. Both powerhouses show off their strength early on and they appear pretty evenly matched. Morgan has the size advantage, but Hernandez might have a slight advantage in speed and agility. They each try finishers early but can’t connect. Morgan hits the elbows in the corner but then runs into a boot. Hernandez pulls himself to the top rope and tries a cross body block. Morgan tries to catch him but he stumbles and they wisely decide not to try and cover it up. I mean you try to catch a guy the size of Hernandez – it’s not always going to work out. This falls under the “acceptable botch” category. Anyway, Morgan takes control of the match, keeping Hernandez on the mat. Hernandez fires back with the slingshot shoulderblock and both men are down. They rise and Hernandez is en fuego, squashing Morgan in the corner and hitting a spinebuster of sorts for two. Hernandez hits a very impressive delayed vertical suplex and Morgan rolls to entrance ramp. That doesn’t stop Hernandez though, who wipes his partner/opponent out with a dive, perhaps injuring his own shoulder in the process. Morgan keeps the referee from counting Hernandez out and gets a nice pop from the crowd for it. He holds the ropes open for Hernandez and then throws him shoulder first into the turnbuckles and hooks the trunks on the pin to move on at 8:58. That was a decent power match but the end was a little bit deflating. Is that really all it takes to put Hernandez down?
Rating: **
MATCH #3: Eight Card Stud Quarterfinal Match – Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson
Kurt Angle beat Tomko to qualify, and Mr. Anderson triumphed over Brutus Magnus. They quickly take it down to the mat and Angle takes control. Anderson fights back with his limited offense but Angle is quick to turn the tide. Angle charges into the corner but nobody’s home and Angle’s shoulder crashes into the ring post. Anderson trash talks and then jabs at Angle’s forehead with the medal he wears to the ring and Angle is busted open. He hits a DDT for two and continues to keep Angle on the mat. Angle fights back with strikes and a belly-to-belly suplex for two. He follows with three rolling German Suplexes. Anderson avoids the Olympic Slam and hits a Finlay Roll for two. He tries to loosen the top turnbuckle but the referee stops him. While the referee fixes the one turnbuckle, Anderson pulls off another one. Angle is able to hit the Olympic Slam but it only gets two. The straps come down and Angle puts on the Ankle Lock. Anderson kicks off and Angle charges right into the exposed turnbuckle. That gives Anderson the chance to hit the Mic Check for the pin at 9:48. Anderson sets Angle’s medal on his chest and spits right on him. As a feud-starter, this was a good way to do it, but I just don’t care for Anderson in (or out of) the ring.
Rating: **¼
MATCH #4: Eight Card Stud Quarterfinal Match – Abyss vs. Mick Foley
Neither of these friends had to qualify to gain entry into the tournament for some reason. Backstage before the match, Eric Bischoff made this a No-Disqualification match and told them that they are required to use the barbed wire baseball bat. Abyss controls the early portions of the match but is hesitant to use the bat on his mentor. Foley tries to fire him up and they take it to the floor, where Foley bashes him with a chair. Back in the ring Foley picks up the bat but Abyss blocks it. Foley continues the onslaught with a neckbreaker and the running knee to the face. He empties a bag of thumbtacks but Abyss fights back with a Chokeslam – albeit away from the tacks. Abyss tries to use Mr. Socko but Foley hits him with a Double-Arm DDT. Foley takes the referee down to steal one of his socks and he puts the Mandible Claw on. He lets go of the hold to go after the bat, but then walks right into the Black Hole Slam onto the pile of tacks and Abyss gets the pin at 7:42. That was not very good.
Rating: *¼
MATCH #5: Team 3D vs. The Nasty Boys
Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags have no business being anywhere near a major company’s ring in 2010. But since they’re friends with Hulk Hogan, here we are. They start off brawling and the Nasty Boys take first advantage. Brother Ray and Brother Devon fight back to send the Nasty Boys to the floor. They stall for a bit before getting back to the ring. We start the match proper with Sags and Ray in the ring. The Nasty Boys take control but Ray avoids the Pit Stop and makes the tag. The Nasty Boys powder again for some more stalling. Zzzzzzzz. Back in the ring Knobs and Sags isolate Devon just like they did to his brother. Will this match ever end? After an eternity Ray gets the hot tag and cleans house. Team 3D hits Sags with the 3D, but the referee gets distracted getting Devon out of the ring and Jimmy Hart shows up from out of nowhere and hands Knobs the motorcycle helmet. Knobs bashes Ray with the helmet and puts Sags on top to get the pin at 10:40. That was ugly as sin.
Rating: ¼*
MATCH #6: Eight Card Stud Semifinal Match – D’Angelo Dinero vs. Matt Morgan
I like it when Tag Team Champions wear their belts for singles matches. This should be quite the contrast in styles. Morgan shows off his overwhelming power advantage right away. Pope responds by going to work on the legs, but he quickly gets dumped to the floor. Morgan abuses Pope on the floor and then throws him back in the ring for some more. The Blueprint gets pretty confident as he continues to work the Pope over. It costs him, as Pope slips in a DDT from out of nowhere. Pope unleashes a flurry now, including the Pope Slap. He goes for the Coronation but Morgan cuts him off with a clothesline for two. Morgan goes for the Carbon Footprint in the corner but Dinero avoids it and hits the D’Angelo Dinero Express to advance to the finals at 8:31. The crowd barely cared about this entire match.
Rating: **
MATCH #7: Eight Card Stud Semifinal Match – Mr. Anderson vs. Abyss
This is another rematch from Genesis. Abyss uses his power and Anderson tries to cheat as they jockey for control early on. They quickly take it to the floor and brawl out there as the crowd goes mild. Back in the ring Anderson goes to the legs to cut the big man down. Abyss fights back with a flurry, hitting a side slam for two. He hits Shock Treatment but it only gets two. Anderson continually goes after the mask, and eventually gets it out of position so that Abyss thinks the referee, despite being way smaller and wearing a shirt, is his opponent. With the referee distracted Anderson kicks Abyss in the groin and hits the Mic Check to get the win at 8:07. These two have no chemistry.
Rating: *½
MATCH #8: TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match – AJ Styles w/ Ric Flair vs. Samoa Joe, Special Guest Referee Eric Bischoff
Styles has been the champion since 9.20.09, and this is his ninth defense. TNA had this crazy idea of having AJ Styles defend the title often in good matches with a wide variety of opponents to get over. Weird, no? They start cautiously since they know each other so well from their various battles over the years. Joe overpowers the champ and beats him down in the corner. The challenger continues to pour it on, keeping AJ off balance. Finally AJ catches a kick and executes a Dragon Screw Leg Whip and immediately hones in on the injured limb. AJ tries the Figure-Four Leglock but Joe kicks him hard to the floor and follows out with the elbow suicida. The champ follows in the footsteps of his mentor by going to the eyes and otherwise cheating to reclaim the advantage. AJ moves the pads out of the way to expose the concrete floor. He tries a suplex but can’t hit it and they make their way back to the ring. AJ hits The Dropkick and Joe’s looking worse for wear. He puts Joe up on the top rope and tries a rana but Joe blocks it and hits a huge knee strike for two. Joe connects with the STJoe but then runs right into a pair of boots to the face. AJ distracts the referee and Flair slams Joe’s leg into the ring post. Now AJ viciously attacks Joe’s injured wheel. Joe is able to come back and dump AJ to the floor to get a slight reprieve. Back in the ring Joe hits a series of lariats and the Big Joe Combo for two. Joe hits the snap powerslam for another two-count. AJ comes back with the springboard flying forearm. Joe responds with a series of strikes but AJ cuts him right off with the back flip inverted DDT for two. They both try finishers and Joe lands a choke suplex. Joe hits the Muscle Buster and Flair prevents Bischoff from making the count so Bischoff knocks him on his ass. An angry Joe gets in Bischoff’s face and suffers the Pele for it. AJ follows up with the Styles Clash to get the pin with a slow count at 21:26. As usual Joe and AJ delivered a terrific match but the finish did more to hurt Joe than it did to help AJ. Such is life in TNA. I would have rated this even higher with a better finish.
Rating: ****
MATCH #9: Eight Card Stud Tournament Final – D’Angelo Dinero vs. Mr. Anderson
Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac attacked Dinero backstage, so he all of a sudden looks questionable for this final match. Anderson tells the referee to ring the bell and start counting Dinero out. Before the ref can reach ten Dinero stumbles his way out and Anderson wastes no time attacking him on the entrance ramp. Anderson talks a lot of trash and Pope comes to life as they make their way up to ringside. Pope’s outburst is short-lived, as Anderson hurls him knees-first into the steps. TNA World Champion AJ Styles and Ric Flair are shown watching backstage. Almost six minutes into the match Pope is finally able to make his way into the ring. Anderson is able to keep him down though, as Pope looks finished. Every time Pope tries to fire up Anderson cuts him off. Finally after about 12 minutes Pope gets his best series of offensive moves, including a vertical suplex into a German Suplex. Pope hits a nice STO for a two-count. He hits the 4-Up and the D’Angelo Dinero Express but Anderson kicks out at two. Anderson comes back with a clothesline and he calls for the mic. He announces that he’s about to win the match and then hits the Mic Check but Pope kicks out! The crowd finally pops for something. Anderson is pretty upset about this. He hits the Finlay Roll and goes up top but Pope avoids the Kenton Bomb. Pope avoids a charge in the corner and hits the DDE to win the tournament at 15:46. I understand what they were trying to do for D’Angelo Dinero, and it worked to a degree, but oh my gosh that was a dreadfully dull pay-per-view main event.
Rating: *¾
