A2Z Analysiz: TNA Against All Odds 2005 (Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash)

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Impact Zone – Orlando, Florida – February 13, 2005

Mike Tenay and Don West are on commentary.

PRESHOW MATCH #1: Team Trinity (Phi Delta Slam) vs. Lex Lovett & Buck Quartermain

Phi Delta Slam is made up of Bruno Sassi and Big Tilly, two fat guys that have popped up in TNA sporadically over the years. The referee forgets to call for the bell, so the match time on this will be approximate. It’s really upsetting, I know. Lovett and Bruno start the match. Shockingly, Lovett and Quartermain get the first offense in. Bruno recovers and makes the tag to Tilly, who hits a sloppy vertical suplex for two. A vertical suplex should be a pretty basic move guys. West then tries to call PDS “smooth.” Yikes. Quartermain gets a flurry of offense in, and Lovett hits a missile dropkick. Trinity gets on the apron to distract Quartermain. Bruno throws Lovett to the floor and hits Quartermain with a spinebuster and Tilly follows with the Tsunami Splash to get the win at 3:44. I would have made it even squashier, but that’s TNA for you.
Rating: ½*

PRESHOW MATCH #2: Team Traci (Disciples of Destruction) vs. Mikey Batts & Jerrelle Clark

Batts and Clark always seemed to be on the verge of getting a push but it never came to pass. The Disciples of Destruction are the Harris Brothers, who have gone by about a million different names in their career. Big R and Big D, as they’re known this time around, dominate Clark and Batts from the get-go. West calls the Disciples one of the best tag teams in history. I genuinely miss West on commentary for sure, but sometimes he was prone to ridiculous hyperbole. The Disciples knock Clark off the apron and hit Batts with the H-Bomb to get the win at 3:13. This one was a little too squashy, since Batts and Clark were moderately over with the Impact Zone, unlike Lovett and Quartermain.
Rating: ¼*

MATCH #1: “Primetime” Elix Skipper vs. Petey Williams

Petey is accompanied by Coach Scott D’Amore. Primetime is accompanied by his little girl voice. They take it down to the mat to start and exchange holds. Skipper hits a dropkick to send Petey to the floor. Back in the ring Skipper continues to hold the advantage as Petey begs off. Petey is able to throw Skipper to the floor and D’Amore takes a cheap shot, and then Petey hits the slingshot hurricanrana. Back in the ring Petey traps Skipper in the Tree of Woe and executes the Oh Canada. Petey continues to thwart Skipper’s comeback attempts, but when he goes to the top rope Skipper joins him and hits a super Butterfly Suplex. Skipper follows up with a couple of clotheslines and a spin kick. He then hits an inverted suplex, dropping Petey on the top rope, and hits a guillotine legdrop for two. Petey comes back with the Canadian Legsweep for two. Skipper comes back and tries the rope walk rana but Petey blocks it. Petey hits a Tornado DDT and signals for the Canadian Destroyer but Skipper counters it. They trade awkward pinning attempts. Petey goes for a Canadian Destroyer off the ropes but Skipper catches him and hits the Sudden Death (Schwein, Air Raid Crash) to get the pin at 7:58. A few sloppy spots aside this was a solid opener.
Rating: **½

MATCH #2: BG James & NASCAR’s Jeff Hammond vs. Michael Shane & Kazarian

I’m not sure what TNA was hoping to accomplish by having a 48-year-old NASCAR driver competing with two young stars of the X Division. Ron “The Truth” Killings and Konnan accompany BG and Hammond to the ring. Konnan does his usual spiel. BG and Kazarian start the match. Before any contact is made, Kazarian tags Shane, so Hammond makes an illegal tag and gets in the ring. Hammond and BG go to work on Shane’s arm, and the crowd doesn’t seem too impressed. BG is able to dominate both Shane and Kazarian, for some reason. Kazarian and Shane are able to send BG to the floor, and Kazarian wipes him out with a dive. After a brief heat period, BG clotheslines both Shane and Kazarian and makes the lukewarm tag. I even hear some boos as Hammond beats up both of his opponents. This is ridiculous. BG comes in and tries to help, and Shane clotheslines him to the floor. Shane then accidentally hits Kazarian with a Superkick, and BG pulls Shane to the floor. Hammond then hits Kazarian with the Pit Stop Elbow to get the pin at 5:36. The match was pretty bad, and the fact that a NASCAR driver went over Kazarian made it that much worse.
Rating: DUD

MATCH #3: Dustin Rhodes vs. Raven

Raven goes on offense first, slugging away. Dustin fights back and they take it to the floor. Back in the ring Dustin goes to work. Raven fights back with a Discuss Clothesline. Yawn. Raven works on the ankle, since he’s been using the Ankle Lock in recent months. Speak of the devil, there’s the Ankle Lock. Dustin breaks out of it and unleashes a flurry of offense. He goes for the Bulldog but Raven avoids it so Dustin hits a clothesline instead. Dustin goes up top and Raven knocks him down with a superkick. Raven goes up top and Dustin knocks him down and tries the flying something but Raven gets his boots up. Dustin counters the Raven Effect and hits a superkick for two. Raven goes right back to the Ankle Lock and Dustin breaks it again by sending Raven to the floor. Back in the ring Raven goes for the Ankle Lock again but Dustin counters it to one of his own. Raven escapes and rolls Dustin up with his foot on the middle turnbuckle to get the pin at 8:21. Dustin really didn’t look motivated during this run in TNA, and Raven was pretty washed up already by this point.
Rating: *½

Raven attacks after the match and puts Dustin in a straightjacket. He throws Dustin in the ring and bashes him with a trash can. Then Rave uses the straightjacket to tie Dustin to the top rope and looks to use a strap on him. Cassidy Riley tries to make the save but Raven hits him with the Raven Effect. Security comes out to break it up finally.

MATCH #4: NWA World Tag Team Title Match – America’s Most Wanted vs. Kid Kash & Lance Hoyt

Chris Harris and James Storm have been the champions since 1.16.05, and this is their first defense. Storm and Kash start the match. They aggressively wrestle to a standoff as West points out that there is no mutual respect between these teams, only hatred. That’s good, I prefer it that way. Tags are made and the champions take control of both challengers. Kash and Hoyt take a powder. Harris throws Storm over the top rope to wipe out both challengers. Hoyt takes advantage of a distracted Storm and hits a hiptoss on the floor and throws him back in the ring. Kash and Hoyt are firmly in control now, wearing Storm down. Storm is able to get his knees up on a Frog Splash attempt by Kash, and they collide mid-ring when they both try cross body blocks. Tags are made and Harris is a house afire. Harris hits Hoyt with a delayed vertical suplex, which is impressive. The referee has lost control of the match as all four men are in the ring. Storm hits Kash with the Eye of the Storm. Hoyt takes Storm up to the top rope and hits a super side suplex for a near-fall. Storm recovers and hits Hoyt with a super hurricanrana and Harris follows with a Macho Elbow for two. Kash grabs one of the tag team title belts and is able to turn the referee around and smash Storm in the face with it for a two-count. Harris hits Kash with a Spear, and then drills Hoyt with a Superkick. He then handcuffs Kash to the top turnbuckle, leaving Hoyt all alone. The champs then hit Hoyt with the Death Sentence to retain the titles at 12:27. America’s Most Wanted was masters of the tag team formula match, and this one fit the TNA formula to a T.
Rating: ***

MATCH #5: Full Metal Mayhem – “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy vs. Abyss

This is basically TNA’s version of a TLC Match. Two envelopes are hanging above the ring – one of them is empty, and the other contains a shot at the NWA World Championship. Abyss uses his power to take the early advantage. Hardy comes back and knocks Abyss to the floor, and wipes him out with a dive from off a steel chair in the ring. He reels off the first chair shot, but Abyss quickly comes back and goes on offense. Tables, ladders, and chairs all get involved as these two hardcore superstars continue to trade control back and forth. Abyss hurls Hardy over the top rope through a table on the floor, and Hardy takes a nasty landing. They take the fight to the floor and go up the aisle. Abyss grabs a table and sets it up by the entrance hole. Hardy fights back with the Twist of Fate. I remember how much I hate Tenay when he shortens finishers like calling that move “The Twist.” Hardy hits another one and then climbs up the entrance set. West calls it 30 or 40 feet, but it’s really more like 10. Hardy hits a Swanton Bomb to break the table. Back in the ring Hardy sets up a ladder and climbs up to one of the contracts, but it turns out to be the empty one. Hardy quickly goes up the other ladder but Abyss pulls him down and Irish whips him over the ropes and to the floor through four tables. Abyss climbs up now and pulls down the right contract at 15:45. While he got numerous title shots on pay-per-view, Abyss didn’t get his title shot on Impact until August of 2010. That’s TNA for you. The match was a decent weapons brawl but never really established a rhythm.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #6: “The Alpha Male” Monty Brown & Diamond Dallas Page vs. Team Canada

This was supposed to be Bobby Roode and Scott Hall teaming up, but Hall got drunk or something and Eric Young is replacing him. Roode and Young are former two-time NWA Tag Team Champions, and they’re accompanied by Coach D’Amore and Johnny Devine. Monty and Young start the match, and Monty dominates. DDP tags in and Young continues getting worked over. Roode tags in and DDP goes to work on his arm and uses a headlock. DDP hits the discuss clothesline and tags out, and then quickly tags back in. Young distracts DDP from the apron, allowing Roode to level him with a lariat. Team Canada controls for a bit until DDP inadvertently catches Roode with a headbutt to the groin. Tags are made and Monty is on fire. D’Amore distracts the referee and Roode hits Monty with the hockey stick. Devine even gets in the ring to take a few cheap shots. Young hits Monty with the Macho Elbow for two. Monty gets an anticlimactic tag and DDP cleans house. D’Amore and Devine try to interfere again but DDP and Monty thwart them easily. Monty then hits Roode with the Pounce to send him to the floor. Young goes up top and DDP crotches him and hits a super Diamond Cutter to get the pin at 9:45. That seemed like a match more suited to Impact.
Rating: **

MATCH #7: Ironman X Division Title Match – “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs. “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels

AJ has been the champion since 1.16.05, and this is his first defense. This is the first time these two have faced each other in TNA, but they’ve had multiple meetings in ROH, PWG, and other assorted Indies. TNA helpfully puts a clock in the upper right hand corner. AJ and Daniels take it right down to the mat and exchange holds. Daniels takes the early advantage but AJ cuts him off with a dropkick and Daniels powders. AJ follows him out with a rana off the ring apron. Back in the ring AJ goes to work on the arm, keeping Daniels on the mat. I notice that Daniels wears his wedding ring while he wrestles, which seems like a bad idea to me. What if he lost it somewhere? AJ knocks Daniels to the floor again with a dropkick. He teases a dive as Daniels just stands there, so AJ decides to hit the dive. That was awkward. Back in the ring AJ goes for a springboard maneuver but Daniels pulls the referee in front of him so AJ stops, and then Daniels knocks him off the apron and to the floor. Now Daniels is firmly in control, and we pass ten minutes without a fall. Daniels drops his head and AJ kicks him in the face and then levels him with a lariat. AJ hits the back flip inverted DDT and the vertical suplex into a neckbreaker for two. He goes up top and Daniels grabs onto his leg and joins him up there. AJ is able to knock Daniels down and goes for a 450 Splash but Daniels gets his knees up. Daniels then hits the Angel’s Wings to score the first fall at 14:07.

Daniels remains in control as we cross the halfway mark. The champ is looking worse for wear as Daniels continues focusing on the ribs and the back. Finally AJ comes back with a handspring elbow a la Tajiri, but Daniels is the first man to his feet. AJ though unleashes a flurry of kicks and then hits a Death Valley Neckbreaker for two. He follows up with the springboard forearm shot for another two-count. We cross the 20-minute mark and Daniels is still up 1-0. Daniels comes back and hits AJ’s back flip inverted DDT for two. He follows that with a Blue Thunder Driver for another two-count. AJ hits the Pele from out of nowhere and both men are down. Back up on their feet AJ hits a series of forearms but then runs right into a Samoan Drop. Daniels goes for the Best Moonsault Ever and misses, but he lands on his feet and goes for the Last Rites. AJ reverses it to the Angel’s Wings for a near-fall. Daniels drives AJ into the corner and then goes for a back suplex but AJ gets a quick schoolboy rollup to tie the match 1-1 at 23:58.

We’re down to five minutes left as they take it to the floor and Daniels hurls AJ into the ring post and the champ is busted open now. With four minutes left the challenger is in much better shape as he goes to work on the bloody forehead of the champion. Daniels hits the running STO for a close two-count. We’re down to under a minutes and Daniels locks AJ in the Koji Clutch! As Daniels squeezes more blood squirts out of AJ ‘s head. AJ is able to hold on and the time limit expires at 30:00 (though it was a little shy of that by my clock). Daniels asks Dusty Rhodes for sudden death and he gets it. The challenger goes right back to work on the bloody forehead but can’t put AJ away. Daniels puts AJ on the top rope and hits a Palm Strike. He goes for a super rana but AJ pushes him down and hits a rana off the top rope. AJ then hits the Styles Clash to get the win at 1:37 (31:37 total match time). These two are n natural opponents and rarely have a bad match together. This was a great one, well booked and made both guys look good, and even sets up for a potential rematch.
Rating: ****¼

MATCH #8: NWA World Heavyweight Title Match – “King of the Mountain” Jeff Jarrett vs. “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash, featuring The Outlaw and Sean Waltman

Jarrett has been the champion since 6.2.04, and this is his seventh defense. Apparently, if the champion uses his guitar he will lose the title. A hundred bucks says the guitar is involved in the finish. Nash literally did nothing to earn this title shot. Jarrett tries using his speed to outmaneuver the challenger, but Nash is able to thwart him with his superior power. It doesn’t take long for Jarrett to attack the knee, since Nash has had 14 knee surgeries and one of Jarrett’s finishers is the Figure-Four Leglock. Nash comes back and clotheslines Jarrett to the floor. He follows him out and slams him face-first onto the title belt on the announce table. Jarrett is able to kick Nash in the knee coming back in the ring, and the champ regains control. He charges at Nash, who sidesteps him and tosses him to the floor. Nash follows him out and Jarrett tries to escape into the crowd. They fight to the back, and Nash whips Jarrett into the catering table and hits him with a chair. They even fight outside the building. Jarrett has been busted open. Nash goes for a powerbomb, but Jarrett slips out and hits a low blow. Jarrett goes under the ring and brings out a cello. He breaks the handle accidentally but hits Nash with it anyway, and is every match in TNA a no-disqualification match? Back in the ring Jarrett uses the cello case to abuse Nash’s knee. He locks on the Figure-Four Leglock but Nash reaches the ropes. Jarrett pulls Nash back to the center of the ring and continues to wear it down. Nash makes the comeback and hits a big boot and a sidewalk slam for two. He tries Snake Eyes but Jarrett avoids it and clips the knee. Jarrett goes back to the cello with no handle, and Nash hits him in the scrotal region. Nash goes to use the cello but referee Rudy Charles all of a sudden has a problem with it and makes Nash stop. He tries the Jackknife instead, and the ref gets bumped. Nash hits the Jackknife right on the cello, but with no referee to count the match continues. Then from out of nowhere the former Billy Gunn comes out and lays out Nash with a chair. Jarrett covers but Nash kicks out at two! With everyone focused on Billy Gunn, another former D-X member, Sean Waltman, comes out and hits the X-Factor on Jarrett. Nash goes for the cover but Jarrett just kicks out. Billy Gunn is out again, but this time gets stopped by BG James. Nash clotheslines Billy over the top rope, and Jarrett hits Nash with the belt and Nash kicks out at two. The champion hits the Stroke but Nash kicks out again! He goes to the top rope and Nash catches him by the throat and tries for a chokeslam. Jarrett pushes the referee down and hits a low blow. He follows up with the Stroke to get the pin at 19:46. I don’t understand why sometimes the referee would see them cheat but do nothing, but other times they made a point to knock the referee down in order to cheat. How does that help build drama? The match was surprisingly decent given Nash’s condition, but the referee silliness and the run-ins drag it down.
Rating: **¼

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