Christian retains belt Against All Odds

Kurt Angle has never tasted what it’s like to be the NWA Heavyweight Champion. At Against All Odds, Kurt Angle got his first shot at gold as he took on Christian Cage in a solid main event match. Although the results weren’t favorable to the Olympic Gold Medalist, Angle showed that he is a valid contender and the perfect leader for TNA as they move forward to bigger and better things.

Angle made his way into the Impact Zone, confident that he was about to deliver Christian Cage a beating he wouldn’t soon forget. Cage and Tomko made their way out, concerned but cocky. Before things got underway, referee Andrew Thomas told Tomko to hit the bricks as he didn’t want there to be any chance of Tomko interfering in this ever important match-up.

With Cage livid, the match began. Cage and Angle wrestled around a little bit until “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe made his grand entrance. Joe stood on the outside to ensure that the match between Angle and Cage would go down without any outside issues. For the early part of the match Cage and Angle reversed one another and thwarted each other’s finisher attempts. Angle used his technical prowess to execute an impressive seven set of German suplexes that nearly got him the victory, however Cage showed some fighting spirit and was able to kick out before the three. “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles attempted to intervene, but was immediately chased away by Joe.

While the referee was paying attention to Joe and Styles, Cage used a chair on Angle and hit a second Unprettier, but again, it wouldn’t be enough to keep Angle down. While the referee was on the ring apron trying to maintain some order on the outside, Cage was sent into the ropes, knocking him off and into the guardrail. Angle followed up by delivering a low blow and the Olympic Slam, but there was no ref to make the pinfall. Joe threw Thomas back into the ring, but by then Angle could only get a two count.

As soon as Thomas made it back to his feet, he was once again sent down, allowing Tomko and Scott Steiner to hit the ring and wreak havoc. Joe did what he could to get them out of the picture, whacking them with a steel chair, tossing them left and right and clearing them out with an incredible dive through the ropes. Joe then told Angle that he was doing his job and told him to worry about defeating Cage. Cage fired back a bit, but took too long to capitalize, landing himself on the receiving end of an Ankle Lock. After fighting a bit, he tapped, but again there was no ref to recognize the submission. With nobody to call for a DQ, Cage grabbed the lead pipe that Steiner had brought to the ring and whacked Angle in the head. He followed up with his third Unprettier which was enough to put Angle away for the three count. A decent main event to top a decent PPV.

PRE SHOW:

Match One – Serotonin (Johnny Devine and Kazarian) w/ Matt Bentley vs. Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal

Lethal and Dutt used their quickness to gain the upperhand in this one. The new flock known as Serotonin is finally starting to come into its own. The end came when Dutt missed a splash on Kazarian, Bentley snuck in and hit a superkick allowing Kazarian to make the cover and pick up the very first win for Serotonin. Finally. Afterwards, Raven came in and the caning process began, very unique.

Winners Via Pinfall – Serotonin (Johnny Devine and Kazarian)

Match Rating – 5/10

MAIN SHOW:

The show began with a cool video package that featured Christian Cage comparing himself to many other “Instant Classics.” TNA’s production has made so many steps forward, if their writing could do the same they’d be alright.

Match One – Little Italy Street Fight – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) vs. LAX (“The Notorious 187” Homicide and Hernandez) w/ Konnan and The Latino Nation

This was just an all out brawl. Homicide took an insane backbody drop on the outside that saw him hit the ringpost before hitting the ground, amazing. On the flip side, Hernandez did a suicide dive into a vicious chair shot from Brother Devon. If all this hard hitting action wasn’t enough, strippers were in cages at ringside and even took time out to give Brother Ray a lap dance during the match. The Latino Nation, a group of unidentified Latinos, tried to get involved, but were quickly wiped out by Team 3D. Brother Devon was opened up with a pizza cutter by Homicide, who was in turn opened up by a cheese grater courtesy of Brother Ray. LAX fought back, putting Brother Ray through a table and using their mercenaries to hold down Brother Devon until he was too beaten to get up. A Border Toss and elbow drop was enough to put Devon away, giving LAX the victory in the Little Italy Street Fight.

Winners Via Pinfall – LAX (“The Notorious 187” Homicide and Hernandez)

Match Rating – 6/10

Jeremy Borash caught up with The Austin Starr in the back. Starr said that he was going to defeat Senshi and continue on in his path to stardom. He said he was tired of Kevin Nash’s goofy ways and was happy to no longer be associated with him. During the course of the interview, Bob Backlund came in and interrupted. Starr berated him and walked away as Backlund stood there furious. Backlund is crazy.

Match Two – The Austin Starr vs. Senshi

Both of these stars are so well versed in their technical game, however on this occasion neither one seemed to be completely on his game. Lots of quick back and forth action. Senshi attempted to hit the Warrior’s Way, but Starr avoided it. Starr locked in the Crossface Chicken Wing on a few occasions, but Senshi fought out. A roll through attempt gone astray was Starr’s downfall as he found himself pinned to the mat and on the losing end of the sheet. After the match, Starr complained and threw chairs into the ring, demanding that the match be restarted. Bob Backlund came out only to get slapped by Starr once again. Backlund locked in the Crossface Chicken Wing and carried Starr all the way to the back. Hysterical. Decent match, but sloppy at a few points with a terrible finish.

Winner Via Pinfall – Senshi

Match Rating – 5/10

In the dressing room area, Jeremy Borash was with Christian Cage and Tomko, who was furious at Scott Steiner and how he was being treated. Tomko told Cage that he didn’t want anything to do with Steiner and refused to work with him. Steiner barged in and told Cage that he was going to quit because he couldn’t deal with Tomko. Cage calmed both guys down and told them to cool off because he needed them to make sure that he was going to walk out with the NWA Heavyweight Championship still intact. Steiner stormed off as Cage screamed at Tomko to go fix their relationship.

A video package was shown recapping the Christy Hemme/Kip James situation. This led to…

Match Three – Tuxedo Match – Christy Hemme vs. The Big Fat Oily Guy

A clip was shown of Jim Cornette telling Christy Hemme earlier on that she would be competing in a Tuxedo match. This was horrible. Way to kill the PPV. Hemme eventually won. Kip James came down and ripped her shirt off claiming that that was what the TNA fans really wanted to see. Terrible segment.

Winner Via Stripping Her Opponent – Christy Hemme

Match Rating – 1/10

In a special area, there was a private viewing of Alex Shelley’s latest masterpiece. A love story between Ms. Brooks and “Showtime” Eric Young. Leticia, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal and Kevin Nash sat down and watched the first part that saw Ms. Brooks answer her cell phone and talk to Young who was on his way up in the elevator. Ms. Brooks told Shelley to hide as “To Be Continued…” popped up on the screen.

A video package was shown highlighting the feud between David Eckstein and AJ Pierzynski. Yes you read that right David Eckstein is feuding with AJ Pierzynski.

Match Four – Dale Torborg w/ AJ Pierzynski vs. Lance Hoyt w/ David Eckstein

Torborg was a little rusty, but overall not too bad. Pierzynski got involved a bit, throwing Hoyt into the guardrails. Eckstein complained about Pierzynski’s repeated interference, leading to Pierzynski coming in and hitting Hoyt with a steel chair, allowing Torborg to get the win. Eckstein jumped in the ring and showed the ref the chair, thus calling for a restart. Rick Eckstein got invovled, giving David a chair that he used on Torborg who fell into a forward slam by Hoyt for the win.

Winner Via Pinfall – Lance Hoyt

Match Rating – 4/10

Back to the viewing party, the showing continued with Eric Young coming in and meeting with Ms. Brooks. Brooks told him that before they could do anything, he had to do her a favor and sign the contract with Robert Roode Inc. Young hesistated, but went to sign as “To Be Continued…” once again popped up on the screen. Lethal, Dutt, Leticia and Nash commenting inbetween segments was actually pretty entertaining.

Match Five – Motor City Chain Match – “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs. “The War Machine” Rhino

This was a solid match for the most part. Back and forth action that saw Styles play cowardly for a good portion of the match, forcing Rhino to shorten the chain on him and drive in with his attack. Styles was able to hit some springboard offense and eventually retrieve the key. Styles then proceeded to cuff Rhino to the ropes, not allowing him to get more than halfway across the ring. He teased Rhino with the keys until he got too close and was Gored. The keys flew out, but Rhino still couldn’t reach them. Referee Earl Hebner walked by the keys and gave them a casual kick in Rhino’s direction. Very cool. Rhino uncuffed himself and set up a table, he went to Gore Styles through it, but wound up putting himself through it and allowing Styles to pick up the pinfall victory.

Winner Via Pinfall – “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles

Match Rating – 7/10

The final installment of the viewing party was up next. In it we saw Eric Young sign the contract. Ms. Brooks told Young she’d be right back, as she took off with the contract in hand, down the hallway and proceeded to deliver it to Robert Roode. Nash and company critqued the film as Bob Backlund came in and chased them away, saying that the film was corrupting the TNA fan base.

Match Six – TNA X Division Championship Match – Chris Sabin (C) vs. Jerry Lynn

Another fast paced, back and forth contest. Jerry Lynn still has every bit of the quickness and vigor he had during his first tile run as X Division champion back in 2002. Sabin was caught off guard here, as Lynn unleashed a flurry of offensive moves. Sabin fought back and used some cheap tricks to regain control of the match. Sabin was able to retain the title after Lynn couldn’t execute the Cradle Piledriver and Sabin rolled him up and hooked the ropes.

Winner Via Pinfall and STILL TNA X Division Champion – Chris Sabin

Match Rating – 7/10

TNA announced that Destination X was coming up and that they would be making a special announcement tomorrow night on Spike TV (remember no Raw in the U.S., so TNA is on Monday with a special) for a new match that will be debuting at the PPV. In the back, Samoa Joe was shown coming out of Kurt Angle’s lockeroom.

Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks made there way to the ring. Eric Young came out and Roode informed him that now Young worked for him. He told Young that he couldn’t hit him, because if he did he would be fired from TNA. He told Young that he would learn that it “Pays to be Roode.” This angle has come along very well.

In the back, Jeremy Borash spoke with Christian Cage, asking him if everything was all set within his army. Cage told Borash that everything was going to work out. Jim Cornette came in and informed Cage that if anyone interfered on his behalf, he would be disqualified and the title would change hands. Been there, done that.

A video package was shown highlighting the feud between Jackie Moore and Gail Kim. This led to…

Match Seven – Petey Williams and Gail Kim vs. James Storm and Jackie Moore

This was a pretty entertaining match that saw Moore and Kim really go at it. Storm and Williams exchagned blows, with Williams attempting to hit the Destroyer, only to get hit from behing by Moore. Things broke down and Gail Kim found herself on the receiving end of a knee to the face from Storm that sent her crashing to the mat. Moore made the cover and picked up the win for her team. Afterwards, things broke down, with all four combatants going at it. Williams was laid out with a superkick by Storm. Moore and Storm went to hit the Death Sentence on him too, but Chris Harris made his return, chasing them to the back as Kim checked on Williams.

Winners Via Pinfall – James Storm and Jackie Moore

Match Rating 5/10

A video package was shown highlighting the feud between Sting and Abyss. In the back, Jeremy Borash found Sting and interviewed him. Sting said that he was going to make sure that this was the end of James Mitchell’s reign of terror.

Match Eight – Prison Yard Match – Sting vs. “The Monster” Abyss w/ Father James Mitchell

This was a great match. Lots of high impact offense here. Between the barbed wire and all sorts of other plunder, this match really took the PPV to another level. Abyss’ arm was cut up and down courtesy of the barbed wire bat, while James Mitchell also tasted his own blood thanks to Sting. Abyss fought back, cracking one of the red siren lights over Sting’s head. Sting mounted a comeback and wound up powerbombing Abyss off the cell and through a barbed wire table, knocking him out and allowing Sting to drag him into the cell and lock him up. After the match, Sting choked Mitchell until security swarmed the ring and forced him to release his hold. Excellent match and a great way to end this feud.

Winner Via Locking His Opponent In The Cell – Sting

Match Rating – 8/10

Backstage, Jeremy Borash spoke with Kurt Angle who said that he was going to seize the opportunity being presented to him. He promised that he was going to walk out of Against All Odds the new NWA Heavyweight Champion.

Match Nine – NWA Heavyweight Championship Match – “The Instant Classic” Christian Cage w/ Tomko (C) vs. Kurt Angle

Winner Via Pinfall and STILL NWA Heavyweight Champion – “The Instant Classic” Christian Cage

Match Rating – 7/10

Overall Event Rating – 6/10