News: TNA releases several stars

In the past few days, TNA Wrestling have released several notable talents from their contracts and allowed others to lapse, with no intention of renewal.

Names include Joey Ryan, Crimson, Christian York, Madison Rayne and Taeler Hendrix.

This comes amid worrying rumours that TNA have fallen several weeks behind on payroll and their working relationship with OVW is troubled at best.

Clem's Take: A bout of releases in quick succession definitely lends itself toward confirming the money troubles. With a handful of top tier talent drawing gigantic paychecks for relatively little activity, I can't help but think TNA are coming at this problem from the wrong end of the roster. Rather than cut up and comers who weren't costing much anyway, eliminate their main problem - Hulk Hogan. Rumoured to rake in as much as $75,000 for every appearance, he's being paid a small fortune to bumble through promo after promo. He hasn't popped the ratings one bit and after three years, TNA have reaped all the benefits they're ever going to get. Cut Hogan from one show and you could pay Joey Ryan for an entire year. I know which option I'd prefer.

Review: Impact Wrestling 13/06/2013 Hour 1

Last week's Impact Wrestling ended on the cliffhanger of Brooke Hogan stopping her father from hitting her estranged husband with a hammer, the signature weapon of Bully's own Aces & Eights. For the tens of fans who actually wanted to know what happened next, you'll be going home disappointed. Whatever interest they stirred up, they threw away in a matter of minutes as Hulk Hogan announced he'd sent his daughter home. Apparently, a twenty five year old grown woman can still be grounded!

As you can probably tell, this week's episode didn't get off to the best of starts. Hulk Hogan hit the ring to deliver yet another of his rambling incoherent promos to pop the audience. I know he's the biggest name on the roster, but until he can get his facts straight as to what he's talking about, they should probably keep his segments short and sweet. I dare anyone to comprehend his explanation of the Bound for Glory Series. If we're to take him at his word, it's twelve people definitely going to be at Bound for Glory. That'd be one crowded World Title match!

Thankfully, Jeff Hardy soon appeared to put the aging Hulkster out of his misery. Yes, it was so dire a beginning, I was thankful to see the Charisma Enigma arrive, I was that desperate. Bobby Roode was the eventual highlight of the cold open, reminding everyone that he was the first winner of the Bound for Glory Series and went on to become the longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion in TNA history. Even when faced with the combined might of Aces & Eights, Roode managed to sneak a clothesline from behind on Hardy and leave the arena victorious. I'm skeptical about next week's phone vote to decide who gets to call who out first, as regardless of the result, they'll call each other out anyone. Save those dollars on your phone bill, folks.

Next up was the first match of the evening - Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs James Storm & Gunner. The winner of this Tag Team bout would see both partners entered into the Bound for Glory Series. Given that one team are the Tag Team Champions and will likely have other priorities between now and then, I had a high suspicion Bad Influence would get the nod this time around. As per usual, Daniels & Kaz were on fire, both on the microphone and in the ring. Their pre-match promo making fun of James Storm's entire career revolving around the Tag Team Division was pure gold. I loved the line about him having more partners than Taylor Swift! The two teams had a nice chemistry in the ring and I'd be happy to see them paired back up later in the year, once Bound for Glory is done and dusted. Storm and Gunner were the clear victors, up until Daniels managed to sneak an illegal blow with the title belt, allowing Kaz to make the cover and win them both entry into this year's BFG Series.

In a rare re-appearance of a once undefeated talent, we were greeted with Crimson vs Joseph Park. Still reeling from his defeat at the hands of James Storm at last year's Slammiversary, Crimson cut an impassioned promo, reminding everyone just how long a streak he'd amassed before it was cruelly cut short. I was never a fan of Crimson in his first run with the company, but I'll admit I'm hugely surprised they haven't made more of the man. After damn near winning the first BFG Series single-handed in 2011, TNA simply didn't know what to do with him. They couldn't trust him to headline their biggest show of the year and his undefeated streak was thrown away with such casual disregard, it just goes to show how little it meant in the first place. This week's show would've been an ideal opportunity for him to re-establish himself as a monster in the eyes of the fans. Unfortunately, fate had other plans, seeing him take his second straight loss against the "rookie" Joseph Park with a schoolboy roll-up. Park is clearly their pet project for the moment, rendering Crimson's return little more than a punchline. Losing to the Cowboy was one thing, but it'll be hard to come back from losing to Joseph Park, a joke in himself.

In what has to be a trend, the women of TNA once again knocked it out of the proverbial park with the in-ring confrontation between Velvet Sky and Mickie James. This angle has been simmering in the background for about a month now, with the new Champion James refusing the former Champion Sky, her rematch for the Title. Mickie, being a long-time fan favourite, had been walking a tightrope in recent weeks, refraining from her usual heroics and bordering on heel tactics, but never outright turning. But this week saw a permanent change in ol' Hardcore Country, as she mercilessly beat down Velvet in the center of the ring. I haven't seen a Heel Mickie James since her debut with WWE as Trish Stratus' stalker, in her most notable angle to date. Therefore I'm pleased to see her return to such fertile ground, something she's struggled with in recent years. That's not to ignore Velvet however, who looked absolutely stunning this week. Never have I seen anyone look so good while convulsing in pain. I'm hugely looking forward to the TNA Original's revenge, now that clear battle lines have been drawn in the sand.

Snuck onto the card, almost under the radar, there was a fantastic four way bout in the form of Magnus vs Rob Terry vs Kenny King vs Matt Morgan. With the random combination of men, one couldn't help but think this was thrown together at the last minute to justify another BFG Series entrant. But all four men rose about the throwaway nature of the contest and gave it their all. Most notably, Kenny King, who's cowardly heel tactics were hilarious throughout. These usually involved manipulating Matt Morgan into doing all the dirty work, then sneaking a tag when the big man wasn't looking. Magnus being tagged into the match felt like a big deal, which is sure to go a long way backstage for the Brit. Once Terry and Morgan had basically eliminated themselves, Magnus dominated King with a series of impressive power moves and took the pinfall with surety.

Having teased his reaction to losing at Slammiversary on Twitter, Sting finally appeared at the top of the first hour. Picking up on the fact that no member of the TNA roster ran out to help him when his career was on the line, this sparked a new attitude in Sting. Echoing AJ Styles sentiments about not being able to trust anyone around him, the Icon admires Aces & Eights' teamwork and the notion of having each other's backs. Therefore, the Icon will be looking to assemble a group of his own, a family if you will. Or even...a Mafia. Sting continues to be a master on the mic, selling the idea of a Main Event Mafia reunion with ease. If he wasn't so determined to be an in-ring performer, I'd say make him a manager for talents less able to speak for themselves *cough*RampageJackson*cough*. As for the new Main Event Mafia, I'm genuinely stumped as to who it could be. Kurt Angle would be a good idea, having fronted the former incarnation, and he'll need something to do while he's waiting for Rampage to get his act together. Samoa Joe would be another former member to look at. Beyond that, they're pretty lacking in Main Event for the Mafia. What with Scott Steiner having sued the company, Booker T happily employed across the road and Kevin Nash content to live off his Legends contract (unless Magic Mike was his cash cow...).

Trash Talking: Gut Check

written by Rob Poulloin (@Robbie_G_CH)

Since 2004, 'Gut Check' has been apart of TNA. Starting off as a tryout program, the process has now evolved into what we see on Impact Wrestling once a month. But now that TNA's landscape has changed due to the shift in Pay-Per-View lineup, where does it leave Gut Check and in what format?

Gut Check started as a one off competition, with various categories testing the competitors. The winners were rewarded with a cash prize and an appearance on TNA programming. After a few years of development, the process moved into the seminar format, where independent wrestlers pay for a place on the course, to be put through their paces and show off their skills in front of TNA representatives, such as D'Lo Brown and Jeremy Borash.

Crimson was spotted through Gut Check
(photo by Lee South)

This process benefits both parties, as it allows TNA to witness the ability of new wrestlers, whilst also creating extra income. As for the independent wrestlers, they are in front of people who could make their dreams come true and sign them to either a developmental deal or even a full time contract. As beneficial as the seminars are, I can't help but feel that they are exploiting the wrestlers, as the company should be looking to sign the best and should be using their own resources to find those talented enough. Looking at the wrestlers to make it to Impact thus far; Crimson and Jesse Sorensen; would suggest that going out and watching other shows would be a better way of talent spotting. 

From April 2012, Gut Check has appeared once a month on the 'Open Fight Night' episode of Impact Wrestling. This is usually the second show after a pay-per-view, giving the opportunity of a contract to unsigned wrestlers, who would show their skills in a match against a roster member and then be judged the following week by Bruce Prichard, Al Snow and Taz (replacing Ric Flair). The segment of Gut Check seems completely unrelated to the seminar side beside the name. The talent picked for television have either previously been in TNA's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (Alex Silva and Taeler Hendrix) or independent stars who could have easily been given a contract without the segment (Sam Shaw and Christian York). The process being used as an angle multiple times, firstly to create hype around Joey Ryan, who was unsuccessful in his bid to win a contract and took to Youtube to protest and 'invading' multiple wrestling shows; and more recently, to add Wes Brisco to the roster, despite being seen as a masked member of Aces and Eights for months before his 'tryout'.

Joey Ryan failed in his Gut Check Challenge
(photo by Lee South) 

Officially, six out of the nine wrestlers to 'tryout' for a contract have been successful, with Ryan being the seventh as he had to fight for his contract in a match against Al Snow at Bound For Glory. Out of the seven only Joey Ryan, Christian York and Wes Brisco have been seen on Impact Wrestling on a regular basis with the others being sent to OVW to improve their skills, so it questions the need to have them taking up valuable television time where full time roster members can go without a match in months.

TNA will always need to be on the look out for the next stars to keep their product fresh but Gut Check doesn't seem to be the way to do it considering the best additions to the roster in recent history have been Austin Aries and Kenny King who have both come from Ring Of Honor. Comparing TNA's new recruits to those that WWE are assembling in NXT there is no competition, WWE are signing talent who are ready to go and have proved themselves as the biggest names on the Indy circuit, the likes of PAC (Adrian Neville) who has been Dragons Gate and New Japan, former ROH wrestlers including World Champion Tyler Black (Shield member Seth Rollins), Tag Team Champions Claudio Castagnoli (Antonio Cesaro) Chris Hero (Kassius Ohno) & El Generico; these wrestlers will not only be future stars but help improve the 'home grown' talent with their experience. 

With the wealth of talent currently on the Indy circuit TNA should be looking to those as the future of the business, Crimson was given a monster push on television whilst being relatively green where he wasn't actually ready for it where as someone who has proved themselves, Austin Aries, took the ball and become TNA World Heavyweight Champion within a year of debuting. 

Davey Richards is one of wrestlings
great unsigned acts

I have nothing against Gut Check or OVW but the future of WWE currently looks a lot brighter with wrestlers that TNA most likely overlooked who will also pass on their knowledge and experience. With TNA looking to move up to the next level they need to build a strong undercard; as the roster is starting to look a little top heavy; and rebuild the tag and X-Division who have gone unnoticed for far too long. Names like Adam Cole and Davey Richards would do this much better than Jessie Godderz and Devon. 

Gut Check will continue to hold seminars and recently launched an online voting process of former participants, but this has been suspended due to voting issues. The future of the televised version is unknown as OFN has not been apart of Impact since the January 17th show. I would much rather see TNA make more of a competition out of the process with a separate program in a style akin to UFC's Ultimate Fighter and early series of NXT which would allow the wrestlers to gain TV exposure whilst not taking away time on Impact. This would allow for a winner to be crowned and a deal offered but would be less frequent than the current process meaning that the roster and viewers wouldn't be flooded with a string of new names.  

I hope that TNA keeps Gut Check in one form or another but the seminars should be invitational rather than at the cost of the attendee, the cream of the crop can should then be moved up to the next level, either to be offered a developmental deal on the spot or entered into a separate television show. This would weed out those who are not yet ready for the big time and would mean fans can enjoy the best wrestling from the top to the bottom of the show.

Long Term Booking - Where's The Mystery?

This past week on Impact Wrestling, TNA made two very important booking decisions that will come into play for the months ahead, if not beyond. Typically, I would be 100% behind any such attempt at long term booking. More wrestling promotions should try this, WWE especially. Pinpoint an exact end point, months if not years in the future, and hold true to those plans. Build to that match and in no circumstance give it away before then. More often than not, this approach is ignored in favour of hotshot booking to illicit shock and awe, in the vain hope of winning the audience's attention, where none existed before. However, while I may favour the more thoughtful course of action, it's rendered several upcoming events on the TNA calender entirely predictable!

The first involves X Division Champion, Austin Aries, and his Faustian Pact to headline next month's Destination X pay-per-view. After successfully retaining his Championship in a hard-fought Ultimate X match against Zema Ion and Chris Sabin, Aries cut a promo pointing out that no matter where's he's placed on a card, whether it be the start of the show or the end, he's the main event. As such, he should be granted a shot at Bobby Roode's World Heavyweight Championship. Quickly answering Aries' request, General Manager Hulk Hogan made his way down to the ring and in a surprising move...agreed. However, there was one impediment to A Double's ascension to the main event, his continuing stranglehold on the X Division. Hogan couldn't in good conscience allow one man, no matter how talented, to reign over both divisions. If Aries is to get his shot at the gold, he has to relinquish his X Division Championship, a title he's held for almost an entire year. 

Don't get me wrong, it was a fantastic start to this episode of Impact Wrestling. A jaw-dropping  Ultimate X match, a ballsy promo, the attention of the biggest name in Professional Wrestling and an ultimatum not typically seen. It elevated Austin Aries in countless ways. He's no longer just another tiny X Division high-flyer, Hulk Hogan endorsed him as the future of the business! If there was even the slightest possibility that Aries could infact win the World Heavyweight Championship, he'd be a fool not to go for it. Unfortunately, we're in the midst of another bout of long term booking, as relating to Bobby Roode. He's been Champion since just after last year's Bound for Glory and has held onto the belt by whatever means necessary. It's blatantly obvious to anyone with even a passing interest that Roode will continue to hold the title until this year's Bound for Glory at the earliest, if not longer. TNA have invested so much into his elevation to the main event, that not even putting over another young up and comer like Austin Aries could hinder such motivation. Which puts the self-proclaimed Greatest Man Who Ever Lived in a quandary. Knowing full well that he won't win the World Championship at Destination X, that he'll come away with nothing, is that one main event match worth sacrificing the legacy he's built over the last year in the X Division?


Aries will obviously go for the title shot at the PPV and relinquish his X Division Championship in the process. I mean, when was the last time you ever heard of a wrestler turn down at shot at the World Heavyweight Championship? The only two positives I can see coming out of this situation are that TNA afforded Aries the privilege of never having to LOSE the X Division Title. In retrospect, everyone will be able to look back and remember Austin Aries dominated that division so thoroughly, they had to actively remove him from it - he's that damn good. Secondly, that even though he may lose his match at Destination X, that even though he may not see another chance for months to come, he's been genuinely elevated to that level. He's up there with the likes of Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam and Mr Anderson, challenging for opportunities as he should be. It won't be a case of IF he'll get to that main event, it'll be WHEN.

The second and far more disturbing instance of long term booking from last week's episode revolves around the returning Cowboy, James Storm. Last year, TNA created the Bound for Glory Series, in which twelve top-tier wrestlers from Impact Wrestling competed against each other in a league of sorts, winning matches to amass points, all in the hope of winning a title shot against the World Heavyweight Champion at TNA's biggest show of the year (Bound for Glory if the name wasn't obvious). While last year's series was full of flaws and in need of serious overhaul, the basic idea was sound and gave much needed drive to many of the random matches that would crop up on Impact Wrestling over the course of the summer months.

This year they kicked things off with a terrific Battle Royal involving all the participants (barring Mr Anderson, as he had a title shot later in the night). Once again, my problem isn't stemming from the segment itself or even the winner, as I hugely enjoyed the match and James Storm's triumph. But for a three month tournament of sorts, tell me you can't see the ending coming a mile away. No matter who wins the series, no matter what hijinks ensue to screw with the result, we all know that James Storm is guaranteed that main event match against Bobby Roode come Bound for Glory. The former Beer Money partners' rivalry has been the driving force of Impact Wrestling all year and every time Storm comes close to ending Roode's reign of tyranny, something gets in the way and Roode retains. There's only so long this can go on and Bound for Glory is the natural endpoint. They both had a fantastic match at Lockdown and are sure to again at BFG, but do we really need to see three months of Storm beating eleven other guys for the privilege when we know it's already a done deal?

I'll eat my words if that doesn't come to pass, but it will and no one in their right mind would dispute it. Although, in a small effort to get someone else over, I'm willing to bet that someone else will win the series on points, just as Crimson did last year. Just as before, the top points scorers will have a match at No Surrender and THAT is when Storm will go over. He'll come second in the standings to look a good sport, whilst giving the rub to someone else with the points win.

At the end of the day, all I can is - Enjoy Impact Wrestling in the coming months. You know exactly what to expect!

Written by Mark Clements

TNA Impact Wrestling 2012/03/08 Review

We open on a video from "earlier today", where-in Garret Bischoff arrives at Universal Studios in an open top jeep. The camera crew ask him about what happened last week with Ric Flair, to which he replies he appeciates the warning, but he's not going anywhere. Garret continues to mumble his way through promos, whether there's a crowd or not. There's no way such a green worker should be opening the show.

Entering the Impact Zone for the first time this evening, we find the trio of Ric Flair, Gunner and Eric Bischoff making their way to the ring. Eric starts off on the mic by appreciating Flair's music, saying it "warms the cockles of my heart" (a little odd, but okay). He goes on to say he's embarassed to have to confront his son in such a public forum and that he's disappointed it came to this. However, Garret has pushed them all too far and in an effort to put an end to hostilities, Eric has had a quiet word with Sting and arranged a tag team match for later tonight, putting an end to this issue once and for all (there's no way in hell this feud gets settled on a random episode of Impact a month shy of Lockdown). Just as he teases the mystery of who will be Gunner's tag team partner for the evening, Kurt Angle's music hits. Getting in the ring, Kurt hugs all three men, clearly in cahoots (because all heels are friends!). Eric postively jumps for joy as he hands the mic to the Olympic Gold Medalist. Kurt gladly offers his services for the evening in partnering with Gunner. He looks straight down the camera and says he hates Garret, riling up the crowd into a series of "Hardy" chants. Mirroring the beginning of last week's episode, he tells us why - because he doesn't respect his father! Rather hilariously, he adds that anyone who matters, hates someone with the last name Bischoff. Closing out the segment, Kurt promises to make Garret tap, tap, tap because it's real, it's damn real. The heels celebrate in the ring as we get glimpses of Garret backstage watching the in-ring events on monitor. He's visably flustered and storms out. This was a ridiculous way to open an episode, focussing on a petty familial feud with no true payoff. The segment would've tanked completely had Angle not come out and made it more about his personal issues with Jeff Hardy.

Cutting to a backstage bathroom, we find Sting looking in a mirror, applying his trademark facepaint. His frustrations with Bobby Roode boil over and he starts slipping into his Insane Icon persona. He's soon interrupted by Eric Young. For once, EY is the sane person in the room! He asks a favour of Sting. Wanting the best for his girl ODB, EY was hoping Sting might arrange something especially. Knowing how much women like gold, he offers them a shot at the Knockouts Tag Team Championships! I loved the quieter moments of this skit, such as Sting referring to absolutely everyone as Bobby and the way he psychotically painted EY's face, but ultimately Sting blew it by being too much of a goofball, channeling what can only be described as Jim Carey's The Mask.

Knockouts Tag Team Championships

Gail Kim & Madison Rayne (c) vs ODB & Eric Young

Before the match begins, Taz and Tenay recap the events of last week, replaying footage of Gail Kim making half-arsed attempts at aiding her partner Madison and eventually costing her the match. All of this building tension towards their upcoming Knockouts Championship match at Victory Road in ten days. As such, their future as Tag Team Champions doesn't look too rosey!

Kicking the match off, Eric Young locks up with referee Earl Hebner in one of his confused states. Finally figuring out it's Gail he's meant to be wrestling, the Knockouts Champion dares EY to land a punch on her jaw and pushes him around the ring. That is until he's backed into ODB's corner and she makes the tag. She works Gail over thoroughly, hitting a splash, followed by a bronco buster. Meanwhile, EY sneaks into the ring and willingly sets himself up for the same move in the opposite corner! Returning to the action, the two go back and forth until Gail is able to make a tag to Madison, who swiftly takes control. However, Madison's success is short-lived as she finds her head thrust into ODB's crotch over and over again. A press off the top rope leads to a nearfall. In the wake of this, the heels cheat to gain the advantage, as Madison distracts the referee and Gail chokes ODB. An impressive series of doubleteams by the Champions, giving away no signs of discontent in their partnership. ODB breaks away and makes the hot tag to Eric, who rather than rushing at his opponent Gail, locks up with the referee again! The miscommunication allows Eric to take the lead and get both the Tag Champs in an impromptu double airplane spin for a two count. The finish comes as Madison nails Eric with the Tag Title belt, causing him to collapse (mid-striptease) on top of Gail Kim. Failing to shift the unconscious EY, the referee counts the pinfall and we have new Knockouts Tag Team Champions!

An otherwise impressive Knockouts tag match, the only downside being Eric Young's involvement, as he was unable to play anything other than a comedy role for fear of striking a woman. While I enjoy the pairing of ODB and Young, I do question whether they can function as Champions, with one half being incapable of truly competing.

Winners - ODB & Eric Young to become the NEW Knockouts Tag Team Champions

After the match, EY gets down on one knee in the centre of the mat. Taking ODB's hand, he produces an engagement ring from his trunks (he wrestled with a ring in there? ouch!). Coming back from commercial, we find EY now has a mic and asks his trailer park lover to marry him. She thinks about it for a second and motions to leave. All of a sudden, she turns and proposes to him! EY happily accepts and does a victory lap around ringside in celebration. A really dopey angle, but I like the occasional cheesey segment.

Outside, at the main gate, a security guard checks the credentials of one Joseph Parks. It's clearly the Monster Abyss (aka Chris Parks), sans mask, wearing a goofy suit, looking ALOT like the magician Penn Jillette. It even looks as though they've cut his hair. I have absolutely no idea what to think of this development! Have they put the Abyss gimmick to rest or are they gearing up for a split personality angle (good luck booking the eventual match for that!)

We return to the studio to find Austin Aries checking his phone. Apparently, he's received an email from authority figure Sting. Aries takes a brilliant jab at Sting for only just discovering Twitter, now email and that it's about time he joined the 21st century. It turns out Sting has booked Aries to defend his X Division Championship tonight against Zema Ion. Voicing every smart mark's opinion, he correctly points out how stupid it is giving away such a money match on free TV, rather than wait ten days for the PPV. Rather than wait and give people a reason to buy the PPV, Sting has made yet another bad business decision. But this doesn't scare Aries, as once he successfully defends his Title tonight, he doesn't have to give Ion another shot at Victory Road! An absolutely wonderful performance from A Dub. It veered a little close to being an inside joke, but when CM Punk can reinvigorate the WWE with such terminology, I applaud Aries for being the one to try it in TNA.

X Division Championship

Austin Aries (c) vs Zema Ion

In our second title match of the night, Victory Road comes ten days early! Ion tries to get in a sneaky kick, but finds his leg caught by Aries and a swift forearm to the head. A Dub expertly runs Ion round the ring in a headlock and upon an attempt to escape, cunningly grabs his opponent's prized hair. After a particularly impressive sequence, Aries decides to take a victory lap around ringside and even bows in respect to the camera. The action finds it's way back inside the ring, with Aries dominating Ion at every turn. Ion has a brief surge where it looks as though he's winning, but a couple of nasty knife edge chops on the top rope send him crashing to the outside and prove he's clearly not. Aries attempts to follow, flying to the outside, but only finding exposed guard rail. This disorientation allows Ion a quick two count. Motioning for his finisher, Ion goes to the top rope and tries for a 450 splash, only to land flat on his face as Aries rolls away at the last second. A small moment of confusion allows Ion to grab his hairspray bottle, but is unsuccessful on attempting to use it, as Aries ducks out of the way. Grabbing the bottle from Ion, Aries retaliates and sprays his opponent in the face, only now the referee has recovered and seen everything. Despite valid protests, the referee calls for Aries to be disqualified!

A wonderful X Division match, with both men getting in several impressive moves. The clear victor being Austin Aries, as he dominated the match from start to finish and proved himself a champion like no other. If they're as interested in young talent as they say, TNA should take advantage of this and push Aries all the way into the World Title picture. Right now, no one deserves it more than him.

Winner - Zema Ion via disqualification (title doesn't change hands)

Backstage, the mysterious Joseph Parks enters the makeup room and finds Velvet Sky being tended to. Introducing himself, he asks if she might know where Abyss, HIS BROTHER, might be. He's been "missing" for several months (clearly someones not watching Ring Ka King!). She apologises to "Joseph", as she hasn't seen Abyss in a while either. He thanks her and leaves without incident. Not knowing Abyss had a brother in the first place, Velvet exclaims "you learn something new every day!". Two segments in and this angle is truly bizarre. I hope there's a point to all of this.

We return from commercial to find Bully Ray standing dead centre of the ring, ready to cut a promo. For the millions of Impact fans around the world, Calfzilla is here! As in a similar video package from earlier in the show, Bully harps on his success of having been the one to kick a chair into James Storm's head last week. As such, he feels he should be the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, not Storm, and urges Sting to come out to the ring and declare him so. Never one to refuse an invite, the creepily half-painted Stinger obliges and makes his way out. Amidst chewing the scenery, Sting points out Bully can't make matches purely because he injured somebody. However, as Bully has the best damn calves in all the world, he can have Bobby Roode...right after the break!

Non-Title Match

World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode vs Bully Ray

Before coming out to the ring, we see Roode arguing with Sting over having to defend his title at such short notice. Sting, not wanting to ruin the Lockdown main event, never said that this would be a title match! Roode exits towards the stage, calling Sting all different kinds of crazy and the General Manager thanks him in return.

Roode walks down the ramp sheepishly, even jumping at his own pyro. Once he makes his way to ringside, he attempts to bargain with Bully Ray, offering his hand in friendship, but is cruelly denied by the former Dudley. As the bell is rung, the rowdy Impact Zone crowd begins a "kick his ass" chant. The pair lockup and Bully backs Roode into the corner. To his credit, Roode is able to outwrestle Ray, resulting in a headlock. Shoving Roode into the ropes, Ray comes back with a fierce shoulder block. The two of them exchange shoves, until Roode takes it one step too far and slaps Ray. Maintaining control, Roode works Ray over with a sustained period of kicks and punches, showing his first signs of true aggression. A particularly scary spot sends Bully flying back off the ropes, making the entire ring visibly shake! For all his cowardice, Roode dominates Ray consistantly, getting nearfall after nearfall. However, this causes him to get cocky and begin mocking the downed Bully, who shoots back with an audible sequence of slaps to the chest that HAD to hurt. Bully takes control with a power game, flooring Roode with clothesline after clothesline. He hits a stunning powerslam on Roode, which seemed to linger forever. The crowd actually begin to chant for Bully Ray! Roode, fearing imminent defeat, goes to the outside and grabs Ray's own chain. Before he can use it, he's met with a boot to the face. Seeing that his own chain was about to be used against him, Ray picks it up and motions that he's about to nail the Champion with it. Unfortunately for Bully, James Storm appears in the ring and chases him off. This leaves the leader of the Selfish Generation open to a swift superkick from his former Beer Money partner! Taking the World Heavyweight Championship from ringside, Storm lays it over the fallen body of Bobby Roode and leaves victorious (if it doesn't bother you that he wasn't a participant in the match).

A fantastic match for Bully Ray continuing his late blooming career revival. Despite several prolonged periods taking punishment from the Champion, he showed phenomenal conviction and it's no wonder the crowd got behind him. The only thing I'd pick fault with is that being a heel vs heel match, the crowd didn't have the slightest clue what they were meant to do. They eventually settled on supporting Bully, only at the end to find him chased off by the actual face, James Storm. With Bully inspiring such a fierce reaction from the audience, it was unwise to send the Cowboy in after him. If not for the superkick to Roode at the end, they might've accidently turned their biggest hero.

Winner - World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode via disqualification

We cut to the locker room area, where Garret Bischoff is getting ready. He's sat in his supposed ring gear, otherwise known as a vest and some tracksuit bottoms (I've done PE at school in more elaborate gear than he wears to the ring!). The camera crew try to coax the reveal of his mystery tag team partner, but he point blank refuses to spoil the surprise. Firstly, we know it'll be Jeff Hardy, purely due to the fact he's feuding with Kurt Angle, who's going to be Gunner's partner. Secondly, will somebody shave those damn mutton chops off his face, they're beginning to annoy me!

In what I can only assume is another locker room, Crimson and Matt Morgan are chatting when Joseph Parks enters. He repeats the same schtick from earlier, asking whether either of them have seen his brother Abyss, only to be told they haven't seen him in several months. After Parks leaves, Crimson turns to Morgan and attempts to rationalise them having lost the Tag Team Titles, much to Morgan's dismay. Given the opportunity to correct their mistake, they've been booked in a number one contender's match against Robbie E & Robbie T. Looks like they'll set aside their differences for another time. Yawn.

Number One Contenders Match

Crimson & Matt Morgan vs Robbie E & Robbie T

Rather curiously, E & T come out wearing matching pink cardigans. Is that meant to be in style? Because they look horrendous! (Rob Terry looks none too happy about it either)

The match begins with Robbie E getting in Crimson's face and attempting a fist pump, met by a stiff clothesline from the "undefeated" giant. He follows it up with a release suplex, sending the Jersey wannabe flying back into his own corner and the arms of bodyguard Robbie T. Fresh off the tag, the pair size each other up and lock arms, until Terry takes the lead and beats Crimson down. A few power moves later, Robbie E (still on the outside) nails Crimson with a clipboard. In a rare double team, Terry hits a sideslam positioning Crimson for a knee off the top rope from E. It proves ineffective though, only getting the Jersey posers a one count. Terry ends up losing the momentum for his team, as he stands flexing for the cameras for several seconds, allowing Crimson to recover and make the tag. Upon entering the ring, Morgan runs wild on both opponents, ploughing through them singlehanded. The finish comes as Morgan hits his finisher, the Carbon Footprint, on Robbie E. Unbeknownst, Crimson makes the blind tag and covers for the win, leaving Morgan shocked and appaulled. The referee raises their hands as the two of them bicker about what just happened.

A short, silly affair that didn't really do any of the four men much good. The only thing of note was the screwy ending, setting up a probable heel turn for Crimson. I don't want it to sound as though I'm picking on Crimson and Morgan, but the two of them have consistently failed to engage me for the past six months, whether it be in singles or tag team competition. If their feud wasn't working back then, why do the bookers think it'll work now? However, I am happy to see them steer Crimson towards the dark side, as he's failed to get over as a face and the fanbase are noticably resentful of his undeserved monster push. Maybe a run as a heel will freshen up his act. Until then, we have at least one more Tag Team Championship match at Victory Road between them and the new champions, Samoa Joe and Magnus.

Winners - Crimson & Matt Morgan via pinfall to become number one contenders to the Tag Team Championships

A new segment begins as AJ Styles music hits the Impact Zone and he makes his way to the ring. He enters to rousing fan support, which doesn't go unnoticed by the Phenomenal One, as he puts over how essential the fans have been in getting TNA to their ten year anniversary. Styles takes a walk down memory lane and reminices about various angles, including an odd mention of Bully Ray being a member of the Frontline standing against the Main Event Mafia. Before he can go any further, he's interrupted by Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. Mocking AJ's nostalgia, Daniels points out that he returned to TNA last year in support of AJ. Ultimately, in all the time they've been friends, Styles has soared and Daniels has been punished. That's why he's decided to put himself first for a change and encouraged Kazarian to do the same thing. Handing the mic off to Frankie, he calls AJ transparent and gullable. He builds up to the point that with all the friends who've turned their back on AJ, maybe the problem doesn't lie with them, but with himself. Responding to that, AJ swears off any future friends, but instead will associate with...Assholes! Mr Anderson's music hits and the four men erupt in violence. Eventually, Styles and Anderson clear the ring and celebrate their new alliance! A curious confrontation that tried to explain the continued hostilities between AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, but the reasoning seemed too generic to have any real significance. Also, Styles calling in Mr Anderson for assistance seems totally random. Basically, they needed a way to get him back on television and he's been inserted into this placeholder of a feud until they can think of something better.

Kurt Angle & Gunner vs Garret Bischoff & TBA

Unsurprisingly, Garret's mystery partner turns out to be...Jeff Hardy! Even Angle's son Cody could've seen that one coming a mile away.

With the heels already in the ring, Garret shakes Jeff's hand on the ramp and follows the Charismatic Enigma down to the ring. Hardy plays to the crowd in a major way, while Garret just stands there looking like a moron. After the customary introductions by Jeremy Borash, the supposed-faces unwisely turn their backs on Angle and Gunner, who take the opportunity to jump them from behind. The referee restrains Garret as the opposing team double up on Jeff Hardy. Eventually order is restored and Gunner is forced out of the ring, leaving Angle to officially compete against Hardy. Following several submissions and suplexes, Angle unsuccessfully covers Hardy for a two count. Fighting back, Hardy comes off the ropes with a clothesline to Angle. Not waiting for the hot tag, Gunner enters the ring prematurely and attacks Garret, sending him crashing to the floor. While this is going on, Angle pulls Hardy back towards his corner and applies a submission hold to Hardy's leg, isolating him from Bischoff Junior's aid. Such games go on for quite a while, as Angle and Gunner whale on the ailing Hardy and occasionally make a play for Garret in the corner. There was a brief moment whereby Hardy had Angle in a rollup, but Garret's own protests distracted the referee from seeing the count. After a solid ten minutes of Hardy being the legal man, a free leg to Angle allows him the hot tag to Garret, who rushes into the ring, hitting several sloppy clotheslines on Angle and Gunner both. He hits what I assume was a botched jawbreaker on Angle and goes for the pin, but is broken up by Gunner. Both heels grab Garret and whip him into the ropes, but after an initial duck, are met with a piss poor double clothesline from their intended victim. Angle lands in just the right position and Hardy hits the Swanton Bomb for the win. We go off the air as the referee raises their hands in victory.

A ridiculous main event that was lob-sided at best. Jeff Hardy spent an insane amount of time as the legal man, which was almost the entire match, bar a last minute tag to Garret. It's clear the match had the duel purpose of putting Garret Bischoff over and yet hiding his inadequacies in the ring, of which there are many! It's ludicrous to think TNA wasted a television main event on putting over the producer's wannabe-wrestler son. The sooner someone tells the Bischoffs that what they're doing is shameless nepotism, the better.

Winners - Garret Bischoff & Jeff Hardy via pinfall

In conclusion, this was an extremely hit and miss episode of Impact Wrestling. For every brilliant match, there was a terrible one. For every wonderful promo, there was a disasterous one. It's rather easy to pinpoint what was wrong with this week's show, namely - TOO MUCH GARRET! Hell, even when he wasn't on-screen, they were still talking about him! He lacks ring presence, promo ability and botched the most basic of moves. That this green rookie can dominate the opening, the closing and a fair percentage of what came inbetween is insane. However, that's not to say this week was a complete loss, as I thoroughly enjoyed everything involving Austin Aries, marvelled at Bully Ray's progress and even had a chuckle at EY's expense. If TNA can get their priorities straight and remember the World Heavyweight Championship is the most important thing on the show, not the producer's son, they could improve in a heartbeat. But this week, it was not to be.

5/10

Clem

TNA Impact Wrestling 2012/02/23 Review

The show opened with a nice video recap of the past several months, starting with Bobby Roode's heel turn and ending with his current problems with GM Sting. Now, this is fairly normal for the beginning of an episode, so what's to talk about, right? Well, in watching this recap, I noticed them using alot of the footage from tapings held inside genuine arenas and it makes the product look great, right from the get-go. TNA are slowly building up an impressive video library and if they can use it in video packages to put themselves over, that's great business.

We cut to the Impact Zone, where Bobby Roode's enterance music hits and the leader of the Selfish Generation makes his way down to the ring. A truly solid promo from the World Champion here, hitting just the right key points, making for a fantastic structure to his rant. He begins by recapping Sting's recent tweet "I'm done" (which sounds ominous, but if you fall for that, you'll believe anything!), then cleverly switches gears with a well timed "Now let's talk about me...". In a classic heel move, Roode runs down the list of Sting's greatest opponents, pointing out he succeeded where the likes of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair couldn't... and put the Stinger into retirement. By the time the promo came to a close, Roode built up an impressive amount of heat with the live crowd and gave the impression he's truly making traction with his new persona. Play his cards right and a few years down the line he might find himself listed right alongside all those other legends in another up-and-comer's heel promo.

Crimson and Matt Morgan have a lovers tiff in the parking lot. Morgan blames Crimson for them having lost the Tag Team titles at Against All Odds, but is quickly disuaded by some patter from his one and only. Their confidence quickly returns and they start calling themselves "the single most dominant wrestlers". I can see why someone might want to bill themselves as that, but whenever Morgan says something along those lines, I roll my eyes. He's all bluster and Crimson isn't fair behind. Two giants both attempting the same gimmick and neither of them getting over.

Samoa Joe & Magnus (c) vs Crimson & Matt Morgan for the Tag Team Championships

A short, predictable, psuedo-squash match, whereby Morgan and Crimson dominate for 99% of the time, only to lose through a last minute miscommunication ala Against All Odds. I can appreciate this match may've suffered from being booked into a corner by the Morgan/Crimson angle, but I think the teams were playing the wrong roles entirely. Morgan and Crimson are meant to be the heroes of the piece, but their jumping the Champions and subsequent domination sent a terrible message, coming off more as bullies. If the Champions hadn't scored the pinfall, this would've been an utter burial of their tag team. While Samoa Joe & Magnus are an odd pairing, especially as Champions, they seem to have gelled rather nicely as a team and I'm excited to see what they do next. Crimson and Morgan on the other hand, I couldn't care less.

Winners - Samoa Joe & Magnus via pinfall

Next up we have a lengthy exchange of words between Bully Ray and Superbowl winner Brandon Jacobs. Never having watched American Football, I didn't have the slightest clue who this guy is. So I'm judging him based entirely off of what he's achieved in the Impact Zone. Looking at his size and demeanour, I can see why TNA would be interested in coaxing him into a new wrestling career. However, he has alot of fundamentals to improve upon before I'd be willing to watch him on my television again. While he was clearly enthused by what was happening, his promo was rough around the edges. My biggest complaint was the way he refused to stand still! Throughout the entire segment, Jacobs was rocking back and forth uncontrollably. The way the camera was following him from side to side was damn near giving me seasickness. Thankfully, Bully Ray came out to interrupt. Aside from the downright perverse obsession with his own calf muscles, Ray continues to put on the best work of his career. No matter the arena or the subject, Ray is able to rile the crowd into a frenzy through his own unique brand of insults and revulsion.

Alex Shelley vs Zema Ion

An above average X Division match with a clear purpose. The momentum was generally fair, with both men gaining control and hitting their signature moves at some point. Climaxed with Ion spraying Shelley in the eyes with his hairspray and pouncing on the blinded Machine Gun. Despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Jesse Sorensen, TNA have done the right thing and made the best of a bad situation by pushing Zema Ion as a legitimate threat to Austin Aries' X Division Championship. Speaking of the Champion, he made for a wise addition to ringside, mocking his number one contender by watching the match with a glass of wine and some popcorn! My only concern with this angle is all the potential going to waste. Alex Shelley made his grand re-debut mere weeks ago, claiming to be the one man who can put an end to Aries' reign of terror, only to find himself jobbing at every turn. I fear a similar fate will befall Zema Ion, as no matter who he defeats in the run-up to his Championship match, I don't believe for a second that he's the one to go over Aries and end the streak. Saying that, Aries seems to have landed himself in hot water backstage, making a not-so-subtle crack at the quality of the show's main event. If he's offended someone with political pull, we could very well see Aries drop the title in the near future, robbing him of the upcoming record as longest reigning X Division Champion.

Winner - Zema Ion via pinfall

Garett Bischoff was interviewed backstage, saying despite his father's actions, he'll never quit his dream of wrestling professionally. He's soon interrupted by Hulk Hogan, trying to disuade Garett from staying in the business, claiming there is a bullseye on his back and it's not safe there anymore.

Madison Rayne speaks to the camera about having won the Knockouts Battle Royal from the previous week. She claims to have taken the intiative because her "friend" Gail Kim is a fighting champion and would always want the best cotenders, even if that happens to be her.

Gail Kim vs ODB (w/Eric Young)

An impressively elaborate women's match that could put some of the men to shame. It began as both ladies entered the ring, Gail being visibly disgusted by ODB's mere presence. After insulting her opponent with a few choice twurls, Gail was greeted by a hard shove and a trademark ODB ass slap. In the background, Eric Young played up to the crowd throughout the match, occasionally climbing upto the ring and pretending he was ODB's tag team partner waiting for the hot tag. The first half of the match relied heavily upon embarrassing Gail Kim, with ODB taking as many opportunities as possible to introduce Gail to her "assets". However, the momentum soon changed and grew far more serious as Gail rallied back and took control. I was particularly impressed by the face plant off the ropes, showing shades of Randy Orton. Also, there was a nice sequence whereby Gail locked in her Octopus style submission and ODB countered by slamming her down to the mat. Around this point, number one contender Madison Rayne arrives on the scene to "help" her friend Gail Kim. In all honesty, she was out there to psyche out the Champion and create a flaw she could take advantage of in their upcoming title match. Despite the distraction, Gail manages to reverse ODB's finisher into her patented Eat Defeat for the pinfall. After the match, Madison enters the ring and attempts to support Gail, only to be met by suspicion from the Knockouts Champion.

Winner - Gail Kim via pinfall

Robbie E (c) (w/Robbie T) vs AJ Styles for the Television Championship

Before the match began, they aired a short backstage interview with AJ Styles, where he declared his goal of leaving Daniels and Kazarian behind and focussing once again on winning championships (hint - it won't happen!). This turned out to be a nice back and forth between two wrestlers you don't typically see matched up together. It gave Robbie E a quality opponent for his Television Title (something he's been sorely lacking) and AJ an opportunity to put across a new intensity and aggression in his ring work. AJ was in control for the majority of the match, dominating Robbie E at every turn. An early arching chinlock could very well have led to a quick finish, however Robbie managed to break the hold and take refuge behind his bodyguard. After a brief flare-up from Robbie, Styles took control once again and hit his signature Pele Kick out of nowhere, making the pinfall all but certain. Unfortunately, this is where Kazarian and Daniels made their enterance, Kaz pulling AJ off ringside and proceeding to ram his former best friend into the nearest ringpost. While the act itself was unremarkable given their recent history, Kazarian did display a complete and utter lack of empathy for Styles, something he'd been fighting in the weeks before Against All Odds. It even took Christopher Daniels by surprise, as he looked on in shock at what Kazarian had done. This could very well be the intriguing twist that the feud has been missing so far. Later in the night, Tenay and Taz announce that Styles has demanded a Gauntlet match next week against Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, which makes for exciting progression. I can't wait to see where it goes.

Winner - AJ Styles via disqualification (therefore the TV Title doesn't change hands)

Kurt Angle & Bully Ray vs James Storm & Jeff Hardy (w/Brandon Jacobs)

Jeremy Borash makes the customary main event introductions, except for Bully Ray who insists upon announcing himself. In retaliation, James Storm takes the mic and asks the crowd if there are any beer drinkers in the house. It just so happens that Storm has a friend in the back, enter - Brandon Jacobs (with a particularly disturbing look on his face...). We start off with recent rivals, Kurt Angle and James Storm locking up in the centre of the ring. Storm quickly takes control as he whips Angle into the ropes and nails him with a high knee. His momentum is broken by a distraction from Bully Ray, allowing Angle to take advantage. Storm eventually breaks away and makes the hot tag to Jeff Hardy, only for Angle to bail out of the ring as we head to commercial. We come back to find Bully Ray now the legal man, with Hardy hitting him with the Whisper in the Wind for a nearfall. Ray takes several opportunities throughout the match to taunt onlooker Brandon Jacobs, only to be met by defeaning chants from the crowd in support of the Superbowl winner. The middle of the match is defined by Jeff Hardy being worked over by both his opponents, never allowing him to make the tag back to Storm. A stray kick gives Hardy the opening he needs and before you know it, Storm hits the ring, knocking down everyone in his path. The match descends into chaos, with all four competitors in the ring at the same time. Bully Ray furthers the lawlessness by going to the outside to grab a table, met by a stern look from Jacobs. It works against the heels however, as their opponents manage to hit dropkicks on the table as it's positioned on ringside. After a mad flurry of activity, we find the table set up in the middle of the ring, Bully Ray the only man standing, except for...Brandon Jacobs, who enters the ring and hits Ray with a vicious chokeslam through the table. For some reason, James Storm is then allowed to make the cover and win the match for his team, despite outside interference and weapons being used RIGHT INFRONT OF THE REFEREE. A fun TV main event, even if the internal logic is off by a mile.

Winners - James Storm & Jeff Hardy via pinfall

We enter the final segment as Sting's music hits in the Impact Zone and the authority figure makes his solemn way down to the ring. Tenay and Taz rightfully lament the potential loss of the Icon. Taking the mic, the Stinger says what everyone has read and heard is true. He's letting too much slip through his fingers and he's finally been driven over the edge by World Champion, Bobby Roode. Most importantly - he's done. Never being one to miss a chance to gloat, our Selfish leader's music hits and he comes out on the stage, clapping at Sting's theatrics. In a hilarious move, Roode wipes a tear away from his eye and takes the mic. However, his glee is shortlived, as Sting adopts a more jovial tone akin to his Insane persona from last year. In a rather creepy move, Sting proceeds to take his sunglasses off (it's not like it's at night and he's indoors...oh wait), pull a couple of tubes worth of facepaint from his pocket and smeared it all over his face something silly. Being all black, it wasn't quite as impressive as the Sting makeup we usually see. Maybe he would've been better using the traditional white. But the point is - Roode woke the real Sting up! Chewing the scenery with the best of them, Sting paces the ring, building tension, until his big announcement - he's returning to the ring for a one on one "fight" with the World Champion at the next PPV, Victory Road. Not liking what he's hearing, Roode attempts to attack Sting again, just as he did last week. However, the Insane Icon isn't falling for the same trick twice, catching Roode's leg in mid-air and giving him a crotch shot of his own. The episode ends with Sting standing victorious on the ramp and Roode cowering in the ring.

In conclusion, this was a rather entertaining episode of Impact Wrestling, which hit a nice balance between promos and in-ring action. So often they have trouble reconciling the two, but I think this week's found a satisfying middleground. While, Bobby Roode isn't quite carrying the show as a true World Champion should, the roster has such depth, it's become more of an ensemble piece, never entirely relying on one person too much. All of the divisions seem to have their endgoals in place for Victory Road and I'm excited to see how the big night turns out. Hopefully, with solid feuds in place this time, we aren't lumbered with another transitional PPV that pales in comparison to WWE's Wrestlemania. While TNA will never be able to compete at this time of year, it doesn't mean they should slack off and wait for the competition to subside. Thankfully, they seem to be taking this to heart and serving up quality wrestling that you can't find elsewhere.

8/10

Clem

Rob's Reflection: Against All Odds

On February 12th TNA held their second PPV of the year, Against All Odds; an interesting theme for a PPV with it's Vegas décor and gambling related graphics but being held in the Impact zone thousands of miles away from Sin City did TNA play their cards right?

#1 Contenders Match for the X Division Championship: Zema Ion defeated Jesse Sorensen via countout

The X Division match kicked off the card and I don't need to tell you what happened as it was one of the biggest talking points of the PPV, but I would like to take this moment to wish Jesse well and hopefully he will make a full recovery. Kudos to Ion for keeping character although the concern for his competitor was apparent, it's just a shame these two didn't get the chance to showcase themselves. 

Open Invitation Match for the Television Championship: Robbie E (c) def. Shannon Moore by pinfall

With the TV title not being defended on TV for months it was a last minute addition to the card, which is a surprise that it hasn't been forgotten about! I was surprised that Moore answered the call as he hasn't been on TV in a while and he should be (in my opinion) me giving the X Division more depth. The match wasn't much to shout about but at least it meant the belt was defended, for months I have been saying that the TV title should be given more prominence but to do so a better division needs to be built, the belt should be a stepping stone to the heavyweight championship rather than just a show filler. 

Knockouts Championship: Gail Kim (c) def. Tara by pinfall 

A solid match as expected between the two knockouts and a title match that Madison Rayne didn't get involved in as she walked away from ringside mid bout. Kim picked up the pinfall after Tara hit a top rope moonsault but sold a knee injury on the landing which Kim capitalised on. It was good to see Tara get so much offence on Kim compared to their Impact match a few months ago when Tara jobbed within a minute. The match however was more another step in the Kim / Rayne storyline rather than a match where the title could change hands. 

Tag Team Championship: Samoa Joe & Magnus def. Matt Morgan & Crimson (c) by pinfall

New Champions
(photo by Lee South)

A better match than the one that took place at Genesis but that was to be expected as the challengers have had more time to gel as a team. There was good back and forth action and the end of the match came with Joe & Magnus hitting their snapmare / top rope elbow double team move on Morgan. 

Joe and Magnus make for a good team and can hopefully bring about a rise in the tag division, Magnus is a rising star and Joe seems to have re-emerged from the wilderness of pointless feuds in a direction that will hopefully see him rise to the top again. Morgan and Crimson will most likely go on to have another 'Dream Match' as the competitive streak and tension between the two has been their since Sting put them together.

X Division Championship: Austin Aries (c) def. Alex Shelley via submission

As I predicted in my preview this match was the highlight of the night as both men were on form in a back and forth match that was a good advert for the X Division.

Aries has now gone onto beating everybody in the division and although he will be defending against Zema Ion in the near future it is difficult to see where 'the greatest man to ever live' will lose the title, as it will soon get to the point where either Aries will have to move up to find greater competition or the competition comes and find Aries. 

Kazarian (w/ Daniels) def. A.J. Styles by pinfall 

A slow starter but strong finisher this match was the first in what will probably be a series of match ups involving the three which I would imagine to keep on going until Destination X. The match included some good action between the two as would be expected although I felt a lot of direction was taken away from Kazarian as the fan's continued to show their anger at Daniels, but this is to be expected as we still don't know why Kazarian has sided with Daniels despite not being comfortable with it. 

Kazarian getting the win gives him a little more prominence as he has been the weakest link in this fued so far, not in his ability but the fact since losing the X Division championship last year he hasn't really had much to do, hopefully these matches will elevate him. 

Gunner (w/ Eric Bischoff) def. Garett Bischoff (w/ Hulk Hogan) via pinfall

A match that I feel shouldn't have been on PPV managed to land itself the Semi Main Event slot and managed to match my expectations of nothing. Gunner continued his ruthless streak but that means nothing when he is facing somebody who is making his PPV debut, especially as the pinfall came moments after Hogan was ready to throw in the towel. 

Forcing Garett down fans throats isn't the way to go, if we are to get behind him as a wrestler then he has to prove himself and pay his dues, going straight into the semi main event above seasoned pro's such as Austin Aries, Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles is a slap in the face to them and proves it's who you know (or who your related to) rather than what you know. 

Hopefully after this shambles Garett will be taken off TV for a while, ply his trade at house shows to gain more experience and work his way from the bottom of the card... but we all know realistically that sadly wont happen. 

World Heavyweight Championship: Bobby Roode (c) def. Jeff Hardy, James Storm and Bully Ray via pinfall

Victory Road's likely Main Event
(photo by Lee South )

Yet another main event that ends in an angle rather than an actual finish. The match was entertaining up until the end when the ref took a bump and Sting, who was enforcing the match, stepped in to stop Roode using the belt as a weapon and ended up knocking out Hardy with the championship and slow counted the victory. 

The finish to this match sets up Sting vs. Roode which is likely to happen at Victory Road as Hardy had his rematch on Impact and looks set to enter a program with Kurt Angle whilst Ray and Storm had a number one contenders match with Storm facing his former Beer Money Inc. partner at Lockdown.

Hopefully this will be the last time we see a PPV event to end with more questions and no definitive winners as it is doing the company more harm in the long term as fans are unwilling to pay for matches that they get no reward from. 

Overall Against All Odds was a bit of a let down, it was hard to build back up from the accident that occurred in the first match, a lot of this event is building to bigger things in the future, with Vince Russo leaving TNA hopefully things will get on track and provide quality PPV events that are worth the money that fans are being asked to stump up on a monthly basis.

@Robbie_G_CH