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| AVFR #96: TNA Against All Odds 2010 - A reView from the Rafters | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 14 2010, 11:23 PM (46 Views) | |
| Stinger | Feb 14 2010, 11:23 PM Post #1 |
To me, to be a conservative means to conserve the good parts of America and to conserve our Constitution.
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 Welcome wrestling fans to a very special ninety-sixth edition of A View From the Rafters, with me the Stinger. A few minutes ago, TNA Wrestling concluded the 2010 Against All Odds pay-per-view. Was a new champion crowned? Who won the 8-card Stud Tournament to become the number one contender to the TNA Championship? How bad did the Nasty Boys suck? Was the event any good? All of these questions will be answered in this A reView From the Rafters. I did a reView a little under a year ago (last year's LOCKDOWN event), and this one will follow the same formula. I'll rate the matches on a scale of ZERO to FIVE; we'll average all the matches together to determine the overall event score, which will be "held up" by Miss AVFR... Zooey Deschanel. A reminder of my scale is below, although it has been tweaked a little since last time: 0 = DUD, a horrible match. 1 = A bad match. 2 = An okay to decent match. 3 = A good match. 4 = A great match. 5 = CLASSIC, an excellent match. NOTE: I don't do half points or anything involving decimals in the match ratings; I also round everything down, never up, so a 4.9 to me would show as a 4 not a 5. I'm unfair like that. Nor do I recap or "play-by-play". Got it? Good, on with this edition of "The reView" then.  TNA Presents: Against All Odds 2010 Sunday, February 14, 2010 LIVE from Orlando, Florida As usual, the event's intro video was well done. I just don't understand how TNA can produce quality video packages, yet have such horribly shitty graphics. Have you seen the pay-per-view poster for Destination X? It looks like it was made in Paint. I've seen seven-year-olds draw better pictures for the local television station's "Trace the Sky" competition. But, that is getting off topic, so onwards with the show. Match #1: Desmond Wolfe (w/Chelsea) vs. D'Angelo Dinero in a first-round tournament match - This was a pretty good opening match, my main gripe with it being the time it was given. It took Pope Dinero about seven minutes and forty two seconds to defeat Desmond Wolfe, a guy who just a couple of months ago was putting on twenty minute classics with Kurt Angle. Wolfe was the guy I was hoping would win the whole tournament, although I didn't figure he would. I at least hoped he would meet Kurt Angle in the finals, but that didn't happen obviously. Still, both men looked good and this was a nice rub for Dinero, who has been looking strong under the new regime. I'm okay with that, I like the Pope. The match would have benefited from having an additional five or more minutes, but it was fine for what it was. Pope scored the win with the DDE, which is still an awesome, yet extremely simple, maneuver. WINNER: D'Angelo Dinero MATCH RATING: 3 Backstage, effective segment with Ric Flair complaining to Bischoff about Bischoff naming himself the referee. Bischoff claims he can't be bought. We'll see, because if Eric Bischoff doesn't screw Samoa Joe somehow, I'll be surprised. Up next, TNA Tag Team Champion vs. TNA Tag Team Champion... Match #2: Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez in a first-round tournament match - This match probably could have meant just a little more if these two would have met in the semi-finals, but who am I to question the booking in TNA? This one got a little more time than the previous match, by my count, a little over a minute; putting this one at almost nine minutes. I've really grown to like Morgan since his feud with Kurt Angle and the Main Event Mafia, even though I do believe they dropped the ball with him after his program with Angle. This was a solid effort from both of the big man, a quality match. I like that Morgan showed some heel like qualities by exploiting Hernandez' shoulder injury and then holding the tights during the roll up for the pinfall. This shows that the TNA Championship means something to Morgan, who will thus do whatever to get a shot at the title, even if it means cheating against his tag team championship co-holder. Effective. WINNER: Matt Morgan MATCH RATING: 3 Backstage, Christy Hemme interviewed Kurt Angle. Hemme = HOTNESS! Angle said he wouldn't doubt Hogan's intentions again. Right. That probably won't last the night. Angle's match with Mr. Anderson is next... Match #3: Kurt Angle vs. Ken Anderson in a first-round tournament match - I've enjoyed Mr. Anderson's time in TNA thus far, especially his match with Jeff Jarrett a couple of weeks ago on Impact (which told a great story). Kurt Angle has been a machine in TNA, so this was a match I was looking forward too. Anderson used Kurt's medal to cut into Angle's forehead, which caused Angle to bleed heavily; this was early in the match too. I must say that I was surprised by the outcome. I didn't think it made much sense for Anderson to lose in the first round, but then I just assumed that Kurt Angle would win the whole thing and get another shot at AJ at Lockdown. Mr. Anderson got the clean win with the Mic Check in just under ten minutes. Shocking, but the right decision. Good action, good story, and a surprise finish (at least to me); best match of the night thus far. WINNER: Mr. Anderson MATCH RATING: 3 Backstage, Eric Bischoff is in top form. He told Foley and Abyss to wrestle like it's their last match, and threatened punishment if they took it easy on one another. Said he would take Abyss' mask off. Bischoff made the match a No DQ match, so that Barbie (the barbwire baseball bat) would be legal. Bischoff told them the people want to see them beat the hell out of each other, and he doesn't care who uses the bat. If the bat isn't used, Abyss' mask will come off. His character has been so raped, might as well take it off. Up next, Abyss vs. Mick Foley with no DQ's... Match #4: Abyss vs. Mick Foley in a no DQ first-round tournament match - Loved the beginning of this match; Abyss picked up the bat, the crowd chanted for him to use it, and then he puts it down. He can't hit Foley with it. Foley repeatedly slapped him, trying to piss Abyss off, before going outside the ring and hitting Abyss with a chair across the back. The rest of the match was kind of a letdown. They didn't use the bat, and the match didn't even last eight minutes. I'm hoping, really hoping, that they're building towards a moment when Abyss really nuts up and just beats the shit out of Foley and everyone else. As is, his character today is almost as annoying as Hornswoggle. This use to be a great character, now he's a pussy. Abyss hit Foley with the Black Hole Slam onto some thumbtacks for the pinfall. The action wasn't fantastic, the story was pretty good given the nature of Abyss' character at the moment. Okay, but below average. Worst match of the night, at this point. WINNER: Abyss MATCH RATING: 2 Backstage, Christy Hemme interviewed The Nasty Boys. Don't you ever put Christy in the same shot as those nasty bastards EVER again, shame on you TNA! The Nasty Boys said they were there because Hulk Hogan invited them; no shit. Said they went out Team 3D because 3D was on the top of the ladder in TNA. Really? You'd think the tag team champions would be the top team. This was fine for a Nasty Boys promo. Match #5: The Nasty Boys vs. Team 3D - Longest match of the night thus far. I repeat, this Nasty Boys match has been the longest of the night thus far; 10:45. I don't even have anything to say about this, except it wasn't quite dreadful enough to get the 0 DUD, but it was pretty bad. And I'll tell you why. The Nasty Boys aren't good wrestlers, they never were. There best matches were always a variation of a No DQ match. They are well past their prime, much too far to be wrestling in wrestling matches, especially those that drag on for almost eleven minutes. Horrendous decision to not make this one a brawl, which might then have been passable to some extent. Jimmy Hart showed up and handed a motorcycle helmet to Knobbs, who nailed Brother Ray with it, given the Nasty Boys the pinfall victory. I've always liked Jimmy Hart, but him with the Nasty Boys in 2010 is just, well it's cringe worthy to be nice. A motorcycle helmet? Whatever happened to the MEGAPHONE?! Come on. This is a stain on what has otherwise been a solid show thus far. WINNER: The Nasty Boys MATCH RATING: 1 Backstage, Samoa Joe talked to Eric Bischoff while holding his Feast or Fired briefcase. Bischoff proclaimed that he was going to call the match down the middle. Joe told him to take care for Flair, he'd take care of Styles. Bischoff told Joe not to let his Samoa temper get the best of him, wished him luck and walked away. JOE's GONNA GET SCREWED! Up next, the semi-finals begin with Matt Morgan against The Pope... Match #6: Matt Morgan vs. D'Angelo Dinero in a semi-final tournament match - Both of these guys had solid matches earlier in the night, but this one just didn't click. Morgan dominated the match, missed the Carbon Footprint, and then got hit with the DDE for the pinfall (and I guess, the upset). This match was plodding, that's the best word I can think of. It just didn't get out of second gear, I assume they were still horrified about the previous match sucking the air out of building. Morgan showed some nice frustration afterwards, "that's bullshit"... but this match was the worst of the tournament matches so far. It was okay, and only okay, but it didn't even tell a decent story. Just odd. Glad Dinero won, although I don't get why they insist on not pushing Morgan. His "the DNA of TNA" gimmick is a winner. About eight and a half minutes for this one. WINNER: D'Angelo Dinero MATCH RATING: 2 Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Mr. Anderson. Oh sure, Christy Hemme gets stuck with the Nasty Boys, JB gets to share the screen with Anderson. Nonsense. Anderson didn't do much here, just brag about destroying Kurt Angle and how he's going to win, before doing his usual "Anderson" shtick in Borash's face. That's going to get odd when it's done so many times in one night. Up next, the second semi-final match with Mr. Anderson vs. Abyss... Match #7: Mr. Anderson vs. Abyss in a semi-final tournament match - Much like the previous match, this one was a bit of a drag compared to the earlier tournament matches. This one lasted a little over eight minutes. Anderson went after Abyss' mask about mid-way through the match, saying "Let's see what the freak looks like." Of course Abyss was able to fight Anderson off, preventing his mask from being removed, although it was about halfway there. Pretty cool spot where Anderson turned Abyss' mask around the end, covering Abyss' eyes. Abyss grabbed the ref by the throat, leaving Abyss open to take the Mic Check from Anderson, who scored the pinfall. Decent match, but that's about it. The final (Pope vs. Anderson) should bring the tournament back to life with a good to great final. WINNER: Mr. Anderson MATCH RATING: 2 Backstage, Christy Hemme was with the TNA Champion AJ Styles and Ric Flair. Styles has blonde highlights and an earring now. Styles raved about how great he was, no one could lace his boots, and wrestlers like him come alone once in a lifetime. Flair put Styles over, and himself. Good heel promo by Styles. The new look is pretty good too. Backstage, Hulk Hogan made his first appearance of the night and told Eric Bischoff to let the thing with Ric Flair "go". Hogan told Bischoff that he has to call the match down the middle, because the TNA talent need to be able to believe in the power duo. Bischoff said he would, and that it wouldn't be a problem. Hogan walked off, Bischoff said "Dammit". I dig it, good segment. Bischoff has the second best character in TNA right now, behind only AJ Styles. Up next, the TNA Championship Match with AJ Styles defending against Samoa Joe. AJ has a new Ric Flair robe, but it has AJ's signature hood on it. That's cool, I guess... Match #8: A.J. Styles (w/Ric Flair) vs. Samoa Joe for the TNA World Championship with Eric Bischoff as special referee - Just over 21 minutes, and easily the best match of the night at this point in the show. I can't believe they didn't end the show with this match, but then I suppose the tournament is the basis of the entire event, so it makes sense that the final goes on last. Strong match here. Great work by not only Joe and Styles, but also Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff. Joe and Styles did their thing, it wasn't their best match, but they did a wonderful job and put on an exciting match. Styles is really getting caught up in the whole Ric Flair thing, and it seems like he is genuinely enjoying himself. Joe nailed the Muscle Buster, but Bischoff was outside the ring arguing with, and eventually hitting, Ric Flair. Joe brought him back in, pushed him around, Bischoff pushed back, and then Joe turned around into a Pele followed by the Styles Clash. Bischoff made the "reluctant" three count. Joe didn't get outright screwed by Bischoff, but it defies logic that Bischoff never used his authority to send Flair back to the backstage area. Great match though. WINNER: AJ Styles MATCH RATING: 4 Backstage, Christy Hemme is with Mr. Anderson. Anderson said he's checking things off his bucket list; beating Kurt Angle, putting Abyss to bed, and about to send Pope back to Harlem. Anderson put over that he's one match away from becoming the number one contender to the "most prestigious title in the whole freaking world". Nice. I always like it when the wrestlers put over just how important the title is. Backstage, JB is with Pope. But wait, Scott Hall and Syxx-pac show up and beat up on Pope. Hall tells Hogan "you don't turn your back on the wolf-pack". If Impact goes on lockdown, you'd think the pay-per-view definitely would be. I like this though, it gets Hall and Pac on the show, but it does a lot for Pope. If Pope loses, he has this excuse. But this beat down really makes him the underdog and the sympathetic face, which is nice when you get an upset. We'll see, because up next is the tournament finals with Mr. Anderson against The Pope... Match #9: D'Angelo Dinero vs. Mr. Anderson in the 8-Card Stud tournament final match - I'm going to give this one Match of the Night status ladies and gentlemen, because it had everything necessary to make a great match. It wasn't the most technical match you'll see, but this was great wrestling. This match had one thing going for it that gave it a small advantage over the Styles/Joe match, a great story. Styles/Joe had a very good story, but this one was great. Both guys were wrestling their third match of the night, both had been involved in one quality match, and the Pope was just attacked backstage. That was the story, the cocky Anderson taking advantage of the Pope's backstage assault. The crowd bought into it in a big way, there's no denying that D'Angelo Dinero is absolutely over with the TNA audience. Of the guys who have gone to TNA from WWE, he's the guy WWE should be kicking themselves for releasing. Great in his role throughout the night, but especially in this match. This one went 15 minutes; saw Anderson kick out of DDE to the chest, which looked like it hurt. Anderson called for his microphone to announce he was one Mic Check away from being the number one contender, hit the Mic Check and the Pope kicked out, crowd loved it and the announcers did a good job selling it. Anderson got frustrated, stomped a little and ultimately missed a Swanton that allowed Pope to recover and nail Anderson with the DDE to the back for the 1-2-3. Money fell on the crowd as Pope celebrated. It did become apparent that Pope would win the match, but that didn't take away from it and I'm still surprised that Pope won the tournament. I had hoped for Wolfe, was banking on Angle, but wasn't ruling out Anderson. Pope flew under my radar, but maybe I was viewing it with WWE glasses on. Nevertheless, I loved the story of the match and the outcome. They have about two months to be build a quality program for Styles and Dinero heading into their steel cage encounter at Lockdown. The Pope was made into a star on this night, we'll see how long he can shine. WINNER: D'Angelo Dinero MATCH RATING: 4 Against All Odds Overall Score: Last time I did one of these, was Lockdown last April. That event scored a 3 out of 5; decent to good on my scale. A lot has changed since April in TNA, so as the "Countdown to Lockdown" begins, how did Against All Odds fare compared to the last TNA event I reviewed? Before we turn it over to Zooey Deschanel to reveal the official score, please note that I have rated the backstage segments as a whole as solid 3, which will be factored into the overall score. Now, here's Miss AVFR Zooey Deschanel with the Official AVFR Score of Against All Odds 2010...  The nine matches came to a total of 24 out of a possible 45. When adding in the 3 points for the backstage segments, we came to rest on 27. That's 27 points for 10 things being rated, which averages out to a 2.7. If I rounded up, this would have been a solid 3, which would have been classified as "a good pay-per-view". I'm harsh, so this rounded all the way down to a 2, meaning the event was "okay to decent". It started with strong matches, it ended strong matches, but everything in between was bad or okay. Definitely wasn't worth $35, no matter how much I liked the last two matches especially. TNA was riding a streak of really strong PPV's, so this one was definitely below average. Nothing wrong with "decent" however, just not overly memorable, except for being a star making night for the former Elijah Burke. That brings number ninety-six to a close. Until next time, this has been Stinger with A View From the Rafters. |
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