“Shame this’ll be forever known as the show where Sorensen got KO’ed.”

Hey folks, as this is a little late, consider this a time filler as I’m not making videos. Andre Harrison back at it once again reviewing TNA’s February show, Against All Odds 2012 from the Impact Zone in Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida. On this show, Austin Aries made another X-Division Championship defence against the returning Alex Shelley, Morgan and Crimson took on Samoa Joe and Magnus for the Tag Team Division, Gail Kim vs Tara for the Knockout’s Championship and in the Main Event, Robert Roode had to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Jeff Hardy, James Storm and Bully Ray. It’s Against All Odds, and you’re clearly excited to read this review…Right?

On commentary, Mike Tenay and Jeremy Borash. (Taz was out due to family reasons)

Zema Ion vs Jesse Sorensen (X-Division #1 Contenders Match)

Well…Looking back on this one, I don’t really feel comfortable reviewing it considering that we all know how it ended, with Sorensen get his head drilled by Zema Ion’s knee off of a Moonsault, video below:

Obviously an unfortunate and freak accident, and thank goodness Jesse will make a full recovery. Can’t believe a C1 injury can happen to such a talented athlete at just 22 years of age. He’s only 3 years older than me. All the best to Jesse and I wish him a speedy recovery.

Robbie E (w/Rob Terry) vs Shannon Moore (Television Championship Match)

Television title being defended on PPV. Makes sense huh? To be fair, I have to give Robbie E a ton of credit for REALLY trying hard to make this a good match, considering he is rather limited in his move pool as a wrestler. What didn’t help was that Shannon Moore clearly didn’t give a monkey’s ass about being there, and the crowd was pretty dead too. As I said, props to Robbie, he’s better than what he’s been given, and I hope he gets a bigger chance, as he plays his character to the same level as Zack Ryder does in the E’…Make of that what you will.

★ ¾

Gail Kim vs Tara (Knockout’s Championship Match)

Am I the only one slightly annoyed that the relevant female wrestlers in TNA are ALL former WWE Divas? I can understand why, they’re better than the homegrown gals TNA has (Velvet, Madison, Chelsea, Tessmacher, etc.)…(Even though the women they released were even better, Hamada, Alyssa, Kong, you know it makes sense.)

Minor female talent rant aside, another solid, if slightly repetitive Knockout’s Match. I’m glad there’s no Shark cage this time around, but can they please stop with the Interferences? I have no issue with me getting to look at Madison Rayne, but it seriously gets old after a while. They played a knee injury to Tara so they can give her a reason not to take a “clean” pin, so inevitably, we’ll get another rematch at Victory Road. Let’s hope it’s as smooth as Nutella, and not crunchy Peanut Butter, as they’re probably the two best consistent women in the company.

★ ¾

Matt Morgan and Crimson vs Samoa Joe and Magnus (Tag Team Championship Match)

Finally, redemption for Samoa Joe! He hadn’t looked as good since he was abducted by ninja’s this time 2 years ago. (Was that ever established?) Look, this division is now almost at WWE levels of bad right now, so I’ll take a decent Tag Team match where I can get it (No Ring of Honor), and luckily, this was one of them. I enjoyed this one, definitely more so than last month which felt much more rushed and hap-hazard. 3 of the 4 workers here are decent (And Crimson isn’t terrible), and the crowd was better in this one as well. I didn’t like how the finish was kinda spoiled when Tenay kept mentioning Crimson’s undefeated streak (Which is still going nowhere), so Morgan by default had to take the pin, but hey, could be worse…Ink Inc could still be in the Tag Division. Solid 10 minute Tag match.

★★ ¾

Austin Aries vs Alex Shelley (X-Division Championship Match)

Right now, in terms of match quality, promos and generally everything that matters, Austin Aries is carrying this entire company on its back, and more proof of this was shown by this awesome match he had with Alex Shelley. I give credit to TNA for making this match seem more important due to card position, and it worked as it got the crowd fired up, and I loved every second of this. Anyone who’s a knowledgeable wrestling fan probably expected something like this, and it delivered, to me at least. Easily, match of the night, and an excellent reason why TNA can still do some things right. The use of Aries has been neigh-on perfect so far. Ion vs Aries next should be just as outstanding.

★★★ ¾ (Match of the Night)

AJ Styles vs Kazarian (w/Christopher Daniels)

Back-to-back good showings here. Liked the storyline of the match too, with Styles constantly being distracted by Daniels being in Kaz’s corner (Fourtune seems so long ago now, doesn’t it?). These two know each other so well, and could easily fill their 19 minutes with solid, back and forth wrestling, and that’s what they did. I particuarly liked the ending, with Styles taking Daniels out in the end, only for him to be caught by Kaz and lose the match. Daniels gets what he deserves, and Kaz gets a clean win on Pay-Per-View. Everyone’s a winner. Match was a little slow paced at times, but overall, I enjoyed it. Good booking too. (This is a legit surprise.)

PS: I know Styles vs Daniels is legit go-to awesomeness whenever it’s done, but enough, we all knoe eventually Styles wins the feud, so keep them apart from now on kay?

★★★ ¼

Garrett Bischoff (w/Hulk Hogan) vs Gunner (w/Eric Bischoff)

Oh for the love of God…Ladies and gents, we have our first nominee for Worst Match of 2012. This. Was. Horrible. I go out of my way to praise TNA on their last two matches, and then this happens. I jynxed them clearly. Hogan has an anti-midas touch when it comes to Pro Wrestling in 2012. Everything he touches turns to s***. Garrett is FAR too green to be working 12 minutes matches with anyone or anything, let alone Gunner, and ESPECIALLY not on Pay-Per-View. That’s flat out ridiculous. I honestly don’t know how Tenay and Borash didn’t rip their own heads off in frustration while commentating this. I nearly did. Embarassing, enough, let’s move on.

DUD

Robert Roode vs Jeff Hardy vs Bully Ray vs James Storm (Fatal-4-Way for the World Heavyweight Championship, Sting as Special Guest Enforcer)

*sighs* Another day, another over-booked TNA Main-Event. Ever feel like I’m repetitive in these reviews? You do? I feel you, and agree. This is another case of sillyness ruining what could have been a great Main Event. This time, it was WAY too much of the emphasis being on Sting and his disliking for Roode, which to be honest, was the only intriguing thing about this entire match. Besides that, it pretty much a TV based match and angle on PPV, with Sting’s only hatred of Roode coming back to bite him as he clocked Hardy with the belt instead of him, and yet…still counted Roode’s pinfall…Okay? Can we please just get to the guaranteed sweetness that is Storm/Roode now?

★★ ¾

Harrison’s Final Analysis of TNA Against All Odds 2012

To be honest, all things considered, this wasn’t bad. However, TNA’s poor booking was replaced by the show just generally feeling…flat and dull. The match quality was improved on other recent TNA shows, but the dead crowd throughout the show, and matches refusing to feel anything like watching a 3 Hour Impact is why I can’t really recommended this show. However, I will say, go out of your way to see Aries vs Shelley. That was a great match, one of the better ones of Mainstream Wrestling in 2012 so far. Besides that, like every TNA show, you can skip it. Dre, signing out.

Harrison’s TNA Against All Odds 2012 Rating: 6.5 out of 10 – Decent

PS #2: Has their ever been a PPV where the heels won EVERY match? Let me know below…

TNA Against All Odds 2012, 9.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

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