TNA PPV Evaluation - Against All Odds
February 12, 2012

By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch specialist

BEST MATCH – AUSTIN ARIES VS. ALEX SHELLEY

Austin Aries is so in-tune with his character that it’s almost impossible for him not to stand out on TNA shows as of late. I thought this match was terrific, and an easy selection for best match of the night (with an "honorable mention" going to A.J. Styles vs. Kazarian). The two men worked great together, and I thought the match built at a virtually pitch-perfect pace. Aries comes across like a legitimate "big deal," and I like that TNA seems to realize that. Great stuff.

WORST MATCH – GARETT BISCHOFF VS. GUNNER

Oh dear. I’m not sure how this looked on paper, but this was dreadful. No matter how many times Hogan says that Garett Bischoff is "the future of the business," I’m not sure anyone is buying it; the crowd just doesn’t seem to care. Now, as a father, I understand the need to help your son professionally (believe me, I’d book my five-month-old for a World Title win if I could), but they need to do something to make Garett connect with the audience other than just essentially telling viewers to like him. Give him some time in developmental, and let him literally "learn the ropes." The match itself was terrible, with almost no succinct flow and a finish built around Hogan wondering about throwing in the towel. For the babyface. Who lost anyway. No idea what this achieved.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – SAMOA JOE WINS! SAMOA JOE WINS!

One of the baffling things TNA does (and there are one or two) is a startling lack of recognition for just how great (and how popular) Samoa Joe is. I can remember buying Bound for Glory a few years back for the sole reason that Joe was wrestling Jushin "Thunder" Liger. Yep. I bought the show because Samoa Joe was awesome (and his ROH work was legendary at this point). Then, after Joe rose to the top, they gave him a fake face tattoo, had him carry a machete around, and had everyone pin him. Which was not the best idea. It was great seeing Joe with his hand raised and a title on him again, and it is hopefully a sign of a change in direction on how they book him.

BIGGEST LETDOWN – THE MAIN EVENT

TNA, TNA. I can’t believe that I am now writing this for the THIRD straight month, but can you please have your main event pay off in some fashion? This main event had some decent work (Bully Ray has been awesome in his role and Bobby Roode is phenomenal) but the ending, featuring some contrived angle to apparently set up Roode vs. Sting, should have been done on television. Pay-Per-View isn’t supposed to just be "expensive Impact."

BEST QUOTE – BULLY RAY

Nothing specific, but his entire promo with Christy Hemme was excellent. What I enjoy about the Bully Ray character is that he never goes for the "cool heel" idea. He’s just mean, and rude, and obnoxious. Y’know. Like a heel.

BEST MOVE – A.J. STYLES

Any time A.J. wrestles on a show, he’s a fairly good bet for move of the night, and his springboard moonsault onto Daniels was great (particularly since it seemed for a second that he was going to fall, yet he somehow caught his balance).

BEST MATCH FINISH – AUSTIN ARIES VS. ALEX SHELLEY

Brainbuster, Last Chancery, and a submission win for Aries. It was a great match, Aries rightfully continues to hold the title, and the "tap out" win gave the impression of the champion’s dominance. Thumbs way up.

OTHER THOUGHTS

Jessie Sorensen being knocked out by an errant knee from Zema Ion’s moonsault was brutal. Here’s hoping he’s okay, but I have to say it was impressive that Zema Ion never broke character afterward. Of course, I’m not down-playing the seriousness of the injury, but when you watch it, Ion’s reaction (and, of course, I know he was concerned) was simply: “Great! I’m the number one contender!" On with the show.

Wow, did Hulk Hogan struggle just to get to the ring apron. And, he may wrestle again. Take care of yourself, Hulkster.

Tara was awesome selling her "knee injury." She’s one of my favorite performers right now.

WHAT IT’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

Oh, who knows? Maybe it’ll be remembered for Bobby Roode continuing to become the face of TNA, or maybe he’ll lose the belt on Impact. Maybe it’ll be remembered as the start of a sustained Samoa Joe push, or maybe they’ll lose the Tag Titles and break up next week. I like TNA, I really do. The roster is for the most part remarkable. But, they need to pay attention to their storylines and have some consistency. Just because something is unexpected, it’s not necessarily a good idea. The shift in booking away from Vince Russo will almost certainly make for some distinct changes to the product. Here's to wondering if I'll be raving about "Victory Road" next month. Fingers crossed.

UPDATED 2012 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2012-1-29)
2 - TNA GENESIS (2012-01-08)
3 – TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS (2012-02-12)

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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