By James Caldwell, Torch columnist

TNA Against All Odds Alternative Perspective PPV Review
February 12, 2006
From Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida

COUNTDOWN SHOW

- Joined in progress eight minutes in after a cable snafu.

(1) Ron Killings beat A-1 Ralphz of Team Canada in about two minutes after Team Canada was kicked out of the ringside area. Just there.

- We saw video of the Rhino-Abyss feud.

- Segue to James Mitchell discussing war machines. He said he hopes Abyss takes Rhino to the very top of the Impact zone and throws him down 60 feet with the Black Hole Slam. Abyss grunted behind.

- Dave Penzer is doing the ring announcing.

(2) Shark Boy & Lance Hoyt & Cassidy Riley beat Elix Skipper & David Young (w/Simon Diamond) & Shannon Moore. The six "not ready for prime time" players went about six minutes. Shannon was left on the apron looking for a tag as the Diamonds in the Rough worked the match on their won. He finally tagged himself in and Skipper wasn't too pleased. Hoyt took a tag and cleaned house. Shannon threw everyone out of the ring then went for a single leg crab on Hoyt. Skipper broke it up then attacked Shannon. Hoyt hit a powerbomb on Skipper for the win. Boy, Skipper has dropped like a rock. Eleven months ago, he was in the X Division Title match.

- We saw video of the X Division Title picture. Styles, Joe, and Daniels narrated clips of the storyline. Joe said, "Imagine a future where you never walk again." Good video.

- Tenay and West broke down the card with new WWE-style motion preview graphics. Jeff Jarrett still has the toothy grin in motion.

- Jeremy Borash was backstage with Larry Zbyszko and management consultant Dave Hebner. Zbyszko said he wants to guarantee a level-playing field for the NWA Title match. No outside interference, no weapons, no crap. Referee situation? All taken care of.

- Whoa, Nellie! Don West is hyperventilating running down the PPV card in front of the front row fans.

- Final video previews including more on Jackie Gayda.

LIVE SHOW

- The show began with clips from earlier in the day when Christian Cage rolled up to the arena in a slick sports car. We also video from earlier in the day when Scott D'Amore and Eric Young discussed Jeff Jarrett's arrival. His vehicle of choice? A red Hummer. The Myth lives on. Gail Kim jumped out of the car with Jarrett. D'Amore and Jarrett discussed the Jackie tape. Eric Young had to get something off his chest. D'Amore, who was standing behind Jarrett, waved off Eric. Jarrett finally asked what's up. Eric Young said Sting isn't gone. Jarrett told Eric to calm down and repeat after him that Sting is gone. Eric struggled to accept that. D'Amore slapped Eric around for still mentioning Sting.

- Video promo for Christian-Jarrett that aired on Impact. According to the video, if Christian doesn't win the strap, Christian will confirm he's a mid-card comedy act. There's no way we're getting a clean main event.

1 -- RODERICK STRONG & AUSTIN ARIES vs. THE NATURALS (CHASE STEVENS & ANDY DOUGLAS)

The action starting very quickly. Aries took a sustained beat down. Chase Stevens took about an hour to set himself for a shooting star press from the top rope to the outside on Aries and Strong. Like on Impact last night, Aries and Strong had to sell the anticipation of the move too long. Aries came back with a suicide dive on Stevens that nearly took out the cameraman. Great incidental camera shot. GenNext isolated Stevens in their corner. Aries did a little Rick Rude action as he went up top. Stevens took forever to crotch Aries. Douglas took a hot tag and the crowd booed. The action broke down and so did the flow of the action. Strong and Aries combined for a double team clothesline and German Suplex. Douglas kicked out of a pin attempt. Aries went for the same finish from two weeks ago where Aries hooked Stevens's tights for a pin. The referee saw it this time and stopped counting. Wow, referee competence for once. The Naturals hit the Natural Disaster on Aries for the win.

WINNERS: The Naturals at 10:31. Good action, but the timing was off throughout the match. Neither team was on the same page until the finish.

- We saw footage from the pre-show where Zbyszko said there would be an even playing field for the NWA Title match. Don West said we would wait and see if they can keep the promise of no outside interference for the match.

- Backstage, Jeremy Borash was with AMW and Team Canada. Chris Harris put over Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt, but said their momentum ends tonight. Scott D'Amore asked for a public apology from Gail Kim. She offered a half-hearted apology. D'Amore held up the Alex Shelley tape of Jackie Gayda and said Jackie made a lot of demands, but she's going to find out what it's like when the tables are turned next week on Impact. Zbyszko ran in and said anyone who interferes in the title match will be fired on the spot. D'Amore didn't take the threat seriously.

2 -- ALEX SHELLEY vs. MATT BENTLEY (w/Traci) vs. PETEY WILLIAMS vs. JAY LETHAL

Alex Shelley brought his handycam to the ring. Traci is Little Red Riding Hood this month. Traci teased Petey from the apron picking up the storyline from a few months ago. Bentley used the distraction to attack Petey from behind. Here's how Don West is earning his check with analysis of Petey being distracted. "Your brain is telling you it's a trick, but your (pause) body is telling you to go over there anyways." Yep, and Don said he wants to get his hands on that kinky Jackie Gayda tape. The heels took it to Lethal, who has been paying his dues the last two months. Four-way spots ensued at 8:00. Lethal hit a German Suplex on Shelley and Bentley hit a double foot stomp on Lethal to break up the pin. Lethal got his shine with a release overhead Tiger Suplex on Petey followed by a drop kick on Shelley. Petey set up for the Canada Destroyer on Bentley. However, Jackie Gayda stormed to the ring and approached Shelley. She slapped Shelley and Petey began laughing hysterically in the ring. Bentley flipped out of the Destroyer then Lethal ran in and scored a quick three for the win.

WINNER: Jay Lethal at 10:38. The story, unfortunately, was all about Tenay and West allowing Jackie Gayda to bigfoot the X Division on commentary for the second straight night. Lethal's win could be a momentum builder if TNA builds on the victory rather than ignores it on Impact the next two weeks.

- Backstage with J.B., Rhino grunted about growing up on the wrong side of the tracks in Detroit and not knowing if he would still be alive at the end of the day. Zbyszko interrupted and told him not to interfere in the title match. Rhino answered that he needs to have an ambulance ready for Abyss.

- We saw video of the 4 Live Kru break up.

3 -- LAX (HOMICIDE & MACHETE w/Konnan) vs. JAMES GANG (B.G. JAMES & KIP JAMES)

Konnan explained that Apolo went down and Machete is replacing him. Kip has the ridiculous pigtails and Shawn Michaels "way too tight" referee shorts. B.G. made no sense on the mic and the crowd gave him a pity clap. LAX jumped Kip before he could talk. James Gang cleared out LAX and Konnan regrouped with his team. Kip laughed at Homicide standing up to him. He threw Homicide across the ring before delivering an easy powerbomb after nearly botching the spot. Machete took a tag and absorbed weak right hands from B.G. Konnan attacked Kip outside of the ring with the referee distracted. B.G. hit a pumphandle slam on Machete for the win.

Afterwards, Konnan jumped B.G. and Kip. Bullet Bob Armstrong walked into the ring and took his jacket off. Konnan ran out of the ring scared.

WINNERS: James Gang at 5:59. This did not deserve to be on PPV or Velocity or Heat or WCW Worldwide.

- Slick Johnson walked up to Larry Z.'s office and wanted to know why there isn't a referee for the title match. Slick said he wanted to be the referee for the title match. Larry said he has the referee situation under control and he wasn't revealing his referee.

4 -- AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (CHRIS HARRIS & JAMES STORM) vs. SONJAY DUTT & CHRIS SABIN -- NWA Tag Title match

Dutt and Sabin came out to separate ring entrances. Not a good sign. They replayed footage from last night where Sabin injured his ankle. Tenay and West said AMW would exploit the ankle. Sabin started things off and AMW tried to attack the ankle. He quickly tagged out to Dutt after testing out his ankle. Sabin took a tag and AMW went after the ankle. Harris wrapped Sabin's ankle around the ring post from outside the ring. Harris took a tag and continued working on Sabin's ankle. Harris ripped the protective boot off Sabin's ankle, exposing the leg. The referee checked on Sabin to see if he could continue. Harris taunted Sabin. Dutt took a hot tag at 7:30 after Sabin slipped out of a standing toe hold. After some overly choreographed spots, Sabin DDT'ed Harris on a steel chair that AMW brought into the ring. Dutt hit a running shooting star press for a very believable nearfall. Nice spot. Harris slammed Sabin's ankle into the guardrail on the outside. AMW hit the Death Sentence on Dutt for the win.

Afterwards, James Storm grabbed a beer bottle for the post-match celebration. AMW cuffed Dutt to the ring post as Sabin was out on the floor. Harris grabbed a chair while Storm took a swig of beer. Harris promised that it wasn't over yet. Sabin ran into the ring and stole the chair from Harris. He threw the chair into Harris's face. AMW bailed. Sabin limped around the ring threatening to use the chair.

WINNERS: AMW at 10:45. Good story of Sabin and Dutt trying to overcome the odds. AMW play good heels when there isn't a constant stream of outside interference taking away from their matches. Dutt taking a beat down while handcuffed to the corner could have been one of those Tommy Dreamer caned by The Sandman moments to get Dutt over huge.

- Jeff Jarrett and Gail Kim were backstage with Jeremy Borash. Jarrett said he's not feeling any pressure and J.B. is wet behind the ears. Jarrett said Christian made guarantees and promises. His entire career rests on one match. Management panicked and settled on Christian because they have no more challengers. Jarrett threatened to use his guitar. Monty Brown ran in and said Jarrett's name "G-Unit" style. Jarrett cut off Brown and said he's sick of Brown interrupting his promos. Jarrett promised Brown would have an NWA Title opportunity after he beats Christian tonight. Brown said he would be watching the match very closely then the title will be his.

- We saw clips from the Rhino-Abyss feud.

5 -- ABYSS (w/James Mitchell) vs. RHINO -- Falls Count Anywhere

They didn't waste any time exchanging right hands. They spilled to the outside within the first 30 seconds. Within one minute, they were in the stands fighting amongst the fans. Rhino grabbed a trashcan full of weapons and a trophy from under the ring. Abyss attacked Rhino with a stick from the trashcan. Rhino was opened up from the forehead at 4:15. Rhino made a comeback then grabbed a baseball bat. He put the trophy on Abyss's crotch then slammed the baseball bat into the trophy and, presumably, Abyss's crotch. They went to the outside and Abyss recovered. He grabbed four tables from the backstage area and set them up two on top of two next to the Impact stage. They teased several spots from the stage through the tables. Abyss blocked the Gore with a big boot to the face. They went to the garage area outside of the arena. There was a car and giant Disney float. The car took a serious beating like that one level in career mode in the WWE WrestleMania 19 video game. They fought back to the ringside area at 9:30. Rhino grabbed a table from under the ring and set it up under the ring. Mitchell handed Abyss a staple gun. He stapled Rhino's flesh wound as if it was a stack of mortgage notes. Another table in the ring. Abyss chokeslamed Rhino through the table. Rhino nearly came out of his trunks. Abyss with a nearfall after the table spot. Rhino gored Abyss through the second table in the ring. Nearfall after the gore through the table. Mitchell hooked Abyss's leg Freddie Blassie style and Rhino chased him to the stands. Abyss kicked in a gimmicked wall on the grandstands. Rhino blocked a chokeslam then shoved Abyss off the stands through the quadruple stack of tables that Abyss set up earlier. Abyss writhed in pain after taking a flat back bump through the tables. Rhino covered him for the win.

WINNER: Abyss at 15:27. Unnecessary risk for the final table spot. One quarter inch off and Abyss cracks his neck on the concrete floor.

- J.B. was backstage with X Division Samoa Joe. Joe promoted the X Division Title match.

- Paramedics continued checking on Abyss.

- We saw a video package for the X Division Title match. Team 3D vs. Team Canada in the semi-main event after the X Title match? Eh.

7 -- SAMOA JOE vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS vs. A.J. STYLES -- X Division Title match

Joe came to the ring with one bloody towel for Daniels and one clean towel for Styles. No feeling out process for this match, making it just like every single other match on the PPV. Styles with dropkicks for both opponents at 1:00. Daniels and Styles teased spots from outside of the ring to the outside before Joe slapped Daniels near the ropes. Joe, Daniels, and Styles locked in simultaneous submission holds in the center of the ring at 4:15. Joe caught Daniels in the corner with a knee to the face. He washed Daniels's face then hit a running knee to the head. Joe with an E. Honda front slam on Styles out of the corner. Joe sent Daniels to the outside. Styles flew over Joe with a somersault splash on Daniels. Joe measured both men then flew through the ropes with a suicide dive. Daniels and Styles flew backwards and crashed into the announce table. Joe convulsed then took Styles into the ring. Sick spot alert: Styles clotheslined Daniels at the same second Joe gave Daniels a release belly-to-back suplex. Joe hit a powerslam then locked in a cross arm breaker on Daniels. He reached the ropes to break the hold at 9:45. Joe kicked both opponents as Daniels set up for an STO. Joe dropped a knee on Daniels after he went for a submission on Styles after the kick.

At 11:30, Joe began slapping and punching Daniels. Joe missed with a clothesline and Daniels hit a release German Suplex. He came back with a front slam then Best Moonsault Ever. Pin attempt by Daniels for a nearfall. After some teased spots, Joe clotheslined Daniels for a nearfall. Styles slipped out of the Muscle Buster. He clotheslined Daniels then put him in the Torture Rack. Joe broke it up. Daniels hit a Death Valley Driver on Joe. Styles and Daniels fought over pin attempts. Joe recovered and kicked Daniels off the apron to the floor. Joe positioned Styles for the Muscle Buster and he connected in the center of the ring. Joe with the pin on Styles for the win.

WINNER: Samoa Joe at 16:07. A bit too frenetic because TNA doesn't want to ruffle any feathers by giving any match more time than any other match. This match needed ten more minutes so all the spots didn't run together. With 50 minutes of PPV time left for two matches involving Team 3D and Jarrett, to give this match only 16 minutes is just unacceptable. All of that said, the three best wrestlers in the company did the best they could to put together a great wrestling matching considering the circumstances.

- The Goodyear Blimp and the Lumberjack were backstage to discuss their match against Team Canada coming up next. Brother Ray said he's pissed. Ray said the U.S. would beat Canada at hockey in the Olympics. Ray said an entire country is pissed off at Team Canada. Um, really? I didn't get that memo. Ray said people might jump over the guardrail and attack Canada. Not the best encouragement. Ray promised tables for Canada. Devon had a bandage over his head.

8 -- TEAM CANADA (BOBBY ROODE & ERIC YOUNG w/Scott D'Amore) vs. TEAM 3D (BROTHER RAY & BROTHER DEVON)

Team 3D ran to the ring to attack Team Canada before the bell. They worked over Canada outside of the ring before Ray attacked Eric Young in the ring. The fans wanted tables. Haven't we had enough of the tables tonight? Roode pulled down the ropes causing Ray to fly over the top rope to the floor. D'Amore slammed Devon into the steel steps. Canada opened up Devon's forehead for the second night in a row. D'Amore licked Team 3D's tag team plaque, which was covered in blood. A great heel moment. Roode locked in a sleeper hold on the mat as Devon lost more blood on the mat. Ray took a hot tag at 10:25 after Ray took an extended beat down. Ray with a top rope splash on both opponents. D'Amore distracted the referee and Roode hit Ray with a low blow then a hockey stick. Young made a cover, but Ray kicked out. Ray rolled out of the way of a moonsault. Roode accidentally clotheslined Young and Ray tossed him out of the ring. They hit the 3D on Young for the win.

Afterwards, D'Amore tried to attack 3D with the plaque. AMW made the save. Team Canada delivered a beat down as AMW pulled out a table. They rolled Devon onto a table. Ron Killings made the save and cleared the ring. Poor Eric Young was placed on the table. Killings went up top and hit a leg drop through the table.

WINNERS: Team 3D at 13:14. Basic tag match. Good to see Roode and Eric Young in a prominent position. However, this match was voted fifth out of six choices for the match fans are looking forward to the most on the PPV. The only reason I can think of as to why TNA would put this match in the semi-main event is because Jarrett didn't want to be shown up by the X Division. The solution? Put a buffer match in between the X and World title matches.

- Mike Tenay patted himself on the back for TNA delivering another PPV. West and Tenay killed time putting over the NWA Title match. It's ridiculous that TNA needs to kill time when they only gave the X Division Title match 16 minutes. The Destination X PPV logo looks like the Raw Ten Year Anniversary logo.

- Jeremy Borash was backstage with Christian. He stared at the floor in deep thought. He looked nervous. He confirmed he was nervous as hell. It's the culmination of a twelve year career. He talked about dreaming about "this moment" from the time he first watched wrestling as a kid. Christian said there will be no excuses because Larry Z. has promised a level playing field. We'll find out if it's smart that Christian left big bucks in WWE to come to TNA. We'll find out if Christian has advanced past the mid-card. We'll find out if Jarrett has advanced past the white jeans stage. Christian said he's honest about his backstage politicking and he's the biggest threat to Jarrett's title. He said he's walking in as challenger and he's walking out as the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

- A repeat of the same video package we've seen three times that could have been allocated to the X Division match.

- Larry Zbyszko came out with Dave Hebner and Earl Hebner, who was the appointed referee for the match. Great. Tenay talked about how controversial Earl Hebner is as a referee. Time for the ultra-slow pin counts so Jarrett has more time to kick out with minimal effort. Mike Tenay reminded us that Jarrett has been champion for two and a half out of four years TNA has existed. West said it's amazing how long Jarrett has managed to hold onto the title. Yeah, it sure is.

9 -- JEFF JARRETT (w/Gail Kim) vs. CHRISTIAN CAGE -- NWA Title match

Jeremy Borash announced Jarrett as the "undefeated, undisupusted champion." Wow, now Jarrett is undefeated. If he's undefeated, what does that make Joe? The fans chanted, "Please retire." Christian went for the Unprettier at 0:40, but Jarrett slipped out and caught his breath near the ropes. Jarrett paintbrushed Christian then slapped him across the face. Christian speared him then landed right hands and chops. Christian faked out Jarrett on a sunset flip spot. They spilled to the outside where we saw Christian's wife sitting in the front row. Jarrett slammed Christian back-first into the guardrail. They spilled to the announce table where Jarrett landed right hands. Jarrett took Christian back into the ring and got amazing lift on a dropkick. He got higher than Sting last month and no one chanted, "He's still got it" tonight. Earl grabbed Jarrett by the hair to get him away from choking Christian. They exchanged shoves. Jarrett distracted the referee allowing Gail Kim to hit a sick huricanrana from the top rope. Tenay said she should be fired, but the referee wasn't looking. Well, she should be fired even if the referee wasn't paying attention. I guess Larry Z's watching the Olympics and not the PPV. Christian blocked a huricanrana attempt into a powerbomb. He went for the figure four at 7:20. Gail pulled Jarrett to the ropes to break the hold. Well, TNA outsmarts themselves with this booking. Jarrett locked in a Sharpshooter. Hebner acted like he was going to call for the bell, but Christian grabbed Hebner's foot and prevented him from calling for the bell. Christian grabbed the ropes, but Hebner didn't see it. Christian fought out of the hold and countered it into a Sharpshooter of his own. Jarrett fought out at 9:20. Christian Flair flopped into Jarrett's crotch.

After a count of eight, both men recovered to their feet. They exchanged control before Christian snapped off a DDT. Jarrett managed to roll his shoulder up before three. Jarrett slid and barely glanced against Hebner's ankle. Hebner dropped to the mat as if he was shot in the leg. Kim interfered against Christian. Jarrett hit the Stroke from the top rope. Time for a stack the deck kickout for the big heat. Hebner dragged himself over and Christian kicked out at two. Hebner took a dive and Christian hit the Unprettier. No ref for the visual pin. Slick Johnson ran in and counted a nearfall. Christian went for the Stroke, but Jarrett hit a low blow. Slick went to call for the bell to DQ Jarrett, but Jarrett attacked him and threw him out of the ring. Christian drop kicked a chair into Jarrett's face and covered for another visual count. However, Hebner was still out. Christian chased Kim out of the ring and back into the ring. He grabbed Kim and went for the Unprettier, but Jarrett smashed Christian over the head with a guitar. Jarrett made the cover, but Hebner was still out. Time for another stack the deck kick out. Christian kicked out at two and the crowd exploded. Kim tried to interfere again, but Christian powerbombed Kim. Jarrett went for the Unprettier, but Christian hit the Unprettier. He made the cover for the win as Hebner did the slow count.

Tenay said Christian shattered the glass ceiling. Jarrett rolled out of the ring as Christian celebrated with the NWA Title. He hugged his wife and had the big babyface smooch. Rhino came into the ring then the entire Impact zone spilled into the ring. The band is on the field! The band is on the field! We have Sting winning the NWA Title from Ric Flair at the Bash all over again to close the show.

WINNER: Christian in 18:00. Well, there was the feel good moment to close the show after TNA made a fool out of themselves with the outside interference, incompetent officiating, and weapons use. Take away the usual Jarrett bag of tricks and predictable nearfalls and this was one of the better title matches Jarrett has had in a very long time.

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