By Shane McKinkley, Torch specialist

Against All Odds comes to you live this Sunday. Should you order it before you read the reviews? Read on and find out.

Petey Williams vs. Scott Steiner

Petey has a man-crush on Steiner. Steiner repaid the favor by sending him to the hospital. How did Petey come back against his rival? By still having a man-crush on him. Uh-huh. Petey and Steiner are portrayed as dumb apes, but at least Steiner is entertaining. I can't really get behind a guy who refuses to come out as Petey Williams, not "Little Scott Steiner." To me, the character Petey has right now is no different from the character of Shark Boy. Petey might as well be the official TNA jobber nowadays.

TNA didn't even bother to have these two guys comment on the match at the last Impact. It is really quite amazing how lazy TNA gets in pumping up certain aspects of their PPV.

So what can viewers take from the match? I can't picture Petey winning cleanly. To me, there are some wrestlers in Frontline who I don't consider to be in the group. Jay Lethal? Eric Young? ODB? Motor City Machine Guns? Petey Williams? They shouldn't be in Frontline. Steiner can pick up the ho-hum win here. More MEM domination. Yawn.

Personally I would like to see Joe come out and lay out Steiner, pumping up Joe's "revenge." Steiner and Petey can pull off a solid match here. It's too bad the buildup is poor and viewers don't care who wins this thing (credit to afflictionclothing.com for pic).

VERDICT: Very Absurd

Abyss vs. Matt Morgan

Apparently this is just a normal match. Odd, isn't it? TNA spent a lot of time pumping up Abyss getting his hardcore groove back. Abyss had the money shot of thumbtacks sticking out of his hands. This is all stuff leading up to a hardcore match. But it's a regular match? Why even bother. This decision will lead many to not buy the PPV and wait for the "real thing." There could be hardcore bumps in this match, but I'll wait.

The idea of Matt Morgan joining MEM has been brought into light. MEM should probably stick with its original roster. They could bring in Morgan to MEM, have MEM stab Morgan in the back for "not being up to our veteran standards," and then Morgan joins Frontline. But before even that can happen, the Abyss vs. Morgan feud will continue. This just seems like a holdover match. I would pay to see a hardcore match between these two dudes...but a regular match? Nope. I liked the buildup to this match, but the match...wow.

VERDICT: In The Middle Of Absurdity

Booker T vs. Shane "Stool" Sewell

I'm confused if this is actually for the Legends Championship or not, but come to think of it, it doesn't matter much anyway. Kind of sad that newcomers to TNA would think that the Legends belt really meant something.

Frankly I've gotten all I wanted out of this feud with Booker vs. the refs on MEM's takeover of Impact. Pay to watch Booker dominate Sewell, Booker sell for Sewell, and Sewell doing his hulking up bit? I'll pass. Perhaps Joe can come out and lay Booker. There is nothing here that compels people to care.

VERDICT: It's So Absurd It Makes Me Want To Cry

Brutus Magnus Beats Up Some Dude

Sonjay Dutt? B.G. James? Suicide? Cute Kip? Christopher Daniels? Mike Tenay? Governor Blagojevich? Christian Cage? Triple H? John Cena? (credit to gofigurecollectables.com.au for pic).

ODB vs. Kong For Knockout Championship

If this match feels like déjà vu, you would be right. Viewers couldn't remember the buildup to this match...or their match on the last PPV. It just blends together. If there were bits hyping up this match, they have already been forgotten. Kong is weighed down with the Kongtourage and ODB hasn't been very impressive lately in her matches. I'm hoping that Kong just destroys Sojo, Khan, and her manager. This Kongtourage angle is just not going anywhere. At least with Booker vs. Sewell there is something to look forward to, stupid as the match is. Here...there's really nothing. It's one of those matches where fans question if the match should even take place, considering all of the poor elements surrounding it.

VERDICT: A Huge Pile Of Stinking Absurdity (NUKE)

Alex Shelley vs. Eric Young For X Division Championship

The new X Division champion Shelley didn't get a whole lot of love last month. Instead, TNA focused on how rotten the Motor City Machine Guns were. Needless to say the fact that Young has been stripped of the X Division title twice makes me think that the outcome of him being champion is sickening. Can Shelley vs. Young recreate the magic that was Shelley vs. Sabin? They could. Viewers are fairly confident in knowing what they should expect from this match, meaning TNA will let Shelley and Young do their thing. Barring a Super Eric moment, this is one of the reasons to order the PPV. I'm somewhat confident to assume that TNA still loves Shelley as X Division champion.

VERDICT: A Little Absurd

Lethal & Creed vs. Beer Money for Tag Team Titles

I have a really bad hatred for Lethal & Creed. Maybe it's because the fact that they are always playing to the camera, dancing and taunting during every move. Maybe it's their nauseating promos. How they supposed to be face but in reality they're just annoying twerps.

On the other hand, Beer Money could be said to be the strongest champions in TNA (Yes, even stronger than the World Champion Sting). Having Beer Money lose the belts to Lethal & Creed on that Impact was idiotic.

That being said, I would like to see Beer Money retain the titles. Lethal and Creed winning the belts would be utterly pointless. Can LAX can back on their feud with Beer Money? There's not a whole lot here to be excited about.

VERDICT: Very Absurd

Devon vs. Ray vs. Sting vs. Angle for World Championship

TNA can either go the predictable, safe route or they could do something unique here. I'm not talking "Al Snow comes in to interfere with PPV main event" type of unique (uniquely stupid).

As it stands right now, Sting's the only world champion I know who wrestles in a shirt. Personally I would like to see Angle win the gold here, but if Angle gets the strap, then Sting is left in a precarious situation. Here are some ideas in how it might play out:

Idea #1: Sting retains the belt. Angle and Sting continue their tension.
VERDICT: This has as much charm as "Angle family drama" or "Angle Alliance Drama." Where it just drags. MEM doesn't really need dissension right now, considering how Frontline never even put a dent in MEM's armor.

Idea #2: Sting retains the belt. Things go on as usual.
VERDICT: Buying a PPV should mean something. I'm not talking about Al Snow showing up. I'm talking about something that will get people talking, get people interested, and get people watching. Right now MEM doesn't need a Sting vs. Angle feud, because Frontline has to get their shots in (Joe, Styles, Jarrett).

Idea #3: Angle wins the belt. Angle becomes more powerful while Sting questions why he is in MEM.
VERDICT: This is probably the most likely bet.

Idea #4: Angle wins the belt. Sting becomes fully face and joins Frontline.
VERDICT: Sting being in Frontline would be a terrible idea. When I think of Frontline, I think of young and edgy. Mick Foley and Jeffy Jarrett already fill the role of "wise old leader" for Frontline. And frankly, if there was an Angle vs. Sting feud, many people would cheer for Angle no matter what they do with Sting. Sting needs to remain in MEM. But why does Sting have to virtually disappear if he does lose the championship?

Idea #5: Devon or Ray win the championship title.
VERDICT: You might as well start filing for bankruptcy.

Idea # 6: Sting lays down. Angle wins the belt. Sting becomes a hypocrite heel and there are two evil leaders of MEM.
VERDICT: It's been a while since viewers have seen somebody lay down for a championship PPV match. The main problem with MEM is that it is too damn easy to like them. By comparison, Frontline might as well be MEM for kidz.

TNA spent a lot of time in pumping up how Sting respects the business. Sting had a bit where he said that if Angle won the belt, the belt itself would be tarnished. Team 3D's really only job this whole month was talking about the integrity of Sting. And viewers have gotten the sense that Sting is the good guy in MEM.

Let's say that the match starts. Team 3D fight Sting and Angle. Sting and Angle manage to get Team 3D outside the ring. Sting and Angle pretend to lock horns. Then Sting lays down, Angle gets the win, while Team 3D cry because their "hero" has betrayed them and let a scum bucket like Angle be World champion. TNA gets upset in how MEM are destroying their business blah blah blah (credit to api.ning.com for pic).

Who is to say that MEM has to play by TNA's rules? If Sting lays down, then MEM will finally have that reason to dislike them. This outcome can send the fans home happy. The rest of MEM comes out to celebrate with Angle and Sting. Joe comes out and lays out Steiner, Booker and Nash. Sting and Angle scurry out to the back.

If this were to happen, then we have a reason to care about Sting's character (he has become disillusioned with wrestling, whoever has power determines what is right and wrong). More importantly, we have two evil heel leaders of MEM that Frontline can go against. Joe vs. Angle. A.J. Styles vs. Sting. TNA can build their next PPVs by simply plugging face Frontline vs. heel MEM.

This stems from Rhino vs. Sting at Genesis. Nothing went into the match, and nothing was gained. If Sting lays down and Angle wins the gold, Frontline would finally have their rallying cry in why exactly they are fighting MEM. Right now the war between these two factions is barely there, and frankly the members of Frontline are just not as cool as MEM.

But the above will probably not happen. The viewer gets the sense that this Angle-Sting tension was thrown in at the last minute in order to encourage PPV buys. In fact that's really the only reason to care about the match is the Angle-Sting tension. Will they go somewhere with it? Or will they simply move on and act like it never existed?, which they are apt to do with main event angles).

VERDICT: In The Middle Of Absurdity

FINAL SAY: It is like TNA wants you to check out the results before ordering. Frankly there are zero reasons that viewers must have this PPV. The hinting of Joe showing up is a nice touch, but frankly I don't have a lot of confidence in where TNA goes with it. Sure, Joe vs. Nash is appealing, but what after that? Joe becoming just another...Joe? This PPV could be shown on Impact in just how underwhelming it is. Like with any wrestling PPV, it can turn out to be a great show. But from the standpoint of a fan who is deciding to buy the PPV before they read the reviews, this PPV can easily be a forgettable affair.

MATCHES I WOULD PAY TO SEE

-- None

MATCHES I AM UNSURE I WOULD PAY TO SEE

-- Shelley vs. Young
-- Angle vs. Sting vs. Devon vs. Ray
-- The revenge of Joe

MATCHES THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD PAY TO SEE

-- Lethal-Creed vs. Beer Money
-- ODB vs. Kong
-- Petey vs. Steiner
-- Abyss vs. Morgan
-- Booker vs. Sewell

PPV VERDICT: Very Absurd

Email is mckinley.torch@gmail.com.

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