NWA-TNA Against All Odds 2006 2/12/2006

Written by: Matt Peddycord

February 12, 2006
Orlando, FL
Universal Studios

After only being involved in TNA for three months prior to this event, Christian Cage has already reached the top and will face off against the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Jarrett, for the most respected title in wrestling. Will the “mid-card comedy act” prevail and achieve his goal, or will the “King of the Mountain” put Christian back in his place? Well, you’re about to find out because this is AGAINST ALL ODDS 2006!

Your hosts are Mike Tenay & Don West! We also have ring announcer David Penzer working tonight! SWEET!

We kick things off with “Earlier Today” segments like Christian Cage showing up to work in his Porsche and then switching over to Jeff Jarrett & Gail Kim pulling up in his Hummer. He pulls right up beside Coach D’Amore and Eric Young. Young is still freaking out about Sting not really being gone, so Jarrett calms him down. Seriously, why is he so scared? I don’t see Sting bothering with Eric Young of all people.

– Roderick Strong & Austin Aries vs. The Naturals

What is with Austin Aries’ entrance attire? He looks like he’s trying to be the leather chaps guy from the Village People. Well, except without the chaps and a handle-bar mustache. But other than that, it’s UNCANNY! I guess it just seems kind of odd considering Strong looks like your average frat guy from UCLA. Anyways, this is a rematch from their #1 contender NWA tag-title tournament match because Aries cheated to win that match back on February 4 iMPACT! Therefore, the Naturals want their revenge and their win back! All four men start off but the Naturals get the upper hand with stereo inverted atomic drops and clotheslines. They knock Strong & Aries to the floor and end up delivering a double-suplex on Aries to get him back in the ring. Now that we have order, we have Stevens vs. Aries. The Naturals spend some time playing punch ping-pong with Aries’s head before Douglas tags in. A cool double-team gutbuster gets two. Stevens tags in and delivers a pair of neckbreakers and a flatliner for two. Douglas tags in and takes Aries down with a neckbreaker for two. Aries and Strong get sent to the floor, but are still able to pull Douglas out with them. Stevens climbs to the top and nails Aries and Strong with a SHOOTING STAR PRESS! Back in, Stevens gets a rollup on Strong for two. Tag to Aries, and he whips Stevens into the ropes. Stevens catches himself and slides out to the floor to attack Strong. Next thing you know, Aries comes through the ropes at Stevens with an AWESOME suicide dive! That was some great camera work. Back in, Aries covers Stevens for two. Strong tags in and they do a double-team mounted punch on Stevens. Strong gets in a nice side backbreaker before tagging back out to Aries. Stevens tries to fight out of the heel corner, but can’t get away before Aries can tag out to Strong. He goes to a chinlock, but Stevens jawbreakers out of it. Tag to Aries, and he hits a running dropkick in the corner for two. Aries & Strong tag in and out while getting a few near-falls off of elbow drops. Stevens makes the comeback by crotching Aries on the top and then slamming him off before making the lukewarm tag to Douglas. Douglas hits the heels with various blows before setting Strong on the top for a ‘rana that sends Strong onto a fallen Aries. He covers Aries for two! Strong clips Douglas from behind during a powerbomb attempt on his partner. Aries gets a near-fall out of that. Gen Next whip out a nifty German Suplex-clothesline combo for a close near-fall. Stevens comes in after getting knocked off the apron and dumps Strong. He counters an Aries suplex into the NATURAL DISASTER position. Strong pulls Douglas out to the floor just before that can go down. Aries gets a rollup and hooks the ropes just like in their first bout, but the ref is going to have NONE of it! There’s the NATURAL DISASTER for Aries, and it’s over just like that. (10:31) It’s good to see the Naturals winning again, but it’s a shame they had to job Strong/Aries to them. Even so, we won’t be seeing Strong/Aries for another two months due to them showing up four hours late to the PPV. You already knew that though. **½

Zbyszko says that if anyone interferes in the main event, they will be fired indefinitely. The best man is going to win!

Jeremy Borash is standing by with AMW, Gail Kim and Team Canada in the back. Harris puts over Sabin & Dutt for winning the tournament, so Storm adds, “Man, are you drunk or something?” HA. Sabin & Dutt’s momentum stops tonight! D’Amore asks Gail Kim to apologize to him for getting the tape that Shelley made of Jackie Gayda. D’Amore lets Jackie know that she’s going to have to meet their demands on next week’s iMPACT! Larry stops by to give them the heads up on the main event.

– Alex Shelley vs. Petey Williams vs. Matt Bentley (w/Traci) vs. Jay Lethal – Fatal Four-Way Match

Petey & Bentley start us off with an armlock sequence. Bentley gets a pair of suplexes for two. Petey suckers Bentley in the corner after a high knee drop and drives him face-first into the middle turnbuckle. Petey goes for the tree-of-woe crotch stomp in the corner, but Traci gets up on the apron to distract him. He comes down and goes out on the apron with Traci, but Bentley comes to her aid. Back in, Bentley connects with a missile dropkick that sends Williams into Shelley’s corner for a tag. Bentley takes Shelley down a few times with some arm drags while Don West gives us all a lesson about male hormones. Bentley gets shoved towards Lethal’s side of the ring, so he tags out Bentley. A LOUD “Lethal” chant stops time for a minute as Shelley takes exception. They go through a quick sequence of knowing what the other guy is going to do before he does it to a stand-off and the crowd applauds it. Lethal kills Shelley with a pair of chops and then delivers a nice jumping basement dropkick to the back of Alex’s head for two. As soon as Shelley realizes he was in trouble, tries for a tag to Williams. Lethal tries to prevent the hand tag, so Shelley lifts his leg up for Petey to make the tag. Williams comes in and works on Lethal’s back for a bit before tagging back out to Shelley. Shelley slaps on some crazy submission hold that I don’t even know what to call it, but it looks like it HURTS! Williams senses that Lethal might give up, so he comes in to break it up. Shelley delivers a slingshot for two. Petey tags back in and just as it looks Lethal might start up a flurry of offensive moves, Petey flips out of a back suplex and connects with a dropkick to the back for a pair of near-falls. Petey puts Lethal in a modified camel clutch and Shelley breaks it up. While Shelley and Petey converse about just where Shelley’s allegiance stands, Lethal makes the hot tag to Bentley. He hits a backdrop on Petey, followed by a slam to set up a top-rope move. Petey catches Bentley up top and tries for a superplex, but Shelley comes up underneath Petey for a powerbomb. Williams hangs onto Bentley to try and avoid the impact, but Lethal runs in to stop that with a dropkick! Shelley sends Petey down with the powerbomb, and just as he goes for the pin, Lethal comes up from behind bridging German suplex. Bentley, who’s still on the top, breaks up the bridge at the count of two with an elbow drop. Petey hits a swinging neckbreaker on Lethal, and then backdrops Bentley out onto the floor. Lethal blocks a wheelbarrow rollup attempt from Petey with a SICK RELEASE FULL NELSON SUPLEX! Shelley leaps off the top, but Lethal catches him with a dropkick! Lethal comes off the ropes with a Dean Malenko-esque heel kick to Alex! Lethal runs into a drop toe hold and crashes into the middle rope from Shelley. Alex goes onto the apron and slingshots in with a DDT on Lethal! Bentley comes with a barrage of rights before dropping Shelley with a flatliner. Petey pops up and delivers a beautiful tilt-a-whirl Russian legsweep to Bentley. That was purdy. Petey calls for the CANADIAN DESTROYER! Here comes JACKIE GAYDA to ringside to approach Shelley out on the floor. She yells, “Who do you think you are?” and starts wailing on him. Petey just looks on and laughs at Bentley instead of delivering the coolest move since the Stone Cold Stunner. Bentley back drops out and Lethal sneaks in for a quick rollup on Petey for the win! (10:39) This got REAL good once it broke down. Could Jay Lethal be TNA’s answer to Shelton Benjamin? I think so! ***

We go to Jeremy Borash in the back with Rhino. He gives us his usual sob story about growing up in Detroit and how he’s going to beat Abyss. Larry stops by and lets him know about the details of the main event. Gosh Larry, why don’t you call up my grandma and let her know too!

– LAX (w/Konnan) vs. James Gang

Apparently, Apolo was mad about always having to job, so TNA management told him to go home. He hasn’t since been on TNA. He gets replaced by who appears to be the winner of the under-17 Rhino look-a-like contest, a.k.a. Machete. Why didn’t they just make it Konnan/Homicide vs. James Gang? Kip James has his blonde with pig tails look going on tonight. A joke on that would just be way too easy. LAX attack from behind once Kip grabs the mic. I figure they had had enough with BG talking. LAX’s short-lived beatdown is stopped as they get dumped out to the floor. Back in, Homicide starts off with Kip. Homicide gets all up in his grill, so Kip pie-faces him to the mat. Machete comes in and he takes a hiptoss. Kip delivers a powerbomb to Homicide before tagging in BG. BG works the arm before Homicide thumbs BG’s eye and tags in Machete. Shake, Rattle and Roll from BG, followed by the shaky knee drop. Wow. BG stiffs Machete with a kick to the head before tagging out to Kip. Kip no-sells a double chop and then goes for the COBRA CLUTCH SLAM, but Homicide breaks it up. Kip falls out to the floor for Konnan to get in his licks. Somehow Homicide is the legal man, but there was no tag whatsoever. Back in, Kip misses a Stinger splash in the corner. Kip rolls onto the apron and gets nailed some more from Konnan while the ref is distracted. Homicide goes up top and whiffs on a splash. Tag to BG and he fights off LAX long enough to get the PUMPHANDLE SLAM on Machete for the win. (6:00) This was your basic squash. Post-match, Konnan pops BG from behind with the slapjack. In comes BULLET BOB ARMSTRONG, and Konnan and LAX get out of dodge! Why is Konnan running like a wuss? He’s a 66 year old man! Huge “you suck” chants directed at Konnan. THAT WAS MY FAVORITE PART! ½*

Jeremy Borash is standing by Larry Zbyszko’s office. Meanwhile, referee “Slick” Mark Johnson stops by to let Larry know that there isn’t a ref for the main event. Larry says he has a ref for the match and he doesn’t even know who this guy is. The crowd sounds like they don’t care because I hear a bunch of chants and stuff going on. He says that Mark Johnson is one of those guys who are on a “need-to-know” basis, and he doesn’t need to know who the ref is for the main event.

– NWA World Tag Team Champions America’s Most Wanted vs. Sonjay Dutt & Chris Sabin

On the previous night’s iMPACT, Sabin apparently hurt his ankle. But don’t worry about it, because it’s a TAPED episode so it was weeks ago. He’s fine. Storm and Sabin kicks things off and immediately Storm tries to go for the injury, but Storm avoids all contact and tags Sonjay. They run the ropes for a bit until Sonjay connects with a headscissors takedown, followed by a crossbody for two. Tag to Sabin and they deliver some nice double-team combinations ending with Sonjay nailing Storm in the face with a basement dropkick. Storm reverses a whip into the heel side corner. Sabin quickly blocks the charge with a mule kick. Harris is right there though to trip Sabin up and attack his hurt leg. Storm catches Sabin with a baseball slide to keep him on the floor with Harris. Back in, Storm tags in Harris and he goes right after the ankle and leg. Harris even tries to take his shin wrap of which apparently confuses Don West. He seems to think Harris is trying to take his foot OFF as if it were detachable! Harris can’t get it off however, (the shin wrap, not his entire foot) and scratches that idea. This goes on for a minute or two until Sabin fights out of the AMW corner and tries to leap for a tag to Sonjay, but Harris nails him from behind and then tags in Storm. Storm connects with a knee drop from the middle rope. He slaps on a chinlock so that Sabin can fix his knee pad. I know what you’re thinking. Reverse chinlock after five minutes of working on the ankle? Well, he’s GOTTA fix his knee pad. Sabin elbows out of it, but doesn’t get far as Storm drops him down with that Carlito-esque double leg fallaway backbreaker move that I haven’t found a name for yet. That gets two. Storm tags in Harris and they go back to work on the leg. Ref Rudy Charles keeps Harris back so that he can check to see if Sabin wants to continue as he’s not really fighting back. BUT WAIT! Sabin was suckering Harris in and he fights up out of the corner and tries to make the tag. Tag to Storm and he decks Sabin from behind with just about a foot to go! Sabin misses with the enziquri, but connects with a mule kick. Tag to Harris, and now the fairly hot tag to Sonjay! He goes crazy on AMW, including a nice rana and basement dropkick on Storm for two. Harris misses a charge in the corner and sends AMW down with a springboard double dropkick. He follows that up with a quebrada, taking both men to the mat. They finally damper Sonjay’s momentum and try for a Hart Attack, but Sabin is right there to break it up with a missile dropkick. Sonjay delivers a DRAGON DDT on Storm for a near-fall. Sonjay springboards back onto Harris, but he gets caught for a CATATONIC! Sonjay slips out of it in mid-move and looks to be going for a crucifix, but Sonjay had momentum and they end up falling to the mat. They try and improvise with a cradle for two. Harris tackles Sonjay back into the corner. Storm slides a chair in the ring that the ref doesn’t see even though he nearly TRIPS over it. Harris grabs it while Storm distracts the ref, Rudy Charles. Sonjay knocks the chair away from him with a dropkick to the knee. Sabin comes in out of nowhere and hits a tornado DDT while kicking Storm off the apron in the process ON the chair! Sabin tosses the chair out of the ring and while Sonjay hits a standing SSP! He covers, but it only gets two! Sabin and Storm go out to the floor. Storm lifts up the security railing high enough to slam it on Sabin’s hurt ankle! Sonjay misses the HINDU PRESS on Harris, but then runs into a SUPERKICK from Storm! DEATH SENTENCE on Sonjay wins it for AMW. (10:44) Post-match, AMW handcuff Sonjay to the ropes and Sabin makes the save before anything can really go down. AMW/XXX this was not. It was decent, but passable. **½

We go to the back with Borash who is standing by with JJ & Gail Kim. Monty interrupts his interview which pisses off Jarrett. I guess Monty isn’t a fan of Jeff’s 1999 WWF stuff, because he would know not to PISS him off. The shirt told you not to do it! Jarrett’s sick of his crap and gives him a title shot after he beats Christian to shut him up. They shake on the promise.

– Abyss (w/James Mitchell) vs. Rhino – Falls Count Anywhere

Rhino runs to the ring and goes right at Abyss! They trade blows in the ring for a bit and then they go to the floor. They fight over the railing and into the crowd where Abyss tosses Rhino into a wall. Tenay COMPLETELY oversells it by saying he felt the building shake while being on the OTHER SIDE of the ring! They head back to ringside where Abyss eats the steel steps and rolls back in the ring. Meanwhile, Rhino reaches underneath the ring and grabs a trashcan full of toys, including a huge trophy! Rhino turns his back on Abyss getting back in the ring and that allows Abyss to nail him from behind. Rhino eats a boot off a charge in the corner, but then he’s still able to grab a kendo stick and lays into Abyss with it. Abyss blocks a trash can shot and then DECKS Rhino in the head with it. He is SO busted open! Abyss tosses the can out of the ring and grabs the kendo stick. He beats him with that for a two count. Abyss now grabs a paint pan, but that Rhino kicks him in the gut. He takes the paint pan and knocks him with it ‘til he falls down. Rhino takes the trophy and sets it between Abyss’s legs. He grabs the baseball bat and then proceeds to NAIL the trophy! YOU’RE BUSTIN’ HIS BALLS, RHINO! Abyss shakes in pain and agony. To the floor they go where Abyss blocks a suplex on the ramp and delivers one of his own. Abyss goes over to the floor beside the ramp way and sets up not one table, not two tables, not even three table! He sets up FOUR tables ala TLC 1. When I say that, I mean Abyss sets up two tables and then sets up two tables on top of them. Meanwhile, Rhino is crawling around on the side of the ramp. Once Abyss is done with that, he goes over and tries to POWERBOMB RHINO THROUGH the tables! Rhino is all, “No way man! I’m not taking THIS bump!” and fights back. He runs Abyss’ head into the stage wall. Rhino sets up like he’s going to GORE Abyss through the tunnel, but Abyss counters that with a big boot. Now they’re going to the backstage parking area! Man, TNA is SO popular, they’ve got people who want to stay outside just to be near them! Almost like the biggest, coolest club in town or something. These must be the people that one day hope that they are cool (or uncool) enough can get in. They brawl back there for a bit and even try to bust someone’s car door window with a baseball bat, but they can’t break the glass! Rhino is like, “Here, give me a try.” But it won’t break! They F that and go back to ringside. But before they do that, Rhino gets sent into a STEEL TRASH CAN! They brawl around ringside until Rhino pulls out a table and slides it in the ring. He positions the table in the corner while Mitchell hands Abyss a STAPLE GUN! Rhino reaches out to bring Abyss back in and gets a staple STUCK in his head! Not once, but twice! Abyss grabs another table and sticks it in the ring. He sets it up in the middle of the ring while Mitchell tells him to finish Rhino off. Mitchell looks like a lady who comes in my DVD rental shop, minus the goatee and cane. Abyss can’t finish him if Rhino pulls out a belly-to-belly suplex off the ropes, which he does! Rhino sets up for the GORE through the corner table, but Abyss counters it with a GOOZLE! CHOKESLAM THROUGH THE TABLE! Abyss covers, but only gets two! Mitchell puts plan B into motion and grabs the BIG BAG OF THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of THUMBTACKS! Why are thumbtacks a PPV must-have every time? Abyss raises them in the air and then turns around into a GORE GORE GORE through the corner table! COVER, 1,2, NO! “THIS IS AWESOME” chant goes up and I haven’t seen a chop one! Rhino sets for ANOTHER GORE, but Mitchell is there to hook his ankle to distract him. Rhino goes out after Mitchell, but Abyss is right there to cut Rhino off. They brawl up past the announce booth and up the stairs into the stands! Abyss tries to RAM Rhino THROUGH into a security wall. The wall gives a little, but it doesn’t break. Abyss ends up having to BREAK the wall with his bare hands, even though the wall looks like cardboard. He tears it completely off while totally turning his back on Rhino. Abyss nails Rhino with part of the wall and then attempts to CHOKESLAM RHINO THROUGH the stack of tables he set up earlier! Rhino KICKS ABYSS IN THE BALLS, and then sets up for the GORE! YES! GORE GORE GORE FROM THE STANDS TO THE FLOOR THROUGH THE FOUR TABLES! Rhino climbs down and covers for the win. (15:23) Yeah I know it was more like a shoulderblock than a Gore, but who really cares? Post-match, Rhino comes back down to the ring to celebrate as the crowd chants “Rhino” EXTREMELY loud! Could he get another title shot? Guess we’ll see. *** ½

– TNA X-Division Champion Samoa F’N Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

Joe’s got two towels. One towel used as a reminder, the other for AJ. Joe grabs a headlock on AJ and kicks Daniels down. AJ shoves Joe off and sends him into Daniels. AJ pops Joe and Daniels comes up from behind and sends AJ into the ropes for a nice dropkick. Joe goes over to Daniels and delivers his snapmare/back chop/front kick/knee drop combo. That’ll have to do until I can come up with something better to call it. AJ slams Joe and follows up with his own jumping knee drop. Daniels and AJ run the ropes for a bit with Joe in the middle. AJ delivers moonsault dropkicks to both men. Backbreaker to Daniels by AJ sends him rolling out to the floor, leaving AJ and Joe. Joe doesn’t budge for AJ’s suplex, and plants AJ with a sick front suplex! Joe delivers a STIFF kick in the corner and then takes AJ into the far side corner. Daniels shoots back onto the apron and saves AJ from Joe charging at him. We see a flashback from the Unbreakable PPV back in September as AJ gets monkey-flipped onto Joe, but this time AJ can’t head scissor him over because Joe holds tough and drops down into a Boston crab! Daniels breaks that up very quickly. Daniels sends Joe into the ropes and knees him out to the floor. Daniels looked to be going for some kind of dive out onto Joe, but AJ nails Daniels before he can even spring off the ropes. AJ tries a pescado out onto Joe, but he catches himself onto the apron as Joe walks away. AJ nails him with a kick and tries a springboard move, but Daniels decks him off the apron with a forearm to the face. Now Daniels is able to do what he had intended before and springs off the ropes for a suicide dive, but Joe is right there to pop him through the ropes with a palm strike to the head. AJ sends Joe into the railing and goes back into the ring for Daniels. AJ connects with a brainbuster and then applies a Muta lock! Joe comes in and puts a stop to that and locks AJ in the STF. Daniels puts Joe in the Koji clutch with AJ still in the STF! OUCH! Once that’s broken up, Daniels slams AJ and follows up with a slingshot elbow drop from the apron. That gets two. Joe avoids a charging Daniels in the corner and then shortens Daniels’ lifespan with some chops. He whips Daniels into the far side corner and charges in with a KNEE to the face! Now it’s running face wash time for Daniels. You can tell Joe is feeling it tonight. Daniels rolls out to the floor. AJ reverses a whip into the corner and then runs into an STO slam. Daniels is now on the apron. Joe goes after him and gets caught with a pair of shoulderblocks. Daniels tries to suplex Joe out to the floor from the apron, but Joe stops it and smacks Daniels across the head for being so stupid. AJ comes off the ropes and then KILLS Daniels with a HIGHLIGHT REEL plancha if I ever saw one! On the floor, they trade blows. Meanwhile, Joe comes off the ropes and nails them both with a SUICIDE DIVE! Joe stands back up and smirks at both men. Joe rules. He tosses AJ and Daniels back in the ring. Joe stands on the apron, which allows AJ to sweep his legs and then for Daniels to deliver a running kick that sends Joe to the floor. AJ tries to get a few quick rollups on Daniels. Joe gets back in and pops Daniels in the back. He tries a back suplex, but Daniels blocks it. AJ comes off the ropes and assists Joe by giving Daniels a discus clothesline, nearly breaking Daniels’ neck with the impact of the move. Joe kills AJ with a running leg lariat and then covers Daniels for two! Joe can’t believe it. Joe delivers an inverted atomic drop and then levels Daniels with a running boot to the face. He follows up with the senton back splash and covers for two. Daniels fights back for a second and then gets snapped over in the powerslam. When the pinfall attempt only gets two, Joe slaps on a cross armbreaker! He gets the ropes fairly quickly. Joe goes over and kicks AJ in the corner just to let him know that he knows he’s there. Joe comes at Daniels in the corner with more stiff chops. He sets Daniels up for the MUSCLE BUSTER, but AJ is there to break it up. Enziquri by AJ puts Joe down. Daniels comes at AJ with a series of forearms and then he goes for a flatliner. Joe comes off the ropes and assists Daniels with a kick to AJ’s back to add more impact with the move. Daniels goes for the Koji clutch, but Joe breaks it up immediately. “Joe” chants go up. Joe chops Daniels around, but Daniels comes back with a release German suplex. Daniels sets up for the BEST MOONSAULT EVER. He connects with it, but only gets two! Daniels calls for the ANGEL’S WINGS on Joe! There’s no way he can pull it off. AJ uses Joe as a step stool and leaps over Daniels back to go for the STYLES CLASH out of the sunset flip position. Daniels kicks him off, but AJ relentlessly tries it again. Daniels gets a wide vertical base and stops it from happening momentarily. Daniels flips out of it and then knocks AJ silly with a forearm. He then turns around into a clothesline for two. Joe sets up AJ for the MUSCLE BUSTER, but AJ slips out of it and runs at Daniels with a clothesline. He nails Joe with the pele! Pumphandle gutbuster to Daniels gets two. It’s TORTURE RACK TIME! He follows that up with a modified powerbomb and gets two as Joe breaks up the pin. Joe whips AJ into the ropes, but he comes back with an Asai DDT that gets two. “AJ” chants go up now. Daniels knocks AJ off of Joe from the STYLES CLASH position, but then gets whipped into the corner. AJ follows in with a clothesline. AJ runs at Joe and gets backdropped out to the apron. Joe runs into Daniels in the fireman’s carry position. AJ hits a springboard strike into Joe, and then Daniels drops down for the DVD! Daniels covers, but AJ breaks it up. AJ covers, but Daniels stops that. Daniels gets dumped and then AJ goes up top. Daniels tries to stop AJ from coming off the top, so Joe kicks it out to the floor. With AJ still resting on the top, Joe nails him with a palm strike and then delivers a MUSCLE BUSTER for the pin to retain the title! (16:07) Well, we already knew Joe could beat AJ. So we’re left with Daniels telling Joe that it’s not over. I REALLY like this feud. Now was it better than the Unbreakable match? This had a better finish I believe, but they both rule your face off. So my answer to was it better is who cares. ****½

– Team Canada (w/Coach Scott D’Amore) vs. Team 3D

Team 3D come out through the heel tunnel and blindside the Canadians. They toss them out to the floor and beat them up good around ringside. Devon has his head all wrapped up because he got busted open on the previous night’ iMPACT! Roode gets backdropped on the ramp by Ray. Yeah, the Dudleys are DEFINITELY here to hurt some people. Roode and Ray go back in the ring as things settle down. “USA” chants go up. Ray is all over Roode here, not allowing any offense from Roode. Ray delivers a release German suplex, and then tosses in Young who was up on the top buckle. Ray tags in Devon and they give Young a side-slam/leg drop combo for a two. “We want tables” chants start up. I guess they didn’t have enough of them in the Abyss/Rhino match. Devon hits his twisting back elbow on Young and then gives Roode a clothesline on his way in to break up the pin attempt. Devon kills Young with a follow-in clothesline in the corner as THAT BIG LOAD gets up on the apron. Devon grabs him and acts like he’s going to nail him, but Young saves him before he can make contact. Devon gets dumped when Roode pulls the rope down off a whip. D’Amore comes over and takes Devon’s bandage off his head and sends him face-first into the steel steps. Devon is busted open again. Young goes out and sends Devon back into the ring. Tag to Roode and he chokes Devon in the ropes while D’Amore wipes Devon’s bloody forehead on Team 3D’s TNA Tag Team of the Year plaque. Team Canada delivers a double suplex for a near-fall. Roode goes to a chinlock now. Devon fights out and gets a quick schoolboy for two. Roode levels him with a clothesline and tags in Young. Young chokes Devon in the ropes and then applies a camel clutch. Roode comes in and delivers a middle-rope knee drop. Young follows up with a flying elbow drop for two. Roode tags in and taunts Ray. Roode works another rear chinlock, but this time he sits on Devon’s back. Devon starts to fight up, so Roode jumps and falls with all his weight on Devon’s back. Tag to Young, and he goes back to the camel clutch. Devon tries to fight out of this the same way he fought out of Roode’s hold. Young jumps, but Devon turns around and punches him in the balls. Roode goes in to prevent the hot tag, but ends up taking an enziquri. Devon makes the hot tag! Ray goes up top and hits a crossbody on both Roode and Young! Ray goes nuts on the Canucks. Side slam for Young gets two. Roode makes the save and then they give Ray a double flapjack. That gets two, and Young can’t believe it. Roode comes in and gets his whip reversed into Young who was up on the top turnbuckle. Release German suplex for Roode, followed by a superplex for Young. Ray covers, but Roode breaks up the pin. D’Amore has the ref distracted while Roode has the hockey stick in the ring. He swings at Ray, but Ray ducks. Roode low-blows out of the Bubba Bomb and then whacks Ray in the back with the hockey stick. Young covers for two. Young goes up and tries a moonsault, but there’s nobody home. Ray ducks a Roode clothesline that nails Young. Roode gets tossed and Young takes 3D because it’s time to go to the showers! (13:12) This was pretty good, even if it was just your basic tag formula. Post-match, AMW attack Team 3D. They put a table up in the ring. Devon is laid on the table as Harris goes up top. Ron Killings comes down and makes the save for Team 3D! Ray grabs Young before he can get out of the ring. He gets laid on the table so Killings goes up top and comes off with a leg drop THROUGH THE TABLE! SWEET! ***

Borash stands alongside Christian Cage before the big main event. The crowd chants his name before he can speak. He asks everyone how they’re doing because he’s REALLY nervous. His 12-year culmination comes to a head tonight. He’s dreamt about this moment since he first watched a wrestling show. He says because Zbyszko promised that there would be no interference in tonight’s match, that once the match is over there will be no excuses for losing. Did he make a mistake leaving WWE to come to TNA? Christian ~ “Tonight we will see, tonight I come in the challenger and I will leave as the new NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! Because that’s how I roll.”

– NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett (w/Gail Kim) vs. Christian Cage – Special Ref: Earl Hebner

It’s SO weird seeing Earl in a TNA ring. I hear some “Please retire” chants and I think they’re directed at Earl. It could be directed at Jarrett, you know. Tenay puts over Jarrett as being a true World’s champion by actually defending the belt all over the world. They talk some smack to each to start and then lock up. Christian goes to a headlock and then gets shoved off into the ropes. He comes back with a shoulder block and takes Jarrett down for a one count. He takes him down again for one. Christian goes for the UNPRETTIER, but Jarrett avoids it at all costs. “CHRISTIAN” chant. Now Jarrett goes to a headlock and gets shoved off into the ropes. He ducks a clothesline and takes Christian down with a drop toe hold. He walks across Christian and then paint brushes him in the back of the head. He talks some more smack and then literally SMACKS Christian across the mouth. Christian comes at Jarrett with a double-leg takedown and goes crazy on Jarrett’s face with rights. Whip reversal by Jarrett into the corner. Christian catches himself and leaps onto the middle turnbuckle. Christian fakes a dive and then jumps over Jarrett for a sunset flip for two. They both attempt a suplex out to the floor, but they both land on the apron. They fight there for a bit until Christian drops Jarrett with a reverse DDT on the apron! We get a quick shot of Christian’s wife, Denise. Christian goes back in and climbs up top and leaps out onto Jarrett, but then lands chest-first into the steel guard rail. Jarrett lifts Christian in the catapult position and then slings him into the rail. Jarrett takes Christian over to the announce table. Christian gets catapulted onto the table and then they go back into the ring. Jarrett hits a nice dropkick for two. Jarrett delivers what appears to be a sit-down Protobomb on Christian for two. Jarrett stays in control with a chinlock as the crowd cheers on Christian. That brings Christian to his feet to elbow out. Jarrett comes back with a hot shot. He then chokes on Christian in the middle rope. Hebner gets to five and has to pull Jarrett off of him. Jarrett shoves him, so Hebner shoves him back to show he’s not intimidated. Jarrett really is the Triple H of TNA! Bossman straddle to Christian is followed up with an uppercut from the outside. Hebner ~ “KNAUCK IT AUFF!” Meanwhile, Gail goes up top and drops Christian with a ‘rana. Is she Lita now? Jarrett goes over and covers Christian, but it only gets two. Jarrett punishes Christian in the corner and tells him to give up. They go through a sleeper reversal sequence, but it ends with Jarrett shoving Christian into the ropes. Jarrett goes for a RANA, but Christian blocks it with a powerbomb. Christian locks on the Figure-Four! We get a “TAP” chant! Gail helps pull Jarrett near the ropes without Earl seeing it. Jarrett nails an enziquri and he puts on a Scorpion Deathlock. Christian screams for Earl not to ring the bell. I’m with Shawn Michaels on this issue. Why can’t they just 1997 go? Christian touches the bottom rope, but Jarrett pulls him back to the center of the ring. Christian finally powers out of it and then tries to apply the same hold, but Jarrett kicks him off into the corner. Christian does the Sting dazed body dive to the groin. Both men up at eight, Christian comes at Jarrett with rights and then an inverted atomic drop. Jarrett reverses a whip into the corner, but then eats an elbow off a charge. Tornado DDT by Christian gets a two. Jarrett slides under Christian off an irish whip and nails Hebner in the ankle. Christian slams Jarrett and goes up top, but Gail is there to interfere and grab hold of Christian’s leg. “FIRE GAIL” chants start. Jarrett takes Christian to the mat with a SUPER STROKE! Jarrett covers, but it takes Hebner to get in position to count. Once he’s there, it’s too late because he only gets to two before Christian gets a shoulder up. Christian begs Jarrett to keep punching him, so Jarrett obliges. Earl gets in the way of another whip and he’s down. Nevertheless, Christian gets the UNPRETTIER on Jarrett! Earl is still down, so Mark “Slick” Johnson comes down and counts, but it just gets two. Christian tries for the STROKE on Jarrett, but he blocks it with a low blow. Johnson saw what Christian did and as he goes to signal for the bell, Jarrett kicks HIM in the balls! HAHA. See ya later, Slick! Gail tosses a chair in for Jarrett. Christian kicks him in the gut and then comes off the middle turnbuckle with a dropkick into the chair that goes right into Jarrett’s face! Christian covers, but Hebner is still down and Johnson is still on the floor trying to find his balls. Christian covers for at least an eight-count, but then goes on a chase after Gail. He finally grabs a hold of her by the hair in the ring to give her an UNPRETTIER. As he turns around, he gets destroyed by the Jarrett GEETAR! Gail clears the ring off all the broken guitar pieces. Jarrett covers as the crowd sounds like they will riot and stab Jarrett in the heart if this is the end. Hebner is STILL down! He finally crawls over and slowly counts a near-fall! Jarrett grabs Hebner while Gail climbs up top again. He goes for another ‘rana, but this time Christian counters it with a powerbomb. OUCH! Jarrett goes for the UNPRETTIER, but Christian counters with a back suplex. Jarrett flips out of that and goes the STROKE, but Christian counters that in mid-move with the UNPRETTIER for the one…two…three! We’ve got a NEWWWW NWA World Heavyweight Champion! (15:16) Man, we get pyro and explosives to celebrate this one. He goes down and hugs his wife and then they let the crowd AND Rhino to come in the ring and celebrate with him! ***½

Final Thoughts: Here is your first “Best PPV of the Year” candidate. When was the last time you saw a PPV with FIVE ***+ matches? Not just good matches, but good booking as well. The right people went over and they were all for the most part clean finishes. After two not-so-great shows, TNA delivers with an awesome three hours of wrestling. This gets a huge thumbs up from me.