TNA Against All Odds 2010 Review

Match 1: 8 Card Stud Tournament Quarterfinals - Desmond Wolfe vs. D'Angelo Dinero
I feel like I've seen this match about a dozen times. Either way, these two open up a PPV again and are the first contestants for the 8 Card Stud Tournament. Cool concept for the night to find who will challenge for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Lockdown. Poor Desmond Wolfe, he went from taking Kurt Angle to the the limit a couple months ago to losing here to D'Angelo Dinero in the opening match in under ten minutes. The match was fine but nothing special when all things considered as there will be many matches tonight for the tournament. Some nice exchanges per usual from Wolfe who eventually falls to Dinero who hits his D'Angelo Express.
Winner: D'Angelo Dinero
Rating: **1/4

Match 2: 8 Card Stud Tournament Quarterfinals - Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan
The two are the World Tag Team Champions and let it be known before the match that this match will not interfere between their relationship. We'll see about that. I always love when tag team partners have to face each other for whatever reason. Their styles really meshed well together surprisingly. Matt Morgan was able to show off his strength while Hernandez was able to show his off, too. This included holding Morgan for a vertical suplex for over fifteen seconds and a sick dive over the top rope and onto the entrance ramp. However, Morgan was able to capture the win as he grabbed a handful of tights. Hernandez leaves in disgust after. Good stuff here, the pieces were nicely planted for the split and the action was fun despite a couple miscues.
Winner: Matt Morgan
Rating: **1/2

Match 3: 8 Card Stud Tournament Quarterfinals - Ken Anderson vs. Kurt Angle
For those who forgot, 2010 saw a great feud between these two that started at this show. Some fine action here before Ken Anderson scored the advantage over Kurt Angle by picking up Angle's warrior medal and cutting Angle's forehead with it while the referee's back was turned. Blood began to flow out of Angle badly. Angle wasn't able to get back into the match as Anderson and the cut was too much. Anderson is able to use an exposed turnbuckle against Angle and hit a Mic Check for the win. Afterwards, Anderon picks up the warrior medal and places it upon Angle's bloody body before spitting right on it. Wow. That is how you start a feud. That is what heels do to get over. Angle sold everything perfectly and the image of Anderson laying the medal on Angle and spitting on it was something else. Mike Tenay's commentary added an extra layer to it. The match was okay, it was the blood and everything in between that really made things that much more interesting. Little things like that are what push a **3/4 to a *** for me.
Winner: Mr. Anderson
Rating: ***

Match 4: 8 Card Stud Tournament Quarterfinals - No Disqualification - Abyss vs. Mick Foley
Before the match, Eric Bischoff meets with both Abyss and Mick Foley to let them know that any shenanigans in the match would lead to Abyss unmasking. He then hands them a baseball wrapped in barbed wire and tells them that it must be used. This can't be serious. The match was as bad as you could imagine. Didn't they just have this match at Bound for Glory a few months prior to this? They slowly fought each other before they brought out the damn thumbtacks where Abyss hit a Black Hole Slam on Foley onto them before being reluctant about it earlier. Abyss then helped Foley up after the match. This was horrendous and embarrassing on so many levels. Don't even get me started on the Mr. Socko battle they had which saw Foley take the referee's sock. This match has implications for the most coveted prize in the company. Why is this happening? Who paid for this? Why do they constantly have to break out the tacks?
Winner: Abyss
Rating: 1/2*

Match 5: The Nasty Boys vs. Team 3D
I remember cringing when hearing about Hulk Hogan's boys coming to TNA. It all started with the old nWo guys arriving and now, it's The Nasty Boys. The crowd could care less about these guys and you could even hear Taz on commentary cringe at all this as he tried to sell what was happening. I don't even want to talk about this mess of a match. Jimmy Hart appeared out of nowhere where he handed one of The Nasty Boys a helmet. Through a referee distraction, Brian Knobbs hits Brother Ray with it to score the win. That is why this company never got over the hump in 2010. Does anyone care for The Nasty Boys? What about Jimmy Hart? This just made me mad more than anything.
Winners: The Nasty Boys
Rating: 1/2*

Match 6: 8 Card Stud Tournament Semifinals - D'Angelo Dinero vs. Matt Morgan
Crowd definitely seems a bit tired after seeing these guys again, should be pretty interesting to see the third entrance. This match felt more of Matt Morgan dominating the tired Dinero. Morgan was definitely working as a heel here, it just feels right to see him in this role. Morgan lets his guard down once and allows Dinero to hit a D'Angelo Express to pick up the win. I question Morgan losing so fast here but I understand that they didn't want a semifinals match to drag for too long. Decent match here that saw too much of Dinero getting beaten down. At least we didn't get a screwy finish here.
Winner: D'Angelo Dinero
Rating: *3/4

Match 7: 8 Card Stud Tournament Semifinals - Abyss vs. Mr. Anderson
Once again, we have ourselves another Genesis rematch as the 8 Card Stud Tournament continues with Abyss trying to score some revenge over Mr. Anderson. This was a smoother match than the last one. They both got in some good offense and the crowd wasn't absolutely crapping all over Anderson. Different match with the same result here. Anderson is able to toy with Abyss' mask to deter his vision. Abyss then accidentally goozles the referee for a Chokeslam before being kicked from behind by Anderson who delivers a Mic Check to seal the win. TNA looks to be big behind Anderson, two big wins for the show.
Winner: Mr. Anderson
Rating: **1/4

Match 8: TNA World Heavyweight Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe
Eric Bischoff is the guest referee here for whatever reason as Ric Flair accompanies AJ Styles for the contest. We've seen this match a bazillion times but it never seems to fail. Great chemistry from the two veterans who know how to balance the offense and make things believable throughout. The main gripe I had was how so much of the focus was placed upon both Flair and Bischoff. I get they play distinct roles in the match but the main focus should have been placed on the match for the company's top prize. Flair pulled Bischoff out of the ring after Samoa Joe hit a Muscle Buster on Styles that cost him the win. Joe let his guard down to tell Bischoff what he thought and ran into a kick along with a Styles Clash to lose the match as Bischoff reluctantly counted to three. Great for what it was worth but would have much preferred to see this go on longer and a little less distractions from ringside. Styles still gets another big win under his belt.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ***1/2

Match 9: 8 Card Stud Tournament Finals - D'Angelo Dinero vs. Mr. Anderson
Before the match, D'Angelo Dinero is ambushed by The Band as they call out Hulk Hogan. It looked so stupid. Either way, Dinero is feeling the effects of the attack as he slowly made his way to the ring before Mr. Anderson looked to take advantage of it. However, Dinero turns the tides and manages to put up a fight. Anderson's onslaught looks to be too much and tries to finish the match as he cuts a mini promo before nailing a Mic Check. Dinero kicks out of the count and hits a third D'Angelo Dinero Express of the night to win the match and the tournament! Predictable finish but sometimes, the predictable finish is the best finish. Anderson has easily become one of the company's top heels and is seizing the opportunity. I liked the underdog story here for Dinero to "overcome the odds" despite being on the brink of elimination. They needed a different story from the other matches in the tournament and this worked fine. But they still need to cut off this shit with The Band, a Matt Morgan ambush would have worked better and made more sense.
Winner: D'Angelo Dinero
Rating: **3/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Despite a couple disastrous matches on the card, this was still a better effort than Genesis. None of the matches were amazing but they all served its purpose and helped guide new feuds. The 8 Card Stud Tournament flowed nicely and outside of the Abyss vs. Mick Foley match, the matches were good and nothing seemed to drag. Despite that, the company desperately needed a step in a new direction. Probably the exact opposite of the one Hulk Hogan points to.
Rating: 6/10