LuckyLopez
Reeks of WCW 
Posts 11395
Registered 2-13-2003 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 2-12-2010 at 06:53 AM |
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TNA Against All Odds 2010 (February 14, 2010)
Happy Valentine's Day! If you're watching the PPV tonight I can only assume you're blessed enough to have a lady who shares your
less popular passions, you already romanced her into a happy enough state to let you get away for a few hours, or you're a lonely loser like
SOME people that totally aren't me. Whatever you are, if your Valentine's Day looks to be a Wrestling Day then here's what TNA has
in store to take the place of the love of a good woman.
Its Against All Odds, the second PPV of the Hogan Era and the first one that had some time to be properly built up. Most of that build up has been
spent on a special one night tournament that will decide who will get a World Title shot at April's Lockdown PPV. We're apparently on
"The Road to Lockdown" now, one of the more tangible changes of the new Era and for at least one night that results in a very clear focus.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
AJ Styles (c) vs Samoa Joe
Special Referee: Eric Bischoff
AJ Styles has been the TNA World Heavyweight Champion for 5 months but it was at last month's Genesis where his run took a turn as he allied
with Ric Flair to screw Kurt Angle out of the title. Since then Flair has taken AJ under his wing and is trying to groom him into the complete World
Champion, in and out of the ring, that Flair was. That means fancy suits, pretty women, and lots of arrogance but that was disrupted when
D'Angelo Dinero picked up a surprise upset on the champ in a non-title match. As Flair and AJ took their revenge on the unlucky winner Samoa
Joe surprisingly arrived to save the day. Joe, having been conspicuously absent from much of TNA since January 4th, was angry at AJ's new ways
and revealed that he would by AJ's challenger at Against All Odds, \ able to do this thanks to an open ended World Title Shot he won at Feast
or Fired in December which works like Money in the Bank. The next week AJ pointed out the hypocrisy of Joe being angry at AJ allying with Flair for
money and women when Joe has turned many times including just last year when he turned on AJ and the Frontline to join the Main Event Mafia. Joe
responded with "I know my transgressions... and that's my cross to bear" and countered AJ's history lesson with some of his own,
pointing out that AJ has made a career of kissing the ass of every new big wig that arrived in TNA. This too was a pretty accurate claim as AJ has a
history of subjugating himself to mentors such as Jerry Lynn, Vince Russo, Christian Cage, Kurt Angle, and Sting. All of this strange continuity made
for some intense and compelling promos and angered both parties, leading us to here. As the final piece of the puzzle Eric Bischoff decided to make
himself the special referee for the match, claiming to do so to keep Flair and AJ on the straight and narrow but with Bischoff who knows? A match
that should be great with a strong build, it might well end up being a filler match as we head to Lockdown, but at least it should be a good one.
8 Card Stud Tournament
Hey! There's 8 Kings in that deck!
What we have here is pretty familiar. In an effort to make Lockdown a bigger deal the Hogan Era of TNA has brought us "The Road to Lockdown." Much
like the Royal Rumble is the first step two months before Wrestlemania to set the World Title challenger (or one of them), TNA is holding a tournament
to find their Lockdown challenger. Next month's Destination X is heavily rumored to be an all X Division PPV so this might well be the next
challenger after Joe gets his shot on the same card. Six of the eight men won qualifying matches over the last few weeks to earn their spots while
the last two spots were filled by Eric Bischoff for storyline purposes. Lots of interesting matchups and to the surprise of many naysayers, only one
"Hogan Guy" new to TNA since January 4th. Also notable is that the tournament includes 3 former World Champs, 2 men who were in the title picture
in late 2009, 1 man who has pinned Angle and Joe recently, 1 who has pinned AJ Styles, and a recent big name acquisition. So we have 8 legitimate
contenders and a pretty open field where you could see most anyone advancing and not need much rationalization for it. So lets look at the bracket
and the first round matchups.
Desmond Wolfe vs "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero
TNA's two most recent pre-Hogan Era acquisitions match up for the second straight PPV. Wolfe (ROH's Nigel McGuinness) qualified for the
tournament by pinning Sean Morley (WWE's Val Venis) while Dinero (WWE's Elijah Burke) knocked off Orlando Jordan this Thursday, making up
for a loss earlier in the month. As I said, this won't be the first time Wolfe and Dinero have locked up as the two met on January 4th with
Dinero picking up a surprising upset victory, a win Wolfe got back at Genesis. Both guys have looked good before and after Hogan's arrival with
Dinero getting a push that includes upsets over Wolfe and World Champion AJ Styles, while Wolfe has gotten a new look, valet, and a little win streak.
So which one comes out the winner in this rubber match is a toss up.
Hernandez vs Matt Morgan
What we have here are the World Tag Team Champions facing off. Morgan and Hernandez won the titles by defeating the British Invasion at Genesis, and
have since defended the belts successfully against the Invasion and Team 3D. But prior to tagging both men had singles ambitions and were close to
the World title, a pursuit both men return to as Hernandez qualified for the tournament by defeating Christopher Daniels while Morgan pinned Suicide
this past week to join his partner. And go figure, the two partners lock up in the first round. With no real animosity between these two men the
match should be a straight forward match between two of wrestling's more athletic and powerful big men today but there's always the chance
for a "tag champs don't get along story." Both men flirted with the main event and got World Title shots in 2009 so either man could make the
jump.
Mr. Anderson vs Kurt Angle
WWE's Mr. Kennedy arrived in TNA at last month's Genesis and has quickly picked up wins over Abyss and Jeff Jarret, also knocking off
Brutus Magnus to qualify for this tournament. Angle's had a more rocky road since the Main Event Mafia broke up, first warring with Desmond
Wolfe and then being betrayed by AJ Styles and screwed out of a fair shot at the World Title multiple times by Ric Flair (and Earl Hebner). Angle now
looks to get another shot at the gold and the first step was beating Tomko to qualify for the tournament. Angle had his problems with Anderson this
past Thursday as Anderson stole a tag victory from him, but Angle's bigger concerns of late have been Hulk Hogan and The Band (aka the Wolfpac
of Scott Hall and Sean Waltman). Angle had some friction with Hogan when he thought the new TNA head might have been behind the most recent world
title screwjob, but since then they've seemingly mended fences and the problem has been with attacks from the Band. On Thursday they attacked
again but this time Hulk Hogan chose Angle over his old nWo friends and got them off Angle. Add in the fact that Anderson was brought in by Hogan and
Bischoff and is a favored hand, the wildcard of Kevin Nash, who was with the Band but was attacked by them 2 weeks ago, and Eric Young, Nash's
TNA friend who set out to get revenge on the Band this week but wasn't seen again. Lots of potential booking madness and also a potentially
strong wrestling matchup should make for an unpredictable first round match.
Abyss vs Mick Foley
The last of our first round matchups and the only one which features two men who did not qualify for the tournament as the story here is about Eric
Bischoff and his power games. Minority owner of TNA Mick Foley was pretty concerned as Hogan and Bischoff arrived in TNA and it became quickly
apparent that Bischoff and Foley couldn't work together given their tumultuous past. Foley seemingly attacked Bischoff weeks back and was fired
for his transgression, but Bischoff quickly changed his mind and seemed to decide that he could punish Foley more by making him stick around. Foley
insists he can't work for Bischoff who has found a way to manipulate Foley by holding the jobs of his friends Abyss and Jeremy Borash in the
balance. In a continuation of these power games Bischoff gave Abyss a spot in the tournament but set up Foley as his opponent, putting the friends in
a tough spot. With Bischoff pulling the strings this might well be the last opportunity either man has to gain some power and job security, but to do
so they'll have to put the other at risk. Its Abyss and Foley so you can more or less know what you'll get between them and odds are this
one will be a story booked match, but it is what it is.
Beyond the first round we have some compelling potential matchups including Wolfe/Angle, Pope/Angle, Morgan/Angle, Wolfe/Morgan, Foley/Angle,
Kennedy/Foley, etc, etc. As I said this is actually a very open feud and while some of the wrestlers seem highly unlikely to win (Foley, Abyss,
Morgan, Hernandez) no one is realistically out of the running or too big of a reach to get a title shot or just a round advancement over their
opponent. It has all the makings of a tournament that could satisfy your wrestling and sports entertainment needs while keeping you guessing.
The Nasty Boys vs Team 3D
The story here is pretty simple and uninspired. On January 4th as the Hogan Era began and many names showed up in TNA the Nasty Boys (literally)
snuck into the Impact Zone and made themselves at home in Team 3D's locker room (who were off in Japan losing the IWGP titles at the annual
multi-fed Tokyo Dome show). When the Dudleyz came back they found their stuff trashed and wanted revenge. Cue a few traded beatdowns and we have a
match. Why is this match happening? Hogan doing a solid for some old friends and giving them some TV time and a PPV paycheck? The Dudleyz adding
another name to the list of teams they've beat as they continue to add to their resume in the twilight of their careers? By some mystery
someone in TNA actually thinking the Nasties bring something to the table? Who knows? Lets just all hope they can have a short and painless match
and then the Nasties go away.
And that's our show. No Knockouts on the card this month, which is a shame, but with one half of the Tag Champions Awesome Kong in contract
disputes and the tournament on the card that's not to alarming. And right now the primary story in the women's division is the Beautiful
People vs the uncertain alliance between Tara and Angelina Love, a story that might well serve more purpose playing out in a non-wrestling capacity as
a breather between tournament matches.
Shockingly no Global Title match, but this will be the first show the new champion Rob Terry will be able to appear on since winning the belt on the
UK tour so he might make a surprise appearance. No Tag Title match obviously, since the champs are in the tournament. And no X Division action as
the new champion Doug Williams will seemingly have the night off. But again, no alarm should be had as rumor is that next month's Destination X
will be an all X Division PPV.
All in all with 7 tournament matches (barring a bye) we've got a full card even if it doesn't look that way at first glance. So while
much of the roster will sit this one out the show shouldn't suffer for it.
[Edited on 2-12-2010 by LuckyLopez]
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Gobshite
Man of a Thousand Holds  
Posts 1906
Registered 1-30-2004 Location Right here, in Birmingham, England!! Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 2-12-2010 at 09:13 AM |
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Did you remember to pop Rick a line about this, so he can link it? I really enjoy reading these, they're well presented and arent too long.
Cheers for this dude.
I'll also go ahead and pick Foley as the winner here, much to Bischoff's dismay - and Joe to win the title, giving us Joe/Foley at
Lockdown. I'd like to see that.
Updated to add: scratch that. AJ retains in screwy fashion here, leading to AJ/JOE ultimate X next month. We still get Joe/Foley in April.
(Edited to add picks)
[Edited on 2-12-2010 by Gobshite]
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theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1353
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
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| posted on 2-12-2010 at 06:32 PM |
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I can't believe they put this show on Valentine's Day.
Also, I hope they change the name of the tourney and institute it every year.
One great thing about TNA (and I see this without seeing last night's IMPACT or knowing the brackets) is that their roster is deep enough that
they can have an 8 man tourney where the finish of the tourney and the individual matches are in doubt. Heck, I wasn't even sure who would win
some of the qualifying matches. That's something that could rarely be said of the KOTR where most of the matches and the winner seemed to be
foregone conclusions..
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ncrspy
ButtViper
Posts 6
Registered 1-17-2006 Location Los Angeles Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 2-12-2010 at 06:43 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by theflammablemanimal
One great thing about TNA (and I see this without seeing last night's IMPACT or knowing the brackets) is that their roster is deep enough that
they can have an 8 man tourney where the finish of the tourney and the individual matches are in doubt. That's something that could rarely be
said of the KOTR where most of the matches and the winner seemed to be foregone conclusions..
Surely you aren't implying that the WWE doesn't have enough top level talent to do a tourney (KOTR) without a foregone winner?
I would be willing to say that even with the brand split and 2 Elimination Chamber matches, the outcomes of those matches are still up in the air
(except for Rhodes and R-Truth, all of the guys could potentially walk out with the title).
[Edited on 2-12-2010 by ncrspy]
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theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1353
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
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| posted on 2-12-2010 at 06:46 PM |
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I'm confused. Thanks for reposting my post with a minor edit?
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MayhemNX
And I am AWESOME 
Posts 159
Registered 11-18-2006 Location Web City Member Is Offline Mood: Optimal
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| posted on 2-12-2010 at 07:50 PM |
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I'm going to pick Pope as the winner. Seems like an Ultimate X between him and AJ for the world title could seriously steal the show at
Destination X
Quantum Fetish Mechanics: The act of thinking up a new type of fetish causes that fetish to exist. Someone probably has a website dedicated to it.
Schrodinger's cat is not only neither dead nor alive, but might also be sexually aroused by peanut butter and elbows.
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LuckyLopez
Reeks of WCW
Posts 11395
Registered 2-13-2003 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 2-12-2010 at 08:08 PM |
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The tournament winner goes on to get a title shot at Lockdown, not Destination X.
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MayhemNX
And I am AWESOME
Posts 159
Registered 11-18-2006 Location Web City Member Is Offline Mood: Optimal
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| posted on 2-12-2010 at 08:17 PM |
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Well shucks on that than. A cage match between Pope and AJ would be equally awesome.
Quantum Fetish Mechanics: The act of thinking up a new type of fetish causes that fetish to exist. Someone probably has a website dedicated to it.
Schrodinger's cat is not only neither dead nor alive, but might also be sexually aroused by peanut butter and elbows.
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nilesanderson
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1506
Registered 5-2-2003 Location Halifax, Nova Scotia Member Is Offline Mood: Superior
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| posted on 2-13-2010 at 01:45 PM |
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I'm predicting at least one of the first round matches is going to end with a time limit draw. My money goes on Hernandez/Morgan going down that
route but Foley/Abyss could be a dark horse contender there. Just looking at this tournament, I get a real King of the Ring 93 vibe from it, but maybe
that's because I just watched that PPV (fucking awesome PPV too) in the last month. But with Angle kinda going down a Bret Hart route,
here's my guess:
Desmond Wolfe goes over Dinero
Hernandez/Morgan: Time limit draw
Wolfe gets an automatic by into the final round.
Angle goes over Anderson
Foley goes over Abyss
Angle goes over Foley
Final round Angle/Wolfe
Team 3D goes over the Nasty Boys
AJ Styles goes over Samoa Joe via screwjob finish. Joe dominates the majority of the match until the end.
*EDIT* Really, I think Dinero/Wolfe could go either way as both Angle/Dinero and Angle/Wolfe could be compelling stories. I just went with Wolfe
because he's the heel and Angle's a face (kinda) and the 2 of them have history. Another possibility if it's Angle/Wolfe: Wolfe wins
and Angle's story for the next little while is him always coming up just short of getting a title shot and getting frustrated. Maybe slowburn
him up to Bound for Glory being where he finally gets his shot. But that's 8 months away so who knows?
[Edited on 2-13-2010 by nilesanderson]
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theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1353
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
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| posted on 2-14-2010 at 02:43 AM |
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I've gotta say, I don't understand the logic of inserting Bischoff into the main event. How does that make it better or more intriguing?
It seems more like it 100% guarantees a screwy finish.
I'd be surprised if Wolfe won since a heel/heel PPV main event is pretty unusual. I also don't want to see him lose to Angle again.
However, I could see him and Angle going to a time limit draw and having a triple threat at Lockdown.
However, with Angle's involvement with the Band, I think it's more likely he gets screwed out of his first match and Anderson gets past
him and then Foley/Abyss to face either Morgan or Dinero. Morgan would be an interesting winner as he has some decent history/matches with AJ.
And, like I said before, that's the great thing about this tourney. There's only 2 guys (Foley/Abyss) out of 8 that I am sure will not
make the finals. (Ok, I'm pretty sure Hernandez isn't making it either)
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the goon
The Rowdy One 
Posts 2703
Registered 3-13-2004 Location Charlotte, NC Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 2-14-2010 at 04:44 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by theflammablemanimal
I've gotta say, I don't understand the logic of inserting Bischoff into the main event.
I agree, I think he's kind of an unneeded distraction (though I guess it does add a little more "what's gonna happen?" intrigue to the
match, but still feels a little too overbooked).
And barring any screwy shenanigans, if AJ retains I predict either Pope or Morgan win and if Joe gets the title, I predict Anderson.
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theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1353
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
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| posted on 2-14-2010 at 06:19 AM |
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If Joe wins, I'd rather see Wolfe.
I wonder if they'll end with the tourney or the championship? It's too bad because it seems like one will make the other a foregone
conclusion, unless AJ wins and then the tourney finals or Pope/Angle or Morgan/Angle.
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LuckyLopez
Reeks of WCW
Posts 11395
Registered 2-13-2003 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 2-14-2010 at 07:19 AM |
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AJ's title matches have main evented every PPV over big Angle main event-type matches so I wouldn't worry here. The only issue would be
pacing the tournament matches as it seems like the show needs one more match if you figure you run the 1st round as the first 4 matches of the card,
throw in the Nastys/Dudleyz match, run the 2nd round... then you have to do the finals right away making someone wrestle literally two matches in a
row. Although it could be the place for a non-wrestling segment with Hogan and the Band or the Beautiful People.
Or, you can run the finals right away if its part of a story of someone being really pushed to the limits. If Foley were to advance to the finals it
would make sense for Bischoff to force him to wrestle with no break, but I don't think any of us want to see Foley in the finals. If
Hernandez/Morgan were to go to a draw giving a victorious Wolfe a bye it could stack the odds further by having Angle knock off Abyss/Foley only to
have to go right into a match with Wolfe who didn't even have to wrestle a 2nd match.
I don't know why Bischoff is there except to provide a screwy ending. Which I'm personally ok with because I've been assuming a
screwy ending for weeks. I still think we're headed to a 3 or 4 way match at Lockdown including Joe and the tournament winner (and perhaps the
tournament co-winner/2nd place finisher).
Plus it keeps AJ involved with Bischoff, which I think is kind of a good thing since so many people have been complaining that Hogan and Bischoff are
dominating the stories. If AJ were just off doing his own thing completely unrelated to Bischoff or Hogan I suspect we'd get more Lance Storm
conspiracy theories about how he and the world title were playing second fiddle to Bischoff and Hogan and being left as an after thought. At least
this way its made clear that Bischoff is very concerned with AJ and the World Title, and I think that's kind of a subtle message that is
probably avoiding a lot more complaining by anti-Hogan/Bischoff people.
My prediction remains the same as its been for weeks. I just get the feeling that we get a screwy World Title finish and Joe makes it into a 3 way at
Lockdown. Finals I expect to be Pope/Angle or Wolfe/Angle but I'm leaning towards Wolfe. I like one of Hernandez/Morgan or Foley/Abyss to go
to a draw and Angle to eek it out in the end, or perhaps the Wolfe time limit draw someone else mentioned.
So:
Wolfe over Pope
Angle over Kennedy
Hernandez & Morgan draw
Abyss over Foley
Dudz over Nasties
Wolfe Bye
Angle over Abyss
Angle over Wolfe
AJ retains by screwy means.
But the truth is I have no idea. I can easily see Angle being knocked out early by the Band and head to a Lethal Lockdown match vs them. I can see
Foley making the finals now that I think about it. I can see Pope making the finals. I can see basically anyone but Abyss making the finals and if I
go with the Three way at Lockdown theory I can see anyone winning. So this is also a scenario I can see:
Pope over Wolfe, Kennedy over Angle thanks to the Band, Abyss/Foley draw, Morgan over Hernandez.
Pope over Morgan, Kennedy bye.
Kennedy over Pope or Pope over Kennedy.
I can see a scenario where Morgan or Hernandez win in the same fashion. I can see the thing where Foley goes through Abyss and Kennedy/Angle only for
Bischoff to force an immediate match with Wolfe. I really can see anything happen in this tournament. Which is pretty cool.
Even if I'm right it means a lot of screwy and non-finishes and maybe a dissatisfying show in that regard.
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theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1353
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
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| posted on 2-14-2010 at 08:21 AM |
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You're right about the pacing. I figure they'll throw in a Knockout match. Otherwise, some conspiracy theorists will start screaming about
how the KOs got left off the PPV because Hogan is killing it.
I hope they don't do a draw/bye. That's just so weak to cut out a promised match that way. Now if there was a draw that turned one match
into a triple threat...
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LuckyLopez
Reeks of WCW
Posts 11395
Registered 2-13-2003 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 2-15-2010 at 04:30 AM |
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That was a DAMN good PPV and screw anyone who says different. Good matches top to bottom with mostly clean finishes. A nice tournament with all
clean finishes and no over booking, and a hot main event that blended wrestling with storytelling and made me literally jump out of my seat. It found
a way to mix Hogan and the Band into the show with maybe a grand total of 3 minutes of TV time where they advanced two other stories and matches and
set up the great main event. Lots of young guys went over and the tournament was filled with surprising things.
Nastys/Team 3D was the only thing that sucked, and I just enjoyed that show way too much to really waste any energy worrying about the Nasty
Boys' future in TNA. That can come later.
Damn good PPV.
For quick results:
Pope beat Wolfe clean.
Morgan beat Hernandez after Hernandez hurt his shoulder. Morgan stopped the count to avoid winning by count out, helped Hernandez back in the ring,
but once both were in the ring took advantage of the shoulder for a quick and kinda sleazy but relatively clean win. Little friction at the end but
nothing major.
Kennedy beat Angle after Kennedy busted Angle open with his dog tags/medal thingie behind the ref's back.
Abyss beat Foley in a hardcore match, per Bischoff's last minute change (which wasn't a heel move since Foley and Abyss were happy about
it).
Nastys beat Team 3D with help from Jimmy Hart.
Pope beat Morgan clean.
Kennedy beat Abyss, although I can't remember the finish.
Hogan told Bischoff to call the match straight because TNA had to trust them. Bischoff agreed but then cursed to himself when Hulk was gone.
AJ beat Joe with a Styles Clash. Bischoff called the match clean when he scolded Flair for assisting with a Figure Four. Flair then pulled Bischoff
out of the ring as Joe hit the Muscle Buster. Bischoff and Flair were fighting/arguing as Joe pinned AJ. Bischoff decked Flair and Joe pulled him in
the ring. The two yelled a little which AJ took advantage of to hit the Pele and Clash. Bischoff reluctantly counted the pin and looked pissed.
Kennedy and Pope were interviewed backstage but the Band showed up to attack Pope and make a threat to Hogan "Don't turn your back on the
Wolfpack." (WWE doesn't own the copyright on "Wolfpack", North Carolina State does.)
Pope didn't come out, Kennedy demanded the count. Pope dragged himself out and Kennedy spent the match working him over with Pope getting short
bursts of energy. Pope hit the Elijah Express from the front but got a 2 count. Kennedy capitalized taking him out and took a minute to call down
the mic and boast that he was one Mic Check away from being the #1 Contender. He hit the finisher and got a 2 count and the crowd went insane. Pope
came back and nailed the Elijah Express to the back and got the win.
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nOOb
The Rowdy One
Posts 2705
Registered 5-24-2004 Member Is Offline Mood: Berries&Cre
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| posted on 2-15-2010 at 04:32 AM |
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The Nasty Boys won because Jimmy Hart came back to help them. I guess TNA is insistent about keeping a level of suck on their show to balance out the
good stuff. And hey, the Pope won the tournament, too. That actually makes sense with the non-title win two weeks ago.
Everything about this girl is awesome. She's hot, she got kicked out of school for sucking too many dicks, she takes it in the ass and her body
gives itself abortions. -Punker on Lilly Allen's Miscarriage
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cardscott5
Creepy Little Bastard
Posts 71
Registered 6-28-2007 Location wherever god takes me Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 2-15-2010 at 04:43 AM |
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(Bah, Lucky and I were typing at the same time and he was faster. I spent too much time on this, so I'm not going to delete it, but I guess some
mod can if they want.
Results
Quarterfinal
The Pope d. Desmond Wolfe with DDE. This was a quality match, I really dig both and they work well together.
Quarterfinal
Matt Morgan d. Hernandez after Super Mex hurt his shoulder on a dive on the ramp, and Morgan whipped his shoulder into the buckle and rolled him
up.
Quarterfinal
Mr Anderson d. Kurt Angle with Mic Check after Angle ran into exposed corner. Angle got busted open with his medal chain thing and bled nearly the
whole match.
Quarterfinal
Abyss d. Mick Foley with Black Hole Slam on thumbtacks. Bischoff said that they had to use a barbed wire bat, but Abyss wouldn't use it on
Foley. When Foley ran at Abyss with it, he ate the BHS.
Nasty Boys d. Team 3D with bike helmet shot on Bubba. Jimmy Hart threw in the helmet to Knobbs, who looked like he was going to die if the match
lasted another minute. The Nastys suck and I hope they go to hell.
Semi-final
The Pope d. Matt Morgan with DDE after Morgan went for the Carbon Footprint in the corner. Good match. I want to see more of Morgan in singles
action.
Semi-final
Mr Anderson d. Abyss with Mic Check. Better effort than last month.
TNA Title Match
AJ Styles d. Samoa Joe with Styles Clash. Before the match, Hogan told Bischoff no funny stuff, and to call it straight. The end came when Joe hit the
Muscle Buster from the corner Flair was in. When Eric went to count, Flair pulled him out of the ring. The 2 argued, and Eric punched him. Joe yanked
Bischoff back in the ring and got in his face. When he turned around, AJ hit the Pele and Styles Clash. Good match, I dug it. AJ came out in a knock
off Flair robe, complete with a hood.
Finals
The Pope d. Mr Anderson with the DDE to become the #1 contender at Lockdown. The Band attacked Pope while he was cutting a promo before the match.
Anderson worked him over most of the match, taunting him every step of the way. The end came when Anderson had Pope down and called for the mic from
the sky. He said we were 1 Mic Check away from a new #1 contender. He hit the Mic Check, but the Pope kicked out. Anderson hit the Finlay roll, but
missed a swanton. Anderson missed a splash in the corner and ate a DDE.
I enjoyed the hell out of this card. Every one of Pope's matches were good. Angle/Anderson was good. AJ/Joe was good. There was nothing
unbelievably awful, not even the Nastys, but I ff'd past some of the standing around there. The PPV lasted until 10:56, a sharp contrast from
the Royal Rumble.
I think this is one to check out. I really recommend it.
[Edited on 2-15-2010 by cardscott5]
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DrBoz
Showstopper
Posts 715
Registered 1-2-2006 Location Indiana Member Is Offline Mood: Crescent Fresh
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| posted on 2-15-2010 at 04:44 AM |
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Dang Lucky, beat me to it.
Gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised with Pope taking the tourney. How long has he been in TNA anyway? That's a pretty meteoric rise for a
guy who was at best a midcarder in WWE. He doesn't seem out of place at all either. Good for him. Good for TNA to be willing to put him in
that position as well. There HAS to be some way Joe ends up in that match next month though, especially with Joe coming to the rescue of Pope two
weeks ago on Impact. I just don't know what screwy thing happens there.
Another month of Nasties at least, huh? And now we get Jimmy Hart too! Huzzah! And what is up with Hall/Waltman attacking Pope. I really have no
idea what they're doing right now. I assume it'll all become clear at some point, but right now I'm lost. But like Lucky said, no
sense getting all bent over two things when there were plenty of positives in terms of actual matches.
Curious to see how this all plays out through to the next PPV. Good job TNA on piquing my interest. Now take care of that Nasties/Hart/Wolfpack
crapola and I'll be a happy camper.
"I guess my heaviest experience is gravity...keeps my feet down...it's like weighing me down...I can't get my arms up now...like my legs
fall...I'm falling down and I can't...it's making me heavier...I'm heavier...I can't move...Now I'm a dead dog in
water...I can't...I'm floating but I sink to the water...I'm a wet sandwich...wet with meat...I'm broken salami...tiny
mustaches are heavy...I'm falling...."
- Chester from Sifl and Olly
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theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1353
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
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| posted on 2-15-2010 at 05:04 AM |
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Dang, sounds like a good PPV.
Great win for the Pope and I'm definitely thinking of buying Lockdown now, maybe even Destination X if Joe gets another shot.
I'm a little surprised that Pope won all three matches with the same move. You'd think he'd have something new in the tank to pull
out for a 3 match tourney and his biggest win ever.
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cardscott5
Creepy Little Bastard
Posts 71
Registered 6-28-2007 Location wherever god takes me Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 2-15-2010 at 05:31 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by DrBoz
Gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised with Pope taking the tourney. How long has he been in TNA anyway? That's a pretty meteoric rise for a
guy who was at best a midcarder in WWE. He doesn't seem out of place at all either. Good for him. Good for TNA to be willing to put him in
that position as well.
I am on the same boat as you regarding this. It's getting to, and might be past, the point where I look at him as a TNA guy and not a WWE guy
who went to TNA.
I wasn't a big Anderson fan while he was in WWE, but he has won me over in TNA. He's such a dick heel and it translates well, especially
since TNA has no one like him on the roster. He seems like the 'himself turned up to 11' and the real Anderson seems like a douche, so
he's doing a great job with that.
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salmonjunkie
American Dream 
Posts 7552
Registered 6-25-2002 Location Sunny Seattle, WA Member Is OnlineMood: ass
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| posted on 2-15-2010 at 07:36 AM |
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Pope needs a new finisher, IMO. Or at least, a 2nd finisher. Otherwise, he's pretty awesome.
Personally, I think he�s a [freaking homosexual].
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DKBroiler
SpeciASSl CUMedian 
Posts 286
Registered 1-25-2008 Location Exit 8 off Rt 42, New Jersey Member Is Offline Mood: Skip Baylessish
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| posted on 2-15-2010 at 02:51 PM |
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This show was very, very good. To use the standard scoring format I have no issue giving it a 4.1 and I say that under the premise that I do
subscribe to the theory of any grade over 4 being in the "top 20% of shows I can ever recall seeing". This show was, top to bottom, very good and
borderline excellent in many parts.
With that said please allow me to take a side track for a second and explain to all how my day went before viewing this show to properly set the stage
for how my viewing went down.
10:45 AM: Get woken up with a massive hangover after bowling 2 games the night before and plowing down roughly a dozen beers to a text message from my
1 wrestling buddy that he cannot go to the WWE house show in Philly that day because he had a massive case of the shits.
10:46 AM: It dawns on me that it is Valentines day and that no one else will be available.
Noon: 1 of my 2 nephews flatly turns down an offer to go. My other one, who turned out wanted to go, didn't get the message in time. No one
else wants the tickets either which speaks to how most of the general masses feel about wrestling, or that my list of friends isn't nearly as
long as it used to be. Probably a combination of both. Sigh...
3 PM: Start of WWE house show. I have litterally the best tickets I have ever had (section 7, row 8, seats 1 and 2 all to myself) putting me 15 feet
from the ring.
3:10 PM: 1 of only 3 highlights of the show. DiBiase hears me yell, "THAT'S WHY CODY CARRIES YOU!" And he turned to make the doushe face, and
yelled back with a half confused have laughing, "Are you serious?" all while Cody is getting the crap kicked out of him by HHH. I wonder if either
he was caught off guard by someone outwardly rooting for Cody to beat up HHH, HBK and himself or if he had just never heard someone root for Cody at
all. Either way, always fun to get a reaction without having to swear or act like a complete toolbag. Side note, it was pretty cool to see HBK in a
house show until...
3:15 PM: Both members of Legacy are depantsed by DX. This goes on for probaly 30 full seconds which is an eternity to see dude ass in front of 8 or
10,000 people. The match ends a few minutes later with Sweet Shin Music by Hornswoggle leading to HBK and HHH's finishers. I died a bit
inside. Good thing PG WWE knows that dude ass is ok but chick ass is bad. I hate you WWE... I truly, truly hate you sometimes.
3:30 PM: Carlito spends 5 full minutes running away from Chris Master's tits. Yup.
3:45 PM: Highlight 2 of 3... William Regal stands in the ring and makes faces for 3 or 4 solid minutes without saying anything. You would have
thought he was 1990 Sgt Slaughter with the heat he was getting. Hysterical. Of course he lost to Yoshi Tatsu in about 45 seconds but who's
counting.
4:00 PM: Miz cuts a promo that was so over I cannot possibly describe it. A combination of cheap and real heat that was unmatched by anything to that
point of the show. The reaction for Miz was easily twice that for DX to open the show. This guy is so over it is crazy. This was the 3rd of 3
highlights. Miz ended up beating MVP in a solid 10 minute match.
4:15 PM: Here comes Evan Bourne. Oh no...
4:16 PM: Where is the bathroom...
4:18 PM: Eek. The public bathrooms wont do for this one.
4:25 PM: In my car leaving Philly holding my butt cheeks for dear life. Sucks that I just had to waste 2 awesome tickets but some poo's are not
meant for public restrooms.
4:40 PM: Pull into my apartment complex flexing every muscle in my body to keep from ruining a good pair of jeans and my Mustang's upholstry.
4:42 PM: Ahhhh...
5:00 PM: Turn on Smackdown to watch what I missed on Friday night. I was done watching it by 5:30 because the only word I could describe it with was
"fastforwardable".
5:30 PM: Get pwn'd in Madden by some 9 year old from Japan.
7:55 PM: Randomly decide to give TNA my 35 bucks to try and save my wrestling day. It was either this or the NBA Allstar game which is usually a big
ball of meh, so Hogan wins my money again. That's $70.00 you've gotten now you Orange pide piper. Well played TNA.
-----
Pope over Wolfe: Very good opener. Wolfe reminds me more every day of an evil Euro Bond villian which is a good thing. I half expect him to be
competing in the 4 man bobsled this week.
Morgan over Hernandez: WAY better then I thought it would be. This match was actually very good. Shocking to me because I cannot stand Hernandez,
but credit where it's due, they both brought it.
Anderson over Angle: Angle bladed like a beast. Almost sickening levels of blood. Anderson spitting on him at the end was a total dick move and
perfectly in character. I'm actually amped for an Angle-Anderson feud.
Abyss over Foley: Forgettable but a better effort then Foley had vs Nash by a mile. I hope Abyss loses his mask because he is in dire need of a
character reset.
Nastys over Dudleys: Not as bad as Lucky made it sound and the ending was surprising. Despite the Nastys being arguably the worst 2 "wrestlers" in
either the WWE or TNA they do draw heat and know their characters. It really could have been worse, and I mildly enjoyed the trainwreckiness of it.
Really... it could have been worse.
Pope over Morgan: This one shocked me. Morgan dominated this match and continued his strong showing. Right up until the ending I actually started
thinking, "Holy shit! Matt Morgan is going to win this whole damn thing. And he would absolutely deserve it." And then he missed a boot and took a
DDE to end it. I would like to reiterate, Matt Morgan had an allstar night.
Anderson over Abyss: This one was a foregone conclusion. No way Abyss was main eventing this PPV. Mildly forgettable.
AJ over Samoa Joe: Very good match. Not the best match they have ever had, but held up well and was a better PPV championship match then we get many
months for 15 extra dollars. The ending was good and not too overbooked.
Pope over Anderson: Mildly boring for the first 10 minutes, but picked up LOTS of steam towards the end. When Anderson hit the Mic Check I was
stunned at both Pope kicking out, and my own stupidity for forgetting that I had paused the PPV for 10 minutes 2 hours beforehand causing COMCAST TO
FUCKING FREEZE ME OUT OF THE LAST 2 MINUTES!!! DAMN YOU COMCAST!
A big thank you to Lucky for informing me of what happened at the end, which was the correct way to go. With that said, I too must call upon The Pope
to move the DDE to a set up move. It just doesn't look all that impactful to be taking out a guy like Morgan. It's a VERY minor gripe to
an otherwise OUTSTANDING performer in DeAngelo Dinero.
In summary: Today the WWE gave me gas and caused me to leave 100 dollars worth of tickets mid show, and TNA reminded of me of why I watch wrestling.
Well done TNA.
Creator of the Champion of Stories Series on Smackdown vs Raw for XBox Live
"The Epic of XBox Live"
300+ Matches, 400+ Scenes Across 2 Volumes
Search: wrestlemania, summerslam, survivor or vagidan
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atothej
Posts 2350
Registered 12-21-2002 Location Philly Member Is Offline Mood: No Mood.
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| posted on 2-15-2010 at 10:29 PM |
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DKBroiler: Giving new meaning to "Shit Poster" since 2009. Thanks for the autobiografeces.
Your momma's so fat, Dave Meltzer gave her struggling to put her jeans on in the morning five stars. -- FF, destroying Jeb, his momma, and
Meltzer in one fell swoop.
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theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1353
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
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| posted on 2-16-2010 at 03:38 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by salmonjunkie
Pope needs a new finisher, IMO. Or at least, a 2nd finisher. Otherwise, he's pretty awesome.
Agreed. I really like how so many TNA guys (Joe, Wolfe, AJ, Daniels, Angle, Morgan, Hernandez) have multiple legit finishers that they consistently
use to win matches. In contrast, in the WWE I think only Cena and Taker have more than one finisher that wins matches (not counting Batista who only
wins with a spinebuster when he's facing someone too fat to powerbomb). I think giving guys more than one legit finisher makes things more
believable, makes for better false finishes, and helps keep their matches fresh, especially in a tourney setting.
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Shannon Soze
rOOkie
Posts 46
Registered 6-14-2009 Member Is Offline Mood: forgiving.
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| posted on 2-16-2010 at 06:15 AM |
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When he debuted in WWE with Sylvester Terkay, he had the Elijah Experience, which was Jeff Jarrett's Stroke, so it's safe to say he
won't be using that now. Which is a pity, because after he connected with the move, he'd immediately slip in a Rings of Saturn submission
move.
Speaking of the Rings, now there's one move that I haven't seen in a long time, and no one has tried to use for their own. Perry Saturn
must have REALLY patented that move.
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