2/8 TNA Against All Odds PPV Live Coverage: Sting vs. Kurt Angle vs. Brother Ray vs. Brother Devon in a four-way for the TNA Title, Abyss vs. Matt Morgan, Alex Shelley vs. Eric Young for the X Division Title

Live from Orlando, Fla.
At Universal Studios

A Hummer limousine arrived at the building. Kurt Angle, Booker T, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and Sharmell exited the limo. Mike Tenay and Don West checked in and noted that Sting did not arrive with the rest of the Mafia... A different clip showed Team 3D arriving in a blue sports car... A third clip showed Sting arriving in a yellow sports car...

The James Earl Jones guy narrated a video regarding the show's various matches... Tenay and West introduced the show from ringside as pyro exploded on the stage...

1. Alex Shelley pinned Eric Young to retain the X Division Title in 13:00. Shelley came out alone with no sign of partner Chris Sabin. Shelley heeled it up by standing over Young and posing at ringside around 3:30. Shelley controlled the bulk of the first six minutes of the match and built sympathy for Young.

Young went for the Death Valley Driver at 9:00, but Shelley avoided it twice. Young went for a moonsault and missed. A short time later, Shelley went for Sliced Bread No. 2, but Young blocked the move. Shelley hit the move moments later for a good nearfall. Later, both men fought in the corner. Young caught Shelley and dropped him face first on the turnbuckle in a cool spot. Moments later, though, Young bickered with the referee and was rolled up for the win.

Powell's POV: Good opening match. The finish was odd. Young tried to pulled Shelley out of the corner and the referee stepped in for some reason. Young bickered with him and that's when Shelley recovered and rolled him up. No heel bit or anything. Odd. The live crowd didn't seem to be passionate about either wrestler.

The announcers pointed out Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers at ringside... Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Kurt Angle, who predicted that he and Sting will get along. He said champions push one another and he will push Sting during the four-way title match... A video recapped the homoerotic history of Scott Steiner and Petey Williams...

2. Scott Steiner defeated Petey Williams in 10:55. Yes, Petey still came out dressed like Steiner and even did a posing routine before the match. Meanwhile, Steiner headed to ringside and jawed with the fans at ringside. The announcers discussed the size difference between the two men. West said Petey should make it a marathon and not a sprint. Nice strategy talk from the announcers.

At 4:30, Steiner covered Petey, but pulled him up before the referee could finish counting. He did the same thing a couple more times to establish that he could have pinned Petey. At 6:00, Steiner charged Petey in the corner, but Petey got his feet up. Steiner caught Petey on the ropes and went for a superplex, but Petey fought him off and knocked Steiner down for a big flat back bump.

At 7:15, Petey hit a DDT and followed up with a nice headbutt off the top rope for a good nearfall. At 8:45, Steiner set up Petey for the Recliner, but Petey popped up and rolled up Steiner for another good nearfall. At 10:00, Steiner locked Petey in the Recliner, but Petey muscled his way to the ropes to break the hold. Moments later, Steiner hit the Steiner Screwdriver (inverted piledriver) and scored the clean pin.

Afterward, Steiner took the mic and said he was going to show how he finishes the job. He hit a fallaway move off the second rope and set up for the Recliner, but Samoa Joe's music played. Steiner looked around, but Joe never came out. Rather, he appeared on the big screen and said Steiner was one of the men responsible for the sins he's about to commit. He warned that Steiner would be the first member of the Mafia he'd take out...

Powell's POV: No one can say that Steiner doesn't go above and beyond when he works with Williams. He worked hard and sold Petey's offense throughout the match. Steiner's finishing move got a big reaction from the live crowd. Nice match. I wish they'd keep Joe's promos shorter. Limit him to two or three sentences at the most until he reestablishes himself.

The announcers ran through the rest of the pay-per-view lineup... The announcers noted that Mick Foley would join them on commentary for the main event, and will present the TNA Title to the winner of the match...

Backstage, Borash interviewed Mick Foley and Sting. Foley said he hopes Angle doesn't win the match because he can't stand him. Sting interrupted and said he can't sit by and let him badmouth a Mafia member. Foley praised Sting and said he is a true icon. Foley tried to walk away, but Sting called him back and told Foley that his words meant a lot.

Sting said he knows Kurt wants to beat him and he wants to beat Angle. He said the Mafia would wake up the next day and continue their fight for respect. He said it's a fight he doesn't plan to lose...

Powell's POV: It will be cool to hear Foley on commentary for the first time since he left WWE.

3. Brutus Magnus pinned Chris Sabin in 6:50. Magnus cut a promo before the match and dubbed himself a modern day gladiator. He said someone had accepted his open challenge. Chris Sabin's music played and he came out to start the match. Back and forth action with Magnus using power moves and Sabin countering with speed and high flying moves.

Late in the match, Sabin went up to the top rope for a move, but Magnus held onto the referee. The ref was supposed to shove him into the ropes to knock Sabin off the ropes. It didn't play out that way, but we know that's how it was supposed to go because that's how Tenay tried to explain it. Mangus hit the Tormenter for the win...

Powell's POV: I wouldn't have cared for the finish even if they would have executed it properly That's two out of three silly finishes involving the referees tonight. If nothing else, Magnus is a solid talker.

Backstage, Lauren interviewed Team 3D. Devon spoke first and then Brother Ray joked that he should be a motivational speaker. Ray said that after winning 21 World Tag Titles, they ask themselves whether they could have got it done on their own. "Dudley blood is thicker than water," Brother Ray said...

Powell's POV: Here comes the legal letter about using the Dudley name. Oh well. Good promo.

Highlights aired of Awesome Kong and ODB...

4. Awesome Kong defeated ODB for the TNA Knockouts Title in 6:30. The Kongtourage came to the ring with Kong. The announcers complained that Jim Cornette made it clear on Impact that this was a one-on-one match. Cornette came out and reiterated what he said on Impact. He gave Kongtourage the option of going backstage or staying to watch him hand over the title to ODB. He gave them 10 seconds to make their decision. They protested, but eventually split.

At ringside, Kong grabbed Cornette by the collar. ODB attacked Kong from behind to start the match. At 5:40, ODB bodyslammed Kong. The crowd popped and the announcers made a big fuss over it, but it was only good for a nearfall. A short time later, Kong hit the Implant Buster for the clean pin...

Backstage, Lauren stood by as Team 3D spoke to Sting. It started off cordially, but Brother Ray brought up the night the rest of the Mafia members attacked him and Sting just walked away. Ray said Sting can redeem himself by doing the right thing. Ray said the Mafia stands for ego, while Sting stands for respect. Ray said they would have the old Sting's back if he decided to come back...

Powell's POV: There's a big storyline gap here because Brother Ray was screaming and pissed off at Sting for walking away, but now he says he's able to talk to him calmly because he didn't take part in the attack. That being said, it's nice to hear Ray calm down and talk again rather than scream all his lines. He's much more effective this way and this was a compelling segment.

Highlights aired of the Booker T and Shane Sewell feud...

5. Booker T (w/Sharmell) pinned Shane Sewell to retain the TNA Legends Title in 6:00. Sewell was intense before the match and glared at Booker the entire time. Meanwhile, Booker was ultra cocky. He played to the crowd, shook hands with the ref, smiled, and never looked at Sewell until the bell rang. Funny. The announcers did a nice job of pointing it out and getting over the lack of respect that Booker has for Sewell.

Booker controlled the opening minutes of the match. Sewell did his Hulk up routine to no reaction. However, the fans did count along when he stood on the turnbuckle and punched Booker repeatedly. They also cheered when he whipped off the referee's shirt that he had been wearing. Sewell ran the ropes, but Sharmell tripped him. Booker came back with the scissors kick and scored the pin.

After the match, Booker taunted Sewell on the mic. A.J. Styles's music played. He ran out and fought with Booker. Styles eventually cleared Booker from the ring and then draped the Legends Title over his own shoulder.

Styles took the mic and said he wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He yelled as he talked about giving the fans everything he has every night. He said it's time for A.J. Styles to step up and be a legend. "There can be only one - the Phenomenal One A.J. Styles," he concluded.

Powell's POV: I enjoyed the Booker vs. Sewell match. Booker's personality shined and they were wise to keep the match short and sweet.

Backstage, Lauren told Matt Morgan that she knows Abyss still cares about him. How gay is that?!? Morgan said he doesn't care. He cut an intense promo as he talked about the recent surgery he had on his shoulder due to a staph infection... A video recapped the Abyss and Morgan breakup...

6. Abyss defeated Matt Morgan in 15:45. Abyss carried the bag to the ring with him. Tenay said it could be tacks or shards of glass. Morgan wore a t-shirt throughout the match, presumably due to his recent surgery. West said Morgan was working against doctors orders. He said the surgery wasn't as serious as what Kevin Nash recently went through, but it was similar.

All punches and kicks early as the two men fought their way to ringside. Morgan whipped Abyss into the barricade between the fans in the bleachers and the fans on the main floor. They fought to the top of the steps at the top of the studio and then back down to ringside. At 7:30, Morgan hit the big boot, which he's dubbed the Carbon Footprint.

Morgan left his feet a couple times as the match went on. He hit a dropkick at 9:45. At 12:30, Abyss accidentally bumped the referee. Morgan picked up a chair and struck Abyss with it. He woke up the ref, but Abyss kicked out at the last moment. Abyss went for a chokeslam and Morgan took it awkwardly because of the injury.

At 14:45, Abyss wound up for a chairshot, but Morgan pulled the referee in front of him to take the wicked shot. Abyss hit the Black Hole Slam for a nearfall. He came back with another Black Hole Slam and scored the clean pin with a second referee making the count.

After the match, Abyss brought the bag of tacks back in the ring and poured them onto the mat. He ripped off Morgan's shirt and revealed his heavily bandaged left shoulder. Abyss whipped Morgan into the ropes, but Morgan grabbed the ropes and left the ring...

Powell's POV: Morgan wasn't very mobile, but he tried really hard. Here's hoping they'll get another try when Morgan is healthy.

Backstage, Booker T flipped out over losing his TNA Legends Title. Kevin Nash yelled at Booker and said it's not about him. Sting entered the locker room and took a seat in front of Angle, who said he hopes Sting doesn't believe what Ray said to him. Angle offered his hand to Sting, who looked around the room, shook it, and then hugged Angle. After Sting left the room, Angle told Nash to keep an eye on Sting...

A video recapped the Beer Money vs. Lethal Consequences history...

7. Beer Money (w/Jacqueline) defeated Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed to retain the TNA Tag Titles in 15:40. James Storm debuted a super boozer cruiser that had enough room for Robert Roode. They spent several minutes building toward Lethal making a hot tag to Creed, but the live crowd didn't react when they made the tag.

Creed was selling a left arm injury from a recent angle on Impact. He hit some flashy offense on the heels, but they eventually wore him down and worked on his bad arm. Lethal was tagged back into the match later and he scored a couple of nearfalls. Jackie passed an object to Storm, who struck Lethal with it. Roode covered Lethal and scored the pin...

Powell's POV: Decent action, but the live crowd didn't believe in the babyfaces. The match just kind of dragged on until the expected finish. Did the heels really need to use an object to beat those guys?

A video hyped the four-way main event... Mick Foley joined the announcers on commentary for the main event... A shot aired of Angle pumping himself up backstage and then a brief video focussed on Angle before he made his entrance...

Backstage, Team 3D walked together. Ray told Devon there's a good chance one of them will be the TNA Champion when they drive home. He said they should just go out there and "do what we do." Devon agreed... A brief video aired on Team 3D before they made a simultaneous entrance...

A backstage shot aired of Sting walking slowly with the TNA Title draped over his shoulder. A brief video focussed on Sting before his entrance... Once all four wrestlers were in the ring, Jeremy Borash handled the in-ring introductions...

Powell's POV:. The individual videos just kind of dragged things out, but I liked the backstage shots of the four wrestlers before their matches. They killed at least 15 minutes with all the backstage stuff, videos, and in-ring introductions.

8. Sting defeated Kurt Angle and Brother Ray and Brother Devon in a four-way match to retain the TNA Title in 14:15. The four wrestlers squared off with their usual partners to start the match. Team 3D got the better of the opening exchange and cleared the two Mafia members from the ring. Ray and Devon teased locking up, but Angle snuck up behind Ray and pushed him into Devon. Bad spot because Devon had to be blind not to see Angle.

At 3:15, Ray and Devon were once again left in the ring together. Ray lied down on his back and let Devon cover him. Angle ran in and broke up the pin attempt. Foley said it would have been a definite title win or something like that. Vince McMahon would have been yelling at him if this were a WWE show and rightfully so in that case!

Ray and Devon traded punches. They went back and forth with moves and were even in terms of offense when Angle and Sting attacked them from behind. At 7:30, West asked Foley what it was like to broadcast a match without having someone scream in his headpiece. "Watch those pronouns, Tenay," one of them said. Funny.

At 8:00, Angle and Sting stood in the middle of the ring and jawed with one another. One of the Team 3D members pushed Angle into Sting, causing their heads to collide. Angle bled from above the eye and it appeared Sting took a good shot to the nose. If he gets a bloody nose, someone find Lex Luger to serve as his constant just in case.

At 11:45, Sting was late breaking up a double team move and it made everyone else look a little silly for just standing there waiting for him. Angle hit the Angle Slam on Sting for a nearfall. A short time later, Ray hit the Rock Bottom on Devon for another nearfall.

Late in the match, Team 3D set up for the Whassup spot. Tenay pointed out they had a lot of ground to cover because Ray all the way across the ring. Angle ran up and suplexed Devon off the ropes. Angle dropped his straps, but Ray clotheslined him over the top rope. Sting hit the Scoprion Death Drop on Ray and scored the clean pin...

Powell's POV: They set up some interesting moments, but it was sloppy at times. The fans didn't see the finish coming. They actually paused before cheering Sting's win because they didn't think the match was going to end there. The response was more polite applause than anything.

After the match, Foley entered the ring and presented Sting with the title. Angle shook his head in frustration and amazement at ringside. The announcers aired highlights of the match. Tenay said the Mafia are still in total control over the fight for power in TNA...

A video hyped the return of Ultimate X for the Destination X pay-per-view on March 15...

Powell's POV: I'll have more to say about tonight's show in the Member Exclusive audio recap of tonight's show. I'll also check in on Monday with a TNA Against All Odds Hitlist.