Powell Editorials TNA Against All Odds Hitlist: Sting retains the TNA Title in a four-way match against Kurt Angle, Brother Ray, and Brother Devon, Alex Shelley vs. Eric Young, Booker T vs. Shane Sewell, Beer Money vs. Lethal Consequences By Jason Powell Feb 9, 2009 - 12:37 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing TNA Against All Odds Hits Alex Shelley vs. Eric Young: A good opener. Nothing truly memorable about the match, yet both guys worked hard and it got the show off to a good start. The finish was puzzling, though, as Young bickered with the referee momentarily, which led to Shelley rolling him up for the win. That said, this was one of Young's best in-ring performances, and Shelley is always entertaining when he's given enough time. Scott Steiner vs. Petey Williams: I enjoyed this match more than most viewers based on the feedback I've read. Don't get me wrong, I can't stand the way Petey continues to look like Steiner's mini. However, I am impressed by the way Steiner works hard and sells when he's in the ring with Williams. He doesn't do the classic big guy won't sell for the little guy crap that others have done in the past. Mike Tenay and Don West also did a nice job of setting up Petey's strategy and making it seem like his odds of winning increased the longer the match went on. Booker T vs. Shane Sewell: This match was exactly what it needed to be. Booker played the cocky heel role nicely and dominated the match. Sewell made his comeback only to be derailed by Sharmell tripping him, which allowed Booker to hit his finisher and score the pin. The agents didn't give them more time than they needed and the match was fine for what it was. TNA Against All Odds Misses Sting vs. Kurt Angle vs. Brother Ray vs. Brother Devon: I had high hopes that the match would be a memorable brawl that would conclude with Angle regaining the TNA Title. I don't mind that they didn't switch the title, but the match was nothing special. This looked like a one match show coming in and that match didn't deliver the way I hoped it would. It wasn't an abomination or anything, but the big exchanges between Ray and Devon, and Sting and Angle didn't pack as much punch as I expected them to. Overall, a flat main event. Overall show: This wasn't a strong lineup on paper. TNA seems to have taken the WWE approach of building up four pay-per-view events per year as truly special and making the others off-brand events. The only problem is that Bound For Glory is the only show that they've truly established as a major event. I felt like I was watching a house show last night. It was nice to see a straight forward show that was void of the "only in TNA" moments that I've come to expect from the company, but this show wasn't worth buying. Anyone who skipped the show has no reason to feel like they missed out on anything special. Given the state of the economy, TNA has to deliver better lineups and stronger shows if they expect fans to order their pay-per-view events. Beer Money vs. Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed: Good effort from both teams, but the live crowd never got behind Lethal and Creed. TNA hasn't given viewers any reason to take the duo seriously. They won the tag titles in a glorified handicap match and went on to have the shortest tight reign in TNA history. They spent the first part of the match building to a hot tag to bring Creed into the match. However, when Lethal finally made the tag, the fans didn't pop. I hope the creative team doesn't try to convince themselves that this reaction is attributable to the show being held in front of the overexposed Orlando crowd. Lethal and Creed are not over. I've been saying for months that they need to give up on the Black Machismo gimmick. It's played out and it's time to move on. Awesome Kong vs. ODB: Just a throwaway match rather than a showcase of the top two women in the division. Kong and ODB have never meshed well in the ring together, but I expected them to get more time and to put on a better match than this. I suppose it's possible that Kong's back is still giving her problems and that's why the match was so basic. Abyss vs. Matt Morgan: I give Morgan credit for working despite undergoing shoulder surgery recently, but the match wasn't pretty. It was obvious that they were very limited in what they could do because of Morgan and it just felt like the match went on longer than it needed to under the circumstances. Brutus Magnus vs. Chris Sabin: I must admit that the match was better than I expected it to be until the awkward finish. And I'm also impressed by the charisma that Magnus has shown during interviewers. Unfortunately, I can't get past that silly gladiator gimmick that feels like it's something leftover from the '80s. Then again, I felt the same way about the Umaga character when he debuted, and it turned out to be a solid act for WWE. HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! BECOME A MEMBER AT OUR CHARTER RATE OF JUST $5 A MONTH - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO SHOWS, MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AD-FREE MAIN LISTING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO) GOT AN IPHONE OR IPOD TOUCH? THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE iPhone APP: (click here!) (or SEARCH "pro wrestling" in iTunes App Store) FOR MORE BREAKING WWE & TNA NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE PWTORCH.COM (click here!) FOR MORE MMA & UFC NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE MMATORCH.COM (click here!) CLICK TO RETURN TO DOT NET MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY Powell Editorials Latest Twelve Articles Powell's TNA Impact Hitlist: Dixie Carter's speech to the talent crew, hype for Hulk Hogan, the build for A.J. Styles vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe, Team 3D vs. Matt Morgan and Hernandez, Tara vs. Hamada WWE Raw Hitlist: Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne host Raw, Chris Jericho vs. John Cena vs. Big Show, Sheamus destroys Jamie Noble, The Miz vs. Evan Bourne, vintage Michael Cole Powell's TNA Impact Hitlist: Hulk Hogan footage, Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe has a brain, Eric Young renames the toy belt, Matt Morgan vs. Rhino, World Elite get new warmup gear, Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns WWE Raw Hitlist: John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels announced for Survivor Series, Kofi Kingston shines, John Cena makes Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes look like losers, Hornswoggle can't read WWE Bragging Rights Hitlist: John Cena vs. Randy Orton in an Iron Man match, Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Batista vs. C.M. Punk four-way, Raw vs. Smackdown tag match, The Miz vs. John Morrison Powell's TNA Bound For Glory Hitlist: A.J. Styles vs. Sting for the TNA Title, Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan, Ultimate X match, Mick Foley vs. Abyss, Bobby Lashley vs. Samoa Joe, ODB vs. Tara vs. Awesome Kong