TNA Against All Odds ‘06

1. A-1 vs. Ron “Truth” Killings – 1
2. Lance Hoyt, Shark Boy, and Cassidy Riley vs. Diamonds In the Rough and Shannon Moore – 2
3. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong vs. The Naturals – 6
4. Alex Shelley vs. Jay Lethal vs. Petey Williams vs. Matt Bentley – 5
5. LAX vs. James Gang – 3
6. Sonjay Dutt and Chris Sabin vs. AMW – 4
7. Rhino vs. Abyss – Falls Count Anywhere Match – 5
8. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles – 7
9. Team 3-D vs. Team Canada – 4
10. Jeff Jarrett vs. Christian - 5

A-1 and Killings lasts, I’m guessing, 90 seconds or so total – rendering it a complete waste of nearly two minutes, in which you could be doing something more beneficial with said time, like microwaving a burrito or washing your hands. The pre-show six-man tag is a cluster of epic proportions, featuring brutally makeshift teams, competing in the definition of a throwaway match. The first match of the actual pay-per-view, featuring ROH mainstays Aries and Strong, was one of my favorite matches of the entire show. Minus Aries’ blatant homosexual tendencies, and the Naturals’ innate ability to showcase zero emotion, everything else was perfectly okay.

The four-way match was full of flash, but offered little in regards to genuine substance. Still, if you’re going to watch four guys run through choreographed sequences for 10 minutes, then these four are just as good as anybody else. James Gang did their same exact shtick, that hasn’t ever worked for me, in a routine tag match with hopelessly average LAX. AMW had a lackluster night, and Sabin’s ridiculous trunks depicting a yellow alien head with an “S” carved into its forehead were so heinous I nearly lost consciousness.

Rhino and Abyss was your typical TNA brawl, but still admittedly kind of fun in its own perverse way. Abyss’ finale bump, falling through four tables, was a great rewind moment. The Joe, Daniels, and Styles match was about as good as you’d expect from these guys. Mostly solid and well executed, this bout was the highlight of a generally first-rate show. Team 3-D and Team Canada both looked exceptionally mundane, delivering one of the more forgettable matches of the night. Lastly, in Christian’s big breakthrough moment, he scored a victory over Jarrett. The match itself wasn’t too bad, minus the unnecessary ref bumps and other nonsense, and featured some good back-and-forth stuff. Unfortunately, it was mostly down hill from here, as Christian’s good guy title run was one of the most unconvincing and more appalling in industry history.