Search - TNA Wrestling: Against All Odds 2008 on DVD

Barbed Wire Massacre II

D.P. | California | 02/22/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Tomko vs. B.G. James & Bob Armstrong - Before I get started, that was a classy thing they did with the Marines & the Armstrongs in the same state they both enlisted in the military. This was a decent match that the crowd seemed to enjoy so it did it's job as the opening match.

Traci Brooks vs. Payton Banks - With Payton having dark hair now, she looks similar to Tina Fey. Anyways, this was a good womens match here that went back & forth in the ring and some brawling outside as well.

Petey Williams vs. Scott Steiner - The winner of this match gets both the World Title & X Division Title shot cases. The match to me was entertaining as "Maple Leaf Muscle" would mock Steiner's poses & even use his moves (Steiner Recliner) against him thoughout the match. The match ended with a large muscular woman appeared to distract Petey for Scott to get the win.

Eric Young vs. James Storm - Well, this was for the prestigous "World Beer Drinking Championship"...or at least you would get that impression from the pre-match video. This was a good match that really hooked the crowd. They worked on the outside hiptossing & suplexing each other on the concrete and on the inside with Young even stealing a page out of Ric Flair's playbook with the "flip over the turnbuckle" spot. One funny spot to look out for at the end was when Young picked up Jackie & used her as a battering ram right into Storm's crotch before getting both into a death valley driver. Rhino returned in the end helping Young get the victory & retaining the drinking championship...which is nothing more than a toy John Cena spinning championship belt with a beer bottle over the "WWE" logo.

Womens Champion Awesome Kong vs. O.D.B. - For a majority of the match, Kong dominated & shoved off O.D.B.'s offense for most of the match with her only getting in some dropkicks, a Thesz press, and a slam out of the corner turnbuckle after many unsuccessful attempts thoughout the match. This match wasn't on the level of the Kim/Kong series but was still a nice match to watch.

Barbed Wire Massacre 2: Abyss vs. Judas Mesias - Just a couple of notes before the match, this happened "live (on tape)" from the Impact Zone due to problems with the state athletic commission. And secondly, despite what Mike Tenay said at the start of the match...Abyss lost the first Barbed Wire Massacre match (Turning Point 2005) against Sabu, not the other way around.
The match is exactly what it was advertised to me, bloody & brutal as both men hit the wire various times cutting Abyss' arm & Judas' chest in the beginning. Other weapsons like barbed wire wrapped chairs & boards were used to at various times like Abyss getting chairshots to the head, getting crotched on the chair after trying to hit a running splash, Judas being dropped onto one board & put through another, Abyss being speared into a board before being black hole slamming Judas for the win. A violent brawl & the best Abyss PPV match I've seen in months.

Booker T vs. Robert Roode - This was advertised as grudge match and the match played out exactly like that. Booker came out aggressive & dominating right from the start until Payton Banks distracted Booker for Roode to finally gain some offense in but Booker wouldn't back down. Roode ran away to the back, Booker followed & brawled backstage until Roode finally was able to get in a car (throwing Payton Banks in Booker's way) to drive away. Again, this was to put over & continue the storyline between the two. The match itself was solid as well.

Street Fight Match: Jay Lethal & Motor City Machine Guns vs. Team 3D & Johnny Devine - The X division (and apparently, the title as well) is on the line here. This match was all about putting over Jay Lethal heavily even down to Team 3D showing Lethal respect in the pre-match interview. Being this was a street fight, you got exactly what you would expect...a brawl even down to the kitchen sink, trash cans, chairs, a blowup doll that we haven't seen since the Jackass 2 storyline, and the old ECW "Use My Sign" spot all coming into effect at various times. The Machine Guns were knocked out with the 3D during the match so it was Lethal fighting against all odds against 3D & Devine. So Cal Val (the redheaded girl at ringside) got involved played the "Ms. Elizabeth" role by being the lady in trouble by Brother Ray before Lethal made the save for her. Lethal got the victory & the championship back with a flyin' elbow though a table on Devine. A fun match to watch from beginning to end.

TNA Champion Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage with Samoa Joe as the special enforcer - Just as a side note for those who remember, yes this is the same exact main event from the year before (including Joe being the enforcer) with the only difference being that Angle & Cage have switched roles. What can I say about their TNA matches that I haven't said before in that they have good chemistry and it results in great wrestling matches with this being no exception with some moments like the various counters done for moves like the Unprettier, ankle lock, and Olympic Slam. Joe only came into play on a few occassions like stopping Angle from using a chair, shoving Angle back after Kurt did it to him first, and at the end where he stopped Karen & Styles from interfearing. The ending came when Tomko cost Cage the match resulting in Angle once again retaining the TNA Championship.

Overall, this was TNA's best card in the past couple of months as there really wasn't a bad match or a moment that you would want to press the skip button on here. This is a TNA event I recommend."