Against All Odds 2008: Angle-Cage Leads a Wild Card of Barbed Wire, Street Fighting and Title Stakes

A.J. Styles and Tomko defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against B.G. James and his father Bob Armstrong, cashing in B.G.'s Feast or Fired opportunity. The champions entered with their own tension: Styles wanted Tomko to explain why he was moving toward Christian Cage's side of the wider Angle Alliance dispute. B.G. and Armstrong nevertheless found openings, including the veteran father's chops and a Pumphandle Slam from B.G. that almost finished Styles. Tomko had to break up Styles's attempted cover after the partners briefly worked against each other.

Styles and Tomko recovered once B.G. tried to rescue his father at ringside. Styles struck the challenger's knee with a springboard dropkick, then combined with Tomko on a Tornadoplex to finish B.G. James in 7:45. STYLES PINNED B.G., not Bob Armstrong. The C (6.0) grade reflects a recognizable title defense built around the generational challenger pairing, but the action never fully escaped the champions' storyline friction. Keeping the belts also kept Styles and Tomko together for the moment without resolving their loyalties.

Traci Brooks met Payton Banks in a brief grudge match after the two had clashed in the Knockouts storylines surrounding Robert Roode. They immediately traded slaps and heavy strikes, with Banks targeting Brooks near the ropes and then shoving her into the steel steps outside. Brooks responded with a tackle and a spear, and the crowd in Greenville stayed behind her despite the small slot on a card dominated by championship programs. Banks regained control with a backcracker and drove more offense into the challenger's back.

Banks stopped Brooks's climb to the ropes and attacked her in the corner, but her follow-up shoulder charge missed when Brooks stepped aside. Brooks quickly folded Banks into a roll-up for the pin at 5:07. BROOKS PINNED BANKS by countering a missed charge, rather than by a decisive finishing move. Banks attacked after the bell, which kept the personal issue alive instead of turning this into a completed feud-ending payoff. The D+ (5.4) acknowledges the clear counter-finish and character stakes, while the short runtime limited what either wrestler could build.

Scott Steiner and Petey Williams risked their separate Feast or Fired briefcases, representing future world-title and X Division opportunities. Their first exchanges were as much a contest of poses as wrestling: Williams mocked Steiner's physique before the bigger man threw him with belly-to-belly suplexes and twice pulled him off covers rather than ending the bout. The showmanship nearly cost him. Williams rallied with kicks, a hurricanrana and a tornado DDT, but Steiner reversed a Canadian Destroyer attempt into an Alabama Slam and survived another near fall.

Late in the 9:24 contest, both men used their briefcases as potential weapons while the referee tried to intervene. Williams struck Steiner with the case and prepared a follow-up dive, only for an unidentified woman at ringside to distract him. Steiner recovered, hoisted Williams and finished with an electric-chair drop. STEINER PINNED WILLIAMS after the distraction and took control of both contract cases, not an immediate championship belt. The C+ (6.8) rewards the high-risk counters and unusual prize, although the briefcase mechanics and unannounced interruption complicated the conclusion.

Eric Young's World Beer Drinking Championship was deliberately a novelty prize, but the title defense against James Storm became a real physical fight. Storm attacked Young outside, and Jackie Moore provided a timely distraction while Storm sprayed beer toward the champion's face. Both wrestlers made use of exposed concrete at ringside. Young rallied with a moonsault and, in one crowded sequence, carried both Storm and Jackie in a double Death Valley Driver, yet neither the spectacle nor the near fall closed the match.

Jackie distracted the official late and supplied a bottle to Storm for an illegal shot. Before Storm could use it, the returning Rhino entered and blasted him with a Gore. Young took advantage, hooked Storm's leg and pinned him at 7:49 to retain the novelty championship. YOUNG SCORED THE FALL after Rhino's interference; it was not a straightforward clean finish over Storm. The C (6.0) reflects lively spots and the unexpected return, but the result ultimately served Rhino's comeback and Storm's feud more than it established a lasting title program.

Awesome Kong defended the TNA Women's Knockout Championship against ODB in a test of whether the challenger could withstand the champion's power. ODB began by exchanging shoves and strikes with Kong but had difficulty lifting the larger wrestler. Kong sent her over the ropes, slammed her against the guardrail and set up a series of power attacks back inside. ODB escaped the initial powerbomb attempts and finally brought Kong off her feet with a top-rope attack, creating a genuine near fall rather than simply absorbing a squash.

Kong landed an Implant Buster, but ODB kicked out and answered with a counter when Kong climbed high for a splash. ODB's flask and confrontation with Kong's manager at ringside became another opening for the champion, who connected with a spinning backfist and then the Awesome Bomb. KONG PINNED ODB after the Awesome Bomb at 6:54 and kept the title. The C+ (6.8) credits the challenger's resistance and several believable comeback attempts, while the short time and decisive power finish reinforced Kong's dominance without making this her most demanding defense.

The second Barbed Wire Massacre between Abyss and Judas Mesias was shown during the Against All Odds broadcast after being taped in Orlando, rather than fought live in Greenville. The arrangement followed an athletic-commission restriction on staging a barbed-wire match at the South Carolina venue. In the Impact Zone ring, ropes had been replaced by wire and the wrestlers used a barbed-wire chair and boards to escalate their feud. Mesias bloodied Abyss with repeated chair shots and drove his body against the wires, while Abyss fought back with a press slam that dropped his rival onto a wire-covered board.

Father James Mitchell interfered at ringside, but Abyss eventually overpowered him with a Black Hole Slam. Mesias survived an earlier Black Hole Slam and a near fall, then briefly took over after sending Abyss into a wire-covered board. Abyss finally delivered another Black Hole Slam onto the barbed-wire board and pinned Mesias at 14:51. ABYSS PINNED MESIAS on the board rather than winning by escape or submission. The B+ (8.0) reflects an unusually elaborate violent spectacle with a conclusive finish, tempered by the match's pre-taped setting and repetitive weapon escalation.

Booker T faced Robert Roode in a personal grudge match rooted in Roode's earlier confrontation with Booker's wife Sharmell. Payton Banks accompanied Roode and became involved in the early exchanges, but Booker initially controlled with clotheslines, a sidewalk slam and hard strikes. Roode slowed him with a series of kicks and a headlock, only to be caught by a superkick and spinebuster. Booker also landed the Spinaroonie, giving the crowd a recognizable comeback despite the match carrying no championship stakes.

The deciding sequence came when Roode escaped to the floor with Banks. Booker followed and continued attacking near the entrance and backstage rather than returning to the ring. The referee counted both competitors out at 9:17; NEITHER BOOKER NOR ROODE PINNED ANYONE. Roode later left in a vehicle with Booker pursuing him, extending the feud without a decisive winner. The C (6.2) acknowledges the intensity and character history, but the double countout undermined the expected payoff after nine minutes. Its story purpose was to prolong the rivalry, not to produce a match worth recommending on its own.

Jay Lethal, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin faced X Division champion Johnny Devine and Team 3D in a Hardcore Street Fight whose consequences stretched beyond the championship. A Team 3D victory threatened the entire X Division, while defeat meant the brothers would have to meet a 275-pound limit before competing again. The six wrestlers fought into the aisle before pouring weapons into the ring. Shelley and Sabin landed tandem offense and diving attacks, but Team 3D caught both with separate 3D moves, leaving Lethal to confront the champion and both brothers on his own.

Brother Ray dragged SoCal Val into the ring and reached for a cheese grater, but Lethal fought back, then struck Ray with a chair. Devon broke up an attempted cover, and Lethal answered with a dive that took him out. Devine returned with a street sign; Lethal ducked the attack, struck Devine with the sign and laid him on a table. Lethal climbed the turnbuckle and dropped an elbow through the table onto DEVINE for the pin in the recorded 12:30. The B+ (8.2) acknowledges a frantic match with a memorable single-wrestler comeback and a decisive X Division championship change, even if the weapons and stipulations crowded the wrestling.

Kurt Angle defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Christian Cage with Samoa Joe stationed at ringside as special enforcer. The world-title pair worked through reversals, submission attempts and near falls over 20:40. Angle targeted Cage's neck and looked for the Angle Slam, while Cage countered with a reverse DDT and top-rope offense. Cage escaped the Ankle Lock, then tried his own version of the hold against Angle. Joe repeatedly kept outside participants from directly controlling the action, including Karen Angle, whose presence threatened to create another disputed finish.

When the referee went down, Joe became involved in the count, and A.J. Styles rushed in. Joe confronted Styles and pursued him away from ringside. With Joe occupied, Angle introduced a chair, only for Cage to turn the weapon aside. Tomko then appeared and confronted the champion before unexpectedly dropping CAGE with a Death Valley Driver, betraying his old ally. Angle was surprised but used the opening to cover Cage for the pin at 20:40, retaining the title. The A- (8.6) rewards the pair's exchanges and escalating world-title drama, but the outcome depended on an unexpected outside attack rather than a decisive clean finish by Angle.