Against All Odds 2010: The 8 Card Stud Tournament Gives D'Angelo Dinero a Career Night

D’Angelo Dinero opened the 8 Card Stud Tournament against Desmond Wolfe, a tactician capable of turning a lively opener into a series of grinding arm holds. Wolfe escaped Dinero’s early attacks by retreating to the ropes and working the shoulder, while Dinero answered with flying forearms and chops. When Wolfe attempted the Tower of London, Dinero fought off the position and forced his opponent to use a different attack. Wolfe landed a superplex for two but became frustrated that his technical advantages would not close the contest.

Dinero ducked a late lariat, countered Wolfe’s next charge and hit a rope-assisted neckbreaker to leave the challenger exposed. He followed with his double knees to Wolfe’s back and scored the pin to advance. The B (7.8) reflects a compelling mix of mat wrestling and athletic counters that immediately gives the tournament an energetic first winner. The rope-assisted final sequence is specific to Dinero’s offensive style and provides a credible reason to believe he could survive further rounds.

Matt Morgan and Hernandez entered their first-round 8 Card Stud meeting as the reigning tag champions, so the tournament forced two teammates to compete against each other. The early respectful fist bumps quickly gave way to power wrestling. Hernandez hit a delayed vertical suplex and a dive to the outside while Morgan relied on elbows, corner splashes and a heavy leg drop across the apron. The physical exchanges made it plausible that either man could reach the semifinal, although the refusal to turn their feud into an outright attack kept the opening relatively cordial.

When Hernandez appeared to hurt his shoulder on the dive, Morgan offered to hold the ring ropes so he could return. That apparent sportsmanship was a trap: Morgan applied a hammerlock, sent his partner into the corner and grabbed the tights on the pin to steal the fall. The C+ (6.8) rewards the clear bait-and-switch finish but notes that its function was partly to launch a tag-team breakdown rather than produce a classic singles match. A skim of the shoulder injury and pin explains the first major seed of the team’s trouble.

Mr. Anderson fought Kurt Angle in the first round and immediately made the contest more personal than a simple tournament pairing. Angle kept looking for the ankle lock and scored suplexes, while Anderson used a corner collision to stop him. Anderson seized Angle’s medal chain and scraped it across his forehead, drawing blood, then deliberately loosened the turnbuckle pad while distracting the referee. Angle mounted a comeback with German suplexes and an Angle Slam, surviving several attempts by Anderson to neutralize his offense with fouls.

When Angle reapplied the ankle lock, Anderson kicked free and sent him headfirst into the exposed buckle. Anderson then landed the Mic Check for a three count. Afterward he mocked Angle with the Olympic medal, escalating their rivalry beyond one tournament result. The B- (7.4) balances hard-hitting wrestling against the finish’s deliberate cheating; the match effectively establishes Anderson as an antagonist who can survive a high-profile opponent by manipulating the surroundings.

Abyss and Mick Foley wrestled their first-round match under no-disqualification rules after Eric Bischoff threatened that losing control could cost Abyss his mask. The fight included chair strikes, ring steps and a bag of thumbtacks. Foley repeatedly challenged Abyss to use his familiar barbed-wire bat, but Abyss refused even while being slapped, suggesting that this grudge meant more than the physical stakes of the tournament. Both men also teased using Mr. Socko-style mandible claws, with Foley briefly gaining the advantage before choosing another weapon.

After Foley spread the tacks on the canvas and tried to attack with the bat, Abyss caught him and delivered Black Hole Slam into the thumbtacks for the pin. The match was decisive for advancement, yet its most useful story was Abyss’s reluctance to harm a veteran he respected. He even helped Foley remove some tacks afterward. The C+ (6.8) recognizes a meaningful character conflict and brutal finish, though the stop-start weapon setups limited its rhythm.

The Nasty Boys and Team 3D arrived for a grudge tag-team match tied to Hulk Hogan’s old allies. The Nasty Boys, Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, relied on eye rakes, chokeholds and long stretches isolating Brother Devon rather than providing the kind of sharp tag offense seen in the tournament bracket. Brother Ray finally received a hot tag and powered through both opponents. Team 3D landed the Wassup headbutt on Knobbs and followed with their 3D finisher on Sags, appearing to have the result under control.

Jimmy Hart emerged at ringside and secretly handed Knobbs a foreign object. Knobbs struck Ray, reversed the situation and secured the pin while the referee missed the interference. The C- (5.8) is fair for an overlong bout whose decisive action came from an outside weapon, not earned wrestling counters. The finish matters as the first overt Hart involvement in the new TNA feud, but the match itself is largely a skip.

D’Angelo Dinero reached the semifinal against the much larger Matt Morgan, who repeatedly used his reach to toss Dinero across the ring. Morgan followed with rapid elbow attacks, a heavy running leg drop and a bear hug to wear down the smaller contender. Dinero attacked the legs and countered with a DDT to keep the match from becoming a simple size mismatch. Even when Morgan caught a flying body attack and converted it into a fallaway slam, he could not finish Dinero for three. The crowd was invited to believe the endurance of a man working his second tournament bout could beat brute size.

Morgan attempted his Carbon Footprint running boot in the corner, but Dinero sidestepped and caught him tangled in the ropes. Dinero immediately struck with double knees and pinned the larger wrestler to advance to the final. The C+ (6.8) credits the deliberate size contrast and a finish in which the smaller winner used his opponent’s momentum against him. It is a functional semifinal rather than a night-defining contest.

Mr. Anderson met Abyss in the other semifinal, and the size mismatch forced Anderson to abandon most clean-power exchanges. Abyss tossed his opponent across the ring and knocked him down with a big boot, while Anderson attacked the knee and tried repeatedly to expose or remove Abyss’s mask. The knee work eventually limited the bigger man’s footing. Abyss was still capable of a comeback, hitting Shock Treatment and surviving Anderson’s attempt to blunt his momentum with cheap punches.

The match turned when Anderson pulled the mask over Abyss’s eyes while escaping a chokeslam, momentarily leaving him unable to see the referee in front of him. Anderson chopped the back of the leg, landed the Mic Check and pinned Abyss to reach the final. The C (6.3) reflects a sensible strategy for a smaller heel but less compelling action than Dinero’s contrasting semifinal. The finish continues Anderson’s pattern of bending the rules rather than proving he can outwrestle his opponent face-to-face.

A.J. Styles defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Samoa Joe under no-disqualification rules with Eric Bischoff acting as the special referee. Joe had exercised his Feast or Fired world-title opportunity, and Ric Flair was beside Styles after the champion’s recent turn. Joe controlled early exchanges, including a dive to the floor that drove Styles into the barricade. Styles tried to reverse the pace by attacking Joe knee against the ring post, then sought a Figure Four while Flair tried to give him extra leverage. Bischoff threatened to eject Flair for that intervention but let the match continue.

Joe mounted another comeback and hit the Muscle Buster, normally the kind of finish that should produce a title change. There was no count: Bischoff had gone to ringside to confront Flair and knocked him down, leaving Joe furious with his referee. Joe pushed Bischoff during the argument, then turned into Styles Pelé kick and the Styles Clash for a three count that Bischoff reluctantly administered. The A- (8.8) recognizes intense, contrasting wrestling and a credible championship showdown, but the delayed count and guest-referee conflict deliberately obscure whether Joe could have won without the outside story. This is worth watching with that disputed finish in mind.

D’Angelo Dinero faced Mr. Anderson in the eight-man 8 Card Stud Tournament final with a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Lockdown on the line. Dinero had already defeated Desmond Wolfe and Matt Morgan during the same evening. Before the final could start, Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac ambushed Dinero backstage, leaving him struggling to reach the ring. Anderson entered alone, pressured the referee to begin the countout and repeatedly broke the count to drag Dinero back outside for more punishment. The opening stretch was designed to make a potentially simple win feel doubtful before a proper exchange had even begun.

Dinero eventually rallied with a series of punches, a German suplex and a close fall from his double knees, but Anderson recovered and landed the Mic Check. Dinero survived that pin attempt. Anderson then missed a top-rope senton, giving Dinero just enough time to drive his opponent into the corner and land a second double-knee attack from behind for the winning fall. The B+ (8.1) reflects an effective tournament payoff with a resilient winner whose Lockdown title opportunity was clear by the final bell. The prolonged attack and near-countout are useful story devices, though they make this more about Dinero’s comeback than balanced technical wrestling.