Against All Odds 2012: Aries-Shelley and Styles-Kazarian Strengthen a Consequential Card

The X Division No. 1 contender match between Zema Ion and Jesse Sorensen became a serious injury incident rather than a routine countout. Sorensen initially moved ahead with quick pins and a hurricanrana; Ion retaliated with a missile dropkick, and the wrestlers took the match outside. Ion launched a moonsault from the middle ropes toward Sorensen on the floor. His knee struck Sorensen on the head, leaving Sorensen unable to continue. The referee checked on the injured wrestler and signaled for medical attention, while the official result awarded Ion the contest by countout.

Medical personnel assisted Sorensen and he was taken to a hospital after the opening match. Contemporary reports published February 12 quoted TNA president Dixie Carter confirming his injury and transport for treatment. Ion was announced as the next X Division title contender, but it would be inaccurate to describe the contest as an ordinary heel countout finish engineered through stalling. The existing D+ (5.0) evaluates an abruptly terminated 4:03 bout, not Sorensen injury as entertainment. Preserve the result as Ion by countout, distinguish medical intervention from a referee pinfall, and avoid attributing the injury to any intent without evidence.

Robbie E defended the Television Championship in an open challenge answered by Shannon Moore, with Robbie T at ringside but not a legal competitor. Moore opened with arm drags, a dropkick and a spinning kick before Robbie tried to walk away with his championship. Moore followed him and brought him back inside. Robbie slowed Moore with a running knee off the apron and an elbow from the ropes, then tried to control the pace with a chinlock. Moore responded by diving to the floor with an Asai moonsault and returned with another near fall, making the champion defend rather than escape.

In the closing exchange, Moore missed a moonsault, recovered and hit a super frankensteiner for a close count. Robbie pushed Moore out of a cradle attempt toward Robbie T, who punched the challenger outside the referee view. Robbie E then hit a DDT to secure the in-ring pin and retained the Television title. The C+ (6.5) reflects a competitive nine-minute defense undercut by second-man interference. Robbie T contributed the illegal blow but was not a third participant or the wrestler who made the final pin.

Gail Kim defended the Knockouts Championship against Tara with Madison Rayne in her corner, but her alliance became as unstable as the challenger’s injured knee. Tara started aggressively with chops and snapmares, and Kim answered with rope-assisted attacks, a missile dropkick and a top-rope hurricanrana. Madison argued with Kim from ringside before storming up the entrance ramp. That departure was not a title change or a legal run-in; Kim still had to win the match herself. Tara rallied with a powerslam and spinning side slam, turning a relatively short defense into a plausible upset attempt.

Tara landed a top-rope moonsault but hurt her knee on impact and could not finish the three count. The injured leg also undermined her attempt at Widow’s Peak. Kim drove the knee onto her own leg, then hit Eat Defeat for the pin to retain. The C (6.3) captures a coherent injury-focused finish in a roughly seven-minute championship bout, even if the dispute with Madison interrupted the action. The point worth revisiting is how Tara’s successful moonsault became the reason she could not convert her offensive advantage.

Samoa Joe and Magnus challenged tag champions Crimson and Matt Morgan in a rematch from the previous month’s Genesis show. The champions controlled the start with size and coordinated power moves. Joe and Magnus responded by isolating Crimson, switching tags rapidly as Joe’s heavy strikes and Magnus’s suplexes kept the smaller exchanges from turning into Morgan’s preferred fight. Crimson eventually created an opening and tagged Morgan, whose running knee and double clothesline briefly swung the contest back toward the defending team.

The title change came from an accident within the champion pairing. Morgan avoided Joe’s attempted throw and Joe collided with Magnus; as Crimson tried to rush back into the action, he speared his own partner Morgan. Joe threw Crimson out of the ring, dropped Morgan with a snapmare, and Magnus hit a top-rope elbow drop on Morgan for the winning pin. Joe and Magnus became new TNA World Tag Team Champions at 9:56. The B (7.8) credits their teamwork and a decisive finish linked to the champions’ deteriorating coordination, rather than treating this as a random title swap.

Austin Aries defended the X Division Championship against Alex Shelley in one of the longest and most technically inventive matches on the card. Aries showboated after early evasions, then worked Shelley’s head and neck. Shelley responded with a slingshot attack to the floor and a suicide dive into the guardrail, refusing to let the champion dictate every exchange. Shelley caught Aries with Sliced Bread No. 2 for a near fall, but Aries reached the bottom rope to interrupt the count. The rope escape gave the champion another chance after surviving a move that often finished Shelley’s opponents.

Aries landed a brainbuster and was shocked when Shelley kicked out. Shelley nearly stole the title with a small package and repeated kicks. Aries struck the challenger’s head again, delivered a SECOND brainbuster, and immediately applied his Last Chancery neck submission until Shelley tapped at 15:07. The A- (8.7) is earned by the escalating near falls and the precise transition from a failed first brainbuster to the final head-and-neck submission. This is an excellent full-match watch and an unambiguous submission retention, not a pinfall.

A.J. Styles wrestled Kazarian while Christopher Daniels accompanied Kazarian at ringside, turning a competitive singles match into part of their collapsing friendship. Styles attacked quickly with a dropkick, a headlock and an aerial forearm over the ropes. Kazarian answered with a corner inverted DDT, a springboard leg drop and sustained control of Styles’s head. Both men were familiar enough with the other’s timing to counter standard moves; a near miss during a ringside exchange emphasized that the match was fought at considerable speed rather than in a cautious exhibition.

Late in the match Styles hit the Pelé Kick and jumped onto the top rope as if to resume attacking Kazarian. Instead, he launched a moonsault onto Daniels on the floor. The diversion left him exposed when he returned to his opponent: Kazarian caught him and hit Fade to Black for the pin at 18:42. Kazarian’s win advanced the Daniels-instigated personal story without assigning Daniels an actual in-ring match role. The A- (8.5) fits the agile counters and consequential finish, although the distraction is a deliberate source of controversy.

Gunner faced Garett Bischoff in a singles match with Eric Bischoff accompanying Gunner and Hulk Hogan supporting Garett. The family rivalry explains why Eric tried to impede his own son from ringside; it did not turn the bout into a tag match. Garett opened with arm drags, an atomic drop and a dropkick before Gunner took control with targeted head-and-neck attacks. Eric grabbed Garett’s foot during a rope exchange and later struck him while the referee was distracted. Hogan retaliated against Eric outside the ring, briefly creating a second confrontation while the two legal competitors stayed inside.

Gunner attacked Garett’s neck with several neckbreakers and elbows while Hogan held a towel and Garett refused to concede. Gunner finally planted Garett with a DDT for the pin at 11:58. That result is a Gunner singles victory, not a formal manager-assisted team decision. The C- (5.8) reflects straightforward wrestling overwhelmed by a family-feud angle, but the neck attack built coherently to Gunner’s finishing move. A skim captures both the interference and the result.

Bobby Roode defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a four-way against Jeff Hardy, James Storm and Bully Ray, with Sting appointed special guest enforcer. The challengers were not a unified team: Storm repeatedly attacked Roode while Ray broke up covers, and Hardy launched quick attacks on anyone who gave him an opening. The contest included a Tower of Doom and several near finishes. Ray accidentally struck the referee during a charge, later pulled the recovering official out of the ring to stop Storm’s cover after the Last Call superkick, and helped create a situation where only Sting could enforce a final count.

Hardy landed a Twist of Fate on Roode but missed the Swanton Bomb. Roode grabbed his championship belt and tried to provoke Sting into attacking him, eventually spitting at Sting. Sting swung the belt, Roode ducked, and the enforcer struck Hardy by accident. Roode immediately covered Hardy, and Sting counted the three to preserve the title at 15:05. The A- (8.6) recognizes lively four-way exchanges and a historically consequential finish, while acknowledging that the champion survived because Sting hit the wrong wrestler. The exact four-person field and accidental belt blow are vital to an accurate Event File.