No Surrender 2009: A.J. Styles' Title Breakthrough Gives a Strong Card Its Payoff

Sarita and Taylor Wilde defeated The Beautiful People (Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky) by pinfall. This is a tag team match for the inaugural tna knockouts tag team championship on the main card, and the 4:55 runtime gives the match a clearly defined window. The championship stake gives every near fall and finish more weight than a routine supporting match. Sarita and Taylor Wilde become the inaugural champions, so the result has historical value even though 4:55 is too short for four wrestlers to build much texture. The score reflects the whole package rather than the reputation of the names involved: how well the idea fits its time, whether the finish adds something, and how much the match improves No Surrender 2009 as a complete show.

Hernandez defeated Eric Young by pinfall. Framed as a singles match on the main card, the bout runs 0:48 and arrives with a straightforward job to do on the card. Without a championship at stake, the match has to earn its value through the pairing, stipulation, pacing and the consequence of the result. The 48-second runtime makes this an angle-sized match rather than a pay-per-view contest. Hernandez gets the quick win, but there is almost no bell-to-bell material to evaluate. That leaves the match with a clear place in the event rather than an inflated grade based on later reputation. Its D at 4.5 reflects execution, stakes, placement and replay value together.

Samoa Joe (c) defeated Daniels by submission. The main card places the match in a singles match for the tna x division championship setting, with 13:47 available to turn the premise into something more than a result. The championship stake gives every near fall and finish more weight than a routine supporting match. Joe and Daniels get nearly fourteen minutes and a submission finish, giving the X Division Championship a serious, athletic defense instead of a multi-man spectacle. The simplicity helps the match stand out. In the context of No Surrender 2009, that is enough to make the bout feel purposeful even when it is not the card's main attraction. The 8.8 score weighs the actual match, its time allocation and the result as one package.

D'Angelo Dinero defeated Suicide by pinfall. At 12:14, this falls count anywhere match has enough information in its premise to establish what the wrestlers need to accomplish without much explanation. Without a championship at stake, the match has to earn its value through the pairing, stipulation, pacing and the consequence of the result. Falls Count Anywhere fits Dinero and Suicide because it lets their rivalry spill outside a normal singles structure. Twelve minutes gives the stipulation room without letting the wandering pace take over. The important point is what the match contributes on this night, not what the wrestlers did elsewhere. Graded at B+ (8.1), it lands where its execution, stakes and placement justify it.

ODB defeated Cody Deaner by pinfall. This is a singles match for the vacant tna women's knockout championship on the main card, and the 7:14 runtime gives the match a clearly defined window. The championship stake gives every near fall and finish more weight than a routine supporting match. The vacant championship gives the finish consequence, but ODB and Deaner are working with a comedy-heavy premise and just over seven minutes. The title change matters more than the match itself. The score reflects the whole package rather than the reputation of the names involved: how well the idea fits its time, whether the finish adds something, and how much the match improves No Surrender 2009 as a complete show.

Kevin Nash (c) defeated Abyss by pinfall. Framed as a $50,000 bounty challenge for the tna legends championship on the main card, the bout runs 8:23 and arrives with a straightforward job to do on the card. The championship stake gives every near fall and finish more weight than a routine supporting match. The bounty challenge gives Abyss a clear objective and Nash a reason to defend the Legends title, but the eight-minute match never becomes more than a functional heavyweight attraction. That leaves the match with a clear place in the event rather than an inflated grade based on later reputation. Its C at 6.3 reflects execution, stakes, placement and replay value together.

Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode) and Team 3D (Brother Devon and Brother Ray) defeated The Main Event Mafia (Booker T and Scott Steiner) and The British Invasion (Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams) by pinfall. The main card places the match in a lethal lockdown match setting, with 21:27 available to turn the premise into something more than a result. Without a championship at stake, the match has to earn its value through the pairing, stipulation, pacing and the consequence of the result. Lethal Lockdown is the show’s major spectacle. Twenty-one minutes, eight established wrestlers and intertwined tag and faction stakes give the match enough scale to justify the cage-heavy concept. In the context of No Surrender 2009, that is enough to make the bout feel purposeful even when it is not the card's main attraction. The 8.7 score weighs the actual match, its time allocation and the result as one package.

Bobby Lashley defeated Rhino. At 7:04, this singles match has enough information in its premise to establish what the wrestlers need to accomplish without much explanation. Without a championship at stake, the match has to earn its value through the pairing, stipulation, pacing and the consequence of the result. Lashley and Rhino work a direct seven-minute singles match that serves its purpose without becoming a feature. The pairing has physical credibility, but the match is mostly a bridge to the main event. The important point is what the match contributes on this night, not what the wrestlers did elsewhere. Graded at C (6.3), it lands where its execution, stakes and placement justify it.

A.J. Styles defeated Hernandez, Kurt Angle (c), Matt Morgan and Sting. This is a five-way dance for the tna world heavyweight championship (this was hernandez's feast or fired world title match) on the main card, and the 15:10 runtime gives the match a clearly defined window. The championship stake gives every near fall and finish more weight than a routine supporting match. The five-way format could have become cluttered, but the championship change gives every exchange a clear destination. Styles defeating a field that includes Angle and Sting makes the result feel like a genuine breakthrough. The score reflects the whole package rather than the reputation of the names involved: how well the idea fits its time, whether the finish adds something, and how much the match improves No Surrender 2009 as a complete show.