Impact Wrestling’s 2004 PPV season was light work with few PPVs. Now we’re getting into 2005 with the second PPV of 2005: TNA Against All Odds! Does the main event between Jeff Jarrett and Kevin Nash exceed expectations? Let’s find out!
Lower-Tier
Kazarian and Michael Shane were capable of putting on some nice tag team matches. Their match at TNA Against All Odds 2005 against B.G James and Jeff Hammond obviously one of them. Fortunately, it only ran for about five minutes.
There were moments where I was feeling the tag match between DDP & Monty Brown and Team Canada. I had to watch it more than once to see what it was about the match that just wasn’t clicking with me before I was tempted to skip ahead. I’m thinking it’s DDP. I’ll give TNA credit for investing time in involving DDP in this and not just dropping him into things.
Mid-Tier
I’ll agree with Don West, I’m glad that they kicked off TNA Against All Odds 2005 with some fast-paced action in Elix Skipper vs. Petey Williams. It was actually more mid-paced but these two work well against each other. The match was also the debut of Skipper’s new finisher Sudden Death—which was infinite times better than the Play of the Day.
Raven vs. Dustin was a textbook bout. It’s not going to wow you but it wasn’t lousy. I’ll also say that it wasn’t a sluggish match. Raven worked the leg most of the match which is something you didn’t of Raven later in his career. One thing it shows about the character is that he has more than enough tricks to win both straight up and by bending the rules a little.
When I was watching this in 2005, I was indifferent but now there’s a need for more between these two with bigger stakes. The Tag Title match between champions America’s Most Wanted and the team of Kid Kash and Lance Hoyt was a solid match. This one had a bit sprinty, Hoyt didn’t slow the action down much but the other three kept the action hot.
Exotic-Tier
Abyss vs. Jeff Hardy was a demolition match. Facing off in Full Metal Mayhem, this match was made for both of them and was Abyss’ signature match in Impact Wrestling. There were a number of memorable spots from this bout including Hardy’s dive from the entrance through Abyss and a table and Abyss giving Hardy an overhead suplex from the ring throw a table outside!
Styles vs. Daniels is a TNA/Impact Wrestling feud for the ages. It’s pretty much their greatest feud as it has been reignited a couple of times. This isn’t two guys facing off merely because they were booked into positions favorable to themselves and creative, they have a rivalry in the company and beyond. The contest was an Iron Man Match for the X Division title and was it was just as eventful as you’d figure.
AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels are also matched on the mat and that made for a really competitive match that wasn’t boring. These Iron Man matches are extremely delicate. Pacing and action are everything in them and these two knew what to do.
Jeff Jarrett defended his NWA World title against Kevin Nash in a match that would’ve been undisputed exotic-tier if it was about five minutes shorter. We know Jarrett could still do 20 minutes matches in 2005, we didn’t need him to do one with Nash. Maybe in 1995. That said, the match was far from bad. It was actually good. It’s exotic-tier because it exceeded my expectations. That said, it still could’ve been dope at 14 or 15 minutes.
Speaking of 1995, please check out our long-running Into the Vault 1995 series. We’re getting closer to closing out 1995!
TNA Against All Odds 2005 Verdict: 6.5/10
Luckily, the show had three matches that made re-watching this worthwhile. There was a car crash, a wrestling clinic, and an entertainment bout. Pretty much a three-ring show with some attractions to warm you up. The stuff that didn’t totally hit it out the park for me wasn’t bad either, it just lacked something that would’ve put it over for me.
That said, TNA Against All Odds 2005 is a pretty good show in Impact Wrestling’s vault.
TNA Final Resolution 2005 Score: 8/10
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