Kurt Angle and Sting defended the TNA World Tag Team Championships against "Pacman" Jones and Ron Killings in the opening contest of the show. As I mentioned in the review of the last TNA PPV (Hard Justice), Jones was a huge signing by TNA but was not permitted to have any physical contact, which threw a massive wrench in whatever TNA seemingly had planned for him originally. And so really this is 2-on-1 match with Jones refusing to wrestling/running away from his opponents. It gets heat - which is a good thing - but unless TNA had figured out a work-aound for Jones not being allowed to take any bumps, what good is it if he can't eventually get his comeuppance? Karen Angle shows up and gets in the face of Sting and then feigns being struck by him, which eventually leads to Angle attacking his own partner and Pacman getting the pinfall (which we don't actually see on camera because either the production didn't catch it or because they weren't allowed to him having physical contact with a wrestler). This isn't the worst angle I've ever seen, but knowing the corner they were booking themselves into, I might still consider it one of the dumbest angles I've ever seen. (1/5)
What is it with James Storm and his knack for redeeming himself from awful matches by having an undeniably strong one on the next pay-per-view against the same opponent? This time around, Storm pulls it off with Rhyno after the two had a lame "Barroom Brawl" match the previous month. This one starts off more like a genuine ECW brawl with Rhyno and Storm fighting throughout the Impact Zone before the bell even rings. From there, they have a solid back-and-forth built around signature maneuvers and table spots, delivering a solid, physical 10-minute war. Rhyno gets the feel-good win, but the post-match is botched as Rhyno can't get the mini-keg to work when he tries to give Storm a Budweiser enema (which would've been awful to watch anyway). Rhyno hits a Gore on Jacqueline for good measure, which I'm not sure was planned or improvised but feels like maybe it was done because the keg thing didn't pan out. I wouldn't call this a great match, but it was noticeably better than the "Barroom Brawl," which was an unnecessary gimmick when you can just let these two guys go out and beat the crud out of eachother (as they did here). (3/5)
Kaz vs. Bobby Roode followed. The in-ring action was executed well, the transitions were good, Roode is a fine heel and Kaz did good babyface work...but this still felt a little heatless until the final few minutes. These two guys get hyped as future main eventers on commentary, but their characters were either generic (in the case of Roode at the time) or vague to the point of nonexistence (Kaz). Their feud was based on Roode's mistreatment of Ms. Brooks and Kaz and her becoming increasingly friendly, which did add drama to this match and played into the finish (as Roode attempted to use a chain to win the match but saw his plan thwarted by his manager). Not a bad match, but not one that struck me as "PPV worthy." (2.5/5)
The TNA X-Division Championship was on the line next as Kurt Angle defended the title against Jay "Black Machismo" Lethal. I'm not a fan of Lethal's Macho Man-aping gimmick - not because he did a bad impression, but because the more he did it, the less we saw of who Jay Lethal really was. Before the match, Kevin Nash tells Lethal to take a dive and what could've and should've been a moment for Lethal to "break character" and speak from the heart is...not. What makes things worse is that this match is very good. Angle's suplexes look absolutely devastating and I love how he works on Lethal's back and neck throughout the contest. Angle's performance is not for everyone as this is a clear cut example of his "go-go-go" style of non-stop action (which, y'know, is what TNA prided itself on, right?), but it worked for me here because it really felt like he was testing Lethal, pushing the youngster to really prove if he could hang with arguably the most technically-proficient wrestler (debatable) and biggest star in the company (less debatable). The match only goes 12-and-a-half minutes but it feels like a hard-fought battle and the near-falls are fantastic. Again, the only thing that would really push this into "must watch," to me, would be if this was more of a Jay Lethal vs. Kurt Angle match rather than being a Black Machismo vs. Kurt Angle match. (3.5/5)
I wasn't expecting much out of the next match - Chris Harris vs. Black Reign - as their "match" at the previous show was just a total squash with Dustin bloodying Harris for a few minutes until a gaggle of X-Division guys came out to stop him (with Sonjay Dutt unable to hide a massive smile on his face despite the seriousness of the assault). I wouldn't say Dustin proved he still had "it" here as he was moving slow and he was still years away from busting out anything resembling the agility he has shockingly showcased over the past decade, but Harris brought the fire and the energy and Rhodes did his job of cutting him off. Plus, by going under 6 minutes, it never gets boring. The finish is a bit out of nowhere and doesn't live up to the No Disqualification stipulation as Hebner prevents Rhodes from stabbing Harris, even though, technically, wouldn't that be legal? Still, I'm just glad they kept it as fast-paced as possible and didn't overstay their welcome. (2.5/5)
A pseudo-Royal Rumble match follows, hyped as a 10-team Gauntlet Match but wrestled under the same type of rules as the WWE's January classic (with entrants coming in every 60 seconds). This one starts out fairly hot as AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, former Tag Team Champions in the early days of TNA, start things off before Homicide shows up. I wish they'd have found a way to let these guys work 3-4 minutes on their own because it would've been stupendous based on the little bit of time they get together before Sabin and Havok (Johnny Devine) join the fray. From here, due to the nature of the match, things get a little crowded and a pattern sets in as the latest entrant comes in, does his signature stuff, gets cut off, rinse and repeat. We finally get a big man at #7 as Brother Devon shows up (followed soon after by Brother Ray at #9). Raven comes in #10 and I really wanted to see him and Team 3D have a "moment," but I guess whoever laid out the match had no interest in an ECW nostalgia pop? Team 3D have a dominant run, making some eliminations and cutting down the herd. BG James shows up, Sonjay Dutt comes in, Tomko comes in...nothing really important or interesting happens until Lance Hoyt arrives and dumps Elix Skipper to the floor in what looked like it could've been some sort of botch that nearly injured Skipper. Kip James comes in at #19, followed by Eric Young at #20. Young ends up hanging till the final three before the final two are AJ Styles, who made it through from the very start of the match, and Alex Shelley...and thus, the match morphs into AJ Styles and Tyson Tomko (who had been eliminated earlier) against Shelley and Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns. I wish these two teams had been given more time because their work against each other is quite good. I'm surprised to type it, but Tyson Tomko was actually not that bad based on his performance here and the match he had against Abyss at the previous PPV. All in all, this was a solid 25 minutes of action and I liked that they let AJ Styles shine throughout and also made the Guns look like a big deal. At this point in TNA, these guys were very much the highlights of the show in-ring while teams like the Voodoo Kin Mafia were almost embarrassing comparatively (both in-ring and with their lame WWE-spoofing "comedy" segments"). (3/5)
Next up - Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe. Over 15 years later, these guys are still among the best workers in the US. I was expecting this to be a terrific contest, but the DQ finish really bummed me out. The previous 14 minutes were good but a bit one-sided as Joe really took the fight to Christian and dominated for the majority of the contest. I would've liked to see Christian use his crafty veteran knowledge to control more of the match rather than playing the chickenshit heel, but, to be fair, Joe's gimmick has always worked best when he's allowed to have matches like this where he is comes across as a bad ass and Christian bumped and sold well for him. This one never got to the "higher gear," though, that would've made it feel like Joe had lost all control and needed to attack the refs. The post-match provided some cool visuals as Joe hung Christian over the top rope by a tee-shirt wrapped around his neck and then got put in his place by Matt Morgan, who was serving as Jim Cornette's enforcer and did have undeniable size and presence. (3/5)
After announcing that Impact would be going 2-hour, it was main event time - Kurt Angle defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Abyss. I wasn't necessarily expecting much out of this match as Abyss is known most for his hardcore matches and Angle had already wrestled twice on this evening. Had they done 10-12 minutes and ended things with some sort of "schmoz," that probably would've been sufficient...but Abyss and Angle brought out their best and delivered a near-20 minute battle that was smartly worked (as it was built around Angle having to cutdown his opponent and weaken him for the Ankle Lock). I wouldn't call this "must see" but it was above-average and a better match than I expected it to be. The post-match drew "Fire Russo!" chants as Abyss was dragged into the ring by a mysterious hand. I don't know who that hand belong to, maybe Black Reign based on Abyss' next couple months of feuds? A solid match with a surprisingly clean finish that made it clear that, despite losing twice earlier in the night, Angle was still "the man." (3/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.69-out-of-5, TNA's No Surrender 2007 is a solid albeit unremarkable show. The main event is, like several other matches on this show, good but not great. Christian/Joe is underwhelming and has a weak finish. The Tag Team Gauntlet match is funner than I expected it to be, but then fizzles out too quickly once we get to the finals - a surprisingly great few minutes of AJ & Tomko vs. The Motor City Machine Guns. Angle vs. Lethal is a very strong match, the closest thing to a "must watch," but missed the mark with me due to Lethal leaning too far into the Savage cosplay when the match could've been all about Jay Lethal finally winning as Jay Lethal. With no single match that I'd consider truly great and most people's mileage varying on TNA, this one gets a...
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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