TNA Review - No Surrender 2012

TNA PPV Review – No Surrender 2012 By Phil Allely Jeff Hardy overcame the odds at TNA's No Surrender PPV to win a the number contender spot at the company's upcoming Bound For Glory event. The entire PPV was overshadowed by the sneak attack heavy group called the Aces and 8's and their decimation of the TNA roster. The run-ins and dodgy finishes that were missing from previous PPV's returned too unfortunately. Hardy kicked off proceedings with a nice win over Samoa Joe in the first semi final of the BFG series. Jeff and Joe unleashed a world of hate on each here and swiftly drew the crowd into the zone with them. The action swayed to and fro, near falls were attempted and the finish came as Hardy took advantage of an arm injury to the Samoan and countered a move with a roll-up to progress. Many fans thinking this year was James Storm's chance to shine were shocked by the result of the next encounter. Facing Bully Ray Storm put forth a well-paced scrap and seemed set to fulfil his destiny and win that elusive World Title Match. Ray of course took every heel short cut he could throughout the match and after a ref bump, Bobby Roode hit the ring to deck Storm with a beer bottle and allow Ray the all important pin. The Knockouts Title match between champ Miss Tessmacher and challenger Tara saw the friends trade near falls, trademark moves and some decent looking exchanges. Tessamacher retained her gold to prove her loss on Impact! was a fluke. Up next TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries (in street clothes) battled Aces & 8's man The Armbreaker in a stiff looking encounter. The pair took it in and out of the ring, Aries gave as good as he got here. Armbreaker received an assist from his fellow group members after Aries nailed a brainbuster, the TNA locker room (including The Hulkster) hit the ring to even things up and chase the gang away. The X Division Title was up for grab next, with Sonjay Dutt challenging champion Zema Ion. This fast-paced match perfectly highlighted the enthusiasm the division has and can have provided the correct talent are utilised. Ion retained his gold after a series of good looking near falls. Rob Van Dam and Magnus then had a reasonable, although not too overwhelming match. The pair gelled well, but never really got off the starting blocks. Van Dam's style proving to be a slight problem for the more European influenced grappler. RVD hit a 'Five Star Frog Splash' on a prone Magnus to send the Brit home with a loss. With Kurt angle nursing a leg injury the Tag Team Title match between him and team mate AJ Styles against champions Kazarian and Daniels was mainly Styles heavy. Angle worked where he could and hit some nice looking suplexe's etc too. The action was good to very good throughout and the Kaz/Daniels combo played their parts well, Styles took a hammering and still out performed all the talent featured. With Angle down at ringside and Styles prone Daniels threw his martini in his opponents face to allow Kaz an easy pin. The main event saw an injured (from the earlier Aces & 8's scrap) Jeff Hardy face Bully Ray with a Bound For Glory World Title shot on the line in the final of the BFG series. After a short stall featuring Hulk Hogan Hardy took to the ring (selling his injuries) and offered up a great selection of counter moves to Ray's brutal shots. Hardy through sheer will and determination fought through the pain to nail a Swanton and net himself the 'series' winning pin. No Surrender may have been a an event where the afore mentioned run-in and outside involvement prevailed over natural results. The matches for the most part were good to excellent and we now have a challenger for Austin Aries title at BFG. The Ace's and 8's storyline is progressing nicely and fans are now primed for the eventual reveal of who the group may be. Running The Ropes may have been left slightly let down by No Surrender, but the potential for BFG overshadows that. Www.impactwrestlingcom By Phil Allely