Today it’s the most famous loser in WWE history: Steve Lombardi.

Lombardi started off under his real name in 1983 and we’ll pick things up on February 11, 1984.

Steve Lombardi vs. Iron Sheik

Sheik bows to Blassie before we get going. A few kicks to the ribs and the camel clutch end this quick. The match ran about 30 seconds.

Off to a pretty famous show with the Brawl To End It All.

Battle Royal

Sika, Luis Rivera, Butcher Vachon, Antonio Inoki, Tony Garea, Jay Strongbow, Afa, Steve Lombardi, Dick Murdoch, Bob Orton, Adrian Adonis, Rene Goulet, Ron Shaw, Charlie Fulton, Terry Daniels, Iron Sheik, Tito Santana, Paul Orndorff, Sgt. Slaughter, Samu

This is of the 20 man persuasion and is the last match before we go on MTV. In other words, everyone that was on the card tonight other than Hogan and Valentine and Backlund plus three other guys that I don’t feel like figuring out. Slaughter goes right after Sheik and of course it’s too nuts to really call. Lombardi is out. Orndorff’s tights say O. P. Isn’t that backwards?

Orndorff is gone as Gene isn’t on commentary here. Strongbow is out and looks very old. Slaughter and Daniels are partners so they’re working together. Orton hits the floor twice but never over the top. Ok scratch that as he and Sheik are gone. Scratch that scratching as Orton is still in. Vachon is out.

This is of course very slow paced with not much going on at all. Adonis is gone and he’s ticked off about it. And of course he won’t leave. He’s still a biker dude at this point. Murdoch is gone and won’t leave either. Ok so he’s not out. This is confusing. Fulton is out. Not a lot is happening at all here. The Samoans are dominating for the most part.

Ok so Adonis is still in too? What the heck is going on? He goes out AGAIN but through the second rope this time. Shaw was eliminated and is back in anyway. Santana keeps Goulet from putting Slaughter out. Adonis, Slaughter and Murdoch all go out in about 4 seconds. There are about 10 left. Afa goes out and that gives us ten.

Tito is out and so is Sika. Rivera goes out and I can’t really tell who is left. Daniels gets us down to six when he goes out. Samu goes out I think and it’s Inoki, Goulet, Orton, Shaw and Garea. If you can’t get the winner from that list you have no business reading this list. Enziguri puts out Orton in some of the funniest selling I can ever remember. Garea is put out, leaving only Inoki as a face in there. Heel miscommunication puts Shaw out and Inoki wins easily.

Rating: D. Boring match here but the crowd was hot for it. This was just to give the fans something to get excited about as we went to the MTV show. Battle royals are usually solid for getting a crowd going and this was no exception. Boring match but the crowd liked it so I guess it did its job.

Off to the Superstars era, starting on January 24, 1987.

Steve Lombardi vs. Koko B. Ware

LET THE JOBBERS EXPLODE! Lombardi would become the Brooklyn Brawler soon enough. He beats up Roma who is still there after getting beaten down. That’s probably his biggest accomplishment of the decade. Fink does another voiceover and advertises Special Delivery Jones.

Dang that card must have sucked. Lombardi hits a decent spinning neckbreaker. Not bad at all. Koko has a muscle shirt on which looks very odd on him. The darker skinned jobber takes over and looks completely stupid. Lombardi is tough apparently. Koko hits the missile dropkick after WAY too long of an amount of time on offense to get the win.

Rating: C-. Longer match here but not terrible I guess. It’s fine for what it was is a good way to put this. The fans seemed to boo the ending though which is rather odd to say the least. Boring stuff but not terrible at all. At the ending of the day though, Brawler probably should be in the Hall of Fame over Ware and that says a lot.

And again on February 7 of the same year.

Outback Jack vs. Steve Lombardi

Seriously, how did I never make this guy OCW Champion (a lot of you won’t get that reference)? Don’t you always love how over the top wrestlers and characters like Jim and Jack have such great wrestling training? Isn’t that amusing? Lombardi gets some offense in here and controls for a few seconds. Jack is really bad. He wins with a bulldog that would be called a clothesline to the back of the head later named the Boomerang. Now if he used a clothesline to the front, he could be world champion for 9 months.

Rating: F+. It went long enough and wasn’t a total squash. That being said, it was just boring. Yeah Piper’s Pit is next and it’s kind of the biggest angle ever so that’s all you get here.

Some happier times on February 11, 1989 with Lombardi now known as the Brooklyn Brawler.

Red Rooster vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Best of? Seriously? Oh these commentators could make my head hurt. I think we’re in Philadelphia here but I’m not positive. This was a feud coming off of Mania and Rooster rebelling against Heenan, so Bobby sent Brawler after him. Yeah there’s a reason why he never went anywhere. Brawler is a force to be reckoned with apparently. That’s just comical. He’s not a great wrestler though. Hayes is annoying as all goodness a lot of the time.

Again, this is on the Best of the WWF…why? Hayes’ latest great insight is that Brawler is a brawler. Oh that makes my head hurt. We get a close up of the Brawler and Hayes says he’s not a very good looking man. This is closing in on ten minutes and it’s just bare bones stuff. I think someone hit a hip toss for the biggest move of the match. Rooster gets a sunset flip for the pin and next to no reaction.

Rating: D. For the Brawler, this would indeed be considered better times. Oh man this was boring. Just WAY too long for a match with the Brooklyn Brawler in there. Also I can’t stand Terry Taylor so that has something to do with it also. I know you can have a decent match with really basic moves, but this wasn’t it.

Another jump forward to MSG on December 29, 1991.

Chris Walker vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Walker is some muscle head that I’m sure Vince, ahem, enjoyed a few times in order to get a job. He’s awful as Brawler carries him to a bad match. I shudder to think what it would have been like without him. Walker looks a bit like Kerry Von Erich if he was more muscular. The guy can jump though. This is his debut apparently.

Brawler takes over for a bit and gets in his jobber offense. Gorilla wants Hulk to win the Rumble. Well of course he does. Did Gorilla EVER cheer against Hogan? Even against other faces? Walker looks good and that’s all he has going for him it seems. Small package gets two. Top rope cross body ends Brawler.

Rating: N/A. Just a squash and nothing too impressive. Walker was about as uninteresting as you could imagine. He’s not horrible that is, but he’s a body and a decent jumping ability and that’s about it. Nothing special here at all, much like the rest of Walker’s career despite his great look.

Off to Wrestling Challenge on March 27, 1993.

Mr. Perfect vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Perfect yells at Heenan on the way in which is kind of funny. He has Luger at Mania. Heenan is complaining about the toga aspect of Mania already. This is from the WWE Classics channel so the far more interesting part is the crawl on the bottom of the screen giving all kinds of old school title changes. In a pop up interview, Luger says he’s looking forward to one week from now. Brawler gets in some basic offense but the Perfectplex ends this in two minutes or so.

Time for a new gimmick on Wrestling Challenge on September 25, 1994 as the Brawler becomes a walking baseball. Just go with it.

Abe Knuckleball Schwarts vs. George Anderson

The character was introduced as a reference to the Major League Baseball strike because “this exists” is the definition of comedy at this point in WWF. Anderson hiptosses him down but gets planted with a neckbreaker for two. Schwarts throws him to the floor as we get a baseball themed inset interview which is as bad as you would think. Even Monsoon says it’s bad. Back in and Abe gets a quick pin off a superplex.

Another jump to March 24, 1997 on Raw.

Flash Funk vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Funk takes him into the corner and hammers away, only to get kicked in the face. A hurricanrana gets two on the Brawler and Funk hits a reverse t-bone suplex. Funk’s standing moonsault hits knees but he comes back with a dropkick and throws the Brawler outside. Back in and the Brawler runs into a superkick, setting up the 450 to give Flash the pin. Nothing match.

We’ll jump ahead to February 28, 2000 on Raw for a bigger challenge.

The Rock vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Brawler gets in some shots in the corner but it’s the Rock Bottom to end it in about 40 seconds.

From Smackdown on July 6, 2000.

HHH vs. Brooklyn Brawler/Kaientai

Elimination tag. The trio wisely gangs up on HHH and stomps him down into the corner. Funaki hooks a headscissors and the Brawler gets two off a swinging neckbreaker. HHH slugs Kaientai down but gets clotheslined out to the floor. Taka’s Asai moonsault hits Funaki but Brawler is right there to chop away. He walks into a facebuster for two though as Taka makes the save. Kaientai gets back in and a pair of Pedigrees get rid of them both in about 30 seconds. It’s down to the Brawler vs. HHH but HHH makes the mistake of throwing the referee down. Cue Chris Jericho to lay out HHH with a Lionsault to give Brawler the huge upset.

Rating: D. What exactly are you expecting here? It’s there for the surprise ending and to enhance Jericho vs. HHH. Still though, the Brooklyn Brawler pinning HHH at the height of his powers is something worth a chuckle at least. If you want to see this done better, watch Taka vs. HHH from earlier in the year. Taka loses but he made it far more interesting than it had any right to be.

Another jump to Vengeance 2003.

Bar Room Brawl

Shannon Moore, Doink the Clown, Faarooq, Bradshaw, Brother Love, Nunzio, Matt Hardy, Chris Kanyon, Danny Basham, Doug Basham, The Easter Bunny, Sean O’Haire, John Hennigan, Orlando Jordan, Funaki, Los Conquistadores, The Brooklyn Brawler, Johnny Stamboli, Chuck Palumbo, Matt Cappotelli, and Spanky.

There’s a bar set up in the arena and we’re just going to fight in there. Los Conquistadores are Rob Conway and Johnny Jeter in case you’re wondering. Aaron Stevens is the Easter Bunny. He was on Smackdown for a cup of coffee as Idol Stevens in like 05 or 06. McCool managed him. John Hennigan is more commonly known as John Morrison, and this Doink is played by Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore.

In essence, this is a big OVW party as a ton of these guys were in OVW at the time. Most of the jobbers don’t get intros. Spanky is up on the bar dancing. Bradshaw says the rules are that the last man drinking wins as we’re testing the toughness and their livers. Ok that’s creative. Brother Love wants to pray before we start. Naturally it’s just a massive fight with no rhyme or reason to it. The Easter Bunny is drinking bears and getting punched. This is wrong.

O’Haire beats the APA up with pool cues. This is idiotic. Brother Love beats up Shannon Moore. I’d think that sums up why no one buys him. The Easter Bunny goes through a window. A bunny watching this would be traumatized for life. Hardy can’t break a table which is kind of funny.

There’s nothing of any kind of logic going on here at all. Funaki passes out from beer. Bradshaw beats up Brother Love and I guess that gives him the win. He’s the last man standing even though Farroorq is standing next to him.

Rating: N/A. This was a waste of about 5 minutes. Moving on.

And again to ECW on SyFy on August 1, 2006.

Brooklyn Brawler vs. Kurt Angle

Ankle lock. Do you really need another detail?

From Raw on July 12, 2010. Sadly enough I was there for this.

Santino Bunch vs. Regal Bunch

Her video is literally nothing but clips from the Brady Bunch. No one under the age of 15 gets this at all as she’s just some old woman. It’s weird seeing a Boyle County (big old corn fed Kentucky high school football team) shirt on WWE TV. Florence is the announcer here and says she’s feeling groovy. It’s Regal, Ryder (with regular tights now), Primo and Doink (I’d bet on Nick Dinsmore, aka Eugene) vs. Santino, Khali, Kozlov and Goldust. That’s actually a fairly accomplished face team.

Henderson gets a MUCH better reaction here than she did in the video earlier. Wow apparently it was Steve Lombardi as Doink, more commonly known as the Brooklyn Brawler. The captains start us off as Santino has been less annoying lately. Florence puts on Regal’s robe and Santino goes Cobra on us. I wonder if he’s Cobra Commander.

It’s a big mess already and here’s Doink. The crowd only cared about him for the sake of comedy. Khali comes in and falls victim to a squirt gun. A big chop ends this in like a minute. Khali’s music really is good. Henderson is a sport here and at least seems like she wants to be there which is a very good thing if nothing else. She kisses Khali afterwards which is disturbing.

Rating: N/A. Although anything with these 8 guys can’t be incredibly good. Thankfully it seems that the guest host concept is ending. Shame it’s only 7 months too late but whatever.

Raw, July 2, 2012.

Heath Slater vs. Doink The Clown

This is basically a squash with Slater hitting his spinning sleeper mat slam (didn’t that have a name?) for the pin at 1:20.

We’ll wrap it up with a pay per view match at TLC 2012.

3MB vs. Alberto Del Rio/The Miz/Brooklyn Brawler

You know what? Why not? He’s in a Brooklyn Nets jersey as apparently he’s abandoned the Yankees (Bronx, not Brooklyn) shirt. Ignore those RYDER chants of course. Del Rio and Slater start things off with Alberto in control. Off to Brawler who beats up Mahal a bit before getting punched down by Heath. Brawler avoids a middle rope knee drop as we hear about 3MB having their tattoos messed up. Not hot tag brings in Miz who gets two on Jinder off a DDT. Del Rio drives Drew into the remnants of the announce table. The Finale takes down Mahal and the Brawler gets the win off a Boston Crab at 3:37.

Rating: D. It should have been Ryder. Seriously, what else do you want me to say here?

Again, what else do you want me to say here? It’s the freaking Brooklyn Brawler. The guy has a career record of like 3-3948584 but he’s still going to get a nostalgia pop when he comes out. He never was a big deal but he was around for the better part of twenty years. That’s not bad for a loser, though I have to wonder, in kayfabe terms, why in the world did he keep a job?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 22, 2014
Location: Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

We’re closing in on the Lashley vs. Roode showdown with the champion seeming to have some issues with the rest of the Trio. Other than that we have the start of a tag team tournament for a shot at the titles at some point in the future. I kind of like TNA just doing the week to week TV stuff instead of building to meaningless PPVs for a change. It works for NXT most of the time so why not TNA too? Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Lashley vs. Roode from a few weeks ago and then Bobby winning the four way last week to earn another shot.

The Wolves want the tournament to start so they can have some new opponents.

Matt Hardy comes out and introduces his partner for the tournament: Jeff Hardy. Well that was anti-climactic.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Hardys vs. BroMans

Jesse/DJZ here. Matt and DJZ start things off as Tenay and Taz are already in their own world. The guys in the ring (as in the guys the show is actually supposed to be about) trade headlocks until Matt takes him down and slams DJZ’s head into the mat over and over. Off to Jeff for Poetry in Motion to give Matt two. The Hardys go old school with the Spin Cycle (think both guys doing a half wheelbarrow suplex) but it’s quickly off to Jesse to take over.

Jeff kicks him down with ease before it’s back to Matt for a double belly to back. The BroMans are sent into each other but the distraction lets Jesse dropkick Matt down to take over. DJZ cranks on an armbar until Matt jawbreaks his way to freedom and tags in Jeff. The better Hardy cleans house with dropkicks and a gordbuster followed by the Whisper in the Wind. Jesse loads up a gorilla press but Matt tags himself in and it’s Twist/Swanton for the pin at 6:19.

Rating: C-. Just a basic tag match here that we’ll list under “what else would you expect to happen?” I can’t imagine the Hardys getting another shot after the Series blew the roof off as it would defeat the purpose of having a tournament. I’m also wondering if there are eight teams to fill out brackets as the division barely exists at this point. Decent match though.

Here’s Bram to address his surprise attack on D-Von last week. He loves hearing something being driven through a human’s skin, just like when he drove Janice into Abyss. Bram is the new king of hardcore and D-Von is his target because he’s called a hardcore legend. Whatever it takes, Bram will make sure everyone fears his name. This brings out D-Von and the beating is quickly on. Bram fights back and they head to the floor until security breaks it up in the ring. Angle comes out and makes a hardcore match between the two for later.

Brittany comes up to Samuel Shaw in the back and says she’d love it if he won tonight.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Low Ki/Samoa Joe vs. Samuel Shaw/Gunner

Joe sends Shaw into the corner and hammers away to start before nailing an enziguri for good measure. Off to Ki for a springboard kick to the face but Gunner nails him with a clothesline. Brittany comes down to be in Shaw’s corner as Ki chops away at Gunner. The heels (kind of?) start double teaming Ki but Gunner tells Shaw to get rid of Brittany.

The distraction lets Ki avoid a middle rope dive, allowing for the hot tag to Joe. Things speed up with Joe hammering away and getting two of his own off a running kick to the face. Brittany hooks Gunner’s leg for no apparent reason, allowing Ki to kick him into the Clutch from Joe for the submission at 4:36.

Rating: D+. This was more storytelling than anything else as Gunner and Shaw continue to do….whatever it is that they’re doing. They’ve been going on with this for months now and I’m really not sure where they’re going with it. The match was nothing of interest but at least didn’t take up too much time.

Shaw stands next to Brittany but Gunner comes up to yell at her. Samuel nails him with a chair and goes evil again before kissing Brittany.

Ethan Carter III says he can feel it coming in the air tonight. He thinks a Tag Team Title reign with Tyrus would be a good buildup to his World Title win. Spud might be in the building tonight so why doesn’t he find a friend to get in the ring with Ethan and his new friend? Because he’s scared.

Lashley is asked about the title match with Roode but MVP cuts him off and says it’s just another day at the office. King says he and MVP are in the tournament.

Rebel vs. Angelina Love

Love doesn’t show up but here’s Havok instead to destroy Rebel. Gail Kim charges out for the big brawl with the champion until security breaks it up.

Video on Roode vs. Lashley, which I believe is the same video that opened the show.

Angle thinks we’ll raise the stakes in the contract signing later tonight.

Bram vs. D-Von

Hardcore. They start fighting on the floor before D-Von takes him inside for a release flapjack. It’s already back on the floor with D-Von in full control and sending him into the barricade. There’s a bottle of water to the head and Bram goes into steps for good measure. Back in and D-Von nails him in the head with a trashcan lid before hitting a one man Conchairto on the trashcan lid onto Bram’s head.

Bram comes back with a trashcan lid shot of his own because apparently he’s immune to concussions. He shouts that D-Von is nothing and gets a low blow for his efforts. D-Von loads up What’s Up on the trashcan but Magnus comes out with a kendo stick shot for the save, allowing Bram to use the metal bar for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: D. It’s not even that the match was terrible but it’s uninteresting. D-Von just isn’t interesting as a singles guy but at least he’s putting someone over at this stage in his career. Bram already has more star power than Magnus has almost ever shown and has a future, hopefully as more than just a hardcore guy.

Anderson and Melendez are in the tournament.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Kenny King/MVP vs. Chris Melendez/Mr. Anderson

MVP and King are quickly knocked out to the floor but we settle down to Anderson vs. King. Mr. grabs a headlock to take over but MVP trips him up from the floor, allowing King to kick him in the head for two. MVP taunts Melendez with a tag in the corner like a true heel should before hooking Anderson in an arm crank. A running boot to the side of the head gets two but a double clothesline puts both guys down. Melendez and King come in off the tags with Chris cleaning house as everything breaks down. In the melee, King rolls up Melendez with a handful of tights for the pin at 4:55.

Rating: D+. Another middle of the ropad match here as the stories are now being applied to the tournament. That’s not the worst idea in the world and sets up some interesting matchups in the second round. Nothing great here or anything but it got the job done and kept this story going.

Eric Young fires Spud up and they’re in the tournament tonight.

The Wolves do a quick interview saying they’re looking for the best competition. They go off in different directions and Davey runs into James Storm. James tells Davey how great he is and offers to show him the way. Manik comes in to explain the beauty of the Revolution.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Ethan Carter III/Tyrus vs. Eric Young/Rockstar Spud

Young has to give Spud a pep talk to get him to the ring and there’s no Rockstar at first. Carter laughs at Spud being a coward and even has a new response to the audience: “You wish you could.” He goes on a rant about how the villains win in this world and how the 99%ers here in the audience are all losers. That’s enough to get Spud to the ring and we’re ready to go.

Spud asks to get in the ring with Carter to start. After the staredown but no contact it’s off to Tyrus but Spud won’t tag out to Eric. Spud hammers away but gets caught by a punch to the chest. Spud’s sleeper attempt is countered into a Big Ending and Tyrus throws him around with a t-bone suplex. Tyrus misses a charge but stays on Spud, knocking him down with a single shot.

Off to Carter for some slaps to the face but Spud comes back with a huge one of his own, allowing for the hot tag to Young. Eric cleans house and gets two off the elbow. Everyone heads outside for a huge dive from Young before Spud dives on both villains. Back in and a quick Tongan Death Grip slam from Tyrus gives Ethan the pin on Spud at 7:14.

Rating: C. Better match here with Spud starting to look like a big deal. It wasn’t a great mathc or anything but it was nice to see some of the stories making sense. Young continues to be the guy you call to fill in a story and that’s all he was here. Carter’s rocket push is still coming and I like sayint that.

We run down the card for next week

Here’s Angle for the contract signing between Lashley and Roode. He has a bonus stipulation to make things more interesting next week, but first he asks if either guy has anything to say. Roode admits that Lashley was the better man last week but says that Lashley will be a marked man next week. Lashley has other priorities in MMA, but wrestling is all Roode has. Being champion is the only thing he wants and next week, he’s fighting with a passion to put the title back around his waste.

MVP has built Lashley up very well, but next week Roode will prove that he’s just a man. MVP cuts Bobby off and says Lashley can takes out anyone he faces because he’s a destroyer. Angle cuts them off and says he’ll be guest referee next week. That’s not cool with MVP but Lashley signs, giving us a staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I didn’t mind this week’s show as they actually seem to have some interesting stuff coming in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, they need a show to air them on and right now we don’t know where that’s going to be. Roode vs. Lashley should be entertaining and the tag matches will be solid too, making next week interesting TV. However, this week’s build was only decent with the tournament matches being average at best. It gave me some hope though and that’s a big plus.

Results

Hardys b. BroMans – Swanton Bomb to Jesse

Samoa Joe/Low Ki b. Gunner/Samuel Shaw – Koquina Clutch to Gunner

Bram b. D-Von – Metal pole to the head

MVP/Kenny King b. Chris Melendez/Mr. Anderson – Rollup with a handful of tights to Melendez

Ethan Carter III/Tyrus b. Rockstar Spud/Eric Young – Tongan Death Grip Slam to Spud

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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Looking at why TNA screwing up Bound For Glory shouldn’t surprise anyone.  This is more of a history lesson than a column.

 

http://www.wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-thats/30290/

 

 

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 15, 2014
Location: Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

So after nothing of importance happened this week, we’re ready to get back to some actual wrestling business. The main story is Bobby Roode earning a shot at Lashley’s world title at some point in the future. Other than that we’re a mere five months from the next scheduled PPV, but at the moment we only have twelve weeks of TV to go as there’s still no new deal announced. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Angle to open things up. The roster is great right now but last week the playing field got manipulated and that’s not cool. He asks Lashley to come out for a chat and asks him why he turned down Roode’s challenge. Lashley gives the obvious answer: Roode had his shot and lost. He gets in Kurt’s face and asks if the boss wants a shot. Angle says they’ll fight one day, but not tonight. Instead, tonight there’s a #1 contenders match between Eric Young, Jeff Hardy, Austin Aries and Bobby Roode. Angle knows Bobby has beaten all of them, but the winner gets another shot.

Team 3D Hall of Fame package.

Magnus cuts off Matt Hardy talking about his brother. They introduce themselves and a match is made for later. It’s as basic as it sounds.

Knockouts Title: Madison Rayne vs. Havok

Before the match, Madison says she doesn’t care what Taryn Terrell thinks of her running last week. We actually get stills from Bound For Glory of Havok beating Velvet. I’m surprised they actually referenced the show. Havok shoves her around to start and easily catches a cross body into a slam. She hooks a lifting full nelson followed by a backbreaker for good measure. The dominance continues with another backbreaker and then a third backbreaker just to mix things up.

They finally mix things up with Havok loading up that arm crusher that hurt Gail but Hebner won’t let it happen. Madison nails a baseball slide to the back and avoids a charge into the post. Back in and Havok blocks a suplex and we get an evil laugh. Madison blocks some charges in the corner and gets two off a middle rope dropkick. Havok will have none of this side roll stuff from Rayne and a chokeslam (Harlot Slayer) retains the title at 6:18.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t a bad match but it felt WAY longer than it actually was. Havok is a pretty awesome monster and can actually move unlike Awesome Kong. Above all else though, she’s actually different than all the other girls. That’s been one of the biggest issues for the Knockouts for years and Havok is finally a breath of air.

Angle congratulates D-Von and they suck up to each other a bit.

Eric Young likes his odds of winning tonight.

Matt Hardy vs. Magnus

Matt comes out to the song starting with Jeff’s voice. Magnus takes him into the corner to start and rudely smacks his jaw. Matt responds by getting run over with a shoulder but he comes back with a swinging neckbreaker. An early Twist of Fate attempt sends Magnus running out to the floor and we get a breather. Hardy follows him out and is lifted up into a powerbomb, sending him back first into the post and then the apron.

Back in and Magnus gets two off a suplex and starts working on the spine. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Matt avoids a middle rope elbow. Hardy nails some clotheslines and a bulldog gets two. There’s the Side Effect and a moonsault is good for two more. Another Twist is countered and a victory roll gets the same treatment, giving Magnus two. Magnus goes up but dives into an RKO (called the Twist of Fate here even though it was missing a twist) for the pin at 5:54.

Rating: C. This was just a match here and nothing all that interesting. Matt didn’t look bad though and it’s kind of nice to have a wrestling match instead of doing the same brawling and weapons stuff that the Hardys have been using for all these weeks. Magnus’ downward spiral continues but Bram will be around to pick him back up soon enough.

We get Ethan’s promo from Sunday, saying his new bodyguard will be here tonight.

BroMans/Angelina Love vs. Menagerie

It’s DJZ/Jesse and Steve/Knux/Rebel here. DJZ gets in a quick smack to Rebel’s trunks before nailing knux to take over. Knux cartwheels away and nails DJZ with some right hands and a splash in the corner. He slams Steve onto DJZ for two but the heels take over with Jesse coming in to hammer away. DJZ hits a pair of running knees in the corner for two. Jesse misses a charge into the post and it’s off to the girls.

Rebel starts cleaning house but hits a horrible looking dropkick. DJZ spanks her again, earning him a big boot from Knux. A double clothesline puts both girls down until it’s off to Steve for an attempted kiss on Angelina. Jesse makes the save with a gorilla press but Steve slides down and hooks a tornado DDT for the pin at 5:14.

Rating: D. This show is starting to drag. It doesn’t feel like there was any thought put into this episode and that they just picked a bunch of guys that haven’t been on the show recently and threw them into a card. Knux is a guy I like more each time I see him but Steve is just a warm body at this point.

Roode and Aries are all serious about who wins tonight. Respect is out the window when they fight.

Brodus Clay comes out as EC3’s new body guard. The reveal is really weak due to Clay’s debut actually taking place on last week’s show but being edited out for some reason. Ethan says trouble follows him around and names Clay as Tyrus, which he says about five times. That brings Carter to current issues, like Bully Ray going into the Hall of Fame. After what Ray did to his aunt, Ethan thinks Ray should be thrown out of the Hall of Fame immediately.

He’s beaten every member of the Hall of Fame but we have to stop for the dueling chants with the fans. This brings out D-Von for an interruption. I’m the only Hall of Famer you haven’t beaten, I’m not scared of your bodyguard, you’re going through a table, etc. Bram jumps D-Von with a trashcan lid as D-Von is coming to the ring and the beating is on.

After a break, Carter and Tyrus are still in the ring with Ethan being thankful of Bram. Ethan thinks that counts as a win, so he’s now beaten all four members of the Hall of Fame. They don’t feel like leaving yet so why not give Tyrus a match of his own right now so he can be undefeated too.

Tyrus vs. Shark Boy

And there’s no Shark Boy. We go to the back and find Shark Boy eating doughnuts on a couch. I guess this is a joke about him being fat a few weeks ago. Shark Boy hammers away but starts feeling tired. He drinks some water and gets nailed by a headbutt to the chest. There’s the overhead suplex and a Tongan Death Grip slam is enough for the pin at 1:50.

Video from the bigger matches from Sunday.

Jeff Hardy says it’s time to get the title back.

Bram tells the interviewer to keep his nose out of what he did.

Recap of the Tag Team Title series, leading to a video on the Wolves being a team for a long time. They mention facing the winners of a tournament we haven’t heard about yet.

Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode vs. Austin Aries vs. Jeff Hardy

The winner gets a title shot at some point. Young cleans house to start but gets caught by Hardy in a lockup. Roode shoves Aries into Hardy for a collision before missing a dive onto Young. Aries telegraphs a suicide dive and gets nailed by Young, allowing Hardy to hit Poetry In Motion onto the Canadians. Aries is the only man standing and he wants a three way count but Young slides back in. Hardy kicks Aries down but misses a slingshot dropkick in the corner as we take a break.

Back with Roode chopping Young and planting him with a spinebuster. We get the first reference I’ve heard that this is an elimination match, though TNA making this up as they go wouldn’t surprise me. Aries nails Young with a discus forearm for two as Hardy gets back in. Young plants Aries with a DDT and goes up but Roode breaks up the elbow drop. Aries and Roode load up a double superplex on Young but Hardy makes it the required Tower of Doom spot.

Jeff covers all three guys for two each and takes his shirt off, only to have Aries break up the Swanton. Young knocks Roode off the top but misses a moonsault and Hardy does the same with a Swanton attempt. A Roode Bomb to Young and a brainbuster to Hardy give us a double elimination at 15:15, leaving us with Aries vs. Roode for the title shot.

They slug it out with forearms in the middle of the ring and Aries gets the better of it. Roode kicks him in the ribs and both guys counter finisher attempts. Aries is sent to the apron but he nails some more forearms. He goes up top but the Roode Bomb is countered into a rollup which is countered into a Crossface. Aries is in trouble but he rolls back into the Last Chancery, only to have Roode make the ropes. A neckbreaker snaps Roode’s neck off the top rope and a missile dropkick sends him down again. The brainbuster is countered with a knee to the head, setting up the Roode Bomb for the pin at 19:50.

Rating: B. It’s a good match but I can’t count how many times I’ve seen TNA do this same kind of match with the same batch of spots. You knew there was going to be a Tower of Doom and you knew there was going to be an exchange of finishers spot at the end. Roode was clearly going to win given how the stories have gone, but you can say that about a lot of matches.

Hardy and Young come back out to pose with the other two.

Overall Rating: D. TNA has given up. They gave their biggest show of the year to Wrestle-1 and now they give us this follow-up show which felt like they threw it together in about five minutes. They basically took everything they had left over and said “go make a show” while tacking on a main event. The big match was good, but Roode might as well have been cutting promos on Lashley already given how obvious it was that he was winning. The show itself wasn’t bad on paper, but it’s clear that TNA has stopped putting in effort. Maybe that changes next week, but this show felt like they’ve given up.

Results

Havok b. Madison Rayne – Harlot Slayer

Matt Hardy b. Magnus – Twist of Fate

Menagerie b. BroMans/Angelina Love – Tornado DDT to Jesse

Tyrus b. Shark Boy – Tongan Death Grip slam

Bobby Roode b. Austin Aries, Jeff Hardy and Eric Young – Roode Bomb to Aries

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Bound For Glory 2013
Date: October 20, 2013
Location: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

We’ll wrap up the redos here with a show that really doesn’t feel like the biggest deal of the year. The main event is AJ Styles, who has spent most of the year channeling 1997 Sting as the loner who barely talks, challenging Aces and 8’s President Bully Ray. This doesn’t feel like as big a deal as it should due to Ray only having won the title back about two months ago following a meaningless reign by Chris Sabin. Let’s get to it.

There was a pre-show match in 2013.

Pre-Show: Gauntlet Match

This is a four team gauntlet match with the winners getting a Tag Team Title shot on the regular pay per view. We start with Bad Influence vs. Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez. Guerrero and Kaz get things going but it’s quickly off to Hernandez who hits the over the shoulder backbreaker to both guys at the same time. SuperMex heads to the ramp and gets a running start to take out Bad Influence with a huge running double clothesline.

We take a break and come back with Hernandez hitting a kind of powerbomb on Kaz for no cover. Both guys crawl over to make tags so Chavo can speed things up with shoulders to Daniels. Everything quickly breaks down and Hernandez is back up to clean house with clotheslines. Chavo hits Three Amigos on Daniels because he’s an Eddie Guerrero tribute wrestler. Speaking of Eddie, Chavo goes up for the Frog Splash but Kaz shoves him off the top to give Daniels a rollup pin.

Joseph Park and Eric Young are the third team and drop Kaz with a double back elbow. Park’s big splash gets no cover but he does slam Kaz down again. Park tries another slam but gets dropped on his head to change control. Bad Influence changes without a tag because they’re, well, bad, allowing Daniels to send Park face first into Kaz’s boot. A slingshot elbow followed by a slingshot legdrop gets two as Young teases interfering.

Kaz’s sunset flip is countered but Park only hits mat when trying to sit down. We take another break and come back with Eric getting the hot tag and cleaning house with elbows and right hands. A belly to belly gets two on Daniels but he comes back with a release Rock Bottom. He misses the BME though and Park’s Samoan drop gives Young the pin.

Before the fourth team comes out though, Kaz lays out Young with Fade to Black and send Park into the Ultimate X structure. The BroMans are the final team (due to winning a match on Impact and come out with Mr. Olympia Phil Heath. Park is carried to the back and we’re starting with a handicap match. Robbie starts for the team but it’s quickly off to Jesse for a shot to the ribs. Young comes back with a double clothesline and some right hands to both Bros. The top rope elbow gets two as Jesse makes a save and the yet to be named BroDown (Hart Attack) gives the BroMans the title shot.

Rating: C. This match got a good deal of time, running about twenty two minutes. That’s far more than you usually get in a gauntlet match and it’s really nice for a change. I always have trouble with gauntlets as most of the falls take no time, which makes me wonder why that never happens in regular matches. This was a free match so it’s hard to complain when compared to the rest of the card.

The opening video is almost all about AJ with his voiceovers talking about how tired he is of doing the right thing all the time. Now he’s back to fight for himself instead of TNA, even though it makes him the same guy he used to be when he got ticked off. One other note: Dixie Carter is now evil and has sided with Bully Ray, who is still trying to take over her company. It was around this time that people were sick of hearing from her, so of course she became a bigger and bigger focal point of TV.

Taz is now part of Aces and 8’s so we have a heel commentator.

X-Division Title: Samoa Joe vs. Manik vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Sabin vs. Austin Aries

Ultimate X with Manik defending against an all-star lineup. Joe is part of the reformed Main Event Mafia which is around to fight Aces and 8’s. Sabin quickly goes to the corner but gets glared down by everyone else in the match. Instead he bails to the floor and pulls Aries outside with him, only to be rammed into the tress. Back inside and Manik is put in the Tree of Woe so Sabin can stand on his crotch.

Tenay says this is the 32^nd time Ultimate X has been held, which is pretty frequent considering the company isn’t even twelve years old at this point. Joe snapmares Chris down for a loud chop to the back, making Sabin’s girlfriend Velvet Sky scream. Manik takes Joe down with a springboard dropkick as Hardy and Aries start going up the tress. Jeff pulls Austin down before Manik hurricanranas Hardy and Sabin down.

Aries is left alone in the ring and goes up, only to have Hardy pull him right back down before hitting the reverse powerbomb from last year. Since it’s a Jeff Hardy match, it’s ladder time until Joe hits a suicide elbow to take Jeff out. Sabin baseball slides the ladder into Joe but Manik dropkicks Joe down. Aries dives onto Joe and Manik but Manik gets back up and hurricanranas Sabin out to the floor.

Joe hammers away on Aries in the corner but the MuscleBuster is countered. Hardy comes back in but eats the running dropkick, followed by Joe getting the same. The brainbuster is countered into a swinging Koquina Clutch to send Aries outside. The champ goes up but gets pulled down into a low blow. Joe hits a running backsplash on Manik before getting dropkicked out to the floor by Sabin.

The Whisper in the Wind drops Sabin and now the ladder is brought in. Manik and Aries climb the ladder and fight over the belt but Sabin knocks it over. He goes after Hardy instead of climbing, earning himself a Twist of Fate. Sabin tells Velvet Sky to stop Hardy from climbing and throws her in the ring against her will. The distraction of Velvet in that tight of a dress lets Sabin run up the ladder to win the title.

Rating: C+. This was a good idea to freshen up the match but at the same time they’ve killed the concept. Why in the world would someone use the hard method of crawling along the ropes now instead of just climbing a ladder? It’s a nice followup to Sabin’s World Title run and heel turn, but it’s not like the title means anything outside of Destination X season.

It’s time for our theme of the night: great AJ Styles moments, starting with Styles becoming the first X-Division Champion back in 2002.

Here’s Bad Influence to fill some time since this is a seven match card. Kaz says no men have been screwed more than them since Brokeback Mountain. It’s an embarrassment that they’re not on the card tonight since Bad Influence IS TNA. They beat Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez and then had to face a lawyer and a fisherman so that shouldn’t even count. TNA loves to mess with things so let’s make it a three way for the Tag Team Titles.

This brings out Eric Young who says he’s here on scientific business. Earlier tonight, Bad Influence created a monster and everyone knows they should run. They beat him down but here’s Abyss to save his partner and clean house. Both Bad Influences take Black Hole Slams and Abyss helps Young up.

Gunner and James Storm tell the BroMans to not worry about their hair and girls because the champions are ready for them. JB’s hair looks funny for some reason.

Tag Team Titles: BroMans vs. James Storm/Gunner

Storm had a spot in a four way Tag Team Title match at Slammiversary and Gunner impressed him enough to get on the team. They won the belts and haven’t had much competition since. Mr. Olympia Phil Heath is with the challengers again. It’s a brawl to start with the champions cleaning house and Storm being backdropped over the top onto the BroMans. Back in and Storm throws Jesse across the ring before bringing in Gunner for some right hands to the head.

Gunner takes Jesse into the corner for some chops but a Robbie distraction lets Jesse pull him off the middle rope to take over. Robbie comes in legally and hammers away before giving it back to Jesse for two. E. quickly comes back in for a chinlock before Jesse breaks up a backslide attempt with a dropkick. The Bros break up a hot tag attempt and Jesse poses a lot. He gets crotched on the top though, allowing Gunner to hit a fall away slam to take Jesse down.

There’s the hot tag to Storm and house is cleaned again. James gets two off a top rope elbow and is sporting a big cut on his leg. Everything breaks down and Robbie escapes the Eye of the Storm before nailing an implant DDT for two. Gunner plants Robbie with an Irish Curse but Jesse breaks up the Gun Rack. A powerbomb/Backstabber combo gets a VERY close two on Robbie. The Last Call plants Jesse but Robbie throws in a title belt for a distraction, setting up the BroDown for the pin and the titles.

Rating: C-. I remember this being a bit better but the match wasn’t that bad. The near fall was really good and having new champions was a big surprise, but it was still missing something. I have no idea why Heath was out there as he didn’t add a thing to this match. Not bad but the new champs wouldn’t have anyone to feud with for awhile.

Video on Angle’s Hall of Fame induction.

Sting comes out to officially induct Angle into the Hall of Fame. Kurt comes out and thanks the fans but says he can’t accept this induction. This wound up being a story and Angle would eventually accept, which makes the Hall of Fame seem like a prop for angles rather than something special. It’s not a horrible thing but I still don’t like this. My guess however is it had something to do with Angle’s DUI in early August.

Clip of AJ wining the World title at No Surrender 2009.

Dixie Carter puts all of AJ’s merchandise on sale. Her nephew Ethan comes up and we get the new catchphrase: “The world needs us. We’re the Carters.” Well he’s easy to hate.

Knockouts Title: Gail Kim vs. Brooke vs. ODB

ODB is defending and Aces and 8’s member Brooke is Miss Tessmacher. Brooke is quickly run over and Gail gets sent to the floor by the champion. Back up and Brooke stomps away in the corner before giving ODB a Stinkface. That’s fine with ODB who pops up and chest bumps Brooke into the corner for a Bronco Buster. Gail gets back in and is quickly knocked right back to the floor. Brooke faceplants ODB for two as Gail is holding her arm.

ODB powers up to break a reverse chinlock but gets dropped by a running forearm. A spinning neckbreaker puts the champion down for two but Gail pulls Brooke down for a Figure Four around the post. ODB takes Gail down but Brooke gets two off a rollup. Off to a half crab on Brooke and Gail has to run in to break up a tap out. Both challengers go to the top so ODB tries to superplex them both, only to be shoved down. Gail missile dropkicks ODB and Brooke drops a top rope elbow on Kim to put all three on the mat.

ODB is up first to run everyone over but the referee gets crushed in the corner. Another shot knocks him out to the floor and we get the double fireman’s carry to show off ODB’s strength. Brooke falls off so ODB gives Gail the Bam onto Brooke’s body. Cue Lei’D Tapa to fight with ODB and knock the champion to the floor. A powerbomb plants Brooke and Tapa puts Gail on top for the pin and the title.

Rating: D+. Giving Gail a new monster bodyguard doesn’t make her any more interesting. Tapa had a different kind of look but at the end of the day, she was nothing compared to Ivelisse from Gut Check. The match was nothing we haven’t seen on Impact a bunch of times and just restarts the circle of Knockouts with the title all over again.

New broadcaster Gil Corsey (he didn’t last) is with the BroMans and Mr. Olympia. Protein shakes are poured and that’s about it.

Bobby Roode says he’ll prove he’s a better man than Kurt.

We recap Roode vs. Angle. Roode didn’t like Angle going into the Hall of Fame so he and Bad Influence (the Extraordinary Gentlemen’s Organization) inducted Bobby into the EGO Hall of Fame.

Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode

This is Angle’s first match back from rehab. Feeling out process to start with Roode actually taking him down to the mat. Kurt is a bit more hesitant to go after Roode this time but gets caught in a headlock anyway. A quick Crossface attempt sends Angle running but his ankle lock does the same to Roode. Back in and Roode hammers away in the corner until Kurt suplexes him out to the floor.

The fight heads out to the floor where another suplex drops Bobby. Angle tries one too many times though and gets his neck snapped across the top rope. Back in and Roode stomps away before getting two off a suplex. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Angle fights up with right hands. The Rolling Germans have Roode in trouble but he gets a shoulder up at two. The Angle Slam is countered with an armdrag and Roode gets two off a spinebuster.

Kurt escapes a Roode Bomb and puts on the ankle lock as we’re into the trading finishers section. The counter sends Angle arm first into the post and a DDT on the arm sets up the Crossface from Roode. A foot on the rope breaks the hold and Roode is getting frustrated. He walks into another suplex but avoids the moonsault. Roode slaps on the Crossface again but Kurt grabs the ankle lock to break the hold. I love that counter. Bobby pulls him down and puts on the Crossface again until Angle rolls over for two.

That gets rolled over for two more and Angle’s clothesline is countered into yet another Crossface. Kurt reverses THAT into another Angle Slam for two but he can’t follow it up. They slug it out from their knees and Kurt starts rolling more Germans. Bobby can’t take more of those though so he grabs the referee, allowing a low blow to Angle. The yet to be named Roode Bomb gets a very close two. He loads up another one but Kurt rolls down into the ankle lock.

Angle gets the grapevine for good measure and Roode starts to black out, but he’s being crafty. Channeling his inner Bret Hart, Roode is goldbricking and uses the referee checking his arm to grab the rope. Kurt is frustrated but takes Roode to the top for a Super Angle Slam. Both guys are down but Roode gets to his feet long enough to fall on Angle for a surprise pin. Angle never moved after hitting the Slam.

Rating: A-. This was the great match of the show with both guys showing off some awesome stuff. I like that they went with the Austin vs. HHH finish from No Way Out where they hit each other but HHH fell on top for a pin. It’s also the right call as Angle didn’t need the win and Roode gets the (unmentioned) win back from Bound For Glory 2011.

Angle is taken out on medics but wakes up when they try to put a neck brace on him, allowing him to walk out on his own.

AJ beat Sting at Bound For Glory 2009.

Styles is getting ready.

Bully Ray is in the back with a bunch of people we can’t see. A lot of the Aces and 8’s had left at this point so it’s implied they’re back tonight. Ray says the team is reborn tonight and says it’s all about the colors. We never saw who he was talking to.

Ethan Carter III vs. Norv Fernum

Fernum is a jobber who might weigh 150lbs and both guys are debuting tonight. Carter throws him around to start as you would expect before dropping him with a forearm. A high collar t-bone suplex makes Taz smile and Ethan rubs his face in the mat. Fernum scores with some dropkicks and a high cross body for two. Not that it matters as the yet to be named 1%er gives Ethan the easy pin.

Rating: C. Of course it’s not much of a match but this was exactly what you want from a debut for a guy like Carter. He’s become such an awesome heel and this was the kind of start they should have gone with. They played up the idea of Carter getting a handpicked opponent, which is something a rich guy would get. Smart and effective debut.

Magnus says he’s going to get his big win tonight and become the star he’s destined to be, even if it’s at Sting’s expense.

We recap Magnus vs. Sting. Magnus was in the finals of the Bound For Glory Series and lost, destroying his confidence. Sting said Magnus, his Main Event Mafia brother, was going to be a star and Sting was going to give him the chance to do just that.

Magnus vs. Sting

Both guys are good here and this is about making Magnus a star instead of a rivalry. They trade headlocks to start until Sting clotheslines Magnus down. A shoulder puts him on the floor and we’re in a slow start. Sting holds the ropes to let Magnus back in before getting knocked out to the apron with a European uppercut. The Brit holds the ropes open for Sting before leveling him with a clothesline to take over.

Off to a bodyscissors from Magnus for awhile until Sting finally grabs the ropes. Some ax handles have Sting in more trouble and Magnus stays on the ribs and back. Sting comes right back with a backdrop and the Stinger Splash followed by the Deathlock with very little torque on it. Magnus powers out of it and a double clothesline puts both guys down.

Back up and Magnus starts no selling shots to the face ala Sting vs. Flair back in 1987 before hitting a Stinger Splash of his own. A Michinoku Driver gets two but Sting shrugs off a Cloverleaf attempt. Now Sting starts no selling and hits his own Stinger Splash and another Deathlock with so little torque that the fans are barely interested. I guess Sting’s knees just won’t let him sit down anymore.

Magnus finally makes the rope and stops another Splash with a European uppercut. The Scorpion Death Drop puts Sting down and the top rope elbow gets two. A second elbow misses but Magnus fights out of some Death Drop attempts with HARD elbows to the face. Sting says Magnus to come on so Magnus takes him down and puts on the Cloverleaf for the very surprising submission.

Rating: D+. The fans are really not pleased with the ending and I can’t say I blame them. One of the biggest problems with Sting’s later TNA stuff is how fast his matches end. There’s no buildup to them and they just stop out of nowhere. This wasn’t a very good match either but that’s the case with almost all passing the torch matches. Without any hatred between them, there’s no reason for them to be fighting and it makes for a dull match.

They shake hands post match but Magnus doesn’t seem too interested.

AJ beat Magnus to get the title shot tonight.

Bully quotes Welcome to the Jungle to tell AJ that he’s going to die tonight. He doesn’t want AJ to die though. Ray wants AJ to have to live with himself and go back to Gainesville, Georgia and go into that trailer park so he can look at his kids and tell them he’s a failure. That will kill AJ and tonight, he’s in Bully’s jungle.

We recap AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray, which is almost all about AJ vs. Dixie. AJ won the title shot in the BFG Series but the main story is about Dixie Carter not wanting a hick like AJ as the world champion. She’s promised tonight is his last night in the company and has made the main event basically a street fight.

TNA World Title: AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray

Bully is defending and has the gorgeous Brooke with him. Ray powers him into the corner to start and says he can see the fear in AJ’s eyes. Styles tells him to bring it and gets taken down by the wrist. He finally rolls out but takes AJ down with a big boot to the face. Bully knocks him down again and tells AJ he’ll take care of the wife and kids. That just ticks AJ off and the drop down into a dropkick puts Ray down.

AJ’s Calf Killer goes on out of nowhere but Aces and 8’s member Garrett Bischoff comes out for a distraction. Ray picks up a hammer but AJ kicks it out of his hands and swings it himself. Bully prevents a bad case of death by chopping Styles a few times to Taz’s delight. He mocks Hogan with the hand to the ear before chopping AJ again. AJ asks him for another and Ray backs up into the corner out of fear. Styles goes off on him in the corner but gets nailed by a clothesline.

Ray’s next chop leaves a handprint on AJ’s chest but he comes back with kicks to the leg. Cue Aces and 8’s member Knux for a chokeslam on Styles, giving Bully two. Ray is ticked off at the near fall so he pokes Hebner in the chest, only to get shouted down. A big running clothesline hits Knux by mistake and AJ grabs a rollup for two. Ray kicks AJ right in the face to knock him out to the floor as this is picking up again.

They head outside and Ray picks up the hammer but gets Peled onto the announcers’ table. Styles loads up the springboard 450 but Ray moves, sending AJ crashing through the table for a huge wreck. Taz hands Ray a boxcutter so the champ can start cutting up the ring. He peels back the mat and then the padding underneath, leaving only the wooden boards.

With AJ still down, Ray calls the boys to the ring. Instead he gets Dixie because where would we be without her? She hands Ray a chair but AJ comes in with the springboard forearm to drive the chair into Bully’s face. The springboard 450 connects but Dixie tells Hebner not to count the pin. The hesitation lets Ray kick out at what should have been about 15. AJ’s Clash is countered with a backdrop onto the wood and Ray actually hits the middle rope backsplash. It’s only good for two though so Ray nails him in the back with a chair. AJ escapes the piledriver and nails a Pele, followed by Spiral Tap for the pin and the title.

Rating: B-. The match was good but it felt like a long segment at times instead of a match. The missed splash looked great and ripping up the ring was interesting, but man alive does Dixie Carter drag down segments she’s in. It’s not due to being a bad character as she’s easy to hate. It’s that I just do not want to see her involved because she’s going to get way more focus than she deserves and make things a lot more annoying than interesting.

As for AJ’s character, it’s questionable at best. We spent months on him as the loner who didn’t want anything to do with TNA and teased being a part of Aces and 8’s, but now he’s TNA’s conquering hero? That’s a stretch to say the least and the match felt more about Dixie vs. AJ by the end. They could save that for later on TV, which they would do again because TNA does some questionable things.

A bunch of recaps and a celebration end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show tried and had its moments but there’s not enough here to make the show great. That being said, not having to sit through the bad TV shows setting up this show made things a lot easier. It’s just the wrestling and the main event and Roode vs. Angle matches make it worth sitting through. Not a great show or anything and the booking continues to be AWFUL but the wrestling isn’t bad.

Ratings Comparison

Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez vs. BroMans vs. Eric Young/Joseph Park vs. Bad Influence

Original: C

Redo: C-

Chris Sabin vs. Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Manik

Original: C+

Redo: C+

Gunner/James Storm vs. BroMans

Original: C

Redo: C-

Brooke vs. ODB vs. Gail Kim

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Bobby Roode vs. Kurt Angle

Original: B+

Redo: A-

Ethan Carter III vs. Norv Fernum

Original: D-

Redo: C

Sting vs. Magnus

Original: C

Redo: D+

AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray

Original: C

Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: C+

As usual, the lack of sitting through the build is a good thing. When TNA cuts out the nonsense of TV, they’re much easier to sit through.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/10/20/bound-for-glory-2013-why-is-this-the-biggest-show-of-the-year/

So that’s Bound For Glory so far. Overall, the show is very endemic of TNA in general: they have good stuff, but the lack of creating top stars kills them. Four of the first five shows are more about Sting than anything else and the latter ones are mainly about Angle or Hogan. I get the idea of making them look strong so putting someone over them means something, but that only happened once at the biggest show of the year. Other than that, it’s almost all about making the old guys look good and that’s missing the point.

The show is worth checking out most of the time, but you can see TNA going downhill after about 2007. There’s almost always value to the show and none of them are horrible, but man alive they can be frustrating to sit through at times. Again, that’s true of so many things TNA does and they make it hard to be a fan for more than a little while at a time. Check out some of the better matches, but I wouldn’t recommend putting yourself through the full shows most of the time.

Bound For Glory 2012
Date: October 14, 2012
Location: Grand Canyon University Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 2,900
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

It’s the age of the bikers now as the Aces and 8’s storyline has taken over TNA. This story started back in June and would still be going (kind of) at NEXT YEAR’S Bound For Glory because TNA doesn’t know how to just let something go. Again the real main event isn’t for the World Title, but rather Sting and Bully Ray facing off with two of the masked members of Aces and 8’s with access to the Impact Zone on the line. There’s also something about Jeff Hardy winning the Bound For Glory Series and challenging for the World Title but let’s get to the important stuff like Sting with Hogan in his corner. Let’s get to it.

Before I get started, I have to give this show praise for its tagline: The Memories Are Waiting. That actually gave me a chill when I first heard it and it still really works.

The opening video focuses on the moments at Bound For Glory. Oddly enough a lot of them focus on Sting. This really does make the show look like the biggest event of the year which is a very important thing for a wrestling company to have.

The announcers hype up the show and run down the card.

We have an old school ramp to the ring.

X-Division Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Zema Ion

Ion is defending and is obsessed with his hair. There’s no story here because there wasn’t time to get one together. Literally the Thursday before the show, Van Dam came out and said he was challenging for the title here. The fans are entirely behind Rob here as you would expect them to be. Feeling out process to start as Rob goes after Ion’s hair to take over. A few kicks to the face send Zema outside but he’s able to run away from Rob’s dive.

Back in and Rob ducks a clothesline but gets caught by a low dropkick. The ring is very loud here. Something like a Whisper in the Wind gets two for the champion but he gets crotched on the ropes and kicked back out to the floor. Rob takes a well deserved bow as this has been mostly one sided so far. The champ comes back in by diving through the ropes into a tornado DDT for a pair of near falls.

Rob gets shoved off the top and down onto the barricade, setting up a big flip dive from Ion. Zema throws him back in and blocks a monkey flip with a kind of hot shot. A missile dropkick gets two on Rob and the champion puts on an abdominal stretch to slow things down. That goes nowhere so they slug it out until Rob throws him into the air for a dropkick to the ribs. Rolling Thunder sets up the Five Star for the clean pin and the title.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than I thought I would with Ion being a perfectly adequate foil for the feel good title win. Rob broke a bit of a sweat here but there wasn’t a huge doubt as to who was winning. Ion had been champion for three months at this point and there wasn’t much else he could do with it so giving it to Rob to make him look like he still means something is a good idea.

Magnus says tonight is the biggest night of the year for everyone. Tonight, there is no more hiding behind Hogan for Samoa Joe and Magnus gets his TV Title.

TV Title: Magnus vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending. They used to be partners but Magnus went to the dark side after they lost the Tag Team Titles. Joe won the TV Title and Magnus wants a shot due to the tag team issues and Joe beating him in some BFG Series matches. Feeling out process to start with both guys sending the other to the corner. Magnus’ handshake offer is declined and Joe nails a hard big boot to the jaw. The Brit takes over with a clothesline and pounds away in the corner.

A knee to the face puts Joe down and a Michinoku Driver gets two. Joe gets all fired up and runs Magnus over before getting two off the running backsplash. There’s the STF followed by the Rings of Saturn but Magnus gets his foot on the ropes. Joe’s MuscleBuster and superplex attempts are broken up with a kick to the head and the top rope elbow gets two. Joe puts on the Clutch but Magnus climbs the ropes and flips over to escape. A chop block puts the champion down and he loads up the Figure Four, only to be countered into the Cluth to retain Joe’s title.

Rating: C-. Totally basic match here that could have been on any episode of Impact. Magnus just didn’t have it yet but would show some good improvement in the next year. At the same time, Joe was his normal self here as we’re in the middle of his latest push that wouldn’t go anywhere of note.

Roode says this hatred between him and Storm has been building for a year but ends tonight. I’m sure. Special referee King Mo won’t be a factor and Roode is going to send Storm home forever.

We recap Roode vs. Storm. As you might remember, Roode turned on Storm to win the World Title just after Bound For Glory 2011. This set up their huge showdown at Lockdown 2012 in Storm’s hometown after one heck of a build. Storm destroyed Roode for twenty minutes…..and then accidentally knocked him out of the cage so Roode retained the title.

Again, TNA had the chance to make a new star and just didn’t for….well I can’t say no apparent reason as Storm was banged up, but there was no reason to not give him the title there and then deal with the injury later. You give him the win and the fans get the moment. The reign itself doesn’t matter. See Mick Foley in 1999 for further proof. Anyway tonight it’s a street fight to blow off the feud, even though the cage match was the blowoff already.

Bobby Roode vs. James Storm

Street fight. MMA fighter King Mo is outside referee and comes out in a robe and crown. They stare each other down before Storm takes over with a bunch of right hands. A big backdrop puts Roode down and they head outside. Roode gets rammed face first into the apron but comes back with a shot to the face, only to stop and stare at Mo. Storm nails a Russian legsweep to send Bobby into the barricade to take over.

The Eye of the Storm through the announcers’ table doesn’t work as Roode slips down the back and sends Storm into the post to bust him open. He brings in a chair to knock Storm down even more as the blood is flowing. They head back inside with Roode bringing in a kendo stick, only to drop it to wedge a chair in the corner. Storm picks up the stick and nails Roode before putting a trashcan between Roode’s legs and driving it home with the stick.

An Elevated DDT onto the ramp knocks Roode silly but Storm is weak from the blood loss. A fan hands Storm a crutch for a shot to Roode’s ribs and Bobby is in trouble again. They slug it out with trashcan lids on the ramp and King Mo isn’t sure what to think. Roode finally goes down after a trashcan shot but he comes back with a spinebuster on the ramp.

They fight to the floor where Storm drinks a beer and takes Roode over to the announcers’ table. Bobby fights out of a suplex attempt which clearly wasn’t going to hit and spears Storm off one table and through another. That’s only good for two as Storm’s blood is all over Bobby’s back. He goes after Hebner but Mo gets in the ring and slaps Roode into Closing Time from Storm. The Last Call gets two and Storm is stunned.

Another Last Call is blocked and Roode sends him head first into the chair in the corner for two, even with a handful of trunks. Storm is sat on the top rope for a chair shot to the back….and it’s tacks time. Bobby loads up a superplex onto the tacks but gets shoved onto them instead, followed by a top rope elbow from Storm for two. A low blow puts Storm down and Roode brings in a six pack of beer. Storm returns the low blow and breaks the beer bottle over Roode’s head in the same move that started the feud. Bobby is out on his feet and the Last Call into the tacks gives Storm the pin.

Rating: B+. It’s a really good brawl but the Lockdown match really holds it back. This match comes off like Rock vs. Austin at Wrestlemania XIX: Storm wins here but it really doesn’t mean anything more than revenge. He lost the big match when everything was on the line and now looks like a choker. Still though, it’s a great bloody brawl with Storm looking like he went through a meat grinder. I have no idea why Mo needed to be here though as he didn’t do a thing.

Joey Ryan says he should have been given a contract before he was on Gut Check but Al Snow and the Gut Check judges thought they knew better than 87% of the Impact audience. He’s the opposite of Snow and they’re on his turf tonight. Politicking isn’t going to save Snow tonight because tonight, Ryan is bringing sleazy back to Bound For Glory.

That promo basically covered the recap. Ryan was on Gut Check and got 87% of the fan vote, but the judges said no. Joey showed up at some shows and tried to get on camera, even punching Snow over the barricade at one point. Tonight it’s Snow vs. Ryan for a contract.

Joey Ryan vs. Al Snow

Snow offers to start in an amateur position and easily takes Joey down for some slaps to the back of the head. They head to the corner with Snow dropping him with an elbow and hiptoss. Off to a headlock for a bit before Ryan nails a clothesline and rubs his own chest. Back up and a right hand knocks Snow’s head back for one of the most out there looks I’ve ever seen.

Some clotheslines drop Ryan and there are the headbutts to the chest. The Snow Plow gets two so Snow grabs Head from under the ring. The referee tries to take it away and gets crushed for his efforts. Joey kisses the Head for some reason but misses a baseball slide and gets caught in the ring skirt. Al grabs Head again but Matt Morgan returns through the crowd and kicks Snow’s head (not Head) off. Snow is thrown back in and Ryan gets the easy pin.

Rating: D. This doesn’t hold up very well though Snow hadn’t been active in a major promotion for years now. Joey was much better as a character or talker than an in ring guy but you had to get him on the roster somehow. The story for this wasn’t bad but the actual match didn’t hold up.

Bad Influence says they’re the team the women want to be with and the men just want to be. They’re going to run down their challengers tonight and wash it down with a delicious Appletini.

We recap the Tag Team Title three way. It’s basically good team vs. evil team vs. dream team.

Tag Team Titles: Bad Influence vs. Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez vs. Kurt Angle/AJ Styles

These teams have feuded over the titles all summer. Styles and Chavo get things going with Chavo getting two off a shoulder block. AJ takes him into the corner for the tag off to Angle and a nice reaction from the crowd. Kurt hammers away but Daniels tags himself in to take over on AJ. A fast series of tags gives us Hernandez suplexing AJ before Chavo gets two off a slingshot hilo.

Kaz tags himself in but walks into the drop down into the dropkick. Styles brings in Angle who gets driven into the corner, allowing Chavo to come in and work over Kaz in the corner. Chavo brings in Herenadnez for the over the shoulder backbreaker and it’s quickly off to Daniels vs. Styles. Daniels avoids a charge in the corner and Kaz nails a hard clothesline from the apron. Off to Kaz for a slingshot legdrop and a pelvic thrust at Guerrero and Hernandez.

Daniels hiptosses Daniels on AJ for two and we hit a full nelson on the mat. Back up and AJ escapes a monkey flip but avoids a tag from Hernandez and Chavo so he can Pele Kaz down. A double tag brings in Daniels and Angle with Kurt cleaning house. Kaz gets caught in rolling Germans but Daniels climbs his partner for a sunset flip, only to be countered into an ankle lock. Angle misses a charge into the corner but belly to bellies Kaz into Daniels for two.

Chavo and Hernandez are knocked back to the floor so Kaz can hit the slingshot DDT on Angle. Hernandez runs in and knocks Kaz across the ring, only to have AJ knock SuperMex across the ring. Daniels moonsaults out to take out Angle but turns around into a huge dive from Hernandez. AJ isn’t about to be one upped so he fakes a dive onto Guerrero and dives onto Hernandez and Bad Influence for a huge crash. Back in and Chavo tries the Three Amigos on Angle but gets caught in the Angle Slam.

Hernandez breaks up the moonsault and sets for the Border Toss, only to have AJ tag himself in and save his partner. Kurt misses a charge and falls out to the floor, allowing Kaz to slam Styles down. The BME gets two on AJ and Daniels is STUNNED. Chavo dives out to the floor to take Kaz out as AJ escapes Angel’s Wings and nails the moonsault reverse DDT on Daniels. Hernandez tags himself in and drills Daniels with a slingshot shoulder followed by the Border Toss and Frog Splash from Chavo for the pin and the titles.

Rating: B. This was a fun and fast paced three way but unfortunately it would start one of the least interesting title reigns in recorded history. Guerrero and Hernandez were really good in the ring but man alive would they drive things into the ground during their promos. The match was really awesome stuff though with some great spots and saves but it never got to that highest level.

The new champions celebrate post match.

We recap Tara vs. Tessmacher. This is the old mentor vs. mentee story with Tara teaching Tessmacher everything she knew, only to have Tessmacher win the title. Tara couldn’t beat her and got pinned, so she turned heel and set up a rematch. She also has a Hollywood boyfriend who is debuting tonight.

Knockouts Title: Tara vs. Miss Tessmacher

The cast of British Bootcamp, including Rockstar Spud, is in the front row. Taryn Terrell is referee, as she was for every Knockouts match for awhile. They stare each other down to start and Tessmacher gets a few rollups for two each on the challenger. A headscissors puts Tara down again but she comes back with a knee to the ribs and a baseball slide to send Tessmacher out to the floor.

Back in and Tara poses a lot but gets caught in a sunset flip for two. Tara charges into a boot in the corner and gets DDTed for two. Back up and Tessmacher goes nuts with clotheslines followed by a spining clothesline for two. A top rope hurricanrana puts Tara down but she avoids a top rope elbow. The Widow’s Peak gives Tara the title back.

Rating: C-. This was just a step above a standard Knockouts match, meaning it really wasn’t all that good. Like most other Knockouts, Tara can only win so many titles before they just stop meaning anything. At least Tessmacher was a fresh name in the division, but the post match stuff at least validates the new champion.

Tara introduces her Hollywood boyfriend: Jesse from Big Brother. Kissing ensues, accompanied by a big “WHO ARE YOU” chant.

We see Sting’s Hall of Fame induction from last night, making him the first member.

We recap Aces and 8’s vs. Sting/Bully Ray. The bikers have taken over the company and kidnapped Joseph Park. Hulk agreed to a tag match at Bound For Glory in exchange for Park’s release. It’s two TNA guys (Hogan can’t be one) vs. two Aces tonight. If the bikers win, they get full access to the Impact Zone but if they lose, they’re gone. At this point, we still don’t know any members of the group.

Ray volunteered to team with Sting to stand up for TNA, which would wind up being a huge plot point later on. The best part of this whole thing was when the Aces had Hogan in their clubhouse. Hogan agreed to the tag match and said he was one of the guys. The Aces boss: “Hogan, for once in your life this isn’t about you!”

Aces and 8’s vs. Sting/Bully Ray

No DQ and Ray has Sting face paint on. The Aces still have Park with them and he’s now conscious. Keep in mind that Park had figured out who the Aces’ leader was, or at least a lot about them, at this point. That’s also going to be a big plot point later on. It’s a huge brawl to start on the floor with the very big Aces quickly getting beaten down. The Bikers fights back with right hands as the fans are chanting for Hogan.

Ray and Sting double team we’ll say #1 with an elbow to the head and a piece of a table to the same spot. #1 comes back by whipping Ray into the steps and avoids a Stinger Splash against the barricade. They finally get inside with #2 working over Sting with uppercuts and a slam for two. Off to #1 with a clothesline for two as we see Park handcuffed to the barricade.

The bikers start double teaming but Sting no sells a slam and Hulks Up but the Scorpion on #1 is quickly broken up. A Death Drop out of nowhere plants #1 but Sting tags Ray instead of covering. Ray cleans house with elbows and a middle rope shoulder but #1 gets in a knee to the back from the apron. Ray comes right back with a double clothesline to drop the Aces and a splash gets two on #1.

Sting and #2 get in a fight on the floor and #1 brings in a chair. Bully kicks it out of his hands but a third member comes in with a low blow. He spits at Park so Joseph rips the handcuffs off the barricade and hammers away on the third guy. All four of the regular guys are in the ring now and we get a Doomsday Device on #1. There’s a Stinger Splash to #2 and Sting wants the tables. #1 pulls Sting to the floor for a brawl and a fourth Ace comes in for a spinebuster to put Ray through the table, giving #2 the pin.

Rating: C. There was only so much you could do with something like this the bikers were just faceless monsters so the match shouldn’t have been any kind of a wrestling clinic. That being said, Sting can only do so much in the ring so keeping it as a brawl was a good idea. On top of that, this was all about the story instead of the wrestling so they could do almost whatever they wanted out there.

The rest of the team came in for the beatdown until Hogan comes out. Like any villain group worth their salt, they sent attackers at Hogan one at a time so he can punch them all down. Eventually the guy that interfered is left alone with Sting, Ray and Hogan. The masked man is beaten down and Hulk unmasks him to reveal….D-Von, whose contract expired while he was still TV Champion and hasn’t been seen in months. Everyone is stunned that it’s D-Von, who says it was always him.

So yeah, TNA spent four months on this and the first thing we get is D-Von. The response to this was almost universally negative as it felt like a huge letdown. At the end of the day, D-Von is the quieter member of a tag team who won a mostly meaningless TV Title earlier in the year. For him to be the first reveal and in theory the leader of the team, the whole idea sounds laughable. Look at the visual you have: Bully Ray, Sting and HULK HOGAN against D-Von and a bunch of faceless fighters. Why in the world should I care about something like that? Naturally this story went on for another year because….well why not.

As for the two plot points, I think it’s safe to explain these as this show is two years old. First off there’s Park, who found out the identity of at least multiple Aces and 8’s members and maybe even the leader. He was free by the end of the match….AND HE DIDN’T GO TELL HOGAN? Hulk had wanted to talk to Park for weeks and apparently he didn’t say anything immediately?

It gets worse, because to the best of my knowledge, Park NEVER SAID ANYTHING. This brings us to the other plot point. Bully Ray signed up for this match and of course eventually became the leader of Aces and 8’s. They did a good job with the build, but people had it figured out by January or so. Again, that’s not a bad thing though and Ray had raised his game so much that he more than deserved the spot.

Austin Aries says he’s done everything he’s said he would do with confidence but tonight he’s going to do it with anger. He’s defending against Jeff Hardy tonight and had a really weak heel turn like a week before the show to give the match a story.

We recap Aries vs. Hardy, which is all about Jeff Hardy’s redemption after being high on something at Victory Road 2011. Aries said he was tired of being told what to do and now he’s going to be himself. He wanted to know why Hardy got all this special treatment and attacked Jeff on Impact, calling him a failure.

TNA World Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries

Aries is defending and parades around with the belt to start. Jeff shoves him into the corner before they hit the mat for some amateur stuff. They’re wrestling like they have a lot of time which usually makes for a good match. Back up and Aries looks annoyed as Hardy takes him into the corner. Jeff hammers away but gets caught in a headlock, only to counter into a headscissors. Aries escapes with a headstand but misses his dropkick.

The second attempt works a bit better though and Hardy is knocked silly. Aries chokes with a boot but goes outside for a victory lap instead of covering. Back in and Aries tells Jeff to wait a minute, earning him a suplex. Austin rolls to the floor and gets nailed with an ax handle to the back to put him down again. Jeff nails Poetry in Motion off the steps to drive Aries into the barricade and we go back inside.

The champ avoids a dropkick and gets two off a middle rope elbow. He hammers away in the corner and stops a quick splash attempt by raising his knees. A backbreaker gets another near fall and Aries puts on an abdominal stretch on the mat. Hardy fights up again as the fans are split on who to cheer for. The brainbuster is countered and Hardy nails the sitout front suplex. Aries takes him back down and gets two more off a slingshot spinning splash.

Jeff blocks the Last Chancery and picks Aries up for a powerbomb, only to drop him backwards for a big crash. A basement dropkick gets two for Hardy and the Whisper in the Wind gets the same. The Twist of Fate is blocked but Jeff kicks Aries to the floor and into the barricade. He avoids a big plancha though, setting up the suicide dive to send Hardy into the barricade again. It works so well that Aries hits it again but Jeff gets up at two.

Austin is busted open after ramming his head into the steel but it only makes him cover Jeff even harder. The Last Chancery goes on now and only lasts a few seconds as usual. Aries takes him to the ramp for a brainbuster but Jeff counters into a Twist of Fate attempt. That goes nowhere either as Aries sends him back inside with a clothesline. He slams Jeff head first onto the edge of the ramp and Hardy looks out of it. A missile dropkick makes things even worse but Jeff blocks the running corner dropkick.

The Twist of Fate out of nowhere gets two and Hardy goes up top, only to get crotched back down. A great looking jumping top rope hurricanrana puts Jeff down again and now the running dropkick connects. The brainbuster is only good for two and Aries is spent. With nothing left to throw, Aries tries a double stomp out of the Tree of Woe but Jeff rolls away. Another Twist and the Swanton give us a new champion.

Rating: A-. This was the kind of wrestling match they needed to close out the show but the angle and match felt tacked on after the previous stuff. Hardy winning the title back is a good story but Aries didn’t need to turn heel. This made him feel like a villain for Hardy to vanquish rather than a champion in a huge showdown. That being said, it’s a really good match with both guys taking everything the other had and surviving. Excellent main event.

Overall Rating: B+. This show holds up a lot better than I expected it to. The wrestling is good and again, the big reveal doesn’t bother me as much without spending all the months on the build. There’s more than enough stuff here to carry it with the street fight, Tag Team Title match and main event all being good to very good matches. As usual, when TNA cuts out the nonsense and just lets its wrestlers wrestle, good things happen. This show worked and I had a good time watching it, which is rare for TNA.

Ratings Comparison

Rob Van Dam vs. Zema Ion

Original: C

Redo: C+

Magnus vs. Samoa Joe

Original: C+

Redo: C-

Bobby Roode vs. James Storm

Original: B+

Redo: B+

Joey Ryan vs. Al Snow

Original: D+

Redo: D

Bad Influence vs. Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez vs. AJ Styles/Kurt Angle

Original: B

Redo: B

Miss Tessmacher vs. Tara

Original: D

Redo: C-

Sting/Bully Ray vs. Aces and 8’s

Original: C

Redo: C

Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries

Original: B+

Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: B+

Like I said, we’re at the point where not a lot is going to change.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/10/14/bound-for-glory-2012-if-these-are-the-memories-that-are-waiting-amnesia-doesnt-sound-that-bad/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Bound For Glory 2010
Date: October 10, 2010
Location: Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

And then it all changed. A few weeks after Bound For Glory 2009, TNA announced the signings of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. The two debuted on January 4, 2010’s Impact and started promising big changes for TNA. This included making AJ Styles a Ric Flair tribute character and having Abyss be granted superpowers via Hall of Fame rings. Around this time, TNA basically stopped being the Little Promotion That Could and tried to take it to WWE, resulting in one of the worst thrashings in wrestling history.

As for the show, this is probably TNA’s biggest pay per view ever and it actually feels like a show you had to see. The main event is the culmination of a months long story where Abyss has been promising that THEY are coming. Along with that, Bischoff and Hogan have been in a power struggle with Dixie Carter while Sting has been saying that he knows what’s really going on. This may or may not be him acting like a crazy psychopath, but we’ll get to that later. I’m sure I’ll find way more to say about this story later. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a series of clips of most of the people on the card, set to dramatic music. The main focus is on the three guys in the main event: Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson and Kurt Angle.

Tenay points out that it’s 10/10/10. They billed this up as once in a century, but isn’t that the case with every date?

The announcers run down the card. This is Abyss’ last match in the company and Angle is going to leave if he doesn’t win.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me

Generation Me is challenging and is currently known as the Young Bucks. The Guns FINALLY won the titles a few months ago and now they need some challengers. Shelley and Max (Buck, partner of Jeremy Buck) with Alex getting stomped down in the corner. Back up and a spinning leg trip puts Max down and the Guns take over. Sabin sticks out his boots so Shelley can send Max face first and things speed up.

Back to Shelley for some loud chops on Max’s chest, but Jeremy trips him up from the floor. Sabin kicks Jeremy in the face and Alex nails Max, setting up a double suicide dive to put the Bucks down. They get back inside with Shelley getting crotched on the top and taken down with a double DDT out of the corner. Jeremey nails a nice spinning enziguri for two on Shelley before a running flip neckbreaker into a backbreaker gets two more.

Shelley fights both Bucks off the top and hits a top rope double stomp on Jeremy before making the hot tag off to Sabin. The Guns speed things way up with double hesitation dropkicks to Jeremy in the Tree of Woe. A top rope clothesline gets two on Jeremy and a Dominator/running cutter combination gets the same on Max. Shelley misses a plancha to Jeremy, allowing him to hit a slingshot X Factor on Sabin. Everyone gets back in but the Bucks break up a Doomsday Sliced Bread #2.

Max hits a kind of neckbreaker off the top rope followed by a 450 from Jeremy. Shelly makes a last second save and catches a diving Jeremy in a Downward Spiral while DDTing Max at the same time. Max kicks Sabin in the face and sends Alex outside before a standing moonsault/springboard splash gets two on Shelley. The Bucks load up More Bang For Your Buck (a fast paced series of dives) but Sabin comes back in for a release German superplex to send Max flying. Skull and Bones (neckbreaker/top rope splash combo) is enough to pin Jeremy and retain the titles.

Rating: A-. GREAT choice for an opener here even though I can’t imagine much being able to follow it. The fans are totally hyped for the show and even I was way into this by the end. They kept playing “can you top this” and release German at the end looked great. The Bucks may be jerks but they can put on a spot fest. Really good stuff here.

Madison Rayne is glad that she unbanned Tara and is letting her fight in tonight’s four way. Mickie James can’t just walk into TNA and become the new boss. Actually she can as Mickie is refereeing tonight.

We recap the four way. The new head of the Knockouts division, Miss Tessmacher, is going to make Angelina Love prove she deserves to be champion. This is basically Beautiful People vs. non-Beautiful People.

Knockouts Title: Angelina Love vs. Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky vs. Tara

Angelina is defending and Madison has Tara in her back pocket for reinstating her after Tara lost her career in a match earlier in the year. Newcomer Mickie James is guest referee in the same vein that Bret Hart was at Starrcade 1997. You have to tag here so it’s Angelina vs. Madison to start. Rayne quickly tags out to Velvet as Tazz says there’s no tagging. The Beautiful People have to go at it and we get a very basic sequence until they collide to put both girls down.

Madison tags Velvet to come in and chokes Angelina in the corner but gets caught in a flapjack. Tara comes in with a hangman’s choke but Madison runs over to tag in Velvet. Sky gets two off a headscissors followed by something like AJ Lee’s Black Widow. Tazz is shouting about bacon for some reason as Velvet gets two off a faceplant. Madison knees Velvet from the apron and everything breaks down. The Botox Injection drops Tara, the Rayne Drop sends Angelina to the floor and Velvet DDTs Madison. Tara gets back up and grabs a rollup with tights on Velvet for the pin and the title.

Rating: D+. This was when the division was starting to get going, but there was no real reason to have the tags here. Tara winning the title makes sense but, could they at least do something besides the same thing from last year with Nash and Young? Mickie was a total non-factor in this.

Madison freaks out on Tara post match but gets nailed by Mickie. James’ music plays and you would never know Tara won the belt.

Eric Young says Orlando Jordan (the bisexual wrestler) looks at him as a father figure. “Who cares if he’s bi…..polar?” Jordan comes up in a mask and offers Christy a sucker.

Orlando Jordan/Eric Young vs. Ink Inc.

Ink Inc. is a tattooed team comprised of Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal. This is the result of an Xplosion match and Eric is carrying a rulebook and has drawn on tattoos for some reason. Oh this is during Young’s latest crazy period. Jordan and Jesse get things going but Young quickly puts the referee on the apron and takes his place. Things settle down and Jesse gets two off a spinning cross body and it’s off to Shannon for a kick to the face and two.

Young comes in and gets rolled up for two so he congratulates Shannon for his success. He high fives everyone, including a tag to Jordan. Ink Inc. kicks Jordan in the corner and Eric wants to join in, only to get crotched on the top rope. Jordan gets crotched right along with him as comedy abounds. Back in and Orlando grinds on Shannon before planting him with a spinebuster. The fans want Eric but get a Jordan suplex for two on Moore.

Young breaks up Jordan’s cheating to give Moore another two count and now Orlando doesn’t want to tag. Instead Jordan nails Jesse and holds Moore open for a cheap shot but Eric goes over and takes Jesse’s place on the apron. Moore tags Eric in because why not and Young cleans house on Jordan. In the confusing, Shannon loads Jordan up in a fireman’s carry so Neal can hit a top rope neckbreaker for the pin.

Rating: D. If you like Eric Young’s comedy, this was gold. If you’re like me and he makes you want to pound a rusty spike into your eye, this was the longest eight and a half minutes of your life. I will however give him this: at least this was something different than the same four things he would do for years on end.

Jeff Hardy says he’ll win the title with a Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb.

X-Division Title: Jay Lethal vs. Douglas Williams

Jay is defending and this is a rematch from a title match on Impact. They trade wristlocks to start with Douglas taking him down into an armbar. Lethal pops up and spins him down into an armbar of his own. Back up and Williams nails a shot to the ribs to take over, only to get caught in a quick Lethal Combination to send Douglas outside. Back in and Jay misses a springboard dropkick followed by a Williams knee drop for two.

A chinlock doesn’t get Williams anywhere and Jay is quickly up with a backdrop. Some dropkicks put Williams down again and a cross body gets two. Douglas comes back with a running knee to the chest and gets two off a snap suplex. Rolling Chaos (a rolling German suplex out of the corner) is good for a very near fall on the champion. The very grounded challenger tries a top rope hurricanrana but Lethal rolls through into a sunset flip to retain.

Rating: C. This was fine but forgettable and could have been on any given Impact. Lethal never did anything for me and still doesn’t to this day. Williams was the technical guy and the perfect villain for the division so it might have been a good idea to have him get the title before this show and losing it here. Still though, nothing too bad but pretty basic stuff.

Lethal goes into the crowd and gets jumped by Shore, a new act comprised of Cookie and a guy named Robbie E. Jay gets taken to the ring and laid out with with an RKO. Robbie promises to take the title back to New Jersey. Where Lethal is from. Well to be fair Robbie isn’t supposed to be a smart guy.

We recap Rob Van Dam vs. Abyss. The monster had been going crazy and then World Champion Van Dam tried to stop him at the Whole F’N Show. It ended in a huge brawl and Abyss nearly murdering Van Dam with his 2×4 covered in nails called Janice because THEY told him to. Abyss has promised that THEY will be revealed tonight but I can’t imagine it’s before the main event.

Rob Van Dam vs. Abyss

Monster’s Ball and this is Abyss’ last match in TNA for reasons not really explained. Rob hammers away to start and brings in a chair very early. A springboard kick to the face drops Abyss and he skateboards the chair into Abyss’ face in the corner. They head outside with Rob sliding in a barbed wire board, only to get taken down by an elbow to the face. Rob elbows his way out of a chokeslam and regular slam attempt onto the board before kicking Abyss down onto the barbed wire to really fire up the crowd.

Rolling Thunder misses Abyss nad hits the board again, sending Rob out to the floor. A trashcan to the head puts Rob down again and Abyss bridges a table between the ring and the barricade. They slug it out next to the board with Abyss getting the better of it but not being able to suplex Rob through the board. Instead Abyss gets kicked down onto it, allowing Rob to hit Rolling Thunder through the table for a nice crash.

Back in and a Van Daminator staggers Abyss but he pops up before Rob can launch the Van Terminator. Abyss pelts the chair at Rob to knock him off the top and through the barbed wire board at ringside. Back in again and Abyss sets up the barbed wire board in the corner but gets shoved face first into it, allowing Rob to stomp away at the board in the corner. The Van Terminator crushes the board into Abyss but the Five Star misses. Abyss pulls out Janice but Rob pelts a chair at Abyss’ head to knock Janice out of his hands. Van Dam sees Janice and drills the monster in the ribs for the pin.

Rating: B-. This was a good brawl and a solid way to have Rob get his revenge. The problem with Janice is you can’t show what it’s supposed to do because it would kill the guy, so a shot to the ribs is about as good as it’s going to get. Rob should have been the conquering hero here in theory, but it’s not quite the same with Abyss being the prophet for THEY. Still though, good stuff.

Rob leaves and Abyss tells the camera to come to them so he can say here WE come.

We recap the Band vs. Jarrett/Joe. The idea here is Sting and Nash are claiming that Hogan and Bischoff, the good guys, are up to something. It comes off as jealousy and heel turns for both guys, but Sting has never quite gotten to say the whole thing. All we’ve heard is talk of a huge conspiracy and a grand scheme between Hogan, Bischoff and potentially others.

Jarrett is here because he started TNA and supports Dixie while Joe is there because he has nothing else to do. Pope D’Angelo Dinero, a guy who debuted earlier in the year and hasn’t done much, has joined in with Nash and Sting but doesn’t sound nearly as evil as the other two. We’re also told that Hogan will NOT be here due to back surgery. A lot of people, myself included, saw this as a red flag.

Sting/D’Angelo Dinero/Kevin Nash vs. Jeff Jarrett/Samoa Joe

Joe grabs Dinero’s arm to start and runs him over with a shoulder. Dinero comes back with a flying tackle but Joe pops back up and stares at him. Some rights and lefts in the corner don’t have much effect on Joe so it’s off to Sting for a rematch BFG 2008’s main event. Sting hammers away and tries the Stinger Splash, only to charge into the release Rock Bottom. Joe takes Sting outside and nails some left hands to the jaw. Nash comes in from behind with a shot to Joe’s back to give Sting control.

They walk around just like in 2008 but thankfully stay at ringside instead of going through the crowd. It’s off to Nash back inside for some right hands of his own, followed by knees to the ribs in the corner. Back to Dinero for some stompings in the corner, followed by a slingshot elbow drop for two. Joe fights off Dinero, decks Sting and hits an enziguri in the corner to drop Nash. He crawls over to Jarrett but Jeff drops to the floor and leaves. Joe is all alone and tries to fight them off but three guys are too much for him. The Jackknife is enough to pin the Samoan.

Rating: D+. This was storyline advancement even though it didn’t make sense at this time. To be fair though, NOTHING made sense at this point which is what made this such a must see show, as we were finally promised answers. The match was just kind of there, much like Joe who had no connection to anything here. The annoying part here though was we were building to Sting vs. Jarret for months and now they’re either neutral with each other or on the same side.

Anderson says he’s going to end Kurt Angle’s career tonight because he has to.

Here’s Team 3D for a major announcement. Ray talks about all the titles they’ve won and say they don’t have anything left to do. They’re going to retire, but they want one more match against the Motor City Machine Guns for the titles.

The announcers talk about Team 3D’s challenge.

We recap Lethal Lockdown. This is a culture clash with EV 2.0 (Extreme Violence, the ECW reunion) being tired of Fourtune saying they’re not real wrestlers. The team being brought in wound up being one of the major plot points for what’s going on tonight but we’ll cover that at the end. Flair called EV 2.0 a gimmick and says his Fourtune is real wrestling.

Flair says Fourtune is the heart of TNA and that he’s ready for Foley. Each member gets in a jab at EV 2.0.

Fourtune vs. EV 2.0

AJ Styles, Beer Money, Kazarian, Matt Morgan

Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Sabu, Stevie Richards

This is a one ring WarGames match. A man from each team starts and after five minutes, Fourtune gets a man advantage due to winning a match on Impact. That goes on for two minutes then a guy from EV 2.0 comes in. Two more minutes of that and then Fourtune gets the advantage again. Alternate until all 10 are in and then we lower the roof, complete with weapons. No pins or submissions until everyone is in. Foley and Flair are the seconds and everyone is at ringside for the match. They get in a brawl before anyone gets in the cage. Fourtune is all in blue here for a good team visual.

Things settle down so Richards and Kaz can get things going. Stevie hammers away to start and sends Kaz into the cage as Tazz isn’t allowed to say ECW. Richards chops him down in the corner before mocking Flair with a strut. A suplex puts Kaz down and there’s a Koji Clutch of all things. The clock runs down after about three minutes and it’s TV (Legends) Champion AJ Styles in for the save.

The drop down into the dropkick plants Richards and Fourtune puts him in a Figure Four with Kaz pulling at Stevie’s arms. Dreamer finally comes in for the save and clotheslines both of them down. A pumphandle suplex drops AJ and a Demolition Decapitator does the same to Kaz. Richards has a bad leg so Dreamer slams him onto Kaz before putting him on the top rope. Stevie tries a superplex but gets caught in a Tower of Doom by AJ, who sends Kaz crashing into Dreamer to put all four down.

Roode comes in to make it 3-2 and sends Dreamer face first into the cage. All of the Fourtune guys are back up now and in full control, with Flair helping by throwing punches through the camera hole. The destruction continues until Sabu comes in to make the save and somehow revive all of his partners in the span of about 20 seconds. A springboard into a tornado DDT drops Styles and Sabu puts on the camel clutch. Dreamer is covered in blood.

Fourtune starts getting back into it before Storm comes in to clean even more house. Beer Money does their SHOUT OUR NAMES bit as Fourtune is in full control. Raven comes in to even things up again as the extreme guys start getting back into it. Some pretty unspectacular brawling carries us to Morgan getting in as the final member of Fourtune. He drives Sabu into the cage and busts him open in the process. EV continues to get destroyed until Rhino ties things up. A series of clotheslines and suplexes set up a Gore to Storm as the roof of weapons is lowered.

The fans really wake up as the previous fifteen minutes or so were just killing time until we got to this point. EV takes over with the weapons shots as we see even more toys on the roof. Raven and Morgan slug it out until Kaz is thrown through the door and out onto the concrete. Stevie goes after Kaz and they head to the top of the cage. Richards sets up a ladder and a table up there as most of the other people have fought to the floor.

Kaz tries to put Richards through the table but Brian Kendrick pops out from under a tarp on top of the cage to make a save. He slams Kaz through the table and starts meditating because he’s a strange guy. Back in the ring, Dreamer nails AJ with a chair to crotch him on the top and a top rope Death Valley Driver onto the chair is enough to pin Styles.

Rating: D+. This was a pretty lame brawl as it followed the standard WarGames formula: they trade advantages and have a basic brawl until the next guy comes in. Ten people is WAY too much for one ring and that was the problem here. The fact that TOMMY DREAMER PINNED AJ STYLES doesn’t make things any better. Kendrick made things even more bizarre and the whole thing just didn’t do it for me.

Angle says he’ll retire if he doesn’t win and that he has to win the title. This one is for Hulk.

We get a music video on the main event, basically showing how everyone advanced through the tournament to get here and showing shots of them all.

The announcers preview the match for a good while.

TNA World Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson

Anderson beat D’Angelo Dinero and Hardy and Angle went to a time limit draw, forcing the three way. Hardy debuts new music which should tell you a lot. Anderson gets double teamed to start but Kurt is sent out to the floor. Angle comes back in and throws Jeff to the floor so he can kick at Anderson’s knee in the corner. A release overhead belly to belly gets two on Mr. with Hardy making a save. Jeff gets back into it and picks up Anderson, so Angle Germans both guys at the same time.

Anderson goes outside for the first time but Jeff backdrops Angle up and over the top for a bad landing. Thankfully he’s ok enough to pull Anderson out to the floor for a brawl, but Hardy dives over the top to put everyone down. Back in and Kurt puts Anderson in a chinlock until Jeff makes a save. He goes up top very slowly though, allowing Angle to run the corner for the belly to belly. Jeff pops back up, only to miss the Swanton on Anderson and give Kurt a near fall. Dixie Carter is watching at ringside.

Angle loads up a superplex but Andeson turns it into a Tower of Doom for two on both guys. It’s Angle up first to roll some Germans on Anderson before doing the same on Hardy. He wants to keep things together so there’s an ankle lock to both guys at the same time. Angle goes up top but Anderson’s ankle is fine enough for the rolling fireman’s carry for two. Hardy breaks it up with a Swanton for two on both guys.

Back up and Anderson goes up, only to get caught in a belly to back superplex to give Kurt a near fall. Whisper in the Wind puts Angle down and there’s a Twist of Fate to Anderson. The Swanton crushes Mr. but Angle grabs Jeff’s ankle. Anderson breaks it up with the Mic Check for two on Kurt and everyone gets two off a rollup. Kurt actually hits the moonsault for two on Hardy, who falls out of the ring. Angle escapes the Mic Check but accidentally clotheslines the referee. Everyone knows the big THEY reveal is coming.

Anderson hits the Mic Check on Angle but can’t follow up. This brings out Eric Bischoff with a chair but Hogan comes out (I’m as shocked as you are) before he can swing it. Hulk is on crutches and moving pretty slowly as we have to wait even longer. Bischoff throws the chair down but takes away a crutch. Hardy gets back in to calm things down but Hogan hands him his crutch.

Jeff squares off with Bischoff….and breaks the crutch over Angle’s back. Hogan smiles and Bischoff says that was awesome. Hogan points at Hardy and hugs Eric as they watch Hardy break the other crutch over Anderson’s back. The Twist of Fate is enough to pin Anderson and give Hardy the title.

Rating: B-. The match is good but this was ALL about the booking and big swerve at the end. Hogan and Bischoff weren’t really surprises so it was all down to who was going to side with the new mega heel faction. Hardy winning the title is fine and the best option given who was in there.

Bischoff introduces Jeff as the new World Champion and a smiling Jeff Jarrett comes out. Abyss follows them out and hugs Hogan. Fans throw trash in the ring ala the NWO debut (there were rumors this was planted) as RVD comes out to ask Jeff what he’s doing. Hardy lays him out with a belt shot and poses with THEY to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a VERY tricky show to grade as it all revolved around the huge reveal at the end. I remember waking up on the day of the show and being genuinely excited to find out who THEY were. That kind of excitement is reserved for Wrestlemania and nothing else in wrestling. TNA did an OUTSTANDING job of building up this story, even though when you look back at the last six months, there are roughly 84,038 plot holes in the story.

The problems with THEY (later called Immortal) all came later when, just like the NWO, the team expanded to about a dozen people and you couldn’t keep track of what was going on. The same was true of the buildup as it went in so many different directions that the whole thing stopped making sense about halfway through. It’s a good twist ending because Hardy was kind of the forgotten one in the whole mix, but the problem with these kind of stories is in the details. There is so much material in a wrestling show that somewhere along the lines, someone did something that doesn’t add up in the end.

That’s where this story lost me at first: I really don’t like the idea of having to keep track of dozens of plot points to figure out if a show makes sense or not. That’s why the show is still good but doesn’t have nearly the weight behind it that it did live. In 2010, all I cared about was the reveal. Now I know what’s coming (including that Sting and Nash had been right all along), so much of the drama is gone. It completely changes the show and thankfully lets you see that there’s more to it than just the main event. Good stuff here though and still TNA’s biggest show to date.

Ratings Comparison

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me

Original: B

Redo: A-

Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne vs. Tara

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Ink Inc. vs. Shannon Moore/Jesse Neal

Original: D

Redo: D

Douglas Williams vs. Jay Lethal

Original: C+

Redo: C

Rob Van Dam vs. Abyss

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Sting/Kevin Nash/D’Angelo Dinero vs. Samoa Joe/Jeff Jarrett

Original: D+

Redo: D+

EV 2.0 vs. Fourtune

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Mr. Anderson vs. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy

Original: B

Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: B-

Redo: C+

This is the point where I was watching the shows live so the ratings are going to be closer.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/10/10/bound-for-glory-2012-im-still-not-sure-if-this-makes-sense/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Bound For Glory 2009
Date: October 18, 2009
Location: Bren Events Center, Irvine, California
Attendance: 2,400
Commentators: Taz, Mike Tenay

This is a lot of people, myself included, really liked as AJ Styles was back to being serious again and had won the World Title in a five way match the previous month. Tonight he’s defending against Sting because WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT STING IN THE MAIN EVENT??? Other than that we have a four way Full Metal Mayhem (TLC) match for two sets of Tag Team Titles because TNA felt the need to bring in Japanese Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

The opening video shows most of participants of the main events, set to a hip hop song because almost every video is anymore.

We get quick soundbytes hyping up the bigger matches. AJ wants to fight Sting to prove that he’s the best. Sting has been hinting that it’s going to be his last match.

Zack Wylde of Black Label Society plays a rock version of the Star Spangled Banner. This goes about as well as you would expect it to.

X-Division Title: Suicide vs. Daniels vs. Amazing Red vs. Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley

Ultimate X with Red defending. Red is a guy that was around near the beginning of TNA and did some very impressive flips, earning the adulation of Don West. Don is now managing the champ and was known to climb on the announcers’ table and cheer for him. Sabin and Shelley won a match on the preshow to get in this match. Suicide is a video game character who started appearing on TV, portrayed by Daniels or Kazarian (the latter here). Homicide is part of the World Elite stable, which is a group of international wrestlers, led by Eric Young, who feel they haven’t been treated right.

It’s a mad scramble to the corners to start but no one can get anywhere. Everyone goes after everyone with Homicide getting the biggest advantage by taking down Shelley and diving through the ropes to take out Daniels. Suicide rolls the champion over and dives onto Homicide but the Guns work together to set up a suicide dive on…uh Suicide actually. Red kicks Shelley but gets dropped by Daniels, who goes for a climb. Red isn’t done yet and hurricanranas Daniels onto everyone else in the match.

Back in and Sabin busts out a giant swing on Red but Shelley adds a dropkick to the champ’s head to make it even worse. Daniels attacks both Guns and Homicide goes for a climb, only to have Suicide springboard up to the ropes and make a save, only to get pulled down into a Gringo Cutter. Sabin holds Daniels and Homicide for a top rope double stomp from Shelley.

The Guns continue their control by working over Red but the champion escapes a Doomsday Device with a Sliced Bread #2 instead of a clothesline and takes Sabin down with a hurricanrana. Suicide comes back in but Homicide suplexes him down. Homicide drops the champ and goes up but Daniels pulls him down and nails a Death Valley Driver. Red goes for the ropes but slowly comes back down for some reason, only to go back towards the belt until Suicide pulls him back down.

Now it’s Daniels and Sabin going up and kicking at each other while hanging in the air, eventually knocking each other down for a big crash. Sabin nails a tornado DDT on Daniels and Shelley nails a Sliced Bread #2 on Suicide. We get the Parade of Secondary Finishers, followed by Shelley, Red and Suicide hitting a huge Tower of Doom out of the corner with Suicide taking the worst of it (and kicking Daniels in the face on the way down).

Suicide throws Daniels down but Red kicks him in the face and gets caught by a corkscrew dive. Sabin goes nuts until Suicide kicks him off the top rope. Suicide goes right back up and hits the Flux Capacitor on Sabin, setting up Daniels’ Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels and Suicide climb onto the top of the structure above the cables and Red follows after them.

The fans ask them not to die so Daniels and Suicide tease suplexing each other off. They slap each other until Daniels carefully climbs down onto the X but Suicide does the same and they both fall with Daniels landing on his head. Tazz rightfully shouts CHECK HIM as Red slips down through the treeses as well and grabs the title before someone dies.

Rating: C+. That Daniels bump had me terrified when I saw it live and it doesn’t get any easier here. Thankfully he was ok for the most part. I can’t emphasize how much better this was than last year’s opener with just six men involved. It gives the match a chance to breathe and you can keep track of what’s going on. This was a good opener but the Daniels fall made it hard to sit through at the end.

The Beautiful People (now without Angelina but with Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich) insult Lauren by calling her JB. They’re coming for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles because the belts were started for the Beautiful People. Madison talks about the lineup of the team switching but says now they’re going to accessorize with the Tag Team Titles.

The Knockouts Tag Team Champions Taylor Wilde and Sarita (a newcomer from Mexico) say they’ll take on all comers. Sarita speaks some Spanish and Wilde is confused.

We run down the card for a bit to fill in time.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Sarita/Taylor Wilde vs. Beautiful People

Madison and Velvet are challenging. Lacey kisses the referee before the match, convincing him to change places with Earl Hebner, who may or may not be sleeping with Madison. Earl comes out and ejects Lacey for her efforts and Taylor rolls Velvet up for two. Everything quickly breaks down and the champions clean house on Sky until the challengers finally double team Sarita to take over.

They lift Sarita into the air and let her crash down for two but she comes back with a kick to the face. Hot tag brings in Taylor who destroys the People, setting up dropkick from Sarita to send Madison into a German suplex for the pin. Too short to rate but the girls looking good is about the only positive here.

We recap the Legends Title match. The Legends Title was introduced about two weeks after last year’s Bound For Glory and became the midcard title TNA had needed for years. The story here is Eric Young wants Hernandez to join World Elite, which is feuding with the Main Event Mafia. Mafia leader Kurt Angle put a hit on Eric Young for $30,000, so Young went to Mafia member and Legends Champion Kevin Nash and offered him $60,000 to take out Hernandez, who Young was scheduled to face here. I had to watch the video twice to have this make sense.

Young and Nash are in the back where Eric goes off about Hernandez and Nash doesn’t seem to care as long as he gets paid.

Legends Title: Kevin Nash vs. Eric Young vs. Hernandez

Hernandez runs them over to start and sends Young flying out to the floor. All three go to the ramp and slug it out with Hernandez getting double teamed to slow him down. SuperMex will have none of that and nails Nash before hits a backbreaker on Young. Nash finally gets back up and drives knees in to Hernandez’s ribs. Eric is willing to come in and get a few shots of his own as this is turning into a handicap match.

Hernandez fights back again but Nash breaks up a suplex on Young. The fans are all over Young as he helps Nash with the boot choke in the corner. A back elbow stops another Hernandez comeback and Young tries to steal the pin, which doesn’t seem to be in the plan. Things calm down and Nash hammers on Hernandez in the corner. Hernandez somehow pulls himself to the top and hits a missile dropkick to put Nash down. SuperMex tries to clean house but Nash knocks him face first into the middle buckle.

Another double team is broken up and Nash is down, leaving Young to get caught in midair for a sitout powerbomb and two. Back up and Nash misses a clothesline, allowing Hernandez to dive over the top to take Young down. Eric comes back in and drops a top rope elbow on Hernandez before lowering Nash’s straps for him. Young picks up Hernandez and throws him head first into Nash’s crotch, allowing Eric to dive in and get the pin for the title. Nash’s shoulder was about a foot off the mat.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than I thought I would with a good formula and a nice swerve at the end. They had to get the title on Young somehow due to how much heat he had and that was as good a way as any other. Nice little match here and Nash going after the money is perfect for him.

The Main Event Mafia, Beer Money Inc. and the British Invasion are brawling in the back. Douglas Williams calms things down and says they should be focusing on Team 3D. Wrestlemania X7 is referenced as the Full Metal Mayhem match is TNA’s TLC match.

IWGP Tag Team Titles/TNA Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. British Invasion vs. Team 3D vs. Main Event Mafia

This is a TLC match with two sets of titles above the ring. These teams have been feuding forever and this is the final showdown. The British Invasion (Douglas Williams and Brutus Magnus) and the Main Event Mafia (Booker T. and Scott Steiner) hold the IWGP and TNA titles respectfully coming in.

It’s a huge brawl to start with Team 3D getting beaten down in the corners. We head outside with Steiner using a ladder on D-Von. The Brits are smart enough to go in to try and climb but stop for a handshake, allowing Beer Money to make the save. The fight is getting too busy to keep track of as Beer Money destroys Williams in the ring and Steiner fights with I believe Magnus by the stage. Booker comes in to clean house but Roode stops his climb attempt.

Booker ax kicks Roode and Steiner is choking D-Von with a cable. The fans go nuts for the Spinarooni but Booker takes too long climbing, allowing Beer Money to take him down with a Last Call and DWI (powerbomb/neckbreaker combination). Steiner gets back in and destroys everyone in sight, even busting out Frankensteiners and superplexes for the Brits. Booker’s wife Sharmell comes out to check on Booker’s knee as Scott suplexes everyone he can find.

Scott goes up and we realize that the ladder needs to be about four feet higher. The Brits drop Steiner with a double neckbreaker and Booker is taken out on a stretcher. What’s Up nails Steiner and it’s Table Time. Team 3D destroys the Brits for stealing their table gimmick and Beer Money takes a beating of their own. Ray hands Zack Wylde (remember him?) a chair to blast Storm before D-Von puts Williams through a table in the ring. The real What’s Up makes Magnus writhe in pain and we get a lot more tables brought in.

Beer Money gets chokeslammed through tables but Steiner comes in with a chair to drop Team 3D. He brings in a ladder but is still too short to bring it down, allowing Team 3D to slam him through a table. The belts seem to be lowered a bit when it’s clear that this match is never going to end.

Both members of Team 3D climb up at the same time but Rhino of all people comes in to destroy them with chairs. D-Von pulls the IWGP Title down anyway to win the titles for he and Ray but takes a beating from the chair. The Brits come in and lay out Rhino and Team 3D even more before climbing up to to go after the other belts. Beer Money makes another save by shoving one ladder over and superplexing Magnus off the other.

They take too long getting up though and Magnus nails them both with a chair. Storm comes back with beer to Magnus’ face and a huge sunset bomb off the ladder. Williams hits James with a chair but Roode knocks him off. The third British Invasion member Rob Terry pulls Roode down and slams him through a table before lifting Williams up the ladder for the TNA Tag Team Titles. That’s the same way TLC II ended at Wrestlemania X7.

Rating: B+. This was a solid brawl, even though Scott Steiner was down WAY too long towards the end of the match. They did a good job of keeping all of the teams involved for the most part, which is the hardest thing to do in a match like this. Booker being taken out of the match was the way to write him off TV as he and Sharmell were leaving TNA.

We recap the three way for the Knockouts Title. Tara (formerly Victoria in WWE) debuted and wants the title, ODB is champion and Awesome Kong is Awesome Kong.

Knockouts Title: Awesome Kong vs. ODB vs. Tara

ODB is defending. Tara has her spider Poison with her which never worked for me. Kong grabs the belt to start and runs ODB down, only to have Tara slug away at the giant. Tara and ODB’s double team goes badly but the both avoid a middle rope splash. They nip up at the same time and shoulder Kong back down. A double suplex puts her down a third time but the normal sized girls get in an argument over who should cover.

ODB takes Tara down with the fall away slam and chops in the corner but Tara comes back with the Tarantula. Kong gets back up for the save until Tara moonsault presses both of them down. It doesn’t seem to bother Kong who runs Tara over and chokes the champion in the corner.

Tara seems to get in a fight with some fan and leaves (more on this later), allowing ODB to hit a Samoan drop on Kong for two. Kong slams her back down as Tara is back to save ODB from a middle rope splash. There’s the Implant Buster to ODB for two and Kong is SHOCKED. She brings in a chair but splashes it instead of ODB, who retains the title with ease.

Rating: D+. The match was dull for the most part, but the Tara thing is interesting in how stupid it was. The fan was the wife of former UFC Champion Randy Couture, who Tara wanted to work a match against. Why this is supposed to be interesting isn’t clear and it never lead to anything. Also pay no attention to the fact that this wasn’t mentioned on TV, at least not here.

Matt Morgan says his match with Angle is business and personal.

Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley

This is a submission match for what should be obvious reasons and Joe is Mafia. Lashley has bad ribs coming in but is still able to power Joe into the corner. Some slaps to the face tick Lashley off so he spinebusters Joe down and tries an armbar. Joe tries a kick to the ribs but opts for a leg bar instead. That goes nowhere as Lashley rolls out and takes Joe down again before pounding away in the corner.

Lashley gets sent outside for a breather, drawing a LOUD Lashley Sucks chant. Joe starts going after the ribs and the referee goes down, allowing Joe to hit Lashley in the ribs again. Back to the floor and Joe nails the suicide dive before driving Lashley into the barricade. They get back inside and Lashley gets caught in an abdominal stretch with an elbow in the ribs. He powers out with a hiptoss and is quickly booed out of the building.

A powerslam puts Lashley down but Joe goes for an armbreaker for some reason. Lashley blocks the hold so Joe hammers away in the corner. A full nelson slam drops Joe and the fans just rip into Lashley and cheer Joe louder. Joe just destroys him with spinning Rock Bottoms but Lashley sweeps the leg and puts on a side choke for the quick win.

Rating: D-. WOW this was bad for Lashley. He barely did anything and the fans just let him have it. He might be the guy who looked the best on paper and then never played out in the slightest. His 2014 run has been FAR better when they made him a killer, but the face runs were disasters. Joe was just so unmotivated at this point and I can’t say I blame him. He feuded with the Mafia for months then joined them because Samoa Joe has to be in heel stables for some reason. One other thing of note: this was the first non-title match as well as the first one on one match of the night.

Oh and one more thing: STOP TRYING TO TURN WRESTLING INTO MMA! IT’S CALLED WRESTLING FOR A REASON!

Mick Foley says if Abyss wants to be the biggest hardcore star ever, he has to earn it. He wanted Abyss to be his protege but now wants to hurt him to prove a point. Foley is evil here if that’s not clear.

Abyss vs. Mick Foley

Dr. Stevie (Richards) is guest referee and if Abyss uses tacks he’s disqualified, even though this is Monster’s Ball. Foley jumps Abyss from behind with a barbed wire bat and drags the monster to the stage. He climbs the tower on the set and this can’t end well. Abyss follows him up but gets knocked off and goes through the stage. Foley drops his running elbow with the barbed wire bat into the hole and both guys are down.

Stevie congratulates Foley as they walk to the ring. Abyss climbs through a new hole in the ramp and runs Foley over before heading to ringside to get some weapons. The monster bridges a barbed wire board between the ring and barricade before just smashing Foley with a trashcan. Another barbed wire board is brought in but Foley grabs a double arm DDT to plant Abyss on top of it. The barbed wire bat is raked across Abyss’ head as the violence really gets going.

Foley goes after the arm with the barbed wire and we see a lot of blood on Abyss’ forehead. He’s still able to send Foley into the third barbed wire board in the corner but misses a charge, catching himself in the board. Foley shoves him onto the board on the mat and drops an elbow to crush him between the boards for two.

Now Mick busts out the tacks but gets grabbed by the throat. Stevie won’t let Abyss chokeslam Mick onto them, so Abyss Shock Treatments the referee. Creepy chick Daffney comes out and slides Foley a taser of all things, which explodes as he shocks Abyss. This brings out a regular referee to count three….but he starts a four count because Abyss doesn’t kick out in time.

An attempt at a barbed wire Socko results in Foley being sent into the board, but Stevie gets up and nails the replacement referee. Daffney goes up top but gets chokeslammed through the barbed wire board at ringside (off camera of course). A Black Hole Slam puts Stevie into the tacks and a chokeslam onto the barbed wire is enough for the pin, with Abyss grabbing Stevie’s hand to make him count the three.

Rating: D+. This is what happens when TNA just tries too hard and it stops working. The tacks thing was stupid but at least Abyss got the win and gets put over as a result. The problem here is this was basically all barbed wire, which is a good visual if you use it once or twice, but then it’s just numbing. Also the fall through the stage was way out of place with the rest of the match.

Angle says he had AJ beat and the time ran out. This has nothing to do with his match tonight.

We recap Angle vs. Morgan. Angle had been stringing Morgan along and promising him a place in the Mafia but then screwing him over. Morgan became a killer and cost Angle the title at No Surrender, setting up this showdown.

Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan

Kurt has his borderline homeless man beard going here. Angle runs to the floor to start and cuts off the fans’ dueling chants in the process. They do the same sequence again before Morgan just grabs Kurt by the head and throws him over the top. Back in and Morgan busts out the rapid fire elbows in the corner before hitting a kind of reverse chokeslam to send him face first into the buckle. Kurt goes to the eyes and sends Matt outside, only to get caught diving off the apron. Morgan sends him back first into the post and stands very tall.

Back in and Matt hits a high cross body for two, only to have the Carbon Footprint hit the buckle. Angle chop blocks the big man down and gets his first advantage. There’s a Figure Four and Morgan is suddenly in big trouble. Morgan finally turns it over, sending Angle to the ropes for the break. Some clotheslines have Angle in trouble and a side slam gets two as Matt’s knee seems fine.

Kurt goes back for it to stagger the big man but Morgan counters a cross body with a fall away slam. Chokeslam gets two but Angle counters the Hellevator into the rolling Germans. That must be punishment for not selling the knee. The Angle Slam is countered and a big boot (dude come on) gets two. A second attempt at the Slam gets two and the ankle lock goes on. Morgan kicks him away and avoids a charge into the corner, setting up the Hellevator for two.

We get the required tombstone attempt from a big man but Kurt counters into the ankle lock. Matt kicks away and nails a clothesline for two but the fans think he sucks. Morgan goes up top so Angle can run the buckles for the superplex. A frog splash gets two for Kurt and he goes back up, only to get caught on Morgan’s shoulders. Possibly playing off the knee from earlier, Angle grabs a victory roll for the pin.

Rating: C+. It’s an entertaining match as they tried the main event style, but it has a few problems. To begin with, Morgan wouldn’t sell the knee for more than about five seconds, so the point of the match kind of died halfway through. This brings us to the big problem: Angle did not need to win this match. He’s by far the bigger star and has been established for years while Morgan hasn’t proven he can win the big one yet. Here’s what makes it even worse though.

On Impact, Angle basically disbanded the Mafia because Morgan proved that Angle was wrong about the younger generation. The story is EXACTLY the same if Morgan wins and in some ways is even better. On top of that you get a new star (because TNA just had SO many of them running around) who had potential, but instead it’s Angle because this company is all about paying homage to old names.

We don’t get much of a recap for the main event. AJ was about to leave wrestling due to all of his failures, but Sting gave him a great pep talk and AJ won the World Title at No Surrender. Styles wanted to give Sting a title shot and Sting has implied it might be his last match. The problem here, again, is that the main event is all about Sting instead of making a new star.

TNA World Title: Sting vs. AJ Styles

Both guys are good here. Style takes over with a quick hiptoss but Sting comes back with one of his own. Another hiptoss sends Styles to the apron but he springboards back in for no contact. A shoulder puts Styles down but he avoids the Sharpshooter and we get a standoff. AJ scores with a slam and drops a knee for two before Sting whips him upside down into the corner.

Back up and a clothesline puts AJ on the floor. This is still in the grounded stage as neither is wanting to do anything big. Sting lets AJ get back in clean and they reset. An enziguri drops Sting and a nice suplex gets two. Sting comes back with bulldogs and a big backdrop but doesn’t follow up. AJ gets back up so Sting bails to the floor, only to sidestep a diving AJ, sending him into the barricade.

Sting misses a Stinger Splash against the same barricade though and both guys are down. Back in and Sting misses another splash but stops a charging AJ with a boot in the corner. They exchange tombstone attempts until AJ gets planted for two. Back up and the champ’s springboard forearm gets the same before he loads up the moonsault into the reverse DDT. Sting counters into the Death Drop but can’t cover (ignore his leg being on top of AJ).

A Stinger Splash and another Death Drop gets two so it’s Scorpion time. AJ screams a lot and grabs the ropes but Sting Hulks Up. He puts AJ on the top but gets knocked down with a headbutt. AJ falls off the top but manages to Pele Sting from the apron. The springboard splash is enough to retain AJ’s title.

Rating: C+. The match was decent enough but there was almost no emotion here. They were trying to make this feel like a big deal for Sting, because if there’s one thing we’ve learned so far, it’s that BOUND FOR GLORY IS ALL ABOUT HIM. There were some nice sequences in here but it felt like the buildup for something bigger which never came.

AJ calls Sting back to the ring and Sting tells him it’s his (AJ’s) time. Sting says if he just lost his last match, he’s glad it was to someone like AJ. The fans say please don’t go but Sting says he isn’t sure what he’s doing (“and that’s not kayfabe.”) but the fans have made him want to stick around forever. His music hits and we’re quickly done.

Overall Rating: B-. Most of the show is good but nothing on here feels special. The main event is really lacking and felt far more about Sting than Styles, which defeats the purpose of giving someone a rub. It’s a show that is entertaining enough if you watch it but there’s nothing worth going out of your way to see. Once Sting got out of the way for a bit, AJ was able to take off as champion and just own every main event he was in for a few months.

Ratings Comparison

Amazing Red vs. Suicide vs. Daniels vs. Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley

Original: B

Redo: C+

Beautiful People vs. Taylor Wilde/Sarita

Original: D+

Redo: N/A

Eric Young vs. Kevin Nash vs. Hernandez

Original: D-

Redo: C+

Main Event Mafia vs. British Invasion vs. Team 3D vs. Beer Money Inc.

Original: B

Redo: B+

Awesome Kong vs. Tara vs. ODB

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Bobby Lashley vs. Samoa Joe

Original: D

Redo: D-

Mick Foley vs. Abyss

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Sting vs. AJ Styles

Original: B

Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: B-

It’s about the same for the most part but the Legends Title match was WAY better than on another viewing.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/10/16/bound-for-glory-count-up-2009/

Bound For Glory 2008
Date: October 12, 2008
Location: Sears Center, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Attendance: 5,000
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

There are some new faces in TNA at this point and for once we have a young guy as the World Champion. Samoa Joe won the World Title from Angle at Lockdown and is defending it here against…..oh of course it’s Sting. The idea here is Sting and his fellow veterans are tired of the young guys not respecting them and they’re not going to take it anymore. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on the history of Chicago and gangsters while showing some of the big stars in old time suits. The Mafia is clearly here but hasn’t been named yet. Most of the big matches get a focus and Christian is currently a free agent in the upcoming stable wars.

Steel Asylum

Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Curry Man, Jimmy Rave, Jay Lethal, Johnny Devine, Petey Williams, Shark Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Super Eric

You should know who everyone is here. Super Eric is Eric Young as a superhero and is part of the Prince Justice Brotherhood along with Shark Boy and Curry Man (Christopher Daniels as an Indian curry company mascot). This is inside a big red cage with a dome on top. There’s a hole in the top of the dome and the first person to climb up and out gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future. Since there are ten men in the ring, it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going on.

Everyone goes after everyone to start with the Brotherhood and the Guns taking over early on. Shark Boy gets beaten up in the corner and then Devine gets the same treatment. The abused start fighting now as Sharky stomps on Johnny in the corner. We get a six man suplex with the Brotherhood all getting suplexed at the same time. Naturally they sell way too long for a suplex but that’s what you get in big spots like that.

Petey hooks his Russian legsweep on Dutt but gets pulled down when trying to escape. Curry Man goes up but Shelley makes a save. Alex’s climb goes just as well with Shark Boy leg sweeping him down. Super Eric drops Devine with a neckbreaker off the middle rope before Lethal and Dutt slug it out on the top rope. Curry Man takes Sonjay down with the Tokyo Dangerous backbreaker off the ropes. Lethal hurricanranas Rave off the top and Shelley adds a frog splash for good measure.

Eric hits a Death Valley Driver on both Devine and Dutt at the same time but the Guns stop him from leaving. The Guns take everyone down until Petey nails Shelley with a Canadian Destroyer. Shark Boy hits a double Stunner off the top to plant Shelley and Petey at the same time. The parade of finishers begins and Devine is the last man standing. Dutt gets up to stop his escape attempt though and Curry Man takes everyone down so he can do his dance. Curry almost gets to the exit but Dutt pulls him down. Lethal hammers Dutt in the ribs and climbs out for the win.

Rating: C. These matches are fun but they get really tiring after awhile. You can only see these spots for so long before you want some kind of storytelling or coherence after awhile. The match was entertaining but I’d much rather have like five guys in there at most. It would make things flow so much easier instead of being the mess that it was.

We run down the card.

Cornette is WAY too happy to be at Bound For Glory when newcomer Mick Foley comes in. Jim tries to convince Foley to show up at Impact in Vegas when the Beautiful People come in to complain about M&Ms. Foley gets in some jabs that go way over their heads but they don’t care due to him not being beautiful.

We recap the six person tag. Basically it’s beautiful vs. ugly and not much more.

ODB/Rhaka Khan/Rhino vs. Cute Kip/Beautiful People

This is the Bimbo Brawl and Rhaka Khan is big, strong and horrible. Cute Kip is Billy Gunn. Traci Brooks is guest referee to help deal with the girls. Detroit Tiger Curtis Granderson is at ringside and Kip isn’t happy with him stealing the spotlight. ODB and Love yell at each other to start until ODB slaps her in the chest. Off to Velvet who gets forearmed back into the corner before Rhino comes in to work on her arm.

Kip saves Velvet from a Gore and the guys get in a chase sequence. Velvet tries to slap Rhino again but it’s quickly off to Khan vs. James. Kip is 6’5 and Khan is looking him right in the eye. They both try chokeslams with Kip getting the better of it, only to have Khan grab him below the belt. Angelina comes in for some shouting and is quickly dragged into the corner for a slam from ODB.

Velvet distracts Traci so Kip can nail ODB with a makeup bag to give Love two. Some elbows get ODB out of a Velvet chinlock and it’s off to the guys to speed things up. Rhino takes control with right hands and a belly to belly as everything breaks down. The girls fight on the floor and Rhino blocks the Fameasser with a Gore for the pin.

Rating: D. Well at least the Beautiful People looked good. The wrestling was as bad as you would expect it to be and the guys had to save it more than once. When Billy Gunn is the one making your match look better, it’s clear that you have a problem. They were trying with the Knockouts here but the idea wasn’t quite working yet. The Beautiful People were still relatively new at this point and hadn’t found their groove yet.

Consequences Creed (with the GORGEOUS Lauren) says he debuted a year ago and doesn’t like the way X-Division Champion Sheik Abdul Bashir talks about this country. After he wins the title tonight, the glory will belong to America.

X-Division Title: Consequences Creed vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir

An Iraq War veteran with horrible leg injuries gets to introduce Creed. Sheik talks trash about him and Creed is livid to start. The champ is sent outside for a big flip dive, followed by Creed getting on the announcers table to scream at the announcers. A high cross body gets two on Bashir but he finally gets in a shot and sends Creed off the apron and into the barricade. Back in and Creed gets tripped down for two and we hit the reverse gutwrench.

Creed fights up but charges into an elbow in the corner. They chop it out until Creed misses a dropkick and crashes onto the mat. The champ hooks a bodyscissors on the mat before switching off to a kind of sleeper. Creed escapes but gets put right back in the sleeper. Back up again and the dropkick knocks Bashir down to put both guys on the mat. Consequences starts his comeback with forearms and a backdrop for two.

A gutbuster gets the same and a superkick drops Bashir. Creed nips up but takes too long getting to the top. Bashir crotches him down and nails a top rope hurricanrana for two. A TKO is counters by a rake of Creed’s eyes and a rollup with a handful of rope retains Bashir’s title.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t bad but it’s totally forgettable. There wasn’t all that much to the division at this point but Bashir was a good enough choice for a heel champion. Creed is a guy that looks good on paper but never really has backed it up in the ring. This was ok but I doubt I’ll remember it in about five minutes.

Foley is telling JB a story about the Cell when the Kongtourage (Kong and Raisha Saeed) comes in. They have some demands but Foley recommends a visit from Yerple the Clown. He takes out his phone to call her and the girls leave.

There isn’t much to recap for the Knockouts Title match. Taylor Wilde is champion and there are two challengers.

Knockouts Title: Taylor Wilde vs. Awesome Kong vs. Roxxi

One fall to a finish. Wilde, a cute blonde, took the title from the monster Kong as an amateur out of the crowd. Roxxi is now just a girl with short hair and isn’t a voodoo queen anymore. Roxxi and Wilde double team Kong to start before “hitting” a double dropkick to send her out to the floor. Taylor goes after Roxxi and slams her down for two but Kong is back in for the save. Saeed pulls Roxxi to the floor and it’s Kong and Wilde all alone. A victory roll gets two for Taylor but Roxxi comes back in and sends the champ out to the floor.

Kong is livid and goes after Roxxi with some chops to the neck, only to miss a splash in the corner. A swinging neckbreaker drops Kong and a top rope double knee gets two. Roxxi hooks Taylor in a kind of torture rack but Kong kicks both of them down. Kong crushes Roxxi with a cross body for two and the Implant Buster gets the same. Awesome goes up top but Taylor kicks her out to the floor. Roxxi hits a big boot for two on Wilde but walks into a German suplex to keep the title on Taylor.

Rating: D+. I miss Taylor Wilde. The match was nothing special due to not having enough time and could have been on any given Impact. They should have gone with Wilde vs. Kong again here instead of the three way as Roxxi was just there to keep the title on Taylor while protecting Kong. Nothing to see here but I’ve seen worse.

AJ Styles welcomes Foley to TNA but Team 3D comes in and talk trash to Styles. Ray is in flannel so we get ECW and WWE jokes that a lot of the younger fans don’t get. Foley mocks Team 3D for bringing up how many titles they’ve won. Cornette comes in and doesn’t say anything of note. I’m not going to ask about the masks on the wall.

Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. Matt Morgan/Abyss vs. Team 3D vs. LAX

Beer Money (Roode and Storm, managed by Jacqueline) are defending, this is Monster’s Ball and Steve Mongo McMichael is guest referee. Storm is wearing a hat with two beers attached in a somewhat funny bit. Abyss has a story going on here as he’s been in therapy to stop using weapons. Everyone gangs up on the champions to start before it breaks off into a slow paced brawl. LAX works over Storm in the ring with Hernandez catapulting him into a Homicide clothesline.

Roode comes in to try and save his partner but Hernandez knocks him out to the floor. Homicide hits his flip dive through the ropes, setting up a big plancha from Hernandez. Ray nails Hernandez with a trashcan lid in the aisle as Homicide elbows D-Von in the jaw. It’s fork time and D-Von’s head gets carved up. The monsters finally get involved as Abyss comes in for Shock Treatment on Homicide.

Ray hits Abyss low with a cheese grater before slicing Abyss’ skin open. Ray of course licks the cheese grater because he’s a bit sick. It’s Hernandez back in now but Ray runs him over and nails a splash in the corner. A superplex drops Hernandez and Ray’s delayed cover gets one. Roode comes back in with a Blockbuster and a VERY slow two count. We get our first taste of Matt Morgan who suplexes both champions before loading up Old School on Roode. Storm charges back in so Morgan dives over Roode for a cross body.

D-Von plants Roode but gets chokeslammed by Abyss. He loads up one on Roode as well but Storm distracts him with the bag of tacks. McMichael takes the bag away for no apparent reason so Storm puts on his beer football helmet. He challenges McMichael (a former NFL player) to get in a three point stance. Roode has a football from somewhere and they actually hike it with Steve running Roode over with a clothesline. Homicide covers and MAN ALIVE does Mongo count slow.

The fans want tables but get a huge dive off the top with Morgan taking everyone out in a huge crash. Team 3D singles out Abyss with various trashcan related objects. Ray finds a staple gun to go after Abyss’ cut forehead. Abyss fights back until Team 3D lackey Johnny Devine comes out with a kendo stick to slow the monster down. D-Von and Devine load up a table in front of the stage…and we have lighter fluid. Devine lights it up and a double chokeslam puts Abyss through the table. I believe that was on TNA highlight reels for a long time.

Morgan chases Roode back to ringside but he walks right into a Last Call from Storm. Beer Money celebrates but Hernandez nails them with a kendo stick. Team 3D is nowhere in sight for some reason so Homicide dropkicks both champions down. Storm dives into a sitout powerbomb from Hernandez but Mongo’s slow count means it’s only two. Hernandez plants Roode and Homicide’s top rope splash gets the same. The Gringo Cutter plants Storm but Jacqueline breaks up the count at two because she can’t just go away.

The Carbon Footprint nails Hernandez but Homicide rolls out of the Hellevator. Team 3D crawls out from whatever hole they fell into and call for the tables, only to get blasted by Hernandez. He sets up a table in the ring and pours the tacks on top for good measure. Ray pops back up and the 3D puts Hernandez through the table, but Storm spits beer in D-Von’s face, allowing Roode to steal the pin to retain the titles.

Rating: B-. I liked the match more than I thought I would and it’s definitely a step up over some versions of this match they’ve had over the years. The champions stealing the pin was a good thing and the big men doing crazy high spots worked. McMichael has somehow managed to be useless as both a wrestler and a referee, which is pretty impressive when you think about it. Even Danny Davis had some value.

We recap Booker T. vs. Christian Cage vs. AJ Styles. This is again about respect with Booker representing the old, Styles representing the new and Cage representing the yet to pick a side. Both guys are trying to get Cage to join their side and both say the other is lying to him.

Booker T. vs. Christian Cage vs. AJ Styles

Booker has his wife Sharmell, who is carrying a briefcase. Styles and Cage drop Booker to start before Christian gets two on AJ with a sunset flip. Styles goes to the apron but his springboard is blocked with a knee to the ribs. Booker is back up to kick Christian to the floor so Styles hits a huge springboard moonsault to take the Canadian down. AJ is stunned as well so Booker takes Christian back inside for two.

Some knees to the ribs and a spinning kick get the same for Booker and we hit the chinlock. Back up and a side kick gets two on Christian as AJ really should be back in by now. Booker nails him on the apron and Christian grabs a small package on Mr. T. for two. Christian chops away at Booker and elbows his way out of a Bookend. They clothesline each other down and take their time getting up, allowing AJ to hit the springboard forearm on Booker.

The drop down into the dropkick puts Booker on the floor but Christian escapes the Styles Clash. He also blocks the moonsault into the reverse DDT but, after knocking Booker off the apron, Styles tries again and the reverse DDT gets two on the Canadian. Now Booker comes back in for a double clothesline and some chops for Styles but the ax kick misses. AJ busts out a cross armbeaker of all things and kicks Christian away when he tries a save.

A headscissors sends Christian into the corner but Booker grabs a Bookend for two on AJ. Booker loses his focus and busts out a Spinaroonie, earning him a forearm from Christian. Christian loads up his own Spinarooni but AJ uses his knee to springboard at Booker. An implant DDT lays out Styles for two and Christian loads up a superplex, only to have AJ slam him down.

The Spiral Tap misses though and Booker comes back with a double ax kick. That’s good for two on both guys so Booker goes up top. Christian crotches him down and runs over AJ for two. Both guys go up to superplex Booker but it’s Christian with a super Unprettier to Styles. Booker nails an ax kick to pin the distracted Cage.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here as it actually felt like a three way instead of the same stuff we see in triple threats over and over. The generations story was a good idea and the Main Event Mafia would be very entertaining in the coming months. That is until they beat it into the ground but we’ll get to that later. I liked the match more than I thought I would so it was a nice surprise.

We recap Angle vs. Jarrett. Angle wanted to face Jeff for respect but Jarrett said no. Kurt brought up Jeff’s daughters after Jeff’s wife passed away and that’s more than enough to get a southern man’s dander up. This is Jeff’s first match in two years after he took a long hiatus to deal with his wife’s cancer. Foley is guest enforcer, which has a story of its own as Angle took offense to Jarrett calling Foley the biggest talent acquisition ever in TNA.

Angle says this isn’t one on one tonight.

Jeff breaks down in tears talking about what’s been going on lately.

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett

Kurt takes him down with ease and laughs at him before holding Jeff on the mat with a headlock. Back up and Jeff scores with an armdrag before putting on a headlock of his own. Angle takes him into the corner but Jeff speeds things up and scores with a dropkick before clotheslining Angle out to the floor. A nice plancha takes Angle down again but Jeff misses a second dive off the apron and hits the barricade.

Back in and Jeff sends him into the ropes for the running crotch shot and we get a strut. Jeff loads it up again but walks into a huge clothesline to put both guys down. We hit the chinlock on Jarrett for a bit before he fights up and gets two off a rollup. Angle nails him with another clothesline before snapping a suplex for a few near falls. Back to the chinlock as the fans are split.

Jeff gets up again but Angle sends him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. He tries one too many though and goes shoulder first into the post, allowing Jarrett to nail a quick DDT. They slug it out with Jeff getting the better of it and taking over with some clotheslines. Angle finally busts out the belly to belly for two but the Angle Slam is countered into another DDT for two.

A top rope superplex gets two on Angle and both guys are in trouble. There’s the Figure Four in the middle of the ring and Angle screams in pain. He finally rolls over to the ropes and is ok enough to roll some Germans for a few two counts. There go the straps but Jeff armdrags out of the Slam. He tries a sunset flip but gets caught in the ankle lock to make Jeff scream for a change. Angle keeps teasing him at the ropes so Jeff rolls through instead.

The Angle Slam gets two and Kurt is getting really frustrated. Jeff avoids the moonsault and Jeff is starting to feel it. The referee gets decked and the Stroke plants Angle for two with Foley coming in to count. Foley tries to help the referee and Angle hits Jeff low. Mick tells Kurt he can’t use a chair so Angle blasts him in the head with it. He does the same to Jeff but Foley pulls the referee out at two. Foley busts out Socko to take Angle down and a guitar shot is enough to finally put Kurt away.

Rating: A-. This was REALLY good because they let two professionals do their thing. People forget how good Jarrett really is and when you put him in there with someone like Angle, it’s going to be magic every time. There was not way you could put Angle over here but they did a great job of teasing it all throughout the match. Awesome match and one of the best ever in the series.

We recap Sting vs. Joe. In case you didn’t catch it the first 948 times, it’s about RESPECT.

TNA World Title: Sting vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending. We get a video on Sting during his entrance, which lists him as 6’2, even though the tale of the tape said 6’3. They really should have that kind of stuff in sync. Joe’s video doesn’t say much and he’s the heel here because only an idiot would try to turn Sting heel. Joe sends Sting right to the floor to start before nailing the suicide elbow. They head into the crowd with the champion in control and hammering away on Sting.

Joe dives out of a luxury box with a dropkick to Sting in the aisle for a scary visual. They head back down towards the ring with Sting getting in a few shots to take over. Well as much as you can take over in the middle of the crowd. Joe comes back with a running big boot to drop Sting and they finally make it back to ringside. The fans are against Joe as he hits a quick enziguri in the corner.

Sting fights out of the MuscleBuster and hits a tornado DDT (that’s a new one) followed by a top rope splash for two. The champion comes back with his Boston crab into an STF into the Crossface into the Rings of Saturn but Sting gets a boot on the ropes. A powerslam gets two for Joe and frustration is setting in. Sting hits a pair of Stinger Splashes and loads up the MuscleBuster but has to opt for a fisherman’s buster instead.

Joe pops back up and is like old man please before going off on him with strikes. A Scorpion Death Drop is no sold by Sting and there’s another Stinger Splash. He loads it up again but charges into a release Rock Bottom out of the corner. The fans are getting back into Joe. The champ hammers away on Sting and the veteran can barely get up.

Joe hammers away and tells Sting to come on, so here’s Joe’s mentor Kevin Nash. A DDT plants Sting (and draws some swearing) so he goes to get the bat. Nash takes it away though and the Samoan hammers away. The referee has to dive out of the way and Nash nails Joe with the bat. The Death Drop gives Sting the title. Again.

Rating: C+. Just in case you forgot what Sting winning the World Title at Bound For Glory looked like. The match was getting better at the end but Nash brought it down a bit. I get what they were going for and it worked well enough, but I’m almost always going to want a clean ending over something like this. Somehow Joe hasn’t gotten the title back in six years.

Nash walks out immediately to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The show is good though it had some problems. The opening stuff is a cross between messy and forgettable but the last few matches range from good to excellent which is what you want for a big show. Sting getting the title again made me roll my eyes back then and it still does so here. I like the Mafia idea, but was there NO ONE else you could put in that spot? Well not really actually but have him win the title somewhere else so Bound For Glory isn’t hogged so much.

Ratings Comparison

Steel Asylum

Original: C+

Redo: C

Bimbo Brawl

Original: F+

Redo: D

Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Consequences Creed

Original: D

Redo: C-

Awesome Kong vs. Roxxi vs. Taylor Wilde

Original: D

Redo: D+

Beer Money Inc. vs. Abyss/Matt Morgan vs. LAX vs. Team 3D

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Booker T. vs. AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett

Original: B

Redo: A-

Samoa Joe vs. Sting

Original: C

Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Someone other than Sting? Please?

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/10/15/boun-for-glory-count-up-2008-sting-wants-respect/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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Bound For Glory 2007
Date: October 14, 2007
Location: Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Georgia
Attendance: 4,000
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

This is one of the last shows in TNA’s glory years as things would start to trend down after this era. Not that the show would get bad, but the company cooled down a bit and lost its best chance of being actual competition to WWE. Part of that might be the main event: Sting is again challenging for the World Title, this time against Kurt Angle. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about becoming an immortal icon. Like Hulk Hogan. Seriously.

LAX vs. XXX

This is an Ultimate X match and the winners get a Tag Team Title shot at some point in the future. XXX is Elix Skipper and Senshi who teamed together with Christopher Daniels and are the heels in this one. Homicide hammers on Skipper in the corner to start while the other two fight on the floor. Senshi dives back in to take down Hernandez and Skipper stops Homicide from pulling down the X.

Hernandez gets back up and starts throwing people around like only he can. An over the shoulder backbreaker drops Skipper and Homicide goes for the X again, only to have Senshi climb the ropes and kick Homicide down. Senshi cranks on a dragon sleeper to hold Hernandez against the ropes but the big guy just powers out of it. He shrugs off a bunch of strikes from Senshi and bull rushes him out to the floor. Homicide adds a big flip dive and LAX is in full control again.

Skipper tries to go up but Hernandez just stares him all the way up. Elix gets pulled down and the big man starts climbing but can’t pull the X down, allowing Skipper to dropkick him down. Senshi goes up and is pulled down into a powerbomb, leaving Skipper and Homicide to go to the top of the tress. Elix knocks Homicide back down and hits a HUGE dive onto Hernandez.

Homicide and Skipper go across the ropes but Homicide pulls him down in a huge neckbreaker to put all four guys on the mat. It’s Homicide and Senshi up first with Senshi tying him in the Tree of Woe for a sick looking Warrior’s Way. Both guys head to the floor and Hernandez Border Tosses Skipper over the top to take both of them down. Hernandez goes up and grabs the X for the win.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but once they just started hurting each other it got awesome in a hurry. LAX was a great combination and they both worked well together here. XXX was hanging in there but at the end of the day, neither of them were any sort of match for Hernandez’s power. Good high spot fest to open the show.

We see Kurt Angle, Karen Angle and Kevin Nash arriving earlier today.

The announcers run down some of the card we’ve already paid for.

Christian cuts off his lackeys AJ Styles (a clueless putz at this point) and Tomko (a serious muscular guy) to complain about Joe keeping him out of the Fight For The Right tournament. AJ says he’s happy to be home.

Fight For The Right Tournament Stage One: Reverse Battle Royal

Jimmy Rave, Lance Hoyt, Havok, Shark Boy, Petey Williams, Kaz, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt, Kip James, BG James, James Storm, Eric Young, Robert Roode, Chris Harris, Junior Fatu

Oh sweet goodness this match. Let this one sink in for a minute. You have 16 people starting on the floor. The first 8 people to get inside the ring are going to have a battle royal, meaning the 8 that stay on the floor are all eliminated. Then the battle royal takes place and the order of elimination determines the seedings for a standard single elimination tournament with the first person out being the #8 seed. The final two people in the battle royal have a singles match for the #1 seed and the first person out being the #8 seed. The winner of THAT gets a World Title shot in about a month. You might want to read that one again.

You should know most of the people in this. Rave is a small guy, Havok is Johnny Devine and Junior Fatu is Rikishi. It’s a big brawl to start and it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going on. Fatu quickly makes it into the ring as a lot of other people start fighting on the apron. Kaz brings Roode in with a Flux Capactior (C4 2000) and Shelley is in soon after them. Hoyt gorilla presses Young on the apron but Eric rakes his eyes to get in. Lance throws Havok onto a bunch of guys and hops in. Storm sneaks in right before Harris can get in for a nice heel move.

So the eight people that couldn’t get in are gone and it’s time for a battle royal. Young throws Storm out in about three seconds and Fatu cleans house. Fatu drinks a beer and spanks himself a few times before nailing Young in the face. The big man cleans house again and crushes four guys in the corner at the same time. Young hides behind Hoyt to avoid a Stinkface. Everyone gangs up on Fatu for the elimination and we’re down to six.

The Motor City Machine Guns (Sabin and Shelley) double team Hoyt but kick him down instead of out. We get a freaky looking submission where the Guns tie Roode and Young’s legs together and put holds on both of them. Hoyt is back up and the Guns go after him again, only to have Kaz eliminate Shelley. Roode and Kaz are sent over the top but hang onto the ropes. It’s Kaz being put out to get us down to Sabin, Roode, Young and Hoyt.

Lance goes up for a moonsault but gets shoved out to the floor and we’re down to three. Shelley goes up but Roode throws Young into him for the elimination. So it’s Roode vs. Young with Eric getting a few rollups for two each. He misses a moonsault but counters Roode’s fisherman’s suplex into a small package for the pin.

Rating: F. TNA just had a reverse battle royal, a regular battle royal and a match to determine the seedings for a tournament for the #1 contender ship. You could run for MONTHS off these ideas and TNA just did them all in about fifteen minutes. This isn’t even factoring in that the tournament was a mess with Young losing in the first round and Christian facing Chris Harris in the second round despite not even being in the first round. Kaz would win the tournament and of course lose the title shot, making this thing entirely pointless. Somehow this was the less complicated and messy of the two versions of this tournament.

We recap Team Pacman vs. AJ Styles/Tomko. So you might remember Pacman Jones. He’s the guy that played in the NFL and wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without security around him for fear he might get arrested. At one point he was involved in a shooting where a MMA fighter/pro wrestler was shot and paralyzed, earning him a year long suspension. TNA, being the bumblers that they are, MADE HIM A TAG TEAM CHAMPION. Ignore the fact that his NFL team banned him from wrestling, making Team Pacman Ron Killings wrestling handicap matches and winning the Tag Team Titles. YOU THINK I CAN MAKE THIS STUFF UP???

Ron Killings says Rashad Lucius Creed (Xavier Woods) is taking Pacman’s place. You know, like a real tag team.

The Angles argue some more.

Tag Team Titles: Team Pacman vs. AJ Styles/Tomko

Tomko is one half of the IWGP Tag Team Champions here. Creed is dressed like Apollo Creed from Rocky. Styles and Creed get things going with AJ nipping up out of a wristlock. A headscissors puts Creed down but he comes back with a running forearm and clothesline for two. AJ knocks him into Tomko and Creed looks terrified. Killings comes in and gets pounded down in the corner, only to come back with a spinning forearm for two. We get the backflip into the splits followed by the side kick to drop Tomko and it’s back to Creed.

Tomko gets tired of being in trouble and kicks Creed’s head off. He tags out to Styles but stays in to hammer on Creed even more because he’s just that mean. AJ scores with the drop down into the dropkick but Creed comes back by climbing up Styles’ back and drops an elbow on AJ’s spine. Back to Killings who gets kicked in the face as well, allowing for the tag off to Tomko.

Everything breaks down and Creed suplexes AJ into the corner. Creed and Tomko go to the floor so Killings dives on both of them. Styles busts out a HUGE springboard shooting star to take everyone out. Back in and Pacman gets on the apron with a handful of money but Killings grabs a rollup, sending the money flying (making it rain you see). Hebner grabs the money instead of counting, allowing Tomko to come back in for the Tornadoplex (spinning neckbreaker from Tomko and a side slam from AJ) for the pin and the titles.

Rating: C. This got better near the end but I still think TNA should feel ashamed by having Pacman Jones be part of their organization. The guy may have reformed later on but at this point he was the scum of the earth but he had a name so TNA felt the need to hire him for a publicity stunt. That never felt right and it still doesn’t here. It also didn’t help that the title change was about as obvious as you could get.

Karen Angle tells Kurt to keep the title so she can have money. Kurt doesn’t listen so Karen tries to get Nash to talk to him. Kevin references Scott Hall instead.

We recap the X-Division Title match. Not much to say here. Lethal is champion, Daniels wants the belt.

X-Division Title: Jay Lethal vs. Christopher Daniels

Lethal is Black Machismo and defending. They trade shoulders to start with no one getting anywhere so Lethal tries another and runs into a shot to the face. The announcers are already ignoring this match to talk about Sting vs. Angle. Back up and a hurricanrana sends Daniels to the floor, followed by a big suicide dive to take him down again. Daniels is up first and Rock Bottoms Lethal onto the barricade before slamming him down onto it as well.

They go back inside where Daniels slaps on a Crossface for a bit. Back up and Lethal gets two off a quick fisherman’s suplex. A superkick misses but Daniels can’t hook the Angel’s Wings. Lethal drops him with a facebuster but springboards right into a nice Death Valley Driver. BME gets two and Daniels is really starting to get frustrated.

The announcers respond to a THIS IS AWESOME chant and finally ignore the World Title match to talk about what’s going on in front of them. Jay comes back with a quick dragon suplex for two but can’t follow up. Daniels goes up top and gets crotched when loading up a hurricanrana, only to have Jay miss the top rope elbow. Instead they head back up with Lethal nailing the Lethal Combination off the top for the pin.

Rating: C+. The match was decent but the commentary really dragged it down. I know the X-Division isn’t as important as it used to be but could you at least pretend you’re paying attention to it? The Lethal Combination was good but this was step down from what the title had done at the previous entries in the series.

The Steiners respect Team 3D but are out to prove they’re the best.

We recap the dream tag team match. Scott Steiner was a heel but was injured in Puerto Rico, leaving him very close to death. Doctors saved his life and now he’s come back as a face, setting up this match which I believe was supposed to happen at Slammiversary.

Team 3D vs. Steiner Brothers

This is a 2/3 tables match, meaning both members have to go through (though it’s not elimination), likely so neither team has to job. It’s a brawl to start of course with all four guys fighting anywhere but the ring. Rick (who looks HORRIBLE) gets in the ring to hammer on D-Von before the partners join in. Scott suplexes Ray and we get the classic Steiners’ pose. The fight heads back outside and they go into the crowd. At least we can see what’s going on.

Scott nails Ray in the head with a chair as Rick hammers D-Von down against the same wall in the crowd. They finally come back to ringside with the Steiners still in full control. We get our first table brought in but D-Von breaks up a belly to belly superplex. With Scott down, a 3D puts Rick through the table and it’s 1-0. Team 3D gets another table in the ring but Scott hits Ray low and hits a Frankensteiner to put Ray through the table.

Next table wins now. Scott avoids a D-Von top rope headbutt but Ray gets back up to plant him with a forearm. Ray whips Scott with a weightlifting belt and brings in some chairs while D-Von grabs another table. For some reason Ray doesn’t like that table and throws it to the floor while Rick and D-Von brawl on the floor. Scott is laid out on the table and D-Von is back in. They try to drive a chair into Scott’s injured throat but the Motor City Machine Guns run out for the save. D-Von accidentally drives a chair into Ray’s face, allowing the Steiners to hit their namesake bulldog to put D-Von through the table for the win.

Rating: D. This was a sloppy brawl but there wasn’t much else they could do given the limitations of the guys in there. By guys I mean Rick if that’s not clear. The match was a big mess and was clearly only there for name value. It’s not any good and the whole thing could have been solved by giving Scott another partner. I know that defeats the point, but it wouldn’t have been as embarrassing.

There are five new Knockouts for the gauntlet match: ODB, Angel Williams (Angelina Love), Talia Madison (Velvet Sky), Shelley Martinez and Kong, who scares the other four off.

We get a quick slideshow of the girls in the gauntlet match.

Knockouts Title: Gauntlet Match

This is to crown the inaugural champion. As usual, it’s over the top with one minute intervals for the ten entrants until we get to the final two when it becomes one fall to a finish. Miss Brooks is in at #1 and Jackie Moore is in at #2. Jackie runs Brooks over and knocks her face first onto the mat until Shelley Martinez is in at #3. Brooks goes after Shelley and gets dropped with a reverse DDT for her efforts. Jackie goes after Shelley, allowing Brooks to hit a top rope seated senton on Martinez.

Awesome Kong is in at #4 but takes 55 seconds to get to the ring and can’t do anything. Jackie throws out Brooks and Kong dumps Martines. ODB is in at #5 and also takes her time getting in, allowing Kong to plant Jackie and dump her out. We’re down to ODB vs. Kong and of course ODB starts swinging. Angel Williams is in at #6 as Kong is hammering away on ODB. The girls wisely double team Kong but are quickly suplexed down.

Christy Hemme (looking GREAT) is in at #7 and immediately gets put in a torture rack. Kong slams her down until Gail Kim comes in at #8 with a missile dropkick. Hemme is taken out by medics as the other three gang up on Kong. They finally dump Kong out (and break her top at the same time) as Talia Madison is in at #9. ODB and Gail Kim double team Williams out Roxxi Leveaux is in at #10 so we have a final grouping of Gail, Roxxi, ODB and Talia. Gail throws out Talia and Roxxi dumps ODB to get us to the one on one match.

Roxxi nails her with a forearm to the chest and plants her with a fall away slam for two. The fans are almost entirely behind Gail, as they’ve been since the beginning. An Octopus Hold has Roxxi in trouble but she falls into the ropes. Gail misses a missile dropkick and they trade rollups for two each. Back up and Kim grabs White Noise for the pin and the first title.

Rating: C-. These matches are hard to get into and it would have helped quite a bit if we hadn’t had a battle royal about an hour ago. Kim is a good choice for the first champion and has a built in challenger in Kong, who had some great matches with Gail in the coming months. I do like that she won the title with a pin instead of dumping someone out though. It feels more proper.

Nash tells Kurt to apologize to Sting for hitting Sting’s son. Angle won’t of course and calls Nash a bad name. Kurt says Sting slapped his wife which is a stretch of course. Nash says he can’t help Kurt tonight and Angle says he knows because Nash can’t get in the ring. Ok then.

We recap Christian vs. Joe, which is simply about respect. Matt Morgan is guest enforcer for no apparent reason.

Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe

Christian has yet to be pinned or made to submit in about two and a half years in TNA. Joe beats Christian like he stole something to start and the fans aren’t sure who to cheer for. Christian gets tied up in the Tree of Woe for a delayed dropkick and there are some Facewashes for good measure. A middle rope Rough Ryder drops Christian and some chops put him on the apron.

The suicide elbow sends Christian into the barricade and the Canadian is in big trouble. We get a badly contrived spot as Joe backdrops Christian up against the ropes so Christian can come down with a DDT on the floor. Back in and Christian nails his reverse DDT but misses the frog splash, leading to a slugout. Joe wins as you would expect him to and kicks Christian out of the air, sending the Canadian to the floor. He tries to walk out but gets blocked by Morgan, who finally does something in the match.

Joe doesn’t like Christian trying to leave so he hits a big spinning plancha to take him down. Back in and Joe sidesteps the cross bosy as only he can. Joe locks on the Clutch but Christian swings back over him and tries the Unprettier, only to be shoved off just as quickly. A powerbomb puts Christian into the corner but he pops back up with a powerbomb of his own and puts his feet on the ropes for two.

Back up again and Christian tries an O’Connor Roll but gets countered into another Koquina Clutch. Christian escapes again and they go up top for no real reason other than to have both guys fall to the floor. This brings out Tomko for a fight with Morgan, allowing AJ to sneak in and try the springboard forearm on Joe, but Morgan breaks it up and chases both lackeys off with a chair. Christian uses the distraction to hit Joe low and the Unprettier gets a VERY close two. Cage puts on a Clutch of his own but Joe powers up and hits the MuscleBuster and puts on the real Clutch to make Christian tap for the first time.

Rating: A-. This was AWESOME and really got rolling once it had the time to get going. Morgan wasn’t a factor here for the most part and the wrestlers got to wrestle. This is a good example of the main event style getting to flow and the ending worked really well with Joe just being too much for Christian to handle once he got rolling. That’s the Joe that TNA was ready to build around before they sold their soul to Kurt Angle for the better part of ever.

Nash begs Sting to not do this with Kurt because Kurt is all Nash has. Since he can’t wrestle anymore, he’d have no way back to the spotlight. Again, Joe vs. Christian just happened but this is the focus of the show.

We recap the Monster’s Ball match. This video has a religious overtone and we hear about how brutal the match will be for everyone involved.

Abyss vs. Black Reign vs. Rhino vs. Raven

Black Reign is Dustin Rhodes in a freaky monster/alter ego thing. Basically it’s evil Goldust but they can’t call him Goldust. Rhino charges in to fight before Abyss comes out. Abyss gets here and cleans house as the announcers find it shocking that Abyss has never won a Monster’s Ball. Rhino brings in the weapons and the match gets violent in a hurry. A low blow puts Reign down and Rhino puts a garbage can between his legs before hitting it with what looked like a golf club.

Raven gets crushed by a shopping cart, leaving Rhino to fight with Abyss. All four fight up the aisle and Rhino Gores his way through a wall after Abyss sidesteps the charge. Raven is busted open and heads to the balcony with Reign. He tells Reign to jump off and land on Abyss but when Reign won’t do it, Raven dives himself, sending Abyss through a table.

Reign tries to steal a pin on Abyss back inside but Raven makes a last second save. Abyss grabs the bag of tacks but gets taken down by a no arms Pedigree from Reign. Now it’s Rhino getting back in to Gore Reign before Raven nails everyone with weapons shots. James Mitchell comes out as Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam to drive Raven into tacks and glass for the pin.

Rating: D+. The last two of these just haven’t been as good as the first one as it feels like they’re just going through the motions with these. At the end of the day, when you’ve seen one of these you’ve seen most of them and that’s the case here. There’s only so many things you can do without killing someone and they hit that ceiling years ago.

We recap Angle vs. Sting. There’s not much here other than they both have history in Atlanta. The stuff with Sting’s son and Nash isn’t mentioned.

TNA World Title: Sting vs. Kurt Angle

Kurt is defending and looks about 40lbs lighter than usual. That’s not a compliment. Sting is challenging because he’s Sting. Good sign in the crowd: Angle Fears Hair. Feeling out process tos tart with Angle going to the rope to get away from Sting. An armbar takes Sting to the mat but he reverses into a headlock. Kurt counters into a headscissors and we have a standoff. A big hiptoss sends Angle out to the floor and we get a breather.

Back in and Sting hammers away in the corner but Kurt comes back with some kicks and uppercuts. The ankle lock is countered and Sting clotheslines him right back to the floor. This time Sting follows Angle out and rams him face first into the announcers’ table. Back in and Kurt escapes the Death Drop and nails a release German to put both guys down. Off to a bodyscissors on Sting who quickly fights up, only to get caught in an overhead belly to belly.

Angle hooks a reverse chinlock with his knee in Sting’s back but the painted one fights up again for a double clotheslines. Both guys are down and it’s really not clear why there’s no count with Sting’s arm on top of Angle. Back up and a pair of Stinger Splashes stagger Angle before a bulldog puts him down. Sting goes up for the top rope splash but Kurt runs the ropes to superplex him down. Kurt rolls the Germans but Sting counters the ankle lock into the Scorpion for a nice counter.

Karen Angle comes out to break it up and we hear about a restraining order for the first time. The distraction lets Nash sneak in to nail Sting, setting up the Angle Slam for a very close two. Sting fights out of a belly to belly superplex but again the middle rope splash hits knees. Angle busts out a 450 but totally messed up, driving his knees into Sting’s chest for two. The ankle lock is countered with Kurt being sent into Nash but the referee gets bumped, and wouldn’t you know it, Sting just happens to hit the Death Drop a second later.

Another referee comes in for two but Nash pulls him out at two. Nash destroys Sting in the corner but Sting fights them off because he’s Sting and therefore Superman in TNA. A low blow stops Sting but he blocks a baseball bad shot. He nails both guys and hits the Death Drop on Angle to get the title back.

Rating: C-. Is anyone else as tired of Sting in these title matches as I am? TNA comes off like a tribute company to him at times and it gets boring seeing him do this stuff every year. The match was decent but there are so many other people that could use this rub. It’s booking like this that has held TNA back over the years and they never learned. I’m still not sure what Nash and Karen had to do with this.

Sting celebrates while he can, as he would lose the title at the next Impact.

Overall Rating: C. The show is good for the most part but it’s very forgettable. I had to go back and look at some of the matches again to remember what happened just a few hours later. Christian vs. Joe was good, but why bother with good when you can have EPIC AND AVERAGE with the main event? Yeah I know it’s star power but how about making some new stars?

Ratings Comparison

LAX vs. Triple X

Original: B-

Redo: B

Reverse Battle Royal

Original: F+

Redo: F

AJ Styles and Tomko vs. Team Pacman

Original: D

Redo: C

Christopher Daniels vs. Jay Lethal

Original: C-

Redo: C+

Team 3D vs. Steiner Brothers

Original: D+

Redo: D

Gauntlet Match

Original: C-

Redo: C-

Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe

Original: B+

Redo: A-

Abyss vs. Raven vs. Rhino vs. Black Reign

Original: D

Redo: D+

Kurt Angle vs. Sting

Original: C+

Redo: C-

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: C

This one got better over time but it’s really nothing great.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/10/11/bound-for-glory-2007-sting-vs-angle-as-usual/