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TNA Bound For Glory
Aired live on pay-per-view
Phoenix, Arizona at Grand Canyon University Arena
The show opened with graphics that read, "The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory." The audio track had to be turned up, but it was quickly as a Bound For Glory video played. It included comments from Austin Aries, Rob Van Dam, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy, and Gail Kim...
Mike Tenay and Taz welcomed viewers to the company's "signature event." They hyped the main event, and the Sting and Bully Ray vs. Aces & 8s match having the no DQ stipulation added by Hulk Hogan... Ring announcer Christy Hemme introduced the opening match...
1. Zema Ion vs. Rob Van Dam for the X Division Title. The live crowd was hot for RVD and was into chanting along with his song. They broke into a loud "RVD" chant before the bell. Van Dam jumped out to a fast start and did the RVD thumb pointing routine without it coming back to haunt him.
Ion came back with a good tornado DDT and followed up by shoving him off the top rope to the floor. Ion performed a wild flip over the top rope and landed on Van Dam. RVD came back by throwing Ion into the air and catching him with a dropkick to the chest on the way down. Cool move. RVD followed up with Rolling Thunder and connected with a Five Star Frogsplash for the clean win...
Rob Van Dam defeated Zema Ion to win the X Division Title in 8:05.
Powell's POV: A very good opener that really would have been a good fit on the free preview show. The live crowd was hot for RVD and the energetic match would have been a nice lead in for the pay-per-view. It definitely worked as an opening match. I'm not a fan of RVD winning the X Division Title. I wonder if they'll strip RVD of the title due to the weight limit issue on Impact.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash conducted a brief interview with Magnus...
2. Samoa Joe vs. Magnus for the TNA TV Title. After five minutes of good action, Joe applied the STF. Magnus crawled toward the ropes, but Joe hooked his other arm. Magnus cried out in pain, but he shifted his body so that he could reach the ropes with his legs. Nicely done. The live crowd seemed to to suspect that was the finish before Magnus changed positions.
At 7:10, Magnus caught Joe standing on the second rope and caught him with a good knee to the chops. Magnus performed a top rope elbow drop and got a good two count. The live crowd chanted for Joe as he got back to his feet, fired up, and threw a series of punches at Magnus.
Magnus went for a clothesline, but Joe ducked and caught him in a rear naked choke. Magnus pushed off the ropes, but Joe held on. Magnus had Joe pinned despite being locked in the hold, but Joe kicked out. At 9:00, Magnus went for the figure four, but Joe countered with a rear naked choke in the middle of the ring. Magnus tapped out...
Samoa Joe defeated Magnus in 9:10 by submission to retain the TNA TV Title.
Powell's POV: A good match with a very receptive crowd. Joe was really over, and Magnus can get heat even if a crowd isn't familiar with him (though this one seemed to be). I wish I cared about the TNA TV Title. Having the title on Joe is definitely a step in the right direction for the silly strap.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Bobby Roode, who said James Storm has never beaten him. Roode recalled beating Storm at Lockdown. He said Storm took his ball and went home after that. He said that after he beats Storm and ends his career tonight, Storm was going home forever... A video recapped the Storm and Roode drama and King Mo's addition as special referee...
3. James Storm vs. Bobby Roode in a Street Fight with King Mo Lawal as special referee. King Mo came out wearing his robe, crown, and MMA gloves. He was wearing his MMA shorts and a BFG t-shirt underneath. Mo's gear seemed out of place again. Storm had a welt on his chest. Earl Hebner worked as the referee.
Early in the match, Roode and Storm fought to ringside. Storm set up for his Eye of the Storm with the intention of putting Roode through the announcers table, but Roode slipped out. The announcers' table has a glass (probably plexiglass) top and isn't the type of table one would expect to see at ringside.
Roode catapulted Storm into the ring post. Storm bladed big around 4:20 as Roode pulled out weapons from underneath the ring and threw them inside. Roode worked him over with punches and a chair jab to the gut. Back inside the ring, Storm grabbed a kendo stick and struck Roode. He also set up a trash can between Roode's legs and slammed it with the kendo stick.
At 7:15, Storm was bleeding to the point that Ric Flair would be proud. He DDT'd Roode on the tall ramp that leads to the ring. Storm took a crutch from a fan and used it as a weapon. Storm charged at Roode, who countered with a spinebuster on the ramp. Taz attributed it to Storm being blinded by his own blood and said that happened to him during his own career. Nice call.
The brawl continued at ringside. Storm grabbed a glass of beer from a fan, took a swig, and splashed some of it on his blood soaked face. Storm put Roode on top of the plexiglass announcers' table and went up there with him. However, Roode speared him off that table and through a traditional table that was set up next to it for the Spanish announce team. Loud "holy shit" and "this is awesome" chants broke out.
Roode went for a pin inside the ring and only got a two count. Roode was upset with Hebner about his count and shoved him into a corner. King Mo entered the ring and shoved Roode into a Codebreaker from Storm. Storm followed up with a Last Call superkick for a good two count. Roode sold it by checking his teeth. Nice touch (assuming he was just selling).
Roode came back and set Storm on the top rope. Roode went to ringside and searched under the ring until he finally found a chair. Roode slammed the chair over Storm's back. Roode pulled out a bag and poured thumbtacks inside the ring. The live crowd cheered. Roode went for a superplex, but Storm fought him off with headbutts and pushed him off the ropes and onto the tacks.
Storm followed up with a top rope elbow drop and went for a cover but only got a two count at 15:50. Roode caught Storm with a low blow and Taz quickly pointed out it was legal due to the match stipulations. The camera focussed on the tacks stuck in Roode's back. Roode brought Storm's beer bottles inside the ring, but Storm caught him with a low blow of his own.
Storm grabbed one of the bottles and slammed it over the head of Roode. The crowd chanted, "One more time." Storm picked up Roode, who had a small cut on his forehead, jawed at him, and then dropped him with a Last Call superkick onto the tacks. Storm made the cover and Hebner counted the pin.
James Storm defeated Bobby Roode in a Street Fight in 17:25.
Powell's POV: A hell of a brawl. The live crowd loved it. It's been long enough since we've seen the thumbtacks in TNA that I didn't immediately groan when they were poured inside the ring. King Mo didn't add anything to the match aside from his brief spot. He did help Hebner hold up Storm's hand afterward and had some good reactions that the camera picked up. I'm okay with that since this was the blowoff (at least for now) of a long feud that never involved him. Storm and Roode deserve credit for delivering a brawl that felt like it belonged on the company's biggest show of the year.
Backstage, Borash interviewed Joey Ryan, who noted that they were on the West Coast, meaning he has the home field advantage... A video recapped the Joey Ryan and Al Snow feud...
Powell's POV: Ryan didn't come off as undercard with his promo. He came off a little more serious than he does when he makes his usual faces.
4. Al Snow vs. Joey Ryan. Snow wore a tank top and long pants even though he appeared to be in good shape for a guy his age. The fans chanted, "You've still got it," at Snow 90 seconds into the match when he hadn't really done anything other than drop down on his hands and knees to taunt Ryan by giving himself up in that position.
Taz noted that Snow trains a lot of the younger wrestlers and doesn't have ring rust. "He can still go," Taz said. Some of the live crowd liked Snow, but Ryan struggled to get heat early. At 6:00, Snow motioned for Head. A small portion of the crowd responded with a chant. "I guess it's a horny crowd," Taz said. Ugh.
Snow went to ringside and pulled out Head for a nice pop. Back inside the ring, the referee stopped Snow from using Head. Ryan struck Snow from behind and the ref was bumped. Ryan picked up Head and kissed it. Funny. He went for a slide kick on Snow at ringside, but Snow went Finlay on him by pulling out the ring apron skirting.
Snow celebrated at ringside with Head. Matt Morgan showed up out of nowhere and drilled Snow with the Carbon Foot Print. Snow rolled Snow back inside the ring, where Ryan covered Snow and got the pin...
Joey Ryan defeated Al Snow in 8:25.
After the match, Morgan entered the ring, stood over Snow and jawed at him. "I'm back motherf---ers," Morgan said without a mic. As Morgan was playing to the camera, Ryan ran over and hugged Morgan's leg. Ryan put his hand out and Morgan shook it. Ryan played to the camera and then Morgan, who has more ink work on his arms, jawed into the camera...
Powell's POV: I figured Ryan would go over, but it was surprising to see Morgan be the person responsible for it. I hope they're not going back to the Tough Enough days for the reason for issues with Morgan and Snow. Will Bruce Prichard blame D-Lo Brown for Morgan interfering again? Was this just a one-off thing with Morgan and Ryan or are they aligned? I kept waiting for Morgan to take him out with a CFP, but it never came. I'm not really sure what the connection between the two would be and I fear Ryan would bring Morgan down more so than Morgan would elevate Ryan.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Christopher Daniels and Kazarian about their three-way tag title match... A video set up the tag title match... Tenay ran through the "taglines" for the match...
5. Christopher Daniels and Kazarian vs. A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Hernandez in a three-way for the TNA Tag Titles. Taz said Chavo and Hernandez might have home field advantage since the show was being held in the Southwest. An overzealous Wes Brisco was shown cheering for Angle in the front row. Styles wore a pink ribbon on his gear for breast cancer awareness month, which he's done in the past.
The live crowd was flat early on as Styles sold for both teams. Chavo had his shoulder heavily taped. The crowd remained quiet even after Styles checked and and again when he checked in again, though Styles did get some applause for his offense. The crowd reacted to a clothesline that Daniels hit Styles with from the ring apron. A.J. continued to sell and the crowd fired up as he made a hot tag to Angle at 8:30.
Angle checked in and hit both tag champs with German suplexes. At 9:35, Angle ran up the ropes and suplexed Kazarian off the top and onto Daniels in mid-ring. Nice enhancement of Angle's usual spot. The wrestlers took turns hitting big moves on one another. Hernandez hit his dive over the top onto Daniels.
Kazarian went for a huracanrana off the ring apron on Hernandez, but he fell hard on the his side on the floor. The announcers immediately questioned whether he broke his shoulder and Daniels crawled over to check on his partner. At 12:35, Angle hit the Angle Slam on Chavo in mid-ring. Angle went to the ropes, but Hernandez was there and set up Angle for a Border Toss, but Styles tagged Angle.
Styles and Angle performed a double suplex on Hernandez. Kazarian returned to the ring at 13:35 and showed no signs of injury. Daniels hit the BME on Styles for a two count. Chavo went to the top rope and Daniels waited to act like he was just too late to stop him. It looked bad. Chavo dove onto Kazarian on the floor.
Meanwhile, Daniels cleared Styles from the ring only to take a shoulder block from Hernandez. Hernandez performed a good looking Border Toss on Daniels, and then Chavo immediately followed up with a frogsplah and scored the clean pin...
Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez defeated Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, and A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle to win the TNA Tag Titles in 15:35.
After the match, Christy Hemmer interviewed Chavo and Hernandez on the ramp. Chavo said that as long as they were in Phoenix, that was for Eddie and he pointed to the sky...
Powell's POV: There was a mixed reaction to the title change with a lot of boos included. Chavo won them over by bringing up his late uncle afterwards. I'm critical of Chavo for relying on too many of Eddie's moves, but Eddie's birthday was last week and he is buried in the area. That said, I'm not a fan of the title change. I don't think fans were exactly clamoring for Chavo and Hernandez to win the titles.
A video set up the TNA Knockouts Title match...
6. Miss Tessmacher vs. Tara for the TNA Knockouts Title. Tara came out by herself (no Hollywood boyfriend yet). The camera focussed on the TNA British Bootcamp contestants who were sitting in the crowd. Taryn Terrell was the referee. They also had a guest timekeeper from a local radio station. After a staredown between the champion and challenger led to physicality, Terrell called for the bell to start the match.
Tara was in control early. Tessmacher came back and didn't get much of a reaction for her offense. At 5:30, there were small dueling chants for the two women. Tessmacher missed a missile dropkick. Tara hit the Widow's Peak on Tessmacher and pinned her clean.
Tara defeated Miss Tessmacher in 6:10.
Terrell handed Tara the title belt. Tara clutched the belt as Terrell gave her instructions about something. Tara grabbed a mic and said the fans probably think she did it for them, but she really didn't. She said she did it for her boyfriend and said the fans may have seen him on TMZ. She introduced her "boo" - Jessie from Big Brother.
Jessie made his entrance and received no reaction from the live crowd while Taz tried to play it up like he's a big deal. "You know way too much about this guy," Taz said. Once Jessie arrived in the ring, he and Tara made out. He put the title around her waist and raised her hand.
Tenay said they should go to something important. Footage aired from the TNA Hall of Fame...
Powell's POV: Give it up for Jonny Fairplay, who was right via his Twitter prediction, which I mentioned in my preview and predictions article before the show. Wow, that really bombed, though. I know Big Brother is a popular show, but the fans couldn't have cared less about Jessie. In fact, the once hot crowd has really cooled off. The tag title match didn't get them up again as I'm sure TNA officials assumed it would. The last time the crowd was hot was during the Storm vs. Roode brawl. Unfortunately, TNA hasn't given them much to cheer about since then. Hopefully the Aces & 8s match and the main event deliver.
Tenay and Taz spoke about how honored they were to be apart of Sting's induction into the TNA Hall of Fame... A video recapped the Aces & 8s drama and included footage of Shaquille O'Neal's brief appearance on Impact...
Sting's entrance music played and the crowd fired up. Sting and Bully Ray entered together. Sting wore a Bully Ray shirt, and Ray wore old school Sting face paint. The face paint was a really nice touch. The Aces & 8s music played. Two of their members dragged Joseph Park to the ring through the crowd with them. Once at ringside, they handcuffed a rough looking Park to the guardrail. One of the Aces (or 8s) punched him, which led to Ray and Sting racing to ringside to begin the brawl...
7. Sting and Bully Ray vs. two members of Aces & 8s. As all four men brawled at ringside, the announcers were quiet for a few seconds. "Sorry," Taz said for some reason. Sting missed a Stinger Splash at ringside and crashed into the guardrail at one point. The four participants took it to the ring and settled into a typical tag match approach.
The Aces worked over Sting. He came back and applied the Scorpion Leg Lock on the bigger of the two men. However, the second man ran in and struck Sting from behind. Ray played cheerleader in the corner while waiting for a tag. Ray checked in and worked over both Aces. The Aces came back, but Ray took both down with a double clothesline.
One of the Aces grabbed a chair and tried to use it on Ray, but he caught him with a kick to the face. Another Ace ran in from the crowd and low-blowed Ray. The man then spat at Park, who went Robocop on the bit and broke the handcuffs. The crowd cheered as Park entered the ring and eventually fought the extra Ace to the back.
At 8:35, Ray hoisted up one of the Aces on his shoulders and tagged Sting, who then clotheslined the man off Ray's shoulders. The announcers noted that it was a Road Warriors move (Doomsday Device minus the flip from the guy taking it). Sting told Ray to get the tables and Ray obliged.
Ray set up the table in the middle of the ring. However, the other Ace pulled Sting to the floor from ringside. Meanwhile, another Aces & 8s member showed up and performed a one-armed slam on Ray through the table and then one of the Aces in the match pinned him to end the match.
Aces & 8s defeated Bully Ray and Sting in 10:30.
Additional Aces & 8s members hit the ring. Five of them worked over Sting. Hulk Hogan's music played and the live crowd cheered. Hogan came out and one by one the Aces ran down and took punches from Hogan. Hulk ripped his shirt off and headed to the ring, where only one member of Aces & 8s was remaining.
Hogan pointed at the man and then no-sold his punches. Hogan threw punches of his own and then hit him with a big boot (to the chest). Hogan motioned to the crowd to remove the mask. Sting held the man and Hogan removed the man's glasses and mask to reval Devon of Team 3D.
Hogan looked shocked. Ray looked up and looked equally surprised. Apparently, Hogan, Sting, and Ray were so shocked that they just let Devon leave the ring. Devon said it was always him. "How you feel now?" Devon asked. Ray asked him the same thing from the ring. Devon and the other Aces left through the crowd while Hogan, Sting, and Ray stood there looking dumbfounded.
Tenay and Taz sold the Devon reveal at ringside. Tenay said the door has been opened for anarchy because now the door is wide open for Aces & 8s...
Powell's POV: Devon? Well, I speculated that he could be a member of the group even after he announced his departure. Somehow, some way, I still assume Ray will be part of the group because it needs a leader and Devon just isn't that guy. As much as Hogan, Sting, and Ray acted shocked, the live crowd seemed rather ho-hum about the reveal. I'm with the crowd.
Backstage, Borash said the main event was up next. He brought in Austin Aries, who said he's going to beat Hardy using anger. He said Jeff Hardy has never seen an angry Aries, then said maybe he did when he kicked him in the balls and dropped him on his head. He said this won't be Hardy's redemption song... A video set up the main event...
Jeff Hardy made his entrance for the main event and removed a red mask and then showed off his black and white face paint. Hardy played to the crowd on the ramp and got a good reaction before heading to ringside to slap more hands. Austin Aries made his entrance. He had his supporters, but Hardy was the more popular of the two.
Jeremy Borash handled the in-ring introductions for the main event. The Aries fans came to life with boos for Hardy, though he received more cheers. Aries received a mixed reaction, but then a loud "Aries" chant broke out...
8. Austin Aries vs. Jeff Hardy for the TNA Title. The Aries chants picked up again after the bell. Hardy received a higher pitched John Cena-like "Let's go Hardy" chant. Aries had Hardy in the corner and the ref came to break it up. Aries backed away, but Hardy responded with a hard shove. Aries caught Hardy with an arm hold, but Hardy broke it by slapping him across the face.
Hardy had a lengthy run of offense as the crowd reaction continued to be split. Aries came back around 10:00 with run of his own. Aries grew frustrated when he was unable to put Hardy away. The DirecTV feed(?) cut out for a couple seconds and returned. It cut out for a longer stretch about a minute later, but returned again. The live crowd continued with dueling chants.
At 12:35, Aries performed a corkscrew dive over the top rope and landed on Hardy for a two count. Aries applied a front face lock. Tenay said it was all about control, Taz said Aries may be trying to wear him down for Last Chancery. Hardy broke free and caught him with a wild move. It looked like he was going for a powerbomb, but instead he fell backwards and slammed Aries down face-first in the process. Cool move.
Hardy performed the Whisper in the Wind at 15:15 for a two count. Hardy missed a dive to the floor a minute later, and then Aries followed up with his great suicide dive. Aries went back to the ring and performed the suicide dive again. Aries rolled Hardy back inside the ring and got a two count at 17:25. Aries was bleeding around the eye or forehead, presumably from one of the suicide dives.
Aries applied the Last Chancery at 18:00, but Hardy got his foot on the ropes to break the hold. They ended up on the ramp. Aries tried to clothesline Hardy over the top rope and back inside the ring, but they didn't pull it off. Aries came right back with a neckbreaker on the the ring apron/ramp and then performed a missile dropkick back inside the ring.
Aries charged at Hardy in the corner, but Hardy put his feet up at 20:00. They traded punches in the middle of the ring. Aries went for a discuss punch, but Hardy avoided it and hit a Twist of Fate for a good near fall. Hardy went to the top rope and played to the crowd before going for a Swanton. Taz acknowledged there were a lot of boos.
Aries cut off Hardy on the top rope and performed a top huracanrana. Aries performed his brainbuster finisher and went for a cover. Hardy kicked out again. Aries put Hardy on the top rope and tried to double foot stomp his head. Hardy moved. Hardy performed a Stunner and a Twist of Fate before going to the top rope. Hardy nailed the Swanton and scored the clean pin...
Jeff Hardy defeated Austin Aries in 23:10 to win the TNA Title.
Powell's POV: A strong pay-per-view main event. There were some minor hiccups, including Hardy appearing to get caught up in the ropes before the finishing sequence, which will prevent it from earning my match of the year vote, but it was very entertaining and was one of TNA's better pay-per-view main events. They succeeded in delivering a big show main event.
The main event was crucial for this show. It felt like a big event early on, but they lost that feel during the middle portion of the show. The Devon reveal didn't do much for me, so everything after Storm vs. Roode until the main event didn't pack much of a punch. Fortunately, the main event was good and closed the show on a high note, though I'm sure some Aries fans will disagree. I don't know if they were going for the C.M. Punk and John Cena vibe, but I hope they find ways to get away from it because it feels like a knockoff.
As always, it was nice to see TNA escape the Impact Zone. The Phoenix crowd was hot whenever they were given some incentive to be, and the building looked good on television. Chris Shore and I will have a lot more to say about the show in our members' exclusive audio review later tonight, and I'll be back on Monday with my TNA Bound For Glory Hitlist. Thanks for watching along with me.