TNA Wrestling – Bound For Glory 2009 Results
TNA’s version of Wrestlemania, dubbed Bound For Glory, was held yesterday evening in Irvine, California at the UC Irvine campus. This PPV card boasted 9 matches over the time span. The night was kicked off by an awesome rendition of the National Anthem played by Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde!
Opening Contest
ULTIMATE X MATCH for the TNA X-Division Title
Amazing Red (Champion) vs. Daniels vs. Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelly vs. Suicide
AUTHORS NOTE: TNA changed the participants last moment. D’Angelo Dinero was supposed to be in this match up, no reason given as to why he was pulled. Sabin and Shelly were added after winning a match in the preshow over Lethal Consequences.
It’s safe to say that this match up was a SPOTFEST! Which is why I LOVE the X-Division! Every wrestler had their moment in the spotlight where they took control of the match up. Some crazy maneuvers left bodies battered and broken to the point where moments were left with just lifeless bodies laid out around the ring.
The finish of the match was quite crazy! Above the Ultimate X ropes where the title is held, there was an extra structure, much like what viewers have seen in the Elevation X match up, Daniels and Suicide end up fighting about 15 feet above the ring on this glorified scaffold. They eventually move down to the X ropes above the ring and Suicide hits a crazy move, looking like he broke Daniels’ neck (no word yet as to if he was seriously injured). In all of this shuffle Amazing Red had climbed up the structure and gotten to the hanging X-Division Title and removed it to retain.
Did anyone catch the possible hint to the identity of Suicide??? If you get a chance to watch the replay, look for him to hit a high spot from the corner? I think I know who it is…
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles
The Beautiful People w/ Lacey Von Erich vs. Taylor Wilde and Sarita (Champions)
Match up started out very randomly. Lacey Von Erich went up to the referee and planted a kiss on him in effort to get his blessing to stay at ringside. He obliges. Moments before the bell rings, Senior Referee, Earl Hebner, comes out to throw Lacey out, but she tries the same tactic on Earl. He plants a big one on her, THEN throws her out!
This match was pretty uneventful. Very, very short too. The Beautiful People had their moments where they looked good, but in the grand scheme of the match, the champions finished strong with Sarita hitting a dropkick to a Taylor Wilde German suplex for the 1-2-3 victory!
Legends Title
Kevin Nash (Champion) vs. Eric Young vs. Hernandez
Based upon story line purposes (Eric Young paying off Nash for his protection), this was practically a glorified handicap match for most of the duration with Nash and Young (sounds like a band) teaming up against Hernandez. Super Mex battled constantly throughout getting near fall after near fall, but the numbers game had him beat. Young practically handed Hernandez over to Nash to finish him with a jacknife powerbomb off when, BAM, Young slams Hernandez’s head into Nash’s crotch leading to an EY pin and the Legends Title going to the leader of World Elite.
FULL METAL MAYHEM for the TNA World Tag Team Titles & the IWGP Tag Team Titles
Booker T/Scott Steiner (TNA Champs) vs. British Invasion (IWGP Champs) vs. Beer Money Inc. vs. Team 3D
Another gimmicked out version of a ladder match for TNA, essentially their version of a TLC (tables, ladders, chairs). Two belts were hung from the rafters, one TNA and one IWGP, and the first person to grab a belt would win the pair for their team. If you grabbed both, you’d win both.
The match up started with a gang up on Team 3D. A backstage scene showed the three other teams plotting against 3D because this was “their type of match.” So early on Team 3D was a non-factor. The team that jumped out to my attention first was Booker T and Scott Steiner and both competitors for different reasons. Booker T took a bump that no one saw on camera to the floor that injured him (could it be a work?), while Steiner was in the ring taking on anyone in his field of vision, he even busted out a FrankenSteiner off the top turnbuckle. Unofficial Scott Steiner suplex count: 6
Later on in the match, Team 3D gets back into it and is the first team to actually be in reach of a title belt when Rhino comes out and cracks both members of 3D with a chair, but in a very lackluster effort, Brother Devon grabbed the IWGP title making them the new champions.
The match continues with Beer Money and the Brits battling for the TNA title dangling from the ceiling. There were some crazy spots off the ladder for Beer Money on both Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus, but in the end, the difference was Rob Terry, bodyguard for the British Invasion, grabbing Robert Roode off the ladder allowing Mangus to grab the belt to add to the collection of World Elite.
TNA Knockouts Title
ODB (Champion) vs. Awesome Kong vs. Tara
Right off the bell, ODB and Tara worked over the larger Kong so that eventually they could square off, then something odd happened that even baffled Taz and Tenay at the announcers desk. For some reason, still unknown to us, Tara was pulled by security into the back for a couple minutes. It was one of those moments where you could hear in the announcers’ voices that they were confused being it’s LIVE tv. Even ODB and Kong looked a little concerned.
The match would continue and Tara would come back out to finish the match up, but it was too late, Awesome Kong started to dominate. She knocked Tara out of the ring, and then planted an implant buster on ODB who shockingly kicked out to Kong’s dismay. Raisha Saeed, Kong’s associate, comes out to the ring and slides in a chair to Kong who ignores it. That was the fatal moment. As Kong went for the awesome bomb, ODB countered and slammed Kong’s skull into the chair which was enough to score the pinfall and retain the TNA Knockouts Title.
Submission Match
Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley
This match was a waste of space on the card! Submission matches are expected to be epic especially when you look at the history of that type of match up. This match fell WAY short!
Joe dominated early, but Lashley started making a comeback to the chagrin of the fans who booed him throughout the match up. Short match made even shorter, Lashley put Joe to sleep and the referee called for the bell declaring The Boss the winner. Technically Joe DIDN’T submit so expect backlash this week on Impact.
Monster’s Ball Match
Abyss vs. Mick Foley with Dr. Stevie as Guest Referee
This match up got going before even both men got down to ringside. Foley and Abyss battled on the entrance ramp. At one point, Foley climbed up part of the entrance ramp set, and while Abyss was following he knocked him off, causing him to fall and come crashing through the gimmicked out part of the entrance ramp.
When the action got back into the ring there was a lot of torturous furniture waiting for them to be used. Barbed wire bats, razor-wire boards, chairs and thumbtacks were used in this match up. Foley took control early and as expected, Abyss had a crimson mask before the contest was over.
The story of this match up was a BOTCHED 2-Count! Abyss knocked Dr. Stevie out of the ring, and when he turned around, got put down by Foley. The hardcore legend goes for the pin, and Earl Hebner comes running out of the back to make the count… 1-2-3… THEN Abyss’ shoulder comes flying up! Hebner looking tired from his sprint to the ring, didn’t even look up after making the count probably knowing they screwed up. Taz and Tenay on commentary said that they saw the referee count three, but it’s at his discretion.
The match continued and started to get out of hand. Daffney came out to attack Abyss, got caught and Abyss threw her off the top turnbuckle to the floor with a razor wire covered board breaking her fall. Dr. Stevie started attacking Abyss and the Monster put him through about a thousand thumbtacks. Finally his attention turned to Foley and he chokeslammed him through another razor wire covered board. Abyss grabs Dr. Stevie’s lifeless body and pounds his hand on the mat for the three count.
Wrestling’s Future vs. Wrestling’s Best
Matt Morgan vs. Kurt Angle
We’ve been anticipating the one on one match up between Morgan and Angle for some time now. The contest started off in Morgan’s favor due to his size advantage. Angle being the crafty veteran tries to slow down the match up by working over Morgan’s leg, also wearing him down for the famous ankle lock.
As the match went on, the crowd expressed their division for the competitors. Both men hit multiple signature moves and both kicked out of the near falls that followed. Kurt Angle squeaked away with a win via a victory roll pinning combination, but from my vantage point, it looked like Morgan’s shoulder was up. After the match up Angle extended his hand to Morgan in a great sign of respect.
TNA Heavyweight Championship
AJ Styles (Champion) vs. “The Icon” Sting
Every fan anticipated this match up as the passing of the torch from Sting to AJ Styles. Early on in the match, Taz and Tenay compared this match up to the old WCW, Clash of the Champions match between a veteran Ric Flair and a younger Sting. Sting got the better of AJ in the early going, but this match turned into a back and forth shootout. You could see the respect for each other as neither men tried to take a cheap shot on the other and as Styles stopped the referee’s count so that Sting would not get counted out. The crowd was very much into this match. I overheard a chant of “THIS IS WRESTLING!” which was pleasing to my ears to hear fans recognize two great talents.
The finish to this match up was rather abrupt. Sting knocked AJ off the top turnbuckle to the apron and AJ hit his Pele kick on Sting. The Icon stumbled around the ring for a couple moments then fell to the ground. AJ springboarded into the ring with a big splash and scored the win to retain the TNA Heavyweight Championship.
As Sting walked back up the ramp, Styles called for a microphone and tells Sting that “this is your hometown… this is your spotlight!” Sting returns back to the ring to chants of “PLEASE DON’T GO!” “YOU STILL GOT IT!” and “ONE MORE YEAR!” He grabs the mic to address the crowd, and says that “if he had to lose it’s better to lose to AJ and to be at home.” He didn’t officially say whether or not he was retiring, but quite simply he made a Brett Favre joke and said “my mind’s not made up yet.”
**TNA PPV GOES OFF THE AIR**
This PPV had it’s moments of greatness, but it also had it’s WTF moments as well! On the OldSkool grading system system, I would have to give this PPV a C+. It’s hard to overlook botches and lackluster finishes, but this TNA offering was better than the average.