TNA’s latest DVD releases, Slammiversary 7 and Bound For Glory V, have hit store shelves, and SLAM! Wrestling had a chance to review what both had to offer. Matt Mackinder and “Bloodthirsty” Bob Kapur tag team this review, with Matt taking Slammiversary and Bob looking at Bound For Glory.
When TNA announced early in 2009 that Slammiversary 7, their second-biggest show of the year, was coming to the northern Detroit suburbs, I had planned on being in attendance.
Then my family and I took advantage of the brutal housing market and moved that weekend. Thus, I missed the pay-per-view.
Thankfully, TNA released the show on DVD recently and I had the chance to see what I missed in person on that sultry June evening.
Fortunately, it looks like loading up a U-Haul and moving 30 miles north was more fun than the show itself. Just barely, though.
The Sokol boys already recapped the show [TNA Slammiversary shocks and surprises], so I don’t need to, but seeing Samoa Joe hand the TNA World title to Kurt Angle in the main event King of the Mountain match was a pretty cool moment, as was the entire X Division King of the Mountain match.
Multiple reverse ladder matches may have been overkill (see WWE’s Hell In A Cell PPV), and some people are eternal cynics when it comes to TNA, but this show was pretty decent. Seeing Raven and Shane Douglas, though both are well past their prime, was also a treat.
Having it in the cavernous Palace of Auburn Hills was a mistake as the arena holds close to 20,000 and perhaps a quarter of that was in attendance for Slammiversary. The Compuware Arena in Plymouth, site of TNA’s first-ever house show and Bound For Glory 2006, the first non-Orlando PPV, would have been a more ideal choice as 5K would have jammed the rink.
Bonus features on the DVD include the pre-show match, Rhino and Eric Young vs. The British Invasion, backstage footage and a photo gallery. Not much, but a nice touch.
All in all, this DVD does exactly what it should — a simple PPV show with all the extras. Maybe not in the top 10 of all-time TNA PPVs, but if you’re a fan of Detroit wrestling (like I am) or TNA in general, then this DVD is all you.
The Bound for Glory DVD is a two-disc package. The first disc is the actual show, recapped by Nick Tylwalk [Sting loses but doesn’t retire, capping off night of ups and downs at Bound for Glory]. The second disc includes a number of extra features, many of which had never been shown before.
The disc starts off with a music video highlighting the event. The song, Crawl Back In, is somewhat atonal and the fuzzy guitar solo is so atonal that Neil Young should be allowed to punch the guitarist in the face.
After that comes the 30-minute “Before the Glory” preview special. This package includes interviews with the participants in the major matches on the show — Mick Foley, Sting, Matt Morgan, Kurt Angle and AJ Styles. This is presented like a preview show for boxing or UFC cards, and gives importance to each match beyond the standard build-up on TV.
Bobby Lashley’s segment is interesting and is more a biography than hype for a match. His hybrid wrestling/MMA career is discussed at length, of course, but they also go into his personal life, including showing him at home with his kids.
Comments from the others include Foley talking about how he wanted to use BFG as a way to show that he still has the hardcore edge that he had five years prior in 2004. Morgan’s excitement shows through in his interview, and given that his co-main event spot was the highest he’d ever had in his wrestling career, it was genuinely a major milestone for him. Meanwhile, Sting and AJ talk about their match, teasing it as possibly Sting’s last ever.
While the special is good, giving us some interesting glimpses into the minds of the TNA stars, the concept of presenting each match as a legitimate contest is somewhat distracting. The knowledge that the matches are have predetermined outcomes somewhat dilutes the effectiveness of the video, since all the talk about how important it is to prove one’s self by winning the match is just that — all talk. Still, the special itself was overall well done.
The next feature is an interview with Sting, conducted in his limo on the way to the Fan InterACTION session held the day before the PPV. During the interview, Sting maintained that he didn’t know whether this would be his last match or not. He compared his emotions to that on the day of WCW’s final show where he wrestled Ric Flair, another moment that he thought might have been his last hurrah. Sting comes across as quite modest and humble, despite his superstar status, calling himself “a very ordinary guy that God chose to do extraordinary things with.”
TNA pulled out all the stops for this pay-per-view, even bringing back the Fan InterACTION event for their California PPV debut. TNA has never disappointed with these fan fests, and for people who haven’t gotten the chance to go to one, this montage of clips from the day are a good taste. These are really fun events, and allow fans a unique opportunity to meet and greet the entire company in one day. Hopefully the company will continue these, even under the new regime, as they really were a great experience. The one presented here is no exception, as can be seen in this short sequence.
Other bonus features include a package on setting up the building before the PPV, an interview with some celebrities like Zakk Wylde, the guitarist from Black Flag, who did a rocking instrumental version of the U.S. national anthem before the show, post-show interviews, and a look at some of the injuries that were suffered by the stars. These are pretty neat, and help reinforce how important TNA considers the annual Bound for Glory show.
Overall, the addition of these bonus features supplement the PPV very well, and for people on the bubble as to whether or not to buy the Bound For Glory DVD, are enough to make the decision an easy one.
