Bound For Glory: Awful finish undermines outstanding show

Sometimes, it’s like TNA just can’t help itself. In its biggest show of the year, the company delivered one of its best pay-per-views in recent memory, only to have what was otherwise a pretty great show marred by a horrendous finish in the main event. Other than that, the action was outstanding, even in the much-maligned match between Hulk Hogan and Sting.

Emanating from Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Bound For Glory saw three titles defended, but none bigger than the one-fall match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

In the main event of the evening, Kurt Angle defended his title against the No. 1 contender, Bobby Roode.

Angle is apparently battling an upper-right leg injury but that didn’t hurt him when he went to the top rope with his back turned, only to have Roode jump up and fling him across the ring. The two trade punches in the centre of the ring, a sequence that ends with Roode hitting a big clothesline. Snap neckbreaker off the second rope by Roode for two. They trade some reversals and Angle hits a DDT that plants Roode right on his head. Angle pulls down the straps and goes for the Angle Slam but Roode slips out and hits the Double R spinebuster for two.

Roode goes up to the top rope but it’s Angle this time who runs up to the top and throws Roode hard to the canvas below. Angle gets in his face and Roode grabs the arm and locks in the crossface. Angle is about to tap but he grabs Roode’s ankle and turns it over into the ankle lock. Wow.

Roode is the one fighting now as the crowd chants “Bobby!” Now Roode rolls it through right back into the crossface. Now Angle rolls it over into a pinning predicament for two. Angle charges Roode but Roode grabs his arm and locks it in again. Angle rolls through again, but not into a pin, but into the Angle Slam. Roode kicks out at two. Angle locks in the ankle lock but Roode rolls it through and hits the Double R spinebuster again followed by a Perfect Plex for a close near fall. Both men are down and Angle locks in the ankle lock again. This time Roode rolls into a small package for two.

Roode goes to the middle rope but Angle pulls the referee in front of him. Roode dismounts and Angle shoves the referee and kicks Roode low. He hits the Angle Slam but Roode kicks out at the last second. Angle stalking Roode now, going for the triple Germans. Roode eats two but turns the third back into the crossface. Angle fighting and fighting and he gets under the ropes to break the hold.

Kurt Angle rolls up Bobby Roode for a controversial pin. Photos by George Tahinos

Irish whip reversal sees Angle hit Roode with a spear. Angle heads outside and goes to the top rope. He comes down but Roode catches him and again gets the crossface. Angle rolls out and goes for the Angle Slam but it’s countered. Perfect Plex try but Angle slips out and hits the Angle Slam. He hits the cover and the referee counts three with Roode under the bottom rope and Angle using the middle rope for leverage.

Roode can’t believe what just happened. Neither can I. Angle is helped to the back by a member of the TNA staff. And the show goes off the air. No restart. Just a flat finish to what was, up to that point, a tremendous show.

In the co-main event of the evening, control of TNA was on the line when Hulk Hogan battled Sting in a fight. The two circled for a few seconds before Hogan signaled to the back and out came none other than “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.

With Flair at ringside, Hogan and Sting grappled and it was Hogan pushing out of a headlock and shoulder blocking Sting to the ground, throwing his bandana in Sting’s face and Hulking Up in his face. The crowd went nuts. This got Sting going as he took his shirt off and threw it in Flair’s face.

They trade some punches and holds and Hogan throws Sting to the floor where Flair takes over, pushing him into the rail and lighting him up with chops. Hogan comes out and low blows Sting and then bites his forehead. He throws Sting back into the ring and Flair gives Hogan a spike and Hogan goes to town on Sting with it. Sting is busted open. Sting fires up and he drops Hogan with some punches. He chases Flair around and drops Hogan again.

Sting heads out to Flair again and this time catches up and takes the spike-like object he had and uses it on Hogan, who is now busted open. Sting puts Hogan in the corner and hit the Stinger Splash. He knocks Flair off the apron and hits another, this time to Hogan’s back. He loads him up for the Scorpion Death Lock and he’s got it locked in. Hogan taps but referee Jackson James, who earlier was outed as Eric Bischoff’s son, doesn’t ring the bell. Hogan taps again and this time he calls for the bell.

Hulk Hogan and Sting are friends again at the conclusion of their fight.

Flair immediately hops in and puts the boots to Sting. He’s followed by Bischoff and Immortal, who take chairs to Sting. Bischoff goes for a shot but James takes it out of his hand. Bully Ray grabs James and Bischoff hits him from behind with the chair, taking out his own son. They continue going to town on Sting. Sting crawls to Hogan in the corner and asks him for help. Crowd starts going bananas asking Hogan to help him. With all of Immortal with their backs turned, Hogan rips off the shirt and here we go. They all come at him one at a time. He punches them all down, giving Sting time to recover. He beats his chest and Hogan and Sting clean house. Flair gets a Stinger Splash, Hogan dispatches of Gunner to the outside and the only person left in the ring is Bischoff.

Hogan grabs Bischoff and gives him a big wind-up right hand and tells the crowd the real Hulk Hogan is back. They celebrate a bit and Hogan extends his hand and he and Sting shake hands.

The next TNA pay-per-view is Turning Point on November 13.

Following a video package, Mike Tenay and Taz welcome us to tonight’s show, an eight-match affair from Philadelphia.

Match #1 – X Division Championship – (c) Austin Aries (Minneapolis, Minn.) vs. Brian Kendrick (Venice, Calif.)

Hot start to the match early with the two exchanging holds back-and-forth, but Kendrick gets the better of it and Aries decides to take a walk around the ring. Kendrick, though, hits him with a slingshot crossbody to loud boos from the pro-Aries crowd.

Aries, though, takes over and goes to work on Kendrick after stopping Kendrick from hitting a second monkey flip. Big jumping elbow lands and then a nice knee to the back for Aries. Aries has Kendrick down and plays to the crowd a little too much before going for the pendulum elbow and Kendrick gets his knee up and starts firing up. Some dropkicks and clotheslines land and then a double sledge to the back of the head for two. Aries, though, counters Kendrick and hits the pendulum elbow for two.

Aries comes charging into the corner but Kendrick gets his knees up and then hits a tornado DDT for a near fall. Kendrick ends up on the floor and Aries hits a huge suicide dive that lays Kendrick out against the guard rail. Now Aries puts Kendrick in the corner again and hits the corner dropkick. He loads him up for the brainbuster but Kendrick knees his way out and rolls him up for two. He goes for Sliced Bread but Aries props him up on the top rope. Aries follows him up but again takes too long and Kendrick hits a Sliced Bread off the top! He goes for the cover but Aries gets his hand on the bottom rope.

Kendrick goes for Sliced Bread onto the apron but Aries hangs on and Kendrick crashes and burns. Kendrick tries to climb through the ropes but Aries punts him and then hits the brainbuster and that’s all she wrote.

Winner via pinfall and STILL TNA X Division Champion: Austin Aries

Match Rating: 7/10

Great opener.

Match #2 – Full Metal Mayhem – Jerry Lynn (Minneapolis, Minn.) vs. Rob Van Dam (Battle Creek, Mich.)

RVD goes for Rolling Thunder early but Lynn is having no part of it and kicks him. RVD goes for a Northern Lights Suplex and Lynn counters and we have a brief stand off. Then they proceed to badly blow a spot and the match just stops for about 30 seconds until RVD decides to hit a leg drop on the apron. RVD goes for a moonsault off the guard rail but misses. Lynn grabs a ladder and puts it in the ring but RVD recovers and tosses him in. Now RVD grabs a chair and that proves to be a mistake as Lynn hits a sliding dropkick onto the ladder that hits the chair and sends it into RVD’s face.

RVD, though, recovers and hits Van Daminator in the corner. Now Lynn ends up under the ladder and RVD goes for and hits Rolling Thunder this time. RVD goes for a flip off the ropes for no apparent reason to grab a chair but Lynn stops him and hits him with the chair. He puts RVD on the ladder, which is now propped on the rope, and jumps onto him.

Lynn goes to suplex RVD onto a chair but RVD reverses it and suplexes Lynn onto the ladder. Lynn sitting on the top turnbuckle now but RVD goes to jump up at him but Lynn comes down and clotheslines him. Lynn goes under the ring for another ladder and props it up on the rail. RVD goes to suplex Lynn onto it after a counter but Lynn stops that and hits a sunset flip power bomb onto the ladder. Ouch.

Lynn goes to hit RVD with the chair but RVD ducks and then kicks the chair into Lynn’s face. Now RVD sets Lynn up in the corner with the ladder in front of him. He goes to the other corner with a chair in hand and hits a Van Terminator. Lynn is done. RVD recovers, pulls him away from the corner and pins him (and the ladder).

Winner via pinfall: Rob Van Dam

Match Rating: 7/10

RVD and Lynn hug after the match and Lynn raises RVD’s hand.

Match #3 – Samoa Joe (Isle of Samoa) vs. Matt Morgan (Fairfield, Conn.) vs. Crimson (Brooklyn, NY)

Morgan and Crimson team up on Joe early but Joe is able to dispatch of Crimson to the outside and then take Morgan out low. Joe hits the ropes but Morgan comes off and hits a side slam. Crimson tries to steal the pin to no avail. Joe sends Crimson to the outside and then backdrops Morgan onto him. Then Joe comes flying through the rope with a suicide dive onto Crimson. With Morgan freed up, he goes back inside and hits the top rope and Matt Morgan, of all people, goes to the top and hits a flying crossbody onto Crimson on the outside.

Now Morgan and Crimson start exploding at each other and they go at it as Joe takes a seat on the outside. Joe grabs Morgan and sends him into the guard rail and comes back in to work on Crimson. Some slaps and a back splash followed by a kick. Joe goes for the Muscle Buster on Crimson but Morgan saves it with a boot to the chest. Morgan loads up for the Carbon Footprint but, well, I don’t know what happened. It kind of connected but Morgan ended up in the ropes. Joe turned around right into the spear from Crimson and that’s it. Crowd boos.

Winner via pinfall: Crimson

Match Rating: 5/10

Match #4 – Falls Count Anywhere – Bully Ray (New York City) vs. Mr. Anderson (Green Bay, Wisc.)

They brawl to the stage and Anderson goes for a suplex but Ray blocks a couple tries and hits one of his own. With Anderson down, Ray stands in the middle and calls for Anderson’s mic to drop. He cuts his own entrance promo before Anderson attacks, says this is Philly and hits him with the mic for two.

Now they head to the backstage area. Ray hits Anderson with a pipe and then hits a piledriver on the concrete floor for two. Now he puts a chair across Anderson’s throat and heads back out to the arena floor. It’s Anderson who hits a clothesline that sends Ray to the concrete. They end back up in the ringside area and Anderson grabs a guard rail and puts it partially in the ring before Ray attacks. Now Ray grabs a second table from under the ring and brings in into the squared circle and sets it up. Ray charges Anderson but gets back dropped on the guard rail. Anderson goes to the top rope and goes for the Kenton Bomb but Ray moves and Anderson crashes and burns. Ray picks him up and hits the Bubba Bomb through the table but Anderson kicks out.

Ray can’t believe it. He brings the guard rail back into the ring. He puts Anderson on it and goes for a back splash from the second rope but Anderson moves. He grabs Ray and hits the Mic Check on the guard rail but Ray kicks out this time.

Ray takes a walk but doesn’t go far. Anderson drills him in the head with a trash can which sends Ray onto the table on the outside. Anderson goes to the top turnbuckle and goes for the Kenton Bomb but completely overshoots the table. He quickly recovers the blown spot and hits the Mic Check through the table and that does it.

Winner via pinfall: Mr. Anderson

Match Rating: 7/10

Match #5 – Four Corners Match for the TNA Knockouts Championship – (c) Winter (England) vs. Velvet Sky (The Big Apple) vs. Madison Rayne (Seattle, Wash.) vs. Mickie James (Richmond, Va.)

Karen Jarrett is your special guest referee for this match.

Velvet hits a bulldog on Madison and goes for a pin but Jarrett ties her shoe instead of counting. Madison goes for a pin but Winter breaks it up. That doesn’t sit well with Madison and Jarrett tells them to tag in Velvet and Mickie. Madison starts yelling at Mickie from the apron and Mickie slaps her to the floor.

And really, this is just dragging on far too long. Angelina Love hands something to Winter. Mickie starts beating on Winter but is pulled away by Jarrett. Mickie comes back and Winter tries to mist her but Mickie moves and Winter hits Jarrett with it. Mickie hits Winter with the jumping DDT but Jarrett is out. Traci Brooks comes out. Mickie and Winter brawl to the floor and Velvet kicks Madison and hits a double underhook sit out facebuster and Brooks counts the fall.

Winner via pinfall and NEW TNA Knockouts Champion: Velvet Sky

Match Rating: 3/10

Match #6 – I Quit Match – Christopher Daniels (Los Angeles, Calif.) vs. AJ Styles (Gainesville, Ga.)

Styles sends Daniels to the outside and then goes for, and hits, a huge flying flip dive to the outside. They battle around the ringside area and Daniels grabs a screwdriver and goes for Styles’ eye. Styles fights it off and the battle on the apron. Then Daniels picks Styles up and does, well, he did something. Styles ended up hitting a leg on the top rope and then crashing to the apron and floor.

Back in the ring, Daniels hits a big backdrop. He asks Styles to quit and he says no. Daniels tells him he’ll make him say it. He then goes to the top and hits the BME on Styles’ back. Now he locks in a single leg crab. Styles gets the rope and back to his feet, but Daniels quickly puts him back down with a backbreaker. Daniels grabs a chair and sits on it over Styles’ throat. He cuts a promo on him, telling him he will tell his wife that he loves him. Daniels turns to the camera and tells Styles’ wife to take the kids away so they don’t see their dad murdered in cold blood.

Of course, this gave Styles time to recover and he’s on fire now. Flying forearm connects. He calls for the Styles Clash but Daniels pushes him off and hits a uranage. He goes for the BME but Styles moves and Daniels lands on his feet. Styles gets up and hits the Pele and follows with the Styles Clash. Crowd chanting “AJ.” Styles picks up the chair but he turns instead to the screwdriver, which was embedded in the turnbuckle. Daniels backs into the corner, grabs the mic and says he quits, just don’t hurt him. Daniels then hightails it to the back.

Winner: AJ Styles

Match Rating: 6/10

Styles celebrates up the ramp when Daniels attacks him from behind and hits the Angel’s Wings on the stage.

Jeff Jarrett is out. He addresses Jeff Hardy and tells him nobody wants nothing to with Hardy. He says it’s time for Hardy to face the music, so he’s calling him out. He says he brought Hardy into TNA and he’s going to take him out of it tonight.

Hardy comes out and grabs a mic. He says he has one thing to say to Jarrett and then attacks him. They brawl and security breaks it up. They each break through a few times until the referees and agents run down. And even that’s not enough. End this already, please. And finally it does.

Fight #1 – Hulk Hogan (Venice Beach, Calif.) vs. Sting (Venice Beach, Calif.)

Winner via submission: Sting

Fight Rating: 6/10

Match #7 – TNA World Heavyweight Championship – (c) Kurt Angle (Pittsburgh, Pa.) vs. Bobby Roode (Toronto, Ontario)

Winner via pinfall and STILL TNA World Heavyweight Champion:

Match Rating: 7.5/10

Event Rating: 7.5/10