Detroit believes in TNA Bound for Glory

DETROIT — Heading into Saturday night, I was really looking forward to my first live TNA experience (not including the Bound for Glory press conference), and I was  extra excited to be at Bound for Glory because it was taking place on the campus of Wayne State University, which may sound odd, to some, but this is where I taught writing for nearly 10 years, after I first moved to Michigan in 2005, it’s where I earned my Master’s in Library Science in 2015, and it’s where my partner continues to work, so it was coincidentally appropriate this was also Wayne State University’s homecoming weekend.

Thanks to my partner, in fact, I learned that the homecoming game was scheduled for the same day as Bound for Glory, at 1 p.m., so I knew the game would be over well before Bound for Glory was scheduled to begin, and by the time I arrived at the venue, with Brad McFarlin, his son Matthew, and my son, Jack, the Fieldhouse parking lot and surrounding streets were filled to capacity with fans of TNA. 

This was the first TNA Bound for Glory in Michigan since 2006, and the last major PPV to take place in Detroit was WWE’s SummerSlam back in August of 2023, so hungry wrestling fans in Metro Detroit, and from all around.   

If there were any doubts TNA could fill the house, those doubts were quickly obliterated by the sight of wrestling fans in several lines to get inside.

Once in the lobby, I noticed a sign on a wall announcing the official maximum occupancy of the Fieldhouse as 3,231, and truth be told, it felt every bit like there were over 3,000 people in attendance, as the seats on the floor and in the stands were full, and in the lobby overlooking the ring, there was a solid ring of people watching on their feet. 

When we were seated, the 20-person intergender Call Your Shot Gauntlet match had already begun, and the crowd was eating it up. More than half of the contestants had already entered and/or exited the match, but we were in time for the final act, when the match came down to Frankie Kazarian, who had entered at number one, and Rhino, the hometown favorite, who was admitted into the TNA Hall of Fame earlier that night. The crowd popped at the notion that Rhino might succeed, but alas, Kaz came out victorious, after hitting Rhino with a low blow, and walked away with the opportunity to call his shot at any title, at any time, maybe even that night. 

After this, the introductory promo package for TNA Bound for Glory began, full of nods to the city of Detroit, and featuring some familiar faces from the local independent wrestling scene, which earned some extra cheers from those in the know, and then it was time for the first match of TNA Bound for Glory 2024, Speedball Mike Bailey versus El Hijo del Vikingo, for the TNA X Division Championship. 

For a lot of people, including myself, this was one of the most anticipated matches of the night, and it delivered exactly what we wanted to see, and began the pay-per-view on a strong note, although I’ll admit I was briefly distracted when Westside Gunn, one of my current favorite rappers, and an avid wrestling fan, was escorted to his front row seat during the match. Still, Speedball and Vikingo delivered a hard-hitting, high-flying banger of a match, which saw Bailey retain his TNA X Division Championship. 

The next two matches were Spitfire (Jody Threat and Dani Luna) versus Rosemary and Wendy Choo, for the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship, and Josh Alexander versus Steve Maclin, and while both were decent matches, on all accounts, and Spitfire retained their belts, the most notable part might have been the chants that took over the Alexander/Maclin match. 

From the start, the crowd seemed disinterested in the Alexander/Maclin match, and began chanting “You suck!” at Alexander, in the same way people chanted “You suck!” at Kurt Angle. Therefore, is that a complement by proxy? Well, that wasn’t the end of it, as the crowd eventually began chanting for Jared Goff, the Detroit Lions quarterback, which feels, in a way, like the local equivalent to chanting “CM Punk” during matches when CM Punk isn’t there, and is similarly polarizing. But the best chant of all was when people started chanting “Walking Weiner,” mocking Alexander’s nickname “Walking Weapon,” which was genuinely funny because of how stupid and immature it was. It even looked like it cracked Alexander a couple times, so kudos to whoever started that one. Anyway, the “Walking Weiner” Josh Alexander defeated Steve Maclin by submission, and it was time for another match. 

Next up, it was PCO versus Matt Cardona in a Monster’s Ball match for the TNA Digital Media Championship and International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. I simply love the run Cardona has been on since being let go by WWE in 2020, and I’m happy that he recovered from a recent injury, and I greatly appreciate that he’s been able to acknowledge what he’s done in other promotions, like GCW, while working for TNA. 

For tonight’s match against PCO, Cardona was wearing brown coveralls with a “Deathmatch Busters” logo on back, paying homage to the Ghostbusters as well as his moniker of the “Deathmatch King,” but it would be Cardona who got busted in Detroit tonight. Despite taking some gnarly, bone-crunching bumps, and getting hit with garbage cans and thumbtacks, it was PCO who pinned Cardona, after landing a monstrous top rope moonsault, retaining the TNA Digital Media Championship and International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.     

Before the next match began, I decided it was time to stretch my legs and check out the merch table. This gave me a good opportunity to see the full scale of the Fieldhouse, in all its glory, and I think it looked really great. I can’t say how many people, if any, thought about using this venue for wrestling before TNA Bound for Glory, but it was really quite a brilliant decision, and I hope they do it again. 

As for merch, there was a decent selection of T-shirts and some TNA-branded bandanas, and my son bought a TNA ringer t-shirt, and I bought a couple tickets for an event that didn’t take place, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, due to Hurricane Helene. Unfortunately, there were no Joe Hendry trading cards for sale.

When I returned to my seat, Mike Santana versus Moose had begun, and while I admit this wasn’t a match that I was looking forward to, per se, it turned out to be a really solid match. I was impressed with the athleticism and the passion of both men in the match, and I believe everyone was pleasantly surprised when Santana pinned Moose.  

Next, it was time for the first match of our TNA Bound for Glory triple main event, the TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace versus Masha Slamovich. Next to Speedball and Vikingo, this was my most anticipated match of the night, and man did it deliver. Grace and Slamovich both looked like absolute superstars, which isn’t much of a surprise, when you talk about Grace, but Slamovich really looked like a worthy competitor for Grace, and not only that, she looked like someone who could beat Grace, and that’s what she did. Although it’s what I wanted, it was still a little surprising to actually see Slamovich pin Grace, and the crowd erupted when Slamovich became the new TNA Knockouts World Champion. Masha Slamovich, former GCW champion and current JCW champion, was now also the TNA Knockouts World Champion.   

The second match of our triple main event was the match I think most people in attendance were most looking forward to, Nic Nemeth versus Joe Hendry for the TNA World Championship, with special guest referee Frankie Kazarian. I know I wasn’t the only one in attendance who immediately thought that, when this wasn’t closing the show, that Hendry wasn’t winning. But that certainly didn’t hamper the crowd’s reaction to Hendry, who initially came out to a video intro inspired by Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” the Academy Award-winning song from the movie Eight Mile. And when Hendry’s actual theme song began to play? Holy sh*t, was that crowd into it! So, it was only natural for the crowd to boo Nic Nemeth, especially when he’s introduced as from Cleveland, which prompted thunderous chants of “F*ck Ohio!” Cheap heat? Sure, but it worked!

The match itself was fun as hell. Nemeth, of course, is a top-notch wrestler, Hendry was a good match for him, and Kazarian played the role of the unreliable referee to a tee. At one point, with Hendry and Nemeth both down for the count, Kazarian decided it was time to invoke his Call Your Shot gauntlet contract, but then there was no referee to count the pin, so what was he to do? Well, before another referee could step in, JBL of all people jumped in the ring and hit Kazarian with a clothesline from hell, but then he also hit Hendry with a clothesline from hell, as well as Ryan Nemeth, Nic’s brother. This led Nic Nemeth to pinning Hendry, retaining his TNA World Championship. 

Somebody in the crowd had a sign that said, “If Joe Hendry loses we riot!” and for a moment I thought that might happen, but after some initial boos and chants of “bullsh*t,” the Detroit crowd was ready for the third and final main event.      

Arrive.
Clothesline someone.
Leave. https://t.co/YniiXRbIWO

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) October 27, 2024

Finally, it was time for The System (Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards) versus Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy versus ABC (Ace Austin and Chris Bey), in a three-way Full Metal Mayhem match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. At the press conference on Thursday, Jeff Hardy said this Full Metal Mayhem match would be “reimagined,” but didn’t let on what that would mean, but it was pretty clear as the crew got the ring together, which included a new painted ring canvas, painted ladders, as well as painted chairs and tables, all in the style of Brother Nero’s face paint. 

This is where I should mention that for the entirety of the night, I was seated next to a young couple of Hardy fans decked out in Hardy gear, including a young man who was in full Jeff Hardy cosplay, and when the iconic Hardy theme song began to play, these fans began to scream at the top of their lungs. 

Next, ABC were introduced, to a positive response, and third, the TNA World Tag Team Champions, The System, who garnered boos and a “F*ck the System!” chant. If there’s one thing Detroit fans love to chant, it’s the four-letter “F word.”

As expected, the match began in chaos, immediately spilling out of the ring and into the fans, so some of us couldn’t see what exactly happened, but when ABC and the Hardys returned to the ring, the System was nowhere in sight for quite some time. But this allowed ABC and the Hardys to exchange a variety of crowd-popping, high-risk maneuvers. If anything, I think the goal of this match was to show that the Hardys were still a great tag team. 

Eventually, the System returned to the ring, and were appropriately booed and jeered, and fans began taunting them with chants for Davey Richards and Zach Ryder, as well as chanting “Edge’s b*tch!” at Brian Myers, who even replied, “I’m not Edge’s b*tch!”

As the end of the match approached, there were a few close calls as it appeared either ABC or the System might win the match, but in the end, the Hardys scaled the ladder together, pulling down the TNA World Tag Team Championship belts, and the capacity crowd inside the Wayne State University Fieldhouse erupted with pure joy.

As the music faded, Matt and Jeff each took a microphone and thanked TNA, the fans, and the city of Detroit, and said that this proved to everyone that the Hardys are still a great tag team in the year 2024.

TNA Bound for Glory 2024 was an excellent, and, dare I say, historic event for TNA, and to be there live in Detroit, in the jam-packed Wayne State University Fieldhouse, was a one-of-a-kind experience.

TOP PHOTO: TNA Bound For Glory at the Wayne State University Fieldhouse in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday, October 26, 2024. Photo by Josh Olsen

RELATED LINKS

The Hardys show they still have it as they were Bound for Glory

Brad McFarlin’s TNA Bound For Glory 2024 photo gallery