TNA Bound for Glory Review - October 14, 2012

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rob Van Dam def. Zema Ion to Win the TNA X-Division Championship

RVD as a member of the X-Division never made much sense to me, but I guess TNA really wanted more star power in the title picture at the time. A lot of RVD's work was uninspired, but truth be told, this was one of his better bouts, probably because of Ion. They put together a pretty good match and worked a nice pace. It was smart for this to be positioned as the opener since the title change kicked off the event on a high note.

TNA World Television Champion Samoa Joe def. Magnus

These two teamed up for the first half of 2012 and even reigned as TNA World Tag Team Champions for a brief period, so they already had great chemistry together. Magnus was really coming into his own as a singles competitor at this point and Joe was the perfect opponent for him. They produced a very clean, well wrestled match that I really enjoyed. Joe retained the title, but Magnus had solid showing in defeat. This was probably the only time in the history of the TNA World Television Championship that it was actually important.

James Storm def. Bobby Roode in a Street Fight (King Mo Served as Special Guest Enforcer)

I'm still bitter all these years later that this wasn't the main event of the pay-per-view and that it wasn't for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Did it need the title? Probably not, but it did deserve it considering the story the story they were telling with these two and how it was Roode who beat Storm for the belt one year earlier. I also don't think King Mo needed to be involved at all. I realize his role was limited as the special guest enforcer, but it was obvious that he was only there so TNA could get some mainstream attention out of it. Otherwise, this was an amazing match and everything a true Street Fight should be. You could feel the bad blood between two, and speaking of which, the blood streaming down Storm's face added a lot to the drama and the emotion of the matchup. They battered each other with everything they could find around ringside, but in the end, it was Storm who prevailed, finally giving Roode his comeuppance in the process. The crowd being as hot as they were was simply the cherry on top. This storytelling masterpiece will forever be one of my favorite matches in TNA's history

Joey Ryan def. Al Snow to Earn a TNA Contract

Storm vs. Roode really should have been saved for later in the night, because as strong of a show as this was, nothing that followed it could top it, especially Snow vs. Ryan. Snow had no business being in a ring even back then, but it made sense with the story they were telling at the time with him and Ryan, who was trying to secure a permanent spot on the TNA roster but felt he couldn't because Snow wasn't a fan of his. It's amazing that this much effort was put into getting Ryan over, but for as talented as the guy is, he was gone from the company less than a year later. The match wasn't anything special in the slightest and the only thing worth noting about it was that Matt Morgan returned to aid Ryan to victory. I don't believe that alliance lasted long, either.

Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez def. Bad Influence and AJ Styles & Kurt Angle in a Three-Way Tag Team Match to Win the TNA World Tag Team Championship

I assume Chavo and Hernandez were paired off because they were both Mexican and Homicide was unavailable, so LAX couldn't reunite. In all seriousness, what a weird tag team. I've always been impressed by Hernandez's athleticism, but Chavo was a charisma vacuum and didn't do anything out of the ordinary in TNA aside from winning the tag titles here. Thankfully, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian as well as Styles and Angle were also involved in this thing to make it entertaining. Those teams were having killer matches at the time, so Chavo and Hernandez felt shoehorned in for no reason. When they won, there were definitely some audible boos from fans in the audience. In fact, to think TNA was wasting Styles and Angle in the tag team division back then is appalling.

Tara def. Miss Tessmacher to Win the TNA Knockouts Championship

This was one of the better built women's matches at Bound for Glory in recent years because there was history behind it. Tara and Tessmacher previously held the Knockouts Tag Team Championship together, and after Tara lost to her former pupil at Victory Road, she turned on her. Unfortunately, the match felt flat. It was way too short and Tessmacher losing as decisively as she did was disappointing. Somehow the matchup wasn't as flat as what happened afterward with Tara introducing her "boo," Jessie Godderz from Big Brother. The crowd had no clue who he was (I didn't either at the time) and couldn't have cared less, either.

Aces & Eights def. Bully Ray and Sting in a No Disqualification Match

Good lord, the Aces & Eights. They were one of the worst stables I'd seen in years and still are. That storyline dragged on for way too long and this was only the beginning of it. The match was basically a brawl with a ton of shenanigans thrown in, but at least the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Bully Ray donning the Sting face paint was also cool. With the win, Aces & Eights gained full access to the Impact Zone. Afterward, one of the members was revealed to be Devon, which of course "shocked" Bully Ray. None of this ended up making any sense once Bully Ray revealed months later he was the mastermind behind the group the entire time.

Jeff Hardy def. Austin Aries to Win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

I remember Aries still being popular at the time (even though he turned heel a few weeks earlier), but not to the extent that he was when I watched this back. The crowd was way more behind Aries here than they were Hardy. It was so apparent that the commentators had to acknowledge it. Despite that, I thought giving the title to Hardy was the right call after the year he spent redeeming himself. Aries' time on top shouldn't have been cut short, but at least he was a fantastic foil for Hardy throughout their feud. They were given plenty of time to work with here and they made the most of it by delivering an awesome main event. Both men had phenomenal performances and it had a big fight feel throughout thanks to the crowd's constant energy.

Overall Show

TNA was firing on all cylinders in 2012 and producing better pay-per-views each month than WWE. Their hard work paid off with an excellent event in Bound for Glory. Not everything was perfect, mind you, but it was a strong show by TNA standards back then as well as notable with multiple championships changing hands. Roode vs. Storm stole the show, Aries vs. Hardy was a hell of a main event, and the first two title matches of the night were fun. Sadly, TNA failed to capitalize off this momentum going into 2013, but it is worth watching if you haven't seen it before or not in a long time like me.