TNA No Surrender Review - September 12, 2013

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Mr. Anderson Confronted TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray

Ray's mic work was strong as always and built towards his title defense against Anderson later in the show. He continues to call out Hulk Hogan, and I fail to see the point. The two (hopefully) won't be facing off against each other at Bound For Glory, so why bother to have them feud? Mr. Anderson played his role well here and kept his promo short and sweet. This segment was necessary to put more heat on the world title match between the two Aces and Eights member, but the announcement of it being a Last Man Standing match came as bit of a surprise.


AJ Styles def. Austin Aries in a Bound For Glory Series Semi-Final Match

Despite the crowd seeming uninterested at certain points, this was an excellent match that certainly lived up to my high expectations. They had an awesome matchup last month, but they managed to raise the bar this time around. The bout was filled with exciting action and incredible intensity from both competitors. The final few minutes as well as the finishing sequence were extremely well done and made Styles' victory feel meaningful.

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Magnus def. Bobby Roode in a Bound For Glory Series Semi-Final Match

Styles vs. Aries was a hard act to follow, but these two quickly captured the attention of the crowd. I felt as if the match could have used a few more minutes to feel more memorable, but they made the most out of the time they were allotted. They had good chemistry in this bout, thus making for entertaining action down the stretch. Magnus advancing in the BFGS was a pleasant surprise and the win put him over in a big way.


TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray def. Mr. Anderson in a Last Man Standing Match

There was no doubt in my mind that Ray was winning this match, but that didn't take away from the fun of it. It wasn't a stellar match by any means, but they managed to tell a solid story throughout the bout. The action was boring at some points, but that's to be expected in Last Man Standing matches. Anderson looked strong in defeat and his injury angle will allow him to be removed from television for the near future. Meanwhile, it put an awesome amount of heat on Ray and gave him credibility as champion, despite receiving help from an interfering Aces and Eights.


Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez Interrupted World Tag Team Champions James Storm and Gunner

I've stated this many times in the past, but Storm's tremendous talents are unfortunately being wasted away in his tag team with Gunner. I have no issue with Gunner, but the two have zero chemistry together and shouldn't be the tag champs. That being said, I'd much rather have them as the title holders than Chavo and Hernandez. I was happy when the two went their separate ways back in June, so why reunite the two? They received no reaction when they entered, and Chavo's mic work was horrendous. Here's hoping this ultimately leads to Chavo turning on Hernandez at some point soon, which will be another feud that no one will care about. By the way, when did Storm and Gunner losing one match constitute as a losing streak?


AJ Styles def. Magnus to win the 2013 Bound For Glory Series

The action was uninspiring early on, but they definitely captured the big fight feel of this match with the introductions. The interference from Roode and Bad Influence was logical, but what purpose did it ultimately serve in the end? Maybe it will lead to something soon with The Main Event Mafia, but it seemed out of this place in this match. Even still, Styles and Magnus provided a quality contest and created excellent emotion with all the near falls down the stretch. Styles winning was pretty predictable, but it was the right move in the end, although I strongly believe Magnus will be a world champion before long. Styles' post-match promo was mediocre at best, and it didn't make much sense given the fact he distanced himself from the fans a few short weeks ago. Nonetheless, it provided a suspenseful hook going into next week's show.


Overall Show

Once again, TNA hit a home run with their latest made-for-TV event that featured several well wrestled matches and logical booking. I was very glad that the show was fully focused on the Bound For Glory Series matches as well as the drama within Aces and Eights instead of killing time with filler matchups. Sure, there was one throwaway segment with two tag teams, but that didn't at all take away from the enjoyment of this event. Now that the stage is set for Bound For Glory, I look forward to the road that TNA takes to the pending pay-per-view and watching the card come together.