Ring Crew Reviews: TNA Bound for Glory 2011

• Scheduled Card:
1. TNA X Division Championship: Brian Kendrick vs. Austin Aries (c).
2. Full Metal Mayhem: Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam.
3. Triple Threat Match: Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan vs. Crimson.
4. Fall Counts Anywhere Match: Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson.
5. TNA Knockouts Championship: Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James vs. Winter (c).
6. I Quit Match: Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles.
7. Battle for Control of the Company: Hulk Hogan vs. Sting.
8. TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Bobby Roode vs. Kurt Angle (c).

• We start on the Liberty Bell and the Rocky statue from Philly. We fade into a slow opener that gives some quiet shots of Hogan, Sting, Roode and Kurt preparing for their matches. Then we get the basic narrative of Hogan coming in and taking over TNA, Roode preparing and training to win the belt, and Roode and Sting basically fighting for the soul of TNA. Let’s be honest, TNA like WWE has plenty of issues but their video production is second to none. It’s top notch and has been for years.

• TNA X Division Championship: Brian Kendrick vs. Austin Aries (c). Kendrick is the “Wizard of Odd” and Aries is the greatest man that ever lived. If American Dragon is number 1 in the world arguably, Aries just might be number 2 although there’s a ton of competition and it’s VERY close. Aries goes to the arm early but Kendrick rolls through. AUSTIN ARIES! AUSTIN ARIES! Philly likes him. Aries now kips up and gets a headlock takeover. Kendrick with a headscissors and Aries kips up again. What better place than Philly to have an ECW STANDOFF! Aries comes back with a shoulderblock but Kendrick leapfrogs the next and armdrags him down to boos. Kendrick with a couple of headlock TD and Aries keeps getting the headscissors. Nice little mini gamesmanship sequence. Kendrick decides to dropkick him to the floor and Aries calls for a timeout. He mouths off with some mark in the front row as Kendrick dropkicks him off the apron and follows with a plancha. Kendrick poses to mostly boos. Back in, he hits a crossbody off the top for 2. Kendrick with a monkey flip out of the corner and another. He tries a third but Aries tosses him away and clotheslines him down for 2. Aries hits the Guerrero slingshot senton and an elbow drop for 2. Kendrick tries a rally and AA elbows him down for 2. Aries tells the crowd to keep it down because he’s trying to work. He drops a knee and goes to a chinlock. Aries with an STO and preps the Magician’s Elbow. WHO WANTS TO SEE IT?! He asks both sides and gets plenty of cheers. Kendrick gets a school boy for 2 instead. Kendrick with some burritos and dropkicks but whiffs on an enzuigiri. Aries tries an O’Connor Roll but Kendrick blocks and takes him down with a GYPSY HAMMER! Cover gets 2. Aries comes back with an inverted atomic drop, STO and Magician’s Elbow for 2. Aries says to keep it down as he tries the IED but Kendrick gets the boot up and hits a tornado DDT for 2. Crowd chants for Aries even during the face comeback. They botch something and Aries shitcans him and then flies out with the suicide dive!. Back in, Aries hits the IED to a pop. Aries tries the brainbuster but Kendrick knees out(!) and gets the sunset flip for 2. Kendrick with a superkick! He tries to follow it up with Sliced Bread 2 but Aries puts him up top. Kendrick fights him off and hits the SHIRANUI KAI! Tenay: “GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!” Cover gets 1, 2,–2.9999999! Aries with the feet on the ropes! Crowd is feeling it now. Kendrick tries a Shiranui on the apron but Aries blocks and Kendrick eats it to the floor! Aries with a shotgun punt for OOOs and AHHHs. Aries with another IED and the Brainbuster. Kendrick is toast and is pinned for the 3 at 10:27. Kendrick was game but was working face against the wrong guy in the wrong town. Aries subtle charisma was off the charts here and they were pulling out some of the big moves. Good stuff. ***1/2

• Meanwhile, Traci Brooks is with Karen Angle’s kids in the back. Karen tells her to cut it out with the cleavage in front of her kids and segues into her slutty ref’s outfit for later. Karen instructs her not to leave the room unless Karen herself is in harm’s way and then invites Borash to help her get dressed.

• Full Metal Mayhem: Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam. This was set up by Jerry Lynn being determined to prove that he’s just as good if not better than RVD. I like RVD’s TNA music a lot. Taz says that “wrestling purists” will recognize RVD’s rich history to Philly and wrestling. Well, I don’t know if I’d call them “purists.”

• Lynn with a waistlock to start and RVD counters to his own. They do a couple standing reversals until Lynn tries a school boy but RVD lazily blocks and then switches to an armbar. Lynn stacks him up and we’re square. The crowd has been conditioned to expect this sort of pause so they start a clap but they keep wrestling. THE ECW STANDOFF… TEASE! RVD with his leg roll up and a couple clotheslines for 2. RVD with a spinkick in the corner and poses. He goes for Rolling Thunder but Lynn counters with a dropkick. Lynn now with his own clotheslines and tries a tornado DDT off the top. RVD hangs on for a Northern Lights attempt. Lynn switches to the reverse DDT but RVD snapmares him over and goes for a senton but Lynn avoids. This time we get the real ECW STANDOFF! That was a solid sequence but they are a couple steps slower than they use to be and it shows. Now, they go to the slug it out sequence and RVD flips over him only for Jerry Lynn to crossbody him but they botch it and instead just roll to the floor. RVD gives him a leg drop on the apron and now they both need to catch their breath after a few minutes of reversals. Lynn sends him into the guardrail but runs into a boot. RVD tries a moonsault off the guardrail but Lynn moves and RVD eats mat. RVD sells the leg on impact and Lynn gets a ladder. Back in, RVD takes his time getting a chair and Lynn baseball slides the ladder back into his face. Sounds cool but the camera missed it. RVD with a crossbody off the second turnbuckle onto the chair for 2. RVD tries a Mr. Perfect-esque twirl with the chair but drops it. This is sloppy and slow. RVD chokes in the corner and then dropkicks the chair onto Lynn. RVD stands up the ladder in the corner and whips Lynn into it. RVD then prances around the ring and kicks the chair out of the ring. Yeah… that was… alright. RVD then with Rolling Thunder on the thunder on Lynn. Cover gets 2. Lynn gives the chair to RV and hits a Van Damninator on him for 2. RVD slides out of a slam but lands on the ladder. Lynn hits up top and tries a guillotine leg drop but RVD moves and Lynn eats ladder. That had to hurt like hell. RVD now goes for Van Damninator for Lynn ducks and gives him a LOUD Sabu chairshot. Lynn follows it up with a German suplex for 2. RVD blocks a suplex and gives Lynn one on the ladder. Crowd chants ECW. RVD with a Lionsault on Lynn on the ladder for 2. That was badass. RVD sends Lynn across but he runs up the top rope. RVD tries a Rolling Thunder or some shit and Lynn comes off the top with a crossbody to counter. Lynn rolls to the floor and gets another ladder. They get to the apron and RVD clotheslines him back in. RVD teases a suplex but instead Lynn counters to the MDK BOMB ON THE LADDER ON THE FLOOR! YEAHHHH! There were sort of off center but with that kind of high risk, who gives a shit? Back in, cover gets 2. Crowd chants for RVD. He seizes the advantage and ducks a chairshot and hits the Van Daminator for 2. He puts Lynn in the corner and traps him with the ladder. RVD gets the chair and comes flying off with the coast to coast Van Terminator into the ladder. Always good for a loud pop. “Holy Shit” chant from the crowd. RVD covers for the academic 3 at 13:14. I wanted to like this a lot. Their old series of matches in ECW were some of the first matches that really hooked me, but they were out of sorts for the first 5 minutes and not as crisp as could have been. Some nice hardcore violence helped go a ways toward redeeming it. ***

• Post-match, they shake hands to presumably end Lynn’s subtle heel turn.

• Triple Threat Match: Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan vs. Crimson. The idea here is that Crimson is undefeated and looked to win the Bound for Glory Series. Joe started attacking him and cost Crimson the lead and eventual title shot. Crimson’s pissed and wants revenge. Morgan is upset because he didn’t take kindly to Joe picking on Crimson or something. Tenay tries to clarify: “Matt Morgan is here because he loves the idea that WINS AND LOSES MATTER!” The build for this feud isn’t anything special but damn the video package sold me on wanting to see this. Good promos from all 3 in it.

• Crowd chants for Joe for a few seconds as his strategy is to let Crimson and Morgan go after each other. They decide to jump him instead and the crowd boos that one. Morgan stacks Joe up in the corner with a clothesline and back elbows. Crimson takes his turn but accidentally elbows Morgan. Joe with some chops and rights on Crimson now. Joe tells Morgan to come take his shot. Morgan ignores him and he and Crimson doubleteam Joe with a hiptoss. Crimson with a head of steam but Joe lowers the bridge and then clips Morgan’s bad knee. Joe with some kicks but runs into a sideslam. Crismon tries to steal the pin and Morgan doesn’t take kindly to that. Joe shitcans Morgan in the confusion and then backdrops Crimson onto Morgan. Joe follows out with the burrito suicida! Morgan goes up top and DESTROYS CRIMSON WITH A CROSSBODY OFF THE TOP! Crowd is a bit bored and decides to pick on Earl Hebner for Montreal. Joe slides in Crimson and works the cover for some 2 counts. Joe smacks him around but Crimson comes back with rights and some knees and a neckbreaker for 2. Crimson with a T-Bone suplex but Matt slides in and covers for 2 for payback. Crimson’s all, “What the fuck, bruh?” Joe gouges both of their eyes but eats a shoulderblock. Crimson and Matt both fight over the cover and then get into a shoving match with each other. Morgan piefaces him and then they slug it out. Morgan wins that with a shoulderblock but Joe trips him up and sends him into the guardrail on the floor. Back in, Joe with a kick that the camera crew missed. Joe with the Samoan Semi and a Pele in the corner. Joe puts him up top for the Muscle Buster. Morgan breaks it up with a big boot and calls for the Carbon Footprint. Joe avoids and Matt gets his foot caught on the top rope. Crimson Spears Joe and gets the 3 at 7:12. Eh, that was logical enough if unspectacular. The problem is that I’m way more sold on Morgan and Joe as talented guys needing a sustained push more than Crimson. **1/4

• Next up, JB is in the back with Bully Ray. He’s wearing a NY Yankees skull cap. He tells JB that no one needs an introduction but in case they have had their head stuck up their ass he’ll give the audience one anyway. He’s the roughest, the toughest, the meanest, the baddest pro wrestler walking in this business today. Bully lets us in on a secret. He says for 15 years he’s been raping this city and milking their fans for all the money they’re worth. Anderson, screw you, and screw Philadelphia; I’m Bully Ray and I’M FROM NEW YORK CITY! Strong promo from Bully Ray and a lot of heel heat for that last line.

• Fall Counts Anywhere Match: Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson. No promo from Anderson tonight. They slug it out and Ray wins that one at the bell. He sends Anderson around the ring into the turnbuckles but Anderson comes back with some elbows and a neckbreaker for 1. Bully heads up to the second rope but Anderson counters with a low blow. He goes for the Finlay Roll but Bully slides out and hits a big boot. Bully rips Anderson’s shirt off and then chops the shit out of him a few times. WOOO! Kenny ducks another and hits an enzuigiri for 2. Kennedy rolls to the floor and gets a sign from the crowd that says, “Welcome to Philly, Asshole!” He waffles Ray and then tears off the wrapping paper to show that it’s a street sign and then waffles Ray again. Big pop for that. Bully rolls to the floor and Anderson blasts him with a drink. Taz: “Waste of a perfectly good beer. Horrible.” Anderson smashes him into the guardrail but Bully counters and sends him into the stairs. Cover gets 2. Bully goes shopping under the ring and comes up with a table. Cue the tepid ECW chants. I bet somewhere Rocco Rock of Public Enemy is wondering where it all went wrong for their table gimmick. Kennedy fights back with rights. He preps a suplex on the stage but Bully counters and gives him one instead. Cover gets 2. Bully steals Anderson’s taunt and gives the old style mic. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FROM HELL’S KITCHEN! NEW YORRRRRRRRRRRRRK CITY! Kennedy cuts him off. THIS AIN’T NEW YORK CITY! WELCOME TO PHILLY, BITCH! It’s amazing the heat that Bully gets just from saying New York City over and over again. Kennedy waffles him with the mic for another 2. They brawl backstage and Bully sends him into the roadie trunk and gives him the PILEDRIVER ON THE CONCRETE! Cover gets 1, 2,–only 2. You can’t break out a piledriver on the concrete and that not get the victory. Bully chokes him with a chair. They make their way back out to the arena as Anderson comes back with a short arm clothesline. Ken with the BLATANTLOWBLOW! Anderson brings a guardrail in the ring. Bully cuts him off with a clothesline and slides in another table. Bully with a head of steam but runs into a BACKDROP ON THE GUARD RAIL! Anderson heads up top but Bully moves and Anderson wipes out on the SWANTON ON THE GUARD RAIL! Crazy bumps. Bully with the Bully Bomb through the table. He covers and that’ll do it a—kick out at 2. Hmm. Bully preps the senton off the top but Anderson moves for another uber stiff bump on the guardrail. Anderson now with the Downward Spiral on the guardrail! Cover for only 2. Anderson now takes his turn under the ring and comes up with a trash can. He waffles Bully and heads up top. Bully is wasted and draped across the table. Anderson comes flying off with the Swanton! But unfortnately the table doesn’t break. Anderson follows up with another Downward Spiral and covers for the 3 at 14:33. That whiff on the swanton took the air out of the ending but it’s still a solid hardcore outing all around. I also perversely enjoy Ray’s heel transformation especially with the Philly crowd’s hatred of all things NYC. Yes, I liked this better than Lynn/RVD. ***1/4

• Meanwhile, Bischoff meets with a ref, apparently his son and says that he’s counting on him to screw Sting if necessary and they will permanently take out Sting tonight. Leave it to Vince Russo, the Michael Bay of professional wrestling, to railroad an important plot development to 30 seconds of exposition 90% of the way through the story. And in fairness, if this isn’t Vince Russo, it’s a fantastic homage to his style of backstage skits.

• TNA Knockouts Championship: Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James vs. Winter (c). Karen Angle-Jarrett is the special guest ref. Winter and MJ to start. MJ with a roll up but no count from the evil ref Karen. Winter goes to an armbar. MJ handsprings through but gets roll up for 1. Winter puts the boots to her in the corner but runs into an elbow in the corner and the anti-Newtonian rana. MJ with a neckbreaker but Winter takes a breather. Madison in and pulls MJ down by her hair. Madison takes a bow but MJ comes back with a Thesz press. Madison shitcans her to come back but Velvet is in with a couple jawbreakers and a bulldog. She covers but evil ref Karen is busy tying her shoes. Madison seizes the moment with another hairtoss. Winter takes offense and now THE HEELS IMPLODE! Karen tells them to think it over and instead tag in Velvet and MJ. They trade roll ups for nothing as Karen won’t count. The crowd begins to turn on the match as it’s pretty obvious what they are doing and it’s boring. MJ with a shoulderblock. Taz: “Velvet very… uh… conquistador-like with that outfit.” Tenay: “1 or 2?” Taz: “I’ll take this one.” MJ with a basement dropkick and knocks Madison off the apron. Velvet comes back with some chops and then around the world headscissors. They knocks Winter off the apron and then slug it out. They both Hulk up but get pulled to the floor by the heels. Back in, the faces go to GnP. This has no heat whatsoever. Winter shitcans Velvet but MJ elbows out and sends him into the corner for a clothesline. MJ and Karen start arguing over the reffing. Karen WANTS A GODDAMN BREAK! BREAK IT UP! Winter gets slipped a capsule from Angelina Love and then tries to give the mist to MJ but she ducks and Karen eats it. MJ with a DDT and covers but no ref. TRACI BROOKS HAS COME OUT! Velvet with the sit out Pedigree on Madison and covers for the win at 8:41. She breaks down and is overcome with emotion in victory. Nice enough moment but the match is terrible and went on way too long for what they were trying to do. *

• Meanwhile, JB is with Kazarian. He wants to know how Kazarian is dealing with 2 members of Fortune colliding tonight. He wants them to get it out of their system but fears this won’t be the end.

• I Quit Match: Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles. Awesome music video package for this feud. Just various highlights to their careers with very little narration but it’s still good. AJ is wearing some SICK white gear with pink trim for breast cancer awareness. They trade takedowns and rights at the bell. CD with an STO and grabs the mic already. AJ refuses that and fights back with rights. AJ with a couple DR FG kicks and wants CD to quit. CD: “YOU SUCK!” AJ: “WHY DON’T YOU SUCK THIS! [Chokes with mic].” AJ with a backbreaker, ribbreaker and pump handle gutbuster combo. SWEET! He goes to the armbar but CD still won’t give. AJ blocks a hiptoss with an ab stretch. CD elbows out but Styles hits the badass HANGING VERTICAL SUPLEX! AJ then goes to a Muta Lock submission. CD: “NEVER!” CD goes for his fingers to escape but AJ with the flying armbar! Slick stuff from AJ in here. CD with some knees but runs into a Bluechipper dropkick. CD powders out but AJ follows with the no hands flip splash! AJ is just smooth as silk when he’s on. It’s scary how good he is. CD pulls a tool box from under the ring and throws a wrench at AJ but he avoids. CD gets a screwdriver and goes to stab AJ with it. CD: “I’LL KILL YOU!” AJ avoids with knees. They get to the apron and jockey for position. CD with a big boot and tries a Blue Thunder Bomb on the apron but AJ bails out prematurely and grabs the top rope and it looks like a pretty ugly botch. Nobody’s perfect. CD wants him to quit but AJ reverses. Back in, CD with a backdrop and a chinlock. CD: “SAY IT AJ AND THIS WILL ALL END!” I think if you say I quit to a chinlock you have to retire from pro wrestling for good and go into hiding. I’m pretty sure that’s what happened to Perry Saturn. CD with the BME to AJ’s back. CD goes to the single leg crab but AJ grabs the ropes to pull himself free. AJ tries a roundhouse and CD blocks with the Regal plex backbreaker. CD now gets a chair and goes to the Cash interrogation technique by Kurt Russell. CD cuts a promo saying when AJ gives up he’ll finally get what he wants: everything. CD: “The truth is AJ, I never wanted you to say, ‘I q–‘ OH NO! I never wanted you to say the words AJ. I was happy to bash your brains in. But you know what? I’ll tell your wife that your last words were, ‘I love you.’ WENDY! I want you to take the kids out of the room now because they shouldn’t see their father murdered in cold blood!” OOO, that rings false as TOO over the top. It violates the Jake Roberts cardinal rule of heat and heel promos: never say you’re going to do something that you can’t back up. CD whiffs on a Conchairto and a Stinger Splash. AJ takes his head off with the LARIATOS! AJ with the moonsault DDT and a jumping enzuigiri. AJ springboards in with a flying burrito. He calls for the Styles Clash but CD counters to a throat slam. Another BME attempt is avoided. AJ with the Pele and the Styles Clash. AJ gets the chair but decides against it. Instead, HE gets the screwdriver and CD begs off. CD grabs the mic and quits at 13:48. Crowd kinda groans at that finish as they were bloodthirsty. These two are walking **** matches if you just get out of the way and let it happen. But because it was one half AJ/CD and the other half was an lesser homage of Flair/Funk, the match doesn’t reach the heights both are capable of. Also, that’s the identical finish that heel AJ used to get out of a last man standing match with Rhyno back at Final Resolution 2006, except rather than quit he just laid down with no resistance. ***

• Post-match, CD gets his heat back by attacking AJ and giving him the Angel’s Wings on the stage. Thankfully, this would resolved next month at Turning Point. Wait, what? They didn’t. Well, at least they picked up the loose thread of Joe being involved in this feud in a promo on Impact only to be forgotten about. Huh? You mean they still haven’t resolved that? Nice.

• Jeff Jarrett comes out next and talks shit to the entire front row before he even gets a mic. He gets the stick and says he told “Jeffrey Nero Hardy” to never sit foot in this hellhole. He says this isn’t about him; it’s about everyone on the entire “rossler—ROSTER!” See, none of them want him here according to Jarrett. This call out makes zero sense considering there are either 1 of 2 possibilities. 1. Jarrett’s telling the truth which makes him a face because he’s standing up for everyone’s wishes. 2. Jarrett’s lying which makes this a completely ridiculous reason to have a feud. Why not just say you hate him and hate that he’s a burnout who get so many opportunities when most people are lucky to get one? He says he’s calling out Nero, BITCH!

• That brings out Hardy who takes off half of his clothes before stepping in the ring. He gets the stick but that goes nowhere so they brawl. Jarrett winds up and hits a few Three Stooges level haymakers as the segments drifts into pseudo-slapstick. Security comes out to break it up before letting them jump over each other a couple times to continue the pull apart “brawl.” D-Lo is among the road agents and gets arguably a bigger pop than the entire segment.

• Here are the problems with this segment as I see it. First, I find everything Jeff Jarrett does funny and I’m not supposed to. It’s a backhanded compliment to Jarrett to say that I was laughing through most of his promo because even though it was entertaining, it was supposed to be intense, not funny. Some of his stuff like his ridiculous MMA dojo submission clinic with little kids is supposed to be over the top. But that’s how all of his stuff comes across to me and I don’t think that’s a positive for him even if I get a kick out of it. Also, most pull apart brawls today are so weak full of ghosting and soft shots. If you want to see a real brawl, watch Rick Rude/Dustin Rhodes WCW 93 or various Bob Armstrong/Roddy Piper stuff from early 80s GCW.

• Battle for Control of the Company: Hulk Hogan vs. Sting. Again, it’s a credit to TNA’s production department that they can come up with a package that makes all of this seem perfectly logical and developed. HUGE pop for Hogan. You can say a lot about Hogan but you can’t deny that the man has always gotten arguably the loudest cheers on any card he’s ever been on. I also think it’s a bizarre but effective touch to have Sting wear Hogan’s shirt to show he’s a fan of the real Hogan and not Hollywood.

• Both guys are wearing t-shirts and no gear. Hogan begs off from a lock up and calls out, you guessed it, Flair, because it wouldn’t be a true mid 90s WCW main event reunion without Flair getting screwed over and taking all of the bumps. Sting grabs a side headlock. Hogan shoves him off and takes him down with a shoulderblock and tells Sting to kiss his ass and SUCK IT! Crowd EXPLODES for that. Sting is pissed and THE SHIRT HAS COME OFF! NO MORE HULKAMANIAC FOR STINGER! Sting throws the shirt at Flair. Hogan with rights and a karate chop(!) to the throat. Hogan goes to the chinlock. Sting elbows out but runs into a ghosted Hogan-line. MOARCROTCHCHOPS! Hogan takes him down with the CLUBBINGBLOWS and rakes the back and the face. Hogan shitcans him and Flair takes the jacket off and chokes Sting with it and then throws it at the camera man. WOOOO! Hogan with a low blow on the floor. Hogan with chops and bites Sting. Flair gives Hogan an international object and he stabs Sting with it a few times and tosses him into the guardrail. Sting blades. Hogan steals Flair’s taunt for some reason. WOOOO???? Sting no sells and fights back with his flurry. Sting with a haymaker and Hogan takes a breather. Sting finally gets his hands on Flair and steals the international object. Flair waffles Hogan now a couple times. Hogan blades. Sting with the Splash and another to the back. Sting rolls him over for the Scorpion Deathlock. Hogan taps and the ref reluctantly calls for the bell at 9:43. At least, they managed to keep it together for 10 minutes and make it watchable.

• Post-match, Flair clips the knee and jumps on Sting. IMMORTAL HAS COME OUT! Bully, Gunner and Steiner all have chairs and lay out Sting with chairshots. Bischoff wants to join but his son stops him. Bischoff now gives his son the ref a chairshot. Tenay is aghast. Hogan revives and watches the carnage ensue. Sting calls for his help but Hogan is too out of it. Sting: “HELP ME! HELP ME!” Hogan comes to, turns face, and the crowd erupts. He Hulks up and TEARS OFF THE SHIRT! THEY ARE STANDING IN PHILADELPHIA! Hogan clears the ring with Sting’s help to another pop and they embrace. So, they basically redid Wrestlemania XVIII with Hogan playing Hogan and Sting playing Rock. There’s a heavy nostalgia factor coloring the whole thing but this is definitely entertaining even if it’s hard to shake the reality of Sting, Hogan, Flair and Bischoff being company focal points in 2011. *** for the whole thing.

• TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Bobby Roode vs. Kurt Angle (c). This gets a replay of the phenomenal third part of the video package for Roode’s quest for the title. A lot of footage of Roode training and the sacrifices he’s made to get this far for his first title shot. The Angle portion is less in-depth but still quality because Angle can bring the goods on the mic when necessary. Angle looks VERY frail compared to how he use to look. It’s not so much weight loss; it’d be different if he went from in shape 220 lbs to in shape 180 lbs which would be drastic but still fine. Instead, Angle looks like he’s gone from in shape 220 lbs (2005/6) to 150-160 lbs with little muscle tone and he’s noticeably slower and just seems broken down. All that being said, he’s still a very good wrestler.

• Crowd chants for Roode at the bell. Bobby grabs a headlock and blows through Angle with a shoulderblock. Angle tries a hiptoss but Bobby counters to the Fujiwara armbar TD and tries the submission but Angle takes a breather. Angle pulls him to the outside but Roode gets the advantage on that too. Angle walks him around the ring but back in kicks the middle rope back into his groin. Niiiiiiiice. Kurt with some shoulder surges and a snap suplex for 2. Angle goes to the waistlock. Bobby elbows out but runs into a knee. That’s pretty damn early for a hope spot. Kurt works some quick covers and goes back to the waistlock. Taz botches calling a Gable Grip on the waistlock. Roode elbows out again but Angle ducks and goes to the Rolling Germans. Another early resthold and hope spot. Angle hits all 3 and covers for 2. Angle goes up top but Roodes hits the POP UP OVERHEAD TOP ROPE GERMAN RELEASE SUPLEX AND ANGLE EATS IT ON HIS HEAD! Holy shit, Angle was an inch away from being paralyzed on that one. Maybe Hogan-Sting ran over because it’s not even 5 minutes in and they have ran through a couple hope spots and Roode’s high spot comeback. They slug it out and Roode wins it with a flying burrito and some clotheslines. Roode with the Blockbuster off the second rope for 2. Roode runs into a belly to belly throw for 2. They go through some nifty counters before Angle hits a DDT for 2. He drops the straps at 6 minutes in and wants the AngleSlam. Roode slides out and hits a spinebuster for 2. Roode heads up top and Angle follows him up for the pop up belly to belly superplex for 2. Cool spot but Angle seemed a bit unsure of his footing. Roode recovers and cuts off Angle with the Fujiwara armbar TD again and sinks in the Crippler Crossface. Angle manages to grab his foot to escape and lock in the AnkleLock. Cool counter. Roode with a Spinaroonie and flips Angle over and BACK INTO THE CC! NIIIIIIIICE! Angle stacks him up for 2. BACK TO THE CC! Angle rolls it backward and then STANDS UP IN THE ANGLESLAM! BADASS! He hits it and covers for the 1, 2—only 2! Back to the AnkleLock but Roode escapes and hits another spinebuster but still sells the leg. He goes to the a beautiful Perfectplex and bridges for the 1, 2—only 2! Back to the AnkleLock but Roode rolls him up for 2. DUELING CHANTS! Angle wants the AngleSlam but Roode armdrags out. Roode heads up top but Angle pulls the ref in front of him. In the distraction, Angle goes low behind the ref’s back to a pop. Angle with the AngleSlam and covers for the 1, 2——-still only 2. Angle goes back to the Rolling Germans. Roode blocks the third and goes back to the CC. Angle struggles but gets the rope break after lunging under the ropes. Angle sends him across and hits a tepid spear for 2. Angle jumps off the top but Roode catches him in the CC. Angle rolls through. They counter finishers until Angle hits another AngleSlam and covers with a handful of ropes for the 3 to retain at 14:16. That’s twice on the show that the crowd has audibly groaned for a finish. Major downer to not put Roode over here as it negates a lot of the reason for buying the show but enough as been written about that; I’ll focus on the match. It’s solid but feels like a 20-30 minute match squeezed into 15 because it’s missing the feeling out process, the shine but it’s missing the heat most importantly. All those are not always necessary but it just feels like they went straight into false hope spots with no build for that. Also, it has the same tendency of other Angle matches of going to the well a few times too many for teased finishers and submission counters. Still, a good match, best of the night even if that finish should have gone the other way. ***1/2

The 411: Nothing fantastic but (almost) everything here is well worked by all involved. Even Hogan and Sting managed to deliver on the nostalgia-fest even if I am overrating the hell out of it due to entertainment factor. What's encouraging (discouraging depending on your viewpoint) is how much better the show could have been with a few minor tweaks. Good show I look forward to watching again.
Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]