Sting started the show off by announcing that he was the substitute General Manager while Hogan was out injured and his first order of business was calling out Aces & Eights, the group that had attacked both himself and injured Hogan. But instead World Champion Austin Aries and Kurt Angle joined him to also exact revenge after beatings from Aces & Eights. Bobby Roode also came out and accused James Storm of being the man behind the new group. 'The Cowboy' didn't take too kindly to the accusation and began brawling with Roode in and outside the ring until they were separated.
Madison Rayne and Gail Kim defeated Mickie James and Tara in an average tag bout. The action from James and Kim was solid enough, it's just the set up of the match felt a bit messy to me. Rayne grabbed the win as both her and James had each others shoulders down on the mat but Earl Hebner (who Rayne had snogged previously) made the call to go with Madison. Wonder why?
Douglas Williams beat Gut Check Contender Sam Shaw in an enjoyable enough match. Shaw seemed to get the fans behind him fairly quickly and looked quite decent, if a bit unpolished, in the ring. Unfortunately for Sam he was caught off guard during the match after former Gut Check Contender Joey Ryan once again came through the crowd and punched Al Snow before legging it. I'm quite liking the run ins from Ryan, not particularly original but fun.
Chavo Guerrero made his TNA debut to a warm reception and explained that he had joined the company to beat the "best" and have a Guerrero become a TNA champion for the first time. Kid Kash and Gunner then came out and mocked the Guerrero family, asking where they all were now. Chavo eventually had enough and began brawling with them both, with Hernandez also racing out to help out him.
AJ Styles versus James Storm ended in a disqualification. It was an intense contest, with both experienced wrestlers putting in very solid efforts. The DQ came after Aces & Eights ran in and attacked Styles, the referee and security but ominously left out Storm.
Sam Shaw was voted two to one in favour of obtaining a TNA contract by the Gut Check Judges (Bruce Pritchard, Taz and Al Snow). I didn't think he would myself.
Zema Ion (c) beat Kenny King to retain the X Division title in an entertaining and fast paced bout. Both guys looked competent and charismatic in the ring as they exchanged moves. Roode aided Ion in his win after attacking King from behind (due to Aries being the one who chose King to get the title match under Sting's authority) as the ref was distracted, allowing Ion to easily finish him off and gain the one-two-three.
Kurt Angle defeated Bully Ray in a Bound For Glory Series match up. It was a terrific main event as both great workers put on displays they can be very proud of. With plenty of nice near falls and counters it certainly kept you engaged. After the bell rang Aces & Eights once again began to take out everyone (bar Bully Ray who managed to sneak away) but this time Sting, Aries, Storm and Angle managed to mount a comeback and scare them away. Aries began to briefly question Storm before the show finished.
Overall the show was entertaining enough with the in ring action, not outstanding but I can't complain about many of the matches being mediocre. Thankfully we also didn't have to endure any more of the awful AJ Styles and Clair Lynch storyline, smart move on the writers part.
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