Photo credit: impactwrestling.com
Rob Van Dam defeated Zema Ion (c) to capture the X Division Championship in a decent enough opener to the show. Ion managed to control most of the match with one of his best showings to date in my opinion. But RVD, unsurprisingly the crowd favourite in Phoenix, managed to make a comeback and hit the Five Star Frog Splash for the one-two-three. While I was hoping Ion would win here as he had a lot more to gain, and it coud've really bolstered the status of the title, he at least managed to look competitive against Van Dam which is something.
Samoa Joe (c) bested Magnus to retain the TNA Television title in a solid back and fourth bout. I wasn't really expecting anything much from this match to be honest, I thought it'd be okay but nothing special, and I'm certainly glad I was wrong. Magnus pulled out the best performance I've ever seen from him here and proved that he could potentially be one of TNA's top players in the years to come. Of course Joe put in his usual worthy effort and both men provided a title match to be proud of.
James Storm beat Bobby Roode in a terrific Street Fight. In this dramatic encounter both rivals battled it out as they did not hold back at all, with plenty of weapons used (although not too much to make it overkill) and effective near falls. The fans also voiced their approval throughout. King Mo's involvement was kept very minimal, in fact I didn't really see the point of using him here at all bar the publicity for the event. Even then I don't think it was worth it.
Joey Ryan defeated Al Snow in an average match up, therefore earning himself a TNA contract. The action was never bad at any point, just quite pedestrian, especially up against the previous bout. Ryan grabbed the winning pin after Matt Morgan made his return and applied a Carbon Footprint to Snow. I was hoping the company were done with the sub par Morgan, ah well.
Hernandez and Chavo Guerrero bested Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, AJ Styles and Kurt Angle to win the TNA Tag Team Championship in an awesome contest. The match started off a little slow (not bad, just slow) and built up to a fast pace and a flurry of insane and exciting moves. I was going to point out Styles as the man of the match, but that wouldn't be fair as all six men put in a display worthy of TNA's biggest show of the year. This is certainly one of my favourite pay-per-view matches of the year so far, thrilling stuff that is definitely worth checking out.
Tara beat Brooke Tessmacher (c) to obtain the TNA Knockouts title. The bout ranged from fair to average, and I have to say that Tessmacher actually impressed me here. She may not still be near the top female talent but she's showed signs of working hard and improving in the ring which I admire, and is something I wish we saw more of from a lot of female pro wrestlers who have managed to coast along for years. Considering all the build up with this feud is seemed to be kept quite brief too.
Afterwards Jesse from Big Brother was revealed to be Tara's secret 'Hollywood' boyfriend. Wow, what a coup for TNA (yes, that was sarcasm don't worry). The crowd amusingly (and fittingly) chanted "Who are you" in response to the reveal.
We were then shown a VT of clips from Sting's TNA Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The scale of it compared to WWE's was pretty clear. While it showed fitting speeches, things like Hulk Hogan wearing a Bound for Glory T-Shirt (yes, really. Way to show some respect by dressing up Hogan) made it feel a little cheap. Or maybe I'm being a bit harsh.
Before the following tag match, Aces and Eights members dragged in the previously kidnapped Joseph Parks as per the agreement. The reaction from the commentators was mild considering he's been held hostage for weeks.
Aces & Eights beat Bully Ray and Sting in a fair, if quite pedestrian at times No DQ tag match. As per the stipulations Aces & Eights members now have free access in TNA. The match had decent moments, and Bully was on good form, along with Sting he managed to get a healthy reaction from the fans. I was personally hoping with the no disqualification stipulation that it'd be a little more exciting and action packed. For the finish Bully was put through a table for the winning pinfall.
As the gang celebrated, Hulk Hogan came out and along with his ego ridiculously took out the Aces & Eights members, leaving just one. Hogan and 'The Stinger' revealed it to be none other than the previously fired Devon, much to everyones shock. All three men asked him why as he left. I'm actually quite surprised by the outcome, not so much Devon being a member (although I'll give credit, with his release it was a clever move on the writers part) but the fact that Bully didn't turn on Sting. I personally think Ray would've been the perfect front man for the group, and he's been so effective as a heel. Although I can imagine him being a decent face too, we'll see.
Jeff Hardy defeated Austin Aries (c) to obtain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a superb main event. In the match of the night both men put on a thrilling display as they fought with everything they had. Pulling out plenty of impressive maneuvers and providing red hot near falls, this was a worthy main event and World title contest. It was a good end to a highly enjoyable show.
The majority of the crowd in Phoenix were behind the defending champ, but as the match went on Hardy's fans were heard too. While like a lot of those fans I was also hoping that AA would retain, I'm interested to see how Hardy's run goes. And to give him credit he's seemed to have sorted himself out over the last year and I hope he keeps it up.
Overall Bound for Glory was yet another very solid card from TNA, with most matches providing some great viewing and memorable showings from the talent. I was fairly confident the show would live up to the billing, and it exceeded it for me, with my personal highlights being the main event and Tag Team Championship bouts. TNA has for a while now used it's talented roster to it's potential, let's hope it stays that way.
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