Jeff Hardy defeated Samoa Joe to advance in the Bound For Glory Series Final in a solid opener to the show. The pace of the match varied as Samoa Joe would control Hardy slowly in the first half and quicken as there were nice near falls and submission attempts towards the end, and it worked with these two contrasting wrestlers. The quality of the bout was hardly surprising considering the two talents involved, smart choice to start the show and get the crowd going too.
Bully Ray beat James Storm to advance to the BFG Series Final in a fair match up that was unfortunately tarnished a bit by unnecessary 90s-esque referee bumps. The contest started off fairly uneventful, with Bully building heat by leaving the ring and complaining to the ref constantly. It then hit it's stride as both men went back and fourth and became enjoyable.
Unfortunately we then witnesses three referee bumps in the space of five minutes, which was just overkill and unneeded as Bobby Roode then made his return and cracked a beer bottle over Storm's head and covered him with Bully for the finish. I can obviously understand one referee KO was needed but not three, it just ruined the match a bit for me.
Brooke Tessmacher (c) defeated Tara to retain the TNA Knockouts title in a largely pedestrian outing. The action wasn't bad, but it did often feel like it was dragging a bit and I don't believe it should have been allocated so much time. It probably would've benefitted more from keeping the decent bits of wrestling condensed. Tara was angered after Brooke caught her with a roll up pin for the victory and abruptly left without congratulating her former student. I'm guessing we'll be seeing a rematch of some kind at Bound for Glory.
Backstage we had a nice brawl between an arrested Roode and Storm until Hulk Hogan split them up along with more members of security. More pull apart fights should be like this in pro wrestling, where you can really believe in the hatred and heat between the two foes.
Before his following match Austin Aries explained that there would be no referee and no rules, just a straight up fight between him and the Aces & Eights member who broke his arm. The member eventually arrived and the two began exchanging blows. After a bit of a tedious period in which the Aces & Eights member controlled Aries, the World Champion managed to make a comeback by pouring white powder into the goon's face and upped the pace and managed the gain back the crowd's interest.
As AA was about to unmask his adversary other gang members made their way out which led to another brawl between both them and members of the TNA roster, who eventually chased off Aces & Eights. Hogan joined everyone and ordered the building to be locked down so they couldn't get away. Bully Ray also informed him that Hardy had been attacked and was badly hurt.
Zema Ion (c) defeated Sonjay Dutt to retain the X Division Championship in a very enjoyable contest once it got going. The action started to really flow in the final third with nice near falls and exciting moves, unfortunately the crowd weren't particularly responsive. I guess they were going to struggle to be after the gang fight and BFG Series matches they've just witnessed.
The only downfall of the match for me was that it really highlighted the champ's shortcomings compared to a superior talent in Dutt. Not that Ion's bad but as X Division Champion (especially following Aries) he needs to just up his game that bit more.
Out in the parking lot we witnessed Hogan ridiculously ordering around the cops that had arrived at the arena. Even demanding that they bring more. Sorry, are we honestly expected to believe that the police force would have this situation on such high priority that they'd send out this many cops because a retired pro wrestler told them to? Who exactly does Hogan think he is? Even for a storyline it just came off as moronic.
Rob Van Dam beat Magnus in a passable, if quite pedestrian bout. It was watchable, I just never felt myself getting engaged much at any point. RVD did his usual TNA routine while Magnus looked decent enough, not terrible but quite uneventful overall.
Before their title defense Daniels and Kazarian gave an enjoyable promo about the hardships that Hogan as GM has thrown their way and how they deserve better treatment. At least TNA have these two keeping the tag team division relevant. Obviously nothing against the superb talents that are Angle and Styles but they're not exactly a regular solidified team.
Christopher Daniels and Kazarian (c) defeated AJ Styles and Kurt Angle to retain the TNA Tag Team titles in a terrific match up. For the majority it was a thoroughly enjoyable match with blistering action and effective near falls. All four men gave a display to be very proud of. If I had one little niggle (and it's only a minor one) it's that the bout didn't maybe have to be quite so long. There were a few periods where the fans were loosing a bit of interest while the pace slowed down which was a shame, but otherwise it's well worth checking out if you weren't going planning to watch the PPV.
Before the BFG Series Final Bully Ray gave a nice speech on the events of the evening and his rise in the singles division over the last year and a half. He went on to claim that while others were "Bound for Glory. I am destined for greatness." And stated that while you may not like him, you have to respect the transition he's made in his career. Which I very much agree with. I'll admit that I never thought his singles career would amount to very much, maybe mid card at the most. But he's become one of my favourite acts in pro wrestling today and a superb singles heel.
As Bully awaited the injured Jeff Hardy, Hogan instead joined him and asked that if Bully Ray really feels as strongly as he states then he should wait until the next Impact when Hardy's in better condition. This idea understandable irked the fans in attendance who wanted a BFG Series Final match as advertised. Hardy's music then hit once again and he made his way out, clearly still feeling the effects of his attack.
Jeff Hardy beat Bully Ray in a fair match to win the BFG Series Final. Unfortunately the main event was unable to live up to some of the previous bouts of the night but it was still decent enough and had a surprise win that I imagined pleased a lot of fans. Although I was personally rooting for Bully, thought it'd make a lot more sense. Hardy fought back through his shoulder injury like a true heroic face and managed to get through Bully's offense and hit the Swanton Bomb for the one-two-three. The crowd in attendance were very happy with the result.
Overall No Surrender was yet another largely enjoyable and solid pay-per-view from TNA. With engaging matches and relevant story line advancements. And next up is the biggest event for the company of the year, Bound for Glory. If the last few PPV's are anything to go by then it should be a fantastic event.
