‘Bound For Glory’ PPV Review
Welcome to this review of Bound For Glory, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have Impact Wrestling’s biggest card of the year to talk about, so let’s do so.
RICH SWANN & WILLIE MACK BEAT ETHAN PAGE & MATT SYDAL – TAG TEAM MATCH
My Take: 4 out of 5
This was pretty damn cool. Page was the only one who could be called less than great here, but since he was quite good himself, I’d say this was great stuff. Mack is some-thing else and is finally getting his shot at Pay Per View, which he deserves. The stunts here were among the best of the year and the match itself was every-thing that Impact could ever need from an opener.
ELI DRAKE BEAT JAMES ELLSWORTH – ELI DRAKE’S OPEN CHALLENGE
My Take: .5 out of 5
This was as bad of a match as any that has ever appeared on PPV. What a match to juxtapose to the great opener. This was quintessential TNA/Impact for any-one who has followed the league through all of the bad bookers and promoters that have been in charge.
TESSA BLANCHARD BEAT TAYA VALKYRIE – KNOCKOUTS TITLE MATCH
My Take: 3.5 out of 5
This was a hard-hitting fight to the finish that let these two fighters beat the hell out of each other. I’d like to see WWE’s Evolution PPV top this thing. Tessa is like Ronda Rousey, except she doesn’t need to be protected in her matches, so she can make better use of the dominant athlete gimmick than she can, which happened here. Taya was just as impressive and it makes you wonder what Vampiro was thinking when he made the whole ring-around booking angle to get the title off of her in AAA. These two wrestlers are among the best in the sport today and this match felt like a celebration of how great they both are.
EDDIE EDWARDS BEAT MOOSE (Disqualification)
My Take: 1 out of 5
This thing was over as quickly as it began and was a waste of time.
TOMMY DREAMER & EDDIE EDWARDS BEAT MOOSE & KILLER KROSS – TAG TEAM MATCH
My Take: 2.5 out of 5
This was a good brawl that gave the right team the victory. I would normally lean towards the heels getting a victory to give them some juice, but Eddie Edwards is the big star of these four and should have been in a marquee match, so this served as his consolation prize. Moose should have won the title at Slammiversary, especially when you see what they’ve done with him since that match. I was against Moose winning at that time, but with this being the alternative, I think he’d be farther along in his career, even if he was the champion for only one night. This whole match felt like a booking decision made at the last minute, even though it turned out fine.
SAMI CALLIHAN & DAVE & JAKE CRIST BEAT PENTAGON JR. & FENIX & BRIAN CAGE – OVE RULES MATCH
My Take: 3.5 out of 5
I thought this was a bit sloppy, but it was exciting and thrilling when it worked. The idea of Cage losing for the first time was a surprise, but since he should have been defending his X-Division Title instead, this felt like a waste of time for him. As hardcore matches go, this was one of the better in the past decade.
LAX BEAT THE OGZ – CONCRETE JUNGLE MATCH
My Take: 3.5 out of 5
They took far too many risks in this for my liking, but it was a visual marvel, both for its audacity and its violence. If you were looking for ECW in the 21st century, then this was as close as you’ll get to it in. These guys could have killed each other at nearly every juncture of the bout, simply due to concept of the match itself. Hopefully, this stipulation will get an overhaul before it’s brought back for another show.
JOHNNY IMPACT BEAT AUSTIN ARIES – IMPACT WORLD TITLE MATCH
My Take: 4.5 out of 5
This was one of the best matches of the year. They did a little bit of every-thing and wrestled like it was a World Title match. These guys have a lot of chemistry with each other and could develop into a great series of matches for Impact Wrestling to tout to the world as a sign that things are getting better for the league.
News Of The Night:
- Abyss beat the hell out of Eli Drake after the latter beat James Ellsworth in the Open Challenge.
- Killer Kross attacked Eddie Edward and cost him a fair match with Moose.
- Eddie Edwards was power-bombed on the ring frame by Moose and Killer Kross after Eddie beat them in the tag match.
- Allie went to the underworld to save Kiera Hogan in one of the worst vignettes in wrestling history. James Mitchell was there as the guide and Rosemary showed up to help fight off Su Yung, who was there as the empress of the land of the dead. The only thing that was good about this was the performances of the actual wrestlers. The production values were terrible and should serve as a reminder as why Impact has not recovered at all from the previous regimes control. This segment made me feel like Dixie Carter and Vince Russo were still in charge and that’s NOT what Impact needs.
- Austin Aries attacked Taya Valkyrie with a Tope near the end of the World Title match.
- Austin Aries did an angle where he walked out of the event right after he lost. The idea he was breaking kayfabe and telling Don Callis, the commentator and the head of Impact Wrestling, to screw off for booking him to lose.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
Despite all of my complaints, this show was quite good, when it worked. The two best matches opened and closed the card, which had a few good bouts in the middle. It’s obvious that Don Callis and Scott D’Amore were the wrong choices for the new management positions after this card and while Chris Jericho thinks otherwise, he was and is completely wrong about these guys. As advisers, Callis and D’Amore could be great for a booking staff, but Impact just feels like it has no identity with them in charge, with Bound For Glory as the symbol of that fact. If Impact would just stick to wrestling, like they did in the first and last match of the card, then this new Impact will eventually thrive.
