A lengthy, lengthy pre-show video hypes tonight's major stars before we get our opening match - an Ultimate X match pitting "Primetime" Elix Skipper and Senshi (Low Ki) against the team of Homicide and Hernandez (aka The LAX). One of the bright spots of watching more TNA/Impact shows is seeing how good LAX were and they do not disappoint here. Senshi/Low Ki is a somewhat polarizing performer, partially because he has a reputation of being somewhat of an idiot, but I can't lie and say I don't enjoy some of his wrestling. Highlights include Hernandez shoulder-blocking Senshi out of the ring to eat an awesome cannonball tope from Homicide, Skipper getting tossed halfway across the ring by SuperMex, Homicide hitting a crazy hanging neckbreaker from the "monkey ropes," and Primetime hitting an absolutely insane crossbody from the very top of the scaffolding onto Hernandex. Lowlights include Homicide standing back and watching Elix Skipper and Senshi go for the hanging X and a small number of noticeable moments of cooperation in order to perform some of the bigger spots (including Senshi's double-stomp onto Homicide as he was in the tree of woe position). Still, this was an excellent opener that set the bar pretty high for the rest of the show as this was 90% action and the big spots were all legitimately jaw-dropping. I'm not sure it had enough emotional weight to be a "must watch," but this was a lot of fun. (3.5/5)
A video package shows Kurt Angle walking into the arena, followed by Karen Angle and Kevin Nash, who looks a bit like a fancy Kenny Rogers. Mike Tenay and Don West then rundown the rest of the card before we hear from Christian, who is hanging out with Tyson Tomko and AJ Styles.
The next match is the Fight for the Right stipulation match - a 16-man reverse battle royal that turns into an 8-man battle royal that turns into a singles match. Our competitors include Jimmy Rave, Johnny "Havoc" Devine, Lance Hoyt (Lance Archer), Petey Williams, Shark Boy, Kazarian, The Motor City Machine Guns, Sonjay Dutt, Kip James and BG James, James Storm, Eric Young, Bobby Roode, Chris Harris, and Junior Fatu (aka Rikishi), who I completely forgot was ever in TNA (as he was only in TNA for roughly 6 weeks). Speaking of Fatu, he's the first man to get in the ring and he makes it look so easy that the first portion of this match comes across as incredibly stupid. I'm not sure what's dumber - guys doing moves to get into the ring or the amount of guys who are essentially just standing around and not even attempting to get into the ring despite how simply it seems it would be. Anyway, when the over-the-top rope battle royal begins we've got Fatu, the MCMG, Young, Kaz, Roode, and Archer (with James Storm eliminated within the first 3 seconds). Fatu was the biggest star in the match and still looked pretty good here, though his act had really run its course by then. Fatu giving the Stinkface to Lance Hoyt gets a big reaction, but Fatu then becomes the target for everyone else in the match, the other 6 all teaming up to eliminate the big man. With Fatu out, the match feels much more like a "TNA" match as its the homegrown talent - the MCMG especially - who shine. After eliminating Sabin, Kaz gets eliminated via an insane chokeslam from the apron to the floor by Roode. Lance Hoyt goes up for the moonsault, but Roode knocks him to the floor and we're down to three with just Eric Young, Roode, and Shelley left. Shelley gets eliminated soon after and its Roode vs. Young in a straight-up one-on-one match. The "match" does not last very long, though, as Young ends up getting the win with a quick roll-up after a series of nearfalls. This was just messy from beginning to end and I don't recall Eric Young being super over in 2007 and certainly not as over as some of the other guys in the match. (1/5)
A video package hypes Pacman Jones and R-Truth Killing's team as they challenge AJ Styles and Tomko for the TNA Tag Team Championships. Before the match, though, Killings announces that there has to be a replacement for Jones due to a decision made by his then-NFL team, the Tennessee Titans. In his place...Consequences Creed (aka a young Xavier Woods). I've never seen a Pacman Jones match so I can't say whether or not this was addition by subtraction, but I'm guessing it was because Woods, even at this stage in his career, was a solid in-ring worker and a suitable partner for Truth. The match starts up with Creed and Styles and the crowd is super hot, mostly supporting AJ (probably because Pacman was such a controversial figure and AJ was AJ). Speaking of AJ, he's clearly in the driver's seat against the highly-energetic-but-sloppy Creed. Eventually Styles makes the tag to Tomko, who comes in to clean house but doesn't shine for long before AJ is back in the ring and this one falls apart into a wild spotfest. That's not a knock against it, though, as the non-stop action means that there is never a boring moment and you're never more than a few seconds away from a crazy AJ Styles moment. Pacman's spot is executed terribly (because Pacman clearly has no idea what he's doing), but I like how it leads to the ending that the fans clearly want. This wasn't a "must watch" match and Pacman Jones' performance is so laughably bad it does mar the match a bit, but this was still mostly entertaining stuff. (3/5)
Backstage, Karen Angle gets interviewed by Jeremy Borash as she walks to the locker room and then chats up Kevin Nash about talking Kurt into something or other.
Next up - the X-Division Champion, "The Black Machismo" Jay Lethal, defends his title against Christopher Daniels. Jay Lethal's Macho Man cosplay has not aged particularly well, though, even at the time it was pretty hammy. Christopher Daniels' face paint was also not a great look. Fortunately, between the ropes, these two were more than capable of delivering the goods and they do so here for the most part. Daniels takes control with a sick body slam onto the guardrail that the commentators treat like a match-ender. Back into the ring they go and Daniels hits a big suplex and then a lucha-inspired moonsault off the ropes. Daniels maintains control but can't put Lethal away, working his back over methodically. Lethal rallies, though, hitting a series of elbows and then a hurricanrana before delivering one of Macho's trademark hangman's over the top rope. Lethal hits a suplex for 2 and then an enziguiri and, moments later, a nifty face-plant move I'm not sure I've seen before. Lethal went for a springboard but Daniels caught him with a Death Valley Driver and then the BME...but only got 2 and a half. Daniels' frustration costs him his focus and Lethal hits a big full-nelson suplex to pop the crowd. Lethal goes for another elbow in the corner but Daniels dodges and the Fallen Angel goes for a hurricanrana off the top but gets shoved off instead. Lethal goes for the flying elbow but Daniels rolls away and nearly gets a cover of his own! Solid false finish there as I thought Lethal was definitely going to hit the elbow. Daniels sets him up on the top rope again, but Lethal chops his way into hitting the Lethal Combination off the top rope to get the W. This was good-not-great, missing some intangible element. (3/5)
Backstage, the Steiners cut a promo to hype their match against Team 3-D. Their match is a 2-out-of-3 Tables match, which is the Dudleys' specialty, but the Steiners are no slouches and seem to have most of the crowd support. This could be considered something of a dream match...except its happening in 2007 and not 1997. Both teams brawl around the ring and into the crowd with the Dudleys doing most of the selling, which is not the norm for them. Eventually the Steiners set up a table in the ring and it looks like Scott might go for the Frankensteiner, but D-Von stops him and they put Rick Steiner through a table with the Dudley Death Drop to go up 1-0. They look to powerbomb Scott Steiner through a table from the corner, but BPP ends up hitting the Frankensteiner (sorta) and Bubba goes through a table instead. The move gets a huge pop despite it being very obvious that Bubba had to do a front flip to make it work. The match continues and D-Von goes for a flying headbutt but eats the mat. Scott goes to inflict more damage but Bubba catches him with a lowblow and then starts whipping him with a belt. The Dudleys gloat for awhile and then grab a table and a few chairs. They put Steiner onto a table that breaks beneath his weight but the ref waves it off for no real reason. They set up another table and lay Steiner on it and look to injure him permanently, but the MCMG show up and cause a distraction. D-Von and Bubba end up hitting their chairs together, which allows Rick Steiner to show up after spending at least 7-8 minutes selling on the outside and hit the bulldog off the top on D-Von through a table. The crowd was way more into this match than I was as I found this plodding and slow with very few spots that looked remotely good. (1/5)
A Gauntlet Match to crown the first ever TNA Knockouts Champion is next. Awesome Kong had debuted just a few weeks (?) before this show and was the favorite. The first two competitors are Ms. Brooks (aka Traci Brooks) and "The Pride of Tennessee" Jackie Moore with additional wrestlers joining every 60 seconds. Shelly Martinez comes in at #3 and then, at #4 we get Awesome Kong. Before Kong can even get a move done, ODB comes in at #5. Kong eliminates Brooks and Martinez with ease before crushing Jackie in the corner and eliminating her as well. Kong and ODB have a stand-off as Toronto's own Angel Williams (Angelina Love) comes down the aisle. Christy Hemme comes in next and I must admit that I didn't know she actually competed as a wrestler in TNA. Kong remains the dominant figure in the match as Gail Kim comes in. Hemme eats a powerbomb and then gets checked out by the medical professions. As Talia Madison (Velvet Sky) comes down the aisle, the other three women manage to eliminate Kong. Next in is the final competitor - Roxxi Laveaux, the Voodoo Queen. With Angel getting eliminated, we're down to four. Kim eliminates Madison as Roxxi dumps ODB and we're down to our final two. Gail Kim is able to apply her crucifix submission but Roxxi gets to the ropes. Kim attempts a dropkick from the top but Roxxi moves and the Queen gains control and attempts a backbreaker but Kim rolls her over for 2. Roxxi hits a powerbomb and then a bridge but only gets 2 herself. The Queen starts some dancing, but Gail Kim catches her in an over-the-shoulder belly-to-back piledriver (Celtic Cross/White Noise) to get the win. TNA had a reputation for having the better women's division around this time, but you wouldn't really know it based on this battle royal. I'm going to award some points for the final few minutes and Awesome Kong's performance, but this wasn't very good. (1.5/5)
Backstage, Kevin Nash sits down with Kurt Angle and tells him he wants to "smooth things over" with Sting for him so that their match is less personal. They argue and Nash says he's not going to have his back tonight and Angle mocks him and tells him he doesn't need his help anyway.
A video package hypes our next match - Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe with Matt Morgan as the Special Guest Ring Enforcer. The crowd is electric for this, which isn't surprising as both guys were very over at the time. Joe applies a nice headlock to start things off and then shoulder blocks Christian down as the crowd breaks into a "Let's Go Joe/Let's Go Christian" chant. They trade slaps in the corner and Joe hits his running knee before running his boot across Christian's face. Christian sneaks out from the under the bottom rope and gets in some offense before running into an elbow and then getting hit with a leg lariat. After eating some rights and lefts, Christian is able to apply a head scissors. Joe gets to his feet but Christian brings him back down with a reverse DDT. Christian goes for the frog splash, but Joe rolls away. They trade stiff palms to the face and then we get a great spot where Christian attempts to come in from the outside but eats a big enziguiri instead. Joe hits his rlling splash to the outside, which leads to a "This Is Awesome" chant. After coolly dodging a Christian splash, Joe hits an absolutely insane clothesline that looks like it could've taken Christian's head off. He goes for the Muscle Buster but can't set him up and eventually has to settle for a Buckle Bomb and then the big boot and the back splash for another nearfall. Unfortunately, things get a little sloppy during the next stretch as Joe sets himself up for a powerbomb in the corner and then we get an awkward pinfall attempt from Christian into a rear-naked choke. Both men go to the top rope but after headbutting eachother, Christian ends up on the floor and Joe falls to the mat. Tyson Tomko shows up and brawls with Matt Morgan. AJ Styles comes out too, but Morgan clears them both out, proving to be an effective enforcer. Of course, the distraction allows Christian to hit a low blow and then the Unprettier. Joe somehow kicks out at 2 and manages to not only hit the Muscle Buster but also forces Christian to tap with the rear-naked choke. This was really good and Christian did a fantastic job of putting Samoa Joe over as a top guy. Great match. (4/5)
And now we get tonight's most hardcore match - Rhyno vs. Raven vs. Abyss vs. Black Reign (Dustin Rhodes) in a Monsters Ball match. Before the bell can even ring, the brawling commences. It doesn't take long before various weapons come into play - trash can lids, a shopping cart, a kendo stick. A match like this is all about the crazy spots and there are some highlights worth noting in this one: Rhyno goring himself off the stage, Raven hitting an elbow from the balcony on Abyss through a table, Raven getting Black Hole Slammed into a pile of tacks and shards of glass. This doesn't overstay its welcome, it ends with the most violent spot of the match, and I like the variety it added to the show, but this isn't something I'd consider "must see" or particularly memorable. (3/5)
Main event time - Sting challenging Kurt Angle for the TNA World Championship. The fact that this match is happening in Atlanta is heavily hyped on commentary as Atlanta represents Sting's adopted hometown and Angle won his Gold Medal at the 96' Olympic Games there. After a lengthy intro, Sting controls early and manages to land some big right hands, a dropkick, and a clothesline that sends Angle to the floor. Angle rallies, though, turning the match into a grind in order to wear down the challenger. We get a double clothesline spot that puts both men down and then they trade strikes before Sting hits a series of clotheslines and then a big spinebuster for two. Sting hits two Stinger Splashes and then a bulldog but doesn't go for the cover. Instead, he heads to the top only to get suplexed down by Angle for another nearfall. Angle attempts his Angle Slam but Sting counters it into a nearfall. Angle connects with a trio of German Suplexes that look absolutely devastating. Angle takes down the straps and applies the Ankle Lock, but Sting rolls over and somehow turns it into a Scorpion Death Lock. Karen Angle runs down the aisle, though, causing Sting to release the move. Kevin Nash then sneaks into the ring and clotheslines Sting. Angle hits the Olympic Slam but there's no referee! By the time the ref makes it back to the ring, Angle only gets a 2 count. Angle hoists Sting up to the top rope and goes for a Belly-to-Belly but Angle shoves him off. Sting goes for a Splash, but Angle gets his knees up. Angle goes for the cover and only gets 2.5. Angle hits a body slam and then looks to go to the top himself for a 450. Angle is too tired to really hit the move, though, nearly crushing Sting with his knees. After another nearfall, Angle applies the Ankle Lock - but Sting rolls out and sends Angle into the buckle where he hits Nash! The referee ends up knocked out as Sting hits the Death Drop! A new ref shows up and it looks like its over, but Nash pulls him out of the ring before he can count to 3. Nash goes after Sting and beats him down in the corner. Angle gets up and its 2-on-1, but Sting fights them both off! Sting sends Nash out, but Angle hits him with a lowblow. Angle grabs the bat and goes to strike Sting, but Sting blocks him and takes hold of the weapon. After taking Nash out, Sting hits another Scorpion Death Drop and we've got a new champion! The final minutes of this match were the epitome of overbooked nonsense...but I'm not going to lie and say that all the slop they threw into the mix didn't work. This did feel like a big victory for Sting and that he had overcome a ridiculous amount of interference to win the title. A fun match that had too much "gaga" to be truly great. (3.5/5)
An uneven show, but not without its merits, Bound for Glory 2007 features some excellent performances out of Christian, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, Sting, AJ Styles, and LAX. Unfortunately, the "Fight for the Right" reverse battle royal is unremarkable and the Gauntlet Match to crown the first Knockouts Champion belies how good the division would become in the years after this due to the work of Awesome Kong, Gail Kim, Mickie James, and others. The Steiners/Team 3D is a disappointment, a "dream match" happening at least 5 years (but probably closer to a decade) after it could've been good. With a Kwang Score of 2.61-out-of-5, but at least one excellent match and a few considerably above-average, this one earns a...
FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand
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