The X-Division Championship is on the line in the opening contest, Trevor Lee (now Cameron Grimes in NXT) challenging DJZ (also now in NXT under the name Joaquin Wilde). They start things off with some mat 'rasslin' before Lee takes a breather. He comes back in the ring and gets the upperhand briefly before DJZ delivers a series of hiptosses that put him back in the driver's seat. The first big turn of the match happens when DJZ attempts a springboard back into the ring but gets cut off by Lee, who follows it up with an awesome punt kick from the apron. Lee goes to the top rope but its unclear what he's actually going for, getting caught by DJZ and hit with a slapjack. Back to the top rope they both go, this time DJZ bringing Lee down with a hurricanrana. Lee really should've been in control for longer to build up DJZ's streak of high-impact offense. Lee retreats to the outside but DJZ catches him with a somersault splash only for Lee to shrug it off and hit him with a plancha of his own only for DJZ to shrug it off and hit another huge springboard, front flip splash. Welp. There goes any realism that this match had going for it. I was digging this match quite a bit before that stretch. Back in the ring, both men collide with matching crossbodies. Lee attempts a German Suplex but DJZ hops onto Lee's shoulders and hits him with a reverse hurricanrana. DJZ goes for yet another springboard but Lee catches him - but instead of hitting him with a suplex, Lee does a meaningless backflip to make it look cooler. Again, the superfluousness of some of these moves and stretches detract from the excellent spots that occur (including an awesome double stomp from Lee, great character work from the challenger, and DJZ's stunning execution [he might deliver the best and only believable Canadian Destroyer I've ever seen]). (3/5)
Backstage, Bobby Lashley and EC3 arrive. Cut to Drew Galloway (Drew McIntyre) getting interviewed about being shelved due to injury.
Next up - a 10-Man Gauntlet Match fought under Royal Rumble-ish rules with the winner receiving a future World Title shot. Out first are Jessie Godderz and Rockstar Spud (aka Drake Maverick of NXT). Godderz tries to eliminate Spud early with a press slam, but Spud escapes and hits him with a low blow. Next in, Braxton Sutter, who I know as "The Blade" from AEW. Sutter and Godderz try to eliminate Spud, but he hangs onto the top rope. Good comedy spot when Spud tries to double-clothesline Godderz and Sutter but barely fazes them. They beat him down in the corner, softening him up as the clock winds down and out comes...Eli Drake. Drake comes in and immediately looks to be in trouble but ends up back-body-dropping Sutter onto the apron and into the post, making the first elimination. It really is remarkable that everybody featured on this show so far (except Godderz) is now either in WWE or AEW. Robbie E comes out next, another eventual NXT signing. The #6 entrant is Baron Dax of the tag team The Tribunal. Dax is actually a former NXT wrestler, unsurprising considering he has some decent size to him. And then, at #7, the fan favorite Grado! Grado had some indie buzz around this time as a comedy act and, as anyone might've predicted, he gets eliminated in under 3 seconds, dancing his way back to the ring. There's a noticeable "Bullshit" chant following his elimination as the fans really did take to him. The other member of the tribunal, Basile Baraka, comes in next and the tag team gets to work taking out everyone they can but struggle to make any eliminations. Tyrus comes in at #9 and the camera misses a whole bunch of eliminations, namely Baraka, Robbie E, and Dax. Tyrus tosses Spud with ease as the clock winds down for the final entrant - Mahabali Shera (who also had a cup of coffee in NXT). Shera and Tyrus square off, the two biggest men in the match. Shera gets eliminated quickly, though, and we're down to Tyrus, Godderz, and Drake. Quality spot when Godderz superkicks Drake off the apron but Eli ends up hanging by his feet. Tyrus catches Godderz when he attempts a crossbody and flattens him with a bodyslam in the center of the ring. Tyrus lazily tosses Godderz but Godderz hangs on. Godderz comes off the top rope with a flying forearm and then a dropkick. He looks to hoist Tyrus over as Drake sneaks back into the ring and dumps both men. Not the most clever finish and, based on crowd responses, I'm not sure the right guy won, but then again, it wasn't exactly a field of greats involved in this. (2/5)
After a backstage segment featuring Gail Kim's real-life husband Ted Irvine, we get Mike Bennett vs. Moose. The storyline coming into this match was that Bennett had brought Moose in as his back-up, but was holding him back. Y'know, the same thing we've seen a dozen times. Anyway, this match was clearly about establishing Moose as a rising star and it does so effectively. Bennett isn't the most exciting worker in the world, but he knows how to get from Point A to Point B in a way that makes sense and builds towards a credible finish. Moose has improved in the 5 years since this match, but clearly, even here, there's an undeniable "It factor" to him and his offense, if a bit sloppy, still pops the crowd. Not an all-time classic or anything, but serviceable. (2.5/5)
Backstage, Aron Rex - aka Damien Sandow - cuts a very boring, very bland, very vanilla promo, not exactly what one would expect from a guy who was known for being a charismatic up-and-comer in the WWE at one time.
Aron Rex vs. Eddie Edwards for the vacant Grand Championship is next. The Grand Championship was the brainchild of Billy Corgan, then-TNA President, who aimed to develop a championship that would be fought under traditional European wrestling rules (meaning rounds and judges). Decent enough back-and-forth in the first couple minutes before Edwards starts delivering some big offensive maneuvers that send Rex to the outside. Edwards looks to be in control until he attempts a dive to the outside that Rex counters by sending Edwards into the guardrail. Unfortunately, what should've been a huge transition isn't really sold as such and Edwards maintains control until the end of the round, which goes to Edwards. The second round starts and Rex takes over, hits a suplex and then goes for some pins. I can understand why Rex would want to reinvent himself but when you drop your established gimmick, you should have something ready to replace it. Rex applies an Indian Deathlock as the lights go down over the ring. The audience pops and then breaks into a chant I can't quite decipher as the announcers explain that this is a technical difficulty (and not the set-up for a big run-in, which is precisely what everyone must've been thinking). When the lights pop back on, the crowd pops huge, but personally, I like shows with a darkened crowd the way they used to be before the WWE changed all that. Anyway, Rex applies another submission (because he's a submission specialist now?) as the clock winds down and, surprise surprise, Rex wins the round. This match has been like the ice cream at McDonalds: bad vanilla. The third round begins with Rex still in control and the best thing I can say about it is at least we know how much longer it will last. Edwards sells a hurt ankle but still tries to go off the top rope. For a match that should feature a really hot final 2-3 minutes, they spend much of it just selling damage and treating transitional offense like silver bullets eventhough its been years and years since anything they do has been considered legit finishers. Edwards hits the Shining Wizard with 20 seconds to go but can't capitalize because...I'm not sure. This match reminded me of the Ziggler/Rollins Ironman match in that these two just do nothing with the stipulation and, in the final round, seem to almost be working against it by wrestling without any real urgency. What was the story of this match? If it was all about Rex attacking the leg, why was he going for neckbreakers and clotheslines late in the match? If Edwards was fighting underneath, why didn't he at least hit a crazy killshot and then almost get the cover with 2 seconds left? Instead, the match ends with both guys just throwing punches. Who was the heel and who was the face? Calling this match masturbatory would be insulting to masturbation. I mean, masturbation is at least fun. This was aimless and unremarkable. (0/5)
The next segment is the induction of Gail Kim into the TNA/Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. This was a nice segment, played straight, and Kim received plenty of time to deliver her speech. I'm not sure Gail Kim really has a claim to being the absolute best women's wrestler of all-time, but she definitely was in the top 2-3 for much of the 2000s and deserved the honor of being the first female member of the Hall.
Next up, Decay vs. The Hardys for the TNA Tag Team Championships. The Hardys had wowed audiences with the introduction of the Broken Universe in May 2016, first feuding with eachother (leading to the legendary Final Deletion "match" in July) and then teaming up in the fall. The Decay were their first major feud as a tag team and this match was dubbed "The Great War." T start things off, all three members of Decay - Abyss, Rosemary, and Crazzy Steve - spray mist into the eyes of Reby Hardy, basically eliminating her from the match. This is a wild brawl that eventually spills backstage and turns into what I assume was a pre-taped carnage as Abyss and Hardy fight through Universal Studios and Jeff (Brother Nero) and Steve do battle backstage, with Jeff Hardy transforming into a goofy jive-talking weirdo at one point. The crowd pops huge for Hardy putting a pumpkin over Rosemary's head (and then again when she sprays him with mist to the face). Rosemary eventually finds her way to Abyss and gives him a barbwire 2x4. Before he can strike, one of the Hardys friends (?) shows up and distracts him. Backstage, Hardy turns into Willow while Matt summons the power of fire...yeah, I'm just going to stop trying to describe this now. There's fighting on the bed of a truck, there's a drone that sprays mist into Rosemary's face, there's even some old-fashioned hardcore wrestling once all 4 men end up back in the Impact Zone (with Crazzy Steve arguably impressing most of all). The Hardys hit a bunch of signature offense but only get 2 off of the swanton, Abyss just not saying down. Had this just been out-and-out ridiculousness, I could see this being somewhat of a letdown (especially for the fans in attendance), but because the in-ring action is so intense and energetic, this absolutely works. Abyss brings out some barbwire boards and Hardy dumps thumbtacks on them too before hitting Abyss with a sideslam into it! Hardy then places the other board atop him and hits an elbow on top of it! He gets a 1...2...and Rosemary mistimes her entrance as it should've been 3 but the ref didn't drop his hand. Too bad. Rosemary distracts Hardy but Reby shows up and powerbombs her through with a table with authority! The crowd breaks into a "Delete" chat as Jeff puts a chair around Steve's neck and sends him into the post! Damn. That's always a crazy spot. Steve gets sent into the ring and Hardy hits him with his patented neckbreaker WITH A CHAIR around his neck! The Hardys set up two tables and a ladder and Matt tells Jeff to indulge in his addiction as sets Steve up across the tables. Hardy climbs a superladder and hits an insane swanton to get the win. Wow. That was a ton of a fun. (4/5)
The TNA Knockouts Champion Maria Kanellis defends against tonight's Hall of Fame inductee, Gail Kim next. As Maria makes her way down the aisle, she cuts a brief promo, announcing that because her hand is still broken, she cannot compete. Her assistant, Allie (now in AEW as "The Bunny") corrects her, though, and says she is cleared to wrestle! Despite being supposedly unprepared to wrestle, Maria controls early, dominating Kim with kicks and other rudimentary offense. I'm a Maria fan but it just makes such little sense to see her dominate Gail Kim after we just had a segment where Kim was hailed as the best women's wrestler of all time. Mike Bennett shows up and tosses Maria a weapon, which she ends up using to club Kim on the head...for a 2 count. Maria asks Allie to give her the cast back to use again but she overshoots it and Gail Kim catches it instead and then tosses it into the crowd. Kim finally gets some offense in, eventually locking in a figure four across the ring post. Kim flips her the double-bird and then connects with her finish, the Eat Defeat, to regain the Knockouts Championship. This match was missing an opening "shine" segment, which is not always a problem but defied the logic that they established with the pre-match promo. (2/5)
After the match, Bennett cuts a promo about how things didn't go the way they wanted tonight and says he is going to shut the show down. Of course, this doesn't happen because the likes go out - and when they come back on, Cody Rhodes and Brandi are here! Brandi and Maria have a stilted, unnatural exchange, and then Cody sends Bennett out of the ring too. Not a terrible debut for Rhodes that set up a feud for Cody and Brandi on their first night.
Main event time - EC3 challenging Bobby Lashley for the TNA World Championship. EC3, aka Ethan Carter III, had not yet had his disastrous run in the WWE - it would come a few years after this - and was one of TNA's biggest stars, while Lashley was the dominant heel World Champion (sound familiar?). Credit to TNA, this match had "big fight feel." Lashley hits a spear before the bell even rings, before he's even announced, rocking EC3 out of the ring in a great bit of heelishness. EC3 demands the match starts and rushes into the ring, only to be met by more overpowering by Lashley, who dumps him back outside. The crowd is fully behind Carter but it doesn't faze Lashley one bit as he connects with a snap suplex. EC3 escapes a backbreaker, though, hitting Lashley with a splash in the corner and then clotheslining him out of the ring before connecting on a suicide dive and delivering a snap suplex on the outside. Carter chops the champ and then spins him into the steps. Lashley makes his way up the aisle, but when EC3 chases him, he springs back with a huge spinebuster on the ramp. Lashley continues his dominance, lifting up Carter only to toss him back onto the ramp. He sends the challenger back into the ring and hits a Rude Awakening neckbreaker that silences the crowd. Lashley hits a spear in the corner and EC3 is in serious trouble. I like that Lashley's control segment is mostly uninterrupted, that when EC3 does strike back with a dropkick and then a clothesline, he seems like he's playing catch-up rather than performing moves at 100% strength. Lashley attempts a powerslam, but EC3 escapes - only to get hit with a spear for 2! Lashley attempts a torture rack, but EC3 counters it into an MMA-inspired choke - only for Lashley to counter that with a back body drop. That's incredible strength. The quality back-and-forth continues, both guys countering and kicking out of some big offense. Lashley grabs his title and tries to strike the challenger with it, but EC3 dodges it and hits the TK3 but can't make the cover! The crowd didn't really bite on that, which is kind of a shame. Lashley and Carter trade jabs but then Carter hits a big german suplex and then a spear of his own for 2. Lashley rolls to the outside and EC3 follows him, hoisting him up in a fireman's carry and then hitting another TK3, this time on the steel steps! Back in the ring, EC3 hits a frog splash but only gets a 2-count. Carter tries for a splash in the corner, but Lashley dodges and then hits a Spear for 2.99. Again, the crowd's non-reaction is surprising there as it really seemed like that could've been the end. Lashley grabs a steel chair and strikes the challenger in the back repeatedly. Lashley hits his sidewalk slam-into-a-choke, but EC3 won't give up and miraculously ends up on his feet, fighting to escape. Carter escapes the hold and hits a series of clotheslines and then a trio of german suplexes. Carter hits the 1%er, but Lashley kicks out. EC3 grabs the chair and connects on a nasty chairshot to the back before hoisting Lashley onto the top rope. Carter positions himself to hit a 1%er off the top rope, but Lashley shoves him off and then hits him with a devastating spear off the middle rope to get the W. I liked that finish quite a bit. A really good match and performance out of Lashley in particular. A hotter crowd would've nudged this one even further into great, "should watch" territory, but I didn't think it quite got there. (3.5/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.4-out-of-5, Bound for Glory 2016 is not the show I would pick - if there is one - to show to a fan to convince them that TNA was putting on underrated, undeniably awesome pay-per-views that were overlooked during the rise of NJPW or NXT or even compared to the ever-uneven WWE product. There's some great action and wrestlers here - Trevor Lee, Bobby Lashley, and Moose all shine - and the Decay/Broken Hardys match is ridiculous and violent in equal measures, but there's also one of the worst matches I've ever seen in Rex/Edwards and the Knockouts Championship match is below average too. With only one match that I'd consider "must see" and even that one being something I could see some fans absolutely loathing, I'm going with...
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
No comments:
Post a Comment