AEW All Out 2024

AEW All Out 2024

Chicago, IL - September 2024

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Daniel Bryan was the AEW World Champion coming into the show, Will Ospreay held the International Championship, the TNT Champion was Jack Perry, Okada held the Continental Championship, the TBS Champion was Mercedes Mone, the AEW Women's Champion was Mariah May, the Young Bucks were the AEW Tag Team Champions, the Trios Champions were the Blackpool Combat Club, and HOOK was the FTW Champion.

Less than a month after All In at Wembley Stadium, AEW was back with yet another PPV: All Out from Chicago. The show kicked off with MJF taking on Daniel Garcia, their rivalry building over the past few months as MJF attempted to cripple Garcia with a piledriver from the top rope. On Dynamite a few days before this event, MJF also bloodened Garcia with a wine bottle, which is why Garcia came into this match with a bandaged forehead. Very hot opening stretch as Garcia attacked MJF before the bell. I liked the psychology there. This match went over 20 minutes and Garcia was busted open early on. I didn't like the lame count-out false finish as Garcia was seemingly incapacitated and completely knocked out for the first 9 seconds before springing up and rolling into the ring right at 9.9. I don't understand why wrestlers don't start getting up at 5, stagger around, and then barely make it by 10 the way the pros did it in the 90s. Aside from that minor criticism, the rest of this was very good and I thought the final few minutes were especially strong as Garcia targeted the neck of MJF and hit him with a big jumping piledriver. I'm not a fan of Panama Sunrises, though I do think MJF's looks better than Adam Cole's. I also wasn't as high on the amount of submissions that Garcia employed only because it felt like he came into this match looking to blooden and cripple MJF, not outwrestle him. Again, minor criticisms of a match that delivered. (3/5)

Next up - The Young Bucks defending the AEW World Tag Team Championships against Claudio Castignoli and Wheeler Yuta. I'm one of the many who is not a fan of the Young Bucks' shtick, but I'll be damned if they're not one of the most consistently great tag teams in modern wrestling history. You go into their matches second-guessing their ability to make magic and then they go out and give you a match that works because it is fundamentally sound but also features a ton of really fun, exciting, clever sequences and counters and stretches of action. And, even if I find their act cloying, they bump and sell undeniably well. Plus, in this match, you've got one of the best individual tag team wrestlers of the past 20 years in Castagnoli, who has done tremendous work as a partner to at least three very different wrestlers in Chris Hero, Sheamus, and Tyson Kidd. Most people knew that the Bucks would likely retain, but I'll give them credit - there were some really cool near falls and false finishes and I thought the babyfaces might pull an "upset" at some point just because of how good Castagnoli looked. This is a match that I wouldn't necessarily call "must see," but was very darn close. (3.5/5)

The International Championship was on the line as Will Ospreay defended against PAC. This match was never going to be anything but a balls-to-the-wall, spot-heavy bomb-throwing contest, but like PAC's match against Kenny Omega at the inaugural All Out show, if you're looking for cutting edge wrestling, this is where you'll find it done at the highest level. Flawless execution throughout and brilliant mirror work, this was an incredible battle. Some of the sequences on display defied physics, but what really stuck out to me was that they actually sold a lot of it and didn't necessarily rush through anything or shrug off much. Instead, it was counter-after-counter-after-counter and athleticism that was jaw-dropping at times. This is not always a style of wrestling that I love, but PAC adds intensity and structure to these sorts of matches by ramping up the violence and knowing that you have to save the biggest sequences to the end in order to make it all work instead of just bombarding the audience with craziness from beginning to end. A clear Match of the Year candidate for me and absolutely "must see" even if only to see where the bar is being raised to in pro-wrestling when it comes to sheer in-ring performance. (4/5)

I wasn't sure what to expect from Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander. Their feud has been going on for months and months and they've had plenty of TV build, but that's not necessarily the same thing as being "spotlighted" as their rivalry has absolutely been booked as the third most important in the women's division between Storm and May and whatever Mercedes Mone is doing any given week. I was also unsure how Nightingale and Statlander would perform under Chicago Street Fight rules as a quality hardcore match in 2024 is not as easy to pull off as some might think. When you get ladders and tables and chairs and blood and thumbtacks in multiple matches a month in AEW, making your match and your high spots stand out take something extra. Fortunately, that "extra" here was sheer commitment. From the very start of the match, Nightingale and Statlander were clearly out to make sure their match was as hard-hitting and intense as possible. They through themselves into every bump and piece of furniture that they came into contact with and it was marvelous to see. My biggest and maybe only gripe would be the finish, not because it wasn't credible or violent enough (it was), but because after so many good nearfalls and the use of lightbulbs and thumbtacks, I think there may have been a more creative, memorable way to end things than a finish like this one (which, if I'm not mistaken, was used semi-recently on another big show). (3.5/5)

The Continental Champion, Okada, defended his title in a 4-way against Orange Cassidy, Marc Briscoe, and Takeshita in the next match. They had to follow two very tough matches, so I'll hand it to these four for making the best of a difficult of a tough situation and wrestling "their" match. This was fun and I liked the way they teased several intriguing future matches on the horizon (Takeshita vs Okada most of all). I've not been incredibly impressed with Okada, but will readily admit that I'm fully aware I've never seen his best stuff. That being said, he's not been awful in any of his outings, just underwhelming. Meanwhile, Takeshita is one of my current favorites and I wish they would've presented him as more of a killer in this match. Takeshita could be AEW's GUNTHER in my view, but in order to do that, the company needs to give him that same "rub" with a lengthy and consistent push where he's routinely beating guys like Briscoe and Cassidy on major TV or PPV shows. Anyway, this was no less than good. (3/5)

I was higher on the Mercedes Mone/Britt Baker match from All In than seemingly everyone on the planet and now I'm going to double-down and say that I thought the Mone/Baker match was more interesting (not better) than the Mone/Shida match we got on this show. Now, that's not to say that this was an outright bad match, but it lacked heat, the outcome was never in question, and I'm not sure I recognized any clear story being presented. Then, the final minutes were just sloppy. Mercedes is in a run spot in AEW. At one point, Mone was considered one of the best in-ring female workers of the past decade and her charisma was undeniable. But in AEW, she's been exposed as being a capable worker that clearly benefits from working with top level agents/producers. There's also been undeniable issues with chemistry with her and seemingly everyone except Willow (to the point that some are wondering if ego isn't part of the problem). I haven't seen anyone accuse Mone of not bringing her best effort, but this was another disappointing match and the show's obvious low point. (2/5)

Bryan Danielson defended the AEW World Championship against Jack Perry next. This was easily the best Luke Perry singles match I've ever seen, but this was "The Bryan Danielson Show" in many ways and it was his performance that carried things. I loved his facial expressions throughout, but especially when the match got "serious." I appreciated that we (finally) didn't have to get a sequence involving paramedics coming out to check on him mid-match. I thought the interference from the Bucks, especially the use of the TK Driver, and then the arrival of Killswitch, Christian, and the rest of the BCC was all well-executed and - I hate to admit it - did make me wonder if they might actually have Danielson get screwed out of the title (and his career) here. Some of Perry's bumping was out of this world, though its a double-edged sword because the ass-kicking he sold at certain times felt ignored or forgotten minutes later when he was back on offense. This was about as one-sided as a Danielson match will ever be, which is to say that he may have given Perry a bit too much here at times and I'm not sure Perry's offense or moveset was good enough to deserve it. The post-match segment started out great, but with the way Mox has been not-so-subtly turning heel after the past two weeks, I wouldn't say I was shocked by him and Claudio (and PAC) beating down Danielson. I'm curious where this angle leads aside from just Mox/Danielson, especially as it pertains to Darby Allin (who Mox has been challenging to meet him for "a conversation" on Dynamite and is also the number one contender to Danielson's World Title). If Danielson's remaining matches are him against Allin, Claudio, PAC, Mox, and Nigel McGuinness, I don't see anyone can really complain. (3.5/5)

Main event time - Swerve Strickland vs. "Hangman" Adam Page in an unsanctioned cage match. The "unsanctioned" gimmick is always a little silly to me, but I appreciate TK's commitment to the gimmick, which basically means that once the lights turn off (and then are immediately turned back on), AEW is no longer responsible for the health or safety of its worker (or fans?) despite there being a referee present and commentators announcing and, as we'd see during the post-match, medical staff on-hand that should theoretically be back at the hotel by then. Anyway...I must admit to not yet having seen Page and Strickland's infamous death match, though I've seen enough clips to know that topping that match would be nearly impossible. Its not dissimilar to the fact that, even if there were more intricate and better-executed spots in the second Shawn/Razor Ladder Match, the first one will always be considered the "classic" of the two. Here, Strickland and Page absolutely delivered the goods in terms of crazy, hardcore "death match" wrestling and they utilized the cage expertly. One of the best spots of the match was a brutal Drive-By kick to the back of Page's skull that sent him face-first into the cage. The use of the cinder block was absolutely brutal. While it was something of a "repeat," the use of the staple gun was the right amount of sickening. My biggest complaint would be the unnecessary addition of a syringe into the mix. In a match filled with so many dangerous and ultraviolent spots, the use of a needle in a pro-wrestling match was the only one that actually left me feeling sick to my stomach. All in all, though, I'm not sure how one can watch this match and not at least respect the lengths to which these two guys went to deliver on the promise of a blood feud's finale. (4/5)

Earning a very strong 3.31-out-of-5 Kwang Score, All Out 2024 might've been my favorite overall AEW pay-per-view. The main event was cringe-inducing at time but unforgettable. Danielson once again showed why he is a GOAT-level worker with his performance on this show. Ospreay/PAC was incredible. Willow/Statlander was excellent. The only match that wasn't above average was Mone/Shida, though I think it suffered mostly from having no real heat and not utilizing Kamille or building towards anything. A great, great show.

FINAL RATING - Watch It

WWE In Your House: Fully Loaded 98'

WWE In Your House 23: Fully Loaded

Fresno, CA - July 1998

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE World Champion was Steve Austin, the WWE Tag Team Champions were Mankind and Kane, the Intercontinental Champion was The Rock, the European Champion was D'Lo Brown, and the Light Heavyweight Champion was Taka Michinoku, though its important to note that by this point, the title was pretty much totally forgotten and rarely featured on TV.

The first Fully Loaded PPV kicks off with Jeff Jarrett taking on relative newcomer Val Venis. Before the match begins, Kaientai show up and Yamaguchi-san joins the commentator desk. The Kaientai/Venis feud eventually led to Venis nearly getting castrated and saved by John Bobbitt in one of the more memorable and tasteless angles of the Attitude Era. It's a shame that the commentary of this match is so focused on the comedy when Jeff Jarrett ends up putting on a really great performance. Venis wasn't too shabby a worker either, especially back then when he was eager and hungry to show off what he could do. This is a much better match than it might come across on paper and the crowd is into the whole contest. Above-average. (3/5)

The next contest isn't quite as good: D'Lo Brown defending the European Championship against X-Pac. D'Lo's head-bobbing and trash talking is really over the top and fun and he and Waltman are both very capable in-ring performers, but this still didn't quite click for me. It wasn't a bad match, but felt a bit by-the-numbers and underwhelming. (2.5/5)

Backstage, it is announced that The Undertaker has not arrived to the arena yet. We'll see where that goes...

Then we're backstage to hear from Terry Funk, who announces that tonight's tag match with Bradshaw against Farooq and 2 Cold Scorpio will be his last WWE match for awhile. Funk's announcement catches Bradshaw off guard and we've got tension among teammates before the bell even rings. I don't have great memories of Funk's last run in WCW a few years after this, but he was still entertaining here and I really liked his brawling with Scorpio. Things fall apart in the final minutes, though, as Funk is unable to hit his Asai Moonsault and opts instead to just collapse onto Scorpio on the floor. From there, the finishing stretch is a little sloppy, but at least we do get to see Scorpio hit his signature spots. After the match, Bradshaw beats down on Funk, knocks out Scorpio with a lariat on the floor, and hits Farooq with a chair. I don't remember where this angle led at all. (2.5/5)

Vader vs. Mark Henry follows and is not good. I'm a fairly big Vader fan, but he was clearly unmotivated here and, based on a story I heard Mark Henry tell semi-recently, not super interested in putting Henry over. This match doesn't overstay its welcome, but its awkward at times and its clear that Henry is still quite green. I'm curious how this match would've played out if both guys were at their peak, Vader was allowed to be the brutal brawler that he was in Japan, and the finish was something Vader was motivated to make work. (1.5/5)

We get an in-ring segment involving the WWE Tag Team Champions, Kane and Mankind (with Paul Bearer), and the former champions, The New Age Outlaws. Nothing special.

A tag match follows as Paul Ellering's new clients, Skull and 8-Ball, take on his former team, The Legion of Doom. This is the storyline that, if I'm not mistaken, led to the dreadful "Hawk Is a Drug Addict" storyline involving Droz and Hawk attempting suicide by jumping off the Titantron. This match was considerably better than I expected it to be with some surprisingly good brawling and Hawk bumping and selling for the Disciples of Apocalypse, a team that I also tend to think of as being mostly terrible. Now, that's not to say that this was some hidden gem or anything, but there was more energy to it than one would expect. I'm not sure why this went for close to 10 minutes, though. (2/5)

Vince McMahon and the Stooges make their way down the aisle to announce that, should the Undertaker not appear, Steve Austin's partner will be noneother than...the Brooklyn Brawler! 

We head to Calgary for the next "match" - Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart in Stu Hart's Dungeon with Dan Severn as the special guest referee. This was a unique locale for a match, but I kinda dug it as it reminded me of the wrestling matches my brothers and I would have in my parents' basement growing up, including slamming each other against walls and occasionally putting someone's head through the thin drop ceiling tiles. I also like how, even in this locale, Owen finds a way to try to cheat by grabbing a dumbbell. This is a really unique match in that it mixes elements that one might think wouldn't work but absolutely do here: a weird proto-"cinematic" presentation, Shamrock utilizing MMA holds, lots of really stiff strikes, a ref bump leading to a classic heel cheap finish. On one hand, the 5-minute runtime makes it more like an "angle" than a match, but this probably couldn't have gone on too much longer and still worked as well as it does. "Must see" only because its so unique. (4/5)

The Intercontinental Championship is up for grabs as The Rock defends the title against Triple H in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match. They telegraph the finish a bit by making a big deal out of the 30-minute time limit, both with the announcer making sure to emphasize it and on commentary. Still, this was a very solid outing for the most part. Triple H and The Rock had fantastic chemistry and this was back when both guys were really bumping and selling huge, maximizing their minutes, and obviously working hard to get the big pushes that would come for both over the next 8-12 months. When things slow down and they go into the resthold portions of the match, there is a noticeable lull that prevents this from being a real "classic," but they do spice things up nicely with lots of interference from both the Nation and DX and there are some really good false finishes thrown in too. The Rock was definitely more protected here than Triple H as he got to kickout of X-Pac's finish and didn't have to actually lose to the Pedigree (the fall Triple H wins comes after a Chyna low blow), plus he got to beat Triple H with the Rock Bottom for the first fall. I read one review that said the finish was botched, but I didn't catch that. This was mostly great with very good performances from both stars and the crowd was into it. Maybe not a true "hidden gem" or a "must see" match, but certainly above average. (3.5/5)

The Bikini Contest between Sable and Jacqueline followed. This is the one where Sable is topless with "hands" painted over her breasts, which was very risque for the time and would still be today. One of Jacqueline's boobs also pops out of her bikini top, but it is blurred on Peacock. The best part of this segment is actually Dustin Rhodes' prayer for the contest, a part of his gimmick that I totally forgot he was doing before returning as Goldust some time later.

Main event time - Steve Austin and The Undertaker challenging Mankind and Kane for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Austin looked jacked in this match. The story of the match is all about whether Austin and Taker can trust eachother as Taker will challenging for Stone Cold's World Championship at the next month's SummerSlam show. Seeing Undertaker perform a russian leg sweep on Kane is sorta weird, but I guess he did it to still tease whether or not they were in cahoots? Like, if they were really enemies, he would be using his usual moves on him and not "wrestling holds"? Foley wills this match into being something substantial and main event-level by taking an awesome bump into the announce table and then taking a back body drop on the floor. The crowd is into everything they do because everyone was over, but this still felt very much like a "TV" match than a PPV headliner. (2.5/5)

With a decent Kwang Score of 2.69-out-of-5, Fully Loaded 98' is not a show worth revisiting as a whole, but does show that even before the arrival of Angle, Jericho, and The Radicals, the WWE's midcard was in a much better place than it was a year prior as The Rock, Triple H, X-Pac, Jarrett, and Owen were all dependable performers (if not always involved in interesting storylines) and D'Lo Brown and Val Venis showed potential. Even the Legion of Doom match isn't as bad as it looks on paper. Unfortunately, the lowpoints on this show are really low as the Vader/Henry match is pretty poor and the Bikini Contest is trashy. What really hurts the show overall, though, is that nothing feels important on it. This show is very much a prelude  to SummerSlam 98', making it inessential viewing. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Manuever

WWE Bash in Berlin

WWE Bash In Berlin

August 2024 - Berlin, Germany

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion was GUNTHER, the WWE Universal Champion was Cody Rhodes, the Women's Tag Team Champions were Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (aka the Unholy Union), the WWE Tag Team Champions were The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa in a Freebirds-like formation), the WWE Women's World Champion was Liv Morgan, the WWE Women's Champion was Nia Jax, the United States Champion was LA Knight, and the Intercontinental Champion was Bron Breakker.

As expected, the crowd in Berlin was red hot pretty much all night and both Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes got huge ovations for their entrances and throughout the contest. This was a babyface/babyface contest built around Cody possibly suffering from a damaged knee and the question of whether or not Kevin Owens would display the "killer instinct" needed to become World Champion again after close to a decade without a singles title. Cody and KO got lots of time, putting together a match that ran close to 30 minutes and featured a bunch of awesome spots and sequences, including several failed attempts at Cody Cutters and Stunners. The final stretch was especially terrific as both Rhodes and Owens showed how to push the emotional storytelling button in a match without going too far into histrionics. By the end, you really got that Owens was conflicted about what he must do to beat Rhodes while Cody sold the heck out of the pain he was suffering before landing a final Cross Rhodes to get the clean W. I'm on the fence about whether this falls in the "very good" or "great" camp because it didn't quite "wow" me at any specific moment, but nearly everything they did in this match was executed perfectly and my only real criticism is that I'm not sure I would've had either guy kick out of the other's finishers. I think this fell just short of "must see" because once KO opted not to attack Cody's knee or hit the powerbomb-into-the-apron, it became even more clear who would be winning. (3.5/5)

The Women's Tag Team Championships were on the line next as Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre took on the former champs, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. This was about exactly what one might've predicted as the heels worked over Belair for at least 85% of the match before Jade got the hot tag and dominated (before tagging out again). Is it me or has Bianca plateaued? Her athleticism and charisma is there, but she telegraphs more than Western Union in the mid-1800s. Towards the end, the match almost fell apart and it was clear that they were re-working sequences to get to the next set-up and then taking some beats before they performed various moves. Still, the majority of this match was quite good and I especially liked the Dawn and Fyre teamwork after not being particularly impressed by them at the last PLE. Not a great match or anything, maybe a touch too long, but passable. (2/5)

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre in a Strap match followed. This one had a hot opening, but struggled to maintain that level of excitement and creativity as it went on. I'm not as down on strap matches as others, but I'm no fan of the "green light/red light" component, an unnecessary add-on that can be distracting (and was here). While I understood the symbolism behind the match's stipulation - they've been feuding over a bracelet so now they're going to be attached to each other with a strap connected by two bracelets - I still think these two could've done more with a "looser" stipulation like a Non-Sanctioned match or a Last Man Standing, one in which we still could've seen them trade wicked whippings with a strap, but we also could've seen a resolution that was more definitive and traditional. It's not like the finish itself, which saw Punk defeat McIntyre rather definitively after a trio of GTSs, really "protected" McIntyre. In the end, Punk's victory was as complete as a pinfall one would've been, only with the added moment of seeing him retake his coveted friendship bracelet (again, the same thing could've been done at the conclusion of an LMS match just as easily). And while this review may read like a bunch of complaints, Punk and McIntyre's efforts and the hot crowd made this a fun and captivating match despite the inherent drawbacks of the stipulation. (3.5/5)

Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley and Damien Priest followed and if the crowd could be considered "hot" for the previous match, they were molten for this one. Rhea Ripley was incredibly over and Dom and Liv got tremendous heat. This wasn't a match filled with crazy spots or sequences, but it was pitch-perfect, the kind of match that hit every note properly and not only delivered what it needed to, but even went above that with its thrilling final minutes. The babyfaces controlled early and dominated - which is still the right story to tell when it comes to these characters no matter how predictable. I liked that, even when the heels were able to gain the upperhand briefly, the faces were never really in peril as Priest is a former World Champion and Ripley is one of the most decorated and dominant women in modern WWE history. Still, the heels use their craftiness and, eventually, their partners in the Judgment Day to earn some believable nearfalls, putting the finish into question more here than in any other match on the show. This was "textbook," but it was "textbook" done exactly right and was the most enjoyable match on the card up till this point. (4/5)

Main event time - Randy Orton challenging the hometown hero, GUNTHER, for GUNTHER's World Heavyweight Championship. As expected, GUNTHER was the babyface, though Orton had his fair share of fans as well. These two had a solid match at King of the Ring not too long ago, but the stakes were obviously even higher for this one. Lots of actual wrestling to start things off, not necessarily something you always get from the Viper, who is looking bigger than I can recall him ever looking before. When Orton is motivated, he often lives up to all the accolades that often fell flat when describing him 10-15 years ago and, in this match, we got the motivated Orton who is clearly enjoying what he does. That being said, you don't watch an Orton match expecting him not to mostly "play the hits" and, aside from the mat wrestling to start the match, Orton didn't veer too far from his tried-and-true offense. GUNTHER also relied mostly on his patented strikes and signature slams, but the beauty of this match was the pacing and the escalation of violence as things built up nicely. This match had all the hallmarks of a big title fight - big spots separated by plenty of selling, back-and-forth strikes packing lots of oomph, even the challenger going into his book of somewhat dirty tricks to try to win the gold. Some may criticize the lack of speed, but this didn't feel any slower than we usually get from them, especially not Orton, whose methodical pace has been a part of his shtick for decades now. I really liked GUNTHER failing to hit the powerbomb and Orton countering the attempt into an RKO for 2, a nearfall that I didn't necessarily bite on, but still electrified the audience. The final minutes saw Orton moving furniture for so long that it allowed GUNTHER to recover and follow him to the floor. Orton hit him with the back suplex onto the steps but couldn't capitalize, showing his age more in those moments than at any other point of the match. Orton's uncharacteristic lack of focus would be a major criticism of mine as I'm not sure why, with GUNTHER clearly looking beaten and dazed, Orton opted to spend so much energy and time setting up steps and stripping tables of their "hoods." When he finally hit the back suplex from atop two sets of stairs and through the table, it was an incredible spot, but again, it was undercut a bit by Orton's lack of urgency. Orton's eventual RKO got shoved off and GUNTHER applied a sleeper and we got a nice sequence out of it as Orton struggled to break free and repeatedly found himself locked in the hold. Expert work there by GUNTHER as such a simple hold was milked for all it was worth as a legitimately tough final hold. (3.5/5)

Just looking at the numbers, Bash in Berlin was one of the best WWE shows in awhile, earning a strong 3.3-out-of-5 Kwang Score. The weakest match of the show was the Women's Tag Championship bout, but even that was at least average. Every other match deliver or over-delivered in the case of the mixed tag match, which will likely make my shortlist for Match of the Year just because of how fluid it was, how good the false finishes were, how much the crowd reacted to every moment, and how excellent each performer executed their role - whether it was Rhea Ripley continuing to be a badass, Dominik Mysterio working as the cowardly heel, or Liv Morgan getting her own sneakily good offense in. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It

AEW All In 2024

AEW All In: London 2024

August 2024 - London, England

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the AEW World Champion was Swerve Strickland, the AEW International (dubbed the "American") Champion was MJF, the AEW TNT Champion was Jack Perry, the AEW Tag Team Champions were the Young Bucks, the AEW Trios Champions were The Patriarchy (Christian Cage, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne), AEW Continental Champion was Okada, the AEW TBS Champion was Mercedes Mone, and the AEW Women's World Champion was Toni Storm. Oh, and the FTW Champion was Chris Jericho. Did you know that some people think AEW has too many titles?

The show kicked off with the AEW Trios Championship on the line as Christian, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne of the Patriarchy defended the titles against the House of Black (Murphy, Brody King, and Malakai Black), the Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson and the Gunns), and the makeshift team of PAC, Yuta Wheeler, and Claudio Castagnoli. As expected, this was all about dives and, eventually, table spots, but they didn't go overboard with anything too deth-defying. In fact, this was a touch underwhelming with multiple guys not really getting any noticeable "shine" in the match (Aleister Black really faded into the background in particular). PAC was the clear fan favorite and ended up getting his "moment," which was nice. The crowd was hot for the start of this but definitely died down as it went on. I liked Christian's psychology early on as he ran away early and let everyone else do the hard work before returning to the ring. Juice Robinson may have been the MVP of the whole match for crotching himself on the top rope after falling from the "super ladder." Not a bad opener, but nothing really special. (2.5/5)

The AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm defended her title against Mariah May in the next match. This match had a great build and started off hot. Lots of signature moves on display as May and Storm dished out a bunch of Storm Zero piledrivers and hip attacks. Mariah May got some "color" too, which was necessary after how this rivalry started. I wasn't a huge fan of the finish as Storm decided against using a shoe on May - not necessarily because it would've got her DQ'd, but because she showed mercy for some reason. This moment of hesitation feels like something we've seen before recently in AEW with Ospreay and I really think TK's lack of creativity (or that of his match producers) is a huge problem when you can recall similar endings in other recent matches. This was good, but not great, and, similar to the opener, it seems like they lost the crowd for a few minutes in the middle. (3/5)

Chris Jericho made his way down the aisle for his next match as his band Fozzy performed. Jericho was defending the gold against longtime rival HOOK. This was fun for what it was with lots of smoke-and-mirrors, specifically the inclusion of Big Bill and Bryan Keith. Big Bill was very over with the UK crowd for some reason. I'm a fan of the big man but still don't see him as a stand-alone main event-level guy. In a sense, he's in the perfect spot as someone's "heater" and has definitely improved over the years, but I'm not sure he's ever found the same chemistry as he had with Enzo Amore. Anyway...Jericho brought out the cricket balls, HOOK found the cricket bat, and we got a nifty fall from Big Bill through a barbwire-covered table. We also got a great finish that saw Tazz lock Keith in a Tazzmission to allow HOOK to get his big victory. This felt like a satisfactory ending to the HOOK/Jericho feud so hopefully they won't drag this on any further. Not a bad match, but certainly not great either. (2.5/5)

The AEW Tag Team Champions, The Young Bucks, defended their titles against the teams of FTR and The Acclaimed in the next match. I haven't been watching the weekly programming as much so I've missed a good chunk of the build for this. It seemed to me like FTR was inserted into the match to up the "workrate" as I'm not sure TK fully trusts The Acclaimed to bring the goods in a spotlight match (and FTR is certainly always deserving of PPV time). I thought this was a fun match and quite good considering they didn't have the benefit of using a bunch of ladders and tables and whatnot, something that the Bucks have to tended to rely on more and more over the past few years. I liked all the double-team maneuvers, especially when Max Caster and one of the Bucks delivered an EVP Trigger. The finish and post-match seems to be pointing to more Acclaimed/Bucks action in the future and the Grizzled Young Veterans (who debuted here to not much fanfare) going after FTR. The former feels stale and the latter seems like a "TV feud." A fun spotfest, but far from "must see." (3/5)

The Casino Gauntlet Match followed, a match with stipulations I didn't really understand at first. Its Royal Rumble-ish as participants entered at "random" times, but the match could end at any time because the first man to get a pinfall was named the victor - even if there were supposedly entrants still hanging out backstage. Orange Cassidy and Okada started things off and the crowd ate up their callback to their days as part of a stable together in New Japan (or at least that's what the commentators said?). I'm not sure, but I like both guys so I dug it. Then came our first of multiple surprise - Nigel McGuinness making his return to the ring after over a decade of being a commentator (in AEW now and, before that, WWE and Ring of Honor [years before AEW purchased it]). Nigel didn't necessarily look as smooth and quick as he once did, but the impact of his moves was there and he was massively over with the London fans. Kyle O'Reilly came in next, followed by the often-excellent (always-excellent?) Zach Sabre Junior. ZSJ is swiftly becoming one of my favorites of modern times as I just love his shtick and moveset and arrogance. He was followed by Roderick Strong and Mark Briscoe, which just goes to show how deep the talent pool in AEW is at this point. Strong is not a guy who gets much lip service for how competent and consistent he is with everything he does. A "Your Favorite Wrestler's Favorite Wrestler" in his ability to make anything he's handed better, including this match, where he took a "throwaway spot" and still made sure that he was there to bump and sell and feed for the "bigger" stars in the match. In the #8 spot was "Hangman" Adam Page, followed, in a brilliant piece of booking, by Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett. Again, critics who say AEW doesn't tell enough stories look no further here as Jarrett and Hangman's interactions got huge reactions (and deservedly so). At number 10 was the AEW debut of Ricochet! He got a huge reaction and looked like an absolute star. Where was the big smile and huge charisma when he was in WWE? If this Ricochet being a bit more natural, I'm okay with the wide grin and positive attitude. The dude can obviously go in the ring and the AEW landscape is full of incredible dance partners for him. Then, at #11, we got Christian Cage, who came limping down the aisle because of the damage he suffered earlier in the show. Loved that attention to realism there. The fans booed the hell out of Christian and then popped huge as Killswitch came out next. I really liked how they didn't pull the trigger with his babyface turn yet here as this match didn't need it. This match is something of a litmus test for wrestling fans as you're either into this sort of non-stop spotfest full of "callbacks" that only avid wrestling junkies will appreciate or you're not. I'm kind of in the middle, but still thought this was fun and that the enthusiasm of the crowd really pushed it into feeling special (and that the AEW roster is ridiculously stacked). That being said, I do think the match could've used at least one "hoss" (aside from Killswitch, who appeared for a very brief time) to give it some variety. (3.5/5)

The AEW International Championship was next as MJF defended the his "American" version of the title against Will Ospreay. This was widely praised, but I wasn't as high on it as others. While it was loaded with ridiculous maneuvers and spots, I do find a little bit of a disconnect between the MJF character - who perpetually mock those that compete for "star ratings" or are overly obsessed with Japanese wrestling - and the way he has become, in terms of style, presentation, and moveset, almost indistinguishable from those sorts of workers, including Ospreay. MJF's claim of being a generational talent has worn thin as I'm not sure he's quite figured out what an "MJF match" is and how that framework is different than those of his peers. Anyways, this was still a really good, main event-caliber match and I loved the sheer number of hidden blade and springboard stunner attempts by Ospreay (and MJF's ability to use ring awareness to counter or evade them). I was expecting MJF to bust out his Dynamite Diamond Ring despite claiming it was stolen earlier in the day on Twitter, but it didn't appear - even when Daniel Garcia showed up (could he have been the guy that stole it? If so, why not have him appear with it on his finger?) to cost MJF the match. The effort was there, the crowd engagement was there, and the athleticism was fully on display, but this still felt a little short of "must see" to me. (3.5/5)

Mercedes Mone defended her TBS Championship against Britt Baker in the next match. This one got some heat online as there were some noticeable moments where it seemed like Mone and Baker didn't quite click together (to the point that Mark Henry even accused Baker of "sandbagging" Mone). I can forgive seeing wrestlers struggle to perform moves - in fact, I like the realism that this sort of thing can add - but I'm less forgiving with telegraphing, which can really take me out of a match and there was some of that going on too. Mone was great and I thought she might've actually had the best overall performance of anyone on the show, laying it on thick with the sports-entertainment when others forgot that they were wrestling in front of a stadium and didn't scale up their emotions and expressiveness. Baker, on the other hand, seemed to still be showing some ring rust after her extended absence and struggled to gather sympathy from the crowd. It's not that she undersold, necessarily, but the crowd did not seem to get behind her as much as this match needed them to. When the finish came, which was basically 100% clean, I did not leave the match feeling like Baker had been "screwed" or "cheated" or that I was interested in seeing future matches between the two - which is very different than how the Mone/Willow matches came off, for example. This was not Britt's night, but I still thought it was no less than good because of Mone's performance. (2.5/5)

Jack Perry took on Darby Allin in a Coffin Match next. Darby Allin is swiftly becoming one of the best workers of the past decade. You can say that his overuse of gimmicky "stunts" and hardcore spots is "cheap," but it is undeniably entertaining and there is no denying his charisma. While in this match we mostly got the extreme side of Allin, let's not forget that, even in straight-up wrestling matches, he can work as good as anyone and knows how to build his matches around his big spots - not dissimilar to Mick Foley, another guy who is almost underrated for how good he was in just regular ol' singles matches. Jack Perry is still relying too much on milking his backstage altercation with CM Punk to my taste, but I won't deny that it draws big reactions and busting out a bag of glass did just that at Wembley. Again, this match was really all about Darby Allin's bumping, especially once his arms and legs got tied up. Perry may have got the W, but Allin lost nothing here. The post-match featured the return of Sting to prevent the Bucks and Perry from lighting the coffin on fire (with Allin stuck inside), another highlight on a show full of cool moments. (3.5/5)

Main event time - Bryan Danielson challenging Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship (and putting his career on the line to do so). This had "big fight feel" and there was a real question as to who would come out on top, something you don't always get with major title matches in AEW or WWE. Similar to Ospreay/MJF, this was loaded with counters, reversals, and signature maneuvers from both men, though there was considerably less high-flying as neither Swerve or Danielson have the agility of Ospreay. Also unlike the Ospreay/MJF match, I thought that while they technically did "less," the match had a structure and pacing that allowed the suspense to build. I really liked how vicious Swerve was here, hitting Danielson with a barrage of superkicks at one point. My one nitpick would be their choice to needlessly feature a "referee checking out Danielson" spot, something that we've seen too many times now for it to have any impact. It's almost become as predictable a match feature as the Yes Kicks and that's not a good thing. I also didn't necessarily love Swerve shrugging off Danielson's first Baisuku Knee. These small details prevent me from calling this match "must see," though the finishing sequence was incredible and the post-match was an awesome, feel-good way to end the show. (3.5/5)

Earning a very respectable Kwang Score of 3.06-out-of-5, All In 2024 wasn't an all-time classic show and did lack a singular match that really blew me away, but the majority of the show was strong (even the unfairly maligned Mercedes Mone/Britt Baker match). The funnest match of the show might've been the Casino Gauntlet match, but the main event was also very strong and the Jack Perry/Darby Allin match delivered the goods in terms of wild hardcore spots and a feel-good return in the form of Sting. If you're a fan of any of the performers on this show, you'd likely love what they brought to the show here, whether its MJF or FTR or the Patriarchy or Ospreay. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand

TNA Final Resolution 2008 (December)

TNA Final Resolution 2008 (December)

December 2008 - Orlando, FL

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Sting was the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Abdul Bashir was the X-Division Champion, Beer Money were the TNA World Tag Team Champions, and Awesome Kong was the Knockouts Champion. 

Because TNA had already held a Final Resolution PPV in January of 2008, this one is subtitled "December." The previous show, Turning Point 2008, wasn't available on YouTube so I skipped that one. 

This show kicks off with TNA's annual Feast-or-Fired match involving Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Lance Hoyt, Jimmy Rave, BG James, "Cute" Kip James, Curry Man (Christopher Daniels), Homicide, Hernandez, and Consequences Creed. This is a fun one with lots of nifty high-flying spots and double-team maneuvers. Highlights include Homicide hitting an insane flipping cannonball dive to the floor, Hernandez' border-tossing Jimmy Rave out of the ring, and the MCMG delivering the goods in terms of double-team moves. LAX ended up with two briefcases, Curry Man got one (and took a nasty fall getting out of the ring to hold onto it), and then Lethal stole the remaining one from the Guns when they were celebrating what they believed to be a victory for them. After the match, Jeremy Borash gave the winners the chance to give away their briefcases and then announced that they would be opening one of the briefcases immediately. Lethal opened his up and - no shocker here - it contained a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championships. This set MCMG off (they'd remained in the ring complaining this whole time) and JB went off on them. Keep this in mind as we move further along in the show...(3/5)

Backstage, Sharmell cuts a not-so-great promo and then the Beautiful People - Madison Rayne and Angelina Love - beat a dead horse by going on and on. We get a dated joke about Governor Mike Huckabee. This is not a good segment and it goes at least 2 minutes too long.

Angelina Love, Madison Rayne, and Sharmell take on ODB, Roxxi, and Taylor Wilde in the next match. With the pre-match promo and the extended introductions for everyone, it feels like it has been a good 10-15 minutes since the last match ended. They get a little under 10 minutes and the work isn't awful, but it is nothing to write home about. People love to look back at this era of TNA and claim that the Knockouts Division was some bastion of great women's wrestling, but there was a huge drop in ability between the Gail Kims and Awesome Kongs of the division and the Sharmells and Madison Raynes. The stipulation was that, if the heels won, they would get to keep their plush backstage area and I'm sure that played out with all sorts of "comedy" segments on Impact over the next few weeks. (1.5/5)

Backstage, JB is interviewing Eric Young, who is challenging for the X Division Championship in the next match against Sheik Abdul Bashir. The story coming into this match is that Young won the championship, kept it for a week, but then had the title stripped from him because the referee, Shane Sewell, did something wrong (I don't recall what and don't care enough to look it up). Young's promo is interrupted by the Guns, who get in JB's face and demand to know where Foley is. To the ring we go for another ho-hum match. Young was over with the live crowd when he was a loveable, somewhat goofy underdog, but he's noticeably "cooled" since then. Bashir's anti-US gimmick was too generic. This match is really all about the Sewell/Bashir feud and not Bashir's title reign or Eric Young's "comeback" story. Young eventually gets the win when he hits a sunset flip, Bashir grabs the ropes, and Sewell causes him to lose his grip by kicking his hands. We've seen that spot a million times, but that's not egregious. During the post-match, Bashir back body drops Young - the new champ - out of the ring to "protect his heat" but it really deflates Young's victory. He proceeds to beat down Sewell, who has bladed something awful and is a real bloody mess. I can understand them wanting to go full bore with this storyline and making it really visceral by having Sewell bleed all over the place, but it feels "cheap" because this all feels like a real undercard storyline where nobody is really over and Bashir's gimmick is such a dated, been there-done that character. Keep in mind too that, with the JB/Alex Shelley feud going on, this is the second match out of the first three that results in a story that is more focused on a "wrestler vs. non-wrestler" beef than anything at all having to do with the guy who actually won the match. (2/5)

Next up - Christy Hemme challenging Awesome Kong for the TNA Knockouts Championship. The story coming in was about how Hemme had been training with AJ Styles to prepare for this match. Hemme gets in some big offense, including her distastefully-named leg drop from the top rope, but this match was booked weirdly to me. Despite Kong having the size advantage, the experience advantage, the in-ring skill advantage, and every other advantage, she needs Raisha Saeed to cheat for her? Even knowing that she's the heel, it doesn't make much sense. This wasn't too bad - at 5 minutes, it doesn't go long enough to be too bad - but it wasn't great either. (1.5/5)

The TNA Tag Team Championships are on the line as Beer Money defends against Matt Morgan and Abyss. They really stretch this one out as there's some pre-match shenanigans in which Beer Money try to get out of the match before things settle into standard tag team fare. Nothing special about this match once it goes into its formulaic steps, but both teams put out good effort. Felt like a long 12 minutes. (1.5/5)

The Motor City Machine Guns, who had multiple segments before this too, come back out to the Impact Zone and demand that they receive a future Tag Team Championship match. Cornette tries to get them to leave and then asks for help from security but, instead, out comes Suicide. I'm not sure if this was Suicide's on-screen debut, but he looked good out there. I think they switched wrestlers under the mask a few times, but this was definitely Kazarian.

Rhyno vs. Kurt Angle follows. This felt like it could've been a big moment for Rhyno and the match does start off quite good. I liked the pacing as it stretched on and Rhyno showed he could withstand a ton of Angle's best offense. Unfortunately, things sour when Rhyno and Angle's timing for two different Gore attempts really miss their mark. There is just nothing worse to see then two guys go from working 80 mph to 0 in order to transition and it is jarring when it happens in this match. I also wasn't a huge fan of the finish, which saw the TNA debut of Al Snow, as he came to distract Mick Foley. Angle needing a chair to defeat Rhyno was a clear attempt to protect him, but sadly, it didn't really matter anyway as he needed a big performance to really capitalize on such a spotlight match and I didn't see that happen for him on this night. Instead, Foley and Snow now had beef and Angle's post-match promo makes it clear that he's focused on Jarrett. (3/5)

Main event time - Sting, Booker T, Scott Steiner, and Kevin Nash of the Main Event Mafia taking on The Frontline consisting of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Team 3D. I wouldn't call this "must see," but this is the clear match of the night and a really fun contest. The stipulation here is that if any member of The Frontline wins, AJ Styles becomes the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. I understand wanting some sort of stipulation to add to the suspense, but they didn't end up doing much with that angle/storyline in the match itself, opting instead to just deliver a pseudo-Survivor Series "classic" multi-man. This was smartly layed-out and smartly worked as none of the Mafia members had to spend too much time in the ring and all of them got to not only hit some of their signature moves, but also did a great job of bumping and selling for the babyfaces. The crowd was also super into this from beginning to end, which always helps gets a match over. Considering the match was built around him possibly winning the World Championship, AJ Styles really only had extended stretches in the ring to start the match and to end it, but Joe and Team 3D (suprisingly) worked well together and I particularly liked how Team 3D didn't do too much "shtick." This has to be the first match the Dudleys wrestled in years and years that didn't receive a "We Want Tables" match within the first 4 minutes. I wouldn't call this a hidden gem, but it was much better than it probably had any right to be considering the ages and relatively abilities of the heel side. (3/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.21-out-of-5, the second Final Resolution PPV of 2008 was an improvement from the previous pay-per-view I reviewed (Bound for Glory IV), but not by much. This show had a stronger main event (thanks in large part to the work of AJ Styles and Samoa Joe) and the Rhyno/Angle match was above-average too, but the Knockouts Championship match and the X-Division Championship matches were both disappointments and the Tag Team Championship match was underwhelming as well. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

TNA Bound for Glory IV

TNA Bound for Glory IV

October 2008 - Chicago, IL

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the TNA World Heavyweight Champion was Samoa Joe, the X-Division Champion was Abdul Bashir, the TNA Knockouts Champion was Taylor Wilde, and the TNA Tag Team Champions were Beer Money. 

After a Untouchables-inspired video package highlighting TNA's main event scene, the show kicks off with an escape-the-cage X-Division Asylum match to determine the number one contender for Abdul Bashir's X-Division Championship. The participants included Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Curry Man (Christopher Daniels), Jimmy Rave, Jay Lethal (still in his Black Machismo gimmick), Shark Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Johnny Devine, and Petey Williams. I was irritated before the bell even rang when Dutt and Lethal made their way to the ring and didn't immediately go at it. I mean, a month earlier, Dutt had stolen Lethal's fiancee. Seems like after a months-long feud, they wouldn't be able to even be within 100 yards of each other without coming to blows, but that was not the case. There were a few cool moments in this match - Curry Man press-slamming Sonjay into the corner, the Motor City Machine Guns getting to deliver some tandem offense, an excellent Tower of Doom spot, even Johnny Devine nearly paralyzing Jimmy Rave - but it was hard to really keep track of and, at times, felt like everyone was just standing around doing nothing and not actively trying to climb the cage to win the match. Action-packed but hard to follow at times and generally "substance-less," a bit like one of those Transformer movies. Lethal's victory didn't feel particularly earned, it was more like he just happened to escape before anyone else could or did. (2.5/5)

Backstage, Mick Foley does a segment with Jim Cornette and then The Beautiful People. Foley had arrived in TNA sometime between the last pay-per-view and this one and would be the Special Enforcer for one of tonight's main events later on. 

Back to the ring we go for a 6-person tag: Angelina Love, Velvet Skye, and Kip James taking on the team of Rhyno, Rhaka Khan, and ODB. Traci Brooks is the guest referee for this match, though its unclear why beyond her just "looking hot" in a ref uniform. I was surprised how much man-on-woman violence we saw in this. It wasn't a whole ton or anything, but even just Rhyno applying an arm bar onto Velvet Skye and then hiptossing her is more than you would often get in the WWE back then or even today (though, to be fair, Chyna did actively compete against men in the late 90s). Rhyno eventually won by countering a Fameasser into a Gore, which was a neat finish. This felt like it belonged on TV, not a PPV. I'm also becoming increasingly less impressed with ODB and her shtick as I've seen more of her work. Seems kinda one-note. I'm not surprised Rhaka Khan's career didn't really go anywhere as she was really green here and did not show much promise. (1.5/5)

Things improve slightly with the next match as Consequences Creed challenged Sheik Abdul Bashir (Daivari) for the X-Division Championship. Bashir was absolutely jacked at this point, clearly on the gas. The jingoism is laid on super thick for this match as Creed is welcomed to the ring by a military officer/veteran. Creed (aka Xavier Woods) shows flashes of the energy and excitement he brought to the New Day, but his gimmick is paper thin and feels like something you'd see on an indie show at the state fair. The best spot of the match was Creed delivering a guerilla press slam-into-double knees and I wish they would've just finished things there as the crowd would've popped huge for it. When Bashir rolls up Creed and uses the ropes for leverage, it doesn't happen at the climax of the match and doesn't feel like its been "worked towards" at all. Not terrible, but not good. (2/5)

We get another backstage segment with Foley because, well, TNA had seemingly given him a nice fat contract and needed to justify it by using him at every possible moment on this show...

Taylor Wilde defended her Knockouts Championship against Awesome Kong and Roxxi in the next bout. The pre-match video had me hyped for this, but then they didn't get nearly enough time to actually tell the story that they had just talked about. Roxxi was billed as somewhat of a "hardcore" underdog but because this was inexplicably fought under traditional rules, we don't get to see what makes her special or what would conceivably make her a threat to the champion. Awesome Kong got in one incredible move (a huge crossbody), but didn't the spotlight she deserved and was taken out of the match after just 5 minutes in very unconvincing fashion. Wilde got a clean pin on Roxxi with a nice german suplex. They simply didn't have enough time to build a real story here, which made everyone, especially Roxxi, come across as weak. A real shame. (1/5)

AJ and Foley are backstage but Styles gets interrupted by Team 3D, who then cut a promo on Foley all about their 20 title reigns. These segments would've been more interesting, to me at least, if they actually went somewhere and weren't just an excuse for guys to do their usual shtick.

Time for tonight's TNA Tag Team Championship Match - Beer Money defending the gold against Abyss and Matt Morgan, LAX, and Team 3D in a Monster's Ball match. This style of match is something of an "Abyss Special" as he had participated in all 5 of the previous editions and would participate or at least appear in every Monster's Ball match for the next decade plus (as far as I know, he did not have any role in the Rosemary/Jade Monster's Ball match in 2017). Anyway...Mongo McMichael is the special guest referee and he not only looks awful here, but he might be the worst special guest referee in the history of the business. It is almost comical how out-of-position he is for every single pin attempt and when he does make his way down to the mat, his count is about twice as long as it should be (to the point that even the commentators can't really cover for him and the wrestlers look genuinely pissed). There are some wild hardcore bits in this match - Devon blades early, Abyss goes through a flaming table - but we see absolutely none of the action going on around the ring or in the crowd, the cameras really only focusing on one part of the action at a time. This makes it feel less like a war and more like a coordinated stunt show where various participants are essentially taking water breaks while the other guys perform some crazy move. The fire spot is tremendous and Abyss deserves a ton of credit for taking it, but the match loses steam afterwards because nothing can really top it, even LAX and Beer Money performing some strong old school tag team wrestling in the center of the ring. There's a slight hiccup when Hernandez can't get the bag of tacks to open and Mongo has to help him out. Whoops. This leads to the final bump, which is really lackluster, as Hernandez gets Death Dropped through a table with tacks spread on it and Beer Money steal the victory. The combatants worked very hard to overcome Mongo's poor reffing and an overall bad layout, but there were enough cool moments - including Matt Morgan planting his foot in one of his opponent's faces, Beer Money and Mongo doing a fun football act in the middle of the match, and, ofcourse, the fire - to make it at least slightly above-average. (3/5)

The next match was a triple threat between AJ Styles, Christian, and Booker T. This match was a prelude to the swiftly approaching Main Event Mafia storyline (if I'm not totally off) with the story being that Christian was caught in the middle between factions of ex-WWE guys and TNA's homegrown talent. In any match from around this time, AJ Styles is going to bust out an incredible move and, in this one, it is a ridiculous backflip over Christian into a dropkick that is so beautifully done you can see people in the crowd literally pop out of their seats to cheer it. Unfortunately, the rest of the match is just okay, only really good when its Christian and AJ in the ring. The finish is a little sloppy-looking and the crowd could not give less of a care about the winner as he was easily the least impressive and least over guy in the match. Styles pushed this is into passable territory practically single-handedly. (2.5/5)

Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle followed. This was a really hot angle because of how much reality there was to it and we hadn't even yet come to the part where Jarrett started dating Karen Angle, which, based on what I could dig up online, had not yet started by this point. Still, Angle brings Jarrett's daughter into things and Jarrett paints Angle as desperate to return to WWE when his contract runs out. This was also Jarrett's return to the ring after a "two-year hiatus" (really just short of a year-and-a-half) caused by his wife's battle with cancer. Anyway, I really liked how this started out as a straight-up wrestling match even if the crowd was underwhelmed by it. Both guys "got their shit in" without anything being too contrived to my eye. I did not like how they milked every nearfall, though, and the crowd didn't bite on any of them, likely because, as Mick Foley was special guest ring enforcer, you knew that there was going to be some sort of controversial finish or ref bump, which is exactly what happened. I didn't like that Angle blasted Foley dead-on with a chairshot to the head but then Foley basically recovered in under a minute. By this point, because the WWE had mainly stopped with chairshots to the head and TNA had also stopped doing as many, it looked genuinely vicious and should've been sold for longer. Foley survives it, though, and comes into the ring to help Jarrett get the win after blasting Angle with a guitar. I liked the action when it was just a straight-up battle between Angle's strength and Olympic-style wrestling versus Jarrett's crafty pro-'rasslin style, but then this went off the rails with the overdramatic nearfalls and the overbooked finish. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Samoa Joe defending the TNA World Championship against Sting. Mike Tenay notes that Sting has won the TNA World Championship at two previous Bound for Glory PPVs, though I'm not sure if he was actually undefeated at these events. Much of the crowd is behind Samoa Joe, which is interesting because he sorta works the match on the somewhat heelish side as he dominates most of the action. I'm not a huge fan of the "WWE main event style" they went with for this match, though it is obvious that Sting was already fairly limited in what he could in the ring and brawling around the arena does usually keep the live crowd engaged. This is the match where Samoa Joe takes a ridiculous bump by performing a dropkick down the concrete arena stairs. Joe pulls the move off - I think the camera work makes it seem like he lands back-first directly on a stair but it seems that he actually lands on something of a "landing" space, though it is still straight-up concrete - but that doesn't mean it was a wise one to perform or that it makes any sense. Sure, it shows how far he is willing to go to beat Sting, but, by that point, he was in full control anyway. When they do get back in the ring, we get both guys no-selling each other's finisher theft, another element of this match that rubbed me the wrong way. Then we get the finish and the predictable Kevin Nash "swerve." At the time, reviewers were much kinder to this match than I'm going to be. (2/5)

With an overall Kwang Score of 2.13-out-of-5, the 2008 edition of Bound for Glory is not a recommendable show. The main event isn't very good, Jarrett and Angle is decent but suffers from a weak finish, and only the tag team match is above average. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver