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Welcome to my TNA Bound for Glory blog!
They announced at the top of the Countdown that they were completely sold out. Great for TNA! TNA later placed on their social media that this was the most attended BFG in 11 years.
The opener saw Ash by Elegance and Heather by Elegance defeating NXT's Brinley Reece and Xia Brookside. The Heather makeover seemed to happen so quick. well before we really got any opportunity to know who Heather Reckless was, but as a match, this was a fun opener. Reece has some good energy in the ring. Ash's Concierge plays a hell of a character. He'd have fit into 1970s WWWF well. Xia Brookside is really underrated. I thought everyone looked good here.
The TNA Hall of Fame ceremony was great and if there is any complaint about it, it's that it just wasn't long enough. Eric Young's speech about Bob Ryder was absolutely from the heart and nailed who Bob was as a person, someone who loved pro wrestling and TNA with all his heart. I know for a fact that it would have meant a great deal to Bob to know EY, James Storm, Abyss, AJ Styles and Chris Harris spoke on the induction video. Bob always wanted to see AJ return to TNA, feeling he was the TNA equivalent of Sting to WCW. Well, Bob sort of got his wish tonight. There literally would not be a TNA without Bob, and this was a special, heartfelt moment. I truly loved Young's speech. It's sort of silly they are saying Bob started in ECW when he was there for Prodigy.
I also thought Rhino's speech, especially talking about the kindness Heath Miller showed Rhino's brother as he was ill with cancer, was incredible. He's long been underrated by so many, so it was nice to see Rhino get his just due. Tommy Dreamer was the right call to induct him. Rhino's story about going for a splash but missing it on his WWF tryout because he wasn't used to the size of the ring, leading to it looking like a headbutt - which Jim Cornette went nuts for, was pretty funny. Rhino came off really well.
The Gauntlet for the Gold is next. Good, frenzied action early. Kazarian being first lends itself to the story of him winning and making himself a challenger later tonight. We'll see if that's the case. It was a big disappointment to see Laredo Kid out so quick as his work is great. I was hoping we'd get to see him and John Skyler revive their great matches but it was not to be. Hammerstone and Jake Something as well as The Rascals all looked really good. Nice to see Rohit Raju and Bhupinder Gujjar back. They both had good showings at Maple Leaf Pro. Rhino as a surprise right after his Hall of Fame induction sure made the fans happy. Rhino taking out everyone was a nice nod to the Manbeast as well. Tasha Steelz was just great in this, showing a ton of charisma and badassery in her exchange with Rhino. Seeing her tossed so early by the former Xia Li was a bummer. Jason Hotch had a hell of a double stomp on Trent Seven. It came down to Rhino and three heels. He tossed JDC out but was speared by AJ Francis. He came back to clothesline Francis over the top to the floor, leaving it as Rhino vs. Kazarian to determine the final victor. A low blow later and Kazarian wins.
The PPV proper starts with a video package tying the blue collar Motor City to TNA.
They are starting hot with Vikingo vs. Speedball for the TNA X-Division title. This was great. They delivered with lots of great aerial and athletic wrestling mixed in with some really stiff kicks and strikes. This is what the world expects from a big X-Division match and they lived up to those expectations. Vikingo's leg injury did nothing to throw him off his game when it came to his timing and balance. The Canadian Destroyer off the top on the insane was outright insane. This was really a ton of fun and if I neglect to say it later, Matt Rehwoldt and Tom Hannifan are just fn' awesome as announcers.
The TNA Knockouts Tag Team bout was solid, but something still isn't clicking 100% for Spitfire with the audience. This was well worked and I didn't see the Rosemary attack on Wendy Choo coming.
Kazarian was reading Earl Hebner's book backstage and promised the true TNA Champion's hand will be raised tonight. How much do you want to bet he means himself?
Josh Alexander vs. Steve Maclin was a good wrestling match. The crowd was all over Alexander chanting "Walking Weiner" at him, and well, that was hilarious. How in the world was the use of the zip ties not a DQ? Ignoring that, they set up Alexander being a real piece of trash and Macklin showing how insane he is, including the running dive while zip-tied. In the end, Maclin was trapped in the anklelock and with his arms zipped, he blacked out. Nice to see Alexander get the win here since he's been so downplayed forever and a day. Enjoyable! I am sure this will lead to Maclin eventually getting revenge as it feels like Alexander is at the tail end of his run here.
More on Page 2!
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