It’s time for one of those strange occurrences again where I review the DVD release of a pay-per-view I’d already reviewed, and this time around where taking a look at TNA’s latest offering, the two disc Bound for Glory 2011.
Disc One is where you’ll find the main show, beginning with Brian Kendrick challenging Austin Aries for the X Division title.
This was pretty good. Granted, there were a couple of dodgy moments early on, but overall these two put on a hell of an opener filled with plenty of fast paced back and forth action.
Both guys came close to getting the pin on a number of occasions, with Kendrick going close after taking the champ down with a sliced bread variation from the top rope.
In the end the victory went to Aries, escaping Kendrick’s sliced bread attempt on the apron so he could take his challenger down with his patented brain buster for the winning pin.
Then it was on to the Full Metal Mayhem encounter between Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn.
It took a while to get going, and there were a couple of you f***ed up moments early on, but once they hit top gear these two proved once again why they’re the perfect match for each other.
Father Time may not exactly be on their side but that didn’t stop them from going all out once the toys were brought into the equation. They certainly turned back the years, bringing back fond memories of a certain extreme promotion.
In the end we were treated to a classic moment. With Lynn slumped in a corner RVD put a ladder in front of him. He then grabbed a chair and climbed the opposite corner, going coast to coast with that awesome dropkick for the winning pin.
The triple threat match between Samoa Joe, Matt Morgan and Crimson followed.
Short and sweet would probably be the best way to describe this match. Early on we had Morgan and Crimson doubling up on Joe before the inevitable disagreements on who would get the pin.
While Crimson and Morgan looked good I once again had that feeling that Joe was going through the motions. Don’t get me wrong, the big guy is still capable of putting on incredible performances, but he just doesn’t seem to be the same man he was a few years ago.
The unbeaten streak continued in this one. After Morgan missed Joe with his Carbon Footprint Crimson took Joe out with a spear for the win.
TNA’s most improved performer of the past year or so was up next as Bully Ray took on Mr. Anderson in a falls count anywhere match.
I wasn’t expecting a hold for hold wrestling classic with this one. What I got was the proverbial pier six brawl, and a very entertaining one at that.
These two brawled everywhere. In the ring, around ringside, on the stage, backstage, through the crowd and back into the ring. On the way they used various weapons and put each other through tables and metal guard rails. And after all of that they still couldn’t get the job done.
After Anderson hit Ray with a rubbish bin (trash can to your Yanks) Anderson climbed to the top rope as Ray lay on a table at ringside. But when he came down with his somersault the table didn’t break.
Then came the improvised ending as Anderson took Ray down with a microphone check through the table for the winning pin.
After the revelation that referee Jackson James was Eric Bischoff’s son it was on to the ladies as Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne and Mickie James challenged Winter, accompanied by Angelina Love, for the Knockouts title, with Karen Jarrett as the special referee.
This is one of those matches that could have been so match better, had it not been saddled with the storyline that it was given.
The whole thing just seem so disjointed, and Jarrett as special referee didn’t really bring anything to the table. Her performance was pretty poor, and that’s putting it politely.
The in-ring action was okay, but it was completely overshadowed by the special referee, and although the match only lasted about ten minutes it seemed to drag on and on.
In the end though a new champion was crowned. Jarrett had been blinded when Winter invoked the spirit of the Great Kabuki, taking her out of the match. This brought her assistant Traci Brooks down to the ring. Seconds later Brooks made the count after Sky took Rayne out with a DDT to win the title.
Then we saw the battle of perennial friends/rivals as Christopher Daniels faced A.J. Styles in an I Quit match.
Like RVD and Lynn before them I never tire of seeing these two go against each other, and even after all of those years and all of those matches they delivered another quality encounter here.
They pulled out all of the usual high class moves as they showed just how good they are against each other. We also saw Daniels continue his maniacal change, the sort of character we haven’t seen since the early days of the Prophecy in Ring of Honor.
And after all the punishment the ending really made sense, even though it seemed lame to many at the time. After Styles made his comeback and took his man down with the Styles Clash the Phenomenal One grabbed the screwdriver that Daniels had brought into the equation.
Styles then approached him slowly as the Fallen Angel slumped in the corner. Fearing for his safety Daniels grabbed the microphone and quit on the spot, bolting from the ring almost immediately.
Styles wasn’t exactly happy about the manner of his victory, and as he made his way to the stage Daniels re-emerged and attacked him, leaving him laying after taking him down with the Angel’s Wings.
After Jeff Hardy spoiled Jeff Jarrett’s party and returned to TNA it was on to the penultimate match as Hulk Hogan faced Sting for control of the company.
Oh, and Eric Bischoff’s baby boy was the referee. It’s important to remember that for future reference.
Just after the match began Hogan called a halt to proceedings so he could bring in ringside back-up in the form of fellow old timer Ric Flair.
This was the match that was a lot better than it should have been. I really wasn’t expecting much from two guys with a combined age of over 100, but they pleasantly surprised me.
Granted, it wasn’t a five star classic, but it was pretty entertaining. Hogan and Sting may have been well past their prime but they knew how to tell a story, with the Nature Boy providing assistance every now and then as well as each man copying the stylings of Abdullah the Butcher by driving a spike into each other’s heads.
In the end Sting targeted Hogan’s previously injured back when he applied the Scorpion Death Lock. Hogan tapped, but referee Jackson James was reluctant to call for the bell at first, eventually calling for the bell to give Sting the win and control of the company.
This didn’t sit to well with Hogan’s Immortal buddies, led by Eric Bischoff, as they came down to the ring to attack the Stinger. Hogan watched from the corner as Immortal took Sting apart, with Sting begging Hogan to help him.
Hogan answered the request, ripping off his shirt and joining Sting as they sent Immortal running for cover, Hogan saving his best punch for Bischoff.
The main event saw the winner of the Bound for Glory series, Bobby Roode, challenging Kurt Angle for the World title.
This was another quality outing from our Olympic hero, despite the fact that he was suffering from a serious hamstring injury. Together with Roode they put together a match worthy of it’s spot on the card.
These two were well suited to each other, matching each other in every department. Indeed, there exchange of submission holds midway through the match was some of the best mat wrestling I’d seen in TNA in a while.
The only disappointing thing about this match was the crowd, who were almost silent at the beginning of the match. They did redeem themselves later on though.
The champ retained his title in this one thanks to an umpteenth Angle slam, although the referee failed to notice that Roode’s hand was under the bottom rope and Angle was grabbing the rope for extra leverage.
Disc Two is where you’ll find all the extras, which include match previews, the pre-show, and the Tag title match. Why that match was left off the main show remains a mystery to me.
In conclusion - my overall thoughts about this show remain the same since I reviewed the pay-per-view. Take out the awful Knockouts title match and Bound for Glory 2011 is a pretty decent show.
All of the matches, the ones I liked that is, certainly achieved what they set out to do, although once again my only gripe is that the World title match was clearly overshadowed by the Hogan/Sting affair.
But apart from that the DVD release of TNA Bound for Glory 2011 gets the thumbs up from me.
With thanks to the powers that be for supplying a copy of this release. TNA Bound for Glory 2011 is available to buy online at www.shoptna.com.
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