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TNA Presents: Bound for Glory 2006 (BUY)
By Jake Ziegler | July 16, 2008
The biggest TNA show of the year!
Detroit, MI – 10.22.06
It’s been a long while since I’ve done a review of a TNA PPV on DVD (and used that many acronyms in one sentence), but I do hope to catch up and eventually have every TNA DVD reviewed, so we’ll be going back in time a bit.
Also, I’m selling some of my old VHS wrestling tapes, so if anyone is interested please shoot me an e-mail and I’ll tell you what I have.
This is the first TNA pay-per-view to emanate from somewhere besides Orlando, as it’s at the Compuware Arena in Plymouth, MI. That’s where TNA held their first house show, and Brad and I were there for that, but ended up not going to this show, because, well, it’s TNA. The opening video package highlights the city of Detroit, as well as the big matches for tonight, and the roster as a whole.
MATCH #1: The Kevin Nash Open Invitational X Division Gauntlet Battle Royal
Kevin Nash comes out first with the trophy, and he hasn’t started letting his hair just be grey yet. Entrant number one is Austin Starr, formerly known as Austin Aries. Sonjay Dutt is number two. Someone new will come out every minute. Nash joins Tenay and West on commentary. Aries and Dutt have the usual wrestling sequence, and number three is Maverick Matt, which is one of the worst names I’ve ever heard. He and Starr double team Dutt right away. Starr does the Magic Fingers elbow, and it actually fits this character more than it does his ROH character. Jay Lethal comes out at number four. Starr and Lethal pair off while Matt and Dutt battle. Next out is A1, and he’s number five. A1 isn’t a typical X-Division competitor, but the division is not about weight limits, it’s about no limits so he qualifies. Number six is Zach Gowen, who’s been off and on in TNA over the years. Nash gets a pretty funny dig on Johnny Ace in here. Kazarian comes out at number seven. He and his regular tag team partner Maverick Matt make Sonjay Dutt the first elimination. Number eight is the unfortunately named Sirelda. Kazarian hits her in the face right away and she goes after him. She hits a side suplex and then Starr takes his shot at her. Starr hits her with a low blow and Tenay tries to make a joke about her manliness, but I bet it still hurts for a chick to get kicked there. Anyway, A1 clotheslines her out, and then Kazarian and Matt eliminate him. Shark Boy is number nine. They all stand around and punch each other. Nash’s protégé Alex Shelley comes out at number 10 to a big pop from his hometown crowd. D-Ray 3000 makes his return at number 11. He and Shark Boy work together, reprising their old TNA team. They eliminate Maverick Matt. Johnny Devine is number 12 and he immediately suplexes Gowen to the floor. Elix Skipper is number 13. He goes after Devine and takes him down. Skipper then trips on the top rope on a springboard when Kazarian tries a slingshot at the same time. Kazarian then gets eliminated by Starr. Number 14 is Short Sleeve Sampson. Shark Boy and D-Ray 3000 get eliminated but the camera doesn’t catch it. Starr and Sampson take the spotlight as Starr tries to figure out where to toss him. Norman Smiley comes out at number 15. He rescues Sampson, and they take Starr and Devine down and deliver a double Big Wiggle. Shelley eliminates Sampson, and referee Slick Mark Johnson laughs at him so Sampson chases him into the ring, and Johnson decides toe enter the match and helps eliminate Skipper. He’s pretty jacked. The final entrant at number 16 is Petey Williams, and he eliminates Johnson right away. Williams hits the Canadian Destroyer on Lethal, but turns his back and Shelley eliminates him. Starr then eliminates Devine. Starr next eliminates Shelley and we’re down to just him and Lethal now. Lethal hits the Dragon Suplex but Aries gets tied up in the ropes so there’s no pin. Lethal goes up top but Aries brings him down and hits a kick to the head and a big brainbuster to score the pin at 17:11. That had its entertaining moments but was mostly the usual TNA gauntlet style match. A longer sequence between Starr and Lethal at the end would have been nice, but at least they ended it clean with two real wrestlers, instead of like Sirelda and Short Sleeve Sampson or something. Kevin Nash awards Starr the trophy as Alex Shelley looks on.
Rating: **¾
MATCH #2: Four-Corners Tag Team Match – Team 3D vs. America’s Most Wanted vs. The James Gang vs. The Naturals
Before the match they show footage from Impact when the LAX beat up Gail Kim, who took a nasty looking Border Toss. Sorry, but when a woman slaps a man in the face she has coming to her whatever she gets. AMW’s indignant reaction to that footage in their promo is pretty funny, since they probably did stuff just as bad as heels. Shane Douglas is in the arena to introduce the “newly Franchised” Naturals, who still sucked because they’re both lame and Douglas was always terrible. It’s so sad how the James Gang act exactly like they did in WWE and come out to basically the same music and everything, and they’re just okay with that. Brother Ray cuts an unnecessary promo before the match, and I remember hearing from those in the know that he was legitimately pissed off about being in such a nothing match on this show.
James Storm and Chase Stevens start it off with the usual back and forth. Stevens tags out to Ray. He hits a Rock Bottom and works on Chris Harris when he jumps in as well. BG James then tags in, and he and Ray actually work together to hit their punch sequence on Harris and Storm. Then they turn on each other and their partners come in the ring to battle. 3D and the James Gang fight on the floor, leaving AMW and the Naturals in the ring. They do a Tower of Doom spot. Everyone comes back towards the ring and they start the parade of finishers. Team 3D acts just like they did in WWE too, which is sad. The Naturals hit the Natural Disaster on Devon, who gets to kick out of it. Douglas then takes the 3D, so Devon doesn’t even really have to sell their finisher, and that gets the win for Team 3D at 6:51. Shane Douglas comes out pissed off that his team lost, and that whole angle just went nowhere. The match was garbage.
Rating: *
Jeremy Borash is backstage, trying to get a word with Samoa Joe, who has the Monster’s Ball match tonight. Jake “The Snake” Roberts sneaks up on Borash and he cuts a promo instead. He’s the referee for the upcoming match.
MATCH #3: The Monster’s Ball Match – Special Referee: Jake “The Snake” Roberts – Abyss vs. Samoa Joe vs. Brother Runt vs. Raven
The video package shows that Abyss is afraid of snakes just like Andre the Giant was. The mask Raven wears to the ring is one of those old torture masks, and it looks ridiculous, in a bad way. Joe is slumming it here, the second consecutive four-way match. I wish TNA could figure out how to book a show effectively. Abyss and Raven send Joe to the outside and Runt goes outside on his own, so Raven starts punching Abyss. Runt brings a chair into the ring and Abyss takes the drop toehold on it. Joe comes backing and starts beating on everyone. Abyss recovers and tosses Runt out into the crowd. The fight spills to the floor and Joe hits a dive onto all three opponents and lands on his feet. The fight spills outside and Abyss abuses Runt and Joe goes through a couple of tables. Abyss drags Runt back to the ring and Raven breaks up the three-count. Abyss and Joe have a short exchange and Raven breaks it up. Raven then attacks Jake Roberts for no good reason. Roberts comes back and hits Raven with a DDT, which allows Joe to land the Muscle Buster and the pin at 11:08. That was decent enough for the kind of match it was, but lacked anything to make it special.
Rating: ***
MATCH #4: Loser Gets Fired Match – Eric Young vs. Larry Zbyszko
Borash is backstage with Eric Young, who has a “big” match tonight. Borash helps get him hyped up. Zbyszko comes in to tear him down, just for fun. Eric Young’s pandering during this period was supremely annoying and is no less so over time. He steals Jimmy Shalwin’s gimmick right away. Zbyszko stalls, and Tenay calls Young “EY,” so there’s really nothing interesting about this match. Young uses a foreign object to knock Zbyszko out and pin him at 3:21. That was hardly a match. Tenay also calls Young the “Pied Piper,” which is so, so stupid. I just think he’s the worst.
Rating: DUD
TNA Management
Jim Cornette comes out, thankfully with laryngitis so hopefully this speech will be cut short. He mentions that Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle have some problems, and that brings Angle himself out. He’s not wrestling a match or anything, but he is still wearing that stupid mouth guard. Tenay and West might need to change their shorts after how excited Angle makes them. Angle sucks up to the fans and takes a shot at WWE, and Tenay gets all giggly. Angle starts talking smack to Joe, whose music is helpfully cued up and he comes down and security is right there to try and break them up.
MATCH #5: X Division Championship Match – Senshi vs. Chris Sabin
Senshi has been the champion since 6.22.06, and this is his fourth defense. This is Sabin’s home state, so he’s got a bit of a home field advantage here. These two were having a pretty fun match on TNA’s last pay-per-view offering, No Surrender, but they ruined it with their “Jackass” antics so hopefully this one will be allowed to just be. They start off quickly with both guy trying to go on offense to quickly subdue the other. Sabin seems to be going after the knee, which is smart for a guy who relies on as many kicks as Senshi does. Speaking of, Senshi hits Black Magic to gain control. Sabin fights back, but Tenay and West are more concerned with the fact that Samoa Joe has been tossed from the building. Sabin recovers and throws Senshi outside the ring and hits a big dive. Back in the ring he’s able to hit that hesitation dropkick for two. Senshi tries the Dragon Clutch but Sabin escapes, and when Senshi tries the cartwheel kick Sabin dropkicks him, and then hits a nice swinging DDT for two. Sabin then hits a rana off the top rope but Senshi rolls through and hits a double stomp for two. He follows with a springboard spin kick for two. Sabin comes back with a huge running boot in the corner and then tries the Cradle Shock. He’s able to hit it but maybe his goofy cover isn’t good enough and Senshi kicks out. Sabin sets up for a Super Cradle Shock but Senshi delivers a few kicks from his precarious position. Senshi hits the shotgun dropkick and then hits the Warrior’s Way. Sabin just barely gets his foot on the ropes. Senshi then goes to the Dragon Clutch, but Sabin powers up out of it and small packages Senshi to get the pin and win the X-Division Title for a third time at 12:51. They make a big point about how this match was “no Jackass” and “no BS,” which is a huge improvement, but when you have to even make those improvements in the first place there’s a problem. At any rate this was a terrific match and I greatly prefer Sabin to Senshi so it’s a trade up if you ask me.
Rating: ***¾
MATCH #6: 8 Mile Street Fight – “The War Machine” Rhino vs. Christian Cage
Borash is backstage with Cage, whose t-shirt logo is reminiscent of Pixar’s “Cars.” The video package tries to position Christian against the entire city of Detroit, and tries to make Rhino into a Bruce Springsteen type character, but I just hate Rhino so much that I don’t care. Rhino even makes his entrance through the crowd, just to really lay it on thick. For some reason they decide to start the match out in the parking lot, which is always thrilling for the live crowd. They make it to the backstage area and fight on a Zamboni. Rhino starts driving it with Cage on top and they take it into the arena. They even have a lame little set that’s supposed to represent “8 Mile.” They use the street lamps from the set as weapons and finally take the battle into the ring and Rhino gets the first two-count. Rhino looks for the Gore but Cage hits him in the face with a chair instead. They fight back out into the crowd and Rhino is in control again. Back to the ring Rhino sets up a table in one of the corners. Cage gets a rollup for two. Cage comes back by hitting Rhino with a mock street sign and then he spits on it just to be a jerk. Cage brings a ladder in and Rhino is bleeding. Cage charges at Rhino with the ladder but Rhino hits a drop toe hold, but then misses a dive off the second rope. Cage then hits the Unprettier but Rhino kicks out at two. Cage grabs a straightjacket and Rhino lets him put it on him. He sets Rhino up for the one man con-chair-toe, but Rhino avoids it and is able to hit a headbutt to the balls. The referee unhooks Rhino from the straightjacket, which sounds like fucking cheating to me. Rhino recovers and piledrivers Cage through a table set up at ringside. Rhino tries to Gore Cage through a table in the ring but Cage moves but still can’t get the pin. Cage hits another Unprettier, this time on a piece of table, but Rhino kicks out again. Cage stacks a bunch ob plunder on top of Rhino and slams a chair onto him a bunch of times. That finally gets the pin at 14:25. I remember that match getting good reviews at the time, but this was a bunch of senseless, stupid brawling with idiotic spots and a far cry from what Cage is capable of. This is about all Rhino is capable of, however. The finish bumps it up a tad, but the match was pretty not good.
Rating: **
It is worth noting that the show grinds to a halt as they wait for the cage to be set up. I shouldn’t have to listen to West and Tenay talk this much.
MATCH #7: Six Sides of Steel For the World Tag Team Title – AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels vs. LAX
LAX get their usual promo with Borash backstage before the match. For some reason Konnan think its close enough to Christmas for the two teams to exchange a Dirty Sanchez for a Rusty Trombone, which is just gross any way you figure it. The video package shows a press conference where Konnan accused the champions of having no heart and no “pantalones,” which to the best of my knowledge translates to “pants.” Styles & Daniels have been the champions since 9.24.06, and this is their first defense. Between the two of them, Styles and Daniels have been champions in TNA 19 times. Styles is a three-time World Champion, a five-time X-Division Champion (but now six as I write this), and four-time Tag Team Champions (with Jerry Lynn, Abyss, and Daniels twice). Daniels is a two-time X-Division Champion (now three as I write this) and a five-time Tag Team Champion (with Elix Skipper and Low Ki as Triple X three times, and twice with Styles). The champions came ready and they control the early going. Styles hits a dropkick and Tenay tries telling me to use an exclamation point but I say to hell with what Mike Tenay wants. Every time LAX tries to mount a comeback the champions are able to counter. The LAX double-teaming finally works out for them as Daniels goes on the defensive now as the challengers go to work. Konnan hands Homicide a fork, and he uses it to bust Daniels open. I don’t know why he’s hiding it from the referee, there are no disqualifications in a steel cage match. Hernandez comes in with some boring offense and Homicide then comes back in with a tequila bottle and spits some in Daniels’ face. That’s pretty badass really. Homicide tries a top rope Ace Crusher, but Daniels reverses it to a hiptoss. Styles comes in and the champions are on fire now. They use the fork on Homicide now, digging it into his face and Homicide is bleeding now. Styles and Homicide fight on top of the cage, and Daniels comes up to join them and Hernandez follows and they do one of those Tower of Doom spots but with a twist – Styles stays on top of the cage and hits a big cross body block on Hernandez. Hernandez recovers and heads to the top of the cage. He tries a splash but it misses. Konnan then hands Homicide a coat hanger and he uses it on Daniels. Konnan then reaches through the cage and continues to choke Daniels with it. That leaves Styles by himself against the challengers. He fights valiantly but Hernandez hits a big lariat and Homicide follows it up with the Gringo Killer to get the pin and regain the titles at 14:27. That was much better than the Ultimate X match, and the challengers did a lot in making the champions look good. I don’t care much for Homicide, Hernandez, or Konnan on their own, but together as a group they’re the best thing going in TNA.
Rating: ****
MATCH #8: World Heavyweight Title Match – Special Enforcer: Kurt Angle – Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting
The video package for this match is very over-dramatic and really oversells Sting. Jarrett has been the champion since 6.29.06, and this is only his third defense. Sting is putting his career on the line for this one so you know how it’s going to turn out. Tenay and West are already going crazy just at Sting’s entrance; they definitely have a collective crush on him. Tenay says that Sting carrying the baseball bat must be a tribute to the Detroit Tigers, even though he’s been carrying it since oh about 1997 or so. They start slowly, because they’re two washed up old men. Jarrett takes the early advantage, since Sting hasn’t wrestled in over two months. Jarrett gets a few moves in, Sting regroups, and his first real move of the match is a powerbomb? Okay, whatever you say Sting. They fight on the outside of the ring and Jarrett tries to use a chair and Angle gets involved. Back in the ring they appear to be moving at half speed. I just can’t get invested in this match. Sting and Jarrett collide, and referee Rudy Charles almost counts both men out (on such a lame spot), so Angle comes in and hits an Olympic Slam on Charles and declares himself the referee by taking off his t-shirt and spitting all over the place. Sting hits the Scorpion Death Drop but Jarrett kicks out. Jarrett comes back and hits The Stroke but Sting kicks out. Sting hits a terrible Tombstone Piledriver and Jarrett kicks out. Jarrett uses the Figure-Four Leglock but Sting escapes. Jarrett then puts on the Ankle Lock to try and psyche out Angle. Sting escapes that too. Sting tries to use the baseball bat but Angle stops him. Angle however does nothing when Jarrett brings the guitar in and waffles Sting with it. Sting no-sells it completely and puts on the Scorpion Deathlock and Jarrett taps the World Title away at 15:01. The match was pretty much garbage, and Sting has no business being the World Champion at this point. Jarrett was his usual boring self, the finish sucked, and this was just bad.
Rating: *½
Bonus
The Joe/Angle Confrontation
This is from TNA “iMPACT!” on 10.19.06, just a few days before the pay-per-view. This was during the whole “Joe has possession of the NWA Title belt” storyline. Mike Tenay just makes the worst facial expressions I have ever seen. Joe doesn’t want to give the title back, so Kurt Angle comes out. They go face to face and Angle delivers a headbutt and then the Olympic Slam. Angle then grabs the belt and Tenay is shooting his wad. Joe gets back up and kicks Angel in the head and the brawl continues, giving Jeff Jarrett the chance he needs to come out and get the belt back. Can’t say I blame him there, he is the champion.
InterAction Exclusive Footage
This is like the WWE Fan Fest, where the fans get a chance to meet the wrestlers and act like marks and embarrass the rest of us. The camera man definitely unabashedly gets close-up shots of Traci, Val, and Christy’s boobs. Don West appears to have had the time of his life.
Photo Album
This is a collection of still photos taken from the event, including the preshow match of Lance Hoyt vs. Robert Roode, in which Traci Brooks was revealed as Roode’s new manager.
Overall
The main event was a big steaming pile of lame, but the X-Division and NWA Tag Team Title matches were both very good, so there’s at least a couple of good things about the show. The street fight was also a massive disappointment, as I’m a big fan of Christian Cage, but way too many silly antics brought it down. So, good effort from the undercard and a terrible main event – yes, This Is TNA. You can purchase it here.
Topics: TNA Reviews |