Every good wrestling organization has a marquee annual event to build towards, where feuds come to fruition, old grudges are settled and new rivalries begin. For Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, that event takes place every October in the form of Bound for Glory. And 2011’s Bound for Glory took place in Philadelphia, a city rich in wrestling history thanks in large part to now-defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling being based there for most of the ’90s.
The Bound for Glory 2011 DVD shows how pivotal this event was to what has been going on in TNA for the year or so leading up to event. With most of the company’s top stars in action, Bound for Glory 2011 is headlined by two matches that proved to be detrimental to the company’s future – a battle for control of the company between Hulk Hogan and Sting, as well as a World Heavyweight Championship main event between then champion Kurt Angle and the winner of the Bound for Glory Series, Bobby Roode.
But the event gets off to a fast-paced start as Austin Aries defends his X Division Championship against former champion Brian Kendrick. With sprinklings of crowd support for Aries (despite his villainous behavior), this match has a lot of back-and-forth action as each competitor looks to outdo the other both in and out of the ring. And Kendrick puts up quite a fight, almost defeating Aries on several occasions, even hitting him with his signature Sliced Bread reverse DDT backflip off the top rope. But in the end Aries hoists Kendrick up and drops him to the mat for a brainbuster to retain the title.
Honoring their contributions to Philadelphia’s wrestling scene, longtime ECW rivals Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn are up next in a Full Metal Mayhem match where any metal object is legal. While neither man (especially Lynn) is as good as he was during ECW’s prime (as seen by a minor botch here and there), this match still offers a lot of nostalgia, not only with the use of steel chairs and ladders, but also with impressive athleticism. RVD hits Lynn with a chair kick before hitting his Rolling Thunder somersault onto a ladder to evoke “ECW!” chants from the enthusiastic audience. Lynn reciprocates by hitting a sunset powerbomb onto a ladder outside the ring, but RVD wins after hitting his Van Terminator dropkick with a chair.
That’s followed by a triple threat match between three of TNA’s most dominant wrestlers, the undefeated Crimson, Samoa Joe and Matt Morgan. With Joe having eliminated Crimson from the Bound for Glory Series by injuring his ankle, and Crimson and Morgan forming a bit of an alliance during their friendly rivalry, this match really could go either way depending on how each man works with the others. Establishing some teamwork early on, Crimson and Morgan take it to Joe before their bond begins to break down. Things come to a somewhat unexpected end after Morgan hits Joe with a knee lift only for Crimson to capitalize by pinning Joe to win the match.
The next match is another nod to ECW’s Philadelphia roots with a falls-count-anywhere contest between ECW alumnus Bully Ray and the loudmouth Mr. Anderson. While you might expect Bully Ray to appeal to the fans since he has such history in this town, he instead cuts a pre-match promo where he says, “Screw Philly!” before heading to the ring. Anderson gets the early advantage with a very ECW-like move where he takes a sign from the crowd that reads “Welcome to Philly, Asshole” (referring to Anderson’s self-proclaimed nickname), which is revealed to be a metal Dead End street sign. They fight up the entrance ramp and Bully mocks Anderson by using Anderson’s own micorphone to berate Anderson (and Philadelphia) before Anderson attacks him and the fight goes backstage. They make their way back to the ring and both men employ objects such as a guardrail and tables. After several near-falls, Anderson finally hits his mic check (reverse facebuster) through a table outside the ring for the pin.
The four-way match between Winter, Mickie James, Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky for the Knockouts Championship is about as chaotic as you might expect, especially with the obviously biased Karen Jarrett as guest referee. With little regard for any rules, it’s hard to keep up with who the legal competitor is and who is interfering. When Winter inadvertently spits red mist into Jarrett’s face, it looks as if James is going to pin Winter to win the title. Traci Brooks runs to the ring to make the count, but by then it’s Sky who gets the win to regain the Knockouts belt.
Before the I Quit match between AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels gets underway, a nice video package recaps their rivalry dating back to their early X Division battles at the Asylum in the six-sided ring. Once the match gets started, Daniels‘ arrogance is apparent as he aggressively tries to make Styles quit very early on. The two trade submission moves until Daniels opens a toolbox and throws a wrench at the steel steps (to prove that these are real tools, I guess). He then tries to stab Styles in the face with a screwdriver, making it clear that their longtime friendship is definitely over. Styles ducks and Daniels embeds the screwdriver into the turnbuckle before hitting a beautiful Best Moonsault Ever to continue his dominance. Daniels goes on to straddle Styles’ neck with a steel chair while threatening to make everything Styles has done for TNA his own. A smack to Styles head with a microphone draws blood and Daniels instructs Styles’ wife Wendy to take the kids away from the TV screen because he’s going to murder Styles. Styles has time to recover a bit and when Daniels tries to smash him with the chair, Styles fights back, hitting him with a vicious series of clostheslines and kicks. He then nails Daniels with the Pelé kick, followed by the Styles Clash, before picking up the screwdriver. As soon as Daniels sees the screwdriver in Styles’ hand, he pleads “just don’t hurt me” before quitting and running to the back. As Styles celebrates his victory atop the entrance ramp, Daniels reemerges and attacks Styles from behind to get the last laugh.
Jeff Jarrett, who is not scheduled to wrestle, then comes to the ring and says, “Nero, I’m calling you out, bitch.” Jeff Hardy answers and a fight ensues. Security eventually breaks them up while the crowd chants, “Let them fight!” That leads right into the match between Hogan and Sting for control of TNA. Sting, still doing his mentally unstable Joker-like thing, comes to the ring in a purple trench coat that looks like a cross between a Mardi Gras marching band jacket and something Michael Jackson might have worn. When he removes his jacket, he reveals a Hulkamania T-shirt, which is clearly a psychology game on the part of the man who has been trying to get Hogan to return to his more noble ways. Hogan responds by signaling for Ric Flair to come from the back to be in his corner. Despite his recent back surgery and overall inability to move around like he used to, Hogan gets a surprising jump on Sting early on, Hulking up, then doing a D-Generation X-style crotch chop to anger Sting. Sting rips his Hulkamania shirt off and throws it at Flair, giving Hogan an opportunity to hit Sting. The fight goes to the floor and Flair and Hogan double-team Sting right in front of former TNA owner Dixie Carter, who will regain control of the company if Sting is victorious. Hogan hits a low blow on Sting and referee Jackson James inexplicably does nothing to stop Hogan and Flair’s dirty tactics.
Hogan hits Sting in the head with a foreign object of some sort before throwing a now-bleeding Sting back into the ring. As Hogan does some Flair-like gloating, Sting takes him down and uses the same foreign object on Hogan. With both men bleeding, Sting hits Hogan with a Stinger Splash in the corner, then locks on the Scorpion Deathlock. Despite the fact that Hogan taps out, the referee (who is revealed to be Garett Bischoff, son of longtime Hogan cohort Eric Bischoff) is reluctant to end the match, but finally awards the victory to Sting. Eric Bischoff, Flair and the rest of Immortal (Scott Steiner, Bully Ray and Gunner) rush to the ring and start beating Sting down with chairs. Garett has a change of heart and tries to stop his father, but Eric hits him with a chair as Flair continues the assault on Sting. Former Immortal member Abyss is seen watching from behind the curtain while Sting crawls to Hogan’s feet and begs for his help. With the audience’s encouragement, Hogan tears his shirt off and takes out the members of Immortal one at a time until there’s a standoff with Immortal stuck between Hogan and Sting. Immortal is vanquished and Hogan and Sting celebrate in the ring while Carter and her husband rejoice from ringside. Considering Hogan’s recent medical issues, and the fact that both of these guys are in their 50s, this match is a lot better than expected. Sting does carry most of the match, but the involvement of the rest of Immortal and Garett helps offset some of Hogan’s complications in the ring.
While Hogan, Sting and most of the members of Immortal are icons of wrestling’s past, Roode is one of TNA’s homegrown talents and has become the younger guy most fans want to see carrying the company. (Keep in mind Bound for Glory took place just weeks before Roode broke a bottle over his Beer Money tag team partner James Storm, effectively turning on the fans and the company.) Having won the Bound for Glory Series, Roode earned a shot at Angle‘s TNA World Heavyweight Championship. And having overcome Angle’s gauntlet on Impact Wrestling, where Roode was forced to square off against his Fortune stablemates and friends in the weeks leading up to Bound for Glory, Roode enters this match with a lot of momentum and appears to be ready to win his first TNA World Championship.
As the match begins, Angle immediately takes control with his grappling skills. But Angle gets a little too cocky and when he goes to the top rope for a moonsault, Roode hits him with a suplex off the top rope, proving he can hang with Angle as a wrestler. Roode soon follows that up with a crossface submission move, which Angle reverses into an ankle lock. Angle and Roode trade blows, wrestling moves and submission maneuvers, with Roode getting a few two-counts on Angle. But this back-and-forth culminates with an Angle Slam. Angle goes for another slam, which Roode counters with an arm drag. Angle resorts to a low blow, then hits Roode with two suplexes, but Roode counters a third suplex with another crossface submission move. Angle gets to the ropes, the two exchange some blows, then Angle comes off the second rope and falls right into another crossface. Angle counters with another Angle Slam then gets the pin while using the rope for leverage (and while Roode’s hand is under the rope). But since referee Brian Hebner doesn’t see any of that, the win goes to Angle.
With TNA fans and wrestlers alike rallying behind Roode during the build-up to this match, as well as the emotional battle that shows Roode coming so close to becoming the TNA Champion on several occassions, this convoluted ending is incredibly disappointing. But it’s a great match nonetheless and shows that the outcome could have gone either way. But such an anticlimactic ending (not because of who won, but how he won) leaves this Bound for Glory feeling a bit empty. And had Roode not left Bound for Glory feeling like he was screwed out of the title, he may never have resorted to the unscrupulous tactics he has since adopted.
Though Bound for Glory is not yet the pop culture spectacle that WrestleMania has become for WWE, it’s still the biggest event of the year for a company whose history isn’t nearly as rich as its more established rival. And even though this DVD is dominated by wrestling veterans who are past their prime, it also serves as a passing of the torch in many respects, with younger TNA talents proving their worth, and political power being wrestled away from Hogan and Bischoff.
The second disc features exclusive Before the Bell previews for each match, a Roode video package, wrestler interviews, the Bound for Glory pre-show (including the World Tag Team Championship match between Mexican America and Ink Inc.) and other extras.
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