TNA Bound For Glory 2008 Highlights

Let us think about what happened at Bound for Glory 2008. The first match was that Huge X Division match with the weird cage and escape through a hole at the top. Jay Lethal won it and although this match was really interesting it was not really that much special, I would have expected a whole lot more.

Then we had the one wrestling match that probably not a lot of people wanted to see in the Beautiful People and Cute Kip taking on that former Scott Steiner freak, ODB (which has a great gimmick) and Rhino. It was known from the start who would win. A simple gore and nothing really special with this match unfortunately.

After this a match for the X Division Championship. Sheik Abdul Bashir is not that great as an X division wrestler and the entire America versus Middle Eastern storyline is simply too much. The match was not bad but it was also not that entertaining. You would think that TNA would learn from the fact that they lost ratings during this type of matches. The addition of a sergeant introuducing Creed was also too much. As expected, Sheik won the match with a pin and a little cheating. Once again, nothing really special in this wrestling match. Next was the TNA Knockouts title match, a three way dance which was simply better than most women's matches but still something that the people did not really want to see. Unfortunately the women wrestling momentum is going down in TNA and the company does miss Gail Kim. Still, these women in the TNA knockout division can wrestle, as a difference from WWE's divas.

Now the Monster's Ball wrestling match for the Tag Team Titles was really impressive. I really thought that the inclusion of Steve McMichael will not be that great but it was a nice factor. We got to see a lot of "violence" and some pretty impressive moves. LAX was probably the team that was the most impressive and nobody really expected Hernandez to end up towards a table filled with tacs. Getting the pin on this wrestler is something that we would have not expected. Matt Morgan was also pretty interesting and Team 3D was, of course, entertaining. The highlight of the Monster's Ball was the fact that Abyss was put through a flaming table by Team 3D.

The wrestling match between AJ Styles, Christian Cage and Booker T looked like a filler from the start. The feud was not that well built and on the whole I do not think anyone except fans of these three thought they would see something interesting. Unfortunately my pick (AJ Styles) did not get to win and we saw an interesting end to this wrestling match. Probably the most impressive moments were when AJ Styles was flying and the end with the Christian finisher from the top rope and then Booker's axe kick from the top rope.

The Kurt Angle versus Jeff Jarrett match was very good. Jeff Jarrett looks like he is in a very good shape and he did perform some very interesting wrestling moves. Mick Foley got involved of course and we did see Mr. Socko again, although it might be that TNA is not allowed to say that so that copyright would not be infringed. Kurt Angle went for that huge moonsault he does, missed but that does not matter. This wrestling match was very good. We saw the guitar involved, Mick Foley acting as the special enforcer and on the whole a great match.

The main event was Sting vs Samoa Joe for the main title in TNA. The feud was not really that well built but we all thought that something special will happen. The match was not bad but the Monster's Ball and the Kurt Angle versus Jeff Jarrett matches were better. From the start we all thought that Sting was going to win and he won his past two Bound for Glory matches. After each wrestler hit the other's finisher we saw Kevin Nash appearing and he took the side of Sting. This was unexpected and it was a good enough ending. The one good move was Samoa Joe's move in the crowd as he jumped and landed on the stairs, it was pretty impressive and risky at the same time.

TNA Bound for Glory 2008 was a very good event but the truth is that it could have been a lot better. If it wasn't for those highlights that were incredible. We saw that Sting can still wrestle, no matter what others are saying and that Jeff Jarrett is in a great wrestling shape. Let us hope the next year will be better for TNA.

TNA Hard Justice 2008 - My Review

As always, people might or might not agree with what I or anyone else is writing when talking about professional wrestling as there are TNA fans and WWE fans and the fight is on. I must say that I never made a secret of the fact that I enjoy TNA wrestlers more but the WWE does seem to be growing in storyline material and on the whole the competition between the two companies is interesting although WWE is far ahead of TNA at the moment. Leaving that aside I just saw Hard Justice some time ago and wanted to talk about it a little.

First match saw Creed versus Petey Williams for the X Division title. It was a pretty interesting match but the ending did not really satisfy me as Daivari interfereed and caused Petey Williams to retain the title. As expected, this being an X division wrestling match, it was quite entertaining and did make for a good pay per view start. Then we had the knockouts tag team match, one that should have been highly entertaining as the women's wrestling division in TNA is definitely of high quality. Traci Brooks was the special referee, something that I do not remember seeing before until TNA: a woman's wrestling referee. The start of the match was something that wanted to be funny, it was not for me, and then we had the actual wrestling match starting. It was not bad and the TNA Knockouts champion got the pin.

The next was a highly expected tag team match between Robert Roode and James Storm versus LAX for the tag titles. A lot of hype was around this match and Beer Money Inc. is quite catchy. On the other hand I really like LAX and I wanted them to win. This match looked pretty violent and intense and it did keep fans entertained. We did see the Three Amigos, a punch probably towards the Guerrero family and then Roode tried a frog splash that missed. This was the turning point as Hernandez got in and started laying out Beer Money Inc. Then all broke loose as a lot of near falls happened. This wrestling match had an incredibly intense ending, one that was so unexpected. We saw Hernandez execute the Border Toss on Homicide but landing outside the six sided ring on Beer Money Inc. This was not the end as the women got involved as well, together with Hector Guerrero but Beer Money Inc got the win after the beer bottle was broken on Homice as he was going for the Gringo Killer. An incredible tag team wrestling match and new tag team champions.

Next was Sonjay Dutt versus Jay Lethal, all accompanied by a feud story line that was very well built. The wrestling match had special stipulations as the two wrestlers were chained together and wearing a tuxedo. The win should come via pin fall or when one wrestler takes the costume off the other one. Jay Lethal won it via pin fall, quite a good match but without those chains I think it would have been a lot more spectacular. Next came the Jersey Street Fight that saw Team 3D lose the match with Christian Cage and Rhino. It was quite a good match with a frog splash finish. Abyss also appeared and saved Cage and Rhino after the match. Then we had the last man standing wrestling match but with TNA rules, which means that first you have to pin or submit your opponent prior to the referee starting the ten count. AJ won the match but Sting attacked AJ. This was definitely unexpected. The main event saw Samoa Joe defeat Booker T thanks to a guitar hit. It is becoming quite strange but for me it seems that faces use the guitar and heels Sting's baseball bat. This is quite worth a watch. Hard Justice 2008 was a pretty good pay per view in terms of wrestling but I do think it could have been better. Be sure to watch SummerSlam and Edge versus the Undertaker in Hell in a Cell this weekend.

TNA Slammiversary 2008 Review

OK! TNA Slmmiversary is over and I took my time to write my own review because I was a little unsatisfied with it all. The good news is that overall, the wrestling was great, as always with TNA but it felt it had something missing. The first match, Kaz vs Petey Williams was pretty good, just as we would expect from the two. It was obvious that Scott Steiner would get involved but what was not really expected was the end. Petey Williams won, of course, but what was special was the ending that saw Kaz getting beat up and Abyss appearing out of the blue. Then we had the 6 man tag team match that featured the TNA Knockouts, a match that was good but it did feel as simply something extra that needed to be there as the knockouts are popular in wrestling.

Now the next match was one that I wanted to see: LAX vs Team 3D. Needless to say that it is quite special to see LAX with that lovely knockout near them (not to mention she delivered a What's up to Team 3D) and Hector Guerrero of course. As I expected this wrestling match was pretty good with a lot of interference and good double team moves and an ending that was definitely unexpected. Homicide with a quick roll up and LAX maintains the belts.

Awesome Kong then had 2 matches and she also laid out Elvis. That was quite hilarious but the matches against Kong from this invitational are not that entertaining. We basically see Kong destroying every single woman. Now the entire Elvis part was not entertaining at all from my point of view although it is always nice to see that Awesome Bomb delivered. Then we had the wedding with Jay Lethal, something we all knew how it was going to turn out, just like the Edge and Vickie Guererro wedding that will happen in the WWE. Everything was long and the former wrestlers doing it like crazy, including the snake and it all. Not that great but not bad on the whole.

Now the next match was the one that I personally wanted to see: Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles. The entire storyline was well built and these two wrestlers are very good, with a lot of technical skill. We did expect a great match and it was, although it was not the best these two can give. There is the question of whether or not Kurt Angle is 100% but still, by just looking at the entire match we can realize that this is not over. As I expected, AJ Styles won the match after a distraction by Karen Angle. AJ got beat up afterwards but still, a great way to continue a feud.

Next we had the main event: the King of the Mountain match, a very unique one in professional wrestling, one that is sure to be of high quality, no matter what happens. As expected, Kevin Nash got involved in the match but it was all made so that Booker T would have the opening towards a feud with Samoa Joe. Kevin Nash cost Booker the title when he got involved and Samoa Joe retains the title. A pretty good pay per view on the whole but still, I do have the feeling that for a Slammiversary pay per view, TNA could have done better.

TNA Genesis 2007 Sonjay Dutt vs Jay Lethal for the X Division Championship

This was for the X Division Championship and I was sure we were bound for a good, athletic wrestling match. We got to see Sonjay Dutt "The Guru" fight against the title holder, "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal. Although I hate the way Lethal's character is so similar to Randy Savage I still wanted him to win as I do see him as the better wrestler between the two. Well, what can I say? If I were to put down on paper all the great moves and wrestling combinations we saw in this match I wouldn't be able to deal with just one A4 sheet of paper. The match was great, we of course saw the lethal combination followed by the flying elbow drop for the win but we also saw Sonjay Dutt's Camel Clutch submission. A lot of flying, great athletic ability by both wrestlers and I must say that training together as a tag team probably made it possible to have so many interesting moves in just one match. It was truly a wrestling match that represents the X Division of TNA.

Jay Lethal vs Christopher Daniels - Bound For Glory 2007

OK, so we have here the match for the TNA X Division Championship at Bound for Glory 2007 between the Black Machismo Jay Lethal and The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels. I must say I was a big fan of the Macho Man Randy Savage in the past and it is disturbing for me to see somebody that imitates him like Jay Lethal's Machismo gimmick but hey he is pretty good and that Lethal Combination finisher is interesting. The match did start with a domination of Jay Lethal with huge, quick moves but then we saw Christopher Daniels take control. After that we kept seeing a lot of changes in momentum and some really well executed wrestling moves by both Lethal and Daniels. The end was very nice with the Lethal Combination starting from the top rope of the wrestling ring. This match was very good and the best one till that time at Bound for Glory. Fans kept screaming TNA and Jay Lethal won. I don't like the Macho Man impersonation but he is a very good wrestler and quite fit as an athlete to hold the X Division Championship.