The best hype machine TNA could drum immediately went behind Bound For Glory the second it was introduced, with vignettes promoting it throughout the last several months of programming, and the company's big debut on Spike TV setting the stage for what they hoped would be their WrestleMania alternative. It did lack the more organic excitement that comes from big shows from the WWE, WCW, or AEW given that the brand had yet to build anything at all worthy of this level of respect, but in the four weeks Impact! had on Spike, TNA ignited. The debuts of Team 3D (the renamed Dudley Boyz) and Gail Kim, plus the return of Kevin Nash, and formation of Jeff Jarrett's new alliance helped the top of the card stand out in a way it hadn't in months. Raven losing the NWA title in an untelevised match in another company (Border City Wrestling up in Canada) was certainly a bummer, but Jarrett as champ was probably the right choice as a representative of TNA for potential new viewers. Jarrett and Nash going on last is far more questionable, but the abundance of exciting, high-tier gimmick matches (Ultimate X, Monster's Ball, and Iron Man) on the card lended the promotion a helping hand in making their new flagship event everything they hoped it could be.
- Bound For Glory 2005 comes to you from the Impact Zone, with Mike Tenay and Don West on the call. Like at Slammiversary, there's a disappointing lack of pageantry to add to the occasion, though the always excellent Barry Scott did wonderful work recapping the last year's worth of action and tying it into what was to come.
- Our opening contest crosses international waters, as Samoa Joe battles Jushin Thunder Liger, a doozy of a showdown to begin the night. It's a big fight feel right out of the gate, with Joe getting a cool Polynesian influenced entrance, while the crowd elevate Liger's entrance by coating the ring in streamers. Both men land several big moves, with Joe dominating early before Liger makes a comeback, showcasing his unique style by stamping on Joe's foot to set up a Fisherman's Buster, before rocking Joe with two of his signature palm thrusts. But in a damp squib of a finish, Joe gets the Coquina Clutch, and Liger's limp arm lands on the mat three times, signaling an ending that clear left the crowd deflated, as they couldn't believe Liger was choked out without much of a fight. This could've used a lot more than the 7 minutes it was given, as TNA had a golden opportunity to open the night with an absolute classic, but it was merely passable instead.
- Diamonds in the Rough bounce back with a win this month, as David Young buries Sonny Siaki into the canvas with his spinebuster to secure a rare pinfall. The match prior, also featuring Shark Boy and Apolo on Siaki's team, was entertaining fluff, as Apolo shines, battling through a vicious mid-air chop block by Skipper to bring an unethusiastic crowd to their feet with a ridiculous Tope con Hilo. Not bad going for a guy that had most of the Impact Zone consistently voicing their disapproval at him.
- TNA is finally back on the Monty Brown hype train, bigging him up every week with vignettes and squash match wins, though that hasn't gotten him up the card yet, as he's fighting perennial midcarder Lance Hoyt here on pay-per-view. This was a near disaster, as both were sloppy, and it almost ends in tragedy early on as Hoyt delivers the world's worst flapjack. They do somewhat recover with the benefit of the Hoyt-sympathetic crowd, who pop big for Hoyt's high spots, as well as Monty's impressive powerbomb. "The Alpha Male" counters an Irish whip, setting Hoyt up for a match-ending Pounce.
- Team Canada have gained new life in the month of October, regaining their coach after Scott D'Amore returned to Impact! and forging a new alliance with Jeff Jarrett as D'Amore assisted Jarrett in taking the NWA gold in his homeland up north. With that new relevance comes a solid push, as they run right through the 3 Live Kru with shocking ease. The action primarily Ron Killings of the Kru, who's insane athleticism will never not wow, before BG's shtick is interrupted by Roode brandishing a hockey stick, knocking out BG for Eric Young to make the cover. The short match only exists to give the Canadians a win, and also allow for Kip James' face turn, as he saves Konnan, the man who's been second-guessing Kip for months, as the former ass-afficionado brains A-1 with a chair to stop a beatdown on Konnan. Absolutely nobody needed Kip and BG's "Will they or won't they?" drama to be revisited, but at least the story arc has a definitive conclusion now.
- The eighth Ultimate X match in TNA history is for number one contendership to the X-Division title, as Matt Bentley, Chris Sabin, and Petey Williams square off in one of wackier iterations of the match I've ever seen. It gets off to a weird start as Traci, giving her man Matt a chance to scale the cables, sticks Petey's face in her chest, and goes literally off the rails as the red "X" itself falls from it's hangar after Bentley tackles a hanging Sabin. The mess makes TNA look insanely bush league, but fortunately, these three are madmen more than willing to sacrifice their bodies to make this great. Sabin is picture perfect in this match, trusted with several tricky spots and effortlessly pulling them off. At one point, he leaps out of a mount in the corner to catch Petey sneaking up, then launches the Canadian into Bentley in the corner with a Razor's Edge. Later, Sabin catches Bentley's legs while they're both on the tightrope above the ring, and he's then able to drop down and follow through with one heck of a powerbomb. Sabin finishes it off with a moonsault onto both men on the floor, before we get to the aforementioned moment where the cheap prop falls off the cables, drawing the ire of the rightfully peeved Orlando faithful. For some reason, an entire crew is required to re-hang it, at which point Sabin and Bentley bump off the cables again, this time loosening the "X" so it can fall into the waiting arms of Williams. One wonders what the point of putting the object back up there was, rather than just letting Petey scoop it up the first time and be declared the winner, but it's TNA, logic doesn't go here.
- The heel turn of America's Most Wanted, James Storm and Chris Harris, was a significant refresh for TNA's tag division, as the two had spent so long being tertiary to the titles, before fully claiming that unassailable top spot after aligning with Jeff Jarrett. The division has been refocused around Storm and Harris as the dominant heel champs, as they took the NWA tag titles away from The Naturals on the go-home show, before surviving a shenanigan-laden defense here against Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens, who are shown to be clearly inferior. Douglas and Stevens have every advantage in the book, isolating Harris after Storm was left laying courtesy of a powerbomb on the barricade, later running circles around Harris, who blunders into Storm and has powder kicked into his eyes. But even The Naturals breaking out the Death Sentence, AMW's trademark finisher, can't get the win, as it's clear that their push is truly over, and the mostly dead crowd proves it to be a correct decision. Gail Kim, who despite also being a part of Jarrett's entourage has yet to receive any development beyond "wears a short skirt", assists Harris in handcuffing Douglas to the railing, and Stevens is smashed with a beer bottle and pinned by the Death Sentence.
- Victory Road last year marked the first appearance of another TNA signature multi-man fracas, the Monster's Ball match, and it wasn't a debut for the history books. Despite that, the company pushes forward with the concept, hyping up the forced isolation that competitors Abyss, Jeff Hardy, Rhino, and Sabu have been subjected to, before setting them loose in one of the craziest stunt shows I've seen in wrestling. There are big bumps and broken tables galore here, and another wild stage dive by Jeff, leaping off the highest point of the set for a Swanton Bomb onto Abyss, shattering two tables. Rhino, who avoided most of the damage all match, explodes with a fury towards the finish, viciously Goring Abyss through a table to stop the unveiling of a bag of thumbtacks, before polishing Jeff off with a stunning Rhino Driver off the middle rope. This was a blast to watch, so much wonderful carnage.
- From plunder to purity, it's time for AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels' second Iron Man match of 2005, as they again battle with a 30-minute time limit and the X-Division title at stake. Their first path through the half-hour crusade came at Against All Odds, and on that night, Daniels let his ego get the best of him, demanding overtime after a draw, promptly losing his gold to AJ. Tonight, no extra time would be needed, as despite a brutal assault by Daniels, AJ pulled it out, securing the legs of Daniels for a Styles Clash in the nick of time, getting the three count with a second to spare. It was an electric ending to a great final few minutes, as both men went Hell for leather, with AJ battling through a thigh injury and the stiffest offense Daniels could muster. They did take a while to warm up to that point, though, as neither man showed much urgency across the first 20 or so minutes, making it obvious that they were stalling. It's absolutely no fault of theirs that this wasn't the barnburner it could've been, the booking hung them out to dry.
- There's one major elephant in the room I've yet to address throughout this review, and that's the status of Kevin Nash. Big Sexy was ready to headline for TNA in another battle with Jeff Jarrett that assuredly would not have been a five-star classic, but Nash went down at the worst possible moment, contracting a staph infection that left him hospitalized. With no contender set up behind him, TNA stared down disaster, quickly tossing together a ten-man battle royale. For a last-minute addition to the card, it wasn't awful, as most of the big stars of the night return for a second pop. The opportunity to see Samoa Joe operate in the main event scene was refreshing, as his showdowns with Abyss and Lance Hoyt were entertaining. The eliminations proceed without much fanfare though, save for an ugly botch involving Jeff Hardy and Monty Brown (Jeff was supposed to pull Monty with him while being tossed out, and he just didn't, making Monty do all the work himself), and the finishing sequence, where Rhino again cut Abyss down with a Gore, tossing the monster to the floor.
- Main event time, as Jeff Jarrett enters, as Rhino now faces certain demise at the hands of both a desperate champion and his vengeful ex-boss. This was more of an angle than a match, as Rhino gets virtually nothing on Jarrett, playing up his exhaustion after a grueling night. Tito Ortiz, once again the guest referee for a Jarrett match, thwarts the interference of Gail Kim and AMW, and Rhino proves his worth by kicking out of a guitar shot, before evading a second to nail the Gore one more time. Evidently, that wasn't enough to properly end the night, though, as Rhino and the 3 Live Kru aren't enough to combat Jarrett, AMW, and Team Canada. The new NWA champ ends up in a casket, which is the cue for Team 3D to hit the ring, returning after a bloody beatdown that the heels had celebrated with a mock funeral (that segment was a hoot, Storm's fake sobbing was hilarious and Jarrett got in several witty zingers). Eric Young, the gooniest of the goons, gets a spot in the casket instead after a 3D. The refusal to let Rhino have his moment really got to me here, he was an afterthought in his own world title win.
6/10
TNA's formula of "more equals more" works best in small doses, and I think the glaring flaws in their product were exposed on a 3+ hour show. There were too many matches, and not enough did something to stand out. Ultimate X and Monster's Ball were both fun, but this isn't an essential watch, there are much more efficient TNA pay-per-views out there.
- Henry
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