Igniting Upon Impact: Final Build for Bound for Glory

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling presented a special three-hours “Super Impact” broadcast Thursday, but the company chose the safe path for the go-home television program for its biggest pay-per-view of the year.

The focus of Thursday’s show was obviously on Sunday’s Bound for Glory showcase with nearly every male talent performing this weekend getting a chance to be featured in either a promo, segment or match.

Conspicuous by their absence or limited appearance were “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan and Knockouts Tag Team Champions Taylor Wilde and Sarita.

Viewers were treated to seven matches – the same amount featured on Impact’s routine two-hour episodes in recent weeks – but one of the bouts was an outstanding television match-up between TNA World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles and Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle.

The two showcased their wrestling abilities, both in terms of technical skills and flashy maneuvers, before ending the match in a time limit draw as Angle locked the Angle Lock and a subsequent figure four ankle lock on Styles.

The match made the show something special, as the two competitors told a great story of one-upsmanship and the challenge of overcoming their former ally, but the match should have been the closing of the show.

Following up on a classic television match with more promos and video hype for Bound for Glory also seemed a very odd choice, as the 45 minutes after the “main event” were basically a glorified informercial for Sunday’s pay-per-view. At least they could have brought in Vince from Sham-Wow for this crap.

Quick Hits:

-TNA X Division Champion Amazing Red defended his title against Suicide in a decent match that ended when “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero interfered and attacked Suicide. In the end, Red stopped Dinero from hitting his finisher on Suicide. Post-match, Don West, claiming to be Red’s new “promoter,” announced Red would join the pay-per-view’s Ultimate X match and put his title on the line against Suicide, Dinero, Christopher Daniels and Homicide.

-Christopher Daniels beat Dinero in a solid match. After it ended, Suicide hit the ring to stare down Dinero but turned and attacked Daniels, hitting a Gringo Killer. Removing the mask, Homicide revealed himself to be the culprit, though announcers said he’d been banned from the arena for attacking Willie Urbina last week. Security guards took Homicide out during a post-match interview segment.

-Hernandez defeated all three members of The British Invasion in a gauntlet match before being beated down by Eric Young, armed with a kendo stick, and the three men he had just beaten. Hernandez looked strong in this series of three glorified squash matches, but it did nothing to make the IWGP Tag Team Champions look strong headed into their title defense Sunday. Couldn’t they have used World Elite’s real enhancement talent in Sheik Abdul Bashir and Kiyoshi in this role?

-Bobby Lashley and Rhino worked a good television match when they met in a stretcher match. The two men unleashed offense on each other, but no one expected Rhino to pick up the win in this contest. Following the theme of the night, Samoa Joe attacked Lashley during an interview segment after the match. When Lashley beats Joe Sunday in a submission match, it might be appropriate to book next year’s Bound for Glory match between Lashley, John Cena and Clark Kent.

-Hamada and Alissa Flash wrestled in a falls count anywhere matched that saw a lot of strong offense from both women. This third-tier knockouts program continued to prove worthwhile, as the physicality of both these women make for an interesting dynamic. The match ended when Hamada moonsaulted Flash through a table, much like she did to Daffney upon her debut several weeks ago. Both these women should have strong futures in the Knockouts Division.

-ODB, Tara and Awesome Kong were announced as competitors for a Knockouts Championship triple threat prior to tagging together against The Beautiful People. That announcement basically guaranteed tension, which began immediately, as Kong attacked her teammates and walked out on them. At the end of the match, Tara laid out ODB, allowing The Beautiful People to score an easy pinfall. TNA should have waited until after the match to make the Bound for Glory title match official.

-Abyss and Mick Foley’s involvement this week played much less of a role in the overall show than it has in recent weeks. Foley lured Abyss to the ring with more talks of him being a cheap imitation rip-off. When Abyss hit the ring, Foley showed him a video of Dr. Stevie with Lauren held hostage. When Abyss found his “girlfriend,” it was actually Daffney in disguise and Foley and Stevie beat down “The Monster,” weakening him before Sunday’s Monster’s Ball.

-In the opening promo that saw The Main Event Mafia scuffle with their babyface Bound for Glory opponents (A.J. Styles, Matt Morgan, Hernandez, Bobby Lashley, Team 3D and Beer Money), Styles said the pay-per-view will represent the break-up of the Mafia. Is there some stipulation that fans weren’t informed of? The Mafia have survived a year with people winning and losing various titles, so why are viewers supposed to believe this will change all of a sudden?

-What was the deal with “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero cutting a promo starting with the fact he needs to make more money and promoting the energy shot product that already has a logo displayed in the middle of the ring? The gimmick was funny when the Motor City Machineguns did a couple weeks ago, but when multiple people (especially those competing in high profile matches at Bound for Glory) are doing the “I’m underpaid” schtick, it makes it seem like TNA is cheap and not paying employees. Of course, if ratings don’t rise in 2010, this may become a legitimate concern.

-Someone needs to tell “The Boss” that calling yourself cool just isn’t cool. Where’s Carlito when you need him? That’s right… he’s wasting away in the lower midcard of WWE with his brother.

Match Rundown:

The Beautiful People d. Tara, Awesome Kong and ODB
Amazing Red and Suicide wrestled to a no contest for the X Division Championship
Hernandez d. Doug Williams, Brutus Magnus and Rob Terry in a gauntlet match
Daniels d. D’Angelo Dinero
Hamada d. Alissa Flash
Bobby Lashley d. Rhino in a stretcher match
A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle wrestled to a time limit draw

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