TNA Bound for Glory 2011 + part of Destination X 2011

Hey fans
yesterday me and the crew got together for a day full of debouchery and botched moves, ie. watched wrestling. The big finale was TNA's biggest show of the year, so I figured why not take this opportunity and throw up some thoughts on this big show. Also, below, since I don't want it to go to waste, the beginnings of my Dest. X review from earlier in the year; my laptop went down and i've never been able to finish the show and who knows when I will so at the bottom, some bonus text for you. Enjoy

TNA Bound for Glory 2011

Preshow Match:
Mexican-America v. Ink Inc- 3

I liked the seconds interplay here, 3 attractive women knocking heads. I've kind of dug Anarquia in past matches but he seemed lost in a big show haze here and did Marvin the Martian zap Hernandez with a shrink ray? Moore continues to unimpress and I couldn't tell if there was any potential in Neal behind all the gimmick he was wearing. Still fun for a sprint and to get the crowd going, which stayed hot for most of the show.

1) Austin Aries v. Brian Kendrick- 6
2) Jerry Lynn v. Rob Van Dam (Full Metal Mayhem)- 6

Our first two bouts, in my opinion, were the best all around. Aries seems on a mission to stand out from the rest of the TNA pack as the best guy working here and as often as Kendrick gets shit from being lazy, he came here to perform; more akin to his Zero One shit back in the day. I can't get my head around his attire but the Sliced Bread off the top made me want to wear it for Halloween. Heat Seeking Missile never looked better either, damn good opener. Lynn v. RVD has been done over and over again and while it's consensus they haven't ever captured that magic from their 1st match again, they at least figured why not bump huge to do something with this one? Could feel it seemed like Lynn's swan song as he was taking the majority of the damage and it was brutal. Both guys had some cuts and open wounds which made this feel more personal than most of their other bouts. I bet that powerbomb into the guard rail head first will make Rob forget that he did a film called Blood Moon; a TNA highlight reel clip for sure. This served it's purpose of getting the blood rushing in the audience.

3) Samoa Joe v. Crimson v. Matt Morgan- 3
4) Bully Ray v. Mr. Anderson (Falls Count Anywhere Match)- 4

I've never seen Crimson work before and he came off as a stock big guy with tattoos. Can't really punch, no dynamic moves, and yet he got the win? Finishes were a big letdown up and down this card and this was no exception. Morgan is a failed science experiment, apparently like organ growth. He just looked bad, par for the course, his dive outside looked like a fat kid scared to come off the diving board. The next match was good at points; Bully Ray seems poised to be a top guy in this company, promos, way he carries himself and character. He blistered Anderson with chops of the heart stopping variety. Anderson's another guy I"ve just never gotten behind but seemed to have a lot of support. Bubba will take his licks which I like about him. Punishing match where Anderson was given the ball and he dropped it into the La Brea tarpits never to be recovered. But god damn did that fucked up Swanton give the whole room some hearty bellowing laughter.

5) Winter v. Velvet Sky v. Mickie James v. Madison Rayne- 3
6) AJ Styles v. Christopher Daniels (I Quit Match)- 5

Overall, I like TNA's women; think they have better personalities and I like they get the in ring time. But as the past repeats itself, a Jarrett ruined this one. It was just chaotic, no organization to the match, they were losing the crowd quickly and it seemed designed to get heat on Karen. I thought everyone looked competent except Madison who had on some kind of Beyonce skin colored suit under her outfit, but again, finish was shit. AJ and Daniels is a go to feud in TNA, it's happened over and over again, seems like every time this fed does a restart they are at each other's throats. The crowd was going in this match and they had to work hard to get them back. The apron Blue Thunder was one of the first spots I may have ever seen where AJ pussed out, looked like he got caught in a rope spider web like at a kid's play area. But it's a fun exercise watching both men take the lead; despite age, politics, pushes, they both are truly maestro's in the ring. The finish I saw coming, new chickenshit heel finish to this one and it left the fans and us cottonmouthed.

7) Sting v. Hulk Hogan- 3
8) Kurt Angle v. Bobby Roode- 5

Hogan didn't even do a lockup before brining backup; we were doing an over/under bet on how many people would interfere in the match; and no one guessed 1 person; shocking. Sting was game to be the beating dummy but it seemed extremely forced Hogan and Flair were doing that much damage. We got blood, so if you like that, there you go. There wasn't much work per se, Hulk did take a few bumps but the performances were there, both men seemed dialed in and this match is what it is. Main event is the same issue with all of Angle's work in TNA; he does about 2-3 mins of feeling out, then goes right into his top shelf moves, you'll get an anklelock series of reversals and into the big moves again. Roode looked good in keeping up, but there was nothing here to make him stand out; it felt like another Angle match that looks good no matter who's in there. But this formula is getting stale and has made the Angle Slam and Anklelock for that matter about as sure proof of a finish as the Worm. There was some diasgreement on the finish; wrestling wise it was fine and leads to a rematch but did come off flat; story wise, it shot Roode's momentum after all the videos and hype, Angle continues to be the most pushed man in TNA history. There's a long list of names he's toppled their momentum to ever since coming in, Joe, AJ, Sting, Morgan, Anderson and now Roode. You have to continually keep making stars and they dropped the ball on this one; not to say Roode won't win the belt next month but what's next months' ppv called? Yeah, I don't know either.

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TNA Destination X 2011 (part of)

Mike Tenay: "This one's going to be fun."

1) Kazarian v. Samoa Joe- 6
So, it's no secret I'm no longer an avid TNA watcher, in fact, I don't tune into their weekly TV, so it's always kind of fun to peek in on the fed and see what's changed. Besides terrible booking, Joe seems to still be motivated as he was 100% in character here as smug destroyer. Liked the momentum switches but Kazarian is a poor Shawn Michaels circa '96 with the dazed look and moppy hair. Didn't really care for the finish but the package they presented was smooth and stiff at the same time.

2) Douglas Williams v. Mark Haskins- 4
Haskins came out with some character, but didn't put any of it into his performance. Crowd kind of turned on him like England did the Queen, with quiet judgement. Williams looked pockmarked like a 15 year old teenager but i did like the reversal of the Chaos Theory and they didn't feel the need to just rehash it. Haskins was having some trouble on the ropes near the end and the fans let him know it, like those bastards didn't get in for free and feel the right to give him shit. Not sure if TNA will bring him back or not but seemed he could use some help in the personality dept. Who's running that these days? D'Lo?

3) Generation Me v. Eric Young/ Shark Boy- 3
This defines "throwaway." I just realized this is now called Impact Wrestling. So is their TV show now called Impact Wrestling Impact? Shark Boy is still doing the Austin routine that everyone forgot about 3 weeks after he started doing it. The back of his tights reads "Shell Yeah." I think even third graders with limited marine biological iformation know sharks have no type of shell on their bodies. Eric Young = wasted opportunities. I'm not sure why he has two titles and why he looks as ridiculous as he does, but the guy has loads of talent, and he's losing the best years of his prime health acting like a moron and losing to Jeremy Buck. The last few sequences came off pretty good so I bumped the score up but this is nothing you need concern your eyes with.