By Wade Keller, Torch editor

TNA BOUND FOR GLORY
OCTOBER 23, 2005
ORLANDO, FLA. AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

-Mike Tenay and Don West introduced the show.

-Backstage, Jeff Jarrett told America's Most Wanted that someone was going home in a casket before the night was over. Chris Harris and Jarrett took the booze away from James Storm, who was slurring his words.

1 -- ALEX SHELLEY vs. RODERICK STRONG vs. AUSTIN ARIES vs. SONJAY DUTT

The crowd chanted, "We want Sonjay" early in the match. Another portion of the crowd chanted for Aries. Tenay announced that Kevin Nash was hospitalized over the weekend after calling 911 from his hotel room. He wasn't medically cleared to wrestle, so he was being replaced in the NWA Title match. Dutt walked the top rope and came off with a forearm to Shelley. Shelley caught the charging Sonjay with a boot. Sonjay countered with a snap huracanrana. They shook hands at 2:30, but then Shelley slapped Dutt. Dutt chased him. Shelley bailed out of the ring, then tagged in Strong. Dutt got a rise out of the crowd with a pin attempt after a multiple revolution move. Aries entered the ring and took Dutt out of the ring and quickly scored a near fall on Dutt. Strong hit some nice backbreakers on Dutt. After stressing how this PPV began 30 minutes earlier than usual and the first 30 minutes was free, West slipped up and said "Bound for Glory begins in 20 minutes." The countdown on the screen also had a clock counting down to Bound for Glory. So TNA was sending mixed signals about whether the PPV officially began 30 minutes early or not. At 8:00 all four were locked in submission holds in mid-ring in a four-way. The crowd stood and chanted "TNA, TNA." Dutt played to the crowd more than the others and showed a real personality and ring presence. Strong caught Dutt with a gutbuster at . Aries surprised Dutt and hit the brainbuster suplex. He went to the top rope, but Aries knocked him to the floor. Dutt then knocked Aries to the floor. When he went to the top rope, Strong had enough time to recover and he set up a superplex. Dutt shoved him to the mat. Dutt then a top rope inverted huracanrana (DragonRana) for the win.

WINNER: Dutt at 12:07.

STAR RATING: **1/2 -- Good highspot fest.

-Shane Douglas interviewed America's Most Wanted and Gail Kim backstage. He introduced them as the new World Tag Team Champions as of Impact last night. They showed a clip of the title change with Storm busting a bottle across Chase Stevens. A drunk Storm and Kim laughed at the footage. Douglas reminded Harris that the hunter has now become the hunted. He said they'd be defending against the former champs, The Naturals. When Douglas asked about Team 3D, Storm mocked crying about the death of Team 3D. He said they walked into TNA and they rolled their dead carcasses right out.

-West and Tenay plugged the rest of the matches on the PPV. They also said that Larry Zbyszko had ordered all TNA wrestlers to remain dressed and ready to wrestle on call for the NWA Title situation. Raven stormed to the ring and complained about Zbyszko having power and not making him the no. 1 contender already. Raven said he wouldn't trade this moment "for God's balls and a nutcracker." He called Zbyszko to the ring. Zbyszko told Raven, "How dare you come out here on the biggest event in TNA history when the top contender is in the hospital." Raven interrupted. Zbyszko fired back that he is going to do things his way. Raven didn't like the answer and began choking Zbyszko. Security pried Raven off of Zbyszko. Rhyno stepped out into the ring and said Raven isn't the man he knew five years ago. He said the Raven he knew would have "knocked the shit out of everyone in the ring." He said he used to crucify people and kidnap families. He said Raven is pathetic and soft and said, "Did a girl get in your head?" He said he didn't deserve the title shot, he did. As security escorted Raven by force out of the ring, Cassidy Reilly protested. Rhyno gave him a Gore and celebrated mid-ring.

-West said he understands Raven's gripe since he hasn't received his rematch since losing the belt. They went back to the ring where Rhyno gave Cassidy another Gore. The rumor all afternoon was that Rhyno would be getting the title shot in place of Nash.

-Backstage Douglas interviewed Styles about his X Title defense against Christopher Daniels in a 30 Minute Iron Man match. They used a sports analogy to say that Daniels is that person whom Styles just can't pull away from. Styles said they'd find out later if Daniels can step up and prove that he is Simply Phenomenal.

-More hype from West and Tenay. This feels a bit more like a pregame hype show than the first 30 minutes of a pay-per-view for free.

PAY PORTION BEGINS

-The PPV opening aired with the usual James Earl Jones sound-alike narrating a video previewing key matches.

2 -- SAMOA JOE vs. JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER

Joe came out to the ring accompanied by two Polynesian dancers. He did the dance routine with them and had the crowd on its collective feet cheering. Tenay and West made a big deal out of the spectacular, unique entrance. Polynesian musicians added percussion to the mix. Liger teased a flip to ringside at 1:30 onto Joe, but stopepd short, then dove off the top rope instead into Joe's arms right in front of New Japan's president at ringside. Tenay credited Liger with popularizing the X Division style in Japan more than a decade ago. He noted that Liger's name is based on a Japanese cartoon character which was half lion, half tiger. Joe hit a fallway slam and a running knee to the chest in the corner at 2:45. Tenay talked about how Liger vs. Brian Pillman was the first-ever match on the debut edition of Monday Nitro. They went back and forth. A small chant of "Joe's going to kill you" began. Liger used some open hand palm thrusts to take Joe down at 6:00 and scored a near fall. Joe came back quickly with a Muscle Buster followed by a rear naked choke for an attempted submission. The ref checked Liger's arm, which dropped three times for a clean, surprisingly early win. Tenay touted that Joe remained undefeated.

WINNER: Joe at 7:27:

STAR RATING: **1/2 -- Above average match of below average length. It's disappointing they didn't go longer as the match didn't feel as monumental as it could have had it lasted longer or appeared later on the card. Because the match was so short, you can't help but think possibly Joe is going to be wrestling again later as the replacement for Nash. Why not shoot Joe to the top right away? He's clearly a level above everyone else when it comes to who the consensus pick is to build the promotion around. When I predicted two years ago that Joe would headline WrestleMania within the next five years, I didn't consider that instead he'd lead another promotion to national credibility and profitability, but that's not a bad alternative career path.

-They went to clips of TNA FanFest with fans saying TNA is the best wrestling organization in the world. One fan said he wanted to see great action, not soap operas. West said he loved interacting with fans who had such a love for TNA. Tenay said they have come from all over the world to see this event. They showed two people in the crowd who would begin training at the New Japan Dojo soon since they won a national talent search.

-Simon Diamond gave a pep talk to David Young and Elix Skipper backstage.

3 -- DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH (Simon Diamond & Elix Skipper & David Young) vs. SHARK BOY & APOLO & SONNY SIAKI

Shark Boy began by biting Young's butt. Apolo hit a dive over the top rope. Elix looked to hurt himself slightly on a headscissors landing on Siaki. In the end, Young hit a spinebuster on Siaki for the clean win.

WINNERS: Diamonds at 7:03.

STAR RATING: *1/4 -- Lots of action, not always smooth, but never boring. Hardly a showcase for any of the wrestlers since it wasn't long enough for any to really shine.

-They showed clips of the 30 minute pre-pay portion of Bound for Glory.

-Douglas interviewed Jeff Jarrett backstage. He said at first he didn't believe Nash's excuse, but then verified it. It wasn't clear from his reaction whether he believed the verification or not. He just said that since he promised someone would be leaving in a casket, Nash decided to come up with an excuse to avoid an ass-whipping. Jarrett talked about various contenders by name including Jeff Hardy, Rhino, and Raven. He said to "screw" each of them. Then Monty Brown walked into the picture. He spewed his rattled off his multisyllabic words and said he wanted the title shot. Jarrett said he had a 6-6 opponent to worry about first and warned him that if he lost, it'd be a long time before he was a top contender again.

-Mike Tenay announced that The Crusher died last night at age 79. He said they were dedicating the event to Crusher, who also was Jeremy Borash's favorite wrestler of all-time.

4 -- MONTY BROWN vs. LANCE HOYT

After several minutes of back and forth action, they went to ringside where Brown suplexed Hoyt on the floor. Back in the ring, Brown hit an AlphaBomb for a two count. Hoyt came back seconds later with a slam for a two count. Brown hit the Pounce at 6:29 for the win.

WINNER: Brown at 6:29.

STAR RATING: *1/2 -- A good TV match, but not really at PPV caliber. That said, it's best not to put Brown in any position to overextend himself or look bad, so it's probably best to keep his wins decisive and short. Ideally, he and Hoyt would be seasoned enough to accomplish the same thing, but tell a really compelling, dramatic story for at least 12 minutes on a big PPV without any fear of overextending themselves. Better safe than sorry, though, especially with an Ultimate X match, 30 Minute Iron Man match, Monster's Ball match, an NWA Tag Team Titles match, and the NWA World Title match ahead that each need ample time.

-Douglas interviewed 3 Live Kru backstage. Kip James offered to watch the backs of 3 Live Kru. B.G. James and Ron Killings liked the idea, but Konnan didn't. Kip said at least he offered, and then walked away. James and Killings repeated they thought it'd have been a good idea to have Kip watching their backs.

5 -- TEAM CANADA (w/Scott D'Amore) vs. 3 LIVE KRU

WINNERS: Team Canada at 6:08 after James was pinned after getting hit with a hockey stick.

STAR RATING: * -- Why comment again when they used the same formula again. Just because they have a new audience doesn't mean they should dish out the same thing over and over again to the repeat viewers. Forgettable match.

-After the match, Gunn ran to the ring. Team Canada held Konnan so Kip could hit him. Instead, Kip proved his loyalty by swinging at Team Canada instead.

-Douglas interviewed Zbyszko backstage, demanding to know who was going to get the NWA Title shot. Zbyszko frantically said he had to check with upper management on this issue, but promised that Douglas would be the first to know. He then grabbed a phone, punched some buttons, and yelled at it about wanting Douglas to be the first to know.

6 -- CHRIS SABIN vs. MATT BENTLEY vs. PETEY WILLIAMS (w/Scott D'Amore) - Ultimate X

In this match, cables were suspended above the ring about 10-12 feet forming an "X." A big "X" was hanging from where the cables crossed. The winner was the first to grab the X. Early on, with the typical highspot "oohs and ahhs" generating action, a few early attempts were made at grabbing the X resulting in bumps to the mat. Sabin powerbombed Bentley off the cable to the matt. Williams hung Sabin upside down from the corner and then stood on his crotch and sang "Oh Canada." D'Amore yelled at ringside. At 10:00 Sabin backflipped onto both opponents at ringside. Sabin then climbed to the cable and walked toward the X. He had a clear shot at it, but Bentley jumped into the air and tackled him to the mat. The X dropped to the mat. Tenay said that was an illegal drop and they'd have to reposition the X. You'd think after all of these Ultimate X matches, they'd have figured out how to keep that X above the ring. Petey tried to grab it, but the ref said it wouldn't count. Bentley stomped away at Petey, then dove onto him at ringside. The crowd chanted "Use the Ladder" as a TNA worker re-hung the X. A minute later, after another attempt to grab at the X by Bentley and Shane, the X fell off again right into Petey's arms. He nonchalantly caught it. The ref gave him the win. Sabin stormed to the back in anger. Bently protested at ringside. Petey stood in center ring and shrugged his shoulders. The fans chanted "bullsh--." This is one of those occasions where TNA comes across really bush league. Apparently, if the X hits the mat, it doesn't count, but if you catch it in mid-air, it does count. The announcers, though, didn't even try to explain this convoluted finish.

WINNER: Williams at 13:13 to become no. 1 contender for the X Title.

STAR RATING: **3/4 -- Just a highspot fest with a lousy ending. The highspots were good, but it was far from a standout Ultimate X match. The "can't miss" match just missed based on not fulfilling high expectations. There needed to be more to the storyline advancement than the three wrestlers executing a bunch of spots and one of the three winning in seeming fluke or random fashion.

7 -- AMERICA'S MOST WANTED vs. THE NATURALS -- NWA Tag Team Championship

Stevens powerbombed Storm into the security railing at ringside at 1:00. AMW bloodied the Naturals in the early minutes after brawling at ringside. The Naturals made a comeback. When Harris brought out powder, Douglas kicked the powder into Harris's face instead. Harris mistakenly slammed his own partner. The Naturals set Harris up for AMW's Death Sentence finisher. Tenay screamed, "They're going to beat them with their own finisher!" That gave away, of course, that Harris would be kicking out. West said: "Harris reached down and found something most men don't have." Make your own joke. He did. Storm KO'd Stevens with another bottle. He then claimed to the referee that a fan threw the bottle into the ring. AMW handcuffed Douglas to the guard rail and then finished off Stevens with the Death Sentence. Harris hit Douglas with a chair after the match.

WINNER: AMW at 10:37 to retain the NWA Tag Team Titles.

STAR RATING: ** -- Average match. High energy, but again so short it just didn't feel like a major PPV title match. You knew AMW was winning with the Team 3D feud just around the corner.

-Douglas interviewed James Mitchell backstage. He reminded viewers that the four wrestlers had been locked in a dark room since yesterday without food or water. Mitchell said Abyss was locked up in the dark for days as a kid so he's used to it. He said inviting Abyss to the Monsters Ball is like inviting a combat veteran to a game of paint ball in that you might have some fun, but you also might dredge up some deep memories that lead to a bloody, dismembering incident. Mitchell ended with maniacal laughter, and unlike when most do it, his was believable and disturbing.

8 -- ABYSS vs. SABU vs. JEFF HARDY vs. RHINO

Falls count anywhere, bring your own weapons. Rhino and Sabu brawled into the crowd Hardy leaped off the bleachers onto Abyss on the floor with a double axe handle. Sabu was bleeding from his right eye early. Hardy was bleeding from his arm. All four wrestlers returned to the ringside area at 2:30. Hardy hit a cool twisting dive onto Abyss in the ring. When he went for a Twist of Fate, Abyss blocked it and executed an Electric Chair. A four-way brawl broke out in the ring, with Rhino hitting each of his opponents. Hardy then catapulted off of Sabu's back with a side leg crash into Abyss. Sabu then attacked Hardy, legdropping his head which was resting on a chair. Rhino then used a cane against all three opponents. Rhino was bleeding by this point, too. Abyss chokeslammed Rhino onto a chair just as Rhino was setting up (telegraphing) a Gore. Sabu flipped onto Rhino at ringside, driving Rhino through a table. Hardy then brawled toward the entrance stage with Abyss. With Abyss KO’d on a table, Hardy dove off the top of the entrance set with a flip legdrop landing onto Abyss. "That was freaking insane!" screamed West, making what amounted to an understatement actually. The action didn't stop as Sabu worked over Rhino inside the ring. The fans chanted, "This is awesome!" Abyss returned to the ring, caught Sabu, and tossed him over the top rope onto a broken table. Abyss then grabbed his bag of tacks. As he held them in the air, Rhino surprised him with a Gore, sending Abyss crashing through a table propped in the corner. Hardy worked over Rhino. Tenay called Hardy's move earlier, "One of the highest high-risk moves, by god, I've seen in my life." Rhino set up Hardy for the Rhino driver, and executed it, then scoring the pin.

WINNER: Rhino at 12:20.

STAR RATING: ***3/4 -- For that type of match, this was a good one. Tough to go to four stars for a match that includes so many huge spots and little long-term selling, but it's also hard not to rate it this high when there's a potential "big spot of the year" and a crowd chanting "That was awesome!" afterward.

-Douglas interviewed Zbyszko backstage. Zbyszko looked exhausted and stressed out. He said he's had everybody on his back and to make it fair for everybody, he would have a ten man gauntlet over-the-top rope match with the winner facing Jarrett. Douglas asked if he meant that Jarrett's opponent would be a wrestler who has wrestled twice already, then somehow in defiance of any logic complained that Jarrett deserved better. Jarrett then claimed it was a screwjob by TNA management. He said he needed to know his opponent ahead of time. Zbyszko pointed out the obvious, which is that his opponent will be at the disadvantage with no time to prepare and having wrestled twice already.

9 -- A.J. STYLES vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS -- 30 Minute Iron Man match for X Title

Daniels attacked Styles just as the bell rang to start the match. He hit Styles with a flying kick to the face. The crowd was split in its support, chanting for both wrestlers. Styles dove at Daniels over the railing into the crowd at 3:00. A woman in the front row shrieked. They returned to the ring and Styles locked on a headlock. Daniels tried to escape, but Styles kept it locked on. Styles stayed on the headlock for several minutes. West acknowledged that "this hasn't been the match fans expected to this point." Styles scored some one and two counts from the mat. Daniels eventually took control just past 10:00. He tried for several pin attempts, too. Daniels applied a cool Koji Clutch mat submission. Styles used sheer power to stand up and escape. They got to 15 minutes and picked up the pace a little. Daniels hit a Death Valley Driver for a convincing near fall. Daniels reversed Styles in mid-air for a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. Daniels then hit the BME (Best Moonsault Ever) for another convincing near fall. They reached the 20 minute mark with Styles giving Daniels a Torture Rack and then slammed Daniels to the mat for another convincing near fall. Daniels came back with a running knee at ringside and then a dive through the ropes. Back inside the ring, Styles surprised Daniels with a Pele kick out of nowhere, knocking Daniels to ringside. Daniels flip dived onto Styles at ringside at 22:30. Daniels powered Styles over with a back suplex onto the mat at ringside. Both men moved slowly and looked to be in pain. They re-entered the ring and increased the pace of the action while still selling the long-term effects of the match. They went into a series of near falls. Daniels went for a pin with a frustrated-inspired yank of Styles's tights for a near fall at 28:15. With 90 seconds left, Styles hit Daniels with elbows. Daniels fired back with elbows. Styles returned fire again. Daniels collapsed to the bottom rope. Styles went for a vertical suplex. Daniels blocked it. Styles hit an enzuigiri for a two count. Daniels hit a jawbreaker and a roundhouse kick, then went for his Angle's Wings. They went into a bridge pin combination and reversed each other. Styles set up the Styles Clash. Daniels fought it, but Styles hit it. Styles turned Daniels and scored the three count with two seconds left. West said: "That was one of the most incredible feats of human effort I have seen."

WINNER: Styles to retain the X Division Title.

STAR RATING: **** -- They had a tough act to follow with the stunt filled Monsters Ball. Their strategy to slow down the pace at first was okay, but taken too far. Exhausting final ten minutes, but slow, deliberate pace to the first twenty. Very good match, and a nice change of pattern with just one fall during the match, but ultimately the first two-thirds wasn't particularly exciting or engrossing enough to top their previous Iron Man match. They were great in the final minutes at conveying sheer exhaustion mixed with desire to win.

10 -- GAUNTLET TO EARN AN IMMEDIATE NWA TITLE MATCH

It opened with Samoa Joe vs. Ron Killings for two minutes. Killings mocked Joe's dancing. Joe punched him and nailed him with a running high knee that looked killer. Killings fought back and drove Joe's head into the mat. Sabu came out next, followed by Lance Hoyt. Hoyt surprised Joe with a boot to the face. Abyss came out fifth. He and Joe had a staredown. Joe and Abyss traded chops. They grabbed each other's throats. Killings hit both of them with clotheslines. Out came out Hardy sixth. West acted shocked each time a wrestler came out, citing the physical tolls each wrestler had already been through. Sabu was a bloody mess in the corner of the ring. Hardy limped around the ring and grabbed at his hip. Number seven was Monty Brown, who immediately hit Sabu with a Pounce. Hardy dove at Brown. Brown caught him and slammed him over the top rope. He was supposed to go over with him, but didn't, so he just jumped over the top rope. The crowd booed the botched finish. Monty looked really bad for leaping over the top rope. Rhino came out next. He eliminated Hoyt right away. Some fans chanted "Joe, Joe, Joe." Kip James came out next, fresh from not having wrestled earlier. Sabu was KO'd at ringside, but not legally eliminated according to Tenay and West. They later corrected themselves and said he was eliminated. Styles came out next, looking like he was walking out of a car wreck. Rhino, Joe, Kip, Abyss, Killings, and Styles remained. Kip was eliminated by Killings. Styles then knocked Killings over the top rope. Kip shoved Killin gs to try to keep him from falling to the floor. The refs shoved Kip out of the way. Styles then kicked Killings to the floor to eliminate him. Joe and Styles traded punches in mid-ring. Joe applied a sleeper. Abyss then eliminated both Styles and Joe at 14:00 taking the wind out of the sails of the fans. Rhino then gave Abyss the Gore and tossed him over the top rope. The crowd was nonplussed, just standing mostly in silence. The crowning of the People's Choice, Samoa Joe, would have to wait.

WINNER: Rhino at 14:12.

STAR RATING: **3/4

-Tito Ortiz was introduced as the special referee for what will amount to a very short main event match.

11 -- JEFF JARRETT vs. RHINO - NWA World Hvt. Title match

A casket was rolled to the ringside area. Jarrett dominated the physically spent Rhino, brawling at ringside at first. Jarrett went to the top rope and hit Rhino with a flying clothesline. He went back to the top rope and hit another flying clothesline. He didn't look sure-footed on the top rope. He went to another corner and went for another top rope move. Rhino caught him in mid-air and kicked him, as West put it bluntly, "right in the nuts!" Rhino went for a Gore, but Jarrett side-stepped him. Gail Kim stood to the top rope and dove at Tito. He set her down and ordered her to leave the ring. She tried to slap him. He blocked her, picked her up, and set her outside the ring. He then escorted her away. Jarrett then brought a guitar into the ring and swung at Rhino. Rhino ducked, and then charged at Jarrett. Jarrett KO'd Rhino with the guitar. Jarrett covered Rhino. Tenay said, "You can sense Jarrett knows he's got him beat." That gave away a kickout was coming, and sure enough. AMW then came to ringside. They slid Jarrett another guitar. Tito KO'd Harris off the apron. Rhino then hit Jarrett with the Gore for the win.

WINNER: Rhino at 5:30.

STAR RATING: * -- Not much of a main event, but it followed the old rule of having the replacement babyface wrestler in a main event always win so fans don't feel ripped off. Jarrett basically had a night off.

-A big brawl broke out in mid-ring with Team Canada and AMW outnumbering 3 Live Kru. The heels brought a casket into the ring. Jarrett smashed a guitar over his head, then they threw him into the casket. That came across as a lame ripoff of the Ortons-Undertaker angle. Jarrett stood on the casket holding the NWA Title belt over his head. In tone deaf moment, he had a huge smile on his face, completely oblivious to the fact that he just cleanly lost his coveted NWA Title. Team 3D then charged to the ring and with help of 3 Live Kru, decimated the heels and tossed AMW into the casket. The show ended with Rhino having the NWA Title belt over his head while standing on the casket. Well, it actually ended with a final shot of Jarrett at ringside looking upset.

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