Once more, it’s time to lower your standards, and dwell amongst the other discarded mid-carders in the slums of TNA. It’s not a place I visit often, because it fills me with such wrath, I’m often found rambling at night, muttering and chewing upon my own hair. But I’m always willing to give a DVD a fair go, and Bound for Glory IV is no exception…

The Lo-Down

The first thing that I notice about the DVD package is that, in a completely retarded fashion, there’s no match listing on the back! Argh! And there’s more- this basic requirement isn’t even included on the inside sleeve! Bah! How the fuck are you supposed to entice a random customer in-store, when you’re not telling them what’s on the release? Sure, Kurt Angle and Sting are there, but to the newcomer, they’re on every fucking DVD!

Back to the event- Bound for Glory is supposedly TNA’s premier event, their WrestleMania. They turn up the hype and the promotion in an effort to manufacture the notion that it’s a big deal.

And it usually works, because the PPV usually draws about an extra ten thousand buys! Okay, so it doesn’t work then….

That’s not to say it’s a poor event though, because generally, while the show has historically lacked must-see bouts, it’s usually a flowing, entertaining spectacle, that exceeds expectations. The first Bound for Glory was seemingly cursed and climaxed with the disappointing World title victory of Rhino, while the two subsequent incarnations were both vastly superior, particularly the swell Bound for Glory 2006.

Thus, this effort was regarded as a hit when first broadcast, which surprised some, thanks to the lousy and/or distasteful build-up. But how does it hold up in shiny disc format?

What’s on it?

X-Division Steel Asylum Match: Curry Man vs. Alex Shelley vs. Johnny Devine vs. Petey Williams vs. Shark Boy vs. Jay Lethal vs. Super Eric vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Chris Sabin

Another retarded TNA gimmick stipulation. What a way to kick off a show! I always maintain that they’d be better served kicking things off with a fast-paced bout between a tag-team, or a couple of X-Division guys, not involved in a storyline- not this sort of environment that lumps everyone together and undermines them all.

This is exactly what you would expect- a sprint through a bunch of high-spots that would work far better with four or five fewer guys in the ring. A triple-suplex is ridiculous but fun, while Johnny Devine stands out, alongside Sonjay Dutt (in the midst of his phase where he really started to show some extra zest as a heel). But it’s a mess of a match, and tricky to follow at times, making for a real waste of the participants. Curry Man is impressive, and almost everyone contributes to some really nifty spots, but it doesn’t add up to much.

-Backstage Segment. Foley is looking after Jim Cornette’s office, while he’s meeting Vegas officials or something. The Beautiful People whinge about the colour of the M & M’s they’ve been provided with, but it’s impossible to care. This is Brian Gerwitz bad.

Rhino & Rhaka Khan & ODB vs. The Beautiful People & Kip James

Khan inside the ring. Good lord, she’s awful. Traci Brooks is refereeing, which gets a big pop from the fans. It occurs to me how much Velvet Sky looks like Fearne Cotton (albeit, a slutty, tasteless incarnation), which shows how into this bout I am. The Beautiful People receive their usual star response, which is well-warranted, thought Kip really takes away from their gimmick when he wrestles.

When Rhino ends up in the ring against the Divas, disturbingly, he’s keen to work them, and not tag out – a quality baby face. Kip’s time with Rhaka is the stuff nightmares are made off, and thankfully, they limit their efforts, to like, a crotch-grab.

This is poor. More tags than action, and what wrestling there is, is unanimously pants. Easy victory for Rhino over Kip too, which ends this mercifully. Just avoid. The participants (most of them…) are over with the crowd, but it doesn’t translate to good viewing.

-Consequences Creed cuts a pretty good, though patriotic promo. Don’t the WWE and TNA realise that non-US citizens couldn’t give a fuck about these sorts of angles?

X-Division title Match: Sheik Abdul Bashir © vs. Consequences Creed

A dull match characterised by the hick-like sheep response from the crowd. The former Daivari almost has licence to do absolutely nothing, but everything he does is guaranteed cheap heat. Creed is solid in the ring though, and actually works pretty well against the champ, but it’s a slow-paced affair. Not helped either by the extremely unsatisfying “Holding the ropes” finish, which isn’t well-executed.

Nearly an hour in, and I’m pretty fed-up with this…….

-Backstage segment. Foley again, with Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed. Not good. Foley at this point is treating everything and everyone as comedy, and he continually references the WWE. Amazingly dumb.

Knockouts Championship Match: Awesome Kong vs. Roxxi vs. Taylor Wilde

Pre-match sit-down interviews! Well, clips of them anyway. I Love this stuff. Every time they adopt that format, it works. Wilde is greeted by a response not fitting for the champion, while Roxxi is too alternative for many people.

Some good spots in this, but all three have had better and more memorable one-on-one outings. Plus, it’s way too short to accommodate everyone. Actually, I’ve had a rethink… This match is balls.

-Another Foley Backstage segment. YAWN. Alongside the Dudleys, this is easily the best thus far, but it’s hard to be excited by anything involving the Dudleys.

Monster’s Ball: Team 3D vs. Beer Money Inc vs. Matt Morgan & Abyss vs. LAX

Mongo McMichael is the ref, and looks absolutely atrocious. I guess I shouldn’t observe that until I reach his age, and am confirmed as still being a sexual beast.

Big response for everyone, and lots of heat. Then again, this is the sort of irritating TNA crowd that think a thumbtack spot is the epitome of Pro-wrestling, and thirty dives in a row are “awesome”. They waste no time in pulling out the forks, and nut-shots via, err, cheese-grater. Ugly, ugly stuff here. I’m always of the opinion that you can get away with doing the really gory stuff, if it’s a properly built-up, significant feud, that’s escalated to the point of such hatred. This is a throwaway tag match, and therefore, the extreme violence isn’t appropriate. There’s also no real flow here, although admittedly, some of the action is impressive. Things are taken up a notch following a really daft spot involving a football move with Beer Money and Mongo. I recall this getting slated online at the time of the show, but the ridiculousness of it makes little impact on this bout.

Abyss is bleeding like a pig, as he’s beaten towards the stage, and the inevitable finish. The Dudleys put him through a flaming table, and disturbingly, the crew take a long time to extinguish the flames as they assume they’re out, but Abyss’ abdomen is still on fire. Retards. That’s not the sort of stunt you can ever afford to get wrong. Worse still, it’s neither the finish, nor does it occur at the end of the match! Are you kidding me? TNA are fucking morons. If a man is on fire, it’s the finish of the match! That’s it! What else can be done? Jesus.

The best stuff occurs when LAX are in the ring with Beer Money, just you know, doing plain old wrestling. Strange that. Hernandez, like Tomko was, is a really underrated presence, and he delivers a dazzling Border Toss on the lump of guff known as Matt Morgan. The last few minutes are pretty good here in fairness, but after the table/fire/stage bump, they shouldn’t exist!

Booker T vs. AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage

This could have been called the “three men in limbo” match at this point, which is a real shame, because obviously AJ and Christian have a lot more to give than this, and Booker, well he only performs when motivated. Still, this looked set to be a decent encounter, with three big names, but it proves to be very disappointing.

It definitely lacks something, and it’s hard to put your finger on it, but it’s probably the absence of sizzle, from the feud, and the fact that you wish all three had something better to do with their time. There are some big moments throughout it, but these spots are often either botched, off, or just overly contrived. And the finish, although not bad in conception, is sloppy in execution. Poor.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle (w/Mick Foley as the Special Enforcer)

There’s an “epic” package prior to the match, detailing the storyline behind this collision. Nice, except it doesn’t MAKE ANY SENSE! Yes, that’s right, even the highlight reel, explaining the storyline, is a confusing mess. It’s too brief, and key points are thrown out in succession, which would leave someone who didn’t follow on TV, baffled. It also includes the stuff Angle said to Jarrett about his kids and him “not coming home”, etc, which was in incredibly bad taste. They both do Pre-Match promos, and the exploitation of the death of Jeff Jarrett’s wife continues. Horrible material. I hated this back then, and it’s still disgusting now.

It should be noted that Mick Foley’s music is terrible. A lot of TNA’s music in general, lacks dimension and individuality… The Beautiful People are another victim of this. When Jarrett comes out, he gets a positive reaction (remember the silence that greeted some of his appearances?), but he has no clue whatsoever as to what the public enjoy seeing in a baby face in this day and age.

Anyways, enough of the negativity… this match is a glorious spectacle, and one of the finest Jarrett bouts in TNA history. The two competitors engage in a stiff, old-school, back-and-forth mixture of brawling and mat-based activity. Yes, the ending is tarnished by shenanigans, but this is one of those situations that completely warranted it. Foley looks out of place in this effort though. Doesn’t have the re-match quality you might have expected though- I think half of the excitement was In seeing Jeff blow away expectations.

TNA World Title Match: Samoa Joe © vs. Sting

Joe was a lousy champion in TNA- though almost no fault of his own. The booking of his dismal title reign was on a par with the WWE’s booking of Rey Mysterio as World Champion in 2006. And for confirmation of that, check out the booing he’s greeted with here during his introduction. It’s a bizarre scenario, because while Sting is the heel, the fans are convinced he’s taking the title, and increasingly support him as that inevitability comes closer to completion. Hilariously, Tenay pulls a Michael Cole, in justifying the reaction Joe receives, at one point claiming “the level of respect he has from the fans is growing because of his performance here tonight.” Err, no. The fans grow more resentful of him throughout this, and become increasingly hostile.

This is also the encounter that saw Joe perform a ridiculously stupid stunt that saw him Senton-type-Dropkick on Sting in the crowd, by leaping over a rail and landing on the concrete stairs of the arena. He actually leaps down a flight of stairs, landing, unprotected on his rear. Dumbass.

Anyways, this is a pretty good scrap, with Sting, the heel, playing the consummate babyface for the most part as he sells during a sustained heat period. Joe, to his credit, plays up to the role-reversal, much like Rock did against Brock Lesnar at Summerslam in 2002. But everything here is laid out to make Sting look more heroic, so it wouldn’t make a difference anyway.

Inevitably, Kevin Nash is involved in the ending, which would have had more impact, if the previous match also didn’t involve outside interference. Won’t TNA ever learn?

Good action for the first half, aside from the nauseating stunt in the crowd- but it all peters out somewhat in the last five minutes. The finish is just too predictable, and unsatisfying .With hindsight, it’s one of those Main Events that should have gone on underneath the Semi-Main. But what can you do?

Extras

Nothing major, nothing spectacular… but still a little more than your average WWE release.

I always say this about PPV releases on DVD (regardless of whom they‘re from)… Why not throw on a couple of bonus matches from the TV shows? It’s not that difficult…..

Dixie Carter Interview/Post match interviews

Dixie is always a warm, endearing personality, regardless of how much she actually knows about wrestling, so her interview, although ridiculously short, is okay. The others are short, but worth watching.

Bound For Glory Fan-fest

One thing I will not question about TNA, regardless of what I think about their booking, or their storylines, is their commitment to the fans. This footage includes clips of them meeting and greeting fans, and posing for photographs. They really seem genuinely thrilled to be there, to please the fans, and make their hard-earned money, worth spending. By all accounts, TNA always make a huge effort to go that extra mile for the live crowds, and make their experience that much more worthwhile.

Making of The Bound for Glory Video

This is a pretty interesting look at the making of the Gangster-movie inspired promotion behind this event. The guys look like they’re having a lot of fun doing this, and I must say, the costume department do a fantastic job of giving each wrestling the opportunity to express their personality through their garments. The outfits are absolutely perfect. Good footage.

Highlight Reel, music: Smashing Pumpkins “Tarantula”

Add to basket?

Ahh……… I just can’t recommend this. There’s a lot of great wrestling out, there, and TNA themselves often contribute in that regard. This is not one of their best efforts. In fact, it’s probably their worst ever Bound for Glory. There are some bright moments in both X-Division matches, but that doesn’t cut it- as there are bright moments in ALL X-Division bouts. Throwing a smattering of dudes in one match for the sake of it always makes wrestlers look like absolute geeks.

In terms of positives, the extras, while not a swaying factor, aren’t bad. And Jarrett/Angle is certainly worth a watch, but unless you’re a crazy mark for either guy, there’s no point purchasing this solely for one match.

TNA… They just don’t get “It” and never have done. The opening video package describes Joe as a “heartless brute”. Need I say more? Bound for Glory IV, in my book, is a step-back for a company who delivered with this card, two years running.

Passable at best? Nope, simply not good.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out. I welcome any and all feedback and I can be contacted at www.myspace.com/michaelwrestlingetc or simply by emailing me at Michael@ifight365.com. I look forward to hearing from you, and will be back soon!