Bound for Glory Series – Falls Count Anywhere
RVD def. Ken Anderson & Magnus
Aces & Eights start this match off taking out the Pope backstage. As Mr. Anderson said: “one last bitch I gotta worry about.” I also have to question Magnus’ credentials as a heel, as he could have said “screw this match” and gone backstage to pin the Pope. His music hit, that bell rung; anything goes. It would have been fun, at the very least, to see the guys scrambling and fighting each other off Pope in the back.
I couldn’t believe how over RVD was with the Orlando crowd last night! Whoever booked the match got damn lucky too, as all the big spots were given or taken (not surprisingly) by Van Dam. I wasn’t overly taken with this match. If the goal was to get the winner points in a short yet brutal PPV-themed match, but not take away from the bigger gimmicks later on in the night…they succeeded. That’s great for the rest of the card, but technical success doesn’t always translate to entertainment.
Rating: 3.5/5
TNA Television Championship
D-Von (c) def. Kazarian
The amount of whining on the internet over this match is just straight-up stupid. Apparently, there are many who can’t believe that TNA would make Kaz, one half of the World Tag Team Champions (of the world) “job” to D-Von on PPV. As they say in the NFL, “any given Sunday”. This idea that a certain guy MUST go over because he’s a “bigger star” – unless you’re dealing with people the magnitude of Hulk Hogan or John Cena – is ridiculous. We’re talking Kazarian and D-Von at Hardcore Justice, not Randy Orton vs. Heath Slater at WrestleMania… A singles Champion going over a Tag Champion in a match FOR HIS SINGLES TITLE is not in any way an upset.
In other news, it appears D-Von has signed a new TNA contract. Unless he loses the title on Impact in the next few weeks, that suspicion should be all but confirmed; let’s hope that also means Bully Ray worked up a new deal.
Back to the actual match at hand, I wasn’t really blown away by anything these two produced. D-Von was more intense than I’ve seen him in months, but Kazarian wasn’t really given any time to show off. Then again, the one spot of offense he was actually given, he botched. It was almost a one-sided brawl in favor of the (face) Champion; I don’t really understand the logic behind that. Regardless, they at least managed to keep the crowd hot, but I’ll never understand why the TV Title is defended on PPV and not television…
Rating: 3/5
TNA Knockouts’ Championship
Madison Rayne def. Miss Tessmacher (c)
If you read my Hardcore Justice preview, you already know how I feel about Madison Rayne and her kick ass entrance theme. You also know that I didn’t think they’d pull the trigger on her title victory quite yet. Obviously I’ve been wrong before…
While not as bad as most 20-second Divas matches we see on Raw or Smackdown every week, they obviously cared more about the story between Madison and senior official Earl Hebner than what could have been a decent woman’s match. It’s a shame; ideally you they should have been able to pull off both. It’s great to see an actual story-driven angle in the Knockouts’ division, but like all things professional wrestling, if it doesn’t result in a decent match every once in awhile, it amounts to a hill of beans.
Rating: 2/5
