Event Review: FCP Pulp Fixxion Part 2 - Trent Seven v Pete Dunne

On 22nd October, Fight Club: Pro was at Fixxion Warehouse for the second night in a row, with Part 2 of Pulp Fixxion. The main event saw Pete Dunne put his FCP Championship on the line against Trent Seven, whilst Mikey Whiplash and Clint Margera went at it in a No Disqualification Match. With the likes of Kay Lee Ray, Kimber Lee, Nixon Newell, Shane Strickland and Fire Ant making up the undercard, could FCP raise the bar following a very good event just 24 hours earlier? Let's have a look, brah.

Pete Dunne retained his FCP Championship with a victory over Trent Seven in what was the best match across the two Wolverhampton shows. The pair might be PROGRESS Tag Team Champions, but in FCP there's no loved lost between the duo and that showed before the bell with Dunne striking before the announcements even began. The crowd (including myself) were hooked from that moment onwards as Dunne and Seven worked a 16 minute sprint. The bout was a mixture of Seven no-selling shit and some huge dramatic near falls. The two tropes seemed to play into each other, with Seven's ability to dig deep following taking huge moves like a superplex, giving the match a sense of momentum, allowing the fans to start to believe that Seven could take the title from Dunne at the first time of asking. This meant that each near fall had some real weight and believability. Dunne running into a powerbomb, before Seven turned it into a Single-leg Boston Crab, that he's put away Tommy End and Mark Haskins with recently, was a moment that I was completely wrapped up in, desperate to see the heel champion quit. This was helped by how well Dunne sold the hold and the previously mentioned drive of the contest.  

The finish saw a whole lot of shenanigans, beginning with a spectacular ref bump that saw Shay Purser moved into the path of a Seven suicide dive by Dunne. This caused Purser to go through the two rows of ringside seating and It looked wonderful (obviously not for poor Shay) being timed perfectly and getting a big reaction out of the Wolverhampton crowd. Every second following this was brilliant to watch, certainly helped by the emotional investment that I have within FCP as well as the two performers and characters, but I'd like to think it was equally as exciting and entertaining for those attending their first show with the company. In a sequence that was a rollercoaster of emotion, Seven hit a dragon suplex and spinning piledriver, but there was no ref to count the pinfall, but after Dunne had caught Seven low and hit his DT3 (Pumphandle Facebuster) a second referee, Joel Allen, managed to come flying out of the curtain, only for Seven to kick out at two and get another thrilling near fall off a roll-up as Dunne argued with Allen. By the time, Dunne got the submission win, it was as crushing a moment as it should have been, rounding off a wonderful final stretch and enhancing Dunne's credentials as champion. When the moment comes for Dunne to lose the belt, that moment will be all the sweeter because this bout took place. 

In the semi-main slot, Mikey Whiplash picked up his first victory in FCP, by defeating former champion Clint Margera in a No Disqualification match. This was an incredibly creative contest, as the duo took a limited selection of weapons and constructed a number of breath-takingly brutal highspots. Without using the cavalcade of "toys" that were seen across Margera's series with Chris Brookes earlier this year, the bout kept things interesting by having each spot feel bigger and more impressive than the last. This was an aggressive and violent display from the beginning as the two threw forearms at each other and then threw each other into the ringside chairs and walls. This was two chaps with no real backstory, beyond the tag match from the Friday night, just battering the piss out of each other for 15 minutes, just because they bloody could. 

The final three spots of the match were stupid, silly stuff (Meant in the best possible way, that you can call something stupid or silly) Whiplash took a superplex through some chairs, Margera took a slam off the top rope through another load of chairs TO THE FLOOR and then Whiplash hit a Death Valley Driver onto a pair of interlocked chairs on their side to get the win. Any three of those spots could have ended the match and I don't think anyone would have felt hard done by had that been the case. So, is there a case to be made for their being "too much" here? Probably. Is that a case that I'm going to put forward? Fuck no. As uncomfortable as some of teases and spots made me feel at points, it kept me completely involved in the contest as I was on the edge of my seat (bad back and all), partially in anticipation of what carnage was to come and partially because I was hoping neither performer would end up seriously hurt by some of the more high-risk aspects of the bout. The victory going to Whiplash was a slight shocker, as I expected him to come in and put over the FCP regulars, but I'd certainly be up for seeing more Whiplash in Fixxion Warehouse in 2017. It'll be interesting seeing how he'll fit into the wider picture and storytelling within the promotion.

Nixon Newell picked up a big win over Kay Lee Ray, in a match that is difficult to describe because of the ridiculous amount of styles and influences the duo used throughout. Like one moment the pair were doing a cool back and forth headlock and pins thing, which mimicked what had been seen in the Three Way with Kimber Lee from Pulp Fixxion and then all of a sudden Lee and Shane Strickland were having a dance off in a scene reminiscent of the 2001 The Simpsons' episode Tennis the Menace! The match didn't need the dance off to be entertaining, but I also don't feel like it detracted from the quality of the bout either. The pair continued with the back and forth and did so very well with a series of suicide dives, strong-style forearms and a number of finisher attempts, whilst also mixing in some comedy like chopping referee Shay and having him assist Newell in an inadvertent Stunner. It was a difficult task to try and include so much contrasting content within the match but Newell and KLR created something that was entirely enjoyable, featured some excellent wrestling and looked a lot of fun to be involved in as FCP continues to develop it's women's division. This was definitely a step in the right direction. 

One of the strongest stories in FCP in 2016 has been Travis Banks' quest for a win and it was in his loss to Fire Ant (putting him 0-11 in FCP) that it really began to shine and develop into something that currently feels like it could become something particularly special into the new year. Whilst the match seemed to take a couple of minutes to fully connect and grip the crowd, the final stretch of combat was superb stuff, as Banks came agonisingly close to getting his first win in the promotion. Two near falls for Banks stand out in particular, the first being the Kiwi Buzzsaw withstanding a barrage of offense, including a tope conhilo, high crossbody and PK, only to reverse a brainbuster attempt into one of his own, with the second coming moments after when the New Zealander showed his frustration all over his face, and hit a corner roundhouse kick, only for Ant to put his foot on the ropes before the three count. I was so involved in the losing streak angle, that by the end of the bout I found myself turning on Ant, despite him not doing anything wrong at all. I just wanted Banks to win, goddamit. I love being able to get sucked in by the wrestling I watch, get lost in it and begin to engage with narratives and this angle is certainly ticking those boxes right now, with this bout with Ant being a strong continuation of the story. 

In intergender action, Chris Brookes went over Kimber Lee in a fun bout that told a decent story. In my review of Pulp Fixxion, I spoke about how much I hate the Brookes and his asshattery in FCP, which if you've read any of my reviews (or even just another paragraph of this one, I suppose) then you'll know I think that this is a wonderful thing. Before the match began the Calimari Catch King attempted to get out of the bout, revealing that he was actually in love with Lee, giving this as the reason that he lost their previous bout during the CHIKARA Anniversario Tour in May. This was played well by both performers, with it being clear that Brookes simply wanted a night off and Lee wanting nothing to do with it. After an early flurry from Lee, Brookes would control the match following a big boot, grounding Lee and just generally being a cockwomble about it all. It all worked nicely into a strong comeback from Lee, which included a sharp near fall after Brookes ran into a sit-out powerbomb. Brookes finishing sequence was being heavily put over across the weekend, as he hit a superkick and rope-hung whiplash neckbreaker, before locking in a double armed octopus stretch for the submission victory. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how this plays into future matches in FCP. 

The opening match of the show saw Dan Moloney defeat Shane Strickland with his deadlift spinning sitout powerbomb, in what was one of the best, if not the best match I've ever seen out of the Superbeast. There was some tremendous wrestling in this one, as Moloney and Strickland's styles connected well, with Moloney able to operate in the powerhouse role, whilst also showing some real skill in being able to up his pacing and go toe to toe with one of the speediest performers on the Indy circuit. As much as Strickland is a hugely impressive wrestler to watch, thanks to his pace and varied offence, including a wonderful sequence that concluded with a rolling thunder into a jumping cutter, most of my attention was on the local Moloney. He handled the crowd's chants surrounding his smaller than usual footwear well and genuinely looked to be developing into potential top tier star. FCP continued to build it's roster of villains with the Moloney victory, joining the wins for champion Pete Dunne, Mikey Whiplash and Chris Brookes, across this show, seemingly with an eye on the Infinity tournament on 25th November.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.84/10

Show in a Sentence - A very good evening of wrestling, that upped the quality in a number of areas from the stellar card the night before.

Match of the Night - Trent Seven v Pete Dunne

Words - James Marston 

All images are the property of Fight Club: Pro.

Event Review: PROGRESS Chapter 21: You Know We Don't Like to Use the Sit Down Gun

So PROGRESS Chapter 20 currently had the highest score on the ATPW Scale going into Chapter 21, surely the show subtitled, You Know We Don't Like to Use the Sit Down Gun, couldn't top that? With Thunderbastard winner Mark Haskins stepping up to challenge the newly crowned PROGRESS Champion, Will Ospreay, in the main event, surprise appearances from Roderick Strong and Adam Cole, and with Jimmy Havoc, Paul Robinson The London Riots, The Origin, The Sumerian Death Squad and more across the card, did PROGRESS continue to make waves in the Electric Ballroom?

Start things as you mean to go on, right? That's what the people say. And that's what PROGRESS did with Chapter 21. Anyone who's been to a PROGRESS show knows the score, the show begins once the Imperial Death March starts, with Jim Smallman spending time walking around the ring as Started from the Bottom and then For Whom the Bell Tolls plays. However, this time Smallman was join by two Stormtroopers, who got a lovely pop when they came out the curtain. This pop would be bested moments later when they removed their helmets and revealed themselves to be...THE GZRS, Sebastian and Tom Irvin. The pair officially opened the show with a quick promo, teasing answering the Sumerian Death Squad's Open Challenge later in show (although quickly withdrawing themselves from that), as well as pushing their ENDVR: 12 with Project Ego next week, with the crowd lapping up every entertaining syllable. 

Match 1 - Tag Team - The Origin vs. The London Riots

This match was made following El Ligero's attack of James Davis (with the Riots' Cricket bat no less) at Download Festival back in June, and the storyline continued here. Ligero not wanting to be in the ring with Davis, not only got on the crowd on Ligero's back ("El Torito" *clap clap clap clap clap*) but also allowed the contest to take on a different element. It was clear that the bout was less about the win for Davis and more about gaining an element of revenge on Ligero for his dastardly actions. Therefore, when Davis was finally able to get his hands on the former PROGRESS Champion and powerbomb him onto a number of chairs at ringside, not only did it look fucking incredible, but the Riots had technically achieved what they set out to do...the fact that they'd go on to lose that match, thanks to Zack Gibson seemingly joining the Origin and handing Nathan Cruz a fork, really didn't matter. The Origin however needed the victory after floundering a little, a savvy piece of booking.


The storytelling throughout was flawless, and for the most part so was the wrestling content, with the teams going back and forth and building towards the conclusion nicely, with a series of strikes and various suplexes. There was however a handful of awkward looking bumps, including Cruz landing almost directly onto his face after attempting to flip over, which got an audible reaction from portions of the crowd. Despite these slips, this was still a strong opening bout that had a lively crowd hooked, both with the action and story, and continued to develop the Origin storyline, which seems to becoming more prominent in the promotion going forward.


Winners - The Origin via pinfall in 15 minutes, 46 seconds.

Match 2 - Singles - Jack Gallagher vs. Pastor William Eaver

Pastor-mania was certainly running wild in the Electric Ballroom, but Nigel Thornberry was there to put a stop to it all in another one of his classic japes. Obviously, it wasn't ol' Nige, but it was Jack Gallagher (somebody noticed the uncanny resemblance and started the chant) and it was another technically sound display from the Futureshock Wrestling regular. Gallagher working the arm was nice, and as usual everything he did was so crisp. Eaver's selling is perhaps something he needs to develop, but his struggle to hit his Crucifix Powerbomb was a sweet touch. Gallagher kicking out of the move and immediately rolling through into Boston Crab to get the submission victory was a curious finish, considering Gallagher's previous work on the arm, however, the victory, especially after Eaver defeated Noam Dar at the previous Chapter, put Gallagher in a strong position in the promotion. Hopefully we'll get to see him more regularly in Camden going forward.

Winner - Jack Gallagher via submission in 7 minutes, 48 seconds.

Match 3 - Singles - Eddie Dennis vs. Zack Gibson with Nathan Cruz

As Nathan Cruz accompanied Zack Gibson to the ring it was pretty much confirmed that the Scouser had joined the Origin, and the heat that he had previously became even more intensified. Throw the perennially popular Eddie Dennis into the mix as his opponent and you had the recipe for a rowdy singles encounter. Whilst the crowd were animated throughout, the action inside the ring matched it as Gibson creatively worked over Dennis' arm, including a lovely overhead throw using the arm, in preparation for his Arm bar submission. However, it wasn't his technical prowess that earned Gibson the victory, but the distraction caused when he attempted to introduce a fork into the match, as well as Cruz's involvement, as he was able to hit a low blow with the referee's back turned and pick up the victory. It's been said many times that the best heels don't need to cheat to win, but do it anyway, Gibson seems to fit that mould in PROGRESS.

Winner - Zack Gibson via pinfall in 11 minutes, 35 seconds

Match 4 - No Disqualifcation for the #1 Contendership to the PROGRESS Championship Jimmy Havoc vs. Paul Robinson

A bonus addition to the card, after Jim Smallman placed the pair in a bout following Jimmy Havoc demanding to have a Number One contenders bout with anyone (with the added stipulation that if either laid down for the other they would be fired). This was one of, if not the, most brutal matches that I have ever seen. When one of the first spots of the match is a piledriver off the apron through a table, you know that things are going to get a little messy by the end. And they certainly did, as Havoc and Robinson introduced more tables, chairs, singapore canes, thumbtacks and a fuck load of motherfucking light tubes. If you long for blood in pro wrestling then this was for you, with the juice flowing freely for a good portion of the match. Each gasp-inducing spot seemed to top the last, as we ended up with Robinson setting up three light tubes across two set-up chairs, before eventually being able to deliver a devasting curb stomp to pick up the victory. 


It would be easy to mistake the description for mindless violence, but you couldn't be further from the truth. This was a rollercoaster ride of emotion, that manipulated the crowd for it's duration to side with one or the other. The majority seemed to go with it, as Havoc and Robinson straddled the heel/face divide at various points, playing off their previous actions in the company. Robinson seemed to be the fan favourite in the early going, seemingly embracing the fan support at one point with the "Dobby is free elf" chants echoing around the ballroom. But the more punishment that Havoc took, the more the empathy built for the man who once held an axe to Will Ospreay's head. There were moments where I just didn't know how I felt about anything in the world anymore and began to question everything that I had ever done. But when all was said and done I was convinced that Jimmy Havoc was our man, and I'm not sure I've ever had a more cathartic experience in my entire life.

Winner - Paul Robinson via pinfall in 15 minutes, 42 seconds

Match 5 - Singles - Kris Travis vs. Marty Scurll

An emotional return to PROGRESS for Kris Travis here, with the crowd clearly appreciate of the man who kicked cancer in the arse, with the support almost bringing the Sheffield grappler to tears. The match was focused around opponent Marty Scurll's attempts to lock in the Cross Face Chicken Wing and Travis being able to wriggle free each time. There was plenty of back and forth action between the two with two crowd behind Travis all the way, but still rather appreciative of the Villain, who seemed to be playing everything by the book in this one. The pair strong together a series of lovely reversal sequences, building the pace of the bout towards the conclusion where Travis was able to pick up the victory by turning Scurll's suplex attempt into a small package. 

Winner - Kris Travis via pinfall in 14 minutes, 30 seconds.

I was just about to write something about the decision of having Travis win on his return bout in my notebook, when out of the corner of my eye I saw Scurll lock on the Cross Face Chicken Wing and a big reaction of disapproval from the PROGRESS faithfull. There's one rule of PROGRESS and Scurll was certainly breaking it here and the crowd let him know. There couldn't have been a better moment to fully realise Scurll's Villain character and with The GZRS, Eddie Dennis and even RJ Singh out to get Scurll out of the ring, PROGRESS have given themselves plenty of options going forward.

Match 6 - PROGRESS Tag Team Championship - The Sumerian Death Squad (C) vs. Roderick Strong & Adam Cole

As surprise appearances go they don't get much bigger than both Roderick Strong and Adam Cole, who were the ones to answer The Sumerian Death Squad's Open Challenge. The pop for the two Ring of Honor regulars was terrific, but that jubilation quickly turned to jeer, as the fans remembering something about Strong's previous visit to Camden. His boots. They are little and they are shitty. With Strong and Cole quickly becoming heels, they fell into their role perfectly against the popular Tommy End and Michael Dante, with ROH duo working quick tags and distracting the ref to stay in control of face in peril, End. Both men worked the crowd well and showed their years of experience in being able to react to pretty much anything that was thrown their way with an entertaining, yet frustrating response, a type of heel that suit the promotion.

The match built and built and built into a tremendous tag team duel with both teams trading strikes, that looked so crisp and sounded even better. Cole and Strong and End and Dante went hammer and tongues in the final third of the bout and produced a number of near falls that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. A particular highlight saw all four men connect with signature strikes in succession, whilst End and Dante being to escape the Figure Four Leglock and Strong Hold simulataneously was also a standout moment for me. After a frenetic closing sequence, SDS retained their tag shields with their Wheelbarrow into float over cutter combination and look all the better having to go toe to toe with two of the premier talents from across the pond. Who could possibly take the shields away from the Dutchmen?

Winner - The Sumerian Death Squad via pinfall in 16 minutes, 7 seconds. *STILL CHAMPIONS*

Match 7 - PROGRESS Championship - Will Ospreay (C) vs. Mark Haskins

After the show that had gone before them, I almost felt sorry for Will Ospreay and Mark Haskins, but I feel like a fool for even allowing the thought that these two wouldn't deliver a match that at least matched what had gone before them. With a lively crowd that was seemingly split down the middle for the Aerial Assassin and The Star Attraction the Electric Ballroom was arguably the loudest it had been all night. The action reflected the crowd, as the pair would go back and forth for most of the bout, with Haskins perhaps seeing slightly more offence in the first two thirds of the bout. Haskins number of submission holds on the Champion, including a lovely looking Lebell Lock, told a fine story of the technician trying to ground the highflyer. Ospreay's is an underrated seller and showed so here with some lovely touches coming out of each of Haskins' submission sequences.


The action was fast paced, physical and crisp throughout, with both men looking like they belonged in the main event of one of the biggest promotion in the United Kingdom. Ospreay provided plenty of "Wow" moments, being his usual flippy self, hitting a superb standing corkscrew senton after previous missing a moonsault, featuring a ridiculous sequence that saw him land on his feet after a top rope reverse rana attempt by Haskins, only to hit a reverse rana of his own and finishing off the bout with his beautiful 630 senton. This was a perfect way to finish the show that saw the landscape of PROGRESS continue to change, cementing Ospreay as the champion and validating his title win at the previous chapter.

Winner - Will Ospreay via pinfall in 17 minutes, 21 seconds.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating: 7.79/10


There was no chance that PROGRESS was going to be able to top Chapter 20, no chance at all....but I think they did it here. The ATPW Scale has been smashed. There were three outstanding matches on this card for me, with Havoc vs. Robinson, SDS vs. Strong & Cole and Ospreay vs. Haskins all being of the absolute highest quality indeed. Personally, Havoc vs. Robinson was my match of the night for it's emotional storytelling and utter brutality, but I certainly wouldn't have a problem with someone who sided with one of the two.


There is just no stopping this promotion at the moment as they continue to go from strength to strength. ATPW will be back at Ballroom in October for the sold out, Chapter 22, and we're very much looking forward to seeing what PROGRESS have in store for us next.

WWE Night of Champions 2013 (Bryan-Orton IX) DVD Review

WWE Night of Champions 2013 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk, priced £12.99 on DVD and £13.99 on Blu-Ray. Broadcast live on Pay-per-View from the Joe Lewis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, USA on 15th September 2013, the show is main evented by Randy Orton defending his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan, alongside a Two-on-One Handicap match pitting CM Punk against former mentor Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel, Axel defending his Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston, as well as five other matches.  The commentary is provided by John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler.

Content Listing

Intercontinental Championship Match

Curtis Axel (C) vs. Kofi Kingston

WWE Divas Championship Fatal-Fourway Match

AJ Lee (C) vs. Brie Bella vs. Naomi vs. Natalya

World Heavyweight Championship Match

Alberto Del Rio (C) vs. Rob Van Dam

Fandango vs. The Miz

Two-on-One Handicap Elimination No Disqualification Match

CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman & Curtis Axel

United States Championship Match

Dean Ambrose (C) vs. Dolph Ziggler

Tag Team Championship Match

The Shield (Reigns/Rollins) (C) vs. Prime Time Players

WWE Championship Match

Randy Orton (C) vs. Daniel Bryan

*DVD Extras*

Tag Team Championship Number One Contenders Tag Team Turmoil Match

The Usos vs. The Prime Time Players vs. Tons of Funk vs. The Real Americans vs. 3MB

WWE Night of Champions Kick-Off, 15th September 2013

Review

      Another WWE PPV, and another cover that spoils the result of the main event! Now, I try to keep these reviews spoiler free, recommending action if it is good, but allowing the reader the opportunity to be surprised if perhaps they haven't been paying attention to WWE in recent times. So, what I will say about the Night of Champions main event, is that it is an enjoyable piece of WWE main event action. Orton looks great when in control and Bryan looks great fighting from under neath, these two really complement each other in the ring and have proven that time and time again. The finish is anti-climatic and the bizarre angle that followed the next night on Raw really tarnishes some decent action beforehand. This is probably the best of their series of PPV matches, although personally I think they've out done this on more recent episodes of Raw.

CM Punk's quest to get at Paul Heyman continues in a storyline heavy handicap match also involving Curtis Axel. There is some entertaining stuff going on here, with Punk's constant attempts to get at Heyman, who plays the perfect villain throughout, and there is some decent wrestling sequences between Punk and Axel, it feels like something is missing in this match, that even the debut of a new Heyman guy can't replace. Axel is in action in the opening contest as well, being forced to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston. This one again has some decent action and crisp moves from both men, but relies to heavily on rest holds and lacks a cohesive story and flow.

Elsewhere, Alberto Del Rio defends his World Heavyweight Championship against Rob Van Dam in a sloppy contest, with a screwy finish only capitulating this. Dean Ambrose defends his United States Championship against Dolph Ziggler in a match that shows promise but is given neither enough time to really deliver or enough build up for anyone to care. The Miz and Fandango wrestle a match that is no more appealing now than it was at the time. The Shield's Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins defends the Tag Team titles against The Prime Time Players in a basic and short tag team affair. AJ Lee puts her Diva's Championship on the line against Natalya, Brie Bella and Naomi in a Fatal Four Way match, that has very little to offer, apart from a double Sharpshooter from Natalya, and even that has been seen before.

In terms of DVD extras, there's one solitary inclusion here as The Prime Time Players, The Usos, 3MB, Tons of Funk and The Real American's do battle in a Tag Team Turmoil match, with the winner facing The Shield later on in the show. It's an entertaining battle that showcases the strength of WWE's tag team division very well with some clever spots and paint by numbers booking. Again, it's a shame there's only one extra included here, but apparently that's your lot when it comes to WWE DVD's these days.

In conclussion, this is a fairly poor PPV, which is clearly filling time and treading water for a lot of storylines to keep moving forward. Orton and Bryan will go on to have bigger matches, Punk's still got time to chase Paul Heyman, Del Rio and RVD put on a much better contest at Battleground, I could go on. Honestly, if you're a completist, by all means head out and pick this one up, but if you're after three hours of entertaining wrestling, head some where else on this one.

TNA Bound For Glory 2013 Review

I honestly wasn't expecting a lot from this Pay-Per-View heading into it, and that isn't a great way to be heading into what is supposed to be TNA's biggest show of the year. The build up had included a couple of decent episodes of Impact Wrestling, but whilst I tended to come out of the show feeling entertained, they didn't really make me want to watch this show any more, mainly due to haphazard booking and the awful heel turn of Dixie Carter dominating most of the show.

The show kicked off with a promo video outlining the lead up to the main event, that would see AJ Styles challenge for Bully Ray's World Heavyweight Championship. I thought this was very well put together, and TNA had clearly put some effort into the production of the video, but Styles spent most of the video talking about his issues with Dixie Carter, instead of his opponent. The Styles/Ray build up should of written itself, but TNA have some how managed to balls it up.

X Division Championship Ultimate X Match:

Jeff Hardy

Versus

Austin Aries

Versus

Chris Sabin

with Velvet Sky

Versus

Samoa Joe

Versus

Manik ©

The main feeling I got coming away from this one was that a lot of talent had been wasted. This wasn't the greatest showcase of any one of these guys talents, and a lot of them looked uninspired by their situation. There was some decent spots thrown into the mix, like a Suicide Dive from Samoa Joe onto Jeff Hardy and a well worked hurracanrana spot that saw Manik take Chris Sabin to the outside, but with nothing particularly stringing them together, which with a lot of history between all five of these guys was pretty mind numbing. The Ultimate X stipulation wasn't used to it's full extent with very little interaction with the structure, and towards the end of the contest it became more of a Ladder match, which I kind of defeats the point of Ultimate X. If they wanted a Ladder Match, then they should have just gone ahead and made it a Ladder match. The finish involved Chris Sabin using Velvet Sky as a distraction for Jeff Hardy, allowing him to sneak up the Ladder and after some battle with Hardy, grab the belt to win his seventh X Division Championship. Whilst the finish was a little clichéd, it work well enough here with Sabin's character development, but I think if they'd have had Sky turn heel on Hardy, by pulling him from the X structure then it would have been much more effective than what was actually shown. It wasn't exactly terrible, but with the talent and history involved it should have be a lot better.

Winner and NEW X Division Champion: CHRIS SABIN (11 Minutes, 50 Seconds)

It's nostalgic replay time! Tonight's theme is AJ Styles' greatest hits, which seems a bizarre choice seeing as in storyline TNA President Dixie Carter is trying to push Styles out of TNA. The first video shows Styles becoming the first X Division Champion on 19^th June 2002, at TNA's second weekly PPV, in a bout that also involved Jerry Lynn, Lo-Ki and Psicosis, which TNA should have looked at when putting together the multi-man X-Division match that opened the show.

Bad Influence are out next to complain about not being booked on the show. Kazarian calls it a travesty, and the crowd seemed to agree with him and so do I. Bad Influence have routinely been the most entertaining part of any TNA show for over a year and a half, and should have been a bigger part of this show. Eric Young was out to warn Bad Influence that they had awoken a monster (Kazarian and Daniels had attack Joseph Park during the Pre-Show on Spike TV) and out came Abyss routinely destroying Bad Influence with a series of signature moves. It was teased that Abyss might turn on Young as well, but instead Abyss simply picking him up from the corner. As a short segment, this didn't have a lot wrong with and was a good way of reintroducing Abyss to the fold after far too long. A feud between Bad Influence and the Abyss/Young duo has potential, although Bad Influence are on the brink of becoming too popular to be heels due to TNA's constant mistreatment of the duo.

Backstage in the Interview area, a dapper Jeremy Borash interviewed World Tag Team Champions James Storm & Gunner about their upcoming title defence against The Bro-Mans. I was really impressed with Gunner here, this is certainly the best promo that I can remember him delivering, he came over as an old-school ass kicker and if TNA go down that root with him I can see him doing pretty well for the company. Storm's promo was loud and humorous, as we've come to expect from the Cowboy, messing around with JB. This interview was a nice addition for the show, as was needed to give some context to the upcoming tag title match.

World Tag Team Championship Match:

The Bro-Mans

with Phil Heath

Versus

James Storm & Gunner ©

Good acceptable tag team action. The crowd was pretty dead for the start of this one, as it built slowly with The Bro-Mans effectively working over Gunner in their corner, until an impressive Super Fall-away Slam allowed Gunner to make the hot tag to Storm. From here, the match really got going for me, with a series of exciting and well worked near falls for both teams began to get the crowd interested, with a Spinebuster/Backstabber combo from Storm & Gunner on Robbie E, being a particular highlight. The finish saw Robbie E distract the referee by throwing a title belt into the ring, allowing The Bro-Mans to double team Storm hitting a Heart Attack on the Cowboy to pick up the pinfall victory and win their first World Tag Team Championship. The only problem I had with the finish was that it wasn't particularly clear what had happened to Gunner, which isn't the fault of the performers, it had more to do with poor camera and editing work. If they run with The Bro-Mans as champions, and make them look credible on Impact Wrestling for a few weeks then they could lead to some entertaining moments and potential for feuds, and it also gives a chance for both Storm and Gunner to move back into pursuing singles gold.

Winners and NEW World Tag Team Champions: The Bro-Mans (11 Minutes, 50 Seconds)

Footage was shown of Kurt Angle's Hall of Fame evening the night before, with speeches from clips of speeches from Samoa Joe, Magnus and Sting, before Jeremy Borash introduces Sting for the actual induction, it was all a little confusing. Sting put over Angle as a family man, before bringing out the man himself. Sting presented Angle with his Hall of Fame watch, I'm guessing they left the meaningful speeches for the night before, as Sting honestly looked like he didn't want to be there. Bizarrely, Angle went on to turn down the induction saying that he didn't feel like he deserved the induction because of the mistakes he'd made in his life, before leaving the ring. The crowd didn't have a clue to react here, and I'm not sure anyone in TNA had even thought about how they wanted the crowd to react either. I thought it was pretty tasteless of TNA to use Angle's very real personal matters as storyline, it's not like it's never been done in wrestling before, but it just didn't sit well with me.

More AJ Styles based nostalgia was on the way, this time Styles's World Heavyweight Championship win at No Surrender 2009, in a five way including Kurt Angle, Matt Morgan, Hernandez and Sting, with the crazy confetti and the TNA roster flooding the ring straight after. They were really playing up Styles' past achievements, it would have been nice to have seen some Bully Ray moments as well, just to shrink the giant signposts that TNA were planting with these videos.

Backstage, TNA President Dixie Carter met with Ethan Carter III (Formerly WWE's Derrick Bateman) with it being revealed that Ethan was Dixie's nephew, I'm happy to see how that unfolds for now, even if Dixie was giving one of the hammiest performance I have ever seen, reciting her lines in a weird rhythm. Dixie told Ethan that she had hand picked his opponent for tonight, which was mildly interesting at best.

Knockout's Championship Three-Way Match

Gail Kim

Versus

Brooke Tessmacher

Versus

ODB ©

This was not half bad, but it had a potential to be a lot better. The three women involved in the match didn't really connect with the three-way concept, with a lot of one-on-one stuff with the two heels each taking turns against ODB. The early parts of the match felt like everyone was simply going through the motions, with Gail Kim especially spending a lot of time on the outside. They pulled out the Figure Four on the ringpost, which is always impressive, and nice sequence that saw ODB unable to Superplex both women, leading up to a near fall for Tessmacher after an elbow drop on Kim. Following a ref bump, they went for the finish, where it looked like ODB had the win after a Delayed Vertical Suplex on Tessmacher and BAM on Kim, in what looked like a decent finish to the bout, but this is TNA so all was not as it looked. With ODB about to get the win, out came Lei'D Tapa, and for some unknown reason instead of going for the pinfall, ODB went after Tapa and was quickly disposed off, Tessmacher quickly went the same way, with Kim simply falling into the pinfall to win her third Knockout's Championship. It was then revealed that Tapa was in cahoots with Kim, leading to obvious parallels to be drawn between the two and AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka in WWE. I think this ending would have been more effective if this had been used to re-debut Lei'D Tapa, instead of the strange re-introduction on Impact Wrestling a few weeks back.

Winner and NEW Knockout's Champion: GAIL KIM (10 Minutes, 25 Seconds)

Backstage, new interviewer Gil Corsey attempted to catch up with World Tag Team Champions The Bro-Mans, and ended up getting showered in protein shake, in what was pretty funny segment. I still have hope for The Bro-Mans Tag Title run after this. Corsey also looked like a good addition to the broadcast team, bringing an energy to the show that was lacking in a lot of areas.

Up next in Jeremy Borash's interview room was Bobby Roode. Roode did a good job of his promo with some intense delivery as he continues to play his role down to a tee, even if the content and storyline that he's having to deal with at the moment is pretty poor. Roode finished off by saying that he would make Kurt Angle tap out in their bout later tonight, which felt refreshing for a heel, as it's become so easy for guys to simply play the cowardly heel and get away with it.

Bobby Roode

Versus

Kurt Angle

In terms of in ring action, this was by far the strongest match on the card, building up nicely with some solid amateur style wrestling at the beginning. At times, Kurt Angle looked a little bit slow, but that's understandable considering the amount of time that he's had off, his age and everything else he's had to deal with over the last few months, and those limitations were worked round very well and with the way the match built didn't end up effecting the bout that much. Everything in the bout felt like it was done with a purpose, with both men bringing their impact moves to the contest, before the focus of the bout moved to their respective submission holds. The highlight of this bout for me, was a really well done false finish, with Angle transitioning Roode's Cross Face into an Angle Slam, with the crowd absolutely hooked. Then the match was ruined. With Roode passed out from Angle's Ankle Lock, the referee went to raise Roode's hand to check if he was out and accidentally put Roode's hand on the ropes, causing the rope break. It was just felt so stupid and looked like they were trying to pull a screwjob angle, but they weren't. I was pulled straight out of the match that Angle and Roode had worked so hard to get me interested in. The actual finish was just as silly, with Angle hitting a Super Angle Slam on Roode that saw both men down for an extended period of time, Roode managed to get to his feet first and fall onto Angle to pick up the pinfall victory. For me, this one needed a definitive finish, but left more questions open than it answered.

Winner: BOBBY ROODE (21 Minutes)

After the match, they had Angle put onto a stretcher with a silent crowd, before Angle refused the medical help and left on his own. With so many people concerned about Angle's real life health, I thought it was really distasteful to have people believe he had suffered an actual injury here. I'm not sure where they are going with Angle at the moment, but for his sake I'd hope he is at least used sparingly by TNA from now on.

More AJ Styles nostalgia was up next, this time showing Styles retaining the World Heavyweight Championship against Sting at Bound For Glory 2009. They were really building up the main event, and showing a truly classic Bound For Glory main event that people were truly invested in, put a lot of pressure onto Styles and Bully Ray to deliver something good in their match later on.

It was then backstage were Bully Ray talked to members of Aces & Eights who were not shown on screen. I'm guessing they wanted people to think they had re-signed some of the members that had left the group, by not showing them, whether anyone truly believed that Mr. Anderson, DOC, Devon or even D'Lo Brown would be getting involved in the main event, who knows?

Ethan Carter III

Versus

Norv Fernum

It was time for Ethan Carter III's début, and on the biggest stage TNA has to offer, they decided to pit him against Norv Fernum (PWG's Peter Avalon) in an enhancement match. For what is was, this match was okay, and if it was on Impact Wrestling I would have had no problem with it, but this a PPV, the biggest pay-Per-View of the year supposedly. Carter picked up a quick victory after a mild comeback by Fernum, hitting a Headlock Driver to get the pinfall. Carter has potential, and I enjoyed his run on NXT a short while ago, but this wasn't a great way for him to début.

Winner: ETHAN CARTER III (3 Minutes, 25 Seconds)

Magnus was up next in Jeremy Borash's Interview room, cutting a so-so promo on his upcoming match with Sting. Magnus failed to draw me in for most of the promo, mainly due to his tone and rhythm of delivery, which at times could have done with changing pace and tone to make his words really begin to stand out. Understandably, Magnus did look nervous here which probably effected his performance on the mic, which is usually pretty sound.

Magnus

Versus

Sting

This was not the match it needed to be, in order to make Magnus look like a star. Where we should have had the young rookie digging deep to defeat one of the best of all time, we had Magnus beating up an almost elderly looking Sting, before a slow comeback by Sting, including one of the worst looking Scorpion Deathlock's I have ever seen, it looked more painful for Sting to put Magnus in the hold, than it did for Magnus. The finish saw Sting asking Magnus to bring it, with Magnus quickly locking in the Kings Lyn Cloverleaf to pick up the submission victory. Magnus will become a star sooner of later, and he's not far off at the moment, but this did nothing for the Brit. If this isn't Sting's last match, there is something very wrong in TNA.

Winner: MAGNUS (11 Minutes, 5 Seconds)

In the final build up for the main event, Jeremy Borash welcomed World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray into his Interview Room, with Brooke Tessmacher in tow, who had apparently recovered from Lei'D Tapa's attack earlier in the night. Ray continued to be a beacon of light in crumbling mess that the Aces & Eights storyline has become, with a stellar promo based around Guns N' Roses track “Welcome to the Jungle”, as he sent a message to AJ Styles. Ray's transformation from tag team specialist to one of the best heels in the business is one of the true success stories in TNA, and it would have been nice to see some focus put onto that during this show, as well as the AJ Styles hype videos.

World Heavyweight Championship No Disqualification  Match

AJ Styles

Versus

Bully Ray

with Brooke Tessmacher

These two wrestlers had the potential to put on a compelling World Heavyweight title main event, but once again TNA thought otherwise and decided to send in the cavalry with a series of run ins and ridiculous shenanigans, with the bout descending into chaos within minutes. In between a distraction from Garrett Bischoff and Knux doing his best 911 impression, Ray and Styles actually manage to scramble together some decent action, showing a spark of what could have been if this bout had been left to play out naturally, with a crazy spot that Ray move out of the way of a springboard 450 splash that sent Styles crashing straight through a ringside table, being the pinnacle of the action for me. They repeated the spot where Bully Ray removes the protective cover of the ring for the third, I didn't enjoy the spot the first time it was done at Slammiversary and I didn't enjoy it here either, and it just seemed unnecessary after Styles had already taken a ridiculous bump through the table. Of course, Dixie Carter had to make her presence felt in the bout, keeping Styles from winning by shouting some stuff at referee Earl Hebner, I'm not sure why the whole build up has been around Carter, instead of the two guys in the match and her input here only dragged the match down again, especially with the logic lapse that was the coming. I thought the closing stages of the bout were actually really well done by Styles and Ray, with Styles looking convincing fighting from underneath after taking a serious beating from Ray, pulling out last gasp move the Pele Kick, before delivering a chair shot and hitting Spiral Tap to pick up a pin fall victory and win his second World Heavyweight Championship. On it's own the end was fine, but in context, why the hell didn't Dixie just stop it again? Overall, the effort that Ray and Styles put into this one shouldn't be discounted, because both men worked incredibly hard throughout the contest, but there was just too much going on and taking the focus of the match for me to really enjoy what they were doing.

Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: AJ STYLES (22 Minutes, 35 Seconds)

The show finished up with images of AJ Styles celebrating in the crowd, whilst Dixie Carter looked on mournfully, similarly to many of the fans who paid money to watch this pay-per-view.

Overall, Bound For Glory 2013 wasn't a vintage year for TNA's “biggest” event of the year. Whilst at time the action within the matches was good, it was often let down by poor booking and an over reliance on “swerve” finishes. The talent still remains within TNA, but until that talent is allowed to breath and then used correctly, TNA will continue to put on disappointing shows like this one. At least there's only four of these a year now though, eh?

Quick Results

X Division Championship Five-Way Ultimate X Match

Chris Sabin def. Jeff Hardy, Austin Aries, Samoa Joe and Manik ©

World Tag Team Championship Match

The Bro-Mans def. James Storm & Gunner © via Pinfall

Knockout's Championship Three-Way Match

Gail Kim def. Brooke Tessmacher and ODB © via Pinfall

Bobby Roode def. Kurt Angle via Pinfall

Ethan Carter III def. Norv Fernum via Pinfall

Magnus def. Sting via Submission

World Heavyweight Championship No Disqualification Match

AJ Styles def. Bully Ray © via Pinfall