JerzyGirl Karen Belcher brings you all the results and action from the General Motors Centre in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, near Toronto.

The show opens with a video montage of clips from the action leading up to the PPV, while the announcer talks about the dreams and sacrifices made by the wrestlers.

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Announcers Mike Tenay and Don West are at ringside to welcome fans amid a display of pyro.

Sting makes his entrance to open the show and gets a nice pop from the fans.  He announces that he has finalized contract negotiations with TNA, and that at the Bound for Glory PPV, he will face the winner of tonight’s Four Ways to Glory match for the TNA Heavyweight Championship.  Then he says he wants to teach respect to the young guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe.  Sting compares himself to Bret Hart, and says he is fighting for the same thing Bret did: respect.  I wonder what Bret thinks about that?

Mike Tenay announces that Booker T could not make it from his home in Texas to the PPV tonight due to Hurricane Ike.  He and Don West run down the rest of the card.  Tenay wonders how the Sting and Jeff Jarrett situation will affect tonight’s action.

Challenge Match

The Rock N’ Rave Infection, Lance Rock, Jimmy Rave and Christy Hemme
vs.
The Prince Justice Brotherhood, Curry Man, Shark Boy & Super Eric

This wild, zany match was hilarious, and describing the antics just can’t do justice to all the craziness, especially between Christy Hemme and Curry Man, who kept trying to put the moves on Christy.  Those two stole the show even though there were plenty of high flying and hard hitting moves from everyone.

In the end, Christy decides to slap Shark Boy, who retaliates with a Stone Cold Chummer.  Super Eric uses his super strength to do a Death Valley Driver on Lance and Jimmy together.  Curry Man then applies a highly unorthodox pin on Christy Hemme for the win.

Falls Count Anywhere Match

ODB
vs.
Awesome Kong with Raisha Saeed

This is a good brawl, but there have been better ones on iMPACT!.  TNA has some excellent women wrestlers on the roster, but inexplicably, they choose to push ODB and Taylor Wilde, who are okay, but just not good enough to carry the division.

ODB is wearing what looks like a prison jumpsuit, but it’s never explained why she would be wearing prison garb.  They battle all around the arena, using tables, chairs, and whatever weapons they can find.  The finish comes when Awesome Kong puts ODB through a table propped in a corner of the ring and then pins her for the win.

Lauren talks to Christian Cage, who says that he sacrificed everything for wrestling, but everything good he has, came from wrestling.  People told him he’d never be a wrestler, but he made it.  Then they told him he’d never make it to the top, but he’s been World Champion twice.  They say he can’t win again, but he’s going to win tonight at home, in front of his Canadian Peeps, his friends, and his family.

Tag Team Match:

Abyss & Matt Morgan
vs.
Team 3D, Brother Ray & Devon

Mike Tenay mentions that it’s rare for Team 3D to be at a size and weight disadvantage as they are tonight.  Abyss and Ray start off, but Devon tags in soon.  Morgan tags in soon after, and he and Abyss dominate 3D.  3D decide they have had enough, so they walk back up the ramp, but Abyss and Morgan follow and they brawl back around the ring.

This is a big man’s brawl, and the fans enjoy it.  3D cheat to get the advantage, and keep Abyss on their side of the ring as they tag in and out frequently.  When Matt Morgan tags in and gets the advantage, Johnny Devine runs in with a chair and slams Morgan in the back, but Morgan still kicks out of the pin attempt.  Devine stays around and keeps interfering, trying to use the chair.

The finish comes when Devon raises the chair to hit Abyss, but Morgan punches the chair so it hits Devon in the face.  Abyss gets the pin after a Black Hole Slam on Devon.

After the match, Ray hits Abyss with the chair, and then waffles Matt Morgan from behind with the chair.  After that, he throws it to Abyss, who is still holding the chair when Morgan looks around.  Abyss tells him it was Ray, but Matt still looks angry, and walks away.

X Division Championship Match:

“Maple Leaf Muscle” Petey Williams (C)
vs.
Consequences Creed
vs.
Sheik Abdul Bashir

Petey gets a huge face pop from the Canadian fans, and they keep on cheering loudly for him throughout the match.  This is everything you’d expect from an X Division Title match, with plenty of fast action, quick exchanges, and high flying moves.

Petey locks in the Sharpshooter on Bashir, but Bashir refuses to tap.  They spend a long time teasing Bashir possibly tapping out, but eventually Creed breaks it up.

The finish comes when Petey hits the Canadian Destroyer on Creed, but Bashir pulls him out and steals the pin to get the win and become the new X Division Champion.  I’m surprised the fans didn’t riot at that finish.

Knockout Women’s Championship Match

Taylor Wilde (C) with Rhino
vs.
Angelina Love with Velvet Skye and Pretty Kip

Only a Canadian crowd would cheer the lackluster Taylor Wilde like this, but since Angelina Love is also Canadian, they cheer her just as much.  Taylor says that she’s not about to come to the match alone, when Angelina has all that backup, and she introduces her own backup, Rhino.  TNA must be worried about keeping fans interested in this match, because a third Canadian joins them when Traci Brooks, the “Knockout Law” comes down to ringside to take notes.

Even with the “Knockout Law” and Rhino there, The Beautiful People manage to do plenty of cheating, and they hit Taylor with a makeup case early in the match.  Angelina grabs handfuls of hair and biels Taylor very emphatically across the ring twice.  Too much of the match is taken up with shoulder blocks, forearms and chops, though.

For the finish, Kip enters the ring to interfere, but Rhino nearly gores him out of the teeny tiny shorts he’s wearing.  Velvet holds Taylor for Angelina, but Taylor escapes.  Angelina stops in time to avoid hitting Velvet, but Wilde drop kicks her into Velvet, knocking her off the ring apron.  Taylor Wilde retains the title when she hits Angelina with a suplex and gets the 1-2-3 with the bridging pin.  Rhino runs in and hugs Taylor.

Ladder of Love Match

“Black Machismo” Jay Lethal
vs.
“The Guru” Sonjay Dutt

The engagement ring that Jay Lethal gave Val is hung over the ring, and whichever man gets it gets her.  Sonjay comes out and gives Val a rose, but she seems under whelmed to say the least.  Lethal brings out a whole bouquet of roses and hands them to Val, who doesn’t seem happy about that, either.  Through all this feud, Val has only seemed upset when she or Sonjay gets hurt.  She never seems to be upset about Lethal getting hurt.

Tenay announces that Jackie attacked Salinas, and Salinas is now being taken to the hospital.  The ladders are used liberally throughout the match.  In one memorable spot, Dutt rushes Lethal, who back body drops him onto a ladder propped between the ring and the rail.

In another standout sequence, Lethal tries climbing the ladder to get the ring, but Dutt springs off the ropes onto the opposite side of the ladder and knocks Jay off.  Sonjay starts up the ladder, but Jay pulls him off.  Lethal starts back up, but Dutt props a ladder between the standing ladder and the ring ropes, and knocks Lethal onto that ladder.  Then Dutt moonsaults onto Jay, on top of the ladder.

In the end, Jay’s foot is stuck in the ladder, so Val helps him get loose, and he climbs up.  Dutt knocks Lethal off and viciously berates Val for helping him.  Jay goes over to check on Val as Sonjay starts up the ladder.  Lethal goes up after the ring, but Val comes up behind and low blows him, allowing Dutt to get the ring.  Then Val and Sonjay celebrate in the ring with passionate kisses.

Jeremy Borash asks Kurt Angle if Booker T’s absence has ruined his plans for the match tonight.  Angle says it doesn’t matter, and tonight he’s going to erase Joe’s name from the books forever, because Angle is the true champion.  It doesn’t matter that Christian is home, it just means he’s closer to the hospital.  Angle says he’s looking for Jeff Jarrett, too.

TNA World Tag Team Championship Match

LAX, Homicide & Hernandez with Hector Guerrero
vs.
Beer Money, Inc., Robert Roode & “Cowboy” James Storm (C) with Jacquelyn

LAX are huge fan favorites, even though Robert Roode is Canadian.  Tenay and West remind fans that Jackie attacked Salinas, who was taken to the hospital.  A cryptic entry on Salinas’ blog seems to imply that she has left TNA, and rumor has it that she will be filming a movie in Italy.

This is another brutal, exciting match from these two hot tag teams.  Homicide and Storm start off, and Homicide gets an early advantage, then tags in Hernandez.  Storm gets the advantage back with help from Jackie and Roode, and the heels start working over Hernandez, using quick tags and keeping him on their side of the ring.  Finally, Hernandez gets in the desperation tag to his partner, who knocks Storm off the ring apron and works over Roode.  Storm comes back just in time to break up a pin attempt.

For the finish, Hernandez goes up top, but Storm spits beer in his eyes and power bombs him. Hector gets the beer bottle from Jackie, but when Homicide tries to hit Roode with it, he hits the ring steps instead, shattering the bottle and cutting his hand.  Storm and Roode double team Homicide on the floor till Hernandez dives from the ring and takes out Storm. Roode and Homicide return to the ring, where Homicide nails Roode with a stunner.  Homicide goes for the finish, but Jackie runs in and throws powder in Homicide’s eyes, blinding him again.  Roode suplexes Homicide for the win.

Please, please, please, don’t let this be leading up to a blindfold match — that’s the all time worst stipulation for a match!

Mixed Martial Arts Match

“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles
vs.
Frank Trigg

Frank Trigg makes his ring entrance carrying a US flag, then delivers a promo dissing Canada and the fans.  It didn’t seem like any of that was needed, though, as the fans were already booing him from the get go.  AJ got a huge welcome from the fans.

Trigg starts out with an advantage, but once AJ gets the advantage, Trigg has to resort to cheating to get away.  About halfway through the first round, the fans start chanting, “We want wrestling!”  I do too.  Finally, AJ gets a flying arm bar on Trigg, but the bell rings for the end of the first round, and fans are chanting, “Fire Russo!”

As the second round starts, fans are chanting, “This is bullshit!”  AJ, who is sporting a large shiner, finally goes wild and rains a storm of punches on Trigg, then accidentally knees Frank in the groin, so the ref calls it a no contest, and the fans chant, “Bullshit!”  AJ looks under the ring and finds a kendo stick, which he uses to whack the daylights out of Trigg, as the fans finally cheer.  Then AJ goes over to Tenay and yells at him that he’s a wrestler, and he doesn’t do that stuff!

Jeremy Borash interviews Samoa Joe, who says they are coming at him from every side.  He doesn’t seem to be thinking about the match, as he then goes off on a rant about not respecting Sting, since he won’t go on the road with the other wrestlers and works the least, even though he’s one of the highest paid wrestlers in TNA.  For once, Joe is right.

Three Ways to Glory Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Samoa Joe (C)
vs.
Kurt Angle
vs.
Christian Cage

Booker T was unable to make it to Canada, due to Hurricane Ike hitting his home state of Texas, so it’s a three way instead of a four way.

Wearing new ring gear, Christian enters to what seems to be the biggest pop of the night.  He grabs the hands of fans along the ramp, and there are loads of signs welcoming him home.

I guess TNA is worried about Joe still not getting really over even after all this time, because they gave him his own special intro to try to convince us that he’s special.  Sting enters right after Joe, and throws his bat away.  Joe goes back up the ramp and punches Sting.  They start fighting, but immediately AJ Styles runs out to pull them apart.

When Borash does the introductions, Christian gets another huge pop.  Angle gets mixed boos and cheers.  Joe gets mostly boos.

To start off, Christian and Joe take turns working over Angle, but then Angle leaves the ring, and Cage and Joe go at it.  Angle makes his return by pulling Christian out of the ring, and Joe puts him in the rear naked choke, but Angle escapes.

Christian goes over the ropes to the floor, apparently injuring his knee.  Joe and Angle battle on until Cage grabs Angle & pulls him into a ring post. Christian tries for the Unprettier on Angle, but Angle reverses into three Germans on Cage. In another high spot, Angle goes for a double ankle lock on both men, but they work together to flip him over to escape.

There are numerous near falls.  Joe hits the muscle buster on Christian, but Angle grabs and distracts the ref, so he can’t go over to count.  When the ref finally does go over to count, Christian kicks out.  At one point, Joe goes over the ropes onto Angle and Cage, and a small group of fans chant, “This is awesome,” but most of the fans are unresponsive, although they have been hot most of the night.

Christian nails the frog splash and the Unprettier on Joe and the crowd goes wild, but Angle pulls the ref out and slams his head into the guard rail, knocking him out.  Angle goes back in with a chair, low blows Christian, and slams him in the head with a chair, then tosses him out of the ring.  Then Kurt hits Joe with the chair and cinches in the ankle lock, but the ref is still out.

Jeff Jarrett comes out with his guitar and smashes it over Kurt’s head.  Joe gets the muscle buster on Angle, and Jarrett rolls the ref back into the ring to count the pin so Joe retains, but the fans don’t seem to care much.

I usually recommend TNA PPV’s highly, but this one was somewhat disappointing.  While most of the matches were good, the only match finish I could feel good about was the opener; I know the heels need to win some of the time, but there should be some things fans can feel happy about to offset that, and there wasn’t anything like that here, apart from the first match; the champions who won weren’t the ones the fans cared most about.  Mick Foley never made an appearance either, although it was teased with a special logo on TNA’s website.  It’s a big shame, because they could have saved the show with a feel good finish by having Christian win the title at home in Ontario.  They could have saved TNA fans from the boredom and mediocrity of Samoa Joe’s title reign, too.  WWE can afford to try to force poor choices on the fans, but TNA can’t.

TNA’s next PPV is Bound for Glory on October 12 at the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, IL.

– Karen Belcher
kabelchr@verizon.net

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