TNA BOUND FOR GLORY 2012

In theory their biggest event of the year, TNA held Bound For Glory on October 14 in Phoenix, Arizona. Overall, it was a good show, with the biggest news being that Jeff Hardy won his third TNA World heavyweight championship, defeating Austin Aries in the main event. The live crowd in Phoenix started the match surprisingly pro-Aries - even though he had recently started to turn heel - but ended up cheering for Hardy. A back-and-forth encounter saw numerous near-falls, with both men pulling out all their signatures moves. Aries looked strong in defeat, using a top-rope super-hurucanrana, as well as his trademark brainbuster, only for Hardy to kick out of the subsequent pinfall attempt. The finish saw Hardy hit the Twist of Fate, and pin Aries after a Swanton Bomb, to conclude an all-action 20 minutes of wrestling.

The semi-main event saw the first unmasking of one of Aces & Eights, as two other masked members of the group (portrayed by former WWE stars Drew "Luke Gallows" Hankinson and Mike Knox) defeated Sting and Bully Ray, to gain full access to the Impact Zone. The Aces & Eights brought the kidnapped Joseph Park to ringside, handcuffing him to a crowd barrier, but it was not long before the barrister broke free from his shackles, nailing a distinctively long-haired Aces & Eights member (Wes Brisco), going wild and chasing his tormentor to the back. Meanwhile, after Sting had one of the hoodlums up for a Doomsday Device, Ray brought a table into the ring. Suddenly, another masked man ran in, and gave Ray a spinebuster through that table, leading to Aces & Eights obtaining the pinfall win.

More group members then hit the ring, putting the boots to Sting. Hulk Hogan came out, readying himself for a fight with Bully Ray's attacker, eventually unmasking him to reveal former TNA TV champion, Devon. Ray's ex-tag team partner smirked, and left the ring, calling back to Hogan and Ray, "It was me all along!"

In the blow-off to a year-long feud (and in what, for most of the year, was originally pencilled in as this show's main event) "Cowboy" James Storm soundly defeated Bobby Roode in a brutal streetfight. The bout was referreed by Bellator MMA star "King" Mo Lawal, but there was little technique on display here, as the pair used weapons and brawled all over the arena. Storm bled massively as Roode pulled out all the stops to win, going as far as to plan the use of a bag of thumbtacks, emptying them onto the mat. The move backfired, though, as Roode's superplex attempt was blocked, and his former Beer Money partner Storm sent him crashing onto the pins below. Storm finished off Roode with a poignant beer bottle clubbing, followed by a Last Call superkick, to score the pinfall win.
GOLD SWITCHES HANDS
The show also saw three titles change hands. Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Hernandez captured the TNA World Tag Team titles, overcoming the champions, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, and fellow challengers Kurt Angle and AJ Styles, in a fine bout, following a Hernandez border toss on Daniels, complemented by a Guerrero frog splash. In the opener, Rob Van Dam defeated Zema Ion to take the TNA X-Division title, following a Five Star frog splash. Tara won the TNA Knockouts title from Miss Tessmacher in surprisingly comprehensive fashion, pinning her after a Widow's Peak. Following the match, Tara enjoyed a passionate in-ring embrace with her new "Hollywood boyfriend", former U.S Big Brother contestant Jessie Godderz.

Two other bouts on the show saw Joey Ryan defeat Al Snow to win a TNA contract, after Matt Morgan came through the crowd to deliver the Carbon Footprint to Snow, thus helping Ryan to win. Also, Samoa Joe retained the TNA TV title, overcoming the valiant efforts of Magnus in a fine match, with Joe winning after finally sinking the choke in on the Brit.

Results Rob Van Dam def. Zema Ion (Pinfall / 8:00 / TNA X-Division championship) - Samoa Joe def. Magnus (Pinfall / 9:00 / TNA TV championship) - James Storm def. Bobby Roode (Pinfall / 17:31 / Streetfight) - Joey Ryan def. Al Snow (Pinfall / 8:25) - Chavo Guerrero Jr & Hernandez def. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian and AJ Styles & Kurt Angle (Pinfall / 15:33 / TNA World Tag Team championship) - Tara def. Miss Tessmacher (Pinfall / 6:25 / TNA Knockouts championship) - Aces & Eights def. Sting & Bully Ray (Pinfall / 10:51) - Jeff Hardy def. Austin Aries (Pinfall / 23:03 / TNA World heavyweight championship)