The Final IV - Impact Wrestling's Bound for Glory

#3 Bound for Glory (2011)

III - Bound for Glory (2011)

Bound for Glory (2011) took place at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA on October 16th, 2011. The event drew in 3,585 wrestling fans. This was the seventh Bound for Glory event in the company’s history. This was a very big show that featured a lot of memorable moments and matchups that took place. This was a fun crowd, as one could expect from a wild and rowdy Philadelphia wrestling audience.

We saw another chapter written in the historic rivalry dating back to the days of ECW, between Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn. RVD and Jerry Lynn wrestled in a “Full Metal Mayhem” match, with “The Whole F’N’ Show!” getting the victory over Jerry Lynn. The storyline was surrounded by their history of Jerry Lynn being “sick and tired” of living in RVD’s shadow, in spite of supporting RVD throughout the past several months in TNA. They had a score to settle and it had to be settled in Philly.

Velvet Sky captured her first TNA Knockouts Championship in a victory over Madison Rayne, Mickie James and Winter in a Fatal Four Way Match. This wasn’t the best match on the card but was a pivotal moment in the career of Velvet Sky. This title victory would be her first Knockouts Championship title reign and be one of the biggest moments of her TNA career.

AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels rekindled their feud heading into Bound for Glory, as they would wrestle in an “I Quit” match. Definitely not the best match these two men ever had but was a respectfully decent match. Fortune was broken up, with Daniels turning heel on AJ Styles to reignite the feud and setup the match.

Next, we would have one of the biggest moments in the entire pay-per-view. We had a No Holds Barred showdown between Hulk Hogan and Sting. By no means, this was going to be a wrestling classic, much less considered a “great match”, by any stretch of the imagination given that both men were past their prime. However, they were able to tell a good story leading into this event. Sting is fighting to back control of TNA Wrestling from Hulk Hogan and Immortal, surrounding the events that took place over a year ago at Bound for Glory (2010).

Sting wanted to see the old Hulk Hogan back, and not this façade that he had been portraying since he and Bischoff took control of TNA. The stipulations were that If Hogan won, Sting would be forced to leave TNA forever. If Sting got the win, Dixie Carter would regain control over the company. Sting would get the victory over “The Hulkster” by submission with the Scorpion Deathlock in a bloody brawl. Afterwards, members of Immortal, including Eric Bischoff, would get involved to attack Sting. Sting pleaded and begged for help from Hogan. At that moment, Hogan had an epiphany of sorts, as he snapped, tore his bloody “Impact Wrestling” t-shirt off and turned on his Immortal brethren, including a disgusted Eric Bischoff. Sting and Hogan would embrace, signifying Hogan’s face turn as Dixie Carter wept and cheered on with joy from ringside.

The main event featured TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Kurt Angle defending his title against Bobby Roode. This was a good main event, that showcased the skills and talent Bobby Roode had to offer in TNA. Angle would be victorious on this night, as he would defeat Bobby Roode to retain the title.

This was a disappointing finish to many wrestling fans who were ready to see Bobby Roode become the next TNA World Heavyweight Champion and become the new face of the company. In spite of this, the fans would not have to wait much longer, as Roode would, later on, capture the title from “Cowboy” James Storm, who would defeat Kurt Angle for the title just a couple weeks after this event. Roode would turn heel and smash a beer bottle over the head of Storm to become the next champion and set up his reign as the “It Factor” of professional wrestling, becoming the longest reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion in company history.