Snap Thoughts: TNA Bound For Glory 2024

LOLTNA, what an unfortunate catchphrase for a company to have but one that has honestly been very well deserved over their run. We’ll get to the LOLTNA but first we have some T-N-A! T-N-A! As we focus on a show that kinda embodied the good, the bad, and the meh of that stupid promotion I still love despite myself.

Ash By Elegance and Heather By Elegance (w/ The Personal Concierge) vs. Xia Brookside and Brinley Reece

Actually some heat on this one as they’ve been feuding on TV for a while. We got classic glamorous mean ladies vs. the hardscrabble babyfaces (who aren’t at all glamorous of course). It all feels very 2012. They do some very basic stuff and the Personal Concierge gets a lot of heat and Xia is apparently CRAZY over with the crowd and they build into a big hot tag for her as she runs wild but gets distracted by the PC and By Elegance win. All very silly but the crowd dug it and Xia feels maybe like she could be something later on.

This was Good.

Bob Ryder gets inducted into the TNA HoF and it’s all very sweet. It pulls the curtain a BIT but guys like him do deserve praise and credit. Well done and these TNA HoF deals are always so very sweet and wholesome.

Next up is Rhyno’s induction and he absolutely deserves it as well. Unfortunately we have Tommy Dreamer beforehand. But hey, Rhyno still rules. And Rhyno gave a great, kinda awkward speech (thanking Cornette! Thanking Scott D’Amore on a TNA broadcast!) but man, if you want to feel good about the world, listen to Rhyno put over Heath Slater as just an awesome human being and cry a little bit.

This was Good, c’mon now, I’m not a monster.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet

Eh it’s a rumble, a match format I have very little attachment to. Beyond Kazarian’s ironman run there really isn’t much to this match other than Rhyno’s legend run/comeback deal. Still, way too long and not enough going on to make it memorable. Hopefully it will lead somewhere, but overall wasn’t super impressed. Still, it got Kaz over.

This was Meh.

Mike Bailey (c) vs. El Hijo del Vikingo – X-Division Championship

This match obviously isn’t for me, but it was for other people, even still, I don’t care, make your own review. To be more generous, it was too much of the same thing, it was pork fat fried in lard, you need contrast, and they’re too similar a talent to give us that.

This was Bad.

Spitfire (Dani Luna & Jody Threat) (c) vs. Rosemary & Wendy Choo – Knockouts Tag Team Championship

Basic but heatless tag-match. There is basically nothing to say about the match other they did a total formula match. At least they developed the Choo/Rosemary partnership with a post-match breakup.

This was Meh.

Josh Alexander vs. Steve Maclin

These guys have been the backbone of the New TNA I’ve been a fan of in their own different ways, and they are just two rock solid pro wrestlers who know what to do. A very heated brawl that left plenty on the table, I was maybe willing to go Meh for this given what I know these guys are capable of, but the extended sequence with the zip-ties maybe gave Maclin that extra oomph to be the babyface they’ve wanted him to be for the last six months. Fun and unique is stuff I enjoy.

This was Good.

PCO (c) vs. Matt Cardona – Digital Media Champ/International Heavyweight Championship Monster’s Ball Match

This was PCO and Cardona doing every sick and twisted indie hardcore match, tables, doors, thumbtacks, Cardona is one of the few heels in the game who actually acts like a pathetic piece of garbage and PCO’s obsession with taking disgusting bumps is certainly thrilling. I don’t want every match to be this, but I wanted THIS match to be this.

This was Good.

Moose (w/JDC) vs. Mike Santana

This was…very solid, Santana is a real star and he did a ton to give this match gravitas and he busted out all his stuff to make the match work, and Moose was, he was what Moose is, and Moose is…fine. Good look, athletic, willing bumper, his stuff all looks fine, but it never really has the connective pieces you want. This probably should have been the big breakout Santana singles match, but it felt closer to that Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns match right after the Shield broke up where we were like…well…is this ALL they can do? Disappointing rather than bad or unwatchable.

This was Meh.

Jordynne Grace (c) vs. Masha Slamovich – Knockouts Championship

Man this made the show worth it, fantastic match, plenty of callbacks from their prior engagements, Jordynne working arrogant champ (Bret-style) and Masha learning from past mistakes. Grace heeling out in a way that hurt Masha’s knee, Masha selling that knee the rest of the match, and then the finish coming cause Jordynne brought Masha into the ropes, which lets Slamovich use her upper body rather than her legs to reverse into something for the big finish was top-tier stuff. Highly recommend and that’s in my short-list for MOTYs right now. I could go on for so long about this but man, NA women’s wrestling is in GOOD hands.

This was Good.

Nic Nemeth (c) vs. Joe Hendry – TNA World Championship

Argh. ARGH. ARGH!!! This match, man…this match. This is LOLTNA. You set it up, the champ we’re all kinda tired of (even if he is a face) versus the hot challenger who has been screwed multiple times so far. And you…don’t pull the trigger. And not only do you not pull the trigger you do it in a way that makes Joe look like a total putz. He doesn’t lose cause JBL directly screws him, Nemeth gets the visual pinfall and then after that he just outwrestles Joe and wins clean while Nemeth still seems like a babyface. Absolutely godawful decision that honestly makes me question why I want to continue following TNA.

This was Bad, and I’m starting to hate wrestling just thinking about it.

The System (Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards) (c) vs. The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) vs. ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) – Full Metal Mayhem match for the TNA Tag Team Championship

Look I knew this match would suck. And it did suck. But after the stupidity of the prior match this meant nothing. And that’s the thing. Who needs to see the Hardyz win anything in 2024? These guys who have burnt company after company, who have failed time and time again. Watching two competent (if maybe a bit stale) teams have to slow down and do this tired, played out, generic, TLC-ripoff with all the same tired, dangerous, played out spots does nothing for me, at all. But at this point who cares? It’s TNA, they’ll always be TNA, Jeff Hardy will always be a number one contender, we’ll always blow our goodwill, life is pain, and life is TNA.

This was obviously Bad and I don’t need to see the Hardyz do ANYTHING ever again.

Overall I think this show should be remembered as…good despite all that vitriol. We had a great string of matches in the midcard of this show until the main-events just absolutely destroyed what was happening. It’s so frustrating watching a show have so much going on and then blow it up out of incompetence or arrogance or whatever. I still believe in TNA, but stuff like this makes me wonder why I do.