X-Division Championship
Rob Van Dam def. Zema Ion (New Champion)
I question Rob Van Dam’s presence in the X-Division; he’s a full 67 pounds heavier than his opponent Zema Ion, and while he is certainly an athletic wrestler, Van Dam isn’t necessarily somebody I would look at and think “X-Division star”. And whatever happened to the weight limit placed on the division? Unfortunately, one look at the roster and it’s clear why RVD was placed in this match, and ultimately why he won the belt at Bound for Glory. You getting a biggest star in there – both in terms of his weight, and drawing power – and that gives you just enough wiggle room to open up the division. I still wonder why Kenny King and Sonjay Dutt were overlooked for this match, but in a lot of ways I do understand the direction.
It was a fun opener for Bound for Glory. Not a stellar match by any stretch of the imagination, but the crowd came alive for Van Dam’s title win and that’s ultimately the job of the guys who go out there first. Zema actually looked like more of a Champion against RVD than he has since taking the belt at Destination X, controlling a lot of the match and engineering some really cool spots. The kid is coming along, and while I still don’t necessarily see main event potential in him, the X-Division desperately needs characters. Still, in retrospect this match was a shell of what the X-Division used to be. Might as well be any standard “light heavyweight” belt, rather than something that is booked as unique and extravagant.
On a totally unrelated note, I laughed when they accidentally played two seconds of James Storm’s music instead of RVD’s. How does that mistake even happen?
Rating: 2.5/5
Television Championship
Samoa Joe def. Magnus
Magnus and Joe have such incredible chemistry, both as tag team partners and opponents, as it turns out. I could easily see Joe being the guy to put over Magnus as a future star in the business in the coming months. I enjoyed the classic mat game they wrestled throughout, and also appreciated that they did so with a rather short time limit. I love watching Joe transition between holds, never letting his opponent know where his next submission is coming from. Not to be outdone, Magnus had some great technical spots of his own, and looked incredibly solid throughout. Really solid match, and if given 15-20 minutes on another PPV, they could have stolen the show. I look forward to the inevitably fallout on Impact, and any subsequent matches the pair may have.
Rating: 3.5/5
