[2009-10-18-TNA-Bound For Glory] Sting vs A.J. Styles

[Superstar Sleeze]

TNA World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs Sting - Bound for Glory 2009

 

The Main Event Mafia storyline has wrapped up with Sting realizing that he respects the youngsters and his contemporaries are a bunch of snake oil salesmen. AJ respects Sting too. It is a big 'ol lovefest. AJ won the title on the PPV before this in a convoluted 5 man match. Now he has to beat the Man that has been unbeatbale at BFG beating JJ, Angle and Joe for the World Title three years in a row. That is just a great piece of booking by TNA even if it is a happy accident. This match is much better than their previous effort about a year previous. The wrestle a smart, well-laid out tit-for-tat face vs face match. They do a bunch of parallel spots to display that they are equal. Each grabbing a side headlock, each doing a hiptoss, each letting the other into the ring and each whiffing on a move and eating guardrail. Sting shows a bit more fire in this one, but nowhere near the usual hopped up on speed Sting that I am used to from the 90s. AJ does not overcompensate at all in this match. He makes Sting's offense look good and times his own well. Sting even manages to work one of his old favorite WCW spots in with the tombstone reversal, which I admit I marked for. They also do a helluva sequence to get into the Deathdrop only for Styles to kick out. This is where the Styles proving himself comes in as he kicks out of the Deathdrop and powers of the Deathlock. This is the harbinger that Sting's time has passed and Styles is on the rise as his big bombs can't keep the New Ace down. Sting puts on one more show of bravado, but it is not 1990 anymore and the power up is no longer as potent. Sting looks to follow up a headbutt only to take a Pele and Springboard Splash to end the match. This is probably the best TNA Sting I have ever seen and really shows how much a good layout can hide the limitations of wrestlers. Both wrestlers executed the psychology and delivered a very good match. I am looking forward to AJ's reign as World Champion before he ends up in obscurity and an interminable feud with Christopher Daniels.