Bound for Glory 2008: Sting's Title Win Caps a Deep Card Built for TNA's Biggest Stage

Eric Young and Sojournor Bolt defeated Lance Rock and Christy Hemme in an intergender tag contest on October 12, 2008, but the bout was a dark match before Bound for Glory IV went on pay-per-view. Cagematch's historical match listing explicitly calls it a dark mixed-tag result, and Pro Wrestling History's event card preserves the winners. Unlike the Steel Asylum bout that opened the broadcast, Young and Bolt's match was not shown as part of the televised pay-per-view. The surviving results do not specify a verified bell-to-bell time or decisive move, so neither should be invented as a reconstructed finish.

This correction changes how to use the Event File, not the inherited C- (5.8) score. For a reader watching the standard broadcast, Jay Lethal's Steel Asylum win is the actual opening match, with the immediate consequence of earning an X Division title opportunity. The archived dark-match result establishes that Young, Bolt, Rock and Hemme competed that night without suggesting their appearance carried television championship stakes. SKIP the dark bout in a PPV-focused rewatch, while retaining it among all nine recorded results for historical completeness.

The Steel Asylum X Division bout packed ten wrestlers into a domed cage for a single objective: escape through the small opening at its top and earn the next championship opportunity. Jay Lethal shared the cage with Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Sonjay Dutt, Curry Man, Shark Boy, Super Eric, Jimmy Rave and Johnny Devine. The Motor City Machine Guns briefly worked together to deny climbing attempts, while the Prince Justice Brotherhood used its numbers to counter. Lethal climbed across other competitors, turned a near powerbomb into a hurricanrana and repeatedly tried to reach the roof. Petey delivered a Canadian Destroyer on Shelley, but that move did not decide the match, and ordinary pinfalls could not win this escape stipulation.

During the closing climb, Dutt stopped Curry Man at the upper bars and Jay Lethal joined his longtime rival near the opening. Lethal knocked Dutt away and **LETHAL ESCAPED THROUGH THE ROOF** after 12:07, becoming No. 1 contender to the X Division title. This was not a ten-man pinfall elimination match, and the last competitor attacked was not credited with a losing fall. The B+ (8.2) acknowledges the varied high-risk counters and the recognizable escape finish, with the overcrowded cage sometimes making individual sequences hard to follow. The exact identity and result of the title-contender win belong to Lethal alone.

Traci Brooks refereed the Bimbo Brawl six-person tag with Rhino, ODB and Rhaka Khan against Cute Kip, Angelina Love and Velvet Sky. ODB began against Love and fought off an attempted eye rake with chops, then Velvet entered and taunted Rhino. Kip repeatedly tried to protect his teammates from the larger male opponent. Rhino followed Kip outside before Rhaka Khan demanded her own chance to confront him, creating a mixed-size exchange that played as deliberate comedy. Love and Sky used a makeup bag and other distractions, but neither Knockout obtained an official fall on Rhino or ODB. The crowd wanted the Gore more than a sustained technical sequence, and the match was laid out accordingly.

Near the finish Kip attempted his Fameasser after an exchange of punches. Rhino intercepted him with a **GORE** coming off the ropes and **RHINO PINNED KIP** at 6:15, giving Rhino, ODB and Rhaka Khan the win. ODB and Khan celebrated but did not score the deciding pin. The C- (5.8) reflects an undercard character segment that provided a crowd-friendly finish without the length or stakes of the later championship matches. Traci's job as special referee did not make her an in-ring participant, and the individual winning fall should not be transferred to one of the Knockouts merely because the team result lists all three winners.

Sheik Abdul Bashir defended the X Division Championship against Consequences Creed, introduced by Iraq War veteran Sgt. Daniel Casara before an openly patriotic Chicago crowd. Creed attacked early with a dive over the top rope and a springboard cross-body, but the champion slowed him with a knee to the head on the apron and then drove him into the barricade. Bashir applied body scissors and a sleeper, forcing Creed to fight up as the audience responded to the increasingly personal presentation. Creed rallied with forearms, clotheslines and a press slam into his knees, nearly earning the title after successive close covers. The longer exchanges gave the challenger a plausible chance rather than reducing the defense to a single speech and finish.

Bashir blocked Creed at the top rope and delivered a hurricanrana but still could not keep him down. When Creed lifted him for another move, Bashir **RAKED CREED'S EYES**, rolled him into a cradle and used the ropes for leverage. **BASHIR PINNED CREED** to retain after the recorded 9:18. The illegal leverage, not a clean superplex or sudden submission, produced the three-count. The B- (7.3) credits the back-and-forth X Division pace and clear title stakes, though the cheating finish deliberately continued the feud. The source result is a successful Bashir defense; no championship transferred on this card.

Taylor Wilde defended the Knockouts Championship against Awesome Kong and Roxxi in a three-way match, with Raisha Saeed accompanying Kong. Wilde and Roxxi teamed briefly to push Kong out with simultaneous dropkicks, then their temporary alliance dissolved when they traded counters. Kong repeatedly returned with power offense and tossed Wilde across the ring. Roxxi nearly won with a neckbreaker and top-rope attack on Kong, but Wilde broke up the cover. Kong answered with an Implant Buster on Roxxi, only for Wilde to interrupt the pin and stop a title switch. The champion's survival depended on keeping either challenger from completing a fall, not on pinning the larger Kong directly.

Kong climbed to the turnbuckle, where Wilde met her and kicked her to the floor. Roxxi stunned Wilde and tried to follow with her own finisher, but Wilde countered, rolled over Roxxi's back and locked in a **BACKDROP-TO-BRIDGE PIN**. **WILDE PINNED ROXXI** at 5:11 and kept the Knockouts Championship. Kong was not pinned, and her Implant Buster did not secure the title. The B- (7.0) reflects a brisk defense with credible near falls from three distinct styles, although the short duration held it below the show's major attractions. The individual fall also preserves Roxxi's actual role in the finish instead of attributing another defeat to Kong.

The Monster's Ball four-team World Tag Team Championship match brought Beer Money, LAX, Team 3D and Abyss/Matt Morgan into a no-disqualification fight with former Chicago Bears player Steve McMichael as special referee. LAX attacked both champions early, and Homicide used a fork on Devon. Team 3D assaulted Abyss with makeshift weapons and later pushed him through a burning table, requiring ringside staff to extinguish flames on his clothing. Beer Money used their numbers against Morgan, while Hernandez kept breaking up covers with powerbombs and aerial offense. McMichael repeatedly counted slowly, creating frustration for the challengers and briefly becoming involved in the action himself. The result was an unusually dangerous championship defense rather than a standard four-corner tag bout.

The last exchange began when Team 3D gave **HERNANDEZ A 3D THROUGH THE THUMBTACK-COVERED TABLE** in the middle of the ring. James Storm immediately spat beer into Brother Devon's face, distracting the challengers. **ROBERT ROODE PINNED HERNANDEZ**, and Beer Money **RETAINED THE TNA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP** after the recorded 20:20. This individual cover is identified by the same-night detailed WrestlingInc and PWTorch reports, Online World of Wrestling's full match narrative, The History of WWE results compilation and the contemporary Slam Wrestling recap. Pro Wrestling History instead credits James Storm, a minority discrepancy that remains documented rather than silently erased. The A (9.0) grade reflects the distinct escalating weapon spots, the high-risk burning-table attack on Abyss and the stolen championship-retaining fall. Storm's beer spray helped clear a defender; it was Roode who completed the winning pin in the better-supported account.

Booker T met A.J. Styles and Christian Cage in a three-way match centered on their disagreement over the future of TNA. Christian initially pretended to cooperate with Booker before surprising him with a DDT, while Styles attacked both men through aerial counters and a dive toward the floor. Sharmell used a briefcase against Styles when the referee was distracted, buying Booker time to target Christian. Styles came back with a springboard forearm and a Pele kick, and Christian countered an Unprettier attempt into a DDT. Each man had credible near falls and moments of control, making the advertised three-way more competitive than a simple two-on-one alliance.

The closing stretch took place high in the corner. Christian landed a top-rope **UNPRETTIER ON STYLES**, but Booker immediately descended with an **AXE KICK ON CHRISTIAN** and **BOOKER PINNED CHRISTIAN** at the inherited 13:05. Styles was not the fall victim, despite having absorbed the earlier briefcase shot and several near finishes. The B+ (8.1) credits an energetic upper-card contest with distinct motivations and counters, while Sharmell's intervention and a somewhat elaborate top-rope finish reduce its decisiveness. The outcome was a Booker victory in a non-title match, not the acquisition of the championship he would later advertise.

Jeff Jarrett returned to pay-per-view singles competition against Kurt Angle with Mick Foley stationed at ringside as special enforcer. The two spent the early stretch working through headlocks and reversals before Jarrett sent Angle to the floor and followed with a dive. Angle fought back with a series of German suplexes, an Angle Slam and an Ankle Lock that Jarrett repeatedly struggled to break. Jarrett countered with a superplex and figure-four, forcing Angle to the ropes, then recovered from a missed Angle moonsault to hit the Stroke after a referee bump. Foley entered to count the near fall, giving his role real importance rather than serving as a decorative guest beside the ring.

Angle answered with a low blow and struck **FOLEY AND JARRETT WITH A CHAIR**, then woke the regular referee for an attempted cover. Foley pulled that referee away before the third count, recovered and applied **THE MANDIBLE CLAW ON ANGLE**. Jarrett used his guitar to strike Angle and **JARRETT PINNED ANGLE** with Foley counting in the inherited 20:07 ledger. The PWTorch contemporary timing differs by roughly a minute, but the disputed clock does not change the finish. The A- (8.8) recognizes the carefully developed rival counters and emotional Jarrett victory, tempered by repeated special-enforcer intervention in the last exchanges.

Samoa Joe defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Sting after months of disagreement over the company's veteran-versus-younger-star divide. The match began in the crowd, where Joe dived from an elevated box toward Sting and later struck him against the barricades. Sting briefly controlled the brawl before Joe brought the contest back to the ring and attacked through a powerslam, powerbomb and STF. Sting survived those sequences and tried his own splash and Muscle Buster, but Joe quickly stood after that move. Each man brushed off a trademark attack during the middle stretch, which delayed a normal finishing exchange and made Joe's growing frustration central to the bout.

Kevin Nash arrived at ringside while Joe argued with the referee and stalled rather than covering Sting. Sting reached for his baseball bat, but Nash grabbed it first. Moments later **NASH STRUCK JOE WITH THE BAT**, betraying his former ally as Joe ran toward the ropes. Sting followed with the **SCORPION DEATH DROP** and **STING PINNED SAMOA JOE** to take the World Heavyweight Championship in the inherited 16:54. The PWTorch contemporaneous report places the bell closer to 17 minutes, a minor unresolved clock difference. The A- (8.6) recognizes the athletic crowd brawl and major title shift, while acknowledging that Nash's interference rather than a clean singles sequence decided the main event.