Date: 17/05/19 | Written By Jack Williams
2011 was a brilliant year for TNA Wrestling. They had fantastic shows that were filled to the brim with talent, that ranged from legends like Kurt Angle, Sting and Scott Steiner, to new comers like Gunner, Mr Anderson and Matt Morgan, to TNA originals like Bobby Roode, James Storm and AJ Styles, all together working in perfect harmony making for entertaining shows, future stars being built, and superb matches being crafted.
However, When Bound For Glory came about, A match took place that you wouldn't ever think would happen again, As Hulk Hogan, The Immortal one stood in one corner with fellow legend Ric Flair by his side, and Sting, As the Insane Icon stood in the other. The match... It wasn't going to be a wrestling clinic, and it would be foolish to think that it ever could be, But it was what it was, and I enjoyed it. It truly rang of nostalgia and was a defining moment that concluded a rivalry that began all the way back in WCW. If nostalgia is done right, it can be as damned entertaining as the young guns flying and rolling around the ring, and by god, it was!
Hogan by that point had a very damaged spine due to the extreme wear and tear that came naturally from the harsh business, and especially in a time when nobody gave a toss about the wrestler's health or well-being, But the Hulkster came to the ring, not in the red and yellow or black and white tights that we have come to know him compete in, but in a pair of blue denim jeans, an Impact Wrestling tanktop and some red kneepads that he may have just happened to have found in a locker somewhere in the Impact Zone, that he wore over the top of the jeans. This isn't a getup that you would imagine a legendary star who is on the second to last match on the biggest show of the year, who would be possibly wrestling his final ever match would wear, however, he gave as passionate a match as any he's ever had. You saw two legends from another time, fighting for their purpose and what they believed in, and I loved it.
When you see the badly worn down, broken Hogan crying in pain on the canvas, you really feel the last breaths of the Sting, Flair and Hogan era coming to an official end with a final clash on a big stage infront of a passionate crowd. Then the final bell rung, and the Icon Sting was declared victorious in taking back control of TNA from the evil Hogan and Bischoff, despite the constant antics from Hogan, Flair and Immortal. Then we saw the Immortal goon squad [minus Abyss] run out and begin a beatdown on Sting. Then, a final plea from the bloodied Sting to a bloodied Hogan, saw the latter hear the voice of reason, turn his back on the Immortal faction and assist Sting in clearing the ring.
The crowd, when the Hogan tanktop began to tear open was unreal. They lost their minds that night in the moment and it added to the meaning of that night's clash, ending a rivalry that started way back in WCW and never got its due rematch due to WCW's unfortunate foreclosure.
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