On October 23rd, TNA presents Bound for Glory – the pay-per-view they’re building up to be their version of Wrestlemania or Starrcade. Let’s take a look at the line-up, and at the Inside Pulsers’ picks for the event.
NOTE: Picks for the following match were made prior to Kevin Nash being declared medically unable to compete.
NWA World Heavyweight Title (Guest Referee Tito Ortiz)
Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash
Widro: this match could be good, especially with a twist booking of some sort
Winner – jj obviously
Vinny Truncellito: Two things – 1) Taking the belt off Jarrett is one of the few big-ticket angles in TNA right now, and they won’t waste it so soon. 2) Kevin Nash is NOT the guy they need to put the strap on at this time. They want to show the wrestling world how DIFFERENT they are from WWE, not look like WWE-lite.
Winner – JJJ (through nefarious means, no doubt)
Mike Fitzgerald: I don’t care about this match. I know they did it to get the casual fans attention but let’s face it this match didn’t draw for GAB 2000 and I SERIOUSLY doubt it will here. I don’t think they’ll break even on the exorbitant amount of money they paid Nash to do this job. It’s totally pointless as no one buys Jarrett as champion and the more PPV’s he headlines the more of a joke TNA looks. I say have Nash go over and job it to Monty Brown on the next Impact
Winner – Double J but Nash will do something to get his “heat” back afterwards
Eric Szulczewski: We needed this rematch as much as we needed collective rectal polyps. Oh, it’s going to be ugly. Everything’s set up for multiple run-ins and general f*cking around, with everyone from Raven to Gail Kim getting involved. This thing screams “DQ” from the highest mountaintop. So that’s how I’ll play it.
Winner – Kevin Nash by DQ
Matthew Michaels: Monty’s getting the belt eventually, not Nash.
Winner – Jarrett
David Brashear: You know, for wanting to make this their “big annual event,” I can’t believe they’re putting a match that promises to be this bad as the main event. I know that people know Nash from WCW and know that he was a contender back there, but that’s been five years ago, and Nash wasn’t exactly a technical wizard then. No way Jarrett loses the belt.
Winner – Jarrett
X Title Ironman Match
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
Mike Fitzgerald: Okay seriously enough AJ Vs Daniels already! I must have seen these guys wrestle something close to 100 times now and they have been feuding for what seems like FOREVER. I like both guys but Samoa Joe should be X Champ and defending it against Liger. Hopefully this will be the end of the feud and they will go and work with other guys
Winner – AJ
Eric Szulczewski: Ah, now this is the rematch that doesn’t trigger rectal polyps. The booking, however, will. TNA loves copycat booking, and they have an example from earlier this month to follow. This puppy ends up in a tie, because they still have to solidify both participants’ mark cred, ignoring the fact that their steady .8s for Impact are coming from the smarks out there (welcome back to 1999 and ECW On TNN). If I have to pick a winner, though, it’s got to be Daniels. He has more to lose than A. J. credibility-wise.
Winner – Either a tie or Daniels in a last-second cheat-to-win fashion
Matthew Michaels: AJ just got it back, but this is gonna be a fantastic showcase for pure wrestling fans.
Winner – AJ
David Brashear: Have these two ever put on a bad match? Add in the iron man stipulation, and you’ve got a great mix going. However, TNA does need to move some of the other X Division guys up to this level. Hopefully we’ll see that next month. I’d love to see Daniels get the belt back so AJ could move on to chase the world title, but since AJ’s said he wants to be in the X Division right now I don’t see that happening. Could Daniels be getting ready for a world title shot?
Winner – AJ Styles
Vinny Truncellito: Tough call, but since AJ won the inaugural Ironman bout, the Fallen Angel might be due here. Plus, AJ chasing “his” belt might make for some tasty Saturday nights.
Winner – Christopher Daniels
Widro: this match should be awesome
Winner – styles
Ultimate X to determine #1 contender to X Title
Matt Bentley vs. Chris Sabin vs. Petey Williams
Eric Szulczewski: This revolves around a few questions, and, lucky for me, all of them have the same answer. Who’s never won an Ultimate X Match out of this crew? Who’s got the coolest finisher? Who’s been getting the biggest push lately? Who, therefore, will win this match?
Winner – Petey Williams
Matthew Michaels: Who do I wanna see AJ face next? Casual fans need to see the Canadian Destroyer in action, so…
Winner – Petey
David Brashear: Let’s take a look at this rundown. Bentley lost a lot of recognition when he had to change his name. Sabin’s big, but he’s a face, and I don’t know that TNA would want a face champion vs. face challenger at the next PPV. Gotta go with Petey.
Winner – Petey Williams
Vinny Truncellito: CANADIAN DESTROYER! ‘Nuff said!
Winner – Petey Williams
Widro: a great in ring spectacle, i’d like to see these guys’ characters developed better though
Winner – bently (because he has a chick)
Mike Fitzgerald: I like all three guys here but Bentley is my favourite. I seem to be on the small list of guys who enjoyed his X Division run in 2003 and wish he had the belt again. It seems like others are coming onto Bentley’s side too and he deserves it. Bentley/AJ would no doubt be great and it’s about time AJ had someone fresh to feud with
Winner – Bentley. Anything else is counter productive IMO
Monster’s Ball 2
Abyss vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Rhino vs. Sabu
David Brashear: Let’s see. One of these things is not like the others… Sabu’s still a big name, but at this stage he’s better used to build up new guys. Jeff? If I was in the match he’d be the one I’d be going after. That leaves Abyss or Rhino. I’ll go with Abyss, although it’s really hard for me to tell which way TNA may go.
Winner – Abyss
Vinny Truncellito: I believe they will try to keep Abyss strong here and continue his “monster” push.
Winner – The Monster Abyss
Widro: this is a good showcase to attract fans of hardcore matches
Winner – abyss
Mike Fitzgerald: Who doesn’t like a good weapon filled brawl? I myself am partial to it when it’s done right and personally I think you have the perfect selection of wrestlers here for a brawl to remember! I can’t stand Hardy but the other 3 I like very much
Winner – Abyss. Continue the monster push I say!
Eric Szulczewski: Oh, if it only wasn’t for the presence of Jeffykins, this would be a ballet of pure violence. Unfortunately, he’s there. And even more unfortunately, he gains the most from a victory here. I therefore have no choice…
Winner – Jeffykins
Matthew Michaels: The guy everyone knows…
Winner – Hardy
Samoa Joe vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Mike Fitzgerald: I’m a big mark for both guys and I can’t wait to see this one. Joe is one of the top 10 workers in the world right now IMO and Liger is a legend who can still go. I wonder if Liger will be total heel Liger or good old fashioned admiral face Liger?
Winner – Liger. I’d have Joe go over but I can just see TNA having Liger win
Eric Szulczewski: There has been almost zero build-up to this one. What build-up there’s been has been about Joe. The least they could have done was strengthen Liger’s legend a bit. Liger hasn’t been on US television for a long time, and it’s only the comparative old-timers who know about him and how special this match is because of his presence. As to the nitty-gritty, Liger can job with no problem and will do so. Joe needs the win to keep up the undefeated streak. If Liger can still go, it’ll be a really good match.
Winner – Samoa Joe
Matthew Michaels: You can’t have the guy lose in his “first” TNA PPV match of the Spike Era. Oh wait, that’s both of ’em…
Winner – Joe
David Brashear: I remember how great Liger was back in WCW, but how many other people do? TNA’s been trying to build Liger’s return up, but they would have benefited by actually having him put on a match or two. With Liger coming in cold like this, I don’t see any way that TNA stops the Joe push like this.
Winner – Samoa Joe
Vinny Truncellito: NO WAY do they bring in a legend like Liger just to have him job to RoH-Dude. Perhaps this match ends in a DQ to ensure a rematch down the road.
Winner – Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Widro: this match should be awesome, but i haven’t seen liger in ages, so i’m holding out hope that he still rules
Winner – joe
Sonjay Dutt vs. Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley vs. Roderick Strong
Eric Szulczewski: They blew the winner of this one with the A. J. Styles Invitational on Impact. Dutt looked so strong against Daniels and established such momentum that it would be asinine to stop it now. Not even TNA is this stupid. Besides, the participants point the way. Strong is considered a jobber in TNA. Aries is a part-timer. And Shelley’s been totally ignored post-Waltmangate.
Winner – Sonjay Dutt
Matthew Michaels: I would love Sonjay to win this one, and there’s no way Strong’s getting the win with Aries in there, but one guy here deserves it more than anyone else, and that’s the baby bear.
Winner – Shelley
David Brashear: I could see Shelley, Dutt, or Aries winning this. Still, like Eric says, Aries is tied up with Ring of Honor, too. If he’d signed a contract with TNA, I’d give him the win. Even though I think I’m wrong on this, I’ll give the win to Shelley, as thanks for the job he did covering up for Waltman missing his plane again or whatever his excuse was.
Winner – Alex Shelley
Vinny Truncellito: Well, I figure it could only be Aries or Shelley in this one, so I’ll flip a coin…
Winner – “Baby Bear” Alex Shelley
Widro: this should be on the pre-show. i think dutt should get the win after his strong showing vs. daniels on impact
Winner – dutt
Mike Fitzgerald: Let’s see
Sonjay – Excellent
Aries – Hugely over rated who got lucky to have a big push in ROH
Strong – Growing on me
Shelley – Excellent
This match should be good and I think all 4 guys suit one another
Winner – I’d have Sonjay win and I’d push him into a feud with Daniels but I sense TNA want to push Aries or Strong so I guess one of them will probably win
Lance Hoyt vs. Monty Brown
David Brashear: Hoyt is huge with the crowd, and the recent losses he’s had haven’t made much of an impact with that. One more shouldn’t hurt, and should help build up Monty a bit more.
Winner – Monty Brown
Vinny Truncellito: Although Hoyt-A-Mania is indeed running wild in Orlando, I think Monty gets the big win here to keep him somewhere near the NWA title picture.
Winner – The Alpha Male
Widro: i am not into hoyt at all
Winner – monty
Mike Fitzgerald: Wow it’s my dream match. TEST VS BOBBY LASHLEY. I’m kidding. Personally I think it’s very smart of TNA to push these guys and I’ll admit to liking Brown quite a bit
Winner – The People’s Monty if you smell what The Pounce is Cookin…Period!
Eric Szulczewski: This is a rare occasion when a blowjob push for the opponent works in a wrestler’s favor. They might FINALLY be pushing Monty toward the world title. A win over the inexplicable fan favorite would go a long way toward putting the mark cred over critical mass.
Winner – Monty Brown
Matthew Michaels: Monty’s getting the belt eventually, not Hoyt. Maybe they can bring Andrew Martin in and form a stable with Nash, Dallas and Test.
Winner – Montymania runnin’ wild!
Diamonds in the Rough (Diamond, Skipper, & Young) vs. Apolo, Sonny Siaki, and Shark Boy
Vinny Truncellito: Huh? Where did this come from?
Winner – Simon says, his boys get the duke.
Widro: let’s get all the guys on the card!!!
Winner – diamonds
Mike Fitzgerald: Looks like it will be fun. Nothing else to comment on really. I like everyone except for the Samoan and the Puerto Rican
Winner – DAMN YOU TNA PUSH SHARK BOY!!!!!!!!! Hopefully Young will taste a Dead Sea Drop. I sense that DITR are going to win though
Eric Szulczewski: The Diamonds are caught in a weird spot. They’re dominant over jobbers, but when they get competition above that level, they tank. Since the competition here is pure JTTS, they’ll take this one. By the way, TNA made a nice little move recently that I don’t think anyone’s mentioned: have you caught a listen to the Diamonds’ entrance music? They’ve cloned Drain STH’s “Simon Says”, Simon’s old ECW entrance theme.
Winners – Diamond/Skipper/Young
Matthew Michaels: Uh, the real team wins here. Apolo, Siaki and Sharky should then all sign onto Simon’s plan.
Winner – DITR
David Brashear: The Diamonds have been needing a win on PPV for a while now, and this is the first time I’ve really felt that coming. So long, Apolo, Sonny, and Sharky. Thanks for playing.
Winners: Diamond in the Rough
Those are our picks. We’ll find out who was right and who missed the mark Sunday night. Enjoy Bound for Glory, and don’t forget to check back to Inside Pulse for ongoing coverage during the show. Thanks for reading!
