Rasslin’ Roundtable – TNA Bound For Glory

Features, Roundtables, Top Story

Sting vs. AJ Styles
Sting vs. AJ Styles

Widro: An interesting take on a face vs face respect match. With Sting winning the last three bound for glory title matches, you’d think this could be a swerve, or it’s a swerve to have him WIN again.
Winner – Sting

Raffi Shamir: I came back to TNA recently after staying for a long time and for the top three matches are TNA’s real test. Are they serious about going in a new direction or not? One of the biggest signs of a new TNA direction would be a Sting loss in the BFG main event. It’s very sad that after all these years Styles still needs to be established as a top star in TNA, but hopefully this victory over Sting wil finally cement his status. If Sting wins, then bye bye TNA once again.
Winner – Styles

Mark Allen: On paper BFG does look like a really good card and with some decent build, but the company can’t reiterate the build back to us. And I love how just out of thin air Bound For Glory became their flagship show. I get that WrestleMania is a flagship because it was the first show and has the most logical wrestling name ever. And I get that Jarrett and co. have been batting around the Bound For Glory name since they got that footage of Jarrett kabonging Hogan back in 2003 or 2004 but why not start with BFG as their first three hour show to kick off the trend. By the time it came around so many other generic names were bandied around that BFG didn’t stand out. As for the actual match, Sting will win the Title once again. They are really branding Sting as their go-to-guy at their big show (a la Undertaker). He’ll win and then they can finally set the seeds in motion for his retirement tour we’ve all been talking about since 2007. With Ric Flair back in play I imagine they’ll try their damndest to make that match happen one more time.
Winner – Sting (new Champion)

Tess Nolde: Well, if Sting is hanging up his boots after this match, he had better put AJ over. And even if he isn’t, I’m still placing my vote with AJ to win this one anyway. I have my fingers crossed that this one will be a good match though. If both men bring their A game to BFG, we should be in for a treat. It would be nice to highlight AJ here, and that’s what I would rather see. But if TNA do what I think they will do, Sting will come out looking like a superhero no matter what happens. Sure, let him leave on a high note if he’s going to, but he doesn’t need to win to do that. A loss which equals him passing on the flame to AJ would be nice here.
Winner – AJ Styles

David Brashear: With the tease that this may be Sting’s last match, TNA’s managed to build some excitement for the main event. That said, I think they need to go the way WWE did with Ric Flair – let Sting lose to Styles and have the two shake hands and show mutual respect after the match. Congratulations. You’ve just firmly established AJ Styles as the top star that he should have been for years, and Sting leaves with his dignity and legacy intact. Mission accomplished.
Winner – AJ Styles

Angle vs. Morgan
Angle vs. Morgan

Raffi Shamir: In a perfect world, Matt Morgan would win here and together with Styles and Joe establish a trio of TNA main eventers who were not top stars in WWE or WCW. But even if Angle wins here, Morgan’s character can survive and move forward. And with Kurt Angle’s rumored control in TNA being stronger than ever, I don’t see him losing here.
Winner – Kurt Angle

Mark Allen: Why is this billed as the “Best versus Future”? Best v. future doesn’t even make sense. It should be billed present v. future. Or if they really wanted to do it right they should have done Past v. Present v. Future, with those two and Sting in the past role. Then they could have put on AJ-Joe for X Title and fed Nash and his vanity title to Lashley. As for this match, I think now is the time to elevate Matt Morgan if they are serious about it. Let Angle do his patented post-Austin era WWE main event style match with Morgan and let Morgan win a close one. Then he’s built up to battle Sting in the main event and Angle can deal with an imploding Mafia.
Winner – Matt Morgan

Tess Nolde: I really don’t know how much I care about this match. The buildup to it has been good. Both men are good in the ring. And it’ll be good to see if the Blueprint can prove he is better than the leader of the MEM. But I just can’t seem to find excitement for it. I want Matt Morgan to win, but if he doesn’t I won’t be devastated.
Winner – Matt Morgan.

David Brashear: There’s no reason Matt Morgan shouldn’t be on his way to the top of the card. He’s got a great look and he’s improving in the ring. That said, I think the outcome of this depends solely on Kurt Angle. Sting was made a main eventer in a Clash of the Champions match with Ric Flair. People don’t remember that Sting didn’t win – they only remember that he went toe-to-toe with the world champion for 45 minutes. That could happen here. If Angle brings his working boots, he could legitimatize Morgan as a bona-fide main eventer. I’m going to say that storyline-wise Morgan needs to go over, but even if he loses Angle could make a star out of him tonight.
Winner – Matt Morgan

Widro: This has been a somewhat slow building TNA storyline, and Morgan (while horrible) is being given a real push and chance to be a main eventer. Morgan should win here.
Winner – Morgan

Lashley - Joe
Lashley vs. Samoa Joe

Mark Allen: They are praying for a Joe-Angle like epic and it won’t happen. Joe lost the X-Title quickly so Lashley can win here and not have to deal with that pesky undercard Title. Plus they are not going to have their new toy job out to their old toy; at least not here.
Winner – Lashley

Tess Nolde: Both men have been built up quite well leading into this one, we’ve been made well aware that they’re both crazy strong. But I don’t really think there is an option where Samoa Joe wins this one. I doubt that TNA would let someone get a win over Lashley on PPV just yet.
Winner – Bobby Lashley

David Brashear: Let’s face it – TNA’s not going to let anybody get the win over Lashley at this point. An undefeated streak doesn’t mean anything if it ends this fast.
Winner – Lashley

Widro: The newly added submission stipulation is interesting. Joe’s character and workrate has hit an all time low in 2009 and it’s unlikely Lashley will lose in this spot.
Winner – Lashley

Raffi Shamir: I can’t believe how TNA dropped the ball on Samoa Joe. They had so many opportunities to turn him into one of the biggest stars in North American wrestling and they blew it time after time after time. Is it too late? I don’t know, but I certainly hope not. Will it be too late if he loses to Lashley? Probably. Is there any reason for him not to win here? Not that I see.
Winner – Samoa Joe

Foley vs. Abyss
Mick Foley vs. Abyss

Tess Nolde: I was looking forward to this match. And then they added Dr. Stevie to the mix, which is unfortunate. Abyss basically stands no chance at all. If both Dr. Stevie and Foley are out to get Abyss, this is going to be a) fast, and b) bloody. I’d like to see someone come into this to help Abyss out, and even up the odds. And I want to see Abyss win, but it really does feel like they’ve set this up to basically destroy him. So I’ll go with what seems likely to happen here.
Winner – Mick Foley.

David Brashear: This is going to be the bloodfest of the night without a doubt. It’ll be interesting to see how Foley will go, but the question is what a loss would do to Abyss. I could see Dr. Stevie getting removed from the equation, and then the blood starts pouring. Abyss needs to start winning, and this is a good spot to do it with the added bonus of putting Abyss over a hardcore legend like Foley.
Winner – Abyss

Widro: It’s great to see a TNA PPV where the four top matches are one on one matches and not multiple crazy matches. Could be a really surprising match, as Foley has something to prove and Abyss will always put his body on the line.
Winner – Foley

Raffi Shamir: With the odds stacked against Abyss, and considering how long this feud has been going even before Foley’s turn, I don’t see Abyss losing here. Despite what we read recently, I believe Foley will still be willing to do the right thing and the job, after a bloody mess of a match.
Winner – Abyss

Mark Allen: ENOUGH WITH FOLEY NAME DROPPING HIS WWE SUCCESS! Now that I got that out of the way, after watching the three hour Impact special I’m questioning the build of this match.
I’m like so is Foley a heel now? Or is he just a face wanting to teach Abyss a lesson? And from that promo the way Abyss screamed about bloodying Foley, I’m like is he the heel? I don’t like to be that confused. This should be the easiest match to build on the card. This is the true past versus present match on the show. But that somehow got lost in translation in the booking. You know Foley will try to do outdo either his thumbtacks bit or his fiery table bit from WWE like he threatened to outdo his cage bit at LockDown, but alas it will fail. And the addition of Stevie and Daffney won’t do anything to add to it unless there’s another useless swerve. Terry Funk was right to stay away from that reffing gig. Remember when Jake “The Snake” reffed one of these matches? Me neither.
Winner – Abyss

Full Metal Mayhem
Full Metal Mayhem

David Brashear: I got a bit confused after seeing the IWGP belts mentioned on the TNA image above, because that would change the ballgame. Since the TNA site says this is just for the TNA belts, things are simpler to pick. The British Invasion should be out of the picture. But since I think that we’re getting ready to see the Main Event Mafia collapse and the World Elite rise to be the top heel faction in the company, I’ll actually pick the Invasion to win this one (likely at the expense of Beer Money to set up the next feud). Of course, if Beer Money wins it, you still won’t find me complaining.
Winners – British Invasion

Widro: This tag team issue has gone on forever and comes to a hopefully final conclusion. I think Beer Money will come out as the tag champs.
Winner – Beer Money

Mark Allen: TNA’s attempt to do their own epic TLC match that won’t live up to hype I’m sure. At least Team 3-D are there to run traffic and know how to put one together. So let me guess, 3-D bring the tables, the Mafia have the chairs, Beer brings the chairs and I guess the Brits have chains. Both sets of belts are on the line right? So are their two winners? I don’t see Steiner and Booker coming out with either belt here as I feel this show will be the fall of the Mafia. If TNA has balls they let Beer Money win both sets of belts and establish themselves as truly THE team. Yeah let’s go with that.
Winner – Beer Money (new Champions)

Tess Nolde: I find it interesting that on the official TNA site, this match is called a TNA World Tag Team Titles match. But if you look at the promo photos for the matches, it’s apparently also for the IWGP belts. Confusing much? Given that World Elite & MEM seem to be getting a lot of TV time lately it doesn’t seem likely that Beer Money or Team 3D will win either belt. A nice swerve would be them winning a set each because it’s probably the most surprising result. And because I like that idea (and i also think that Team 3D & Beer Money are both better at gimmick matches), I’ll say that Team 3D will win the IGWP belts, and Beer Money will win the TNA belts.
Winners TNA tag team titles – Beer Money.
Winners IGWP tag team titles – Team 3D.

Nash Young Hernandez
Legends title

Widro: Interesting match with Nash defending against Hernandez and Young who have more of a personal issue. The Legends title is worthless but Hernandez could win as a sign TNA is pushing him as well.
Winner – Hernandez

Raffi Shamir: I can’t believe this belt is still active. I can’t believe Hernandez and Eric Young are competing for a “Legends” title. I can’t believe Kevin Nash has gone so long without an injury.
Winner – Hernandez

Mark Allen: Hernandez just steamroll both guys and pick the Legends belt in short order. That can lead to singles matches in the future against both to continue the Operation: Get Hernandez Over project.
Winner – Hernandez (new Champion)

Tess Nolde: Oh dear. I have to ask, does anyone care about this title belt? It seems pointless. No, it is pointless. I wouldn’t call any of these men “legends”. I would guess here that EY & Nash will gang up together to take out Hernandez, and once they get that done, I would be guessing that EY will probably bow down to Nash and just let him win.
Winner – Kevin Nash.

David Brashear: At first I was willing to say Hernandez beats on Eric Young, Nash jackknifes Hernandez, match over. Still, if I’m right about TNA really building the World Elite, this could really make Hernandez, especially if the Legends belt is one of the few that the Elite can’t win while Hernandez stands on his own.
Winner – Hernandez

ODB Kong Tara
Women's title

Raffi Shamir: If i had a triple-sided coin, I’d flip it now.
Winner – Tara

Mark Allen: It’s obvious the match they are building to is Kong-Tara but ODB is just here cuz she’s the champion. Either Tara or Kong wins the belt and the true rivalry is on…
Winner – Kong

Tess Nolde: It really feels like the women’s title scene has been left in the background while they pushed the heck out of the tag team titles. I’m not too sure who is feuding with who, but somehow it feels like ODB is a pawn in the game of a match between Kong / Tara. I want to put my vote with Tara though, because she hasn’t had a long enough title reign in TNA. She deserves a good win.
Winner – Tara.

David Brashear: Thanks for coming, ODB. We’ll be moving the belt to Tara so she can drop it to Kong in a month or two. Good job on the Cody Deaner thing, by the way.
Winner – Tara

Widro: ODB and Cody Deaner have turned the Knockout Title into a joke, and it needs to be back on a serious contender to be rebuilt. Kong retakes it and begins a reign of terror into the new year.
Winner – Kong

Beautiful People - Taylor/Sarita
Women's Tag Team titles

Mark Allen: I do give TNA credit for having a much better Women’s division than any of WWE’s brands so I like that there are easily identifiable gimmicks and numerous feuds. The Beautiful People should win here as the money is always in the babyface chase. Plus with Lacey they can do an alternative universe Freebirds-like Title defenses.
Winner – The Beautiful People

Tess Nolde: Apparently these belts were made with the Beautiful People in mind. And then the whole Angelina Love visa issues thing happened. So maybe it’s time for them to hold the belts. Plus now they have Lacey to interfere for them and help them pull off an assisted heel team win. I would rather see SariTaylor win because i prefer to watch the style that they wrestle in. But I’m going with the odds here.
Winner – The Beautiful People

David Brashear: Like I said last month, it’s time for the belts to come home to the Beautiful People. I was just a month early, that’s all.
Winners – The Beautiful People

Widro: With Angelina Love out of the Beautiful People, it’s not as attractive to have them as the tag champs.
Winner – Taylor/Sarita

Raffi Shamir: Both teams are good, but I picked too many faces to win already.
Winners: The Beautiful People

Ultimate X
Ultimate X

Tess Nolde: If this isn’t the match of the night, I’ll eat my hat. Every man in this has been impressive on Impact lately. None more so than Amazing Red. He has had the title for what, two weeks? If he loses it here I’ll be disappointed. Red has shown himself as a strong talent within the X Division and deserves a decent title run. I don’t want to entertain the thought of anyone else winning this one.
Winner – Amazing Red.

David Brashear: Well, let’s break this down. Dinero and Suicide are going to be too busy fighting each other to worry about the belt (and the sooner they wrap that feud and get Dinero heading toward the world title, the better). Daniels and Homicide can fight with Red. While I’m thinking that Homicide’s going to wind up with the X-belt, I could see Red holding it for a little while longer against World Elite’s Homicide.
Winner – Amazing Red

Widro: The Pope has been the best addition to the TNA roster in a while, and all of these wrestlers can put on a clinic. This should be one of, if not the best match of the night. It’s pretty random to predict a winner, i’ll go with the Pope as who i’m rooting for.
Winner – Dinero

Raffi Shamir: Amazing Red just won the title but for some reason I think he’s a transitional champ. Suicide and Dinero are busy, Hernandez will be busy with Homicide so I think there’s only one choice left, the default X Division champ.
Winner: Daniels

Mark Allen: Thank God they had the foresight to add Red to the match to actually make it for the belt. I’m kinda bummed Suicide and Dinero are in this instead of the Guns or Black Machismo, but what can do you? With Red as a new Champion and a new manager in Don West I’d say it’s way too soon to take the belt off of him, but I have feelings it will go to Dinero.
Winner – Dinero (new Champion)