wrestling / Columns
411’s TNA Bound For Glory Preview
* The man that reviews way too much wrestling, Mr. Larry Csonka.
* 411’s weekly TNA Impact reporter, Mr. Aaron Scott.
* Bill Apter’s long lost son, Mr. Dino Zee.
Larry Csonka: This is a big match for both guys. Moose is an athletic and big dude, who caught the eye of WWNLive and then ROH. WWE was looking to sign him, and then reportedly passed due to past domestic abuse allegations. So he lands in TNA, they reportedly see big things in him, and will portray him as a player. It really feels that he has to go over here, but Moose needs to impress. A lot of reviewers jokingly call Moose, “The Three Star Match King.” He’s had matches with Naito, Okada, Ishii and Strong and they were all good, but never got great. They were three star specials. Bennett feels like that mid-2000s WWE developmental special. Good look, solid in the ring, cuts the same promo all the time and got booked everywhere because of his wife. People have been waiting years for his to wow them, and he hasn’t. This is a big chance for both guys, I hope they can deliver, but I’d be lying if I said I was looking forward to the match.
WINNER: Moose
Dino Zee: TNA has done well keeping Bennett strong while not really giving him that big, clean victory. He does have the win over EC3, and he is smart enough to constantly remind everyone else about that achievement. However, Moose has gotten off to a bit of a stutter start in TNA, with the fans first loving him, then booing him after TNA doubled down on his stance as a heel, only to immediately turn him face again. While Bennett is probably the better long-term investment, keeping Moose as the most dangerous face on the roster is a smart move, and a win here would help him much more than a win for Bennett would.
WINNER: Moose! Moose! Moose!
Aaron Scott: Hmm. Miracle is a main eventer. Should he be? Maybe? I don’t know that he’s the future Superstar the company wants him to be. That being said, Moose is. And that’s why Bennett should win. Moose is going to be World Champion. He doesn’t need to be elevated look at that double jump cross body off the cage. He can easily take a minor loss by DQ in his destruction of Bennett. True it stems of 50/50 booking, but Moose needs to move on to a big feud next.
WINNER: The Miracle
Larry Csonka: In 2015, TNA unleashed the Bound for Gold match on the world, and what we got was an absolute dud of a match and one of the worst things I watched last year. The idea of a gauntlet style match to crown a contender (similar to the MITB/GOTG gimmick) isn’t a horrible idea, but I’d be lying if I said that the line up (Braxton Sutter, Shera, Grado, Baron Dax, Robbie E, Tyrus, Jessie Godderz, Eli Drake as of this writing) gave me hope that this will be any sort of a good match. As for the winner, I think that the best bet will be Eli Drake. I am not the biggest Eli Drake fan, but out of the candidates, he seems like the best choice. TNA clearly likes the guy, they give him a lot of TV time, but they just haven’t pulled the trigger on him. Having him take the win here and running with the threat of the title shot for 4, 6 or even 8 months would allow them to build him up and get him ready for the main event push if they really want to give it to him. As for the match, if it is at the least average it will be a victory for all.
WINNER: Eli Drake
Aaron Scott: Let me talk to ya! E Li Drake. Yeah! And let me crack a little egg of wisdom for ya dummies. In TNA, you’ve got your upper crust, your very best, the cream of the crop, and then your seeds and plantings of the lower card and the X-Division. And then, you’ve got E Li Drake, Yeah, who eclipses it all and is the sun that shines down bringing new life to Impact Wrestling week in and week out. In his one green thumb he can hold down the entire federation or he can, boom, turn on the spout and grow an Impact like we’ve never seen before. And there isn’t a weed killer among the bunch, a star destroyer in the sky, or a mortal man with the tingle in his loins to stand up to E Li Drake. He will hold Bound For Gold, he should hold Bound For Gold, and he will be your Impact Wrestling Champion in 2017. And that’s just not a golden guarantee dummies, that’s a fact of life. Yeah!
WINNER: E Li Drake
Dino Zee: Lemme talk to ya! Unless there’s a surprise entrant in this thing, the only person with the tingle in his loins capable of earning a shot at a championship would be Eli Drake, and that’s not an insult – THAT is just a fact of life! Hopefully he beats the everloving crap out of Braxton Sutter along the way.
WINNER: Eli Drake
At the time of this writing, the X-Division title match was not announced. We made a best guess to try and predict the match.
Larry Csonka: I love the guys that are likely to be involved, but I really wish that they gave a shit about the division. As of 6:45PM ET on Friday night, there had been no announcement of a title match. the division gets no real time to have great matches on TV, and this was another example of that. They got no time on Impact this week, instead living live in their 4-7minute world. There is no real contender in the division; we have guys, they have matches, most of them lose and they still get title shots anyway. No one gets to gain momentum, no one gets to gave the chase, there is no real rivalry here, just guys constantly having matches that I wish I could care about. This may very well kick ass, I just wish that they cold have booked something that made me care about the guys and the title.
WINNER: DJ Z
Aaron Scott: Much like TJ Perkins, DJZ fills that spot of perennial workhorse and popular athlete. Problem is he’s got no character. In wrestling anyone can play a heel, but being a face is harder. Z has no character besides his actual career in Trap House music. Luckily, the other talent have less of a character except one man and he’s needed back in the tag team scene. Eddie Edwards should win but DJZ can’t lose if they’re serious about making him the focal point. As Larry says, give them the time to do what they do, and all will be enjoyable.
WINNER: BaBaBaBaaam (DJ Z)
Dino Zee: Following the attack on DJZ and Eddie Edwards this past Impact, Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett have definitely captured the momentum, while also possibly injuring their opponents. That makes things look good for them. However, as we’ve seen in nearly every X-Title / #1 contender match that Lee and Everett wrestle in, at some point the teamwork will break down, because Everett clearly does not want to just be Lee’s bitch. And, at that point, they’ll muck it up, and someone else will win the match. I’m really liking the renewed fire of DJZ, and I don’t know that being the X Division Champion helps Edwards much at this point… so yeah, we’ll stick with the champ retaining.
WINNER: And STILL TNA X-Division Champion… DJ Z!
Larry Csonka: I was not a fan of the feud as it built to Slammiversary, and then Maria got hurt and this thing was dragged along like a dog pulling his ass across the floor. The feud between Maria Kanellis and Gail Kim has essentially held the division hostage for more than half a year. It sabotaged Sienna and Jade big time, and they honestly lucked into Allie getting over so well. It’s due to that I will pick Maria due to shenanigans, so that they HOPEFULLY can follow up on the Allie angle. I also never want to see another Gail Kim and Maria match/angle/conversation ever again.
WINNER: Maria
Aaron Scott: The whole storyline should end in Maria getting her ass kicked, but I believe shenanigans will ensue. Sienna will be involved, and Gail will win perhaps with the help of Allie to become the new Knockouts Champion. Gail is the Sting of women’s wrestling, she deserves to remain the standard bearer. I was very happy to see Gail selected for the Hall and look forward to her matches with Sienna, Laurel, Jade and more as we improve the KO division.
WINNER: Gail Kim
Dino Zee: When you talk about the great rivalries – Flair/Race, Hogan/Savage, Hart/Michaels, Austin/Rock, Lita/Trish – surely this one ranks right up there with them all. Since blessing TNA with her presence in January, Maria has done nothing but completely take over. Through hard work and determination, she was able to secure the vaunted position of “Leader of the Knockouts,” and immediately infused the division with new blood. Sienna, Allie, and now The Incomparable Laurel Van Ness, have all made immediate marks on the division, with Sienna and Allie both having held the Knockouts Championship. In short, Maria has busted her ass to improve the state of the division. Sadly, that just hasn’t sat well with Gail Kim, who has done everything in her power to maintain the years-long status quo where she basically gets to do whatever she wants and gets title shots for no reason at all. Maria had enough of that, and tried to make it so Gail could never wrestle for the title again. This would, of course, upset TNA Chairman Dixie Carter, who suddenly decided that Maria being in a position of power and an active member of the roster was a conflict of power, while never having that same problem while Maria was forcing Gail Kim into 3 on 1 matches. So I look for Maria to continue her hard work, to continue to fulfill her vision, and to continue to drag TNA kicking and screaming from its usual plans. She’s given her all, really.
WINNER: And STILL TNA Knockouts Champion… Maria Kanellis!
TNA ANNOUNCED that Drew Galloway is injured and out of this PPV match. Galloway commented on the situation, stating the following: “I’m upset. Clearly. This sucks. I love nothing more than wrestling and this is a match that will make history. The fact that it was against Aron Rex made it even sweeter. I’ll be watching this match closely from the Impact Zone. Aron Rex got lucky. No one can keep me from being there on Sunday.”
Due to the late change and addition of the new match, we were not able to make predictions.
B/c he made it to The Semi-Final Round & @GallowaySpeaks can't go, @TheEddieEdwards deserves this match Sun. Will he make the most of it? pic.twitter.com/HyMBj0nS05
— TNA WRESTLING (@IMPACTWRESTLING) September 30, 2016
Larry Csonka: Whether you love it or hate it, the Hardy’s Final Deletion took on a life of its own and has delivered a wacky, wild and fun feud with Decay. I actually love that Final Deletion didn’t just lead back to Matt vs. Jeff, and that it took a left turn and took us here. I love B Movies, I love grindhouse and Lucha Underground style stuff, and while it can be jarring and or feel out of place in the TNA product, it’s been fun and given a lot of people things to do. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from THE GREAT WAR, and I sort of like that. My hope here is that The Hardys winning the titles is what ends the “Broken” story, as Matt feeling betrayed by Jeff (when Jeff broke his leg and they had to drop the titles) was the initial starting point of this story. I’d love to see them win, and all return to normal with the Hardy clan, with their “Broken” personas being saved big a major angle or match similar to how Balor’s demon gimmick was originally intended. Either way, this should be delightful.
WINNER: Broken Matt Hardy and Brother Nero
Brother Aaron: I am sick of reading Best Wrestlers of 2016 lists and not seeing the best, most talked about, most entertaining professional wrestler in the entire business Matt Hardy staying overlooked. Oh he isn’t a great wrestler. Forget your spot monkeys. What Matt and LU is doing is the future of this genre. It’s not a sport. It’s a bunch of grown men in underwear standing still to catch each other jumping off something really high. Or kicking each other really hard. Or crying due to fake emotion. I extremely dislike crying. Wrestling is Fake. So knowing that, go to the extreme. Introduce magic, and drones, homicidal gardeners, zombie torture families, lakes of rotating gimmicks, fireworks, a dilapidated boat, this is what wrestling will become. Pure athleticism has peaked. That niche will never bring the masses. This is why the CWC aired on an internet channel. And Final Deletion scored some of the best ratings in recent history. And we had the whatever the hell the Wyatt thing was almost immediately. To save it’s future, wrestling itself, as we know it, must be broken. Matt Hardy’s Broken Brilliance will and should save TNA. And you don’t need to be a deity to see that there is no one more worthy or deserving of being the Tag Team Champions of the World en route to becoming Champion of the World once again. Everything else, is simply OBSOLETE.
WINNER: The Broken Brothers
Dino Zee: The Great War – I knew you’d come… At this point, I’m just hoping Matt and Brother Nero can even make it to the match, after the savage attack both suffered this past Impact. Brother Nero was bludgeoned by Crazzy Steve, while Abyss destroyed Broken Matt. Even Queen Reby fell victim to the mist of poison from Rosemary. King Maxell now sits, alone, at the top of his tower, wondering what will happen next. And that’s the question, isn’t it? What happens next? With Decay seemingly ready to checkmate the Broken Brothers, what can possibly get in their way? I’m guessing Broken Bram. And Broken Bram will help Broken Matt finally regain those belts he never should have lost in the first place! And we will hug ageen and ageen and ageen and ageen and ageen!!!
WINNER: And NEW TNA Tag Team Champions… The Broken Hardys
Larry Csonka: Back at Slammiversary I was convinced of a few things; Drew Galloway was turning heel, Lashley would keep the title through this PPV and that EC3 would be the man to take it from him. Galloway turned heel, Lashley still has the title and EC3 is challenging him for it. But to be honest with you part of me wants Lashley to keep the title. The story points to EC3 winning the title, the story of EC3 winning the title makes perfect sense, it’s just that Lashley has been fantastic as the champion that doesn’t give a fuck about anyone that I want it to keep rolling. But then I go back to the story, the build and the fact that it has all been building to EC3 winning the title here. The no holds barred stipulation will allow for the smoke and mirrors, allowing them a lot of advantages to deliver here. This should be a good main event, and depending on how good they use the stipulation, a great match.
WINNER: Ethan Carter III
Aaron Scott: Lashley as many like to say, gives no fucks. So I’m not going to give any fucks either. As far as Bound For Glory, it doesn’t matter who wins the belt. Yeah, EC3Time World Champion, that’s cute. But as long as Bobby Lashley walks the halls of the Impact Zone he will be the World Title Picture, he will be the standard bearer, he will carry Impact on his shoulders. And deliver in MMA without working five matches a year and also freaking win. Hi Lesnar and Punk. Lashley is one of the baddest men on the planet. Legit. So whoever walks out of BFG as Champ means nothing. He’s gotten so much better it’s scary, and no one expected this years ago. He has just begun to hit his prime, and the biggest shock of them all – he deserves it over EC3. The star of the entire show. And that’s saying something. This is what domination looks like.
WINNER: Lashley
Dino Zee: Being honest, these are two of my absolute favorites in TNA, and have been for a while. I don’t exactly love EC3 as this “honorable ass kicking machine” after being a gutless cowards for the 2-3 years prior, but the man still cuts promos I dig, and absolutely brings it in the ring. Ditto Lashley, who really discovered some fire this year as the unstoppable monster. This truly is a battle between the most powerful forces in TNA, which makes it the perfect main event. I feel like there’s still more gas in the tank for this Lashley title reign, specifically in regards to a showdown with Moose, with whom they continue to tease an impending showdown, as well as Aron Rex. Carter would also have a heel roster to run through as champion. I think, while all signs point to EC3 regaining his title at Bound For Glory, I’m going to ignore that, and go with my heart.
WINNER: And STILL TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Lashley!!!
Remember to join 411 ay 7:45PMET on Sunday night for our LIVE TNA Bound for Glory coverage!
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