TNA Wrestling - The Real Winners and Losers in the Bound for Glory Series
It has been a while since I posted a Wrestling Wednesday edition of The Highlight Reel. When I last posted a Wrestling Wednesday blog, the Bound for Glory Series was still underway with James Storm and Samoa Joe appearing to be the frontrunners for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship opportunity at Bound for Glory. At No Surrender on September 9th, Jeff Hardy ultimately won the Bound for Glory Series with a final round victory over Bully Ray. When the Bound for Glory Series started, I initially posted how James Storm was a lock to win the competition. You can read that here. A match between Storm and then World Champion Robert Roode seemed set in stone for Bound for Glory. Austin Aries’ title victory at Destination X changed all of that. With Roode out as champion but still destined for a match with Storm at the biggest show of the year, the Bound for Glory Series became a wide-open competition again. Jeff Hardy scored two wins over Samoa Joe and a win over Bully Ray over three days to ultimate win the series and a spot in the main event of the biggest show of the TNA year.
Jeff Hardy leaves the Bound for Glory as the winner. He receives the championship match against Austin Aries at Bound for Glory. However, the real question is if Jeff Hardy was the only winner to come from the Bound for Glory Series. After all, in a 12-man series with 77 matches, surely more than just one man could come out of the series looking like a winner. Right? I think so.
The biggest winner of the Bound for Glory Series is obviously Jeff Hardy. Not only does Hardy get the main event of Bound for Glory against Austin Aries, this also shows that TNA Management finally believes in Jeff Hardy again on a major level. After the March 2011 debacle at Victory Road in which a drug-fueled Hardy embarrassed the company, this win shows that TNA Management noticed and respected Hardy’s 18 months of sobriety by trusting him with this huge opportunity. Now, Jeff Hardy must take this big win and continue to build a relationship of trust between himself and management instead of breaking that trust by relapsing. For right now, I think regaining the trust of the company and firmly establishing his redemption is the most important aspect of Hardy’s Bound for Glory Series win.
Another big winner is Bully Ray. For the second year, Bully Ray lost in the final match of the series. Unlike 2011, Bully Ray is coming off this loss with a following unlike any other time in his career. Recently signing a two-year contract extension, the BFG Series firmly established Bully Ray as a main event talent on the verge of a World Championship for the first time in his 21-year career. I believe Bully Ray will be champion before the end of 2012. His run in the Bound for Glory Series only helped him earn this much-deserved title and status within TNA Wrestling.
Magnus is a major winner in the Bound for Glory Series. While the Brit was not a major player in the overall series, he looked great in many of his matches. Magnus firmly established himself as a cocky, arrogant heel over the course of the series. I enjoy the character and really believe it gave him the chance to show his skills. His upcoming rivalry with former Tag Team Champion partner Samoa Joe has a ton of potential to be great as both men have a history and unique styles I believe will work together nicely. Speaking of which, Samoa Joe was dominant in the BFG Series. He is also a winner as Joe’s career received a breath of fresh air. For the first time in a long time, Joe was a dominant force in singles action. There were times when Joe looked like the man to beat. Samoa Joe came out of the BFG Series as a winner.
Some guys left the Bound for Glory Series the way they started it. James Storm is still involved in his brutal and epic rivalry with Robert Roode after Roode interfered in Storm’s semi-final match against Bully Ray. I believed these two had a rivalry bigger than the TNA World Championship and I am glad to see that management agreed with me. Mr. Anderson just appears to be lost in the shuffle in TNA Wrestling. It is a shame too as Anderson is charismatic and terrific in the ring. However, the three-time World Champion just gained nothing from the event. The same is true for Rob Van Dam. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels finally escaped the Claire Lynch storyline but both are stuck in a feud for the Tag Team Championships along with Kurt Angle and Frankie Kazarian that is close to five months long now. While they are bringing us great matches, I believe the time for both teams to move on is here.
The biggest losers of the Bound for Glory Series are Robbie E and D’Angelo Dinero. Dinero suffered a broken collarbone and withdrew from competition with three matches remaining. However, Dinero’s effort was already less than stellar so the injury merely ended his misery. For a man with so much talent and charisma, Dinero just cannot find that special something to return him to the spotlight he reached in Spring 2010. Meanwhile, Robbie E firmly established himself as a jobber to the stars with an effort that included weak outings in the ring and two fluke victories in the entire competition. At times, Robbie T came off as a bigger star and threat than Robbie E. It is a shame but I think that the muscular lummox may become a bigger star than the more-talented Robbie E too. The Bound for Glory Series was a major missed opportunity for him.
With Bound for Glory less than a month away, TNA Wrestling is setting up what should be a stellar event. Austin Aries will defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Jeff Hardy. I believe James Storm vs. Robert Roode, Samoa Joe vs. Magnus, and another battle between AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Christopher Daniels, and Kazarian are in the works. In addition, I believe that Bully Ray’s star will rise to a new level through involvement in the Aces & Eights storyline too. The BFG series has set the table for an outstanding event on October 14th in Phoenix, Arizona. While it appears only one man came out on top, the reality is there were more winners than losers in the very successful 2012 Bound for Glory Series.
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