No Bound For Glory Series This Year

[Hanley!]

I just realised today that TNA aren't doing the Bound For Glory series this year. Does anyone have any idea why they've dropped the idea after running with it 3 years in a row? It seems like an odd move.

I was always a fan of the concept. Last year they fucked it up pretty badly, without a doubt. They added too many gimmick matches for extra points (I don't mind some, but that amount was ridiculous). And not everyone got the same amount of matches, which completely invalidates the concept. But in theory it's a good way of doing things The previous year, the tournament worked really well and made every Impact seem important for about 3 months coming up to Bound For Glory.

It was also something TNA did that WWE didn't. It set them apart, crowning their #1 contender over a period of months rather than in one big show. They were still learning how to do it properly, but it was an ambitious concept that seemed worth devoting time to.

It's weird that they didn't do it this year. Were there any reports on why? It seems like maybe they didn't want to plan anything long term with their future in such doubt, but I do think it hurts their product to not have a long term plan. They've gotten really close to Bound For Glory with almost nothing booked and I have no idea who's going to be in the main event. They don't have anything obvious prepared.

If they stick around, I really hope they bring the series back and just try to iron out some of the wrinkles in the system. Anyone agree? Seems like the tournament attracted mixed opinions, but I definitely liked it in theory.

[Westcoastvibes]

I am mixed on this. The series is a great thing tna does but like you said, they fucked it up last year. As for this year the only reason I could imagine is that they have pushed pretty hard at roode and Aries being the top contenders and they are focusing on building the importance of the title back up by not only building credibility within Lashley, but show desire and determination by Aries and roode. To have a series with the winer being other than roode or Aries right now would be silly and since they are already focused on the title it would be silly to have the series just to have one of them win.

[Hanley!]

I am mixed on this. The series is a great thing tna does but like you said, they fucked it up last year. As for this year the only reason I could imagine is that they have pushed pretty hard at roode and Aries being the top contenders and they are focusing on building the importance of the title back up by not only building credibility within Lashley, but show desire and determination by Aries and roode. To have a series with the winer being other than roode or Aries right now would be silly and since they are already focused on the title it would be silly to have the series just to have one of them win.

I don't know about that. I think having the series just to have one of them win could be really cool. Just because it's a tough decision, doesn't mean it isn't a decision worth making. A competitive tournament would make people even more interested. If fans were split on who they thought would win and who they wanted to win, it'd really get people talking.

Hypothetical scenario here: Lets say Aries beats Roode in the series, but Roode goes on to win the whole thing. Roode then faces Lashley or whoever at Bound For Glory for the championship. Then Aries can immediately say that he has Roode's number. He's beaten him before for the title and he beat him again in the Bound For Glory series. And there's your next program that can take you through into next year.

[Westcoastvibes]

I am mixed on this. The series is a great thing tna does but like you said, they fucked it up last year. As for this year the only reason I could imagine is that they have pushed pretty hard at roode and Aries being the top contenders and they are focusing on building the importance of the title back up by not only building credibility within Lashley, but show desire and determination by Aries and roode. To have a series with the winer being other than roode or Aries right now would be silly and since they are already focused on the title it would be silly to have the series just to have one of them win.

I don't know about that. I think having the series just to have one of them win could be really cool. Just because it's a tough decision, doesn't mean it isn't a decision worth making. A competitive tournament would make people even more interested. If fans were split on who they thought would win and who they wanted to win, it'd really get people talking.

Hypothetical scenario here: Lets say Aries beats Roode in the series, but Roode goes on to win the whole thing. Roode then faces Lashley or whoever at Bound For Glory for the championship. Then Aries can immediately say that he has Roode's number. He's beaten him before for the title and he beat him again in the Bound For Glory series. And there's your next program that can take you through into next year.

I see your point and I don't disagree. But it could be argued either way at this point with the direction and situation tna is in right now. Maybe a modified version with less people involved to cut back on the invested time it takes. IDK. One problem I see though is that they don't have anyone built up to feud with Lashley right now besides roode or Aries and to have one of them fighting for the title while also being involved in a bracket to be a future contender would be odd, to not have one of them in it would be odd, and to turn mvp or Lashley face for a feud while the bracket plays out would be stupid. Maybe they just don't have enough options right now to make it work

[Str8Shooter]

I think it's probably because Bound for Glory is in Japan this year and they basically are treating it like any other show. It hasn't gotten near the hype that other years have got because half the competitors will be Japanese stars and they don't want to send their whole roster over.

[KaiserGlider]

I can't say I miss the BFG series this year. I think I enjoyed it the first two years, but then it ran its course with me. It is worrying that there are no matches booked for BFG though. They have been focusing on getting Impact's ratings up by having big matches on TV, but on the other hand there are like 2-3 commercials for Bound for Glory on every Impact. So I can't say TNA doesn't care about PPV buys at this point. I have no idea who Lashley is going to face - he's beaten everyone. I'm really looking forward to Impact next week though, because that should clear up what's going to happen. The only possibility I see though is Roode facing Lashley in a rematch.

Actually, as I was typing this I thought of another possibility for Lashley. At first I assumed that next week Aries will choose to face Samoa Joe for the X-Division title (because in the preview to Impact he says "there's not two greater professional wrestlers than you and me." I thought Aries was referring to Samoe Joe, but he can just as easily be referring to Bobby Roode (who ALSO wants another shot at Lashley, setting up a triple threat match at BFG). I don't want to read the spoilers though, so that's just an optimistic prediction.

Anyway... If I was to book BFG right now, this is what the card would look like:

TNA World Title: Roode vs. Lashley vs. Aries
Tables, Ladders, Chairs: Wolves vs. Hardys vs. Team 3D
X-Division Ultimate X Match: Samoa Joe vs. everyone else
Knockouts: Gail Kim vs. Havoc
James Storm and Sanada vs. Tajiri and The Great Muta

That would be an awesome fucking show. But Kim and Havoc are fighting next week. And apparently one member of the Wolves broke his leg, so either that match isn't happening, or he will have a replacement. (Or the series has already concluded. Like I said, I've stayed away from spoilers.) So I'm really not sure how the actual card is going to turn out.

[Westcoastvibes]

With the wolves going out because of injury (rumors, I have not seen taping reports either) the smart thing would be to push sanada and manik as a new tag team under storms direction

[Twister]

I can't say I'm missing the BFG this year, TNA has been great over the past few weeks. The fact that they're not running it this year hasn't really crossed my mind.

[Westcoastvibes]

I can't say I'm missing the BFG this year, TNA has been great over the past few weeks. The fact that they're not running it this year hasn't really crossed my mind.

It crossed my mind but with the quality of booking and storylines I can say I don't miss it and I don't think it's needed

[KaiserGlider]

Yup, I guess they don't really care about BFG this year. Still no matches announced, and the only possibility at this point is Roode/Lashley II. I guess I can somewhat understand it given that they want to get Impact's ratings up. But it would have been fairly easy to book an incredible card for the PPV, and a show that good would have gotten people talking and tuning it to Impact to see the fallout. Lashley losing the title would have been a perfect moment to have at BFG, since its a live show and not taped like Impact. Roode beating Lashley at BFG still seems like a possibility, but I definitely think they missed out on having an overall great show by not doing the final match in the tag series at BFG.

On the other hand, we get the TLC match for free next week, so I can't complain too much.

[Westcoastvibes]

A large part of me thinks the lack of promoting and booking for BFG has to do with the Japanese venue. I remember reading on reddit or something similar that part of the partnership deal with the Japanese promotion was that BFG was to be held in Japan and have heavy Japanese wrestler involvement. If this is the case then it would not make much sense to promote Eric Young vs. Some random Japanese wrestler who a majority of people have never heard of. On the other hand, it would make lots of sense to promote the same match in japan.

The American people want comfort, if they don't know who half the card is then they won't buy it even if it is stacked with big names. It's the same as if you went to the same restaurant once a month for years as your guilty pleasure, then you see that on the night of your next visit they will be changing the menu to please a new business deal with another restaurant, but only for that night. Chances are you will skip that night even though many of your favorite dishes will still be available.

And I most likely buried myself into a corner with this post since it's been a while since I read the BFG shit and I could be completely wrong about it but oh well.

Dancing cow!

[KaiserGlider]

Yeah, you're right. I looked up the BFG card on Wikipedia and this is what I got:

Spoiler:

Low Ki (c) vs. Kaz Hayashi vs. Samoa Joe (Three-way match for the TNA X Division Championship)
The Great Muta and Tajiri vs. James Storm and The Great Sanada (Hardcore Tag team match)
Team 3D (Bully Ray and Devon) vs. Abyss and Tommy Dreamer
Ethan Carter III vs. Ryota Hama
MVP vs. Kazma Sakamoto
Manik vs. Minoru Tanaka
Havok vs. Velvet Sky
Andy Wu and El Hijo del Pantera vs. Novus (Jiro Kuroshio and Yusuke Kodama)

[Hanley!]

I can't say I'm missing the BFG this year, TNA has been great over the past few weeks. The fact that they're not running it this year hasn't really crossed my mind.

It crossed my mind but with the quality of booking and storylines I can say I don't miss it and I don't think it's needed

What is needed is a little bit of build for at least one of their matches at Bound For Glory. The tournament might have provided that. They haven't built a single thing yet for their biggest show of the year (well they've kinda built up one match a little, but it's a pretty paltry effort).

TNA has been doing better lately, but that's one of the big mistakes they've been making for the last couple of years. Build some fucking feuds for your pay per views so people might actually be tempted to buy them. It's hardly rocket science. It's only the foundation of the current model of wrestling and has been for three decades.

[prophet]

As far as I'm aware the whole show is being booked, promoted and financed by Wrestle-1 which is both why they're not adhering to their usual traditions for the show and seem to be doing a pretty average job marketing it. It's also why a number of top talents aren't booked for the show: take Bobby Lashley for example, who is continuing to fight for MMA promotion Bellator, there's no guarantee he'd be available for the show despite being TNA Champion.

This partnership in Japan is a waste of time for them anyway. Jarrett's GFW has just announced it's first PPV, a cross promotion with NJPW at the Tokyo Dome set to be aired in America and Jim Ross has professed an interest in calling the show.

[The Legend]

Yeah it really is sad and disappointing. The BFG Series was the thing Impact did best.