By Jason Powell
I don’t make it a habit out of sharing match speculation when the president of the company appears on ESPN two days prior to the show and can’t guarantee that the show will actually take place. Fortunately, PR wizard Dixie Carter finally came down from her ivory tower to address the “speculation” by confirming that the pay-per-view and television tapings will occur.
Kim Jong-Un runs his government with more transparency than Carter runs this company. And just as there would be dancing in the streets if the North Korean leader ever lost power, there would be a celebration behind the scenes in Orlando and in the TNA ware-office-house in Nashville if Dixie’s reign of terror has concluded with a sale of the company to someone who wants to keep the lights on.
Yes, I know, we’re all supposed to be so grateful to Miss Dixie for spending an enormous sum of her mother and father’s money to keep TNA afloat all these years. She is the wind beneath our wings. Never mind the countless missed opportunities, the absurd business moves that put the company in dire straights, and the fact that TNA has been a financial disaster throughout her run.
Carter is the queen of all money marks, so blinded by her desire to be famous and to tell everyone “I told you so” that she kept others employed as she played wrestling promoter. She never had to worry about actually being a successful wrestling promoter until the family finally stopped funding her failures, and we’ve seen how well it has worked once she had to stand get by without their help.
We may learn today whether she sold the company to someone who wants to keep these people employed or whether she’s going to take the money and run. It’s even possible that she brokered a deal that will give her some type of figurehead position so that she can continue this ruse of being a successful businessperson. Heck, maybe she reached into her own personal stash to fund the company. Nah. Well, not unless she thinks she can get it right back if she keeps this going a little while longer.
And don’t get me wrong, I sincerely hope that this company moves forward. TNA is in the midst of its best year from a creative standpoint. The show quality has been consistently good, and I obviously have no desire to see people lose their jobs. Billy Corgan seems to genuinely care about this company and its workers. He’s obviously not in this for the fame, and it would be very interesting to see what would happen under his complete leadership. Aroluxe and/or The Fight Network are the great unknown. WWE is all about the tape library. Sinclair Broadcast Group is interesting, though it’s not as if they’ve broken the bank thus far to support Ring of Honor. Whatever happened to Toby Keith? Oh, that’s right, he didn’t want to play the Dixie game.
With all of that said, Bound For Glory may not be as interesting as what happens behind the scenes, but it should be a good show. Slammiversary had the same potential and turned out to be a flat effort. The big difference is that TNA didn’t feel the need to book a bunch of BFG undercard matches to get everyone on the show regardless of whether anyone actually wants to see them. The Bound For Gold match seems to have solved that problem. If they focus on the advertised matches and don’t bog us down with unadvertised time filler matches, then it should be a good night.
Lashley vs. EC3 for the TNA Championship: Lashley is tremendous as the top heel. I’d love to see him retain the championship in a surprise move. However, he just beat EC3 on the go-home show, and I doubt the company is going to have EC3 lose again here. By the way, on the off chance that this is the final show, then look for all feel good finishes.
EC3 wins the TNA TItle.
Decay vs. Broken Matt Hardy and Brother Nero (a/k/a Jeff Hardy) for the TNA Tag Titles: It feels like this feud is just getting started, so I wouldn’t do a tag title change here. It will be interesting to see if they can transfer the Broken Universe magic from the Cameron, North Carolina shoots to the live setting at the Impact Zone. I better see Vanguard 1 flying around that studio, dammit.
Decay retain the TNA Tag Titles.
Aron Rex vs. Eddie Edwards for the TNA Grand Championship: Drew Galloway had to pull out of the match due to injury, but he has indicated on Twitter that he will be at the show. Edwards just lost to Rex in the semifinals, then lost again to DJ Z on the go-home show. I’d still like to see him get the win even though they are probably getting ready to put him back in the tag division once Davey Richards returns. Rex just hasn’t clicked as a babyface yet and I’m not sure he is going to. Turn him heel.
Aron Rex wins the TNA Grand Championship.
Maria vs. Gail Kim for the TNA Knockouts Championship: Maria has been quite the get for TNA. She is arguably the best talker in the company. Kim entering the Hall of Fame on the same show where she wins the title from the part-time wrestler makes sense. One can only assume that she’ll get a little help from the lovable Allie.
Gail Kim wins the TNA Knockouts Title.
Moose vs. Mike Bennett: I don’t have a strong feeling about this match. Moose needs wins and Bennett can absorb another loss, but I could just as easily see Bennett cheating to win to keep the new feud alive. Flip a coin. Tails.
Mike Bennett cheats to win.
Bound For Gold match: The winner can challenge for any TNA title (well, aside from the women’s title apparently). The participants are Eli Drake, Braxton Sutter, Mahabali Shera, Grado, Tyrus, Jessie Godderz, Robbie E, Baron Dax, the sadly wasted Rockstar Spud, and Basil Baraka. Good lord. Here’s hoping Cody Rhodes ends up taking someone’s spot and winning. If not…
Eli Drake wins.
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