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PPV Evaluation - TNA Bound for Glory 10/14
By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch PPV specialist

BEST MATCH – JEFF HARDY VS. AUSTIN ARIES

While I question the decision to switch the title to Hardy, as I think Austin Aries has been fantastic in his role, this was still a very good main event and fitting to close TNA’s biggest show of the year. Jeff Hardy can be hot or miss, but there was no doubt that he came to work on this night. The two men put a great close to what had been a show that had not really seemed like anything special for the most part. Presumably, there will be a re-match in November, and I’m looking forward to it.

WORST MATCH – AL SNOW VS. JOEY RYAN

Why on earth this was put on the pay-per-view was beyond me. I’m not sure that the "Gut Check" gimmick has really gotten over with the crowd, and Al Snow getting a spot on TNA’s signature show in 2012 seems questionable at best. On the plus side, Matt Morgan may make a good tandem with Ryan, as Ryan plays the cocky heel that has the muscle to get him out of trouble. We’ll see.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – DEVON

Granted, TNA kind of telegraphed Devon’s return by seemingly mentioning him more since he “left” than when he was a member of the roster. Having said that, it was still an unexpected reveal on a show that needed a surprise or two (and, no, I’m not counting Jessie Godderz). The Aces & Eights angle isn’t working at all, in my opinion, but at least a step was made here to put a familiar face in the mix. Just hurry this along, please.

BIGGEST LETDOWN – BOUND FOR GLORY?

If this had just been another TNA show, I think that it would have seemed like a much better show in retrospect. However, this is THE show of the TNA year, and it didn’t feel like it at all. Theoretically, WrestleMania is the WWE version of Bound For Glory. Think about that for a second. Slammiversary seems like the logical choice for TNA to have picked as their big show, but therein lies the problem: WrestleMania became a phenomenon because of its lineage and reliability as such a spectacle. TNA seemed to arbitrarily select the October pay-per-view and tell us it was a big deal. They should have just seen what became the show that the fans looked forward to, and ran with it. Tradition is much better happening organically; you can't just tell us that something matters. Make it matter.

BEST QUOTE – TAZ

While Mike Tenay rattled off facts about Jessie Godderz, Taz pointed out that Tenay knew too much about him. He wasn’t wrong.

BEST MOVE – BOBBY ROODE

The Street Fight with James Storm was a violent, bloody spectacle, and Roode spearing Storm from the table was my highlight move of the night.

BEST MATCH FINISH – TAG TITLE MATCH

I selected this not for the closing sequence, but rather for pretty much the entire second-half of the match. From the moment Kurt Angle hit the ring, the match seemed to kick into a whole new gear with great sequence after great sequence; what was a fairly plodding match until that point became great.

OTHER THOUGHTS

- RVD was really popular with the mostly energetic Phoenix crowd, and his show-starting bout with Zema Ion was a nice, albeit forgettable match. Still, a fine opener.

- Samoa Joe looked great in his title defense against Magnus. Joe is still one of the best wrestlers on the roster, and showed it here.

- The Street Fight was a crazy brawl, made better by the fact that for once TNA isn’t featuring thumbtacks and blood regularly. It’s not the kind of match that you’d want to see every pay-per-view, but kept as a rare occasion this bout definitely stuck out and had the fans on their feet.

- Miss Tessmacher and Tara had a decent match for the Knockouts Title, but the crowd was dead throughout. TNA really needs to keep a focus on the division and offer something compelling to get behind.

- Sting & Bully Ray and the Aces & Eights had an entertaining brawl, but TNA really needs to accelerate this angle; the crowd already seems indifferent, and keeping everyone under masks is not going to help matters.

WHAT IT’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

Being a solid, but not particularly memorable night. Hopefully TNA knows what to do with Jeff Hardy on this title run, and it leads to a series of matches with Austin Aries - the main even really was excellent.

UPDATED 2012 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE EXTREME RULES (2012-04-29)
2 - WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXVIII (2012-04-01)
3 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2012-02-19)
4 - TNA SLAMMIVERSARY (2012-06-10)
5 - TNA DESTINATION X (2012-07-08)
6 - TNA SACRIFICE (2012-05-13)
7 – WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS (2012-09-16)
8 - WWE MONEY IN THE BANK (2012-07-15)
9 – TNA HARDCORE JUSTICE (2012-08-12)
10 – WWE SUMMERSLAM (2012-08-19)
11 - WWE OVER THE LIMIT (2012-05-20)
12 – TNA BOUND FOR GLORY (2012-10-14)
13 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2012-1-29)
14 - TNA VICTORY ROAD (2012-03-18)
15 - TNA LOCKDOWN (2012-04-15)
16 - WWE NO WAY OUT (2012-06-17)
17 – TNA NO SURRENDER (2012-09-09)
18 - TNA GENESIS (2012-01-08)
19 – TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS (2012-02-12)

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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