07/09/2011

Bound For Glory? Not These Guys!

The Bound For Glory series is heading to an end with the last of the series' matches being held at No Surrender this Sunday in what turns out to be another round of Immortal Vs Fortune, as Bully Ray takes on James Storm whilst Gunner battles Bobby Roode for the main event position at BFG. 
Now that the BFG series has been whittled down to the final four its the perfect opportunity to look at the other eight competitors and see why they wont be getting a shot at the gold.

12. Samoa Joe
"Joe's gonna kill you" is what is usually associated with Samoa Joe but not in this tournament as he flopped to last place losing all 10 of his matches (well he did win 1 but then the decision was reversed). A disappointing position for the submission machine as he would likely have an excellent match with Angle, but instead he will probably be feuding with Matt Morgan. 
Joe has been underused for sometime now and the only thing to come out of the BFG Series for him is that he has put a few of the competitors on the shelf which has renewed his bad-ass personality and set up a likely feud with Crimson down the line. 
In the short term this works but Joe is getting lost in a sea of main eventers and going from one pointless feud to another, to build him back up as a unstoppable force he should be given a reign with the Television title, defending it week in week out whilst taking scalps as he goes, renewing the form that his undefeated streak generated when he first entered the company and pushing him to main event status possibly in time for next years BFG.

11. The Pope
Probably a favourite to finish last in this series The Pope managed to gather 17 points from 17 matches, which besides Gunner is the most opportunities to get points in the series. 
Mainly focused with Devon and his family The Pope wasn't really to focused with the competition and maybe his place should have been given to someone like Christopher Daniels who would have provided some entertainment along the way rather than just forming a tag team as The Pope's chances of winning this tournament were summed up by the way he lay down for Devon.
Although not a strong showing the team of The Pope and Devon will add some much needed depth to a tag division which has seen its ranks diminish, especially if one of Beer Money are successful in the final four. 

10. Scott Steiner
Another who was unlikely to make the cut, Immortals muscle is useful for bringing in new blood but his time in the main event is well past (although the same could be said for Hogan...) Steiner competed in the least series matches out of everybody which states how little an impact he was going to make. 
Being the one part of Immortal with not a lot to do it is a surprise he hasn't been paired with another wrestler to form a tag team which would again boost the tag division and give Immortal a well rounded feeling rather than a number of singles wrestlers ready to implode on each other for the sake of being champion. 

9. Matt Morgan
It seemed like he would be up there until injury hit out and he became the BFG 'analyst'. Now back Morgan has missed the boat for his title shot and is standing up to Joe's crusade of putting everybody on the injury list.   
Morgan will likely again get his opportunity at the title but when is the key question in what seems like an ever increasing list of wrestlers after that silverware with Mr Anderson and Sting not even included in this series and the returning Jeff Hardy. Either a high profile feud or a drop down to compete for the TV title will keep Morgan fresh and like Joe allow him to build momentum and show fans why he deserves to be champion. 

8. A.J. Styles
Mr. TNA would have been one of the favourites to make the cut but ends up being a lowly eighth and the biggest disappointment in the series. Being apart of Destination X and having issues with Immortal have been a big part of why A.J. has underperformed yet the majority of fans would love to have seen him lock up with Angle at BFG. 
Currently looking likely to be feuding with Daniels its difficult to predict what A.J. will go onto but it can only be a short time before the title is around his waist again as he is the poster boy of the company and is the best promotion of what TNA has to offer. 

7. Brother Devon
Along with The Pope he was probably a favourite to finish last especially after Team 3D split he has had very little to do and his credibility as a singles contender was doubted after so many years tag teaming. Devon was actually a surprise package in this series, minus the storyline with The Pope, Devon came away with credibility as he showed a number of strong singles performances, even taking points of Crimson. 
Although it is doubtful Devon will ever make it into the main event he has shown he can be more than just a tag team wrestler but will fall back into that division with The Pope and give the division more depth for the mean time. 

6. RVD
Another favourite for the cut off who didn't make it, although at one point had enough points to go through and only a few DQ's due to interference from Jerry Lynn cost RVD his chance at regaining the title he never lost.
RVD has had his chances this year at regaining the title but his focus will now be on Lynn, reigniting their long standing feud from their ECW days and giving Van Dam an opponent who will bring the best out of him.
Being one of the companies big draws it is unlikely RVD will be away from the title scene for very long, most likely once Sting has vacated his quest for the title to take up his personal vendetta against Hogan. Ideally matched up against A.J. or another wrestler who compliments his style RVD will be around for a while longer and will still be the whole f'in show. 

5. Crimson
Technically Crimson is the leader of the BFG series with James Storm filling this position but an attack by Samoa Joe has meant the cowboy makes the cut over the rookie. 
Crimson was always going to be top of the leader board due to his undefeated streak since his debut which seems like it is going to rival Joe's in length, but his push has been hard and would have been a bold but wrong move to allow him to have a title shot. 
Whilst still in his debut year Crimson should be pitted against wrestlers to improve his in ring ability and build him up as one for the future, which worked when he was tag teaming with Steiner. Despite looking more at home in a WWE ring it is clear TNA management have faith in Crimson but he has yet to pay his dues within the company, another on this list who could boost the flagging TV title and show fans why they should support him in a quest for the Heavyweight gold.    

The cut off has thrown some surprises with recent tag team champions Beer Money taking two places, especially as Roode was coming in after a shoulder injury and Gunner being pushed up the ranks after previously holding the TV title, it is difficult to predict who will come out with the shot at Angle for the title at BFG.  

'The One'

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