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Bound for Glory is the biggest TNA pay-per-view (PPV) event on the schedule each and every year, drawing the largest crowds and the biggest buyrates for the culmination of months long storylines coming to some sort of satisfying conclusion.
Usually.
This year's show has a generally weak line-up, but could deliver the goods in the ring, at least on paper. Here's how it looks right now:
- Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez vs. Bad Influence vs. Joseph Park & Eric Young vs. BroMans (Pre-show Gauntlet match, winners face James Storm & Gunner for tag titles on PPV)
- TBA vs. James Storm & Gunner (Tag team championships)
- Manik vs. Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Sabin vs. Austin Aries (Ultimate X match for the X Division championship)
- ODB vs. Brooke Tessmacher vs. Gail Kim (Knockout's championship)
- Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode
- Sting vs. Magnus
- Bully Ray vs. AJ Styles (Heavyweight championship)
The problem here is that while that line-up could make for a mostly entertaining night of programming, it's really up against it considering the competition it's facing from the outside.
The night before, UFC 166: "Velasquez vs. Dos Santos III" hits PPV in a highly anticipated heavyweight championship showdown (be sure to hit MMAmania.com for all your coverage on that). Traditionally, WWE shows that come the night after major UFC shows have the buyrate hurt by about 15-percent, according to the Wrestling Observer.
Considering TNA's biggest shows top out around 30,000 on a really, really good day, that's bad, bad news.
On top of that, Sunday Night Football on NBC features the Denver Broncos traveling to Indianapolis to take on the Colts. Yes, that means Bound for Glory is up against Peyton Manning's first visit back to the city he once called home to take on Andrew Luck, the quarterback who was too good to pass up in the draft and forced the Colts hand, leading to Peyton's ousting and eventual arrival in Denver. Beyond all that, it's a great match-up that is expected to be the most watched NFL game of the year, and maybe the highest rated TV program of the year outside of the Super Bowl.
Oh, and if that wasn't enough, it's possible the Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox playoff series in Major League Baseball will be concluding with Game 7 that night.
What do you think, Cagesiders? Is AJ Styles quest for gold more intriguing than Peyton Manning battling Andrew Luck?