From a wrestling standpoint, both sets of tapings were good, but I feel could have been much better. The second episode was a bit better, because they didn’t rely so heavily on Open Fight Night, and the introduction of the Bound for Glory series. During the live broadcast, while it was cool to see so many points distributed so quickly, I’d be hard-pressed even 24 hours removed to remember all of the contests. I hope the future of the series is more like the second half, because I couldn’t deal with that kind of frantic pacing for the next three months.
We’re only one (technically, two) weeks into the BFG series, so it’s probably not wise to start making predictions yet. There’s a lot of various stories being told, and it will be interesting to see how many of them play out as we get closer to October. AJ Styles was largely overlooked this week – although he had a great match with Joe – but I expect his character to continue evolving; don’t count him out. If I had to make a guess, I’d put my money on Samoa Joe. He was so prominent featured at this event, and if they continue running with the Aces & Eights vs. Main Event Mafia story, he’d be a perfect candidate to remove the title from Bully Ray.
Magnus won’t win. Hernandez won’t win. While it’d be an interesting foil, Ken Anderson won’t win the Bound for Glory series. But it’s not all about who goes on to Bound for Glory to wrestle for the World title. The series also has a chance to get somebody like Magnus, or a veteran like Supermex into the spotlight. Because once October has come and gone, there needs to be a fresh roster of talents to step up and fill the main event. Two years ago we saw Bobby Roode and James Storm step up. Last year it was Austin Aries. Who’s next?
Best Face Reactions
1. Hulk Hogan, and it wasn’t even close
2. Sting and/or Main Event Mafia
3. Jeff Hardy
4. James Storm. WOW, was the crowd hot for his segment.
5. Austin Aries
Honorable Mentions: Magnus, Christy Hemme, Rob Van Dam
Best Heel Reactions
1. Bully Ray
2. Bobby Roode
3. Bad Influence
4. Ken Anderson / Aces & Eights
5. Austin Aries
