The Bound for Glory Series: A Good Idea Towards Establishing an Identity

The first match in the series was a good one
Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

Last week on Impact, the Bound for Glory Series started with Rob Van Dam defeating Samoa Joe. For those who don't watch, the series is a 12-person round robin tournament aiming to decide who will face the Impact World Champion at the titular PPV event. My protestations at calling it "groundbreaking" aside, I really like this idea. I don't know if I've written this or not a lot here, but I love tournaments of all shapes and sizes. You get the potential for different match ups and have several different opportunities to make new stories.

In this instance though, the most important thing is that it provides an opportunity for Impact to establish an identity. Right now, they really don't have anything to make their big PPV event pop. Having the main event spot being something you fight for goes a long way in establishing that, especially in an event that takes four months to conduct. It helps add to the mystique of the event, which is something Impact desperately needs. Right now, the slogan "Wrestling Matters" feels empty. They went a good long way to rectify that this past week with the focus on the X-Division (Austin Aries being the biggest star in that) and launching the tournament.

Now, I know that there's skepticism out there as to whether they'll be able to pull this off. I'm a bit wary myself. Remember last year, when they were going to install a ranking system? Eric Bischoff, the biggest proponent of it in character, sure doesn't. It was dropped faster than a tray of hot soup by an epileptic waiter. The players remain the same here, so it's reasonable to suspect whether this idea will be carried out to fruition, and if it is, whether it'll be executed satisfactorily. Impact doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt right now; that's the stark truth.

However, that doesn't mean that you can't root for them. I really hope that this thing works out, because it's a killer concept. If they were going to port anything that Chikara or any other indie fed was doing this year, I'm glad it was the round-robin tournament. We already got one really good match out of it. If it produces more good tilts and has a modestly satisfying endgame, then it's a success. And for the former TNA? That's a win.

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