Hardcore Justice: Bully Ray vs Chris Sabin For The World Championship

[ABMorales787]

"I am the law! .....brother." Said Hulk Hogan in reaction to Bully Ray's legal demands of having the World title returned to him. To settle the issue, another Supercard event has been set. "Hardcore Justice". To be headline by the Steel Cage rematch of the Destination X main event. Can Sabin survive the same match that made Bully the World Champ back in Lockdown? Or will the Ace's ride with the gold once again?
​

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Bully Ray probably gets the belt back as most cage matches are won by the heel in this situation and it make sense to put the belt back on one of the best talkers in the company. Sabin does a better job of chasing the belt rather than actually holding the belt, which is a curse to most underdogs. Once they end up with the belt, they're not an underdog anymore.

So Bully takes this.

 

[ABMorales787]

The prospect of Aries vs Sabin or Styles vs Sabin at BFG with Ray leading the Ace's against the Mafia makes me think they might make Sabin's reign last longer. He's certainly a likeable face and he'd hardly be an underdog against guys close to his size. Though TNA seems to have so many seeds planted that it's really hard to tell.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have a feeling that Bully Ray wins the title back in this match. They're probably going with the premise of the cage being able to keep people out which, in turn, means that it'll probably have one heavily overbooked finish in which the MEM and Aces & Eights are brawling out all over the place. If that is how the match ends and Sabin winds up retaining again, I'm not really sure how it helps him.

What I mean by that is that Ray dominated Sabin during the majority of their match and the booking suggests that he only won due to the aid of the MEM. Right now, at this point in time, Sabin comes off more like the MEM's little buddy than anything else. If he retains at Hardcore Justice with the sort of significant assistance they gave at Destination X, it doesn't really do Sabin any favors. Sabin needs a solid, decisive win against Bully Ray as a means of sort of legitimizing him. If the MEM is able to ultimately keep Aces & Eights from interfering in the match altogether, along with themselves, and Sabin ultimately pulls off the win by himself otherwise; that'll be a different story I think.

However, I just don't see it happening that way. Bully Ray and Aces & Eights have been far too prominent in TNA for quite a while now. The Hardcore Justice episode is only a few months before BFG and I just can't see TNA not having, easily, the top heel in the company defending the TNA WHC against the BFG Series winner at BFG. I'm just not convinced, at least at the moment, that Sabin has the juice to deliver a big feel main event for TNA's biggest show of the year. Simply being MEM's little buddy between now and then certainly won't do it.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I don't see why TNA would switch the title to Sabin, only for Bully Ray to win it back so quickly. Doing that would just emphasise that Sabin isn't good enough for the main event scene, and would hurt him more than it benefits Bully. To be honest, I don't think Sabin needed the win the belt at all, it kinda came out of nowhere. I personally think Bully should have held the gold until BFG, when AJ Styles (who had recently joined the MEM) would win the title and bring it back to TNA.

However, i do think Sabin will retain this time. With Bully no longer Champion I could see a multi-man match at BFG between the Aces and the MEM, with the heel faction finally being defeated, and Sabin defending against Styles in what is sure to be a great match.

 

[LSN80]

I think Ray has to win it back here.

I like Chris Sabin, alot, but he's not long-term World Championship material, nor is a match between he and the winner of the BFG series winner going to sell their biggest PPV of the year. But Bully Ray and the BFG series winner? That will sell.

Looking forward, the winner of the BFG series has to be considered as well. While it hasn't been the case in previous years, it would be nice if the issue between the champion and the winner was personal. There's time, of course, but there's simply no issue between Styles, Magnus, Aries, or anyone else with Sabin....except Bully Ray. On the other hand, all of them have issues with Ray; Magnus due to his involvement with the MEM and Styles with his 'recruitment' into Aces & Eights. With said issue, it makes for a much more organic match that way.

I say Ray wins this, despite the banned interference. Somehow, the hammer will again come into play, but this time, in Ray's favor. Ray wins this and goes on to headline BFG against either Styles or Magnus.

With Bully no longer Champion I could see a multi-man match at BFG between the Aces and the MEM, with the heel faction finally being defeated, and Sabin defending against Styles in what is sure to be a great match.

I think this happens irregardless. Even if Magnus wins the Series, and Ray is defending, that still leaves Angle, Sting, Joe and Rampage against Devon, Anderson, Knux and Brisco in a 4 on 4 elimination match, and if Ray defends against Styles, which I find more likely, you throw Magnus and Bischoff in for a 5 on 5 match.

 

[MWRedskins]

the best thing about this match is the outcome isnt real easy to guess. Sabin winning the title shocked me and now i cant answer what direction they go in, but they can go in many directions. they can have Sabin retain and then set up either Bully vs. Hogan or and Aces and Eights vs. Mafia match or they can have Bully regain the title and set up him vs. the BFG Winner (likey Styles, though i would like for Aries to win it), if i had to guess now, Bully wins, but Sabin retaining wouldnt surprise me and an Aries or Styles vs. Sabin match would be fun to watch.

 

[Eyebrows]

I reckon they took the title of Bully so that he was free to face Hogan at Bound for Glory without the title being on the line. That's simply conjecture though, they might not be going that route. If they are, though, I see Sabin retaining but I only see him as being a transitional champion, dropping the belt to whoever wins the Bound for Glory series.

Perhaps Styles, as with his current character, a Sabin/Styles feud would work quite well. And even if the build-up wasn't good, the match will be fantastic anyway.

 

[Lancer]

It's pretty true that the victor in this match could be either man, and future storylines will work out eventually. I'm looking for Bully Ray to regain the title at some point-maybe not on this night, but before Bound For Glory. Either way, his heat has grown stale with the whole Brooke Hogan situation being a flop, and not having a clear rival that is strong enough to be the foil to his heat (since Sting anyway). In my opinion, the whole Aces and Eights dynamic has just flopped. Fans don't hate them, I think we're all pretty much annoyed by them and want the whole thing to go away. Perhaps Bully can drum up some genuine heat between now and BFG.

All of the credit in the world goes to Chris Sabin, but heart and talent aside, he doesn't have that certain "edge," the "it factor" if you will, that helps me buy into him as a World Heavyweight Champion. Someone like Austin Aries or AJ Styles, has it, of course...just not Sabin. Not for lack of trying though. The whole comeback story is quite awesome and awe-inspiring, and he has gotten the ultimate reward for his struggles-being able to carry the World Title. But holding it until BFG is a stretch for me.

All opinions of the future aside, this match should be pretty good. Perhaps Sabin can develop that edge, that mean streak, during this match as he tries to put Bully away. Or maybe Bully Ray, with all of his evil cunning, will be too much for the champ to overcome. I expect Aces and Eights and Main Event Mafia to get involved, but hopefully indirectly. Also, hopefully the buildup to it will be great, to help drum up some viewers to justify giving away another PPV on free TV.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

Honestly Chris Sabin is not World Champion material and at Hardcore Justice it is definitely going to show because let's be honest even though he beat Bully Ray for that World Heavyweight Championship it was by fluke and honestly Sabin won't get so lucky the second time around but at the end of the day we will see if Sabin really is for real or if his win really was a fluke because at the end of the day I see Bully winning the title back and how you may ask? I see Brooke Hogan getting involved costing Sabin the title turning heel in the process and making sure her husband wins back the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

 

[Lowdown]

I think Bully gets the title back, but I'm not so sure. If Sabin does find a way to win, it will have some kind of effect on who wins the BFG series. Likewise for Bully. It was a nice storybook ending in Sabin winning the championship, but I doubt it was for the long term.

 

[aaronmb]

I could see Bully losing to get him out of the title picture. That way, he can face Hogan and end aces and eights(loses leaves tna). I thought it was hilarious when he brought the attorney out. You could hear some guy saying "kevin nash...big sexy".

 

[Terry Gyimah]

If Bully loses his rematch and he is out of the title picture then I would love to see Bully take on Hogan, father-in-law vs son-in-law and the loser has to leave TNA for good and what better way for that to all come to a head too

 

[UFOcalling]

Whatever the outcome of the match between Sabin & Bully at Hardcore Justice, the match needs to seem realistic. I'm sure it's been beaten to death at this point, but the match between Sabin & Bully at Destination X was completely one-sided, and basically a complete joke. The match between these two at Hardcore Justice needs to make both guys look strong (or at least make Sabin look like he could hang with the "big boys").

If Bully wins the match, it doesn't seem like there's a lot of ways they could go. Why would the TNA bookers have Bully win, unless he would be retaining at Bound for Glory? It would seem pointless (at least to me) to have him lose again to the BFG tournament winner, having his second title reign lasting a mere six weeks.

If Sabin wins this match, it would at least make more sense to see him lose to the BFG winner. It seems to me that TNA wanted to make the "Option C" thing look strong, with both Sabin winning the WHC this year & Aries winning the title last year. Unfortunately, having Sabin retain at HC Justice, but losing the title at BFG would just be 2012's booking all over again...but it makes more sense to me than seeing Bully vs. the BFG tournament winner. At least then I would be able to believe that the BFG tournament winner could actually win the title at BFG 2013.

I think you have to look at the HC Justice main event's finish more in terms of long-term booking, and unfortunately I just don't see how either outcome would benefit TNA's World Title scene leading up to BFG right now. Hopefully TNA will come up with a great solution, because I just don't see one right now.

 

[The Eighties]

I think Sabin's win was mostly about the MEM making an immediate impact on Aces & Eights and solidifying 'Option C' than it was about Sabin being seen as a long term main eventer.

On one hand Aces & Eights are so low on star power you'd think Bully would need to lead a team against the MEM at BFG so that would leave Sabin to defend the World title against AJ, Aries or maybe even Roode.

However I think that would simply see the title match overshadowed as TNA have thrown most of their eggs into the Aces & Eights basket and I feel they'll see it through as their main event angle at their top PPV, and that requires Bully holding the power card which is the World title.

My guess is Bully wins with help from the currently missing Taz, with him possibly coming from under the ring to throw Bully the hammer.

 

[thebarber]

maybe Alex Shelley returns and double crosses Sabin, costing him the title and joining Aces and Eights. I mean everybody is assumnig the end of the road is nigh for them, having lost D-Lo and Doc, the numbers have dropped a couple, which isnt a bad thing, but why not throw a spanner in the works and have Shelley somehow interfere, possibly under the ring or drop from the ceiling, double cross Sabin and Bully regains the belt. With it looking like Magnus in line for the big push, I think this was just TNA's way of keeping the TNA marks and original fans happy. I mean Sabin barely returned, and now he is World Champ?? Look at the size of him compared to Bully. It looks silly with him holding a belt nearly as big as he is.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Bully wins the gold from Sabin, because I honestly can not picture Sabin of all people going into BFG as WHC. I just can't do it. I still believe Sabin's win was just for shock value, and to give the fans a "moment"/payoff on live free TV for the pay per view quality show. And I think TNA is going to do the same thing at Hardcore Justice with Bully winning the title back from Sabin, giving Aces & Eights the momentum heading into BFG.

Main Event Mafia VS Aces & Eights in some big tag team VS tag team war storyline is already in the making, and you can't forget about AJ's Lone Wolf storyline, so with all this going on, I don't see any room left over for Sabin in a prominent storyline as a singles wrestler. Maybe Angle and Sting will call on Sabin to join them in the fight against Aces & Eights, but I have a hard time buying into a realistic possibility of Sabin going into TNA's flagship show as the top guy.

 

[Mockstar Spud]

This could really go one of two ways.

1) Sabin retains and goes on to defend against (most likely) AJ at BFG. This would also set up Bully v Hulk, with some big stipulation such as career v career or something similar. Can you imagine the crazy heat Bully would get if he ended Hogan's in-ring career? Take what happened at Lockdown, times it by 360 and you're still not close. Also have MEM V Aces and Eights in an elimination 10 man match.

2) Bully reclaims the strap from Sabin and faces (most likely) Magnus at BFG or AJ. The "old" AJ surfaced a little last week when he hit Jeff with a Pele kick so TNA might be running with the "returning hero" angle. If Magnus is facing Bully, have MEM draft in Sabin for the match against Aces and Eights.

I could personally get invested in either of those.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

"Chris Sabin is too small to be a believable opponent for Bully Ray."
Chris Sabin is billed as 5'10" and 205lbs... Mike Tyson (in his prime) was the same height and only 13lbs heavier. Floyd Mayweather bust the Big Show (who had Heavyweight Boxing aspirations) up. Or what about 5'8", 165lb Joey Styles making a wee man of 6'6", 290lb JBL? Paul Orndorff / Vader? Y2J / Goldberg?

"He only won the title by a fluke and wasn't portrayed as a serious contender."
Bully Ray was that intimidated by Sabin that he went for his weaknesses for the duration of the match rather than face him strength against strength. Even with this approach, he could not put him away! Sabin came back and hit him with a top rope dropkick that kayfabe suggests would have put away the champion clean if not for Bully colliding with the referee. Anderson is now so concerned that he (ie Bully's own Aces & Eights) introduce the hammer because it appears Bully cannot beat Sabin clean. Sabin then removes the hammer from Bully, keeps it hidden until the opportune moment, then outsmarts the Champion in letting himself be hoisted into the opportune position to use said weapon.

"Chris Sabin is boring and nobody'll watch him."
1.494million viewers for the live Destination X followed by 1.314million viewers for the taped follow up IW indicate that he has garnered interest thus far.

....................................................................................................​

So who wins the rematch... I don't know. There is logic to both guys for BFG. TNA has enough marque names that they could use Sabin in the main event and promote co Main Events (eg. Rampage & Angle vs Team 3-D). On the flip side, Bully vs someone like AJ, Magnus or even Hardy is equally feasible with the Aces & Eights storyline...

I think I'll hold out until I see were #August1 is going before making a prediction.

 

[The Eighties]

The stip that was added last week was interesting, on one hand it seems to solidify the feeling that Bully will get the title back in the cage match, but at the same time maybe it's too obvious?

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

The stip that was added last week was interesting, on one hand it seems to solidify the feeling that Bully will get the title back in the cage match, but at the same time maybe it's too obvious?

Given that Bully is now 42 and TNA has a plethora of guys to chose from to hold the belt, he may just lose the rematch and go on to face Hogan at BFG as Hulk is the guy who inserted the clause in the first place. In fact, I do believe that I'm (slightly) swayed towards Sabin for just this reason.

 

[Mr. Book This Section]

The stip that was added last week was interesting, on one hand it seems to solidify the feeling that Bully will get the title back in the cage match, but at the same time maybe it's too obvious?

I don't agree with that. Don't forget that Chris Sabin made the Xcape match famous. This might help with the win because...

1. Bully Ray doesn't get pinned or submits so he doesn't look weak.
2. Sabin looks strong with a win.
3. The fans get a great match.

Win-Win-Win situation

 

[Starkist]

It would be crazy if Brooke turned on her dad and TNA to join Bully Ray. She could play a better heel with her bitchy attitude than her current crying babyface thing she has going on. If Bully wins, he is going to win with the assist from Brooke. That'd be huge, well sort of I guess.

I'd like to see Bully win. He looked good with the title belt on his shoulder. He worked well and he, no matter what anyone says, he looked like a champ.

If Sabin wins, then whoever wins the BFG series, hopefully Aj, could mean for an epic title match. Not the best promos though. Hell, the promos might smell of feces, but the wrestling would be awesome. I cant wait to watch this coming Thursday.

 

[HBsam31]

With the stipulation added that Bully will never get a chance at the title again if he loses I see him taking the title back here. I like Sabin a lot, but I just don't see him as a long term champ. I really want to see AJ vs Bully at BFG, but even if that doesn't happen I can't see how Bully doesn't win the title back next week.

 

[The Eighties]

Given that Bully is now 42 and TNA has a plethora of guys to chose from to hold the belt, he may just lose the rematch and go on to face Hogan at BFG as Hulk is the guy who inserted the clause in the first place. In fact, I do believe that I'm (slightly) swayed towards Sabin for just this reason.

I'd be more swayed if someone a lot more over was holding the title right now. I just can't envision TNA with Sabin as champion for another 2 months, or for him to be in the main event at BFG.

I don't agree with that. Don't forget that Chris Sabin made the Xcape match famous. This might help with the win because...

1. Bully Ray doesn't get pinned or submits so he doesn't look weak.
2. Sabin looks strong with a win.
3. The fans get a great match.

Win-Win-Win situation

I wasn't meaning the cage stip, I was meaning the added part about Bully never getting another title shot if he loses, I just can't see TNA not following this Aces & Eights angle through to BFG with Bully truly dethroned by AJ or even one of the MEM Young guns.