World Title Vacated; Tournament to Determine New WHC at BFG

[It's Damn Real!]

As was noted tonight on iMPACT!, now former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam suffered numerous (kayfabe) injuries as a result of Abyss' attack on him last week, and as a result of his condition and his inability to defend it, the title has been vacated.

A tournament has been set in place crown a new champion at the Bound for Glory PPV this October. This thread will continue to be updated regarding the goings on of the tournament, including the winners & losers as we approach No Surrender and subsequently Bound for Glory.

Please keep all relevant discussion about the World Championship series here.

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Quarter Finals Matchups & Results
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• "The Freak" Rob Terry v. Jeff Hardy — Jeff Hardy Advances
After hitting Terry with both the Twist of Fate and the Swanton, Hardy picked up the three-count victory and will move on to the Semi Finals at the No Surrender PPV.

• Jay Lethal v. Mr. Anderson — Mr. Anderson Advances
Lethal ate a mic check and as a result Anderson picked up the pinfall win and will advance to the Semi Finals at the No Surrender PPV.

• Kurt Angle v. Doug Williams — Kurt Angle Advances
Following a counter to Williams' Chaos Theory, Angle caught Williams with the ankle lock which he tapped out to. Angle will advance to the Semi Finals at the No Surrender PPV.

• "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan v. "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero — "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero Advances
Pope caught Morgan with the DDE on the outside ring post when Morgan missed with the Carbon Footprint a la Hernandez injury angle and picked up the pinfall victory to move on to the Semi Finals at the No Surrender PPV.


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Semi Finals Matchups & Results
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• Kurt Angle v. Jeff Hardy

• Mr. Anderson v. "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero


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Finals Matchup & Results
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• ?? v. ??

 

[Viola Moonlight]

I don't mean to be a grammer Nazi or anything, but the Quarter-Finals go before the Semi-Finals matches (considering quarter = four).

I've got to say that having RVD vacating the World Championship is probably the best way for him to lose the title without losing any credibility in the process. RVD has beaten a lot of the company's top contenders and I don't think they are ready to allow someone to cleanly go over RVD as the champion... or maybe an ideal of not having anyone needing the rub from Rob as of yet. The first two quarter-final matches seem to me like the obvious choices as who the winners would be. Do you really see Terry defeating Hardy, or Anderson losing to a former jobber?

I'm pretty sure AJ Styles and Kurt Angle will be two of the four remaining unknown competitors. You'd have to be insane or book a storyline writing them out of the tournament not to include these two. I don't think Angle at this stage will win the championship and will probably put over someone in the end. I don't know who, nor do I care who the other two are... my money is on AJ getting his World Title back or allowing Anderson to hold the strap. Both would make sense considering one is the face of the company and the other has been impressive as of late.

I just hope to God Abyss wins... there are better options to choose.

 

[Dhays9]

The Jay Lethal and Mr. Anderson match to me was solid match where if either one moved on, I could consider either as a legitiment contender with whomever they went up against next.

However, with the great solid match that I saw in this.......... I saw the exact opposite in the first match between Jeff Hardy and Rob Terry. The match to me seemed to have a couple messed up spots and wasn't Hardy suppose to get the crap beat out of him by Abyss before hand? So why was he able to beat Rob Terry so easily who could pick him one handed and do pretty much anything he wanted without him getting "beat up" by Abyss.

 

[twentytwo]

So much for the Kurt Angle Top Ten storyline...

As for the results, no surprise to see two ex-WWE guys already advancing. Big surprise there.

And btw, the Semi-Finals come after the quarter-finals, not the other way around. Although this is TNA we are talking about, so maybe you have it right after all.

As to who wins - hard to care when they just dropped their best storyline, a chase for the title, and stipped the champ of the belt all in the same show.

Kind of hard to care about the champs or the contenders when TNA goes and just drops their momentum like that.

 

[twentytwo]

Gotta love how 3 ex-WWE guys have now advanced in the tournament for a title that another ex old WWE guy had, and Hogan comes out and says Nash is mad cause "the young guys are getting the spotlight." lol Maybe even Hogan doesn't watch TNA.

They better give AJ that 4th spot. And he needs to win the whole thing. This thing is already ridiculous.

 

[Dhays9]

So this is way off topic, but I started a thread last week after iMPACT saying that the Decpetion angle could be about Flair and how it could be leading to Sting-Flair at BFG and you IDR shot it down instantly basically making it seem like I'm stupid.

Well look at what just happened with Fortune attacking Sting, Nash, Hogan, and Jarrett. What do you think now?

rko57 whats up? Why are you trying to flame someone and a mod at that? I don't know you but you just lost my respect.

Ok sorry back on topic. Is it me or does TNA like to put over ex-WWE guys. I love TNA since its inception and can remember matches from 2004,2005 till know and it just seems weird with no TNA original in the title picture but four ex-WWE guys. Don't get me wrong I like all four in the tourny still and Jeff Hardy is one of my all-time favorite. I just wish they coulda had some more TNA originals in there since it is the TNA Heavyweight Championship.

Alright after my rant. I feel that this is an obvious Kurt Angle championship after hearing Tenay and Taz talk about how if Angle loses during the tournament he has to retire. I figure he will face Mr. Anderson that way it will be a face vs. heel match up even though Mr. Anderson is over with the fans he has that Rock Heel persona is the best way I can describe it. He's cheered for like a face but yet comes off as a funny asshole.

Posted By: Twentytwo
They better give AJ that 4th spot. And he needs to win the whole thing. This thing is already ridiculous.

To bad that A.J. already has a title (so no chance at TNA's WHC) he is already in a match against Dreamer which Dreamer said will be "Extreme." Hopefully, not just another beat down but a good solid match.

 

[Zigglerfan227]

TNA's booking is crap. That is just my opinion. I do not agree with how it is booked alot of times. Now I am not bashing them, please understand that! I do like SOME things they do.

WWE makes mistakes with booking all the time as well. I believe though, that if TNA wants to get better they need to book it correctly.

Now for the tournament:
I don't think it was cool that RVD vacated the TNA title. If anyone gets the title it should be Abyss or Matt Morgan but of course that probably will not happen. Matt Morgan just lost his match to progress in the tournament. In fact the match Matt Morgan had with The Pope tonight was honestly one of the worst wrestling matches I have ever seen. I am serious! I love both The Pope and Morgan but this much was terrible!

 

[hman24]

I think they have written this storyline into such an obvious, Kurt Angle will win situation that it's taking a lot of the hype out of it. I think Angle getting the belt is the smartest thing for TNA to do. I just wish they would have made it less obvious. Of course they could be building him up as a swerve than having him lose. I mean, its not like no one has ever been brought back in a retirement storyline, but I really think Angle is going to win this.

 

[The Best At What I Do]

Bound For Glory? The show on 10.10.10? That's a long ass time to go without a world champion.

Also, isn't it a little strange how everyone involved in the tournament (with the exception of Angle of course) has never been a world champion? I mean I enjoy the fact they're putting new blood in the title picture but this kind of gives away who will win. Well unless there's another half of the tournament I missed because it's also strange that AJ, Abyss and Joe aren't in this thing at all.

The Best's Best Possible Outcome:
Kurt Angle gets the TNA Championship once agane

 

[twentytwo]

I watched tonight because I honestly bought that TNA was about to put the focus back on some home grown talent. I really figured the spotlight was going off of all the old ass ECW slugs, the ex WWE guys, the old horses and what did we get? 4 ex WWE guys in a final four for a belt another ex WWE guy just held. I figured Angle would make it. How couldn't he considering they just fucked his whole storyline up? But Hardy, Anderson and Pope (again)? C'mon. No wonder everyone in TNA is pissed off.

AJ Styles deserves better. A match with Tommy Dreamer in 2010 is like a date with Madonna is 2010. Pointless. It's hardly a consolation for not being involved in the tournament imo.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

So this is way off topic, but I started a thread last week after iMPACT saying that the Decpetion angle could be about Flair and how it could be leading to Sting-Flair at BFG and you IDR shot it down instantly basically making it seem like I'm stupid.

Well look at what just happened with Fortune attacking Sting, Nash, Hogan, and Jarrett. What do you think now?

Because it still makes little sense. Yes, Flair's Fortune jumped all four of Hogan, Jarrett, Nash and Sting, but I still don't see the correlation. Either way, resurrect that thread if you want to discuss that topic again – don't derail this thread. This is a thread about the discussion regarding the WHC and only the WHC.

 

[cultsteele]

i was hoping to see hardy vs angle for when i go to bound for glory but you cant have him face pope again maybe one more match with andreson since the top 10 and then hardy beating pope will lead to a match but for some reason i end up seeing a 3 way dance for glory featuring hardy angle and andreson with hardy and angle both needing that win
"Calm Down Drink A Beer"

 

[rko57]

rko57 whats up? Why are you trying to flame someone and a mod at that? I don't know you but you just lost my respect.

I'm not asking for respect, am I? And I'm not trying to start anything, after I read, it mighta seemed like my "What do you think now?" comment was a smartass comment, but I didn't intend for it to be smartass. I meant it in a simple question statement.

Anyways, with the Final 4 set, I think Kurt Angle will win the championship over Mr Anderson at BFG, which I think would be the best main event with the history behind Angle/Anderson and Angle's top 10 angle

 

[razor_2910]

I'm going to predict that Abyss attack Hardy before or after the match setting their match at BFG(Angle Wins). And I hope the Pope vs Anderson match end up a draw or have someone interferes and beat both men up making both men go on to make The Bound for Glory World Title Match a 3-way Between Pope vs Anderson vs Angle.

 

[Dhays9]

I'm going to predict that Abyss interferes and cost Hardy the match setting their match at BFG. And I hope the Pope vs Anderson match end up a draw or have someone interferes and beat both men up making both men go on to make The Bound for Glory World Title Match a 3-way Between Pope vs Anderson vs Angle.

Personally, I hope your wrong. With TNA booking, your probably not. The problem I see with the interference in both semi-final match ups is the fact that it does not add any credibility to the championship. With the 2 or 3 wrestlers in your view that make it to Bound For Glory, making it there by interference anyone in TNA can argue that they don't need to be there and the only way they could be champion is with help from someone else. Therefore, I figure interference in Jeff's match with Angle winning. Then Angle beating Anderson.

 

[razor_2910]

Personally, I hope your wrong. With TNA booking, your probably not. The problem I see with the interference in both semi-final match ups is the fact that it does not add any credibility to the championship. With the 2 or 3 wrestlers in your view that make it to Bound For Glory, making it there by interference anyone in TNA can argue that they don't need to be there and the only way they could be champion is with help from someone else. Therefore, I figure interference in Jeff's match with Angle winning. Then Angle beating Anderson.

Say if Pope does lose to Anderson. What in the world is he going to do next? I wouldn't be a smart idea to leave him off of BFG. They don't to have interference in both matches maybe just the Hardy/Angle match and have to Anderson/Pope Match end in a draw. Which is why I hope its a three-way between Pope/Anderson/Angle for the title.

 

[Dhays9]

Say if Pope does lose to Anderson. What in the world is he going to do next? I wouldn't be a smart idea to leave him off of BFG. They don't to have interference in both matches maybe just the Hardy/Angle match and have to Anderson/Pope Match end in a draw. Which is why I hope its a three-way between Pope/Anderson/Angle for the title.

Thats the problem. I don't remember TNA having a time limit on matches like ROH does so I don't really see a draw working. I would love to see the 3-way also as it keeps those two in the title picture and they don't have anything else really going on. I guess my main problem is the way that they book this is in a way we all know Kurt is going to win.

 

[info62]

I was pretty shocked that they announced Hardy vs Angle for the next round, as I thought that would end up being the final match. So now I'm going to guess the final will be Anderson vs Angle with Angle winning.

And it was kind of a let down that the Angle storyline was dropped, but then again I guess they had to with RVD taking time off. Also there were a few people who were souring on the Angle storyline anyway since it was getting predictable that Angle was going to win all of his matches. So maybe this is for the best.

I thought the matches on Impact tonight were pretty good, mostly I enjoyed the Lethal vs Anderson match and especially the Williams vs Angle match. So I am looking forward to the rest of this tournament and I am predicting, as are many others, that Angle will end up winning

 

[Dhays9]

The match between Joe and hardy a few weeks ago ended in a time limit draw.

Oh yes the one before Joe flipped out. I totally forgot about that as it almost never happens in the big 2. I guess it would work as long as Tenay doesn't screw the ending like last. But seriously I feel that that outcome would work the best in terms of keeping all 3 stars who are over with the crowd from falling from the wayside. However, what happens to them after the tournament in this scenerio is whats bothering me. I hope they don't just forget about them afterwards.

 

[MachoMadness1988]

A tournament for the World Heavyweight Championship is very prestigious in my opinion, and the fact that it is going culminate at Bound For Glory will mean alot. Bound For Glory will be HUGE this year(and is on my 22nd birthday..10-10-10...Vegas?haha). WrestleMania IV is possibly my favorite WrestleMania of all time, the tournament that night was epic.

Bound For Glory? The show on 10.10.10? That's a long ass time to go without a world champion.

It's only like a month and half. That's not that long, Bound For Glory will be here before we know it. I think it's long enough make it mean more when a new champion is crowned.

 

[goodlay]

While it was pretty illogical to put Rob Terry and Douglas Williams in there instead of guys like AJ and Abyss, I've always been a sucker for a tournament. Im stoked for Hardy/Angle and Anderson/Pope which will eventually lead to the epic rematch of Angle/Anderson, where Angle will win, and I believe Anderson will swerve all his "Assholes", and turn heel.

My problem with this though is, unless they do a damn good job of building up the semi-finals and eventually the finals, this is going to last way too fucking long for a mere 8 man tournament. Yeah it's the world title, but realistically the finals should be at No Surrender, not BFG.

 

[KBUnitz]

Ok, Kurt Angle must win, he will defeat Jeff Hardy, no doubt, he's gone too far in his climb for #1. I'm guessing for Pope to win then Angle to win in the finals. I see this whole storyling just to give the title to Kurt Angle since RVD really isn't that great of a world champ.

 

[Tenta]

So let me get this straight... RVD has to give up the belt, because TNA didn't sign him up to enough dates, and they want to milk out his contract. That's fine, but in the process, doesn't put over anyone in the process, something he could really afford to do right now, seeing as how he hasn't lost a fucking match in TNA since he got there. Still, he doesn't put anyone over, when he does come back, he'll be put over as this super hero immortal, and be given a spot right back at the World Heavyweight Title picture?

Yeah... Hulk Hogan's hands aren't anywhere near the product. Anyway, there's four things about the results so far that are cause for concern.

1. There isn't a heel that's in the Semi's. I mean, come the fuck on, TNA, how did you fucking manage this? Not only that, but you've picked a list of wrestlers in which only Mr. Anderson at this point can turn heel. Hardy makes an atrocious heel, Angle will never get boo'ed in the Impact Zone ever again, and Pope is just too likeable. You've basically made it out to be that Mr. Anderson is the only forseeable "heel" to come out of this on top, which just makes for a tournament with no story, no intirgue, and overall just boring.

2. All of the advancers are not anywhere near the "youth" movement of TNA. As a matter of fact, none of the TNA originals won, and even worse, they all jobbed out wo wrestlers more tied to WWE. Pope beats Morgan, Lethal loses to Anderson, Hardy beats Rob Terry, and Angle beats Doug Williams. What does this say about the sad state of affairs for heels in TNA, or for originals?

3. And for that matter, why was Fortune not involved in this? They're probably the hottest thing you have right now, so why have no members of Fortune gone over? That would make matters more interesting, if perhaps Matt Morgan went on to make a deep run at the belt for Fortune, only to be stopped by Anderson or Hardy or Angle. That's a story, it's compelling, I'm interested in that. Unlike this dreg.

4. And while we're on Fortune, why is the TNA Title not the thing to end the show? Why is it fortune and EV 2.0? What does that say about how TNA feels about it's title? Oh yeah, that's right, it's Vince Russo, and titles are props, eh?

I dunno about you, but nothing about this tournament makes me feel good. At all

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

At this rate, I think Angle is getting back the title and by gosh! whatever happened to the storyline of him beating every contender and reaching the top??!

Let's not open that lack-of-continuity can of worms again.

Well I see two things wrong with this title picture-

1. TNA is doing a lousy job making heels, in the title picture. I mean they could've put Morgan in the semi's and I think him and Anderson would've had a good enough match. They are severely undervaluing Morgan who I think is a storyline away from being a top top heel. In which company? well....

2. Hardy should be nowhere near a title. I'm disappointed to say this but that's it! Hardy is an out of shape, incoherent botch-fest who is well, a mockery of his own-self. Hardy's spot could've been given to a Robert Roode who I believe is ready for his ascent to the top.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I like the idea of a tournament because there is nothing else you can do at this point. It would have been better for RVD to drop the title, but then we wouldn't see Abyss take him out with Janice now would we. I'm glad Abyss isn't the champion, but RVD did him no favors by beating him clean only to go on vacation. Abyss wasn't even in the tournament. AJ Styles was among the top 6 rankings last week, and he didn't even get in the tournament. He had to have a shitty match with Tommy Dreamer in the main event.

Angle vs. Hardy will be a new match, but I don't think even Angle can make me interested in Hardy at this point. The impact fans aren't even that crazy about him anymore. Anderson vs. The Pope will be something we haven't seen before either. My guess is Anderson will face Angle at Bound For Glory. TNA will have lots of time to stretch this tournament out. I hope fans don't lose interest.

The sad thing about this is that Kurt Angle will probably win every match. It's great for Angle since he is probably the hardest worker in TNA, but he doesn't need to win the belt. None of the Fourtune members won the tournament, and three big names in the top ten weren't even in the tournament. Abyss, AJ Styles, Hernandez. Samoa Joe is another wrestler who was in the top 10 but wasn't shown. I know that he is on suspension, so hopefully TNA will bring that up next week.

TNA constantly talks about pushing the young homegrown talent, but they push them aside for Angle, Hardy, Anderson, RVD, etc to be on top. I'm glad The Pope is involved in the tournament, but I doubt he will get far. Hopefully this leads to something good at Bound For Glory.