Bound For Glory 2020 Predictions

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we discuss the state of Impact Wrestling and give our Bound For Glory 2020 predictions.

How do you feel about Impact Wrestling’s Wrestle House?

Juan Bautista: It’s different and unique and allows the wrestlers to expand upon their characters. For example, Rosemary has been able to evolve from her dark, brooding persona.

Steven Jackson: Wrestle House was just something very different and unique during these strange times of COVID-19. It might not have been to everyone’s taste, but then again, we’re watching pro wrestling and sometimes, the wackier the better!

John Corrigan: It was a fun attempt at something outside the box. It also worked because Impact has such a variety of zany characters who can pull of comedy.

Jack Goodwillie: It fits the presentation of what Impact has established going back well over a year now and it checks multiple boxes: a.) Involves a larger percentage of the roster b.) Is creative in its open-endedness and c.) Provides comic relief on the show, which is needed. The trick to keeping Wrestle House strong going forward is self-awareness about where it belongs on the show. So many times in WWE, we’ll see comedy segments fall totally flat. However, the ones that do get over typically get beaten into the ground and become the focal point of the show rather than the background noise. If Wrestle House can maintain its place as filler/comedy/background noise, it works just fine.

Do Eric Young and Rich Swann seem worthy of headlining Bound For Glory 2020?

Bautista: Almost any talent is worthy of headlining a company’s biggest show of the year. It’s their job to prove that they need to be in this spot by getting the audience invested in their story. Young and Swann have done that.

Jackson: I agree. Eric Young is an Impact original and Rich Swann has fought hard to get his spot. The storyline leading into the main event has been great, and I am sure both will put on a match to remember.

Corrigan: On paper, it’s underwhelming. But I understand that Scott D’Amore holds Young in high regard from their Team Canada days and Swann has been itching to break into the main event scene for quite some time. Hopefully, they deliver.

Goodwillie: No, and this was a thought I had coming into this roundtable. This is a really lackluster main event. The only pushback I’ll give to this question is just that I don’t think it really has anything to do with worthiness. Eric Young and Rich Swann are veterans of the game, and I have no doubt they can put on a good match, but where’s the juice? Over the summer, I really thought that Moose bringing back the TNA World Heavyweight Championship was going to lead to some sort of big money world title match; the type of thing an event like BFG demands. Instead, it has become a prop in the Moose-ECIII feud while Eric Young and Rich Swann vie for the world championship. I guess it doesn’t really matter. The people who are going to tune in are going to tune in, but there’s little chance this type of main event is going to convert any casuals or bring over any new viewers – and that’s really the point of a main event at the end of the day for companies like Impact.

Who has been doing tag team wrestling better: Impact or AEW?

Bautista: It’s a flip of a coin depending on what you like. They both have stacked divisions and all the talent should take a moment and look at what’s being accomplished.

Jackson: I love both divisions, but because they have a little more variety, I am actually going to choose Impact. Sometimes, AEW can feel a bit samey, whereas Impact has a bit more depth to its division. Plus, the Motor City Machine Guns have been on fire since winning the titles back and I could watch them wrestle until the end of time.

Corrigan: While AEW has a deeper division, Impact has booked tag teams much stronger. From LAX and the Lucha Bros to The North, Gallows and Anderson and MCMG, each of those teams have come across as headliners. By comparison, AEW had that lottery to determine who gets in the number-one contenders match, and only the Young Bucks felt like stars.

Goodwillie: Leave it to the EIC to ask the tough questions! It’s not really as simple as saying which tag team division is stronger. On that front, AEW has the edge, but the question is which has done tag team wrestling better. I’m still going to go with AEW, however, simply due to how much time the tag team division gets. If you think of male singles, female singles and tag team wrestling like a pie chart, ask yourself how each wrestling company has and is dividing that time up? For WWE, that may look something like 65-25-10, and that’s just not enough equity if you’re really serious as a company about tag teams. When you watch AEW, the pie chart reads something more like 35-30-35. AEW has rankings for its teams and really give them the same treatment as it would give the top singles championships. For that reason, I have to go with AEW. That’s not to say Impact has done a lackluster job in this area either. It’s just that there are levels to this, and Impact’s presentation of tag teams is really something in between AEW and WWE.

Has EC3 lived up to your expectations since returning to Impact?

Bautista: As far as his current storyline, he’s done alright. I expect him to kick it up a few notches because everything been building up to Bound For Glory.

Jackson: Definitely. I was never a massive fan of EC3 during his original run, but he has repackaged himself and made me see him in a completely new light! I am really interested to see what twists are to come from his new aura and his match against Moose.

Corrigan: I’m just glad to see him back on TV.

Goodwillie: His work has been good and you can see he’s really giving his all to this latest run. But some of the booking decisions that have been made don’t quite accentuate him in the way they should and he’s facing a bit of an identity crisis with this new character. First of all, this is still ECIII – Ethan Carter III. We all know the origins of the character, and he really carried his character’s past with him in his previous Impact run, even after he turned face. When he went back to WWE, as ECIII, his name lost all its prestige and he really just became another face in the crowd. Coming back to Impact, it really seems to be more of a continuation of the WWE character rather than the Impact character or even a mix of the two. Remember, in storyline, this is still Dixie Carter’s nephew, but you’d never know it seeing the way he carries himself now. He also has this ability to drop bits of comedy, even in segments that are meant to be taken completely seriously, and that doesn’t really work either. The Rock was very much the same way, but he steered into it. ECIII is trying to tell this moving story of how he needs to beat Moose to rid himself of the TNA Championship so he can be free and become his own man but he’s just not the easiest guy to take THAT seriously. That is by no means, however, a deal breaker for me.

Who wins at Bound For Glory 2020: Deonna Purrazzo or Kylie Rae?

Bautista: If I was going off of momentum and who has the hot hand, I would say Kylie. But I believe Deonna retains because Impact probably wants to maintain its credible Knockouts division. Impact doesn’t want to be like the UFC where almost everybody in the women’s division won the belt, yet couldn’t successfully defend it. Regardless of who wins, it will be a big night for women’s wrestling.

Jackson: I’ve had the privilege to to chat with Deonna first-hand and I know she’s ready to gain another victory. It’s going to be such an awesome battle, but from being a fan of Deonna back during her ROH days, Bound for Glory will be her night!

Corrigan: This is a tough one. They’re both still relatively new to Impact and both have built a ton of momentum. I’ll let my ECWA bias shine through and pick Deonna to retain.

Goodwillie: Deonna Purrazzo, but this is a tricky one for me. Thus far, she’s been every bit as good as advertised and I don’t think there needs to be a changing of the guard just yet. On the other hand, I did sort of foresee Kylie Rae working her way into this spot as well. It just feels a bit early to me, so for that reason, my lean is towards Deonna.