Powell's TNA Impact Wrestling Hit List: A.J. Styles wins the Bound For Glory Series, Magnus goes to the finals, Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson in a Last Man Standing match

By Jason Powell

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TNA Impact Wrestling Hits

Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson in a Last Man Standing match: A very good brawl and the best work we've seen from Anderson in some time. The brawl was intense and Anderson looked strong by absorbing a ton of punishment and continuing to come back for more. The post match beat down left me wondering whether that's the last we'll see of Anderson. If so, he would make a really nice Paul Heyman Guy in WWE given their history, assuming WWE officials have moved on from the issues that led to the company releasing Anderson.

A.J. Styles vs. Magnus: A suspenseful match. As someone who has predicted that Styles would challenge for the TNA Title at Bound For Glory ever since he lost the match that prevented him from challenging until that point, I still found myself buying into some of Magnus's near falls. Styles winning may have been predictable to many, but I'll take a predictable story over going with an alternate plan because viewers wouldn't see it coming. I could have done without the unnecessary interference from EGO. Hell, I could do without the EGO name. I like the trio (and would like them more if Gunner were added as an enforcer type), but extraordinary gentlemen's organization? Cheesy. Kudos to Magnus for his great facial expressions afterward that conveyed his disappointment and helped make the match feel even more important.

Magnus vs. Bobby Roode: I assumed we would get Styles vs. Roode in the finals, but TNA creative made a wise call by having Magnus go over. It obviously made Magnus look strong and helped solidify his strong showing in the Bound For Glory Series points round. It also added some mystery to the finals, as it would have been really obvious that Styles was going over since I think everyone assumes the heel Bully Ray will be champion going into Bound For Glory. Thus, no one would have believed fellow heel Roode was going to beat Styles in the finals.

A.J. Styles vs. Austin Aries: A minor Hit. This wasn't the best work we've seen from Styles and Aries, but it clicked down the stretch and served as a quality semifinals match. I had high hopes for this match and it didn't live up to those expectations, but even a disappointing Styles vs. Aries match is still entertaining.

TNA Impact Wrestling Misses

None: Very good in-ring action with each match feeling high stakes. Mike Tenay and Taz did a really good job on commentary during the Bound For Glory Series matches and helped make the semifinals and especially the final match feel important. The only big negative of the night occurred after A.J. Styles won the Bound For Glory Series to earn his first title shot since last year. Rather than celebrate the win and cut a crowd rallying promo to begin the build to his match with Bully Ray, he had to set up an angle with Dixie Carter for next week. Overall, though, this was a strong edition of Impact.