Thursday, October 22 – 10:45 P.M. (CT)

There were high points and low points during tonight's TNA Impact. Clearly, the debut of the Desmond Wolfe character was very well done. I loved the little nuances of the character - the way he calmly removed his shades before attacking and then put them back on afterward, and the way he folded his jacket neatly.

I also liked the new Kurt Angle. He was a little too much of a ice guy, but I'm sure that will change now that he's got something to be pissed about. The old Angle had lost momentum. He was still over to some extent because he's so good in the ring, but The Godfather character never felt special and never felt like a money maker. A serious, intense Styles could be.

I wasn't a fan of featuring a DQ in a cage match, and I hated the idea of giving away an Ultimate X match on free television when they just featured that gimmick match at the pay-per-view. I still don't understand why Kevin Nash got the win in a tag match when everyone else in the match is competing in the main event of next month's pay-per-view. Shouldn't that have been Samoa Joe's win?

However, the area where TNA truly dropped the ball tonight was failing to make the Bound For Glory pay-per-view feel special. If TNA wants to make that show their version of WrestleMania, then they can't just hype it for a month leading up to the show every year. They need to make it feel special year-round.

At the very least, you have to make Bound For Glory seem like it was a major event on the television show that follows. Where was the big update Sting's career? How about a big in-ring moment with A.J. Styles discussing the match and talking about how special it was to beat his mentor on TNA's biggest stage? All the wrestlers should have been talking about how special the show was and how lucky they were to compete on that stage.

Instead, TNA treated BFG like just another pay-per-view tonight. They have to know that it's going to take more than having the announcers put it over as a special event. After all, viewers know that pro wrestling broadcasters tell them every pay-per-view event is special. I realize the first instinct is to move on and sell the next pay-per-view, but if you want the fans to care about your self-proclaimed biggest pay-per-view event of the year, then you must show them that you believe it.

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