By Pat McNeill, PWTorch Columnist

Wake the pets and call the neighbors. It's time for our monthly TNA Wrestling pay-per-view preview column!

DISCLAIMER: Projections are made by myself and for myself with absolutely no assistance from Eric Bischoff, Brother Love, Dave "I Want Wrestling" Lagana or anybody else in Carter Country. Projections are not predictions, because this is the column where everything's made up and the points don't matter. No TNA employees have been harmed in the writing of this column. This preview has been sealed in a mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnall's porch since noon today. Some of our departing contestants will receive a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. This thirty-one volume set is the ultimate gift for those who cherish knowledge and tradition, and perfect for those who demand the best for themselves and their families. Encyclopedia Britannica. And remember, four whammies brings tears to your eyes and puts you out of the game. This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, please, no wagering. This lineup is based on the best available information as of this writing. Also remember that my projections are based on what I would do if I had control over Total Nonstop Action, unless it's not funny enough.

Oh, sure, TNA wrestling still isn't perfect. For example, we have Gail Kim on Impact turning down a shot at regaining her Knockouts title and having her lawyer postpone it for a week. Huh? It doesn't make any sense, except in the sense that TNA wants to have a lot happening on this Thursday's episode.

There's also the fun of watching Bully Ray take out a restraining order to keep Abyss away from his ringside during next week's Impact match against Joseph Park, Esq. If you've been watching TNA wrestling for the past several years, you'll know that Abyss (in the storylines):

- confessed to shooting his father in the back
- went to prison for attempted murder to protect his mother
- was committed to an asylum
- spent several weeks stalking Christian Cage's wife to set up a feud with Christian
- was powerbombed onto barbed wire by Sting
- was powerbombed through a flaming table
- was set on fire by Stevie Richards
- was slammed onto broken glass by Tyson Tomko
- has been slammed onto thumbtacks numerous times
- was stabbed with a board full of nails by Crimson

So, yes, I'm sure Abyss is terrified of violating that restraining order.

TNA Wrestling has spent the summer putting on good episodes of Impact with (mostly) subpar cliffhanger endings. This is the one TNA show of the year that's built around the X Division. That's been tough the past couple of years, since it's also meant putting together a new X Division roster. On the bright side, Austin Aries has received a steady push as TNA X Division champion over the past year, to the point where fans saw him as a credible challenger for TNA World Champion Robert Roode.

The other hot topic this weekend is ROH Tag Team Champion Kenny King jumping to TNA. King's match on Impact wasn't good, and he obviously didn't mesh well with PWG's Johnny Yuma, but he's definitely got looks, skill and personality. There have been rumors of TNA going after more Ring of Honor and Dragon Gate wrestlers, but that doesn't track, since TNA has all the X division wrestlers it needs to fill out this weekend's card.

But we can get to that later. Before we talk about Sunday night's matches, let's go on to this week's Wrestling History Lesson. Twenty years ago, on July 12, 1992, World Championship Wrestling held its "Great American Bash '92" pay-per-view in Albany, Georgia. This show featured the final three rounds of the NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament. In the final quarterfinal bout, it was Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham against the team of "Stunning" Steve Austin and the late Rick Rude. For the call of the action, let's go to Jim Ross & Jesse "The Body" Ventura.




Here's the main event of this week's episode of TNA Xplosion. Pope D'Angelo Dinero battles Magnus in a Bound For Glory series matchup. Jeremy Borash and "Irish" Pat Kenney are on commentary.


Five years ago, at Victory Road 2007, the pay-per-view kicked off with Christopher Daniels vs. Elix Skipper vs. Homicide vs. Jay Lethal vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Petey Williams vs. Puma vs. Senshi vs. Shark Boy vs. Sonjay Dutt. No, really. This was an Ultimate X Gauntlet match.



On with the projections!

Dakota Darsow vs. Rubix vs. Lars Only vs. Mason Andrews (Fatal Four-Way): TNA decided that putting all the first-round losers into a match was a better idea than flying Mark Haskins in from the UK. Having seen Mark Haskins, I'm not going to argue. Projection? Who's most likely to give us a decent performance in the second round. I'll vote for Rubix, who pins Mr. Only after hitting whatever they'll going to call his finisher.

TNA X Division Title Tournament Semifinals: The eight survivors move on to four singles matches. Since we're not able to look at the brackets, there's no telling how these matches will be arranged. Projection? Kid Kash beats Doug Williams. Kenny King beats Rashad Cameron. Zema Ion defeats Rubix, and Sonjay Dutt dispatches Flip Kendrick.

Ultimate X Match (TNA X Division Title): That leaves us with Kid Kash vs. Kenny King vs. Zema Ion vs. Sonjay Dutt. Which isn't all that bad for a match thrown together on short notice. Projection? Sonjay Dutt survives the festival of bumps and walks off as your new TNA X Division Champion. Dutt's feud with Kenny King over the X Division title can begin at once.

Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe (Bound For Glory Series): Angle and Joe have already met several times on TNA pay-per-view. While they have a great chemistry together, it's not as if this match will improve upon their previous outings. Projection? Joe almost gets the choke on Angle, but the Olympian hits the Angle Slam and picks up his seven points.

A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (Last Man Standing): How many times have A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels faced off over the years? Many, many times. These two actually have an issue with each other, but I hardly expect to see the mysterious Claire Lynch at ringside. Projection? Styles finally manages to put Daniels away, but Frankie Kazarian runs in for the postmatch beatdown. James Storm comes out to make the save, so we can have a Daniels & Kazarian vs. Styles & Storm program for the tag team titles.

Robert Roode vs. Austin Aries (TNA Heavyweight Title): Aries did a decent job in his two reigns as Ring of Honor champion. Aries has done a fine job as X Division champion. And yes, TNA can do a double switch, changing the belt here and having Roode win it back next month. But that's not where the money is. Projection? Roode, who is "off the chain," knocks Aries out with a chain to retain the title, continuing his record setting reign.

Aftermath: Next month is Hardcore Justice. TNA has already revealed that the show will feature hardcore matches in the Bound For Glory series. So, let's do Roode vs. Aries in a chain match, Storm vs. Daniels in a cage match, Samoa Joe vs. Magnus in a Texas death match, and some other violent stipulations.

***
Pat McNeill of Richmond, Va. has been a Torch columnist since February 2001. Thank goodness for Canadian football season. Drop him a line at patmcneill@live.com

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